Votes at a glance: Soledad council approves contracts, assessments and homelessness funding; continues police AB 481 hearing to Aug. 6

The City Council of the City of Soledad took a series of administrative and fiscal votes on July 2, approving construction contracts, assessment levies, a homelessness subrecipient agreement and appointments to a citizens oversight panel. Most votes were routine and carried unanimously.

Key actions (summarized):

- Closed session report: The council reported it unanimously denied the claim titled Nunez and Albanese and provided direction to the city attorney; no other reportable action was taken.

- Consent calendar: The council approved the consent calendar, including a resolution approving a contract change order for construction services with Monterey Peninsula Engineering (MPE) tied to a major public‑works project. Council discussion noted the original project scope and ARPA timing contributed to several change orders; staff said the work is near completion and future decorative crosswalk corrections will be completed by the contractor at no additional charge.

- CA‑11 (executive management COLA): The council approved a cost‑of‑living adjustment for certain executive management positions (resolution noted in staff report). Council members discussed fiscal pressures for the coming year and asked staff to monitor budget impacts.

- Police AB 481 annual report: The council continued public hearing No. 1 (Soledad Police Department AB 481 annual report) to the August 6 meeting after staff reported a noticing problem.

- Assessment district levies (5 resolutions): The council held the public hearing and adopted resolutions ordering the levy and collection of assessments in the city’s five assessment districts for fiscal year 2025–26 (resolutions 6253, 6254, 6255, 6256, 6257). The council handled several districts in separate votes to manage potential conflicts of interest; each resolution was approved and the mayor announced the motion carried.

- Transaction and Use Tax citizen oversight committee appointments: The council approved appointments to the city’s consolidated transactions and use tax citizens oversight committee. Appointed were Janice Swearingen (Mayor’s appointee), Lourdes Infante (council appointment/mayor’s consent) and Eugene (Eugene) Ivy (Mayor Pro Tem appointment). Staff asked council members to continue outreach to fill the remaining seats so the committee can reach quorum and begin work.

- HUD Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program (YHDP) subrecipient agreement: The council authorized the city to enter a subrecipient agreement with Bay Area Community Services to receive and spend HUD Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program funds allocated to the region (approximately $1.6 million available to spend through 12/31/2025). Staff said the city is well placed to manage the program locally because a city staff member (homeless outreach coordinator Kimberly Herrera) had previously operated the same program and the city will prioritize Soledad residents and South County participants. Council approved the agreement and authorized the city manager to execute the contract.

- Water reclamation facility manhole replacement contract: The council awarded a construction contract to Monterey Peninsula Engineering (MPE) for the water reclamation facility manhole replacement project. Staff explained inspections showed interceptor pipelines largely sound but multiple manholes were deteriorated by hydrogen sulfide corrosion and required replacement with polymer concrete manholes. MPE submitted the lowest responsive bid; the bid exceeded the engineer’s initial estimate because the original estimate did not fully reflect night work, bypass pumping complexity, and the current market price for polymer manholes. The contract award includes a 10% contingency and will be funded from the sewer capital projects fund.

Votes and outcomes: Most motions were approved unanimously. Where councilors had identified potential conflicts for particular assessment districts, the council conducted votes with the conflicted member stepping out and returned after the vote; the clerk recorded each motion as carried.

Next steps: Staff will return for ministerial follow‑up (scheduling oversight committee meetings, finalizing subrecipient paperwork and reporting to HUD), implement the manhole construction contract, and proceed with the assessment collection through the county tax roll.