Votes at a glance: council withdraws censure item, approves park grant application and wastewater controller purchase

The Ione City Council on April 1 took several formal actions including removing a pending censure complaint from the agenda, approving an application for a water-conservation grant for Howard Park, and authorizing purchase of a programmable logic controller (PLC) upgrade for the wastewater treatment system.

The council voted to remove from the agenda and accept the withdrawal of a censure complaint filed against Councilmember Jack Mitchell after a council member said they wished to withdraw the complaint. Public comment on the censure item was taken before the council finalized the withdrawal.

On another vote the council authorized staff to apply for a water-conservation grant from the Amador Water Agency intended to fund turf-to-low-water conversions at Howard Park's Picnic Hill and to allocate a portion of the grant to repair sports-field irrigation. The motion included authorization for the city manager to execute the grant funding agreement if the grant is awarded.

Separately the council authorized moving forward with a proposed upgrade to the wastewater treatment plant's PLC and related control systems, described by staff as necessary to prevent repeat failures the system experienced during recent storms. A council member recused themself from that vote; the council recorded the motion as approved.

The council also approved the consent calendar with warrants pulled for discussion and subsequently approved the warrants after brief review.

Votes recorded on separate agenda items were reflected in the meeting minutes and the actions listed below. Detailed tallies were not recorded in the public portion of the transcript for every motion and are noted where not specified.