Kings County supervisors OK final change orders, bridge consultant amendment; adopt Black History Month proclamation and introduce emergency-services ordinance

Kings County’s Board of Supervisors voted Feb. 3 to approve multiple routine public-works items, adopted a Black History Month proclamation and introduced an ordinance to change emergency-services leadership in the county code.

Public works: Mitchell Cabrera, the county chief engineer, told the board that construction of the Armona Fire Station No. 5 partial remodel — a project with a total construction cost of about $3.2 million — encountered unforeseen conditions including termite damage and asbestos that required larger-scale abatement. Staff described change order No. 9 as $24,211.77 to cover tasks such as vent and gas-meter work, trenching for a new gas line, restroom hardware replacement and exterior brick work. A member of the public and supervisors flagged a discrepancy between the staff report figure and the amount stated at the dais; staff amended the figure for the record and the board approved the change order by roll call.

Cabrera also presented amendment No. 3 to the consultant contract for the 16th Avenue bridge replacement (originally awarded to Quincy Engineering, now CONSORT North America). The amendment — described in staff remarks as retroactive to allow consultant review of material submittals, change-order evaluation and final as-built preparation — was recorded by staff at an amended amount (commenters and staff noted $20,707). The board approved the third amendment by roll call.

Proclamation: Alex C. Walker introduced a resolution proclaiming February 2026 as Black History Month in Kings County and invited Paula Massey of Women with Visions Unlimited Inc. to present historical material on Black migration, local labor camps and notable local leaders. "When we come to you, we'll meet even further to bless this community," Massey said in the presentation. The board adopted the proclamation by motion and roll call.

Emergency-services ordinance: Veronica Mello (administrative analyst) proposed amending article 6, chapter 6 of the Kings County code to change the director of emergency services from a member of the board of supervisors to the county fire chief, and to designate the county executive officer as assistant director. Mello said the amendment aligns leadership with the county’s operational structure, is consistent with practices in other California counties and carries no fiscal impact. County Fire Chief John Chamberon described his previous experience overseeing emergency services in other jurisdictions and emphasized collaboration with departmental subject-matter experts. Supervisors asked whether the fire chief would have capacity to handle agriculture-specific incidents (such as animal mortality or pesticide events); Chief Chamberon and CEO Martinez said incident-command roles and subject-matter responsibilities would continue to rely on department experts. The board voted to introduce the ordinance; staff said the ordinance would take effect 30 days after approval if adopted.

Procedural notes: The board also approved routine minutes and the consent calendar earlier in the meeting. No closed-session actions were reported at adjournment; the board recessed to closed session to discuss litigation matters.

Next steps: Staff will publish the ordinance summary and supervisors' votes in the local newspaper and post materials to the clerk of the board's website; staff indicated notices of completion for the two public-works projects are expected to come to the board as projects wrap up.