Special district results, cannabis consultant on agenda
Results of the special district elections and hiring a consultant for medical marijuana regulations are on the agenda for Tuesday night's Merced City Council meeting.
The Council will meet at 7 p.m. in the Council Chambers on the second floor of the Merced Civic Center, (City Hall) 678 W. 18th St. Meetings are usually held on Monday night, but due to the Presidents Day holiday, the meeting is being held on Tuesday.
Property owners voted on fee increases in three maintenance districts: Oakmont No. 3, Campus North, and Mansionette. Only the Oakmont increase passed with 65.8 percent of the voters approving. The Oakmont assessment will be $89.75 a year, with an annual budget of $27,554.
Because of the failed election the Campus North assessment will remain at $31.30 a year and the annual budget will be $11,000. The Mansionette assessment will stay at $1.14 a year and the budget will be $1,446.
The Council is being asked to hire SCI Consulting Group to prepare regulations and the selection process for the city's medical marijuana dispensaries. The $108,290 contract will be compatible with Proposition 64, the voter initiative that legalized recreational marijuana.
SCI has experience working with San Luis Obispo County and the cities of Avalon, Coalinga, La Mesa and Vallejo.
Also on the agenda is a presentation from Finance Officer Brad Grant on the CalPers discount rate change and how it will affect the City's budgeting process.
The Council will meet in closed session at 5:45 p.m. to discuss performance evaluations of the finance officer and the city manager and meet with property negotiators regarding the price of the Merced Sun-Star building.
City Council meetings are streamed live on the Internet. A link to the live meeting is on the City's web site at https://cityofmerced.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx. Videos of previous meetings can be found at that link, and are tied to each agenda item. Those services are in addition to the live broadcast of the regular meeting on Comcast's Government Channel 96.
The Council agenda is posted online at www.cityofmerced.org and is available outside the chambers prior to the meeting. Request to Speak forms are available at the meeting or can be downloaded from the City's website. Cards must be turned in to the City Clerk in order for a person to be recognized by the Council.