Modesto Council Watch

• Approve an agreement with Stanislaus County that allows the city to remove graffiti in the county’s jurisdiction along Highway 99. This is part of “Tag We’re On It,” the city’s newest effort to deal with graffiti. The county Board of Supervisors approved the agreement in June.
• Approve a five-year agreement with Grover Landscape Services at an annual cost of $1.67 million, or $8.35 million over the life of the agreement. The agreement calls for Grover to do landscape maintenance at city parks and other city property. The city awarded Grover a contract for these services in 2011 at an annual cost of $1.88 million. A city report states some of the cost decrease is because some of the property now requires less maintenance because the landscaping has grown in. The report states that Modesto put this contract out to bid and Grover and Terracare Associates submitted proposals. The report says Grover scored the best in an evaluation.
• Decide whether to accept a $1.08 million Federal Emergency Management Agency grant that would provide training and equipment for 12 firefighters to become paramedics. That would increase the number of firefighters who are trained as paramedics from 18 to 30. But City Manager Jim Holgersson has cautioned against accepting this grant, in part because it comes before the city has conducted a comprehensive review of emergency medical services.
• Consider limiting outdoor watering to one day a week Nov. 1 through March 21 as part of the city’s effort to save water during California’s fifth year of drought. Addresses ending in an even number would water on Saturdays and addresses ending in an odd number would water on Sundays. Outdoor water use is banned from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Modesto has allowed twice-a-week outdoor watering during spring and summer.

The council will meet at 5:30 p.m. in the basement chambers of Tenth Street Place, 1010 10th St.

This story was originally published October 3, 2016 at 2:52 PM with the headline "Modesto Council Watch."