Modesto City Council watch

• Approved forming a citizens oversight committee for Measure L, the Stanislaus Council of Governments’ half-cent transportation tax on the November ballot. The measure already calls for StanCOG to form a citizens oversight committee to monitor how the tax is spent throughout the county and its nine cities. And the cities have adopted plans on how they would spend their share of the tax. But the Stanislaus Taxpayers Association made its support of the measure contingent upon Modesto providing additional oversight.
• Approved an agreement with Stanislaus County that lets the city remove graffiti in the county’s jurisdiction along Highway 99. This is part of “Tag. We’re On It,” the city’s latest anti-graffiti effort. The county Board of Supervisors approved the agreement in June.
• Limited outdoor watering to one day a week Nov. 1 through March 31 as part of the city’s effort to save water in the drought. Addresses ending in an even number can water Saturdays, and addresses ending in an odd number can water Sundays. Outdoor water use is banned from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Modesto has alternated between once-a-week and twice-a-week watering depending on the season since 2015.
• The council was expected to consider approving a five-year, $8.35 million agreement with Grover Landscape Services for landscape maintenance in city parks and other city property. Staff pulled the agreement from the meeting agenda and will bring it back at a future meeting. The proposed agreement would replace a 2011 agreement with Grover that has expired.

This story was originally published October 9, 2016 at 5:47 PM with the headline "Modesto City Council watch."