Modesto Council Watch

The Modesto City Council on Tuesday took the following actions:

▪  Approved lowering evening parking charges for its three downtown parking garages and five lots, from a $5 flat fee regardless of how long someone parks to $1 an hour, with a $5 maximum. This is a pilot program to encourage more people to come downtown.

▪  Accepted a $1.5 million federal grant that helps the city pay for hiring a dozen police officers for three years. The city is required to pay the full costs for the officers in the fourth year. The city will use the grant to offset the cost of increasing police staffing from 218 to 240 officers.

▪  Passed a resolution opposing Proposition 57, which would lead to earlier releases from prison for felons convicted of nonviolent crimes and would require judges to approve the decision to try certain juveniles as adults. Gov. Jerry Brown supports the proposition, while the League of California Cities opposes it.

▪  Approved 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, for Grover to do landscape maintenance at city parks and other city property. Grover has provided these services to the city for a decade.

Kevin Valine

This story was originally published October 29, 2016 at 2:59 PM with the headline "Modesto Council Watch."