Modesto City Council Watch

The Modesto City Council on Wednesday is expected to:

▪ Approve a $2.13 million agreement with Litt Road Holdings for the purchase of roughly 47 acres on Litt Road about a half mile north of Sylvan Avenue for a new corporation yard for the Utilities Department, which oversees the city’s water and wastewater services.

▪ Meet in closed session to discuss City Clerk Stephanie Lopez and her office regarding a change in the paperwork for Measure F, which asks Modesto City Schools voters whether the city should change its charter to let trustees be elected by district. The change resulted in the ballots being sent only to voters in the city. About 24,000 Modesto City Schools voters live outside the city. A Stanislaus Superior Court judge at the request of Modesto, Modesto City Schools and Stanislaus County issued a writ stating the Measure F vote will not be counted and a new election will be held in June.

▪ Receive an update from City Manager Jim Holgersson regarding last week’s Stanislaus Regional Water Authority board meeting. Modesto, Ceres and Turlock formed the authority to build a drinking-water plant with up to 30,000 acre-feet of Tuolumne River water supplied by the Turlock Irrigation District annually. The plant would serve Ceres and Turlock and south Modesto. Modesto now has concerns about the project’s price and says it does not need the water. It SRWA representative last week asked the board to postpone decisions on moving the project forward to give Modesto time to talk to the other cities about what it says are cheaper alternatives. The Ceres and Turlock SWRA board members rejected that offer.

The council will meet at 5:30 p.m. in the basement chambers of Tenth Street Place, 1010 10th St. The meeting is being held Wednesday because of Tuesday’s election.

Kevin Valine

This story was originally published November 3, 2015 at 10:20 PM with the headline "Modesto City Council Watch."