Mayor Mark Kairis Explains The Biggest April 7 Council Decisions

Mayor Introduces Council Recap

You're listening to a special episode of the Hanford Insider Podcast, featuring a wrap-up of recent City Council actions with Mayor Mark Kyrus. Hi Hanford, I'm Mayor Mark Kyrus, and I'm here to deliver this week's council recap. Let's take a look at some highlights from our April 7th City Council meeting. In the study session, the Hanford Police Department presented their 2025 annual report. You can view the full report on our website at www.hanfordca.gov slash police. But what might be most important here to share is in just about every crime category, the numbers are down from the previous year. This includes assault, burglary, robbery, and rape. We also received an update from the status of Heroes Park from our Parks and Community Services Director and our staff engineers. They recommended declining a$1.9 million Land and Water Conservation Fund federal grant the city previously received for PARC. This grant was about$4 million less than what the city had requested. Without going into too much detail, by declining this grant and developing the park using only funds from Proposition 68, the city is reducing the funding gap for the park, creating a more feasible schedule, maintaining more local control over the park, and preserving the opportunity to phase additional amenities as future funding becomes available. Construction is expected to break ground in March of 2027 with a tentative grand opening of the park in spring of 2028. During the recognition portion of the regular meeting, I read two proclamations. One declared April as Financial Literacy Month in the city of Hanford. The other was in celebration of April 11th as Arbor Day in the city. We will be having an Arbor Day tree planting event on Saturday, April 11th at 11 AM at Hidden Valley Park. Everyone is welcome to attend. We had three separate public hearings on Tuesday night. The first two were to receive ballots and public testimony on proposed assessment increases for two landscape assessment districts, also known as LADs. After a comprehensive education and information effort by city staff, which included on-site community meetings, residents of Quail Run, estates and Cielo and Tierra voted against raising their assessments amounts to properly maintain the shared spaces in their neighborhoods. In a couple of months, maintenance for those spaces will be reduced to a bare minimum due to the lack of funding. I might add, there are many, many landscape assessment districts that will be balanced in the coming months. Please, please, reach out to city staff or your council members to get information so you can evaluate the needs of your community. Residents and four other LEDs will soon have similar choices to make. Community meetings for those neighborhoods are scheduled for Saturday, April 18th. For more information about LEDs or to find out if you reside in one, visit our website at www.hanfordca.gov slash LED. The last public hearing was related to the refuge rates. After protests were counted, it was determined the proposed rate increase will be implemented effective May 1st and will continue over the next five years. This decision was not made lightly, but it was one that was necessary in order for the city to continue to provide the service at a level you expect. In general business, Council unanimously approved a change order for the Engineering Services contract for the East Lacey Corridor Improvement Project to integrate Complete Streets approach into this project's design. Construction on the East Lacey project is anticipated to begin in October of 2027. On a related note, we also authorized staff to apply for a multi-million dollar state grant that could fund infrastructure that protects pedestrians, bicyclists, and even transit riders from extreme heat along the East Lacey Boulevard. Staff is proposing to turn East Lacey Boulevard into a cool corridor, if successful, with their grant application. And lastly, but certainly not least, we went out with a bank by telling the Community Parks and Services Department to proceed with the 4th of July fireworks show at the Hanford Softball Complex. Plans are still in the works, but the plan is to make this a free event for children and seniors, while charging$5 for adults. In addition to the fireworks show, there will be live music, a kids' area, and food and beverage vendors. Stay tuned for more details. Our next regular City Council meeting will be Tuesday, April 21st. Thank you for watching, and please feel free to reach out to me or any council member at any time. We're here to serve you.