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Council Meet Touches On Variety Of Topics
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In a wide-ranging meeting on Monday night, Feb. 6, members of the Escalon City Council heard about ongoing senior programs, had a visit from Supervisor Robert Rickman and listened to concerns about speeding vehicles.

All those items came up during the Public Comment portion of the meeting, before getting in to the meat of the agenda.

A couple of residents stepped to the podium to voice concerns about vehicles that regularly speed on First Street; the police department is looking in to utilizing a radar trailer as one way of addressing the issue.

One of the original Fun Bunch founders, Ann Shaddix, welcomed those council members who were elected in November and sworn in for their new terms. She provided an overview of the Fun Bunch group, which is designed to provide fun activities for local senior citizens. She also thanked the council for allowing the group to use the Community Center for some of its programs.

“It truly is a service to our seniors and thank you for supporting us,” she said.

Supervisor Robert Rickman, who represents Escalon on the county Board of Supervisors and is serving this year as chairman, thanked those that attended the recent Open House put on by the county board. He also provided an update on disaster response.

“San Joaquin County has been added to the FEMA disaster declaration,” he said of the federal response to the series of storms that brought historic rainfall to the region in January.

The San Joaquin County Office of Emergency Services has opened a disaster service center, hosted at the Robert J. Cabral Agricultural Center, 2101 Earhart Ave., Stockton to assist those residents impacted by the storms and subsequent flooding.

“The center is open seven days a week, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.,” Rickman said.

Also offering some comment at the start of the meeting was longtime former councilman and mayor Ed Alves, who lost out on his re-election bid in November.

He said he wants to make sure city business is conducted properly and that the new council members continue to keep the best interests of the city and its residents uppermost in their minds.

“I’ll be here to help,” Alves said. “And I’ll be watching.”

Council members also agreed to move the meeting of Monday, Feb. 20 to Monday, Feb. 27, as Feb. 20 will be observed as Presidents’ Day. The Feb. 27 session will include interviews with several candidates for the Planning Commission and one for the Recreation Commission, at a special 6 p.m. meeting prior to the regular 7 p.m. session.

Monday night’s meeting also included a Closed Session for discussion of ongoing contract negotiations with the Escalon Police Officers Association.