What Fountain Valley is about to decide

The council meets Tuesday in the Council Chambers, 10200 Slater Avenue — closed session at 3:30 PM, study session at 4:30 PM, regular meeting at 6:00 PM — sitting also as the Successor Agency and the Housing Authority. These are pending decisions from the posted agenda — not outcomes. Every item links to the official record.

Source: official agenda packet (PDF) · meeting page · Next regular meeting: September 15, 2026, 6:00 PM

✅ What actually passed (per the draft minutes): The city’s draft minutes of the September 1 meeting — printed on pages 79–85 of the September 15 agenda packet, and received and filed 5–0 at that September 15 meeting according to its own draft minutes — record all five members present (Bui, Constantine, Grandis, Vice Mayor Harper and Mayor Cunneen). Consent Items 1 through 5 each passed 5–0 on a motion by Constantine, seconded by Harper: the $19,918.42 Municipal Water District of Orange County Addendum 3E, the one-year Cintas Corporation extension, the August 6–19 register of demands, the August 18 minutes (received and filed “as amended”), and the Baker Tilly Advisory Group amendment adding $2,650. After a public hearing with no speakers, the council introduced the purchasing ordinance revising Municipal Code Chapters 2.36 and 2.38 and repealing Resolution No. 9900 on first reading, 5–0 (Constantine/Grandis); per the September 15 draft minutes it was adopted on second reading at that meeting, also 5–0. Both closed-session items — the HCD letter regarding the group homes ordinance and the 17565 Los Alamos St. negotiation with the Boys and Girls Club — ended with no reportable action. Under council items for future consideration, Council Member Constantine’s requests to move ahead right away with the planned survey and for an ordinance barring campaigning on city property drew no second (the minutes add that the attorney for the city would brief the council); a request for a study-session overview of temporary campaign signs was seconded by Mayor Cunneen. The meeting adjourned at 7:55 p.m. We will update this page if the council amends the minutes.

The headline: the lone public hearing is a rewrite of the city's purchasing rules. The council will consider first reading of an ordinance repealing and re-enacting Municipal Code Chapters 2.36 and 2.38 — raising the direct-purchase limit from $3,500 to $10,000, the formal-procurement threshold from $50,000 to $100,000, the no-solicitation ceiling for professional services from $50,000 to $100,000, and the CUPCCAA public-works limits to $75,000 (negotiated) and $220,000 (informal bidding) — while folding the City Manager's IT purchasing authority from Resolution No. 9900 into the code. Staff reports no direct fiscal impact; the stated intent is fewer routine purchases requiring formal processing.

⚖️ Ordinances & enforcement

Public hearing — purchasing ordinance: introduction and first reading of an ordinance revising FVMC Chapters 2.36 (Contracting Procedures) and 2.38 and repealing Resolution No. 9900. Per the staff report: micro/direct purchases rise from $3,500 to $10,000; "Simplified Acquisitions" of $10,000–$100,000 would need three informal quotes (currently two quotes for $3,500–$50,000); formal procurement applies at $100,000 instead of $50,000; professional-services contracts up to $100,000 (up from $50,000) could be negotiated without an RFP/RFQ. All public-works procurement would be consolidated into Chapter 2.38, with CUPCCAA thresholds updated per AB 2192 — force account/negotiated limit $45,000 to $75,000, informal bidding $175,000 to $220,000, and the council's over-threshold award option $175,500 to $235,000. New sections would authorize cooperative purchasing (CMAS, GSA, NASPO ValuePoint) and codify federal 2 CFR Part 200 standards. The City Manager's $50,000 general contract authority and the Finance Director's $25,000 authority are unchanged but flagged for council discretion. Public notice was published August 13, 2026. Item 6

🏗️ For contractors & vendors

Amendment No. 1 to CON-1368 with Cintas Corporation extends uniform rental, laundry, and facility-services products for the 46-employee Public Works Field Services division one year through October 16, 2027; the contract sum stays not to exceed $19,000 per year. The original 2023 award was made through an OMNIA Partners cooperative contract without bidding, and up to three more one-year options remain. Item 2
Municipal Water District of Orange County Water Conservation Participation Agreement CON-15-39 (1202) FY 26-28, Addendum 3E — Conservation Framework Technical Assistance Program — in the amount of $19,918.42. Item 1
Amendment No. 1 to CON-1651 with Baker Tilly Advisory Group, LP, adding $2,650 and extending the term through September 30, 2026, so the firm can present its Police Department organizational assessment findings remotely at the September 15, 2026 council meeting. The assessment covered leadership, staffing, patrol, dispatch, beat design, technology, and culture. Item 5

💰 Budget & payments

Register of Demands for August 6–19, 2026, totaling $3,810,836.18 in payments already made by the city. Item 3
Receive and file draft minutes of the August 18, 2026 regular meeting. Item 4

🔒 Closed session (3:30 PM)

Anticipated litigation: one potential case, described on the agenda as "HCD Letter re Group Homes Ordinance" — a reference to the state Department of Housing and Community Development. Closed Session
Real property negotiations: 17565 Los Alamos St., with the city (City Manager, Deputy City Manager/Community Services Director, Finance Director, and Attorney for the City as negotiators) and the Boys and Girls Club negotiating price and terms of payment. Closed Session

🪑 Study session (4:30 PM) — no votes

Police recruitment and retention: per the chief's memo, sworn staffing stands at 56 of 64 authorized positions and professional staff at 17 of 22, with dispatchers at 7 of 9 and records staff at 2 of 4. The hiring process has shortened from about six months to three; two recruits are in the OC Sheriff's Academy, two more are slated for October, and the department's stated plan is full staffing in calendar 2027. Study Session
Sister/Friendship City Association: staff and the Attorney for the City recommend forming the FVSFCA as a DBA under the Fountain Valley Community Foundation (which voted August 20, 2026 to accept it) rather than a standalone nonprofit, governed by an MOU with the city. Staff also seek approval of a delegation trip to Japan (Hekinan, Sakura, Fukushima) November 18–25, 2026: up to $15,000 for committee representatives from Kiwanis-designated state-of-the-city funds, plus up to $9,000 from the city budget for the City Manager and two council members. Study Session
Little Saigon design guidelines: Gensler will present draft, recommendation-only design guidelines for the Little Saigon area (in Fountain Valley, north of Warner Ave.), developed under a California Jobs First grant shared with Garden Grove and Santa Ana that totals $550,000 across three phases. The original Business Improvement District idea did not reach the 51% property-owner support needed; the effort has shifted toward a cultural nonprofit and a California Cultural District designation. The guidelines do not override existing zoning or land-use rules. Study Session