Fresno City Council approves eminent domain actions, new contract for police body cameras, tasers

This story was originally published by Fresnoland , a nonprofit news organization.

The Fresno City Council authorized acquiring land through eminent domain for the expansion of Radio Park in central Fresno, as well as for a traffic infrastructure project in the Tower District during a busy Thursday at City Hall.

The council also denied an application from a Colorado-based company to establish a marijuana dispensary on Kings Canyon Road in southeast Fresno.

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Councilmembers also unanimously renewed the police department’s contract for body cameras and tasers, but only after a lengthy back-and-forth about other services that private company Axon Enterprise, Inc. provides, including the use of artificial intelligence for writing police reports.

The council started the morning with hearings considering the use of eminent domain for a traffic safety project that would make the intersection at Blackstone and McKinley avenues safer — adjacent to the BNSF railroad.

If negotiations with the owners of property at three sites near the BNSF railroad are unsuccessful, the council’s Thursday vote would allow Fresno City Attorney Andrew Janz to file an eminent domain action in civil court.

Separately, the council also authorized the use of eminent domain to acquire a Quick Mart convenience store, as well as the land it sits on, as part of the expansion of Radio Park at First Street and Clinton Avenue in central Fresno.

A third party appraisal, sought by the city’s consultant, determined an $813,725 valuation of the land and property, according to a staff report . However, local attorney Richard Conway , who represents the family that owns the Quick Mart store as well as the land it sits on, said he acquired a third party appraisal between $4 and $5 million.

“I believe the city was under the misimpression that it would cost perhaps less than a million dollars in the aggregate to acquire both the property and the business,” Conway told the Fresno City Council during the Thursday hearing. “That’s clearly not remotely close to what the value of the real property and the company’s business is.”

Conway said his clients anticipate earning a $200,000 profit this year. He added that his team will be meeting with the city’s consultant regarding its appraisal on Aug. 1.

There is still an opportunity for negotiation between the city’s team and the owners of the convenience store, but if unsuccessful, Janz is authorized to file for eminent domain action in court.

The police department’s $18 million contract with Axon Enterprise, Inc.

After an $18 million contract renewal with Axon Enterprise, Inc. was tabled last month, an almost identical contract was brought forth before the Fresno City Council again.

The biggest difference between the two versions? A passage in Axon’s agreement about providing gifts to city employees.

The new version of the agreement expressly states that Axon Enterprise, Inc. will not provide or distribute gifts to any City of Fresno employee or volunteer that are not in compliance with state, local and municipal laws, including the California Political Reform Act.

Arias pulled the item from the council’s consent agenda and asked Janz, the city attorney, to explain what changed.

“There was some language in there that our office felt could be strengthened,” Janz told the council Thursday, “in terms of preventing a scenario where the vendor would be providing gifts to any charter officials or anybody that would have anything to do with the contract negotiations.”

Axon’s commitment to not providing gifts to City of Fresno employees that could violate local or state laws is new, and it’s unclear if it’s happened in the past.

City spokesperson Sontaya Rose was not immediately able to confirm whether Axon or its representatives have provided gifts to city employees in recent years. A Fresno Police Department spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

The $18 million contract with Axon Enterprise Inc. starts off by charging the Fresno Police Department $1.2 million in its first year, but the annual cost would rise each following year. By the fourth year of the contract with Axon, the police department would pay more than $5.5 million annually.

Arias also criticized other aspects of the agreement with Axon, including how it would be automatically renewed in five years without needing council approval. Arias proposed terminating the automatic renewal portion of the agreement.

He also motioned for staff to create a request for proposals process so that in five years, the city could solicit competitive bids on the services that Axon provides to Fresno’s police department.

Arias also took issue with how much of the police department’s operation relies on services, equipment and software provided by Axon.

According to a staff report , those services include the following:

• Axon body cameras
• Axon Tasers
• Axon’s proprietary Computer-Aided Dispatch system, identified as “the backbone of emergency service response”
• Axon’s proprietary Records Management System, which stores “a variety of law enforcement records, to include police reports, citations, local contact history and vehicle information”
• Axon’s artificial intelligence software, used by police officers for report writing
• Axon camera systems, which are set up inside five police department interview rooms
• Axon’s video software that allows for redaction of body camera footage and viewing third party surveillance data including CCTV and other surveillance video
• Axon Virtual Reality training software

For years, the Fresno Police Department has not had to pay for a number of Axon’s services

As a development partner with Axon Enterprise, Inc., the Fresno Police Department got out of having to pay for a number of services from the private police tech and weapons company. However, that arrangement is set to end in 2027, and the police department will have to begin paying for some of those services.

That includes Axon’s Computer-Aided Dispatch System, which is identified as “the backbone of emergency service response” at the Fresno Police Department, according to a staff report.

Arias told Interim Police Chief Mindy Casto that he was alarmed that city police rely on the services of a single private company so much.

“What I’m trying to ascertain is have we gone too far with this one vendor,” Arias said. “This one vendor seems to monopolize every corner of the police department’s operational infrastructure.”

Arias also criticized the police department committing to using proprietary artificial intelligence without a public policy discussion on whether that’s appropriate.

“What concerns me for example is you have us adopting artificial intelligence for report writing,” Arias said. “I don’t think this [city council] body has ever had a discussion on whether we should be using artificial intelligence for report writing.”

Permit for marijuana dispensary denied

The council also unanimously denied an application for a cannabis permit filed by Colorado-based company Yuma Way . The company needed the permit to open up a marijuana dispensary on Kings Canyon Road in southeast Fresno, according to a staff report .

Although the city’s Planning and Development Department, as well as the city’s Planning Commission approved Yuma Way’s cannabis permit application, Councilmember Luis Chavez filed an appeal to deny the permit.

Chavez, who represents southeast Fresno, said the location where the dispensary is currently being proposed is not ideal. Additionally, one local business owner spoke during public comment in opposition of the dispensary, and provided to councilmembers written feedback from others in the community also in opposition.

Chavez added that the proposed site is close to the Fresno County Fairgrounds, which he said attracts tourism and is not an appropriate setting for a dispensary.

“A lot of eyes and ears that, to me, are also a factor as to how we go about permitting businesses, particularly businesses that we know bring some additional challenges,” Chavez said.

City Attorney’s Office gets nod to staff up wage theft unit

The council also approved using state funds to create six new positions for the City Attorney’s Office’s wage theft unit.

The six positions are composed of one senior deputy city attorney, a deputy city attorney, two investigators, a paralegal and a legal secretary. That investment is “necessary to investigate and prosecute the widespread wage theft in the City of Fresno,” according to a staff report .