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http://www.hanfordsentinel.com/news/local/council-chambers-to-sport-national-motto/article_f3537462-d1cd-11e1-94c4-001a4bcf887a.html
HANFORD — The Hanford City Council will soon display the motto "In God We Trust" in council chambers at City Hall.
The council voted 5-0 Tuesday night in favor of a resolution to display the national motto, making Hanford the 92nd city in California to do so.
Mayor Sue Sorensen said she was approached several months ago by Bakersfield Councilwoman Jacquie Sullivan, founder and president of In God We Trust America. Sullivan lobbied the Bakersfield City Council to display the motto in its chambers in 2002. Since 2004, the organization has worked to have the motto displayed on city halls and council chambers across the country.
"[I] told her that I would be excited to bring this forward to the council," Sorensen said. "But I want to say that there were other council members who actually pushed to get this on the agenda a little sooner."
During public comment, local political leaders urged the council to pass the resolution.
Justin Mendez, who spoke on behalf of Assemblyman David Valadao, R-Hanford, urged the council to support the resolution.
"[Valadao] wanted to reiterate that this country was founded on Christian principles and that it's important to continue to recognize that," Mendez said.
State Assembly candidate Pedro Rios, a former Delano council member, said Delano adopted a resolution to post the motto shortly after the Bakersfield council's yes vote in 2002.
"There were no public funds that were used for that," Rios told the council. "It was businesses that donated the funds, churches that made the collections in their own churches and just people writing checks in favor of that. In the end, we were able to come up with all the monies that were needed. It was great. It was awesome and the community was very excited about that. And I'm sure the city of Hanford will become very excited about this."
There was no discussion Tuesday of how much the Hanford display would cost or how it would be funded. Interim City Manager Pam McCarthy said the adoption of the resolution would give city staff the go-ahead to research different designs and ideas to bring back to the council.
Glenda Dwyer of the Central Valley Tea Party's Kings County chapter also spoke in favor of the motto.
"I am asking that this council become the 92nd California city to vote yes and affirm the role that faith in God plays in the public lives of citizens of this county," Dwyer said.
Lemoore is currently the only other city in Kings County to pass such a resolution, which was adopted in 2008 after then-council member Willard Rodarmel asked the council to consider it. The council at the time voted 5-0 in support.
The words "In God We Trust" now appear above the dais of the Lemoore council chambers as well as on the city's letterhead.
In other action, the council voted to extend the city's contracts with Main Street Hanford, the Chamber of Commerce and the Hanford Conference and Visitor Agency. Because the existing contracts had expired on June 30, McCarthy recommended that the council consider renegotiating the contracts and possibly merging the chamber and visitor agency to save money.
Because the expired contracts prevented the agencies from receiving funding for the past two weeks, the council approved 90-day extensions on the existing contracts to allow city staff to hold discussions with the agencies and bring the new contracts back to the council.
During closed session, the council received an update on the recruitment for a permanent city manager. Assistant City Attorney Mario Zamora said the application period closed on July 10, with 59 applications received. He said city staff is now screening those applications.
"Those most qualified will be invited to participate in an interview process, and the goal is to have a new city manager on or about Nov. 15," Zamora said.
The council also postponed discussion of a letter of support for the expansion of the hazardous waste landfill near Kettleman City because the representative from Waste Management was not able to attend the meeting.
The reporter can be reached at 583-2458 or meiman@HanfordSentinel.com.
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