Council approves convention‑center operator and police tech contract, debates TBID renewal and short‑term rental fee

The Fresno City Council approved several contested consent items on Dec. 18 while also pressing staff for more transparency about hotel district fees and short‑term rental assessments.

After public comment from hoteliers, the Fresno Yosemite International Airport and the Fresno Chaffee Zoo, council debated renewal of the Fresno‑Clovis Tourism Business Improvement District (TBID). Visit Fresno County representatives said the renewal would consolidate marketing and could include short‑term rentals in a first‑time assessment; staff said that would be an additional 2 percent for short‑term rentals and could raise roughly $500,000 annually for the TBID’s programs. Several councilmembers expressed concern about diverting short‑term‑rental revenue to a third party rather than adding it to the city’s budget and asked for clearer nexus evidence connecting TBID marketing to short‑term‑rental occupancy and a revised management plan before final approval.

The council also approved a contract (motion and second on the floor) to award management of the Fresno Convention & Entertainment Center to a partnership including VenueWorks and ATG Entertainment. Councilmembers pressed the new operators about labor agreements and asked for a plan to reduce operating subsidies and address deferred maintenance. The operators said they expect to negotiate with unions and seek efficiencies in operations; council directed staff to identify deferred maintenance items and ask the operator for a list of required improvements.

Separately, the council approved a police contract to acquire body‑worn cameras, evidence storage and limited drone capability through Axon Enterprises; police staff explained FAA and Fourth‑Amendment constraints on drone deployment and retention schedules for video evidence. The police technology motion passed unanimously.

Public Utilities staff recommended rejecting bids for the city’s state‑mandated SB 1383 organics purchase after identifying errors in the bid scope that prevented fair comparison. Council instructed staff to return with a formal recommendation to reject and rebid.

Taken together, the votes show the council moving forward with several major vendor relationships while pausing or asking for more analysis on revenue and procurement items that could shift public funds.