SELMA – The Selma City Council honored the careers of two public servants who, despite their long tenures, are not ready to hang up their suits just yet.
At the council’s Jan. 6 meeting, Mayor Scott Robertson presented certificates of recognition to Neal Costanzo, city attorney, and Moses Stites, a regional transportation executive. Though Costanzo is not retiring or leaving his position as Selma’s city attorney, the council wanted to honor him on the 40th anniversary of his admission to the State Bar of California.Â
“It’s very timely, because, in fact, I was admitted to the bar on January 6, 1986, so this is right on time and right on point, and I appreciate you recognizing that milestone,” Costanzo said to the council.Â
Costanzo has been Selma’s city attorney off and on for more than a decade and has also represented other cities and special districts in the Fresno County area. Robertson said Costanzo has a “continuity of caring,” choosing to practice municipal law and serve the public. Costanzo, Robertson said, has been a fountain of knowledge and reference for the city.
Costanzo said that while he “deeply appreciated” the council’s recognition of his milestone, the anniversary was a double-edged sword.Â
“Having practiced law for 40 years, you can kind of assume that I’m an experienced professional, I know what I’m doing, but you can also kind of assume that I’m getting almost old as dirt,” Costanzo said.Â
He added that serving as Selma’s city attorney has been one of the most honorable and enjoyable things he has done in his law career.Â
Transportation transition
Stites similarly is not fully ending his career, but he was recognized by the council for decades of partnership with the city in multiple capacities, including as a California Department of Transportation employee and most recently as general manager of the Fresno County Rural Transit Agency.
Robertson remarked that Stites retired from his position at the FCRTA on Dec. 31, 2025, but what he did in his retirement was “he retired for about 12 hours” and then became the executive director of the Fresno County Transportation Authority.Â
Although Stites will still work with Selma in his new capacity, the council wanted to recognize all that he brought to the city with the FCRTA, including donating three transit stops to the city and bringing the FCRTA regional operations and maintenance facility to Selma.Â
Robertson said Selma had to compete to be the city that housed the maintenance facility, and though Stites never showed favoritism, Robertson “felt like we really had an ally.”Â
“And ever since that process in 2018, he worked tirelessly to put that maintenance facility here, creating jobs and creating a point of distinction for our city which will endorse for many years,” Robertson said.Â
Stites spoke about some of his memories with the city dating back to the 1990s, recalling how, as a Caltrans employee, he helped to work on the Floral Avenue interchange before the Walmart was built. He also worked to install the traffic signal at Floral Avenue and State Route 43 before the Home Depot was built in Selma, he said.Â
As general manager of the FCRTA, Stites said one of the most rewarding aspects of his jobs was seeing how many seniors in Selma made use of the public transit and getting requests for special trips to take Selma Senior Center members to Table Mountain Casino or the Sierra Vista Mall in Clovis.Â
“I sincerely want to thank you for your hospitality and your open arms in helping FCRTA, helping me establish this relationship with the city, and I really think that there’s so much more that can be done here, many opportunities if you continue this collaborative effort,” Stites said.
