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Vice Mayor Core >> here. >> Council member Arias, Council Member Gonzalez >> here, >> Council Member Weir, >> Council Member Smith, >> I'm here, >> Council Member Coleman >> here, >> and Council Member Basher Tosh >> here. >> Thank you. I do not see any members of the public in the audience. So, madame city attorney, is it okay if I just dispense with that section? We will move right on and next item please madam city clerk close session item 4A conference with labor negotiator >> right we are dismissed to close session >> adjourn can go in the record >> uh moved motion adjourn to close session we're journ to close session Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. >> [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] >> me. >> [music] >> through. Hey Heat. Heat. N. Oh, oh yeah. Heat. Heat. N. >> [music] [music] >> Hey, [music] hey hey. Hey, hey, hey. [music] >> [music] [music] [music] >> Hey, let it go. >> [music] >> Hey, hey hey. [music] Hey, hey, hey. Hey, hey hey. Heat. Heat. 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[music] >> [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] >> I'd rather try and accomplish something great and failed than try to accomplish nothing and fully succeed. I'll contact you here. All night I'd rather [music] try and accomplish something fail than trying to accomplish nothing and slowly succeed. All night. >> [music] >> Find a ingredient. Fully exceed [music] Hey hey hey. Hey hey hey. >> [music] >> Heat. Heat. [music] Heat. Heat. [music] [music] Heat. Heat. N. [music] Heat. Heat. [music] Heat. Heat. >> [music] [music] [music] [music] >> Hey, hey hey. Hey, hey hey. Hey, [music] hey hey. >> [music] [music] >> Hello. [music] Hey. >> [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] >> Heat. Heat. [music] [music] >> [music] >> Hey, [music] [music] hey hey. >> [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [singing] [music] [music] [music] >> There you go. Yeah. Hey [music] hey hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. Heat. Hey, Heat. Welcome to the Bakersfield City Council meeting. This television broadcast is brought to you by the local cable companies, the county of Kerna, and the city of Bakersfield. You can watch the rebroadcast of this meeting Saturday at 700 p.m., Sunday at 10:00 a.m., and the following Wednesday at 7 p.m. You can download the agenda for this meeting at www.bakersfield city. us. Preciding over this evening's meeting, the Honorable Mayor Karen K. Go. >> Good evening. It's my pleasure to call to order the regular city council meeting of November 5th, 2025. Madame clerk, please call the role. >> Mayor Go here. Council member core >> here. >> Council member Arias >> here. >> Council member Gonzalez here. Council member Weir, >> Council Member Smith >> here, >> Council Member Coleman >> here, >> Council Member Basher Dash >> here. >> Thank you. Tonight we have the pleasure of hosting the 69th annual Teen Government Day. 80 students from the Kerna High School District, BCHS and Garcus met with departments throughout the city throughout the day and joining us are some of the superstars, some of the very best who get to be us tonight. Uh thank you so much students for participating in the day of learning and tonight I have the pleasure of having the ASB president from Centennial a great golden hawk Sawyer Sakowitz and he is going to be the mayor tonight. And so we're going to have each student introduce themselves and then they're going to say one thing very efficiently that you learned or that was a surprise. So Mr. Sawyer, Mr. Mayor, would you start please? Of course. Uh, good evening everyone. My name is Sawyer Sackwitz. Uh, I'm ASB president of Centennial High School. I also participate in the mock trial program. Um, link crew, we the people. I'm our student section leader and I also play both varsity soccer and varsity baseball. And one thing that I learned today and one thing that I um enjoyed was going into the traffic control room um, and just seeing all the science behind that. That was very interesting to me. >> Thank you so much, Sawyer. Ward one, please. Hello, my name is Donovan Lden. I am ASB president at Bakersfield High School. Go Drillers. Um, I've been a four-year member of both student council and the Project Leadway engineering program at BHS. Um, I've been playing water polo for three years. Um, I have a 4.5 GPA. Um, and one very interesting thing I found here today is how how amazing people are here and how dedicated they are to their jobs. >> Thank you so much, Luke. Ward two, please. >> Hello, my name is Kaylee Dicki. I'm a senior at Bakersfield Christian High School. Um, I am involved in ASB. I am currently the president of the Turning Point USA chapter at BCHS. Um, something I learned today was just how much um, effort and work goes into a city. It was a lot more than I thought it was. And being able to um, see the logistics of everything was really awesome. Thank you, Kaylee. W three, please. Hello everyone. Um, my name is Quuevas. I'm representing Saur High School. Um, currently I'm in varsity cheer. I'm also an ASB. I'm senior class president. And something that I just learned today is that Bakersfield has a lot of cool artifacts and it just shows how everybody keeps it memorable and >> yeah. So just I learned that. >> Thank you. Council member Aria and Ward uh Vice Mayor, please. >> Uh my name is Edward Gomez and I'm a senior at South High School. Um, I'm part of the robotics team and I'm also the secretary and treasurer for multiple clubs. And something I found interesting is the amount of work and dedication that goes just to keep this uh, city running. And that really impresses me. >> Thank you, Vice Mayor Gomez. And ward five please. >> Four. >> Four. Sorry, can't count. [laughter] >> Good evening, everyone. My name is Sarah Kathleen Holland. I'm a senior at East High. I'm also their ASV president and I try to be as involved as I can, but if I listed everything, we'd be here for an hour. Um, [laughter] but I was also recognized as our Betty Blade this year, which was just that explains it basically. Um, I one of the things that very much surprised me today was just to see how long it actually took to have a woman or a person of color serve as mayor or a city council member. So, that's just a testament to how well Miss Go is doing in her position. Thank you, Betty Blade and Council Member Holland. W five, please. >> Good evening, everybody. My name is Brandon Altoano. I attend Foothhill High School. Um, I am ASB president, yearbook editor-inchief. I'm NASA president, my ecology club's historian. I'm in link crew and I'm in theater. Um, something that I found really interesting today is that that I learned about is that Kines served for six to eight years under the police. I found that really interesting. >> Thank you, Council Member Brandon. And lastly, ward six, please. >> Hello everyone. My name is Jillian Bean. I'm a senior at Liberty High School. I'm currently the ASB secretary. Um, I'm also a varsity swimmer for four years. And something I found really interesting today was all the wards in Bakersfield and all the work it takes to divide them up. >> Well, thank you so much, Council Member Bean. And we now have the pleasure of having Luke Tobias, who's a senior at Garcus, lead us in the invocation. You Oh, I forgot this whole group. We've got a lot more people. So, you see the mayor messes up. That just happens. And now, Madam City attorney, would you start, please? Good evening. My name is WinW Win. I attend Stockdale High School. I am the ASB president. I'm a part of the varsity tennis team, a part of the symphonic orchestra and the virtual enterprise program where I am the trade show um person in our company named inspire. And something I learned today was I guess before this experience I never really thought about law, but it's really opened my mind to new career pathways that I can definitely pursue. >> Oh, watch out madam city attorney there. Thank you, madam uh city attorney Win and now city manager. >> Good evening everyone. My name is Luke Tobias and I'm currently a senior at Garcus Memorial High School where I serve as the ASB co-president, co-president of the Helping Hands Club and a football and varsity baseball player on our varsity teams. Something that I found really interesting today was just how many people it takes to run this incredible city of Bakersfield. Thank you. Thank you very much, city manager Tobias. And now for public works. >> Good evening everyone. I'm Avia Messa and I'm a senior in Ridgeview High School and I'm the president of Kiwin's Club, president of American Cancer Society Club and the um co-president for um Spanish Honor Society Club and I have been in varsity track and field for four years and varsity um basketball also for four years. And something I found interesting today was how the ice center that the Bakersfield condors play in, how they keep ice um solid even when it's in warm temperatures. Thank you so much, Madame Director. And now on to Madame City Clerk. >> Hi, my name is Maria Arana. I'm representing West High School. I'm a senior. Um I'm in CSF, National Honor Societies, and I'm a secretary of the anatomy club. I'm in Link Crew and I'm president of the Interact Club, which is a community service club that I've been in since my sophomore year. Uh, something that I found interesting today were the minute books and I thought it was cool how they used to write in them and like the cursive and it looked like with the feather and ink and all that. Thank you so much, city clerk Arana. And don't you all feel like we haven't quite accomplished enough after hearing from them? Let's give them a hand. >> [applause] >> And now we have the pleasure of having Luke Tobias from Garcus Memorial High to lead us in the invocation. Following that, uh, our mayor Sawyer will be offering the pledge of allegiance. And so, would you all please stand? >> Good evening, everyone. First and foremost, I would like to thank Mayor Go and the rest of the city council for giving me the honor and the opportunity to stand before you all. My name is Luke Tobias and I am very honored to rep to be representing not just Garcus Memorial High School as the student body co-president, but I am also very grateful to be representing my generation. We are the generation, the next generation of leaders and innovators of change, and I could not be more honored to represent the youth of Bakersfield. I would now like to invite all to pray for God's guidance over this meeting. Before we begin this prayer, I would like to take a moment to pause and reflect on our gratitude that we in this great city of Bakersfield have have the privilege to meet as a unified community. Heavenly Father, we thank you for allowing us to come together. Thank you for the hardworking leaders, city employees, and residents who all work together for the greater good and betterment of this city. We pray that you may guide all of us here tonight in this meeting and that all decisions made will be reflections of your eternal goodness. We ask for your guidance over all of our community's elected officials, first responders, educators, and citizens. We pray that Bakersfield continues to be a city whose foundation is built upon the ideas of faith, family, and service to others. Lastly, we ask that you continue to inspire and guide our youth to lead and serve their community with kindness, courage, and integrity. We pray this prayer in your name. Amen. >> Amen. >> Thank you. >> Um, please stay standing for the pledge of allegiance. Salute. Pledge. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> Thank you. You may be seated. [snorts] >> Mr. Mayor, um we're going to go over a few guidelines um to help our meeting run smoothly. We request that you please turn off your phones and please be courteous in the use of cameras and videos. Um, for safety reasons and as a courtesy to others, no signs are allowed in the council chamber or lobby. Applause is allowed but during the presentation portion of the meeting or is allowed during the presentation portion of the meeting, but not during other portions of the meeting. Everyone in attendance is expected to adhere to the rules of decorum established by the resolution of the city council. Failure to abide by the city's rules of decorum, including any disruptive behavior that interferes with our ability to have an orderly and efficient meeting, prevents the city council from conducting the business of the city. >> Consider this. The first warning to everyone in attendance that conduct that disrupts this meeting may result in expulsion and/or the chambers being cleared. Um, examples of behavior that disrupts the meeting include repetitive statements, shouting, hate speech, interrupting staff or presenters during the meeting, speaking out of turn, and outburst from the audience. >> In keeping with the council's resolution, public statements are received at different times depending on the item. I will call on the city clerk to call for public statements. >> If you wish to make a public statement, please fill out a public speaker card and place it in the tray next to the speaker podium. We ask that you mark whether you are here to speak on an item listed on today's agenda or matter not on the agenda. Speakers who do not identify a specific agenda item will be presumed speakers for the non-aggenda public statements. If you're here to speak on an item not listed on the meeting agenda, you will be called first to speak. Statements are given a two-minute time limit per speaker and 20 minutes total for all non non-aggenda item public statements. If you're here to speak on an item listed on the agenda, the mayor will call um for you at the appropriate time. >> If public statements become disruptive and I have to clear the chambers to regain order of the meeting, you'll be called in one at a time to provide your public statement when your item is called. >> Madame Clerk, do we have any public speakers regarding items not listed on the agenda? >> Mayor Go, we've received five speaker cards regarding items not listed on tonight's agenda. The first public speaker is Max Hernandez. >> Just come to the mic and we would ask that you adjust the mic to your level so that we can hear you. Please introduce yourself. Welcome. >> Good evening, Mayor, council members, members of the community. My name is Max Hernandez and I'm the president of the Bakersville Police Officers Association. We represent the men and women who protect this city every single day and do it with often great personal sacrifice. It's unbelievable to me that and frankly unacceptable that this city will allow its contract with police officers to expire. Our officers continue to answer violent calls, respond faster than ever, and uphold safety to this community despite being out of contract. Let's be honest, the volume of 911 calls compared to the number of officers available is insane. Yet somehow, despite despite all that, response times are not just down, we're at an all-time low. That's not magic. That's dedication. That is perseverance. And that's also a sacrifice. The officers who love this city and go to the do the duty every day, even when the city doesn't give back. But in the coming in the coming months, each shift will stretch thinner and thinner as officers begin to leave for other departments. And that's not just to LA departments. That's not to Bay Area departments. That's right here in our backyard. The story that we are going to see is something that the county has already experienced. They didn't pay their deputies a fair compensation and many of them left. It took them nearly a decade to get back into where they are in a better position than we are. Their deputies today are getting paid more than a Bakersville city police officer. We warned the city repeatedly that officers are ready to leave for better pay and better working conditions. But we are told that officers are not going to pick up their families and leave. They are officers are now in the officers that have left and more in the middle of backgrounds are going to be prepared to leave with their families. Some of them are just going to change uniforms and go down the street. We keep hearing that the city needs revenue. We agree. But how do you attract businesses and new residents without paying for safety? >> Mr. Hernand, your time is up. Would you like to add a couple more sentences and then bring your comments to a close, please? >> Yes. I'd like to finish. The men and women sitting behind me in blue shirts are police officers. Not only police officers, but residents of this city. They love this city. Their families go to school here. Their spouses work here. And the one thing that they deserve is a better a better city, a safe city, as well as the rest of the residents in Bakersfield. Thank you. >> Thank you, Mr. Hernandez. Madam clerk, next speaker, please. >> Robert Tio. [clears throat] >> Mayor, council members. >> Welcome. Please introduce yourself. >> Uh my name is Rob Tyo. I'm the vice president of the Bakersville Police Officers Association. I'm here today to urge you to prioritize a contract for your police department, which has been expired now for 127 days. Our officers have worked tirelessly for years to make our city safer. They've brought down response times and reduced crime rates through sheer dedication and hard work. We do live here after all. But despite these achievements, we're losing good officers and at an alarming rate. Talented officers are jumping ship to nearby agencies offering much higher pay and better benefits. We simply aren't competitive and that gap is widening. We are no longer competing with large cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco. We're competing for talent in our own backyard and we're losing. This isn't just about our police. It's about our community's future. Businesses won't come to a city where public safety is compromised. Without enough officers to retain and attract, response times will climb, crime could rebound, and companies will look elsewhere. We've seen it happen in other towns, and we can't let it happen here. So, I implore you, put public safety first, set aside non-critical projects that can wait, and focus on funding a contract that values our officers. Behind me is a room full of dedicated individuals who sacrifice greatly to benefit their community. And behind me is a room full of heroes. Retain our heroes, secure our streets, and build a thriving, safe city for all. Thank you for your time and consideration. >> Thank you, Mr. Tyle. Madam Clerk, next speaker please. >> Josh Duttinger. [clears throat] >> Welcome. Please introduce yourself. >> Good evening. My name is Josh Dudinger. I'm one of the sergeants in charge of the traffic division. I'm also a a member of the Bakersfield Police Department Association. Uh during my career, I've seen officers come and go. Many have taken well-deserved retirements. Many have uh left due to injuries and some just decided to leave the profession altogether. Uh those are understandable circumstances and things that the city has no control over. But what I'm unfamiliar with is officers leaving to department, leaving the department to take jobs at other law enforcement agencies in Kern County. That used to be unheard of. BPD was the most prestigious law enforcement agency in the county. We were the ones stealing the good officers and deputies from neighboring agencies. But that has changed. More and more. We are losing officers to nearby agencies. There's no need to uproot their families and move away. Just put on a different uniform and drive a different direction to work. This is a problem the city has control over. These officers aren't leaving because they're tired of the job. They're leaving because they can provide better for their families by working elsewhere. Other cities have recognized the decreased job interest and found creative ways to attract qualified, competent, and already trained officers. A few examples of those incentives are higher wages, fully paid medical benefits, full offsets of retirement contributions, and the ability to roll over acred vacation and sick time. Those are big incentives. Our officers can't even get a contract or a cost of living increase. As a supervisor, I hear officers talking openly about how much better the pay and benefits are just down the road. And as much as I want to keep these officers here, it's become increasingly difficult for me to find reasons they should stay. Why would they when they can provide more for their families somewhere else? Please take a hard look at this issue and make the right decision to give our officers fair and competitive pay. Let's get Bakersfield back to being a place where officers want to stay, build their careers, and continue serving the community we all care so deeply about. Thank you for your time. >> Thank you, Mr. Duke. Next speaker, please. Nancy Dummanian. Welcome. Please introduce yourself. >> Good evening, honorable mayor, council members, and student visitors. My name is Nancy Demanian and I'm a trial attorney with over 30 years experience battling in and outside of the courtroom. I had the privilege of representing Captain Quincy Sloan in his lawsuit for race discrimination and retaliation against the city of Bakersfield and its fire department. Captain Sloan was the first black firefighter in the department's history to reach the number one position on the eligibility list to promote to battalion chieft. And for the first time ever in this department's history, the department skipped over the number one candidate and promoted others ranked below him. After a nine-week trial in Kern County down the street at the courthouse last week, a local jury of 12 people from the Bakersfield community returned a verdict for Captain Sloan for $700,000 against the city of Bakersfield. They found that the city failed to prevent race discrimination in the fire department. This verdict wasn't quick or casual. The jury heard every witness, every city employee who testified, reviewed every policy, and weighed every fact. And their message was very clear that Bakersfield can and must do better by the people who serve it. Captain Sloan gave 30 years to this community, served this city for 30 years, running into fires, mentoring young firefighters, wearing that uniform with pride. All he ever asked was to be judged by his fairness by with fairness and judged with respect and decency. The verdict is not just about money. It's about accountability. It's about integrity. And it's about respect. And the jury did its job. And now it's time for the city to do its job to honor that verdict, pay the judgment, and bring much needed closure to Captain Sloan. And instead of spending taxpayer dollars on an appeal that helps no one, money that can be better spent to support police and fire that are the true backbone of this community. Appealing only prolongs the harm and deepens the divide. And what will bring this city together is not another legal battle in the appellet courts. It's an act of leadership and decency that I'm calling upon you, imploring you to follow. On behalf of Captain Sloan and every firefighter who still believes in fairness and brotherhood, I urge you to accept the jury's decision and pay this judgment. Let Bakersfield stand for accountability and do what's right even when it's hard. Thank you so much for your time and your patience. >> Thank you. >> Thank you, Madame Clerk. Next speaker, please. >> Quincy Sloan. Welcome. Please introduce yourself. >> Good evening, honorable mayor, council members, and future leaders. My name is Quincy Sloan, and over for over 30 years, I've had the privilege of serving Bakersville community through the fire department, protecting lives, mentoring others others, and helping build the trust that makes our city strong. I had the honor of learning from great mentors like Terry Moffett, Tim Lynch, and also Mary Hill who modeled courage, compassion, and integrity under pressure. But along with those good years came challenges, including discriminatory practices and harassment that no dedicated public servant should ever face. My recent civil case was not only about me. It revealed the systematic issues that affect employee morale, recruitment, and public confidence in city leadership. Even through those difficult times, my commitment to this city has never wavered. I live here. I still believe in Bakersfield, and I feel feel that Bakersfield can lead by doing what's right, not just what when it's easy. I'm here tonight not in bitterness, but with hope that the city will take the moment to bring closure, to show accountability, and to move forward with integrity. True leadership isn't proven in comfort, but in crisis. And this council has the opportunity to model fairness, fiscal responsibility, and moral courage. Bakersville deserves leaders who respond to both emergencies ethically and with urgency, teamwork, and compassion our firefighters and first responders and police officers bring to emergency incidents every day and every night. I'd like to thank you all uh for your time and for your commitment to keeping integrity and fairness and let that be the heart of public service. Thank you. >> Thank you, Mr. Salon. Madame city clerk, are there any other speakers for this portion? >> Mayor Go, we have no further speakers on non-aggenda items. We will now move on to the public statements listed on the agenda. If you're here to speak on >> Mayor Go, we just received another speaker card from Joseph Davis. Welcome. >> Thank you, ma'am. My apologies for >> for being late. >> First and foremost, I want to thank the brave and brave and courageous men and women for being here today. I'm also thankful for the opportunity to be up here speaking as well. For those of you that don't know me, my name is Joseph Davis. Some of you know me as Officer Davis, badge 1393. I've been serving this community for approximately 10 years. Of those 10 years, I've served my community as a law enforcement officer for five five and a half years. As a law enforcement officer, our agency responds to approximately 200,000 calls for service a year. And I'm pretty sure I'm being modest with that amount of calls because it doesn't include the follow-up that needs to be done. If you're not aware of the types of calls that a lot of us have to go to, our typical day looks like burglaries vandalisms autothefts suicide, baby not breathing calls, domestic violence. And unfortunately, it does happen officer involved shootings or officer officer deaths. It is our job, our calling, our duty to respond and provide the best possible service and be as safe as possible. Furthermore, those that aren't on the streets or have never done the job, um, I'll bring you back to when we had the riots. We had bottles of urine thrown at us. We had some officers blown up with pyrochnics. There's there was a multitude of hate speech that was brought towards us. And it was very unfortunate. We've been stuck with needles. We've been spit at. We've been punched. We've um and the officers have there's been some officers that have laid their paid the ultimate sacrifice and laid their lives down for this city, for this community. and rest in peace, David Nelson and Django. Yet, we still come to work because we love what we do and we love protecting our community. If you'd oblige me, I'd like to direct your attention to February 14th, 2022. A call for service was placed and a subject advised they would stab the first person that they saw. I was one of those responding officers. On that day, our officers and supervisor did everything they could to obtain the necessary help for this individual. However, it was met with negative results. Subsequently, this armed subject charged at myself and several officers. Ultimately, I was forced to discharge my duty weapon. I bring this up because our lives were put on the line that day. The community's lives were put put on the line as well. My daughter almost didn't have a father that day. My mother almost didn't have a son. Some may say that we chose this job, but we know not everybody can do what we do day in and day out. I believe we are called upon to do this job. As I stand here speaking, I can tell you right now, every single person in this room and that's outside right now was called upon to selflessly serve this community and this city. And unfortunately, at this point, the city is failing us. In [snorts] closing, I leave I leave you with this. You all probably sleep fairly peacefully at night knowing violators are receiving the appropriate judgment or punishment or being taken to jail. You have these men and women in here and outside and this agency to thank for that. So ask yourselves, what are our lives actually worth? Because we put ourselves out there every single day. Thank you for your time. >> Thank you, Mr. Davis. >> And officers, thank you for your service. >> We will now move on to the public statements listed on on the agenda. If you're here to speak on items listed under consent calendar item 7, your time to speak is now. Again, each speaker is given a two-minute time limit, and each agenda item is limited to 20 minutes total. The consent calendar as a whole constitutes one agenda item. If you're here to speak on consent calendar hearing items A or 8A AB, report items 10A or new business items 12A, now is not the time to speak. You will be given an opportunity to speak when this item is called later in the meeting. >> Thank you. We'll just uh take a minute and let everybody clear the chambers. Officers, thank you for being here and thank you for your service. and staff. I think we have some other staff in the audience also. We're so grateful that we could have our students here today. Who is homework tonight? I think everybody does. So, I think we probably should have you also exit at this time. Thank you so much for spending the day with us. Wishing you all the best. I I know that uh it's just been such a pleasure to have you here. You all are outstanding and much success to all of you. Keep going and just like we talked about earlier, serve others. It's all about service. God bless you. Thank you. [applause] >> Thank you. We're actually taking a very quick recess, but don't leave, please. All right. >> [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] >> Let's get going again. [music] >> Well, I see we've lost our crowd. >> You might get demerits. Madam clerk, next item, please. >> Mayor Go, we've not received any agenda item public statements. >> Thank you. And now, next item, >> consent calendar items 7A through 7 I for approval. A staff memorandum was received regarding item 7G2 requesting separate consideration. An additional staff memorandum was received regarding item 7D2 transmitting correspondence received due to the voluminous additional attachments to that correspondence. The attachments will be available for review in the city clerk's office. Thank you, madame city clerk. I don't see any requests to pull other items other than the one that was identified or to recuse. So now, vice mayor >> motion to approve consent calendar. >> You have a motion. Please cast your votes. That would be with the exception of the one for separate consideration 7 G2. >> With the exception of 7D2. Thank you, Mayor. Motion is approved with council member Weer absent. >> Thank you. And now 7G2. Mr. Kle. >> Mayor and council. This item was placed on the agenda at the request of council members uh for consideration. Um I can just speak to a couple of the factual pieces that um the request was to consider uh spending council contingency funds in support of the food bank um for the community action partnership of Kern. >> Thank you. And council member Coleman, were you trying to sign in? >> No. >> Any request to speak? Council member Arius. >> Thank you, Mayor. Um, I think this is a really important conversation. Um, and grateful that it's on the agenda. I just wanted to share that, uh, CAPK's representatives were planning to be here tonight, but they ran into some issues over at their food distribution, but they are on their way. Is there a way for us to postpone this conversation to later? >> Yes, we can do that. Yes. So, we will just hold this item and we'll bring it back later. So now, madame clerk, next item, please. >> Consent calendar, public hearings, item 8A and 8B for approval. >> Consent calendar hearings. The purpose of this section is to vote on all of the items listed without consent calendar hearing in one sorry listed under the consent calendar hearing in one motion without further comment. If anyone would like to speak on any of the hearing items listed, the item must be removed from this portion of the agenda. If an item is removed, it will be placed at the end of the regular public hearings portion of this meeting. Madame clerk, would you like to read those items in detail, please? Or that is not necessary. You already announced it. Thank you. At this time, I'll open consent calendar public hearing items 8A through B. Is there anyone in the audience who would like to request that a hearing item be removed from the consent calendar? If so, please come forward. This isn't the time to take testimony, only to remove the matter from consent calendar hearings. Does any council member wish to remove an item? Seeing none, at this time, consent calendar public hearing items 8A through B is closed. Vice Mayor, >> a motion to approve consent calendar, consent calendar items 8A, 8B. 8B. >> Thank you. You have a motion. Please cast your votes. >> [snorts] >> Motion is approved with council member Weir absent. Thank you, madam clerk. Next item, please. >> Lower Kern River Habitat Restoration Project. Thank you, Mr. Click. >> Thank you, Mayor and Council. Uh we have a update uh report item for you tonight and so I'll call on our water director Chris Budac and uh those are in support with her to present that item to council. >> Thank you. Welcome. >> Good evening Mayor Go and council. Tonight I would like to provide information about planning efforts that are currently underway for various Kern River projects. In January 2024, river partners requested a meeting with the recreation and parks department and the water department to discuss the potential of habitat restoration [snorts] plan for the lower Kern River. River partners had received a grant from the wildlife conservation board to cover the cost of the planning phase. During this same time, water department had been consulting with Montrose environmental as the department wanted to update the 1985 Kern River maintenance EIR. By updating this EIR and obtaining the necessary regulatory permits, the department can assure the public that the Kern River water flood water can be managed in a manner that will continue to provide protection to people and property. In March of 2024, several meetings took place to discuss the development of these two parallel projects. During this coordination meetings, sorry, during the coordination meetings, the team was developed which included city staff, consultant expertise with a focus on the areas of maintenance needs and restoration potential. This team has been working together now for almost two years, meeting monthly to move projects forward with the planning effort. The main focus to date has been the Kern River habitat restoration project which is being facilitated by river partners. I would like to now invite Anna to the river partners to discuss the project and then more oh sorry I'm afraid to move forward. There we go. Sorry. And then one more. There we go. Um more and then I will follow up with providing more information about other efforts the team has been working on. Anna, welcome. Might want to raise the mic just a little bit more. >> How's that? >> Good. Okay. All right. Hello everyone. Um, thank you for the opportunity to be here today. I'm excited to share about the lower current river restoration project that we've been working on now for the past couple years. Uh, my name is Anna Tolken. I'm a restoration ecologist and project manager with River Partners. River Partners is a nonprofit organization. Um, our mission is to bring life back to river ecosystems and to create habitat to benefit uh not only the environment but also people. Um, our roots are in the central valley. We were founded by a couple of farmers and conservationists and we have a very unique approach to restoration. Uh, we do largescale flood plane and riparian restoration using modern farming practices and uh, cutting edge science to do this type of work at scale. uh for the last 27 years now uh we've restored over 20,000 acres across more than 20 different wersheds uh throughout the state. So on a local level um River Partners has been fortunate to work uh in the Bakersfield area for over 15 years now. Um, thanks to an amazing partnership with the Kernover Corridor Endowment, um, the Kernover Parkway Foundation, and many, many other groups in the in the community, um, we have now restored over 300 acres of riparian and upland habitat at PVP. Um, the benefits to wildlife and the community are numerous. Um, we've seen species come back here. Uh, we know that this is a really special place for the community to get outside and be able to recreate um, in nature just outside of the city. So in 2023 um as Chris mentioned, River Partners was awarded funding for uh from the Wildlife Conservation Board to do a series of restoration planning projects in the Sanwaqin Valley. Um and after talking with some of our partners here and with the city of Bakersfield, uh we realized that there is a great opportunity to expand upon the restoration work that we've done at PVP um and do this type of work along the Parkway. And so, as Chris mentioned, for the last two years now, we've been working closely with the city, with local organizations and universities, uh, community groups to develop a restoration plan for restoring over 600 acres along the Kern River Parkway. Uh, this is the project area. So, if you see on the map, it starts at around Manor Street upstream all the way down to the Stockdale Highway uh, near Parker Riverwalk. And this encompasses about an 8 mile reach of the river. So, in order to understand the reason for, you know, why restoration is important, it's helpful to think about the site history, um this is a series of images stitched together from 1937. And you can see that this area was once surrounded by an extensive riparian forest. It was a really dynamic floodplane habitat um that provided a lot of um uh habitat for wildlife. But in the last hundred years, California has gone through a lot of changes. Um you know across the state we have grown significantly both in our population and our economy. Our industries have grown as well and with that has come a lot of benefits. Um but also you know there has been cost to the natural environment. Um and so when we think about restoration in this area, um the goal is not to restore to historical conditions, which you know wouldn't be possible today, but to figure out what the opportunity is for, um restoring and reviving this healthy river ecosystem within the heart of Bakersfield. And so there are five main goals for the project. The first one is to establish self-sustaining riparian habitat over 600 acres of riparian lands along the Kern River. And what I mean by self-sustaining is that after an establishment period of irrigating the plants um about 3 to 5 years um we can turn off the irrigation and we no longer need to you know do any sort of maintenance um and kind of let mother nature take over from there. The second goal is to enhance wildlife use the riparian corridor. So from birds to bats to mammals um to lizards um creating habitat and riparian forest really benefits so many different species of wildlife that are native to this area. We also want to expand and create more pollinator habitat. Um we know pollinators are essential for our food production for crops, but they're also really important indicators of ecosystem health. We want to increase climate resiliency and create shaded refugeia. Uh I don't need to tell anyone here how hot it gets in Pakersfield. Um and we know that it's only going to get hotter. So being able to provide more forested canopy, more areas for the community to recreate outside when these temperatures get, you know, well into the triple digits um is a really important part of this project. And then finally, provide stewardship and recreational opportunities for the community. Um from tree planting and you know, volunteers helping out with the restoration um to providing a space for researchers and schools to come and have field trips um is a really important part of this uh project as well. So I wanted to share a little bit about what the restoration process looks like because as I mentioned you know River Partners has a unique way of doing this um on really large scales so on hundreds of acres at a time and the first step is site preparation. So that's involves removing non-native vegetation and weeds getting the area ready for planting. Uh we install irrigation which in this case would be a drip system. We label every plant uh where every plant will go with the specific species name. And then we have planting crews that come out and are able to plant, you know, thousands of trees in a single week. Um, and after the plants are planted and seeding's done, um, we enter what I mentioned is the establishment phase. So this 3 to 5 year period, um, where we irrigate the plants, we do weed control to make sure they aren't getting out competed. Um, and then after that, you know, the ecosystem is essentially self-sustaining and we're able to walk away. So here's just a couple of images showing you know the before and after um at one phase of restoration at PVP. The top image is uh you know representative of the site preparation phase. And then the bottom image is only one year after planting. So this was taken in 2020. The site looks a lot different now. The trees are actually quite large. Um but you can see here you know how how quickly this vegetation grows. And so finally, I just want to touch on some of the project outcomes um for this one. As I mentioned, this ties back to the goal of increasing climate resiliency and shade along the parkway. Um climate resiliency doesn't just mean shade. Um it means a lot of other things. Carbon sequestration, um bank stabilization, um soil health, all of these things, you know, are um aspects of riparian forests and the benefit of um restoration. promote bank stabilization and reduce erosion along the river. This has been a conversation uh with the city because we know that there are certain areas along the Kern River that are prone to erosion and areas that are close to utilities or infrastructure um that can be threatened if the river continues to erode. So, by planting species like willows and other riparian vegetation um it's able to actually stabilize the bank uh and and really hold that soil in place to reduce erosion. The third one is we want to create habitat for wildlife. As I've mentioned, um we've seen, you know, riparian songirds come back to PVP. We've seen uh coyotes and bobcats. Um we know kit fox are native to this area as well. So, this project would create habitat for all of these uh types of wildlife and more. Uh we want to improve the natural aesthetics and recreational opportunities for users of the parkway trail. We know that the parkway is, you know, a gem of Bakersfield. It is so widely used by so many people in the community and there's already been, you know, great work out there for planting trees and this this effort would expand upon upon those efforts and um really create, you know, an amazing place for the community to visit um to do wildlife viewing and to just uh enjoy some time out in nature. And then finally, we want to make sure that, you know, these restorations uh activities are compatible with the city's maintenance work. So as we you know get towards the end of this planning phase uh and and get towards you know submitting a final restoration plan we are looking towards implementation and we'll be working with the city. Um our team is well equipped to submit you know proposals for funding uh for implementation. Um so that is the the next phase as we move into that. Um this is my contact information. Thank you so much uh for letting me share about this project. Um if you have any questions or are interested in learning more uh please reach out. >> Thank you Miss Tken. Miss Budc. Um, currently there is an application for stat statutory exemption uh for restoration projects also known as SER uh for this habitat restoration project uh and it's being prepared and will be submitted to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife for approval. Uh the SER approval will actually exempt this project from SQA provisions and requirements. Um since the city owns the property uh it will be it will be the lead for the project. As part of those requirements, the council will need to take an action to adopt that the project fits into the SER guidelines. We are not doing that this evening, but we are going to come back in early 2026 and do an and and request that the council uh approve this action through a resolution. [clears throat] The project planning efforts uh included uh including permits and reporting should be complete for this project by March 2026. The team will then begin to focus uh their efforts on channel maintenance project planning. The team anticipates you utilizing the already developed studies and reports and plans from the restoration project to help support maintenance activities. Water department staff are aware that habitat restoration project is focused on riparian habitat establishment and channel maintenance uh it will require mitigation projects in order to obtain environmental approval. With that, we've actively evaluated concepts that could be developed to enhance habitat, mitigate the effects of maintenance. These contact concepts are compiled into the habitat enhancement plan. The habitat enhancement plan is not necessarily incorporating new concepts, but expanding existing concepts in new locations to enhance wildlife habitat and recreation for our residents. To expand on the inland lakes concept like Truxton Lakes and Park at Riverwalk, we've looked possibly incorporating these water features into Yokutz Park and the area between Coffee Road and Callaway Road, I'm sorry, Callaway Drive, also known as Bakersfield Educational Studies Area or Bessa. By having a turnout from the adj adjacent canal, we can provide a supplemental water supply to a potential lake. We can identify we can utilize the restoration project to in uh develop riperian habitat around the lake and we could also incorporate a dock or a bridge um and vegetation to be able to enhance the area. In addition, Bessa has many existing travel paths. So, incorporating a defined path for walking or a defined path for mountain bikes would then protect the riperian habitat outside of those pathways. Bessa could be an area that the depart that the department would consider when developing mitigation projects needed to offset maintenance activities in the river. Recreational enhancements could include better access to lakes for fishing by adding boardwalks or docks or building more sand volleyball courts and area and shade structures in areas that currently have significant open space and easy access for the community. In summary, as the habitat restoration project that Anna talked about and the channel maintenance project that we are that the water department is looking at moving forward with as we continue to develop and plan and design those areas, concepts from the habitat enhancement plan could be incorporated where reasonable and feasible. We know that the environmental and permitting process can take many years, but this team is motivated to get restoration and maintenance projects approved. So, we can apply for grants, obtain funding, and implement these projects and develop enhancement concepts. And that concludes our report. >> Thank you, Miss Bud. Mr. Click, would you like to add anything? >> No more further comments for me, mayor. Thank you. >> Thank you, Madam City Clerk. Do we have any public statements regarding 10A? No public speaker cards were received regarding item 10A. >> Thank you, Council Member Smith. >> Thank you, Mayor. [clears throat] >> Very exciting. Great stuff. Uh, everybody agrees like you mentioned that the Kern River Parkway and and what we've done so far is a gym and to continue to increase that uh access and and environmental control would be great. Um, 600 acres. How's that compared to the PVP? >> Yeah, that's a great question. Um, Panorama Vista Preserve is about 965 acres. Um, we've restored close to 300 acres at this point. >> And so, 600 acres, you talked about doing a lot at one time. Is that one project, six projects? How's that work out? Yeah, another good question. Um, that would likely be multiple phases. So, um, because it is such a large area and, you know, access is a little more difficult to certain parts of the parkway as well, um, we would likely approach this in a phased, uh, a phase pattern. Um, so we're working on identifying what would be a good phase one project currently. And these would the idea is all this restoration would be funded under grants or >> for the most part. Yes. Um and then potentially some mitigation as well. >> As we tal talked about if there's if there's areas that we can utilize um as mitigation for the channel maintenance. We we do know there's some type of compensatory mitigation or project mitigation as we move through that process. So we'll we'll coordinate and I think that's why we have a a great team is we have river partners who can really look at what's in front of us and then uh we know our needs and then we'll also include the regulatory agencies. So we'll we'll do our best to bring revenue into the project to help it move forward faster. >> So that was one of my other questions. The the enhancement projects are completely separate from the restoration project. That's correct. >> And the the environmental criteria is completely separate. So the restoration could go forward fairly rapidly, I think I'm hearing. >> Yeah. Because it has an exception to squa um as long as we and it's but it's limited to scope. That's why it's mostly uh riperian habitat plantings. Um whereas we start to get into some of these other things where we're doing more impacts to the environment with either pathways or potential more inland lakes that would require full uh squa analysis. >> So the completely two separate paths, >> correct? But the all the the same team will be working together to accomplish uh all three parallel. >> Yeah. Great. >> Yeah. >> Good stuff. Thank you very much. Look forward to it. >> Thank you, Council Member Smith. Council Member Core, Vice Mayor. >> Thank you, Mayor. This is exciting. I always say that we are a riverfront/waterfront city and um having lived in a waterfront city, it's exciting to know that we are trying to get closer to that as well. Um I look at cities like Minneapolis or Boise that um have activated their riverfronts and I just wanted to um one thank you for bringing this. the more kind of public spaces we have um especially that are um that give more access safe access to um our our waterfront is is extremely exciting for our community. Um and I look forward to more kind of coming out of this especially how we can activate that riverfront not only with like walking paths but also kind of like a um like a boardwalk or commercial um opportunities for folks to sit and recreate. Um, so just wanted to thank you for this and wanted to share my enthusiasm as well. >> Thank you. >> Thank you, Vice Mayor. Council member Coleman. >> Thank you, Mayor. Um, I I I like the project, but I I have a couple questions. Um, the actually more of a statement. The um the only the only uh comment I get from people is they want water in the river all the time. And none of this makes any sense if we're not going to be water in the river all the time. So what is the plan to get water in the river all the time? >> Um snow. >> Yeah. Well, >> thought Mr. Smith was going to answer the question because he reached for his microphone. >> Snow. [laughter] [panting] >> I think I'm going to turn that uh response over to Matt. um you know because as everybody is aware we are in the middle of a a lawsuit so it becomes a little bit more challenging. >> Thank you Chris. >> Good evening Mayor Go. Uh council members uh thank you as as I think you know my name is Matthew Colin. I'm the deputy city attorney assigned to the water department and you are correct uh council member Coleman. Uh the city has been involved since November 2022 uh in the bring back the current lawsuit and as you correctly point out the plaintiffs in that case are seeking to have more water in the river. It is my understanding that the council uh does not necessarily disagree with the plaintiffs there. What we are disagreeing with is how we get there. Um I think uh I think regardless of what happens in this case, I do think that there are many opportunities to have more water in the river. We have built great relationships with the uh uh water districts that surround this city. Um I think the days of things being uh perpetually contentious and uh always at each other's throats I might be too optimistic to say that it's always going to be behind us, right? When a drought comes, people will fight over water. But what I do want to tell you tonight is that I do think that there are going to be more opportunities to have more water in the river. We recently entered into a project with uh Rosel Rio Bravo Water Storage District with their Onyx Ranch water. It's bringing in up upwards of 14,000 acre feet of water a year. That's in a good water year. Okay. So, in water years that are perhaps 70% which are more average for this this part of the state, uh you're looking at um maybe another 7,000 acre feet of water that we could bring into the river. These are estimates, but there there are ways to bring in more water. Um it is also my understanding however that the restoration project that is being pro uh proposed here that once the the uh once that repairarian forest has been established once uh as Anna mentioned the 3 to 5 year uh establishment period that those uh ecosystems will be somewhat self- sustaining. Um again that is going to be subject to the the varities of nature and climate and whatnot. Um, but I do not think it is quite accurate to say that to restore these lands will require water in the river at all times and at maximum levels. And that's really about as much as I can say right now at the moment. >> Well, you that you bring up a point that Anna mentioned that there's an irrigation issue. They're going have to irrigate this plant these plantings. Where's that water going to come from? >> Sure. Thank you, Mr. Colin. >> Thank you. Um, council member uh Coleman. So, the plan is that as part of the implementation of the plantings, the um the project will also include the installation of the irrigation and also cover the cost for the water. So we'll be they're uh currently river partners is actively working with uh recreation and parks to find locations that we can connect to a water supply so that we can ensure that we have that that that supply is available for the 3 to 5 year establishment >> and what's the plan for flood years you know 2022 I believe you know that water rose so high that took away some pe people's property property along the river and or people well maybe it wasn't their property they were using it it's probably river bottom they were using but point is it took over a lot of people's properties along the river there what's the plan for your stuff when a high in a high water year >> so the areas that we're considering are actually would be outside the ordinary high water mark um there are areas like when we have high water years we'll get um water that comes into Yokutz Park in an area that is typically dry, we'll get some water. Um, also there's some inland streams and oxbow that happen as we get high water years. But as far as flooding property, um, this these the plants that um actually will be some plants will be planted within the uh primary, but it's usually willows which can be uh which can handle the the flood waters and then on the higher levels it would be the native of trees and plants. So, um, with the evaluation that River Partners is doing, they'll place the plants in the right spot so that they can uphold or handle water if they are on the embankments or within the flood plane. >> I I don't want you to think I don't appreciate the work that you're doing on this. It sound It's a lot of work and I do appreciate it. Um, I'm a little concerned about what the cost of it is and what the city's share of that cost is going to be. Have you do you have any idea what that is? >> Well, currently the cost to the city so far has just been staff time and I think uh our staff time has uh definitely been well worth the effort. Moving forward, our goal will be to uh obtain grants. Uh the great thing about working with River Partners is they have the experience to help us get many grants and that would be the approach that we would take. That's why we're phasing it. We we get a grant. We look at how much funding we can have. Then we build a a project that's within that um that grant amount. When it gets to the channel maintenance uh and the mitigation for the channel maintenance, that will have to come from uh the water department. It it will be a requirement through the process of being allowed to do maintenance within the river uh to have offset mitigation. But again working with river partners um they have developed a sediment study which we've really talked about where do we want the sediment to be so we can remove it where is it easier for us to remove it. So instead of doing it the ways we've always done it why don't we develop new ways and say we're going to encourage sediment to drop here because we can access easier shorter halls whatever that might be. So, I think that we're also looking at new and innovative ways to actually address the sediment that we have to deal with in the river where we may be able to do it uh at a at a more reasonable cost than we have in the past. >> Okay. And my last question has to do with uh the river at Coffee Road. >> Uh I I think in other places it's not as visible that it just It's unattractive that whole crossing there. Is any is there any plan to improve all that? Is that included in here or >> the area? Yes, actually the area on the um north side of the river um is an area that um they are very interested in doing some additional habitat uh uh riperian restoration in. um it's a little bit more difficult to get there, but as part of the uh Kern River Canal Backup Wear project, we actually installed an irrig uh conduit for a future irrigation line so we can take WA uh water from the south to the north, which we couldn't do before. So, not only does that uh new uh weir provide us the opportunity for a bike path and a multi-use path, it also gives us the ability to actually get water to the north side of the river for plantings and irrigation. >> All right. Just thank you for your hard work on this. I look forward to seeing what you can. Matt, go get us some water for the river. >> Thank you, Council Member Coleman. And thank you, Miss Budak. Is there anything further? If not, um, Vice Mayor, receive and file. Oh, I'm sorry, Council Member Smith. >> Thank you. I I have to take exception to the statement that none of this makes any sense without water in the river all the time, which I think was responded to. But the Kern [clears throat] River Parkway as is a great amenity for the city of Bakersville. When there's no water in the river, I'm down it every day. Hundreds of people walking, biking, uh skateboarding, whatever. And it is a great amenity for the city. And with or without water will continue to be a great amenity for the city. With more trees, it will be a lot better. With more water and water all the time, it will be perfect, but uh I don't want to say that it's not great just because it's not perfect. Thank you. >> Thank you, Council Member Coleman. No, my comments were going to be antagonistic, so I'll re I'll withdraw my uh >> That's always a good idea. Not. Yes, we'll all work together. Vice Mayor, receive and file. >> Motion to receive and file. >> You have a motion. Please cast your votes. Motion is approved with Council Member Weir absent. Thank you. And now, Madame Clerk, next item, please. On 10B, >> reports item 10B, habitat conservation plan. >> City Manager Kle, >> Mayor and Council, we're pleased [clears throat] to provide an update on our habitat conservation plan. As a reminder, this is one of the priorities this year of the city council. I'll turn it over to Phil Burns. >> Mr. Burns. >> Good evening, uh, honorable mayor, council members. Uh actually city manager uh Kle took most of my update. So uh with that um really what we have is an update and also the associative contract or agreement to move this this uh new new approach forward. Uh this will be substantially different from the proposal you saw back in 2023. The plan will focus on our urban kitfox population instead of buying outside habitat land. Tonight with me is uh uh Brad Norton, director of conservation planning with ICF. Uh Mr. Norton has a uh PowerPoint to to uh provide some background on our approach and moving forward. Um with that, Mr. Norton. >> Welcome, Mr. Norton. >> Thank you. Thank you very much for having me. I'm um pleased to say that we have envisioned a new future for habitat conservation planning within the city and um Phil has uh Mr. Burns has really helped lead this effort in discussions with Fish Wildlife Service and the Department of Fish and Game. Um so I'll give a quick overview of um the background of the plan, our new approach and some insights in terms of schedule and then answer any questions you might have. So the Metro Bakersfield HCP, as you're all aware, was uh permitted in 1994. Uh it expired in 2024, so uh last year. Um we had been working with the city and fish and wildlife service and the county and CDFW over 10 years to develop the conservation plan. It stalled in 2023 and uh was deemed basically too expensive, right? you had directed us a couple years ago to explore additional alternatives, ways to bring down the cost and uh seek, you know, seek alternatives. So, um Mr. Burns met with Fish and Wildlife Service and CDFW. I met with them as well. We talked through alternatives. Um, and one of the key things that came forward in this process was uh their uh concern about the local urban kitfox population and knowing that the population was robust, but they really viewed it as a local population in of itself. And so they they uh suggested this idea of an urban conservation plan focusing on ways to protect and enhance the existing population that's here. So um I worked with Mr. Burns to rescope our effort and look what would determine what would be needed to update the plan uh given this urban nature of this plan and also to revise the key elements of the plan. So there's a picture of us doing a site visit looking at a local sump with uh Craig Bailey as well from CDFW. So the new approach is this urban conservation strategy focused on the preservation of Kitfox uh and the Kitfox population here within the city. Uh the key elements of the conservation plan uh are to continue to have covered activities that the city needs. So, your urbanization, your future expansion, uh your uh some of your water maintenance activities, um some other other city departments that need to uh occasionally affect densit in them, we would be able to cover that under this plan. So the covered activities would be similar to the previous plan, but um you know we would continue to make sure that that that it would provide value to uh the city and the development community and um and the conservation community as well. Um it would address three species covered species, the kitfox, burrowing owl and Bakersfield cactus. Uh we've also heard that some uh buring owl is um has been uh cover is is required by required a permit for the through this uh state department of fish and wildlife as well. And so any development projects that could affect marine owl need to make sure that species is covered. And then acresfield cactus is another species that we're looking at covering as well. So, we're focused on this update to make sure that all the avoidance minimization measures are implementable, that um they really aren't a heavy lift for the developers, but that they also um you know serve to meet the biological goals and objectives that will be written into the plan. Uh our funding approach uh will be revised and revisited. Um we are working with um the economic and planning systems to revisit the costs associated with it. We'll be refining the conservation strategy and therefore also the cost. So um some more work to come and I have addition a little bit more information on that on the next slide. uh we'd be seeking a permit term of 30 years and then this uh HCP would cover all the other uh required elements that are in uh the federal and state u permit application. With respect to the conservation plan itself, uh it we built on the plan that was uh previously prepared. There's a den protection program. There's a disease and treatment protection uh program. There's environmental education and outreach. Uh the two new components are an urban design and management guidelines. So, how do kitfox, if they're using these sumps and they're using parks, how do they escape those areas? How do they move between neighborhoods? It could be as simple as having design guidelines to open up some of those brick walls that tend to be put around those sumps and make sure that they're passageways for the kit box. Uh and then we'd have an urban acquisition and guidelines uh program as well where you know are there uh other types of refugeia that we can enhance or build within the city. Um I was encouraged to hear about um the other work in the parkway and you know maybe there's some great u partnerships that we could seek there. So the conservation strategy will leverage the expertise of the endangered species recovery program. So they've been working on collecting kitfox data in the city for years and supporting some of the uh understandings of the kitfox populations here locally. So we have a subcontract with them to help uh evaluate the design and management guidelines. Um we will focus on protecting successful denning areas so they have good information on where these dens occur and how they're likely to continue to occur. And then uh we'll also continue to have a monitoring and response program and also look for ways to enhance movement and connectivity. I alluded to some of those techniques. The cost components of the program are related [clears throat] to the Kitfox program itself. So, making sure that there's a biologist within the city. Uh that there's a part-time education program staff, um a research and disease funding and the DEN program funding and then these other guidelines. Uh there's also the administrative support. We've scaled back this from the previous plan to have um still some staff involvement and oversight but kind of at a reduced level. And then uh there is a land component. It's just much it's scaled back from the previous right. We're not seeking to acquire land further out in the county. We're looking at are there ways to partner with existing land owners, existing developers to uh again secure these small-cale localized refugeia, help with connectivity, um you know, possibly put easements on uh temporary or permanent easements on some conservation lands. Uh and then the funding side, uh we really have yet to update the cost model. So, you know, we heard loud and clear two years ago that it had to be less than 11,000 per acre. We definitely will be below that. Um I don't have a number for you yet because we need to really look at what are what are these other components? Uh how much do they cost? But we are the costs are moving in I think the right direction downward for for um for adoption. I hope um we are looking at phased payments like we heard also from discussions with some of you that um you know having to pay the kitfox fee you know right at uh development approval or grading approvals is a little bit too early and so is there a way to split that up and uh have you know a portion at grading and a portion at sale. So, we're looking at splitting some of those uh costs and how that how those costs will be uh paid for as well. And then there will be um as as is required the long-term funding asurances. So, there is uh some endowment funding that will be covered as part of this fee as well. So, our proposed schedule is to uh work closely with staff uh and begin refining some of the urban components that we're thinking about uh at the end of this year and into the first quarter of next year. Uh we'd be working with the local species experts that I mentioned, endangered species recovery program. uh we would start updating the funding and financial analysis so that we could have an administrative draft of the HCP in uh early 2026. Uh with the goal of going public in uh 2026. Uh we also uh there's the this is a federal and state action and a local action and so it does require compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act and the National Environmental Policy Act. So it will need SQA and NEPA compliance. That document has largely been written but will be updated to uh reflect the revised conservation program. So then the goal would be to get all that out into the public in 2026 uh to be able to finalize the HCP in 2027 and wrap up the NEPA sequence in 2027 and get those permit decisions in 2027. >> Um >> thank you Mr. Norton. Mr. Burns, do you have anything further to add before we go to the public? >> No, no further. >> Thank you, Madam City Clerk. Do we have any requests from the public for 10B? >> Mayor, we've received one speaker card from Dave Demahowski. >> Welcome. >> Good evening, Mayor and Council members uh and staff. Dave Demahowski representing the Home Builders Association of Kern County. Uh we're obviously very interested in this uh process and look forward to the the public portion of the public input portion of the process. Uh uh we I've worked with uh uh ICF predecessor Jones and Stokes over the years and they go back to the very early days of SQA and were considered the Cadillac of California environmental firms. I think you have a good good uh support team there. Uh, one of the biggest concerns our industry has obviously is cost. That was our biggest objection to the last goround on the HCP. Also, we thought there were a lot of unfunded state mandates built into that draft that were inappropriate under the scope of the California Environmental uh California Endangered Species Act. So, we'll look forward to working with you and uh seeing how the process goes. Uh I did want to thank staff on an earlier item. Uh they gave us briefings on uh your uh building code update and also the park fee uh update which you acted on earlier. So again uh look forward to working with your staff and your consultant on this process. Thank you. >> Thank you Mr. >> Madam clerk. Would you like to announce the next speaker please? Tanbeir bra. >> Good evening respected councils, board of city. Uh my name is Tanir Tanbir Singh Brad and uh first of all I would like to say that like my concern which is maybe about the court and maybe about law enforcement and I know you do not overseas to them and uh that's why in the very beginning I would like to make you sure about that my concern is about their services which provided by >> Mr. are we are having comments right now on this item which is 10B. Are your comments about this conservation plan? >> No, but the >> and your time uh to speak is not now. So, I'm going to ask you to sit down. There's another time which was earlier in the meeting for public comments. We're focused right now on item 10B related to the habitat conservation plan. Would you please sit down? >> Okay. >> Thank you. You may come back at another time to offer your comments, but this is focused on a very specific topic. Thank you sir. Madame Clerk, are there any other speakers related to 10B? >> Mayor Go, that was the only speaker card. >> Thank you. And now, council, do we have any comments about this section 10B? Council member Arius. >> Thank you, Mayor. Um, one, just thank you to staff. It sounds like we've got the right folks now working on this plan. Um, this is now I think the depends on how you cut it. Uh, but it's been multiple iterations of of this very fight. And, um, I think I need not share how important it is that we get this document passed. um some way, shape, or form, there are projects in Ward One that are waiting to be built as soon as we get this this plan passed. And so, um I think I just want to utilize my time to underscore the urgency. Um I I'll admit there's some level of frustration that it's going to take us potentially another year and a half to two years to get this thing done. Um so I'm not deep in the weeds. Um, but would just uh emphasize the need to move as quickly as we can and uh bring this back before the council. Thank you. >> Thank you, Council Member Arias, Vice Mayor. Thank you, Mayor. uh echoing council member Audius's points as well and uh just having had an um a better understanding of how helpful and um efficient an HCP uh makes development within the city of Bakersfield uh within the county um but particularly within southwest southeast Bakersfield and knowing that um we've potentially lost projects without having an HCP. Um, so wanted to underscore the same urgency um and hoping that we build in the priorities of our local development community while also balancing um the reality that Bakersfield is a place to build and it's a place that's growing and it's attractive to those who are both within the city of Bakersfield and outside and how we can um balance the the two priorities there. Um, so yeah, definitely wanted to underscore the same and and really get an understanding of um I know the last time that we've had conversations about the HCP, there was um there was feedback provided to us that um there be more opportunities for community meetings, input from local developers, as well as um those who may be seeking to build in the city of Bakersfield. field. So, I just wanted to add that and emphasize kind of bringing community voices into the design process. Thank you. >> Receive file. >> Uh there are no other requests to speak. Vice Mayor, receive file, please. >> Did you want to Sorry. >> Just a clarification that there is an action item included in this um item as well. >> Oh, there is. It says receive and file. Receive and file. Report and approval of the agreement. Thank you. A motion to receive and file report and approval of the agreement. You have a motion. Please cast your votes. >> Motion is approved with council member Weir absent. Thank you. And I see that Mr. Lowry has arrived after a hard day of work. I can tell you've been outside. So we'll go back now to item 7G2. And madame clerk, would you please read that item? >> Appropriation and transfer $25,000 from council cons contingency funds to CAPK food bank to help meet the funding gap needed for the community action partnership of Kern's uh CAPK Food Bank. >> Thank you, Council Member Arius. >> Thank you. >> Thank you, Mayor. Um, and I appreciate staff uh bringing this um and putting this on tonight's agenda. I think it is timely given the fact that SNAP benefits um are no longer being processed and put onto EBT cards as of November 1st uh which was last Saturday. Um and we are now um into day five. Um and my understanding is that as of uh Monday uh Mr. Lowry and the team at CAPK alongside um uh many volunteers um have come together to uh put together a game plan of um large-scale food distributions both in Bakersfield and throughout the entire county of Kerna specifically to address the need of those individuals who traditionally would utilize that EBD card at a grocery store uh to purchase um groceries for themselves and for the for their families. And so given the nature of the challenges regarding the government shutdown um and from my perspective um the lack of hope um that there will be some sort of conclusion in Washington DC in the near future. I thought it was timely uh for us to invite Mr. Lowry who leads the food bank uh to come and provide a brief overview of the challenges um that we're facing as a community um and speak to the need as well as uh CAPK's collective response. So I would love to invite uh Mr. Lowry to give us that overview. >> Mr. Lowry. >> Uh good evening council members, Mayo, Vice Mayor Carr. Um, I apologize for uh being dirty. >> You've been working. >> Uh, yeah. Anyway, um so just over a couple of weeks ago, uh when the prospect of the government shutdown having a very acute on chronic impact on our most vulnerable neighbors, um I I sought to create a task force of public and private uh individuals and stakeholders to um come alongside the work that we do at the food bank on a regular basis to see about ways that we can surge additional resources um in support of our uh food insecure neighbors here in Bakersfield and around the county. Uh so to that end, we convened our first task force meeting of which um I'm I'm proud to say that several of um the council are a part of and um uh we started to strategize on how to most effectively target um food resources to individuals that were specifically going to be impacted by the government shutdown. So there's really two dimensions to that. The first one is federal workers. Uh so federal workers who have now been working uh mandatory working or on furlow uh for well over a month now without a paycheck. Uh we have created a choice pantry shopping uh opportunity for them at the food bank to be able to pick up uh groceries for them and their family. Um we've had uh dozens and dozens of federal workers already take advantage of that already. We've expanded hours at the food bank to include weekend times to be able to make it more effective because obviously those are working people who um need opportunity to have access at different times. And so that's one of the things that we've done and um it's it's worked really well and we've gotten a good response from the federal workers uh for that. Secondly, um the government shutdown obviously has a direct impact on folks who receive the CalFresh benefit. Um here in Curtain, we know that there's over 110,000 families um that rely on Calresh benefits. Now, to put that in perspective, if the average family size in Kern County is 3.15, that means that um with simple math, uh we know that over 330,000 of our Kern County neighbors rely on this benefit. Almost one in three of our of our neighbors. That's a staggering number. And to know that that that is a for people that do this work in food insecurity, SNAP and CalFresh is the most effective way to fight hunger. Um because for every one meal that we provide at the food bank, SNAP and CalFresh provides nine nine meals for every one that we provide pro provide at the food bank. The food bank is often referred to as the safety net. Uh meaning that there's some folks who are on Calresh who have a struggle to make ends meet even with that benefit. And so we we on a monthly basis, month over month, support 50,000 Kern County families on a monthly basis um at the food bank, but 110,000 are on on CalFresh or EBT. What that means is that CalFresh helps families who are struggling with food insecurity. It helps them with making those ends meet without needing the the safety net of the food bank. And now um that benefit has has um has lapsed. And so to that end, we've surged resources that we have um at the food bank to create special targeted distributions for uh people that are on that that have that benefit. Uh so we have at the fairgrounds on Monday, uh we started that and have served uh almost 200 families on each day since then. So Monday, uh, Tuesday, and then today on Wednesday, I just came from there. So, and then on Tuesday, we were in Rididgerest. Uh, today we were in Deleno, and tomorrow, of course, we'll be in Bakersfield again, and then in um in Taft tomorrow. So, and Mojave on Friday. So, we're we're looking to make a it's a bold move. Uh when we learned that the governor had deployed the National Guard and the Cal volunteers, we said that we would love to have them in our community and they've been a tremendous asset in our community to help us do this work. We couldn't do this work without them. Um it is a big work. There's a lot of things happening and a lot of families that are are being supported by this work and um I'm happy to take any questions. >> Fantastic. Thank Thank you, Mr. Lowry for your for your leadership and thank you for convening that task force and thank you to several of my colleagues including uh Council Member Gonzalez, the mayor, and Vice Mayor Core for being on those calls to help out as well. Um you gave us the 110,000 number um that would be impacted for the county. Do you have the number of those who would be impacted specifically for the city of Bakersfield? Yeah. So, we received direct data from DHS uh here from the county that tells us that here in Metro Bakersfield that there are between 68 and 70,000 cases just in Metro Bakersfield. And of those 68 to 70,000 cases, over 20,000 of them are simply in the 93307 area code. >> Great. Thank you for for sharing that. Um clearly this is something that's very important for the entire city but specifically for residents in the 93307 of which I represent uh the majority. Um c can you tell me about how u capk is surging their um uh you know available commodities at the food bank to meet the need in today's moment and what does that do for the long-term availability of food at the food bank? >> Yeah. So, uh, folks that are able to receive this food benefit are receiving, uh, fresh produce that's donated by, uh, our local farmers as well as purchased produce. We get access to where we have to pay for freight to get it delivered, but but it's otherwise donated. So, copious amounts of, uh, produce today that were um, strawberries and cabbage and potatoes and lemons and oranges. I mean, really, really, really good stuff. Um, in addition to that, uh, frozen protein and then also shelf stable items. Uh, some of the shelf stable items and frozen proteins come from a USDA program that we have called TFAP. Uh, and so it's essentially December's TFAP that would be normally supporting the 50,000 families that we serve on a on a monthly basis. We move that that menu forward into to be able to meet this moment quickly in November. And then our plan is to utilize some funding that we have uh some financial resources that we have on hand to be able to make purchases currently right now uh so that we can backfill what we had to put forward from December. And so that's what we're doing with the idea and the hope that the shutdown ends sometime very soon um because we don't have unending financial resources to continue to do that that strategy. And if it doesn't and continues to persist beyond the next three weeks, what does that do? >> Yeah. So what it'll it'll mean that we'll have to make a serious pivot in our strategy. We won't be able to continue these largecale distributions that we're making available. Those will not be able to continue. Um you know the reality is as I mentioned for every meal we're able to provide, SNAP provides nine. And so, um, a family of four is typically able to utilize that benefit at the amount of maybe $350 for a family of four. And you know, all the stuff that I mentioned to you, the today was a frozen bag of of chicken, bag of frozen chicken, all the produce, the shelf stable items, when you add that all up retail-wise, it probably ends up being about a $100 value. And and we're working really hard to be able to provide that in this moment. um but it is not equal to what is typically what families are um accustomed to with that benefit. And so um when you remove even that it puts them in an even further negative position um a more critical position. And so the funding that we're using um to be able to backfill is funding that we were budgeting for use from now through April. It's funding that comes from the state partially and also some private funding that we have. and it was budgeted for purchasing uh for the rest of the our kind of fiscal year which goes through April. >> Got it. And my last question for you is tonight um we are considering at least $25,000 from our contingency funds as a council to be dedicated uh to backfill some of um those resources at the food bank. Um, can you give us a glimpse into what that would cover um and how much just generally speaking it cost to purchase some of these food commodities? >> Well, let me just uh kind of address that pretty directly and and specifically. Um, any donation that comes or any allocation that comes from from this would be used 100% for food cost. Uh, we would simply be passing it through to purchase food. that's our most urgent need right now. Um, not one dollar of it would would uh be taken for any kind of administrative cost. Um, and in terms of what we would be able to do and and and let me take back a step back and say that uh this project that we're doing, the the direct and indirect expenses that we are taking on to do this additional work um far exceeds $25,000. what our organization itself is um you know putting into this effort. Um we're not looking to recoup those those costs um in this. We're just looking to provide more food to more of our neighbors who are in need right now. And and so that's what um we would do with it. Uh 25,000 directly um would be the equivalent of maybe a truckload of um beans, maybe rice, those types of of really basic uh things like that. uh it would not provide enough for other staple items like the I mentioned the frozen chicken or or uh you know I often use peanut butter as an example. A truckload of peanut butter costs right now about $90,000 for a truckload of peanut butter. So just to kind of give you relative terms. >> Great. Thank you so much. Um and a question for our city manager. Uh for the council contingency fund, just for the benefit of the public, what is the available balance of that fund? It is budgeted at $200,000 [clears throat] for this current fiscal year. >> Got it. >> I'll just close by saying that I think that a line item like this is built for moments like these. Um we're living in frankly unprecedented times. I believe that we just um passed the record for the longest shutdown um in the US history. Um and the need is now. Um uh it's my understanding that the fairgrounds was completely wrapped around with cars waiting to receive the food commodities that were being provided the past few days. And so I would like to make a motion tonight that we appropriate and transfer uh $100,000 from our cons council contingency fund to the capk food bank. Thank you. >> Thank you council member Arius. Council member Basher, >> Mr. Lowry. Um, you see [clears throat] this this is a need right now. This is a you guys need this in order to continue to to function the way that you guys are rocking and rolling right now. >> Yeah. Yes. Yes. As I mentioned, uh, you know, whether the shutdown continues or not, there's going to be cascading impacts of what we're doing currently that will have, you know, uh, ramifications down the line for sure. And so, these types of funds will enable us to um, both meet the current need, but also be able to continue to serve uh, those 50,000 families that we serve on a monthly basis as well. >> And is there a contingency for individuals going and getting food? Is it open to anyone? >> Uh, >> if someone comes and lines up, how do they get how do they get food? >> So, we have various different ways for that to happen on a monthly basis. We operate more than 200 distribution sites around the county. Um, and so people are there's there's no threshold for people that are in need of food to be able to have access to it. Now, these particular distributions that are happening at the fairgrounds, we are focusing and targeting those resources to those families that have lost the CalFresh EBT benefit. Um, but any anybody who doesn't who isn't enrolled in that program on literally a daily basis, there are distributions that happen every day around the county. >> Okay. Thank you, >> Council Member Gonzalez. >> Thank you, Mayor. Um, thank you so much, Mr. Larry, for your work and for your leadership and for the work of CAPK and all of the folks who are on the front lines every single day to help our community members and our constituents who are desperately in need. I just want to see if I can drill down and get a sense of what the scope of the issue is. Um, I heard somewhere that almost half a billion dollars worth of uh SNAP funding rolls into Kern County annually. Well, what I know from our friends at DHS and what they've shared is that the SNAP benefit equals around $40 million a month. >> Okay. $480 million um annually. That's that's that is eyeopening. Um and so you on a regular basis uh serve 50,000 families a month. uh now you're seeing an increased load as a result result of the shutdown and you are using an allocation of funding or resources for December pushing that forward to November the TFAP fund that's the emergency food assistance program funding uh in order to meet the demand today. Is that right? >> Yeah. So the TFAP are actually it's not a fund it's uh direct resources. So, >> okay. >> Uh, at the food bank, we have essentially about a month and a half to two months supply of of that food on hand, uh, cuz we're constantly getting loads in and things like that. So, we have December's uh, TFAB resources already on hand and that's what we move forward to serve in. >> You have that allocation. So then when December comes, because December is just a few weeks away, when December comes, then how do you then meet the need for those 50,000 families that you normally serve? >> Yeah. So we've been active over the last week and in anticipation of everything that we're sending out, we've been actively uh purchasing, making large purchases to backfill what we've put out. So, for example, we're using uh today rice was one of the things that we gave out today, pallets of of rice. And so, we use funding to purchase rice to be able to backfill that because we're not getting more of that from TFAB. We're using it. And so, we're using uh financial resources to to purchase to backfill so that when the shutdown is over and we go back to normal operations, it will have as few uh you know, of those ramifications as as possible. And where are those financial resources coming from? >> Yeah. So part of it is private funding that we have and then part of it is public funding from the CALFU program which is a state a state program. >> Okay. Um yeah, I'll I'll support the the motion that uh council member Audius has made today. Um just given the scope of the the need and um the impact that many many families are feeling right now. on. Again, I just want to leave by leave my comments by commending you and your team for all the work. Thank you, >> Vice Mayor. >> Hi, Kelly. Thank you for being here after a very, very long day. Um, you shouldn't have to be here. You should be sleeping, resting, and I know you have long weeks ahead. Um, you know, today is actually guru and in the sick faith. Um, that is the day, um, it's the birth of our founder, Gurunanik. and Gurunanic preached free langod which is a meal for all and if you've ever visited gdara which I know some of my friends here have we all sit on the floor together which means that everyone is equal no one is higher or lower than anyone else and we break bread every single day and there is a meal available for every single person that walks through the doors of a gdara and that is true today it's true yesterday it's true tomorrow so um I've shared it online but I want to you know share to everyone everyone that um the gard here in Bakersfield, any gard, any sick place of worship will welcome you um and the doors are open to you uh to have a hot meal all day, any time of the day. Um and I in kind of our sick faith traditions and principles, providing a meal to our neighbors is like the bare minimum. And so I want to thank you um because for us, this is where our civa or our service to one another starts and ends. It's making sure that our neighbors are fed and can have a meal that sustains them through the day, through the week, through the month, through the year. So, just really wanted to thank you um so very much for bringing folks in our community together so quickly. And um you know I think this is the least we can do as people who are in who who have the honor and the privilege of being in a in a place of um having some power over where we can um help and lend some help for our constituents, our residents, our neighbors. And I implore and encourage all elected officials that serve Kern County, as you shared, and as Council Member Gonzalez underlined, the amount of SNAP benefits that come into Kern County, um that is an astronomical number, and that means that families are having to sit down and think about where their next meal is coming from on a daily basis, on a weekly basis. Um, so I, um, you know, I just wanted to join my colleagues in supporting the motion and wanted to thank you, your team, and and the volunteers that are out there and I look forward to being out there with you all, too. Thank you. Thank you. Other council members wishing to speak. I don't see any requests, so you have a motion. Please cast your votes. Motion is approved. >> Thank you, Mr. >> With Council Member Weir absent and Council Member Comman voting no. >> Thank you, Mr. Larry. Thank you so much. I've watched you strategically navigate this very challenging time and your leadership really has been incredible. having to deal with the state, with the National Guard, with Cal volunteers, having to deal with uh your staff on a very massive unexpected project, having to deal with the public and with our businesses who have contributed. So, thank you very much for your leadership. I also want to thank the public. I've seen how our private businesses have stepped up during this moment. Uh many different agencies coming together, working together. I've seen our elected officials from the state in a bipartisan effort work together to uh this end. So to all of you, volunteers also for distribution are still needed. Is that correct, Mr. Larry? >> Yes, absolutely. And so our website capk.org/shutdddown is the easiest way for folks to get involved and and help out whether it's through food donation, uh other donation or volunteering. >> Thank you. So this is not just a government effort. we would just call out to the community as appropriate for uh others to participate as you're able. Thank you very much. >> And I'll just say thank you on behalf of the um families that I see every single day coming through that line uh who aren't able to be here tonight. On behalf of them, thank you very much. >> Thank you, Madam Clerk. Next item, please. New business item 12A 2026 regular city council meetings department budget presentations and hearings calendar. >> Mr. Click, >> just a quick few comments. [clears throat] This calendar reflects a couple of uh changes compared to this year where we looked closely at our um some of our summertime schedule and our fall schedule where we have League of Cities. made a couple of adjustments there to make sure we don't have those conflicts, but otherwise looks very similar to prior years. And um we will be bringing forward the council committee calendar soon as well. Uh but uh we we're actually looking at some of the impacts of a new state law um that will impact some of how our c our public meetings are conducted. We wanted to make sure we have that all tied up before we give you your committee calendar, but this is your regular council meeting calendar for next year. Thank you, Vice Mayor. Or anyone who wishes to comment. Is there anyone who is recommending a change due to a conflict? Council member Basher. No, you're People are just touching their screens. So I see no request to speak. Vice Mayor, I'm assuming that the schedule works for everyone. Vice Mayor. >> Yeah. Motion to adopt the resolution. >> You have motion. Please cast your votes. Motion is approved with council member Weir absent. Thank you. And now, next item, please. >> Council and Mayor statements. Council member Smith. Thank you, Mayor. I [clears throat] just have a referral for a traffic safety resolution that uh I would propose come to council. Uh, as we continue to have high fatality rates in the city of Bakersville, I think that it would be good for the council to adopt uh best practices for safety. uh there are some variations within the national standards and I think that it would be wise for our council to pick where we want those variations to land. So on a preferred lane width uh 10 foot would be a preferred lane width. Uh and also on we build arterial streets that in 20 or 30 years may have the 40,000 uh traffic volumes but in the first 15 20 30 years uh we're showing 10,000 15,000 and that encourages people to drive more reckless. So, we want to match the capacity with the number of lanes and so if staff could work on that, it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you. >> Thank you, Council Member Gonzalez. >> Thank you, mayor. Uh just a few uh days ago, uh the community gathered together uh on 19th and K Street to open the historic Walworth building uh after a complete renovation. T uh thousands of people uh were in attendance. It was uh an incredible day and uh the Woolworth building is back. The lunch counter is back and it is exciting for downtown Bakersfield. Uh so many people have come through already. Um I want to just publicly thank economic and community development uh for facilitating uh the grant agreement with Wilworth. I'm I'm proud that this council was able to support this important revitalization project. I want to thank Mr. Burns uh and the building department and and so many others who were working very closely uh with myself and with the building owners on the back end uh to make sure that we moved forward with uh the permitting process to get them open on schedule. And so um just a fantastic project and a big win for downtown Bakersfield, a big win for Bakersfield. I'm very proud of it. And and the other thing I want to note is that this past weekend was Halloween weekend. We had what could have been the busiest weekend in downtown Bakersfield in over 20 years. It was incredible to see so many people and the night life is back in downtown Bakersfield. Another thing that we should be very proud of as a council. So, thank you all. >> Thank you. Any other requests? Veterans Day is coming up and so to all of our veterans, we offer our heartfelt thank you. And with that we stand adjourn at 7:08. [music] Heat. Heat. >> [music]