[Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] the 3:30 p.m. meeting of the Bakersfield City Council is now in session good afternoon it's my pleasure to call to order the 3:30 regular city council meeting of March 12th 2025 Madam clerk please call the role mayor cor I'm sorry mayor go here vice mayor core council member Arius council member Gonzalez here council member Weir here council member Smith I am here council member Coman council member Basher Tash here oh he's here now thank you in keeping with council's resolution public statements are received at different times depending on the item I'll call on the city clerk to call for public statements at the appropriate time if you wish to make a public statement please fill at a public public speaker card and place it in the tray next to the speaker Podium we ask that you mark whether you're here to speak on an item listed on today's agenda or in a matter not on the agenda speakers who do not identify a specific agenda item will be presumed speakers to the non-agenda public statements if you're here to speak on an item not listed on the meeting agenda you'll be called first to speak statements are given a two-minute time limit per speaker 20 minutes total for all non-agenda item public statements if you're here to speak on an item listed on the agenda I will call 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 the public statement when your item is called everyone in attendance is expected to adhere to the worlds of decorum established by 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 ordinally and efficient meeting prevents the city council from conducting the business of the city consider this a first warning to everyone in attendant that conduct that disrupts this meeting May result in expulsion and or the chambers being cleared behavior that disrupts the meeting includes repeative statement shouting hate speech interrupting staff or presenters during the meeting speaking out of turn outbursts from the audience surpassing the two-minute time limit Madam clerk do we have any public speakers regarding items not listed on the agenda mayor go we have received one speaker card the first speaker is Michael turnup seed and for the record um Madam clerk both vice mayor core and council member colan have entered welcome please introduce yourself Madame mayor I hope you enjoyed your recent trip to India uh while Michael turnup seed I represent the Kern County taxpayers Association yesterday at the board of supervisor meeting we may ask them to make a referral to staff to meet with you the city for a joint management performance audit of all vendors that are concerned with the homeless homeless contracts in a recent article in the LA Times which I sent to you uh homeless Services provided by the city of La and the Los Angeles uh homeless Services Authority were disjointed and a lack of data systems and financial controls to monitor contracts for compliance and performance leaving the system vulnerable to waste fraud an audit was ordered by a federal court judge the got it by global consulting firm Alvarez Marcal found that the city was unable to track exactly how much it spent on specific home problems and rigorously reconcile spending with Services provided making it impossible to judge how well the city programs work and what the outcomes are there's absolutely no correlation between dollars in and dollars out um the contracts is written even by the LA homeless author Authority uh allowing wide variation Services provided their cost it said uh these Echo these findings echoed a November report by the LA County auditor controller that found lack accounting procedures result in a failure of the system to reclaim millions of dollars in cash advances to contractors and to pay other contractors on time even when funds were available uh I have yet to see any performance audit of virtually anything the city does so let's start with the homeless and I we'd recommend to you that you start a program of every five years doing performance audits by an outside firm reputable firm like moss Adams to show what the outcomes really are we're getting and what they're supposed to be getting because there's virtually no time spent on accountability we all can spend the money but you don't spend much time finding out what works and what doesn't and what we need to do to improve thank you very much for your time thank you Mr turnup seed question council member Gonzalez Mr tupy thank you so much for coming to city council today it's good to see you and um I I agree I think it's really appropriate and time for us to uh look at our performance and see how well we've done in terms of um realizing outcomes there's a difference between activities and outputs and and actually outcomes and reducing the number of people who are on the street and helping people move into housing and um homelessness is we've said it on this dis a thousand times it is the number one issue facing our community we hear it from our constituents um and we've tried lots of different things I think it's really important for us to have an honest look at what's working and what isn't working and ditch those things that aren't working and to double down on those strategies that are and for us to continuously look at new and improved ways in which we can address this issue um you know it's no it's not lost on me that this issue is still uh pervasive throughout the city of Bakersfield um and we can't just sort of write it off as as though you know we've already implemented some of these programs and we're addressing it no we have to continuously monitor the progress of those initiatives and we also have to look at new strategies that might be more effective for this time and you know the more we do the more we should be learning and um and so I agree with you and I I would like to make a referral tonight that we um that we look at this um proposal and we look at how we're going to evaluate our performance over um you know over the last five six years one quick comment since you and the county do share common vendors it makes a lot of sense that you go together together and pay for one study instead of two just trying to you know just make sense for you to not hire different vendors and hold hands and say okay let's look at where we spent the money because you both put a lot of money in the same programs I appreciate that it's good idea thank thank you council member Coman thank you may but I'll thank you mam clerk next item please CL close session item 4A conference with legal councel existing litigation regarding Security Paving Company Inc V city of Bakersville a motion to adjourn to close session we're adjourn to close session um are you a student out there welcome uh this session is really short and so it's not long enough for you to get credit can you just remind your professor to tell the class to come to the 5:15 because these are always super short for the most part we're going in close session and we won't be out until probably the next one so if you want to stay I mean you can maybe go to the library and work for a bit but 5:15 is when we'll start the next one but welcome thank you for coming but who's your professor Holmes just remind them that this one doesn't work for students thanks [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] oh [Music] n [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] 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[Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] oh oh [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] now you're talking too softly and I can't hear what you're saying [Music] reconvening the 3:30 meeting at 4:44 Madam City attorney thank you mayor by a unanimous vote with council member Arius absent city council gave the City attorney and staff direction thank you and with that we stand adjourn at 4:45 we'll start the next meeting at 5:15 [Music] a [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] a [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] oh [Music] [Music] [Music] n [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] a [Music] n [Music] welcome to the Bakersfield City council meeting this television broadcast is brought to you by the local cable companies the county of Kern 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 700 p.m. you can download the agenda for this meeting at www. Bakersfield city. us priding over this this evening's meeting The Honorable mayor Karen K go good evening it's my pleasure to call to order the 5:15 regular city council meeting of March 12th 2025 Madam clerk please call the role mayor go here vice mayor core here council member Adas council member Gonzalez I'm here council member Weir here council member Smith I'm here council member Coman here and council member bashash here thank you and welcome to all of you welcome to our students from Bakersville college professor Holmes class would you raise your hand oh there are a lot of you okay well welcome good to see all of you and then we also have the pleasure tonight of having our city hall fellows those who are serving uh with paid internships in various departments and would you all raise your hands too so welcome to all of you it's great to have a full house with young people here at this time we'll have the pleasure of having Pastor C Wayne bam pastor of Holy Temple Church of God in Christ to offer the invocation and Pastor thank you so much for your scholarship and student support Ministries to provide financial support for college students and then thank you also for your food giveaways for our most vulnerable we also have some Champions here tonight and you will see these ladies in red and their wonderful coach from Liberty High School this is the Liberty High School girls basketball team to lead us in the pledge they're the 2025 CIF Central section division 3 girls basketball champions these Patriots defeated chapter 49- 40 sorry generals this is their second Central section title in the last this would be three years two years actually three three years and the members of the team are here with our coach and we'll introduce him in a while so at this time would you all please stand for the invocation followed by The Pledge Pastor would you bow your heads dear Lord how favored and privileged we are to offer our prayers and supplications to you we're grateful for the privilege of prayer and for all the blessings the provision and protection that you provide us we acknowledge that without you we are nothing and without you we can do nothing thank you for this nation in which we live under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all thank you for coach Akin and the Liberty girls basketball team for blessing them to achieve such a wonderful accomplishment thank you for the great state of California and for this wonderful city of Bakersville thank you for our world's greatest mayor and for each council person that serves the wards of Our Fair City we ask that as We Gather tonight to do the business of the city that you would provide the wisdom clarity thought and understanding that we need give our city leaders insight and continue to bless our city with peace and prosperity safety for our citizens help for the unhoused and education for our children guide our thoughts and our directives that we may be fruitful in every area and pleasing in your sight and dear Lord let the peace of God abide over our city and rule in the heart hearts of every citizen this we ask in the matchless mighty and Majestic name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth amen amen thank you salute pledge IED Al to the flag of the United States of America to the for it stands one nation God liy and justice for all thank you you may be seated uh Liberty students if you would stay there I going to come down well I feel so honored to be surrounded by these Champions Liberty oh bound uh and it's my honor coach thank you so much for your leadership I know this isn't happen without a fantastic leader and to all of you it's my pleasure on behalf of the city of Bakersville to present the certificate of congratulations to the Liberty High School girls basketball team 2025 CIF Central section division 3 girls basketball champions in honor of you're winning the 2025 California inter Scholastic Federation Central section division 3 basketball championship and in recognition of your exceptional efforts and determination to pursue Excellence congratulations on your outstanding achievement coach I'll hand it this to you and you can choose somebody or you can say a few words if you'd like to tell us something all right here comes the team captain um okay yeah uh I just want to say thank you to this team I'm so grateful to be a part of it and we again this season could not have been accomplished with as much as was accomplished without our coach da um so yeah I'm so proud of everybody and all the work we put in and yeah so thank you first i' like to say thank you mayor for having us down here today and to all the board members I appreciate the recognition um we have a group of young ladies here that know the what it is to have hard work and work hard throughout the season to be able to attain a goal um they saw Vision at the beginning of the year and they've worked hard and they gained it and they earned what they got at the end of the season by winning the championship so kudos to them and once again thank you guys for having us [Applause] [Music] oh I see you brought your fans here are a few guidelines to help our meeting run smoothly we request that you turn off your phones please be courteous in the use of cameras and videos for safety reasons and as a courtesy to others no signs are allowed in the council chamber or in the lobby Applause is allowed during the presentations 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 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 a first warning to everyone in attendance that conduct that disrupts the meeting May result in your removal from the meeting and or the chambers being cleared behavior that disrupts the meeting includes repetitive statements shouting hate speech interrupting staff or presenters during the meeting speaking out of turn outbursts from the audience and surpassing the two-minute time limit for public statements in keeping with the council's resolution solution public statements are now received at different times depending on the item I will call on the city clerk to call for public statements so please listen carefully for the correct time to speak if you wish to make a public statement please fill out a public speaker card and place it in the tray uh on the speaker Podium we ask that you mark whether you're here to speak on an item listed tonight's agenda or in a matter not on the agenda speakers who do not identify specific agenda item will be presumed speakers for the non-agenda public statement 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 2-minute time limit per speaker 20 minutes total for all non-agenda item public statements if you're here to speak on an item listed on the agenda I will call for you at a later 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 Madam clerk do we have any public speakers regarding items not listed on the agenda mayor go we have not received any speaker cards for items not listed on tonight's agenda nor have we received speaker cards for agenda item public statements thank you so now next item please consent calendar items 7A through 7i for approval a staff memorandum was provided regarding item 7 D1 requesting item to be be pulled from tonight's agenda an additional staff memorandum was provided regarding item 7 E7 transmitting and updated agreement thank you vice mayor a motion to approve the consent calendar with the exception of items 7g two two and uh 7 D1 you have a motion please cast your votes mayor go we seem to be having some technical diff difficulties if you don't mind I will um have a roll call vote thank you vice mayor core yes council member Gonzalez I council member we yes council member Smith yes council member Coman yes council member Bashir Tash yes thank you motion was approved with council member arus absent thank you and now council member Smith 7 G2 thank you mayor this was the uh annual complete streets ordinance yearly report and it's the first one that we've had since we passed our new complete streets ordinance and it had a list of projects and it's just amazing all the work that we're doing uh projects around schools obviously very important a lot of projects uh in residential neighborhoods with speed humps and I you know I've been on the council for 13 years and people have always wanted traffic slowed down in their neighborhoods and and before we had the traffic calming book uh there was no way to do it and and now then people are able to to make their streets safer and projects all over town on local streets on arterial streets and around schools and so very good so with that uh I'll move to approve uh Madam clerk do you still need a roll call vote uh the the voting system seems to be working now mayor okay you have a motion please cast your votes mayor I apologize um I am actually not currently logged into my computer screen okay so we'll go ahead and do roll call council member core yes council member Adas I council member Gonzalez I council member we no council member Smith yes council member Coman yes council member bashash yes motion is approved with council member we voting no thank you next item please Council and mayor statements just waiting for anything to come up at this point I don't see anything this is going to be the shortest meeting on record students this is not a typical meeting you're going to get credit maybe from Professor Holmes but normally this would be going on a lot longer with a lot of different items to be covered we have no uh comments now from the council so we stand ajour at 529 this is going to be the easiest meeting ever ever ever for you all and I'll be meeting with u all of you wow I all my not right here like [Music] but