[Music] [Music] Hey hey hey. [Music] [Music] [Music] Hey, hey, hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] [Music] Data. D. [Music] Heat. Hey, Heat. [Music] [Music] Heat. Heat. [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 May 14th, 2025. Madame Clerk, please call the role. Mayor Go, here. Vice Mayor Core. Council member Arias. Council member Gonzalez here. Council member Weir here. Council member Smith, I'm here. Council member Coleman here. Council member Basher here. Thank you. In keeping with 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 the 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 for the non-aggenda 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-aggenda 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 your public statement when your item is called. 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 this meeting may result in expulsion and/or the chambers being cleared. Madam clerk, do we have any public speakers regarding items not listed on the agenda? Mayor Go, we've received two speaker cards regarding items not listed on today's agenda. The first speaker is Eddie Lane. Thank you. Welcome. Please introduce yourself. Good afternoon, mayor, members of the council. I'm Eddie Lane with the Sarah Club. I'm here with a happy task of um advertising an upcoming tree dialogue. We had one um a little more than a month ago. I I think was very productive. Attached to this announcement are findings that we had during that tree dialogue with the city of Fresno. City of Fresno is um their urban tree forest management plan is kind of a model. We it was part of the appendum that was adopted by the council some months ago and the dialogue was very healthy. Um I was pleased that several city staff members were present and there has been followup with the city of Fresno. Uh, interestingly in Fresno, for example, they do tree trimming by district or by ward every 10 years. So, you know, ahead of time where the tree trimming is going to be done. And that was that's one facet of what they do. Um, looking ahead though, uh, next week we have we're very honored to have the head of the Kentucky state, he's a K Kentucky state director of the Nature Conservancy. he has agreed to be with us. There was a um handout that was maybe two months ago provided by Mario Polite to the council and it talks about the healing effect of trees. This was a major study uh by not only just by nature conservancy but by the University of K and other I can't say Kentucky and others in the community. One of the principal sponsors behind that was former Republican United States Senator Bill Frisk. So, uh, it had wide support. So, uh, please take a look at this. If you or someone else would like to be part of our Zoom meeting, we'd be glad to have you. Thank you very much. Thank you, Mr. Lane. Next speaker, please. Michael Turnup Seed. Welcome. Thank you, Madam Mayor, members of the council. I'm Michael Turnup Seed. I represent the Kern County Taxpayers Association. Uh since we're starting round two of our sewer uh improvement whatever we're doing here in the process and updates want to bring up some things some of the council responsibilities to make sure that things are adequately done. First of all, that full cost accounting is done to ensure that all direct and indirect costs including operational expenses, maintenance and capital improvements have been accounted for which would have set appropriate pricing structures that reflect actual costs of service delivery. Establish reserve policies. This council has not maintained adequate reserves for unexpected expenses, economic downtimes or significant capital expenditures. asset management. The city has failed to track and maintain physical assets systematically to extend their useful life and reduce their long-term costs. There are many software tools out there that allow the city to do that. Transparent financial reporting. The city does not require adequate transparent financial projections and reporting which is fundamental for prudent asset management. Regular financial analysis. The city has not conducted regular financial analysis to monitor revenue or expenditures to make informed decisions and adjust long-term strategies as needed. Stakeholder communication. The city has not maintained open lines of communication with the rateayers, which is obvious. Uh regulatory compliance. Old outdated facilities make it difficult to stay up to date with local, state, and federal regulations. Compliance is critical to avoid that any legal and uh operation any legal questions are that operations remain uh smooth. And finally, performance metrics. The city has not developed and monitored performance metrics to evaluate service efficiency and effectiveness which helps identify improvement areas and ensure high quality service. Thank you very much for your time. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mental clerk, do we have any other speakers? Mayor Go, uh, we have not received any additional speaker cards. Uh, and we have not received any speaker cards for agenda items. Thank you. Next item, please. Close session item 4 A, conference with labor negotiator. And item 4B, conference with legal council existing litigation regarding city of Bakersfield v uh 3M company. Motion to adjurnn. Motion to adjurnn to close session. Return to close session. [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] N. [Music] [Music] [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] Heat. Hey, Heat. [Music] Oh, [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] Heat. Heat. [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] Heat. Hey, Heat. [Music] [Music] Hey hey hey. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] Hey hey hey. Come [Music] on. Hey. Hey. [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] feel. Feel Feel [Music] Feel the heat. [Music] Hey hey hey. [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] Hey hey hey. [Music] [Music] Hey, [Music] [Music] [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] [Music] Hey hey hey. [Music] [Music] [Music] Hey. Hey, hey, hey. [Music] [Music] [Music] Hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey. Oh yeah. [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] He's [Music] [Music] [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] The heaven the fire. [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] Thank [Music] you. [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] Heat. Heat. [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] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] Reconvening the 3:30 meeting. Madam City Attorney, thank you, Mayor. There were two items in close session this afternoon. On item 4 A, there is no reportable action. And on item 4B, uh, by a 6 vote with the vice mayor core absent, the city attorney was given direction. Thank you. Thank you. And with that, uh, that meeting stands adjourned at 512. And welcome to all of you. Uh, we're probably going to need a few minutes before we start the next meeting. Sorry, uh, to keep you waiting, but we will start as soon as possible. So, Tech, you can change out now. [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] 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 5:15 regular city council meeting of May 14th, 2025. Madame clerk, please call the role. Mayor Go, here. Vice Mayor Core. Council member Arias here. Council member Gonzalez here. Council member Weer here. Council member Smith, I'm here. Council member Kman here. And council member Bashier here. Welcome to all of you. It's good to have all of you participating in the process. Tonight, we had the pleasure, if he is here, Chief Terry, I do not believe, is here. It's National Police Week, so we were going to have Chief Terry lead the invitation, but in that he's not here, we're going to ask uh Council Member Smith to do that. And then following the invocation, we have the pleasure of having Dick Taylor, a United States Marine Corps veteran, to lead us in the pledge. Dick was the former director of the Kern County Veteran Services and he's currently the president of the Bakersville National Cemetery Support Committee and he is the rep for the Kern County Devil Pups encouraging young people to move on into the Marine Corps. So now would you all stand and Council Member Smith please? Father God, we thank you for this day and we thank you for the opportunity to serve our community. Please give us wisdom. Please guide us as the decisions we make. There are always hard times, but we know in the end that you will guide and your outcome is what happens. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. Amen. Okay, if you'll join me in uh saluting the flag of the greatest nation on the on the earth, these United States of America. 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. May be seated. Thank you, Council Member Smith, and thank you so much, Mr. Taylor. We just appreciate you're highlighting the greatest nation. We are blessed to live in this country. Next item, please. Presentations item 4A, proclamation to Jeremy Tobias, CEO of Community Action Partnership of Kerna and CAPK board chair Marita Himenez, declaring May 2025 as community action month in Bakersfield. Colleagues, May 2025 has been designated as National Community Action Month, celebrating our nation's 1,000 plus community action agencies. But we have the best in Bakersville, in Kern County. We are so fortunate that we have CAPK that connects people to lifechanging services and pathways for prosperity right here in our very community. those who are the most challenged. For 60 years, this group has innovated and impacted and has demonstrated proven results. So, it's my honor to be able to present this proclamation. Whereas, Community Action Partnership of Kerna has made essential contributions to individuals and families across Kern County by creating economic opportunities and strengthening communities. Whereas CAPK addresses underlying causes of poverty, alleviates the effects and promotes dignity and self-sufficiency in the communities we serve. And whereas CAPK delivered more than 22 million pounds of food across Kern County in 2024 through the CapK food bank. And whereas Cap K operates the Friendship House Community Center located in Bakersville that works with children within our city providing a site for educational assistance, mentorship, and community. Now therefore, I Karen Go mayor of the city of Bakersfield do hereby proclaim May 2025 as National Community Action Month in our city and thank CAPK for its dedicated service to our Bakersfield residents. It's my pleasure to be able to present this to Jeremy Tobias, the CEO, and he'll introduce his fantastic team. Thanks so much, Jeremy. Thank you, Mayor Goen. Honorable City Council, I want to thank you for declaring May as community action month here in Bakersfield. Joining me today is my board chair, Marissa Gimenez, and uh our outreach director, Savannah O. Uh, Community Action Partnership of Kern was established in May of 1965. Our vision is very clear. Uh, we envision a community with opportunities for everyone to achieve self-sufficiency and to attain the American dream. It's pretty simple. CAPK operates 20 different programs that serve Bakersfield and Kern County. I'll highlight a couple of them. Head Start Early Childhood Education. There are 12 Head Start locations in Bakersfield that provide highquality education to children in their first five years of life so that they can enter kindergarten prepared to succeed. The Capk Food Bank distributes, as you heard, 22 and a half million pounds of food annually in Kern County from our location in southeast Bakersfield. They are able to do this for with a very lean staff because here in Bakersfield, specifically in Bakersfield, there are more than 177 food pantries and commodity locations that help us distribute 13.9 almost 14 million pounds of food in 2024 here in Bakersfield. This is our network of local churches, community groups, schools, and volunteers that tirelessly distribute food in our community. 211 services operate 24 hours a day. 365 days a year, our call center is operating, connecting people to more than 1500 different services locally. Our Calvette program, this successful partnership uh with our Friendship House Community Center at the Bakersfield PD amongst other community partners, has prevented violence, provided job skills, resume support, and assisted individuals in finding employment. It is helping break the cycle of violence in parts of our community. our veteran services program. In March of 2025, the California Veterans Assistance Foundation officially merged with CAPK, forming our new veterans and support services division. This strategic integration has ensured a seamless transition with no lapse in service. The Veteran Services Division continues the long-standing mission to serve homeless, at risk, and low-income veterans and their families through housing advocacy and support services. All services have remained active during this transition and are now only strengthened under CAPK's broader community support framework. Looking ahead, CAPK is proud to be planning a ribbon cutting ceremony in uh the month of June for a new 13 unit tiny home project known as Cubby Cottages. A formal announcement is coming soon. This development will provide permanent housing for veterans and reflects our commitment to ending veteran homelessness. We are also very enthusiastic about our newest partnership with the city on the Ram Kabir project and the home key plus funding application we're working with the city on. Our programs rely very heavily on community partners to create success and we are honored to partner with the city of Bakersfield to meet the needs of this community. On behalf of our staff and our board of directors, thank you for an amazing partnership. [Applause] Mayor, if I may make a comment while you take a photo, I just want to commend Community Action Partnership Kern County on behalf of my ward uh the urban core of Bakersfield and all the work that you've done throughout the years. You know, I had an opportunity recently to visit the LBJ library and uh community action partnerships throughout the country actually started as a result of the war on poverty in the 60s. And so I I want to thank you because community action partnership has really been a beacon of light and hope in many tough times for the families that I represent. uh dark times uh when um when when homelessness was at its apex, uh Community Action Partnership did not step away. They did not shy away from the issue. They actually ran towards the problem and they raised their hand and said, "We want to be a solution." And they led the effort for the M Street Navigation Center. when uh the pandemic occurred and we were all experiencing so much fear and uncertainty, Community Action Partnerships stood up and continue to serve all of our families through food distributions and lots of other um uh services. And I I really appreciate all the work that you do day in and day out, your whole team uh for those people that I represent and throughout our city. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. And also finally, thank you uh for moving downtown. It's wonderful to have so many of your um administrative employees working right here in the downtown, the heart of the city. It makes downtown that much better. Congratulations. Thank you. Thank you. One comment I'd like to make and real quick is community action agencies are all different. Every one of the thousand agencies are all different. No matter where you travel in the country, some are big, some are small, some run Head Start, some don't. They're all different because they reflect the needs of the community and the programs there need in the community. And CAPK, we hope, is very reflective of our community. The the uh pride we have in the community and the the goals we have should reflect be reflective of the community we serve and we really try hard to make that happen. Thank you. Thank you, Jeremy, Savannah, and Marissa. We appreciate you and go forth and serve more now. Thank you. 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 expulsion 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. Madame clerk, do we have any public speakers regarding items not listed on the agenda? Marco, we've received four speaker cards for items not listed on this evening's agenda. The first public speaker is Dr. Chris Cruz Boon. Thank you so much. Welcome and please introduce yourself. Hi, I'm Dr. Chris Cruz Boon and I am a trustee with Bakersfield City School District and I'm here just to talk to you for a few moments about safe routes to school um and support the petition that our community members from one of our schools and one of our board members is going to bring forward in a moment. As a schoolboard trustee and educator and a mom of a daily walker to school, I believe it is all of our responsibility not just to protect our classrooms, but to protect our children the moment they step outside their door to go to our schools. And I want to share with you two things. I am an educator and I'm also a mom um of a child who's walked to school since fourth grade. He's now in 10th grade. And I watch him every day as he moves on his way. And every single time it stops, I think, is it a red light or is it a lifted truck? That's that's what I think when I watch that dot moving to school every day. We as a community need to take more responsibility in lighting our crosswalks and making sure that they're visible and making sure that speeds are displayed so that mothers like me don't have to worry. I'm also an educator. I teach at the Kern Adult School on Panama Lane and H. And I live downtown um by the Bakersfield Art Museum at least four times a year. I bicycle from my home um to my school location where I teach because I think it's important to empathize with my students experiences and also because I love to be active outside when the weather is nice in Kern County. I know it doesn't happen a lot, but there are those of us who really love to be pedestrians and walk um and ride. And I will share with you that one route to take is just to go all the way up street. There are no sidewalks um and there is no bike lane and so you have to stop and walk many times. I've actually had to pull over on my bike and help people in electronic scooters and in wheelchairs to get through the cracked dirt that is there because you can't um easily pass through that route all the way up that street. It's it's just not passable for a pedestrian. The other option is to take union. I've done that as well. It's a little bit better now. I know my time is out. Um please let's find a way to make things safe for everyone who wants to walk, ride a bike, or even just let their kids leave their doorstep. Thank you so much, Dr. Boon. Thank you and thank you for your service to our students and their families. Uh just a reminder to the audience, uh we don't allow applause during this time. I know you're passionate about it and may agree, but that's just part of the protocol here. But thank you. Uh next speaker, please Mali Alt. Welcome Trusty. Good evening, members of city council. My name is Broo Malttalt and I proudly serve as trustee for area five of the Bakersfield City School District. I'm here tonight to speak not just on behalf of Roosevelt Elementary School, but for all the children attending schools and neighborhoods that have been historically overlooked when it comes to infrastructure and safety. Recently, the community around Roosevelt Elementary, experienced a heartbreaking loss. 8-year-old Richie Aguilar, a student at that school, was hit and killed while walking home just blocks from campus. In response, 328 parents and community members signed a petition asking for crosswalks to be installed. I want to thank you for hearing that call. Those crosswalks have now been completed. An additional crossing guard has been added by BCSD near Roosevelt. But crosswalks are just the beginning. As you drive through more affluent neighborhoods and Bakersfield, you'll find speed humps, flashing school signs, and well-marked pedestrian routes. These are not luxuries. They're safety standards. Our children within BCSD deserve the same level of protection as the other side of town. Tonight, I'm asking for a traffic study on First and A Street and for the installation of a single speed bump in honor of Richie speed hump. One safety measure at one school can make a lasting impact. More importantly, it can show our community that their children's lives are valued equally regardless of zip code. I would like to ask for increased safety measures, primarily school humps around all BCSD schools, but I know now is not the proper time due to budget cuts to make that ask. I would like to start with one and observe as that one street becomes walkable 24 hours a day, not just when the crossing guard is present. Unfortunately, people are more likely to slow down for a hump rather than a crosswalk or a crossing guard. Drivers will only slow down if they know their car will be damaged, and it will only happen once before they slow down every single time. I believe in a Bakersfield where every child can walk to and from school safely. I urge you to help make that vision a reality. Thank you for your time and commitment to equity and safety. I'll go ahead and leave the petition here as well. Thank you, Trusty Alt. Council member Gonzalez. Thank you, mayor. Thank you, Trusty Alt, for uh being here tonight. Thank you, Trustee uh Cruz Boone, um for also participating tonight and providing some leadership for our community and for all of our families in Bakersville City School District. Um you know, the tragedy that occurred at Roosevelt has stuck with me um for several months and I don't think will leave my heart anytime soon. It is um a complete um tragedy. It is something that um that that I cannot fathom and um my heart and prayers still go out to the family and um and I I know that feeling and is expressed and shared by many of my colleagues up here. Um I agree we we must do more and we've uh many of us on this dis have felt that way for years now. Um, my colleague, Council Member Smith, has been calling for enhanced pedestrian and bicycle safety measures throughout the city for 13 years now. Um, uh, when I was vice mayor, I created the first multimotal transportation committee. That was three years ago. Uh, that was actually council member Aris's idea because he also cares deeply about pedestrian and bicycle safety. Council Member Core when she was elected uh one of her first acts, correct me if I'm wrong, Mr. Kle, but she organized a meeting with staff and uh school administrators uh throughout the city to address some of those uh same issues that she's facing in South Bakersfield. I've worked with um the school district and various different schools within my ward uh for the last eight years. Uh we adopted the very first neighborhood traffic calming handbook. Um we there's many of us on this das who understand we get it. We want to do more. We are pushing to do more and we we welcome the community to continue to show up and to support those efforts and to partner with us because we know that this tragedy um should not have happened. But we know that so many people, too many people are driving far too fast and they're distracted on their on their devices. And we have to create roadways. We have to design better roadways that protect all children because not all of us have the luxury of um getting dropped off to school. When I was in junior high school, I I walked to school. When I was in high school, I walked to school. Um, my parents did not have the means to show fermy around. Uh, and there are thousands upon thousands of children throughout our city uh, who have to walk and bike to school. We have to make conditions safer for all of them. And I'm I'm I'm thankful that you're pointing out examples. I have a list of many many many areas where we need to improve. And uh, you have my commitment. The community has my commitment as one council member to continue to push this issue. Um, and I I hear that same commitment from many of my colleagues on the city council. Um, and it starts with our budget, starts with actually budgeting items, making sure that we're being serious about this issue, making sure that we understand that pedestrian safety and bicycle safety is a public safety issue. And if anyone questions that, I I wish you could have been there with me and the community those days shortly after Richie lost his life. And tell me this is not a public safety issue. We we can't reverse time unfortunately, but we can move forward and we can continue to look at issues and look at ways in which we can increase safety for all people, for all users, whether they're in their vehicle or on their bicycle or they're walking or they're in a wheelchair. We can do better. We will do better. Thank you, Council Member Smith. Thank you, Mayor. I just wanted to reinforce what Council Member Gonzalez was saying. It's it's about public safety. It's it's infrastructure, traffic calming. You mentioned lighted crosswalks, safety standards throughout the city. I bicycle every single day the streets of Bakersfield and I I see the bad spots like you said, 8 Street and and you find better routes. But there are we continually have to continue to push our our our public safety and vital services committee is making a recommendation to us that traffic calming is not public safety. We had 44 members of our community die a violent tragic death last year on our streets and somehow making those streets safer is not public safety. I don't understand but there are those in the community that think that. So, I appreciate you coming forward and we continue to push forward, but we need other voices and so I appreciate your voices. Thank you, Madam Clerk. Next speaker, please. Tracy Spencer. Hello, welcome. Please introduce yourself. My name is Tracy Spencer. This is my son, Nicholas Spencer. There's a lot bigger fish to fry here than what I'm going to bring up, but um across the street from us, I live at Parkwood Apartments. I manage um I'm the manager there for Parkwood and Frank St. Clair. Um across the street is a party hall that disrupts disrupts many of my tenants till 12:00 and 2 in the morning. Uh we are a family oriented complex and the owner doesn't seem to care. Um he has parties over there till 12 at night and 2:00 in the morning. Um, I've tried to come to a resolution with him and he doesn't seem to want to come to any resolution with me being that I have tenants that work. [Music] Um, and he just wants to keep the noise up. So, I called the police. The police can't always respond because they're responding to other calls. So, I'm here to try to get some help from you guys on what to do as a resolution. Thank you, Miss Spencer. Uh, Mr. Kle, can staff just follow up? Thank you. We will. And we have your contact information. So, thank you. Thank you. And thank you, Nicholas. Next speaker, please. Josie and Jasmine. Hello, welcome. Please introduce yourself. I'm Josie. This is Jasmine. We are here in counting of what they're talking about of the public safety. My son is Alejandro Vargas. He was killed on Niles in Park Drive um as a pedestrian crossing the street. Her son is Angel. Um he was killed half a block away from where my was killed at. Um, we thankfully with Leticia Perez, we were able to get flashlights in that area for our children to cross. They are seven schools in that school zone. It actually took two children to die for us to get something done there. We don't We're asking for all over Bakersfield for more public safety for our children. We're letting our kids come out of our household and the school is being responsible for the moment they walk out that door to the moment they walk back into the house. We do need more law enforcements because people speed on the school zones even though kids are still crossing at Stern back in March. There was a crossguard that was hit while he was stopping the um cars while kids were crossing the street. Like we need more law law enforcement. We do need more lights in the area and all school zones, crosswalks, sidewalks, speed bumps. Something needs to be done. We do not need no more mothers to be burying their children while they're going to school or after school anymore. And we h I've been speaking out for six years. And something my voice was not getting heard until her son got killed. And that's when our doors got open. My one of my close friends saw Richie. They got a hold of me. Between me and Jasmine, we've been advocating a lot. I have a petition going on. I um changed.org and I have 1500 signatures there already helping out to try to get something better done for Bakersfield. I'm sorry to go over and uh Mayor Go, I just wanted to thank you for your part in um kind of pushing Foothill High School to recognize my son at their graduation. I just wanted to say I really appreciate what Thank you, Josie and Jasmine. We're so sorry for your loss of Alejandro and Angel and we hear what you're saying. So, thank you for speaking. Thank you, madam clerk. Next speaker, please. We have not received any additional speaker cards, mayor, nor have we received speaker cards for agenda items. Thank you. And now, next item, please. Appointments item 6A, appointment of conference committee members to fill at large vacancy on Golden Empire Transit District Board of Directors. Uh staff has provided a memorandum uh requesting this item be pulled from the agenda tonight. Thank you. And next item, consent calendar items 7A through 7 I for approval. Thank you. I don't see any requests. I haven't received anything from the council to uh recuse themselves or pull an item. And so uh council member Gonzalez, move to adopt the consent calendar. You have a motion. Please cast your votes. Motion is approved with uh council member core absent. Thank you. Next item please. Public hearing item 9 A. Thank you. Next item, public hearings. Each side will be allowed 15 minutes. It's 15 minutes for all speakers per side. So, it's important that you identify yourself, make your statement succinctly so others may speak. We'll hear statements from those opposed to staff's recommendation first, and we'll hear from those who'd like to speak in favor. If there's testimony on both sides, each side will be allowed a 5-minute rebuttal. There's a clock on the TV screens behind me, which indicates 15 minutes. Please step to the microphone and identify yourself. After 14 minutes, a yellow light will come on. At the end of 15 minutes, a red light will flash, indicating your time is up. So, quickly end your statements. You may ask questions during your statement, but they won't be addressed until the public hearing is closed. If you have comments that are longer than your verbal statement, please give them to the clerk. She'll provide copies to the council. Please be courteous to others who wish to speak. Madame clerk, please read the public hearing item. Sorry. Public hearing item 9A, public hearing to consider a resolution approving the issuance of California Municipal Finance Authority revenue and refunding bonds for human good. Thank you, Madam City Attorney. Thank you, mayor, members of the council. Human good is a California nonprofit corporation and they have requested the California Municipal Finance Authority issue uh bonds in the amount of $25 million. Those bonds are set to be used for the renovations of the um popular community center known as Rosewood here in town. Um in order for those bonds to be taxexempt, uh the the the group Human Good as well as the California Municipal Finance Authority, they have asked us, which is appropriate, to go through what's called a TERA hearing. I know some of you are familiar with the TERA hearings. Um TERA stands for Tax and Equity Fiscal Responsibility Act. I think what's important here for your listening audience as well as for the council is to realize that the city has zero no financial legal or any type of liability or responsibility or obligation concerning the project any of the renovations or any facet of repayment of the bonds. And there are two representatives here this evening if you have any questions. uh one is from uh the human good and we also have uh someone here from the California municipal finance authority if any of you have any questions. Thank you. Thank you. So at this time public hearing item 9A is open. Is there anyone who would like to speak in opposition to the staff's recommendation? Please come to the microphone and identify yourself. Seeing none, is there anyone who would like to speak in support? Seeing none, I'll close the public hearing, return it to council for comment and action. I don't see any request to speak. We have a motion. Move the adoption of the resolution. You have a motion. Please cast your votes. Motion is approved with council member core absent. Thank you. And madame clerk, next item, please. Deferred business item 11A. Resend Proposition 218 notice concerning fiscal year 2526 proposed increases to sewer rates. Correspondence has been received from the vice mayor who requests I read the following into the record. I, Vice Mayor Core, am not in attendance at tonight's city council meeting due to a family medical issue. I want to express my support for rescending the Prop 218 sewer notice so we as the city council along with city management can re-evaluate rates that are feasible for our residents. I apologize for not being in attendance, but you have my assurance that I will work alongside my colleagues to walk back this process and redesign something that makes sense for all. Thank you. If you're here to speak on deferred business item 11A, the city clerk will call for public statements after staff's presentation. Each speaker will be limited to two minutes and there will be a 20 minute time limit total. Mr. Kle, thank you mayor and councel. Uh at our last city council meeting, I had given the rationale for staff's recommendation to resend the prop position 218 notice for the benefit of the public who may not have uh uh seen that I'll just reiterate in quick summary that we believe there's a good opportunity to do some additional analysis to just confirm some of the numbers that we have provided do some additional analysis to consider in any and all alternatives to this issue. I reiterated at that time that uh we expect that there still is a significant need to address a real gap in long range capital planning for our sewer system and that we will bring this issue back we believe this calendar year. But we're going to take time to make sure that the analysis is uh a little bit deeper and also more importantly really to take the time to share information with the community. Uh we believe that the that the scope of this challenge there's not a simple solution to it but we owe it to our community to better communicate what are the real issues to have more discussion and dialogue so the community can appreciate and understand those needs and ultimately again uh bring forward a recommendation uh to the city council and from the council to the community that is both administratively uh manageable but also of you know fees feasible for our rate payers. And so for those reasons, uh we are recommending that we resend the current Proposition 218 process, continue in the next four uh to 6 months to do that additional analysis and come back and do better outreach to the community. Thank you, Mr. Kle. Madame City Clerk, do we have any public speaker requests for this item? Mayor, we've received two speaker cards regarding this item. The first speaker is Roman Mata. Thank you. Welcome. Please introduce yourself. Hello. Uh my name is Romano. Whereas our infrastructure is an important facet of our city, crucial to our quality of life. And whereas a functional sewer system is crucial to maintaining the health and safety of our city. And whereas the reckless expansion of suburbs has created a funding crisis in California since they take more in public funds to maintain than they pay back in local taxes, resulting in a shifting of the tax burden through such taxes as a sales tax. And whereas this crisis has created and worsened issues of homelessness, poverty, crime, and climate change. Therefore, be it resolved in this resolution that we, the signitories of this petition, support the city of Bakersfield's attempt to raise the sewer fee from $250 to $950. And be it further resolved that we support the city of Bakersfield's efforts to address this crisis through the zoning for and construction of new apartments and hope for continued progress in this area. Now I deliver this petition with 12 signatures. It was finals week. There weren't a lot of people around. And furthermore, I'd just like to say I think that you guys haven't been charitable enough to yourselves. People are talking about lack of transparency regarding the action. You sent out the letter. You told people where they had to go in order to address their concerns. And I know that electorally this is a bit of a third rail issue, but as someone who's been around city council, um I know what it's like when you guys are not transparent. No offense. I think you guys handle this issue very well. So even if you can't express it publicly, um be a bit more kind to yourselves. I think you were perfectly fine. And yes, just to reiterate one more time, we are explicitly asking you to raise the sewer rates to the original proposition and maintain that instead of resending it. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Matara. Next speaker, please. Debbie Busby. Welcome. Please introduce yourself. Hi, I'm Debbie Busby, a lifelong resident of Kern County. I live in Ward 4. Bob Smith is my representative. Want to thank you all for your service and your time tonight. I'm here opposing the sewer the proposed sewer rates. Um you're going to table it. Um I know you were all shocked at the response from the city. Um just as we were shocked when we received that notice of the 400% increase. As a taxpayer, I don't think that's right. That we have been paying our taxes believing our tax dollars were being used for the appropriate reasons. As individuals, we do maintenance on our homes, on our cars, on our bodies in form of exercise so as to have no surprise bills or problems. It seems the city has not done the same with our tax dollars. The increase proposed will cause a great hardship to many senior citizens that live in the city of Bakersfield and people on a li limited income such as social security. Where have our tax dollars gone? I ask that you reconsider what you have and find a different way to repair or replace the existing systems. Could dollars from measure end possibly be used? We trust each of you to use our tax dollars appropriately and not wait years to address our maintenance issues. It's a city manager's responsibility and each of your responsibilities to count for the ingest increase to taxpayers and what went wrong. Where are t where are our tax dollars that were for collected for the purpose of maintaining these sewers? Thank you for your time. Thank you, Miss Busby. Madame Clerk, are there any other speakers? Mayor Go, that was our final speaker. Thank you. And next item, please. Oh, sorry. We're not quite there yet. Jumped ahead a little bit. So, um, at this point, yeah, I'll make a motion that the city council resend the Prop 218 notice concerning fiscal year 2025 26 proposed increases to sewer rates that was authorized for publication and distribution on March 26th, 2025. You have a motion. Please cast your votes. I'm sorry, mayor. I was trying to get this Oh, that's okay. You hit the wrong one. No, it just won't. Oh, it won't. Uh, let's do a voice vote, please. No, I I wanted to make comments. Oh, I'm sorry. Okay, Council Member Smith. Thank you. And I see Council Member Coleman now, too. I I just wanted to respond a little bit. Uh and earlier at the 3:30 meeting, we had Michael Turnup Seed from the current taxpayers association and and he gave a few items, you know, as as we move backwards and forwards with this sewer. and and he talked about reserve policies and I think that is an important item to consider as we move forward is again this issue should have been addressed in the mid 1990s. At that time that plant was 30 plus years old pushing 40 years old and and some reserves should have been started to put away at that time. And to answer your question about where your tax dollars have went, this it's it's an enterprise fund for sewer tax dollars. And so they only are spent on sewer. But the problem has been that there was no reserve fund. There was only enough for the annual maintenance and and patch what breaks. And so we have had extremely low sewer rates compared nationally. It's it's what we wanted to raise it to is the average nationally and and local cities uh Arvin and Deleno are are much higher than ours. So the point is is that we've we've undertaxed and undersaved for 30 years and now we have this problem. So moving forward as we decide which avenue to go, the reserve policies need to be set in place so that this doesn't happen again. And that's my comments. Thank you. Thank you, Council Member Smith. And tech services, can you restart Council Member Smith's monitor as need be because he's having problems with uh signing in. Council member Coleman. Thank you, Mayor. Um, I wanted to reiterate Council Member Smith's comments about uh the sewer rates that we're going to be back here again with uh I guess you didn't say that so I may rephrase that. U let me get off that and just go to go right to my own comments to say that you know we're going to be back here again on these rate on the rates for the sewer. Um the it's it's all the focus has been on wastewater treatment plant number two and that that needs to be rebuilt. There's a lot of other things that are in that uh that allocation including uh replacing sewer systems downtown uh replacing or adding a parallel line down Buena Vista uh because the line that was put in was undersized when it was installed and now it won't meet the capacity that we're going to have soon. Uh wastewater treatment plant number three is at 78% of capacity. So, you know, we need to be looking at, you know, what needs to be done there so that we don't run out of capacity and so we don't want to have to ever have a building moratorum uh which would uh literally our economy. Uh we certainly don't want a failure of plant number two uh because that would definitely our economy if we had some spillage from that location. Uh what we can say is that uh we want to take a chance at looking at different options and different way different ways to finance that. But I I don't want to mislead people. Uh there were mistakes made in the past. Uh we can't undo those. uh but we can make sure that going forward that we provide all the information and all the public outreach we can to try to make it as palatable as possible. What I wanted to uh note here is that I I had asked the uh had asked the city clerk here this afternoon to tally up the number of letters they've received in opposition to this plan. And this is not scientific. has not been certified or validated, but they have nearly 3,000 letters from residents that comply presumably that comply with the requirements. That's pretty significant. Um, and so what I wanted to do is I wanted to make a further referral uh to staff to uh my experience on redevelopment agency led me to understand the benefits of public private partnerships and I've already sent this referral in writing to the city manager but I wanted to take an opportunity to say it from the dis that Um there are several cities in California that are doing progressive things uh with public private partnerships in relation to wastewater and to domestic water treatment. And although I don't believe there's a a benefactor out there that's going to give us $500 million. Uh there may be some partner out there that's able to uh partner with us uh to uh possibly use some of the bio gases that are result of our uh our digesttors and that kind of thing or install you know wind, solar, something on our properties uh to help offset those so that we can maybe develop some uh future revenue. Um what I asked the the city manager to do was to uh uh investigate consulting with a company that's capable of uh of doing that and I gave them some names of some companies uh that did that. U anyway I gave us some direction on that and I I think you have it in writing. I don't need to read it from here, but uh I I think that there's an opportunity for us to to look at different ways to do this. And I I don't think it's going to relieve uh the burden on the city, but it help might help uh offset it somewhat. So, uh in all my comments, uh I support council members uh uh Gonzalez's motion. So, thank you. Thank you, Council Member Coleman. I don't see any other requests to speak. You have a motion. Please cast your votes. Motion is approved with council member core absent. Thank you. Next item, please. Council and mayor statements. Thank you. Is anybody having problems sighting in? Council member Basher, I just had a few questions, Mr. uh Cle. Um, in regards to uh repaving and road maintenance. I was curious as to where on the calendar MIG Avenue Wyel to Goford is going to be. I'd like to know where on the calendar white on white white lane Wyel to Gossford is is um as well as El Portal from Ming to Westworld Laurel Glenn and Half Moon. Uh and then I'd also like to know what's in front of them as far as the roads go. I would also like to request uh another personnel meeting and on the agenda. I don't know uh being on the council for only a few months uh what it would look like to set um maybe a policy workshop or create like to create look at creating some policy uh for personnel. Uh and so like to refer that back to you uh regarding personnel and in a meeting soon. And then I have two uh budget questions. I'd like to know how much we've spent uh on since 2020 to the open door network as well as Moss Adams both from 2020 till current. How much we've spent. And then lastly, um, uh, public safety, and I heard it tonight at the DIAS, isn't just, you know, police, but also making sure that kids h are safe and pedestrians are safe, but I, Mr. Smith, I have to to address a comment that you made that no one on PSVS is in agreement with uh your ideas of public safety. And I would say that that's not true and that's a little bit disrespectful to accuse them of that without them being here to confront that and speak to that. I would say that they might be more um uh just not on the same page of of what your idea to implement looks like. Um, but I think that public safety is definitely a care for them to sacrifice time to volunteer to to be a part of that committee. Um, and I think it was my and it was in in and maybe it's in reference to bike lanes and that being an ongoing issue, but I think it was the first or second meeting that I sat up here and I listened to a consultant say that he wouldn't advise bike lanes on certain streets. And when you hear that in the public from the consultant that put that together and then you look at where we've put our bike lanes, you add two and two together and his recommendation was those, you know, what we've done are very dangerous and he would recommend against that. That was the consultant that was in charge of that. Um it's not a matter of not not liking that. It's a matter of finding the most effective way of protecting our kids and pedestrians and and adding a layer of accountability uh and and adding that um u in our city for for everyone. There needs to be more account people need to be held accountable um for breaking the law for for speeding uh for being reckless. Um but I I just wanted to to bring that up just I didn't think that was very fair. Thank you, council member. Council member Gonzalez, you know, council, uh, homelessness has been our number one priority, um, since I've been on the council. Um, along with public safety. Um, and we've relied on, uh, many community partners to really carry out the day-to-day to help address those who are experiencing homelessness, who are in crisis, and who need help. Open Door Network has actually been one of the strongest partners for the city for decades. Um if if if my memory serves me correct, when Open Door, the Bakersville Homeless Center actually opened up, it was the city of Bakersville that first uh partnered um and provided some uh property for that shelter. Um and uh that partnership has uh has grown over time and as a result has helped keep many uh women and children uh from experiencing homelessness on our streets. Uh Open Door Network is now uh set to uh begin construction on a new campus, a muchneeded campus. Uh if you visited the current site, it is in um well I would say close to disrepair. It is it is there's a lot of maintenance issues at that property. And so it is necessary for them to move on and to and to have a better facility for those that they serve. Um one of the issues that impedes their uh progress uh are these impact fees. And we've talked about impact fees in a lot of different venues. Um, and it it does not make a lot of sense to me how we can um impose park impact fees on this particular project. Uh, and so I would like to ask staff uh to bring back a resolution uh to this council uh so that we uh can wave uh those impact fees through a resolution uh approved and adopted by this this body. Thank you. Thank you, Council Member Smith. Yeah, I just want if I miss smoke, I want to apologize. Did I thought PSVs made the recommendations to not include traffic calming in PSVS monies? That is correct, council member, and that's what I was stating. And on your other issue, the Moss Adams was referring to the five- foot bike lanes on arterials, which I absolutely agree are not safe. What we have built is not safe. We need to do better is the point the and I agree the the answer is all of the above. We need more enforcement. We need accountability. We need jail beds. We need but we also need traffic calming. We need to design our streets so that people drive safer naturally. Thank you. Thank you, council member. I don't see other requests to speak. This week is National Police Week and tomorrow is Peace Officers Memorial Day and we're just so grateful that all across our country, we're paying tribute to the officers who have died in the line of duty or have been disabled both federally at the state level and locally. And thank you to our local law enforcement. And with that, we stand adjourned at 6:11. [Music] Hey hey hey. [Music] Heat. Hey, heat. Hey, heat.