[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 7 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 preci over this evening's meeting The Honorable mayor Karen K go good evening welcome to the installation and valediction ceremony of the 56th City Council of the city of Bakersfield it's my pleasure to call to order the 515 regular city council meeting of December 18th 2024 Madam clerk please call the role mayor go here vice mayor Gonzalez I am here council member Aras here council member Weir here council member Smith I'm here council member Freeman here council member gray here and council member core thank you welcome to counil for the privilege of being here to open in prayer tonight and uh I'm kind of excited about it I've lived here my whole life my wife has we've raised our children here and grandchildren here and I'm kind of excited about new things in the air so let's call on the Lord together let's pray father we thank you that uh in this nation men have been calling on your presence and your grace and your empowerment uh for these two centuries and we're so grateful Lord that you've heard our cry we even pray tonight Lord that as we celebrate these incoming and thank those that are outgoing Lord we thank you God for all that you're doing in our city may you continue God in your Providence to show grace and mercy and love and kindness to those who lead us your word calls us to pray for our leaders and we do that tonight as new ones are placed here old ones continue on this great work we continue to commit them to you as we commit this wonderful City to you in Jesus name amen amen thank you Pastor would you all still uh remain standing we'll have the presentation of the colors followed by Jasmine Bashir Tosh leading Us in the pledge after the flags come down and she's 11 years old and the daughter of our council member elect present colors salute pledge I pled aliance 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 WR thank you thank you you may be seated it's a pleasure to have some special guests with us some elected officials assemblywoman JZ meet Baines from the 35th District Dr Baines Somewhere Out There supervisor latia Perez Kern County District Five supervisor former council member of Ward six Jackie Sullivan and former council member of Ward seven Russell Johnson thank you so much for your presence here 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 and 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 deorum 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 behavior that disrupts the meeting includes repetitive statements shouting interrupting staff or presenters during the meeting speaking out of turn and Outburst from the audience surpassing the two-minute time limit I have a special presentation at this point and I'm going to ask those who are standing in the back to please sit down we won't be able to move ahead until everyone's seated for five reasons and speaking of fire um is there a chief in the house think I need you to stand here in case we have any fires the year was 1995 bra heart on best picture won the best pictures at the Academy Awards Toy Story Batman Forever Apollo 13 ruled at the box office Amazon sold its first book The Macarena topped the charts while Seinfeld and friends were the most popular shows on TV and chief John frando was officially hired by the city of Bakersville As A Firefighter since then Chief has gone on to hold many other titles climbing the fire ladder of the department positions with the most recent being our wonderful fire chief now we're here almost 30 years later and chief frando has become an integral leader in our City's agency Chief frando you've represented us so well it's time for his retirement just in case you didn't know that he's uh leaving us thank you for your integrity professionalism and we're just so thankful for your commitment to this service of our city and to the residents of our city and it's my honor it's behind here to be able to present you the certificate of recognition and for 29 years you deserve a medal city manager CLE come up stay up here I think Christian might say a few words congratulations Chief just wanted to share a couple of words in addition to of course a very uh successful and stored career most important to me are the values that Chief Rando really emits and reflects in the work that he does chief Rando has been a consumate professional he really thinks about the best things for this community um he's been an incredible team player he cares deeply about his fire team but also about the entire city team and thinks hard about his colleagues the other department directors but most importantly Chief's integrity and his uh honesty and what he brings to the table and caring about this community is really what defines his career and so thank you so much chief for your service uh thank you honorable mayor thank you uh members of the city council Mr CLE uh the thank yous definitely go both ways uh I would like to thank you for the opportunities that I have been given to be able to serve this great Community uh a community where I was born and raised where my family and friends live uh I've been blessed to be part of the organization not just a city fire department but the entire city organization I've rubbed doubles with so many great professionals who care deeply about the the safety security and well-being of the city uh I'm I'm humbled to have been a part of s something much bigger than myself uh thank you again for the opportunity uh I would be remiss if I didn't say uh thank you also to my wife Vanessa who's in in attendance she's been uh really the backbone of our family has really taken on The Lion Share of the duties around the house especially when I was in suppression and uh working through trying to earn my Master's Degree at Kel State Bakersfield and trying to promote so it's because of her contributions to my career my family my education that I am today who I am so thank you to my wife as well [Applause] Madam clerk next item please public statements in keeping with council's resolution public statements are now received at different times depending on the item I will call on the city clerk to call for public statements at the appropriate time so please listen carefully if you wish to make a public statement please fill out a public speaker card and place it in the tray on the counter next to the speaker's Podium we ask that you mark whether you're here to speak on an item listed on tonight's agenda or in a matter not on the agenda speakers who do not identify a specific agenda item will be presumed speakers for 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'll call for you at a later time if public statements become disruptive and I've 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 mam clerk do we have any public speakers regarding regarding items not listed on the agenda mayor go we've received four speaker cards regarding items not listed on tonight's agenda the first public speaker is Eddie Lane followed by Sharon Brill followed by anel followed by Rick Andros [Music] good evening uh amidst all this celebration I I feel like it's hard to do business but I need to do a little bit of business tonight congratulations to the current Council and to the incoming Council people and to all of the the friends and supporters who are here this evening uh the business of this city is so critically important to the well-being of of all of the all of us all the citizens and we who are regular citizens appreciate all of you thank you um we had an opportunity we were here on the 20th of November and we were charged with beginning to do some work on tree issues while we're doing it uh we uh you will get pictures they look very much much alike from last Friday when we were down at Tron lakes and we had a very um very good working group meeting yesterday with City staff uh we had K River Parkway there we had uh UCSB uh that's my grad sorry I talk about my school I graduate from Cal State University Bakersfield and the Sierra Club there and we're passing out a series of recommendations that came out of that meeting so we're uh we're ready to go to work we're actually starting kind of a working group so when we are uh when you're ready to charge us formally we're ready to go to work but one more congratulations to current and future council members thank you thank you Mr Lane next speaker please Sharon brill [Music] good evening I'd like to um thank you again for allowing us to discuss the tree canopy situation in Bakersfield and I'd like to follow up now with uh understanding how our committee of dedicated citizens that showed up at the last meeting how we will proceed uh could we possibly get an update on the referral on forming our committee that will be looking at tree canopy taking inventory uh meeting regularly uh giving feedback to the council regarding our tree canopy thank you Mr Clay can you follow up with her later maybe unless you wish to make a few comments now thank you mayor and mayor and councel U City staff has been discussing what an Advisory Group formation should look like we've given some direction to uh Rick Anthony and Darren budak on that um Advisory Group and uh in the new year we'll be reaching out to folks thank you okay we greatly appreciate your support and good luck to the leaving Council people and uh good luck for the ones that are incoming and Merry Christmas thank you Miss BR next speaker please on L and then I'm going to ask for those of you who are standing in the back to please uh take a seat and then miss lar if you can just wait until everybody's seated please welcome okay so good evening everybody so I can Echo what Sharon bre and Eddie Lane actually said said so CSUB and our community is ready to help the city to implement the tree plan in a way that it is sustainable supported by experts gets good feedback and is not a waste of funds you know we are here to help and we need an official referral that we can get started everybody is eager to help with the urban heat island effect shade you know natural carbon sequestration making our city beautiful and we have a lot of support from the community to help every everybody to get this done okay that's all I want to say thank you thank you madam clerk next speaker please Rick andrios and for those of you who have just entered uh there's some seats over here and we just welcome you to sit down welcome please introduce yourself and go ahead thank you uh my name is Rick andreadis appreciate the time uh tonight I'm here to talk about something that doesn't get discussed very often and that is the uh crisis of barrel cat population here in Bakersfield I've lived in a lot of States uh I will say personally what I've experienced here is probably one of the most severe out of any of the places I've lived um first I want to just let everybody know that there is there are laws Against Animal Cruelty and dumping of animals and I request that we up our efforts to enforce those laws also my wife is a member of a community program that does uh TNR which is trap neuter uh return uh part of their duties are to go out to these feral cat communities feed them get them acclimated to seeing humans and then be able to trap them take them to the vet get them neuter and then release them back with the the intent being we reduce the feral cat population or at least stem it from from growing so uh I have also participated in in some of these events I have personally been bitten to where my finger is permanently uh messed up for lack of a better term through an infection I've been sprayed by a skunk and uh the volunteers do this on their own time with their own money and an effort to help and some of them are verbally assaulted by members of the community where they're trapping and feeding uh there are also laws against that so I just ask that we do what we can to help enforce those laws educate the community and let them know that these people that are out there are actually trying to help and reduce this Barrel cat population uh there are shelters out there that could use more help and assistance and I just ask for you guys to take this into account think about it and think about what you could do thank you thank you thank you for your efforts uh to volunteer vice mayor thank you sir for commenting this evening I really appreciate you lifting up this issue it is an important issue for the city of Bakers to address and in fact I think you'd be happy to know that the city actually funds A TNR program um and perhaps it's time for us to revisit that program and its Effectiveness and perhaps expand that program so I'll make a referral tonight uh to the safe and healthy communities uh committee uh that we uh take take take on this topic in 2025 thank you thank you we'll now move to the public statements listed on the agenda if you're here to speak on items listed under consent calendar item six or appointments items 12 a through e your time to speak is now again each speaker will be 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 new bus item 11a now is not the time to speak it'll be given an opportunity to speak on this item later when it's called Madam clerk do we have any public speakers regarding it items listed on consent calendar item six or appointments item 12 a through e marero we've received four speaker cards regarding regarding items listed on tonight's agenda the first public speaker is Carl Nita followed by Leah Carter followed by Maria po followed by Bill Bower welcome please introduce yourself uh good afternoon good evening um welcome to all the new city council members and the and the outgoing ones thank you very much for your service we really appreciate everything that the city council does honorable mayor and city council I'd like to thank take a moment to introduce myself my name is Carl n I'm applying for appointment to the miscellaneous Civil Service Commission my wife Beverly and I have been residents of the city for 43 years I'm originally from the east coast and came to California as a broadcast journalist over the years I shifted careers and joined the public sector retiring from the Santa Monica Police Department my educational background includes studies in Communications law and public administration I'm honored to be give back to our community that I so love by serving on this important commission thank you and happy holidays everybody thank you Mr Mr next speaker please Leah Carter welcome please introduce yourself good evening my name is Leah Carter I am from the Kern Gateway Trail committee creating a 15m connected Trail in the Kern camp high above the Majestic Kern River is going to be amazing and people are going to come from all over to experience the beauty of this Trail also supporting this Trail is supporting public health because it's going to get people out to exercise exercise is uh helpful in preventing chronic diseases which is great for Kern County as well on behalf of the committee the Kern Gateway triail committee and on behalf of the 2,000 people that signed our petition we greatly appreciate the support and effort of the city council in passing this resolution so thank you very much we appreciate it thank you next speaker please Maria polite welcome please introd pleasure to be here again my name is Maria polite and I'm speaking in favor of the 15 Mile Trail I'm so excited I'm 82 years old I intend to to walk all 15 miles of it I've been walking in the canyon since I've been in Bakersfield and I it's a beautiful place and I think we're going to get this amazing Trail thank you so much to the staff that supports it and I hope all of you will vote for this as well thank you thank you Miss polite next speaker please Bill Bower hi my name is Bill Bower uh I GRE up in Bakersville so I'm very familiar with the uh terrain and the uh areas around Bakersville um over the last 15 years I'm a local hiking guide and organizer I've interacted with hundreds of hikers uh over the last 15 years and I'm also amateur photographer and I've seen a lot of people's lives the quality of their lives greatly improved by hiking getting outside seeing things going on Wildflower hikes in the canyon is an amazing place for wild flowers during the springtime so uh because of that I'm here also in support of this particular proposal and I hope that the uh council members will support this as well so we just want to thank you for your time thank you madam cler are there any other speakers Amero that was our final public speaker thank you next item please consent calendar item 6A through 6i for approval thank you colleagues does anybody wish to rec themselves or pull an item seeing none I move to approve the consent calendar you have a motion please cast your votes mayor go if I may please have a roll call vote uh yes vice mayor Gonzalez I council member Adias I council member Weir I council member Smith yes council member Freeman yes council member gray I and council member core yes motion is approved thank you next item please installation ceremony thank you and I'd ask now council member Freeman if you would join me at the podium council member Freeman seven plus years of outstanding service thank you so much for your investment in Ward five and in our city and you have brought wisdom so many many years of development thank you for your leadership as chair of planning and development and Legend lit and then all the other committees that you served on many Community Serv serves Personnel water resources and your leadership in keeping this city business friendly that is our goal we've heard you speak on on that many times wanting to attract employers and create jobs thank you for also improving our City's image you've talked about that many times and then your strong fiscal policy we really appreciate you we want to celebrate you and it's my honor on behalf of the city of Bakersville to present the certificate of recognition in honor of your dedicated service and seven years of outstanding leadership a medal and to stay here city manager CLE council member Freeman has been advocating to the city for good-looking streets landscaping and boulevards for years and years he's seen what it can look like well he's built what can look like well and is encouraging all of us to do the same and so we're very pleased council member to present to you Bruce Freeman Boulevard for many of our guests council member Freeman is also a major Harvard fan and Alum and so we present to you also this customized Memorial sign for B Freeman star player on the football team of Harvard lastly council member Freeman uh your accomplishments visibly tangibly in the community will be seen for many many years to come this is just a small token though to recognize you for your seven years of service that you can keep with you in your home or office and so thank you so much for your dedicated service to this community thank you and we'll have you go back up and we'll offer comments later council member Gray what passion four years of outstanding service done it all with a heart thank you for your service to Ward six to our entire Community your leadership as chair of community services and then your service on Planning Development Personnel safe and healthy neighborhoods council member gray I know that you've been trying to protect our neighborhoods being a good Steward of taxpayer dollars and wanting to see new and wonderful jobs created and then a patriot and a lover of God thank you so much for bringing all of that into your service it's my honor on behalf the city of Bakersville to present the certificate of recognition to you city manager C council member gray is a person who speaks and acts from her heart and she's always been committed to doing what she felt was right to her conscience and so I think Patty you could always say that you did it your way so Patty gray way is presented to you council member gray has also done important things for our community in continuing to have U focus on topics that are important to her and I think it would be fair to say um those topics that even council member Jackie Sullivan felt was important and council member gray has continued uh in honor of those things and so we also have this Memorial street sign in God we trust [Applause] and council member gray um I've shared this with council member gray personally but I know I don't think she would mind me sharing that uh she didn't seek out elected office uh for herself it was for the community and I've always shared that I think that those best public servants are those that come to serve the public and so in honor of your four years of service we also present this plaque to you thank you p I that happens your goods the boss told me that the uh marketing B told me we need picture now council member Freeman we're so grateful for you uh we invite you at this time to offer any remarks that you would like time for statements all right um oh before I forget I want to be sure I thank and commend the C the city staff Bakersfield for the for working with me so politely and effectively um responsively uh I couldn't have asked for a more courteous and responsive staff so and I don't think that's true in every city but we have a great staff and uh makes our job so much easier as Council people um and next I'd like to thank my fellow council members for uh putting up with me collaborating with me uh helping me to solve problems um being friends um when I first came on the council uh you know I came 33 whatever or more years in the private sector and in the private sector real estate development which which is a particularly hardnose aggressive business kind kind of like the oil company you huge ups and downs crashes but um and in that business you learn to be aggressive um always getting up again already get KN down and you that sort of private sector experience um has made me realize the and imbued me with a sense you always move forward you always stay positive you something about the future you don't worry about the past you don't procrastinate make decisions quit and you move forward forward forward and was a little hard for me to adjust to of the public sector when I first came on where a lot more emphasis on collaboration listening to others gaining support uh you know for me in the past it was sort of nice have a team meeting listen to everybody and said all right here's the decision we're going and it's not like that in government I'm not saying it should but I do think it could benefit by being a little more like the private sector and you know maybe that's partly our role as Council people to be a little impatient uh my prior boss had a lot of sayings but one of them I don't think original with him was that you know work expands to fill the time allotted for and there's nothing so true as that uh you make decisions when you have to and I remember many nights working for this man um the meeting would end at six in La down in his Tower and he'd say and don't leave until that Memo's on my desk you'd be there till midnight or one morning you didn't leave till it was on his desk the problem was solved and those are good lessons and so I hope my colleagues from the private sector keep keep pushing because we need we need the collaboration of government uh but we need that impetus to not procrastinate to move forward faster uh I know everyone on this council is dedicated to the city every single one of them um they're not here for the money they here because they love Baker's field and uh want to see the city improve uh I hope maybe I helped a little bit in my seven years I probably Mo got more out of the council than the council got out of me uh May me probably learn to be a little better listener uh learn some new skills you know I was I'm currently the oldest person on the council and uh you know you can still grow and learn when you're my age too uh so this was a a great experience for me I want to thank thank everybody the city and my colleagues and staff for uh for giving me this experience thank you thank you council member Freeman your experience your public your private sector experience have just been so invaluable we're better because of you council member gray well Bruce it's been a joy to serve with you yeah I miss that um I'm I I have to write my notes down because if I don't I'm going to forget something so bear with me just for a few minutes if you would because I wanted to make sure that I was able to um honor those people that needed to be honored and uh hopefully Inspire others um first of all good evening everyone thank you for coming this is an amazing group tonight to have here for those that are incoming and those that are out of us that are outgoing but I want to start by saying first that my heart is over flowing with gratitude for the opportunity that I've had to serve this great City I never aspired to take on this position as uh the city manager had shared with you uh my good friend uh Jackie Sullivan approached me about a year prior and my husband and my first response was no are you kidding me never and uh once uh I told her no the Holy Spirit began to work on my heart and about 6 months later um I with making a prayerful decision with my husband it wasn't one that we made easily um we decided I'd say we decided to take on the challenge and I felt like I had the support that I needed to be able to step into this position so if you could allow me to thank those that I am just so grateful for first of all I want to thank my heavenly father for creating me for service and challenging ing me to do great things be be beyond what I could have ever imagined My Savior Jesus Christ Karen asked me last night are you going to cry tomorrow Patty and I and I felt like saying as the pope Catholic um but I'm sorry I'm just a little tender I'm more tender sorry Bruce um My Savior Jesus Christ for giv me the strength to fulfill my responsibilities as I was coming here tonight I thought how in the world what we just retired in July how did I do everything that I'm doing this time of the year and it's only because the Lord has given me the strength to do it and for the Holy Spirit who leads me through this journey called life without him I would be nowhere next I'd like to thank my husband ever who always stood behind me and encouraged me sometimes he wasn't quite as encouraging as I needed him to be but most of the time especially let's say after those tougher Mee meetings when I'm driving home and I need somebody to talk to uh we've worked together as a team through thick and thin and business for 41 years and then married for 50 and I'm eternally grateful for you honey you are the joy of my life I met him at 16 so that's pretty much my life huh um and I'm stepping aside uh this position because of you I'll get it together here somebody tell a joke or something on this di would you please help me out of this we love you keep going a thank you to my sons my daughter-in-laws and grandchildren who have watched me juggle many balls in the last four years even shaking their heads at times like Mom what were you think and we told you so but still supported me with pride and curiosity at times while celebrating my victories thank you for allowing your mom to answer the call and to our friends of almost four decades Ed and R esri Ed a retired BPD range Master investigator SWAT member one who served a city faithfully and my dear rayen who is my prayer partner call it honor today and my loyal friend who has always encouraged a had given me an encouraging word and a shoulder available whenever I needed thank you and Lance and Sue I called sue the fun friend she's always got something she's laughing about um business people here in Bakersfield Elling and behind me from day one encouraging me when I doubted myself walked my ward and fundraised Sue went on to accept my appointment to keep Baker so beautiful and has Faithfully served the city for the same four years I have good job Sue thank you so much very much appreciated Kathy aberi and team including her daughter meline Kathy you have heard this from me before but thank you for helping me grow into this position by challenging me to recognize things about myself that I was fully unaware of you are a great mentor and Coach but more importantly I have found a friend for life and I'm very grateful for that thank you for your sacrificial hard work that you have invested in our community for decades way before I ever knew you thank you you and your husband Mark and to our city staff our city manager's office Christian thank you for listening every week to my concerns and my opinions at times even rants in fact a lot of times even rants why genuinely you weighed out every word that was spoken and I knew you heard me thank you for that the help team I have to mention them the girls that are in the background when any of you citizens in this city send an email make a phone call these are the girls thank God for them that take every one of those emails and make sure that our citizenry it's put that they find the right people to deal with their issues and then send them to us as council members so that we can take care of those that we feel like need additional attention so I just want you to know how much I appreciate you and I'm so grateful I think this department was formed just about the time I came on the council so it was just in time for me let me tell you um and you're hidden in the background girls but you're never forgotten never you've been just such a true blessing to our city to our city attorney's office don't don't let Jenny fool you she's she's not as she's got a soft heart and uh I've seen up close Jenny your hard work with you and your personnel um you all have taken your jobs very seriously there's not a member of this city staff that I've worked with that haven't done so but I want to tell you that our that our attorneys in this city have prevented us Council maker council members from making what could be very cost ly mistakes at times would you all agree with me on that one and um I've enjoyed working with with each one of you and have appreciated how you've respected me shown me that respect and helped me along thank you and to our mayor K Karen go who continues to support her city council city manager staff and the citizens of Bakersville with her heart for this city nobody's got a bigger heart than Karen she is continually working hard behind the scenes to Advocate with State and F federal government officials for City policies that will benefit our cities while at the same time attending every invitation that goes out to her and I have never seen anybody more dedicated and hardworking than this woman and we all have a lot to be grateful for and Karen and and thank God we're going to be um swearing you in again for the next four years next month so we're blessed to have her and thank you for your support and friendship and to Chief Terry and chief Rondo I don't see Chief Terry out there tonight is he here you can he us okay he's in the back I just want you to know that you two have a lot to be proud of a lot to be proud of your leadership has a created an exemplary team of Frontline departments that our city is benefiting from every single police officer or firefighter that I have ever met that I have been extremely impressed with and they are salt of the earth cream of the crop our two departments do the best absolute best job of hiring the right people and they're there when disaster and tragedy strike and uh from the upper ranks to the Administration staff to the front lines I've never met an officer firefighter or person in a support role that I was not totally impressed with again thank you for your service each and one of you are in uniform or out of uniform in those departments and to the Thursday morning prayer group most of you don't even know who they are in this city but we do thank you for the hundreds of prayers that you pray on a weekly basis over this city you women and one gentleman in that group um sitting in for his deceased wife have done battle in the heavenlies and have blessed our city Beyond measure bringing Heaven to Earth thank you for your support encouraging words and your prayers you are a huge asset to our city so ladies I hope you hear this if you know any of them make sure they turn on YouTube tomorrow and hear it and then at last but certainly not least to my constituents in Ward six thank you for putting your trust in Patty gray just an ordinary person that nobody really knew someone that they still decided to take a chance on and elected me to this position I do admit that when I stepped into the seat with fear and trembling trust me um but I have learned so much by facing the challenges that came with the position I would hope that I can Inspire others to go beyond what you think you can do any of you in this audience today by trusting those around you who cheer you on but even more important by trusting the god that created you serving on this Council has enriched my life forever thank you Bakersfield so in closing I'd like to say tonight is a Bittersweet moment for me bitter because I have enjoyed representing this great City meeting new people building new relationships watching local government at work and having the opportunity with my one vote to support policies that I would would benefit all citizens while at the same time protecting protecting tax dollars and speaking out when I disagreed has been an honor I have enjoyed being part of a of building something better for us all I will very much Miss the interaction sweet because I'm leaving the seat in good hands when endorsing a predecessor I was looking for a person who would believe in and help lead the city towards greatness I found that person in and Zach Basher tach he could not have been a better choice for Bakersfield he's a native of Bakersfield he's a good man who earns the respect of others that communicate with him just wait Bakersfield till you get to know this man you're going to love him he's a man of his word and one that can be trusted a family man a man of Faith a businessman and a man that can intellectually articulate at his opinions and arguments Zach will be an asset in finding solutions for our city and Zach I just wish you all the best so last I want to reiterate the fact that we are blessed to live in the county of Kern in the city of Bakersville where we are known for hard work Traditional Values and generosity and that is all over the United States we're known for that I think of this quote when I think of our city you all have probably heard it before but it Bears repeating for this occasion tonight and I hope it will inspire my colleagues that are coming and my colleagues that I'm leaving this quote has been attributed to Alexis d a French commentator and author who wrote Democracy in America in 1835 he said America is great because America is good and if America ever ceases to be good she will cease to be great this truth has not changed since the founding of our great nation as we all continue in our roles as leaders and citizens mothers fathers teachers business owners retirees that are volunteering for the the Kern River in this wonderful community that we call home let us us as a group all do our part to continue to be good so that we in the city of Bakersfield will never cease to be great thank you again for the opportunity to serve this great City and God bless you all in this city of Bakersville council member council member gray you've been a blessing to our community that tenderness that you displayed the commitment to your convictions and your Reliance on God for wisdom have made our city more beautiful so thank you and colleagues at this point I would invite you to make any any comments that you would like go ahead thank you um I have to say I'm getting a little sad up here at this time um both council member gray and council member Freeman have been incredible assets to the city council in my opinion and I don't think the public really uh appreciates how much and how often we work together uh not only on this di but also in various different committee meetings um often times one-on-one for uh for cost coffee or for a lunch or for just a check-in on any particular uh topic or sometimes just general um vision of the city and um and I'm going to miss you two uh and I want to thank you on behalf of uh my constituents for your service to the to the whole city um I want to address you both individually uh council member Freeman you and I started roughly the same time and it's been a real honor to serve side by side with you over the last seven plus years and get to know you and uh learn from you and I've always appreciated how um thoughtful you have been with every single issue that came before us on this dis I felt that you have really listened and considered all sides of the issue before making decisions and I think that makes a a really effective public servant um I also want to thank you uh because you uh were one of four people on the DI who uh supported the brunes navigation Center which has helped now over 700 people uh off the streets move off the streets and into either shelter or permanent housing over the last few years and that is not nothing that is that is something very special that the city of Bakersfield has been able to invest in uh whereas many other communities have not been so fortunate and I want to thank you for your leadership and stepping up in that particular issue it's been an honor to work with you um you know uh counc uh sorry city manager CLE mentioned that uh council member Freeman actually played for the Harvard uh football team uh but we're a team up here as well and I wanted to give to you on behalf of the council and behalf of the Bakersville Condors uh Condors Jersey here we go thank you thank you no it says there you go there you oh thank you that's pretty cool thanks Andre appreciate council member gray you get one too and I think you'll be great on the ice actually knowing how how aggressive you are I don't want to break a hip yeah uh but no practice starts Monday um but uh I want to say to you uh it's been a joy working with you the last four years understanding your perspective I admire uh how much you articulate your faith in a very sincere and authentic way uh for all of us in the community um and I also want to say I I appreciate our ability to work together uh to honor our veterans in the local community in particular the World War II Memorial at uh jastro Park and the Avenue of Heroes that uh we've established this year it's because of uh your pushing and a lot of the community members and uh that that we were able to accomplish that together so I want to thank you for your leadership for your service and uh here's your jersey [Applause] okay there we go there we go [Applause] CW well thank you um Patty I can't believe you're leaving I uh I depend on you a lot and our conversations and our thoughts and and just being together and knowing that we're uh we're a block and we were we were hooked at the hips so uh I'm going to miss you and uh and I hope that um you'll find the happiness that you've been looking for and share that and that your life just continues to grow and Bloom Bruce I have known you for many a year and um it's been interesting because uh I would come and beg for money and uh you would teach me a lesson and I always felt like I was more educated when I left and uh I really appreciated that and you've always supported me and and I've tried my way to support you too and uh the lessons that youve that you've brought I I won't forget them but um I will miss you so good luck with the rest of your life and God bless you council member Smith thank you mayor it's been pleasure working with both of you Patty gray I share that you know we've both had our own businesses and and we share that experience and also a strong faith and and that we make our decisions based on that faith I think we share and and Bruce you know I've am also a real estate developer as Bruce and and had that experience and understand and and was was able to work with Bruce when you know the importance of the way a city looks and the quality of life that you produce with developments the importance of streets that serve all people and and the complete streets and the importance of Public Safety parks and many things we agreed on we work hard on together so I appreciate working with both of you I you know you're here because you want to serve the community and that's a wonderful thing and appreciate your service thank you council member Smith council member core thank you mayor well to my seatmate um I still remember the first day that I took this seat uh I didn't even know how to turn the mic on and Patty's like here press this button and um since that day your uh your generosity and spirit and commitment to this Council uh it was something for me to learn as well in my first two years uh as I'm learning all of the processes but also in new teamwork and new collaboration and a lot of the times you know just being able to um brainstorm things with you sitting here have Reflections and responses uh really guided me and so I want to thank you for that and as well as council member Freeman who uh who I love nerding out with City Planning things and uh reading Urban Land Institute magazines and uh Bruce I appreciate your mentorship your leadership on the council um I knew I always had uh someone who was pragmatic experienced um levelheaded and you bring the experience and knowledge that guided us through a lot of the infrastructure decisions that we're making up here um and as well as in planning and development uh your experience and mentorship is something I counted on as well and um and I know this is uh not the end I'll be bugging you a bunch for uh feedback and advice and mentorship in many many years to come uh but just want to thank you uh more than anything for your friendship and I want to give a huge shout out to Monica uh you two are so sweet uh and lovely people and um honestly I didn't even realize we had a celebrity up here until recently um someone who uh saved the game when Harvard played Yale and uh there are plenty of books and documentaries you can watch just Google them Bruce Freeman was the man who made sure that Harvard won so I needed to make that Public Announcement because um I think he's just way too humble about it uh so yeah we were in the company of a legend and I want to thank both of you for your time in in truly serving our community um thank you so much thank you council member core council member arus thank you mayor and I'll just pick up where my colleague just left off uh you would think that he was um a natural born head coach with how much knowledge he has and his wisdom and experience and ability to lead not only projects and initiatives but people um and Bruce I just got to tip my cap off to you you've been an incredible colleague uh to work with u but also to learn from uh you have just such a wealth of knowledge and experience that you know I've certainly benefited from and um you know I'm just so grateful for having that opportunity to have joined you on this dis and uh I wish you and Monica the best and uh thank you both so much for your contributions to the city um next council member gray uh I just want to say it's been an honor uh for the past four years we both joined the the dice at the same very time and after the M uh well really still in the middle of the pandemic um where we both had to run campaigns uh with masks on and and face Shields um and it's been an honor to get to know you on and your passion and also uh thank you Everett um for sharing her uh with both us on the on the dice but also with our city uh your heart is so pure uh you care so deeply about this community you care about your District um and that has never been a question that I've ever had um and so I just want to say thank you so much for your service to the city and uh I wish you both the best thank you thank you council member arus let's give it up for council member Freeman council member Gray and now as uh council member Freeman council member gray leave and I'm going to invite vice mayor Gonzalez council member elect Larry Coleman and council member elect Zack B air Tosh to join the city clerk and that's how he wants his name pronounced we practiced please raise your right hand do you solemnly swear or airm to support and defend the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of the State of California against all enemies foreign and domestic that you will bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of the State of California that you take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion and that you will well and Faithfully discharge the duties upon which you are about to enter congratulations congratulations council members council members I invite you now to please take your seat at the deis unless she oh she has some special presentations after that thank you and now if you will all take your seats up here and we'll invite you to make comments so we'll ask our newly elected officials council member Coleman you're welcome to make comments well thank you mayor I appreciate the uh your graciousness and uh and uh okay I want to uh thank the council for being welcoming um I want to introduce my family though if I have if I could have a minute uh my brother Greg Greg can you stand up Greg traveled all the way from witch Windfield Kansas to come out here today for this very important for our family thank you my daughter's next to him is Lindsay and lesie lesie and Lindsay and lesie Lesley's new husband Joel Joel sorry they just got married just before Thanksgiving so my word to you Joel Joel good luck and Deborah Gonzalez my partner and uh [Applause] hi so I just want to say that it's a gratitude and humility that I accept the responsibility and trusted me as a councilman I'm honored to represent the voters award five and thank them sincerely for placing their trust in me um your voices concerns and hopes for our community will guide my work I also want to thank to many residents Beyond Ward five that all that expressed uh support during my campaign and I want you to know I represent everybody so um I wanted to uh to give a little credit to some of the groups that endorse me uh the Home Builders Association the Realtor Association the Chamber of Commerce the firefighters and uh many other organizations um I also wanted to recognize Bruce Freeman uh thank you Bruce uh for your mentorship and your enement and support I appreciate that um it's been said that I'm replacing you but I don't feel like I'm replacing you I'm really following you because I don't think you're replaceable so uh thank you for everything you've done we've known each other for a long time and uh it's it's uh it's good to see good it's good to I appreciate the endorsement and it's it's good to see you moving on in your life and uh I wish you well uh um I also wanted to thank two men that shaped my life I'm a different man than I was when I came to Bakersfield 30 years ago and the first person was uh uh my friend Wayne lepine who's gone now but he hired me he coached me mentored me and kind of taught me how to be a good man I think and uh uh his wisdom and belief in me continue to inspire me and when whenever I'm thinking about how I'm going to resolve something I think about what what would Wayne do um and to Harvey Hall and so most of you know who Harvey Hall is and was he introduced me to city government and he uh he he got me to join the Redevelopment agency and kind of ignited that spark uh so I and I I'm really confident that if he was here today he would have been heavily involved in my campaign so uh I wanted to recognize him and I want to thank the city staff over the years I've been on Redevelopment agency Planning Commission measure in and a lot of other things and City staff has always been excellent in you know dealing with me and the way I communicate not so well sometimes and uh they're always very gracious to me and they always try to uh uh solve whatever problems I have and I've always appreciated that that I'm grateful to my team uh Kim tapman I think she might have left because I think she went over to start the reception after work so so she's always taking care of my business kept the wheels on my business while I was uh running around knocking out people's doors trying to get votes um Anna Raina who's can you wave yeah and S uh Seth I don't know if Seth is here tonight or not uh they both helped me a lot with my campaign um finally I want to thank God uh for providing me the strength wisdom and courage to persevere during all this I I've frequently said that if you aren't close to God when you start one of these campaigns you will be by time you're done because the things that you need to do you need to get that strength and and God helps you with that strength so I'm yeah so I want to thank you all for the opportunity to serve the community and uh that's it I thank you well welcome council member Coleman and now council member Zach Basher TSH well I have 150 page dissertation I'm going to read for him right now I'm just kidding I was going to take a sip of water but miss gray your lipstick is already marked this one uh I would probably drink after you except my wife would probably beat me up just kidding she's great uh and so I would like to first thank um my my uh actually my wife uh she she she was tremendous uh behind this entire campaign and just with everything in life she's a strong woman I'm I'm so thankful that we have our three kids together and that she gets to help uh we get to team up raising them up and I look forward to listening to me nag about uh things that I can't figure out over the next four years um I would wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for my faith in God um and him giving me the strength and the wisdom that I need to uh grow and to get to where I am today there's a verse that I lived by when I was younger and still young uh to a lot of people but it's don't let anyone look down on you because you are young but set an example in speech conduct Purity and in love and um and so that my faith is very important to me I love to thank my family who who knocked and walked alongside me uh my entire campaign and I I campaigning and running for any type of government is not for the faint of heart it is incredibly difficult and can be very challenging and it's a shame um to see how things have kind of become these days and I hope that uh My Hope Is that bakers will be a community that works together to solve uh problems that benefit the entire body of Bakersfield um that we'll be able to have conversations without formulating opinions before we even get into the room and making our minds up that we'll be able to do what's right by by our constituents and not the the groups that shout the loudest um I hope to do well by every one of you in this room um I plan on working hard that's what my family does best my mom my dad my Aunts Uncles uh my kids we we like to work uh it's important to us and I look forward to getting to work for all of you uh so thank you so much for the opportunity and I hope to not let you down welcome council member council member Gonzalez thank you mayor um first and foremost I too want to thank God uh for giving me uh all the blessings that I have had in my life uh and uh giving me this opportunity to serve this wonderful Community I'd like to also thank the residents of War I you know War II is and I often say is the most historic Ward uh it is uh the most diverse Ward um and certainly it has much of the city's uh challenges in that it is it constitutes the urban core um and so representing this area has been a challenge over the years but it is also and is always a deep honor and um I just want to thank all of the people of War I from o under Sunset to East Bakersfield Southeast bakersfi the Westchester the West Park um all of these wonderful communities in neighborhoods that are historic in nature and uh who care deeply about preserving that history and ensuring that each and every neighborhood thrives it is it is an honor to be your leader in War II and I look forward to working with you over the next four years I'm also joined tonight by so many family and friends I want to point and introduce two individuals if I may first and foremost my older brother Manuel who came all the way from Ward 3 uh in Northeast Bakersfield uh to be here this evening uh Manuel is 15 years older than me I hope that's okay for me to announce but um what people don't know is often in our family gatherings he and I tussle and have these really rich debates um and oftentimes I get to learn a whole host of new ideas and perspectives uh from those things and so he has made me stronger he's made me smarter uh and I I I've always looked up to you and I want to thank you so much for for being here tonight um and also want to thank my mother um I've known her all my life uh and she's just a uh she's just a wonderful person she has she she was actually born and raised in War II on Dolores Street off of Baker um and uh her dad was uh the chef my grandpa was the chef at Baker Soul Hotel uh for many years and many different fine dining restaurants on Union Avenue uh back in the day um never had a chance to meet him myself but I I've always been proud of that um that that is been part of our family history uh and contributions to to the city of Bakersfield even back in the day and so Mom I love you and I want to thank you for uh even today still supporting your son so much I appreciate you thank you and uh finally to our new council members uh council member Basher Tosh and council member Coman welcome to the dice um congratulations um as you step into your roles um you will find yourselves really navigating the unique balance between representing your districts and serving the collective good in the entire city and there's a saying that I've always carried with me that resonates with me and that is to be stewards of the whole but owners of the part now this means for me recognizing that while you have a direct responsibility to your constituents your decisions impact the broader Health growth and success of Bakersville and you are stewards of the whole committed to the greater good and yet owners of the part ensuring that the voices and needs of your Wards are heard and addressed so I believe personally that the Hallmark of effective public service is really balancing these two roles protecting the collective good while also championing local needs and if we work with this mindset I think we can truly build a stronger more United City so I'm looking forward to working with all of you you know there's also a paradox um on serving on this governing board City Council in that we campaign as individuals but no one of us uh alone has individual Authority or power uh our power comes from the council as a whole and our ability to get things done for people relies on our willingness and our capacity to work with one another and so I encourage all of us as we move forward to embrace this this opportunity uh to serve our city with humility integrity and a focus on collaboration and together we do have the power to make Bakers field an even better place to live for everyone thank you all thank you council [Applause] member well Welcome to our new council members and welcome back to our uh longterm council member guest thank you so much for being here we're going to have an invoc A benediction by Pastor sers and then we'll go out into the lobby for some refreshments and then a at 6:50 we'll reconvene again because we have actual City business to conduct and some of you will go on and party at other places but at this point would you all please stand well I have to say this feels much more like a big gigantic love Fest tonight than it does a city council meeting you know uh it's been wonderful you feel just the the um care that you have for one another the city staff the council members uh the support of your families and friends for the incoming uh we all appreciate the hard work that you guys uh put yourself to it's it would be easy for us to forget that you wrestle with big issues in here homelessness and the economy and uh the disenfranchised how to continue to keep Bakersfield growing and expanding in a healthy way for all that live here uh these are big issues that you're going to wrestle with and uh tonight there's so much care and and appreciation for one another be easy for us to forget that what starts here now for a new term is the wrestling over these things there's a there's a a verse that comes early in the Book of Genesis after the creation of humankind and the fall of humankind there's a point where things go so badly so fast with it but it says and Men began to call on the name of the lord it's the first time that is ever mentioned in Genesis chapter 4 so in closing tonight I would just like to do what mankind who care have been doing for thousands of years and call on the name of the Lord he said at one point if we'll do that he'll show us he'll answer our Our Calling upon him and show us things that we do not know let's pray father we thank you for tonight we thank thank you for these new incoming and the service of the outgoing and tonight we just we do what your word says we call on you that you might continue to bless this governing body the city staff the city council with Heaven's wisdom Insight compassion and courage to do the right thing in every case we commit them to you we commit our city to you now in Jesus name we pray amen amen thank you again and enjoy the refreshments in the lobby be back at 650 [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] oh o [Music] [Music] oh [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] normally [Music] it's I don't know I felt like doing that uh are you giving her a hard time let's see what kind of wonderful marketing could we develop here [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] we are ready to start the next meeting [Music] you look good up there oh hey thank you thank you do we have any police officers back there if they can just close the doors can we get staff to close the back doors please guess I'll go closer [Music] we lost Eric can you close that door when please must L up as the first Speaker I had punched him before oh okay I got you do it again just in case this is not showing up at this time we will reconvene the city council meeting of December 18th 2024 Madame clerk please call the rooll mayor go here council member Arias here council member Gonzalez here council member we here council member Smith I'm here council member Coman here council member bashier TSH here council member core here thank you madam clerk next item please new business item 11a election of vice mayor thanks before we begin please note that if you're here to speak on new business item 11a the city will call for public statements each speaker will be limited to 2 minutes and will be a 20 minute time limit Madame clerk are there any speakers no uh speaker cards have been received regarding this item thank you uh staff is there any comment at this point Thank You mayor no comment thank you and now we have council member Arius thank you mayor tonight it is my honor to recognize that in this quality Spirit there is so much more that unites us than divides us and more than that so much more to even be grateful for from the city staff that join us in these meetings many of our department directors folks from our city attorney's office um our amazing team at the city manager's office led by Christian uh to the 911 dispatchers who work day and night at our fire department and also in BPD uh all the way down to the gentlemen who hallway are trash from our lovely neighborhoods there is so much to be grateful for and we are blessed with an incredible staff and team however over the past four years it has been unfortunate that many of our votes have unfortunately been divided uh many of those uh being four to three votes um with what I think is a real opportunity for us to bridge the gap and find common ground with the need for strong Le leadership trying to bring people together we have struggled to find common ground on issues that otherwise and frankly should be non-controversial but today is a new day for this great Community tonight it is my honor to nominate someone uh for the vice mayorship who I have worked closely with uh during the redistricting process bringing us a more Equitable map uh representing all parts of our city and all beautiful uh parts of our community she spent years uh getting educated uh starting at our local beloved rid viw High School uh she has received her Bachelors at UC San Diego and she ultimately received her Masters strategically planning for the growth of cities just like the city of Bakersfield she shares my values in fighting for our community and I know that she is one who is all about helping everyday people and she will be the unifying voice for this Council over the next two years in this role I know she will fight for more than just her district and it is my honor to support and nominate here tonight uh Miss mpri cor as the first Punjabi vice mayor for the in the history of the city of Bakersville thank you [Applause] thank thank you council member arus are there any other nominations if not uh council member core would you accept the nomination I humbly accept the nomination for vice mayor for the city of Bakersfield thank you so at this point please cast your votes motion is unanimously [Applause] approved congratulations now next item please am I able to say a few words of thank you use to my colleagues sure yeah thank you well uh I just want to first and foremost thank council member Eric adius for the nomination um I am beyond humbled to be receiving it uh honestly I was just thinking of council member Gray's words earlier where uh imagining ourselves serving on this council is probably a common theme for for many of us we didn't imagine ourselves coming into these roles and and roles of Service uh and I feel similarly uh Eric you mentioned the redistricting that we did for the the betterment of our entire city and um after that when uh Community groups leaders folks uh that we worked with approached me to take uh and at least try for the seat of Ward 7 uh I thought no there must be someone else please let's find someone within the community um but it's been my humble deeply humbling honor to serve Ward 7 so far for years uh and now I um feel incredibly honored uh Beyond I I'm at a loss for words really to be able to join uh my Council colleagues to join the mayor City staff to lead the great work and move our city forward um and continue to move our city forward uh it's true that uh while we live in times where it feels uh tough to uh bring differences together I feel this group I've uh even in the council previous uh in my first two years uh there were those little niches where you find common ground and you work through it because you know you're working for um the betterment of the the whole and I too want to thank my higher being for bringing me into a SAA into the service of people and that being the city of Bakersfield and its residents I want to thank my community in attendance today my family actually in attendance today and uh those watching from home including my baby nephew UD sing Samra who's watching the live stream and um I want to also just thank my family for letting me run with my wildest dreams and vision and not really knowing what I was going to be up to but here we are um I want to thank my colleagues for their votes and confidence in me uh I've learned a tremendous amount for those who've exited for those who have been seated on this Council for the two years with me so far and I look forward to meeting and uh connecting with and working with my two new colleagues as we um you know join together and move work together uh for the city and um I I have a few words I'd like to just share um in in Spanish as well as uh muchas muchas gracias Bakersfield hon alos uh and to um our Punjabi residents and folks in attendance today s existence uh so with that I want to thank my colleagues I'm so excited to do more work I know this is more work I'm excited uh to work with City staff and move uh all of our great work that's already moving together um and to the residents in the city of Bakersfield you have uh my my full attention uh and uh support and we are working towards a better Bakers field greater Vision um and I know I can only accomplish that with my colleagues here and the wonderful City staff that we have so thank you so much thank you council member Eric adius for the nomination thank you colleagues for your support uh and now we carry on with more City business you congratulations vice mayor core and now Madam city clerk next item please appointments item 12a one appointment at large to the fire Civil Service Commission due to a term expiration on December 31st 2024 thank you and we have uh the vote will be conducted electronically the city clerk will display and announce the results is that correct Madam city clerk we're going to do it electronically looks like that is correct mayor and Bas thank you and based on these results the council will then make the appropriate motion regarding the appointment go ahead and cast your votes thank you bye guys thank you bye bye wait so mayor go candidate Michael George received a majority with four votes thank you and vice mayor core uh you get to make a motion ah uh I on the candidate the for the candidate uh making the motion to uh nominate Michael George to the miscellaneous sorry I'm clearly a rookie theint yes the appointment fire Civil Service Civil Service sorry the agenda moves to the next uh item just for transparency sake so we are appointing um Michael George to the fire Civil Service committee thank you you have motion please cast your votes please cast your votes motion is unanimously approved thank you and congratulations uh Michael George thank you for your willingness to serve Madam clerk next appointment please two appointments at large to miscellaneous Civil Service Commission due to a term expiration on December 31st 2024 I ask that you please include both selections on your ballot thank you again the council will vote electronically and the city clerk will display an announce the results based on these results the council will then make the appropriate motion regarding the appointment please cat your votes mayor go um Nila Hogan and Carl Nita both received a majority thank you and vice mayor can just make a motion on that thank you mayor um a motion to appoint both Carl n and Nyla Hogan to the miscellaneous Civil Service committee commission commission thank you and you have a motion Now cast your votes please motion was unanimously approved thank you and thank you Miss Hogan and Mr n for your willingness to serve Miss Hogan has been serving on this and we just appreciate your willingness to continue Madam clerk next item please next appoint one appointment at large to the police Civil Service Commission due to a term expiration on December 31st 2024 thank you and again the same order will apply so go ahead and cast your votes for mayor go um candidate Nancy Chaffin received the majority at four votes Jacob Hall received two votes and Ronald wolf one vote thank you and vice mayor core a motion to uh appoint Nancy chaen to the police Civil Service Commission thank you you have a motion please catch your votes motion is approved D with council member bashier Tosh voting no thank you and uh thank you Miss Joy for your willingness to serve and now the next appointment please one appointment to the keep Bakersfield Beautiful Committee mayor's regular member thank you uh this appointment is by Ward therefore I nominate Heather penella for the mayor's Bakersville Beautiful Committee regular member Heather has served as the alternate member since 2017 along with the late John Enrique she has just been so diligent in leading numerous efforts to beautify our community to clean our community she's always one phone call away and just such a joy to work with I am forever grateful for her service thus far and I know that John would be very very proud to have her now as the regular appointee so I would ask council member core Heather penella please uh we have a motion to appoint Heather Panella to the keep Baker sold Beautiful Committee thank you you have a motion please cast your votes motion is unanimously approved thank you and next item please one appointment to the youth commission wards s alternate member to a term to expire July 2025 thank you this appointment is also by Ward therefore I will call on our vice mayor to share her award seven youth commission alternate appointment nomination thank you mayor uh my nomination for the Youth commission alternate position is for uh guni core G is in attendance today with her mom hi git uh Gan is a 16-year-old student at Independence high school she's a passionate and committed leader who aspires to put good into the world while excelling academically G also serves as a ASB vice president where she helps Foster School engagement and organize impactful events to enhance inclusivity at her school she began volunteering a year ago at a nonprofit organization the dorat genuine connections where she among others were able to connect and interact with the older generation uh for Meaningful relationships while balancing various lead leadership positions and activities gath enjoys spending time with her family traveling reading and engaging in unique learning experiences recognized for her resilience and Innovative thinking she's a p she's passionate about solving real world challenges and is looking forward to studying business to advance her goals unit's vision is to make a difference through collaboration creativity and determination thank you for wanting to serve on the youth commission uh and I look forward to you joining our um other w s youth commissioner as well as the others thanks G thank you vice mayor motion please a motion to appoint G to the youth commission as the W seven alterate you have a motion please cat your votes motion is unanimously approved thank you and G thank you so much congratulations we look forward to your leadership and your collaboration on the youth commission Madam clerk next item please council ad mayor statements so if you'd like to make a statement uh this would be the time if you would like to party somewhere else uh then we will not have any so I don't see any requests to speak I think everybody's uh had a great time talking council member Coman yeah I did I'm sorry I thought you've already talked for a long time oh you don't know me very well talk I just wanted to thank the the council for welcoming me most of you are I've known you for years and uh so I thank you but I I wanted to congratulate vice mayor Carr uh for her uh election as vice mayor uh most people don't know this but miss car Miss cow went to high school with my daughter and I always told them that they would catch up to me at some point but now I find myself catching up with her she's become a very successful educated woman and uh I congratulate you on your your election thank you I have nothing further to say thank you council member Coleman I see no other requests and uh what a wonderful night of Celebration thank you to all of you colleagues thank you so much and happy holidays Merry Christmas and we stand a journ at 7:16 [Music] [Music] [Music]