[Music] [Music] [Music] for [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] welcome to the special meeting of the Bakersfield City Council now speaking The Honorable mayor Karen K go good afternoon it's my pleasure to call to order the 4 pm special city council meeting of September 25th 2024 Madam clerk please call the RO mayor go here vice mayor Gonzalez here council member Arias here council member we here council member Smith I'm here council member Freeman council member gray here council member core thank you 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 for the correct time to speak if you wish to make a public statement please fill out a public speaker card and place it in the tray 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 today's agenda or in a matter not on the agenda speakers who do not identify a specific specific agenda item will be presumed speakers for the non-agenda public statements if you're here to speak on an item not listed on the meeting agenda you will be called first to speak statements are given a two-minute time limit per speaker's 20 minutes total for all non-agenda public statements so 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 will 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 behavior that disrupts the meeting includes repetitive statements shouting interrupting staff or presenters during the meeting speaking out of turn outbursts from the audience and surpassing the two-minute time limit Madam clerk do we have any public speakers regarding items not listed on the agenda America we've received one speaker card regarding items not listed on uh tonight today's agenda and that speaker is Eddie Lane thank you and for the record council member core now has entered welcome welcome please introduce yourself good afternoon mayor members of the council I've never been here when uh uh I have no competition so um I want to thank uh vice mayor Gonzalez for meeting with I'm with Sierra Club I should add that and I normally with a couple of others one Dr auntie texted me at noon she thinks she has covid she's dizzy I told her don't come we don't want any possible covid here in in the chambers um we sent a letter on the 20th about a uh time sensitive issue we do have a meeting scheduled tomorrow with uh Rick Anthony to talk about the plan update the Master Plan update we're looking forward to productive discussion but this is a time sensitive issue it has to do with sediment on the river and we and I'm passing around one uh copy with actual colored picture in it um in a September 5 article from Lois Henry she said the last time the city cleared this channel was 2020 it scraped the river B Banks clean leveling islands and taking out strands of what oberus said were Native Willows there was a severe public bash uh backlash the hope is this time they stick to the primary flood plane but they never do said Bill Cooper He's of the parkway Foundation what we're asking for be because this is planned pretty soon we're not sure when maybe within the next week or two we're asking that the city ask that there be a written we want a written plan in advance so that the kind of thing that you saw in the letter we're passing around and a few pictures is not duplicated uh the the Kern River bike path is really a jewel as is a Kern River in Kernan County and in the city we need to protect it we need to have a plan so that the the secondary flood plane with those that little fragile vegetation that's there is protected thank you for this opportunity thank you Mr Lane Madam clerk do we have any public speakers regarding items listed on this afternoon's agenda mayor go no public speaker cards have been received regarding items listed on today's agenda thanks next item please close session item 3A conference with legal counsel existing litigation regarding Jeffrey durn versus city of Bakersfield at L and item 3B public employee performance evaluation City attorney thank you motion motion to adjourn to close session we journ to close [Music] session oh [Music] n [Music] oh [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] he [Music] a [Music] [Music] he [Music] [Music] n [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] n [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] n [Music] [Music] to [Music] [Music] [Music] n [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] n [Music] [Music] n [Music] [Applause] [Music] a [Music] [Music] [Music] w o [Music] a [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] minut [Music] m [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] you [Music] m [Music] [Music] [Music] I Wonder [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] h [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] you [Music] n [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] oh [Music] n [Music] up [Music] [Music] oh e [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] he [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] [Applause] [Music] [Music] oh [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] come [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] n [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] all [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] n [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] so sorry to keep all of you waiting we're just finishing up a meeting and then we're going to close out the prior meeting and then we'll come back and start but I'm going to come down and say hi [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] a [Music] reconvening the special 4:00 meeting Madame City attorney thank you mayor uh the two items on close session tonight item 3A there is no reportable action and on item uh 3B the matter was continued to the next city council meeting thank you thank you and so the meeting stands adjourn at 527 thank you all we'll start the next one we just need a little technology switch out thank you so much for your patience and we'll start the next one in about three minutes [Music] [Music] sh [Music] [Music] sh [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] oh [Music] [Music] [Music] go ahead welcome to the Bakersfield City council meeting this television broadcast is brought to you by the local cable companies the county of kar and the City of Bakersfield you can watch the rebroadcast of this meeting Saturday at 700 p.m. Sunday at 10:00 a.m. and the following Wednesday at 700 p.m. you can download the agenda for this meeting at www. Bakersfield city. us preci over this evening's meeting The Honorable mayor Karen K go good evening it's my pleasure to call to order the 515 regular city council meeting of September 25th 2024 Madame clerk please call the RO mayor go here vice mayor Gonzalez I'm here council member Aras council member we here council member Smith I am here council member Freeman here council member gray here council member core thank you and welcome to all of you it's uh so good to have you participating sorry to keep you waiting we have some BC students from Professor bowler's class thank you so much for being here we have interpreters present for the Spanish language and they'll provide instructions for those who need them would you come forward this at this point and then just translate into Spanish and let people know that if anybody needs the equipment to go ahead and get that thank you and we're so blessed to have him as an interpreter he can do it at the same time listen and interpret a helpful reminder for all of you who are presenting and giving comments tonight for the benefit of our interpreter and those uh in the audience please pace yourself and speak clearly into the microphone during your comments and this will help our interpreter to clearly translate your message we have the pleasure tonight of having Reverend Jason thoron who's a senior pastor of first Bakersville United Methodist Church we welcome him here from antia where he was the senior pastor over there and Pastor thank you so much for your church donating blood and I saw that you're donating at the fair but you're also donating at the church and having your uh congregants donate blood right after the church service so thank you so much for being here today and then following following the invocation the 2024 Bakersville pageant title holders will lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance we are blessed to have the Bakersville pageant while they are beautiful this has nothing to do with the beauty contest they are here to serve and for the many events the charity events that we go to they oftentimes the behind the scenes people along with Kimberly price leading that cleaning up getting things set up way before anyone of us arrived for 30 years the Bakersville pageant has actively engaged with nonprofits and dedicate their time to resources uh to support their initiatives uh Mrs Bakersville Nyla Hogan is a CEO and executive director of Y empowerment she's also an advocate for child abuse and domestic violence prevention Mrs Bakersville Brandy Scott is a special education program specialist and a breast cancer awareness Advocate and then our Miss Teen Bakers fail Miss Young is a junior honor rooll student and ASB president at Valley Oaks charter school and so at this time I would invite our pastor to come up would you please stand please pray with me almighty God creator of Heaven and Earth and Lord of us all we give you thanks for this day and this Gathering of the leaders and citizens of Bakersfield California as we meet here tonight we pray you bless us with your wisdom make us quick to listen to have compassion for the needs of others and to have a mind to find just best Solutions guide us in all our conversations and decisions that peace grows from our time together and through our work the people and land of Bakersfield Thrive with your grace amen amen please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance salute pledge I pledge aliance to the flag of the United States of am America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all thank you and you may be seated thank you uh the Bakersville pageant and Pastor thank you also very much 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 sign 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 hear 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 your removal from the meeting and or the chambers being cleared behavior that disrupts the meeting includes repetitive statements shouting interrupting staff or presentations during the meeting speaking out of turn outbursts from the audience and surpassing the two-minute time limit Madame clerk next item please presentations item 4A proclamation to Jennifer Henry executive director of links for Life declaring Paint The Town Pink month in Bakersfield during October 2024 welcome them after well it's my pleasure to be here with Jennifer Henry she's going to introduce her guests and what we have to recognize is Mothers Daughters sisters our friends are impacted by this invasive disease entire families and communities are affected early detection saves lives it's my honor to issue this Proclamation the mayor of the city of Bakersville California has officially proclaimed October 2023 as Paint The Town Pink month in our city in recognition of the more than 400 Kern County community members who will be diagnosed with breast cancer annually and in recognition of the nearly 100 who will bravely lose the fight in recognition of the unwavering support of family and friends offering sanctuary and encouragement to loved ones in the midst of treatment in recognition of links for life and other organizations committed to increasing awareness and finding a cure for breast cancer in recognition of the importance of raising public conscious and securing funding for research and in recognition of the efforts to unite our community Through awareness and personal experiences by displaying the color pink during the month of October we celebrate the more than 4 million breast cancer survivors give hope to those in the battle and honor with respect those we have lost thank you Lynx for life for your more than 30 years of service to our Community Jennifer it's my honor to be able to present this proclamation to you please offer comments and introduce thank you so much for having us for 32 years um join you here in the chamber I'd like to introduce Brandy and she is Miss bakeri and she is also a breast cancer survivor and our hot pink speaker for our event on October 25th and Heather over here McMahon she is a development manager for links for life so a little bit about lyns thank you all for having us as I said we're 32 years old and October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and you better have your pink out so yall know uh one in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime so if you go to a banquet and I'm sure you all do one one of the people at your table if you're all women will have breast cancer join us on October 5th which is lacing it up and it's at the park at Riverwalk um come join us we'd love to have somebody Proclaim um October pink to Pink month that day unfortunately mayor go is going to be out of town so vice mayor Gonzalez I would love to have you join me um this past year we provided 143 mammograms and diagnosed two women with breast cancer who had otherwise Gone without treatment 513 attended our for four between our four support groups on the average we have 80 survivors in our nutrition and grocery card program and we provided 631 grocery cards to women in active treatment this past year Dignity Health Community Grant um funded us to bring in a mobile mamography unit to provide mammograms to our community at no charge this mobile unit costs us $6,500 every time we bring it in and we can screen 30 women without insurance who can help them go in and um be treated if they are diagnosed we would love to have your assistance in bringing this mobile mamography in more frequently to our community we are 100% local we have no federal or state funding and we have no national office other than Bakersfield so thank you for supporting links for life and we hope to see you at all our pink events in your little bag all 19 are listed in there and you could just appear at one or a few so thank you so much thank you so much photo as you're taking a photo Miss Henry thank you so much for your Le leadership throughout the years at Lings for Life uh you've provided so much vision and heart and compassion I know many of uh my constituents in War II have benefited from your uh work over the years and I just want to thank you for for your partnership and Leadership with the city but also just in general in the community and I know my colleagues share the same vision [Applause] in keeping with the council's resolution public statements are now received at different times depending on the item I'll call on the city clerk to call for public statements at the appropriate time so please listen carefully for the correct time to speak if you wish to make a public statement please fill out a public speaker card and place it in the tray on the counter next to the speaker 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 specific agenda item will be presumed speakers for the non-agenda public statements if you're here to speak on an item not listed on the meeting agenda you will be called first to speak statements are given a 2minute time limit 20 minutes total for non-agenda item public statements if you're here to speak on an item listed on the agenda I will call for you at a later time so please listen carefully if public statements become disruptive and I have to clear the chambers to regain order of the meeting you will be called in one at a time to provide your public statement when your item is called Madam clerk do we have any public speakers regarding items not listed on the agenda America we've received five speaker cards for items not listed on tonight's agenda the first public speaker is Kim Price followed by Jonathan Yates followed by Leah Carter we have some documents for the council members go ahead and give them to the city clerk good evening council members and attendees my name is Nyla Hogan and I am Mrs bakersfi 2024 and I am here with my fellow um title holders I have Jenna young who is Miss Teen Bakersville and Brandy Scott who is Miss Bakersville 2020 24 not in attendance is Cameron young who is I'm sorry Cameron Wilson who is our Miss Bakersfield we are here representing the Bakersfield pageant in 30 years of Excellence this evening we want to talk about our pageant and the diverse women who serve and represent Bakersfield while many pageants focus on superficial Beauty the Bakersfield pant proudly stands as a program where title holders serve and give back in represent the city of Bakersfield with our core values which are character commitment choices community and compassion these core values are the foundation of the Bakersfield pageant we take our title seriously as we represent the city of bakersfi with humble confidence this year the Bakersfield pageant will have the opportunity to serve over 90 community events thus far we have had the opportunity to do things such as package food helping with various nonprofit events serve breakfast to Veterans Comfort children who have lost loved ones while serving in the line of duty lay waths on the headstones of our national heroes participate in multiple Community ceremonies and much more it is truly an honor of ours to serve in this community the Bakersfield pageant is coming up on the 31st anniversary and we encourage any ladies who are interested in any of our four categories to join us at the pageant orientation which will be held on on Monday December 9th from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Bakersfield Christian High School library there's more information on this at our website the Bakersfield I'm sorry Bakersfield pageant.com we are honored to continue to partner with you and we thank you for your time thank you so much and thank you to all of you for your service we appreciate it thank you madam clerk next speaker please Jonathan Yates followed by Leah Carter followed by Carmen I could get some help from uh the clerk to uh passest these to the I will and uh uh members of city council uh thank you so much my name is Jonathan Yates and I'm here representing the current Gateway Trail committee uh which is a sponsored by the Kern River Parkway Foundation as a transplant to Bakersfield I fell in love with the Kern Canyon immediately after moving here it is stunningly close jaw-droppingly dramatic it Rivals some of the best scenic Terrain thater America's most outdoorsy cities would be proud to uh display the problem is there's no accessible hiking in the current Canyon the closest parts of the Kern Canyon just can be driven through you can't stop you can't hike there you can't really enjoy this beautiful place where the kar River cuts through the Sierra Nevada mountains so the frustration I had about this led to the creation of the Kern Gateway Trail team and uh We've developed a proposal for over 15 miles of hiking trail in the lowest part of the Kern Canyon most of this is on US Forest land um and we know that there already existing Trails here and we want to connect them into a network of trails that residents of Kern County and Bakersfield will be able to enjoy uh our proposal uh is to work with Forest Service uh the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and Southern California Edison to create this Trail we've have a petition with over 2100 signatures that I've shared with members of the council um and hope you will take it opportunity to read it and uh we really want to make this Trail a reality and think it's super critical that we have support of our elected officials for this uh quality of life amenity thank you thank you Mr Yates next speaker please comment oh uh council member Smith thank you mayor uh I've actually hyped on portions of this Trail and and think it's a great idea and if I could I'd like to refer for staff to prepare a resolution that we're in support of it it's it's not in the city but it's something very close to the city and would be an amenity so if we could do that and bring it back to council for the date I would appreciate it same thing vice mayor thank you mayor uh I wanted to also uh say that I've had an opportunity to hike a portion of this Trail and love it and think that more folks from throughout Bakersfield ought to have an opportunity to do so and so I concur with council member Smith we ought to um move forward with the resolution and um continue to push forward and see how the city of Bakersville can be a partner uh along with the current Gateway Trail group uh to help make this happen as a world- class amenity for our entire Community thank you council member core excuse me uh I just wanted to Echo council member Smith's referral um and really support the idea and thank you for bringing this forward Ward we're constantly thinking of ways to get our families Outdoors within Kern County within the city and to know that this is such a close driveway um and to really spend time outdoors in a meaningful way uh and and to to design it and for it to be um an actual Trail something tangible that folks can can be guided down um and engage uh multi-generationally I think is incredibly special so just wanted to Echo my support thank you for bringing it to the council welcome please introduce yourself thank you my name is Leah Carter I'm also with a current Gateway trail trail with Johnny I'm also a register dietician a public health Advocate and the organizer of a local hiking Club of over 3,000 members all of the members in this hiking Club are super excited about the curent Gateway Trail we have traveled all over the world to hike and many of the members are very excited about this all of the members are very excited about the trail because it will bring people to Bakersfield it will make Bakersfield look good it will increase the uh money coming into Bakersfield because people will travel to come here we also are excited because as a public health Advocate and I'm sure many of you know that we have a high rate of obesity diabetes heart disease in current County and supporting things that get people up and moving are what we need to do uh to help our population be healthier I don't have to ask for support because you've already said you're going to support this so I will conclude my comment thank you thank you Mr cra mam clerk next speaker please Carmen followed by Cecilia welcome please introduce yourself hello this is Christian Gray Patty graay son he was harassing people and assaulting people out in front of City Hall still nothing has been done absolutely nothing um I'm here to oppose the $100,000 given for landlord legal assistance fun Should fund should be allocated to give people housing and to keep people from living on the streets a man was lynched yesterday his name was marcelis Williams a state sanctioned killing having spent the last 24 years on death row for a crime that DNA evidence proves he did not commit I will read his last statement all praise be to Allah in every situation I will leave you with words from YK Hong may my breath continue until abolition may my tears never stop until we tear down the system may my rage never dwindle until we free all beings may my heart never recover so that we will Revolt forever free Palestine and all oppressed people next speaker please welcome please introduce yourself my name is Cecilia martial can you get a little closer to the the microphone and speak up please I am a nurse in the city of Bakersfield and I stand here as a healthcare worker for Palestine I am here because I believe in a Palestina Li and I understand the interconnections between the imperialism the United States inflicts on the world and the oppression we face at home the people in this chamber do not deserve your votes or your loyalties they do not care about you they will criminalize our words because they would rather see us imprisoned than hear the truth that's why there's so many police in this chamber because our words threaten their existence our words are enough to inflict State sanctioned violence they would rather represent landlords than our right to Equitable housing they only care that we keep funding their Wars they would rather see us dead than protect our right to Health Care in the United States as many as 45,000 people die each year due to lack of healthcare and it's time that we came together to care for each other as a community to defend ourselves against imperialist governments that fund genocide and criminalize marginalized people for being in their way it's time when we come together for Palestine and I would just like to say that we're here we're at your table and and you still constantly ignore us what else do we have to do for everyone else in this room it's very easy they just come here and you agree with them you don't even look at us you don't talk to us where is our representation not in this chamber Madam clerk do we have any other speakers Maro that was our final speaker for non-agenda items thank you and now we'll move to the public statements listed on the agenda if you're here to speak on appointments item 6A or items listed under consent calendar item seven 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 calendars the whole constitutes one agenda item if you're here to speak on new business item 12a now is not the time to speak you'll be given an opportunity to speak when that item is called later in the meeting Madam clerk do we have any public speakers regarding items listed on appointments item 6A or consent calendar item 7 mayor go we have not received any speaker cards for appointments item 6A nor for consent calendar items thank you and now next item please consent calendar items 7A to 7i for approval appoint I apologize mayor appointments item 6A 2024 for Cal City's conference delegate thank you Mr Cay thank you mayor and Council as is typical each year as we send council members to attend the California League of cities conference there are limited uh action or policy items on which the city is asked to take a voting position and um we invite the council to identify a delegate and Alternate each year what's something new is that you can identify up to two delegates if you so desire um going forward uh but that this is the time for Council to um appoint a delegate and the process typically is by nomination from a council member on the day as for another council member um and that could include uh uh the delegate and two alternates or it could you know uh include just the delegate uh um and subsequent action could be taken if there's a desire to still have an alternate thank you Mr CLE I don't see any requests to speak at any nominations I'd like to make a motion to appoint uh council member adius to be our voting delegate to the California Le of City's General Assembly alternate is there is there a council member who would like to be the alternate council member core all right and I'd like to also nominate council member core to be the alternate delegate thank you council member core that's my motion you have a motion please catch your [Music] votes mayor if I can ask a question on this item uh yes sir uh question for Christian and uh maybe Anthony are there maybe it's a little too early but do we have any um uh do we think that there's any going to be any major items for the delegation to vote on it's in your packet there's just one would love to hear more about that honorable mayor city council Anthony Valdez assistant city manager um there is one resolution uh that was provided the one resolution uh was uh created by a city uh down south and asks the state uh to have the same rules for State lawmakers uh as uh local governments with open meeting laws um and there's still an option for folks to uh submit resolutions via the petition process ahead of the general assembly so uh there may be additional resolutions that the assembly gets great that's all thank you next item please motion motion was approved with council member Freeman absent next item please consent calendar item 7A through 7 I for approval thank you colleagues does anyone wish to recuse is saw council member where did he go he supposed to read it oh all right do you have it we're going to move forward so council member Freeman is recusing himself council member Freeman is not at the dis at this moment so I'll make a uh a motion to approve the consent calendar you have a motion please cat your votes where's this let's just see the reason right Madam City attorney do you need the reason read for the record uh mayor if I understand it uh council member Freeman is just simply not here it's not that he was recusing himself oh okay he was earlier okay we're good now um next item please motion was approved with council member Freeman absent new business item 12a approve neighborhood stabilization and prevention program funding priorities before we begin please note that if you're here to speak on new business item 12a the city clerk will call for public statement after staff's presentation so each speaker will be limited to a two-minute time limit there will be a 20 minute time limit per item Mr CLE thank you mayor and councel we have a brief presentation tonight um U provide an outline uh for this item and want to as that presentation is coming up want to remind the council that this is a topic that we have um discussed a couple of times in recent months uh thank you madam Clerk and that uh this is in followup to some of those um prior conversations we heard this item in June and July of this year to uh uh take a look at some of our prevention services that we offer related to housing uh but then staff has taken a step back and provided a little bit of a broader perspective to consider this as neighborhood stabilization and some of these slides are just reminders again that we've we've taken a strategic look to consider items that are in our homeless collaborative action plan there are numerous strategies um but some of those Focus specifically on prevention we also have our affordable housing strategy that has actions that are related to Prevention Services as well as other more proactive steps and then also our own housing element as it's being drafted and adopted has multiple strategies one of which is focused on preserving housing and there are multiple strategies focused on prevention and stabilization and so this is reflective of again a a a broader picture around uh multiple different strategies this is again a reminder uh to council these are programs that are already City funded and City uh in City implementation uh we spend $100,000 a year on Fair Housing our uh home buyer assistance program um has roughly $250,000 a year that goes into different outreaches as well as we have funding to help with um home buyer first-time home buyer assistant we we also have a funded tenant-based rental assistance you'll recall during the pandemic there were significant funds that were made available by the federal government but the city has actually set aside $4.5 million doar through different funding sources um these are largely uh uh funds that have come from state or federal sources but we also set aside uh $750,000 of general fund one-time monies uh to extend the rental assistance program um earlier this calendar year as well as $250,000 that was set aside to create a a rental barrier removal fund um and uh we also have funds in this year's um Housing and Urban Development Department allocations are are um home funds that have been dedicated to assist with uh rental assistance uh after the same pattern that we've you know continued um uh post that pandemic funding also we have an annual allotment that goes towards some Ada improvements we also have a home weatherization and solar installment program that's been funded under arpa a million dollars under arpa the eviction prevention pilot is about $350,000 it's it's worth also noting that we have our prosperity neighborhoods program which does a variety of different things in our disadvantaged neighborhoods but we've set aside several million dollarss the last couple of years uh to get at priorities as they're identified um by our community in these neighborhoods as well as by staff in these neighborhoods and then uh I would also reflect uh that we have other funding um from our our entitlements uh hwa funding um that also about a million dollars goes towards um housing at risk individuals and uh then uh lastly um with the home weatherization and solar programs under the TCC program that's about $7.5 million dollar it's going to really benefit our um disadvantaged communities identified in the TCC application to do a lot of good work in those areas as well as there's a a displacement avoidance allocation within the TCC project that's almost a million dollars and so uh we do have significant investments into these areas in in PES that make sense for the city but we were looking at if you know there are additional programs um what would we recommend as you know the next set of priorities and so uh I've been noting some of these different funding sources I apologize that's that slide was reflective of the comments I was just making but we we do have a number of different uh funding sources that we use to work on stabilization and prevention work uh as we looked at because following the June and July meetings the direction from Council was to really you know go and do research about what would be those programs again that could have the biggest impact so again we looked at our plans we looked at other cities what what are Best Practices happening in other cities we also looked at um new emerging and promising practices because this is a space where there's a lot of attention right now in in housing and prevention and we also looked at uh uh what data that we had from our ex our existing programs and the beginnings of our pilot programs including the eviction prevention program it's also worth noting that our um we we took a hard look at our partner agency programs there are many uh agencies that are providing services within the metropolitan area in the city of Bakersville there are housing navigation Services there are rental and assistance and deposit programs and other entities um there's also um different counseling and Supportive Services uh all the way to utility assistance and food assistance and so uh you might note some of these are areas that you know probably wouldn't be as relevant to city and that's appropriate these are from many of our partner agencies but we also wanted to think about what are those types of programs that are best connected to the levers the policy levers uh that the and enforcement levers that the city uh has more influence on uh to try and fit uh or fill some of the remaining gaps in our overall support systems but it's important to knowe that there are many entities throughout this community uh and those include entities like the Community Action Partnership of kar who runs the 2in1 system we have United Way we have Habitat for Humanity the Housing Authority um we also have I should look at my notes um of course um folks like Mercy house even though they a contracte of the city they also are running important you know programs becoming a calim funding administrator and then of note also current health systems has what um is their Community Support Services Program and so all clients of medical under our Public Health um care provider they are eligible for numerous Services under the Community Support Services and so we wanted to look at what are the services that are already there we don't look to duplicate uh services but rather complement the different services that are out there I would note that there are programs that probably uh could benefit from additional resources additional coordination amongst the different partners but there are numerous services that are provided by our many um good partner agencies we wanted to take that into account and also determining you know if we were to fund some additional programs at the city level what makes the most sense so just a quick reflection and this this list won't be a surprise we shared this with you in July that we said these are the programs we're going to go take a look at and these are the programs that we did take a look at we looked at uh uh habitability and and substandard issues uh would it make sense to do additional rental assistance do we want to start uh looking at hotels and motels um a little more proactively um utilizing the Community Land Trust uh more expansion of some of our existing programs residential facade improvements um expansion of eviction prevention and also just looking at our our longer range strategic land use policies from again all of that analysis uh we looked again at those things that we're going to provide we we think the biggest return on value we also are wanting to be reflective this is a one-time funding source and we can pilot some programs but I want to make sure that we can get some data and see some outcomes before uh we're committed on um large dollar amounts on programs with with assuring the ability of whether or not we can uh continue to sustain that funding and also uh look at uh again those programs that uh we feel is the greatest need and so what we've recommended in your admin report and what's here uh today is uh these four programs one of the biggest pieces of feedback from gbla so far in their workshops and Outreach is that almost 80% of the complaints that they receive are related to habitability they're not necessarily related to a current you know um legal action being taken against them by a landord Lord it was really about habitability and so again those are also uh areas where the city does have both enforcement and policy levers that we can pull to make an impact and so we saw those as the areas of greatest opportunity to you know Shore up programming and so uh in consultation with uh Phil Burns we talked about you know could we um leverage code enforcement staff to be collaborative but also proactive in addressing some of the complaints and and challenges around habitability but we also don't want that to have impacts on our regular complaint-based uh code enforcement as as Council knows we have increased our capacity there but we still have typically backlogs in uh code enforcement follow-ups to do and so we're proposing for a um Tim limited period to contract for additional support around code enforcement to get out and address some of the issues that have been U brought to our attention through this additional Outreach and awareness around uh habitability the second piece is uh to take uh funds and create a grant program that would allow us to address some of the substandard conditions in housing that are brought you know again to our attention either through code enforcement action or through referrals that come from GBL LA and uh work out a way to um make fixes I will acknowledge to council that that is a um a important balance to strike because we don't want to reward individuals who have not taken good care of their properties but the flip side of that equation is individuals who uh may be at risk and hard to house could be out on the streets because that property had a substant standard condition was red tagged closed and that is the opposite of the intent of this program is to try and keep people housed uh but address those substandard uh circumstances and so we're already in discussions with the council goahead tonight uh to design a program that would allow for grants that would uh address those habitability issues um on behalf of the tenants um but also kind of work with uh those uh Property Owners to ensure their ongoing compliance and and that they continue to um maintain that unit in good condition over time um uh as uh for example we're contemplating a a forgivable loan or forgivable grant that we gives us the ability to confirm over time that those habitable conditions have been maintained and if so then um then uh that you know uh Grant loan obligation to pay back goes away and that way it benefits again uh the tenant but has some accountability for the property owners lastly two small uh funding allocations um I'll go to the last one first which was just in response of council conversation on this topic back in July was that uh as we have allocated funds for the eviction prevention program that allows for uh legal assistance and and counseling for tenants that there are at times landlords who also are um not uh resource uh rich in the ability to uh understand some of the rules and laws and also need some advice at times uh I would say that the feedback from uh the community and and from Council related to this and staff related to this topic is that it is not intended for anyone and everyone that there are those larger corporations that have the ability to provide for their own uh advice and counsel but that we have many um so you know Proprietors or uh families or individuals that have one maybe two properties we would recommend putting a limit that and currently the the discussion that we've been having is is four units or less uh that um a landlord would be able to access some of this legal guidance and counsel so so that there again is some parity between uh those um who can get uh representation or or guidance from gbla and as gbla had communicated they're not able to do that for conflict of interest for landlords that we would have a service uh that was available uh to landlords uh to be able to get that um guidance and counsel um we it was curious through some of our Outreach efforts that we found that even you know some Community groups had communicated that there were um families that had you know tried to uh build equity and and some generational wealth through a family home um but they are now renting that home out to someone and that um may not be as again sophisticated as someone who's you know been in the business a long time and that they wouldn't want it necessarily those individuals to be at a disadvantage in a challenging uh legal situation and then the last piece is as I noted there are many resources in this community and as become evident through our conversations and research that there's not as much awareness about all the resources that are available and and coordination amongst the different partners could is good but could even be strengthened further and so we wanted to have a small funding amount set aside to help us work with Community to increase the aess awareness about all the resources that are available and actually have well-trained um Messengers that as a question comes up you know who can help with uh rental assistance or who can help with the legal assistance it tends to be different individuals different organizations or agencies and it can be difficult to navigate finding who can help them with the different scenarios and we wanted to design some uh again um training and engagement with the community to increase the the level of um awareness high level of awareness with trusted Messengers who can be um go-tos uh in the community to direct and Orient folks to where all these resources are available and and it's just about really about connectivity and and getting access to those resources um so in in conclusion just wanted to reflect there were other programs that we did look at and we think that there could have promise and I would note um the leveraging again of the Community Land Trust we expect that to happen we'll continue to build out the Community Land Trust uh but we have you know notable arpa funding that's going into the land trust to help us work in that space we also did some research on residential facade Improvement Grants we think there's promise to that but that these four items you know are are more quickly actionable and we think that there could be some Prosperity neighborhood funds that could be made available to help with those residential facade Improvement Grants as they're designed and then lastly again the residential hotel motel inspection program we think that that is something that um we need to do some more homework on and could be a next step but that these uh four areas at least for this initial funding allocation from the arpa savings made the most sense to recommend a council as those items that uh we think will again have the biggest return on value uh for for those dollars with that I'm open to any questions thank you Mr CLE we'll go to the public now Madame clerk do we have any public speakers regarding new business item 12a mayor go we've received several uh five public speaker cards the first public speaker is Wendell Wesley Jr followed by Sha sh Thompson followed by Ash hung welcome please introduce yourself hello my name is wendale Wesley Jr and uh this um funding to uh for landlords was initially intended to protect and assist uh tenants from being wrongfully uh evicted and a lot of times what happens I know we're talking about tenants are having um issues with habitability and that's the main problem but it spins when a when a tenant complains and then complains a second time in the third time and nothing's getting done and now they start looking for ways to force them out even up to including letting their place go to rack and ruin and now we're going to pay to have them have assistance for it it just seems that it's just another way to help those who want to pad their own Pockets create more wealth to push people out on the streets we already have a housing problem already and we've already um had the discussion where it's cheaper to keep people housed or they're having them put out on the street so uh I would urge the council to rethink this um as a property owner um you could take the equity from your property and if you have to go to uh litigation or Court um it's decided in your favor then that C's going to be waved and pushed on to the person who may be your property but other than that they have something at their disposal already it's their property so that money is better served and better needed for the people that need it most thank you thank you next speaker please Char Thompson followed by Ash hung followed by Sandra M goza welcome please introduce yourself hi good evening um Bakersville Council and mayor I'm Char Thompson I'm the Central Valley regional coordinator with tenant together we're a Statewide Coalition uh tendance rights Coalition and and in the last two and a half years I have been working alongside your constituents in regards to the formation of a Tenants Union that is focusing on educating their neighbors on their rights to urge you to pass programs to help better their odds at keeping their housing secure safe decent and affordable along with organizing skills to ensure that they themselves and their neighbors remain housed I also partner alongside many of your local organization organizations such as Leadership Council for justice and accountability current building healthy current building healthy communities and faith in the belly just to name a few I stand here with the people who have brought in their courage to look you in the eye and say that the 100,000k 100,000 that you are allocating to line the pockets of landlords is bad business very landlord biased and not great for all your constituents and which would also directly make the housing crisis here even worse I feel that this allocation should be uh contributed to the right to counsel program currently in place and to extend the Restriction of who it serves the program should Encompass the education for both tenants and landlords already there was recently a study done in LA and in Burbank to prove that landlords are doing just fine in providing their own legal assistance and representing themselves in court which in turn allows for the tenants on the defense to be placed out of a home small landlords are not struggling with this even in these rent controlled cities they are ending up with more than what their loss was and I'm open to having further discussion and providing these reports please remind yourself that 2% of the landlords actually need the support for education or representation and litigation 98% of tenants actually need this program if there's money to throw at this issue to incentivize landlords the obvious solution is to keep someone house by paying the rent through a rental assistance program versus just giving the landlords a separate program or money to learn loopholes on how to evict more tenants I again urge you to reconsider the $100,000 in allocation to landlord incentives lastly if you want support in enforcing AB 838 to improve your inspection services or to better understand the law that was implemented please feel free to reach out I love my phone number on the comment card thank you for your time thank you next speaker please Ash hung followed by Sandra meloa followed by Kev M welcome please introduce yourself good evening my name is Ash Hong I live in Southwest Bakersfield and I'm a fellow at the ACLU of Southern California working to support houseless people in Bakersfield and Kern County I urge the city today to remove and reallocate the $100,000 earmarked for land legal assistance from the neighborhood stabilization and prevention program plan allocating funds for landlord legal assistance will only increase the number of people forced to sleep on the street last year 380 people in Kern County lost their homes and became unhoused for the first time many of them in Bakersfield the lack of affordable housing is a large cause of that growth with about 40% of interviewed unhoused residents citing unaffordability and eviction as the reason for their houselessness to make matters worse less than 2% of tenants in Kern County are represented in Housing Court compared to an overwhelming 70% of landlords this means tenants are often pushed through the eviction process without knowing their rights many fail to respond within the 5-day timeline to challenge an eviction and are evicted through default this results in more houselessness and greater burdens on City social support services and Code Compliance resources even short-terms periods of Housing and stability have long- lasting impacts on people's health and well-being we shouldn't be talking about the disparity between well-resourced and less resourced landlords we should be talking about the vast disparity of resources already available to landlords and tenants which means that landlords already vigorously pursue their interests in court rather than funding landlord legal assistance the city should invest this funding in solutions to help tenants stay in their homes and avoid ending up unhoused I ask the city to remove the landlord legal assistance program and use the $100,000 in ways that truly stabilize and benefit our neighborhoods thank you for your time thank you next speaker please hello I also have another speaker card so welcome please introduce yourself uh my name is sand can you just reset the clock um please thank you my name is Sandra melosa Placencia and I am a current policy Advocate with Leadership Council for justice and accountability um Leadership Council partner organizations and residents come here tonight to urge the city council to remove the landlord legal assistance program from the neighborhood stabilization programs failure to remove the program will result in an increase in homelessness and will conflict with the efforts from the bakersfi current Regional homelessness committee's 10-year plan to end homelessness funding this program will be a misuse of arpa funding and may be a violation of the city's duty to affirmatively further fair housing the landlord legal assistance program will provide resources for landlords to facilitate the continual displacement and evictions tenants are forced to encounter tenants already have incredibly scarse resources and a lack of awareness of their rights and a minimal access to representation adoption of this program would further harm in directly displaced residents specifically in southeast and Central Bakersfield these communities are identified as Recaps and the most housing impacted in particular more prone to displacement moving forward with this program will certify that W 1 and two residents will be most at risk of displacement at the hands of landlords this is a violation to the city's obligation to airally further fair housing where will these folks go with the vacancy rate at less than 2% failure to meet Rena numbers and a lack of shelter space the city is directly facilitating and funding the displacement of families and children who have nowhere to go the Bakersville current Regional house house homelessness committee's 10-year plan focuses on ending homelessness in States preventing people from losing their housing is obviously more Humane and cost- effective than having to help them rebuild their lives after they become homeless facilitating entr interest into homelessness conflicts this plan's goal which the city has signed on to and agreed to follow lastly arpa funds are designated to address impacts from the pandemic one of which has been housing instability funding this program with arpa will be a misuse of funds as it will create more housing and stability rather than address it we ask the city council to consider the detrimental impacts to human life and the impacts to the city's F fiscal sustainability as it will find that increasing homelessness with this program will eventually create a higher cost burden to the city and taxpayers we urge the city council to remove the landlord legal assistance program and use the funding for Parks recreational centers please you your times up infrastructure go ahead and just finish up what you have right there or infrastructure improvements for Southeast Bakersville thank you thank you next speaker please Kev M followed by Mariela Vega welcome please introduce yourself hello Council uh can you speak up a little just get a little closer okay thank you I just want to share my experience as a resident and a renter in Bakersfield as to why I'm against the landlord assistance program that's because from my whole life as far as I can remember my family has rented and that has not been easy we've faced rent hikes we've faced evictions for nefarious reasons we've faced negligence and yet we didn't have any legal representation for the longest time and what I find not just for ourselves but for a lot of other residents in Bakersfield it is the threat of legal action it is the the phrase if this doesn't get fixed I will have to sue you or I will take you to court that gets a lot of landlords to even do something so by offering these this program this funding to landlords you're inherently getting rid of a bit of Leverage that people in the community have against their landlords for them to take action and even then I'm just I know that Christian cler mentioned that this is for people like landlords that are not so well off like that have four units or less but I'm inherently against someone so uneducated so uninformed becoming a landlord for many of us to make our incomes for many of us to have jobs we need experience we need to go to school we need training and just because someone has access to property to land doesn't mean they should be able to take resources to take their money from other people and make their income off of them even if it is just a few properties because these people need to be educated they need to not be able to exploit their residents of Bakersfield without being educated and I think $100,000 is preposterous there was originally the talks um I forgot the exact number that was being mentioned but uh earlier when the eviction prevention program was being talked about there was a higher number than what was being given now and that was just an your time's up can you bring your comments to a close please that was such an issue but yet it's so easy that when it comes to landlords you're willing to just hand out so much money for them so please reconsider this don't put it as part of this funding and think of other actions that you can take that that have been given thank you next speaker please marel Vega welcome please introduce yourself thank you good evening mayor and and city council members and staff my name is marela Vega and I'm here today with faith in the valley and I'm here today to speak against the proposed allocation for the landlord Legal Assistant this allocation fails to prioritize those um those people who need the help the most which are tenants and not landlords um we already know that for example uh when it comes to landlords and eviction cases um they are well represented with 72% landlords having legal representation compared to less than 2% of the tenants um allocating money to assist the landlords could potentially increase more evictions and more families and individuals uh being displaced in our community um so this funding um I urge the councils um that this funding could uh be used um towards improving our community and not harming our community so I really urge the council to reconsider this allocation thank you thank you m speaker madam cler do we have any other speakers mayor go that was our final speaker thank you and now we'll return it to council council member core Christian do we have data on the types of cases that gbla has seen so far um within the eviction prevention program I can speak to a couple of data points and then ask Miss buyers if she has more that you can add to at at this point GBL has largely been doing workshops they've done two workshops per month since um they began and by the way we have some uh landlords who have attended those workshops but principally they've been um tenants who have attended those workshops but I don't believe that we have data yet on the specific types of cases where they're doing some of that technical assistance it's been mostly the data we have around the workshops but if you have anything to add Miss spers that's correct they are hosting to a month English and Spanish we've been doing them in a variety of locations making sure that we get into all of the neighborhoods in Bakersfield we're their first reporting is due as a quarterly report and so we're into month two and don't yet have that information staff does meet with them uh at least once a month to have conversations the first trainings that they've done so far is really the process of if you get that eviction notice what do the correct one look like we will be working with code enforc uh to do some presentations about habitability and so we have been working very closely with gbla for tenant rights and kind of moving through the process and being sure that we educate the community but we don't have statistics yet on the type of cases they've received okay and you had shared that gbla had shared the need for the landlord assistance fund being um a potential source of conflicts of interests um have they seen have they had landlords you said some of them have attended the workshops have some of the landlords also approach them for assistance um no they haven't so uh we do have a staff member that attends the education uh I've attended one of them as well and there was a landlord they were just listening to the information and they just wanted to make sure that um they knew the process as well it the one that I met with was a small tenant owner or a long a small land I'm all mixed up on my words uh she only owned a couple of units and she just wanted to make sure I think those that are attending the education want to understand the process on both sides because there are tenants and landlord rights and responsibilities okay um what do landlords are currently do without this program existing which are are they coming to code enforcement when they have questions around you know if they're following the rules and regulations or is it I'm I'm assuming it's only in response it's not really like preventative in in maintaining quality housing um is it only when they're cited or where would a landlord potentially go if today I'm a landlord which city Department am I coming to if I'm like am I a good landlord and am I following all the rules am I maintaining my business and properties in a way that I should be I think councilor M that's a a fair question uh we don't necessarily we haven't created a filter to sort of catch some of those questions because they are you're right they're usually reactive they're fairly oneoff Case by case I think we sometimes do get questions to uh business licensing code enforcement but I think by and large folks are actually going to you know other you know um resources whether they you know there are some associations that they could ask questions to um also you know they could you know approach um um you know the bar association sometimes offers you know workshops but I think in large part the the the small ones um there's there's not necessarily an easy place for them to know where to go um and so uh we do get get some questions here and there and and I'll admit that I don't think we kind of filter those out and pull them all into one place each you know area that they kind of end up you know asking we do our best and kind of you know refer them someplace else I wonder if this is a process we could create within development services when a landlord comes online with their property and that is like training that we build into our city department so landlords know from the get-go what their expectations are within the city of being a good landlord that maintains quality housing um if if that is you know as a property owner or a small business owner you know there's certain standards you have to maintain as a within your commercial property so in the same way if you're maintaining your business um I would be curious to explore a process that can be created within development surfaces uh within our city departments that would allow there to be a more permanent solution also to make sure that we as a city know um how quality housing is being maintained whether it's um through various databases that exist um but I I feel this is also a process that we could create within our city Department um in in training landlords because we they have to encounter this some of our city departments at some way shape or form so maybe we can filter through the process from step one to step 12 um if I'm a new land Lord even if it's four units or 50 um what are trainings that can be built in there as well um but I'm glad to hear the partnership with gbla is producing the goal that we had intended and it's meeting the intention of spreading information and it's um it's also good to hear that some landlords are attending and getting the information that they need um and and I'm excited to see us build on that program as well yeah thank you council member I think you brought it some good points a couple different thoughts the City attorney was uh nice to remind me of course we have our our multif family crime-free housing program which the police department puts on it is more designed and targeted for larger units and it's more about trying to address you know crime prevention through environmental design and some other factors but we do have that training program that exists today as far as um sort of the expectations uh for U new individuals who uh may be uh renting out a property um it depends on the type of unit we don't necessarily have a rental unit registry in the city and so we're not always aware of those activities and under our current code they're not always obligated to you know um share that of course there are business licenses that we have that cover um some of this work um and obviously the larger units we do have you know know some um you know requirements to uh for them to do certain documentation but as our uh process is outlined today there's not one shop that everyone goes through that rents a property but I think that I mean that's part of your suggestion but I was just clarifying that we don't necessarily have a one one Department that they all go through but uh we could look at ways to um better track uh and then provide materials and training I think my last thought is um I think there's a lot of wisdom to um having a more consistent way of sharing information of what their obligations are from habitability and business licensing and all of that um to to just this point you didn't suggest this but wanted to clarify that um I don't think that we would want to be in a position where we're providing any legal um technical assistance we' tell them what the rules are and and and um you know what what their obligations are uh but wouldn't want necessarily the liability of the city providing some of that um from our direct departments but I think there's a lot of wisdom to uh creating a more um standard process of sharing that information for landlords that makes a lot of sense I feel like I feel it hits on some of the more preventative it it's a more preventive approach that we then need code enforcement involved we need to create something around habitability or whatever the landlord assistance fund aims to to address and being preventative and providing that information through our city departments that exist I feel it touches on all all of the different points um and can if that's a system that we can develop internally um and and hopefully prevent some of uh the the Bad actors I mean it's of course there's it's on both sides but um I would just hope that we can explore a process that um then we can utilize funds where they're most dire um so thank you for answering my questions thank you council member core council member [Music] gray thank you mayor um I've got a question for you Mr Cay arpa funds those are those were given to us one time correct and for specific purposes correct correct council member and so what is the balance in what did we start with what is our balance today a very good question I'll give you uh a pretty good sketch I think um but it won't be um uh to the dollar so we started with about $94 million in arpa funding uh we allocated um large portions of that funding to um homelessness to um uh housing and blighted property uh We've also spent on um actually creating public healthy public spaces like Parks uh addressing safe routes to schools so that people could get to um public spaces uh We've also uh spent on um actually City staff times City staff that fire staff in particular who've been responding uh to individuals um with health response calls um as well as some of extending utilities to uh areas that um don't have a access to uh you know Water and Sewer um was one of the other you know categories and so as we are getting close to the final spin down of arpa we've identified a few areas where uh we don't think that we're going to spend the full amount we've we actually are as of today we're closer to only halfway spent down in all the arpa but we have some very large allocations like our um an allocation to the community land trust to purchase properties and and build infill properties that's a large allocation that's coming forward um and uh we have uh some uh funds for Park improvements EM park and so we're on a large spend down of dollars between now and December of this year uh that would spend um down all of our funds or have them at least allocated to projects that will get spent down over the next two years and so we've identified about uh the reason we had this $1.2 million in front of council is that we had identified Savings in arpa from a couple of programs that weren't going to spend all the way down and so then these savings were available to you know allocate to to other Council priorities and uh we don't think that there's going to be much other savings there might be a little bit of savings that we identify between again now and December um but uh otherwise we we feel like we're going to be able to allocate or spend down the rest of those harpa dollars in the next few months okay well when I look at this I know where this originated from because this to even go into this kind of um research and decide where we can spend money but it originated because there was talk on the diets that we that we wanted to increase the eviction program and we as a um city council voted that we were going to allocate $350,000 to start with Let It Be a pilot program um you know develop the DAT the data on it to see if that's something that we want to next year put in the budget and add to that I feel like what I'm hearing and and there was some points that are that you all brought up tonight that I was in agreement with what I'm hearing is we we've got we've got money to spend let's figure out some way to do it and I'm not convinced I mean some of the these things that you're you're talking about with arpa dollars are not sustainable we may not we may get get something started and may not be able to sustain it because we don't have arpa dollar say next year so I wouldn't say that I'm in favor of this spending because because I feel like those arpa dollars are in a so-called savings account that we need to that could be guarded for something that is even more necessary because you laid out tonight there is program after program after program which I'm very grateful for that it's already happening in the city not just within um city government but also um private money that is doing a lot lot in this community and as you've said we've spent a lot of our arpa funds on homelessness which we've needed to do um but I just can't I I just feel like this is really not necessary when there's already 17714 32,000 or million in the prevention and stabilization programs now as we as we speak um um the other thing that I want to address is um with respect to my colleague but more government is not better and when you start in a capitalistic Society you start Mand Mand mandating regulation and we as a city begin to mandate regulation every time somebody buys a rental property that they have to register and now the city is to begin to manage all these landlords and make sure that is government overreach to the max so I could not sit here and listen to that without bringing to the attention of the public in this city that we have no business getting in that kind of business to where we start managing landlords that's that's not the right thing to do as a city now we can we can um mitigate some of these things that we're talking about through pilot program and some of this other stuff but to have a mandatory registry of landlords that is way government overreach I can never support such a thing and I wanted it to go on record that I would never support such a thing thank you thank you Council M gory vice mayor I'm going to try to be quick here so uh first in response to council member gray um arpa has uh certain spending Tim taes uh for example we have to obligate all of our arpa funds by the end of this year um we also have to expend all of those funds by the end of December 2026 so um I appreciate the idea of of savings and I I I join you in wanting to be uh responsible and um build up our Reserve funds as it relates to the general fund but when it comes to these federal arpa funds uh there are deadlines for us to expend those dollars or we have to turn them back uh to the federal government and I I for one believe that we should spend these dollars locally to help benefit the families that we represent uh number two is that you know I will say publicly that I joined Mr CLE in in sort of uh providing some uh input in in in developing the framework for this neighborhood stabilization fund and um and I think my intent is a bit different uh than than what council member gray had articulated in that my Hope was that we could actually stabilize neighborhoods uh there are many people in crisis situations and we know that because of the pandemic it only accelerated some of the um economic impacts housing impacts for some of our most disadvantaged uh neighborhoods and those families that live within them and so a lot of these items really speak to that point that we that we ought to actually move into um some strategies while we have these limited dollars uh in order to help those who are experiencing a crisis even still and uh there are many people I I hear from my constituents every day um I I do have a question though regarding the landlord assistance fund we say landlord assistance I just want to clarify what type of assistance are we actually considering here I he education someone some are insinuating this is legal assistance but $100,000 for legal assistance is not going to get us very far what what type of assistance are we really talking about here I think of vice mayor May and Council um this and I apologize for the labeling we've we had um call it a couple different things and and the labeling is not perfect but it was intended to be in response to the council feedback and the last time that we brought up you know this topic there was a request from Council to develop a program would provide some technical legal assistance to landlords similar to the technical legal assistance they get from gbla as as tenants and uh so this was intended uh to meet that request uh as I understand both the council Direction but also my recommendation as staff is that you know this is not to provide landlords with a lawyer to go to court that's not what this is similar to the tenant um eviction uh prevention program it's so that they can have uh technical assistance it would be potentially some workshops although we they can't attend the workshops at gbla but it's also so they have someone ask questions because as we designed the program with gbla their feedback was sure anybody can come to the workshop but if they come and ask us questions we can't give them advice and this is so that they would have some place where they could go and ask for some advice again they won't be their lawyers or or their legal representation but they could they could ask questions and get some legal advice and again within a certain set of parameters we create so what's the Nexus in staff's opinion between assistance for landlords and neighborhood stabilization for us it was more so about again being responsive to the council Direction when we had this topic on the last conversation I appreciate that CU I'm I'm really struggling to find the Nexus uh between this landlord assistance and neighborhood stabilization and so it's hard for me to um move forward for that purpose with respect to these arpa dollars and these arpa funds which are intended for disadvantaged communities perhaps if the council wanted to consider uh another funding source that would be a different consideration but given the context that these are arpa federal dollars for disadvantaged neighborhoods I'm really struggling to find uh how this is an appropriate use of of dollarss uh first and foremost the other thing I wanted to mention uh which I thought was a great point that I think Mr Wesley mentioned uh was that there are dollars set aside $550,000 for a habitability program which ostensibly will support landlords uh because they will be uh those those grants will go to landlords to help them improve their uh properties and in this way uh I can support that program because the renters the families that I represent will ultimately be beneficiaries of that of those improvements um so uh I'm going to make a motion tonight that we move forward with this arpa funding uh PL this neighborhood stabilization programming framework and then we uh with the exception of the $100,000 for the landlord assistance fund and we move that back into safe and healthy communities for further consideration council member Arius thank you mayor I'll also try to keep my comments short and sweet I am in support of the vice mayor's motion um and many of the comments that he and both council member core made I I'll just make one final Point uh which is that you know in in this case I think we have to compare for the sake of prioritizing where the dollar should go um in my last testimony I shared that over a 2-year period there were 2400 individuals throughout the county many of those in the city of Bak field who were evicted from their homes and the question that I ask the public to consider is Will those individuals likely end up on our streets and in many cases and in potentially most cases the answer is yes now let's look at the opposite consideration if we are looking to provide some assistance to landlords um who maybe own a couple of investment properties if they are not able to successfully evict a tenant of theirs or if they have a squatter my question to you is the same will they end up on the Streets of Bakersfield and I think it's very clear that the answer to that is no and the reality is $350,000 that we allocated to address the 2400 individuals who lost their housing is not enough I think that that was clear it was the original intention of this funding um and I think it's it's very clear that um while um the other three ations are in complete alignment and are really going to help stabilize our community I think that this fourth one uh providing assistance to landlords is not um so with that I just want to say uh thank you for the motion uh vice mayor I also want to say thank you to The Advocates who uh brought this conversation forward to the council uh back in June I realized that there was a delay um unfortunately this is how government works it takes time um but it doesn't get done unless you have great leaders leadership uh like that um at at the top like Christian CL so um just want to say thank you all for continuing to see us or see this go through the process and thank you for your continued advocacy thank you council member Freeman thank you mayor um I wanted to ask if the workshops which I think are the best tool we have could incorporate basically teaching landlords and tenants what their obligations and rights are because most of the problems I think come from either both parties not knowing what their obligations are and what the rights are so I was hoping because I I thought the proposal as it came in was good from staff uh that we could use some of the um especially the landlord allocation to combine these workshops have more W workshops I didn't really see a workshop for a landlord and a workshop for a tenant it seems to me that it's one law and that we could have workshops where all were invited and that would be a little more efficient way to do this because I think the whole problem here is ignorance on both parties landlords does as much you know you have obligations and tenants obligations and I think the confusion is is they don't really know what they are so my thought was I like the proposal the way it was and but that these that we somehow merge these workshops to cover both the rights of tenants and landlords the obligations and educate the community so do you have any is there any uh comment to that yeah so some of the upcoming meetings the state of California Housing is key uh provides the information and it is called the tenant and landlord's rights and responsibilities and within that that it gives two individuals both L landlords and tenants when you move in what is the process you have five days spill out the form that shows uh what's deficient in the unit they're going to take that at the end of the rental agreement and from that those items get discussed but it goes through like what do you do if there's a problem it teaches tenants that if your stove isn't working you still need to pay your rent because that's where there's a lot of um evictions happening also is tenants won't pay their rent thinking that they're going to get their landlord to act and that's why we have code enforcement involved is very specifically from the tenant and landlord's rights and responsibility and so GBL is going to be having some sessions on knowing what that is the landlord needs to know what they are responsible for doing but there's also things that tenants are responsible and so getting that information out there is the best way for both of of these entities to understand their rights and their responsibilities um landlords are responsible for vector control they're responsible for infestations things like that you can do uh sprayings at least once a month and that is a landlord responsibility but then tenants are responsibilities also to um keep the unit in a clean and safe manner as well so teaching both entities is a way uh to get to some of the things that you're speaking to and having joint education to just add a little bit Council M Freeman if I may just really quickly I think that uh uh to summarize the the answer for your question yes the workshops are combined can be combined we could even do additional Outreach to make sure landlords are you know feeling invited to those workshops I think the big distinction is if they have additional questions that they want to ask on a case-by Case basis is for technical assistance that's where there's a difference but the Workshops can be done together well I I like the idea in staff's recommendation that there was some money and it really says it's for landlord but I kind of like it for the combined education myself that there's that that we don't take all the money away from trying to educate the landlords that's why I thought that was good being there so um for that reason I kind of support staff's recommend Commendation and I guess the protocol somebody has to make a motion to see if anybody else does or not so I I'd make a motion to um approve the allocations as presented by in staff's recommendation thank you council member Freeman council member core I guess in taking in the conversation that we're having here um as well as staff's recommendation I think the question really on the table is what are the best use of these dollars here and as our Advocates have shared as well and kind of what we're hearing from the workshops it sounds like the landlords are attending these workshops without an enormous effort made to do Outreach and if they are hearing uh the concerns of tenants I feel that the landlords that are attending are able to connect and are doing their due diligence so the space is being provided to them and these dollars specifically do have a better use than um to kind of address some of the more dire or to actually address you know the more disadvantaged communities um but I do think it's our responsibility as government government is for the people it's for all the people and we need to be efficient and responsible and it is our responsibility and we fall short in our responsibility to people when we do not have the system that are able to serve folks um to all folks uh and I think in I I just want to close with responding to my Council um my fellow council members comments uh but with all due respect as well if we are seeing these huge gaps and housing and our housing crisis is cyclical and I love the points that council member audius made is the questions that we're really evaluating is we want to keep people in their homes the place places that are home for them now in this moment and is the best use of do federal dollars that are coming down to support the most disadvantaged communities not just our own but Across the Nation for very specific use um how do we keep people in their homes so that we you know we're coming up with Solutions uh at different points of our housing crisis but this is kind of at the root of it is keeping people in their homes now and um I feel we can do more work to address the gaps that we have within our city governance that would then prevent the need for onetime funds of this sort it's not a mandated registry that was not my recommendation it was more so just as a business you open a new business even the fire department has a checklist of of things for you to make sure you have done to open your business you know having a checklist for a landlord to to be able to know what their responsibilities are and and being able to be a a good citizen um within our society I think as a city as the Govern the government of the people that is a responsibility we have as well um so that's what I wanted to add in um in kind of closing our comments and our conversation here I am having a technical issue I feel like my computer has logged itself out just hit the help button okay thank you thank you canc member council member Smith thank you mayor I just wanted to address I guess the I think I'm in agreement with council member Freeman's position I think it's naive to think that there aren't bad actors on both sides council member area said well if you got a squatter somebody's still in the house well that's and then council member Gonzalez said well what's good for the neighborhood well it's not good for the neighborhood to have squatters in the neighborhood they're not good neighbors and so I think the idea that council member Freeman stated that you know it really is education to both sides is what makes sense to me and may maybe you know there's a portion and I don't know how to allocate it but a portion of that is just to the Joint educational seminars that that are saying you know you're responsible for this and you're responsible for that but if a landlord has a squatter and needs some assistance then it is better for the neighborhood if they're able to get some assistance if I may council member Smith I I hope this is responsive even though you didn't ask a a particular question how how we typically move would move after a an action like this is that we would uh for example the first two items on that four item bullet list that are not um I think you know in discussion that there's broad you know agreement on those two we would put out an RFP and we would seek those services for this last item that's this $100,000 um to just to to offer a potential you know path forward for Council um a motion could include to say let's amend the contract with gbla to add dollars from that 100,000 for additional workshops and maybe that's $50,000 or $75,000 and retain a smaller portion that we could still put an RFP out for the very limited technical assistance that was what we would also do if we were going to get some legal technical assistance for you know again a narrow set of parameters for landlords we would do an RFP for those Services you could split that funding and I would also um as as the comments uh have been carrying forward has reminded me of some conversation we had as staff as well that um the the Nexus for arpa funding could be a challenge depending on what the qualified census tract might be for that particular landlord or that particular property we could also allocate funding from a different Source we could put $100,000 addition to the gbla contract for more workshops and then I Identify some additional funding uh from one of our other housing sources within economic and Community Development to provide some some focused technical assistance to landlords that meets the same intent but a different funding source so those are some options thank you I I guess I'm going to get into the motion making with everybody else I I I think your option of you know let's just put the $100,000 into the gbla contract and more workshops because that seems to be the most effective and is helping the most people and and helps both sides and then you know make a referral to staff to find another Avenue to to perhaps help the the small amount of landlords that need assistance is that a motion that's a motion right so we will go I don't see oh council member vice mayor uh for what it's worth I just want to reiterate my motion which is will be the last to be considered tonight um but that was to approve the neighborhood stabilization framework presented by staff except for that landlord assistance fund um that question uh would be referred to committee to then uh tease out some of these things that we're trying to determine at the Das here and now uh I think it's more appropriate to send it to uh safe and healthy communities so that is my motion on the table okay I would just uh mayor if I could I would just ask council member Smith if that addresses his question because some of that I think the vice mayor is correct some of those issues could be resolved and brought back but if there's a timing issue and that doesn't address your motion so be it council member Smith no I think my motion I'm I'm happy with is that we're we're expanding the GBL contract works I need to hear your motion okay oh go ahead fully understand itand the GBL contract with the $100,000 that is shown here for more workshops which goes to educate both sides okay then I withdraw my motion I'll support his thank you council member Freeman all right uh just to check before we vote council member core is your technology okay now we think all right if if not we'll take care of it all right so you have a motion which is council member Smith's motion please catch your votes motion failed with vice mayor Gonzalez council member Aras council member Weir council member gray and council member core voting no thank you and so now we will take the next motion which is the vice mayor's motion since the other was withdrawn you have a motion please cat your votes we might need to refresh here motion fails with council members Weir Smith Freeman and gray voting no thank you so Madam City attorney I see you are G help us out I will try uh by operation of law there is no motion then on the table I would suggest perhaps the vice mayor make a motion as to the three items um and staff can come back on the $100,000 at a later point I'll make a motion for uh adoption of the neighborhood stabilization program uh with the except exception of the landlord assistance fund which staff will come back at a later date you have a motion please cat your votes motion is approved with council members Weir and gray voting no thank you and now next item please Council and mayor statements council member yes it went away for some re let's it was council member arus and something happened go ahead thank you mayor um just two two quick items uh wanted to invite the BR public in the community out uh to tomorrow night uh we're going to be at the friendship house uh where we'll have a small Bike Rodeo that that is going to be intended for uh younger students and uh students who attend the friendship house uh there on MLK Boulevard uh we will then be biking South uh to Del Oro High School um and we will be having a community meeting to start at 6 PM uh we're going to be working with a couple of uh City departments thank you Mr Howen uh for setting that up um and just having a great conversation and good night uh with the community to talk about all of the great work that's going to be happening along the corridor uh so please come out and join us again that's from 3:30 and then the community meeting um will be taking place at 6 p.m. at deloro uh the second is a referral um and before I make it I just want to say thank you to uh both Paul Johnson and uh development services department uh for um identifying um an issue along MLK Boulevard where MLK Boulevard which used to be named Cottonwood um a referral previously made by my predecessor only extended to caloma um um along MLK Boulevard now and so I would like to uh follow up on that and extend um the renaming from Cottonwood to ml Boulevard from caloma South all the way to Panama Lane and so I would like to make that referral and ask staff to take a look at that and bring back some consider considerations for the council thank you thank you Council May barus vice mayor thank you mayor a quick shout out to Recreation and Parks we just received word this afternoon that the city of Bakersfield will receive $1.9 million for m park that's exciting yeah from the National Park Service and so this is a federal uh Grant it's a matching Grant um but we're well on our way I think from our early calculations we're about a quarter of the way of funding the entire MLK revitalization and vision plan so uh kudos to Mr Anthony to Mr CLE to all of the folks throughout City Hall who have been part of this project all along and who are working day in and day out to help us reimagine this park and see it transformed and this is certainly great news for Southeast Bakersfield Kudos also to my colleague council member Adas who joins me and uh Champions this program even though it's uh no longer in his Ward he's still being a great uh Advocate and leader I thank you for that um last night we had a wonderful community meeting in Oleander Sunset to to review and discuss some of the issues related to Oak Street which has um had witnessed many significant issues uh over the last several months and years um so I want to thank all of the staff who spent their evening with with me and uh dozens of community members one of the uh questions that came up was how to establish a historic design ation for o under Sunset and so I'd like to make a referral tonight uh to City staff including the city attorney's office to see what uh designations might exist for for historic neighborhoods and how we might be able to apply that to both Oleander and also our Westchester neighborhoods um number three we have seen uh a growing number of structure fires um started by uh arsonists in our community um this is a significant issue um and I believe that we need to uh add uh additional arson investigators uh to our Baker so fire department and so I'm going to make a referral tonight that as we look towards our midyear budget uh should funding allow that we look at um adding additional positions related to arson investigators and that referral um I hope we can uh chat about that later Mr C uh this is a serious issue facing not just War II but all throughout the city and finally we received a letter both council member Smith and I uh from a constituent related to recycling centers and how uh that continues to be a public nuisance in some specific neighborhoods and so I think we need to um explore what are the um uh you know the what what options we have as a city uh to address and better regulate recycling centers in our city within the city limits both existing recycling centers and and those yet to come and so I'd like to refer that to uh Legend lit uh thank you all good night council member core thank you mayor I too have a huge shout out to the our rexen Park uh Reen Park's Department uh we had our first community meeting for our newest Park in w 7 right next to Miller Elementary School and it was one of the most exciting meetings I've been to as both the community advocate and now in my Council role and we had a huge attendance uh and I just really want to commend leadership as well as uh folks within the department and across our departments who really bring City Hall to the people and to the residents with just to paint a scene within the Miller Elementary cafeteria we had these large Boards of renderings of different um facilities and different design options that are available uh at different parks and everyone was given um a sticker and if you really wanted something if you really wanted a certain you know shade structure or different types of slides you put you know this was your first choice so you put a green sticker red and yellow first second and third choices and the process was so accessible whether you spoke English or not whether you were a kid whether you were an elder I I thought it was just the most beautiful engagement between uh government and um and its residents and constituents and I know the residents really appreciate it and feel a part of the design process and I just love that this is uh this is our process within the city and that's a good feeling for residents and the response is um it's been astronomical even afterwards and truly if you build a process like that like this people will come and um I'm still getting different ideas because uh some of them are a little bit more bold than others uh we'll have to talk to some safety folks but but it's really exciting and um I just really wanted to bring at least this highlight uh to everyone and to be able to share that and just give my thanks to folks um you know who continue to work to bring um bring our residents and involve them in a process what some residents have shared is they kind of just felt like there was someone sitting in the sky who designed a park and you know it just showed up in their neighborhood and they didn't really Iz that they could be so involved in the process and I said rest assured we will bring you the renderings back based on what your feedback was and now there's also a survey you can take online so a quick little shout out if you didn't get the chance to come to the meeting you can just scan the QR code and give us your feedback as to what you would like to see at your city park so that process is going on and we're still collecting uh different different feedback from folks on a not so fun note um last week last city council meeting I um actually missed our city council meeting because I uh was assisting a woman as uh with translations for um a domestic violence case that she was going through and I was actually on my way to the city council meeting um and spent the entire almost the entire night with her and I have been talking to Chief Terry about how and and chief also presented on this earlier this year as to how domestic violence is really growing in our community and unfortunately these are probably the highest volume of calls I get as well as being you know a Punjabi speaker being bilingual and having the cultural competency to understand um maybe why this happens in households and and how it persists and and the ways in which you know folks seeking help what it takes for them to finally get that help and take that step I was really unfortunate and I continue to assist her the best I can but I also feel like I'm out of resource um and I appreciate even the mayor has assisted me with different cases in the past and um I wanted to make uh the referral that we kind of assist our ability or assess our ability to add Community liazon Specialists within the Bakersville Police Department who have not just uh the cultural competency of like within the Punjabi Community but those communities that are served our uh police department has many things that they have to address we know that it's a department that has um a large responsibility within our society but this is something that's going severely I think unaddressed uh under addressed and um these are positions I'd like to see us explore and see what exists elsewhere I know we have partner organizations but there I feel because safety is associated of course with our Police Department folks come there first and if there's someone who can meet them there to then be a navigator sorts to the different partners um I think when people get lost in the process or don't have that followup when they they need that emergency need um that's when they you know they don't stay as committed to the process so that's um one of my referrals as well and I wanted to also congratulate Rick Anthony and Anthony Valdez our newest assistant city managers um who are carrying on the great work within our city and who have served in so many different capacities and wearing many different hats than the hat and the roles that they have had in the past I'm just so very excited that you're joining um our city leadership as our our city continues to grow and and really appreciate the fact that our city leadership reflects our entire Community as well so that's um something I think that is worth noting and um congratulations Kudos and best wishes hang in there and you've got a great support staff so have a good evening everyone thank you council member core the the issue that you addressed related to domestic violence certainly is one that in particular communities actually is so severe and growing so thank you for highlighting that uh we know that because of culture there are some who are very afraid to come forward so that that is extremely important council member G thank you mayor um I just wanted to bring to the attention and and I ask Mr CLE there's a veteran group in Bakersfield and we talked about this um that is wanting to um put Flags down Tron Avenue Avenue of Heroes I think is what they're wanting to put on those flags because we have five different veteran memorials on txon Avenue and they have been trying to make Headway on this for months there is an event coming up for Pearl Harbor day um on December 7th and they would like to see this happen if we possibly could do so since they've been bringing it to our attention for so long so what is the update on that yeah thinkk council member gray and I'll actually take an opportunity uh with the full Council here um to provide an update of where we're going to go and if there's if there's Council Direction I will receive that direction but otherwise we will move with administrative authority to just do this project um there's been a request to hang banners along trucks and Avenue on the banner polls that the city already has that we installed um historically as well as we added some additional during the pandemic um that we would um design uh uh banners that would that would say Avenue of Heroes as requested by the veterans group and that we can go and produce those banners and just hang them up um not that the cost is actually overly prohibitive it would be within our administrative Authority anyway but I think something that is sort of um a branding or a naming of a of a city street or way is notable enough but again given the desire to do this in a timely manner ahead of a particular date and knowing well the disposition of this Council towards supporting veterans in our community I'm inclined as uh staff to just move forward and and complete that project so uh we have um had some conversations just in the last couple weeks to identify uh uh a couple of potential vendors we need to work on a design and um then we'll just get those uh into production and we'll get them placed in the next couple of months um I I think uh we'll have I'll have an opportunity to at least at a minimum share that design with Council electronically um and absent any uh feedback we'll just keep it moving forward to get it done in the next two months well that's great news thank you um the other thing um uh council member Gonzalez brought up the recycling centers and I had talked to this the City attorney about this because I've got a problem in Ward six also at mingen Stein and um that's uh going into the neighborhoods there and so it there's got to be something that we can do to address this issue I don't know what it is but I if I would I'm total agreement with our council member that if we can look at that further maybe more code enforcement or or more Patrol in those areas or whatever but they are they are a hot box for problems so I appreciate that thank you thank you council member gray City attorney is requested to speak thank you mayor uh Council and members listening uh mayor if you're so inclined I'd like you to consider adjourning tonight's meeting in memory of Dennis Fox I think uh most of you know that Dennis Fox was a frequent attendee of our uh City Council meetings and our waterboard meetings um and and to many people uh you know when you looked at Dennis he was a disheveled um older man but I think to those of us that knew him and many on the council he uh he was very educated well- read gentlemen um he had a very dry sense of humor and he uh he'd loved to talk about water I think he'd keep me here for at least three hours after every council meeting if he could so um I'm sure that if you had an award for someone that uh attended the most City Council meetings and the most water board meetings Dennis Fox would have received that award many times uh his presence will be missed I am told he passed away peacefully about two weeks ago thank you Mr n and uh let's observe a moment of silence just in memory of Mr Fox [Music] thank you to Mr Fox for how much he cared for our community we stand a journ at 7:31 [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music]