[Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Laughter] [Music] [Music] [Music] e [Music] [Music] [Music] TR [Music] you [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] you [Music] aome [Music] [Music] [Laughter] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] man nope no [Music] the 3:30 p.m. meeting of the Bakersfield City Council is now in session good afternoon it's my pleasure to call to order the 3:30 regular city council meeting of November 20th 2024 Madam clerk please call the role mayor go here vice mayor Gonzalez council member Aras here council member we council member Smith I am here council member Freeman council member gray here and council member cor here thank you madam City attorney in that we do not have any members of the public other than two staff members is it appropriate for me to skip the public statements portion I don't know mayor I think they may want to talk about the City attorney yeah that's that's what I was thinking next item please close session item 4 a conference with legal council existing litigation regarding the following two matters one EST state of Abraham Tores Mesa versus city of Bakersfield at L and two Dave DePalma versus uh city of Bakersfield and it close session item 4B council with real property negotiators uh for the property located at 2157 222 2221 Mohawk Street thank you motion to adjourn to close session we're Jour to close session [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] the l [Music] [Applause] all the [Music] oh [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [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] [Laughter] [Music] [Laughter] [Music] is [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] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] I'd rather try and accomplish greater than try to and F succeed I'll all night and [Music] [Music] i' rather try and accom something failed try to accom and ful succeed [Music] and try to accomplish and fully suceed I'll here all night wait and fully succeed [Music] [Music] oh [Music] oh [Music] a [Music] a [Music] oh oh [Music] [Music] [Music] reconvening the 3:30 city council meeting Madam City attorney thank you mayor mayor there were three items on Clos session this afternoon and on items 4 a one and two uh both existing matters of litigation by a 60 vote in both of those matters matters the City attorney and staff was given Direction and on item four be as and boy the uh conference with um real property negotiator Again by a 60 vote uh the staff city manager was given direction thank you thank you and with that we stand a journ at 4:55 and we'll start the 5:15 meeting in a while thank you [Music] he [Music] he oh [Music] [Music] oh [Music] [Music] oh [Music] n [Music] n [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] n [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] n [Applause] [Music] n [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] oh [Music] [Music] oh o [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] for [Music] [Music] I [Music] right [Music] [Music] me [Music] [Music] [Music] now [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] m [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] council members we're ready to [Music] start 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 7:00 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 November 20th 2024 Madame clerk please call the RO mayor go here vice mayor Gonzalez here council member Aras here council member we here council member Smith I am here council member Freeman council member gray here council member core here thank you welcome to all of you and thank you for joining us this evening tonight we have the pleasure of having Pastor Mike Jenkins who's pastor of God's Covenant Church of God in Christ to offer the invocation thank you Pastor for hosting the unity in the city prayers and the annual backpack giveaways we appreciate your being here and then following the invocation Albert Abad who's a senior at stockdell high will lead us in the pledge Albert served as the mayor for teen cover teen government day just a few weeks ago he's ASB president with a 4.5 GPA me M of the National Honor Society Spanish Honor Society for dreambuilders four years of Orchestra kok K-pop dance leader top scholar athlete award in baseball and also the recipient of the Glendon Rogers award which is the most well-rounded student so at this time would you all stand please you bow your hearts in prayer father tonight we thank you for Gathering us together one more time we ask you to be the invited guest we ask you to be in the midst of this city council father continue to bless our mayor and every city official that is here present tonight God and even as we Embark this Thanksgiving weekend help us to be thankful and to reflect on your goodness and your mercy because you're a great God there's no failure in you and God we praise you tonight we give you all the glory God continue oh God to send your protection upon this city Let Your Precious Blood cover each and every Ward each and every street in the name of Jesus and we thank you and we give you all the praise and God we give this meeting over to you you be the invited guest and you be glorified in Jesus name amen thank you and now Albert thank you Pastor please put your right hand over your T salute pledge I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all thank you thank you and you may be seated thank you Pastor Mike and thank you Albert if you uh need to leave at this point this would be a time to leave or you're welcome to stay and join us here a few guidelines to help our meeting run smoothly we request that you turn off your phones please be courtious in the use of cameras and videos and for safety reasons and as a courtesy to others no signs are allowed in the council chamber or in the lobby Applause is allowed during the presentation portion of the meeting but not during other portions of the meeting everyone in attendance is expected to adhere to the rules of deor 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 the first warning to everyone in attendance that conduct that disrupts the meeting May result in your removal from the meeting and or the chambers being cleared behavior that disrupts the meeting includes repetitive statements shouting interrupting staff or presenters during the meeting speaking out of turn Outburst from the audience and surpassing the two-minute time limit Madam clerk next item please and before we start that we're just going to ask for everyone who's standing except for the officers to please be seated that's for safety reasons staff can we have four seats together for that family somebody can be helpful there thank you and now public statements in keeping with the council's resolution public statements are now received at different times depending on the item I will call on the city clerk to call on the public for public 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 a specific agenda item will be presumed speakers for non-agenda public statements if you're here to speak on an item not listed on the meeting agenda you will be called first to speak statements are given a two-minute time limit per speaker 20 minutes total for all non-agenda item public statements if you're here to speak on an item listed on the agenda I will call for you at the 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 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 seven public speaker cards for items not listed on tonight's agenda in addition a staff memorandum was provided transmitting photographs from Eddie Lane the first uh three speakers will be Carmen Perez followed by Brook Mali alt followed by Marie Ellen bones thank you so the first speaker will come up and I'll just ask you to adjust the microphone so that we can hear you yes ma'am welcome please introduce yourself thank you my name is Carmen Perez I am the grandmother of Jeremiah Vios the 13-year-old boy who died at the scene on the corner of Columbus and lyola on November 13th last week he was a very kind respectful and passionate boy and was in the gate program at Chipman Junior High I bought him that bike for his birthday and though I was worried about him I believed he would be okay because I was praying for his safety our faith in God through Jesus Christ has not been shaken as we believe that this happened to make him a catalyst for change he believed in Jesus and was wearing a shirt that said real men love Jesus when he died our presence here is meant to compel the city of Bakers to prevent any further casualties on or near the corner of Columbus and lyola our understanding is that at least three people have died on or near this intersection and it is now our mission to prevent this from ever happening again after the first time a stop sign a traffic light a crosswalk something should have been done to protect kids walking or riding their bikes to and from school in addition the response from the ambulance company was slow to arrive KMC is one mile from the side of the accident yet it took them a very long time to arrive judging by the footage I've reviewed when they did arrive they did not move with any kind of urgency or purpose the surgeon at camc was still trying to save his life when we all arrived there an indicator that had the ambulance First Responders moved with urgency Jeremiah's life might have been spared furthermore the speed at which vehicles travel down Columbus is outrageous and drivers must be held accountable we urge the city of Bakersville to take immediate action our children should be allowed to ride their bikes in safety and freedom that we the safety and freedom that we experienced as children thank you for your time so sorry for your loss and thank you thank you for speaking on behalf of Jeremiah Madam clerk next speaker Brooke Mali Al followed by Marie Ellen bionz followed by Adam Zuna welcome please introduce yourself my name is Brook malal um I'm here today as the Bakersfield City school trustee for area 5 but more importantly as a parent of a second grader and a concerned Community member while I'm not here in any official District capacity I feel a deep responsibility to represent the parents and families who cannot always attend City Council meetings but whose voices need to be heard I am sure I speak for many when I express my deep concern and sadness over the recent tragedies at Roosevelt Elementary and Chipman Junior High where young children lost their lives to traffic accidents these heartbreaking events are a reminder that our children safety must be our top priority especially as they travel to and from school we can teach our children to look both ways to use crosswalks and be aware of their surroundings but we cannot change the behavior of drivers unless we put measures in place that force them to slow down we cannot afford to wait for another tragedy to strike before we act traffic calming strategies are not just an option they are an urgent necessity I want to acknowledge council member Andre Gonzalez for his long-standing advocacy for traffic calming measures and I appreciate the work he's done to bring attention to this issue however it's time for the entire city council to take a strong stance in supporting and expanding these efforts it is time for all of us to work together to ensure safer streets for children as someone who lives directly across from bcsd school I see firsthand the dangers our children face despite the presence of a a school a park and a church on my street once the crossing guard leaves for the day the street quickly becomes like a highway driver speed through residential areas without a second thought excuse me second thought despite the recent installation of Highly visible speedometers I appreciate these efforts but they have not resulted in any meaningful change it's clear that we need more permanent measures that Force drivers to slow down especially around schools where children are most vulnerable I'm asking you today to prioritize traffic caling around bcsd schools particularly in the older neighborhoods these are the areas where traffic congestion and safety concerns are most pressing we've seen quick action taken in newer developments of the Northwest part of town where protective measures are often installed before problems arise however the older neighborhoods in East and Central Bakersville continue to suffer from the same dangerous conditions um our children deserve a safe journey to school regardless of their family circumstances this is not just a matter of convenience it's a matter of life and death and we must act now to protect them thank you Miss Sal next speaker please vice mayor uh thank you mayor uh thank you uh trusty altz for coming today and representing the many families uh in your trustee area and many families in my ward uh who are um pleading for additional enhancements and neighborhood safety in in our historic neighborhoods uh so thank you for being here tonight and I also want to thank um Family U Miss Perez and your family for being here tonight and lifting up um your concerns and also lifting up the Beautiful beautiful memory of your um your grandson um I see the photos here and they look look wonderful um and so thank you for sharing a little bit of him with us in this Council this evening uh I for one I know many of us on the council feel strongly about uh traffic safety and enhancing uh safety for all users of our roadways including pedestrians including bicyclists including those who are um using wheelchairs um you know our roadways should be accessible for all users for all citizens and that is um a commitment that many of us on this Council have made years ago and we continue to press uh City Hall so that we can address this issue both in infrastructure and policy change and I'd like to invite you all uh to participate in the uh multimodal and Traffic Safety Committee uh that the city council has established uh two years ago now uh that is addressing these issues um that is where the the the large part of this work is really being discussed and implemented um and to U Miss alt's Point um actually several months ago I made a referral to this uh city council and to the city manager uh that that committee that Traffic Safety Committee actually prioritize uh school zones uh in their work and so I um checked in with the city manager this past week and he assures me that that is the topic in the upcoming agenda and uh Mr kle if you can just uh verify that for the public that is correct thank you vice mayor thank you thank you mayor next speaker please go ahead and introduce yourself welcome hello and let's just wait until everybody's seated you know thank you go ahead I'm Maria en bionis and I'm here regarding an issue with the Sports plex that's in Laurel Glenn off of Manning and Ming um our neighborhood has gotten has been very congested with the parking um this Sports plex was built maybe about 3 years ago and at first it was just a couple nights a week and now it's the majority of the week and even sometimes on the weekends um several streets around the area um are are used up by the parking their parking uh parking lot is too small for their facility to accommodate uh we have a lot of homes that are Park people are parking right in front of our driveways and they either block us in or they block us out um we even have trash the next morning all throughout the streets um and then this Sports plex is uh soccer fields for children but sometimes the trash in the streets are beer cans fast food so obviously the parents are drinking also there's been times where fireworks are set on our street and so this is just become an issue because it's almost every day I'm sorry I was not prepared to speak it was actually Adam Zuniga That was supposed to speak there are some pictures provided showing our driveways being blocked in people parking on the corners sometimes up on the curb um sometimes um even in Red Zone um and it makes it very difficult also to drive through the neighborhood safely because it has become so narrow um and that's that's the biggest thing it's just been a safety issue and again it's it's been a hashel hassle with the trash and being blocked in or out from our driveways thank you is there anything else that's it thank you uh council member Smith would you like to address this and then I'm going to call on council member core to go backward like I'd like to ask staff is was there a cup for the Sports plex or what council member Smith mayor and Council I am not familiar of the status of the conditional use permit um this is a topic on which we've been aware of constituent requests that have come in and so there's been a fair amount of activity by our law enforcement uh for parking citations as well as even the city manager's office has been reaching out to management of the of that location but I don't know the answer on the cup we'll have to get back to you on that okay thank you next speaker please good evening my name is Adam Zuniga I live on mning Street I've been in contact with council member gray and with the help of the BPD they tried to help get this thing under control with having parking enforcement work after hours it's actually made the problems worse just the other night the night that I took those pictures this past Thursday the neighbor at 2212 who cannot be here tonight because of his work schedule working in the medical field he had his driveway blocked in and it was over an hour and a half until BPD actually came out and did something instead of the typical thing where the vehicle was supposed to be towed for literally block a driveway there's no mistaking it was not a driveway they waited and waited until they contacted the owner of that vehicle and allowed that owner to move the vehicle without facing any consequences the issue is is the reason why these people keep on doing what they're doing that attend the sports complex is because they have no consequences to their actions one picture the first set of picture shows the way our neighborhood used to look at one and all times now it's a constant issue of people not caring blocking fire hydrants which at one point I pointed out that these people they're violating vehicle code and they've actually threatened me with my life for telling them that they need to move or I'm going to call the cops and report them some of these people have been polite and actually said Thank you and move their vehicles and other times they have attempted to be violent with me I had another neighbor across the street where she's had to call the towing company and the Bakersville Police Department several times cuz she herself is BL locked in down on Manning to my left there's an elderly lady that there's been times that she's could not go anywhere because the lack of response of BPD or by the time they get out there it's too late also you see pictures of empty alcohol containers that's not that's small compared to what it used to be and well that's my time thank you Mr Zuna Madam clerk next speaker please Tanya paa followed by Isaiah sea followed by Kevin M welcome please introduce yourself and we're just going to give a minute for people to find a seat if there are two seats anywhere can you just raise your hand please welcome go ahead my son was one of Jeremiah vos's friends and he'll be speaking up after me when I was looking at the map between Mount Vernon and wachi there is 3.4 miles without any crosswalks my son and I will be canvasing the neighborhoods this weekend to try to get the signatures that are needed to get a high visit ility crosswalk put in to get a speedometer or the speed sign put in the one that lights up but my question is what is going to be done to prevent another life from being taken what is going to be done to prevent freeway speeds being driven in a 45 mph Road something has to be done one life was way too many and this is the reality of this family here and of my son and the Chipman Junior High Community there is a reality that they have now face with their child or with their friend being gone this is a reality that should not be done I don't know if anybody else has done this but I know Mr we is in charge of War 3 I don't know if you understand this and I know this may not be a reality that you have to live but is the reality for everybody else that's sitting behind me so all I'm asking is what is going to be done since we are going to do our part what is going to be done on your part thank you and for the record would you just say your name please Tanya Pena thank you thank you thank you next speaker please uh council member where is that staff could uh maybe uh a couple staff get in touch with the ladies down here or the people that are down here in the in the Upper East Side and see if we can't uh get a group together or do something or get a plan drawn out to where um maybe this doesn't happen to it needs it doesn't need to happen all the time and we could um if we could get that and U reach out to those people I'd appreciate it thank you Council we will follow up thank you thank you next speaker please and introduce yourself hi I'm I am Isaiah Z and I'm talking on behalf of Jeremiah Vos um we were friends for about a year and we were in the gate program together we had most of our classes together and he was an amazing kid he had so much ahead of him and that was taken from him and his family from a car and the lack of safety measures in that area right there like the speaker before me had said there is like 3 miles be of road before there is a crosswalk and I am just asking for there to be some safety measures in that area like a high visibility crosswalk some speed bumps or any lights or anything and I had also seen that there had been a lack of of street lights on that road and it's hard to see people crossing there and that'll be it Isaiah thank you for speaking on behalf of Jeremiah you're welcome thank you and then next speaker please Kevin M welcome please introduce yourself hello council members uh today I'd like to give my input on the canopy coverage in Tree Care in Bakersfield I know it was an agenda item but I wasn't aware I believe that this is something that the city genuinely needs to have a focus on and it needs to be done right and it's not just for the sake of the environment but for the sake of our quality of life where the inhabitants of the city experience blistering summer heat we breathe the polluted air of the valley and many of us have to travel around town just to experience nature or Greenery and the promotion of tree life can Elevate these realities as well as do more the presence of trees can reduce temperatures in an area by 10° F they make the city beautiful and they have the potential to have food Gardens uh if we can get fruit trees in these places but like I said it really does need to be done right it needs to have a good Focus if we look at tree equity score.org which is a map that shows the canopy coverage across Bakersfield across all of the neighborhoods we can see that there is a disparity between poor and minority minority neighborhoods which experience less canopy coverage as compared to wealthy and white ones I think it's horrible to see how a lot of people on the east side and the southeast side have to experience less canopy coverage compared to other more well-off parts of the city I also think it's horrible to have to know that in some of our neighborhoods uh with like low tree canopy coverage that their canopy coverage in some areas even with Parks is lower than some of the country clubs out here and to me that's horrible to know that as a regular citizen as a as an inhabitant of Bakersfield I won't have access to as many trees as all of these wealthy people and it's disappointing to see that and so I'm saying this to ensure that you're aware of the reality when you consider your actions moving forward as well as for the tree plan thank you next speaker please Maro that was our final speaker regarding non-agenda items okay thank you and now c m gray I think you wanted to address yes thank you mayor um first of all I want to applaud this young man Isaiah for Having the courage that's pretty amazing good job and give my condolences to the Perez Family so on to a note that's um a little bit different um Mr Zuniga and I we have been um talking with one another about the soul situation in the sports complex and I want to appreciate I appreciate you all coming tonight I I asked him to come and bring this to light because it is an ongoing problem that you all have been facing your neighborhood has been disrespected um it's been disrupted Ed by all this and definitely there's got to be a solution um so I just want you to know that I have been emailing back and forth to intervene on your behalf and staff has been responding to um my emails but I think there's more to be told tonight so I would like our city manager Mr CLE to kind of explain to you what's going on sometimes we don't realize that something is working in the background and it's important for that to come out out so uh Mr Clay could you share with us what is happening yeah thank you council member great mayor and Council just to give some perspective I would acknowledge the community frustration that this has been a persistent challenge that hasn't gone away um and unfortunately it's despite um effort on our part um and since June of this year we've been tracking our parking enforcement efforts uh in this area and there have been 19 separate parking uh enforcement missions that have occurred uh in the first two uh of those we saw um 14 citations issued uh and then subsequently there were several visits that didn't see those same violations but then on and off over more recent months we've seen 23 additional citations issued um and yes parking enforcement is regularly out there at that location um and often on an overtime basis and have been authorized to spend extra time trying to get at this Challenge and and this issue and despite some of that enforcement the the issue persisting in more recent weeks uh we have had staff in my office reach out to the owners of the sports complex to discuss this Challenge and a few things that the owners have um begun to do to address this challenge I'll reflect on and then also um have some suggestions of other next steps that we can take in working with um the owner and and managers of that location um the the owner has uh authorized staff there to go and Patrol after um they close at night to pick up trash um they have been informing their customers to follow the rules and to park within the complex they've even rented a parking lot at a nearby shopping center in one of their downtimes so that they can encourage their patrons to park there um in those nearby parking lots especially when they have large events uh and so those are signs that there is willingness to try and work on this issue but I believe there are opportunities to continue to do more where I think we can ask for enhanced signage uh on the part of the complex owners and managers that we could work on some informational pieces that we actually hand out proactively to the visitors and guests there at the sports complex and actually ask that they meet um with their clients and management and City staff to express our concerns about what is happening in this neighborhood um I think there's some perspective on the part of the the ownership that we've been trying to work on this that there may be um a more limited number of Bad actors than their total clientele because as noted in public comment there are some who have said you know thank you we apologize but um we do need to do more with uh those that are managing the site because it is a persistent Challenge and issue and so some of those recommendations I made uh we're going to follow up on with the management to keep taking it to the next step to make sure that we get at this persistent issue well I appreciate that and I think that's a good example of Bakersfield City is very responsive when there are issues that come up in the four years that I've served on this de I've been very pleased with the responses that I've gotten but we still have an an issue that we recognize um in your neighborhood and um I would ask that Mr Zuniga has a point of contact UM City staff that he knows he can depend upon and um will make this a priority so I appreciate again you coming tonight I hope that we can get this situation under control I wouldn't like living in that situation in my neighborhood and I know um our our city will do all they can to try to help you out so thank you thank you council member greay uh to all of you who are here speaking about Jeremiah and Ricardo our hearts go out to you this council is committed to taking the actions that are necessary to protect all of our residents in our community and all of our children this would be an appropriate time if you don't wish to stay for the rest of the meeting if you would like to leave at this point uh you're welcome to do so right now this would be the time can I can I add my comments mayor go yes coun member thank you mayor um first I want to thank Jeremiah's family for coming here today to share um about this horrific tragedy as well as uh Jeremiah's friend Isaiah who has come today uh I don't think you realize it but your your lifelong advocacy for keeping everyone safe started today in front of this Council and um I want to commend you for that uh I know it took immense bravery and um you know often times traffic safety and roadway safety has become something of that becomes a political topic when it's not at all uh when we talk about this topic We Are One sometimes we're just one lone voice sometimes we're three voices with council member adius and council member Smith on our multimodal transportation committee that was mentioned earlier um but today we have 11 15 20 and a room full of voices that agree uh that traffic safety is one of the top priorities in our community and so therefore should be for our city as well and and just as the mayor has conveyed um this is an utmost priority for our city and I implore our city staff to continue uh prioritizing Traffic Safety traffic calming roadway safety all of the different things that we're implementing behind the scenes and I can share a small example cuz we've we've experienced this within my own District where um you know young students had have lost their lives in in roadway accidents and I can't seem to understand why even around schools uh you know folks can't seem to slow down um I used to walk to school as a kid and I I don't see that happening as much anymore and I don't blame folks I don't blame families cuz it isn't safe right now um and but but that's our job that's our responsibility to make sure it is safe uh so we're working on ways to make sure that there are uh protected bike lanes that can connect schools so that children can cycle safely and have their own lane to travel in um and keep them separate from cars and these kinds of ideas are coming forward and staff and ourselves were we're um prioritizing these and um I know it was mentioned earlier but I'd also like to just make sure that at our next multimodal Transportation committee that we talk about exactly this case and we talk about Jeremiah's story and and what his friend Isaiah is advocating for um and how and and we look even closer at at the school zones that are affected I know we've already started doing this we've done some work with some high schools as well that that can be referenced um but it's it must happen quicker it must happen more often uh and we have a lot more work to do so I just wanted to say thank you thank you for coming to uplift this uh so that we can uh just work faster at this um it's not an issue but it it's it's not simply an issue it's actually um urgent and it's dire and we need a ASAP so I just wanted to say thank you and my heart and our heart goes out to to your family thank you council member core council member Smith thank you mayor I just would like to reinforce with council member Carr and vice May Gonzalez said you know we are my heart has been on this issue for 12 years now and and it's tragic and it continues to happen and the the city it's okay to go slow and part part of it's engineering part of it's like you mentioned the high intensity crosswalks the the speed signals uh enforcement a large part of it is just changing the culture and and so when when you talk to your friends and neighbors it's okay to go slow really it's it's you don't have to go 55 miles an hour 65 miles an hour um lives are worth it thank you thank you we'll now move to the public statements listed on the agenda if you're here to speak on appointments item 6A or items under consent calendar item 7 your time to speak is now again each speaker is given a two-minute time limit each agenda item is limited to 20 minutes total the consent calendar as a whole constitutes one agenda item if you're here to speak on consent calendar hearings items 8 a through D or deferred business item 11a now is not the time to speak you'll be given an opportunity to speak when those items are called later in the meeting Madam clerk do we have any public speakers regarding items listed on appointments item 6A or consent calendar item s Mayo we've received two speaker cards uh one from Brandy B and the second speaker will be D Slade go ahead and call them please welcome please introduce yourself hi my name is Branny ball um and while I'm not here um speaking officially on behalf of the current High School District I proudly serve the communities um on and around MLK as the principal of Delo High School um I want to speak in favor of the of item 7f2 the sewer improvements along cotton ro road from poo to the wastewater treatment plant number two as this is an essential component to further development for the community to provide access to Resource and services that other areas of our community actually take for granted including a grocery store and sidewalks I've been in my position for a short period of time taking my position July 1 but I've already received phone calls from parents about the the need to have safe sidewalks on the way uh for students coming to school as well so I know that this is an important first step to make those kinds of things happen and so I want to speak in favor of this particular agenda item thank you thank you Miss B and what a beautiful school that is in a growing part of our community uh next speaker Miss Slade to the mayor and council members and the city staff I'm here to give support my name is D slate and I'm here to give support report for the sewer uh connection in the Southeast this has been a long time coming and I'm very happy that um councilman Aries and also councilman Gonzalez and I understand Mr wear and a few others on the council have uh been talking about this and so I'm very happy that the city has taken the lead on it and this is going to increase not only the grocery aspect of it Housing Development but it's also going to make a community that's been a long time coming this is the last component uh that needs to be developed and I'm very happy that it is moving forward what is it going to bring medical facility a little closer it's going to bring more shopping choices a little closer it's going to bring maybe small businesses other Enterprise into that area it has been requested for many many years from previous Council individuals and Community leaders to continue to develop the southeast I'm in favor of this sewer connection thank you thank you Miss L Madam clerk Madam cler next item please appointments item 6A 20242 youth commission appointments to vacant positions applications for appointment have been received from uh Jacob binos Miriam Webster Presley n Navas and Suk prit greywall thank you very much these appointments are by Ward therefore I will call on each council member to share their 2024 2025 youth commission appointments and it's my pleasure to nominate Jacob B deinos for the mayor's alternate position Jacob is a student at bchs and an amazing entrepreneur young entrepreneur and I was just so impressed uh during our interview with him council member Smith nomination award for alternate thank you mayor I would like to nominate Presley navias thank you and council member gray for Ward six regular and alternate or whatever you choose all right thank you mayor um I'd like to nominate Miriam Webster m iiam was um appointed two years ago she wants to continue to serve she's a 12th grader at Stockdale High School she has a 4.3 grade point average um she wants to she'd like to work on ideas to make bakersf a place where youth can see themselves staying and thriving and that really stood out to me because a lot of times our youth are being raised in our cities and then they go off to another somewhere else you know and Families are divided so that was very impressive I also really appreciated her heart to serve um I take these appointments seriously in fact I interviewed um three different people for this position and um so I'm very settled in it but she loves she has a servants heart she volunteer does volunteer work at local hospital shadowing a specialized doctor she help helps at food banks uh orgon and bone marrow donor donor Club if I could just read it'd be great and also adac volunteer all that was impressive to me and then um I asked this question what did she learn in her first two years with um the youth commission and she said she learned leadership skills and collaboration working with diverse group and I appreciate that because we are a diverse community and then finally what is her Guiding Light and she said God he's the only thing reliable in her life no no offense dad but God does Trump you so anyway with that I wanted to introduce her tonight and Miriam I'm very proud to be able to appoint you thank you thank you council member core for w seven regular or alternate thank you mayor uh I am honored to appoint soit sing gal for Ward 7's youth commission for the regular appointment uh supr is a senior at Golden Valley High School with a GPA of 4.17 and just some of his uh involvement includes being a part of the uh ASB the associated student body leadership uh he's the president of his We the People class which uh for those of you who are not familiar you become an expert in the US Constitution so I think we could use Su bre's help uh here in a bit but um he is uh joining the youth Commission because he uh wants to bring forward ideas for mental health uh he has ideas in which schools could collaborate with local organizations to provide more in School counseling services and workshops that promote emotional well-being uh creating peer support networks could also help students feel more supported uh he also has ideas around Career Development uh and having Partnerships within the community that would bring local businesses to establish mentorship programs and intership internship programs and opportunities uh so students can get practical experience during high school so I appreciate him having not only good ideas um but also actionable um ideas to come I think he'll make a great addition to the youth commission and um yeah that's that will conclude my comments thank you thank you council member core Mr Mayor motion to approve uh Council recommendation you have a motion please cast your votes motion is approved with council member Freeman absent thank you and to Jacob Presley Marian and suprit thank you so much for your willingness to serve I see Miriam you're here is suit are you in the audience also if you would just stand I know Jacob's at basketball practice any of the four if you're here we'd love to give you a round of applause and thank you for your service go ahead and stand up thank you very much and now Madam clerk next item please consent calendar items 7A through 7i for approval a staff memorandum was provided regarding 7 e14 transmitting the signed agreement thank you uh colleagues do any of you wish to recuse yourself seeing none I have requests from council member arus to poll 7f2 and from the vice mayor for 7 G4 vice mayor thank you mayor uh there's two items I want to highlight tonight uh that speak to the city council's commitment to housing and homelessness 7 E4 is an agreement with self-help Enterprises to administer and operate our Bakersfield Community Land Trust and 7 E5 is in agreement with Open Door network uh to allocate $2.5 million in arpa funding to construct a new homelessness shelter at 529 Dolores Street and I know the CEO of Open Door uh is here tonight Lawrence kinmore thank you so much for all your work and uh let's get going and build that property it's much needed so with that I'll make uh a motion to approve the consent C with the two exceptions okay you have a motion uh let's just make sure with the two that we pulled yeah you already stated it so I I'll make a motion to approve the consent calendar uh with the exception of 7 G4 and council member AR's 72 thank you 7 F2 you have a motion please cast your votes motion is approved with council member Freeman absent thank you and now council member arus for 7f2 please thank you mayor um I'll start by saying that never in my life would I ever think that I would get this excited about the installation of a sewer pipeline um but like many of the the um folks who came up and spoke tonight we are obviously very excited about not only what this is going to do when it comes to um you know really um deepening the infrastructure that's available in southeast Bakersfield uh but really what's to come when it comes to commercial development and incoming Housing Development as a result of um these installations um so real quick if you'll indulge me I just want to take a step back and talk about some of the context um of all of the work that the council has done over the past couple of years um you know in large thanks to um a lot of the work that Vice Mar Gonzalez has done with the support of council member core and and many others on this dis um th this um group has made significant contributions um in supporting staff to go after transformative climate communities dollars and bringing those down um tens of millions of dollars uh right into Southeast Bakersfield uh going to the federal government and asking for a match through the Environmental Protection Agency um to double those efforts um in southeast Bakersfield we are completely reimagining MLK Park a park that my family and my mother actually would not allow for me to go because it just was not safe uh when I was growing up in the area um many other things working with calr um alongside council member Smith um to actually reduce traffic lanes and reduce speeds long Union to make it safer for pedestrians and folks who are riding bicycles along that Corridor um and just the other day we actually announced the uh grand opening of the 65th and the newest Park in lenel Brahma Park in southeast Bakersfield um and so I just want to tip my cap off to this Council for seeing the value and investing in our underserved communities and also for staff uh for being the champions for Southeast Bakersville and doing the work every single day um but in conjunction with a lot of that work um there's been at one point we called it a small project uh but it has now grown uh pretty sizeably um and it's this installation of the MLK sewer uh pipeline um connecting some of the older historic neighborhoods along MLK Boulevard uh to the now brand new uh deloro High School uh which is just so exciting and so we're we're excited about all of this new development but I have a couple of questions and I want to start with staff um today it's my understanding that we're going to be approving um an agreement um with a contractor to begin some of this work um but it's not the full scope of the work that's to come so if you could give the public and the council a full kind of big picture of what's to come when it comes to the Sewer installation yeah thank you Council mayor ARS mayor and Council I'll I'll give a a general overview and if um Mr Meer wants to back me up he can with any other additional details but uh we actually recognized that the sewer capacity throughout this larger you know sub region of the city um is is not sufficient for future development and typically we have you know development pay for these types of projects as they go but we often create what's called a planned sewer area that can allow us to frontload some of that development and then reimburse those costs over time as those development fees are collected and so we've looked at a planned sewer area that covers even much more than this first contract that would um uh take the sewer line much farther south along MLK Boulevard and actually into the future it would create some uh very favorable interconnectivity between our two different treatment plants and connect our systems um uh kind of where they both end out there in the southeast um this uh future uh very near-term future developments would also include a pump station that would allow us to continue that line further south we have a South Line as well as a couple of lateral lines that we expect uh will um you stimulate other development throughout that area as well and so this planed sewer area will cover a pretty significant um portion of um that sub region and again uh we wanted to move quickly we have arid dollars that are available to us we want to move quickly to get these first two phases but we've actually done some initial um you know um preliminary engineering on even a couple of these other phases as as uh alternates that could be considered you know in the near-term um development as well but wanted to get moving on these first two phases um no further comments fantastic thank you um and I I I appreciate that that feedback but mayor if you'll allow I would love to invite the developers who are actually here tonight um to actually shed light on um some of the incoming development that's actually going to not you know take years to come but are actually going to uh get started when it comes to construction as we begin construction on the sewer pipeline so if I can invite Mr Max Basera and Eric Mora um to come up to the podium and as they come up um for for the benefit of the public as we look at the somewhat significant dollar amount um you know a little more than or a little less than $4.5 million do that are going to be dedicated to the sewer pipeline I would just love to ask the developers um to give us a quick overview of the incoming projects along the corridor and really tell us what is the return on investment of the city of Bakersfield's taxpayer dollars on this project thank you welcome please introduce yourself uh thank you uh councilman Aras um through the uh the mayor uh uh mayor go uh city of of Bakersville city council staff and audience uh my name is Max bacera I'm principal of Pacific is for company we're a development company based in in in Kern County and with me today is Mr Eric MOA partner uh a partner of our development and also the the principal of uh the mo Partners so we're here today and uh we'd like to to say that you know this item here is significant it is a game Cher it'll bring um uh growth uh and development to the much needed Southeast Bakersfield uh area um we we want to bring more housing uh we need uh uh more commercial in in that area medical facilities Recreation areas but we understand that development and I've been involved in development um uh field for many years years for about 40 years uh it's um it's a family you know uh we we need each other a big partnership between City the residents and the developers putting a a nice Community uh together so um uh in conjunction with what is going on with the the city's uh sewer uh line uh development and uh their upcoming uh sewer lift St we have assembled a total of six communities which represents about 360 Acres uh and we are ready to uh fall in line with what the city's plan is uh to start that new growth that new transformative change to the to an area which we are calling um the new communities of D Oro which is that Corridor of MLK uh starting from from um State Highway 58 all the way down to um the the new Del Oro Community uh new uh Del Oro High School so so with that I want Eric to maybe explain some of our phases yeah um Eric Mo here partner of the mor Partners uh also developer here for the Delo communities so um yeah part of phase one and this is very exciting for us we want to get started immediately after uh BS awarded uh is phase one which is uh three subdivisions along with our shopping center uh which includes 110,000 ft of leible space uh we have Superior groceries uh as our main anchor to bring in fresh produce um and just be a pinnacle there for our community um also we have a total of about 1, 1600 units uh planned for this area residential and multif family um and just want to give a big thanks to our partners uh you know they're here and uh you know to date they've already committed a little bit over $13 million of private money private funds into the community so I we're looking to stretch that even further as we continue South council member fantastic thank you gentlemen so much for the investment and I know that you have some friends in the audience um who have helped us along the way and will continue to help us uh continue to grow uh these communities of Del Oro along the corridor so thank you gentlemen so much for coming up thank you so much and with that mayor I would love to make the motion tonight that we um uh move forward with uh item 7 F2 you have a motion please cast your votes motion is approved with council member Freeman absent thank you so much and to Mr bisera Mora partners and to all of your partners thank you so much for your investment in our community we're excited to see that Community grow so thank you very much and now Madame clerk next item please may go 7 G4 7 G4 yes so vice mayor 7 G4 yes mayor um 7 G4 has two actions as part of this consent calendar item uh one of the items I would like to remove tonight that would be the second action um and make a motion to approve the appropriation and transfer of $200,000 from the facility replacement Reserve to the public works Capital Improvement budget in capital outlay fund for the initial deposit for a real property purchase you have a motion please cast your votes motion is approved thank you and now for the first part uh the first part g41 the motion was to delete the second okay and now Madam clerk consent calendar public hearings items 8 a through 8D for approval thank you at this time I'll open consent calendar public hearings item 8 a through D actually there might be some people uh who would like to leave at this time so before we do that if this would be the time if you need to leave so consent calendar public hearing items 8 a through D is open is is there anyone in the audience who would like to request that a hearing item be removed from the consent calendar if so please come forward this isn't the time to take testimony only to remove the matter from the consent calendar hearings does any council member wish to remove an item from the consent calendar hearings seeing none at this time consent calendar public hearing items 8 a through D is closed vice mayor [Music] I move to adopt consent calendar public hearing items 8 a through 8D you have a motion please cast your votes motion is approved with council member Freeman absent thank you we have some others who would like to leave thank you all for being here we really appreciate uh your investment in the community and your support of our community and congratulations on the money that you've received thank you madam clerk next item please deferred business item 11a review accept and adopt the recreation and M and park sponser Plan update so this would be time before we begin please note if you're here to speak on deferred business item 11a the city will call for public statements after staff's presentation Mr CLE yeah thank you mayor and Council our assistant city manager Rick Anthony will come up and provide just a brief overview this is a topic which we've covered a number of times in the last 6 months we've had a couple presentations to the city council recently uh the request was to delay um the formal adoption of the plan to provide opportunity for additional engagement and an Outreach uh we have done that in recent months and Mr Anthony will provide an overview of of that process and and where we're at today good evening Anthony uh assistant city manager uh city manager Cay is correct no presentation but just wanted to briefly remind you of kind of the timeline of how we got here so and with also uh all the support that we received from the council uh 3 years ago 2021 the council did approve us to update our 2007 master plan in July of 2022 we actually expanded the scope of that plan to include additional elements such as MLK master plan uh Kar River Management plan City tree plan as well as some uh recent SP public engagement for sports of Village October 24th we act 25th we actually brought forth our first draft to the council and that was 2023 so a little over a year ago today uh some of the outcomes and actions that were we were directed by Council was to extend the public service which we did schedule one-on-one interviews with council members uh and also reduce the overall cost of the action plan which all of those things were uh certainly uh acted upon August 28th 2024 we presented our second draft for adoption and again as city manager CLE mentioned Council instructed us to uh delay that opportunity for a final stakeholders review which was done on September 26 uh we had a public engagement at the community house and the outcomes of that was actually over 30 individual revisions uh they did not trigger an expanded scope so at no cost uh of the city we made those revisions and uh we made it clear that any further revisions would have to be directed by Council along with some additional funding I do have some copies of those specific revisions if the council would like to review them thank thank you thank you Mr Anthony Mr C any further comments uh just would reiterate the one point uh that Mr Anthony made and that we have made adjustments based on that you know Community feedback um in Balance again with our you know resources and the timeline and also the the purpose and intent of this plan being an overarching master plan we know that there's uh interest in uh seeing how specifically some of these um planning and strategy uh goals will be carried out but uh that that is um you know outside uh this the intent of this initial master plan but we've been appreciative of that feedback and we'll continue to work with Community Partners on the details as we move forward with implementation but at this time staff recommends adoption of the master plan as revised thank you Mr CLE Madam clerk do we have any public speakers regarding deferred business item 11a May we've received 12 speaker cards regarding deferred business item 11a the first public speaker Dr Chris Cruz Boon thank you there are 12 speakers who would like to speak each speaker will be limited to a two-minute time limit and there will be a total of 20 minutes for this item so we would just encourage you to get through your items so that we can try to hear from as many speakers as possible within the 20 minutes Dr Boon hi thank you thank you so much for listening to me tonight I live in the Parkview Cottages across from the bakersfi Museum of Art I'm a mom to a child who walks home from school every day I'm a lifelong resident of Bakersfield who mostly grew up in apartments and relied on third spaces as a place safe place to be I currently serve as the president of bakeri city school district and I'm not here to speak on behalf of the district today but I do want to emphasize that um tree canopies and trees in the city of Bakersfield are important for children and also I just I also want to begin thank you for the collaboration on this semester plan Mr Anthony and the board with bcsd especially on the MLK project I've appreciated sitting in on some of those meetings bcsd continues to plan field trips in partnership with the Sierra Club for children to visit the Panama Reserve Center the Adobe house we're hosting sporting events Cross Country meets the bike path which is more and more Barren than it's ever been um we have students who walk to nearby parks for lunches and there are less and less lunches happening under the canopies of historic trees and instead in Open Spaces without Refuge my favorite part of my daily commute is pulling out of my neighborhood on RN 22nd and seeing all of my neighbors gathered at the bus stop every morning and afternoon usually in their pajamas with a cup of coffee but um Everyone is always together and a couple weeks ago I pulled out and everyone was divided and looking at their phones and I was like oh no what is the cheese May what happened but there as wasn't actually a real conflict the only change was somebody removed the tree our bus stop tree that's been there for 20 years is now gone and with that canopy of tree being gone we lost a sense of community one tree loss divided a neighborhood there's a famous proverb that says the best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago and the second best day to plant a tree is today I hope that for kids you will consider adding more tree canopies into your plan thank you next speaker please Bob Coons welcome please introduce yourself good evening my name is Bob Coons I grew up in Cincinnati three blocks from where I lived the city forefathers had the vision to create Mount Ary Forest 1,500 acres of reforested land in that largest park in the city that wonderful resource was likely the reason I became a biologist when our family moved into our new home in a new development all the Neighbors on the street came together and decided to each plant two to three pin oaks on the parkway of each of our Lots shortly after that we had song birds nesting in the trees a shade canopy squirrels and a beautiful fall color that decision definitely improved the value of our neighborhood in many ways when I moved to Bakersfield 57 years ago I was attracted to the areas of the city which had plenty of trees and were close to my work those two areas at the time were altta Vista and Westchester it is fitting that we chose old Westchester with its tree with its streets named after trees Beach Elm Spruce Myrtle Pine Cedar Etc the Panorama preserve is a resource close to our city which is a gem one is able to enjoy the tree canopy even in the summer since the one to walk comfortably in a natural environment hopefully we can expand that concept to the Streets of Bakersfield to make our city a more attractive cooler environment that encourages walkability the greatest enhancement to beautiful Bakersfield would be the addition of appropriate trees and their proper maintenance it is not natural to live in an environment of asphalt and concrete we as a community need to do everything possible to make this Vision a reality thank you Mr Coons next speaker please David shod welcome please introduce yourself you would adjust the mic welcome yeah there you go uh and my name is David shod I'm representing autobond current Aon society and uh the heart Park working group frezer are important to the well-being of people as well as birds and animals good tree canopy protects birds and provides resting nesting places shade from trees creates an atmosphere that attracts people and creates togetherness in a community planting and maintaining trees is an ongoing Pro process there needs to be a qualified Urban Forester to oversee this process and train his Crews emphasis on train his Crews to trim trees properly there are too many improperly trimmed trees around town as well as dead trees many of the dead trees are result of not maintaining the irrigation systems and that's that's uh go into details on that but anyway new trees must be planted or dead trees or diseased trees are removed these new trees trees must have special continued watering until their roots go down to the water table there's another good reason to bring back the current river to increase the water table raise it up uh trees are needed in southeast Baker's field for the same reasons above create an atmosphere that attracts people and creates togetherness measure M money needs to be budgeted for for this project including maintenance a qualified Urban Forester needs to be maintained by the city to oversee the planting and maintenance of trees so that harmful trimming does not happen I understand Mr sh your time is up can you bring our comments to a close please okay thank you next speaker please Sharon br back again welcome please introduce yourself hi there I'm Sharon breel and I'd like to um really tell you why I think this is very important uh uh the issues brought up by our group uh of of concern citizens regarding putting and writing specifics on how we're going to Main conin our trees just like we all know that um we can all say things and we all agree now but down the road if it's not written down somewhere it's going to be forgotten these are wonderful um actionable um objective recommendations to include to protect our trees when I came here 24 years ago on Scarlet Oak were wonderful liquid Amber trees wonderful call fall colors through the years now those trees are basically sticks or dead so something has fallen through the cracks in terms of maintaining our trees and I think one of the concerns is people are fearful of leaves leaves fall they make a lot of mess in the winter but we all want to live in a community like Westchester with lots of trees and lots of leaves and we all live through it so please make it possible for Mr Anthony and the parks uh master plan to include our recommendations as an addendum they're very specific they're very actionable they're all make good sense and I really really need you to realize how critical it is to our community to have a beautiful Lush environment so please take that into consideration I appreciate you very much thank you m brel next speaker please I'm CH low welcome please introduce yourself so good evening my name is an LA and I'm a biologist I'm a member of the Department of of biology at CSUB for many years and I'm also here to say a little bit about the tree care plan so um as we heard from Mr Anthony um a plan was developed and Mr C added that details how the plan will be carried out are not included in the plan so it's not intended in the plan to have details how this plan will be carried out right but a really good plan to see it implemented has to have at least first steps how to do it it and there are a couple of things that uh I want to highlight here so first we at CSUB among different departments we talked about the plan and we got a petition together which was sent out to all council members and if you didn't receive a copy we have additional copies here that have six points that we would like to see included in the plan and so far even with the revision of the plan they are not fully embraced so these points are not included so we would like to ask the city council to add our petition as an addendum to that plan so you can have a look at what these points are some of them are for example better Tree Management but also one important point is to build a committee that helps to carry out the plan with experts experts from the community so when you read the plan in detail you see that one big pillar of the plan is to work with the community to realize the plan but with whom are we working together with the California Native Plant Society which have experts on which plant speech to use which are draw tolerant under the aspects of climate change also um do we want to have a little more oversight on how our trees are being trimmed so I really would like to see our petition to be added to that plan and then um I'm running out of time already but I wonder you know when when Bakersfield only has 0.65% of tree canopy how it how it can be a tree city so we would like to see a real urban Forest not just on paper but in reality thank you thank you Miss lar next speaker please gika C welcome please introduce yourself thank you my name is Dr gika Kumori I'm a professor in the department of political science um California State University Bakersfield I'm here on behalf of um faculty members students and staff from CSUB who have signed a petition that is here for you to see from across the four schools in the University um this was done in a short span of time in about 2 weeks that we got as many members to put their names down on this petition there is WID SP widespread support for the petition and I would really like the council to consider um the making Bakers field uh tree friendly City whether we think of heat climate change pollution energy builds athetic appeal property values dust storms biodiversity economic social cultural benefits or Equity related issues trees are a part of that conversation communities with far less resources across the world are restructuring to their habitat to deal with current issues and those that will challenge their existence even more we are privileged in so many different ways inhabiting the city we do and the country we do so let us bend that way let us do the work that is necessary with our heart and soul in it CSUB is here to offer its expertise its resources its passion The Faculty students and staff want to work with the city we are not just asking the city to do something we are volunteering our services thank you so much thank you m curay I know you're all passionate about uh our speakers and the topic but uh we don't allow Applause during this section but we're listening carefully next speaker please Maria P thank you please introduce yourself my name is Maria polite first of all I'd like to say how lucky I am to live in a country that allows the citizens to come up and talk to our government and ask for your help for the things we think are important so thank you very much for serving our community I came to Bakersfield in 1964 to teach high school at Bakersfield high from Florida where my family had a lot and a half of trees I spent my entire youth climbing trees until I got into high school and it wasn't so cool but I love this city and the more trees we have the more value we have you've all I hope I have an 11-year-old friend he climbed my orange tree it was the first time in his life he climbed a tree I see a lot of young men up there and I want all the young men of Bakersville to be able to play out under trees I walk every day I have a tree canopy where I live but I couldn't walk if I didn't have that so thank you so much for adding these recommendations to the general plan I think they will really help our community we need 20% tree canopy thank you thank you Miss polite next speaker please Fred C welcome please introduce yourself I'm Fred chinwi and I represent the N California Native Plant Society and uh I appreciate the recommendations that these people have made um I want to discuss briefly the fourth point on their petition um I think the native plants are probably the best way to enhance the environment and uh we can and should have a policy I think to um disign our Open Spaces to include the local plant Community I converted my lawn to native plants and saves a lot of water um has a lot more birds and and insects and other animals around there so it it's really beneficial I think besides just the city but for the um Community to have it in their uh new construction and that kind of thing um along the curtain riverbed our policy should be to plant native trees and bushes to keep it the best we can on that's the source of these plant should be uh naturally occurring along the riverbed in other areas it might not be so um advantageous for just native plants might more variety but we should at least include drought resistance and noninvasive plants and uh I know my yard has a lot of palm trees that come up all the time so we need to keep those two to consider and I think we need a policy to support that thank you thank you Mr chinwi next next speaker please Eddie Lane welcome please introduce yourself good evening I guess it is I'm I'm Eddie Lan with Sarah Club um if you're here on this issue please stand thank you that says something right there um and thank you for this opportunity and for the diligent work of Now assistant city manager Rick Anthony in taking the initiative to update this important plan many of us have signed on to the recommendations that we're asking to be an append them to the plan we're not changing the plan we're asking for an appendant to the plan and with the leadership of California State University faculty staff and many many from the community with regard to the recommendations about planting one tree for each tree removed if our overall goal is to increase Bakersfield's tree canopy this is necessary with regard to funding there's a simple solution modify the existing $1 million contractual agreement to remove and trim trees to and plant trees instead simple as that no new money is required um put put our taxpayer money to to plant trees instead of remove trees we do not increase Bakersfield's tree canopy by removing trees more trees than we plant that's just how it is uh the the pictures that I had prepared there was some glitch so you're not going to see them but what they show is that there the tree trimming is just not being done correctly period with regard to the proposed committee they're here in this room room California State University of Bakersfield aabon of Kern California Native Plant Society Sierra Club among others we ask for no pay we do ask that no members of the proposed committee who work with the city staff and Report regularly to this Council would receive funding from the city of Bakersville Serv for services rendered but we're ready to go to work give us a chance thank you Mr Lane next speaker please C Lopez good evening Council please introduce yourself I'm Conway Lopez owner of General tree and I'm the one that uh maintains the trees that Mr Lane was talking about that I butcher which I don't uh I'd like to see a 30% canopy I'd like to see 40,000 trees planted but you know money needs to come from somewhere we got to be realistic uh they want to uh compare this to Fresno Fresno gets 11 in we get 6 and A2 so we just can't start planting trees we have to be methodical I'm planting the right tree I mean when we had the drought we lost over 4,000 trees you have trees that liquid amers they get bacterial Scorch you look at one particular tree and say well that's a bad pruning job trees do die back the city does I am a certified Arborist I've been doing this for 40 years we do proper pruning I train my staff I don't have uh a guy on his first day to start pruning trees out here we follow standards and when you know do trees fall in the forest I mean here in Bakersville they fall when you hear them come down you're going to hear them come down so trees have lifespans they get diseased out here so it's really important and I want to thank the city for allowing me to make this city safe for in Parks walkways roadways any times there's a storm do you guys see falling trees out here absolutely do you see them at Cal State absolutely you see them everywhere so to say that trees don't need to be prun they don't need to be maintained and we don't prune them properly is inaccurate and the city has implemented this in the contract and I follow the contract to the te and I'm thankful that I can maintain and keep the city safe and I want to thank you guys for allowing me to maintain the city thank you thank you Mr Lopez and Madam clerk was that our final speaker it's the last card I have H mayor go we have two more speakers uh Emma Delarosa good evening everyone my name is Emma dear Roa and I'm the regional policy manager with Leadership Council for justice and accountability and my comment are in regard to the map uh related to the Central City location that's priority for tree canopy when I looked at the map it was very reminiscent of the first TCC plan which excluded um disadvantaged unincorporated or disadvantaged communities um when we look at the housing element it does uh focus it does state that there would that there is program 15 that will increase the tree canopy for both Central and Southeast Bakersfield unfortunately this map that was included in this um tree planting plan does not include Southeast Bakersfield it also does not align with the TCC findings from the surveys that were conducted which um did indicate that the that at least 25% of the respondents said that they would like to see improved tree shading as a way to um adapt their livelihood to climate change so I do ask that you um amend your map or include a map that includes this uh disadvantage Southeast communities as well thank you thank you Miss Deo Madam clerk next speaker please Valentina Gutierrez welcome please introduce yourself good evening City Council Members mayor go and Mr CLE my name is Valentina Gutierrez and I'm a student at Warren Junior High We Salute the city of Bakersfield's attempt to improve and enhance our community by planting trees we can all age that trees are not only beautiful but also provide numerous environmental benefits trees help us keep cooler by providing shade they also improve air quality by absorbing carbon dioxide and replenishing it with oxygen making it easier to breathe however our Bakersville Tree Care plant needs a boost Bakersville doesn't have a great track record when it comes to tree planning and maintenance meanwhile cities like Fresno vialia and Sacramento have been more successful we should look to partner with these cities to figure out how to get it right we also encourage the city to plant native trees that are drought tolerant and even more beneficial to our environment the ornamental trees that are called for in the plan while attractive fall short of helping us create a healthier Community we encourage the city to utilize experts in every decision and action no one knows tree maintenance better than arborist and biologist it would be a major mistake to not rely on those who know best about tree planting and maintenance finally as the community belongs to us all there should be a committee composed of community members arborist and a variety of experts to make sure that all visions and voices are represented overall we look forward to working with the city to provide a beautiful Canon Pew trees that will add Beauty help create healthier neighborhoods and pave the way for a better Bakersfield thank you Valentina thank you very much for your very positive words and now Madam city clerk was that our final speaker Mayo that was our final speaker thank you VI mayor thank you mayor I just want to thank all the speakers for uh being here tonight with us and giving your input and providing a lot of information for this Council um it warms my heart to hear so many people in our community uh share uh the the the importance and the value of a tree canopy throughout our city I love trees personally um when when I was um I have actually five siblings my parents had six kids and when each one of us was born my dad planted a tree for for each one of us unfortunately my sister's tree got diseased and we had we had to remove it she felt bad about that but my tree is standing tall and strong um not going to what uh but uh but since I was very young uh trees have always been an important part of my life and uh that's why I was on the tree uh Foundation board for at least half a dozen years with Mr Lope LZ um was okay four years uh I lost track uh and that's why children first planted 40 Oklahoma Bud Oklahoma bud trees uh red bud trees uh in East Bakersfield and the Hub has planted draas and around uh Baker Street um there there's been a lot of efforts from the community to plant trees and to really build up uh a tree canopy over the years and I've been uh fortunate to be a part of a lot of those efforts um but now is our opportunity to really enhance uh the The Collector tree canopy throughout the city um and to from from the city's perspective to really um cast a stronger vision of what we want to see and I think our Central City and Citywide tree plan really uh does that um I want to ask a few questions uh to um Mr Anthony if I may uh number one is uh some of the folks in the community tonight have asked that we include some of the documents that they have provided as an uh an addendum is there an appropriate place for us to put this in in an appendix or perhaps online so that the the community at large can um can view some of the other recommendations from community members or some of the input yes thank you vice mayor again for the record Rick Anthony um I have confirmed with the consultant prior to this meeting that she would um she would work to put the latest petition uh as an addendum at no cost to the city okay that's fantastic um also there was a comment that I think is a really important one related to Southeast Bakersfield and that the map that was included within the city whyde tree plant does not include Southeast Bakersfield can we amend the map to include the southeast Bakersfield and some of our disadvantaged communities so the map was a result of a previous uh effort that really just focused on downtown there was actually funding that we found that was already approved and we did expand on that particular map I do believe trying to uh increase that map would trigger additional scope and needed some more funding but I can say some of the recommendations based on the principles from that downtown city was recommended for all of the city as well as acknowledging that there is a disparity in tree camping in southeast that that's great and I think the point was well made I think there is a need to really highlight some of the um disadvantaged neighborhoods particularly in southeast Bakersfield I would even argue East Bakersfield not Niles and Monteray Corridor um and so I'd like to actually make a referral that we look towards um uh adding on to that scope of work I guess uh so that we can after we adopt this plan that we can add an additional uh element that includes those disadvantaged neighborhoods and um the other thing I'd like to ask is that you know part of the Central City and Citywide tree plan includes several recommendations uh recommendation number one is to update the city tree ordinance um in 1.4 um action item 1.4 it actually calls out that the city should Define standards of care in tree maintenance to establish highquality Street trees as well as the conditions for remov removal especially with respect to public health safety and Welfare Define processes to uh uh or for obtaining Street tree removal permits and penalties for failure to obtain those permits I would like us to move forward on this um tree uh ordinance uh sooner than later so I want to make that referral as well uh that we begin working towards adopting that City tree ordinance for for next year for the next Council but anyway with that I'd like to uh move approval of this item thank you thank you council member core thank you mayor and thank you Rick uh and all of our Advocates who uh have long before me advocated for us to have um a a tree canopy plan um a couple of weeks ago I made a referral for the city of Bakersfield to develop its heat island uh mitigation plan and as well as a tree canopy plan but that to be done um together as both elements are the goal of both is to reduce the heat island effect within the city of Bakersfield um I want to uplift um a couple of things that are on this petition one I think the issue is that we all can agree that trees are wonderful and we can absolutely agree upon the benefits of trees but how do we make this actionable and that really is my question how do we change City stand standards and if we can share that with the public today how is what we're adopting today change how we operate how we plant um and even to to build on council member Gonzalez's referral today we are talking about expanding it from a previous referral to focus just on Central Bakersfield but tomorrow we don't want to limit where the city is going and growing as well so our plan really should look at the entire city of Bakersville there are ready Pockets within the city that are both disadvantaged but also suffer from extreme heat where students we just talked about students walking and being safe they can't walk to school because it is so hot people cannot walk back and forth from the grocery stores because it is so hot people can't walk to their neighborhood park because there are absolutely no trees on the way to that Park and they might not fall in the neighborhoods that have been mentioned today so really we need to look at be looking at the city as a whole so I want to build on that referral and expand that include the entire city of Bakersfield um but I also think we need to be working with the experts I mean in the report we've mentioned a couple who are on uh a committee who have advised to build this uh this report um but we should have a a tree board um and I'd like to make the referral that we go ahead and and develop that committee that is going to advise us and be our community experts um when we are doing anything that has to do with uh our environment improving things like the urban Forest the tree canopy uh it is so great to see so many Volunteers in the room I think that's probably the hardest thing to find is people who are willing to volunteer their time and expertise but they're right here uh and we've got them in the room so uh I I think that's something we need to act upon so that we have this resource so we don't continue um you know and we can have the expert advice we we do it and on all other elements of uh City Planning but um I'd also like to um if Christian if you could share an update on our heat island mitigation plan um and the referral that was made and how uh progress is coming along with that and how we can also perhaps form this committee and get get their advice uh and get them to weigh in on the development development and implementation of that plan yeah thank you coun remember core I'll answer those two questions but I also believe I heard another couple questions at the start of your comments that I'll try to answer as well um so I'll start off with just the the Citywide versus um you know neighborhoods specific Focus um the particular map that was referenced was it was one narrow element of the overall plan and so this Parks master plan applies Citywide you know in in um you know a majority of instances and our tree camp uh language in the plan applies Citywide our Parks language you know and planning and Recreation planning in the Parks master plan applies Citywide and so rest assured um the the the overarching language and vision applies Citywide for the parks master plan uh also there was a question about how does this really get implemented uh how how do we see uh you know things be different in our actions as a result of this plan I would uh just reflect uh quickly that you know we need to have a vision we need to have an overarching strategy really where we see these this happen though is on an annual basis in the budget process it happens in policy development by the city council on our Municipal Code it also happens in protocol and policy development internal to the department those are important things that are that we uh rely on our staff to carry these out and a you know monthly weekly basis and so uh again this plan was super important in providing that overarching direction and vision uh but we you know many of the ways where the rubber meets the road is how we uh take the funding that is available each year and we put that towards you know the projects that we can complete in that given year and and how many staff that we've you know allocated and and uh the the direction that is provided to them to you know carry out and Implement that plan and so that's not any discredit to this plan this was really important to again set the boundaries and Par ERS of which we go after um this work and and try and acquire grant funding and other funding uh but also the implementation you know happens in a number of different ways um you know um Beyond and in addition to the overarching plan itself as to the question about um how to form a group uh we've done other community advisory groups and so uh typically uh we ask staff to you know do some uh scanning of who are important stakeholders and put together an an objective statement or a purpose statement and you know create some parameters with which to work with a group and so uh I think you know we've have a referral tonight and uh so we'll ask M Mr Anthony and other Recreation and Parks staff to come up with uh um a scope for that group and you know come back with a recommendation for Council um to do that and then um there was a fourth element I now have forgotten at council member can you remind me no uh just an update on the island yes thank you so our our heat island um referral uh we have um had discussions internally with staff that uh this is an important aspect to consider in our general Plan update and so we will be assigning our development services and Parks and Recreation and City manager's office to work collaboratively together to develop that plan we've actually assigned uh one of our management fellows uh in the city manager's office to go and start initial research and collecting other plans that have been completed in other communities so we're Gathering that information now to at least be a starting point in a framework and we could build something on our own to then both be more specific than this overarching Parks master plan that's the good news is you know many of the the uh you know um suggested policies protocols practices those are things we can do even if they're not enumerated to every detail within the overarching strategy uh they're not they're not mutually exclusive and so the heat island um um plan we see will be more detailed than this overarching Parks strategy and uh again can stand on its own but we'll include many elements of that into our general plan which will guide our work for you know the next two decades so with that heat island mitigation plan referral I'd like to add that the um I'd like to add to that referral with a sub referral tonight that uh we have tree canopy elements within that plan and we work with this uh committee on that heat island mitigation plan to make sure we have experts who are advising us uh as we develop it thank you thank you council member core council member Smith thank you mayor I kind of made the same notes that U vice mayor Gonzalez and councilwoman Carr had made but can staff tell me I mean what I think I'm hearing is that the General plan is yes the big picture but the implementation how we get there is is a separate document or a separate analysis yes no I'm seeing a no council mayor Smith uh you're reading my face well I would suggest that the implementation of the master plan comes in multiple other elements not just a singular implementation plan I think uh you'll see in some instances like for example the undeveloped parks are noted in the Parks master plan and so we need to come up with a plan specific to each one of those Parks but probably also we'll have a funding plan that's for all nine of those un you know developed Parks but that won't necessarily try and Encompass the implementation of all other aspects of the so specifically a tree canopy plan implementation correct and we do and sorry to to interrupt Council May so we've actually had a recent referral as well to develop a tree canopy plan and that will be coming and the implementation of that plan I would I would say again the implementation of that plan will be based on available funds and resources um I can't tell you today how we we'll pay year-over-year for you know how much of that I think we can set goals and benchmarks but it will depend largely on our annual budget allocations uh as as to what trees we use and whether they're drop tolerant what pallet we create that will be part of an overarching implementation plan but then you know I Envision year-over-year looking at you know how much uh funding we can put towards that is partly how much progress we can make towards the plan so the the vice mayor's referral for a tree ordinance would that include implementation or that's just I would I would view the ordinance as a policy statement not implementation now it could affect ultimately because a tree ordinance could determine how private development you know develops uh development standards it could determine how City staff you know do construction projects so it will impact implementation but in and of itself an ordinance is not an implementation plan and the community board the tree board does that help with implementation or what what does that end up doing uh I think there's the potential that it could help I think it depends on what topics we put in front of that group and how we use that group um um but I I'm I I would say it could um and if we use it well then it probably will okay I'm going to say that I grew up in Fresno and yes Fresno has a lot more trees and like Mr Lopez said Fresno gets twice the water and Bakersfield's never figured out to this point how to grow trees that should be grown here you know when I moved here in the 80s the Redwoods were the thing and obviously that was the wrong thing and so I I would agree that trees are a good return on investment we should and I don't think it's a in the big picture you know a budget breaker to say you know we're going to grow our tree canopy and we're going to do it right so it's my two cents thank you thank you council member Smith council member Arius thank you mayor I I'll keep my comments short and just really quickly Thank The Advocates who have been uh sounding the alarm for many many months um so thank you for your continued advocacy and uh working with the faculty and the students uh there at CB uh to get engaged this is really where you know education turns into practice and what better uh place to uh put things into practice than right here at home and so just want to say thank you for your continued advocacy um and helping us um make a better plan um I I don't want to reiterate what's already been said I think um you know I think the big big points have been um already made uh we we this simple fact is we need more trees in the city of Bakersfield um and it was alarming to me to see not only that we only have 65% coverage for the entire city um but on page 14 of the document um and I appreciate the speaker who talked about our disadvantaged communities uh there are two wards that have less than 0.1% uh coverage um one of them being my ward in southeast Bakersfield where we have 56577 according to the 2020 census uh we have out of our 16,000 Acres three acres of coverage in southeast Bakersfield three acres which amounts to 0.2% of coverage in my ward and in my neighborhood s that have trees covering um in Ward 7 um with a population of about 60,000 um only four acres and about 0 7% coverage um and so I think that as we pursue the ordinance that's been suggested um and the action plan that's coming before this Council we have to take a serious look at equity and how it applies to tree canopy um there are other Wards on the other side of the 99 um that have 10 20 times the amount of trees um that we have on the other side of the 99 um I just wanted to highlight that I think it has to be a critical element um to this work moving forward um and I think that this um just like the work of our multimodal transportation committee um is going to require a dedicated group of council members to oversee and continue to steer um this work along um it seems that there are many facets from tree trimming uh to the removal of trees as we install uh medians as we replace medians um as we take a look at our parks and as we um create new ones there are so many different elements that um impact the overall tree canopy of our city and I think it's really going to require the work of not only our community stakeholders which which I'm so grateful that they have been involved but I would actually like to make a recommendation and a suggestion uh that this get housed in the uh safe neighborhoods committee as I Look to page 23 uh it shows all of the indicators um that could potentially be impacted by an enhanced tree canopy uh we could have a better ozone layer uh we could reduce the amount of PM 2.5 particles in our air uh we can reduce the amount of diesel particulate matter in the air we can reduce uh drinking water contaminants uh reduce the toxins that are released from facilities um reduce asthma rates cardiovascular disease um low birth weight infants and also our blood pressure rates just by sheer having trees in our community um so in my mind this is a safe and healthy neighborhoods issue um and an issue that I think would be uh well housed in that committee and um as the chair although um um these committees are subject subject to change at the discretion of the incoming vice mayor in this new uh year I think that it would be great to welcome this group any students and community members who would be interested in having this conversation not just once in storing this on a shelf but actively all the time and make it a um core piece of the work of the city of Bakers thank you council member Arius council member core I'm just very thankful to council member adius for bringing us back to the data because I was just speaking from my heart and um it's important to have data that supports the uh I know we've said return on investment but it's really the overall health and outcomes of our all of our communities and that those that acreage is just saddening to look at it really is um and not only that but we have had within South Bakersfield so many um electricity outages temperatures are naturally Rising but just staying cool is becoming a challenge within the city um so I really appreciate uh council member AAS forwarding this to a subcommittee because if it is a matter of cost we need to figure out where we're finding the budgetary solutions and um my recommendation also is for us to leave leave a bucket for um Urban heat island and tree and kind of shading um resolutions that we'll need to implement in the upcoming budget year I I think we need to dedicate it is time we dedicate funds and we help out um our folks at within rexen Park uh really come to some solutions that are tangible uh and we can actually see a visible difference within our communities uh and and it's time to put our money where our priorities are and that is making sure that our communities are healthy for not only just the all of the indicators listed but for everything that our community has shared today um so I I'd like to make that recommendation as well that this would be a budgetary priority for us and that be something that we also talk about in safe and healthy uh commun in our subcommittee uh and if staff can bring back recommendations for the committee to review thank you chair thank you council member Court to all of you thank you so much for your engagement we sense your passion but also your action and your willingness to be a part of this solution so thank you to all of you you have a motion please cast your votes motion is approved with council member Freeman absent thank you next item please Council and mayor state ments vice mayor thank you mayor um two days ago I had the honor of uh announcing to the community um that our beloved uh one of our beloved restaurants in uh Bakersfield is moving to downtown moo crey as announced their intent to move to East Chester this is on the heels of uh the announcement uh over the last couple of years that uh MoneyWise is moving from Westside uh to the old wwor building and is restoring that um that building and in in an exciting adapter reuse project um Saunders from Northwest is adding an additional location again in downtown Bakersfield uh we have a container park with lots of different venues and uh amenities that is set to uh become uh in go into construction pretty quickly in East Chester and also a very popular restaurant on the Central Coast hogies is moving into downtown Bakersfield as well not to mention the many many businesses that have contacted me to talk about the potential of moving into downtown Bakersfield so uh downtown is hot and there are a lot of great things a lot of exciting things happening we're to see some more uh Housing Development happen in the downtown core and that is because of the local business owners the property owners who have a vision who have a heart for the heart of our city and I want to commend all of them and thank them for their commitment to our downtown but it's also because of the good work of the city and much of the work that we've done uh to create the right policies and changing uh various different ordinances and also providing real money Financial incentives uh to enhance uh that opportunity that Economic Opportunity in our downtown um you know 2017 we established the uh making downtown Bakersfield uh Downtown Vision plan and uh that was uh a collective effort from many community members and it was a really valuable document that has helped guide a lot of the actions that this Council has taken over the years what I'd like to ask is that City staff bring back that document uh within 90 days or so uh so that we can have a workshop to uh Benchmark our success to take a look at you know what we've accomplished really with that plan and what are those items that we still have yet to do uh because we know that uh a stronger downtown makes a stronger City and that's true not just in Bakersfield but in every single City around the world and that our commitment to downtown has always been strong on this count Council um and so I want us to continue to look towards the future and uh my referral tonight is that we bring that plan back and we have a workshop to study it to look at again our progress that's made and what we still have yet to do thank you if I may mayor just just thank you mayor just to clarify a city council Workshop yes that's right a city council Workshop thank you we can do that thank you we lost a wonderful Community servant this last week one who has a heart for our community John Enriquez served our city for years and years and years he was part of keep Bakersfield beautiful for 25 years who wants to be willing every Saturday and many other days to pick up other people's trash but John was that person who brought so many people as volunteers to keep our city beautiful he also was one to plant many trees John also served on the box board and he was part of the team that helped get the NY theater actually as a part of um where it is today uh was so pleased to have John as the appointee to keep Bakersville beautiful we will miss him very much his wife Cora said recently he was he's a man who will do what he says and follow through and uh we were so privileged to have that colleagues from ke Bakersville beautiful describe John on as a mentor dedicated caring motivated passionate humble selfless a leader Dependable amazing and positive and so tonight we adjourn this meeting in memory of our good friend Community volunteer extraordinaire and public servant John Enriquez 7:15 we stand a journ [Music]