Heat. Heat. N. Heat. Hey, heat. Hey, heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. N. I don't know. me. Heat. Heat. Heat. Hey, Heat. Heat. Heat. N. Heat. Heat. oh a down a oh a oh a oh a oh a oh a oh a oh a oh a oh a oh a oh a oh a oh a oh a oh a oh a oh a oh a oh a oh Heat. Heat. back. Hey, hey hey. Hey, hey, hey. back. Hey Hey, hey, hey. Heat. Heat. Hey, hey, hey. Heat. Heat. 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 February 25th, 2026. Madame Clerk, please call the role. >> Mayor Go, >> here. >> Vice Mayor Core >> here. >> Council member Aas. >> Council member Gonzalez. >> Council member Weir >> here. >> Council member Smith, >> I'm here. Council member Kman >> here >> and council member Basher >> here. >> Thank you. In keeping with council's resolution, public statements are received at different times depending on the item. I'll call on the city clerk to call for public statements at the appropriate time. If you wish to make a public statement, please fill out a public speaker card and place it in the tray next to the speaker's podium. We ask that you mark whether you're here to speak on an item listed on today's agenda or in a matter not on the agenda. Speakers who do not identify a specific agenda item will be presumed speakers for the non-aggenda public statements. If you're here to speak on an item not listed on the meeting agenda, you'll be called first to speak. Statements are given a two-minute time limit per speaker, 20 minutes total for all non-aggenda item public statements. If you're here to speak on an item listed on the agenda, I'll call for you at the appropriate time. Madam clerk, do we have any public speakers regarding items not listed on the agenda? Mayor Go, we've not received any speaker cards for non-aggenda items this evening. We've received one speaker card for uh agenda item 3A, >> which will call upon that speaker later after staff's presentation. Next item, please. >> Reports item 3A, staff report from the city attorney regarding changes to the Brown Act. >> Thank you, madam city attorney. >> Thank you, mayor, vice mayor. Good afternoon, members of the council. Um this afternoon, Deputy City Attorney Ashley Zbrano is going to be presenting to you a report on some changes that have been made um to the Brown Act laws and recently enacted by our California legislature and approved by the governor's office and the governor himself. And while there are several changes to the Brown Act, um, tonight our focus is on one particular aspect and I want to emphasize that we really need your direction tonight. Um, time is of the essence. We need to alter your council resolution and in order to do that, we have to come back with another resolution for your consideration. And the sooner we do that, um, the more time we have, not only for staff to adjust, but for the public to adjust. Um, and so with that, I will turn it over to, um, Ashley Zombrano. >> Welcome. >> Thank you. Good afternoon, Mayor and Council. As the city attorney just previewed for you, I am going to talk specifically about Senate Bill 707, new legislation that was signed by the governor in October, and specifically how it will affect our future council meetings. So, we are looking for direction and feedback from the council today um so that we can come back to you and start implementing some of these requirements. So, specifically, Senate Bill 707 made significant changes to the Brown Act. It mandates um it it made a lot of changes. I'm not going to summarize all of those changes for you today. Today I'm focusing on um some of the requirements that will force some operational changes to how we conduct our city council meetings. Now I am specifically talking about city council only at this time. These changes um do not apply to other council committees, uh civil service boards, your planning commission, etc. Although I think we can expect that with time those uh changes are probably also going to apply to all legislative bodies equally. Now, there were some changes that already took effect in January. I would consider those a little bit more minor, but you've already seen some of those happen. So, for example, you may recall um that we have to make oral reports before taking action on certain uh salary schedules and compensation. Um and that was just on your agenda, I believe, last month. Um you also probably all got a big text copy of the entirety of the Brown Act in your inbox. That was another requirement that took place uh January 1. But what I'm really focused on today are some of the more significant changes to the Brown Act um that take effect July 1. And so, as the city attorney said, um we're really focused on getting some feedback because it does require a change to how we currently handle council meetings. And so, we need to implement those changes and be in compliance by July 1 to be in compliance with the Brown Act. Now, specifically, I'm talking about public participation requirements. So on or before July 1, we must incorporate remote public participation into each public comment period at city council meetings. What does remote participation mean? So instead of being here in person to provide your public statements or participating in public hearings, um you have to be provided an opportunity at minimum for a two-way uh telephonic or audio option to participate. And so that means that uh members of the public can both hear the council meeting but also participate and give statements in real time. Now remote participants must be given the same time aotment for those public statements as those attending in person. And as I've already said that does require an operational change. We do not currently have chambers um outfitted for that. We don't have the technology. We don't currently allow remote participation in our council meetings. And so that's what we're faced with incorporating into our current council uh city practice. Now SB77 also requires that the council adopt a policy honor honor before July 1 and that the policy has to address procedures for how you will handle potential interruption or disruption of that telephonic or internet service during a meeting. Why is that? Well, because now the public has a right to participate via two-way audio option. And so if there's a disruption to service, then you have a potential Brown Act violation issue. Um, and so as a result of that, you are now also required to adopt a policy that addresses those dis uh that potential disruption. Now, notably, it requires that the council has to recess for at least one hour or until service is restored. So, for example, let's say we are trying to queue up members of the public that are on the phone that would like to provide public statement and we can't get the audio to play back. If we fix it right there in real time, you're good to go. We can keep keep on with the meeting. But if we aren't able to fix the issue, you are required now by the Brown Act to take a recess until service is restored. Now, after 1 hour, if the service is still not working, you are allowed to come back and reconvene the meeting. But to do so, you will have to make findings by roll call vote that you made good faith efforts to comply with the policy that you adopted. Now, I'm not going to go further into that policy. That's not what I'm bringing before you right now. I'm previewing that for you just so you can have some context for uh potential uh lengthening of your city council meetings moving forward. So, what are your main considerations for today's discussion? Well, first and foremost, we need to talk about how we're going to incorporate remote public participation. I'm going to walk you through some steps for how I think that can most efficiently be incorporated. Um, with that, you need to think about how to account for possible delays or disruptions. Um, and in light of that, consider adjustments to our current agenda order and timing. um both to keep things efficient without major changes but also give you some flexibility um as we try to work through the kinks of having remote participation. Now um your current council policy was adopted by resolution. The current resolution that's in effect is resolution number 206-2021. It was adopted by the council in 2021. It was amended most recently in 2023. Um, and that policy, it sets everything about the way we currently conduct council meetings. It sets the start time of your meetings. It sets your public comment periods and your time limits. And of course, this is not news to you, but also to help educate the public. Um, in that policy, it sets forth, for example, um, that you're regular, you have regular meetings at both 3:30 and 5:15. Obviously, you're well aware of that. Um, our 3:30 meetings are generally reserved for close session and occasionally reports like this one. Then your regular 5:15 meetings include all other business. Um, public statements right now are subject to a 2minut time limit per speaker, 20 minutes or each of the following categories. Agenda items, non-aggenda items, reports, deferred business, new business. Um, so we need to think about how we're going to incorporate additional public comment into those times. Um, and your public hearings, as you know, are also subject to a little bit different instruction to the public. Um, they're currently subject to 15 minutes per side and 5 minutes for rebuttal time. So, in talking with uh staff about uh ways that we can incorporate some new technology and remote participation, we wanted to also think through what we do if there's some hiccups along the way and keep things sort of efficient and fast moving. And so, what I am going to propose for the council, I'm going to walk you through some steps, some some steps for decision making for you today to give me some direction and feedback. So step one is considering um shifting some of your routine business items that are currently heard at 5:15 up to the 3:30 meeting agenda. I'll talk about that a little bit next. Um step two adjust how public statements are received in light of how we shift the agenda. And then step three where I really need some input is on whether or not there's a desire to adjust your total time limits to account for incorporating that remote participation. So, step one, adjusting 3:30 uh some of the 5:15 meeting items up to 3:30. What do I mean by that? Well, some of your routine and quicker items include making appointments and your consent calendar. Um there's typically not much uh public statements for those items. Those are considered routine business items. Um and so the idea would be to move those from the 5:15 agenda up to your 3:30 agenda um to get through them quickly. It would also leave more time for your longer and more controversial um items to be heard at 5:15. My other thought with this proposal is that um in the event, granted it might not happen often, hopefully it doesn't, but in the event of service disruptions that were hindering your ability to hear these items at 3:30, you could consider just adjourning the meeting and adding those to your 5:15 meeting. And hopefully that would give you sufficient time to fix the issue and then hear all your business at 5:15. So, if we did that, this is what your proposed 5:15 agenda would look like. So, you'll notice that by moving your appointments and your consent calendar up to 3:30, when you get to 5:15, you're basically going to jump straight into your public hearings if you have public hearings. The reason public statements are highlighted after public hearings is because, if you recall, public hearings have their own public comment rules and instruction. And so we would be able to have those public hearings heard quickly and right away. Um, and if you didn't have public hearings, then you would jump straight to your public statements. Uh, likewise, if you had public hearings, um, and you concluded your public hearings, but you didn't have deferred business or new business on that item, then you would effectively only hear your non-aggenda item public statements, and then again, you would be done. So, it's a way to kind of have some efficiency and flexibility with your 5:15 meetings, still having those big uh public hearing moments um you know, be the the showcase. So, assuming just work with me, assuming we we get past step one and we were to have um your revised agendas the way that I've laid out for you, then the next thing we need to consider is how we're going to hear your agenda item public statements. now that we know we have to incorporate remote participation. And so, um, again, your proposed 3:30 agenda would look like this. You would have your roll call. You'd launch into your public statements. You'd hear non-aggenda item public statements just the same we already do. And then you'd go into your agenda item, public statements just the same as we currently do. But all your agenda items would be heard at one time. The thought behind this is that for city clerk's office um when they are queuing people that are both in person for public statements as well as on the phone it facilitates a little bit easier to incorporate hearing all agenda item public statements at one time. So you would hear your agenda item public statements for appointments appointments consent calendar reports and close session up there at the beginning of the meeting. Again, just repeating it so visually you can see what that would look like. We would do the same thing at 5:15. So again, you would uh jump straight to your public hearings. You'd have instruction for um members who are here to participate in the public hearings. You'd get to your public statements. You'd have your non-aggenda item and then you'd hear all agenda item public statements at one time um as displayed there for you. So that brings me to step three. So we're like kind of layering on some of these changes to follow along. Um step three has to do with the real detail of do we want to make any adjustments to the total time limits in light of having remote participation. So I I've laid out two options for you on under step three. Option A is we make no adjustment to total time limits. um but you would need to divide them equally between people who are here in person to provide those statements and those who are participating remotely by phone. And so what would that look like? Well, for um your regular non-aggenda item and agenda item public statements, you would still have your 2 minutes per speaker um 20 minutes total, but that would go 10 minutes reserved for those participating remotely, 10 minutes for those who are here in person. If you did the same thing for your public hearings, again, you would have 15 minutes per side for the argument, but you would need to split that in half to provide the same time allotment for both in-person and remote. That gives you 7 and 1/2 minutes total for remote participants, 7 and 1/2 minutes total for inperson participants. And again, you would split the rebuttal into two and a half and two and a half. And then again, you would do that for the other side as well. So because the seven and a half and two and a half minutes is a is a little bit awkward and might be too short um we do you can also consider increasing total time limits um and again you would still divide it equally between your remote participants and your in-person participants. And so here are some examples. And again, you can provide some feedback. You can pick something different. But if you were to increase regular public statements to 30 minutes, for example, instead of 20 minutes, um, that would give you 15 in person, 15 remote. Maybe you don't want to touch public statements, but you're concerned about the public hearings. We could also adjust only the public hearings. What could that look like? Well, we could increase it to 30 minutes total per side. That would give you 15 and 15, uh, five and five. So it's an it's an increase in the total amount of time not for individual speakers. So I've thrown a lot at you um but just to summarize it working through the steps. So um if if council is agreeable um or not agreeable I I need to know so I can come back to you and and show you a policy that reflects what you want. But um if there's, you know, an agreement to shift some of those agenda items up to 3:30, that's step one. And then step two, we would have all agenda item public statements heard at one time. Um and then step three is do we want to make any adjustment to the time limits? Those are really the three steps that I'm looking for some some feedback or concurrence or disagreement. Um and if you want to change the total time limits, of course, I need to know how much Now, before we um I'll I'll put that slide back up for you, but just to preview sort of what our next steps will be after today's discussion. So, based on today's feedback, um I will return to you with amended council policy at the next regular meeting, I would shoot for, which is March 11th, um on the 5:15 agenda, and that would reflect the changes to the potential agenda order and public comment time. Um, what I would propose is that we have that changed agenda and public comment policy take effect by April 1. The first regular meeting in April is actually April 8th, but we could say that it's, you know, effective in April. uh with the caveat that the remote participation component uh shall become effective on or before July 1 so that city clerk's office can make sure that they get the technology up um and running and on board and hopefully we could try to preview that and practice it uh perhaps in May and June before it's actually a Brown Act requirement in July one and we can work out some kinks if there are any. Then again, I would also return to you at a future council meeting prior to July 1 for that council policy on procedures you want to follow in the event of disruption. Um, but I didn't want to bring that to you all at the same time because I think we need to figure out exactly what changes we want to make first. So again, I'm going to put this slide back up there. These are the the steps, the three uh sort of action items that I'm looking for council feedback and direction. Um, but I know that we need to open it up for public comment before we launch into discussion. So, >> thank you, Miss Umbberano. You presented this so clearly, the slides, just the layering. Thank you so much. We'll go to the public now for comment. Madame city clerk, the first speaker is Michael Turnipsy. Welcome. Please introduce yourself. Madame Mayor, council members, I'm Michael Turnup seat. I represent the current county taxpayers association. This is a perfect example when you want public to make educated comment because when I looked at your agenda and the administrative letter, it was like four sentences. I wasn't prepared to talk about this. This became the discussion and not what the agenda actually talked about, but I've participated in these with the CPU. They had they do this a lot, but generally they're central single topic. So just for your consideration, if you had multiple items, you need to think about having well where do you want to go? Number one, number two, number three, and have a separate line because at the CPU C, if you know it's going to be a big issue and you know there's going to be 100 people, 150 people on the line, you call an hour early on your phone and just let the phone stay open to guarantee your spot because it's first come, first serve. I don't know what your rules are going to be and how you're going to control that, but that's something too. But, uh, they've been doing it for years. Their technology is not, I would say, the best anymore. It's probably better. But, you have a Zoom going on and you have a phone line going on just like you can do in Zoom. You can talk on your phone. But anyway, those are all considerations. But the most important thing to all this is when you start working with your agendas is that people have the what's going to be the real presentation. What's the real issue? Because by reading the agenda today, well, actually watched it yesterday. We didn't know that we're going to be talking about this and phones and and how it was going to be whether or a general how we're going to do this. But we we have no opposition to public comment by Zoom or by phone. Uh it's once you get used to it, it's okay. But the idea is you have to have the information. If you have a call at 3:00 and you don't get to see the real information you talked about, just going by the agenda, it was you were going to talk about everything. And here you picked one part of the issue. And if I had time to think about it for a few minutes, I probably would have come up with a whole different presentation. So one of my recommendations would be to you when you have your posting on Thursday or Friday, whenever you post for this meeting, can't just be an administrative report that's one page and three paragraphs. It needs to have the details so people are going to know what's actually going to be discussed at the meeting. And I've mentioned this many times before. You don't know what happens at the meeting until you see the PowerPoint. >> So I hope you take that in your consideration. Thank you. >> Thank you, Mr. Turnipsy. And so now we'll go to council. Uh here's a question. If if we had the people who are remote go first and then those present and if there weren't people for remote could somebody just to use that time walk into the hallway and then just call in. I suppose it's possible. I think there's certainly opportunity for members of the public to um utilize all the public comment periods available. Um >> okay, Council Member Vasher, >> uh for step three, I I I was thinking more along instead of cutting it in half, doing seven and a half, seven and a half, I was thinking 10 and 10 to to even it out, not necessarily 15 and 15. Um, that was my only suggestion and recommendation. >> And now, Council Member Coleman. >> Thank you, Mayor, and thank you, Mr. Mr. Bronno, for this presentation. Um, I had a question about if we move the consent calendar items to the 3:30 meeting and if a council member pulls an item or a member of the public pulls an item from consent, will we discuss it during that meeting or will it be then pushed to the 5:15 meeting? >> That's a good question. the way that current practice is, if you pull something, it's heard separately after consent calendar. Um, we could certainly follow that same um procedure. If you felt differently and wanted to continue it to 5:15, I I would envision that being part of the policy so that we would follow that procedure. If I could just echo a further response to that, I agree with Miss Ambrano. I would remember the council is the only um body that pulls things from the consent calendar, not a member of the public. I will freely admit that when members of the public are here on the consent calendar and they ask your council to pull something, most of the time our council is is um is agreeable to that. I think you need to be careful though if we shift from when I pull something off 3:30 and then put it on the 5:30 just because then when I have the 5:30 agenda, I've got to somehow be able to indicate to the public, right, that I'm hearing items that have been pulled off of the 3:30 agenda in order to avoid a violation of the Brown Act on my 515 agenda. So, I would again I agree with Ashley that if we're going to keep the consent calendar at 3:30, we need to keep that. And if something is pulled, we need to hear it at 3:30. What I would say to you, though, is and I've talked with Christian about this, I think that this is really going to require a little bit more coordination, cooperation in prepping this agenda and and not overloading it or underloading it. and and maybe we more strategy in what goes on an agenda. Maybe we need to meet um again every two weeks. And I think the city manager has done a great job this year as to making sure we have 28 meetings a year. We start out small and we see what's what's happening and and and what the you know what that pace is. So, I think a lot of it is going to fall on staff to be strategic on what they put on that consent calendar visav what they put on new business at 5:15. So, I hope that adds just a little bit more context to um council member Coleman to what Ashley and I had been thinking about. >> Anything further, council member? >> Yes, ma'am. Okay. Thank you for that. I appreciate it. Um, I'm I'm I'm a little concerned about pushing the public hearings, public statements so late in the agenda. You know, we get it out of the way here now. We get it out of the way first and then we go about our but now you're going to have everybody wait with their public statements until we're well into the agenda after public hearing items. So, I'm just concerned about that. And if I may, I that's a fair point and we can certainly adjust that. That's part of why we are having the discussion with the council right now. Um, some of the thinking behind that though is that the only agenda items that would be applicable for agenda item public statements would be things that are happening after the public hearing anyway. So, it would um you would have your public hearings and then you would hear your public statements before your agenda items. the way. >> Let me let me see. No, that's okay. Let me um it's a little bit easier. Can >> you go back to that cuz I way that's not the way I understood it. >> So, this would be um that proposed 5:15 agenda. And so, you have your roll call and your invocation, your pledge of allegiance, your presentations. None of that is uh has public statements currently anyway. Um, you'd have your public hearings if there are public hearings and then you'd have your public statements. When it comes to agenda items, the only agenda items that you would have our deferred business and new business at the end of the meeting. So, you'd be hearing your public statements at that time just before those items are heard. >> Yeah. After after all the public hearings and and uh all the other rest of the business, we have very little deferred business and new business on our 515 agenda. So, you could have people waiting here till 7:00 for public statements. >> But remember, those public statements are on non-aggenda items. And what I'm suggesting to you is you may see with this process that your new business has more new business on it. Instead of the consent calendar being overloaded, some of the consent calendar is now going to go under new business. your concern is valid, but when you sit back and think about it, right, the Brown Act only requires you to take public statements on items that you're going to vote on. You're not voting when you're voting on the consent calendar, public hearings and the public hearings, they have their own statement um allocation already in and of themselves. So, I think what's really hitting you is well, the people that are here that want to talk to you about something that's not on the agenda, they either need to come at 3:30 or you're right, they're going to have to wait until later on at the 5:15 meeting. That is correct. And as a general rule, we can go back and we can show you that your non-aggenda public speakers, you really generally don't have you don't have a lot of them. >> Yeah. But, you know, like for example, and I don't want to call BPOA, but I will. You know, they showed up here with 40 or 50 of them not too long ago to talk about things that weren't on our agenda. And now they would have to sit here to for an hour and a half or disrupt the meeting by all 40 of them showing up an hour after the meeting started. And that's not uncommon. I mean, yeah, it doesn't happen every every meeting, but uh it happens from time to time during the year when we have things that are going on that a lot of people have some opinion about that may or may not be on our agenda. That's my only point to that. I'm miss and my last point is I'm wondering if that we shouldn't start the 3:30 meeting at 3:00 and give us a little bit extra time because I I think I feel like we're often dealing with close session items, you know, in that in that meeting and we're we're pressed for time most of the time with our close session items. >> Council member Kman, um no objection there. I absolutely think that that is a a very good point. >> Council member, anything else? >> Thank you, >> Mor. Thank you, >> Council Member Smith. >> Thank you, Mayor. I I don't like moving stuff the consent agenda to the 3:30 because if somebody wants to pull something off, as you say, the public shows up and wants to pull something off, council member agrees to pull it off. But I believe it's more difficult for the public to show up at 3:30 than when it is after 5 in general. That's why you wait till after 5 because people work and so I guess I'm I would lean towards you know the the appointments. Yeah, fine. There's never a problem there to move those to 3:30. But basically leave everything else the way it is. And if our meeting ends up going longer than you know seems to me most of the time you know meetings are done at 7:30 maybe we go to I don't know 8 8:30 9:00 if it goes you know I understand you don't want 10 11 o'clock people aren't thinking as well but uh in general I think it's better to leave it the way it is. Thank you. Going back to your point of perhaps readjusting what goes on consent and other places if it's going to be something that likely would generate public comment then would that be taken could that with city manager be taken off and put on the other part of the agenda? Would that make more sense? So, in consent, you're you're really considering those items that truly are non-controversial, just routine types of things. Would that make a difference in than what Council Member Smith's talking about? >> Mayor, um, yes. I I mean, we can all think to ourselves, how many times have you seen someone from the public come and pull something, ask to pull something off the consent calendar? It's very rare. >> Very rare. >> Very rare. Now, I fully understand what council member Smith and Council Member Kleman are getting at, but I would say again, most of that then falls on the city manager's office to say, is this really a consent calendar item or is this a new business item or a deferred item? I And again, whatever we do here, um I think Ashley said it right, these are baby steps, right? We want to do something and if it works, great. And if it needs to be tweaked, then we'll come back and we'll alter the resolution again. So, but it's going to require a little bit of adjustment from all all staff, public, mayor, and and the council. But yes, I would envision that the new business item number nine is going to increase. And that was I guess my point is is if you're going to try and have everything on the consent agenda at the 3:30 that is not controversial then it's really not going to take any time. >> So if it takes 3 minutes at 5:15 so what what are you really saving? So again I think leave it the way it is. Thank you. I I would if I could, Council Member Smith, what you may see there is we were trying to eliminate the speaker that gets up and speaks twice. They would speak because they're pulling an agenda item under consent and then they're speaking again because they're going to say that they have a a non-aggenda item that is somehow related to it. So, the way that it is being proposed right now would basically eliminate that. Anything else? Council member, >> I get it. I just I mean certain people play games, but in general, I think we're good the way we are. >> Vice Mayor, can I see the slide again that had um the step? Yes. One, two, three. >> And then the next slide. Could you go to the next one? Or there was one that kind of >> Yeah, maybe like was it like a gradual adding in of maybe is it the next slide? Sorry. >> Okay. >> I don't I don't know which order it was. It >> might be the here. Let me let me Okay. Um so we need we have to implement something from within each step. Are you saying these are our options like step one 2 3 is it like something from each step needs to be added or was it like an option? >> Council has discretion within each step. They used it as steps so that if you were sort of in agreement and I wasn't hearing any objection then that would be what I proposed. But you can absolutely if you don't want to shift anything to 3:30, absolutely you can give me that direction right now. Same with step two. If you don't want to have all agenda item statements heard at the same time, you can say no to that. We can we can talk about other ways to modify it. And same with step three. So they are sort of options in a sense. By all means, council can say yay or nay to each of those. >> Okay. I I feel that moving appointments to 3:30 makes sense as well. um and keeping the 5:15 meeting as accessible to the public as possible. So if that means um to I agree with Jenny that it it probably means some things are getting moved into categories of being a report or new business um which maybe we don't see something as often there but um will that then also break up public statements between like consent calendar public statements, appointments public statements, new business public statements? Is that also with like when you mean times like the increase in total time limits or the shift in time limits is that what is also meant by that? >> Yeah. So Ashley, if you if pull up for the vice mayor then what the 330 would look like? So if we took um consent calendar off, right? So just imagine that one off. So >> So then we would go to 5:15 and I believe you're >> play it push it back one more time, will you? So, you would still have public statements right where Ashley has put them, right? And it's going to be on non-aggenda items and then agenda. Public statements, you would only be there to speak on reports and close sessions. Okay. Now, go to the next slide please. Right. And now Ashley's going to have to plug in consent calendar. And she would plug in consent calendar probably, I'm guessing, as as the new number five, right? Actually, no. It would have public statements would go up to number five. >> Yes. So, um there's a couple of ways you could do it. You could either plug in your consent calendar after your public statements number seven. It'd be your new number eight. But hearing council member Coleman, who doesn't like that shift, you could also put your consent calendar where we currently have it, which is at the beginning of the meeting. That would be your new number five. But before you could act on that, we'd have to move up public statements as well. So, we would probably do uh presentations, public statements, consent calendar, consent calendar, public hearings, public hearings, deferred business, new business etc. >> More similar to how our current 515 agenda is. >> Okay. Yeah, that makes sense to me. >> Is there any um discussion in terms of time? I heard council member Basher Tash indicate that he favors on the hearings uh 10 minutes and 10 minutes. I didn't hear anyone else with regard to time periods. >> Council member Smith. >> Yeah, I would just agree with Council Member Basher Tash on that statement. >> 10 and 10. Okay. >> Yeah. >> And how about on the public statements as a whole? Did did we want to just split it in half or did you want to to double it? I'm hearing shaking of the head. Split it in half. So 10 minutes remote, 10 minutes in person. >> I think so. I guess I had a question on that. Is >> Yeah, >> you don't have anybody call in or you only have five minutes of people calling in. The the people here still are limited to >> 10. You know, I would do that just because I think we're new at this. Um, and if you wanted to change it, you can always change it, but at least starting out, this is different for staff. I would maintain the 10 and 10. And if you don't have 10 minutes of remote, um, then you don't have 10 minutes of remote. Raw rah. You just go to the next one. >> And the only thing I would add to that is that of course the mayor still has discretion. So, if you had no one on the phone and you go to your in person and you have more than five people who want to speak, but you know that you have this extra time, um the mayor could always extend the time and allow the additional speakers and and the mayor already has that discretion currently and we would obviously still utilize that. >> Totally agree, completely agree with Ashley. I think part of our reason for not being definitive with you is we don't know the technology that the city clerk clerk's office is going to ultimately have. So if you opened it up for a 10-minute remote and nobody was on the line, are we going to allow people once she says, "Okay, remote time is over is over. Inerson time now starts and somebody comes in and they're a little late. What, you know, what do we do?" So a lot of this we're going to learn, you know, what does the technology allow the city clerk to do? But again, the mayor has the ultimate discretion as as the chair. >> Yeah. I would just one more time say, you know, as much as possible, leave it the way it is and kind of see how it goes and if we need to make changes, we can make changes and the mayor has discretion. I'm comfortable with that. Thank you, >> Council Member Coleman. >> Thank you, Mayor. Yeah, I'm I'm fine with Council Member Basher Tash's recommendation that we do 505. That makes sense. But is that right? >> 10 and 10. Go ahead. I'm sorry. I got you down to five. >> I almost had you down to five. >> Yeah. >> Uh but I don't think we need to change the overall amount of time. And I I I also agree with Council Member Smith in that I just think we just leave it the way it is and just, you know, not move the consent calendar. And and I I don't think it changes anything significantly. Just to be clear, we're not changing we're not going to change the order, but you're changing when the public statements are going to be are going to be presented. So, we're clear with that. >> Yeah. And I I I don't know how that differs from now. Just going to be other speakers. So, I think we're making more work for ourselves by by doing all this. Just my thoughts. So, >> you can thank the governor for that. >> I will. Thanks. So, I'm just going to recap >> for further clarification. >> If there's no other comments from uh the colleagues, >> uh just one now. Council member Basher Tash. >> Yeah, this is just informative. You're not looking for a motion or anything like that, right? >> No, we talked about that. I think we're okay. Um I don't because what Ashley's going to do is we are going to come back to you as she said on next steps. We're going to come back to you the next meeting in March and she's going to have a resolution that's going to change that council policy again. It's going to be PN 2 and we're going to lay out everything that we we heard here today. And I'm going to recap and Ashley can correct me if I'm wrong. >> And and before you recap, uh one additional point of clarification, if we increase the public hearing time to 10 and 10, so it's a little bit cleaner. I'm assuming we would do the same for rebuttal. So instead of that two and a half, two and a half, it' be five and five. >> Correct? >> Yes. >> Yeah. Um, so we're not making a motion, but I will say that I am in favor of steps one, two, and three the way that you had presented it to us. And that I think that we you did a decent job of making sure that we break it up so that one isn't packed more than the other. And I think that'll make more sense as we get into it. And I hope that we will give what you presented a try and then if we need to go back and adjust to be more similar to the way we are, we do that. But if we're not, you know, voting or anything, that's just my half ascent. >> Well, again, I just want to clarify. I hear you, um, I haven't heard from Council Member Weir, but, um, I'm hearing three of your other colleagues, council members Comman, Smith, and Core, say that they do not like the way, not that they don't like, but they would prefer that the items stay the way they are. And so, that's the way we're going to bring the resolution back. And that's the vote. Um, and uh, my thought is is that if everything stays the same, you're probably going to be the the no vote on Mar on March 5th. >> Council member Weir. >> Oh, thank you, Mayor. Um, I like the proposal by Council Member Basher. Um, I would I would think it would benefit us if we went to 3:00 instead of 3:30. I think that's an easy thing for people to do. Um, and then I I think we should keep it as close as we can to what we're used to and what what the what our colleagues and and constituents are used to. So, it's it's not so cumbersome and it may be a little cumbersome as as we initiate it, but um you know it it's nice if we walk in and we we have a idea what what is going to go on and what we need to do. And so, uh those are my comments. >> Want to recap? >> I do. And Ashley, if you want to just pull those up and maybe you can just go ahead and do the recap. I can say what I heard and then you can agree or disagree. >> Okay. >> So on the three um 330 agenda, if you could just flip to that real quick. >> Oh yeah, that's where I was. >> So on the 3:30 agenda, what um I think I generally heard is we want to keep uh that uh however we are going to remove item number four, consent calendar. So we'll have one, two, three, uh, four will be reports and five will be close session. Do you Is that your understanding? >> Yes. >> Okay. And then at 5:15 we will have roll call, invocation, pledge of allegiance, presentations. We will then move public statements up to non-aggenda item public statements and agenda item public statements. Uh, which will not include the um consent calendar public hearings in the public hearings. Then we will have consent calendar, public hearings, public hearings, deferred business, new business, council and mayor statements. >> The I'm sorry. And we'll add um consent calendar, right? We'll add consent calendar right under um public statements. >> Correct. >> And in terms of time, we'll keep the typical time for um public statements, non-aggenda, and agenda, and cut it in half. And for hearings, we're going to go 10 in favor. And >> no, we'll we'll increase it from 15 minutes per side to 20 minutes per side so that you have 10 in person, 10 remote. And then do the same thing for rebuttal. It'll be five and five. >> And then how about start time? >> You had proposed 3:00. >> I like the 3:00 idea, but I would just tell you I think the 3:00 idea made um made more sense when we had the consent calendar on there. And now that the consent calendar has been pulled, um I would I I think I hear you as a consensus basically saying that you want to keep things as much uh as as as normal as typical as possible. So I would say there wouldn't be a need to um to go to 3:00. >> Council member Basher, >> I would I would concede to 3:00 if it meant keeping the consent calendar on that. Just for the record. any >> she doesn't need a motion. Do you have enough of guidance or do you want any more? >> No, I I have what I need. And just to recap from my perspective, this will be coming back to you um on March 11th. It will take the form of a an amended resolution where the council policy will show both the red line and a clean version uh hopefully reflecting the consensus that I heard uh today. And then from there we would look to um have those changes take place by April 1. Um and the remote participation component we would implement uh when we have it up and running, but obviously prior to July 1. What we're hoping for is that we can do some test runs with it um incorporated into our public meetings for the May and June meetings so that if there's any kinks we can fix them before July 1. >> I I would add that I think um we'll probably put it under deferred business in order to give the public a little bit more um opportunity to uh weigh in. >> Thank you very much. >> Thank you. >> Close session. >> Motion to adjourn to close session. May I please read the close session? >> Yes, please. >> Close session item 4A, conference with legal counsel, potential litigation, one matter. Right. Return to close session. Heat. Heat. Tell us about it. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Ooh. Oh yeah. Heat. Heat. Hey, hey hey. Heat. Heat. N hey honey. Hey. Hey. Hey. Oo. Oo. I'd rather try and accomplish something great and failed than trying to accomplish something and succeed. I'll clear all night. I The trial accomplished and failed. Try to accomplish nothing until you succeed. All night. Do not try the ingredient fully seed. Heat. Heat. Hey hey hey. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat up here. Hey, hey, hey. Hey, hey hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. Heat. Heat. Heat. Hey. Hey. Hey. Heat. Hey Heat. Heat. Hey Heat. Don't. Are you ready? Everybody, Heat. Heat. Hey baby. Heat. Heat. Yeah. Oh. Hey hey hey hey. Oh hey. behind. Heat. Heat. Everybody. Hey. Hey. Hey, hey, hey. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. N. Heat. Heat. N. Hey, hey, hey. Hey, hey hey. Heat. Hey Heat. Hey, hey hey. Hey baby. Hey baby. down. Hey Boom. Heat up here. Hey, hey hey. Hello. Reconvening the 3:30 city council meeting. Madame city attorney. >> Thank you, mayor. Uh, we only had one item on close session tonight, item 4A, and there is no reportable action. Thank you. >> Thank you. And so with that, the 3:30 meeting stands adjourned at 5:19. Thank you all for your patience. Sorry we ran a little late. We're going to need a little break as technology changes out uh a couple of things and then we'll start as soon as we can. Hey, hey, hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey, hey hey. Heat. Heat. N. Hey. Hey. Hey. Welcome to the Bakersfield City Council meeting. This television broadcast is brought to you by the local cable companies, the county of Kerna, and the city of Bakersfield. You can watch the rebroadcast of this meeting Saturday at 700 p.m., Sunday at 10:00 a.m., and the following Wednesday at 7 p.m. You can download the agenda for this meeting at www.bakersfieldcity. us. Preciding over this evening's meeting, the honorable Mayor Karen K. Go. >> Good evening. I think it's my pleasure to call to order the 5:15 regular city council meeting of February 25th, 2026. Madame Clerk, please call the role. >> Mayor Go, >> here. Vice Mayor Core >> here. >> Council member Arias >> here. >> Council member Gonzalez. >> Council member Weir >> here. >> Council member Smith, >> I'm here. >> Council member Coleman >> here. >> And council member Bashier >> here. >> Thank you and welcome to all of you. Thanks for joining us this evening. See we have some students from CSUB from Professor Solless's class. Can you give me a wave? Welcome. Thank you for being here. And from Professor Holm's class at Bakersell College. All right. Well, thank you for engaging in this process tonight. We have the pleasure tonight of having Father Matthew Spencer of Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe, co-atronist of the unborn to offer the invocation. Father, thank you so much for your support of families, particularly those who are going through the challenges of losing a child and just that beautiful shrine that you have out there. Thank you for your support of life. We'd really appreciate that. Following the invocation, Imandep Matarus who Mataru who's a sophomore at Stockdale High, he'll lead us in the pledge. He's a council member Arius appointee to the ward one commission, youth commission. He's a treasurer for sophomore ASB with a 4.0 GPA, member of the forensics club, speech and debate, member of the model UN club. He's a speaker at the tech TED XTO Stockdale and as a freshman he presented on the topic of the death of languages. He enjoys biking and watching movies and series in his free time. I just don't know when you're going to have that free time with all the other things that you do in your four 4.0. But we thank both of you for being here. Would you please stand? Mayor Go and council members, city staff, uh it's my pleasure to represent the shrine of our lady of Guadalupe. Thanks for this opportunity. Gracious God, we gather together as servants of this community entrusted with the welfare of our neighbors. We thank you for the many blessings you have bestowed upon us, for the gift of life you have given to each of us, for our friends and family, and for the providential care you extend to us every day. And we thank you too for the opportunity to gather together this evening and to work to build up our community and strengthen the bonds of unity and peace among us. Grant wisdom to all in this room. May the deliberations here be guided not by what is easy or expedient, but by what is just and true. May the decisions made today reflect a genuine care for all in our community, including the vulnerable, the forgotten, the downtrodden, and those whose voices don't reach these chambers. Strengthen our commitment to honest service, and grant us perseverance in all our efforts. And all of this we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Amen. All right, everybody's already standing. So, all right. 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, father. Thank you, Emman. Would you like to introduce your family? >> Yes. Uh this is my my father right here and my mother right here. I'm sitting down. >> Thank you so much for joining us and we thank you for his service. Father, thank you very much. >> Here are a few guidelines to help our meeting run smoothly. We request that you turn off your phones. Please be courteous in the use of cameras and videos for safety reasons and as a courtesy to others. No signs are allowed in the council chamber or in the lobby. Everyone in attendance is expected to adhere to the rules of decorum established by resolution of the city council. Failure to abide by the city's rules of decorum, including any disruptive behavior that interferes with our ability to have an orderly and efficient meeting, prevents the city council from conducting the business of the city. Consider this a first warning to everyone in attendance that conduct that disrupts this meeting may result in expulsion and/or the chambers being cleared. Behavior that disrupts the meeting includes repetitive statements, shouting, hate speech, interrupting staff or presenters during the meeting, speaking out of turn, and outbursts from the audience. In keeping with council's resolution, public statements are received at different times. Depending on the item, I will call on the city clerk for public statements. If you wish to make a public statement, please fill out a public speaker card and place it in the tray next to the speaker's podium. We ask that you mark whether you're here to speak on an item listed on today's agenda or in a matter not on the agenda. Speakers who do not identify a specific agenda item will be presumed speakers for the non-aggenda public statements. If you're here to speak on an item not listed on the meeting agenda, you'll be called first to speak. Statements are given a two-minute time limit per speaker, 20 minutes total for all non-aggenda item public statements. If you're here to speak on an item listed on the agenda, I'll call for you at the appropriate time. If public statements become disruptive and I have to clear the chambers to regain order of the meeting, you'll be called in one at a time to provide your public statement when your item is called. Madam clerk, do we have any public speakers regarding items not listed on the agenda? >> Thanks, Mayor Go. We have received four speaker cards regarding items not listed on tonight's agenda. The first public speaker is Maria J. Wright. And for all our public speakers, if you would adjust the microphone to your level, that will help us. >> Welcome. Please introduce yourself. >> Um, good evening, mayor, council members, and staff. My name is Mariah Jay Wright. Um, I want to thank you for all the work you're all doing behind the scenes to keep our city moving. Oh, >> just get a little closer to my wife. >> Is this better? Okay. Um, I wanted to uh thank you for the work you've been doing behind the scenes to keep our city moving. I wanted to briefly highlight a theme that connects to several items on today's agenda. the balance between responding to challenges and preventing them. Not just how we respond to challenges, but how we prevent them before they grow. Right now, many of our systems are designed to react once something has already become urgent, visible, or costly. A prevention often looks quieter. Smaller, earlier investments that help stabilize situations before they escalate. We already see this in our community. Efforts like the Bakersfield Burrito project are often reactive, meaning uh immediate needs, but they also show how consistent community-based support can stabilize situations early and reduce the need for more costly interventions later. Um the opportunity here isn't to replace what's already working, but um to support it, strengthen it, and learn from it because prevention isn't about doing more. It's about doing things earlier and more intentionally. Um thank you again for your time and for your work to continue for uh Bakersfield. Thank you, Miss Wright. Next speaker, please. Mary Helen Barrow followed by Terry Maxwell. >> Welcome. Please introduce yourself. >> Good evening, Mayor Go and all the members of the council. I'm here because I was almost bitten and one of my neighbors children was almost bitten by an aggressive feral cat. We've got loose feral cats all over this town. They need to be picked up. They're getting dangerous. There are too many of them and they're unsafe in residential neighborhoods. We're a block from Longfellow School and mothers walk their children to school, the little ones, because they can't walk by themselves. These cats are starting to attack them as they walk by the property on the way to school. Please do something about it. Thank you. >> Thank you, Miss Borrow. I'm sorry. Sorry that you were almost bitten. Next speaker please. >> Terry Maxwell, followed by James Cderon. Good evening, council members. My name is Terry Maxwell. I'm here to talk about H Street and the so so-called improvements. I want to read uh first of all, H Street is unique. You can't look at any other street in Bakersfield and say, "Oh, it's just the same thing. We can do whatever we want." I want to read for you um in their uh submission to get the the money to do this project. They said the livability benefit number two, the project will work to reduce congestion on existing streets by reducing the vehicular trips uh in the project corridor as well as adjacent streets. You know, 14,000 cars go down H Street every day. just by doing making it two lanes in both directions instead of four lanes. Two lane, excuse me, one lane in each direction instead of two lanes. Where's the uh extra cars going to go? How did that this address that? It didn't address it at all because I can guarantee you you make it a one lane, you got a lot of people who are not going to be use it. We only have Oak Street and Chester that can get us on the other side to California Avenue and then on the way all the way to Brundage. L Street won't do it. And um we've already got we lovingly call Oak Street the parking lot because that's what it usually is. And you're going to you're going to take all that traffic and put it on Chester. Isn't Chester kind of congested? Also, this is not a wellthoughtout plan at all. You didn't look at any other uh way of solving the problem. You have se six out of seven intersections that do not have left-hand turn lanes. Did you think maybe if you took out uh parking on one side of the street, you could widen the lanes? Because that's part of the problem is those lanes are they're as narrow as they can possibly be and still be under the federal laws. If you take out one one lane, excuse me, one aisle of your parking, you can widen the lanes. You can then also at the intersections eliminate parking on either side and you could actually have left-hand turn lanes. When you look at the the uh list of all the accidents that have been on there, they're all related to the to the width and the fact that people come up and they might want to make a left-hand turn. They got all these cars behind them and when they make that turn because they got all those cars, they very often get broadsided. This is go go and read what they what they submitted to get this money and it'll you'll almost start laughing because it's ridiculous what they said. And I would urge you to put off this project. I know it's supposed to start I think in April. I would put this off and actually the missing missing person here times up Mr. Gonzalez actually stated that he felt that the off the business owners should definitely be informed and be brought into this. >> Thank you Mr. Maxwell. >> Next speaker please. James Cauldron followed by Seth Huitt. Welcome. Please introduce yourself. >> Yeah, my name is James Calderon and I'd like to first um give all honor and glory to my higher power for being able to be here and speak with you guys today. Um, and this is about the homeless situation. And I guess, uh, 19 months ago, I was homeless and I guess I'm what you would call a career criminal. But um 18 months ago, I gave my life to God and I started a new way of life and I started with some classes um at Levita Nova and um eight I'd say about 8 months into my walk um I was blessed with a car from someone from my church and I was still not able to find any work. I guess it might have been due to 18 years of no work history or maybe it's because I was a violent felon or I am a violent felon and um it wasn't looking too good and then it then after about a I don't know 15 months uh no about 12 months I was able to get a job and then uh I got another job and so now I have two jobs and um right before Christmas a few months ago go. I was able to get my first house and um I have my family back and I mean it's I'm able to say that um I'm living a life now that I'm not seen on TV or I'm reading in a book. You know what I mean? And um that's about it. And I just want to thank Levid Nova and my higher power. >> Congratulations on your progress. >> All right. Thank you, >> Madam Clerk. Next speaker, please. >> Seth Huitt. Mayor Go, I did also want to announce that a staff memorandum has been provided regarding this item. Transmitting additional correspondence received. >> Madame Mayor, council members, thank you for your time today. I would like to start with an apology. In January, I came to the council twice talking about a municipal transport authority. That was quite naive because I didn't understand propositions 13 or propositions 218 which severely limit uh Bakersfield and its ability to generate revenues. And so I wanted to kind of come here and one ask for your grace, but two um I wanted to bring up what these propositions are to the people of Bakersfield because I think it's really important because sometimes residents point their finger directly at the city before understanding it the limitations that it's under from the state. So, um, for those of you who don't have your Proposition flash cards handy, Proposition 13 protects homeowners from rising property taxes, which is great on the surface, but it also limits how much revenue cities can generate even as our population grows. Propos Proposition 218 very similarly, it gives taxpayer taxpayers a new a voice on new fees, which again sounds great, but it also makes it extremely difficult for cities to then fund infrastructure projects locally. So, one caps local funding, the other one locks the toolbox. And so, that's why we see deferred maintenance on infrastructure and rate increases like our residents have been talking about with sewer rates. And it also means that cities like Bakersfield are heavily dependent on California and the feds, which, you know, might be part of the design there. So, what do we do with the cards that are in front of us? Well, first, we have to keep playing ball. We have to keep chasing after these these grants as well as funding uh programs, any of them that are available. But long-term self-sufficiency for valley cities like ours will require a bolder push for structural reform. Policies designed for coastal markets do not fit the working inland communities like ours. So Bakersfield, I believe, should stand with other Central Valley jurisdictions along with regional leadership like uh like Senator Grove or Congressman Fong to advocate for state constitutional reforms. I know this 26-year-old so naive coming up here with these ambitious ideas, but um I believe that um if we want a more self-reliant future for cities like ours, we have to start raising these concerns and standing up for our re region, especially as we might be seeing uh congressional changes um governor changes here soon for our state. So um I want to thank you again for operating under the limitations you have um and we'll be more gracious, I think, as residents. Thank you. >> Thank you, Mr. Hewitt. Madame clerk, anyone else? Marco, that was our final uh agenda item, public state or non-aggenda item, public statement. Thank you. We'll now move to the public statements listed on the agenda. If you're here to speak on appointments 6A or items listed under consent calendar, item seven, your time to speak is now. Again, each speaker is given a two-minute time limit. Each agenda item is list limited to 20 minutes total. The consent calendar as a whole constitutes one agenda item. Madam clerk, do we have any public speakers regarding appointments item 6A or items listed under consent calendar item seven? Maya, we've received nine speaker cards regarding agenda item public statements. The first public speaker is Dave Demahowski regarding item 6A. >> Welcome. Please introduce yourself. >> Good evening, Mayor Go and council members. Dave Demahowski representing the Homebuilders Association of Kern County. I I think as we all know under California's regulatory system, uh it's never been more difficult uh complex, timeconuming, and costly to secure entitlements and and permitting uh uh in the state of California, including the city of Bakersfield. Uh there's been some very positive organizational changes in the development services department. Uh and I think this would be a good time to take a look and examine the city's uh policies and procedures for issuing permits and and plan approval. So we're in support of the staff recommendation on this item and look forward to working with the committee in the future. Thank you. >> Thank you very much. Madam clerk, next speaker, please. Mary Helen Barrow regarding item 7E7. >> Welcome. Please introduce yourself. >> Thank you again, Mayor and Council members. I'm here because I'm very concerned about uh the sewer system and the water collection. Uh, currently we have so many chemicals in our water. I I live in East Bakersfield in lower Alta Vista. We used to be able to drink our tap water. It was delicious. Now we've got so many chemicals in our water. It's terrible. California water puts in, I found out, 274 or 247 chemicals in our water. Help, please. We've got to do something so we can drink our tap water again. um and make sure that uh they they they don't overdo it. Um there's got to be a cleaner way and a safer way to take care of our water. Thank you very much. >> Thank you, Miss Borrow. Next speaker, please. >> Anchelau, regarding item 7 F1. Welcome. >> Okay. So, good afternoon. My name is Auntie Lawa. I'm a professor at CSUB biology department and a member of the tree advisory group for a year. So, we all care about the Bakersfield community. Being a member of the tree advisory group for one year now, I have observed the efforts to make a real progress towards increasing the tree canopy in our city. But it is very slow. With my students, I have looked at tree canopy coverage and heat disparity data using information from American Trees, an organization that exists since 1875 with many experts in urban forestry. With their tree equity program, they provide data useful for identifying the status quo of tree canopy coverage in all cities across the US. So American forest data was even used in the public draft of sore baker that you should all know sustainable opportunities for achieving resilience which was as a draft released in October 2025. As you know Bakersfield tree equity score is poor only 50 to 60 on average out of 100. More trees were removed than were planted over the last years, resulting in decreased canopy coverage, which led to heat disparity in many areas of town, especially in the southeastern part of Bakersfield, where many of our disadvantaged community members live, but also in a few other areas actually. And the heat disparity means that these areas have four to six Fahrenheit hotter than the average in the Bakersfield summer, which is excruciating. Planting more trees mindfully, right? species in the right place will help reduce this heat disparity. Therefore, I suggest that a budget for tree planting should be priority all over all other efforts pro proposed by the recreation and parks department including the proposed tree inventory. So, I think I'm out of time. Thank you. >> Thank you, madam clerk. Next speaker, please. >> Karen Erso your button. You're done. >> Good evening, Mayor. Thank you. Good evening, Mayor Go, council members, uh, city staff, and members of the public. I'm Karen Erso, and I'm a community health nurse educator. And we all know the importance of improving our air quality. Trees by their leaves filter air quality and studies have shown how much of the particulate matter um leaves can actually trap and keep out of our air. Exposure to this air pollutant contributes of course to lung disease and asthma, but also to cardiac disease, to obesity, diabetes, to cancer, to premature birth, dementia, possibly autism, to congenital defects, and um these all are present in our community in higher rates than the rest of the state and the rest of our nation. This contributes significantly to our health care costs which continue to rise. Trees also provide shade and that mitigates heat related illness as well. So I'd ask you to please plant and maintain trees and make this a budget priority. Thank you. >> Thank you. And next speaker please. Sharon Bril. Welcome. >> Good morning. Good afternoon. Sorry, I'm a little confused. I'm writing I'm a um I'm writing as a 24-year voting resident of W 5 and a member of the Sierra Club current chapter. and I respectfully uh request the delay of the approval of the $180,000 contract to inventory 40,000 trees until a strategic plan is in place to guide its use. The central city and citywide tree plan included in the parks and recreation master plan was approved by this council on November 20th, 2004. The citywide tree plan was roughly 168 pages with detailed findings on the state of Bakersville's urban forests. Yet the word inventory appears only four times across just two pages. What is missing is a clear path with a specific goal, name, staff, and a deadline. Appendix H is a specific action plan developed by the community stakeholders that outlines concrete steps to improve Bakersfield's urban forest, including using Fresno's urban forest program as a model. Yet, unlike Fresno, Bakersfield council members are not a part of the committee responsible for developing that plan. Without council involvement, there is no assurance that every ward will receive a fair share of the urban forest improvements our residents deserve. More troubling is the public records request shows that 657 trees were removed between July and September of 2025. Appendic H states clearly that for every tree removed, a tree shall be replaced. Tonight, instead of the funding for that promise, the congress needs to being asked to spend 180,000 counting the trees that remain. I respectfully ask that the council delay this decision until a clear strategic plan is presented, one that reflects the parks and recreation master plan, the city tree plan, and the community input found in appendix H. Bakerville residents deserve commitment to both counting trees and planting them. I respectfully uh submit these comments. >> Thank you, Mr. B. Madam clerk. Next speaker please. >> Joanne Hamilton. >> Good evening. I'm a member of the Sierra Club and I just I I'm not an expert, but the speakers before me and the speakers after me have more to say and more knowledgeable, but we need more trees and we need them taken care of. And Bakersville is so hot and the trees and the shade are so valuable and they're also good for for the nature, for the birds and all of the other creatures that live in our city. And that's it. Thank you. >> Thank you, Miss Hamilton. Next speaker, please. >> Rob Parsons. Welcome. Please introduce yourself. >> Thank you. I'm Rob Parsons. I'm a resident of Bakersfield since 1948 at age five. I'm a sculptor and retired STEM professor from Bakersfield College, which has been designated as a tree campus by the Arbor Foundation for the last five years at least. Um, I'm as a devout tree hugger, I I'm here to speak in support of my fellow Sierra Club members efforts to increase the tree canopy in Bakersfield. And so I will just wanted to be numbered as one of the supporters and I will yield the rest of my time to the speakers that will come after me. Thank you. >> Thank you, Mr. Parsons. Madam clerk, next speaker, please. >> Eddie Lane. >> Welcome. >> Welcome back again. I'm not sure that the yield process really works here. Um, we um are quite clear that item number 7F1 should be held. That's our request. That's the bottom line tonight. We want that held. Our priority is planting trees. Trees have been taken out. We know that from public records act. And we want those trees replaced. Not necessarily in the same place, but we want those trees replaced. So our basic request is that item 7F1 be held. It's be held. I want to add add some more. And you you're going to get a whole lot of paperwork because we've done a lot of it. Isn't it sad that the tree priorities that were adopted in November 20, 2024 with over 120 signatures are being ignored? For every tree removed, a tree is to be planted. That's bottom line. And that's not being done. Um, isn't it sad that unlike our Fresno model, you who are elected by the people are not involved in in these decisions? There's an appointed committee by the parks and recreation director appointed. We need your direct involvement in these tree issues. And we already met with several of you about these. Uh isn't it sad that this $180,000 under discussion doesn't even match what's in the the tree plan, the MIG tree plan was that was adopted was 120,000 for inventory. So what goes on here? The tree plan that was adopted is 120,000. Now you're trying to allocate 180,000. There's there's a miss. There's a miss there. Uh, and isn't it sad that that we when when we went to downtown Bakersfield a few weeks ago, we invited all of the city staff to to come with us. There there seven members that have been on various meetings and and we went downtown. The Californian was there. Uh, channel 23 was there, but nobody from the city showed up. We need the city to work with us on these issues. Thank you. >> Thank you, Mr. Lane. Next speaker please. Maria Polite. >> Good evening. >> Welcome. >> Thank you. Um I'm Maria Polite and I'm here because I love trees. I grew up in South Florida climbing the wild oak trees in my mother's backyard with my brothers. Everyone who's had that opportunity. I actually h had two little boys living with me for a long time. I mean for a short time. And they had never climbed a tree. They were 11 and n years old. Now that's not your fault, but they climbed my trees and they were so happy. It reminded me. So, I'm here to give you our main concerns. This has been prepared by some of my friends here about the tree plan. And so, I'm not going to go over it because you can read it. And that's why I'd like to submit this, but I had a great idea when I was driving down California Avenue. I taught at Bakersville High for 40 years. So after you go past Bakersville High, you begin that long stretch along the railroad and it's got that green fence. Now the middle median is is really nice, but it occurred to me if we could plant trees along that railroad, think of how it would help the pollution that comes from the trains. It would be pretty. The people who live in that area are would appreciate it. So, I'm just here to say look at California, west of Bakersville High down to Oak Street as a place that maybe we could start the first part of the tree plan. And thank you so much. I'm so blessed to be in this town and in this county where we can come and talk to you and state our concerns. Thank you. >> Thank you, Miss Po. Madam clerk, next speaker please. Gilica, >> welcome. >> Please introduce yourself. >> Thank you for having us here. um everyone before me has spoken very eloquently and I think we have been trying to persuade the city council members um let's say for over a period of two years by coming to the city council by meeting city council members separately and uh trying to persuade the city to move in a greener direction. Um we really have no vested interest. This is this is for the vast general public. It's a public good that we are asking for. It's not that we are going to be beneficiaries in any specific way. One could argue as you see the age group that is here that is actually requesting something from the city council the beneficiaries are going to be people who come after us potentially. Um so um we don't have you know we are we are interested in this issue but it's a more public goods issue. Um I am also a political scientist as many of you know. So I'm not going to make a plea uh for the trees and why they're important. I think everybody here knows that. What I am curious about is that usually when the agenda is not accomplished, an agenda which the city council unanimously supported and wholeheartedly supported and that agenda we're still sitting where we were two years ago. Usually when those things happen, there is another group that opposes the agenda. There is a conflict. There's there's a possible opposition to the agenda, but there seems no opposition. There seems consensus that we all agree that this is important. There's a budget there. We are only asking that the budget be used appropriately. So, we actually get to move on the agenda. And I find it rather surprising that when there is no clash of interest between what the Sierra Club and people might like myself and Dr. Lowour as asking for there's no group opposing this and yet nothing seems to be moving forward. We keep trying to work >> your time is up so can you bring your comments to a close. You can go ahead and do another sentence if you'd like. >> Thank you. Um I just want to say um is it possible for the city council members uh to um perhaps work with the departments of uh department of uh parks and rack and maybe the community members so we actually accomplish something perhaps this year. Thank you very much. >> Thank you madam clerk. Are there any comments further related to this? >> Mayor go. That was our final speaker card. >> Thank you. Next item please. Appointments item 6A, creation of the development review streamlining ad hoc committee, appointment of members by the vice mayor and setting the first meeting in March. Thank you. So, Mr. Kle, would you like to provide some background before we do that? >> Uh, Mayor Go, thank you. Uh, this was a referral that was made at our last meeting. Staff has prepared an opportunity uh for council to create this ad hoc committee. Uh we feel confident, we understand the scope of the committee and look forward to working with those appointed uh by council to organize a a schedule and a framework to take this topic up over the next year. >> Thank you, Vice Mayor. >> Thank you. Council member Adius, would you like to add anything? >> Uh just that I appreciate staff bringing this back. appreciate the vice mayor in supporting uh the creation of the ad hoc and um I would recommend um that my colleagues council member uh Coleman um and council member Bob Smith given their um knowledge base and wisdom in the development process uh that they join me in this effort uh to spearhead this learn more about the development services process and figure out where we can make improvements as a city. Thank you. So, it's three three people. >> Vice Mayor. Yeah. Thank you, Council Rod. >> City attorney. >> Uh, mayor, vice mayor. My understanding was is that this was an ad hoc committee. So, an ad hoc committee is generally two individuals from the council. It generally does not follow the Brown Act. It's not required to follow the Brown Act, I should say. it um may or may not have staff in attendance and it is only there for a standing period of time to to address a particular issue. So, if we're going to go with three um it really needs to be a standing a standing committee. >> Okay. your your call. Vice Mayor, if I'm if I may, um when we had um when we were responding to the homelessness issue several years ago and we had created the ad hoc committee um on homelessness, it was um I I was one of the three members who had joined that ad hoc committee and that had turned into a standing committee once we realized the usefulness and the utility of that committee. Were were we in the wrong at that time? Have things changed? >> Mayor, council member Arius, no, I don't think you're in the wrong because we converted it eventually to a standing committee. Um, I don't want to die on the vine with this, but generally speaking, a standing committee is something that the entire council approves as a whole. And so, this standing committee, if that's what it is, um, has not been approved by the council as a whole. So, when you made the recommendation to appoint an ad hoc, I immediately in my mind went to, hey, this is going to be a two-person committee. Um, we can have a three-person committee and it can still be an ad hoc, but then that means it will definitely follow the Brown Act. >> Okay. >> And if I may, uh, council member and vice mayor, we're prepared to have staff present and and function as a Brown Act committee. >> Thank you. I I do feel it's important that we have staff there. Um as we've heard from our development community, uh this is an urgent priority for us as a council for city staff as well. And whether it's um business development or it's housing, I will particularly point to housing. Um we we need to figure out how uh we streamline some of our our permitting uh in a conscious way uh so we can keep housing generally affordable at all levels market rate um all the way through to affordable and making sure that the city of Boldfield continues to be a businessfriendly place. Uh, so I will go ahead and um accept Council Member Audius's recommendation and appoint Council Member Larry Coleman, Council Member Bob Smith, and Council Member Eric Audius to the ad hoc development review streamlining committee. Thank you, Madam Clerk. Uh, sorry, Madame City attorney. Are we okay? You have a motion. Please cast your votes. motion is approved with council member Gonzalez absent. Thank you, Madame Clerk. Next item, please. >> Consent calendar items 7A through 7 I for approval. >> Thank you. And so we've had requests from council member Coleman to pull 7E1 7 F1 and from council member Bashertosh 7 F3 and from three council members council member Bashertosh council member Weir and council member Arius to pull 7 I1 vice mayor. Okay. Motion to Let me double check these. Motion to approve consent calendar with the exception of items 7E1 7F1 7 F3 and 7 I3. Thank you. You have a motion. Please cast your votes. motion is approved with council member Gonzalez absent. >> Thank you. And council member Coleman, you requested 7E1 be pulled. That's the escribe. >> Yes, ma'am. >> Go ahead. >> Okay. Thank you, ma'am. Thank you, mayor. Um, this is directed to staff. This is more funding for our escribe service, which quite frankly, if they had a system in my office, I'd stick axe to it. Uh, that thing is is a very cumbersome program. uh you know I I get I maybe it's because I'm outside the the city network and but it it just overloads me with waste wasted emails and schedules that you know in order to change a schedule it takes you know two cancellations and another approval and it gets very very confusing and I don't know why we're continuing to give this company more money every single year. So, could somebody please answer that question for me? >> Mr. Click. >> Yeah, thank you, mayor and council. I'll give a start and if our city clerk wants to add on to that, we can as well. So, our Eastcribe system uh for the listening public is our agenda management system. Uh it's what helps us produce our city council agendas. I think one of the points of frustration that has been pointed out by council member Coleman is uh related to as we create a meeting, you you receive notifications of those meetings. Uh we have had issues in the past where a meeting might have gotten missed by a council member. So we actually create meeting schedules for you in Outlook as well as escribe. Not all council members are using outlook. So unfortunately sorry council member kleman you are using our outlook system and so you get both of those notifications. Um the way I would describe escribe uh as we look at all of our software acquisitions uh we do formal uh bidding processes. we, you know, create requests for proposals and, um, what I would characterize, you know, when I came to the city 6 years ago, we were using most of the lowest budget tier software that was out there for most of our programs. And often you pay for those lowest quality programs by not having them work quite the way that you would want. Uh, interestingly enough, escribe is actually more middle of the road. uh there and when we look at software programs you know we're able to identify the full spectrum of services and there are many programs out there that you know have all the bells and whistles but you pay a lot more for those programs and I would acknowledge that escribe is not the most proficient agenda management system out there but it has a high value to the price that we pay for that system. It is a much better system than some of the others that were uh evaluated and we actually had interviews where we had demonstrations with the different potential uh implementing softwares for this agenda management system and uh escribe is what I would say again it's about middle of the road and it's a pretty good bang for our buck. Um, what I would say to council is that um, we regularly evaluate whether or not it's time to change a software entirely, but we try to do that usually more on like a 5-year basis. If we're changing every 12 months or 24 months, it costs a lot of time and change management and learning new systems. And so, at this time, we haven't recommended making a change away from escribe. It's it's again I I would note it's not perfect, but it does our core functions that we needed to do and it's been at a value that is much more competitive than some of our other um vendors that we evaluated. Miss Demarcus, would you add anything to that? >> Um I think you got all the the points. Thank you. I just feel like u that these companies take advantage of of municipalities that we don't get the uh state-of-the-art uh software and uh applications and we pay the most amount of money for it. I think municipalities wind up being the proving ground for them to develop uh stuff they can sell on the open market. Um, I understand that uh you have an ongoing agreement with them and I don't want to change that agreement, but I think we need to hold these vendors uh you know accountable and have them uh you know work hard at meeting our needs. So, reluctantly, I will approve the this uh I'll I'll make a motion to approve this uh this item. So, >> thank you. You have a motion. Please cast your votes. motion is approved with council member Gonzalez absent. >> Thank you. And our next item is 7F1 and that was pulled by council member Coleman. And then council member Arias, I actually made a mistake that you also requested the same item. So we'll have council member Coleman go first and then council member Arius. And then I know vice mayor you wanted to comment on this too. >> Thank you mayor. So this one uh I'm really upset about this one. you know, uh, when I came on the council in at the end of 24, uh, the very first person that reached out to me was Sierra Club and these trees and, uh, they come every other week or at least uh, every other month about these trees and staff never responds to it. We have asked over and over and over again. And I have asked, other council members have asked for an update from staff on what the tree plant is, and we get nothing. And now we get a request for $180,000 to inventory the trees. Well, the young lady just told us, but there's there's 40,000 of them. So, I don't know what we need to inventory exactly, but uh I I don't want to I don't want to see us paying $180,000 to this. and and my recommendation would be to not approve this until staff comes back and gives us a a tree plan and addresses some of these concerns that the community continues to to bring up. And when you talk about doing inventory, I really want us to consider whether we can uh work out some arrangement with either Cal State or Bakersfield College or one of their one of their programs where maybe we can create some kind of program where their grad students can go out and count the trees rather than us paying $180,000 for it. So um I I guess Coleman, is that your motion? >> That's my That would be >> a motion not to approve. >> I kind of rambles, so I don't know entirely what my motion would be other than not to approve this at this time. >> Thank you, Council Member Arus. >> Yeah, thank you, mayor, and thank you to um the residents who came out in um opposition to this particular uh item. I I too am am increasingly frustrated uh with the progress on our tree um inventory, the replacement of our trees, the tree trimming process um and and and frankly the lack of uh updates that we've received at council um as the chair of the safe and healthy neighborhoods committee, I'm going to make a request that every single quarter that the tree advisory group um be able to provide an update um to the safe and healthy neighborhoods committee um to provide the council in that committee a an update on the progress of of where that group is. Um if you look at the data and you look at crime rates, you can see that where there is urban greenery, where there's a a tree canopy in place that crime actually goes down. Um and I would argue that there is um a multitude of reasons even beyond just that one uh for us to invest in our tree canopy. Um, and I agree with Council Member Gman. We do not need an additional uh, you know, uh, plan or or um, inventory uh, contract in order to understand that we frankly do not have enough trees in the city of Bakersfield. Um, and so I would actually ask that um, we reappropriate this $180,000 to directly go towards the planting of new trees throughout the city of Bakersville. And I would argue that that is a drop in the bucket, but at least gets us moving in the right direction. Um, that would be my preference. I don't know what the rest of my colleagues um how they feel about that. Um, but my last uh thought and question really is I I made a referral several months ago asking that we prioritize tree planting um at the mid-year budget. And I just wanted to ask what what the update was on that particular request. Council member Arias, our midyear update to the council is going to be next month. Yes, we're we're still in February. It will be next month. Uh we have noted a few recommendations about midear appropriations. Uh I would I'm not trying to get too ahead of council in that process. I would note that uh we don't h have a lot of one-time monies uh to work with at midyear and our our recommendation is principally going to be to bank our some of our resources uh to go into the next fiscal year. But we have listed uh what those requests are and we'll bring those back in front of your council to show here's some of the requests at midyear. Uh but also I've already placed that on an an as an assumed request for next uh fiscal year process as a CIP item. Um and so uh staff is uh aware and planning to uh discuss that as one of our CIP options um in the upcoming budget cycle. Um if I just may take the moment um with a question to also reflect that um staff is more than willing to um have presentations at the safe and healthy neighborhoods committee. I think that's a good fit uh for this topic. I would note that uh we also had a referral to bring this topic to your council for a report item. Uh we had intended for that report item to be on this evening's agenda. It didn't um make it on to this evening's agenda, but at your next meeting, March 11th, we'll have an update on the tree advisory uh committee um at at uh the 5:15 meeting of the city council. And respectfully, I will just remind council that we provided a response by memo to your council in January of the questions and and inquiries that have been placed by the Sierra Club. Your council received that update uh by memo in January. >> Fantastic. Appreciate the update. Um and glad to hear that we can get some updates from the group um and our safe and healthy neighborhoods committee. Um, and lastly, I would just make a a a plea to my colleagues that uh they join us in this fight and utilize the limited dollars that we currently have, this $180,000 to actually get started on regrowing um and planting trees in the city of Bakersfield. Thank you. >> Thank you, Council Member Arius. Vice Mayor, >> thank you, Mayor. Thank you, Council Member Coleman and Council Member Aius. Uh and most importantly, thank you to the advocates who come as council member commen said week after week and um when I had made the referral to study archery canopy as well as our urban heat island effect um there was of course work that was already happening and that's thanks to your advocacy. Um and we have a within our park's master plan a a great tree um plan that exists in which when studying the existing tree canopy coverage um ward one has a 0.02% means of a tree canopy. That's the percentage of trees that exist within that ward. The population in 2020 of Ward One was about 57,000 people and six years later I'm sure it's grown. Uh and the the second uh lowest tree canopies in Ward 7, it's 007%. That's not even 1% of those districts are covered in trees. And the the population of W 7 in 2020 was about 59,000. And it only it's only marginally more in other in other districts uh with ward 4 having 2% but even then um I just think that if that doesn't highlight the room to grow I don't know what does and um this is a lengthy report but as was highlighted by some of the folks that have come and spoke today uh there are solutions that are within this recommendation um and and some of them are as clear as you know what $130,000 will buy you? It'll buy you 55 trees. Um what will $155,000 buy you? It'll buy you 70 trees. And this is illustrated in detail. And um and within this plan is also a list of trees that are drought resistant, climate resistant. So my question is that what does the the tree inventory do that this list of 24 within the this plan there's a tree pallet. We have 24 tree types. What does this what does a tree inventory accomplish that this doesn't? >> I think mayor and council, I'll I'll give a first um try at this as well, but then ask our parks and recreation staff if they want to add some additional uh feedback. Um not again speaking respectfully, not trying to be difficult, but u the request is to have a strategy and it's hard to have a strategy without the right information and so this gives us the information to create the strategy. I think can we do we know that there's a huge lack of trees in tons of places? Absolutely. Can we start going planting trees and ask our parks and recck staff to make some good judgments about where to plant those trees? I think yes without you know further inventory but to have a comprehensive plan about where to plant those trees and when and what phasing and sequencing and having more knowledge of of an understanding of um uh what that inventory is I I think was the intent to create that strategy. Uh but uh again there's other ways to accomplish that goal. I think we can accomplish that goal without this inventory. The plan created by MIG details recommendations, estimated costs, and phasing. Of course, if we need further guidance, I think the reason there's also percentages indicated as to which districts have the least amount of tree canopy. My recommendation tonight is we go with that. Let's start with the districts that have the lowest tree canopies. Let's start and let's get really specific into neighborhoods. There's great GIS mapping tools that show you exactly where there is no there are no trees. And we have folks, stewards of our community who volunteer their time to share their information, that are experts in their field, that are sitting in our audience today, that are on our tree committee, um, who I know are more than willing to point us to tools that they know that we even don't have. So, um I my encouragement tonight is start let's as a council if my council colleagues are also in agreement, let's start with the wards that have the least amount of trees. Let's do some neighborhood tree plantings with using as council member AIA said this budget to start there. See how many trees that buys us and let's really study and and just start planting and let's start planting and let's see those temperatures come down. And of course, it's easy to talk about um warmer weather uh when it's almost March and and the summer isn't right over us and the sun isn't shining over us. But um this tree, I mean, we have a tree plan that exists. And my encouragement is that our our parks department and and the folks who have worked so hard to create this in the first place and and who work with our advocates, use a recommendations, use a recommended tree pallet. I mean, it tells us the size of the tree. It tells us exa exactly the foliage. Um, all of the information is there. So, I'm in agreement with my council members that we don't need to spend extra money to create yet another tree inventory. Let's just get to work. We have the partners. The partners are even listed in the report that already exists for us. They're also here today. Uh, and and I know there's a plethora of volunteers who would who would love to to get to planting, but it's the city's job. It's our responsibility to make sure that when advocates are coming time and time again that we are responsive and we are actionoriented and and we aren't just creating more research to create research. Um so my recommendation also to add to council member Audius's referral tonight is we schedule a meeting with our tree committee and and we meet with the agencies who are already planting the the tree foundation locally. um and we see how we can just disperse these trees. Are we buying them? Are we purchasing at once? Um and how do we get started? And and let's really pinpoint a neighborhood where we can study this. >> Thank you. Council member Coleman, do you have another comment? >> Uh yes, Mayor. Thank you. You know that that just brings me to my frustration here again is that you made a comment that well we we might need this inventory to help us plan where to plant what plan where I don't know but the point is that it brings us back to what's what's the tree committee been doing for the last year. you know, we didn't we yeah, I remember the email that you sent out in the memo, and I I do appreciate I do acknowledge that, and I appreciate that, but nothing's been ever presented to the to us here at the council publicly that shows that we're doing anything. And so now a year later, we're asking for some money to go out and study how many trees when we have we already have some data to go on. So that just fuels my frustration that, you know, that we're not getting the kind of response out of the staff that needs to do that. And I I apologize if I'm sounding uh angry or if I'm sounding uh uh derogatory. I'm not trying to be derogatory to the staff that works very hard every day, but we're not seeing the result. And I've said this before that the city needs to move at the speed of life and it can't take a year of committee meetings and that to not really have a plan what we're going to do. So that's my frustration. >> Miss Borrow, you're out of order. Thank you. Uh so >> that concludes my Mayor. >> Thank you. That concludes. >> So, so you have a motion not to approve Steph's recommendation. You have a motion. Please cast your votes. >> Wait a minute. I thought the motion from Aras was to move the money >> to move the money the 180,000 to buy trees, plant trees. To be clear, it was not a motion, but if council member Kleman is open to amending his motion uh to clarify that this $180,000 bucket of money be utilized for future tree plantings. Sorry, council members. Um I just wanted to clarify. I feel like a reappropriation may not be within the scope of the agenda item as agendaized. I would well I I have clear direction. Um I believe and um we can uh as staff come back to council with a future action rel related to the funding that it will not go towards the inventory. Um but I I feel like um um we could take a referral or direction on how to spend the money, but the motion itself should probably be um focused on the action that's agendaized. Council member Aras. Good. Okay. So, that's a referral. >> And Council Member Smith. >> Thank you. So, could the motion be to bring back the 180,000 at the next meeting when we get the report and then determine how it's going to be spent? >> Yes. Council member. >> Council member Coleman, would you like to consider that as part of your motion? So, we're not approving the $180,000 to be spent. Just asking them to come back with something that uh because because I I'm I'm not interested in spending $180,000 for anything. Okay. >> I'm sorry. >> I would I would take the motion from Council Member Kleman first to um disapprove item 7F1. And my suggestion would be um council member Smith and council member Arius um that you direct the city manager to bring back the discussion of the 180 next time on how to spend it. I think that would be the cleanest. >> All right. >> Let's finish my comment to say that I'm not willing to spend $180,000 on anything until the department comes back with their plan. They've been they've been formulating over the last year. And so, you know, I we I just need to see more before I approve spend. And if if it's 108,000, it's 108,000. But I I I would hope that by now they have a better assessment of what they're recommending. There's a lot of issues with trees. It's not only a matter if are we going to plant trees. It's how are we managing the trees we have, you know, they continue to chop the trees down pretty much on Gosser. The guys just come along and whack them down. Not they don't cut them down, but they just whack the branches off. And maybe that's the way you're supposed to do them. But a lot of these trees, uh, you can't you can't cap them because then they don't grow. And so I I really am really frustrated that I want to know what the plan is in before we start spending money willy-nilly. So that's my comment. I'll get off that soap box. I will go to vote this thing. So thank you, mayor. >> Thank you, Council Member Coleman. So the motion is not to approve the agreement. Please cast your votes. If you haven't pressed the button >> not to approve. >> Not to That's what Yes. >> So yes. So that would be a yes. If you want to not to approve, you're going to hit yes. >> Motion is approved with Council Member Gonzalez absent. >> Thank you. And to all of you who participated in the process, thank you very much. And now we'll move on to item 7 F3. Council member Basher, we might just give a minute for our friends to clear if they'd like to leave at this point. um for this for item 7F3. I really don't like the signs. No, that's not why I had it pulled. Uh I I don't know how uh maybe city attorney can help me direct in how I would make a referral for this or or what what it would be like. Um we need to create a policy as a city that limits change orders on any contract that we entertain to 5%. And if it's going to be an ask over 5%, I believe it needs to come to council. Uh I'd hate for the city to get stuck in the process where we're accepting our lowest bids from companies with this giant change order that that just kind of gets slept in um through consent issues. So, my motion is tonight to vote against this and it come back with a 5% change order and then some type of policy brought forth to us uh capping change orders at 5%. Um, I think it's it could be a shady practice with different contractors that do business with the city, taking advantage of the city, and the next thing, you know, we're talking about trying to find money to fund all the important projects. Oh, yeah. That's that is what we're doing. Um, so that's my motion to uh to decline this. Um, and if it comes back with a 5% change order, I would entertain approving this and then a policy. My referral is that we create a policy as a city capping change orders at 5%. If it's going to go over, then it needs to come back to council for approval. >> Madame city attorney or miss city manager, do you wish to comment? >> My understanding, mayor and council member Bashier Tash, I understand what you're saying. I think the motion is very clear. I get it. I I might I'm looking at the city manager. I believe we already have um a policy. It's actually a code on the books that requires 10% come back to the council, but we can certainly bring it back at 5% if you like. >> Mr. Click. >> Yeah, mayor and council. That that is my understanding is that any change order over 10% would already have to come back to this city council. Typically, our change order authority um we push hard to have that be within that 5 to 10% range. Sometimes there are unique types of projects where particularly when we're going to be in the ground where it's uh there are some unknowns that we uh our our practice has been to have some contingency that's just a little bit higher than that because we we often find those unknowns and and there's more expenses there. But again, uh a council policy call about what level should always come back to the council. There's going to be some projects um that have more administrative um reviews by council u if if the threshold's at a different level, but I don't begrudge council wanting to keep a close eye on those finances. >> Thank you. Um so is the reason this is coming before us because that change order is almost 15%. >> That is correct. >> That's why this is here completely. Yeah, >> that is and actually there's two different aspects to this item, council member, just really quickly. One is the original contract. We're also asking in advance for a 15% change order contingency. Uh we could also bring this item forward for the original contract without the 15% contingency. >> Yeah. I Well, yeah. I don't want things like this to be hidden in our consent calendar. I'd like for them to be opened up to discussion so they don't just swept get swept through and then we make it a habit of wasting taxpayer money. Um if it's going to be a change order, maybe the policy reflects it. It goes into new business um under under that. I don't know. I mean, I've seen this time and time since I've been on here with an addition to change order and it it just eats me up because I know in a lot of we deal with it in the business world, you know, when we're developing and and have little things like that, but uh I've seen this too often and it bothers me. Um, I think we need to we need to stop the bleeding. >> Uh, just a little again, not to belabor this point, but my recollection is is that the reason why staff went ahead with the number two and and pre-authorized the contingency is because previous councils wanted us to pre-authorize the contingency because it was coming back too many times. So I understand that there may be a difference now. Um so if we could just get clarity, council member Basher Tash on your motion. Is it to only accept 7F3 number one the bid and approve the contract as is um and to not approve number two and come back with with a more restrictive policy? >> Yeah, I would be open to approving one. >> Okay. So your motion is then to approve 7F31 and to disapprove 7F32. >> I'll take it. Okay. >> All right. Colleagues, do you clearly understand the motion? >> Yep. Can Oh, vice mayor. Oh, we have some questions. >> Can Can you explain the adaptive signal coordination? Is this like you are changing the timing of the signal itself? It doesn't involve the crosswalk as well. I was curious about this because I had something I had some signal issues in Ward 7. Um, and I was just if you could just explain how this Mr. >> Mars. Yes, mayor of Vice Mayor Core. So, this is an adaptive signal project. So, we're not changing any of the really the hard infrastructure, the traffic signal stay as is, but this is mostly electrical and communication work. Uh, adding uh sensors. I think there's a loop there too where we would be able to move traffic through u more easily uh not having to wait at a red light when there's nobody at the other directions at that intersection. So that's really just to improve the movements. >> Okay. My curiosity also is around um timing uh like the amount of time that a pedestrian has to cross the road. what determines that amount of time and how are we able to increase that at the city level in adherence with state regulations that exist. >> So I would have to uh do some homework on that. Okay. >> But as to determine how we determine that length of time, my guess is based on our traffic engineering division that there's probably something in the MUTCD or some other California code that we adhere to. >> Okay. Uh, I'd be curious to know if what flexibility we have in improving or increasing how much time pedestrians have to get across some of these wider roads like Ming, White Lane, Panama, and if there if that's something internally we can do to increase that. I just always see pedestrians struggling to get across and especially those with diverse abilities. Um, whether they're pushing a stroller or they are in a wheelchair, we should be able to increase the amount of time pedestrians have. So, sorry that was inspired by this. Did you have something, Madam City attorney? Mayor, vice mayor, I can tell you from um previous discussions on this issue uh prior to Mr. Meyer, um it's my understanding that if a constituent uh lets the council member know or lets or the public works department know that they're having difficulty crossing a particular u street with the time that's being allowed that staff works with them and increases that time. >> Thank you. >> Thank you. And now, council member Arius. Thank you, mayor. Um, I just wanted to share that I um also am very frustrated with the constant change orders um that you know come along with particularly public works um contracts and the fact that in many cases that our hands are tied uh with accept having to accept the lowest bidder even though they may be the very culprits that are constantly requesting uh change orders. Um, so I just wanted to say that I I share that frustration. Um, and I appreciate that we're going to move forward with at least the first uh portion of this item. Thank you. >> Thank you, Council Member Arus. Council member Coleman. >> Uh, thank you, mayor. Yeah. Uh, I I I like the adaptive light uh program because that's one of my frustrations I'm driving around is how much time I spend sitting at a red light when nobody's coming. and it really I I complain about it when anybody will listen. So So I do I do uh appreciate that program, but um I struggle with uh approving a change order for contingencies at whatever percentage. If you made a 10%, they would spend 10%. If you made it 15%, they'll spend 15%. So I struggle with that a lot. Uh I but I I recognize what the city attorney was saying that this was a that was a 10% thing was put in place uh by previous councils so they wouldn't see these all the time and so I guess I'd probably okay with staying with the policy but this this amount exceeds that. So I don't know if I have any more comments. Thank you mayor. >> Thank you council member Coleman. Council member Smith, >> I just wanted to comment on the the pedestrian crossing. As I remember it, the the state did change that rule a few years ago. It was 3 feet per second and now it's 1.5 ft per second. And we are not in compliance in most of the city. and we were going to get in compliance, but as the city attorney stated, it's kind of on a as requested basis. Could you >> Yeah, I think you kind on that. >> Yes, we're doing some on an as requested basis and then we're phasing in as many as we can through projects like these um more proactively. Uh but it's going to take some time to um to address all of those um crossings. Um so again, it's kind of a two two-pronged approach, the case by case and then as we're making updates and through projects like this, we're getting them updated to the new standard. >> Yeah, I would say, you know, I crossed at Stockdale Buista often and I walk pretty fast and I'm just barely making it. >> I'm trying. Now it's on our list. >> Yeah. Is that a request? >> What about short people? >> Thank you. >> Thank you. Um I don't see any other requests. So you have a motion. >> Please cast your vote. >> What is the motion? >> The motion is to approve 7F31 and not two. >> Okay. >> So you say yes. >> Okay. >> Yes. Yes. >> What's that? >> Now what's happening to two? Is that going to come back? >> Two is going to come back. >> No, two is not coming back. >> Not right now. >> A yes vote is to accept number one. A yes vote is to disapprove number two. >> Two. >> No, you're just doing one. >> Yes. >> The yes vote is to accept number one and not number two. Motion is approved with council member Gonzalez absent. Thank you. And before we go to 7 I1, I think we'll probably need to take a short break. So, let's take seven minutes if we can. Hey hey hey. You're going to feel Happy. Heat. Hey. Hey. Hey, hey hey. Heat. Heat. Heat. Hey Heat. All right, it's time for us to continue. >> All right. So now continuing with 7 I1 and 7 I1 was pulled by council member Bashertosh and also council member Weir. So council member Bashertosh. Yes, I uh I I pulled this because for a a variety of of reasons, but first and foremost, I I don't think it's good for the city um a good look for the city to to have items this large on the consent calendar without some type of presentation or discussion uh for the sake of taxpayers uh and their money that would be used in this project. I think it's worthwhile um at least to give uh an opportunity to those that the money would be going toward or responsible for controlling that money to at least speak um and and give some insight into that. And so I wondered if you could provide me with some information is before I get into the the rest of my questions what this is for and and and how this is going to be used. >> Yeah. Specifically to this allocation, council member. >> Yes. >> Yeah. So, this funding is coming out of the affordable housing trust fund. This is to help fund the construction of the new shelter at Open Door Network. Uh, as a reminder for council members, the current Open Door Network shelter is in what is understood as right now the current locally generated alternative route for the highspeed rail station. I would suggest that the shelter is also uh fairly aged in and of itself. It's probably overdue for uh a rebuild, but also with the catalyst of needing to move because of the highspeed rail station alignment, open door network uh started a process of considering what it would look like to build a new shelter that would continue to serve their client population. Principally, their client population are homeless women and children. Uh this is our only uh family shelter for women and children um in uh the Bakersfield community. uh they have many other programs that are um other service programs that are run out of the main shelter, but the principal purpose of this is to help with the funding capital package uh for the open door network to build their new shelter. >> So when the highspeed road So did they they eminent domain that property for their project or that's still up in the air? Uh yes, and they did. Um and uh that was part of the capital stack as well. Those funds went into um the ability to purchase new property um as part of the the new shelter. >> Okay. And is the city on the hook for keeping the open doors doors open every year? Is this like another agency or an extension of our city? >> We are not. They are funded through a variety of other sources. There are some operating funds that uh go to open door but principally those are on contract. So we have specific deliverables for specific funding sources that we provide but it's it is um not uh operated at uh by and large by city resources. No. >> Okay. And so we have uh you know what we've been talking about is the fact that and even tonight it was mentioned in in in an application to other things. Getting in front of a problem before it becomes something that costs the taxpayers even more money. And something that we've wrestled with or or that I've talked about passionately the last few months is is um programs and organizations that are that are kind of bleeding the city dry and to where we get to the point where we don't have enough money to allocate toward uh additional jailbreaking havoc on our community. um trees being planted, uh things that that that uh directly contribute to the overall successes of our community. Um, and it and it it concerns me and a lot of other community members when we see different programs and resources continue to get funding when everybody just kind of groups them together and thinks we're just it's easy to to to for this to look like we're just wasting taxpayer money. I I I I see Mrs. uh Skidmore here. I would like to be able to um ask some questions for her in regards to the open door network. Um I think we owe it to our our constituents that pay taxes uh to get get our heads wrapped around what this is a little bit more. So, Miss Miss Gidmore, if you could come up, I would I would love to be able to pick your brain a little bit more. >> Happy to answer any questions. I do have a quick presentation that I can flow through that hopefully will answer majority of them and then at any point feel free to interrupt me. >> Sure. No problem. >> So, I'll go through this really quickly. Thank you for allowing me to speak. Uh the Open Door Network, for those of you that don't know, is a local 501c3 nonprofit organization. We focus on homelessness and victim services throughout Kern County. Our mission is to help those that come through our doors reimagine their lives through a whole host of services and programs. Um, we run the only emergency shelter in Kern County that supports children on site. So, we support families and women as mentioned by Mr. Kle. Uh, we have the only domestic violence emergency and transitional housing facility in Bakersfield. We also have another location in Deleno. Uh, we are one of the few licensed child carees on a homeless campus in the nation and we have one of the largest low barrier workforce development programs that are only focused on homelessness. Uh the the project before you this evening is a new emergency shelter that we are looking to pursue. Not looking to we are actually about 50% in the depths of construction. This is the site plan is an entire city block uh in Ward 2 over behind Department of Human Services California Union area. It was the old Kern Rock plant and we have completely renovated the site and we expect to be able to see this facility to come to fruition next summer. I'm going to flow through really quickly the four main buildings and the four main uses of the future campus. Uh we will be able to consolidate three of our existing locations into this new campus. So this will be our administration building. We'll have all of our housing case managers, our therapists, our domestic violence services. We'll have medical and mental health offices in this building. Uh we plan to partner with Kern Community College District and Bakersville College to offer certificate programs and classes. Uh and then we will have a small education center for other uh developmental programs. Of course, we'll have to have a dining hall for the clients that are staying with us. We have an existing warehouse where folks can come and drop off their donations. We utilize our residents and some staff to shift through those donations and we redistribute back out to our clients or those in need in the community. Also, as part of the entire homeless system, uh we are working on a two-story dorm and wellness center. Uh so right now our current capacity is about 230 beds. Uh with the conversations with the city, we need to expand by at least 100 beds based off of demand. So we'll be pursuing over 330 beds. It's looking more like 350 beds. And we will also be adding an entire wing that will focus on transitional wellness care. Uh we keep that term very vague because the wellness community is very specific, but essentially keeping folks out of the hospital or quickly discharging them from a hospital setting into this facility. Of course, we'll have all wraparound services in here, computer labs, reading rooms, prayer rooms, um all types of different opportunities for the families that are staying with us. Uh and then as mentioned our child care and after school program which is licensed through the state of California. It will allow us to double our existing capacity. The community will also be able to utilize this child care. Uh there is not a lot of child care facilities in the area. Um and we are very excited to be able to expand this program. It's very successful for our clients. Um I think one of the main concerns about this project as many projects is it's expensive. Uh we did accept $9 million from the federal government to be able to get this project going in return. Uh costs have now had to undergo a prevailing wage, NEPA requirements, um a whole host of environmental and site uh changes. So that is something we have taken into consideration for kind of the breakdown of funding on how we're going to fund this thing. It's about $29.5 million in private funds, whether that's open door network funds, new market tax credits, or private donors through a capital campaign. And we're looking at about $16 million in government funds. Uh so very robust in how we are looking at funding this program. We have tapped the federal, city, state, county. We have our own funds that we received from the purchase of the property from highspeed rail in 2019. We have been very successful in receiving new market tax credit dollars and then we will be continuing to push for our capital campaign. Um some highlights of the campus. So large campus 74,000 square feet as I mentioned will increase overall capacity. Our focus is families and supporting single women. Uh mentioned that transitional wellness wing. So we're hoping to be able to ser serve 140 individuals in just that medical care component. Um, best practices is something we're going to be able to pursue with this new campus. So, we're planning on having all clients achieve 40 plus hours of programming, whether that's through them gaining employment, volunteering, uh, receiving education, going through faith-based programs or medical mental health services. I mentioned the licensed child care facility. We also have a focus on violence prevention, which started with a program with the city of Bakersfield. So, we put most of our teens through a violence pres prevention effort uh because we know that a lot of kids that are engaging in homelessness have a lot of trauma. So, we're trying to break that early. Uh we have a good neighbor concept and keeping the neighborhood clean. We can do that through our workforce development programs. And then we do not plan to offer any community meals. So, we don't want a lot of um constant movement in that community. And then we are partnering and having numerous conversations with additional partners uh to see how we can just really develop out this campus for everybody that's supporting homelessness to Vincent Depal Flood um and some other entities we're hoping can come and join us on the campus. Um happy to answer any other questions. Uh but really this 2.5 million is kind of part of a robust package that we have been working with the city on uh since the beginning. Uh we're very happy to be able to constantly partner with the city and all of the different efforts. Uh this campus is really going to be a culmination of all of our programs being able to offer as many things in one location as possible. >> Thank you, Miss Skidmore. >> Thank you. So would your project be able to proceed moving forward if this money wasn't wasn't given to the open door? >> Yes. Um it would be a painful process because that would mean additional interest on a bridge loan that we're receiving from Valley Strong. uh we would have to increase our capital campaign ask to the community but we would be able to continue. >> How how how much reliance is there from the open door on the city of Bakersfield and the taxpayers on a yearly basis after let's say this project is done and it's funded and you guys are fully operational. Is this going to be is this going to be continued partnership? And I and I don't I I don't I say this, you know, I'm asking for taxpayers. That's what I'm asking for. >> We are funded about 95% of our overall 17 to$22 million budget. 95% funded through a taxpayer source. We do that by 60 different sources of grant funds. So we are constantly applying for different grants that will support our clients and the gaps that we see in the system. So that goes from our basic, you know, domestic violence programs to the violence intervention programs that are kind of new and up and coming that we see as a important piece of our work uh to the healthcare piece which is a little bit different can be grant funded or can be a a fee for service. So we just do whatever we can to kind of interchange all of these funds to make the overall operations happen. And how many families or women and kids would you say get get turned away because you don't have space every month? >> Right now we have a weight list of at least 10 today um of 10 10 families. I would say it it varies probably on average there's 50 to 60 families getting turned away um every six months and it can eb and flow. We usually see an increase at the beginning of summer and during the holidays of when there's a lot more turnaways. Um it also becomes very diffic diff difficult at our existing campus because we have to look at the age structure and the gender demographics of families because they are comingling in one room and so we have to be cautious on how we place families together. We don't want a 16-year-old boy and a 16-year-old girl from different families for example. So in the new facility that won't be a problem because everyone will have their own room. So hopefully one expanded capacity for less turnaways and two we won't have to deal with demographic issues that cause us to have to turn away as well. >> And what is the open door doing now that it didn't do 10 years ago to generate you know local philanthropy investments and you know people board members people that really believe in the the the the project itself and what you guys produce in our community. So the biggest thing that we've done recently is tap into Calam dollars which is something from the state of California medical related. Um it's a fee for service. It's a very new program. It allows us to really bring in a lot of general funds that we're putting back into this campus. Uh the workforce development program is a huge piece of basic general funds and operational funds that we allow to go back into our facilities and back into our programs. Uh we have been expanding our basic uh fundraising efforts by enhancing our team. Before we had a very small team of maybe a half a person. Now we have about two people that are focusing on that. Um and just general awareness about the work we do. Um we are always looking at ways to kind of be more of a social enterprise model versus so heavily relying on grant funds. But it's also the work. >> Thank you. I don't have any more questions for you. Uh, I appreciate you and your presentation and and doing what you do in our community. Um, you when I think of our most vulnerable, uh, I always go to, uh, women and kids. Maybe I was just raised that way. Uh, you know, I don't expect a kid to go out and figure things out in life. So, uh, thank you so much. The rest of my questions would be for staff. um the milestones that were set up on this construction time frame. If if the project is going forward and it's almost at the end, why wouldn't we set one milestone toward the end? Hey, certificate of occupancy is issued by the city of Bakersfield so that we know that we didn't just give money to an organization that took it and didn't deliver on their their promise. >> Two responses, council member. One is the uh cost for the interest loan. uh the if we waited until the very end, it just cost the project more total. And I would argue it probably cost the taxpayers total more for the project. Second is uh that um I think if we were in a scenario where it seemed unlikely that that project completion would occur, we might want to hedge our bets a little bit more. But, uh, I think there's really no option but for Open Door Network to finish this project, complete it, get done, and I think the milestones are a reasonable u set of benchmarks, but I think if we waited until the end, it's going to just escalate their costs more than I think is warranted. Yeah. See, my my it seems like a lot of this has been a joint uh venture between the city and the open door. And I appreciate, you know, wisdom coming from a council of many and working together to accomplish things for our community. But what what what frightens me is the city being on the hook to continue to to make things like this move. Uh and the only reason I bring that up is because we're trying to secure funding to expand, you know, our our our accountability system that is is lacking in our community. And it's we're we're spending so much money on cleaning up after bad actors in our community than we are actually getting in front of that. Um, and so that's a that's a major concern not just of mine but other taxpayers. You know, when when are we going to be done putting money into this? When, you know, enough is enough. When are we going to, you know, that's that's a I think it's a valid concern. So, uh, h how do we protect ourselves from being on the hook for the rest of my life? uh and and forking over tons of money into different group. You know, when does our our thinking shift without without you know doing what has been done for the last few months at meetings? H how do I say that with a much calmer tone? H how do we allocate money to what needs to be done and and not just the cleanup fund? And then also I meant to ask this in the beginning. Is this money right here part of what we talked about in our budget when we were planning last year for the open door network? Is this a part of that that original ask or is this in addition to >> uh Thank you, council member. I think I can answer the last one easiest. Um and that answer is yes. Uh this isn't this was part of what the council determined. Uh it was already appropriated. This is just the actual agreement that that puts that into effect. As to your other questions, I I think I'm tracking but um uh there's there's some broad statements about you know which categories of funding. I think um the way I would answer that question first is I would also share um what I think uh city staff and I think the city council as a whole feel a frustration that often uh folks look to the city to solve all problems and we are not with you know we do not hold the jurisdiction or the resources to solve all of our community's problems. Many of our challenges around you know individuals feel like you know the city should do something more about you know better education. Okay, you know, there's hundreds of millions of dollars of property tax dollars that go to school districts to solve that problem. Um, similarly, I think a lot of members of the community feel like, you know, the city should solve homelessness. Okay, that's well outside of our control in particular of systems that do receive funding and have legislative uh responsibilities and authorities to solve some of the underlying root issues for uh uh topics like homelessness that that's not within our control. Um I think how does this how does the city make those decisions and get ahead of that? That is the budget process each year. It's the city council who makes those important decisions. Uh I think you you know brought up important points about how do we create more accountability. I think the first step was I would argue 6 years ago there was a question mark about whether we not we had the ability to truly enforce. We invested. we've demonstrated that we now can enforce and what's missing is accountability. Um, so I think we have to continue to work with other system partners. There's important partners in county agencies. There's important partners in state agencies. There's important partners in the private sector as well as nonprofits and and other institutions to um pull their weight in addressing the underlying issues that we're talking about. I would even argue that our push to increase accountability is not a city responsibility. It's a county responsibility. The county should be holding these folks accountable. Yet, our constituents look at us and say, "Do something, please." And we have the ability to do something. Get creative and do more. So, we are doing that. Uh, but I think it's always going to be a really important strategic decision of this council to decide how do we spend those dollars? Do we spend them in prevention intervention accountability? Um, and I would argue that, um, putting all of our funding into one strategy doesn't typically, um, create the best results, but if we also spread ourselves too thin, then we're not getting enough impact in any one of those areas. >> Yeah. And I think that you know the the citizens of Bakersfield have spoken time and time again and I think it you know at the end of the day it really we're elected to represent our wards but people have the same frustration and and I don't think that people just want for me at least I should say in the tens of thousands of emails that I've received. It's not a matter of just like making poof it's dis crime has disappeared. People want accountability. Uh and when you create a system that doesn't provide accountability for people that are in our community, they just get to do whatever they want and they terrorize the community and there's no accountability and we spend millions of dollars on cleaning up um the lack of accountability. And so I think getting in front of that, not just education because people there's there's so many resources now. It's it's nauseating the amount of the same resources we have over and over to help individuals get clean and sober and yet they still don't choose those avenues. uh because it's difficult to to ask that of someone that's not in their right mind. They're on a delusional drug binge. Um and so the the the city with PSVS was really expecting a system of accountability to be created in our community, not a a giant dustpan and broom. And I think that that's the shift that we need to make as a as a as a a local government, as an elected body, that people in our community want more accountability. And that's the one of the other main reasons for pulling this off tonight. The fact that we would just push $2.5 million through consent calendar without a presentation of what this is going to, in my opinion, it's a slap in the face to any any constituent that pays taxes in our community. We're talking because they hear the frustrations, they see the lack of accounting, they're like, "Well, now they're just wasting this money." And this isn't this is something that was budgeted into our current budget cycle and last year that we talked about. This isn't a new thing, as you've you've said and addressed. And so PE, how do people know that? How do people know what that they provide? They're the only uh emergency shelter for women and children. I mean, that changes perspectives and it helps the the community to form a narrative that is proper and true. Uh instead of one that's just super emotional and um you know that that's not going to get us anywhere. We need and want accountability. I I don't even know how I would make emotion for a specific amount of money being put on something that we would talk about and actually discuss or demand some type of uh presentation like, "Hey, listen. If this money's coming your way, you better be able to justify the ask because when constituents come saying, "Why is my tax dollars being spent on this?" We need to be able to give them an answer as to why we believe this is a good thing for for their money to be used on, not the city's piggy bank. It is the taxpayers's money. um and just putting this through consent and hoping that it got pushed through and and and moving it is not the right way of doing it. And so I hope that we'll learn from this moment uh and and be good stewards of our time and resources for taxpayers and that we will uh ask more of our partners to show up and and and be able to speak to what this is all about and why they need it uh so that we can make an educated decision that we can all live with. So uh that's my comments. Thank you, Council Member Basher Tash and Council Member Weir. You also asked for this to be pulled. >> Thank you, Mayor. Um I am I am trying to um you know, we are we are in a position this year in our in our fiscal uh year. It's it's going to be a tough and a tight a tight go. I mean, we just have a lot of things that need to be taken care of, a lot of things that uh we need to do and no matter how how you spread it, there's never going to be enough to go around. And I I appreciate the circumstance that uh the open doors uh has. I uh I hope they do a wonderful job and and they and they continue on. But when I sit and look at our budget and talk talk to other people about our budget, um I'm I'm not sure that this would have would fit very well in a conversation that I would have with other people out in the community. uh some would like it, but there's a lot of people out there that are not happy about uh allocations and and uh the use of money. And I I can understand that. I I get frustrated myself. It it is a a problem that we have and and we rely on a tremendous amount of federal and state money and and and for the people that do contribute to this, I I I I salute them. Um, but I don't I don't see how the city in in the state that is in really has money to spend on projects like this. I I think it's a good project and I I wish them well, but we've got a lot of needs and we have very few um ways to fill those needs and it's going to be very tight. We've already talked about the budget. is it's going to be tight and it's and unless something some miracle happens, it it's not really going to change. So, I I appreciate u their work on this. I uh I I I've looked through it. It it uh it's beautiful. I It's a little extravagant if you ask me. Um but I I think that this city is is need needs to pull back its wings. Uh we we cannot keep doing this um forever and I I I feel like this is a situation where I I I can't support it. So, um, I wish you the best, but I can't support this. >> Thank you, Council Member Weir. Council member Coleman. >> Uh, thank you, Mayor. Um, the word homeless industrial complex comes to mind and, uh, we all hear it all the time and, uh, I'm going to do a little chuckle and hide here because first of all, I want to say that I appreciate the work you're doing at the Open Door Network. Most people don't know that you house a hundred kids every night. And when you think of homeless, you don't necessarily think of children, but the the Open Door Network uh caters mostly to women with families, working with children and single women. And so it's a little unique in the homeless picture. So I appreciate everything you're doing there. Um, I would like to hear a little bit more from you, Miss Skidmore, on uh what you're what the work you're doing h how that serves to reduce homelessness. I mean, it's one thing to take people off the street and give them a place, but how does that keep other people from becoming homeless? I can you help me with that? >> Absolutely. Our goal is to end the generational cycle of homelessness. And so, we do that by investing in the children. I would say our current facilities right now do not allow us to bring in the programming that is needed to be able to truly provide the support for these children to not become uh symptoms of homelessness as adults. I you can all imagine if you're homeless as a child, you're experiencing significant trauma. Uh when we merged our two former entities together in 2022, Bakersfield Homeless Center and the Alliance Against Family Violence, the great component of that merger was we could bring our therapist from the domestic violence side over to the homelessness side and start investing in the youth in mental health support. So we do that now on a very regular basis. So mental health support is key. We need to be able to bring outside partners in for mentorship, faith-based programming. Uh we need to have more robust teen programs on our new campus and the goal is to end that generational cycle of homelessness that's currently being experienced in our community. Um another big component is that workforce development piece. Almost 90% of those that have gone through our workforce development program that are engaged in a 40-hour week or 20our week part-time full-time job with benefits, they are not going to go back into homelessness. that workforce development component is a key to success. And so that is why we constantly are driving home that our clients are engaging in workforce development that are trying to get a pathway to employment and that we have continuous contracts and partners, you know, through a whole host of entities because it works. Um, and then of course the housing piece. We believe it doesn't right now it's being forced to be housing first. It's something that um, you know, we appreciate. We don't think it's necessary for success, but when we do get a family housed, we know that the children benefit from the housing component. >> Thank you. I like the lot you guys chose because you also serve to improve a blighted area. So, that's a really good location for you guys over there. But, um, you know, the question becomes when we talk about this homeless industrial complex is how does it end? you know, when when is it that we can start spending less on homelessness and spend money on other things? Do you have a you have a anything to say about that? >> I have a lot to say about that. We don't have enough time because we all want to go to sleep. Um, systems are broken, right? It's not just the homelessness system. It's the judicial system. It's, you know, the overall poverty system. I mean, there's so many systems in in our world that are broken. This is one of them. Um, I think what I appreciate about the city's involvement, and I think you all are frustrated by it, but I appreciate the city's involvement because it does sophisticate nonprofits in bringing the next level um to their operations and I don't think that has always been the case. Um, I think COVID was a very painful time that caused an influx of funding into the homelessness world that created a lot of chaos that we are still working through as providers that the community is still seeing the impacts of those craze of funds, the craze of individuals now facing homelessness from the COVID era. Um, and so I think while we're focused on the inflow and we see this continuous inflow issue, uh, I do think we are getting more efficient and we are better understanding how to create milestones around the dollars. And I think the city is showing that on a regular basis with how we have to now prove the money was spent on exactly what it was meant to be spent on that the outcomes we said in a grant that we are achieving. Um, that was not always the case, right? you usually just got the grant and you got the dollars down the road. That's not how things are. Um, so it's sophisticating our nonprofits. Um, and then I think I think the real tough thing is these are people that are dealing with major life crisises and until we allow them to have programs in place um to pursue medical mental health to pursue workforce development um to have a purpose in life until we push that towards their deprevity we won't see good outcomes and I will say since co none of Those things have been mandated. We can't mandate them. They don't allow us to mandate them in the state of California. That hopefully will be a shift in the next few years to where we can start pushing folks to programming to allow them to see their potential. I hope that answered your question. >> That does. Can you give us a a you mentioned the money u you had 29 million from coming from private sources and some other What is the total budget for this project? 46.5 million. >> 46.5 million. >> Okay. >> So, our our share is uh 5%. My math's really bad. So, >> don't ask me either. >> Yeah. >> And and actually, Council Member K, not to complicate their issue further, but there have been other funding sources. The city had HAP dollars that was that was allocated into this project and in another trunch, you know, before. And so I would say that our allocation is close to 10%. >> Okay. And this uh while we're on the subject of the source of money, this is money is coming from where? >> This is from the affordable housing trust fund. I think to some of the other comments I would point out that you know it was a decision of the council at last budget year cycle to not take it from other funds to use the existing funds in the affordable housing trust fund instead of making a new allocation for this purpose so that we could have room for other priority projects in our in our other um CIP projects. >> And that does that leave us a balance in the affordable housing trust fund or does that wipe out that fund? >> It does not wipe out the balance. There's uh still some other funds uh in the trust fund. Um and um the city attorney was reminding me that the outboard housing trust fund is principally funded by the public safety vital services tax in in prior years. We've actually had state matches to that fund uh which has been helpful. We've been able to not quite double our money but close to double our money on our allocations to the affordable housing trust fund in past years. And um so so there is some fund balance still in the affordable housing trust fund and we're actually going to be seeing some dollars come back into the trust fund because one of the projects that we had funded uh received a federal earmark that's going to help that project get to conclusion and we'll have some more money coming back into the trust fund. >> All right. So uh based on that I would say from my perspective if this was new money or a new uh request I would be opposed to it. But because we've already allocated that money in a previous budget year with the intent to spend it on homelessness, it makes sense to to me to go ahead and approve this. So that's the end of my comments. Mayor, thank you. >> Thank you, Council Member Coleman, Vice Mayor. Thank you, Mayor. I want to start by saying that unequivocally these are the allocations that I'm so proud that the city of Bfield stands by. Just a few Fridays ago, very late, I called Lauren with an impossible situation and it was late into Friday evening and I had um a constituent call me with um a personal matter and I had no idea who to call and I immediately thought of calling Lauren. So, thank you, Lauren, for stepping away from your family and and taking that call and connecting that woman with the resources she needed. Um, and she has now found all the resources she needs in order to address an extremely impossible um situation in case of domestic violence. And um and I thank you for that. and the staff at the Open Door Network. The constituents that need these services and that need the services of the Open Door Network aren't calling in. They're not writing emails to us. They are quietly building the courage to call someone and call a community member who will listen to them and believe them. and they're calling whoever they can when they're ready to call. And that's probably why the voices we hear um are asking the questions that some of my colleagues have highlighted. Um but the constituents that benefit from these services um and benefit is a very generous word. I think these services catch them um before it's too late. And my ask for Lauren has been, I've sent you so many people and I've called you so many times that I'm sure a Punjabi case manager is not far away. And unfortunately, domestic violence and situations that threaten the safety of women and young children is something that I'm regularly receiving calls about. It is way outside of the scope uh of my role as a city council person. Um but when you represent a community, you represent the entire community. And that includes those who are most vulnerable and it includes the women who are building uh the strength to find safety and shelter for their children. And the Open Door Network has been resourceful. They have gone out and found federal state dollars. They've applied for grants. They've even found tax credits. And um I think that as the um stewards of uh and and those who are responsible for meeting the community members and the community based organizations that are fulfilling services and are taking care of our constituents in ways that we um within the government cannot and and we can't reach. um you know, we thank you and uh we thank you for being good partners and and continue uh to hope to be good partners to you as well. And um I I just hope that you'll invite this council to the open door networks um whether it's the next event uh whether it's the community um the community fundraiser where you have people come that give testimony that have actually have went from being survivors to being employees of the open door network and have gone full circle and now continue to pour that love back into the community and the vulnerable individuals in the community that need it most. Um, so I just request you invite this council so they could hear it first firsthand as well. Thank you. Thank you, Council Member Arus. >> Thank you, Mayor. I just have one question for Miss Skidmore. Uh, you spoke earlier about the families that you unfortunately have to turn away. >> Um, what happens to those families when you're not able to provide services? Are there other community partners in in the homeless collaborative or the ecosystem that can help provide support? Um do they end up in the streets? What can you share some anecdotal stories about what happens to those families? >> Sure. Um usually by the time I receive a call, uh the individual has been on a wait list for a period of time. Uh flood is calling to directly ask if there's any way we can move anyone around or add additional beds, which by that point we usually have exhausted all resources. Uh flood will tap into their general fund andor their reserves to try to keep them in a hotel longer because they've usually by this point already exhausted any of their allowable hotel stays. Uh so what will happen is they will be put back on the streets. Uh hopefully by then a case manager has connected them with a family member, a friend, additional resources, somewhere for them to go, that's very unlikely by this point. Uh so they usually do end up on the streets. Um the issue with our population is if there's a child that is engaged with this family and we know that they're going to go on the street, depending on who is a part of this call, they are mandated reporters and therefore have to engage with CPS. The children are likely taken and the family then is dealing with homelessness while their children are in foster care. Um, so it makes a very fragmented uh process. It actually, in my opinion, ends up costing taxpayer dollars a lot more because now you have multiple government entities involved uh with multiple resources having to be engaged with. So that's the last case scenario, but it has been a very difficult one when we have families with children that are not we aren't able to serve. So, so, so not only do you have families who are, you know, unfortunately living on the streets, but you also have parents who are now ripped away and separated from their own children who are taken away from them by child protect protective services. >> Correct. I I rarely bring my faith um to this das. Um but the God that I pray to calls for his children to care for the least among us. And when you have community partners like yourself um who you know do everything that you possibly can to serve this particular population, this subgroup, women and children who are in desperate need of a roof over their head, a meal on their table and clothing and shelter. I don't think that you should be forced to beg for these dollars to be able to continue to do that work. >> Thank you. >> And so I just want to say thank you for the work that you do. Thank you for the team um your entire team and all the work that they do to support our community, our unsheltered population. And I'll make a motion tonight that we approve this item. >> Thank you, Council Member Arus. Uh Miss Skidmore, you had mentioned the wellness center and that's something a little bit different than what you've had. We've heard from the hospitals that there is a tremendous amount of cycling in and out of for people who come for emergency services. Can you comment more on the wellness center along with mental health? >> Absolutely. Um the wellness center will be able to have 32 to 35 beds focused on individuals that are currently homeless andor were in a hospital setting and they the hospital cannot release them back into homelessness based off of their attentive level of care. Um hospitals are mandated to keep folks if they can't find a placement for them. And so it becomes a very tricky balance um and a very expensive balance for them to keep them in an emergency room or they are now holding a bed uh for somebody that is in true need. So the goal is for this wellness center to have multiple opportunities for a hospital to be able to discharge to us. Uh it could be a level of care from you know like a home health type system to we are hoping that at some point we will have a solidified conversation with a largecale medical provider for clinicians on site that aren't our staff but are actually clinical staff. Uh we are also having conversations with the street medicine uh organization that does amazing work in town. They have a lot of folks that are dealing they are dealing with on the streets that are interested in detox but they can't go to a congregate setting like most of the shelters because it triggers um reuse it triggers anxiety and depression. They could come to this wellness center while they're working through detox and then ideally they would be able to promote uh to stay with us or at another shelter. Uh so there's going to be multi levels of health care um engagement. And then in another building is actual exam rooms, actual therapy rooms where we'll be able to provide mental health services through our own clinicians and outside clinicians. And then we'll continue to have outside providers such as Clinica Sierra Vista to be able to come on site and provide exams like they do now. They just won't have to have their medical their mobile van. They'll be able to actually have a room to be able to service folks. Um so over 150 individuals we think will be able to be supported in just that wing alone. So with the detox services and then potential mental health services, we're addressing some of the biggest challenges to homelessness as people cycle in and out of the system without being treated effectively. Do you feel that the new facility will allow you to address some of that? >> Absolutely. >> Thank you. So colleagues, I don't see any of the requests for comments. You have a motion. Please cast your votes. Motion is approved with council member Gonzalez absent and council member Weir voting no. >> Thank you and madam clerk. Next item please. Council and mayor statements currently I don't see anything on the screen. Is anybody wanting to speak? Well, I this is a miracle. Um thank you all for being here and uh thank you for engaging in this process. And so we stand adjourned at 7:35. >> Too late. Oh, council member Basher, you almost you're changing. Well, >> would you like to come back in? Okay. So, sorry. Well, I didn't You can announce it to everyone.