[1:31] Welcome every welcome everyone and good evening. Today is Tuesday, April 21st,

[1:37] 2026 and the time is 6 pm. I will call to order the regular meeting of the

[1:41] following will come to order at the Victorville City Council in the same

[1:44] council sitting as the Victorville Library Board of Trustees, the Southern

[1:48] California Logistics Airport Authority, successor agency to the redevelopment

[1:52] agency, the city as a housing asset successor, the Joint Powers Finance

[1:57] Authority, and the Victorville Water District. Madam Clerk, will you kindly

[2:00] call the role? >> Council member Godam

[2:02] » here. Council member Irving >> here.

[2:04] » Council member Mora >> here.

[2:06] » Mayor Prom Haramman >> here.

[2:07] » Mayor Bisera >> here. We have quorum.

[2:10] » Thank you, ma'am. If you would please stand for the invocation and pledge of

[2:13] allegiance. Tonight, invocation will be led by Pastor KS from Bible Baptist

[2:17] Church and our pledge will be led by Lieutenant John Kluff.

[2:23] Would you join with me in prayer, please? Our heavenly father, we come to

[2:27] you and we come to you with humble hearts, thanking you for everything that

[2:30] we have and that we are. For all the abundant blessings that you have given

[2:35] to us, we recognize our unworthiness of them. And so tonight we praise your

[2:39] name. Father, we thank you for your son who died that we might live. We thank

[2:44] you for salvation that is found in his name. And we thank you, Father, for the

[2:48] truth, the way, and the life that he is. Father, tonight I bring these council

[2:54] members before you and I ask for your wisdom upon them and your direction. I

[2:58] thank you for each of them, their desire to serve our city and each community

[3:03] which they represent. Thank you for these city workers, Father, who give

[3:07] themselves to this great city to serve it, to strengthen it. And Father, I pray

[3:12] for a wisdom on from on high that would come upon them and you'd bless this

[3:15] meeting this evening. And it's in Jesus name we pray. Amen.

[3:19] » Amen.

[3:23] » The pledge of allegiance. Ready? Begin

[3:37] with liberty and justice for all.

[3:44] » Thank you, sir. Madame clerk, will you please present

[3:48] the agenda and any revisions there, too? >> Thank you, Madam Mayor. There are no

[3:51] revisions to the agenda this evening. >> Thank you, ma'am. At this time, my

[3:55] council members, any conflict of interest?

[3:59] » Okay, we'll now move on to public comment. Madame Clerk, is there any

[4:02] request to speak? >> Yes, Madame Mayor. Welcome to tonight's

[4:05] meeting of the Victorville City Council. Your city council is interested in your

[4:09] ideas and opinions and furthermore endeavors to incorporate them into its

[4:13] deliberations. At the same time, the council must be able to carry out its

[4:16] business in an organized and efficient manner free from material disruption.

[4:20] Therefore, this meeting will be administered in accordance with the

[4:23] council's established policies and procedures and government code section

[4:26] 54957.9 and 54957.95.

[4:31] Individuals may speak on agenda items or on issues not posted on the agenda

[4:35] during the public comment section, provided those issues are within the

[4:38] subject matter jurisdiction of the city council. Individual speakers may address

[4:42] the council once per public comment period and once per each public hearing

[4:45] item for up to three minutes. Additional time may be allotted for appeal hearings

[4:49] in accordance with the city's adopted policy and procedure manual. Those who

[4:53] desire to comment on a public hearing item may wish to reserve their remarks

[4:56] until that particular public hearing has been opened. All testimony is to be

[5:00] directed solely to the council. Although open meeting laws do not permit council

[5:04] members to engage in dialogue with any speaker during the public comment

[5:07] periods, please know your comments and questions may be taken into

[5:10] consideration by council members when discussing the particular agenda item.

[5:14] The presiding officer may briefly respond or have staff respond to

[5:17] statements or questions or may request that the staff report back to the

[5:20] council at a subsequent meeting. Speakers are requested to comment as

[5:23] briefly as a subject permits. Once comments are invited, the speaker will

[5:27] be called on by name then recognized by the presiding officer. The speaker will

[5:30] state the item number that will be addressed or that the subject is a

[5:33] non-aggendaized matter. Audience members may not disrupt, disturb, or otherwise

[5:37] impede the orderly conduct of this meeting, and those who do are subject to

[5:40] removal from the meeting pursuant to code penal for penal code 403. Your

[5:44] understanding and cooperation are appreciated. Our first speaker this

[5:48] evening is Jim Hillard on a non-aggendaized item.

[5:57] » Good afternoon everyone or evening. See a lot of people I voted for here.

[6:02] Oh, can can you guys hear me better now? Okay. Good evening. Uh, I'm here.

[6:07] There's a just two or three issues I wanted to bring up. I'm basically

[6:10] representing my mom here. uh she's 86 years old and um she's getting uh bills

[6:17] from the Bertech Waste Management Company, you know, stating that she

[6:23] they've been they came by and they dropped off like a big trash can in

[6:25] front of her yard, you know, and I believe it's part of this state assembly

[6:29] bill that was passed that's requiring everybody to have like certain things.

[6:34] And so she uh has been told that she could apply for an exclusion by filling

[6:39] out a form, which she's been doing for the past three or four years, but for

[6:42] some reason they forgot to send it to her this past year. And uh in doing so

[6:47] now, they send her a bill for like $200 or something. And so I had a

[6:51] conversation with the manager over there about that and they said that they would

[6:54] go ahead and still exclude her for this year. But um their requirements are that

[6:59] she has to take her trash to a sort facility which is out in felin which is

[7:04] approximately 20 miles from her house. This is like a 40 40 mile round trip and

[7:09] she has to do that uh 12 times a year. And she said that and the manager also

[7:14] told me that the previous um requirements were that they were

[7:19] citizens were supposed to bring their trash there 52 times a year. That's once

[7:24] a week. And in other in order to get simply get receipts to provide receipts

[7:29] to um be excluded and that seems like really completely absurd and excessive

[7:35] that that needs to be addressed. So I did have a conversation with her. She

[7:39] said they did reduce it to 12 receipts a year. That's once a year. But the

[7:43] problem is is a lot of people don't produce that much trash, especially a

[7:46] single senior citizen living by herself. And then and then it becomes an

[7:50] imposition for her to have to drive 40 miles round trip all these times, you

[7:55] know, just to get receipts to prove to the Berech company who's making like a

[7:59] hundred million dollars a year on this, you know, and it's it's it's wrong and

[8:04] it needs to be addressed. And uh I did, like I said, I did talk with the manager

[8:07] there about this. She said she's open to suggestions about um revising that form.

[8:12] And some suggestions I have is that you know if it if it imposes an undue

[8:16] hardship on a senior um it should be addressed and it should be granted like

[8:21] without question. So that's one issue. The other issue um is I I have tried to

[8:27] reach um several like different county members um uh representatives offices

[8:33] and usually uh I get no no answer to any phone call ever. I always have to leave

[8:38] messages and wait for somebody to call me back. And it's usually some secretary

[8:42] there that doesn't know how to do anything. And it's sad to me that this

[8:46] is how things are run. And I think it should be should they should do a better

[8:50] job and that the people that we represent should be available to the

[8:54] public, people like us directly face to face, so we can sit out and talk about

[8:58] these stuff and hack hack them out. The guy that I did talk to, he did

[9:02] » their time is up. >> Sir, can I ask you a question? Where

[9:06] does your mother live? Over here. >> Where does your mother live?

[9:09] » She lives right down the street on Palmdale and Amethyst.

[9:12] » So in the county section. >> Yeah, we've been trying to get a hold of

[9:15] Sanino County, too. We'll have fun with that. Mr. Mensler, can we at least give

[9:20] them >> I I think on that issue because we do

[9:23] have some folks here that that certainly represent us as the city on all of our

[9:27] solid waste related stuff. So either Doug Matthews is in the back or Ben

[9:31] Lucha is over here. He's our environmental program manager. maybe

[9:34] before you leave, they can meet you in the back and at least uh offer you some

[9:38] guidance uh because if you're not in our jurisdiction, there's probably little we

[9:42] can do uh directly, but we may be able to give you some good advice on on how

[9:47] to how to handle your particular situation.

[9:49] » Uh the second one I think was regarding county staff, not necessarily city

[9:53] staff, if I understood you correctly. For me, it's pretty much been anybody

[9:57] I've ever tried to get a hold of. But, um, I did reach out to the county clerk

[10:02] and and the secretary called this person that I mentioned, I guess, on behalf of

[10:07] their office and then he called me back and he said, "We're just going to defer

[10:10] to her on that." And that's to me, that's not how you handle it. You know,

[10:15] these people probably don't know how to resolve problems like the people who are

[10:19] represented can. You know, they probably don't have the power to do it. So,

[10:23] people won't listen to them anyway. you know. So, um,

[10:29] » yeah. So, let's start with Doug and and Ben in the back. But, you know, to the

[10:34] extent you run into that experience, I agree. I mean, regardless of what

[10:36] jurisdiction you're in, if there are issues, you know, I would say you're

[10:40] close enough to to our jurisdiction. If we can at least hear what your issues

[10:44] are, we can certainly, if it's not something we can help out with directly,

[10:47] certainly something we could potentially influence from our end, government to

[10:50] government, being able to at least connect with the right person to be able

[10:53] to get you the service you need. >> The thing that the thing that really

[10:56] bothered me about it was they said that if she didn't pay her pay the bill, they

[10:59] were going to put a levy on her home. And that just really ticks me off.

[11:03] If it never that ends up happening, we're going to have a massive class

[11:06] action lawsuit. Okay. So, just FYI, >> if your mom needs your trash dump, we're

[11:13] going to Somebody back there will give you my phone number. I'll go pick up.

[11:16] » We've been taking her trash to the dump every couple months. I'm the one that

[11:19] helps her do that. >> Okay. But if your mom needs help, have

[11:22] her call me. I'll go pick up the trash. >> 40 miles round trip to do it.

[11:25] » I get it. >> I'll dump it in mine. I can understand

[11:28] that. >> Can I get you on the phone, though?

[11:30] » Yeah. They'll give you They'll give you my number. They'll give you somebody

[11:33] back there. Juan, give them my number. >> I think we'll find some assistance to

[11:37] get the mayor out there. >> All right.

[11:39] » Thank you, sir. >> Thanks, guys.

[11:41] » Our next speaker is Mary State on a non-aggendaized item.

[11:57] » Good evening. U my purpose for coming this evening was to thank our sheriff's

[12:02] department and our first responders and our um fire department. Uh there was

[12:08] recently tragedy on my street. Uh crime is on a upcline on off a wagon wheel in

[12:15] La Mesa. Okay. And and I would I'm just

[12:19] requesting like for the city to look at giving our sheriffs more funding

[12:25] as well as our state agency and our federal agency. so that they could have

[12:28] more pathways for keeping our community safe and that they can have a point of

[12:34] contact with the community when there's um hotspots that they need to address.

[12:40] But once again, they have to have the staffing, they have to have the funding

[12:43] to make that possible. So um that's that was my main uh reason for speaking

[12:50] tonight. I didn't have enough time to speak the last time that I came when I

[12:53] addressed your um other programs that you provide for the senior citizens, but

[12:58] we definitely desperately need um more sheriffs to be able to do more patrols

[13:04] to keep our city a safe place to live, work, and play as is advertised on our

[13:11] on your website for for the city of Victorville. So, thank you very much.

[13:15] And please do feel free to contact me should you want any additional

[13:19] information. And also, it would be nice to suggest them having a neighborhood

[13:24] watch. I'm I'm from the foothills of Aladena and we had neighborhood watch

[13:29] there and that sort of helped keep crime at bay because they work with the

[13:34] sheriffs to let them know what was going on. So, I just wanted to give that a

[13:37] suggestion because I don't think that we have neighborhood watch. Mary, do we

[13:40] have your information, a contact number that we can pass on to the sheriff's?

[13:44] » I can give it to the city clerks over there and you all can feel free to

[13:48] contact me and we could sit down and have a round table because it's about

[13:51] making our city safe. Like I said, there was recently a really a bad tragedy and

[13:55] I will leave it there. >> Thank you very much for coming.

[14:00] » Thank you, Madam Mayor. I don't have any additional speaker cards. However, we

[14:03] did receive one public comment via email that was distributed to the council and

[14:08] posted to the website. Thank you very much. Our first business of order is a

[14:13] consent calendar items 1 through 13. At this time, I'll invite a motion.

[14:20] » Move to adopt. >> Second.

[14:24] » First by council member Godan, a second by Mayor Prom Haramman. Madam clerk,

[14:30] will you take the vote? >> Council member Godan.

[14:33] » Yes. >> Council member Irving,

[14:34] » yes. >> Council member Mora,

[14:36] » yes. >> Mayor Prom Haramman,

[14:38] » yes. Mayor Bisera. >> Yes.

[14:39] » Motion passes unanimously. >> We've now taken action on items 1

[14:43] through 13 in accordance with recommendation as set forth on the

[14:46] agenda. We'll move on to written communications. Item 14, Edward Burn

[14:51] Memorial Justice Assistance Grant. Mr. Mensler, would you kindly introduce this

[14:56] item? >> Thank you, Madame Mayor and members of

[14:58] the council. This is an a grant uh called the Edward Burns Memorial Justice

[15:04] Assistance Grant. It's a grant that we're used to uh getting through the

[15:08] sheriff's department. The sheriff's department will take the lead in

[15:10] applying for these funds as they're the eligible party to do so. Uh and then

[15:15] ultimately uh pass those funds through to be spent through uh our our budget.

[15:19] And so that's a big part of why this item is here is uh to deal with the

[15:24] appropriations on the revenue uh and the expenditure side uh but then also

[15:29] accepting the grant. And this particular grant um will be used largely to fund

[15:34] overtime worked with a number of our uh uh multiple enforcement team uh and gang

[15:40] you unit uh specialized enforcement uh efforts. Uh and so and largely it's uh

[15:45] funding uh the overtime for those. And so with that, the item has been authored

[15:51] um by the police captain, Mr. Jerry Davenport. Though he's not here, we have

[15:56] Lieutenant John Kluff available to answer any questions or comments you

[15:59] might have. Thank you, sir. Madam clerk, would you please read the recommendation

[16:03] » that the honorable city council adopt resolution number 26-019

[16:08] and 26-020, thereby accepting grant funds from the

[16:12] Department of Justice's Edward Burn Memorial Justice Assistance Grant

[16:16] Program for 2023. Authorize the city manager or his designate to finalize all

[16:21] documents needed to execute the grant contract and amend the annual budget for

[16:25] fiscal year 2025 2026 to reflect an additional appropriation in the amount

[16:30] of $75,351.

[16:34] » Thank you. At this time, we'll do technical questions from council

[16:37] members. Council member Godan, >> I have none. Thank you.

[16:40] » Council member Mora, >> I don't have any. Thank you.

[16:43] » Council member Irving, >> I don't have any questions. Thank you.

[16:46] Mayor Tim Herman. >> I have no questions. Thank you.

[16:49] » And I have none. I'll invite a motion for this item.

[16:52] » Move to adopt staff recommendation as to points one, two, and three as presented

[16:57] on the agenda. >> Second.

[16:58] » The first by council member Goden. A second by council member Irving. Madam

[17:03] clerk, will you take the vote, please? >> Wait, I'm sorry. Comments on the pending

[17:07] motion. >> Mayor Pam Herman, comments on the

[17:11] pending? >> I have none.

[17:12] » Council member Mora, >> I have none. Thank you. Counciloman God.

[17:16] » I have none. >> Councilman Irving,

[17:18] » no comments. >> Okay. Now, Madam Cler, will you take the

[17:20] vote, please? >> Council member Godan,

[17:22] » yes. >> Council member Irving,

[17:23] » yes. >> Council member Mora,

[17:26] » yes. >> Mayor Prom Haramman,

[17:28] » yes. >> Mayor Bera,

[17:29] » yes. >> Motion passes unanimously.

[17:31] » We've now taken action to approve staff's recommendation as presented on

[17:34] the agenda. Item 15, Homeland Security Grant Program and Ballistic Shield

[17:40] Purchase. Mr. Menser, would you kindly introduce this item? Thank you, Madame

[17:44] Mayor and members of the council. This item also uh deals with the accepting of

[17:47] grant funds. Uh this one, the 2023 Homeland Security Grant program, also

[17:52] applied for by the sheriff's department and made available uh to assist us in

[17:58] our uh efforts. Uh this item uh also deals with the revenue and expense side

[18:03] of the uh grant receipt and expenditure. Uh this one is intended to spend uh on

[18:09] ballistic shields uh for use during critical incidents. Uh really to help

[18:14] ensure additional uh safety and uh personal protective equipment on some of

[18:18] the u uh critical incidents uh such as active shooter type events. And so with

[18:24] that uh this item also has been authored uh by the police captain, Mr. Jerry

[18:30] Davenport, uh Mr. Jerry Davenport. Uh but we have Lieutenant John Kluff

[18:34] sitting in for him. Uh we're both available for any questions or comments

[18:37] you might have. >> Thank you, sir. Madame Click, would you

[18:39] please read the recommendation? >> That the honorable city council adopt

[18:42] resolution number 26-022 accepting grant funds for the 2023

[18:47] Homeland Security Grant Program. Adopt resolution number 26-023

[18:52] amending the annual budget for fiscal year 2025 2026 to reflect an additional

[18:57] appropriation the amount of $31,417 and authorize the purchase of ballistic

[19:03] shields from blackbox safety. >> Thank you ma'am. At this time we'll do

[19:08] technical questions from council members. Council member Irvy,

[19:11] » no questions. Thank you. >> Counciloman Mora,

[19:14] » no questions. Thank you. >> Councilwoman God,

[19:16] » I have none. >> Mayor Pam Herman,

[19:18] » I have none. And I have none. I'll invite a motion for this item.

[19:22] » Go ahead. >> Move to approve staff recommendation as

[19:25] it pertains to items one, two, and three.

[19:28] » Second. >> We have a first by Mayor Pam Haramman, a

[19:32] second by Counciloman Mora. Madame Clerk.

[19:36] » Yes. >> Comments on the pending motion?

[19:40] » I have none. >> Council Mora,

[19:42] » I have none. Thank you. >> Council God,

[19:44] » I have none. Thank you. >> Council Irving,

[19:45] » no comments. Thank you. >> And I have none. Now, Madame Clerk, will

[19:49] you take the vote, please? >> Council member Godan,

[19:52] » yes. >> Council member Irving,

[19:53] » yes. >> Council member Mora,

[19:54] » yes. >> Mayor Pam Haramman,

[19:56] » yes. >> Mayor Bera,

[19:57] » yes. >> Motion passes unanimously.

[19:59] » We've now taken action to approve staff's recommendation as presented on

[20:03] the agenda. Item 16, award of a construction agreement, Oldtown

[20:07] Commercial Faucer,

[20:14] would you kindly introduce this item? Thank you, Madame Mayor and members of

[20:18] the council. Through our community development block grant program, uh it's

[20:22] a competitive process, as you know, where applicants apply for monies uh

[20:26] available. And in this particular case, uh these monies uh have been used uh to

[20:33] award funds uh to two applicants in Oldtown basically to conduct facade

[20:38] improvements along two facilities. one uh along D Street at 17053D D Street,

[20:45] the other at 15593 uh 7th Street. U and in this particular

[20:51] case, these funds will be used to to help uh make improvements to the

[20:54] exterior of buildings, really to help try to to to improve the aesthetic

[20:59] feature of some of those buildings in Oldtown. It's a part of our uh larger

[21:03] goal of of trying to uh clean up the Oldtown area. And so with that, this

[21:09] item has been authored by your deputy city manager, Mr. Tony Kamargo, and he's

[21:14] available for any questions or comments you might have.

[21:16] » Thank you, sir. Madame Clerk, would you please read the recommendation?

[21:19] » That the honorable city council award a construction agreement to Global

[21:22] Builders, Inc. for commercial facade improvements at 17053D Street and 155937

[21:29] Street in the amount of $185,522.

[21:33] authorize a 10% contingency for unforeseen repair expenses and authorize

[21:38] the city manager or his designate to execute the construction agreement and

[21:41] any related change orders by and between the city of Victorville and Global

[21:45] Builders, Inc. >> Thank you, ma'am. At this time, we'll do

[21:48] technical questions from council members. Mayor Pam Haramman,

[21:54] » I have none. >> Council God,

[21:57] » I have none. Thank you, Madam Mayor. >> Councilwoman Mora,

[22:00] » I have none. Thank you. >> Councilwoman Irving,

[22:02] » I have none. Thank you, Madame Mayor. >> We don't have none. I'll invite a motion

[22:05] for this item. >> Madame Mayor, move to adopt staff's

[22:08] recommendations. >> Second.

[22:10] » We have a first by Councilwoman Irving, a second by Councilwoman Godan. Comments

[22:14] on the pending motion, Councilwoman Irving?

[22:16] » No comments. >> Councilwoman God,

[22:19] » just that I'm excited to see this progressing forward and uh I'm happy to

[22:24] be able to see the results soon. So, this is this is good and I'm glad that

[22:27] this is finally getting um some motion behind it. So, thank you.

[22:33] » Thank you, ma'am. Council Moira, >> I have none. Thank you.

[22:36] » Mayor Tim Herman. >> Yeah, I do. Um

[22:41] although I think this is great. I I I still can't figure out, and I discussed

[22:48] this with our city manager, why nobody is bidding on this work from our high

[22:54] desert. The money is not staying up here. And I just I just I can't figure

[22:59] it out. I made some phone calls uh the other day and you know I don't know why

[23:05] these the our local contractors are not participating in work like this. There's

[23:10] there's a hundred of them out there. So I'm just kind of disappointed in that.

[23:15] I'm glad it's getting done and I'm excited for Oldtown and all. I

[23:20] just I I I'm struggling to find a way to get uh try to get these guys in here to

[23:25] start doing some work so our our wages and the money stays up here in our area.

[23:31] That's all I have. >> Thank you, Madam Clerk, will you take

[23:35] the vote, please? >> Council member God,

[23:37] » yes. >> Council member Irving,

[23:38] » yes. >> Council member Mora,

[23:40] » yes. >> Mayor PM Haramman,

[23:42] » yes. >> Mayor Bisera,

[23:43] » yes. >> Motion passes unanimously.

[23:45] » We've now taken action to approve staff's recommendation as presented on

[23:48] the agenda. Item 17, the purchase of a skid steer caterpillar PC306 coal

[23:55] cleaner with a water tank attachment. Mr. Metro, can you kindly introduce this

[23:59] item? >> Thank you, Madame Mayor, members of the

[24:01] council. This item involves uh the purchase of equipment uh for the

[24:06] airport. And as you know, out at the airport, the Southern California

[24:09] Logistics Airport, uh we do operate and maintain a large facility with a vast

[24:14] amount of asphalt and concrete. Uh in many cases that asphalt and concrete

[24:19] especially when we're doing uh repair work um currently requires a physical uh

[24:25] jackhammering of uh concrete or asphalt uh to perform repairs of those surfaces.

[24:31] This type of equipment will actually help make that process a little bit

[24:36] easier uh by actually um uh milling uh asphalt and/or concrete um which can

[24:42] help um uh us repair a lot of the servants surfaces out there at the uh

[24:48] airfield facility. It's also a piece of equipment that I expect uh or envision

[24:53] being loaned to public works when they're in need of doing sidewalk uh

[24:57] work uh throughout the city as well. So, I think it'll get multi-purposes,

[25:01] but this item has been brought forward by your airport director, Mr. James

[25:04] Morski. He's not here tonight. Uh, so I can certainly answer any questions uh

[25:08] that you might have. >> Madam clerk, would you please read the

[25:12] recommendation? >> That the Southern California Logistics

[25:15] Airport Authority Board of Directors approve the purchase of a Caterpillar

[25:18] PC306 cold planer with water tank. >> Thank you, ma'am. At this time, we'll do

[25:24] technical questions from council members. Council member Mora,

[25:28] » I have none. Thank you. >> Councilman God,

[25:30] » I have none. Thank you. >> Counciloman Irving,

[25:32] » no questions. Thank you. >> Member Cham Harman,

[25:34] » I have none. >> I have a question. Mr. Man,

[25:41] » you know why Mr. Morowski didn't come in today? Right.

[25:44] » Right. Putting the pressure on me. >> Um,

[25:48] is when you say it's going to be loaned down, is public works, and they're going

[25:52] to get mad at me. I'm glad they're not there. Are they going to help pay for

[25:55] any of it? No, no. This is going to be funded entirely by the uh by the

[25:59] airport. So, it'll be principally to serve the airport, but certainly if it's

[26:02] not being used every day uh and there's a project that could be uh it could be

[26:06] useful for certainly uh uh the airport uh will be looked upon to share that

[26:10] with either public works or even water if that might be the case.

[26:13] » Thank you, sir. You let me know when it comes in, will you?

[26:18] » I'll invite a motion for this item. >> Madame Mayor, move that we adopt staff

[26:22] recommendation. >> Second. We have a first by Councilwoman

[26:25] Irving, a second by Mayor Tim Haramman. Council member Irving, comments on the

[26:29] pending motion? >> No comments.

[26:31] » Mayor Tim Herman, >> I have none.

[26:33] » Council God, >> I have none.

[26:35] » Council member Moira, >> I have none. Thank you.

[26:37] » And I have none. Mr. Master, I'll leave you alone.

[26:40] » Madam clerk, will you take >> Council Member Godan?

[26:43] » Yes. >> Council member Irving,

[26:44] » yes. >> Council member Mora,

[26:46] » yes. >> Mayor Prom Haramman,

[26:47] » yes. >> Mayor Bera,

[26:49] » yes. >> Motion passes unanimously. We've now

[26:51] taken action to approve staff's recommendation as presented on the

[26:54] agenda. Item 18, rejection of proposal civic civil engineering services for the

[27:01] new park restrooms various parks project CC26-046.

[27:07] Mr. Mensler, would you kindly introduce this item?

[27:09] » Thank you, Madame Mayor and members of the council. We did uh go uh through a

[27:14] solicitation process inviting civil engineering firms to to bid on a scope

[27:20] of work uh focused on uh the civil work surrounding uh the ultimate installation

[27:27] of modular bathrooms uh pre-engineered uh restroom facilities I'm sorry at

[27:32] multiple park locations Eagle Ranch Schmidt Park uh and Green Tree Golf

[27:36] Course uh at Green Tree Golf Course it' be two locations um uh out in the the

[27:41] golf course area holes uh five and 14. Uh but that notwithstanding the bids

[27:47] came in at a price that was something much more than we envisioned. Uh and so

[27:54] certainly we are recommending because there isn't sufficient budget to handle

[27:58] this uh go through a formal rejection of the bids. we'll go ahead and go back to

[28:04] uh redrawing the scope to make sure it's much more clear uh and then determining

[28:08] the the next best uh step forward. Uh and so with that, this item has been

[28:13] authored by your community services director, Miss Donna Mester, and she's

[28:17] here and available for any questions or comments you might have.

[28:21] » Thank you, Madam Clerk. Would you please read the recommendation? that the

[28:24] honorable city council reject all proposals received for civil engineering

[28:28] services for new park restrooms various parks project CC26-046

[28:33] and authorize staff to re-evaluate the project scope and procurement approach

[28:38] prior to issuing a new solicitation for civil engineering services.

[28:42] » Thank you ma'am. At this time we'll do technical questions from council

[28:45] members. Councilwoman Mora >> I have none. Thank you.

[28:49] » Counciloman God >> already had my questions answered. Thank

[28:52] you. Councilwoman Irving, >> I don't have questions. Thank you.

[28:54] » Mer Herman, >> are both those contractors out of the

[28:58] area?

[29:02] » Let me check. Didn't look that close.

[29:08] » They are. >> Okay. All right. Uh, yes, they are.

[29:12] Sorry. >> Okay. I'll save the rest for comments.

[29:19] » I'll invite a motion for this item. Move to adopt staff recommendation as to

[29:24] points one and two is presented on the agenda.

[29:26] » Second. >> I have a first by council Godan, a

[29:29] second by counciloman Irving. Councilman Godan, comments on the penny motion?

[29:33] » I have none. >> Councilman Irving?

[29:35] » No comments. >> Councilwoman Mora?

[29:37] » No comments. Thank you. >> And now Mayor Pam here.

[29:40] » Okay. So, uh again, uh and I I'm going to speak from as a

[29:46] retired contractor. uh work is bid geographically and I guarantee you and

[29:53] I'm sure our engineer and others will tell you when companies come from down

[29:59] in the valley they're too they're not in line with what things go for around

[30:03] here. Maybe sometimes they are, but the these these prices are just outrageous.

[30:09] And we got to figure out a way to get our local contractors to start getting

[30:14] active in bidding the work for our city. That's all I have.

[30:21] » Okay. Mayor Tim Herman, don't take this wrong, but Mr. Medler, how many meetings

[30:26] have we had with the contractors to try to teach them how to bid on our jobs?

[30:32] Two or three that I can remember. >> Yeah, I don't know the exact number, but

[30:35] we have gone through that process to >> So, we basically hold their hand through

[30:40] the process short of us hiring their employees. We walk them through and show

[30:45] them how to fill out the bids, how to get the insurance, how to pay for work

[30:49] when comp, everything. Correct. >> Yeah. We've had those uh environments

[30:54] where we're educating people on the process. Ultimately, once they submit

[30:57] the bid, you know, then there's no more handholding. Uh you know, goes through

[31:01] the the selection process from there. Uh but yeah, we've we've done a lot to try

[31:05] to help the the community be aware uh not only of the projects, but the

[31:10] process. >> Okay. Um, hold on. Our our engineering,

[31:16] our public works department, our community service, HR, top-notch. We

[31:21] know what we're doing. We know how to get the bids out there. If our local

[31:25] contractors cannot come to the table, we are doing everything we can to try to

[31:30] bring them to the table. I'm stick up for you guys.

[31:34] » Can I Can I go ahead? >> I wasn't talking down on our staff. I I

[31:40] agree. We've done a lot of things. That's why I I said it we need to figure

[31:44] out a way because it it just uh uh we've done everything and I agree and I wish

[31:52] we had maybe staff uh that could do the same save us a lot of money. But

[32:00] anyways, yeah, that's all I have. I'm not talking bad about our staff. I've

[32:04] just and I'm not saying we haven't helped and held people's hands. I just I

[32:09] just I I have a hard time understanding why nobody wants to do work for us.

[32:15] That's all I have. >> Madam Clerk, will you take the vote,

[32:18] please? >> Council member Godam,

[32:20] » yes. >> Council member Irving,

[32:22] » yes. >> Council member Mora,

[32:23] » yes. >> Mayor Prom Haramman,

[32:25] » yes. >> Mayor Bisera,

[32:26] » yes. >> Motion passes unanimously.

[32:28] » We've now taken action to approve staff's recommendation as presented on

[32:31] the agenda. Item 19, Senate bills 1061, 1062, and 1063,

[32:39] AO AOA B. Mr. Mencer, would you kindly introduce this item?

[32:44] » Thank you, Madame Mayor, and members of the council. This item was brought to

[32:48] our attention uh through the attendance of our Mountain Desert Division uh of

[32:53] the California League of Cities. And this was brought forward as we were

[32:57] requested to consider taking a letter of support uh for these bills. These bills

[33:03] uh Senate bills 1061 2 and three are all related to the Western Joshua Tree

[33:09] Conservation Act which uh went into uh effect I believe uh starting January 1st

[33:16] of 2023. Um, in in its simplest form, the the the

[33:21] act uh actually uh provides additional protections to the western Joshua Tree,

[33:27] which is the the species of tree uh found here in the Victorville area. Uh

[33:33] and altogether it serves as a protection to that tree. Uh and it actually does

[33:39] create impediments to further development including uh the

[33:43] construction of affordable housing. That notwithstanding uh this bill was put in

[33:47] place u to uh ease some of the burdens. Uh certainly one area is establishing a

[33:54] targeted exemption for the relocation within same parcel or contiguous

[33:58] parcels. Uh also there's a recognition that uh for the construction of uh life

[34:05] sa life self life sustaining services roadways utilities things of that nature

[34:09] uh to have the the Joshua tree impeding upon those abilities for us to provide

[34:14] our essential services doesn't sound right. And so those are some of the um

[34:18] things that these bills do in terms of uh just offering some relief uh to uh

[34:24] the the original act. And so with that, um, this item is brought forward, uh,

[34:30] for your consideration. I did author the I did author the staff report. There is

[34:35] no fiscal impact. Uh, with your approval, we'll, uh, proceed in

[34:39] submitting letters of support to, uh, legislators on these bills. That's all I

[34:44] have, Madame Mayor. >> Thank you very much. Madam clerk, will

[34:47] you please read the recommendation? that your honorable city council support

[34:51] Senate bills 1061, 1062, and 1063 and authorize the mayor to sign a letter of

[34:57] support. >> Thank you. At this time, we'll do

[35:00] technical questions from council members. Council God,

[35:03] » I have none. Thank you. >> Counciloman,

[35:05] » I don't have any questions. Thank you. >> Councilwoman Mora,

[35:07] » I have none. Thank you. >> Mayor Pam Herman,

[35:10] » I have none. >> And I have none. I'll invite a motion

[35:12] for this item. Move to adopt staff recommendation to

[35:16] draft the to send these letters out to support the bills.

[35:20] » Second second. >> I have a first by Councilman Goan, a

[35:24] second by Mayor Tim Herman. Comments on the pending motion. Councilman Goan.

[35:29] » I have none. >> Mayor Tim Herman.

[35:31] » Yeah. Um small small step, but uh we're getting

[35:36] we're we're moving in the right direction.

[35:40] » Counciloman Irving. >> I don't have any comments. Thank you.

[35:43] Council member Mora, >> I have none. Thank you.

[35:46] » And I have none. Madame clerk, will you please take the vote?

[35:48] » Council member Godan, >> yes.

[35:50] » Council member Irving, >> yes.

[35:51] » Council member Mora, >> yes.

[35:53] » Mayor Prom Haramman, >> yes.

[35:55] » Mayor Bera, >> yes.

[35:56] » Motion passes unanimously. >> We've now taken action to approve

[35:59] staff's recommendation as presented on the agenda. Item 20, discussion and

[36:04] possible action to consider an adjustment to the city council

[36:08] compensation. Mr. Meer, would you kindly introduce this item?

[36:11] Thank you, Madame Mayor and members of the council. This item is brought

[36:15] forward uh pursuant to an action taken by the city council back in November of

[36:20] 2024 where then uh the council um asked for an item to be automatically placed

[36:26] on ag on an agenda in every even year um so that the council can consider uh

[36:33] whether or not it wants to um alter increase uh its salary. And as you know,

[36:40] uh, the salary offered, uh, to council members is prescribed in municipal code.

[36:45] Uh, and it specifies a certain specific dollar amount and also includes

[36:49] provisions, uh, as to the ability to increase it. Um and the increase allowed

[36:55] for pursuant to the code uh if you so choose to increase it is um a measure of

[37:02] either 5% um uh or CPI whichever is is greater is the basic measure and so um

[37:11] the council this item's brought forward for the council to consider whether or

[37:15] not it wants to make an increase to u its salary within those parameters. Uh

[37:20] and it's also important to note that notwithstanding

[37:24] um any action by the council tonight to change its salary, the effectiveness of

[37:29] that uh change in salary would not take place until uh after the um general

[37:35] election uh in November. And so with that, uh the author is uh authored by

[37:40] your city clerk. Uh but both she and I can answer any questions or comments you

[37:44] might have. >> Thank you. Madam clerk, would you please

[37:46] read the recommendation? Any action is at the discretion of your

[37:51] honorable city council. >> Thank you. At this time, we'll do

[37:54] technical questions from council members. Counciloman Goa,

[37:58] » I have none. Thank you. Councilwoman Irving,

[38:01] » I only want one uh one point for clarification. The last time we

[38:05] considered this item, we got a 5% increase. Is that correct?

[38:14] » I believe it was a 5% increase over a number of years.

[38:20] because the council hadn't uh raised its salary for uh quite some time. So when

[38:27] it did it last, it was playing catchup. >> Okay. Thank you.

[38:32] » Councilman Moa, >> I have none. Thank you.

[38:35] » Member Herman, >> I have none.

[38:37] » And I have none. >> I'll invite a motion for this item.

[38:44] Since there is no motion, motion dies. Correct. Uh,

[38:49] city clerk. Yes, madam. >> The item dies for lack of a motion.

[38:52] » Okay.

[38:56] Item 21, city manager reports. Mr. Metsler.

[39:00] » Yes. Thank you, Madame Mayor, members of the council. Uh, a few items to report

[39:03] on the animal services side. Uh, the animal services uh, division will be at

[39:07] the High Desert Farmers Market at BBC this Thursday, April 23rd, from 8 a.m.

[39:11] to 12 pm. an opportunity to stop by, meet some of our adorable pets available

[39:16] for adoption. Uh, also join us this Saturday, April 25th, uh, from 10 am to

[39:21] 2 pm at the Animal Care and Adoption Center for our national adopt a shelter

[39:25] pet uh, day event. Uh, we'll be featuring a live radio broadcast from Y

[39:29] 102. Um, and all adoptions are free and include vaccinations and microchipping.

[39:35] On the community services side, uh, this is, uh, National Library Week. Uh the

[39:40] library is celebrating with fun activities throughout the week,

[39:43] including a scavenger hunt and uh art projects. Uh then to wrap up the week,

[39:47] join us for a community celebration this Saturday, April 25th, from uh noon to 2

[39:52] p.m. uh featuring refreshments, a movie, and a number of giveaways. Uh on the

[39:57] environmental program side, uh we do have Shredfest and a composting giveaway

[40:02] uh on Saturday, May 2nd from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. And that's at the MURF uh

[40:06] here in Victorville. Residents can bring up to four 20 pound boxes of bags of

[40:11] paper documents uh to be shredded for free. Uh and we'll also be giving away

[40:15] up to 50 gallons of free composting per household. And so with that, I also will

[40:21] forward you the email that has all the projects uh of interest that are going

[40:25] through our development process. uh on that document, you'll be able to

[40:29] see where uh all the commercial and residential projects that have been

[40:33] submitted, where they're at in the process, and what you can expect to see

[40:36] uh in terms of breaking ground in the near future. Uh that's all I have at

[40:39] this time, Madame Mayor. >> Thank you, sir. At this time, we'll move

[40:43] on to item 22, discussion and possible action regarding upcoming agenda items.

[40:48] Councilman Godan, >> I have none.

[40:51] » Councilwoman Mora, >> I have none.

[40:53] » Councilwoman Irving, >> I don't have anything. Thank you. Mayor

[40:56] Tim Herman. >> I have none.

[40:58] » And I have none. We will move on to item 23, reports from council members.

[41:02] Council members, if you guys want to say thank you or something came up or

[41:07] whatever you want to say, go ahead. At this time, you know, we'll be allowed.

[41:11] Uh, madame clerk, is it a three minute or a five minute?

[41:16] » Three minutes. >> Three minutes. Okay. Um, we'll start off

[41:19] with Councilwoman Mora. I just want to say congratulations to our survey tech

[41:24] on passing the National Council of Exams for Engineering and Surveying Mr.

[41:28] Bradley East. So, and also a big thank you to all of our city staff. Um,

[41:32] everyone does amazing job and our public safety um public comments really there

[41:37] are lots of incidents, but I know our first responders are always out there

[41:41] dedicated. So, I'm always thankful and grateful for them. And um that's all.

[41:45] Thank you. >> Thank you, ma'am. Council Mcota. Thank

[41:48] you, Madame Mayor. I just wanted to thank uh Mr. Bonia and his team for an

[41:53] amazing engineering report. Um I definitely enjoyed the traffic edition

[41:58] section um with all the information. So thank you. I enjoyed reading through

[42:02] your report. Lots of good things. Um and then I also just wanted to thank Mr.

[42:06] Duran for his uh engineering or his code compliance uh pardon me, your code

[42:11] compliance report. You and your team, good job. Um, I was happy to read all of

[42:16] the just improvements and the numbers especially that we've added the parking.

[42:20] Um, and so I think that's great and uh I appreciate both of you and your teams

[42:25] for just such amazing reports. They're very easy to read, very thorough. So

[42:29] well done and thank you. That's all. Thank you, Madame Mayor. Councilwoman

[42:33] Irving, >> I just want to Well, I want to echo what

[42:38] my colleague has said. I'm very very pleased with the direction of the city

[42:43] and I too would like to commend code enforcement for their hard work and the

[42:48] department of engineering for their hard work and I do appreciate their reports

[42:52] as well. Thank you. >> Mayor Tim Herman.

[42:55] » Yes. Um I love my city. I really do. I think

[43:01] this city I love when I'm out of town and I'm going to do it again the next

[43:05] three days in Sacramento. I love bragging about how good this city is and

[43:10] how we're we're leading I at least in my opinion I I believe we're not only

[43:15] leading the high desert but you know we have cities that come up here just to

[43:19] look at the things we do and I want to thank Freddy and uh code enforcement

[43:25] George I I just can't say enough on how things have changed and since I was

[43:32] on the planning commission it it kind of took off from

[43:36] uh with uh putting the uh uh wellness center together and I just I I probably

[43:43] I I can't begin to tell you how much nicer

[43:47] uh and cleaned up at least where I live is and I live in like the the biggest

[43:53] retail area in the city. Uh, I want to thank Doug public works. Uh, Alex uh uh

[44:01] planning and Bobby for the the the uh fire department and Joe for building and

[44:08] Heather for HR and forgot your name,

[44:15] but but I I I I I mean it, you guys. I I love this city. I'm gonna go to I'm

[44:21] gonna go to bat for us no matter what it is. And I want to thank uh all the

[44:25] deputy city managers who have been a world of knowledge for me and when I

[44:29] have questions and our lieutenant uh our our police department is really going

[44:35] through a challenge right now. I in the last

[44:40] last two months have been hell. There's been some real

[44:44] strange stuff going on and the the police department has had handled it

[44:49] very professionally. I'm proud of that. Uh there was a fire at a house in my

[44:53] neighborhood and our fire department was there to get it all under control. I

[44:57] just love how everything is happening in my city and I just want to say thank you

[45:03] to everybody. I know that wasn't real, but I mean it. That's it.

[45:12] » Thank you. Um Engineering and Code, I also read your reports. Joe, I read your

[45:18] reports. Yes, buddy. Thank you. Very informative. For those of you who did

[45:22] read the reports, Bear Valley Road is going to get restriped at Bear Valley

[45:26] and Armagosa. Now we can make it to Double Hand Turn

[45:31] Lane. That's going to be fun. Thank you, sir. I agree. I appreciate everything

[45:35] you guys do over there, Juan. You and your guys, you know that Doug, thank

[45:41] you. Um, Sue, Route 66 fair information has gone

[45:49] out. Um, people have been writing back and everything. It's going to be

[45:53] exciting. So, the Route 66 fair that's going to be downtown. It's on the

[45:58] website. Any questions, go through our PIO office. Yes, ma'am. Thank you very

[46:02] much. Also, the tour of Victorville 101 is also coming up. So, get on that.

[46:07] That's the one that everybody needs to go to. So now I would like council to

[46:12] know that I was busy this morning. I decided to go to the Sanino County Board

[46:17] of Supervisors meeting and speak at their meeting this morning. So, if you

[46:21] guys hear about it, um, I spoke with being upset, not being upset, concerned

[46:28] with our landfill being closed because outside trash is being brought in from

[46:35] other counties and there isn't a concern of our trash having to sit in trucks on

[46:42] the side of the road because they couldn't dump. So, that's what I let

[46:46] them know. Um, I behaved. I They used English your guys. So good to go. Um if

[46:55] there is anything else, Mr. Medler, >> not you again.

[47:00] » I forgot it.

[47:05] He had such a disappointed look on his face. How could I forget?

[47:10] Every time my password needs to be redone.

[47:14] » And you forgot the city clerk's department who makes your travel

[47:17] arrangements. and our city going on air. I I I told

[47:20] you I wouldn't remember everybody. >> I'm sure the parks department is very

[47:24] upset. They just cut the grass today. >> Thank you.

[47:27] » Thank you, Donna. >> At this time,

[47:30] » at this time, if there is nothing further, Andre, do you have anything?

[47:36] » Thank you, mayor. I have nothing. >> Thank you, sir. Um, the time is 6:46 and

[47:40] this meeting's a journ.

[47:48] HR got you guys. Thank you.

City Council Regular Meeting of April 21st, 2026

Transcript