[0:02] Good evening. We're going to uh call our
city council special meeting to order
[0:06] for August uh 25th, 2026. And right now
the time is 5:30 p.m.
[0:12] Uh we want to welcome everyone here in
the audience and and at home. Our first
[0:18] business order of business is roll call.
[0:22] » Councilmember Hogan?
>> Here.
[0:24] » Councilmember Lilburn? She has an
excused absence due to a conflict of
[0:28] interest requiring recusal from the sole
item on tonight's agenda.
[0:33] Councilmember McMillan?
>> Here.
[0:35] » Councilmember Saldana?
>> Here.
[0:37] » And Councilmember Timber?
>> Present.
[0:40] » All right. At this time, we are going to
move on to public comment and I'm going
[0:45] to look to uh our city clerk to read us
into public comment.
[0:49] » Thank you, Mayor Pro Tem. At this time,
we will open the public comment period.
[0:52] Members of the public may address the
city council matters that are within the
[0:55] city's jurisdiction and they're only
listed on the agenda. I don't see any
[1:01] public speakers um remotely or in
person.
[1:05] » Okay.
>> And no emailed public comments either
[1:08] submitted by email.
>> Excellent. Thank you. Okay, we're going
[1:11] to move on to the uh legislative item on
the agenda, actions related to the
[1:15] Highland Senior Center HVAC systems. And
I'm going to look to Octavio for a
[1:19] presentation.
>> Good evening, Mayor Pro Tem, city
[1:23] council. Uh tonight we'd like to provide
an update on the Highland Senior Center
[1:26] HVAC project and uh seek direction from
the council regarding completion of the
[1:31] project using uh CDBG and additional
city funds.
[1:35] Um as a reminder, uh city's awarded uh
about $180,000 in CDBG funding through
[1:42] the county in 2024 and this is part of
um COVID relief funds and um the um
[1:51] the purpose of that grant, the county
suggested
[1:54] um the Highland Senior Center as a
viable candidate for for those funds. Uh
[2:00] So, the project was intended to address
the Highland Senior Center's three
[2:04] existing
HVAC systems, aging system.
[2:08] This project was seen as critical given
it serves our senior community and it's
[2:13] also one of two cooling centers in the
region.
[2:17] Or if you know, that's open to our
Highland
[2:20] residents.
This project facilitated by the city
[2:25] and the grant requires that all work be
completed by September 30th
[2:30] in order to
you know, get costs reimbursed.
[2:35] Since the approval,
the project's encountered um
[2:40] challenge after challenge,
unforeseen circumstances.
[2:44] When we first started the project, it
was intended to be a
[2:48] really a like-for-like replacement.
We took a look at the existing
[2:53] equipment, worked with the
the vendor, the manufacturer of that
[2:58] equipment and we asked for proposal to
really replace those units in kind. At
[3:04] the time,
we received a proposal to replace all
[3:08] three systems for about $120,000.
Concurrently,
[3:14] because this this was on a
the building is owned by the state, we
[3:18] needed approval from the state to move
forward with the project. You know, fast
[3:22] forward after you know, a couple years
of coordination,
[3:26] we were finally given direction to
provide engineered plans and receive
[3:32] approval from the state fire marshal. Um
This happened roughly this past spring.
[3:39] Because time was of the essence, so even
though I said the
[3:43] the grant expires or the deadline for
the grant was September is September
[3:47] 30th,
at one point in time it was June 30th
[3:51] and we were able to get an extension to
keep the project alive, keep it going
[3:54] given the circumstance.
Um so that's one important important
[3:57] piece there as far as timing's
concerned.
[4:00] Uh so because time was of the essence,
uh we engaged one of our on-call
[4:04] engineering firms, WSP, who's
uh well-versed in this type of work, has
[4:09] worked with the state getting approvals
from the State Fire Marshal office.
[4:13] And um
uh we received we we completed those
[4:18] those plans and we received approval
from the state. Uh but that effort alone
[4:21] was uh roughly $43,000.
Um and um
[4:27] once we had those plans in place, we
reached out to a carrier who had
[4:30] provided the proposal prior. And uh we
determined that
[4:35] uh the the cost had significantly
increased due to additional items that
[4:40] the state required to be
uh done for the project. So it was no
[4:44] longer a like-for-like uh you know, in
kind replacement. We had to do a bunch
[4:48] of duct work and um
uh other uh construction-related items
[4:53] to to meet the the state requirement. Um
uh but all hope was not lost. Um we
[4:59] pivoted rather than focusing on three
systems like we initially planned.
[5:04] Uh we were able to still um
you know, deliver a project and and
[5:08] deliver two systems, uh or so we
thought.
[5:12] Um
Once we reached out to uh Carrier uh
[5:17] to move forward with with a new proposal
that had given us um
[5:21] uh for the two systems,
uh
[5:24] they let us know uh that equipment was
no longer available and it would take uh
[5:29] about 12 weeks to actually get that
equipment. Uh that wouldn't work with
[5:33] the timeline of the grant, so we had to
pivot once more.
[5:37] Um
we engaged our engineer and um other
[5:41] uh vendors to try to find an alternate
substitute for for these systems or for
[5:46] the HVAC system.
We were able to uh
[5:49] find that train
um would be able to provide alternate
[5:54] units and they were, you know,
ready,
[5:58] um available, and they could deliver it
within the grant timeline.
[6:02] Um the the issue was um
they couldn't secure the
[6:09] piece of equipment without a signed
purchase order. Given the experience
[6:13] that we had had with Carrier,
uh we moved forward with signing a
[6:17] purchase order for just one system
um because there was an unknown of of
[6:22] labor. Uh they were concurrently
reviewing the scope
[6:27] uh make sure that they uh
uh gave us a an accurate labor cost for
[6:32] the installation of that unit and we
also um asked for quotes for for the
[6:36] rest of the the systems.
Uh unfortunately, the cost of all three
[6:41] systems, um much like before, was beyond
the budget um and uh we focused on a
[6:47] single system.
Um
[6:50] and um
you know, uh to our surprise, the the
[6:54] cost of that single system had increased
significantly compared to the cost that
[6:59] we had seen before.
Uh for that single system, just the
[7:02] labor uh was $156,000.
So, combined with the equipment that we
[7:08] had reserved,
uh we were looking at $191,000
[7:12] for one of three systems.
Um
[7:16] so, uh the the total project cost,
including engineering, permits,
[7:23] um and a you know, we're
um
[7:28] we're requesting a 20 uh roughly a 10%
contingency, so $20,000,
[7:33] uh you're looking um uh
a deficit of roughly $81,000
[7:41] um uh, to to able to complete a single
system.
[7:45] Um, and and that's that's really where
we are right now. Um,
[7:50] to date we've spent, uh, $55,000 on on
this project and
[7:56] uh, one important consideration is that
uh, so not only do we have the grant
[8:00] deadline, uh, but one piece that's, uh,
required is that we deliver the project
[8:04] to be able to,
uh, get the, uh, the money that we've
[8:08] already spent reimbursed.
Um,
[8:12] when you take out the $20,000
contingency, uh, the cost of moving
[8:17] forward with the project is $61,000.
Um, and um,
[8:24] you know, with that, I you know, I'd
like to conclude my presentation and
[8:27] open it up to any questions you might
have.
[8:32] » I I
uh, Mr. Chair,
[8:34] I'm confused.
Uh,
[8:38] I was reading the list of, uh, of, uh,
materials and it looks like there's a
[8:43] air conditioning unit and a heat pump.
Are they two separate units or one
[8:49] together?
>> So, um, I'll I'll I'll provide, uh,
[8:53] a response, but I also have Jim
Richardson here who's, uh, I call him an
[8:57] HVAC expert and can better explain it.
Uh, but how it works, it's it's a
[9:02] system. So, I think I probably used unit
and system interchangeably. So, you have
[9:08] three systems and you have a combination
of
[9:13] um, two to four units per system. It's
kind of depends on the build. Uh, so,
[9:20] uh, in this particular case, we would
be, uh, if if the council chooses to
[9:24] move forward, we would be completing uh,
one of the three systems. I I believe it
[9:30] was, you know, three units, both heating
and ventilating and, uh, air
[9:33] conditioning.
>> So,
[9:35] so we're in essence we're replacing unit
with a heat pump,
[9:40] which does air conditioning and heating
at the same time.
[9:43] » Yeah, I'll I'll call Jim who can better
explain it.
[9:52] » You got to turn the mic on.
[9:57] » So, uh the unit that's being replaced
that is uh still in this uh
[10:04] request is a Trane.
The outdoor unit is a Trane
[10:09] uh condenser and the indoor part is make
made up of two
[10:15] uh
fan coil units that are sistered
[10:18] together
into one uh plenum
[10:22] and it's because of the space that's in
the building is limited. So, it actually
[10:26] takes two units inside to two five-ton
units inside
[10:32] uh fan coil units
that are coupled with the outdoor 10-ton
[10:37] unit.
If that makes sense.
[10:42] » Well, I
I don't understand, but but uh I know uh
[10:47] at AQMD, we're trying to get everyone to
use heat pumps instead of H you know,
[10:52] air conditioning systems.
But,
[10:56] » I can confirm that it is uh it's all
electric heat pump. It's We The existing
[11:01] unit is gas electric and the new unit is
all electric.
[11:06] » Okay. Okay.
Thank you.
[11:08] Question uh for
Tish, I guess. The uh 81,000
[11:14] is it that's coming from our general
fund?
[11:20] » Yeah, it would come from the general
fund because we can't use special
[11:23] revenue funds to fund a project like
this. You can only use general fund. So,
[11:28] we'll be using our general capital
financing fund
[11:31] technically.
If you choose to do so.
[11:34] » Being reimbursed by community
development.
[11:36] » We're only being reimbursed for 178,000
and some change, and the rest is what we
[11:42] have to actually pay out of pocket as
is.
[11:44] » And we're paying for a project that's
not in the city?
[11:46] » Correct.
But it directly benefits our residents
[11:50] is why we're allowed to actually even
consider it. Yeah.
[11:54] Only from the general fund money. We
can't use any of our special revenue
[11:57] accounts to fund it.
>> Um I have a question for Octavio and and
[12:02] I guess Jim.
Um so you you mentioned that we were
[12:05] initially we were going to install three
systems, and then because of time and
[12:10] the permitting process and that, you
know,
[12:12] uh those constraints that we narrowed it
down to one system.
[12:16] Will that one system be sufficient to
cool off the building to to be Is it
[12:20] adequate enough to call it a cooling
center for our seniors?
[12:26] » Yeah, so so the
the system serve different portions of
[12:32] uh the center.
Um
[12:35] I mean officially, I don't I don't know
what um the requirements for a cooling
[12:40] center would be, but
um
[12:44] you know,
moving forward with with this would
[12:47] provide the the adequate cooling um
within portions of of the senior center
[12:52] and
>> And you know, it is assuming the the
[12:54] main the general areas like where they
congregate and do some most of the
[12:58] activities.
>> Yes, so so the
[13:02] the systems are
functioning now, so it's serving as a
[13:07] cooling center as is. However, there's a
lot of maintenance uh issues and uh the
[13:12] system tends to be down pretty
frequently, so uh moving forward uh with
[13:17] this uh may address this at least, you
know, one of the three aging systems.
[13:21] » Okay.
Okay, any
[13:25] Larry?
>> Uh
[13:27] Well, I would
I would definitely support and move the
[13:31] the project forward. However, since
we're using general fund money,
[13:36] uh
I would like to ask the city manager as
[13:40] part of this motion to seek
reimbursement from the state or and
[13:45] county to replace the general fund money
since we are in essence donating to the
[13:50] senior center.
[13:53] » And if I may respond to that, um so we
will certainly try to do that. Um but
[13:58] just to be clear, you know, we don't
have the time to get that approved ahead
[14:02] of time because we have September Yeah,
so we will definitely
[14:06] um both approach um
you know, the state and also the county
[14:12] uh for effectively a reimbursement to
the city for the local funds we're going
[14:16] to spend.
>> Especially the state since they're the
[14:18] ones that causing this additional funds
to be needed.
[14:22] » Surely.
>> Right.
[14:23] » Yes.
>> Okay, so I've got a motion.
[14:27] » I second.
>> And I second. I got a motion from
[14:30] McAllen and a second from Hogan.
Uh all those in favor?
[14:35] » Aye.
>> Aye.
[14:37] » Any opposed?
>> Just to follow up on I just want to make
[14:41] sure it's a reflect in the minutes what
Larry just discussed. I have heartburn
[14:45] spending general fund money outside the
city even though it does probably
[14:51] service a lot of Island citizens in a
state building which required us to put
[14:57] increased costs into this project in
their building.
[15:02] Government is running absolutely amok.
I mean
[15:07] » I I agree with you, John. I
if I may share while I was out
[15:11] canvassing for my campaign and speaking
to some of these seniors,
[15:14] a lot of them that are on fixed budgets
don't want to run the AC system, you
[15:18] know, they they can't afford to it and
it being 109° outside today, I can only
[15:24] imagine what you know how they're
suffering. So, us being able to provide
[15:28] this, even if it is a state building, us
being able to provide this for them, I
[15:31] think, you know, it's a step in the
>> Well, I understand I approve the
[15:34] project, but there's just heartburn that
the state's requiring us to do extra
[15:39] things to get this project through in
their building to service citizens of
[15:45] the county, Highland, and the state of
California. Makes absolutely no sense.
[15:50] But,
>> Hopefully Carlos can get us that money
[15:53] reimbursed, but okay.
>> And and then just to be clear, as part
[15:56] of the recommendation by city council,
we do have an eighth item, and that is
[16:01] for the city manager to seek
reimbursement from the state and/or the
[16:04] county for the city's share. So, just
want to put that into the record.
[16:08] » Into the record, yes.
>> Yes, thank you.
[16:10] » Okay. Does that require a separate vote?
That's just
[16:14] » No, that was It's all part of the same
vote that the council
[16:17] » Okay. Um if we don't have any other
items, uh we will adjourn.
[16:21] » Now, can I ask a question? This is not
on the agenda. It's it's off the agenda,
[16:26] but it's we're not going to ask or make
a decision. I'd like an update
[16:31] on the stolen cameras.
Uh makes no sense that
[16:37] How are they stealing on a pole that's
30 or 40 ft in the air unless you've got
[16:41] a boom truck? And can we get an update
where that's at and what do we have what
[16:47] information we have about the theft? It
just to me is what mind-boggling.
[16:51] » Yeah, so I'll I'll I'll be brief because
it's not an item on the agenda, but just
[16:55] as part of my updates that I would give
to the council, I suppose I can take a
[16:59] few minutes to cover that item. Um what
I can tell you is that we did have
[17:03] vandalism at three separate locations. I
could tell you that Captain Dean is
[17:09] making this a priority for him. They are
going to
[17:12] catch the people. They No, they they
They there's there's vandalism. They're
[17:16] cutting the poles. They're damaging the
equipment.
[17:19] » The poles most of them are on traffic
signal poles.
[17:22] » Actually
there are some that are not. There are
[17:25] on poles. In fact, the one that
just to give you a point of reference,
[17:29] there's one right there in front of the
Starbucks on Baseline at the 210 Freeway
[17:33] and it's in the median and you can see
it. It's it's visible. It's about the
[17:38] height of
you know a street street sign like a
[17:41] street name sign or or a stop sign. So
it's a pole of that height. So not all
[17:47] cameras are set up higher in elevation,
but that is something that we're looking
[17:52] to do in order to
>> So they're basically being stolen low
[17:55] elevated.
>> Correct. Cameras that are accessible.
[17:59] Obviously people shouldn't be doing
that, but the fact of the matter is
[18:03] they're there.
They are accessible. All they have to do
[18:06] is cut the pole and they're the camera
will come down with the panel with solar
[18:11] panel and everything. So this is an
issue.
[18:15] And so we we are working with Flock to
get those cameras replaced, but we're
[18:20] also working the PD is also working
>> Pole I hope.
[18:23] » Right. We're looking at those yeah, so
that we don't necessarily
[18:27] put them right back where it was because
obviously we need to take a different
[18:31] approach.
>> I don't think we should continue talking
[18:34] about where the cameras are and how high
they are.
[18:36] » Yeah.
>> And and um since this item is not on the
[18:39] agenda, I I would recommend that we wrap
up the discussion as well.
[18:43] » Thank you, Marcella. Okay, with that we
will adjourn.
[18:47] » Thanks for patience.
[18:53] » I was just envisioning how they climb