[0:02] Good evening. We're going to uh call our

[0:04] city council special meeting to order

[0:06] for August uh 25th, 2026. And right now

[0:10] the time is 5:30 p.m.

[0:12] Uh we want to welcome everyone here in

[0:14] the audience and and at home. Our first

[0:18] business order of business is roll call.

[0:22] » Councilmember Hogan?

[0:23] » Here.

[0:24] » Councilmember Lilburn? She has an

[0:26] excused absence due to a conflict of

[0:28] interest requiring recusal from the sole

[0:31] item on tonight's agenda.

[0:33] Councilmember McMillan?

[0:34] » Here.

[0:35] » Councilmember Saldana?

[0:36] » Here.

[0:37] » And Councilmember Timber?

[0:38] » Present.

[0:40] » All right. At this time, we are going to

[0:43] move on to public comment and I'm going

[0:45] to look to uh our city clerk to read us

[0:47] into public comment.

[0:49] » Thank you, Mayor Pro Tem. At this time,

[0:51] we will open the public comment period.

[0:52] Members of the public may address the

[0:54] city council matters that are within the

[0:55] city's jurisdiction and they're only

[0:58] listed on the agenda. I don't see any

[1:01] public speakers um remotely or in

[1:04] person.

[1:05] » Okay.

[1:06] » And no emailed public comments either

[1:08] submitted by email.

[1:09] » Excellent. Thank you. Okay, we're going

[1:11] to move on to the uh legislative item on

[1:13] the agenda, actions related to the

[1:15] Highland Senior Center HVAC systems. And

[1:17] I'm going to look to Octavio for a

[1:19] presentation.

[1:21] » Good evening, Mayor Pro Tem, city

[1:23] council. Uh tonight we'd like to provide

[1:25] an update on the Highland Senior Center

[1:26] HVAC project and uh seek direction from

[1:29] the council regarding completion of the

[1:31] project using uh CDBG and additional

[1:34] city funds.

[1:35] Um as a reminder, uh city's awarded uh

[1:38] about $180,000 in CDBG funding through

[1:42] the county in 2024 and this is part of

[1:45] um COVID relief funds and um the um

[1:51] the purpose of that grant, the county

[1:53] suggested

[1:54] um the Highland Senior Center as a

[1:56] viable candidate for for those funds. Uh

[2:00] So, the project was intended to address

[2:02] the Highland Senior Center's three

[2:04] existing

[2:05] HVAC systems, aging system.

[2:08] This project was seen as critical given

[2:11] it serves our senior community and it's

[2:13] also one of two cooling centers in the

[2:16] region.

[2:17] Or if you know, that's open to our

[2:19] Highland

[2:20] residents.

[2:22] This project facilitated by the city

[2:25] and the grant requires that all work be

[2:27] completed by September 30th

[2:30] in order to

[2:32] you know, get costs reimbursed.

[2:35] Since the approval,

[2:37] the project's encountered um

[2:40] challenge after challenge,

[2:42] unforeseen circumstances.

[2:44] When we first started the project, it

[2:46] was intended to be a

[2:48] really a like-for-like replacement.

[2:51] We took a look at the existing

[2:53] equipment, worked with the

[2:56] the vendor, the manufacturer of that

[2:58] equipment and we asked for proposal to

[3:01] really replace those units in kind. At

[3:04] the time,

[3:05] we received a proposal to replace all

[3:08] three systems for about $120,000.

[3:12] Concurrently,

[3:14] because this this was on a

[3:16] the building is owned by the state, we

[3:18] needed approval from the state to move

[3:20] forward with the project. You know, fast

[3:22] forward after you know, a couple years

[3:24] of coordination,

[3:26] we were finally given direction to

[3:29] provide engineered plans and receive

[3:32] approval from the state fire marshal. Um

[3:35] This happened roughly this past spring.

[3:39] Because time was of the essence, so even

[3:41] though I said the

[3:43] the grant expires or the deadline for

[3:45] the grant was September is September

[3:47] 30th,

[3:48] at one point in time it was June 30th

[3:51] and we were able to get an extension to

[3:52] keep the project alive, keep it going

[3:54] given the circumstance.

[3:56] Um so that's one important important

[3:57] piece there as far as timing's

[3:59] concerned.

[4:00] Uh so because time was of the essence,

[4:02] uh we engaged one of our on-call

[4:04] engineering firms, WSP, who's

[4:07] uh well-versed in this type of work, has

[4:09] worked with the state getting approvals

[4:11] from the State Fire Marshal office.

[4:13] And um

[4:15] uh we received we we completed those

[4:18] those plans and we received approval

[4:19] from the state. Uh but that effort alone

[4:21] was uh roughly $43,000.

[4:24] Um and um

[4:27] once we had those plans in place, we

[4:29] reached out to a carrier who had

[4:30] provided the proposal prior. And uh we

[4:33] determined that

[4:35] uh the the cost had significantly

[4:37] increased due to additional items that

[4:40] the state required to be

[4:42] uh done for the project. So it was no

[4:44] longer a like-for-like uh you know, in

[4:47] kind replacement. We had to do a bunch

[4:48] of duct work and um

[4:51] uh other uh construction-related items

[4:53] to to meet the the state requirement. Um

[4:57] uh but all hope was not lost. Um we

[4:59] pivoted rather than focusing on three

[5:01] systems like we initially planned.

[5:04] Uh we were able to still um

[5:06] you know, deliver a project and and

[5:08] deliver two systems, uh or so we

[5:11] thought.

[5:12] Um

[5:14] Once we reached out to uh Carrier uh

[5:17] to move forward with with a new proposal

[5:19] that had given us um

[5:21] uh for the two systems,

[5:23] uh

[5:24] they let us know uh that equipment was

[5:26] no longer available and it would take uh

[5:29] about 12 weeks to actually get that

[5:31] equipment. Uh that wouldn't work with

[5:33] the timeline of the grant, so we had to

[5:35] pivot once more.

[5:37] Um

[5:38] we engaged our engineer and um other

[5:41] uh vendors to try to find an alternate

[5:43] substitute for for these systems or for

[5:46] the HVAC system.

[5:47] We were able to uh

[5:49] find that train

[5:51] um would be able to provide alternate

[5:54] units and they were, you know,

[5:57] ready,

[5:58] um available, and they could deliver it

[6:01] within the grant timeline.

[6:02] Um the the issue was um

[6:06] they couldn't secure the

[6:09] piece of equipment without a signed

[6:11] purchase order. Given the experience

[6:13] that we had had with Carrier,

[6:15] uh we moved forward with signing a

[6:17] purchase order for just one system

[6:20] um because there was an unknown of of

[6:22] labor. Uh they were concurrently

[6:25] reviewing the scope

[6:27] uh make sure that they uh

[6:29] uh gave us a an accurate labor cost for

[6:32] the installation of that unit and we

[6:33] also um asked for quotes for for the

[6:36] rest of the the systems.

[6:39] Uh unfortunately, the cost of all three

[6:41] systems, um much like before, was beyond

[6:44] the budget um and uh we focused on a

[6:47] single system.

[6:48] Um

[6:50] and um

[6:51] you know, uh to our surprise, the the

[6:54] cost of that single system had increased

[6:57] significantly compared to the cost that

[6:59] we had seen before.

[7:00] Uh for that single system, just the

[7:02] labor uh was $156,000.

[7:06] So, combined with the equipment that we

[7:08] had reserved,

[7:09] uh we were looking at $191,000

[7:12] for one of three systems.

[7:15] Um

[7:16] so, uh the the total project cost,

[7:19] including engineering, permits,

[7:23] um and a you know, we're

[7:27] um

[7:28] we're requesting a 20 uh roughly a 10%

[7:31] contingency, so $20,000,

[7:33] uh you're looking um uh

[7:37] a deficit of roughly $81,000

[7:41] um uh, to to able to complete a single

[7:44] system.

[7:45] Um, and and that's that's really where

[7:48] we are right now. Um,

[7:50] to date we've spent, uh, $55,000 on on

[7:54] this project and

[7:56] uh, one important consideration is that

[7:58] uh, so not only do we have the grant

[8:00] deadline, uh, but one piece that's, uh,

[8:02] required is that we deliver the project

[8:04] to be able to,

[8:06] uh, get the, uh, the money that we've

[8:08] already spent reimbursed.

[8:10] Um,

[8:12] when you take out the $20,000

[8:14] contingency, uh, the cost of moving

[8:17] forward with the project is $61,000.

[8:22] Um, and um,

[8:24] you know, with that, I you know, I'd

[8:26] like to conclude my presentation and

[8:27] open it up to any questions you might

[8:29] have.

[8:32] » I I

[8:33] uh, Mr. Chair,

[8:34] I'm confused.

[8:36] Uh,

[8:38] I was reading the list of, uh, of, uh,

[8:41] materials and it looks like there's a

[8:43] air conditioning unit and a heat pump.

[8:46] Are they two separate units or one

[8:49] together?

[8:50] » So, um, I'll I'll I'll provide, uh,

[8:53] a response, but I also have Jim

[8:55] Richardson here who's, uh, I call him an

[8:57] HVAC expert and can better explain it.

[9:00] Uh, but how it works, it's it's a

[9:02] system. So, I think I probably used unit

[9:05] and system interchangeably. So, you have

[9:08] three systems and you have a combination

[9:12] of

[9:13] um, two to four units per system. It's

[9:17] kind of depends on the build. Uh, so,

[9:20] uh, in this particular case, we would

[9:22] be, uh, if if the council chooses to

[9:24] move forward, we would be completing uh,

[9:27] one of the three systems. I I believe it

[9:30] was, you know, three units, both heating

[9:32] and ventilating and, uh, air

[9:33] conditioning.

[9:34] » So,

[9:35] so we're in essence we're replacing unit

[9:38] with a heat pump,

[9:40] which does air conditioning and heating

[9:42] at the same time.

[9:43] » Yeah, I'll I'll call Jim who can better

[9:45] explain it.

[9:52] » You got to turn the mic on.

[9:57] » So, uh the unit that's being replaced

[10:00] that is uh still in this uh

[10:04] request is a Trane.

[10:07] The outdoor unit is a Trane

[10:09] uh condenser and the indoor part is make

[10:13] made up of two

[10:15] uh

[10:16] fan coil units that are sistered

[10:18] together

[10:19] into one uh plenum

[10:22] and it's because of the space that's in

[10:24] the building is limited. So, it actually

[10:26] takes two units inside to two five-ton

[10:30] units inside

[10:32] uh fan coil units

[10:34] that are coupled with the outdoor 10-ton

[10:37] unit.

[10:39] If that makes sense.

[10:42] » Well, I

[10:43] I don't understand, but but uh I know uh

[10:47] at AQMD, we're trying to get everyone to

[10:49] use heat pumps instead of H you know,

[10:52] air conditioning systems.

[10:55] But,

[10:56] » I can confirm that it is uh it's all

[10:58] electric heat pump. It's We The existing

[11:01] unit is gas electric and the new unit is

[11:05] all electric.

[11:06] » Okay. Okay.

[11:07] Thank you.

[11:08] Question uh for

[11:11] Tish, I guess. The uh 81,000

[11:14] is it that's coming from our general

[11:16] fund?

[11:20] » Yeah, it would come from the general

[11:22] fund because we can't use special

[11:23] revenue funds to fund a project like

[11:25] this. You can only use general fund. So,

[11:28] we'll be using our general capital

[11:29] financing fund

[11:31] technically.

[11:33] If you choose to do so.

[11:34] » Being reimbursed by community

[11:36] development.

[11:36] » We're only being reimbursed for 178,000

[11:40] and some change, and the rest is what we

[11:42] have to actually pay out of pocket as

[11:44] is.

[11:44] » And we're paying for a project that's

[11:45] not in the city?

[11:46] » Correct.

[11:48] But it directly benefits our residents

[11:50] is why we're allowed to actually even

[11:51] consider it. Yeah.

[11:54] Only from the general fund money. We

[11:56] can't use any of our special revenue

[11:57] accounts to fund it.

[12:00] » Um I have a question for Octavio and and

[12:02] I guess Jim.

[12:03] Um so you you mentioned that we were

[12:05] initially we were going to install three

[12:06] systems, and then because of time and

[12:10] the permitting process and that, you

[12:11] know,

[12:12] uh those constraints that we narrowed it

[12:14] down to one system.

[12:16] Will that one system be sufficient to

[12:18] cool off the building to to be Is it

[12:20] adequate enough to call it a cooling

[12:22] center for our seniors?

[12:26] » Yeah, so so the

[12:28] the system serve different portions of

[12:32] uh the center.

[12:33] Um

[12:35] I mean officially, I don't I don't know

[12:37] what um the requirements for a cooling

[12:40] center would be, but

[12:43] um

[12:44] you know,

[12:45] moving forward with with this would

[12:47] provide the the adequate cooling um

[12:50] within portions of of the senior center

[12:52] and

[12:52] » And you know, it is assuming the the

[12:54] main the general areas like where they

[12:56] congregate and do some most of the

[12:58] activities.

[12:59] » Yes, so so the

[13:02] the systems are

[13:04] functioning now, so it's serving as a

[13:07] cooling center as is. However, there's a

[13:09] lot of maintenance uh issues and uh the

[13:12] system tends to be down pretty

[13:14] frequently, so uh moving forward uh with

[13:17] this uh may address this at least, you

[13:19] know, one of the three aging systems.

[13:21] » Okay.

[13:23] Okay, any

[13:25] Larry?

[13:26] » Uh

[13:27] Well, I would

[13:28] I would definitely support and move the

[13:31] the project forward. However, since

[13:33] we're using general fund money,

[13:36] uh

[13:37] I would like to ask the city manager as

[13:40] part of this motion to seek

[13:43] reimbursement from the state or and

[13:45] county to replace the general fund money

[13:47] since we are in essence donating to the

[13:50] senior center.

[13:53] » And if I may respond to that, um so we

[13:56] will certainly try to do that. Um but

[13:58] just to be clear, you know, we don't

[14:00] have the time to get that approved ahead

[14:02] of time because we have September Yeah,

[14:04] so we will definitely

[14:06] um both approach um

[14:09] you know, the state and also the county

[14:12] uh for effectively a reimbursement to

[14:14] the city for the local funds we're going

[14:16] to spend.

[14:17] » Especially the state since they're the

[14:18] ones that causing this additional funds

[14:21] to be needed.

[14:22] » Surely.

[14:22] » Right.

[14:23] » Yes.

[14:24] » Okay, so I've got a motion.

[14:27] » I second.

[14:29] » And I second. I got a motion from

[14:30] McAllen and a second from Hogan.

[14:33] Uh all those in favor?

[14:35] » Aye.

[14:37] » Any opposed?

[14:38] » Just to follow up on I just want to make

[14:41] sure it's a reflect in the minutes what

[14:43] Larry just discussed. I have heartburn

[14:45] spending general fund money outside the

[14:48] city even though it does probably

[14:51] service a lot of Island citizens in a

[14:54] state building which required us to put

[14:57] increased costs into this project in

[15:00] their building.

[15:02] Government is running absolutely amok.

[15:05] I mean

[15:07] » I I agree with you, John. I

[15:09] if I may share while I was out

[15:11] canvassing for my campaign and speaking

[15:13] to some of these seniors,

[15:14] a lot of them that are on fixed budgets

[15:16] don't want to run the AC system, you

[15:18] know, they they can't afford to it and

[15:21] it being 109° outside today, I can only

[15:24] imagine what you know how they're

[15:25] suffering. So, us being able to provide

[15:28] this, even if it is a state building, us

[15:30] being able to provide this for them, I

[15:31] think, you know, it's a step in the

[15:33] » Well, I understand I approve the

[15:34] project, but there's just heartburn that

[15:37] the state's requiring us to do extra

[15:39] things to get this project through in

[15:42] their building to service citizens of

[15:45] the county, Highland, and the state of

[15:48] California. Makes absolutely no sense.

[15:50] But,

[15:51] » Hopefully Carlos can get us that money

[15:53] reimbursed, but okay.

[15:55] » And and then just to be clear, as part

[15:56] of the recommendation by city council,

[15:59] we do have an eighth item, and that is

[16:01] for the city manager to seek

[16:03] reimbursement from the state and/or the

[16:04] county for the city's share. So, just

[16:07] want to put that into the record.

[16:08] » Into the record, yes.

[16:09] » Yes, thank you.

[16:10] » Okay. Does that require a separate vote?

[16:12] That's just

[16:14] » No, that was It's all part of the same

[16:15] vote that the council

[16:17] » Okay. Um if we don't have any other

[16:19] items, uh we will adjourn.

[16:21] » Now, can I ask a question? This is not

[16:24] on the agenda. It's it's off the agenda,

[16:26] but it's we're not going to ask or make

[16:28] a decision. I'd like an update

[16:31] on the stolen cameras.

[16:34] Uh makes no sense that

[16:37] How are they stealing on a pole that's

[16:39] 30 or 40 ft in the air unless you've got

[16:41] a boom truck? And can we get an update

[16:44] where that's at and what do we have what

[16:47] information we have about the theft? It

[16:49] just to me is what mind-boggling.

[16:51] » Yeah, so I'll I'll I'll be brief because

[16:53] it's not an item on the agenda, but just

[16:55] as part of my updates that I would give

[16:57] to the council, I suppose I can take a

[16:59] few minutes to cover that item. Um what

[17:02] I can tell you is that we did have

[17:03] vandalism at three separate locations. I

[17:06] could tell you that Captain Dean is

[17:09] making this a priority for him. They are

[17:11] going to

[17:12] catch the people. They No, they they

[17:15] They there's there's vandalism. They're

[17:16] cutting the poles. They're damaging the

[17:18] equipment.

[17:19] » The poles most of them are on traffic

[17:21] signal poles.

[17:22] » Actually

[17:23] there are some that are not. There are

[17:25] on poles. In fact, the one that

[17:27] just to give you a point of reference,

[17:29] there's one right there in front of the

[17:30] Starbucks on Baseline at the 210 Freeway

[17:33] and it's in the median and you can see

[17:35] it. It's it's visible. It's about the

[17:38] height of

[17:39] you know a street street sign like a

[17:41] street name sign or or a stop sign. So

[17:43] it's a pole of that height. So not all

[17:47] cameras are set up higher in elevation,

[17:50] but that is something that we're looking

[17:52] to do in order to

[17:53] » So they're basically being stolen low

[17:55] elevated.

[17:57] » Correct. Cameras that are accessible.

[17:59] Obviously people shouldn't be doing

[18:00] that, but the fact of the matter is

[18:03] they're there.

[18:04] They are accessible. All they have to do

[18:06] is cut the pole and they're the camera

[18:09] will come down with the panel with solar

[18:11] panel and everything. So this is an

[18:13] issue.

[18:15] And so we we are working with Flock to

[18:17] get those cameras replaced, but we're

[18:20] also working the PD is also working

[18:22] » Pole I hope.

[18:23] » Right. We're looking at those yeah, so

[18:25] that we don't necessarily

[18:27] put them right back where it was because

[18:29] obviously we need to take a different

[18:31] approach.

[18:31] » I don't think we should continue talking

[18:34] about where the cameras are and how high

[18:35] they are.

[18:36] » Yeah.

[18:37] » And and um since this item is not on the

[18:39] agenda, I I would recommend that we wrap

[18:41] up the discussion as well.

[18:43] » Thank you, Marcella. Okay, with that we

[18:45] will adjourn.

[18:47] » Thanks for patience.

[18:53] » I was just envisioning how they climb

City Council Special Meeting

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