[0:00] We're ready. >> good evening. I will now call this meeting to order.
[0:06] time is 6:00 p.m. Madam clerk, can we please have the roll call? >> mayor medina.
[0:10] >> here. >> mayor pro tem saldana. >> here. >> council member martinez. >> here.
[0:14] >> council member raya. >> here. >> council member reyna. >> I'm here. >> all members are present.
[0:20] >> thank you. If you can, please stand for the flag salute. The salute pledge.
[0:27] I
[0:39] please remain standing. Is there anybody in the audience that would like to lead us in in vocation?
[0:44] if not, we'll observe a moment of silence.
[0:54] thank you.
[1:04] we'll move on to item number 5, approval of agenda.
[1:08] are there any changes to the agenda? >> none. Thank you.
[1:12] >> with that, I would like to intent a motion for approval of agenda.
[1:17] >> moved. >> I will second. Madam clerk, I'm getting the [overlapping] mr. Martinez.
[1:23] >> do either of you have an agenda for me? [inaudible]. >> yeah, would you like one?
[1:31] >> I don't have one. I just realized. [overlapping] >> let me put one up here.
[1:35] >> thank you. >> yeah. The there's one right here or no.
[1:42] that's a different one. That's a different. >> thank you. Motion by mr. Martinez, seconded by myself.
[1:53] madam clerk, we get the vote by roll call. >> mayor medina? >> aye. Mayor pro tem saldana. >> aye.
[1:58] >> council member martinez. >> aye. >> council member raya. >> aye. >> council member reyna.
[2:03] >> aye. >> motion by council member martinez, seconded by mayor medina to approve the agenda as to form.
[2:14] motion is unanimous approved. >> thank you. We'll move on to item number seven,
[2:19] public comments on items not on the agenda. This portion of the meeting of chair for persons desiring to address the council,
[2:26] including the council acting as the governing board for the successor agency on any matter not
[2:31] on this agenda or which the council and successor agency have jurisdiction.
[2:36] speakers limited to two minutes, and maximum of 30 minutes will be allowed for any one subject.
[2:41] please state your name for the record before making your presentation. Brown act requirements that brown act does not allow
[2:47] action or discussion on items not of the agenda. Subject to narrow exceptions,
[2:52] this will limit a council members response to questions and request during this comment period.
[2:56] are there any public comments? Please come up and state your name for the record, please?
[3:05] >> push the button. >> there's a button on the mice? Yes. Yeah. There you go. Yeah.
[3:11] >> good evening, honorable mayor and city council members.
[3:16] my name is nicole vilarose. I'm the local government affairs representative from pg&e.
[3:21] you may have recognized my name from the emails that I send you regarding storm updates or emergencies or outages.
[3:29] I just came in to say, hello. I'm trying to make it to all the city council meetings in my division.
[3:36] I barely made it to this one because my son had an art show at five o'clock.
[3:42] but I'm grateful that I'm here. I meet with your city manager, scott,
[3:47] and staff pretty frequently. Scott knows where to find me when he needs something,
[3:52] but I give my local government affairs updates with him, but I wanted to say hello to the council and to the mayor
[3:59] to let you know that I am available via email,
[4:03] phone call, text, if you have any questions regarding pg&e, I'm just doing my due diligence and seeing you guys at
[4:08] city council meetings and let you know that I'm here for you. If you need anything that comes up,
[4:13] I'm going to leave my card and information with monica and yolanda here.
[4:20] monica, who so graciously took my call today. Thank you. You have an amazing staff,
[4:25] and I'm very thankful for them for always answering my questions and emails that I wanted to say hello to you guys tonight. Thank you. That's all.
[4:33] >> thank you, nicole. Your name does seem familiar, so it's good to put a face to a name.
[4:38] yeah. Well, thanks for being here.
[4:43] are there any other public comments? None, madam clerk. Do we have any email comments?
[4:49] >> yes, mayor. I'll go ahead and read that now. You all each have a copy?
[4:54] >> yes. >> hello. My name is tania cordova.
[4:59] I have been a wasco resident for most of my life and have seen wasco evolve into the city it is today.
[5:06] I am here today to speak about the street of wasco and some concerns.
[5:11] I live on the corner of rosewood avenue, and ninth place, close to baker park.
[5:17] ninth place is a very busy street because it heads directly towards palm avenue middle school.
[5:23] I'm here to address concerns about speeding cars on this street and see if the city can have
[5:29] a stop sign placed on the corner of maple avenue and ninth place to help prevent some of the speeding.
[5:37] I also have another concern with the corners of
[5:42] popular avenue and 11th street directly next to the old veterans hall.
[5:47] cars usually speed through popular avenue headed west and/or east.
[5:52] I've physically seen it with my own eyes because my 10-year-old son attends wonderful college prep academy in lost hills,
[6:01] and the bus stop is on 11th street next to the vets hall.
[6:05] sometimes he has had to walk home and cross popular headed west to get home.
[6:11] I have lost count of the times that he's informed me that he almost got
[6:15] run over due to cars not stopping at all for pedestrians.
[6:19] it seems like a stop sign also needs to be placed on this intersection.
[6:24] I have called the city before and expressed these concerns and was informed that there was a study being performed on this issue,
[6:32] but who knows how long the study has been going on for now. I just wanted to say my piece and inform you of the situation at hand.
[6:41] if something ends up happening to a child at dislocations, knowing that this is an ongoing issue,
[6:47] it will be in the hands of the city and is it is now documented in this meeting. Thank you.
[6:55] >> thank you, madam clerk. Are there any other email comments?
[7:01] >> there are no other email comments, mayor.
[7:05] >> thank you. We'll move on to item number 10, public safety reports, item 10a,
[7:10] kern county fire department. I don't see chief appleton. We'll move on to item 10b, wasco police department.
[7:22] >> good evening, honorable mayor and council members. I'll be presenting the public safety report for this meeting. Please keep in mind.
[7:32] these numbers cover the period from october 1st through october 15th.
[7:37] it might be off a little bit. So far this month, we had a total of 806 incidents.
[7:44] out of those 485 were called for service,
[7:48] and 321 were officer-initiated activities. On average, our department handles 1600-1700 total incidents each month,
[7:57] and we're on track to stay within that range again this month.
[8:01] on the enforcement sides, our officers have conducted 157 traffic stops and issued 56 citations from those stops.
[8:10] we've made 33 arrests so far for this month and handled 77 cases,
[8:17] 45 of which were criminal in nature. We've also responded to nine traffic collisions.
[8:24] there were four stolen vehicle reports and our officers recovered one stolen vehicle during this time.
[8:32] in terms of the community engagement, our officers continued to stay active in making
[8:38] 21 positive contacts with our community members this month. We recently held our national night out event.
[8:45] it was a great success. A lot of the community members came out and had fun and showed their support.
[8:50] I want to thank everyone who helped and participated in making the event possible.
[8:57] that concludes my report. If anyone has any questions, I'll be happy to answer them.
[9:03] >> thank you. Any questions from the members? >> no questions. Thank you.
[9:09] >> seeing none. Thank you. >> thank you. Continue to do a great job, sorry, lieutenant.
[9:14] >> thank you. Thank you, sir. >> I believe we have a pal presentation.
[9:19] >> yes. I'll invite our pal director, diana garcia.
[9:27] >> thank you. I did a little powerpoint.
[9:35] it's here to give a little stats on pal and how the program going up-to-date.
[9:40] it's a quick powerpoint just to give information on what pal is,
[9:44] a quick mission and vision of pal, and then our moment stats.
[9:49] then to talk a little bit about volunteers and then community events that you participate in.
[9:55] the program has been open for the third month, I believe.
[10:03] just a quick explanation of what the wasco pal is.
[10:11] the pal boxing program is a juvenile crime prevention program that uses sports,
[10:15] academics, and recreational activity to foster relationships between law enforcement and youth.
[10:20] the program is used to build self-confidence and self-esteem, make healthy lifestyle choices,
[10:26] enhance teamwork and leadership skills, develop good character, and give back to the community.
[10:33] it's a little bit small, but the mission and vision and values of pal.
[10:40] the mission is dedicated to building positive relations between law enforcement and the youth in our community.
[10:48] the pal vision is to create a safe and supportive environment where youth can develop leadership skills,
[10:55] build character, and foster trust with law enforcement. The values that we work on in ceiling on the youth is teamwork,
[11:04] integrity, growth, excellence, and respect. Those words spell out tiger.
[11:15] enrollment stats; currently there is 90 youth enrollments,
[11:23] ages 11 to 17, currently in the program. Average attendance varies, but it's 25-30 kids a day.
[11:33] we have seven volunteers, and three of the volunteers are the boxing coaches.
[11:40] a little background on the three coaches.
[11:45] one is our own officer, wasco police officer talavera.
[11:51] he volunteers his time and trains the kids. Our local member is carlos pieto,
[11:58] and a coach that comes from bakers, his name is mario vega.
[12:03] those are the three that do the coaching specifically for boxing for the youth.
[12:13] then community events and activities. We're big on community events,
[12:19] having the kids be part of the community and activities not only to give back to the community,
[12:26] but again, it reinforces personal development.
[12:31] like I always say, there are future leaders, so there are pipeline to maybe the future on one of those seats.
[12:40] the community events that they participated in.
[12:45] the first one was in september; was a rose parade. That was the first activity that the pal youth participated in.
[12:55] they handed out a rose, I don't know if you guys got to see,
[12:59] but they passing out roses mainly to the other community youth around the route,
[13:05] and they had a message of saying no to fentanyl; give the awareness of that.
[13:12] they did get the first trophy for pal.
[13:16] they got third place, so that was our first pal trophy. Very proud of it. [laughter]
[13:21] >> the first one of many to come. >> yes. This is the first one, but it was really fun for the kids.
[13:28] we see that they enjoyed it. They really did get involved with the community.
[13:33] we were really really happy. They did a really good job with that.
[13:38] the second was a national night out.
[13:43] also, they helped setting up. They helped the vendors assist in getting their stuff out of the car.
[13:52] wherever they were needed, there were a group of kids. I believe they helped put the hot dogs together.
[13:57] yeah. Move water. Wherever they were able to help, they were there.
[14:05] it was a really good outcome of having them there.
[14:11] this past saturday, they were part also of the community cleanup.
[14:16] photos there too. They did really good.
[14:21] those are the ones that they've done so far.
[14:28] just a little informational of what's been going on at the at the pal.
[14:34] we partnered up with the boys and girls club.
[14:39] they serve as a sponsor for the usda meal program.
[14:47] starting, I believe it was, the first week of october,
[14:51] they started getting supper meals from 3:30-4:30.
[14:56] every day they get a meal, and it's a full meal.
[15:01] not just snacks. It's a full meal. They've been getting that on a daily basis.
[15:09] then we are also partnered up with kern medical and kern family healthcare for the mobile clinic.
[15:16] they did get a new mobile vehicle. They park once a month at the pal facility and provide services to the community.
[15:27] we've been using them mainly for the physicals. But every time they've been coming in,
[15:33] they get quite a bit of of responses. There's times where they stop people because they run out of time,
[15:42] but it's been a success too. But that's what we parted up with.
[15:50] >> that's my update on pal. If you guys have any questions that
[15:55] we might be able to answer for you, you're more than welcome to. >> thank you. Any questions or comments from the members, mayor pro tem saldana?
[16:03] >> I have no question, then. Thank you for presentation. >> thank you. >> doing a good job.
[16:07] >> member martinez. >> you guys are doing great. I think at our last meeting, I think the number of enrollments was like 70, and now it's up to 90,
[16:14] so you guys are still growing, and it's just going to continue to grow,
[16:18] and we're going to eventually have to find another building for you guys or something. >> thank you.
[16:23] >> but you guys are doing awesome. I've heard nothing but good things, and it's happened here that we got our first trophy,
[16:27] so keep up the good work. >> member raya. >> I wish there was this program when I was youth here in wasco.
[16:36] I see the youth there having fun. What I like about it is, I go constantly there.
[16:42] the atmosphere is real discipline, cultures already set up.
[16:46] everybody picks up after themselves. Everybody works as a team.
[16:51] they're very respectful. I don't hear no cursing, no anything after they spar.
[16:56] I love it when they hug each other. They give high five, and then afterwards, they talk about hey, man, you should do this.
[17:03] I was getting you with this. We get you with this punch, so they're coaching each other. It's like a family, a team and those activities that
[17:09] you do outside that pal building through the community, it just helped build that bond more.
[17:14] you guys are doing a great job. The night out, I loved it because I saw the pal kids running around, helping out.
[17:20] I saw the police officers talking to people, walking down in the community.
[17:26] that's just going to build more trust with the officers, and the kids get to see that,
[17:31] and like you said, those kids are our future leaders. Keep up the great work, [inaudible].
[17:35] >> thank you. >>> member reyna. >> you're doing an outstanding job,
[17:40] and I congratulate you for it. You're creating the future good citizens of wasco. That's what you're doing.
[17:48] many of these kids, if they're not involved with a pal, might be out on the streets,
[17:53] getting into trouble, so it's wonderful to see that you're growing the membership as well.
[17:58] I wanted to ask you, you mentioned that you partner up with the boys club of america,
[18:04] I think you said, and that you're providing meals for the kids 3 30-4:30 or something to that effect.
[18:11] are you seeing more children attend because of this offerings of meals?
[18:17] are you seeing an increased attendance because of it? >> it has.
[18:22] they come in once they see the personnel come even from the boys and girls club,
[18:29] they already know they're going to get something to eat.
[18:35] I had a couple actually that they want to leave early because they're hungry, they want to go home and eat,
[18:41] or so this keeps them there, and they know as they come, they're going to get.
[18:47] even if they don't like the full meal, they at least eat the fruit, something else on it in the bag, so it does.
[18:56] it's helped a lot. Like, what we say, we don't know if that's
[19:01] the only thing they're even going to have to eat this afternoon, or a lot of the parents are working, they get home late,
[19:08] so at least that's something in between until they get home or their parents get home,
[19:12] or maybe that's their last meal of the day. For us, it's been a real positive impact to have that for them.
[19:21] >> you've made the point that I wanted to make, that you may be serving a meal that these kids would not otherwise get.
[19:29] I'm really happy to see that you're doing that and that it's being successful.
[19:34] we have kids that otherwise would go hungry, but you're feeding them,
[19:39] and they don't have to go home and maybe be out on the streets when they could eat there.
[19:45] thank you so much. Thank you for what you're doing. >> I'll label that is, you've definitely hit the ground running for being three months,
[19:54] definitely fulfilling the purpose of the program. It's doing exactly what it was meant to do,
[19:59] keeping our youth engaged, keeping them busy,
[20:04] and really teaching them how to engage with the community, not just with themselves and the boxing deal,
[20:09] but really the whole parade interacting with the community, really building those future leaders.
[20:15] keep up the good work. Three months seems like you guys have already done a lot,
[20:19] and I'm sure you guys will do a lot more. Keep up the great work,
[20:24] and like mr. Martinez said, hopefully, at some point, we have the problem where we need a bigger building.
[20:30] because it's a good problem to have. Keep up the good work. Thank you. >> thank you.
[20:35] >> with that, we'll move on to city council business, number 11.
[20:40] the consent calendar consists of items that are routine and non-controversial in the staff's opinion.
[20:46] these items are approved in one motion unless a council member or member of the public requests the removal of a particular item.
[20:53] this evening, we have items 11a-11e.
[21:02] at this time, I would like to ask the members if they have a conflict of interest on a particular item on the consent calendar.
[21:08] mayor pro tem saldana? >> I have none >> member martinez. >> no conflict. >> member raya?
[21:13] >> none. >> member reyna? >> no conflict, mayor.
[21:18] >> I have no conflict. Is there anyone in the audience who would like to remove item? Seeing none. Are there any council members who would
[21:24] like to remove items? Mayor pro tem saldana? >> I have none. >> member martinez? >> nothing, sir.
[21:29] >> member raya? >> none. >> member reyna? >> I have a question for staff, mayor, if I may.
[21:35] we're approving the minutes of october 7 on this agenda,
[21:42] and I don't see it on the items listed. Am I missing it?
[21:47] >> it's item b. >> item b. >> october 7. >> yes. It's staring at me.
[21:54] [laughter] >> you might have noticed that I took
[22:00] these glasses off and put this ones on and then took these ones off. I can't see with any of those.
[22:06] >> I'm glad we didn't forget. [laughter].
[22:10] >> in any case, as I read the agenda, I did find some issues with it,
[22:15] and I want to point them out. On page 14 of the agenda,
[22:21] and that is where the october 7, 2025 minutes, under new business item b, c,
[22:29] and d, list mayor medina and me is absent,
[22:33] and we were both here. On those votes, it shows the other members voting,
[22:42] but it shows us as being absent. Then on page 16,
[22:47] item 18, under the closed session minutes for september 16,
[22:53] the closed session action lists me as the one making the motion to approve the minutes,
[22:59] and it then lists me as absent on the vote.
[23:05] >> we can get that correct. >> I think I know how this happens.
[23:11] somebody is working on it, and then they got to something else, and it didn't get that.
[23:16] then also page 17, these items b, c, and d again.
[23:23] those are duplicate of the previous page.
[23:30] I just wanted to make those corrections.
[23:34] >> the second repeating of b, c, and d, that's our normal format.
[23:40] that's the reportable action, and each line item is has its own reportable action bullet.
[23:48] >> then that may be my misunderstanding.
[23:53] but just take a look at it. Because if it's wrong, it needs to be correct.
[23:58] >> I believe we can approve with the corrections to attendance.
[24:02] >> I would move to approve the consent calendar with this correction.
[24:10] >> with the stated corrections. >> yeah. >> okay. >> would that work?
[24:14] >> I believe so. >> with that, we have a motion.
[24:20] I will second. Madam clerk can get [inaudible]. >> sorry. Who motion?
[24:24] >> mr. Reyna. >> mr. Reyna. >> okay. >> with the noted changes?
[24:29] >> yes. Mayor medina? >> aye. >> mayor pro tem saldana.
[24:34] >> aye. >> council member martinez? >> aye. >> council member raya. >> aye. >>council member reyna.
[24:38] >> aye. >> motion by council member reyna, seconded by mayor medina,
[24:43] to approve the consent calendar with the changes to the october 7 agenda minutes,
[24:51] with the changes to be followed. Motion is unanimously approved.
[24:57] >> thank you. We'll move on to item 14.
[25:03] new business. We got item 14a receive and file the community development quarterly report information only. Ms. Cobb.
[25:10] >> yes, honorable mayor, and members of the council. In the past, the council has requested updates on
[25:15] development projects that are happening in town or in the pipeline somewhere. That's what this report attempts to provide information on,
[25:23] and scott, correct me if I'm wrong. This will be the one time that we do it orally on the agenda,
[25:29] otherwise, in the future, it'll just go on consent for you to read through, and of course, if you have any questions,
[25:34] I'm always available to answer. I won't read it to you, but just as a general reminder,
[25:39] the city doesn't own commercial property. We don't build commercial projects typically.
[25:43] we act as both a regulator and a facilitator for projects and businesses that
[25:48] want to come to the city because they believe they can have a successful business here.
[25:53] there are several steps to the development process. It's a fairly complicated process, particularly in california.
[26:00] I've tried to group the projects based on where they stand in the process.
[26:06] from planning approval only, to plan check, to under construction, or fully permitted.
[26:12] all of the projects you see listed there fall into one of those categories or to the recently completed projects.
[26:18] there's also a map attached that shows you where each of those projects is located in town by address,
[26:25] and I'm happy to answer any questions. >> thank you, ms. Cobb.
[26:31] are there any public comments at this time? Seeing none, any comments from the members, mayor pro tem saldana.
[26:37] >> I have none. >> member martinez? >> I really like this because I got blindsided by the wing stop going in.
[26:43] [laughter] the people that that wasn't true. >> it's true.
[26:48] >> I think that was more than one. >> thank you. >> I like this.
[26:53] >> member raya. >> none. >> member reyna? >> just a suggestion.
[26:58] as we know, the fact that somebody is planning to open a business doesn't necessarily mean that they will open the business in wasco.
[27:07] maybe there should be some clarification
[27:12] at the bottom of the page that states if it's plan, doesn't mean it's coming necessarily.
[27:17] because unless they pull a permit, if I understand it correctly, they could fall off at any one time, am I correct, kerry?
[27:24] >> that's outlined in that second paragraph there, the 1, 2, 3, and 4 under planning approval.
[27:30] I've indicated that they may or may not proceed to the next phase. They have a planning approval,
[27:34] but it may or may not move on. I've tried to clarify that in each phase that really until a building permit is pulled and paid for,
[27:43] that's where I think you can be fairly confident that the project is coming.
[27:47] but occasionally, we'll see projects that go through entitlements, get their planning entitlements,
[27:52] and then for one reason or another, they decide not to proceed.
[27:57] >> we will still get people that will say that this is coming regardless of your clarification there, but sure.
[28:02] at least if it's there, we can point out to. It may not happen. Thank you.
[28:08] I missed it. [laughter]
[28:13] >> I'm with mr. Martinez on this one. This is something that's valuable for us because we get asked all the time.
[28:20] I'm on the same boat as him. [laughter] somebody asked me the day before that sign went up.
[28:26] I was like, not that I know of. I said no. [laughter]
[28:30] >> you wouldn't necessarily, because there's a process that's in place,
[28:34] and it comes through our department, and we move it through the process, and we respond back and forth.
[28:40] but I'm happy to keep this updated. We'll do it quarterly and always, if you have questions, feel free to give me a call or send me an e-mail and all.
[28:47] >> no, I think this is good. There's obviously a lot of projects going on. There's a lot of things that have sort of been stagnant.
[28:52] having some insight as to why, I think it's helpful. >> sure. >> I think that's valuable for all of us. Thank you for that.
[28:59] >> good. >> if I can add two things. One is the projects can
[29:07] drop out even after they've paid and gotten a permit. Things happen.
[29:12] the other is that there are certain stages of exploration that
[29:17] we don't just by practice published publicly.
[29:23] they're still an exploratory stage, they may not have completed a transaction to acquire property yet,
[29:30] and posting too early can affect those deals. We're pretty careful about making these deals public
[29:36] until there is actually official paperwork filed.
[29:41] bear in mind, and those aren't always air-tight activities going on.
[29:47] there may be buzz out there in the community because someone has leaked
[29:52] information that we can't verify,
[29:56] confirm, or deny. >> yes. Add to that,
[30:00] certain businesses that are exploring to come here appreciate the fact that we don't divulge that information because that,
[30:08] as you mentioned, puts them at a disadvantage. >> correct.
[30:12] >> I think it was also suggested that if something significant changes between the quarterly reports,
[30:19] certainly we'll bring those to you in the form of the city manager announcement or something like that,
[30:25] and try to fill those gaps between the quarterly reports. >> I imagine that e-mail would be possible as well.
[30:32] >> sure. >> I think that's really all we're asking for. Thank you.
[30:38] >> okay. >> with that, we move on to item.
[30:42] >> thank you, kerry. >> I guess we need to receiving.
[30:49] with that election 10 motion to receive and file.
[30:54] >> for item b? >> for item 10a. >> that's just informational, isn't it?
[30:59] >> yeah. >> we don't need to. Got you.
[31:03] well, good with that one. Thank you. We move to item 14b.
[31:10] I receive and file city of wasco homeless outreach quarterly report. Information only.
[31:17] >> very similar to the last report, and we did one of these last quarter.
[31:22] this will be the last one, though, that we'll do. As a presentation, we'll provide a report on the consent calendar going forward,
[31:29] unless you have any specific questions, but this time around,
[31:34] hang on to that right there.
[31:38] we continue to work as a team. The service acceptance statistic report is what's in your agenda packet.
[31:46] that gives you an idea of the increase in the acceptance rate of services.
[31:52] what we're seeing out in the field is that people are gaining trust, and they're seeing us repeatedly learning
[31:59] that we mean what we say and we're there to provide services and help.
[32:04] we're seeing a bit of an uptake in the acceptance rate.
[32:09] they're either accepting services or hiding from us. [laughter] it's one or the other at this point.
[32:16] we continue the weekly street outreaches, that we talked about last time on wednesdays.
[32:21] continuing to work if you go back one monica or maybe even two.
[32:26] these are some of the partner agencies we're working with. Tonight, I have both mandy here,
[32:32] and a couple of representatives from be finally free. They've been really consistent in being here with us on wednesdays.
[32:39] as we go, I'll give them a chance to talk a little bit about some of our particular cases we've been working on.
[32:49] you might recognize some of these faces.
[32:53] mayor medina was out for one of our wednesday street outreaches.
[32:58] these are also code compliance. Flood has been really consistent with us on wednesdays as well.
[33:05] [laughter] go ahead. Teen challenge continues to be a good partner.
[33:13] we've referred several folks to teen challenge. Some have stayed in the program, and some have not.
[33:19] you'll see a theme as we go through, we talked about before,
[33:24] success is not a straight line. We've got a lot of one thing that didn't work;
[33:30] we'll try something else, but teen challenge continues to be a really great partner for us.
[33:38] detox and sober living [inaudible].
[33:49] this picture was in the last slideshow. I think it's [noise] august. Go ahead and move to the next slide.
[33:55] that's the same individual from when we took her in to today.
[34:03] >> [inaudible] this is [inaudible] from be finally free.
[34:09] this is teresa. She's actually really hesitant to talk to that.
[34:14] she was actually really short at first. This was last sunday, by the way,
[34:18] the pink shirt, and this was her, not even three months ago. There's been a huge change not just in her appearance,
[34:28] but in her demeanor when she's thinking there's more to life, it's friday.
[34:32] it took a little winning over. She did have some pushback against. She had trust issues.
[34:40] we've been able to talk to her weekly, making sure she's doing okay.
[34:48] one of the teachers from the parenting class is here as well, and she's actually had interactions with her,
[34:54] and she says she's the one who's participating and encouraging the members.
[34:59] that's what we're trying to do here. It might not be a million people,
[35:04] but one person out of 10 works. >> siama has done a great job of following up with some
[35:10] of our folks that we've been able to find services for. She does a really great job of following up
[35:16] with them to make sure that they have what they need and they're doing okay. See what's next.
[35:24] this individual, and I will let siama talk about this, too. This was nearly 3or 6 weeks ago.
[35:31] we approached him out on the street towards the end of wednesday outreach,
[35:37] looking for help, and siama and vlad were able to get him into tommy's legacy, and he's doing really well.
[35:44] >> he's doing phenomenal. From the day that he went in to now, he's at the altar.
[35:50] he's just leading. He could have taken some time off when he went into press his body,
[35:57] but he burned out the very next day, and he was actually working. He got to go to that at the end of 25,
[36:02] the retreat with all the gentlemen he was there with. I haven't been able to go because he's in
[36:09] an interment program and they don't really read likely how people put.
[36:13] he's doing phenomenal. I am planning to attend church here in
[36:17] the next two weeks so that I can just research based and remind him that we're still here.
[36:22] even once he's done with tommy's legacy that he's more than,
[36:28] wanting to come and reach out to me. He is always going to have that support system.
[36:38] >> flood is also bringing out on wednesdays, bringing showers out.
[36:42] they're set up next to frew baptist church on seventh street.
[36:46] that's become a central location.
[36:51] people who show up there, we offer services to try to get them, what they need, housed,
[36:56] or into a program. That seems to have been successful.
[37:02] support of services. These individuals are in one place or another.
[37:08] we're working with them to get vital documents. In particular, the individual on the far right,
[37:15] well may you talk a little bit about how he came to us three weeks ago,
[37:20] maybe four weeks ago, came to the office looking for mandy, looking for help.
[37:24] he's somebody that mandy's had contact with weekly basis. We're still working with him to get some documents in place.
[37:33] >> this individual, he wants to live a sober life.
[37:38] he wants to help, he wants the resources, but he's very self-aware of his addiction and what that withdrawal.
[37:45] he did come to the office. He wanted us to help him.
[37:49] [inaudible] and we drove him down, city serf, where he was able to do a night detox.
[37:54] he knows he needs to detox from alcohol, but he's scared to do it alone.
[37:59] he wants to be watched in case of an emergency. He made it through the night, made it to the challenge,
[38:05] which was his the next day, but was still going through withdrawal.
[38:09] next, he did leave, but his next step is to get recertified medical benefits,
[38:17] so that you can transition into a medical detox where you can be washed in a medical facility during that condition.
[38:23] I do believe that it will be someone. It's going to be very successful.
[38:27] >> that gives you an idea that sometimes it doesn't work.
[38:34] we got to a pretty group and rethought what the next step is. It's a bit of that as well.
[38:43] apartment hunting. We've been out looking for
[38:47] housing for one individual in particular for quite a while now, and we're still working on it.
[38:53] as you might expect, it's a more complicated process, than that.
[38:58] that thing is never very easy. But following up and following through
[39:03] and having this individual check in with mandy as often as possible to see what the status of dates is. Apartment hunting.
[39:12] >> yeah. She comes to us. We've done it several times. She comes to me and is very aware of [overlapping] my friend.
[39:21] is my case worker here? [laughter] we went out to match to a city service.
[39:29] but then, due to the background that f. We're now working also on the legal side to help get
[39:34] some expunge and just working with different agencies to help secure housing for them and different options.
[39:44] >> this is another piece of what we've been doing. This couple ended up in wasco
[39:51] with they ran out of gas and didn't have money to keep going. They were headed home to indiana.
[39:57] we were able to fill their tank and help them on their way.
[40:02] >> this couple actually came
[40:08] from indiana to work in the monterey area. They were promised work.
[40:12] the jobs had so they returned.
[40:18] they were very [inaudible].
[40:28] >> we talked a little bit last time about amtrak and some of the issues that we're having at amtrak and the nsf property just on the other side.
[40:35] that continues to be a primary area, of focus for us.
[40:40] this individual, we discovered a young woman one day out at the amtrak,
[40:45] the nsf property, seemed to be getting hooked in with the crowd out there, didn't seem safe.
[40:52] we were able to get her moved away from that area and back into bakersfield. Go ahead.
[41:00] you'll see that we continue to have encampments on the bnsf property.
[41:06] we've reached out to bnsf. They've done cleanups. We'll continue to work with them.
[41:10] it's an ongoing problem. The folks who are out there seem to be resistant to services.
[41:18] we continue to offer. But it's going to be something we need to work
[41:24] with multiple agencies and multiple people on, go ahead. I think we've got a few more that give you an idea of what we're working with.
[41:33] had we continued to work with those folks with the encampments?
[41:41] again, we've got to just keep being creative and working with other agencies and other partners on that. Go ahead.
[41:49] >> carry a question. Are they burning those railroad ties for heat?
[41:53] >> we have had, I don't think they are burning the railroad ties for heat, but occasionally the fires that they do build for heat,
[41:59] will catch the ties, and that becomes a big problem.
[42:03] there was a fire out there. Late spring, I want to say,
[42:08] early summer, maybe. That was a problem.
[42:12] we're working with bnsf to try to get them to secure the property better.
[42:16] like I said, they cleaned it up a couple of times, but the fencing is cut and broken.
[42:23] >> it needs to be replaced. >> there is a big issue with those railroad ties being treated with [inaudible],
[42:29] I believe. That's toxic. >> yes, it's a problem. We'll end on a positive note.
[42:38] mayor pro tem saldana probably recognizes this individual. You were out this day when we met elvarado.
[42:45] he had been sleeping in the alley here, and I believe public works reached out at one point to
[42:50] somebody because the trash trucks were going in and out of that alley, and they were concerned that, it was dangerous.
[42:55] he was just camped out in the alley there.
[42:59] we met elvarado, and I'll let you tell the rest of that story.
[43:05] go ahead. [laughter].
[43:10] >> I actually spoke in. I try to call him just to touch base.
[43:15] he did not remember. He remembered, but he didn't remember,
[43:20] so he said the last call he was doing, he was so grateful.
[43:28] I'm going to tell you, I had the roughest few weeks before he called next week to check out.
[43:36] he's on, and I don't know what you mean. You guys stand there and treat me.
[43:42] why did at me? He didn't even know that we found him in abys. He vaguely remembers you.
[43:47] he remembers you remember. He vaguely remembers.
[43:51] the biggest thing with this was that he didn't understand why he was so eager to help.
[43:59] now he's in such a great place. He's at washington, services, [inaudible] job.
[44:07] he found me; he sent his message.
[44:12] I put it in spanish and got [inaudible].
[44:17] it's just basically, he's so thankful for everybody.
[44:28] he's very thankful because he believed he was, that's work.
[44:35] I don't know why he did, and I don't know why he took the time to go home.
[44:40] but thank you, he broke down happy I'm te.
[44:44] but we don't see how much of an impact that means until we never see it, we never see it.
[44:55] able to hear that from because I know what counsel to get,
[45:01] I see it, we just want to see the mess. I'm sure that he doesn't always see it,
[45:05] and he didn't see it to be able to have just one person in. Buttill, he was so willing to send me
[45:12] a text and said
[45:20] I'm going to put my two sets in there and say I agree. Here is the approach to homelessness,
[45:26] and addiction in a whole different way. You're not like it's just a problem.
[45:31] we're trying to meet every individual and get to know them. Allow them to have trouble. A lot of people.
[45:38] but you're starting to see that even with the lifting ones opening up,
[45:43] coming around, and asking you about services, not taking that. But that's just opening.
[45:49] what is phenomenal?
[45:53] I look forward to coming just, spending some time.
[45:57] we have another gentleman not on wednesday, but three words to us.
[46:02] he helps with the showers. We had him fighting people I saw the other day.
[46:09] that's 5 years now.
[46:15] [inaudible] approaching, I love it. [laughter]
[46:25] >> like I said, so you guys can see and it's beautiful.
[46:31] beauty this morning.
[46:36] >> he sent that text to me this morning. A little bit of background on him,
[46:41] I know that it may be confusing. He he had family in washington. He was he had been brought here a year and a half ago,
[46:47] we think, two years ago, maybe for work and just kind of fell
[46:53] off and so we were able to get him back to washington where his family is.
[46:59] then as a year to he said drives. L.
[47:04] now conversation very proper,
[47:13] you know, someone passed you know, into this.
[47:23] and I'm actually waiting for one more.
[47:31] because this is, you know, what we find every day. Happy to answer any questions.
[47:41] all right. Thank you. There any public comments at this time?
[47:46] a. Any comments from the members, mayor pro tempt to?
[47:52] well, pig says that all as you guys saw a smile, you know, just seeing him that day.
[47:57] I mean, you guys intervening on taking different spots here in waco,
[48:02] meeting different people, going into some areas where I mean, it gets it get pretty intense right away.
[48:07] and it's people's attitudes and some some say no, some say yes, and that gentleman right there said no, at the beginning.
[48:14] I still remember and he was saying, no, no, I like, we started talking to talk to him, switch his mind.
[48:19] and that's awesome. That's a good story. So I think thank you guys for all you guys do.
[48:25] remember, martinez. First of all, thank all you ladies for what you do.
[48:29] this is very important work. You know, when we decided to have a homeless coordinator,
[48:34] I thought maybe we might get one or two success stories within the first year,
[48:38] and you guys are just doing a bunch of these. I love hearing these stories. Last week, I was at the league of california cities and I
[48:45] attended the session on homelessness. And like a lot of the sessions there,
[48:51] it's not applicable to wsco because the city that presented was much larger than ours. They did a $30 million public private hotel,
[48:59] 94 room hotel that they bought and I was like, yeah, we can't do that, you know.
[49:03] but what I did enjoy was they had their homeless outreach coordinator,
[49:08] and I think they have a five or six person team in that city. And everything that he was saying is what you guys are doing.
[49:13] the repeated contacts. I think he said something like their average is like 17 contacts before somebody accept services.
[49:19] you know, the community partnerships, all of that. You guys are being very successful,
[49:24] and you guys are doing exactly what the successful model city is doing.
[49:29] so thank you guys for that. I do one other thing. I don't know how comfortable these folks that we're getting
[49:35] services to are with sharing their story, but I would like to see us maybe share
[49:41] one or two success stories on social media if possible. That way, word spreads that, hey,
[49:47] we are having success to people who need the services and the we're willing to
[49:51] help and also it shows the rest of the community that the city is doing something about our homelessness problem.
[49:57] but you guys are doing outstanding. I can't say enough good things about you guys.
[50:02] thank you. Great idea. Thank you. Merv. Well, thank you,
[50:07] ladies for sharing these life changing stories. You know, I just I was impressed with the acceptance rate.
[50:15] you know, it's about a 70 80% a acceptance. They accept the service.
[50:20] that shows that you guys have showed they believed you and there you guys already built that trust among all these individuals.
[50:27] and I think when the program started, you guys took up running, you guys didn't reinvent the wheel.
[50:32] we just were providing services, what the person needed.
[50:36] you guys have already the services in line for those people that they needed. So great job, ladies. Keep it up.
[50:42] thank you for sharing all the wonderful stories. Member rina?
[50:47] you know, we can measure your success by the people that you have helped.
[50:52] and you have helped several people. It was very moving to read
[50:57] this text looked like an e mail to me that this gentleman sent, you know,
[51:02] he's grateful and to have made contact with all of
[51:08] you and being able to return home and now have the hope that he can stay clean,
[51:14] whatever was ailing him, I believe it was alcohol. So
[51:20] I think it's wonderful that you're doing this, continue to do it.
[51:25] I know it takes time. All of you mentioned it. It's difficult to make contact with somebody and
[51:31] then gain their trust so you can do something for them.
[51:35] I guess this chart that is right here specifically talks to that,
[51:42] that it's a zigzag road to get there.
[51:47] thank you for all you do. I'm ha that this program in waco is so successful that you're making a huge difference.
[51:59] yeah. I mean, thank you, ladies and gentlemen. I mean, obviously, it's a team effort, right?
[52:04] I know you guys do a lot that day that I joined you. I know it's a collaborative effort and those contacts.
[52:11] I'm glad that mayor pote made it out there because it's really it's neat to see sort of what goes into it, right?
[52:18] just making those simple conversations and making those connections. And and that we're having some success with that.
[52:25] you know, giving us the rundown of the different placements and helping people I mean,
[52:30] washington is a long ways away, and the nas too. So it's those things that really make a difference.
[52:36] seeing this woman, just sort of that change, that picture.
[52:40] I mean, it's amazing. It's amazing and it's happy and it's fulfilling to see that,
[52:45] that we're able to accomplish that through you all. So keep up the good work,
[52:49] like we said from the beginning, whatever we can do to continue to support the effort, let us know.
[52:55] but I think we have a great team that's boots on the ground, that's getting the work done.
[53:00] and I definitely encourage you other the council members that whenever they have some time to, you know,
[53:04] join you guys because I think it's a good deal to just go out there and see what you guys are seeing on a weekly basis.
[53:11] so thank you. And with that,
[53:16] I would like to entertain a motion to receive and file.
[53:20] I second. Madam clerk, can we get the v by roca?
[53:24] sorry. Move. Mr. In a second. In.
[53:29] mayor medina? Aye. Mayor pt medina, I'm sorry.
[53:33] mayor pote saldana. A. Council member martinez? Aye. Council member raya.
[53:38] a. Council mmbena. Aye. Motion by mayor pote saldana,
[53:44] seconded by council mmbena to receive and file the homes outreach quarterly report.
[53:50] motion is unanimously approved. Thank you. We'll move on to item 14 c. Council finds this action is
[53:57] not a project as defined under section 15378 of the sql guidelines,
[54:02] adopt the resolution approving, an application for funding and the execution of a grant agreement,
[54:07] budget appropriations and any amendment there too for the community cleanup and employment pathway ccep grant
[54:15] program under the clean california program administered by the california department of transportation c trans miss data.
[54:23] good evening, mayor and council members. Yes. The city is working with
[54:30] hopefully we're working with p and we're hoping to submit an application
[54:34] to give summer internships to our pl kids to do job training when it comes to community cleanups,
[54:42] mainly working with public works and helping them beautify the city.
[54:48] the incentive would be, they would get paid for this and get some job training out of it.
[54:57] so we're asking for you to approve this application for the city to submit it on behalf of p.
[55:03] all right.
[55:09] are there any public comments at this time?
[55:14] any comments from the members, mayor? I think it's a great idea.
[55:20] I support it. Member martinez. I agree with the mary protean.
[55:25] this is a really good thing. I'm happy to see you guys you, coming up with creative things to help the youth in our community. So thank you.
[55:32] t hank you. Member r. Love the idea. You know, not just boxing, but community,
[55:38] show work, show be responsible. Love it. Thank you. Memna. Just a quick question.
[55:45] first of all, great idea. Thank you for doing this.
[55:50] who covers like workman's compensation while they're employed by us?
[55:56] is it the city, or is it the grant that provides for that also?
[56:01] and so when we submit the grant, we would be submitting for summer internship,
[56:05] and it would be for mainly for seniors graduating in the pow program.
[56:10] they they would need to be 18. So what we're going to be targeting is going to
[56:16] be our seniors who will be graduating at a pol. And it would be part of the compensation,
[56:22] part of the benefits. So when I do the budget, I will include that.
[56:27] no just, you know, the hourly pay but the benefits that the city is going to be paying for. For that.
[56:33] I mean, because there's always a risk that somebody might get injured. So we need to make sure that we are covered in that regard.
[56:40] yes. Thank you. You're welcome.
[56:44] great idea. All right. I agree motion for approval.
[56:52] moved. Second. I c. We get by roca.
[56:57] mayor marina. Mayor. Council member martinez. Cc member.
[57:05] council mmba. Aye. Motion council member rena, seconded by mayor potala to adopt the resolution.
[57:13] motion is unanimously approved. You one to item 15 reports from commissions and committees,
[57:21] item 15 a, cren economic development corporation. I have nothing to report at this time.
[57:26] 15 b. Current council of governments, mr. Rena. Thank you, mayor. Just a few brief things.
[57:33] the sustainable transportation plan grant application is due november 21.
[57:41] I spoke to maria briefly about it before the meeting started.
[57:45] anyway, so if we're going to apply, we need to make sure that we meet the deadline.
[57:54] sheely maggard maggard.
[58:00] she gave a presentation to this counsel regarding the roundabout on june 3,
[58:07] and she will be coordinating with
[58:11] our staff to schedule another presentation after the first of the year.
[58:16] so staff so hear from her soon, I suppose.
[58:24] and then the other things that were reported are the things that were approved today,
[58:29] which is specifically this crossing at eighth street and highway 43 and the crossing at poplar and highway 46,
[58:37] but we have already apro those. So thank you staff for moving quickly once they got approved to get them done.
[58:44] it's something that personally had been advocating for many years.
[58:50] I was discussing with maria probably since 2017,
[58:55] and it takes a long time to get these things done. So I know it is a safe route to school route,
[59:06] but still takes for quite a while took quite a while to get it done,
[59:11] so now the people and the students crossing highway 46 at poplar
[59:18] will be a lot safer because now traffic will have a red light that will cause them to stop as opposed to those flashing beacons,
[59:25] which people have a tendency to ignore. Even sometimes they don't see them.
[59:29] I've seen drivers blow right through them. I experienced that when I took a walk with john lou, I believe,
[59:37] his last name from caltrans, and we crossed the street and nobody was stopping for us.
[59:42] thank you. Thank you for that. I believe that's it from kern go.
[59:48] all right. Thank you, mr. Rena. Move on to item 152, waco task force.
[59:54] yeah. I was a complete success on the on the citywide cleanup.
[1:00:00] I'd like to just send my heartfelt gratitude to the waco rotary for providing
[1:00:05] the food through pecana market for ding food and drinks, waco fife,
[1:00:11] from frew baptist, st. John's church, waco pal,
[1:00:16] and the local church chaperones and I mean,
[1:00:22] there was american refuse, city staff, and waco pd.
[1:00:26] everybody's contribution was really good. I mean, seeing these elementary faces,
[1:00:33] right, there was a biggest thing for me, I was a heart warming feeling just to see
[1:00:38] the small little faces eagerly to want to go clean up and make their city,
[1:00:44] you know, cleaner place. So that's pretty much all I have to report,
[1:00:48] but it was a good it was a good turnout. Thank you, surgeon. Thank you, louis,
[1:00:54] for being there and helping out. Lieutenant. Everybody.
[1:00:59] everybody contributed. Thank you. Thank you. All right.
[1:01:03] want to item 16 reports from the city manager. Mr.? Yes. Honorable mayor and members of the council.
[1:01:10] a few things to report. One was the attendance at the cal city's annual conference.
[1:01:17] we had myself and three of you attended, and the feedback I've gotten was that a couple of the sessions were better than normal,
[1:01:26] and I found that to be same, you know, a lot of them, but the ones that were good were very
[1:01:32] helpful along with the expo and the rest of the program.
[1:01:37] >> also wanted to report that the snip event was held on the first and we
[1:01:44] had 61 animals who were treated at that event, which is great.
[1:01:51] the walmart remodel and reopening occurred,
[1:01:55] and we have a couple of pictures. This is an audio visual report tonight.
[1:02:01] I'm going to have a few sets of pictures to present. We'll give you the quick slide show here.
[1:02:08] very good turnout.
[1:02:13] pressive speakers.
[1:02:18] ribbon actually did get cut. Everywhere these days.
[1:02:23] >> whose scissors are those? >> I don't know if those are ours. >> walmart has.
[1:02:29] >> those are huge. We need a paint like that.
[1:02:34] [laughter]
[1:02:38] >> there's the mural inside the door there, so nice picture.
[1:02:53] >> [inaudible] that concludes the presentation.
[1:03:01] >> that's it for the walmart. But let's not stop now.
[1:03:07] we had the national night out. We have a video or a slide show for that.
[1:03:14] [noise]
[1:03:55] very good turnout, very good representation from not only our own police department and police force,
[1:04:02] but many neighboring officers from neighboring agencies were there to support us, too.
[1:04:09] that was very nice to see, and a few staff members who are willing to get dunked
[1:04:14] [laughter] and the dunk take a popular option there.
[1:04:21] next item was the community cleanup has been announced, but I actually have a number to put to that.
[1:04:27] 15.85 almost 16 tons of refuse was collected over the course of that event.
[1:04:35] that's pretty impressive. Trunker treat is coming october 30,
[1:04:41] thursday, october 30, from 6-8 over at barker park.
[1:04:45] the waco shafter high school football game will
[1:04:51] be held on following night at the shafter field,
[1:04:56] so don't want to miss that. The whs cowboy christmas parade and tree lighting again on saturday, december 6,
[1:05:06] there will be a flyer if we haven't distributed that already, you'll be getting that as soon as it's available.
[1:05:14] then the tour of lights with our dialer ride supporting it,
[1:05:19] we'll be in december also waiting on date and time for that.
[1:05:24] that's all I have for tonight. >> what's the date on the tours?
[1:05:31] >> the tours, we don't have the date or time yet. But as soon as we do,
[1:05:35] we will distribute that. That will be fine. Thank you. >> thank you, mr. Any questions for city manager?
[1:05:45] >> no question. >> I do have a question, scott.
[1:05:49] >> sure. >> this is just on the unwire. I know when we had the ribbon cutting,
[1:05:55] they mentioned they were thinking they'd be done with the project by december.
[1:06:00] have you gotten any sort of rest from them?is that sort of I think so? >> I think the construction by the end of december is
[1:06:07] still their target by the end of the calendar year.
[1:06:11] then there may still be some finishing up that takes place after that,
[1:06:16] but I think they're going to be ready to start signing up customers before the end of the year.
[1:06:24] >> perfect. Thank you. One to item 17 reports from city council mayor proton pana.
[1:06:32] >> I have a three report. >> member martinez. >> yes. At the cal cities conference,
[1:06:39] I rarely come back with anything that I really feel motivated or,
[1:06:44] like, a real desire to do or something that changes my opinion. But I went to a session with scott over there and scott and I've been talking for
[1:06:52] about a year about this pi in the sky idea of a city private daycare thing,
[1:06:57] and initially, I wanted it primarily so our city employees would have access to daycare.
[1:07:02] but after a tent session, I realized that childcare is an infrastructure issue.
[1:07:07] they made a comment that some people need roads and bridges to get to work,
[1:07:12] some people need childcare. We have experienced people who've left our city
[1:07:16] to go to bakersfield because of childcare reasons. Like if my daughter were to start school today,
[1:07:20] I would have to move to bakersfield for childcare. I just want to plant the seed and everybody in
[1:07:26] the city staff and the council's head that, this is an infrastructure issue,
[1:07:30] and I would like for us to eventually find some sort of city private partnership to provide daycare to our community. That's all I have, sir.
[1:07:40] >> thank you. Member to report. Member marina.
[1:07:47] >> thank you, mayor. I attended the waco community cleanup, october 18, and it was inspiring to see over 100 volunteers there.
[1:07:56] I was already mentioned that we had elementary school children there,
[1:08:01] high school students, students of all types and adults.
[1:08:06] we have our police department there, our staff there. It was just great to see,
[1:08:11] and I was impressed with the 15.85 tons collected.
[1:08:16] that is quite huge. That does not count all of the trash that was collected from the alleys.
[1:08:23] because it went in a different way. Differently so great turnout.
[1:08:30] I want to thank staff for putting this event together and our partners.
[1:08:35] but I also wanted to thank christian for cooking.
[1:08:42] he cooked for all of us. I was quite busy. It was quite a long line,
[1:08:46] and we all got to eat some delicious cycles. Sir, you were there helping.
[1:08:51] kary was helping. Everybody was helping. But it was very good. Thank you all. I also attended the two day
[1:08:59] san aqui valley a pollution control district study session at the pines at bass lake.
[1:09:05] I also attended the kern cod meeting upon my return from bass lake on thursday evening to,
[1:09:12] because there was an issue with having quorum there.
[1:09:19] I was told that they were counting on me to make quorum,
[1:09:23] so there was no way to avoid it. I also attended the legal california cities at long beach.
[1:09:32] I usually attend this al california cities conferences
[1:09:37] because just like mr. Martinez mentioned, I always come back with some new idea,
[1:09:43] and I think that if that's all you get. One good idea from attending those conference is money well spent.
[1:09:51] you mentioned mr. Martinez that scott and you talked about childcare.
[1:09:59] that's something that scott has talked about for a while, him and I have looked into also of companies that might be able to provide that,
[1:10:06] but I'm happy to hear that now we're thinking about private public partnership.
[1:10:11] that might be something that we may be able to do. I also participated in waco pd night out.
[1:10:19] outstanding event, really well attended.
[1:10:24] I want to give lieutenant gala a lot of credit for putting that event together.
[1:10:30] I know you were in charge of it, and it turned out to be much bigger than it was the last time.
[1:10:36] we had last time one street and now this time we had
[1:10:41] two streets that were filled with vendors and activities, so thank you.
[1:10:48] during the smokin valley pollution control district, we discussed the importance of spreading the message of
[1:10:54] the success of this organization in cleaning up the air.
[1:10:59] all of you have a chart in front of you, which I have given you.
[1:11:04] although there are still many challenges ahead, such as mobile source emissions and wildfires
[1:11:11] over which the district does not have jurisdiction or control, it continues to work towards attaining the established epa clean air standards.
[1:11:20] but if you look at the page that I've given you, if you look at where, for example,
[1:11:28] the first circle charts there, it says days meeting versus day exceeding the health standards year round.
[1:11:37] in 2002, only 53% of the days was the standard met in 2012,
[1:11:46] 75%, and in 2024, which was last year, 87%.
[1:11:51] if you look at the chart below, it talks about the eight hour ozone,
[1:11:57] and we recently met 1997 standard,
[1:12:01] but you have cities like bakersfield, which just slightly below,
[1:12:06] but others are above it. Then we still have the 2008 standard and 215 standard that need to be met.
[1:12:20] if you turn the page over, I don't want to go over every single detail of it.
[1:12:25] this is for the day's meeting versus a succeeding the health center year round.
[1:12:30] in 2002, it was 40% in 2012, 60%, and in 2024, 74%.
[1:12:37] so great strides have been made to get there.
[1:12:42] but the fact is that we still have
[1:12:46] more stringent standards to meet established by the epa,
[1:12:51] and it's going to be very, very difficult to get there. Part of the conversation we had in this study session is, at what point,
[1:13:00] do we continue to push to meet this very stringent standards, and at what cost?
[1:13:06] I think scott mentioned that as well recently.
[1:13:11] but I wanted to bring this up because frequently you
[1:13:15] hear people saying that the air is so dirty here in the valley. Now you have some actual data that shows how clean our air is compared to years back.
[1:13:27] you know, it doesn't go very far. You got to go to 2002 to 2024.
[1:13:33] that's just outstanding achievement. Yet, a lot of issues,
[1:13:39] but very difficult to achieve. But the air pollution controls district continues to work to achieve those standards,
[1:13:47] and the question is, how long will it take to get there?
[1:13:52] if you have any questions, I'll be happy to answer them, but I think these are pretty self explanatory.
[1:13:58] that's it from you, man. >> thank you, mr. Rena.
[1:14:03] >> I wanted to report also a harvest festival for the
[1:14:07] st. John the evangelist catholic church.
[1:14:11] this occurred on october 5. I wanted to give a big shoutout to our police department and specifically sergeant galoa,
[1:14:22] because our officers were there. The entire event, and they had a vehicle.
[1:14:28] the the kids were able to interact with the officer, officer gonzalez,
[1:14:34] and they were able to take pictures with them inside the car and with the officer.
[1:14:40] I think this has a great value because again, anytime you get our community in contact with our police department,
[1:14:47] it changes the dynamics that occur. Particularly with children, mi kata,
[1:14:54] I'll say something that you said in the past. You've heard many parents in the past say,
[1:14:59] if you don't behave, the policeman is going to take you. That for kids is scary.
[1:15:05] when the kids are able to say that, hey, there's a friendly policeman,
[1:15:10] he will not take me. I think it goes a long way, so thank you.
[1:15:16] thank you for doing that. It's wonderful to have you participate. That's it. Thank you so much.
[1:15:22] >> thank you, miss rena. From my end, it seems like there's been a b going on in the last couple of weeks.
[1:15:30] walmart ribbon cutting, which was a big success.
[1:15:35] mr. Raya and I attended the police awards dinner,
[1:15:40] which was it's always a good event, so that was well attended and a good event.
[1:15:47] the night out kudos to you all. I thought it was a great success.
[1:15:51] well attended, definitely having different activities and whatnot,
[1:15:56] I thought that was good. One of my favorites I think is having that. Taylor deal with that car,
[1:16:01] and having somebody there explaining what the backstory is to that,
[1:16:06] I think it's very impactful, so I think that's something that we just keep. But, I'd like to see year over year.
[1:16:12] then for next year, I'd like to see mayor of them there on that dunk deal.
[1:16:20] I'm sure he'd volunteer. >> why approve [laughter] [inaudible].
[1:16:27] >> with that, I have nothing else to report. We do have item 18 closed session,
[1:16:32] so this evening we have items 188, d ate. Are there any public comments regarding the closed session items at this time?
[1:16:40] we will now turn into closed session and return to report out. >> thank you. B.
[1:16:48] >> 8:03 pm. [noise] >> that's a record.