CALIF. CITY – The Calif. City Council met for their bi-monthly meeting on the evening of Feb. 14th inside the city council chambers; the closed session portion of the meeting started around 4pm and the regular session began around 6pm.
After the council returned from closed session, roll call, the Pledge of Allegiance and adoption of the agenda, the meeting got underway.
Under Report out of Closed Session – Mr. Ponto: Yes, CS1, CS2 and CS3 which are ready for the record prior to adjourning for closed session. For each of those items, council was given and direction was received. No further reportable action at this time. OK. Thank you..
Under City Clerk Report/Late Communications – 2 presentations by Police Chief Hightower: P1 – the promotion of Officer Rivera to Seargent, P2 – presentation to Officer Angulo for receiving the 10851 Pin given by California Highway Patrol and AAA for Grand Theft Auto recoveries, P3 – County Fire Department issue; yeah, I think we could skip that.
Under City Clerk Reports/Late Communications – 1. Correspondence from J.M. Powers dated Feb. 4th through 6th requesting that they be a part of the official record and will be attaching to the meeting minutes closest to the dates submitted, 2. Councilman Creighton made an announcement for a Mobile Spay and Neuter Clinic coming to Cal City in March. To be held on the 14th and 28th. The location will be Victory Baptist Church. Fliers are out with the requirements.
Under Departmental Reports – OHV prepared by – OHV Manager Inge Elmes: President’s Day holiday weekend expected to bring a number of visitors weather permitting, ground crews continue to maintain riding areas, install signage and keep up with amenities; all park aids are preparing for the upcoming weekend, staff is focused on the grant application cycle for G23/24 prelim. applications due March 6th, Jan. OHV sales totaled $7,451.00, Parks & Recreation by Theresa Oaks: staff and volunteers are focusing on preparing for Desert Tortoise Days by looking at mailing out flyers with water bill to advertise for vendors and parade entries, staff continues to focus on clean up at Central Park, Balsitis and Par 3, staff has reported an increase in graffiti at all the parks and staff is spending substantial amount of time cleaning and painting over it, identification is required to come into the Strata to help alleviate destruction that has been happening (previous signing in lead to most people leaving fake names), adult aerobics class continues to be held on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 10-11am, Strata is open to adult walking club from 11am to 12pm Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday; other events were also mentioned in the report such as Kids Art Class, Open Gym, We Gott Next Basketball and Cheer, Farmers Market, etc., future programs include dance classess, indoor soccer, kids dance classess and kids martial arts.
Under Civic/Community Organization Announcements – Councilman Creighton announced that there will be a spay/neuter clinic for Calif. City residents only coming in March and will be located at the Victory Baptist Church parking area.
Under Public Business from the Floor – several residents commented on different things that are going on around the city; council cannot engage in discussion back and forth on any issues pertaining to this agenda item but can direct staff it bring item back for future agendas.
Under Consent Calendar – a motion and second were heard on the following items; CC1: approve City Check Register dated Jan. 20th – Feb. 9, 2023 presented by Finance Manager Kenny Cooper, CC2: approve Surplus Declaration/Disposition presented by – CCPD Chief Hightower, CC3: Title 24 Code Update presented by CCFD Chief Kosick (introducing ordinance #24-800 for first reading), CC4: approve Recruitment of Additional OHV Staff presented by – OHV Manager Inge Elmes and CC5: Fireworks for 4th of July presented by – Park & Recreation Supervisor Theresa Oaks; motion carried.
Under City Manager Report – CM1: Water Board Deficiency Notification – Oral Report: the announcement by the City Manager that the Water Board has issued a Deficiency Notification which states that, “due to all the recent blowouts we have had in our water system, this has put Calif. City as the #1 water waster in the State”.
Under Public Hearing – PH 1: public hearing for the use of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) fiscal year 23/24 funds: After discussion and testimony from Council and public, Council voted unanimously to use whatever funds were necessary to complete the project from input by a previous Public Works Director and hold the remaining funds for the next round of CDBG funding, PH 2: Public Hearing to Amend the Municipal Code to determine the selection of Mayor Pro Tempore presented by-Councilmember Creighton: he stated that he would do a re-write to his amendment and present to City Attorney for review to be brought back to Council with a proposal of Ordinance changes, considerable discussion was heard by both council and public; some agreed, some disagreed; no action taken.
Under Continued Business – Future of all Commissions was pulled by Mayor Kulikoff.
Under New Business – NB 1 – Roof Repair for Police Department presented by – CCPD Chief Hightower; three quotes were received and he spoke on the fact that quote from Western Pacific Roofing was $1,170 higher than quote from AV Roofing; after some discussion a motion was made by Councilmember Macedonio to approve AV Roofing and seconded by Councilmember Creighton Vote 5-0 to approve; motion carried, NB 2 -.Change Regular Council Meeting Start Time: motion by Councilman Michael Kulikoff and seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Smith with council members Creighton and Macedonio dissenting; Motion carried, NB 3 Resolution to Establish Check Signing Authority 02-23-2965 the resolution of the City Council of the City of California City: discussion was heard from council and public and after all was said and done, a motion by Councilmember Michael Kulikoff to approve and seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Smith vote 3-2 with dissenting votes by Creighton and Macedonio. Motion carried.
Under Councilmember Comments, Agenda Request and AB1234 Reports – Council comments were heard as well as the AB 1234 reports then after all the business was taken care of; the meeting adjourned at approximately 8:52pm.