City Council - Regular Meeting

Thank you. Good evening, everyone. I will call the June 23rd, 2026 closed session City Council meeting to order. City Clerk, may we please have a roll call?

Councilmember Clark? Present. Councilmember Lodge? Here. Councilmember Peterson?

Here.

Mayor Pro Tem Mayles? Here. Mayor Krupa?

Here. move into public comment for closed session. City Clerk, are there any registered speakers?

There are no registered speakers, Mayor.

Is there anyone online? I forgot to ask that last time.

I don't see anyone online.

Alrighty. With that, Council will now proceed to closed session. Thank you for joining us and report out of closed session will occur after deliberations.

Mayor, for the record, we intend on calling Councilmember Lodge from the telephone line for closed session, and then for open session, he will be participating pursuant to the Brown Act remote teleconferencing provisions.

Very good. We will have Councilmember Lodge in the meeting in a few minutes.

Here we go.

CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?

YEAH.

OKAY, PERFECT.

IF I CAN PLEASE ASK YOU, COUNCILMEMBER LODGE, TO MUTE YOURSELF DURING THE MEETING.

IF I COULD WHAT?

MUTE YOUR PHONE DURING THE MEETING. OH, YEAH. BECAUSE WE DO GET A LOT OF FEEDBACK.

ALL RIGHT. I do have a private dining room tonight, so we won't be getting any feedback from people.

Okay, sounds good. Thank you. Thank you.

Okay. Good evening, everyone. I would like to call the June 23rd, 2026 regular city council meeting to order. City Clerk, may we have a roll call?

Council Member Clark? Present. Council Member Peterson? Here. Mayor Pro Tem Mayles? Here. Mayor Krupa?

Here. ALL FIVE OF US ARE PRESENT IN ONE FORM OR THE OTHER?

YES. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU.

ALL RIGHT. THE INVOCATION TONIGHT, I DON'T SEE DALE GARLAND IN THE AUDIENCE.

MAYOR PORTEMP, WOULD YOU PLEASE LEAD US IN THE INVOCATION? IF YOU WANT TO HEAR ANIMAL CONTROL INVOCATION. Father God, as we start this meeting, we just pray that everyone's on the same page. Everyone is prepared for the best night ever. We thank you for bringing us here. Thank you for this council that's here today, for the people in the audience. And we just pray that everyone is ready for this meeting and We thank you for everything that you do for us, Father God. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen.

Sorry about that. That was OK. Jackie, would you lead us in the pledge?

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Okay, thank you, everyone. City Attorney, could we please have a report out of closed session?

Thank you, Mayor. For item 5A, for one of the potential cases, the City Council gave authority to initiate litigation by a vote of five to zero. There's no other reportable action out of the closed session.

All right. Thank you very much. We'll go on to presentations. Tonight we have two, and they are celebrations for the United States. The first one is going to be a presentation that Jackie Peterson will present to the city, and it's from the entire council. So I'm going to ask all of the council members to come down front. And Noah, as interim city manager, if you would be the receptee or receptor of the proclamation.

LET'S GO.

I'LL BE RIGHT THERE.

Proclamation for Independence Day. Whereas on July 4th, 1776, the 13th American colonies courageously declared their independence, laying the foundation for a free and self-governing people. And this day stands above all others as a symbol of our nation's enduring commitment to liberty, equality, and democratic ideals. Each year, the Fourth of July offers us an opportunity to reflect on the sacrifices made by those who came before us and to rededicate ourselves to the values enshrined in the Declaration of Independence. whereas the strength of our community is rooted in civic pride, public service, and our shared responsibility to uphold freedom, justice, and unity. And in the face of ever evolving challenges, both at home and abroad, the people of the United States of America remain steadfast in their commitment to the shared pursuit of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. And whereas it is fitting and proper that the residents of the City of Hemet join together in celebration and remembrance on this historic day. Now therefore, Linda Krupa, Mayor of the City of Hemet, along with the Hemet City Council, do hereby proclaim July 4th, 2026 as Independence Day. And in the 250th year of our nation's independence, we invite all residents to reflect on the meaning of freedom, to participate in civic celebration, and to rededicate themselves to the enduring principles of democracy, equality, and community spirit. And we are giving this to the city of Hammond.

No, I think you said it all. Just thank you, Council, and we will proudly display this at City Hall.

Wonderful. Thank you. He's the guest photographer tonight. He is our guest photographer.

Our next presentation is going to be by Rob Davis and everybody else. Come on up, everybody. I see Chris. And this proclamation is from the Jesus Christ Church of Latter-day Saints. Mayor, City Council.

Okay, we'll start over. Madam Mayor, City Council, it's my privilege tonight to come with members from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We're here tonight to present a proclamation to the city for the same thing, the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Let me just introduce who we have here. On the far right is Mary Ann Dunn. You probably know, in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we don't have a paid clergy on the local level. Everybody does it. Marianne works with what we call the Stake Relief Society, who it's, I think, one of the longest-standing women's organizations in America. And they just do all sorts of service. It would be way too much if I tried to explain it here. Next are Donnie and Susie Simpson. Many, many people here know Donnie and Susie. I know Joe is at American Legion Post 53, Silver Star recipient, Don Simpson, and very longtime friend. And they serve with me and Robin Huff over here on the communications committee. Chris Formica, most of you know from JustServe. She is always working with the city, helps out with Hemet Beautiful and I don't know how many other things. And then Brian Dunn, who serves on our stake, which is the local geographical area. He serves on the High Council, and he's gonna present the proclamation scene.

I might be too tall for this mic, sorry. Just a little information. I'm certainly one of you. I moved here when I was four years old and grew up here. Went away to college, came back, and raised my family here, my business. I'm a dentist here in town. We love the Hemet Valley, and we're grateful, of course, to you and all the service you give. Let me just briefly say why we're giving this proclamation as a gift to the city of Hemet. In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we believe in following Jesus, but one of the center parts of that belief is that we believe that God has given us the rights and liberties to choose for ourselves our path, kind of a self-determination idea. We become what we want to become. And we, of course, deal with the accountability of that. So this isn't too far off from some of our great declarations, the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. You remember the beginning of the Declaration. And just because I might forget, we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights. We know them, right? Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Liberties. And these freedoms have created a country, an experiment of 250 years, right? An experiment of freedoms that allow for an environment to what we believe allow God's children the freedom to choose for themselves. This is, of course, a leap of faith back in 1776, or a leap into the dark maybe even, right? The government... was a self-government. The sovereignty was placed on the shoulders of the governed or the people, right? A republic was something pretty new. The Constitution basically says the same thing and basically explains this. It starts with the preamble. We the people, not we the government, we the people, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility, protection, general welfare, blessings of liberty, all these things are connected to these individual rights and liberties and give us the ability to choose for ourselves. So before I just read a little blurb, I'm not going to read the whole proclamation, but just a little blurb, I just wanted to share with you that our church is basically in honor and recognition of this 250-year anniversary. We're going to have a fast. It's going to be on July 5th, and we would invite everybody to do it, and you can do it the way you're comfortable doing it. For us, that means abstaining from two meals and giving usually a donation to some charity with money saved. It's prayer and fast. We're fasting for... basically gratitude for this country, the liberties that we've been afforded through these great documents and the principles of the founding fathers, right? And, of course, also fasting for the success and the proliferation of these liberties and freedoms for the coming generations, right? Let me just read to you the back end. Oh, I have it right here. Sorry. So just the last little blurb, okay? It says, now, therefore... excuse me, whereas the commemoration of the American 250 provides an opportunity for all citizens to reflect upon our history, honor those who have sacrificed for liberty, and recommit ourselves to building a more united, virtuous nation for future generations. Now therefore, be it proclaimed that we of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints hereby recognize and celebrate the 250th anniversary of the United States of America, and encourage all residents to participate in activities that honor our nation's history. service, foster respect and understanding among neighbors, and work together to ensure that the blessings of liberty endure for generations to come. Thank you for your service and all that you do for our community, and God bless America, right?

Thank you. Thank you very much. And we would like all of you to come over here for a photo op. Everybody.

We going up? Are we going up?

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, guys.

And that proclamation will hang in the library. So thank you very much for the presentation. We really appreciate it. Okay, moving on to public comment. We will take public comment on items not listed on the agenda. We will take public comment on the agenda when we get to those items. City Clerk, are there any registered speakers?

We do have registered speakers. However, before we move to public comment, if we can go ahead and read the wording of Council Member Lodge participating in tonight's meeting remotely.

Okay. Okay?

Councilmembers, we have a request from Councilmember Lodge to participate remotely under the teleconferencing rules of SB707. Councilmember Lodge is appearing remotely due to medical reasons, which requires him to participate remotely. We also have one other item we must enter into the record. Councilmember Lodge, can you disclose if there is anyone else in the room with you over the age of 18, and if so, your relationship with that person?

The room is empty. I have it to myself.

Thank you. Mayor, we will need a motion and a second to approve Council Member Lodge's request to participate remotely under SB 707.

Need a motion? I will make a motion to accept that. I'll second.

All right. We have a motion and a second. Please do a roll call.

Council Member Clark? Yes. Council Member Lodge? Yes. Council Member Peterson? Yes. Mayor Pro Tem Mayles? Yes. Mayor Krupa?

Yes. Thank you. All right. Thank you. Thank you. There wasn't anybody...

on non-agenda items? Yes, we do have speakers, yes. Our first speaker this evening is Priscilla Grandala.

Please come to the podium.

And our next speaker after Priscilla will be Christian Covey.

Hello, my name is Priscilla Giandalia, and this is Bernice Alvarez. And we are here just to highlight our business here in town and our community. We are from Grocery Outlet. We are both the owners from the east side and the west side. And we're here just to talk about our business and what we are driving through this summer. Starting tomorrow, we have a food drive that helps our community as a whole. On the west side, we will be having a food donation where we give five, get five. You purchase a $5 bag of food, and you get a coupon for your next purchase on your purchase next time. And that bag of food, after we contribute for that month and a half until the end of July, goes into our, for us, goes to local veterans here in town. American Legion, Post 53, Legionnaires, Sons of American Legion, Post 53 Riders, and Post 53 Auxiliary will all contribute, will gain from all of this. So we are here just to kind of highlight what's going on in our community and how people like yourselves in our community can help drive that business as well for those people, so we can raise some money for them to feed the local veterans here in town. Bernice will have a different vendor going on in her community. That's what's unique about our business as a whole. We are independently owned here in town, so we get to choose who we want to go with. Overall, the company as a whole, Grocery Outlet, has raised over $30 million overall when you look at the company as a whole. Every Grocery Outlet in its own town raises its own money for those communities. So we wanted to highlight what we actually do here in our town. I know we're a small little store here. We've been around for, I want to say almost 19 years here in Hemet. The west side's only been here for about six years, but we're here still all the same purpose is to raise money for our community as well and to bring whatever savings we can for our community. Did you want to add anything at all?

I'm fairly new.

Can you speak into the microphone, please?

I'm fairly new. I recently took over the store over at East Hemet as of May 12th. I am the new owner there. But also doing the same thing, I'm partnering with Carol's Kitchen, and their address here is in Hemet. It's a Hema location with the Hema United Methodist Church. And yeah, like I said, I'm pretty new to this, so I'll cut it short. Thank you, guys.

I just wanted to highlight, to kick this off, this coming up weekend on Sunday, we will have an event at the Westside, 3200 Westside of Florida, from 12 to 3. We're going to have the local veterans actually out. We're going to have the post out so everyone can meet those people in town. And the local fire department will be out for about an hour just to meet and greet with the kids, and we'll have some hot dogs and icees for the kids. All right.

Thank you very much. Mayor. Next speaker.

Linda. Wait, Mayor. Can't really comment on things that are... It's the 365. Hemet 365.

We'll get with them after.

Next speaker, please.

Christian Coley, my apologies.

All right, I gotta go fast. Good evening, my name is Christian Coley. I'm the union president for the Hemet Police Officers Association, and I've been a police officer for 13 years. The reason I'm here tonight is to speak directly to you about the city's financial position and the offer the city has made to the union during our contract negotiations. As of our latest negotiations meeting, the city has offered a 0% economic increase to the HPOA and wants us to essentially agree to a status quo one-year contract. I'm here to tell you just how detrimental that offer is to the city, its citizens, and the union. In 2014, the Hemet Police Department was at an all-time low, with only approximately 60 officers from the chief down. With the department severely understaffed, crime rose. In 2014, we had 10 homicides. In 2015, we had 10 homicides. And in 2016, we had five homicides. In 2016, one of the homicide victims was a young Marine named Nicholas Male, the son of Mayor Pro Tem Male. He was killed just a few blocks from here. I think we, the citizens, council, and city officials can all agree that although it has not been easy, we have come a long way and we can never go back to those staffing numbers. Now I'd like to talk to you about some positive improvements the city and the police department have made over the last few years. Our current staffing is 86 police officers, and we have seven-day coverage in the traffic and the aero bureau. These teams directly impact the quality of life of our officers and visitors' experience in the city of Hemet. These positions also create more time for our officers to be on patrol, preventing crime. Here are a few crime statistics that I believe are important. Since 2016, property crime is down 43%, and all violent crimes are down 38%. I think it's safe to say with your support and our men and women in uniform, we've done an outstanding job, and I believe the citizens and council would agree. Now, what is the cost of a 0% status quo contract? Why would our qualified and experienced officers stay here? Our officers right now can lateral to one of our comparable cities, like Cathedral City, and make 13.5% more. or to Marietta Police Department and make 5% more and do about 90% less of the work. Our detectives and investigators with years of experience can leave right now and make 15 to 29% more at the Riverside County District Attorney's Office, and that's working at home several days a week. What message are we sending to our officers and our citizens when the council approves a 7% increase in council member compensation? What message do we send to our officers and citizens when we budget $100,000 for Christmas decorations? Most importantly, how can we project next year's budget without closing out the 2025 budget yet? I'm going to allow somebody else to speak to finish the rest.

Next speaker is Peter Aguilar.

Good evening. Pedro Aguilar, I'm the secretary of the union. So just to piggyback off what Christian said, did you know in recently published 2024 annual comprehensive financial report, and I quote, public safety expenditures were approximately 4.1 million less than final budget appropriations largely due to savings in vacant positions in both police and fire department. How can you be confident in the city's projection and estimates for this new fiscal year when we have not even finalized the financial reports for this current fiscal year? What would the citizens say about the city freezing all vacant police officer positions for the foreseeable future? July 1st, the Hemet police officers will be 9% out of market in our comparable cities. We'll be ranked number eight out of 11 in our comparable cities. Officers will leave. If officers leave, they leave the quality of life of the citizens, visitors, and businesses will be directly impacted. If our citizens do not feel safe, they will shop elsewhere, they will eat elsewhere, and they will move elsewhere. The Hemet Police Department has a lot of positive momentum right now. And by freezing police department positions and offering zero compensation this upcoming fiscal year, you are effectively bringing all this positive momentum to a halt. At a minimum, we need to maintain what we have built to this point. But now being 9% out of market and other nearby agencies are offering more pay for less work, we have shifted that momentum into reverse. I ask the council to take what the union has presented to heart and the POA always has and always will handle our labor negotiations like professionals. That's exactly what you're here seeing tonight. In your time of need, you call us the police. We are in our time of need. So I am calling upon each and every one of you to ask questions and look how these decisions are going to negatively impact the city, its citizens, its visitors, and police officers by approving the city's current position on our contract. Thank you for your time and be safe.

Thank you very much. Next speaker. Next speaker, Pauline Gold.

Uh, honorable members of the city council. I'm here. Uh, I'm probably going to stumble through this speech, so I'm going to put my request first. I'm asking this council to immediately direct the city manager and public works engineers to step in, order a full subgrade assessment of this entire lot at space 40 and issue a direct title 25 notice of violation to the park owner to force the repair. My name is Pauline Gold. I'm an 82-year-old low-income resident living at Saddleback Mobile Home Estates, located at 1536 South State Street, Space 40. I'm here tonight because there's an active, concealed, subsurface void measuring 11 feet long, 3 feet wide, 3 feet deep, directly beneath my patio. The confirmed cause of this massive empty space is a year-long park irrigation leak that originated on the north side of the property. This continuous water flow has washed out the subgrade soil beneath my home, meaning additional subgrade unknown voids are to be expected under the structure. This is an imminent threat of ground collapse, property damage, and personal injury to myself and my home at Space 40. I previously brought this life safety hazard to Hemet code enforcement on April 14th, 2026. I personally handled an official complaint to Sarah Kelly. The department's response was that they were untrained to locate or address a subsurface void. Because of this failure to act, legal aid backed out, and I am now caught in a dangerous bureaucratic gridlock between the city and state. I'm here tonight to remind this council of the law. Under California Health and Safety Code Section 18400.1, the City of Hemet explicitly assumed full local enforcement agency contract duties over our mobile home parks. By taking on this contract, the City legally mandated itself to enforce Title 25 health and safety standards. Claiming to be untrained does not absolve the city of its legal obligations. It is a direct breach of your state mandate. Therefore, these spreading subsurface voids threaten the structure. Furthermore, these spreading subsurface voids threaten this.

Thank you very much. You have copies over here. Thank you very much. Appreciate that. Next speaker.

Next speaker is Shaul Rosen-Rager.

Is the microphone on? On? Wait a minute. Your mic isn't on.

I think it's on. It's green? Green.

OK. Go ahead.

I'm here because there are a couple of things happening at the same time. If you're paying attention to the news, in Los Angeles, southeast of downtown, an area called Boyle Heights, there is a warehouse fire. This is a refrigerated warehouse. And that fire has been burning for over a week now. Apparently, it's very hard to put it out. They've been using helicopters. Why am I talking about this? Because at the same time, we received a NOP that Hemet is starting the process of a refrigerated warehouse right next to apartments and residential areas. It's called Santa Fe Gateway Project. I will not waste your time telling you all the problems with warehouses, but with recent fires, we're learning that warehouses have another issue, especially with refrigerated warehouses. And we're asking that we finalize development guidelines for warehouses. It's been a long time and it's time to do it with input from the community. Thank you for your time.

Thank you very much. Next speaker. Next speaker is Brian Hawkins.

Okay, good afternoon, council. So my name is Brian Hawkins. Some of you guys may know who I am. I come here on the behalf of Cocoroa Strategy. I'm a strategist and I'm working with Mr. Simon Chu and his properties. And so the letter that's going on around, it's kind of like to give an update because our main focus is one, putting a roof on the Sharkey building. I've been speaking with the water department. And so I met with them two weeks ago. I was waiting for Travis to get back in town this week so he can approve the spot where we can put the backflow in that area. So the goal really is to put a roof on top of Sharkey's. I have been going back and forth with a lot of emails with previous staff that no longer work here and I'm a today person not a who was working here before and my goal is to bring everything to today and so I've been emailing probably about maybe somewhere anywhere between about 17 to 25 emails over the last two weeks given a full update between 102 East Florida 118 North Harvard which is detailed inside there. One of the things that I'm really just requesting is that city council or someone can step in and kind of bring this together, have a meeting because all the information is here. We're SoCal gas messed up and put the meter in a month, two months after the expiration date. So I'm just asking for an opportunity.

Thank you very much for your comments. Next speaker.

That was our final speaker, Mayor.

That was the last one. Thank you. All right. Thank you very much for the public comment on these issues. Where am I? We will now move on to public hearings. City Clerk, would you please read the procedures for the public hearing?

City Council's procedures for public hearing will be as follows. Staff will provide a report and clarification of items presented. The public hearing will be open for comments for those in favor of or in opposition to the item followed by rebuttal to any comments made. The public hearing will be closed and the city manager may respond to any questions raised by the public. The public will not have an opportunity to respond. Discussion will then be brought back to the City Council for direction or action.

All right, thank you. Can we get a report on number 15A? Go ahead.

There you go. Good evening, Mayor, City Council, Jolene Ferris, Interim Public Works Director. I don't have a PowerPoint for this. This is just a verbal presentation. On May 26, 2026, the City Council approved resolutions initiating proceedings for the annual levy of assessments for the landscape and streetlight maintenance districts, ordered the preparation of the annual engineer's report, and declared its intention to levy and collect fiscal year 26-27 assessments for the landscape and streetlight maintenance districts. Public works staff, along with finance staff and our assessment district consultant, Harrison Associates, have prepared the necessary budgets for this fiscal year maintenance and set the levies accordingly within the allowable parameters. This item is to conduct a public hearing to take any testimony regarding the fiscal year 26-27 engineer's report and the levy and collection of assessments for the existing landscape and streetlight maintenance districts. Following the public hearing, staff is recommending the approval of the engineer's reports and that the levy and collection of assessments be ordered for these existing maintenance districts. That's all that I have. I'm here to answer any questions.

Thank you very much. I will now open the public hearing. The public hearing is now open. City Clerk, do we have any registered speakers?

No registered speakers for this item, Mayor.

All right. Thank you very much. I will now close the public hearing and bring it back to council for questions or a motion.

I will do a motion to accept the resolution approving the engineer's report and levy and collection assessments for existing Hemet Landscape and Street Light Maintenance District for the upcoming fiscal year 26 to 27.

Thank you very much. Is there a second? We have a motion and a second. Please do roll call.

Do we need to recuse ourselves if we're in those districts?

Yes.

You should state your recusals for the specific districts on the record.

I live in Heartland and I will recuse myself from Heartland District.

I believe staff may have the other ones noted.

I HAVE MAYOR PROTEM MALES IN L.M.D. NUMBER NINE OF THE ORIGINAL DISTRICTS. I HAVE THE MAYOR IN L.M.D. 19 OF THE ORIGINAL DISTRICTS AND ALSO COUNCILMEMBER LODGE IS IN L.M.D. 19 OF THE ORIGINAL DISTRICTS.

I WILL RECUSE FROM DISTRICT 19.

I WILL ENTER THOSE RECUSALS INTO THE RECORD. THANK YOU, MAYOR.

I'M STILL HERE. ALL RIGHT. SO HOW DO WE DETERMINE WHO GETS TO VOTE ON WHICH OR CAN WE VOTE ON ALL OF THEM?

SO YOU CAN VOTE ON ALL OF THEM AND WE'LL SIMPLY NOTE THE RECUSALS AS TO THOSE SPECIFIC DISTRICTS IN THE RECORD.

ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. PLEASE DO A ROLL CALL.

COUNCILMEMBER CLARK? YES. COUNCILMEMBER LODGE? YES. COUNCILMEMBER PETERSON? YES. MAYOR POTEM-MAYLES? YES. MAYOR CRUPA?

YES. THAT ITEM PASSES UNANIMOUSLY. MOVING ON TO ITEM 15B. Our next public hearing, can we get a presentation, please?

Good evening. Tiffany Barnett, Administrative Services Director. This item before you this evening concerns the collection of delinquent residential solid waste handling fees incurred during the calendar year 2025. Under the second amendment to the exclusive franchise agreement with CR&R, residential refuse service cannot be discontinued due to nonpayment. As a result, when accounts become delinquent and remain unpaid for more than 120 days, After the initial billing date, CR&R is authorized to initiate the process of placing those delinquent charges on the property tax roll, consistent with California government code sections 38790.1 and 25831. CHAPTER 62 OF THE HEMET MUNICIPAL CODE IN TERMS OF THE FRANCHISE AGREEMENT. CRNR HAS SUBMITTED ITS PRELIMINARY ANNUAL REPORT IDENTIFYING DELINQUENT ACCOUNTS TOTALING $794,207.54. IN ACCORDANCE WITH LEGAL REQUIREMENTS, CRNR MAILED NOTICES TO THIS PUBLIC HEARING TO ALL AFFECTED PROPERTY OWNERS ON JUNE 9, 2026. advising them of their opportunity to appear before City Council and present any objections or protests regarding the proposed assessments. Following tonight's hearing, staff and CRNR will continue to process payments and address any account discrepancies through July 24th, 2026. Any necessary revisions or corrections to the report may be incorporated before the final assessment rule is submitted to Riverside County. Upon confirmation by City Council, the delinquent fees will become special assessments against the respective parcels and will constitute liens against the properties until paid. A certified copy of the confirmed report will be transmitted to the Riverside County Auditor for placement on property tax rolls. This item does not establish any new rates or fees, rather it provides a mechanism authorized by state law in the city's franchise agreement to collect previously incurred and unpaid solid waste handling charges. Staff recommends to open the public hearing and receive testimony and adopt resolution 2026 103, affirming the annual report of calendar year 2025 delinquent solid waste handling fees and authorizing levy of said fees as special assessments on the Riverside County property tax roll.

Thank you very much for the presentation. I will now open the public hearing. City Clerk, do we have any registered speakers?

We do have one speaker.

All right.

Rosendo Alvarez. Not present, Mayor. Pardon?

He's not present. He's not present? Okay. Is there anyone else that would like to speak? You can go to the microphone and fill out a card, either one, whichever one you want to do first. Just take the form with you. go, go do your speaking and then bring that back to the city clerk. This lady in front also wants one.

All right, good evening. So I just received this letter that she spoke about. June 9th mailed out and this was my first notification of the collection account. So I've never received a late payment. I have an account that makes regular scheduled payments every month. But this was the first time that said there's a collection and it's going into collections. So I'm a bit confused on how I got that far without an initial notification.

Okay, is CRNR representative here? Please come up.

Do I stay, do I go? Okay.

Good evening, Honorable Mayor, City Council, and city staff. I'm Barbara Jimenez with CRNR, and I'm here to assist in any way I can with questions or concerns or discrepancies. In your case, I can help you. Aside, we can figure out what's going on because I don't know what happened with your case because I don't have anything in front of me, but we can definitely address it. Yeah, no, we can take care of it afterwards.

If we could remove that lady's bill from this list so that we can still approve it tonight. We'll get to that point. I believe we have one more speaker on this issue. Do we have, would it be more convenient to just give her a handheld?

It would be.

The microphone is right there.

Hello. Hi. I'm Patricia Elgee. I have a house in Hemet on Everwood Drive. And when I moved in three years ago, the barrels were stolen. CR&R said that I have to pay $280 for three more barrels that I didn't have, and essentially $40 a month for trash. am very low income. I now have to sell my house because my income doesn't even cover the mortgage. And I have never used CNR. I cannot recall due process where I lost my right to choose, but CRNR has been sending me threatening notices and harassment that I've gotta pay a bill for services not rendered. I think they're ridiculous, they're bullies, they're dishonest, and I do not think that my tax on my house should be leaned for services not rendered. And I want you to throw out, they said they can charge me anyway, even if I don't use their services, because the city gave them permission to pick up everybody's trash. Well, they also gave the power company permission to sell gas, again, I couldn't afford gas. My gas water heater didn't work, so I threw it out. I do have gas furnace, but I'm from Maine, and when a winter is only 40 degrees, trust me, you don't need a furnace. So I had my gas turned off. And they never told me that I had to pay for gas anyway, even if I don't use it. But CRNR thinks that they have a right to charge people for services not rendered. And this is wrong. It's illegal. I mean, we started the meeting talking about inalienable rights. and the right to choose, and I do not choose C, R, and R. I have a hard time cleaning my house. My daughter comes once a month, and she, I sweep the middle of the floor. She sweeps well, she damp mops, and she takes my trash with her, so I don't have trash. And that's only that she takes one grocery bag, the little plastic ones, and C&R once a month. And so that's like $40. It costs me more to throw out a bag of trash with C, R, and R than it does to fill it up at the grocery store.

Thank you for your comments. Barbara, would you speak with her offline? Thank you. And we will remove both of these from the list that is going to be turned in for approval. Are there any other speakers?

No more speakers.

All right. Then bring it back for discussion with council.

I just want to make sure we have their addresses on the record.

Just write it, please write it down on the sheet of paper.

Did we get yours written on the paper? Okay, great. Thanks.

Thank you, Elodie. All right. Questions from council?

Yeah, I have a question.

Are we seeing an increase in delinquencies? I can't even talk right now. Due to affordability, are we seeing more customers that are unable to afford their payments? And is there any assistance programs available for seniors or low-income residents? Who's mind? Oh, there we go.

So we really haven't. I mean, every year these kinds of questions do come up. We do have programs for low volume trash for a smaller container, the 60 gallon versus the 90 gallon. We do offer that. So without knowing the background on these situations, I really can't speak on exactly what is happening with them. But we really haven't seen that this year.

WILL YOU BE REACHING OUT TO THE CITY?

I'LL FOLLOW YOU OUT AND GET YOUR INFORMATION SO WE CAN CALL YOU.

THANK YOU. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS?

YEAH, I HAVE ONE.

OKAY.

GO AHEAD. ON THE DELINQUENT ACCOUNT, IS THERE ANY WAY TO FIND OUT HOW MANY OF THESE ARE PROPERTY MANAGEMENT COMPANIES AND HOW MANY ARE JUST INDIVIDUALS? BARBARA?

So did you say property management companies? Yes. So usually the case for most of our delinquents are landowners that own the land, the process, and then they're renting them. And they're assuming that the renters are paying. And the renters are assuming that the landowners are paying. So in this case, we don't really have that broken down in front of me. I'm sure we can get it. We can find out how many are renters and who are owners. But I don't have that information in front of me tonight.

I was just curious when I read that report. If you can come up with it, it would be great. I'd appreciate it.

Any other questions or comments? Go ahead.

I also noticed an account exceeding $5,200 and a few exceeding $1,000. How does it get up so high? I mean, are these businesses that we're talking about?

No, these are just all residential. Commercial, we can actually, if they stop paying, we don't have to continue servicing. But residential, we have to continue servicing regardless if they pay.

Wow, that's a high amount of...

Yeah, I'm not sure, because usually if it goes over a year, it rolls every year. Some people pay their taxes that way. They pay their trash service through the tax roll. They prefer it that way. I don't know why. But that's a very high number that you're seeing. I didn't see that on my end. So it's usually around $592 for the year is usually what the average amount is.

Okay, thank you.

So as a follow-up question to that, we have talked before about going from a monthly fee for trash collection to putting a year on the tax bill on property owners. And I know that is done in other cities. And I think some further information that we might need is that how many of these really high dollar ones, they can't be rolled over from last year because that one would have already gone on the tax route.

Correct, correct. That's why I'm interested to see why that, you saw those high amounts, it really shouldn't be that. So I don't know if that was somehow mixed in with some commercial accounts, but yeah, we can look into it.

And there's some that exceed 1,000 also.

Okay, yeah, it shouldn't.

All right. Well, we'll pull those two items from the two people who spoke tonight, pull it off. And then at some later date, I would like to bring this back to council when we get all of this other information and have a conversation at that time of whether we continue with the quarterly billing or whether we put it on the tax, on your property tax bill. So in the meantime, if there's no further questions or comments, I'd entertain a motion.

I WILL MAKE A MOTION TO PASS THE RESOLUTION CONFIRMING THE ANNUAL REPORT OF CALENDAR YEAR 2025 DELINQUENT SOLID WASTE HANDLING FEES AND AUTHORIZING THE LEVEL OF SAID FEES AS A SPECIAL ASSESSMENT ON THE RIVERSIDE COUNTY PROPERTY TAX ROLL BILLING, EXCLUDING THE TWO THAT ARE OF CONCERN TONIGHT. THANK YOU. IS THERE A SECOND?

I SECOND IT. WE GOT A LOT OF SECONDS ON THAT ONE. ALL RIGHT. Are we okay?

Did we close the public hearing, Mayor? I'm sorry. Pardon? Did we close the public hearing?

Oh, did I?

I think I did. You did. Anyway.

My apologies.

Public hearing is closed. All right. Just in case. Thank you.

I did want to add one quick thing is that this is just a preliminary list. Payments are going to be accepted and the list will be revised up until the end of July. So once all of those payments have been in, there's been more contact and work going through it, that list will revise.

All right. Thank you very much, Tiffany. All right. We have a motion and a second. Please do a roll call.

Council Member Clark? Yes. Council Member Lodge? Yes. Councilmember Lodge?

Yes.

Councilmember Peterson? Yes. Hello? Yes. Mayor Pro Tem Mayles? Yes. Mayor Krupa?

Yes. That item passes unanimously.

Moving on to 15C.

We have a presentation on 15C.

Good evening, Mayor, members of the City Council. I'm Monique Alaniz-Flater, Community Development Director. This public hearing before you is a TEFRA public hearing. The hearing is in alignment with the strategic plan integration of quality of life, community engagement, partnership and collaboration, organizational effectiveness. The purpose of this public hearing is to conduct a Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act hearing in consideration of the issuance of tax exempt bond financing by the California Statewide Communities Development Authority for Hemet PV Partners LP to provide financing for construction improvement and equipment of 109-unit multifamily rental housing project, generally known as Palm Villas at State Apartments. This is in compliance with the Tax Equity Fiscal Responsibility Act under Section 147F of the Internal Revenue Code. Prior council action after extensive public engagement on March 12th, 2024, City Council authorized submission of a joint application to the Department of Housing and Community Development for Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities Program Fund to fund affordable housing for Palm communities, sustainable transportation infrastructure, and related project transportation amenities. The community benefits include $70 million in new housing development capital investment, improved connectivity within our downtown through transportation and bikeway corridors. prior Council action. On October 8th, 2024, the Council adopted a resolution to authorize participation in the ASICS program and acceptance of the program award. That was later amended on June 24th, 2025, to accept the program award as amended. The project site is Palm Villas at State, located at the northwest corner of State Street and Menlo Avenue, also known as 761 and 7085 North State Street, 160, 260, and 320 West Menlo Avenue. The affordable housing project has received entitlements from the Planning Commission, including the original submittal of original approval on February 20, 2024, an extension of time to allow for the financing component as well as future expansion plans that was recently approved in April for additional units. Hemet PV Partners, LC, the borrowers has requested that the California Statewide Community Development Authority, CSCDA, serve as the municipal issuer of tax-exempt multi-family housing revenue bonds in aggregate principal amount not to exceed $25 million. The CSCDA is a joint powers authority sponsored by the League of California Cities and the California State Association of Counties. The proceeds of the bonds used for the purpose of making a loan to the borrower to enable the borrower to finance the acquisition, construction and equipment of 109 affordable multi-family resident rental housing projects. located on the project site which will be owned and operated by the borrower. The borrower will substantially rehabilitate the project with the proceeds of the bond. The affordability of the project will extend 55 additional years for the closing of the financing. Additionally, on May 12th, 2026, the project received an award of private activity bond allocation from the California Debt Limit Allocation Committee. In accordance with the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibilities Act for the bonds of issuance upon villas to qualify as tax exempt bonds, the City of Hemet must conduct a public hearing providing the members of the community an opportunity to speak in favor or against the use of tax exempt bonds for the financing of the project. There is no fiscal impact to the city to adopt the resolution. Bonds will be issued as limited obligations of California Statewide Communities Development Authority, payable solely from revenues and receipts derived from a loan to be made by CSCDA to the borrower with the bond proceeds. The city bears no responsibility with respect to this issuance of the bond. The city is not party to any of the financing documents related to the bond issuance and is not named in any of the disclosure documents. This hearing was noticed in the Press Enterprise in accordance with the TEFRA regulations on June 16, 2026. It is respectfully recommended that the City Council open the public hearing and take testimony, if any, and adopt Resolution 2026-109 of the City Council of the City of Hemet, California, approving the issuance by the California Statewide Communities Development Authority of exempt facility bonds for a qualified residential rental project for Palm Villas at State. Charles Cohen, a representative of Palm Communities, is available virtually to respond to questions on behalf of the developer. Thank you.

Thank you very much for the presentation. I will now open the public hearing. City Clerk, do we have any speakers in favor or against this item? We do not have any speakers. Is there anyone? Would the developer like to speak on this issue? Is he on the line?

Can you hear me?

Can you speak a little louder?

Sure. Can you hear me? Yes. Is that better?

Yes, go ahead.

Yes. Hi, this is Charles Cohen. I'm the project manager with Palm communities. And yeah, I don't know if there's any specific questions and didn't sound like it. But you know, we're just excited to get going with this project. We are gonna looking to start construction in November, and the project should be completed in September of 2028.

That's amazing because that is the question that I was going to ask because we have had this before us for a long time and it's an exciting project and also with the improvements then to Palm and the RCTC right of way that the city is licensed to do and also the downtown mobility hub. We're all connected into this one great big project so thank you for that timeline and It's really appreciated, and it's a project that the City of Hemet has wanted for a long time, so appreciate that. Any questions that pertain to the public hearing? Okay. Joe?

Will any of the units be targeted for formerly homeless individuals, veterans, seniors, or persons with disabilities? So it's for folks that are at risk of homelessness.

Can you restate your question? What's that? Well, restate your question.

Okay. Will any units be targeted for formerly homeless individuals, veterans, seniors with disabilities?

So it's going to be targeting folks that are at risk of homelessness. So I'm not sure the specifics, but it could be that they've received an eviction notice or are having trouble making payments in their rent. So it'll come off the city's wait list for at risk. That's my understanding.

Because I know a lot of the people that are coming off the streets, they're putting them in homes that are temporary until they can find them permanent housing. This sounds more like permanent housing. Wouldn't we want them to go in temporary homes first in order to make sure that this is something that they're going to want?

you answer that question uh this is this is permanent housing and yeah uh he just said that they were going to take people that are let me let me let me specify that that's for just uh 28 of the units at the project the rest of the units will be for folks EARNING BETWEEN 30 AND 60% AMI. SO IT WILL BE FOR LOW INCOME FOLKS BUT ONLY 28 OF THE UNITS WOULD BE FOR FOLKS THAT ARE AT RISK.

I THOUGHT ALL THE UNITS WERE OKAY. SO 20 OF THEM. OKAY. 28. 28.

ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? WELL, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT, JOE, TO REALIZE THAT THESE ARE GOING TO BE HOUSED FROM ALL KINDS OF PEOPLE. from different locations. HEMET does not get priority. HUD does not allow that. And that was some of our questions at Planning Commission because Will we have a certain percentage of HEMET residents? No. No. HUD requires, so if somebody gets wind of it over in LA and they get on the list, then it is the qualification and the first come, first qualified.

Or the 28 units only.

for all of them for all of them maybe i can address it it's a it's a fair housing law issue um that's why it comes up but what i can tell you is that the city and the developer can certainly engage in significant outreach to the residents in the city of hemet and ensure that everyone has ample notice that this is happening. And my experience in other jurisdictions and this one that have done this is when you have that active outreach in the city of Hemet, you'll find that most of the units go to residents because the need is here.

We just have to make sure that people know about it. And are we going to perform that and get... that out to the residents or the people in Hemet?

If that's the council's direction.

Where would that come from? City manager or?

That would be something you'd want to give direction to the city manager on and then they can bring it forward or if the cost is low enough they can handle it themselves.

I'd like to make sure we get a handle on it before they're built or they're complete. Make sure we get a notice out there for local residents.

That's why I brought it up, because we can do that.

The last affordable housing projects we've done, the last one I think was Greystone, and before that, Sahara and Oasis, and the majority of those people are local residents that went into affordable housing. BECAUSE TWO OF THE PROJECTS ARE SENIOR HOUSING AND ONE IS AFFORDABLE HOUSING ON NORTH BUENA VISTA. OKAY. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? OKAY. WITH THAT, I WILL CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING. AND COUNCIL, WHAT IS YOUR PLEASURE?

I VOTE THAT WE ADOPT RESOLUTION 2026-109 FOR THE CITY COUNCIL TO APPROVE THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT RESIDENTIAL RETAIL PROJECT AT STATE.

VERY GOOD. IS THERE A SECOND? WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND. PLEASE DO A ROLL CALL.

COUNCIL MEMBER CLARK. YES. COUNCIL MEMBER LODGE. YES. Council Member Peterson. Yes. Mayor Pro Tem Mayles. Yes. Mayor Krupa.

Yes. That motion passes unanimously. Thank you for the presentation. And we will be looking forward to the groundbreaking for that project.

Yes.

Turn myself off. Are there any questions or comments from the Council on the City of Hemet warrants, registers, periodic payroll payments, or the specialized equipment use policy?

I do.

Please pull the one you want to talk about. Okay.

So the Amazon, there was a pretty large amount of Amazon purchases. Is this an end of the year using their budget up?

You know, I don't know if that is the situation or if there are certain items that are critical to the department's need at this point in time. Do you have anything specific that you're looking at that we can research?

Ms. Well, we have a blanket PO of 3,211. We have another blanket PO of $3,360, miscellaneous department supplies of $2,300, blanket PO for Amazon purchase of $1,000, And I, you know, I look at all these things and I've asked, and there are a lot of staplers that we purchase, okay? And I'm just concerned we are not in a position to allow those kind of purchases to happen in a month unless we really know what it is. So I'm just concerned. I really, really am concerned.

Yeah, each department, they do have their own blanket purchase order for a certain amount. That is part of their operating budget for supplies. So that's why there are several different blanket purchase orders. BUT AS FAR, YOU KNOW, AS LONG AS I HAVE BEEN HERE, THERE'S NEVER BEEN CENTRALIZED PURCHASING, WHICH WOULD BE MUCH MORE IN CONTROL OF WHAT IS HAPPENING. IT'S BEEN WHERE THE DEPARTMENT KIND OF OVERSEES WHAT THEY NEED.

WELL, CAN WE GET... HOW MUCH WOULD CENTRALIZED PURCHASING, YOU KNOW, CALL THE HANDS?

REPEAT THAT? I'M SORRY.

If we went to centralized purchasing, wouldn't it be, one, much more transparent, and two, wouldn't that be easier on everybody?

I don't know if it would be easier, per se, because it would be one person or a department would have to be formed to do the purchasing for the entire city. Right now, it's just kind of each department has their own designated staff member that does the purchasing. It is something that can be looked into. Noah?

CURRENTLY THE DEPARTMENTS EACH HAVE THEIR OWN SPECIFIC SUPPLIES BUDGET AND SO WE WOULD NEED TO ALMOST LIKE CREATE ANOTHER INTERNAL FUND THAT THEY WOULD ALL PAY INTO AND THEN SOMEONE WOULD HAVE TO KEEP AN INVENTORY AND AS PEOPLE AS DEPARTMENTS CAME TO GET THOSE SUPPLIES THEN WE'D HAVE TO, YOU KNOW, DETERMINE WHAT THEY TOOK AND SO THERE WOULD DEFINITELY BE SOME I THINK ADDITIONAL STAFF TIME REQUIRED TO DO IT THAT WAY.

ALL RIGHT. IT WAS JUST A THOUGHT.

Well, if coffee, for instance, is purchased once a month, could maybe Brenda once a month corral a coffee purchase? I don't know how many sticky notes we need, but we purchase a lot of them, and sometimes they're neon, not just yellow. And staplers, I've got to tell you, How many staplers? It's just, I know it's picky, but that is three, six, seven, eight, nine, almost 10 grand, if not over 10 grand that we purchased at Amazon. And were any of those things able to be purchased through our staple store in Hemet so that we can maybe recoup some of those? That's a lot of money for one month.

so that's my two cents i understand where you're coming from because if we're using something in bulk like paper pins um post-its we don't need the fluorescent post-its we need just standard post-its and we bought them in bulk and if somebody just oversaw that and when people need a paper they can just go and pick paper and they write it off here's you know a case of paper and But, you know, having different departments purchasing and just from wherever, I mean, it does cost, you know. But if we just centralized it and used our procurement person to oversee that and purchase it, it'd be a lot cheaper on us.

I mean, how many reams of paper do we go through a month with every department? I'm sure it's pallet load.

so you know every department getting their own shipment of paper is kind of ridiculous okay there i don't think there's any answers for that this evening so it is something to think about and it's something that maybe we will discuss and bring back on an agenda item so that we can have specifics on how the different departments operate and go from there

Sounds good.

I can make one note. I did look up the biggest one, the $3,000, and it was all book purchases for the library. So keep in mind that Amazon, that Kathy at the library utilizes Amazon for book purchases. So that's probably what those higher dollar ones are, are book purchases from the DIF.

No more books. Well, you just can't tell on this.

right the descriptions default from the purchase order so we can definitely work on updating descriptions on the purchase orders thank you thank you all right any other questions or comments on the receiving file items nope i have a question on 16b is the chief here um actually it's lieutenant okay

I'm getting to it finally. I'm looking for this. Hang on one quick second. Okay. Okay, got it. Okay, so on page 26, you have an Eagle trailer that is surplus as of April 2025. Then on page 73, you have fiscal impact and estimated project costs, and you have the Eagle trailer on there for an approximate annual cost of $1,000. So if it's surplus, why is it still on the rolls, and why is it still costing us money?

Good evening, so the trailer was surplus in 2025 and since it was still utilized in 2025, we had to include that in the report. So for the next report next year in 2026, that trailer will no longer be on there and that cost will be removed.

Okay, so you're just catching up from the year before?

Correct, because it was items that we had from 2025.

Okay, okay, because it just looked like it was a conflicting thing, so. THANK YOU.

ALL RIGHT, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS ON THESE ITEMS? TOM, DID YOU HAVE SOMETHING?

NO, JUST THAT WAS A GOOD IDEA.

ALL RIGHT, WITH THAT, THIS IS A RECEIVE AND FILE. IT'S RECEIVED AND FILED. THANK YOU SO MUCH. MOVING ON TO THE CONSENT CALENDAR. ALL ITEMS WILL BE ACTED SIMULTANEOUSLY UNLESS PULLED BY A MEMBER OF THE COUNCIL FOR SEPARATE CONSIDERATION. DO WE HAVE ANY ITEMS TO BE PULLED?

17B, 17D, 17G, 17N, and that's it for me. 17I for me.

ANY OTHER ONES THAT ANYONE WANTS TO PULL?

NO, YOU'RE PULLING EVERYTHING FOR ME.

I THINK I'M GOOD.

OKAY. I WOULD ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO APPROVE 17 A, C, E, F, H, J, K, L. Wow, we got a whole page there. M. That's it. Those items. I have a motion to approve those.

I second.

17H I thought I pulled.

I didn't say it? No. Okay. I'm pulling 17H also. Okay.

I will make a motion to pass the remaining items.

I'LL SECOND IT.

ALL RIGHT. COULD WE HAVE A ROLL CALL ON THE REMAINING ITEMS?

COUNCILMEMBER CLARK? YES. COUNCILMEMBER LODGE? YES. COUNCILMEMBER PETERSON? YES. MAYOR PRO TEMMALES? YES. MAYOR CRUPA?

YES. THAT PASSES. THOSE PASSED. UNANIMOUSLY MOVING TO THE ONES THAT ARE PULLED. 17B. OKAY.

I have questions on the qualified applicants. We have three. Tina Warpington, Hemet resident, who lives in Val Vista. Ramon Amado, District 2 resident, and George Schaefer, District 1 resident. Now, our current library board is composed of four others, Larry Butler, District 4, Gail Peterson, District 3, Jennifer Reyes, District 4, Noah Seaton, District 3. My question is, why are we getting or pulling in a sphere of influence instead of pulling someone from District 1 or 2 since we don't have a one or two on this board. And why is Mr. Lodge picking this person when he has two already on the board?

Well, I was asked to pick this person, or pick a person. That's why I picked her. And from this sphere of influence, we have a greater community out there than just our districts.

I KNOW, BUT THAT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE TO ME WHY YOU WERE ASKED TO PICK WHEN YOU ALREADY HAVE TWO PEOPLE FROM YOUR DISTRICT ON THAT BOARD.

I CAN ANSWER THAT QUESTION, AND IT IS BECAUSE EACH COUNCIL MEMBER APPOINTS ONE PERSON TO EACH SEAT OF COMMISSIONS AND BOARD OF TRUSTEES IN THE CITY OF HEMET, AND THIS OPENING, WHEN THE PERSON was vacating that position, that was Joe's appointment from last time. Or not Joe, you're not Joe. Tom's appointment. So that's why it was up for him. He did not select the two that are in District 3.

I thought we were trying to even everything out and have, you know, one from each district.

Not necessarily. That's what we talked about before in the past.

That's what we chose these people on, and that's why the person that doesn't have someone that's from their district got to pick the person. Like I said, I have two already on that board. He has two already. So these two don't have any. So they should be the ones that are picking.

except that it is Tom's choice and he picked somebody from the sphere of influence to fill the position that was sphere of influence.

We've always went by districts and then the sphere of influence.

No, we don't. Yes, well. Well, let's put it this way. I appointed Larry Butler. Larry does not live in my district, but he was the best possible candidate when we interviewed for that position. So you always pick the best person. It doesn't have to be somebody from your district. And obviously Tom picked this Tina because she was the best pick and she is in the sphere of influence.

You know, we try to annex here and people from the sphere of influence didn't want to be a part of the city, but we take people that are a part of the city that want to be on this committee and we don't allow them to be on. It just doesn't make sense to me.

Your opinion is noted. We have a motion on 17 B.

I MAKE A MOTION WE PASS IT.

THANK YOU, TOM.

I'LL SECOND IT.

WE HAVE A MOTION AND SECOND ON 17B. PLEASE DO A ROLL CALL.

COUNCILMEMBER CLARK. YES. COUNCILMEMBER LODGE. YES. COUNCILMEMBER PETERSON. YES. MAYOR PROTEN-MAYORS. NO. MAYOR KUPA.

YES. THAT MOTION PASSES FOUR TO ONE. MOVING ON TO 17D. Joe, I believe that's you again.

Good evening, Honorable Mayor and Council and City Staff. How can I answer your questions for you tonight?

I pulled this because I wanted to make a statement. I wanted to show how well our police are performing and because I'm against freezing positions, to be honest with you. According to the police department, increased DUI enforcement, additional staffing in the traffic unit has resulted in more DUI investigations and more blood alcohol and drug testing. Why we're having to up the cost for this toxicology service. Hold on, let me find my notes. Okay. So, the service and the Biotox provide DUI investigations, narcotics cases, blood alcohol analysis, drug analysis, evidence specimens needed for criminal prosecution. Why the sole source is because they're California, they have California Title 17 certification accreditation by the American Board of Forensic Toxicology and establish history of providing reliable court defensible results for him at PDE. We're going from $60,000 to a proposed $75,000 cap, which increases the cost for this service by $15,000, where we shouldn't be spending any excess money, but we are on this. Because what's happening here, by having more police, having two aero teams working 24-7, we have more arrests and more homeless that are taken off the streets. So I just want everyone to know that the cost for what we're doing here is because of the job that our police are doing in keeping the homeless in check, helping them out and getting them off the streets. Our aero team removes encampments and and gets the homeless out of areas of businesses and the parks. While I support our officers and the importance of a successful prosecution, staff can provide the number of tests performed when this contract was approved in September 2025 compared with today so we can better understand the increase. What we're doing here is we're going to pay more, but get better results and more results from what they're doing. Like Officer Coley mentioned earlier, this town was a crap hole back 10 years ago. We didn't have our police, what we should have had using Measure U. We had complaints from everyone. I lost a son due to not having a police force that should have been fully staffed but wasn't. I don't want to go backwards in life. I want to go forward and I just want to let the police know that you're doing a great job. This proves it here by the cost going up on this toxicology service and you picking up more people off the streets and either them going to jail or them getting help. So thank you. THANK YOU, SIR, I APPRECIATE IT.

ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS ON THIS ITEM? ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO APPROVE.

MOTION TO APPROVE, 17D.

IS THERE A SECOND? I'LL SECOND. IF THERE'S A MOTION AND A SECOND ON 17D, PLEASE DO A ROLL CALL.

COUNCILMEMBER CLARK? YES. COUNCILMEMBER LODGE? YES. COUNCILMEMBER PETERSON? YES. MAYOR PROTE AND MAYLES? YES. MAYOR CRUPA?

YES. MOVING ON TO ITEM 17G.

Okay. I'm just trying to figure out why we're buying pipe for our sewers from Orange County when we have two warehouses out here in Hemet, one that just opened a couple years ago. And then the one on State, I'm not sure the name of it. And I think Noah and I spoke about that. And I know the Orange County one's a wholesale company, but is there any way to, you know, inquire with these two warehouses just to see if we can get competitive deals?

I think, you know, we use Planet Bids for these types of purchases, and so in the future, I think we can probably reach out to any of the local vendors, even though they may not typically do wholesale. Like you said, maybe they'll offer, you know, a better deal

That's what I'm thinking.

But just to make sure that they know and they can sign up and place their bid through PlanetBids, which is what we use, but we can certainly reach out to them directly and make sure that they're aware that we have this bid posted in the future.

Yeah, that would be nice if we reached out to them and sent something. That way, because a lot of companies, bigger companies, they might just like to purchase in bulk so they can keep the warehouse full and then sell it to you at wholesale price afterwards because they get it wholesale. I don't know. It's something we can ask.

Mayor? All right. I do. Well, not necessarily questions. I know John Worth, when we approved the pipe, two places, one over by, behind where Hemet Main Office High School or Unified School, anyways. John Worth even said, well, that's great to know that's there because that's much better to have it local than going out. So I support that 100%. Yeah.

I'm just looking for cost cut. And we should shop local.

Repeat that, Tom.

I said we should shop local whenever possible.

Yes, and I'm sure we do.

Yeah.

Any other questions or comments on this? entertain a motion to approve or deny?

Yes. 17.

Second. There's a motion and second on 17. G. Please do a roll call.

Councilmember Clark? Yes. Councilmember Lodge? Yeah. Peterson? Yes. Mayor Pro Tem. males? Yes. Mayor Krupa?

Yes. Moving on 17. H. That's yours again, Joe.

Okay, so H, 17H. I just wanted to ask, Noah, we discussed this, the discrepancies in the files. Did that get fixed?

There was a memo that was sent out that fixed that discrepancy earlier this afternoon.

Okay, great. Thank you. And I'm good with this. We can go ahead and make a motion to pass, please.

We have a motion on 17H. Is there a second?

Okay.

Motion and a second. Please do roll call.

Councilmember Clark? Yes. Councilmember Lodge? Yeah. Councilmember Peterson?

Yes.

Mayor Pro Tem Mayles? Yes. Mayor Krupa?

Yes. Moving on 17 I, Jackie, this is yours.

Okay. On the second page, under background, the CFD number 2005-1 for Public Safety Services. I noticed Tres Cerritos was in there because that's in my district just down the road from me. And I don't believe that they should be assessed at this time as they're not fully entitled. So I think we need to remove them.

Yes, I did confirm through our CFD, our assessment district consultant, that they are not being assessed. That's the Tres Cerritos. And so they wouldn't be assessed until they've actually started or constructed and they had to have homes sold. So just to clarify, that is not being assessed.

Okay. With that, I would move to approve it.

Is there a second? I'll second. Okay. We have a motion and a second. Please do roll call.

Councilmember Clark? Yes. Councilmember Lodge?

Yes.

Councilmember Peterson? Yes. Mayor Pro Tem Mayles? Yes. Mayor Krupa?

Yes. That passes unanimously. Moving on, 17N. Joe, I believe that's yours.

Okay. I believe that LCW has been our negotiators ever since I was here in 2020. Is that correct?

I'll have HR come and answer that.

Good evening. Yes, LCW has been assisting the city since I believe it was 2019. And I did find out that it was not competitively bid at that time. So it was just at that point in time, there wasn't the competitive bidding process. It was more professional services was solicited and negotiated. Okay.

I see that they're raising their contingency or whatever they get from us to $325,000.

Is there not to exceed amount for, yes.

Is there any way that we can send it out for bid and try to get someone else? Ever since we've worked with them, I know there's been problems and I would just feel better if there was, if we,

At this point in time, these are for services already rendered, so we would have to pay what has already been received and invoiced, and that's what part of that amount is for, is for outstanding invoices. And we have projected what is moving forward to cover all of that cost, as well as legal fees.

Once they're paid, can we put out of the bid for someone else?

Yeah, that's absolutely something that can be looked into.

Yeah, because everybody has been very dissatisfied, and they've been here with us since 2019. I say it's time we move on. or at least pay for what they've done and start taking bids because the people that I've spoken with about negotiations, it's just not been . . . Ms.

I don't know how that would work since we're in an active negotiation process. Ms.

They can finish out this year, but I don't want them to start anything for next . . . it's time to move on.

Let's put out competitive bids after this cycle and we'll see what's out there.

Okay.

All right.

I don't see a problem. Good idea. Any questions or comments on this item?

So I guess we'll move to continue with compensation, not to exceed $325,000 for this fiscal year, but not to allow them to continue into any other until we have bidding.

Until we get complete bids.

say that again tom until we get complete bids but when we go out to bed we usually get quite a few and then we top three come to to council for determination correct yeah

Stephen's firm opens another department for litigation. No.

I'm quite happy with the services we provide, but we can certainly assist in helping make sure that you get qualified, specialized legal counsel admitted.

I would just clarify that that would be for professional services, a request for proposals, and it would be, you know, cost would be maybe a component, but it wouldn't be the only component in evaluating those.

Right. Right. And to be clear, just a question, is it an additional $367,000 in addition to the $325,000, or is it the increase between the two?

It's a total. It's the total. It's just the increase.

So instead of paying $325,000, we're going to pay $367,000. Correct. Thank you. All right.

Okay. Done.

Do we have a motion? Connie made the motion. Yes, I did. I'll second it. Okay. We have a motion and a second. Please do a roll call.

Councilmember Clark? Yes. Councilmember Lodge? Yes. Councilmember Peterson?

Yes.

Mayor Pro Tem Mayles? Yes. Mayor Krupa?

Yes. All right, moving on to discussion action items. Can we have a report from staff on the discussion item 18A, which is consideration of city council outside boards, committees, and commissions and ad hoc committees?

Not too much of a presentation on this one. Brought this forward. It shows the recent change spoke at the end of the last meeting between the Hemet Theater and the Stock Farm ad hocs between you, Mayor, and Councilmember Lodge. And I think this would be a good time for the Council to review all of these, see which ones are still needed. I think there may be some that are no longer needed. We could definitely define some of the focus of the scope of some of these and then also if there's any standing committees, we need to recognize that those would be required to follow the Brown Act.

Yes, and this partially came to light because of some research that I was doing and rediscovering the legal aspect of difference between an ad hoc committee and a standing committee. And we have several on here that are not ad hocs that need to be changed to standing committees if we want to keep them. And I'm going to turn it back to legal for a fair explanation of the difference between an ad hoc committee and a standing committee.

Thank you, Mayor. So the principal difference between a standing committee and an ad hoc committee is whether the committee has continuing subject matter jurisdiction over a particular issue. So I think the arts committee might be a good example. So when initially formed, my understanding is that it was formed for the purpose of developing the city's art in public places ordinance. that's an ad hoc item it's a single discrete task you go you do it you bring the report back and you're done whereas if you wanted to for example have a continuing jurisdiction over art projects generally so reviewing them making recommendations going forward you may want to convert that into a standing committee i hope that illustrates the the point if there's any particular questions happy to answer

Yes, I have a few. And I agree with that one. The art and culture needs to be a standing committee because we have talked and researched many, many, many different areas besides the ordinance for arts and culture, which has been completed. So the Caltrans liaison ad hoc since, and this is going to ask for legal opinion, since we meet quarterly and the central aim is Florida Avenue and Highway 79, which are Caltrans jurisdiction, but there's different issues that we bring up each time, would that be considered a standing committee or an ad hoc?

So do you meet every quarter? For the most part, not necessarily. So my recommendation, if you have a regular meeting schedule and you have a set subject matter jurisdiction, which is any issue related to Florida, I'd recommend that conservatively you approach that as a standing case.

but there have been many times we have missed these things. We try to calendar it on a quarterly basis because we do have many issues with Caltrans.

Yeah, there often is coordination and timing issues where Caltrans needs to reschedule or the city needs to reschedule, and so it has been definitely not happening every quarter, but it is intended to have a regular meeting so that we can discuss issues related to Caltrans jurisdiction.

So that being said, this isn't black or white mayor. And so what you're describing is probably the exact kind of one where it could go either way. And it really depends on what your intent is as a council. Do you want this to simply be when an issue comes up, you guys are the two that go meet and deal with it? Or do you want this to be a regular standing issue where you have that regular schedule and you're constantly meeting about it?

My personal opinion, and I will get comment from both Jackie and Noah, since you're both on that with us, is that it's usually when something major comes up and we need to have a conversation with Caltrans. Although it's nice to have, but we schedule it based on availability of both Caltrans staff, city staff, and Jackie and I.

then my recommendation would be to eliminate the regular quarterly concept and simply have this ad hoc committee meet as needed when issues arise and schedules permit.

That would be agreeable. I think that works.

Okay, now let's go down the list. The Hemet Stock Farm is definitely an ad hoc that will be disbanded when decisions are fully made on the stock farm. Right. Going down. Business Outreach, ad hoc. You guys meet regularly and discuss all sorts of issues? No. So that basically is- No. One says yes, one says no.

We have certain things that come up, but it's not a regular scheduled meeting like, you know, on the first Monday of every month. They're pretty much as needed. And then we work with the Chamber of Commerce and the business walks and all that kind of stuff. So like, for example, tonight we have the restaurant grant. So we had a meeting for that. So they're more like special things as they come up.

Does that encompass the broader business aspect of this to remain an ad hoc?

So I think as the council member is describing it, I think it would fit within the realm of an ad hoc. But like I said, be careful. If you start having a regular schedule and you have regular, if you're talking, like if your jurisdiction is business generally, then you're starting to look more like a standing committee. But if it's like we address new businesses as they come up, we address specific issues as they come up, then it's more of an ad hoc.

Yeah.

Okay. all righty we'll leave that one for now the cdbg ad hoc that is definitely an ad hoc which once it's done and monies are determined it needs to disband agree okay so we and we can actually get rid of some of these committees and bring them back when we actually need them right okay uh homeless outreach

Those, we have quarterly meetings with Riverside County, so that's kind of a continuing thing, although they fluctuate a little bit on the date. We just had to change the most recent one. But they have quarterly meetings that we're involved in, and then other things on the side that we may get involved with.

And now we continue, and they were supposed to end, but they put more money in to continue.

Yes. The only issue on that one is that they invite everybody. They invite the full council, which then is. Yep.

Well, yeah, it's open. I mean, our aero team goes, city manager goes, you know, so.

Is it open to the public? Yeah. So I think I'd recommend converting that to a standing committee then, just so that it's very clear. And I would also, we should probably encourage them not to invite the entire council. Yeah. To invite one of the committee members. Otherwise, it's a meeting of the council.

Yes. Agreed. Okay, so. Standing committee for that one? Based on the.

Based on the description of a regular meeting schedule and a continuing subject matter jurisdiction over homelessness, that would be my recommendation.

So since that one is led by the county, is it a standing committee for them and they have to do the noticing and minutes?

So no. So if it is something that the council is controlling, so if it is your committee.

We don't control this one.

Right. It's not that meeting. So then really what you're doing is you're designating representatives to go to their meeting.

So it would be more like the liaison to outside organization.

Yeah, like WRCOG or something. It could probably be moved down to their. What these could perhaps be labeled as the homeless outreach liaisons. There you go. And that way it's not a standing committee.

But again, we do things within our city, especially Joe does. He meets with a couple other groups. He meets with the pastors and you do more work with, yeah, yeah, yeah. He does more work with Christian directly. So that's city. So I don't know how to do that one.

I think the liaison title would actually fit that very appropriately, which is you're the designated council members who, if someone wants to meet, this is the council member who sort of runs quarterback on that. I think it makes sense.

I agree.

Okay. All righty. Then Veterans Memorial ad hoc?

That's just as needed.

As needed? Yeah. So we could remove that and bring it back when we need to do things?

Well, I mean, applications are open year round. And I wanted to bring this up, actually, maybe at another meeting. But, you know, we just did this like a couple years ago that Joe and I were on this. So we opened it for Memorial Day or Veterans Day that they could do the etchings and the presentation and ceremony. But so far, we've only done it on Veterans Day. Plus, San Jacinto has the Memorial Day service. So we could probably change that at some point and change the policy. So it's open year round. And we look at them, the applications, when they come in.

And we have new applications that came in too, so.

Yeah, yeah, so. You know, we just encourage from time to time people to apply and that, so.

So since it's only when an application comes in.

I think it's very similar to your CDBG committee. And so if it's as needed and you don't have a regular meeting schedule, I think it's more of an ad hoc. But if you do develop a regular meeting schedule and you have the jurisdiction over these applications, it looks more like a standing committee.

Yeah, I think it's just an ad hoc.

Okay.

CDBG is gone. Downtown Theater is definitely an ad hoc. Youth Council?

AD HOC?

WE CAN KEEP THAT AS AD HOC.

YES.

So what does the Hemet Youth Council, we have a Hemet Youth Council, and that is the kids. That's the kids. These are the liaisons to? Yes. Okay. So I'd recommend you label this one liaisons as well, because we have a Brown Act body. They follow the Brown Act. They have agendas. Remember when they came and they were like, we can't talk amongst ourselves. I was like, welcome to government. AND SO I THINK THAT MAYBE THOSE COUNCIL MEMBERS COULD BE LABELED AS THE LIAISONS, SO THEY'RE THE DESIGNATED REPRESENTATIVES OF THE CITY AT THAT POINT.

OKAY. ALL RIGHT. AND MOVING ON, WE HAVE CLEANUP GRAFFITI AD HOC. IS THAT A LIAISON ISSUE?

WELL, WHEN I'M THERE, I TRY TO TALK TO GRAFFITI GUYS ALL THE TIME. BECAUSE I USUALLY END UP MEETING THEM AT THE DEPARTMENT STORE WHEN YOU'RE PICKING UP PAINT. SO, I MEAN, I KEEP IT AS AN AD HOC FOR NOW.

I WOULD THINK IT'S MAYBE MORE OF A LIAISON, THOUGH, THAT MIGHT MOVE DOWN TO THAT CATEGORY AS WELL.

YEAH, BECAUSE IT'S NOT FOR ANY SPECIFIC REASON. It's both cleanup and graffiti, which is two different categories, but keeping it as a liaison, I'm okay with that.

Okay.

And I think that takes care of, oh, and the Investment Oversight Committee is a standing committee, so we're okay on that. So we will add the art and culture ad hoc, change that to a standing committee, change these others to liaisons. Because when you have the standing committee, that's when you need staff and you need to notice the meetings and they are open to the public. Okay. OKAY? EVERYBODY OKAY WITH THAT? MM-HMM. WE STILL KEEP OUR ASSIGNMENTS. ALL RIGHTY. THANK YOU SO MUCH, EVERYBODY. I STARTED LOOKING AT THAT AND GOING, OH, MY GOSH, ESPECIALLY ART AND CULTURE. WE HAVE GONE BEYOND OUR ORIGINAL SCOPE, AND IT'S ALL GOOD. IT IS ABSOLUTELY ALL GOOD. ALL RIGHT. MOVING ON TO 18B. Can we get a staff report on the grant funding recommendation for the kitchen program?

Yes, Mayor. I'll be taking that one since our economic development director is on vacation. I do not have a PowerPoint, but I will give a brief verbal introduction here. Back on April 28th, the council sent two of the kitchen grant applications back for further review by the business ad hoc. The ad hoc met on May 26th and direction was provided to staff to go back to Boys Burger and ask if their overall project included grant eligible items. They did revise their submission and we did receive that, that did include grant eligible items. THE AD HOC MET AGAIN ON JUNE 16TH AND DIRECTION WAS PROVIDED TO RECOMMEND AN AWARD OF 150,000 TO CARLTON'S STEAKHOUSE AND 37,800 TO BOYS BURGER PER THE REVISED SUBMITTAL OF ELIGIBLE ITEMS. THAT CONCLUDES MY REPORT AND I'LL TURN IT BACK OVER TO YOU, MAYOR.

ALL RIGHT. QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS ON THIS ITEM?

NO, I'M GOOD.

Do we have, which I didn't ask on the last one, do we have any members of the public that want to address this item?

Yes, we do have two speakers this evening. First speaker is Jessica Ellis Wool. And George Evans will be next.

Hi again, good to see you guys. Okay, Madam Mayor and members of the Hennick City Council, thank you for your time and consideration and continued support of our project. I'm grateful for the opportunity to come before you regarding funding assistance for Carleton Steakhouse. As many of you know, our project has experienced challenges and changes since the original proposal. While circumstances required us to pursue a different path than originally anticipated, our commitment to the city of Hennant has never wavered. We remain dedicated to bringing a high-quality dining experience, new jobs, and long-term economic investment to our community. Carlton Steakhouse represents more than a restaurant. It is an investment in Hennet's future. Our goal is to create a destination that residents can be proud of while encouraging local spending and attracting visitors from surrounding communities. This project will create employment opportunities, generate sales tax revenue, and support local vendors and contribute to the continued growth of our city. One of the most encouraging aspects of this project has been the overwhelming community response. Nearly every day we receive messages through our social media platforms, Google business page, et cetera, asking when Carleton's will be opening and how people can apply for employment. The excitement and anticipation from residents demonstrates that the demand for this project already exists. As a local realtor serving the Henlint community, I also see firsthand the impact local employment opportunities can have on families. Recently, I worked with a prospective home buyer who currently commutes to Murrieta to work in the restaurant industry. She is a single mother of three and is currently going to school to the x-ray tech. When she learned about the Carlton Steakhouse, she immediately asked when we would begin hiring because the opportunity to work closer to home would allow her to spend more time with her kids and reduce the burden of a daily commute. Her story represents many hardworking residents who would benefit from quality employment and opportunities right here in Hemet. I understand the funding recommendation before you tonight is lower than the amount we previously discussed. I do respect the city's responsibility to carefully manage public funds and appreciate the thoughtful consideration that has been given to our project. At the same time, I would also like to ask the council to consider long-term impact and return on investment this project can provide. The difference between the previously discussed amount and the current recommendation represents a relatively small portion of the overall project. that those additional costs could significantly accelerate our ability to create jobs, complete improvements, and bring this business to the community sooner. This project is about more than opening a restaurant. It's about creating opportunities, supporting local families, and generating economic activity, and giving residents a destination that they can be proud of. We are investing substantial private resources alongside the city's investment because we believe in Hennet and its future. My team and I have deep roots in this community, and we have invested time and resources and energy. Thank you again for your consideration and for all of your continued commitment to the economic development.

Thank you very much. Okay. Questions and comments from council members?

no okay and i we do have another speaker sorry about that george evans thank you council um i'm here talking because i came forward with um boys burgers to initiate this grant and hopes and thank you to joe mouse for given it more consideration. But over the months that have passed recently, I have come to find out that Boy's Burgers is for sale and is currently being purchased. When talking to the owner, when I meet with him pretty much on a daily basis, I would ask, what's the game plan? What's the future? What are you planning to do if you receive this grant and move forward? and at no time. There's no plan, there's no nothing in effect. And knowing that you have grant money, I think transparency should have been exposed at the time when they requested the grant and when they put in the secondary information that you requested. But there's no business plan, there's no future growth plan of what the money's going to be used for. And I support downtown. I am an advocate for getting downtown rolling. I'm volunteering at the theater every Saturday. I want to see downtown grow. I want to see him. I think what the council is doing currently is a great job. But I also think that when a business asks for $37,000, there should be some transparency if you're going to sell the property. or the business, not so much the property. We all know who owns the property and it's somebody who owns half the buildings in downtown. Okay, and that's who ultimately will benefit from the grant because the equipment stays if you replace equipment. So I just wanted to bring this forth to the city council because again, I spoke several times at council meetings on this, supporting it, and now I have reservations due to the fact that there's no transparency or no projected plan. So I thank you for your time and please support our police officers.

All right. Thank you very much. Okay, now questions or comments?

I do have a question. So doesn't that make this application null and void if it's not the person that applied for it? Legal opinion on that?

Attorney? um so it's certainly something the council can consider when when deciding whether it wants to award the grant or not that being said you know the obligations of the agreement are recorded against the property as part of a regulatory agreement that's one of the reasons why we do that is to ensure that if the property does change hands that the obligations and the benefits that the city has entered into will still be enforceable against a future property owner. But certainly, if you look at the general intent of the kitchen grant program, it was to open new businesses in downtown and to assist existing businesses. updating and modernizing and so you know if if the council is concerned that this business may take the grant money and then use that for a higher resale value to a future purchaser that could certainly be something the council would want to consider in whether to award the grant or not we could of course if the council wanted to continue this item we could certainly have staff reach out to the property owner and business owner and see if there's any additional information this is the first i've heard uh about the business first we all heard i got a question we have a representative of simon shoes here should we ask him or just wait to talk to simon shoe is it is it simon shoes business or simon choose business or he owns the property he does not own the business

does not own the business.

Is there not something in this grant application that there's an assertion or a wish that the business then remains in business for at least two years? Right.

There is a requirement that the business remain in operation for two years. It is possible for the business to sell itself to another and still have the operating business enterprise at the location. And that would meet the requirements of the grant.

And if there isn't any business that goes in there, what happens?

So that's where the regulatory agreement comes into play. And so there is a requirement for repayment of the grant proceeds back to the city if the parties don't keep up their end of the bargain.

I ALSO HAVE A QUESTION. HAVE ALL OF THESE, THE ONE FIGURE THAT WE HAVE HERE, LIST ITEMS THAT HAVE BEEN PURCHASED OR ARE GOING TO BE PURCHASED THAT TOTALS THE $37,000?

So I don't know that off the top of my head, maybe Noah can speak to it, but because this is, I didn't know this was Simon's property, but we've had that discussion with his representative before that it needs to come after the award of the grant. So my, I GUESS HOPE WOULD BE THAT THESE THINGS HAVE NOT ALREADY BEEN PURCHASED BECAUSE WE WOULD BE BACK WHERE WE WERE BEFORE WHICH IS UNABLE TO REIMBURSE FOR THOSE PURCHASES.

THAT'S CORRECT. THAT'S PART OF THE GUIDELINES THAT IT WOULD ONLY BE ELIGIBLE IF IT'S PURCHASED AFTER IT'S AWARDED. OKAY.

WHAT'S YOUR PLAN?

In light of what was just revealed, I would like Carlton Steakhouse to get $150,000, and I would like to reserve the $37,800 until further notice. I second that.

WOULD THE COUNCIL LIKE TO DIRECT STAFF TO REACH OUT TO THE BUSINESS AND FIND OUT IF, I MEAN, I KNOW GEORGE HAS GIVEN US THE BEST INFORMATION HE CAN, BUT IT MIGHT BE WISE TO ACTUALLY REACH OUT TO THE BUSINESS AND FIND OUT IF THIS IS ACCURATE AND WE CAN BRING THAT REPORT BACK TO THE COUNCIL OR TO THE AD LOC AND SEE WHAT THEY WANT TO DO.

Okay, so we have a motion and a second to approve a portion of this for Carlton Steakhouse. And can I ask a quick question? One for Boys Burgers.

We do have a reserve amount. And given the fact that Carlton Steakhouse is been bounced back and forth because they've had no other choice, would you mind considering instead of $150,000, $175,000?

I'd like to leave it at $150,000 because that will give another restaurant an opportunity to open if they have $100,000. $25,000 is not going to do anything. So there's $62,000 and $37,000 more if we don't give it to Boys Burgers. That's another restaurant grant.

That's true, too.

okay so the motion stands as 150 000 to carlton steakhouse and hold d378 to boys burgers and for further investigation yes yeah all right yeah we have a motion and second on that could we have a roll call please council member clark yeah council member lodge

Yes. Council Member Peterson. Yes. Mayor Pro Tem Mayles. Yes. Mayor Krupa.

Yes. All right. That passes unanimously. Moving on to Item 18C, Review and Approve City Council Fiscal Year 26-27 Strategic Plan Action Items. We get a staff report.

Yes, Mayor, that is me again. And good, IT was able to display the strategic plan action items as part of this report. As you may recall, I had intended to bring this back as a consent item, but as I was going through and following the direction from May 12th, I ran into a couple of items that I needed to add, and so I brought it back as a discussion item so that you can provide additional direction and you can attach yourself to additional items if you would like. as you recall at a special meeting of the city council on april 22nd this fiscal year 27 26 27 initiatives were developed and prioritized using the air water chocolate methodology then on may 12th 2026 the compiled initiatives were brought back to the council to get feedback on 14 that had received just one priority dot review the overall priority of the list and to get interest from each council member in being attached to each initiative. The direction provided on May 12th was to consolidate the 14 single-dot initiatives into the existing programs and initiatives. And it had been added back into this list so that in doing that, I found 10 that were very easy to do that. There were existing initiatives and programs that they fit right into. They didn't need to remain on this list. The other four, two of them really belonged with the Simpson Park Plan, and so that hadn't been carried through onto this list. And so I've added that as number 13. You can see that's the Simpson Park Plan, and there was a couple items regarding mountain biking and outdoors that really fit with that, so I would combine those there. Then the other two items, number 16 and 17, didn't really have an existing initiative or program that they fit into. And so those have been added, but it's entirely the council's prerogative if you'd like to keep them and if you are interested in attaching yourself to those. So with that, I will turn it back over to you, Mayor, for discussion.

Okay. Do we have any public comments on this item?

We do not.

All right, thank you. I'm seeing a couple of contradictions here as we're going through. And on number seven, it's got cleanup, graffiti, ad hoc, and then Peterson and Krupa. That takes in about four council members. because cleanup and graffiti are by a couple other people. And I think Jackie and I were mainly on that for the Hemet Beautiful program that we have. So we're going to have to make a change somewhere on that, on number seven. And if it's the cleanup graffiti ad hoc, council members can be liaisons to that. And I will remove myself from that because that's not, I'm not on that cleanup. And I believe that's Joe and Tom.

I would love to be on it.

WELL, YOU ARE ON IT. WE'RE GOING TO REMOVE JACKIE AND I AND PUT TOM AND JOE ON THERE.

GOOD.

ON NUMBER 7.

GOOD CATCH.

AND THEN YOU COULD ADVANCE THE SLIDE PRESENTATION SO WE CAN SEE 8 THROUGH 15. THERE WE GO. OKAY, JOE AND I ARE DOING THAT. WE'RE DOING OKAY WITH THAT. Do you see any issues on any of these?

I thought it looked pretty good. Me too. I agree.

I would like to be involved in number 10, if at all possible.

We can certainly add you to that, Council Member Lodge. Mm-hmm.

WOULD YOU PLEASE BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, CLEANING UP THE SHIT IS MY THING.

AND ON NUMBER 15, THAT KIND OF GOES IN WITH THE ONE ON THE FIRST PAGE WITH WORKING WITH THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, DOES IT NOT?

NOT REALLY. I DON'T THINK SO.

BECAUSE THAT WAS DEVELOPING SMALL BUSINESS AND BUSINESS OUTREACH FOR AN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE. RIGHT.

YEAH. I THINK THAT'S MORE SPECIFIC TO THE SIMPSON CENTER FACILITY ON NUMBER 15. SO I THINK THAT WOULD BE SEPARATE IN MY OPINION.

YEAH. AND I THINK TOM AND I ARE ON THAT. YES. ON THAT ONE. AND WITH THAT, TOM, IF YOU HAVE A DESIRE TO BE ON THE STREET SWEEPING AND PARKING ENFORCEMENT IMPLEMENTATION, WOULD YOU BE RECEPTIVE TO NUMBER 17, BECAUSE THAT IS TRASH RECEPTICALS IN KEY BUSINESS AIRINGS. IT'S NOT THE TRASH ENCLOSURES. IT IS TRASH RECEPTICALS. AND THAT KIND OF ADDS, COMES RIGHT INTO THAT.

EXACTLY. Yes, I would be more than happy.

Okay. With that, are there any other comments, questions, desires, whatever? Joe? I do.

Number 11, I think we should complete this five-year long-range financial forecast before we actually do anything just to see where we're at. I mean, we keep adding items. You know, I stated before that we shouldn't even start anything until we finish with last year's and get that complete because we're at a negative right now on our general fund. And to add items, even though it doesn't look like it costs, it takes people to get things started and move. So it's going to take time out of our employees that are there. So I think number 11 should be started. We should see where we're at before we continue to do anything.

Let me ask a further question. Tiffany, are you already working on that? And is the new computer modules set up for forecasting?

They are not. The software is not designed to do financial forecasting. The financial forecasting is actually more of a consolidated report. over, like, hypothetic scenarios. When we have done our budget presentations in the past, we have done forecasting scenarios. But the actual five-year forecast, I have worked on it. I have gotten samples from other agencies, and that's about as far as I've been able to get at this point in time. But I definitely have it in my hip pocket to bring out and start working on.

And that is something I think that we really need to- It is. Really need to look at it and just have, how much is that computer program, the projections and forecasting?

For the software implementation that we did? Yeah. Do you mean the cost of the software itself? Right. It was probably around $350,000 to do the implementation. There is ongoing cost for the software, which is probably anywhere between $20,000 a year that's split amongst different departments.

Plus a maintenance fee for that?

Yes, that's the annual ongoing, yeah.

And does it have AI to help you with your report writing?

Not yet, but it is. Not yet. It's in the cloud, so it updates. We get the latest and greatest. So, as the software gets updated, as time progresses, we'll have access to any of those improvements that it makes.

But not yet, okay.

Our budget software has AI, which is very cool.

Yeah, yeah. Is there any way with that budgeting that you can do projections based on what ifs, that if sales tax increases by this or property tax decreases by that, that this could have a direct effect on how we estimate revenue and expenses?

Yeah, there probably is something that we can reach out to the vendor and look into.

You should have a support representative. Can you call them and ask them how we can do that and see if it ‑‑ they may have something and all they have to do is just enable it, enable that feature.

Yeah, we can do that. I know that we, for pension modeling, we do have a different vendor that does that for us, that they can actually project out, but that's just specifically for pension costs. It's not for the whole financial forecast of general fund.

All right. Now, could we need to do a five-year long-range financial report? Yes. Well, we do have... The first thing I do is just call support and ask them, or your representative.

We do have revenues by fund, and those things, like anything that's covered by a grant or anything like that, that's an ability to project out five years. How long is the grant? Like, for instance, the SAFE grant, we've got it until first of next year. We can be starting this as soon as, because I've got it all right here, and I've been looking at it pretty closely.

Yeah, we do have all the historical data. Yeah. It's just compiling it together and creating narratives.

Okay, yeah.

So a lot of these items will not take a lot of money. We can start on these, and we've carried over items to the following year. So, this is like a plan. This doesn't mean that we have to complete it all this fiscal year. So, we can start on it and, you know, start taking action. It's an action plan, so.

Definitely is one of those that's a priority that we need to look at. Find out how we can do it at the most reasonable cost and get the most accurate projection figures. So, okay. Any other questions or comments? If not,

JOE, DID YOU WANT TO ADD YOURSELF ON TO THAT NUMBER 11 WITH ME?

SURE.

DEFINITELY, YES. CAN WE DO THAT?

ADD JOE ON TO NUMBER 11. THANK YOU. VERY GOOD. NOW, CAN I HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THIS ITEM WITH THE CHANGES WE'VE MADE TODAY?

AYE. OKAY.

MOTION BY TOM. IS THERE A SECOND? I'LL SECOND IT. OKAY. WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND. PLEASE DO A ROLL CALL.

Council Member Clark? Yes. Council Member Lodge? Yes. Council Member Peterson? Yes. Mayor Pro Tem Mayles? Yes. Mayor Krupa?

Yes. That item passes unanimously. Now moving on to 18D, fiscal year 26-27 operating budget. Welcome again, Tiffany. Then we have a staff report.

Good evening. Tonight we are going to go over the 26-27 final budget workshop. There hasn't been too much that has changed since the last meeting, but today's purpose is to provide 2026-27 budget update since that last meeting on June 9th, 2026. Consider and select liability insurance coverage option. Adopt the fiscal 26-27 operating budget. So recap of where we left off on June 9th, 2026. We started the operating deficit for the general fund was at about $13.3 million. We were able to get that down to $4.5 million deficit as of June 9th. The cost containment measures are listed there of what we deployed up until May 12th and then again up to June 9th. And the next following slides will have a recap of what's happened since June 9th to where we are today. So for the revenues, there really hasn't been very much change at all. In this, there is about a $440,000 increase from the last presentation, and that is included into the line item that you see For other miscellaneous, it's the increase of land use rental SRO contract. This is actually where the CR&R agreement funds will be deposited into. That was a $500,000 increase. And then there was a decrease of $60,000 that is in billboard revenue that was listed in that use of money and property. That was an overstatement that we adjusted after we were reviewing. We noticed that. So it's a net increase of $440,000 on the revenue side. Expenditures on the department side, they are very, really not very much has fluctuated in that. They are very modest increases overall, comparing to where we are right now at this point in time. The non-departmental, and I do apologize because I know it was brought up that the notes section wasn't included in the staff report, so it didn't give a lot of detail of what all those non-departmental items are. But you will see them before you listed from high to low of the expenditures that are categorized as non-departmental, which means it really doesn't belong to a department. And it includes anywhere from the tax sharing of the auto dealerships to the remunerable contribution to other agency dues. One-time uses, we did go over that at our last budget presentation. The only thing that I do want to note is that there is a $1.5 million for the liability insurance buy-down SIR that is in the Measure U. We are going to be going over some liability options that we have that may not include a buy-down, but it still is recommended that $1.5 million is coming from Measure U to help pay for the insurance premiums. And I'll let you just review those items again. They are coming from General Fund and Measure U for the different departments. And that brings us to the overall deficit is now at $4.14 million. versus the $4.5 million deficit that we were at on June 9th. The subsequent cost containment measures are listed here before you. We went from the $4.5 million deficit down to a $4.14 million deficit. That includes the adjustment to the revenues of $440,000. There are some departmental increases for police, admin services, public works, and fire. So these are the only changes that have occurred since our last budget workshop. Taking that deficit of $4.14 million, it will come off of the reserve, which will project, you know, and these are just very preliminary projections. A lot can happen between now and June 30th of 2027. But that does put us at an ending balance of $23.7 million in the reserve. That is about a 32% reserve balance over the 40% that is in the resolution. So this is just a graphical presentation of where we are projected to land. The impact to the reserve, this graph shows that draw on the fund balance. You can see that the yellow portion that is general fund is very small. It's dissipated over the years. The reserve is still very healthy at a 32% reserve, but it is not the 40% reserve that is adopted. Just something to notate. And then I wanted to highlight one of the paragraphs that was in the city manager's transmittal letter because it is very significant. Financial challenges have grown over the past two fiscal years. And absent of meaningful growth in recurring revenues and or additional expenditure reductions, the city will likely be required to implement further workforce reductions in future fiscal years, potentially including public safety positions, in order to maintain fiscal sustainability and preserve balanced budgets. While every effort will be made to minimize impacts on service delivery, restoring long-term structural balance will require difficult decisions if revenues do not keep pace with expenditure growth. And now we move into the liability insurance piece that we are asking for direction. There has been some very last minute changes that have happened. We got off the phone with our broker at 4 o'clock this afternoon. The option one that is as expiring is still holding at about $7 million for the premium. That is what is included in the budget document that has been published. So that is included. I see there's a mistake that didn't get updated, which is where it says $1.24 million is the savings. That is not correct. It should still be at $945,000. We do have on the line our broker with Alliant, which is Robert Lowe. He is going to explain the updates to the alternative option that we have. What it turns out to be is that we have three different options for the option two, alternative one. So, it's this slide here is the three different versions. that we can choose from for that second piece where I have the updates to option. Robert, are you there on the line by chance?

I'm here, Tiffany, can you guys hear me?

Yes. The alternatives that we have here, the most comparable to what we have right now is the alternative option two, which is a very slight increase to the premium for over-renewing. This is basically what we currently have, but it does not increase our years that we are committed to in these policies. The option number one and the option number three do add a fourth year, so that is the main difference. However, you do see that there is a reduction in savings, but it does come with an additional year of commitment to those policy terms. I'm going to let Robert speak to those three different options and how they contrast in comparison to the renewing as is.

Thanks, Stephanie. Good evening, Madam Mayor, members of the City Council. Essentially, I will try not to get too technical in terms of insurance jargon to not confuse you guys. We're going to focus predominantly on the middle option. because that is falls very much in line with the long-term planning goal that we have for the city of hemet which is through the three-year commitment to that first layer which you'll see at the bottom right above the blue line um the lower blue line in the middle option it says leons compound midterm adjustment in force the three-year deal entering year two of three essentially the goal has always been for us to get a little bit of separation from the historical losses that the city has had and then when we come off of the three-year term find an option for another jpa or pool that the city can join and participate in just larger limits more off containment and more stability long term the middle option was alternative option two provides an additional 243 000 of savings over the budgeted numbers that tiffany just showed you guys i'm sorry 273 000 lower so it's an additional reduction but what it does is it puts us in a position to be able to explore a pooled option in 2027 rather than in 2028 rather than extending an additional year in order to make the pricing work or it's stretching the lower layer to redesigned the overall liability tower the insurance carrier had to add a fourth year to the overall placement which essentially is the top and the bottom option alternative option one and alternative option three now that just puts us further out from being able to explore JPA options because that would put us into 2029 rather than putting us into 2028, which would be beneficial to the city. Ultimately, at the end of the day, when you compare apples to apples expiring premium, the middle option that's being recommended today, alternative option two, is essentially a flat renewal over the expiring. It's an additional $273,000 less than what the budgeted liability cost was. if we want again the perspiring option is still very much in play and available to you the same three-year plan applies but it is more expensive the other two options by adding the fourth year essentially we are sharing the same total limit that the policy is offering we're extending it an additional year so it's a four-year term sharing the same total limit and it pushes our options of exploring a joint power authority further out so as it stands right pause there and wait for any questions

I WAS JUST GOING TO MENTION THAT STAFF'S RECOMMENDATION AT THIS POINT IS THE ALTERNATIVE OPTION TWO, WHICH IS ABOUT $300,000 LESS THAN WHAT IS BUDGETED, AND IT MAINTAINS THE SAME COVERAGE LIMITATIONS, AND IT DOES NOT LOCK THE CITY INTO AN ADDITIONAL YEAR.

YES. IS THE This newest one, alternative option two, which was what we had at the last one, but it's just lowering the premium. Is that correct?

It's what you guys had at the last one, but the premium is a bit more expensive.

This is what we had at the last one, the option two, alternative one. These three that are listed here are supplementing that one. So now instead of just those two options, we have the renewing and then these three options as the digital.

As you saw on that slide, the option two from last time still said in progress. It sounds like, you know, what's transpired with our communication with our broker today is that option when it went back to the you know, the writer, they weren't able to write it at that and so that would have cost the same or so as the renewing option. So these other ones are what has transpired from that one and it's morphed into these three and we are recommending the number two because it really provides the same coverage as the as expiring, the same aggregate and in the same period of time so we wouldn't be stuck for an additional year.

we don't get hit if we have two lawsuits, but if we have a third, we do? Or how does that work?

No, on this one, the aggregate is actually the same as what our renewal would be.

And that's a new change?

Yes.

Because at our last meeting, we were concerned about that aggregate. That was the big thing that we were hesitant on. So now if it's the same and it's less, but then we're tied into it for an extra year?

No, not on that one. The other two, number one and number three here would add a year to the term.

Okay, so number two does not?

Correct.

Okay. Okay, Chief, you're back on.

Well, number two is our best option at the moment.

Yes, we are going to hear from Chief Arellano on his take like we did last meeting.

Oh, good.

I agree with exactly what Noah said. Option two on this one, and I really like the idea of not extending it that fourth year. That way we have a chance to go back out and, you know, shop and see if we can get a better deal. So, absolutely.

And we've got the same number of, quote, incidents that will not happen.

Yes. So, it's not the number of incidents, it's the amount, total amount. The amount. So, you can have ten incidents. Right. As long as you're under that aggregate, you're still good. But it's when you go past that $16 million, then we're on the hook at that point.

Okay. I didn't realize that. But this doesn't just pertain to police. No, it pertains to every department. No, it pertains to every department.

I think we just used the two as an example. Correct me if I'm wrong, Noah. If we had two $8 million cases or $10 million cases, then we're on the hook for $4 million on top of the, because we'd have 16 total, but then we, it's over that. It'd be 20 at that point. So it's not the amount, it's the total amount of money, not the amount of insurance. But it's one year shorter than the other two. And that's good. I really like that option.

Yeah, that part is definitely a step in the right direction to do that.

We need to see the light at the end of the tunnel that's not the train.

Yes, and that's always the case. We do not need any trains in our tunnel. But, and then with, excuse me, So this will save us, it's about $273,000. So we can hire a risk manager.

That is recommended, yes. Whether it be a risk manager person that's an in-house employee or a consultant, either one, I think we definitely need that in our organization.

What happened to the $900,000 we were supposed to save? That's a different option. The last option.

Things are improving. Any questions for the chief or from Tiffany? Tom, any questions?

No, I am good. Thank you.

Okay, so we're in agreement that from on this screen, alternative option number two with the 25 to 28 policy term is the one we want.

Yeah, it's got the same coverage and everything and it's less so. Yeah.

Okay.

And then transparency purposes, we're going to reduce the line item that's in non departmental by this 273,000. Okay. Okay.

All right.

So that does decrease that deficit under 4 million.

Look at her smile.