City Council - Regular Meeting

Present. Man?

Present.

White?

Present.

Vice Mayor, Vice Chairman, Hughes-Leslie? Present. Mayor, Chairman, Paris?

Here.

We have a quorum.

Thank you. The invocation today will be Brad Hayen from Grace Chapel.

Good afternoon. Hi, Mayor, and to the City Council members, and ladies and gentlemen, let's pray. Dearest Lord God, I thank you for such a beautiful day here in Lancaster, California, and for your presence here among us. And Lord, I pray for the city council today that you would help them to make wise decisions that help us to live peaceful and quiet lives in this place. Lord, I thank you for our city. I thank you for our country as we celebrate 250 years of existence. Lord, what an amazing blessing that is. And I pray for more. years from you for our country, for our city. Lord, I pray that you would bless us, that you would guide us, that we would have wisdom from you to make right decisions. I pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Thank you. Thank you.

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, the first thing on the agenda is a presentation, and that's Victoria Reyna is doing it.

Good afternoon, Mayor, Vice Mayor, and members of the City Council. Today, we're honored to recognize the organizations that participate in the City of Lancaster City Partnership Program. The City Partnership Program is a collaborative initiative that brings together businesses, nonprofit organizations, educational institutions, and community stakeholders who share the city's commitment to enriching the lives of Lancaster residents. Through this program, our partners support a variety of city events, recreation programs, community outreach efforts, and special initiatives that serve residents of all ages. Their involvement helps expand opportunities, enhance programming, strengthen community engagement, and provide resources to contribute to the success of many city-sponsored events and activities throughout this year. The impact of these partnerships can be seen across the community from supporting youth and family programs to helping deliver community celebrations, educational opportunities, health and wellness initiatives, and recreational experiences. Our city partners play an important role in helping us create a vibrant, connected, and thriving Lancaster. These partnerships exemplify what can be accomplished when organizations come together with a shared sense of community service, civic pride, and resident engagement. Today, we're proud to recognize and thank our city partners for their continued support and dedication to the Lancaster community. On behalf of the City of Lancaster, we extend our sincere appreciation to each of our partners for their commitment to making Lancaster a vibrant place to live, work, and play. This afternoon, I'm joined by Efren Carrera, Jr., Recreation Manager, as we continue to recognize these outstanding partners and highlight the impact that they have made through their support of our city programs and events. Junior and I will be sharing just a few examples of how each organization has contributed to our community.

Good afternoon, Mayor, Vice Mayor, City Council. I want to make sure that we highlight some of the different events and programs that our partners really give us their all to help try to support our community. So what we'll do is we'll go through each partner and we will make sure that we recognize them and then at the end we'll bring everybody down for a photo if that's okay. So our first partner is one of our bigger marketing partners, Edelman Broadcasting. The events and the programs that this particular organization is involved in is It stretches throughout the year. They're involved and they support events such as Justice Sunday, Bunny Hop, the California Poppy Festival, Cool Summer Nights, Halloween Haunt, the Day of Drafts, and Magical Boulevard Christmas. So everything from January through December, you can see Edelman Broadcasting supporting our team. The next partner that we definitely want to recognize is the Antelope Valley College. This is our local education partner. They can be seen supporting events such as Juneteenth, Halloween Haunt, Magical Boulevard Christmas, and of course California Poppy Festival. The next partner and one of our longest standing partners is AVTA. They are involved, again, throughout the year at many of our events, including Justice Sunday, Bunny Hop, California Poppy Festival, the Boulevard Market, Juneteenth, Tour de Luc, Halloween Hot, Magical Boulevard Christmas. And then they throw an event in December where they're giving out toys and turkeys and food to the community, and we support them in that effort as well. Our next big marketing partner with us is Destination Lancaster. Destination Lancaster supports all of our city events but more specifically those events that try to reach outside the region like the California Poppy Festival. Destination Lancaster also assists in marketing some of the other events like Day of the Rafts and 4th of July. Our next partner, Edwards Federal Credit Union, provides many opportunities for financial education within the staff, teens, and seniors in the community. They can also be seen supporting many of our events, including the Poppy Festival, Juneteenth, Fourth of July, the LCC Backpack Giveaway, Day of Drafts, the Turkey Giveaway, and Magical Boulevard Christmas. And the last one I want to recognize before I pass it over to Victoria is one of our longest standing partners as well is with High Desert Medical Group. Each year they put on a senior expo and the city supports them in their endeavor. And then they can be seen at our California Poppy Festival reciprocating that partnership amongst us. So those are the first six. I'm going to pass it back over to Victoria.

Next up is Kaiser Permanente, one of our largest medical service providers. They are extremely helpful with providing services to our LCC Backpack Giveaway, the National Night Out Program, Tour de Luc, Halloween Haunt, and Magical Boulevard Christmas. Next up is Point Broadcasting. This is another marketing partner that we've had this past year, and they are also participating in Turkey Giveaway, Day of Drafts, Magical Boulevard Christmas, Bunny Hop, California Poppy Festival, Juneteenth, Fourth of July. Next up, we have Race Communications, which is another longstanding partner who has always been very helpful with providing services to Halloween Haunt, Day of Drafts, Turkey Giveaway, Magical Boulevard Christmas, Bunny Hop, Poppy Festival, Cool Summer Nights, and the annual Backpack Giveaway as well. Next up is Toyota of Lancaster, who is also seen supporting many of our events, including Cool Summer Nights, Fourth of July, the Summer Concert Series, and Magical Boulevard Christmas. Then we have Valleywide Dental, has been a local dentist office for many years and supporting our large events. And they can be seen at Magical Boulevard Christmas, Tour de Luc, and the California Poppy Festival. And last but definitely not least, another one of our longest standing partners is WM. WM is always willing to help and support our events, especially in the addition of your Love Our City Community Cleanup events. They also support Day of Drafts, the Turkey Giveaway, Magical Boulevard Christmas, Poppy Festival, 4th of July, back PEC giveaway and National Night Out.

So what we would like to do is get council to come down if that's okay. We will invite each of our partners kind of one by one down to take pictures with you guys. We have a certificate that we'd like to present with them. So if that's okay with you guys, we'd like you guys to come down. Yeah. Partner as they come up, Edelman Broadcasting, here to accept Christine Edelman, Heidi Rothman, and Trevor Hibbert. Our next partner, Antelope Valley College, here to accept Dr. Jennifer Zelet and Dr. Jill Zimmerman. Moonshine. Moonshine. I don't see Martin either. I don't see him. That's who's next, isn't it? Our next is AVTA Martin Tompkins.

I did not...

He did not make it today. We'll make sure we get him his. Yeah. 100%. 100%, sorry. And then going back to Destination Lancaster, Markham Street, the president couldn't be here, but he did bring a couple of his board members and GMs from the local hotels. Wendy Moshan from Holiday Inn Express, Michelle Marquez from the Hampton and Homewood Suites, and Christina Castro from Residence Inn. Next, Edwards Federal Credit Union, here to accept Jackie Takei and Kimberly Fletcher Speed. And High Desert Medical Group, Anthony Dolgoroth and Dennis Anderson.

Next up, we have Kaiser Permanente here to accept Matthew Jacobs. Kaiser Permanente, Matthew Jacobs, Randy Terrell, Allison Siegel, and Susie Gazarozian. Thank you. You're welcome. Next up, Point Broadcasting, here to accept Caitlin Jeffrey, Katie Nelson, Kelly Marie Jones, Jeff Lyons, Andrea Andolia, Erica Bermudez, and Ms. Alanette. Next up, we have Race Communications, here to accept Jim Miller, John Blizzard, and Samantha Delano. Next up, we have Toyota of Lancaster here to accept Jeff Yeager and Mike Wingert. Valleywide Dental wasn't able to be here today, but we will make sure that they get their certificate. So if we can have a round of applause for Valleywide Dental. And last but not least, WM, and here to accept Ashley Cortez and Quincy Little. If we can, council members, if we can have one more picture with everybody, a big group shot, that would be fantastic. So if I can have all of our partners and sponsors come up to the front for one last picture.

I'll bend over, it's fine. Directed towards you, right? Thank you once again for all of our city partners for your continued support and your continued partnership, generosity and commitment to this city. Your support helps us create meaningful experiences for residents, strengthen community connections and expand the programs and services that make Lancaster a great place to live, work and play. We are grateful for your partnership and look forward to continuing working with you and working together in the years ahead. Thank you.

You know, I got a story to tell that's just burning inside me to tell it. So the other day, my wife says, intake is really down. Now, you know, I'm a personal injury lawyer, and that means people are not having accidents. And I told her, yeah, that's right, because Lancaster PD has driven traffic accidents dropped them like a stone. Now, you're putting me out of business, guys. But other than that, what an amazing accomplishment. Thank you. I want to read these from here because it's just easier. Thank you for all of you for joining us to recognize an exceptional group of students who have earned this year's Mayor R. Rex Parris Scholarship Award. The students receiving this award have demonstrated academic achievement, perseverance, leadership, and a commitment to building a brighter future. I am proud to present a $1,000 scholarship to the following recipients. Alexis Arvizu? and I'm gonna butcher the names and I apologize. Aubrey Gonzalez, Madeline Nicole Rash Herrera, Natalia Jimenez, Renata Valles-Islas, Bella Valeria Ramirez-Larios, Alexis Martinez, How am I going to do this? You do it. Yeah.

I hate pranking us. Shekwabaka Emmanuel Oniwana.

Not bad. Not bad.

I'm sure they'll come and correct me. Sorry about that.

Julian Rubine, Riley Rutledge, Ellington Roosevelt Taylor, Sachin and the Courtsill Assistant Principal, Rochelle Miser. Thank you. To our scholarship recipients, this award recognizes your hard work and potential. We are confident that each of you will continue to make a positive impact in your school, your communities, and beyond. Continue to pursue your goals with determination, curiosity, and confidence. Congratulations to all of our scholarship recipients. We are proud of your achievements and look forward to seeing all that you accomplish in the future. I am 74. I've seen a lot of life. And the one thing I've seen is the people who keep working when they leave school, as hard as they worked in school, are unstoppable. and I hope you remember that. Just every day, keep working as hard as you're working now. Thank you. If you could come on up, we'll take the photo shoot. You know, I've been mayor now for 20 years. It's a long time. And in that time, you know, I come across people that do a tremendous amount of volunteer work for their city, for their community. And rarely are they acknowledged for it. Rarely do we give them half of the recognition that they deserve. One of those people is Jim Vose. I met Jim at a barbecue at my house when we were interviewing people for the different commissions and got in trouble for it. Apparently it was a violation of the Brown Act. They threatened to put me in jail. That was the first time. But that's where I met him. And I got to know him a little bit. and asked him to chair the Planning Commission. How many years ago was that now? 18 years ago? I think it's actually 19, because we're going on the 20. He chaired that Planning Commission for 19 years. Never missed a meeting. He was always prepared. And the reason I know he did such an incredible job because I never heard about it. I mean, it was flawless. It was almost without a wrinkle for 19 years. I don't think there's a city in America that can say that about their planning commission. Jim has been a resident business owner in the Antelope Valley for more than 50 years, demonstrating a deep commitment to our community and its future. Jim served as chairman of the Lancaster Planning Commission for 18 years. I'm almost sure it's 19, anyway. Helping guide responsible growth and development while shaping the future of our city through thoughtful leadership and public service. I want to tell you a little bit more about what that meant. Every project, he would go to the scene. He would go to where they were building it. Every single one. He would investigate it. He would read all the, I mean, they give you a book like this before the meeting. He would always be meticulously prepared. You must have thousands of hours into this, literally thousands of hours. It's beyond my, I don't know, I'm just incredibly grateful, and we should all be grateful to you. As United States Army veteran, Jim has dedicated his life to service, both to his country and to the residents of our region. Throughout his career, he has been a respected real estate professional, community advocate, and civic leader. His service has included leadership on educational boards, public oversight committees, and numerous community organizations. Oh yeah, I forgot about that. Whenever there's a major concern I have about something not working, I just ask Jim to do it. And it gets done. I mean, I don't even think about it again. He is one of the most effective leaders I've ever seen He has dedicated more than four decades of his service and leadership to the Kiwanis Club, helping strengthen and support communities throughout the Antelope Valley. He has been recognized for his outstanding contributions with multiple community service awards, including being named Realtor of the Year twice. His commitment to education, community development, youth programs, and public service has left a lasting impact on Lancaster and the Antelope Valley. Today we are proud to present Jim Vose with the key to the city in recognition of his decades of leadership, service, and dedication to making our city a better place. Jim, on behalf of the Lancaster City Council, the residents of Lancaster, thank you for your extraordinary service and congratulations on this well-deserved honor. Three, 400 people, it'd be really cool, right? He refused. He didn't even want to do this. I mean, you're what everybody should be.

Thank you.

Let's take a break. Five minutes. City Manager, is there anything to be removed from the consent calendar?

Items 5, 12, 14, and 19 to be removed.

Item 5. You got to talk slower. 12, 5, 12, 14, and 19. Do we have to play that now? OK, can we play the public announcement?

Have your attention, please. Welcome to the Lancaster City Council meeting. The City Council encourages public participation at its meetings. However, the right of the public to address the council must be balanced with the need to ensure that public participation does not interfere with the orderly course of public business. The City Council follows the City's Code of Conduct and Ethics and Robert's Rules of Order in the conduct of its meetings, and we respectfully request that all are reminded to abide by the following rules. As stated on the agenda for this meeting, any person who would like to address the City is requested to complete a Speaker Card for the City Clerk. Please be sure to identify the agenda item you would like to discuss on your Speaker Card. Speaker cards must be filled out and submitted prior to the agenda item being called. You will be given an opportunity to address the council at the time the agenda item is discussed. Individual speakers are limited to three minutes unless a different time limit is announced. Speakers must cease speaking immediately when their time has ended. Public comment on agenda items must relate to the subject matter of that item. Public comment on non-agendized items is limited to subjects within the jurisdiction of the council. Please keep in mind that state law prohibits the council from acting on items that are not on the agenda. The public's right to address the council does not include the right to engage in a dialogue with individual council members or staff. Please remain respectful of the forum and refrain from uttering, writing, or displaying profane or threatening statements towards the council, any member thereof, staff, or any other person. Any person engaging in conduct that disrupts the meeting is subject to being removed from the council meeting. If you disrupt the meeting, you will receive one warning. If you continue to disrupt the meeting, you will be escorted out of the meeting or the meeting will be recessed. Upon reconvening, if disruptions continue, the meeting room will be cleared in accordance with the provisions of the Brown Act. We ask that you now silence your cell phones as the meeting is about to begin. Thank you for your participation.

So, Trulise, I noticed under the threatening the council, you left the mayor out. Does that mean? Okay. Is there a motion to approve the consent calendar without the items that were removed?

Before I do that, Mayor, I'm going to announce the speaker cards. And that is CC 3, 4, 10, 11, 12, and 13. You're kidding me.

all different from the ones we've already pulled. Mr. Mayor, one approach you might take is to take the speakers and then move the consent calendar after you've heard from the public.

I'm sorry, say that again?

One approach you could take, if you like, is to hear from the speakers and then approve the consent calendar as a group motion after you've heard from the speakers.

And that's why she makes the big bucks. Okay, that's what we'll do. Is this Michele? Yes.

Except I'm hoping you speak about it first so I know what I was talking about.

That kind of makes sense, doesn't it? So, yeah. OK, that's item three.

And that would be four also. Did you want to know the others?

Three and four. How many do you want to know?

10, 11, 12, and 13. It has to do with the very colorful, beautiful envelopes of taxes that we got from what I'm reading. And if that is so, then I have questions about it.

City Attorney.

Should I get my questions?

Yes, Mr. Mayor.

So should we, I don't think we were planning on doing presentations on them. I mean, if you have comments, we're happy to hear them.

Well, if they have anything to do with CC10, 11, 12, and 13, I thought that would have something to do, C3 and 4 would have something to do with 10, 11, 12, and 13. So if so, I've got my questions.

I mean... in the broadest possible sense.

One's a sewer cleaner.

Well, the main question really is, is it says 50 plus one, but is that 50% of the ones you've sent out or 50% only of the ones that will plus one that are going to come in? That makes a difference. Say again.

Just the ones that come in.

Okay, so just the ones that come in. And then can we be there for the count?

I'm sorry, what?

Can we be there for the count? Yes. Yeah?

The count will be done in a publicly accessible location. At this time, we think it will likely be this room after the council meeting on the 14th.

Okay, so, all right, wonderful.

If it's not in this room, it will be in another publicly accessible location where the public can view the count.

Okay, and can we, we have to turn them into you, correct?

City clerk's office, but if you walk them over right now, you will be on video turning yours in.

Okay, that's good. And then the one that's kind of separate, that doesn't have a box, just says it is a ballot, asks, one of the three items listed below is required for parcel identification. Street address, assessors, parcel number, or the sewer account number, but Are you asking for proof of that we own that property or are you just asking us to write it down? Just write it down. Just write it down.

Just to make sure we know whose vote we're receiving.

Okay. Great. All right. City Clerk's Office. Okay. Okay. I think that might... That might be my questions that are answered. But I just want everybody in Lancaster that I'm Zooming right now or Facebook or whatever social media to make sure they say no on new taxes. It's kind of crazy that they're coming like this and about like this. So I thought it was kind of nutty. So anyway, thank you for listening.

Okay.

With that, Mayor, I will go ahead and make a motion to approve the consent calendar as comprised, removing items 5, 12, 14, and 19. Is there a second?

Second. Let's vote.

And it passes unanimously. Okay, moving on to item five.

CC5, we have a presentation from Jocelyn Swain.

Mayor Paris, Vice Mayor, and Council Members, in 2013, Senate Bill 743 changed the way traffic was analyzed in environmental documents from level of service to vehicle miles traveled. This change went into effect in 2020, and on June 15, 2020, the City Council adopted the VMT guidance, including thresholds of significance. On January 24, 2023, the City Council adopted the award-winning VMT Mitigation Program and certified the accompanying Environmental Impact Report to assist developers in mitigating their VMT impacts. In 2024, SCAG updated the transportation model to an activity-based model. The City had our consultant update the low VMT maps with using the new model and update the transportation guidelines to provide more direction to consultants preparing VMT studies and clarification on some of the screening thresholds. No changes to the VMT mitigation program or the mitigation fee which is paid by developers is proposed. I'm available to answer any questions you may have.

Any questions? Thank you. Any discussion? Is there a motion?

Do you want to do them all together, maybe?

What?

Do you want to do them all together?

We can. Yeah. Want to do that? All right, good. 12. So what is the next one, 12?

CC 12.

City management.

How about city attorney? Before you for consideration today is a resolution authorizing the city manager to vote on the 218 assessments on behalf of the city-owned parcels. This resolution would allow the city manager to vote the city's properties interests consistent with the Proposition 218 process at the upcoming balloting for the 218 Assessments for lighting maintenance sewer and drainage district coming up on July the 14th So this allows the city to vote its interests in its properties And designates the city manager is the one to cast that vote Thank you any questions 14

Good afternoon, Mayor, Vice Mayor, City Council. Before you on item CC number 14 is the adoption of the 2026-27 budget. Attached for council recommendation or the staff recommendation for council adoption is the first resolution adopting the budget. Second resolution adopting the state mandated annual appropriations limit, which is a calculation we must do to make sure we are staying within the appropriation limits provided through guidance from the state legislature the resolution approving terms and conditions of employment and compensation schedule for represented non-represented regular and probationary employees and then ultimately the last list is a list of vendors who are have Been approved in prior years that have appropriations in this particular year as well as those Vendors that are approved through long-term contracts through our Lancaster energy Folks that actually provide the power for our customers in Lancaster energy they get there They'll see transactions throughout the year and then our utilities and so our utilities paying our utility bills are not something that we would typically bring to the City Council for adoption, but we do include them on that list of proposed vendors and for transparency's sake so that there is some eyes on what we do pay for those bills. By July 1st of each year, the city is required to adopt a budget which establishes the appropriations and estimates revenues for the coming year. A budget presentation and public hearing took place at our last council meeting on June 9th. Last night, we had the privilege, city manager Trillis Niabla and myself had the privilege to present the Measure LCYM plan to our oversight committee, which Mr. Jim Vose chairs that committee. I'm available to answer any questions you may have. Any questions?

I have a statement, not a question. Again, I just want to say thank you to the department heads, to the city staff. I know this is your Christmas, George, but for the rest of the team, it's work. And I just want to thank you guys so much for the dedication you put into this, making sure we got it right. To my new teammates, asking the questions, you know, Sitting with that over 300 page book and then most importantly I want to thank our community especially the members who came out to the open houses and Asked the questions and and expressed what your desires are for this budget. So thank you all around mayor Thank you for empowering the team and and ensuring that the community's voice was heard. Thanks, George

I have a question. Can you just explain a little bit more of what will the residents see? There's gonna be like an increase or decrease on services based on this budget?

This budget represents a continuation of the services that had been included in past budgets. Actually, I take that back. Right off the bat, they're gonna see an increase in traffic enforcement with our Lancaster Police Department. As we all have understood, we've made that decision to reduce the share of contract in order to hire the additional traffic enforcement. And so there will be increased spending in that regard, as well as the continuation and completion of some major projects that I've taken the last couple of years to complete, i.e. the Mark Center, Samaritan's Purse Park. There's a lot of projects that have been in the works for the last couple years, and they're gonna actually see some groundbreaking, I'm sorry, some ribbon cuttings this year, which is really exciting, but most importantly, I think, what the activity with the Lancaster Police Department is gonna be the most prevalent in the community. Folks are gonna open their eyes and take notice of that activity.

Anyone else? Thank you. Oh, wait a minute. So we did that community outreach. Any changes arise from that?

No, as we stand here today, and I think the city manager and I have had this conversation, I think we'd be foolish to think that we needed another survey to confirm what we think the intent of the community is. And what it did do is confirm a lot of what we've been hearing as far as what the community's priorities are. And their priorities have been public safety, roads, economic development, dealing with the homelessness issues. All of those were just reconfirmed through the survey that we put out. And in addition to having that survey take place during the workshop, we had it open a week prior to the workshop and kept it open for another week past to make sure that people who didn't make the workshop still had an opportunity to participate in the survey to assure that the results that we got were pretty confident. And with the results that we received, very consistent with what we had been hearing over the years, and it just really just continued to validate the priorities that we have in your budget plan.

Thank you.

I would, if I can, add to that answer, Mayor. I think one of the things that was actually a surprise to us was public safety not coming in pole position or not coming in first in terms of the community priorities. And I think that goes to what we've already been accomplishing with LPD and the Sheriff Department and that partnership and crime being down over the last year and a half, close to 30 something percent. So I think we're seeing those wins. Now, roads is rising to the level of the highest priority because we are getting some wins on the public safety front.

And we've, sped that up, right?

Absolutely, and we're going to continue to see it in this budget to the tune of, what, about 17 more bodies coming to you? Yeah, that's correct. As of August 1? Okay, good.

The city website, it could be a little easier for people to use to find out when a specific street is going to be repaved. I mean, you gotta hunt for it, okay?

We agree. We're rebuilding that website now. I think in the next couple of months, there'll be a brand new version of our entire website, which is much more user-friendly, because I think it goes beyond just finding where our streets are paving, but our entire website is not very user-friendly right now.

I'm wondering if maybe we should post signs. I mean, if we know a street looks like, well, if we know a street needs repair, Why couldn't we put up a sign telling them when it's going to be repaired? Yeah, we can work on a program. Absolutely. I find that it's the uncertainty that upsets people. When they know when something's going to happen, you can bear the discomfort for a while. Okay? We'll look into something. Thank you.

We already discussed 12, but we've got a more specific one for you.

I'm sorry?

We already discussed CC-12. Do you want to accept this call?

Arthur, you've got to be easier than this. Come on, we've already discussed it. You've got to be quick. You can come down.

No, sir.

We haven't voted on it. Copy that. We've already blown through it.

All right, thank you. My name is Arthur Calloway. I live in Lancaster 93536. And Prop 218 is... Interesting I didn't even know about this the the city owned getting the right to be able to vote but my concern with that is How are those votes weighted? Because if the city owns enough property to outweigh the public then How does that work? I don't know like the the number of properties that the city's own versus the number of properties that the residents owned and then to understand Why is the it seems like everything is a flat fee and then it's just being raised instead of like if it's sewage that we're talking about then is there a better way to to account for how much my house produces versus another house. So I have six people that live in my house, but there's other houses with the same square footage that might have 14 people. And to just subsidize it across to everyone doesn't make much sense. And when I'm reading the actual forms and the, the artifacts that y'all provided, which was a lot of good stuff in there, but I don't really see how the individual information is being depicted for me versus for other people. Another example is the landscaping. I don't have any public landscaping near me, and I want to know is there a map to show what my money would be supporting so that at least I know what it's going to be applied to, because I didn't see that either. The drainage is the same thing and the lighting. If we're paying for lighting, why isn't it that I have a bigger voice in saying that 50th and K, 50th West and K needs a light and that there's been multiple deaths at that corner because of all the traffic is there and then now there's actually more Residential tracks being made right there at that corner But there is I don't know if there's plans already and I'm not saying that there isn't it's just that I can't see that from the package that you have and That means that in order for me to make the most educated decision I would need all of that information before July 14th, and I don't have I don't know where supposed to learn that information from or how it applies and though in the last 20 seconds I don't read anywhere in that package to say how could we have let this slip to where we didn't know for that we should be incrementally increasing these things for infrastructure over the last 15 years like it doesn't say how we're gonna how did it happen or how are we gonna prevent it in the future thank you it's quite a bit of

But take a shot at it, please.

I think I'd like to sit down and grab a meeting with Arthur and talk him through everything. I think we could go into more detail that way, because there was a lot there to unpack. OK.

And almost all of the answers are either in this agenda packet, in the documentation attached to this item, or in the last agenda packet with the engineer's report. So it's all publicly available, and I believe it's actually all posted on the website, both for the agendas and for the 218 process, but certainly we can help him navigate to find it. As we've just discussed, the website might not be as simple.

I am willing to bet You did not address measuring the amount of affluent from various households.

Well, actually, no. The engineer's report does do a calculation of what's called an equivalent dwelling unit and assigns those to properties based on a formula. So actually not measuring each individual household because that would be cost prohibitive, but there is, for lack of a better phrase, an algorithm used to determine what that is parcel by parcel.

So Mayor, if I can explain. The last time that that was done, I believe it was 2008, and after me urging, because I asked the county when it was last done, and they told me it was like 1964. So you can see where some of that's on the priority list. but tables were established and updated in 2008 and then moving forward, they do that for a single family residence, for multi-family, depending on the number of sewer laterals, a commercial building, depending on the type of commercial building, so those tables are established.

I do have a, so these are districts, right? But the city has been subsidizing it for quite a while, right?

Yes. This year to the tune of close to $4 million. A year? Yes.

My concern is, isn't that to the detriment of other districts or people who are not in the districts? And how does that pass legal muster?

So these are assessment districts of the city. So there's no gift problem. There's nothing like that. But it does take money from the general fund that would otherwise be available for other programming.

And why are we in this position in the first place? I mean, isn't this something that when we approve the development that this should be...

When we approve developments, we annex those properties into these various districts as actually, that's one of the things you are doing here. That's what 10, 11, and... Oh, I'm sorry, my apologies. Just one annexation. I think it's 10. And so that allows those districts to be made part of, those properties, excuse me, to be made part of these districts so that they can be properly assessed. PH2, sorry, PH2.

Are there other ways to do it? I mean, I'm wondering if when we approve the development, they have to endow it? I mean...

Not in compliance with Proposition 218, no. All right, thank you.

Mayor, would you be open to the possibility of having the staff look into maybe supplementing it with a program? I'm specifically thinking of fixed income, elderly, Is that something that you would be open to directing the staff to do or looking to?

Well, I think for people on a fixed income, I think we should be looking at that.

Okay. That would have to come from the general fund. It needs to be crystal clear that those funds cannot come from the respective districts. Those would have to be general fund monies. I'm saying this to make our record, Mr. Mayor. Thank you. It must and will be crystal clear that those funds will be general fund monies for any program of that type, but we can look into it for sure.

Okay, thank you.

Where are we now?

18?

19.

Good afternoon, Mayor and Council. So CC19 is the purchase and sale agreement for a piece of property that the Los Angeles County owns. That piece of property is near the intersection of Avenue G8 and 30th Street West, very close to our AV Fair and Event Center. The city has gone, worked with the county. We got an appraisal on the property. It appraised at $150,000. The recommendation is that council authorize the staff to go pursue that piece of property. The intended use is to put some water infrastructure, a tank and a well. and some energy infrastructure likely hydrogen fuel cells so that we can take the AV event center entirely off both the water grid and the electrical grid so that in the event of emergency we have the ability to recover without loss of utilities. Staff recommends the approval of that property for those reasons.

Any questions? Any discussion? Thank you. Is there a motion?

Yes, I move. Sorry, I would like to ask, can we move CC 12 vote separately?

Are you grandstanding?

Mayor, I would like to go ahead and make a motion for CC items 5, 14, and 19.

I'll second that motion.

Let's vote. Passes unanimously. Okay, you wanna, what one separate?

Mayor, I make a motion to approve CC item number 12.

I'll second that motion.

Let's vote.

Is that it? Yep. Announce the vote.

The item passes with Council Member Castellanos voting no.

Okay, now you got me curious. Which one was that? Public hearing item one. The public hearing is now open. Are there any speaker cards?

No speaker cards.

Let's waive the staff report. Is there a motion?

The public hearing, you'll close the public hearing, Mayor?

What? You'll close the public hearing? Oh, I gotta close the public hearing. You know.

Thank you.

She does two meetings and she's already running circles around. Okay, public hearing's closed. Is there a motion?

I move to introduce ordinance number 1152.

I'll second that motion. Let's vote.

And it passes unanimously. Public hearing item two. We'll open the public hearing. Are there any speaker cards?

No.

Let's waive the staff report. Is there, close the public hearing? Is there a motion? I closed the public hearing, right?

Yeah.

Can we hold on this? We've got to count the ballots now, now that the public hearing's closed. So let's, if we can come back to this item after we complete the new business items, that would be helpful.

Okay. Thank you. Remind me. I'm sure I will. New business item one. Any speaker cards?

No speaker cards.

Let's wave Allison's report. Is there a motion?

I moved to approve resolution number 26 dash three wine and resolution number 26 dash three two.

Is there a second?

I'll second that motion.

Let's vote. And it passes unanimously. New business item two.

Sorry, I do have a comment. In regards to MB2, I support all the, or, sorry.

So you want the staff report? Yeah.

They're going to do the staff report right now?

Yeah, if you want to comment on it, I can have the staff report. Okay, yes. So we have some, okay.

We will now hear the staff report regarding MB2 from Sydney.

Sydney, I'm starting to get bored, so I need you to be riveting.

That's a lot of pressure. I was hoping you were going to waive my staff report, but I'm not so lucky, I guess. Good afternoon, Mayor Parris, Vice Mayor Hughes-Leslie, and members of the council. There's a few new faces up here, so before I get started, I just wanted to introduce myself. I'm Sydney Assetta, Economic Development Manager here for the city. The item before you for consideration this afternoon is to award funds for the Vandalism Prevention and Community Enhancement Grant Program. So when working with the community, we've had several businesses and community partners reach out about an increase in vandalism and other destructive activities that have happened at their place of business. and it's resulted in an increase of expenses during already challenging times. To give a little bit of background and context, I wanted to briefly touch on a separate program that the city launched in January of 2025. That's our Vandalism Repair and Restore Grant Program. That program allows businesses to receive up to $2,500 to reimburse costs associated with vandalism-related events. So if their window gets broken or someone tries to pick their lock, graffiti, stuff like that, they can apply to get reimbursed through the city. So far, we've been able to provide about $25,000 in support to local businesses through that program, which is still going, by the way. I want the public to know that so that they're aware. However, even though that program is proving to be successful, we're also hearing from the community that they need additional support with more comprehensive projects that would help prevent and deter vandalism that's also needed. In January, staff released a notice of funding availability for this program and we received three applications that we are recommending funding for. Those include improvements at LA County Fire Station 33, Lancaster Baptist Church and Grace Resources. All of these projects will include some perimeter fencing that will strengthen overall site safety while allowing our community partners to safely continue to operate. Before I conclude, I wanted to invite up the Assistant Chief and Battalion Chief from LA County Fire to say a few words about their application and how this program will help them.

Good afternoon, Mayor, Vice Mayor, Council. Thank you for having myself, Mo Cazal, and Battalion Chief Ryan McKeon. I'm the new Assistant Fire Chief here in Lancaster and Palmdale as well. It's been about three weeks that I've sat in the seat, so I'm excited to meet everybody and thanks for having us this afternoon. Fire Station 33, as many know, and also thanks to the community for hearing this request, Fire Station 33 is one of the busiest It is the busiest in LA County and in the state and nationwide. It's extremely busy. The guys were here throughout, at some point they all made it here, but due to their busyness, they're out responding to calls. We have had some security issues at the station. There's been twice that we know of. situations where there's been people living in the station that have snuck in the gym, up in the attic. And so, you know, and many of you know, our fire houses are our second homes. And so this allows Myself to feel better about my guys my crews, but it also allows them to focus on their job Knowing that their second home is much more secured So it is with deep gratitude that we ask that you consider this and thank you for all your support always appreciate everything Thank you Any questions

So just really quick to conclude, the recommended action would be to award a total of $383,001 for these three projects that were submitted. And if that is approved, then as it stands right now, those funds would not need to be repaid. I'm available for any questions.

Yes. You said the fire station, Lancaster Baptist, and what was the other? Grace Resources. Grace Resources. Yes.

and specifically Fire Station 33.

Okay, so what's been going on at Lancaster Baptist?

So they have had quite a bit of incidences of homeless that have come onto their campus disrupting stuff that's happening on their campus, assaulting certain members, and so they're requesting to have also some security fencing put around to kind of prohibit that from happening.

Are we going to allow the other churches to have security and fences put up around their facilities?

If they apply, we can definitely look into assisting them.

Okay. Thank you.

Mm-hmm.

Well, just wanted to say that I am supportive of all the organizations that apply and the work that they do. I'm just curious why only three applications were submitted. And so I would like to ask for the city staff to do a little bit more of outreach, more of engagement. I also am committed to spread the news about the services that we have, which I think is great. We just have to get the word out more. Absolutely.

No speaker cards. Thank you.

It was almost riveting. Okay. Is there a motion?

I move to approve the funding to award under this program and authorize the city manager or his designee with concurrence from the city attorney to do what recommendation number two says.

Is there a second?

I'll second that motion based on the wording.

Let's vote. And it passes unanimously.

Mr. Mayor, at this time, if you are amenable, we'd like to return to item PH2 and continue the public hearing to the meeting on July the 14th. CH2.

Okay. What do you want me to do with it now?

Continue it, please.

Okay. We're continuing this to July the 14th at 1.30 p.m. July the 14th at 1.30 p.m. Council Chambers. All right. Council reports. Vice Mayor Hughes-Leslie.

Did you want to tackle this first?

Did I miss something?

Appointments, Mr. Mayor.

Oh, I forgot about that. Yes. So where are we on that? On the boards?

Would you like me to report out?

One more.

One more meeting.

One more meeting, Sean.

So for planning commission, it was nominating Stephen Derryberry for chair, Irving Carrillo for vice chair. And then for sanitation districts, it was moving council member Mann into that role, and Cedric White will no longer be in that role.

That's because Ken figured out a way to measure the, never mind.

Yes. Because he knew all the charts and all that. Yeah, I did.

And I'll go on record. I was in the sewers with LA County staff because we got into it. So, Cedric, just so that you understand. Don't go there. Somebody in the audience asked. They literally do measure the outflow coming out of homes going into the sewer.

I told you not to go there.

Nose goes. So that motion slash nominations come from the mayor correct release Correct.

I'll second those Any discussion Let's vote Okay, so when I fill these seats do I have to notice them I I mean, did they have to be agendized or?

We agendized that we were gonna be appointing to various boards and commissions.

Okay, so I don't have to put who I'm doing what with?

No, we've identified that you're going to appoint to various boards and commissions, which is sufficient under the Brown Act.

Okay, thank you. What else, is that it?

That was everybody for today.

Thank you. Okay, now we can go to Vice Mayor Hughes-Leslie.

Thank you, Mayor. We have a video recap of the Prop 218 open houses that we conducted over the last couple of weeks. Again, I can't thank the community enough for being engaged, for coming, asking hard questions, and then for advocating with the new information you have.

What does it mean to see so many community members come out and want to learn more and ask these questions about Prop 218?

I think it's fantastic. It honestly takes a village to make things happen in the city. I know that my fellow teammates and I take great responsibility and honor to be able to work in our community. However, I'm a big believer in collaboration, more ideas, more brainstorming. When we all come together, we get a better product in the long run.

So I think by doing these open houses, the one tonight, the one tomorrow night, giving the community the opportunity to ask and understand what type of service are they getting, and you have the opportunity to vote.

I would say get more informed. Even if you're not like a big talker, Write your questions down and be more straightforward in what you really want to know, the heart of your issues, because not everyone has the same issues as to why they would come. So I would just say come, show up, get your questions answered, and make an informed decision.

We need more people to come out and vote. We need more people to come out and educate themselves on what we're doing. We're doing the best we can. We'll be out in the community talking to you. When you hear about it, please come talk to us. We're here to talk to you. We're here to serve.

So to come to the source of truth, to come to our department head, council members, city manager, and ask those questions and really ask, like, please explain to me the process. What is the impact? Have we considered this? To have those genuine conversations is great. And I just hope that the community continues to be engaged, continues to ask the good questions and brainstorm with us.

Thank you.

And then I have one more video recap for us, Mayor. I had the honor and privilege in your absence to attend the AV outreach ribbon cutting. I know I'm not you, but it was a great event and I can't say thank you enough to the team that put together AV outreach.

They were celebrating the grand opening of our new facility right here in the heart of Lancaster where it's needed the most. Our doors just opened up today, but we've already helped several people find a housing within the past two weeks. We've also helped at least a half a dozen people with job placements in the past two weeks. We help people that have substance abuse problems. We've gotten the right resources and the contacts so where they can get the treatment that they need. We work very closely with victims of domestic violence. We don't think anybody should have to suffer in any type of pain, and we will be there to support you and your family. We'll get you relocation. We'll get you all the resources you need. I try to bring people to the places that they need to be so that they can do better for themselves.

Thank you.

Councilman Mann.

Yes, I had the privilege last Friday to attend the graduation ceremonies for San Joaquin College and Covington College and an opportunity to speak a word of encouragement. Quite impressed because if you understand what those colleges curriculum, there's airframe, You get a certificate for airframe, welding, refrigeration, nursing. And again, I'm so impressed with the young people that graduated this year. And again, they're our future. And that was one of the messages that I passed on to them. So I think there's a video there. Thank you. It's an honor to be here celebrating with you the 2026 graduating class of San Joaquin Valley College and Carrington College. Graduates, all I can say is congratulations. Success is rarely an accident. It goes beyond just filling out applications and going to interviews. And the best opportunities are often the result of relationships. My advice to you is to get out there and meet people at work. So graduates, you've earned this moment. Carry that same determination, whatever comes next. Know that your community is rooting for you. We are the city of Lancaster.

Mr. White.

Yes, we had the honor to go out and celebrate Juneteenth. We had a blast to celebrate our past and our future. Hundreds of people came out and enjoyed music, dance, and we even got the chance to see Miss Rocio cut a rug on stage also. But it was a pleasure to get up there and talk to the hundreds of people that came out, and we really enjoyed it.

It's amazing to see our community together in one place, enjoying different cultures, enjoying the food. And like Cedric said, we are here with our community who actually voted for us.

We want to celebrate everybody. We want to make sure everybody's included. We want to make sure that you feel that this is a safe space for you to express yourself. And me and Rocio and the city council are here to help you feel safe.

How can you not love this city? I mean, when you look and you think about how we celebrate and the many things we do, but me personally, I understand the deep importance of remembering history. You don't know where you've been, you will never know where you're going. That's why it's so important that we celebrate events like Juneteenth.

Art Walk, we have a small circular structure around our art and history that showcases the black local talent that we have within the area. But not only that, we wanted to showcase black excellence all around the contributors of our history.

Thank you. City manager.

No, I'm next.

Did I skip over? I am so sorry.

That's okay. He's mesmerized by your dance moves.

I'm easily confused.

No worries, no worries. So I had the honor on June 11 to do a city tour of all the programs and services, different departments. So I want to thank the staff for being there with me. I want to THANK EVERYONE THAT WAS THERE, SOCIAL MEDIA. IT WAS A VERY WARM DAY, BUT WE LEARNED A LOT, AND I LEARNED A LOT. AND SO I THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT FOR US TO KNOW THE PROGRAMS AND SERVICES THAT WE HAVE IN OUR COMMUNITY SO WE CAN SHARE THAT OUT.

I'm here with Councilwoman Rocio Castellanos. We're at Kensington campus.

It was amazing to see the facility, the building, the services they provide for our community. So it's amazing to know that we have this here in our community to help everyone that needs a second chance, that needs a place to live.

We're with Lancaster City Councilwoman Rocio Castellanos at Samaritan's Purse Park.

So this is what the city is doing and it's amazing work that we are rebuilding and making the park beautiful for our community. We get people from outside of our community coming and using our park because we maintain it, we take care of it, and we love our park. And thank you for everyone that comes to our soccer field park. We appreciate you, and let's continue to get 1.5 million people up here. Wow, just so many programs. The community can come, parents can pay two dollars, the children a dollar. Plus if we have swimming classes, we have a waiting list, so many amazing programs. Don't forget to register early, the classes get full. And thank you to the city of Lancaster for doing these amazing programs for our children.

We're here with Lancaster City Council members Cedric White and Ocio Castellanos. We just completed the tour of the Mark Center. What are some of your thoughts about this center?

To do different type of sports. We'll be able to do proms. We'll be able to do graduation. We'll be able to provide services for our community, but not just our community, our surrounding neighbors in one place, in one location.

So there's a lot of things that we can do, provide jobs, creative spaces, and just a great economic development opportunity.

And after seeing all of these facilities throughout the entire morning, what do you think are some of the biggest needs and how can they be addressed?

I think one of the things that is important is for us as a city to inform the community, this is your space, this is for you, and come and visit us, come enjoy the services and the programs that we offer for our residents.

Thank you. Can I move on now?

City Manager. Thank you, Mayor. A couple updates. First, out of the City Manager's office, I did want to thank the community for coming out and supporting the Lancaster Ambassador Academy, that application for that academy had been open about the last four or five weeks. We have received 95 applications for that. We're reviewing those now and we'll decide who the final 15 or so people that get to participate in that program will be. Economic Development, they are doing a community visioning workshop actually tonight at the Lancaster Community Center, 530 to 630. So if you want to be able to give us feedback on what you want to see in the community as it relates to economic development, please come on out. We want to hear from you. LPD, doing a really big push and thank you Rod and team for taking illegal fireworks serious this year. If you see something, there's a phone number here, I'll read it, 661-723-6132, please report it to us. We know fireworks are legal in Lancaster, so not even the safe and sane ones, so please report those to us. And then, this is way out there, but August 6th will be National Night Out, so mark your calendars now, that's always a great event. And then last, Parks Team, super busy this year, they're putting on and celebrating, so in advance of the 250 years of this great nation, which is next week. I just wanna thank Sonia, you and your team, because I know they're going to be busy next week. We have a Monday night event, a Wednesday night event, a Thursday night event, a Saturday night event, and a Sunday night event, so thank you. And community, please come on out to those. They're going to be great.

It's gonna be a great party for three days. Trulese swore to me, it's gonna be magnificent. It's gonna be something we've never seen before. Is that right, Trulese?

It is. Every night, starting next Monday.

Next Monday?

Yeah. Monday Night Bites will have a 250th theme to it, and then Wednesday we have cool summer nights. Thursday, Farmer's Market. Friday, or I'm sorry, Saturday is a parade in the morning over in Courts Hill on 50th Street West that's co-hosted with the chamber. That night we will have a big country show and a fireworks show at the fairgrounds. And then Sunday we're partnering with the soccer team and doing a huge drone show there after the game.

Good.

You guys are going to have a great time.

We can also have the FIFA watch party on the Monday Night Bites and the cool summer nights.

I missed that. What did she say?

FIFA watch party.

What's a watch party?

It's where you can't afford maybe to go to the actual event so you get together with a bunch of friends and you watch the game and you have snacks and you cheer for your team. I saw you wearing your jersey, Rocio.

After that, I went to a watch party.

And what do you watch?

The soccer game. The World Cup. World Cup. World Cup.

He's joking. He's joking. Really? People do that.

OK, Mayor, I'm going to invite you. Mexico plays tomorrow. Actually, Wednesday.

OK. So I was asking my friend about the Super Bowl. He's a big football guy, you know? And he looked at me and he goes, you don't even know who's playing, do you? I didn't. All right.

This is a time to address the city council agency authority on non-agendized matters. Speaker cards can be found on the back table of the council chambers. Individual speakers are limited to three minutes each unless a different time limit is announced. Each speaker's time will begin once their name is called. State law prohibits the city council from taking action on items not on the agenda, and your matter may be referred to the city manager. Thank you.

Thank you. Fran. Fran. Can somebody help her?

Right there. Perfect.

Wow. It's been a very exciting day, ABTA and here. My main concern right now is the voting that you sent out to us all. And my concern was, as well as the gentleman that spoke prior to me, I didn't get his name. Pardon?

Arthur.

Yeah, but what's my concern is because people, because you know most of, well not most, a lot of the homeowners here in Lancaster, in Poundwood, Lancaster are much, they're seniors and their incomes are very, very, very low and I'm in that number. I cannot afford the extra costs that you want to put on us, not even if it's a... Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

I'm not putting an extra cost on anybody.

No, on the ballots. I mean, we're to vote on the ballots, but I'm just saying that I shouldn't put it... I'm sorry. I didn't mean it to be that way. It's just that a lot of people don't understand the ballot. And like myself at first, I can't afford anything more than what I'm already paying. Plus, they say, well, we already paid some of our taxes from past taxes. But your encouragement to me today was you said what I heard is you're going to look into it for us and see what you can do. And I have to speak for myself because I can't afford it. I can't, I have a nice house now because I took care of business before my accident, before I broke my back. But anyway, I'm here for all the other people that can't afford, that barely can afford food in their, you know, for their, to put food in their mouths and have bread. And so I appreciate what you are hopefully planning to do for us. And God bless you for that. Thank you.

Thank you. Trolley, this is a property tax assessment, isn't it?

It's a fee that is placed on the property tax, yes.

Okay. For special benefit to the parcels.

I'm sorry?

For special benefit to the parcels.

Yeah. What I'm getting at is if somebody's renting, they don't pay it, right? No.

Correct. The owner of the property would be the one paying it.

Okay. I don't think people really understand that. Yeah. All right. Good. Thank you. Good.

God bless you.

Hey, we're going to stick it to your landlord. You don't have to pay it. Don't worry.

Did you hear that? Thank you.

Gail D. Emmer?

So, okay, well, Honorable Mayor and Council, I wasn't planning this, actually. I came by the office out there and saw the receptionist, and she said, well, you go just tell them all. I thought, okay, I guess we could do that. And I'm glad that I see and God we trust on the wall, because this won't be real popular, but I'm not really here to attack anybody. But I went to the library this week. on polling day. And I don't usually go on the computer, but I did. That day I needed to look up something about the judges for the vote. And I was very saddened. heartbroken and very concerned about what I saw on the Los Angeles County Library, which we have one in Lancaster and this one in Courts Hill, all over the county of LA. Celebrate LGBTQ. Now, what everybody wants to do in private is their own frickin' business, okay? You can do your business, but you know, I don't see married couples out there talking about their relationships, really, in some regards. So I'm saying to you, last year I called Newsome up there because the college on the corner of 30th and K, I was driving. I'm a realtor at Keller Williams and I also do Uber Eats. I'm a single senior and I have to work. And I wasn't looking for problems. But I was driving down 30th going north and that sign came up right in my face. at the college, celebrate LGBTQ. And I'm thinking, you know what? If you guys want to do what you want to do, do. But don't invite the whole city. You better believe I made some noise. I think I even came into the governor's offices over here and made a statement last year. But I'm going to tell you, children, I have a Bible here. So if a God we trust, we're going to read it. And then we're going to do what he says. Because Psalm 128, 1 and 2 promises that we'll be happy and prosperous. Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord, that walketh in his ways. Thou shalt eat the labor of thy hands. Happy shall thou be, and it shall be well with you. Psalm 128, 1 and 2. And I'm going to tell you, the children don't deserve this. Children's innocence, their purity, their... They don't understand. But when a little boy asks a mom, what do those letters mean? And once a child has heard the meaning of those letters and they're talking about their friends in school, we have violated them. And I'm going to say a strong word. I think it's actually abuse and molestation of children. And we need to do something about it so that we can rise up and be a light to the state. Thank you.

Thank you. Stephen Paul.

Mr. Mayor, Vice Mayor, and Council, good evening. I want to thank the city. You know, I'm all excited about our, and I can't say the word, I lived through the bicentennial, Mayor and Ken, we were young men during the bicentennial and in the prime of our lives, and I'd like to celebrate America, so thank you to the city for all the things you do. And Mayor, you spoke about the Lancaster Police Department out there bringing down the traffic collisions and stuff. They're incredible. I go around and I see them everywhere, and I have mixed emotions. I go, that poor guy. But then I go, all right, they're keeping our city safe. So it's a mixed bag. And the other thing was, what an honor tonight to be here to see Jim Vose get the key to the city and That was an incredible man. And through the years coming to meetings and him coming and talking in the hallway and about his time in the Army and all these incredible things, I got to know him. And Mayor, it was such an honor at the State of the City a couple of years ago Jim Bose came up and sat by me when you were talking about what a model of volunteerism he was and what an asset he was to the community. So thank you for saying that about him then and everything he did for him tonight. He certainly deserves it, and it's just an honor to know such a dedicated servant. So thank you. Keep it up, and happy birthday, America. I'm excited. Thank you.

Brother Perry. Congratulations on getting that up and running.

Thank you, Your Honor.

It's taken you a lot of work to do that.

Thank you, and I appreciate you. I've been coming up here for as long as you've been made. I don't think you're that old, are you? You know that much, I just look good. You're not that much older than me. I remember by San Antonio, too. Well, I'm not going to be here long. I just have one question of how many signatures am I going to need to have this meeting put back to the afternoons? Too many people that used to come, that want to come, are at work at 1 o'clock in the afternoon. And then at 1 o'clock in the afternoon, the ones who might have lunch have that lunch and have to be back to work by 1. 1 o'clock in the afternoon is not good, so I would like to know how can we get it back to 5 o'clock in the afternoon? How many signatures am I going to need, and when do I need them by?

I think you would need, what, 30,000 signatures?

The threshold for what? What threshold are you asking me about, Mr. Mayor?

If they were going to do an initiative.

An initiative, it would be approximately 30,000 signatures to enact an initiative to change that ordinance.

Okay, and when would I need it by?

Or whenever I get- Within the time frame set forth in the elections code. So you would have to follow the procedures in the elections code to start an initiative. And to get the forms and such for that, you would visit the city clerk's office.

You know, you're not wrong. I mean, I understand your concern. I also recognize that this is a working board. We make decisions that affect a lot of people. And I've never understood why we would make those decisions, sometimes at 1 o'clock in the morning. It makes no sense to me. Most boards of real organizations that make real decisions meet during the day. And I think it's for that reason. You need people who are cognitively at their best, not at their worst. And yeah, there is a certain amount of, there's an offset to that, that sometimes people who would like to participate are not able to. But to me, it's almost a no-brainer that you want people at their absolute best when they're deciding issues that sometimes have enormous impact on the people who live in the city. And that was our reasoning.

I understand and I do agree with you about the fact that you want people wide awake, you know, not all tired and sluggish. But a lot of people that I spoke to feel that moving it to one o'clock in the afternoon kind of indicates that perhaps the city is hiding something. There's something that they don't want. the community to know. So I haven't spoke to any of the people that used to come that feel different. They're like, why? Why are they hiding something?

So we just... You know, I've been accused of hiding something since the day I got elected. I remember. You know, to begin with, I don't even know how to keep a secret. I mean, I tell staff if it's something that has to be a secret, don't tell me. When we go on those gang raids, they call me 10 minutes before I'm supposed to be there because I don't want to be the guy who leaks it. I mean, I understand people think that. I've just never seen any evidence of it. I don't think we could be any more transparent than we are. I just don't hold anything back. And I think people know that. I mean, seriously, have I ever not said what I was thinking? I got you in trouble a couple of times. A few times. A few times. Yes. But yeah, I understand what you're saying. I just disagree. I disagree. And you also have staff. The staff get here at 8 o'clock in the morning. And we work them until what? Sometimes 1 o'clock in the morning before they're allowed to go home. I just don't see how that's an efficient way of doing business. And we're not here for entertainment value. We're here to improve the well-being of the hardworking families that live here. And that should require all of our attention, all of our focus, all of our ability And that is just not the case when we start meetings. We used to start them at 7 o'clock at night. It made no sense to me. Now, the upside is a couple of years, you have a new mayor, talk to her.

Okay, I understand. The only thing I can add to that, and like I said, I do agree, you do want people who are making decisions that's going to affect your life and your community and your children, you do want them to be at their peak. But it had been working fine for many years the way it was, and I know you've heard the expression, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. So...

Well, remember when I first got elected, it was the Jerry Springer Show. Do you remember?

Yeah, I remember. It was crazy. I remember. Thank you very much.

Mayor, may I say a few words? So every board that I sit on representing the city of Lancaster, whether it's a county board or a state board, They all meet during the day for the reasons that the mayor spoke. And then I would like to share with you to the mayor's point. I can remember for, this is prior to the mayor getting elected, as a planning commissioner, I can remember making decisions here. This is after I worked a nine or a 10 hour day. I would come in here and often at times I sit on that commission as a chairman and we would be here till one, two o'clock in the morning making decisions that would affect the people of the city of Lancaster. And I can reflect back And if we're being honest about it, I suspect we probably didn't make some of the best decisions. You're stressed under duration. It's been all day. The staff has worked all day. And I can even remember times where we would even continue the meetings until the next day. And when somebody says, Ken, tell us about some of the things that you're proud about, I can reflect back now on some of the land use decisions. Perhaps I maybe didn't use the best judgment. So to the mayor's point, I just want to share with you that every single board I sit on, which is now about, I don't know, eight or ten. They're all met during the day, and I know what the purpose is for. It's so that people can sit there and make the right decisions without already working eight, nine, 10 hours a day, and then be thrusted with making the best decisions for the people, because ultimately, as the mayor said, that's what we got elected for. is to make the best decisions for the people. And then one last thing, we do hold meetings for that very reason and we pick, I know currently we're at least twice a year where if somebody needs to come and share whatever the case may be at five o'clock, we do do that. So anyway, thank you, Mayor.

May I add one more thing, Mayor? Yes. Please.

See what you started.

No, we hear you, Brother Perry. We hear you. And that's why I felt compelled to just share again that coming in person is not the only way to be engaged. I went to law school. I can argue both pros and cons for having a meeting at 1.30 versus 5 p.m. And I could tell you there's cons to both. I agree with what the mayor said and council member Mann said, but again, you can email, you can provide written comment. You can come to our open houses. You can schedule meetings with us. There are so many different ways than having to take your lunch, which is what I do to attend this meeting. Please look at the calendar. We do set aside so many nights or so many meetings that we do meet at night. So please don't let this be the end all be all. If you can't make it while I would love you to be here and be engaged, there are other ways to do that.

May I make a point, Mr. Mayor?

I'm sorry, what?

May I make a point on that exact topic? Yes. Starting with our next meeting, we will be Zooming live, and you can participate remotely starting at our next meeting on July 14th.

Good. Thank you. I'm sorry. I'm not allowed to call people from the audience. You have to have a speaker card. I know that. Greg Beshear. How you been, Greg?

Mr. Mayor, hi. I got just a couple quick things. Welcome back. Ms. Vice Mayor. The streets, and I talked with Councilman Mann and the Vice Mayor at the open house meetings. Thank you, Trolese, for being there and explaining things. I just hope that it's been explained enough. Because I did hear from some of the people here that the ballots are a little confusing I too was confused but I came here got some answers and then went to the open houses and got even more answers, so I guess I'm happy that we're getting the security portion of city life under control and August 1st gonna have a full force. I'm really happy about that. My big bug is the roads, streets, and hopefully we can really start attacking that problem. When this, These four fees are passed and I think they are going to be passed because there was a lot of chatter like when they first came out seeing it on social media and stuff. It's kind of died down a little bit but so I'm hoping if they pass we'll be able to skim a little bit off the maintenance and the sewers and stuff and kind of push that towards the streets.

We actually are. We're increasing the budget on the streets. It's a gargantuan job, but we're looking at it.

Not with these funds.

Not with these funds.

These funds are only for the LLMD drainage and sewer. The work we're doing on the streets is from the general fund. I have to make that crystal clear.

Skim probably wasn't the right word. One of the things that I did want to say real quick is I heard about the fencing and I like that idea, but I mentioned last year or sometime, couldn't we just get a fence and put these people that are bugging and living in firehouses and church buildings. Can we just house them in a fenced-in area? That's my thing.

You're trying to suck me into saying something I shouldn't say.

I'll say it for you, Mr. Mayor.

Thank you for your comments. See you next time.

Then the last thing real quick is I just wanted to say if we're going to do you know, people that have 14 people living in a house, six people living in a house. I just got one person living in a house, three bathrooms. I have to alternate just to keep the gaskets wet. So, thanks. Per capita, I'm okay.

Can I say a word or two? Of course. Our citizens are not these people. They're citizens of Lancaster, and we need to respect our citizens of Lancaster. So I understand we don't want our citizens violating our property, but we should not be calling them these people because we need to respect each and every person here in the city of Lancaster. But we do thank you for your comments.

I understand what you're saying, but I'm also aware of the fact that a lot of the burden from the unhoused are not Lancaster citizens. They're transients from LA that are encouraged to come up here on the free train service. And the burden that they're placing on this community I mean, I was the guy who would never say no when somebody asked me for money. And I have changed completely because I see the burden. I mean, millions and millions of dollars to just pick up their trash. And we're talking about trying to find the money to subsidize the district tax on people with fixed incomes. You know, if we did not have transients from LA coming up here and then expecting us to take care of them, this would be a much better community. And the people living that are real citizens would be able to thrive. I have no, there's no question we should help our own people when they need help. But I simply disagree that we should be helping people from other cities because we do not have the resources to do it. I mean, that's how I see it. But I take your point. It is demeaning to say we should change our vernacular a little bit. But I want to be very clear that you and I may disagree on this. I don't think we do, but we might.

With that, Mayor, do you want to go ahead and announce our next speaker card?

I wanted to hear what Cedric had to say. Okay.

Yeah, so I agree we should help each and every person that's living here in Lancaster. Even if they're coming up from another city, we need to work on getting them back with their family members. And that's something we need to take pride in. That's something we need to respect each and every person. We owe a duty to... to them as a person. We owe a duty to them. We need to make sure that we're making sure that their well-being is taken care of. I don't disagree we need to take care of the citizens here, but we need to treat each and every one as a person. And we need to make sure that we respect them as a person and make sure that we reunify them with their families, if they have families. If we do that, we can reduce homelessness by making sure that we reunify them with their families. And if they don't have families, we need to do the best we can to get the services to help them get back on their feet and go back to LA if that's where they choose to go.

You want to remember that 86% of the people that we contact that are unhoused refuse any services. 86% refuse services.

We can put this item on the agenda for the next meeting.

So I do understand that. But I service the homeless as a PO. I understand that a lot of them at any given time may have $10,000, $12,000 in their pocket. But we need to meet them with that. And a lot of times, they're not where they want to be.

I don't disagree with you.

But I'll let you have the last word on that. I won't keep debating with you.

I don't think we're debating. I think it's a discussion we should have. I certainly make room for the possibility I could be totally wrong on this. I don't think I am, but I could be.

We all have a lot to learn, and we're going to learn together, all right?

Fair enough. John Barrett.

I tried to speed him up. I'm sorry, sir.

So I'm here today because we're having a problem getting a property divided. It's been going on over a year and a half. There's been a lot of confusion about what they're going to use to divide the property. There's already two houses there, all utilities. One faces Sixth Street East. One faces Fair Glen Road. Going into this, they said that the It was going to be a simple no-brainer, three to six weeks, SB 90. The city was very easy about how they did this. And once it got approved, I had three meetings before I got involved in this property, did my due diligence, also spoke to engineering. They stated clearly that the property doesn't need any engineering, that we're good to go. Once it was approved, I expected to go to assessment for taxes, because now I'd have two APN numbers. And there was a lag time. Found out that they indeed were going to throw me into engineering, and there was a bill that they couldn't explain. So that's where the debate started. I wrote some stuff out, so I guess I'll read it. After having over three over-the-counter meetings with, I'll try to leave names out, the city planner with an engineer, I was told the lot is completely developed, no engineering is required, it's a simple process, and it will take three to six weeks to complete. From there, we'll go to the county for separate tax assessment to conclude. On December 23rd, 2024, I paid the required fee 547 days ago.

Does somebody familiar with this from staff? On June 10th.

We have a little bit of background. Yes, Mayor.

I think I can help you here, okay?

Give me a second. Yeah. My understanding is the project came through. It went through our planning department. The tentative track map was approved there. Now the project is in with our engineering team to review the... the track map and the legal descriptions that all have to go to the recorder's office once approved and get reviewed and approved. I think we're at second plan check right now, so we're currently waiting on their engineer to resubmit to us so that we can final approve it and get everything down to the assessors and recorded and subdivided.

Well, let me ask a question. When they come in and make the application, do we give them a deadline as to when we're going to give them an answer?

We give him, it looked like he was reading something there where it says six weeks, that's the approximate time, assuming that their professional team, their consultants that are working on their end respond quickly to our comments as well.

Well, I thought he should be able to go to the website and know exactly the status of the project and And it would reveal if we were somehow not diligent in our responses.

You can. You can look in what's called the CELA is the software that we use. And you can audit the entire back and forth there.

So how long did we delay you? Well, actually everything's been approved, and that was 378 days ago. From there, now I'm using Duke Engineering, I think they're the premier company in town. It was surveyed, everything was done, everything. From there, there was just, by the way, super long lag periods, nobody responds. I have more, but this is the stack of my emails. Sorry, didn't get to you. Sorry, sorry. Not good. Not good at all. So what I was told, I had a meeting and said SB 9 says, You're not supposed to be doing this. These are violations. This isn't cool. I just want to get this done. From there, they said, well, we're going to switch over to a, and you have the documentation there, to raw land. Now, I had this conversation with Shawna at Duke Engineering. and with the city, and Shawnee was in shock. She says, you're not really saying that, are you? She said, yep, we're gonna move them over to raw land. So they were trying to throw in a environmental fee. Decided, okay, nevermind, because I'm pushing back, and unfortunately, the more I push back, the worse it gets. Also, even though everything was approved, I had to pay over $7,700 with a balance of over 12,000, which was originally over 12,000, which they said, and of course, and again on a phone call with Duke Engineering that this one line, this one document is gonna go to AV Engineering. They were astounded. Now, after that point, months went by. And I'm like, I don't know how long this takes. This is crazy. I'm a general contractor, and I've built. My wife's a realtor. I was an appraiser for 12 years. So I have a pretty good background in these type of things.

And listen, send me an email to my city email account if we are in any way not

doing what we're supposed to. Respectfully, there's some problems. I mean, we're four generations. Our businesses are here.

Okay, just send me an email, and I will look into it and see if there's some type of... obstacle that is easily removed.

I hope so. I mean, I'm fine with it's just a misunderstanding, but this should be done. We've had to lower the, we want, we need to sell one property.

Just send me an email. I'll deal with it. I guarantee it.

Yes, sir. Okay. How do I get your email?

Huh?

All right. Good. Thank you. Thank you.

Miguel.

You know, Mayor, I never called you Rex. I never called you Raymond. I never called you anything but Mayor because there's certain dignity to being Mayor, whether I disagree with you or don't disagree with you. Earlier today, and I saw you honoring two women, Dr. Zimmerman and Dr. Zelis. You called them by doctor. I have the same doctorate degree as them. No, you don't, Miguel. What do you mean? Just because you didn't graduate from Harvard doesn't mean that you don't have a JD.

I'm not going to argue.

You don't have to argue, but that's disrespectful. You didn't graduate from Harvard. You didn't go to Princeton. You didn't go to Yale. You went to... some college, but you passed the bar. That's commendable. I didn't go to USC, I didn't go to UCLA, but I wrote a dissertation. Do you know that there's about 240 million people, 340 million people in the United States, and I'm one of 250,000 Mexicans? with a doctorate degree and you have the audacity to disrespect me and tell me that? And I want to confront you about that, because that's rude. I've never been disrespect to you. But things are changing. That's the first thing. Second thing is that we come from Peropecha people. Where I come from is the 14th, 16th century Mexican. We've been here for a long time, for centuries on this earth. America is about to be 250 years, and we've been continuously condemned and disrespected. by people like you and the city manager. When I'm doing my First Amendment right, he gets two of your officers to remove me. And I wasn't being disruptive. I was disrupted afterwards. That's the first thing. Or second thing, since the 1900, Mexican people have been deported. 1910, 1920, 1930, 1940, 1950, up to now. Total disrespect and it starts with people like you. The assessments, we're going to have a big rally for the community. February 14th at 12 p.m. outside of the city hall. July 14th, big protest for the community to come out and please protest. Rocio Castellanos seems to be the only one that stands up for the people, and we appreciate that. And we're just really sick and tired of being kicked around by you. You've been here too damn long. I'm glad you're leaving in two years. And it's ingenuous for you to assume that a woman is going to go ahead and get elected like Lauren Hughes, which I think she is qualified. But there's also Rocio. There's also Jonathan Irving. Yeah, he's still got time. So anyway, we're out of time. It's Dr. Miguel Coronado. Raymond killed it.

Thank you. Arthur Callaway. Yeah. Now that's a tough act to follow, Arthur.

I have an MBA. And I need you to talk to my MBA. That's hilarious. Oh, OK. I want to talk about Prop 218 again. I'm not against supporting infrastructure improvements. I'm not saying this information isn't available. I'm saying reading all of the PDFs on the Prop 218 website provided by the city, these were questions I was left with, which means I know a lot of other residents are left with the same questions. Listening, if you put this on property owners, then all property owners who rent are gonna put it on the renters. They're just gonna pass it through like any other corporation. Why am I gonna take that hit? I'm just gonna raise rent. To make this decision, for me personally, as a property owner in Lancaster, To make this decision, I need the following information provided and would like to make sure that all residents are informed in the same way. This is not something that should be done fast, as in approving this in July. Just saying that this is an attachment provided in an agenda. We already know the low turnout for, how many people do we have in the city, 190,000 now? 170 okay hundred seventy thousand people ice when I first met Dave David Paul in here he's like the most attended perfect attendance to City Council meetings and there's only like Maybe point zero zero one percent of people that are like that that are reading agendas and attachments So I'm asking I'm asking the city to provide me with a parcel-specific calculation worksheet of some sort so I know why you're saying it, what you're saying about my actual parcel. Also, general benefit funding details that would happen such as when reserve balances happen. If I overpay, then why... Am I going to get a refund like I do when I overpay an insurance USAA I have and they'll pay you back something if they say that you overpaid. How the city property affects the vote to include why shouldn't the city property be funded with the general fund and annual reporting, is there going to be annual reporting and oversight protocols provided for citizens so that we can be educated and just We've been paying it from the general fund for 15 years. Why speed through it? If right now I am literally saying I'm neutral and I just want to have the information to understand how it's going to affect everyone. We're talking about the people on fixed incomes and all that stuff. We just need to provide the plan that where a regular person can actually understand the information.

Thank you. I think your questions are well grounded. It's just you have 15 of them. And I'm not able to, I don't have the cognitive ability to answer them from here. But they should be answered.

She gave me her card right there to say the answers, but I just want to make sure that it's... Because what happens in these meetings is that I come and I get the answer. And I'm saying that we should be trying to figure out the way so that everyone is informed in a way that makes the most sense. And just burying it in agendas feels more like... The information should only be learned if you know how to devise the information. You know, and a lot of people don't have that ability. You know, just period. I don't know the answer to some of those questions.

Mayor, would you be open to directing the staff, if it's not done already, putting the link to all the Prop 218 material on our home page? That's already there. It's already there.

I'm not saying that the PDFs, each one of those things, the sewage, the drainage, the lighting, the landscaping, all the PDFs are there. What I'm saying is I read all those PDFs, and I was left with all of those questions. I'm not saying that the answers aren't in those PDFs. They may be, or they may be, like was previously said, by somebody that they're inside an engineering report. But how... Why would I have to dig inside an engineering report to understand why you're going to charge? My sewage is going to go from $70 to $170. I'm not saying I don't have the money to pay it. I'm saying I don't understand how a person that's one person in their house, $70 to $170 or $160, that's how much the sewage is going to jump. It's going to double. Is that accurate? Yeah.

Yeah. So sewer goes from $70 per year to $150 per year. So it's an annual fee.

So it's 70, $70 a year. So what I'm saying, all I'm saying is that if you're one person in a house, then it doesn't make sense for everyone's household to double.

Like it seems like, come on. How, how, how do you administer a program? that is that granular? I don't know that it's possible.

Well, what I'm not saying is that you have to do it that granular. What I'm saying is I would like to hear the research to show me as to what granular. I would love to be in the highest tier. I would love to be in the highest tier. And then we tier one, tier two, tier three. This process has been done with electricity for literally decades, where they tier it out, they understand why the infrastructure, we need more light pole or power lines. That's gonna happen over time. This is how we're gonna tier it out. If you use this, whatever, whatever. All I'm saying is I would like to hear the educated, well thought out plan, instead of saying it's a blanket that we tier it, low-income people don't get hit, then there's a next tier and there's a next tier, then instead of you saying double or a little less than double, that we are saying we're phasing it in over the years due to a mistake, a slip-up, whatever happened, to then now it's not a super shock for the community. You just tear it.

I don't disagree. Mayor. I think I'd like to chime in a little bit. The purpose of the public outreach meetings that we did a week ago was exactly this, so that we could talk one-on-one and get very granular with each individual and talk through their specific situation. because if I knew your parcel and where you lived, we could talk through your unique situation, but really because of these engineer's report, many parcels are unique and they're different. Some parcels are in two districts. Some parcels are in four districts. There's a lot of nuances there. So what I think I'm hearing is we need to do more of these community outreach meetings and maybe another one next week, and hopefully we can get more residents to show up to those. And then Mayor, sorry, go ahead.

I was going to ask, Mayor, maybe you could direct the staff in addition to those 15 questions he asked, putting together an FAQ. Like, I get it. It's already on the website.

No. No, no.

Wait, time out. But, Allison, specifically to the 15 questions he asked, could we just have someone on the team that we get all of them?

The thing that comes to mind is why isn't our AI programs working available on the website where they could ask any of these questions and get real answers?

So my thing is for us to, all I'm asking, I'm not saying that, like I already said multiple times, I'm not saying that the information does not exist somewhere, but if we're all- But it should be easy. It should be easy to obtain, and if we're all asking this question, so you honestly said, I don't know the answers to these questions as the mayor, right? Multiple people don't know the answers to these questions. What I'm saying is why- One more public hearing is not enough. If these questions, we're so close to that deadline to where I can't make an educated decision, which would make me then just go out and tell everybody to say no and continue on the general fund completely. Or me being reasonable, getting the information, maybe pushing out the vote for a couple months to say, hey, we really want you to understand. Do another push. We got all these questions. Somebody comes up here in public comment in three months and then everybody's like, nope, nope, nope, nope, nope, nope, nope. No, exactly. We're going to tear it in. We're going to give you this, that, and the other. Now we vote yes.

You know, the assumption that I have a dog in this hunt is unfounded.

No, no, no. I think you misunderstood what I'm saying.

What I mean by that is if they don't vote for it, if they vote it down... I just roll with it. Well, I want my sewer pipes to work. We'll figure out what we got to do.

That's what I'm saying. I do have a dog in a fight. I want my sewer pipes to work. I just want everybody to be informed so they can make the best decision and that we can have it as soon as possible so that we can use the general funding for better options than me and my own personal parcel using the bathroom.

I think you're right. I don't know what the obstacles are at this point, but I'll find out at the end of the meeting. Fair enough?

Thank you.

Thank you. What do we got?

That's it.

That's it? Uh-huh. See, wasn't it better to end with Arthur than it was the other guy?

Yeah.

Thank you, Arthur. Okay. What do we got? Executive session?

Comments from city council.

Any comments from the council? Okay. Good. Well, not good. I mean... We're now going to move to closed session to discuss closed session item one through 16.

City Attorney, your announcement please. In closed session, the City Council took closed session agenda item number seven up and gave direction to staff and legal counsel. No reportable action. Thank you.