City Council - Regular Meeting

Hello? No. Thank you.

Anybody? No.

Gotta quit eating that stuff. Okay. I'm gonna go

We're doing pretty good.

Good evening. I will call the council council meeting, February 3 council meeting at six 06:31. Call to order. We'll have our indication by pastor Rich Spring from Living Hope Church. And then mayor Pro Tempoland, will you lead us in the salute?

Decency and an order And with decorum. We pray all these things in Christ's name. Amen.

Amen. Thank you. Please join me in the pledge of allegiance. Ready to begin.

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.

Thank you. Can we have a roll call, please?

Mayor Bennington? Here. Mayor Pro Tem Poland?

Here.

Council Member Greg? Here. Council Member Lee? Here. Council Member Ochoa?

Here.

Thank you. Do we have any corrections or revisions to the agenda?

No corrections this evening, Madam Mayor.

Thank you. Do we have any closed session reports? Thank you Madam Mayor and members of the City Council. We did discuss one item of existing litigation but no reportable action was taken. Thank you. Moving on to general public comment. Do we have any public speaker cards? Oh, yes. I see that. That wasn't up. May we start with the voice mail, please?

Hi, everyone. My name is Emma Gregg. I just wanted to take the time to wish my dad, Cameron Gregg, happy birthday. I know that things have been very difficult with the climate of everything right now in our community and just in our country as a whole, but I hope that everything gets better as we go on. And I just wanted to wish you a happy birthday, and I hope you have a good day. Thank you, everyone. Bye.

Well, thank you, Emma. Mike, we, the people, rising.

Madam Mayor, we forgot to read the paragraph before the general public meeting.

I just saw that. I apologize for that. Excuse me. I have to do the general public comments. Individuals wishing to speak during general public comments or on a particular numbered item are requested to submit a speaker slip to the city clerk with the agenda item noted.

Speaker slips should be turned in prior to the public comment portion of the joint agenda or before an agenda item is discussed. Comments will be limited to three minutes for general public comment, consent calendar items and new business items. Comments are limited to five minutes for public hearing items. In compliance with the Brown Act, the City Council may not discuss or take action on non agenda items or engage in question and answer sessions with the public. The City Council may ask brief questions for clarification, provide a reference to staff or other resources for factual information, and direct staff to add an item to a subsequent meeting.

Thank you. Mike We The People Rising.

Hello. I'm just here because I want to talk about illegal immigration and the good work that ICE is doing in our country right now. I'd like to remind people that crossing the border illegally is in violation of federal immigration law and if you go across the border, that's one time. If you go back and come back again, that's another crime. So, and then to use somebody else's social security number, that's another crime.

To live in this country illegally is another crime. So, the average illegal alien is guilty of at least three crimes. So, I'd like to remind everybody that you can call ICE, the tip line right there, if you have the name of the person, that would help a lot. If you have the address, that would help a lot. So all of you should do your civic duty. If you know about illegal aliens, call ICE. 8662 And

I'd like

you to all of you, if you ever see an ICE agent, I would like you to be nice to them. And also be nice to those people over there. That's all I have to say. Thank you. God bless America and God bless Donald Trump. Thank you.

Raul Rodriguez junior, please.

Thank you very much. My name is Raul Rodriguez, Jr, and I'm with We the People Rising. And my first comment is regarding our great president. The world needs Trump. Pardon me.

The world needs Jesus, and America needs Trump. The second sign is if you're an illegal in this country, you need to go back. You need to be you need to self deport. We support ICE 100%, and it's important that you do the same because they're here enforcing our immigration laws and keeping us safe. And another thing I'd like to say is that we need to deport all those in this country illegally.

It's terrible that they murder and rape our women and our children, and we need to get them the heck out of here. So we need to do that, and you need to support ICE 100%. My second comment is regarding a comment made by a woman last night regarding stolen land. California is not stolen land. We paid $15,000,000 We bought it from Spain.

And this land, not only California but Nevada and other states, we bought it from them for $15,000,000. So it isn't stolen. We have the right to be here. I am a proud Christian, a proud Republican, a proud American, and I love this country, and we live in the greatest country in the world. So if anybody doesn't agree with me, I would like to debate them because it's important that they if they're here in this country, they need to love it the way we do.

It's a great country and our Lord Jesus Christ gave us this country so that we can get so you can get to know him the way the way that I do. Thank you very much, and god bless you. God bless America, and god bless all those who need your love, dear lord. Thank you.

Hesperian News and Politics.

Let me get this real quick. These microphones are always so tall. Hi, me again. For those who know or don't know, I should say, my name is Rihanna, but most know me as Nana. That's Nana like your grandma.

The last time I spoke, I raised the concern about Parks and Rec ignoring my public records requests, which I believe may be tied to Kelly Gregg being censored for one of these two things, using private investigators and their political supporters to intimidate Chris Ochoa and other candidates and other members of the community, or Kelly is actually being censored for speaking up about overspending and other issues within not only parks and rec, but other agencies as well. And let me go ahead and go to Bridget and Cameron's reply. So, mister Cameron Gred, you said parks and rec business is parks and rec business when I brought this up. And if my records are not being answered, I'm in the right place. What connection are you trying to make?

Are you indirectly confirming these issues I mentioned? You also got you guys claim to be separate, but the city has regularly addressed other separate issues just like this one. I mean, we just had someone come up here and speak about immigration laws. We're talking about also housing enforcement, school district policies, state and federal issues, and more. So when it's convenient for you, you can productively engage, but if it's too uncomfortable for you, suddenly your hands are tied, everything's separate.

You seem to have power, but only when it's convenient for you. Also, Bridget, you made a very pitiful comment about doing my research to dismiss my concerns, but the reality is you are the one who need to do your research because that's why you can't win an election and relied on a handout to enter office instead. Oh, excuse me. I made an appointment. Josh and Chris, I got nothing negative to say about you guys, but I am sorry that you have to deal with this clown show the city has shamelessly created these past few years. Again, have a safe night. God bless America. Oh, and can we also stop the animals from dying at the animal shelter, please? That problem's getting worse by the day. And peep not just people.

Animals keep dying. Dogs, cats, all kinds of critters. And y'all are just sitting there saying congratulations over buses and patting each other on the back over Silverwood. And then Silverwood also flooded the, Parks and Rec per rumors. Just a rumor. I don't know if it's for sure. Can we get some information on that? Because if this new housing project is flooding other parts of the community, including Parks And Rec, we need to look into that because that's gonna be another problem down the line. That's all I got to gap out today. Thank you and goodbye.

Ken Anderson.

Good evening council members and city staff. Retailers and advertisers would want you to know that February is a month for lovers. Valentine's Day, February 14. Modern Valentine's Day traditions often emphasize commercializations of buying jewelry, romantic dinners, and spending lots of money, yet the day also embraces a broader form of love, including sharing care for partners, family, and friends. One dictionary explained that Valentine's Day is a widely recognized holiday dedicated to the expression of love, affection, and appreciation through gestures like cards, flowers, and chocolates.

While rooted in ancient Roman history and early Christian history, it has evolved into a global celebration of romance and friendship. In The United States, the holiday was gained popularity in the mid nineteenth century by Esther Howlin, who created the mother of American Valentines. She figured out how to mass produce Valentine's Day card, make it easier for people to share their love with a tradition of beautiful, created messages. Another tradition that had groups of young men and young women picking Valentines from a box, the name that they picked became their Valentine for the year. I remember when I was in elementary school, we had Valentine's Day parties.

Of course, there were rules. Everybody had to get a card, even if they weren't your friends. I still remember the little heart shaped candies that said, You're sweet. You're cute. You have a great smile.

Simple little things. Originating as a day for lovers, its significance had expanded over the centuries, turning it into a cultural event, showing care for partners, family, and friends. Whether grand or simple, the spirit of Valentine's Day reminds us of the celebration of love, friendship, and appreciation to those around us. In the New Testament, in the book of John chapter 13 verses 35 thirty four and thirty five, Jesus taught his disciples a new commandment that he wanted them to follow. It's done in a children's hymn, which I won't sing, but says, as I have loved you, love one another.

This new commandment, love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if you have love for another. This Valentine's Day, I would encourage you to obviously show love to the loved ones that you have, but may you also reach out to those maybe that you don't know in the post office, the gas station, or maybe even your neighbors. Just take some time and show show some community love to others around you. Thank you very much and have a wonderful Valentine's Day.

Kim Jones.

Yeah. I was wondering if the city's ever gonna be filling the dirt in that got washed away in the rainstorm. I have tried to move some so I could get my truck out without popping the tires, and it didn't really help. I am an older person, and it seems like the city is more interested in bringing in restaurants and all that food stuff, and, you know, that's fine. But the roads really need to be fixed.

How many people have I talked to? And that's the one thing they always say and fix the roads. And it's like, this dirt's not fun, you know, when it gets washed out. I forgot that one section was low, and I tripped three times. I had my trash can trying to get it out last time, and I almost fell with it and the trash can.

I didn't go all the way down. And I know there's miles and miles of street, but on my street, the big pile that was on the corner, the city did come out and smoothed it for our two houses on each side, but when are the rest of us gonna get the dirt filled in? Now my street's not as bad as a lot of the people, but it's bad enough, you know, for us older people. My neighbor uses a walker. Do you think it's fair for him to go through that?

And also, if anybody has any used books, you know, hardbacks, paperbacks, magazines, the little DVD records, cassettes, all that type of stuff. And they don't want it no more. Take it over to the library because they sell those things, and it helps to fund the library because they only get a certain amount of money, and sometimes things happen and stuff like that. And they're interested in anything. Believe it.

And there are a lot of seniors that go in there and purchase these things. There are younger people, You know, because the library can't have every book that's ever been published. You know? So the things come in that we're all interested in. And I hate to mention Richard Bennington, but that was so funny when you pulled this thing off. And I'm telling you over at the the library and the thrift store, they were busting up laughing and said, I wish you could see it. You know? And I said, it was pretty funny. But, anyways, take care.

Thank you. Brenda Dahl, please.

Thank you for letting me speak tonight. I want to know why has the overflow to the aqueduct on Maple And Muscatow not been dredged yet? Why is the street still a mess? Why are the K rails still up? And more importantly, Mayor Bennington, I want to address the fact that I filed a complaint against council member Lee for her insensitive comment during the last meeting, and I was told that you would give me a callback and I never heard from you.

So why is that? I wanna know where my tax dollars are going as a member of this community. Why is Maple Inn Muscatil still a mess? And why has nothing been done with the overflow of the aqueduct? Thank you.

Do we have any additional public comment cards?

No, madam madam mayor.

Thank you. Moving on to the joint consent calendar. Do I have a motion to move the consent calendar? I have a motion by Councilmember Ochoa, a second by Councilmember Lee. Can we have a vote, please?

Motion passes five-zero.

Thank you. Moving on to new business, We have a staff report by Tammy Ployes. It's the overview of local emergency procedures, city council ratification, and city manager authority to assist disaster impacted residents. Thank you.

Good evening honorable mayor and city council members. The item before you this evening provides a brief overview of procedures in place for local emergency declarations. City council ratification of a local emergency and the city manager's authority to assist residents impacted by disasters. As you know, the city is subject to a range of hazards, including severe storms, flooding, wildfires, and public health emergencies. These events may require the city to take immediate action to support impacted residents.

The California government code, Hisperea Municipal Code, the city's emergency operations plan, and the city's adopted fee schedule all establish the city's emergency management framework to include response and recovery efforts. When conditions warrant, the city manager is authorized to proclaim a local emergency. Proclaiming a local emergency allows the city to mobilize resources and coordinate with partnering agencies to expedite response and recovery efforts. Proclaimed emergencies must be presented to the City Council for ratification no later than seven days following the proclamation. Once ratified, the local emergency remains in effect until terminated by council action.

Pursuant to joint resolution number twenty one twenty twenty one Dash 41, the city manager is authorized to waive or reduce fees up to $5,000 when necessary. During the recent storm, the city implemented a storm repair assistance program to provide storm damage assessments. The program allowed for an expedited permit process and for permit fees to be waived for eligible storm related repairs up to $5,000. At a previous council meeting, council member Ochoa expressed concern regarding residents receiving weed abatement notices. Those notices are issued by the county and staff contacted the county and was given assurance that residents impacted by the storm could contact their office to request an extension.

Residents who may be disabled and have challenges addressing storm related impacts to their property should contact the city for assistance. It is staff's recommendation that the city council receive and file this report and that concludes my presentation. I'm available to answer any questions.

Thank you. This is a receive and file item. Do we have any council comments regarding this? Any questions? Is there a contact at the county for our residents regarding the weed abatement? Because I am already receiving some phone calls on that.

I can provide that information to you. Okay. I have it.

Okay. That would be great. Any additional comments? Thank you. You're welcome. Appreciate the hard work. Moving on to council member comments. Can you start us off, please, council member Lee?

Thank you, mayor Bennington. Of course. First off, I would like to have staff, a staff report on AB fourteen twenty one, and if I can get that agendized in the next thirty days, this item is the mileage tax, and it will have a significant impact on the residents of the High Desert because over 60% of the High Desert commutes. So I want to get just what it entails and explain to us. We're not gonna have any vote on this.

We're just gonna have it for an information, on the agenda. Don't forget Valentine's Day. Don't forget your sweetheart on Saturday, February 14. And, Ken, thank you very much. That was a very, very informative speech there on Valentine's Day.

I I did enjoy that. We are gonna have a vaccine clinic at the animal shelter on February 4, March 4, April 1, May 13, and June 3. This is five to 7PM at the animal shelter, and you can go and get your animals vaccinated. I believe that city hall and federal offices and schools will be closed on February 16, which is Monday, President's Day, so don't forget that. So regarding my comment, I did not elaborate on anything that I said.

I should have elaborated on that. Driving into the swift water is dangerous and scary. You don't know if the road is there, and that could be very dangerous for for anybody to to drive into. I was in no way trying to single anybody out when I made that comment. I should have elaborated on more of that.

If you do get stuck, it not only is dangerous for the person who is stuck and the people in the cars, but it's also dangerous for, first responders and anybody that tries to help. And we don't wanna have any issues or have anybody hurt in in our city in storms like that. The last thing I have is when you recover or discover something that nourishes your soul and brings joy, care enough about yourself to make room for it in your life. That is by Jean Bolin. Thank you to the folks in the back for all of your hard work.

I appreciate you. Thanks city staff. And I wanna thank my colleagues for everything that I think we work well together up here, and, I don't think I've ever thanked any of you out in public. So thank you all for everything. And happy birthday, Cameron.

Thank you. Council Member Ochoa, please.

Well, I had a very light month again. I think we're going to start getting busy though. I see a lot of things popping up on our calendars. So that's exciting, but kind of been on hiatus. But, I had a really good weekend.

I was able to go back to my old hometown of Lancaster to my old alma mater, Antelope Valley College where I started many, many years ago as a film student, an art student. And I was able to attend the AV Latino Leader Summit, which was a bipartisan summit that included our state senator, Suze Valladares, as well as our assembly member Juan Carrillo and other local leaders throughout the area. I had the honor of representing the city of Hisperia. And it was a lot of fun. And I got to walk on my old college campus and look at all the awesome buildings that they've put in since then, since twenty something years ago.

But it was a treat. And also the work that we're doing regionally to bring business to our areas, to develop our desert to be a more beautiful place for us to live and grow and play in, enjoying our natural beauty at the same time looking at what we're building together. And it's going to take everyone working together from all sites to pick up and lift that load. So I'm excited for the future. Other than that, I don't have anything else exciting to report.

A lot of comments being made, personal comments, personal attacks. I'm good, actually. I don't know how it appears out there. But if you don't mind me sharing, Cameron, first of all, happy birthday. But we've gone out, shot pool together, you know, had a beer. No issues between Cameron and I, no issues between Kelly, Greg and I. And had appointed your brother to my city advisory commission. So I don't know where those rumors are coming from. So all I have to say is that the Internet is wild and people have a lot of opinions. Many of them are not true.

And, I have a 14 year old daughter who uses TikTok and, is on a lot of other social media apps and, you know, it's a little embarrassing having to answer some of the questions that she's asking me that are popping up on our feed about her uncle. My daughter can read. Know, she's young. She shouldn't be on TikTok, but you can't help that, right? Kids do what kids do.

So the only thing I have to say is that all of us up here are not perfect. We're still human. The people who love and support us didn't ask for this, for this type of scrutiny and negativity or positivity or attention. It's our burden to bear, but they do have to be affected by this life that we chose. All I can say is that the only thing we can do moving forward is respect one another, be kind to one another, love one another, be passionate.

We're here to serve the community. I'm here to serve this community. I live here. I'm not going anywhere. And whether I get reelected in the future or some you know, anything happens, I'm still going to be here loving and serving this community and being neighbors with all of you. So thank you. And that's all I have to say.

Thank you. Mayor Pro Tim Poland, please.

Thank you, Mayor Bennington. Mine's gonna be pretty short tonight. It has been a light two weeks. Guess I get to go before Cameron tonight because it's his birthday.

So I'm sorry.

I'll take over.

You know I like to have to say

I'll finish up real quick here. Attended a League of Cities Public Safety Committee where we worked on prop 36 and prop four funding issues, and then attended a SBCTA general policy committee meeting. And they were both pretty light, just kind of building the plans of work for the upcoming year, so I imagine they'll be picking up. But with that, happy birthday, Cameron, and you can have the floor now.

Save the birthday boy for last. Go

ahead. Hey. Like I said earlier, I it's kinda funny. I was gonna post on there. Everybody come join the birthday celebration. My birthday is actually today, so no other place I'd rather be than with you fine folks up here. I wanna thank Mary Bennington for filling in for me, PVWRA on the the twenty ninth. I heard nothing but great things. Maybe you took over for me later on, but great job and and it's definitely appreciated for that. I I would we be able to get an update for the Muscatil dredge overflow?

I know that it's going to be hard. There's lots of patches within that drainage right now of water and stuff like that to where it's not completely dry. So is that what's the reason behind us not dredging it now?

Thank you for the question. Regarding the basin on Maple And Muscatow, it is still drying out. We have a bid closing for repairs this Thursday. So we will award after that bid closure and get that work completed. Awesome.

So so there's a reason behind some of the madness. Again, there's still patches of water there that's not completely dry. The bed's out. Let's see what happens. I I would just ask the the residents to have the patients with us. If it's not fixed, obviously, we'll drive through and pay attention to, but if it's not repaired within these time frames, let us know. I I know many of you will, but we're trying to work within that time frame. Folks, slow down. Get to where you're going safely. You know, we spoke about folks in the back almost at every meeting.

They do an incredible job for our community, serve our community well, and I don't think any of us can thank them enough in their hard work and dedication to our community, to saving lives, protecting lives, and all that. So thank you folks in the back for everything that you do. And other than that, I don't have anything else.

Thank you. Sorry. I went right over you. I attended the MDA QMD board meeting, Victor Valley Water Reclamation. Thank you for that opportunity. It was a great meeting. The Desert Mountain Division with Cal Cities, and then, today's Women's Foundation retreat. I have quite a bit coming up. BMI tomorrow. The tri agency is tomorrow, and ribbon cutting grand opening for the honor boxing club is on Saturday.

And I would like to thank staff for the impressive amount of work and debris that's being cleaned up over on the West Side. It was it was really not travelable at all, and the roads are opening up. And I see they've cleared some roadways. I would like to thank staff for your continued efforts. You guys are working very, very hard to get us to where we were.

Hopefully, we can move forward. And, again, grace and patience, we're doing what we can. We've done a lot. The emergency declaration was very helpful. We're able to bring in contractors and seek some help from other organizations and jurisdictions. Miss Dahl, I apologize for not responding to you. I have been fighting this cold. I could hardly talk towards the end. This is the best I've sounded in two weeks. I do apologize to you when I say I'm going to reach out to somebody.

I do I had to counsel quite a few engagements because I really could not talk. My family appreciated it, but I really I could not talk. I would like to wish council member Greg a happy birthday. It seems like I've been with with you on council for many, many birthdays, and that was very sweet of Emma to call in. Rachel has a birthday coming up. I remember that. It's Super Bowl Sunday. Yay. And then also Jeremy Jeremy McDonald. He's our public works water.

It's his birthday coming up. We have a lot of birthdays in February and my daughter, Ashley. And I would just like to share kindness, and thank you for the kind the Valentine's. That was very, very nice. Warmed my heart. Kindness begins with the understanding that we all struggle, and that's by Charles Glassman. And I have no further comments. Do we have any city manager or city attorney comments? Then I will adjourn the meeting at 07:06. Thank you.