City Council - Regular Meeting

In 206 and we need to order a spoke three Well being allegiance Please

Here we are First on the edge approving as to Change

Are there any comments from the public? Seeing none, motion to approve. Second.

Second.

Roll call, please. This is Reyes.

Reyes? Yes. Mayor Pro Tempe?

Yes.

Mr. Calderon?

Yes.

Harris? Yes.

We will now begin with public comment. Public comment is an opportunity for anyone in the public to comment on any matter with jurisdiction. You have two minutes and four minutes for translating. your opportunity not to go back and allows to come to them or that would be and so do a timely matter items tonight that are become mayor I have for speaker is that okay there are cards So why don't we begin with the speaker card?

Go ahead. If the clerk calls your name out, si le dicen su nombre, puede venir aqui. Muchas gracias.

Buenas tardes. Mi nombre es Maria. Y vengo con el problema de que nos quieren quitar el VAS de aquí de la ciudad. Yo tengo 36 años aquí moviéndome.

Hi, my name is Maria Zaragoza and I am here because of the problem that we hear that you're thinking about taking the bus away and here in the city. And I've been here for 36 years and I don't think it's fair. A lot of people use the buses and we have been using this transport, and I don't think it's fair. A lot of people use this transport.

Tengo una lista para ustedes de toda la gente que me firmó que necesita el bus. Esto es sin contar a todos los estudiantes que vienen a high school, a la escuela de Greenway, a Heaven Drive, a Colegio de Bakersfield. I have a list of all the people that signed.

I have a list and it doesn't count all the students. It's the people that use the bus without counting the students, the people that go to the Grimway Academy, the high school, Bakersfield College, and people that go shopping to Bakersfield.

I am worried because I take my husband to Bakersfield on the bus and I also go to Bakersfield on the bus to go

to the doctor to see a specialist. And I don't think it's fair. I mean, no prior mayor ever tried to take the bus away.

That will be all.

Maria. We would like to know what's going to happen.

Yeah. Maria, I'm going to address you in Spanish. Maria, le voy a decir esto en español y yo misma voy a traducir porque tengo la habilidad de hacer eso. Como su alcaldesa, yo quiero que usted sepa, Maria, que este concilio, yo como su alcaldesa y este concilio, No hemos votado en ningún momento para quitarle el VAS. Ninguno de nosotros hemos votado para quitarle el VAS, ni a usted, ni a nadie. Y creo que es importante decirle eso, porque a veces lo que pasa en esta comunidad, desafortunadamente, hay personas que se sienten significantes a través de las redes sociales, una página en particular donde corren la voz y empiezan los chismes, ¿verdad? Y la gente de Arvin es algo, ¿verdad? Es desafortunado porque la gente se lo cree y causa mucho daño, ¿verdad? La gente se mortifica. Thank you very much. Señoras de mayor edad, de más de 60 años de edad, gente decapacitada me han llamado para decirme que escucharon que les estamos quitando el VAS. Yo quiero que usted sepa algo y que lo escuchen todos. Por ley estatal de California, nosotros no le podemos quitar el VAS a la gente mayor de edad en Arvin porque hay una ley que requiere que municipios den este servicio excesivo. Eso nunca se va a quitar aquí en Arvin. El vaso de la gente mayor de edad, la gente decapacitada, como dice usted que lleva a su esposo, ¿verdad? A ver, sus doctores, por ejemplo. Ayúdenme, por favor. Si ustedes necesitan, ¿verdad? Cualquier pregunta, cualquier preocupación, aquí está mi oficina. Aquí está, ¿verdad? Donde usted puede entrar. Pueden hacer una cita, hablar directamente con el manejador o la gente que aquí trabaja. para que les puedan responder y no tenga que preocuparse y esperarse las semanas para venir aquí enfrente de nosotros. Así que les estoy avisando. Lo que les voy a decir a todos es esto. Sí es verdad que la ciudad de Arvin ahorita está enfrentando un crisis fiscal. Todos saben, no es secreto, que estamos en un tiempo muy difícil financieramente, ¿verdad? Que cortamos un millón de dólares del presupuesto. Un millon de dolares y va a afectar a todos. Es que lo que le venimos diciendo ya, verdad, con tiempo. Afectar a todos porque son servicios que afectan a todo. Tuvimos que eliminar posiciones del departamento de policía, del departamento de obras públicas, del departamento de finanzas, del departamento de planificación, aquí en la oficina principal. Se tuvieron que eliminar posiciones. Es gente que está perdiendo su trabajo aquí en Arvin por esa razón. Right? Now, the whole people have the option, right, to inform themselves about these measures and these serious cuts that we have been doing. The only thing that our council, the five of us, in a united way, the five members here, is that we ask the professionals to please come and give them options, because we have to make adjustments, right? We have to see how we can provide the essential services of public transport and at the same time also fix the roads. Everyone says, fix the roads, please. Give me a banquet. Many who don't have a banquet for generations, right? Respondiendo el día de hoy porque quiero que muchos me escuchen que a lo mejor vinieron por lo mismo, ¿verdad? Así que les quiero avisar a todos, ¿verdad? Que no funde el pánico. Sí vamos a hacer un estudio. Estamos investigando claramente, ¿verdad? Cuáles son las rutas más importantes, críticas, ¿verdad? Que es lo más esencial. Y a la vez también ver cómo estamos haciendo ajustes para poder seguir, ¿verdad? Una ciudad aquí en la ciudad de Arvin. Así que por ahorita nadie les ha quitado los bases. Pueden seguir, ¿verdad?, yendo a su trabajo, a donde va, a sus citas médicas. Como dice usted, van niños a la escuela. Así que si por esa razón vinieron, nadie les está quitando los bases. La ciudad sí está investigando cómo poder tener una manera balanceada de cómo ofrecer servicio de transporte público y a la vez también reparar las carreteras con el poquito dinero que tenemos. And what I'm sharing today with Maria, I do want to say in English that today what I shared is I have been receiving, you know, I wanted her to know that The City Council has not voted to take away anybody's buses. The City Council has not taken any action to take away a bus. I have personally received phone calls from seniors over the age of 60, people with disabilities, telling me that they're concerned because they're hearing that we voted to take away their bus service. And that is not the case. And so what I shared is that it's unfortunate because we know that there are individuals in our community who feel significant on certain social media pages spreading untruths. And it creates this issue where real people, hardworking people in our community, humble people in our community believe it to be true. And it creates anxiety. It creates fear and panic. And that's a harm. That's a public harm when you're spreading untruths on social media. What we did do as a council, we voted unanimously as council to allow for there to be an analysis and look at what essential bus services here in the city, what are the essential most critical bus routes, okay? So that as we're thinking about our finite resources, we can figure out what's essential and how we can also make sure that funds are also being utilized to repair our streets. Everybody here knows that we're going through a difficult financial time, right? We just cut $1 million from the budget, 10% of our budget, eliminating positions here in the city, public servants, city workers. And yes, we have been sharing with everyone here that that impacts city services. That's going to impact city services for everyone here in the city. That's why we voted unanimously to give all voters the option. Every voter here gets to decide come November if you want to support a 1% sales tax increase. But that's up to voters. We just gave you the option. We voted to put it on the ballot. You decide. But the reality is this, that we did ask staff to please give us options and look at all options. Because I want you all to know, When it comes to bus service for seniors, people with disabilities, that's a state mandate. That's not going to go away. We're required to provide that service. That bus is never going to go away. The other bus routes, we're looking and exploring which are the ones that are the most critical, the ones that are heavily utilized. We need to have that information so that when we're making decisions up here as your representatives, these are decisions that are data-driven conversations so that we have a balanced approach. We provide public transit, but we're also using funds to repair our streets because we know that's also something else we're hearing. Fix our streets, provide sidewalks for so many that haven't had sidewalks for generations. So I want to share that with you today so that if others are here and you're concerned about that, our offices are always open here at City Hall. Please come. You can make an appointment not only with myself, you can also make an appointment with city staff where your questions can be answered. So with that, are there any other comments tonight?

Next speaker, Card Mayor is Tony Pichardo.

Good evening, Mayor and Council Members. My name is Toni Pichardo. I have been a resident of Arvin for over 65 years. Anyway, I am here tonight because I have heard about the U.S. Council trying to eliminate buses for our community, and I didn't know if it was true or not. So I'm here tonight just to say what I have to say. I have a question regarding our city's transportation buses. I don't know if it's true or not. that the council is thinking about stopping some of these services to our community because you need to make cuts in our budget. One thing is families use this service to go to work. And if they don't work, they can't feed their families. So you need to consider that. Students use these services to further their education so that when they become adults, they can get a better job. Families use the service to go to the doctor in Lamont or to Bakersfield for themselves or for their kids. Now, it's important that we keep our community alive. And if they don't have transportation, they don't have a license, they can't take care of their health. So it's very important for them. Mary, you mentioned about there's a law that we have to have buses for disabled and certain things. But there's all these other needs that don't. fall under a disability, but the need is there. So I just want to say transportation has budget. They have a director that has done an amazing job. I was on the city council for six years and he was director at that time. He put everything in order. We weren't very organized at the time with transportation. He applied for grants. He's kept our books well, as you noticed when they did the inspection that they said everything was good with them.

Thank you, Ms. Pichardo. Thank you very much. Are there any other comments from the public?

Yes, ma'am. So the next speaker is Maria Aguilera. Is that correct, Maria? Senora Maria? Yes.

Si ya le respondí su comentario, gracias.

Okay, then the next one is Rosa Zavala.

Buenas tardes a todos.

Ella le va a traducir.

Good evening, everyone.

My name is Rosa Zavala. que tambien este nos dejen sin policias, porque aqui hay mucha delincuencia tambien. Es ver ustedes aqui. Y el VAS lo necesitamos, mucha gente, mucha gente invalida, los de la escuela, como dijo la señora Maria. Asi que necesitamos que no nos quiten ese servicios.

I am here for the same thing, for the bus. I don't think it is fair to take a bus away for people that are 65 and older, and I think it's also important for people that are disabled. It is very important for you to consider that people that are disabled, they need the buses. And that is why, like my colleague, Marie-Pietro said, the students also need the buses to go to school.

Well,

I am elderly, and you came to my house. You came to my house to ask for my vote. And I said yes, because I told you I am going to vote for you if you do good things. But not if you're going to be doing this. I mean, this is not good. If this is the way it is going to be in the future, I am not going to be giving my vote away.

Mire, una vez más le vuelvo a repetir para que me escuchen todos. Sé que se ha regado la voz y que se han regado rumores y le voy a decir nuevamente. El vas... Dedicado a lo que estaba, acaba de explicar usted. Para la gente mayor de 65 años, acaba de decir, ¿verdad? Gente decapacitada, gente que necesita este servicio. Es esencial, es esencial. Escúchame, por favor. Quiero que todos me escuchen. Creo que aquí están grabando y estas reuniones también se graban. Escúchame, le digo, aquí enfrente de todos. That will never, ever be taken away. Not just me, but his mayor, future mayors and mayors of the city of Irving. Why? Because the law requires at the state level that that essential service be provided at the principal level. That is the law. Hay fondos dedicados específicamente para ese transporte. La ciudad de Arvin siempre va a poner ese servicio. Así que cualquier persona que le dejó saber algo así o no se lo escuchó, ayúdeme por favor a corregir para que la gente no se preocupe. Para que la gente sepa que aquí este concilio no ha tomado ninguna acción para quitar ese evas. Más aparte, la ley, gracias a Dios, lo requiere para proteger a las comunidades de gente más vulnerable. Así que espero que puedo contar con usted para ayudarnos para que las cosas se aclaren y la gente no se mortifique pensando que aquí yo como su alcaldesa o que este concilio y aquí estemos nosotros moviéndonos para quitarle el evas en ser mayor de edad, ¿verdad? This council, me as your mayor, our conversations, there have been

Not only are we And that it's required dedicated for that count sure generation Or if you if you count If that concerns the individual, I will not limit the service. Thank you. I want to move your microphone.

. . . .

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Well, this is the same thing. You know, I made a comment. It was very, very sad. It's very sad to see that we all love each other instead of having to spread positivity and we are spreading negativity about many things. So I just wonder why so many people are saying that and I tell them, no, it's not me. And I don't believe it. Maybe we can cut and save things, but this is not what we're talking about. And I understand that we're facing this hardship and this financial hardship from, and it's not just today. That is something that we have been dragging from the past. It's something that is going to change instantly. I believe we have committed, and I believe that instead of spreading negative things, These problems, problems that we face.

. . . . . . . . . Something else that I wanted to tell you

Something else that I wanted to tell you, that sometimes I am trying to help. I am trying to do things in the streets, you know. And I am trying to solve many problems that we have. And instead of receiving positive comments, I get negative comments. You know, there have been some people that said that I... any cars in the streets. And that's not the case. It's not what I'm saying. What I'm saying is, could you please buy cars when the sweeper is going to come? And that's all I'm saying, but I'm not, I don't understand why so many people are opposed to that. Not everybody, but there are some that are just spreading negative and incorrect things. And that is making me very, very sad. Some people even tell me, if you don't like RVing, Well, you can just leave. And I don't think it is good. I mean, I am just trying to do something good because it is very important to prevent illnesses. You know, we have so many mosquitoes and pests, some bad odors. So that's why I am concerned and I want to help. Thank you. Any other comments?

Another comment. Sinan, we're going to move on. Este va a ser el último comentario, entonces, porque tenemos que trabajar con la agenda.

Buenas tardes, mi nombre es José Herrera.

Good afternoon, my name is José Herrera.

Traigo tres temas a la mesa, no sé si me dé tiempo en dos minutos.

Le voy a dar los minutos que están apropiados, cuatro minutos. Okay.

La primera es, lo que dijo la compañera es muy cierto. A la ciudad de Arbenz se queja por dinero. Y hay muchas opciones para sacar dinero a la ciudad. Como por ejemplo, mencionó de las calles sucias. Pasa la barredora, la barredora tiene que se le pague el gas y el salario a la persona que maneja la barredora. Okay. La vez pasada yo dije, tienen que poner signs en las calles. ¿Qué día? ¿De un lado qué día? . . . .

Okay, I have three topics to talk about. I don't know if it's going to be enough in two minutes. We're going to give you the time that is allotted. Okay, the first thing I want to say is that there are many things that we can do to get money for Arden, okay? The previous lady said that the streets are very dirty, and there is something that you need to consider. For the sweeper, we need to pay for gas, and we also need to pay the salary for the person that is going to... Drive the sweeper. I think it's important to post signs on both sides of the street stating what days the sweeper is going to come. And I think the people with tickets, they should give tickets and citations to those people that leave their cars, but they shouldn't. There are many cars that have been abandoned. They do some mechanics and they just leave them.

When we get the tickets, we educate ourselves. That's always what we do.

Money is, when we have problems and money is touching our own pockets, then we all learn. We all learn.

Yo creo que es una de las cosas que como comunidad tenemos que educarnos. Y es una de las cosas también que hagamos que nuestra ciudad sea más bonita.

I think that is something, as a community, we can educate ourselves in that, and we can all help for our community to be more beautiful.

That's one. The second one is, I don't know how the city is structured. You look at all the streets that exist. Supposedly, they make the structure of the house. And on the bench, they put ramps to open a wall next to where it's not an entrance.

Well, that was the first thing I wanted to say. The second thing I wanted to say is that I don't know how the city is structured. I don't know how it is organized. But sometimes, you know, when they build the houses, they also build like a driveway, a driveway facing like a... A wall, not the garage, and that causes the gutters to get stuck with a lot of... Not on the driveway, but on the sides, there is a lot of trash that accumulates, and that is a problem for the gutters. And sometimes there is a problem because that is upsetting people to park their cars there because it is actually not a driveway. And they cannot park their cars there because they think it's a driveway.

I don't know if people don't know that the sidewalk from our house to the sidewalk is not ours.

Thank you very much.

Good afternoon, Salvador Gomez. I only have one minute, ma'am. I understand the colleagues who are a little upset or dissatisfied with the comments that have been made on social media about the issue of buses.

Good evening, my name is Salvador Gomez and I'm just going to take one minute. I understand the people that are bothered and they are upset because of the comments that they have posted on social media.

And this is a coup, a coup that the people who manage social networks want to do to the members of the Municipal Palace. But don't believe it, don't believe it. It is seen that this coup is not going to affect the mayor or the members of the council. It is affecting the people.

Well, you know, I want to tell my fellow residents, my fellow citizens, that this administration, the administration we have, has been one of the best that we've had in many, many years. And all these blows, all these hits that people are trying to do in social media, it's not going to affect the council. It's not going to affect the mayor. The only people that are going to be affected is us.

Y recuerden una cosa, como les digo, están haciendo tan buen trabajo que hay gente que no le gusta el modo que están trabajando. Y esta gente es la que está tratando de destabilizar a nuestro pueblo. No se crean, no se crean porque lo pueden conseguir. Recuerden, vienen elecciones en noviembre y por ahí están empezando a golpetear. Creanlo que tenemos un excelentísimo administración en este momento. Están trabajando y dando todo por nuestra comunidad. Muchas gracias.

The work you guys are doing is excellent. You're doing a good job, but there are some people that don't agree with that. There are some people that are not happy, and they are doing everything they can to destabilize all this. And don't believe me, but they can do it. They can do it. That's why they're starting with this attack, and this blows in social media, and the elections are soon in November. So be careful, because all this can affect the whole excellent work

Thank you. Move on now to consent. We're going to move on to the consent item, agenda three. We are going to, we're going to move on to consent. We are moving on to consent. We are going to move on. Go ahead, please. Please, two minutes.

Well, I'm the person that has been hosting things on social media

And since they are saying that they are going to keep dialogue right and they're not going to touch dialogue right, okay, that's fine. But what is going to happen to the other brothers? What is going to happen to maybe they have $1 million, $1.5 million? What is going to happen to the other brothers?

Instead of $1.5 million, we only get $100,000.

What if instead of $1.1 million, we only get $100,000?

Okay, we're moving on to consent. This is agenda item three. Are there any comments regarding the consent agenda from the public? Seeing none, are there any comments from the council regarding the consent agenda?

Yes.

Go ahead, Ms. Reyes.

I would like to request to pull item F for further discussion.

We are then going to approve the consent items A through E. Do we have a motion? And we'll have F for discussion. So do we have a motion to approve items A through E? Do we have a motion?

We got a motion.

We have a second. Motion by Mr. Perez, seconded by Ms. Reyes.

Council Member Reyes? Yes. Mayor Potem Perez? Yes. Mayor Calderon?

Yes.

Motion carries, 3-0.

Great. We'll now discuss item F. Go ahead, Ms. Reyes. You pulled it.

I would like staff to explain the logistics of hiring and the pros and cons of hiring an in-house HR consultant.

pros and cons of hiring an in-house HR person versus an HR consultant, correct?

Yes.

All right. So the all just in reverse. The cons of hiring a full-time human resource person is that that's been tried before. I posted the position about a year ago. There has never been anybody that has applied that has city service, that has experience in the needs, that understands how to be an HR person in the city of Arvin. Therefore, I feel that the only way at this point is to go with a professional consulting firm that has that experience. Yes, we do not get the full 40 hours of work out of a consultant service because that costs too much. What I'm proposing is a situation where we'll have somebody here two days a week on site to address immediate concerns of employees, like, for instance, how do I fill out an FMLA paperwork if I have a concern about another employee? Can I discuss that in confidence with the HR person? And I believe that two days a week would be sufficient. Before, it was one day a week, and I acknowledge that didn't work. So right now, I'm proposing two days of work. The other choice really is, I mean, even if I could find a full-time HR person that's qualified in city experience, I couldn't get it for $120,000 a year, including benefits.

Yes, you can. Yes, you can. Go ahead.

Do you have any other questions, Ms. Reyes?

Yes. You indicated two days a week, but when I read the agreement, it was one day a week. Fifty hours a month equates to like 1.66. On top of that, there's other requirements that the state mandates, which is workplace violence training, sexual harassment. Sorry. So on top of the $120,000, it would be an additional so she could facilitate workplace violence training, sexual harassment in any trainings or any other mandates that the state requires or imposes on the city. So logistically, I still don't understand how is $120,000 a month, correct, going to save the city money when we still have to pay for additional services?

It's $120,000 a year, not a month.

A year or a year?

A year, correct.

I'm sorry, yes, a year. I'm sorry, a year.

Again, the only other option I have is to recruit, and we can't recruit anybody.

And I really think you can. If you post a job for at least 10 days, I believe you could attain somebody that's capable of being here every day to serve as the employees and to make sure that we're compliant. Because the state changes, CalPERS changes, parental leave, bonding leave. and so forth and so forth. There's so many different leaves right now that I think that everybody should be aware of those leaves.

And if you don't have somebody here in-house that could help you fill out those papers, you have to wait until... Ms. Reyes, do you have a question specifically on the amendment to this service agreement? Because this service agreement has been in place now, as you are well aware, for some time. I think right now what's happening is that it's this. The line of questioning, and this is where we have to be very careful, because the line of questioning now is getting into person. We are a city council, city manager form of

I am trying to save the city money. I'm trying to be cost effective. And I think $120,000 a year is not cost effective for the city to have somebody come to the city once a month and serve as a staff.

But I think that's the way that you're describing it is very disingenuous because what HR is providing human resources to the city just so that everybody's clear. We all know because we all are connected to technology. We know how remote work is. When someone is a professional and is providing HR services to the city in a remote way and fashion, in a professional way, They're billing us for those HR services. And this HR consultant has been providing these services for some time. This is being amended to continue to provide the services that the HR consultant has been providing to all of the city departments, including the police department. What the city manager has just described is we're talking about $120,000, salary and benefits included. He's saying, do you believe that that's something we can go out there and hire an HR person with municipal experience, which is very specific, municipal HR experience. The city manager has just shared with us that in his experience when that position was put out, that everyone who applied did not have municipal experience. And therein lies the issue.

Disagree, Mayor. I disagree because I disagree.

You can disagree. However, we know that the city of Arvin has faced significant HR issues. and lawsuits because of HR mistakes that were made when we've had HR people that did not have municipal experience, which is why we need to have professionals that understand municipal HR so that we are no longer confronted with lawsuits. If you talk about cost savings, well, I'll tell you what really saves us is having professionals that know what they're doing so we're not facing lawsuits that are so expensive for our city.

Thank you. Jeff, I had a question. Is it okay, or does it cost us any money if we had this position for hire? Does it cost us any money just to leave it open until it gets filled?

No, we can still do a continuous recruitment for it, sure. I mean, I can post the position. It doesn't cost... But again, the question is, can we find competent people at the rate we're going to pay? I can certainly post it.

That's a great idea. So you're suggesting is post the position to see if anyone applies that has HR experience while we continue to use this consultant to continue as they have provided experience?

If I may step in, Madam Mayor, so that's not on the agenda to give that direction, but if you would like that to come back as a discussion item, and then you can decide whether you want to act on the specific amendment tonight.

Okay, we can add this back as a discussion. Would that be... Something that you're open to, Ms. Reyes? Yes?

That's what I was alluding to. Bring it back?

Okay. So bring it back as a discussion, exploring that posting of that position. And with that, we have before us is the specific amendments to this service agreement. So that will be brought back at a future meeting for us to discuss, is the posting of that position. and or for discussion for the entire council to be here. I'm sure it would be really helpful to have us complete. With that, do we have a motion for agenda item F so that we can have HR consulting services continue to be provided the way that they have been provided to the city for some time now?

When does it end the agreement? Because I thought I seen June 2027. That is correct. Yes. So I vote.

Can we just wait for the next meeting?

Is there any way that it could be under MOU?

That would be something we would have to discuss with her right now. The way that it's structured is that there's an existing contract in place, and so this is just extending the term. If you would like this to be part of the discussion, we can push this out for two weeks, and that way you don't make a decision on the amendment tonight. And you can consider that at an upcoming meeting in conjunction with your district.

We can definitely do that. We can table it for another meeting so we can discuss all of that. Because there's an existing agreement now for her to provide the services. So the city's not going to stay without HR services. Is that correct?

So right now, the term ended on June 30th, 2026. So if we don't, we would just be operating without an agreement right now until the discussion goes.

But she will continue to be able to operate and the city will have HR services. Is that correct?

Yes, we can do that. Yes.

Okay, great.

And Madam Mayor, I will ask the consulting service to see if they will have a representative at the next meeting because I believe that both sides should be presented.

Absolutely. Thank you. That would be really helpful. Okay, great. So we are going to table that and make sure that the consultant is here who's providing each conversation. We're gonna move to public item, it's 4A. And before we begin with this item, has the council had any communication with anyone about this topic outside of this proceeding? No? There has been no ex parte communication to report? And that refers to receiving any information from a party outside of this proceeding, no?

Ms. Reyes? Mr. Perez?

Okay. This is a public hearing to consider the introduction of an ordinance of the City Council of the City of Arvin, Amendment 1.24 of the Arvin Municipal Code relating to the City's Conflict of Interest Code. Staff recommends the City Council consider introducing the ordinance to be read by title only, open the hearing, allow for public testimony, close the hearing, waive the first reading of the ordinance, and approve the completion of the ordinance. Staff, can you provide to report, please?

Thank you. Madam Mayor, members of the public, this is something that is required year to make sure the city of arvin's conflict of interest code is in accordance with state law if interest means that people that are hold certain positions in the city are responsible to to fill out form what's called a form 700 to disclose their economic interests within the city to make sure that all the residents know that if an employee of the city or a member of the city council like owns 26 properties in the city of Arlington, that is noted. So it's a way of transparency so residents know what kind of holdings the senior staff and the council have. This particular change this year is just substance change for the titles and positions of the people that are required to complete the form. So, for example, last year, the city manager slash finance was required to fill out the form. That position no longer exists, so this code is now amended to say that the city manager is required to fill out the conflict of interest report, as well as the finance director. We have eliminated two positions that are no longer with the city. That is the emergency services director slash deputy chief and the human and community resources manager. So since those two positions no longer exist, they would by definition not be required under the code because they don't exist. I will note, should the city decide in the future to hire a human resources manager, that that person would then be under this code.

Okay, thank you so much for your report. Are there any comments or questions from members of the council? Mr. Perez, Mrs. Reyes? Seeing none, we'll now open the public hearing. Are there any comments from the public on this item? Seeing none, we will now close the public hearing. Council, is there a motion for this item?

Motion.

Is there a second? Second. Motion by Mrs. Reyes. Roll call, please.

Council Member Reyes? Yes. Mayor Pro Tem Perez?

Yes.

Mayor Calderon?

Yes.

Motion carries, 3-0.

Great. We will now move on to discussion items. Discussion items are just that. They're just here for discussion. No action will be taken on this item. It's simply to discuss this topic. So with that, we'll begin with the first discussion item, item 5A, process for vendor selection. Staff, will you please provide your report for this item?

Well, so the City of Arvin is required to follow its own muni code when it comes to purchasing, and part of purchasing is vendor selection. And there are basically three buckets of purchasing. There is like, if you spend something that were under $1,000, you're just required to get three quotes, and they could be like over the phone, very simple. If you require something over $30,000, we go through the formal request for proposal process. That is a very lengthy process which involves sending out the proposal via the internet or contractors that we know would like to do this. A good example of this would be, let's suppose we had to restore the bathrooms at Smotherman Park, and I know it's going to cost $80,000. We go through a full process which involves sending out the RFP, getting people to provide interest. Then they come in and actually do a job walk with our public, with Pedro, our public works supervisor. Then they propose sealed bids. The city clerk opens the sealed bids. It's a very transparent and open process. However, what I have recently found is there is improvements that might be needed to be made. What happens between $1,000 to $30,000? The code does not require a full RFP, but it does require due diligence. How do we identify vendors? Do we get three quotes? How does that process work? And Pedro Barraza is here tonight to talk a little bit more about how we identify vendors in that $1,000 to $30,000 bucket. So Pedro, if you could talk a little bit more about that.

Good evening, Madam Mayor, council members, the community. My name is Pedro Barraza.

I am the public works supervisor.

To identify vendors that are qualified to work for the city of Arvin, they are given an insurance policy that we require from them, and they're also given a blank W-9. When they submit that information to us, it's given to our finance department, and they identify if they qualify or not. That's the first process for vendors or contractors to get a position here in the city of Marvin. The second step is to do a job walk like Mr. Jones has stated. Whenever something comes up, like an emergency repair or repairs that we have to outsource because we need personnel or the time. or it requires a professional to come out and do it, it gets bidded out. What I'll do, I'll do a job walk on my own. I'll scope out the work. I'll contact our city engineer, who is Mr. Sam Ducks. He goes over my proposal. Once he agrees it, I'll email it to all the vendors that have made business with us. And then the future vendors come and approach me, we'll give them the opportunity as well.

Yeah, Pedro, if you could expand a little bit about the difficulties we have with vendors and why it may appear, especially on the demand register, that maybe just two or three vendors keep showing up.

So one of the difficulties we have in the city of Arvin, they're southeast from county, right? For them to transport and come out and just give us a bid, they want to charge us a transportation fee, which transportation fee could be $150 to $150. It's just an example. And for them, just to give us a quote, they want to charge us. And we have other vendors that are willing to come out and are willing to do the work and not charging us that fee. So here are contractors that come out to Arvin and are willing to take the gas or the diesel they burn to provide an estimate and not knowing if they're going to get the job or not. So they're committed to working with us. And throughout time, we've been changing out vendors. For example, we used to use American's Best Plumbing, another company, Hector's Plumbing. We used another one, McKee Electric. We've been revolving as the prices come in and we see the competitive wages are out there. So we don't get stuck with one vendor. We do give the opportunity to those who come and provide us a good service, a good quality work, and at the same time, a good price. Because we're also looking at the budget, trying to save it. Because at the end of the day, If it wasn't for the community, we wouldn't be here. And we are here to serve them. And I tell you guys, my team is trying to do their best with the little resource we have.

And thank you for your service, Mr. Barraza. We know that you do a lot with a small team. Are there any questions from the public on this item? I mean, in discussion of this item, are there any questions or comments from the council?

I just have a question. to the city manager. I know in the last meeting you said that our policy and procedures of purchasing is kind of antiquated. I don't know if the attorney's working on revamping that to get it up to par.

Yes, actually my office is working on providing a study session item for an updated code to give you just a different purchasing procedure altogether because I believe your code is like from 1979. So it does require some updating. So it is going to be a two-part process where we walk the council through the intention of the new ordinance, answer any questions you may have, and then bring it back for adoption and implementation after that.

Okay, thank you. Yes, thank you so much. Thank you to staff. Thank you for such a detailed explanation. And again, we just want to say thank you for your work and your entire team. We know that you have a lot of work, and you're dealing with a city that has serious aging infrastructure. And so I think a lot of folks, we know because we see it, right? You have electric panels that are sold. They don't have the capacity anymore. And water lines as well, they're constantly busting. And so we know that you're doing the very best that you can, giving water. all of this aging infrastructure. So thank you for that. And also thank you to staff. You know, at the last council meeting, we adopted policies and procedures for the very first time. This city council in the history of the city of Arvin adopted policy and procedures for the city council. And I just want to say thank you again because we are modernizing our systems. And like you just all heard, the purchasing process The way that this has happened, it hasn't happened since 1979. And so having staff work to modernize everything so that we're functioning as a professional city that we are and that you all deserve. So just thank you to staff for that. You also can see that our meetings are now being actually recorded and stream-lived. So this is something we've also instituted because we're committed to full transparency. Our city clerk posts all of our agendas and you'll find these recordings in English and in Spanish every single meeting, which is why we're so grateful to have our later now because we're committed to being transparent and we're committed to modernizing all of our systems and our policies so that we're here providing the services that you all deserve. With that, other questions or comments on this item? Seeing none, we can now move on to discussion regarding three Cs. That's discussion 5B. If we can have staff, do you have... a report to provide? We have a present or are we going to have the presentation?

I'll just give a brief intro. Yeah, go ahead. We have Sherry Reitmer and Daniel Harrison from Three Seas Corporation. They have been very vital in supporting the city's efforts Senate Bill 33, which involves organic waste, food recovery, and so much more. It is extremely difficult and tedious, time-consuming process that I'm really thankful that we've identified Sherry and Dan that can help us with this because it is something that I tell you, staff does not have the time to do with the staff I have. So with that, they're going to give a little presentation about what three C's is, a little bit more education on SB 1383, what they do, and then answer some questions.

Thank you so much. Please.

Thank you. 3Cs is, I'm Dan Harrison, this is Sherry Reitman. We are the principals of 3Cs. We are working as consultants for the City of Arvin.

Dan, will you speak into the mic so we can hear you? It's being recorded.

Yes, absolutely. Absolutely, thank you.

Take your time.

should I start?

Yes, please start.

My name is Dan Harrison. This is Sherry Reitmer. We're the principal of Three Seas Corporation. We're working as consultants with the City of Arvin to bring them into compliance and to maintain their compliance with SB 1383. So this is a very brief overview of what 1383 is and how it impacts the city and the residents. Generally, basically it is a law That was implemented, I think, in 1922?

In 2021.

2021. And then enforceable in 2024. And the purpose of the law is to reduce greenhouse gas by restricting or diverting organic waste going to landfills. So jurisdictions are held responsible for how much organic waste. So that's not only your lawn waste, your tree clippings. It's also... kitchen waste, anything organic. And then it also requires jurisdictions to have in place a way of diverting and redistributing any edible food recovered from grocery stores or major restaurants. So you're all familiar with sell-by or best-of-use-by dates on products within the grocery stores. Those are established by the manufacturers as when the product is at its peak the law states that after that date has been, it can no longer be sold. So SB 1383 requires that the, say a grocery store must, when they empty those shelves of those products that can no longer be sold, they must give them to a food recovery organization for redistribution from a food bank back to the citizens. So in Arvin, we have the, We have Arta and the City School, but the Unified School, that are the Tier 1, Tier 2, that fall within the Tier 1, Tier 2 categories for that. So the food bank is Loth, which then distributes food gathered in Arvin and distributes it to the Arvin residents. The requirements for SB 1383 are, one, education. And we have produced, Sherry has here, and they're in the office, education on, in both language, English and Spanish, on what 1383 does, as well as how to divert your trash from General waste to recycle to organic so that people have an understanding because the jurisdiction is held responsible for how much organic waste is captured and re diverted from landfills. There's also in-person inspections. So Sherry is a certified inspector, one of the few really probably in the area. So she does in-person inspections to make sure that the food is properly captured at the school or at the grocery stores and also properly handled at the food bank. Because all of the food safety requirements that you expect at a grocery store are also... imposed or would be naturally imposed on a redistribution of that food. So it has to be transported, cooled, and redistributed in a timely manner so that it's healthy and there's no...

So also along with that, there's definite documents that have to be required upon inspection. Not only does everything have to be performed properly and best practices, but also documentation, poundages, all this has to be approved and it's mandated by the state of California that each jurisdiction has to prove this. And so on-site inspections are mandatory. And SB 1383 addresses methane gas. So that's what we're trying to eliminate as much as possible. And it's also a great thing. It's better than recovering food and giving it to wonderful people. I mean, it's a win-win all the way around. Go ahead.

I'm sure you hit it on the third topic, which is ongoing documentation. So CalRecycle does expect documentation for really every single item. They want to know when it happened, how it happened, and how much it happened. So those documents are being recorded. So not only are they looking at the past and how the jurisdiction performed, but they want ongoing evidence that the SB 1383 is being fulfilled as mandated. So there are penalties. Like I said, it started in 24 as the enforcement. It really hasn't gathered a lot of steam, but we have been told by Cal Recycle that Arvin will be... base which is the enforcement arm of Cal Recycle will be in the area within the next six months and they will be looking at what I said that that the records to make sure that we have done everything we said that we're going to do and that we're following the law the penalties are severe clearly they're not going to charge you ten thousand dollars a day right off the bat but they are serious about enforcement who is affected and I have here and that is because Residents are required to divert the trash. That's what the green containers are for. And the city is held responsible for whether they do it or not, which is where the education piece comes in. And we work with the waste hauler to make sure that because they monitor how much organic waste goes to the landfill. And those documents, those records have to be submitted to CalRecycle. And we have certain benchmarks we need to hit that says that we are increasing our diversion of organic waste. composting rather than to landfill. So not only are businesses impacted, schools are impacted, grocery stores are impacted, but every resident essentially is impacted by SP3. It's a major legislation. So finally, how is Arvin doing? Recycle was here at the end of May and did an on-site inspection, spent several hours reviewing the school, the food bank, and they walked away very confident about what has happened. They were concerned at one point because we had, the city has moved very quickly in becoming compliant, and they were very complimentary of the jurisdiction itself, the people involved. And so I think you're all doing a very good job.

Do you want to speak into the mic so we can hear you?

I wanted to add that SB 1383 is not something that's going to be going away tomorrow or next year. It is here to stay. And not only that, but it keeps evolving. They keep adding. The implementation records, all the waste management, all the things, all the categories that need to be focused on for SB 13 are huge. And if one thing is missed, they will notice it, period, because that's what their job is. When they do decide to come, it will be a 10-day notice, and everything has to be completely up to date within the last 30 days. So it's a big, big deal. And like I said, it's an ongoing thing. It's not going to end. So it's always going to be continuously added on with documentation and implementations.

So just so that I'm crystal clear, What you shared with us is that in Sacramento at the state level, there was a Senator that introduced 1383 Senate bill 1383. And this legislation from the California state Senate requires all jurisdictions. So municipality cities requires cities to go out there and make sure that all of our residents are educated on these three bins, how to properly dispose of their trash. And not only that, but that in our cities, if we have, for example, the big grocery stores or others like the school district that has cafeterias, that they no longer can throw any of that food away in the trash, that what this law is now is that that food is basically rescued or recycled, that it is donated to the community, to the local food bank, for example, to be given to families who are in need of food, and that the city is required to make sure this happens. responsible for the supermarkets the school districts and our residents from disposing of everything responsibly and that if and this again is a mandate it's required by state law and if the city doesn't do this if we're not compliant with any of these aspects that you just described that then we are faced with fines because you have now, as part of CalRecycle, CalRecycle, the state entity that's overseeing this, there's an enforcement arm. They're gonna be enforcing to make sure that cities are following the law, the state law. And that when enforcement comes, because it's only a matter of time before they go out and enforce, that if we are not compliant, that we're facing penalties in the city. The city would have to pay those penalties because we are out of compliance. So what are those penalties that we would be facing if we were not compliant with SB 1383?

Well, I want to highlight what you said, which is really important. If you had... and not say a major grocery store it's not the case here but if you had a store that chose not to to donate their items to a food bank and instead threw it away the city would be held responsible for that not the not the grocery store so the law requires that the city be responsible even though it's a private entity that's not fulfilling the requirements of the law so that you said that but i want to highlight that's very important

that the city is the enforcer at the local level. The city becomes the enforcer for this law and making sure that all entities under this new law are following the law. So if a grocery store, again, it's a for-profit private entity. If they're not disposing or that food the way they're supposed to, right? Because a lot of folks before this law, what was happening was, My understanding is that if on food labels there's a sell by date or a use by date or a freeze by date, that if that date has expired, it's not that the food is no good anymore. It's just simply that the store can't sell it anymore. In the past, they would just dump it in the trash, and that here in Arvin, that then ends up at the Benna landfill, and when food rots, it emits methane, and methane is deadly, and it poisons all of us. And so to tackle food waste, improve air quality, and also tackle hunger, This law now requires that these big grocers are now donating that food. And what you're saying is that the city, because of this new law, the city's required to be the enforcer and making sure that enforcement is taking place at the grocery stores and at the school district. And if they're in violation, we, the city, is dinged for it. We are penalized if they're in violation of this law because we're required to enforce it. Is that right?

That is correct.

The penalty could be as high as what for violation?

$1,000 per day per violation.

$10,000 per day per violation?

Per day per violation it can be, yes. I did want to add that not only do we need to make sure that the food is recovered, but we are responsible in the city of Arvin or any jurisdiction to train the entities And the schools, which we have gone out and done, which is what the state of California CalRecycle came and they were greatly impressed.

You went to the school district and trained staff at the school district, at Arvin School District?

By ARTA as well, yes. And so not only are you separating the food out, but you're also separating the paper goods as well because that's also part of SB 1383. That the recycling is all happening and appropriate.

And all of this has to be documented and reported regularly to Cal recycle so that they could see that we're in compliance.

Percent. We have to prove the city of Arvin or any jurisdiction has to prove that we have done everything that we needed to do on our ends to make sure that compliance is happening. I did want to add one more thing. There is no such thing as an expiration date on a food. And so food is not expired from the grocery stores. I just wanted for the public to understand that.

Thank you for that clarity. I appreciate it. There's also a procurement aspect. So there's a lot of different elements. I mean, this is a big deal, this unfunded mandate. Because Sacramento, they're not giving us any money to do it. And cities are required to. So this is another unfunded mandate. And there's also a procurement element.

A paper and also...

There's an offset for the compost, and it's... It's tons and tons for a city this size. So we're working with the waste hauler. They're working out the procurement to see that that is fulfilled because the procurement is one of the areas that the recycle is very interested in. So when you divert all of this organic waste, create compost, you end up with mountains of compost that now has to go somewhere, and so the mandate is that the jurisdictions then take it back and do something with it, or sell it to farmers or deal with it in some way. But procurement as well as making sure you're buying recycled paper and a number of other issues have to be addressed. It's a far-reaching law with a lot of tentacles, and this is just really a simple overview of how big it is. But it impacts everybody.

There's also the aspect of overseeing the waste haulers as well to make sure that they are implementing and doing all the right things for SB 1383. Did everybody hear that?

Yeah. So there's also a requirement, the city, the city's required to make sure that those that pick up our trash, the waste haulers, the people that are going to our trash, that they're also in compliance with the state law and we, the city, needs to enforce to make sure.

Prove that and enforce it 100%, yes.

And so prior to you being with us as the consultants to ensure that the city of Arvin is in compliance with SB 1383, what did you experience, what did you witness here in the city prior to you coming on board? And what was that massive liability and risk to us at the time?

Well, the city was not compliant really in very many ways. And so... We, in a few months, made a lot of progress. So Cal Recycle said that they were concerned that the city was not responsive and really thankful that we got on board and brought things up so quickly. So that really speaks to the leadership in taking it seriously and getting it handled, which is what happened.

And so now we are at this point, we are not at this point for that $10,000 fine per violation per day, like you said. Right now you're continuing to do that work.

That is correct. Now, that's been since we have been on board. However, we still have periods between 2021 to 2025 when we came on board. So they're still going to be looking at things. But the fact is, is that we're really trying. And so there's still going to be things that Jace is going to notice because it wasn't being addressed at the time. So but now it is.

was there any funding available to the city of Arvin at any point that we could have applied for to provide that support to allow us from the very get-go when this law was introduced to start becoming compliant?

Yes, there was, but that window closed in 2023. And from what I understand, it was not applied for. The grant was not applied for. Was it a competitive grant? It was not a competitive grant and you didn't have to pay for things up front. So, and there was also an edible food recovery grant available for $250,000 too, but that is also closed.

Did other cities in the region apply for that money that was just on the table?

Pretty much everybody.

Except for Arvin?

Well, I don't know about except for Arvin, but I know Arvin did not, from what I understand.

Okay. Are there any other questions? From... Are there any questions from the council? Because I know Ms. Reyes brought this. Go ahead, Ms. Reyes.

Let her go first.

Go ahead. So one question. We're going to have questions from the public. So you want to have comments? Yes. Okay. So if we're going to allow for comments from the public, if you want to move aside and we'll allow for the public to make their comments. Okay. Okay.

Hello, good evening. Annabel Rubio. I've been here my whole entire life, 52 years. I wanted to clear something up. The presentation that they just gave, I wanted to clear that ASB 1383 also meant that school districts and private companies like Vallarta, that they also have to make sure that they comply with the SB 1383. For example, school districts, Arvin Union School District, they also have to comply with this, the SB 1383, as where the district that I work at. So it's not necessarily the whole entirety of the Arvin City is responsible for it because the city school here, Arvin Union School District, also has to comply with it, also be fined if they're not being compliant with. For example, I know that for food recovery, school districts have share tables for the students. So if they don't need that item and it's a closed item, they put it in a bin so that other students can get that item. So school districts also have to comply with 1383, and the responsibility does not fall completely for the city or any city itself. And you're right. the state does not give us any money to be able to comply with the mandate. And that is one of the things that school districts and even private entities have to eat that cost to be able to sort food, to be able to sort out food that is being wasted. So school districts itself are doing their part, and they are... saving food, they're donating it to pantries, they're donating it to homeless centers, and we have to keep documentation as well. So it just needs to be clear that the city, our city, is not fully responsible. Yes, we are because we have to enforce it, but the district itself, private companies also have a mandate with the state. So I just kind of wanted to explain that because I'm part of that and I have to also abide by the 1383. Thank you. Thank you so much for that.

And perhaps you can, Ms. Sherry, perhaps you can respond just simply providing the distinction because I think that, yes, all of these entities have to abide by the law, but just the role of the city specifically as the enforcer and what that means. Go ahead.

It gets confusing without a doubt. It's true. All entities need to play. That's all there is to it. But the ultimate responsibility will be on each jurisdiction. And that's it. However, on the jurisdiction side, the jurisdiction side has to prove everything they can to make sure that the schools and VARs or whoever are doing their part. And if not, there's code enforcement. And they will be given warnings. They are inspected. If they are not following, then that's when their violations end up happening. And the city chooses how much the violations are, if there's penalties and if it gets to that point. Upon inspection so far, when I've gone out and done the second inspection, everybody has passed. Of course, the training has happened as well for both Arvin Unified School District and also Bayarta.

So the city... goes and inspects to make sure that everyone is compliant. That's correct. You just described that everyone has to play, which means everyone has to follow the law.

Everyone has to play, but it does fall on the jurisdiction if they are not. But the jurisdiction has to prove that they've done everything that they could to make sure. So yes, everyone has to play.

So then assuming that there was warnings given, all of this was done, they continue to be out of compliance, the city decides to place the entity on that entity?

There's a code enforcement, yes, and that was also part of SB 1383 and setting that up and working with the city. So once... once the city has proven that they have done their part, then California and JACE can go after the entities if they are not playing, if they are not doing their part in being compliant.

Okay, thank you for that clarity. Yes, go ahead.

I have a question. How did they determine which school district has to follow this and why aren't the other schools in our city required to do the same thing?

Okay. How are school districts? The question is school districts determined to abide by 1383.

Do you want to pick up your mic so we can hear you? It's being recorded. Go ahead. So Arvin Unified School District falls within the city. As far as the high school, they fall under the Bakersfield because it's a different district.

So because the high school is a high school district, that's under the jurisdiction of the county. But in the city of Arvin, the Arvin school district is within the city limits, which is why they fall under the city's jurisdiction.

That's the only responsibility that Arvin has. But every school, every cafeteria, every hospital, everybody has to play. It was just the large generators from 2024 had to be compliant, too, became the schools, the cafeterias, the hospitals, had to in 2025.

I think it's such a powerful moment to just really raise awareness about this important law, how onerous it is for a city like us. I mean, we're so little, you know, with the small budget, and we're having to do this like every other big major city with a massive budget. just so that everyone understands, when you talk about the different phases of those that fall within the requirement of SB 1383, so you mentioned the Vallarta, for example, but there's not all the markets. It's a certain size. So you can describe which grocery stores, which restaurants, which cafeterias, to Ms. Pichardo's question, have to abide by this law.

Well, it has to be a 10,000 square foot or more grocery store, and they have to generate over a million dollars in net worth. So that's the first thing. So that eliminates the mom and pops, although we'll, you know, to to donate food no matter what. As far as like McDonald's doesn't. qualified because they're under 5,000 square feet. So they got to get out from underneath the radar. But any cafeteria that serves more than 200 people a day, and they are more than 5,000 square feet, and they are part of tier two.

Say that one more time slowly so everyone can hear it, please.

So on tier two, if there's any cafeterias, restaurants, or tables that are serving more than 200 people a day, are more than 5,000 square feet, then they have to be part of donating the food. Can I just say one thing that just kind of gives a visual to people? In California alone, we actually throw enough food away per day to fill the Rose Bowl, not once, but sometimes twice. And all that food turns into methane gas. when it could be diverted to hungry people. So that's kind of a big visual, I think. And so SB 1383, yes, it's a big deal, but it's also a really good thing.

Sherry, how much is that when you say that we throw away just every day enough food to fill the Rose Bowl twice? Do you know how much that is in tons? I don't. It's unfathomable to me. And all of that rots and then becomes methane that's poisoning all of us.

Methane, yes, which ruins our air and hurts, yes.

Thank you. Are there any other questions or comments? We have another comment from the public before we get to Ms. Reyes. Go ahead.

Hello, this is Fernando. Just a clarification. I know that we have the Arvin Union School District and then we have the current district. We also have the Arvin BC Center. And they also have a food pantry. So with food pantry, In a way, we have to abide by this as the 1383.

Great question. And is it fresh food?

No.

Is it fresh food or is it dry goods?

Dry goods.

Okay. No. Dry goods do not qualify. It has to be fresh food. organic waste, living organic waste, whether it's leaves, branches, windows, yes.

Thank you very much for that. Ms. Reyes, you had a comment or a question?

You answered my question about Arvin High. How about Grow Academy?

Grow the elementary school.

Do you have another school here, Grow Academy?

They want to know if Grow Academy falls under SB 1383.

I didn't know that there was a...

It's called Grow Academy. It is a elementary and junior high school that is a charter school. It's a charter school.

Oh, okay. So then that falls under a different district. It has to be under the city umbrella. So that's why that wasn't flagged for us. So when it's another jurisdiction, then we can't cross.

So we need to find out what jurisdiction charter school is under to find out.

And we can find that out. But... At the end of the day, I think they fall under the Arvin Union School District. To a certain extent, they do. Well, we'll find out. We'll find out for sure.

And thank you for bringing that up because I know that there's a charter school that my grandson goes to, but we have nothing to do with that.

Could you find that out and then provide that response via staff to the council member?

And thank you for that, yes. Any other questions, Ms. Reyes? What days do you pick up food from Arvin in your school district? Is it Monday and Thursday? It's Monday and Thursday. Okay, so then where is that food being distributed to?

That's being distributed to the community at 141 A Street.

Is that what church is that? It's not a church.

It's the building.

It's a building? Mm-hmm. 141 what again? A Street. A Street? Mm-hmm. I just have a... Sure. So, again, moving forward, your billing will be under 3Cs, correct? Correct. Okay. I do have a little request after I reviewed some of your bills. I'm not too sure. Some of the bills are pretty vague, and the backup, maybe if you could include, like, your backup of actually, like, a description or being a little bit more descriptive on what your... services were because what i as i'm reviewing there up on certain months as far as pounds that you picked up from marvin school district what you picked up from payarta but then there's other months that that backup included so i just want to make sure that it's consistent so we could justify your billing we can go back and give that yes we can go back and add because we have to keep a running tab

It has to be justified. Let me say something else, too, about SB 1383. Whatever is picked up from the grocery store and the grocery store is claiming that they are donating has to match food recovery. Otherwise, there is a discrepancy. And the grocery stores actually receive donations for donating food. So they get reductions. Okay, yeah, reductions. Anyway, but what I'm saying is, so we want to make sure that all of our records are squeaky clean for Jace and CalRecycle.

Because those numbers also have to be reported to CalRecycle by the city. You have to report those numbers.

You have to report those 100%. They have to be reported.

And I know it's something that was mandated and it didn't come with, hey, I have $20,000 to make sure you implement this new requirement. Because at the school district, it takes a lot of time. It really does. It's huge. It takes a lot of time for everybody to make sure that this food is being distributed accordingly. That's right.

So it does. and everybody is really trying to do a great job i'm going to say this for by artha and also arvin unified school district bravo i mean really bravo they they have been tremendous and i'm even going to give more credit to arvin unified school district because really they kind of didn't know what was going on we went in we trained them and like i said this I was really impressed with how well they were trained and how, you know, they're giving tables and other stuff.

It also speaks to you, right? The training that you've all provided as well and the resources that you've provided. I know that you've developed material, educational material, that it's also uploaded on the city's website so everyone can access it on the city's website. I know that a lot of it is very attractive in the way that you've designed it so that it's also very visually attractive. Perhaps we can also pass that around and maybe bring it so that the council can also see it. But it's also available at the front office and on the website.

Yes, but also that's mandated as well to keep the website always updated constantly. Yes, social media, education. Education is huge. And if you need us to go and speak anywhere, please just let us know. We'd be happy to educate anybody.

I had a question. Are we ever going to move into a tier system where all students, including, like, underneath the 5,000 square feet?

I do not have that answer or the crystal ball.

Okay.

have no idea because it's changing all the time right now this is where we're at and you know this is this is enough monkey to train i think it's a state right if mr perez's concern is the small little restaurants can you imagine there is that would be for the little ones No, it was really the large generators, the grocery stores. I mean, think about it. You know, all that. There's so much food, and it used to be the misconception of the expiration dates. That was what people believed, and you had to throw the food away, when now it's really that they cannot monetize on the market. So there's been a huge misconception. We also have to educate people on there's no expiration dates, too.

Right now, the law is clear. It has to be a restaurant, a cafeteria that serves more than 200 people a day.

Per day.

Per day at 5,000 square feet.

Correct. That is correct. Anything else?

No? Any other questions from the public?

It is very consuming. It's much easier to take that bag solid and throw it in the trash or those tomatoes and throw them in the trash rather than have to gather them, treat them with care, store them in a refrigerator until someone comes and picks them up, re-refrigerates them, and then distributes them. For the school district, the same thing. And then meeting with them, with their administrators to their goal is to educate our students and to be dealing with trash was just, I could see how frustrating it would be that I've got to put so much effort into this when I'd really like to put my effort elsewhere. And yet this is where we are. It's a state mandate and we don't have a lot of room, wiggle room.

The visuals helped a lot.

Well, we would really also love to get your thoughts in terms of how we can be partners for you to do public education. Perhaps we can organize a public forum, a town hall specifically focused on SB 1383. So let us know what that would look like, perhaps what other municipalities are doing that are having really great impact, because clearly for this to work, it's going to be a matter of educating all of us so that we're all partners in this together. Thank you so much for your time. Thank you. Thank you Okay, we are now gonna move on to items so member comments Are there any comments from the City Council at this time? We'll start with miss Reyes. I

No, I appreciate you guys coming and presenting this presentation. And I want to thank everybody for being here. And we do listen to concerns. Everybody's concerns is valid. And I appreciate you guys coming and taking your time. Everybody's time is very valuable. And I appreciate for you guys being here and staying here until the end. Have a good night.

Thank you, Mr. Perez.

Thanks for everybody for showing up, staying until the end Thank you, Pedro. Nice presentation. And that's about it.

Yes, thank you. I also want to echo, you know, to Pedro Barraza. If you're not aware, for those of you that are still here, if you want to come by and just say hello to him, Pedro Barraza oversees the public works team. These are the small department agencies. that's responsible for cleaning all of our parks and all of the streets and dealing with all of our aging infrastructure. It doesn't matter if it's raining. It doesn't matter if it's hot out. They're the first ones in and out. When there's an emergency, when there's flooding, They're the ones that are the first responders to those moments of also emergency and crises. I just want to say thank you for what you are doing with so much, you know, just with so little. So just thank you. We see you and we appreciate you. And I also just want to say thank you. Thank you to Sherry. Thank you to Dan. Thank you for this really valuable presentation. I think for many of us, we're learning for the first time SB 1383 and how massive it is. So thank you for your providing that level of, you know, professionalism, your expertise so that our city could be compliant with that. And we're not facing these really significant penalties. $10,000 a penalty per day for a city like us, right? That would bankrupt us if we were not compliant. So just thank you for what you're doing. And for everyone that's here today, let's be good partners. If you haven't seen the material, the material is out there. It's really easy to understand on how we can make sure that what goes into the waste bin is in that green waste bin, recycle in the blue bin, regular trash. and that we're also doing our part there too. And if you want to volunteer, I imagine that you're always looking for folks to help with the education piece and things like that. So reach out to Sherry and Dan. It's available on our website. I do want to say this public service announcement Your trash cans, if you find that your trash cans, which, regardless of which one it is, is broken, is leaking, is missing a lid, that must be replaced. And just contact number for waste management right on our west side where they can call and they will replace that for free. Is that correct?

That's exactly correct. We came down hard on them about six months ago, and they're starting to step up. So perhaps some of you out there have already had your bins replaced. That's because city staff, city council cares, and we have a task to make sure that the bins are fixed and updated.

Yes. So that contact information is also on the city website to make sure, okay? Because that's also really important that your bins are not leaking, right? The trash is not getting all over the place. And so know that you can call that number so that you could just give them your address and they have to come in and replace your trash bin with one that's actually working. With that, thank you very much. These are public, these are now council comments, so our meeting is coming to a close. And we are gonna now go into closed session. I just want to say, again, a special thank you. I see here folks that have been working out there, cleaning our city, cleaning our parks, volunteers. I see you Trini, I see you Fernando and your brother. I just want to say thank you for continuing to be those community volunteers that are out there to keep our city clean. Nobody pays you. You don't do it for the social media clicks. You don't do it for the attagirl and attaboy. You do it because you love our city and you want to see it clean and beautiful. And I just want to say thank you so much because that's what's going to take all of us working together to keep our city clean and to keep our city beautiful. With that, please everyone, Look at the sweeper schedule. The street sweeper is up and it's running and there's a schedule. So that map is available and it's translated in English and it's Spanish. It's up on our city's website. If you want more information on that, you can see Pedro or Cecilia, our city clerk, that uploaded that schedule. But help us do our part. When you know that the street sweeper's coming, move your cars, please. We don't want to be in a position where our police officer having to fine someone folks for not moving those cars right now do our part and move those vehicles so our street sweeper can keep our city clean so with that have a good night everybody thank you again for being with us we are going to go into closed session the meeting is still going to be on while we're in closed session you're just going to hear violence and our closed session items are Conference with legal counsel, liability claims, government code 54956.95. The claimant is Mariana Morales Prieto, aims file number FR104063 against the City of Arvin. Conference with legal counsel, this is item 7B, liability claims, government code 54956. And the claimant is Francisco Verduzco, aims file number FR103961 against the City of Arvin. And closed session item C, conference with legal counsel, liability claims, government code 54956.95, claimant Francisco J. Verduzco, aims file number FR103962 against the City of Arvin. With that, we'll go into closed session. There will be silence, and we will come back out. If there's any reportable action to report, we will do so at that time. Thank you so much. We'll now go into closed session.