City Council Meeting - Regular Meeting

I would like to call to order our regular meeting at this time. Today's meeting will consist of the City Council and Fire Protection District. Please note all meetings for the consent calendar are at the same time.

Okay, call to order Fontana City Council meeting. And welcome to the Fontana Fire Protection District is now in session.

We'll now do our roll call. Council Member Sandoval.

Present.

Council Member Roberts.

Present.

Council Member Cothran.

Present.

Mayor Pro Tem Garcia. Present. Mayor present. All members of this council are present. Please stand for our invocation led by John Roberts, and we'll have our Pledge of Allegiance led by Mayor Pro Tem Garcia.

Let's bow our heads. Heavenly Father, we thank you for the many blessings you've bestowed on the city of Fontana. We come to you with grateful hearts for everything you've done for us. Father, we ask for your guidance and wisdom as we deliberate the matters before us this afternoon. We ask for your blessings on all those in public safety and military service. Keep them safe. We ask this in your name. Amen.

Please face the flag and join me in the pledge to our great nation.

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.

You may all be seated. Mr. City Attorney, do we have any reports out of closed session?

Okay, there we go. There were six items listed on the council's closed session meeting this afternoon. The first five items were presented to the council. The council provided direction to legal counsel. The sixth item is a case called Juan Gonzalez versus City of Fontana. I'm pleased to report, Madam Mayor, that that case was litigated to a jury trial and a verdict was found in favor of the City of Fontana. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. City Attorney. At this time, we're going to go to our ceremonial presentations. We're gonna start with recognizing our Fontana Police Department's June 2026 Employees of the Month, and we are going to have our presentation made by Captain Binks. Could we all stand and join, please?

Thank you.

Thank you, Mayor and Council. My name is Brian Binks and I'm our Division Commander of our Field Services Division. It's my honor to award our June Employee of the Month award for our sworn side of the house to, I'll call them up one at a time and have them come up here, Officer Regina Barajas, Officer Angel Martinez, Officer Cipriano Lopez, Officer Sean Passani, Sergeant Casey Kirkland and Corporal Josh Paddy. So as these officers come up here, in June, well, actually in the spring of 2026, our city was getting hit with a rash of catalytic converter thefts all throughout the city. Actually, all throughout Southern California, there was a trend of catalytic converter thefts going on throughout California. the entire region. Our officers learned that there was a crew operating out of Los Angeles County that was most likely responsible for these crimes. This crew would rent high-end luxury vehicles, change out license plates, and they were coming into our city along with other cities and committing these thefts. Our city was hit multiple weeks in a row where officers went in pursuit of these vehicles but these vehicles were a Dodge Durango Hellcat where they're driving 170 miles an hour on the freeway and our officers just were unable to safely keep up with the suspects. In June, our officers received a call on the south end of our city of vehicle theft going on in progress and the suspect vehicle was a Dodge Durango. The officers that were on patrol immediately recognized that this is probably going to be the crew that we were getting hit by and they formulated a plan knowing that they weren't going to be able to safely pursue these They formulated a plan to block off the cul-de-sac. When they did that, the vehicle was unable to flee. The occupants of the vehicle all foot bailed and perimeter was set up and our patrol officers were able to locate one of the suspects. That, and also they located the vehicle. The vehicle was recovered along with trace evidence of the thefts. That case was then turned over to our Special Investigations Unit here to do extensive follow-up. They conducted interviews of the suspect. They wrote search warrants. They hit a couple of houses in Fontana with search warrants. We're ultimately able to locate evidence of the crime. We're able to recover three luxury stolen vehicles in our city as well as a ton of evidence of the thefts going on. At one of the warrants, they were able to hit a location and ultimately arrested eight subjects who were responsible for these crimes. It is just a small example of what our officers do on a really daily basis. It's another example that if you want to commit crimes throughout Southern California, that's fine. But the minute you get off the 210 freeway at Sierra, or citrus, or cherry, and you hit a house in Fontana, or you make one of our citizens a victim of these crimes, we are going to find you, and you are going to go to jail. And these officers just, we're so proud of them and the work they do. They keep our community safe. We appreciate them. And for that fantastic investigation, they were nominated by staff and chosen for our June Employees of the Month. Great job, you guys.

Thank you so much, Captain Binks. We are so proud of all of you, and thank you again for keeping our community safe. We have some presentations for you. I'll start off. This is Certificate for Employee of the Month with our Police Department. Police Officer Sean Pozzani, congratulations.

The next employee will be Police Sergeant Casey Kirkland.

Thank you, sir. Next employee is Police Corporal Josh Petty.

Thank you, sir.

I have the honor of presenting this to Police Officer Regina Barajas.

And I have two. I have Police Officer Cipriano Lopez. And Police Officer Angel Martinez.

Okay, we'd like to take a picture with all of you. Oh, there you are, okay. Our next presentation, come back here, you all, is going to proclaim the month of August as Sickle Cell Trait Prevention Month, and we have the Sickle Cell Trait Prevention founder and executive director, Farhan Dazer. Please come up and accept. I thought I saw you in the audience. Let's give him a big hand, everyone.

Yeah.

I'm sorry, the light up here, we're kind of blinded a little bit. Can you tell us about this man?

Thank you so much. I'm Feron Dozier, retired Army Sergeant First Class and a sickle cell trade advocate. I believe this is my 10th year that I've been blessed to be a part of this community and this conversation. I've been here for 17 years, 18 years of this community. And you said something a couple, either last year or the year before, that you hadn't seen me that often. And I wanted to say to you that I realized that when I looked in my mind what was going on, I was dealing with grief of my dad. And so the loss of my dad in 2019 and then trying to figure out who I am and my grief and mourning And loss, it was my identity of who I get to be now without my earthly father. And so that's probably why you hadn't seen me, because of the challenges of my own space of grief. So I thank you for this opportunity. This next 10 years is definitely going to be... impactful sickle cell trait is inherited. I experienced it in the military. I almost died from what they call sickle cell trait exertion with rhabdomyolysis. So I'm an advocate for sickle cell trait and rhabdomyolysis. For our athletes, for our military, for our police officer, cadets have passed away from this condition. And so I'm back and mentally tough again to deliver this message. African-Americans, we are number one, but the Hispanic community is number two. So with the large population in San Bernardino County, it's important for the Hispanic community to understand that your child or your family could have this gene because we all play in sports and doing these activities in high school and activities. So just blessed to be a part of this conversation. And thank you again for number 10.

Thank you so much. And what's so sad is how many families find out after the fact that their child has that trait. And when it's really just a test. And so we really support your efforts. You have been the face of this, getting the word out. And it's making people really realize what they need to do. So we thank you personally. But we have a resolution here for you. This is Sickle Cell Trait Prevention Month. which basically partners are committed to ensuring that no family loses a loved one due to preventable complications from sickle cell trait and to providing tools for youth, parents, coaches, veterans, and communities to better understand the sickle cell trait and take action in faith, healing, and love. This council therefore declares the month of August, 2026, designated as sickle cell trait prevention. Thank you for all of your hard work. Let's give him a big hand.

Okay, we're going to take a picture.

That concludes our special presentation. At this time, we're going to have public comment. Good afternoon and thank you all for attending this meeting of the City Council. The Brown Act provides that members of the public may offer comment on any item of interest within the subject matter jurisdiction of the city council and on any action item, including items on the consent calendar. What this means is that the council welcomes and encourages your input on issues of city business and on action items of today's agenda. Issues of city business do not include personal attacks on city officials or city staff. While we acknowledge your right to comment on our actions or activities with respect to city issues and business, we will not tolerate purely personal comments not having to do with official performance of the city duties. Please do not use profanity, name-calling, or any other behavior that would disrupt the proceedings of this afternoon. Speech or other activities such as yelling from the audience, applauding, That disrupts the orderly business of the council and will not be allowed. After a warning, continued behavior that disrupts the meeting may result in you being asked to leave the meeting. Deputy City Clerk, how many cards do you have to speak?

Yes, Mayor, we have a total of five comment cards today. The first speaker is Jeff Larson, followed by Grace.

Good afternoon, Mayor, City Council, leadership. I just wanted to come today and throw some gratitude at FPD. They've really done an outstanding job of exponentially decreasing the crime in Area 2. Specifically, senior staff has partnered me with Sergeant Tyler Burton, who is in charge of the gang unit. And the graffiti and the illegal dumping and all that has gone down drastically in our area. So I just wanted to really thank them for continuously working with us and partnering with the neighborhood. Also, Mayor, we've gotten into a good place where we're having our neighborhood community meetings again monthly. I got a hold of Amber and finally got her to schedule a meeting, but I wanted to extend an invitation to any of you leaders. According to Matt we're going to have a lot going on in area 2. So any comments or answering of questions to our neighborhood would be beneficial both to you guys and to them. So I would extend that invitation. I can correspond with you by email if you want any more details on that. Thank you.

Good afternoon, my name is Grace and I'm speaking on Consent Item D, Ordinance Number 1996. I want to start with process. The Planning Commission's June 16th minutes still aren't publicly posted and residents can't review what was actually discussed at the Commission's level before this Council takes final action today. The July 14th meeting public comment was submitted on this same specific plan, and it did not appear that written comments were read into the record or addressed before the council voted for zero. I'd ask this council to be honest with residents about who benefits from these decisions. Public net file records show a documented pattern connecting members of this dais to developer James Prevetti. Prevetti personally gave $4,900 near maximum allowed to then candidates Philip Cothran and John Roberts on the same day in August of 2022. He gave the same amount to the city clerk and treasurer the following month. The pattern continues through political committees. Protect Our County PAC received $49,750 from the Prevetti-linked entity in January and February of 2024. Two days after the first of those payments, Mayor Pro Tem Garcia's committee received $2,000 from that same PAC. Mayor Warren's committee has received $14,500 from that same PAC across four separate contributions since. Every one of them after the Pervetti money went in. I'm not accusing anyone of breaking the law. PAC contributions are legal and I can't trace individual dollars once they're pooled in a committee account. But when the mayor, the mayor pro tem, and two council members all have documented financial ties direct or through the same PAC to the developer whose specific plan is on today's consent calendar, residents are entitled to ask whether this council can evaluate that item impartially. And I'd ask you to sit with this detail. Public records show that after Jeffrey Epstein's death, his estate sold his private jet, and that plane is now registered and personally flown by James Prevetti. I don't know what that says about Mr. Prevetti, but I know what it should say to this council. Maybe it's time to think a little harder about whose interests you're actually serving, his or the community that elected you. this is an election year i'm asking you to pull item d from consent actually read the written comments already on file and hold this item until the public record including the missing planning commission minutes is complete and going forward i'd ask this council to require developer contribution disclosure on every land use item that comes before you not just the ones a resident happens to research if there's nothing to hide that disclosure costs you nothing Thank you.

Our next two speakers are Jill Tovar and Isabel Rios.

Good afternoon. A recent survey was conducted among Fontana residents to better understand the needs of our community. If you listen to our current representatives, they would like to have us think that all is well, pointing to structural developments like the $60 million investment into rebuilding City Hall or the downtown revitalization program, which has already allocated millions of dollars to only one venue. As a result of this overemphasis on business and development through large corporations, our most vulnerable community members are being forgotten and left behind. The lack of care for undocumented immigrants, for socioeconomically disadvantaged communities, and black and indigenous people of color shows up through unequal allocation of resources and uncritical welcoming of large developers and corporations that are actively destroying our communities. I am living through the consequence of this oversight from our council. Despite protections from state policies, the new landlord who purchased the property where my family and I have rented for over 10 years presented us with an invalid notice to terminate tenancy within 60 days. The reason cited on the notice was for a substantial remodel. After putting in a public records request, I found that no city permits had been processed in order to justify eviction of multiple families. In fact, no permits exist to this day. Furthermore, the landlord disclosed his plan to rent our apartment for three times what we currently pay after doing minimal repairs like painting and updating the kitchen. This rent increase is well above the market rate, let alone the 10% annual increase allowed by California state policy. And of course, we were aware that the changes he was describing while in our apartment don't constitute a substantial remodel. But what could we do or say as renters in his property in a city with comparably weak renter protections? Since I'm limited on time, I'll have to move on. Throughout this process that we've been facing, what stood out is the lack of support currently available by the city of Fontana for currently housed residents facing eviction. All the resources and information that I learned with regards to legal assistance, counseling about our options and financial support came from external sources. The most help that we received from Fontana was when they approved an emergency yard sale request for us to downsize more quickly. It is true that there are programs like The Path, CityLink, the Housing Authority of Fontana, and Rivers Ranch. These organizations provide temporary relief for families and individuals that already find themselves living on the street, which may be characterized by crisis and instability. While I have to say that they do amazing work, and I would love to one day work at a nonprofit that eases the burden for vulnerable community members to have their needs met, the conversation around homelessness must include a preventative approach. I know for a fact that our city is capable of doing more using research and data to back funding and policy decisions. In fact, going back to the survey, Fontana residents gave availability of affordable housing the lowest satisfaction score. Still more, since this survey was conducted on a national scale, we know that our satisfaction score is actually below the national average. and even lower than cohort, so cities of a similar population size, population density, region. While at cohort, yeah, so.

Your time is up. Thank you, sir.

Hello, I'm requesting the city agendize the removal of Benjamin Alba from the Parks Community and Human Services Commission. Mr. Alba is also a police officer in Claremont, California. And on November 28th, 2025, he was involved in a traffic stop with Diego Rios. Mr. Alba chose deadly force and Diego was killed. The people of Fontana don't elect their commissioners like Mr. Alba. The mayor and the council handpick them, appoint them, and can remove them according to Fontana Code Chapter 2, Article 8, Section 2-341. In April 2025, Commissioner Alba was reappointed to his commission with votes of approval by Mayor Warren and Council Members Garcia, Cothran, and Roberts. At Mr. Alba's swearing-in ceremony in May 2025, Mr. Alba said, in my free time, I'm a police corporal for a law enforcement agency in LA County. By his own making, Mr. Alba's free time is the very business of Fontana. This is Mr. Alba's free time conduct in his traffic stop with Diego. First, Mr. Alba opened Diego's car door without a word, without explaining a basis for why Diego was going to be put in handcuffs. Then in the process of putting Diego's right handcuff, Mr. Alba jerked Diego's arm to cause him pain. Mr. Alba then used an illegal maneuver, a chokehold. He swept Diego's leg while maintaining that chokehold. Chokeholds are not an approved police maneuver in the state of California. They were banned after George Floyd's death. Mr. Alba, however, kept his chokehold on Diego for nine seconds. He pinned Diego on the floor face down by using his knee on Diego's upper back. He kept him that way for about two minutes. Diego begged for his life and said, I can't breathe. After George Floyd's death, California specifically updated its police training to address positional asphyxia risks. Mr. Alba ignored that training and ignored Diego's pleas, and Diego died. Mr. Alba's combined use of illegal non-control holds proved to be deadly. Diego's death was a homicide by, quote, prone physical restraint by law enforcement, end quote. According to the official report from the Los Angeles Medical Examiner, Diego was unarmed, never struck Mr. Alba or the other officer, never threatened anyone during the traffic stop. He pulled over his vehicle and handed over his keys. When Diego spoke to Mr. Alba, he complied and said words like, yes, sir. Diego didn't commit a serious crime to justify the deadly and excessive force used by Mr. Alba. Benjamin Alba was cruel, and he broke rules that had lethal consequences. When he broke those rules, he caused Diego to die in unimaginable terror and agony. My question to you is, how do you view Mr. Alba's free time conduct? If Mr. Alba's free time conduct is acceptable for a Fontana commissioner, say so. If you have concerns about Mr. Alba's conduct, tell us. We need accountability for your decision of continuing to allow Benjamin Alba the privilege of serving Montana.

And our final speaker is John.

Good afternoon. I'm here to ask the City Council to agendize removing Commissioner Benjamin Alba from the Fontana Parks Community and Human Services Commission immediately. It's been 256 days since as a Claremont PD officer Benjamin Alba responded to a mental health crisis call about Diego Rios on November 28th, 2025 that ended with Benjamin Alba killing Diego. I'm here to remind the council that Benjamin Alba chose to escalate the level of violence he committed against Diego without any provocation from him, and that Diego was compliant the entire time. When handed Diego to simply place a second handcuff on him, Benjamin Alba instead cranked his arm unnecessarily to elicit a pain response, which he then used to throw him to the ground and place him in an illegal karate choke for nine seconds. Afterwards, Benjamin Alba draws his taser and threatens to shoot Diego with it, even though Diego was not resisting his handcuffing at all. And after eventually handcuffing Diego, Benjamin Alba placed his knee on Diego's back when he was in a prone position for nearly two minutes until he died from positional asphyxia in the exact same manner as George Floyd. After Diego was handcuffed, Benjamin Alba had every opportunity not to kill him the way that he did. and Benjamin Alva ignored California mandates, telling him that placing Diego in a karate chokehold for nine seconds and that putting a knee on his back for one minute and 55 seconds in a prone position is illegal. They were made illegal following the murder of George Floyd by police officers and the conviction of those officers for his murder. Homicide is defined as the action of one person directly causing the death of another. The LA County Medical Examiner has since ruled that Diego's death was a homicide because of Benjamin Alba's actions. It wasn't ruled as an accident. It wasn't ruled as being done in self-defense. And it wasn't ruled as undeterminable. It was ruled a homicide. Nothing will ever undo or change the fact that Benjamin Alba killed Diego Rios in the exact same way Derek Chauvin killed George Floyd. Three months later on Thursday, February 26th, Benjamin Alba was promoted to commissioner on the Fontana Parks Community and Human Services Commission in a public ceremony with Mayor Warren. Benjamin Alba killing Diego's unduly and unprovoked on a routine mental health call is more than enough reason to dismiss Benjamin Alba from his position. He's not owed this job and he has demonstrated that he doesn't deserve it by committing the senseless homicide of a defenseless man. Dismiss him immediately.

That concludes our speakers, Mayor.

Thank you to all the speakers today. Let's see. Mr. City Attorney or our city manager, the issue brought up about the consent item D and all the narrative. Can you explain that process, please?

thanks yes thanks mayor um for item d as it relates to this is the ventana project um the the planning commission minutes that were referenced they're available online so if anybody wants to take a look at that they can we did not receive any public comment or written communications um at that time and that's reflected in the minutes it's also important note that there's not a legal obligation that we read Anytime we receive written comments, we do analyze them as staff and legal counsel, and those written comments are provided to the counsel, but there's no legal obligation for us to actually read them out for the record, just to be clear. That's it.

Thank you for that clarification. Another speaker got up and talked about renters' issues related to homelessness occurring when people are not stable or don't have that financial backing. This city has done more than most cities in this region of trying to prevent homelessness. As hard as our officers and our teams out there with our partners at the county and those staff members in our housing department work toward helping homeless. They also do that, if made aware, to help residents that are having problems sustaining their rent. We have various programs, if we're aware, to help people. We also, when we have people that come to the PATH or they come to CityLink, they're given extensive support toward getting to the reason why they're having the problem, and we try to work with everyone So we do have homeless prevention programming. It is available on our website. You just need to contact us. And if there's anything in our power we can do to help people, that's what we do. That brings us to the consent calendar. To my knowledge, no items were pulled by my colleagues.

Mayor, I'll be recusing myself from items B and C due to the fact that I own property in that general area.

And then I'll be abstaining from the minutes because I wasn't here at the meeting.

And then I will not be supporting item D. What I just said is when we get to our vote, it will be noted. Council Member Roberts?

I move approval of the consent calendar.

Is there a second? I'll second the motion for approval.

All right. We're going to have the motion and the second with the understanding that there's a reclusal by Mayor Pro Tem Peter Garcia for items B and C, and Council Member Sandoval will not be approving item D. Okay.

Council Member Sandoval is also abstaining from the approval of the minutes.

Okay, I'm sorry about that too. Add that to the record. All right, thank you. At this time, please cast your votes.

If we can get Mayor Peter Garcia, Council Member Cawthorn.

Mine's not on there, would you like a?

You can get more of it, it's perfect.

Aye.

Did it come through? Yes. Okay. All in favor? Motion passes. Motion passed. That brings us to City Manager Communications.

Yes, thank you Mayor and Council.

A couple things I want to highlight. We just approved several items on the consent calendar. but some of the highlights include awarding $200,000 for after-school programming. We also received a $500,000 county grant for homelessness and housing assistance. We awarded $11 million for improvements at the intersection of Etiwanda and Slover. That project's been in the works for a long period of time. A third of that will be covered, the cost will be covered by the City of Ontario, so we appreciate their contribution towards that project, but thanks to our staff for putting that project together and we'll be managing the construction of that project and then the last thing to note uh we will be dark the second meeting in august and our next meeting that we uh we'll be adjourning to is september 8th and that concludes my reports thank you mayor and council thank you mr city manager that brings us to our treasurer janet colin brooks

Thank you, Mayor. No comments. Thank you. At this time, we're going to start with Council Member Cothran.

Thank you, Madam Mayor. As most kids are starting to go back to school, either this week, last week, or next week on that side of things, just to remind everyone. It's not a race to school. We're all gonna get there together. Take your time. You do not want to ever have the conscience of ever hitting a child or the near close miss of getting anywhere near a child ever on your record. So please, just take your time. The PD is out there watching. We're doing our best to partner with our local school districts, all five of them, to make sure that every kid is safe on their way to school and that we're providing every opportunity to give them safety on campus and that as parents, leaving some of their kids for the first time to go to school, that they're having a little separation anxiety, my wife, that their kids are going to be well taken care of and they're going to be loved at school. We have some great teachers in the city of Fontana, and we have the best police department in California, in the United States, in my personal opinion, out there protecting our kids. So I will be continuing to pray for your kids as they join this time, as they continue to go to school, but just slow down a little bit for us. Thank you, Madam Mayor.

Thank you, Councilmember Cothran. Mayor Pro Tem Garcia.

Thank you, Mayor. Since we're on the subject of schools, I had the opportunity last week to visit and participate in the grand opening of Oak Grove School out on Casa Grande and Citrus out in the north end. And that was... That was special for me as well because I was on the board when we actually approved that project and it took a while, 10 years later or so. It took some time but it did get built and if you ever have a chance to visit that school, it's amazing. It's reminiscent of a college campus and the classrooms are really well laid out and they have a nice laboratory areas there and such and so it's going to be a great opportunity for all the children that are going to attend that school and I think Everyone seemed very happy when they had that, they cut that ribbon. And now that I've been driving through there, I see a lot of kids walking to school, and so instead of being bussed, they're actually walking, and so that's great to see as well. So I just wanted to mention that, and I think that's all I have.

Thank you, Mayor Pro Tem Garcia. Council Member Sandoval?

No comment for the night.

Councilmember Roberts.

I'd just like to congratulate again our police department. They do such an outstanding job. They're the unsung heroes of the community, but the criminal element in society is well aware that you need to avoid Fontana when it comes to committing crime because our police department is second to none. That's all I have, Mayor.

Thank you, John. We have had so many activities this last two weeks. Number one, I really want to thank the Project 360, as well as the Inland Empire Black Chamber of Commerce, and several of the partners, our supervisor, Jesse Armendariz, had the backpack giveaway at the Senior Center and gave over 1,000 backpacks back to our families, as well as the older young people received cornhole kits so they can have their enjoyment. You know, some kids are too cool for backpacks anymore, so they got a cornhole. And they got the backpack. But I want to thank all of the backpack programs in our city this last season because it makes a difference. A lot of our parents don't have the support they need with our children, and this makes a big difference when a child can get a backpack with the school supplies in them. So thanks to all of you. In addition, that school opening was remarkable. And I've got to thank you for your leadership. Those last, I guess, two years, we had to really dig in there with our district and it worked. And having that school up there and the next one soon to come, it makes a big difference. Now, it's funny on social media, because as you well know, we do watch that, how some people are saying, well, why come it's in the north? Well, what happens, the school district makes those decisions along with the state based on the need. And there clearly is a need up north in that area based on the expansion of homes that have come there and the children that are coming with those homes. And when those expansions occur in other parts of our cities, the school district has always tried to work closely with the community to get those schools up and going. So a lot of happy parents. Their children don't have to be bused anymore. They can walk to school, and that makes a huge difference. The next item, I want to thank the Empire Strikers. They continue to do great soccer camps. They partnered with Disney, ESPN, and ABC Channel and did a remarkable, remarkable soccer camp. for the kids that were four and under. And if you were at that park, the South Montana Park, it was a joy to watch those little young people running after that ball. But when Mickey came out, it was over with, including your mayor. We all lost it. And everybody wanted their picture with Mickey Mouse. So I'd like to thank Empire Strikers. The team members continue to come out and coach our kids and expose them to a sport that we all love.

I want to thank everyone that came out on Saturday for Fontana Walks.

It's our ninth anniversary. We have gotten, I guess, I have to say in the billions now in steps. Is that accurate? I think about one billion. But we have millions, millions of steps being done by individuals, and we were able to honor those people. Can we give Fontana Walks participants a big hand, everyone? They are just... They're consistently coming out to all the walks and walking. And thank you to all the vendors that showed up, the resource fair that occurred. You know, there's something to say when you have an event that you just don't go to the event, but you have resources to help our public navigate through whatever issues they may have or needs. So it makes a big, huge difference. But I've been confronted by a lot of residents, and I really want to clear up something. A lot of people are under the perception that the regional homeless navigation center that we're doing is going to impact homes and businesses. Our plan is we're working with the eight cities to the west of us, starting with Chino Hills all the way to Rialto. to make sure that we recognize that homelessness is not just in one city. You can't just help the homeless in your city because today they're with us, tomorrow they're in Ontario, tomorrow they might be in Upland. So we band together as cities to make sure that wherever homeless existed, we could team up. And that's how you end homeless in this region. So you will not just be allowed to show up at that navigation center, you will be referred. And in most cases, it will be an officer that brings you to the navigation center. And once you're in that center, everything that you need, everything will be there to assist your efforts. All the support from the county departments that handle homelessness to the vendors that work with the county and the city to provide those resources. So this notion that we're gonna have patio chairs out in front of this building and people sitting out front smoking all day is inaccurate. I'll say it again, it is inaccurate. Now, you gotta understand, and this is what makes me really love Fontana. Make sure when people are making those comments on social media, just push their name. You may find that you're talking to someone from Australia that decided that our program is a problem. We want to get the word out that this is a passionate procedure to assist our homeless to not be homeless anymore but getting to the roots of what caused their homelessness and it will include substance abuse treatment as well as drug rehabilitation we're going to meet people where they are they'll be brought in and assessed and the program may exist that we can get them a part of and then they can come back home and and move on with their lives. When people decide they no longer want to be part of the program, they don't just get up and leave and go walk around. They will be escorted by whoever brought them to the program back to where they started. And each city has committed to providing those resources once they return. But keep in mind, a lot of the programs that exist in this state depend on the person wanting the help. and that has been a lot of the problems in other communities. But our officers in Fontana and several of these cities that we have partnered with spend a lot of time with the homeless population assessing, developing a relationship, and getting to know people, and in some cases, getting to know their families. A lot of people have a myth that when you're homeless, your family just discards you. That's not the case. I can't tell you the amount of parents that have contacted me directly and said, I want them to come home. But they have chosen not to do that. So we're working tirelessly to eliminate this problem. And we're also working with families when they come to CityLink into our housing department to see if we can assist their efforts to maintain their existing housing. So I wanted to make that statement tonight to tell people we're doing what we need to do to resolve this issue. And we just want people to have a little patience. As soon as that regional navigation center is up and running, trust me, it's a game changer. in so many ways, but it speaks of partnership, relationships, and people as a community coming together to help our fellow citizens. So with that said.

It's a big check for her.

It's sitting right next to you. Thank you, Councilman Sandoval. Speaking of homelessness, This is a big day in Fontana. Today we had the honor of having Congressman Pete Aguilar join us at the Aldea apartment, which is now the Aldea Apartments, which means those apartments, when they graduate from the path or their living situation or where they wanna be in their life changes, this is more of a long-term residence for people. And in some cases, once they're there, they do even better and they move on, which opens up a spot for someone else. Today, Congressman Pete Aguilar presented us a check for $1.2 million as a result of his efforts and his congressional leaders, as it also relates to our federal level. And this is for the acquisition and the expansion of Adia Apartments, which is now known as Adia Apartments. So this is getting us underway for phase two. And I believe there's going to be at least 80 units in that particular project. We have 78 now. And as a result, when we acquired Adia Apartments as we know it today, it was built for seniors. So the amenities for families weren't necessarily added in there. This next phase will have that top lot. and have more amenities for families. So we're looking forward to receiving more funding. And this is just the start. Can we give our congressional and our federal level a big hand? So I took a picture of it today and I went to the bank after the presentation. They told me, Mayor, that check won't work. Wait till you get the other check. But this is gold sitting right here. So we thank his efforts. And we thank HUD and all of our staff members. Can you guys give it up for our staff? They are working tirelessly to help us achieve the priorities. So at this time, We will adjourn our meeting to our regular scheduled meeting on Tuesday, September 8th, 2026 at 2 p.m. in the Stillworkers Auditorium. And everybody out there, thank you, Councilmember Cothran. Please slow down. They're everywhere. And when they get out of school, all they know is they want to get home. So it's up to us to be the adults. This meeting is adjourned.

Fire Protection District has been adjourned as well.