City Council - Regular Meeting

Development agency, Rialto Utility Authority, the Rialto Housing Authority is now in session. Will the clerk please call the roll?

Mayor Baca. Present. Mayor Pro Tem Scott.

Present.

Council Member Caracels.

Present.

Council Member Perez. Present. Council Member Montoy. Present. City Attorney Eric Bell.

Present.

City Manager Tanya Williams. Present. Thank you.

All present accounted for. So at this time, if you would all stand for the pledge of allegiance that will be led by mayor Pro Tem Ed Scott.

Please join me in the pledge to our flag.

If you would remain standing, we'll have pastor Harry Bratton from the Greater Faith Grace Bible Church give us the invocation.

Lord God. Thank you so much for blessing the city of Rialto with mayor Joe Baca senior in this awesome administrative team. Thank you for their devotion and dedication to ensure that the residents and all the businesses and communities strive. And we thank you that tonight, all the action decisions, we'll demonstrate that desire for residents and businesses strive in a very special way. Pray tonight, Lord, that you give them clarity where there's maybe a little cloud, a little foggy issues, father.

Give them wisdom and all the hard challenging decisions and I pray Lord God you help them to do the very best they can with all the resource and trust they care to make sure the city continues to strive and to go forward. And finally, God, may your good hand be upon them and guide them and protect them. This I pray in Jesus name, Amen.

Thank you. You may be seated at this time. I'll call on the city attorney to report on closed session.

Thank you, mayor. We We had no closed session items on the agenda. We did not meet in closed session tonight, so there's no reports. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Before we move on to, presentation and proclamation, we have one, but I'd like to introduce one of the members that's a elected official here in the city of, Rialto, and that's, Dan Jenkins from the West Valley Water Board that's in the audience. Thank you. Next, we'll do the proclamation. So The proclamation is in honor of National Public Works Week.

May 17 through the twenty third. Rooted in service and powered by our community. Whereas public works professional focus on the infrastructure facilities and services that are vital important and sustainable and resilient communities to the public health, high quality of life and well-being of people in the city of Rialto. And whereas These infrastructure facilities serves could not be provided without the dedicated effort of public works. Professionals, who are engineers, managers, and employees at all levels of government in the private sector, who are systems, public building, and other structures and facilities are essential for our citizens.

Whereas, in the public interest of the citizens, civic leaders, children, and the city of Rialto to gain knowledge of and maintain ongoing interest in understanding the importance of public work. The importance of public work. And public work program in perspective communities. Whereas in 2026 marks the sixty sixth National Publics Works Week sponsored by the American Public Works Association to be known. Let it be resolved that Mayor Joe Baca, mayor of the city of Rialto and the City Council members hereby do designate May 17 through the twenty third as national public works.

So on behalf of the city of Rialto, we'd like to present this proclamation to Yas, and we really appreciate a lot of the hard work that public work has been doing. We encourage public work, continue to work and making sure that our potholes, our streets, and our sidewalks continue to be improved in the city of Rialto because one of the comments that I believe that every member here in the city council has probably gotten comments is that they really appreciate how good our city looks, and we want to make sure that it continues to look better. And if anybody in the public there sees a pothole, make sure you call in so they can fix that pothole too as well. Yep.

Thank you. Thank you, mister mayor. Mayor Pro Tem Scott, members of city council. I'm gonna ask our Public Works team to come up here and join me for this reading of a short paragraph that I have, and we also have a quick video to show. National Public Works Week twenty twenty six recognizes the dedicated professionals who keep our community safe, connected, and running smooth every day.

From maintaining roads, sidewalks, and storm drains to caring for public infrastructure and facilities, our public works team plays a vital role in protecting public safety and enhancing quality of life for all residents. We appreciate the City Council's recognition of the public works team and its proclamation honoring the National Public Works Week, which highlights the hard work, professionalism, and commitment these employees demonstrate in service to our community every day. As I mentioned, we have prepared a short video, and let's play that video now.

While the

video is being played, could

I have all the members of council come in here with me as we make

this In celebration of Public Works Week, we're proud to highlight our team's ongoing commitment to enhancing the quality of life for Rialto's residents, businesses, and visitors. Our public works department is made up of several dedicated divisions, each playing a vital role in maintaining the city's infrastructure, supporting sustainability, and guiding thoughtful development. Land development and capital improvement projects are essential to Rialto's continued growth. Our engineering division and administrative staff carefully review and oversee each project to ensure it meets the highest standards. Every proposal is evaluated with the community in mind.

Before getting approved, special attention is given to how the project will benefit the public and how it can enhance safety and overall well-being. Through this process, we ensure that every project contributes positively to the city's future. Our capital improvement projects include the Baseline Storm Drain Project, Pacific Electric Trail Extension, and widening of the Iten Riverside Bridge to name a few. Since the implementation of the My Rialto app, we have been able to provide more focused attention and care to localized areas of concern reported by our community members. On average, more than 1,200 work orders are processed each month by the street maintenance and traffic safety divisions.

Services span a wide range of needs with high priority requests including pothole repair, trash and debris clearance, weed abatement, graffiti removal, and traffic or street sign repair and installation. Our team takes pride in responding quickly and efficiently so that the city streets are kept safe and beautiful year round. Our solid waste management division also plays a key role in promoting sustainability through community focused programs and events held throughout the year. Free classes at the Rialto Community Garden offer valuable guidance for both new and experienced gardeners, While quarterly community cleanup events provide residents with a convenient way to dispose of or recycle unwanted items, including electronics and household hazardous waste. These efforts have helped foster stronger community connections while encouraging environmentally responsible habits.

The building maintenance, landscaping maintenance, and fleet services divisions ensure that city facilities, grounds, and vehicles are held to optimal standards and conditions to support the daily operations that keep Rialto running smoothly. An average of almost 400 work orders are completed per month across facilities maintenance, landscaping, and fleet operations. Altogether, the Public Works Department is committed to delivering reliable services that enhance infrastructure, safety,

and

vibrancy, ensuring Rialto remains a place where people can live, work, and visit comfortably.

Thank you. Next, we'll move on to oral communications. Madam clerk, is there any oral communications?

Good evening, everyone. This is my first time here. My name is Latasha Love. I reside here in the city of Rialto. I'm here today.

I'm advocating. I'm with the Inland Empire Tennis Union of San Bernardino. I am looking to start a tenant's union in the city of Rialto to help tenants enforce their rights, which I have done. I'm also here with concerns regarding inhabiting conditions and living conditions and slumlords and the landlords getting away with, the conditions that us tenants live in, and they retaliate by evicting us when we assert our rights. So I'm here to see how, the City Of Rialto council members can help us have better living conditions in the City Of Rialto.

I resided here for ten years and the issues I have myself, what's going on is my landlord, I live at the townhouse, village apartments, and they're Crown City sales and management. I do have a civil lawsuit going against them and for the last nine years since I've asserted my tenant rights, They have been retaliated against me. They have filed five unlawful detainers against me. I'm going through the fifth one as we speak. To no avail.

Now they're using the city of Rialto fire Nikki Wright to harass us and retaliate against us. They even went as far as to tell me that she instructed them to change the locks on my apartment, which is a very safety concern. With myself. There's other tenants that has issues, but they're afraid to speak because they like I said, they retaliate and fall for an eviction in the city of Fontana, the court. They pretty much are circumventing each system to harass and retaliate the tenants.

So I'm just here to try to sign up for the tenants rights in the city of Rialto all the way to believe it's the city of Upland. So soon we will be starting attendance rights in the city of Rialto. I did file several complaints with the city Chief Christopher Jensen. That was last year. I have not heard anything back.

I requested several records. So at this point, our landlords are involving the city of Rialto in the lawsuit because they're using the fire department to harass and retaliate against us. So I'm just here to see if we can get assistance and So we can just have a living a better living environment and habitable conditions to where we live. And We have sub meter leasing. I mean, We have sub meter.

With our utilities and our utilities bills are not accurate. They're they're not. They don't have anyone. Over them overseeing the utilities. I did make a complaint with the public commissioners department. They said they don't get into landlord tenant issues. So I'm just here seeking assistance and see what how you guys can help us. Be better. I mean, strive. With the tenants here in the city of Rialto. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Next.

We have Miss Shante Brown, Marsha.

Good evening, mayor, council members, members of the community. My name is Shante Marshall. I am a homeowner and a taxpayer here in the city of Rialto. I purchased my home in this community because I believe it was safe, supportive place to raise my children and build a future. Tonight, I'm here not only as a parent, but as an advocate for Children with disabilities and families who depends on public system to act fairly and responsibly.

My son is especially need youth with documented individual life. Excuse me education plan, also known as IEP. His educational and behavior needs were already identified and supported through the school system. Despite this, critical information related to his disability and educational placement was not properly reviewed before a seriously decision were made regarding his custody placement. As a result, my child spent approximately two months in juvenile detention and additional six months in placement.

A former complaint was were later filed and a probation department issued a sustained finding regarding misconduct and inaccuracy connected to the reporting process. I'm bringing this to the community's attention because this issue is bigger than one family. Families with children who have learning disability, emotional challenges, or special education needs deserve system that communicate properly, investigate thoroughly, and make decisions based on accurate information. No parent should feel powerless when disability related behaviors is misunderstood, or when critical educational protections are overlooked. I'm asking for greater accountability, better coordination between probation, educational system and stronger protection for special needs youth involved in the juvenile system.

I love this city. I'm invested in this community. I employ people. I pay taxes here. And I believe Rialto family deserves fairness, transparency, and compassion. Thank you for allowing me to speak tonight.

Thank you very much, and thank you very much for bringing the concerns and hopefully that there'll be a coordinated effort between all the components that need to be involved in dealing with individuals with disability and treatment and the education that needs to be done and how we handle that. On another note, we'd like to say that Rialto has taken a step in having a playground, a non inclusive playground that will be available for kids with disability and autism. It'll be the first of its kind that'll be built and hopefully open sometime in the June. But again, thank you very much. Next.

We had Jack Clare to complete a form, but I think he's out talking with the party that he needs to speak. So he just he did do a form, but I think he's still not engaging with that department head now.

Did somebody want to call him?

Think he'll be okay.

It'll be okay?

Yes, because he hasn't come back here and I think he'll probably get what he needs

to

get.

Well then that that concludes the oral communications. At this time, the City Council will consider removing or continuing any item on the agenda. Is there any item in the agenda by the public that wishes to pull any item? If not, is there any item that any member of the council wishes to pull and consent item? If not, do I hear a motion to approve the consent item? So moved. Motion's been made by Andy Caraceras. Second. Seconded by council member Eber Montoya. All those in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. Any oppositions? Hearing none, motion carries. Now we'll move on to the tab items. We'll start with tab one.

Good evening, mayor and council. Tab one this evening will be presented by Veolia. Brandon.

Good evening, mayor, Mayor Pro TM, and members of the council and everyone in attendance here. Alright. So tonight I'm presenting on the trunk line for the Sycamore Sewer Improvement Project. Sycamore Sewer Line will include a 15 inches SCR 35 sewer trunk line running north to south to accommodate additional flows as necessary. The project will begin at the newly rehabilitated lift station, and it will run south to the point of connection at approximately 100 feet north of Baseline Road.

Project driver is the population growth and increased development in the area, leading to higher sewage flow demands that exceed the current system's capacity, compliant with current regulations and prevention of sanitary sewer overflows, and a combination of the future development plans in the area. Project need identified in the master plan documents prepared by DePuja and Wells Consulting in 2024 and in previous five year capital plans identified by the collection systems team during closed circuit television. Currently, the line is 80% surcharge and at risk of overflows. The budget that we're seeking to get the FACWA approved for is $3,091,098. And the proposed project timeline schedule, March contractor bids received, March 26 water subcommittee approval.

We're moving on to this date for the City Council approval. We're looking at May, possibly June now for contractor mobilization and start up project. And September, the September for substantial and final completion. With that, do you guys have any questions?

Are there any questions? Move approval. A motion's been made and by mayor pro tem seconded by, council member Carla Perez. I just have one quick question for the attorney. Since the line is next to my home where they're doing it, does that present a conflict of interest for myself or Andy Cotteseris?

This is a brand new line, an increased line, but it's going to affect an area that has significant number of individuals, but I cannot say how many individuals are affected. So the most, it's not just a repair, it's an improvement of the service as I understand it.

Which really benefits residents on the Northern Side Of 210 Freeway.

It would if we if we could determine that even though the line goes next to your property. If that's if we could have Veolia verify that.

Yeah, so the line will run north and south on Sycamore Ave parallel to the existing eight inch sewer main that's on the street now. It'll traverse across the street to maintain the distances that are required for water as well, so.

Based on that, does it serve Either of your properties.

Everything in that area

does everything on the north side of the

yeah, all the way from the 210 all the way down to

baseline. Alright.

I don't think it serves council member Carouselas. His is served off of eucalyptus.

The scope,

but it's not in the same sort

of line.

Given the scope of the residences and the properties that it serve, the impact upon you is going to be similar to the public generally within that area. You don't have a conflict of interest. It's an exception to the conflict of

interest rule. That's it. There's none. Okay. All those in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. Any opposition? Hearing none. Motion carries. Thank you.

Before we move forward, mayor Pro Tem, since you made the motion, could you also indicate that this city resolution and RFUA resolution for the record, please? Would you like for me to read it for you?

Yeah. If you read read the

Resolution eighty five zero one and RRUA resolution twenty six zero four. Thank you.

Thank you. Okay. Thank you. Motion carried and passed. We'll move on to tab two. Thank

Good evening, Mayor Balka, Mayor Pro Tem Scott, and all council members. Yazam Rani, your Public Works Director, here to talk about the TAP number two regarding the approval of the first amendment to the professional services contract with Fountainhead Consulting Corporation. So in November 2025, the city's CIP engineering manager resigned creating an immediate need to maintain oversight and continuity for the city's active capital improvement program projects. To address the vacancy, the Public Works Department solicited proposals from firms on the city's on call consultant list for interim CIP engineering management services. After evaluating these proposals, staff determined that Kevin Austin of Fountainhead provided the most qualified candidate due to the his familiarity with the city's ongoing project processes and protocols, as well as his experience in contract administration and construction management.

Due to the urgent need to maintain progress on CIP project management and delivery, the initial agreement was executed in the amount of $95,000 under the authority of the city manager.

Move approval.

Motion's been made by mayor pro tem Ed Scott. Do I hear a second? Second. Seconded by council member Andy Garcetti. Any discussion? All those in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. Any oppositions? Hearing none, motion carries. Thank you. Move on to tab three.

Good evening, mayor, mayor pro tem, and members of the council. The item before you tonight is for city council's consideration to award a service agreement to Michael Baker International in the amount not to exceed 196,000 for preparation of the city parks master plan. Over the past year, I've had the opportunity to listen to many of the conversations on the dais where you have shared ideas regarding parks, recreation, and the quality of life for our residents. This is a clear vision commitment from the city council to continue improving our community and providing meaningful recreation opportunities for our Rialto families. In order to turn those ideas into actionable projects, we need planning, strategy, and funding opportunities to support them.

Establishing a parks master plan is the next step in creating that road map, to support them. To give you a little bit of, just a quick snapshot, City Of Rialto has over 104,000 residents. We are a young, diverse and growing community. There's 10 parks totaling approximately over 150 acres. We have two community centers, one fitness and aquatic facility, 13 baseball fields, 10 soccer fields, and three football fields.

We have 10 basketball courts, three skate parks, two tennis courts, and soon to have eight pickleball courts. We have multi use trails and athletic open space fields at some parks. Sorry. When the city's general plan was adopted back in 2010, it identified that Rialto had approximately one acre of parkland per thousand residents. The city's current general plan adopted a standard of three acres per thousand residents.

Even with the projected growth through 2040, Rialto is still anticipated to remain below that standard at approximately almost two and a half acres per thousand residents. This demonstrates the continued need for long planning and investment. So why does Rialto need a parks master plan? With all of the great ideas that you've discussed up there on the dias surrounding parks and recreation, the city currently does not have a comprehensive roadmap that ties those priorities together. A parks master plan is a document that should get us through the next ten to twenty years with strategic planning tools that connect community values and with capital investment, park development, programming priorities and funding opportunities.

Most importantly, it positions Rialto to become significantly more competitive for state and federal grant funding opportunities. The cost of this agreement is truly an investment in positioning the city to secure millions of dollars in external funding opportunities over time. Some of the benefits from the Park Master Plan include creative data driven decisions, strengthening eligibility for state and federal grants, including Proposition four, Land and Water Conservation Fund grants, outdoor recreation legacy partnership grants, and statewide park program. State funds. It will help improve equitable park access throughout our city planning for future growth and recreational needs, aligning future investment with the city's general plan, supporting the future development of park impact fees or quimby fees, and assisting the department with pursuing CAPRA accreditation through NRPA, which is a recognized excellence in parks and recreation operations management and service delivery.

There are only five agencies in the state of California that have CAPRA accreditation and none of them are in San Bernardino County, so we could potentially be the first. So the general plan reflects references parks and recreation priorities through a few sections. However, it also specifically called for the development of the park master plan back in 2010. The general plan covers things and ideas such as increasing and enhancing open space, exploring opportunities at areas such as Lettle Creek and the Cactus Basin, expanding passive recreation opportunities and maximizing urban and open space. While these goals are identified, the general plan does not provide the operational roadmap.

For how do we achieve that? So the past the sorry. The parks master plan will develop and provide the strategy to achieve this long term vision. So we went through a procurement process and the city initiated, this competitive process on February 12, and it closed out on March 11. We received six qualified proposals and evaluation panel made up of the Parks and Rec deputy director, the Parks and Rec admin analyst, and the director of community development were part of this panel.

They reviewed those six proposals and reviewed the grading criteria was understanding the project scope, the qualification and experience, community engagement approach, project methodology and schedule, and references of prior project performance. The top three firms were then invited on April 24. Following those interviews, Michael Baker was the firm selected to move forward for the service agreement. The development of the Rialto Parks Master Plan. They've demonstrated a strong understanding of Rialto's community and proposed a robust multi lingual outreach strategy that includes Spanish language materials, community workshops with translation services, inclusive community engagement efforts, some of the other keys to their proposal and their approach was grant readiness.

The final document will be structured in a way that allows the city to immediately utilize information for future grant applications and funding opportunities. Additionally the funding for this project was included in this year's fiscal year budget. And no additional funding is being requested tonight. Their scope of work. They're going to do project project initiation and stakeholder coordination, a full inventory of assessments of our parks facilities, trails and open spaces.

They're going to do GIS review field assessments, and they're going to provide us report cards on those facilities and those parks. They're going to look at the level service that we are providing and what those service gaps are, and they're gonna map those out for us. They're gonna hold community engagement throughout workshops and surveys, focus groups, and online tools. They're gonna develop help develop goals, policies, and recommendations that align with our current general plan that's in place. They're going to do the creation of a phased capital improvement plan with cost estimates, and they're going to help us identify grant opportunities and funding strategies.

And then finally, once the park master master plan draft is completed, then we will be bringing it forward both to the commission and to the council and council will have the final approval. The project timeline is ten twelve to eighteen months. All of those phases that I just previously talked about. They're going to be consolidated into five phases. Some some of those concepts are going to be overlapping, so they'll be happening simultaneously.

We anticipate that the project that the completed project to bring forward to council for review and adoption will be sometime in November 2027. And then as as discussed before here, some of those grant opportunities that we could potentially be looking at and have better qualifying criteria when it comes to applying for some of these grants. We potentially have the ability to secure anywhere from 5,000,000 to $15,000,000 once this park master plan is is completed and adopted, so we can move forward with your vision on making, the city of Rialto a fantastic place to live and play. So staff recommends this evening that City Council award a service agreement to Michael Baker International in the amount not to exceed $196,000 for the preparation of the city parks master plan and to authorize the city manager or their designee to execute all related documents. That concludes my presentation.

I do have Valerie Clark here from Michael Baker International here this evening should you have any questions for either her or I. Thank you.

Thank you. Are there any questions from any member of the council?

Yes, I have some comments. So first of all, as most everybody knows, I'm all for all the fantastic work that our director, Cynthia Alvarado, has done in the past few years, and I am all for continuing that path. The one thing that I am concerned about, and it's not just for this tab, but I'd like us to take this approach on all of the tabs that come to us with a component of a company giving us a recommendation. As most everybody knows, AI is growing by leaps and bounds. Every second it becomes more powerful.

Every second it becomes more informed. And I'd like us to start using some of those tools and investing in some of the technologies that are already out there. I'll go get some clarification also from our city attorney. I know that AI is relatively new. It's open source, so everything is still relatively new as far as how agencies are able to use it and to what capacity and to what extent, but I would like see us really dive deeper into figuring out how we can use some of these tools, not only to engage with the entire council, because all information that this consultant company is giving us is information that's already out there and it's information that, of course, they're putting it into a package so that it makes it easy for us to make that decision, but at the same time, we could make those decisions with AI generated companies.

Any AI company that's out there can give us all that information. What it needs is the input from this council. So I am all for this, but I'd like to see us talk about, have a further discussion about how we can use AI to not only help us with this now, but also to help us in the future and to have it be a living, growing document that constantly gets updated, that's updated as time goes by, and that we, that this council has the opportunity to add things as we come into new resources or or lack of resources. So I'm going to ask that that we table this item for now and that we look into the possibility of even possibly having some kind of a hybrid model for all the information and all the data that's gonna be entered in to this master plan. And Mr.

Attorney, it can you tell us. How agencies are able to use this or is there still? Is it still a open source and

I am not gonna be able to advise you on the capacities of AI and what they're going to be able to do for you in this instance because it's growing, Well, frankly, it's not my field. The city has been developing an AI use policy. But I think that that AI use policy your question goes beyond the AI use policy. It's how can you use it to look for information to come up with proposals on what you should do with the city without hiring one of these contractors is kind of

Maybe even a hybrid of it.

I would suggest you have talk with your city manager and your IT director on what the capabilities are. I'm not aware of a legal restriction. There there are certain restrictions on, you know, not checking your documents because AI can hallucinate certain information and it's not true and things like that. But don't know that there's a prohibition yet on on how you would choose to use it.

And and absolutely, AI can make mistakes and it could guide you the wrong way, but it's ultimately up to this council what information it wants and whether it uses it.

Mayor Pro Tem Ed Scott.

Is the individual from Michael Baker here? Yes. I'd like to ask her some questions. Developing a master plan for a city, are you currently using AI?

So, we use it to enhance or generate initial ideas. I think that's, it's something that's continuing to evolve, but what really you don't get with AI is that in person community engagement. We do field work as well, so we visit all of these parks to understand the current condition. So we do a lot of desktop exercises, and AI can be used to enhance it and help you be bit more efficient and check our work, but it doesn't have that capability to do that in person, whether it's with the community face to face, or doing that boots on the ground field work. So we do use that, and that's what allows us to be more efficient in our cost and how we propose the document, but we still have to use a lot of our tools and review everything ourselves.

So, there is a use for AI in this, and for the council, council. There is a presentation at City County Conference on Thursday regarding AI. The city manager and I attended it last year, and it was pretty informative. We actually ran a little AI scenario on why fire guys like red trucks. It was pretty interesting.

But, do think that what Councilmember Carusale is saying has some validity that we should maybe try to be a leader in our region to integrate AI with this master plan. So I'm not opposed to holding this over to maybe allow him to have some meetings and other council members that would want to with both Michael Baker and you, Ms. Alvarado, to discuss how we could integrate that. I'm certainly not opposed to you using Michael Baker for the I purposes of think we do need a master plan, and I think it's a splendid idea. So, I'll kind of let my other colleagues speak their mind also.

I'd like to move for approval to award the service agreement to Michael Baker and authorize the city manager to execute all related documents.

Second the motion. And I'd like to have a little discussion on

roll call.

A discussion on it first. Is just a general plan that needs to be done. The city of Rialto has not had a a general plan for almost fifteen years, and so it makes it very difficult for the parks and recreation or anyone else to have a direction in terms of what are our priorities of the members of the council right here, whether it's to include or include anything else, can be incorporated into this plan. This plan basically just says, alright, we're gonna have a master plan that will be line with the general plan. And this basically is a guideline telling us what is it that we want.

What are some of our needs of the city of Rialto? Whether they will do a community needs assessment that needs to be done, which is an in person, telling us the community telling us what is it that we need in parks recreation. What kind of facilities do we need in the area? Do we need and I wrote a list of all of them right here. Do we need additional basketball courts? Do we need to expand the swimming pool? Do we need to have splash pads? Do we need additional soccer fields? Do we need volleyball courts? Do we need additional pickleball courts?

Do we need a health facility for our seniors and youth? Other parks that need to be done in the area. This will give us an idea. Do we need y fives in the area? Do we need to upgrade? You know our parks? And replace some of the old equipment that would be outdated five ten years from now. This is just the master plan telling us a direction that needs to be done, and it's also telling us Where we might be able to get the funding, and that's one of the areas for where the city is not going to be burdened with the additional cost of coming up to play. Say, for example, we want to do hypothetically. Expansion of the basketball court.

It would say, alright, this is an area where you might be able to obtain funding. This is what these consultants will be able to do is to give us some kind of direction so we can begin to lobby both at the federal, the state or the county in terms of where we need our needs are, where we might get the additional funding that would augment our costs and reduce it from the citizens in our area in terms of the tax dollars that would be spent. This is just a master plan or a guide, and and it can be incorporated. The AI can be incorporated into it, but we need to have master plan because there has not been one that should have been done fifteen years ago. And so the parks and recreation says, what is it that you guys want?

What is it that the community wants? They want to do what's best for our citizens. They wanna look at where we're at today and where we need to be in the future. This is going to tell us and give us some form of direction. Edward Montoya.

Yes. So Councilman. So I agree we do need a a parks master plan. We haven't had one since 2010 when this was adopted. It was supposed to be done fifteen years ago. I do agree with that. However, I do agree with Andy or Councilmember Gonzalez. I I agree that we should look into other options and not always so freely get these consultants at nearly $200,000 apiece. So I think that we should look at doing something like that in the future. I think we should really have a discussion on how we can go about that.

If these consulting agencies are using AI and they're going out to these locations, we can use AI, we know these locations, and we can use our various resources here within the within our government agency, and we can do something just the same. Okay. But I I agree. We do We do need to have the master plan.

Thank you. Motion's been made. It's been seconded and Andy Caracitis has asked for a roll call.

Council Member Perez. Aye. Council Member Baca. Aye. Council Member Carri Sellers. No. Council Member Montoy. Aye. Mayor Pro Tem Scott.

No. Okay, motion carries. Thank you. We'll move to tab four.

Yes, good evening mayor and council. Tab four this evening will be presented by Nicole Hemmons in the Utilities Department. Just to give some context for this item, the city recently went through a restructuring of our Utilities Department to integrate it into public works rather than a standalone department. In order to support that transition, we are asking for a contract amendment which Nicole will get into the details of.

Good evening honorable mayor, mayor pro tem, and members of the city council. My name is Nicole Hemmon, senior analyst for the utilities division. Tonight I will be presenting tab four, which is a request for the City Council and Rialto Utility Authority Board to approve an amendment to the contract with Debugen Wells Consulting in the amount of $530,510 for additional interim and technical support services. Since 2021, Devoujian Wells Consulting has provided professional consulting services to the city. Through this work, they have developed extensive in the city's utility systems, regulatory requirements, and the concession agreement.

This eighth amendment would allow a Debugen Wells Consulting to continue providing interim support services during this contract I'm sorry, during this current organizational transition. Their continued support will help ensure operational continuity and maintain technical expertise during this period. At this time, staff recommends the City council and Rialto Utility Authority Board approve the eighth amendment to the professional services agreement with Debugen Wells Consulting in the amount of $530,510. This concludes my presentation. I am available to answer any questions you have. And Steven DePooja is here with us as well, to answer any questions.

Are there any questions by a member of the council? Mayor pro tem, Scott?

Just just a quick question to clarify this. This is not to extend the work that DePotion Wells is doing. This is strictly to supplement the city with the lack of a current utilities manager. Is that not correct?

Yes, that's correct. So as I mentioned, the utilities division will be moving into public works, so this contract amendment is to support that transition to provide some interim support for Yaz as he gets up to speed with the utilities.

Okay, move approval.

Motion's been made by Mayor Pro Tem Ed Scott, seconded by Carla Perez. Any discussion? Any further discussion? All those in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. Any opposition? Hearing none. Motion carries. Thank you. We'll move on to tap five.

Good evening, mayor, mayor pro tem and members of the city council. My name is Christopher Jensen, your fire chief. Tonight, we're requesting three actions. Adopt budget resolution number 8503 to appropriate $95,000 and fund 2209 and approve the purchase of two Ford f one fifty hybrid command

Motion's been made by Andy Garcettias. Motion was made by Edward Montoya. Any discussion? All those in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. Motion carries. Congratulations. Thank you. Next, we'll move that concludes the items on the agenda. We'll move on to council's report. We'll start did you start last

time, Carla?

Okay. With Edward Montoya, council member Edward Montoya.

Okay. Thank you, mayor. So these past couple of weeks, I attended the International Festival. I think the whole council was there. And it was a Council member Perez, mayor, mayor pro tem, and it was a really good turnout.

We had quite a few vendors. I think we might need to work on a committee for next year and work on pulling in some new types of vendors. It's international, so let's bring in some Asian foods or some sushi or some different types of things, and I think that'd be really cool and it would make it really international. But overall, a great event. There was a lot of attendance and a lot of lot of residents really came out to have a good time, so good job.

And secondly, I was a special guest at the Teamsters car show, and they had tons of cars out there, it was really, another really cool event. It was packed, they had to bus us in from a parking lot in another county, from, at another county facility. So that was really, really nice event as well. Lastly, I want to follow-up on a discussion that we had last council meeting regarding the ADA education for business owners. And I want to get a status of the education sent out to business owners as well as the letter being sent to the business that violated the federal ADA law.

Do we have a status on that?

I'm not sure that our community development department has a status update right now, but we can certainly get one to you in writing by the end of the week.

So has anything been done? Or we don't have it?

I'm not aware of business that violated. I'm not aware of the specific business that violated, so we have not addressed that specifically. As far as ADA material, we have that prepped. We have not done any mass mailing out or any in hand distribution.

Okay. And is that going to be included in new business packets going forward?

It can. It's available online. Most of the new business packets are digital these days. We are, through economic development, doing in person visits right now to businesses, doing about somewhere between 25 and 40 a month depending on our scheduling, and we'll begin to take those out with econ dev when they go to visit the businesses.

Okay. Thank you. I'll get with you offline, and we'll discuss that business. And that's all.

Okay. Thank you very much. And hopefully we can get back to it when a council makes a recommendation that you can reply back to them in reference to their concern in the future in a timely manner. Next, I'd like to call on the mayor pro tem. Ed Scott? No report. Next, I'd like to call on, council member, Andy Garasidis. No report. Next, I'd like to call on council person, Carla Perez.

Thank you, mayor. So as, council member Montoya mentioned, we attended the, international festival, which was the first annual, very well attended for being the, first, event of, international event. Following that event, I actually made my way over to Carter High School to watch Rialto Police Department versus Carter Lyons. That was very intense, very interesting. I feel bad for the ones who had to work, had a shift right after that game and they did great. They did great. It was a great intense game. Unfortunately, Rialto PD fell short. Carter Lions won, but it was a great event, very well attended, and I I look forward to more in the future.

Thank you. Next is me. I'd like to thank first of all the city of Rialto and the parks recreation for having international festival that was held at Rialto Park as it was stated by my colleagues who attended and I'll actually mention the names of those that actually attended. It was myself. It was my the mayor pro tem at Scott Council Member Edwin Montoya and Council Member Carla Perez attended the event.

It was well attended by members of our community. It was an excellent event. Many of I heard positive comments from many individuals in the community about the the festival that we had. They just wish probably we would have done a little bit more advertisement. I know that we did some in social social media, but I think we've got to develop a better marketing tool in letting the public know of these kind of events that we have because they are for the public.

They are for them to attend and enjoy, and this was the first one that we we held here in the city of Rialto and I want to thank you know the police department and the fire department for being present at these events and almost every event that we have in the city of Rialto. So I want to personally thank them as well. So that concludes my report, and that's probably the shortest I've given since I've been here on the on the diocese and Barbara saying yeah. Next I like to call him our clerk Barbara McGee.

I just have the Memorial Day program is coming up on May 25. So that will be at the cemetery from ten to ten to two. So we have police as part of that, which, like you just said, part of all the programs. Fire department is part of that. We're gonna be using fire department bail, and we also have public works.

Public works has been part of all these activities that the city do, which we saw up on the video. So I just wanna say thank you for public works because I couldn't do all the programs that I do without the three departments that I did name, especially public works. So I expect to have everyone to attend that. We do have committee, well, Veterans Veterans Committee which you guys are still part of the program and I can go over that with you but I have all councils present and I hope that I have all councils at the event on I mean, not veterans, but Memorial Day. That's all I have.

Thank you. Next, I'd like to call. Well, he's not present. Our city manager, Tanya Williams.

Good evening, mayor. No report. Thank you.

Next, I'd like to call on our city attorney, Eric Vail.

Thank you, mayor. This time of year is the time for the annual League of California City City Attorney Conference. That conference starts tomorrow and goes through Friday. I will be in attendance tomorrow, Thursday and Friday. There's always a lot of good presentations. I look forward to bringing back some new ideas from the conference for all of you to do, and I'll I'll share those with you, especially any big cases that come up. I will remain available by my mobile phone or email or text. So even though I'm at the conference, I'll I'll be able to receive your phone calls, texts, or emails, and direct work as necessary.

Thank you. Thank you. Next, I'd like to call on our, police chief, Mark Clean.

Hello, mayor. Mayor pro tem and council. Chief, I'm actually I'm actually taken back. I I am. I Have you seen the firefighters new uniforms?

Polos? I said they're making us all look bad in the back, sir.

Where's the red? Yeah, where's the red?

I'm glad they got the true color. It's blue, but it's okay.

They're like detectives now.

Mayor Pro Tem and counsel, with all sincerity, thank you. Thank you so much for having trust in the police department and building an amazing facility for us. You know, we're in the process of moving in. I'm speaking on behalf of all the employees for what you've not only provided for us, but what you've done for this community. And we hear it, we know it, our game's getting stepped up, so thank you for what you've done.

With that, we've had 7,362 calls for service in last month, 4,672 officer initiated calls. We've made five zero five arrests, twelve forty six reports were taken. And I know that the groundbreaking I'm sorry, the ribbon cutting is still a few months away, but our systems are coming online every day. And I'm really looking I'm actually excited and looking forward to coming to you with some future updates about our facility and all the systems that are coming on board. And it's really amazing to see the technology pieces that are firing up daily.

So thank you so much. That's my report.

I have a question. Yes, In reference to the technology. You know, recently we had quite a few incidents that were going on at River Ranch.

Yes, sir.

And I was looking at the possibility of how can we possibly help in that area. And one of the areas that possibly we can look at in terms of the future or funding from us, if if we haven't done it yet, is to have cameras, there at the beginning, so this way we detect any individual and look at their license plates that come in, and I think it's ALP r, auto vault, you know, that's I've sort of like googled it, and I looked up.

Oh, no. That's good. You're absolutely right.

And looking at it as a possibility of helping that community to identify because there's been a lot of theft that's been going on, and it was in the news. And looking at us taking some form of action and installing cameras, at the beginning when they start going down, they can pick up the license plates of cars going in there.

Mayor, just so you know, we do have ALPRs at those entrances, but I want to take what you just said and build that out a little bit. As we start coming online with more and more cameras in the city with our intersection cameras that's going to be brought to you in the near future, there's a good possibility we can actually look at putting those types of cameras inside the neighborhoods there. But that actually will be in real time in our center. A bit more of that coming to you in the next few months. But there's certainly where I think we're going to be able to accomplish what you're asking.

Yeah, and I think the the people who live there at River Ranch would feel a lot safer knowing that that we have taken some form of action to look at protecting them in terms of now and in the future as well. And I think all the members here at the council will agree with that, you know.

Yeah, and I appreciate, you know, I just want to close and I'm glad the reporter came back in from the paper. I think it's much more than the, I think, inaccurate information that it's all about drones. It's not. I think that once the community actually truly understands, and you know, the reporter understands exactly what this community is going to be protected with, it's going to really literally put Rialto to a place that all of us are going to feel much safer. So thank you for that and more to come. Thanks.

Thank you. Next, I'd like to call on our Fire Chief, Chris Jensen.

Thank you, Mayor. Just a couple of items. I wanted to let you know that some of the council action items over the last month or so relating to emergency life saving equipment has arrived and is being placed on the apparatus. So our heart monitors and our mechanical CPR devices. So those are positive things that are happening in the field of emergency medicine here in Rialto.

We also have two paramedics that are competing in Indian Wells at a local EMS conference on Monday and Tuesday. So they're competing on their skills and abilities. And I just wanted to remind the council that, weed abatement with the city contractor begins on the fifteenth, of this month. So we'll start seeing some positive movement on weed abatement, going forward to protect the the community. Thank you. That's all.

Thank you very much. Next, I'd like to call on our public works director, Yas Ambram.

Thank you, mayor. Just a quick report. We have performed our our team performed over 400 work orders fixing potholes, graffiti, removal, trash debris collection right away. This is between May 1 and today. In addition, we've restarted our striping work now that the temperatures are a little bit warmer, and we will continue that work refreshing the striping throughout intersections.

We undertook one project in on cactus between at Rwanda and Baseline. We just finished putting mill and overlay, grind and overlay about 800 feet northbound cactus number one lane and 800 feet southbound number one lane. So we fixed that using our contractor for that project and it looks much better. Got rid of a lot of the roots that were creating bumps in the road and everything. So our team is continuing to make progress.

Thank you. Okay, thank you. Next, I'd like to call on our assistant city manager that's a trade of all trades, Tim Sullivan.

Thank you, mayor. And tonight will not be a speech presentation or or my trade with communication. So no report tonight.

Thank you. Next, I'd like to call on, our community development director, Christina Taylor.

Thank you, mayor. Nothing to report this evening.

Next, our financial director, Scott Williams.

Thank you, mayor. No report.

Thank you. That concludes the reports of members of the council. Do I hear a motion to adjourn?

I'm going to ask what's going on in Rialto.

City of Rialto. I'm sorry Cynthia. You were up there giving a report I

heard plenty from me this evening. Thank you so much. Alright Here's what's going on in Rialto because my item was not enough. So Memorial Day tribute will be Monday, May 25 at Rialto Park Cemetery from 10AM to 2PM Tiny tots graduation will be Thursday, May 28 at Rialto Community Center from four p. M. To six p. M. Senior voices karaoke sing off will be Friday, May 29 at Grace Vargas Senior Center. Two p. M. To five p. M. They will be doing the sing off between the Colton Community Center, the Colton Senior Community Center and our senior, so come If on you would like to be a judge, let me know I can make some things happen.

You get in trouble being a judge.

Run what you brung cruise night will be Friday, June 5 from Riverside Avenue to Acacia Avenue from five to 9PM. The run what you brought car show will be Saturday, June 6 at the downtown Rialto from 7AM to 3PM Adventureland summer camps all start Monday, June 8 at Rialto Community Center from 07:30 to eight 07:30 A. M. To 6PM and that's going to be from for ages five to 12. And then our tiny tots Explorer summer camp will be held Monday starting Monday, June 8 at Hugh Banks Elementary from 07:30 to one P.

M. And that's for our little guys, three to four year olds. And then you're save the dates. Rialto Juneteenth Jam will be Friday, June 19 at Ferguson Park from three to nine P. M. Fourth of July celebration will be Saturday, July 4 at Jerry Eves Park from 05:30 to 09:30 P. M. And then parks and rec month is all month long in July. That concludes my announcements.

Thank you very much and that concludes the reports. Do I hear a motion to adjourn?

So moved.

Motion's been made by Carla Perez, Council Member Carla Perez, seconded by Edwin Montoya. All those in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. Any opposition? Hearing none. Council's adjourned.