City Council - Regular Meeting

Good afternoon and welcome to the March 17th close session of the city council of the city of Mareno Valley. The city council receives a separate stipen from the community services district board of directors if any CSD business is conducted during this meeting. I now call the meeting to order on March 17th at 4:01 p.m. Madame Clerk, roll call, please. Thank you, Mayor. Council member Bernard is absent. Council member Delgado here, ma'am. Council member Vakasana Cruz here. Mayor Prom Gonzalez here. And Mayor Cabrera here. Thank you.

Next is public comment. And pursuant to the Brown Act, public comment shall be limited to only those items on the close session agenda. Uh, Madame Clerk, do we have any requests to speak? We do not, mayor. Thank you. At this time, we'll go ahead and turn to our city attorney. Mr. City attorney, what matters will the council be discussing in closed session today?

Mr. Mayor, we have two items listed on the close session calendar. Item D1 um consists of one significant exposure to litigation item and that is associated and that's pursuant to government code section 54956.9 and that's related to the general plan update and that's based on several threats of litigation we have received and um with respect to that project uh item D2 consists of two potential initiation of litigation items that's pursuing to government code section 54956D4 and that involves Oh, I don't have to announce those. I'm sorry. So, there's two potential initiation litigation items. And that concludes the um what we're going to discuss in close session.

Thank you. So, with that, we'll go ahead and recess into closed session.

Good afternoon and welcome back to our close session here in the city of Mareno Valley. Uh this time I'll go ahead and turn it over to our city attorney. Mr. City attorney, was there any reportable action taken in close session today?

Mr. Mayor, there was no reportable action taken on item D1. However, on item D2, um there was reported there's reportable action on one of the two potential initiation litigation items and that is um the city council voted 40 of Mayor Cabrera, Mayor Prom Gonzalez, and council members Baka Santa Cruz and Delgado voting yes with council member Bernard absent to authorize the city attorney to seek the judicial appointment of a receiver to address the multiple code violations and state housing code violations at the Siggoia apartment complex. And that concludes my close session announcements.

Thank you very much, Mr. City Attorney. So, with that, we will officially conclude our close session at 5:28 p.m. And we will be back in just a minute or two to begin our special presentations. Thank you.

Good evening everyone and welcome to tonight's special presentations. Tonight we recognize World Rotary Day and the New Rotary Club of Reno Valley, a long-standing committed service organization in our community. Rotary founded in 1905 is the world's oldest service club. Its mission is as important today as it was then to bring together leaders to serve those in need. build good build goodwill and create lasting positive change not just here in Mro Valley but across more than 200 countries worldwide. For over a century, Rotary has been a global force in education, health, and humanitarian work touching millions of lives every year. Representing the new Rotary Club are President David Slawson and President-elect designate Joe Clearary and James Charles the chair. Please join me in welcoming them to the stage. The city's local club is made of 30 leaders who live in Rotary's core values: service, integrity, fellowship, and leadership. Each year, the new Rotary host the Thanksgiving banquet for families in need, provide scholarships, graduating to graduating seniors, recognize students, and run leadership programs for middle and high school students. Through their work, the noon Rotary Club strengthens our community and creates opportunities for students and their families. Without fur further ado, I'm proud to present this proclamation honoring the noon Rotary Club Mina Valley for their dedication and impact on our city. This time, please invite David share a few words.

Thank you. On behalf of the Rotary Club Marino Valley, we thank the council and the mayor, Mayor Cabrera, for this recognition and for holding having a policy to recognize local clubs and organizations that work within the city. Uh I have with me today Joe Clary who's going to be president just over a year and uh Charlie James who's in charge of our Interact and he's going to say just a just a few things. He's a very vital part of our club. Oh yes, with the Interact Club, we have five Interact clubs in Marino Valley at all five high schools. We only have four high schools in Marino Valley, but we have Rancho Vverie, which is right across the line, but we uh added them in with us as well. And some of the things that the Interact Clubs does is uh we go out and help and serve in our community. Right now, we're doing a project where we're helping clean up Sunny Meat Boulevard. We're starting on one end of the boulevard and working all the way down. Uh last weekend, we helped with the Serimus Club and we did 200 Easter baskets to help for unhoused and um just students, children, and everything. So, basically, we help out and help serve wherever we can help. The Interact Club is Rotary at the high school level. So that's what it is. Thank you to David, Joe, and James. And let's give them another round of applause. And I would like to my colleagues for a group photo.

Yes, please. stand. One, two, three. Thank you. Good evening everyone. Tonight, in recognition of Government Finance Professionals Week, we get to shine a spotlight on Marino Valley's finance services management department. In a few words, the finance team looks ahead to steer big projects, take care of the small ones, manage grants, pay the bills, and ensure every resource is used wisely. You can think of them like the engine of our city's money. You may not always see them, but without them, everything else, police, fire, streets, parks, they wouldn't run. The financial services management department, known as FMS, has six divisions with approximately 30 talented professionals. Finance, financial operations keeps the city's accounting, audits, and financial reporting in order. Financial resources develops and manages the city budget. The grants division brings in

opportunities. Payroll makes sure employees are paid. Purchasing and sustainability oversees fair and responsible spending. And special districts manages community programs funded outside the general budget. Together, this team keeps Marino Valley moving forward every day. Leading the charge is Felicia London, the city's chief financial officer and city treasurer. Felicia and your FMS team, would you please join me at the microphone? Come on. Come on. Hello. This isn't stand you here on the other side of the proclamation. Felicia, thank you for your leadership in your new role, your years of experience with the city, and most importantly, your dedication and integrity. Now, it is my honor on behalf of the city council and the residents of Mina Valley to present you with this proclamation recognizing government finance professionals week. Yeah.

Well, I would first Oh, thank you. There you go. Like to thank uh the mayor and council members for the acknowledgement and recognition. Um, I would also like to thank the best finance team that I have ever had the pleasure of working with. Your hard work and dedication is truly appreciated and I thank you guys and uh for acknowledging us for this proclamation. Right here. Stupid. Thank you, sir.

Well, good evening everyone and welcome to our third special presentation of the evening. March is National Procurement Month, a time to recognize the professionals who keep Marina Valet running smoothly, responsibly, and efficiently. At its core, procurement is about one thing, smart choices that serve the city and the respect of the taxpayers. This evening, we are here to recognize Mariner Valley's purchasing and sustainability division, the careful stewards behind every city purchase. Their work ensures our city spends responsibly, operates transparently, and delivers the best value to our community. Receiving tonight's proclamation is Anna Chakon, purchasing and sustainability division manager, along with her team. Let's give them a warm round of applause. Come on up.

Oh.

Oh. Awesome. Well, Anna, thank you for your leadership. Fair, transparent, and costconcious leaders like you require exceptional attention to details which you have demonstrated. Much of the work you and your team do happens behind the scenes, but its impact is felt across every corner of the city. Simply put, procurement is about making smart decisions, getting the goods, services, and pro projects done efficiently, projects done efficiently while keeping the process fair, transparent, and accountable. Last year, the purchasing and sustainability division earned the achievement of excellent and procurement award or AE award from the National Procurement Institute, a national recognition honoring the best public sector procurement teams in the country. Remarkably, and not surprisingly, Marino Valley has claimed this award for the eighth year in a row. So, let's give the purchasing and sustainability team a strong round of applause. Welld deserved, ma'am. Well deserved. Now it's your turn. Little speech.

No longer than 20 minutes. The mayor's up next. I know. I'll keep it short. Okay.

Um, thank you, Mayor, Mayor Prom, City Council, city staff um for this um for this honor. I am honored to accept this recognition on behalf of the purchasing and sustainability division. I am proud to represent a team of 10 dedicated professionals whose commitment, hard work, and integrity serve the city every day. I'm also grateful for the support of our leadership and for the support of our leadership and the opportunity to serve the city of Marino Valley. Thank you again for this for the recognition of procurement um month and also the hard work of our procurement professionals. I'm gonna hand this to you.

Anna team, it is my honor to present this proclamation to you and your team for the outstanding work of purchasing and sustainability. Thank you for your leadership, your dedication, and the smart decisions you make every day to keep Marino Valley running smoothly and serving our community responsibly. So, let's take a picture and then we'll turn it over to the mayor for our last award. Everyone take a step forward. Well, let's give it up for our city staff once again, please. A big round of applause for them. You know, it's so important that we shine a spotlight on our city staff, community leaders, folks uh throughout the city that uh usually don't get highlighted, don't get a spotlight shined on them so that we recognize the work that you're doing every day because um you know, we we can't do this without you. It's a team effort and every single one of us plays a critical role in this machine, this engine that we call the city of Marino Valley. And now our fourth special presentation for this evening. I want to once again thank you for joining us here. If you're watching at home, thanks for tuning in. And before we turn our attention to health, I would like to recognize our FMS department and purchasing division for

keeping our city fiscally healthy. Because of them, once again, we're able to fund all these projects. We're able to build new parks. were able to fix our roads, fix fix those pesky potholes, uh help the homeless, and so many other things that are so needed for our constituents in our city. And we're now going to to transition to something that is equally as important, which is keeping our community healthy. For this final special presentation, the city of Marino Valley is proud to recognize March 2026 as National Nutrition Month, an annual campaign led by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics that encourages healthy eating, smart food choices, and staying active. Yes, good nutrition fuels our bodies, but consistency is the key to quality of life. Our choices today shape how we will feel tomorrow. And you know, if you just I'm going to put them on the spot right now. They don't know this is coming, but you just look at our chiefs, right? And the work that they put in, right? Leading by example, making sure that they're, you know, polished showing up to work. Um, uh, leading by example along with so many other folks around the city that, you know, put in that work every single day to make sure that we have healthy foods that are accessible to our community, that we have, uh, the programs and the resources to help those that may need that additional assistance to be able to put food on the table. Right. Uh I myself, you know, was a product of so many of these uh programs growing up and uh would not be here if it weren't for that. And I know so many other families out there, millions of families across our country who are in the similar situations. Uh you never know what you know, one month may make the difference between having food on the table or not. And that's why it's so important that we recognize uh these initiatives, these uh award these proclamations for these um recognitions so that we continue that work and again recognize those that are boots on the ground actually doing the work and advocating every single day.

And so on that note, I would like to uh ask you to please join me in welcoming Miss Razan Akili, a Marino Valley resident and senior studying dietetics at Calpali Pomona to receive this proclamation. Thank you. Thank you again for joining us. Yes. Thank you for having Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. And uh yeah, please go right ahead. The floor is yours if you'd like to share a few remarks, anything you'd like to say.

I'd just like to say thank you, mayor. Thank you to the city council and the city staff for having me. I app I really appreciate the community for raising awareness and um supporting health and nutrition and I'm really grateful to be here. So, thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. And grab the proclamation for you if you want to.

Yeah, go ahead. Go ahead. That is yours. You get to take that home with you. And if you'd like to just go ahead and make your way to this side. Uh before I invite my colleagues so we could take a nice group picture. Um speaking of Calpali Pomona, I had the chance to be there not that long ago and was just really blown away by, you know, the the a that they have there on campus and to see the open fields of, you know, crops that they're growing there. Uh that a lot of that actually goes back into that same ecosystem, right? To uh cook food and meals on campus and send that to local schools, etc. It's just beautiful, beautiful to see. and students in the nutrition and food science department take what they learn and share it in our community through schools, food banks, healthcare programs, and sports initiatives that reach families every single day. Their work helps people make healthier choices and build stronger, more resilient lives. We are pleased to present this proclamation here recognizing March as National Nutrition Month, encouraging all residents to embrace healthy eating habits, seek reliable nutrition information, and support lifelong wellness. And as I like to um uh my son likes to read this book about brushing your teeth and flossing every single day. It's those little habits that, you know, at a young age, how do we help uh those future generations build those good habits uh so that they could be in good hands in the future? So with that, I will go ahead and invite my colleagues from the council to join us so we could take a nice group picture. Let's give it up one more time, please. Yeah, and I mentioned the chiefs because I I see they they're working now. They're putting in that work and I'm

trying to keep up with them, you know. So, thank you again for leading by example. Um, and so with that, we will officially conclude our special presentations for this afternoon. We'll be back in approximately 10 minutes for our regular council meeting. But thank you all once again. Congratulations to everybody that was recognized. Keep up the good work and uh we'll see you at the next one. Thank you.

Good afternoon, good evening, and welcome to the joint meeting of the city council of the city of Moreno Valley. The city council receives a separate stipen from the community services district if any CSD business is conducted during this meeting. I now call the meeting to order on March 17th at 6:01 p.m. The pledge of allegiance will be led by Mayor Prom Gonzalez. Please remain standing for the invocation given this evening by Pastor Andros K. Miltier from AK Quinn African Methodist Episcopal Church.

Place your right hand over your heart. Pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the stand.

Bow your heads. Dear heavenly father, we come to you this evening just saying thank you. We thank you for lifting your name up on high. We thank you for breath in our bodies. We thank you for the ability to have all five senses. And if we even if we don't, we still thank you. We thank you for the leaders of this great community, God. We asking right now that you be with us in this meeting, God, that you guide them, that you lead them into the direction that you need them to go, that we move the great city of Marino Valley into better and newer heights. This we ask in Jesus name. Amen. Amen.

Thank you very much, pastor. Next item is C, the excuse me, next item is D, the land acknowledgement. And we wish to acknowledge that we are on the unseated lands of the Kawila and Paya Wicham or Louisiseno, who as original inhabitants and now as sovereign tribal nations have continued to live and thrive upon these lands since time immemorial. Next is item E, roll call. Madam clerk, I'll turn it over to you. Thank you, mayor. Council member Bernard is absent and she did not wish to have her absence excused today. So, moving on. Council member Delgado here, ma'am. Council member Paka Santa Cruz

here. Mayor Prom Gonzalez here. And Mayor Cabera here. Thank you. Thank you. Next, we will move into G since there are no requests to excuse absences. So, Madam Clerk, I'll turn it back over to you for staff introductions, please. Thank you, Mayor. Patty Rodriguez, city clerk. Sonia Gomez, senior deputy city clerk. Steven Kintton, city attorney. Brian Mohan, city manager. Lonnie Himenez, assistant city manager, administration. Felicia London, chief financial officer, city treasurer. Sean Keller, assistant city manager, development. Angelica Farippo, community development director. Kyle Winski, economic development director.

Melissa Walker, director of public works. Jeremy Bubnik, director of parks and community services. Robert Cardinz, human resources director. Jesse Park, fire chief. Lieutenant Chris Gaskins on behalf of Police Chief Sarah Mack.

Thank you, team. It's always a pleasure to be in the chamber to conduct the people's business. Next, we will go ahead and move into item H, approval of order of the agenda. And I would like to read for the record that I have been informed that item J16 titled adoption of ordinance and resolution amending transportation uniform mitigation fee also known as TUMF program and rates should be moved to the public hearing calendar as item K2 since it was noticed as a public hearing item. So with that I will look to my colleagues to see if there are any requests to change the order of the agenda. If not, we can entertain a motion and a second to approve the order of the agenda. So moved.

I second. There's a motion and a second to approve the order of the agenda. Madam clerk, please call for the vote. Thank you, Mayor. Council member Delgado, yes. Council member Paka Santa Cruz, yes. Mayor Prom Gonzalez, yes. And Mayor Cabera, yes. you.

Next up is item I, public comments on matters that are not on the agenda. A friendly reminder that the city now offers language translation services through a free app called Wordly. The app automatically translates a variety of languages into English and vice versa. To use this service, please scan the QR code at the speaker signup table. For the visually impaired, please use your earphones or earbuds to listen to the verbal translation. If you do not have any such listening devices, please let the city clerk know and we will gladly let you borrow some for this meeting. Before we move on to public comments, I'd like to remind everyone to direct their comments to the city council. For comments on items on tonight's agenda, each speaker will have a total of three minutes to comment. Madame clerk, do we have any requests to comment on non-aggenda items?

We do, mayor. The first three speakers are Fred Beno, followed by Joanne Rosselle, followed by Omar Cobian.

Welcome. Good evening.

Well, hello everyone. Sean, I don't know know your last name or I can't pronounce it, but I love your outfit. It's amazing. Uh, happy St. Patty's Day. Um, our chief captain's not here, but happy birthday goes out to her. She can tell her. All right, guys. Uh, last week I called the city hall, left a message, and I didn't get a return phone call. I believe we have an ordinance 1023 that's coming into effect. Um, I want to know what's going on with Lakeside Plaza, if they've done their safety, whatever they have to do to turn in their documents. Uh, it's getting warm. The activities popping up again. I told you a few months ago that my wife doesn't feel safe shopping at Iris and Lel. So, um, if you can keep me up to date and let me know what's going on with that, I'd really appreciate it. Uh, the other thing is bicycle community is going to be out uh on Saturday by Morrison Park. Uh, here they're getting out an event. So, I hope that uh parking enforcement and sheriff's department are viligent with going out there and giving any tickets that uh when people are parked in the bicycle lanes illegally. Um I hope that the biking community doesn't have to call the non-emergency number to get any enforcement out there. I just um again hope that parking control is out there being viligent about uh giving people tickets when they're parking illegally. All right, that's my time, guys. Thanks. Thank you. The next three speakers are Joanne Rosselle, followed by Omar Cobian, followed by Seth Cox.

Good evening.

Good afternoon. My name is Joanne Rosselle. I'm very glad to be at my first city council meeting. Um my concern and what I'm here to speak about today is our um senior citizen center on fur and Paris here in the city of Marino Valley. It's a wonderful center. It provides many services for the seniors in the city of Marino Valley. Uh but my concern is the condition of the parking lot. Last year a construction project was initiated and it was never finished. All of a sudden the construction workers were gone. They left a mess. Dirt, bricks, iron rods, and with the rain that we've had recently, there's all kinds of vegetation growing, weeds, tall all kind of things that usually attract mice and rats and lizards, creepy crawling things that none of us senior citizens are, you know, too glad to see. Now, um, in the wake of them doing the construction, they took over half of the parking lot in the back of the senior citizen center. So, we have nowhere to park. We have to park on the street in front of the senior citizen center across the street. It's dangerous there because the cars drive kind of fast on fur. We have to park down the street and then walk all the way up to the senior citizen center. Now, some of us are challenged with our mobility and some of us are not. Those of us who are is stressful. It's a eyesore and an embarrassment to the city of Marino Valley. I haven't never been to the senior citizen center in the city of Paris or Riverside, but I would guess that their property is not an embarrassment to their community. I invite the city council people and you, the mayor, to come and see what we have

to deal with every day. You can't find a place to park. It's just ugly. We don't know when they're coming back to complete their work. And we're hoping that you all will do something about it and do something about it quickly because it's very uncomfortable for us. It's very inconvenient for us and um we get discouraged sometimes. people who can't find a place to park and they just leave. There's many wonderful activities there for us and we get to, you know, be around other people. So, um, thank you for this time to share my concerns and I hope you'll come and see what we're dealing with. Thank you so much.

Thank you very much. And once public comment is concluded, we'll get a brief update from our city staff as well. Okay. Thank you.

The next two speakers are Omar Cobian followed by Seth Cox. Good evening, um, mayor, city council members, um, staff, residents of Mrnao Valley. My name is Omar Kobian, and I'm our representative of the Western Station Regional Council Carpenter standing before you uh, representing 5,500 carpenters that live in Riverside County and over half a million that live in the US. It is estimated that construction tax fraud cheats our communities of out of billions of dollars nationwide in tax revenue every year. That is funding that's lost for our schools, infrastructure, veterans, homeless housing, uh, and other essential public programs that our residents rely on. Riverside County Local 951 along with the United Brotherhood of Carpenters participating in a national day of action to bring awareness to this issue. This movement is driven by widespread outrage over the growing problem in the construction industry. These fraudulent practices include mclassification of workers as independent contractors, paying workers off the books in cash, the use of labor brokers. In many cases, general contractors pays a shell company for labor. That money is then funneled through check cashing operations where fees are taken out from the labor broker and workers are paid in cash completely off the books. As a result, these bad actors avoid paying their fair share of payroll taxes, undercutting responsible contractors and robbing of our communities of critical revenue. At the at this same time, workers are the ones who suffer the most with increased fear surrounding immigration enforcement. Exploitation has always has only intensified. Many undocumented workers are coerced into these illegal systems, often out of fear of deportation. They are left without basic protections like workers compensation if they are injured on the job and in some cases

they're even charged for illegal fees as forced to uh into substandard living conditions. In closing, this is not just about labor issues. This is a community issue. Honest contractors are being pushed out. Workers are being exploited and taxpayers are left to carry the burden. We ask this city council to stand with workers and responsible uh businesses by supporting efforts that promote accountability, enforcing existing laws, and protect vital public funding. I would like to note that Mr has been one of the great cities to do such things as uh what just passed a subcontractor transparency ordinance creating more light on these type of bad actors. So, I I thank the council for adopting that. Together, we can ensure level playing fields, protect our workforce, and reinvest in the communities we all serve. Thank you for your time and consideration. The next speaker is Seth Cox. Evening, council, staff, audience. Um, well, Fred slew some of my thunder. I was going to wish somebody happy birthday. Of course, they're not here. They're celebrating their 21st birthday. So, um, happy birthday. Pass it on to the birthday girl. Um, I'm up here early with some thanks tonight. Um, it was, uh, some trying times over the last, let's say, a month and a half or so with our little mall debacle. Uh, so I want to thank the council, the staff for all of their hard work. Um, I think it's was solved about as good as it could at the time. Um, but I will forewarn you, I'm sure I will come up here with some questions later

on in the months when we'll just say the numbers come out in the books. Okay. Uh, but with that, I will save anything else to my item later on the council. Thank you. The next speaker is Louise Palomares. Luis Palmar, community activist. Wow. I always support our our uh unions. Really? Really. Okay. Saying all that uh we're talking about taxes, tax fraud, and all that they're bringing up. Well, you know, our tax dollars here in Marino Valley have paid the $2 million lawsuit that we had to pay off for this mayor. $2 million. Those are our tax dollars. Staff, these are our tax dollars at work. Also, whatever it cost to defend him as far as our uh lawyer here, uh it cost us close to 40,000 to defend him in court on a restraining order that went nowhere. and the judge cited for the city. So the people, the Thomas' sued back and won $2 million of our tax money. What could we have done with the $2 million? I could imagine, you know, I the money they use and we could do so much in our community and our city with that money. And as far as jobs, you know, we're going to create jobs. Bring them on. Come on, Mr. Carrera. Bring the jobs. We sent Hillwood away. Hillwood, they're in Meny now. $60 million. We would have never had to put another building, a warehouse out there by where the car dealerships are. They were going to do everything. They were going to give $60 million. I don't know if these people know that. They could have probably had some of

those jobs. They were going to build some uh a a youth center. They were going to build some soccer fields. And they were even going to water and mow the grass. That company went to Hillwood. This council send it away. Alenabaka Santa Cruz didn't. But the other councils, the other council members send it away. Why? You know, if they never bring another building here on the east side, I really don't care. That building could have paid for four four buildings like if they were there because all the money, all the revenue. So that what does that say to the developers? I know we got some stuff coming over the horizon, but still, wow. It's a sad day in Marino Valley that it has to be like this lawsuit. And another thing, I'll say it. I got a little time. I want to send out a shout out to my daughter-in-law. Today's her birthday. I think she's 53. This was my son's uh wife. He passed in June of last year. So, I want to send her a shout out. And um u wow, let's let's say something about the veterans that got killed in the uh Middle East. We got to salute them and remember them. This is sad that we're in a war that we have no business in at all. At all. We really, really don't. For Israel, give me a break. Thank you,

Mayor. That concludes all the public comments on items not.

Just barely made it before the bell. Uh, give us one second so we can restart the time there. Got it. Okay, go right ahead.

So, I was recently at the organizing meeting for the Marino Valley Paris Democrats. Very interesting thing was said. Our mayor was one of the keynote speakers. He stepped up to the plate and said, "We are the resistance to those who speak American." I was kind of surprised at that myself that a political person in California in the United States of America would make such a statement. But I think you can see where it comes from. As the previous speaker, Hurricane Louise said, somebody who's cost us $2 million, who's ignored the law on the October surprise with his buddy David Marquez, and went and done an illegal act when he was told not to by our legal team, our former city clerk, and the list goes on. We even have the incident that happened at the end of the last meeting where he just decides arbitrarily he's not going to allow public comments on items on the agenda. Go read rule 242 and quit shaking your head and stand next to me and deny all this stuff. We'll go through the tapes. You said in consultation with the attorney, I'm not taking comments. You didn't you didn't consult with him first because we went through that over here when you started this crap and you started you ran your intimidation

tactics through the staff to try to get me not to talk or anyone else. Go read 242 and then the rest of you council read 5.7. The majority of the council is supposed to check and balance the presiding officer. You should have called him on it where you did not provide any new information or the city attorney said x, y, and z. You just made arbitrary decision. You're going to cut off public comments. It's the way I read it. We, you know, this is called a pattern of conduct. Any one of these incidents you could explain away when you start putting them in the totality. Every one of you that supports Ulysus Cabrera again he said we are the resistance to those who speak American. I want that to sink in with everyone as we move forward. The next speaker is Steve Miller.

Good evening, Mayor, City Council. I had an opportunity to come before you and speak uh couple weeks ago when we had a terrible disaster occur and uh I had a great opportunity to be able to come and lend a hand and I'm wanted to report on that and I I think it's important that we do that again. My name is Steve Miller, but don't ask me to sing my voice ain't going to do it. You'll leave. My daughter shuts me down in church. It's so bad. I have 55 years in the fire service from Cal Fire to Orange County Fire, an explorer scout to a fire captain inspector and I love my job. I love making people safe and I have to commend your fire department on the great job they did. They had the guts to take action on something that was absolutely necessary. And I'm going to explain why in just a sec. As a private contractor, I've sat on both side of the table. I've been as contractor doing fire sprinkler inspections and making sure places are safe. Legoland, Disneyland, Folsam Prison, John Wayne Airport. I got to see them all. It's really cool under Disneyland, by the way, when you get a chance to see it. But the uh I was hired by the mall management came in on a Sunday and said, "Hey, we got a problem. Can you help us?" I got in. I'm a get or done guy. I just let's team up, get the tools and the people in place. and it worked and we got it done. It wouldn't have gotten done without the help of the city manager, the building department, and the people that you have here in the city. I've had the opportunity to make work with uh city officials from uh Mexico, the Philippines here, and you got a great team. A great team. The uh team I created involved the mall ownership, the mall management, the fire department, building department, and specialty contractors. Your fire department acknowledged that

the unsafe situation at the mall had been going on for 10 years. Not to Chief Parks or not because of Chief Parks not doing his job, but because they were trying to maintain 5,000 jobs. And it had to hurt for him to say, "Hey, I I got to let we got to cut it here and you can't work." And that's tough. Um, I spent 10 days and nights at the mall sleeping in the office because I I'm I'm don't like the fact that the alarms had issued. The fire doors weren't arrived. So, anyway, we got it done. I'm proud to say that today we completed absolutely every pair on the list, including the final door, which uh Inspector Gonzalez, the fire marshall, is going to come by tomorrow and sign it off. So, that stuff's done. the uh old adage if it ain't broke don't fix it not doesn't apply to fire and life safety. We really have to take a proactive look as he has done. Alan Brunesini I'm sure the chief's familiar with from um Phoenix the late Alan Bruce Brunini said thing that we do the right thing for the right reason.

Thank you Mr. Miller. Thank you. I appreciate it. You too. So, thank you, mayor. That concludes all the public comments for items not on tonight's agenda.

Thank you to all of our public speakers. And at this time, we'll go ahead and bring it back up to the deis. We will move into item J, which is the joint consent calendars. Before I open the consent calendar for public comment, I will look to my fellow council members to see if there are any items that they wish to remove from the consent calendar for any separate action. I do have one item, I'd like to pull J15 for questions, comments, and separate action, please. And seeing as there are no further requests from the council. Well, actually, yes. Before we continue, um I believe staff would like to make a comment. Just going back to public comments, so I'll go ahead and turn it back to staff.

Yes, sir. Thank you. Um normally we don't comment, but uh I just want to thank Steve Miller. uh what he said is true. Uh if it wasn't for him and his coming in and assisting, I don't think that we would have gotten them all open on time and I want to thank him for his professionalism. Thank you, Chief. Um and mayor, Mayor Prom, council members, uh I do believe, uh when there was a speaker that was discussing the senior center, um that um the mayor presiding officer mentioned that we would give an update. So, I'll turn it over to uh Jeremy Buckmanick, who is the parks and community services director.

Actually, I'm going to take that one since it's construction. So, um just so you know, we the obviously the contractors on board, we're expecting construction to start back up in April. Uh and actually the weed cleanup is scheduled for tomorrow. So, thank you very much for the updates. Really appreciate that. And so we'll go ahead and go back to where we left off, which was uh going through item J. And I'll go ahead and look to our city clerk. Madame clerk, are there any request to speak on the consent calendar excluding uh J15, which is pulled for a separate action?

We do not, mayor. Luis Palomares William Palomar's committee activist. Well, J7 the discretionary fund. Are you going to give a report how the council members spend this money? We the people want to know. I don't know if you're going to do that besides what's in this right here. Can you explain a little bit of it cuz I know I believe the mayor gets 10,000. I don't know if it's through the year or but can we find out what where this money is going and how they're spending it? Can the staff uh report on that? Are they going to do that today or they're just Okay, that's all I want to say because we want to know where's the money. Thank you. Follow it.

Um, mayor, mayor prom, council members, um, I can't remember the exact uh, policy number, but I do believe uh, the mayor's discretionary is 6,000 and all of the other council members discretionary is 3,000. Uh the item before um uh that is part of the packet tonight has all of the um detailed uh expenditures as to how the money was spent uh through I believe it was January 31st of this particular uh year. So the entire fiscal month or fiscal year has been denoted in each of their respective districts. Um and there's a schedule for each uh particular council member including the mayor. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. City Manager. Yes. So, Miss Palmarez, if you would like to see that information, as the city manager mentioned, it's in the agenda packet. If you'd like to open up the attachments there, you could see all of those numbers for the entire council. Uh, thank you for that, Mr. City Manager. So, Madame Clerk, do we have any further public comment on the consent calendar? No, mayor.

Thank you, Madam Clerk. So with that we will go ahead and uh move into the consent calendar with the exception of J15 which will be taken separately and I will look to my colleagues to see if there are any questions, comments. If not, we can entertain a motion and a second to approve the consent calendar with the exception of J15. Motion to approve. That motion. There's a motion and a second. Madam clerk, please call for the vote. Thank you, Mayor. Council member Delgado. Yes. Council member Box Santa Cruz. Yes. Mayor Prom Gonzalez. Yes. And Mayor Cabera. Yes. Thank you.

Thank you. Next we will take up J15. And J15 is award an agreement for professional consultant architectural and engineering design services for the Marina Valley public safety campus project number 80030072. And if we could start off with a staff report. Uh, it looks like that might be for public works. So, at this time, I'll go ahead and turn it over to our staff. Yes. Thank you, uh, mayor, member Tim, council members. Um, public works, Melissa Walker, uh, director of public works, will provide a presentation and then, uh, we'll defer to, uh, the fire chief and then I will follow up the presentation. Thank you.

All right. Good evening, honorable mayor, Mayor Prom, and council members. The item before you this evening is to authorize an agreement for professional consultant services to Steinberg Hart to provide architectural and engineering design services for the Marino Valley Public Safety Campus. The the city council's May 6, 2025 adoption of the fiscal year 2025, 26, and 2627 operating budget includes expanding staffing and equipment for the fire and police departments along with a new public safety facility on the city's east end, reflecting the direct link between the city the between Marino Valley's population growth and rising calls for service. This investment aligns with voter direction from November 5th, 2024 when residents provided measure approved measure U, which explicitly prioritizes maintaining public safety service levels, ensuring the city can continue meeting increasing community needs. The proposed Marino Valley Public Safety Campus will be located at the east end of the city. This new campus will address the needs of the city's growing residential and business community. The facility is designed to meet current service demands while accommodating future development and projected population growth with particular emphasis on the expanding east on the expanding east end of the city. The project includes the construction of a new fire station and police station as a joint use public safety facility supporting both fire protection and law enforcement operations. The project also includes improvements to site access, on-site circulation, utility infrastructure, emergency vehicle accommodations, and associated street and frontage enhancements to support safe and efficient operations. In addition, the city council adopted

the 2-year operating budget for fiscal year 20 526 26 27, which includes equipment and personnel increases for both fire and police departments. As a result, expansion of the public safety facilities is necessary to support these operational enhancements. On January 16th, 2026, staff advertised a request for proposals to retain a consultant to provide architectural and engineering design services for the Marina Valley Public Safety Campus. In response to the advertisement, 11 proposals were received on February 16th, 2026. Staff carefully reviewed the repo the proposals and ranked them based on various criteria including firm experience qualifications of the proposed key personnel and demonstrated understanding of the project's needs. Following the evaluation process staff recommends awarding the design services agreement to Steyberg Hart as they were determined to be the most qualified firm to complete the requested services. The cons the consultant's scope of work includes preparing the full design construction plans and bid package, completing environmental clearance and permitting, providing technical support during the bidding phase and throughout construction, and performing other design related tasks necessary to complete the project. The contract with Steyberg Hart is $4,319,611. And now I'd like to turn it over to Chief Parks.

Thank you. Yes, Melissa is absolutely right. She said it as as good as we could say it. Our expanding city uh needs increased police and fire capability on the east side to meet those acceptable response times and ensure our citizens and businesses are well protected. Having a joint use facility is both fiscally responsible but also helps strengthen our partnership with police and fire and it would become a huge benefit to the city. So, I'm happy to answer any questions, but now I'll turn it over to our city manager. Thank you.

Um, I know that uh East End has been mentioned a multitude of times, and so the actual property is going to be uh located at the end of Cactus uh Avenue um out on the east end. Um, and how this came about was uh that Highland Fairview um has uh dedicated the future police and fire developmental impact fees um for any residential development in the city have been earmarked for design and construction of a public safety uh campus uh which includes uh a 10,500 foot turnkey fire station and a 4,000 foot turnkey police station. Um although Highland Fairview has agreed to construct the uh public safety campus, they have represented that they would not be able to commence construction until the issuance of the occupancy permit for the 7,000th residential unit uh Highland Fairview has constructed in the city and they would not be able to complete construction until three years afterwards. The urgency and of immediately retaining uh an architect um is to expedite the construction of the public safety campus instead of waiting until three years uh after the 7,000th residential permit is um provided by the city and approved for occupi uh occupation. Um, for the record, however, this does not uh relieve Highland Fairview of its obligation to pay any additional police or fire development impact fees that exceed the design and construction costs associated with the public safety campus. So all we're doing is part of the adopted budget plan that was approved in May of 2025 by this body is accelerating the uh actual construction of this particular facility so that we can go ahead and um provide the addition services as uh as requested and approved by our voters uh related to

measure U. Also, as part of that um uh agreement for the public safety campus, uh the Highland Fairview is also uh providing and conveying uh ownership of a 100 foot uh tillerdrawn aerial apparatus, a TDA ladder truck, a type one fire engineer uh engine, and a paramedic fire squad. And so with all that, uh that concludes my convers or my comments, and I'm available for any conversation uh that we may have. Thank you very much staff. I appreciate the staff report there and we'll go ahead and bring it back up to the deis for council questions of staff before going to public comment only on this item and then we will bring it back for council deliberation if desired. Um so I I do have a few questions but I'll look to my colleagues to see if there are any other questions.

I have a question. Uh this is more directed to the city manager. So if if Highland February were to hypothetical come in and and propose something other than Aquabella, would this component of of the public safety campus be part of that new development proposal? Would it what what I'm trying to say is is this is it tied is it tied to whatever is being proposed out there in perpetuity, I guess. No, it's not tied. Um, I'll have the city attorney.

Highland Fair View recorded a covenant that binds them. So, it's not necessarily an agreement we have with them. They just recorded that covenant. And so, it's now binding upon them. So, if they come back and ask for a change on the Aquabella entitlements, that covenant is still there. And the covenant is actually recorded against the parcel um providing the 14 acres u as required per this particular uh covenant and um this campus. And and one more followup. So it will always be tied to that 7,000 permit. Yes. And

that's for any residential project developed by Highland Fairview within the city. only by Hen Ferby though and they're subsidiaries. Thank you. Keep keeping in mind that every time they come and develop a project in town, they create a subsidiary. Um and so that's all captured in this covenant and it's only residential.

Residential. Correct. I have one clarifying question, Brian, uh or Steve, whomever. But so basically what I'm hearing is we could wait until the 7,000th residential uh place is done or we could expedite it. And when that expedite it, it gets done. Our ladder, our police, our fire get to the uh east end. Um, and then when that 7,000th residential place is done, Highland Fairview pays us because it's already there. It's existing now. It would be existing or we could wait until that 7,000th uh resident residential uh domain is built and we would have lost this many years of public safety on the east end because the east end is not it's it's growing. So, is am I right? Like we're just expediting the inevitable of getting a public safety center out on the east end.

Yes, that is correct. I would state that it's not only the 7,000th permit, but it's three years after the 7,000th permit is when it is um uh based on the covenant is based uh on when construction should be completed. I will also like to remind um all of council that this particular body as part of the um May approval of the adopted budget approved a $25 million budget with a very specific plan for measure U. Um, and it was all predicated off of a uh public safety campus occurring on the east end because that is basically what is holding up the 18 additional uh deputies uh the six additional motos um the uh four addition uh additional medic squads/ patrols and the 24 uh firefighter paramedics that go with those patrols. uh along with other uh public safety um uh initiatives as well.

And and so just to piggyback off of Council Member Gonzalez or Mayor Prom Gonzalez's statement or question regarding Highland Fairview, there's absolutely no way he can get off the hook on this as far as um or him or his subsidiaries, right? It's it's a done deal. And what we're doing is we're thinking ahead and um guys, take your phones away from your mics, please and and just expediting the process and and putting a bond up front, getting it done, and then waiting for uh I mean, years. It could take however long that 7,000th uh resident gets done and then three years after that. So, years. And we're just trying to expedite it to get that public safety done.

That is correct. in talking with the city attorney um about if there is any plausible scenario situation case that um the developer would be able to get out of this um and there would not be because the covenant is actually recorded uh on the property itself. Um thank you.

And just a few follow-up questions on that. Thank you for that. a few of the questions that I was going to ask, but um to follow up on on the questions from council member Delgado and and the covenant specifically. So, I just want to clarify the covenant is recorded against the property, not necessarily Highland Fairview. So if what happens if Highland Fairview were to sell the property to a new owner,

the uh Highland Fair View uh being the owner along with um any of their uh HF properties, a California general partnership and any of their subsidiaries or assigned would still be responsible for uh the commitment uh that was provided in the covenant. Even if they even if Highland Fairview sold the property, yes, Highland Fairview would still be obligated to fulfill that that clause or that language in the covenant.

Yes. Because the covenant is only recorded against the property, but the covenant is actually with uh Highland Fairview and all of its subsidiaries and all of its assigns. And so uh the reason why it was recorded against the property is so that it gave us site uh control so that we could potentially go through uh these particular uh scenarios like we are having here um in trying to um bring this to you based on what we heard from uh both of the chiefs as we are going through the budget process that they need that particular facility now and so that's why it was recorded against this particular parcel. And Brian, just a follow-up question. And what if Highland Fairview went belly up, cease to exist?

I mean, those are hypotheticals that um I can't um even even fathom. All I'm doing is bringing forward uh how um the residents asked measure U to be um spent and we're bringing forward a facility that our uh chiefs are saying is needed based on current capacities. I can't hire 18 uh deputies. I can't bring in those patrols because we're already heaging uh at the seams uh on the public safety building here just to the west of us. Um, so this was all discussed during the uh the budget process to bring this forward and if they never if they never cease to exist in the future, we have at least spent measure U in the form in the manner in which the voters intended it.

Thank you. And another follow-up question on that. Um, what what if Highland Fairview never builds the 7,000 7,000th unit or never pulls a 7,000 7,000th, excuse me. um occupancy permit because that that's it sounds like that's the only real trigger uh where you know they would have to pay up.

Well then I I at that point you're never getting um Aquabella. I mean that's a 15,000 residential unit um uh development and so um those are hypotheticals that I can't um fathom uh into the future. I have two chiefs that are telling me they need this particular facility now. It will take three years to four years to construct it. It takes three years to order an engine. It takes four years to order a truck uh for it to be delivered. We are making decisions predicated on how the voters approved measure U and the spending plan that was approved by this body in May of 2025.

Yeah, thank you. I just I guess I would go back, you know, just previously because the most recent Aquabella approval and actually before I even go there, I just want to say clearly that I fully support both our fire chief and our police chief. We know that we need this. You go back, at least my voting record, I've always voted to fund police and fire every single vote since I first got on council. So, I just fully I fully support we need this. We need it. My questions are just related to, you know, the use of taxpayer funds and how it'll be paid for and and and making sure we use taxpayer dollars uh the the best way possible, as responsible as possible. So, prior to the Aquabella, the current Aquabella approval uh that is now entitled and approved, there was a previous Aquabella approval, I believe it was also called Aquabella. And could you provide some context on when that previous one was approved? And I mean, it never got built. So, could you provide some context on when that one was approved? Many years ago.

Yeah, I that predates me, so I'm not quite sure exactly when that was approved. All um I could state this that um when the development uh came to uh my uh predecessor's uh attention um there was some changes needed it it uh then uh enabled him to negotiate this particular covenant um as well as uh a development agreement and so forth related to Aquabella um and uh so that was um all of that was approved um by this body um and set forth in what is currently the Aquabella specific plan um that is currently approved for the 15,000 units along with the lakes and about 100 acres worth of parks um parkland and uh that's when this covenant was um uh negotiated by my predecessor.

Yeah, I think please fact check me on this but I believe it's 2005 when the previous Aquabella was approved and so almost 20 years that nothing got built. They did some grading, you know, on the the dirt, but they never actually put any sticks uh vertical. So, that's why I ask, you know, and there's no way for us to know. It's hypothetical, right, the question. So, I I don't expect you to give us a, you know, how many years out and will they ever hit hit that 7,000th, but if the previous Aquabella approval lasted almost 20 years and no sticks went vertical, um I'm just going based off of, you know, former approvals. And in that sense, I think it gives us a slightly clear picture of what to expect. Hopefully hopefully they do build it, but we're hoping here. It's fully on the developer uh to to move forward and build it. And so um that's that's why I asked these questions uh about how it'll be paid for and how it will be funded. So the to make sure we're understanding correctly um what are Highlands Fairview's obligations to pay for the entirety of the facility ultimately? Are they responsible for the entire to cover the entire cost of architectural design, engineering, construction, etc.?

Yes.

Sorry, my bad. I just uh turned off my mic. Uh they are um required to provide a turnkey facility. Uh uh based on my prior comment, 10,500 acres for a fire station, 4 thou sorry 10,500 square f feet for a fire station and 4,000 square feet for a police station along with the apparatuses that I stated. And that would be turnkey, meaning that all of the costs that we're coming before you, uh, which would be the design and engineering just to see what the, uh, facility potentially is going to look like based on the needs assessment of the chiefs and what that would cost. Then we would be coming back um later this particular year uh to um do a bond uh to be able to do the uh construction over the next three years. And um because bond proceeds have to be spent um uh 80% or so have to be spent within 3 years. So th that's the whole lot of all of the items that are going to be coming before you would be in inclusive um based on this covenant and the requirement of Highland Fairview.

Got it. I have one or two more but I think council member box Cruz also has a question. I think you may have answered it. Okay. If Highland Fairview is to pay for it and you said that the taxpayers just approved to pay for it, what happens when Highland Fairview pays for it and the money comes back in? So um when all the metrics that we've already discussed um and the payment occurs from Highland Fairview, it would go back into the measure U fund to be spent in a manner uh that is consistent with the ballot language and uh the manner in which um in the intent in which the voters approved. Thank you.

Yeah. Um, so I I guess is is there the possibility I think I answered my own question. There is, but is there the possibility that that 7,000th occupancy permit never happens and the taxpayers via a bond and the measure U funds that they're already contributing uh paying that the taxpayers will fully be um on the hook as opposed to being reimbured and made whole by Highland Fairview.

They will be fully on the hook if if not paid back by um Highland Fairview. But the um manner and intent in which this money would be spent is consistent with the ballot language and the voter intent of measure U. And not only that, they get the um uh initiative and the additional uh deputies and fire patrols um and the facility that will provide um the ability for fire and police to operate Marino Valley well into uh GP 240. And that would be our buildout. And so this is um uh what the chiefs are requiring now um knowing that this is still 3 to four years uh away. And therefore, um, I would not have brought this item before you if it wasn't in a manner and that was consistent with the voter approval of measure U and, uh, the fact that I think that, uh, this is, uh, the best way to spend the funds and that's why I, I brought this to you guys as part of the adopted budget in a detailed plan that was approved by this body.

Yeah. And then two more questions. So since the bond was mentioned, right? So I think measure U would be maybe the primary or secondary uh source of funding to pay for the construction and etc. But the bond, so that technically would that be a separate component of this? And how would that be paid for? Would that be, you know, would that come from the city's general fund? How would the bond be paid for?

So the bond would uh um be brought before you um later this year uh for approval. And what we would be doing is basically uh the facility that would be built um would be um collateralized against the bond and the debt service would be paid through measure U. Okay. So they would be paid for from our this taxpayers dollars. Thank you. And then the last question, um, would it be possible, I don't know if it's appropriate or we don't have to do it now, but if we could at least ask Highland Fairview if they would be willing to entertain, um, exploring, uh, maybe a renegotiation or looking at uh, restructuring the reimbursement uh, process so that we, the taxpayers, I should say, the taxpayers of Marina Valley at least, uh, get reimbursed for some, not all of it because we have to get it built, but this way at least there's some kind of guarantee that the taxpayers will get something back as opposed to possibly not ever getting anything.

Um, I guess we could always do that, but this particular agreement was just um uh uh inked um and and finalized at the end of 2024 by my predecessor. So, it's fairly new from Highland Fairview's perspective. Again, I I I still state that the use of these bonds at this particular point in time, forget Highland Fairview, I would still be coming to you with the use of measure U funds to build this facility regardless of whether or not this covenant uh uh was in existence.

Yeah, thank you. I guess just my concern and I'll speak more during the comments is or deliberation is that just the possibility that the taxpayers are never made whole and I I I think we owe the public the responsibility as elected officials and stewards of their taxpayer dollars to as much as possible number one ask this these questions out in the open and number two do everything we possibly can to guarantee that the taxpayers are made whole and that no developer whether it's Highland Fairview or any other developer um has any you know loophole or opport opportunity to circumvent their obligations. That's the last thing any of us want to see. And I fully agree that we need to build these public safety facilities. It's just a question of ensuring the funding and ensuring that taxpayers are not left on the hook uh because a developer found a way around their obligations. So, I'll just conclude my my comments, my questions on that and uh look to my colleagues to see if there are any other questions before we move into public comment. Okay, seeing no further questions, Madam Clerk, do we have any request to speak on this item?

We do, mayor. Thank you. Seth Cox, followed by Roy Blackard, followed by Christopher Baka. Evening again. Um, this one might not be as nice as the first one. Um, thank you for the clarifications and it's still muddy water. Okay. Um, I've always said up here words matter being correct. I would just like to point out the location of this in the documentation says it is on the norththeast corner of Cactus and Merwin. How many people's lived in the city longer than I have? There is no Mwin that intersects Cactus. It's an empty field. All right. So, are you going to build out Irwin Merwin from Cactus to where it ends in the middle of the field from the north end or you just going to build it out a thousand feet so you can build? And again, I'm all for the building, okay? But the infrastructure is not out there one iota. Okay? There's nothing. There's no power. There's no water. There's nothing. So again, words matter. We need to be accurate when we put the I actually had to drive out there and look at where it was supposed to be. There is no there is no Merwin. So please refer to by the plot plan or some other thing until Merwin is built out. Um I I think I understand the process that has to go through. Um but I do have and we do have a representative well not a representative a person that is involved

with this from the construction here. Uh it is a very good proposal. All right. Pretty in-depth. I would help ask everyone to look for things that are being excluded and exempted from it. Okay, in today's environment, uh, in the high-tech world, some of the things that are being excluded should be included. Okay, EV stuff, you know, the more technology we have, the better they can do their jobs. That's just one of the things, but there is a litany of things in that proposal that are exempted and excluded. Wow, I'm running out of time. Um, if you believe Aquabella is going to happen, you better get a new job. Um, in 204 2024 when Mr. Bizi came up here, he said Aquabella would not be finished until 2040. All right. We can't wait. We can't wait on him. We can't wait on Aabella. It needs to be done. So I, you know, we the citizens will have to pay for it and hope it comes back to us. All right, that's just I would question some dates uh on this. He's got they got very good charts in there. One of them adds up to about 330 weeks.

Thank you.

Next two speakers are Roy Blackard followed by Christopher Baka. So to put some context in this 2004, Marino Valley utility and the utility tax that was promised for public safety and we would not be here with all of this stuff and the new tax increase. What I'm saying and I get we need new facilities and public safety and that but build it on a on a process that is sustainable which you have proven in 20 years you have not been able to do because we you're saying we had to pass this new tax increase what's going to happen in 2030 20 240 down the road as Pete said drive beyond the hood ornament or you're going to crash You should be creating an environment where developers and people are moving into this community like they used to when we were number one in education and economic uh demographics. December 3rd, 1984. Now we're down at the bottom and people don't come. So I question the sustainability of this from all these factors and many more I don't have to get into that I cannot get into in the time allotted but you're putting a deal that's on that's subject to failure and then what are we going to do just with the the deal my question would be if we do all this bond interest if I was highland fair you I'd say I'm not paying that I didn't agree to that and that can be almost as much as the bond. A lot of these questions need to be rolled out and again if I was high in Fairview or any any

developer coming in here why would you based on what happens up on this day is Hillwood out $60 million get the hell out of here. We can go on and on again. Put us on the path. There would this would not be any discussion and we can you can bring up the personalities or try to execute people publicly like what's going on here. Or you can start putting in the policies and start working with people to make this community stand on its own and be a shining model like it used to be, not the laughing stock it has become. Because if we weren't, we wouldn't be talking about this. We wouldn't be jacking up the taxes even more. Promises would not be broken. Let's get some honesty in this stuff. Then we maybe will not be here. But again, maybe I'm over optimistic that we can actually get our act together. The next two speakers are Christopher Baka, followed by Luis Palomares.

The guy did everything to avoid and deflect the questions about Highland Fairy. What a shame. It's obvious. It's obvious this man, Mr. Mohan is a shill for a shill for M for Highland Fairvy, Mr. Benzei, his master. It's obvious there's so many things that can be done. You can put leans on that property as far as uh what you're what what you're spending on for this that is that he's entitled to pay for. There's a lot of things he uh you can do, but he says there isn't. What the heck is a city paying him half a million dollars for if he's allowing the city to get screwed over? What's the point of having him here? Like he said to me, "Get him out of here. Get him out of here. He's useless. He is screwing the city over and you are sitting there allowing this to happen." I commend you two guys for finally standing up to something. It's a sh the whole thing's a scam with Highland Fairview. You should know that. You should know that. It's ridiculous. And it'll continue and he's going to get away with it. And just like he said, he's just he's going to you're going to have an improved development and he's going to skip town and the taxpayer and those funds are going to be paid by the city and not him. There's a lot of things he can do. Lean it. He tried to pull this BS in um um Imperial County. His developments, they told him, "Okay, you're paying thousands of dollars a month until you break ground. And once you break ground, whatever it is, you're there's fines there if it doesn't happen. This city is not doing that. This manager isn't doing that. He's useless and he's costing the city

again. Get him out of here." The next speaker is Luis Palomares. Louise, I'm tired. Luis Polyar's community activist. You know, all of this with this that golly, half of it I don't even get. But oh well. Unless I read the big book over there and I might. Okay, saying all that. As far as our police and fire, this should have happened yesterday. Why do we got to be waiting on everybody and everything? It might not never happen. So, we're going to never have what we need for our police and for our fire. You know, they put their lives on the line every day for us. They're our heroes. Why should they have to wait another 40 years, 10 years later? Why? Why? We should make it happen with this council. put brainstorm with this staff and see what we can make happen sooner than later because we got a lot of building out there going on and we need more police and fire out there. And as far as uh I'll go down this road, you know, with that $60 million Hillwood took to Meny, we could have did this. We could have had a police. We could have had more engines. We could have had more things going on for the fire department. I remember back in the day the fire department that's on Morrison my granddaughter it must been like 12 years I think uh Owens was uh mayor there but she came in here cuz they were going to take close it down I believe maybe I'm wrong or an engine away or something was going she came and spoke about you know what we needed don't let that go away cuz I live down the street and when I had an asthma attack they were there in a minute and saved me you know so we need that fire station there and it's still there and she came and talked about it with a

whole room full of people. She even got a standing ovation. Tom uh oh Tom God, I can't remember his name. Not the mayor, Tom Gerald. He was he was excited about she did a real good job. Only 12 years old. So the station stood open. Great. And we need more for our fire. We need more for our police. What are we going to wait 40 years? Are we going to stay in the desert 40 years later? Let's make it this happen within our community, our city. We did that tax, the penny. Figure it out. Quit giving yourselves all these payraises and spending so much money. You're supposed to be friskidly sound. We're a lot of Republicans on this up here and there. So, spend our money, right? Come on, let's do it right. So, saying all that and I remember back in the day, Cabrera, he was marching with defund the police. Oh, the police is now. But it was defund the police and he was all on board with K9 Corey. Tell me no, you were on board with K9 Corey. We came and spoke about keep our canines. We need them. The community came, the activists came and said, "Please don't do get rid of our K9." But you were on that bandwagon, too, Cabra. So now, while it's good, you you flipped, you changed it up. Hey, proud of you for that one. Thank you,

Mayor. That concludes all of public comments on this item. Thank you very much, Madam Clerk, and thank you to all of our public speakers. Uh, at this time, we'll bring it back to the deis for council deliberation. Would any of my colleagues like to make any comments? Council member Delgado.

Yeah, thank you, Mr. Mayor, and thank you for all the comments. Um, to me this is a win-win for the city. And I I say that because I too truly believe that if a developer, no matter who it is, puts a contract together and they have an agreement with the city, they should not be left off or let off the hook for for whatever reason, 100% 1 billion%. However, we have a plan and that plan is to bring public safety to the east end and that's a great plan. So, say for instance, this never even uh was a proposal that a developer decided to do this. They threw in this public safety building with with with the uh the project that never occurred. I would still be very proud of what we have in this public safety um center. I I would honestly, if you look at everything that we're going to get um okay, we're not getting reimbursed. We that that never even happened. I would still be honored to be part of the decision makers that brought that public safety building or that public safety center to the east end of Marina Valley. We're only getting larger, we're expanding. Um, so, but when I say win-win, it's a win-win because no matter what, if he builds 7,000, we get our our money back. If he sells the land, we get our money back. Say for instance he doesn't we still have a public safety uh center that all the residents in Marino Valley were subject to uh benefit from okay we'll deal with the the legal aspect or the um the the the deal we'll deal with that later but uh the people in on the east end have public safety now that which they never had before we have to respond

from I mean sheriff's department anyways have to respond from this location all the way to Redlands Boulevard WLC to to an infant in a pool or AMR or fire. So I I think it's a win-win and I agree 1 billion% that no developer should be off the hook of any commitment that they've made with this city. So, um I'm I'm very very proud that uh this is coming to us and yes, it is measure U money upfront and that's what we um voted for. So, council member Baka Santa Cruz

we we passed measure M. Is it M?

U was M was the other one, right? We passed pass passed measure U with the intent of bringing a public safety campus. We all walk talk um knock on doors and talk to voters and that is the number one priority public safety. We hear you at the podium um come in and say you know I don't feel safe um asking for more patrols asking for um quicker response times. So whether or not we have money coming later and 7,000 homes are here more, this is needed right now. And I fully support bringing a public safety campus to the east end. This would help all of the fire stations and the police station across the city because there'll be more um officers. There'll be more locations for them to be housed and so we'll be able to increase the boots on the ground. And so whether or not later on we're able to add more, you know, if we have 7,000 more residents, well, great. We'll have the money to do it then. But right now, this is the correct move for right now. So I fully support J15 and um awarding this agreement.

Thank you, Mayor Pro Gonzalez.

I I also uh concur with my colleagues in partially. I I'm fully supportive of the public safety campus. District three is the, you know, the heart of of Rena Valley. It's growing. It's all the residential development and we do need a east public safety campus with fire and police there. I I don't think that's the the argument here specifically. Measure U funds. We voted for it. We can spend the money and build the campus. I think right now there's, you know, there's there's a sentiment in in the community regarding um holding developers accountable, making sure they honor their commitments, their agreements. So, I there's there's just something about this that, you know, Highland Fairview is so they say, right? They they did say at one point um that that the WLC was the gateway to America, right? They said that and we're 10 years later and we haven't seen the promises they've they they made publicly. So, u there's there's just something about this that doesn't make doesn't add up. But again, um do we need this? We do. But um there has to be some other way where we hold Highland Fairview accountable for participating in our public safety. That doesn't have to be until 2040. Yeah, and I want to actually I I agree and I want to commend our fire chief Park and our police chief uh Mack who's not here with us today, but um commend them for the work that they continue to do just at the last study session um a week ago uh to the day. We had a presentation about how the city and specifically their departments are making progress, right? Uh but you know while crime is going down which is a good thing because of the investments that we have made over the past several years all of that is great. Response

times are improving uh violent crime rates are going down. All of that is a good thing and the the trajectory continues to be that crime goes down and you know we're continuing to invest into fire and PD. Um there's no question there's no question that we support police and fire. That's without a doubt. I think the question is ensuring that we hold developers accountable to their obligations. Um, and again, I'm just going based off of the track record for Highland Fairview. And this is not a knock on them, honestly. Like, if it was another developer, I would be asking the same questions. It just happens to be Highland Fairview. Uh, World Logistics Center, 40 million square feet. To date, they've built two or maybe three million square feet if I'm being generous. For sure, 2 million square feet. Of the 40 million square feet, and that project was approved in 2017. It's now 2026. of the 40 million square feet, they've only built two million. And I'm not sure what the rest of the, you know, what the rest of the project looks like as far as construction and timelines. But just to put it into perspective, and then Aquabella originally approved back in 2004, 2005, almost 20 years, nothing got built. And now it feels almost like we're starting over again. So, like I I wouldn't be able to sleep at night if I didn't ask these questions and make sure that especially during a time where we're seeing the largest transfer of wealth from everyday Americans to the ultra rich and the billionaires, we're this is kind of doing that again. I hate to say it, where we're putting everyday Marino Valley residents on the hook to pay a bond and to continue using their measure U funds that they're paying taxes on every year to fund this public safety facility that we need. but they're basically covering the costs for the developer. And I disagree with that. The developer needs to pay their fair share. And um at the end of the day, a majority vote rules, but I at least uh can, you know, face the public and let you all know that I asked these hard questions and did everything I possibly could to ensure that um you know, taxpayers uh that we're using your taxpayer dollars as efficiently as

possible so that um it could also go toward education and and healthcare services and library services and so many other things that won't be paid for because they're going toward the public safety facility. that we need, right? That's no question. So, um I think, you know, um we'll we'll see ultimately where this goes, but I also nobody has mentioned yet that uh we're down a colleague today. District 4 is absent. Um would love to hear her perspective on this as well. I I don't know if she supports or or doesn't support it. We'll see. But, um would love for her also to have the opportunity to have a say and be able to cast a vote. So, I would just make a motion that we continue this item to our next council meeting. I

I have another comment if that's before we get to a vote. Sure.

Okay. So, I I am on the public safety subcommittee meeting and we did go through this with um council member Bernard and she was 100% supportive during that meeting. Obviously, she's not here for this vote. However, I will say that what what you guys are talking about is has nothing to do with public safety. What you guys are talking about is making sure you guys get the money back. So, you're going to tell a family member in on the east end that their their child their response times are lower are higher, excuse me, are higher. Um, a building is on fire, but they're coming they're coming from the West End, but we're going to get Ido's money. We're going to get Highland Fairview's money. So that that to me, right, what you guys are saying is all about getting the money back from the developer. It has nothing to do with public safety. So I I absolutely 100% um support this going forward. Um and I I was in the room with with council member Bernard sign. I'm not going to speak for her tonight because she's not here. But what I want everybody to understand is the money for measure U was was 70% of this community voted for for measure U and that was for public safety. We get this this public safety center over on the east end or whatever the the percentage was. Nonetheless,

it was a general tax. It was not specific for public safety. It was a general tax just to clarify. Okay. So, So my my point to this is we can't let we're gonna Okay, so fast forward. Okay, cool. This doesn't pass. Then something happens and we don't have services because we want to make sure a developer pays whereas we have a plan to make this happen for our residents of the city of Run Valley.

No. Yeah. I I think the only thing I would add is that it's not necessarily, you know, about not supporting public safety or not. We've already made that clear. It's about, you know, if if Highland Forever is truly committed to public safety, then I think they would be open to the conversation to, you know, put more money on the table. You know, put more money on the table up front as opposed to um basically forcing everyday Marino Valley residents to foot the full bill for building this facility. You're talking business. Again, I'm not talking business. I'm talking public safety. You're talking business. $2 million to but they are part of our community, right? They're a stakeholder, a very important stakeholder. So they say $2 million could have gone towards the public safety campus. Okay. So we had to pay for your lawsuit.

Let's go ahead and run on your motion. There's a motion on the floor before things get out of hand because bring it back to the subject at hand. There is a motion on the table on the floor to continue this item to our next regular council meeting when district 4 will be present. And I'm seeking a motion. A second on that motion. Second. Okay. There's a motion and a second. Thank you, Mayor. Madam Cler, please call for the vote. Council member Dogado, no. Council member Bakasana Cruz, no. Mayor Prom Gonzalez, yes. And Mayor Cabera, yes. Thank you.

So, that is a two- two vote, which means the motion does not pass. I motion. So well I mo that was to um postpone it, right? So now I could still motion to approve item um J15. We could entertain any motions now that that motion did not pass. Yeah, I just made a motion. That's the process. I'll second that. Council member Delgado, yes. Council member Baka Santa Cruz, absolutely. Mayor Prom Gonzalez, no. And Mayor Cabera, no. Thank you. So, it also is a two- two vote, which means the motion does not pass. So, yes, I'll look to staff just for clarification on procedure.

Mayor, I'll make this easy. Um, staff will bring this uh staffer staff report back on April 7th. Um um and it will come from my office and it will be agendaized on the consent calendar. Um and uh just as it was tonight. So, uh we'll bring this item before you on uh April 7th. Thank you very much, Mr. City. will suggest that we include some responses to the various questions that were asked tonight.

Yeah, that's a good idea for transparency. Thank you. Okay, with that being said, we will go ahead and move into the next item on our agenda which is K public hearings and we have K1 municipal code amendment and we will turn it over to community development for a staff report.

Thank you, mayor. Good evening, honorable mayor and members of the city council. Angelica Fulipo, community development director. This public hearing item is the winter 2026 omnibus municipal code amendment. The amendments revise and update three sections of the municipal code, specifically two within title 9, planning and zoning, and one within title 12 vehicles and traffic, which includes the mobile vending chapter. The purpose of the amendments are to comply with state law. The code updates clarify various entitlement processes and development standards related to accessory dwelling units and multif family residential development projects as well as the mobile vending chapter which establishes protections and enforcement rules for sidewalk vendors under the street vendor protection act SB 635 which limits how the city collects, uses, and discloses personal information from vendors. among other compliance within the act. The city council is being asked to approve staff's recommendation and this does conclude my presentation. I'm available for any questions you may have. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Director Angelica Frasto Lupo. Appreciate the staff report. We will bring it back to the days for any council questions of staff. Okay, seeing no questions, let's go ahead and open the hearing at this time. Madame clerk, do we have any request to speak? We do not. Mayor. Thank you, Madam Clerk. We will go ahead and close the public testimony portion and bring it back to the deis for any deliberation. If not, a motion and a second.

I'll motion to approve. Yes, there's a motion and a second. Madam clerk, please call for the vote. Thank you, mayor. Council member Delgado, yes, ma'am. Council member Baka Santa Cruz, yes. Mayor Prom Gonzalez, yes. And Mayor Cabera, yes. Thank you. Thank you. That passes. And next is K2, adoption of ordinance and resolution amending transportation uniform mitigation fee, also known as TU program and rates. And we'll turn it over to public works director Walker for a staff report.

Okay. Good evening, honorable mayor, mayor prom, and council members. The item before you this evening is to conduct a public hearing for the adoption of the transportation uniform mitigation fee ordinance and resolution for establishing construction cost index adjustments to the temp fee schedule. The proposed ordinance amends ordinance number 1019 to establish automatic construction cost index adjustments to the western Riverside County TU program. It also includes minor updates to the definitions portion of the ordinance number 1019 to clarify the definitions of residential units. The resolution will will establish the fee schedule for TUMF as indicated in the staff report. The city must update our ordinance and resolution to allow the Western Riverside Council of Governments to charge the updated fees to development after the effective date of July 1, 2026. That concludes my report. I'd be happy to answer any questions. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Director Walker. We'll bring it back up to the DAS for any council questions of staff. Seeing no questions, we will go ahead and open the public testimony hearing component at this time. Madam clerk, do we have any request to speak? We do not, mayor. Thank you very much. We'll close the public testimony and bring it back to the deis for any deliberation or a motion and a second. A motion to approve. I second the motion. There's a motion and a second. Madam clerk, please call for the vote. Thank you, mayor. Council member Delgado, yes. Council member Paka Santa Cruz, yes. Mayor Prom Gonzalez, yes.

And Mayor Cabera, yes. Thank you. Thank you. That motion passes. And next is item L, general business. We do have item L1, which is Library Commission annual report. Probably the most exciting item on our agenda this evening. Uh we're ending it off on a happy note here. Um uh thank you to our library commission for being here this evening. We you see our commissioner here, Mona Lisa Stalworth, uh who's been with the city, uh for many, many years now, serving our community along with uh some of her commissioner colleagues here as well. Um yeah, thank you so much for joining us here. So, at this time, we will go ahead and hand it over to uh Director Bubnik and the library commission.

Uh thank you, Mayor. Um yes, I have the pleasure tonight to introduce um a longtime champion of our library system, longtime library commissioner and our current chair of the library commission commission, uh Monolita Stalworth.

Thank you, mayor, council member. Thank you for the opportunity to present the library commission annual report. A lot of people think libraries are just a place to check out books, but not in Marino Valley. Here we serve we support early literacy, student success, workforce readiness, digital access, and connection across generations. During this reporting period, we centered our work on things that would remove barriers for families, which led to the elimination of overdue fines for our youngest readers, those zero to 17 year old. We advanced student access through the student success card initiative. And we continue our partnership with Marino Valley Unified School District. We refreshed and maintained 10 little free libraries throughout our neighborhood. And each one of us commissioners, there's 10. Some of us have lucky to have two free little libraries that we stock and maintain. And we take that very personal. We're out there every week making sure they're in good shape. They're stocked with books for the community. The commissioner also maintain a visual presence throughout the community, participating in civil and neighborhood events, strengthening outreach and connecting residents to library resources. Now, looking ahead, the projected opening of the Lakeshore Branch Library in 2027 also coincides with the library system 40th anniversary. This goes to show that we are investing

in equitable access across our city so that every neighborhood will have access to books. From the main library opening in 1987 to today three branches and going on for the trajectory of both stability and forward mo momentum. On behalf of the library commission, I would also like to take the time to acknowledge and thank the parks and community service department and it staff layers, our library leadership team, our council layers for their continued partnership and support in advancing library services throughout our cities. We are committed to ensuring our libraries are welcoming, accessible, and responsive to the everchanging, evolving needs of our residents. And again, it's my pleasure on behalf of all the commissioners. Thank you again.

Thank you very much. Let's give it up to our library commission. Mona, wait. Can we ask questions? There might be some questions here for you. Don't don't run away too quickly yet. Um, so let's go ahead and bring it back up to the deis for any council questions. I wanted you to touch on the zip books and the library of things.

Oh, the zip book are if you happen to look for a book, want a book, and it's not in our library, guess what? All you have to do is fill out a little form and it will be sent to the local library and you can check it out after you finish reading it. The rest of the city will be able to enjoy it also because it stays in our library and what we correct and the Amazon sends it directly to the reader and then the reader will bring it back to the library for inventory. And then the other is our library of things. Do you know some of the things that are in there?

Yeah. Thanks, Jen.

Yeah. Um and um and in addition to the zip books where any book in the world can be sent to um to you via Amazon to your home. We also have a library of things which is greatly expanding. Uh for example, we have things like a telescope. We have uh ukules. We have ukulele classes. Um we have events around the telescopes. So we have a number of items that you can check out like that that are experiential. We also have uh learning bags where you can get a bag that is on the ABCs or science. I had a bunch of children coming to my house uh for a family event and I checked out several of them and set out all the materials about animals and kind of made like a little petting zoo. So, we have uh a number of things that are that are far beyond. We also have a seed library where you can drop by our main library and you can check out um seeds. If you have harvested seeds in your garden, you can also share them with the community. So, we go much further beyond um books.

You want to talk about the park pass and the backpack?

Yes. Um also in addition, you can check out a parks pass to go to a California park, uh California state park. So times are very very tight financially and so the fact that your family can pick out a pass and you can if you can afford the gas you can go to Joshua Tree or what have you and so these are are things that that truly help. Um and then I did want to mention our programs. I was at toddler time last week and it was lit like there was dancing, there was singing. Uh the Cabrera children go to the event and so you know it's lit. Um and um the ABC123 program. I was at it at the mall recently and I was speaking to all the parents and I had multiple parents at the mall library 123 ABC who are not part of our community. They bring them um to our community along their commute to another city because they said that they have tried to go to other library programming either in the place where they work or their city and they found that we have a greater quality of learning. Um and so our events are are just extraordinary. We have adult um painting time and art time. We have a conversation hour every single week. and I've attended that and there were individuals who are first generation immigrant families and there were people speaking who their home language was about 12 different languages. So um they speak like Tagalan or other languages but they come together and they practice once a week speaking English and it helps them to communicate with their children. So, um, check out our programmings. We do books and more.

Absolutely. Thank you so much for everything you do as a commission and our, um, library staff as well. And thank you for coming and reporting tonight. Appreciate you. Yes. I don't have any questions, but I do have a comment. I want to thank you guys for providing a room, a nice cozy, cool in the summer and warm in the winter room for uh the Riverside County Tech on Wheels. Um yes, they are um they provide um

technical support for seniors or for anybody for that matter that maybe need they don't how to turn on their phone or open a computer or something like that. But um you guys allowed them to come into your your library and use that space. Um obviously when they when they let you know, but u we were very very I I got a call from the Riverside County and I was very proud that they said that you guys are allowing that. So thank you very much. Thank you.

And I and I just want to say thank you to all the commissioners. You guys to your commitment, your service. You're always, you know, you're always showing and showing up and and providing all the services to to the library, to the residents. And also a shout out to the Mina Valley Mall Library. It's a great resource for everybody in that side of town. I've there was a time period where I used it uh right before I had a had another commitment. So, it was it's it's great to be there as a resource for for students and for adults, especially adults, they're doing some some evening work there. So, it's it's very important to our community. And thank you. Thank you.

Yeah. And also want to say thank you as well. Uh, as all my colleagues have said, uh, I I still remember when I first got on council in 2017 and my predecessor, the former mayor, um, and three of our colleagues who are not here anymore, uh, when we opened that Marino Valley Mall library and now we're headed into four libraries, right? Like, it's exciting. And the the little free libraries at Santiago Park, that's a, you know, a park that we frequent often and love to see that little free library there. And yes, they're always stocked. So, thank you also for doing that because that takes a lot of work to make sure that uh not only are they stocked, but that you make sure you have the books that you know the certain uh that are maybe trending right now or you know are appropriate for the times and things like that uh for education. So, that's really really nice. And um one of the things I guess more of a comment, not really a question because I don't want to put uh staff on the spot, but you know, I I I uh my wife sometimes sends me videos of libraries from other cities, other counties and some of the the themed libraries that they have, you know, like maybe outer space, right? Or or you know, planets or, you know, rocket ship themed libraries or other little activities like that. And so to your point Mona Lisa at the very beginning that you know libraries are no longer just for books like they were you know before now they are these beautiful strong ecosystems of you know technology and innovation and still the traditional you know learning experiences but now it's it's become more of like a community center you know where you have all these different services and uh toddler time love toddler time the dancing and the music is beautiful the workshops that you have for coding and robotics and so many new things. Looking forward to to see what the Sunny Me br uh Sunny Ranch Library has in store. And then also just another comment um you know would love to see how we continue to expand these these services, right? For example, we have one senior center and one thing that we constantly are

hearing is we need another senior center, right? So until that happens, how do we continue to serve our seniors in the city? Are there more ways for us to expand the programming at our libraries that are in more accessible places throughout the city to serve our seniors or other, you know, others in our community that uh so desperately need those facilities. So just, you know, throwing some ideas out there and it always comes down to money and all that. But

yeah, we have a number of adult programs for everyone. So, it's not just the children program. There are a lot of adult programs, too. And we have an online where you can earn your high school diploma online. A lot of uh families have to leave school to work, but we have a program where they can not just get a GED, but an actual diploma. So, the services are go to the website, check us out. Thank you. Thank you so much y'all. again. Really, really appreciate it. Let's give it up to our library commission one more time.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. So, with that, we will go into public comment. Madam clerk, do we have any requests to speak?

We do. Luis Palamarez. Louise Palmer's community activist. Thank you ladies. Thank you for all you do and the library commission. It's appreciated more than we can say. Anyway, on another not that on that note, I keep on talking about we got all these little cells all over four different libraries. When the thing came up about the the mall up there, we're paying paying $80,000 in rent there. Then we're paying who who knows how much in thousands to staff it. And I've been coming to this council for years saying, "Why don't we build a stateofthe-art library? Think out of the box, Mr. Mayor, because I know you want all these little cell libraries so you can put it on your propaganda when you run again." Why can't we think out of the box? The city owns a lot of land here. We got the land. Why don't we build a state-of-the-art building like they have in uh Fontana and other communities? Why don't we do that? And they can have all these events there that they're talking about these ladies that work their hearts out for our kids, our community, and our adults here in the community. Stop thinking little. Think out of the box. And you're saying, "Oh, well, we don't got that much money to build a library. It's going to cost million." You know what? take it out of the the the art fund because all the arts can be in this big library. We could use the art fees to build to build that library and to pay the mortgage in the library because how much money are we paying for all these little libraries everywhere across the city? It's a lot of money. They're good for the meantime and they're good for right now, but let's do something different when their leases are up. Let's do something different.

Let's make this new building. Let's make it happen. Because you go to other cities and you see their libraries there and even their their um senior centers. This one's a joke. We got it. We appreciate it. But we should we put Yeah, we put millions in that building. It's still too small. It still don't fit the bill, you know. Well, we're going to use it because we have to. We ain't got a choice. But that's what we need to do. We got to build a state-of-the-art senior center and a state-of-the-art library. And we can have other events in that library. We got the land. We can more pay a mortgage on that building because we're paying it every day every month on all these what 80,000 to rent it at the at the at the mall. Come on. And then to staff it. We could have a lot of staff working there. It could be bigger than bigger than us. Come on, mayor. Get busy. Forget about your, you know, whatever you want to put on your propaganda page when you're running. Come on. It's It's true. It's true. It's always all about you. If it's not a cab idea, it's not a good idea. And I've been talking about this for years. It'd be great if these ladies can go to a state-of-the-art library. Finally, really? Well, of course, you don't want to hear the facts or the truth or the idea. It's not your idea, right?

Mayor, that concludes all of public comments on this item.

Thank you, Madam Clerk, and take it to our public speakers as well. We'll go ahead and bring it back up to the DEAS for any deliberation. And this is a receive and file, so we don't need to take a formal vote on it. But since, uh, the question came up, just curious. Um, I'll give some, you know, a brief data point and then hand it off to staff for their, uh, subject matter expertise and opinion. But, um, you know, I I personally would love to have a standalone library, a nice, beautiful, you know, big standalone library. Um, that takes money and time. And so, you know, uh, when I look at the city of, uh, Riverside, for example, the beautiful downtown library that they built, in precoid dollars, that library cost about 42 million plus or minus in precoid dollars. 42 million. That's a lot of money. A lot a lot of money. And that's precoid dollars. I I if we do the calculations and adjust for inflation and all that stuff, we can come up with uh today's dollar amount. But just to put it in perspective, you know, hopefully that is something that we can do. But again, when we talk about, you know, are we going to fund future public safety facilities and all those type of things, that money all comes from the same place. So we have to, you know, pick and choose where are we going to put those funds. And not just that, but also it takes time. It takes years. So just you know if if staff wants has maybe looked into that to see the phys feasibility of a standalone library you know approximately how much that may cost um or you know factors to consider um if we did want to build a standalone library. Um, mayor, mayor prom, council members. Um, yes, that is um something that we do think about. Um, we think about um all of the uh large facilities, the grandiose um dream um and visionary type of projects. Um we even uh reach out to our regional electeds um through uh the

earmark process uh for the federal government as well as the state government. We're always trying to identify u that we have these needs um for a large uh central senior uh center, library center, um various pools um and all kinds of different things that we try and get um grants and and so forth for um as far as diff fees and so forth. Um uh unfortunately the the fee structures will never be able to pay for um like you said a $42 million uh facility pre-COVID um in today's inflationary uh um uh period and environment that we live in all cost and uh so forth is is so high that um it would cost uh much more than that. And so we do have these things. They are part of our CIPs and in future um visionary uh documents as well. Um it's just where do we find the funding and once we uh find a funding source, how do we build on that to get um all the way up to um the intent of um us being able to build it. Uh that's why we do um work with developers and so forth and try and have them uh provide as much uh community and um uh facilities as possible. So uh with that that concludes my comments.

Thank you very much, Mr. City Manager. Uh so yeah, just once again want to say thank you and uh to our library commission, keep up the good work. All righty. So with that, we will go ahead and move into item M, regional commission committee board reports. We do have a few. will go to District 2 for the March Joint Powers Commission.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Tonight, I'm providing an update from the March Joint Powers Commission meeting that was held on March 4th, 2026. The commission adopted the updated fee rates for the Western Riverside County Transportation Uniform Mitigation Fee or TUMF. The uh council or the commission directed the CEO to file a notice of completion with the county recorders office for the AP-5 crack seal project. And we also approved the branding strategies for the March Inland Port Airport. That concludes my update on the March 4th, 2026 March Joint Powers Commission meeting that was held on March 4. Thanks.

Thank you, council member. Next up, we will go to uh District 1, Council Member Baka Santa Cruz for WCOG. At the March 2nd, 2026 WRCOG executive committee meeting, reports for fiscal department activities, committees, agency activities, and various external committees were received and filed. Additionally, the executive committee discussed the following key items. Approval of the fiscal year 2025 2026 budget amendment. WRCOG's fiscal year 2025 2026 budget reflects an overall $270,000 net decrease with 2.9 million in reduced revenues and 2.6 6 million in reduced expenditures, maintaining a balanced approach despite financial constraints. Program adjustments are driving several of the changes. Iron budget decreased by 1.86 million due to timing and program shifts. The clean cities program experienced reduced activity with some funding deferred to future years and 373,000 in reap funds is being carried forward to ensure full use of prior allocations. WRCOG is restructuring its administrative function um functions by eliminating one executive role and adding two specialized positions strengthening risk management internal controls and organizational efficiency. Um W ARCOG's project management of transportation studies WROG is kicking off two transportation studies with the goal of implementing near-term improvements. These studies will be managed by WRCOG and funded by the respective TP zone funds. The pass intelligence transportation system it feasible analysis will assess the existing conditions of traffic signal infrastructure within the temp pass zone and the southwest west t zone transportation study pilot program. This analysis will analyze and deliver recommendations on a feasible near-term solutions for improving traffic

congestion in 8 to 10 areas of comprehensive manner within these tough zones. Examples of improvements that would be recommended are envisioned to be IT restriping or intersection improvements. These types of studies have not been conducted, so they are considered pilot studies. WRCOG will evaluate and if necessary refine, take lessons learned and apply them to each zone. The process will be undertaken on an ongoing basis. The next meeting is scheduled for May I mean Monday, April 6, 2026 at 2 p.m. at the Riverside Administrative Center on Lemon Street. This concludes my report.

Thank you. And I just have one report for the Riverside County Transportation Commission meeting from March 11th. The network of nine public transit service providers, including the 91 and Paris Valley Line Station and 15 human service operators carried approximately 10 million passenger trips in fiscal years 23 24. Annual operating costs for public transit services from fiscal year 21-22 through fiscal years 23-24 for the county exceeded 158 million with revenues comprised of 52.1% from the state, 33.5% from the federal, and 14.4% from local government funding sources such as Measure A. The next RCTC meeting is scheduled to be held on April 8th at the Riverside County Board of Supervisors building. And that'll conclude my report for the last RCTC meeting. And with that, we will move into item N, employee association reports. We do not have one this evening, which brings us to the famous city manager report.

Thank you, mayor, mayor prom. Uh, council members, although it feels as if it was uh, summer, uh, I do want to talk about our next uh, special event, which happens to be Springtastic. Um, as it is still spring. It is Springtastic Festival and Egg Hunt on March 28th, that Saturday, um, on uh, at Sunnyme Park, 9:00 a.m. to 12 noon. We have various uh, egg hunt times for ages 2 to 5, 6 to 8, 9 to 12. Um and then uh children with special needs. Uh please check our website um so that uh all of uh the families and youth can attend also that evening um for the adults um who have either put their children to bed or have no children. Um, if uh you want to attend the adult flashlight egg hunt scramble, uh that event is uh April 4th uh July um or 6:30 to 900 p.m. at Lel Sports Park. Um and so uh with that, that will conclude all of my comments. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. City Manager. We'll bring it back up to the dance for council closing comments and we will go to Council Member Delgato.

Thank you. Um I just have a few things to um brief on. I attended the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Adelante Breakfast. Um and besides uh meeting great businesses that um that are are connected and connecting with the community, the Hispanic community, um we had a presentation from the Marina Valley Unified School District Health and Wellness uh division and they just wanted to get the word out to them as well that the Health and Wellness Center is open um open for business. If you know anybody in need, um they have food, they have laundry services, they have clothing, they have kids backpacks, um snacks for kids, the they can do laundry service there, showers. So, um I I I really appreciated them coming into um the chamber at a breakfast and giving them a briefing. So, it was really really good. Um, I attended the student of the month um for March uh at the um for the Mina Valley Unified School District and the Valveria Unified School Districts. And those students again I I always comment and make um make a comment on how great they are and uh they they persevere through hardships. In the past, I think that students of the month were recognized because they were straight A students and they were they were just really super good students. Well, these guys are not the best students and they've had um challenges in their lives that they've overcome. So, um I I'm inspired every time I leave there. Um, I will say that uh it it's the the u mailbox issue for the Ilsto um uh mobile home park. Initially, the post office was going to come and impose a cluster box system. The uh residents complained they weren't getting any traction. Um, I helped them uh through

uh a congressman in DC, Congressman Takano, myself and supervisor Gutierrez all worked on um cancelling that and we were successful. I'm happy to announce that um they are no longer pursuing cluster boxes. They're going to replace individual boxes in front of their residents and and the residents of Elsarto are extremely happy. Um, I want to thank uh our staff here, Joe um Baron and Habitat for uh for Humanity for stepping up and purchasing the uh mailboxes for all residents in the Elsarto. So, they're extremely extremely happy for um for what we were able to accomplish there. Um it's not like we were adversarial with the post office, but they were literally said, "It's a done deal, Ed. It's a done deal. We can't go back on it." Well, um, fast forward, we're done, and they're going to get their individual mailboxes. I will close, um, by saying that, uh, last week, um, you know, it's getting warmer and it's not going to get cool. We're still labeled as as winter, but it's not going to get any cooler before the 20th, right? Um, pool safety. Um, last week we were notified that two children, three and under, I think it was three and under, that uh that drowned. and um the the public safety folks of Marino Valley responded. I do not know the status of them. I know one was breathing and um on on his own after, but um you know in in situations like this pull safety uh seconds count, not minutes. So that that really you know puts an exclamation point on um what we had uh discussed earlier today. So, um, just remember pool safety. If you can afford to get a fence around your pool, get it. If you can't, please alarm the the doors. Um, I talked to a couple, uh, ET members about that and, um, maybe we can help. I don't know, go out there and

send inspectors out there or something. But uh please please please be aware that kids are going to be uh gravitating towards pools uh as the the heat comes in the summer and you know so um just be mindful of that. Um please be kind to one another Sean. Amazing uh I was going to call it an outfit but I think it's a suit. Okay. Well suit outfit but amazing uh what you what you came today and I know your last name. I one of the members didn't uh know how to pronounce your last name but it's Kellaher. So go figure, right? So, uh,

uh, happy St. Patrick's Day, sir. And, uh, be jolly, right? And, uh, be happy and make someone smile, right? I think anybody who looks at you in the parking lot's going to smile. So, great job. Thank you. Thank you, council member. Next up, we'll go to council member Baka Santa Cruz.

Let me see. Since the last meeting, I have attended um a few events. Um first my environmental historical preservation commission. They continue to meet monthly uh move forward on their um tasks and are getting ready for um Earth Day which is going to be a community cleanup as well. So that's a great way to celebrate the earth. So I'm looking forward to that. Um I also um attended the WRCOG Women's Leadership Day here hosted in Marina Valley. We had a lot of professional women and some men um join us from throughout the region from WRCOG's um executive committee and their agencies. It was um a day fold filled with um empowerment, uplifting um sisterhood. It was a great day. They asked me to sit on the women in leadership lunch panel. So I um participated in that and that was a great way to um give back to the community. A lot of the questions were on how to get involved. So, I just want to um say again that we have openings for commissions, lots of commissions, senior citizen, library, arts, parks, um and our newest veterans commission. So, if you're interested in getting involved, please look into one of our commissions. And we just had on Wednesday our appreciation dinner for all of the commissioners that have served us over the last year. So, I especially want to thank the city clerk staff for putting that on. It was a great evening. um the commissioners were able to uh break bread and enjoy each other's um company and get to uh know each other, other like-minded individuals who find the value in um serving their community by volunteering. So, it was a nice evening to spend together. Um the Wind Symphony had their concert on Thursday night and then um Kenyon Springs Little League opened up on Saturday morning and I was asked to throw out the first pitch and that was

especially uh meaningful for me because I remember growing up here and playing Canyon Springs Little League. And then when my children were growing, all three of them played in Canyon Springs Little League. In fact, when my youngest started T-ball, I coached his team. So, I've um been a player, a parent, a coach, and now I'm the grandparent of the newest T-ball player playing for the Dodgers. Um, and he let me know that my favorite team is the Dodgers because he plays for it. Who am I to not to um not agree there? So, um it's our third generation playing in the league. Um I thanked the volunteers who are investing in our kids, the coaches, uh volunteers, the board, the snack bar, everybody that spends their um Saturday mornings waking up and getting out to the ball field. So it was nice to be able to spend that time with our community on Saturday. And um finally after that, we came and were together here in community for the multiculture art festival. So it was nice to be here for that as well. um like all of our events. Thank you parks for putting it on. Um everybody that was out there that came together to make sure it was a fun and safe day. I appreciate everybody and all of their work and look forward to our next events. And um speaking about pool safety, don't forget to look in our soaring guide for upcoming swimming lessons because the best way to pre prevent drowning is to prepare by teaching your children and grandchildren and anybody else in the household, even adults, to swim. So, with that, I'd like to ask that we do close the meeting in honor of those fallen um soldiers that have per perished recently defending our great nation. And that concludes my comments. Thank you.

Thank you. Next up, Mayor Pro Tim Gonzalez.

Good evening, everyone. We're almost uh what is it? 8:00. So, um, a couple of things, uh, that, uh, I attended, uh, with some of my colleagues, depending on the event on grand opening Kia dealership, the the expansion, great event, uh, there here in district 3 on Mr Beach. Um, great opportunity to see the the second uh, in sales in the nation uh, per per city management staff's information uh, next to Glendale. So it was a great opportunity to showcase um their their cars, their vehicles and um and they mentioned that please go buy a Kia. So it's it was ex good times there and and and meeting everyone there. So the KIA uh the the second thing is uh that same day the the the MNA Valley Wind Symphony um I was there um there with my wife and just seeing the the community the the students the all the the themes the marching bands right the from different countries Barnes and Bailey um all the marches from the UK Italy Pas from Spain uh city manager was there as well Ryan Moan um So it was it was a great evening and and really enjoyed it. So uh the wind symphony is always a great time to um partake in that. The multicultural festival multicultural festival that occurred this past Saturday um some of my colleagues were there. Mayor Elena Council member Elena Elena Baka Santa Cruz and council member Bernard uh were there in attendance. A great opportunity to see the happy faces, the kids um and all the art and all the vendors that were there. So, a great time there in in Renault Valley there at the amphitheater. And love the belly dancers. I've never seen them that close up. It is just the um the the ability

they have is just incredible. So, um moving on, uh staff, I I just want to uh thank staff for all the work they do. Uh I know we we ask a lot of questions and and we do uh we we we do do that. So, I want to thank you guys. You guys do great work. And last, I just want to say um to Sean, love your outfit, man. And you got to have a beer tonight. So, hopefully you do. So, I'll I'll close with that and um move on to the mayor.

Yeah. Thank you, Mayor Pro Tim, and to my colleagues. Uh a few things here. Kind of repetitive. Um it's hard to follow everybody because everybody already uh took took a was up at bat and took a swing, right? Um, but starting off with the multicultural and art festival. Hats off Jeremy staff. Another uh success there. Love the kidreneurs. That was real nice to see the the the kids with their parents out there, you know, selling some some items and learning entrepreneurship, learning, taking those first steps into business and economics. That was really, really nice to see. And wanted to highlight one in particular, a father-son duo uh of authors that were out there actually selling some of their homemade books. That was really nice. and um actually talking to him to to learn because for a long time I've wanted to write uh children's books with my son uh who's you know four years old now. Um I just what I don't have is time. I don't have the time to do it and he does. So um it looks like there there probably will be a collaboration coming soon and hopefully we can you know any funds that we raise can go toward you know whether that's scholarships or youth programs, after school programs. um you know, one of the many things that I've been wanting to do for a long time and hopefully soon uh we'll have uh some children's books coming out from the mayor's office as well. Uh so hats off to everybody that made that event possible. Car pros Kia the ribbon cutting for the expansion of the service center as Mayor Prom mentioned. Um you know the the expansion for the service bays so that more people can get service here in Marina Valley as opposed to going to other cities and having faster processing and and response times. So that's great. And then to learn, as Mayor Prom mentioned, the Kia dealership in Mareno Valley is the number two in the country, only behind Glendel. And we're coming for number one. We're coming for you, Glendo. I I know you guys, we're friends. But um we want to get to that number one spot. And that's a testament to the amazing work of all of our staff from CM to economic development to community development,

everybody who made that possible. We are coming up as a city and uh we are definitely on the map. Also, Riverside County State of Education address was almost two weeks ago now, about 13 days ago, I believe. Uh Dr. Edwin Gomez always knocks it out of the park. Uh amazing, amazing set of education address over in downtown Riverside. And then uh at the end, they had a closing performance that actually highlighted and included Marino Valley Mustangs. It was young elementary school students from Reno Valley that were uh putting on a beautiful performance. So uh hats off to Dr. Edwin Gomez, Riverside County Office of Education, and all of our youth who uh participated in that event. Also, I want to thank the Marina Valley College President, Dr. Rudy Bessikoff, for coming out last Tuesday to our study session to give us a crash course on all the things happening at Marina Valley College and RCCD. And I want to thank him for uh the invitation to come out uh and participate in his podcast. He has a president's podcast and so we were able to sit down for like an hour and just you know really just be candid and open about you know uh how did we both get to where we are and it was more of him asking me questions but just really truly appreciate the opportunity. Dr. Busikov, thank you for that invitation. Boards and commission dinner that was beautiful. Also, I still remember the first time, Madame Clerk, um uh you know, we we once once we got all the commissions up and running at full steam and and full, you know, uh quorum on all of them and everything like that, we had a conversation about how do we recognize them, right? For the swearing in so that they take their oath of office to again going back to the special presentations, how do we ensure that everybody feels seen? How do we ensure that? And that was part of that. So, thank you, Madam Clerk, and your entire department, everybody else who makes that happen. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. And, uh, two last things. Also, just want to real quick highlight uh, a couple of things that were in the ED summary, the

economic development monthly summary. So, hats off to Kyle and everybody that makes these projects happen. Again, Five Below was recently announced. That's coming to Marino Valley on Aleandro. Uh, new Dutch Bros, which has already been announced, but that also is coming at Alessandro and Paris. And then the rooftop hotels. This is one that I'm super excited about. still going to take a while. We have one that's opening this uh about the summertime this year. Uh that's going to be our first rooftop hotel. It's about 250 square feet. So, it's the first one first rooftop that we're getting uh rooftop hotel in Marino Valley. But then we have at least two others that uh the rooftops will be about 750 ft a piece and those are still, you know, uh further in the distance. But again, like little by little, right, this takes work. We had to change the code and uh plant the seeds in order to make these things happen. and uh staff is bringing them to fruition. So uh with that being said, just want to um uh close this meeting in memory. I had it written down here as well uh to close today's meeting in honor and memory of to date the 13 service members who have died in combat uh with the ongoing Iran conflict and the over 200 uh injured soldiers thus far. Um we want to close this meeting in honor in memory of them and we send all of our thoughts and prayers to everyone uh that is out on the battlefield. So with that we will um ask if there are any future agenda items. Seeing none, we will officially adjourn this meeting at 8:08 p.m. Have a good night.