City Council - Regular Meeting

Good evening, everybody. Welcome to the Taft City Council Successor Agency Joint Regular Meeting for Tuesday, September 1, 2026. City of Taft Council meetings are being held in person with full capacity seating or may be joined remotely through Zoom using Meeting ID 822-2370-7823 Pass code 613-564 or the link posted on the agenda. Meetings are also live streamed at www.youtube.com forward slash user forward slash city of Taft. Public comment can be made in person or remotely through Zoom and can be received per the following. Written comments may be dropped off in the drop box in front of City Hall or Comments may be emailed to the city clerk at cityclerk at cityoftaft.ca.gov. They may also be made by phone to the city clerk's office at 661-763-1222. Public comments will be accepted up until 5 p.m. the day of the meeting. All comments received will be read into the records. We're going to begin this evening's meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance led by the Mayor Pro Tem Josh Bryan, followed by an invocation from Pastor Sean Pfeiffer. So if you'd all join us, please.

All right, place your hand over your heart and pledge.

Let's pray. Our Heavenly Father, you have said in your word to pray for our leaders. And so here I am to ask you to work on their behalf and to help them. I don't know where each of them is with stressors or what frustrations they might have, what challenges they face, but I pray you'd meet each of them at those challenges. Help them to circumvent problems. Help them to overcome barriers that they need to overcome in order to do their job the best they can. Lord, help them to keep order in our town. Also, I don't want to forget to ask for our police and fire and first responders who stand in the way of chaos, who prevent evil from overrunning us. Give them courage. Bless them in their work. Grant them strength beyond what they have in and of themselves. We pray all these things in Jesus' name.

Amen. Amen. Thank you very much.

Madam Clerk, may we have a roll call, please? Here. Here. Here. Here.

Here.

Here. All right, first item on this evening's agenda, item number one, citizen requests, public comments. Do we have any citizens requests or public comments? We do indeed. All right, comments are to be received as stated in the following policy. This is the time and place for the general public to address the city council on matters within its jurisdiction. State law prohibits the council from addressing any issue not previously included on the agenda. Council may receive comment and set the matter for a subsequent meeting. Please limit comments to five minutes. This evening we have Stephanie Layton from the Taft Chamber of Commerce. Gonna come on up here and chat with us.

Hello, Mayor and council members. I am here to give you an update of the goings-on at our Chamber of Commerce. Coming up, we have on Friday, September 11th, the Mayor's Prayer Breakfast at the Old Dorado Center. Tickets are still available. I think we're at about 160 people so far, so we're having a good turnout on this. Individual tickets are $30. A reserved table is $275. Anybody interested, please contact the Chamber if you don't already have your tickets. An August membership update. We had eight new members join the Chamber and seven membership renewals. We continue to focus on growing the membership and engaging with our existing members. Chamber activities in August hosted two evening sit and sips, one with Tara O'Neill of the California Resources Corporation and one with Jeremiah Gaylord of 661 Aerial Ops. And we had a very well attended mixer at the Pizza Factory. We had great participation engagement from our community and we look forward to more of that in the coming months. In September, we are trying something new. We're kind of retiring the sit and sip and doing coffee with the chamber. It'll be an earlier format at 7.30 a.m. And on Wednesday, September 23rd, we will be hosting Eric and Wendy Patterson of Aftermath Rehabilitation. And so if you guys have some time to come and share with us, that'd be great. We'd like you to come and check this out. October is an extremely busy month for us. On the 2nd, we have our annual Chamber Golf Classic, Friday, October 2nd, at the Buena Vista Golf Course. And there are still teams and sponsorships available. On October 6th, we have a Chamber Mixer at Cooper's True Value Home Center. It's going to be, I believe, at 5 p.m. The Candidate Forum, October 8th, at the Oldorado Room at the Transit Center. And that will be at 6 p.m. Witches Night Out, October 15th, and that will be on Thursday from 5.30 to 7.30 p.m. on Center Street between the blocks of 4 through 6. There'll be shopping, vendors, prizes, and some really cool activities that I don't really want to disclose yet because it's kind of what I'm keeping them for a surprise. November 14th, looking ahead, is our annual Trout Derby, so keep that in mind at Buena Vista Lake. Any questions?

Sounds like you've got a lot of stuff going on. We are busy.

We are booked and busy at the chamber.

Excellent. Thank you very much. Thanks for the update. Madam clerk, do we have any other, anybody via zoom? All right. We'll move on then. Council statements, non-action. Councilman Waldrop, beginning with you this evening, sir.

Well, I have a big challenge next week, and I need all the help I can get.

It's my wife's birthday, so thank you very much. Did you start one of those, what are they called, fund me accounts or something like that?

Well, I haven't figured out what I'm going to do. I don't want to get in trouble, you know. Something's happening, though.

Okay. Councilman Cryer. Thank you, Mayor. I had nothing at this time. Thank you.

Okay. Councilman Shavir. Yes, I just want to share two quotes on the importance of everyone getting involved within the community. If we want to see things done, it is imperative that we get involved and stand involved. So there is immense power when a group of people with similar interests gets together to work toward the same goals. And finally, coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success. And that's all I got, sir.

Well, that makes perfectly good sense to me. Mayor Pro Tem Josh Bryan.

I have nothing tonight. Thank you.

All right. Well, you know what? Tomorrow is a very important day if you're at Taft High School because tomorrow, the mentor program kicks off in the oil technology program. And it's a wonderful program. The students have a lot of opportunities that are so rare in this day and age. And I can tell you as an 11th year mentor that's spending time with our youth. It's so rewarding, and it's something we look forward to, and at the end of the year, it goes by so quickly, and next thing you know, you don't get to meet with those kids. So anyway, that starts tomorrow. My wife and I and everybody in the mentorship program I know is really excited about that, so just wanted to bring that to everybody's attention. And also one more thing has to do with the city, and that is 4th Street repaving is just about done. And they've done a good job. Got a couple of little patches to do and then striping. Is that correct, City Manager Jones? Yes, sir. All right. So thank you very much for your oversight on that. Looks like a really good project, and it will last a long time, I'm hoping. And that's all I have this evening. Next item on the agenda is Department Reports, item number three.

We have a few.

All right, Chief. Come on up here. Talk to us, please.

First, I will go over the stats for, let me get to it here. I also have the military report this evening. That'll be the stats for August, of course. And this is for the PD, of course. We have a total incidence of 964. Calls for service were 393. Officer-initiated incidents were 571. I'm going to throw in traffic stops because I love it when the numbers start to go up and it's at 95. Total officer cases written were 139. Total misdemeanor and felony arrests were 63. Of course, that would be 54 misdemeanors and, of course, nine without having to look for felony arrests.

A lot of officer-initiated action going on out there.

Well, the good thing is we have our citizen patrol out there, and those are also accumulated in the citizen patrol as well. But we do have a lot of officers that are out, especially in the schools right now, We're still with traffic. We're still having to deal with a lot of issues, and we're out and about.

I did see there was an article in the newspaper about it, and they talked to Corey Bilby about, you know, hey, reminding everybody, look, school's in session. It's time to slow things down, be cognizant of what's going on. You're going to see more foot traffic and all that. So all that makes perfectly good sense, all the way out to Kern Street.

Absolutely. You get a lot of congestion around the schools, of course, when moms and dads are dropping off and picking up their children, so. That's what we're having to do, kind of do the enforcement right now. It's not always happy, but we get it done.

Hey, let's keep the kids safe.

Absolutely, sir, absolutely. And that will be the segue right into my annual military equipment report. Is that correct, Faith?

That will be after the consent agenda.

How about I just come back some other time and do that? In a few minutes.

All right. Thank you very much, Chief. Thank you. DO WE HAVE ANY OTHER DEPARTMENT REPORTS THIS EVENING? I DON'T SEE ANY. ITEM NUMBER 4, CITY MANAGER STATEMENTS. CITY MANAGER, GENTLEMEN. ALL RIGHT. CITY ATTORNEY STATEMENTS. OKAY. ITEM NUMBER 6, FUTURE AGENDA REQUESTS THIS EVENING. GENTLEMEN. I HAVE NONE. SEEING NONE. ALL RIGHT. THEN WE'LL MOVE FORWARD WITH THE CONSENT CALENDAR ITEM 7 THROUGH 13. All items listed on the consent calendar shall be considered routine and will be enacted by one roll call vote. There will be no separate discussion of these items unless a member of the City Council requests specific items to be removed from the consent calendar for separate action. Any item removed from the consent calendar will be considered after the regular business items. Are there any items on the consent calendar that any member of the public would like to comment on? I don't see any. So those items are item number seven is the minutes from the August 18th regularly scheduled meeting. Item number eight is the payment of bills, some $233,000 worth. Item number nine is the treasurer's report. Recommendation is a motion to receive and file the treasurer's report for the months April, May, and June of 2026. Item number 10, special event permit and waiver of application fees for the St. Mary's Catholic Church to host a festival on their property on Sunday, November the 1st, 2026. Recommendation is a motion to approve a resolution entitled, Resolution of the City Council of the City of Taft approving special event permit number 2026-23 and to waive application fees for St. Mary's Catholic Church to host a festival on their property on Sunday, November the 1st, and find that the activity is not a project per the California Environmental Quality Act, CEQA, as set forth in Section 15061B3 of the CEQA Guidelines. Item number 11 has been polled. Item number 12, special event permit and waiver of application fees for the First Baptist Church to host a Peddler's Fair on their property on Saturday, September 5, 2026. Recommendation is a motion to approve a resolution entitled Resolution of the City Council of the City of Taft, approving Special Event Permit No. 2026-24, and to waive application fees for the First Baptist Church to host a Peddler's Fair on their property located at 220 North Street on Saturday, September 5, 2026, and find that the activity is not a project per the California Environmental Quality Act, CEQA, as set forth in section 15061B3 of the CEQA guidelines. Lastly, item 13, authorizing by resolution the use and application for $10,573 in fiscal year 2026-27 for the California State of Good Repair Program for transit projects. The recommendation is a motion to adopt a resolution entitled, a resolution of the City Council of the City of Taft approval of the proposed project list for the fiscal year, 2026, 2027 California Senate bill one state of good repair program. Does any council member wish to remove any of these items from the consent calendar? I'm here seeing none at this time. I would entertain a motion to approve consent calendar items seven through 10 and item 12 and 13.

So moved.

Second, we have a motion and a second. Madam Clerk, may we have roll call?

Council Member Cryer?

Yes.

Mayor Pro Tem Bryant? Yes. Council Member Waldrop? Yes. Council Member Shavira? Yes. Mayor Knorr?

Yes. Approved on a 5-0 vote. Thank you, gentlemen. Next up, item number 14, 2026 Annual Military Equipment Report. Team Manager Jones.

Thank you, Mayor. On September 30, 2021, AB 481 was signed into law to address the funding, acquisition, and use of military equipment. AB 481 requires adoption of military equipment use policy by the City Council, which happened on July 19, 2022, by Ordinance 847-22. AB 481 requires the law enforcement agency with the approved military use policy submit the governing body an annual military equipment report for each type of military equipment approved by the governing body annually for review, as long as the equipment is still available for use. The attached report has been completed to meet the requirements of AB 481 and is now being submitted to the city council for its review.

Okay, thank you, City Manager Jones. The recommended action is to review the report and then a motion to receive and file the 2026 Annual Military Equipment Report and find that the activity is not a project per the California Environmental Quality Act, CEQA, set forth in Section 15060C3 and Section 15378 of the CEQA Guidelines. So moved.

Second.

Thank you very much.

Any discussion on this item, Mayor Pro Tem? My only question is it really seems like we just did this not long ago. I know, but it doesn't feel like a year ago. Lieutenant McClure was here giving it. You're getting older, sir.

Yeah. Time's just flying by.

Okay. Well, I believe the chief is here, and he's ready to step up here and let us know.

No one fall asleep while I read this. This is the 2026 Annual Military Equipment Report. Assembly Bill 481, AB 481, codified as sections of 7070 through 7075 of the California Government Code, requires law enforcement agencies to obtain approval from their governing bodies of military equipment use policies before purchasing. raising funds for or acquiring military equipment. The initial policy must be passed via ordinance, then reviewed and renewed by the governing body each year. AB 481 provides an expansive definition of military equipment that includes many items which law enforcement agencies use, deploy, or obtain on a regular basis. The law enforcement agency is required to return annually to provide a military equipment report, annual report, to the governing body and the public at large. The law enforcement agency is also required to host a community engagement meeting for members of the public to attend. A military equipment use policy governing the use of the items that are deemed military equipment is required under AB 481. On July 8th, correction, July 19th, 2022, the Taft City Council adopted a military equipment use policy by Ordinance 847-22. Since then, the Taft Police Department has successfully maintained the military equipment in accordance with the policy. The annual report has been prepared in accordance with the Government Code Section 7072A. The Taft City Council will provide an open forum for the public on October 20, 2026, in the City Council Chambers located at 209 East Kern, Taft, California. The following constitutes the Taft Police Department annual report. Number one, 2026 AM General Armored Humvee. Use of equipment, none. Concerns and compliance received, none. Internal audit results and response, none. Total annual cost, including acquisition, personnel training, transportation, maintenance, storage, upgrade, and other ongoing costs, approximately $500 annually. Funding source of FY25-26. It's for your year 25-26 general fund. Quantity, one. Future acquisition plans, none. Number two, 2006 AM General Humvee. Use of equipment, not used. Concerns and complaints received, none. Internal audit results and response, none. Total annual costs, including acquisition, personnel training, transportation, maintenance, storage, upgrade, and other ongoing costs. Approximately five hundred dollars annually funding source of the fiscal year 2526 general fund quantity one future acquisition plans none Page two Item three 2008 BAE system armored MRAP MRAP use of equipment not used concerns and complaints received none Internal audit results and response, none. Total annual costs, including acquisition, personnel, training, transportation, maintenance, storage, upgrade, and other ongoing costs, approximately $600 a year. Funding source for fiscal year 25-26, general fund. Quantity one, future acquisition plans, none. That ends the military report for 25-26.

All right, thank you very much, sir. Appreciate that, Chief. Does anybody up here have any questions for the Chief regarding those pieces?

I can clear a lot of things up by letting you know they're sitting quite often and rarely used. We've had no use for them at this time. The armored Humvee would be the only thing really that we would use in case of emergency and we keep it up to date, but we do keep all the other vehicles operational.

Just a real quick kind of clarifying question. So obviously the uses, I believe, are only going to be for active uses in situations that call for it, right? So if you do basic maintenance or I need to take it, I've got to take it for a spin to keep the fluids good. You don't have to do that type of reporting on this, do you? That's correct. Even better. Thank you. I was hoping that was the case. So was I. Any other questions?

Gentlemen? When are we going to get the Alpaches?

Well, I'm sure we have those on order, but the mayor needs to sign off on those.

You're going to be the pilot, right? Of course. It's being painted with our taft insignia. Absolutely. All right, Chief, thank you very much. Appreciate your report, sir. All right, we have a motion. Do we have a motion and a second? We did. Okay, and we've had discussion. No further discussion. Gentlemen, Madam Clerk, may we have a roll call, please?

Council Member Cryer?

Yes.

Mayor Pro Tem Bryant. Yes. Council Member Waldrop.

Yes.

Council Member Shavira.

Yep.

Mayor North.

Yes. And that's approved on a 5-0 vote. All right. That actually concludes the open session portion of this evening's meeting. This body will be going into closed session for two items. Item A, Conference with Labor Negotiator Craig Jones, City Manager, Government Code Section 54957.6, all units. And B, conference with legal counsel, existing litigation, government code section 54956.9A, Taft Union High School versus the city of Taft, Kern County Superior Court case number S-1500-CV-283804. I want to thank everybody for being a part of this evening's meeting. Remember, this is your city, this is your government. Get involved. Thank you. We're adjourned.