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I'd like to call the May 26 City Council meeting to order. Thank you. Roll call.
Roll call — called by Unidentified speaker 2
Show transcript
and excused today.
Agenda Discussionitems moved / continued / pulled — click to expand
Thank you Moving on to number four, approval of the agenda. So moved. We got a motion is there second?
I'll second.
Motion second all in favor? Aye. Motion passes unanimously thank you moving on to number five presentations 5A community action of Ventura County welcome
Good afternoon, or good evening everyone. My name is Suzy Lopez-Garcia. I am the Executive Director with Community Action of Ventura County. I believe the last time I was here it might be about three years ago so also new faces for me because it's been a little while but back then we came to present on the water program we had started during after COVID. So it was for families impacted during COVID and paying their water bills So I just wanted to come in and give you an update on our programs, and what we're working on currently.
So just to share with you for those not too familiar with Community Action, our mission statement is helping our community establish pathways out of poverty through advocacy partnerships and services that promote dignity and self-sufficiency What's unique about us? We're actually a national organization. We currently serve the county of Ventura. We are our own nonprofit, a private nonprofit. However we do have sister agencies that cover all of the US and we cover about 99% of all counties in the US so you will find a community action in different parts of the country however they're not all called community actions. We're not branded the same and so that's why people are not always familiar with us but we do have a lot We have the same core programs and I'll explain a little bit more about how it differs.
We also have a tripartite board structure, and what that means is a third of our board is appointed by the Board of Supervisors so they are elected officials, and we currently have Councilmember Villaseñor on our board representing for the district out here. So we do have one-third that are elected like you said, They can either represent themselves of the low-income community or represent the low-income community. So they can also be working for an organization or a group that represents our low-income community, which is important as we make decisions.
As most of our programs, that's the community it serves. So we want to make sure we're hearing those voices as we make decisions. And the last third of our board is the private sector. So maybe faith-based, business owners, any community members We also depend on volunteer support, and I'll show you some of our programs. But we definitely have a core volunteer support. We're always looking for more volunteers.
Maximum feasibility actually. So we do sometimes hire people who may have come through for services. And we may hire someone that may have experienced homelessness and then now be providing some other services for us or We also hired someone at the interview said, well I went through your food pantry and that's how I knew about you. And when I saw the job opening, I applied. So it's also very important when we have staff that have had that experience in understanding as they're providing services.
We are located, our main office is the bottom left corner. Our main office is in Oxnard so we have a lot of the direct services being provided there. However, in the last couple of years we also opened satellite offices at the Free Clinic of Simi Valley in 2022. So we're using part of the office space there To provide services, we also opened an office in Santa Paula at El Centro del Pueblo in 2023. And most recently we opened under Community Conscience in June of 2025.
So we did try to spread out throughout the county again a lot of our direct services are still out of Oxnard but were able to utilize that space as needed And so we definitely want to drive people there as opposed to them driving to us in Oxnard. We can then use that office space to provide services. So just a list of our programs. We have the Low Income Home Energy Assistance, which is our utility payment assistance program. We also have home weatherization.
Community Service Block Grant is what funds and makes us a community action that actually funds our food hub community market that we have, our diaper distribution, community workshops in our unsheltered services. So for utility payment assistance, which is the one that most people are more familiar with. It is income based so an applicant does have to submit an application we verify income for the household.
We do prioritize certain household members. So if the household has seniors and if they have people with disabilities, if they have children under five, they are prioritized as their applying They can apply one time per calendar year. So it doesn't mean one year since the last time, but one time every calendar year they can reapply. A lot of our recurring applicants are seniors because they are on a fixed income so usually their income does not change year to year and those are the ones that utilize our program.
And we also conduct outreach events. Right now it's time for events, community events. The summer starts picking up. We will check with staff to see who is available to spread out throughout the county to cover events. We are also prioritizing locations where we're looking at our numbers, the different cities A lot of our households served are in Oxnard, and I think that really is because of our presence in Oxnard. So we are trying to reach out outside of Oxnard and take those events, especially those events that focus on serving seniors, people with disabilities, and children under five.
And just to give you a number, in 2025 with utility assistance which was gas, electricity or propane We covered utility payments about $10,000 for residents here in Fillmore. So that's for here in the city of Fillmore That's how much money went into residence here in 2025 And also just to give you a breakdown of those 10,000. They don't have to necessarily be behind on their bill or be disconnected. We may have someone that's just, I'm not gonna make the next bill. I'm not behind yet but I need help. So out of that amount 23 households applied which equaled at 10,00 and we actually also capture our separate number so past due those are passed through or are disconnected already We served 45 households for a total of 40,623.
Yes those are only Fillmore. So total 68 households in Fillmore and the actual total of money was $50,739 in 2025 that we reached out here The program I mentioned, the water program because it has been a couple years but I realized I didn't come back and give you an update on what happened with the water program. So in Fillmore during that program we served 70 households in paying water payments and that equaled to almost $65,000 that went into residence here. I also included Piru just so you could see the numbers and Apollo definitely had a higher number but Piru also had nine households that were served at about 3,000 So those two combined, we did serve about 79 households. But you can see the breakdown of what happened and I just really want to say thank you because I think at that meeting we came to ask to work together because it was a new program.
Every water company city District had to agree to work with us so that we could refer in those that didn't sign up to work with us directly. When someone applied, we'd have to tell them I'm sorry, we're not currently working together. So I just want to also say thank you because at that time we can present the program it was a new program first time we were doing it and so we had to work through that but thanks to getting approved and working together we were able to serve those households here with water utilities And then our home weatherization program. So I really want to highlight this program because people usually come to us when they need helping their bills, we get a lot of calls, we don't do rental assistance but it's a lot of emergency type of services that we many times get calls for.
Weatherization is a little different with weatherization same eligibility income It is a state program. It's at no cost to the households. Renters or homeowners are eligible, and so what it does is that we actually do the application with the applicant. We then go into their home and do an assessment of the home. We're sometimes able to replace refrigerators, washers, dryers, microwaves, stoves, water heaters, And so the larger appliances as
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well, and so in that we're also helping them to reduce their energy bills. So it's more long-term It's not just paying the utility bill. It's looking at long term We're also running carbon monoxide tests looking at all their gas appliances if there's any leakage And replacing those and letting them know so they also get an assessment of results of how their home is doing and Also safety, so they may not be aware that how much carbon monoxide is present in the home because two burners work. The other two don't work really well. The oven's not really working but they can cook right?
So a lot of these appliances get tested when someone also needs a new water heater it breaks down those go to the top of our list. Those are what we call 911s. We have to respond within 48 hours if they're eligible by income We're able to serve them. So many times we get referrals through the gas company because they go out to check their water heater and they refer them to us.
We served eight homes in Fillmore, so it is a smaller number. But that totaled to about $34,000 that went into those eight homes in Fillmore. Again no cost to the homeowner if it is our renter we do need the approval of the homeowner to go into the home to make all these changes. So we do the assessment, we contract out the work For contractors to come in, replace the appliances or any work in the home. And then we go into inspect the work to make sure everything was installed properly and everything we assessed for was done.
And then they're able to have either a new fridge that can keep their food at the right temperature it needs to be. We also get a lot of seniors that tell us well we no longer have to Figure out going to the laundromat because my washer isn't working. We're able to stay in our home and be independent, so it is a lot of help. I just want to highlight it because we are looking for more referrals here in Fillmore for any households that might be eligible.
And this is a new program we contracted with the County of Ventura. It's more to do some of the same things I mentioned, but it's focusing on going electric in the home and so there are certain areas in Fillmore that are eligible for this program at no cost. There's also an incentive, a $500 incentive for people who sign up for this There is a process, can definitely give you some more information but they're going by the census tract maps and so there are certain areas in Fillmore that we're gonna be targeting to see if families are interested in doing this. They're gonna monitor the air quality initially Then they would receive the appliance. They don't need to go electric on everything, but they would have to at least take one like a water heater or a stove is available so different items and then they would monitor.
So really they're trying to also look at air quality and going electric at the same time and your bills. And our unsheltered services, these are primarily out of Oxnard. But again they're open to anyone who lives in the county. We provide homeless services on Mondays and Fridays from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m.. It's very hygiene focused services so we have showers, laundry.
We're also mailing address for anyone that may need to receive mail there. We provide sack lunches, courtesy of the rescue mission. They provide the lunches and we distribute them out. We also became a distribution site for the rescue mission for their lunches actually during the week so people are able to pick lunches up at our location in Oxnard. We will have bus passes as available, emergency clothing, dog food, Narcan kits, hygiene kits and referrals to other community resources. And we also have the county public health, behavioral health that comes out and provides services with their different mobile vans that will bring other resources or referrals for individuals. So we see about 60 individuals on those days, and annually we've served about 400 unduplicated individuals through those programs.
And our food program. So this is the program that grew the most after COVID. So we have a food hub in partnership with Food Forward. Food Forward delivers about, I want to say up to 20 pallets of produce to our back parking lot in Oxnard. We then unload And then within the following 30 minutes, we have a list of pantries that are picking up food from us to provide produce to their pantries. We actually do have One Step A La Vez out here in Fillmore who goes out to pick up produce and distribute Here locally, we are gearing up another promotora from Fillmore. We'll be picking up starting next month and I believe they're going to be providing food primarily to seniors here in Fillmore.
So we have different partners throughout the county that are coming to pick up produce from us to distribute. That's usually the second and fourth Tuesday of the month. We've had between 15 and 20 pantries pick up from us on those days. And then we also have our own food pantry distribution the second and fourth Thursday of every month, again open to anyone who lives in Ventura County. It is out of our Oxnard office from 830 to 1130 they can pick up a box of food it is a drive-thru distribution so they go through pick up their food and be on their way And just wanted to highlight some of the partners that we have out here in Fillmore. Again, One Step A La Vez has been one of our key partners that we've been working with from food to participating in their events to bringing outreach staff to conduct give out more information during their events.
Promotoras have also been helping with our utility assistance program so they refer a lot of people they're familiar with Our application, our checklist of items that people would need to collect in order to submit their application. And just some of the events that we have attended in the past here locally. And in 2024, in partnership with FoodShare, we did start the diaper distribution out of our Oxnard location. And so the first and third Tuesday, we distribute diapers out of our location.
And again, I mentioned a lot of the things that happened in Oxnard but it's because they are open to anyone who lives in the county. Some highlights from 2025. We were actually the 2025 Nonprofit of the Year through Assembly Member Steve Bennett's office, so we were recognized last year for that and it was also our 60th anniversary. So we've been around for 60 years now.
We used to be the Commission on Human Concerns. That was our previous name for anyone that might be familiar with that and then we did rebrand and change the name but that is us and so we have been here for 60 years
Just a quick question, so you were one of or the non-profit of the year for California?
So we were the one under Assemblymember Steve Bennett's office. So for this district. And our contact information, we're on social media. That is probably what gets updated the quickest. So if we have any changes in schedules, if we have a new program, any new resources, we usually distribute that out primarily through Instagram and Facebook but you can find us on LinkedIn as well. That's our website, our phone number.
You can definitely find out if Santa Paula office is the closest for anyone to reach out in person. They don't have to apply in person, that's the other thing. There's an online application they can submit everything, they can never have to step foot in any of our offices. They can call request an application be mailed to them and we will mail it out. They can mail it back. We can do all of that. Some people just prefer like I need additional help That is when they come to us. So we can make sure everything is right or they need help with making copies of any documents, we can do that as well. But just wanted to provide you with our contact information and our website as well if you have any questions.
Thank you so much. Questions?
Don't have any questions, but I do have a couple comments to make. So as Susie mentioned, I sit on the board and this is just a really wonderful organization and I'm really glad. Thank you Susie for being here today. And I want to point out that under Susie's leadership community action really has been spreading out beyond Oxnard so it's valuable resource for Fillmore and Piru to have the Santa Paula Satellite Office and as she mentioned local promotoras who are there a couple days a week to help families and also Through some of our local folks here in town, I'll name her Norma Sanford Perez has brought community action over here for our local community to talk to you know to hear from them. So hopefully we'll have more interactions like that too as well and I guess I do have a question for you Susie.
For the home weatherization program, what can we do as community leaders and folks to get the word out? Are you really looking for folks to maybe like a flyer or resource if you qualify for this, this and this. Do you have like a round number of households that you're looking for?
I don't have a number of households. It depends on funding, so as we go through funding that's how many households we can help. We it's the same criteria or eligibility that it is for utility assistance. So usually when they're eligible for that they will be eligible. I think the problem we run into is like how is this gonna one house is not a scam right because it's at no cost And also the worry if they are renters and all these improvements are being made in the home, is the homeowner then going to raise the rent?
So those might be two of the main things that we run into. More than anything's knowing It's community action coming around to do this. We have heard of, not here but you know people will go out and say oh we're gonna do all this and then there's a cost or they're not us so making sure they're going through the proper kind of procedure to get approved but definitely it is income-based. Income is gonna be the first thing we get into our income Ranges are on our website, so we have updated them so you can see them at any point number of people in the household what the range is and then we will get into The assessment for the home. The other piece I do want to say is when we do the assessment is also What may pull us away from?
Continuing the work. So if there's additional things going on in the home that may pose a safety risk Hoarding pests Or they just literally, the house is falling apart. We may not be able to come in and do work but that's what we determine at the assessment and we'll let the homeowner know. We also let them know sometimes they'll say I just need a water heater don't touch anything else well safety wise when we replace the water heater we also have to make sure there's smoke detector everything else is working correctly carbon monoxide so they have to let us touch both things right? And if we hit that wall that's when we will pull back and maybe not move forward because again it's the safety issue but Just letting them know there is a program that will replace some of these things, we'll do the assessment in their home and it's free of cost.
Okay
thank you and yeah just another comment once I'm definitely going to try to do everything that i can. I know our community too to get the word out about this and just really say about how great organization legitimate organization right to trust and there's definitely a lot of households that can use this help here in Fillmore so thank you. Thank you
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My only comment was thank you very much for all the work you're doing. I think it really has a huge impact in a much needed space, so thank you.
Thank
you
so much. Appreciate that time. Thank you.
Moving on to 5B, Oxnard Mexican Consulate, Mexican Ambassador Ricardo Santana, welcome.
Thank you very much. Thank you very much, Mayor Albert Menendez. Thank you very much all the members of the council, Christina, Kerry, John, Mario and Erica. And thank you very much for the support that you are giving us. I will talk this in English and after that I will say some words in Spanish. I am diplomat to my country. I have been working 45 years for the foreign service of my country. I have been stationed in too many countries around the world, in the United States, in six consulates along the borderline and now in Oxnard.
The Consulate in New York was established in 1987 as a consular agency, and we are covering Ventura, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo. And we have Mexican community around 600,000 people living origin or descendant many of them Mexican indigenous farm workers from the state of Oaxaca and Guerrero As you may see in this chart, we have a lot of people, Mexicans in the three counties. The circumscription is 1.6 million.
In Ventura, 901 to 1000. Santa Barbara, 455 thousand. San Luis Obispo, 295,000 people living around. And you see the percentage of the Mexicans. And we have here in Ventura around 386,000 Mexican people living here. As you may see all of them are farm workers. And of course all of them ask for services of our office. I was trying to explain this to Fillmore in the last 38 months that I have been stationed here in Ventura, and I talked to one or another people from Fillmore, and finally I was invited to talk to you. Thank you very much for that.
It's very important your city for us because we here, we have a lot of Mexicans living here. And that's proud for us and they are doing the great things in this land so thank you very much for that. What kind of... The reason, my reason to talk to you is because I think all of them need to know about our services. To have information about our services. If they know better than we do, they will ask for services like legal assistance Like this rotation of vulnerability or emergencies, documentations providing identifications and nationality documents.
And of course we work for in the community services to strengthen ties with the Mexican community and provide spaces for the inclusion. What kind of documents that we issue there like the Mexican passport by the consular ID card The voting registration card, the dual citizenship. You have the right to have two citizenships. Legally, the United States is good with that. You may have both passports in your pocket, the American one and the Mexican one, and you may use each one when you fly, when you go to another country. So it's not a conflict with the United States. You may have two nationalities. And I think two is better than one. Believe me. If you are Mexican, if you are Mexican, you will be proud to have your Mexican passport. You will not pay the duties in the airport, you will have the right to receive all the lands of your heritage and no pay for that taxes and everything.
You may have the right to have a academic career in the Mexicans University for free. And too many things that you can do there okay? Okay, we have services legal and immigration services like if you have a legal process in Mexico, we notify you here what all the steps that you have to do for attending this legal situation. If you want to know the whereabouts of your relatives, you can go to my office and to receive also legal assistance, you have a relief on immigration or whatever is needed like legal orientations, final support to prisoners in removal proceedings, interviews of Mexican nationals in ICE custody. We go to the Camarillo and the Santa Maria every day to talk with the people that were detained and to try to find out what we can assist them before they are sent to the borderline to be deported.
If they have a chance To be in front of a judge, we provide them, of course, the legal assistance that is needed. Okay, we provide legal representation or legal advice on immigration, civil, criminal labor, human rights and administrative matters. You know that we have in these three counties two major detention centers. One is in San Luis Obispo which is a federal prison and the other one is in Lompoc And we always go there to talk with the Mexicans and to try to help them legally and with all the documents that are needed to follow the process.
Of course, we have special situations like child custody and child support. You have in mind that all these agencies are here in the United States but When the children, Mexican children are involved they need our assistance because they don't have papers. They don't even know the names of them or their relatives and of course we are very close with these agencies to provide legal assistance to the children. We don't want that they be sent with a third family or with another place. We need to work very hard to keep the families united Immigration cases such as due visas. We have a lot of cases related with the victims of crimes and domestic violence, and that may cause the removal proceedings. Labor rights cases and immigration and criminal detentions.
This tent, this 11 legal firms are always in our office. If the people needs to receive legal assistance they just go to the offices and ask for them for free so it's very important that the people knows that don't do that last day They have to go and talk with legal assistance. We are not lawyers, we have lawyers locally approved to do the work for free. OK.
Special cases, minors in custody of the foreign authorities for the social services that are the processing offices, the Office of Refugee Resettlement, repatriated minors. We provide to them all the links with the Mexican authorities with a DIF in Mexico for locating the minors or release all the papers to be repatriated to our country And other actions, of course.
At this time we have some local students that they have the right to stay in the United States at DACA processing but they don't have identity. They need to have a passport or ID and we provide that to them, finding what's the name, what's the town, what's their birthday, the relatives and everything. And we do that work. And of course requests for financial support for the different issues, we provide that to them when they are in need.
Okay, the requirements to make known in identification to the Council of Mexico. We are not inventing. We need to talk with the people to know the full name, the date of birth, the place of birth because sometimes we receive a lot of calls trying to help but they don't have the complete information which is needed, the basic one. It's very important to know that and of course if they have information about their relatives in Mexico that could be good information for us.
As I told you, Legal Defense, this is the phone number that is 24 hours in services 805-627-3520. We just received an emergency cases we don't provide requirements for document processing if you are in a hospital If you are involved in an accident, if you are detained, you are in jail and you are in an emergency situation we receive that kind of calls. Of course this is the number that is in the nation in the United States. If we are not able to be contacted by phone call this number and they will receive all the processing CITAS which is an appointment that is needed to process all the documents Okay, this is the assistance center for the country. This is the number and thank you very much.
Thank you very much because I always work with the city police and with the sheriff department they are friends and they are always assisting us to help the Mexican people. Thank you very much for that. We are always aware of the fact that I have been working here for 38 months and had not been able to come to Fillmore. I don't know why. And I spoke with Christine, and I spoke with one until Mario arrived last week and told me let's go and talk in the council. I need my people, Mexicans, to know that this office exists, I always offer services to the untouchables, to the poorest people of the poor, to the field workers who cannot move because they have just arrived, because they do not have where to live, Because they ran out of money and didn't have anything to eat, because they haven't gotten a job, because they don't have an identification, because they are not part of the North American financial system, President.
Existen estos mexicanos y así llegaron sus familias. Tenemos que estar cerca de ellos, cerca de los trabajadores mexicanos que son las gentes del campo para que tengan ese apoyo, ese servicio. Y es por eso que quería yo venir a Fillmore porque sé que aquí en la ciudad de Los Cítricos, de Las Naranjas hay muchos trabajadores mexicanos y más del 60% son de vínculos mexicanos.
It was my commitment, I'm here now. I need the support of the authorities to know that we are here, to spread the word that the Council is here and came to see you so we can... I know they say, yes but the Council is very tasty and there aren't any appointments, right? Yes! We are 650 thousand Mexicans who live in this area and we are 24 office workers. Questions? Okay.
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I'm sorry that you weren't here earlier, months ago to share this important information. For the workers who need this information, and we are leaders here to put the information in the community. Most of the time they call or arrive at the consulate for an appointment, for their help, what is the message? ¿Qué es el mensaje para los trabajadores que viven aquí en Fillmore o en Piru, que no tienen una conexión todavía al consulado?
So the question is, I'm asking the ambassador. There's a lot of workers here, Mexican workers who maybe just don't have that connection to the consulate. They're far away, it's miles away, there's transportation. Is it better for them to make that call and try to make it to the consulate? Or are there ways for the consulate to come out here for, I don't know, a few hours, a half day and say we're going to be here in Fillmore. And we could gather people to at least get this information.
Well, I think the first thing is you as a government to provide services to the community, to keep us in mind that we exist and we can help them And of course, you have to think on this. They need to go to our office in Oxnard. They don't have car. They don't have public services for transportation. A lot of people that wants the service pay $100 for the ride.
So we need to think how to provide them transportation To Oxnard, to my office. I have been working with the Santa Barbara organizations and they are thinking to provide special services to this kind of office, to get a passport. I am working very hard to go to the ranches to provide some special service as I said for the pobres, los mas pobres, por los intocables, los que no pueden ir And I don't give up. I do everything that I can, but if we are more and think about how to help, I always go and see in the cities which are really the biggest thing of this country is that there is a great community work.
The community work is what makes this country strong. As we were seeing, providing food, etc., but maybe we are also leaving other important things behind, especially our agricultural workers. They can't go because they're afraid. They can't go because they don't have the resources. They can't do it because they don't have transportation. Maybe we should imagine other things as options to help them. We are also, in order to make an appointment, we do it directly from our cell phone, through an application that Mexicans know called WhatsApp.
And then the WhatsApp right there is artificial intelligence, your name, your address and it takes out the appointments and places and days that are available. That helps because they ask for permission on the day of the appointment, take the children out of school, collect the money, have the papers and leave in an hour and a half and they're already there. Pero es cuestión de venir, de platicar con la gente, con las organizaciones locales. And to talk with all the people here in Fillmore. I have been talking with Mario Rodriguez. He is providing humanitarian services for the people and we did kind of that kind of organization to promote our services to have the chance to receive more people from Fillmore.
Thank you. One more question. that people in very desperate situations need legal assistance especially with deportations and ICE this last year and a half but there's notarios Notaries who charge extreme amounts of money, right? What is your message to them?
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In Mexico, the Northern Republic is under special legal status. And a few people can do that work. It's very expensive but it's needed for too many processing documents. But the Mexican here in the United States thinks that the Northern Republic is the same status than in Mexico and They trust in the Naza Republic. But the Naza Republic here can be the person that make the process to be registered as a Naza Republic and to have the seal, to do that job.
And sometimes not all of them, a few of them I would say They lie to the people. They are trying to be like local lawyers for immigration processing legal residents, and they ask for money. If you think about the consulate You see that another republic is doing the function of the coyote. A coyote that is trying to get easy money, lying to people, lying to the people that they will get an appointment in the consulate for $35 or $60 and of course it's not needed. We don't have people working on that.
It's very common to hear about that. And in immigration cases, I always tell to my people don't go with the chompiras. Ellos te van a engañar. Te van a quitar tu dinero y te van a quitar tus papeles. Y el dia que llega migración nunca vas a parecer. Si you have the chance for immigration relief pay for that with a lawyer. What kind of love do I have? Ten firms in my consulate that can be recommended. Low price, Spanish and of course they know what to do in the immigration cases and they authorize it to do that work.
So the message is just speak to the consulate.
Speak to the consulate and don't go with the chumpitas.
Yeah
okay thank you. Gracias.
Okay, moving on to item number 5C. Proclaiming Asian American Pacific Island Heritage Month May 2026. Whereas the City of Fillmore is enriched by the diversity of its residents, including those of Asian American and Pacific Islander heritage who contribute to the cultural economic and civic vitality of our community. And whereas AAPI communities represent a wide variety of cultures languages and histories each bringing unique traditions and perspectives that strengthen our shared community And whereas throughout history AAPI individuals and communities have faced discrimination, exclusion and injustice yet have contributed to demonstrate resilience strength and leadership. And whereas it is important to acknowledge both the historical and ongoing challenges faced by AAPi communities and to reaffirm the commitment our commitment to equity inclusion and respect for all And whereas AAPI individuals have made significant contributions across fields including business, education, public service, science arts and culture and community leadership.
And whereas Asian American and Pacific Islander heritage month provides an opportunity to celebrate these contributions, honor the rich cultural heritage of AAPI communities and promote greater understanding and unity among all residents. Now therefore I, Albert Mendez, the Mayor of the City of Fillmore does hereby proclaim the month of May 2026 as Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month in Fillmore and encourages all residents to recognize, celebrate and support the contributions and heritage of AAPI communities.
I don't know if there's anybody here to receive it? Okay.
We'll make sure to post it tomorrow.
Thank you. And
moving on to item 5D, proclaiming American Stroke Awareness Month May 2026 Proclaiming American Stroke Awareness Month, May 2026. Whereas stroke is a leading cause of death and long-term disability in the United States and it can affect anyone regardless of age, gender or background. And whereas according to the American Stroke Association many strokes may be preventable through healthy lifestyle choices and management of risk factors such as high blood pressure. And whereas raising awareness about stroke prevention including Includes encouraging regular health screenings, physical activity, a balanced diet and controlling conditions such as hypertension, diabetes and high cholesterol.
And whereas recognizing the warning signs of stroke and acting quickly can save lives and improve Recovery outcomes. The FAST acronym, face drooping, arm weakness, speech difficulty, time to call 911 provides a simple and effective way for the public to identify stroke symptoms and respond immediately. And whereas timely medical treatment is critical as early intervention can significantly reduce the risk of long-term disability and health highlighting the importance of calling emergency services at the first sign of a stroke And whereas the City of Fillmore supports efforts to educate residents about stroke risk symptoms and treatment options, and recognizes the importance of work of healthcare providers, community organizations, and advocates who promote stroke awareness and prevention.
And whereas Stroke Awareness Month serves as an opportunity to empower individuals and families in Fillmore to take proactive steps toward healthier lifestyles and respond effectively in the event of a stroke. Now therefore, I, Albert Mendez, Mayor of the City of Fillmore hereby proclaims the month of May 2026 a Stroke Awareness Month and encourages all residents to learn the warning signs of stroke. Take preventative health measures and seek immediate medical attention by calling 911 if a stroke is suspected.
And we do have somebody here to receive it. We have another resident who we are going to also honor A copy of the proclamation. But I'm going to step down to I'm going to present this to, this is my wife in El Quintana, she had a stroke in July of 2025. And she's been a warrior this whole time and thank you for being so strong and as soon as you got home, you stepped up to your place and still being a leader in the community. Thank you and I love you and we're gonna fight through this okay?
So here you go. Thank you. And
moving on to item 5E, proclaiming in support of biodiversity of California's Central Coast May 2026. Proclaiming in support of biodiversity of California's Central Coast and May 2026. Whereas the state of California has identified the protection and restoration of biodiversity as a critical priority through major initiatives, such as the California Biodiversity Initiative 2018 and Executive Order N-82-20 which commits the state conserving 30% of its land in coastal waters by 2030, 30 by 30. And recognizes biodiversity as essential to climate resilience, food security and human well being.
And whereas California's natural and working lands climate smart strategy recognizes biodiversity, conservation and habitat restoration as essential components of the state's climate mitigation and adaptation goals encouraging local governments to integrate nature-based solutions into land used planning and community resilience efforts. And whereas local efforts to preserve Native species, restore degraded ecosystems, protect pollinator habitats and expand green infrastructure directly support California State Wildlife Action Plan. The pathways to 30 by 30 strategy and regional conservation frameworks such as California Floristic Province of which the South Coast Central Coast of California is a core part of.
And whereas local efforts to preserve native species, restore degraded ecosystems, protect pollinator habitats and expand green infrastructure within the City of Fillmore are already part of local planning efforts including the city's general plan, land use element And whereas California's central coast region, including the city of Fillmore and Ventura County sits in a critical biogeographic boundary where northern and southern ecosystems overlap creating a unique and ecologically rich environment With exceptional levels of species diversity and, whereas the region's diverse terrestrial ecosystems including oak woodlands, coastal sage scrub, chaparral, riparian corridors and the Santa Clara River watershed are home to numerous rare threatened and endemic plant species as well as hundreds of native wildlife species.
And whereas the broader regional marine and coastal environments of off Ventura County shores, including kelp forest, rocky in territorial zones and offshore areas such as the Channel Islands and the Channel Islands Biosphere Region support vital biodiversity including endangered species such as a southern sea otter, leatherback sea turtle and migratory whale populations.
And whereas these ecosystems are not ecologically valuable but are also Essential to the health, cultural heritage, climate resilience and economy of the city of Fillmore. Providing clean air and water protection from erosion and wildlife and opportunities for outdoor recreation, agricultural and education. And whereas the continued health of these biodiversity rich systems is threatened by habitat fragmentation, invasive species, pollution, climate change and unsuitable development. Underscoring the need for urgent coordinated action at the local level. Now therefore be it resolved that the city of Fillmore hereby recognizes ecological significance Central Coast as a global diversity hotspot and affirms its commitment to protecting the region's native flora, fauna, and marine ecosystems.
Supports the expansion of stewardship of local protected areas, greenbelt habitat quarters, and conservation areas including voluntary conservation easements, native habitat restoration projects, and urban biodiversity initiatives within and around the city of Fillmore. Commits to integrating biodiversity considerations into city planning, zoning and development decisions including the use of native plant landscapes, wildlife friendly design and nature-based solutions to climate resilience. Encourages partnerships with Chumash community members state and federal agencies conservation organizations land trust educational institutions and scientists to advance the habitat restoration community led science and biodiversity education And the city of Fillmore and surrounding region.
And direct staff to identify funding sources, including grants, state and federal programs, and private partnerships. And to report back with recommendations for advancing local biodiversity goals in alignment with state and regional conservation priorities. Thank you. And is there anybody?
We'll do the same mayor. We'll post that on social media website.
Thank you. Okay.
Moving on to item six. Public comments. Here for the to speak under public comments and items that are not under the agenda. Seeing none, I
move on to item seven City Council reports recommendations, comments committee commission and board reports
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Yeah, I'd like to share a great event that I participated in a couple weeks ago. And this was the Pothole Trail out in Peru. They ended up opening it up. It was a great United Water event. It was great just listening to the history behind the trail and the journey to get there just driving. In the past people would park on the side and then walk quite a distance just to get to the trail so it's open If you go into the front or Lake Piru, just say that you're going to be going to the Pothole Trail and then you don't have to pay. Just they let you ride in. It's great. You take the road all the way until it ends and then there's like this big parking area with gravel. It just set up. They've been putting signs and it's just great. It is great to see that there's gonna be another local trail open Another one, too, that I attended the Rotary 5K run.
That was really fun. Got a little late but I was there and I just got to see everybody together. My wife is from Oxnard so just seeing that everybody comes together as a community in Fillmore just fell in love with how united we are here in Fillmore. I also attended a meeting for the Ventura County Regional Emergency Energy Alliance. And so we had a public, we had a speaker from the local government climate alliance and they were talking about the technical climate solutions and some goals that they had. And so they would like to connect with existing municipal lobbyists to share some information because they feel like a lot of them are Often under informed about climate issues, so some of the goals that they're trying to have is secure some funding for cities and local climate actions.
Clean electricity, zero admission buildings and low carbon industries removing barriers for local clean energy and climate strategies. In addition to that they want to invest in wildfire prevention, water security, habitat restoration. urban greenery and using of natural-based solutions when possible. And they also want to improve housing affordability and air quality, public transits, and public health and safety in local economic development. They just also talked about the strategic planning. There are going to be some changes coming in terms of their branding.
When that happens I'll make sure to update everyone else but outside of that's it for me thank you
Thank you so much, Council Member Garnica.
So I have not a whole lot to report because I was on vacation last week but the Rotary 510k of course, I did see all the posts on Facebook about that and according to one of the organizers Cindy Blatt she reported that it was a very successful 510K run And we had very great community participation, and hopefully the Rotary Club will make a significant amount so we can give that money back to the community. Thank you so much.
Okay, thank you. So along the same lines as last Saturday the 16th we had our wonderful successful Rotary 5k 10k and also I think a really great health fair this was our sixth annual Health and Wellness Fair. This is a combination sponsored by the City of Fillmore and the Fillmore Unified School District so i just wanted to give a big thank you To the City of Fillmore, particularly Amanda Zavala for being a main coordinator and of course for the school district for their partnership. And Rosanna Lomeli at the School District.
It's grown from five or six years ago maybe a handful of booths or tables out in front of our city hall plaza to I think there was at least 45-50 vendors And, you know, a great turnout and it's been really nice working with the school district and with Rotary to promote it as sort of a day of fitness, a day of healthy living in Fillmore. So I think that's just going to continue to grow. So, I heard it was a great success so congratulations to everyone on all the efforts on that morning of Saturday the 16th.
I also just wanted to highlight that Last week, I attended at Mountain View Elementary School first thing in the morning actually on yeah a week ago past Monday. It was Public Works Week and it was really wonderful to see Joe Belomo and the Public Works crew and you know the fleet out there with the different trucks talking to the I think TK through Third graders maybe, and I think other council members went to other schools on other days. And it's just a really fun way to get the kids excited about what public works does and how important it is for our city to keep things clean and how they pick up and trim trees and basically keep our city functioning. And it was really cool to see that they got little mini hard hats and Shannon, the city made these wonderful coloring books for the kids that very Fillmore specific and it was just a great event.
So thank you Etika too for helping to get that organized and done. It was fun to attend. Let's see, I did have a Ventura Regional Sanitation District meeting and it was pretty usual business. The one thing that I just want to mention to the public that did come up in this was we are having a slight increase in the landfill disposal fees for our 2026-2027 year and the direct haul loads will increase in the amount of $1.36 per ton So it's going to go from $42.93 to $44, and then the transfer loads are going to increase by a very similar amount, by 3.1% basically. And these amounts per ton are a real example of again a public agency in a public sanitation district being able to still because they are non-profit we're not Making a profit off of the toll and landfill, able to keep these fees low compared to private landfills.
And so just want to put another punch in for the work of the sanitation district and the importance of the sanitation district here in Santa Clara Valley. Okay that's it. Thank you so much.
I don't have much to report as my committees have been kind of dark but I did also attend Public Works Week, which was great. I attended with Councilmember Brogy. We attended at Rio Vista Elementary School and it was a great event. Thank you to all who partook in this event to make it such a great event. And hire, hire! Yeah, it was a good event. And also right after that I rushed over to make coffee with our first responders and that was a great event as well and thank you to our first responders for keeping us safe all the time in all you do and Public Works for keeping our city functioning the way it should be. Thank you so much to both organizations.
Also wanted to highlight that tomorrow, May 27th at 6.30 PM at the Fillmore High School gym is a scholarship night and it's a big night for seniors who are graduating all our Rotary Lions and some of our other nonprofits will be giving away scholarship money to well-deserving Fillmore high school seniors and if you want to see a little bit of humanity how great our community is Attend a scholarship night here in Fillmore and see how much this community gives back to our youth. It's really, really a fantastic night and I urge you guys to all go and just be a witness to how great the city is in giving back. Also, I attended I want to shout out to some of our youth organizations. I personally attended my granddaughter's USATF Track Meet, which was in West Torrance High School and the Heritage Valley Blazers partook in this event.
And they did really, really well. Each individual from Fillmore that went did really well and they gave their best and represented Fillmore. There were several states—Texas, California, Oregon, Las Vegas, Nevada. And we're there and our athletes really performed well and showed that athlete from Fillmore can participate in big events like this and do well. And also I know that our Fillmore Girls Fast Pitch Softball, also All-Stars performed in Newport Beach, I think it was, and they did very well as well. And I know Fillmore Pony Baseball also had their playoffs. So just shout out to all the youth organizations out there that are supporting our youth and keeping them in positive I just want to make a quick announcement.
1:08 – 1:1414 turns
But there is a, um, a group just as a community group. It's not sponsored by City of Fillmore nor the city of Santa Paula but there was a Santa Paula Community Forum on the future of the hospital so I will be hearing the update of how this forum went tonight. The goal of The group and the goal of the forum sponsored by Santa Paula Latino Town Hall is, of course to maintain a full service hospital campus in the Santa Clara Valley. So this was a planning meeting that took place tonight and hopefully there was some community engagement from Fillmore, from Piru and I will report back on what the groups next steps are but yeah this is just a community group event thank you so
much. Moving on to number eight consent calendar and I know there's several Before we approve this consent calendar, I think some of our council members have to report out what districts they live in. So before as we make this motion please council members report what district you are and I believe do they abstain? Okay thank you so may I have a motion to approve the consent calendar please okay
There's a motion? I'll second with my abstention from stormwater district number four, Riverwalk.
Same thing and I would be SD number three. Okay.
I apologize to clarify that's on item 8E both abstentions. Yeah
sorry. Thank you. Item 8E yes. Right, thank you. Okay so that was only on item 8E. So we got a motion is there a second?
Yes
I second the motion with that exception.
All right sorry about that I missed that okay so all in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion passes unanimously, thank you.
Moving on to item 9A new business consideration of City Council resolution number 2426-4115 calling and giving notice of the November 3rd 2026 general municipal election
Hello mayor, council member. My name is Aniston Dehas. I am here to present and call the election for this upcoming November 2026. Just a little bit about the election and how to prepare for it. Three of our districts will be having to be reelected, District 1, District 3 and District 4. District 1 which will be running for a short term, District 3 will be a full term, and then District 4 will also be a full term.
District one, just to clarify is going to be a short term due to the fact that Luis Rodriguez was elected in November of 2024 for a full term of four years but did resign on October 13th of 2025 which is why we appointed Mario Rodriguez at that time who Mario Rodriguez was appointed Earlier or late last year, I believe. Sorry.
So it was December, so the council elected to go through the appointment process rather than the special election and so the council elected Councilmember
Rodriguez to be appointed through the cycle of like the next election which is November of this year. And so he's technically appointed for a full year through the election that would be December after we provide the election results to the council.
Yes. And District 3 and District 4 will be running full terms for both. Both will be full terms of four years, which is District 3 who is currently Mayor Albert Mendez and District 4 who is currently Council Member Kerry Brogy. The estimated cost for the city to run this general municipal election is approximately $7,100 plus the publication cost. The candidates will be bared to the cost of filing candidate statements if they choose to have them included in the ballot.
Requires that the city is conduct, that conduct is requiring that the city conducts the election for the city members and the City Council members for this November 3rd 2026. The resolution officially is calling the election this November I've attached the election calendar and our election day will be November 3rd of this year. And then just let me know if you have any questions.
1:14 – 1:2412 turns
Thank you, Anna for your presentation. I'll make a
motion. I'll move that the City Council adopt resolution number 26-4115 calling for the holding of a general municipal election to be held on Tuesday, November 3rd.
Okay we got a motion and second? All in favor? Aye Okay motion passes unanimously, thank you. Thank you Anna for your presentation.
Moving on to item 9B public hearing consideration of zoning ordinance amendment 26-01 ordinance 26-995 updating the Fillmore municipal code to comply with state laws regarding ADUs and junior ADUs.
Thank You mayor good evening City Council and city of Fillmore We're back yet again with another ADU ordinance revision. You just saw this last October with the state laws that were adopted prior to that. Subsequent to that, between October and December a couple more significant laws were adopted by the governor. We amended the ordinance subsequently to that those took effect January so our ordinances should be totally up-to-date and we're operating from everything that the state has required today. A little bit of background I think I pretty much covered this ordinance 25984 was the previous one that you adopted We sent that to HCD, the Housing and Community Development Department.
They are reviewing it and they should send us any changes or edits or anything that they feel may be inconsistent with the law. We understand cities do get comments. Once we do get those, we might have to amend the ordinance again and then send it back up there. But in any case, we'll send this change as well so we'll be kind of lapping the last review. Believe it or not, we're lapping the state and not the other way around.
So city AD ordinances must be kept consistent with state law requirements and ADUs meetings, meeting specified requirements under state law. Cities have very limited discretion in specifying development standards for ADUs. They're process ministerial which means it's basically an over-the-counter approval there's no hearing such as this as you would see for larger discretionary development projects This is Ordinance 26995 and it makes, as I said, specific updates to the ordinance. The significant bills adopted late last year were Senate Bill 543 and Assembly Bill 1154.
Just to give the audience a little bit of an idea what we're talking about with ADUs and planning and community development is full of acronyms. An ADU is an accessory dwelling unit, there's a detached accessory dwelling unit, attached accessory dwelling in it, and junior accessory dwelling units. The juniors are 500 square feet or less that are attached to the main primary house. Sometimes they share sanitation facilities with the primary house and sometimes they don't.
The detached ADUs are, like you see there, detached. And those do not pay development impact fees if they're 700 square feet or larger. You can't... Smaller or larger? Larger. If they're small... If they're 700 square feet or bigger, they pay development impact fees. If they're 749 or less, they do not. Sorry, excuse me. Thank you for that correction. You can have a A primary house, a converted garage to an ADU, a junior ADU and a detached ADU. So that's the total of three leaseable spaces.
A summary of the changes. These are just text edits. Provides that lots with multi-family dwellings can combine a converted ADU and detached ADU Lots with single family dwellings can combine a converted ADU or JADU with a detached ADU as I just mentioned Development impact fees do not apply to junior ADUs, this is a clarification. There are less than 500 square feet in livable space and it also clarifies that floor area for attached and detached ADUs and JADUs is measured as interior livable space so questions were coming up as to what's the square footage?
So there's a definition now of interior livable space Fire sprinklers cannot be required for junior ADUs if it's not required for the primary residence. The chief might be able to back me up that you wouldn't want sprinklers in some portion of the house and not in others, because it maybe accelerates fires if you don't have sprinklers throughout. It specifies that owner occupancy for JADUs is only required for... It requires that JADUs share sanitation facilities They must be owner-occupied if it shares sanitation facilities.
JDADUs cannot be used as short term rentals and it clarifies that additional accessory dwelling unit categories includes a combination of units subject to conditions that the floor area is measured as livable space. We went through a hearing with the Planning Commission back on April 22, and they unanimously voted to recommend approval of this ordinance. They made a couple of editorial changes which are listed there.
The California Environmental Quality Act has an exemption for this type of inaction. It would only allow for the construction of ADUs in residential zones consistent with state law so there's no environmental consequences and no CEQA document is required Tonight's recommendation is that the City Council two-fold. One, open and conduct a public hearing. And two, approve the first reading to introduce the ordinance 26995 approving zoning ordinance amendment 26-01 and a finding of exemption from CEQA. And I'll read what the ordinance is here. An ordinance of the City Council of the city of Fillmore, California amending section 6.04.0415 of the Fillmore Municipal Code to update the city's zoning ordinance to comply with state laws regarding accessory dwelling units and junior accessory dwelling units and a finding of exemption from CEQA.
I'd be more than happy to answer any questions.
Thank you. Does anybody have any questions?
I do. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you Brian for your presentation. So my question is related to ADUs and not particularly a question on the verbiage of the ordinance but we had a conversation a little while ago about The state laws that are coming down and being, you know, revising this information that we have to now revise our municipal code on ADUs. But also I have a question about superseding right? So a few years ago Chief Garola came up and we had a city ordinance about Thank you, Mr. Mayor.
You know, boundary triangle sort of closing in a little bit and that really the boundaries of the city both north south east west were also what we thought were not okay for building ADUs. Is it now pretty much that the state is superseding the local government ordinances and also sort of what's happening with any, with the fire map? So I know it's a specific question to this item but I just was wondering if you could provide a little clarification on that. Yes thank
you and it has been a bit in limbo of late so we were...I was holding on these revisions to kind of see if we were going to move a different direction or not with What we call the Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone. So you're correct and back in I think it was 2022, we adopted an ordinance and we made findings that the very high fire hazard zone represented public health and safety hazard.
You might recall there's been a lot of fires that were happening every few years and so The fire code and other codes do allow some latitude for the local fire chiefs to make local-based decisions based on how fires are acted here. So that's why that was adopted, it was perceived that the very high fire hazard zone was a hazard. A lot of it having to do with access and the Chief can back me up but...
We have that in our ordinance, that prohibits the ADUs in that zone. The state handbook recently came out and said based on the state CAL FIRE that it was kind of mostly intended maybe to affect materials, you know, the building materials and the building code was updated to require fire resistant materials which are implemented at Creekside But it goes on to say in the latest handbook, unless the city has adopted specific findings as to the health and safety hazard which we have on the books.
And so we didn't strike and edit that portion of our code at this point in time. We'll send it up to HCD and see if they make a comment and suggest that we do change it but it's kind of one Teeter kind of teetering, but because we have that on the books that we adopted the help that it was a health and safety hazard. We didn't want to change it right now at this point and the chief's been been monitoring this.
Yeah. Okay. That answer?
It does and I think it's helpful too. I think the bottom line for me you know speaking with constituents and people asking more and more about ADUs is people say I live in you know XYZ place can I get an ADU so The answer to them that I would say is go, come to City Hall and speak to our planning department. And you know they'll confer with our chief fire chief. Yes.
Our code as adopted by the council is we are prohibiting it. If something happens and it gets challenged and HCD really says hey you know what? You need a change. We'll revisit that but right now that's what's in our code so we're bound by that.
That's helpful and thank you for allowing
the question.
1:24 – 1:3423 turns
So Brian just to clarify, so from what I just heard it sounds like if they're in an area that has previously been declared as a high-fire zone then an ADU may not be approved?
It's a very high fire hazard severity zone. And I only say that because there is a category of what you just said, which is a reduced severity where you can do an ADU.
But any properties that are outside of that very high severity zone, these likely changes would allow an ADU?
They're already allowed. OK. Yeah.
This just clarifies some of the language about specifics, right? Other stuff, yeah. That's what I thought. OK, great. Thank you so much.
And I did have two questions. They were answered via email, but is it OK if I read them out loud now? So I had two questions. In the past five years how many ADU permits have been processed by the city? And then that gets to answer 61? Yeah. My second question was has staff analyzed infrastructure impacts in the older neighborhoods?
Yes and we had previously, and there were some sewer capacity issues that caused the city to adopt a prohibition in a certain area in North Fillmore. That constraint has been alleviated by the work that Williams Homes has done at Creekside so they've freed up some of the capacity in that area. And so that's not a constraint at the moment. We are updating the overall citywide sewer master plan, so the sewer study has all been put forth. It's in draft.
The sewer looks okay until you mass populate it with ADUs on every lot throughout the entire city but we're still evaluating that and I think they'll have to troubleshoot some different scenarios as to when the sewer then gets impacted again but so far it's going in the right direction in terms of sewer capacity Yeah. And I think the state law would prohibit us from prohibiting ADUs based on that factor in any case, yeah.
Interesting. Okay.
So a lot of things moving with the ADUs, yeah.
But thank you so much, Brian, for your presentation. Is there a motion to approve?
Yeah, I will make the following... Oh
actually we didn't. Oh no, I did it. At this time I'll open the public hearing And seeing as there's nobody here for the public hearing, I'll close the public hearing now and entertain a motion to approve.
I'll make that motion that the City Council approve the first reading to introduce ordinance number 26-995 approving zone or ZOA 26-01 and find exemption from CEQA. And the ordinance language is an ordinance of the city council, the city of Fillmore California amending section 6.04.0415 of the Fillmore Municipal Code to update the city's zoning ordinance to comply with state laws regarding accessory dwelling units and junior accessory dwelling units, and finding of exemption from CEQA.
Thank you. I got a motion and second? Second. Okay, motion second. All in favor? Aye. Motion passes unanimously. Thank you. And thank you again Brian.
Moving on to item number 9C, adoption of plan specifications and cost estimate for project specification 25-08 Santa Clara Street waterline improvements.
Good evening Mayor and City Council I am your city engineer Ms. Roxanne Hughes Here to talk to you about this item. Already been kind of a long night, so hopefully this is pretty straightforward for you. This is we're seeking City Council's approvals of the plan specs and engineer's estimate. We're not advancing. There we go. On the Santa Clara Street waterline improvements which is also affectionately known as project spec number 2508 along with Authorization for staff to advertise the project for competitive construction bids.
So giving you a little background, this is about replacing the aging water line in Santa Clara Street. It is an old cast iron pipeline. The existing water line is circa 1955. It's really corroded, it doesn't have a lot of pressure in it. It no longer meets current demand requirements. This project will support reliability, future expansion and infrastructure improvements Um, it was the first portion of it starting at Mountain View was previously appraised by the developer with the mountain view apartments job that was negotiated into the entitlement and they needed to connect that line anyway so it benefited them. It benefited us They replaced it just up to their driveway. I have a map in a little bit to show you that, and so this picks it up there and takes it all the way to the end of Santa Clara Street where it currently dead ends, and we'll reconnect it at that point to the meters and backflow preventer.
It actually crosses the creek and goes up to the old Texaco site and stuff from there, but that's all private behind meter, behind backflow, so we're replacing the public portion. Was approved to do the design for it back in October. We've been doing Everything that we do in this town is a plethora of field work and discovering all kinds of interesting things I'll tell you that So yes, it's had a little bit longer the design timeline We had to do ground penetrating radar all kinds of it You know fun stuff to figure out what was out there What was not out there and what it was? And so we're there I feel good about it Where we're to the ready-to-bid This is the map I promised you, so you see Santa Clara Street in the middle there. This purple portion of the water pipe, the old water pipe is actually on the north side of the street and they put a new, the new water pipe on the south side of the street and then they stopped right there where the end of the purple line is their second driveway entrance into the Mountain View Apartments and that's where the new waterline and then they crossed back to the north and connected to the old pipe or we're gonna Disconnected from the old pipe continue it up the street and take it all the way in to that end just before it crosses over The highway, so that's the project simplified of course.
That means every Water meter, fire hydrant, blow off valve. All of the equipment connected to that water pipe has to reconnect to the new water pipe so this is very simplified but you get the idea. That's what we're talking about. We're estimating construction costs at $430 grand. That includes an additive alternate to repave all of Santa Clara Street as part of this utility. We're going to Well, maybe it's a surprise that it's super cheap for the utility company to do it. So that's included in that 430 and then we'll figure out what pockets to pay it when we do the analysis and decide what we're doing. I think either way some of the paving has to come out of the water enterprise, right?
So once we get this bid which is what we're asking for you to do tonight just let me bid it and then we'll analyze it and we'll come back to you with a detailed analysis And so the goal alignments, public infrastructure yes. Enhanced water system reliability and service capacity yes. And coordinating on infrastructure with future paving improvements, yes. So this is my recommendation and I'll address any questions.
Thank you so much. Thank you for your presentation. I really like your graphics. Great job. 100%. Good job. But I had one question. How long will the businesses and residents in that area be impacted?
A water line of this nature is probably going to take a couple months to install. And we will review and approve the traffic control plan and issue an encroachment permit that will require that they maintain access to the businesses and residents for the duration. Of course, the only time that there won't be is when they're actively doing the pipeline right by your driveway. So for that day you know but at night they'll plate it and reopen it and we'll make sure that we minimize the disruption as much as possible but it will probably take two months to install, at least two months.
Okay thank you any other questions? All right. Seeing no other questions or discussion, may I entertain a motion?
Yes. Yes. I would like to entertain the motion for the City Council to adopt the attached plan specification and estimate PS&E for the Santa Clara Street waterline improvement project spec number 25-08 and the authorized advertisement for construction bids.
Okay. I got a motion in second. Second. Motion second all in favor. Aye. Motion passes, thank you Roxanne.
Moving on to item 9D consideration of authorization for Veolia to proceed with repairs to the City of Fillmore Recycling Plant. Thank You
Mr. Mayor. Good evening
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So the Fillmore water recycling plant was constructed in 2009. It is currently operated by Veolia under an existing design, build and operate contract. Over time numerous components at the facility have deteriorated and now require repair or replacement. Veolia has identified 55 pieces of equipment in varying states of disrepair With an estimated total repair costs exceeding $1.9 million.
The immediate request focuses on the repairing of the plant's core screen, part CS-100. This is a critical component necessary for the plant's operation in addressing other high priority maintenance issues. Previously, the City Council actioned in July of 2025 Authorized funding for the refurbishment of the Coors Green. However, additional funding is needed to complete the work including the associated labor costs, debris removal, equipment handling and contract markup required under the DBL agreement.
The remaining funds will support troubleshooting, repairs and replacement of multiple plant systems including fine screens, pumps, motors, valves, variable frequency drives, piping and solid handling equipment. The repairs are intended to improve the plants reliability maintenance operational compliance And ensure that the facility maintains full functionality through the expiration of the current DBO contract in 2029.
Although, the work is not specifically budgeted in fiscal year 2025-26, staff recommends using available funds, sewer reserve funds to address the urgent infrastructure needs. Staff is therefore requesting authorization for Veolia Water Contract Services, USA LLC to proceed with the critical repairs and troubleshooting at the Fillmore Recycling Plant. Staff recommends transferring $220,000 from Sewer Reserve Fund 503 to the Sewer Operating Fund.
And I have a correction on the staff report that's actually fund 301 to fund this work. So that concludes my report. I'd be happy to answer any questions.
OK, any questions?
Go ahead, John.
Yeah, so Joe just to be clear, so last year I remember going through this and asking several questions on the screen. So they decided basically that replacing it was not necessary and we could repair it. And we gave authorization to do that. Now they're coming back and saying oops, we underestimated it and we need another 220k. Is that basically what's going on?
Yeah, unfortunately everything wasn't considered when we brought this item last year. We were very reactive to that failure of the core screen. It's a very critical piece of the plan and we've been surviving Very luckily for this last year without it, using other pieces of equipment to help mitigate it. But in that time they became you know non-functional the coarse green all the debris had accumulated against it in the channel
okay
so part of the I guess forethought on what would be needed would be to block off that channel, clean everything that's in it and in the way of repairing the coarse screen and then the 15% markup. That 50% markup was a miscommunication between me and the plant operator. Okay. I thought it had been included and it hadn't been. So they went forward and purchased the equipment for the refurbishment.
So they have a kit on site, and that was delivered several months ago. But we've been held up with this negotiating between the manufacturer Parsons and Veolia. No offense to attorneys, but their attorneys could not agree on contract languages.
Okay. So between Parsons and Veolia you're saying? Yes. Okay great thank you.
Great. Thank you so much.
Okay, thank you Mayor. Thank you for your presentation Joe. So my question was sort of what you spoke to I wasn't sure we got trying to clarify what we meant by Veolia and Parkson had yet to come in agreement. So this is so Parkson not only makes the kit but they're they come and they do the installment
Yeah, unfortunately this is one of those pieces of equipment that's very proprietary and you can't use other parts to rehab it. Okay. But nothing is for certain but their first crack at it is going to be to block the channel, clear the channel and then try to dislodge the part that stuck on the train And if they could dislodge it, they can replace that simple bar part or weld it back in place and then we could save the rebuild kit for a future date and keep it running. So the cost will go down tremendously and then we can use that money to work our way down the list on the other things that have failed there at the plant.
So all in all, this is a better approach than what we had envisioned last year. And overall this is a staff report, a step in the right direction on getting on top of these other issues at the plant that just keeps on plaguing us.
Yeah, and my second question was related to that. So seeing the long, long list of things that need to be replaced, identified, installed, removed. I'm just looking at all the verbiage here. And it all being listed here and sort of almost like coming to a helm here. I guess my question is about The maintenance and Veolia and just regular maintenance in their contract, like I would have expected a number of these to be done over the course of the last however many 10-15 years. So I'm making just a comment on that I know that we're doing what we need to do now, and thank you so much for working and really holding our water contractor to account and making sure that we get done what needs to get done. And I think it's something though for us as council members to see that moving forward just ensuring You know, we don't get a long list like this again.
We see that we don't do what we can and provide the leadership and the agreement of expenditures that we can to do maintenance along the way. That's sort of my comment there.
Thank you. And just for a matter of clarification, it's not entirely the contractor's fault. It's the understanding of available budget and working with what you have for a long period of time. And then we had our sewer collapse on C Street and then all of our money went to that. So the belt got a lot tighter in what we can afford at the plant. For the lack of a better term, finger pointing at Veolia. This is just what we had as far as resources and it kind of feels like I haven't been around for the entire time but it kind of feels like they were told from the very get go you have a very limited budget when that plant opened up to keep things running so Money has always been a factor in the consideration of what gets repaired. And then when you factor in redundancies at the plant, it just becomes a reason why not to repair things right away.
Sure, sure. And I appreciate that clarification and my comments came across that way as a finger pointing. I think I wanted to more just bring to light sort of what you said about how the plan has been looked at in terms of the limited budget We also, I think as leaders and as elected officials need to hold our rate payers also speak to us and that sort of thing. So it's important that we're having this discussion and thank you for the clarifications on sort of the history of this and where it comes from.
Right, and I also want to make one other point of clarification. The 55 pieces of equipment that I referenced in the staff report is not the same thing as that list of things we've got to tackle. There's multiple things in that list that's inside the staff report that could be covered under one part, one of the 55 parts that's in disrepair. So yeah, it's going to be a long two years at least to get that plant fully functional by the time their contract is
up.
But that is the goal was to get it 100% fully functional.
Thank you. Any other questions? Okay, no other questions. Can I have a motion please?
Yes, I'd like to make a motion that the City Council transfer $220,000 from Fund 503. Is that the correct fund Joe? 301. Transfer 2-301. Yeah, I thought I remembered you saying there was a correction. From Fund 301? Yes sir. To Fund 463? No.
1:45 – 2:1013 turns
It's coming from 503 going to 301. Oh,
gotcha. OK. So transfer $220,000 from Fund 503 to Fund 301 and authorize the Public Works Director to authorize Veolia to proceed with the necessary repairs to the core screen and other critical repairs for an amount not to exceed $220,000. Do we have a motion? Second? I'll
second. Motion second. All in favor? Aye. Thank you, motion passes. Thank you Joe. Thank you all.
Moving on to item number 9E award of contracts for phase two with the sports field lighting project
Staff is seeking approval to award a contract to Techline Sports Lighting LLC for phase two of the improvements at Two Rivers Park sports lighting project, which will provide sports lighting improvements at the park's baseball fields. Staff also recommends appropriating $556,486 from unallocated Park Improvement Fund reserve to finance this project. The project continues the city's long-term efforts to enhance recreational amenities at Two Rivers Park in response to ongoing community requests for additional sports field lighting.
Improved lighting will expand field availability for the youth sports organizations, particularly during the shorter daylight hours in the fall and winter seasons. Sports field lighting was originally identified as a desired park improvement by the City Council in 2007 Park Plan. The City Council's approved 2007 Park Plan. This phase follows a successful completion of Phase 1 by the same company in November of 2024.
which installed lights over the soccer and football practice fields at the park. The proposed contract to Techline Sports Lighting will cover the purchase, delivery, installation of lighting fixtures at the baseball fields. This city is utilizing the Sourcewell Cooperative Purchasing Program which allows public agencies to leverage competitively bid contracts and volume pricing without conducting a separate local bid process.
Staff notes that this procurement method has previously provided cost savings and operational efficiencies on several city projects. The total cost of the project is proposed at, that dollar figure I mentioned $556,486 dollars and 88 cents, which includes a 5% contingency for unseen conditions. Although the project is not currently included in fiscal year 25-26 budget staff is recommending funding be improved through available park improvement fund reserves The project supports the City's Council priorities to enhance, of enhancing parks and recreational facilities and programs.
That concludes my report and I'd be happy to answer any questions.
Thank you so much Joe. Any questions?
Okay, I'll move that the City Council approve the appropriation in the amount of $556,486.88 from the unallocated funds for the Park Improvement Fund 464 for the purchase delivery and installation of sports field lighting for baseball fields at Two River Parks And approve a contract in a form approved by the City Attorney's Office with Techline Sports Lighting LLC for an amount not to exceed $556,486.88 for the project. Thank you. We got a motion and second? I'll second.
We've got a motion and a second. All in favor? Aye. Motion passes unanimously. Thank you. Thank you.
Thank you
moving on to item 9 F adoption of resolution 26-4 113 approving the municipal cost allocation plan for the City of Fillmore and adoption of resolution 26-114 approving the fiscal year 2026-27 annual budget
Good evening Councilmembers, Mayor Mendez. It's Debra Cavallo time for the fiscal year 2026-2027 preliminary budget as well as our cost allocation plan. So first off I want to talk about the cost allocation plan and see how my slideshow may have a little bit of Hiccups, but we'll go through so that cost allocation plan. We hired will then financial services to perform the planning calculation The last cap was done in fiscal year is 2017 the city administration finance department public works were part of the process the plan results are Provide both a cap for OMB compliance and full cap. So what's OMB? As you see, the nice Office of Management and Budget, super circular.
And this is basically for federal programs. And so we have two different types of calculations. And the cost allocation plan allows cities to allocate a portion of central service costs to operating departments. There's 10 departments that they identified as you see here. City clerk, human resources, information technology, risk management Finance Department, Central Garage and Government Buildings.
A little clear with my formatting but there's components used to determine the distribution of the costs, total number FTEs for all of the operating funds and the general fund, modified direct costs or looking at the budget for each department and fund, total salaries and benefits Total accounts payable, the number of accounts payable invoices that have been processed. Total number of vehicles and equipment. And the total building square footage.
The first one you see here is the results of the study. And this is for, again, for the OMB compliance. So what does this mean? They look at this and take out certain items that shouldn't be in there such as yourself. City Council, they don't want legislative cost in there. They do not want debt service costs, bad debt costs, anything that is not really related to the cost of the process.
Also too regarding this item, Want to ensure that it's really for, again, financial programs. So if you are safe or there is a grant that you want to use, you can use this if you want to. Sometimes it's better not to incur the cost allocation plan because then sometimes they come back and say well they want maybe the federal way to calculate your usage for vehicles rather than what you have in your cost allocation plan portion.
So the next item here is the full one. And this is the one that's going to be pairing in our budget, so what they utilize is, in this particular case, they utilized 23-24's information and then this was supposed to be part of the 25 budget. However due some delays we are using these items here for the 26-27 budget which is in here today. What happens is then for the next year, we'll look at the costs associated for all the departments and operating funds. And then we might be doing a new allocation for the next fiscal year. And we also do accommodate to ensure that, for example, maybe you say you're going to spend $10 million in your general fund in finance department, let's say. But you don't. You don't want to then go and allocate it out to these other funds if that cost never existed.
So you do look at the allocations that you do apply for. So that's the end of that presentation. So do you have any questions?
Questions? No, OK.
OK, great. So that would be for resolution number 4113. So now to the main event, which is our preliminary budget for 2026-27. First of all I'd like to thank Council Member Villasenor and Council Member Brogy. They are on our Budget Ad Hoc Committee so they met with us numerous times and also helped give us guidance, a sound board to ensure that we are doing the focus that are the city goals as well as any opportunity that they have heard That we can be able to look at our budgets and understand that perhaps there's a new trajectory. Because we do a very, very thorough job in our budgets. Of course I always want to do more but there's only so much time in the day. But we do appreciate your help and assistance.
So let's get started! So what is a budget? We actually did a budget presentation, Budget 101 on May 14th. We had it here in the City Hall Chambers and while we had two people, we were very fortunate to have them because they asked numerous questions, gave great feedback on how to do the presentation And also we are going to be doing a slide for like a two, three minute slide that Angel is working on to give you more overview of how budget works. I was more of the in-depth to let you know here's the whole process.
So for us here is a few slides here so what is a budget? You know it's great maybe used as a policy tool be held accountable, and also transparency to let the public know what the government funding sources are and how the money is being spent. So this is the City of Fillmore budget process as you see many little items here. We have, you know we approve it, City Council, you approve our budget guidelines for us and a development schedule. We also have project available fund balance for the upcoming fiscal year. And we identify all the operating credits for the city And also ensure that we are right now maintaining the 40% general fund reserves. That was a, I think, I believe a code or a resolution by the City Council.
Again, we also don't look at tomorrow. We look at tomorrow plus five years and maybe more you can do more but as you know when you project further than five years usually that's a little have a grayer area And then we also have to make sure that this is something that is coming up more frequently, legislation requirements or new legislation coming down the pike. If you know it may not be this year, maybe the next year. It happens with us when we do our annual ACFR, our financial statements. There's always a new GASB rule coming in that we have to make sure we prepare as fast as we can and as accurate as we can.
We then also meet with the department heads to review their request. We tell them what we call a wish list. Now some may say, don't call it a wish list but say a wish list tells us what you know because we finance may not know city manager or ad hoc may not know. What are you seeing in your day-to-day operations? Or you're seeing in the legislation that could be That will be affecting us in the future. Or as Joe had mentioned through the sewer, what are you seeing that impacts that we need to just repair now to mitigate an issue in the future?
Then we also present the preliminary budget here to City Council for approval. Then the fiscal year end, we then evaluate to see what went well and how we can do better. Again, this is also a living document. So there as you know, as you did tonight, you do approval for additional funds for the budget so it always is moving and that's a good thing because it lets you be able to attack something that may be urgent such as the sewer collapse that happened a few years ago.
So here's our budget cycle we wanted to show what it's like. It's not just a few months, it's actually throughout the year And it's a collaboration, city departments led by the City Manager's Office and the City Council. It can start from November, July to November there is your financial assessment, strategic planning. Already in December we're starting to do our projection and mid-year prep. Then comes our budget timeline that we have approved.
Go through all the meetings as we discussed, more budget meetings go through the ad hoc And then get a budget approval and adoption by the City Council, which we are seeking tonight. And then we publish the adopted budget and then the new fiscal year begins. We did on the 20th, we did already do the preliminary budget to make sure that public was aware what we're going to be talking about tonight.
So here is the 2025-2026 city accomplishments. We had over 90 accomplishments that were added in the city manager's letter to our budget And it was achieved by the city across a wide range of services. You had infrastructure, public safety, planning and parks and recreation in government. A sample included we replaced the City Community Center windows The grant funding for traffic enforcement, economic development plan in partnership with the Economic Development Ad Hoc Committee. Installed this sport field lighting and landscape at Two Rivers Park, improved updates to the housing element and received state certification of the sixth cycle of housing element.
And implemented a GIS system that now has public access. For 2026-27, we continued our trajectory to identify objectives to provide quality service to the community. Such as our first do software which you saw a few meetings ago that would help with our timekeeping. Modernizing record keeping agenda management The Public Safety Citizen Academy in English and Spanish to connect and strengthen relationships with our community.
The City Hall kiosk improvements, explore opportunity for business education workshops, resource fairs, partnerships with regional agencies and organizations not just maybe local because there is a great one as you go to meetings or as you know travel you'll see other organizations that may have Other ideas and help you maybe with funding sources. I went to a leadership training last week, and I met with various different cities that were having discussions about their funding sources, what they've done, what they've done with the pool, what they've done with the park. So it was very interesting items to have.
And we also are continuing evaluating to streamline our processes. And reduce the redundancies through technology innovation. Of course, today I was doing my presentation and it goes, don't you know that AI go well? AI was fighting with me today. But we had little hiccups but overall it worked. So next up, we're talking about the 2026-27 general fund revenue preliminary budget. So we are projecting $12,204,101. We usually don't need to be rounding but we kind of went with the more detailed. The highest one will be sales tax at 3.7 million. We use the same estimate that was done in the last year because even though there was a projection for an increase due to recent events such as high gas prices And some other, I guess like certain layoffs and that nature uncertainties.
We kept it flat. And you see the majority of it along with then becomes the property tax in lieu fee. That's your vehicle license fee. That is actually an interesting one. In 2004, it was cut down from 2%, I believe like 0.65%. And so what happened was cities and counties said this is funding that we rely on So therefore they did a reallocation of property tax, so it's kind of a mesh. But when you receive it, you don't receive it on your property tax one. The next one, of course, is property tax at 1.3 million.
Now we also reached out to the county, and the slide that we were using for the 8%, they informed us it was outdated. So we asked for additional, for what would be more of our receipt of property tax. Unfortunately, the one that they were sending was also including the redevelopment properties which we do not receive as of yet. That is until the redevelopment agency is dissolved. We're still thinking it's roughly around the eight to 10%. But I'm looking at the flat Property tax because we do get also a successor agency residual tax. That is where they take all the property tax, distribute it out to the obligations such as our successor agency to pay the bonds as well as some administrative costs and for disposal of property and therefore any residual of that we receive it.
And that year over year we have been receiving an increase and we are projecting to have about $872,000. And then the remaining, of course there's in-government grants. We're waiting for grant funding for one project associated with fire. There was a delay due to, of course we had government shutdowns and the one... The fire grant is actually associated with Department of Homeland Security so that one took a little bit longer to get back up and running. So now we're awaiting and contacting to see if when the grant will be coming as well.
So the next one, and we also too wanted to reiterate with you transfers from other funds. This is the cost allocation plan I discussed as well and other transfers for example We have two rivers parks that has we have an operation fund funding source That was given a few years ago that we're now applying to the general fund So how is sales tax distributed in 2627 preliminary? We estimate 3.7 million or approximately 30% of the total revenue And that comes from sales tax. So current sales tax rate is 7.25, and below this is from the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration, and this is the breakdown below. So you'll see that we receive, roughly they receive 6% of the property tax, and then the rest, the 1.25%, 1% goes to either city or the county because the county does have unincorporated areas, and then 0.25 goes to the County Transportation Fund.
But if you would notice under the third one where it says goes to public safety fund, we that means we also get some funding that comes back in the prop 172 tax. So we do get some of that money but again it's not the full amount so we want to ensure to let them know that that 7.25 does not all stay within the city it is dispersed So the next, we have the 26-27 tax related funding revenue budget. And we wanted to show you how what's the snapshot of last five years have been in showing the total revenue streams from the top to the lowest in these tax areas and as you can see there is a sales and use tax is the highest then they property tax in lieu fee vehicle license fee and then property tax in this accessory agency And this is over from 2023 actual to the 2027 budget.
For the 26-27 appropriations, we have $13.2 million...$600,000? $670,000. So with that amount as you can see here, the majority is 32% is police of which the police Also has what we have the school resource officers. So there's two in there so in the revenue portion We do receive for repayment for one resource plus half of the other one. So that is They do have that money is Can be applied to that again our fire services and then our city administration or city administration is more than just The city manager's office, it's also the city clerk's office. It's also the animal regulations as well.
And yes, also too we have transfer out to other funds. This is one of other funds that we either support via capital improvement projects or for additional funding that they are unable to meet their needs. So this slide here should say 26-27. The appropriation budget here is highlighting the different expenses So we have 25,000 put aside for the municipal elections for three seats.
A 4% salary increase per the MOA which is the last year as of the MOAs. Then there's 207,000 in liability and property insurance. Now the issue we're facing Other agencies are the increase in liability insurance, and some workmen's comp a majority of liability insurance. This year we had a one-time decrease to keep it at 30%, but next year we were informed that that one time adjustment will not be taking place. And again this is not just our city there's other cities because we're a member of JPIA so therefore even if you may not have a liability issue they can spread the wealth for the insurance.
Of course, there are seeing more maybe litigation in that nature and so therefore they are projecting a higher increase. Our increase for the annual animal regulation contract it went from I think 166 to 189 so now we're about $203,000. We have 3,000 for the North Fillmore specific plan as well as 50 for the housing element. Fuel costs our fuel costs are going up so we have 200,000 in here for just fuel expenses And so that can continue to go up. So that's an item that we are looking at for future, just make sure we split out to other departments. $103,000 for fire vehicle equipment maintenance. We have $190,000 for various protective and EMS equipment.
We had a 3.1% increase in sheriff contract rates And then there's 534,000 we're going to be spending on park maintenance and utilities. This past year there was work on repairing water lines that we saw there was leaks as well as they had a schedule for the tree trimming and now that kind of schedules moving away but they are still maintaining and reviewing park maintenance.
For 26-27 revenue fund appropriations for special, we want to show this is what the transfer out goes from general funds. So you see that we have $318,000 is going to the gas tax. Now the gas tax, we do have an MOE that we need to spend I think roughly if Roxanne might remember it's at $28,000, $25,000 that we must spend a year At least matchings in order to keep getting the funds for the gas tax and RMRA because it's supposed to not be a replacement, it is supposed to be your supplement. Also we have $535,000 going to recreation fund, $231,000 going to this again that we're giving contributions to the pool and then $65,000 in construction and progress and $53,000 another.
The special revenues, when you give a special revenue they are supposed to be self-supportive but of course things can happen that increases over time and the ability of your materials and or needing more personnel. You may not be able to cover all costs. The gas tax is actually $982,000 so that has an error on there for the $872,00 And there you see that we're having the storm drain outlet cleaning.
We have also sidewalk repairs and street lights and tree maintenance. Of course, street lights, you can't change that one unless you have less lights but that one is getting about $115,000. And tree maintenance again they're doing deferred maintenance on the trees in the right of ways.
2:10 – 2:256 turns
Just out of curiosity, do we have a program to replace conventional lighting with LED lights?
Not that I'm aware of at this time. That could be a public...
It's already done okay thanks.
I should put that to the accomplishment 101. Wonderful great thank you Joe And now we have the recreation fund. We have $303,000 for the senior nutrition program. We do receive right now a budget of $120,000 grant revenue offset but also as you recall we mentioned that since now we've taken over the food And doing the processing, how it worked in the past. The county would cover the food cost with money they had paid from other programs and COVID I think had COVID funding. And then receive roughly about $80,000 a year to cover our costs. Well now we're taking care of the food. We see between 120 and actually in 2026 they gave us additional 25,000. So received 145,000 to cover costs for food but then the remaining cost is on the general fund.
Then we have $240,000 which would be actually $312,000 for the active adult center and community centers. The community center is where we have the boys and girls club. They pay rent roughly about $6,000 a year on those items. And then also the active adult center, we also use that for we have people to have Zumba classes or other meetings associations. The next one is the community pool.
That's the expense to, of course, run the pool. Now some of these as we may have mentioned and we do have our meetings with the council individually discuss our budgets. This does not reflect right now any of the capital improvements that we have for the pool which roughly anywhere from the pool replastering as well as the fans painting in that nature And that is not reflected in the fund balance that we have. So the recreation and the community pool are two that have a negative fund balance that we're working on a glide path to eliminate.
And for the community pool, $87,000 covered by the parcel tax which is at the $15 property for each property. I don't have my property taxes with me since I'm not in Fillmore but that was done in 2010 And then we have $80,000. That was an increase from last year for our Fillmore Unified School District rental. Now we're on to the appropriations for other special revenue and other funds. So the special revenue continued.
We have right now a placeholder of the public transit which is $751,000 that is money that we get from the TDA funding. 8, TDA8C which is the funding that covers the public transit and then we have 3 article 3 which is the bike path. We just I looked at the budget and look what it passed that amount will be lowered so you'll be receiving a staff report from us probably in August and September to accept the funding sources they have and distribute and redo the funding for here.
$166,000 for expenses or appropriations for solid waste. This is for cow recycle on the various collection programs such as housing and hazardous waste of course. And there is talk, we're not sure. We have revenue in here for some CalRecycle but they may be looking at funding. We're unaware of what kind of funding will be coming for the next fiscal year. We have $50,000. This is our second payment for the Housing Trust Fund for Ventura County that was approved by Council And then we have $407,000 that are addressing the homelessness and long-term housing. This is part of the 1.4 million dollars that we received in 2025 if I believe that's correct.
And also too in where the Housing Trust Fund is occurring, we still have earmarked and it pushed to the side the $500,000 that was approved for the People Self Help And so therefore that funding is still in the account. Then we have our enterprise fund, and this is their basic operating excluding depreciation. We have $808.7 million of expenditures for the sewer. What does that entail? Well 577,000 is expenses that Joe had mentioned that we will have repairs that are both capitalizable and just operation and maintenance, and we're using 577 from the rate stabilization fund to pay for these costs. Update on FEMA, FEMA of course is right now and many of you are aware it is still in Cal OES. They are in their peer review they have varying levels of peer review also of course as you know we have there's incidents now with other FEMA resources being pulled but it is being monitored we have a analyst Michelle who calls me occasionally watching us because of the size of our cost and how long it's been out Also, this is category B.
So the category that we don't have still approved as Category F, it's still a large project with FEMA. I am in contact with this federal government to see when that would be approved and this one here, the B is around roughly almost $8 million whereas the other ones roughly $2 million. Then we have the Water Operating Fund at $9.3 million. We have $403,000 from the reservoir maintenance. That's going to be the reservoir painting which is also not going to be maintenance but also maintenance but I believe it's capitalizable for the painting to extend either keep or extend the life of the reservoir. We have $207,000 in well repairs. We are making sure that our wells are up and running.
We have radio meters to ensure that we have the inventory for our new meters that we have with our AMI program And then 3.2 million, not K, but million transfer for CIP project. This is the well 10 construction irrigation and also the irrigation line replacement for a few of these projects. Again we also of course always look to try to find grant funding but this is where the funding will be when well 10 is going through construction.
And to let you know, the calendar year 20, it's gonna be December 2027 that will be the end of the five years for the rates that were approved And so we're now going to be doing the sewer and water rate study, because it does take a long time. Because not only you have to do analysis of your projects now, the projects in future, you also have to get public buy-in if there will be an increase, and also doing the Prop 218 process.
Next, we have our capital appropriations. We have $6.4 million. The majority of that, of course, is the Well 10 and the Well 5 demolition. So I mentioned that as well. And then we have others. The City Hall generator, as you're aware, we are going to be repairing that, removing and replacing that generator. And so we're using DIF funds that we have for the city facilities and then well 10 will be the same with water and water DIF. And then there's various things. We're doing the treatment replacements. There is reservoir painting. There is well 7 and 8 chlorine pumps. So there is a majority of items whether small or large that we are still gonna achieving in fiscal year 2027. 2027 active debt service, as you can see we're now going to be at ending balance for 2027 at $45 million of which as you see the first one that will be expiring will be the 2007 one in May 2030 then it'll be the water in 2032 The equipment lease is the AMI metering infrastructure project that we had and funding, it's 2041.
And the last will be the wastewater refunding bonds that were done in 2017. That would be in May of 2047. And this do not include, we do have, as we're the fiduciary, we do the books and maintain for the CFDs. We have debt there as well and we make sure that those debt payments are paid, that the arbitrage reports are done which those reports go out to IRS to make sure that we're not over-collecting and also ensuring any reporting that we need to do.
And going back I just want to talk about water and sewer. Also water and sewer on these bonds They have a, I believe it's 1.15 net revenue to ensure that when you are getting your operatings yearly that you are covering the bond plus have a little bit extra. Now they understand when you're doing capital projects if you're using reserves and others they understand that they pull that out but they really look at your operating fund And as I probably have mentioned in previous ones when we had the issue with the sewer collapse, we were able to explain to them what had occurred and says a one-time deal. Here's why it happened and that here if you could pull that out you look at the operations that we were maintaining our numbers.
The last one here is the successor agency, and this budget is $3.7 million. This is approved by the board of directors and then also Ventura County Oversight Board and then the California Department of Finance. So the proven funding is $3,707,000. It does not match what our budget is by a little bit because what happened in 2024 we had some additional funds left over. And what they do is if you have any funds that carry over, they will adjust it saying you've already been paid ahead.
And our obligation for our debt service is going to be after the payment for June 30th, 2027 about $13.3 million. And the goals and budget support. This budget presented for approval highlights the updated fiscal year City Council goals. What is that? Revitalizing the downtown Central Avenue, upgrading public infrastructure, enhancing parks and recreation, emergency preparedness, and the city-wide revenue and park funding feasibility study.
So we have a special thanks here, there's my team. We have Ambrita Bey, our county supervisor who was project managing with the budget meeting with the department heads and gathering all the data. We also have Mayra Rosa as you know when you are trying to do the budget your focus still has day-to-day operations and she would step in and help us any chance she gets. Our city budget team, our executive team, we have department heads that were really engaging Letting us know what they think. Maybe not liked what I thought, but in the end you come together because we want to ensure that we're looking at basically understanding that anything for safety purposes was our goal this year to ensure safety. Any deferred maintenance that could cause an issue right away and wanting also sure to make sure that we are trying to get City Council goals established and achieved as best possible.
Also the budget ag hop team that would be We had Council Member Villasenor, Council Member Brogy, City Manager Erica Herrera. We had Manny and we also had Ambry in there as well. And then the city departments and of course the City Council. In my presentation, I hope I was able to answer what you needed. We are ready here. We also have the department heads that can be available for any detail on this such as you notice we had questions about lighting and we had Joe be able to ask us answer as well. We have city manager and assistant city manager
Thank you so much, Debra. I think Council Member Breson, do you have a question or comment?
Yeah, I do have a couple of comments and I know my fellow Council Member Brogy isn't able to be here today but serving on the ad hoc, I'll just want to let my fellow council members know and the city residents know that this is As you can tell by the presentation that Debra put forward tonight, a very, very comprehensive process. Just really want to emphasize that and really give it to you Debra and to Ambry for your efforts to work with each of our executive team department heads. And like I said there's long wish lists.
And working with the department heads, we really have to pare it down to what, like she said, safety first. What is the things that are most needed in this city? We have every dollar when we talk about squeezing dollars, it's really necessary. There's unforeseen costs, there's deferred maintenance. There's just the nuts and bolts of running a city and having the infrastructure that we need for our residents comes first and foremost in our budget. And it's different times than what are we 2026 then maybe 15 years ago where things were even tighter. And the fact that we've been able to, you know, to improve our parks, you know, to be able to provide a little bit more recreation. I mean those are great things that we've been able to do and that we really pride ourselves on our street maintenance, on covering what we need to.
I think that's really important to see so I just wanted to say thank you in that every budget tells a story and Debra you do a really excellent job I think Both hearing your presentation with the ad hoc and probably with each of your individual meetings, presenting what that story is. And that's that things continue to be tight and we have to prioritize what we need.
We need more. You know, I think Debra you were able one of your slides went to how much money we're able to keep from sales tax and it's very little so that's a future discussion that we know is coming up but I just wanted to say thank you and just for being very comprehensive and for telling the story of our budget and one more thank you too and this is for Erica. Thank you too We're having that workshop presentation, you know it's a long time coming for the city of Fillmore to talk about the budget to talk about finances and numbers and what it means publicly in layman's terms.
And it's the first step, and I think that as more that we start to talk Amongst us as council members, with our constituents and as a city as a whole that people have opinions. We know where folks in our city think money should be spent and we're telling the story of where we know it needs to be spent at this point in time so kudos to you. Thank you.
2:25 – 2:3623 turns
I just want to echo everything that a Council Member Villasenor said and thank you all for your great work on the budget. You guys did a fantastic job, and I really appreciate you all. Thank you.
Thank
you. Council Member Rodriguez?
More like a comment, my gosh it was great just seeing everything on there you made it so simple to follow and digest all that information I know when it comes to numbers I'm just like oh my gosh here we go but Debra good job to you and your team you know ad hoc everyone do have a question regarding another workshop for budget are you planning to have something down the road for those who couldn't attend the last one
Yes, so what we have looked at. We were looking more into the fall right before we do our mid-year projection to then have that little more time so that we can again showcase it say this is coming up and that they can have a good good time I time to be able to see the presentation and we are talking with Erica I'm looking at trying to showcase more, trying to do other little series here and there that we can have available to let them know what an audit goes through. Grants, how are we looking for grant funding? That nature. We do have the slide again as we said Angel that will be putting up shortly. That's just a two minute high level and I think that will again reaching out to the public and letting them know that here is where the dollars are and also really understand We have dollars that have a lot of restrictions So it is the general fund is pretty much you have some unrestricted but the rest that you see their special revenue That's where it goes water and sewer.
That's where it goes we have diff if that has certain requirements So we have to always make sure we understand that we have this money, but ensure it's used wisely
Thank you Yeah, Debra you know I really appreciate all the work and effort that both your team as well as all the department has put into the budget. And I think this presentation that you've done as well as the budget workshops Are such a critical part of helping the public understand how we spend our money and why we make the decisions we do to spend it the way we do. So kudos to you, and I think we're heading in the right path in terms of educating the public and continuing that communication.
And I'm glad to see Angel involved in that as well because I think simplifying things, especially when it comes to dollars and cents is so critical. Keeping the right numbers but simplifying it so that it's a lot easier to digest for the average person. So thank you for that.
Thank you so much. And so is there a motion to approve?
I'd like to move motion for the fiscal year 26-27 preliminary budget was published on May 20, 2026. Staff is requesting the City Council to approve resolution number 26-4113 adopting the municipal cost allocation plan review and modifying as appropriate The plenary budget and approve resolution number 26-4114, adopting the fiscal year of 2026-27 annual budget.
Okay we got a motion second? I'll second. Okay motion second all in favor? Aye. Motion passes unanimously thank you and
moving on to item 9g first amendment with two senior nutrition program food services vendors for fiscal year 26 27 oh it's you again
Well that is a good way to say it, so I'm pretty good. I must have done well. Good evening council members,
Mayor Mendez, I'm Debra Cavaletto and we are here today for 9G to get the first amendment for our two senior nutrition contracts that we have with Giordano's and Azul. We're asking for an increase for fiscal year 2026, and we're asking to extend the contracts into fiscal year 2027. As you are aware in my budget presentation, we did have a budget for this item in there. And therefore, we do, and we are matching the amount that we're requesting in the budget for 27 to be as the same amount here. So first and foremost, we have adjusted and asked for an increase from 93,000 to a not-to-exceed amount of 127,000 for Azul and as well as 55,000 not to exceed from 42,000 from Jordanos. As mentioned in our previous, in 2024 The county decided that they were not able to do the contracts, and then in 2025 everything was moved to our city.
And this is really the first fiscal year that we went through the entire cycle to understand the real costs on the contracts and food costs. And so as of April 2026, we've served over 15,000 meals for eligible people for this program. And of course, at that time we are now exceeding the cost for the mid-year cost of $135,000. So we are again asking for that extension to be able to ride out this fiscal year with the contracts and also have contract for the next fiscal year to find that food program.
So I know it's in my presentation. Do you have any questions? Questions or discussion?
Just a quick comment, I just ran the number real quick. So if we fed the same number of meals with your budget of $182,000 that comes to just over $12 per meal which I think you'd be hard pressed to find anywhere that you could Feed that many people, that many meals for $12 each. I mean if anyone's done any kind of budgeting for let's say a retirement or for any kind of a public event where you've got a lot of people, you are not gonna be able to feed people for $ 12 per meal anywhere that I can think of. So I think it's a good deal. To me this seems like it's a good use of money and wisely spent.
And we do, projecting roughly I think at the end about 18,000 meals by the end of the year. So this should cover the full board.
Yeah and I agree with Council Member Garnica and it's a service that touches our most vulnerable population so yeah it's so needed.
Right, and I was just going to add to the comments that along with $12 a meal or maybe even less if there's a few more meals. That they're healthy, nutritious per the recommendations of USDA for to help our seniors have those You know, as we age there are the issues of high blood pressure, diabetes and that sort of thing. So these kind of meals really help not only to feed and nourish our seniors but to help them with any health issues that they have. And then we know that they do exist so it's good.
And I wanted to add that we do have sometimes scratch meals made and just want to thank Julian and Pauline because they're are the ones that are ensuring that they are properly fed, properly ordering the menus And working with also the contracts and with the dieticians as well. Because there are strict guidelines for the senior nutrition, and if you do not follow them funding could be cut.
Okay.
Thank you so much.
All right I'll make a motion to approve the three items.
Okay we got a motion second? Second. Motion second all in favor? Aye. The motion passes unanimously. Thank you so much, Debra.
Moving on to item number 10, city manager verbal report.
Thank you, Mayor. We have a couple of upcoming events this weekend on Saturday between 9 and 12. The Filmore Police Department will be hosting a bicycle safety rodeo community event And then also, we'll have the Ride for the Blue from 3 to 3.30 will be the gathering and that will be at the Fillmore Police Station. Both of the events have been promoted on social media so you can find additional details We're also hosting a joint meeting with the school district. Typically, June is a dark month which means we only meet the first meeting of the month. We typically have two so we will be having on June 23rd at 630 p.m., I think it is the 23rd or did I get that date? Yeah, it is the 23rd at 6 30 p.m And the meeting is an opportunity for the city and the school district to come together Share updates and continue working collaborative on those items that have been discussed during the two plus two Committee and we just want to make sure that our families and community members are aware of you know the broader The broader resources that they have and how great it is to be part of Fillmore, and also how great the school district is also coming along with different initiatives.
So those are things that we're looking forward to and we're excited. We haven't had a joint meeting. My understanding has been for awhile at least the time I've been with the city And so it's good to bring that back and we hope that you can tune us if you can't be here in person, you can tune us via YouTube or our social media channels. We will be broadcasting that as well.
Also there is a state legislation which is called SB 707. We will be bringing that staff report to you on the June 9th meeting But what that means to the community is that effective July 1st, we will be broadcasting our meetings but with the ability for you to join remotely. And so if you're not able to attend in person, you'll have the option to join us via Zoom.
I'm working closely with the city clerk's department and also our AV staff member, and we already have everything lined up. We're planning on testing it internally on the 23rd when we have the joint meeting, and I'll probably ask a staff member to join virtual just to make sure that we work out So that's coming down the pipeline. I just wanted everyone to be aware those conclude my updates, but I will pass it on to Manny who will be providing a brief update on the ERF grant
2:37 – 2:448 turns
Can I ask a brief question? Thank you, thank you Mayor. Regarding the new law and the ability to join the meetings virtually is there the possibility of one of the televisions to show the Zoom? I know people might be off camera but maybe if they do want to speak at a public comment or on an agenda item if they so choose to see them
We can definitely coordinate that. So we're, we're setting it up as a webinar and so we'll be able to provide access to the individuals by name. And so what we've done is we've edited our zoom registration form to become the public virtual speaker card. And so the intent is everyone should registered for us to know what item that you're speaking on beforehand. I know that sometimes that might not be the case So the city clerk will actually make a comment and say are there any members of the public who are participating virtual, who would like to make a comment right now is the time and they can raise their hand. We'll be monitoring and then we'll go down the list and provide them permission to speak.
We've set some parameters also to make sure that, you know, cyber security is considered and that also if there's any sort of unruly members that the policy will also address that as well. Okay thank you. You're welcome. You can go ahead, Manny.
Okay, thank you so much. So currently the Turning Point case management team is visiting the encampment twice a week and this is with the HLU team. Make consistent contact with the encampment residents, and out of that we have approximately five of the encampment individuals that have become clients of the Turning Point team. And what this means is they've agreed to fill out an intake form and receive services And part of those services include taking them to the one stop in Santa Paula for a shower, and that also could include additional case management services for mental health and also housing.
So we're currently touching base with the rest of the encampment dwellers to try to get them to build a relationship with us and become clients so that we can provide additional services for them. Currently, this week we'll be doing a cleanup of the Encanto. This is a more broad cleanup and in the middle of the month we'll be doing a more specific clean up. We'll be focusing on some of the encampments that have been abandoned to make sure that we're staying on top of that.
I did get word that one of the encampment residents was placed into the Santa Paula shelter, so that was really good news. We're really happy to hear about that and we look to continue to establish those relationships and one of those relationships were trying to make is with a motel owner operator to try to see if they'd be willing to engage us with renting some of their spaces so that we have consistent locations to house the residents.
And as of right now, we spent approximately 14% of the grant, the grant which is 1.5 million and we have some other uses that will likely be spending on and that is the use of some of those funds, approximately $475,000 To assist in the construction costs for the Fillmore Terrace People's Self-Help Housing project on Santa Clara Avenue. They did get confirmation that they're going to be getting tax credit funds, so when we get confirmation that they have 100% of their financing Those were all the comments from our office. Thank you I have a question and I think it's for
Chief Gallo, it's about the bike safety, the summit that they had in Newport Beach or Huntington Beach. Do you know if there's going to be when we're going to get an update on what was said and what we're going to bring back to the county?
I have not spoken with the detective out in Camarillo, but I'll get a hold of them and see if they have anything planned for that. I know the plan was to go back to the Board of Supervisors and provide an update in, I think, six months. But we're going to be in contact before then obviously and figure out what all different jurisdictions here are doing so that we can jump on board and get in on some of that stuff too. But I can get back to you on that.
Thank you so much. And I just want to give your deputies kudos, I was out walking my puppy over the weekend and I saw two deputies and I was like, I just wanted to be nosy. So I walked back by there what's going on? They had a youth and they were talking about the youth had his helmet on he was obeying all the laws and they were talking to him and they're giving them kudos about having a helmet and there's an adult there I guess it I don't know if this is apparent or not, but he did everything right. He had his aunt in there just talking to him. So kudos to them for reaching out and doing some community outreach like that. Thank you so
much. That's something we're trying to do. And again, like Erica mentioned the bike rodeo this weekend with fire one of the goals for that event is to provide information not only to the kids but parents too. Right yeah. You know give them just your very basic bike safety information rules of the road type stuff It's a great event. If you guys can come out, community members please come out. There will be sheriff resources out there for different vehicles. The SWAT team will be out there to showcase their toys and it'll be a good time. We have Santa Paula Bike Shop coming now too. They do free bike inspections and bicycle helmet adjustments to make sure that the kids are wearing them properly so it'll be a good event.
Awesome thank you so much. I think that concludes our meeting for tonight. We have no closed session, so I do want to end in memory of a community member who passed on May 9th, Mr. Bill Dewey. He was a longtime Lion and I believe he was also a former mayor of the city as well. So I'm going to close this meeting in his honor. And I'll close this meeting until our next regular scheduled meeting at 630 on June 9th, 2026 in Mr. Bill Dewey's honor. Thank you so much.