City Council — August 11, 2026

public comments. Before we begin public comment I want to explain how this section of the meeting

works. Mayor, I'm sorry to interrupt but number five presentations? Oh

yeah sorry 5A United Water Conservation. I'm getting ahead of myself here sorry about that.

Good evening, Mayor Mendez and the rest of the council. Thank you so much for having me here tonight to just give you a little bit of information because United Water Conservation District has a bond measure and that's going to impact every resident in Fillmore. So I want to make sure that the correct information is out because we all know misinformation is definitely a thing and I want to make sure that you guys have answers to questions that you may have and then of course I'm here if the public has questions as well afterwards.

So to get started, it's Measure D and it's Water Supply Conservation and Water Quality Bond measure. And it will be on the November 3rd ballot. Just a little bit about United Water Conservation District. I'm going to go over this pretty quickly because I feel like you guys probably know who we are. Our service area extends from LA County line all the way to the coast. And Fillmore is kind of square in the middle.

And so we have Lake Piru. Let's see if I can get this to work. Oh yeah! At the base of Lake Piru we have Santa Felicia Dam. Oftentimes people think it's like Piru Dam, but actually it's called Santa Felicia Dam and for that we have the Santa Felicia Dam Safety Improvement Project. Because in 1955 when this dam was built seismic standards were a little bit different than they are today and we need to ensure that we're up to today's current standards.

From there it goes through Fillmore refilling the Piru-Fillmore basins and then down to the Freeman Diversion where it goes into our Oxnard Spreading Basin at Sata Koi and then through to El Rio. The challenge that we're facing right now is that we have three very specific critical parts of our water system that all require upgrades. These are not upgrades that we choose to do. We know that sometimes you choose to do things to enhance your community, all fair. These are things that are required and put upon us by either the Department of Safety of Dams The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the National Marine Fisheries Service Biological Opinion or our Groundwater Management Plan that's put in place by California and then of course we created the plan with Fox Canyon GMA.

And the reason why we're doing that is because 237,000 people live downstream in that flood pathway and state and federal regulators have deemed it a high hazard or extremely high hazard dam because of what is downstream. The dam's been well maintained, so we don't have to do anything else to the dam other than move that intake around to the side and then drop the spillway. We're actually able to maintain those two edges of the spillway because we've maintained it so well. So we just have to increase the flood capacity based on the recent storms that we continue to see get more and more aggressive.

The cost of that is only $314 million. It's quite a bit of money, and we have gone after grants. We've definitely gone to our state legislators. We've gone to our federal legislators, and we have secured some grants but it's just not enough. Again with the Freeman Diversion Improvement Project is how we recharge most of the groundwater in the Oxnard Plain, is through this diversion off the Santa Clara River. We do have a working fish ladder however National Marine Fisheries Service has said not good enough needs to be better in order to continue operating this diversion which is a critical part of our system.

That is running at $104 million dollars and then we have the extraction barrier and brackish water treatment project that will In collaboration with all of these other projects actually stopped seawater intrusion on the Oxnard Plain, which back in 1991 when the Freeman Diversion was built was predicted to hit all the way to the 101. So it's quite a different story that we're telling today and this will be located in collaboration with the Navy at Enable Base Piru. So Enable Base in Sherwood County, Piru.

Not Piru! So again, the combined cost of these projects is $469 million. But we have secured grant funding at 31.5 million and we're still looking under every sofa cushion. And then we've also secured a WIFIA loan and that's 83 million which leaves a remaining gap of 354 million so that's why our bond measure is coming in at 350 million How that works is that we vote on November 3rd, whether or not we want that to move forward. The vote required to pass is a two-thirds vote because this is a bond measure and that bond measure total again is $350 million. The bonds would be issued over three years. That's what we're looking at is to get that money up front because we have projects that are ready to be built. These projects have you've seen the engineering plans.

You know that they're ready to go. We do need just the funding at this point Then after those projects are built, we would repay those bonds starting in 2028 at around $24 per $100,000 evaluation. For the average home at about $501,000 is what we looked at is about $121 a year. So just to kind of I'm not going to guess it's $121 for the average household per year on their property taxes.

Exactly. So because I feel like this is one of the most important pieces of information, we've actually done a second slide just on this because I know it's critical for us to understand. So again, the projected tax rate is $24 per $100,000 evaluation a year. And then when we did look at the average home Which is roughly $10 a month. Because this is a property tax, there's no new direct tax to renters. It's whatever your landlord decides to charge you and the tax begins in fiscal year 2028 and would end We believe in accountability as a public agency, a not-for-profit public agency. So bond funds are not able to be used for things like salaries, maintenance or anything besides the project themselves and they are covered under an annual independent audit which is required by California law so that's not even just we're going above and beyond that's required what is above and beyond is we will continue to provide regular updates at council meetings At our Water Sustainability Summit through our improved and I think you guys have seen it more robust community outreach schedule, and continue to ensure that you know the progress that's being made on those projects.

And then we also have our bond report online with a lot of other information. So we're encouraging people to attend community meetings will be hosting those in September and October. We'll be hosting them all up and down the 126 corridor, and then there's also the bond report a handout which I have copies of In both English and Spanish And then you're more than welcome to visit unitedwater.org slash bond where you can find even more FAQs and additional questions, or if you have a direct question please feel free to email me at info at united water dot org that goes right to me with that Try to keep it quick are there any questions?

Thank you so much Thank you so much for your presentation. This is a lot of, a little bit complex in the weeds information about this big investment infrastructure in Santa Felicia Dam. Can you tell us just really briefly sort of how you plan to use layperson's terms to get the word out?

Absolutely. So just to be clear on your question, you're asking about how I'm getting the word out or you're asking about the different projects?

The bond, getting the word out about the bond for it to

pass. Okay. We're currently at almost every community event that we can find. The only one we weren't able to go to here was actually your beautiful amazing 4th of July celebration Unfortunately, you guys were super booked and we weren't early enough. We thought two months out we would be early enough but you guys were amazing so we did not- we were not able to go to that but we are going to the trunk retreat. We are also hosting a community meeting here in- and I'm gonna be working with your team- we're gonna be hosting a community meeting within town and then we're also gonna be hosting one at Piru. We're also hosting one at Santa Paula and then Oxnard etc.

We went to every Oxnard National Night Out because that was a massive community event for that team. So we went to all 12 locations at the same night, which was kind of an amazing pull-up and we've also done advertising just to make sure that people are aware of it so digital advertising and then in addition we've done some print ads. We worked with the VC reporter We've talked to the VC Star. The VC Star ran a story on this bond measure, we will continue to reach out through the radio is another one that we've definitely connected with and then but we find that just talking and listening and understanding people is the best way to get people to understand what this is because again I can't advocate for it but the information is really critical that people understand what it is.

All right

thank

you. Thank you.

Absolutely.

Council Member Garnica? So my question has to do more with, so I'm a little bit aware of this. I've been involved in some of the meetings. Just to be clear, the main reason why the dam needs an upgrade is because of the seismic vulnerability and not because of the size of the spillway? Is that correct?

Correct. So the dam is filled into two projects, the Outlet Works part of the project which is about $214 million and then the spillway which is another $109 million. And so those two together are what creates that total number. So it's both? It's both. Okay great thank you. Yeah any other questions?

I certainly personally feel and believe that this bond needs to pass. But on the off chance that it doesn't pass, what's plan B?

Okay so I knew that question was coming. I don't like putting it in the presentation because I don't want to be like if it doesn't pass this but if it doesn' pass our board will be faced with some very very difficult decisions. One is to put this directly onto rates And in the time frame, it would be pay as you go. Which means that rates would really peak very, very quickly because we are ready to build or the other option is to not move forward with the projects and potentially shutter the lake. I mean FERC could even demand decommissioning of the dam potentially. That's not likely but those are the kinds of things that we'd be looking at our Freeman Diversion would have And I think

that's helpful for us to know as we're talking to constituents, people are going to ask us. Absolutely! I don't want to sound threatening to them but you know facts are facts and we want to provide the community with as much information as possible so that was a great answer though thank you.

Good question Council Member Brody, thank you. Thank you so much. It's such a great presentation and we look forward for the handouts, thank you.

Absolutely, I'll leave these with your clerk.

Now moving on to item number six public comments. Before we begin public comment, I want to explain how this section of the meeting works. Each speaker will have three minutes to address the council under the Brown Act. The Council is generally prohibited from discussing or acting on items that are not on tonight's agenda. This means that while we welcome and value your comments, council members will not be able to respond, ask follow-up questions or engage in back and forth dialogue during this time.

While we listen carefully at your comments become part of the public record if your comment relates to an item not on tonight's agenda state law allows a brief response to clarify factual matters or refer the item to future consideration but no substantive discussion or decision can happen tonight With that, let's begin the public comment and our first public speaker will be Cynthia Pazuros.

Welcome Cynthia.

Thank you, good afternoon, evening. I have a little bit that I put on my phone to share with you so my name is Cynthia Pazurs, I'm an educator, I am a single mom and a homeowner on Heritage Valley Parkway. I'm here on behalf of a group of neighbors who live on Heritage Valley Parkway that need the City Council to take action regarding the homeless encampment on the dry riverbed in front of our homes.

When we first moved in four years ago, we're a brand new development. There was a tiny encampment under the bridge of a few individuals. In the past four years, the encampment has slowly and steadily grown in size and expanded to the west until it's almost up to the traffic circle on Central Avenue. We have seen a dramatic increase in not only the number of homeless individuals in the encampment and the area affected but also the criminal activities and fire set both accidental and deliberate.

Homeowners on our street are dealing with constant broken bottles, drug paraphernalia and trash on the bike path and in the neighborhood. Drug deals occur on a regular basis as well as other criminal activities like stolen vehicles and farm equipment theft. The encampment has become the drug den of our city. We witness young people being dropped off to engage in drugs down on the river. Our neighbors have small children and families. This is concerning to say the least. However, the primary issue that concerns us are the frequent fires that are set in the dry brush surrounding the encampment on the riverbed.

They are set both intentionally and by accident with potentially devastating results. These fires threaten our lives and our homes. The two latest fires this summer came within 100 yards of our homes. We are very fortunate that we have an extremely quick and responsive fire department in Fillmore to rely on, thank you. Thank you to them and the law enforcement officers that constantly support us and come to our neighborhood.

However, this is an ongoing serious issue fire season is just starting and it's getting hotter and drier which makes this problem even worse. Unfortunately, it's not just a problem for Heritage Valley Parkway. Fillmore is also at risk. Our examples of Malibu and Altadena should be a lesson that it has potentially far-reaching consequences. We are a group of first-time home buyers for the most part, single parents, educators, civil servants, law enforcement. Many with small children and elderly moving is not an option for us.

We need the City Council to take more action on this we know there is a large grant to address the issue. We have not noticed any change in this issue whatsoever. In fact it's been steadily getting worse. We're not ogres and we know this is a complicated problem We understand the individuals need services and homes, but we are also taxpayers and live in Fillmore too. And we need something more to be done to protect us. We would respectfully request that the City Council number one cut down the Arundo and dry brush that's so flammable and a fire danger near our homes.

Number two make fireworks in the natural riverbed and nearby area illegal Number three, clean up the encampment area. It's unsanitary and health hazard. Thank you for your time. I appreciate it.

Next up we have Donnie Sue Shepard. Welcome, Donnie. You have three minutes.

My name is Donnie Sue Shepard as you know. I'm one of those concerned neighbors that live in the neighborhood. I am a retired sign language interpreter at Cal State Northridge with a National Syndrome of Deafness. And I've retired here, and I really like Fillmore. And I'm concerned about my grandson, and I'm concerned about the children in our neighborhood.

And my window witnessed these transactions. And I'm concerned about the people on the cabinet, this endangerment to them, and also to our families. So she so eloquently already gave you some details what we're facing. So I would like to continue to live here, and for everybody be safe. Thank you for your time.

Thank you so much. Next up we have Derek Farage. Welcome, Derek.

Good evening Council and Mayor and staff. For the record my name is Derek Farage resident here in Fillmore. I'm here to raise concerns about the repeated and prolonged power outages affecting Fillmore and the surrounding Santa Clara River Valley. During the most recent outage from August 2nd through August 3rd, residents were without electricity for an extended period of time of about 30 hours.

After approximately 14 hours without power I contacted Edison to ask whether temporary generators would be brought into the affected area for repairs I was told by several customer service representatives, including a supervisor that Edison does not provide temporary generators. Instead it was repeatedly referred to County 211. However, temporary generators were ultimately installed early the following morning.

That contradiction raises serious questions about Edison's emergency response, its communication with customers and its coordination with local government. I had six different outage numbers throughout this 40 hours. Residents experience loss of refrigerated and frozen food, but the risk of prolonged outage also go far beyond spoiled groceries. Extended outages can affect elderly residents, people who rely on powered medical equipment, families with young children, local businesses, communications and overall safety for the community.

I respectfully ask the Council to take some actions. First, request a formal review from Edison regarding the recent and recurring outages affecting Fillmore including their causes, restoration times, infrastructure concerns and planned improvements. Second, ask Edison to publicly explain its policy regarding these temporary generators and why customers were told they were unavailable when generators were ultimately deployed.

Third, direct the appropriate city staff to work with Edison and other county agencies to develop a clear protocol for prolonged outages including better communication assistance for vulnerable residents and timely deployment of temporary power when restoration is significantly delayed. Residents should not have to wait 14-20 hours to learn what is their contingency plan.

We need transparency about what is causing these outages, what is being done to improve reliability and how local agencies in Edison can respond when outages become prolonged. Thank you.

Thank you Derek. Okay now on to we have some online public comments

Kiana Landon. You have been requested to unmute. Kiana Landon. She's unmuted. Can you test your mic? We cannot hear you. She stated her mic is not working, You can try and log out, and try logging back in. And see if it's your mic once you log back in. Mayor, we had two other people sign up online as well but they're not logged in.

Can we come back to this item or?

It's your decision, Mayor. I mean if she's having technical issues we have as part of the policy they're supposed to check whether their system is working so in light of the other two individuals not logging in we were going to come back to her but it's your decision if you want to move forward.

All right, I think we should move forward and then can we revisit this at the end of the meeting if they're still logged in or no?

She just sent a message and said that I don't have anything to speak on. I'm just here to listen on the matters.

Okay, okay then hearing that though i think we should

yeah We've been dark the last two meetings, the last two months. And then I was on vacation and I missed a meeting. But the committees that I sit on and the other things that I participate in as a council member have pretty much were dark most of the last few weeks. That's going to change by Friday. I've got several meetings lined up this week. So aside from that, I have nothing else to report on other than Go back to having my twice a month porch talk at my house.

It's open to all constituents, not just district four but anyone who wants to come and chat with other constituents and ask questions and I'll do my best to answer but everyone is welcome so if you're interested in coming it starts at six o'clock on Wednesday the second and fourth Wednesday of every month. So hope to see you tomorrow.

Thank you so much Council Member Villasenor

Thank you, Mayor. I do have a few comments and a recommendation. My first comment is regarding our city's investment in APEX which is our IT. Several years ago we as council took action to really pivot our investment in IT and the security of our systems And as you may know in the news, the last couple of weeks there has been news of international hackers hacking the water systems in a number of towns in Minnesota and also a town in Northern California. I think Northern California we're not sure where it was from but it was hacked including their 911 in Northern California so I just wanted to say make a comment that You know, this was an investment that we needed to pivot to and we knew that our security especially being our own water purveyor where we have our water.

We manage our water. This is really about most importance that we have that strong IT security not just for water but also obviously for our emergency response systems. Just an example to the community that you know, this is you know, we invest and we spend dollars You know where we need to spend them And I'm really glad that we but we did that several years ago because I feel That we are in a good spot with that. You know concerning, you know these these hackings that have happened My other thing that I wanted to note is and mayor feel free to jump in as you were there so last week I don't have the date in mind.

But yes, last week we here at the City Council Chambers, the Ventura County Healthcare Agency hosted a community forum regarding the future closure of Santa Paula Hospital as of the end of 2029. It will be closed by December 31st, 2029 and what are going to be the future options for healthcare services in the Santa Clara Valley. I don't want to go into a lot of detail on this, but I'm going to refer over and just look at our city manager for recordings of this. Do we know if this is something that's available to the public?

I look for it last week and I didn't see it. I'm not sure if it's already been posted, but I can follow up. And then once it's posted we can post it on social media as well.

Okay excellent thank you. I did want to make a note though just very briefly to give a quick summary there are three options Per the hospital Ventura County Healthcare Agency, what they're seeing for the future. Option number one is called a micro-hospital. This is something that is literally micro. The current hospital up in the hill has a 48 or 49 bed capacity. A micro-hospital would have four or five beds. It would only keep this very small number of people.

It would be still an accredited hospital, it would have to be staffed fully 24-7. And it also per the consultant who gave this presentation, the most costly with a projected operating margin over five years of $73 million and a capital investment of 100 to $121 million. Option number two, and I'll just have to note that this is an option That is favored by Ventura County Healthcare Agency.

And this option is called medical office buildings plus expanded access to care clinic. That

is going to be the option that they're going to recommend.

This is the recommendation that will come, and I'll get to the end of it. There's gonna be action next week that I'll let everyone know. This is the recommendation coming from the county. This option is an extended hour higher acuity urgent care center paired with outpatient specialty clinics and onsite imaging laboratory and pharmacy services. The county is recommending a daily opening hours of 7am to 11pm.

This one cost wise is projected operating margin over five years, $5.4 million capital investment And this would be somewhere between $35 to $40 million. I'll have you know that the community, including our mayor spoke up again as himself as just the mayor. This is nothing at all. Just want to make sure that there's nothing on behalf of the city of Fillmore. This is only us as individuals and the audience community members agreed That we should not have anything less than 24 hours in terms of accessible services.

This would be something that for, if you have an infection they'll have MRI machines it would really be It will not be basic urgent care. It would be higher level, like I said imaging laboratory pharmacy services. The third option is urgent care. This is just basic urgent care again the The projected operating margin over five years, 4.7 million and for reasons that I wasn't too clear of they said the capital investment in this urgent care would actually be more than option two or no I'm sorry I had that wrong it would be less it would be nine to sixteen million dollars in capital investment I'll just note that the community advocates and folks who showed up to this meeting were not in favor at all of option number 3. Just again, sharing what the community put out to the consultant and to the county and all the representatives that were there.

Highly favored option 1, to maintain a hospital and understanding that the size downing of it is something that's probably better suited for our county but also understanding that it's going to be quite a lot of money. The second option that folks were You know, said would be a second option. Second in line would be option two but very much folks said that they wanted 24 hour care at that. So I just want to share that and then the last part thank you Mayor is that this these three options are coming before our County Board of Supervisors this coming Tuesday August 18th.

The board will be mean all day. I believe there's not yet the there's usually a certain time Oh Derek Okay, thank you so much our audience member Mr. Farage said that at 1030 a.m The board will for certain hear this item So community This is our lives our livelihood our safety our health on the line I really encourage all those who can one To make your your voices heard at the Board of Supervisors meeting this coming Tuesday August 18th That is at the County Government Center 1030 am there's also an option to Be online via public comment.

And you can go to the county board supervisors, go to their meeting agenda page and it gives you all of the instructions for how to join the meeting and make comments online if you're not able to be there in person. So thank you for that. Sorry last one I wanted to mention and this is something that was able to do last month. In July, it's known to be Disability Pride Month. So for those people who are living with disabilities and their caretakers and their supporters and advocates is a very important month. And one of our local disability advocates and very engaged community member, Marissa Rodriguez. She actually the City of Ventura had a particular proclamation in July for Disability Pride Month and so our local Fillmore resident, Marissa was recognized by the city of Ventura.

And so I just wanted to recognize that and just to read out loud what her recognition, and it is that Marissa Rodriguez for Disability Pride Month in observance and appreciation for her exceptional commitment to celebrating disability identity culture and leadership in Ventura in the County of Ventura as well. So just you know I would like to recognize Marissa but she's a great advocate she is Just really engaged in life, and she is a student at Ventura College. And she provides really great feedback about the transportation. I know she sits on the citizen, gosh it's an advisory committee regarding transportation here in the Santa Clara Valley.

And she's just been fantastic so Marissa congratulations on your recognition from the city of Ventura and We are so supportive of you and please continue to do what you do for our community. Thank you.

All right, good evening. So as other council members have noted it's been a while since we've met so there's actually been quite a bit of activity. I've met with several constituents about recent concerns one of them being a foothill drive. I guess there's an issue with the inability for two-way traffic when cars are parked on both sides of the street It's very difficult to maneuver through that, so that came up and they're looking for a solution. Their solution which I don't know if I agree with was hey make it a one-way street.

I told them hold off you know we got to have engineers look at this, let's do the proper process but I hear them that this is a concern. We had the whole issue with Sonic and the red curb issue that came up, and I'm sure those of you that are active on social media saw that. And thank you to the city staff for moving very quickly to make sure that nobody was fined for that new red curb being put in place. So that was jumped on actually. Christina, you helped out with that quite a bit so thank you for that.

I also attended the Joint Powers Insurance Authority for the city. Every year we have a meeting where all of the participating cities that are part of this joint powers authority get together to vote on the new board and basically what this authority does is it collects the liability for all of the participating cities for liability insurance and workers' compensation insurance. And what it does, it means that we get lower rates than if we had gone out to find insurance for those things in the public market. Since we have our own insurance authority.

The bottom line is the, I guess what I took out of it was number one the rates are going up for both liability and for but not for the workers compensation so the rates. It's been driven by a couple of different things but the rates are definitely going to be going up in the next couple years. Some of that had been absorbed by the Joint Powers Authority because they have essentially a kitty to help absorb the ups and downs. But we did place the new board, and everyone voted on that.

I will say, I attended the music in the park that was put on by the city. Staff you guys did a great job. The attendance was fantastic to the music and it was held here in front of City Hall and we must have had between 500 and 1,000 people here so it was very well attended. And again several people were saying hey I saw it on social media so great job on that staff.

I attended the Health and Wellness Spa Grand Opening here on Central Avenue, along with the mayor. And actually Christina you were there as well. I also attended the Building Industry Association sponsored meeting in Ontario. That was basically all of the cities in the Inland Empire and up in the high desert together with the Building Industry Association of Southern California to try to educate The You have to put on a skeptical ear because it is the building industry associated. These are all the developers, so their solution of course was hey make sure that you guys just basically rubber stamp our plans going through. So that was their perspective but we also had speeches by several members Representatives both at the Washington level, up in D.C., as well as Sacramento that were talking about legislation that was going through in both places to help alleviate some of the issues from their levels about helping us get more housing.

So that was a very interesting meeting but as I said I definitely had my ears perked up to make sure I was listening for bias which of course there was. I also attended today a meeting of Los Vets of Fillmore and Piru. Veterans organization for all veterans here in Fillmore and Piru area. And during the meeting, Ernie Villegas who's one of the officers of the organization got up and basically asked for donations from the veterans to help with the production of Annie that's going to be happening in November because apparently the cost Just the rights for the play are about $4,000.

And so afterwards I approached Ernie and the vets had voluntarily raised about $2,000, so almost half of the cost of the play was raised by the vets. And I'm proud to say I'm part of that organization. And then lastly Two Rivers Park, so I had the opportunity myself, so Hey, we need to finish the park at Two Rivers Park. It just looks very incomplete. So my grandson is in the Heritage Valley Blazers. They have a cross-country team and he participates in that. Had the opportunity to go out to Two Rivers Park and see for myself I would agree with the assessment that Two Rivers Park is not complete.

There are several areas It looked very incomplete. In fact, I would argue that the dog park is actually probably an eyesore. It's just barren dirt so I did bring that up to staff there they've got I think things in the works but I did want to make sure that other council members as well as community was aware of it you know one of the advantages of having people that are actually participating in the community is we see with our own eyes what's going on and so That's pretty much it. That's my report.

Thank you, Council Member Garnica. Council Member Rodriguez?

Just very similar to what Council Member Robies mentioned. Pretty dry for me as well this past couple of months has been dark looking forward for the next couple of months because everybody is going to start meeting so I'll be coming more with information with the groups that I sit in with

Thank you. And as for myself, pretty much I've been dark the whole month as well but I did today intend to air pollution control board that agenda was pretty light there were just on the agenda were several items regarding grants that are going out to some organizations in Ohio regarding like promoting farming and Things like that, and that was pretty much it.

I did attend the meeting about the Santa Paula Hospital with Council Member Villasenor. And I just wanted to give also a shout out to our public works team working very hard fixing the roads. They're patching up the roads as best they can in a really good response time. I want to thank you, Joe Belomo, thank you and your team. So with that,

I'll

second. All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Motion passes unanimously, thank you. Moving on to number nine new business. Ventura County Civil Grand Jury Report countywide response to public complaints about fireworks and I do have one speaker on that item. Okay, so it's Derek Faraj.

Before the presentation, do you want to

let her give her presentation and you want to speak after? Okay.

Thank you Mayor. On June 23rd, the city received the Ventura County civil grand jury report entitled county wide response to public comments about fireworks. Which was publicly released on June 25th of 2026. The report evaluates how law enforcement agencies, fire departments and local jurisdictions throughout the Ventura County respond to public complaints regarding fireworks and includes findings and recommendations Intended to improve county-wide coordination. Pursuant to the California Penal Code Section 933.05, the City Council is required to formally respond to the findings and recommendations identified for the city of Fillmore within 90 days of the report's publication.

I do want to mention for the record that I inadvertently forgot to attach the Exhibit B, which was the additional responses of what we're going to propose. But I'm going to go through those tonight during the presentation and so just to make it easier You have had time to review the report. It includes all the different jurisdictions, the 10 jurisdictions in Ventura County and unincorporated areas as well.

And so what I'm proposing the council would be that first page would be the responses and we're saying that we do agree with the findings and that we don't disagree wholly or partially with the findings, so I just put not applicable. But for the exhibit or attachment B that I provided, I'm going to go by each recommendation, read the recommendation from the grand jury and then read what I'm recommending that the city provide as a response. And then after that we can have a discussion and you can let me know whether you agree or disagree.

So for the first recommendation, the Ventura County Civil Grand Jury recommends that the Ventura County Board of Supervisors pass a host liability ordinance regarding fireworks applicable to the unincorporated areas of Ventura County. We're proposing that our response be the City of Fillmore agrees with the intent of this recommendation. However, this recommendation is directed exclusively to the Ventura County Board of Supervisors and pertains to the unincorporated areas of Ventura County. The city council has no legislative authority over county ordinances or policies governing on incorporated areas accordingly no action by the City of Fillmore is required.

Recommendation number two, the Ventura County Civil Grand Jury recommends that the cities of Ojai, Moorpark, Camarillo, Simi Valley and Thousand Oaks adopt their own fireworks host liability ordinance. This recommendation is not directed to the city of Fillmore. The city has previously adopted a strict liability ordinance addressing the illegal discharge of fireworks which the civil grand jury specifically recognizes As distinguished Fillmore from the other sheriff's contract cities identified in the report. As this recommendation applies only to the other jurisdictions, no additional action by the city of Fillmore is necessary. Recommendation number three, the Ventura County Civil Grand Jury recommends that the Ventura County Fire Department maintain ongoing communication with Cal Fire's Public Safety Fireworks Enforcement Task Our response, the City of Fillmore agrees with this recommendation and supports continuing coordination between regional public safety agencies and CAL FIRE to identify and implement best practices related to firework enforcement education and compliance.

It is important to note that the City of Fillmore operates its own Municipal Fire Department and does not contract with the Ventura County Fire Protection District for fire services. Accordingly, while their recommendation is directed to the Ventura County Fire Department, the city recommends that Municipal Fire Departments including the Fillmore Fire Department be included in this Communications and information sharing efforts, including all affected fire agencies would promote a more comprehensive county wide approach. And ensure that all jurisdictions benefit from emerging best practices in recommendations. I think that there was just the assumption that every city contracts out with the county which is not the case. There's three cities in the county that have their own fire department so The findings that they also include us as part of those conversations.

Recommendation number four, the Ventura County Civil Grand Jury recommends that the Ventura County Fire Department interface regularly with the Ventura County Law Enforcement Coordinating Committee to inform the committee about recommendations from Cal Fire's Fireworks Enforcement Task Force. The City of Fillmore supports enhanced coordination among public safety agencies regarding firework enforcement and agrees with the overall objective of this recommendation. Because Fillmore provides fire services through its own municipal fire department rather than through the Ventura County Fire Protection District, the city recommends that the Fillmore Fire Department be included as part As a participant in these regional coordinating meetings, including all municipal fire departments with strength information sharing improve operational coordination and help ensure that the recommendation developed through CAL FIRE's Fireworks Enforcement Task Force are communicated consistently to all jurisdictions responsible for fireworks enforcement and emergency response through Ventura County.

Recommendation number five, the Ventura County Civil Grand Jury recommends that the Ventura County Fire Department and the Ventura County Law Enforcement Coordinating Committees meet regularly to develop strategies and establish best practices for responding to fireworks complaints and enforcing fireworks regulations. For this one, it's the same recommendation. We agree with the intent but we would like to also have our fire department included in those conversations.

And then just as a closing statement, the city respectfully recommends that the participation in these meetings be expanded beyond the Ventura County Fire Protection District to include municipal fire departments including the Fillmore Fire Department. While the city contracts out with the Ventura County Sheriff's Office for law enforcement services, it independently provides fire protection and emergency response through its own fire department including film or fire personnel. And these strategies discussions would ensure that all agencies with operational responsibilities for fireworks response have the opportunity to contribute their experience, share local operational perspectives and participate in the development of countywide best practices.