Fillmore citizen Allan Hair was presented with a proclamation for his service on the Fillmore Senior Center Board, at Tuesday night’s City Council meeting.

El Pescador Restaurant owner Jesus ‘Chuy’ Ortiz accepted a proclamation from the Fillmore City Council on Tuesday night recognizing the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service: Fillmore Two Rivers Park Clean-Up sponsors and volunteers.

Fillmore Fire Chief Rigo Landeros accepts a proclamation from Mayor Gayle Washburn on behalf of the City’s Public Works Department at Tuesday night’s City Council meeting.

There were a number of proclamations given out at Tuesday’s Fillmore City Council Meeting along with a long awaited Council approval to pay for the gate to the Fillmore High School running track. Also, there was a presentation on the new meters being installed by Southern California Edison (SCE) and a status report on the Tobacco Awareness Program.

After years of going back and forth between the City Council and the School Board funding for the gate was given a vote of approval by the Council. Councilmember A. Eduardo Gonzalez brought it to a vote acknowledging there was no guarantee that the City would be reimbursed by the various clubs that promised to do future fundraising to pay for it. The vote was 4-1 with Mayor Gayle Washburn the only No vote.

Anna M. Frutos-Sanchez from SCE gave a presentation on an item that will have an impact on anyone who pays a residential electric bill. Edison’s Smart-Meter is replacing the mechanical meters that have been around for decades. The new digital meters use wireless technology to transmit encrypted information on electricity use and are being installed as part of the “smart” grid initiative, spearheaded by technology firms and backed by the Obama administration and the Department of Energy.

In addition to the Smart-Meter there is the Edison SmartConnect program designed to give customers more information, and in the future allows customers with communicating, energy-smart thermostats and appliances to automatically respond during critical peak pricing and grid reliability events. But this comes with a price; customers will see a 1.6% increase in rates during the program’s four-year installation period.

Edison has installed 3.9 million meters in other areas around the State since September 2009 and will start in Ventura County in March. When the meter is replaced there is a brief five minute power outage and any household with medical equipment or life support equipment needs to contact Edison beforehand.

Not everyone is happy about this latest form of progress. Several people voiced concerned about reports citing people with sensitivity to electromagnetic and radio frequency having experienced headaches, nausea, trouble sleeping and other medical problems that the smart meters may cause.

Others have concerns about privacy issues. The technology is so sophisticated the meters can individually identify electrical devices inside homes and record when they are being operated, then record and store databases of private and personal activities and behaviors without the consent or knowledge of those people who are monitored. This reveals activities such as when residents are home, sleeping, on vacation, etc.

Residents in some areas served by Pacific Gas and Electric are opposing the installation and other counties have banned their installation altogether. In some cases PG&E has reversed course, replacing the ‘smart’ meters of those customers reporting health impacts with the old analog version.

On February 1, 2012 the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) modified PG&E’s Smart meter program to include an analog meter option for residential customers who do not wish to have a smart meter installed at their location. There is an initial fee of $75 to opt-out and a monthly charge of $10. CARE customers (a reduced rate program for low income households) have an initial fee of $10 along with a monthly charge of $5 to opt-out.

Edison is actively participating in the CPUC’s ongoing opt-out process for residential customers and those who do not have a smart meter installed can delay installation by contacting SCE at (800) 810-2369.

There were four proclamations given out, starting with Ventura County Sheriff’s Deputy Hackworth who is transferring from Fillmore’s Sheriffs to the Sheriff’s Civil Division. Hackworth, a Fillmore resident, was the 2011 Officer of the Year and trained 80% of Fillmore’s Sheriffs’ workforce.

Next to be recognized was resigning Senior Center Board Member and volunteer Allan Hair for five years of service that helped revive the center. Donna Boelker, President of the Board, also presented Hair with a proclamation. Boelker stated, “Allan has been a blessing in so many ways…someone you can rely on.” Hair spoke from the heart and invited all the seniors to visit the center and added, “Through Scott Lee I learned what it’s like to be involved.”

The volunteers for Martin Luther King Day of Service received the next proclamation. Many of Fillmore’s best young people come out and lent a helping hand doing clean-up. Some of those young people were Daniel Gonzalez, Luis Cruz, Marysol Rojo, Adriana Zamora and Iris Villalobos from One Step a La Vez. There was also a great group of volunteers from the Boys and Girls Club and sponsors like Cabrillo Economic Development, El Pescador, Starbucks, Francisco’s Fruit, Fillmore Water Store and others.

The Council also wanted to thank the Public Works Department with a proclamation for all they do; like coming out at 4:00am to fix a water leak. Fire Captain Rigo Landeros accepted on the Public Works’ behalf.

Christina Villasenor from the Fillmore Family Coalition and Alejandro Elias with the Ventura County Department of Public Health gave a status report on the Tobacco Awareness Program for retailers. According to their research 20% of Fillmore retailers selling tobacco items are selling to children under 18, which is a violation of Penal Code 308. There was originally a proposal to create an ordinance to help curb sales to minors but it was rejected and instead an education program by the Public Health staff was agreed upon. Villasenor told the Council, “We don’t want to punish (retailers), we just want compliance.”

Robert Smith was appointed to a four year term on the Planning Commission on October 2011 for a term that would expire three months later on January 26, 2012. Applications for the position were advertised in the January 26, 2012 edition of the Fillmore Gazette; only one application was received and it was from Robert Smith for re-appointment.

Community Development Director Kevin McSweeney presented the Council with answers to questions on a zoning ordinance amendment allowing larger signs on businesses and permit streamlining that were brought forth during the January 25th Town Hall Meeting. McSweeney told the Council his department is working on streamlining the permits process and changes have been made. For example, simple projects like patio covers that used to take 1-2 weeks for approval can now be issued in one day. Changes to the one-third retail requirement on Central are also being discussed and considered.

McSweeney said a change in signage would require a great deal more and could cost as much as $30,000. Of concern was the first block just north of Highway 126 on Central. It was described by a Council Member as blighted and they repeated comments made by visitors stating they thought it was a street of abandoned buildings. There was concern by the Council for the businesses and the impact on having to replace a sign that could still be usable; but there are also rules of abandonment when a business has not used a sign for over six months which falls under code enforcement. But, code enforcement is one of the departments that may be cut back severely due to the City’s financial problems. The Koffee Kiosk on Highway 126 is an example of an abandoned business sign. Councilmember Steve Conaway stated, “I’m concerned with the cost of this…I’d like to hear from the businesses.”