Tuesday's Fillmore City Council Meeting centered around an update on the Fillmore Business Park and some budget items, along with a proclamation and an employee recognition.

Roy Payne, former Fillmore City Manager and now a consultant, presented the Council a request from land owners of the Fillmore Business Park (FBP) asking to get the project back on track and moving forward. The land owners/developers, Perry Ranch, Sespe Creek Properties and Coe Property, together own 55 acres (61%) of the 90 acre footprint of the project. When completed their portion is anticipated to create 962,000 square feet of office space and over 2,365 jobs to the Fillmore area; the completion of all 90 acres will provide 1.3 million square feet of office, industrial and warehouse space and potentially 3,000 jobs. The property owners are requesting an update by the City on previously approved items and an agreement on the Development Impact Fees (DIF) and other fees and asking that those fees be paid as the project progresses. This is known as "pay as you go" and is a crucial element to the owners/developers, partially determining whether the project will be economically feasible.

Jack Maxwell, owner of 18.5 acres that are adjacent to the FBP, addressed the Council asking to please get the project moving because he is interested in selling some of that land to potential owners who may want to start a business close to the park.

City Planning Department official Kevin McSweeney informed the Council his department is doing a background analyses to find out where FBP stands today and will present the Council with a summery of their findings in October. It was a consensus of the Council to make this a priority.

One of the budget items on the agenda was a request by Fire Chief Rigo Landeros for approval of an increase to the 2013-14 Budget in the amount of $20,000 for repairs to the Fillmore Fire Building at 711 Sespe Place. The flooring, which was installed in 2006, was not a commercial quality and as a result needs replacing along with a sink area that was improperly designed. Landeros told the Council that the Volunteer Firefighters will do all the labor and the request is for the cost of materials. The current Building Maintenance fund is $4,000 which is not enough to complete all that is being proposed needing repair. Mayor Pro Tem Manuel Minjares asked Landeros for a more detailed presentation giving a cost breakdown and list of materials to be used on the project. He also had concerns on the skill set of the Volunteer Firemen and that some of the work will need to be done by licensed contractors. During discussion of the item Chief

Landeros was called away on a structure fire and did not hear the Councils final decision which was to approve the request but require more details on the work to be done.

The meeting began with a Proclamation to honor one of those Volunteer Firemen, Silvestre Alvarez. On August 29, 2013 at approximately 5:30 p.m. while driving to soccer practice Alvarez encountered an accident on Old Telegraph Road. The car involved was in flames with an occupant inside. Alvarez said he was lucky he was wearing his firefighter uniform which includes strong shoes that allowed him to kick-out the car window and move the occupant to safety, saving a life. Shortly after removing the occupant the Fillmore Fire Department including Chief Landeros was on the scene. Landeros stated that is did not surprise him that Alvarez would be there doing such a thing, that is was "just who Alvarez is'. The Alvarez family, wife and two children, were in attendance to watch the presentation. They moved to Fillmore from Oxnard in 2004.

Another presentation was a surprise to the recipient. It was to acknowledge Landeros and the effort put forward in taking up the position as Temporary City Manager. Each Council Member gave a heartfelt thanks and recognition for turning the City around at such a difficult time. Landeros was presented with a beautiful large plaque and humbly responded, "The City came together and guided me....much of the thanks should go to my wife, if anyone deserves the credit it's my wife....the City banded together and made it happen."