The family of Adrian Moreno received a Proclamation from Mayor Manuel Minjares honoring their son. Adrian was killed in a shooting on Grand Avenue in January 2014. The homocide remains unsolved. Pictured are his parents Jorge and Elida.

Two proclamations were given out at Tuesday's Fillmore City Council Meeting. The first one went to Fillmore Search and Rescue, and the second to the Moreno family, who lost their son eight months ago to a shooting on Grand Avenue. The homicide remains unsolved.

Agenda items included an authorization to purchase bullet proof vests for the Fillmore Fire Department and other safety equipment, an agreement with the Boys and Girls Club to improve the community center, addressing abandoned shopping carts in town and change in zoning regarding synthetic grass.

The City of Fillmore presented a heartfelt Proclamation to the family of Adrian Moreno, in remembering them and the tragic loss of their son. Jorge Moreno, Adrian's father, told those in attendance he thanked the community for their support and the Council for increasing the reward for information on the crime. Adrian's mother Elida spoke of the difficulty of their loss and how much she appreciates all those that have helped. She ended with, "It's time......the person that killed my some is still out there." She went on to say that some improvements in dealing with such crimes have been made, but then stated that, "Someone out there knows something....someone needs to come forward....We are grateful." Mayor Manuel Minjares responded, "There are kids in our community that know what happened."

Fillmore also honored the Fillmore Search and Rescue with a Proclamation for their 65 years of service. The team of volunteers often search all night in rough terrain or swift water for those lost or injured. Receiving the Proclamation were Stu Long, Laurens Bil, Steve Cohen, Scott Tyrod, Ryan Nelson, Grant Taylor, Jerry Garcia, Kristin West, Dale Velador, Jason Couse and Scott Gillies.

Fillmore Fire Department will be receiving some valuable safety equipment. The Council agreed to the purchase of bullet proof vests by the Fillmore Fire Department to protect the firefighters should they find themselves in a dangerous situation. Fire Chief Rigo Landeros first addressed the Council stating, "How can we save more lives" then went on to explain how "Medical Care Under Fire" has become part of the Department’s response readiness in situations such as school shootings and public gathering shootings.

What has been learned from other such incidents that have taken place throughout the country is that 40% of the victims died due to bleeding out. This happens due to emergency response personnel not being able to attend to victims quickly. Fear for the safety of the firefighters has required they stay a distance away until the suspect, if still in close proximity, is in custody. Learning this, fire departments throughout the country have begun training for Medical Care Under Fire; allowing responders to enter areas that are not in the central crime area and attend to victims.

The City is approved to receive a $10,000 Federal Department of Homeland Security grant though the County of Ventura to purchase 15 to 20 vests. This will result in vests available for all firefighters in every fire truck.
Other safety apparatus Fillmore Fire Department will soon receive is auto extraction equipment for highway safety purposes. The equipment will include the Jaws of Life along with air bags that aid in lifting trucks or cars in precarious situations. It is a joint effort with the City of Oxnard, which did most of the work in securing the $60,000 FEMA assistance to Firefighters grants, and the County of Ventura. Landeros also wanted to acknowledge Patrick Maynard for his contribution is helping secure the grant. The agreement between the parties of Fillmore, Oxnard and Ventura County is that should a highway situation arise were a multitude of vehicles collide and more equipment is needed, each party can call upon the services and equipment of the other, benefiting everyone.

An agenda item that all Council Members unanimously agree upon was approving the Boys and Girls Club of Santa Clara Valley (BGCSCV) request to approve the Operating and Use Agreement to the Community Center for 10 years. The BGCSCV also requested making improvements to the Center. They asked to convert 720 square foot of the former girl's shower room into a study room for teens. The cost, which BGCSCV is paying for, is expected to be $115,000 and the completion date is anticipated to be March 23, 2017.

The problem of abandoned shopping carts that litter the city was also raised. There are State laws to address the issue, which Fillmore must abide. But cities are allowed to adopt their own local ordinances as long as they not conflict with State law. The City wants businesses to be more responsible in dealing with the problem and will be contacting all businesses that use shopping carts, requiring each cart have the business identity on them and owners do diligence to prevent the carts from leaving their shopping center parking lot. Starting January 1, 2015 all such businesses will be required to register the use of shopping carts with the City and to place signage stating that the removal of shopping carts from their parking area is prohibited. Each cart will be required to state the California Business and Professions Code before the carts are available to the customers. It is a misdemeanor and violation of State law to take the carts off the businesses premises or parking area.

At the September 17th Council Meeting a request was made to consider changing the zoning that prevents synthetic grass from being installed in front yards. On Tuesday it was an agenda item that Kevin McSweeney, Planning and Community Director, agreed that due to drought the change would be a benefit to some residents. The Council had questions of water runoff and what percentage of the landscape should be artificial. Council Member Steve Conaway responded that other cities have allowed this, such as Thousand Oaks, and suggested seeing what the best practices of such cities has been and adopt them.

Council Member Diane McCall responded, "I don't want to be the grass police." Minjares added, "We need to look at ways to enhance our city" and agreed with Conaway that looking into what other cities best practices are would be a good place to start.

McSweeney said he would come back in October with some suggestions on how to move forward with the change in zoning.