Fillmore City Council met on June 9th. The Council honored local firefighters and passerby who saved a man's life, slightly raised garbage service rates, approved the first steps of what could become an affordable housing distressed home purchase program, discussed the completion of the Water Treatment Facility, prepared for July 4th, and approved contracts for publishing legal notices in local newspapers.

Mayor Patti Walker, on behalf of the Council, commended David Brown, Jose Mendez, Martin Lopez, and Benjamin Pratt for performing emergency CPR. Together they saved the life of a 19-year-old jogger who had collapsed and was not breathing. The jogger's parents were present, expressed their gratitude, and said that he would come home on Thursday.

The Council approved a fee adjustment rate increase effective July 1, 2009 for Santa Clara Disposal Services. Standard Residential service will increase from $23.30 per month to $24.12 per month. Standard Commercial service will increase from $144.66 per month to $148.57 per month. In general, the increase is 3.52 % for residential customers and 2.7 % for commercial customers. The increase will cover increased operational expenses, including an increase in tipping fees at the landfill.

The Council directed staff to pursue implementation of an affordable housing distressed home purchase program using Redevelopment Agency (RDA) set-aside moneys. Due to its first-time homebuyers program, the RDA currently holds secondary liens on a number of properties which had been purchased by first-time homebuyers who are now in default. Two such homes have recently entered the foreclosure process. City Attorney and RDA Counsel Ted Schneider explained that the City could recoup its costs by purchasing, rehabilitating, and selling the homes. He explained that if the City does this with the two homes in question and establishes a program for taking similar action in the future, it could help Fillmore's efforts to meet Regional Housing Needs Assessment requirements under its Housing Element because the homes could not be sold at a profit and would have to be designated low-income or moderate-income housing.

The Council appropriated $10,000 from the Water Recycling Facility Program fund to cover legal expenses for reviewing Amendment No. 2 to the Service Contract for the Design, Construction and Operation of the Water Recycling Facility. American Water will be unable to test and operate four components of the facility within the time period specified by the Contract. Public Works Director Bert Rapp explained that there will not be enough sludge produced by the treatment system to test the Sludge Treatment and Handling System until the WRF has been treating the full quantity of wastewater from the city for at least 120 days. It would cost both the City and American Water extra money to import sludge just for testing purposes. Rapp explained that it is not practical to test the UV Disinfection System until winter rains provide a flow rate of 6 MGD continuously over 6-8 hours. Finally, Rapp explained that because the City's Reclaimed Water Transmission and Distribution System is not complete (construction continues at Fillmore High School and Fillmore Middle School), the Effluent Pump Station and Offsite SCADA System cannot be tested. American Water has submitted Amendment No. 2 to allow the City to grant Substantial Completion of the project yet retain guarantees regarding those untested components. The law firm which the City used to co-author the original contract will review the Amendment to ensure that the City is still protected under the new arrangements. The $10,000 will be taken from the $2 million left in the project's contingency fund. American Water is still responsible for and expects to meet the September 9, 2009 deadline set by the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board.

The Council awarded contracts to The Fillmore Gazette and the Ventura County Star to publish the City's legal publications during the 2009-2010 fiscal year. Council Member Jamey Brooks voted against the contract, but was outvoted by Mayor Walker and Council Member Steve Conaway. Council Members Gayle Washburn and Laurie Hernandez were absent during this vote. On the submitted bid forms, the Gazette offered a per-line price of $0.75, a column-inch price of $4, or an annual flat fee of $6,400; the Star offered a per-line price of $0.85, a column-inch price of $11.90, and did not offer an annual flat fee. Gary Creagle made a public comment stating that he wanted the City to only publish in the Star because he disapproves of the Gazette's "Realities" column, the op-ed column written by Gazette Publisher Martin Farrell. Creagle accused Farrell of publishing lies in that column. Brooks said that Farrell was within his rights to publish his own opinions, including his opinions of city officials, but that some of the op-ed content was slanderous, untrue, malicious, and embarrassing to the city. Brooks said that he liked the Gazette and praised the rest of the Gazette staff, but said he was voting against the contract for political reasons. Conaway said that publishing only in the Star would exhaust the City's publishing budget, and both he and Walker pointed out that for economic reasons the Gazette should be the primary publisher of the City's legal notices, but it is useful to have a contract with a daily paper in case something needed to be published before the weekly paper came out. Both contracts were approved, and the City will pay the annual flat fee for legal publications in the Gazette.

The Council discussed Transitional City Manager Larry Pennell's City Manager Profile Recruitment Guidelines. The City had already advertised the position, received over 20 applications, and expects to receive a total of at least 40 before the June 30th application deadline. Brooks complained that the previous position salary should not have been listed in the ad because he believes the City should pay $30,000 or $40,000 less. Conaway said that it would be short-sighted to limit candidates by dropping the salary that much without regard for qualifications or experience. At Walker's suggestion, the Council postponed deciding on a screening process. She hopes that all Council Members will be present for that decision.

The Council approved plans and a budget for the 2009 July Fourth Community Fireworks Show. Donations from TNT Fireworks of $7000 and from Phantom Fireworks of $2000 were acknowledged. The City will hire Pyro Spectaculars, Inc. to produce the aerial show for $12,000.

The Council directed staff to find out how much security would cost at the Fourth of July Sespe Creek Car Show and Festival. Transitional City Manager Larry Pennell said that the festival was an efficient way to market Fillmore to the region. The city's population is expected to double during the festival, so staff will be needed to manage crowd control, access to medical services, and traffic.

The Council approved a request by the Santa Clara River Valley Railroad Historical Society to accept its late application for a 2009 Fireworks booth permit. The application was one day late for medical reasons, according to City Clerk Clay Westling. The Council approved the application. Jason Faulkner, President of the Fillmore Girl's Softball League, asked for an extension to submit its application for a fireworks booth. He explained that shortly after becoming President, he noticed that the League was behind in its paperwork, including tax filings and State fees, and that the League's non-profit status had not been proper since 2005. He has been working to rectify the situation, and is waiting for a final response from the State re-authorizing non-profit status. For legal reasons, the Council placed the matter on the June 16th City Council Meeting Agenda.

The City approved an update to the 2008 VISTA 126 Agreement. VISTA provides bus service between Fillmore and Ventura, and provides Dial-a-Ride service within Santa Paula, Fillmore, and Piru. The annual amendment usually improves service, but budget constraints will only allow service to continue at the current level. The VISTA bus system is jointly operated through the Ventura County Transportation Commission by the Cities of Santa Paula, Fillmore, and Ventura, and the County of Ventura.

The Council accepted the completion of the Central Avenue Storm Drain Project. Rapp noted that the paving was done by May 11, 2009. Conaway commended City staff and Lash Construction for their work to complete the "beautiful, quiet, and smooth street".

Deputy City Manager Bill Bartels reported that the Lemonway Storefront improvements are impressive and the HOA is determined to maintain them.

The Council decided to discuss terminating the Post Employment Health Care Benefits Program during the budget process.

Walker reported on her and Pennell's lobbying trip to Sacramento for Budget Action Days.

A representative from the Cabrillo Economic Development Corp. Neighborworks Homeownership Center announced a Homeownership Preservation Clinic to help homeowners avoid foreclosure Saturday June 20th 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. in Ventura. Call 805-659-6868 to register and for information on what to bring.