On behalf of the City of Fillmore Mayor Douglas Tucker received a Gold plaque presented by Representative Sue Hughes. The City earned the Emerging Energy Leader Award for its energy conservation.

The February 10, 2015 Fillmore City Council Meeting was filled to capacity. It began with a proclamation, a reward and an announcement. The Council then went into Closed Session for over two hours discussing the rental agreement with the Fillmore Senior Center Inc. (FSCI) before returning to the Council Chambers.

The proclamation was presented to the Fillmore Raiders Cheerleaders for their 2nd National Title. The 2014-15 Raiders Cheerleader Squad are JAZ International Champions. The squad won First Place in Las Vegas on January 25, 2015. The squad members are: Ryleigh Westrup, Angelina Delgadillo, Daniella Lucas, Alyssa Brooks, Tatyana Villella, Hennassy Marquez, Maddie Davis, Aiesa Rodriquez, Jada Plummer, Natalie Cruz, Valeria Cruz, Jazmine Chavez, Sasha Segovia, Alexis VanWhy, Jayni Rolfe, Jordyn Rolfe, Mersaydez Cardona, Lilliana Contreras and Daisy Andrade. The coaches are Caitlin McCall, Taylor Wright, Sadie Ortiz, Tanya Barrera, Tami Rolfe, Ellyse Lucas, Rebecca Ibarra, Tina Hurtado and Lori Nunez. Mayor Doug Tucker spoke of their superior sportsmanship and civic pride adding that many of participants are Honor Role students.

The item that kept the Council in closed session for over two hours of discussion was whether to renew the rental By Jean McLeod

The February 10, 2015 Fillmore City Council Meeting was filled to capacity. It began with a proclamation, a reward and an announcement. The Council then went into Closed Session for over two hours discussing the rental agreement with the Fillmore Senior Center Inc. (FSCI) before returning to the Council Chambers.

The proclamation was presented to the Fillmore Raiders Cheerleaders for their 2nd National Title. The 2014-15 Raiders Cheerleader Squad are JAZ International Champions. The squad won First Place in Las Vegas on January 25, 2015. The squad members are: Ryleigh Westrup, Angelina Delgadillo, Daniella Lucas, Alyssa Brooks, Tatyana Villella, Hennassy Marquez, Maddie Davis, Aiesa Rodriquez, Jada Plummer, Natalie Cruz, Valeria Cruz, Jazmine Chavez, Sasha Segovia, Alexis VanWhy, Jayni Rolfe, Jordyn Rolfe, Mersaydez Cardona, Lilliana Contreras and Daisy Andrade. The coaches are Caitlin McCall, Taylor Wright, Sadie Ortiz, Tanya Barrera, Tami Rolfe, Ellyse Lucas, Rebecca Ibarra, Tina Hurtado and Lori Nunez. Mayor Doug Tucker spoke of their superior sportsmanship and civic pride adding that many of participants are Honor Role students.

The item that kept the Council in closed session for over two hours of discussion was whether to renew the rental agreement with FSCI. On November 18, 2014 a letter was sent to FSCI informing them that the rental agreement may not be renewed. In January the Council confirmed their decision to terminate the lease. Tuesday the Council decided nothing has changed and their decision still stands. Council Member Diane McCall explained her reasoning for her decision stating she had spoken with people in town (seniors) who had expressed to her that FSCI felt cliquish and did not feel welcoming. McCall spoke of going to a recent open house and saw the activities that the Center had including paintings. She then said, “I have never felt so unwelcome, it was uncomfortable.....but at that same time I saw what good things were going on.” Later she added that the City wants to enhance the Center’s activities to reach all seniors, not just a select few. Council Member Manuel Minjares responded that the City has responsibilities, referring to the money the City put forward defending two lawsuits, and then added that there are some good things going on and he would like extend and invitation to work together.

Council Member Rick Neal stated, “There were some serious issues, lawsuits, sexual harassment, racial discrimination. There were a lot of people who spoke to me (that were not happy with the FSCI) that wouldn’t speak here at the meetings.”

Council Member Carrie Broggie also mentioned the lawsuits and that it was a difficult position to be put in.
Mayor Douglas Tucker said seniors are a top priority but also had concerns with the lawsuits and hoped to keep the discourse at a civil level adding, “We’re looking at the future, not the past.”

At the beginning of meeting the City of Fillmore received a beautiful plaque presented by Sue Hughes. The City had earned the Emerging Energy Leader Award for its energy conservation. There are four levels of achievement: Valued, Silver, Gold and Platinum. Fillmore has done such a good job that the City went from Valued to Gold, jumping over Silver. Fillmore will reach Platinum Status by the end of this quarter and will be the only city in Ventura County to do so. Hughes stated, “Fillmore has shown exceptional leadership. Congratulations, to you....it’s been a pleasure to work with the members of Fillmore.”

Next to address the Council was Michael G. Powers with Regional Planning, Transportation and Transit Consulting and Victor Kamhi Bus Transit Director with the Ventura County Transportation Commission (VCTC). They reported on the status of the upcoming Heritage Valley Transit Service improvements.

In 2010 VCTC noticed rising number of people using the bus system and that buses were filled to capacity. At the time there were no funds available to add buses to the existing routes. By 2012 the numbers had leveled out due to no room for additional riders. A study was then started to explore where the greatest needs were. The Heritage Valley Policy Advisory Committee was formed which included the Cities of Fillmore, Santa Paula and the County of Ventura. There were many other contributors to the study and a great deal of research.

After months of deliberation VCTC awarded the transportation contract to MV Transportation which will replace Fillmore Area Transit Corporation (FATCO). MV Transportation’s new service is called Valley Express and will be servicing Fillmore, Piru and Santa Paula with connections to Ventura. Each town will have a circulator route and fixed bus stops starting March 2, 2015.

Weekdays the service will operate from 5:45 AM to 7:45 PM and weekends from 7:45 AM to 5:45 PM. It is expected to take 25 minutes to complete the regular circuit around Fillmore. There will be a deviation to the Meadowlark Park area every other trip due to demand in that area. Adjustments will be made periodically following the introduction and updated time schedules to suit the needs of riders. Only a few schedules will be printed at first, because it is expected to have many revisions. Once there is a reliable schedule there will be a larger number printed and available. The busses will start out painted white, but that could change in the future. New bus signs will be installed at each stop in the next several weeks.

The fixed route will have 19 bus stops along its path, starting at the Santa Clara St. bus terminal (Fillmore Senior Center). From there it heads west to A St. (Super A Plaza stop) then continues left (south) on A St. to Hwy. 126, where it turns west on to Hwy 126 and continues to D St. It then turns right (north) on D St. to Sespe Ave . Then heads right (east) on Sespe Ave. At C St. it turns left (north) passing Medowlark Dr. and Old Telegraph Rd. continuing north to 5th St. where it turns right (east) passing Mountain View School. It then takes another right (south) on B St. and goes two blocks making a left (east) on 3rd St. and goes one block to A St. Turning right (south) on A St., passing Fillmore Middle School, to 1st St., then left (east) one block to Orchard St. and left (east) to Sespe Ave for one block then left (north) on to Central Ave continuing up to 4th St. where it turns right (east) on 4th to Mountain View. On Mountain View it turns right again (south) to Santa Clara St and back to the bus terminal.

There will be a scheduled bus to Piru and another to Santa Paula. The Santa Paula route will cover Santa Barbara St., Main St., Harvard Blvd. and the east section of Ventura St. Piru will have Main St., Center St. and E. Telegraph Rd.

Fixed route prices one way are $1.00 for those18 and older, $.50 for those 5-17 yrs. including Senior/Disabled with children under 5yrs. free.

One way Dial-A-Ride prices are $1.75 for those 18 and older, Senior/Disabled $.85, one way ADA Para-transit $2.00 and children under 5 yrs. free.

Day Passes are $3.75 (good for both Fixed Route and DAR), Adult Monthly Pass Fixed Route for Adults is $20 and $10 for Youth/Senior/Disabled.

Dial-A-Ride Adult/Youth Monthly Pass is $30 and $25.00 for Seniors/Disabled. Transfers are free to VCTC Highway 126 route; riders must ask the driver for the transfer. Dial-A-Ride is not available for Youth 5-17 yrs.

Transit Passes will be sold at City Hall and other locations to be decided on later. The existing GoVentura transit card will continue to be available on the Dial-A-Ride service but only until the service is phased out at the end of the fiscal year.

The total cost of local transit service in the Heritage Valley is $2.4 million per year and will be split equally three ways; approximately $1.5M Fillmore, $1.5M Santa Paula and $1.5M County of Ventura. Future transportation costs are expected to be adjusted, but Fillmore’s costs are capped at what is receives through its Transportation Development Act funding. The new buses that are part of the fleet were purchased with approximately $1.925 million in State Transportation Prop. 1B grant monies.

The total bus service for Fillmore/Santa Paula/Ventura County includes; five 14-passenger busses, five 16-passenger busses, five 23-passenger low floor buses. Each bus will accommodate two wheelchairs and have cameras as part of the Ventura County Transportation Commission intercity fleet camera system. Fillmore will have one low-floor circulator bus and two smaller buses.

During Public Comments Marie Wren asked if anything could be done to address the growing problem of loiterers. The area of concern is downtown Central Avenue. The men gather for hours around the brick planter. It has been observed that loiterers with paper bags encasing beverages has increased.