To start off a very long, eventful, and passionate meeting, the City Council called first for public comments. Bill Faith urged the council to pay heavy attention to the danger of Highway 126, and the constant accidents that are occurring. Faith encouraged patrols to be set up when possible to both Highway 126 and the exchange from Highway 23 to Highway 126.

Two items regarding housing were brought to the attention of the council. The council wanted to bring to attention senate bill 1069 which removes all processing requirements for certain dwellings. A letter of protest was suggested for the bill. Another item brought up by the Governor of California that states that if a unit meets zoning requirements, it will not be subject to the discretion of the city or any environmental review. Councilman Manuel Minjares stated that capacity is critical and that the city must find different ways to attack the issue of affordable housing.

The only piece of old business was brought up by Fire Chief Keith Gurrola. The Chief was asking for a delay of the presentation of weed abatement as almost 100% of homes offered participation. Chief Gurrola wants a delay so that the city can achieve 100%. The motion was carried by the council.

The first order of new business involved the approval of Ventura County Transportation (VCTC) measure investment/expenditure program. A representative of the VCTC brought forward this measure as a way to give cities as much jurisdiction as possible when properly using the funds, which would amount to a minimum of $500,000 in sales tax revenue. There would be a committee to ensure proper usage of the funds. As explained by the representative, the VCTC has been very proactive in community outreach, and much of Ventura County has passed this approval. Councilman Rick Neal stated that adding taxes is the least creative solution and it affects the businesses and citizens of Fillmore without many benefits. He goes on to urge Fillmore to maybe focus less on public transit that isn’t being used and more on cops, firefighters, and better infrastructure. Councilman Manuel Minjares believes the tax is the way to go because funding will allow drivers to spend less time on highways and more time with their families. But Councilman Douglas Tucker responded saying that Fillmore is a bedroom community, and a tax would mean paying more for gas, thereby increasing the financial burden of those who have a lengthy commute to work. Mayor Pro Tem Carrie Broggie finished by highlighting the fact that the purpose of this order of business was to get the issue to the voters, not to approve the tax. The motion to adopt getting the approval to the voters was carried.

A concise summary of the various expenditures/revenue from the city of Fillmore was given by Gaylynn Brien of the finance department. Councilman Tucker appreciated the hard work. He mentioned the city pool and multiple jet fuel companies as places where Fillmore has lost money, but that there has been much progress which has caused the budget to be essentially balanced. Councilman Neal brought up the communities desire to have a bike cop, but ensured that Fillmore would not benefit in the long run according to the statistics. The motion to approve the adoption of resolution numbers 16-3537 and 16-1 approving the recommended fiscal year 2016-2017 budgets for the City of Fillmore was carried.

The motion for the consideration and adoption of city resolution 16-3531 setting the appropriations limit for the fiscal year of 2016-2017 was promptly carried, along with the motion to adopt City Council resolution 16-3538, calling and giving notice of the November 8, 2016 General Municipal Election as well as consolidation that the presidential general election by Ventura County be conducted on the same day.

There was a proposed city-sponsored ballot measure to amend the land use element of the city’s general plan to extend the effective date of the city urban boundary restriction to the year 2030 instead of the year 2050 was approved. Bob Stroh spoke and ensured that cities can do just fine when a limit is put on growth. Executive Director of the Ventura County Coalition of Labor, Agriculture, and Business (VC COLAB) Lynn Jensen says VC COLAB does not compete with the city SOAR (Save Open Space and Agricultural Resources), and their purpose is to give the citizens the vote. They respect Fillmore’s boundaries, says Jensen, and there is a genuine concern that 2050 is too long of period. Patti Walker said, to her knowledge, there was no mention of development outside the boundaries of Fillmore. Councilman Minjares stated the importance of the results of an updated general plan. Minjares goes on to say the current boundary has served its purpose and there hasn’t been a desire to expand beyond. Councilman Tucker ensured the importance of dialog and that if the restriction was extended to 2050, no dialog would occur. Mayor Diane McCall finished with much of the same thoughts of the council, also adding that Ventura County is very much a farming community and she doesn’t see that changing anytime soon.

The most heated topic of the night were the proposed general tax measures regarding sale/distribution and commercial cultivation of marijuana, as well as the public hearing ordinance to allow limited personal cultivation of medical marijuana deliveries. City Manager David Rowlands started out by saying Fillmore needs to protect the right to tax, and this issue must be dealt with before July 5th. If Fillmore does not get on the ballot now, they won’t be able to revisit for another two years. Mari Scott of the Ventura County Cannabis Alliance (VCCA) pushed for marijuana as a safe alternative to opiates and other medicines. She ensured that delivery services are non-profit organizations and that delivery cannot support a proposed 15% tax. Risa Horowitz, an advocate/educator of medical marijuana, urged the council to analyze the resolutions to the matter before action is taken. Horowitz highlighted the stigma most medical marijuana patients have been put under. Resident Dan Mathews is an opponent of medical marijuana citing many of his researched adverse effects of the community, environment, and education that Fillmore would incur. Monica Lindsay fought for medical marijuana, saying that cannabis helped save her life as she beat breast cancer. She believed the attack on medical marijuana was hypocritical in ways as she believes fireworks are going unnoticed as dangers to the community. Sarah Armstrong, from the Americans for Safe Access, pushed the council to wait on passing this ordinance until more information was available. Police Chief Dave Wareham ensured that fireworks are taxed, and that he was in contact with the behavioral health committees and no HIPA violation would occur from registration for medical marijuana. Wareham is in favor for medical marijuana for those who need it, but there is no way to regulate the marijuana usage without funds from taxation. He also stated that 100 square feet of cultivation is more than enough, adding that 30 square feet was more feasible. Next, Chelsea Sutula wondered why there would be registration for marijuana but not for other medication. Sutula pushed for more education on the subject. Lastly, resident Kathy Meza brought up the problems Colorado is having with the legalization of marijuana, and that she does not want those same problems to happen to Fillmore. Councilman Tucker cited positives and negatives, but due to his experiences as a medical professional he believes that other medications can be used and regulated. Councilman Minjares mentioned a cultural shift that will affect Fillmore and if we aren’t prepared to regulate medical marijuana or the possible recreational use in the future, then we will be put behind the eight ball. Mayor Pro Tem Broggie brought up the misallocation of medical marijuana and Mayor Diane McCall ended by saying that education is crucial about the topic and if we ignore education, the concern, danger, and burden only increases upon the City of Fillmore. The motion was carried regarding the proposed general tax measures. There was a motion to push the topic of personal cultivation to the first week of August, after the July 25th meeting that will be put on to further educate the public about marijuana usage.

The motion to approve the public hearing to consider the adoption of resolutions approving the engineer’s annual levy report was carried.

Additionally, the public hearing to consider the adoption of the resolution confirming the annual budget and ordering the levy and collection of assessments was also carried.

The appointment of Councilman Tucker to the primary representative of the Joint Powers Insurance Authority, as well as the appointment of Diane Impeartrice to secondary representative was put to a motion and carried out.

Lastly, it was brought to the attention that the incident occurring during the May Festival would require a $13,000-15,000 reimbursement. The council unanimously agreed that the sale of alcohol was not the chief issue at hand, and that they would like to give the Chamber of Commerce more time to address the issue.

Commission reports started with Councilman Tucker mentioning that the Air Pollution Control Board (APCB) is going into escrow to purchase a building. Tucker also mentioned that money is available for electrical vehicle charging stations. Mayor Pro Tem Broggie brought up positive discussions regarding a dog park location in Fillmore. Mayor McCall highlighted the necessities of mandatory spay and neuter ordinances as shelters are overcrowding. McCall also wanted to mention that the pool is open during the summer, and to come out and participate in the July 4th pancake breakfast and car show. Lastly, Dave Wareham wanted to reiterate that fireworks are illegal up until June 28th at noon, and there would be a $1,000 fine for anybody using or possessing the fireworks illegally.