The August 1, 2015 Fillmore City Council Meeting had a number of items on the agenda, but the Council went into much greater discussion on two; the Chevron Works and the sale of fireworks in Fillmore.

Leslie Klinchuch, representative of Fillmore Works, addressed the Council regarding the use of the Chevron owned property just outside of the Fillmore's city boundary. Klinchuch stated Chevron has applied for a Conditional Use Permit from Ventura County and has elected to lease the land to Stion, a solar manufacturing company, who will be installing solar panels on 25.25 acres of the property. This is the first solar farm in Ventura County. She also stated the "green image" would give Fillmore a bonus. Originally Chevron presented a business park project when discussions began that would have provided hundreds of jobs to local residents.

The Council told Klinchuch they were very disappointed with the turn Chevron has taken. Mayor Douglas Tucker told Klinchuch the amount of hours invested in the project by both the Council and citizens of Fillmore were numerous and spoke of his disappointment with the property not being annexed to Fillmore stating "It's not annexed or in our sphere of influence, which creates problems for Fillmore."

Planning Department Kevin McSweeney told the Council the property is not in the Piru and Fillmore green belt and there was no request for annexation at this time, but he was confident that Fillmore would be notified from the County when needed.

The Council is concerned with working with the County and would like more control when dealing with issues such as fire assistance, flooding and who benefits from the solar farm and who does not. They also wanted the property annexed from the beginning of discussions.

Council Member Diane McCall stated she wanted some oversight on a project so close to Fillmore and felt the time and work invested by the City of Fillmore should have had some return and the benefits should not be reaped by the County.

Council Member Carrie Broggie also voiced her disappointment stating, "We're not getting the annexation we thought we were getting in the beginning."

Tucker said he felt the partnership with Chevron has been one sided. "I'm very disappointed." Council Member Rick Neal responded, "It seems like they didn't want to put the heat on during the cleanup, then they turned around and went with the County." Tucker said he would like a meeting with Ventura County Supervisor Kathy Long. Fillmore City Manager David Rowlands said he will write a letter to Long for an appointment to discuss the issue.
Klinchuch reported there would be a Fillmore Works Remediation and Redevelopment Community Focus Group Meeting 5:30-7:30 p.m. on August 24, 2015 and Stion will be on hand to discuss the proposed solar project.

Another agenda item that the Council went into great discussion was the sale of fireworks and the problems associated with the annual nonprofit fundraiser. The cost of operating a sales booth the week before the 4th of July had been brought up at the July 14th meeting. Up to 25 nonprofits in Fillmore depend on the sale of fireworks each year to fund their endeavors, but over the years the cost of renting the land for the two week set up has skyrocketed to $6,000-$8,000. This has seriously cut into any profit the nonprofit might expect.

There are two companies providing the fireworks sold in Fillmore; TNT and Phantom with TNT supplying 23 booths and Phantom only two.

Neal informed the other Council Member that some nonprofits had reported underhanded tactics regarding the cost of renting the land. The reports stated that the fireworks suppliers were going directly to the property owners who have the best locations and offer them large sums to control the choice of where their firework are sold while requiring the nonprofits to sell their product.

Fire Chief Rigo Landeros informed the Council that years back property owners would often donated the two weeks stay on their land to the nonprofits. But since the Fireworks companies became involved in the process the price to secure some lots has made the fundraisers' profit questionable. Neal stated he wants the nonprofits to negotiate with the land owners, not the fireworks companies. McCall interjected, "We want everyone to make money."

John Kelly, Vice President of TNT Fireworks addressed the Council informing them that other cities have ordinances that limit the amount asked for the two week period to $1,000.

Another problem the nonprofits are having is getting the leftover stock back to the distributor. There are two ways that have been considered to deal with the returns. One is to deliver the product to a designated place and the other is to have the company pick up the returns. Both of these situations have their own problems.

To deliver the returns to a designated spot was tried this last July 4th. The designated spot was at Two Rivers Skate Park. The problem is that it is illegal to carry over 1,000 pounds of fireworks in a car. The fireworks are considered hazardous material and often require more than one trip to deliver the returns. According to Kelly 1,000 lbs. is about 30 cases (each case is about 25 lbs).

The other problem with having the company pick up the returns is the time needed to do so leaves many booth volunteers waiting until sometimes 3:00 a.m. leaving both the volunteer and the fireworks company driver sleep deprived which is a danger on the roads.

Kelly stated the sale of fireworks in Fillmore is about $900,000 with retail being 50-75 percent and the returns averaging 20-30 percent. Regarding the cost of renting the land, Kelly stated the increase cost is often due to chain stores taking the authority away from the store manager, who would often donate the rental cost to the nonprofit, to a corporate policy of "other income" and charging for the space. Kelly also attributed the increase to competition for the locations. Tucker told the other Council Members he wants more information on what is happening and will be talking to the property owners.

Neal asked Kelly for help with the illegal fireworks, which have become a big problem. Kelly responded that because Fillmore is so isolated from other towns he suspects there is a distribution network set up in Fillmore. Thirteen deputies were dispatched last 4th of July with 18 citations for illegal fireworks issued in City limits and more issued just outside.

Fillmore Fire Department reaches out to provide information on banners, advertisements and printed brochures on where to set off the fireworks. The brochures are handed out during the sale of the fireworks providing the safe parks and areas in town available to families.

TNT donates $8,000 to the community fireworks display on the 4th of July and Phantom donates $1,500. Those amounts are offered and have not been asked for.

The Council will bring back the issue in November 2015 with the information they have gathered from the landowners who rent out their land.

Another agenda item which did not receive as much discussion but is equally as important was the adoption of a resolution urging the State to provide new sustainable funding for State and local transportation infrastructure and joining the "Fix Our Roads Coalition."

According to "Fix Our Road" fact sheet; "California has the second-highest share of roads in "poor-condition" in the nation. Some 58% of the State roads need rehabilitation or pavement maintenance. In addition, the State has 6 of the 10 cities with the worst road conditions in the nation. With ongoing congestion in nearly 70% of California's urban roads and highways, without additional funding, 1/4 of local streets and roads will be in a failed condition by 2024 (less than 9 years). Lastly, the State lacks adequate funding to address deficiencies in local streets and roads and faces an estimated annual shortfall of $7.8 billion in deferred maintenance.

A 2014 California Statewide Local Streets and Roads Needs Assessment indicates the condition of the local transportation network is deteriorating as predicted in a 2008 study. The results show that California's local streets and roads are on a path of significant decline. On a scale of zero (failed) to 100 (excellent) the Statewide average pavement condition index is 66, placing it in the "at risk" category where pavements will begin to deteriorate much more rapidly and require rehabilitation or rebuilding rather than more cost effective preventative maintenance if funding is not increased. If funding remains at the current levels, in 10 years, 25% of local streets and roads will be in failed condition. Cities and counties need an additional $1.7 billion just to maintain a status quo pavement condition of 66. An increase to $3 billion annual investment is needed to improve pavement conditions Statewide from an average 'at risk' to an average "good" condition. If funding is not increased and unmet, the cost for transportation will increase to $11 billion in five years and $21 billion in ten years."

Fire Chief Rigo Landeros would like to once again remind Fillmore residents to sign up for VCAlert. Information is available at City Hall and on the City website.