GENERAL MEETING MINUTES

August 15, 2024

7:00 p.m.

VIA ZOOM

Call to Order: 7:05

Police Report: Commander Weeks – crime map: north of 126 fared better than the south side. Mostly domestic violence assaults, thefts. No real crime trends to report.

Ann: what kind of assaults?

Ans: majority were domestic violence, one or two people were grabbed.

Dean: any info about rumors that fireworks set off fires toward Simi area? Cdr Weeks had no info, but will check with VFD.

PD announcements: school started yesterday, Telegraph/Victoria a zoo in the morning. Work was going on overnight, a water main broke. Motor officers handled it.

Thurs 9/12 Atlas School, 7:30 a.m. equivalent to Coffee with a Cop. Police personnel at schools,

Pam: knows which homes have fireworks going off. PD had 40 calls, so nothing was done due to lack of sufficient personnel. The PD has 200 people on the street on July 4^th to monitor. Can law-abiding citizens help curtail the problem?

Cdr Weeks: take video of the illegal fireworks without getting too close? Explain what it does to PTSD sufferers, etc. There are increasing complaints. Police chief of Fillmore called about the drone program. Can’t stop a large number of violators. All of the cities are trying to come up with solutions. Use of drones on July 4 was a learning experience.

Pam: suggested putting out a flyer about the effects of fireworks on PTSD sufferers, pets, etc., and a note about the fine? Cdr Weeks: Yes, good idea.

Sheila: will drones be used on New Year’s Eve? Unknown at this time, they can look into it.

Sara: hears a lot about e-bikes. Is a license required in the City of Ventura? Cdr: different classes, some require a license, some don’t. There was a recent e-bike workshop. Are any officers on e-bikes? Some e-bikes are on order.

Minutes of Last Meeting are posted on the website.

Treasurer’s Report: Balance of $858.91. Regular deposit $94.85 (Grocery Outlet, less fee), additional deposits $23.53, $20.

Recognition of Attendees: Bill McReynolds, Dr. Jeanette Sanchez-Palacios, Linda Sumansky—Water Dept, Dean Katz-VP, Sheila Lowe-Secretary, Dorothy Bailey-Treasurer.

District 4 Council Member — Jeanette Sanchez-Palacios: council has been on break, set to come back on Aug 20^th. During the break, council members attended different events, just wrapped up the County Fair. There was a ceremony to celebrate 150^th anniversary with state and federal representatives. August 16, special training (open to public) for city council on ethics at 8:00 a.m. Blood drive at City Hall on Aug 21^st; pizza served for donors, 7-4. Several city mgt team signed up for the 9/11 a fundraiser memorial to remember first responders who died in the attacks. Crowne Plaza, participants will climb 11 flights of stairs ten times.

Ann: how do you get info on volunteering for the climb? Sara will supply it to anyone who wants it.

District 5 Council Member — Bill McReynolds: $13.3 M in road repairs approved, which is an increase over last year. Johnson Exit will be repaved soon. Northbank will be next. Aug 17^th is junk drop-off day to Environmental Sustainability. Youth basketball starts on 9/3. Ventura council of seniors, free event on housing/resources 4-5 Ventura Adult Center.

Sara: Water Dept: Net Zero water fee has been removed. This was a fee that some businesses could not raise.

Aug 24^th, Ventura Land Trust film festival.

The pier was reopened.

Council meeting Aug 20^th, Aug 27^th at 5:00. Firefighters received an award for providing care for heart attacks and stroke. We are lucky to have them.

Vision Planning—Sara has received reports from all the facilitators and is compiling them. We need to know when next GPAC meeting is so we can at least present a draft, if not a finished report. She is trying to get an appt with Rachel Diamond for suggestions and help going forward. Volunteers for the Vision committee welcome.

More involvement need by younger people involved with our schools, also school bus drivers to talk about traffic. Michelle offered to help contact schools.

Next workshop end Sept/first Oct.

Old Business

Council Focus Areas

New Business

We receive a monthly $100 donation from Grocery Outlet. Those who shop there may wish to thank them personally.

Guest Speaker

Gina Dorrington — Two big projects – Ventura WaterPure Program. Slides shared, see video on website.

Most water discharged into the estuary (a protected habitat) is going to be sent to a filtration facility and inject it into the ground water basin, collect it and return it to the city.

Linda Sumansky — Membrane BioReactor project: an upgrade compatible with VenturaWaterPure. Replaces treatment processes with MBR. Same technology as now, but instead of filtering, use membranes to get cleaner water. Gets rid of some processes. Starting upgrades around October November time frame. At 90% of design now. They are working with the construction people on the design, rather than just handing them the plans. Costs: Substantial price increases, now $289 M.

VenturaWaterPure – 55% increase in rates from 2022-2024. Due to inflation, etc.

Ventura WaterPure is looking for grants. Water bill rates will increase incrementally through 2030.

Judy: will water returned for use be softer? Yes, it will. It will help the city alleviate a lot of our hard water problem.

Judy: What will the impact be on the estuary? It will return to the way it originally was, seasonal brackish environment.

Sara: where is the $5 M land that was purchased for the project? Across the street from the reclamation plant at Olivas Park/Harbor. Planning to buy additional land around Johnson/Auto Center.

Sara: they are upgrading the current plants, plus building another?

Current plant will treat wastewater and make it tertiary quality (parks, flushing, not potable). From the upgrade (MBR). The new plant will take tertiary treated water and send it to the advanced treatment plant (not the estuary), to further treat for drinking quality water.

Sara: Rate study component—cost?

Ans: We do rate studies every 5 years to determine income for use in projects. It is in the budget that was just passed.

Ann: is an outside consultant always hired? Or can it be done in-house to save money?

Ans: It’s an extra workload that requires professionals who do rate studies. It would take a lot of staff time; those experts are not on hand.

Dean: doubling our rates — he sees an explosive moment in the future when the new rates (extra $100/mo) hit for 20% of our water.

Ans: The rate pays for a lot, including regulations, restrictions, etc. costs all go up. It’s an investment in infrastructure for 50-100 years, plus. Conserve water, pay less. Reach out to customer care partners for Customer Assistance program to give relief to some. None of the water will go to agriculture. It will allow new businesses to come in and have water supply.

Ann: encourages them to look for ways to assist seniors.

Adela: lives in a community of large, older homes where the water  bill is the largest bill. They must keep up landscaping for fire safety, so are forced to use water. In addition, insurance is difficult to obtain or at very high rates. Are the water people keeping the inflation rate in mind in setting these rates? It’s going to hurt people on fixed income (and others) deeply.

Judy: has no grass, but has trees, which are important to the environment. What about rate cuts for people with a lot of trees?

Ans: these are things they will bring up to consultants when they come on board. They will send inspectors out to your property to look for leaks, etc., see how much water is needed for trees, and ways to save water. Call the Conservation dept for info.

Ann: if you see water being wasted (i.e., ‘watering the sidewalk’ at the college), is there a place to call it in?

Ans: Water waste report form is online, or call customer care and report it. they will send someone out to check.

Sara: water upgrade started because of a judgment regarding what was being put into the estuary, so some of these changes are mandated by federal consent decree.

EVCC will put resources on the website.

Community Discussion

Ann: concerned about pesticide spraying—keep the topic alive.
Answer: Agricultural Commissioner, Dr. Korinne Bell will be discussing this at the September meeting.

28 were in attendance.

Next Meeting: September 19, 2024

Adjournment: 8:23 p.m.

Respectfully submitted

Sheila Lowe, Secretary