By Helen Tomlin News Review Staff Writer – The Ridgecrest Citizen’s Oversight Committee chair, Holly Staab, gave the annual reports for Measures V and P at the last City Council meeting. Staab chairs both committees, which are made up of five citizens each.
Measure V is a one percent local sales and use tax measure approved in 2017 after the previous Measure L expired, but whose leftover funds continue to trickle in. The combination of both these collected funds are referred to as “General Fund Taxes,” meaning they are not allocated to any specific department. However, the city council voted they be used to “retain city services for streets and public safety.” These council-appointed committee members for both V and P have three duties: 1) review all appropriations of revenues received by the City from the sales and use tax; 2) review the City’s Annual Comprehensive Financial Report; and 3) prepare and issue the committee’s report on their findings, which was just done.
Staab said Measure V’s expenditures should be spent on the city’s needed street improvements, such as paving and pothole repair or helping police do their jobs. She said this past year, “77 percent of the city’s streets were rehabbed.” To help the police, its funds provided officer training, the purchase of an animal control van, and rear seat conversions on the officers’ fleet. “34 percent of the city’s revenue was generated by Measure V.”
The more recent Measure P was voted in 2022 and will end after 9 years. It is also a one percent sales tax. The goals for this Measure are to 1) rebuild Pinney Pool; 2) enhance police and fire services; and 3) augment Ridgecrest’s quality of life.
The rebuilding of Pinney Pool will begin September 3 at 10am. A kickoff event is planned to begin by demolishing the old structure. Besides the pool, Staab said the funds have also been used to restore four police officers and add five new city positions. They are: a dispatcher, a records’ clerk, a human resources administrator, and a kennel attendant. Also a community events coordinator was added to organize the two “quality of life” events: City Nights and Night on Balsam
Staab’s conclusion for both reports is that the “money has been spent as promised and they’ve been very transparent.” She said, “Moving forward, our committees strive to uphold the trust placed in them by the community and to effectively contribute to the city’s continued progress and well-being.”
The next agenda item was to designate two positions for the upcoming League of California Cities’ annual conference. Councilman Skip Gorman was chosen as the voting member and Councilman Kyle Blades will serve as his alternate. The meeting will be held in October in Long Beach.
Councilman Scott Hayman nominated a young businessman, Brandon Temple, to fill a recently vacated space on the Measure V Committee. He said, “Brandon has stood up and is willing to participate in city matters. He brings [many] fine attributes to the position.” Temple is a co-owner of the 760 Fitness Center.
What Mayor Eric Bruen referred to as “The Reed Zone “ wrapped up the council meeting. Travis Reed, the city engineer, presented four resolution requests. Bruen said, “We’ve given Mr. Reed the instruction not just to do the work but to do the work right.”
Reed’s first request was to amend the agreement with Willdan Engineering. He asked that they add $30,000 to cover unexpected expenses incurred from the Phase II Sewer System Rehabilitation. The added funds were needed for additional inspection time and unanticipated additions for storm drains and manhole covers. He said, “The duration went longer than anticipated.” The total for this project is $7.4 million.
His second request was to reallocate Measure V funds from the Affordable Housing Sustainable Communities Project to the Paving Project. Reed said a portion of Downs Street had collapsed because of a leak, and a permanent repair is needed to “widen it to the full width of the intersection to line up with the Norma/Bowman culvert project.” He believes grant funding of $1.7 million will be received in early October.
A third request was another amendment to an agreement with Willdan Engineering. Reed asked for $10,000 for a CalTrans audit involving the West Ward Phase Improvement Project.
Reed’s last request was for additional funds to be allocated for the LeRoy Jackson Park Improvement Project because “we found numerous areas we didn’t have drawings for.” These included unexpected discoveries such as “numerous runs for lighting” and he also wants to add curbs and inspection fees. So far $4 million has been spent, and Reed said, “I think it’s starting to look better than it ever has.” All five councilmen voted unanimously for all his resolutions.
The only Committees report given was for Finance. Hayman said a compensation study was done to “bring employees up to a more current pay scale.” Bruen added, “We’re making sure they’re compensated properly moving forward.”
At the end of the meeting, Blades announced that the Police Department will have an open house on September 6 and that the Parks and Recreation Department is asking for participants in the next Trunk or Treat event, scheduled for October 25.
The next City Council meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, September 4, at 6 p.m.
