Tuesday, December 10, 2024

The council's largest spending decision was a $2,914,000 contract with R2Build (dba R2B Engineering) for tank farm reservoir upgrades, funded from ARPA dollars the city manager stated must be obligated by December 31, 2026; the vote was 5-0. The council also approved a $215,438 purchase order to Yunex Traffic for outstanding invoices covering traffic signal and street lighting maintenance performed after that vendor's contract expired and before a replacement contract was in place — a pattern one public speaker questioned directly — on a 4-0 vote with Councilman Bowers not appearing in the recorded roll call. Acceptance of the Citywide Road Repair Services VII project, releasing $102,828 in contractor retention to Hardy & Harper, Inc., passed 5-0, and a $14,347 Human Resources budget amendment adding two new positions while eliminating two vacant ones passed 5-0. A first reading of an ordinance creating a new Compton Arts Commission passed 4-1 with Councilman Bowers dissenting; one speaker objected that existing commissions are not fully operational. Twelve members of the public addressed the council, with speakers raising questions about late vendor payments, the scope of the tank farm contract, and the city manager's prior use of a personal credit card to pay a tax lien on city-owned property ahead of a council-approved purchasing card.