Tuesday, March 19, 2024

The council approved $200,846 in water system annual fees to the State Water Resources Control Board in a single 5-0 vote covering three line items — $100,423, $52,090, and $48,333 — with the $48,333 amount falling just below the $50,000 individual approval threshold and the city manager stating the payments were slightly late. The council also approved a $131,550 contract with W. Frank Newton, Inc. DBA WFN Consulting for grant administration services (5-0), following Councilmember Darden's questions about past grant compliance failures, and a $25,000 purchase order with Blue Diamond Company for asphalt stock material (5-0), with the city manager stating the funds are for on-hand supply for daily pothole repair crews, not street repaving. Two grant budget amendments were approved 5-0: $550,455 from the DOJ for tobacco enforcement (with only $5,400 of that allocated to youth outreach), where the council noted grant acceptance originally dated to 2021 and the city manager described the multi-year delay as 'a significant management oversight'; and $129,212 from CalRecycle for SB 1383 organics compliance. The council approved on first reading a development agreement with City Ventures Homebuilding, LLC for a 60-unit market-rate housing project at 930 W. Compton Boulevard (4-0-1, Spicer abstaining); the $400,000 due from the developer at close of escrow is revenue to the city, not a spending decision.