How do you feel about the latest moves to silence the public?

Minutes, also referred to as simply notes or protocols, are documents describing what was said or discussed in a meeting or hearing. Generally speaking there are three main types of minutes used in meetings. Verbatim minutes refers to minutes that document every single word that was said during a meeting. Summary minutes describe the overall summary of what was said in a meeting, and Action minutes are used to describe all the actions that have taken place during a meeting.

We are bringing this up because it appears that certain people would prefer to limit your ability to address the council.

Back in July of 2013 Mayor Robertson put an item on the consent calendar to change the time you could address the city council from 5 to 3 minutes. Thankfully she caught on and pulled the item but not before addressing it and opening herself to public comment and forcing her to back peddle.

Now we are only receiving Action Minutes and our voices are going undocumented. Councilman O’ Connell has said at the last couple meetings that it is being done deliberatly. Mayor Robertson and City Clerk Mc Gee claim that the video feed is sufficent. One thing on the video feed is that people without computer access or people that are technology sharp they are left with no way to REVIEW council predeedings. Also there are times where the sound is distorted or not clear. this is why we need the person who ran for election to be our City Clerk and Record Keeper to do her job.

Come back for more on this story……….. Also vote on our poll and let your voice be heard.

Re Cap on City Council Meeting on 4-8-14

Photo: Visit www.rialtonow.com to get a break down of this map and so much more from Tuesday

Number 1 is the proposed location of the new stop light. Number 2 is where the city is looking to extend the existing road median. MC is where the 4th Mc Donald’s will be and the GAS is the proposed location of the Food 4 Less Gas Station

Hello Rialto residents if you didn’t follow us on twitter ( http://www.twitter.com/rialtosnow ) on Tuesday night you missed a couple interesting agenda and consent calendar items. Below we have them listed out for your reading enjoyment.

Consent Calendar D. 10

So normally consent calendar items are rarely ever discussed the consent calendar is meant to approve a block of items that have minimal importance, low dollar amount or lately a way to slide an item by the public without any response from your elected officials. The only way these items are discussed in the open is if they are pulled by one member for separate consideration or a separate vote meaning someone has a issue, question or problem with any particular item.

So on this occasion there were three items pulled for separate consideration. The first two were uneventful and took minimal time D. 10 was not so easy. Councilman O Connell was the one that placed this item on the agenda and Mayor Robertson pulled the item. So what was D. 10? D. 10 was a request that council direct the clerks office to provide detail minutes versus ACTION minutes. What’s the difference? The difference is action minutes merely report the overall final vote 3-1, 4-0 ect. Over the last 6 months the Clerk has given the city ACTION minutes only. So when the Mayor was accused of giving preferred treatment to one security contractor over another. their is no record, or the funny way the money from the sale of our water company for 30 million dollars has been allocated and many other examples.

Mayor Robertson issue was that the city council was directing one elected official to do something? She went on about different branches of government and not over stepping boundries. It sounds good right council cant direct the City Clerk to do something right? Well if our City Clerk was only a City Clerk it would be that way. Our City Clerk is also a Department Head she makes a nice yearly salary department heads report to the city council and mayor as well as the city administrator. Councilman O Connell came prepared for the item to be pulled because he came with a power point that really drove the point home about why he was concerned about the ACTION minutes. There was a lot of back and forth where even the City Clerk tried to blame her lack of reporting on the moving of her offices, lowered staff and being ill. The city attorney said that the way this issue was handled was if the city had a Municipal Code directing what type of minutes were to be generated which Rialto does not have, so they fall back to state law which states that ACTION minutes were the bare minimum. The outcome was the City Attorney would draft a Municipal Code that would direct the Clerk to produce more than ACTION minutes. So this one is TO BE CONTUNIED……

Visit our twitter account and get a picture of Barbara McGee’s body language during the Councilman’s power point.

Agenda Tab 4

Welcome to Rialto the Home of Liquor Stores, Indoor Swap Meets & Mc Donald’s fast food chains. On Tuesday the City Council made this more of a reality. Apparently on the corner of Cedar & Foothill where the Verizon Store is and the empty video rental building is will now house Rialto’s 4th Mc Donald’s chain. But wait there is more that very busy and dangerous shopping center is also getting a Food 4 Less Gas Station Yay?????? But wait there is more to make matters worse the city is extending a median on Cedar North of Foothill & putting another stop light between Linden and Cedar on Foothill???????

Neighborhood Watch Liaison for the Flores Park Neighborhood Watch addressed his concerns on Tuesday that the city was spending a total of $150,000 on a project that is only going to make traffic worse not better yet Flores Park Can’t get 1 single stop sign in front of their park to slow down traffic and help the RUSD traffic guard assist the children across this dangerous street. Council Members were un moved by the pleading from the community because the new gas station and Mc Donald’s brings in revenue. So I guess street safety is only important as long as the city can make money off it. The sad part is that this new Mc Donald’s is less than 50 feet from a Head Start Pre School that is already flanked by a wienerschnitzel so much for healthy Rialto. Anyone that uses this area already knows its a mess inside the shopping center traffic wise now that the city is going to force people to turn south onto Cedar which will be further backed up by an additional light on Foothill is a recipe for a disaster.

As to Flores Park and their desire for a stop sign on Etiwanda no one on the council seemed to care. Especially Public Works Director Marcus Fuller who increased the speed limit on Etiwanda by 15 MPH from 25 MPH to 40 MPH. When asked why he stated that 80 percent of the people were speeding on the street so they increased the speed to accommodate the speeding public. There seems to be no law preventing turning our local streets into legal drag strips. Both Cactus and Cedar that run parallel to Etiwanda have speed limits of 50 MPH just 15 MPH shy of a freeway. Flores Park said the will continue to push on the issue and look into legal avenues to force the city to offer protections for our neighborhoods and community streets.

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http://kec.rialto.k12.ca.us/cms/page_view?d=x&piid=&vpid=1391775088119

 

 

This Weeks Highlights

Rialto Unified board VP: Superintendent fate to be decided soon                                                                              

Rialto >> The top two administrators in the Rialto Unified School District being out on paid leave for the past five months have cost taxpayers the equivalent of three veteran teachers during that time. But the pair won’t be in limbo much longer, according to one board member.

Read More Here                                                                                 

Rialto Police Department Urges City Council To Ban Mobile Marijuana Operations

On Tuesday Rialto Police Lt. James Kurkoske presented the Issue with Medical Marijuana Dispensaries moving to a Mobile operations to circumvent Rialto municipal code laws Banning dispensaries within the city limits

Lt. James Kurkoske remarked on the law that created a Compassionate Use Act (CUA) where people that were suffering from the effects of treatment from serious illness. Rialto has a ordnance that does not allow medical marijuana shops to hold store fronts within the city limits. So what drug dealers have done is offer a delivery service to their clients in the city of Rialto. Lt. James Kurkoske said at the council meeting last night that this practice is dangerous because the drivers are a target of armed robbery for cash and drugs. This danger has brought drivers to have armed guards or even arm themselves. One community watch resident said “last thing we need is a shoot out in the city”.

Lt. James Kurkoske said that the SCAT team preformed undercover buys from these shops and had the drug delivered to a apartment where a undercover police officer was there to complete the purchase. Lt. James Kurkoske said that the undercover operations team did not encounter any armed curriers but did encounter armed guards at a store front that was shut down near Cactus and Valley.

The council went with staff recommendation and amend the current Ordnance to also ban mobile operations of Medical Marijuana within the city limits. The vote was unanimous but there were comments after the public comment portion was over. Councilman Joe Baca Jr asked Lt. James Kurkoske how possible legalization efforts would affect the city’s ability to enforce the Ordnance. Lt. James Kurkoske did say that it would become more difficult. Joe Baca Jr also asked how the police would be able to identify if someone was under the influence while driving. Lt. James Kurkoske said states like Colorado and Washington were already developing methods and technology to deal with this issue with more accuracy. Joe Baca Jr said its inevitable that Marijuana will be regulated and more available to our communities and he didn’t seem to concerned over this issue. Councilman Ed Palmer was disturbed that someone could order Marijuana like a pizza. He made reference to a potential decline in our communities is this continued. Councilwoman Lynn Hirtz said that having a lax attitude in reference to any drug use in our communities was dangerous and she thanked the police for their work on this item.

Final $11 million settlement reached in water contamination suit

Wrapping up a decade of litigation involving multiple companies, of a former fireworks manufacturer agreed Friday to an $11 million settlement to help cover cleanup costs at a Rialto industrial site where toxic chemicals leached into the groundwater.

Read More Here Clean Water

RIALTO: Couple shows Champion dog at Westminster

Rialto dog handlers Ivonne and Gabriel Rangel are ready to take Sky, champion wire fox terrier, into the ring Tuesday for the terrier competition at the Westminster Kennel Club Annual Dog Show in New York.

Read More Here Terrier

 

Assemblymember Cheryl R. Brown Will Convene Covered California Town Halls

Cheryl Brown HEADER

SAN BERNARDINO – In partnership with Covered California, the County of San Bernardino, San Bernardino County Transitional Assistance Department and San Bernardino Valley College, Assemblymember Cheryl R. Brown (D-San Bernardino) will convene two Covered California town halls on Thursday, February 20 and Friday, February 21 from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Business Conference Center at Valley College.

Constituents will have an opportunity to sign up on site and review their healthcare options with enrollment counselors. Seminars will be held in both English and Spanish.

“Access to medical services, especially in my district, is extremely important. The uninsured rate in San Bernardino County is above a quarter of a million. My Covered California outreach event will give constituents an opportunity to meet with enrollment counselors, review their healthcare options and select a plan that best fits their family budget,” said Assemblymember Brown. “As we approach the March 31 enrollment deadline, I’m committed to doing everything that I can to reduce the number of uninsured individuals in our county.”

Those attending will need to provide a social security card, proof of income and identity. Valley College students are invited to attend on Thursday, February 20 and members of the general public are encouraged to attend on Friday, February 21. Parking is free on Friday. Valley College is located at 701 S. Mt. Vernon Ave. in San Bernardino.

RSVP by contacting Josue Castillo at (909) 381-3238 or by emailing josue.castillo@asm.ca.gov.  

Assemblymember Cheryl R. Brown represents the 47th Assembly District, which includes Colton, Fontana, Grand Terrace, Rialto, the southwest parts of San Bernardino, and the unincorporated communities of Bloomington and Muscoy.

 

Website of Assemblymember Cheryl R. Brown: http://www.asmdc.org/members/a47/.

The first Council Meeting of 2014 will address big issues

Welcome everyone to 2014 lets start it off with a massive council meeting! Tonight the city council will address among other things the cities first quarter budget, items with the closure of the Airport and weather to replace the City Attorney Jimmy Gutierrez or keep him. The city attorney issue was supposed to be dealt with in 2013 but with allegiances forming on one side or another and the tragic accident of Councilman Shawn O’Connell this issue was pushed into January.

Reading Councilman O’Connell’s twitter account it doesn’t appear that their will be an easy choice.

“Still recovering but will be attending tonight’s City Council meeting. Hopefully the city attorney position will be decided tonight.”

Follow Councilman O’Connell at https://twitter.com/Shawn4Rialto

With so many important decisions being made today many local community groups and organizations are looking to drive home the importance of the community getting involved and learning more about what is going on in their city government.

If you can’t attend you can follow along with us as we tweet out the hot topics via twitter just follow www.tiatter.com/rialtosnow we tweet it under the hashtag #RialtoCityCouncil

Rialto Fire Vrs Police Broomball Results

Today the residents of the city of Rialto were treated to a friendly game of Broomball. It was a Battle of the Badges that will go down in history. Rialto Fire Department was keeping the police department at bay staying one point ahead with aggressive offensive play and good ice. After the second period was over the heat of the 80 degree day finally made the ice the great equalizer. Portions of the ice became super slick and both teams players found the ice difficult to maneuver on.

Broom ball 1

Rialto Police re-grouped and began using a new strategy of keeping a player back on defense to help stop any Fire Department fast breaks. In the end Rialto Police found the energy and stamina to over come the Fire Department by a score of 7-6. Both sides were equally represented in the stands with fans of both agencies showing up to route on their team. The stands filled up so much that additional bleachers needed to be brought in to offer everyone a seat.

broom ball 2

Mike Story acted as master of ceremonies welcoming everyone and letting the crowd know that they could skate after the game for half price. Towards the end of the game Mayor Robertson showed up and was excited to see both public safety agencies giving our community such a great show. The residents were happy to see so many changes in the city and looked forward to more in 2014. One resident Debbie said she loved the addition of the ice rink and community events it helps bring positive people into the city and make it a good place to live.

The only casualty in this battle of the badges match were the brooms. Ton of brooms were broken damaged or even destroyed. Rialto Fire brought out a push broom but were warned by the referees that a push broom was not acceptable. Oh did we forget to highlight our refs for this game, none other than Fire Chief Fratus & Police Chief Farrar. I have to say both refs had fun and looked like they enjoyed laying down a little law on their employees within the game.

Don’t Miss the next Battle of the Badges in the annual Blood Drive, last year Rialto PD won.

Photo

Interviews for New City Attorney

Well it looks like the bids are in and we have 5 contenders for the City Attorney job here in Rialto. We have 4 new bidders and the existing Attorney Jimmy Gutierrez. You can watch the interviews unfold in person, on the internet or via the public broadcasting channel.

get-attachment

Final 2013 Events & City News

Healthy Rialto Kids

Fitness and Flix, a workout, dinner and movie for kids age 2-12, is co-hosted by the Rialto Fire Department and will be held on Friday, December 6th, 4:30 pm to 9:00 pm, at Fire Station 201. Participants will do a boot camp style workout, a healthy meal will be cooked and served by the Rialto firefighters, and afterwards, everyone gets to relax and watch Fire House Dog, the movie. For more information, please call (909) 820-2519.

Rialto Certified Farmers’ Market

Healthy Rialto, in support by Kaiser Permanente, will be issuing $20 Rialto Senior Farmer Bucks to Rialto residents who are age 55+. Rialto seniors are able to spend

their bucks at the Farmers Market on Wednesday, November 20 and November 27 only, just in time for Thanksgiving. Healthy Rialto’s goal is to promote healthier eating among our senior citizens. Rialto Senior Farmer Bucks will be issued on Wednesday, November 20, limited to the first 200 senior residents who show proof of age and residence. For more information, please call (909) 820-2519.

We Now Accept EBT

The Rialto Certified Farmers Market now accepts Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) known as CalFresh in California. Farmers’ Markets provide significant benefits to consumers, farmers and the communities they serve. EBT is currently available at over 330 authorized Farmer’s Markets statewide providing clients’ access to fresh fruits and vegetables.

New ATM Machine

An ATM is available in the City Clerk’s Office for anyone who needs cash. The new machine is provided by Inland Valley Federal Credit Union.

Economic Heartbeat of Rialto

Mayor Deborah Robertson’s Economic Heartbeat of Rialto can be seen on the Rialto Network, Channels 3 and 99. It is also available on live stream via the city’s web site, http://www.rialtoca.gov. This show is an in depth interview with local Rialto businesses.

Community Forum

Mayor Deborah Robertson invites Rialto residents to attend the first community forum of 2014 on Thursday, January 16, 2014, from 6:30 to 8:30 pm. The meeting will be held in the City Hall Council Chambers located at 150 South Palm Ave.

This is a opportunity to inform our city elected officials on what you see as important or a direction the city has been taking that you don’t agree with. This is your opportunity to plug in and become aware of the decisions being made on your behalf.

The Mayor and City Department Heads will be available to receive comments and answer questions from the residents. Mayor Robertson is looking forward to a candid dialog with community members to help understand and take into consideration perspectives from residents as the City Council plans for a second century of progress for Rialto. Mayor Robertson understands the success of the City of Rialto is directly related to meeting the needs of our community.

Come share your thoughts on issues that matter to you and our community. For additional information, contact Angela Perry or Pam Kennedy at (909) 820-2689; or visit their website at http://www.rialtoca.gov.

City Council Meeting September 10, 2013 Agenda

Agenda of the Regular Meeting of the City of Rialto City Council

We are going to post each and every city council agenda the Monday before the meeting. We will add content in a different color to help explain items of interest or highlight items that will you need to know.

Also twitter users can follow a play by play of the council meeting by following us at www.twitter.com/Rialtosnow or following #RialtoCityCouncilMeeting. Also if your friends with Flores Park Group on Facebook our tweets land there as well.

Of course you can watch the meeting live on TV or the internet by clicking this link http://rialto.granicus.com/ViewPublisher.php?view_id=2 You can also go in person and be part of the solution and help us show our elected officials you care and are engaged.

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Mayor Pro Tem Edward Palmer

INVOCATION: Pastor Harry Bratton – Greater Faith Grace Bible Church

City Council Regular Meeting September 10, 2013

City of Rialto Page 4 Printed on 9/5/2013

City Attorney’s Report on Closed Session

PRESENTATIONS AND PROCLAMATIONS

1. Transportation Commission 2012 Annual Report – Dennis Barton, Chairperson.

2. Cold Case Update – Lt. Hardin and Sgt. Stella.

ORAL COMMUNICATIONS

City Council to consider removing or continuing any items on the agenda

NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC

All matters listed under Consent Calendar are considered to be routine by the City Council and will be enacted by one motion in the following form listed. There will be no separate discussion on these items. If discussion is required, the item will be removed from the Consent Calendar and will be considered separately. Vote may be by roll call.
CONSENT CALENDAR

The consent calendar is a collection of various items that either are of a low dollar amount and do not require the attention of a TAB ITEM, or there is nothing for the council to discuss. Yet many times items like E10 below are stuck in here to skirt the Community and even the council if they are not watching closely. This is where items like reducing the time limit from 5 to 3 minutes for public comment were laid. If it wasn’t for some council members and community members watching them it very well could have slid right by the community.

A. WAIVE FULL READING OF ORDINANCES (ACTION)

1. Waive reading in full, all ordinances considered at this meeting.

B. APPROVAL OF WARRANT RESOLUTIONS

B.1 Resolution No. 50 (06/28/13)

B.2 Resolution No. 1 (07/05/13)

B.3 Resolution No. 9A (08/30/13)

C. APPROVAL OF ACTION MINUTES

C.1 Regular City Council Meeting – June 25, 2013

D. SET PUBLIC HEARING

Here is where the public has the opportunity to address the council on anything not on the agenda – Limit to 5 minutes

D.1 Request City Council to Set a Public Hearing for September 24, 2013

to consider Development Agreement No. 13-01 between the City of Rialto

and I-210 Logistics Center II Fund IX, LLC, related to the development

of a 763,640 square foot distribution facility on a 35.2 acre site located

at the northwest corner of Baseline Road and Linden Avenue in the

Employment Zone of the Renaissance Specific Plan.

City Council Regular Meeting September 10, 2013

This is being used to set up a public hearing on a proposed logistics center being built at Linden and Baseline. So on 9-24-13 the community can come out and voice their support or concerns with this proposed project.

E. MISCELLANEOUS
E.1 Request City Council to Adopt the Updated Hazard Mitigation Plan for the

City of Rialto.

E.2 Request City Council to Approve annual purchase orders with Willdan

Financial Services in the total amount of $41,300 for the Administration

Services of the Landscape and Lighting Districts and the Community

Facilities Districts.

E.3 Request City Council to Authorize Street Closures for the Rialto Fire

Department Annual Fire Prevention Open House

Yes the council needs to approve street closures for city events.

E.4 Request City Council to Approve the Purchase of Two New Ford Escapes

for Fire Prevention in the amount of $46,671.66

2 New vehicles for the Fire Department

 

E.5 Request City Council to Ratify the Emergency Purchase and Installation of

Eight Air Conditioning Units from Davidson’s Air Conditioning & Heating,

Inc. in the amount of $25,000.

E.6 Request City Council to Authorize Issuance of a Purchase Order in the

Amount of $31,050 to Lockwood Engineering Company for Civil

Engineering Design Services for the 2013/2014 Annual Curb, Gutter and

Sidewalk Project, City Project No. CB1404.

E.7 Request City Council Approval of a Notice of Completion for the Federal

Safe Routes to School Project at Merle Casey Elementary, City Project No.

100819, Federal Aid Project No. SRTSL 5205 (014).

 

E.8 Request that the Rialto Utility Authority Approve an Extension of Site Use

Agreement by and between the Rialto Utility Authority and Hackman Capital

Equipment Acquisition Company LLC, Tiger Valuation Services LLC, and

Hunter Consulting Inc.

E.9 Request City Council to adopt Ordinance No. 1532.

ORDINANCE NO. 1532

AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF RIALTO,

ADDING CHAPTER 3.33 AND REPLACING CHAPTERS 3.34, 3.36, 3.40,

3.44, 3.48, 3.52, 3.56, 3.60, 3.64, 3.68 AND 3.72 OF THE RIALTO

MUNICIPAL CODE RELATING TO DEVELOPMENT IMPACT FEES.
E.10 Request City Council to approve Engagement letter for Legal Services with

Colantuono & Levin, Professional Corporation.

Here the city is looking to use an outside Law Firm to handle a lawsuit. So we are paying Jimmy Gutierrez and his firm $600,000 thousand a year to not handle city lawsuits? Not to worry though Jimmy Gutierrez will oversee the company and charge the city hundreds of thousands of dollars to watch someone else do the job we pay him to do. Unless someone pulls this item this will be approved without a second thought more money wasting.

City Council Regular Meeting September 10, 2013

City of Rialto Page 6 Printed on 9/5/2013

TAB PUBLIC HEARING

TAB 1

Request City Council to Conduct a Public Hearing to Consider the Adoption

of Resolution No. 6332 Establishing Advertising Fees for the Rialto

Progress Community Magazine.

TAB 2

Request City Council to Conduct a Public Hearing to Consider Any

Objections from Property Owners on the Amount of Weed Abatement Costs

Assessed on Their Properties, and to Approve the Placement of Weed

Abatement Fees on County Tax Rolls.

TAB NEW BUSINESS

TAB 3

Request City Council to Approve the Preliminary Site Plan for the Bud

Bender Park Rehabilitation Project, City Project No. CB1302 and to

approve Budget

Resolution No. 6333 Appropriating $30,000 from the Park

Fund (210).

TAB 4

Request City Council to Approve and Award the Contract to Braun

Northwest in the amount of $356,259 to Refurbish Three Ambulances.

TAB 5

Request City Council to Approve the Contractual Agreement with Fire

Apparatus Solutions and Approve a Purchase Order in the amount of

$125,000.

TAB 6

Request City Council to Adopt Budget Resolution No. 6334 Appropriating

$125,000 and to Approve a Professional Services Agreement with Hall &

Foreman, Inc., in the Amount of $100,360 to Complete the City of Rialto

Master Plan of Drainage Update.

TAB 7

Request City Council to Approve a Cooperative Agreement for the

Development of a Joint Groundwater Model for the Rialto/Colton

Groundwater Basin.

TAB 8

Request City Council to Approve Amendment No. 3 to the Agreement for

Legal Services with Gutierrez, Fierro & Erickson, A Professional

Corporation.

Looks like Jimmy Gutierrez is FINALLY ready to sign his TEMPORARY contract. 

 

 

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