Rialto Community Forum Results and Break Down

Rialto Comm Forum

On January 29th the city held a community forum on a wide range of topics that matter to Rialto. The layout was different from other forums being people were given an opportunity to vote and speak on each topic. The evening wrapped up with Mayor Robertson asking if anyone from the crowd had any additional questions. The event was simple each person was given a clicker and was able to vote with multiple choice selections then make comments afterwards.

Looking back there were no questions on the failed water deal, on the distribution of Community Development Block Grants, on City Councils performance or on how the Measure “U” money will be spent. Why? Because the Mayor and her cohorts don’t want to hear what you feel on those issues. Well we want to know how you feel on one of those questions:

I was not able to attend due to my commitment to the Communities United Meeting that was the same night in Redlands but thanks to You Tube and Mr. Felton at Rialto Network we were able to see the results here:

Thanks to Mike Story you too can make your voice be heard in this online survey and answer the same questions that the people who attended to meeting did her:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/RialtoEng

Now to the nights results:

RCF Results 1

Notice how none of the regular city people even gave them all excellant. Ask people this same question now that they see travel spending out of control, taxes being wasted and corruption poking its ugly head once again.

RCF Results 2

Here nobody gave the quality of life here in Rialto an excellent this is beyond sad because when I was a kid Rialto was a great place to be and live.

RCF Results 3

Yes shopping and eating are the greatest priorities to Quality of Life here in Rialto. So what does Rialto do they shove all the eateries into one small spot creating a traffic nightmare and further frustrate Rialto residents you see our City Council isn’t happy if you’re not upset.

RCF Results 4

This result worries me because with more warehouses comes more truck traffic and trucks don’t follow the rules of the road and they do major damage to our streets that will create another fee (TAX) and punish us because they refuse to allocate the proper funds to fix our roads.


You can’t read it but sit down restaurants once again led in the voting and I guess that is fine. You can only have so many restaurants before you need other business options to feed those businesses. I don’t know about you but I will shop at Target before I ever step foot in a Walmart or even a Super Walmart. With rude shaggy staff, dirty shelves and story after story of the crime a walmart brings due to their lazy policies on Loss Prevention. Oh and don’t forget even though San Bernardino leads the IE in deadly crime and gang activity they are getting a Golden Coral Restaurant later this year. Yes a restaurant that would do well in Rialto goes to San Bernardino.

RCF Results 6 Until the city figures out how to create a sales tax base for warehouses in Rialto I agree with None of The Above. The city wants to tax the residents to death because they see us as easy marks.

RCF Results 7

Rialto is easier to work with than most other cities and recent business owners to open up shop in Rialto attest to this fact. I’m sure after the recent elected officials settle in they will change that overnight.

RCF Results 8Yes we think you should enforce property maintenance this is a silly questions. I love how someone doesn’t want to do their job they pass it off on the community to see if they need to enforce the rules or laws.

RCF Results 9I would like to know what the city thinks Active Adult Community Housing is? Here is what google says it is:

Active adult communities are real estate developments that offer independent, relatively maintenance-free living to residents aged 55 and over. In “age restricted” active adult communities, 80% of homeowners must be 55 and over, while “age-targeted” communities simply market to the 55+ crowd. Many of the residents continue to work part or full time, which is why the term “active adult retirement communities” is less accurate. The residents are not opposed to children (or grandchildren!) either. Rather, the 55+ component simply assumes that people at the same stage of life probably share a few leisure-time interests and pursuits.

Not surprising that the largely elderly group voting would vote this way.

RCF Results 10Wow you mean Rialto streets need to be worked on? Well of course they do but it seems like with the balance of power shifting to the side of corruption, money shifting and lavish traveling at the cities expense. Its so bad Councilman O’Connell had to eat his words when citizens told the council that the Trash Tax would not be an addition to current money spent on roads but a way to shift road money into pet projects to pay off favors to special interests.

RCF Results 11Once again Street Maintenance wins out but good luck getting this council to do good things that will improve our lives here in Rialto.

RCF Results 12

If the 22 people want more free community events they need to bring their friends with with them our market nights had very low turnout numbers and our city refuses to work with anyone else to help make the Market Nights more appealing. Some of the community events are awesome and some are lame the lame ones tend to be the ones where outside help is not excepted at all.

RCF Results 13

Here is Joe Baca Jr. go to place he is Mr. Parks and he was MIA. The rails to trails is underway and costing the city hundreds of thousands of dollars more than originally planned.

RCF Results 14

I would agree ask me about dispatch and thats a whole different story.

RCF Results 15

NO I don’t feel safe in Rialto. We are holding onto a low crime rate by holding back a flood with a bed sheet. We need to bolster our staffing within the police department, get our bars under control and finally get serious about the issues of San Bernardino crime rolling into our city.

RCF Results 16

Yes our police department is in a much better place with Chief Tony Farrar at the helm. He is an approachable person, a good leader and a great cop. One of the things I like most about Chief Farrar is that he doesn’t seem like he is on a fast track to a cushy political career like others that have recently left Rialto Police Department he is busy making our police department the best it can be with the resources he is given. Even as a big PD Supporter there are times I don’t see eye to eye with the police but the command staff isn’t against sitting down and hashing it out and talking about issues. In the end sometimes we have to agree to disagree but the respect remains because they took the time to hear you out.

RCF Results 17

I would agree with the 22 people that voted on this question. My question is why do we compare ourselves to other cities when it comes to safety or a justification to raise illegal taxes on the people of Rialto? Yet when you ask them to do a simple thing like figure out how to create a sales tax base opportunity from the numerous warehouses that are being forced on the community they throw thier hands up and claim they are trying their best? Well I’m sorry your best isn’t good enough anymore. If San Bernardino can get their warehouses to pay a separate tax to the city why can’t Rialto?

RCF Results 18

I believe our fire services are great. We use our own ambulances in most cases, fire fighters are kind men and women and Chief Mat Fratus is constantly working to make  Rialto Fire an innovative part of Rialto.

RCF Results 19

I do believe one thing we need is a FREE class that teaches Basic CPR & First Aide because many people have no idea what to do when a friend or family member falls ill or is the victim of an emergency.

RCF Results 20

The Fireworks Enforcement in Rialto is horrible. The people we have working the Fireworks hotline could not hear or understand the callers, hung up on the callers and did not give the community confidence that our concerns were getting through. Then you have Rialto PD Dispatchers that kept pushing you off onto the deaf fireworks hotline operators it was a major fail. We owe it to our community and veterans to work much harder to:

  1. Eliminate the use of illegal fireworks in the city by hitting our gang areas early and then looking at places where over the years there has been a constant flow of calls for service on a house or specific street. My street is a WAR ZONE every year with illegal fires, illegal fireworks and excessive drinking and drug use. Needless to say its not a family environment on my street the first week in July.
  2. Create a major community event like Redlands does where the entire day is dedicated to family and community with a parade and fun zone ending with a massive fireworks show. We have massive stadiums at our High Schools and we can put together a quality event that people want to attend.

The Mayor made a statement that she is fine with taking the input of 22 people most of them city employees over looking for ways to get more input from more people. I can tell you why the numbers were so low:

  1. No sense of urgency among the elected officials to get their camps excited about spreading the word about this forum. When the council wants something from you like funds for their campaign or your vote you can’t get them out of your face.
  2. The Mayor and her council members don’t want to hear what you have to say unless its agreeing with them. If you disagree with them in any fashion they bark at you, make fun of you or try and shut you up.
  3. It sucks but if you want people to show up you need to entice them with food and have their children involved in the event. They could have the recreation staff have a series of group activities for kids so parents could go and if we have some of our awesome young leaders involved in the process we could begin to expose them to the process and hear what they think Rialto needs.

To end it all you have Mr. Scott slamming Fontana saying that “they (Fontana) doesn’t care” he says this at 2:02 towards the end of the meeting well maybe they are not working with us because of comments like that Mr. Scott.

We need to get involved and show the Council that Rialto cares because if we don’t we will be on the fast track to being just like San Bernardino.

Video

Final Rialto Candidate Forum Today

The final candidate forum of the 2014 election year is today and will only highlight two of the may areas up for grabs on November 4th. The two areas that will be covered are City Council ( two seats open out of four candidates ) and Rialto Unified School Board ( two seats open with six people for the seats ). One interesting portion of this event is it appears Ed Scott will poke his head out and finally speak publicly on the race which he has primarily done through private fundraisers and mailers & signs. It will be nice to see a majority of the candidates out together and we can hear their view points at the same time. The event is at the Rialto Senior Center on South Riverside Ave. See flyer below for more info.

Screenshot_2014-10-26-14-30-34-1

Rialto School Board Q&A with Russel Silva

Welcome to our third RUSD Board member Q&A out of six candidates. Russel Silva carry’s the very coveted endorsement of the Flores Park Neighborhood Watch. He also is a smart person that has offered some great responses. On thing that stands out to us here is the issue of opening up the rails to trails project to schools Werner Elementary and Rialto Middle School. Their is no safety plan in place by either the city or school district but the school district is moving forward anyway. Enjoy the read.

Russel Silva

Where did you grow up?  

I was born and raised in Hollister, CA. a small agricultural  community.  I moved to Ontario, CA in 1982 and then I bought a house in Rialto in April 1984, where I live today.

What High School did you graduate from?  

Graduated from San Benito Joint Union High School, Class of 1973. It was the only high school in San Benito County at the time.

Did you attend College? If so where did you attend and what was your major? 

Went to several junior colleges; West Valley in Saratoga, CA; Chaffee and San Bernardino Valley. My interests have mostly been towards engineering. No degree.

What is your current career field? How did you find yourself picking that career? 

My love is civil engineering. From the time I started working for the Engineering Department in Hollister I was hooked. Surveying, designing, drafting, inspection are just some of the duties I had. But the best fun was seeing the jobs I worked on come to life; housing tracts, shopping centers, industrial buildings, city infrastructure. As a kid growing up I never understood all the behind the scene stuff that makes a city function, or for that matter any successful organization. I guess engineering was in my blood.

How has your work life prepared you for the Rialto Unified School Board?

I have worked all my adult life so the majority of my education is a result of my ‘hands on’ experience. Having worked 24 years in the public sector and with my current job as Capital Projects Coordinator I manages bids, establish and write RFP’s and contracts for consultants and contractors, act as a project manager, and handle payment processing and change orders for the project assigned me. Every project has a budget and it I my job to make sure I stay on budget. I scrutinize all payments for accuracy and work progress, as well as all change orders to make sure that extra work does exceed the 10% public contract threshold. I rarely have contracts that exceed the 10%.

What do you see as the top three issues at Rialto Unified School District? 

Of course 1) student education and performance,  2) better fiscal control and accountability,  3) student safety, including on campus bullying.

What are your thoughts on Common Core?

The basic concept of the Common Core is great as it is trying to give every child nation wide the same opportunity to succeed and graduate with the same educational skills. The down falls; 1) I think it was thrown at us too fast. Teachers were not given ample time or training to unwrap this new program and present it to the students. 2) the textbooks and technology to make CC successful are behind. 3) because the way the system is set up to be taught, many teaches are handcuffed. What I mean is teachers all have their own style of teaching, but CC doesn’t allow for that. Sometimes teachers need to add that extra pop to grab the students attention. All in all I think it is a good system, but I wish it allowed a little more flexibility for the teachers. The District needs to provide more training as well.

With the new funding program programs like ROP are now in jeopardy of being lost. What are your thoughts on eliminating categorical funding and putting these programs in jeopardy?

Eliminating categorical funding for ROP, especially in lower income communities, jeopardizes the opportunity for some of our student to succeed. Face it, there are students out there that are not wired for college. By eliminating ROP you eliminate those students from having an opportunity to step into the working class right out of high school and become a productive citizen. Case in point, I would not be where I am today without the technical skill sets I received in high school.

The city of Rialto is moving forward with their rails to trails program. Some at city hall are pushing the school district to create additional access points at schools like Rialto Middle and Werner Elementary so students can access the school from the trail. What are your thoughts on this as it creates another access point for people that don’t belong on campus? 

Bad idea. Creating an access from an unmonitored, unsupervised community trail that is used not just by the average biker or walker or fitness trainer but criminals, pedifiles, child molesters, drug users and pushers is only asking for major trouble. At Warner Elementary that access gate would be 230 feet away from the nearest building and security camera. The District would have to station security to that gate every time it is in use to make sure the students are safe; and that costs money. If they use the security cameras by the time an insident is noticed and security is alerted, the incident is over and someone could be hurt. Cooperative agreement with agencies is common practice, but not at the cost of the life of a student.

Would you support working with people in the community to help Offer College and employment support to our young people as they enter the 21st century job market?

Absolutely! I love the idea of the Middle College for those students driven to achieve higher education. But I am also open to creating an internship program that will enable students to get hands on training in a field of their choosing with local agencies and business.

One big problem with our school board now is the pattern of abstaining from voting on issues leaving issues unresolved, what are your thoughts on this practice?

I think the bigger problem is that I don’t think the School Board is fully informed about many of the issues that they are asked to vote on. This leaves them having questions and discussions that lead to leaving issues unresolved. Administration works for the Board and part of their job is to keep the Board fully informed on all critical issues and contracts which I see not happening today. Many of the discussions the Board has in the open forum could have been answered with better communication from staff to the Board.

Please list any websites or social media links and/or contact information so the voters can contact your campaign. 

Email:rsilva4rusdschoolboard@gmail.com                                                                      Website: rsilva4rusdschoolb.wix.com/russel-silva                                           Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100008230744374&fref=ts

The many reasons not to vote for Ed Scott

So it’s no secret that Mr. Ed Scott and I don’t agree on anything outside of our favorite football team. What I find appalling are his campaign signs “Proven Leadership”. What leadership? Do you pat the guy on the back that did everything in his power to drive rialto down the same road that San Bernardino now finds itself?

So since my last post about Mr. Ed Scott drove our numbers through the roof I thought it’s time to do a highlight of the Ed Scott Years. We will start with most recent Ed Scott blunders and let you decide if we want this type of “Proven Leadership” back in power in rialto:

  1. Most recently we are finding out the most expensive of the Ed Scott policy issues the Outsourcing of Rialto Water to Veolia. Now Veolia was not Ed Scott’s first choice to have our water company for the next 30 years. We now know that Ed Scott’s water pipeline infrastructure project was a like a local unfunded mandate meaning he dumped it into our laps and later we found that the money was not enough to complete most of the projects. When the residents forced American Water from the deal the proposal was handed to west valley water district and General Manager Butch Araiza wanted nothing to do with the water deal. Now residents are left with ever increasing water rates and Veolia is allowed to walk away without completing what was their part of the deal. This deal was written leaving the city of Rialto with no ability to back out if the project is not completed. Yet millions went to local consultants??????
  2. Under the direction and supervision of Mr. Ed Scott Rialto residents were forced into a battle that the Federal Government should have waged but because Mr. Ed Scott wanted to sue the involved companies on the backs of the Rialto Rate Payers. Those rate payers were promised a refund, yet no real refund ever came. People that only paid the rebate for a short time received funds that were meant for the people who lived there before them. Others Like Anne moved to another house both in Rialto both in the Rialto Water Services area and was not given the total refund due to her she received a small portion. Even residents that could not take the Rialto the Ed Scott built and moved out were left with nothing even though Ed Scott promised they would receive a refund.

“Between the two deals, Rialto residents will get back about $9 million in a perchlorate charges they have paid on bills since 2004, Rialto City Councilman Ed Scott said. The surcharge will stop in December or January, which is when rebate checks will be issued to current and former residents, he said.” JANET ZIMMERMAN / STAFF WRITER Published: Oct. 26, 2012 5:41 p.m.

“Councilman Ed Scott, who is on the perchlorate subcommittee” By Josh Dulaney, Staff Writer Posted: 09/26/12, 9:00 PM PDT

  1. Ed Scott & Jimmy Gutierrez had a very comfortable relationship so comfortable that it has been rumored that Jimmy is now Ed Scott’s attorney. Why is this another black mark on our former councilman? Jimmy Gutierrez was bleeding the city dry on attorney fee’s making $3.1 million one year as the part time attorney for rialto. Jimmy was brought to rialto by Ed Scott and was fed well while Ed Scott was on the Dias. It took forward thinking councilmembers O’Connell & Hirtz to take the contract out and find an attorney that is now saving the city $750,000 a year.
  2. Ed Scott has been labeled as the councilmember that abused the cities week travel policy the most. It was so bad that it took the current city council a year and a half to undo the damage and set the ship right.
  3. Last but not least let’s not forget that Ed Scott has tried numerous times to outsource our police department to the sheriff. The worst time was when we actually lost quality police staff because they didn’t want to be left to the uncertainty of having a job at the last minute. Ed Scott had one last hurrah when he began threatening to bring the topic of outsourcing back up and the residents formed a group named Rialto Residents for Rialto PD. They stormed the council meeting forcing Ed Scott to back down at the last minute and change his tone.

Rialto residents it is clear from this brief outline of some of the Top Ed Scott highlights that Mr. Scott is not the trusted or proven leader Rialto needs. The current council has found a groove and seems to be able to accomplish what needs to be done for the better of Rialto. If it isn’t broke don’t fix it.

Veolia Water Workshop Round 2

CIP

On our city council update we left you hanging because TAB 7 was pushed off until the next council meeting so that it could be addressed at the Water Workshop tonight. Veolia apparently took on a contract they can’t deliver.

 

TAB 7 from the last council meeting is Veolia was required to provide 4000 meters at a cost of $460,000 water meters, but because they failed to check the contract they only want to provide 1600 meters at a cost of $390.000 why can Veolia pick and choose what part of the contract they can follow? Do the residents have the option of when to pay their bills?

 

What is this contract and what is this workshop for tonight? Veolia agreed to take over water and waste water services for the next 30 years and were tasked with conducting a major infrastructure overhaul of the city’s water delivery system and waste water removal system. They have already and will continue to levy major rate increases on Rialto Water customers and they have paid $40 million dollars to the city of Rialto for this utility take over. What they did is take your money and make excuses for being behind by 1-2 years on many projects because they claim that American Water (the cities first choice for a water servicer) wrote a bad contract that can’t be delivered on the originally agreed terms.

 

Veolia isn’t new to Rialto they have been around working with our waste water services for years. So they can’t claim ignorance to how Rialto is structured or set up. There are two major issues with the delay one is Rialto Water Services customers are already one full year into a four year rate increase schedule. Two if this process is delayed too long the interest rates on the loan that was taken out to make the capital improvements will eat into the money needed to afford these projects. Back in June at the first workshop Veolia upper management was asked by Councilman O’Connell in the meeting if they would cover this gap if the situation arose and they said NO.

 

Back at the first Water Workshop in June the city council found out that Veolia has been hiding behind a lame excuse of we didn’t write this contract. The community’s response to that is you signed it before reading it? What Veolia saw was an opportunity to take the rate payers for a ride and leave us with no other recourse. This contract was written in a way that city hall has thrown its hands in the air saying were stuck!!!!!!!

 

Anyone watching the news and all the problems with Los Angeles’s DWP is having with blown water lines knows that’s not where we want to be. The problem is everyone is acting like they are powerless to make Veolia do their job. Ironically a week after the first water workshop in June the city experienced a sewer back up that spilled into the streets. What is more irritating is that the Capital Improvement Projects not being completed and the massive rate increases is not the end of the problems with Veolia. Here is a short list:

  • Water meters are not being read they are being estimated. This means you are not likely to see any change in your water bill even though you’re cutting back on water usage.
  • Horrible customer service. Veolia doesn’t seem to have a customer service supervisor Monday thru Friday because when they mess up your bill you have to wait weeks to receive a call back if you receive one at all.
  • Lagging on processing payments. Veolia is slow to check the collection bin at the city of Rialto Civic Center and processes payments very slowly; you will get a late fee.
  • Horrible water pressure. Since Veolia has taken over Rialto Water Services customers have noticed a major drop in water pressure.

 

Now is the time to get involved and engage. This is an election year and was in the thick of it. Now is the time to demand action and we have some resources for you.

 

You can Send us a Letter to the Editor to be published here to rialtonow@gmail.com

 

You can email Leslie Parrilla with the San Bernardino Sun at leslie.parrilla@langnews.com

 

Contact Councilmember O’Connell shawn4rialto@hotmail.com

 

Contact Councilmember Hitrz danslmc@hotmail.com

 

City Council Re-Cap

Hello Rialto Now readers hope everyone is doing well as we close out September and move into October. Our last council meeting had some high points and low points. First let’s start with the high points.

High points came in the beginning of the meeting when Rialto PD displayed the Rialto PD Breast Cancer patch that officers will be sporting on both their shoulders. The design and implementation of this patch was funded from donated work and money meaning no tax payer money was used for this program. You can buy one of these patches for yourself and the proceeds go to a charity called Michelle’s Place http://www.michellesplace.org a Breast Cancer Resource Center. Find the Pictures below for an example of the patch and how you can purchase your patch.

pink patch image

 

 

 
pink patch picture

 

Another high point was the celebration of a well-known business and their 30 years in operation here in Rialto. Brothers Pizza is the best pizza joint around and that has to be attributed to the details that Maria and her staff put into every meal they produce. Brother’s pizza may have moved around the city having three different store fronts in 30 years but they never left Rialto. Below is a picture of Maria at the meeting next time you’re in congratulating them on all their success.

Brothers pizza

Now onto the Low Points, it began with TAB 1 when on the face it looked like the city was allocating money to a street widening project harmless right? Wrong TAB 1 was a attempt to take money from existing projects to funnel those monies into the Bud Bender Park rehab project. The money grabs consisted of:

  • Taking money from the painting of the community center project.
  • Taking money already allocated from CBG monies for the Maple street widening project.
  • Money left over from a community block grant that didn’t meet the council’s targeted goals for this year.

 

Councilman Joe Baca Jr. appeared to be the driving force behind this money shuffle and his colleges were not on his side. June Hayes, David Phillips & Parks & Rec Commissioner Joe Britt all spoke out on this issue. Councilman Baca kept referring back to major safety issues at the park and even stated that the park was not safe and full of criminal activity resided there. Two million dollars of CBG money has already been allocated for this project. David Phillips gave the council the live within your means speech and it worked because council moved to keep everything the way it was and look at ways to stretch the money and make the park safe. It’s just sad that we still have some that are trying to do a back door shuffle of money but it was nice to have Council Members like Shawn O’Connell & Lynn Hirtz that have the cities best in mind.

 

The next low point was TAB 2 which was Client First the cities IT company looking for the last year extension on their contract and to add a $14,000 a month project manager to the contract brining the third year just over $500,000 for IT services. The first issue was with the services the company was providing. This was in reference to lost content on the city website, lost emails for city officials and the complication of getting information to the general public. City council did extend their contract for the last year but didn’t take on their project manager. Instead they directed George Harris to put out an RFP and look for an outside project manager that is separate from Client First.

 

The last low point of the evening was city councils decision to change the Renaissance plan from a beautiful residential/retail/community center area to a big collection of Industrial buildings. So city council sold away your water company, jacked up your rates, shut down one of the last airport hubs in the region all to build more warehouse space and drown the city in truck traffic. If you would like to know what the north end of rialto will look like just drive down cherry and see what it looks like at Cherry & Valley. As it is now the trucks are unsafe they run lights and drive way to fast and it seems we are powerless to stop them. This is one low point with no upside.

Issues over Rialto City Attorney Contract

jimmy

Jimmy Gutierrez is our current city attorney in the city of Rialto. According to reports from City Hall he has operated over the last 5 years on a $600,000 a year for his base salary. What is worse is he nickel and dimes the city for every little thing he does raising the rate we pay him every year more and more.

This year with some fresh blood in the council many contracts have come under review and put back out to bid. The thought process according to Mike Story is to make sure we are getting the best bang for our buck. The city of Rialto has made changes to many contracts saving the city and the community thousands of dollars. From the contract security services, to street sweeping and technology services the fat is being cut and the city is looking to streamline services. City attorney Jimmy Gutierrez’s contract ended in June 2013. So what do we do?

Under the guise of cutting fat city council formed a committee to look at ways of reducing attorney costs for Rialto. What the Sub committee came up with was a temporary extension of City Attorney services with Jimmy Gutierrez. This was done so that the city could develop an RFP and bid out services for Attorney costs for the city. Another task was writing Jimmy Gutierrez’s extension while reducing costs. City staff reported as well as Councilwoman Lynn Hirtz over the phone that it was difficult to get Jimmy Gutierrez to make concessions on his pay to help the city further save money. It wasn’t until right before the July 23rd Council meeting that Jimmy Gutierrez reluctantly agreed to a compensation adjustment.

Joe Baca Jr. said at the July 23rd council meeting that the communities biggest issue was with the city attorney is the cost. Is that really the greatest concern of the community? I remember most recently that Jimmy Gutierrez along with City Clerk McGee gave city council direction to ignore the fact that the Rialto residents received enough signatures to remove the toxic water deal that is already hurting Rialto residents. Or how about the Super Wal-Mart that is set to increase crime and create more business blight that our city can’t or refuses to take action on. Councilman Baca seems to miss the fact that it appears our attorney has been doing his best to rip off the community under the guise of business as usual. Jimmy Gutierrez has also been arrested in suspicion of driving under the influence and was allowed to plead no contest and avoid any real consequences. Also lets not forget Jimmy Gutierrez is also the city attorney for 3 other cites.

We had the opportunity to speak with some of the players involved in this meeting:

I reached out to City Administrator Mike Story and asked who wrote this contract? It was developed by Councilman Joe Baca Jr. & Lynn Hirtz who are the subcommittee of the council looking at the contract along with Jimmy Gutierrez. So Jimmy Gutierrez and the subcommittee wrote it? Jimmy Gutierrez prepared the contract at the direction of the subcommittee. After several attempts by the subcommittee to get Jimmy Gutierrez to make their recommended changes including a reduction in fees, the subcommittee directed me (Mike Story) to make the changes they requested.

I reached out to Lynn Hirtz and she said that she only voted for the temporary contract with Jimmy Gutierrez because she felt obligated to. Councilwoman Hirtz stated over the phone that she felt obligated to vote with Councilman Joe Baca Jr. in reference to an amendment that was brought up by Councilman O’connell. Councilman O’connell brought up a very important “what if” Jimmy Gutierrez does go over the 160 hour limit each month. So mayor Deborah Robertson made a amendment that if Jimmy Gutierrez does go over the 160 limit anything over that would have to be approved by the council PRIOR to going over the limit. So due to the fact that the subcommittee that she was a part of brought this forward Lynn Hirtz & Joe Baca Jr moved and seconded the motion. She never thought of a situation where Jimmy Gutierrez would go over the 160 hours he was allotted by the temporary extension so she wasn’t sure why it was even an issue. Lynn Hirtz said she wasn’t a fan of the extension but went along with Joe Baca Jr. who was the biggest proponent of the city attorney extension. Lynn Hirtz also commented that Jimmy Gutierrez was upset that he would no longer be able to “ITEMIZE” for extra costs the gimmick he has exploited to bump up his compensation over the years.

Shawn O’Connell said July 23rd meeting I approved the contract the way it was written was never vetted by an attorney I instructed our city attorney to spend no more than 160 hours. This contract offers no way to control his ability to charge more and put the citizens at further liability which was what I was trying to convey on July 23rd. Mayor Robertson’s motion which I voted for instructed Jimmy Gutierrez to inform Mike Story before he went over the allotted 160 hours, My fear is this isn’t the way its going to work out.

The second issue is with the time line for releasing the RFP and beginning to look for other options for our city attorney. The proposed timeline for releasing the RFP begins releasing on October 1st. Mayor Pro-tem Ed Palmer asked why were we waiting until the bitter end to release the RFP. Mayor Pro-Tem said that if we run into issues like we did with security contract where there is a bump in the road. The issues was with the original RFP release schedule it would leave us without attorney services the first 14 days of January. Joe Baca Jr. refuses to look at the fact that Jimmy Gutierrez is out as our city attorney. Councilman O’Connell & Mayor Pro-Tem Palmer want to keep us from keeping someone on as our attorney that will act as a disgruntle employee.

What was most frustrating was that even though Lynn Hirtz saw an issue with the late releasing of the RFP she voted for it out of pressure to do so by Mayor Robertson & Councilman Baca Jr. because she was on the subcommittee. When I asked her over the phone about it she said she wanted to vote with Councilman O’Connell and Mayor Pro-Tem Palmer but she felt obligated to vote with her subcommittee co-member. I asked her if she thought Jimmy Gutierrez was going to mail it in these last months and try and collect as much money as possible. She said she never thought about that but since I brought it up she was so worried I was right and she may have made a poor decision.

I spoke to Councilman O’Connell prior to posting this story. Councilman O’Connell stated that the city attorney has yet to sign this contract offering the council and COMMUNITY the unique opportunity to revisit the contract and make the appropriate changes. The ACTIONABLE item is TAB 6 on the upcoming council meeting this Augsut 27th meeting at 6 pm.

So the question is do you agree with Councilman Joe Baca Jr. is the amount of the contract the ONLY issue you have with the city attorney contract? If it is do you believe that Jimmy Gutierrez waiting until the last moment to reluctantly agree to a reduction in fees then not sign the contract after a month does that sound like someone that is willing to work on price? Why does Councilman Joe Baca Jr. appear to run to Jimmy Gutierrez’s defense at every turn? What does that relationship pay the Baca family back? Where is the value for such a vigorous defense? Councilman O’Connell is right we have a unique opportunity here.

Watch the council meeting for yourself these tab items are at the end

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9QcQ26VvwQ

Jimmy Gutierrez can charge $225 an hour for attorney services and $75 an hour for paralegal services.

City of Rialto City Source App For Your Smart Phone

For More details go to www.rialtopd.com

For More details go to http://www.rialtopd.com

Rialto City Council Meeting

This is just a reminder to our readers that the next Rialto City Council meeting is tomarrow March 26 at 6:00pm

Here is a like to the online agenda see you there:

http://www.ci.rialto.ca.us/documents/downloads/Regular_Meeting_Agenda_–_3-26-2013.pdf

They will be discussing the results of Measure “W” and it looks like they will be talking about paying another firm ALOT of money for another tank farm tax. This si your opportunity to get out there and get heard.

They also will be discussing the retail project on Easton and Riverside Ave.

“SPOTLIGHT” with Ed Scott on the Elections & the Open Council Seat

Hello Rialto so you thought the elections were over right?

Wrong we still have an open council seat!!!!!!!

Ok so maybe the thought of more election pandering doesn’t excite you, if that’s the case this is right up your alley.

The city council has chosen to make an appointment verses spending money on an election. They gave candidates 3 days to get their letters of interest into the city clerk’s office (Friday 5pm) and now they have the task of choosing one of these people to fill the vacant seat for the remainder of the term (1.5 years).

Rumors are already circling that the 3 seated council members have already made up their minds? Is it simply rumor? Or is there something it?

There is no way to know what another person is thinking until you ask them to put it to writing. Here is the Interview from Ed Scott enjoy.

Ed Scott is seeking the open council seat

Ed Scott is seeking the open council seat

*What are your thoughts on how the local elections played out for citizens of Rialto?

I am happy with the two Councilmembers who were voted in. Obviously I am disappointed voters didn’t do more research on the Mayoral candidates as I feel the outcome would of been different. Having said that I am in full support of our new Mayor and wish her the best.

*In what ways will you try and remain a part of the work to make a better Rialto now that you’re no longer on the Council?

For 23 years I’ve been active in this community and will continue to do so in any way I can. I may run again sometime down the road.

*Are you seeking the appointed seat left vacant by your opponent for Mayor Deborah Robertson?

Yes I am I feel I would be a good asset to the new Council especially in business development and perchlorate.

*How do you thing this spot should be filled?

The Council should review applicants and pick a person qualified.

*What is the value of having it done now verses waiting till June in a special election?

We need leadership, there are major financial issues facing this city and a person with knowledge of these issues would be helpful.

*Can you explain the importance of having an odd number of people voting?

You certainly don’t want tied votes and if the council cannot come up with a consensus then a 3 – 2 votes is helpful. In a perfect situation if staff and the council are doing their homework a unanimous vote should take place. Voting on issues is not about one’s personal agenda it’s about what is good and right for the community.

*What was your greatest accomplishment & failure as a council member?

I think my hard work to bring new businesses into our community was important. i.e. Coco’s, Wal-Mart, Target, In & Out multiple distribution centers bringing job to Rialto and my work in bringing the perchlorate law suit to an end. But my greatest pleasure was when I could help a resident of small business with a problem and could leave them with the feeling that an elected official cared about them. There is no better feeling. As far as failures I don’t really look at anything that way. Would I have of done something’s different yes, hind sight is always important.

*There is talk of putting Measure “V” on the ballot again any thoughts on this? Why in your opinion did it fail in November?

It failed because people didn’t understand why the City was doing it and we let big oil companies come into our city and flat out lie to our residents. I worked for big oil companies for over twenty years and I tried to warn the city how ruthless they can be but my concerns fell on deaf ears.

*What in your opinion is the greatest hurdle in the community’s path between now and the next election?

Having enough money to keep the City solvent and at the same time maintain our necessary levels of service for public safety.

*Veolia will be the operator of both the Water and Waste Water for Rialto for the next 30 years, what are your thoughts on this? Can they handle both with minimal errors? Did you have a choice you wish was there instead?

Yes I am confident they can handle it my choice to run the water department was West Valley it just didn’t happen

*As a small business owner what can Rialto do to make this an attractive home for our local small businesses?

Make the permitting and government interaction easier. The City needs to understand that when a small business loses business because of safety concerns or because government is difficult to do business with it is devastating. Most small business people are not rich people they are hardworking residents.

*Residents of the country club area came out to the Coffee with the Chief in December commenting on the way the Golf Course has become a mess and attracts criminals and the wild life is moving in as well. What was done wrong there in your opinion?

The golf course was losing 20,000 a month the owners had a right to close it. The residents should have worked with the owners instead of suing them. No one won in that situation but lawyers. The best thing now is to support the new development at the golf course so it can be reopened and become prosperous.

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