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Brief Ridgecrest City Council agenda for May 19
The Ridgecrest City Council will meet May 19 for what may be a brief agenda.
On the agenda is a public hearing in connection with the proposed issuance of revenue bonds by the California Municipal Finance Authority, a joint exercise of powers authority and public entity of the state in an amount not to exceed $20 million to assist in the implementation of a multi-family rental housing project on North Norma Street. Watch upcoming editions of the Daily Independent for more on this project.
Council will also be asked to approve an amendment to the COVID-19 special development development project with Kern County, as well as appoint a new member to the Ridgecrest Area Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Council to consider establishing Ridgecrest historic district
Ridgecrest Daily Independent
Ridgecrest old-timers like to share memories of the city’s early days. The task has been made easier by the Historical Society of the Upper Mojave Desert, which maintains a cluster of historic buildings on and around West Ridgecrest Boulevard downtown.
When the Ridgecrest City Council gets together April 21 they will look at formally establishing a Ridgecrest Historic District which would include these buildings.
“What we are trying to do is preserve as much of old Ridgecrest as possible,” said Mayor Eric Bruen Friday.
The proclamation was initially suggested by the HSUMD, a 501(c)3 non-profit, as a way of preserving and protecting the area of historic significance.
Ridgecrest Daily Independent
Full-time city employees will receive a one-time $1,000 COVID-19 hazard bonus and part-timers $500 if the Ridgecrest City Council approves an agenda item at its April 7 meeting.
If approved the bonus would appear in the employees’ final payroll check in April.
The total cost to the city would be $111,418 and would come from the following funds: general fund ($79,822); gas tax fund ($9,476); gas tax/RMA fund ($1,809); TDA transit fund ($8,271); wastewater fund ($10,963) and the fleet maintenance/ISF fund ($1,077).
The funds may be reimbursable under American Rescue Plan funding, according to the staff report with the agenda.
The rationale for the one-time bonus, according to the report, is that city employees have not received a cost of living raise since 2008 and “have shown resiliency and perseverance during the Covid-19 pandemic.”
Ridgecrest City Council to talk state vs. local zoning on March 17
When the Ridgecrest City Council meets March 17, the agenda will be dominated by planning-related issues.
Mayor Eric Bruen will ask the council to weigh in on the balance of power between the state and local governments when it comes to zoning.
The issue appears to be both simple and complex.
Specifically, council will be asked to support the idea of retaining local control over zoning. By extension, they will also be asked to support the organization California Cities for Local Control, which is mentioned in the staff report. This group describes itself as a grassroots group advocating for local control over zoning and land use decisions, according to its website at https://localcontrolca.com/.