Council: Building code amendment, mayor’s appointments agenized
January 03, 2014
By Peggy Kelly
Santa Paula News
By Peggy Kelly
Santa Paula Times
City building codes will be amended to reflect local conditions, the mayor will name members of standing committees and the City Council will be asked to sponsor the application fee for an area nonprofit to enter a national competition at the first meeting of the New Year.
The January 6 City Council meeting will start with a closed session in the City Administration Conference Room at 5:30 p.m. The council will be updated on labor negotiations and existing litigation, the city initiated arbitration of their dispute with Santa Paula Water LLC, the owner-operator of the city’s wastewater treatment plant, and a separate lawsuit filed against the city by Southfork Ranch LLC/Eric King.
The council will meet again in open session at 6:30 p.m. The meeting will be broadcast live on Time Warner Cable Channel 10 and replayed per schedule. The session will also be live-streamed on the city website and archived for later viewing.
First up will be presentations including a proclamation for a cultural icon, Xavier “Big X” Montes, founder of the De Colores Art Group. Montes, an award-winning artist, noted guitarist and harpist, has been active in the Tri-County art scene for decades and has served as a mentor to children through the arts.
The council will hear about the America in Bloom contest from founder Dianne Davis. The council is being asked to sponsor the approximately $1,000 entry fee so the local chapter of AIB, a nonprofit, can enter the national competition of communities taking pride in their hometowns.
There will be one public hearing: Fire Chief Rick Araiza, also the city’s building and safe director, is asking the council to adopt amendments to the state ordinances governing building and fire codes.
According to Araiza’s report such amendments “will affect construction of new buildings and additions to existing buildings,” but are not retroactive to existing buildings.
Araiza notes it is recommended that the amendments be adopted “to protect the welfare of the occupants and to ensure the economic viability of the community.”
In other business Mayor’s Standing Committee appointments will be reviewed. Each year the mayor, this time around Rick Cook, appoints council members to various committees and commissions that represent local, county and state entities. One notable change is that Councilman Bob Gonzales, who has represented the city on the Ventura Regional Sanitation District board since he was elected to the council in 2006, is listed as the alternate and Cook the member.
America in Bloom is stepping up to enter a national competition and is asking the council to approve the entrance fee of about $1,000. The group has worked for several years to beautify the city through landscaping of public areas as well as placing planters and hanging baskets.
The AIB awards will be announced by September.
City Hall is located at 970 E. Ventura St. For more information, call 933-4208.
