BY TIANA GOEGEBUER
At the April 9 City Council meeting for Eastvale, Council members Ric Welch, Jeff DeGrandpre, and Bill Link were present, as well as Mayor Pro Tem Adam Rush and Mayor Ike Bootsma. Julie Velasquez, the first Student Liaison to the City Council, was also present. The invocation was led by Pastor Dennis Morales from Calvary Chapel. Two presentations were given by Waste Management. First, the Recycle All Star Awards were given to two local families and one business for their positive recycling habits during 2013. Second, a Recycle Bank Program update was provided.
During the Public Comment/Citizen Participation section of the meeting, Curtis Seymour from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints offered to help provide volunteers from the church to assist in various community service activities in the City. Dickie Simmons expressed his desire to continue open-forum events at the Town Hall meetings for entities who provide service to the community, and for citizens who wish to converse with City leaders in a casual manner. He went on to request that the City take over the Town Hall meetings and publicize them on the City notification website, so as to better inform the community about upcoming meetings. Finally, Kelly Howell requested that the City be conservative in their staffing.
On the Consent Calendar, Item 5.1 was approved 5-0; and Item 5.2 was approved 4-0-1, with Adam Rush abstaining due to his absence at the March 26 meeting.
In the Public Hearings section, Item 6.1 was discussed and involved Project No. 12-0750. There were three main aspects of the project: a change of zone, a major development review, and associated improvements. The Council moved to approve the project 4-1, with Welch voting no.
There were no Old Business items, so the meeting moved to New Business, as follows: Item 8.1 – The Council members moved to continue the Appointment of a Planning Commissioner to the Economic Development Committee to the next meeting under the condition that the three nominees would be present. It was approved 4-1 with DeGrandpre voting no; Item 8.2 – The Council members reviewed a Code Enforcement PowerPoint; Item 8.3 – The Policy for Considering General Plan Amendments was approved 5-0; and Item 8.4 – The Council approved the Cost Allocation Plan and OMB-A-87 Plan, 5-0.
The meeting adjourned at 8:38 p.m. with closing statements from the Council.
The April 23 City Council meeting began promptly at 6:30 p.m., with all members of City Council present. The invocation was led by Pastor Ed Moreno from New Day Christian Church. New Student Liaison, Julia Vasquez, was introduced to the Council. Julia will serve as Liaison through August. She is a senior at Roosevelt High School, as well as the current ASB president. The Eastvale Fire Department introduced their new Fire Inspector, Ken King, and there was a small presentation by Wildan Financial regarding the new Market Tax Credits.
The Council presented Eastvale Police Chief, Captain Danny Feltenberger, with a proclamation to thank him for his service to the City. Feltenberger will be heading to the Riverside County Gang Task Force and will be replaced with former Eastvale Police Chief, Captain Jason Horton, effective May 1.
All items on the Consent calendar were approved.
The highlight of the evening came from the presentation on the Leal Property. Eric Norris, Eastvale Planning Director, gave the presentation highlighting the City’s move toward a more flexible plan with input from property owner, Brad Leal. Leal gave a brief presentation. Councilmember Ric Welch questioned what the City has paid for, as it seemed that the Vision Plan wasn’t as far along as he thought and there seemed to still be a large amount of disagreement. Leal made it clear that he was in agreement with all aspects of the new vision plan with the exception of the high density housing. After a brief discussion and further explanation from Norris, the Council voted to approve the progression of the plan creation by staff, reflecting the new land use ideas.
In the new business section of the meeting, Mayor Ike Bootsma was appointed to the Western Riverside Council of Governments (WRCOG) Executive Committee. Planning Commissioner, Larry Oblea, was appointed to the Economic Development Committee after some discussion and debate. The idea to possibly add another member of the Planning Commission to the Economic Development Committee was discussed and will be looked into at a future meeting. Joe Tessari and Karen Patel were also nominated. The City also approved a request for proposal for Eastvale Entryway Monument signs. Although there isn’t any funding for them at this time, City Manager, Carol Jacobs, hopes to put the estimated $40,000 cost into the 2014/2015 budget consideration under general funds. .
There was not a City Manager report. Julia Vasquez, the new Student Liaison gave an update. She spoke about her concern for the traffic on Scholar Way and would like to see the Walk to School Program expanded and extended. She has met with her high school principal as well as School Board member, Bill Newberry, about some ideas for an incentive program to encourage local children and high schoolers to walk to school to help ease traffic congestion.
The meeting adjourned around 8:15 p.m. with closing statements from Council.
