Welcome to our weekly digest of public meetings and agenda items worth your attention for this coming week. This guide is part of our mission to provide everyday Riversiders like you with the information to speak up on the issues you care about.
City Council
City Council will meet in closed and open sessions on Tuesday, Oct. 20, in afternoon sessions at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. (agenda). The agenda includes:
- Considering a 10-year lease of about 1.3 acres of City-owned land at 670 Iowa Ave. to SPT Energy Base Hub for a hydrogen production and fueling station with electric vehicle charging, with rent starting at about $136,000 a year once permitting is complete. (item 12)
- Considering a program that would let the City return part of its property tax revenue to manufacturers investing more than $25 million in local facilities for up to 15 years in exchange for hiring and community service commitments, with each deal subject to separate Council approval. (item 14)
- Considering accepting a $1 million federal grant that the Police Department plans to use for a central center combining live camera feeds and a program deploying drones during emergencies, with both programs returning for separate Council approval. (item 29)
- Considering whether to keep the HAWK pedestrian signal at Madison and Emerald streets in Casa Blanca or — at residents’ request — return the intersection to an all-way stop, which would require repaying up to $217,991 in grant funds to Caltrans. (item 36)
- Considering waiving the City’s public notice rules to approve a $355,423 no-bid, six-month rental of large pumps for the City’s sewage treatment plant, which staff says could otherwise be overwhelmed during heavy El Niño storms. (item 38b)
- Considering a special tax district for 152 new homes in three developments that would charge future homeowners annual taxes for public facilities, maintenance, and police and fire services, and allow up to $10 million in bonds repaid by those taxes. (item 41)
Commission on Aging
The Commission on Aging meets on Monday, Oct. 19, at 4 p.m. (agenda) to hear a presentation on You Are Not Alone — a free program in which Riverside Police Department volunteers make weekly phone calls to check on seniors and residents with disabilities who live alone, with welfare checks if they can’t be reached (item 2) — and receiving updates from the commission’s ad hoc committees on housing, senior health, events, environment and mobility (item 4).
Park and Recreation Commission
The Park and Recreation Commission meets on Monday, Oct. 19, at 6:30 p.m. (agenda) to consider renaming the Cesar Chavez Community Center following sexual abuse allegations against Chávez (item 6), and to review the City’s plans to seek state grants for four park projects, including a new La Sierra Park pool and a replacement Nichols Park community center (item 7).
Safety, Wellness, and Youth Committee
The Safety, Wellness, and Youth Committee (Councilmembers Robillard, Conder, and Mill) meets on Wednesday, Oct. 21, at 1 p.m. (agenda) to discuss whether to raise the towing and storage rates that police-contracted tow companies can charge drivers — which are based on 2015 rates adjusted for inflation through 2019 — after tow operators raised concerns about the rates and City fees. (item 2)
Cultural Heritage Board
The Cultural Heritage Board meets on Wednesday, Oct. 21, at 3:30 p.m. (agenda) to review the City’s third-quarter historic preservation activity, including three new historic designations and the removal of historic status from two Orange Street properties (item 3), and considering a recommendation to designate the Lord House at 4261 Glenwood Drive, a 1948 Mount Rubidoux-area home built for longtime Riverside physician Dr. Fred D. Lord and his wife, Alice Mary Lord, as a City Landmark (item 5).
Economic Development Committee
The Economic Development Committee (Councilmembers Robillard, Hernandez, and Hemenway) meets on Thursday, Oct. 22, at 3 p.m. (agenda) to hear a Business Excellence Series presentation featuring the company OHMIO (item 4) and a presentation on the City’s new Holiday Makers Market, which will feature local makers, food vendors and small businesses on Main Street during the Festival of Lights on Dec. 5 (item 5).
