Invocation: Sam Newland
Flag salute – Jerene Batiste
Song – Garro Ellis
Greeter – Jerene Batiste
Roving Mic – The incredibly fast Nik Boone
Guests:
Jeff Johnson brought Stephen Montgomery
Josh Sherley brought Juan Bustamente
Dave Weldon brought Clinton Trimmer
Mayor Goh brought Anthony Valdez
Good news and announcements:
Sam Newland led the invocation today focusing on President Justin‘s diversion down a dark road as a Cheesehead. This sparked an extended conversation about football which ended in a bet about the Rams and Bills making it to the Superbowl. Garro Ellis is in for $100, and Sam Newland is against. Either way Waterman will benefit.
Program:
Today’s program was an interesting presentation from Christian Clegg, city manager of Bakersfield. Mr. Clegg began in March 20 20, which is obviously the worst timing possible. He talked about how we, as a city, need to remain competitive against other like communities by offering both basic services and infrastructure and those “flashy services” that tend to attract and keep newcomers. He discussed the need for a balance between core services and strategic game changers. These projects will be funded by the Public Safety Vital Services (PSVS) Act – also known as Measure N.
The heart of the PSVS act is the increase in public safety. Bakersfield the police department has a goal to hire 100 additional officers. In fact, 200 officers have been hired in the past two years, however due to attrition there remains a deficit. Parties are continuing to focus on this important need. In addition to more officers, BPD is working on developing specialized units focused on human trafficking, guns, and the homeless. The third area of this plan is related to police department spacing which is woefully inadequate at this time.
In terms of quality of life improvements, in 2022, major investments will be made and 16 parks. In the 10 years prior to this, only five parks received infrastructure support. Additionally, they have designed a park ranger program.
Another key initiative of PSVS act is beautification of the city and community revitalization of both historical areas and urban neighborhoods of Bakersfield. As for the continuing focus on homelessness, in addition to the M St. Navigation center, there will be increased focus on mental health and substance use disorders.
This is an exciting time for Bakersfield. In addition to the downtown redevelopment fund which will help finance companies wanting to move into the downtown area, there will be additional capital improvements invested. Finally, many deferred maintenance projects, including upgrading city government infrastructure services, are being undertaken. Mr. Clegg is hopeful that the impacts of these initiatives will be felt in the near future and continue on throughout this decade.
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