Beaumont council approves grants, purchases and new staffing; awards $1.75M staff‑augmentation contract

Beaumont City Council on Jan. 21 approved a string of operational items including grant budget adjustments, purchase‑order increases, a study‑session date, consultant and vendor payments, and additions to the city’s staffing and compensation plan.

Key outcomes at the meeting included approval of an Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) grant budget adjustment for selective traffic enforcement programs; an increase to a purchase order for radio leases from the County of Riverside; a study session on zoning code updates scheduled for March 13, 2025; approval of city attorney invoices; a payment to Tri Pointe Homes for Cherry Avenue street improvements; award of a professional services agreement to NV5 Inc. for CIP staff augmentation not to exceed $1.75 million; and additions to the uniform compensation plan for an associate planner, an environmental compliance specialist and an assistant engineer.

Why it matters: The NV5 contract and the position additions address the city’s capacity to manage capital improvement projects and stormwater compliance; the Tri Pointe payment resolves a previously unpaid credit under a development agreement; the OTS grant and radio lease funding affect public safety operations.

Votes at a glance (formal actions recorded in the meeting record): - OTS grant budget adjustment (PT25138): approved (vote recorded as unanimous). - Purchase order increase to County of Riverside PSEC for radios (PO 24/251932): approved; new total purchase order amount $516,320 (unanimous). - Zoning code study session: set for March 13, 2025 at 5 p.m. (unanimous). - City attorney invoices ($96,220.08): approved (unanimous). - Reaffirmation of travel / approval of Council Member Martinez’s travel to Cal Cities and direction to revisit travel policy: motion approved (vote recorded as unanimous); council directed staff to return with proposed clarifying language for the travel policy and to consider placing future clarifications on consent. - Payment to Tri Pointe Homes for Cherry Avenue improvements ($451,436.30): approved (unanimous). - Award professional services agreement to NV5 Inc. for staff augmentation and project management: approved for a three‑year term, amount not to exceed $1.75 million with stated funding breakdown (unanimous). - Position allocation and compensation plan changes (additions: 1 associate planner, 1 environmental compliance specialist, 1 assistant engineer): approved (unanimous).

Details and clarifications disclosed at the meeting: - The OTS selective enforcement grant budget adjustment was described as $167,000 for 2024–25. - The radio lease purchase order increase was $185,638, bringing the purchase order total to $516,320; staff said the $127 monthly service fee per radio had been budgeted but not yet added to the purchase order until activation. - The Tri Pointe payment of $451,436.30 reconciles a developer credit that Tri Pointe had not received following acceptance of Cherry Avenue improvements under a cooperative agreement. - The NV5 contract will supply in‑office CIP staff augmentation; the three‑year agreement includes options for one‑year extensions; staff said the $1.75 million is funded through individual CIP project budgets and the contract can be canceled with cost only for services rendered to that date. - The environmental compliance specialist position was described by staff as a stormwater/WQMP compliance role to handle annual inspections, water quality management plan reviews and reporting to the Santa Ana Regional Water Board.

What council asked staff to do next: staff was asked to return with clarified travel‑policy language and to place the travel policy clarification on consent for future meetings; staff also noted it will report quarterly on purchase‑order issuance under the city manager’s signing authority to track trends and support council oversight.