Victorville council approves leases, utility contracts and grant applications; multiple items pass unanimously

The Victorville City Council on Jan. 21 approved the consent calendar and a package of contracts, leases and grant-authorizing actions, with recorded votes of “yes” from Council Member Godin, Council Member Irving, Mayor Pro Tem Herriman and Mayor Becerra (Council Member Jones absent). The actions covered airport property and operations, utility procurement and infrastructure work and included two grant-related items.

Key council actions (votes at a glance):

- Consent calendar (items 1–13): adopted as presented. Motion moved by Council Member Irving, seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Herriman. Vote: Godin, Irving, Herriman, Becerra — Yes; Jones — absent.

- Item 14 — Ground lease and development agreement (Southern California Logistics Airport Authority and Aviation Development Park LLC): Council approved entering into a ground lease and development agreement for 80 acres and authorized the executive director to execute the agreement. The board also adopted resolution SCLA A25-001 to amend the 2024–2025 budget, increasing revenue in airport account 451-191-45220 by $70,044.50. Recorded vote: unanimous yes with Council Member Jones absent. (First/second recorded in the meeting transcript: first by Council Member Erving, second by Council Member Godin.)

- Item 15 — NAESB-based natural gas contract with Morgan Stanley Capital Group Inc.: Council authorized execution of a North American Energy Standards Board-based contract and related credit provisions with Morgan Stanley for natural gas supply and related services, and authorized the city manager to execute transaction confirmations for firm gas supply not to exceed a total estimated cost of $3,650,000 and for terms not to exceed 24 months. Vote: unanimous yes, Jones absent. (Motion recorded as moved and seconded by council members in the transcript.)

- Item 16 — Leak detection analysis agreement (Utilis Inc., operating as Astera): Council found the services proprietary and awarded a consultant professional services agreement to Utilis Inc. (operating as Astera) under the city’s sole‑source provisions (VMC 2.28.100(b)(2)) for leak-detection analysis not to exceed $166,615. Vote: unanimous yes, Jones absent. (Transcript records the award as a sole-source consultant agreement.)

- Item 17 — Building 321 interior demolition (Vertex Civil LLC): The Southern California Logistics Airport Authority board approved a construction agreement for Building 321 Interior Demolition Project CC25‑043 with total compensation not to exceed $468,512.26. Vote: unanimous yes, Jones absent.

- Item 18 — Caltrans Sustainable Transportation Planning Grant Program: Council authorized the city manager or designee to finalize and submit an application and to execute any documents required. Staff stated the grant, if awarded at $700,000, would require an approximate 11.47% match; city staff time was identified as the proposed in‑kind match. Vote: unanimous yes, Jones absent.

- Item 19 — California State Library grant acceptance for Zip Book Project: Council adopted resolutions to accept $12,198 from the California State Library for the library’s Zip Book Project and amended the FY 2024–25 budget to appropriate the funds. Vote: unanimous yes, Jones absent.

Why this matters: The approvals authorize near-term spending, contractual commitments and grant-seeking activities that affect airport revenues, utility procurement and water-system management. Several items — notably the natural-gas procurement authorization and the leak-detection sole‑source procurement — have explicit dollar limits and implementation steps for staff to execute.

Votes and procedure: The meeting record shows roll-call votes for each item with four affirmative votes and Council Member Jones absent; where the transcript named movers and seconders those are noted. The council recorded no “no” votes on the items above.