Ridgecrest council approves grants and contracts for transit vehicles, street repaving and Bowman Channel design; cannabis grant passes 4-1

The Ridgecrest City Council on July 16 approved a package of grant applications, contract work and policy housekeeping to fund transit vehicles, street rehabilitation and preliminary design of the Bowman drainage channel, while narrowly approving a $198,000 cannabis-tax grant for the police department amid council debate.

Council members said the grants would stretch local dollars by using state and federal programs to buy vehicles, improve road safety and pay for engineering work that the city says is necessary to advance larger construction projects.

Council discussion focused on two fault lines: whether the city should accept cannabis-tax dollars when the community has voted against legal commercial cannabis locally, and how to manage the technical and operational risks of electric transit vehicles. Council members and staff also described the Bowman Channel design contract as a first step toward a multi‑year, multi‑phase flood-control project.

The council voted 4-1 to accept the California Cannabis Tax Fund grant for the Ridgecrest Police Department. The grant, described by the police chief as “a no-match grant for a total of $198,000,” will fund officer training and a replacement transport vehicle outfitted with upgraded prisoner‑viewing cameras, the chief said. Councilmember Rajaratnam cast the lone vote against the grant, saying he was uncomfortable taking cannabis tax proceeds even though he did not dispute the public-safety purpose of the spending. “I am not comfortable taking this money from the cannabis tax fund,” Rajaratnam said during the discussion.

Council members who supported the grant said virus and drug‑impaired driving — including from cannabis — is occurring whether or not retail cannabis is sold in Ridgecrest, and that the grant…