City will upgrade technology

The City Council approved an upgrade to its internet infrastructure at its regular meeting Tuesday night.

“The city is operating on old servers and old hardware,” City Manager Daniel Ortiz-Hernandez said. Also included in this project are costs associated with fiber optics connections.

The budget of $61,192 was approved for the project, along with additional expenditures not to exceed $25,000.

In other business, the city manager will negotiate and enter into a contract with CivicPlus for $19,265, plus any recurring costs, for the design and execution of a new website.

During staff reports, Lieutenant Augustine Moreno reported that in July 2019, felony arrests nearly doubled, with his office issuing 30 felony arrests compared to 16 in July of 2018 and 68 misdemeanors as compared to 44 for July 2018.

Moreno also announced that he and Deputy Peter Martinez had recently been promoted and would be relocating to the Kern County Sheriff’s Office headquarters in Bakersfield. “This is my last meeting in Wasco,” Moreno told the council. “This has been my favorite location since I joined the Sheriff’s Office.”

Sergeant Moreno is being assigned as watch commander. Interviews begin this week to replace him in Wasco.

Resident Brent Paul of Paul Farms addressed the council during Public Comments to advise them that while he grows hemp on his farm, he is not growing marijuana. “I’m growing hemp for CBD oil,” Paul said.

The city council adjourned into closed, secret session where there was one item on the agenda: A discussion of the city manager’s annual performance evaluation. No action was reported.