BARSTOW • The Barstow City Council will lease two homes to a transitional housing program in Barstow.

The Council voted 3-2, with Joe Gomez and Steve Curran voting against, to lease a home at 1000 Nancy Street and 200 Avenue D to New Hope Village Too, an extension of New Hope Village for $1 a year for 50 years. Sandy Baca, the president of New Hope Village, said the homes, which the city bought for $1 in 2000, will be fixed up and used a second step for people who have completed New Hope Village’s transitional assistance program.

Curran and Gomez expressed concern about tying the homes up at such a low value for such a long time. Gomez attempted to amend the agenda item to shorten the term of the lease, but the motion died.

The Council approved the following items at Monday’s meeting:

• The purchase of three compressed natural gas buses for $527,804;
• The adoption of fire impact fees for new developments in the Barstow Fire Protection District;
• The awarding of a $3.6 million contract to URS to design a bridge, or grade separation, over the railroad tracks at Lenwood Road just north of West Main Street. The contract is for three years and will be paid using a combination of local, county, state and federal funds;
• The plans for a road construction project on West Buena Vista Street from Avenue A to Avenue G.

The Council also set a protest hearing for delinquent utility accounts for Oct. 20. The Council decided not to reimburse Gomez for expenses incurred when he traveled to Fresno to speak on behalf of the city at the funeral of JR Sanchez, a well-known Barstow resident who died in September. The Council, with Gomez abstaining, decided that his expenses did not meet the city’s policy.
The Council meeting can be viewed online at www.barstowca.org.

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(760) 256-4121 or aaupperlee@desertdispatch.com