RANCHO CORDOVA, CA (MPG) - “Fastest council session ever.”

Mayor Garret Gatewood’s words were a light comment on the Monday, October 4 Council Meeting’s running time"'and definitely true. The much shorter than usual session"'2 hours when compared with past sessions that have crept toward 5"'was also missing the presence of Vice Mayor Donald Terry and a local religious official to conduct the invocation (the prayer was instead spoken by the Mayor himself). Yet, while a few of the usual ingredients were missing, the meeting discussion was no less important to the community... or heated.

During public comment, a number of Lincoln Village residents brought up their frustrations with an ongoing concert series put on by Flame of Fire Ministry of Sacramento. Described by that organization’s website as “Holy Spirit-fueled outdoor revival gatherings”, those concerned labeled it instead a “nuisance” that through the loudness of the events are impacting their homelife (residents stated activity started as early as 9:00 am and went on through conventional work hours) and in the more drastic words of Ace Duffy Pagan, their lives, referring to harassment he said he received from revival-goers. Another resident called it “the most disrespectful and invasive event I’ve ever had the displeasure of witnessing.”

The concert series is called Awakening Nights.

After hearing the fearful words, the Council appeared to be” awakened” themselves. Mayor Gatewood forcefully stated. “Obviously, we need to take a look into this. I don’t like threats to my citizens.”

Later, Micah Runner, Deputy City Manager gave more background on the conflict saying they had been working with the community especially during the most recent Awakening event, which occurred at the end of last month. They also were in dialogue with Flame of Fire Ministry bringing them into compliance, and these efforts will be used for all future decisions involving the organization.

On a much warmer note, the Council adopted a resolution authorizing Measure R funds to the tune of $344,000 (part of a greater $1,414,000 spread amongst other applicants) to fund workforce recovery and training for the Folsom Cordova Community Partnership organization. The overall goal is to have a positive career impact or lead into new employment or new careers for residents. Through the program, 170 Rancho Cordova residents will be assisted in such areas as skills building, job placement and mentoring. Of those 170, 50 of those spots will be devoted to bringing mothers back into the workforce.

Economic Development Manager Amanda Norton, who led the presentation, stressed the program was open to all city residents and Shinder Gill from the Folsom Cordova Community Partnership looked forward to increasing “their service capacity to focus on Rancho Cordova” and to identify work barriers to participants and “remove them.”

Councilmembers Siri Pulipati and David Sander had concerns about tracking the long-term success of the program, but both Norton and Gill stated they were positioned to successfully do so. Norton also mentioned she and her team are working in conjunction with the Chamber of Commerce as well as planning a large media rollout to get the information to the public.

Honoring notable sons and daughters of Rancho Cordova, as well as key aspects of the city’s history and place, was brought up when the Council next tackled what Councilmember Sander called the “disconnect” between the city and some of its street names. Deriding such poorly named city streets like “Ocean View” and looking to the future, Sander and Councilmember Linda Budge started a subcommittee on the matter and ideas generated during their meetings were discussed. Specifically, more communication with the developers who are currently the most responsible for submitting street names and to utilize an agreed upon collection of themes broken down into categories and individuals for future naming.

Individuals mentioned were Aerojet scientists, veterans, Sports Hall of Fame members, local leaders in government, faith, community and more. Categories included Northern California trees, Gold Rush history, space themes, and Wine/Vineyards. Context would also be a factor. For example, veteran names near Mather Airport or Aerojet scientists in Rio or Westborough.

Councilmember Budge felt the Rio del Oro development would make an ideal opportunity to implement any new policies.

Earlier in the night during Council Reports, all assembled praised the recent Air Show along with those behind the scene (organizers, staff, police, volunteers etc.) to make it happen.

“A step into normalcy,” said Mayor Gatewood who brought his amazed mother to her very first city Air Show.

Also mentioned during reports was the award bestowed upon City Manager Cyrus Abhar by the  Sacramento Region Business Association as Best City Manager in the region, an honor he humbly felt belonged to not just him but the city and staff.

A little less intense than the anger regarding Flame of Fire, other public comments of the night included Scott Faulds’s idea to challenge nearby cities in how much water each could save which much sparked enthusiasm from the Council. Helen Whelan Bashaw expressed her disappointment in the Planning Commission nomination process discussed on September 20, saying it wasn’t based as much on community focus as choosing “Mini-Me’s” that reflect the attitudes of the Council. Other comments included those about the recent public discussion meeting about Coloma Road improvement.

At the beginning of the night, Mayor Gatewood awarded a Plaque/Proclamation to members of the Soroptimist International of Rancho Cordova and Gold River in honor of Soroptimist International’s 100th anniversary as an organization and the dedication of the local club’s service to the city.