CITY OF BISHOP
CITY COUNCIL MINUTES
AUGUST 11, 2025
1)
CALL TO ORDER
Mayor Kong called the meeting of the Bishop City Council to order at 5:32 p.m. in the City Council Chambers, 301 West Line Street, Bishop, California. 2)
ROLL CALL
PRESENT:
Councilmember Freundt
Councilmember Garcia
Councilmember Schwartz
Mayor Pro Tem Muchovej
Mayor Kong
ABSENT:
None.
OTHERS PRESENT: Deston Dishion, City Administrator; Jessica Ortiz, Administrative Support Assistant; Dean J. Pucci, City Attorney 3)
PUBLIC COMMENT PRIOR TO CLOSED SESSION
No public comments were made.
4)
CLOSED SESSION
4.A)
Conference with Legal Counsel - Initiation of Litigation pursuant to Government Code § 54956.9(c): 1 Potential Case Closed session started at 5:32 p.m. Closed session ended at 5:59 p.m. 5)
OPEN SESSION
Mayor Kong called the open session of the Bishop City Council to order at 6:04 p.m. in the City Council Chambers, 301 West Line Street, Bishop, California. 6)
MOMENT OF SILENCE
Mayor Kong announced a moment of silence.
7)
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Councilmember Scwartz. 8)
ROLL CALL
PRESENT:
Councilmember Freundt
Councilmember Garcia
Councilmember Schwartz
Mayor Pro Tem Muchovej
Mayor Kong
ABSENT:
None.
OTHERS PRESENT: Deston Dishion, City Administrator; Dean J. Pucci, City Attorney; Bret Russell, Fire Chief; Nate Derr, Police Chief; Dan McElroy, Community Services Manager; and Jessica Ortiz, Administrative Support Assistant 9)
PUBLIC COMMENT
Fr. Cam Lemons, a local resident, offered an invocational prayer over tonight's meeting.
Jennifer Beaudean, a small business owner in Bishop, thanked Council for placing a discussion on the A-Frame on the agenda and asked if the Council could consider giving the Chamber the $55,000 that covers the A-Frame's rent and utility bills on top of the $85,000 per year already allocated to the Chamber.
Cari Arnal, read the definition of leadership, spoke about our youth in our community, the need to provide a positive environment or facility for our youth, and would like to see a mental health facility for crisis prevention here locally in Bishop.
Gayla Wolf, a local resident, spoke in support of conducting invocations at Council meetings, and would like to see empty buildings repurposed for recreational use.
Tawni Thomson, Bishop Chamber of Commerce & Information Center Executive Director, submitted written public comments to Council via email that acknowledged receipt of a partial red-tag notice for the building that currently houses the Information Center and staff offices, that they are working to secure a new location, and thanked City Council and the community for their concern and support. She assured that they will remain open and continue their daily work on behalf of the community and will keep the Council informed as they move forward.
Emily Brinton Sims, a local resident, submitted written public comments to Council via email "Re: Immediate Inclusion of Evidentiary Record in Public Record - August 11, 2025 City Council Meeting" which outlined several requests to Council relating to public comments and public records.
Allen Berrey, a small business owner in Bishop, submitted written public comments to Council via the City Clerk's office relating to the "Opening of La Cueva de Luz and Its Museum of Desert Lights" which he created for the benefit of locals and visitors to enjoy, and invited Council to the opening of this new museum located at 174 West Line Street on August 16, 2025 and August 17, 2025.
No further public comments were made.
10)
REPORT ON ACTIONS TAKEN IN CLOSED SESSION AS REQUIRED BY LAW To report on actions taken in Closed Session as required by law, Mayor Kong announced that no reportable action was taken. 11)
DEPARTMENT REPORTS
Written reports from the Fire, Police, Public Works, Community Services, Planning, and Administration Departments were submitted on each department's activities including upcoming and ongoing projects. Verbal reports were also given by the Police, Community Services, and Administration Departments.
11.A)
Fire Department Report - Fire Chief Bret Russell
Fire Department Report - July 2025
11.B)
Police Department Report - Police Chief Nate Derr
Police Department Report - July 2025
11.C)
Public Works Department Report - Public Works Director Nora Gamino Public Works Department Report - July 2025
11.D)
Community Services Department Report - Community Services Manager Daniel McElroy Community Services Department Report - July 2025
11.E)
Planning Department Report - Principal Planner Ana Budnyk Planning Department Report - July 2025
11.F)
City Administrator Report - City Administrator Deston Dishion City Administrator Report - July 2025
12)
COUNTY OF INYO UPDATE
Mayor Kong announced that Supervisor Griffiths apologizes that he is not well and is unable to attend this meeting. 13)
CONSENT CALENDAR
13.A)
ORDINANCE - Second Reading and Adoption of an Ordinance Relating to Regulating Electric Mobility Devices Cover Page
E Mobility Device Ordinance - with Revisions
No public comments were made.
Motion/Councilmember Schwartz
Seconded/Councilmember Garcia
Councilmember Schwartz made a motion to approve the consent calendar.
Motion passed 5-0
Ayes: Councilmember Freundt, Councilmember Garcia, Councilmember Schwartz, Mayor Pro Tem Muchovej, Mayor Kong Noes: None
Abstain: None
Absent: None
14)
NEW BUSINESS
14.A)
Discuss Options for the Future of the A-frame Building at the City Park Cover Page
20250807_City of Bishop Cond Assmt Hours & Fee
20250807_City of Bishop Cond Assmt Proposal
RedTag_Chamber of Commerce
City Administrator Dishion reviewed this item with Council.
Public Comments were made by:
Carl Hoescher, a local resident, spoke to having an actual structural engineer provide information to Council on the A-frame structure to make a decision on the future of the A-frame building, expressed his displeasure on how Council handled the Chamber of Commerce's eviction, and asked that the Council consider how they make decisions that impact the entire community.
John F. Harris, a Bishop resident, thanked Council for listening to the public and for their consideration to keep the A-frame and to keep that building as the information center for the city.
Gayla Wolf, a local resident, spoke to having more than one appraisal on the A-frame building, how to reconfigure the current A-Frame building, look at the Schat's Bakery building across the street from the A-frame building to see if that building is available for some extra space for the Chamber to use instead of the current place they plan on leasing, and for the City to consider giving the Chamber a new home.
Christina Arnal, spoke to her support of historic things and the A-frame as a historic building.
Lynette McIntosh, a local resident, spoke in support of the A-frame, read a comment printed in a newspaper by Tyler Mitchell that does not agree with Council's decision to discuss Chamber eviction behind closed doors in closed session, and expressed her discontent as to how this matter was disclosed.
Jennifer Beaudean, a small business owner in Bishop, spoke to a petition she created to save the Bishop Visitor's Center and sent an email to Council that included 170 petitions. Jennifer Beaudean gave a copy to Council of 95 signatures and reported that there are close to 300 signatures that want to save the A-Frame building, not the addition.
Noel Gabriel-Guacheno, a resident of Bishop, thanked Council for the inspection done on the A-frame building, is looking forward to the engineer's report, and supports keeping the Chamber of Commerce in the A-frame at its current central location.
Teresa Blum, a local resident, spoke about her daughter Kristina Blum, who volunteered and worked for the Chamber of Commerce and Visitor's Bureau. Teresa Blum then read aloud part of a letter sent to the newspaper by Kristina Blum that she wanted to share with the Council. At the end of the letter it asks the Council to invest the funds to fix the current A-frame or at least figure out a way to replace the Chamber's building at its current location.
No further public comments were made.
Council deliberated this item and directed staff to contract with Wildan to generate a structural engineering report for the A-frame and its addition. 15)
FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS
Mayor Kong, with consensus from Council, requested that a public meeting be scheduled between the City Council and the Bishop Area Chamber of Commerce and Information Center Executive Board to continue discussions of the A-frame. No further requests were made for future agendas items. 16)
COUNCIL AND COMMITTEE REPORTS
Council Members reported on meetings and community events that they attended. 17)
ADJOURNMENT
The Mayor adjourned the meeting at 7:33 p.m. to the City Council Meeting scheduled for Monday, August 25, 2025 at 6:00 p.m. in the City Council Chambers. ______________________________________
Karen Kong, Mayor
Attest: ______________________________
Robin Picken, City Clerk