# City Council - October 7th, 2026 Meetings

The Bakersfield City Council’s October 7, 2026 meetings included approval of a water-facility solar and battery project. Staff presented an updated turnkey proposal through Willdan, selected through an earlier RFP process, with engineering, project management, procurement, materials, and labor included. The project’s best-case net cost to the water enterprise fund was estimated at $4.4 million after up to $3.5 million in incentives; staff said $1.5 million for battery incentives was secured and nearly $2 million for solar was available if the system is energized by December 31, 2027. Project funding was already included in the water enterprise capital improvement budget, with no additional funding requested. Staff projected first-year electrical savings of about $382,000, nearly $10.4 million in savings through 2041, and $11.4 million in utility savings over 25 years. The council approved the project by motion; no contract number or final total contract price was clear in the transcript.

The council also received an informational update on its gun-violence reduction strategy. Staff reported a 74% reduction in fatal and non-fatal shootings from 2021 to 2024 and described a current three-year, $5 million state grant, alongside city public-safety tax funding, to support the work. Public comments raised a draft proposal for spending $500,000 on tree planting and maintenance, heat and environmental-justice priorities in the 2045 General Plan, and other community concerns; no related procurement action was recorded. The North of the River zone-change hearing was deferred to a future meeting due to a quorum issue.

**Jurisdictions:** sled
**Industries:** Energy & Utilities, Construction & Infrastructure
**Topics:** Physical Infrastructure, Grants & Funding
**Published:** October 08, 2026

### Sources
- [City Council - October 7th, 2026 Meetings](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qGv2SCN0Q4) - City of Bakersfield, CA.