The Hope Board of Directors met Tuesday night in their regular meeting to consider a request from the Hope Water & Light Commission and to consider appointments to various civic commissions.

HW&L put forth a request for board approval to allow a one-time reduction in the HW&L transfer to the City of Hope. This would enable them to pay the equivalent of premium pay to their employees. This would not be a sub-grant, as previously tabled by the board, and would not require the extensive paperwork, monitoring, and reporting as such. The request was for a one-time reduction of $200,000. The board voted unanimously to approve the reduction.

Afterward, the board considered several commission positions. Judy Davis, whose term with the HW&L commission expired on December 31, 2021, was reappointed for a five-year term. Trevor Coffee and Milko Smith were likewise reappointed to the Tourism commission. Babu Patel, meanwhile, was removed from Tourism, replaced by Charlton Luker. The Housing commission, and the Planning & Zoning commission remained unchanged.

City Manager Catherine Cook then gave an update on projects around the city. The Sixth Street project is still ongoing, and is making progress. The Streetscape Project is awaiting budget approval.

Finally, the board heard one citizen request from Hazel Simpson, who is concerned about trash in several places around Hope. The board agreed, but said that the sanitation department is shorthanded. Mark Ross put forth the idea that perhaps the board can look into having some of Hope's civic organizations help to address the issue.