[00:00:04]
[ CALL TO ORDER]
EVERYONE.WELCOME TO OUR JANUARY 20TH CITY COUNCIL MEETING.
IT IS 7:00 PM MEETING IS NOW IN SESSION.
ANY PERSON WISHING TO ADDRESS THE CITY COUNCIL DURING ORAL COMMUNICATION MUST COMPLETE A SPEAKER CARD THAT IS PROVIDED AT THE ENTRANCE TO THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS AND SUBMIT THE CARD TO THE DEPUTY CITY CLERK PRIOR TO COMMENCEMENTS OF ORAL COMMUNICATIONS.
SPEAKER CARDS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED AFTER ORAL COMMUNICATION HAS STARTED.
TONIGHT'S INVOCATION WILL BE LED BY PASTOR MASON OKUBO FROM EMMANUEL FIRST LUTHERAN CHURCH.
AND COUNCILMAN WU WILL LEAD US IN THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE.
LORD, WE GIVE YOU THANKS FOR ALL CIVIL SERVANTS SERVING WEST COVINA.
BLESS THEIR HARD WORK AND SACRIFICE.
GIVE DISCERNING HEARTS TO OUR CITY COUNCIL AS THEY GOVERN OUR CITY.
GIVE THEM WISDOM SO THEY MAY SOLVE PROBLEMS. DISTINGUISH BETWEEN RIGHT AND WRONG.
BRING ORDER AND STABILITY AND PROSPERITY TO OUR COMMUNITY.
GIVE EACH OF US A SPIRIT OF UNITY THAT WE MAY WORK TOGETHER FOR THE GOOD OF OUR CITY AND TO GLORIFY YOU.
PLEASE PUT YOUR RIGHT HAND TO YOUR HEART AND FACE THE FLAG AND FOLLOW MY KNEE.
OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND TO THE REPUBLIC, WHAT WOULD ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, LIBERTY AND JUSTICE ALL.
GOOD EVENING, MAYOR COUNCILMAN GUTIERREZ.
COUNCIL MEMBER GUTIERREZ HERE.
UM, BEFORE WE START TONIGHT, I WILL BE PULLING ITEM NUMBER FOUR FROM THE CONSENT CALENDAR.
UH, CITY ATTORNEY, IS THERE ANYTHING TO BE REPORTED OUT OF CLOSED SESSION? NOTHING TO REPORT MATTER, MAYOR.
NOW WE WILL BEGIN OUR PRESENTATION,
[PRESENTATIONS]
SB 1383 OUTREACH PRESENTATION BY ATHENS SERVICES.GOOD EVENING, MAYOR CITY COUNCIL.
MY NAME IS LIZ RAMIREZ WITH ATHENS SERVICES.
UH, WE ARE HERE TONIGHT TO PROVIDE AN UPDATE ON SENATE BILL 1383 AND THE TRANSITION THAT'S HAPPENING HERE IN WEST COVINA.
I WANTED TO INTRODUCE YOU TO OUR TRANSITION TEAM.
UM, WE HAVE WITH US BRANDON MILLS, OUR DIVISION VICE PRESIDENT WHO OVERSEES THE OPERATIONS.
WE HAVE JOHN HARRINGTON, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT OF GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS, WHO'S OVERSEEING THE CONTRACT.
AND JONATHAN HUGHES, VICE PRESIDENT OF GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS, WHO'S OVERSEEING THE TRANSITION AND ALL OF THE OUTREACH ACTIVITIES.
SO I'LL HAVE JONATHAN COME UP AND SHARE WITH YOU ALL THE THINGS THAT WE'RE DOING TO SUPPORT THE CUSTOMERS THROUGH THIS TIME.
AND GOOD EVENING, MADAM MAYOR.
UH, MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL, AS LIZ SAID, JONATHAN HUGHES, VICE PRESIDENT GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS HERE AT ATHENS SERVICES.
I'M VERY EXCITED TO BE WORKING, UH, CLOSELY WITH THE CITY, NOT JUST WITH THIS TRANSITION, UH, BUT BUT HOPEFULLY FOR MANY YEARS TO COME.
UM, TONIGHT, AS WAS MENTIONED, I'M HERE TO COMMUNICATE SOME IMPORTANT UPDATES ON THE CITY'S TRANSITION REGARDING SENATE BILL OR SB 1383, AND WAYS WE CAN CONTINUE WORKING TOGETHER AND EDUCATING THE PUBLIC AND MAINTAINING THE CITY'S COMPLIANCE.
UM, AND AS FOLKS SAW AS THEY'RE HERE, UH, FOR THOSE WHO ARE HERE IN PERSON, WE ARE HERE IN THE LOBBY TONIGHT.
UH, WE HAVE SOME OF OUR GREAT, UH, OUTREACH COORDINATORS HERE.
SO IF ANY MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC WISH TO SPEAK WITH THEM ABOUT WHAT GOES IN WHICH CONTAINER OR, UH, HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT THE SB 1383 PROGRAM AND ANY CHANGES, UH, WE'RE HAPPY TO ADDRESS ANY OF THOSE QUESTIONS HERE IN PERSON.
AND I WAS GONNA SAY NEXT SLIDE, BUT I AM, UH, IN CHARGE OF THE NEXT SLIDE WITH THIS NICE CLICKER, SO THANK YOU FOR THAT.
UM, AS YOU ALL KNOW, UH, IN JANUARY OF LAST YEAR, CAL RECYCLE IMPLEMENTED THEIR SB 1383 REGULATION THAT MANDATES MUNICIPALITIES AND HAULERS RECOVER 75% OF ORGANIC WASTE FROM TRASH THAT'S BEING SENT TO THE LANDFILL.
THIS WILL HELP REDUCE GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS IN THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA.
AND AS YOU KNOW, JUST A MONTH AGO, THIS BODY APPROVED AN AMENDMENT TO THE WASTE HAULING AGREEMENT THAT ENSURES THE CITY'S FULL COMPLIANCE WITH THIS UNFUNDED STATE MANDATE.
UNDER THE CONTRACT AMENDMENT APPROVED LAST MONTH, ATHENS WILL CONTINUE TO PROVIDE SUPPORT IN A NUMBER OF AREAS ENSURING THE CITY'S COMPLIANCE.
AND SB 1383 REQUIRES MANY ELEMENTS, INCLUDING THE MOST VISIBLE TO ALL OF US COMPLIANT CONTAINERS FOR BOTH RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL CUSTOMERS.
AND AS I MENTIONED, UH, THERE ARE ACTUALLY SEVEN ELEMENTS IN THE SB 1383 PROGRAM, AND I'LL SHARE A BIT MORE ABOUT EACH OF THOSE ELEMENTS.
OF COURSE, WE HAVE OUR COLLECTION PROGRAM, WHICH IS MOST VISIBLE, REQUIRING CITIES TO PROVIDE A COLLECTION OF ORGANIC MATERIALS, INCLUDING FOOD SCRAPS, YARD WASTE,
[00:05:01]
AND FOOD, SOIL PAPER TO ALL RESIDENTS AND BUSINESSES.AS PART OF THIS REQUIREMENT, ALL CONTAINERS NEED TO MEET CERTAIN COLOR AND LABELING REQUIREMENTS.
CONTAMINATION MONITORING MANDATES THE ONGOING MONITORING OF BARRELS AND BINS TO ENSURE PROPER SORTING.
THE GOAL OF THIS REQUIREMENT IS TO IDENTIFY AND HELP CUSTOMERS REDUCE CONTAMINATION IN ORGANICS AND RECYCLING STREAMS. NEXT, OUR WASTE ASSESSMENTS GO ONE STEP FURTHER, ANALYZING ALL WASTE FROM A PARTICULAR ROUTE TO AUDIT AND EVALUATE THE WASTE STREAM TO TRACK COMPLIANCE AND PROGRAM EFFECTIVENESS.
WHEN IT COMES TO OUTREACH AND EDUCATION, CITIES MUST CONDUCT ONGOING PUBLIC EDUCATION CAMPAIGNS TO ENSURE RESIDENTS AND BUSINESSES UNDERSTAND SORTING REQUIREMENTS.
OUR OUTREACH TEAM, SOME OF WHO ARE HERE TONIGHT, VISIT WITH EACH COMMERCIAL CUSTOMER AND MULTI-FAMILY, CUSTOMER ON AT LEAST AN ANNUAL BASIS TO ASSESS CUSTOMER'S WASTE STREAMS AND PROVIDE ANY TRAINING OR SUPPORT NEEDED.
IN ADDITION, OUR OUTREACH TEAM REMAINS AVAILABLE AT ANY TIME TO PROVIDE ONGOING SUPPORT TO OUR CUSTOMERS.
FOR INSTANCE, WE HAVE MANY RES RESTAURANT CUSTOMERS WHO REACH OUT TO US TO PROVIDE ONGOING TRAINING TO THEIR KITCHEN STAFF.
NEXT, PROCUREMENT CITIES MUST UTILIZE RECYCLED CONTENT PRODUCTS SUCH AS COMPOST, MULCH, OR RENEWABLE GAS TO HELP CREATE MARKETS FOR THESE RECOVERED MATERIALS.
WHEN IT COMES TO DATA AND REPORTING, LOCAL JURISDICTIONS ARE REQUIRED TO KEEP RECORDS AND SUBMIT COMPLIANCE REPORTS TO CAL RECYCLE.
THE STATE GOVERNING AGENCY THAT DOCUMENTS THEIR SB 1383 PROGRAMS AND PROGRESS.
ATHENS SERVICES HAS BUILT A UNIQUE REPORTING DATABASE AND DASHBOARD TO HELP SUPPORT THIS REQUIREMENT.
AND LASTLY, FOOD RECOVERY SUPPORT, WHICH REQUIRES CERTAIN FOOD GENERATORS LIKE GROCERY STORES, FOOD DISTRIBUTORS, AND LARGE RESTAURANTS TO DONATE SURPLUS EDIBLE FOOD WITH JURISDICTIONS OVERSEEING AND SUPPORTING LOCAL FOOD RECOVERY PROGRAMS. ATHENS PROVIDES THE OUTREACH AND EDUCATION TO THESE CUSTOMERS, AND THE CITY ALSO PARTICIPATES IN THE SAN GABRIEL VALLEY COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENTS FOOD RECOVERY PROGRAM.
AS YOU CAN SEE HERE, ALL CUSTOMERS WILL NOW RECEIVE CONTAINERS FOR TRASH, ORGANICS AND RECYCLING.
TYPICALLY, OUR RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS WILL RECEIVE BARRELS AND COMMERCIAL AND MULTI-FAMILY CUSTOMERS WILL RECEIVE A MIX OF BINS AND BARRELS BASED ON THEIR UNIQUE NEEDS AND SIZE REQUIREMENTS.
ALL CUSTOMERS ARE NOW SUBSCRIBED TO ALL THREE WASTE STREAMS, AND OF COURSE, EXTRA OPTIONS ARE ALWAYS AVAILABLE.
CUSTOMERS CAN REQUEST ADDITIONAL CONTAINERS FOR AN ADDITIONAL COST, DIFFERENT CONTAINER SIZES, AND EVEN DIFFERENT PICKUP FREQUENCIES, WHICH IS PRIMARILY FOR OUR COMMERCIAL CUSTOMERS.
CUSTOMERS ARE ABLE TO SELECT A BUNDLE THAT INCLUDES ALL THREE COMMODITIES TO FIT THEIR NEEDS.
AS YOU CAN SEE HERE, OUR STANDARD RESIDENTIAL SERVICE FOR SINGLE FAMILY HOMES, UH, INCLUDES ONE OF EACH OF THE THREE BARRELS, THE BLACK BARREL FOR TRASH, THE GREEN BARREL FOR ORGANICS, AND THE BLUE BARREL FOR RECYCLING.
RESIDENTS CAN ALSO GO ONLINE OR CALL TO SCHEDULE BULKY WASTE COLLECTION ON THEIR REGULAR SERVICE DAY.
PROVIDED THEY SCHEDULE THIS AT LEAST 24 HOURS IN ADVANCE FOR OUR STANDARD COMMERCIAL AND MULTIFAMILY CUSTOMERS, THEY WILL RECEIVE A THREE YARD TRASH BIN AND A 96 GALLON RECYCLING CART AND A 64 GALLON ORGANICS CART.
ADDITIONAL SIZES AND FREQUENCIES ARE AVAILABLE AS WELL, LIKE I MENTIONED.
AND FOR THOSE COMMERCIAL MULTIFAMILY CUSTOMERS, WE'VE BEEN VISITING WITH EACH ONE OF THEM BEGINNING THE FIRST WEEK OF JANUARY TO GIVE PEOPLE DIRECT FEEDBACK ON THEIR WASTE GENERATION AND MAKE CONTAINER SIZE AND FREQUENCY RECOMMENDATIONS BASED ON THE WASTE THAT THEY GENERATE.
AGAIN, THESE CUSTOMERS CAN ALWAYS OPT TO CHANGE THEIR SERVICE LEVEL.
AND AS PART OF THE AMENDMENT BETWEEN THE CITY AND ATHENS, WE'VE IMPLEMENTED WEEKLY BULKY SWEEPS AT EACH OF THE DESIGNATED PARKS.
THE EIGHT DESIGNATED PARKS YOU CAN SEE HERE ON THE SCREEN, AND ALL CITY BUILDINGS AND CITY SPONSORED EVENTS ARE TRANSITIONING TO THE THREE STREAM SYSTEM TRASH, RECYCLING, AND ORGANICS, WHICH WILL SET THE STANDARD FOR THE COMMUNITY.
WE HAVE A ROBUST COMMUNITY OUTREACH AND SUPPORT PROGRAM THAT WE'VE DEVELOPED TO ENGAGE RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL CUSTOMERS THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
YOU CAN SEE ON THE SLIDE SOME EXAMPLES OF OUR OUTREACH, WHICH IS ONGOING AND HAS MANY EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES PLANNED FOR THE NEXT FEW MONTHS.
AND AS I MENTIONED, WE'RE MEETING WITH EACH COMMERCIAL CUSTOMER TO EXPLAIN THE NEW BUNDLE PROGRAM, ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS AND WALK THROUGH SERVICE OPTIONS.
ADDITIONALLY, OUR CUSTOMER SERVICE TEAM REMAINS AVAILABLE TO PROVIDE ONE-ON-ONE SUPPORT, EXPLAIN RATES, AND HELP CUSTOMERS ADJUST THEIR SERVICE NEEDS.
AND I'LL MAKE ONE QUICK SHOUT OUT HERE ON THE SLIDE.
YOU CAN SEE THE VIDEO CALL OUT.
I'D LIKE TO THANK, UH, EACH ONE OF YOU WHO HAVE PARTNERED WITH US TO DO SOME PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENTS.
WE ARE HOPING TO ROLL THOSE OUT HERE IN FEBRUARY, SO LOOK FORWARD TO, TO SEEING THOSE FROM ATHENS AS WELL AS FROM THE CITY.
AS YOU CAN SEE HERE, WHEN IT COMES TO DEPLOYING THIS NEW EQUIPMENT, WE, UH, PLAN TO BEGIN DELIVERING
[00:10:01]
THE, UH, COMMERCIAL AND MULTI-FAMILY EQUIPMENT AS SOON AS NEXT WEEK, WHICH WILL TAKE APPROXIMATELY A WEEK OR TWO.AND THEN RESIDENTIAL BARREL DELIVERY.
WE PLAN TO BEGIN THAT FIRST WEEK OF FEBRUARY, FEBRUARY 2ND, AND CONTINUE AGAIN FOR APPROXIMATELY TWO WEEKS.
SERVICE OR COLLECTION OF THESE, UH, CONTAINERS WILL BEGIN THE WEEK OF FEBRUARY 16TH.
AND THE ALL IMPORTANT QUESTION OF WHAT GOES WHERE.
AS YOU CAN SEE HERE, ALL CONTAINERS NEED TO INCLUDE WHAT I MENTIONED BEFORE, WHICH IS SB 1383 COMPLIANT LABELING.
ALL CARTS WILL HAVE A HOT STAMP AS SHOWN ON THE LEFT, UH, ONE FOR EACH OF THE CARTS, AND ALL BINS WILL HAVE A STICKER AS SHOWN ON THE RIGHT.
IMPORTANTLY, ALL OF THIS LABELING INCLUDES A CONVENIENT QR CODE FOR CUSTOMERS TO ACCESS AND BE DIRECTED TO ADDITIONAL OUTREACH AND EDUCATION MATERIALS.
IMPORTANTLY, THE BIGGEST CHANGE IS THAT FOOD WASTE WILL NOW GO IN THE GREEN ORGANICS CONTAINER.
AND AS I MENTIONED, WE HAVE SOME OF OUR OUTREACH COORDINATORS HERE, UH, IN THE COMMUNITY ROOM THIS EVENING.
SO IF ANYONE HAS ANY QUESTIONS, UH, MORE SPECIFIC ABOUT WHAT GOES WHERE, WE'RE HAPPY TO TAKE ANY OF THOSE QUESTIONS.
AND AS A REMINDER, I'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS ALREADY, BUT YOU CAN SEE HERE JUST A CONCEPTUAL ILLUSTRATION OF HOW THIS TRANSITION WORKS.
CONVERTING FROM THE TWO STREAM SYSTEM TO THE THREE STREAM SYSTEM, IMPORTANTLY, YOU'LL SEE WHAT'S CALLED OUT THERE.
UH, THOSE PLASTIC BOTTLES THAT ARE CURRENTLY GOING INTO THE BLACK OR TRASH BARRELS NOW OF COURSE WILL GO INTO THE BLUE OR RECYCLING CONTAINERS.
A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF THE VOLUME FROM MANY OF OUR COMMERCIAL CUSTOMERS.
CURRENT TRASH OR BLACK CONTAINER WILL NOW GO IN THE BLUE CONTAINER.
THINK ABOUT, ESPECIALLY AT HOME, WE HAVE LOTS OF CARDBOARD BOXES FROM AMAZON AND OTHER ONLINE RETAILERS.
THOSE WILL NOW GO IN THE BLUE CONTAINER AND FOOD LIKE BANANA PEELS AND OTHER ITEMS WILL BE DISCARDED IN THE ORGANICS OR GREEN CONTAINER, AS I MENTIONED.
UM, I'M VERY MUCH LOOKING FORWARD TO WORKING WITH THE COUNCIL AND CITY STAFF AS WE CONTINUE TO IMPLEMENT THE CITY'S COMPLIANT SB 1383 PROGRAM.
UM, AND WE HAVE A BOOTH HERE IN THE COMMUNITY ROOM.
WE'RE HAPPY TO TAKE, UH, ANY QUESTIONS, UH, FROM MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC, IF WE CAN HELP YOU FIND THE RIGHT SIZE AND THE RIGHT FREQUENCY FOR YOU, UH, OR THE RIGHT, UH, CONTAINER, WHICH ITEM GOES IN THE RIGHT CONTAINER.
WE'RE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY OF THOSE QUESTIONS TONIGHT.
AND WITH THAT, I'M HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS FROM THE COUNCIL.
DOES THE COUNCIL HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? UH, COUNCILMAN GUTIERREZ? YES.
UM, I HAVE A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS 'CAUSE I KNOW, UM, THE COMMUNITY'S BEEN ASKING A LOT OF QUESTIONS SINCE WE, UH, PASSED THE TWO AGREEMENTS.
UM, SO I'LL ASK SOME COUPLE QUESTIONS.
TAKE A, NO, NO, NO, I'M GETTING THERE.
I HAVE, I HAVE MY QUESTIONS HERE.
I'M JUST FIGURING OUT, I'M NOT GONNA ASK 'EM ALL.
UH, CAN YOU, OKAY, I'LL JUST ASK THIS ONE.
SO MAYBE YOU COULD ANSWER OR, OR MAYBE, UH, OUR CITY ATTORNEY CAN ANSWER THIS.
I, I KNOW THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF COMMENTS IN, IN OUR COMMUNITY, UM, BUT DO YOU KNOW, UM, UNDER ZOE VERSUS THE CITY OF OAKLAND, THE CALIFORNIA SUPREME COURT HELD THAT A CHARGE IMPOSED ON RESIDENCE THAT EXCEED EXCEEDS THE COSTS OF PROVIDING SERVICES IS AN UNLAWFUL TAX.
CAN YOU STATE ON THE RECORD WHETHER EVERY DOLLAR CHARGED TO WEST V RESIDENCE REFLECTS THE ACTUAL COST OF SERVICE WITH NO SURPLUS RETAINED BY ATHENS? MAYBE THIS, THIS IS A PRESENTATION FROM ATHENS RIGHT NOW THAT IT ISN'T TIME TO DISCUSS ANY EXPOSURE OR LIABILITY TO THE CITY OUT IN OPEN SESSION.
AND WE, WE'VE ALREADY PROVIDED COUNSEL WITH, UH, ATTORNEY-CLIENT PRIVILEGE MEMO ON THE ZALI CASE.
SO, YEAH, BUT THE COMMUNITY HAS A QUESTION, SO YOU DON'T HAVE TO, THEY WANT AN HONEST ANSWER, SO I'LL MOVE ON TO THE NEXT QUESTION.
THEY'VE RECEIVED AN HONEST ANSWER ALREADY AND, AND, AND WE'VE RESPONDED TO THAT QUESTION, SO, OKAY.
NEXT QUESTION I HAVE IS, IS IT TRUE THAT RELI ANY, A CHARGE AS A STABILIZATION OR RATE ADJUSTMENT DOES NOT CHANGE ITS LEGAL CHARACTER UNDER ZOELY IF RESIDENTS ARE PAYING MORE THAN THE COST OF SERVICE CITY ATTORNEY? CAN YOU EXPLAIN THAT QUESTION A LITTLE CLEARER, PLEASE? YES.
IS IT TRUE THAT RELABEL DON'T JUST REREAD IT? CAN YOU EXPLAIN IT? WHAT, WHAT, WHAT YOU'RE TRYING TO ASK? YEAH, I'LL REREAD IT AND THEN, AND THEN I'LL EXPLAIN IT.
SO IT SAYS, IS IT TRUE THAT RELABELING A CHARGE AS A STA AS A STABILIZATION OR RATE ADJUSTMENT DOES NOT CHANGE ITS LEGAL CHARACTER UNDER ZOE IF RESIDENTS ARE PAYING MORE THAN THE COST OF SERVICE? SO WHAT I'M ASKING IS, DOES IT, DOES IT, IS THERE A
[00:15:01]
LEGAL DIFFERENCE BASED UPON WHAT WE LABEL SOMETHING ON A CONTRACT THAT TECHNICALLY FALLS BACK ON ZOE, ZOE VERSUS OAKLAND'S? AGAIN, THIS IS NOT FOR DISCUSSION ON OPEN SESSION QUESTION, BUT RESIDENTS HAVE QUESTION ATION.WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY STABILIZATION? HUH? WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY STABILIZATION? I, I'M REFERRING TO THE CONTRACTS THAT WE, AND, AND I VOTED FOR THIS, SO, BUT I'M ASKING, I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE REFERRING TO, BUT WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY IT BASED UPON THE LANGUAGE IN THE AGREEMENT THAT, IS THERE A DIFFERENCE? SO IF WE, IF WE LABELED IT A SUSTAINABILITY AGREEMENT, DOES THAT HAVE A LEGAL EFFECT ON SIMILARITIES TO THE, TO THE ZOE CASE? IN THE ZOE CASE, THEY ARGUE NOT THE ZOE CASE, IT'S THE Z CASE.
AND AGAIN, MADAM MAYOR, THIS IS, THIS IS A PRESENTATION FROM ATHENS RIGHT NOW.
THIS ISN'T TIME TO DISCUSS LIABILITY IN, IN, OUT AN OPEN SESSION.
DO YOU HAVE QUESTIONS PERTAINING TO THE PRESENTATION OF THE CHANGES THAT WILL OCCUR? YEAH.
I, I THINK THESE ARE THE QUESTIONS THAT THE RESIDENTS WANT ANSWERS.
THIS WOULD'VE BEEN GREAT WHEN WE HAD THIS DISCUSSION WITH THEM PRIOR, BUT TODAY THEY ARE HERE TO PRESENT OF THE CHANGES THAT, THAT WE ALL, INCLUDING YOURSELF, HAVE APPROVED.
AND SO IS THERE SPECIFIC QUESTIONS TO THE PRESENTATION REGARDING THE BINS, THE NEW CHANGES THAT ARE GONNA BE IMPLEMENTING AND RECEIVING? YES.
ARE YOU READING THESE FROM, ARE THESE, ARE THESE PRIOR WRITTEN QUESTIONS BY YOU BEFORE THE MEETING? UH, THOSE ARE MY NOTES AND I HAVE MENTIONED IN THE PAST TO PLEASE INFORM AND LET THEM, 'CAUSE IF THEY DON'T HAVE THE INFORMATION AT HAND TO GIVE YOU, AT THE MOMENT, THEY'RE JUST GONNA SAY, WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO GET BACK TO YOU.
WELL, I THINK MANY OF THESE QUESTIONS ARE LEGAL QUESTIONS.
SO THEY'RE NOT, I THINK, WELL, IF THEY'RE LEGAL QUESTIONS, THEN WOULD, MIGHT BE TOM'S QUESTIONS OR THAT WOULD BE A CAN ANSWER THEM.
UM, WHERE, WHERE, WHERE IS, WHERE IN THE, THIS CONTRACT, IN THE CONTRACT THAT WE APPROVE REGARDING THIS, WHERE IN THE CONTRACT IS THE ENFORCEABLE MECHANISM THAT GUARANTEES RESIDENTS OR REFUNDED OR CREDITED IF ATHENS COLLECTS MORE THAN ITS DOCUMENTED COSTS? AGAIN, THE CONTRACT ISN'T BEFORE YOU RIGHT NOW.
THIS IS A PRESENTATION FROM ATHENS ON, ON THE OUTREACH PROGRAM AND HOW IT'S GONNA WORK.
SO I'M GONNA ASK YOU ONE MORE TIME.
COUNCILMAN GUTIERREZ, IS THAT, AND I'M GONNA, IS THERE ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS? THAT IS, SO I'M GONNA FINISH MY LAST QUESTION.
UH, BECAUSE THE PUBLIC HAS THE RIGHT, THEY, I THINK THEY HAVE QUESTIONS.
AND IT WOULD BE NICE IF THE PUBLIC, AS I SAID IN THE PAST, THE PUBLIC IS MORE THAN WILLING TO COME AND SEND US AN EMAIL, WHICH WE HAVE.
AND I KNOW SOMETIMES I HAVE FORWARDED TO ATHENS, WHICH THEN ATHENS HAD REPLIED IN SPECIFIC BECAUSE THEY HAVE ALL THOSE DETAILS PRIOR.
SO YOU CAN DO ALL, YOU CAN ALSO DO THE SAME THING.
AND AS I ALSO SAID IN THE PAST, THAT IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS THAT YOU'RE GONNA GO AND LET PEOPLE KNOW THAT IT SHOULD BE COURTESY TO EVEN LET OUR ATTORNEYS, OUR CITY STAFF, OR THE PRESENTERS KNOW AHEAD OF TIME AND SO THAT THEY COULD BE PREPARED FOR THIS.
SO WE'VE MADE THIS DISCUSSION VERY CLEAR.
SO YOUR LAST QUESTION, UH, YOU, YOU SHOULD STOP BEING SO DEMANDING YOUR LAST QUESTION.
I'M ASKING A QUE I'M ASKING QUESTIONS THAT THE VOTERS AND THE, THE, I'M GOING TO MOVE FORWARD.
I THINK, I THINK PEOPLE NEXT, I THINK PEOPLE HAD QUESTIONS.
SO I'M GONNA FINISH MY LAST QUESTION.
I DON'T WANNA HAVE TO GO BACK TO A FULLY DISRUPTION FINISH MY QUESTION.
SO AGAIN, I AM ASKING QUESTIONS BASED UPON WHAT I'VE HEARD.
CAN YOU PLEASE ASK YOUR QUESTION DIRECTLY? CAN I SPEAK, UH, YOUR QUESTION AND NOT EVERYTHING ELSE SPEAK.
SO I AM ASKING QUESTIONS BASED UPON WHAT I'VE HEARD FROM THE COMMUNITY.
SO MY LAST QUESTION IS, IF AN INDEPENDENT AUDIT SHOWED THAT ATHENS COLLECTIVE REVENUE EXCEEDING ITS SERVICE COSTS, WOULD YOU AGREE YES OR NO? THAT ZOE AND, AND, AND CITY MANAGER, IF YOU, IF YOU, UH, HAVE A PROBLEM AND HOW I PRONOUNCE STUFF, I'M SORRY, I HAVE A SPEECH PROBLEM, BUT THAT ZOE REQUIRES THOSE CHARGES TO BE DEEMED.
SO AGAIN, IF AN INDEPENDENT AUDIT SHOWED THAT ATHENS COLLECTIVE REVENUE EXCEEDING ITS SERVICE COSTS, WOULD YOU AGREE YES OR NO, THAT ZOE REQUIRES THESE CHANGES TO BE DEEMED UNLAWFUL? AGAIN, THAT IS A CONTRACT QUESTION.
THIS IS AN EMAIL, NOT THIS IS THIS TODAY, AT THIS MOMENT IS A PRESENTATION AND A CITY ATTORNEY ANSWER.
WE'RE NOT GONNA DISCUSS THIS OUT OPEN.
YOU CAN MORE THAN, UH, WELCOME TO FORWARD THOSE QUESTIONS TO THE CITY ATTORNEY AND THEN THEY CAN RESPOND BACK.
AND THEN YOU'RE MORE THAN WELCOME TO, UH, FORWARD IT TO THE YES.
SINCE INSERT YOUR NOTES AND IT SEEMS LIKE YOU'VE ALREADY HAD THOSE QUESTIONS BEFORE THE MEETING.
AND THEN, UH, COUNCILMAN RU, PLEASE.
YEAH, I HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT PRESENTATION.
I HAVE A GREEN, TWO GREEN AND, UH, ONE BLACK.
LIKE THE GRASS, THE, WHEN MY GARDENER MOW THE LAW, I TRIM THE ROSES AND, UH, ALL THE TREE, THIS
[00:20:01]
AND THAT.SO YOU SAY, NOW I CAN PUT THE, OKAY.
CAN I PUT IT A PLASTIC? YOU CAN PUT IT IN A CLEAR PLASTIC BAG.
REALLY? SO, BECAUSE BEFORE IT SAY YOU CANNOT PUT ANYTHING, OTHERWISE I WOULD BE FINE.
AND, UH, BUT NOW THE GREEN, YOU CAN PUT THE PLASTIC WITH THE FULL WASTE.
AND THEN THE BLUE ONE BASICALLY WILL BE ALL RECYCLED.
THE BOTTLE, THE THE CARDBOARD PLASTIC METAL CARDBOARD.
PLASTIC, EMPTY, CLEAN PLASTIC BOTTLES AND CLEAN BEFORE I PUT IT, BLACK WINE, THE TRASH.
SO WHAT ELSE IN THE BLACK? THE DOOR POOL.
UH, I WOULD ALSO SAY, UM, YEAH, ANYTHING THAT'S CONTAMINATED, BASICALLY.
UM, BUT YEAH, I HAVE A THREE BIG DOG, SO I COLLECT THE POOL ALL THE TIME.
WELL, THAT, WELL, THAT SUCKER UP I ALWAYS PUT INTO THE BLACK.
YEAH, NOT IN THE GREEN, CORRECT.
I WILL PUT THE STICKER OVER THERE.
OKAY, SO CHICKEN POO AND THIS AND THAT.
SO, SO, SO, AND YOU SAY PALM TREE.
I SAW THE PALM TREE OVER THERE.
SO PALM TREE CANNOT BE IN THE GREEN PALM.
FRON IS A, THAT'S A GREAT EXAMPLE.
AND THAT'S A COMMON MISCONCEPTION.
SO THE, THE PALM TREES, THE FIBERS IN THEM ARE SO THICK THAT THEY DON'T DECOMPOSE AT THE SAME RATE AS ALL THE OTHER ORGANIC MATERIALS.
SO PALM FRONS, ANY PALM CLIPPINGS DO ACTUALLY GO IN YOUR BLACK BARREL.
ANY OTHER SORT OF, I, I HAD MY PALM TREE.
I WANT TO REDUCE TO 60 GALLON
SO ANYWAY, SO BASICALLY, OKAY.
AND, UH, AND SO EVERYTHING THE SAME.
JUST YOU GET, WE GET THE BLUE ONE AND THE BLUE ONE.
NOW WE HAVE TO RECYCLE AND MAKE SURE WE PUT THE PROPER ITEM INTO THE DIFFERENT OF, UH, SO, SO IN THAT WAY, SINCE I GOT A BLUE ONE, OKAY.
SO I CAN REDUCE MY GA MY GALLON, RIGHT? I DON'T NEED TO BE 60 96 GALLON THAT BIG.
YOU MIGHT BE ABLE TO REDUCE YOUR TRASH SIZE.
UM, IF YOU'RE PUTTING A LOT OF THAT WASTE, LIKE THOSE CARDBOARD BOXES, ALUMINUM BOTTLES, ET CETERA, INTO YOUR, INTO YOUR BLUE CONTAINER, AND, UH, YOU, YOU DON'T CHARGE US THE BLUE ONE.
THE BLUE ONE WILL GO WITH OUR, WE APPROVE THE CONTRACT.
EVERY, EVERY RESIDENT IS GETTING THAT ADDITIONAL BLUE CONTAINER, WHETHER THAT'S AT THE, WE ACTUALLY HAVE ALL THREE SIZES HERE IN THE ROOM.
THE 96, THE 64, I HAVE THE SMALLEST ONE HERE BEHIND ME.
EVERY RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMER IS 32.
SO, BUT WE WOULD GET BIGGER, RIGHT? WE SHOULD GET THE 90.
IF YOU, IF YOU HAVE, IT'LL BE BASED ON YOUR TRASH SERVICE.
SO IF YOU HAVE THE, THE LARGE ONE FOR TRASH, YOU'LL HAVE ALL THREE LARGE.
IF YOU WANT TO DOWNSIZE TO A SMALLER ONE OF TRASH, YOU'LL GET ALL THREE OF THAT SMALLER SIZE.
WELL, CAN I HAVE A MIXED USE, LIKE A, A BIG ONE, SMALL ONES.
I HAVE A MAYBE BIG GREEN ONE AND A SMALL, LIKE 60 GALLON OR MAYBE EVEN 32 GALLON FOR THE BLACK.
SO YOU'LL, YOUR STANDARD SIZE, YOUR STANDARD SET WILL COME AS THE SAME.
SO ALL THREE IS 32, ALL 360 4, ALL 3 96.
BUT IF YOU HAVE ADDITIONAL CONTAINERS, LIKE YOU MENTIONED, YOU HAVE ADDITIONAL OF THE ORGANICS, THE GREEN WASTE CONTAINERS, YOU CAN GET ANY SIZE YOU WANT.
AND THERE IS A, A SMALL COST ASSOCIATED WITH THE ADDITIONAL.
SO, SO IF I REDUCE TO SMALLER SIZE SO I CAN REDUCE MY MONTHLY PAYMENT MM-HMM
BUT I CANNOT SAY I'M GOING TO REDUCE MY BLACK.
I WANT TO INCREASE MY GREEN BECAUSE I HAVE A LOT OF, UH, CORRECT.
SO EVERYTHING, YOU COULD REDUCE ALL THREE AND THEN GET AN ADDITIONAL LARGER SIZE GREEN IF YOU WANTED TO DO THAT.
OH, SO THE ADDITIONAL ONE IS NOT GOING TO BE BUNDLED BUNDLE IS A 3 1, 2, 3, CORRECT? YEAH.
SO EVERYONE WILL GET THAT STANDARD BUNDLE OR LEVEL OF SERVICE, WHICH IS ONE OF EACH OF THE THREE CONTAINERS.
AND THEN IF YOU WANT TO ADD ADDITIONAL CONTAINERS ON TOP OF THAT, YOU ALWAYS HAVE THAT OPTION.
SO NOW I ONLY NEED IS ABOUT WHAT KIND OF, UH, UH, SEE SOME IS RECYCLABLE, SOME IS NOT.
SOMETHING OR AN EDUCATION, MAYBE YOU SENT TO US PAMPHLET OR SOMETHING MM-HMM
THEN WE CAN KNOW WHAT IS RECYCLABLE, WHAT IS NOT.
BECAUSE SOMETIMES I'M VERY CONFUSED.
WE JUST DUMP EVERYTHING TO THE PLACE.
SO EACH OF YOUR CONTAINERS WILL HAVE SOME BASIC INFORMATION ABOUT WHICH GOES INTO WHICH ONE.
UM, BUT WE'RE ALSO SENDING OUT, I THINK WE'VE ALREADY SENT OUT WITH THE RESIDENTIAL STATEMENTS AND THINGS LIKE THAT, A CHEAT SHEET ON KIND OF, WHICH GOES INTO WHERE WE HAVE SOME OF THEM UP THERE WITH US.
YOU CAN ALWAYS VISIT OUR WEBSITE AS WELL AT ATHENS SERVICES COM.
COULD YOU POST YOUR WEBSITE TO THE CITY SO EVERYBODY CAN GO TO CHECK YOUR WEBSITE? ABSOLUTELY.
I THINK WE NEED SOME TIME TO KIND OF, UH, GET USED TO IT.
AND I THINK THAT WE'RE, WE'RE DEFINITELY ACKNOWLEDGING THE FACT THAT THIS IS A BEHAVIOR CHANGE AND IT WILL TAKE SOME TIME FOR FOLKS TO ADAPT AND TO ADOPT THESE NEW KIND OF BARRELS AND, AND SORTING AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
SO WE'RE, WE'RE DEFINITELY EXPECTING THAT.
AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO DO LOTS OF PUBLIC EDUCATION WHEN IT COMES TO THIS.
AND THE, THE, THE BIG ITEM, TRASH YOU CAN STILL PICK
[00:25:01]
UP FOR FREE, RIGHT? YES.THE BULKY PICKUP, YOU CAN DO ONCE A WEEK IF YOU WANT, BUT YOU JUST NEED TO CALL AT LEAST 24 HOURS IN ADVANCE AND YOU GOTTA GO PICK UP LIKE I OLD BIG PROJECTED TV AND, UM, UP TO CERTAIN SIZE AND WEIGHT LIMITS.
EVERY, EVERY RESIDENT GETS THAT BULKY PICKUP COLLECTION.
YOU JUST HAVE TO CALL WITHIN BEFORE 24 HOURS OF YOUR REGULAR SERVICE DAY.
SO IF YOUR TRASH IS PICKED UP ON A THURSDAY, YOU WOULD NEED TO CALL BY THAT SAME TIME OF DAY ON THE OLD COUCH.
OLD COUCH, THE, THE OLD TABLE.
YOU CAN, WE CAN CALL, YOU CAN JUST PICK IT UP FOR FREE.
THAT WAS A GREAT PRESENTATION.
UM, I THINK THAT WE PROBABLY NEED TO GET EDUCATED AS FAR AS WHAT ARE THE, THE RECYCLABLES, BECAUSE I KNOW THAT IF THEY'RE CONTAMINATED, CAN'T PUT 'EM IN THE RECYCLABLE, RIGHT? THAT'S RIGHT.
SO CONTAMINATION AS FAR AS, CAN YOU GIVE EXAMPLES? YEAH.
LIKE, UH, THERE, I'LL GIVE A, A GOOD EXAMPLE THAT I FIND IN MY HOME IS A PEANUT BUTTER JAR, RIGHT? I MEAN, YOU CAN'T SCRAPE ALL THE PEANUT BUTTER OUT OF THAT JAR.
SO IF YOU CAN GET, YOU KNOW, LET'S SAY 90% OF IT OUT THERE, THEN YOU CAN GO AHEAD AND PUT IT IN A RECYCLE BIN.
BUT IF THERE'S STILL A LOT OF LIKE GUNK AT THE BOTTOM OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, YOU WOULD GO AHEAD AND PUT THAT IN YOUR TRASH.
WHAT YOU CAN DO IS PUT, WHAT'S USUALLY CLEAN IS THE LID, PUT THE, THE CLEAN LID INTO YOUR RECYCLABLES, AND THEN THAT DIRTIER CONTAMINATED, UH, CONTAINER, THE REST OF THE CONTAINER INTO YOUR TRASH.
BUT YEAH, AND YOUR TO-GO CONTAINERS.
SO, SO IT, IT KIND OF DEPENDS A LITTLE BIT ON THAT ONE.
SO IF IT'S FOOD SOILED, LIKE, UH, LIKE A CARDBOARD OR A COMPOSTABLE TAKEOUT CONTAINER, THAT WOULD GO IN THE FOOD WAY, SO THAT'D BE ORGANICS.
BUT IF IT'S STYROFOAM OR A HARD PLASTIC THAT'S DIRTY WITH FOOD AND THINGS LIKE THAT, THEN YOU WOULD WANNA PUT THAT IN THE TRASH.
IT'S GONNA BE VERY INTERESTING.
UM, AND ACTUALLY, I WANTED TO ADD TO THAT.
IT, IT WOULD'VE BEEN HELPFUL TO HAVE A PRESENTATION ON THOSE DETAILS TO SEE WHAT EXACTLY.
'CAUSE I WOULDN'T HAVE THOUGHT PUTTING THE TOP LID, I JUST, YOU KNOW, SO IF, IF MAYBE YOU COULD COME BACK TO GIVE A DETAILED PRESENTATION.
I KNOW THE PHOTOS THAT IS PRESENTED ON, UM, THE SLIDE, THEY'RE BLACK AND WHITE PICTURES VERY SMALL.
IT STILL DOESN'T GIVE, PROVIDE JUSTICE OF EXACTLY WHAT IS REQUIRED.
SO IF THAT, IF YOU COULD COME BACK TO THE COUNCIL AND ACTUALLY GIVE THIS FULL DETAILS OF WHAT YOU SEE, ESPECIALLY SINCE YOU HAD MENTIONED IT'S A BEHAVIOR ISSUE OF TRYING TO LEARN AND EVEN KNOW THESE THINGS THAT WE MAY OR MAY NOT KNOW.
UH, FOR STARTERS, IF YOU COULD ENLARGE ON THE SCREEN THE PICTURE.
SO, SO I, I I COULDN'T RESIST JONATHAN.
AND, AND SO, UH, SO IT, IT'S, I'M, I'M JUST CURIOUS, WOULD, WOULD, UH, A PROPER, UH, SEPARATION OF WASTE, UH, ENTAIL A MULTI-STEP PROCESS? LET'S SAY, FOR EXAMPLE, THERE'S A PLA A BLACK PLASTIC CONTAINER THAT HAS ORGANICS IN IT.
SO WE WOULD TAKE THE ORGANICS, SCRAPE IT OUT AND PUT IT INTO A, A, A CLEAR PLASTIC, AND THEN TAKE THAT PLASTIC AND THROW IT AWAY.
BUT IF IT'S PAPER, WE WOULD, WE WOULD, WE COULD THEN RE RECYCLE THAT.
IS THAT SORT OF AN EXAMPLE OF THAT'S A, THAT'S A GREAT EXAMPLE.
IF IT'S A PAPER PLATE OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, IF THE PLATE IS CLEAN AND DRY, THEN IT CAN ABSOLUTELY GO IN THE RECYCLABLES.
IF IT IS FOOD SOILED ANY SORT OF PAPER FOOD, SOIL PAPER, WE'LL GO AHEAD AND GO IN THOSE, OR IN THAT ORGANIC BIN.
UM, SO FOR INSTANCE, YEAH, LIKE YOU FINISH YOUR, YOU KNOW, TAKEOUT CONTAINER OR A PLATE OF, OF FOOD ON, ON PLASTICWARE OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
IF THE PLATE IS REASONABLY CLEAN AND IT'S PLASTIC OR PAPER, SOME SORT OF RE RECYCLABLE MATERIAL, IT CAN ABSOLUTELY GO IN THE RECYCLING CONTAINER.
UM, IF IT'S FOOD SOILED, UH, THEN IT WOULD GO AND IT'S, AND IT'S PAPER, THEN IT WOULD GO IN THE ORGANICS.
UM, I THINK MY, MY COLLEAGUE LIZ SHARED THIS EXAMPLE AT A, AT A RECENT COUNCIL MEETING, SOMETIMES SHE LIKES TO PUT HER FOOD WASTE, YOU KNOW, FOR THE WEEK OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT IN THE FREEZER, SO IT'S NOT, YOU KNOW, SITTING AT THE BOTTOM OF HER BARREL, OR SHE'LL TAKE IT OUT THE NIGHT BEFORE, SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
SO THERE'S A LOT OF WORKAROUNDS, AND WE CAN FOR SURE PROVIDE SOME, YOU KNOW, BEST PRACTICES AND TIPS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
I JUST WANT TO SAY TOO, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF, A LOT OF THESE EXAMPLES ARE ON OUR RECYCLING CHEAT SHEET, WHICH WE SENT OUT TO ALL OF OUR CUSTOMERS.
WE ALSO HAVE COPIES HERE TONIGHT, AND WE HAVE ACTUALLY A, A PROPRIETARY WEB LINK.
UH, IT LINKS TO ATHENS SERVICES, BUT YOU CAN PUT IN THERE LITERALLY HUNDREDS OF DIFFERENT ITEMS, AND IT'LL TELL YOU WHICH GOES IN, WHAT GOES IN WHICH CONTAINER IT'S CALLED.
CAN I RECYCLE MY, UH, IT'S A LITTLE BIT OF A MOUTHFUL, BUT CAN CANI, THE LETTER I RECYCLE, R-E-C-Y-L-E MY M Y.COM, CAN I RECYCLE MY.COM? AND THAT HAS A LIST OF MANY, MANY ITEMS YOU CAN SEARCH IN THERE FOR A SPECIFIC THING, LIKE, PALM FRANZ IS A GREAT EXAMPLE, AND IT'LL TELL YOU WHICH CONTAINER IT GOES IN.
UM, I KNOW YOU MENTIONED FOOD WASTE AND FOOD SOIL.
I MEAN, THERE'S ALSO DETAILS THAT WHEN YOU THINK OF FOOD WASTE, IS THAT ALL FOOD WASTE? I BELIEVE THAT THERE ARE SOME FOOD WASTE THAT CAN'T GO IN THERE, OR IS THERE, I BELIEVE ALL FOOD WASTE? I THINK, UM, AS, AS, UH, AS WAS MENTIONED BEFORE, ANY SORT OF LIKE DOG, UH, WASTE OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT, THAT OF COURSE GOES IN TRASH, BUT ANY SORT OF EDIBLE HUMAN FOOD WASTE WOULD GO IN THE ORGANICS
[00:30:01]
CONTAINER.WELL, CERTAIN ANIMAL POOP ARE FERTILIZERS, SO I KNOW NOT DOGS, BUT, YOU KNOW, JUST OUT THERE WELCOME TO USE IT AT HOME, BUT WE DON'T, WE DON'T WANT IT IN THE, IN THE ORGANICS CONTAINER, PLEASE.
UM, AND, AND AS FOR THE RECYCLE BINS, I KNOW SOME CONCERNS THAT THE RESIDENTS HAVE IS THAT THERE'S PEOPLE THAT GOES THROUGH THEIR TRASH AND OBVIOUSLY THE CANS, THERE'S, WE DO HAVE RECYCLING LOCATIONS IN WEST COVINA THAT YOU CAN RECYCLE YOUR BOTTLES, YOUR CANS, AND GET MONEY FOR IT.
YOU KNOW, YOU DO PAY 5 CENTS UP FRONT.
SO I ENCOURAGE RESIDENTS TO COLLECT A LITTLE CHANGE IF YOU CAN.
UM, I KNOW, UH, WHEN I RECYCLE, LIKE MILK BOTTLES AND OTHER TYPES OF THAT, THERE'S A FORMULA RIGHT THERE THAT THEY DON'T GIVE YOU MONEY AT THE RECYCLE BIN.
BUT THAT'S A GOOD, UM, PLACE TO PUT IT.
BUT WHAT WOULD YOU SAY TO THE RESIDENTS WITH CONCERNS OF THEM GOING THROUGH THEIR TRASH TO GET ALL THOSE RECYCLE CANS AND YEAH, ABSOLUTELY.
I MEAN, I THINK THE, THE NUMBER ONE THING I WOULD SAY IS, IS PUT YOUR TRASH AT THE, OR YOUR RECYCLING BIN IN THIS, IN THIS CASE, AT THE CURB ON THE DAY OF SERVICE, OF COURSE, BY 6:00 AM OR LATE THE NIGHT BEFORE.
BUT FOR THOSE FOLKS WHO ARE WORRIED ABOUT, YOU KNOW, SOMEONE GETTING INTO IT DURING THAT TIME THAT IT'S OUT AT THE CURB, UNFORTUNATELY, I THINK IT COMES DOWN TO A COURT, A CODE ENFORCEMENT ISSUE.
I KNOW THAT UNFORTUNATELY, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT'S NOT UNIQUE TO THE CITY OF WEST COVINA.
UM, BUT WE UNFORTUNATELY CAN'T, UM, ENFORCE KIND OF PEOPLE GOING, GOING THROUGH THE TRASH.
I JUST WANTED TO KNOW IF THERE WAS CERTAIN THINGS FOR RESIDENTS TO DO WITH THEIR ITEMS THAT IS BEING THROWN IN THERE.
UH, COUNCILMAN GUTIERREZ? YES.
UM, AND THEN WHAT IS THE NEW, UM, SO IF RESIDENTS DON'T FOLLOW THE, UM, THE PROCESS, THEIR FEES WILL GO UP.
AND THEN CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THE NEW, WHAT ATHENS IS DOING TO ADDRESS THAT? AND YOU GUYS HAVE JEEPS GOING AROUND AND CHECKING THE TRASH? YES.
AS PART OF THE SB 1383 PROGRAM.
I'M JUST SCROLLING BACK TO THE SLIDE.
SO YOU CAN SEE THE EXAMPLE HERE, THE CONTAMINATION MONITORING.
YOU'LL SEE WE HAVE THESE, UH, RIGHT HAND SIDE DRIVE JEEPS, KIND OF LIKE, THINK OF IT LIKE A POSTAL TRUCK.
UM, AND THESE ARE OUR, OUR ROUTE AUDITORS.
SO AS PART OF THE SB 1383 STATE MANDATE, WE ARE REQUIRED TO DO A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF WHAT THEY CALL LID FLIPS, UH, ON AN ANNUAL BASIS.
SO THIS IS SOMETHING YOU'LL SEE IN EVERY CITY THAT HAS AN SB 1383 COMPLIANT PROGRAM.
THERE ARE FEES THAT CAN BE ASSOCIATED WITH REPEATED CONTAMINATION.
UM, BUT AS I MENTIONED BEFORE, WE UNDERSTAND THAT THIS IS A PROCESS, THIS IS A NEW BEHAVIOR CHANGE THAT, THAT BOTH RESIDENTS AND COMMERCIAL AND, UH, MULTI-FAMILY CUSTOMERS ARE GOING THROUGH.
SO WE CERTAINLY WILL HAVE A LOT OF GRACE, I THINK, UPFRONT.
UM, BUT YEAH, IT IS THE EXPECTATION AND, AND THE CITY IS OUR PARTNER IN ENFORCING THAT FOLKS ARE, ARE DOING THE RIGHT THING WHEN IT COMES TO SORTING THEIR MATERIALS.
AND THEN DOES, UM, THE FEES, THOSE PENALTY FEES EVENTUALLY, UH, WHEN RESIDENTS, IF RESIDENTS DO GET FINED, DO THOSE PENALTY FEES GO TO THE CITY OR IT GOES TO ATHENS, OR, I AM GONNA ASK LIZ TO, TO PINCH HIT ON THAT ONE.
THERE, THERE'S THE, THE PROCESS, IT WORKS A COUPLE DIFFERENT WAYS.
UM, THE WAY WE HAVE OUR PROCESS SET UP IS IT'S A CONTAMINATION FEE.
SO WHEN WE COLLECT CONTAMINATED LOADS AND WE TAKE 'EM TO THE FACILITIES TO BE PROCESSED, IF THEY ARE CONTAMINATED, WE GET, WE GET ASSESSED A CONTAMINATION FEE.
SO THAT COVERS THE COST OF THE CONTAMINATION FEE.
NOW, UM, EVERY CALENDAR YEAR, THE THE, THE NUMBER OF OCCURRENCES OF CONTAMINATION WILL RESET FOR A CUSTOMER.
SO ON YOUR FIRST AND SECOND OCCURRENCE OF CONTAMINATION, ONCE WE LAUNCH THAT PROGRAM.
SO KEEP IN MIND WE'RE NOT LAUNCHING THAT YET.
WE'RE STILL, WE'RE GONNA DO THAT LATER IN TIME.
BUT AFTER THE SECOND OCCURRENCE, THAT'S WHEN WE WOULD ENTERTAIN A CONTAMINATION CHARGE, YOUR FIRST AND SECOND OCCURRENCE, CUSTOMERS WOULD GET NOTIFIED, UH, VIA PHONE, VIA EMAIL.
THEY WOULD HEAR AND, AND GET SOME SORT OF NOTICE ENCOURAGING PROPER SOURCE SEPARATION.
UM, WHEN IT GETS TO BE HABITUAL AFTER, AFTER THE SECOND TIME, THIRD, FOURTH, FIFTH TIME, THAT'S WHEN WE LOOK AT ASSESSING FEES.
AND WE ACTUALLY WILL ENGAGE CITIES, THE CITY'S CODE ENFORCEMENT.
AND THERE'S ANOTHER MECHANISM FOR ENFORCEMENT THAT'S BUILT INTO THE CITY'S MUNICIPAL CODE THAT WAS REQUIRED BY SENATE BILL 1383 THAT DOES ALLOW CITIES TO ASSESS, UM, PENALTIES.
AND IN THAT CASE, THOSE FEES WOULD GO BACK TO THE CITY FOR THE ADMINISTRATION OF SENATE BILL 1383.
SO IT GETS A LITTLE COMPLICATED.
AGAIN, OUR GOAL IS TO REALLY EDUCATE EVERYBODY TO DO THE RIGHT THING.
AND, AND THAT'S WHY WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, THOSE GRACE PERIODS BUILT IN FOR WHEN WE ACTUALLY DO LAUNCH THE CONTAMINATION MONITORING PROGRAM.
AND THEN AT THE LAST, UH, AT THE LAST MEETING WHEN WE, UH, VOTED ON THIS, UM, I THINK ATHENS COMMITTED TO PUTTING STICKERS ON THE LIDS COLOR, LIKE COLORFUL STICKERS.
SO IT'S EASIER FOR RESIDENTS TO SEE.
SO, SO RIGHT NOW WHAT WE HAVE ON THE LEFT SIDE IS WHAT WE CALL OUR HOT STAMP.
SO THAT'S EMBOSSED INTO THE LIDS.
UM, SO ALL OF YOUR BLUE CONTAINERS WILL HAVE THAT, THAT LABELING
[00:35:01]
OR THAT EMBOSSED IMAGE.UM, THE LAW REQUIRES US TO, UH, TRANSITION OUT YOUR TRASH AND YOUR ORGANICS CONTAINERS OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS.
SO WE'LL BE REPLACING THOSE WITH THE PROPER EMBOSSED LIDS FOR RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS.
UM, AND THEN SAME THING FOR, FOR COMMERCIAL CUSTOMERS, WE'LL BE MAKING SURE THAT EVERYONE HAS THE RIGHT LABELING ON THEIR EQUIPMENT OVER TIME.
SO IT'S A, IT'S A PHASE IN, WE DIDN'T REPLACE ALL THE EQUIPMENT RIGHT UP FRONT 'CAUSE WE WERE TRYING TO MITIGATE COSTS.
SO ATHENS COMMIT THAT THEIR CUSTOMER SERVICE CENTER, THAT IF A RESIDENT CALLS AND SAYS THEY CAN'T SEE SOMETHING, THE ATHENS CUSTOMER SERVICE AGENTS WILL UNDERSTAND THAT, UH, THEY COULD SEND SOMETHING OUT TO THAT RESIDENT.
IF IT'S A LAR A LARGER FORMAT, YES, WE CAN DO THAT.
AND WE ALSO, IF THERE IS ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT WHAT GOES WHERE, WE ALSO HAVE CART TAGS THAT WE'RE WORKING ON DEVELOPING.
SO IF, IF THERE IS CONTAMINATION TAGS WILL BE LEFT ON CARTS AS WELL TO EDUCATE CUSTOMERS, UM, WHAT NEEDS TO GO WHERE.
AND THEN MY LAST QUESTION IS, UH, SO, UH, TOM, I'LL SEND YOU THESE QUESTIONS THEN SO YOU CAN ANSWER LATER ON WHENEVER.
IS THAT FINE OR PRE YOU'RE PRE-PREPARED QUESTIONS YOU WERE ASKING ME EARLIER? YES.
YOU CAN FORWARD 'EM TO ME AND, AND, AND I CAN PROVIDE AN ANSWER FOR YOU.
I JUST HAVE, UH, SAME QUESTION.
UH, THE, I DON'T WANNA PUT ON THE, AGAIN, THE GREEN WASTE.
I THINK PEOPLE ARE VERY CONFUSED AND I'M CONFUSED BIG TIME.
SO CAN I DON'T PUT A PLASTIC BAG OKAY.
AND JUST DUMP INTO THE GREEN? YES, YOU CAN, YOU CAN PUT IT IN THERE LOOSE, BUT WHAT WE RECOMMEND IS PUTTING IT IN A CLEAR PLASTIC BAG.
SO YOU CAN ABSOLUTELY PUT IT, YOU KNOW, LET'S SAY YOU TAKE A BANANA PEEL, YOU PUT, SMELL THE SMELL OF MY GREENS, YOU'RE WALKING INTO YOUR BACKYARD OR DRIVEWAY OR WHATEVER, YOU CAN ABSOLUTELY JUST SET THAT BANANA PEEL RIGHT IN THE GREEN BARREL.
SO, SO BASICALLY RECOMMENDATION WITH A PLASTIC CLEAR PLASTIC BAG'S LEAD CALIFORNIA GOING TO BEND THE PLASTIC BAG.
UH, ONE EXAMPLE THAT I WOULD USE IS, YOU KNOW, IF YOU GO TO, YOU KNOW, SPROUTS OR ANY GROCERY STORE AND YOU GET, AND YOU GET PRODUCE, YOU KNOW, THOSE PRODUCE BAGS, THOSE ARE A GREAT THING TO USE.
IN FACT, A LOT OF THOSE BAGS ARE COMPOSTABLE, COMPOSTABLE THEMSELVES.
UM, THAT'S A, THAT'S A GREAT THING TO DO.
AND THOSE ARE NOT BANNED YET, SO FAR AS I KNOW.
UH, UM, WELL, WE DON'T KNOW BECAUSE MY UNDERSTANDING ALL THE PLASTIC BAG WILL BE BANNED BY THE CALIFORNIA GOVERN GOVERNMENT RIGHT NOW.
SO IN THAT WAY, IF WE DON'T HAVE A PLASTIC BAG, THEN HOW YOU, OKAY.
AND PLUS, PLUS YOU WANT DO THE 30 83 FROM WHAT THE STATE ONE NOW IT IS BANNED THE PLASTIC BAG.
AND THEN WHERE WE USE, CAN WE USE A PAPER BAG? YOU CAN USE A PAPER BAG, LIKE A, LIKE A PAPER SACK YOU WOULD GET AT THE GROCERY STORE.
SO IF WE GET BANNED, WE CANNOT USE THE PLASTIC, WE CAN USE THE PAPER.
SO IN THAT WAY, UH, OR WHAT'S COME TO WORK, JUST DUMP INTO THE GREEN.
I REALLY HATE IT BECAUSE I DON'T WANT RED THE ANIMAL GO INSIDE.
BUT, BUT THE PAPERBACK IS ALLOWABLE.
UH, IS, IS, IS THE AMOUNT OF, OF SAVINGS FROM, UM, OF MATERIALS THAT DON'T GO INTO LANDFILL, IS THAT BEING TRACKED? SO THAT WAY WE'LL KNOW HOW EFFECTIVE WE ARE IN ALL OF THIS SO THAT WE CAN WORK AS A COMMUNITY FOR, FOR TARGETING GOALS FOR INCREASED RECYCLING? YEAH, THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
UH, MAYOR PRO TEM CONTOS, LIKE I MENTIONED, A ATHENS HAS DEVELOPED A, A PROPRIETARY, AND I THINK IT'S BEST IN CLASS.
IN FACT, WE'VE GOTTEN A LOT OF ACCOLADES FROM CAL RECYCLE, WHICH IS THE STATE GOVERNING BODY ON OUR DATA AND REPORTING SYSTEMS. SO WHAT WE DO IS WE COLLECT ALL THAT INFORMATION AND WE GIVE IT TO THE CITY FOR THE CITY'S ANNUAL REPORTING TO CAL RECYCLE.
SO YEAH, WE CAN ABSOLUTELY HELP YOU TRACK, UM, WHETHER IT'S CERTAIN METRICS OR, OR HOW WELL THE PROGRAM'S BEING IMPLEMENTED.
THAT IS ABSOLUTELY SOMETHING WE CAN DO.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? UM, JUST MAKING SURE THAT THE CONTAMINATION MONITORING TRUCKS, UH, HAVE THE CITY OF ATHENS LOGO, RIGHT? JUST OKAY.
AND THEY'LL BE, UH, THE DRIVERS OF THOSE ARE TYPICALLY WEARING AN ATHENS POLO.
THEY'LL HAVE AN ATHENS BADGE, PROBABLY A SAFETY VEST AS WELL.
SO YEAH, THEY'RE, UM, THEY WILL BE, BE VERY VISIBLE AND THEY'LL BE VERY OFFICIAL LOOKING, IF YOU WILL.
UH, SO CLEAR PLASTIC BAGS, BROWN BAGS.
UM, DO YOU GUYS LIKE PROVIDE THESE BAGS FOR THE RESIDENTS OR THEY JUST HAVE TO GO PURCHASE? OR CAN THEY JUST, THEY'RE A PLACE TO GET, OR AND DO YOU HAVE ANY OF THAT? MY RECOMMENDATION IS, IS WHEN YOU DO YOUR GROCERY SHOPPING THAT YOU JUST, YOU KNOW, GRAB ONE OF THOSE BAGS OR PUT YOUR PRODUCE IN IT, AND THEN USE THAT SAME BAG TO, TO PUT YOUR FOOD SCRAPS IN WHEN YOU, WHEN YOU THROW IT OUT, IT DOES, IT DOESN'T MEAN TO START AND SEND THE PULLING UP AND GRABBING IT ALL.
THEY'RE JUST LETTING THE RESIDENT, YOU CAN USE THE SAME BAG, YOU CAN REUSE THAT BAG, IN FACT.
WHICH RE I MEAN, WE'RE RECYCLING, SO WE'RE RECYCLING EVERYTHING THAT WE TOUCH
[00:40:01]
OUT THERE TO JUST DON'T TIE IT UP.I KNOW WHEN PEOPLE GET THEIR GROCERIES WITH THEIR PRODUCE, SOMETIMES THEY TIE IT UP AND THEY RIP THE BAG.
SO JUST TIE IT UP OR, UH, DON'T TIE IT UP.
ROLL IT UP SO THAT YOU CAN USE THOSE BAGS.
UH, COUNCILMAN WU? NO, NO, I JUST SAY IF THE PLASTIC FOR THE OKAY.
SUPERMARKET, THEY CHARGE YOU 10 CENT A BAG, SO YOU HAVE TO DO THE RECYCLED BAG ALL THE TIME.
NOT FOR THE PRODUCE ONES THAT I KNOW PRODUCE THE PLASTIC.
YEAH, WE KNOW IT GOES GROCERY SHOPPING.
I'M GOING TO GO THERE TO STEAL A LOT.
SO
BUT YEAH, JUST TO REFRESH OUR MEMORIES OF EXACTLY WHAT GOES WHERE, UM, TO HAVE A VISUAL OF LIKE ALL THE EXAMPLES THAT WE NORMALLY UTILIZE WOULD BE HELPFUL FOR THE COMMUNITY.
UM, BUT THANK YOU AGAIN FOR COMING OUT AND LETTING THEM KNOW.
AND IF YOU GUYS, IF ANYBODY HERE HAS QUESTIONS, THEY ARE UP THERE THAT ARE HERE, YOU CAN ASK FURTHER QUESTIONS.
AND THEY HAVE EXAMPLES THERE ON THE TABLE.
AND I, I AM SURE THAT FOR ALL OUR EVENTS THAT YOU WILL BE THERE TO, UM, TEACH ALL THE RESIDENTS OUT THERE AND GET THAT GOING.
LET SEE, I HAVE A WHOLE CALENDAR HERE.
WE WE'RE GONNA BE AT A LOT OF CITY, UH, AND COMMUNITY FUNCTIONS IN THE NEXT COUPLE MONTHS, SO LOOK OUT FOR US THERE.
[CITY MANAGER'S REPORT]
UH, GOING ON TO THE CITY MANAGER MANAGER'S REPORT, UH, WHICH WILL BE GIVEN BY ACTING CITY MANAGER MILAN.UM, ON JANUARY 16TH, UM, DURING INSPECTION OF THE COURTHOUSE PARKING LOT SINKHOLE THAT FORMED IN DECEMBER 20 DECEMBER, 2025, IT WAS DISCOVERED THAT A, THE CAUSE OF THE SINKHOLE WAS DUE TO DAMAGED DRAIN PIPE, WHICH CAUSED EROSION OF THE SOIL SURROUNDING IT.
STAFF IMMEDIATELY EXCAVATED THE AREA AND REPLACED THE DAMAGED PIPE AND SOIL, AND THEN LAID ASPHALT TO COMPLETE THE REPAIRS.
ENSURE THAT THIS TYPE OF HAZARD WILL NOT REOCCUR.
CITY STAFF ALSO REPLACED THE BUS SHELTER ON AZUSA AND A VINE, UH, DUE TO DAMAGES, UH, ROAD REPAIRS WERE COMPLETED BY STREET REPAIRS CREW ON CORTEZ TO ELIMINATE, UH, POTHOLE HAZARDS.
UM, AT THE LAST, UM, COUNCIL MEETING, I KNOW MR. GRGICH, I MENTIONED THAT WE WERE GONNA BE, IN ADDITION TO THE COMMUNITY MEETINGS, WE WERE GONNA BE DOING SOMETHING A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT, UH, THIS YEAR TO BE MORE TRANSPARENT AND WORK BETTER WITH THE COMMUNITY AS WE WORK OUR WAY THROUGH THE BUDGET PROCESS.
SO THIS YEAR WHAT WE'RE GONNA INTRODUCE IS MICRO BUDGET WORKSHOPS.
AND WHAT WE'RE GONNA DO, UH, WE'RE CLOSED ON FRIDAYS AT CITY HALL HERE, BUT WE ARE GONNA HAVE, EVERY FRIDAY IN MARCH, WE'RE GONNA HAVE A MORNING SESSION AND AFTERNOON SESSION.
WE'LL ALSO PRO PROBABLY HAVE A NIGHT SESSION WHERE WE WILL, RESIDENTS WILL BECOME ABLE TO COME TO MEET WITH US IN GROUPS OF SAY, FOUR TO SIX AND SIT DOWN WITH THE CITY MANAGER, THE FINANCE DIRECTOR, AND WE'LL SPEND ANYWHERE FROM TWO TO FOUR HOURS GOING THROUGH THE BUDGET AND ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE.
UM, REGARDING THE BUDGET, THE PROCESS, UH, THE DIFFERENT FUNDING SOURCES, AND THOSE QUESTIONS THAT, UH, COME UP THROUGHOUT THE YEAR AT OUR, OUR MEETINGS.
UM, THAT WAY, WHILE OUR COMMUNITY MEETINGS ARE BROAD BASED, THEY COVER A, A VARIETY OF TOPICS.
THIS WILL GIVE US AN OPPORTUNITY TO SIT DOWN WITH RESIDENTS AND DRILL DOWN ON THEIR SPECIFIC CONCERNS WITHIN THE BUDGET, THE DIFFERENT FUNDING SOURCES, DIFFERENT ACTIVITIES, UH, AND FUNCTIONS OF CITY GOVERNMENT.
SO WITH THAT, UM, THE, UH, EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT, THE CITY MANAGER, DIANA COMPOST, WE'LL BE, UM, SETTING UP AND TAKING RESERVATIONS TO COME, UM, SIT WITH STAFF AND GO THROUGH THE BUDGET.
THIS WILL TAKE PLACE, UM, EVERY FRIDAY IN MARCH, AND WE'LL HAVE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION OUR NEXT MEETING.
BUT I WANNA LET YOU KNOW THAT, UM, IN ADDITION TO THE COMMUNITY WORKSHOPS, WE ARE EXPANDING AND WE'LL GET MORE INFORMATION OUT TO THE COMMUNITY, UH, BEFORE ADOPTING, COMING BACK WITH A PROPOSED BUDGET FOR THE COUNCIL TO ADOPT.
UM, ADDITIONALLY, FOR MEMBERS, RESIDENTS THAT HAVE SERVED ON THE AUDIT COMMITTEE, WE'RE GONNA BE REACHING OUT TO YOU, UM, TOMORROW.
AND WE'RE LOOKING TO SET UP A MEETING NEXT WEEK TO SIT DOWN AGAIN WITH THE FINANCE DIRECTOR, THE CITY MANAGER.
UM, BOTH BRING ME UP TO SPEED, OUR CURRENT FINANCE DIRECTOR UP TO SPEED.
NOT ONLY WHAT'S HAPPENED WITHIN THE LAST YEAR, BUT THE PAST FEW YEARS.
ADDRESS THOSE CONCERNS, UH, LOOK TO MOVE FORWARD, BE MORE PRODUCTIVE IN OUR MEETINGS AND OUR TRANSPARENCY.
AND THEN IN THE FEBRUARY 3RD MEETING, UH, THE CITY COUNCIL WILL BE APPOINTING THE, THE AUDIT COMMITTEE, UM, TO MOVE FORWARD.
BUT I WANTED TO GET SOME BACKGROUND ON, UH, THE MEETINGS I'VE HAD IN, YOU KNOW, THE LAST YEAR, THE PREVIOUS YEARS, AND THE CONCERNS OF THE COMMITTEE.
AND JUST GET YOUR FEEDBACK AGAIN, UH, TO BETTER EDUCATE CURRENT STAFF.
UH, 'CAUSE MEMBERS OF THE AUDIT COMMITTEE HAVE A LOT OF HISTORICAL KNOWLEDGE, KNOWLEDGE AND HAVE BEEN HERE FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS IN THIS COMMUNITY.
AND I'M ANXIOUS TO HEAR WHAT THEY HAVE TO SAY ABOUT OUR BUDGET PROCESS, NOT JUST LAST YEAR, BUT PREVIOUS YEARS.
UM, SO MOVING FORWARD, WE CAN DO THINGS, UM, BETTER FOR THIS COMMUNITY.
[00:45:01]
YES, PLEASE.I KNOW THIS IS, UM, SOMETHING THAT I DISCUSSED WITH THE CITY MANAGER AND OUR FINANCE DIRECTOR.
I UNDERSTAND THAT WE DON'T HAVE, WE HAVEN'T HAD THE AUDIT COMMITTEE MEETINGS, AND I WANTED TO MAKE SURE, UM, THAT WE, YOUR VOICE, THOSE WHO SERVED ON THE AUDIT COMMITTEE UNTIL THIS COMES BEFORE US AT OUR NEXT COUNCIL MEETING, THAT YOU ARE ABLE TO GIVE YOUR INPUT PRIOR TO THE BUDGET.
SO IN THIS CASE, UM, PRIOR TO THE NEXT COUNCIL MEETING, UH, THE FINANCE DIRECTOR IS MORE THAN WILLING TO MEET WITH, UH, THE FORMER AUDIT COMMITTEE AS RESIDENTS, UM, AND ANYBODY ELSE WHO'D LIKE TO JOIN, JUST TO PUT THAT UNTIL WE PUT THIS INTO PLACE AT OUR NEXT COUNCIL MEETING TO MAKE IT OFFICIAL OF THE AUDIT COMMITTEE MEMBERS.
UM, THE 2026 HOMELESS COUNT IS SCHEDULED FOR WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21ST AT THE CAMERON COMMUNITY CENTER, UH, 1305 EAST CAMERON.
IT'S SCHEDULED FROM 8:00 PM TO MIDNIGHT.
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES ARE AVAILABLE.
ANYBODY INTERESTED IN VOLUNTEERING CAN SEND THE THE QR CODE ON THE SCREEN, OR EMAIL OUR COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DIVISION AT CED@WESTCOVINA.ORG, UH, WITH YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION TO SIGN UP AND TO GET INVOLVED.
UM, WEST COVINA FIRE EXPLORER TRYOUTS SATURDAY, JANUARY 24TH, UH, FROM NINE TO 12.
LOCATION WILL BE AT FIRE STATION NUMBER TWO.
AND THIS IS FOR CANDIDATES WHO'VE ALREADY, UH, SUBMITTED AN APPLICATION ON MONDAY, JANUARY 5TH, THE CORTES COMMUNITY AND SENIOR CENTER CELEBRATED THE START OF THE 2026 START OF 2026 WITH A TOAST.
OVER 200 SENIORS PARTICIPATED IN GROOVE TO DJ RUDY, AND A DELICIOUS MEAL PREPARED BY CHEFS HOLLY AND THERESA.
UH, JOIN US FOR OUR NEXT VALENTINE'S DAY CELEBRATION ON FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13TH.
UH, CONTACT CORTEZ, UH, COMMUNITY AND SENIOR CENTER AT 6 2 6 3 3 1 5 3 6 6 FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON HOW TO GET INVOLVED, UM, TO ADDRESS, UH, THE INCREASED VOLUME OF PUBLIC RECORDS, REQUESTS AND DOCUMENT PROCESSING.
THE CITY CLERK'S OFFICE WILL TEMPORARILY CLOSE TO THE PUBLIC AT 2:00 PM ON TUESDAYS AND WEDNESDAYS.
UH, WE APPRECIATE THE PUBLIC'S UNDERSTANDING AND COOPERATION.
ON MONDAY, JANUARY 19TH, THE SAINT VALLEY NAACP HOSTED THE 27TH ANNUAL SAN GABRIEL VALLEY TRIBUTE TO MARTIN LUTHER KING DAY, HONORING THE LEGACY OF DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.
THIS YEAR'S THEME WAS THE FIERCE URGENCY OF NOW EVENT FEATURED GUEST SPEAKERS, ENTERTAINMENT BOOTHS, AND FOOD AN MOU BETWEEN THE CITY AND WEST COVINA AND THE SAN GABRIEL VALLEY NAAC WAS ENTERED INTO, INTO, FOR THIS EVENT, CITY OF WEST COVINA.
THANKS THE SAN GABRIEL VALLEY NAACP FOR ITS PARTNERSHIP.
COUPLES CONNECT A WORKSHOP FOR COUPLES, UH, RECONNECT, COMMUNICATE AND STRENGTHEN YOUR RELATIONSHIP.
AT COUPLES CONNECT, A FREE AND ENGAGING WORKSHOP DESIGNED TO HELP COUPLES BUILD HEALTHIER AND MORE FULFILLING PARTNERSHIPS.
UH, JOIN MAYOR LED LOPEZ VITO AND RELATIONSHIP COACH KELLY DPU FOR A DYNAMIC EVENING FOCUSED ON OVERCOMING COMMON RELATIONSHIP CHALLENGES AND LEARNING PRACTICAL TOOLS YOU CAN USE IMMEDIATELY.
WHETHER YOU ARE NEWLYWEDS OR HAVE BEEN TOGETHER FOR DECADES.
UH, THIS PAST WEEKEND, THE WEST COVINA POLICE EXPLORER POST 4 9 9 COMPETED AT THE TAC COMP IN CHANDLER, ARIZONA.
EIGHT EXPLORERS REPRESENTED OUR DEPARTMENT AND COMPETED IN SEVERAL EVENTS AT AGAINST POLICE EXPLORER POSTS ACROSS THE NATION.
AND WE'RE PROUD TO ANNOUNCE THAT THE, OUR EXPLORERS RECEIVED THE FOLLOWING AWARDS, FIRST PLACE IN THE HIGH RISK, UH, STOP CATEGORY AND THIRD PLACE IN, UH, FOR THE CRISIS NEGOTIATION TEAM.
I'D LIKE TO CONGRATULATE ALL THE EXPLORERS WHO PARTICIPATED IN THIS EVENT INSTEAD OF SINCERE THANK YOU TO OUR ADVISORS AND DEPARTMENT MEMBERS WHO HAVE ASSISTED IN THEIR DEVELOPMENT AND TRAINING.
THEIR HARD WORK, DEDICATION, AND PROFESSIONALISM WERE CLEARLY DEMONSTRATED THROUGHOUT THE COMPETITION.
WE ARE EXTREMELY PROUD OF THEIR ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND THE WAY THEY REPRESENTED THE WEST COVINA POLICE DEPARTMENTS UPCOMING EVENTS.
HOMELESS COUNT AGAIN WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21ST AT THE CAMERON PARK COMMUNITY CENTER.
COUPLES CONNECT THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 12TH.
CORTEZ COMMUNITY AND SENIOR CENTER.
UM, MARTIN LUTHER KING TRIBUTE WAS ON AGAIN ON THE 19TH OF THIS WEEK.
AND THAT CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION FOR TONIGHT.
UH, WHEN I SEE THE WITH COVID PD EXPLORED, I WENT TO ARIZONA AND, UH, AND HAVE A TRAINING.
AND I WANT TO THANK CAWC, UH, CHINESE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION.
DONATE THE 50, $15,000 FOR THEIR FUND.
BECAUSE THE TIME THEY DON'T HAVE THE FUND.
AND THEN I WANT TO THANK THEM.
AND YOU CAN SEE OUR FUTURE POLICE OFFICER AND BEING TRAINED.
AND, UH, COMPETITION COMPETE IN ARIZONA, TRAINING GROUND.
I THINK THIS IS OUR FUTURES AND WE NEED TO CONTINUE TO SUPPORT OKAY.
AND, UH, THE, THE YOUNG EXPLORER FOR OUR FUTURE.
THE SECOND THING I WANT TO MENTION IS ABOUT WHEN I WALK INTO CLOSED SESSION.
AND, UH, ERIC, NOW I'M TALKING ABOUT CLOSED SESSION.
[00:50:01]
NO, NO.LISA, LOOK AT ME LIKE, OH, WHAT DO YOU WANNA SAY? NO, NO, NO.
IT'S NOT GONNA BE, I'M TALKING ABOUT ERIC.
TALKING ABOUT A VERY GOOD NEWS.
I JUST WANT TO CONFIRM WITH OUR CITY MANAGER AND THE HOME GOOD IS COMING TO EASTLAND MORE AND THEY'RE GOING TO OPEN IT UP AND THEY'RE GONNA HIRE MORE THAN 75 EMPLOYEE IN WEST COVINA.
AND THEY DON'T WANT TO DO A JOB FAIR IN THE, UH, OUR SENIOR CENTER.
SO MAYBE CITY MANAGER CAN GET A CONFIRMATION ON THAT BECAUSE IT'S SUCH A GREAT NEWS.
PLUS WE'RE GONNA HIRE OUR RESIDENTS.
SO MAYBE YOU CAN SAY SOMETHING ABOUT THAT.
UM, THAT NEWS CAME RIGHT BEFORE OUR, OUR MEETING TONIGHT.
SO I WILL FOLLOW UP WITH HOMEGOODS TOMORROW, UH, CONFIRM THOSE DETAILS AND PUT IT OUT TO THE COMMUNITY AND ALSO INCLUDE IT IN MY NEXT CITY MANAGER'S REPORT.
UM, WELL, BEFORE MOVING TO ORAL COMMUNICATION, WE'D LIKE TO ADJOURN.
UM, AND THEN FOR THE AUDIT COMMITTEE, UM, WAS THERE NEW APPLICANTS WHO APPLIED? WE DO HAVE APPLICATIONS, YES, WE DO HAVE APPLICATIONS.
UM, YOU, YOU, YOU'LL BE SENDING THAT TO US? YES, WE WILL.
AND THEN, UM, WHEN IT SAYS FORM, UM, YOU MENTIONED FORMER, ARE, WAS THERE A NEW REPLACEMENT FOR THEM ALREADY OR NO, THEY'RE NOT CURRENTLY AN ACTIVE.
THAT'S WHY THEY COULDN'T MEET.
THEIR TERM EXPIRED, SO THEY'RE NO LONGER, WE DON'T HAVE TO GO TECHNICAL THAT ALL THAT STUFF IS GONNA GO, BRING, BRING FORTH TO US.
AND THEN, UH, THE LAST THING IS, DO WE KNOW WHEN, UM, SINCE WE'RE DOING, UH, UPDATE, DO WE KNOW WHEN THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT, UH, UH, UPDATE WILL BE BROUGHT TO THE CONSOLE? UM, I CAN BRING THAT NEXT MEETING.
AS I WAS SAYING, UM, BEFORE WE WERE MOVING ON TO ORAL COMMUNICATION, UH, WE'D LIKE TO ADJOURN THIS MEETING IN REMEMBRANCE OF RUDOLFO RODRIGUEZ, KNOWN AS RUDY, WHO SERVED THE CITY OF WEST COVINA WITH DEDICATION AND PRIDE FOR 14 YEARS.
SINCE 2012, RUDY WORKED AS A RECREATION LEADER AT THE CAMERON COMMUNITY CENTER ON THE NIGHT SHIFT, WHERE HIS BEHIND THE SCENES EFFORT ENSURE THE FACILITY WAS CLEAN, WELL MAINTAINED, AND WELCOMING TO THE COMMUNITY.
RUDY WAS KNOWN FOR HIS STRONG WORK ETHIC, HIS WILLINGNESS TO REPAIR AND MAINTAIN THE FACILITY, AND HIS HABIT OF ALWAYS CHECKING IN TO SEE HOW ELSE HE COULD HELP.
HE IS AWESOME, AND HE'S THERE LATE AT NIGHTS, ALWAYS WILLING TO HELP WITH A SMILE.
SO WE EXTEND OUR HEARTFUL GRATITUDE FOR HIS YEAR OF SERVICE AND DEDICATION TO THE CITY OF WEST COVINA.
SO IF YOU COULD JUST HAVE A MOMENT OF SILENCE BEFORE WE MOVE ON.
[ORAL COMMUNICATIONS ]
MOVE ON TO ORAL COMMUNICATIONS.SO, UM, AGAIN, COMMENTS ARE LIMITED TO THREE MINUTES PER SPEAKER, UNLESS MODIFIED BY THE PRESIDING OFFICER TO THE CITY COUNCIL.
REQUEST TO SPEAK ON AGENDA ITEMS WILL BE HEARD PRIOR TO REQUEST TO SPEAK ON NON AGENDA ITEMS. UM, AGAIN, MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC MAY NOT ENGAGE IN BEHAVIOR THAT IS DISRUPT DISRUPTIVE TO THE ORDERLY CONDUCT OF THE MEETING, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO SPEAKING OFF TOPIC, SPEAKING BEYOND THE SPEAKER'S, A LOT OF TIME LIMIT MAKING SLANDEROUS OR PROFANE REMARKS OR USING LOUD THREATENING OR ABUSIVE LANGUAGE, WHICH DISRUPTS DISTURBS, IMPEDES OR RENDERS INFEASIBLE THE ORDERLY CONDUCT OF THE MEETING.
MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC MAY NOT THREATEN ANY PERSON WITH PHYSICAL HARM OR ACT IN A MANNER THAT MAY REASONABLY BE INTERPRETED AS AN IMMINENT THREAT OF PHYSICAL HARM.
WHEN YOUR NAME IS BEING CALLED, YOU MAY SIT IN THE FRONT, UH, RO RESONATED FOR DESIGNATED FOR PUBLIC SPEAKERS, AND THE TIMER WILL START WHEN YOUR NAME IS CALLED ASSISTANT CITY CLERK.
HOW MANY SPEAKERS DO WE HAVE TONIGHT? GOOD EVENING, MAYOR.
OUR FIRST SPEAKER IS JOHN SHOEMAKER, FOLLOWED BY JIM GRITCH, FOLLOWED BY JOSH MURRAY.
I, I FOUND BECAUSE OF THE BRIGHT LIGHTS, I NEEDED SOMETHING, UH, TO, UH, PROTECT MYSELF.
BY THE WAY, I HAVE EXTRAS IF ANYBODY WOULD LIKE ONE TO PROTECT THEMSELVES.
UH, SPEAKING OF THAT, UH, I NEVER GOT A REPLY BACK ON THE ACCOMMODATION AND I'LL REQUESTED, YOU KNOW, WHICH WAS, UH, IN SOME CASES I MIGHT NEED MORE TIME, DEPENDING ON WHAT THE LIGHT'S INTERFERING WITH MY ABILITY TO SPEAK AND THINGS LIKE THAT, UH, A LITTLE BIT MORE TIME WOULD BE BENEFICIAL.
THE COMMENT I WANTED TO MAKE TONIGHT WAS ABOUT APPOINTMENT TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION.
[00:55:03]
THIS INDIVIDUAL IS COMPLETELY DEVOID OF ANY KNOWLEDGE OF THE ISSUES OF THE CITY OF WEST COVINA.ALSO, AN INABILITY OR DESIRE TO LEAD.
AN EXAMPLE IS THE RECALL WHEN HE STATED HE WAS NOT FAMILIAR WITH THE ISSUES TO REMOVE TONY WU, BUT HE'D RUN AGAINST HIM A YEAR OR TWO BEFORE.
SO WHY ARE YOU RUNNING IF YOU'RE NOT FAMILIAR WITH THE ISSUES? YOU KNOW, AND AS I TALKED TO OTHER PEOPLE, THEY'VE SAID, YOU KNOW, THE PERSON HAS MADE, UH, CO COMMENTS, UH, YOU KNOW, ON FORUM AND WAS ASKED A QUESTION, AND HE WAS TOLD HE'D GET BACK.
AND AS A PERSON TOLD ME IT WAS WEEKS AGO, I GUESS HE'S STILL LOOKING INTO IT, YOU KNOW, FROM THAT, UH, STANDPOINT.
SO, HOPEFULLY, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT'S, UH, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THOSE THINGS THAT, UH, WE, WE CAN IMPROVE UPON, YOU KNOW, GET PEOPLE WHO ACTUALLY CARE ABOUT THE CITY AND PAY ATTENTION TO IT, AND, UH, DO WHAT'S UH, NEEDED.
AND THAT'S MY ONLY COMMENT FOR TONIGHT.
SO I, I GUESS I REALLY DON'T NEED ANY MORE TIME, BUT THANK YOU.
IF ANYBODY WANTS ONE, JUST LET ME KNOW.
JIM GRITCH, FOLLOWED BY JOSH MURRAY, FOLLOWED BY ERIC PINAL.
IT, UH, JIM VIC, I APPRECIATE THE COMMENTS THE CITY MANAGER MADE AND, AND THE MAYOR ABOUT TRYING TO RESPOND TO MY LAST MEETING, UH, RELATIVE TO THE AUDIT COMMITTEE.
UNFORTUNATELY, YOU DIDN'T RESPOND TO THE ISSUE I'M GONNA TALK ABOUT TONIGHT, WHICH IS, AND YES, CALL ME PARANOID, BUT IN YOUR ITEM NUMBER TWO ON YOUR AGENDA TONIGHT, UH, WHILE IT SAYS IT'S ABOUT REAPPOINTMENT OF, UH, COUNCIL MEMBERS TO COMMITTEES IN THE, UH, EXHIBIT A THAT'S ATTACHED TO THE RESOLUTION, TALKING ABOUT THE AUDIT COMMITTEE SPECIFICALLY, UH, WHILE IT MENTIONS THE TWO COUNCILMEN THAT ARE GONNA BE REAPPOINTED, IT ALSO STATES THAT THE AUDIT COMMITTEE ONLY MEETS ONCE A YEAR.
AND THE REASON I'M PASSED OUT THIS, UH, RESOLUTION TO YOU ALL IS BECAUSE WHEN THE CITY COUNCIL ADOPTED THIS RESOLUTION FOUR YEARS AGO, IT'S VERY SPECIFIC THAT IT SAYS THE AUDIT COMMITTEE WILL MEET AT LEAST QUARTERLY.
UH, AND I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY IN THE RESOLUTION THAT'S BEFORE YOU TONIGHT, THAT THAT WAS CHANGED TO ONCE A YEAR.
UH, THERE'S NO MENTION OF IT IN THE STAFF REPORT.
UH, AND THE SUBJECT IN THE THING WAS ABOUT REAPPOINTMENT OF COUNCIL MEMBERS.
SO WHY WOULD THE CITY CHOOSE TO USE THIS DEVICE TO CHANGE THE FREQUENCY OF MEETINGS? YES, I'M PARANOID I, SOMEBODY'S OUT THERE TO GET THE AUDIT COMMITTEE.
AND I AM JUST, I WOULD LIKE TO ASK THAT THE COUNCIL AMEND THIS ACTION TO CHANGE THE LANGUAGE, UH, TO QUARTERLY INSTEAD OF ONCE A YEAR.
THAT'S REALLY ALL I'M ASKING FOR.
OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS JOSH MURRAY, FOLLOWED BY ERIC PINAL, FOLLOWED BY DOUG FOUR.
HI, UH, GOOD EVENING MAYOR, MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL.
MY NAME IS JOSH MURRAY, AND I AM HERE ON BEHALF OF WEST COVINA LIBRARY.
I WOULD LIKE TO LET THE PARENTS OF FIRST THROUGH SIXTH GRADE STUDENTS KNOW THAT TODAY WAS OUR FIRST DAY OF OUR FREE AFTERSCHOOL STAR TUTORING PROGRAM, WHICH RUNS THROUGH MAY 21ST.
STAR TUTORING IS A SMALL GROUP IN-PERSON TUTORING PROGRAM HELD AT SELECT LA COUNTY LIBRARY LOCATIONS, INCLUDING WEST COVINA, DESIGNED TO HELP STUDENTS IMPROVE THEIR READING OR MATH SKILLS.
TUTORING SERVICES ARE OPEN TO STUDENTS WHO ARE ENROLLED IN GRADES ONE THROUGH SIX, AND ANYONE INTERESTED SHOULD VISIT OUR WEBSITE, LA COUNTY LIBRARY.ORG/STAR TUTORING TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE PROGRAM AND TO FILL OUT THE ONLINE INTEREST FORM.
AND I THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME.
NEXT SPEAKER, ERIC PINAL, FOLLOWED BY DOUG FOUR, FOLLOWED BY RAY VINCENT VARGAS, JR.
MY NAME IS ERIC PINNELL AND I'M HERE.
UM, I'M A 29 YEAR RESIDENT OF THIS NEIGHBORHOOD.
I'M HERE TONIGHT TO FORMALLY REQUEST INFORMATION, UM, TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY REGARDING THE PROPOSED DEL NORTE DEVELOPMENT.
UM, I'M ASKING THE CITY TO CLEARLY IDENTIFY WHICH DEPARTMENT OVERSEES THIS PROJECT.
WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR REVIEWING THE DEVELOPER'S PROTOCOL, AND WHAT SPECIFIC STEPS ARE REQUIRED TO ENSURE PROPER PUBLIC NOTIFICATION AND COMPLIANCE WITH CITY STANDARDS? AT THE LAST PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING I ATTENDED, THE DEVELOPER STATED THAT THE PRINTER THAT THEY HAD SENT OUT FLYERS, THERE WAS AN ERROR WITH THEM.
AND THAT PREVENTED NOTICES FROM BEING SENT TO ALL THE RESIDENTS WITHIN THE REQUIRED 500 FEET, UH,
[01:00:01]
PERIMETER RADIUS, UH, FEWER THAN, UM, 30 RESIDENTS ATTENDED THE VERY FIRST MEETING THAT WAS CONDUCTED AT DEL NORTE.UM, THE DEVELOPER LATER STATED THAT AN ERROR WAS CORRECTED, BUT THEY DID NOT CLARIFY WHEN THE CORRECTION OCCURRED, HOW IT WAS CORRECTED, OR WHICH ADDRESSES ACTUALLY RECEIVED NOTICE.
I HAVE PERSONALLY SPOKEN TO DOZENS OF NEIGHBORS WITHIN A HUNDRED FEET OF THE 500 FEET WHO STATE THAT THEY NEVER RECEIVED A FLYER.
THEREFORE, I'M REQUESTING VERIFIED LIST OF ALL THE ADDRESSES WITHIN THAT 500 FOOT NOTIFICATION RADIUS AND CONFIRMATION OF WHEN AND HOW THE NOTICE WAS PROVIDED.
SECOND, THE PROJECT ITSELF HAS CHANGED SIGNIFICANTLY SINCE IN THE ORIGINAL DRAFT AND DRAWING THE ORIGINAL PLAN DID NOT INCLUDE ENTRANCES TO THE CITY PARK, YET THE ACCESS HAS NOW BEEN ADDED.
I'M STRONGLY OPPOSED TO THIS CHANGE.
THE REQUEST IS SIMPLE AND REASONABLE.
THIS DEVELOPMENT SHOULDN'T EXCEED A HUNDRED UNITS THAT IT PROVIDE ITS OWN AMEN.
AMENITIES, INCLUDING DOG PARKS, A DOG PARK SPACE, RECREATIONAL AREAS, AND GATHERING SPACE LIKE PICNIC GAZEBOS THAT OUR EXISTING CITY PARK REMAINED FOR.
THE COMMUNITY USE, NOT BECOME AN EXTENSION OF THE PRIVATE.
THE DEVELOPER RIGHT NOW IS INCLUDING A LARGE PRIVATE POOL AT THE CENTER OF THEIR COMMUNITY, ACCESSIBLE ONLY TO THE HOA MEMBERS.
MEANWHILE, THEY WANT ACCESS TO THE PUBLIC PARK, THE TENNIS COURTS, THE DOG PARK, LITTLE LEAGUE COURTS.
UH, THIS CREATES AN IMBALANCE WHERE THE NEIGHBORHOOD, UH, BEARS THE IMPACT WHILE THE BENEFITS REMAIN TO THE PRIVATE OWNERS OF THOSE HOMES.
THIS PROJECT IS ALSO CON INCONSISTENT WITH OTHER DEVELOPMENTS IN WEST COVINA WHOSE PROJECTS ARE LOCATED ON MAIN STREETS LIKE THE CAMERON DEVELOPMENT, OR THE ONE ON VINCENT.
THOSE SIT ON MAJOR TRAFFIC FLOW STREETS.
THIS DEVELOPMENT IS NOT, IT'S BEING SQUEEZED INTO A QUIET RESIDENTIAL NEIGHBORHOOD WITH A SMALL PARK, LITTLE TENNIS COURT, DOG PARK, LITTLE LEAGUE SPACE THAT WAS DEFINING OUR COMMUNITY AND IS BEING DISRUPTED.
I'M NOT OPPOSED TO DEVELOPMENT.
I'M JUST OPPOSED TO AN APPROPRIATE DEVELOPMENT THAT DISREGARDS PROCESS, TRANSPARENCY AND NEIGHBORHOOD CHARACTER.
I RESPECTFULLY ACCESS CITY COUNCIL TO ENSURE PROPER NOTIFICATION, REQUIRED ACCOUNTABILITY FROM THE DEVELOPER, AND TO PROTECT THE INTEGRITY OF OUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
THE PASTOR WHO OPENED UP IN PRAYER TODAY SAID, I'M PRAYING FOR WISDOM FOR YOU, AND I DO THE SAME.
SO YOU WOULD DECIDE BETWEEN RIGHT AND WRONG.
SO WHAT, WHICH DEPARTMENT DO I, WOULD I GET THAT INFORMATION FROM AS FAR AS CITY MANAGER ADDRESSES AND THE 500 FOOT? SO, UH, I'VE ALSO LET THE DEPARTMENT KNOW YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS THAT YOU PROVIDED FOR US SO THEY CAN REACH OUT TO YOU AND ANSWER QUESTIONS.
AT THE END OF ALL, UM, AT THE END OF EVERY PUBLIC COMMENT, UH, CITY MANAGER WILL ADDRESS EVERYONE'S CONCERN UP HERE.
WE JUST COULDN'T HAVE A DIALOGUE HERE, BUT I UNDERSTAND.
THANK YOU, DOUG, FOR, FOLLOWED BY RAVEN VINCENT VARGAS JR.
MY NAME IS DOUG FOR DOWNTOWN WEST COVINA BUSINESS DISTRICT CO-CHAIR.
I LIVE IN DISTRICT FIVE, AND I HAVE THREE BUSINESSES IN DISTRICT THREE.
UM, LAST TIME I GOT UP HERE, I TALKED ABOUT THE 17% INCREASE THAT I WAS SICK TO MY STOMACH.
AND THERE'S NO DOUBT ABOUT THAT.
NEIL, YOU LIED TO ME IN THE EMAIL ON DECEMBER 15TH THAT YOU SENT ME SAYING THAT THERE WAS ONLY A 17% INCREASE THAT WAS AN OUT AND OUT LIE.
I AM ASHAMED YOU GUYS ON ATTACHMENT TWO WHEN I FINALLY GOT IT.
THERE ARE 42 LINE ITEMS FOR BUSINESSES AND 22 OF THOSE LINE ITEMS, IT WENT UP OVER A HUNDRED PERCENT INCREASE IN 12 LINE ITEMS. IT WENT UP OVER A 50% INCREASE IN SEVEN LINE ITEMS. IT WENT UP A 20% INCREASE.
AND IN ONE LINE ITEM, IT WENT UP 17%.
WE WERE TOLD IT WAS ONLY A 17%.
IT WAS LA DECEMBER $879 AND 85 CENTS FOR A THREE YARD, FIVE TIMES A WEEK PICKUP.
IT, THEN WENT TO $1,505 WITH ALL THE ADDED FEES.
MY TRASH BILL NOW FOR MY ONE RESTAURANT IS $1,850.
HOW, HOW COULD LA PUENTE ONLY ADD 3%? HOW COULD COVINA ONLY ADD 5% TO THEIR BUSINESSES? YOU, YOU GUYS, THE RANGE WENT FROM 17% TO 303% FOR BUSINESSES.
I KNOW I'M NOT THE ONLY BUSINESS PORTALS IS P****D TOO.
THIS IS, THIS IS OUT AND OUT WRONG TO DO MY, I FELL UNDER THE 71% INCREASE MY FRANCHISE FEE WENT FROM $97 TO $179 NOW.
AND TO LOCK MY DUMPSTER NOW IS $123
[01:05:01]
TO LOCK MY DUMPSTER EVERY MONTH.THEN THEY CHARGED ME ANOTHER $56 TO REMOVE MY LOCK.
AND THEN THE WASTE MANAGEMENT SURCHARGE IS $44 AND 31 CENTS.
HOW MUCH MONEY DID WE NEED TO GATHER? I KNOW YOU GUYS TOOK A HU $1.5 MILLION TO SIGN THAT DEAL.
W WHY DON'T YOU GIVE IT TO US BACK IN SCHOLARSHIPS FOR THE SMALL BUSINESSES THAT CAN'T AFFORD IT.
DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH PORTALS TRASH WENT UP? WHY DON'T SOMEONE GO ASK THEM THE CAR DEALERSHIPS? THIS IS NOT GOOD.
HOW MUCH MONEY DID YOU THEY NEED TO RAISE? HOW MUCH MORE MONEY IS THIS GETTING FOR ATHENS? AND THEN THE CITY TAX, HOW MUCH, WHAT, HOW MUCH WERE THEY TRYING TO GATHER? 5 MILLION? OR IS THIS UPPING AT 25 MILLION OR 50 MILLION? SINCE ATHENS IS HERE, CAN WE HAVE A REPRESENTATIVE? SO AGAIN, I, I'D LIKE TO ALSO KNOW THE RESULTS OF THAT INFORMATION AS WELL.
YEAH, ATHENS IS HERE RIGHT NOW.
YOU GUYS GONNA GIVE 'EM A STROKE OR A HEART ATTACK? BECAUSE YOU GUYS ARE REALLY RAPING THE BUSINESSES HERE.
ALL THOSE BUSINESSES IN DOWNTOWN BACK THERE, THEY'RE STRUGGLING.
AND YOU GUYS KEEP TAKING ADVANTAGE.
LIKE I TOLD YOU GUYS, THE THREE OF YOU, THERE'S A BIG CORRUPTION HERE.
YOU GOTTA START SPEAKING UP MILAN, AND YOU'RE RUNNING THE MUPPET SHOW HERE.
I I CAN'T WAIT FOR HERMAN TO COME, YOU KNOW, TO BLAZE, YOU GUYS, UH, CITY ATTORNEY, MAN.
HE, IT LOOKS LIKE HE HAS MORE AUTHORITY THAN ANYBODY IN THIS HOUSE.
YOU KNOW, WHO VOTED FOR HIM? WHO, UH, APPOINTED HIM? HE HAS MORE AUTHORITY.
HE SPEAKS OVER EVERYBODY HERE.
YOU KNOW, IT, IT'S SAD WHAT YOU GUYS ARE DOING TO THE CITY.
UH, I'M WITH THE GENTLEMAN WITH THE DEL NORTE PARK, TOTALLY AGAINST IT.
THE KIDS SHOULD BE PLAYING BALL OUT THERE.
THEY SHOULD BE ENJOYING THEMSELVES.
THERE SHOULD BE A BIGGER DOG PARK.
NO, BUT YOU'RE WORRIED ABOUT THE REAL ESTATE.
YOU KNOW, AND SHE'S SO HUNG UP ON YOU BECAUSE WHY? YOU'RE HELPING HER WITH REAL ESTATE.
HERE ARE CONTOS AND GUTIERREZ.
'CAUSE YOU ARE SO CORRUPTED TOO WITH YOUR HUSBAND, BILL, UM, CHIEF OF, UH, POLICE.
THAT'S, UH, TONY, UH, UH, CORINA, KEEP DOING A GOOD JOB.
YOU KNOW, HE DOESN'T HAVE ENOUGH, UH, STAFF, BUT GIVE HIM THE HELP.
GIVE HIM THE PEOPLE TO RUN THE CITY.
YOU GUYS HEARD ABOUT IT? UM, BUT YOU GUYS HERE, IT'S LIKE THE CITY OF BELL.
IT'S LIKE THE CITY OF ARCADIA.
YOU KNOW, LOOK AT ARCADIA FALLING APART.
THEY GOT THE ASIANS RUNNING ALL OF ARCADIA RIGHT THERE.
THEY'RE HAVING A BUNCH OF FIGHTS AND FEASTS AND ALL THAT.
YOU KNOW, THE HIGHWAY PATROL, UH, TOY DRIVE.
HOW COME THE COUNCIL PEOPLE WEREN'T THERE? HOW COME HE WASN'T THERE? HOW COME TONY CORINA WASN'T THERE? JUST THE TWO PUPPETS.
YOU KNOW, YOU GUYS DON'T REPRESENT THE CITY.
'CAUSE YOU GUYS ARE SELFISH PEOPLE, YOU KNOW? AND I COME TO TELL YOU GUYS TO YOUR FACE, THANK YOU.
NEXT SPEAKER, SHERRY BARIAN, FOLLOWED BY JD, AND YOU PUT ON A GOOD SHOW.
MY NAME IS SHERRY BRI, AND I HAVE SEVERAL THINGS THAT I WANNA TALK ABOUT.
UH, NUMBER ONE, I AM NOT ASKING, I AM A RESIDENT DEMANDING THAT YOU GO ALONG WITH JIM GR AND THERE IS NO REASON TO HAVE AN AUDIT COMMITTEE FOR RESIDENTS ONCE A YEAR.
WHAT IS IT THAT YOU'RE TRYING TO HIDE THAT WE'RE NOT GONNA HAVE QUARTERLY
[01:10:01]
AUDITS? THIS, THIS IS OUT OF LINE.TONIGHT ON THE AGENDA, YOU HAVE THE CODE OF CONDUCT.
I AM ENCOURAGING ALL MEMBERS NOT TO VOTE FOR IT'S 61 PAGES.
GIVE US THE OPPORTUNITY TO PRINT IT, REVIEW IT, GIVE OUR OPINIONS, AND THEN VOTE ON IT.
BECAUSE I DIDN'T GET TO READ THE ENTIRE THING BEFORE TONIGHT.
AND WHO WROTE THE THING? THAT'S WHAT I WANNA KNOW.
WHO IS THE AUTHOR OF IT AND WHO WAS SELECTED TO, TO DO THAT.
AND AS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT, THE GENTLEMAN WAS TALKING ABOUT, I WAS ONE OF THE RESIDENTS WHO WENT TO THE DEL NORTE.
NOW, THE WOMAN FROM THE DEVELOPER SAID THAT SHE ALREADY HAD PLANS MADE FOR A NEW EXTENSION FOR THE DOG PARK AS WELL AS THE WATER PARK THERE.
BUT THEY HAVE NOT BROUGHT THEM FORWARD.
WHY HAVE THEY NOT BROUGHT THOSE PLANS FORWARD? AND SHE SAID THEY HAVE A BUDGET.
WE, THE RESIDENTS HAVE A RIGHT TO KNOW WHAT THAT BUDGET IS, SO THAT IF IT'S, LET'S SAY $2 MILLION, I WANT THAT $2 MILLION EARMARK FOR DEL NORTE PARK.
NOT PUT SOMEPLACE ELSE TO PAY FOR A HEALTH, A HEALTH CLUB THAT WE DON'T EVEN HAVE.
WE NEED TO KNOW EXACTLY THAT DEVELOPMENT.
I ENCOURAGE THE PLANNING COMMISSION.
DO NOT VOTE FOR IT UNTIL WE SEE ALL THE PLANS, INCLUDING THE DOG PARK, THE WATER, AND WHAT THEIR BUDGET IS TO GIVE US, AND HOW WE COULD EARMARK THAT SPECIFICALLY FOR THAT.
AND I THINK THAT'S ALL I HAD TO SAY.
I HAVE A HARDER TIME UNDERSTANDING WHAT TOOK SO LONG FOR YOU FOLKS TO BRING THIS UP TO THE FOREFRONT.
I KNOW HIM ABOUT THIS SINCE GARY WAS UP HERE AND YOU COMPLIMENTING HIM ON HOW WELL OF A SPEAKER HE WAS.
AND THAT WAS ABOUT, WHAT, TWO AND A HALF, THREE YEARS AGO.
WHY DID IT TAKE SO LONG FOR CITY COUNCIL, ESPECIALLY STAFF, TO BE INFORMED ABOUT HOW MANY TRASH CANS, WHAT GOES IN TRASH CANS? WE ARE THE LAST CITY TO GO UP, FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND.
PLENTY OF EXAMPLES OUT THERE TO HAVE BEEN HAD YET TONIGHT, I'M HEARING YOU STILL ASKING WHERE YOU PUT YOUR DOG POOP.
THERE'S A PATTERN WITH CITY COUNCIL, AND NOT JUST THIS COUNCIL, BUT VERY PRONOUNCED IN YOUR COUNSEL.
AND EVEN IF THERE'S QUESTIONS, YOU HAVE TO APPROVE IT.
GETTING MANAGER, OH, NO, NO, WE'RE UP AGAINST THE CLOCK.
WE NEED TO GET THIS APPROVED TONIGHT.
YOU APPROVE ATHENS LAST MEETING, AND HERE WE ARE TONIGHT.
YOU'RE STILL ASKING ABOUT IT, HOW IT WORKS.
IF YOU, CITY COUNCIL AND CITY MANAGEMENT ARE STILL IN THE DARK, COULD YOU IMAGINE HOW WE RESIDENTS FEEL? THIS IS GONNA BE IMPLEMENTED NEXT MONTH.
WE DON'T KNOW WHEN THE CITATIONS ARE GONNA START, BUT WE KNOW WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO COMPLY WITH THIS.
AND YOU GUYS WHO HAVE THE INSIDE TRACK TO IT ARE IN THE DARK.
THAT'S ALMOST AS EMBARRASSING AS THE INFIGHTING THAT'S BEEN TAKEN PLACE UP.
WILL WE PLEASE RESPOND TO PUBLIC COMMENTS CONCERNS? THANK YOU.
UH, THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMENTS TONIGHT.
UH, MR. GRITCH, I DID GET YOUR HAND OUT HERE REGARDING RESOLUTION, RESOLUTION 2021 DASH 33.
AND I, I DID READ WHAT YOU'VE HIGHLIGHTED HERE, AND I JUST NEEDED TO DO SOME RESEARCH TO MAKE SURE THAT'S THE MOST CURRENT.
UH, FOR SOME REASON, I THINK THERE HAS BEEN AN AMENDMENT TO THIS RESOLUTION SINCE THAT TIME.
UM, I'LL GIVE YOU A CALL TOMORROW AND DOUBLE CHECK.
I'LL, I'LL CONFER WITH MY CITY ATTORNEY BEFORE I MOVE ON.
UM, JOHN MURRAY, THANK YOU FOR THE UPDATE ON THE LIBRARY.
UM, MR. IS IT PINAL PIN PINAL, UM, ON THE DEL NORTE, UH, PROJECT.
ULTIMATELY IT'S GONNA BE, UH, THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT, WHICH GOES BUILDING AND PLANNING.
ENGINEERING WOULD BE THE PEOPLE YOU'D JUST FIRST SPEAK TO REGARDING THAT PROJECT.
UM, AT DEL NORTE, UH, I BELIEVE ON JANUARY 27TH, THIS MATTER'S COMING BACK BEFORE THE PLANNING COMMISSION.
UH, MY UNDERSTANDING IS SOME OF THE ISSUES YOU BROUGHT UP TONIGHT ARE GONNA BE ADDRESSED AT THAT TIME.
SOME OTHER THINGS ARE GONNA BE BROUGHT FORWARD.
I'D ENCOURAGE YOU TO ATTEND THAT MEETING.
UM, I PROVIDED YOU MY CARD IF YOU HAVE ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS.
[01:15:01]
UH, WE ARE ALSO GONNA HAVE OUR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR, UM, EMAIL YOU SO YOU HAVE A DIRECT CONTACT, UH, WITH ANY SPECIFIC QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS REGARDING THIS PROJECT MOVING FORWARD.WE DO HAVE A CONSULTANT ON BOARD SPECIFICALLY ASSIGNED TO THIS PROJECT.
UM, SO ONCE IT'S FINISHED WITH THE PLANNING, UM, UH, COMMISSION, THEN IT'LL BECOME BEFORE THE COUNCIL.
BUT HOPEFULLY BEFORE THAT WE RESOLVE ALL THE ISSUES THAT HAVE BEEN, UH, BROUGHT TO OUR ATTENTION FROM THE RESIDENT COMMUNITY.
UM, DOUG, FOR, I KNOW YOU'RE UP TOP THERE TALKING WITH ATHENS REGARDING THE 1380, UM, THREE INCREASE.
I ENCOURAGE, UM, QUESTIONS REGARDING ATHENS TO BE DIRECTED TO ATHENS.
UM, AGAIN, I'M ALWAYS AVAILABLE TO ASSIST WHERE I CAN, BUT, UM, ATHENS IS SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS ON THIS PROGRAM ON THE 1383, THE RECYCLING, UM, PROGRAM, AND, UH, TRASH DIVERSION.
UM, RAY VARGAS, THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMENTS.
AGAIN, FOR MY PART, UH, SINCE BEING UP HERE, ONE OF THE THINGS I'VE TRIED TO DO IS BE MORE TRANSPARENT.
TRY TO PROVIDE MORE OPPORTUNITIES FROM INPUT FROM THE COMMUNITY.
SO ANY MISTAKES THEY MADE IN THE PAST, UM, DON'T HAPPEN IN THE FUTURE.
AND THAT INFORMATION IS MORE CLEARLY COMMITTED TO THE RESIDENTIAL COMMUNITY, UM, AND OUR BUSINESS COMMUNITY.
SO HOPEFULLY, UH, I'M ABLE TO ACCOMPLISH THAT TO HELP ALLEVIATE SOME OF THE CONCERNS OF THE RESIDENTS AND OUR COMMERCIAL BUSINESSES.
UM, SHERRY, THANK YOU FOR YOUR, YOUR COMMENTS AND ON THE CODE OF CONDUCT.
UM, I DID HAVE, UH, UH, COUNSEL ASSIST, UH, AND WITH THE CODE OF CONDUCT, THAT'S AN ITEM ON THE AGENDA TONIGHT.
UM, SO I'LL WAIT FOR THAT TO COME UP AND WE CAN TALK ABOUT IT.
UM, THEN, UH, AGAIN, ON THE DEVELOPMENT PROJECT FOR DEL NORTE, AGAIN, REACH OUT TO ME, REACH OUT TO OUR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR, ANYTHING REGARDING AND NOTICING HANDOUTS, UM, OUTREACH, THOSE TYPE THINGS.
AND THEY'LL WORK DIRECTLY WITH THE DEVELOPER TO ENHANCE THAT.
I KNOW THAT'S BEEN A TOPIC OF DISCUSSION, AND I BELIEVE THEY ARE GONNA BE ADDRESSING, UH, THAT ISSUE.
UM, JD THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMENTS.
UM, AGAIN, ECHOING MY THOUGHTS AND SENTIMENTS IS, YOU KNOW, MOVING FORWARD, I'M WORKING TO TRY TO GET MORE OUT THERE TO THE COMMUNITY.
SO EVERYBODY IN THIS CITY, REGARDLESS OF WHAT TITLE OR POSITION, BUSINESS OR RESIDENT YOU ARE, THAT THAT INFORMATION IS READILY AVAILABLE.
SO PEOPLE ARE VERY WELL EDUCATED.
WHEN AN A TOPIC COMES UP, SOMETHING COMES TO A VOTE OR SOMETHING COMES TO AN AGENDA ITEM, THAT AT LEAST I'VE TRIED TO PROVIDE AS MUCH INFORMATION AS POSSIBLE, UM, FOR EVERYBODY OUT THERE.
UM, THAT CONCLUDES MY COMMENTS TONIGHT.
MR. MAYOR, MS. MAYOR, UH, UH, COUNCILMAN WU REGARDING THE AUDIT COMMITTEE? I WAS IN THE AUDIT COMMITTEE, I THINK, I THINK COUPLE YEARS AGO.
AND I REMEMBER I WAS ATTEND A QUARTERLY, SO I DON'T KNOW WHY IT CHANGED INTO ANNUALLY, BUT AS I REMEMBER, WHEN I WAS A COMMITTEE COMMISSIONER, I WAS ATTENDING EVERY, UH, THREE MONTHS.
SO, SO I DON'T THINK WE CHANGE ANYTHING.
SO I DON'T KNOW WHY I WAS GONNA PULL NUMBER TWO ANYWAYS.
UM, AND WE COULD DISCUSS THAT BECAUSE YOU ARE CORRECT.
I, I BELIEVE WHAT THEY DID ON THIS IS THAT THEY JUST UTILIZE THE PASS AND, UM, THAT WAS ALREADY THERE.
BUT ALL PREVIOUS AUDIT COMMITTEE HAS BEEN QUARTERLY.
AND, UM, BUT I WAS, WELL, WE CAN DISCUSS THAT WHEN WE PULL, I THINK WE'LL GET CHECKS TO THE ATTORNEY.
WE CAN, WE CAN REVISE, RIGHT? YEAH.
AND, AND MADAM MAYOR, THIS, THIS ATTACHMENT IS IDENTIFYING THE INDIVIDUALS.
IT'LL BE APPOINTED TO THESE COMMITTEES.
THAT IS JUST, THAT WILL NOT CONTROL WHAT WILL CONTROL WILL BE THE RESOLUTION.
AND IF THE RESOLUTION SAYS QUARTERLY, THEN IT'LL BE QUARTERLY.
COUNCILMAN CON, UH, COUNCILMAN RE YES.
CAN WE, UH, MAKE SURE WE ADD THAT TO THE PUBLIC? I MEAN, TO THE RECORD THAT THEY COULD, THAT IT'S NOT GONNA, THAT'S WHAT WELL, YOU JUST STATED, ADDED TO YOU JUST SAID THAT.
[CONSENT CALENDAR]
THE CONSENT CALENDAR, IF ANYBODY ELSE DOESN'T HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF ITEM NUMBER FOUR, PULLED BY ACTING CITY MANAGER.UH, DO I HAVE, UH, IS THERE ANYTHING YOU'D LIKE TO PULL? I WAS GONNA PULL NUMBER TWO.
ANYTHING ELSE? COUNSEL TERRA, HAVE WE DONE THE MINUTES YET? THAT'S NUMBER ONE.
THAT'S UNDER CONSENT CALENDAR.
WE'RE, WE'RE GOING UNDER CONSENT CALENDAR.
WHAT DO YOU WANNA PUT? UH, THE, THE MINI, MINI MINUTES MEETING.
NUMBER ONE, I GUESS, RIGHT? YOU WANNA PULL NUMBER ONE? YEAH.
UH, ANYBODY ELSE WOULD LIKE TO PULL ANYTHING? OKAY.
SO, UM, DO I HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE CONSENT CALENDAR? JUST THREE AND FIVE, YOU GUYS.
IT, IT'S ONLY APPROVING ONE, TWO, AND FOUR IS PULLED.
[01:20:01]
MOVE THE MOTION.COUNCILMAN COUNCILWOMAN DIAZ? SECOND.
MAY I HAVE A MOTION BY COUN, UH, COUNCILWOMAN DIAZ? A SECOND BY COUNCILMAN WU TO APPROVE CONSENT CALENDAR ITEMS TWO AND FIVE.
[1) CONSIDERATION OF APPROVAL OF THE JANUARY 6 2026, CITY COUNCIL/SUCCESSOR AGENCY REGULAR SESSION MEETING MINUTES AND THE JANUARY 20, 2026, CITY COUNCIL/SUCCESSOR AGENCY CLOSED SESSION MEETING MINUTES]
TO CONSENT.ITEM NUMBER ONE, COUNCILMAN GUTIERREZ? YES.
UH, FOR NUMBER ONE, I WANT TO, UH, RECUSE MYSELF.
SO, DO I NEED TO LEAVE THE ROOM FOR THAT, UH, CITY ATTORNEY? HMM.
IF I'M GONNA RECUSE MYSELF FROM THE VOTE? WELL, HOW COME FOR CLOSED SESSION? SORRY.
THE CLOSED SESSION ONE AS IT RELATES TO ME, IF, IF THERE'S NO DISCUSSION, STATE YOUR RECUSAL.
YOU DON'T HAVE TO LEAVE THE ROOM.
ANY DISCUSSION ON ITEM NUMBER ONE? NO.
SO I'LL MAKE A MOTION A SECOND.
AND, AND, UH, COUNCILOR GUTIERREZ IS GONNA BE, IS RECUSING HIMSELF ON THAT VOTE OR ABSTAINING ON THAT VOTE? OKAY.
HOLD THE MOTION WITH A MOTION NUMBER ONE SECOND.
I HAVE A MOTION BY COUN, UH, COUNCILMAN W WAS, DID YOU MAKE THE MOTION? AND A SECOND BY COUNCILWOMAN DIAZ FOR AGENDA ITEM NUMBER ONE.
COUNCIL MEMBER GUTIERREZ, UH, REC AB ABSTAIN.
ABSTAIN, BECAUSE I'M PART OF THE ITEM.
[2) CONSIDERATION OF MAYORAL APPOINTMENT OF CITY COUNCIL MEMBER REPRESENTATIVES TO VARIOUS ADVISORY BOARDS AND COMMITTEES]
NUMBER TWO.UM, I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT THE WHOLE AUDIT COMMITTEE HAS BEEN FIXED AND CORRECTED, SO IF WE CAN MAKE SURE, YEAH.
LET, WE'LL LET THE REC RECORD REFLECT THAT.
UH, WE WILL REVIEW THE RESOLUTION, THE MOST RECENT RESOLUTION, AND ENSURE THAT IT IS THEY MEET QUARTERLY.
UM, AND THAT WOULD BE THE CONTROLLING DOCUMENT.
ANYWAY, THIS ONE IS REALLY JUST CONTROLLING AND IDENTIFYING INDIVIDUALS THAT WILL BE FROM COUNCIL, THAT WILL BE ON THE AUDIT COMMITTEE.
BUT FOR THE RECORD, WE WILL, WE WILL, UH, CONFIRM THAT.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? MOVE THE MOTION TO APPROVE.
SECOND, I HAVE A MOTION BY COUNCILMAN WWA.
SECOND BY MAYOR LOPEZ VIDO, UH, REGARDING A CONSENT CALENDAR.
ITEM NUMBER TWO, MAYOR, ORAL APPOINTMENT OF CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS, REPRESENTATIVES OF VARIOUS ADVISORY BOARDS AND COMMITTEES.
MOTION PASSES FOR, HAS BEEN PULLED BY CITY MANAGER.
SO THAT COMPLETES OUR CONSENT CALENDAR ONTO
[6) CONSIDERATION OF ADOPTION OF AN ORDINANCE TO ADOPT BY REFERENCE THE 2026 LOS ANGELES COUNTY BUILDING, ELECTRICAL, PLUMBING, MECHANICAL, RESIDENTIAL, AND EXISTING BUILDING CODES, WHICH ADOPT BY REFERENCE THE 2025 CALIFORNIA BUILDING, ELECTRICAL, PLUMBING, MECHANICAL, RESIDENTIAL, AND EXISTING BUILDING CODES, WITH CERTAIN AMENDMENTS, ADDITIONS AND DELETIONS THERETO]
ITEM NUMBER SIX, PUBLIC HEARING, CONSIDERATION OF ADOPTION OF AN ORDINANCE TO ADOPT.I REFERENCED THE 2026 LOS ANGELES COUNTY BUILDING ELECTRICAL, PLUMBING, MECHANICAL, RESIDENTIAL, AND EXISTING BUILDING CODES, WHICH ADOPT BY REFERENCE, THE 2025 CALIFORNIA BUILDING, ELECTRICAL, PLUMBING, MECHANICAL, RESIDENTIAL, AND EXISTING BUILDING CODES WITH CERTAIN AMENDMENTS, ADDITIONS, AND DE UH, DELETIONS THERE TOO.
UM, AT THIS TIME, WE'LL, UH, THERE WILL BE A PRESENTATION OF THE STAFF REPORT, CORRECT.
AND WE'LL, SHE, WE SHALL HEAR COMMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC.
SO, CITY MANAGER WHO WILL PRESENT THE STAFF REPORT.
ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER NEIL METTA WILL PRESENT TONIGHT.
UH, HONORABLE MAYOR AND, UH, MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL.
UH, TONIGHT'S AGENDA ITEM IS THE SECOND READING OF AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND CHAPTER SEVEN AND NINE OF THE CITY'S MUNICIPAL CODE.
IN ORDER TO ADOPT BY REFERENCE, THE 2026 LOS ANGELES COUNTY AMENDMENTS TO THE 2025 CALIFORNIA BUILDING STANDARDS CODES.
AS YOU MAY KNOW, THE CALIFORNIA BUILDING STANDARDS COMMISSION UPDATES THE STATEWIDE CONSTRUCTION CODES EVERY THREE YEARS.
THESE UPDATES ARE INTENDED TO IMPROVE SAFETY, SUSTAINABILITY, AND OVERALL BUILDING PERFORMANCE ACROSS THE STATE.
UH, LOCAL JURISDICTIONS PERMITTED TO MAKE AMENDMENTS TO THESE STATE CODES, PROVIDED THOSE CHANGES ARE SUPPORTED BY FINDINGS RELATED TO LOCAL TOPOGRAPHICAL, GEOGRAPHICAL, OR CLIMATE CONDITIONS.
UH, WITH THIS ORDINANCE, STAFF IS RECOMMENDING THAT THE CITY ADOPT THE 2026 LOS ANGELES COUNTY AMENDMENTS TO THE 2025 CALIFORNIA BUILDING STANDARDS CODES, ALONG WITH SPECIFIC LOCAL AMENDMENTS THAT ARE NECESSARY TO PROTECT THE HEALTH, SAFETY, AND WELFARE OF OUR COMMUNITY.
THIS EVENING, WE RESPECTFULLY ARE REQUESTING THE CITY COUNCIL TO CONDUCT THE, UH, SECOND READING BY TITLE ONLY WAIVE FURTHER READING OF THE ORDINANCE AND SET A PUBLIC HEARING.
UH, WE WOULD BE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE.
UM, WE HAVE STAFF HERE ON, ON SITE TO ASK QUESTION ANY QUESTIONS OF STAFF BY COUNCIL MEMBERS.
UH, WHY DOES THIS SAY EXHIBIT A AND B TO THE RESOLUTION? WERE NOT AVAILABLE AT THE TIME OF WRITING THIS REPORT.
THEY WILL BE INCORPORATED IT INTO THE RESOLUTION ONCE AVAILABLE.
[01:25:05]
GOOD EVENING, MADAM MAYOR, MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL.AND THIS IS JASON ROBBINS, THE, UM, UH, BUILDING SUPERVISOR.
WE'RE HERE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.
SO ON IN YOUR STAFF REPORT, UM, IT STATES EXHIBITS A AND B TO THE RESOLUTION.
WERE NOT AVAILABLE AT THE TIME OF WRITING THIS REPORT.
THEY WILL BE INCORPORATED INTO THE RESOLUTION ONCE AVAILABLE MAYOR THROUGH THE CHAIR.
UH, COUNCIL MEMBER GUTIERREZ, I BELIEVE THAT WAS A COPY PASTE FROM THE PREVIOUS REPORT.
AND THOSE WERE THE HANDOUTS THAT WERE PROVIDED TO, UH, TO THIS COUNCIL AND TO THE PUBLIC AT THE PREVIOUS MEETING WHEN THE ORDINANCE WAS INTRODUCED.
SO IT'S BECAUSE ON HERE IT SAYS TO BE INSERTED ONCE AVAILABLE.
I BELIEVE THAT WHEN THE STAFF REPORT FOR THE SECOND READING OF THE ORDINANCE WAS WRITTEN, THAT THOSE LINES WERE JUST NOT REMOVED FROM THE INTRODUCTION OF THE ORDINANCE, WHICH TOOK PLACE TWO WEEKS AGO.
SO IS THERE A RUSH TO APPROVE THIS? IF I CAN READ IT? THERE IS NO RUSH TO APPROVE THIS.
THE, UM, UH, STATE ALREADY HAS ADOPTED THE, THE CODE.
WE ARE JUST DOING OUR LOCAL AMENDMENTS, UM, TO IMPROVE HOW WE, UH, ADMINISTER THE CODE.
SO, YEAH, SO I MEAN, IT'S UP TO MY COUNCIL COLLEAGUES, BUT I HAVE MAJOR CONCERNS BECAUSE THE PUBLIC DIDN'T GET THIS ON ONLINE AND I DIDN'T, NO ONE, WE, WE DIDN'T EVEN GET IT.
SO THAT WAS PROVIDED TO THIS COUNCIL ONLINE AS AN UPDATE FOR THE INTRODUCTION OF THE ORDINANCE, AS WELL AS I PROVIDED HANDOUTS TO EACH COUNCIL MEMBER AT THE LAST MEETING, AT THE FIRST READING.
THIS IS SECOND READING AND ADOPTION.
SO AT THE FIRST READING, UH, CITY CLERK HANDED TO COUNCIL THE DOCUMENT, PUT IT UP FOR THE PUBLIC TO VIEW.
AND FOR THE SECOND READING AND ADOPTION, IT WAS ONLINE FOR PUBLIC TO REVIEW.
IS THAT CORRECT? I, I CAN'T, NO ONE TOLD ME THAT THAT WAS, THAT THAT WAS THE CASE.
SO THAT WAS WHERE I DID MENTION IT.
WHERE IS THAT AT, AT THE LAST MEETING? YOU ASKED THAT QUESTION AND I DID, I DID TELL YOU THAT, UM, IT WAS BEING SUBMITTED TO THE COUNCIL TONIGHT AND UP FOR THE PUBLIC.
YOU CAN JUST CLICK ON THE LINK AND, AND IT'S ALREADY THERE.
THIS IS SECOND READING AND ADOPTION.
BUT GO AHEAD WHILE YOU'RE WAITING.
UM, MAYOR POTENT, DID YOU HAVE QUESTIONS? NO, IT'S, I WAS ABOUT, I WAS GOING TO SAY THE SAME THING.
IT WAS ALREADY MADE AVAILABLE PREVIOUSLY IN CASE MY COLLEAGUE DIDN'T, UH, SEE IT.
AND THE PUBLIC ALSO DID HAVE ACCESS OR JUST, JUST FOR FACTUAL CLARIFICATION.
I HAVE A MOTION BY COUNCILMAN, UH, WU WITH A SECOND BY COUNCILWOMAN DIAZ.
UM, DO YOU HAVE A COPY OF THEN THOSE NUMBERS SO FAST? SO THAT WAS PROVIDED AT THE MEETING WHERE WE DID AN INTRODUCTION TO THIS ORDINANCE.
THIS IS THE SECOND READING OF THE ORDINANCE.
IT'S ONLINE, YOU SAID? YES, SIR.
AND, UM, WHILE WE'RE AT IT, MADAM CITY CLERK, HAVE WE, YOU RECEIVED ANY COMMENTS CONCERNING WEST COVINA BUILDING CODE ADOPTION? NO, I HAVEN'T ACTUALLY.
WE SHOULD FINISH THE PUBLIC HEARING BEFORE WE GO AHEAD AND, AND THE MOTION IS NOTED.
WE SHOULD, WE SHOULD, UH, CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING PORTION BEFORE YES.
NO, I, THE CITY CLERK'S OFFICE DID NOT RECEIVE ANY COMMENTS.
CAN YOU CLARIFY THE NUMBER, UH, THAT WAS THE RECOGNIZED OBLIGATION PAYMENT? NO, THIS IS THE BUILDING CODE ITEM THAT'S NOT THIS ITEM, WHICH WE'RE ON, WE'RE ON ITEM SIX.
WE'RE ON ITEM SIX, ACTING CITY MANAGER PULLED ITEM FOUR.
DID YOU HAVE TO CLARIFY? YOU DID ASK ME LAST MEETING.
DOES THAT CLARIFY IT? COUNCIL MEMBER GUTTIER? YES.
ANY OTHER, SO, ROLL CALL THOUGH.
WE'RE ON, WE'RE WE'LL START AT BEGINNING ROLL CALL.
IF WE COULD WANNA JUST GO AHEAD AND CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING AT THIS TIME, IF THAT'S OKAY.
SO THE PUBLIC HEARING IS CLOSED.
I HAVE A MOTION BY COUNCILMAN WU, A SECOND BY COUNCILWOMAN ROSARIO DIAZ FOR ITEM NUMBER SIX.
AND THAT IS THE CONSIDERATION OF AN ORDINANCE TO ADOPT BY REFERENCE THE LOS ANGELES COUNTY BUILDING ELECTRICAL, PLUMBING AND MECHANICAL ORDINANCE.
COUNCIL MEMBER GUTIERREZ? YES.
[7) CONSIDERATION OF AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 2 OF THE WEST COVINA MUNICIPAL CODE TO ADOPT A CITY COUNCIL CODE OF CONDUCT AND ADOPTION OF A RESOLUTION REGARDING LEGISLATIVE INTENT AND IMPLEMENTATION]
CITY COUNCIL, REQUEST FOR REPORT STUDIES AND INVESTIGATION.ITEM NUMBER SEVEN, CONSIDERATION OF AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER TWO OF
[01:30:01]
THE WEST COVINA MUNICIPAL CODE TO ADOPT A CITY COUNCIL CODE OF CONDUCT AND ADOPTION OF A RESOLUTION REGARDING LEGISLATIVE INTENT AND IMPLEMENTATION.UH, ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER, ACTING CITY MANAGER WHO WILL, WHO WILL PRESENT THE STAFF REPORT A MATTER.
MAYOR, I HAVE OUTSIDE COUNSEL, TOM O'CONNELL HERE TONIGHT.
EVENING, EVENING COUNSEL AGAIN, THIS IS TOM O'CONNELL FROM BUCK ALTAR.
I'M OUTSIDE EMPLOYMENT COUNSEL FOR THE CITY OF WEST COVINA.
UM, I WAS ASKED TO PROVIDE, UH, COMMENTS ON THIS CODE OF CONDUCT AND OTHERWISE PROVIDE, UH, CONTRIBUTIONS TO IT BASED ON THE 11 YEARS THAT OUR OFFICE HAS BEEN WORKING WITH CITIES, PARTICULARLY CITIES THAT ARE DEALING WITH, UH, COUNCIL RELATED ACTIONS.
UM, THIS IS UNFORTUNATELY SOMETHING THAT HAS BECOME RAMPANT THROUGHOUT THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA AND NATIONWIDE.
AND THE PRIMARY PROBLEM THAT CITIES, PARTICULARLY GENERAL LAW CITIES IN THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA HAVE, IS THAT IF A COUNCIL MEMBER IS FOUND TO HAVE COMMITTED MISCONDUCT, THERE ARE VERY LITTLE, IF ANY, REPERCUSSIONS.
DO YOU MIND IF THE PUBLIC, IF YOU COULD TAKE YOUR CONVERSATION OUTSIDE, WE COULD HEAR YOU.
DO YOU MIND IF WE, YOU CAN TAKE THE CONVERSATION OUTSIDE, WE, SO THAT EVERYBODY CAN HEAR HIM.
SO, GOING BACK TO THIS, THE, THE CONTEXT BEHIND THIS IS NATIONWIDE.
THESE CLAIMS ARE GOING UP SUBSTANTIALLY.
UH, I CAN'T SPEAK TO WHAT'S HAPPENED, THE CITY OF WEST COVINA, BUT I CAN SPEAK TO WHAT'S HAPPENED IN UPWARDS OF 60 CITIES THROUGHOUT THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA WHERE THERE'S BEEN EMPLOYEES THAT HAVE REPORTED THINGS LIKE SEXUAL HARASSMENT OR RETALIATION AGAINST COUNCIL MEMBERS.
AND WHEN THERE IS A FINDING AGAINST A COUNCIL MEMBER, THE COUNCIL HAS NOTHING THAT THEY CAN DO.
UM, THE IDEA BEHIND THIS CODE OF CONDUCT IS RELATIVELY SIMPLE, AND IT'S DIVIDED INTO FOUR DIFFERENT DIVISIONS.
UM, THE FIRST DIVISION OF THE CODE OF CONDUCT IS GENERAL PROVISIONS.
IT LAYS OUT THE OVERVIEW FROM WHICH ALL OF THE REST OF THE CODE OF CONDUCT SHOULD BE VIEWED THROUGH THE LENS OF, SO, FOR INSTANCE, IT, IT TALKS ABOUT THE APPLICABILITY.
THERE ARE LIMITS, AND IT ALWAYS GOES BACK TO STATUTORY AND CONSTITUTIONAL CONSTRUCTION.
NOTHING IN THIS CODE OF CONDUCT IS MEANT TO, AND IN FACT, IT HAS NUMEROUS DISCLAIMERS THAT SAY IT IS LIMITED BY THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA'S CON CONSTITUTION.
THE STATUTORY AUTHORITY, UM, DIVISION TWO IS STANDARDS OF CONDUCT.
THE STANDARDS OF CONDUCT IN THIS, THIS LAYS OUT ESSENTIALLY BEHAVIOR EXPECTATIONS AND THINGS THAT COULD BE REPORTED REGARDING COUNCIL MEMBERS.
UM, I, I WOULD ENCOURAGE YOU TO GO THROUGH THESE.
THIS IS THE FIRST READING OF THE CODE OF CONDUCT, TO BE CLEAR.
SO THERE WILL BE A SECOND READING, UH, TO THE MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC'S COMMENT.
UM, THIS IS NOT BEING PASSED TONIGHT.
IT IS THE FIRST READING OF THE ORDINANCE, BUT INCLUDED IN THOSE STANDARDS OF CONDUCT INCLUDES ABUSE OF POWER OR THINGS LIKE HARASSMENT, RETALIATION, INTIMIDATION.
UM, IT IS MEANT TO BE ENCOMPASSING OF THE VARIOUS THINGS THAT WE'VE SEEN THROUGH MY CAREER AND OTHERS THAT COUNCIL MEMBERS ARE BEING ACCUSED OF AND CREATING RISK TO THE CITY.
ITS OPERATIONS AND ITS GOVERNANCE.
THE THIRD DIVISION IS A VERY DETAILED REVIEW AND REPORTING, UH, MECHANISM FOR THE CITY TO BE ABLE TO ADOPT IT.
IT IS MEANT TO BE VERY STANDARDIZED SO THAT THERE IS NOT A HAPHAZARD WAY TO DEAL WITH THIS PROCESS.
UM, AND WE CAN GO THROUGH THAT PROCESS.
I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE.
BUT GENERALLY SPEAKING, IT GOES TO THE CITY MANAGER OR THE CITY MANAGER'S DESIGNEE TO DO AN INITIAL REVIEW.
IF IT APPEARS TO THE CITY MANAGER, BASED ON VERY SPECIFIED CRITERIA, THAT THIS IS A COMPLAINT THAT NEEDS TO BE VIEWED BY THE CITY COUNCIL AS A WHOLE, IT WILL THEN GO TO THE CITY COUNCIL TO DETERMINE NEXT STEPS.
THOSE NEXT STEPS CAN INCLUDE AN INVESTIGATION, A PRESERVATION LETTER, TO TELL THE CITY COUNCIL MEMBER, WHETHER IT'S A COMPLAINANT OR RESPONDENT, UM, THAT THEY NEED TO PRESERVE ALL RECORDS RELATED TO THE PARTICULAR CLAIM.
IT COULD EVEN BE SOMETHING WHERE YOU ENGAGE AN OUTSIDE, UH, ALMOST LIKE AN ADJU, AN ADJUDICATORY PERSON THAT WOULD HAVE THE ABILITY TO ASK AND DELVE INTO THESE ISSUES.
IF THERE'S CREDIBILITY DETERMINATIONS.
IT'S A MORE FORMAL PROCESS THAN INVESTIGATION.
UM, YOU'RE ALSO ABLE TO RELY ON EXTERNAL SOURCES.
SO FOR INSTANCE, IF THERE WAS AN FPPC COMPLAINT AND THERE WAS SOME KIND OF VIABILITY SUSTAINED FPPC COMPLAINT, THEN YOU'D BE ABLE TO RELY ON THAT WHEN YOU'RE CONSIDERING WHAT TYPE OF GOVERNANCE BASED MEASURES YOU COULD TAKE.
AND THEN THE LAST IS DIVISION FOUR, THE GOVERNANCE BASED MEASURES.
UH, AGAIN, THIS IS NOT AN EMPLOYMENT ACTION.
THERE, THERE IS A VERY SUBSTANTIAL BODY OF LAW RELATED TO WHAT ACTIONS YOU CAN TAKE RELATED TO EMPLOYEES
[01:35:01]
OF A CITY ADMINISTRATIVE LEAVE SUSPENSION, TERMINATION FOR COUNCIL MEMBERS.THERE IS NOT A SUBSTANTIAL BODY OF LAW.
SO A LOT OF TIMES WHAT ENDS UP HAPPENING IS YOU HAVE CITIES THAT ARE TAKING PRECAUTIONARY MEASURES OR IMMEDIATE MEASURES, ALMOST ON A AD HOC BASIS, TRYING TO DETERMINE WHAT WOULD BE THE BEST WAY TO DEAL WITH AN INDIVIDUAL SITUATION.
THIS LAYS THIS OUT IN AN EXTREMELY PROGRESSIVE, UH, WAY WHERE YOU CAN SAY THE SEVERITY, THE PATTERN, THE CONTEXT, THE COMPLEXITY.
IT LAYS OUT THE OPTIONS THAT A CITY WOULD HAVE SO THAT THERE IS TOTAL TRANSPARENCY, NOT JUST TO THE PUBLIC, BUT TO THE COUNCIL MEMBERS OF WHAT IT IS THAT COULD HAPPEN, SHOULD THERE BE A FINDING OF MISCONDUCT BY THE CITY.
UM, I UNDERSTAND THAT THERE'S CON CONCERN ABOUT THE FACT THAT THIS IS A LONGER, UH, CODE OF CONDUCT.
THIS IS SIMPLY BASED ON THE COMPLEXITY AND MAKING SURE THAT IT'S COMPLETELY TRANSPARENT SO THAT THE PROCESS TO THE, THE COUNCIL, TO STAFF, TO ANY PERSON THAT'S IMPACTED BY THE CITY HAS FULL DISCLOSURE ABOUT WHAT IT IS THAT THE CITY IS DOING TO ENSURE THAT THE COUNCIL IS ACTING APPROPRIATELY GOING FORWARD.
UM, TO THAT, I I WILL ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE.
I'M SURE THERE WILL BE ONE OR TWO.
OH, YEAH, NO, I'M PRETTY SURE THERE'S GONNA BE MANY.
UM, SO I KNOW FOR THE PUBLIC OUT THERE, THERE ARE RULES FOR CITY EMPLOYEES.
IT'S INTENSIVE SEXUAL HARASSMENT, UM, JUST ALL KINDS OF DIFFERENT THINGS.
BUT WHEN IT COMES TO THE COUNCIL, THERE'S REALLY NOT MUCH INFORMATION OUT THERE.
I KNOW CITY OF LA ACTUALLY HAS, UH, A SECTION THAT SAYS HOW TO REPORT A COUNCIL MEMBER, WHETHER IT'S THEIR BAD BEHAVIOR, UM, JUST PLETHORA OF MANY THINGS THAT HAS BEEN INCURRING.
WE HAVE BEEN SEEING ABUSE OF POWER AND, AND JUST OVERALL GENERAL, UM, INFORMATION THAT IS OUT THERE.
UM, THIS IS, UM, GREATLY APPRECIATED.
BUT I CAN YOU ALSO, FOR THE PUBLIC, I KNOW YOU ALSO ATTACHED, UM, TWO ARTICLES, UH, THAT HAD AN EXAMPLE, LIKE THE RISE AND FALL OF A POWAY CITY COUNCIL MEMBER, TONY BLAINE, AND THEN ANOTHER ONE, UM, THAT HAD CITY OF, OF ARCATA ARC.
IT'S IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA, ARCADE, NOT SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA.
ARCADIA, NOT ARCADIA, ARC, A-R-C-A-T-A.
UM, CAN YOU PLEASE LET THE PUBLIC KNOW WHAT THOSE SITUATIONS WERE SO THAT THEY HAVE AN UNDERSTANDING OF THIS IS NOT JUST OCCURRING HERE, UM, IT'S OCCURRING IN OTHER LOCATIONS, BUT I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT IT STOPS AND WE HAVE SOMETHING IN PLACE THAT TO PREVENT ALL MEASURES TO, AS I MENTIONED, HARASSMENT WITH STAFF, HARASSMENT WITH THE PUBLIC, UH, RESIDENTS, AND, UM, AND WITHIN EACH OTHER.
AND, AND THAT'S REFERENCED ON THE FIRST AND SECOND PAGES OF THE STAFF REPORT.
UM, THE CITY OF POWAY IS NOT SOMETHING THAT I AM INTIMATELY FAMILIAR WITH.
IT HAS BEEN PUBLICLY REPORTED IN MANY DIFFERENT, UH, NEWS OUTLETS.
UM, THIS HAS RESULTED IN A POTENTIAL RECALL, IT RESULTED IN A LAWSUIT BETWEEN THE CITY AND A COUNCIL MEMBER, AND THEN ULTIMATELY IT RESULTED IN RESIGNATION OF THAT COUNCIL MEMBER.
THE PROBLEM IS, IS THAT THE AMOUNT OF RESOURCES AND TIME THAT THE CITY HAD SPENT ON THIS PARTICULAR MATTER, AND NOT JUST THAT, BUT ALSO THE PUBLICITY, UM, THAT WAS SPENT ON THIS MATTER, OBVIOUSLY HAS CREATED SIGNIFICANT ISSUES FOR THE CITY OF POWAY.
UM, CITY OF ARCATA I WAS INTIMATELY INVOLVED WITH, AND WAS THE LEAD ATTORNEY, UH, IN CHARGE OF SECURING A WORKPLACE VIOLENCE RESTRAINING ORDER AGAINST A SITTING COUNCIL MEMBER BY ANOTHER CITY COUNCIL MEMBER AND THREE EMPLOYEES OF THE CITY.
UM, TO SAY THAT THAT WAS A DISRUPTION TO GOVERNANCE, THAT IT CREATED EXTREME RISK AND LIABILITY FOR THE CITY AND, AND OTHERWISE INCREASE THE COST FOR THE CITY WHEN THEY COULD HAVE BEEN DOING GOOD FOR THE CITY WAS IMPORTANT.
BUT AGAIN, THESE ARE TWO EXTREME SITUATIONS.
UM, THE CITY OF ARC INVOLVED A COUNCIL MEMBER THAT WAS STALKING CITY EMPLOYEES.
AND, AND WE'VE ATTACHED TO THIS STAFF REPORT JUST SO THAT THERE'S A, SOME CLARITY OF JUST HOW BAD THE SITUATION CAN GET.
THIS COUNCIL MEMBER WAS ALLOWED TO CONTINUE SITTING ON THE DAAS AS THEY WERE STALKING A CITY EMPLOYEE THAT THEY HAD TO INTERACT WITH FROM THE DAAS.
UM, TO SAY THAT THAT IS AN ABSURD RESULT IF YOU HAD AN EMPLOYEE RELATIONSHIP, IS AN UNDERSTATE, UH, UNDERSTATEMENT.
IF YOU HAD AN EMPLOYEE THAT WAS STALKING ANOTHER EMPLOYEE, UH, COUNCIL WOULD IMMEDIATELY RECOMMEND THAT THERE IS ADMINISTRATIVE LEAVE, THAT THERE'S INVESTIGATION, THAT THERE'S SOME ADVERSE EMPLOYMENT ACTION WITH COUNCIL MEMBERS.
THE OPTIONS ARE UNFORTUNATELY, EXTREMELY LIMITED, AND IT PLACES THE CITY IN, IN A POSITION THAT IS UNTENABLE.
SO, AS THE PUBLIC KNOWS, I KNOW, UM, OBVIOUSLY THE COUNCIL, WE, WE HAVE AN INVEST INVESTIGATION THAT IS
[01:40:01]
STILL OCCURRING, WHICH I'M HOPING THAT IT'LL COME OUT SOON.UM, IN REGARDS TO ALL THOSE THINGS THAT WAS MENTIONED PREVIOUSLY.
I KNOW THAT FROM THE STANDPOINT OF THE CITY, EVEN MYSELF, I CAN'T SAY EVERYTHING TO THE PUBLIC, WHICH IS ILL, THE TRUTH WILL COME OUT WHEN, WHEN WE HAVE THIS, UM, INVESTIGATION COME OUT.
BUT MY ISSUE IS A LOT OF THINGS THAT WE AGREED AS A COUNCIL, THE FRUSTRATION THAT I HAVE IS IN PUBLIC, THE COUNCIL HERE AGREES AND SAY, OKAY, YES, WE'RE NOT GONNA DO THAT.
RIGHT? AND THEN BEHIND CLOSED DOORS, THINGS THAT YOU DON'T SEE, THINGS THAT YOU DON'T HEAR CONTINUES ON.
AND SO I, AND I'M SAYING LIKE, FOR EXAMPLE, I KNOW, UM, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE MENTION ABOUT CODE OF CONDUCT, SOME BASIC STEPS, AND, UH, I DON'T REMEMBER WHAT COUNCIL MEETING WAS THAT, BUT I SPECIFICALLY LAID OUT SOME GROUND RULES AND THIS BODY OF COUNCIL AGREED.
AND I SAID, EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY.
WELL, GUESS WHAT? THE VERY NEXT DAY, ONE COUNCIL MEMBER TURNS AROUND AND DOES NOT LISTEN.
SO I'M GONNA GIVE THIS EXAMPLE, HERE WE GO.
GOING AGAIN, SERVING, SERVING.
I'VE MADE IT VERY CLEAR, IF YOU ARE GOING TO SERVE CITY STAFF, PLEASE PUT AT A PLACE OF BUSINESS, NOT TO THEIR PERSONAL HOMES FAMILY AND SO FORTH.
OUR CITY MANAGER WAS, UH, SERVED, BUT UNFORTUNATELY THEY BOTHERED HIS PARENTS THAT ARE 90 YEARS OLD IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT WHILE THEY'RE SLEEPING, POUNDING ON THAT DOOR KNOCKING TO TRY TO SERVE OUR CITY MANAGER WHEN THAT COUNCIL MEMBER COULD EASILY COME HERE, WHICH HAVE ACCESS.
YOU KNOW, WE'VE HAD ALL THESE THINGS AND IT'S FRUSTRATED BECAUSE WE DON'T GO AND GOSSIP AND TELL EVERYTHING.
BUT THAT'S WHY I WANTED TO MAKE SURE THIS IS SOMETHING SET IN STONE, BECAUSE ONE COUNCIL MEMBER SAYS IT'S NOT IN WRITING, IT'S NOT, YOU KNOW, AND IT'S SILLY BECAUSE THERE ARE SOME GROUND RULES, THINGS ARE INAPPROPRIATE, THINGS THAT SHOULD NOT OCCUR IS STILL OCCURRING.
UM, BUT I'M GONNA LET MY OTHER COUNSEL CALLING, UH, SAY IF THERE'S ANY QUESTIONS.
BUT I, I APPRECIATE THESE DETAILS.
AND YES, WE BROUGHT IN AN OUTSIDE LEGAL, WE DON'T WANNA HAVE ANYTHING WHERE WE'RE, YOU KNOW, HAVE ANY SAY OF WHAT THIS IS.
SO THE OUTSIDE COUNCIL CREATED ALL THESE, AND THEY LOOKED AT DIFFERENT PLACES, DIFFERENT RULES, AND WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE IS TEETH AND THAT THERE'S THINGS THAT ARE, IT'S PRETTY MUCH ONE COUNCIL MEMBER WANTS IT IN WRITING, GOES VERY TECHNICAL.
WELL, HERE IT IS, IT IS TECHNICAL.
HERE'S ALL THE INFORMATION, AND IT'S VERY CLEAR.
NOW, I WANNA MAKE SURE TONIGHT THAT IF THERE'S ANY QUESTIONS OR ANY CONCERNS, IT NEEDS TO BE BROUGHT UP IN REGARDS TO THIS CODE OF CONDUCT, BECAUSE THIS IS, THIS IS GONNA BE OUR, UM, OUR LAYOUT, OUR BLUEPRINT.
SO, UM, THAT LEAVES ME WITH THAT.
I KNOW COUNCILWOMAN DIAZ HAS A QUESTION.
UM, MR. ODO, UM, SO THIS HERE IS JUST THE BEGINNING, RIGHT? AS FAR AS THE, UH, RULES OF CONDUCT, BECAUSE IT DOESN'T GET INTO SPECIFICS.
OH, IT'S THE ORDINANCE, NOT THE RESOLUTION, RIGHT? YEAH.
SO THERE'S, THERE'S GONNA BE MULTIPLE PARTS TO HOW THE CODE OF CONDUCT WOULD WORK.
OKAY? UH, AND, AND THIS IS SOMEWHAT COMPLICATED, SO I'LL TRY TO SAY IT IN, IN THE WAY THAT I WOULD SAY IS THE EASIEST WAY TO EXPLAIN IT.
THE CODE OF CONDUCT IS THE GOVERNING AUTHORITY THAT GIVES THE CITY COUNCIL AN AGREED UPON METHODOLOGY TO WORK THROUGH IF THERE'S A CODE OF CONDUCT VIOLATION.
NOW, WITHIN THE CODE OF CONDUCT, IF YOU LOOK AT DIVISION TWO, IT LAYS OUT VERY SPECIFIC THINGS THAT COULD VIOLATE IT, BUT IT ALSO INCORPORATES THE RULES OF DECORUM.
IT COULD INCORPORATE POLICIES THAT THE CITY HAS, FOR INSTANCE, THE CITY MANAGER, CITY COUNCIL FORM OF GOVERNMENT.
IT INCORPORATES EACH OF THESE THINGS WITHIN IT.
SO IT'S NOT TO SAY THAT THIS IS ALL ENCOMPASSING, IT'S MEANT TO BE ALL ENCOMPASSING.
THIS IS MEANT TO BE THE CORNERSTONE OF THE CITY'S CODE OF CONDUCT.
SO ONCE THIS IS, UM, APPROVED, IF IT GETS APPROVED, UM, THEN WHAT COMES NEXT? WELL, WHAT WOULD COME NEXT AFTER THAT? FOR INSTANCE, IF THERE WAS A NEED TO ESTABLISH A POLICY THAT LAYS OUT, UH, THINGS REGARDING, UH, AS AN EXAMPLE, UH, LET ME JUST GIVE YOU ONE EXAMPLE HERE REALLY QUICK.
UM, THERE'S BEEN SOME QUESTIONS REGARDING THE CITY COUNCIL, CITY MANAGER FORM OF GOVERNMENT.
UM, THAT IS AN EXTREMELY COMMON ISSUE THROUGHOUT THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA, WHERE A CITY MANAGER IS SUPPOSED TO BE THE ONLY, UM, PERSON THAT IS DIRECTING STAFF OR OTHERWISE CONTROLLING CITY RESOURCES AT THE PURVIEW AND DIRECTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL.
THIS IS NOT A WEST COVINA PROBLEM.
THIS IS A NATIONWIDE PROBLEM, HAVE ISSUES WHERE THE CITY COUNCIL MEMBER WILL GO DIRECTLY TO STAFF AND TRY TO DIRECT RESOURCES FOR THEIR OWN.
IT COULD BE PERSONAL GAIN, IT COULD EVEN BE INADVERTENT.
UM, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT YOU WOULD ACCOMPLISH THROUGH
[01:45:01]
A POLICY OF LAYING OUT MORE FUNDAMENTAL THINGS.BECAUSE IF YOU DID THAT THROUGH MUNICIPAL, UH, A MUNICIPAL CODE, UM, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT SHOULD BE A LOT MORE MALLEABLE AND, AND FUNGIBLE AS YOU'RE GOING FORWARD, AS OPPOSED TO THE CORNERSTONE SAYING, UH, YOU KNOW, IMPROPER DIRECTION OF CITY OPERATIONS, WHICH IS UNDER 2, 7 10 MISUSE OF CITY RESOURCES.
IT LAYS OUT THE CORNERSTONE OF CITY RESOURCES SHOULDN'T BE MISUSED, BUT IT DOESN'T SAY, UH, YOU KNOW, THOU SHALL NOT MAKE PAY PHONE CALLS FROM THIS PARTICULAR OFFICE, OR SOMETHING ALONG THOSE LINES.
I JUST WANT THE AUDIENCE TO KNOW EXACTLY WHAT THIS IS VERSUS WHAT COMES NEXT.
SO, THANK YOU, UH, COUNCILMAN WU.
AND THE ONE THING IS, OKAY FOR THE, THE SPEAKER CAME OVER HERE WITH A FREEDOM OF SPEECH.
THEY CAN SAY, HEY, THIS CORRUPTION, THIS, THAT WE ALREADY HIRED THE OUTSIDE INVESTIGATOR, OKAY.
INCLUDING THE FORENSICS INVESTIGATORS TO CHECK ALL THE FINANCE, TO CHECK OUT THE WRONGDOING FROM THE OUTSIDE THIRD PARTY.
I THINK THE REPORT WILL COME UP PRETTY SOON, RIGHT? SO I THINK THAT IF ANYTHING WE WEREN DOING BY ANY CITY COUNCIL, THE REPORT WILL SHOW TO US, TO THE SHOW TO THE PUBLIC.
SO I THINK FOR THE PEOPLE HIGH BEHIND THE FREEDOM SPEECH AND CAME OVER HERE WITH THEIR OKAY.
ACCUSATION BETTER TO SEE ABOUT WHAT INVESTIGATION COMING OUT.
SO, AND IF NOT, THEY'RE BETTER TO UNDERSTAND THAT CANNOT HIDE BEHIND THE FREEDOM SPEECH TO WHY ACCUSATION.
SECOND THING REGARDING THE CALL COUNTER.
SO THIS CO CONDUCT APPLY TO ALL THE ELECTED, RIGHT? SO ALL FIVE OF US WILL BE COMPLIANT WITH WHAT THIS IS ABOUT.
SO IT'S NOW OKAY TO ONE PERSON OR THIS, AND THIS, ALL FIVE OF US, INCLUDING ALL THE ELECTED, INCLUDING ALL THE PERSON WE APPOINTED, INCLUDING THE COMMISSIONER.
OKAY? AM I RIGHT? THE ONLY DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE ELECTED AND COMMISSIONERS IS THERE'S ACTUALLY MORE POWER THAT THE COUNCIL AND AND YOUR MUNICIPAL ORDINANCES HAVE AS IT RELATES TO COMMISSIONERS.
YOU CAN REMOVE, UH, COMMISSIONER, BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT AN ELECTED OFFICIAL, ELECTED OFFICIALS HAVE SIGNIFICANTLY MORE STATUTORY AND CONSTITUTIONAL, UH, FRAMEWORK BEHIND IT.
SO THIS IS ACTUALLY PRIMARILY, IF NOT ENTIRELY IN MOST SECTIONS RELATED TO THE ELECTEDS.
SO ELECTED, INCLUDING THE FIVE CITY COUNCIL WITH THE FIVE DISTRICT, INCLUDING THE TREASURER AND THE CITY CLERK? NO, THOSE, UH, THE TREASURER AND CITY CLERK, WHEN YOU'RE SAYING AN ELECT, IF IT'S AN ELECTED POSITION, IT COULD, BUT THIS IS MORE RELATED TO THE CITY COUNCIL.
IT'S THE STATE COUNCIL CODE OF CONDUCT.
SO, SO IT IS ONLY APPLIED TO CITY COUNCIL.
THAT'S ANOTHER TWO POSITIONS ELECTED.
IF, IF YOU WANTED TO ADD THAT OR IF YOU WANTED TO ADD ANY ELECTED OFFICIALS TO THAT, THAT WOULD TAKE AN AMENDMENT OF THIS, UH, MUNICIPAL CODE.
BUT RIGHT NOW, THIS IS WRITTEN STRICTLY FOR THE CITY COUNCIL CODE OF CONDUCT.
I THINK IF THIS IS, UH, APPLIED TO THE FIVE CITY COUNCIL ELECTED, I THINK ALL ELECTED SHOULD BE COMPLIED WITH SAME RULE.
AND SO I, I WOULD PREFER TO ALL ELECTED.
AND WE COMPLY WITH SAME CORE CONDUCT.
SO IN THAT WAY, WE DON'T WANT LATER ON, OKAY, SOME ELECTED BECAUSE NOT INCLUDING THIS, THEY CAN DO SOMETHING.
BUT AGAIN, WE, WE WANNA BE A FAIRNESS TO EVERYBODY WILL COMPLY, UH, BASED ON THIS, NOT ONLY BY VERSE, UH, WHEN WE RETIRED THE FUTURE.
CITY COUNCIL WILL COMPLY WITH THIS.
SO EVERYBODY IN THE FUTURE, OR THE CITY COUNCIL MEMBER SHOULD HAVE THIS COURT CONDUCT AND EVERYTHING'S WRITTEN.
SO CAN, CAN CITY ATTORNEY CAN THROW THIS TO THE, UH, ANY CURRENT OR FUTURE CITY COUNCIL MEMBER? YEAH.
AND TO YOUR POINT, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER WU, UM, ELECTED OFFICIALS ARE THE PRIMARY, UH, PERSON THAT THIS IS DIRECTED TOWARDS.
IT IS EXPLICIT AS IT RELATES TO CITY COUNCIL.
SO TO THE EXTENT THAT THE COUNCIL, IT WAS THEIR DESIRE TO MAKE IT ANY ELECTED OFFICIAL, UM, THAT WOULD BE A MINOR AMENDMENT TO WHAT'S ACTUALLY STATED IN HERE, NOT A SIGNIFICANT AMENDMENT.
UM, COUNCILMAN GUTIERREZ? YES.
UH, MR. O'CONNELL, DOES THE MAYOR HAVE AUTHORITY OR POWER TO MAKE RULES THAT DICTATE THE SUPERIOR COURT'S RULES OR STATE LAW OR FEDERAL LAW AND HOW TO SERVE SOMEONE? I, I'M SORRY, I I DIDN'T UNDERSTAND YOUR QUESTION.
CAN YOU REPEAT IT? SO YOU KNOW HOW YOU SERVE SOMEONE, A PROCESS SERVICE, YOU HIRE A, A LICENSED PROCESSOR REGISTER, SERVE A COURT DOCUMENT, CAN THE MAYOR DICTATE RUSE AND HOW THE JUDICIAL SYSTEM HAS RUSE AND HOW TO SERVE SOMEONE? I, I, WHILE I'D LOVE TO BE ABLE TO COMMENT ON, ON THAT, THAT'S OUTSIDE OF THE CURRENT AGENDA ITEM.
WELL, SHE MADE A COMMENT ABOUT WHICH THE ANSWER IS NO.
UM, THE, THE AUDIT FORENSICS, WHAT IS THE STATUS OF THE AUDIT FORENSICS BECAUSE, UH, THE INVESTIGATOR
[01:50:01]
TOLD ME THAT, UH, CITY STAFF WAS NARROWING IT DOWNER.AND SO ANY CHANGES TO WHAT WAS PUBLICLY, UH, GIVEN? I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT THIS COUNCIL DECIDES WHAT IS NARROWER DOWN MEANS COUNSEL, UH, IS THE RETAINER LETTER IS DIFFERENT THAN WHAT IS, I BELIEVE BEING INVESTIGATED.
COUNCIL MEMBER GUTIERREZ, I, AGAIN, WHILE I WOULD LOVE TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE YOU WITH ANSWERS RELATED TO THINGS THAT ARE PART OF THE INVESTIGATION OR ANYTHING ELSE I MIGHT HAVE KNOWLEDGE OF, I BELIEVE THE BROWN ACT REQUIRES ME TO ONLY HAVE A DISCUSSION REGARDING AGENDIZED ITEMS. OKAY.
SO I'M JUST COMMENTING, ANSWERING HER QUESTIONS, BUT, OKAY.
UM, WHAT SPECIFIC STATUTE AUTHORIZES THE CITY TO CONDITION A DULY ELECTED COUNCIL MEMBER'S PARTICIPATION OR ASSUMPTION OF DUTIES ON SIGNING AN ACKNOWLEDGEMENT DRAFTED BY THE CITY ATTORNEY, UM, COUNCIL, AND, AND I BELIEVE THIS WAS A QUESTION THAT YOU ASKED, UH, BY EMAIL MM-HMM
AND, AND THAT I'VE ANSWERED IT.
YOU'RE, YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THE NOTICE AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT AND JUST SO THAT EVERYBODY'S ON THE SAME PAGE HERE, I'LL TURN TO THAT IF YOU'D LIKE.
UM, THE NOTICE OF ACKNOWLEDGEMENT IS SIMILAR TO, IF NOT ALMOST IDENTICAL, TO, UH, THE CONCEPT OF A NOTICE OF ACKNOWLEDGEMENT IF YOU WERE TO RECEIVE SEXUAL HARASSMENT AVOIDANCE TRAINING.
SO LET ME BE CLEAR WITH HOW THAT WOULD WORK.
IF COUNCIL MEMBER GUTIERREZ, OR COUNCIL MEMBER WU LE LOPEZ CONTOS OR ROSARIO DIAZ WERE TO ATTEND A SEXUAL HARASSMENT AVOIDANCE TRAINING, AND THEY SIGNED WHAT'S CALLED A NOTICE AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT, WHAT THAT MEANS IS THAT THEY ARE NO, THEY ARE ON NOTICE AND THEY ARE ACKNOWLEDGING THAT THEY HAVE RECEIVED THOSE RULES OR OTHERWISE RECEIVED THAT TRAINING.
IF THEY DON'T SIGN THE NOTICE AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT, THAT DOES NOT MEAN THAT THAT GIVES THEM CARTE BLANCHE TO GO OUT AND SEXUALLY HARASS OR INTIMIDATE OR CREATE A HOSTILE WORK ENVIRONMENT.
IT IS LITERALLY GIVING NOTICE OF THESE RULES.
SO FOR THIS, IF THERE WAS A COUNCIL MEMBER THAT DID NOT SIGN THE NOTICE AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT, THAT WOULD NOT CHANGE THE LEGAL EFFECT OF THIS MUNICIPAL CODE, IT IS LITERALLY GIVING THE COUNCIL MEMBER NOTICE OF THIS CODE.
YOU COULD, SO IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SIGN IT, YOU DON'T HAVE TO SIGN IT.
IF YOU LOOK AT THE CODE SECTION, I BELIEVE IT'S ACTUALLY THE LAST SECTION OF IT.
IT SAYS THAT THE COUNCIL MEMBER COULD REFUSE TO SIGN THIS, BUT IT COULD BE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT IF THERE IS A LATER GOVERNANCE BASED MEASURE.
SO FOR INSTANCE, IF A COUNCIL MEMBER SAID, UH, I NEVER RECEIVED THIS, AND I DIDN'T BELIEVE THAT I WAS IN VIOLATION OF THE STANDARDS OF, OF CONDUCT, UH, THAT WOULD NOT BE AN EXCUSE.
IN FACT, TRYING TO DEMONSTRATE THAT YOU DID NOT RECEIVE IT WOULD BE NEGLIGENT ON THAT COUNCIL MEMBER'S PART.
UH, AND IS THERE ANY PROVISION IN THE CALIFORNIA CONSTITUTION, GOVERNMENT CODE OR ELECTION CODE THAT ALLOWS A CITY TO DELAY OR RESTRICT AN ELECTED COUNCIL MEMBER FROM SERVING BECAUSE THEY DECLINED TO SIGN A CITY CREATED ACKNOWLEDGEMENT, A NOTICE AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT? NO.
THE OATH, THE OFFICE IS THE ONLY THING THAT, UH, IF YOU WERE TO FAIL TO, UH, ACTUALLY TAKE THE OATH OF OFFICE, I BELIEVE THERE'S, UH, GOVERNMENT CODE, AND THERE MIGHT EVEN BE SOMETHING WITHIN THE CONSTITUTION, BUT I KNOW THERE IS WITHIN THE GOVERNMENT CODE THAT SAYS THAT THAT COULD, UH, CAUSE YOU TO NOT BE ALLOWED TO TAKE IT, UM, FOR A DELAY.
THE OATH HERE, IT, THIS IS NOT AN OATH, IT IS A NOTICE AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT.
LITERALLY, YOU ARE ACKNOWLEDGING THAT YOU RECEIVED SOMETHING.
AND CAN YOU PLEASE CITE THE LEGAL AUTHORITY THAT PERMITS THE CITY ATTORNEY, A LEGAL ADVISOR TO CONTROL THE FORM AND APPROVAL OF AN ACKNOWLEDGEMENT THAT AFFECTS ELECTED PARTICIPATION? I BELIEVE YOUR, YOUR 61 PAGE OR BUNCH OF PAGES HERE, UH, TALK ABOUT HOW THE CITY ATTORNEY WILL HAVE RESERVE POWER TO MAKE CHANGES TO IT.
WELL, THAT'S WHY I'M ASKING IF YOU, IF YOU WOULD LOOK AT THE ACTUAL SECTION OF IT.
IT SAYS THAT THE CITY ATTORNEY IS ALLOWED TO MAKE NON-SUBSTANTIVE FORMAT CHANGES.
SO, FOR INSTANCE, IF THERE WAS SOMEONE THAT NEEDED A LARGER FONT SO THAT THEY COULD READ IT OR OTHERWISE VIEW THE DOCUMENT, THE CITY ATTORNEY WOULD BE ALLOWED TO TELL THE CLERK TO HAVE THE NOTICE OF ACKNOWLEDGEMENT IN A 14 POINT FONT AS OPPOSED TO, OR A 18 POINT FONT.
THE ACTUAL NOTICE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT IS LAID OUT VERY SPECIFICALLY HERE ABOUT WHAT THE LANGUAGE WOULD BE, AND IT WOULD TAKE AN AMENDMENT TO THE MUNICIPAL CODE FOR THAT NOTICE OF ACKNOWLEDGEMENT TO CHANGE.
AND IS THERE ISN'T THE O AND THEN JUST TO CONFIRM, ISN'T THE ONLY LEGALLY REQUIRED PRECONDITION FOR ASSUMING OFFICE, THE CONSTITUTIONAL OATH UNDER ARTICLE 10, SECTION THREE OF THE CALIFORNIA CONSTITUTION.
IS IT ARTICLE 10 OR IS IT ARTICLE 20? WHAT'S IT ARTICLE? IT'S XX.
SO I, I'M JUST GOING BASED OFF MEMORY,
[01:55:01]
BUT I THINK IT'S ARTICLE 20.UH, SECTION THREE IS THE OATH OF OFFICE.
I'M NOT AWARE OF ANYTHING ELSE, BUT I'D HAVE TO DO RESEARCH INTO THAT.
AND CAN YOU POINT TO ANY LAW THAT ALLOWS A CITY TO ADD ADDITIONAL PRE CHRIS BEYOND THE CONSTITUTIONAL OATH FOR ELECTED OFFICIALS? I DIDN'T UNDERSTAND.
I HEARD A WORD WITH A P, BUT I DIDN'T HEAR WHAT THAT WORD WAS.
COULD YOU REPEAT THAT IF YOU DON'T MIND? YES.
CAN YOU POINT TO ANY LAW THAT ALLOWS A, A CITY TO ADD ADDITIONAL PREREQUISITE BEYOND THE CONSTITUTIONAL OATH FOR ELECTED OFFICE? OH, FREE PREREQUISITE.
UM, AND, AND NOW I CAN ACTUALLY HEAR THE WHOLE QUESTION AGAIN.
SORRY, I, I WAS TRYING TO HEAR JUST THAT ONE WORD AND DIDN'T UNDERSTAND THE REST OF IT.
SO, CAN I IDENTIFY ANY STATUTE OR WHAT DID YOU SAY THAT ALLOWS YOU TO HAVE A PREREQUISITE? UH, CAN YOU POINT TO ANY LAW THAT ALLOWS A CITY TO ADD ADDITIONAL PREREQUISITES BEYOND THE CONSTITUTIONAL OATH FOR ELECTED OFFICE? I, I, I'M NOT AWARE OF ANY OTHER PREREQUISITES THAT CAN BE ADDED BEYOND WHAT THE CALIFORNIA CONSTITUTION IS, BUT I BELIEVE THAT THE GOVERNMENT CODE HAS NUMEROUS THINGS IN IT THAT POINT TO WHAT WOULD MAKE IT SO THAT YOU ARE ELIGIBLE OR INELIGIBLE TO HOLD OFFICE.
WHAT WOULD MAKE IT SO THAT YOU COULD BE INELIGIBLE EVEN ONCE YOU'VE ASSUMED OFFICE, YOU COULD BE DEEMED TO HAVE, UH, ACTUALLY, UM, VACATED THE OFFICE.
THERE'S, THERE'S MANY THINGS WITHIN THE GOVERNMENT CODE.
I, I COULDN'T TELL YOU WHICH ONE YOU'RE ACTUALLY ASKING ABOUT, BUT THERE'S, THERE'S MANY.
GREAT, UH, WOULD RESTRICTING A COUNCIL MEMBER'S ABILITY TO PARTICIPATE IN PUBLIC MEETINGS VIOLATE THE BROWN ACTS REQUIREMENT THAT THE LEGISLATIVE BODY CONDUCT ITS BUSINESS OPENING UNDER GOVERNMENT CODE 5 4 9 5 3? I, GOSH, I, I DON'T WANT TO, UH, GIVE YOU AN OBJECTION AS IF THIS IS A, A DEPOSITION, BUT THAT WOULD BE AN INCOMPLETE HYPOTHETICAL.
UH, I, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE TOTAL, UH, TOTALITY OF THE SITUATION IS, BUT IT IS NOT UNCOMMON.
IN FACT, I, I'VE BEEN A PART OF IT WHERE A COUNCIL HAS VOTED AS A INTERIM GOVERNANCE BASED MEASURE TO MAKE IT SO THAT A COUNCIL MEMBER NO LONGER PARTICIPATES ON CERTAIN COMMISSIONS OR IS REMOVED FROM COMMISSIONS BASED ON THE ACTUAL RISK THAT THAT COUNCIL MEMBER IS CAUSING TO THE CITY OR TO MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION.
AND HOW DOES THIS ORDINANCE AVOID INFRINGING ON THE ELECTORATE'S RIGHT TO REPRESENTATION BY RESTRICTING THEIR ELECTED COUNCIL MEMBER? HOW DOES I, I, I DON'T BELIEVE THAT THERE'S ANYTHING IN THIS ORDINANCE THAT RESTRICTS THE COUNCIL MEMBER.
CAN YOU POINT TO WHAT YOU'RE, WHAT YOU'RE DISCUSSING, I'D BE HAPPY TO DISCUSS MORE SPECIFICALLY.
HOW DOES THIS ORDINANCE AVOID INFRINGING ON THE ELECTORATE'S RIGHTS REPRESENTATION? SO, I, I, SO YOU INDICATED THAT THE SIGNING THE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT IS VOLUNTARY VOLUNTARILY, BUT THEN THERE'S A REQUIREMENT THAT THE BO THAT THE BODY CAN MAKE IT A REQUIREMENT.
I THINK IN YOUR OWN WRITING, IT'S STATED THAT, NO, I'M SORRY.
I, I'M, PERHAPS I'M MISUNDERSTANDING YOU.
SO THERE'S A NOTICE OF ACKNOWLEDGEMENT WITHIN, UH, LIKE, I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE ON THE SAME PAGE.
THERE'S A NOTICE OF ACKNOWLEDGEMENT THAT THE COUNCIL MEMBER WOULD EXECUTE, UH, WHEN THEY'RE SUBMITTING THEIR PAPERWORK, WHEN THEY'RE SWORN IN OR WHEN, UH, THEY ARE REELECTED.
AND THEN, AND THEN, NO, I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE WE'RE ON THE SAME PAGE SO THAT YEAH.
AND, AND, AND SO THE NEXT QUESTION IS, IF FAILURE TO SIGN MAY DELAY PARTICIPATION, HOW CAN THE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT TRUTHFULLY REQUIRE ME TO STATE THAT I SIGN VOLUNTARILY AND WITHOUT COERCION? I, I BELIEVE THAT LANGUAGE IS ACTUALLY LESS STRINGENT THAN THE OATH OF OFFICE.
SO, FOR INSTANCE, THE OATH OF OFFICE ACTUALLY SAYS, UH, SOMETHING SIGNIFICANTLY MORE STRINGENT THAN WHAT YOU'RE SAYING HERE, KNOWINGLY.
AND, AND UNDERSTANDING WHAT YOU HAVE PROVIDED.
IF YOU DECIDED THAT YOU DIDN'T WANNA SIGN, THEN YOU ARE ALLOWED TO NOT SIGN.
BUT YOU WOULD ESSENTIALLY BE SAYING, I'M REFUSING TO SIGN THAT I HAVE REVIEWED, UNDERSTAND, OR I GUESS AGREE TO COMPLY WITH THE MUNICIPAL CODE.
UM, THERE ARE MANY, MANY MORE PARTS OF THE MUNICIPAL CODE THAN JUST THIS ONE PARTICULAR ARTICLE.
UM, WHETHER YOU SIGN A NOTICE OF ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OR NOT, YOU ARE BOUND TO COMPLY WITH WEST COVINA LAW.
ACTUALLY, THAT'S PART OF YOUR OATH OF OFFICE FROM ARTICLE 20, SECTION THREE, UM, THAT YOU WILL FULLY AND FAITHFULLY, UH, DO THE DUTIES OF YOUR RESPECTIVE OFFICE.
AND THEN WHEN THE MAYOR WAS TALKING, SHE MADE IT SEEM LIKE SHE KNEW THAT YOU WERE DOING THIS REPORT.
I CAN'T SPEAK FOR WHAT YOU'RE, I NEVER INTERPRET SAID THAT YOU'VE MENTIONED IT RIGHT IN FRONT AND
[02:00:01]
SAID YOU PUT IT TOGETHER.SO I JUST WENT EXACTLY WHAT YOU SAID RIGHT AFTER I I MENTIONED IT.
I, I DIDN'T, I THINK YOU'RE ATTRIBUTING, UH, I KNOW C MANAGER, UH, RACK IS VERY SIMILAR TO LET LOPEZ, VITO, BUT, UM, I, I THINK YOU'RE ATTRIBUTING HIS STATEMENT TO HER.
SO, AND, AND, AND, AND TOM O'CONNELL'S NAME IS PREPARED BY YEAH.
AND I BELIEVE IT'S ON YOUR SCRIPT AS WELL.
IT'S ON SHEET FOR ALL TO SEE WHO, SO IT'S NOT A SECRET.
WELL, IT'S A SECRET BECAUSE THE CON HIS CONTRACT DOESN'T SAY HE DOES CONSTITUTIONAL LAW OR BROWN ACT LAW.
UH, SO I'M A LITTLE CONFUSED ON HOW HE CONTINUES TO BE PAID BY TAXPAYER MONEY.
HOW MUCH DOES THIS COST TAXPAYERS TO DO? UH, AGAIN, THIS ISN'T PART OF THE ACTUAL AGENDA ITEM.
I KNOW, BUT THE TAXPAYERS WANNA KNOW HOW MUCH IT COSTS A DEBT COST.
YOU MEMBER, I'D LIKE TO FOLLOW THE BROWN ACT.
I DON'T WANNA VIOLATE THE BROWN ACT.
SO LET ME, LET ME REPHRASE MY QUESTION.
YOU DID THIS REPORT, CORRECT? I DID.
HOW MUCH DID IT COST TAXPAYERS? THAT'S NOT PART OF THIS, UH, DISCUSSION ITEM.
THE DISCUSSION ITEM IS ABOUT THE CODE OF CONDUCT.
SO YOU'RE REFUSING TO ANSWER A TRANSPARENT QUESTION ABOUT HOW MUCH IT COSTS THE TAXPAYERS TO DO THIS DOCUMENT.
UH, AND COUNCIL MEMBER GUTIERREZ, I THINK I PREVIOUSLY SAID TO YOU THAT IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT THAT, I'M HAPPY TO, BUT I CAN'T ANSWER IT AS PART OF THE BROWN ACT.
I DON'T WANT TO CREATE A BROWN ACT.
WELL, I IT'S ON THE SAME SUBJECT.
SO WE'RE NOT VIOLATING THE BROWN ACT.
I'M ASKING AN HONEST QUESTION.
HOW MUCH DID IT COST TO DO THIS? BUT WE'LL MOVE ON.
IT'S NOT, UM, AND IT ISN'T CONDITIONING PARTICIPATION ON SIGNING THIS FORM A FORM OF CAPEL SPEECH UNDER THE FIRST AMENDMENT? NO.
WOULD THIS ACKNOWLEDGEMENT SURVIVE CONSTITUTIONAL SCRUTINY UNDER HOUSTON COMMUNITY COLLEGE SYSTEM VERSUS WILSON OF 2022, WHICH LIMITS THE CITY'S ABILITY TO DISCIPLINE ELECTED OFFICIALS? UM, IT'S INTERESTING.
I, I'D WANNA BE ABLE TO SEE THE CASE AND READ IT IN FULL, BUT I'VE PROSECUTED CASES THAT ARE MORE RECENT THAN 2022.
SO I WOULD BE CURIOUS TO SEE WHAT THE HOLDING OF THAT CASE IS.
I, I, UNFORTUNATELY, AS MUCH AS I TRY, I DON'T HAVE AN EIDE MEMORY OF ALL CASE LAW THROUGHOUT THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA.
AND, AND WOULD THIS IN ORDINANCE EXPOSE THE CITY TO LIABILITY FOR VI POTENTIALLY VIOLATING THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT OR THE BROWN ACT IF IT RESTRICTS ELECTED PARTICIPATION? IT WOULD DEPEND ON HOW IT WAS USED, IF IT WAS USED IMPROPERLY.
THERE'S ANY NUMBER OF DIFFERENT WAYS TO EXPOSE THE CITY TO LIABILITY.
SO WOULD THERE BE SAFEGUARDS WRITTEN INTO THIS? BECAUSE I DON'T, I DIDN'T SEE ANY SAFEGUARDS IN THERE.
HA, HAVE YOU, IF YOU READ THROUGH IT, THERE'S ACTUALLY NUMEROUS SAFEGUARDS BUILT INTO IT.
UH, HOW ABOUT THERE'S A SAFEGUARD IN IT REGARDING, UH, MISUSE OF THE ACT ITSELF.
WHAT IS THE DETAIL? DO YOU WANNA FLIP TO IT WITH ME? I'M HAPPY TO GO OVER IT WITH YOU.
YOU COULD, YOU COULD JUST READ THIS LINE.
YOU WANT ME TO READ THE WHOLE THING? OH, JUST A SMALL, IT'S A WHOLE SECTION OR WHAT, WHAT PAGE, WHAT IN PARTICULAR WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO READ? SO, FOR INSTANCE, IT'S SECTION TWO DASH 7 23.
IT'S TITLED SAFEGUARDS AGAINST MISUSE OF PROCESS.
WHAT PAGE IS THAT? I THINK, UH, 29.
SAFEGUARDS AGAINST MISUSE OF PROCESS.
SO WHEN YOU'RE ASKING IF THERE'S ANY SAFEGUARDS BUILT IN, I, I MEAN, THIS IS ONE OF MANY TALKING ABOUT DIFFERENT SAFEGUARDS THAT ARE BUILT INTO THE CODE.
AND, UM, AND, AND YOU AS OUTSIDE COUNSEL, UH, DO YOU COMMIT THAT THIS ORDINANCE IS LAWFUL AND AND COMMIT ON THE RECORD THAT REFUSES TO SIGN WILL NOT PREVENT ANY, ANY COUNCIL MEMBER FROM PARTICIPATION IN COUNCIL MEETINGS? I CAN SAY THAT WITH THE WAY THAT IT IS WRITTEN, THAT IT IS LAWFUL.
I CAN SAY THAT IT HAS BEEN REVIEWED BY MY OFFICE AS WELL AS, UH, JONES MAYOR TO BE ABLE TO SAY THAT IT HAS BEEN REVIEWED AND IS IN COMPLIANT WITH STATE AND CONSTITUTIONAL LAW AS WRITTEN.
I CANNOT COMMIT THAT FOR NOW UNTIL THE END OF TIME THAT SOMEONE WILL NOT TRY TO VIOLATE THIS LAW OR OTHERWISE CREATE LIABILITY FOR THE CITY.
THAT IS SOMETHING I WISH I COULD COMMIT TO, BUT NOT, I'M TALKING ABOUT IT'S NOT POSSIBLE.
I'M TALKING SPECIFICALLY ABOUT AN ACKNOWLEDGEMENT.
SO, IF A, IF AN ELECTED MEMBER DOES NOT SIGN THE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT THAT YOU COMMIT THAT THEY'RE NOT GONNA BE PROHIBITED FOR PARTICIPATION IN THEIR DUTIES, I GUESS WHAT I, I HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THE, THE
[02:05:01]
PREMISE OF THE QUESTION.I AM NOT THE ONE THAT WOULD BE ENFORCING THIS LAW.
THIS WOULD BE ENFORCED BY THE CITY OF WEST COVINA THROUGH ITS CITY MANAGERS, CITY ATTORNEY, AND THE COUNCIL.
SO I CANNOT COMMIT TO SAY THAT SOMEONE, SOMEONE WILL NOT TRY TO MISUSE THE STATUTE AS WRITTEN.
SO YOU, THIS COULD BE 20 YEARS FROM NOW THAT SOMEONE TRIES, YOU SAID THE KEY WORD, NOT MISUSE.
SO, SO IN OTHER WORDS, NO, NO, THAT'S NOT ACCURATE.
SO WHY ARE YOU SAY MISUSE? YOU, I'M SAYING THAT, FOR INSTANCE, IF THERE IS A VIOLATION OF IT, YOU COULD ACTUALLY HAVE A VIOLATION OF THE STANDARDS OF CONDUCT, FOR INSTANCE, AN ABUSE OF POWER.
SOMEONE COULD TRY TO ABUSE THEIR POSITION AND NOT ALLOW SOMEONE TO BE SEATED, WHICH WOULD ACTUALLY BE A VIOLATION OF THE STANDARDS OF CONDUCT.
SO UNDER THE FORMAL, UH, AND THEN, UH, ALSO, UM, UNDER WHAT FORMAL CONSULT AUTHORIZATION WAS OUTSIDE COUNSEL BUTCHER RETAINED TO DRAFT OR REVISE ON THIS GOVERNANCE CODE? UH, AGAIN, I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER QUESTIONS REGARDING THE CODE OF CONDUCT.
IF, IF YOU'D LIKE TO ASK THOSE QUESTIONS SEPARATELY.
I JUST DON'T WANNA VIOLATE THE BROWN ACT.
PLEASE IDENTIFY THE COUNCIL RESOLUTION OF APPROVING THEIR SCOPE OF WORK AND THE COMPENSA COMPENSATION FOR THIS ORDINANCE.
UH, I, IT'S UNFORTUNATELY, COUNCIL MEMBER GUTIERREZ, I, I HAVE TO KEEP ON SAYING TO YOU, I, I NEED TO FOLLOW THE BROWN ACT.
SO ANY, ANY DISCUSSION? I, I THINK YOU'RE FAMILIAR WITH THE CODE SECTION.
UM, IT SAYS THAT YOU CAN'T HAVE ANY DISCUSSION UNDERTAKEN ABOUT SOMETHING THAT'S NOT APPEARING ON THE POSTED AGENDA.
I CAN'T DISCUSS THINGS OR NOT ON THE POSTED AGENDA.
I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER QUESTIONS SEPARATELY.
I'M HAPPY TO DO THESE OTHER THINGS, BUT I HAVE TO COMPLY WITH THE BROWN ACT.
IT'S, IT'S IMPORTANT TO ME, I THINK, IMPORTANT TO THE CITY ALSO.
AND IT IS, IT IS IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE BROWN ACT.
'CAUSE YOU PRODUCE A DOCUMENT, AND I THINK THE TAXPAYERS HAVE THE RIGHT TO KNOW HOW MUCH IT COSTS THEM.
UM, DOES THE CITY ATTORNEY HAVE INDEPENDENT AUTHORITY TO RETAIN OUTSIDE COUNSEL FOR LEGISLATIVE MATTERS WITHOUT COUNCIL VOTE? I I HAVE NO IDEA HOW THIS IS RELATED TO THE CODE OF CONDUCT, BUT, UM, I'M HAPPY TO.
CAN THE CITY ATTORNEY ANSWER THAT OR ARE YOU AS A LAWYER? I'M SORRY, WHAT WAS THE LAST COMMENT? I HEARD IT, BUT IT WAS, SO DOES THE CITY ATTORNEY HAVE INDEPENDENT AUTHORITY TO RETAIN OUTSIDE COUNSEL WITH LEGISLATIVE MATTERS WITHOUT A COUNCIL VOTE? IS IS THIS ONE OF THE, UH, I'M SORRY, I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE I UNDERSTAND.
ARE YOU REFERRING TO THE INVESTIGATIONS OR THE NO, I'M REFERRING TO YOUR REPORT HERE THAT SAYS YOU HAS YOUR NAME THAT YOU DID IT.
SO, OH, YOU'RE NOT ASKING ABOUT THE CODE OF CONDUCT.
YOU'RE ASKING ABOUT SOMETHING SEPARATE.
NO, I'M ASKING ABOUT YOUR REPORT.
SO I'M ASKING, DID DOES THE CITY ATTORNEY HAVE INDEPENDENT AUTHORITY TO RETAIN OUTSIDE CONS FOR LEGISLATIVE MATTERS WITHOUT A COUNCIL VOTE? OKAY.
I, I AM GOING TO, AGAIN, REPEAT.
WE HAVE TO STATE, YOU WANNA HAVE, UH, THE CITY ATTORNEY ANSWER THE QUESTION? I THINK I'M ANSWERING IT, BUT BEYOND THE SCOPE.
SO COUNCIL MEMBER PUBLIC HAS NO RIGHT.
THANK, YOU'VE ASKED THE SAME QUESTION ABOUT SIX OR SEVEN TIMES AND YOU GOT THE SAME ANSWER.
BUT NO ONE WANTS TO TALK ABOUT FINANCES WHEN, WHEN TAXPAYERS ARE PAYING FOR THIS.
WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE RULES OF DECORUM.
AND ACTUALLY, WITH EVERYTHING THAT HAS BEEN COME OUT AND INCLUDING ANY DOCUMENTS, CONSENT, I MEAN, I MEAN, THE PUBLIC HEARINGS AND SO FORTH AND THINGS THAT ARE COME OUT WITH, UH, COUNSEL'S REQUESTS, THEY'RE NOT ALWAYS, A DOLLAR AMOUNT IS NOT INCLUDED ON IT.
SO JUST WANTING TO LET YOU KNOW THAT.
UM, I WANTED TO ADD A FEW THINGS, BUT, UH, THAT'S OKAY.
CAN WE ADD, HAVE OTHER COUNCILS TO ALSO SPEAK? UM, BEFORE WE CONTINUE, I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THE PUBLIC KNOWS.
I'M JUST GONNA READ THE HEADING SO YOU HAVE A BETTER PICTURE OF EVERYTHING THAT IS OCCURRING.
SO, ATTACHMENT NUMBER ONE IS THE RULES OF DECORUM.
AND THESE ARE THE SECTIONS ADDRESSING THE COUNCIL MANNER OF ADDRESSING CITY COUNCIL.
TIME LIMIT, PERSON ADDRESSING MAY BE SWORN DECORUM REQUIRED ENFORCEMENT OF DECORUM, PERSONS AUTHORIZED TO BE WITHIN COUNCIL AREA.
SO THAT WAS THE SECTION ONE, ATTACHMENT ONE.
AND AS YOU SEEN, WHEN WE HAD A LITTLE HICCUP, NOBODY KNEW WHAT TO DO.
WELL, NOW WE HAVE THIS IN STONE OF HOW THINGS SHOULD BE DONE.
SO WE DON'T HAVE THE SITUATION AND WASTE THE PUBLIC'S TIME.
ON ATTACHMENT NUMBER TWO, YOU HAVE THE ORDINANCE, AND THAT IS THE PURPOSE AND SCOPE, THE DEFINITION, THE, UH, APPLICABILITY, ACKNOWLEDGEMENT, UH, CONSTRUCTION.
AND THEN DIVISION TWO IS THE STANDARDS OF CONDUCT, WHICH IS THE GENERAL STANDARDS OF CONDUCT, UH, ABUSE OF POSITION OR INFLUENCE.
UH, LET'S SEE, IMPROPER CONDUCT TOWARDS PARTICIPANTS.
[02:10:02]
ETHICS, CONFLICTS OF INTERESTS AND SELF-DEALING, MATERIAL, MISREPRESENTATION AND CONCEALMENT, MISUSE OF CITY RESOURCES OR INFORMATION, ELECTION RELATED MISCONDUCT, PUBLIC SAFETY AND THREATENING CONDUCT CONDUCT, UNDERMINING THE LAWFUL FUNCTIONING OF THE CITY, GOVERNANCE OF OR CITY OPERATION.AND THEN YOU HAVE DIVISION THREE REPORTING AND REVIEW, WHICH YOU HAVE THE OVERVIEW, THE PRELIMINARY ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW BY CITY MANAGER DESIGNEE, A SECONDARY ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW BY CITY COUNCIL AND THRESHOLD ACTION, PRESERVATION OF DOCUMENTS, COMMUNICATION AND RECORDS INVESTIGATION, INDEPENDENT FACT FINDING AND ADVISORY PROCEEDINGS, RELIANCE ON EXTERNAL FINDINGS AND ORDERS, INTERIM GOVERNMENTS BASED MEASURES, UH, INDEMNIFICATION AND REIMBURSEMENT OF COST.
SAFEGUARDS AGAINST MISUSE OF PROCESS.
DIVISION FOUR, YOU HAVE GOVERNMENTS, UH, GOVERNANCE BASED MEASURES AND ESCALATION OVERVIEW, CORRECTIVE AND REMEDIAL MEASURES.
GOVERNMENT SPACE LIMITATION AND RESTRICTION, REFERRAL TO EXTERNAL AUTHORITIES AND PROCEEDINGS, CENSURE, IMPEACHMENT, DISQUALIFICATION FROM FUTURE OFFICE FOLLOWING IMPEACHMENT.
AND THEN YOU HAVE THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE.
SO THIS IS JUST GIVING THIS WHOLE OVERVIEW OF EVERYTHING, OF LIKE THE DIFFERENT DEGREES.
UM, WE'VE HAD ISSUES WITH COUNCILS IN THE PAST.
WE'VE, AND THIS ALSO HELPS PREVENT COUNCIL ISSUES, NOT JUST PRESENT, BUT FOR THE FUTURE.
WHOEVER WILL BE SITTING HERE YEARS TO COME.
WE'VE HAD, UM, THE LAST DECORUM WAS, WHAT, 25 YEARS AGO? UH, THAT'S A PRETTY LONG TIME.
IT NEEDS TO BE UPDATED TO TODAY'S TIMES AND TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION OF EVERYTHING'S GOING ON.
UM, THE NOTICE AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT, THIS IS JUST TO ACKNOWLEDGE THIS.
UM, THIS IS, WE TALK ABOUT TRANSPARENCY.
REFUSING TO SIGN IS JUST WANTING TO HIDE SOMETHING OR CONTINUE DOING WHAT IS WRONG.
UM, THE STUFF THAT WE DISCUSS, I KNOW THIS IS THE ORDINANCE.
THIS IS NOT, UM, THE OTHER IN-HOUSE RULES THAT WE CREATE.
NOW, WE CREATE IN IN-HOUSE RULES THAT IS NOT PART OF THIS BIG ORDINANCE THING, BUT WE ALL AGREE.
SO IF HERE IN PUBLIC YOU AGREE, DON'T BE A HYPOCRITE, AND THEN DO SOMETHING COMPLETE OPPOSITE THAT, THAT IS THE ISSUE THAT I WAS HAVING.
WELL, HERE WE ARE IN TRANSPARENCY.
UH, WE DO TALK ABOUT COMMON COURTESY.
UM, EACH COUNCIL SHOULD BE OPEN.
UH, THE VOTERS SHOULD KNOW EXACTLY WHO THE PERSON THEY ARE PUTTING INTO OFFICE.
SO THIS IS FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE PUBLIC.
PUBLIC SHOULD KNOW IF THEIR COUNCIL IS INCOHERENT OR UNFIT FOR OFFICE.
I MEAN, IF THIS IS SOMETHING THAT IS VERY DIFFICULT TO UNDERSTAND, THE PUBLIC SHOULD KNOW THAT, UH, THIS SHOWS THAT WE'RE JUST HOLDING EACH PUBLIC OFFICIAL AT A HIGH STANDARD.
THEY COME UP HERE AND SPEAK AND PUBLIC COMMENT ABOUT EACH AND EVERY ONE OF US.
WELL, THIS IS A FORMULA JUST TO MAKE THAT OUT IN THE OPEN.
UM, JUST, I, I MEAN, THIS IS JUST TO GET THE BALL ROLLING.
AND YOU KNOW, HERE YOU TALK ABOUT THIS, UH, WHOLE THING.
SO FOR COUNCILMAN GUTIERREZ, I WANTED TO KNOW WHAT RULES IN HERE THAT YOU SPECIFICALLY HAVE AN ISSUE WITH.
I MEAN, HERE WE AT, WE HAVE ALL THESE RULES.
THIS IS TO HOLD A, AT A HIGH STANDARD.
THIS IS EVERYTHING THAT ANYBODY COULD ASK FOR IN AN ELECTED OFFICIAL.
SOMEBODY EVEN I WOULD VOTE FOR ANYBODY ELSE TO HOLD SOMEBODY ACCOUNTABLE.
SO IS THERE A SPECIFIC ISSUE WITH ANY OF THESE RULES THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE? PLEASE PUT IT ON THE OPEN SO WE CAN DISCUSS.
'CAUSE THIS IS THE DECORUM IN THESE RULES.
UH, I THINK I ASKED MY QUESTIONS.
UH, YOU KEEP MENTIONING, UH, BEING A HYPOCRITE.
YOU'RE, YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT, I'M PUTTING IT IN A GENERIC GENERIC SENSE.
THE JUDICIAL SYSTEM IS A SEPARATE BRANCH OF GOVERNMENT.
UM, AND, AND SO, UH, I ASKED MY QUESTIONS.
UH, I, I ADDRESSED, UH, YOU KNOW, WE TALK ABOUT THE NEED FOR RUSE, BUT I WONDER WHAT HAPPENED TO VINCENT CAPELLI AND LARRY WHITHORN AND MARK TAYLOR.
UH, I WONDER WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM WHEN THEY GOT FIRED AND RETALIATED AGAINST, BUT SO TALK ABOUT LEADERSHIP AND, AND, AND YOU VOTED ON THAT.
SO, UM, MADAM MAYOR, LET'S, AND SO IT'S DECORUM, PLEASE.
IT'S TO MAKE SURE YOU ALWAYS TALK AND DEFEND THE MAYOR.
ARE YOU HER LAWYER OR THE CITY'S LAWYER? I'M NOT DEFENDING, I'M DEFENDING THE PROCESS.
AND SO IT'S, IT'S BEYOND THE SCOPE OF
[02:15:01]
THE RULES OF DECORUM.LET'S, WELL, I HAVE THE FLOOR.
SO, AND SO IT'S KEY TO ENSURE TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY HERE AT CITY HALL.
SO THANK YOU, UH, COUNCILMAN RU.
UH, AND I THINK, OKAY, UM, WITH, UH, CORE CONDUCT, I THINK'S BETTER WITH SOME KIND OF GUIDELINE.
OKAY? AND, UH, WE NEED TO USE THIS OPPORTUNITY BECAUSE 25 YEARS AGO, WE HAVE THAT WE NEVER UPDATE.
IT'S ABOUT TIME TO KIND OF, UH, UPDATE.
OKAY? AND THEN AGAIN, THIS ONE, OKAY, THIS, OKAY, CALL CONDUCT SHOULD APPLY ALL OF US, INCLUDING THE, ALL THE ELECTED.
SO I'M GOING TO MOVE THE MOTION TO APPROVE THIS COURT OF CONDUCT FOR EVERYBODY SHOULD BE ALL ELECTED, INCLUDING THE APPOINTED COMMISSIONER, OKAY? THAT WE GET ELECTED TO SERVE, NOT TO GET SUPREME POWER.
UH, MAY, MAYBE NOT US, MAYBE THE FUTURE TO ABUSE THAT POWER.
SO I THINK WITH THAT GUIDELINE, WE CALL A COUNTER THAT WE REALLY OKAY.
AND TO MAKE SURE ALL THE OKAY.
AND, UH, UH, THE CITY COUNCIL, THE ELECTED OR COMMISSIONER OR, OR COMPLY WITH THE BASIC RESPECT AND COMMON SENSE, AND TO HELP THE CITY TO, UH, CONTINUE TO IMPROVE.
SO I MOVE THE MOTION ADD ABOUT ALL THE ELECTED, THIS AND THAT.
YES, THAT'S THE MULTIPLE PROCESS BEFORE YOU DO THAT.
UM, AND YOU KNOW WHAT? EVERYBODY HAS A RIGHT.
IF A COUNCIL MEMBER DOESN'T WANNA SIGN, AT LEAST I WOULD LIKE THE PUBLIC TO KNOW THAT, SO THEY KNOW EXACTLY WHO THEY HAVE IN OFFICE.
BUT I WANT THIS OUT IN THE OPEN.
UM, COUNCILWOMAN DIAZ, YOU HAVE QUESTIONS, MADAM MAYOR.
UM, I THINK THAT BECAUSE IT'S WHAT BEEN 25 YEARS, I, MY UNDERSTANDING SINCE WE'VE HAD THIS, I THINK THAT IT'S A GREAT TIME TO UPDATE.
AND I THINK THAT, UM, I REVIEWED IT AND I'M TAKING IT HOME WITH ME.
AND, UH, THE BOTTOM LINE IS, UH, WE ALL HAVE TO JUST RESPECT EACH OTHER AND TREAT PEOPLE WITH, UH, COURTESY.
AND, UM, I DON'T HAVE A PROBLEM SIGNING THIS ACKNOWLEDGEMENT.
SO I WANNA KNOW WHAT'S THE PROCESS? DO I SIGN IT NOW? DO I GIVE IT TO YOU? HOW DOES THIS WORK? I'M READY.
YOU'D HAVE TO WAIT TILL LATER.
AND, AND ACTUALLY, I, I WANTED TO BRING UP SOMETHING FOR COUNCIL MEMBER GUTIERREZ.
'CAUSE IT WAS, UH, IT OCCURRED TO ME WHAT MAY BE CAUSING YOUR CONCERN WITH THE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT AND A VERY SIMPLE FIX.
IF YOU TURN TO PAGE FIVE, UM, THAT'S TWO DASH 7 0 3, THE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT, OBVIOUSLY SINCE THIS IS A FIRST READ, AND WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THIS IS SOMETHING THAT, UM, WE DON'T HAVE TO GO BACK AND FORTH ON ANYTHING.
I WANNA MAKE IT SO THAT EVERY COUNCIL MEMBER IS ON THE SAME PAGE AND IS COMFORTABLE WITH THIS.
THIS SEEMS LIKE THIS IS A PRIMARY CONCERN.
UH, COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, GUTIERREZ, IF YOU REMOVED LITERALLY THE FIRST CLAUSE, UM, BEFORE EACH CITY COUNCIL MEMBER SHALL EXECUTE.
SO IT WOULD, INSTEAD OF SAYING AS A CONDITION OF ASSUMING OFFICE AS AN ONGOING OBLIGATION DURING SERVICE, IF YOU, IF YOU MOVE THAT CLAUSE, AND THEN IN SUB CLAUSE, A SUB CLAUSE TWO AS A CONDITION OF ASSUMING OFFICE, IF YOU REMOVED THAT, UH, SUB CLAUSE, UM, IF YOU REMOVE THOSE TWO SUB CLAUSES, I THINK IT WOULD COMPLETELY SATISFY EXACTLY, YES.
UH, THE CONCERN THAT YOU HAVE IS THAT, IS THAT FAIR TO SAY? YES.
AND SO IT WOULD, IT WOULD MAKE IT SO THAT IT IS, UM, BEYOND ANY DOUBT.
THAT, UH, THAT THE NOTICE OF ACKNOWLEDGEMENT IS A NOTICE OF ACKNOWLEDGEMENT.
WOULD THAT SATISFY YOUR CONCERN? YES.
SO I, I WOULD SAY THAT TO THE COUNSEL, WHEN YOU ALL ARE APPROVING THAT, IT WOULD BE WITH THE REMOVAL OF THOSE TWO, IMA, THEY ARE NON-MATERIAL CHANGES.
WE AREN'T CHANGING ANY MAJOR CLAUSE.
WE ARE SIMPLY PROVIDING A CLARIFICATION REGARDING ESSENTIALLY
UH, I THINK THAT WOULD SATISFY THE PRIMARY CONCERN THAT COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, GUTIERREZ HAD.
IS THAT FAIR? COUNCIL MEMBER GUTIERREZ? YES.
UM, AND AGAIN, THIS IS THE FIRST READING.
SO AS THE PUBLIC GOES OVER THIS, UH, THE NEXT READING, YOU'RE MORE OR PRIOR TO THE NEXT READING, FEEL FREE TO EMAIL US.
AND I MEAN, WE ARE PRETTY OPEN.
THAT'S WHY TODAY I WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT THIS IS AN OPEN COMMUNICATION, NOT JUST COUNSEL, BUT TO THE PUBLIC AS WELL.
I MEAN, IF YOU LEAVE IT UP TO ME, I WISH I COULD HAVE LIKE COUNSEL BEFORE THEY GET INTO OFFICE TO TAKE A DRUG TEST AND A COGNITIVE TEST.
BUT YOU KNOW, WE'RE, I KNOW WE'RE NOT GONNA BE THERE WISHFUL THINKING, BUT AT LEAST THIS IS A START OF A, A STANDARD, A JUST A BASIC STANDARD TO SEE WHO YOU HAVE AND, AND JUST RUN
[02:20:01]
THESE MEETINGS PEACEFULLY AS WE CAN.UM, MADAM MAYOR, YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY? JUST, JUST VERY BRIEFLY.
PRO, PRO CANTOS, UH, UM, JUST, JUST, UH, I, I LIKE THE IDEA EARLIER THAT, THAT IF WE HAVE IT APPLIED ALL ELECTEDS, THAT THAT WAS MENTIONED EARLIER.
I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT IT'S CLEAR THAT IF, IF THAT WOULD BE POSSIBLE FOR US TO AMEND THAT HERE SENTIMENT WISE, FOR IT TO APPLY TO ALL ELECTED OFFICIALS, I'D BE SUPPORTIVE OF THAT.
SO WE HAVE A FIRST AND A SECOND WITH THE ATTORNEY'S, UH, CHANGES TO COUNCILMAN GUTIERREZ'S CONCERNS, AND THEN TO PUT THAT THIS APPLIES TO ALL ELECTED OFFICIALS.
UM, UH, HOWEVER, UH, COUNSEL IS INFORMING, WE GONNA NEED TWO MOTIONS.
ONE FOR THE ORDINANCE, ONE FOR THE RESO.
SO IF THIS, WE CAN DO ONE MOTION FOR THE ORDINANCE, AND THEN A SECOND MOTION FOR THE RESOLUTION, PLEASE.
SO THAT, BECAUSE THE RESOLUTION, WE DIDN'T TALK A LOT, UH, ABOUT AS MUCH AS OUR DISCUSSIONS HERE BETWEEN MYSELF AND COUNCIL MEMBER GUTIERREZ OR DIAZ ARE, ARE HELPFUL AND INTERPRETIVE, THE RESOLUTION IS SOMETHING THAT ACTUALLY GIVES LEGISLATIVE INTENT TO THE, UH, TO THE EXTENT THAT THERE ARE EVER ANY QUESTIONS, UM, THAT ACTUALLY PROVIDES THE LEGISLATIVE INTENT.
SO, SO RESOLUTION IS, IS YOU'RE ESSENTIALLY SAYING THIS WAS THE PURPOSE OF WHY IT IS THAT WE ARE BRINGING THIS ORDINANCE, UH, FORWARD.
UH, I MEAN, I KNOW THEY, WE HAD A MOTION IN A SECOND.
SO I HAD A MOTION BY, UM, MAY, UM, COUNCIL, COUNCIL MEMBER WU, AND A SECOND BY COUNCILMAN DIAZ FOR THE, I BELIEVE, FOR THE ORDINANCE.
THE RESOLUTION HAS DIFFERENT REQUIREMENTS THAN ORDINANCE.
AND, AND JUST TO NOTE, YOU KNOW, I, I'VE MENTIONED THIS AGAIN, AND I'D LIKE TO CLARIFY AGAIN WITH THE COUNCIL, THE THINGS THAT WE HAD MENTIONED WITH THE CODE OF CONDUCT THAT I MENTIONED A WHILE BACK.
I STILL LIKE THAT TO BE IN PLACE AND WE SAID EFFECTIVE.
SO IF ANYBODY IN HERE DISAGREED WITH ME, BY ALL MEANS BRING IT UP TO THE OPEN SO RESIDENTS KNOW EXACTLY WHAT'S GOING ON.
MADAM MAYOR, THAT WAS CLEAR THAT IT BECAME EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY.
AND, AND, UM, ACTING CITY MANAGER HAS THAT DISCRETION, NOTWITHSTANDING THAT ACTION.
IT WILL COME BACK, A POLICY WILL COME BACK WITH THOSE DETAILED ABOUT THE BADGE, ABOUT WHEN YOU CAN BE HERE, WHAT OFFICE TO USE, CERTAIN THINGS USING THE PRINTER.
STUFF LIKE THAT WILL COME BACK, I BELIEVE, AT THE NEXT MEETING.
JUST TO CLARIFY, I HAVE A MOTION BY COUNCILMAN WU, A SECOND BY COUNCILMAN MEN DIAZ TO APPROVE THE ORDINANCE.
AND THAT'S ORDINANCE NUMBER 2 5 3 7.
AND THEN IF WE COULD HAVE A RES, UH, A MOTION FOR THE RESOLUTION.
THAT'S A MOTION BY COUNCILWOMAN DIAZ, A SECOND BY MAYOR PROTI CONTOS TO ADOPT RESOLUTION NUMBER 2026 DASH 10.
ALL RIGHT, THAT IS DONE ONTO CITY COUNCIL REPORTS, AB 1 23 4 CONFERENCE AND MEETING REPORT.
ANYBODY HAS ANYTHING TO REPORT ON THAT? SEEING NONE,
[CITY COUNCIL REQUESTS FOR REPORTS, STUDIES OR INVESTIGATION]
WE'LL GO TO CITY COUNCIL.ANY COUNCIL REQUESTS? COUNCILMAN GUTIERREZ? YES.
UH, WE HEARD FROM OUR COMMUNITY BUSINESSES TODAY, AND AGAIN, I, I VOTED ON THIS, SO, UH, I TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THAT TOO.
BUT IF BUSINESS, IF SMALL BUSINESSES ARE BEING CHARGED THAT MUCH AMOUNT OF MONEY, WE'RE GONNA BANKRUPT OUR SMALL BUSINESSES.
SO I WOULD LIKE STAFF TO DO A FURTHER A REPORT TO THE COUNCIL AND PUT IT ON THE AGENDA TO TALK ABOUT, UH, A REVIEW OF, OF WHAT WE IMPLEMENTED.
ANY OTHER COUNCIL REQUESTS?
I'M NOT FOLLOWING THE, YEAH, I MEAN, I, I DO LIKE TO HAVE ATHENS COME IN AND EXPLAIN.
THAT'S, OH, WELL YOURS WORKED A LITTLE DIFFERENTLY, BUT MA MADAM MAYOR, IF IT'S ATHENS OR, OR STAFF, BOTH OF THEM TO CLARIFY.
I, I, I THINK, OR AT LEAST I FOLLOWING, I THINK WHAT I THINK WHAT THE SENTIMENTS COULD BE, IF WE, IF WE COULD ASK STAFF TO, TO LOOK INTO THE CONCERNS THAT WERE EXPRESSED, UH, BY, BY THE BUSINESS DISTRICT EARLIER, WITH REGARD TO THE COSTS, ESPECIALLY
[02:25:01]
IN LIGHT OF THEIR UNDERSTANDING THAT THE, THAT THE, THAT THE COSTS WERE ONLY TO RISE BY 17%, BUT THEN IT LOOKED LIKE THE COSTS WERE HIGHER.JUST TO SORT OF LOOK INTO THAT SERIES OF CONCERNS AND, AND WORK WITH, WITH DOUG AND OTHERS WHO THEY REPRESENT TO, TO GET TO THE BOTTOM OF THAT.
AND, AND THEN ALSO TO LET US KNOW THE, THE, THE OUTCOME OF, OF THAT EFFORT.
AND MAYBE WE SHOULD HAVE ASKED THEM TO EXPLAIN TO US YES.
TO BE ATHENS AND ABOUT BUSINESS, ABOUT THE SMALL BUSINESS OR ANY OTHER RESTAURANT, UH, COMMERCIAL.
BECAUSE IF 70%, THEN WHY IS THAT HIGH? SO WE CAN GET SOME NUMBERS.
ANY OTHER COUNCIL REQUESTS? GREAT.
NEXT ONE, UH, IS TO REPEAL THE REQUIREMENT IN HAVING THE CITY COUNCIL AND HAVING TO CONFIRM DIRECTOR APPOINTMENTS.
THIS COUNCIL TALKS ABOUT NON MICROMANAGEMENT AND, AND GIVING THE CITY MANAGER AUTHORITY TO MAKE DECISIONS ON HIS OWN.
AND IF IT'S, IF IT'S, IF IT'S NON MILAN, IF IT'S A FUTURE CITY MANAGER, UH, THIS, THIS RULE WAS CREATED IN ACCORDANCE, IN ACCORDANCE TO, IN A PALLET CASE, UH, WHERE THIS RULE WAS POTENTIALLY CREATED TO RETALIATE AGAINST A CITY EMPLOYEE.
SO IF WE'RE GONNA ALLOW THE CITY MANAGER TO MAKE HIS OWN DECISIONS ON HOW HE APPOINTS DIRECTORS, THEN WE SHOULD REPEAL THAT REQUIREMENT.
I DON'T THINK YOU UNDERSTAND THAT.
UH, RULING HE DOES HAVE HIS FULL AUTHORITY.
HE DOES GO THROUGH HIS OWN MOTION AND THEN THEY JUST BRING IT TO US.
IT SAYS SHORTLY AFTER THE ELECTION CASTANO'S APPROACH, THE CITY MANAGER FREELAND, ABOUT CHANGING THE MUNICIPAL CODE TO THE CITY COUNCIL, AND NOT JUST THE CITY MANAGER HAD TO JUST SAY, IN HIRING AND FIRING DEPARTMENT HEADS.
AND IT GOES ON RU APPROACH RED HORN AT A FIRE PREVENTION OPEN HOUSE, POURED INTO DAR CAST LOPEZ AND SAID, THAT'S GONNA BE YOUR NEW CITY COUNCIL.
DON'T CH AND CHANGE IS COMING.
SO YOU APPELLATE COURT, YOU KNOW THE ONE WE LOST WITH THE, WHEN THE US SUPREME COURT REJECTED, IT SAYS, SO WE HAVE A RULE RIGHT NOW, THAT RULE IS ON THE APPELLATE CASE.
AND TO MAKE IT CLEAR, AS I SAID BEFORE, THAT THE COUNCIL HAS NO AUTHORITY TO HIRE AND FIRE ANY DIRECTORS.
LETTI, YOU DO HAVE, WE DO HAVE AUTHORITY TO CONFIRM, DIRECTOR CONFIRM, BUT WE CANNOT SAY FIRE.
SO WHY DON'T WE LI WHY, WHY? OKAY.
WE'RE NOT GONNA CONTINUE THIS DISCUSSION.
SO WHY DON'T WE ELIMINATE, WE HAVE, UH, EXCUSE ME, DO WE HAVE A SUPPORT FOR, UH, COUNCILMAN GUTIERREZ'S REQUEST? SEEING THAT? SO, SO WE COULD SEE COMMUNITY HYPOCRITES HERE, PLEASE.
UM, SO MY UNDERSTANDING, THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT ITEM WILL COME BACK AT THE NEXT MEETING, CORRECT? CITY MANAGER? YEAH.
I'LL PROVIDE A, UH, UPDATE ON THE FINANCIAL STATUS OF THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT.
WHAT'S BEEN SPENT, UH, SINCE INCEPTION.
ALL THAT'S, UH, WILL BE BROUGHT FORWARD.
AND ANY ATTORNEY FEES ASSOCIATED WITH THAT AS WELL? IT WAS THE MOTION BACK THEN.
UH, THE COST, WHATEVER WE'VE SPENT IN THE LAST, YOU KNOW, FIVE YEARS, THEY'RE ALL CAPTURED BY YEAR.
AND THEN, UH, MY UNDERSTANDING IS, UH, ACCORDING TO STAFF, UH, UH, THIS PAST THIS, IN 2025, THE CITY HAD A MOON FESTIVAL AND C-A-A-W-C COMMITTED TO RETURNING FUNDS THAT THEY HAD COLLECTED FROM VENDORS AND SPONSORS.
UH, MY UNDERSTANDING IS THE CITY STILL HAS NOT COLLECTED THOSE FUNDS FROM CAWC.
SO I WOULD LIKE CITY STAFF TO FOLLOW UP WITH CAWC TO DETERMINE WHEN THEY PLAN ON GIVING, UH, THE TAXPAYERS BACK THAT MONEY THAT THEY COLLECTED FROM THE 2025 AFFAIR THAT THEY SAID THEY GAVE UP POWER ON.
IS THERE SUPPORT? WHAT'S THAT WRONG? ALRIGHT.
IT'S WHAT, NO TRANSPARENCY HERE.
NO, I MEAN, THEY HAVE, YOU CAN, YOU CAN GET THAT.
IF YOU HAVE THAT, THEN THEY HAVEN'T RETURNED THEIR MONEY.
ONTO THE NEXT, UM, IN REGARDS YET OF TRANSPARENCY.
I MEAN, IF WE'RE GONNA GO AT IT, THE COUNCIL, WITH ALL THIS DRAMA THAT'S BEEN HAPPENING, IT'S COSTING CITY TAXPAYERS TONS OF MONEY.
AND I'D LIKE TO EVENTUALLY, WHEN THIS ALL DIES OUT, HOPEFULLY IN A MONTH OR TWO THAT WE GET THE FINAL REPORT OF WHAT EACH COUNCIL MEMBER CAUSES.
I I KNOW IT'S HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS OF COSTING TAXPAYERS MONEY FOR, UH, LOTS OF RESOURCES AND EVERYTHING.
I'D LIKE TO SEE THAT REPORT COME TO US, UM, FOR EACH AND EVERY ONE OF US.
[02:30:01]
UH, THIS IS A REQUEST.YES, PLEASE STAY ON TOPIC TO THE REQUEST.
UH, SO AGAIN, I BELIEVE, UH, MY REQUEST IS TO SEND OUT A NOTICE TO CAWC AND FILM IT WEST COVINA AND ASK THEM WHEN THEY PLAN ON, UH, SUBMITTING THE RE THE TAX RETURNS AND OTHER DOCUMENTS TO SEE REQUESTED FROM THEM THAT SINCE THIS DAY THEY HAVE NOT TURNED OVER.
AND THAT IS ALL UNDER INVESTIGATION.
PLEASE LET THE INVESTIGATION RUN ITS COURSE.
AND WITH THE WHOLE, DO YOU THINK IT'S A CONFLICT WHEN YOU'RE ADVOCATING FOR YOUR OWN NONPROFIT ON THAT MATTER, WEAVE THAT INTO THE INVESTIGATION CASE, ALL THAT, YOU'RE MORE THAN WELCOME TO LET THE INVESTIGATORS SPEAK YOUR MIND.
IT HASN'T BEEN BROUGHT TO US PUBLICLY.
AND YOU KNOW, THE ATTACKS ON ALL THE NONPROFITS, INCLUDING OUR WEST COVINA FOUNDATION, INCLUDING OUR CANINE AND POLICE.
I MEAN, MAN, TALK ABOUT JUST HITTING ALL THESE NONPROFITS, BUT ANY, ANYTHING ELSE, ANY OTHER REQUESTS? NOW YOU'RE MAKING UP STUFF.
ANY OTHER REQUESTS? POLICE FOUNDATION.
I TALKED ABOUT THE COMMUNITY SERVICES FOUNDATION.
THAT'S, SO LET'S, LET'S, DO YOU HAVE ANOTHER REQUEST? YES.
I WANT TO KNOW WHEN YOU PLAN ON RETURNING YOUR, YOUR FORMS FROM FILM AT WEST COVINA.
THIS IS NOT, THIS IS A REQUEST.
ANY, ARE WE MOVING IT? MOTION DIES.
WHEN DOES CAWC PLAN ON COMING BACK? YOU HAD THE SAME THING COMING BACK FROM NEW YORK YET NEXT.
SO YOU'RE GONNA, YOU'RE GONNA ALLOW NEXT, PLEASE.
I'M, SO YOU'RE GONNA ALLOW A NONPROFIT.
WE'RE NOT HAVING THIS CONVERSATION.
UH, WE'RE DONE WITH A COUNCIL REQUEST.
[CITY COUNCIL COMMENTS]
IS WHAT HAPPENS.REMEMBER, THIS INVESTIGATION IS STILL OCCURRING.
SO I CAN'T WAIT TILL THAT COMES OUT.
MADAM MAYOR, UM, UH, MAYOR PRO, TIMM CONTOS.
IT'S, IT'S, THIS IS NOT A REALLY, I I JUST WANTED JUST TO MAKE A CO UH, A COMMENT, UH, UH, WITH REGARD TO THIS.
UM, WE ALL HAVE DIFFERENT CONCERNS AND SO FORTH, BUT, BUT IT, IT WOULD BE UNFAIR TO CHARACTERIZE ANY ABSENCE OF SUPPORT, TO MEAN AN ABSENCE OF SUPPORT FOR TRANSPARENCY.
THERE'S ARE INVESTIGATIONS THAT ARE ONGOING.
THERE ARE ISSUES THAT HAVE TO BE ADDRESSED, WHICH THEY ALL DESERVE TO BE ADDRESSED.
BUT TO MAKE THE IMPLICATION THAT, THAT, THAT IT, IF IT'S NOT SUPPORTED IN EXACT FORM AS DESCRIBED HERE, THAT, THAT THE REST OF US ARE, ARE NOT BEING TRANSPARENT, IS UNFAIR.
UH, IT'S JUST REALLY IMPORTANT THAT, THAT THE CITY WATCHING THE THESE PROCEEDINGS DON'T LOOK AT THIS AND SAY, OH, LOOK, THE, THE, THE COUNCIL JUST IS NOT REALLY IN FAVOR OF TRANSPARENCY BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T SUPPORT ANYTHING OF WHAT WAS, WHAT WAS REQUESTED, EXCEPT THAT'S NOT THE FULL CONTEXT OF WHAT THIS IS.
THERE'S AN INVESTIGATION THAT'S GOING, THERE ARE THINGS THAT HAVE TO GET TAKEN CARE OF WITH WHAT THE FINDINGS OF FACT ARE.
AND THE INDEPENDENT, THE INVESTIGATION IS INDEPENDENT.
AND, AND THEN LET'S JUST SEE WHAT, WHAT, LET'S HAVE THE PROCESS PLAY OUT RATHER THAN JUMPING TO ANY CONCLUSIONS FOR ANY OF US.
SO I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE TO POINT THAT OUT, BECAUSE IF I WERE A MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC WATCHING THIS, IT WOULD LOOK LIKE, OH MY GOSH, THERE'S ONE, ONE CHAMPION COUNCIL MEMBER WHO'S TRYING TO MAKE, UH, UH, RECOMMENDATIONS AND WITH THE REST OF THE COUNCIL, THAT MUST MEAN EVERYONE ELSE IS BEING CONSPIRATORIAL.
I'M HERE TO SAY I'M NOT CONSPIRATORIAL WITH ANYBODY, AND I DON'T, I DON'T BELIEVE THAT OTHERS ARE EITHER.
BUT WE HAVE GOTTA CHANGE THE TENOR OF THIS, BECAUSE THE IMPLICATION IS IF THERE IS NO AGREEMENT IN THAT WAY BECAUSE OF WHATEVER'S DISCUSSED, THAT SOMEHOW THERE MUST BE AN FAIREST INTENTION.
AND THAT IS ABSOLUTELY BLATANTLY UNFAIR.
UH, YOU DON'T HAVE NO REQUEST.
YOU CANNOT, UH, REQUEST NO, NO.
UH, COUNCILMAN GUTTER IS A SECOND WARNING.
SO I HAVE A, I HAVE ONE MORE TIME.
I'M GONNA HAVE SERGEANT OF ARMS REMOVE YOU.
YOU DON'T AUTHORITY TO YES, TO SERGEANT OF ARMS. COUNCIL MEMBER.
YOU DON'T LIKE THIS SERGEANT OF ARMS. I'VE GAVE HIM HIS THREE WARNINGS.
YOU DON'T HAVE AUTHORITY TO REMOVE AN ELECTED MOVE TO AJOUR.
I MOVE TO, I'LL MOVE THE MOTION TO ADJOURN MEETING.
UH, BEFORE YOU DO, I JUST WANNA SAY THANK YOU, MAYOR PROTI CONTOS FOR YOUR EXPLANATION AND YOUR VOICE OF REASON AND EXPLAINING TO THE PUBLIC THIS WHOLE SITUATION.
UM, AND, UH, ROSARIO, UH, COUNCILWOMAN DIAZ.
YOU KNOW, I JUST THINK IT'S VERY UNFORTUNATE THAT WE CAN HAVE A NICE CIVIL MEETING AND WE ALWAYS HAVE TO HAVE THIS GO ON WITH THIS MAN.
AND, YOU KNOW, WE DON'T EVEN HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO AT LEAST THANK OUR EXPLORERS, CONGRATULATE THEM FOR THE GOOD WORK THAT THEY DID IN ARIZONA.
I MEAN, WE HAVE TO ADJOURN BECAUSE SOMEBODY WANTS TO GRANDSTAND.
NO, IT'S NOT CALLED GRANDSTAND.
CAN YOU PLEASE, IT'S SHAMEFUL.
IT'S CALL ACCOUNTABILITY, PLEASE.
I DON'T UNDERSTAND THAT WE HAVE YOU DON'T HAVE AUTHORITY INVESTIGATION? UH, YES I DO.
OTHER THAN THAT, THIS MEETING IS ADJOURN.
AGAIN, APOLOGIES TO THE PUBLIC FOR THE SAME COUNSEL.