City Council - Regular Meeting

We'll be starting in about one minute. We're going to have our invocation from Pastor David Park, who is Arcadia Fire Department Chaplain. He is also a proud veteran who is also a captain in the Air Force. So sir, if you can be able to come up.

Thank you. Good evening. Please join me in the word of prayer followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. Our Father in heaven, almighty God, we come to you humbly this evening, acknowledging you as a source of all true life, wisdom, peace, and love. For in you we live and move and have our being. And we thank you for upholding and protecting our community through these challenging and difficult times. We thank you for the endless sacrifice and service that each council member and city staff have made to make our community a safer and stronger place, to make Arcadia into a home of homes, a place of welcome, safety, and peace. We ask, Lord, that you would grant this city council wisdom and guidance in all the matters that they deliberate on this evening. Grant them daily strength to carry out their duties with fidelity and joy. And during these upcoming elections, we ask that you grant a special blessing for the seats to be occupied by the men and women who will serve the city well. May this evening be marked by a gracious and generous spirit toward one another. And we pray this in the name of the one who taught us to pray. Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. Forgive us our debts as we forgive those indebted to us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For yours is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, both now and forever. Amen. Please join me in pledge of allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you.

Roll call of city council members.

Council Member Cao.

Here.

Council Member Han.

Here.

Council Member Kwan. Here. Mayor Pro Tempfu.

Here.

Mayor Chang.

Here.

Report from city attorney regarding closed study session items. Thank you, Mayor. At 5 o'clock, we held a study session, or the city council held a study session, to discuss updating regulations for electric bicycles, motorized scooters, and cyclists. This was not an action item. It was just a discussion item to get some feedback from the council. But the council formed a subcommittee to look at this further that would include Mayor Pro Tem Phu and Council Member Han. We then moved into closed session on the matter listed on the agenda, and there's no reportable action out of closed session. Thank you. Supplemental information from our city manager regarding agenda items.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. We did note on agenda item 8D as in David, the Foothill Air Support Team item. The information in the table on page 3 is accurate, but the title for that table refers to fiscal year 22-23. It actually should be referring to 26-27. So it's this year's proposed budget for each city and the team. So information is accurate, but the label is wrong on that. That's what I have for you this evening, Mr. Mayor.

Thank you. We're going to go to public comments now. We've changed our public comments. We also allow comments from individuals that are online. So I'm going to turn it over to our wonderful Linda, who is going to get the quantity of people as well as the time that's available to them.

Members of the public participating remotely, please raise your hand if you have public comment. For those calling in the conference line, please press star nine to raise your hand.

And for those online, what we're going to do, if you do want to speak, now would be the time to raise your hand. We're going to close the opportunity, but we will call on everyone. So we're going to get a count of the cards that are in there, and then we won't be taking any more hand raises after that. And I would say the same for the audience as well. Now would be the time. If there's anyone else that wants to bring a card up, we're not going to check again.

Mayor, we have a total of 14 speakers.

Okay, with 14 speakers, a total.

Total.

Total. We are going to be at three minutes each. And let's start off with our speaker cards. And some people do need to And thank you so much for coming to City Council. I know some of you are new into our city, so welcome to the city of Arcadia.

We have Steve Sibrel.

Pete. Pete. All right.

Sorry about that, Pete.

Must be my evil brother. Good evening, Mayor, City Council members, and city staff. Pete Sibarel from Santa Anita Park. I come to you with three thoughts in mind. Santa Anita Park is proud of its role in the community and takes its stewardship and ultimate legacy in our city very seriously. Second, we are honored to host the 2028 Olympic Games as an official venue and to work in partnership with the LA28 organization. We know it will be a wonderful experience for everyone involved. And finally, we invite everyone interested in our planning for the games, particularly with respect to the tree issue, to attend the community meeting scheduled for next week in the chandelier room at Santa Anita Park. That meeting will start at five o'clock on Thursday, August 27. Thank you.

Next we have Colin Campbell.

I'll stand up. Hi. Hello, I'm Colin Cable. I came here August 4th, two weeks ago, and I took a tour of the police department, and you did a nice thing. I wanted to say thank you. So I'm Colin Cable. I'm owner of Adapt from South Pasadena. It's a veteran-owned small business, and I'm inviting you to join in an international initiative called Stargate. And this is led by Susie Wiles, Chief of Staff of the White House. And President Trump came out here August 4th. So two weeks ago as well to kind of assemble the team. And again, this is consent driven. We're asking you guys if you wanna join into this. There's a big budget. It's 238.5 billion infrastructure project, which is to launch new technology for fusion with Japan. So this is a partnership with Japan and we wanna bring it here to San Gabriel. I've submitted the budget to the chief sustainability office and reviewed an incentivization plan if citizens want to enroll in the program. Our initial focus is upgrading the Pasadena Glenarm power and water site to secure police, fire, EMS and utilities. And this is, again, Stargate is the name of it. I didn't come up with the name. But essentially, it's life support. And if you enroll in it and you're a fire and police, there's an incentivization plan initially if we use it that they would get paid to use it because this is our best AI. It's our greatest technology base. And we're not allowed to use it on people without their consent. So we're working on a plan to stand up commercial fusion where one gallon of ocean water contains the same energy as 300 to 600 gallons of gasoline. So if we start using not oil, but essentially ocean water, one of the nice things is when you desalinate and pull the fuel from it, essentially you have leftover clean desalinated water, which we can use for fire or supporting life, whatever it is. So simply put, we're trying to build the burning bush. In Moses, the Old Testament, the burning bush, we want to build fusion. We want to roll it out to protect everybody. And another way of saying the same thing is we want to bring in the eye of providence for it, which is on the US state seal. And so we wanted to build it with consent. So if you guys want to, Catherine Barger, L.A. Board of Supervisors, you can follow up with her. And I'm out of South Pasadena. I'm trying to do a pilot with South Pasadena and Pasadena. But if you guys wanted, we could also roll it out here. So again, this is consent based. And if you're interested in it, this would be really helpful because we're also trying to build a moon base. And on the moon, we can't use fuel. You can't use fossil fuels. There's no air. So we do have water there. And so we're trying to develop the technology here so we can roll it out and perfect it in space for colonization purposes. Thank you very much.

Thank you very much, Mr. Campbell. I appreciate you.

Next, we have Mark Bauer. Mark? Okay, Burton Brink.

Good evening, mayor, council members and residents of Arcadia. My name is Burton Brink and I grew up here in Arcadia. My family has been part of this community since 1967 and my family still lives here. My mother Carolyn Brink even served on the planning commission in the late 1970s. So our family has deep roots and is very invested in Arcadia. I started my law enforcement career right here as a police explorer with the Arcadia Police Department in 1977. I later retired from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department as a sergeant in 2017. I served for eight years as a commissioner here in the city, and I'm running for Arcadia City Council in District 2 because I want District 2 residents to have a choice for their voice. I want to bring leadership focused on public safety, transparency, and protecting the quality of life that makes Arcadia so special. I am not accepting any campaign contributions. This campaign is paid entirely with my own personal money. That way my obligation is to the residents and businesses of Arcadia. The reason I'm here tonight, even though I know city council has anything to do with this, is the proposal to remove the 34 protective native oak trees at Santa Anita Park, including a rare oak for temporary Olympic equestrian course. I am proud that Arcadia has a chance to be part of the Olympics again, just as I was proud when Santa Anita was part of it in 1984. Hosting an Olympic events is a great opportunity for our city. But a few weeks of temporary facilities should not require the permanent loss of healthy, mature trees that have taken many decades to grow and that are part of Arcadia's character and quality of life. As Pete said, I encourage everybody to attend the city's meeting on this issue Thursday, August 27th at 5 p.m. in the Chandelier Room at Santa Anita Park. Come see the plants, ask questions, and make sure your voice is heard. They are not going to be making any decisions regarding these trees before that meeting. Thank you for your time, and I look forward to serving the residents of District 2.

Next, we have Lisa Quinn.

Hi, good evening. My name is Lisa Quinn. I'm speaking also to the proposed removal of 34 healthy, mature oaks that are protected by law, that are scheduled to be taken out when the Olympics come, before the Olympics come. Yeah, these are protected oaks and there are also 45 trees that are proposed that will be encroached upon. These are mature trees that already exist on the property. Once they're removed, the replacement trees cannot immediately provide the same beauty and majesty, the same habitat and shade benefits. To replace a 100-year-old tree, it takes 100 years. Before permits are approved, I ask that the city and the project applicant demonstrate that every reasonable alternative has been considered to preserve these trees. In particular, I would like to know why each of the 34 trees must be removed. Whether alternative course layouts were evaluated and whether individual jumps, pathways, water features, grading and other elements can be relocated to save the trees. For the 45 trees subject to encroachment, I also want to know exactly how much of their protected root zones will be disturbed and what the arborist believes the long term effects will be. I'm hoping Arcadia can host the Olympics while being responsible stewards of the mature trees already on the Santa Anita property. Please make preservation of these trees a really top, top priority. And also please make the arborist reports, the tree inventory, the site plans, the alternatives that have been considered, and the mitigation measures fully available to the public before a final decision is made.

Thank you. Thank you very much, Lisa.

Next we have Kathleen Diener.

And Kathleen, can you just say your last name again?

Diener.

Awesome.

German. So I live in Pasadena, but I love Arcadia and I love the Santa Anita racetrack. So this is really difficult to stand on. Okay. Remember Anokia? Anokia was the 19-acre Arcadia estate on the northwest corner of Baldwin and Foothill, built in 1913 by Anita May Baldwin and named as a blend of Anita and Oak. the trees she loved so well. Anokia originally preserved a dense native woodland of old growth trees. It was eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. In 1999, the Arcadia City Council voted 3-2 to approve the Anokia Estates development by an Orange County developer. In 2000, the developer completely demolished and leveled the 50-room Italian Renaissance revival mansion and clear-cut the property, leaving not a single native coast live oak or California sycamore standing. Instead, he built 31 luxury homes in a gated community, ironically called Anokia Estates. There was preservationist outrage. It was referred to as bulldozer mentality. The community told the city council that demolition is forever. It left a decades-long scar on the community. Anita Mae Baldwin's priceless, historic, magical legacy to Arcadia was lost to the world. Here we stand, 26 years later, Now you are deciding whether to bulldoze and clear-cut a 150-year-old oak grove and other trees, which have the protective status of a landmark grove at the historic, iconic Santa Anita racetrack. Anita May's famous father, Elias Lucky Baldwin, he didn't like that name Lucky, bought the Rancho Santa Anita land in 1875, the year he had these trees planted. He had the track built. It burned. Anita May rebuilt. Both he and his daughter were avid tree conservationists, adored oaks, and cared deeply for animals. The oak was so dear to them that their leaves are featured in the family crests, which I have here. Margo Gibson, descendant of the Baldwin family, wrote, because of the Baldwin's love for oaks, the oak trees remain protected today. Sadly, it seems not so. If you must build out the temporary track to the north, then move the trees and put them back, like Randolph Hearst used to do all the time. You cannot replace an old growth grove with saplings. All the creatures who call that habitat home, well, they couldn't make the meeting tonight, so we speak for them. Don't strip them of their homes. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Kathleen. Now, Unfortunately, or fortunately, we're in a business meeting, so we don't allow clapping. I'm so sorry. Thank you so much.

Next, we have Kristen Ochoa.

Ms. Ochoa, Kristen, are you here? And thank you very much, Kathleen. I appreciate you. I appreciate you. Thank you, Ms.

Good evening, Council. My name is Kristin Ochoa. I'm a physician and a professor of medicine at UCLA. I am here to speak for the trees. And I am a founder of Friends of PUSD Trees. We were very involved in saving the Pasadena School District trees, many of which were oaks and were old oaks. And we think we've saved about half of them. We were also the plaintiff in a lawsuit against the district And as you know the the city of Pasadena was a big ally for us And we hope that you will also be an ally for us in this fight for these oaks I know that this is not the subject of your meeting tonight. I know there's another meeting on the 27th I just want you to begin hearing this regularly from the community. We are resourced. We are educated. We are determined. We're not going to go away easily. And we really would like to fight alongside you for these trees. Thank you.

Thank you.

Next, we have Lauren Down.

Good evening. My name is Lauren Dowd. I've lived in Arcadia for over 30 years now, and I wanted to comment my opposition about the proposed removal of the 34 oak trees at Santa Anita Park. as a resident who shares a direct fence line with the racetrack, as a person who values our natural world, and as a person who also works professionally in the large capacity venue world, in stadiums and with large capacity events, I work alongside entities like the Olympics, like FIFA, like Super Bowl, I strongly believe that there's an alternative that exists. I'll save us time and I'll talk more on the 27th. but I wanted to first speak here on my opinion on the matter.

Thank you.

Thank you very much, Miss.

Next we have Teresa Doubt, I think.

Ms. Teresa, are you here? All right.

I probably can't say any more than that everybody else has said, but I'm opposed to this project as well. A personal point is I go out my backyard. The racetrack is my backyard.

Pardon? Can you get right into the microphone so we can hear you?

My backyard is the racetrack. I go out every night. I hear owls. I hear the hawks. There's Orioles. There's tanagers. You have to think about the wildlife that all of this is going to affect as well. And I just want to put my point in that I'm opposed to it. And these guys have done a great job. Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Teresa. We appreciate you.

Karen Suarez.

That's a tiny step.

My belly's too bigger. Hi, my name is Karen Suarez. I live in Monrovia. And thank you for the opportunity for allowing us to speak at public comment. I'm a former planning commissioner in Monrovia. I'm on the board of the Native Plant Society for the San Gabriel Mountains. The website is sgm.cnps.org. I encourage you to discuss the issue with the trees with the Native Plant Society. And I'm an equestrian myself, and I am so excited that the Olympics is coming back again in 2028. I was here for the last Olympics, too. I already have my ticket. But I think that it is just unconscionable to tear down this amount of protected native trees, including an Engelmann oak. We have acres and acres of pavement at Santa Anita that I think could be used. The hillside turf course, the racetrack itself, I just think that there's options. And for one event, I just think it's just a really horrible loss of life. You cannot plant your way of The life that these 50 to 100 year old or more oak trees they each tree can host over 850 species as we're like a crepe myrtle eight species So it's it would just be an incredible loss of life after the trees got torn down in Pasadena the fires of Eaton Canyon and Every tree is precious and it's just way too long to grow. So I'm so looking forward to it. There's no better venue in the world with that view with the San Gabriel Mountains there for the event. It's going to be epic. I wish Belinda Stronach all of the best, and it'll be just spectacular. But I would rather go to the event with my ticket than go out on the curb and boycott and be a dark eye for Arcadia, the Olympics. And the 27th is my birthday, so I may or may not make it to the event, but if I do, I want cake. But I just encourage anybody who's here tonight to speak out on these recorded events and have your voice heard because at the chandelier room, the public won't hear your voice. But you have your cell phone, take your cell phone, take videos. Thank you very much for the time.

Thank you, Ms. Karen. And have a happy birthday. Yeah.

Charisma Chen.

Hi everyone, thank you so much for holding the space to speak today. I am speaking on the same issue as a lot of people before me. I think the reason why a lot of us are very passionate about this issue is because at the end of the day, it feels extremely disrespectful is the word that I would use to characterize this, disrespectful to the land, disrespectful to our home of Arcadia, what makes Arcadia great. The characteristics are the nature, our mountains. These oaks are protected by Arcadia ordinances themselves. We were the ones who wrote this into law. And it just feels a bit, disrespectful to break that own law and not put up a stronger fight in protection of these trees. I know that this decision is not necessarily in city council's hands. However, at the end of the day, you all are our voices. And I think what residents would love to see is a united front on this matter, because there are hundreds and hundreds of acres of land. And there are a lot of intelligent planners that go behind such a massive spectacle that is the Olympics. And I think it honestly might be a PR nightmare for Arcadia to champion all our nature and what makes Arcadia great. And then at the same time say, yeah, we chopped down 34 huge Oak trees and all these species are suffering because of that in the name of the Olympics. But yeah, we're gonna parade our city and boast about how great it is. And we did that in the name of the games. And I just think that's a bit of a shame. I think it would be way more powerful for Arcadia as a host city to have on the news, for example, like we did this or this or this in the name of the games to not chop down a single tree. We spent months planning. We took every liberty in making a creative solution so that not a single tree would be chopped down. I think that is just way more powerful for our host city to put our name behind. It would be a wonderful marketing opportunity for Acadia to actually put our money where our mouth is with our nature. And I recognize that rationally, that's gonna cost money. It costs money to find a solution, to pay people to find a solution, as opposed to digging up all these trees and take a shortcut. But at the end of the day, the Olympics is gonna make lot of money It's gonna bring a lot of money to our city and we want to do that the right way We want to go about it in a risk in a way that respects our land So yeah, I'm against the removal. Thank you.

Thank you Yeah, we're gonna go to the online speakers I

C. Robinson, please proceed with your public comment.

thank you so much my name is claire robinson i'm the managing director and one of the founders of amigos de los rios the emerald necklace group for the past 23 years we've been bringing to life the 1930 olmstead bartholomew plan that was commissioned by la city to help guide our sustainable development as a metro area In the time that we've hosted events to plant trees and bring green and nature to our urban communities, been very proud and delighted to host thousands of Arcadia High School students. They are by far and away some of our best volunteers, brightest, and certainly leaders in the future. The current plan to remove 34 Coast Live Oaks in Engelmann and impact 45 Is very concerning it humbles me to think that they represent over 4000 years of growth, their heritage value, their value to public health to biodiversity ecosystem services. I'm trained as an architect city planner and MBA, and I can tell you that there are worth millions and millions of dollars. i am also as part of our work very excited that amigos de los rios will be supporting la 2028 in wittier narrows i'm confident that we can look for alternatives to host a beautiful historic event without detrimental impact for current and future generations. I know my 21-year-old daughter, we have recently survived the Eaton Fire and the loss of over 14,000 trees. We're currently working very hard to protect those and bring water on a case-by-case basis to families who have only their tree left of everything. we've also had a lot of loss this summer at posd which could have been avoided with better means and methods and thoughtful alternatives being articulated i implore you for my daughter who's looking for great leadership and for all of the amazing arcadia students let us please find an alternative so that we can have one of the best olympics ever And keep the trees that have characterized the hillsides for decades and decades really appreciate the opportunity to speak. Thank you so much.

Thank you miss Claire.

Paloma go ahead with your public comment.

Okay. Hello, my name is Paloma Minisocha. I'm 17 years old and spent time tree-sitting to prevent the killing of a 130-year-old coast live oak tree. Coast live oaks are a keystone species. They support hundreds of species of birds, mammals, insects, and fungi. To take away 34 oaks and damage the root system of another 45 is contrary to the environmental goals of the 2028 Olympics. Please reconsider the removal and potential damage of these trees. the olympics will just be here for a moment these trees are everlasting i don't want you to regret approving the removal of these trees of these beautiful old trees trees are needed the youth is watching people in your position and hoping you make the right decision for our futures thank you thank you no more public comments all right

Well, thank you so much to the residents that have come, that have been online, and your patience in terms of just participating online. And thank you so much, Pete Ciberell, for coming to the city of Arcadia. You are really a resident in our city. You are a great stakeholder, and we are so blessed that you've come voluntarily just to work and meet other people that care so much. With that being said, we have the consent calendar.

Mr. Mayor, before you move on, can I say one thing? Yes, sir, of course. So we really do hope that everybody shows up on the 28th, and we really do hope that people, excuse me, the 27th, Thursday the 27th at 5 p.m. in Santa Anita. We really want your ideas. If you have thoughts, the plans are on the city's website. If you want to look at those, come here about what iterations the Olympics have gone through. I think we're up to at least eight different iterations at this point. We're open to iterations 9, 10, and 11 if there are great ideas out there. So please, if you have a way to make this course better, to save more trees, the city's always going to be interested in looking at those. One of the things also I think you'll hear when you go to the meeting is that it's Santa Anita's intent to leave this course in place and to utilize that course over time so it can be something that helps add to the racetrack fabric over the next generation and the next 100 years and all of that. Because I think along with Santa Anita, the city's goal has always been to ensure that horse racing in various forms continues at the track. So much like the infield was modernized a couple years ago with the show arena, this course gives an opportunity for another horse racing event to continue in the city. So don't think of it just as the Olympics, but think of it as something we're going to live, I'm thinking of it as something we're going to live with for a generation. So if there's a great way to make that course work for everybody's needs, please come with those ideas. We want to hear them next Thursday in the chandelier room at 5 o'clock.

Mayor, I would like to make a comment to response to the residents of Arcadia because this affected area is District 2 and this is where I represent.

We can't do that tonight, it's not on our agenda.

So I'm not able to say anything to respond to the residents comment that belongs to district two? Are you trying to silent me again?

We can't have a debate about the item that's not on our agenda.

I don't understand because this is such a public outcry and I'm not allowed to speak from what I believe.

Council member, it's a Brown Act rule. We can't have a debate on something that's not on the agenda.

I cannot believe this. You see, every time when I'm trying to say something, I'm being silent. This is exactly what's going on. I know there will be a meeting on August the 27th, but I can tell you the outcome would be the same. Because they do not want- Council Member, this is a Brown Act violation.

We can't have this discussion. We need to move on to the consent calendar.

The reason why is that I don't know why we're breaking our own law. I mean, we set this ordinance.

Council Member, this is a violation of the Brown Act. You cannot have this discussion without it on the agenda.

I don't think it's a discussion, but it's something that what I believe, that I can be like a resident. I live in District 2, and I'm entitled to speak. As a resident, can I speak? Can I go to that podium and make a speech?

No, you cannot.

And treat myself as a resident?

No, it's a violation of the Brown Act. We have to stay with what's on the agenda.

This is just unbelievable. So you guys are setting new code of conduct so that I am not allowed to speak. This is basically, it's such an embarrassment for our city and it's been happening ongoing.

Council Member, it's not on the agenda.

I cannot even voice the voices of District 2 here. Council Member. And I understand, you know, I'm just trying to say it because this is the only chance because we're being recorded. Council Member. You know, I don't want...

You cannot discuss this. This is violating the Brown Act.

It's not a discussion. It's something what I believe, and I do live in District 2. It's not on the agenda. I owned and owned, and I have my voice, and I just think that we should, pressured, Santa Anita Park to redesign.

Mayor, we don't. You've done an amazing job. Council member, you cannot say that at this point. Okay, thank you. You cannot say that.

That's all I have to say, and I just want the public to understand this is exactly what I'm getting into.

This is a violation of the Brown Act. And Mayor, just so I can clarify for the public, What we're running up against here is the Brown Act is a legal requirement that we have to follow where anything that we discuss among the council has to be on the agenda so the public knows what's on the agenda. The public can absolutely come here at public comment and discuss anything that's under the council's jurisdiction. So that's why we often have discussions like this where there's not something that's on the agenda. but we welcome the council to come have that or excuse me we welcome the public to have that discussion but what we can't do because it's not on the agenda is we can't engage in any sort of stating what the council's position is because even if it's a single person stating it we're now getting into a situation where the council's having a discussion stating a position that's not on the agenda that's why i apologize to everyone i don't mean to cut anyone off but i'm legally required to do it because once we get into that discussion it starts to be a violation so i just want the public to understand it's not trying to cut anything off it's just because we want to make sure we're following the law and doing things the way we have to thank you mayor i recommend we move on to the consent calendar all right uh is there any specific item on the consent calendar that someone would like to pull yes i would like to pull the consent calendar here uh which item

Number 8F.

8F as in Foxtrot?

Yes.

All right.

Centennial Ways Traffic Signals.

Okay.

And the reason why I want to pull this item is because we're being asked to approve more than $719,000 with a 10% contingency that could bring close to $791,000. And what caught my attention is that the staff report specifically mentioned Santa Anita Park hosting the 2028 Olympic equestrians event as one reason for advancing improvements. And I want to be clear that I am not against moving traffic safeties, but if the Olympics are creating or accelerating the need for this work, I think Arcadia taxpayers deserve to know who's paying for it. How much of this project is related to Olympics? Is LA28 or Santa Anita Park contributing anything towards this cost? And I want to know that, because that is a huge amount. You know, my concern is that lately I've been seeing all these items that are put into consent calendar and just one vote, no discussions are being allowed. And this is a way where there's no transparency and there's no accountability. So I want to find out why are we spending this money and if we all, are we going to get it back? Is LA 28 going to be paying part of the cost? Is Santa Anita Park, since they're hosting it, are they going to be paying for part of the cost? Because we're talking about almost $800,000.

Thank you, Madam Councilmember. And I'll call up Kevin Merrill and lean on the Director of Public Works as needed. But what I will tell you first and foremost is there is not a need for this signal because of LA-28. There's actually not going to be increased traffic in that sense. What the staff report refers to is that it's an existing need. It's actually a need because of the activity that happens between normal traffic and the hospital. hospitals actually offered to pay for a portion of the signal. We would need it regardless of whether the Olympics are here or not. But if we're going to add this signal, adding it now is good to have it in advance of the signal. So, excuse me, in advance of LA-28. So you have the most control of all of our intersections around the racetrack. So we have the most flexibility when the Olympics themselves. There are some proposals that are talking about modifying the flow of traffic during the Olympics, and having a signal at that intersection may help with that. But the need for the signal exists whether or not LA-28 is coming. So, Kevin, can you, the other question I didn't ask is where's the funding on this coming for and what's the overall, just if you can talk about why it's in the CIP in the first place.

Okay. Thanks, Dominic. In terms of the funding, where it's coming from, there's no general fund for these two traffic signals. These are funded out of really three areas. Two of them are measures, measure M and measure R, that are specifically for improvements like a new traffic signal, new road improvements, pedestrian enhancements. And then there's also our traffic impact fee. And so as Dominic alluded to, we looked at this signal. It was actually mentioned back in 2016 for us to look at these two intersections that they may be getting close to needing traffic signals. So it's been on our roadmap or our plan for quite a while. to signalize these intersections or see if they needed to be signalized. And so we studied them a few years ago and they did meet the criteria required to need traffic signals at these two intersections, primarily for pedestrian safety. That was one of the main reasons. And so we knew that we wanted to do this well before the Olympics were announced to be here. And so us doing them now is needed, as Dominic alluded to, to really help the flow of traffic, help pedestrian safety. All of those things are needed regardless of whether the Olympics were coming. And in terms of the cost, we've seen it just slowly over these last few years, prices are just more expensive. It's more expensive to put up traffic signals, to buy equipment, to labor and material costs are on the rise.

Yes, because when I was reading the staff report, it specifically said because of this incoming Olympic and we need to definitely spend this amount of money so that we're ready for the Olympic. So that's what it was said on the report. you know, advancing these important, you know, to improve traffic, I think it's amazing, but I just want to make sure that if we're doing it for the Olympics, LA28 and Santa Anita Park, they should be able to share the cost as well. because I also know there is a second phase and the estimate cost for the second phase, you know, we don't have it, but they're expecting on the staff report to say that it's all Olympic related costs and they expect now through 2028. So this specific project seems like to me it's towards the Olympic. We're trying to achieve it so that we're ready for it. I'm not against this project but i think it's so fair important that if this is the cost for the olympic and it's associated with the olympic they should be sharing this cost or this cost should be paid out by them because they're using this venue to make a lot of money and so it's not um I guess unjust to ask them to show these costs, you know, because I'm looking at it on the staff report, they constantly saying that we need to do this because of the Olympic. And so that is the signal that I'm getting. And then it seems like this cost is not small, it's gonna be pretty significant large. And so I'm just hoping that we're not being taken advantage. I think that everybody should share the cost if they're using the city of Arcadia to generate revenue. I think it's just a fair way to do it. But I do understand, you know, if you think we should have a long-term mentality, I understand. But it's just, this is a good opportunity to let them know, let them acknowledge that there is a huge amount of money to be spent from City of Arcadia so that we're ready for the Olympic when it comes. And so I just think that it's just a fair thing to ask. You know, I think the taxpayer should really know where the money is going to. But it seems like the staff report, it's saying something, and I'm now hearing something. That's fine. But my main concern is just... We got to be fair. We got to be transparent. How are we going to spend the money? And if San Anita Park and LE28 is going to benefit from this, they should share some of the cost. That's all I have to say. Thank you so much.

Madam Council Member, just to reiterate. So. We do have, or to educate those that don't recall, we have an agreement with LA 28 that says anything, any costs that happen around the city because of the Olympics in excess of our normal baseline, the Olympics has to pay for. So if we have police officers during the Olympics that we have to add, if there are firefighters we have to add, if there are traffic improvements we have to make during the Olympics, they will have to pay for it. It's difficult for us to say on a project that's been on our CIP. It was funded in 24-25 before the Olympics were announced. It was studied, as Kevin says, in 2016. It's difficult for us to say that that's something that is happening because of the Olympics. So it wouldn't be possible for us to say we need the Olympics to fund this particular project because it's been in our plans for many years now. I assure you that anytime we can ascribe a cost to the Olympics, we will be. And I was in a meeting last week where we were saying that we're not living up to the promises and the bad deals that the city of Los Angeles made, that Arcadia will get repaid for all of its costs. And we're going to do that anywhere we can. I'm sorry to cut you off, Mr. Mayor Pro Tem.

Yeah, we have a question on the floor from Mayor Pro Tem Fu.

Yeah, thank you. I think you answered it for me because actually, as you pointed out, if I just want to understand this correctly, this was already budgeted as part of our capital improvements budget in the 24-25 fiscal year. So this is not a new item. It's already been approved. The city council approved it at that time. And we're within the budget right now because we still got $935,203.23. And this project is actually anticipated to be somewhere around $800,000. So we're within the budget, and it does not appear that this is going to exceed that budget at this time. Is that what I understand correctly? That's correct. Okay. So I don't see why this is an issue. It's not a new thing. I mean, I'm not sure if... Member Kwan knows where Centennial Way is, but it's right outside our doors here by the hospital. And it's a very busy area because of the people heading into the hospital. I can understand why it's necessary to have a traffic signal there. So I apologize. I don't see this being an Olympics issue when we were talking about doing it two years ago.

But thank you. Thank you. Are there any other comments from any council members? Council member? Council Member Cowell, I was gonna call you Major Cowell, I apologize, so.

I'd like to make a motion to approve the consent calendar item.

Excuse me, Mayor, I still have another item to pull, and that is 8D, the fast police helicopter program. And I pulled this item because I strongly.

Mayor, can I finish? Yes. I'd like to go ahead and get approval for the consent calendar for all the items that have not been pulled or discussed. So right now, at least my understanding is that this item D is what Council Member Kwan would talk about, but I'd like to go ahead and approve and get a second for all the other items on the consent calendar.

Excuse me, Mayor, why are we approving a consent calendar when I have not even pulled and asked my questions?

Yes, the motion that's on the floor is that we would approve the consent calendar items apart from eight Delta, eight D, the one that you're pulling.

Yes, I have a lot of questions to ask.

Understood, so I'll second that motion and then we'll approve all the consent calendar items apart from eight D as in Delta.

Council Member Cao?

Yes.

Mayor Chang?

Yes.

Council Member Han?

Yes.

Council Member Kwan? No. Mayor Pro Tempfu?

Yes. All right, so you wanted to speak on 8D?

Yes, that's correct. I pull this item because I strongly, you know, support giving our police department the resources it needs to keep Arcadia safe. My concern is in the helicopter program itself. My concern is the recommendation regarding future renewals. We are approving approximately $88,000 today, but we're also being asked to allow future renewals to be approved administratively, provided increases remain within the recognized inflationary levels. But why shouldn't this agreement continue to come back to city council each year? Why are we just giving the city managers just the authority to continue to go forward and not bring it to city council? I don't understand why. I mean, it seems like I'm seeing a lot of these asking to release THE DUTY FROM THE CITY COUNCIL AND JUST GIVE IT TO THE CITY MANAGER OR THE CITY STAFF TO GO ON AND TO APPROVE ON TO SPEND THIS MONEY. I THINK IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN THAT THEY HAVE TO COME BACK TO CITY COUNCIL EVERY YEAR SO THAT WE ask questions and we can also justified why we're spending this money. I think it's just regarding to transparency and also it's the reason why we have city council is that because we want to oversee and that the department of Arcadia of how they spend money. And so now I'm seeing all these consent calendars, it's just relinquishing our duty and just just let it fly by like putting into the consent calendar one vote gets everything approved. I mean these are large amounts that require discussion. They're supposed to be on the agenda but now everything is just packed into the consent calendar and bundled up and asked for one vote to approve. This is really no transparency public doesn't have a chance to question how the money is being spent. So this one I am definitely going to say no. I'm not saying no to the police helicopter program, but I'm just saying no that every year the renewal doesn't come to City Council. That's my point.

Any other comments?

I call the question.

Understood. We have Mayor Pro Tem Fu.

I'll second that.

And Council Member Kao. And just to clarify, that would be a motion to approve staff's recommendation as stated in the staff report.

Yes, for sub-item D from the consent calendar.

Mayor Pro Tem Fu.

Yes.

Council Member Kao.

Yes.

Council Member Hahn.

Yes.

Council Member Kwan. No. Mayor Chang.

Yes.

Item. Mayor, so we've been receiving a lot of emails with residents concerned, and there are hundreds of emails. And I think that I would like to respond to those emails.

Council Member, we can't do that. I've told you we cannot do that. We need to move on to the next item.

I don't think so.

Wait, there's... Anybody, any, wait, stop. Please, please, please. Can you give us information for a date for when it will be on the agenda?

When will we hear your comments on this issue?

Or is it ever gonna be on the agenda?

Ladies and gentlemen, we're a professional body. And so I would- We're gonna have one warning to the audience member. The second time this occurs, you'll be escorted out. So please, we need to be professional in how we deal with the meeting and how we work in the body. In terms of item number nine, I can be able to confirm that there are no AB 1234 reports from mayor and city council members. We have item number 10, request for future items. Are there any requests for future items?

Yes, I have requests for future items. I think there is a public outcry regarding to this tree issue. I would like to put it on the agenda so that we can have a discussion and bring residents in for comments. So I would like to put that on the agenda for this tree removal at Santa Anita Park.

Okay, this is despite the August 27, 2026 meeting that you should be attending.

Yes, that is a community engagement meeting. That meeting is not related to city council or city hall. I think it's legitimate that after the community meetings, we need to have residents the chance to come back and address the issue, what they've heard, and how they look at this. If there's any more concern, we should give them an opportunity to bring it to city council. So I think we should have because the meeting is going to happen on august the 27th i think we should put it on the future agenda to have a discussion about this um senator oak requesting permit to uh destroyed 34 mature oak trees and 45 trees that are considered to be protective. So I wanna put that on the agenda for allow the public to come back in for discussion.

All right, do we have two council members that will support that? I'll second. Okay, do we have a third? Do we need a third? Yes. Yes, okay.

Mayor, I'm not getting a third from you. You're not concerned about our community's voice. You're the mayor of Arcadia. That is such an embarrassment.

Wait, council member Kwan, I don't appreciate the characterization. We have a meeting on August 27, 2026. I look forward to seeing you there.

I want to let you know that that meeting is not televised. And that meeting is just informative. It's just information. But the residents of Acadia deserve to come back to City Hall and express their concern.

We can't do this.

so am i not getting a third yes to bring this back to the agenda and bring it back to city council except that we have someone that understand that there's a public outcry thank you so much council member john han thank you so

Tonight, we have somebody in the audience. We're on item number 11.

We are- Actually, Mr. Mayor, I have a request for future items. Oh, I apologize.

Go ahead.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. So I was very pleased to hear that the city has secured the dismissal of the groundless lawsuit filed by Sharon Kwan's attorney against the city on July the 23rd, 2026. However, I was shocked to hear that member Kwan had supplied a declaration supporting this lawsuit against our city. May we see that declaration please to show the audience?

And you were just saying that I do not attend any meetings that are for the best. Is that on the agenda?

Hold on. Hold on. Hold on. Please stop.

Wait, please. We're going to stop the video. There is a request for a request for future item. And in terms of the request for future item, what is the specific request, sir?

The specific request is for Member Kwan to come before this council. and explain why she failed to recuse herself at the special meeting of the closed session regarding this litigation pending against the city. In light of the fact that it's plain that she has an interest in this litigation, that she should come before us and explain what her participation was in that lawsuit, whether or not she had a financial interest, whether or not she paid for that litigation, whether or not she intends to answer for the $75,000 that the city is likely to make a motion for to recover its costs in defense of this baseless lawsuit. So I would like to...

I want to be careful that we're not arguing the position here.

Yes, right, I understand. So that way, that is...

Okay, we're... All right, I'm gonna issue a warning. If there's gonna be another outcry, please. Let's talk about your friends. Mr. Mayor, we have a warning's already been issued. Sonia, please don't curse, please. Right. Ladies and gentlemen, we just need to be professional. We have a request for a future item, and we need two votes on that future item.

I'll second that.

All right. So seeing that there is no third vote, let's move for- Do we have a roll call vote for that? I see. Thank you. All right. So with that being said, tonight we have someone in our midst that we are going to honor.

And one of the... Well, I want to put something on future agenda. I have not finished that yet. Am I allowed to continue?

Yes. Yes. I apologize for that.

Yes. Thank you so much. As you know... there's been a lot of voices out there saying that there's connection with the council members, with the CCP agents of, you know, I mean, like, I'm not sure about the facts, but I'm just hearing it, and it's just all over the news. There is a gentleman by the name of James Sue. He is connected with EDI, and that the FBI raided his home, and that... A lot of the informations are coming out that city council members collected campaign dollars to fund the campaign. And there's a lot of questions about leadership accountability here. And as you know, we've been on the news about Arcadia that had the arrest of former Mayor Eileen Wang and connected with CCP activities. And so right now, last time I asked if we can put it on the agenda so that the public has an opportunity to come in to ask us questions. And I got no. But now this time, as we know, we are being exposed because the money that we've collected from our donor are all public information. And it shows that we've collected city council members, some city council members collected an enormous amount of money. And so we, I want to put it on the agenda so that the public has a chance to come in and to question us.

What are you asking to put on the agenda?

To put on the agenda where we need to talk about the contribution dollars that came in to city council members. about leadership accountability, about CCP activities.

We've got the request. We need to see if there's two in agreement.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

So the question on the floor is CCP activities, when you had invited the Communist Party ambassador to your home, is that going to include that?

Excuse me. That is not the agenda I'm asking for. Please, Mayor, do not do that. You always like to be very passively aggressive to attack people. Please don't do that because you set the code of law or the code of conduct not to attack your council member. And now I'm just putting it, it's because the voice of the public, it's our residents' voice. It's not my voice. It's all over the newspaper. Okay? And so can I just ask to put it on the agenda so the public can come in and ask questions? Are we not... Showing that we want to restore public trust. Yes, these informations are supposed to be. Out in the open, and if we have no, no, it's important for us for them to come into question that council member, you've stated your request for the vote on it or request for 2 other in agreement.

So the question is.

That put it on the agenda questioning our work. the donor's contribution, and why did we receive such a huge amount, and are we connected with them? And they have to come in and they'll question us, and we should be able to answer them with transparency here.

Yeah, I'm just asking for the friendly amendment. Is that also inclusive of having the ambassador of China at your home?

I tell you one thing, Mayor, you can put that on the agenda and I can answer you. But as right now, our attorney said, we need to follow how we conduct the meeting. And this is an opportunity for me to put it on the agenda. All I need you to say is yes or no. I just need three votes, okay?

Okay, do we have two additional council members that are going to, and I'm not exactly sure what the request is. Please remove her from the dais. Thank you.

I would have loved to speak when David Fu was speaking too. The sexual harassment case is due

Ma'am, please leave. This is the second time you've created a distraction.

He has a sister wife!

So do we have two additional council members that would support Sharon Kwan's request? Okay. Seeing none, is there any other requests by any council members in regard to future agenda items? All right, with that being said, before I got on the dais tonight, Mayor Pro Tem Phu came up to me and said that our adjournment tonight is over someone that's very special and because of that I would like him to read the adjournment for tonight because he really really cares about Tony and I apologize for putting you on the spot you're probably gonna need to take out your reading glasses that's okay

Do you have it?

I do, I do. And then after, their family is here, and I'd like them to come up just to share a little bit, and I didn't ask in advance if that's okay for you just to come up and share a little bit as well, okay?

Before I read this, I just want to say that Tony Parilli was a beloved member of the Arcadia Rotary Club. And this passing is a very sad event for all of us. Tonight, we adjourn in memory of longtime Arcadia resident, Tony Parilli, who passed away on July 18th, 2026. Anthony Tony Pacifico Parilli was a respected attorney, civic leader, and devoted member of the Arcadia community whose life was defined by service, integrity, and generosity. Tony was born in Chicago, Illinois on August 26, 1939, and moved to Southern California as a teenager, where he attended Alhambra and Rosemead High Schools, then Pasadena City College, before earning degrees from Loyola University and Loyola Law School. Following a service in the United States Army's 63rd Tank Division, he passed the California Bar and began a distinguished legal career spanning more than four decades. His career included positions with the California Division of Highways, the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office, Southern Pacific Railroad, and later his own private law practice. He took particular pride in his work supporting redevelopment projects for the city of Los Angeles, always approaching the law with fairness, professionalism, and integrity. In 1974, Tony married Jean Swanson. Together they made Arcadia their home, where they built a life centered on family, friendship, and community service. Tony believed that strong communities are built through volunteerism and civic engagement. Alongside Gene, he dedicated countless hours to Arcadia schools and various organizations, including the Church of the Good Shepherd, participating in Arcadia's annual Law Day, and serving on the Arcadia Planning Commission. His greatest civic passion was the Rotary Club of Arcadia. Tony exemplified Rotary's ideal of service above self. His commitment culminated in serving as president of the Rotary Club of Arcadia during the 2017 to 2018 year, leading with humility, compassion, and a genuine desire to improve the lives of others. While Tony's professional and civic accomplishments were significant, those who knew him best will remember him for his kindness, wisdom, steady presence, and willingness to help anyone in need. He was a trusted mentor, loyal friend, devoted husband, loving father, and proud grandfather whose legacy continues through the family he cherished and the community he faithfully served. Tony is survived by his beloved wife, Jean, his children, Christie, Anthony, and Marianne, nine grandchildren, and countless friends, colleagues, and fellow Terrians whose lives were enriched by his example. May we have Tony's family just come up?

We want to honor you and Mayor Pro Temphu, if you could just come up really quick and lead, just to introduce your family and share a little bit about Tony so the rest of Arcadia can be able to know you. Here you go, sir.

Thank you.

Let me just hand this to you.

Hi, I'm Marianne. I'm Tony's youngest daughter. This is my husband, Jason. He just came from pickleball in Arcadia. Oh, Sierra Madre, sorry. But he loves New Castle Park. It's beautiful. These are our three kids. This is Ryan. His middle name is Anthony, named after my dad. Matthew and Samantha.

Thank you for all you're doing for us.

We love the city of Arcadia. Thank you again. We moved to Arcadia when I was seven years old. My dad purchased the house in Arcadia before my mom ever saw it because he knew it would be a beautiful place for our family. We've attended Baldwin-Stocker, First Avenue, Arcadia High School, along with our parents supporting us every step of the way and then taking every chance they could to make Arcadia the best it could be.

I am Tony son Anthony. I just wanted to thank you for recognizing him and he's always been a loyal Arcadia resident and he definitely enjoyed his time on the planning commission serving Arcadia. Thank you very much.

We really wanted to thank your family. There are many older Arcadians that decided to move away, but there were residents like your father that committed to being here, despite the changing demographic, to love anybody that came into the city of Arcadia. And I shared today at the Mayor with the Coffee that when my father died, my mom and myself, we didn't know where to go. And we went from city to city, and they told us, come to Arcadia. People are good here. And the city of Arcadia has welcomed us. So I wanted to say thank you for remaining here. for loving new residents such as myself and being everything that people said it was. So if you can come into the middle, we'll have our city council come. Let's take a picture with you. Can we have council come on down? Thank you so much. You should be in the middle. You guys in the middle.

Go ahead, sir.

Go ahead. Sir, did you want to come up, come take a picture with us, and then Justine will take a picture? Yeah, that's great. Thank you. The City Council will adjourn this meeting in memory of Tony Parilli, longtime Arcadia resident, to Tuesday, September 1st, 2026 at 6 p.m. in the City Council conference room. Thank you very much.