Council - Regular Meeting

All right, welcome everyone. Tonight is April 1st. The time is 7:06 p.m. I'm calling to order the Boulder Park City Council regular meeting. I know that Pastor uh Jackson is not going to be with us tonight, but Pastor Flores, if you can please uh lead us in the invocation. For those of you that are able to stand, if you can please stand. Thank you, mayor, city council, and all those that are here today. Uh, this week in the Christian calendar, we celebrate uh Eastern. For God so loved the world that he gave us his only son that whoever would believe in him should not perish but have everlasting life. Let us pray. We thank you God because you are God and God you are good. You are love and you love us and you love your people. Help our leadership today, Lord, to honor you. Continue to serve your people effectively and efficiently, giving you honor and giving you glory. We thank you for our city. We pray over our city, especially this week, Lord, as we remember your love for us through Christ Jesus. Amen. Thank you for that, Pastor Flores. And if you can remain standing, uh, city treasure, can you please lead us in the pledge of allegiance?

Yes. Thank you. Put your right hand over your heart. Ready? Begin to the flag of the United States with nation.

Thank you for that, city treasure. All right, we're going to move on to a roll call. City clerk, can you please conduct roll call? Absolutely. Mayor Damian here. Mayor Promayala here. Council member Avia, yes. Council member Estrada here. Council member Lozano. Let the record reflect that council council member Lozano is present. Thank you for that. Thank you, city clerk. Um, all right. Now we're going to go to a report from close session. Uh city attorney, can you please report out from close session?

Yes, mayor and council. We had nine items on the close session agenda. It was very busy agenda. Each one of those were discussed and direction was given. There's one item to report and that was on uh a motion made by Mayor Damian, seconded by Mayor uh council member Avala approved 50. They authorized the filing of a complaint. This was the initiation of litigation. Nothing further to report.

Thank you for that, city attorney. Um I will now make a motion to close um close uh close session. Second. Right. Close session is now closed. Special meeting is now closed. All right. We're going to move on to uh proclamations, commendations, and presentations. Tonight we have the uh presentation of the St. Gabriel Valley Council of Governments. Uh president's introduction. You would like to introduce yourself to us? I'm sorry. if you'd like to introduce yourself to the public. Oh, yes, I'd be happy to. Thank you.

Uh, good evening, mayor, council members. I'm Ed Ree and I'm proud to uh represent the city of Claremont and honored to serve as a new president of the Sanro Valley Council of Governments. Today, I'd like to share how the COG brings cities together to tackle challenges, deliver results, and make our region stronger. Uh, next slide. The COG is truly a partnership. It brings together 31 cities, two county supervisorial districts, and many local agencies across the San Gabriel Valley. Our mission is simple but powerful to give our region one strong unified voice to deliver projects that improve transportation, housing, and sustainability. And most importantly, to improve the quality of life for nearly two million residents who call the St. Gabriel Valley their home and frankly in part this great city their home. This collaboration is what makes us stronger than the sum of our parts. Next slide. Of course, a mission this big requires leadership and that's where the executive committee comes in. I'm proud to serve alongside a group of committed local leaders, each chosen by their peers to help guide the COG's priorities. that helps set the direction, review policies, and make sure our work reflects the needs and values of our member cities. In short, the executive committee and the governing board keeps us grounded in the realities of our communities while keeping us focused on the future. Next slide. And that leadership extends outward through our policy committees. These committees are where the real collaboration happens. They focus on issues that touch every city. capital projects, the environment, homelessness, and transportation. We also draw on the expertise of city

managers and working groups so that local voices shape our regional decisions. And this is where all of you come in. If you haven't already, and I know a number of you have, I encourage you to get involved. Your expertise and your perspective help ensure that the city's voice is heard and that your residents needs are reflected in our regional decisions. Next slide. Of course, leadership and collaboration, it's only part of the story. Implementation matters, too. And that is where our staff shines. Under the leadership of Executive Director Marissa Creeder, our talented team takes ideas and turns them into action. They provide the expertise, project management, and support that makes that make sure our city's priorities are moving forward. Next slide. Let me just share a few examples of what collaboration has achieved. First, our construction authority. We're the only COG in Los Angeles County with this authority. We're delivering 19 major grade separation projects, each costing 100 to $200 million each, at little or no cost to our cities. And today, we're expanding to highway improvements, transit facilities, and active transportation projects. Second is SB 1383. This state law requires us to cut food waste going to landfills. And the clog has helped cities triple their business compliance rates and at the same time helped food banks to be able to use the food donation they receive pro providing them with refrigeration and other necessary equipment. It's truly a win-win. It's where we're helping the environment and addressing food insecurity.

And third, measure M funding. Just last year, we directed $36.5 million to 17 San Gabriel Valley agencies for projects that make it easier and safer for people to get where they simply need to go. These are just a few snapshots, but they show the real tangible impact the COG has on our on our communities. And beyond these regional winds, we also partner directly with cities in unique ways. Next slide. Specifically, I'd like to talk about our partnership with Baldwin Park. In the area of compliance support, the COG is proud to partner with the city's local food hubs and local businesses to achieve compliance with SB 1383. In the past year, the COG has worked with 15 local businesses to recover over 233,000 pounds of food. The program is currently funded through a state local assistance grant with the city receiving approximately $135,000 worth of benefits through this joint effort. In the area of regional planning, the COG is currently overseeing the creation of the community wildlife protection plan to protect our communities and their assets against potential wildfire hazards. The plan helps cities prepare for and respond to wildfires and adoption of these plans make the city eligible for critical state wildfire funding programs. Thanks to Calire grant secured by the COG, this effort is fully funded and free to cities. And in regards to being a policy partner, Baltimore Park is a valued voice on the COG's policy committees. The mayor and council member Estrada serve as active members of the COGS governing board. The guidance provided by both of these

members has been essential in guiding the COG's policy decisions. I shared some examples specific to your city, but the bigger point is this. The COG is dedicated to meeting you where you are to support your local priorities while building something larger across the region. Next slide. At the heart of all of this, what binds us together, our shared love for the San Gabriel Valley. That is why I launched the iHeart SGV program. It grew from my deep belief that we are stronger when we celebrate our common values and the communities we call home. This program is about being about bringing together our member cities and through them our residents together in shared pride and appreciation for the St. Gabriel Valley. For me, it's also personal. My love of public service, it's soulfeeding. And this program is a way for me to show gratitude for our region, for our cities, and for the people who make the San Gabriel Valley such a special place to live. The COG exists to serve you, your council, your staff, and your residents. By working together, our collective voice is louder. Our reach is farther and we can deliver projects and services that no city can do alone. As president, my number one priority right now is listening. I want to hear from you, your needs, your challenges, your opportunities so that we can make sure that you are

getting the most in your involvement with the COG. Please do not hesitate to reach out to me directly. My email is on the screen. I'm committed to working with you to keep strengthening the St. Gabriel Valley we all love. Thank you, mayor, for allowing me some time this evening, and I'd be happy to answer any questions or take any comments. Thank you. First of all, thank you for the for the presentation and the introduction. I'll open it up to city council. Does anyone have any comments or questions? I don't have any um questions, but I just want to thank you for your presentation. Um I appreciate the work that we do with the COG and I appreciate you coming out and and uh presenting yourself to us in our community. So, thank you.

My pleasure. Yeah. Mayor, I just uh you know, I want to thank uh President Ed Reese for uh coming and doing this presentation. I know you've been trying to hit all the cities in San Gabriel Valley, so thank you for making time for Baldwin Park. And of course, we want to thank the COG for being our partner and being able to work with us and and provide uh resources and assistance whenever whenever possible. And and you're right, that is important, you know, not just for our city as it as it as it stands, but also as part of the region, as part of Sanger Valley, right? Uh you know, the Sanger Valley has a tremendous amount of potential, and we can reach it when we work together. Thank you. Thank you, council member,

mayor. Thank you for being here first of all and presenting yourself to us and I do I do know all the work that you have done not only with our city but with other cities but of course specifically with our city. You have been um impactful I would say helping us with uh with our homeless as well. I I saw you put the the food program but with our homeless you have definitely helped us with our tiny homes and I appreciate all the work. I know council member Estrada has been extremely involved uh working with you and bringing money here to our city and we appreciate that. Not only do we as council appreciate it but our residents because we see the difference without your help I think it would be much more difficult. So thank you.

Thank you for your kind words council member. Thank you for that council member Aila and I just want to first of all thank you very much for being here. lots of challenges and obviously uh the Congress continues to grow. So, thank you very much for being a representative of it as well. Thank you. You're welcome.

Thank you, President Ree. Uh we again we appreciate you being here and like all my colleagues have said, we appreciate the partnership that we have with the San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments uh and the work that we've done here in the city of of Balden Park and we look forward to continuing that partnership and the work ahead uh that we have. So, thank you very much. I think uh council member wanted to say a couple things. Yeah, just wanted to add um well, I mean, for one, we're hoping that we're going to be able to work together on our grade separation right on Ramona, you know, just a little hint. Um but, you know, I also want to make sure that we can take a group picture together with our with our COG president so we can welcome you up here at the dis whenever you're whenever you're ready.

Thank you. Um before we do that, if I may, mayor, just to add one other thing. You see that I am wearing the iHeart SUV lapel pin and uh tonight, as a token of our appreciation, I'm going to present to you with each of you with your own iHeart SUV pin so that you can wear it proudly in the city, in the region, and beyond. So, I'll give this to your clerk. Um and then I'd be happy to to I guess take the picture. You can you can come on up to the DAS and then

All right. Next, we're going to move on to the um proclamation donate life month proclamation presented to Jolene Vargas, one legacy ambassador. Jolene, if you can join us up here on the podium and then uh Council Member Avula is going to do us the honor of reading out the proclamation.

Right there by the I'm going to read it and then I'll come over to Jackie. You didn't bring us.

Sorry. So, what an honor to read this proclamation for Jolene Vargas. Before I read it, um, a little bit of background, at least personal from Jolene. I've known Jolene for many years. I always forget how old your son is. 33. They're 35. So, I met Jolene when her son was 35. Um, 12 years old. Not 35. 12 years old when he was at Jones Junior High School. And Jolene made a big impact on me when I met her because Jolene has been battling this battle with that pretty face for a very long time since I met her. And just so I always feel it's important at least for me to say that her son was in school. Nevertheless, it didn't stop her from being there, even though she was already battling this and fighting and doing whatever she could to stay alive. Literally, I would call her for whatever reason that she needed to come in or if she would like to come in and she was there. No matter how sick she was, no matter if she was just finishing a treatment at home, she was there. She was present for her son. She was present for the other students at our school. And to me, there was it was admirable because I knew she was ill, but yet nothing stopped her. And as you could see, nothing is stopping her. So, it's an honor to to know you, Jolene, and to see what a fighter you are. And I think we have a lot to learn from you because I know a lot of times, you know, we get a little sick, we have a little cold, and we're like, "Oh, poor me." But look at Jolene. She doesn't give up. She fights. I've

never heard her say, "Oh, poor me." Or, "Oh, this is wrong with me." Never. She's always been this positive, this outgoing. And I think uh again, we should learn from you. Thank you for being who you are and just being that positive person that that we all need to remember to be regardless of what's going on in our lives. So, thank you. Thank you for that. Let me read this proclamation. DMV donate life California month April 2026. Whereas organ, eye, tissue, marrow, and blood donations are lifegiving acts recognized worldwide as expressions of compassion to those in need. And whereas more than 121,000 individ individuals nationwide and more than 21,000 in California are currently on the national organ transplant waiting list. And every 90 minutes, one person dies while waiting due to shortage of donated organs. And whereas the need for donated organs is especially urgent in Hispanics and African-Americans communities. In any given time, 6,000 patients are in need of volunteer marrow donors. And whereas a single individual's donation of heart, lungs, liver, kidney, pancreas, and small intestines can save up to eight lives. Donation of tissue can save and heal the lives of up to 50 others. And a single blood donation can help three people in need. And whereas California residents can

give up with the donate donate life California registry when applying for or renewing their driver's license or ID cards at any California DMV. We are happy to present this proclamation to Jolene Vargas, one legacy ambassador, and thank her for her commitment to this organization. Thank you, Jolene. It is our pleasure and our honor. Danny Damian, mayor of the city of Baldin Park, Mayor Prom, Gene Emayala, council members Emanuel Estrada, Manuel Lozano, myself, city clerk Christopher SCS, and city treasurer Joan Valenella do hereby proclaim April 2026 National Donate Life Month and DMV Donate Life California month in the city of Bal Park and encourage all Californians to check Yes, when applying for or renewing their driver's license or ID card or by signing up at ww.donatelifecal.org or ww.donate vida california.org. Congratulations Jolene and thank you for being Jolene.

Able. Yes. Then we got from Assembly Member Rubio's office, we have Abel Kasanova. You want to say a few words, Abel?

Sure. Good evening, mayor and city of Baldwin Park. My name is Abel and I am a representative for Assembly Member Blanca Rubio's office and it is truly an honor to be here in our on her behalf and present the certificate of recognition to One Legacy during this year's donate life month and the assembly member recognizes One Legacy for their unwavering commitment to inspiring Californians to save lives by encourage encouraging organ eye and tissue donations through the pink pink dot program and donate life registry. The assembly member truly appreciates the work that they do with great gratitude. She thanks you. And on a personal note, about eight years ago, my mother went home to be with the Lord. And one of her last desires was to be able to give someone else the opportunity to live and hope. And she had asked me and my family to donate part of her working organs to someone else. And just as she wished, um me and my family did what she asked and we got in contact with one legacy and that's how I got to learn what they do, the work that they do and their commitment to saving lives. And today I have the great privilege to be here and present this certificate to Jolene, the ambassador of one legacy. And on behalf of the assembly member and in honoring my mother, I I'm happy to present his certificate today. Thank you.

Um, I would like to thank um, Mayor Danny and city council members for recognizing April as donate life month. Because of my three donors, I have had 33 years of extra life and I am very honored to be a citizen of Baldin Park. Thank you. Thank you so much for that, Jolene. We appreciate everything you do here in the city and always representing one legacy. So, thank you very much. Next, um do we have uh Javier Vargas here? Javier Vargas here? No. All right. Right. So, next we're going to move on to the um presentation certificate of recognition presented to Cecilia Bernal for receiving the woman of the year in the 48th district from Assemblywoman Blanca Rubio. Cecilia, if you can join us up here.

Yeah. Isn't she with us? Oh. Yeah. Yes, we do have one. We had it here last time. And as Cecilia's making her way up here, I'm going to read this uh certificate of recognition. Um Cecilia Bernal, 48th District Women of the Year Award 2026. The city council congratulates you for being selected women of the year on behalf of Assemblywoman Rubio. We commend you for your long history of volunteerism, leadership, and contributions as city of Baldin Park recreation and community services commissioner and chair and board of director uh of directors, president of East Side Little League. You are a true example of an extraordinary woman. Thank you for the favorable recognition you bring to our community. presented this first day of April 2026 by myself Daniel Damian, our mayor prom Geneala, council member Alejandra Aila, Emanuel J Estrada, Manuel Lozano, city clerk Christopher Science, and our city treasure Joanna Valenuela. And I do just want to say a couple of words about Cecilia. I think that we we were a little short on the certificate, but I mean, apart from her being our uh recreation, community services commissioner uh and chair and then her all the work that she's done with the east side little league, but not only that, just how involved she is with the community uh in general and with the uh Church of the Redeemer and running the food bank out there and just all the numerous things that she does for our community here. Cecila, just want you to know that just like Jolene and uh and yourself, we appreciate everything that you guys do for our community and for all of the volunteer time and hours that you put uh to improve our quality of life here in the city of Ber Park. So,

this is a welldeserved recognition. Congratulations.

No, go ahead. Excuse

say some words. I said them or or me. Um, I'd like to uh uh first thank um Javier Vargas and the reason why they asked if he was here is he was the one who nominated me for uh woman of the year. And then I want to thank um Assemblywoman Blanco Rubio. Um you know, with a lot of people being submitted, it's an honor uh to represent uh the assembly as well as my great city, Baldwin Park. I love my city. Uh, everybody knows that, you know, I'll do anything I can for my city to, you know, to um to help people. That's that's kind of public service is what what I do. Um, but, you know, I I couldn't do it without your guys' support. You guys support us. Uh, you know, in the many things that we do. Um, I I thank you for the support every year that you guys do with the the partnership with the CDBG funding and how you help to keep the food bank going. you know, we would do it anyway, but it helps, you know, when when there's the grant available to help us. And we look forward uh some of you helped us through uh COVID when we still went on. We were working every week to to service people to deliver to Clark Apartments to Telus and you know, people stepped up. We were frontline workers. But you know what the goal was? Hey, there's food insecurities and we need to meet those needs. And I also want to thank my family because I couldn't do it without my family. Okay. Um, and for those of you that that have seen us work, you know, you will see they work alongside. They work alongside. I've taught them since they were little. This is what we're here for. And, you know, except for the two littles there. All of them have worked at the food bank or the different areas that we do the homeless. So, again, thank you for the opportunity. I appreciate it. And again, I love my city.

Really quick, I also want to give a shout out to my nephew Moses because uh you know, for years and years and years, he's been right there by my side and I really appreciate him. All right. So, that concludes our presentations and proclamations for the evening. So, now we're going to move on to uh public communications. City clerk, how many speaker cards do we have?

Yes, mayor. At this time, we have only received one speaker card. Irma Morales with the Baldwin Park Library. M Mayor, before we start public communication, I'm so sorry, Manny. We have the donate live flag. Can we fly it? Absolutely. I will call you with the team. I'm sorry. We should have had it up here, but we will fly it outside. Thank you. Yes. Also, I just want to share that uh Jolene was kind enough to bring some um some gifts from uh One Legacy. They've been distributed to uh to every member on the DAS.

Thank you, Jolene. You can come on up. Should I wait? You can go ahead. You You'll get a couple of extra seconds. Okay.

Good evening, Mayor Damian, city council members, city staff, and um community members. I wanted to tell you about some uh current programs we're having at the library tomorrow. Uh the Department of Health Services is having their mobile clinic come in from 9 to 2. And the mobile clinic um gives full medical care to LA County residents who are without a home. People can get medicine physicals, wound care, pregnancy care, mental health, and substance use counseling and more. So that's the mobile clinic. It'll be at the library tomorrow from 9:00 to 2 in our parking lot. We also have a new program called LEAP. It's the library engagement and access program. And what it is, it's mental health support information um also information about community resources, referrals for housing and much more. Um they come to the program, the LEAP team. There's two of them, a social worker, clinician, and a community health worker. And they come to the library on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 2:00 to 5:30. So, that's a new program called LEAP and it's at uh certain libraries and now they're at the uh Ballin Park Library. Also wanted to continue with our um one book, one coast program and it's the book by George Kai called the They Called Us Enemy. As of today, April 1st, all participating systems will have unlimited digital copies of They Called Us enemy available on the the Libby app to Overdrive. So, if you want to read the book, it is now available for everyone who has a library card on our Libby app, which is our ebook um app. And then a couple of other programs that are coming up. Our health and wellness and wholeness program for seniors will be on Friday, April the sec uh 10th, excuse me, from 2 to 3. We have a list of virtual programs that go on this month. That information can be found at laount library.org/verirtual.

There's going to be a um work ready conscious jobseeking program on Tuesday, April the 7th at 11:00 a.m. Our baby story time continues through April 24th on Fridays from 10:30 to 11:00. And right now our um Smartyp Pants, our toddler story time is taking a couple of weeks off, but they'll start back on April 9th, Thursdays, April 9th from 10:30 to 11:00. Thank you for your time. Thank you. I appreciate all the work that you do with the county library. Just had one question for you really quick on the uh LEAP program that you said that are Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 2:00 to 5:30. How long will that be there for? Is it just the month of April?

Hopefully in for a while. They were at uh they started the program last year and it was at other libraries and recently they started at our library. So hopefully indefinitely. I don't have a time frame but um it's a great program. Perfect. Thank you so much. Appreciate all the work that you do. Thank you, mayor. Yes, Irma. Sorry about that. That's that's online, right? We could that's online so we could find it. The LEAP program information. Um, it should be I'll send you all the link. Can you please Thank you so much. And that way we can maybe share it on our website, Manny, the resources. Those would be great. But thank you. Uh, city clerk, is there anyone else uh that you have? No, mayor. No, mayor. At this time, we have not received any other speaker cards.

Thank you for that. All right. If anyone else is wishing to speak who did not fill out a speaker card, now is your time to speak. John Rios, resident for 50 years. I give you a little homework for all of you to check up on that health department from the county of Los Angeles. Plus, we have some more pictures that I'm going to we're going to send out for the next meeting so you guys can see exactly what's happening with the launch trucks. When we had all those problems, they were popping out like uh roaches all over the place. And one of the things that we have is pictures of the people that were running the things. So we're trying to contact a few of them to find out some more information. Uh, one of the things we don't want large trucks in the city of Bowen Park those so those paleros you guys don't know exactly what's happening to those things. I got it through the inside information that not only do they sell elotees but they sell other stuff. I need to get involved with the chief and tell him what's really happening. That's why we always push we don't want this. We don't want this in the city of Bone Park. Okay. Uh when Manuel was the mayor, we didn't

have this problem. I'm sorry to say it but you know a lot of things we didn't agree but on that part I did agree with you. You know we got to look at the picture of if somebody gets sick from it. I've seen some of those elote with their crema outside without being refrigerated or anything. Somebody's going to get sick. uh then we're going to get sued again. You know, we have enough suits uh for the city between the sidewalks and everything. We still need to uh keep an eye on all the furniture all over the city again. You know, I'll talk to Anthony tomorrow and tell him where I seen it. I don't go out so often because the price of gas, forget it, you know, you know, so it's something that you guys have to look at, you know, and uh that's about it, you know. But do your homework. This before I came in, I stopped by the the last truck that's right there next to the McDonald's. They need to show their ID. and who's the owner and everything and they don't have it. Okay. So, read up on it and then you can see on that. Okay. Thank you. Thank you for that, Mr. Reals. Uh is there anyone else uh wishing to speak? Right. See no interest. I will now close public communications. Uh thank you for the information, Mr. Rios uh from the county. Um, and just so that you know, we do have uh staff working out on an ordinance that they're going to be bringing back to the city council uh

with all of the information that they gathered. Um, and we'll be having that uh at a future council meeting. So, thank you so much, Mayor. Yes. Go ahead. I just want to ask to Mr. Reals. Um, there is a there now there's a truck parked on Ramona as you exit off there by the uh gas station by the uh um it's coming off of Ramona from the freeway there. So, that I've never seen that one. It's all lit up by Del Taco. Yes. So, just to let you know that and thank you for bringing that up. I think it's it's a concern issue that we need to deal with. Thank you.

Thank you. And then obviously Okina, you know, code enforcement would look at those, you know, food trucks that are not permitted uh within the city because that might have been the one that was in Almani before and might have crossed over to Baldin Park. So, we can just look at those those uh food trucks that are not permitted. All right. We're going to be moving on. Did you have any? No. We're going to be moving on to a consent calendar. Uh, anyone from the city council wishing to pull any items? Mayor. Yes. I'd like to pull number seven. Item number seven. Anyone else wishing to pull any other items? Mayor.

Yes. Uh, item number three. Item number three. Anyone else? All right. Seeing no other items, um I will make a motion to approve items one through seven excluding seven and three. I'll second. We got a first and a second. We have a motion to adopt items 1 2 4 5 six. Motion made by Mayor Damian. Second by council member Lazano. Council member Aila. Council member Estrada. Yes. Council member Lozano. Yes. Mayor Bamayala.

Yes. Mayor Damian. Yes. Motion carries. 5-0. Thank you for that, city clerk. Right. Item number three. Uh, council member Strada. The floor is yours.

Uh, thank you, Mayor. I just wanted to Oh, well, looks Anthony. How was the forgot? Um, I just want to double check about the uh the the the tree trimming. I know that uh I think we just did I thought we had just done a bid for for like a couple of meetings ago, maybe last meeting. Oh, it was landscaping. So, this is specifically for tree trimming. Okay. And then one of the the things that I wanted to bring up um I don't know I don't know if you're able to answer Anthony but you know when we when we do RFPs I' I'd like to see how we can try to have kind of a uh inclusionary effort to have more you know locally based uh businesses take on these contracts or you know local hire type of uh

agree initiative in these contracts. Especially right now, we really want to make sure that, you know, we are that we are really trying to increase our our efforts to workforce development, especially for our for our community. There's opportunities to hire youth, um, things like that. Um, but specifically, you know, just local initiatives in our in our bids to make sure that, you know, the these contracts are are hiring rights.

No, no. Uh, I totally agree. Um uh a couple of our current vendors um like even our uh for our current contractor for tree maintenance uh the area manager is a long-term resident of Bowen Park and he's you know totally on board with uh continuing to u reach out to you know city residents just like public works. Um I believe at least 30 to 40% of our staff is you know residents of Bal Park. Uh, and I, you know, we totally agree.

But I, well, thank you, Anthony. I I just think it's um, well, I feel it's important, right, because it, it keeps the money local. It keeps our our community uh, involved and employed, but it also helps create that civic pride where, you know, even if it's a te a te uh, tree trim. Sorry, my too many T's. A tree trim or even like landscaping, right? you know, when they pass by, you know, we we feel pride in knowing, hey, we did that, you know, or hey, you know, my dad or my brother, whoever, one of my relatives did that, right? And we have that civic pride in everything that we see being accomplished in our city. Um, but I would just bring that up. I know that uh this is getting ready to publish, but so there's an opportunity to bring that up if not maybe as a more general discussion in the future with all of our departments. Thank you, Anthony.

And then council member Stella, just quick question on that. So when you when you when you say about more of uh uh local residents, are you talking about more of the company employing more of our residents or are you talking about more of the company being owned by that? I think it's really based

either or like either locally based or you know being because I I mean we are also cognizant that there's only so many so much space for you know industry to be in in the city but just even just the uh the possibility of having ballpark as workers. Yeah. So either locally owned or you know locally local hire initiatives would be I think really important. So maybe and I know that I don't know when you go up you know for RFP the request that you guys do because I know with the whole this whole tree trimming it gets a little technical. Uh I mean you may think it's just a tree trimming right but there's more to it. Don't they have to have some type of a kind of like a a computer program where or a system that

Yeah, there's there's a number of factors um in order to have these government uh projects. Um you know these companies have to have the insuranceances uh to you know take on these large contracts. Uh they have to pay the workers prevailing wage. they have to have an assortment of different um um you know requirements in order to just work for the city. Um you know we can't hire local mom and pop shops to take on these large contracts. Um there's a lot of liability, a lot of risk and um you know um the last thing we want to do is uh put the city at at risk. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. And I agree with the council member Strada's uh point of view if we can. I mean, obviously to the extent of not, you know, putting us in liability, but

yeah. Yeah, by all means, we don't want to, you know, overlook all the important stuff and, you know, the efficiency and and making sure that we're getting quality work. You know, these are just uh things that maybe like caveats or add-ons. You know, when we when we have a select amount of applicants and we can, you know, we're it could be a maybe like even a I don't know legal like a decision like a tiebreaker or something that adds on value to that contract, right? Yeah. Um but by all means, yeah, we want to make sure that each operator that we get is, you know, fully certified, qualified, insured, uh you know, and and has all the proper tools and then from there we can push on all these other initiatives, especially because you mentioned, you know, prevailing wages, you know, we'd be creating, uh jobs for our residents that are they're that are wellpaying.

Yeah. Yeah. and and we'll make sure like we always uh advertise these RFPs through the local newspaper through Planet Bids so that we try to get as many uh qualified candidates as possible. Perfect. Anyone else have any questions?

I just have a question. Um and and and another comment about the I know I had this conversation with Manny making sure that anybody that's working for a city that they have proof of liability insurance and I think he's big on that as well. Um they he makes sure that they are submitting everything with their with their applications. Correct. Manny um question on when you do decide on what company to get. I know they do a lot of the tree trimming and all that but who does the in between for example when the trees are over growing from the bottom. You know how they start growing branches and they start blocking the the streets. Do they also come in or is that being picked up by by our public works? Um more than likely our public works staff will handle any anything in between the grid trim cycles.

Currently the gr the grid cycles are averaging between four to five years which are kind of long. Um so at times you know we encourage people to use the ballpark connect app or the gov app. Um it gives staffs an ability to keep track of any pending requests. Staff will go out there and you know do the sucker trims clearance for pedestrians or clearance for vehicles. um we leave um you know our current contractor to do all the emptying in the boom truck or the in-depth trimming cycles for trimming.

And I know you guys are out on the streets a lot more more streets than we are. So as you come by a street and you see that there's a street with a lot of trees already overgrown at the bottom. Do you automatically put it on your schedule to clean up or you wait till somebody puts a ticket in? No, we try to be as proactive as possible. Uh we encourage all staff uh not just including the the staff that actually take care of tree triving but our super operator. Um obviously we want we don't want him to slow down and you know use a goat but anything that's pressing or urgent uh to notify us immediately but it's everyone's responsibility to alert us us of anything. Thank you Anthony. That was all.

Thank you for that Anthony. Uh, council me, did you want to make a motion? Thank you, mayor. I'll uh make a motion to approve the item. A second. Right. We got a first and a second. City clerk, can we get roll call? We have a motion to adopt item number three. Motion made by Council Member Estrada, second by Mayor Ram Ayala. Council member Bravila, yes. Council Estrada, yes. Council Lozano, yes. Mayor Bromayala, yes. Mayor Damian, yes. Motion carries 5-0. Thank you for that, city clerk. Uh, Mayor PM, item number seven is yours. You have the floor. Thank you, Mayor. Um, number seven, uh, Chief, yes, ma'am,

is regarding um the review of your Edward Burn, um, JAG program review period. Uh, and and it was very clear. Um, but I just had a a question or two regarding the fiscal impact here. It says that um there's no impact to our general fund, the city's general fund. Okay. And then I see that you list your two budget sources um how much the project will be, how much are coming from JAG funds and then from your own um account within your department. Correct.

Okay. And then um in terms of your your detail, the project details, it explicitly explains and then it says the officers who will be participating in um uh the active shooter response training. You've identified who they are, the the sworn personnel, and then you said here that um 16 will be from regular duty and that 37 will be on overtime. Correct. Okay. Is that overtime pay inclusive of your monies? That's part of the the JAG uh

that's what that'll be coming from. Okay. So, as it says, it won't be coming from any others of course. Okay. That was that was only my my uh question for clarification. So, I don't know if anybody else has any comments, but if not, then I'll make a motion to approve. We have a motion to approve it. Can we get a second? That was sec. Okay, we got council members second. City clerk, can we get roll call? We have a motion to adopt item number seven. Motion made by Mayor Promayalis. Second by council member Estrada. Council member Avula. Yes. Council member Estrada. Yes. Council Lozano. Yes. Mayor Promayola. Yes. Mayor Damian. Yes.

Motion carries. 5-0. Thank you for that, city clerk. All right. There is no public hearing, no reports of officers. We're going to move move on to city council. Well, no, there's not. We're actually down to city council, city clerk, city treasur, staff requests and communications. Uh, city council, anyone have any um requests? Yes, I have. Go ahead, C. Ravina,

please. Um, in addition to uh us putting up the one legacy flag, if we can light up the city blue and green, please, I think that'll be really nice touch. And if I don't know if we have lights that shine up into our flags that we can have those those colors as well. Whatever we can do like blue and green that would be really really nice. Also, um I have a question about the parkway on Ramona. The condos on Ramona, they're actually belong to Ramona Parkway. Uh the Parkway itself is very dirty. The there's a lot of weeds growing. Um I know Anthony they you said that they usually handle the cleanup of that. If you can please look into it because um I feel there's a lot of brush and the trash gets collected there. If they can if you can make sure that the HOA is keeping their area clean, please know that's not us. Um thank you Anthony. And then another thing on our towing, I noticed um that every time there's an accident, the parts from vehicles, lights, trash is left behind. Um isn't the towing company supposed to clean all this stuff up? As a matter of fact, it it just got cleaned up, but I think it was the accident with our our PD. The I don't know if it was a fender or if it was another accident. It was right in the middle of of not the street, the

divider. The divider. It was sitting there for a while. I I went by today and it's been picked up. But if we can make sure that the towing company is cleaning up, I don't think it's our police department that should be cleaning, but they should be picking up all the parts that are left from an accident, including glass, lights, because I see that left behind in a lot of times that the accidents happen. And I don't think it should be our public works department because the toying company should be taking all those pieces from the accidents with them. If you can make sure that that's being done or make sure that is in part of the contract, please. Yes, ma'am. It is part of the contract and I'll check on it.

Yes, if you can make sure that they're doing that because it's it's unsafe one and it looks terrible because it just looks like trash in our city and I don't think BP uh PD should be worried about that nor our public works department. That's all my comments for tonight. Thank you. Thank you for that, Council Member Abula. Uh, Council Estrada, did you have any comments?

Yes, Mayor. Thank you. I just um there's been some uh I think the California Arts Council has released some potential grants for public art, so I'd like to uh just give direction for staff to look into them and uh see what we can potentially have, whether it's murals or freewayfinders or just something that helps uh bring some uh public art in general to the city. Thank you for that. Uh, council member Strada. Was there anyone else that wanted to Thank you, mayor. Chief, I want to thank uh all the officers that participated in that uh Baker to Vegas run. Thank you for keeping us uh apprised of that. And I understand it was very hot out there.

Yes. And uh All right. Thank you very much. Also, lastly, just want to see if we could address an issue on Ramona Boulevard, the Shab Barn. What's not Barnes? Is that Barnes right next to uh uh Del Taco? Mhm. Syracuse. Okay.

That that that one little uh laundry man, the little restaurant that burned up. I mean, it's a nasty. Somehow we need to go after the owners and I I know one time years ago we had where we went out and and uh worked with the actual owners of these places. Some care, some just don't care. They just rent it out and leave it as is. So, we need to address that because that's the introduction of the city and it looks nasty. So somehow we could get that together uh and uh bring back a report of what actions we need to be able to address some of those issues because I think they're they're they're of concern to all the residents. Yeah, I think I think for a while code was after them all the time and they were constantly cleaning. I don't know. Some of the letters are missing. I mean you you got business there. I mean take pride in your business

and you know and now that you said that if we can and I know code is really busy. I know they're super busy, but especially that shopping center on Francis Sko and Ramona that that sign, it's been broken for years. And I think they need to replace all the business names on it and make it look nice. As well as all the shopping centers, if you know what I'm talking about. Right on the corner of Ramona where that Yes. where that spa is. Yes. Yeah. Victory Outreach. There you go. Thank you. That's it. Thank you, man. Yeah. Go ahead.

Um I just have a couple comments. First, I want to thank everybody who attended the uh Ballpark Unified School District showcase last weekend. Um they acknowledged our city for our collaborative partnerships with them. So, I really appreciate um you know, working with them uh collaboratively to support our community. And I also want to um thank um our city staff, especially Maria um our parks and recreation. If you could please tell them. I just really appreciate um the work they do. Yesterday was able to attend the um flag football championships for our students um in the rain. But it was it was really good. We had some really great games. So I want to acknowledge um our schools from Gettys, Walnut, uh Foster and Tracy, and our champions from Gettys and from Foster. They were really great games and I just really appreciate um our staff really working with our students so that they can prepare them for um sports and that eventually uh they'll be able to be part of our high school teams. So I just want to say that and I want to wish everybody a great uh rest of Holy Week and especially Easter and um I'm sure mayor will be um commenting about Saturday so we'll see everybody there but thank you. Thank you mayor.

Thank you for that Mayor Protemp. And then uh I did want to take it back off of Council Lozano Okina. And I know that we've had these conversations in the past, but I don't know if maybe we can bring something back um with the Olive Square Market uh over on Olive and Maine. Um see what our legal options are and maybe you can get legal involved there because we've tried working with the with the business owner there and they're just not doing anything with that location.

So I mean it's been an eyesore there for years. So in fact I could provide you an update. Uh we've been meeting with uh the owner and the architect. Uh there was some snag with regards to prior uh staff and situation in terms of plan check. Uh they are going to be moving forward with some improvement tenant improvement both interior and exterior. um they will be revising their plans and resubmitting that to um our building and safety for our planning first for the design review as well as building and safety after for the plan check process. So that will be moving up soon.

Perfect. All right. Well, I'm glad to hear there's some type of movement. So, at least that's a step in the right direction. So, thank you for the update and then I'll keep my comments brief. Um, as Mayor Prom mentioned, uh, the city of Bordon Park will be hosting their Springfest and Egg Hunt on Saturday, April 4th, uh, starting at 9:00 a.m. at Morgan Park. There's going to be free attractions and entertainment from 9 to 12:00 p.m. Uh, the magic show will be from 9:30 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. And the egg hunt will start at 10:45 a.m. where they're going to have over 22,000 eggs. There's going to be a bunny craft workshop, uh, bubble zone, butterfly exhibit, photos with the bunny, and there's going to be egg hunt areas for ages 1 to three, 4 to 6, 7 to 9, and 10 to 12. So, come on out, bring the kids. They're going to have a good time. It's always a good time every year. And let's start the um, spring on the right direction. Just want to thank everyone and wish everyone a happy Easter. Uh,

Mayor,

treasure, city cler, go ahead. Uh, mayor, if I may, um, I just want to address, um, I guess three three quick points or hopefully quick. Uh, this past week, I believe it was last week, um, council member uh, Aila Estrada and myself had the pleasure of attending the NLEO uh, traveling series on bringing together San Gabriel Valley leaders and talking about issues that are affecting our community. Um I had the opportunity to share about um the p potential um side effects of passing the SE act and and the the disenfranchisement of our community. Currently it's estimated that 23% of um Americans don't have the proper documentation required to to vote under what is required under the SAVE Act. Um and and so that uh um so we kind of talked and I I've been in touch with another since um on almost a daily basis and just today we got a legal update on the ramifications and uh what may happen and the fallout from Trump uh President Trump's executive order yesterday in restricting male voting. Um so we are still getting legal updates. There's likely to be litigated um and we have no idea what will come of it. Um but um just it's safe. It's safe. It's safe um for us to know that eventually these um these restrictions will will will hurt our community one way or another. It's and it's not if it's going to happen, but when it's going to happen. And so we have to think really creatively of how we're going to support our community, ensuring that they have access to the right documentation. And so, um, anyway, uh, but, uh, so that that's that's one. Uh, two, I just, um, happened to be, uh, a couple of weeks ago happened to be like stopped at the light in front of IHOP going going to work. And I noticed that Mariposa has this massive drum and they're just like

spraying the the the rock cement medians to kill all the weeds. And I was just like really curious what is being used. Um, I know that in California in 2017 banned or not didn't ban but um listed glyphosate as a carcinogen or a cancer-causing chemical. In 2019, LA County banned it from uh all uses in county facilities and parks. Um, I happen to walk into a BPUSD school and they have a sign nicely hanging that they don't use glyphosate on any of their properties and curious whether the city would be interested in moving forward with a ban on the use and it's not currently in any of our uh municipal code or anything that I could locate in our city that abans the use of glyphosate. So, I'd really curious if the city would be interested in well, first maybe Manny would know if that's being used in our city, but um banning the use of it and ensuring that Mariposa isn't spraying it, especially when that's a bus like it was it's ironic. I turned for one side, see them spraying indiscriminately, and on the other side, I see a school bus loading a bunch of kids and and that's tra like that. Yeah, it was just very very ironic. So, curious to know if this if Mario Posa is currently using it. And um and then lastly, um I know that Baltimore Park Boulevard is a truck route and it allows for the parking for of trucks for two hours. Um but there are these massive trucks with 53 foot containers that park there for like 10 hours a day. They obstruct the view on all the turns. And so I really hope that code enforcement can send somebody around to take a look at those trucks. There must be at least four to six trucks that park on Baltimore Park Boulevard that that are not just the the the the the cabs, but it's it's like the full container and um and so uh just wanted to share that that hopefully somebody can take a take a look. So that that's it for me. Sorry.

Thank you for that, city clerk. And then uh mayor, I'm sorry. I just just to piggyback on what city clerk said. I think that um along with Okina and code enforcement if the police department could take a look at that cuz that's a big issue and we've always had an issue with that and and I thank the police department for taking care of that. Yeah. And then chief I know that there's one right that that that's been parked there and I don't know if it's there but it's on Balden Park Boulevard and Clark. Um it's right there because it impedes your when you're coming out of Clark to make a ride on Balden Park Boulevard. You can't see because it's blocking the it's really hard for you to see if there's any traffic coming

there. So, and then there's another one that parks a little bit up ahead on by Holland. Is this I mean, so if you guys can take a look, I don't know if it's PD or code enforcement, but it was that's a great point. City treasure, go ahead.

Yes, thank you, mayor. Um I just wanted to piggyback a little bit on what my colleagues here have been saying. Um, first off, I want to piggy back on um, Council Member Alejandra Abila, what she was mentioning on on the debris and stuff on the streets and on major um, areas of our city. Um, I have been seeing some large bulky items out on the street again, especially on Merced. There were pallets. They got picked up by somebody over the weekend, but I've been seeing a toilet like just between Illinois and like Sesuana Street going north. Um, and the reason I don't know why it's been sitting there. I don't know if somebody there dumped it. I have been noticing that we'll go to bed and then the next morning we'll wake up and there'll be mysterious little bundles of like random trash or bulky items like left out and about idly. So, I don't know if someone's moving around and dumping them in random places throughout the city. If we can just keep a look on that. And then also on the trucks, which is great that uh clerk brought that up. Um, are the clo are the trucks allowed to park on Mercer? May I ask? Cuz there was one parked there um about a week ago right there between Baldwin Park and Ramona overnight. Thank you. That's all.

Thank you for that, city treasur. Uh, see that there's no other comments, uh, I'll make a motion to adjourn. Can I get a second? All right, we are adjourned at 8:14 p.m. Have a good evening, everyone.