City Council - Special Meeting

Good evening. Nice to see a packed house here. Thank you all for being here. I'd like to call to order this special city council meeting. The time is now 6:48. City Clerk Dwarte, will you please call the role? Yes, mayor. Council member Fetta present. Council member Ortiz present. Council member Trujillo here. Mayor Prom Peton here. And Mayor Sosa

present. Thank you. Please uh welcome for the invocation senior pastor Dan Dutch from the Desert Rain Church. Please rise. Good evening everybody.

This is an honor to be here and um to be able to pray for the city and pray for our city leaders. Um what what came to my mind as I was stepping up here or actually it's been on my heart all day is uh there's a saying that says such a time as this for such a time as this. And it comes from the book of Esther where Esther rises from uh being an orphan all the way to being the the queen of Persia. But she comes to a part in her life where she has to make a decision and she has to risk what she has for the people. And um her mentor talks to her and says, you know, who knows if you have not risen to your royalty position for such a time as this. And uh I think about that and I think about all of us here today that we are all here. We are all created. We all have a plan that God has for us and it is for such a time as this. But I I think about uh the incoming mayor who's coming in uh for 2026, but I was here during 2020 and 2021 when it was a little bit um tumultuous here in in the in the chambers. There was a lot of attacks to her personally. there was a lot of tax to her family and um I remember those things. But I remember back then saying that you were chosen for such a time as this. She was solid. She was the rock. She was steady. Uh she was the steady part of this city. Uh uh she led this city with that steady hand through that tumultuous time because it was such a time as this for her. And I believe this 2026 is also such a time as this for her. And uh it it takes prayer. It takes prayer through all of that. It we could see that uh you know the the the standing firm is just not on our own. We we need help. We need help from the Lord. And uh this city is different.

The city of Downey is different. The city of Downey is blessed because the city leadership here believes in prayer. And uh I believe that changes things and we can see that as we look around that this city is blessed. Um there is a um a scripture that comes from Jeremiah 29. It says, "Seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into. Pray for the pray to the Lord for it because if it prospers, you prosper." And that's the Lord talking to uh people that are in exile. So it doesn't matter whether you agree or whether you disagree. What's important is that you pray for your city so it will prosper and that you will prosper. Let's bow our heads. Lord, we just come before you and we just thank you for what you're doing in this city. We thank you, Lord, for all of the city leaders, Lord, who have um as you put in your word, there is no greater love than those who lay down their lives for their friends. And that's what we see in our city leadership that makes the difference here in the city of Downey. It's what you do, Lord, and it's what the city leadership does. And and it matters. Everything matters. Every decision matters. every um agreement, disagreement, all the things that we say, all the things that we do matter. And it matters because Lord, you have chosen us for such a time as this, every single one of us. And Lord, uh we just pray over the city. We pray over the city leadership. We pray, Lord, for your presence here. We pray over the first responders of this city, Lord, that you would bless them, protect them, Lord, uh be with them, quicken their minds, Lord, when they have to make decisions, Lord, those quick second decisions, Lord, that they would make righteous ones. and and we pray over them. We pray over the um the nurses and the doctors of this city, Lord, that you would bless them and and and quicken their minds as give them that energy, Lord, when they when they start to get tired. Bless them, Lord, through that. Bless the teachers here, the the the especially the teachers and the ones that are um working with

special needs children. Lord, give them the resources that they need, Lord. Help us to help them, Lord. We just pray for that in Jesus' name. And again, Lord, we pray over this city, Lord, that you would bless this city, bless our leadership, bless the people. In Jesus name, I pray. Amen. Thank you. Thank you. And now, at this time for the flag salute, I'd like to call up Emily and Jessica.

Put your right hand over your heart. Ready? Begin. I aliance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. You may please be seated. Thank you.

Again, thank you all for being here. At this time, I'd like to recognize uh and acknowledge former mayors and council members in the audience tonight. When I call your name, uh please stand and be recognized. We have from the city of Artisia, uh Council Member Zil Aier. We have a newly appointed mayor from the city of Southgate, Joshua Bon, the executive director from Celico, which I'm a board member of. Yolanda Castro from the City Hawaiian Gardens. Mayor Dandy Depala. We have from the Rose Float Association, Kathy Leesma. former Downey Mayor Keith McCarthy, the council member and mayor up until two days ago from the city of Montabelloo. Salvador Melendez from the offices of LA County Supervisor Janice Han. Assistant Deputy Vincent Morales from the city of Artisia. Council member Monica Manolo, former Downey Mayor, Assembly Woman for our district, Blanca Pacheco,

St. College Board Trustee Area 1, Mariana Pacheco. Yes, they are related. Uh, I think she just left. Council member from the city of Norwalk, Jennifer Perez. We have former Downey Mayor Rick Rodriguez. Former Downey Mayor Alex Saab. I'm going out of order here, but we have retired uh fire chief Dan Hurlock in the crowd. Down Unified School Board President Linda Sana. We have District Director for the Office of State Senator Bob Archeletta and Santana. We have vice president from the Rose Float Association Danielle Story and her husband Aaron Story. We have a school board member for the Downey School District uh Gigi Perez Saab also uh from the city of Artisia. Is it MPT at this time or is mayor

my apologies Renee? I owe you one. Renee Trevino.

Artiza representing strong. Thank you guys. travel

from Certo's College director uh Jose Fiero or from his office Jose Fieros we have Andrea Whittig and I think that's about it. Oh, we also have How can I forget this? I didn't forget. It's I'm reading off a list. uh school board member uh Nancy Swenson and obviously they're here every meeting, but our police chief Scott Lochner and our fire chief Anthony Hildebrand. Thank you guys. Oh, that's right. Yeah. Uh, also from the city of Lynwood, uh, city council, Luis Quayar is here as well.

I hope I didn't miss anybody. I see a bunch of important people in the crowd, by the way.

Yeah. One second. And at this time uh just uh I won't call you by name, but uh if we have any commissioners, board members, and committee members in the audience, please stand to be recognized. I'd also like to acknowledge uh my family members in the audience. Uh, I have my uh wife of 27 years, Daisy Sosa. She still laughs at my jokes. I love it. Um, my two sons I'm very proud of. I have Lucas Sosa and Joshua Sosa. my mother of I I won't say how many years but Estella Stella Aarisha uh my uh my uncle and aunt Viko and Yola Sosa and uh my primos I have uh Martin uh Brenda Nati Sosa and one of my childhood friends and his lovely wife from Griffith Middle School and Warren High School. We're still the best of friends, Vince Mesa. Maria Mesa.

And at this time, I'll go ahead and pass it on to newly appointed mayor, Claudia Fmetto, for some recognitions.

Thank you, Mayor. Um, good evening, everybody. I want to give a special thanks to all of you for being here tonight. And I want to acknowledge uh Rosario Marine who is the f 41st treasurer of the United States. She's here with us. And I will also like to acknowledge uh CEO of NALO, Erica Bernnal Martinez. Thank you for joining us. I will have an opportunity to acknowledge my family uh later, but thank you for joining us tonight.

Okay, at this time I'll make my way down to the podium for my final address as mayor. Thank you. Just a little bit sideways.

Is that okay? We'll go a little bit sideways so I don't have my entire back to you guys. So anyway, so I'm I'm going to go ahead and go through um a presentation here, a year of accomplishments uh with some of my initiatives and uh accomp accomplishments uh made by the whole uh by the U city council as a whole and also by obviously by uh city staff. and then I'll go into some thank yous and a final message. Uh, as mayor, my goal is to make sure that every resident felt safe, supported, and empowered. I prioritize public safety, economic development, and quality of life initiatives. Uh that includes uh you know uh unwavering support for our first responders, our PD and fire uh which I'm a a big supporter of, addressing issues that many cities deal with uh such as homelessness, supporting our veterans, youth, and fostering economic growth in this beautiful city of ours of Downey and ensuring that we have efficient city services delivered to our residents uh which they uh deserve. And that's my family. That's uh retired chief Dan Herurlock who swore me in. Thank you Dan. Appreciate you. Uh some of our uh overarching uh council priorities as a whole were fiscal responsibility, economic vibrancy, efficiency and adaptability, quality of life, safety and infrastructure and also public engagement. And all of my goals this year, this past year, revolved around our five city council priorities. These priorities align with our city's mission to continue improving the quality of life for the entire community here in Downey. Uh fiscal responsibility, uh which is uh

which is at the top of my list. Uh this year, the city developed its 14 14th consecutive balance budget. That's a big deal. Uh that is not common. And at this time, I would like to acknowledge city staff for that. Let's give them a round of applause. The fiscal uh sustainability and fiscal um uh good health is is important and as you know is vital for um a city like ours. Also, it demonstrates our commitment to fiscal responsibility. Uh we've received as a city uh national awards for the 12th consecutive year from the um California Society of Municipal Finance Officers and the also the distinguished budget presentation award um for the year ending uh June 30th, 2024. This marks the 25th consecutive year that the city has received this prestigious recognition. And that's a big deal. Uh that news, good news should resonate with everyone in here as stakeholders in the city of Downey. And uh well, as mentioned, um full transparency, our um annual uh comprehensive financial report goes into great detail and you can see why we'd uh win these awards consistently on annual basis. Economic vibrancy. Uh this is a big deal for our uh community and for our city council as a whole. New businesses uh Precision Honda just you got to check them out. Uh we just visit them visit them visit them them last month and uh they have a state-of-the-art facility just on the north side of the 605 off of Florence and Studebaker. It's an amazing facility and really excited about that. Uh Sprouts opened up uh earlier this year. A lot of people were anticipating Sprouts and then um

also u Shake Shack which we were all excited about. Who doesn't like a good burger, right? Uh small business workshop. We held a uh a series of workshops uh providing free technical assistance workshops to support entrepreneurs and small business owners in Downey. Uh, we had we have over 500 businesses assisted with permitting, licensing, and other resources and over 400 city-based business licenses issued. I love this picture. So, some of my fellow electeds in the crowd, get yourself, you know, when you're nicest staff, they'll look at you like they're looking at me right there. So, can I request that picture framed? Sorry, just wanted that one to marinate. So, anyways, uh developing project, we're all excited about this in the uh community of Downey and also surrounding communities. Round one, Spocha at the the Stonewood Center. Uh we're really excited about this because it's um it's really going to bring in a lot of attention, a lot of opportunity at the Stonewood Center. And for those of you who don't know, I mean, you may be uh familiar with the round one uh concept, but the SPOA uh version of that is going to provide a lot of uh uh sports challenge uh competitions and uh games, entertainment. So, so all you tough guys out there who think you're athletes, you know, come check us out. Uh Smileys Italian Restaurant, really excited about that. That's going to be on Downey Avenue, and that comes from the family that owns that runs the uh the Downey Pizza Company. So they they're a proven um commodity here in the city. We also have Mamaloo's Dumpling House and Restaurant uh which a lot of people are excited about. I guess it's a big deal around the Monterey Park area and they're really good. Alex Saab says it's

the best. So I'll take your word for that. So uh for this, you know, I'd really like to acknowledge our economic development and our community development uh departments for that. Let's give them a round of applause. efficiency and adaptability. Uh we have the new Downey Connect app. We have over uh 2,000 service requests addressed over the past year and we launched the new and improved Downey Connect app. Check it out. Uh it's a great way to uh to get immediate attention on um on issues in the community and uh keeps us uh really up to date with technology and accessibility. Uh electronic plan check submitt. Uh this was uh one of the overarching goals of this uh this city council as a whole just to you know we're constantly looking for ways to streamline processes and and uh make the plan check submitt uh process a little bit easier uh for our residents and our and our businesses. So the building and safety division has launched an electronic this uh plan check submitt system through Excella citizen access uh which is uh supposed to provide a much better experience for our residents and and streamlining that whole thing. So uh this system allows applicants to submit their plans online, track review status in real time and receive automate automated uh notifications. So that's a big deal. Uh which is has been very welcomed by our businesses and residents. Uh Downey link we introduced new techn technology that features real-time bus tracking and includes a uh trip planner future feature makes it easier for the community to plan routes, truck bass uh buses in real time or track buses in real time and access reliable public

transportation information. Quality of life, safety and infrastructure. Uh quality of life is something we take very seriously here in the city of Downey. Take a lot of pride in. Uh we held u a nonprofit summit for the first time here in the city of Downey. This was one of my mayoral initiatives. And the whole idea behind this was uh how this came about was I I was trying to help somebody on one of the Downey community pages. They were being displaced for their from their home for whatever reason. And uh it was a Friday and I I emailed u uh three of our local nonprofits to see if we can get immediate need um help for them. One of them responded right away and uh one responded on Saturday, another one responded on on Monday, which is okay. Um but what's I what I thought was interesting is uh each of them had different criteria on how they would address the situation. And one of them asked me if if they were dealing with um if they were being displaced for economic reasons. Uh they also asked me if uh they were dealing with some type of domestic abuse situation. And so that got me thinking uh we have Downey is a very collaborative community. We have people uh in here that represent different nonprofits and service organizations. Uh so I I it just got me to thinking, you know what, uh we have a lot of organizations that are doing some amazing work in this community. uh let's bring some of them together and see if we can collaborate and create a database on exactly who to reach out to their service hours if there's any cr criteria and the whole uh emphasis on this was to make sure that anybody going through an emergency situation that we have a database that's accessible for people to access and u they can have their immediate dire needs uh addressed in in real time. So, um, that was, you know, we have a lot of nonprofits. I got some phone calls from some of the people in this room like, "Hey, you know, we're

part of this nonprofit. Why weren't we invited? Uh, we're going to expand upon this." But the whole idea with this was just to bring uh service providers to the table that can provide immediate service for people in dire need. So, I hope that's sufficient for some of you that called me. Uh, DSD community schools meeting. Uh I I myself and uh my uh my household, my wife and two sons, we're all products of Downey Unified School District. And with community schools, um the I'm really excited about this. They just launched this uh in the past year. Uh they put a lot of work into this. So um it's always been an emphasis of mine to uh make sure that you know uh people don't understand that uh the school district is a separate entity from the city. We do have 20 schools in the district, which is amazing. Um, and we're very proud of the uh the partnership and the the school district and our school board and um they're doing some amazing things and and addressing uh needs for for families that uh could use some some we don't want families we don't want kids being left behind for whatever reason. So there's a lot of resources brought to the table and then uh us as a as a municipal entity we want to make sure that we partner up with them that we make sure that um all the needs are met are um and desires are uh addressed. So thank you to Downey Unified and uh let's give a round of applause for our Downey Unified representatives. Also, we launched a home and business uh security uh rebate program. Uh this was a uh an important deal, a big big priority for this council as a whole. There was um $40,000 allocated by city council using measure D funds to help residents and businesses with the cost of security upgrades for the homes or

businesses, up to $250 rebate for residents, and up to $1,500 uh for uh businesses. We're still accepting applications. Uh please visit um down eca uh.orgrebates to learn more maybe wait till after my presentation to do that. Please also we did a uh I wanted to launch a social media speeding campaign uh which went viral. Um, I'd like to thank our uh our um police our police department and uh our staff um Axel Perez for putting this thing together. And the whole idea uh behind it was just like every other city, we have people that uh can't help themselves but speeding. There's only so much we can control here. We have a great police department. We have a a great uh team of uh uh motor officers. Um but the whole idea behind this was just to remind people like, "Hey, slow down. slow down. Why speed to to get to the next red light? You know, you could save a life if you just think about that. And it went viral. We got a lot of positive feedback and um we don't know uh the end result of that, but maybe that's a good thing. Okay. Homelessness uh solution step. Uh we take that very seriously. Uh these these hardworking individuals are comprised uh representing different uh departments here. We have parks and wreck, we have uh police, we have fire, we have public works, uh maintenance and uh code enforcement. And uh the emphasis on that was to really address the homelessness uh situation uh which uh as my fellow electeds around here know and assembly woman know that it's it's an issue that plagues all of us in this state. But uh what we can do is is try to control that and try to mitigate that uh one city at a time and

and we try to uh make sure that um services are provided and uh that resources are are made aware or folks going through homelessness are are made aware of all the resources available to them. So these are hardworking individuals and their respective departments. I'd like to give them a round of applause. We also launched a pilot residential street light program uh which was uh fully supported by the city council and uh we launched the first year uh of this program and it aims to to fund the installation of street lining on residential streets. Currently, there are $200,000 available in the pilot program uh to be used on a first come, first- serve basis. Uh to learn more, please visit our city's website. Measure D uh that was overwhelmingly passed uh by the residents of Downey uh allowed us to provide 17 additional public safety positions uh made possible through Measure D. A voter approved uh quartercent sales sales tax increased uh designated for public safety. I'd like to u acknowledge our staff for all their hard work. Our city manager, Roger Bradley, and the rest of the team for making this happen. So, let's give them a round of applause. And the public safety positions are spread uh throughout u uh police and fire and also support personnel because uh we want as many um more uh boots on the ground we want to put out there for our PD. We want to make sure that they have adequate staff uh back at the station as well. So, uh public engagement, we have community events. You can't think of Downey and not think about Dutalicious. If you

haven't seen it, go check it out on Downey Avenue uh just before 3rd. And uh Don Lamin, who happens to be a good friend of mine, is the artist behind this uh that uh just exemplifies everything about well almost everything good about Downey. Obviously, we've had some changes over the past 10 years. Uh, but this is a real real piece of art, a real work of art. I will u emphasize that both Warren and Downey have represented on there, but Warren has a bigger space because Don is a bear. So, I just want to just want to but the bikes did get some love. All right. Uh, but this is this is a beautiful piece of art. Go check it out if you haven't seen it. Uh this was another one of my initiatives as mayor. Um during our mayor may mayoral years, it's uh it's typical for uh whoever's appointed as mayor to come up with their own initiatives and and I just want to thank staff for um supporting uh my initiatives, my ideas. The whole point of Rise Above men's wellness uh resource uh resources fair is uh my wife and I actually attended a uh a men's wellness fair in the city of Southgate. Uh Joshua that was an amazing event and um we went there. I didn't recognize anybody from Downey. I said, "You know what? We got to have that in Downey." And I put it out there. I got a lot of support from the community. Um once I put on the dice, I want to thank the uh my council colleagues for their support on this, but men's wellness is a an important topic. It seldom gets discussed. Uh men's wellness uh awareness month is in the month of June. It gets it never gets talked about because there's a stigma and um I got to tell you once I brought it up on the dis uh the the council supported it overwhelmingly. I got calls from the community. I got a call right away from my my friend over there, David Gonzalez, to volunteer and

get involved. Uh because this is an important topic because, you know, as men, uh some of us are tough guys, some of us think we're tough guys, and uh you know what, it's okay to ask for help. So, this was the inaugural one. Um I had a chance to uh uh interview one of my favorite fighters of all time, Downey resident, Abner Mahrez, who's a heck of a fighter. And as you can see, I had the support of uh my council and Assemblywoman Blanca Pacheco. Uh it was a successful first event and we're going to build upon that every year. So come check it out. Yes. The Rolling Greens Estates signage ribbon cutting. Uh North County has orange estates. And uh I really wanted to emphasize this because uh Rolling Greens Estates is in the southwest uh portion of Downey uh close to the uh Southgate border actually nearby nearby where I live. A resident brought this to my attention and uh I reached out to uh staff, specifically Vana, our assistant uh city manager and said, you know, we got something special here. I I met with this this group and they actually had some um um some issues that needed to be addressed. various issues that needed to be addressed in this this community. It's over there by Temple Park. And uh you know what, we uh we knocked them out one by one. Uh these residents were really happy. But to put icing on the cake, we were able to find the documentation that deem this uh community, the Rolling Greens Estates. And you may be wondering, well, you know, what's the big deal? It actually is a big deal uh for these happy residents right here because there's a sense of pride, sense of community when they go home. There's a sign right off of Steuart and Gay when they go into Pernell and right at uh Temple Park. And I got to tell you, those those happy faces are there for a reason. So that's

a that's a big deal for these residents. Adds to quality of life and it may have uh increased their property values a little bit too. I don't know. So, uh, Vietnam Veterans Traveling Wall, uh, which was overwhelmingly supported by our city council. Uh, my council colleague, uh, Mayor Prom Peton was a big champion behind this. And, uh, this was really neat. Uh, we're looking to hopefully do it again next year. Uh, but if you haven't seen it, I I really, u um, emphasize checking it out. And if you've seen the the real one, the real Vietnam Veterans Wall in uh DC, uh this was an amazing uh replica uh copy of it. And um the the whole thing behind that is in the city of Downey, and I know my my friend and former mayor Rick Rodriguez is a big champion uh for veteran support. And behind me, I see from the Pride Barber Shop, Lloyd Veres, who's a big champion for our veterans. I saw him earlier. I don't have eyes in the back of my head. Um, so it's just it's really important and I sit on the the I chair the subcommittee uh for the uh the veteran subcommittee here in the city of Downey. We want our veterans to know that we fully support them in the city of Downey and we want to uh keep bringing resources and and attention and appreciation to them. So, in fact, at this time, if we have any veterans in the crowd, please stand up to be acknowledged. Our city manager, Bradley, is a Marine.

He's not currently serving. Once a Marine, always a Marine, right? Yeah. Thank you for your service. Also, um I I this is a big deal. Um this being the at the end of my uh third year uh serving in the community um as a on the council uh this was my second uh town hall. It was a couple months ago. We called a coffee with the mayor and uh you know this is open to anybody. Um, obviously our city council meetings are open to the public, but um I I think this is important because it allows residents to come and engage with us um in person and u they get to get updates and also ask us any questions. So, uh no questions are off the table. I got hit with some pretty good questions, pretty tough questions. Uh but I I um I'm a big believer in in dialogue, constant dialogue, because there's a lot of misinformation out there. But if I'm able to uh interact uh with residents, you never know what to expect. They can come at you with anything. Um but um I think dialogue is always healthy between elected officials and our residents. So uh this is something that just happened a couple weeks ago, the LA Phil neighborhood concert. Uh we've been we had been working this on this all year. Uh Gabe and Almardado from State Arts Gallery reached out to me and said the uh the LA Phil was looking to do a neighborhood concert. So for those of you who got to um we worked on it for several months, city staff worked really hard in conjunction with the office of Janice Han and the LA Phil and uh this was this was an amazing worldass uh show and I'm glad that uh uh some of our residents got to see that. We had some folks from Southgate here to see that and that's a big deal because

that what that does it it brings a lot more attention to uh the arts culture that we have in the community and I think it's going to uplift our own uh Downey Symphony as well. So that just adds to quality of life and a balanced uh community here. So very proud of that uh emergency preparedness fair just uh you know I had had a pretty ambitious year and I again I want to thank staff for supporting my ideas. Maybe some of them are crazy. I don't know. But uh emergency preparedness fair. Uh just when I thought I was done about a month ago, I said, "You know what? Let's It's been a while since the city of Downey has done this. Let's run it back. Let's do it again." Uh especially for those of you who remember Christmas Eve last year, there was a power outage. We had a blackout. And I said, "You know what? Let's get um all our community partners. Uh our uh Downey Fire Department, uh Downey Cert uh Racky from our fire department did an amazing job. You can see our chief there. Uh thank you Assemblywoman Pacheco for supporting that and um you know what what it did was we have close to 200 residents show up and uh it provided a lot of amazing resources. Uh LA County took part in that as well. And the thing is we can't uh predict predict the future but we can help at least prepare for it. So thank you to staff for doing that. Uh mayor's outstanding se outstanding citizen award. Um I just noticed I'm wearing the same suit in those pictures. I I own more suits than this. It is my favorite suit. Um, so the whole point, you know, as mayors, we get to we get to recognize people. And I decided to switch it up this a little bit this year. I opened it up to the public and just put it out there that uh if if the public knew of anybody who is doing amazing work in this community, I

wanted to recognize them. And that's exactly what we did. We're able to I wanted to recognize people that nobody had ever heard of and maybe some people that we've heard of, but it's really important. We have a lot of champions out there doing some amazing work and a lot of them are not looking for recognition, but I I thought it was important to to recognize them. Got a really good response uh from the community. And I just want to point out, you know, we have some younger folks here uh teacher of the year in the middle there uh from Columbus High School. Um, this kid on the right uh did some amazing work in uh in helping younger kids out through a lifeguard program. And then uh on the left uh the pride of Warren High uh he'll be he should be in the starting rotation for the UCLA Bruins uh this this coming season who's actually drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates but off to go to college instead. So look out for Angel Cervantes. We're all excited about him. uh Legacy Projects, the Columbia Memorial Space Center, the second building expansion. We just did the we just had the U groundbreaking uh a few weeks ago, and this is a big deal uh for the city of Downey with the aerospace legacy and history that we have in the community. Uh starting with the uh uh North American Aviation and we'll what follow with that. The big deal about this is uh the this is going to house the uh inspiration space shuttle mockup and uh what this is going to do along with the city of STEM and we kind of already are but it's it's really going to put Downey on the map as a regional hub for science and engineering education. It's not only just for Downey U kids to benefit from but kids from around the region. So,

it's a big deal and it it allows us to celebrate and carry on the legacy of um the aerospace history in the community of Downey. And uh for those of you who don't know, uh the city of STEM uh earlier this year, I thank the uh LA County Board of Supervisors was deemed the official science festival of LA County. And at this time, uh Ben Dickau is around here somewhere. I want to uh congratulate him and his his team for that. Let's congratulate him. Thank you. And we also received the um 2025 Helen Putnham award for excellence from the League of California Cities. So that's a big deal and that's to be celebrated. Okay. The Rancho South campus which is on the uh southwest portion of Downey off of uh Imperial all the way to Gardenale. That's it's in my district, district 2. We're partnering with LA County on the site's development and feasibility for the uh enhanced infrastructure financing district and we also entered an exclusive negotiating agreement for the development of the Rancho Los Amigo South Campus and that's a big deal. We we're really excited about that. Um we're thankful for the that is county property. We're thankful for the um um the CEO's office and the office of Janice Han for uh their support and we have ongoing discussions, but we've made a lot of progress and uh getting things done. So, as you can imagine, uh there's going to be a lot of housing uh there and uh possibly some maybe a mixeduse concept. Stay tuned. So, we're all excited about that because there's, you know, that there's been nothing going on with that property for a while now. also the southeast gateway line which is going to run through um the that Rancho South campus and I see my you know my colleagues thanks for a big showing from the city of Artisia. Uh yes

uh this the Southeast Gateway Line is going to be um a new state-of-the-art uh way of uh uh travel metro rail line and it's going to start in Artisia and it's going to run through all the uh corresponding cities. There's 13 cities involved and it's going to go all the way to Union Station. It's a it's going to be a clean, safe, and efficient way to travel. It's going to help alleviate some of the traffic issues that uh our cities are dealing with as well. And uh we are eligible for up to $985 million in federal reimbursements and we've already secured uh over $200 million in California State from the California State Transportation Agency. As you can see, we had some uh advocacy trips uh to DC um as well as Sacramento a couple times. So, and there's our assembly woman, Blanca Pacho, again right there. Um so, thank you. I do have some some uh closing words. I want to thank some additional people. Um this was a year ago uh when I got sworn in and uh I can't thank my my beautiful family uh enough for for the support. And um again, I I do have some thank yous here. So, I'm going to turn around. So, it's it's been a my humble honor to serve this community um that I've been in uh for most of my life and uh it's an honor. It's um I want to thank the good Lord for this this amazing opportunity. The city of Downey has been good to uh me and my family and this is the ultimate way to to to give

back. I want to thank the residents of Downey for this opportunity. I want to thank my council colleagues for their support, commitment, and willingness to serve to serve our community. Let's hear for my council colleagues, please. I will say that we're not always going to agree. Um, we're going to have some heavy deliberations. Sometimes it can get heated, but that's okay. We have important decisions to make in this community. This is a great community. It's a great city. And uh I want to commend them for their uh their commitment to serving this community. And again, uh we're not always going to see eye to eye, but that's not necess not necessarily a bad thing. You don't want five people always agreeing with each other. At the same time, you don't want five people at each other's throats. So there has to be a happy medium. So again, let's hear from my council colleagues. I want to thank our professional staff uh for their support. I want to thank Roger Bradley for his uh professionalism and leadership and knowledge. I want to hear Let's hear for Roger Bradley. I want to thank assistant city manager Vana de Rojos for always being available for me and for her true knowledgeable um uh for being the true knowledgeable professional that she is. Let's cheer for Vana, please. Our city attorney, John Funk, who uh is is is so knowledgeable, very smart guy, one of the smartest people I've ever met. Um, for the record, my wife is the smartest person I've met. I think you all agree I'm pretty smart for saying that, right? All right. Anyways, uh I appreciate uh city attorney John Funk for just being a

knowledgeable professional and always being a knowledgeable resource. Um our city Yes. Yes. I want to thank Alicia Dwarte, our city um the the voice you recognize if you're watching this over YouTube, uh for uh she's a tremendous asset uh to myself and my council colleagues. Let's hear for Alicia. I want to thank our executive secretaries, Rebecca Sanchez and Isabelle Prito on the third floor for all their work and all for all their support. Let's hear for them. They're not here. I want to thank Judy Montenegro, Shante Duran, Duran, Axel Perez, and the respective teams for um all the event planning. There's a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes to pull off these amazing events that we have in the city of Downey. um and uh for their subject matter preparations this year for them as well. And I and I'm I'm going to keep going uh for a little bit with staff. I I think it's really important uh to um acknowledge staff because we take a lot of pride in that. Um and we have true professionals in each of our departments and for my fellow electeds here, none of them are available. Okay. So, um, but they're the ones that get the work done behind the scenes, and I appreciate them. I want to thank Jason Chicone and his parks and w team for all their hard work and community events and for uh maintenance of our parks. I want to thank PD, fire, public works, code enforcement, HR, engineering, community development, planning, Irma and her team, economic development, Austin Ramirez and his team, the finance department, maintenance and IT. Let's hear all of them, please.

With respect to PD, I want to thank a big thanks um for Chief uh Scott Lochner uh for always taking my calls and for Captain Maria Viegas for always being accessible. Uh sometimes I call her and she'll let me know that I'll ask that she's on her day off or she's she's on vacation. She still takes my call and I try to hang up right away. But let's acknowledge those folks. I want to thank my my friends and family for their unwavering support at the beginning of the mayoral term. I dedicated this year to my father, my late father, US Army veteran, a longtime Downey resident, Caesar Sosa Senior. And I hope I made him proud. Thank you, Dad. I want to thank my mother, Stella, for for her love and unconditional support and her occasional criticisms. Yes, let's hear from my mother. I want to thank my two sons, Josh and Lucas, for their love, support, and constant feedback. and I they have their ears to the ground. I get a lot of feedback from the from the the younger generation. So, thank these guys. And I want to thank my lovely wife of 27 years, Daisy. Uh we were just kids when we met at Warren High. Um I'm sorry, Warren, California. I want to thank her for her love and unwavering support and encouragement. Let's hear from my wife, Daisy.

And just so you know and and you fellow electeds and the the people behind me know that uh getting uh support from your immediate household and your your loved ones is a big deal. Uh those that serve on the school board as well and um it it's a big deal. I want to thank them for the sacrifices because there's a lot. I want to thank them for their understanding, their sound advice as they are my most trusted adviserss. So, um, at this time I do want to say a big congrats to Mayor Prom, uh, appointed Arasio Ortiz. Let's hear for him. I'd like to say to Arasio, I appreciate our collaboration, our friendship, and our open dialogue. I appreciate our phone calls. You're doing some great things uh for our community, and I'm very proud of you. Thank you. Also, I'd like to say congrats to uh uh newly appointed mayor Clyde Fermenta. I'm going to hold on to this mayor role for a few more minutes if you don't mind. I appreciate your commitment to our city and our friendship. To me, uh you show true leadership and strength during during one of the darkest times our city hall has ever experienced. I want to thank you and I want to thank you to your family, your beautiful family right here for all their sacrifices and strength during challenges that you guys endured. So, let's give it up to the Formenta family and I will say that I have mixed emotions. Uh I really enjoyed being mayor. In fact, for you fellow electeds, uh you know what I'm thinking about? You know, I'm big on mental health, men's mental health, but I'm thinking about uh starting a a peer support group for

those of us who have to transition from mayor back to council member. Anybody with me on that? All right, Joshua, next year. Thank you. Anyways, I want to thank everyone. I want to thank you for this amazing opportunity to serve this community. It's been a blessing, an honor, and a privilege to serve this community, the city that I love, the city that's been good to me and my family in this capacity. Thank you all so much from the bottom of my heart. God bless you all. Thank you. Thank you. I'm going to go ahead and invite um uh some of our uh surrounding cities and um other organizations that are here to recognize Mayor Sosa to come up when I call your name, please. From the office of Senator Bob Archeletta, we have an Andy Santana. Got to fix it a little short. Good evening, mayor and honorable mayor and distinguished council and guest. It is my honor to be here on behalf of

California Seat Senator Bob Archeletta to present a certificate to our outgoing mayors Hector Sosa. Sorry, I have a couple notes that the senator wanted me to say clearly say. So, uh, it reads, "On behalf of Senator Bob Archeletta, thank you, Mayor Hector Sosa, for your dedicated service to the city of Downey. Your leadership, commitment, and hard work have made a lasting impact in the community, and the senator extends his sincere appreciation and best wishes as you conclude your term. And he hopes to continue collaborating with our new mayor and council for the betterment of our constituency. So, congratulations, Mayor Sosa, and

to be continued. We're still going to work together. Of course, you'll get it. Thank you. I would like to call up Assembly Member Blanca Pacheco.

Thank you. Good evening, Downey. Always a pleasure to be here with all of you. Uh, this reminds me of home. This is where I grew up. This is the city I served on city council and at one point I was your mayor. And so it's always exciting uh for me to come back and see all of you. So many familiar faces. Um, but to honorable uh Mayor Hector Sosa, uh thank you for your service to Downey. Uh you're also a product of our school district and you have done such an amazing job. city council and now as mayor. Uh your presentation was amazing. All that you have done was amazing and you have served with such compassion, humility, and with such great sense of humor that I think we've all enjoyed. Uh so I want to thank you. I want to commend you for your service. I know we will continue to work together. And to the incoming mayor and mayor prom, congratulations. I know we will continue to work together and al along with the city council and city staff, amazing staff here in the city of Downey. Uh we have an amazing city. So I want to thank all of you for being here today on this special celebration and I do have a certificate uh for our mayor. Uh on behalf of the California State Assembly, I extend my sincere gratitude for your strong leadership, visionary guidance, and unwavering commitment to the city of Downey. Your dedication and service have been exemplary and are clearly reflected in the success of this remarkable city. Thank you for your service as mayor, and I wish you continued success. Signed, your assembly member. Thank you.

Did follow. Oh, okay. What am I? Sorry. I don't know why I brought my phone with me. From the office of LA County Board of Supervisors, Janice Han, we have Vincent Morales.

Hi, good everyone. My name is Vincent Morz with Fres. Pleasure to be here. Unfortunately, this person was able to come. So, I'm here on her behalf. I just want to echo Mayor Hector Sosa for an amazing year as mayor. Uh, as you can see, like, you know, through the presentation you did, things that weren't usually done, especially with the men's health and then the speeding campaign and others, you know, it shows that your heart was in the right place, which is all the initiatives that you care about, priorities for the city of Downey. So I commend you for that um for a year as mayor and I just want to say on behalf of Spre Han and the temple res of LA County I'd like to wish you thank you for the amazing year but also your family because without you said yourself without a great support system it's not possible that allow you to do a great job and I'm am happy to continue this partnership cuz even though you're not mayor you're still going to be city council and we'll continue the great partner we have been doing for many years with the county and the city of Downey. So on behalf of that I wish you best and thank you very much.

Appreciate it. From the city of Artisia, we have Mayor Rene Rabino, council members Sil Aid, and Monica Manalo. Uh, good evening, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Renee Trevino, and I'm the mayor for the great little city of Artisia. And uh to my right I have one of our council members uh Zeal Air tonight joining me. So Hector and I sit on the policy board together for Celico and I will tell you I've gotten to know you in the last year and you come to the meetings and you're either on your phone or you're a few minutes uh you know after we start or you're leaving maybe a few minutes before the meeting is over. I'm like, you know, what does this guy do and we sit here tonight? And you've done a lot. Thank you.

You have done a lot as a mayor. Yes, you sit in the middle chair and you bang the gavvel and things and that's wonderful, but your initiatives really I wrote some of them down. I may borrow a few.

You know, you have really done a lot for the city of Downey. uh your passion for public safety, men's health, uh working with the business community, the nonprofits, you really have demonstrated uh a well-roundedness to dealing with all aspects of city life. So, on behalf of the city of Artisia, we're a small 18,000 person city, but we're here tonight to give you a certificate of recognition, Hector, really for your dedication. and we acknowledge the contributions you've made to the city of Downey, its residents throughout your service as the Downey City Council mayor and the city of uh Downey. Your commitment to public service has left a lasting and positive impact on your community. So, tonight we give you our uh certificate of recognition and thank you, brother, for your service, your friendship, and I look forward to continue working with you. Super from the city of B gardens. Isabelle Gillian.

Yes, I will add. Thank you, Renee. You have to have a sense of humor in this in this business. Hello. Good evening. Hi, Miss Madam. So, I'll keep it short. On behalf of the Bal Garden City Council, we congratulate you for your leadership and dedicated service as mayor for the city of Downey. Your unwavering commitment to public service and the well-being of your community is truly commendable. We wish you continued success in all your future endeavors. We appreciate you. I appreciate you. and I'm glad to call you a friend. May God continue to bless you. from the city of Compton. Mayor Emma Sharifus Good evening everyone.

My name is Emma Sharif and I'm the mayor of the great city of Compton and I'm very honored to be here today. Uh this is a certificate to honor Hector Sosa. And on behalf of the mayor, um Emma Sharief, this Compton City Council, and the great citizens of the city of Compton, we would like to commend you on your commitment, your exemplary service, and your civic contributions to the residents of Downey. Your leadership, sacrifice, and dedication uh have been a true inspiration for many. best wishes and continued success and hereby extended from the city of Compton. It presented on this 11th day of December 2025 signed by my myself, Mayor Emma Sharif, our sec first district council person, DJ Dhart, Andre Spicer, district uh two uh and Jonathan Bowers, District 3, and Lady Dwoman from district 4. Thank you so much for your service and from the city of Hawaiian Gardens. Mayor Dandy Depala.

from the from the city of Southgate. Mayor Joshua Baron.

Good evening everybody. Thank you very much for this opportunity uh to be here to honor Hector Sosa, honorable mayor from the city of Southgate. We would like to go ahead and present uh the certificate of appreciation on behalf of the city council and the citizens of the city of Southgate. It is an amazing body of work this year. Uh as a new firsttime mayor, uh you really set the bar high for me. So, um, I look forward to trying to meet that bar, but will love to say that I'll be able to call my friend to ask for some advice throughout the year. So, I appreciate you. I appreciate what uh you've been able to do for the city of Downey. The city is lucky to have a servant like Hector Sosa. So, congratulations on your year of service. Thank you. From the city of Norwok, we have council member Jennifer Perez. And from the Cerrito's College Board, we have Dr. Don Green, president. Mariana Pacheco, trustee, and Andrea Whittick, director from the office of Dr. Joseph Fiero.

Good evening everyone. We would like to ex to extend a certificate of appreciation to outgoing mayor Hector Sosa in grateful appreciation for your dedication, service, and leadership as mayor of the city of Downey and for your partnership in education with Cerritos College from the Cerritos College Board of Trustees. Thank you. He's done an amazing job. He always would participate and come to the college for different events and we loved having him there um and supporting our college. It was great seeing you there. I know that we were expecting um Jose Rodriguez um vice president of the uh Downey Unified School District. And then we also have um board member Gigi Saab,

Nancy Swenson, Linda Sana. We roll deep in the school district. Um so we have a saying in Downey Unified is that we're a family and no matter what um our family sticks together uh whether we like them or not. Sometimes we can't choose our family. Um but seriously, how many council people are Downey Unified alumni? Yeah. How many people How many people in this audience are Downey Unified alumni?

How many students are Downey Unified students right now?

Yeah. Um, you know, Hector, we really appreciate your leadership, your partnership, your support of all 22,000 students. I feel like this we can't do anything as a district without the city support and I know that the city has its love for the school district and we have your back as well from facilities to everything else. So, I really appreciate that and just very happy um with a senior in high school and you attending our board meetings, not for yourself, but because Joshua was representing, that was really cool. So, we just want to thank you and are very appreciative of your work as mayor. And um thank you.

Thank you. There we go. Uh just a quick side note, Jose and I uh we coached and DJ for many years together, coached our youth here. So, a lot of history there.

Thank you. It's a fixed house.

We also have from Celico, executive director Yolanda Castro. Good evening everyone. Good evening, mayor and council members. I am Yolanda Castro, the executive director of the Southeast Los Angeles County Workforce Development Board, also known as the Celico WHIB, and I have the honor of representing the Celico WHIB staff and board members in recognizing Mayor Hector Sosa for your exceptional leadership and unwavering commitment to the Southeast Los Angeles County Policy Board as mayor to the city of Downey. Like your colleagues who have served on the policy board in the past, Fernando Vasquez, Assemblywoman Poachco, Rick Rodriguez, you inspire collaboration by connecting local residents and businesses to the workforce system that our cities have developed to serve the South Los Angeles region. And I thank you for your support. We also have the Downey Rose Float Association. Thank you.

Good evening. My name is Danielle Story and I'm first vice president for floral chair of the Downey Rose Float Association. On behalf of the Downey Rose float, we'd like to honor Mayor Hector and his first lady um for their for his outstanding leadership, generosity, and support to the Downey Rose Float and to our organization. Hector is more than a mayor to us, he's a partner, a supporter, and a friend to all of us. You've not only donated your time, your energy, and most important, your cleaning skills by gl grabbing a broom during decoration week. Bringing your bare heart into a strong Viking organization. You're a bear, right?

Sorry, I'm a bear, but I am a Viking teacher. Um, showing up whenever we needed him and always encouraging the work that we do and that you do for our community. We'd like to present this jacket to him on behalf of our organization.

And to the first lady, a bouquet of flowers. Thank you. Thank you for always supporting us. Oh, half of those flowers are his, he says. Thank you. Thank you. You're very welcome.

You too.

Can you come take a picture of us today? We have royalty here. Michelle. No. Look at this. Mayor Sosa also received certificates from the office of Congressman Robert Garcia, City of Cerritos, City of Commerce, City of Paramount, City of Huntington Park, and City of Montabelloo. Is there anyone else that I may have missed that has a recognition tonight for Mayor Sosa? Thank you. I would like to invite Mayor elect Froma to assist with presenting the GAVL plaque, past mayor's pin, and photo book to outgoing mayor Sosa.

Mayor Sosa, thank you for your leadership. It is always a lot of fun working alongside of you um for the betterment of our community. Thank you for the heart of a servant you have. Appreciate it. uh calling you mayor this year.

Mayor and here is your I would like to invite the Frometa family to the podium to join Mayor Electa. And I and I would also like to invite Pastor Art Reyes from Calvary Chapel Downey to please come forward to administer the oath of office. But we have

Yes. and the mic.

Well, it's such an honor to be here uh with incoming mayor Claudia and the rest of you, the city council. It's it's a pleasure to be here. And I want to uh before we administer the the oath uh and the swearing in to say how blessed we are as a community to have a leader like yourself, Claudia. I know that it was mentioned already by Pastor Dan, but you are as an Esther. For such a time as this, the Lord has called you uh to stand in the gap for our city. And I want to encourage you from the word of God to be strong and courageous, to not be afraid, for the Lord your God is with you. He will never leave you and he will never forsake you. The Lord is with you and we are with you. And we're praying for your family that by the power of the spirit you would lead and serve the city of Downey. Amen. Please raise your right hand and repeat after me.

I state your name. I, Claudia Fetta, do solemnly affirm do solemnly affirm that I will support and defend that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of California and the Constitution of the State of California against all enemies against all enemies foreign and domestic foreign and domestic that I will bear true faith and allegiance that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of the United states to the Constitution of the United States and and the Constitution of the State of California and the Constitution of the State of California. That I take this obligation freely That I take this obligation freely

without any mental reservation without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion or purpose of evasion. and that I will well and faithfully that I will that I will well and faithful well and faithfully discharge the duties discharge the duties upon which I'm about to enter upon which I'm about to enter. Congratulations. Help me God. Thank you.

Thank you. At this time, I would like to call on our 31st Treasurer of the United States, the Honorable Rosario Marin to please uh pin me. It is indeed an honor to be here uh with you, Mayor God knows what you've been through,

but God is here with you, with your family, with all of us, and I'm here to wish you the very, very best. You have so much to offer. You have so much love within you, and God will take care of you. So, it is my honor to pin you as mayor. I love you. God bless you. Thank you. Thank you to my amazing family. Uh I know I have we have our third daughter uh Sarah watching this live on YouTube from Missouri. Uh she's studying for her finals uh as a nursing major. And I just want to say thank you um to my oldest son who got married uh this summer, to our beautiful Kathleen, and my new daughter, and my daughter Emily Fetta, who is will be getting her teaching degree very soon, and she's now with uh the best district ever, Downey Unified. my daughter Jessica who uh completed her reign as Miss Downey and is a business major at uh Gold Beach. My Cal State Long Beach and my high school sweetheart, the man,

the rock, the most amazing supporter um I could ever ask for. Uh, we've been together for 36 years. We will be celebrating our 30th wedding anniversary next year. So, thank you, Novais. Thank you for your amazing support and thank you for guiding this ship and always having my back. Thank you. Um, I want to acknowledge uh my other family members as well. Uh, my dearest uh father-in-law and mother-in-law uh who escaped communism in Cuba many years ago and came to Downey and raised an amazing family and an amazing man uh Mr. Wilmer froma and Maggali, my dear brother-in-law Will and lovely wife Liz. Thank you guys for being here. my brother uh David and his beautiful wife, my their sister uh Mary and my niece and nephew Dante and Kora. Also, Downey Unified students by the way and and our and our newest family members um through marriage, people that I love very much. um the parents of a lovely daughter-in-law, Pedro and Yucid Trao. Thank you for being here. I do want to uh recognize uh also a few

people that have come after we began and that is Luis Guer, council member from Lynwood. He's in the back. Thank you for joining us. former mayor Fernando Vasquez from district 4. You uh the CEO of Ranchelos Amigos National Rehabilitation Center uh Dr. Konita Wilks was here and please uh please let her know I recognized her as well as uh dear friend Andrea Salazar who is the executive director of the Ranchelos Amigos Foundation. Um thank you for being here. I um I'm honored to be on the foundation's board as well and uh thank you Andrea for all of your hard work and once again thank you everybody. I will not take too long with my presentation because you we are here to number one celebrate and honor the leadership of our past mayor Hector Sosa. Thank you. And I I really want us to have some time to interact with each other. Um I know we getting a little squirmy in our seats, but I I it's an honor. Uh I am humbled. It's an honor to be your mayor for the third and final time. I um I have to put these other glasses. Um you know, somehow almost eight years on the council, my vision has really done something. Um but I it's a great honor and a privilege to serve as the 50th mayor of the city that I love, as I said, for a third and final time.

As I have done during my previous mayoral years, I will remain committed to serving our residents with integrity and compassion and voting in the best interest of all of our residents. During my mayoral year, um my focus will continue to be on supporting public safety, fiscal prudence and responsibility, our city's economic development initiatives in line with our Downey 2030 strategic plan that we all worked very hard to to do to put together. Um you will see in my presentation that there's a lot of obviously a lot of continuity on legacy projects. Uh this is really what makes Downey the great city that it is. Um having a great council and and again I am honored and humbled. Dorothy Peton, my friend and my colleague, thank you. Thank you for allowing me to do this. As I as I say, third time's a charm, right? Um first first mayoral year pandemic, uh second mayoral year, um a lot of uh crazy instability in our city and I am so so grateful and so happy to be able to have a great council. Would you give him a round of applause? I am looking forward to a incredible year ahead uh alongside Mayor Prom Oras Ortiz. He is his energy and his vision um are also such a blessing to our city and and I

look forward to working really hard with you. Uh Downey does not know what's coming. So, if we can if we can get started, uh, and again, I will not take too long with my presentation. You will see, uh, a little bit of repetition from, um, former mayor Sosa in in my presentation because there's legacy projects that take years to do. And, um, number one, the uh, if we could move it, the uh, Southwest uh, the Southeast, excuse me, gateway line advocacy efforts, that will continue. Uh we have 11 communities and Downey is proud to play an essential role in this capacity. Thank you. I will I will try to go a little quicker than usual. um the Ranchelos amigo South Campus. Uh this is a project that since I got elected or even before I got elected was starting to there was some conversation about it and as you know things uh with government sometimes take a little time and this is really going to be important for our community because we were we're going to um have a mixeduse development commercial housing uh retail and we are continuing to work with uh the county CEO and the office of supervisor Han to move this project forward. Next slide. The former NASA Volti building. Um if you recall back in 2021, uh these were some of the mayoral uh projects that I had and we've continued to work on these. It it takes all of us. It takes a supportive council. It takes a hardworking council and it also takes a great staff. Um, so once again, thank you city manager Roger Bradley, assistant city manager Vana and the rest

of the staff because we are the electeds and we set policy but this city cannot move forward uh unless we have great people behind us. So, thank you. Moving on to uh I think uh my council colleague Sosa mentioned uh the Columbia Memorial Space Center expansion. This is a a huge thing for our community and in this coming year uh that will continue. Uh we want to uh also have public tours of the inspiration space shuttle uh winter of 2026. So more to come on that. Please stay tuned. Our council priorities. This is something that good cities, strong cities like Downey, we spend some time during uh the early part of the year, every year for a council priority setting workshop. And as council members, we all have our different ideas of of how we want to engage with the community, but it is really important to to align our our council priorities so that our staff can be heading in the in in that same direction. If you have different council members with different plans and different ideas, um then a city doesn't move forward because it's chasing after different pet projects. And so our council priorities always always uh align with the overarching goals, the fiscal responsibility, economic vibrancy, efficiency, and adaptability. Cities need to adapt and and again, government doesn't always move as fast as we want it to move. But that that's why it's important as colleagues, we come together, we look at what what the needs are. where are the um the the the bottlenecks so to speak. And of course our community tells us, you tell us what is not working and what

needs to be done differently. And so that's uh that's really what we take in consideration. And then of course we all want a great quality of life. Uh that's what we live in Downey. I've been in Downey for uh over 30 plus years and I've raised we've raised our family in Downey. Um my son bought a house in Downey and this is this is part of this generational um support continuing to live in this city because of a great quality of life. Um also public engagement with the rise of social media and different social media platforms. It is important that we keep up and again sometimes governments are a little slow in keeping up and we want to make sure that with all of these initiatives we are keeping those overarching uh goals and priorities. Um next slide please. the fiscal responsibility. Um many cities uh after COVID, during COVID, after COVID, they got um they got used to the federal funding and they spent more than they had. And so as much as as a council we all want to do so much to help our community and fund every project imaginable because we we're here because we we want to serve the public. We want to serve our community. And so, but if we don't put guard rails and if we also don't stop ourselves from overspending or dipping into our reserves, then years later, cities go belly up. And so, it is so crucial and and I can't stress this enough for councils. And as I as I enter my my last year in office, future council members, it is imperative

and and hopefully our residents have um the the the the ability to recognize when people promise and promise and promise. We've got to be careful especially if if they don't have a business background or or the ability to discern how to manage a city, how to manage a budget. Downey is where it is because over the last several years in councils and I see our our former mayors here, former mayor Alex Saab, former mayor Keith McCarthy, former mayor uh Fernando Vasquez, and former mayor Rick Rodriguez. they they knew um that fiscal prudency was key and so here we are. Uh my goal will continue to follow on those uh on those those priorities that we have. Next slide. Economic development. Um certainly we want to continue efforts to redevelop as I said the Ranchelo Amigo South campus. um that is going to be a gamecher for South Downey. And I've had the pleasure of working with uh my council member, my council colleague uh council member Sosa in this uh in this project for a couple of years now. We want it. It's parts of uh that county uh land has uh sat empty and dilapitated for many many years and we want to be able to use it and do something with it considering we are facing housing shortages and that will be a legacy project for South Downey for generations to come. And so we we are being very thoughtful and we have been working with supervisor Han's office and the um CEO's office as well on this. The

back 20 what is the back 20 development? That area of land that you see empty in uh the Downey Prominade that also uh we've been talking about for years about how we want to thoughtfully and strategically develop it. uh that will be also at the forefront of my priorities. And uh we also want to complete a new discover Downey brand package. We want to be able to market and and do different, you know, a really a rebranding um in line with our Downey strategic plan, Downey Strategic 2030. We want to be able to move forward in that capacity. Uh next slide, please. um efficiency and adaptability. Uh there's so many uh individuals throughout the last several years I've I've been in office that talk about um planning and and making sure that processes are are more efficient and and and we're getting there. Uh thank you Irma uh and your team. There are a lot of things that are happening in that space. We are also going to be unveiling a new Downey City Library app and Downey Connect app. The these are things that allow us as a as a municipality to engage and to serve our community in better ways. As I mentioned, uh, next slide, please. Quality of life. I want us to have fun. Um there is so much that we have to do in so many areas that we need to tackle, but we also wanna want to bring our community together and through concerts in the park, uh mayor's Dodgers night, mayor's movie night, and I also um I I

hear my residents. I hear you. I hear you loud and clear. the homelessness issue. Um, that is an issue that all of Southern California has been dealing with and in Downey, we've seen an increase and we want to continue to be strategic and thought thoughtful about uh handling that issue. Next slide, please. We want to adopt and uh implement an arts master plan. Um, as you saw, we worked together as a council in designing that uh voting on that Downey archway. And a lot of people said, why and why are you spending so much money on that? There is a fund for arts and public places that can only those monies can only be spent on that. and and why not with our our beautiful Downey and the history we have to have something welcoming people to our downtown. Next, uh we also want to complete our downtown Downey parking structure mural. Uh that is going to be coming up in spring of 26. As a council, we looked at different uh murals and we voted on on what we thought would be best. Uh public safety, it is no secret that we support our public safety. Um this is why we live in this city because we have our own police and our own fire and we want to continue to support that and support initiatives uh on that on that front. uh infrastructure improvements. As you know, we have uh almost completed um multi multi-million dollar project resurfacing and repaving and rehabilitating a lot of our streets and we will continue to do that. Uh as you can see the Firestone Lakewood project, a lot of people said, "Well, what happened?" I didn't see any any

changes, any improvements on that. Well, because that has been paused for the holidays. Uh we realize there's a lot of movement and we want to make sure that uh our residents uh enjoy the holiday season and their shopping without the the the traumatic uh traffic that had been created. Uh the suen Guatemala traffic signal, Belfflower Boulevard, and also we want to um upgrade the current uh EV charging stations that we have outside our Downey City Library. And last but certainly not least, um public engagement. Uh as you can see, we are we are as transparent as as we can be. And in previous years, I had uh done monthly mayor's uh mayor corner columns uh in our local newspaper. I will continue to do that. I also did the m the mayor's 92nd uh roundup and videos and I will continue to do that as well. I want to make sure that our community knows what is happening. And yes, sometimes uh we it is said we are reactive rather than proactive. I will do my best to be as proactive as I can. The mayor's legacy award, this was created in 21 and then I followed in 23. Please, please drop me a note. Uh call our office and nominate somebody that you believe is deserving of the mayor's legacy award. I will have quarterly coffee with the mayor. Um it is important for the community to engage with with us uh in office. And we will return to the Bennett litter um campaign. We see sometimes trash uh or or bulky items on the side of the road and sometimes people think their neighbor called and then the neighbor thinks that somebody else called. So we want to make sure that we we kick off

that campaign. Um, I also want to uh as as you've known since my time in office, I've been very thoughtful about mental health as well. And um my council colleague started the the men's mental health fair and that was really impactful. Um I want to be able to continue it with a mental health fair um for for all. And with that I want to say thank you. I know it's been a long evening. I thank you for your engagement. I will always say engaged communities are strong communities. So, thank you for being here tonight and we will be taking a brief uh recess. There is uh refreshments outside. Please take part and thank you everybody for loving Downey as much as I do.

the wife. Are we ready? Okay, I will now reconvene the special city council meeting. Uh the time is 9:17. Next on our agenda is public comment on special meeting agenda items. I will now take public comment on items listed on tonight's special meeting agenda. Do we have any any speakers? We do not have any speakers. Mayor,

did we receive uh city clerk did we receive any written public comment to be incorporated into the record? We did not. Mayor. Okay. Is there a motion in a second to receive? Actually, since we don't have anything, we Is there a motion to close public comment? Second. Okay. So, order by the mayor. Do you have any comments?

Uh I will just keep my comments brief and say congratulations to uh you yourself as the mayor for next year. Uh looking forward to working with you. Uh of course I want to congratulate uh council member Sosa for his great year uh as a as a mayor. Appreciate all the support and effort that we were able to uh put together. Uh and then of course congratulations to our new mayor pro Tim and outgoing mayor pro Tim. Uh thank you for all that you do. Thank you for the support from the council collectively. Uh it's been a it's been a good year. Looking forward to another good year ahead and uh thank you so much.

Thank you city manager Bradley. Again I want to say thank you to this awesome group of colleagues I have here on the dis. Um I look forward to serving our great city another year with you alongside of you. And thank you to city staff. I think we have a great year ahead. uh our first responders, police chief, fire chief, everybody. Thank you. And at this time, if there's any other comments. Yes. Uh council members, can we get former mayor Rick Rodriguez to quiet down over there? Well, if conduct a meeting,

if there's no further comments, I will adjourn tonight's meeting. Uh the time is 9:19.