City Council - Regular Meeting

2026. We stand for the pledge of allegiance. Place your right hand over your heart. I pledge allegiance 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. Madame Clerk, would you be kind enough to call the role? Uh, yes, Mayor. Before we proceed, Councilwoman Gray is participating remotely via audio only today as permitted by government code section 54953C. Councilwoman Gray, please state whether any any individual 18 years or older is present in the room with you, and if so, the general nature of the relationship.

Thank you, Madam City Clerk. My name is Gloria Gray, Councilwoman Gloria Gray. I'm teleconferencing from home. My assistant is in the room and she is over 18. Thank you. Thank you. Mayor Quorm is present for the city council successor agency and housing authority and joint powers authority. Thank you. Um she also has to disclose her location to be in compliance with the law. Uh, Councilwoman Gray, can you please disclose your location at this moment, please? My home. Um, teleconferencing from my home. Um, the address is

Thank you, Councilwoman. Okay, now we're at public comment. Any persons wishing to address the city council successor agency housing authority and the JPA on items on the agenda at this time other than the public hearings may do so at this time hearing no comment. We'll go to item one CSA1 and H1 register. We'll receive and file that. Madam clerk, what's the next scheduled matter? The next scheduled matter is a public hearing to consider introduction of an ordinance designating certain portions of the city as an event zone in order to regulate certain activities in connection with the FIFA World Cup and related events.

We'll continue the hearing um to the public hearing to February 10th, 2026 at 2 p.m. So now we go to M1 approval of the minutes of the meeting held on October 28th, 2025. Move approval. Second, madam city clerk, council members Gray. Council, I believe it was not there. So, so I abstain if I did not attend the meeting. Okay. Council member Padilla. Hi. Morales. Hi. Fog. Hi. Mayor Buds.

I. We'll go to the consent calendar. Items 2 through 11. So moved. Second. Second. Madam city clerk, council members Gray I, Padilla, I, Morales, I, Fog, I, Mayor Buds, I, DR1, staff report presenting the formation of a new joint powers authority to be known as the South Bay Regional Housing Trust. We receive and file. And is there a motion for two? Move item two. Second, Madam City Clerk. Council members Gray. Hi, Padilla. Hi. Morales. Hi. Fog. Hi. Mayor Buds. Hi. Mr. Mayor.

Yes. Would it be okay if Jackie Back of the South Bay City's Council of Governments gives a little presentation? Sure. Thank you. Jackie, welcome to Inglewood. Thank you. Thank you very much. Ronson and I are here. Ronson Shu is our uh senior project manager for housing and homeless. and we wanted to talk to you a little bit about the housing trust and what it means and why we're why we're suggesting that all cities be participating in it. I'm going to let Ronson start the presentation and then I'll come in. Okay, we never have a presentation more than 10 minutes though. Okay, we'll try to hurry it up. All right,

we'll we'll do this really quick. Uh thank you, honorable mayor and city council members. Uh first, congratulations on your ribbon cutting at Plymouth. That was very exciting to see. Uh we definitely need more housing in the South Bay and and that's a good step. Uh what we're here to talk about is 100% affordable housing, not to confuse with market rate housing or you know luxury condominiums. We're we're looking to build 100% affordable housing in the South Bay. Um the voters have voted measure A into effect in 2024 and that's giving 14 jurisdictions you see here funding for affordable housing projects and renter protections. Um what we're here to do is to talk about the $7.3 million that we're being allocated by the voters uh who want affordable housing in the South Bay. The question that we have for you today is not whether or not we should have a housing trust in a vacuum, but whether or not we should have housing trust with this the funding that we're getting from the voters. Um the the other regions the San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments and the gateway cities council of governments they formed the housing trust first and they absorb the measure A funds the measure A funds or otherwise known as the cost of funds into their housing trust. What we're asking here is you know we're getting the we're getting the funding for for a housing trust and we we don't have a housing trust though so we have to administer the funding out of a COG and the COG was never set up to do affordable housing development. So, we're kind of fitting a a you know, a round peg and a square hole. And so, what we're asking is your consideration to form it a housing trust so that we can do the things all these things listed. The things in the red we can't really do out of the cog uh like provide development loans, construction development loans, preservation of uh existing affordable housing, master leasing. We can do grants, rental operating subsidies, but we can't do a lot of things in the red. So, that really hamstrings us with what we can do with our measure A funds. Um the St. Gabriel Housing Trust, just really quickly, they're they're already making $230,000 a year on interest revenue through their loans. Uh we can't do that. So that that hampers us. Um we get

this question all the time about cities with no development opportunities. Um you know, uh for for smaller cities, there's other ways they can participate in the housing trust like doing preservation, affordable housing, master leasing, rent or operating subsidies. Um but since England has a housing authority you know you are doing a lot of developments here and we're actually evaluating one project already through measure A funds with uh river and the housing author authority. Um and this is just to show that none of our cities are immune to the housing crisis in Englewood. There's about 74 evictions a year. We get about 2,500 evictions in the South Bay. So a lot of our renters are stressed right now. Um one of the things did the dues slide you want me to talk about the dues? I can do it.

Okay. Okay. Um, uh, so we're already doing this activity. Um, that's just what it says here. And I'll hand it over to Jackie because that's basically it for my part of the presentation. Yeah.

Yeah. Um, this all becomes a joint powers authority and the joint powers authority is for us to work together to u leverage all of these opportunities for the South Bay. And so that went vision and mission statement. But the governance board is going to be one member from each city council. And also the um legislation that created it says that we need to have two trust board directors who are represent who are housing experts and they come from the city managers. The staff uh the the new board will obviously have an option as to how they want to staff this. What other councils of governments have done is they've used the council of governments to staff the agency and then get the consulting firms as needed. And so that that would be probably how we'd start. It also we are also required to have an advisory committee. What happened here? Okay, sorry. Um, one of the things that that Ronson was mentioning is that we are getting enough money from Lacassa. The question we have all the time is what are the dues going to be? We're getting enough money from Lacassa that we believe in the first year we can guarantee that there would be no dues that we can pay for it out of the money we're getting. The reason I cannot guarantee more than a year is that there's a new board. The Lassa will form its own board. It's made up of cities and no cities have said they wanted to pay dues, but we can't say to you today that we can tell you what the new board will do. The trust can do all the things that Ronson mentioned, but it's extremely in um important that you understand it does not step on your toes. And I'll get to that slide. Uh uh the limitation of powers. We can't regulate your land use. We can't levy fees. We can't require incentivized inclusionary zoning. We cannot actually consider a project that the city is not asking us to consider. So, you're in the driver's seat with this.

uh we have one elected official as I said for each uh city and you can withdraw at any time uh with before 90 days from the fiscal year. So it's sort of a you know we're not charging dues and you can withdraw at any time. It's sort of a no-brainer. I did want to tell you what the schedule is. We're hoping um that well the legislation says that when four cities agree to join we have a housing trust. uh with with your approval, we're at three cities and and actually we have probably have a fourth, but they haven't approved the actual JPA document.

So, we probably have a fousing trust either this week or next week, right? Um we don't want to start the housing trust with four cities because that wouldn't be fair. We the it's going to develop guidelines and how it's going to operate and elect a chair and all those things. So, we're going to wait till April and the first meeting we're scheduling for April 23rd. At that meeting, we'll do all of those structural things, but we also want to start off with study sessions. So, you'll understand what how does a you might know here, but how does a first-time home buyer work? How do all these programs work? Because most of the cities really aren't into that right now. So, we'll do those study sessions. We'll meet probably April, May, and June, and then meet as needed after that. But that's our current plan and we're excited to be able to start this um and look for your participation.

Perfect. Thank you. We'll receive and file a move to Is there a second? Yeah, it's been I believe it had been moved and second. Yeah, there was a motion already on the floor. Well, then would you call the role? Yes, mayor. Council members Gray. Padilla. I Morales. Hi. Fog. I, Mayor Buds, I, DR2,

staff report recommending the merit council members approve and execute funding agreement number 92 0 M550706, amendment number two with the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the city of Inglewood to increase Measure M funds by $1,900,000. from $11,100,000 to $13 million for the downtown IT project. Move approval. Second. Were there enough zeros in there?

Madame city clerk, council members Gray I. Padilla. Hi. Morales. Hi. Fog. Hi. Mayor Buzz. I A1. Nothing to report. Mayor, thank you. C I think that was city attorney. Oh, did you? I thought it was We do sound the same. You do sound the same. Yeah, but CM1. Yes. I'd like to recognize that February is Black History Month. Thank you. Okay. CC1.

Uh yes, Mayor. I just wanted to also recognize that this is Black History Month and to give thanks to uh Carrie, our director of the library, who did a fantastic job, her and the entire library department on the new opening of the Morningside Park Library. So, great job to Carrie. Yes. And the entire staff. Thank you, mayor. Okay. The uh successor agency is in session CSA 2. Approval of the minutes of the meeting held on October 28th, 2025. Move approval. Second. Madam City clerk, successor agency members Gray I. Would you like to abstain?

I'll abstain. Thank you. Yes, ma'am. Padilla. I Morales. Hi. Fog. I. Chairman Buds. I will adjourn the successor agency of the housing authorities in session H2. Approval of the minutes for the meeting held on October 28th, 2025. Move approval. Second. Madam city clerk. Housing authority members. Gray abstain. Padilla. I Morales. I Fog I chairman Buds. I will adjourn the housing authority. The JPA's in session JPA1. Approval of the minutes of the meeting held on October 28th, 2025. Move approval. Second. Madam City clerk, joint powers authority members Graystein Padilla I Morales I Fog

I chairman Buds I will adjourn the JPA. There are no appointments to boards, commissions and committees. Now we move to public comment. Person wishes persons wishing to address city council on any matter connected with city business not elsewhere considered on the agenda may do so at this time. And uh you have one minute.

Appreciate it. We uh got in contact with her. So that was really important for me.

Uh number uh two is can we do something about our silver trash cans that are along Prairie and uh Sentry? They're really in bad shape. They're terrible and they're outlining the uh Sofi Center. And I did notice that you took the fence and all those things down and some of that needs to be cleared up as well. Uh my last and final one is uh for all my seniors that are here and you were at the last meeting, there's a free food giveaway called Rya Light and is run by a young lady named Goldie and she gives out free food over on Manchester and Market right in front of the Nile, that corner where the uh clothing store is. So, you all know I'm the queen of volunteering and making sure people eat. So, go by Wednesday. All my seniors, the food is free, groceries, please go. They had so much they didn't know what to do with. So, please go.

Um, excuse me, mayor. Um, if I may, there were uh public comments and they were passed out to everyone on the diet. Thank you so much. Okay, go right ahead, ma'am. Uh, do we have Spanish translators available? Spanish language translators? No, ma'am. Okay.

Good afternoon. My name is Marita Medina Milgad. I'm an Inglewood resident and Inguid High School alumni and a daughter of immigrants. My blood family has called this city home since the 1970s. And I choose to be here today because I care deeply about our city and our future. On January 13, a blood family member of mine, a resident of District 3, was taken by ICE. That same day, from my home, I witnessed ICE agents detain construction workers nearby. Since last summer, more than 50 reports of ICE activity in Englewood have been documented, leaving many residents frightened and uncertain. I'm not asking the city to change federal law. I'm asking for transparency. When city leadership remains silent, fear fills that silence. Inglewood is nearly 50% Latino, 40% black, including immigrant, Afro Latinos, and Caribbean families. As we observe Black History Month, I'm reminding you that our city's legacy is rooted in resistance. I'm respectfully asking the city of Englewood to acknowledge the ice activity that occurred on January 13, communicate directly with residents about its impact. Thank you.

Thank you. With that, we'll close public comment. We'll go to council comment. Councilwoman Gray.

Thank you, Mayor. Um last month uh we celebrated Martin Luther King Day and I just want to uh make the statement that we really should never forget the legacy of Martin Dr. Martin Luther King and as that day was a day of service is my hope that the city of Englewood will always remember Martin Luther King Jr. and what it stood for for the importance of giving back to our community. Uh this month is Black History Month as mentioned by the city clerk and certainly this is the time to reflect on the contributions that blacks uh blacks have made to the history to to this uh uh this country and I know that this city is having a black history program. So I hope that everyone will attend but really reflect on our legacy. Uh, I want to congratulate Hargenda Singh and Carrie Aurora for the opening of our Morningside Park Library. I understand it was a well attended and I want to thank the whole team that worked so hard and diligently on renovating the beautiful space uh job well done. It was an excellent turnout, I believe. And I was very pleased that we have our uh Morningside Park Library back for District One residents and for all of Englewood to enjoy. So, thank you again to her, agenda and Carrie and the entire team. Uh, also I understand there was a great attendance for the LA County Assessive Homeowners Resource Fair this past Saturday at the Center of Hope. I want to thank Jeff Pring, our LA County assessor, and also Pastor U. Jeremy Dixon for collaborating on this event. I understand there were about 300 people there. It was excellent event and a great resource to our community. So,

thank you again to um LA County Assessor Jeff Pring and Pastor uh Dixon for that event. Um it's never too early to ask folks to save the date. uh please put on your calendar our third annual family unity day that is scheduled for August 1st at Derby Park. So please mark your calendars for that. Um also I want to acknowledge the passing of Elder Lawrence Blake uh Bishop Charles Blake and Lady May Blake youngest son. He passed away recently. Uh he also was the pastor of Palm Lake Church of God in Christ. So, I ask the mayor to please join the meeting in his name, please. Thank you, Mr. Mayor.

Thank you. Uh, Councilman Alex Padilla, District 2.

Councilman. Thank you, Mayor. So, uh, first off, the young lady came up and talked about her family being impacted by the been happening with the ICE and the federal government coming into our communities. And it's happening everywhere. It's not just isolated here to Inglewood. And it's a very unfortunate uh situation that our families and our communities have to go through. It really tears and rips at the heart. Uh when you see these families that are are torn apart. Uh but we as a city stand firm. We support our community, our residents. We support everybody that uh that's here in the city of Inglewood and we're here as a uh as a resource for our community. and we encourage folks to reach out to us if there's any way that we can uh assist. I I just have to make it clear that these uh entities that come into our city from the federal government, they don't call us to say, "Hey, we're coming in and we're going to be on like Elm Street, you know, for whatever time." They don't do that. Uh they come in, do what they're going to do, whether we agree with it or not, and then they leave. uh they don't notify the local police departments not only here in Ingwood but in any other city. Uh and that's very unfortunate because even that alone causes some angst and some friction uh between our different governmental uh uh agencies at a local, state and federal level. Uh but you know again it's very unfortunate that it happens to any of our family, friends uh folks that we know uh that have to be uh uh experiencing something so uh unfortunate and traumatic uh because it really does uh uh especially for our children really does have a lifelasting uh impact. And I can tell you that

because as a kid, I can remember watching uh um custom officers running through uh our neighborhood back then uh chasing folks uh to arrest them for uh for being undocumented, you know. So, it certainly rips at our heart. Uh, moving on, I do want to say that, you know, Carrie Aoyo did a great job, her and her staff, uh, at the opening of the Morningside uh, library uh, park branch uh, the regrant opening and it's amazing. If you haven't been there, I encourage you to go by there and and take a visit. Bring your kids. It's a great environment. Uh, I also want to thank Jeff Pring, our county assessor. Uh again, as Councilwoman Gray mentioned, he did the homeowners resource fair uh here in the city and it was amazing. Well over several hundred people showed up and some very very important relevant information about your your uh keeping your homes and so you don't have to be reassessed and how you can uh do the necessary paperwork to uh stop that from occurring. Can I get 30 seconds, Mayor?

Sure. Uh and then as it relates now to the uh Plymouth Heights Housing Development Grant Opening, the mayor and I and other staff were there last Thursday. Amazing 100 block of West Plymouth. If you haven't been by there, go over there and take a look at it. Some great uh housing opportunities. There's a picture up there of us uh at the ribbon cutting. Uh this was certainly something that been a a work in progress uh for several years. And I want to thank uh James Wards for his commitment and resilience in making this happen. And then Black History Month, uh I want to invite the whole community, everybody come out and celebrate Black History Month. It'll be held here in Englewood on Saturday, February 21st, downtown Market Street from 11 to 5:00 p.m. Look forward to seeing you there and have a safe week.

Councilwoman Dion Faulk, District 4. Thank you, mayor. Um, I do want to start as well by um letting you know that everyone here, not just on this day, but in our whole city are just absolutely horrified by what we see on TV. It's horrible. And so we are all united with um with our folks because what we see are not just um this happening to what they say is undocumented f um people in the nation. It's happening now to people who are American citizens. And the thought of of the whole thing is um just like I said is just despicable. So we need change. We need it now. And so I have one word for everybody. Vote. Okay. And with that, I'm going to go on with my remarks. Everybody get out and vote. Okay? We can make a difference this year. Okay? Um, I want to wish everybody, um, happy Black History Month. Um, like, um, Councilwoman Gloria Gray said, we got to remember the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., very important, especially with what our country is going through now. So, um, please keep his memory alive. And, um, we're going to celebrate, um, Black History Month this month. And, um, we invite everybody to come out and participate. Uh that's going to happen on um Saturday, February 21st, 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 pm uh in downtown Inglewood on Market Street. I also want to um highlight that I am having my first uh town hall for District 4 of 2026 coming

up on February 18th. It's Wednesday. Um it will be at um Hollywood Park Casino. Um and we will have lots of great updates for everyone. So, please come on out, get your information, and um come see what's going what fabulous uh things are happening in District 4, City of Inglewood for 2026. Um, Next Level Inglewood is having a community meeting February 7th. Don't forget to go support that event 10:00 a.m. to 1 pm. And then also um there will be in in uh support of HBCU week, there will be a black college expo. It's not happening in Englewood, but we have a lot of kids in Englewood Unified School District um and live in Englewood that will be going and and and participating at the Black College Expo in um Pomona at the Pomona Fairlex. and that's going to happen on February 14th. So, make sure if your students are interested in possibly attending a black college um that they attend that event. And um 10 seconds mayor, happy birthday, Maria Barbara.

Maria, we love you. There she is. Happy birthday. That is um the mayor's assistant. She is amazing. So, uh, that's all I have. Mayor, thank you so much. I know everybody's birthday. Everybody's birthday. Her and, uh, Aisha, they know everybody's birthday. Everybody's council Morales for three.

Thank you. Um, thank you, miss, for coming out. Uh, you know, gives us the opportunity to say what we've said, uh, all along. Uh, you know, as we have a view of things with what we see and then we have a view from where we're sitting, right? I'm the son of uh immigrants and I've seen a life of relatives coming in and out for various reasons. We know that this country has invited immigration forever and and to make it something that's wrong is wrong. Um Councilman Padilla did a good job of saying, "Hey, we see what's coming out out there. Uh we disagree with it. We wish we could do something, but our hands are truly tied." And you know if there was something we could do we would. So what our goal and at least me personally what I've really you know focused on is you know to minimize the level of fear to establish the fact that people can still walk their kids to school to establish the fact that kids can still folks can still go to work. Uh these are things that you know what we have is what's available to us from day one. we look at at least uh I know I've kept my eye on student attendance uh things of that nature that we can actually focus on. Um you know what what what we wish we could do is something different is something different. So all we have is what's in front of us and we will get through this. I mean it it seems lightly but what councilwoman uh Dion Folk said about vote that's that's all we have and so we have to do that. Uh but we also belong to a community here who uh understands you know what we're going through and

even though folks are different in their position of frustration at the time depending on what's in front of them you know we all feel the same way about this. We're a sensitive city to that and you know we're hoping to get through this together. So, uh that's what I'll say about that. Um in regards shifting gears, so the library, everybody knows I love the library. Started out my everything there for me. Uh worked there for a long time. Uh Carrie did a great job out there with Morning Side Park. Um I have to say, you know, being in that familiar space uh and what they've done with uh what it used to look like and what it looks like now. I mean, beautiful, right? Uh some folks don't know this, but most cities uh have LA County has a library system. We have our own system. It's something extremely special for a city our size. You know, we're talking about cities like Pasadena, Palos Veres, Santa Monica. They're the ones that have it, right? We we have it, too, you know, and they it truly is an amazing thing. Uh that being said, we look forward to an even bigger uh library here at Maine uh library. Um, I'm going to keep talking, mayor. I never do this, but I got like one minute of stuff to say. Um, MLK, so MLK, uh, uh, was a week or two ago, Martin Luther King Jr., the holiday, it actually started here as a city for our city here in the I I want to say in the late '7s. Uh, it was an uphill climb for for uh, at the time he was Councilman uh, Edward Vincent. And he made it work. He made it happen. And then we ended up having one of the first parades here west of the Mississippi and it became huge. We for many years we had that co kind of changed things around. Uh but I was very fortunate to be part of a lot of these parades that are part of our history. I feel very fortunate. I mean when I grew up and went outside of Englewood and found out not everybody had a Martin Luther King parade, that was a surprise

to me, you know. So that's where the community I grew up. So always a great thing. We're going to have a great uh Black History Month celebration as we always do. So, we hope you guys all come out. Um do want to touch base on on um the uh uh what uh the South Bay COG is introducing to us. Uh and I have to say that housing is something that's important to everybody in Southern California. We I feel we do a great job of that. Councilman Padilla just opened up a project in his area. We opened up one uh not so long ago in in mine. And I'll tell you that, you know, our staff and the folks, Mr. Chavez, who's back there somewhere or was back there, does a great job of keeping us in line with these kind of opportunities. So, I just wanted to point that out. While the state of California is really struggling to establish it, we're an example for a city our size. So, with that, thank you very much, Mayor.

Thank you. Um, I had the pleasure of going to Los Angeles to um celebrate the coming of the FIFA World Cup matches here. Myself and uh Mayor Bass held a press conference and once again Inglewood is on the stage for international attention and it's it was just a it's just a great time in the city. But with that, I got to tell you, this is a very dark time in the history of our country. Uh we have good people that are afraid to send their children to school, fearful that uh government agents will come and knock on their doors. They're stopping cars randomly in other cities, not this city. uh randomly

and asking people to prove that they're citizens. I've never heard anything like this. But I'm going to tell you something right now. The worst thing that can happen is for us to be divided because that's exactly one of the outcomes of these types of behaviors from the government in this city. There are more black and brown people working now than ever before in the history of Englewood. More people have generational wealth to pass down to their children than was ever dreamed possible. But every time that an election season comes around, I'm going to tell you, it's predictable. you have a a new publication that comes around and you know they want to make their bones and and this is a really dicey issue to try and create division about and I'm going to be direct. There's a journalist named Isaiah from a new online paper. He interviewed me for over 30 minutes a few weeks ago. Three minutes of the interview was about immigration enforcement. He asked me about an alleged ICE detention of a contractor on Prairie that allegedly was working on a city project. I told him he asked me what I thought of the incident. I told him I had no opinion about an incident I had no knowledge of. He then wrote an article about that 3 to five minutes and nothing about the other topics which were extremely positive. What people that approached me took was that the slant was I did not care. He then did a podcast editorial that was on the same vein. So let me be very clear.

My position is that we're all descendants of immigrants. All of us. There were immigrants that colonized the first colonies in America. So we're all immigrants. Immigrants built this country in search of opportunity. And what is being done to hardworking Americans is horrible. I've stood with demonstrators as far back as last spring. I've given my own personal money, thousands, to families where the bread winner was fearful to go to work so that families could support their children during the holidays. But this is an election year. In an election year, it just works out that the mayor is now responsible for things that you really don't control. Last election, it was school closures. And now it's ICE. I don't, we don't run the schools. I don't and we don't run ICE and border protection. And as Councilman Padilla and Councilman Morales said, they do not discuss their operation plans with us before or after they come here. What I say and do has to be thoughtful and calculated to give the best outcome for our city. Picking a fight when we have largely been spared the devastating deployments that have occurred in Minneapolis and Chicago is not wise. It is actually counterproductive for the people most affected by these immigration and detention surges. You elect people to be smart and behave in a manner that produces the best

outcomes. I will continue to work with our elected representatives and Congress people to protect the citizens of Ingwood. And I'm going to say again, it's easy to shoot your mouth off and try and impress people. It takes more knowledge and savvy to know when you've said enough. And with that, we're adjourned. Oh, in the name of Calvin Blake. Thank you, Mayor.