Board of Supervisors - Regular Meeting

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Well, good morning, everyone. We want to welcome you to the public hearing meeting of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. Today is Tuesday, June 23rd, 2026, and we take note that a quorum of the board is present. The chief executive officer, county council, executive office, and the sergeant at arms are all here to assist. Today, we'll begin with the moment of silence led by Supervisor Barger for the eight individuals who died in the Edwards Air Force Base crash. Supervisor Barger, I'll turn it over to you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Please join me along with Supervisor Solis as chair of the board in a moment of silence to honor the eight men who lost their lives on June 15th in the tragic crash of a B-52 bomber shortly after takeoff from Edwards Air Force Base. The aircraft was on a routine test flight and was carrying both Air Force personnel and civilian team members. Together, they served a critical mission in support of our nation's defense. They had been remembered as dedicated professionals, beloved family members, and irreplaceable teammates. Today, we honor Colonel Gregory Watson, 53, a Boeing employee and Air Force reservist from Shreveport, Louisiana, Lieutenant Colonel Gabriel Estrada, 40 from Edwards, retired Lieutenant Colonel Miles Middleton, 50 a Boeing employee from Tehachapi, Major Alexander Davis, 34, from Lancaster. Major Robert Dee, 40, from Edwards. Major Brad Hovey, 35, from Edwards. And Jeremy Smith, 32, from Rosemond. And Christopher Rayshard, 41, a JT4 employee from Lancaster. May we remember their service, honor their sacrifice, and keep their family, friends, colleagues, and our thoughts during this difficult time. We'll make a moment of silence. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Supervisor Barger. At this time, we'll start the county's land acknowledgement. The County of Los Angeles recognizes that we occupy land originally and still inhabited and cared for by the Tongva, Tataviam, Serrano, Quiche, and Chumash peoples. We honor and pay respect to their elders and descendants, past, present, and emerging, as they continue their stewardship of these lands and waters. We acknowledge that settler colonization resulted in land seizure, disease, subjugation, slavery, relocation, broken promises, genocide, and multi-generational trauma. This acknowledgement demonstrates our responsibility and commitment to truth, healing, and reconciliation, and to elevating the stories, culture, and community of the original inhabitants of Los Angeles County. We are grateful to have the opportunity to live and work on these ancestral lands. We are dedicated to growing and sustaining relationships with native peoples and local tribal governments, including in no particular order. Fernandeño Tataviam Band of Mission Indians, Gabrielino Tongva Indians of California Tribal Council, Gabrieleno Tongva San Gabriel Band of Mission Indians, Gabrieleno Band of Mission Indians Quiche Nation, Yahaviatam of San Manuel Nation, San Fernando Band of Mission Indians, Coastal Band of Chumash Nation, Gabrielino Tongva Nation, Gabrielino Tongva Tribe. To learn more about the First Peoples of Los Angeles County, please visit the Los Angeles City-County Native American Indian Commission website at lanais.lacounty.gov. Members, the invocation this morning will be led by Pastor Florentino Córdova, Diamond Bar United Church of Christ, representing the First District, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance, which will be led by David Sullivan, United States Army, representing the Second District. If you are able, please stand.

Let us pray. Gracious and loving God, a God who we know by many different names and many different ways, we gather today with grateful hearts and gratitude for those who serve this county and its people. We offer special thanks for Supervisor Hilda Solis for the many years of devoted leadership, her steady guidance, and her unwavering commitment to justice and community. May her example continue to inspire all who lead and the future leaders of this county. We also lift up every member of this County Board of Supervisors, bless them with wisdom, clarity, and compassion as they make decisions that shape the well-being of our residents, strengthen their resolve to lead with fairness, humility, and courage. We pray for all county employees who keep essential services running, especially in times of budget challenges. Grant them endurance, creativity, and the insurance that their work is deeply valued. Today, we offer special prayers for those who serve and protect our communities and our nation. For our law enforcement officers, we ask that you guide them with integrity, courage, and compassion. Keep them safe in every call and at every encounter. For our paramedics and firefighters, we ask that you bless their bravery and their willingness to run toward danger when others run away. Grant them strength and protection. And today, God, we pray for those who are affected by the fires here at Boyle Heights. For our doctors and nurses, we ask that their hands bring healing, their minds bring clarity, and their hearts bring comfort. Renew their energy and sustain their spirits. For all our frontline and essential workers, those in public health, transportation, sanitation, bless their dedication and keep them safe. And today, for all the men and women of our armed forces, those serving at home and abroad, grant them courage, protection, and steadfastness. Bless their families who bear the weight of separation and sacrifice. May peace surround them and may their service be honored with gratitude and respect. May this meeting be guided by respect, collaboration, and a shared commitment to the common good. Let every action today reflect compassion, justice, and hope. Amen. Thank you.

Good morning. Please face the flag, place your right hand over your heart. If you're a veteran, you may render a hand salute and join me in the Pledge of Allegiance. 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.

I am just so delighted and pleased that we could have Pastor Florentino, known as Tino Córdova, here with us today. He represents, and I've gotten to know him over the last, I think, two years now, Diamond Bar United Church of Christ for his outstanding leadership, service, and commitment, and justice, and always fighting for inclusion. He was born and raised in the small village of Mosquero, New Mexico, as the 11th of 12 children. Pastor Tino learned the value of community, compassion, and caring for one another from a very early age. He earned his Master's of Divinity in 2013 and was ordained through the Metropolitan Community Church before serving congregations in California and in Hawaii. Today, Pastor Tino is a respected faith leader who believes in empowering our young people. strengthening our community, building partnerships, and above all, advocating for the LGBTQ plus community. Under his leadership, the Diamond Bar United Church of Christ continues to be welcoming and an affirming place of faith, hope, and service. Please join me in honoring Pastor Tino Cordova for his dedication to building stronger communities and advancing equality, justice and compassion for all. On behalf of the entire County Board of Supervisors, we wish to provide you with a certificate of appreciation and for all your courage and hard work in the San Gabriel Valley. Thank you. I have this for you.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Supervisor Mitchell.

Good morning, Los Angeles. It's my honor to introduce today's pledge veteran, David Sullivan. Mr. Sullivan served in the United States Army for three years, attaining the rank of specialist. During his service, he was deployed to Iraq, where he earned numerous honors, including the combat service badge and the air assault and airborne badge.

Come step up close.

Supervisor Sleaze doesn't bite on Tuesdays. You'll be fine. He is passionate about social justice and continues to proudly serve his community, working as a peer support specialist for SHARE, Self-Help and Recovery Exchange. Mr. Sullivan holds an associate degree in cloud computing from Santa Monica College. In his spare time, he enjoys spending time with family and friends, going to the beach and working out. He is a husband and father, happy Father's Day, to his wife Rochelle and his daughter Mariah and their new residents of Culver City. So please, everyone, join me in expressing our deep gratitude to Mr. Sullivan for his service to our nation and his continued service to our country and our county and for leading us in today's pledge. We appreciate you. Thank you.

Thank you. And then I left.

So, Madam Chair, members of the board, an urgency item to be added to today's agenda has come to our office's attention regarding responding to the Los Palos incident and ratifying the local emergency pursuant to government code section five four nine five four point two B two. THE BOARD MUST MAKE A FINDING THAT THERE IS A NEED TO TAKE IMMEDIATE ACTION AND THAT THE NEED FOR ACTION CAME TO THE ATTENTION OF THE BOARD SUBSEQUENT TO THE AGENDA BEING POSTED AS SPECIFIED IN SUBDIVISION A. MADAM CHAIR AND MEMBERS OF THE BOARD, THE URGENCY FINDING IS BEFORE YOU TO ADD THIS ITEM TO THE AGENDA.

THANK YOU. I WILL MOVE. IT WILL BE SECONDED BY SUPERVISOR HON. EXECUTIVE OFFICER, PLEASE CALL THE ROLE.

Supervisor Mitchell. Aye. Supervisor Mitchell. Aye. Supervisor Horvath.

Aye.

Supervisor Horvath. Aye. Supervisor Hahn. Aye. Supervisor Hahn. Aye. Supervisor Barger.

Aye.

Supervisor Barger. Aye. Supervisor Solis.

Aye.

Supervisor Solis. Aye. This item passes unanimously and will be added to the agenda. This item is also being requested to be held by Supervisor Solis and will be heard later during the meeting.

Thank you, Executive Officer. Now we'll have our scroll presentations, and we're going to begin with Supervisor Hahn and followed by Supervisor Barger, Supervisor Mitchell, Supervisor Horvath, and then I will conclude with my own presentation. Thank you. Supervisor Hahn.

You can stand right next to me.

Thank you, Madam Chair. And as we continue to celebrate June here in LA County as Pride Month, I'm so pleased to recognize the Silver Fox, which is celebrating their 45th anniversary this year. Let's hear it for the Silver Fox. which some might think that is referring to you. But in fact, no. It is referring to the premier gay bar in Long Beach. And many people don't realize that gay bars have historically been so much more than just a place to get a drink. For decades, gay bars have been havens for our LGBTQ plus people when nowhere else seemed safe. Not their churches, not their streets, and for many, not even their homes. And few bars in our region embody that power and proud history as much as the Silver Fox in Long Beach. And joining us today is John Barnes, who started at the Silver Fox as manager up in 1983 and is now the owner. And we're also glad to have with him this morning his longtime friends, Sally, his photographer, and Israel, who also goes by Corky, which doesn't really feel like, I don't know where you get that out of Israel, but okay. The Silver Fox was founded in 1981 by John Shinnerer, and together with his partner Ron Waddell and Michael Loberg, they opened the Silver Fox at the height of the HIV AIDS crisis of the 1980s, when hundreds of thousands of mostly gay men were dying and our own federal government was looking the other way. The Silver Fox became a safe haven for the LGBTQ plus community to mourn, to celebrate, and to support one another. Ron and John even provided funds to the local community centers to stay afloat. 45 years later, the Silver Fox is an invaluable resource for our LGBTQ plus organizations. It has maintained a decades-long partnership, hosting a benefit fashion show for the AIDS food store in Long Beach, and continues to support community events such as the Long Beach Queer Plus Gender Inclusive Kickball League, Spark of Love Toy Drive, and the Easter Walk, and countless others. John Shinnerer passed away in September 2025 at the age of 96. He was active in the bar well into his 90s, and his memory has left a lasting impact on our LGBTQ plus community in Long Beach. I recently visited the Silver Fox for the first time, and it was so lovely getting to know you, John, and some of your regular customers. And I know some of my staff have frequented the Silver Fox. I'm sure just to do research for this presentation. But it is clear to me why the Silver Fox is celebrating this milestone anniversary. For the regulars, it's like their cheers bar and is a welcoming place for everyone who walks through its doors. And now, John, I'd like for you to say a few words before I give you the certificate.

Hey, well, good morning, L.A. Council Supervisors, and a special thank you and hello to Janice Hahn, supervisor, for this recognition and the support over the years. My name is John Barnes. I'm the owner of Silver Fox, and I'm proud to be continuing the mission of our founders, John Schinnerer and Ron Waddell, and welcoming members of the LGBTQ plus community through our doors. In my 40-some years of working at this Long Beach legacy business, I'll never forget the struggle it once was to cross the threshold of a bar. That simple act was a statement and a personal victory. The Silver Fox is a place where friendships flourish, accomplishments are celebrated, we grieve together, our day-to-day lives are lived. And because of this, our community is a richer place. On this day especially, I remember every person who has walked through that bar. Living and dead, they have enriched my life so much. I want to thank all of you from our customers and staff for this recognition, and I'm so looking forward to welcoming a new generation of people into the Silver Fox. Thank you, Supervisor Hahn, so much. Thank you. Thank you so much.

Thank you, John. And now on behalf of the 10 million residents of Los Angeles County and our County Board of Supervisors, I want to congratulate you and the Silver Fox on your 45th anniversary and express appreciation from your longstanding contributions to our LGBTQ plus community in Long Beach, but throughout LA County. And I have this frame, so the next time I come, this better be up. Okay, let's come up here.

Supervisor Barg.

Come on, Brandon.

He's trying to get out of the building right now. Come on, Brandon. Yep. Yeah.

I know.

Today, I am honored to celebrate a leader whose impact on Los Angeles County's child welfare system will be felt for many, many years to come. Brandon Nichols got his start with the county through county council and found purpose in his child welfare work through dependency court. He remained in county council for a number of years before being plucked to serve the Department of Children and Family Services as a senior director. He also spent time supporting probation and the jail closure implementation team before the board asked him to return to DCFS as the director. As Brandon concludes his 27 year career with the county, we pause to honor not only what he's accomplished, but how he led. Leading the largest child welfare agency in the nation is an immense responsibility. It requires clarity, compassion, and the ability to bring people together in the face of challenging circumstances. Brandon brought all of that and more to this role. He's always had a steady approach to decision making. In moments when our county faced pressure, crisis, intense public scrutiny, He remained transparent, thoughtful, and committed to getting it right. His leadership style earned him the trust of frontline social workers, other county departments, community organizations, and the families that we serve. Brandon is a true collaborator. Across agencies including health, mental health, public safety, and the judicial system, he built relationships that helped break down silos and strengthen the services for children and for their families. His willingness to troubleshoot directly with partners, especially when concerns arose in regions like the Antelope Valley, exemplified his commitment to being accessible and responsive. He was always just a phone call away. His engagement reflects his deep understanding of the county's complexities and his dedication to the people that we all serve. But Brandon's leadership isn't just about navigating challenging systems. It is deeply, deeply rooted in empathy. He's always put our foster youth first and our families as well. He's shown up for his staff, visiting offices, truly listening to frontline concerns and recognizing the profound and physical demands of their work. He believed in equipping social workers with better tools because he knew that when they are supported, children and families are protected. And as a cherry on top, he always brought a positive attitude of spirit of fun. Whether it was during one of DCFS's many volunteer efforts, staff potlucks, or my annual foster youth holiday party at Magic Mountain, where he got bikes donated for an extra special giveaway, Brandon has always, always, always showed up with a can-do attitude and a smile on his face. As he retires, we not only thank him for all he's done, but acknowledge how much you will be missed. We'll miss how you led with heart, humility, and a commitment to the wellbeing of our most vulnerable children and families. Thank you, Brandon. The work you've done will continue to impact the lives of our DCFS staff and the children they serve for many, many years to come. I wish you the very best on your next chapter and hope it's filled with all your favorite things, your beloved family, incredible travels, and yes, amazing restaurants. You truly, truly, truly deserve this. Let's give him a big round of applause.

I'll be quick. I was just going to say thank you. Spending your life serving families and kids is a great way to spend a life. You guys have given me that opportunity. I really appreciate it. I also want to say, though, You said very nice things about me. The department continues on the people that do all that work all the great thinking all the hard work sitting right here. And I think they're all staying for at least a little bit. So you're in good hands and to the people sitting here. Board's been very supportive of children and families. I know they'll continue to do that and that actually gives me some peace and comfort as I move on. So thank you all.

All right. We love you.

Thank you, Brandon.

Thank you.

Thank you. That's right. We are out. We are out.

Supervisor Mitchell.

Of course, of course. Good morning again, Los Angeles.

We started something a couple years ago, and now it's gonna become our annual habit. It's my privilege today to recognize and welcome an extraordinary group of 82 future healthcare leaders from the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, which includes 60 incoming medical students and 20 incoming resident physician trainees. Give them a round of applause. Before I begin, Dr. Carlisle, will you please stand, President and CEO, and will your entire CDU faculty who are here today please stand just so you can be recognized? Beautiful. The white coats are indeed in the house. Thank you, Dr. Carlisle. CDU is one of LA's institutions dedicated to advancing health, equity, expanding access to care, and training the next generation of compassionate, community-centered physicians. These medical students and resident physicians represent the future of medicine, but they're also making an impact today. Learning, training, and serving in communities where access to high quality, culturally responsive care is needed most. Their work is especially meaningful here in Service Planning Area 6, also known as SPA 6, which includes South Los Angeles, a community that has historically faced significant health disparities. The impact of CDU's programs extends far beyond medical education and clinical training. They are strengthening our health care workforce and improving our safety net. CDU was founded with a powerful mission to serve the underserved. That mission continues through each one of you, through your dedication, your compassion, and your commitment to health justice. And from my perspective, your commitment to health policy. That's why we invited the first class of the medical school to come here. So you could see the space where health policy is formulated right here in LA County. And I want to thank my team member Yolanda Vera for spending some time with you all last week to walk you through the county level of government, what a safety net means and how you have the power individually and collectively to impact health policy. Each student and resident here today brings a unique story and lived experience and perspective. And so together, you represent a diverse and most inspiring group of leaders who have chosen this path because you wanna make a difference. And as a board, we understand the importance of investing in medical education and supporting programs that embed equity, prevention, and community partnership into the foundation of healthcare. So to our incoming class of medical students, congratulations on beginning this incredible journey toward becoming physicians. I, all of us, are counting on you. Your passion and commitment will help shape the future of medicine. And to our incoming resident physicians, thank you for the care you're already providing and the critical role you play in improving the health and well-being of communities. So I'm going to ask you all to stand, current white coats and future white coats, as we give you a warm and heartfelt congratulations to the newest class of medical students and residents at Charles R.L. Drew University of Medicine. Give them a round of applause.

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Good morning, Los Angeles County. Pride Month is an opportunity to celebrate the individuals whose courage, leadership, and authenticity help build a more inclusive and welcoming community for all. It's also a time to recognize those who break barriers, who challenge assumptions, and who create space for others to feel seen, valued, and empowered. Today, we are honored to recognize Jordan Lucas, a champion athlete. Go Matadors! He's an emerging leader and an advocate whose impact extends far beyond the volleyball court. Jordan has distinguished himself as an exceptional athlete, a CIF state champion, and a nationally recognized volleyball player. But what makes his story exceptionally powerful is the way he's used his visibility to help expand representation in sports. At a time when LGBTQ plus athletes are still navigating barriers to acceptance and belonging, Jordan has chosen to lead with authenticity and with courage. Through that visibility, he's helped challenge outdated stereotypes about who belongs in athletics and what leadership looks like. Jordan has shown young people that success does not require hiding who you are. And earlier this morning, he shared with me that growing up, he didn't have someone like him to look to as an example. So now he's especially mindful of the responsibility he has to young people who look up to him for inspiration. Jordan has demonstrated authenticity can be a source of strength, confidence, and excellence. For LGBTQ plus athletes who may not yet see themselves reflected in the spaces around them, Jordan's example sends a powerful message. There is a place for you here. You belong. Representation matters. When young people see someone who shares their experiences succeeding at the highest levels, it expands what they believe is possible for themselves. Jordan has helped to create that sense of possibility for countless people. I have to say personally, seeing him emerge as a deserving internet sensation has not only brought appreciation for his athletic excellence, but celebration of his unabashed pride and joy in being fully himself on and off the court. As a recent graduate of California State University Northridge, he continues to represent the very best of perseverance, determination, and leadership. His achievements remind us that sports have the power not only to bring people together, but also to foster acceptance, understanding, and belonging. On behalf of Los Angeles County, we're proud to recognize Jordan Lucas for his accomplishments, his advocacy, and the positive example he continues to set for future generations. Please join me in warmly celebrating Jordan Lucas.

Thank you, Supervisor Horvath for the incredible honor. I'm truly humbled to be here right now in this room and being a part of the LGBTQ plus community is a part of me that I've never tried to hide. And especially on the volleyball court that this sport has given me something so unbelievably amazing to not only kind of share light into who I am as a person, but also onto our sport. And it being Pride Month in the month of June is something that is truly special as well, everything that's been going on. And I'm just greatly honored to not only advocate for myself and the person that I'm becoming, but also for younger LGBTQ athletes. athletes who are struggling to find their identity of who they are but I would just like to say to lean into all of the quirks and the things that make you you that that's why people fall in love with you and to understand that once you find your community of people that they will be there for you and that at the end of the day you're the only person who has your own back so you have to be your biggest fan thank you

We here in Los Angeles County are proud to have your back. And I know some people have seen you on Kelly Clarkson, some on Good Morning America. I have personally enjoyed seeing you all over my social media. It is your spirit, your attitude and your excellence that inspire me. And I just can't thank you enough for all that you do for our community. Please join me once again in celebrating Jordan Lucas.

This is amazing. I love this. Thank you so much.

Yeah, so we're going to stand in front of the podium and take a picture. Gotcha.

Good morning, everyone, once again. I am very pleased and honored today to recognize and celebrate the mariachi arcoiris de Los Angeles. And arcoiris in English means rainbow. So they represent our beautiful Los Angeles rainbow. Please give them a big round of applause. They are a groundbreaking ensemble whose music, artistry, and courage have enriched our communities and expanded the cultural legacy of mariachi for future generations. Founded in 2014, Mariachi's Arcoíris de Los Angeles has earned national and international recognition as the world's first LGBTQ plus mariachi group. How about that? Amazing. Through their exceptional musicianship and unwavering commitment to authenticity, they have demonstrated that mariachi music, a cherished tradition deeply rooted in Mexican culture, belongs to everyone. Mariachi arcoíris has not only preserved and elevated this beloved form of art, but created space for individuals to express their full identities while honoring their heritage. Their performances inspire audiences all over the place by promoting visibility, acceptance, and pride through the universal language of music. For years, the members of the Mariachi Arcoíris de Los Angeles have served as cultural ambassadors, bringing people together through powerful performances that celebrate our diversity, resiliency, and community. And today, we applaud Mariachi Arcoíris de Los Angeles for their outstanding artistic achievements, their dedication to cultural preservation, and their leadership in advancing inclusion and representation of the LGBT plus community. Their leadership and presence reminds us how music can bridge divides, foster understanding, and unite us in our shared heritage and humanity. Thank you for your talent, for your vision, and your continued contributions to the cultural life of our region well beyond. Today we have two members representing the Mariachi Arcoíris de Los Angeles, Carlos Camañego and Ricardo Arzola, along with Ricardo's partner who's in the audience. And now I would like to turn it over to Mariachi Arcoíris de Los Angeles, the director, Carlos Camañego, to share a few words.

Thank you so much. So first of all, I'd like to thank you for this amazing honor and the recognition. I also want to thank the members and the musicians of Mariachi Arcoiris because without them, there's no mariachi. You know, you've already stated what the meaning is, Mariachi Arcoiris de Los Angeles, the rainbow mariachi of Los Angeles. and what that means and everything that goes along with it. It's a great responsibility, but I'm happy to have created it and to carry it along with me until I'm gone. Los Angeles is a bubble, is a beautiful, safe bubble, which is also something that I wanted to create when I created Mariachi Arcoiris is a safe space for the musicians who identify within the LGBTQ plus family who, you know, whether they already played mariachi music professionally or are emerging as professional musicians, to find that safe space because our culture, unfortunately, is ridden with toxic masculinity, also known as machista or machismo. And so, It's a safe space for that, and honestly, I don't think I would have been able to create this mariachi anywhere else in the world but here in Los Angeles. You know, I'm the child of immigrants, and Spanish is, and mariachi music has been a part of me since I was born, and so being able to share my passion and my music alongside with people like Ricardo and the group is, it's a privilege, you know? But we get to do so where You know, we get to play music, mariachi music, in spaces where normally mariachi music wouldn't be heard, whether it be at pride events or the opening of a new pride center or, yeah, LGBTQ center somewhere. You know, they wouldn't have hired a mariachi previous to Mariachi Harkoides, kind of like, what the heck for? But now that Mariachi Harkoides exists, they have us at these events. And this is our opportunity to kind of hook people into mariachi music who normally wouldn't go and hear it And so with that, you know, we play music that may be in English or that isn't necessarily the genre of mariachi in the complete set. But we do play for sure mariachi music in a traditional sense as well. On the flip side, we get to, because of the younger generations, and we'll get hired by a straight couple who's getting married, who is, they're fans of mariachi arcoiris. Thank goodness for Gen X. And they'll hire us in a sort of a traditional setting and here walks in this queer mariachi group and people are like, what is gonna happen? Well, nothing's gonna happen. You're gonna hear great music and we can fulfill their requests and play all of this music and kind of knock their socks off. And so we have this dual representation of communities, which we're more than happy to represent, but we also feel like it's our responsibility to do so. in the most visible and respectful way, because without visibility, we can't create any sense of normalcy for our LGBTQ plus community. Thank you.

Thank you so much, Carlos. And I want to just mention, and Ricardo, you've played here in our building several times at several events and out in our community. And believe me, when they say they play all kinds of music, they do. Because I heard them play Frank Sinatra. Can you believe that? And I loved it. And I heard so many good ballads and songs that bring me back home to my own upbringing and my parents. So thank you for all that you do. On behalf of the County Board of Supervisors, we want to present you both and your group. this scroll that is signed by all members of the board. So please join me here. Executive Officer, can you please call the agenda?

We will begin on page three, public hearing items one through six. Items one through six will be held for hearing. On page eight, administrative matters, item seven and eight. On item seven, county council requests that this item be continued to August 4th, 2026, as indicated on the supplemental agenda. On page 10, item nine, ordinance for introduction. On this item, county council requests that this item be continued to August 4th, 2026, as indicated on the supplemental agenda. On page 11, Special District Agenda, this is the agenda for the Newhall Ranch Sanitation District, item SD1. This item will be held for hearing. On page 12, Notices of Closed Session, items CS1 through CS9. On item CS4, County Council requests that this item be continued to June 30, 2026, as indicated on the posted agenda. Also, 11a is an addition, as indicated on the supplemental agenda. The requests for continuances through CS9 are before you. That completes the reading of the agenda, Madam Chair.

Thank you. Moved by Supervisor Mitchell, seconded by Supervisor Horvath to approve the items. That will be the order. Executive Officer, please play the Code of Conduct.

Ladies and gentlemen, may I please have your attention. The meeting of the Los Angeles... Uh-oh. Ladies and gentlemen, may I please have your attention. The meeting of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is about to commence. A code of conduct will now be read and we request that you comply with it to ensure the efficient administration of the meeting. Members of the public, it is your right to participate in today's board hearing and the board encourages such participation. However, the right of the public to address the board must be balanced with the need to ensure that public comment does not interfere with the orderly course of the board's business. All are reminded to abide by the following rules. Speakers must cease speaking immediately when their time has ended. Public comment on agenda items must relate to the subject matter of that item. General public comment is limited to subjects within the jurisdiction of the board. Public comment does not include the right to engage in a dialogue with board members or staff. Please remain respectful of the forum and refrain from uttering, writing, or displaying profane, personal, threatening, derogatory, demeaning, or other abusive statements toward the board, any member thereof, staff, or any other person. Members of the audience should be respectful of the views expressed by speakers, staff, and board members and may not clap, cheer, whistle, or otherwise disrupt the orderly conduct of the meeting. Any person engaging in conduct that disrupts the meeting is subject to being removed from the board meeting. And finally, if you witness conduct or behavior by other members of the public that disrupts your ability to remain engaged or participate in this meeting, please notify the sergeant at arms or other county staff. Thank you for your cooperation.

Thank you. Today's meeting order will be the following. Public comment on items not held for discussion by the board, including the closed session matters, followed by the urgency item related to Los Palos incident, then public hearing items one through six and SD1, followed by general public comment and finishing out with closed session. Before we begin, Executive Officer, please read the call-in information and explain the speaking rules.

Good morning, members of the public. If you wish to participate in public comment, you may do so in person or remotely. To participate remotely, please visit our website at www.bos.lacounty.gov to register and join the meeting, or you may call 213-306-3065 and use access code 25391105807 and meeting password 2672026. You will have the opportunity to address the board throughout the meeting. For items not held by the board, you will receive one minute for one item and up to two minutes for two or more items. For items held by supervisors, you will have one minute to address the board and one minute to address the board on each of the public hearing items and one minute to address the board on general public comment. Please clearly state your name and indicate the agenda item numbers you will be addressing. Please note, once your time is expired, we will immediately move to the next speaker. When it is your turn to speak, if registered on a computer or device, you will hear a beep and your name will be called. Or if joining by telephone, you will hear your line is unmuted Your area code and the first three digits of your phone number will be called. To ensure we hear from both in-person and remote speakers, we will alternate between the two speaking cues. Members of the public who are in attendance, when you hear or see your name displayed on the screen, please come down to the front of the boardroom and staff will assist you. Please do not approach the podium until directed to do so. Also, for members of the public in attendance, please note that we have a constituent assistant team that includes representatives from the Departments of Mental Health, Public Social Services, Children and Family Services, Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, and Parks and Recreation in the audience should you need assistance from them. At this time, we will hear from members of the public wishing to address the board on all items not held for discussion by supervisors, including closed session matters. The consent items will be acted upon with one motion. For members of the public joining us remotely to comment on these items, please use the raise hand feature if you are online and plus or press star three. If on a telephone, please indicate the agenda item numbers that you wish to address in the beginning of your comment for us to allocate the appropriate amount of time.

We will now call in in-person speakers and while they're coming forward, we will take remote speakers. This will be for all items not held by the board for discussion and closed session items. Will the following individual please come forward and staff will assist you. Rogelio Martinez. Victoria Male, your line is open. Please state the agenda items you're addressing and begin.

Hello I'm Victoria Molly and I'm addressing an item not on the agenda. I'm an award winning writer with over.

Well ma'am this would be appropriate for general public comment. Right now we're taking comment on items not held by the board. Next speaker please.

Thank you. Justine Castro your line is open. Please state the agenda items you're addressing and begin.

Registrar's office is clear across the county and state. I realize that you don't do any sweeps on non-citizens. Matter of fact, ever since 2015.

Sir, this is on matters, this is on items not held by the board. You need to call back during general public comment.

Caller with phone number 213-647. Your line is open. Please state your name, the agenda items you're addressing and begin. Okay, Madam Chair, there are no other remote speakers to address the board. Remote participation for these items is concluded. We will go to our in-person speaker. Please begin.

No further speakers.

All right, there are no other speakers to address the board. That concludes the time for public comment on these items.

Madam Chair, members of the board, items eight and 11A are before you.

Thank you. Moved by Supervisor Hahn, seconded by Supervisor Barger to approve the items with the exceptions noted by the executive officer. Executive officer, please call the roll.

Supervisor Mitchell. Aye. Supervisor Mitchell, aye. Supervisor Horvath. Aye. Supervisor Horvath, aye. Supervisor Hahn. Aye. Supervisor Hahn, aye. Supervisor Barger. Aye. Supervisor Barger, aye. Supervisor Solis.

Aye.

Supervisor Solis, aye. That item passes. We will now move on to the urgency item responding to the Los Palos incident and ratifying the local emergency, which was held by Supervisor Solis. For members of the public joining us remotely to comment on this item, please use the raise hand feature if you are online or press star 3 if on a telephone. John O'Brien, Chief Deputy, Fire Department. Mario Chaceres, Chief Health Hazardous Material Division, Fire Department. Dr. Barbara Ferrer, Director, Department of Public Health. Kelly Lobianco, Director, Department of Economic Opportunity. Rafael Carbajal, Director, Department of Consumer and Business Affairs. Dan Sharp, Office of Immigrant Affairs, Department of Consumer and Business Affairs. Emilio Salas, Executive Director, Los Angeles County Development Authority. kevin mcgowan director office of emergency management candace rusin senior deputy county council andrea ross principal county council council and margaret ambrose principal deputy county council are available for questions for the departmental speakers please state your name and title for the record when you address the board

Thank you. Colleagues, I wanna thank you, first of all, for voting unanimously earlier to add this motion to today's agenda, responding to the Los Palos incident and ratifying the local emergency. And I also wanna thank Supervisor Hahn for joining me as co-author on this motion. I just want to take us back a bit here. On June 17th, a major fire erupted at the lineage logistics coal storage warehouse in Boyle Heights in the city of Los Angeles, triggering ammonia gassing and shelter in place orders. Smoke advisories were issued, as you know, for unincorporated areas such as East Los Angeles. Cities Vernon, Commerce, Monterey Park, Montebello, including parts of the San Gabriel Valley, and even downtown Los Angeles. The South Coast Air Quality Management District issued an air quality advisory due to the smoke plume. The fire, as you know, has been burning for seven days, disrupting the lives of thousands if not thousands, of LA County residents, including the nearby unincorporated community that I represent in the first district, East Los Angeles. This is the second fire, folks, at the same facility, following one in August of 2024. And the operator has documented history of safety violations, including an EPA fine. The fire is not occurring in isolation. It is compounding decades of environmental injustice in that particular area known as Boyle Heights and East Los Angeles. Residents are still, mind you, recovering from the East LA oil spill that just occurred a few weeks ago, dealing with also the fallout and remediation of the Exide battery recycling plant that we're still having to contend with. And on top of that, shaken by recent ice rates, living in constant fear in some of the most environmentally overburdened census tracts in the entire Los Angeles County. And East LA, as some of you have heard, is home to some of the highest asthma rates. highest pollution burdens, and lowest access to health care, making prolonged smoke exposure especially dangerous to this community. At my direction, the county mobilized a full emergency response, including a 24-7 respite shelter at City Terrace Park, which was activated in partnership with the Red Cross. It didn't take an act of the state to do that. We as a board, CEO and all of us decided and OEM to pull all of that together. And I wanna thank you, including Parks and Recreation. Our county departments have deployed themselves to help get out and support our residents, not only just providing masks and things of that nature, but also providing them counseling guidance with health services, mental health services, and other safety net services. My office also has been canvassing along with other community-based organizations directly impacting those neighborhoods that were most impacted by the fire. This past weekend in City Terrace Park, we provided impacted residents with air purifiers, masks, food, water, and multilingual health guidance. It didn't take an act of the state to do that. We did it because we've been through this before. But that doesn't mean that we stop. And yesterday, we held a resource fair providing more air filters and other supplies to residents. And this was held at one of our local churches that is a few blocks away, and I mean few blocks away, from the area where the fire is spurning their fumes. And I want to say that during that time, this was right after our budget meeting here, went over there and many of our county departments were there, including a bypasser. our CEO, I was very happy to see him there because he could see immediately the impact on these residents. And I will tell you that there were well over, I wanna say maybe a thousand people there representing about maybe 500 households. And you're talking about multiple families that live in these dwellings. And at that time, we were able to distribute about 1,100 air filters in East Los Angeles to them, including making sure that there were health checks for seniors, because some were experiencing bouts of asthma attacks and irregular heartbeats. Luckily, we had a federally qualified clinic there, a mobile clinic also, to help provide free assistance. And I'm hoping that today we continue with that. But in addition, we have already distributed well over 10,000 N95 masks as well as 1,500 food boxes to some of the families that have been impacted. And that is a woefully small number given the magnitude of what is taking place right now. Through our executive office, I wanted to queue up this video, because I'm happy that we had our PIO folks involved in helping us record the history and what's going on right now in this place where the entire country I think is watching what is happening here in Los Angeles County and East Los Angeles and Boyle Heights. So can we queue up that video, please? And here today, because residents need support, they need resources, and they need to know that Los Angeles County is standing right by them. We're here at this church in Union Pacific, La Victoria, the Victory Church, and they have opened up their facility so we could do a resource fair here. for the impacted residents that have been impacted because of the fire across the street now in its sixth day. People have been impacted heavily by exhaust, by odors, and many people have had to leave the area. Some are coming back. But many people right now need air filters. They need masks. They need resources, food.

The county's entire emergency organization mobilized at the onset of this incident, primarily through sending out emergency notifications through various tools to provide critical advisory messages to the immediate areas adjacent to the commercial structure. Following that, the county's emergency organization mobilized resources not only to respond directly to the site, but to also start prepping for contingency planning and then providing resources for affected areas. I want to provide a big shout out to our Red Cross partners for their immediate response. In partnership with the county, our Parks and Rec Department, our Department of Public Social Services,

Since last Wednesday, we've had my staff out here in East Los Angeles going out surveying. We quickly put together a flyer in English and Spanish to give information, phone numbers, internet connectivity, where people could talk to folks and get better information. My staff is on the ground with other volunteers and community-based organizations. They've been doing that now for the last few days. They were out in the last two days also distributing air filters. And I would say there's more than 250 households that directly are impacted that face that facility. And those are the ones that we need to get to. I want to thank County Channel for putting that together so quickly. That was just yesterday. As you know, these events will continue as long as needed. We need to protect our vulnerable residents. We have to do everything in our power to make sure that they are treated with respect and dignity. And I want to especially thank our firefighters. the thousands, hundreds that have been out there spending time around the clock 24-7 since this started. I have become so proud of our county family and our firefighters being out there providing trust and goodwill to our residents when they need it the most. And risking your own lives. As they say, you walk into the fire, you don't walk out away from it. And you're there to protect our community And I, for one, have really continued just to be in awe and amazed of your courage and your commitment to our communities, wherever that might be, because you've been out there in all parts of the county and even beyond. And I want to personally thank you. and commend you. And I want to thank also our county departments for assisting us. Many of you are here represented, but I especially want to say that it's important that we also have staff and I want to thank them that we're out there, that we're also able to speak to my community, to speak in their language and understand their cultural differences, opinions, but also need to want to get answers and to understand what all this is about, what is taking place, and to give them the reassurances that they need. I want to say that we're contending with something that I don't think we have ever seen before. with this magnitude. We've heard about other examples where a similar fire took place in another state, in Seattle, Washington, and that was a volunteer fire department, and that took more than 60 days, 63 days to put out. I can't even imagine. seven days for our communities here in Boyle Heights and East LA having to put up with this, and the region, because the fumes and the smoke are impacting every single one of our districts and beyond, Orange County, Riverside, San Bernardino, and up north. It's something that I think we are really gonna have to drill down on. But in addition, we're also contending, not just with the fire, but what happens with the 85 million million pounds of remaining food that are still stuck in that facility that has to be safely removed before becoming another risk to our community. And I wanted to show some slides of that. I want to say that while it's estimated that the fire will be put out by the end of the week, we heard that today by Chief Moore from the LA City Fire Department, we know that the fallout will be felt for some time. probably weeks and maybe months, if not more. And some residents have had to bear the financial burden of paying for a hotel room to get out or to move away to go stay with another relative outside of the county area. And then of course, our businesses have been suffering. People are not going to their repair shops or their restaurants or other services that they operate in that area. And we know that that area had already been hard hit previously because of, I don't wanna just say ICE raids, but the economic downturn overall. That is one of the most poverty stricken areas in my district. But I hold up the people who live there, the people who are resilient, and they need our help and they want answers. And I don't blame them. So we need to do our best, I think moving forward as we have, and continue to help provide that information, especially as it impacts their health. That is one thing that I learned from this Exide experience when I first took this job, that we have to absolutely be transparent responsible and accountable for what happens in our communities and do the best to our ability to try to help rectify those wrongs against our communities, regardless if they were born here or not. They are our county residents. So I believe that the county must pursue full responsibility for the harm caused to our communities. Today's motion before us ratifies the local emergency proclamation, and it strengthens our ability to deploy those resources to help accelerate that recovery and to coordinate with the state and federal partners. The motion also directs a full investigation into the facility, future safety compliance, and the claims process that needs to be established to help our residents, our workers and those businesses most impacted. And we have to continue to respond to the crisis. Our public housing residents, and I'm glad to see Emilio Salas here, including those seniors that currently reside in Maravilla, in our public housing. Many of them are medically fragile individuals. Many are seniors. And right now, I know we have to prioritize getting them purifiers, masks, wellness checks, and onsite support. They are in our care. And there are well over 500 dwellings with thousands. of people and more that reside not too far from this area. And we must also continue to ensure that culturally and linguistically competent communication for our immigrant communities is provided, who already are living in fear because of the recent ICE raids. And now I want to begin by asking a few questions before I hand it over to my co-author, if I might. And I want to begin with you, Kevin McGowan, who represents the Office of Emergency Management. I want to thank you, first of all, and your staff. I know that you were being contacted, we were working with you since last Wednesday, right around the time when the fire broke out. And there was a lot of confusion, no doubt, regarding communications and related messages that were being put out to shelter in place, to health advisories, and even evacuation protocols between Boyle Heights and East Los Angeles. And I wanna know if you can help explain to us in the public why and how these decisions were being made. And one question that has come up to me is why there were no evacuation notices made and who determines that? Because I think there is a lot of miscommunication and how those decisions are made either by us or by the city of Los Angeles, Kevin.

Thank you, Supervisor. Good morning. Kevin McGowan, director for the L.A. County Office of Emergency Management. To address the question about emergency protective measures, how those decisions are made, when the initial structure fire first occurred, L.A. City, so L.A. City Fire and the Los Angeles Police Department were the initial public safety entities that were the incident commanders for that. They are the ones responsible for making the determination of what would be that protective measure. So in this case, there's a variety. You could do shelter in place and evacuation warning evacuation orders. And it really comes down to that incident level group, those incident commanders to make that determination. Because the smoke. So there are multiple hazards related to this type of an incident. You have the fire itself. There were obviously different types of hazardous materials within that structure. So that initial incident command team made the determination of In the area, primarily around the building to do a shelter in place order. It's our understanding that was sent out via emergency notifications. But in the very immediate area, they also did do in person evacuations for small subsets and Chief Jamie Moore. indicated and communicated this on Saturday during the press conference that there were targeted evacuations in that immediate area, but the broader location received a shelter in place order from that incident command that was notified via the City of Los Angeles's Emergency Management Department using their notification system. Simultaneous to that occurring, we knew that the smoke was going to at some point move outside of the city area into the county unincorporated area because the way the wind was blowing and then potentially other jurisdictions. At that time, LA County Fire had a representative at the command post. And the Office of Emergency Management, the Sheriff's Department's Emergency Operations Bureau, and LA County Fire's agency representative at the command post were able to work with those same LA City incident commanders to determine what areas outside of LA City's jurisdiction would need to get either another shelter in place order or advisories. It was determined at the incident that the advisory was the necessary protective measure for those other locations. Office of Emergency Management coordinated. It was, again, a multi-jurisdictional and multi-discipline group that made the determination. So Incident Command said, advisories are warranted. The Sheriff's Department and the Fire Department concurred with that assessment and LA County OEM issued the wireless emergency alerts. In addition to that, we had the City of Vernon, the City of Montebello, the City of Monterey Park, and the City of Commerce that also needed to go into advisories. So we, the County Office of Emergency Management, in partnership with Sheriff and Fire, contacted all of our partners in those jurisdictions. Notified them they needed to get advisory messages. And then we they they said they concurred with us, the county sending out those messages. So subsequently, we then sent out emergency notifications to those locations.

And when did that notice go out approximately?

I can follow up with the specific time frames, but generally that was all occurring in the four in the afternoon time frame of that Wednesday.

It's already two thirty or so. So it had to be later on that evening. And one thing I want to be clear about is that oftentimes people are assuming that if it's the county of Los Angeles, it's somehow we're making this decision. on her own. Could you clarify again legally what the process is here? Why the city takes the lead role? Who is the lead agency?

So very succinctly, this was an L.A. City incident within the jurisdictional area of L.A. City, and they are the incident commanders that have the responsibility to make those protective measures.

And then you in coordination, you had we had fire there. I know we we met with folks there. So we are there in consultation. with whatever the city fire chief was laying out.

I'll have Chief O'Brien speak to what the agency representative was doing. We also had a FIFA World Cup game going on when that occurred. The county's EOC was activated to a level one activation and sheriff's department were sitting right there with us. So county fire sheriff and OEM were in the EOC. So when you asked the question about the county's concurrence to it, we were all sitting right together in addition to the county fire representative that was at the command post. And I'll let Chief O'Brien speak to the role of the agency rep.

But I'll get to you in a minute, because I want to go on and also say that, you know, with the, and thank you, Kevin, for that, with the ratification of this proclamation and the proclamation by Governor Gavin Newsom, how can we streamline disaster service workers, masks, food, water, and air purifiers, and even motel vouchers, because all of these things are being asked upon our offices right now and I believe maybe other areas even in the fourth and other outlying areas in San Gabriel Valley. So how do we proceed forward with this proclamation? What will it provide?

Great question. So it's a little bit more, it's different than when we have a natural disaster because there is a responsible party. The way the state approaches providing resources is a bit different. The process is still the same. So if entities are in need of a resource, they can submit those resource requests to LA County OEM and we will work with the state. However, the the question of eligibility of those resources comes up because there is a responsible party. So at this point in time, what we're doing is the county is focusing immediately on the impacted residential area in coordination with your team, who's been awesome supervisor in really guiding us into what areas are most impacted, where the need is the most, and then providing the resources that we have on hand. And at the same time, requesting additional resources from the state, which includes the reimbursement component to time for county services and staff. That helps with the disaster service worker program. The challenge is the state doesn't maintain, and we know this from the January fires and other disasters, the state doesn't maintain what would be called an individual assistance program, which support residents. The state's reimbursement program is to other governmental entities. RESOURCES TO SUPPORT COMMUNITY MEMBERS IS REALLY GOING TO COME FROM EITHER THE RESPONSIBLE PARTY OR THROUGH DONATIONS, AND WE'VE MOBILIZED WITH YOUR TEAM TO REALLY SURROUND OURSELVES WITH THOSE OPPORTUNITIES AND CAPABILITIES.

WHICH WE KNOW RIGHT NOW WE'RE UNDER BUDGET CONSTRAINTS AS IT IS, AND WHEN YOU SAY RESPONSIBLE PARTY, WHO IS THE RESPONSIBLE PARTY AT THIS TIME?

think that would be a county council follow up.

We'll follow up on that one. Okay, because I think some of what we're saying is there are a lot of people out in the community that don't don't know this language or understand what does that mean. When we say that, it would be the facility itself and then other entities that might make up contractual agreements with that business, right, or corporation, okay, that's all. I just wanted that to be on the record. I also wanna go on and just say that I understand that the state has provided now an additional region one fire support and have asked what other needs the county and city may have, and how are we communicating that to the state? So we had had discussions about making sure that if other cities are also in need of assistance, what is our messaging to them? So Monterey Park, Commerce, as you mentioned, so on and so on.

So we put out messages through the emergency management system that if other cities need resources and it's not a communication to other jurisdictions that we have those resources. It's more of a solicitation or an inquiry of what their need is. And then we as the county process that and send it to the state to see if the state can fulfill it. So we as the county serve as that intermediary. And so there's also distinct mutual aid coordination. which is when the fire department who's the region one mutual aid coordinator or the sheriff's department is the mutual aid coordinator for law enforcement. Those resource requests for those special specialties within the fire service or law enforcement go through that process.

And I and I get that because we're seeing other of fire departments from neighboring cities coming in today, and they have been for the last couple of days. But what happens when we get inquiries from, say, the city of Montebello that they need 500 air purifiers? What's the message to the city manager and the city council?

So first and foremost, The question that we get from the state is, has that city tried to procure those resources themselves? Are they capable of procuring those resources? And have they exhausted, this is a common term that the state provides us, have they exhausted their resources? From the county's perspective, all of our resources are being funneled into that most impacted area. It really becomes the primary responsibility of the city being able to do it. If a city can't do it, then seeing if the state can fulfill their need. Those are the kinds of questions we're relaying back to those jurisdictions as it relates to the state is, have you exhausted your means? What are the specific needs that you have? Do you have access to those needs? In one instance, we provided the state was able to provide us some vendor lists and we were able to provide the cities with the vendor list so that they could contact those vendors to procure them on their own.

So are they reimbursed for that or that's coming out of their own city budget?

That has not been determined by the state to us yet.

So we'll have to figure that out.

These are active communication. I don't want to paint a picture that the state hasn't been responsive to those communications. It's just an ongoing conversation that's going on.

Thank you. I had another question for you though. Have we heard directly from the South Coast AQMD since this started and are they there staffing and providing resources? Can you go over that? Because there's a lot of questions about that.

So South Coast AQMD in partnership with public health have been engaged since the onset and they've been at the command post regularly.

Are they in a position to come out and speak to the community? Because I know I have been asking them to come out personally, and I was told they weren't available. That was on Saturday. And yesterday we had an event, and obviously we have not seen them. So I would hope that message will get conveyed to them. They have a lot of staff. BEING A FORMER MEMBER SERVING ON THAT BODY, I WOULD THINK THAT THIS WOULD BE OF URGENCY FOR THEM TO HAVE PRESENCE IN OUR COMMUNITIES. SO IF YOU CAN JUST RELAY THAT TO THEM. AND THE OTHER THING IS RESIDENTS ARE ALSO VOICING CONCERNS ABOUT THE MATERIALS IN THE FACILITY. and how impactful that is on them. And we've heard a lot from Chief Moore and from our own fire department regarding the foam liners to protect food and byproducts. And I want to understand if Public Works is also going to be involved in helping to remove the debris once that's extracted, because that's going to be the next step. And are they involved in this effort? at this time.

So as it relates to the products inside the facility, the Public Works Department was engaged with this on Saturday when we were all meeting related to the identification of the ongoing problem that's going to occur based on the, you know, the products that have been stored in that facility. So yes, Public Works has been heavily engaged with that. In addition to that, the LA County Sanitation District, LA City Sanitation District, At the incident level, again, I want to refer back to a lot of these authorities and decisions are still residing within the incident command structure. Within the incident command structure, there is a group dedicated to determining what they are going to do with the disposal of the product. that obviously goes outside of the jurisdiction of just the LA City. So that partnership has been created and all of the appropriate teams are working on it.

I just want to caution that we've had the fire impacts and a lot of the residue of that has been spread around the county. And some of our communities, as you know, have become particularly alarmed. about being the dumping ground for hazardous or toxic material. And while we're talking about a byproduct, food, some of that may be still contaminated if there's a mixture of foam that also did not, you know, how can I say, decompose, so to speak, that can also end up in our landfills. And I just want to be clear that when we think about that planning, that we think about don't harm communities that are already faced with environmental justice issues on top of everything else. And I have to say that because Typically, that doesn't always come into play. It's about the expediency, getting things out. And I'm not pointing a finger at you by any means, Kevin, but I'm just letting our CEO and our Department of Public Works know that they need to be more mindful. We had a situation in my district at L'Oreal Park, for example. And Catherine, you and I know that was just one of many. But I would just ask us to really be diligent when we start thinking about that. And that's going to be coming up in the next few steps, I guess, as we move forward. I want to quickly turn, if I can, and ask our fire chiefs here to give us an idea of why it was so hard to put this fire out to begin with and go through the steps and what this means. Because a lot of people are assuming you just pour a lot of water on it, and it's going to go out. And why is it taking a whole week? So if you could take us through this step by step. Mr. O'Brien, yes.

Madam Chair, thank you. John O'Brien, Chief Deputy, Emergency Operations for the County of Los Angeles Fire Department. I want to start with, it's not lost on us that this is day seven of this fire impacting Boyle Heights and East LA. We know while fires may burn in jurisdictions, they don't recognize jurisdictional lines. And from the onset, our guiding North Star has been the safety and of the communities we serve. And so I just want to start with it's not lost on us that this is day seven and what these communities are going through down in that general area. I do want to start by explaining this is a very unique fire and I've heard it from multiple sources. Why do the warehouse fires in other areas go out quicker than this? We saw what happened in Ontario several months ago where that large facility burnt and it burnt in a time span of about ten hours. Just up in the community of Tracy in Northern California, they had a fire a week ago that burnt very similar and it burnt very quick. I think the unique thing about this structure is this is a cold storage warehouse designed to store food at minus 10 degrees. It spans an entire city block. It is 5,000 feet wide by 1,000 feet long. It stands six stories tall. And in that six stories, it has floor to ceiling high pile stock that is frozen at minus 10 degrees. They have specialized forklifts that are required to move that product around and specially trained individuals trained to operate those forklifts. Obviously, the construction features of that facility are much like a Yeti cooler. And for those of us who have had Yeti coolers before, you know how tough and rigid they are. But just any cooler, tough and rigid and meant to take a beating in order to provide that insulation that keeps that cool air in. Compounding the overall situation there is given the square footage, 500,000 square feet, it presented a unique opportunity. some would say, for the business owner to put a solar farm on top of the building. And so that is basically a six foot structure on top of that roof of solar panels that provides no, and I repeat, no access for firefighters to get to the top of that roof. When the fire started, it dropped from that solar panel area down into the roof structure and started burning the roof structure. Our traditional method of attacking a fire like that would be to send firefighters to the roof via aerial ladders, utilizing chainsaws, and to cut that area and prevent the fire from spreading within that area. However, the inclusion of that solar farm prohibited the LA City Fire Department from being able to do that. for two reasons. Number one, they didn't have the room to be able to go in there and access underneath the solar panels. And then number two, they have high voltage traveling in all those lines on top of that roof. And so as that fire dropped into that roof structure, it slowly started burning through there and dropping into the upper levels of that facility. As it dropped into the upper levels of that facility, as I stated, that facility was maintained at minus 10 degrees. The environment inside that area is extremely humid with frozen food. As fire burns, fire needs to dry the environment out and then burn. When it doesn't have that dry environment to burn, it does what's smoldering. And smoldering produces the tremendous amount of smoke that we've seen coming off of this facility for the last seven days. LA City got very aggressive in their tactics in what they were doing to try to control the fire. Initially on day one, what we saw were the solar panels burning off. And the fortunate piece there is as those solar panels burnt, they burnt hot. As they burn hot, it sends that plume of smoke up at about 10,000 feet in the air. And as it reaches that 10,000 foot level in the air, it disperses those pollutants throughout the environment and does not create a toxic situation for anyone because of the concentration is not there that would create that level. But as those solar panels collapsed on top of the roof and that burning continued, The next major issue that LA City Fire was dealing with and to address the piece that Kevin mentioned regarding the evacuations in the general area was the coolant utilized to cool that facility was anhydrous ammonia. And that anhydrous ammonia. Thank God that facility had a good emergency continuity of actions plan. When the fire was first noticed, employees immediately isolated that ammonia, moved it into emergency storage tanks, and there was very little ammonia released in that initial fire spread. That ammonia was evacuated from those tanks on Thursday night into Friday morning, and so that hazard was removed from that facility. The next hazardous material in there is lithium ion batteries. Those lithium ion batteries are primarily utilized to power those forklifts that are in there. The LA City Fire Department was early on able to round up all of those Forklifts move them into an area where they were able to get hose streams on them and protect them from becoming involved in the fire. So those are two immediate protective actions. And so what we've been left with since then. is the ordinary products of combustion that we'd see from a normal structure fire with the food products involved, but in a very difficult situation for firefighters to attack. As we see in many of these photos, you can see the high pile storage racks in that facility. LA City had to meticulously utilize heavy equipment to start de-layering the sides of the building. But then in addition to that, they had to call for specialized resources, resources coming from Texas high power water guns that can reach that thousand foot distance between the two sides of the structure to really gain access. What you're seeing here is out of the box thinking. Chief Moore started utilizing helicopters to drop on top of the roof on Friday. On Saturday, we noticed that we weren't getting the penetration. So the county fire department stepped up and provided our CH47 Chinook helicopters capable of dropping 3,000 gallons. And what you're seeing here is we're doing what are called salvo load drops, 3,000 gallons of water hitting that roof in a concentrated area to try to start busting through the roof. So then LA City would be able to gain a purchase point with their aerial apparatus to direct water into the burning product inside the structure. You can see a small hole was established there, but nowhere near what we thought 3,000 gallons. And again, we did this multiple times for four to six hours on Saturday, nowhere near the penetration that we were hoping to garner into that roof. Because that roof is being supported by that substructure that's designed to hold that high pile storage in the facility. From LA County fires perspective when the fire started, because this fire sits right on the county city border. It is squarely within the city, but we recognize that the immediate impact was going to be to our county communities of East LA. So we were there with our LA City partners from the get go. We deployed our health hazardous materials division as well as we had a first alarm resource assignment that first night that the fire occurred to make sure that they had the resources needed to do everything that could be done on this structure. From the onset, our Health Hazardous Materials Division has been working with our partners at the AQMD, the EPA, and Public Health in ensuring comprehensive air monitoring is in the communities surrounding the fire. Boyle Heights, East LA, as far out as Montebello. We're even going as far as flying drones with air quality monitoring units on them into the plume of smoke just so that we are getting the most accurate resources or readings. And to date, all of the readings that we've established since the fire's inception, when we were able to stand up this air monitoring, have been below the acute exposure guideline limits, which are set by the EPA for all of the chemicals that come out of smoke from structure fires.

What are those limits? I mean, just give us an example.

I have with me my chief of our Health Hazardous Materials Division who can talk about some of the products that are monitored in that air monitoring.

Good morning, Madam Chair. My name is Mario Tresier. I'm chief of the Health Hazardous Materials Division. Actually, I wanted to start off by letting you know that I actually drove by the facility this morning just to see that progress being made and hearing Chief Moore indicate that hopefully by Friday things will be contained. I also saw a couple of individuals, and with a little bit of Spanish that I speak, I saw that they were wearing N95 masks, and I asked them how that was helping out, and they were very appreciative and grateful for that. So it was nice to see that progress there. I did prepare some notes, and I wanted to let you know that HHMD Health Hazardous Materials Division has been air monitoring in the community since the incident began on Wednesday, June 17th. We were using handheld M-Power poly meters and multi-ray meters in Boyle Heights, East LA, Commerce, and Montebello. I just want to let you know that these handheld meters are in the breathing zone. So let's bear that in mind. That's in your regular breathing zone area. What they monitored for was volatile organic compounds, lower explosive limits, carbon monoxide, hydrogen sulfide. Of course, we're checking oxygen levels as well. On another unit, we're checking for ammonia. nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, hydrogen cyanide, and hydrogen fluoride. The readings have been for the most part non-detect or in the parts per billion range, well below action levels. Again, readings are dependent in the amount of the color of the smoke. So when we would see the black smoke, that's when we would get actually the lower readings. And when we had the white smoke, it was more non-detect when it was the white and gray smoke. Just to let you know, Health Hazmat has also issued notice of violation to lineage logistics, requiring them to retain certified environmental contractors. We have been supporting this event as tech ref. So LA City, LAFD is the lead, but we've been reporting to them all the readings. We are currently conducting air monitoring in the perimeter and nearest communities and reporting to the Joint Hazard Assessment Team within LA City Fire. Again, as Chief mentioned, EPA was dispatched and arrived on June 20th. They have seven air monitoring stations surrounding the facility, so seven. They're testing for particulate matter, and that's the biggest concern, 2.5 PM. PM 10 and metals. So as the question was asked, you know, some of the liberation obviously is the big concern from some of those solar panels would be heavy metals. And as the chief well stated, that burst up into the air and goes up much higher in the air. Of course, there can be downwind consequences. But of course, there's dilution of that air as well with those contaminants. The EPA has sensors that's reading for hydrogen cyanide, carbon monoxide, ammonia, chlorine, sulfur dioxide, volatile organic compounds, and lower explosive limits. Readings have been below any action levels as well. On Sunday, June 21st, US EPA contractors flew drones into the dark plume in the early morning hours looking for sulfur dioxide, hydrogen cyanide, and disoysocyanate. Low levels were observed. AQMD, we know that we actually made the referral, Health Hazmat, to the South Coast AQMD on June 17th to conduct air monitoring. They deployed inspectors with handheld meters, their mobile unit, which drove around the neighborhoods. No significant levels of air toxic metals were observed, no acute health concerns. On Friday, June 19th, AQMD installed two air monitoring stations at Eastman Elementary and Robert Stevenson Middle School to measure PM 2.5, PM 10, nitrogen dioxide and carbon monoxide. And we've got the link below. So that's basically where we assisted in coordinating the effort. And lastly, Lineage Logistics, with the support of EPA, they've agreed to hire a contractor to install six more monitoring stations. So the responsible party is cooperating to do so.

I wanted to just ask because I have been folks have been explaining to me that there may be a potential hazard with the phone. And can you explain that? What does that mean? And how does that burn? What does that mean for humans or community?

Thank you so much, supervisor.

And, you know, I really want to appreciate

Mario and his team and the excellent work they're doing. I want to also note, in terms of the air quality monitoring, because I know this is a concern not just for Boyle Heights residents, but for residents that live in many different locations who are seeing and smelling the smoke, that AQMD also has 40 stations already that they use every single day to monitor air quality. throughout the county and 10 additional sophisticated air monitoring systems that are looking for exposures to more hazardous materials, including VOCs, volatile organic chemical compounds and heavy metals. So I want to assure the public that the air quality measuring is not just happening in Boyle Heights. There's an extensive effort that is appropriate for Boyle Heights, but there is air quality monitoring that's happening all across the county that indicates similar findings. Nothing is at an actionable level. That doesn't mean that people aren't obviously feeling the experiences associated with heavy smoke or even light smoke and the irritation from fire particles. So I want to say we have no actionable levels on volatile organic compounds, on heavy metals, but the smoke is an irritant. And people are right to say this is not good for my health. Negate how people are feeling because for particularly for sensitive people this the smoke Both the heavy smoke that people are experiencing in the Boyle Heights area, but also the smoke that's dispersed is very irritating When we think about the cold storage insulation We know that it's relies on thick dense foam poly Panels and They're usually made with a compound like polyurethane so that it maintains those safe sub-zero temperatures. When that insulation does come under extreme heat of fire, it can emit volatile organic compounds, formaldehyde, carbon monoxide, hydrofluoric, and other fluoride-based vapors. But I want to note this. I want to sort of go back to what Mario was saying, which is that the plumes of smoke have gone straight up and it's dissipated. And there have therefore been no levels to date that are a cause for concern. That doesn't mean that we don't need to continue monitoring. And I think we should appreciate the effort from the EPA. and South Coast air quality for adding the extra monitors so that we can be consistent about measuring for these more toxic chemicals.

Dr. Ferrer, yesterday at the site I was at, Union Pacific, we had a mobile unit there and I spoke to one of the medical assistants there and they were sharing that there were many seniors that were experiencing breathing and heart palpitations and individuals that were not able to access their medicines because they're kind of they felt they were locked in place, so to speak. And so I think about the exposure that, say, someone in their 60s or or more, and they're pretty much locked in at their home. There's no air conditioning. They're told not to use it because it'll bring in the bad air. They may have a small unit and it's extremely hot. And all these conditions then you know, bubble up and I'm and I'm frightful to think that what happens if we get if we are not doing checks, visiting them, or doing those kinds of outreach to do that health check? And what can your office do to help us with that? Or do you have a plan? And, and how do we make sure that you are made whole through our, you know, proclamation?

Yeah, thank you. Thank you so much, Supervisor. And you're absolutely right that there are vulnerable populations, including elderly people, people with underlying chronic health conditions, particularly heart or lung conditions, for whom this can be very dangerous. and for whom we need to make sure that they understand when it is important for them to contact their medical providers, even if they're home, and when it is important for them to call 911 to get emergency care. People who are suffering, like you noted, severe heart palpitations, respiratory distress that that's a let's not wait that's a call 911 and let's get help to those people immediately i want to also thank the department health services because i know they are sending out mobile health clinics there's one to the shelters um so that people can in fact get some access to medical care if they're feeling that they've been isolated or they're feeling that they're out of their homes and those mobile clinics can help people get their prescriptions refilled, similar to what was done when we had the enormous fires in the Palisade community and in Altadena. Our team is here. We have a phone number that people can call. It's seven days a week. People can call us, and we will connect people to the services that they need.

Do you have boots on the ground, prometoras, health navigators that can be utilized?

We we've had some of our promoters go out, obviously, and I want to thank your team supervisor Solis, who has been in the field and have been asked to deploy our staff to the shelters. And I think now if we're if we're opening up any centers where people can get assistance, our staff will be there as well.

Okay, and I and I hope that if there is I know we had a discussion around the time that this started and your concern was it you had limited financial ability to pay for staff. So I'm hoping that we can take care of that. Kevin, I

Related to the reimbursement component, we're following the process we normally do. We've issued cost codes for the county to track what expenditures are going to be attributed to this emergency. I do want to note that generally like the reimbursement threshold for the county, which is off of a per capita indicator, For the county of LA is over 46 million dollars meaning that generally the state and the federal government Don't initiate a reimbursement process until we exceed that per capita. So it's a very high bar for us So I want to manage expectations on what our reimbursement picture looks like at this point. I

Yeah, it's tough. OK, let me move on. I did want to ask about, actually, OIA, if I can. How can we ensure that our departments are responsive to this community because of language barriers, cultural issues, and things of that nature, and also reaching out to people who may be in mixed status and folks that may be reluctant to even ask for help because of that. Can you talk about what you can do and how we can help our community and what works?

Thank you, Supervisor Daniel Sharp, Chief of the Office of Immigrant Affairs in the Department of Consumer and Business Affairs. So we can't cobble together a linguistically accessible response on a moment's notice. So we've been working on implementation of the countywide language access policy for over two years to make sure that departments understand both your board's commitment to and their responsibilities to provide linguistically accessible culturally competent services so our team was also on the ground yesterday assisting residents directly and then inventorying department resources and making sure that they were in fact in language and accessible primarily they found that they were in the few instances where they they determined that materials may have been in english only they've been following up with the respective departments to address that

I would hope that whatever messaging you're working with the PIO, our county PIO, to make sure that we're getting the right information out to people in their hands because, I mean, if you're watching any of the news media, particularly Spanish language, they're actually interviewing people who are saying, nobody's talked to me. No one's told me anything. No one told me that I need to wear a mask or what I need to do to protect myself. Or on the other hand, my business is defunct now because there's nobody here to help me. And they live right across the street, which is unincorporated area. So I am very, very concerned about how we move forward, not just messaging, but having folks when we can, and that maybe is the disaster workers and others that can help us, and I know, CEO, you've been helping us with that, but now is the time to get to these people more readily, right now, before we see more disruptions in their lives that's gonna come back, and I think really impact the county even more. So prevention, I'm just throwing that out.

yeah absolutely I think that there's a role for on the ground you know for boots on the ground we're also working with our CBO partner network to make sure that they're pushing out information about availability of events and then the other piece that we're concerned about is when it comes time for residents to potentially file claims if they've been impacted or if they're workers who are Yes, no longer able to work because they were at the business and they're concerned about accessing those resources because of their they're in mixed status households or their own immigration status that they have immediate access to legal advice about that. So we've already alerted our legal service provider network through our two county funded programs so that they're able to provide that info in real time and then working with departments to make sure that frontline staff have access to be able to refer impacted people immediately so that they're not deterred from accessing resources that they need.

So as a result, I know we had a resource kind of fair yesterday, but I would like to see that replicated in City Terrace and anywhere else as we move forward. And it isn't just OIA, but it's all of you or those that are necessary to have presence there because we have a lot of questions from business owners too that are saying, well, what can I apply for? And you and I know that in some cases the federal government is not going to provide assistance to certain business owners. And we've gotten around working with that issue, but that's going to be very, very high on the minds of this community. And having the right staff to be able to talk to them so they're not intimidated or feeling as though this isn't something that they can actually access, are gonna be very critical. And I know Rafael and D.O. Kelly, you're here. You know what I'm talking about. You've been engaged in many of these issues. But as I see this moving forward, I wanna see the collaboration with all three of you. I know you've done it in the past, but that's of great concern to me, making sure that we have the right people on the ground. And also the gouging. I'm already hearing that people are selling purifiers in our community and three times more the price. So it's already happening. And what messaging are we going to be prepared to put out? So there's a hotline or there's something there, because it is happening. And it's probably going to go beyond just purifiers. It's anything else, masks and whatever else. And even people, lawyers and scrupulous lawyers that are going around saying, here, I can help you sign this paper and we'll guarantee that you could make money off of this in some way. So, Rafael, can you talk about that?

Yeah, thank you, super, I appreciate, Rafael Carvalho, Director, Department of Consumer Business Affairs. Since the declaration of the emergency, both by the state and local emergency, we've activated our price gouging protocols and we've been gathering data on prices for all goods and services that might be impacted by this. you have we have so we're starting to develop our database to make sure that we're monitoring that we have our teams preparing to go out and monitor prices as well the dcba team that included oia and our consumer protection team were there yesterday talking to folks we have received calls and information from folks that are getting solicitations solicitors going to their home not only offering them mask and other equipment, but also remediation services and other things, installations of air conditioning and different units within their household. And unfortunately during emergencies is where vulnerable communities are taken advantage of. So we started putting out messaging starting yesterday, making sure that folks have awareness around scams and how to protect themselves around any of these issues. In particular for our immigrant communities, we want them to stay vigilant and understand that they're under a lot of pressure and they will receive a lot of solicitation, but that they have the right to investigate what's being offered to them. We recommend that they receive the information if they choose to receive it, but pause, investigate whether it's legitimate or not before signing anything. And also want to remind them that in the state of California, They're entitled to receive contracts and agreements in the language of their preference, including Spanish. So that's all the messaging that we're putting out. And we continue to work with OIA and also our Office of Labor Equity to make sure that we get the information out to the most vulnerable and make sure that they have the ability to connect with us. And to the general public, I want to share that any questions around any of this, they can reach out to us at 800-593-8222 with any questions or come see us at any of our locations.

I would recommend as we move forward, you've done this in the past where you've had, I want to say like a telethon with media and first of all, educate the media, but then actually purview and give information directly so people can call in hotlines right there and have people, your attorneys or staff talking to them, answering their questions right away. I think our community deserves that and they need it right away. And Kelly, I know you're in charge, Kelly LoBianco, Department of Economic Opportunity, but we have a lot of businesses that are heavily impacted right now. You have several programs, grant programs available. What do you envision moving forward to get to some of these mom and pops that are really struggling now?

Yes, thank you, Supervisor. Thank you, Board. Kelly Lobianco, Director of the LA County Department of Economic Opportunity. We're certainly concerned about our small business community right now and the compounding impacts, as you've described, of the immigration raids, the oil spill that we're managing right now, as well as the fires over the last week. as well as the workers in the area and the workers of lineage as well. We are working right now with your team as well as many of the departments here to make sure that we're understanding the perimeter of the businesses that are impacted, canvassing in the community, and also making sure that there's a direct through line to our East LA Entrepreneur Center. We have our Office of Small Business and DEO team there that's ready to assist small businesses as well as coordinating with the Parks Department to be at City Terrace as well for small businesses who are impacted. Right now we're coordinating with County Council and the City to map out what a claims process might look like. What we've done at the Office of Small Business in the East LA Entrepreneur Center is map for the oil spill and we'll set up an equivalent hotline and process is work with planes, understand what the claims process is, make sure we're offering technical assistance in language and support so folks know how to submit, can ask questions, and get connected to the right folks, as well as connect to legal and other capital resources that are available. It's important to note for our small businesses, we're also working on SBA declaration, making sure that we can understand what low interest loans that we can unlock, as well as working with many of the other organizations in the area, CCF, Inclusive Action, who are on the ground. I will just mention on the workforce side too, we're also, I know my team's actually on the call with the city right now as we speak, plotting out rapid response for impacted workers at the plant and facility itself. And we're coordinating with EDD too. So as we need, we can stand up unemployment insurance covered California and pathway to other jobs as needed. So we're here to support. We're definitely gonna work with DCBA and OIA in language and support. Thank you.

I just have two more questions. I know I'm taking up a lot of time, but I think you all are giving us some really good information here that the public has been asking. for, and Emilio, I brought you here because obviously you oversee our public housing facility and other stock of housing that we also are overseers for. What can you see happening that we need to provide for those people that live in those facilities, especially the senior population? And keep in mind, many of them are directly impacted by the fires.

Thank you, Supervisor Emilia Salas, director of the Los Angeles County Development Authority. Yes, we do have over 600 households that are impacted in the East Los Angeles area. And additionally, over a thousand households that participate in the Housing Choice Voucher Program, many of whom are seniors as well. So we have been reaching out specifically to our senior community who we have seen have been adversely impacted, knocking on their doors, trying to connect them to the right resources. in some instances even procuring and obtaining air purifiers for their units as well. So we're checking in on them. We are their de facto family, especially our seniors that understand our responsibility. And we will be continuously knocking on their door to make sure that they're connected to those right resources.

Okay, great. And then my last question is for our county council. Andrea or Candace, I wanted to ask you what what can we do working with the city to identify all responsible parties and are working with our state and federal partners on these investigations that need to take place?

Good morning, Supervisor. We have already reached out to the city attorney's environmental team. We are in contact with them. We've worked with them successfully in the past. We are both in the gathering of information phase. We don't have a lot of information as to cause at this point. Obviously, the fire needs to be put out before that can be determined. However, we are looking into options of actions that can be taken if Parties are found to be at fault for the cause. We could bring actions on behalf of the county of Los Angeles for county damages. However, if we bring a people of the state of California case, it'd be a more robust response where we could cover the city of LA, the county, and other cities that are impacted.

I wanted to know also because lineage logistics is so large and they had several subcontractors and subsidiaries like CBRE, Pierce, Altus Power, and others. How can we get this appropriate information, the financial information, environmental information impacts that these entities have had in their work at this plant and how we move forward investigating liabilities.

Once we start a formal investigation, we can serve interrogatories on these entities and gather information as to the financial structure.

I know that Lineage Logistics has been forthcoming and wanting to help. I realize that. They've also provided purifiers, I understand, to the city and made some smaller donations to the county. But I know that this is of mind for many of us right now, including I know the city councilwoman, Isabel Jurado, who also is very deeply concerned about making sure that our community is made whole and that I hopefully don't foresee that this entity goes bankrupt because they're pretty large. However, we've had experiences in the past where they'll leave us holding the bill and that's happened with Exide bankruptcy so I just want to put that out there because I think we should we've learned from some of that and you have some really great lawyers on hand and we have a whole new unit right county council Don that was created a couple of years ago with Scott Kuhn and others to go after and maybe you can describe that for us for the community because people are not fully aware of that.

Yes, supervisor. I have two units actually that are working closely with the panelists that you see here. So I have my Affirmative Litigation and Consumer Protection Division is the division you're referring to. Scott Kuhn is the division chief. Andrea Roth is actually acting division chief in his absence this week. She's a part of that unit. And also my Public Works Division works closely with OEM and Public Works. And so I believe Andrea can describe the work that the unit does in that regard. But they are going to be working closely, as noted by Director LoBianco, with DEO and DCBA on these issues.

Very good. Do you want to add anything?

Yes, our division does a wide range of consumer protection actions. Specifically, since it was raised, we have a price gouging team. We also have wage enforcement team. We bring public nuisance cases and unfair business practice cases against bad actors. We have also code enforcement actions. So we are trying our best to make all bad actors accountable.

It's going to be a large undertaking, no doubt. I will end my questioning there, and I want to thank all of you for being here. I had to ask these questions because my communities are asking me these questions. So thank you, and those of you that have been out boots on the ground and helping our community. So with that, I'm honored to have Supervisor Hahn, join me as co-author. And thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. And yeah, this was a very enlightening session so far. Thank you for your leadership, for showing up for your community. for being so deeply distressed. I mean, a couple of times I've seen you and you're seriously depressed and distressed because of your community who suffers probably more than any other community in LA County. And once again, for Boyle Heights and East LA and many other communities, this was a disaster, not of their own making, and yet they're bearing the incredible impacts. of a community that, you know, historically has faced so much environmental injustice. And yet here again, another disaster thrust upon them when they can least afford it both financially and health-wise, so really appreciate your leadership and listening to all the answers to your very deep probing questions. I think it has been enlightening for me and I hope all of our residents will feel the same way. I'm glad we have this opportunity today as a board to ratify what you declared Um, in a in a joint press conference with with the city that this indeed rose to the occasion of a disaster that we needed to declare a local emergency for and hopefully. Um, what we get from doing this will certainly. Be beneficial. I can't believe we're on day seven of this lineage fire. It's been unique. It's been challenging, both because, as John O'Brien talked about, about the size of this warehouse and the hazardous materials used for cold and also that design of their solar panels on their roof, which I really hadn't heard anybody describe the way you did and the difficulty that meant in that space. uh that made it very difficult for the the initial la city firefighters to to even tackle it and i'm i don't um know enough about any more about this building i didn't know if they were equipped with their own fire mitigation i don't know if they had sprinklers i i don't know what what this company put in place for any kind of risk management or in the event of something like this. And it'll be interesting to hear that as we go forward in that. And again, your residents, especially in Boyle Heights, particularly right there are the ones that have been most impacted. But as we've seen, many people in the surrounding Cities, um, in in neighboring neighborhoods. Many of my district southeast L. A have also been feeling the impact have been calling the office. I know our state Senator Lena Gonzales has had calls coming into her office as well as assembly member Mark Gonzales. So I've been in communication with both of them. And it's good, again, to keep our state partners in the loop as we eventually, of course, will need their help going forward with resources. The smoke was just horrifying to watch the initial hours and days of how the smoke was coming out. And, you know, smoke certainly, as you guys know, doesn't respect boundaries. and uh it's been interesting to watch and aqmd their their website has tried to monitor the different shifting of the wind because when the wind blows a certain way then that that smoke begins to impact some communities that maybe initially weren't impacted but i think you know People know, as you said, Dr. Farrar, we're not going to underestimate. We may not have the exact particulates or the levels being monitored. People know when they're inhaling something that their body wants to reject. And people were feeling nauseous. People were feeling headaches. And anxiety, the heart palpitations, right? People are, again, in this community particularly, just feel assaulted and oppressed by environmental challenges, again, not of their own making. So hopefully this emergency declaration will help us in LA County to continue to work on managing the fire and exploring ways that we can help our impacted residents and businesses get the necessary resources both during this fire and once it's put out. Hopefully, our residents will be encouraged by what John and our fire department has been saying, particularly about the hazardous material threat seems to have been managed. Those thousands of gallons of ammonia and lithium ion batteries were removed from the site or from danger, and there's no risk of those toxic materials getting out. Again, I hope that's of some comfort. I know our public health department is still urging people in the areas that are listed as having the unhealthy air quality by AQMD to limit their exposure. by staying indoors or by wearing an N95 mask while outside. I do think, and I'm grateful for our city partners, county, all of you, it does make us feel very proud to know that when there is an emergency, you all show up and all your respective departments and the full weight and authority of LA County shows up in these disasters and that is comforting. But I do think communication, which is what we always learn from a disaster. It's always never as good as we want it to be, and there always does seem to be a gap between what we think we're communicating and what actually is being received on the ground. And yesterday, I organized a call with all my Southeast LA cities, with all the elected mayors and the city managers, and we had Chief Chapman was on and as well as Dr. Quick from our Department of Public Health on the line, and they gave great updates to my city mayors and my city managers, which they really appreciated, but there was even from them a little bit of, know wish we could do a better job you know disseminating information to you know the influencers you know and i'm talking about the old school influencers like the elected officials um and you know they they were hoping for more maybe of a template that they could have communicated to their residents and maybe we can all look at working on that And they're concerned about spending their own city resources to respond for air quality issues, whether it's purifiers or masks. And just listening to you, Kevin, I mean, the process, I know we've heard that a million times, whether it's a landslide, a fire, an earthquake, exhaust yourselves first and then come to us for help. And that's exhausting itself to our cities and our elected officials who You know, feel a little, again, unfairly burdened by something not of their own making. But I know that's our process. Wondering as I sit here and listen, I'm always wondering whether it's a flood, a fire, an earthquake, a land movement. What's the next disaster around the corner? What is our capability in L.A. County to have this stockpile? of these kinds of resources sort of once and for all in our own giant warehouse where we could be prepared for the next disaster so that we could at least begin to front load people's needs in the event of a disaster. I know I've heard us talk about that a lot. I know every time Measure B comes up, our emergency fund, I know the city of Long Beach has a hazardous material warehouse that they always want to see equipped just in case. What's our thinking about having our own giant stockpile?

At the bottom line, it's a policy and a budgetary commitment the board needs to push forward in partnership with not just CEO, but OEM and then all of our partners that have some sort of expertise in what that resource is going to be. Is it going to be food? Is it going to be water? And the policy component of it is, do we want to expand beyond the unincorporated area to cities, right? Generally, the direction we as a county have gone through is when there's capabilities in which the cities can reach, that they are the first line to reach to that. So whether it's the city of Los Angeles or a city in any one of the board areas, where does their commitment begin and end and where does the county's? And once we get to a place where we want to change the direction we're at right now and then commit those funds, we can move forward to.

I mean, I don't know about my colleagues, but I've really thought a lot about that county like L. A county. And again, it's only a matter of. weeks, months, a year, where the next big disaster comes. And this process, while it's a process we have, it just always seems lacking in terms of the immediate emergency to put the burden on cities To exhaust you know all their resources first, and I'm wondering if even after we declare once we're in this Declared emergency state. You know, it's my understanding that we can Procure things faster, better, more economical, would this be an opportunity to explore the idea of having our own stockpile of, yeah, you're right. Is it food? But I mean, I'm thinking air purifiers, masks. I mean, I feel like the next emergency is going to be, it's going to be masks. It's here. i would like i know it's a budgetary you're absolutely right but i'm wondering if we could explore this and i don't know if this feels like a a report back or um that if we want to start taking this commitment so that we have more control in the initial hours and days of the next emergency um we are we are better prepared so supervisor i can

answer that a little bit. I do want to thank everyone on the dais here and very thankful to Supervisor Solis, your team. I did go out to the site yesterday, the distribution site. It's bad. It's really bad out there. And if you haven't gone and breathed it, it's hard to understand how bad it is. And I understand the need for preparedness. I think So a couple of considerations when we think about a stockpile, we can definitely report back. Excuse me.

I know. I mean, we got expiration dates and, you know, a lot of that and potential theft. And I'm sure there are. But I don't feel like we have seriously explored it as a county on what that would look like. And I would like to see us look at that.

We can explore it, Supervisor. One thing I would say is every city, every single city needs to be prepared for a disaster. It's not a burden that falls just to the county because we oversee the region.

I hear you, I hear you.

Many disasters are city specific fires. I hear you. For example, this one happened in the city of LA.

I hear you.

And so I think one of the questions we would need to confront in our report back is what is the county's core responsibility to respond to emergencies? And when do we use our money versus cities using their money? That's a very important question.

I hear you. I hear you. I just would like the idea of exploring. I yield my time to the gentle lady from the second district.

I just as I as I listen to you. Thank you, Supervisor Hahn. I wonder if there's an if there's a regional strategy When I think about at the state level, back when we had fire season, you know, which is now every day, and they would station the state firefighters, you know, choppers and move them around. If there's a regional where there's perhaps multiple counties where we've got a stockpile, to use your term, so it has a regional reach as opposed to just L.A. County, but that

I kind of feel like we are the region. Well, maybe.

But, you know, I feel like there's a greater shared financial opportunity, I would say. Yeah.

I just would like us to be, you know, show some leadership on this aspect. Yes.

Reclaiming my time.

Kevin. Oh, thank you. The general lady from the 5th District.

Supervisor Barger. I think Supervisor Barger wanted to ask me something.

Yeah, go ahead.

No, I wanted you to answer, because you do coordinate, don't you, with Ventura and all?

There's varying capabilities amongst the region. We could add this into the report back about which counties do what and then what those capabilities are in real time. We do coordinate as Supervisor Burger was asking me to answer that. We do coordinate and do the mutual aid construct. I think there's an element of the just in time component.

I think that's it too. It just seems like we always are a little bit behind the eight ball in getting resources to the people that need them the most, mainly because of the procurement, the process, the reimbursement, and they're hesitant. Some of our cities are hesitant to procure because they're not sure whether or not they'll ever get reimbursed. Barbara.

No, I just wanted to make sure, especially for the general public, that there's an understanding that for public health, we do have stockpiles. We have medical countermeasures. We've had federal funding in the past. Because I don't want, I mean, there are some things that a system has already been set up at a national level and a state level for public health for some measures, particularly like medical countermeasures. We're set up to actually be able to serve the entire county.

With things like masks and air purifiers?

Right. Not with air purifiers, but with masks and with medicine. So if there was, you know, if we needed to get antibiotics out to everybody, we have a system in place and we have stockpiles. How about water? We don't have water. It's very public health oriented, but I did want to make sure that people know that that system was set up. I think it's similar to what you're asking, is that you really need the system in place before the emergency so that you're very clear about how you're going to do the distribution. You can have medical countermeasures, but if you don't have a system in place for getting all that medicine out to 10 million people, then your countermeasures are going to fall flat. So I love the idea and I think it is a good idea that we figure out exactly what we should be doing for the county because the planning that goes into then the distribution is huge. But it is, as Kevin mentioned, it is a resource and a policy decision.

Yeah, well, thank you for that. I would like to explore that going forward and see what it would look like. OK, thank you, Madam Chair, and all the rest of you that got into my time.

Thank you. And Chair Solis, I just want to thank you for your leadership. I mean, when you talk about resources, you got them out there quickly. I have a staff member who lives five blocks from there, and they came offering air purifiers, and that was day after. So thank you for the work that you've done in leadership you've shown, but I have I just want to ask one quick question I think it may have been you John that said it about the solar panels Prevention I mean, when I saw that, it took me back in terms of how much was up there and then the fact they couldn't get through. Are we going to revisit our codes and look at other areas that may have similar panels on their roof that may prevent firefighters from fighting, God forbid, another one?

Certainly that'll be something explored. I mean, I believe the installation of those solar type facilities is in alignment with the state's energy policies. and what they need. And then there's very specific language with respect to access requirements for fire departments. But I think an event like this will certainly trigger a look for us at what the access requirements need to look like with respect to those solar panels and how they're installed on facilities like that.

So when you say access, so was this in compliance or out of compliance?

Supervisor, I can't speak to that. I mean, I can speak to the fact that you look at the geometric layout on top of the structure of the unburnt and there are channels, walkways that allow folks to go. So it would have to be my assumption that it was within L.A. City's building code that allowed them to do that.

I think we should revisit that issue as a whole because there's no question of mining. Solar seems to be the panels up on roofs. especially in an area like that, I'm sure it was done to, uh, for cost, um, in order to prevent such a high electric bill. But, um, I just think it's something that we need to look at. And then I'll say, I was telling, uh, chair police this morning coming in, there was a woman in the garage who is suffering an asthma, uh, asthma attack as a result of this. And yeah. And, um, and so I talked to her, she got her inhaler, but you know, I think we should probably look at handing out gear here as well, because when you drive into LA, Pasadena, I could feel it. I think you also could. I mean, it is everywhere.

Yeah, Supervisor, it's been a challenge because as I talked a little bit about before, the smoke coming off the fire right now due to the incomplete combustion is a cold smoke. And that cold smoke lingers towards the ground. It's actually better when you have a high intensity fire burning that sends that column of heat and smoke up 10 to 12,000 feet in the air because then it's more equally dispersed. and does not become as much of a irritant and problem however with this being a cold storage facility the amount of humidity in there that smoke is staying very cool and not rising as much and so when we see our diurnal wind shifts throughout the day that smoke is thrown everywhere throughout the county you know mostly as we move into the afternoon it's blowing to the east But when the marine layer rolls in at night, it blankets the smoke, holds it down low to the ground, and pushes it throughout. On Saturday morning when I was driving down to meet Supervisor Solis, the entirety of downtown LA, you could not see the skyline.

Yeah, so again, Chair Solis, thank you for what you've done. I know these are challenging times. But you have stepped up to the plate and provided both information and thank you to the team for being available and making a difference in the community. Thank you.

Thank you so much. Supervisor Mitchell.

Thank you very much, Madam chair. Thank you again for creating this opportunity for us to have the conversation. Just a suggestion that great county channel video you showed if they would put a phone number at the end as you've talked about so many people don't know who to call what to do, because that's a good. tool that we could all then push out, but there's a phone number at the end of it. So people, once they see it, they know what to do. And hopefully some of our local news stations would pick it up as well and have the number. You know, as I just listened to the last question from Supervisor Barger, and we think about the number of warehouses and the size that are springing up all over our communities and in unincorporated, we've just had the long conversation about data centers and all the equipment that they contain, the pallet fires that we've experienced that then require the use of foam and all these unique, frankly, chemical responses to putting out the fire. This is kind of a new day and age in terms of both the fire season and the kind of fires you all are having to fight. And then the uniqueness of the experience of residents who live in close proximity. I was reminded in going through this process about our own experience in the fall of 2021, and it's still not over, with the Dominguez Channel smell incident that was a result of a fire the chemical used to extinguish the fire that then entered the channel and created a bio situation that caused the smell. As we talked about how do we centralize our emergency response, it's clear that you all have it down in terms of who's on first, what's on second, in terms of the immediate response addressing the issue. It's the aftermath. and how residents are impacted and businesses are impacted. And what complicates it, as I learned in the Carson incident, is the multi jurisdictional responsibility. The channel runs through Carson. Department of Public Works has responsibility. The federal government had responsibility. So we worked with the city, but Public Works was the county entity that we could then go to directly who provided the air purifiers, even though finding enough of them was an issue. So it's like, if the county is involved, who is the entity? What county department is on first? and i think that's different based on where we are geography so it's it's complicated beyond measure um you know that was fall of 2021 we the county and the city of carson are still filing suit against the property owner of the building where the fire was for the re full reimbursement And so this is not immediate. That puts county and municipalities kind of at risk for front loading funding in terms of how long the reimbursement is going to take. We certainly know that even with our federal government in terms of how long it has taken us to get reimbursed from COVID. So it really puts local government in a vicarious position as we are trying to bring resources to the table to support our constituents immediately. given the high threshold that's required, and I wonder, I've raised this before, if at some point we need to figure out if that threshold can be tweaked, given the now frequency and intensity of these kind of disasters, if the federal and state government are open to looking at that threshold. I appreciate that at a point in time when we were looking at seasonal fires and fires and disasters that were different and not as frequent as we're experiencing them, that threshold may have been reasonable. But has there been any conversation about reducing that threshold so local governments have a higher level of confidence about a reimbursement at all and the timeliness of it?

Thank you, Supervisor Mitchell. The so the federal government through Congress is who initiates the threshold assessment. They do it on a reoccurring basis. The unfortunate news is the most recent conversation was actually moving towards increasing the threshold. So when the current administration initiated the review for FEMA. Part of that review also included an analysis on the threshold process and an increasing dollar figure associated with it. So now the state piggybacks off of the congressional Determination and analysis on setting that threshold. So the state mirrors the federal threshold.

So is the threshold based the same for what they would consider a Natural disaster, you know hurricane flood mass. Is it a different threshold for

It is one set threshold.

Yeah, that's a problem.

And it's called the per capita indicator. And it's a per capita dollar figure for each census population in that particular jurisdiction. So for the county of LA, they go off the most recent census. they associate that dollar figure to that per capita, and then that's how they come up with it.

So you're saying the census, so 10 million residents of L.A. County.

That's why we are 46 point X number millions of dollars.

So that's the denominator they use as opposed to a fire like this that is in a community. we shouldn't use the countywide 10 million resident denominator to come up with that threshold. So I see there's a problem with their math and the process. I get that for a national natural disaster where a hurricane comes and sweeps out, but for these kinds of pockets, that math ain't mathing for me. All right, thank you.

Can I just add one thing? We do submit comment every time the per capita indicator is addressed. We submit to, we advocate to lower the threshold.

or to even separate the process.

We can do an analysis on that.

That just seems what would make sense to me. I appreciate that. Very timely for our budget conversation yesterday where we were able to fund the business interruption fund because it has become clearer and clearer that that needs to be an ongoing fund that we shouldn't try to stand it up with each event. But to have a fund that is funded So it can just the trigger can be the switch can be activated to make sure that our small businesses are supported. want to express my appreciation, as my colleagues have, for those of you who have responded immediately. And I, too, am intrigued, Supervisor Hahn, with the idea about kind of stockpiling. I understand that public health has done that. When I was at the state during a tough budget season, we ended the state's kind of emergency hospital entity. a number of years ago and then COVID hit, right? And so the argument then was all of that equipment has a shelf life. And so you invest millions of dollars. But when you think about the role air purifiers are playing in our lives now from COVID, from Dominguez Channel to fires, when you consider that we are currently in severe noncompliance in the eyes of the EPA. You know, most people who are vulnerable to asthmatics in my household run air purifiers on a good day. And so maybe even just given the need of air purifiers, so we're not in a position where people are going to take advantage of vulnerable folks by increasing the fees. I am interested in that, and if it can be regional, so they're stockpiled, and if there is an emergency or a fire in Ventura or someplace else, other people have access, I'd be interested in how we can pull that together as well. Thank you very much, Madam Chair, and thank you all of you.

Thank you so much. Supervisor Horvath.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I really want to thank you for your leadership and the role that you have played in helping to convene not only this conversation today, but the whole region. I did hear from Councilmember Jurado. We spoke over the weekend as well, and she spoke very highly of your partnership and, you know, the county coming together with the city and providing her the support and the voice at the state level and so many other things. And I think that's that you've really modeled that well. So I just really want to commend you and your team for the work that you have done. I know each of our districts gets impacted in different ways when emergencies like this happen, even when it's just within a specific district. And so I just want to offer you our support from the third and And to know that the whole county family is coming together it's sort of flashbacks to so much of what you know our district experience last year, and I know that each of our districts, unfortunately, will continue to experience very difficult times, and I think. um this is why emergency preparedness trainings are important often people think it's just you know a stop drop and roll conversation around fires and in the 21st century in this moment especially as climate change impacts our communities and all kinds of issues have come up we we need to make sure that each of our communities knows exactly where those resources exist so it doesn't feel like you know, our region is caught flat footed when an emergency happens, because I, you know, from my perspective, I think the county does anticipate a lot and we plan for a lot, but we don't always know what the next disaster will be. We take, we do after actions to ensure that whatever the lessons learned are from the past, you know, past emergency experience are implemented and brought into that work. And I think from the fires of last year to what we're experiencing now. I think that's why I was particularly interested in strengthening the role of the Office of Emergency Management. I think we've seen, we also took the opportunity to go to New York and see how they've built out their department. And it's sort of a legacy of the tragedy that happened on 9-11. And now they have as a region from a city perspective, but the city covers what in Los Angeles is the entire county region. through that office, they have prepared for all kinds of disasters. And I think some of the stockpiling that we're talking about, some of the emergency communications, all kinds of things, they've really developed a sophisticated system. And I think as we're looking at our budget and how we are prioritizing our work with your department, Kevin, I think that's incredibly important for a region of our size. to make sure that you have the support that you need and that we're able to deliver the support that our residents deserve. So I'm glad we're having this thorough conversation to help people understand in this moment what is happening and how we're supporting them and that we're also taking a moment to Think about how we want to be prepared for whatever comes next and learn from this experience, because unfortunately I don't think it will be the last. And, and I do know you know, obviously this particular incident, a lot has to do with local land use and permitting at a city level, which is. You know, not the county's responsibility and yet no Community Member wants to hear from any of their civil servants elected or otherwise you know that's not what we do. So I really appreciate the showing up in force and the demonstration of, you know, we're all in no matter what role we play, we have an opportunity to show up for our communities and let them know that we care. So I think this conversation really demonstrated that. And I thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, I wanna thank again our panel, I wanna thank CEO and our County Council and all the staff and folks that couldn't make it today, ISD as well, and our community-based organizations who are actually out in the field with us going door to door and are right now at this moment distributing again I think another close to 1,000 purifiers that we had to kind of find. So the point is that we do have to have stock available. And just lastly, for the record, I just got a report from Public Works that the firefighting runoff has entered the LA River. A strong fire-related odor has been detected near the water surface along the river downstream at Willow Street. Dead fish have been reported in the river south of Willow Street. Dead fish also reported in the Dominguez Gap wetlands, likely resulting from previous diverted river water. So now that diverted water has stopped after they identified that they observed dead fish. So these are things that happen, and there are consequences, and I know this is probably gonna be on our bucket list to get reimbursed for, and I'm certainly gonna be anxious to see all these other offsets that are coming about that are gonna have an impact in our community down down the river and everywhere else. So thank you again, and I apologize for taking so much time with everyone, but I think it was well worth it for our community to hear and for the board to weigh in. So thank you, and we'll now go to public comment. Executive.

Will the following individual please come forward and staff will assist you. Rogelio Martinez, caller with phone number 626-481. Your line is open, please state your name and begin.

Hello, my name is Sergio Lopez. I am with Alma Family Services. I'm a senior United Mental Health promoter. I just want to thank Hildo Solis, Supervisor Solis, and Supervisor Hahn for this motion and responding to the Los Boyos, Boyle Heights, East LA fire. I do want to be very adamant about the ratification of the local emergency. I think it's very important for our community, especially for someone that does live in the community of East LA. I was impacted personally and my family was as well. And I have been canvassing with inside the community probably for the past two days and just seeing the need inside of the community personally, very important to see like how much Air purifiers are needed and other resources, even food boxes.

Thank you. Caller with phone number 626485, your line is open. Please state your name and begin. Caller, your line is open. Please begin.

Hello.

Next caller. Caller with phone number 323831, your line is open. Please state your name and begin. Caller, your line is open.

Probably want to go to the next line then.

Caller with phone number 626-481, your line is open. Please state your name and begin.

Good morning, supervisors. My name is Carolina. I'm a supervisor with Alma Family Services. I just wanted to thank Supervisor Solis for the swift response that they've had. I've had the privilege of coordinating Alma's volunteer team on the ground and have seen the most inspiring aspects of the experience with everybody coming together, the accounting departments, community organizations, the elective offices. I just also wanted to say that community was moved and grateful for the resources provided by Supervisor Solis, like the air purifiers that were given and the protective equipment This motion helps ensure that communities continue to receive the coordinated support, resources, and protections needed as recovery continues. I respectfully urge the board to support the motion. Thank you.

Thank you. Caller with phone number 323818, your line is open. Please state your name and begin. Caller, your line is open. Caller with phone number 213-784, your line is open. Please state your name and begin. Caller with phone number 424-433, your line is open. Please begin.

Yes, I want to thank all the Board of Supervisors. My name is Irina Martin. I'm praying for all those that are affected, but there's also people, as well as myself, that are being affected that are less than or within a mile of that. I'm having headaches, I'm having nausea feeling, and also I want to wipe the floor. It's full of soot, even with the windows closed.

Thank you. Roy Humphreys, your line is open. Please begin.

Thank you. Supervisor Hahn, assaulted and oppressed pleas. Did the fire department permit the solar panel disaster? As to the stockpile of warehouse for disaster, Republican Governor Schwarzenegger did that after Katrina, only to be shut down by the Democrats as being too expensive. Supervisor Mitchell, great comments. Dynamic failure of leadership from top to bottom, and until the board starts running the county like a world-class business sans superfluous, you're gonna get what you got. Thank you.

Thank you. Caller with phone number 213-784, your line is open. Please begin. Caller, your line is open.

Good afternoon, supported supervisors. My name is Rosa Soto, and I'm Executive Director of LA General Medical Center Foundation and the Wellness Center. Thank you, Madam Chair Solis and Supervisor Hahn for your motion in response to the Los Padres incident and ratifying the local emergency. The motion continues to press the emergent needs of the communities most impacted by this fire. We are thankful to Supervisor Solis and the county departments for the distribution of air purifiers and other resources and the establishment of the shelter at City Terrace Park. Yesterday I was out with my team supporting supervisor and her team going door to door, supporting with distribution of air purifiers and the community resource fair. We saw firsthand the immediate needs of a community that cannot leave. People, seniors, severe health conditions are still coming even in their conditions to ask for help. So we are there to support. Supervisor's team is there today. We are so thankful for that work and ensuring that communities have access.

Thank you. Madam Chair, there are no other remote speakers to address the board. Remote participation for this item is concluded. We will go to our in-person speaker. Please begin.

Rogelio Martinez, Supervisor, District 4, candidates. So my questions are, did you know that there was actually a fire that started on June 11th in Tracy? As stated previously, which was incorrect, that fire actually burned for six days The day that it ended was the day that this started. So there's been fires burning down in the state of California for 11 days. In that situation, it was a sprinkler system that was not in operation. Now, the no access to firefighters, shame on the individual that approved this. the solar array panel on the roof because that is unacceptable and that is why the fire still continues to burn there did you know that there's high flow water monitors that were ordered from outer state but the capacity of our utility system is only at 2 000 gpm so that's unacceptable because that is a cost that the taxpayers have to do this fire is reaction because i did not hear anything about thank you that concludes the time for public comment on this item

Madam Chair, item 11B is before you.

I will move the item seconded by Supervisor Hahn to approve. Executive Officer, please call the roll.

Supervisor Mitchell. Aye. Supervisor Mitchell, aye. Supervisor Horvath. Aye. Supervisor Horvath, aye. Supervisor Hahn. Aye. Supervisor Hahn, aye. Supervisor Barker. Aye. Supervisor Barker, aye. Supervisor Solis. Aye. Supervisor Solis, aye. That item does pass unanimously.

We are now moving to the public hearing items. Executive Officer, please swear on the members of the public who are requesting to address the Board on these items.

Members of the public, including in-person and remote speakers who are requesting to address the Board on public hearing items, please stand and raise your right hand to be sworn in. Please note that in the testimony you give before this Board, you solemnly swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God. Thank you. You may be seated. will now move on to item one hearing on the sewer service charge annual report for fiscal year 2026-27 for the consolidated sewer maintenance district the mariner sewer maintenance district the accumulative capital outlay fund and the consolidated sewer maintenance district zones for members of the public joining us remotely to comment on this item please use the raise hand feature if you are online or press star 3 if on a telephone Departmental statement was submitted and no correspondence was received. Mark Pastrea, Director of Public Works and Sid Tesoro, Deputy Director, Department of Public Works are available for questions. For the departmental speakers, please state your name and title for the record when you address the board.

Thank you. We have members that do, my colleagues do have questions. Let's go to Supervisor Mitchell.

Thank you very much, Madam Chair. I want to thank the department for your community engagement throughout this process. I'm a geek. I still read these mailers when they come to me in terms of public works. It announced today's hearing. It documents what the service fee actually pays for. This is, I think, some public education, that's really helpful. I also appreciate that your outreach exceeded the Prop 218 requirements that you did in-person canvassing. So I appreciate all that you did to try to make sure people understood the decision that is before us today. So a couple of quick questions, if I may, Madam Chair. If you can explain the methodology behind the proposed increase and why the initial rate is not phased in more gradually.

Supervisor, if I may, I think you're referring to item number two.

Isn't that what we're on?

We're at item one.

Well. I am, Madam Chair, forgive me. I thought we were on item two. Thank you.

Supervisor Hahn.

I think I'm on item one.

Yeah, thank you. And I, you know, I think everyone understands that the consolidated sewer maintenance district is important for safeguarding our health and keep our communities safe. I've seen firsthand how this district has a quick response to emergencies and repairs. When we had the land movement in Rancho Palos Verdes that was interfering with the infrastructure, the district moved quickly to minimize impacts and make necessary repairs to continue providing sewer services in these communities. So today we'll be increasing the fee by $9 a year. And while I understand this increase is necessary, you know, all of us are always hesitant about raising fees. Um, anytime, but especially during these difficult times for most people. I'm going to support this, but I'm just going to say I know for a fact my constituents on the Palos Verdes Peninsula are going to want to make sure and I want to be reassured that Public Works will continue to be attentive and proactive so that sewer services continue to be uninterrupted in those communities. Didn't know if you wanted to go on the record pledging that.

That's no problem, Supervisor. As you mentioned, the Consolidated Sewer Maintenance District is a vast district of sewer laterals throughout LA County. The service fee provides for the continued responsive of that group. They have a fantastic track record of preventive maintenance. In fact, in the last several years, we've reduced the number of sewer overspills by a tremendous amount. And as you stated, we also are on site when there are disasters like the Rolling Hills estates side, where we had to continue to monitor for land settlement that may affect sewer maintenance. So yes, not a problem to go on record. with the same responsiveness. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Great. Executive Officer, please call those members of the public who wish to speak on this item.

Will the following individual please come forward and staff will assist you. Martinez, Rogelio. Roy Humphries, your line is open. Please begin.

Forgive me if I don't know the details of the situation. I'm just this side of the phone person. But with all this, you want to race with it. And the public works do not get me going on that organization. We need a restructuring on that. How in the hell did Roland Heights sewer system get to the state that... They had to shut down the L.A. River area and down to the ocean. This is disgusting. How about taking the raise of the money needed out of the salaries of the leadership of this organization? People are disgusting.

Thank you, Madam Chair. There are no other remote speakers to address the board. Remote participation for this item is concluded. We will go to our in-person speaker. Please begin.

Rogelio Martinez, District 4 supervisor candidate. So at what cost was the report to the taxpayer? Who did the report? And what are the learnings from the report? And what are we going to do with those shared learnings? These are questions that hopefully members of this committee, this board have considered. And the reason why is because reports do come at a cost. Typically it's in the tune of six figures minimum. And the taxpayers are on the hook for that. So anyways, that's what I wanted to bring up. Thank you so much.

Thank you. That concludes the time for public comment on this item.

Madam Chair, the public hearing is now closed. Item one is before you.

Moved by Supervisor Hahn, seconded by Supervisor Horvath to approve the item. Executive Officer, please call the roll.

Supervisor Mitchell. Aye. Supervisor Mitchell, aye. Supervisor Horvath.

Aye.

Supervisor Horvath, aye. Supervisor Hahn. Aye. Supervisor Hahn, aye. Supervisor Barger.

Aye.

Supervisor Barger, aye. Supervisor Solis. Aye. Supervisor Solis, aye. That item does pass unanimously. We will now move on to item two, hearing on the annual garbage collection and disposal service fee report for fiscal year 2026-27 and on the proposed ordinance for adoption amending county code title 20 utilities part seven of chapter 20.90 to authorize a series of incremental increases to the annual garbage collection and disposal service fee for the Firestone Garbage Disposal District. For members of the public joining us remotely to comment on this item, please use the raise hand feature. If you were online, or press star 3 if on a telephone. Departmental statement was submitted and correspondence was received. Mark Pastrea, Director of Public Works, and Sid Tesoro, Deputy Director, Department of Public Works, are available for questions. For the departmental speakers, please state your name and title for the record when you address the board.

Thank you. Supervisor Mitchell, you're recognized.

Thank you. Here's my redo. Everything I said before, item two, now that I've turned the page in my own binder. All right. If you could answer a couple of questions for me, and if you could again explain the methodology behind the proposed increase and why the initial rate is not phased in more gradually. Thanks for your introduction.

Supervisor, I'll have our manager, our deputy director, Sid Tesoro, answer your question. Okay, thank you.

Good morning, Sid Tesoro, deputy director for the record. So there's two parts to that to answer to your question. The first part is that we conducted a fee study in 2025 looking at to determine what the free structure would be to cover all the services that we provide. Once that fee study was done, we vetted it through the auditor controller's office to make sure that what we're charging is gonna be the right amount because our proposed rate increases, we wanna make sure that they don't exceed the cost to provide the services that we have.

Because your structure is fees cover all the costs to run the program.

Correct. The fees cover the cost to run the program, and a very, very small amount, 5%, covers our administrative costs to manage that program. Following that, we conducted a monthly cash flow analysis to make sure that we are going to stay cash positive over the period of time as we run this effort. So when we do the the fee study we come up with one number but then it's it's a big number and then how do you then take that over a period of time so that you can still continue to operate and charge a low amount to the people so initially going back to your question That's why you see the first number of big jump is just when you do that cash flow analysis to stay cash positive, there has to be that incremental increase because it's been some period of time since you've had a fee increase in that area.

What's the frequency with which you do the fee studies?

Fee studies are done annually.

They're done every year. Yeah. If they're done annually, I guess the question is, because what we hear from constituents is the hike feels severe. And maybe if the studies are done annually, why is there not perhaps an annual more incremental increase as opposed to this big jump that gives people sticker shock, frankly?

Yes, Director or Supervisor, thank you for the question. In fact, our department is... negligent in not raising fees on some more regular basis. And I know a few years ago, we promised you to come back with this analysis to do it. And as a part of this analysis and these fee increases you're seeing, we developed a program where, as Sid was describing, we raise those fees over a certain amount of time and don't do them all at once. It had been almost 20 years since we raised a fee in this district. So that's not good business. And it's also create sticker shock for residents. And so, yes, this is the first year after a long period of time in which we hadn't raised fees that the residents will see that. And that's why one of the reasons that we had to do very extensive outreach so that the residents could understand what service we were providing to them, what the current cost was, and the need, of course, for this fee increase that we're proposing today.

I'm curious to hear what you hear from constituents. What we also hear is if it's a fee-based service, you're increasing my fees. What we then hear is people want to have a higher expectation in terms of the quality of the service. Can you speak to that?

What we think we've done on my staff, I'll give them credit. They've done a great job in coordination with all of the board offices on these franchises. We've we've increased the service by going out and understand what the expectation is. This is probably three years ago. We really dove into this and understood better about what is the service we're providing, how are we managing our contracts, creating more expectations for the contractors themselves, the franchisees. And so with that, we've been able to develop a service expectation and build that into the fee study that you're hearing about today. So what these fees will pay for is that higher level of service and that expectation that we've created. By doing that, we've created some much better trust. I think you'll see when you look at the number of protest votes that we get back that clearly we've done a good job of explaining the fee and the service that's provided listening to community as to what they want in terms of that service. And I feel that these fees that we're going to charge will provide for us to provide that sustainable level of service going forward.

Thank you very much. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you. Executive Officer, please call members of the public who've signed up to speak on the item.

Rogelio Martinez, please come forward and staff will assist you. Madam Chair, there are no remote speakers to address the board. Remote participation for this item is now closed. We will hear from our in-person speaker. Please begin.

Rogelio Martinez. So... Right now, you just mentioned contractors and franchisees. So as the public, I don't think that the public is aware of what the structure is on how, when it comes to paying their trash fee, how that actually that money is appropriated. So that should be very, very transparent, and it should be transparent in public meetings. And the reason why is because if you're expecting people to pay more for their trash, then let them know why they're paying for trash specifically. Did you know that LA County is the only county in the United States that actually has a population of decline? That's correct. You can look it up. We have actually lost 54,000 residents in LA County, unlike any other county in the United States, but yet the cost of trash is going up. What the F is going on here? Do your due diligence and make sure that it makes sense that people are going to pay more for trash.

Thank you. That concludes the time for public comment on this item.

Madam Chair, the public hearing is now closed. Item two is before you.

Moved by Supervisor Mitchell, seconded by Supervisor Hahn. To approve the item, Executive Officer, call the roll.

Supervisor Mitchell? Aye. Supervisor Mitchell? Aye. Supervisor Horvath? Aye. Supervisor Horvath? Aye. Supervisor Hahn? Yes. Supervisor Hahn? Aye. Supervisor Barker?

Yes.

Supervisor Barker, aye. Supervisor Solis, aye. Supervisor Solis, aye. That item does pass. We will now move on to item three, hearing on the annual garbage collection and disposal service fee report for fiscal year 2026-27 and on the proposed ordinance for adoption amending county code 20 utilities part 11 of chapter 20.90 to authorize a series of incremental increases to the annual garbage collection and disposal service fee for the Mesa Heights Garbage Disposal District. For members of the public joining us remotely, to comment on this item, please use the raise hand feature if you are online or press star three if on a telephone. Departmental statement was submitted and correspondence was received. Mark Pastrea, Director of Public Works, and Sid Tesoro, Deputy Director, Department of Public Works are available for questions. For the departmental speakers, please state your name and title for the record when you address the board.

Thank you. Are there any colleagues that have any remarks or questions? Seeing none, let's go to public comment. Executive Officer.

Rogelio Martinez, please come forward and staff will assist you. Madam Chair, there are no remote speakers to address the board. Remote participation for this item is now closed. We will hear from our in-person speaker.

Thank you. So again, we're talking about trash. So obviously it's because of a different jurisdiction. But please make it transparent to the public that why there's two different items. And it's obviously because of jurisdiction. So one thing that should be transparent is when there's an RFD, a request for proposal, the rubric in how these contractors or franchisees are selected should be transparent to the public. and the public should be part of the commission. If there isn't a commission yet where there's a member of the public, they should be part of the selection process for said contractors or said franchisees. Because again, I don't think anybody understands the cost of trash and how the money is allocated, how it's resourced, and how it's budgeted. Thank you.

Thank you. That concludes the time for public comment on this item.

Madam Chair, the public hearing is now closed. Item three is before you.

Moved by Supervisor Mitchell, seconded by Supervisor Barger. To approve the item, please call the roll.

Supervisor Mitchell. Aye. Supervisor Mitchell. Aye. Supervisor Horvath. Aye. Supervisor Horvath. Aye. Supervisor Hahn. Aye. Supervisor Hahn. Aye. Supervisor Barger. Aye. Supervisor Barger. Aye. Supervisor Solis. Aye. Supervisor Solis. Aye. That item does pass unanimously. We will now move on to item four, hearing on the annual solid waste generation service report, charge report for fiscal year 2026-27 to provide for the continued collection of the existing solid waste generation service charge at the current rate. members of the public joining us remotely to comment on this item please use the raise hand feature if you are online and press star 3 if on a telephone departmental statement was submitted and no correspondence was received mark pastrea director of public works and sid tesoro deputy director of the department of public works are available for questions thank you are there any questions from my colleagues seeing none executive officer please go to the public for any comments

Madam Chair, there are no in-person or remote speakers to address the board. Remote public comment is now concluded.

Madam Chair, the public hearing is now closed. Item four is before you.

Moved by Supervisor Hahn, seconded by Supervisor Barger to approve the item. Executive Officer, please call the roll.

Supervisor Mitchell. Aye. Supervisor Mitchell, aye. Supervisor Horvath.

Aye.

Supervisor Horvath, aye. Supervisor Hahn. Aye. Supervisor Hahn, aye. Supervisor Barger. Aye. Supervisor Barger, aye. Supervisor Solis. Aye. Supervisor Solis, aye. That item does pass. We will now move on to Item 5, Hearing on the Adoption of Resolutions to Adopt the Amended Water Shortage Contingency Plan for the Los Angeles County Water Works District Number 29, Malibu, the Marina del Rey Water System, and the Los Angeles County Water Works District Number 40, Antelope Valley. For the members of the public joining us remotely to comment on this item, please use the raise hand feature. If you are online or press star 3 if on a telephone. No departmental statement was submitted and no correspondence was received. Mark Pastrea, Director of Public Works, and Jolene Guerrero, Deputy Director, Department of Public Works, are available for questions.

Are there any questions from my colleagues? Seeing none, Executive Officer, please go to public comments.

Rogelio Martinez, please come forward and staff will assist you. Madam Chair, there are no remote speakers to address the board. Remote participation for this item is concluded. We'll hear from our in-person speaker.

This morning there was 19 million barrels that were finally released from the Strait of Hormuz into the United States. Why am I bringing it up? That's the cost of gasoline. This morning, the largest cold storage food refrigerator is on fire and expected to burn until Friday. The cost of food is going up. We just spent two items talking about trash, and now we're talking about water. So that means that the cost of trash is going to go up. The cost of water is going up. Gasoline, food, trash, water. Pay attention, people. This is not acceptable.

That concludes the time for public comment. Thank you.

Madam Chair, the public hearing is now closed. Item five is before you.

MOVED BY SUPERVISOR MITCHELL, SECONDED BY SUPERVISOR HORVATH. TO APPROVE THE ITEM, EXECUTIVE OFFICER, CALL THE ROLL.

SUPERVISOR MITCHELL. AYE. SUPERVISOR MITCHELL, AYE. SUPERVISOR HORVATH. AYE. Supervisor Horvath, aye. Supervisor Hahn, aye. Supervisor Hahn, aye. Supervisor Barger, aye. Supervisor Barger, aye. And Supervisor Solis, aye. Supervisor Solis, aye. That item does pass. We will now move on to item six, hearing on the annual garbage collection and disposal service fee report for fiscal year 2026 for the Athens, Woodcrest, Alameda, Belvedere, Lenox, Malibu, and Walnut Park Garbage Disposal District. for members of the public joining us remotely to comment on this item please use the raise hand feature if you are online or press star 3 on it if on a telephone departmental statement was was submitted and no correspondence was received mark pastrea director of public works and sid tesoro deputy director department of public works are available for questions do i see any questions from my colleagues seeing none oh yes you do have i'm sorry uh supervisor han

And these garbage collection and disposal districts are unique because service charge bills are collected by the county. And with that in mind, I think, Mark, you know, and we'll continue to remind public works of the importance of holding waste haulers accountable for the services they provide to our communities, including our unincorporated area of Walnut Park, which is part of my district. And I remember an incident a few years ago when an area wide bulky item pickup was scheduled in Walnut Park. And so people put out all their trash, their their bulky items out on their curb and then The provider spent days and the trash remained uncollected. So, and I know you know this and we had to work to mitigate that. So we're collecting $400 annually from our residents for trash services, which from, Most families is a lot of money, but in that incident, residents did not get the services they were entitled to, and that's just not acceptable. So situations like this create unnecessary stress for residents, become an eyesore in our neighborhoods, And so we worked again with Public Works to demand a response in that situation from the waste hauler. But incidents like these should not occur in the first place. And, you know, hopefully the supervisor does not have to get involved and demand that the waste hauler, who is the contractor, who is a vendor, who's, you know, got the contract with us, you know, fails to to do their their duty. So I just want to make sure that In everything we do, you're holding the waste haulers accountable for delivering high-quality service that our communities deserve.

Thank you, Supervisor. I appreciate that. It is a scar on our mind about that event. I know there was also a threat of strike and other things that did this. The hauler was Republic. We can say that at the time. And we've worked very closely with them. And we've upped the ante, as you know, on the contract management. And this is what made the difference. This is the contract monitors being heavily involved and demanding service from those haulers. So I feel the residents in that area now have We've gained some trust back from them over time, but yes, you're right, we have to keep very diligent about how we manage these contracts and what we demand of the haulers for their work.

Yeah, thank you. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you. Seeing no other questions from my colleagues, let's go to the public.

Rogelio Martinez, please come forward and staff will assist you. Madam Chair, there are no other remote speakers to address the board. Remote participation for this item is concluded. We will hear from in-person speaker, please begin.

Rogelio Martinez, did you know that there's a lot of money in trash? Let me give you an example. In District 4, in Council District 4, specifically in Long Beach, California, there's a Covanta power plant. This power plant has the technology to burn trash into energy. For whatever reason, unbeknownst to me and probably everybody in this room, that power plant is shut down. That power plant has the ability to produce about 35 megawatts of power, of clean energy. But it's probably because of some tax credit that was dissolved. But I would urge you in these three reports, because I think this is the last one that's going to be talked about today, I would urge you to include Covanta as part of the report, meaning what does it take to restart the plant so we can start burning this trash and make electricity and drive the cost of electricity down?

Thank you. That concludes the time for public comment on this item.

Madam Chair, the public hearing is now closed. Item six is before you.

Moved by Supervisor Horvath, seconded by Supervisor Hahn to approve the item. Executive Officer, call the roll.

Supervisor Mitchell? Aye. Supervisor Mitchell? Aye. Supervisor Horvath? Aye. Supervisor Horvath? Aye. Supervisor Hahn? Aye. Supervisor Hahn? Aye. Supervisor Barger?

Aye.

Supervisor Barger? Aye. Supervisor Solis? Aye. Supervisor Solis? Aye. That item does pass. We will now move on to item SD1, hearing on the Newhall Ranch Sanitation District. OF LOS ANGELES COUNTY WASTE WATER SERVICE CHARGE REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2627. FOR MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC JOINING US REMOTELY, TO COMMENT ON THIS ITEM, PLEASE USE THE RAISE HAND FEATURE IF YOU ARE ONLINE OR PRESS STAR 3 IF ON A TELEPHONE. NO DEPARTMENTAL STATEMENT WAS SUBMITTED AND NO CORRESPONDENTS WAS RECEIVED. MATTHEW HUTTON, SENIOR ENGINEER, FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT, IS AVAILABLE FOR QUESTIONS.

OKAY. ARE THERE ANY COLLEAGUES THAT WISH TO BE RECOGNIZED? Seeing none, then Executive Office, let's go to the public.

Rogelio Martinez, please come forward and staff will assist you. Madam Chair, there are no remote speakers to address the board. Remote participation for this item is now closed. And looks like no in-person speaker. That concludes the time for public comment.

Madam Chair, the public hearing is now closed. Item SD1 is before you.

Moved by Supervisor Barger, seconded by Supervisor Mitchell. To approve the item, Executive Officer, call the roll.

Supervisor Mitchell? Aye. Supervisor Mitchell, aye. Supervisor Horvath? Aye. Supervisor Horvath, aye. Supervisor Hahn? Aye. Supervisor Hahn, aye. Supervisor Barger? Aye. Supervisor Barger, aye. Supervisor Solis, aye. Supervisor Solis, aye. The item does pass. We will now move on to general public comment. At this time, we will hear from members of the public wishing to address the board on general public comment. This is an opportunity for the public to address the board on subject matters within the board's jurisdiction, but not on items on the meeting agenda. For members of the public joining us remotely, please use the raise hand feature. If you are online, please press star 3 if on a telephone.

We will now call in in-person speakers, and while they're coming forward, we'll take remote speakers. Will the following individuals please come forward, and staff will assist you. Derek Mims, Robert Leslie, Joseph Avery, Betty Miller, Norma Jackson, Curtis Carraway, Vivian Hatcher, Savannah Trujillo-Pelma, Eric Gersowitz, Dr. Tatanisha Tammi, Dori Frank, Constantine Anthony, and Rogelio Martinez. Roy Humphreys, your line is open. Please begin.

Thank you, Supervisor Mitchell. Racism has existed since day one and will exist in perpetuity. Try making a difference through education, i.e. the Harlem Hellfighters, not the George Floyd scam. The failure of the state and county to comprehensively address the prolonged drought conditions leads us to remove Democrats from the adult responsibilities, noting the Walnut Valley and Roland Water District get 100% of their water from OF NORTHERN. PRESIDENT TRUMP, THANKS TO PRESIDENT TRUMP FOR RELEASING THE DELTA WATER. GAVIN NEWSOM BLEW UP FOUR HYDRO ELECTRIC DAMS THROUGH ALL TO PUT ALL OF US THROUGH TO PERPETUAL BROWNOUT AND THE LEADERSHIP LIKE THIS WHO NEEDS ENEMIES. STATE OF CALIFORNIA EDUCATION DEPARTMENT SHOULD BE DEMOLISHED OR ABOLISHED AND DOCUMENT THEIR which amounts to child abuse. Thank you.

Thank you. Anthony Arenas, your line is open. Please begin.

District 3 with dignity and power now in the Justice LA Coalition speaking alongside the 86 people that have emailed your offices since yesterday. Supervisor Hahn passed a motion March 3rd ordering the jail closure implementation team to produce a timeline for its closure. And Supervisor Hahn, you were also the only supervisor to press the CEO on year one funding. who confirmed that the county has set no money aside. This budget cycle, the board is showing that it doesn't prioritize care as you all approved 10 million to go towards the renovation of Pitch's Detention Center instead of funding diversion. If you don't fund the care this county needs, jail closure will be postponed an additional year. The billions in taxpayer dollars going towards settlements will continue to grow and many more lives will be lost. The people are watching to see whether you will do the right thing. Thank you.

Thank you. Caller with phone number 848992, your line is open. Please state your name and begin.

Hi, my name is Adam Murray. I'm an award-winning filmmaker and writer and a Burbank resident. I'm calling on behalf of the Board of Supervisors to oppose the merger that is going forth between Paramount and Warner Brothers. We've seen firsthand that this merger is nothing more than a power grab by the Ellisons in tandem with the President of the United States to monopolize film, television, and specifically news media on behalf of an overwhelmingly unpopular administration. Not only is this merger extremely corrupt, which it wears proudly on its face, including Brendan Carr at the FCC, but it will decimate jobs and livelihoods throughout Los Angeles. An estimated 2,500 working-class Angelenos are expected to be put out of work if this goes through. At a time where productions are leaving L.A. or people are moving out of the city and out of the state, approving this merger would be shooting the entertainment industry of Los Angeles in the head ostensibly. in service of billionaires who have an ungodly amount of wealth but are still happy to hire hundreds to thousands of employees as they're struggling to stay afloat and as part of their business. The paramount merger must not go through. It must be stopped.

Thank you. Gabriel Belotti, your line is open. Please begin.

I am a working professional in the entertainment industry for the last 12 years, and I'm going to pile on to this needing to be blocked of the Warner Brothers and Paramount. We have seen so many productions leave LA, and we are actually actively trying to fight to make things easier to film in LA. And this merger is only going to make it harder. This merger does nothing to help All it does is help to completely activate and incentivize more monopolies in this country, which is what we do not need. The entertainment industry does not need to be a monopoly. It needs to be able to grow and have actual, like, growth in this country right now and in our city we make so much money from the entertainment industry and all this is going to do is impact that on such a negative level we need to bring infrastructure back instead of letting it go away and this merger does not help la in one way at all and it needs to be blocked please help the industry for god's sakes thank you caller with phone number 323-896 your line is open please state your name and begin

Caller, your line is open.

Yes, Mel Bailey. Just to make sure, this is general comments, right?

Yes, go ahead.

Can you hear me now?

Yes. Please begin.

Go ahead, sir. Can you hear me now?

Yes. We can hear you. Please begin.

Okay, yeah, fine. This is Mel Bailey, and District two and I will do. Hello.

Can hear you, sir. Go ahead.

OK, sorry. OK, this is Mel Bailey District two. Today we heard about And every week we hear about, I hear about land acknowledgements, animal adoptions, even though you all have consistently not cared about the orange cat that I've told you guys about that's being abused, but maybe it's because it's orange. I don't know. But last week I was very disappointed because as far as the African American community, We didn't really hear much about the Juneteenth celebration. I know I closed my public comments with talking about Juneteenth or wishing Juneteenth to everyone. And I know the chair, you know, kind of said it at the end or struggled to say the end, but I don't know if you all realize the importance of it. And next year, I would ask, can we be more intentional with the recognition of Juneteenth? You all have the attention of a lot of people. And I'm just asking for a symmetrical approach to be given across all cultures, not just certain cultures. And that's pretty much all I have for today. But thank you. I do enjoy the meeting.

Thank you. Madam Chair, there are no other remote speakers to address the board. Remote participation is now concluded. We will go to our in-person speakers. Please begin.

My name is Derek Mims and I'm here on behalf of California State University Dominguez Hills and I'm here really to thank our supervisor Holly Mitchell in our district. She's been her commitment her support to our students has been monumental. It's actually been historic on our campus our university and it's going to impact for generations. We thank her for that. And likewise, we thank the city of Carson, our mayor, Louis Davis Holmes. Also, the city has been impactful to the university and the students in their caring. And both of the city and the county has come together to support our students that are unhoused. And those unhoused students need support, big support. And when the city came and the county came, we got our team together on campus, our managers of our unhoused students, because unfortunately, we do have unhoused students. They have been working with the Weingart Center, staff with the county staff to go through the whole process of being qualified to vet our students and also for our students to be selected so we are committed to this process today and we remain committed to this process tomorrow for both our students thank you next speaker please robert leslie uh register voter for the second district of i want to address the matter with the wine guard as well as the extended state motel

In regards to the matter, we're trying to make sure that in the acquisition of the property that's at the extended stay hotel that we're making sure that we had no notification in regards to the cumulative or the significant impacts that's going to happen with that particular project. And we'd like to know why Carson wouldn't notify as well as Torrance would notify. With that said, I know for a fact when I work with the three agencies, with the Port Police, LAPD, as well as the airport, those programs are designed not, in other words, to rehabilitate. They're there to evaluate and give housing and board, but they create nothing but more impact on law enforcement in the community. Thank you.

Thank you. Next speaker, please. I'm Norma Jackson. I am a resident of Carson and I'm here on behalf of proposing to have opposition of having a Extended stay of homeless in Carson. And for one thing. We're in a situation where homeless is everywhere, but it's not conducive to our airing Carson for the fact that we have the facilities very close to our resident area. which can cause a lot of safety hazard also to our structure. We're responsible for our businesses who have helped us to grow and bring economic growth and wealth to our community. Having this said, we're in a volatile area where anyone can come in and be utilizing this service. So I think it should be set aside for our students at Cal State. Let's start at home first. And that's Carson, thank you. Thank you, next speaker please.

and I'm a registered Rosa of the district too. And I'd just like to say, I'm very appalled and very unhappy about the wine hot project. This coming to Carson is putting it right downtown in our city where there's going to be a lot of impact on business. And I do have a business in the city of Carson is going to be impact on the children in the community. I am not happy. I wish you would consider putting some of the students from Cal State Dominguez in front of the homeless project. Find another area, please. Consider another area for these homeless people. They come with mental issues. They come with drug issues. And that's going to impact a lot of the business and a lot of the community. I am so grateful for all the... consideration that you're going to consider, but I please need to consider you to move this project to another area, not in Carson. Thank you for your consideration. Thank you.

Next speaker, please.

My name is Dori Frank. I was the writing candidate for CD five, and I believe that you guys have to change procedures for the primary election. Number one, When you have the mail-in ballots, there should be a list of writing candidates so people can have choices in which, if they don't like the people on the ballots, they can choose the writing candidate. When I went to seven voting centers, there was a list of writing candidates, but it might as well be garbage because unless a person asked for it, knows to ask for it, they wouldn't vote for the writing candidate. They say, well, it's endorsements. People need to know Here is the write in candidates. You can choose what you want. This is why I believe myself. It's a long haul to even get elected because of the procedures. So I'm asking you to consider it and change it for the next primaries. Thank you.

Thank you. Next speaker please.

Good morning. My name is Curtis Carraway and I lived in Carson California since 1972 and I am a And I have a concern about this housing project that has been placed down at 401 Abitona Street in Carson. And I have a concern about the people who will be occupying that particular building. I'm concerned about the security of those individuals. I'm aware that they will be at that facility. But during the process, when they are not in the building, I'm concerned about them roaming in the community. I'm concerned about the safety in this of the residents. And I am in opposition to this particular.

Thank you. Next speaker, please.

Joseph Avery, C.D. of Carson Wine Guard Program. The damage already been done, so ain't no need for me to do no complaining. The only thing I'm asking for is we can get some type of oversight for the city of Carson to govern the program so we won't get out of control. We love our city and we don't want this population to take over and do any damage. There's a jealousy I have with my sister city, Torrance. And the jealousy is that they became one their board of supervisor, their city council, their city attorney, their citizens, and their rep have became one, so they have power. And when it comes down to the sister city, Carson, we didn't have no chance. The power's already taken away from us. So all I'm asking for is oversight.

Thank you. Next speaker, please.

Hi, I'm Eric Gersowitz. I'm an actor and a member of the Committee for the First Amendment. Please do whatever is within your power to intervene with the disastrous Paramount Warner Brothers discovery merger that will impact so many workers, jobs, businesses, and livelihoods within LA County. It scares me that more and more of the stories we tell would be curated by the MAGA billionaires David and Larry Ellison, whose interests are aligned with advancing Trump and MAGA's fascist agenda. They want ownership of our industry so they can engage in the battle of ideas. They want to sow confusion, distrust, and disunity among workers and oppressed people and all of us who resist Trump and MAGA. They want to spread the ideological poisons of white supremacy and male supremacy and transphobia and nationalism so they and their allies can tighten the belt even further around workers and eke out a little more profit. They know that if we recognize our unity, we can stop them. This merger would make a mockery of creativity, free speech, free expression, and an art form we pursue because we love being a small part of a diverse community, working together to share meaningful stories that open our eyes and our heart.

Thank you. Next speaker, please.

My name is Vivian Hatcher and I have been a homeowner in Carson for 47 years. I'm here to express my concerns regarding the conversion of the Extended Stay America Hotel into permanent supportive housing. I, first of all, many residents and nearby business owners were not properly informed about this project. I learned about it only after reading a newspaper article and began investigating on my own. By then, I discovered that plans for the conversion had reportedly been underway for at least a year. A project of this significance deserved transparency and meaningful community engagement from the beginning. Second, there are There appears to have been a lack of coordination with key local agencies. So there's a whole lot I'm not going to have time to express. So I uploaded my document with more details and I have... I have copies for all of you. Thank you.

Next speaker, please. Good afternoon. My name is Dr. Titanisha Thames. I'm a resident of Carson. I'm asking for transparency. County correspondents stated that providing housing exclusively for unhoused Cal State Dominguez Hill students would violate federal fair housing laws. I'm respectfully asking that the county identify the specific federal statute regulation home key requirements, regulatory agreement, deed restriction, or restrictive conveyance that supports that statement. I also request that the county publicly release the home key funding agreement, regulatory agreement, recorded deed restrictions, recorded conveyance, and any legal opinions relied upon making these representations to the public. I also would like communication between LA County Winegard CSUDH and the supervisor Holly Mitchell's office regarding student housing preferences and occupancy criteria. Thank you. Thank you. Next speaker, please.

Rogelio Martinez. So I came here to volunteer my time and expertise to be on the incident investigation team of the fire that we've been speaking about today. I'm qualified to do so because I retired after a 35-year career at the eighth largest oil refinery in the United States. My last position was the refinery shift superintendent, which meant that I was responsible for 1,200 employees in the city of Carson, California. As one of my roles, I was the engineer on our industrial fire brigade team, known as our emergency response team. Anyways, I just come here to offer my time and expertise to represent the public, to identify the root cause of the fire and to share the lessons learned so that we can all benefit from avoiding a disaster like this in the future. Thank you.

Thank you. That concludes the time for general public comment.

Yes, Supervisor Mitchell.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I know it's not customary for us to respond to the public, but I just wanted to thank the residents of Carson for spending their time and coming down to the boardroom today. Would invite you to come back. We had our budget hearing yesterday, so I hope you stay engaged. Colleagues, I provided the residents of Carson kind of a packet of information because I just wanted to make sure they had all the facts that I had before me. um understanding how this property was identified for my colleagues it's a part of the city of carson's housing element that every city has to pass the city of carson city council passed it unanimously back in 2022 so it's been in process for quite some time the last page of the packet gives everyone the dates that multiple meetings were taking place Cal State Dominguez students can absolutely be a part of it. I think I've heard recently that there's a desire for the city that the entire unit be Cal State Dominguez unhoused students. That can't be. The city of Carson had the opportunity to vote for funding if they wanted to pay for that, and the city of Carson has not provided that funding. So I just wanted to make sure everybody got a... a copy of this information. We'll make it available online for those. We'll give you multiple copies if you'd like to share it with your neighbors. And it's just, again, every city has to pass a housing element. And it's our effort to, as I get calls from homeowners and businesses in Carson who were concerned about the RVs in their community and the unhoused on their streets. This is our regional approach to make sure that every community has a place for their unhoused to become housed so we don't have people living on the streets in every corner across LA County. So again, thank you for coming. Contact information for Weingart and my office is in the packet and we welcome your ongoing engagement. Thank you again for coming. Thank you, Madam Chair.

uh for allowing me thank you very good um executive officer members of the public the board will now be going into closed session in accordance with brown act requirements notices thereby hereby given that the board of supervisors will convene in closed session to discuss items number cs1 through cs3 conferences with legal counsel regarding existing litigation item cs5 conference with legal counsel regarding anticipated litigation one case Item CS6, Public Employment Consideration of Candidates for Appointment to the Position of Interim Director of Department of Children and Family Services. Item number CS7 and CS8, Public Employee Performance Evaluations. And item number CS9, Conference with Labor Negotiators. Joseph M. Nikita and designated staff as indicated on the posted agenda.

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On the floor, okay. Okay, we are back now in open session. Executive Officer, please read the report of action.

The following is a report of action taken in closed session on June 23, 2026. Item number CS1 through CS3, conferences with legal counsel regarding existing litigation, no reportable action was taken. Item number CS5, conference with legal counsel regarding anticipated litigation, one case, no reportable action was taken. Item number CS6, consideration of candidates for appointment to the position of interim director of the Department of Children and Family Services, no reportable action was taken. Item number CS7 and CS8, public employee performance evaluations, no reportable action was taken. And item number CS9, conference with labor negotiators Joseph, Nikita, and designated staff, no reportable action was taken.

Thank you. That concludes today's meeting. The next regular meeting of the board will be held on June 30th, 2026 at 9.30 a.m. We're adjourned. Thank you.

Thank you.