City Council - Regular Meeting

Good evening, everybody, and welcome to a meeting of the Ontario City Council. The first order of business, Madam City Clerk, is roll call.

Thank you, Mayor Leon. The record will reflect that all council members are present at our meeting this evening.

So before we move on with the agenda to abide by state law, I'm obligated to ask if there are any possible conflicts of interest to any item on the agenda. Anybody? Anybody? All right, seeing none, I'd also like to explain that, as is the Robert's Rules of Engagement, nobody can speak unless you are recognized by the chair. That's why I ask all the time for everybody to not applaud and not shout out. And if you do, then we'll have to ask you to leave if you don't stop it. Please don't blurt out during the meeting. It just disrupts everything. It's not polite. So anyway, that is for everyone in the audience and everybody on the dais too. So we have our Pledge of Allegiance will be led by Council Member Parada, and our invocation will be led by Pastor Robert Rocha of the Vose Church.

Please join me for the pledge to our great flag. Ready, begin.

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.

Thank you, Ontario City Council, for the opportunity to lead invocation tonight. Let us pray. Lord, you are sovereign. You are the God who rules over nations, establishes leaders, and orders the steps of those who serve. Your words tells us, seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away and pray to the Lord for it, for in its peace you will have peace. So today we pray for the peace and the well-being of our community. We declare that Ontario belongs under the Lordship of Jesus Christ and you are the God of this city. Let every decision made in this chamber be guided through the Holy Spirit with wisdom, justice, compassion, and truth. Give us a heart after your heart, Lord. Lord, we bring our city into alignment with the kingdom of God. Give our leaders discernment to recognize what is right, integrity to stand for what is right, and courage to do what is right, and the humility to serve the people and trust it to their care. We uproot every assignment of darkness and expose every scheme of the enemy. Let integrity guide every conversation, every decision, every policy, and every act of leadership. Let there be unity where there has been division, hope where there is discouragement, and breakthrough where there has been limitation. So we thank you that Ontario be a city of peace, of purpose, prosperity, and the possibilities. And this city will flourish. Businesses will prosper. Neighborhoods will be strengthened. And people will discover hope. So we declare that the blessing of God rests upon Ontario. The wisdom of God rests upon its leaders. Integrity marks its leadership. And the purposes of God will be established in this city. In the mighty name of Jesus, we pray. Amen.

I was going to move an item up to the front, but there are so many public comments tonight that I think I want to hear the people tonight first. We typically do public comments first, so I'm going to go ahead and do that. As a reminder, you'll be limited to three minutes. We have 20 speakers. You just do the math. We'll be here forever if you don't just, you don't have to take all three minutes, but you need to be aware that at three minutes you'll be given a warning and I'll have to move you on right at three minutes. Also, in accordance with state law, remarks during public comment are limited to subjects within the council's jurisdictions and also on the other agenda items that we'll be discussing tonight. Anyone wishing to speak, including council and staff, as I said earlier to you, need to be recognized by the chair, that's me, before speaking. And I just am not going to endure anybody just blurting out in the audience tonight. And so do we have any email public comments for the record?

Yes, Mr. Mayor, and they have been printed, placed at the dais, and will be entered into the record.

Okay. So as I mentioned, I have 20 blue cards. So I'll begin with our first speaker is Lori Remington.

Mayor and our city council. I am here to let you know about a community day of service on Saturday, September 12th. from 9 to 1130 a.m. It's at 522 West Francis Street. That is the parking lot of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. But it is a group of churches from Ontario. Interfaith will be there as well as several non-profits with hands-on projects that we can do service and recognition of the National Day of Service and 9-11. And things like making a wig for little girls, a princess wig, who are cancer patients, or repairing and cleaning books for the Inland Empire Children's Book Project that can be donated to children, or making a beanie for the homeless, writing a letter to an active duty military and the American Red Cross will be there as well with blood donations. So come on Saturday, September 12th, 9 a.m. to 11.30 a.m. and let's honor, let's do good together. Thank you.

Thank you. Tina Silva.

Good evening, Mayor, City Council. Again, I'd like to begin by acknowledging that we gather tonight on the traditional homelands of the Tongva and other indigenous peoples who have cared for and stewarded this land for generations. I was unable to attend the August 4th meeting because I was at the scene at Vine and Maitland observing the reported HSI and OPD operation. Since the last general meeting I attended on July 21st, our community has continued to report immigration enforcement activity in Ontario. July 25th, ICE reportedly seen at Ontario International Airport. July 26th, a man was kidnapped from an alley near Sultana and F Street. July 27th, a man was stopped and kidnapped at John Galvin Park. July 28th, a man was kidnapped near 4th Street and El Dorado. July 30th, another detention was reported on Mission Boulevard near Haven. August 1st, another was reported near Virginia and Nocta. August 4th, HSI and OPD reportedly conducted an operation near Maitland and Vine. I witnessed two ICE vehicles there at the operation, used in ICE kidnappings, because I've seen them. When I saw a man come out of one of the ICE vehicles, I asked him what agency he was from. He said Ontario. I didn't believe him. He's lying, but I just wanted to make sure that everybody in the city, the police department knows that ICE officers are saying they're from Ontario. August 6th, a man who lives near Sixth and Grove was followed and taken near Seventh and Campus. Oh, I forgot. August 4th, later that evening, after I got home, a young man was kidnapped from Terminal 4 at the airport. Ontario is home to thousands of immigrant families who work, raise families, run businesses, and contribute to our city every single day. They deserve to know that their city sees them, values them, and will stand with them. I urge this council, once again, to take meaningful steps to support impacted families, improve transparency, and ensure residents have accurate information and resources when these incidents occur. I would love to see what's on the website translated to Spanish, because it's all in English. Ontario can and should be a city where every resident feels safe, valued, and protected. Thank you.

Thank you. Our next speaker is Matt Munson.

Hello, City Council, staff, and guests. I'm just speaking about the sales tax issue. We shouldn't raise the sales tax as regularly as Los Angeles and LA County, just to make ends meet. I can understand why we need a measure Q, because state regulations have increased the cost of local government, such as requiring electric cars to be purchased. We need neutral fiscal auditors to look at city's books and accounting practices to make sure the city does not come crying to the voters the next four years asking for more. Despite my personal political views, I find the opposition more virtuous on fiscal responsibility. I wish our council was more astute, like Ensign Mason or Brad Newman. We also need a plan to pay down our $128 million we took from the water fund, and I'm hoping to see a ballot measure that requires a percentage of sales tax money to pay us down to 10 to 15 years. I also like to see efforts to reduce capital overruns on our cost. And I understand we want good things for our city, but the residents cannot be the bank all the time. Thank you.

Thank you. Dale Roberts.

Good evening. I'm thankful for the Ontario PD for one specific reason. They always give me something to talk about. And mostly it's because of their lies. Inconsistencies and lies. It started off with a captain that Mayor Leon asked me to talk to here a couple, three months ago after an incident here. And that individual, that captain stated that Sergeant Zing had talked to me. Well, Sergeant Zing was with Internal Affairs. And I was told I couldn't speak with anybody in Internal Affairs without an appointment. So I want to know how I was able to speak with Zing. And I asked him to prove it to me that I have, in fact, spoken with him. And if I have spoken with Mr. Zing, he either hid his identity from me or did not tell me who he was. I have never talked to him personally. Also, that same captain out here last... Last meeting I was here with, there was three other officers out here at the front. One of them had been this detective over here, and I forget who, it might have been this officer over here. But there was three others. And when I went to explain to that captain how I was threatened at the police department, not by an Ontario PD officer, but by someone else, I assume. He wasn't an Ontario PD officer, okay? And they declined to take... a criminal complaint about this person that threatened my life. Okay. And everybody thinks that it's not a crime, but yet when I stepped up and I told him what I was going to do, I told the captain, I'm going to show you how close he was to me. Okay. I walked up to him, wasn't threatening or nothing, walked up to him.

One minute remaining.

Thank you. The individual was about this far from me when he was threatening me. I walked up to him, to the captain out here, and the first thing he said was, get out of my space. I looked at him, you know, and he says, I'm not kidding. Get out of my space. So to me, that's a threat. If he's that scared of me and I'm here with a cane, which could be dangerous, I need it or I don't. But that is not a good representation of that captain. I think they need to go back to school and get somebody else. Also, just one other quick thing. You put bicycle lanes out here, and all these residences are putting the trash in that bicycle lane. That is illegal. You cannot have those trash cans in the bicycle lanes. Thank you very much.

All right. Thank you. Mel Adkins. Thank you. No, no. Mel Adkins? And just because we have so many, Cheryl Stevenson is after Mel. Yeah. You just be ready.

Oh, okay.

Thank you.

Okay, hi, my name is Mel Atkins. I'm a resident of the Rancho Ontario Mobile Home Park in South Fontana, I mean, Ontario. Beautiful community with 451 homes. with about 600 plus residents. We had a management company purchase us in 2020. We were coerced into signing a long-term lease agreement and threatened with rent increases from $150 to $185 per month if we did not sign the long-term lease, which is a 25-year lease. Our rent goes up between 4% and 10% annually. We do get our notice that this is required. Within the ten years, my rent has gone up 76.6%. I've asked for remedies for other people that have fixed incomes, like waiving the yearly increase occasionally. I was told that if they can't pay, they can move. I was infuriated, confused, and angered that such a cold-hearted person was having me sign a lease and trying to get me to agree to what they were offering. In 2022, the management company started a remodel of our clubhouse. and other amenities. This took little over a year. There was no discussion with any resident, no meetings, no notice prior to the remodel. You and you attended our grand opening after the remodel. It's a beautiful, they did a fairly good job, but there were some incompletive work, subpar work. And currently we have rumors that they're going to add 40 more homes to our park. Rumors. Management does not talk to us, does not confide in us. They prefer to remain anonymous. And the MRL states that they're legally obligated to give advance written notice and details to the residents for this expansion. They're very secretive. There's no on-site management that lives at the park. We do have problems with vagrants and what is such. We cannot contact a management to show up. We have to contact security. All the management live at least 40, 50 minutes away. They do not respond to our calls. Thank you.

I'm just going to step in and kind of cover what Mel didn't cover on the expansion of the park. When they expand this park, they're planning on removing all the green, all the green belts, all the trees, all the existing RV storage. And those trees have been there for decades. I mean, they're great, big, huge trees. And They provide good air quality because we sit right on the 60 freeway. We have a lot of residents that use oxygen, which is just going to worsen the whole air quality around there. They also provide a sound barrier from the noise. We get a lot of noise there. They're going to take away all of our guest parking. And right now, we have no place to park because it's a fire lane. We tandem park in there. We hope that you guys will help us or direct us to somewhere where we can stop the expansion. They're gonna add 40 more. This is the rumor we've heard. They have not come out and told us. We've heard that they're going to add 40 more mobile homes in there. As it is, we can't sell our places because the rent is so high that they're requiring three times the monthly rent in order to qualify to buy one of these places. Well, not many senior citizens I know make $5,400 a month on Social Security. And that's what's required. So we need something as far as rent control. Is there anything like that that we can put into effect to stop the huge increases that we're getting every year? Thank you.

All right, thank you. Mr. City Manager, is there anyone you'd like to speak to them about this issue?

Yes, sir. I mean, there's two issues that are there.

One revolves around the mobile home accord that'll be coming back to the council next month. But there are laws that we are preempted by the state as it pertains to mobile homes. But the accord has served as a roadmap for what we can do to limit increases. It's going to be a function of whether or not their particular park is participating in the accord. but I would have Albert Ramirez, our housing director, speak with these folks, and then perhaps Mr. Zeledon on the second issue pertaining to the increase of coaches. Here again, the state of California has preempted local control in mandating or allowing by right what they call a density bonus. And my understanding is that the owners of this park are trying to proceed with that density bonus. So I think between Mr. Zeledon and Mr. Ramirez, they can answer some questions, whether it's welcome news or not, but at least they'll have facts.

So they'll meet you now in a back conference room. Thank you. Donna Littleton, Ferries.

Good evening, Mayor and Council. I appreciate this time. I just want to say thank you very much for what you are doing so far with the ballpark. It's not exactly what we want, because it looks like a little league park. Question I have is, what's happening? My brother gave y'all plans to give to Parks and Rec, and he has not been contacted for what he has given you for the plans with the Lodi ballpark, showing you what could happen with what we visualize that can happen out there with Jaydleton Ballpark to make the city even a brighter looking place, a beautiful park that would make this place shine. So that's the only thing I really came to ask you is what's going on so we have some kind of an idea. And you know, people have been asking us about it and so. I just said I would come forward and ask. So that's it. And thank you for your time.

We'll have someone speak to you.

Okay.

Our city manager.

All right.

Either we can... Mr. Hess is around there in the back. Yeah, the... in all likelihood will end up happening. If you recall, council's direction was to get the ballpark open so the kids could get back onto the field. That's what's happening right now because in all likelihood, we're proceeding with litigation against our insurance company. And that is going to be protracted by all estimation from what we're seeing in the posture of the insurance company. So what you see out there is the idea of getting kids back on that field based on all the feedback that we got previously. But Tito can give you an update as to where we are now.

All right, thank you. Jesse Fonseca. Followed by Kizzy, after him.

Hello, once again, everybody. I know you'll miss me. I ain't been here for a while. Warehouse Watmer called me a liar twice on TV in this day and age. In 2022. And you stopped calling me a liar. You call me a liar twice until I brought a copy. I gave you a copy, gave you a copy, gave you a copy, gave you a copy. You're irrelevant. Gave you a copy and gave you a copy of the $350,000 a year contract that you have with USC where you get special perks. I have emails from, from a thief, from a CEO of the airport. I've been screaming about the corruption that is warehouse Wapner for over 20 plus years. And then now that he's, the FBI looked at people finally waking up. I mean, come on, give me a break. I've known this since day one. And, uh, you just handing out money left and right. I mean, Daisy, Weren't you living in Upland when Butler gave you 40 grand, 50 grand, whatever it was? You weren't living in Ontario, I don't think. But your reign's come to a stop. I'm talking to the people of Ontario now. Go out there and vote. There's low vote turnout. You need to go out and vote. Thank you.

All right, Kizzy. Followed by Ashley Ayala.

Your Honor, Ms. Parada, thank you so much. First and foremost, it's the 30-year anniversary of my aunt's passing. She was killed in the line of duty. Many men and women put on that uniform. They donned that sand brown belt. And those of us citizens take it for granted that they're going to come home at the end of the night. On August 9, 1996, at roughly 1 PM, her watch ended. So I'd be remiss if I didn't acknowledge that. Thank you, gentlemen and ladies in here that have served. Next issue, Ms. Parada, you came out for a neighborhood talks meeting and you heard some of the residents loud and clear. We'd like to thank you for the swift response to the Calaveras property. Your Honor, I want to thank you. We've spoken privately about it and you said that you would get it done. You got it done and I appreciate that. the members of the community over there appreciate that. We know that you guys also have to concern yourself with the owner's rights, but his time has come and it's over. He cannot continue to wreak havoc on that community anymore. I'm here with Little League players. All of you have heard me speak at one time or another about my dad complaining about bringing me from LA out here to play baseball. You can play on Figaro or Crenshaw. Why you got to go to Ontario? Ontario was a better place since while the family came. I was remiss when I learned that the park that I planted grass at, my brother and I played on, my sister was made to wear a wet uniform one day because she didn't drive the clothes for practice. Fun fact, memory. They do not have batting cages. And I understand that there's a process that you guys must go through as a city to ensure that they get them there, such as irrigation and lighting. We also have an issue with funding, whether or not you guys can pay for it or they can pay for it. But what's most important right now is that we use the same energy that we use for, let's just say, the big park across the street for these kids, because these kids are our future, and we all know the importance of intramural sports. It's what keeps them out of the elements and makes them have the opportunity to learn about we and not me. Let's them have the opportunity to learn about leadership. I would like you, Mayor, if you can, to please get us someone to speak with their president and their board members and ensure that they can have the proper batting cages, we can get the project done. I know there's an issue with irrigation, there's an issue with electricity, but these gentlemen here, they're volunteers. They're not electricians, they're not planners, they're not architects. We need the city's assistance to get those cages up. As far as funding goes, I'm probably the brokest man in the room, but I am pledging $500 on behalf of them. Each of these kids has a QR code, and I will be standing with them when this is over. And for those of you that have the funds, this is a one-night-only thing with just an account. The treasurer has access to it. I need you guys to donate some money so that we can help the city help these kids. So, Your Honor, please, if you can do that, we would appreciate it. Thank you, sir.

And they're not yet, all those things. They're not yet. All the things you said they're not, they're not yet. Did you want to set him up with somebody to speak with him, with the team?

Certainly he can speak with Mr. Hess and Tim back there. I mean, if you recall, West Wind is getting redone. The Little League field is getting redone as part of this current fiscal year's budget. So we'll get a jump start on that really in the next month or so.

Did you want to go speak with them now?

Okay.

Yeah. Thank you. Thank you for coming. Thanks for coming, kids. Our next speaker is Ashley Ayala, followed by Selena Lopez.

Hello everyone, my name is Ashley and I am the newest field representative for Assemblymember Michelle Rodriguez. So I just wanted to come here to give my formal introduction to the city of Ontario. Thank you.

Thank you. Okay, Selena Lopez followed by Abija.

Good evening, Mayor, members of the Council, and most importantly, my fellow Ontarians. I have not stood up in this podium since my last election. I am not here tonight because of politics. I'm here because of principle. Because every Ontarian deserves a city government worthy of our trust. Recently, Ontario has drawn attention for all the wrong reasons. Federal law enforcement activity, along with actions of some leaders, has damaged our reputation and left many residents feeling embarrassed by those entrusted to represent us. Political relationships have fractured. Alliances have shifted. Candidates have repositioned themselves. The conversation seems to be revolved around appointments, endorsements, districts, and next election. Who is running where? Who supports who? Who will be appointed next? But amid all the political maneuvering, one group is too often forgotten, us, the people. The residents paying the bills, the parents raising families, the seniors trying to remain in their homes, the small business owners struggling to keep their doors open. Ontarians are not political pawns. Public office should never become a private transaction between political allies. Let us be clear. You are public servants. The people do not work for you. You work for the people. For seven years, I challenged the political machine in the city. I walked thousands of miles. I knocked on doors. I listened to residents. I challenged the decisions being made at City Hall. And because I was willing to do the work, ask the difficult questions, and give residents a voice, I became the target of political attacks. But I never lowered my head. After everything that has happened, I can stand here tonight and say no one bought me. No one purchased my silence with an appointment. No one decided which seat I should run for next. My allegiance was to the people then, and it remains to the people now.

One minute remaining.

There's a difference between holding office and holding political trust. A title gives you authority, integrity must be demonstrated. So to every candidate asking Ontarians for their vote this November, do not simply tell us who endorses you. Tell us what you stand for. Tell us who you are when there is no appointment to gain, donor to impress, or political alliance to protect. And to my fellow Ontarians, look beyond title, look at character, look at independence, and yes, follow the money. Then ask the simple question, who benefits? City Hall does not belong to politicians, developers, donors, or consultants. It belongs to the people. Seats are temporary. Political lines are temporary, as you can see what's happening. Power is temporary, but your record follows you. History remembers who protected power and who protected the people. I know which side of history I belong to. As November approaches, make sure our leaders understand exactly who they work for, and that is you, the people. Thank you.

OK.

If I may, this is Abijah. Oh, okay. He saw me put a card in and he said, I want to speak.

Okay, Abijah, come on. Chris Robles is next.

Um, hello, here. I think we should have batting cages because I think it'll be easier and faster for the kids in my league and my division to hit the ball more. And, like, yeah, I feel like we could learn way more if we have batting cages and stuff.

So, yeah. Thanks, Abijah. Chris Robles, followed by Randy Beckendam.

How am I supposed to follow that?

Sit down then. Good job.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I actually did consider it, but you know what? Yes, my name is Chris Robles, founder of Fair Ontario and resident of the 4th District. I originally on the scheduled for this agenda was some proximity land, 71.6 acres, which is now nestled between two warehouses. And I did want to come and speak about that nonetheless, even though it didn't appear on the agenda after all. I don't think people realize we have an agricultural preserve here in Ontario. Preserve. 200 acres currently. But there seems to be some kind of collusion between the city, developers, and the county to rob us of this agricultural preserve, which has already been bought and paid for by the people of California in perpetuity. It's not supposed to be touched. And yet they are touching it, taking it, and trying to either jam it into this great or grand park. I forget. You always change the name. You're trying to jam it into that park, which is a separate issue. It is not an agricultural preserve. It is a park. We deserve that park and many more parks. But this land is not supposed to go there. Or give it to developers. This is wrong. This is wrong. We want creative ideas for this land. Anyone that's ever traveled to Sonoma or Napa County can see where agriculture and homes, residents, coalesce together. It's beautiful, and people, there are wineries, there are all of these wonderful things that are so enjoyable up there, and we have the opportunity to have that here, but not if we're robbed of our agricultural preserve. Thank you.

All right, Randy Beckendam, Randy Beckendam, Followed by Pastor Ted Burnett.

Good evening, Mayor, Council. So my comments echo Mr. Robles. At the last planning commission, this property in question was approved to have a zone change from agriculture to industrial. The rationale was it's consistent with the general plan. So our position is that the general plan is flawed and should be amended. When the general plan was formed, it should have been noted that amongst the boundaries of Ontario are 200 acres owned by the people of California stewarded by the county mandated to be agriculture in perpetuity. just simply noted on the general plan that this land will be zoned agriculture forever. There's no grounds to change it to industrial. So we are suggesting, requesting that the general plan be amended to reflect this reality. 200 acres zoned agriculture in perpetuity, staying put right where they are. Thank you.

Thank you. Our next speaker is Pastor Ted Burnett, followed by Brad Newman.

Good morning. I mean, good evening.

You know I'm in the zone. I just want to come this evening to you and Usually, I'm here to complain. Daisy said, Ted, you complain, and it's all right. You know that's our role. But I want to commend the Ontario Montclair School District and the City of Ontario for their pending land swap of 13 acres on the corner of 6 and Amador in District 4. And I understand it has to be approved by the state and other entities. But this should be the future home of our community center. Because we in District 4, we don't have a community center. Everybody else got the one in South Ontario, Anza, Munoz, and everything else. But we have no place for our kids to play. Littleton Field is in my district also. But they already talked about that already. So I do want to commend you. And now there are no excuses. to build us a community center now. And that's a big giant step for District 4 since we feel that we don't have a voice and no one listens to us. And all the money from Measure Q and everything else been put into South Ontario and we been left behind. But we're asking tonight to please let us know, city council mayor and the city manager, when the plans for our community center will be drawn up. And since Jackie Robinson played at Littleton Field in 1947, why not name our new field? See, I'm claiming this, y'all. Jackie Robinson Community Center, what a novel concept. So, our motto in District 4 is, there is no taxation without representation.

Thank you. All right, thank you, Pastor Brad Newman, followed by Eric Vasquez.

Hello, friends. My name is Brad Newman. I am the former city auditor for the City of Ontario in beautiful Southern California. I was actually expecting to flip the agenda item so we could talk about Alan Wapner first. But last time I spoke at City Council, I talked about Alan Wapner's racist hate speech. He's a Palestinian disguised as a Jew, which Alan Wapner made on March 18th, 2025. He then doubled down in July saying, I'm not going to apologize. This guy came in here dressed as a Palestinian terrorist pretending to be Jewish. That comment was made on March 18th and I have the transcript here, Mayor. There's a copy of it for you to read. What the man who identified as Jewish was speaking about, he was petitioning government for change. And as we all know, as Americans, I hope we pass civics class. The First Amendment gives us a right to petition government for change. The man was asking for change. This right here is the federal legislative platform that the City of Ontario produces, and this is the state platform. So the City of Ontario petitions state and federal government. So when he was asking you to represent us, he was asking you to do something that's within your jurisdiction, Ruben. And it was after 39 seconds, actually 36 seconds in March, and then after 39 seconds in July that his public comment was interrupted. You started talking over him, Mayor. He was speaking to you and he was petitioning for change. You need to read through this transcript and I want you to answer these questions. I print out these comments for you because I really would like to have an answer. There are five questions at the very top of this. Any member of the public can request a copy of this from public records. So when the city of Ontario says they don't have the jurisdiction for us to tell you about the violations of our rights, our freedoms, that's our job as Americans. We are the land of the free, the home of the brave. If we are no longer brave and willing to stand up and say you can't kidnap those people, We can't allow masked men to go around kidnapping students who are protesting. We have a right to protest. We have a right to gather. We have a right to religious identification. Ruben actually said, don't interrupt the speaker mayor, but you still interrupted in the July 15th meeting and you stopped him from speaking. The man only started yelling when you cut off his microphone. The only reason why I know what he was saying, he said because of the yarmulke on his head, he had swastikas graffitied onto his car. The man was petitioning for change. It's your responsibility to be our voice at the state and federal level. You have petitioned government for change. You need to respect our right to speak and petition for change. Thank you.

All right, our next speaker is Eric Vasquez, followed by Tommy Mush again.

Good evening, Mayor, members of the council, city staff and members of the community. My name is Eric Vasquez and I'm the director of True Impact, which is a nonprofit that serves at promise youth and transitional age youth to heal from their trauma and to find purpose. I've been doing that work for the last 20 plus years in various communities in the region. And I've been focused in this community over the last couple of months. And over the years, I've tried so many different strategies to touch the heart, to reach the at-promise young person so that we could see those lives transformed and rehabilitated. Being of lived experience, I know that it's We got a lot of walls up. It takes some time to earn trust with us. But one of the things that I have found recently to be successful is getting young people that are system-impacted, current or former foster youth, at Promise Youth, into green spaces. I want to give a shout out to Mr. Zeledon and also Mr. Lampkin. They've engaged me and told me a little bit about the plans for Grand Park. And so I'm excited about that. But I've also been partnering with organizations like SCAF. You saw Farmer Randy come up and give his comments. We've been doing work on that farm. And it's like gold for me to see those young people get in those spaces, get their hands to good work, have workforce development opportunities, And it's so healing for them. And so I see a bright future for At Promise youth. And I like to use these platforms to educate folks. It's gaining momentum, but for those that may not have heard it, some people call it young people at risk, right? But we like to use that term, At Promise, because it speaks towards their potential, speaks towards their future. It doesn't define them for their mistakes. But it actually calls out their humanity and their goodness and their qualities that are amazing. Many of us are beautiful young people that have just had to endure trauma at no fault of our own. One minute remaining. And so I echo the sentiments of some of the speakers where I've recently been learning about the potential of agricultural land in threat of being developed. Uh, I've been immersing myself and educating myself around these props and laws that are surrounding these things. And so I just want to share that I'm eager to continue to work in this community and throughout the region. I'm grateful to be here and to meet all of you and to learn more about this community's movements. And I look forward to partnering with the community and any and any and all of the folks who believe and care about young people. Thank you so much for your time.

All right. Thank you. Um, Tommy Mushigan, followed by Olga Sanchez.

Thank you for the three minutes. For Mayor, in the first half of 22, you like to give for consulting. You had payments made to a Pursuit 360 for $25,000 for consulting. And COGS, again, C-O-G-S, you gave them 15 grand. I know Wapner loves COGS. That's one of his favorite ones to choose on top of that one. Create a print consulting LLC. Daisy does that and then she learned that from you, Wapner. Create a print consulting LLC. You got to juice them 20 plus thousands off. I don't deny it. You know, it's true. What are you juicing those people in Long Beach for? For consulting, right? You take your campaign contributions, and the majority of that comes from the developers, the police and fire unions. Their dues are going to go pay these people for consulting for your campaign. You need your campaign contributions, don't you? Can't you do it for free? Do you really care that much? Don't get nervous, attorney. You know it all. So then, also then, you got received campaign contributions, mayor. Oh, 10 grand from the firefighters. They came up with a new one. What is it? Oh, professional governing agency. And then the old, another one. That's when unions are represented. You got 20 grand out of them. This is a new one. I think this was for the year end. You went, oh, you went up $492 up at the Ojai Valley Inn. So you use your elected position, your campaign contributions, so you could go travel up there. Are you doing Ontario business up in Ojai where you claim you're from? Again, what county were you born in? Yeah, Mr. DUI hit and run. We're not going to forget about that one. And then look at this, oh, look, $46,000 to APG in 22 for mailings and so, APG, huh? I was bringing those postal records and see all those mailers you went out with. Then let's see, oh, you gave a, I forget which one. In 24, somebody got 16. One minute remaining. So, and then we've got, I like the change in the name, by the way, of the Toyota Arena. It's now Capital City Entertainment Zone. Where'd you get that from? The Simpsons episodes? The Capital City? That's the original one. And see, let's see, oh, and then over here, oh, Leon, what's it, 22? Remember Mark Kirk and the whole colonies thing with Ovid? You paid him $2,500 for consulting. And when are you going to reopen Chino Avenue? And I don't appreciate northbound Ontario Avenue for a right turn only on Riverside Drive. You're wonderful. You're empire, you're empire. You should want to quit MTC. And then now you want conditional use permits to park trailers? when the former actress says, so now, oh, but that's included for the charging terminals for your electric trucks. And I saw a walker saying he wants to put sea containers on and make them electric vehicles. Well, I'm out of time, so thanks for that.

Our next speaker is Olga Sanchez and followed by Marty McBride.

Good evening, Mayor, members, city of the council, fellow residents of City of Ontario. My name is Olga Sanchez and I'm here tonight because I believe in a strong city measure, but not only the economic growth or business or beautiful neighborhoods, but also how we treat people who are struggling. I'm here to speak about the homeless neighbors or children that may be without support and stability. Every child deserves widows and families who have lost their loved ones and senior citizens who have spent their lives contributing to our community. This is the simple status of social issues. These are our neighbors, their parents, grandparents, veterans, workers and children. They are people who deserve dignity, compassion, safety and support to live with hope. Tonight I'm here to ask OUR CITY LEADERS TO CONTINUE STRENGTH EFFORTS TO WORK TOGETHER WITH CHURCHES, NOT-PROFIT, BUSINESSES, RESIDENTS AND COUNTY AND STATE PARTNERS. LET US BUILD AN ONTARIO WHERE COMPASSION IS NOT JUST A WORD. LET US BUILD ONTARIO WHERE NO SENIOR CITIZENS FEEL FORGOTTEN or no widow feels abandoned, no child feels without hope, and no people experiencing homeless, and it's treated through all their invisible. Mayor Leone and members of the city of the council, I stand here tonight to say that I support leadership that puts people first. May we not be able to solve every problem tonight, but if we work together, we can make a difference, one person, one family, one neighborhood at a time. Let us continue to build the city a strong, not only because of what it has, because how is care for those who have less? Thank you and God bless Ontario.

All right, thank you. Marty McBride followed by Consuelo Gutierrez.

Good evening, Mayor and City Council. The agenda for today is extensive once again. And although we had an emergency meeting to put a tax initiative on the ballot for November, I do wanna say that during that meeting, it was revealed that the city is currently operating in a deficit, a significant deficit. And I just wanna say, looking at this agenda, I see that if we look at the maximum amounts, the not to exceed amounts on the agenda, item three, $211,638. Item four, $2,400,000. Item seven, $342,025. Item nine, $22,855.489. Item 10, $9,393,809. Item 11, $576,000. Item 12A, $11,357,981. Item 12B, $234,921. Item 12C, $503,696. Item 12D, $1,198,292 and item 13, $560,000 for a total of $70,891,826. This is in addition to what has already been spent for this fiscal year. I want to say that I find it incredible that the city would have the courage to ask residents to subsidize this kind of overspending. I ask that the city be more responsible fiscally. Do your fiscal duty. Don't spend more than you have. That's basic. Every person on this earth who works in a monetary system knows that you don't spend more than you have. It's not difficult. So thank you very much and have a good evening.

Okay, Consuelo Gutierrez followed by Joaquin Casillas.

Hello again. Hi, everyone. My name is Consuelo Gutierrez. Some of you know me as Buffy. Today I'm using my phone because I was interrupted last meeting by a member of Ellen Wapner's campaign who was sitting in the audience. I've been a resident all my life. Can you believe I'm 50 years old, 50? I live in the same house, same room. I'm blessed. Wapner, you said last meeting you're not at fault. You don't know why the FBI went to your house. But you got your house raided for a reason. Forging papers, lying, it was something. You did wrong. You did something wrong. You didn't cross your T's and you didn't dot your I's. Eventually, you got caught. I'm going to give an example. Okay, Dad, here we go. My parents lived in Ontario for over 60 years and never once got raided. We're not perfect. But we never had FBI come to our house. The FBI just don't go and pick and choose houses to go and deal with it. You did something wrong.

One minute remaining.

You should step down altogether. You're putting nonsense to Ontario community. As for Daisy, you said last meeting to Paul, what I told... Can you get your own words and say it and not take mine? It's a privilege to be up there and should be professional, which I seen last meeting. You huffed and you puffed and you threw your mic. That's not professional. That's unprofessional. Nobody tells me what to do at all. This is from my heart. Both of you, when I mean it, need to go. You gotta go. The rest of you, I pray that everything goes in your favor. Thank you.

All right, thank you. Joaquin Castillejas and followed by Claudia Cuevas. And Claudia will need a translator.

Good evening, Mayor, City Council, staff, and community. My name is Joaquin Castillejos and I am with the Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice. I'm here today to speak on the future of Prop 70 land that has been transferred to the City of Ontario. and the importance of keeping it for the original purpose that it was meant to be. It was created to protect agriculture, open space, natural lands, and resources for future generations, and it should not be allowed for this land to be in any way transferred to become industrial areas or warehousing or anything of that use. There should be no loopholes used to undermine that purpose. We're being told that this land will support parks, recreation, and agriculture, but the reality is that the Grand Park project is nowhere near execution while industrial development continues to expand throughout our communities. We have to ask ourselves what happens to this land if the Grand Park does not happen as planned. and this is especially important because of the air quality conditions that we already experienced in Ontario. Ontario has an air monitoring site along Route 60, specifically because of the pollution burden associated with major transportation corridors. One of the last reports by AQMD identified Ontario as one of the locations where PM 2.5 monitoring was necessary because of the continued amount of exceeding federal annual PM 2.5 standard. Also, the CalEnviro screen shows that Ontario ranks in the 90th percentile for PM2.5 pollution statewide. So when we're talking about protecting farmland and green space, we're not just talking about aesthetics or a hobby. We're talking about public health. We're talking about the future of Ontario. These are all super important to reduce heat and provide important environmental benefits to communities that are already burdened by pollution. And as extreme heat becomes more common, these spaces become even more important. Once agricultural land is converted into warehouses and industrial development, we cannot get it back. So I'm asking this council to think beyond the transaction that you have to decide on. If this land is truly intended for agriculture or for green space, then it should be permanently placed under agricultural reserve. It should be permanently placed in a way that is transparent to the community and is not allowed to become another warehouse project. This is the kind of future that we want in Ontario, and the kind of future that the citizens and the residents of Ontario are asking from its representatives. Thank you.

All right, I'm sorry. Claudia Cuevas, and she needs a translator, followed by Taylor Moskal, is that correct?

Hello, my name is Claudia Cuevas. And I come from the Community Center for Environmental Action and Justice. And I come to reiterate that Ontario should protect the lands. El último comentario de la junta pasada comentaron que ya era suficiente con Huerta del Valle.

The last comment from the previous meeting was that Huerta del Valle was already enough.

Cuando los farmer es muy diferente a un huerto. Se vuelve a mencionar, necesitamos más espacio para la comunidad. No esos pequeños espacios, sino grandes espacios para nuestras familias.

When the farmer is very different from a garden, it is mentioned again. We need more space for the community, not those small spaces, but large spaces for our families.

Nosotros como organización tuvimos invitados a la organización de CRPE.

We as an organization had guests at the CRP organization.

Vinieron desde Bakersfield a comentarnos cómo ellos funcionan con sus huertos, con sus espacios.

They came from Bakersfield to tell us how they manage their gardens and their spaces.

Y todo es para la comunidad. Han sembrado hasta 2,000 sandias en espacios para la comunidad.

And it's all for the community. They have planted up to 2,000 watermelons in community spaces.

Nosotros como no podemos apoyar a la comunidad con esos espacios, donde la comunidad se siente relajada, donde su estrés queda sobre la tierra, donde ellos le dan amor a esos espacios.

We, since we cannot support the community with those spaces where the community feels relaxed, where there is stress, is left on the ground where they give love to those spaces.

No estamos peleados con la industria. No estamos peleados con la tecnología. Necesitamos que entiendan que este mundo es caótico. Estamos cansados de tanto camión, de tanto estrés, de lo que día a día todas las familias que estamos aquí presentes llevamos a cabo.

We are not at odds with industry. We are not at odds with technology. We need them to understand that this world is chaotic. We are tired of so many trucks, so much stress, but what all the families present here carry out every day.

Esos espacios que necesitamos como comunidad son para eso, para nosotros con nuestras familias salir, dejar ese estrés del trabajo, de los hijos, dejar mantener las plantas, darle amor a la naturaleza, hacer un cambio en nuestra comunidad es lo que necesitamos.

Those spaces that we need as a community are for that purpose, for us, with our families, getting out, leaving behind the stress of work, taking care of the plants, showing love to nature, making a change in our community is what we need.

And to see that the remaining spaces in the city of Ontario are being utilized

but for wineries, but not for the community.

Por favor, necesitamos de que ustedes tomen en cuenta lo que la comunidad necesita. Necesitamos espacios, áreas verdes, no un parque. Un parque sí, sirve para relajar, sentarte y llevar a los niños al área infantil. Necesitamos que la comunidad vuelva a sus raíces, a sembrar, a cosechar, a comer comida saludable. La carne que consumimos cada día tiene más químicos.

We need you to take into account what the community needs. We need spaces, green areas, a park. If it serves to relax, sit down and take the children to the children's area. We need the community to return to its roots, to sowing, harvesting, to eating healthy food.

No estamos peleados ni venimos a agredir a nadie, ni a faltar el respeto a nadie. Solo queremos que entiendan como organización que es lo que escuchamos de la comunidad. La comunidad tiene miedo venir a exponer su situación. La comunidad no se siente escuchada al venir aquí a decir lo que necesitan. Entonces, la única manera de nosotros es venir y alzar la voz por ellos, pero con respeto hacia ustedes.

We are not fighting with anyone, nor are we here to attack or disrespect anyone. We simply want you as an organization to understand what we hear from the community. The community is afraid to come forward and expose their situation. They do not feel heard when they come here to say what they need. So the only way for us is to come and raise our voices for them, but with respect for you.

One minute remaining.

And please don't forget Proposition 70. We need your help. Thank you. All right, thank you. Our next speaker is Taylor Muscal and followed by Sterling.

That's all.

Good evening everyone good evening everyone. This is my actually my first City Council meeting never been here before but really cool 22 years old my I've lived here all my life not gonna tell you my entire like life story But I do serve the community and I do plan to serve the community God-willingly with like licensing certification stuff and all that but I'm speaking for residents and employees or residents of the Charlemagne Apartments and Emporia Lofts and the employees of the Post Office, Matcha, Greenhouse Matcha and Mestiza's and I can't remember the barbershop name. but we need access to parking because recently we've had the street sweeping and then you guys have implemented two-hour parking limits and we only have a small lot to ourselves and recently with the events going on across the street with the banquet hall getting shut down parking has also changed over there as well and it's no longer overnight parking for us but I get home at awkward hours of the night, sometimes awkward hours in the mornings. So I need a place to park so then I could go home and go to sleep. You guys recently implemented ticketing for the street sweeping. I accidentally parked on the wrong side of the road, fell asleep, didn't wake up, I woke up to a ticket. And I was very frustrated because I looked down the line, nobody else had a ticket. Very frustrating, just paid my ticket, but still it was, very frustrating because I've lived there for two years now and I've so many changes to our parking and there's no notices that things are going to be starting up one minute remaining and it's just really concerning to all of our residents because all of us are like where are you parking tonight I gotta walk down the street right and then even the lots behind us That's now overnight parking either. So, and also that's right next to the trains and there's a big hole in the fence. And so being a young lady, like that's kind of scary walking from there at night when I have to get home and go to bed. But yeah, honestly hearing everybody, I think it's in your guys' best interest to listen to our concerns so that we don't have any more follow-up negative connotations to our city. I've lived here for 22 years, I love it here. And I don't wanna hear any more negative things about our city. Thank you.

Hold on, Mr. City Manager, especially the hole in the fence. I wanna find out exactly what she's talking about, see what we can assess there.

Yeah, it might be a good candidate for permit parking in that southwest part of downtown, south of Holt, Euclid, it's an interesting dynamic, right? Because it's kind of an area that's coming up, seen as very cool, there's a lot of new stuff that's going on there, and then you end up with a parking problem. And so we're trying to match that success with some solutions. So I think Mr. Hess, if you or one of your engineers, one of the things that we're looking at is permit parking as a way to protect the folks that live there versus the folks that are just frequenting it for some of the entertainment that's down there.

All right, our next speaker is Luz Hernandez, who needs a translator. Oh, I'm sorry. Sterling, you're right. Sorry.

Good evening. My name is Sterling Serta. I've been a resident on that West Transit Street since 2020. I've seen a change over the years with a lot of economic development. I've met a lot of amazing community members being an employee there at Mestiza Cafe for a while and just living there on the street and meeting my community through the art walks as well as the the third Saturday, it's definitely a growing area with it becoming the downtown arts district recently. And with that growth, it's become an issue for residents there. The growth is amazing, but we need our support. There are also employees and customers. It's honking in the early mornings because people need to get their coffee and they're grumpy. They're trying to go to the cafe or the greenhouse matching, get that good stuff. But as a resident, it's even tougher. I also come home at awkward times. I used to work overnights and come home at 6 AM and wait for some of the other residents to leave for work before I can pull into the parking lot to make sure I don't get a ticket. The street has become two hour parking around the end of last year. The signs have been there for months, but they haven't been enforced until recently. As well as the newer street sweeping being implemented, the signs are new, but they haven't been enforced until recently. There were parking lots available across the street adjacent to the post office and behind the Frankish building right there by the train tracks. Recently with the city also changing the rules to no longer allow overnight parking, it's become an issue. There's a whole community available there, but they're unable to really stay, seeing as how there needs to be spaces for the Charlemagne Apartments, the lofts there on Transit Street, the Emporia Place Apartments, the Emporia Lofts, as well as, other than residents, employees of these businesses, with the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Mestiza Cafe, Greenhouse Matcha, the Barbershop, the Tax Office, the Post Office as well, And further down, I've seen people come down the street because there's nothing available, so they have to park near our newer business, Holt X Palm. So I'd like your support. I've already spoken with the engineering department to request if there's anything for permit parking. because they were talking about traffic and those were my questions related to traffic. I also talked to the business license department and they sent me to the engineering department. The engineering department says there's nothing in place and that I need to attend a city council meeting. So I'd like your help in getting this license process started so I can park where I live and not have to pay, thank you.

You might wanna catch up with her, thank you. Well, that ends our public comment. Thank you, everybody, for being accommodating. Oh, yeah. Yeah. No, wait, wait, wait. No, they're right. There's the, let me, Luz Hernandez. I got that backwards.

Buenas tardes. Mi nombre es Luz Maria Hernandez. Soy residente de aquí de la ciudad de Ontario.

Good evening, my name is Luz Maria Hernandez and I am a resident of the City of Ontario.

Estoy aquí para apoyar la Proposición 70.

And I am here to support Proposition 70.

Mi preocupación es que vivimos en un área de las más contaminadas. Y yo creo que nos hace falta no más bodegas, sino más áreas verdes, más granjas.

My concern is that we live in one of the most polluted areas. I think what we need is not more warehouses, but more green areas, more farms.

To counteract the pollution, which is already very high in this area. And sometimes I think and I wonder that with good planning, the green spaces are nice, but not in central Ontario. Ya tenemos bastantes bodegas aquí que nos contaminan. Tenemos el tren, los reciclos, pues hasta se puede decir que el aeropuerto, que de alguna manera también nos contamina. ¿Por qué no un poquito más alejados de lo que es la ciudad? Podríamos tener más bodegas.

We already have enough warehouses here that pollute us. We have the trains, the recycling centers, and you could even say that the airport, which is in some way also a pollutant. Why not a little further away from the city where we could have more of those warehouses?

La contaminación también nos trae enfermedades, estrés, y para poder un poquito relajarnos necesitamos más áreas verdes.

Pollution also brings us illnesses and stress, and to be able to relax a little, we need more green areas.

And I ask that you please have more green areas, more farms for the children, for the schools, for ourselves. I believe that with better planning, anything is possible. Thank you.

Okay, thank you. So now that's the end of our public comments. Ms. Parada.

Before everybody else leaves, I'd like to comment that was saying there were deficit spending addressed by Mr. .

Microphone, please. Yeah, the comment about deficit spending, Ms. Perotta would like an explanation about that. Yes, sir.

Thank you, council members. The city adopted a balanced budget. You have a requirement to adopt a balanced budget. It was called out not at the last meeting, so I'm not quite sure what the speaker was referring to, but at previous meetings by some of the other speakers in the audience, that as part of the budget adoption, you were relying on payments that were being made from reserve accounts that the city had set up in this current budget year. And that's correct. The city has set aside through your conservative financial planning over the last 25 to 30 years As an example, our other post-employment benefits fund, which I think now is probably approaching $200 million or maybe a little over $200 million, and the idea is setting aside money for those future obligations so that way you have money to be able to draw on in times of economic uncertainty so that you don't have to sacrifice services or programs or projects for the residents and be able to draw down on those funds that you set aside. You have the general fund reserve. You have an economic development reserve of another $20 million. Now, people might say, well, then go spend that. Don't do this Measure H. And that's a valid argument. And I think what the council is doing is saying, well, we're going to put it on the ballot. Let the voters decide. Because if we're able to bring new money into that system, what you're ultimately able to do is maintain all of those reserves that you've been very conscientious about establishing and building up over the last generations. and continue the services that you hear a number of the residents are very appreciative for and continue the capital improvements that you've seen over these past four years that are in many ways changing the landscape of the city for the better and is why you saw the Carpenters and La Lluna here urging the council to support that measure. So I think ultimately what you see from some of the speakers is an inability to understand that two things can be true at the same time. And those two things are we are adopting a balanced budget and you have been good stewards of the city's finances. and that you've built up these reserves and the idea of being able to avoid any impact on services by drawing down on the reserves that you've built up for this particular specific point in time as you get through the choppy water of the next 24 months as you look at the world around you to see what's going on with the the impact on the economy from the degree of uncertainty that it's faced. So all of those things to say, I guess I appreciate the concern, but it's a bit misplaced in trying to lecture to the council about long term financial planning.

Is that it? Okay. So we'll move on to agenda review announcements. Is there anything that you have to let us know about, Mr. City Manager?

Yes, Mr. Mayor. There is a resolution that has been added to item number 15. As some council appointments require the appointment to be made by resolution, copies have been placed at the dais and are also available to the public at the back of the room.

All right. Thank you. So rather than get in a consent calendar right now, I'm going to bring item number 15 to the foreword. So we can deal with it right now. And I'd just like to say before we act on the item before us, I want to explain plainly why it's on our agenda tonight. Last week, Councilmember Alan Watner stepped down from the position of Mayor Pro Tem and from the boards and commissions on which he represented our city both inside and out. He remains a member of the council and what is before us tonight is a responsibility that follows from his decision to fill those roles. That's what we're doing. To name a mayor pro tem and to appoint representatives to those regional boards and commissions so that Ontario's voice on them continues without interruption. And let me be clear about what this is and what it is not. This is not a punishment, and it's not a judgment about anyone's guilt or innocence. Mr. Watner, like every person, is entitled to the presumption of innocence and to the full protections of due process, and nothing we do here changes that. Our task tonight is narrower and simpler, to keep this city's government whole and working for the people who depend on it. The role of Mayor Pro Tem and the seats our city holds on regional boards are positions of public trust. They carry real authority over public dollars and public decisions, and they cannot sit empty. Filling them promptly and responsibly is how we protect residents and keep the public's business steady and above reproach. This moment also makes something else clear. It is time to strengthen the guardrails that protect the public's trust. I believe we should reconsider contribution limits and take up the question of term limits here in Ontario and take up the idea that we have some things to reconsider. It cannot be business as usual anymore. Public office is a public trust, not a career and not a payday. And clear, honest rules are how we keep it that way. I want to acknowledge Mr. Wapner's years of service to this city. Those years are real and I'm not going to diminish them. To the residents of Ontario, your city is steady. You heard him say, we're not operating outside of a balanced budget. We're well within our budget. Your services continue and the daily business of your government goes on without interruption. Our obligation is to you and only to you. So, with that, I'm gonna go ahead and proceed with this item. And we do have some blue cards to this, I think, right here. Now, typically, When we get past the consent calendar, we drop into the two minute blue cards. Just to let you know, that's the way that we do things here. So we're gonna go into the two minute blue cards. And I have three. Do we have anything else? Okay. So we'll move on and ask Mr. Fonseca to come forward. You have two minutes.

Yes, like I said before, I've been up here 20 plus years. Are you listening? Are you listening to music or what are you doing? I'm listening to you, Mr. Thompson. Okay, hard of hearing. Where else should not be in that seat whatsoever? I know it's innocent to prove him guilty, but I've been showing his guilt left and right. You never called me a liar again after I showed you the contract. It's time, like the Mayor said, for checks and balances. We need transparency and we need term limits and contribution limits because whereas Wapner has way too much money in his pocket, giving her $40,000, $50,000, probably gave her more so she could run for Mayor, Ontario, do not vote for her for Mayor.

Mr. Mayor, I'm sorry. What we do not do here is politic at the podium, but thank you. Thank you very much. So our next speaker is Chris Robles. It's not me to stop him. It's him to stop him. And he did.

Would you like me to address it, Mr. Mayor, or are you going to leave it?

No, I'm just trying to clarify it to Ms. Macias because she's kind of giving me trouble that I didn't stop him, but it's you to stop him, not me to stop him, correct? No, sir, I'm not giving you trouble.

This is your meeting.

I'm not giving you trouble. I think we have a speaker who's waiting to speak. We might want to reset his time, and then I can address the campaigning issue if it comes up again. Thank you, Mr. Mayor.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Reassigning Mr. Wapner's boards is not accountability. It's a start, but really it's administrative housekeeping. This stack of papers represents 12 months of two campaigns, two campaign committees that Mr. Wapner has. The total raised $652,249 in a 12 month period. As you let that settle, think about this. There are 185,000 residents in Ontario. If you divide that into the 652 plus thousand, that's as if every man, woman, and child in Ontario wrote him a $273.56 check. That is grotesque. It is time for serious reform in this city. This alone calls for it, let alone FBI raids. There are numerous questions. I see my time disappearing. I have, through Fair Ontario, put together a comprehensive, beyond just term limits and limits on campaign contributions, a comprehensive lobbying, all types of things to instruct and protect the people of Ontario. I will provide it to you. It's extensive, and we need to have reforms here in this city. Thank you for your time.

All right, our next speaker is Brad Newman.

Hello, friends. My name is Brad Newman. I'm the former city auditor for the City of Ontario in beautiful Southern California. Obviously, I support removing Alan Waffner from his positions. As Maya Angelou very famously said, when someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time. He demonstrated himself to be a racist, anti-American, anti-Semitic bigot who said on public record, he's a Palestinian disguised as a Jew. He then doubled down on July 15th by saying, I'm not going to apologize, dot, dot, dot. This guy came in here dressed as a Palestinian terrorist pretending to be Jewish. You know what that dot, dot, dot omits? You stated that it was okay because it was your identity, that you identified as a Jew, and that somehow when you make a racist statement about a public commenter, it's acceptable. In America, we believe in equal protection under the law. When you demonstrated you were willing to violate that man's dignity, when you were willing to violate our American right to freedom of speech and to petition government, you demonstrated you are an anti-American bigot. You do not belong in any position of public trust whatsoever. How many days do you think you're gonna stay in that chair, Allen? I want you to think about your freedom, Allen, and what it means to be free. You are going to beg and cling to every shred of due process, due process that I was denied at the city. Exhibit 15 of the city's retaliation against me, Mayor, is a three-page email. You know what's missing? Page two. Attorney Wapner admitted under oath to manipulating the administrative record against me. The audit log that would demonstrate whether or not he manipulated the record hasn't been produced. Alan, I understand you are an anti-American bigot, but I truly do hope that American justice prevails and that you're given every due process that you afford. Thank you.

All right. Thank you. So the matter at hand is about the, um, positions that Mr. Wapner resigned from, and this is what they are. Omnitrans, Ontario International Airport, Ontario IAC Mediation Board, Recreation Parks Liaison, San Bernardino County Transit Authority, and Mariposa Temp. And for those, basically, I will be replacing him, on all except Ontario International Airport, which will be Ms. Parada, and Ms. Parada will also become Mayor Pro Tem. And so I'll entertain a motion, and I open it for discussion if anybody would like to speak to it. I would move the motion, sir. So Mr. Bowman moves, Ms. Parada second. All right, so we'll go ahead and have an electronic vote.

Mr. Mayor, I hesitate to interrupt. The city manager mentioned that each of you had a draft resolution in front of you and there were copies made for the public this evening. You mentioned that you intend to nominate Councilmember Farada as the mayor pro tem, that resolution does not reflect that appointment should the council make that. So I just wanted to bring to your attention with your, I don't believe the mayor pro tem position is listed in that resolution. Absolutely. And so what I'm saying is if the council takes that action tonight, that we will amend that resolution so that when the mayor signs it and I sign it, if you pass it, it will include the appointment as mayor pro temp, simply so that it becomes all part of the record.

It's here. That's the staff report.

That's all right. It's up to the council. I mean, certainly.

If you feel that that's the legal thing to do. That's your job. It's certainly a more clear thing, Mr. Chairman. Thank you for helping us understand the legalese in all of this, although it's listed here.

So then Jim needs to amend his motion.

So his motion is for all of the board committees.

Yes, that is correct, Madam Council. I would make the motion as amended, sir.

And then we'll take on Mayor Pro Tem afterwards.

And can I have a second to the amended motion, please? Yes. Thank you.

She made a second. Okay, so we'll take the vote. All right, thank you. So now we'll take on the appointment now.

Yeah, I just want to speak to this.

Okay.

So I just want to, I don't want to, you know, so what I have here tonight is that I know that everybody has a lot of questions And I know that we all want answers and we want them quickly. But we have to allow the FBI and the federal investigators to do their jobs. This is an active investigation. We cannot get ahead of the process. I want you all to know that the campaign finance reports are publicly available on the website. So everybody that would like to have access to them, you can. I know that patience is a difficult part because we all want answers. I'm asking everyone to please give this process time. that it needs and that the facts, once they have been established, we will address them in a very responsible way and take whatever action is appropriate. So I just thank everybody for their patience. I thank for everybody for coming tonight. And this is a really important process for us here tonight to keep everything running down the road. So thank you.

OK, well, the item passes. We're going to move on to Mayor Pro Tem. and add that to the conversation. So I'll entertain a motion that Ms. Parada becomes the mayor pro tem. Move the item, sir. Moved by Mr. Bowman. I'll second it. Let's go ahead and take a vote. OK, the item passes for one. I'm not exactly sure what that's all about. But that's OK. So we move past this and we're going to come back all the way to the back again. To the consent calendar. So we'll take up consent calendar and all matters listed under the consent calendar will be enacted by one motion. There'll be no separate discussion on these items unless a member of the council requests an item to be removed from the consent calendar for a separate vote. As a reminder, comments for consent items will be limited to two minutes and we have blue cards and basically we have, hold on just a moment. Let me look at something here, please. Okay, so we have Mr. Robles and Tommy Mush again. And you know, Mr. Robles, you have one bite at the apple. Thank you.

And I renew my objection to that, but nonetheless, I will live to that. So clearly I write too much, and so I'm going to try and whittle this down. I'm here on item 9, 10, 12, and 13. Items 9, 10, 12, 13. They sum up $29 million being handled through a consent calendar with no staff presentation or separate council discussion unless one of you happens to pull it. Item 9 is $22.9 million for 20 construction contracts alone, just that one item. Item 10 adds another $2.68 million to a contract for the Grand Park. And then item 12 adds about 2.75 million in change orders for the downtown water main project. I mean, these might be necessary, but you've got to have transparency in the context of what just happened on item 15. Transparency is what the people are demanding. Then lastly, in item 13, it takes a consulting agreement signed just six months ago for $100,000 and now ups it to $560,000. So I'm saying that the expenditures of this magnitude should not be treated as routine housekeeping, which continually do, and I continually speak on it. Pull these items. Have staff explain them. Let the council ask questions. Let the public hear the answers and ask their questions, and then vote on them separately. $29 million deserves more than just a consent calendar. Thank you.

Excuse me. That's not gonna be allowed. Mr. City Manager, did you have something to comment?

I guess that the only context I'd provide is that the construction contracts are part of a project that was already approved by the council. And so the idea that you have gone out to the public as required by state law for public works projects on a project already included in your budget makes it more of a formality. Certainly we're always available to answer questions. But to the extent that this was an anticipated expenditure based on the program that the council has espoused for this particular structure, the item speaks for itself. You show all of the contracts that went out through Planet Bids, all of the responses that were there, including a couple of protests that legal has determined are not with merit, and we are recommending that you move forward.

All right. Before we move forward, we have to hear from Tommy Mush again.

Which item am I speaking on? Is it 9 or 14? I forgot.

You have 9.

Oh, sorry. I don't want to put you out of here. Oh, yeah. Why are you in the restaurant business for? It's one of the hardest rackets to get into. And you're financing this part of your sports complex. You're going to change the name of that, too? Nobody wanted that in this area. And I don't know why you're so obsessed with getting into business. I didn't know the city and our tax dollars were going into the restaurant business for your flight tower restaurant. So who's going to work at this restaurant? Oh, is it jobs for Slavs, like friends helping friends? Is that what it's going to be? It seems like it. You're bringing some people from Ojai, Mayor? Or what about you, Mr. City Manager? You're allowing this to happen? You make, what, $34,000 a month, and you get free tickets to the Ontario Arena, don't you? And you give them out to people you prefer. Isn't that right? You do get tickets, don't you, for the AEG agreement for the arena? You get free tickets and you give them to people that you choose to, don't you? I think you all do. Yeah, he's silent about it. Go back to Glendale. Quinn M. Kesey.

All right, well, I'll entertain a motion or discussion on the consent calendar. I would second that motion. Okay, motion by Ms. Parada, second by Mr. Bowman. Take an electronic vote. Consent calendar passes 5-0. That moves us to item number 14. Madam City Clerk.

Thank you. This is a public hearing to consider a resolution authorizing the submission of a pro-housing designation application to the California Department of Housing and Community Development. Notice of public hearing has been given and affidavits of compliance are on file and we have no written communications.

All right, so thank you. I open the public hearing and let the reflect, Nicolo LaLama is here to speak on this item.

Good evening, Mayor, Council, and everyone here to represent and show their dedication for our city. My name is Nicola Lama and tonight I want to talk about something that connects several items on this agenda and how we prioritize the resources and tax dollars of our city. When we discuss the development code housing and the pro-housing designation, I believe we need to ask a simple question. Are we making decisions that improve the lives of Ontario residents? I support responsible growth, I support housing, I support economic development, but growth should not mean spending money simply because we have the ability to spend it. That brings me to the flight tower restaurant project on tonight's agenda. I think council should seriously realize whether this is- That's not, sir.

That's not this one.

I know, I'm just combining them together.

So this is a public hearing on a specific item, sir. I don't mean to necessarily cut you off. However, the council's already voted on the items you just mentioned, and by law we're restricted. to the item number 14, which relates to the pro-housing designation. So I would respectfully ask that you limit your comments to that particular item. Thank you.

I'll continue. If we're gonna call ourselves pro-housing city, let's make affordability our truth. If we're going to pursue development, let's make sure that it improves neighborhoods and public places. We need leadership that is willing to say no when something isn't necessary, and yes, when something genuinely benefits the people who live here. Because at the end of the day, growth should serve the people, and if we're going to be represented as a city of pro-housing, it starts at using our resources to make Ontario more affordable. And that's all I wanted to say, thank you.

All right, thank you. So I'll close the public hearing, and I'll entertain a motion Okay, motion by Mayor Pro Tem Parada. Second. Second by Council Member Bowman. Take a vote. Item passes 5-0. So that takes us to staff matters. Mr. Ochoa.

Only very quickly, sir, that... who's based on the amount of information or I guess misinformation pertaining to the Grand Park and all that it entails. I would happily invite any of the speakers to have a conference and talk about what the plans are, what the project is, just to make sure that everybody understands what the project truly entails, because to hear a number of the speakers, there is a tremendous amount of commonality of interest, but there seems to be a very serious disconnect. And I would welcome the opportunity to sit with them on a one-on-one because I know it can be intimidating to come to council. So I will certainly make that available to any of those speakers who wish to have that conversation. Other than that, nothing, sir.

Okay, thank you. So that takes us to council matters. I'll start with Ms. Macias. Mr. Bowman.

Thank you, sir. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Just a caveat to what the mayor has said, what the city manager has just said with respect to the Great Park. And for whatever reason, Mr. Robos and others continually say that we seem to be missing the parks. Well, the Great Park, my good friends, is going to run a distance of just under, just about four miles. It'll be 3.7 miles long. And thousands of trees have already been appropriated for that park. It's a master plan park. Beautiful. We should probably show it. And I think we've had it up a couple of times. Tremendous amount of greenery for everybody, including farms to plant vegetables, whatever you want to plant, gardens. all along the way. It's something that's a very enjoyable future for the City of Ontario and its future citizens forever. But it's not just a spot to where a warehouse goes. It is a master plan park from one of the city, from Haven Avenue all the way out to almost Milliken Avenue. And that's a great park for the family to walk in, play in, grow the vegetables, just perform in a number of areas that are going to be there and theaters, perform in outdoor theaters or conference centers, all types of venues. But you need to see it to believe it. Mr. Robos brought out number nine. Very transparent, very clearly delineated, and as the good city manager indicated, this has all been appropriated fund-wise but it's over his funding limit and it's appropriate to come to us to spend this amount of money, which is already approved and already in that budget. It's not new money. Thank you, sir.

Chair Greg Musil.

One fun thing coming up in September, I think it's the third weekend in September, will be the cruise and reunion car show. So hopefully everybody puts that on their agenda and we'll see you out there that weekend.

Ms. Watner. Well, I guess that it's been quite a month in Ontario and we don't duck and cover. We go right at it. We're a strong city, and we do operate within our budget. We've done this for many, many years, and I'm proud of the fact that we do that. I do wanna remind everybody that it's silly season again. It's gonna get a little crazier, but we've survived all these years. So I just say, as long as we can be decent about all this stuff, we'll come out okay. And so I'm looking forward to the coming year and years. And I wanna thank you for participating. 44 years, my anniversary is today, 44 years. So we thank you for participating in our meeting. Our next regularly scheduled meeting will be on September 1st, 2026. This meeting is now adjourned.