City Council - Regular Meeting

Recording in progress.

You working?

It is 6:01 p.m. Welcome to the uh Tuesday, April 28th council meeting for the city of La Mesa. Clerk, would you please call roll? Council member Lotheian here. Council member Suzuki, here. Council member Dillard, Vice Mayor Kazarez here, Mayor Rapastath, we have a quorum.

Thank you very much. We begin every council meeting with an invocation and tonight is um my turn to do so. Usually I try to write something out or I like to read a poem or or something like that. But as I was thinking about it today, um I'm thinking a lot about one of one of the proclamations and and some of the events that we're going into for the month of May as it is law enforcement officers memorial month. And we, as um you all know, lost our first and hopefully only officer in the line of duty last fall, officer Lauren Craraven. And I know all of us up here and all of us in the service um for our police department, fire department, city staff um think about her and think about that sacrifice a lot. Um and so as we um enter into this beautiful month where we'll have the opportunity to recognize that sacrifice, um I hope that each of you will be kind to one another and will thank the officers that you see every day for the sacrifices that they're making, even if it's just not having dinner with their family that day. So, um that's all I wanted to say, but please, um thank our officers when you see them. Thank officers from other cities and and jurisdictions when you see them because um unfortunately they may make the ultimate sacrifice and one of ours did. So, um with that, be kind to one another and please rise for the pledge.

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.

All right. Do we have any city manager comments? I have none.

Thank you very much. Community bulletin reports. We are looking for participants for the 27th annual La Mesa Flag Day parade. Local businesses, community groups, and performers are all encouraged to sign up. The parade is on Saturday, June 13th on La Mesa Boulevard. This year, we are going big, and I mean huge, for America's 250th anniversary. So, please save the date and join us for a celebration. We will have red, white, and blue bunting all across Lame Mesa Boulevard. Thank you to all of our businesses that are participating in that. Um we are going to have um a very exciting uh showing of Top Gun Mava Maverick the night before with free flags that we're going to be handing out and popcorn and lots of other things. So please um please join us and thank you to Councilwoman Loian for working with me on um this exciting recognition. Um oh that was my next one. They write this out for the mayor but I'm not used to having this. Um, so it's the Top Gun Maverick will be at uh 5:00 p.m. at Harry Griffin Park. Free popcorn for the first 500 attendees. Um, make a difference in the community. Consider joining a board or commission. Several several positions are currently open and the application deadline is Monday, July 6th. Um, we encourage you to apply as soon as possible. And if you know of anyone that may be interested, please um, send them our way. Give your broken items a second life at the San Diego Fix It Clinic happening this weekend at the La Mesa Library. The event runs Saturday, May 2nd from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. It is first come, first served, so please be sure to register early. Also, this Saturday, safely dispose of your hazardous household waste. Bring items like batteries, electronics, and paint to this free disposal event. Note that appointments are required. The San Diego Spring Market returns to

La Mesa Village this Saturday, May 2nd, from 11:00 a.m. to 6 pm. You can browse more than 120 makers, enjoy a floral bar, craft stations, food trucks, kids activities, and more. And on next Thursday, May 7th, the Laame Mesa Police Department will honor Officer Lauren Craraven for her service and sacrifice. Her name will be added to the Peace Officer Memorial, which is right in front of the La Mesa Police Department. The ceremony will begin at 400 p.m. and all are welcome and encouraged to attend. Information about this and all of our events can be found on our city website, cityoflamesa.gov. Do we have any additions or deletions to the agenda?

None from staff. And oh, I'm sorry. Thank you. Community updates. Councilwoman Suzuki. I just wanted to say that uh we will be um I think expanding or not we but they're expanding the farmers market hours to 7:30 at night. So some of us out there who work until 6 and by the time we get there they're already cleaning up. We'll have at least half an hour. So hopefully you know you hit the farmers market uh on Friday nights. Thank you. Thank you. And Councilwoman Luthian, ironically I have nothing to report.

Yeah. So, we don't have any additions or deletions to the agenda from from council. All right. So, we're good. All right. So, we have a couple of presentations now. Um I'm going to invite up uh police chief Ray Sweeney. I've never felt safer. Actually, that's not that's not true. The memorial when there were hundreds and hundreds, then I've never felt safer. All right. This is a proclamation for peace officers memorial month. Whereas all of the promises America offers, none is more precious or more elusive than the right to be free from crime and violence. The dedicated men and women who have chosen law enforcement as a career face extraordinary risk and danger in preserving our freedom and security. During the month of May, National Police Week is observed throughout the nation in order to recognize the hazardous work, serious responsibilities, and strong commitment to our nation's police officers. In conjunction with this important observance, May 15th will be observed as police officers Memorial Day in commemoration of all law enforcement officers who have tragically sacrificed their lives in the line of duty. And these special observances provide all citizens with the opportunity to appreciate the heroic men and women who dedicated their lives to preserving public safety. Now therefore, Mayor Mark Maraposa, the 23rd mayor of the city of La Mesa, and the entire city council, we hereby proclaim May 15, 2026 as Peace Officers Memorial Day in the city of Laame Mesa and encourage all citizens to remember those individuals who gave

their lives for our safety and express to those who continue to dedicate themselves making La Mesa a safer community in which to live. anything. Um, first off I happens every year but this year as you know I encourage you all Monday everybody. for our community. Why we do it?

So, the way that we do things here, everyone gets to go down the line and shake hands. And I'm going to run back there. Seriously, I mean that that's a firefighter's mustache if I ever saw one. Uh next we have another recognition for uh water safety month. Whereas water safety month has been established through a collaborative effort across the country to promote water safety and drowning prevention. And each year drowning incidents impact hundreds of families resulting in treatment and emergency department responses including hospital stays and potential lifealtering and permanent disabilities in San Diego County. And the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that drowning is the number one cause for death for children ages 1 to four, with most of those drownings occurring in home swimming pools. And Safe Kids San Diego, Ray Children's Hospital, the Association of Aquatic Professionals, the San Diego County Aquatic Council, California Park and Recreation Society, the La Mesa Municipal Pool and Spa, and other organizations are participating in year round to promote water safety. and Laame Mesa residents are encouraged to recognize the vital role that safe swimming and aquatic related activities play in good physical and mental health. And whereas the city of La Mesa recognizes the valuable contributions the municipal pool and spa, their staff and programs provide towards safe toward a safe, healthy place to recreate, learn, swim, build self-esteem, confidence, and self-worth, which

contribute to an improved quality of life in our community. and the city of La Mesa and the community at large acknowledge that acknowledge that drowning is a complex issue and that progress is reducing the burden and occurrence of fatal and non-fatal drowning requires collaboration between different sectors and stakeholders with diverse perspectives and approaches. Now therefore, Mayor Mark Ara Arapostath, 23rd Mayor of the City of La Mesa, and the entire city council, do hereby declare the month of May as water safety month in the city of Lame Mesa and commends all organizations in their efforts in drowning prevention. The city of La Mesa seeks to remind everyone throughout the county to be safe around and in the water and to learn more about drowning pres prevention and water safety. Thank you. Next, we have a presentation by San Diego Community Power on 2026 rates, power procurement, and program offerings. Um, I'm inviting up Karen Burns, CEO of San Diego Community Power. She's also joined today by two staff members, Lee Freriedman and Ashley Rodriguez. Thank you for both for joining us. Karen, take it away. Thank you. And good evening, council members. As mentioned, my name is Karen Burns. I'm the chief executive officer here at San Diego Community Power. I'm delighted to be here today to share an update on Community Power as we celebrate five years serving customers. Community Power is what is known as a community choice aggregator or CCA. Just a little level setting if I may. We are one of 25 in the state. We were created to give customers a choice when it comes to their energy and introduce competition into the local marketplace. Our mission is to provide clean and affordable energy for our local communities. In our five years serving San Dieans, Community Power has consistently delivered on providing

customers with cleaner, cost competitive energy, as well as supporting our member agencies in achieving their respective clean energy and climate action goals. Community Power handles the electricity generation portion or the purchasing of the energy that our customers use. This was previously managed by SDG&. What hasn't changed is that SDG continues to manage the electricity delivery through the poles and wires that it owns and customers continue to to receive one single bill from SDG&. Community power appears as a line item on that bill replacing the electricity generation charge that customers previously paid to SDG. In addition to the city of La Mesa, Community Power serves the cities of San Diego, Chila Vista, Insanus, Imperial Beach, National City, and the unincorporated communities of the county. And we are thrilled to share that Coronado City Council recently voted unanimously to take the first steps to join our organization. As community power CEO, I have the privilege and pleasure of working closely with our board of directors on how we can better serve the diverse communities across our service territory. Led by San Diego County Supervisor Tara Lawson Reamer and National City Council member Das Yaman, our board is collaborative, intentional, and committed to sustainability and affordability for the customers that we serve. I want to thank you to our board member and council member Suzuki and former community advisory member and current alternate vice mayor Lauren Kazarees for your service and ongoing support of community power. As a notfor-profit clean energy provider, we are committed to providing choice, market competition, and a transparent rate setting process. The state of California has a goal of being powered by 100% renewable energy

by 2045. But here we're even more ambitious. Community Power has a goal of powering our member agencies with 100% clean and renewable power by 2035, which we are working to achieve through our diligent procurement efforts that balance our renewable goals alongside customer affordability. This goal is also supported through our customer programs in our local energy development efforts, both of which I'll talk about in one minute. And of course, La Mesa homes and businesses are also helping us track toward that goal by choosing to receive cleaner energy from community power. So, community power customers are able to choose from four different community power service plans. customers are defaulted into our standard power on plan which is 53% renewable and about 4% less expensive than SDG's electricity generation rate. However, customers are also able to choose our least expensive service plan, Power Base, which offers an historic 10% discount compared to SDG&, or they can choose one of our 100 renewable service plans, Power 100 or Power 100 Green Plus, for a slight premium. Although California legislation mandates that eligible customer accounts automatically enroll in community power, customers also have the ability to opt out and return to SDG's bundled electric generation service. 95% of eligible customer counts across our service territory have chosen to remain in our service within Lame Mesa specifically. And furthermore, more than 263 Laame Mesa homes and businesses are helping expedite our climate action goals by choosing the Power 100 plan. We continue to service businesses across San Diego as our Power 100 champions, including the Padres's, our regional airport, and Sharp Healthcare.

Many people don't realize that electricity costs are also dependent on the time of day. Electricity is most expensive between 4 and 900 p.m. when demand is highest and renewables are at their lowest on the grid. It is least expensive between midnight and 6:00 a.m. when demand is low. This is our super off- peak period. And now electricity is also least expensive between 10:00 am and 2 pm. Historically, these midday super off- peak hours were only available in March and April, but beginning this year, they are now available year round due to the surplus of solar energy available at those times. Through ongoing customer outreach and education efforts, we're spreading awareness about this new super off- peak window and encouraging customers to shift their energy use between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. to further lower their energy bill. In addition to equipping our customers with more information, we offer rebates and incentives that can help make it even easier to save energy and lower costs. Current pilot programs incentivize smart energy use, rewarding pilot participants for shifting their heavy energy use outside of those peak demand hours. And after a successful pilot run in 2024, our solar battery savings program is now a fullyfledged program serving thousands of customers and strengthening the local energy grid. It offers an upfront rebate to lower the initial cost of installing a residential solar and battery system or adding a battery to an existing solar system. Participants also receive ongoing performance incentive payments for dispatching their battery when energy demand is highest, contributing to a more resilient grid for everyone. And this year, we're very excited to bring 10 new energy efficiency programs to the entire county through the San Diego Regional Energy Network or SD Ren.

Led by Community Power in partnership with the County of San Diego, the SD Ren will deliver clean energy solutions tailored to meet the diverse needs of renters, homeowners, multif family, property owners, job seekers, small and medium businesses, public agencies, and tribal communities. We look forward to sharing more with you about the SD REN programs as they roll out in the coming months. Through our programmatic efforts, we've installed more than 2,000 batteries at single family homes, 79 of which are right here in the city of La Mesa. Over the last three years, we've partnered with the San Diego Foundation to award more than two million in grant funding across our service territory to support clean energy pro projects like the La Mesa Park and Recreation Foundation for electric equipment for landscaping and events as well as the ebike incentive program. We've partnered with dozens of nonprofits and community groups to shape advocacy efforts around sustainability. And last year, we attended or supported over 100 community events across San Diego. Just last week we were at La Mesa Earth Day and that last month we tabled at an electrification fair here. As many of you know, the energy landscape is dynamic and ever evolving. And that is especially true today as we navigate changing policies, rapidly evolving technologies, and an increasing demand for energy. Community Powers Services, local government affairs, and legislative and regulatory staff are continuously working to promote local development and maintain local control. We're actively seeking opportunities to partner with our member agencies, their school districts, and other public and private community partners on smallcale renewable energy projects built here for our customers. As part of our efforts to strengthen reliable project delivery, our board of directors recently approved

new workforce standards and evaluation criteria that in addition to price, reliability, and environmental benefits, consider factors such as prevailing wages, skilled labor, local hires, long-term maintenance agreements, and workforce training and safety commitments. Our team is also focused on ensuring local control at the state level, which directly affects our ability to meet the needs of our communities. We serve through lower electricity generation rates and localized programs. On behalf of the entire community power team, we are proud to contribute to a sustainable future for La Mesa and the broader San Diego region. We could not do it without the continued partnership of the city of La Mesa staff, council, and the mayor's office. Thank you all for your time and that concludes my presentation.

Thank you very much. Do we have any comments or questions? Counciloman Loian. Hi, thank you for uh the presentation. A couple of questions. Um competition usually drives prices down. So in the last five years has San Diego's utility rates or Laame Mesa's utility rates dropped because mine have not. And I'd like to see the comparison of the San Diego utility market electricity compared to LA and San Francisco. like do you know how we rate against those cities?

I'd have to get back to you on the specific step up, but it varies by year. I can tell you that energy is expensive because it reflects the real cost of running a safe, reliable power system. Fuel prices are going up and down. We also have many macroeconomic factors that influence here, wildfire hardening, legacy power contracts through the PCIA, a lot of things that we contend with. But what we're doing is to really provide to the extent we can a consistent value proposition. So for cleaner and more renewable energy. So this year we're at four and we also have a 10% discount.

Okay. Okay. Because I know California outside of Hawaii um our util our electric our electricity is the highest in the country. So I always I wonder if it's because of the push for renewables and drives the price up because it's certainly not this expensive in Tennessee or Alabama or Texas. What I can say is that the generation cost has gone down in the five years that we've been providing service. Okay. All right. Thank you.

I will just say to that um my rate with San Diego Community Power is less than my rate with with San Diego Gas and Electric. So if you have an optin, that's for anyone out here then certainly do. Um, and if you do look at you like the bill breakdown, the the cost of it um, getting to your house, which is through SDG&, not through San Diego Community Power, that's where a vast majority of that's coming from, just for your awareness. Um, I wanted to say I had not heard about the super off peak being extended year round from 10 to 2. Um, and I recently started a day job where I get to work from home. So, I'm going to do my laundry from Tend to do because that is my biggest energy cost. So, I'm excited about that. Councilman Suzuki, anything?

Just want to thank Thank you, Karen, for coming and and giving us that very thorough report. I appreciate it. I appreciate being part of the board and learning about renewable energy actually and being proud of um how much our rates have actually been decreased. So, thank you for that and being mindful of everyone's pocketbooks, especially in light of the current situation. Thank you. Thank you very much. We appreciate you all coming out here tonight and for your presentation and continued work.

Thank you so much. All right. Next, we have public comments. I have one general public comment from Debbie Eer. Yes, right here. And then once it turns green, it will be on. So, just press the button. Yes,

there you go. Good evening. My name is Debbie Eer and my husband Jim and I live at 4511 Glenn Street and have uh resided there since 1987. Uh Glenn Street runs from La Mesa Boulevard to Mariposa Street and has become a main thoroughfare for parents driving their children to school, school buses, heavy equipment, box trucks used by Lame Mesa Spring Valley Schools, delivery trucks and residents using it to access neighboring areas as well as the 894 and 125. Not only is the excessive use a concern, but also speeding and the stop signs have become optional. A neighbor requested a digital mobile sign be posted advising people to stop at an upcoming sign. The mobile sign was delivered. However, it stated uh don't drink and drive. And they tried to get it uh changed to don't stop or do stop and um it never happened. Uh we have requested police presence during peak travel, but I've yet to see any response to our request and word would quickly spread if tickets were given out um on Glenn Street. It's the best source of advertising. In addition, the overuse has caused severe damage to the street, including the areas by St. Andrews and Lemon Avenue School, which should be a safety concern to you. The only fix is to resurface the inst entire street. Just like Lemon Avenue, new potholes pop up every day. Years of neglect in the deplorable repairs made after pipe replacements make the street feel like an old country dirt road. We use click fix regularly and although action is taken, one pothole might be filled in with asphalt while another pothole is a foot away and does not get repaired because it's not included in the click

fix picture. Are the residents now expected to replace the city of La Mesa public works maintenance department? When the voters approved leisure measure L in November 2024, it was intended to fund street repairs and other infrastructure along with public safety surface services. Where is this money going? I respectfully request you review safety concerns on Glen Street in regards to both street and road hazards and take action. On a personal note, my husband and I were driving down to our home. We're living towards the bottom of Glenn Street and we had our left turn signal on to turn left into our driveway. Car came speeding down. Uh had no intention of stopping, passed us on the left hand side while we were trying to drive into our driveway. We avoided a very serious accident, but it is getting way typical.

Thank you for your time. Thank you very much. Um, I know we are currently resurfacing uh all of our streets. Do we happen to know when Glenn Street will come up? We can certainly get back to the council and the resident on that. Excellent. Um, so we will get back to you on when that resurfacing will take place because we are currently resurfacing every single street in the city of La Mesa. And if it's not anytime soon, we'll see what we can do about prioritization. Yep. Greg, do you know if Glenn Street is one of the streets that are slated for the temporary speed homes? I do not.

Okay, we'll look into that, too. Okay, thank you very much. Okay, conflict disclosures. Do we have any conflicts to disclose? Thank you very much. Um, public comments on the consent calendar? None. Okay. Um, in that case, we will move on to the second reading of ordinance uh regarding electric bike bicycle safety pilot program. Oh, I'm sorry. I'm not used to this. Um, do we are do we have any polls for the consent calendar? Okay. Do I have Yeah,

thank you. We have a motion from council member Suzuki and a second from council member Loian. Motion carries with all council members voting yes.

Thank you very much. Now we will move on to the second reading of the ordinance electric bicycle safety pilot program. Oh, it's not. It didn't make it onto my thing. Sorry. Didn't make it onto my thing. Um, thank you. Um, item 10.1, the first reading, consideration of an ordinance of the city council of the city of La Mesa, amending section 6.11.2000 M3 of the La Mesa Municipal Code to clarify the intent and authority for cannabis dispensaries to use the phrase dispensary in signage content. This is mine. I should have known it was next, but didn't have it in front of me.

Do we have Glenn or Lynette? I'll dispense with reading it. Um, an ordinance of the city council of the city of La Mesa amending section 6.11.2000 M3 of the Les Mesa Municipal Code to clarify the intent and authority for cannabis dispensaries to use the phrase dispensary and signage content. Lynette can take it up from there.

Hi Lynette. Hello. So um we are bringing this forward as part of a council initiated item and um it's really for clarifying purposes. Um we have a situation where there are certain names we are limited on uh regulating uh the choice of a name of a business. And so we have businesses such as cookies that um folks have gotten confused and then one of our council members had shared she had thought one might be an Asian fusion restaurant. So to avoid that and for more clarity for users and our community uh we are clarifying that the use of dispensary in signage is is now going to be allowed.

Thank you very much. Do we have any uh public comments on it? Doesn't look like it. Thank you. Um I was the council member that initiated this item. Thank you to city staff for bringing it back so quickly. Um this was just the last council meeting. Um I'm really glad to see um that we got this done. It really is just clarifying and um as I shared at the previous council meeting, I think this will be good for public safety. I think it will be good so that parents and youth understand um what uh where where their kids can go for cookies for example and where they should not be going for other things. Um and also um I think this will ultimately be good for those businesses as well and they bring in um a significant tax revenue. So thank you for bringing it back so quickly. Any comments? In that case, um I will make a motion to pass the first uh reading of item 10.1.

Second. Thank you. Motion carries with all council members voting yes. Thank you very much. Okay, now we are on to the second reading of um the ordinance. The title of the ordinance is

it is um an ordinance of the city council of city of La Mesa amending chapter 12.38 to the La Mesa municipal code to establish the La Mesa electric bicycle safety pilot program. Um pursuant to California Vehicle Code sections 21214.7 312.5 and 22651.08. 08. Thank you very much. Um we have do we have any other presentation for that? Nope. Um in that case we have uh three public comments. First is Andrea or Andrea Crier. Is it Andrea or Andrea?

Andrea. Perfect. Come on up.

Hello council. Uh, I'm here to talk about how banning all ebikes for kids and pre-teens under 12 would affect our family of six. There's a lot lot there. Uh, if you've ridden a bike recently around our city, you would notice how challenging it is to ride around our jewel of the hills. Level one and two ebikes can help encourage everyone to get more exercise, not to mention help kids who have asthma and similar to be able to ride safely. Many level one bicycles for young kids top out at 10 miles per hour and are adjustable. Not all of them go to a maximum of 20 mph. Even our family adult ebike with our three older kids can fit on it maxes out at 18 m hour. Level one bikes only engage the motor when pedaling as they are assist bikes. These are the bikes we will be purchasing for our children as they get a little older. Speaking from our family, when our children get a little older, we plan to have them ride pedal assist bikes to school. Since there is not a single bike lane from our house to their assigned elementary and middle school, they will have to ride in the road with morning traffic. Being able to keep up with cars and the speed limit on these neighborhood roads will actually keep them safer. Our local elementary school already said they would not allow students to ride ebikes to school to comply with the law you are trying to pass. This takes away my right, our right as parents to decide the best way for our kids to get to school that suits our family. If the reason for banning all ebikes is in the name of safety for kids, please instead focus on developing more protected bike lanes and other infrastructure for them. As a family, we are trying to do the right thing. Help our kids get exercise,

create autonomy, and build their confidence and reduce pollution by driving less. I believe we should be encouraging kids to be riding bikes, including ebikes, not discouraging them. In short, this law would criminalize our plan for our children to get to school. Please reconsider passing it and focus on other ways to keep children safe. Thank you. Thank you very much. Uh, next is Joseph Crier. And no rush. I know you might need to do a baby swap here.

Thank you. and you can begin when you're ready.

All right. Good evening. Thank you for the opportunity to speak on this. I just want to start by indic uh telling you all that these are bikes that we're talking about. They are legally classified by the state as bicycles. They are low-speed assisted bicycles. You can see in the photos that I shared there, these look just like bikes. They even come in really cute colors. They look like bikes in part because the motors are so small and the batteries are small because these are kids bikes models. They're meant for small kids. Some top out at six miles per hour to just be able to get over the hills or be able to keep up with parents and friends. And so I want you to think about that. These are not the emoteds that people that are getting people, you know, driving people crazy. These provide people with a mechanical tailwind to help flatten the hills. They provide freedom for kids, for parents. They provide more choices. And I want to just say that this ban for kids is not supported by the data. The staff report indicated that there were six ebike collisions in the last three years. I got that data. Four out of the six of those were from cars hitting cyclists. And one of the descriptions even said, "We have the victim sitting on the curb. His bike is still underneath the car and we're going to ban the bike." All right. Uh also at the same time, the same time period in the city of La Mesa, only the city of La Mesa, we had 12 deaths and 1300 over 1300 injuries, almost all of them caused by cars. Not only does the data not match, but the rhetoric around it doesn't match. I came here two weeks ago and the mayor said on the DAS that this is really meant for the baddies. This is meant to give the city a tool to stop people who are really misbehaving and who are really acting up and being dangerous. But you know what? Our schools are already sending out blanket notices saying that because of this proposed ban that they are no longer going to allow kids to ride to and from schools with ebikes. And they said, "Go ahead and find another way to school. Drive your kids." Because you know what? every kid off of a bike is more people driving around our streets. That's not what keeps our kids safer. That's what's

leading to these deaths and injuries is more people in cars, especially around schools. And uh it's just that the promises don't hold up. Even I spoke with the police uh not the chief but somebody at the police and the the uh you know on the das they said this is not for you guys who are behaving. This is not for my family riding together safely. This is for the baddies. But really it does it's not going to play out like that. has taken away our choices and you know the complaints other data point that was cited was 50 something people who had complained over the last few years you know the fear is valid the frustration about seeing people behaving badly is valid

but I don't think that that val means banning this banning these uh for kids I don't think that when people are calling about service calls like when I call about people speeding on my street I'm not saying hey close down my street to traffic and take people's cars away I just want a safer city and I want you to Think about when you stood up to those commenters, the dozens of people who came out against the Jericho project and you didn't say say no, you can't do this project. You said we're going to do it better. So, please be bold. Thank you very much. And next we have Cassie and Derek Knight.

Good evening. You can begin when you're ready. And feel free if you need to move it down. I always do. shorty over here. Um, well, good evening, council members, and thank you for your time. I've exchanged emails with a couple of you over the last few weeks. Um, and I do greatly appreciate your engagement in this regard. My name is Cassie Knight. I'm a lifelong LA Mesa resident myself, a parent, and someone who fully supports improving ebike safety in our community. Um, and I want to be clear from the start, this is not an argument against safety. It's an argument for effective safety. And I want um the same thing that you do. I want our kids to be safe. I want our streets to be safe. But this ordinance, as written, does not get us there. It restricts the wrong group. It misses the highest risk riders and it creates enforcement challenges without addressing the root problem. Like many of you, I've seen kids riding ebikes recklessly. It's concerning and I agree that something should be done. But I respectfully believe this ordinance, as written, is not the right solution because it targets age, not behavior. This law penalizes the safer rider and misses the the one creating the risk. So, we should be asking what problem are we actually trying to solve. It as it's written, this ordinance punishes families who are doing the right thing, families like mine. Um, it's no secret that parking in downtown La Mesa gets worse by the day. And because of this reason alone, we bought ebikes for our family so that we can ride to the farmers market on Fridays, so we can get appetizers on Saturday at curbside, so we can go to breakfast at Sheldon's on Saturday morning. My 10-year-old daughter completed a safety course before she ever touched her ebike. Her bike is electronically limited to 6 miles per hour. She wears a helmet. She follows the rules. She rides with her parents. But because it's a class one bike under this ordinance as written, she now cannot ride it at all. Um, in our email exchange with certain uh council members this past week, we were told that we must either adopt this

exactly as written or take no action. But AB2234 is permissive, not prescriptive. Cities such as Oceanside and Incinus have proved that cities can take a different approach, one that targets behavior, not just age. Earlier this year, their councils unanimously rejected an age ban relative to the data they collected and instead passed a reckless operation ordinance that targets the actual dangerous behavior regardless of age. And Laame Mesa has that same opportunity. My hope is that we can pivot from prohibition to competency. I would argue that Laame Mesa should lead in safety education rather than exclusion because if the goal is safety, there are better tools available to us. We can enforce reckless riding laws.

30 seconds. We can allow younger riders under parental supervision or we can expand education and safety training. These approaches directly target risk without broadly restricting responsible use. There's also the question of enforcement. In those same email exchanges we had this week, I was told that the city doesn't have the resources to enforce speed or behavior consistently. So I have to ask, how are we going to enforce age? Children don't carry identification. This puts officers in the position of making subjective judgments based on appearance and that creates the potential for inconsistent enforcement and unnecessary interactions between our Thank you for your comment. Your time is up. Thank you, council. Thank you very much. Um, do we have any comments from council? Council meloian, you can begin.

Okay, so this was on the last city council meeting and it was a unanimous thing like, hey, you know, this makes sense. These are little kids and we want them to be safe. Since that I I live on Lemon, which means I see hundreds of kids every single day going to school. And I can't tell you how many young kids I see on those ebikes and how many parents I see with with young kids on those ebikes. And um I know how tough it is getting, you know, parking downtown. And I don't like the idea of the city usurping the authority, supervision, and responsibility of a responsible parent over their child. So sometimes you you put something out there without thinking it through and it turns out that maybe it's not a great idea. And again, um I I if I could have the chief come up for a second.

Thank you, Chief. I I know I asked it way too late today to have the numbers. However, the question I want to ask you and get an answer to hopefully in the next couple days is um how many citations has the city given to kids that are driving or riding their bikes recklessly? Because if we're if we're not giving citations out to the kids doing wheelies and weaving, then what we're doing that enforcement, I think, would have a better would have a better success rate than telling parents, hey, you know what? Sorry, you and your 10-year-old can't ride to breakfast. And I just can't stand the thought of taking away a family activity like that. So, I'm really hoping it's okay to change your mind, guys. I'm hoping that our the city council tonight says, you know what, let's let's work with LMPD enforcing the reckless because it's already against the law, guys. It's called reckless driving. You don't have to do a new ordinance or new law. If kids are doing wheelies speeding, it's already it's already against the law. So, if we crack down on that, we can leave the parents and kids alone is how I feel. I I do not want to punish or be punitive against families doing something as healthy as riding bikes together and hanging out. Thank you,

Chief. Was there a question? Right. And I can get you that information. Excellent. Counciloman Suzuki. Yeah. Since Chief's up there, I I would like to first ask you what the benefit of an ordinance like this would do for the community.

I think the benefit we're looking at public safety if that's the ultimate goal, then that's what it is here. Um, you know, with younger kids in general, they, you know, sometimes will lack, uh, perception, uh, safety precautions, rules of the road. Not not all parents, obviously, that go through and do the right thing. But this happens sometimes with younger kids when they're riding against traffic or with traffic on a motorized bike that yeah, even at slow speeds, it can still be dangerous. And that's, you know, for us is public safety. That's what we're looking for. However, we reach that goal. Chief, I I um actually maybe if Chief Co could also come to the Thank you, Chief Chief Sweeney. I appreciate that.

Chief Co. um I'm also interested in how Heartland Fire feels um or at least how you feel. What are the benefits of an ordinance like this for our community? Because you folks are the first responders.

Correct. Thank you for for asking. U really we're echoing the same sentiment as our police partners and our biggest concern is is the medical aspect dangers that that come with the increased speed. on average, the research anecdotally that I I did and and and really comes down to the speed and and and increased injuries that that the speed brings, but on average 10 to 12 year olds will not be able to pedal on their own much faster than 10 miles an hour. Once we got have an ebike that can go 20 miles an hour, with the increased speed, the severity of the injuries from crashes increases and the outcomes from those crashes can be more dire. And um when you see more dire, what kind of outcomes? I'm sorry, I don't want to get graphic, but these are children. So, let's say a 10-year-old gets into an accident going 20 miles per hour. What kind of um outcome could that be? Because I I feel like people need to know. I I I mean, 20 miles hour may seem slow to us because it's pretty slow, but on an ebike, how how fast would that be? I mean, what what kind of outcome could it be? Well, obviously I I don't have the data right now to to back that up. Uh to give you exact numbers, but there's basic laws of physics. As the speed goes up, the forces go up. So, there's more broken bones. There's potentially more head injuries. The severity of the injuries that we would see at 10 miles an hour is going to be quite a bit more at 20 miles an hour, especially somebody who's only wearing a bike helmet.

Thank you, Chief. I appreciate that.

I need to add to that. Um, interestingly, uh, we're in, uh, water safety month. So, asking that question like, "What would an accident look like in an ebike?" is the same thing as saying, "What would a a drowned child look like? We should ban swimming pools." So, I think it's up to the parent to assess their own kids safety. The this the city government, the state government, the county government, the federal government can't protect everybody all the time. So, when you have parents that sit there and say, "I'm in charge of my child's safety. I'm in charge of my child's health. I'm in charge of my child's family time. And I have made the decision that my a child can't go and buy an ebike on their own. A parent has to buy it. So that parent has made the decision, I trust my child or I've trained my child or whatever. And then for the city to say, yeah, we're going to we're going to protect your kid because we don't think you can. I I don't feel good about that because if you all you care about safety, then they're goodbye swimming pools. I mean, it just happens. You can't protect every child from everything.

Thank you, Chief. I actually would like to make some comments. You can have a seat chief if you have nothing. Um so first I'm going to start with um it's interesting that you know council member um Loathian brings up that if a parent makes a decision then it should be my decision and it's okay. You can't tell me how to parent my kid. But but there are many of us who don't necessarily want guns in our house. That's a parental choice. You're right. But guess what? There are laws and and we don't necessarily get to put those in our kids' hands. Now, let's get into to some medications. Maybe I don't I don't I'm not okay with it, but I'm okay with it. And then my kid goes and hands off some other medication to another kid. like you there are reasons that laws I'm sorry I got turned around because I'm quite shocked and and I'm shocked because literally there was just a a sharp ready children's hospital report that came out to say that crashes of ebikes have surged surged more than 300% in four years and most of these kids now these kids it's very personal to me because I have a 10-year-old and I have a 17-year-old and I don't want either of them to get hurt and I don't want their friends to get hurt and I don't want them to hurt people either. I have seen kids doing wheelies down Laame Mesa Boulevard in back of me while I'm driving back from the Earth Day Festival. These children are driving down these they're not licensed. We can't expect them to get licensed. We can't require it because of state law. They're not going to go through things. Not all parents are as responsible as the parents here. I I commend you, but I'm sorry. There is a reason that laws exist. And one of the reasons um one of the things I I did actually um exchange with Miss Knight,

and I appreciate you coming. My daughter is a super responsible 17-year-old. when she was 14. At one point, she was so responsible. I almost tried to get into the passenger side of a car thinking she was going to drive us cuz I forgot she wasn't the driver. But she can't drive. And the reason is because at 14, she is too young to have a driver's license. Now, by council member Loathian's opinion, we should be able to parent our kids any way we want. You can't put an age on that. Don't put an age on my child getting a driver's license. I'm telling her it's okay. It's not okay. There's a reason these ages exist. Now, I just want to go over last year in August 2025, a family of a four-year-old boy, they lost their son after an ebike rider, 11 years old, got into an accident with an SUV driven by a 19-year-old in a parking lot much like downtown. Now, this four-year-old, they're suing the city. They're suing the ebike riders family, and they're suing the 19-year-old. And do you know what they just said? They just said that this year. And I'm going to tell you what they the the the person said that they wished that they had actually had ordinances against ebikes, that it was too late. It's just too late. The city of Chula Vista passed their ebike ordinance last year. In the 90 days that it was on hold so that people could get educated, an adult e bikeike rider got killed and a child on an ecooter that would have been protected by that ordinance died. Eight years old. Eight years old. My son is 10.

I'm bringing him up as an example because the dude still believes in Santa Claus. I'm bringing that up because that kind of child and I'm sorry, good for you. Your child is very smart. I I commend you. My child's smart, too. But there's a difference between a 10-year-old and a 16-year-old. And I feel very strongly about this because ebikes go up to 20 miles per hour. Ebikes go up to 28 miles per hour. And if they're modified, if they're modified, they will go faster than that. I don't want our city to be the first to experience a death of a child because we did not step up and protect our kids. And I am going to tell you one more thing about this. I have seen kids, groups of kids riding their ebikes up and down Laame Mesa Boulevard in a menacing way. And that is to me shocking. It's shocking. And they're not expected to go to any classes. There's no licensing for these kids. So I feel very strongly. I feel very strongly if you want to be the one to kill this ordinance, good on you. But when that with if and when something happens, if and when something happens, and I'm saying this because 300%, think about it you guys. 300% surge in child accidents since four years. I I I can't I don't I can't even imagine. I can't imagine taking that stand. I can't imagine going out and saying, "Hey, you know what though? You make that decision. You make that decision. It's totally okay. Not if we have a chance to protect our kids." And so I I I I fervently object to the idea of of killing this. I object to it.

And and the idea that anyone would have any g to say that oh we trust all parents. We do not trust all parents. I am sorry. We do not trust all parents. I do not trust all parents. I am a family law attorney. Let me be real here. Not everyone is a responsible parent. And we have to make sure that our citizens take the kind of data. By the way, the data that the consumer organizations give, the American Academy of Pediatrics, because I believe in science and medicine, they have said they do not want kids younger than 12 on these ebikes. So, that's where I'm voting. Um, you mentioned two scenarios where you've got children doing wheelies and driving like crazy and then you mentioned the responsible parents. What do you think will make our streets safer? Telling the responsible parents they can't ride their ebikes with their kids or telling the LMPD to crack down on those crazy driver on those crazy riders. I think if the city was was well known for you can't pop your wheelies here, you can't speed here. I think that would make be safer than telling mom and dad and 10-year-old, hey guess what, you can't go to Sheldon's on your bikes. try driving your car. So again, I I understand where you're coming from. And the reason there's a surge in in ebikes stuff is because there's a surge in ebikes. Five years ago, there weren't any. Now they're everywhere. They're a gamecher. Literally, we never I never see bicycles anymore. All I see are ebikes. So you're going to see more and more accidents just like with cars because there's going to be thousands, if not hundreds of thousands more ebikes. So naturally, you're going to have that number go up. Just because there are more ebikes does not mean that we don't put an ordinance into play. That's crazy.

I don't need those statistics. You don't have statistics that you can cite. You're saying, "Well, because there are more air ebikes." Where is the statistics? Where's the citation? How many jet crashes were there in the 1800s? Exactly. Cuz there weren't any jets.

Well, but then your child could be able to drive a jet. I mean, by your your thing, I mean, well, what's the order? I mean, you know, let's let's take it to that. You're saying that you shouldn't have any of these laws out there because you should be able to freely parent, but we have laws that tell us what we can do as parents. So, I I I'm just saying that this is not like the first law ever to be put into play. And especially with the I mean, I don't know like you want to vote against sharp rated hospital statistics. You want to vote up against um um you know our fire, our our our our chief of police. You you want to vote against all of those things, that's cool. That's cool. That's your decision. That's your freedom to do. I'm just sad. I I really You know what? I would like to hold this if we can and pull it because I think everybody on this diet should weigh in on this ordinance. I I I actually I I don't know if it's possible, but I would like to hear from our mayor. I would like to hear from our our other uh member of the dis. I don't know if it's too late, but for me personally, I don't believe that we should go forward with us this divided.

Are you guys looking at me? It's up to you. It So the question the question is, can this be brought forward at another council meeting rather than tonight? Is that Absolutely. Okay. I can make a motion to that effect if you want to give that direction. I'm going to make a motion that we pull it so everybody on this dis can weigh in on this.

I'm I am happy to second that motion. Um I I hear both of you. I also hear the parents that I've heard from. Um and I might change my mind before it comes back the next time. But I have changed my mind from voting in support of it. um from the discussions that I've had with parents because the only folks that have reached out to me have been against this and I am not a parent. I don't have any intentions to be a parent in the next few years when this will be in in in play. And so I recognize that that is a completely different perspective. Um, I have a really tough time with the the age ban of it all because I do like I do understand cars and and age 16 and even that feels pretty young sometimes. I am still not a great driver to this day. Um, but I I also feel that they're very good for the environment. I think they're I think they're very good for families to be able to get around town whether whether we had a parking crisis or not. And we do have a parking crisis. And so, do I trust every parent? Absolutely not. Do I think that this right now is the right ordinance? I don't. And and I think it came from the right place. And I think that we are very limited by

the state law that allows us to have some kind of pilot program. So, and and since it's already the second reading, we cannot make any amendments. Um, so I'm I'm glad that this will hopefully move forward to another council meeting because I would like to hear from the rest of the council as well. Um, and I would also frankly like to hear from more parents and more community members on both sides of of the issue. Um, but at at this point in time, I would I would not be able to be supportive, but I am I am happy to second and and see it come forward at a at a future meeting. Any other comments before we call the vote?

Okay, we'll call the comment. Oh, yes, please. Not about the merits of the ebike. That's up to you. Um, but are you talking about a date certain when it comes back? Is it the next meeting? Yeah, I would like it at the next meeting. I will be appearing online though. I I'm going to be appearing from Sacramento, but I will be here. Megan got that.

That's fine. That's fine by me. Okay. Uh let's call them uh call the vote. Okay, sorry the system is not reading it properly because it would Let me do a roll call vote. Um, Council Member Loian, how do you vote? Council member Suzuki, how do you vote? Yes. Vice Mayor Kazares, how do you vote? Yes.

The motion passes with two council members voting yes. It went one council member voting no. Does that pass? We're not actually voting on the the ordinance. It's a motion to give direction to staff. So, that is allowed. Yeah. Okay. So, in that case, that passes. Um, thank you very much. And we're going to move on to item 12.1, uh, hearing on the consideration of the community development block grant CDBG program for fiscal year 2027 and a substantial amendment to the FY2025 annual action plan. For this we have um Mera Myra Myra Pña. Thank you. Hi. Hello.

Um good evening uh vice mayor and councel. My name is Myra Pina. I am the senior management analyst for community development. I'm here to present on item 12.1. This will be the first of two public hearings for the CDBG program. As an entitlement jurisdiction um under the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, also known as HUD, the city qualifies to receive community development block grant or CDBG funds in proportion to its population size, social economic status, and demographic factors. CDBG funding supports neighborhood revitalization, community facilities and services, economic development, and activities within low to moderate income communities identified as eligible areas as CDB CDBG eligible areas. The map here on the right shows CDBG eligible areas for the city of La Mesa. In order to receive CDBG funds, the city is required to submit a consolidated plan that outlines the city's housing and community development needs. City council approved the current consolidated plan on July 8th, 2025. The adopted consolidation plan identified these top four goals. Improve public facilities and infrastructure to promote a healthy and vibrant city environment. promote equitable access to affordable housing through the preservation of existing units, assistance to homeowners and fair housing services. Create programs to prevent and address homelessness and provide access to services. And the fourth goal is to provide local community services to support low and moderate income households. On April 3rd, HUD announced that the city would receive an allocation of

$467,440 in CDBG funds. This slide here provides an overview of staff's funding recommendation based on HUD's allocation and goals identified in the city in the city's consolidated plan. There is a $381,000 proposed to improve facilities and infrastructures on Tower Street between 70th Street and 68th Street. This area is identified on the sidewalk master plan as streets where sidewalks do not currently exist. The city is expected to complete the design by June 2026 and construction by June 2027. Staff also proposes Excuse me. Staff proposes programming additional CDBG funds to the sidewalk improvement project in areas where the city's sidewalk master plan identifies the pedestrian connectivity needs improvement. The locations of this work include Maple Avenue, Jesse Avenue, 73rd Street, Jackson Drive, and Garfield. Additionally, staff proposes 30,000 for fair housing to CSA San Diego, a public service program that provides fair housing and tenant landlord services to residents of La Mesa, $50,000 for administrative activities such as environmental reviews on projects, monitoring, reporting, and outreach, and $6,640 $6,440 for housing specific administrative costs, including oversight of prior home rehabilitation loan program and down payment and closing cost assistance program. As part of this year's action, staff also proposes an amendment to fiscal year 2025 CDBG annual action plan to reprogram $150,000 previously allocated

to Nancy Street Drive improvement activity. staff has determined that the Nancy Street drive improvement project is currently not feasible due to factors that prevent the project from being carried out within the program year. The gas lines serving each resident are very shallow and requiring low require lowering by SDG& before the street can be reconstructed. The necessary gas line work is several years out per current SG& workload. Um staff will continue to pursue other funding options to support future improvements on Nancy Drive. In the interim, staff proposes a reallocation of these funds to fi to fiscal year 2025 sidewalk improvement projects in areas where city sidewalk master plan identified that pedestrian connectivity needs improvement. The locations for this work include Quincy Street, Ohio Place, Laamesita Place, and Jefferson Avenue. Staff recommends that city council provide input on the draft CDBG fiscal year 2027 annual action plan, which is attachment A, and propose the substantial amendment of $150,000 to fiscal year 2025 action plan, attachment B, and direct staff to return on May 26 for the final review and approval. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Um, do we have any comments? Um, Councilwoman Suzuki is lingering. Oh, okay. Um, well, thank you um very much. I just have one question. Um, so N is it Nancy Drive or Nancy Street? Nancy Drive. Nancy Drive. Um, were the residents of Nancy Drive made aware of this or will they just be made aware afterwards? Like do they know that the improvements will not be able to happen because of SDG&'s uh schedule? Um, I will have to defer to Mr. Throwin on that question. Oh, there he is. I I was looking for him on this side. Yeah.

Good evening. Good evening, uh, council. Uh, we have been working with the residents for several years on the project as it's, uh, a little more challenging than originally thought. So, we will reach out to them with a revised schedule to let them know that we've not forgotten about them, but that we have to work through a utility lowering process first. Great. Okay. As long as they will be made aware, I very much appreciate that. Thank you both. No further comments. Okay. Um, in that case, um, I will go ahead and make a motion to approve, uh, to close the public hearing first. Second. All right.

Thank you. Motion carries with all council members voting yes. Thank you. Um and now I can make a motion. Okay. Um I will make a motion to accept both staff recommendations. Motion carries with all council members voting yes. Thank you very much. I'm looking forward to those four streets getting a little bit more sidewalk attention. Um okay, next um our um last major item is um a council initiated item 13.1. Um I will pass it over to Councilwoman Suzuki.

Thank you. Um, so this initiated item is my idea uh to bring something to La Mesa that kids are already doing. It's it's known as Biztown and it's put on by Junior Achievement, but I thought about a way to use that model to increase engagement for civic engagement for our kids. And so what I'm asking for is um for us to approve the city to sponsor Mini Mesa Civic Lab. And and what Minia Mesa is, it would allow fourth to eighth graders in La Mesa to attend on a Saturday, October 17th at community at the community center and to meet um all the people from the city that make our city go. So there'd be people from Helix Water. They there'd be people from San Diego Community Power. There'd be our police department, H Heartland Fire, and our city staff and um the council, if the council's available, and our mayor. And our mayor is also part of this. And so um my idea is for us to do this so that the kids could take the day, have um an actual um you know, I guess more of a an event where they could they could get into it rather than just sit there and listen to something. And I really don't think that we're teaching our kids enough about civic engagement. And so I think this is a really great opportunity for them to have fun. It's a good way for the city to show our kids how our city runs. I think one of the things that you know some people might have learned today is that um San Diego Community Power provides our energy. Well, some kids don't know that. They think it's still SDG& and their families don't even know that. They might think it's SDG&. So, uh, Mini Mesa Civic Lab is is an idea for us to be able to put on a huge event and really get our kids knowledgeable about how our city runs so

that they can feel comfortable about getting involved. Thank you very much. And before we uh take comments, I've got a a public comment that I'm going to take. Um, Don Tol, come on up. Good evening everyone.

Good evening. Go ahead and get started when you're ready. Okay. Thank you. Um just real quick wanted to say it was really nice to see the police officers honor tonight. Wasn't sure if I was going to make it in time for work. That was a nice plus for me. Um Genevie, I love this. It's been terrible not having civics in all of the schools. I see just a der of understanding and I think we've seen over the last two decades what it has done to our discourse and even people's ability to engage because people are getting their information off of Instagram posts rather than coming to city council meetings or talking to their assembly members or their congressional representatives. I think this is a step in the right direction. It's so important to have young people understanding what is happening so that they are ready to register to vote, vote knowledgeably, and engage with their community knowledgeably. Thank you so much for proposing this. I hope everyone will support this unconditionally.

Thank you very much, Don. Um, a comment from Councilwoman Loian. Yeah, I think this is a great idea. Just quick question. Is there a a cost associated with this staff? Uh, not at this not at this time. No. Do you think it'd be hundreds of dollars, thousands of dollars? Just curious. I like I love this and I'm going to be a yes vote, but I'm just curious. Deminimous amounts. Just minimal. Yeah. Okay.

Um, I want to thank Councilwoman Suzuki. Um, I think this is beyond brilliant. Um, I would love if we also invite um the the county registar of voters um out there. They do a lot of really cool stuff um about voting. I'm sure you've already thought of that. Um I think this is a fantastic idea. Um and I will go ahead and let you make the motion.

I move to approve con um that I'm sorry, I don't understand. Uh, I move to approve city sponsorship for Mini Mesa Civic Lab, including authorization for use of city facilities, staff support for planning and on-site coordination, demonstrations and event staffing by the Laame Mesa Police Department and Heartland Fire, and event promotion through city communication channels and partner outreach. And I will second motion carries with all council members voting yes. Thank you very much. All right. Um, next is council committee reports. Uh, Councilwoman Loian, Councilwoman Suzuki.

Yeah, I have a subcommittee update. Um it's for the from the civic center master plan ad hoc subcommittee. The subcommittee met on April 16th. The following are updates regarding the next phase of the civic center development in December December 4th 2025. Benjamin Quo, vice president of facilities for the United States PO Postal Service located in Washington DC, returned an email sent by the city of La Mesa and said to contact Donald Mackey, facilities director for leasing in North Carolina. In February, on February 2nd, 2026 this year, a virtual meeting was held between Mr. Mackey and city manager Greg Humora. Mr. Mackey indicated that the postal service was satisfied with their current location but would consider a relocation proposal if that was the city's desire since the city is the landlord. A draft memorandum of understanding for a proposed relocation was sent to Mr. Mackey. In March on March 24th, 2026 this year, email was received from Mr. Mackey stating that the postal service was refreshing their internal due diligence to make sure the proposed space meets their operational needs and they expected to have this completed in the next 45 days. Once they have that complete, they will engage on a letter of intent to relocate. The next steps include continue negotiations with USPS, issue a request for qualifications for civic center owners representative. This would be a consulting firm including architects, engineers, lawyers, and other design and development professionals to advise the city on the next steps to continue with the next phase of the civic center site development. The owner's representative will be asked to recommend construction delivery methods, including public provide um partnerships and design build models.

Recommendations for selection of an owner's representative will be brought back to city council for future approval. Thank you very much. Anything else? Thank you. And I have none this evening. Um did anyone travel um AB 1234? Okay. City attorney. All right. In that case, um I will adjourn at 7:18 p.m.