City Council - Regular Meeting

I'm not offering you a bra.

Thank you. Thank you.

The time now is 4.06 on August 27, 2025. I would like to start the city council closed session meeting. The meeting is now called to order. So Madam Clerk, roll call please.

Thank you. Mayor Nguyen?

I'm here.

Vice Mayor Monzo?

I'm here. I guess I am here.

Testing, testing. I think we need to raise it.

Thank you. Councilwoman Fen West? District 3, Councilmember Nguyen?

Here.

District 4, Councilmember Nguyen? Mayor, you have a quorum with District 1, Councilwoman Fen West, and District 4, Councilmember Nguyen absent.

Hello. Testing one. Can you crank up the volume a little bit more? Hello. Testing one. A lot better. Thank you very much, and next is oral communication for closed session. At this time, Madam Clerk, do we have any sign up for the closed session?

Yes, we have one speaker for closed session, Terry Raines.

Hello, item two. There's been a lot of closed session discussions about this property, the Rose Center Apartments. I vaguely recall seeing some public records indicating elderly development. Westminster wants to make substantial necessary improvements to the property but can't afford to do so with the deed-restricted rents. Again, going off of memory here, so this may not be accurate or related to these ongoing discussions, only price in terms of payment may be discussed today. Item three, there have also been a lot of closed session discussions about this property, the Rose Center Theater. The community is vaguely aware of the operational analysis and strategic business planning initiative underway through Theater DNA to evaluate the current usage and management and develop a plan to maximize its potential. I completed the community survey and encouraged members of the Westminster Buzz to do so as well. Like every project in our city, I urge this council to remember all voices matter, not just those from one ethnic group or another. Whatever changes are considered for this theater must prioritize all residents and their wishes. Item 4, two more cases of significant exposure to litigation, two more likely lawsuits against the city. Government Code 549569D2 states, a point has been reached where, in the opinion of the legislative body of the local agency of the advice of legal counsel based on existing facts and circumstances, there is significant exposure to litigation against the local agency. 54956E2 states, facts and circumstances including but not limited to an accident, disaster, incident, or transactional occurrence that might result in litigation against the agency and that are known to the potential plaintiff or plaintiffs, which facts and circumstances shall be publicly stated on the agenda or announced. I hereby request the city attorney publicly state here in open session before you enter closed session whether or not he opines the facts and circumstances for each of the two separate potential cases are known to the potential plaintiffs and provide his reasoning for each case's opinion. If the facts or circumstances are known to the potential plaintiff for either case, they must be disclosed prior to you entering closed session today upon request. I'm hereby requesting that disclosure that disclosure by way of these comments. I'm also requesting to the city attorney report out now if he finds any members of this council who will have to recuse themselves for either of these two potential litigation discussions. Obviously Amy and Nam Kwan absent again. Oh, Nam Quan just showed up. Council Member Nam Quan has been absent for four of the nine closed sessions thus far in 2025, arrived late for two of the five, make that three now, that he did attend. Council Member Amy Fan West has been absent for two of the nine closed sessions thus far in 2025 and arrived late for three of the seven that she did attend. If this is an obstruction of government proceedings and justice, I don't know what is. The two obstructionists need to face real consequences for their behavior. Let's hope one of these two potential litigation cases is against one or both of them. Thank you.

Mayor, we have no further speakers.

All right, thank you very much. At this time, I close oral communication for closed session. And Madam Clerk, would you please read the items that we are going to reset for closed session.

Thank you, Mayor. The City Council will recess to a closed session for the following purposes. Conference with Legal Counsel Existing Litigation, Government Code Section 54956.9d1, name of case in regarding National Prescription Opiate Litigation, USDC, Northern District of Ohio, MDL number 2804. Conference with Real Property Negotiators, Property 8190, 13th Street, Westminster, California, 92683. Agency Negotiators, City Manager, Christine Cordone, Assistant City Manager, Adolfo Zeta, and Housing Specialist, Michael Sun. Negotiating Parties, Elderly Development, Westminster LP, Under Negotiation, Price in Terms of Payment. Conference with Real Property Negotiators, Property 14140, All American Way, Westminster, California, 92683. Agency Negotiators, City Manager, Christine Cordone, and Assistant City Manager, Adolfo Zeta. Negotiating Parties, Friends of Abbey Center Incorporation, DBA, Friends of the Rose Center Theater, and Mastroni Family Enterprises, LTD, DBA, Jace Catering Company, Under Negotiation, Price and Terms of Payment, And conference with legal counsel anticipated litigation. Significant exposure to litigation pursuant to government code section 54956.92, number of potential cases two.

Thank you very much. At this time, the city council will recess for closed session. I believe the vice mayor has something to say.

Yes, Mayor, thank you. City Attorney, do we have to report anything out as the speaker is mentioning? Can you comment on those comments?

We are in compliance with the Brown Act.

So no.

Okay. All right, thank you very much. The City Council now resets for a closed session.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. music music Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. do Thank you. do Thank you. Thank you. Bye. do do do Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. do Thank you. guitar solo Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. music music Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. do Thank you. Bye. Bye. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Good evening. Can you crank up? Yeah, thank you. Good evening. The time now is 6.27. Welcome everyone to the City Council meeting, open session. We apologize that we are late today because we have so many items that we have to discuss during the closed session. And because of the attorney there and we don't want to delay this process, that's why we need to get it done. So we apologize for being late, but we are doing city business. Just want to let you know. So at this time, I would like to reconvene the city council successor agency to the Westminster Redevelopment Agency meeting. The meeting is called to order. So Madam Clerk, would you please do the roll call?

Mayor Nguyen.

I'm here.

Vice Mayor Monzo.

I'm here.

District One, Councilwoman Fian West. Fian West here. District Three, Councilmember Nguyen.

Here.

And District Four, Councilmember Nguyen.

I'm here.

Mayor, you have a quorum with all members present.

Thank you very much and salute to the flag today. It's going to be District One, Councilmember Amy Fian West and invocation District Three, Councilmember Mark Nguyen. Please stand and face the flag.

Please join me, salute the flag. 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.

Please remain standing. Please bow your head. Heavenly Father, grant us this evening clarity of vision, courage, and compassion of good humor as we deliberate the decisions that affect the citizens of our city. Please guide us by your will, ensuring that decisions are based on the whole of the community and not on opinions of one or of a few. Help us keep in mind that as elected official, we are here this evening to represent the wishes of all who live in our community. Amen. Amen.

Please be seated. And thank you Councilwoman Van West and also Councilwoman Mark Nguyen. Next is City Attorney co-session report, please.

Yes, so there are four items. On closed session, three of them, there was no reportable action taken. On the fourth item, conference with legal counsel, I did not participate in one of those matters. I am informed that there's no reportable action on that one. The second matter, there was no discussion. That discussion did not occur and will not occur this evening. As far as the one item of reportable action that I do have, It relates to a settlement agreement the city council authorized the city attorney's office to work with the city manager in entering into a settlement agreement with Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family, which is the founders of Purdue Pharma. The city agreed to participate in nationwide settlement with Purdue Pharma and certain of its affiliates and the Sackler family concerning the alleged misconduct relating to opioids. Purdue Pharma, who filed for bankruptcy protection, is one of the largest manufacturers of opioids. The settlement provides that the Sacklers will pay an aggregate of $6.5 billion in 16 payments over 15 years in total to all eligible states, counties, cities, territories and other creditors. And number two, there was settlement also authority granted with respect to Alvagen, Amnil, Apotex, Hicma, Individuar, Mylan, Sun, and Zytis. The city agreed to participate in the nationwide settlement with eight opioids manufacturers. The settlements will provide a maximum of approximately $720 million in cash in total to all participating states, counties, cities, and territories to remediate and abate the impacts of the opioid crisis. And what I will indicate is, as a follow-up to the very last council meeting that we had, we did indicate that we were going to re-adjourn to closed session, and at the time we indicated that we did not expect there to be any reportable action, and indeed that prognostication was correct, there was no reportable action.

All right, thank you very much, City Attorney. Next is Export Communications. Is there anything from the council here? Seeing none, hearing none, so moving on to City Court Report Police.

I have no report tonight, Mayor. Thank you.

All right, thank you. Moving on to City Manager Report Police.

Thank you, Mayor, members of City Council, and everyone in the audience today. I'll try to keep this as brief as I possibly can. So on August 14th, the Westminster Police Department successfully completed its inaugural CSI Teen Academy. This five-week program introduced high school age students to key aspects of crime scene investigation, which included DNA analysis, fingerprint examination, criminal law, and other areas of criminology. A total of 20 students from local high schools graduated from the academy course, and our PD forensic services unit was instrumental in the success of this program. If interested in this program, a future class will be offered during the summer of 2026, so follow our PD's social media page and city's website for details in the future. Next, the West Orange County Regional CERT Program, or Community Emergency Response Team, is offering a free academy training. This training starts on Friday, September 12th. It consists of a four-day, 20-hour course designed to educate participants about disaster preparedness for various hazards and covers essential disaster response skills, which include fire safety, light search, rescue techniques, team organization, and basic disaster medical operations. These CERT members play a crucial role in supporting first responders, providing immediate assistance to those affected by disasters and organizing volunteers at disaster sites. You do see our wonderful CERT team members as well at our city events. They work the Fall Festival, the Tet Parade, and other events that we have. So to participate in this training, applicants must be 18 years or older and either live or work in the city. Registration information is available at westcountysert.com and the information is also available on our city's website. Okay, once again, to commemorate and honor the sacrifices made on September 11, 2001, Westminster Police Department personnel will be authorized to wear the 9-11 badges throughout the month of September. This annual tradition will forever honor the police officers, firefighters, and civilians who lost their lives in the attacks that day on September 11, 2001. Okay, fall festival information. Don't miss your chance to be a part of our spectacular fall festival happening September 25th through 28th. Vendors and entertainers applications are due this Friday, August 29th, and sponsor opportunities are still available. Information's all available on the city's website, or you can email fallfestival at westminster-ca.gov. Senior Center's hosting a Hoedown Dance. Dust off those boots and grab a partner for the Senior Center's Hoedown Dance on Friday, September 5th from 12 to 2 p.m. Enjoy live entertainment and refreshments. Tickets are on sale now for $5, but will be $7 at the door. For more information, contact the Senior Center front desk or call, contact the Senior Center front desk at 714-895-2878. The Sigler Park Splash Pad will be staying open until September 1st from 12 to 5 p.m. And for a little extra fun, we are extending the season with bonus weekends on September 6th and 7th, and then September 13th and 14th from 12 to 5 p.m. So bring the kids, cool off, and enjoy the last splash of summer. And last, join us on Wednesday, September 10th at 11 a.m. for the grand opening of our newest playground featuring Zipping Active Adventures at Bowling Green Park. That's at 14700 Bowling Green Street. And stay for free fun with our mobile rec program afterward. That concludes my report for tonight.

All right. Thank you very much, Jesse. Next is a good part. This is very exciting part that I will in the meeting, which is special presentation. And today, we see a number of little link here for the championship, state championship achievement. I have to say that I have a chance to attend the game. There are a lot, lot of teams at the Buckingham Park, I believe, every year. And I got a chance to pitch the first pitch of the game, too. And today, on behalf of the city staff, city council, we would like to thank the coaches and also the I know that you have put in a lot of effort, times and effort to get your child in the league and participate in the tournaments. So with that, I would like to welcome each and every one of you here today at this meeting. And we have the certificate of recognition to the Huntington Beach, Huntington West Little League. for state championship achievement accomplishments. Huntington West Little League has many players from Westminster and probably use Buckingham Park baseball field as their local home field. This season's 10U, 11U, and 12U all-star teams all won District 62 championship in their respective divisions and made it to District 10 sections. The 10s 12 and won this tournament and moved on to the state championships, making them one of the top 10 teams in all of Southern California. Let's put the hands together for them. On behalf of this entire city council, I'd like to recognize our young athletes and congratulate them on these accomplishments. So at this time, I would like to invite the council to join me in the front of the stage to take the photo with the lake and I would like to invite you also, the coaches and the parents, if you can join us here for the picture, thank you. All right. As I mentioned earlier, we are very, very pleased to see all of you and congratulations to all of you for winning the state championship achievements. And with that, together with the city council here and city staff, I would like to present you with a certificate of recognition. And this is presented to Huntington West Little Lake in recognition of division all-star teams winning the District 62 championship, advancing two states, and ranking among the top 10 teams in California. Your dedication, teamwork, and excellence are hereby commended and celebrated. Congratulations. And this is signed by me and also the City Council. Okay, thank you very much. A round of applause for the parents. Thank you parents for all the hard work. Thank you all, thank you.

Wow, it's so crowded. Why don't you sing now? Why don't you sing now?

There's no one left.

You have to sing. There's only our very nice... Lovable people. That's okay. Very nice one. The one that loves you so much. So very much.

Okay, let's go.

Oh, Mr. Mayor, I need to say one thing.

I've got two questions. Oh.

I'm OK. I'm good. Thank you.

Before I continue with the meeting with the oral communication concerning agenda items only, I know that our city attorney have something to mention about, so please.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I realize I forgot to indicate that the vote in closed session authorizing the city manager to enter into the settlement agreement was a 5-0 vote. That was a motion by the mayor with a second by council member, Vice Mayor Monceau.

All right, thank you. In addition, I would like to also report that we have two cases at the end, but then we actually delay one case until the next meeting because we can't finish in time to come out here. And the item is not urgent, so we were able to push it back to the next meeting. So as a matter of fact, we did not finish all items for the code section today, but that's okay. Right, at this time, I would like to open up for oral communication concerning agenda items only. So Madame Clerk, would you please read the instruction into record, please?

Thank you, Mayor. This is the time of the meeting that members of the public may address the City Council regarding any items on the agenda except public hearing items. Members of the public wishing to address public hearing items shall do so at the time of the public hearing. Unless otherwise extended by a majority vote of the City Council, comments shall be limited to three minutes per speaker. Any person wishing to address the city council in person should complete a green speaker slip, which are provided at both the entrance to the theater and public podium and submit the card to a city clerk department staff member. When your name is called, please step to the podium at that time and state your name and city of residence for the record. Our speaker today, we only have one speaker for agenda items only, and that is Terry Raines.

Hello. Item 3.4, I urge staff to clean up this table, but they just wanted to quickly add and remove uses and avoid a sequel review. One, replace dashes with NP for not permitted uses. Two, place legend at the start and add descriptions. Three, why RV storage in M1 but not M2? Four, religious uses shouldn't be in an industrial, but federal law is tricky. Five, emergency shelters should be allowed by right in industrial zones where most cities want them per government code 65583. Self-storage uses are now prohibited citywide. Seven, mobile home parks should not be allowed in industrial. Mobile home sales are not. Eight, senior housing should not be in industrial. Nine, grocery liquor, general retail, and specialty stores are out, but convenience stores, okay. 10, are cannabis stores specialty stores? If so, most cities prefer them in industrial. though that viewpoint is slowly evolving. 11, onsite dry cleaners should be in industrial where most cities prefer them due to chemical and fire risk. 12, why is towing no storage okay in M2 but not M1? Council asked questions before this final approval. 3.7, CalPERS recommends retired annuitants be appointed via resolution in an open meeting, not on a consent calendar. The mandate only applies if less than 180 days post-retirement, but the recommendation is for all. Will the current interim be gone when Mr. Mendoza starts or will we be paying for two? Five, one, extending the holiday closure to now eight work days versus six work days in 2023 and 2021. seven in 2022 and six and a half in 2020, workdays, Monday through Friday. I get the convenience factor, but the longer the city hall is closed, the more backlogged everything gets. By three, no new applicants wanting to serve on this overtly political foundation. Terms should not be staggered. They should be permanent until the board makes the changes. By four, the mayor already presented his design and location to his fans. Ad hoc for what? So he can be sure and get what he wants. This sentence, the process will include several opportunities for the city council to provide input during the development of the archway concept prior to final approval should say opportunities for the community to provide input and not just Vietnamese residents, we're all stakeholders in this city. Seven one, I love the community garden concept and know the city didn't have other sites, but choking on the traffic fumes from Westminster Boulevard and the smog check place next door pretty much negates the peaceful, healthy community garden concept. plus little to no dedicated parking, I guess. 9-1, Charlie, you want a free meeting space for almost two years, 40 meetings, four hours each, $50 per hour, $8,000 plus staff setup time. If your meetings are held in public buildings at taxpayer expense due to waived fees, you have to open them to the public, Charlie, Brown Act or not. It's simple, if we are paying for your meetings, we can attend. The choice is yours, Charlie. What choice isn't yours? What isn't your choice? The Vietnamization of our entire city led by a mayor who overtly disrespects America and its flag. Thank you.

We have no further speakers, Mayor.

All right, thank you very much. At this time I close the public comments on oral communication for agenda item only. Moving next is consent calendar. All matters listed under the consent calendar are considered routine and may be approved by a single motion followed by a roll call vote. there will be no separate discussions of these items unless members of the city council or staff request that specific items be removed from the consent calendar for separate action or discussions. Is there any item that need to be approved by West Council? If not, I will entertain.

Yes, Mr. Mayor. Can we have three, pool 3.4, 3.5, and 3.7? 3.4, 3.5, and 3.7. I will move to approve the rest.

Second.

Thank you. I have a motion made by Mayor Nguyen, seconded by Vice Mayor Monzo. This is to approve the consent calendar with agenda item numbers 3.4, 3.5, and 3.7 pulled for a separate discussion. I'll go ahead and call roll. District 1, Councilwoman Fan West. Fan West, yes. District 3, Councilmember Nguyen. Yes. District 4, Councilmember Nguyen. Yes. Vice Mayor Monzo. Yes. And Mayor Nguyen.

Yes.

Motion carried 5-0.

3.4, second reading and adoption of ordinance number 2623, amending section 17.230, industrial zoning district of the Westminster Municipal Court. Council member West.

Thank you. I guess Sherry, is Sherry here? Is Sherry here, Christine? I just want to ask her. Oh, Sherry. Sherry.

Is Sherry here? No, she's not here. Oh, she's not here.

Okay, I'll ask city manager. Sure. So regarding one of the residents, Teri Raines, she was mentioning about the, what is your, can you kind of elaborate on some of her concerns on those?

No, I can't actually. Just her comments.

Yeah, her comment earlier regarding the 3.4.

They're recommendations that she has, but I don't have an authority to comment on those. I'm not a planner.

Is there a specific question or a topic you'd like me to try to answer?

This item, this is for second reading. So we discussed it at the last meeting already. So I don't know what kind of question that you have. You have to be specific to the staff or else they don't know where they can read your mind.

Right, well, what I was thinking, because one of the residents have mentioned item three, agenda 3.4, and some of her concerns regarding it on this list table here. I mean.

So what is the concern?

We can't hear. We can't hear. I'm speaking in the mic. I'm just letting them know that we can't hear you if you would like to. Oh, okay. Can you turn me on?

Can you bring up the volume for Council Member West?

Yeah, I believe your microphone is as high as it can be. If you can move the microphone closer to you, Council Member.

We're also getting some feedback.

Yeah, we're getting feedback.

Can you guys hear me now?

Can you speak a little bit louder?

Can you guys hear me now?

Okay.

All right.

Okay. So I guess the agenda 3.4, one of the resident has mentioned her concern regarding the chart on here. I was wondering if you can just elaborate on some of her concerns, Adolfo, if you don't mind.

So the item before you is second reading of an item that originally went to the Planning Commission for public hearing. So the Planning Commission heard these comments from the member of the public. They took those into account. They made their recommendation to the City Council. The City Council approved 5-0 at the last meeting. So right now we're at second reading. So I think the member of the public, her concerns are that The chart that's shown here, she believes that there should be different uses that are allowed in the zone than is being recommended by staff. So the question to you is if you wish to revise them, certainly you can. It would require a new public hearing before the city council if you end up making any revisions because this is second reading and the public hearing has already occurred at the last meeting.

Thank you, city attorney. I think you have answered it pretty legit because we do need to modify the zoning for things to be built in our city, and we have that urgency, so I do see that urgency. So I hope the resident understand with a lot of study from staff, you guys have come up with this zoning. So with that, that's all I have. I just want to...

Okay, I move to approve this item.

I second it.

All right, motion and second.

Thank you. I have a motion made by Mayor Nguyen, seconded by District 1, Councilwoman Fan West. This is to conduct a second reading and adopt ordinance number 2623 entitled, An Ordinance of the Mayor and City Council of the City of Westminster, California Approving a zoning text amendment, case number 2025-0113, amending title 17 of the Westminster Municipal Code, chapter 17.230, industrial zoning districts, read by title only and waive further reading. I'll go ahead and call roll. District one, Councilwoman Fan West.

Fan West, yes.

District three, Councilmember Nguyen. Yes. District four, Councilmember Nguyen. Yes. Vice Mayor Monzo. Yes. And Mayor Nguyen. Yes. Motion carried 5-0.

3.5 AB109 funding for public safety realignment and post-release community supervision enhanced law enforcement in fiscal year 2025 to 2026.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. May I have Chief Lengi? By the way, we appreciate all you do for the law enforcement and safety in our city, and so thank you. If you can elaborate on this for us, that would be great.

Thank you, Councilwoman.

Mayor, Council, can you hear me?

Can you get closer to the public podium? We can't hear you.

I'm going to go solo on this.

There you go.

Good evening, Mayor, Vice Mayor, Council. AB 109 is basically a realignment of nonviolent offenders who used to serve prison time are now released early and placed on probation. But it put a burden on local police departments with reoffenders and whatnot. So what the state has done is they had made funds available for our staff to go out on overtime to do probation checks because the the suspects are usually still on probation per court so although they're released early they're released with certain terms of probation and our officers detectives usually go out with probation officers supplementing probation officers and they do searches and make sure that offenders are in compliance. All this is is asking the council to accept those funds. This has been going on since 2011, and we've received funds every year since then for the realignment process.

Thank you, Chief. I really appreciate that. With that, Council Mayor, I move to approve.

Okay.

I second.

All right. Motion and second on the floor.

Thank you. I have a motion made by District 1, Councilwoman Fan West, seconded by Vice Mayor Monzo, to approve a revenue estimate of $79,430 from the 2025-2026 AB109 grant to the AB109 revenue account for the fiscal year 2025-2026 budget. and amend the fiscal year 2025-2026 adopted budget by designating grant revenues in the amount of $79,430 and increasing budgeted expenditures to the Special Police Services Fund AB 109 expenditures budget for the fiscal year 2025-2026, overtime costs in the amount of $79,430. I'll go to call roll. District 1, Councilman Van West.

Fan West, yes.

District 3, Council Member Nguyen. Yes. District 4, Council Member Nguyen. Yes. Vice Mayor Monzo. Yes. And Mayor Nguyen. Yes. Motion carried 5-0.

3.7, adopt resolution authorizing the appointment of Steve Mendoza, CalPERS retiree as interim community development director to comply with California government code section 21221H. So, Council Member West, you approve this item.

Yes, thank you, Mr. Mayor. On agenda 3.7, I really appreciate staff for all you guys do with the hiring and vetting process. You guys do a great job. And with this, I just want to bring to light for the public. So with this 3.7, I have a few questions just for the public and for us to have an understanding. So what specific qualification experience are you prioritizing for the Community Development Director role? Which, I mean, I just want you two guys to explain, to help us clarify the skills, education, and professional background the city values most for this position. If Christine, City Manager, Assistant Manager, can address that.

So do you want to start with our priorities or his qualifications?

You can start with your guy's priority and also his professional position.

I think if we're trying not to put too much out there. Our community development director position has been vacant for quite some time. We did have a period where we had a a permanent community development director and that was very short term. It's been a challenge to hire a community development director. Some of the feedback we've received in terms of trying to hire the most qualified a qualified person who will fit our team, it's been a challenge. Part of it is pay, part of it is the expectations that we as an administration and as a council has on this position. We've obviously have done a lot through the last few years of policy development, process development, with our org study on community development and implementing some of those, some of the implementation phases of that study. We've done a lot with strategic planning in terms of looking at how we can make ourselves a much more friendlier place to do business, for developers to do business, for retailers to do business, looking at how we can streamline our processes to make just everyday processing application processes easier. While we're still trying to maintain day-to-day operations, providing the best customer service that we possibly can, we do need a leader in there who is going to be able to do those studies and implement parts of the studies that we've put out, the goals that are set in our strategic plan. And so what's happening is with the interim, we don't wanna lose any momentum with the progress that we've made. And we've actually made a lot of progress in the last few years. We don't wanna lose that momentum. That department is bigger now. Code enforcement is back with community development. We need a seasoned person in there right now to pick up where Sherry, who her last day is tomorrow, where she's picking up where she is leaving off. and essentially driving the same message that we are trying to make our department better. We're trying to make ourselves more efficient. We're trying to change our reputation. Apparently there's some misconceptions that we are not business friendly and we're not development friendly and we're not collaborative and that's actually not true at all despite some noise that's out there. But the priority for the city is really just improving the department in the ways that council has placed in the strategic plan and what's best practices for a community development department. So that's where Steve comes in. So a little bit about Steve. He was previously, he was last the Assistant City Manager for the City of Santa Ana. Prior to that, he was the Executive Director for Community Development in Santa Ana and he was there from about 2018 till the end of 2024. Prior to that, he was the Director of Community Development and Public Works for the City of Los Alamitos for about 10 years. He was also in the city of Desert Hot Springs and as the assistant city manager and the city of La Mirada where he worked in planning. It was a redevelopment specialist and did economic development. So he is very well versed and very experienced. He has, I believe it's like 35 plus years of local government experience in the capacities of community development, economic development. One of the One of the main points that, the criteria that we look at is someone who is very up to date on planning, planning processes, and understands the world of planning. We definitely have a lot of work to do in that area, and he has that experience, and that's how he was vetted. So we're excited to have someone with his veteran expertise on our team. Thank you, City Manager.

Can you let us know also how we are saving money as well? I'm sorry? You mentioned how we're saving money as well.

Well, so as we're trying to find a permanent, you know, as we're trying to find a permanent director, and again, that's been a challenge. We went with a retired annuitant, which is there, as in the staff report, and I don't remember off the top of my head, it's like $102 an hour. But that is a flat hourly rate. He is retired, so there isn't an amount and then a fully burdened amount. It's just the hours that he works. And because he is retired through the CalPERS system, he is limited to the number of hours that he works. So that's how the number plays out. And that's assuming he's working the full 960 hours for the fiscal year, which he may want to take a vacation here and there. retired maybe it's not gonna be here you know ten hours a day five days a week or whatever that is so it really just depends on the needs of the organization at that time we're looking to him we're looking at him to help build our you know our our staffing levels as well and the current staff that we have try to guide them so that they're able to to be more independent and you know and and work more efficiently and Just kind of mentor them. So there is a savings there. The fact that it's just the hourly rate, there's not a fully burdened rate.

Right. I noticed that it's a flat rate. And also there's no benefit that we're giving out. So he already has retirement. So that doesn't burden the city. So I really appreciate that clarification. So with that, thank you, Christine. And with that, Mr. Mayor and Council, I motion to move to approve.

Second.

All right. Motion and second on the floor.

Thank you. I have a motion made by District 1, Councilwoman Fan West, seconded by Vice Mayor Monzo. This is to adopt a resolution entitled, A Resolution of the Mayor and City Council of the City of Westminster, California, approving Steven Mendoza as Interim Community Development Director, and authorize the city manager to enter into an agreement with CalPERS retired annuitant, Steven Mendoza, to appoint him as the Interim Community Development Director. I'll go to call roll. District 1, Council Member Van West.

Van West, yes.

District 3, Council Member Nguyen. Yes. District 4, Council Member Nguyen. Yes. Vice Mayor Monzo. Yes. And Mayor Nguyen. Yes. Motion carried 5-0.

At this time, I would like to open for public hearings. So, Madam Clark, would you please read the instruction on the record, please?

Thank you, Mayor. Anyone wishing to speak on an open public hearing may speak in person. Speakers during public hearing comments will each have three minutes to speak on each public hearing item. Any person wishing to address the city council in person should complete a green speaker slip, which are provided at both the entrance to the theater and public podium, and submit the card to a city clerk department staff member. When your name is called, please step to the podium at that time and state your name and city of residence for the record.

All right, thank you. 4.1, public hearing, adopt a resolution approving the 2024 military equipment annual report and renewing ordinance number 2614. At this time, may I ask for a stop report, please?

Yes, Mayor, Council. This is gonna be the military equipment annual report and renewing ordinance, and I'd like to introduce Commander Scott Gump, who will give you that report. Commander Gump is in charge of our professional standards unit, and in addition to that is also the West County SWAT commander. Thank you.

Thank you, Chief. Good evening, Mayor, Mayor Pro Tem, Council, and City Manager. Assembly Bill 41 became law as of January 1st, 2022. Per AB 41, law enforcement agencies are required to obtain approval by ordinance adopting a military equipment use policy from their respective city councils. Our AB 41 department policy and 2024 annual report were posted on the city website on July 29th, 2025. We must also hold at least one community engagement meeting within 30 days of submitting and publicly releasing this annual report. The required community engagement meeting is being held today at this council meeting. The community engagement meeting was also advertised on the police department's social media accounts as well as the city of Westminster's website. After the council adopted the original AB 41 ordinance at the September 11th, 2024 council meeting, we are requesting the council to renew the ordinance in accordance with the AB 41 requirements. We determined that there was no need to amend our current policy with respect to military equipment. Items deemed to be military equipment by AB 41 are used as a component of overall best practices for law enforcement agencies throughout this country. These tools have been field tested and are used to enhance public and officer safety. Loss of these items would jeopardize the welfare of peace officers and the citizens of Westminster whom they serve. The term military equipment as used in AB 41 in fact does not necessarily indicate equipment that has been used or purchased from the military. Pursuant to AB 41 items deemed to be military equipment include but not limited to armored vehicles, Pepper balls, less lethal shotguns, less lethal 40-millimeter projectile launchers, certain qualifying firearms, and diversionary devices like flashbangs. In 2024, the Westminster Police Department used military equipment on five different incidents. Four of them were during high-risk SWAT incidents. Each of those five incidents and the equipment used are specifically outlined in the 2024 Annual Report. The attached ordinance seeks to renew the existing Westminster Police Department Policy Section 706, which constitutes Westminster PD's military equipment use policy. Policy 706 outlines each item identified in Government Code Section 7070 that is currently used by the City. Policy 706 also includes the current use and cost of each item. These items and their stated uses have been in place prior to the implementation of AB 41. We are asking City Council to review the 2024 Military Equipment Annual Report and consider a resolution to renew ordinance number 2614 to allow WPD to continue to use the vital equipment specified in that policy. We are not requesting any additional budget appropriations at this time. That concludes my presentation. Am I available to answer any questions?

All right, thank you for the staff report. And at this time, City Council, questions for our staff, if there's any. No? All right, thank you. Moving on to public comment, please. I would like to open public comment for this item.

Thank you. We have three speakers tonight. We'll go ahead and start with Michael Varengia, followed by Camila, with our final speaker, Terry Raines.

Thank you. I just want to make comments about this. A lot of the items that the commanders mentioned, it's unfortunate we can't see any presentation if there was one, but by and large, the things that are available for local law enforcement are those items that are gonna protect the officers and other police staff that may be in an area where They're going to need them for safety reasons, crowd control, barricaded suspect. And he mentioned that they already had used them five different previous occasions. So a lot of times people see the title of what this is and immediately think of they're militarizing the local police departments or local sheriff's departments. Not really quite right, but a lot of the equipment that is available will help these officers survive in an increasingly difficult situation. I don't want to go over a lot of stuff, especially with the recent shooting and everything back east, but those are the type of incidents that the police departments can use some of this equipment, not only to protect themselves, but to protect the rest of the public, help contain these type of incidents and their responses. So I would like you to really not hesitate to go ahead and approve this because it's beneficial to the entire city and not just the officers themselves. Thank you.

Our next speaker is Camilla Overbeek, followed by our final speaker, Terry Raines.

Oh, that's going to be uncomfortable. Here we go.

Can I just yell at you?

Good evening, guys. So I just want to, I'm not sure if you guys are aware, but crime and poverty are basically like intertwined, right? Like you could also use them interchangeably, right? So if you have a high crime area, more than likely it's also high poverty. And I point that out because we're talking about police and putting weapons in their hands. And if I'm not mistaken, we just recently, not that long ago, passed a sales tax ordinance, right? So our sales tax now in the city of Westminster is 9.25% compared to that of our neighbor over there in Huntington, which is 7.75%. And I'm gonna take a little tangent for a second, but hold on. So this past weekend, my garage refrigerator went out and I had to go and I had to buy a new one. And I found one at Lowe's, which just happens to be in Huntington. So I paid $485 plus tax. So I got to thinking like, hey, I wonder what it would have been if I bought it in Westminster. So I did the math. And it only came out to a difference of $7.27. But what I would like to point out to you is that if you're poor and you're a single mom with a child, that $7.27 difference is school lunch for two weeks. And I bring that up because that refrigerator and that sales tax that was collected, it takes nine refrigerators to pay for one flash bang. I don't know if you know that, but you should do the math because maybe if we started making these items attached to people and what they mean and the violence against communities, maybe then we could start to look at this because you guys are all looking at me like I'm the crazy one, but you all day in and day out are presented with this same problem every single year with regard to crime and you keep throwing the same solution at it but just with more money. Imagine for one second that you looked at this and you saw that the police department is asking to spend $17,200 in weapons that will effectively be used against innocent people because lest we forget that in this country we are innocent until proven guilty. So yes, every person is innocent. So let's just think for one second, if we took that $17,200, and we also asked the police department, hey, if we're gonna give you things to harm people, maybe, just maybe, you should also have to pay and help the community. Because why is it that we're so willing to invest in weapons, but we won't invest in people? We pay for the things to harm them, but we won't do anything to feed them. You'd rather spend $60 on a flash bang instead of paying 60 cents for a bologna sandwich for the homeless guy standing on the corner. You want to talk about poverty and you want to talk about crime but you're also going to like fail to mention that because of you this city is further down in revenue because you wouldn't put in dispensaries because of your own bias. And I'm the crazy one because I believe that we should be putting food in people's bellies not bullets.

Our final speaker is Terry rates.

Hello, page two of the staff report states AB 481 was slightly updated effective January 1 2025 to slightly amend the definition of military equipment once passed and enacted assembly bills cannot be modified. Any modification to the laws enacted by way of an assembly bill must be done through new legislation and a new bill. There was nothing built into the bill to change effective this year and there is no evidence online that the legislature has revised the state's definition of what equipment is subject to the bill. Perhaps what the PD meant to say in the staff report is that they are proposing changes to their inventory to take advantage of evolving technology maybe. Chief or dump, whichever, whoever, Please address the statement in the staff report if you can and provide the official source for that statement or clarify what it should have said instead. Since Council Member West subjected us all to a horrendously long line of absent-minded questioning about the police department's military equipment report at past meetings due to her inability to understand the difference between current inventory and additional military equipment that the department intends to acquire in the coming year, the report is dumbed down for her. Amy, pay attention. There is a separate column on the inventory report entitled recommended action in 2025, 26, and any potential new acquisitions are highlighted for you in green there. I'm confident our police department does not abuse the use of military equipment. I do find it rather odd that California police departments who are charged with keeping our community safe and apprehending the bad guys that sometimes require the use of this type of equipment have to jump through all of these hoops to justify and report what they are using and why when federal agents and actual military personnel can and are entering cities and completely taking over local law enforcement without having to answer to anyone about their tactics or their use of military grade equipment all at the direction of the current president. Make it make sense. Thank you.

We have no further speakers, Mayor.

All right, thank you. Now, Council.

Mr. Mayor, if I may? Yes, please. This is not a typical public hearing item, so I just want to make sure that I respond to one question that was asked. The question was from the last speaker, Terry Rain. She was asking about what amendments actually did happen to the law. There was a law that was AB2546 that was effective January 1st, 2025. It slightly amended the definition of military equipment. There's one subsection, in my estimation, extremely minor, but there was one little subsection that was revised slightly. That's what that is referring to. Thank you.

Thank you for the clarification, City Attorney. At this time, Mayor and Council, discussion and action.

Anything? I just have a question, thank you, Mayor, to the city attorney. Can you elaborate on that amendment? What was the amendment?

So subsection, so there's the definition of military equipment in subsection C, subsection 13, And subsection 13 previously stated, so the laundry list of here's everything that is military equipment. If it's military equipment, then you have to follow all these procedures. So it previously said, and I'm quoting, taser, shockwave, microwave weapons, water canyons, and the long-range acoustic device LRAD. Now it says, starting in 2025, it says area denial electroshock service devices, microwave weapons, water cannons, long-range acoustic devices, acoustic hailing devices, and sound cannons.

Thank you. Is there any? Yes. Your Council Member West.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor.

if one of the commander or chief can address this question. What mechanics are in place to ensure transparency on deployment, maintenance, and cost? Just because for some resident, they were just concerned, so to ease their concern and understanding, if you can elaborate on that, on what mechanism that you have in place to ensure transparency for them on deployment, those equipment.

Okay, help, help, help. I think it's good now.

All right. What measures are in place to help make sure it's transparent is obviously this annual report I go through and any qualifying incident where military equipment was used gets documented. and the law requires us to document it. We make sure to be very detailed in how it was used, the circumstances around how it was used, and what equipment specifically was used with justification of why it was used in that 2024 annual report.

Thank you. For those who are concerned, they have different criteria and that they vet and not only that, but what you just mentioned that you don't just deploy equipment just for nothing. So there is a reason behind that deployment. So I appreciate that clarification for the public. Now, the last question I have for you is, are these funds coming from the city general budget, a state federal grant, or a special program like the 1033 program? If you can elaborate on that.

Yeah, everything listed in there is coming from the PD budget. Most of those items, or actually all of them, we already have. So it's already paid for. There is maintenance on some of the items like for the armored vehicle. We may need to fix tires or get new tires, but it's all already encumbered.

Thank you for that clarification. Just for some residents who are concerned where the money is coming from. So I really appreciate that clarification. Thank you.

I move to adopt the resolution.

I second it.

Thank you. I have a motion made by Mayor Nguyen, seconded by district.

If I may clarify, so I believe the motion is to accept the staff report. Sorry, I want to make sure. It's adopt the resolution. And renewing the ordinance. I guess that is both in the, I apologize.

That's all in the resolution. No problem.

Very good.

So we have a motion made by Mayor Nguyen, seconded by District 1 Councilwoman Fan West. This is to adopt a resolution entitled, A Resolution of the Mayor and City Council of the City of Westminster, California, approving the 2024 Military Equipment Annual Report and renewing Ordinance Number 2614 in accordance with Assembly Bill 481 and file and receive the 2024 Military Equipment Annual Report. I'll go to call roll. District 1, Councilwoman Fan West.

Fan West, yes.

District 3, Councilmember Nguyen. Yes. District 4, Councilmember Nguyen. Yes. Vice Mayor Monzo. Yes. And Mayor Nguyen. Yes. Motion carried 5-0.

Now leaders into regular business 5.1 extension of holiday closure for 2025. I move to approve.

I second it. Thank you. I have a motion made by Mayor Nguyen, seconded by District 1, Councilwoman Van West. This is to extend the holiday closure to include January 2nd, 2026. I'll go to call roll. District 1, Councilwoman Van West.

Van West, yes.

District 3, Councilmember Nguyen. Yes. District 4, Councilmember Nguyen. Yes. Vice Mayor Monzo. Yes. Mayor Nguyen. Yes. Motion carried 5-0.

5.2, street light pole banner hanging request from Garden Grove Unified School District.

Motion to approve.

Oh, so sorry. Before you make a motion, we're actually asking for direction. There are two options that are being provided. In past, I guess the last time this was presented, there were some concerns about the length of how long the school district was hanging banners for and thought a year was too much according to the council. So there was a compromise in which we authorized, council authorized a 90 day request and then if the city if there were no other applications or requests to hang banners then we would just administratively extend for an additional 90 days that's what we did this last year but you know they historically come and ask for a year so it's really at council's discretion on how you'd like to proceed yes i i i like to add to this

I know previous years, we approved one year. But for last year, I believe that Councilman Nam Kwan was recommended for 90 days. That's the reason why I believe staff put option A or B. So it's up to Council to choose whether to allow them to have one year instead of 90 days.

I'm for doing what we did last year. I think that's most typical, so I think I'm fine with doing what we did last year.

Okay, last year is 90 days. The reason, can I ask staff, when they come back, did they specify why they want to come back for the same as the previous year, which is one year? Was there any request or any specific reason why?

Thank you, Mayor. Can I clarify the question? Any reason the district asked for a year again? The school district?

Yeah.

So that's their typical request. So they annually request the whole year, and then we administratively approve the 90 days. So that was the compromise, but their request annually is the year.

But for number of years, I remember that we approve for a year period of time, right?

Correct.

So last year, did they request extra time past the 90 days?

They don't request the 90 days. That's just the compromise that was directed by council. So they annually request the year. And if there were no other requests, we administratively approve that.

Okay, I'm for what is most typical is the year. Yes. So with the year is fine.

I have a quick question, Mr. Mayor. So I know we do have other events or things that we want to post up on the street.

These are the banners that they put it on the electric pole.

Right. So can we also, I mean, what if other people want to request, put their own banner of certain event or the city when we have certain event, can we put it up? Because I think 90 days, three months, that's plenty of time to recognize those students, like how we did last year. But it's just a thought. I think it's plenty of time, but if the council wanted you for a year, I mean, then what about the city?

Well, until, I can answer that. Until we have somebody and we have to play by ears, you know, who's that organization. But this is from school, from Unified School District, which is also part of the school here in Westminster. It also belongs to Unified School District, Grand Rouge Unified School District. So we are not doing for them specifically. We are doing also for us here.

Right. I think for me personally, I think three months is plenty. But if the council want to do longer, that's up to the council. But just in case we have other banner we want to put up, I just want to make sure we have time for that.

I think I agree too with Council Member, I mean Vice Mayor Manzo that for this year we can go ahead and approve the length is for one year and if need to, then we can always do it next year.

Because I think this is typical in other cities as well. I see in Anaheim, for instance, they have the same program and it's typically, it's most typically a year. Is that correct, Director Johnson?

Yes, so this is a request made in other cities by other districts and by Garden Grove School District in other cities that they have schools in. These are not typical sites that the city has planned banners for. So these are sites that are open. and that we do not typically use to promote any season or switch out traditionally.

Another reason I want to mention is that we only approve in the part of city of Westminster, and they are doing it on the city of . If we allow them to only 90 days, so they have to go to Westminster and remove those after 90 days. And then the city of Garden Grove still hanging that banners.

Okay. Mr. Mayor, I believe that Last time, last year, I'm the one that proposed. So the reason that I proposed that resolution because I want to make it fair for other organization and in this case, we might, we as City of Westminster might use those electric poles to hand our own banner for Tet Parade or some So I think it's fair for, we do actually do it really fair for the Unified School District by allow them, I think it's not 90 days, but like six months, that's what I remember. So I might propose a change again, like we do like half a year, like six months, then after that, if we as the city of Westminster or other organizations don't have a need for that. So city manager going to extend the rest of the year for the Gunrose School District. So you know.

Council Member Nguyen, my understanding right now the City of Westminster don't have the use for it and we don't have anybody requesting for it. So at this time here when we are going to approve this item, we have no No requests, no intention of using it at all for this year. So right now we have a motion on the floor for the motion that's taken on the floor. If you want to do it differently, then you can also substitute the motion or else we are going to move forward with the vote.

Mr. Mayor, can I ask one question with staff? Sure, please. So with that section, Can other organizations like nonprofit or whatnot, can they request to hang their banner there?

Yes, there's a process to request banner hanging, and this is brought to council. Typically that's administratively approved, but because it exceeds the duration that is allowed by staff to approve, we bring it to council. So because they want to honor their students for the entire year, they are using up more time than what's allowed by the the administrative process. Typically, if it's an organization hosting an event, they would fall within what can be administratively approved, which I believe is 21 days. So that wouldn't have to be approved and brought to council. But the 20 banner locations that the Garden Grove Unified School District has identified has not been requested by any other organization in at least the last two years.

Okay, is there a subject motion? No. Okay, if not, then we have motion and second on the floor.

Thank you. I have a motion made by Vice Mayor Monzo, seconded by Mayor Nguyen. This is to approve the written request from Garden Grove Unified School District to hang streetlight pole banners along Burschardt Street between Hazard Avenue and Bolsa Avenue and along Burkhurst Street between Hazard Avenue and McFadden Avenue from September 1st, 2025 through September 1st, 2026. I'll go to call roll. District one, Councilwoman Fan West.

Fan West, yes.

District 3, Council Member Nguyen. Yes. District 4, Council Member Nguyen.

Yes.

Vice Mayor Monzo. Yes. And Mayor Nguyen. Yes. Motion carried, 5-0.

5.3 continued from the August 13, 2025 special meeting appointment to the Westminster State Parade Foundation. This one appointment for District 4, Council Member Nam Kwan Nguyen. So...

Yes, I already have a name. I'm going to appoint Dr. Vo Duc Van for the position. I'm going to send the name over. Thank you.

Okay.

Thank you. So Dr. Vo, right? V-O, right? Okay, Dr. Vo.

V-U, right?

I second that. V-O.

Thank you. I have a motion made by District 4, Council Member Nguyen, seconded by Mayor Nguyen, to appoint, if you could say his name in the record, please.

Vo Duc Van, V-O is the last name, and V-A-N is his first name.

Thank you. To the Westminster Tap Parade as District 4 Councilmember Nguyen's appointee. I'll go to call roll. District 1, Councilwoman Fann West. Fann West, yes. District 3, Councilmember Nguyen. Yes. District 4, Councilmember Nguyen. Yes. Vice Mayor Monzo. Yes. And Mayor Nguyen. Yes. Motion carried 5-0.

5.4, formation of an ad hoc committee to review and select a qualified consultant for the design and development of Little Saigon Archway. So, may I ask if there is any appointment? I'll make a recommendation, Mayor. Yes.

I would recommend yourself, the Mayor, and myself, the Vice Mayor, for this ad hoc committee.

I second that.

All right, motion and second. Is there anything else? No, so move forward.

Thank you. I have a motion made by Vice Mayor Monzo, seconded by District 3, Council Member Nguyen. This is to appoint Mayor Nguyen and Vice Mayor Monzo to the review and selection of qualified consultant for the design and development of the Little Saigon Archway. I'll go ahead and call roll. District 1, Councilwoman Fen West. Fen West, yes. District 3, Councilmember Nguyen. Yes. District 4, Councilmember Nguyen.

Yes.

Vice Mayor Monzo. Yes. And Mayor Nguyen. Yes. Motion carried 5-0.

7.1 stop proposal to install parking restriction on Cherry Street. for Cherry Street Communication Community Garden Project, TC25-101.

So can I have a brief report on this? Absolutely. So the illustrations I'm going to be referring to for this item, this is a traffic commission item, are included in your binder. And city clerk is also displaying them on the television there. So as you see, what you see before you is an aerial photograph of the intersection of Westminster Boulevard and Cherry Street. So as is shown there, as we know, Westminster Boulevard is the east-west street, and Cherry Street is a residential street. We have two community parklets that were recently established there on the corners identified as the Cherry Street Outdoor Dining by that label. And we're actually very excited. One of our ARPA projects is the Cherry Street Community Garden, which was essentially a single-family lot that has been converted into a community garden. There are several ways that items get to the Traffic Commission. They're brought to us by residents. They're brought to us by elected officials. And for many years now, I supported staff to bring items forward, since we're eyes and ears and are out there in the community engaging with the public and with each other. So this item was actually brought to the Traffic Commission via the Traffic Engineering Division. Based on the fact that we are a built-out community, we don't have We don't have the opportunity always when we build new, introduce new amenities to the community to actually accommodate parking. In this particular case, the single family lot is the community garden and we expect there to be, well, there's actually a lot of interest in the community garden. My understanding is that all the little plots have been claimed by residents or there's interest in all the community, in all of those lots. So understanding the excitement for this project, we decided to plan ahead and introduce time parking, which is what you see there on the exhibit shown in green. close to the community garden so that folks whether it's during the day or after work or on weekends there would always be an opportunity for them to pull up near the community garden access the community garden and so on there was also a request by staff to introduce 10 feet of red curb shown there in red it's right next to the community street garden driveway as a result of the new driveway being poured for the community garden that little space there is not enough room for a vehicle so rather than wait for there to be parking issues we proactively brought this to the traffic commission to identify a preferred a desired 10 feet during the traffic commission discussion the commissioners felt that the time parking was a little bit premature they would rather wait for the park to open and then assess the parking situation prior to implementing time limit parking which would be in place and potentially be an impact if it wasn't actually needed which staff is very much in support of. Because a lot of the times we want to build it, we want to observe it, and then make corrections. Other times we want to preemptively do it. Sometimes there's no risk in waiting. So there is really no risk in waiting to observe this area, but we do feel that the 10 feet are necessary. And that is what was approved by the Traffic Commission, and that's the recommendation before you tonight.

All right. You are welcome to get your input in, but I go ahead and... move to adopt the resolution.

I second that and that's for the red curb parking and monitor the conditions and make it necessary adjustments at a later time.

Great, thank you. Motion and second on the floor.

Thank you, I have a motion made by Mayor Nguyen, seconded by Vice Mayor Monzo. This is to adopt a resolution entitled, a resolution of the Mayor and City Council of the City of Westminster, California, providing for no parking or stopping at a certain location on the east side of Cherry Street, north of Westminster Boulevard. I'll go to call roll. District 1, Councilwoman Fan West.

Fan West, yes.

District 3, Councilmember Nguyen. Yes. District 4, Councilmember Nguyen. Yes. Vice Mayor Monzo. Yes. Mayor Nguyen. Yes. Motion carried 5-0.

We are moving fast. At this time, I would like to open up for oral communication concerning non-agenda items. So Madam Clerk, would you please read the instruction in the record, please?

This is the time of the meeting that members of the public may address the City Council regarding any non-agenda items that are within the subject matter jurisdiction. Unless otherwise extended by a majority vote of the City Council, comments shall be limited to three minutes per speaker. Any person wishing to address the City Council in person should complete a yellow speaker slip which are provided at both the entrance to the theater and public podium and submit the card to a City Clerk Department staff member. When your name is called, please step to the podium at that time, state your name and city of residence for the record. Our first speaker is Michael Varengia, followed by Camilla Overbeek.

Thank you. I've got three quick items here. 9.1, waiving the fees for the Tet Festival Foundation. What are you gonna do when you have another organization that wants to meet for a long period of time and they want you to waive the fees and you decide, no, because we're giving up too much money for them using our facilities. You're gonna wind up finding yourself behind the eight ball on this because you allowed the Tet Festival. to have waived fees for using city facilities for their meetings. And as one of our residents pointed out, you're giving up a reasonably good amount of money. The next item, flag protocol. Since the last meeting, I'm sure that those of you who did not understand what flag protocol is in this country learned kind of a hard lesson. that that American flag goes up first before anybody else's flag, especially a flag that doesn't represent a country. That country no longer exists. So by raising that flag and raising the American flag after that, you've insulted the names of the men and women who died in that war serving that flag along with members of other countries that died in that war. So we should not see that item come up again because now we all know the American flag goes up before anything else. It's flown higher and it's always to the right as it faces the public. The third item, I keep hearing rumblings about a little too much interest in Blakey Park. And there's a common theme that runs through this, and that's a Vietnamese cultural center. There's a cultural center right over in Garden Grove. I don't believe we need one here in Westminster that we're gonna have to pay money for. If you want Vietnamese culture, those of us that are not Vietnamese, we can always go down to Little Saigon, take advantage of the restaurants, the shops. There's pharmacies there, there's bakeries there. We don't need to build a separate cultural center. Over half the residents in this city are not Vietnamese. So essentially, you're ignoring everybody else's culture. And it's getting a little tiresome, because now we have the big arcade that's gonna go over Bolts Avenue. Gonna be shelling money on that. Maybe we should have some Hispanic items, a little more, or maybe Native American items. Thank you.

Your time is up, sir.

Our next speaker is Camilla Overbeek, followed by Andrew Lee.

It keeps getting taller and taller every time I come up here. Hi, gang guys. So just a simple request, and I think that it would do the public a lot of good. So I'm pretty sure that you guys get your packets like a week before a meeting. And I was just wondering if perhaps I could ask that maybe you read it before you come, because I think that it would actually help staff, and I certainly wouldn't have to laugh as much, because a lot of your questions could have been answered, Amy. How is it that the person on probation doesn't know about probation? which is also something I never thought I'd say at a council meeting, but there is that. But it would really do the public a huge service because asking nonsensical questions that we already know the answers to out here, you should know them. That's your job. That's literally what we pay you to do. And as far as taking up any more park space, I would like to remind you that park space, we're park poor. I don't know if you know that, which also affects our walkability score, which also affects our real estate and housing prices and things like that. And I'm sure that the staff and leadership have all told you that, and they've told you the importance of keeping it, but for whatever reason, you need another monument. Like, what more do you need? I don't understand. Like, where are kids supposed to play? Do you have an answer? Because, I mean, statues are lawsuits. I'm not sure if you know that, and the city's been sued enough. So, like, seriously. You guys have jobs. You were literally elected to be leaders. I don't see anything new unless it's self-serving. You sit here and you whine and you bitch and complain about the unhoused, but you won't help them, you won't feed them. What do you guys do? You don't read your packets, that's for sure. Don't you think that the community deserves better than what you're giving us? Don't you think the city manager and the city staff and all of the department heads deserve better? Because you wanna sit here and wonder why you can't get a community director. Let me go ahead and tell you, no one wants to work in chaos. There are not enough mental health days to deal with this. You owe the city more, you owe the community better. Do your part, read. Do your own research. Google is free unless yours is weird and it charges you. And then I suggest a new one. But do your homework. Come with actual questions to solve real problems. Because I don't hear any of the men up there with any solutions to anything. But supposedly you're superior. Think twice. Do your jobs.

Our next speaker is Andrew Lee, followed by our final speaker, Terry Raines.

Thank you so much. Good evening, Council and fellow residents. Mr. Mayor, I rise today with a deep concern about actions of Councilman Nam Quang Nguyen. Public service is built on trust, and that trust is guided by the City Code of Conduct. A call that calls for integrity, respect, accountability, and highest ethical standard from our elected officials. Unfortunately, recent events raise serious questions about whether Councilman Nam Quang Nguyen is living up to those obligations. Councilman Nguyen is now a named party in a significant defamation lawsuit in Harris County, Texas. why a legal process will determine the outcome. The very fact that one of our elected officials is entangled in such a case undermines the credibility of this council and erodes public confidence. The code of conduct requires members to avoid conduct that discredits the city. Being directly involved in a litigation of this nature is the opposite of that. Additionally, footage of Councilman Nguyen participating as a cameraman for a so-called yellow flag desecration video has circulated widely in our community worldwide. That clip does not represent the values of respect or unity that our code of conduct really demands. It sends a damaging message to our community and especially to younger generations about what behavior is acceptable for those in leadership. Further, Councilman Nguyen's online activity as a YouTuber marked with repeated, unprovoked revocations and confrontational content reflects poorly on this council. Public officials are expected to model civility and restraint not to escalate division or tension or clickbait. The code of conduct is not just to set the words on paper. It is a promise to our citizens that our leaders will conduct themselves with dignity, with honesty, and accountability. When those standards are ignored, the reputation of this body suffers, and more importantly, the people lose faith in their government. Councilman Nguyen, public office is not your personal stage. It is a public trust. Right now that trust has been damaged. If we want to restore confidence in our city government, we must hold our leaders accountable when they stray from the standards they swore to uphold. Our community deserves leadership that exemplifies integrity, not controversy. It deserves a representative who lifts this city up, not one who drags its name into lawsuit, scandal, and disrespectful behavior. Thank you, and my name is Andrew Lee. I'm a business owner and also a law school student. Thank you.

Our final speaker is Terry Raines.

Before I start, did you get handouts?

They're on their way.

I provided handouts in response to Mayor Nguyen's tirade at the last meeting, claiming that he was right and we were wrong about the United States flag code. I emailed him, subject, you are wrong, Mayor Nguyen, United States flag code. Copied you all and included a verbatim transcript of his comments, the naturalization oath of allegiance, the oath of office, and the United States flag code. Read it, study it, honor it. Quit smirking, Charlie. You filed to run for Congressional District 45 in 2026. Voters will be most interested to learn how disrespectful you are to this great nation and its flag. Go ahead, Mayor. Look any United States veteran or any American in the eye and tell them you refuse to honor and respect the United States flag code and see how many votes that gets you. You can expect the media to pick up this story during your campaign. That's not a threat, that's a promise. The more you open your mouth, Charlie, the more voters you offend. So keep it up, buttercup. Also provided is a verbatim transcript of Council Member West's comments at the last meeting about her court-ordered diversion. during which she called me out by name again from the dais and criticized my understanding of court order diversion and the facts surrounding her criminal bribery case. She claimed the case was dropped due to lack of evidence. False. It's hard to read, but it's exactly what she said and how she said it. An extract of the court's minutes is also provided as fact. Council Member West, consider this a formal demand to immediately stop making false, disparaging, defamatory, and harassing comments directed at members of the public, calling them out by name from the dais. This conduct constitutes harassment and likely defamation and an abuse of your position. Your statements were knowingly false and or made with reckless disregard for the truth in a futile, attempt to discredit our police department, the district attorney's office, and me. Your constant public criticism from the dais is designed to intimidate, discredit, and retaliate against those who come here and speak the truth while exercising our fundamental right to address our government. If this behavior continues, all available legal remedies will be pursued, including monetary damages and court orders to restrain your conduct. Ms. West, the authorities are well aware of your continued false statements about this case and court ordered diversion. You are under the court's microscope for a year, so keep it up, buttercup. The city had a landscape architect assess the Blakey Park site for a Vietnamese cultural center. despite clear council direction, no feasibility study, no architects, just a title report up to $5,000. At the last meeting, you accepted a $250,000 Jobs First Regional Investment Initiative grant applied for in June to fund Little Saigon's project leadership coordination, redevelopment, beautification, public-private partnerships, strategic planning, and community engagement. Oddly enough, I received a copy of a Jobs First Catalyst Project grant application submitted in March, also for $250,000, to fund a Vietnamese cultural center at Blakey Park feasibility study. That was in public records. What is the status of that grant? Why wasn't it publicly discussed? We want to know.

Your time is up, ma'am. Your time is up. Thank you. I will respond quickly. First, I want to thank you for taking your time to look into it. And what I can tell you right now, I'm not going to argue with you. I'm going to tell you, you are right and we are not wrong. Depend on what section that you're looking at. And you've been in my office a number of times and my office is still open so we can talk more about this. I invite you specifically to come to my office and then we can talk about it. If you don't agree with that, then we can talk next time. So thank you very much for taking your time to look into it, but I think that we should, mutually discuss about it so that we can understand what it is about, okay? What is it about? Instead of, no, I'm sorry. I'm not arguing with you. You already have your times and this is my time. Thank you so much. Anything else from the council?

No.

Okay. With that, I'm going to close the meeting. Public comments, and at this time, we are going to go into the consideration of waiving, is that right? We are going to go into the consideration of waiving facility fees for Westminster Tate Apparition Board meeting. Vice Mayor Manzo and I was at the meeting last time with the appointees. I couldn't say enough of what they are willing to work. They volunteer our values. Each one of them volunteers their time to work, to look into this so that they can help out the Tate Parade. No matter what, this council here already voted that the city is going to organize annual Tate event. And no matter what, the city is going to fend for it. And we, in term of council, we don't want to use general fund if we can't. So that's the reason why we have this foundation. And I can tell you their enthusiasm, I believe that you in the text here, they are looking forward to do that already. Now, let's put yourself in their shoes. council and public, they are volunteering their time to raise any dollar that they raise is going into the Tid Parade. And now, if they can use the facility to do, to meet, then they are going to rent it outside, or they are going to rent here. They are going to use that money to cover that anyway. But then who is going to do, I'm doing for you and now you make me pay for using your facility. Why do I have to do that? So I was thinking that it's better that we are supporting them so they can support us in term of getting us as much as possible so that we can cover the event. And that's why I'm asking the council to consider this, to waive their facilities fees or else they're gonna use that money to work somewhere else. They are going to take it out of their fundraising to pay for it, thank you.

I have a comment, Mayor. Yes, we had our first meeting of this new foundation that was formed. I'm bad with dates. I don't know, was it Wednesday? Yeah. Yeah, Wednesday. And during that meeting, we asked the availability of that facility as far as the time and the dates, and staff informed us that there's other folks who were using that facility as well. And so we were trying to make sure that we weren't gonna be impeding on their use of the facility and it was determined that we would not. The day and time that we chose to have a future meeting, staff would be there for other uses at that time, so it wouldn't be a burden on staff to open it up for this foundation. And since the purpose of the foundation is to ease hopefully all I'm maybe wishful thinking on my part, but I think it's a big goal for us to hopefully ease the tax burden on the community by raising the most of the amount. I hope that we can. So there is a community, you know, city benefit there. So I think it's reasonable for the use of this facility for and I think being our first meeting, I don't think we were there for two hours, maybe an hour and a half, somewhere around there, but it's minimal since it's already gonna be used, so I think it's a reasonable request. You know me, if it wasn't, I would be objecting, but it is reasonable, so I don't see any issue with it. That's why the mayor and I spoke about this and we agreed it was a reasonable request, so I'm for it.

Is there any other comments? If not, I move to approve. Second.

I have a motion made by Mayor Nguyen, seconded by Vice Mayor Monzo. This is to waive fees and deposits for the Westminster Tech Parade Foundation's use of city space for its board meetings for up to 40 meetings through June 30, 2027, provided that each meeting does not exceed four hours and provision of the space provided does not conflict with city needs. I'll go to call roll. District 1, Councilwoman Fan West.

Fan West, yes.

District 3, Councilmember Nguyen. Yes. District 4, Councilmember Nguyen. Yes. Vice Mayor Monzo. Yes. And Mayor Nguyen. Yes. Motion carried 5-0.

Now is the comments and requests from agenda item from city council and agency members, including AB1234 report when required. I just want to remind council, if you attend any event that paid by city of Westminster, then you need to report at this time too. So let's start out with council member McQueen.

Thank you, Mayor. I just want to thank WPD Fire Department and our city staff for continuing hard work and dedication moving the city forward. And thank you to the residents who are still with us here with their comments. I just want to say, I was, as a new council member, I was really impressed with the Move in the Park and the summer concert series. It was quite a show. I actually have friends from out of state who came and went to the Move in the Park and the concert. And they really liked it and were so impressed that they said that if they didn't know any better, they would move to the city. So I told them, please don't watch the council meeting on YouTube. I'm just kidding. But they were quite impressed with the organization of the summer concert and the move in the park and very impressed with the way everything was handled and organized. So thank you, staff, again.

All right, thank you, Council Member McQueen. Now, Councilwoman Amy Van West.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I'd like to request an item to be agendized on the next council meeting to adopt a resolution to oppose Proposition 50. Proposition 50 undermines and dilutes our voice. It lets Sacramento politicians manipulate and push secretive and corrupt ideas, ideals. It will harm communities of color and accountability. Proposition 50, Dismantles Constitutional Protection, Misleads Voters, and Set a Dangerous President that Threatened Our Democracy. I ask that the council and mayor, if we can agendize that for the next council meeting.

Okay, is there a second to that?

Yeah, I second. All right, okay, yeah.

All right, we have motion and second to agendize item to oppose Proposition 50.

Thank you. I have a motion made by District 1, Councilwoman Fan West, seconded by District 4, Councilmember Nguyen. This is to agenda as an item for the next city council meeting to consider adopting a resolution to oppose Proposition 50. I'll go to call roll. District 1, Councilwoman Fan West.

Fan West, yes.

District 3, Councilmember Nguyen. Yes. District 4, Councilmember Nguyen. Yes. Vice Mayor Monzo.

No.

And Mayor Nguyen.

Yes, this is just to put it on agenda and we'll be discussing it next time and we'll vote.

Thank you, motion carried 4-1.

Okay, thank you so much, Council and Mayor. I really appreciate that. Now, this coming Monday, I just want, as we celebrate Labor Day, this weekend we honor the hardworking men and women who are the backbone of this great nation. It's because of your dedication, sacrifice, and perseverance that Westminster continues to thrive. I want to take this moment to celebrate and appreciate our staff, our city manager and assistant manager, thank you for your leadership. Department heads, thank you for your leadership as well within your department, and also for your hard work. And thank you for law enforcement and fire department, thank you for keeping our city safe. And then also for those all who work in all department and all level who work for the city, I want to say thank you for making the city better. Thank you. And as we celebrate Labor Day, I want to also recognize our amazing president, Donald J. Trump. Either you love him or you hate him. We thank you for how he labored tirelessly for our country, fighting to bring jobs back, strengthen our economy, and putting America worker first. Let's continue to stand together, work hard, and protect the value that makes our nation strong and free. Have a great weekend, and God bless you all.

Thank you. Next is Council Member Nam Quang Nguyen.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Just want to say thank you our staff for your hard working and our pity. And I wish everyone have a great, wonderful Labor Day's holiday weekends.

Thank you, Council Member Nguyen. The next is Vice Mayor Demenso.

Thank you, Mayor. I need to ask, I guess this would be a city manager question, to elaborate on the, just for the community's sake, because I know there's a lot of questions out there. with one of the public's records being requested, it's out there. Just want to make sure we clear the air as far as what was that grant that we accepted at our last meeting. Can you discuss that, please?

Sure. And I've said it before, right? Transparency, it's about the honesty in what you're providing, not necessarily everything. And sometimes things that are provided without context creates a lot of heartache. So there's a jobs first grant application process. There was a first round that occurred back in March. And that was around the same time that there was interest on this council regarding feasibility of a cultural center. At the time, just as a random ditch effort to try to get some free money in case this would go somewhere, The city applied for a grant that had a jobs component. It had a potential look at feasibility for a cultural center. There were a few things. I don't remember. We didn't get the grant. We didn't get an award. But as you know, grant funding takes a while to be awarded. And you've got to be proactive about trying to capture these funds and not necessarily wait until you have something approved to try to capture. So this jobs first first round, was more of like conceptual phasing, so it was more items that weren't necessarily shovel-ready, which leads me to the second round. So back in June-ish, July-ish, we applied for the second round, and the second round were things that were more implementation-based. So the city decided, you know what, we have a little Saigon blueprint that currently exists. That's something that the council had reviewed. It was something from years past that's been put into a document. There's something substantial that we can use to piggyback off of to try to move some of the initiatives that were provided in that blueprint. So we were gonna try to get some money to move forward some of those things that we obviously haven't had the funds for. And so that's what was awarded at the last council meeting was the acceptance of a $250,000 grant that is going toward efforts related to the Little Saigon blueprint.

And that, as we discussed, was for the hiring of one?

Yes, so the second grant application, it was to help hire the Little Saigon Outreach Coordinator, in which that was something that was recommended in the blueprint, and we actually received limited grant funding in the past from Wells Fargo toward that position. We have not had luck hiring someone for that position as a part-time, so the funds that we have received in the second jobs first round will help pay for a limited term one year full-time Little Saigon outreach coordinator. It also includes a soap and water program, which will We can discuss what that looks like later. We're still trying to figure out what that looks like. And a few other things in there as well that were from the last meeting. But it has to do with the Little Saigon Blueprint.

Yeah, so mainly it was a job-based grant.

I think I have to jump in. I guess that the item is not on our agenda today.

No, I know, but...

We can get deeply into it. If I'm wrong, then let me know.

No, but it's just my question is the council is not asking any questions. I just want to make sure that the community understands what was awarded at their last meeting. So that's it.

We're not getting into a big discussion. I just want to mention that. All right, thank you so much. Nothing yet. Okay.

So next I wanna echo the comment of my fellow council members as far as, and thank our community service director and her team. And I mean, I know they get all the, we always make sure we thank them, but it does take a lot of people to put those events together. So thank you for also our community service. our city manager for making sure that her team, her executive directors, she gives them the liberty and encouragement to shine and show their talents and what they can do. And we see that. So that is something that I see was a big change from years past that it's a big positive. And I see it at my job. I tell my guys, if my guys succeed, if they look good, it makes me look good. And that's what I always push for. Hey, let your team, you know, let them shine. It makes you look good. And I see that here in our city. So thank you, everyone, everybody in the city of Westminster for what you do. And those concerts, if you were here or you saw them, each and every one of them was quality, quality acts. And each and every one was well attended. So I think it's catching wind by the community and other folks from other surrounding cities, they come to join us and enjoy those, the movies and the concerts for sure. And also, I want to, you know, Labor Day, you know, here, you know, nothing is given to us, you know, the working class. It takes some, it's all, everything that we have in this country, somebody had to fight for it. You know, same with Labor Day. Labor Day was fought for by the working people for us to have that opportunity. day of rest for the working class and then so let's make sure that we all enjoy it and with our family and friends and maybe have some barbecue or something but please enjoy that. Thank you for also our police department keeping us safe and our fire department as well and enjoy your Labor Day weekend and see you soon. All right, thank you.

All right, thank you very much. I'm trying to get the number here. Okay. I second the council members. There's no question about it. Everyone recognized how hard our staff have been putting their effort into everything for the residents of the city of Westminster over the months. They work hard and we can see that the culture is changing. We have lots of people attending the events. If you look at three years ago, the event was half of the day for the, I'm talking about the four festival, half of the day. Not many people, but now we are doing four days event. and people are up there every day and people enjoy it. Same thing for the summer outdoor concerts and then movies. I can tell that a lot of people, they enjoy the event. and how hard our staff working to perfect it. Of course, we can't perfect everything, but they have done their job excellently, and they put their heart and soul into it. So on behalf of the city council, I would like to thank each and every one of you for your effort of getting the work done for the citizens, for the residents of the city of Westminster. So I ask you all put your hands together, get a round of applause to thanks to all the city staff. All right, thank you very much. And next is I want to give you my Lindon phone number. And if you need to, you know, I encourage that we, the only way that we can understand each other is to get together and talk about it. You know, unfortunately at the, a council meeting we can't talk much but we can get one to one and i'm open my office is always open and if you want to meet with me you can always call 714-548-3178 that's a lindon phone number and then we can get you on the agenda i mean on the schedule and we can meet and talk about it i am i'm more than happy to meet each one of you to talk about it and whatever the topic that you want to talk about. So again, thank you so much for attending the meeting and I want to thank you for coming out and voice your opinion and hopefully that we can work together and move this city forward. I want to end the meeting right here, and the next regular meeting will be held on Wednesday, September 10, 2025, at 6 p.m. Meeting adjourned.