City Council - Regular Meeting

good evening everyone we're going to go ahead and get started with the norwalk housing authority regular meeting of september 15 2026. uh camille can we have a roll call please yes chair commissioner mary hernandez here anna valencia here rick ramirez here

Tony Ayala.

Here.

Vice Chair Margarita Rios. Here. And Chair Jennifer Perez.

Here. Thank you. Going on to a consent calendar. Can I get a move? We got a first and a second. Can we have a roll call, please?

Yes. Commissioner Hernandez.

Here. This is for. Abstain item number 69429. Thank you.

Commissioner Valencia? Aye. Commissioner Ramirez? Commissioner Ayala?

Aye.

Vice Chair Rios? Chair Perez?

Aye. And do we have a community development director's report this evening?

No reports, thank you.

Thank you. And any oral communications for the housing?

I see no hands raised.

Okay, thank you. With that, we'll go ahead and adjourn this portion of the meeting and give us a few minutes and we'll get reset for our regular council meeting. All right. Before we begin, I'd like to share some information regarding a new government code regulation that most California cities must comply with for all city council meetings. Effective July 1st, government code section 54953.4 requires cities to implement two-way audiovisual or telephonic services to all city council meetings. As such, meetings will be run slightly different to include Zoom participants. In-person individuals will continue to submit a speaker card to the sergeant at arms. Individuals participating in the meeting virtually through Zoom will need to raise their virtual hand if they wish to speak on consent calendar or on other items on the agenda and under public comment once I ask if anyone wishes to speak on an item. Callers will be muted until it's their turn to speak and muted after. When I ask if there is anyone wishing to speak, this is the time for individuals using Zoom to raise their virtual hand. If using the Zoom app or website, there is a feature that allows participants to raise their hand. And if calling in by phone, press star 9 to raise your hand. Each person will have three minutes to speak. Only one comment per person per item is allowed. And no one may transfer their time to others. In-person individuals will be heard first, followed by virtual speakers with the rules of decorum and the timer being displayed. Please be respectful of all in attendance by following the rules of decorum. Thank you for allowing us to go over that. With that I'll officially call the meeting of the Norwalk City Council September 15, 2026 to order. A good evening everyone once again. Thank you for joining us. We are honored tonight to welcome Protestant Chaplain Bishop Brown from Metropolitan State Hospital. He has served at Metropolitan State Hospital for 10 years and has dedicated more than 40 years to his ministry, including serving as Presiding Bishop. His passion comes from helping others through counseling, preaching the Word of God, and supporting individuals and families in need, including those in drug and alcohol recovery programs. please join us in welcoming him to lead tonight's invocation and we are also pleased to welcome back miss allison alexis rodas to tonight's city council meeting allison is a fifth grade student at thomas moffitt elementary school and enjoys participating in norwalk community events including the city carnivals and the 5k run in her free time she enjoys spending time with her family and practicing taekwondo in which she has earned her black belt pastor bishop brown and allison please come forward to lead us in the invocation followed by the pledge of allegiance then we will invite you both to join city council for a brief photo could everybody please stand

First, we want to thank God for the privilege, for the honor, all the honorees as far as with our distinguished mayor, vice mayor, and city council, and all the directors for this fine city of Norwalk. Loving Father, we bind together this hour, knowing that you're the author and finisher of our faith. Lord, we humbly come before thee this hour, Lord, in a spirit of unity. And Lord, look at all the members as far as this community. We ask the Lord to stir it up this hour, Father. And we ask you, Lord, to continue to move from life to life. Touch even, O Lord, the members of their families, O Lord, as these, O Lord, that serve, O Lord, this great city. Lord, by your anointing and your anointing, O Father. You said your anointing will destroy the yoke and take every burden off their shoulders. But, Lord, as they lead, O Lord, distinguishingly, by your leading, O Father, even by the anointing of the Holy Spirit, all in the mighty name of Jesus. Lord, bring them to be stronger than, Lord. Unite us, O Father, in the spirit of love and, Lord, the spirit of joy. We know, Lord, you're so able to do everything but fail. Break down every stronghold. And, Lord, as they lead, my God, they lead, O Lord, by your Spirit. Anointed vessels, O Father. Anoint life to life. Have we continue, Lord, to praise and magnify your beloved name. Knowing that you're the author and finisher of our faith. Lord, we claim it, O Lord, upon this meeting tonight. It's not a meeting, it's a service, Father. Have we bind together this hour. All, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Thank you, Lord, for all, all, all your people, Lord. My God, called by your name, named the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, all in Jesus' name. Amen and thank God. Amen and thank God.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

All right, Camille, can we have a roll call, please?

Yes, Mayor. Council members Ayala?

Here.

Ramirez? Here. Valencia? Here. Vice Mayor Rios? Here.

Mayor Perez? Here. Thank you. And Arnold, can we have a closed session report, please?

Yes, thank you very much, Madam Mayor, members of the City Council. The record should reflect this evening the Council convened for closed session with all five members being present. Prior to recessing into closed session, the four items that were listed on the agenda were announced for discussion into closed session. And the following is my report. And actually in all four items, those items were presented to the City Council. However, there was no action taken in closed session that is required to be reported at this time.

that concludes my report from closed session is appropriate to continue with the open portion of the meeting thank you arnold all right we're going to move right into city council comments i'm going to go ahead and start this evening and again just want to welcome you all to our meeting tonight thank you for joining us i do have a few meetings and events that i want to report out on and then a few announcements So I would like to first off thank the California Contract Cities. They held a meeting with the county, a Zoom meeting last week, with county first responders to assist cities in better preparation for the El Nino storm that is supposedly coming we want to be prepared there's very various things that we can do to make sure that we're doing that so just want to thank our association for continuing to invite those that can help us within the county to better prepare the city and the norwalk chamber of commerce held a mega mixer once again the chamber our norwalk chamber is actually seen as a premier and very, very strong chamber in our region. We have a great executive board and board members and directors and businesses that are part of our chamber. But I know our executive director, Ms. Karen Spilsbury, leads the charge. In fact, she is at a conference right now speaking on behalf of our chamber and some of the legislation that is going on that directly affects businesses in the state of California. My next two things that I'd like to share, I really want to give appreciation and acknowledgment to the Norwalk-La Mirada School District. So they annually held their 9-11 remembrance ceremony last Friday. Can you believe that? It's been 25 years, and a lot of the kids that were there participating weren't even alive. They weren't a thought in their parents' minds. But we're trying to share with them how much what happened on that day really changed the trajectory of how we live. So I want to give a huge shout out to everybody within the district, the cadets that so wonderfully put on and hosted the ceremony. The John Glenn High School band just blew me away on Friday. And their leader was amazing. I know our team from the Public Services Department each and every year brings the huge boom trucks and displays our American flag so beautifully. And last Friday was not any different. So Albert, thank you to you and the team that were there. And a huge thanks goes out to Staff Sergeant Marty Schaefer who leads the Southeast Academy cadets. He did an amazing job once again. And to add a special touch this year, they remembered the Vietnam vets that actually went to John Glenn High School and spoke about the memorial and the monument that is there on campus. So again, everybody at Southeast Academy, John Glenn High School, Norwalk-La Mirada Unified School District, once again, really, really put the way that we honor and remember what happened on 9-11 on the map. So thank you to the district for that. And then today, myself and the vice mayor were able to go to Norwalk High School and sit with their juniors and seniors while they celebrated an award that just blew me away. Norwalk High School received first place in the state of California for their Civic Learning Award. Out of all of the high schools that applied, Norwalk High School came in first. And this was dedicated to their teachers and the students that have gone through the program. And I know the vice mayor was one of their guest speakers. They had judicial representatives there. And they went and talked to them last year and the past couple. What are you doing? How are you changing what is going on in our government? If you could, what would you do? And there was three speeches that students read. Man, if that is an example of where we are going and who is going to be taking care of us as a city, we're in good hands. I will tell you that. Their speeches really blew me away. So I want to thank again all of the students and the principal and the teachers that are involved in the civic leadership. clubs, all of the guests that were there with us today. And really, we were taken aback because that award was presented to the high school by Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero from the state of California. It was a really big deal, and they deserved it. And we saw all of those students take an oath, and it really was a proud moment for California. us as community leaders, but everybody in the district. So again, congratulations to Norwalk High School on that. I do want to share that two of our annual events that are planned and put on by the City of Norwalk are changing just a little. The first one is the State of the City for 2026. It is now going to be a taste and the state of our city. There is going to be a new location. It is not at the Doubletree Hotel that it's been at year after year, but it's going to be at our very own Norwalk Sports Complex on October 16th at 11 a.m. So please be on the lookout for some information about that and the programming and which restaurants in the city are going to be there so you can come and taste what's on their menu. And then the idea is to turn around and support them each and every day here in our city. And the second event is Veterans Day. So the past couple years we've been having Veterans Day in the parking lot, in the big tents. And it is absolutely amazing. But we're going to take it inside. We're going to take it inside to the Norwalk Sports Complex. It's going to be on the gym floor. There's going to be a breakfast. for our veterans. We're going to have pancakes for everybody that is attending and a few other surprises to come in the programming there. We're going to make it a big celebration to all of our veterans here in the city of Norwalk. So I'm going to ask Levy, our Director of Communications and Public Affairs. When those flyers are ready to go, if you can please post them, get them out to all of our normal locations, the Norwalk Now, our newsletters, all of the things. But I just wanted to share that there's a few changes in the programming this year for those two events, the location and the times. And then finally tonight, I would like to close our meeting tonight in memory of Ms. Carla Butler, who passed away on September 4th of 2026. The Norwalk Chamber of Commerce mourns the passing of a longtime board member, Ms. Carla Butler, a dedicated friend, leader, and supporter to the Norwalk business community. Carla served on the Chamber Board of Directors beginning in 2009 and as Finance Vice President since 2011. Even after selling her business, Thompson & Associates, Carla remained actively involved with the Chamber, continuing to represent the company and generously giving her time, knowledge and support to our Chamber. For more than 17 years, Carla's dedication and friendship were an important part to the Chamber family, and any Chamber event, Carla was always there. Our heartfelt condolences go out to Carla's husband, Dennis, her daughter and son, her four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Thompson & Associates was a business here in the city for over 50 years. And Carla continued to serve even after it was closed. So we will remember Carla and we will all miss her deeply. So those are my items tonight. I'll go ahead and go next to Vice Mayor Rios.

Thank you, Mayor. Good evening and welcome. I just wanna share a couple of things. I do wanna just add, as far as the Norwalk High School, their California Civic Learning Award, It was really a great moment for the community, for youth, for the high school. The fact that they had a Chief Justice come and talk to the students. Actually, before the presentation of the award, she made it a point to have a little roundtable with a few of the students from the government team. or group and it was really nice to see that she was sharing some part of her story to encourage you know the youth to get involved to understand about civic engagement to understand and know who their civic leaders are to know that anything is possible Anything is possible. She shared her family. Her parents were immigrants. She attended UC Berkeley. She went to Stanford, where she learned her law degree. Latina, female. And as the US Supreme Court Justice, she's the 29th Justice in California. But she's the first Latina in her role. So again, it was very... encouraging to see a leader as she is sharing with other young students that anything is possible, anything. So that was really, really neat. Also, over the last couple of weeks, there was a new business. We had a ribbon cutting for Shanti Glow Yoga. And the word shanti is a skirt word. And it translates to peace. so we had a ribbon cutting welcome to new business that was really nice to see the business chamber helped us to coordinate that they had a really nice attendance so if you're looking for a yoga studio to better your health and wellness don't look too far we have them here in the city of norwalk the address is 11005 firestone boulevard and they have different memberships that you can sign up for so let's give some love to our local businesses here in the city of norwalk also a reminder that siaka is having an adoption special i believe it runs through the month of september for 25 dollars you can adopt a furry friend and i just find it important to mention that because we all know that there's been an increase in in pets pets that have been turned over pets that get lost pets that For whatever reason, their owners no longer want, and I mean, no kidding, having a pet is a big responsibility. It really is. So if you're looking to adopt a pet, please consider adopting from a shelter. It really does make a difference if you look towards a rescue or a shelter to add a furry friend to your family. And the other thing I wanted to add is I recently attended the Council of Governments conference retreat. The Council of Governments is a governing board, and it's comprised of, it's in the region, and it's comprised of different cities here in our region. Again, Norwalk is one, Maywood, Southgate, Huntington Park. And one of the sessions or presentations that we had was on homelessness, housing insecurity, and what we're doing as a region to address that issue. and the reason i want to mention it is because our own housing authority works with the cog our hope team works with the cog and so as a region we are working collaboratively to address again housing insecurity individuals experiencing homelessness and so i just wanted to share some of the numbers that were shared with us that day um So from January 2025 through June of 2026, the COG programs providing housing, employment, outreach, and shelter services engaged 1,221 unduplicated persons experiencing homelessness throughout the region. and that is significant because i know that we in the past have actually had the hope team bring forward an individual that we have personally helped from the city of norwalk who is now succeeding and so the city of norwalk is definitely doing their part again in collaboration with the cog But of the 1,221 individuals served, 278 of those were successfully placed into permanent housing and secured lease agreements. 712 individuals were placed into various shelter programs. 109 individuals obtained employment through the Home to Employment Program. That's 90% of the individuals served or helped. And again, this is in collaboration with the Council of Government, the executive, again, governing group, But we work with LAHSA, we work with PATH, and we work with other shelters within our region to make sure that we're helping those individuals secure some type of shelter or permanent housing. So I just want to mention that Housing Authority was brought up as a very good partner here in the City of Norwalk, as well as our HOPE team. Okay? That's all. Thank you.

Thank you. All right. Let's go next to Councilwoman Anna Valencia.

Anna? Thank you, Mayor. I just have a couple of things. Of course, welcome everybody tonight and then those that are online watching our city council meeting. I wanted to report that Friday, September 11th, the Norwalk Lions Club celebrated their 80th anniversary, 80 years of serving the city of Norwalk and some surrounding areas, 80 years of eyeglasses, lots of other services, but also what are they called? Hearing aids, thank you. So lots of things. And so it was celebrated. And our partners, the sheriffs, the fire department, the city, and some of our local businesses were also there to lend support. And they also did their awards. We had the teacher of the year. We had the firefighter of the year, the sheriff of the year. It was a really nice event. And we're going to, I asked, and with your support, we're going to have at our next meeting our own proclamation and celebration for the Norwalk Lions 80th. And then I met with a city councilwoman over from Whittier and we were talking about topics of mutual interest and just, you know, really good information that we share because we're neighbors also. Importantly, wanting to wish all who celebrate a happy Central American Independence Day. And that's today. And it was September 15th of 1821. And tomorrow, wishing all who celebrate, and I definitely do, a happy Mexican Independence Day. And that was September 16th of 1810. Now, lots of people think, oh, that's when they gained their independence. Not so. And I teach history, so I've got to give a little history, so bear with me. That's when they announced Miguel Hidalgo, Padre Miguel Hidalgo en Costilla. That's when he announced, and the revolution started for 11 years. It happened. So it wasn't until the Treaty of Cordoba, August 24, 1821, when Mexico was finally independent of Spain, of the Spanish Empire. And lastly, I did want to mention an event coming up, because before you know it, it's time. Saturday, October 10th, from 2 to 6, I believe it's at St. Francis Episcopal Church. We're going to have a quarter mania. So I know a lot of you like... going and supporting and it's 20 and it goes a long way and then once you're there i know you're really good mayor at getting prizes she's got the greatest raffle karma ever since i first met her i met her at a st linus i think event and it was a quarter mania actually and jennifer's name kept getting you know, chosen. I was like, oh, she got good luck right there. She's got good vibes. So you can come join us on Saturday, October 10th.

Thank you so much. If you ask Mike, he wouldn't think of it as good vibes. He just kept thinking it as a donation. oh and then i have to bring all this stuff home well you got christmas shop you got christmas then i turn around and all of the stuff i usually turn around and donate right back to somebody else or you got gifts all right thank you thanks anna moving next to council member rick ramirez rick no comments to see heard enough for now he's gonna ask for a go back later i'm gonna save you guys okay All right, and going to my colleague on the right, Mr. Tony Ayala.

Thank you, Mayor. Just a couple things. I want to thank... Rita from Public Safety and Zoe Garcia for the active shooter exercise that was conducted at St. Linus. It was really impressive to see the professionalism and it's a complicated thing to put together with the fire department and everybody having to go through their paces and so on and so forth. It was great. And the thing is, is that exercise really started out as a tabletop that was done in the EOC, also organized by Rita, that it was a tabletop on the same topic. And so now it's evolved to that. And now the third step to this is to overlay the technology part of it, correct? And there's no doubt that we've been wanting to do this for years. I mean, for years. But we have finally gotten to a point where I'm comfortable to say that teachers and students in Norwalk are safer today than they were before this process started. So thank you very much. I'm sure the community appreciates the same. So thanks for your hard work. The other thing is I want to say also thank you to Gabby Regalado for all the improvements and updates and stuff at the Senior Center with the new faucets and the new TVs and all the different things you're doing to freshen up the programming and freshen up the look of the center. Maintenance, having... run a Norwalk Senior Center myself back in the day, I know how attentive to maintenance that you need to be for safety reasons, because of the expectations of our participants and everything else like that. So being able to stay on top of that and Making that work for everybody over there is huge for me and I'm sure the rest of council. So thank both of you ladies and Noe for good stuff.

»» All right. Thank you, Tony. Moving next to our special presentations, our first one today, we are proclaiming the week of September 21st through September 25th as National Gear Up Week. This proclamation recognizes National Gear Up Week, which celebrates programs dedicated to helping students prepare for and succeed in higher education. Gear Up provides important academic and personal support to students and families, particularly those from underserved communities and students who may be their first in their families to attend college. The Long Beach GEAR UP program, a partnership between Cal State University Long Beach and the Norwalk La Mirada Unified School District, serves more than 1,650 students at Norwalk, John Glenn and Southeast Academy Schools. Through tutoring, mentoring, academic preparation, financial education, and college scholarship, the program helps students build the skills and confidence needed to pursue their educational goals. So I see some of our friends from the GEAR UP program here. If you are wondering, this is our shark that keeps representing Cal State University Long Beach. And on behalf of the city council, we extend our appreciation to Long Beach GEAR UP for its continued commitment to supporting Norwalk students and expanding their opportunities for higher education. If you would all like to come on down, and accept this proclamation and council colleagues, please join me. Let's give them a round of applause. Thank you. All right. For our second special presentation tonight, we proclaim September 15 through October 15 as National Hispanic Heritage Month. This month gives us an opportunity to celebrate the rich history, cultures, traditions and contributions of Hispanic and Latino Americans. Here in Norwalk, Hispanic and Latino residents have made a lasting impact through their leadership, service, and businesses to our community. Their contributions continue to strengthen our city and help shape diverse community that we call home. Tonight, we honor and celebrate the heritage and the contributions of the Hispanic and Latino communities. And we thank Councilwoman Valencia for our history lesson tonight. We are pleased to welcome and feature the Hispanic Heritage Month artist, Eric Magana, whose exhibit, Remembering Martin and the Blackberry, will be on display at the Mary Paxson Art Gallery from September 15 to October 15. In addition, we are pleased to welcome members of our United Parents Club and the Alondra Senior Club, who proudly celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month. At this time, let's welcome Eric Magana to the floor to accept the proclamation along with our club members that are here to join us. Please come on down and let's give them a round of applause.

Come on closer.

Yay!

Thank you so much.

All right, before we continue with our meeting, Camille, can we please have the audio and played for our recording?

Good evening. Following are the rules of decorum. Good evening. Following are the rules of decorum for the meeting. Please be respectful of everyone in attendance while speaking. Individuals will not be allowed to continue speaking if any of the following occurs. Any conduct that disrupts or disturbs the meeting. any conduct that interferes with or disrupts persons who are addressing City Council or City Council members while they are speaking, or attacks of a personal nature on City Council members, City staff, or other speakers. Each individual is allotted three minutes to speak, may only speak once per item, and may not transfer their time to others. Comments must be addressed to the City Council. Thank you.

Thank you Camille and now we'll go to City Manager comments.

Yes, good evening Mayor, members of City Council. Tonight we have a guest, Iso, who will present the Athens Disposal Services and this is regarding a compost event that is up and coming for our community. So with that, Iso, you're on.

Awesome. hello council members mayor and everyone watching at home it is that time of year that i come by and we talk about trash so i am your residential trash lady and for all your commercial needs i am here to help you guys out in any of your questions next slide i don't know who has Perfect. So this is your team. I am Isa Nakasato. I'm Senior Director of Government Affairs. And I am always in your city, happy to answer any of your questions. But we also have Brian Ortiz. He's your route supervisor. So he manages all of the drivers and makes sure that they're doing everything they need to do. And if anything pops up or you need help with anything, he is always around. Next in line will be Aileen and she's your municipal account manager. So she handles all of your commercial needs with all of your business needs or your multifamily dwellings, which are your apartments, condos, town homes. She helps with all of that and all that education. And I have with me.

Hello, I'm Vanessa Cruz. I'm a community relations manager and I've been with Athens Services for approximately a year and a couple of months.

So she's helping us out here also, so you have a very dynamic team. We're always here to help as much as possible. Next slide. All right, Athens Services, what do we do? We don't just pick up your trash, we pick up your recycling, your organics, we do special waste, we do C and D, we do all sorts of stuff. Next slide. We're still a family owned company and we've had a couple of things that are happening here in the city. So since 2018, you guys are one of the cities that have had a three stream system. When I say three stream, that means waste, recycling and organics for a very long time. You guys are the shining example for most of the region, believe it or not. Your residents are doing a phenomenal job. Your businesses are doing a phenomenal job. You guys have had years ahead of the game than compared to other cities. This year also we started a three stream system with your commercial accounts. So that means all of your commercial accounts need to separate their trash into three separate containers as of this summer. We also, go ahead, next slide. We have a new, well, I'll get back to that. We also do lid flipping. So what is lid flipping? Lid flipping has started here in Norwalk as of yesterday. Lid flipping is something that we have to do according to the state of California. So what we do is we pick different sections of this city and we open the lid, we take a picture of it, and basically these are markers. We have to see how you did in 2018, 2019, 2020, and now we're in 2026. What the state wants to do is the state wants to see the different markers on how your improvement is going or does a section need a little bit more help. we go ahead and track all of those metrics for you. So when we do the report for the state of California, we have all those metrics, photos, and sample sizes. So don't be alarmed, you see a little Jeep out there that has an Athens Services going really early in the morning at five, six in the morning, taking photos, that's all we're doing. If they do see some contamination, so if there's trash that didn't belong in one of the containers, so for example,

This is for a quiz for my members over here.

If you see green waste in a blue container, does that belong there? No, it does not belong there, good job. It does not. So green stuff, all those flowers belong in the green container. Recyclables is blue. So that's cans, bottles, glass, metal, that goes in there. So if something doesn't belong somewhere, we will leave a friendly tag there that has all that information and you can go ahead and learn how to sort of separate that at your time or you can go ahead and call us and we will help you with that. Next slide. All right, a little bit on social impact. So we, as you know, our owners, we don't just pick up your trash and leave your city. Our owners are still family-owned business. We still wanna be part of your community. We have supported over 10 causes here, not just the Chamber, not just the Lions Club, not just Serapnimus, not just your high schools or elementaries. We do it all. We try to help out as much as we can. We try to be very engaged in your community. and we've attended over 50 events here in Norwalk. And we're looking forward to the Halloween parade that's been condensed, but we are gonna definitely be there. So we're very excited for that. Next slide, please. All right, so we have the compost giveaway and it's gonna be on October 3rd. So I know it's a ways away, but it's a few weeks. So this gives you enough time to plan out your planning season and understand how much compost you need. Some people really, really take advantage of that, and it's a sight to see. If you've never been, I do recommend going, and people fill up their whole truck beds. It's fascinating. And really take advantage of all this compost and mulch that we have there. It would be from 8 to noon at Holyfield Park. We're going to take a portion of that parking lot, so please join us. Please bring your containers. No bags, ideally plastic containers or the five-gallon buckets that you see at Home Depot. Come on in. We'll help you fill those up for you. And then the next slide. And if you have any questions, please contact us at Athens services or follow us on social media. We have a nice fun social media page with lots of education. And we hope to see you around at all of your events coming up. Thank you.

Thank you. So you really are a true community partner with you, your team and the entire Athens company. So thank you so much. Jesus.

Yes, next we have our citywide preparedness for El Nino. We wanted to just report back what has occurred during this past rain and Mr. Albert Mendoza will give us a brief update and we just want to continue to let the community know that we are prepared to help and also have the sand available at the parks and the sandbags. So with that, Albert.

Yeah, thank you, Mr. Gomez. Good evening, Mayor, Vice Mayor Rios, and council members. Just want to show a few work orders that we received due to the recent rainfall and winds that resulted a lot of limbs falling down throughout the city. So I'm not going to go through every single one, but this is the most that we recently were called out to. Some of the limbs, see this is a big tree and additional limbs. Again, it's all city wide. Also wanted to point out a map where we have just over a dozen areas where we have subject to flooding signs or we put subject to flooding signs before the rainfall. Let everybody know that this is coming. Try to avoid these areas. We also put it in our social media. Mr. Wilmots also pointed out our sandbag pits that we have on four of our parks. This is just a closer look of the signs in an area where we have the subject to flooding or prone to flooding areas. And that concludes presentation.

So yes, so we want to just let the community know that we have available resources for them. Next, we have the school emergency preparedness exercise video that I'd like to share with you and the community. We can go ahead and play that.

Preparing for emergencies before they happen is an important part of creating safe and livable neighborhoods. That's why on September 4th, the Norwalk Public Safety Department joined the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department for an active shooter training exercise at St. Linus Catholic School. This training provided first responders an opportunity to strengthen their readiness for a complex emergency.

Hi, my name is Freddie Brown. I'm a sergeant with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. I work at the Attack and Survival Unit. At the end of the day, we were trained for an active shooter. And how we typically train for large field training exercises, we like to bring in Kelly County Fire Department to work hand-in-hand with us. So we end up practicing like a unified command and rescue task force. On the patrol side of things, we're looking along how we can develop the deputies and kind of train them to better respond to an active shoot.

Exercises like this help ensure Norwalk's public safety partners are prepared to respond when our community needs them most.

I WOULD SAY THAT WELL PUT TOGETHER EXERCISE FOR OUR COMMUNITY. LOTS OF PERSONNEL. WE HAD THREE DIFFERENT FIRE STATIONS THAT CAME TOGETHER. AND IT WAS ALSO A TRAINING AMONGST THEMSELVES, THE FIRST RESPONDERS. uh to be able to coordinate their equipment their response and also a great way to exercise in real buildings real life situations so i want to thank public safety rita thank you for putting it together noe for leading the sheriff's department But it's one that, as you mentioned, Council Member Ayala, it started out as a tabletop and now this is out on the field. And as you mentioned, technology is next. And we will be back to you with a plan with technology using drones. We'd like to also request a van where we can equip the van with all the drone equipment. AND BE ABLE TO DEPLOY THAT QUICKLY INSTEAD OF HAVING PERSONNEL BE A FRONT WE COULD DEPLOY THE DRONES TO SEE WHAT'S AHEAD OF THEM SO WE'LL BE BACK WITH THAT AND JUST A GREAT GREAT EXERCISE FOR OUR CITY AND NEXT WE HAVE THE BI-WEEKLY REVIEW VIDEO WHERE YOU CAN SEE ALL THE exciting activities that have happened. Please, you're invited to participate. Come and join the festivities. We have more coming, and you're welcome to join. Here we go.

On September 5th, the city of Norwalk celebrated the grand opening of Shanti Glow Yoga with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. City Council members were in attendance to greet and welcome this new business to the community. Welcome to Norwalk. The Norwalk Public Safety Department and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department joined residents for Coffee with a Cop at Starbucks on Studebaker and Rosecrans on September 9th. The event gave community members a chance to connect with local public safety personnel, ask questions, and share neighborhood safety concerns. On September 11th, Southeast Academy and John Glenn High School gathered for their annual 9-11 Remembrance Ceremony to honor the lives lost and remember the first responders and heroes who answered the call that day. The ceremony serves as a solemn reminder of the courage, sacrifice and unity shown in the face of tragedy and of the importance of carrying their memory forward. We will never forget.

So as you can see, lots of activities that have passed. That ceremony was incredible. It's always a very touching memory. as a memory of what has happened 20 years, 25 years now. So with that, I have an immigration update. We received one call from a resident expressing immigration related concerns. The resident was connected with staff and is currently receiving ongoing case management and support. THE CITY CONTINUES TO PROVIDE RESIDENTS WITH ACCESS TO RELIABLE INFORMATION, COMMUNITY RESOURCES, AND COPING STRATEGIES TO HELP ADDRESS INDIVIDUAL NEEDS AND CONCERNS. THIS IS THE ONLY CALL SINCE THE LAST CITY COUNCIL MEETING. UPCOMING RESOURCES INCLUDE CHIRLA AT THE SENIOR CENTER ON WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16. FROM 9 A.M. TO 11 A.M. AND A DEPARTMENT OF MENTAL HEALTH PRESENTATION ON IMMIGRATION ADAPTATION AND RESILIENCY OFFERED IN KOREAN ON FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18 AT 1230 P.M. CHIRLA WILL ALSO PROVIDE RESOURCES AT THE SOCIAL SERVICES CENTER ON TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22 BEGINNING AT 9 A.M. MAYOR AND COUNCIL MEMBERS, THIS CONCLUDES MY COMMENTS. THANK YOU.

Thank you, Jesus. Moving next to our consent calendar, Camille, do we have any speakers for items number one through five?

We received no speaker cards, and I see no one raising their hand at this time on Zoom.

Thank you. I'll go ahead and move items one through five. Can I get a second? Can we get a roll call, please?

Council Member Zayala?

Aye.

Ramirez? Aye. Valencia? Aye. Vice Mayor Rios? Aye. Mayor Perez?

Aye. And do we have any advisory comments tonight? None. We'll go ahead and go. Item number seven, Jesus says that this item is being tabled to a date uncertain. Is that correct?

Yes, that's correct.

All right, so we're going to jump right into item number 8 resolution number 26 dash 57 restructure the Youth Commission as a youth Advisory Board and establish procedures issues. Can we have a staff report please?

Yes, Miss Sonia Botris will present and as you may remember, we had a Youth Commission. This is now a restructure and hope with the hopes that it becomes more active and successful than the most recent. So with that, Ms. Patras.

Good evening, Mayor and council members. I'll be presenting on the Rock Youth Advisory Board Bit of background on the Youth Commission. As mentioned in my last presentation at the last city council meeting, in March 2021, city council adopted resolution number 2115, which amended resolution number 2061, advisory body procedure resolution to reestablish the Norwalk Youth Commission. The past criteria for participation included, number one, students within 13 to 18 years of age, Number two, students living in Norwalk who are currently in high school or have recently graduated from various grade levels and schools. Number three, that the commission be made up of 15 members with each council member appointing three representatives. And number four, each member would have two year terms. Prior challenges for the youth commission were absences, low retention, and lack of participation. Commissioners were regularly removed from the commission due to missed meetings, while others left before completing their full . Additionally, some commissioners demonstrated limited engagement or involvement as a result of conflicting extracurricular commitment. Due to these challenges, staff recommended the youth commission be restructured as a youth advisory board. On August 4th, 2026, the Recreation and Park Services Department proposed the Norwalk Youth Advisory Board. The board will provide guidance and recommendations to the Norwalk City Council and the Recreation and Park Services Department in the following areas. The Teen Alliance Program, Youth Leadership, Teen Center Operations and Programs, Youth and Government Education and Engagement, and City Events and Programs Related to Youth Development. The new advisory board format would consist of the following. Number one, 10 members. Number two, members must be between the ages of 13 and 18. Number three, members must be a resident of the city of Norwalk. Number four, members must attend a middle school or high school in a public school district, private institution, or home school that serves Norwalk residents. Number five, members will serve a two-year term from January 1st to December 31st, aligning with all other city advisory bodies. And number six, it is preferred but not required that members complete 50 hours of volunteer service in our Teen Alliance program. The following would be required to participate as a Youth Advisory Board member, part of the application requirements. Number one, they would complete the online application. If under 18, a parent or legal guardian must also sign the parental consent form. Number two, provide two letters of recommendation, one personal and one professional. Number three, if selected, participate in an in-person interview with Recreation and Park Services Department staff. And lastly, the list of qualifying candidates up to 20 will be shared with city council members to make final selection. Each council member will select two candidates for representation on the youth advisory board. And it was mentioned that we would have an alternate at the last council meeting. So we would add one alternate for a total of three. The application deadline and timeline, the application deadline will be Tuesday, October 20th of this year. The application timeline is as follows. The marking period would start next week, September 21st, and go through October 20th. The application period would be October 1st through the 20th, with the application once again due on the 20th. October 21st through the 31st would be our application review. Then the first week of November, November 2nd through the 6th, we'd start the applicant interviews. November 9th through the 13th, we'd have a qualified list ready for city council review. And on the December 15 City Council meeting, that's when City Council would be appointing our new Youth Advisory Board members. The onboarding process would take place at the beginning of January, January 4th through the 22nd of 2027. And the first meeting of our Youth Advisory Board would be on January 27, 2027. The beginning of the two-year advisory body term would be January 1st through December 31st, 2029. Some of the changes specific to the Youth Advisory Board would be as follows. We want to make sure that attendance obviously is not going to affect them participating for the Youth Advisory Board. So we will be allowing up to two excused absences. Excused absences would be sickness with a doctor's note, medical or dental appointments with doctor's note, a family emergency with a parental note, and a sports game or tournament with a parental or school note. It would also have up to two unexcused absences. Participants will be removed from the board if they have more than two unexcused absences. Deceptions will be made for an extended illness with doctors. To assist with the retention and participation, the new attendance guidelines would be as follows, as well as meeting quorum is unchanged at a majority of those appointed to any advisory body. That being said, just that the quorum would still be in effect for this advisory board, similar to all the other commissions. Excused and unexcused absences will be accounted for annually during the two-year term. Furthermore, the proposed transition from a youth commission to a youth advisory board will strengthen youth engagement by providing meaningful input and direction on city programs, services, and initiatives while offering greater flexibility in participation. Less restrictive guidelines will help accommodate teens' academic and extracurricular commitments, supporting sustained engagement and longer-term retention. The Youth Advisory Board would also provide valuable leadership opportunities and empower Norwalk youth to help advance initiatives that reflect their needs and interests. The recommended action will further the city's strategic plan goal, goal number two, working in partnership with our community to achieve safe and livable neighborhoods, and objective number two, cultivate civic engagement and participation. The recommended action, staff recommends that City Council adopt resolution number 26-57, a resolution of the City Council of the City of Norwalk amending resolution number 20-61 and repealing resolution number 21-15 to restructure the Youth Commission as a Youth Advisory Board and establish the new procedures. That concludes my presentation. Are there any questions?

Thank you, Sonya. I don't have any questions, but I just I really want to state that I'm really happy with the way that we have refocused this for our youth and to allow them to be youth at the same time. But I also want to state that The format that we have here, specifically item number four, stating that they must attend a middle school or a high school in any public school district, private institution, or home school that serves Norwalk residents. And I think that's very important because we need to realize and remember that there are four school districts public school districts that serve the city residents. And then many students go to private school that is not here in the city of Norwalk. And we can't exclude them just because they don't go to one of the school district. So we have to keep that in mind. And I'm very, very happy to see that we are doing that. So any other comments or questions? Margarita?

Thank you so much for that presentation. I really like how this has kind of come full circle from when we started this conversation back in 2021 when we reintroduced the Youth Commission. And I know that from that point, I really wanted to emphasize youth and government. And the reason I say that is because, you know, with our Teen Alliance program, We have our youth involved in volunteering. They're familiar with our programming. They're doing what young kids and young teens do, enjoy, have fun, be part of the community, learn about volunteerism, all really, really good stuff. But I'm hoping that with this, we can really focus on leadership capacity because I really would like to see our youth grow and understand about civics and government, especially local government. Like maybe they want to be a council member one day. Maybe they want to be president of the United States, you know, but A lot of that requires them to really, really understand what happens here at the local level, what we do, why do we do it, what governs us, what's our guideline, how is policy created, how is law created, and how do they serve in maybe one of these capacities? That's what I want to see. I want to see us grow our young people so that we are confident that we're doing everything that we need to do to make sure that we're building their leadership capacity. I'm all for our kiddos having fun. Go at it. life can be fun no problem there but I really hope that we take this opportunity as we saw today at Norwalk High with their youth and government program I mean as the mayor mentioned I mean we had students there if you can propose a law or a bill that's what they talked about and we were both like wow This person, this young teen has done their research. They're thinking about the future. They're thinking about their world and their role in it. So I really hope that we teach them Give them that opportunity and give them that challenge. Challenge them. Again, have fun, be safe, enjoy, but I really hope that the staff focuses on, we are growing our leaders here, homegrown leaders. And knowledge is power. Knowledge is power. So I really hope that we just really push for this really strongly and making sure that we know exactly what our goal is with this. And so today during the event at Norwalk High, one of the things that I thought was interesting as they all, they kind of started They introduced some of their young students who were now joining their government class, how their program and their group was expanding. And so they did a little oath. They took an oath, nothing other than their commitment to what they're doing and why. And it was really neat to see these young people take an oath to serve their community, to give back to this world, to be good citizens, to be good stewards of the environment. I mean, just overall, right? So I'm hoping that you guys, the team, can come up with something. Hey, you're taking on this endeavor. Take an oath. What does this mean to you? Okay? Thank you. Thank you so much.

I'll go ahead and move the item. We have a first and a second. Camille, can we get a roll call?

Councilmember Ziella?

Aye.

Ramirez? Aye. Valencia? Aye. Vice Mayor Rios? Aye. Mayor Perez?

Aye. And I jinxed myself by making fun of Rick. I have a go back. There are two items that I will be abstaining for in commercial demands that I'll give the city clerk. All right, moving on to item number nine, and this is project number 7859, resolution number 26-56, amending the fiscal year 26-27 adopted budget to appropriate project funds and agreement amendment for on-call community development and additional services for the Norwalk Transit Village. Jesus.

Yes, being members of the City Council, Mr. Alex Hamilton will present.

Yes, good evening Mayor and Honorable City Council. Tonight before you is an amendment to two contracts that provide services on two projects here in the City of Norwalk. As a bit of background on one of those projects, in December of 2024, the state and city entered into an agreement for the purchase and sale and initial escrow instructions for the former California Youth Authority site. That was an escrow that closed on July 28th of 2025. The project, as you know, will create a transit-oriented development within the city's economic development node number six. The specialized services for the transit village include construction management, environmental and project management services. In addition, specialized services for the walk include plan check, inspection, and labor compliance service. Similar services are utilized in other city projects such as design, construction management, and inspection services. This is a key point. As you see with the various CIP projects that you approve, they usually come bundled with the construction management and inspection services, so this is very similar in that regard. As a bit of background on this, on November 7th of 2023, City Council approved agreements with 27 firms to provide on-call community development consultant and additional services. One of those is Michael Baker International, known as MBI. They were awarded a contract to continue providing on-call community development consultant and additional services to the city. MBI worked on the environmental analysis, the CEQA document, for the Norwalk Transit Village project. And that CEQA process was conducted in a comprehensive manner, as you're aware, and concurrently with the entitlements for the Transit Village project that were approved in late 2024. ESG Consultants was also awarded a contract in November of 2023 for on-call community development consultant and additional services with compensation not to exceed $150,000 annually. There was an amendment number one approved by the city council in May of 2026 to increase the compensation to not to exceed $606,400 and to extend the term related to the project management services for the transit village and building inspection services for the walk. And that's to carry the CSG services through to the end of the walk project, which is anticipated to occur in early 2028. CSG's proposed amendment number two for continued project management services and work related to the specific plan amendment also consists of the following tasks not to exceed $110,000, which is continued project management, Norwalk Transit Village specific plan amendment work, and specific plan review and public hearing and adoption. Michael Baker and CSG have provided services for both building and planning divisions. Resolution number 2656, the one before you this evening, includes additional funding for the project from the former redevelopment non-housing bond proceeds in an amount of $195,000. Funding for the project expenses related to remediation activities shall be reimbursed from the state. Funds currently held in escrow for such purposes. Staff recommends that City Council adopt resolution number 2656, a resolution of the City Council of the City of Norwalk authorizing an amendment to the fiscal year 2627, adopted budget to add $195,000 of former redevelopment agency non-housing bond proceeds for on-call community development consultant services and additional services for city project number 7859, which is the transit village, and that you approve amendment number two to the agreement with CSG consultants to provide work for continued project management and specific plan amendment services for the transit village project in an amount not to exceed $110,000, in addition to the $606,000 thousand four hundred dollars for the ongoing project management services on the walk project which includes inspection services and authorized the city manager to execute amendment number two and any additional amendments provided there is funding in the budget and it is when the city manager's ongoing signing authority on behalf of the city in a form approved by the city attorney i'd be more than happy to answer any questions should you have them

Thank you. Questions? Seeing none, I'll move it. First and second, can we have a roll call, please?

Council Member Zayala?

Aye.

Ramirez? Aye. Valencia? Aye. Vice Mayor Rios? Aye. Mayor Perez?

Aye. Thank you. Moving now to our public and oral communications. Our first speaker is Mr. Jack Cornejo.

Jack?

City Council. California Government Code 54950 says the following. In enacting this chapter, the legislature finds and declares that the public commissions, boards, and councils, and other public agency in this state exist to aid in the conduct of the people's business. It is the intent of the law that their actions be taken openly and that their deliberations be conducted openly. The people of the state do not yield their sovereignty to the agencies which serve them. The people of the state do not yield their sovereignty to the agencies which serve them. The people in delegating authority do not give their public servants the right to decide what is good for the people to know and what is good for them not to know. The people insist on remaining informed so that they may retain their control over the instruments that they have created. 549.54.3, Section C. the legislative body of a local agency shall not prohibit public criticism of the policies, procedures, programs, or services of the agency or the acts or omissions of the legislative body. Nothing in this subdivision shall confer any privilege or protection from expression beyond what is otherwise provided by law. What it's saying basically is, Government can be criticized, but we can't make it public. Personal. In conclusion, I'd like to present to the city council a fractured nursery rhyme. And this will be an example. Hickory dickory dock. Council, I would never tell you to suck a, and it shouldn't cause a schism if I make a criticism of the policies you make in Norwalk.

Our next speaker is Tony Moreno.

Hello council members. I come to you not only as one of your parks and recs commissioners, but I also come to you as a fellow member of our Norwalk community and a board member for our Norwalk pony baseball. Lately we have having a few issues at Hollyfield with kids riding around on their e-bikes and even a smaller dune buggy. They drive around extremely fast, have no regard for games or practices going on, and have on many occasions used our Pony and Bronco fields as a ramp for them to ride around on and create little dunes on, dust dunes, whatever they call those. Have also flipped off numerous adults that have asked them politely to get off of our fields. Have also flipped off city workers, which mind you, they are kids as well too. They're not adults. Our city workers are kids. They interfere with our games and practices. They mess with our fields, but they don't care, are extremely rude and disrespectful. They have also now been using Gertie's Park as well too, I've heard from Norwalk Little League, as the same thing. They've been doing the same as well there. I suggest that we put a stop to this ASAP. Norwalk La Mirada has banned all e-bikes used at public parks. I suggest Norwalk do the same thing as well. This is a hazard. I have also been getting numerous Instagram messages from our parents suggesting that they have almost ran over their kids, they don't care, or elderly that walk the dogs there. It's been a big concern for us. We have also been informed that the school district has raised concerns as well about the e-bikes damaging school property and have discussed the possibility of taking our Dolan fields away from us. We don't want these actions of the individuals who may not even be associated with the Noral Pony baseball to jeopardize our fields as well too. So I'm asking that we do something about this. These e-bikes have been a big concern and now it's becoming a public issue and a safety hazard as well too. So I suggest that this be addressed as soon as possible. Thank you.

Thank you, Tony. Our next speaker is Ms. Sharon Garate.

Good evening, mayor, vice mayor, and city council members. My name is Sharon Garate, board member for the Norwalk Pony Baseball League. I'm here on behalf of our league to express our serious concerns regarding e-bikes and motorized mini bikes that are being ridden throughout our public parks. Our parks are filled with children, parents, grandparents, coaches and pedestrians. Unfortunately, we are regularly seeing riders speeding through these areas with little regard for the people walking or playing nearby. It only takes one child or one elderly person stepping into the path of one of these bikes for a preventable situation to become a serious tragedy. These individuals are very rude and on several occasions have cursed at our coaches as well as parks, park and rec staff. We also have experienced problems with these individuals riding these bikes onto the Dolan school grounds where vandalism and other incidents have occurred. Recently, our league has been blamed for these incidents simply because they have happened near areas that we use, even though the individuals involved are not associated with our organization. We are asking the City Council to consider stronger restrictions on e-bikes and motorized to mini bikes in public parks, along with clear signage and meaningful enforcement. This is not about taking recreation away from anyone. It is about making sure our parks remain safe places for children and families. These parks are also used by a lot of adults who walk their dogs and our senior community members who frequent this park on their daily walks. And this needs to be a safe place for them too. The safety of our community, especially our children and our elderly needs to come first. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Thank you. All right. Camille, I do understand we have one speaker on Zoom. If you would like to unmute yourself, we'll have three minutes.

Yes, Mayor. I am going to allow the speaker to talk. And you can go ahead and start. The timer will start as soon as you speak.

Thank you.

This is Andy. I wanted to speak regarding light control and tenant protections in the city of Norwalk. There's a lot of development going on. at the beginning I heard a discussion about housing insecurity and the support that's needed to keep people in their homes. But something to keep in mind is that for many renters, many tenants, Everyone is just one missed paycheck, one job loss away from ending up homeless as well. And even besides the homeless count, I know that there has been signs of improving, but that doesn't take into account people that may live at a hotel or in cars. So there is a lot more people at risk or that may be on the threshold. having these protections having my control arrest organization would do wonders to keep people in their homes to keep residents from being priced out with all the new developments with all of the new apartment and complexes that are coming i know council various council members have discussed and have pointed out that, you know, the state laws sometimes come and tell them, you know, what they need to do without, you know, the ways to do it. There's, you know, certain housing mandates or exceptions to certain codes that resolve anything you don't have and you people don't want. And I know, you know, there is a lot of push against that, but at the end of the day, it's going to be really hard to fight against that when the state comes in. And what results is, it is being built, and the people around there have accepted the price. So this needs to be well thought out, and we need to be more intent on protecting the residents that are here now, on keeping people that live here in Roanoke able to afford to live here in Roanoke, so that we can hopefully make this a long-term home raise our families here and not depend to you know somewhere else which is unfortunately what you know a lot of talk is now because the very hard thing is expensive so i wish council i'm hoping that you consider this seriously that you you know talk to the staff look at what other cities are doing to protect their residents the government the cities are doing for their residents and try to do some similar performances do the same in order to make a difference in this community thank you

Thank you. Camille, do we have any other speakers on Zoom?

At this time here, I see no other person raising their hand.

Thank you. With that, we're going to close our meeting tonight.