City Council - Regular Meeting

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Good evening. I will call the City Council meeting to order at 5 o'clock p.m. Deputy City Clerk, may I have a roll call, please?

Yes, Your Honor. Council Member Barnett? Present. Council Member Gerson? Present. Council Member Kartzonis?

Present.

Council Member Lewis? Present. Council Member Liu? Present. Council Member Shaik?

Present.

Mayor Kalani?

Present. And now we'll have some comments from the City Attorney. Mr. Sullivan?

Yes, Your Honor, Patrick Sullivan, city attorney. The city clerk just informed me that they are having difficulty with the public comment portion of one meeting. It is just buffering and not uploading the comments. So if people want to be heard, they can either come to the meeting tonight and speak, they can participate remotely, as noticed on the agenda, or they can email cityclerk at torrentca.gov.

Thank you. And the meeting, the regular meeting portion open session will start at 6.30. The council will now recess to close session to confer with the city manager and city attorney on the agenda matters listed under 13A. Conference with Legal Counsel, Existing Litigation. 13B, Conference with Labor Negotiator. 13C, Real Property, Conference with Real Property Negotiator. And 13D, Public Employee Discipline Dismissal Release. A closed session on these matters is authorized by California Government Code Section 549569D1, 549569D1, We will return after closed session. Thank you.

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Okay, good evening. I will now reconvene our City Council meeting at 6.30 p.m. I want to welcome everyone joining us in the Council Chamber this evening. We're grateful you're here, as well as those watching remotely. We have been in closed session. City Manager, do we have any actions to report?

Good evening, Your Honor. No actions to report. Thank you.

Thank you. So moving on to item number two, the flag salute and invocation. We honor those who make it possible for us to be here today. Is there anyone here in the audience who is on active duty or a military veteran? Please stand or raise your hand so that we can recognize you. And if you could please remain standing, we'll have the flag salute by Councilmember Dr. Gerson and the non-secretarian invocation by Councilmember Kartzonis.

Please put your right hand over your heart and let's begin. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Dear Lord, we thank you for the opportunity to serve you and our community. We were recently gathered to remember the attacks of September 11th, and there we prayed for your peace on those who suffered. We continue to pray for that peace for all those who suffer today. But now I want to thank you for those helpers, the firefighters, police officers, obviously, but beyond them, the bystanders who just do what's right. We now ask for your wisdom to serve your will in the best way, and we ask for your bravery to actually do it, even when it's scary, even when we are threatened. We thank you for always being our guide, and even though we face challenges, and even when we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, we know you are with us. We ask you to continue to bless the United States of America and the city of Torrance. Amen.

Thank you, council members. And I want to thank the two young ladies who became council members for a moment for coming up with us and receiving their City of Torrance pens. Thank you. Moving on to item number three, announcement of withdrawn, deferred, and or supplemental items. Is there anything to report?

Yes, Your Honor, Audit Department and City Manager. There are supplemental materials for item 8G from Community Services to approve first amendment to vendor service agreement to beverage and snack and vending machine services at various city facilities. Item 8N from Finance to approve final premium adjustments to automobile physical damage insurance coverage. And lastly, item 10D from the Citizen Development and Enrichment Committee discuss and provide direction on Logo concepts for Torrance Municipal Airport and accept and file committee meeting minutes. Thank you, Your Honor.

Thank you. And City Attorney, you had an announcement?

Yes, Your Honor. Patrick Sullivan, City Attorney. It has come to staff's attention that the public meeting portal through one meeting for comments is not working. So if people have any comments, obviously they can attend the meeting in person. They can send an email to cityclerk at torranceca.gov. or they can call into the meeting at 1-669-444-9171, and enter the meeting ID of 899-1450-5182, and it's on the council's agenda, so people don't have to write it down as I'm talking.

Thank you. Moving on to item four, I will take a motion to waive further readings of resolutions and ordinances after number and title.

Second.

Start voting, please. Your Honor, that motion carried unanimously. Thank you.

Thank you. Moving on to item number five, Council Committee Meetings and Staff Announcements. I am happy to announce the fourth annual World Famous Pie Eating Contest is taking place on, it's really good. You gotta come by. It's taking place on Tuesday, September 29th at 10 o'clock a.m. at the Farmer's Market. To tell us more about it, I would like to welcome Joyce Chen to the podium.

Good evening, Honorable Mayor Kalani, esteemed city council members, and elected officials. Joyce Chan, Farmer's Market Manager. The Torrance Farmers Market will host our annual World Famous Pie Contest on Tuesday, September 29th at 10 a.m. The public is invited to enter their own World Famous Pie of any variation. The pies will be judged according to taste and appearance. The pies must be prepared by the contestant and made from scratch, which includes original homemade crust, dough, and filling. The Torrance Farmers Market has invited all members of the city council to serve as the PI judging panel with elected officials, the chiefs of Torrance Police and Torrance Fire Department. There will be an introductory remarks by Mayor Kalani and City and Community Services Director Ted Stevens. Please try to RSVP to me by September 21st. That's this Monday if you haven't already. To take part in this contest as a member of the public, fill out the entry form available on the city's website, which includes your contact information along with the pie recipe. Bring the completed form, the recipe, and your delicious pie to the Torrance Farmer's Market on Tuesday, September 29th at 9 a.m. Only the first 15 entries will be entered in the contest. There will also be a pie eating contest for those of you who would rather eat than bake. Please email me, Joyce Chan, Farmer's Market Manager, if you have any questions. Hope you all can make it. And it's a really fun event. Thank you.

Thank you. And the Farmer's Market is open on Tuesdays and Saturdays. If you'd like to go and get your ingredients early, they'll be happy to assist you. Thank you so much. I'd like to invite our community to join our Coastal Cleanup Day on Saturday, September 19th from 9 o'clock a.m. to noon at Torrance Beach. This year marks Team Torrance's 29th consecutive year participating in this important community tradition in partnership with the Torrance Area Chamber of Commerce and Heal the Bay. This year's theme is Tackle the Trash. Whether you're an athlete, a sports fan, or simply want to give back to your community, come out and help us protect our beautiful coastline. One bag of trash at a time. Parking is free for volunteers, and there will be refreshments, giveaways, and opportunity drawing. Students can also earn up to three hours of community service credit for participating. So grab your family, friends, coworkers, or teammates, and join Team Torrance on Saturday, September 19th. To register, visit healthebay.org or contact Torrance Beach Captain Leslie Cortez at 310-618-5990. I hope to see you out there as we tackle the trash, and most likely we'll all be there as well. Thank you. Council Member Schenck, you had an announcement?

Yes, thank you, Mayor. I recently had the opportunity to meet with representatives from the Western Museum of Flight to discuss their current operations and some of their future needs. The museum has expressed a need for additional storage space, specifically the potential use of an additional tea hangar, which would allow them to move stored artifacts and materials out of their existing museum space and make more room available for exhibits and educational programming. I understand the City currently provides the museum with two hangers at no cost and has also provided a ground lease associated with plans for a future museum structure. The Western Museum of Flight is a unique educational and cultural resource at Zamperini Field, and I encourage members of our community who may not be familiar with the museum to visit and learn more about what it has to offer. With that, I would like to request concurrence from my colleagues to direct staff to engage with Western Museum of Flight leadership to assess Again, to assess only their current and future space needs, review how their existing city-provided facilities are being utilized, and evaluate whether there are any appropriate opportunities to support their operations, including the potential availability of additional storage space, then have staff report back with their findings and any recommendation for council consideration. I hope to get a concurrence from my staff. Do I have a concurrence?

It looks like you have a, did you have a question? 6-1.

Thank you.

Okay, moving on to community matters. Deputy Clerk, may we have the numbers and titles for items 6-A and 6-B, please?

Yes, Your Honor. This is resolution number 2026-82, a resolution of the City Council of the City of Torrance, California, honoring police services supervisor Christine Kiesling upon her retirement from the city after 35 years of service. And resolution number 2026-83, a resolution of the City Council of the City of Torrance, California, honoring Police Sergeant Ron Salary upon his retirement from the city after 27 years of service.

Council Member Lewis.

I'd like to make a motion to approve resolution number 2026-82 and resolution number 2026-83. Second.

Start voting, please. Your Honor, that motion passed unanimously.

Sorry for the interruption. I seconded, but before I could hit the second button, Councilmember Shaik's name was placed in mine.

I'll take the credit.

Thank you for that correction. Thanks to the Community Service Department's Recreation Division and the Commission on Aging, who launched the Centenarian Program in 2022 to honor Torrance residents reaching the milestone of 100 years or more, tonight the city has the honor of recognizing another resident. We'd like to present Torrance's 12th recipient of the centenarian program, Ms. Lydia Cedillo, along with her family, here to accept this special recognition. I'd like to invite Ms. Cedillo and members of the Commission of Aging to join us as appropriately at the podium for this special recognition. And Council Member Barnett, would you like to do the honors of starting us off in reading the centenarian proclamation for Ms. Sisito?

Whereas Ms. Lydia Sidio was born on September 14, 1926, in Jerusalem, Palestine, and grew up with her two younger brothers, Vladimir and Boris, at the age of seven, Lydia and her family moved to Haifa, where she lived from 1933 until 1949. Ann?

Whereas, during World War II, Lydia demonstrated her compassion and generosity by knitting 53 sleeveless sweaters for children impacted by the war. In 1948, Lydia met her future husband, George J. Sidio, who was working in Haifa as a photographer for the United Nations Truce Commission. They were married on January 31, 1949, and Lydia followed George to the United States on July 1, 1949, and...

Whereas in 1961, Lydia and George moved their family of five to Emerald Street in Torrance. And more than six decades later, Lydia proudly continues to reside in the same Torrance home and

Whereas in 1926, when Lydia was born, the population of Torrance was 4,392 and grew to over 100,000 in 1961 when Lydia and George raised their three children who would eventually attend Victor Elementary School and graduate from West High School in 1967, 1970, and 1972. Lydia was very active in the Victor Elementary PTA where she and George proudly served as president of the West Torrance Little League Association on two occasions and

whereas Lydia's ability to speak five languages allowed her to assist many individuals throughout her career with the Employment Development Department. Lydia and George were also founding members of St. Matthew Orthodox Church in Torrance, helping establish a lasting spiritual community for generations to come. And...

Whereas Lydia was saddened by the passing of her beloved husband in 1997, but continued to be surrounded by a loving and growing family, including her three children, nine grandchildren, nine great-grandchildren, and two great-great-grandsons, Lydia's connection to Torrance continues through her family, with two of her children, as well as her granddaughter choosing to make their homes in West Torrance.

Now, therefore, I, Sharon Kalani, Mayor of the City of Torrance, California, do hereby proclaim Ms. Lydia Cedito at the blessed age of 100 as Centenarian of the City of Torrance and wish her a continued long life, prosperity, and the esteem of the entire community for a distinguished and incredible life. Signed, this 15th day of September, 2026. And I'll ask the council members to come down.

So you have 1,200 years that have passed, huh? You're number 12. You're number 12. Forget it. Yeah. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. There's so many people.

I'm so glad that so many people came. I'm grateful. I'm so thankful to live in Torrance where the people are so nice. Even those that are not so nice, they still become nice to me. And I love Torrance and I've been living here for How many years?

1961. I don't know. You do the math.

Seven years. No, more than that. Anyway, I've lived in Torrance for quite a while, and I love it, and I'm not going away from Torrance except in a box. And I love you.

She just said she loves us all. Thank you.

I want to see your 100s.

Thank you. There we got it.

Thank you, Ted.

There we go. Thank you. Thank you, everyone. I had to take your paper. I left money down there.

Okay, that was amazing. Now we're moving on to item 8D. Tonight we are joined by District Manager Ralph Felix, Operations Manager Matt Kang, and Operations Manager Rob Thompson from California Water Service, who will be accepting tonight's proclamation. Council Member Gerson, would you like to do the honors and start the reading of the proclamation, please?

Whereas it is the tradition of the City of Torrance to recognize and honor businesses that have demonstrated unwavering commitment to serving our community and contributing to the quality of life for our residents and

Whereas California Water Service, CalWater, was founded in 1926 and has served communities throughout California for 100 years, providing safe, clean, reliable water to more than 2 million people statewide.

And Whereas CalWater has been a trusted partner to the City of Torrance since 2000, delivering essential water services guided by their promise to provide quality service and value. And

Whereas, the company has demonstrated exemplary stewardship through conservation programs and rebates that have helped customers reduce their water use by 30% between the year 2000 and the year 2020, supporting both environmental sustainability and household affordability and sustainability.

Whereas Cal Water has invested responsibly in infrastructure, sustainability initiatives and community well-being, undertaking proactive, ongoing maintenance and upgrades to deliver safe, clean drinking water and improve emergency readiness.

And whereas through generations of employees and leadership, Cal Water has maintained its commitment to enhancing the quality of life for customers and communities, creating jobs, supporting the local economy and engaging with community organizations in our neighborhoods and throughout California.

And now, therefore, I, Sharon Kalani, as mayor of the city of Torrance, California, do hereby congratulate California Water Service on the monumental occasion of its 100th anniversary and extend our appreciation for the 100 years of providing safe, clean, reliable water to our community in the city of Torrance, signed this 15th day of September, 2026. Will you join me at the podium, please? Would you like to say anything?

Well, as a resident of Torrance, I appreciate all the members here, staff and council members, your honor here. Thank you for all you do and for all the residents here. Thank you.

Thank you, and I'll ask the council to come back down. We're getting our steps in tonight to come back down for photos. Come down, Bridget.

Okay.

Okay.

Thank you. Thank you. Okay, moving on to item 6E. For the past decade, John's Fresh Market has served our residents and families with quality products, diverse flavors, and a welcoming shopping experience while becoming a valued part of our local business community.

Tonight, we are pleased to recognize this important milestone and thank John's Fresh Marketplace for 10 years of service, investment, and commitment to the Torrance community. At this time, I'd like to invite representatives from John's Fresh Marketplace located in District 2 for all of you guys that wondered where they are on 190th, please visit. Barbecue's great. At this time, we'd like to bring up Mike Malair and John Storr, director in Torrance, along with Johnny Flores, the district manager, to say any remarks before all of our colleagues come down to the podium and present a certificate of recognition. Don't be shy now. We spent earlier together. Do I have to come and get you, Mike and Johnny?

Thank you, Mayor Kalani. I just want to say it's been an honor and a privilege to serve the South Bay Torrance community for the last 10 years.

Would you like to say anything, sir? Okay, we're going to all come down and take a picture with you. Go ahead.

I just want to thank all of you. Thank you for the support. It's an honor to be here in Torrance.

Thank you. And my favorite thing is the kebab.

Yeah. Thank you.

Okay, now we're moving on to oral communications number one. This portion of the meeting is reserved for comments on items under the consent calendar or items that are not on the agenda. Under the Ralph M. Brown Act, City Council cannot act on these items raised during public comment but may respond briefly to statements made or questions posed. Request clarification or refer the item to staff. Speakers under orals are limited to either oral communication number one or oral communication number two and no longer than three minutes per speaker. For in-person participants, the time will start when you step up to the microphone. If presenting handout material to counsel, please provide 11 copies to the deputy city clerk before speaking. Handouts will be distributed while you speak. For remote participants, time starts when your number is called. Due to a technical issue, the speaker timer is currently showing three minutes and 17 seconds. But in accordance with the agenda cover and our city council rules of order, each speaker will be cut off at three minutes. Deputy City Clerk, has anyone signed up to speak?

Yes, Your Honor. Chris Truman.

Man, I was really looking forward to that extra 17 seconds. I'm speaking as a private citizen, not as a city commissioner. I'm here to share that the third annual South Bay Transit Summit is this Saturday, September 19th, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Torrance Transit Center. It is hosted by South Bay Forward in partnership with Torrance Transit, League of Women Voters, and Move LA. The event is free and open to everyone. Details can be found at southbayforward.org. We would love to invite the council, public works staff, and all residents to join us. South Bay Forward supports high-quality transit, including the K-Line extension to Torrance with our South Bay On Board Coalition. We joined many of you at the various Metro Board meetings to support Torrance's preferred position on the project and still hope to work with you to see the project built on a reasonable timeline and budget. South Bay Forward is also educating the community on the Redondo Beach Boulevard Metroactive Transit Project. This includes 3.3 miles of high quality bike lanes from Dominguez Park to El Camino College through Redondo, Lawndale, Torrance, and unincorporated LA County. Redondo Beach is building class four fully protected lanes as well as Lawndale. Torrance, however, is the outlier, so it would be fantastic to discuss this project further at the Transit Summit or at a later meeting. We do not want Torrance to give up the opportunity to be a truly safe and connected bike infrastructure for our residents, students, and visitors. This event is especially relevant because of items today amending the Measure M funding for separate school safety and accessibility programs. To maximize the effectiveness of all of these projects and spending, we need to connect all of the South Bay. Our email campaign has generated over 200 emails asking this council to support the project. South Bay Forward would like to extend an open invitation to the council to do a bike or walk audit of 190th with residents and advocates in the near future. Thank you for your time, and we hope to see you at the Torrance Transit Center this Saturday at 10 a.m.

Thank you, sir.

Joe Buck.

He's asking if the documents he submitted was received by the council.

His documents were submitted. I'm not sure if the council has had a chance to review them, but his time started, so.

I don't know what the objection is to my being allowed to present these comments. other than perhaps as a threat to the people, somewhere in this organization that want to avoid careful examination of the bases that may be used to temporarily protect the city and the hillside for a period of time to protect it and give the council at the same time the opportunity to carefully examine alternatives that might better protect the city's interest and the residents. I may, just to throw in here, because apparently the stuff I submitted was not distributed to the public as a supplemental or published. Well, I know it wasn't. Let me say that I'm not asking the council to adopt the ordinance that has been submitted here. I'm asking the council to direct staff to schedule a hearing and consideration of this ordinance at the very next public council meeting. Now staff will probably say, oh, I won't have time to review this. They've had a lot of time to review this. You've had it. I can only consider that as a delaying action by staff, sadly. Do you have any inquiries? Well, I may throw in one other thing. I point out here that the ordinance has detailed provisions provided by AI, so it's not legal advice, but I've given the city council an opportunity to carefully examine it But I do ask that if they have objections to it, that they specify and state to the council carefully a citation of the legal basis for their objections and to do this well before the hearing in the upcoming public matter so that we can address this. Thank you.

Thank you, sir.

Charlie Salinas.

Good evening, everyone. I was attending a 9-11 memorial event And I found myself wasting my time wondering, why did bin Laden plan such a horrific attack on the United States? And why did Saudi Arabia seemingly finance the operation? Why did our own government not take the threat seriously? And when I have all these questions and there's no real answers, I myself get frustrated. And when I'm frustrated, I want to pick up a drink of alcohol. So instead, I decided to allow myself to go through the grieving process and say to myself, I'm sorry for all the people that lost their lives on 9-11. And to all the people that love those people that died, I'm sorry for their loss. And I'm sorry for our loss, all of us, of our fellow citizens of the United States. And because I didn't drink, I feel successful. Thanks for letting me share.

Thank you, Mr. Salinas. There's no one else that previously signed up to speak. Is there anyone in the audience that would like to speak? Please step up to the mic. Your three minutes will start then.

Greetings, Mayor Kalani and city council members. I'm Danielle Johnson. for the Torrance Art Museum Advocates. You are quarterly invited to attend the opening reception for Baker's Dozen 2026 BLAM and work from the Venice Art Institute of Contemporary Art at the Torrance Art Museum on Saturday, September 19th from 6 to 9 p.m. The exhibitions will continue through Saturday, November 7th. In the main gallery, Baker's Dozen is a survey exhibition of 13 artists whose work made a positive impression on the curators over the past year. These artists reflect current directions in Southern California's contemporary art practice. B-L-A-M in Gallery 2 and The Dark Room with the Venice Art Institute of Contemporary Art exhibit, displays the fruit of a three-year exchange between three artist-run initiatives in Berlin, Los Angeles, and Mexico. Berlin hosted the first event in 2024. Mexico City hosted in 2025. Now it's our turn in 2026. The exhibit will showcase works by artists from yours, from Los Angeles, Berlin, and Venice Art Institute of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles. For more information about BLAM and events in September, October, and November, see www.blam.org. with hyphens between the B, LA, and the M, .org. For more information about the museum and its projects, visit torrensarmuseum.com to become a member, support the museum, and enjoy Old Tamar Talks. Check out tamadvocates.com. Thank you. Good night.

Thank you.

Madam Mayor, council members, good evening. My name is Dean Mochinaga. Our group, Torrance Tennis Players for the Preservation of Public Courts, was formed by senior age tennis players to promote the restoration and preservation of Torrance City tennis courts and their use. It includes the availability, accessibility, maintenance, and general well-being of Torrance City courts. In March this year, after seeing the condition of the city's tennis courts with cracks and painted pickleball lines, I decided to go to all the courts and do my own personal assessment of the conditions I saw. What I saw prompted me to make a report titled Save Our Courts, a report on the current condition of Torrance Public Tennis Courts with recommendations for improvement. Since then, we have been in meetings with Director Stephens of Community Services and Council Member Shaik to discuss issues raised in the report. We would like to thank Director Stephens and his team for planning the resurfacing of courts in need of repair and also for plans to build two new courts. At last week's Parks and Recreation Monthly Meeting, I presented some of the issues in the report. One of them was a conversion of tennis courts to pickleball courts, calling them hybrid or dual use, where tennis courts are overlaid with pickleball lines and are posted as being tennis slash pickleball courts. This may have been an attempt to make them usable for both tennis and pickleball, but in reality, they are now used only for pickleball. Examples are Walteria Park and Sur La Brea Park. The ongoing feud continues between tennis players and pickleball players over who should have which courts and at which locations. My feeling is that both groups should have their own facilities to enjoy their sport to the fullest and that this should be the long-term goal of city planners. Pickleball has become very popular, but the idea of a court that both can be played on is flawed. Just because tennis players may not be as vocal or numerous as pickleball players at these meetings does not mean we are not out there. Just visit Wilson Park on any day of the week, and you will see players with spirit and passion enjoying the game they love. Torrance has always been a tennis-friendly city. All four of the public high schools and one private high school have active tennis programs. Each has tennis courts on campus. The next generation of tennis players should have free public facilities on which to play. We are happy to see that plans for repairing damaged courts are underway. Thank you, sir.

Thank you, sir.

Good evening. My name is Elizabeth Yee, and I'm coming to you today as a born and raised Torrance resident, a parent of two, soon to be three, TUSD students, and an educator in a neighboring school district. I chose to send my children to TUSD due to the academic rigor and great things I have heard about the district, the 99% graduation rate, high family satisfaction with the district, and test scores well above the proficiency rate in both reading and math across the elementary, middle, and high schools. They are at the highest they've maybe ever been, and that's a result of rigor plus care. And it's that rigor and care that we should match and speed up the work it takes to address the change in weather, because overheated teachers and staff cannot provide rigor and care to overheated children. When I attended Torrance schools in the 90s, not having air conditioning was not a problem. I remember Torrance always having that cool ocean breeze. However, times are changing and the weather is getting exponentially warmer. And as you know, we'll only continue in this trend. In the 2020-2021 school year, we only had two to four days of a heat advisory, but that number has crept up. So far this year, in only 18 days of school, we have had nine heat advisory days, 50% of our school days. As you know, only 3 quarters of our classrooms have no air conditioning. Students and teachers were in 91 degree classrooms, rotating around to the few cool centers on each campus, and have reported that they have felt nauseous, dizzy, and some were sent home due to the extreme heat and humidity in classrooms. In many schools, that includes classrooms for special education students, some of whom cannot feel their body overheat, some of whom are nonverbal and cannot express it either way. This is a dangerous situation and we are eager to get creative about the solution. This heat is not just uncomfortable and unhealthy, it affects our students' learning. Every one degree Fahrenheit increase in average outdoor temperature over a school year reduces student learning by 1%. Torrance is known to be a great city and to have a great school district. However, without the investment of the community, the reputation of our city will decline. Unfortunately, updating our schools is a $520 million project, which means we have to pass a bond. Though previous bonds have failed, the time to invest in our students and community is now. $520 million is a hefty price tag, but that amounts to approximately $253 annually for the average Torrance homeowner, which breaks down further to about $1.44 per day. TUSD parents ask the broader community to recognize this issue and help us solve it. TUSD parents ask that the city council to work with the district to prioritize our students and our schools. Thank you. Thank you.

And Council Member Dr. Jeremy Gersom asked to respond briefly.

To the last speaker and to those listening, as the committee knows, I and Councilmember Liu are both former school board members, which is a separate public agency. If you're concerned about this particular issue, Please know that the Torrance Unified School District Board of Education's next meeting will be on October 12th, and it is held at 2336 Plaza de Lamo, and they're the ones that will be making this decision whether to place a bond on the ballot or not. It's outside the jurisdiction of the City Council. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Next speaker.

My name is Peter Broen. Thank you for the opportunity to speak. And I'm looking at a new mayor, and this is really exciting. I haven't been in one of these yet where you've been presiding. Thank you. Congratulations. My comments today are about the Airport Commission. I have been disappointed over the last couple years at the treatment of the Airport Commission by this City Council and City staff. The Commission has essentially been sidelined and not included in any of the developments and events at the airport related to, you know, we experience landing fees, we experience flight restrictions and such. And it's their role to be involved in all things related to the airport. And so these people are commissioners or volunteers. They volunteer their time freely, their effort, their experience. They do that to make this city operate better. They must wonder now why they're volunteering. They deserve better. So going forward, please, I'm hoping that we can include the Airport Commission in all of those activities that their role suggests that they should be involved in because they really want to help. Thank you.

Thank you, sir.

Yes, my name is Tom or Ted. I tried to sign up to be on this list of people speaking, but somehow my name got removed if it came through. I don't know. Who is the one who screens the names? Is that Crystal Camerato?

It's my understanding, sir, that you signed up just after the sign-up period. So it wasn't an oversight. We're sorry about that, but we're glad you're having the opportunity to speak now.

Thank you. Okay. First of all, and secondly, I guess I'd like to say that I support the comments made by Mr. Buck, and I'm hoping that the city will make those comments public. his comments. And lastly, I just wanted to say that with this new makeup of city council, there's been a whole change in attitude and respect between council members and the community. And I thank you for that. It's been tremendous. It's great to see. Wonderful. Keep it up. Thank you very much, sir.

Good evening. My name is Joyce Freeman. I am a resident of Torrance and I'm also a small business owner. And as I watched you recognizing some of the accomplishments tonight, I've been in business 19 and a half years here in Torrance and I'm hoping at 20 years maybe I can get up there and get a picture. I'm also here to also back up Dean's comments on the parks and recs meetings with the tennis courts here in Torrance. We started working with them quite a while ago. There's a small group of senior citizen tennis players that got quite a few other people on board. And we are so thankful and grateful for the reaction and the actions that are being taken. However, last week there was a meeting with Parks and Rec where it was a really volatile event. situation where a lot of the pickleball people were having problems with residents and apparently there's an ordinance that's just not being adhered to and so I think that that was a really confusing situation that I'd like more information on. And I also want to note that the pickleball player said that when Lamita Park closed down the tennis and made it all pickleball, that it didn't make any difference. in the pickleball. But I'm here to tell you at Wilson Park on the tennis courts it made a big difference because all of those players did come to Wilson and now we have to share the tennis courts with other cities' parks that are going to just pickleball. So bottom line, you guys need more tennis courts, more pickleball, and let's all have fun.

Thank you. And I'm going to ask our associate to get your name and number. It would be my honor to come and visit your business. And it looks like Mr. Stevens is planning to reach out to you as well. Thank you. Next speaker, please.

Good evening. My name is Deborah Corwin. And I'm here about an issue from way back 2007. I have a letter here from Assemblymember Alex Ted Lieu in connection with favoring mandatory neuter and spay. There's not a person in here that doesn't realize. What are you going to help us with the animals? Neuter and spay, mandatory. This has been going on for decades. I don't understand it. Senator Padilla, the bill didn't pass, or it was a petition. 1634. Look it up. Taxpayers were paying 250 million there, pick up house and euthanize. What do you think it is now? Do you have any idea? Resolve this on the back burner. It's been this way for so long, your shelters are overwhelmed. Your employees there are getting burned out because they figure if the cities don't care, why should we care? The euthanization rate has skyrocketed. The rendering places, the five locations, I don't remember the name where they are. There's problems with the odors and the smell. And there's five different facilities for the rendering of these carcasses. Anybody interested in doing anything? You know, I don't get it. So please, will you look at this situation? We've been doing neuter and spay programs. I formed a nonprofit. I'm no longer involved with it. But I'm tired of this. And I think a lot of your audience, I know a lot of people are tired. And people, when they do call because they're conscious, you can't just, you know, all the trapping that needs to be done and then coordinate an appointment to get them fixed. I'm sorry, I know I'm sounding harsh, but this has been a buildup for a long time. Please do the right thing. Look at this issue. You know, help clean up the city with everything that's going on, the restaurants, the businesses, the parks. Thank you. And I will give you a copy of this in the New Yorker next week. In 2024, over 40, no, excuse me, 4 million community cats just in L.A. County. That's in 24. You know it's got to be 5, 6 million now easily. Female cats, kittens, 4 months of age become pregnant.

Thank you for your time.

Good evening, Mayor, Councilmember. I'm also a tennis player for many years at Wilson Park, and I support my members here, Dean and Joyce, which we play together twice a week at least. And I appreciate the progress on Hickory. I went to see it today. Looks great. Pretty soon there will be more courts. But it's not Markoff Tennis Court at Wilson Park. There's not too many Wilson Park, there's only three courts there, and there's 10 pickable courts. So please leave Wilson Park and its courts the way they are. Thank you for your time.

Thank you. Is there anyone else in the chambers that would like to speak on oral communications number one? If so, please step up to the mic. Okay, I see none. We'll now take remote participants. It looks like we'll have time for one, maybe two. Callers can press star nine to raise their hand. Staff, is there anyone that would like to speak? Yes, Your Honor.

Call center, please admit the first caller.

I currently don't see anyone raising their hand. Callers, if you press star nine, you can raise your hand to indicate that you want to speak.

Okay. I'm not seeing any. Thank you. Then the time for public comment has ended. We're now moving on to the consent calendar. Do any council members wish to pull any items listed under the consent calendar? Items 8 O as in 8 orange and 8 P as in 8 Paul were removed from the consent calendar and will be considered separately. Council Member Liu.

In regards to item number 8.0, I was not here when the public hearing occurred on May 19th, 2026. I was not here on the council. I have reviewed the agenda item 9B, including all attachments, presentations, and public comment. I have watched the video of the meeting and reviewed the minutes. I will be voting tonight on this agenda item.

Okay, we'll be considering it separately after we take a motion to approve the consent calendar, with the exception of eight O and eight P, unless there's any other council member that wants to remove any other items.

No, I have a comment on O, though. Okay, please. I also, along with Council Member Liu, was not at the public meeting hearing on the item of May 19th, 26. I was not on the council at that time. However, I have reviewed the agenda item, 9b, including all of the attachments, presentations, and public comment. I have also viewed the video of the meeting and reviewed the minutes. And I will be voting tonight on this item. Thank you.

Thank you. So I will take a motion to approve the consent calendar with the exception of eight O as in orange and eight P as in Paul. Council Member Gerson, oops, I apologize. Council Member Liu.

Lewis.

Lewis. Says Liu on mine, sorry. So Council Member Lewis.

I just have a quick question before I make the motion to do the consent calendar. Attorney Sullivan, the disclosures that were made were the items that we have pulled off the agenda. Do they need to be made again when we consider item 8-0?

Yes, they do. Okay, perfect.

Then in that case, I will make the motion to approve the consent calendar in its entirety for the exception of items 8-0 and 8-P.

I second.

Start voting, please. Your Honor, that passed unanimously.

Thank you. Give me one moment, please.

Your Honor.

Okay, we're going to go ahead and... Yeah. Right. We're going to go ahead and discuss item 8-0 as an orange now. Council Member Kartzonis.

Your Honor, since I was on the Planning Commission and voted on this project already, I will be recusing myself from this decision.

Thank you. And now we need to redisclose item 8-orange. Council Member Barnett.

Sorry about that. Same thing. There was a public hearing on March 19, 2026. I was not on the council at that time. I have reviewed the agenda item 9B, including all attachments, presentations, and public comment. I have viewed the video of the meeting and reviewed the minutes. I will be voting tonight on this item.

Council Member Liu.

I also... I'm in the same situation that when the public hearing on this item occurred on May 19th, 2026, I was not on the city council. I've reviewed this agenda item, including all attachments, presentations, and public comment. I've watched the video of the meeting and reviewed the minutes. I will be voting tonight on this agenda item.

Thank you. I do have some comments regarding this item. I personally do not like this project. It is the wrong project in the wrong location. The developer is using state laws to override local control that benefit the project. As much as I don't like this project, the city's hands are tied due to state housing laws. The proposed mixed-use development is subject to the Housing Accountability Act, A public agency cannot either disapprove a project or approve a project with conditions that reduce the density unless both of the following findings can be made. It's a little bit lengthy, I apologize in advance. The housing development project would have a specific adverse impact on the public health and safety unless the project is disapproved or approved upon the condition that the project be developed at a lower density. A specific adverse impact means a significant direct and unavoidable impact based on objective, identified, written public health and safety standards, policies or conditions as they existed on the date of the application and when it was deemed complete. There is no feasible method to satisfactorily mitigating or avoiding the adverse impact identified other than the disapproval of the housing development project or the approval of the project upon the condition that it be developed at a lower density. Unfortunately, the city does not have evidence necessary to substantiate that the project is inconsistent with any applicable objective health and safety standards or that if any objective standards were identified that they cannot be mitigated. The applicant or a housing organization may bring an action to enforce the Housing Accountable Act if the court finds a public agency in violation of the HAA, then the court can order compliance within 60 days. The court can award attorney fees and costs of suit. The court can impose fines that start at $10,000 per housing unit. If a public agency is found to have acted in bad faith and fails to carry out the court's order, then the fines can be multiplied by a factor of five. In some cases, a city's entire housing element can be invalidated and their ability to properly guide development citywide can be removed. The California Department of Housing and Community Development can issue a notice of potential violation and or notice if violation. If an agency does not correct the violation, then HCD can refer the case to the Attorney General to enforce a lawsuit against the city. HCD has already received a referral on this project and reached out to this city. I encourage everyone to contact their assemblyman and state senator to let them know that you do not like the loss of local control over zoning. We do not have a choice in this matter. Thank you. Council Member Lewis.

I wanted to go on record that I concur with the mayor's statement about this project. I do not like this project. It's not the right project. However, our hands are tied.

Council Member Liu.

I feel the exact same way. I concur with my Honorable Mayor and my colleague, Councilwoman Bridget, that this is not a good project for our city or anywhere, actually, given the circumstances.

Council Member Barnett.

Yes, I would concur with the mayor. I would concur with my colleagues, Louis and Lou, in reading over the information on this, even though I wasn't here. I just do not believe this is a place for this particular development. Thank you.

I concur with all my colleagues. Thanks.

I guess you're looking for comments from everyone. I remember that the developer was either unprepared or unwilling to answer questions about the project, which made it more challenging to come to a conclusion on this. I am happy that staff clarified that the safety rail, the guardrail that had been, that we, I had been led to believe during the hearing would be removed or moved, would be moved to a different location when staff clarified that the developer did say that it was going to be placed back. That was very reassuring because it was placed there for a reason. So I do concur with where everyone is going.

Thank you. How does the council wish to act on this item?

I'll go ahead and do it.

I'll do it because we have a choice. Council Member Lewis.

With regret, I make a motion to approve item 8-0. I'm sorry, not approval.

Just to clarify, a motion to approve would be to uphold the appeal and deny the project. If council did not want to do that, then the council would direct staff to bring back resolutions to deny the appeal and allow the conditional use permit, so essentially approve the project.

Yes, so the latter of the two to approve the project.

Looking for a second. Second.

Start voting, please. Your Honor, that motion passed with Council Member Liu voting no and Council Member Kurtzonis recused.

Thank you. Moving on to item 8P, I'm gonna ask staff for some clarification why it was pulled.

Yes, Your Honor. Item 8P from the City Manager is to adopt resolution setting forth the hours, wages, and working conditions for executive management employees and certain full-time employees. This item was posted to the agenda with a scrivener's error regarding the subject line, which incorrectly stated that there was no expenditure. If the City Council approves the aforementioned resolution, it will incur an expenditure of $710. Funding for this item is currently available in the fiscal year 2026-27 for the Fire Department operating budget and is anticipated to be available in subsequent fiscal years.

Thank you. Any questions from the Council? I'll take a motion. Oops, can we have some numbers and titles first, please?

Yes, Your Honor. This is resolution number 2026-88, a resolution of the City Council of the City of Torrance, California, amending resolution number 2026-62, setting forth hours, wages, and working conditions for executive and management employees. and resolution 2026-89, a resolution of the City Council of the City of Torrance, California, setting forth the hours, wages, and working conditions for certain full-time salaried and hourly employees beginning June 1st, 2026, and repealing resolution number 2026-71. Excuse me, 2026-31. Is there a motion?

Council Member Barnett. We're gonna ask you to do that again with your mic on, please.

That's no fun. OK, here we go again. I'm going to adopt a resolution amending resolution 202662. How about if I just adopt 88? OK, we'll start again. Adopt a resolution amending Resolution 202662, setting forth hours, wages, and working conditions for executive management employees to Resolution 2026-88, and adopt a Resolution 202689, setting forth hours, wages, and working conditions for certain full-time and salaried employees.

Well done. Is there a second? I second. Thank you.

Start voting, please. Your Honor, that motion passed unanimously.

Can I make one comment? Council Member Kartzonis.

Sorry, I needed to correct something that I said. I realized as I walked out the door, I misspoke on item 8-0. The reason I needed to recuse myself was actually a financial conflict of interest because I recused myself when this item came to the Planning Commission as well for the same reason. So it was not because I'd previously voted on it. It was actually because I had a financial conflict of interest.

Okay. Thank you.

We can adjust the record.

Do we need special meeting for that?

Thank you very much. Okay, we're ready to move on. There are no hearings. I think that administrative matters are going to take a moment. Does anyone need a break, or do you want to move forward? Okay, we're going to take a 10-minute break, please.

Bye.

you

Thank you.

Thank you.

Okay, moving on to item 10 a from community service director, this is to accept and file the fiscal year 2025 2026 coyote management program update and discuss and concur with a reduced schedule for coyote abatement services. Yes, sir.

there we go uh once again good evening mayor members of city council brent rebus administrative analyst with the community services department agenda item 10a is the fiscal year 2025-26 coyote management program update along with the recommendation regarding the continuation of coyote abatement services The city established the Coyote Management Program in 2016 in response to increased coyote activity and community concerns. The program provides a comprehensive approach to managing human-coyote conflicts through education, reporting and monitoring, outreach, and abatement services. The program is guided by the city's Coyote Management Plan, which was updated in 2019 to expand trapping efforts, establish a 24-hour hotline, and enhance education and outreach, and the administration of the program transitioned to the Community Services Department in 2020. During fiscal year 2025-26, staff continue to administer the city's coyote management program through vendor coordination, activity reporting, GIS mapping, resident education, and community outreach. Outreach efforts include seven Torrance e-newsletter articles since July 2025 and quarterly information in the season's guide. The IT department is finalizing an in-house coyote management portal to provide public information and reporting resources. In September 2025, Community Services also hosted a South Bay Regional Agency Coyote Management Meeting with representatives from 15 agencies to share information and regional management practices. The fiscal year 2025-26 Coyote Activity Report Summary provides information regarding reported activity during the fiscal year. Reported coyote sightings declined from 436 in fiscal year 2024-25 to 387 in fiscal year 2025-26. The number of coyotes captured also declined from 28 to 23. Out of the 23 coyotes captured during fiscal year 25-26, only eight were captured during the six-month period from January through June 2026. Overall, both reported coyote sightings and captures declined. Based on the City's continued coyote management activities and information presented in the fiscal year 2025-26 Coyote Activity Report Summary, staff is seeking City Council direction regarding the continuation and appropriate level of coyote abatement services. The decline in reported activity provides a basis for considering a reduced or as-needed trapping strategy while maintaining the City's ongoing education, reporting, monitoring, and targeted response efforts. Under a reduced schedule, trapping would remain available as a management tool and could be adjusted based on reported activity and demonstrated need. The intent is to maintain the city's ability to respond to coyote activity while aligning abatement services with current activity levels and the city's broader management approach. Regarding environmental findings, the city previously completed an initial study pursuant to CEQA for the 2019 Coyote Management Plan update. Based on that review, the city determined the implementation of the Coyote Management Plan would not result in a significant effect on the environment and adopted a negative declaration. The continuation of Coyote abatement services, including consideration of a reduced or as-needed trapping strategy, is consistent with the activities evaluated under the 2019 plan update. As a result, no additional environmental review is required under CEQA. In summary, the Coyote Management Program continues to provide a comprehensive approach to managing coyote activity through public education, reporting, and monitoring, community outreach, regional coordination, and targeted abatement services. Reported coyote sightings and captures declined during fiscal year 25-26, providing a basis for consideration of a reduced or as-needed trapping strategy while retaining the ability to respond to serious or localized activity. Staff recommends that City Council accept and follow the fiscal year 20-25-26 coyote management program update and discuss and concur with the reduced schedule of coyote abatement services. That concludes my presentation and we're available to answer any questions.

Thank you, sir. We'll now go to Deputy City Clerk to see if anyone has signed up to speak on this item.

Yes, Your Honor. Kathleen Mueller.

Hello. My name is Kathleen Mueller. I have lived in Torrance for 10 years, and I also grew up in rural Indiana, which I bring up to note that I am no stranger to the heartbreak that people face when they lose a pet to a coyote. But that type of heartbreak is specifically why I am urging the council to consider completely eradicating any sort of funding towards the trapping and killing of coyotes, and instead completely redirecting that funding to increased education for the community for coexistence. Not only is the practice of trapping and killing coyotes cruel, it is a complete waste of taxpayer money. First of all, coyote trapping in and of itself does not work. Trap and kill triggers demographic compensation where surviving coyotes respond to reduced populations by breeding earlier and having larger litters. And since coyotes are highly territorial, removing members of an established population just opens the habitat for new coyotes to move in. Based on Torrance's data, not in this sheet, for the seasons running from 2019 through 2025, Torrance in total has killed 144 coyotes with absolutely no downward trend. If you look at the documented season of 2021, the number of coyotes compared to the 2019 numbers more than doubled from 15 to 31. And since then, the number of coyotes killed annually has stayed closer to that 31 number. Based on the very own data you provide today, if you look back just to fiscal year 23 or 22, the amount of sightings compared to 25 or 26 is significantly higher. Secondly, coyotes are fundamental keystone predators, especially here in the South Bay. Without them, everything else collapses. They maintain populations of rats and other smaller Lyme disease carrying animals. Their regulation of smaller predators is critical in the protection of songbird populations too. Thirdly, attacks on humans are incredibly rare. Attacks on pets are almost always nearly avoidable and could be further diminished with proper citizen education on coexistence. Other cities such as Denver, Vancouver, Alberta, Calabasas, Long Beach, and Clover City have all shifted to strictly education-based coexistence and have all shown documented reduction in coyote-based conflict. I understand it's easy to approve a portion of a program and make it appear as if the city is trying to appease the voices of citizens upset about their pets. But the data here shows that the Trap and Kill program is making the problem worse, not better. For a city that so values its animal neighbors that it even centered the Rose Parade float entirely on wildlife, It is disingenuous to then turn around and uphold a policy of murdering that very wildlife that was featured on the float. Again, please, I beg of you to uphold Torrance's true values by stopping the nonsensical and counterproductive program that is unnecessarily cruel and a waste of taxpayer money. Thank you.

Jennifer King.

Good evening, Mayor Kalani and council members. My name is Jenny King. I've been a Torrance resident for the last 14 years, but I've lived in South Redondo for 25 years, and I grew up on the peninsula. And my childhood home backed up to a canyon, and there was all sorts of wildlife. And my parents used to go out in the backyard before we small children could go out and play, because there would be snakes. raccoons, lizards, coyotes, foxes, possums, you name it, all the critters. And they taught us how to respect the wildlife, to be in awe of it and to keep our distance, but there was never any suggestion of getting rid of it. I'm so grateful to be a South Bay native, and I think part of the ambience of our South Bay is that we're a suburb and we still have open spaces, Madrona Marsh and the beach, and there's unique wildlife to each place. I'm a pet owner, too. I've always grown up having pets, and I learned how to take care of them and respect them. I don't think the two things are mutually exclusive, to be a pet owner, cats and dogs, and to also love wildlife in our area. And so I would ask that the money that you've been spending on euthanizing coyotes be spent on education. And especially for young school-age children, they're eager to learn. And little kids love animals. And if it's presented to them in a way with respect and and that these are fellow creatures, I think then as adults, I know there's a lot of fearful adults whose fears, I don't want to say they're irrational, but I think education would be the best way to go. And so please, I'd ask that you stop with the coyote abatement and do some wildlife education. And I don't know what that would look like, but thank you very much for your time.

Suzanne Hubert.

I'm Susan Hubert. I'm with Friends of Madrona Marsh. And I stood here in 2016 and commented on the coyote management plan at that time and suggested an emphasis on education. And the education that has occurred over the past 10 years has been relatively minimal. Instead, the city tried to get rid of coyotes. And it isn't the city's responsibility to get rid of coyotes. That's impossible. Nature's proved that over the eons. Science proves that. History proved that. yet the City Council has funded a trapping killing service for the past 10 years that's it's hard to get the exact numbers but ballparking the killing is costing the city well the whole program costs the city about 150,000 a year and roughly 80,000 of that is going to the trapper who kills the coyote better that had gone That money had gone to education for the community about living with wildlife. So over the past 10 years, the city spent $1.5 million. Not fighting coyotes, because they're fighting nature, science, and history. And we still have coyotes, which isn't terribly surprising. What the city should, could be doing is teaching residents how to live with these animals. There are a lot of... nature organizations in the South Bay that would be delighted to help you do that. Now, I do understand how heartbreaking it would be that if I saw my pet mauled by a coyote, I would be just as heartbroken and upset if I saw them hit by a car. And there are a lot more cars to keep our pets away from than there are coyotes. So if we can keep our pets away from cars, we can keep them away from coyotes. Now, we have reels, podcasts, social media. We have movies in the park. Those are so many opportunities to be teaching our residents about how to live with wildlife, not just coyotes. So science and history have proved that the killing and trapping will not give us the results that we want. Education is likely to do that. Torrance's coyote management plan, the portion of it that is funding the killing of these animals, that's not giving us the result that we want either. So I would say please, please do not continue to throw good money after bad. And please do not approve this continued coyote killing. Thank you.

Jackie Connett. Danny Touche.

Hello, thank you for your time. My name is Danny Touche and I'm a business owner from the city of Torrance. I've been here since 2007 and I just want to say I appreciate how organized you guys are. This is a great service that you do for the community and I'm here on behalf of the coyotes and other wildlife within the community. I just think that it's a important that not only do we educate people on why these animals are here and why they've been here long before us, I think it's also important that we provide places for them and education throughout the community. And thank you for your time. That's all I have to say.

Cecilia Bracamontes.

Thank you. I know that's a hard last name. My name is Cecilia Brachamuthis, and I was born here in Torrance, and I also have a business, and I just wanted to kind of go over again some other points that our first person mentioned. So awesome. But I just want to kind of talk about things I don't think that have been really explained again, and it's the actual biology of what happens when you... do this coyote abatement. The coyote populations are self-regulating. And when you disturb, an undisturbed group typically only has a dominant breeding pair that reproduces. And if that pair defends the territory and they keep other coyotes out, and then when you trap and kill members of that group and you don't Sorry, I'm so nervous. When you trap and kill members of that group, you don't just remove animals, but you're breaking up the social structure of that group. And peer-reviewed research on this is consistent. Removing resident coyotes creates a territorial vacancy that previous suppressed animals begin breeding, and their litters become larger. So then you have their litters increase and their pup survival actually goes up, which creates transient coyotes can move in to fill the gap. So you're seeing a nationwide study looking at the hunting pressure on coyotes found no association between how hard coyotes were hunted and how many are actually out there afterward. Researchers who have spent decades studying this describe it as mowing a lawn. You cut it down, but it grows back thicker. So this is why Torrance has probably spent the better part of a decade and hundreds of thousands of dollars on this program. And residents are still reporting seeing the same kinds of coyote activity. So that's not evidence that the program needs one more year. It's evidence. that it's exactly what biology is predicting. So I'm kind of asking you guys to consider the coexist programs that Carson has structured in place. And I believe Palos Verdes also uses a coexist program, just kind of getting rid of that abatement service. But please don't renew this program. I think it's just working against itself. But thank you very much for your time.

Marco Garcia.

Hello, friends. My name is Marco Garcia, and I'm just going to pretty much repeat what a lot of people have been saying here tonight is that the data kind of speaks for itself, which is kind of strange when it's, the writing is on the wall. That just, it doesn't make sense to do a program like this. Lomita already has a coyote management plan on the books adopted just this past March. That plan states clearly that broad removal programs are ineffective, ecologically unsound, and not supported by wildlife management agencies. It's built around hazing education and prevention. Because you kill off resident coyotes, new ones simply move into the empty territories. The problem doesn't go away. It just persists. It just resets itself. The Catch and Shoot program doesn't just abandon that approach. It kind of contradicts the science that cities like Lomita have adopted. We've seen this exact pattern before, right here in LA County. On Catalina Island, the Conservancy's original plan to shoot mule deer from helicopters was shelved after a public outcry. Supervisor Janice Hahn herself called it a drastic and inhumane approach. But the underlying decision to kill the animals never actually changed. The method was swapped for ground-based sharpshooters. And that culling is happening on the island right now. This is the same lack of imagination applied to a different animal. Lethal removal treated as the default answer, while the actual alternatives get pushed aside instead of generally tried. Torrent doesn't need to repeat this pattern here. I think it's a great opportunity for a city as big as Torrance in the South Bay to get creative. And, you know, as an architect in the South Bay for the last 25 years, I know what goes and gets involved, you know, when you're doing urban planning. And it just makes no sense when all this housing all of a sudden is coming up and we're not working hand in hand, but taking care of our wildlife. Because obviously something is setting them off. Killing coyotes is not a solution. It's a reaction and an inhumane one. When the tools we need, attracting reduction, hazing, public education, have been adopted already by our neighbors like Momita. So I'm asking this council to reject this program and instead invest in enforcing and expanding what cities like Momita have already committed to in March. Thank you for your time.

Good evening, Council. My name is Diego Luna. I live in Torrance. I'm not here to tell you coyotes don't matter or that public safety doesn't matter. I'm here to ask you to do what any responsible steward of public money would do before renewing a contract. Torrance has trapped and killed more than 140 coyotes since 2019. This year's contract alone cost roughly $80,000. that doesn't include city staff time or program costs on this year's numbers, trapping about 30 coyotes that work out to close 2,700 per animal killed. I'd ask every one of you, what would you say to contract? in any other line. Business who came back years after year asking for the same money without even showing you whether the problem was actually getting better. I'm asking you not to approve another year of spending until the current year's results are public. Thank you.

That concludes the list of people that have pre-signed up to speak on this item. Is there anyone else that would like to speak on the item? You can step up to the mic, please.

I signed in, but I don't think it worked, evidently. Good evening. I'd like to bring some regional context to tonight's decision, because Torrance isn't making this choice in isolation, as we heard a little bit earlier. According to Pasadena's own public health department, Torrance is the only city in Los Angeles County that still uses lethal trapping as its coyote management approach. When Pasadena considered adopting something similar in 2023, its interim public health director specifically cited Torrance's policy as an example of what not to do because it's ineffective and triggers what's called the rebound effect, where populations bounce back through increased breeding. Pasadena City Council voted unanimously to reject lethal trapping and instead invest in public outreach and education, attractant removal, better reporting systems, and outside coyote experts. Manhattan Beach and other neighboring cities have taken similar non-lethal approaches. So the question for Torrance isn't whether a coyote program is possible without routine killing. It clearly is. because it's happening right next door. The question is why Torrance alone among its neighbors is still paying for an approach that surrounding cities specifically examined and declined to adopt. Tonight's materials ask you to look at what other cities are doing before renewing this contract. I'd go a step further and ask staff directly why Torrance's approach differs from every other city in this county and whether that difference is producing better results or just a bigger bill. If Pasadena, with real coyote activity of its own, also my hometown, can manage this without a trapping contract, Torrance owes its residents an explanation for why it can't. I completely agree with what we heard earlier. Since I did grow up in an area that had a lot of coyotes, education really helps and goes a long way. So please consider what we're saying. Thank you.

Hi, my name is Donna Perkins, and I'm a Torrance resident. I'm here tonight because I want to see Torrance completely end its contract for coyote trapping and culling. This is just not how I want my tax dollars spent. The overwhelming consensus among peer-reviewed ecological studies is that indiscriminate trapping is ineffective. The data points to the clear fact that it fails to reduce coyote populations for neighborhood encounters. Since starting the trapping program, hundreds of thousands of dollars of our taxpayer money has been spent on this. And what do we have to show for it? We still have coyotes. And as a nightly neighborhood dog walker, I would have to say that my own coyote encounters have not decreased during this period of time. If our own experience as a city, along with the data-backed science of experts, indicates that this trapping framework does not work, why are we doing it? Please, let's put an end to this expensive and ineffective experiment and shift to an education and coexist program. Let's not have fear dictate our public policy. Thank you.

Anyone else that wishes to speak on this item? Okay, we'll now take remote participants. Callers can press star nine to raise their hand. Staff, is anyone signed up to speak?

Yes, Your Honor. Call center, please admit the first caller.

Caller number 2140. You have three minutes to address the council. Please press star six on mute. Your time starts now. Caller number 2140, please press star six to unmute. We'll go ahead and move on to the next caller. Caller number 1357. You have three minutes to address the council. Please press star six to unmute. Your time starts now.

Hi. Thank you for letting me speak. Please don't fund any more coyote trapping. It's cruel, inhumane, ineffective, and financially wasteful. Spend money on educating the public on coexisting with wildlife and protecting their pets by keeping cats indoors and dogs leashed while on walk. Coyotes are not the evil predators some people make them out to be. Other dogs and cars and sociopaths kill more pets than coyotes do. Thank you.

Sam Ramirez, you have three minutes to address the council. Please press star six to unmute. Your time starts now.

Good evening, Mayor and Council members. My name is Sam Ramirez and I represent Humane Pest Control serving the southern LA County area and surrounding cities. Our work puts us directly in situations where wildlife and people come into conflict. One of the most important things we've learned is that simply removing an animal often does not remove the reason that animal was there in the first place. I'm asking the council to prioritize humane evidence-based prevention and Torrance's coyote management plan. That means addressing attractions such as unsecured garbage, outdoor pet food, and other food sources, educating residents about keeping pets safe, using appropriate hazing to discourage coyotes from becoming comfortable around people, and identifying the conditions that are drawing wildlife into residential areas. We absolutely take public safety and residents' concerns seriously. The lethal removal should not become a substitute for prevention. If food, shelter, and other attractions remain, removing individual animals may leave the same conditions for other coyotes to move into. As humane pest control professionals, our goal is to not ignore wildlife conflicts. It's to solve them in a way that protects people, pets, and wildlife, and reduces the likelihood that problem keeps happening. I encourage the council to adopt a plan that puts prevention, education, responsible human behavior, and humane conflict mitigation first. Thank you.

Caller number 6141. You have three minutes to address the council. Please press star six to unmute. Your time starts now.

Hi, my name is Joanna Touche. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak. And I would just really like my voice to be heard to stop killing these coyotes. It's unnecessary. It's ineffective. I don't want to repeat too much of what everybody else has said, but I would like to say that this has been going on for decades and decades. One very good example of it was Chairman Mao, to go way back in 1958, who decided to get rid of all of the sparrows in China. There was a huge campaign. The result of that was that all of the grain and all the crops in China were killed by insects. And I think that this is what is going to continue. Like, there's no end to the killing of coyotes. They're going to keep coming back. If we do end up massacring them all, it will only affect our environment in a horrible way. So I concur with everyone else. Stop putting money... towards killing and trapping, and put the money towards education. Thank you very much.

Caller number 0338, you have three minutes to address the council. Please press star six to unmute. Your time starts now. Caller number 0338, please press star six to unmute. We'll move on to the next caller. Caller number 2975, you have three minutes to address the council. Please press star six to unmute. Your time starts now.

Good evening, Mayor and members of City Council. This is Randy Filish. Thank you for taking the time to revisit Torrance's coyote management plan. I was here back in 2016, and here we are now in 2026, 10 years later, and over a million dollars later of taxpayer money to kill off our native wildlife. Please take this opportunity to move Torrance in a different direction toward a science-based proactive coexistent model rather than continued reliance on lethal trapping and killing. Just like all other cities have done, as an example, the city of Calabasas, emphasizes education, prevention, understanding coyote behavior, reducing attractants, and protecting pets. The city's coyote management plan specifically emphasizes preventative measures and non-lethal controls. Pasadena is another example, provides another important coyote management plan. It emphasizes public education, enforcement of wildlife feeding laws, reporting and monitoring, and a tiered response to coyote encounters. Pasadena has also expanded its emphasis on outreach, expert input, improved reporting, helping residents protect their properties and pets. Most importantly, I encourage torrents to look carefully at what happens when coyotes are removed indiscriminately. As we all know, scientific literature shows that lethal control can disrupt coyote social structures and can produce a population rebound, rather than providing a lasting solution. The goal should be to reduce the conflicts, protect residents and pets, and teach the community how to coexist safely. Torrance has a real opportunity tonight to save thousands upon thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars while learning from other cities like Calabasas and Pasadena and building a modern coyote management program based on education, science, prevention, targeted response, and coexistence. As Suzanne Hubert said tonight from the Madrona Marsh, we have spent hundreds of thousands amounting to over a million dollars to kill off this wildlife. Please, you are a different council today. Please do the right thing. Thank you.

Caller number three, six, five, nine. You have three minutes to address the council. Please press star six on you. Your time starts now.

Hello, my name is Philip Spear, and I'm asking you, Please vote against rehiring this contractor to trap and kill coyotes because it will only make everything worse around this issue. So please use our tax dollars to help our community coexist safely like so many other cities have done and make compassion part of Torrance's public policy. Calabasas. Los Angeles, Studio City, Pasadena, Santa Monica, Culver City, and most every other city and community in the greater Los Angeles area have stopped funding coyote trapping long ago, and they have chose coexistence. Torrance can follow that example. Calabasas stopped funding coyote trapping many years ago and chose coexistence, and they are doing just fine. Torrance can follow that example. City residents just last week rallied to help Wendy, an injured coyote who made the news. Her story reminds us that our communities care about wildlife. People care about all animals and rejecting killing animals. That's what people want. Protecting people and pets is so much easier than just killing. You can fund practical prevention like all these other cities are doing to cure trash, remove food attractants, help residents protect pets, spend money on educating the public, and provide neighborhoods with better education. So broad trapping programs will not ever guarantee fewer coyotes. Other coyotes will simply, like everyone else has said tonight, they'll just replace those coyotes that have been removed. That's what history shows us. It's best to measure success by fewer verified conflicts using education and compassion like so many other cities have done, not by how many coyotes you killed. Please reject this contract and redirect the money toward a humane, accountable coexistence program like so many other cities have done. Compassion and public safety, those things belong together. Thank you so much.

Caller number 2724. You have three minutes to address the council. Please press star six on you. Time starts now.

Good evening, council members. I want to walk through one detail in the coyote research that I think matters enormously for tonight's vote. Not all removal is equal. And this contract, as far as I can tell, doesn't distinguish between them. Published research on lethal coyote control found something specific. Breeding pairs are responsible for the vast majority of conflict incidents, and removing that particular pair during the window when conflicts are happening can reduce problems. But the same research found that killing coyotes indiscriminately, any coyote caught, not specifically the animals causing trouble, does not produce the same results. New coyotes move in. The vacancy doesn't stay empty. That distinction, targeted versus indiscriminate, is exactly the gap in what's being proposed tonight. contractor paid to trap coyotes generally with no requirement to confirm a trapped animal was actually involved in a specific conflict has no way to guarantee it's removing the right coyote. It may be killing a healthy, non-problem animal that was simply in the wrong place while the coyote actually responsible for a real conflict is never identified at all. I'd ask this council directly, does this contract require confirmation that a trapped and killed coyote was connected to a documented conflict? If not, we're not managing a public safety problem. We're removing animals essentially at random, which the research says doesn't work and which raises real questions about whether this is even an efficient, effective use of the money being spent. If the city wants a program grounded in the actual science, it needs to look like targeted response to confirmed incidents, not routine, not selective trapping across the city year-round. And I would like to question who would actually benefit from this contract were it to pass. Thank you.

Caller number 2140. You have three minutes to address the council. Please press star six to unmute. Your time starts now. Caller number 2140, please press star six. Moving on, caller number 0338, you have three minutes to address the council. Please press star six to unmute. Your time starts now.

Good evening, Mayor Kalani and council members. My name is Camilla Fox, founder and executive director of Project Coyote. I submitted a detailed letter to each of you, which I will recap. We support staff's recommendation that the council considered qualified vendors capable of providing a broader and more targeted wildlife conflict response. Communities like Marin County, where Project Cody is based, provides direct assistance to our county in collaboration with our local wildlife rehab facility and county animal shelter that emphasizes incident investigation, prevention, proactive public education, monitoring, and behavioral intervention when needed. In addition, Rebecca Dimitrix, CEO of Human Wildlife Control, was hired by Belvedere in Marin County in March 2023 to assess rising coyote activity and guide the community on human wildlife interactions. Torrance could and should do the same. Collectively, our organizations provide consistent and proactive public education for the residents of Marin County for more than a decade, ensuring that coyote conflicts are kept to a minimum. In a rare situation where a coyote poses a public safety hazard, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife will step in to provide targeted removal. Every California county can rely on CDFW for targeted removal of a predator, be that a coyote, mountain lion, bobcat, that poses a demonstrable public safety threat, including torrents. Torrance does not need to waste taxpayer dollars to perpetually pay for coyote removal that is not only ultimately ineffective, but increasingly difficult to justify ethically, ecologically, and fiscally. The city's own data do not demonstrate that routine year-round trapping has produced a meaningful reduction in coyotes. In fact, the data demonstrates the status quo is not working. I can already provided our model Coyote co-existence plans to Torrance and we are pleased to see elements of that plan incorporated into your city's Coyote management plan, which already provides the framework for a stronger and more effective approach. Your plan states, quote, it is not economically, ecologically or in other ways efficient to try and eradicate all coyotes from the urban ecosystem. We agree. We also strongly support the plan's stated goal of minimizing human-coyote conflict while prioritizing public safety and fostering coexistence. Florence already has the foundation for a better...

Her time was up. There's another caller. Okay, it seems there's no other callers. We'll bring that back up to the council at this point. And in this situation, I am going to go ahead and go first. I'm gonna make some comments and I just want everyone to hear me out. I don't agree with our current trapper. and I do agree that I think we now have one of the best associates within the city to help us manage through this, and that is Director Ted Stevens. If you could just, again, share with me and the other people here your background and experience with Coyote Management.

Madam Mayor and city council members, Yeah, just a little bit of my past while I was working for the city of Long Beach. For seven years, I was the director of animal care services. And during those seven years, from 2012 to 2019, I managed all the coyotes in that city and four contract cities. So a little population of over 500,000 people in five cities. During that time, I created a GIS mapping system while I was there, which was one of the first of its kind at the time. I helped create kind of one of the first plans, a plan that's very similar to Torrance's now, that was borrowed and used by a lot of other cities, including our cities. So I have a lot of experience. I've probably done 40, 50 or more community meetings and training seminars on coyote issues. So I'm well-versed in dealing with coyote issues throughout my career.

Well, I'm grateful you're here, and I want to thank you for spending quite a bit of time with me earlier today that you spent, because my family is a victim of doing everything right. and letting their beloved dog out in their own backyard, followed by my young grandson and his mother, and a coyote jumped the fence while my daughter's hazing it, screaming at it, grabbed the dog, killed it instantly, tried to get back over the fence with the dog in front of my grandson, and we drove to the vet to have the dog cremated that same night. So they are vicious. And my grandson was probably the same size and weight as the dog. I mean, sorry. Yes, as a dog. So could that coyote have jumped that fence and hurt my grandson that day? During the middle of the day, he had let the dog out to use the restroom before he gave it its birthday bath. So they are not vicious. nice animals, they are not afraid. But I am also a wildlife lover. So I'm gonna be asking my council to take a chance tonight. But in doing so, I would like us to consider a very aggressive education program. I would like us to reserve the funds set aside for a trapper in case we need to re-implement the program. We're past the breeding season, so we have time to educate the community. I'd like for the city to consider implementing an ordinance that will allow us to ticket people or find people for feeding wildlife, all wildlife except hummingbirds because they populate native plants, And they don't hurt anyone. So I think hummingbird feeders are great. But we cannot, there's people that love these killers so much that they feed them. And that is totally unacceptable in our city. And I hope you will agree with me on that. So I think those are my thoughts right now. I wanted to share that with my fellow council members. I wanted to share that with all of you. Spent a lot of time talking to my daughter as well today who's a wildlife veterinarian and we talked about coyotes and I think it's important that we very aggressively manage them, because we have, yes, trapped and euthanized a lot of coyotes over the last few years, and I understand the science behind it, but one thought was all of these coyotes that we trapped and euthanized might make our numbers higher right now, might, might. None of us can predict the future or the past, but We have to watch this. We have a good program that people should be aware of. Our My Torrance CA app on your phone can track coyotes. Coyote sightings are up, we believe, because people are able to report it. So we need to monitor hotspots. We need to have a strong plan in place not to feed them. There's another concern of mine is that we put our food waste now with our composting bin. So we have food that's in a trash can that can be easily opened. So we've got to be careful how that's going to be contributing moving forward to this as well. But having an ordinance so people can't feed wildlife. You know, more squirrels, that's gonna include squirrels because more squirrels, more coyotes. They don't necessarily like squirrels, but if they're hungry enough, they will. Also to monitor the sightings. to reserve the funds should we feel that trapping works and to actually be able to reserve trapping on a case by case basis when an aggressive animal is seen and found. And I hope it's not too late. That's my thoughts right now, thank you. I don't see, oh, Council Member Gerson, thank you.

Mayor, I appreciate what you said. Not in my current home, but in a former home, my previous one, also in Torrance. There was a local street known as the Cat Street. And the person who lived there, I think, honestly thought they were doing something good. And they were feeding a lot of feral cats. But when I watched, there was a pecking order. Coyotes did come eat. And then after the coyotes ate, then came the raccoons. And the cats got to go last after each. I actually saw a skunk standing on the lawn waiting for the other animal to finish because it was next in line. And so it was interesting to watch the wild pecking order. Your last comment, I wasn't quite sure where you were going with the beginning ones. My thoughts were originally that just as most humans are really nice to other humans, but there are some... ones who inflict harm on others and we need to have rules for that and processes of dealing with that. And most animals are, you know, even amongst dogs, you know, wonderful and great companions. But upon occasion, you know, you come across one that was misraised, perhaps, and a bit violent toward humans, and so I agree with you that I don't want to see the program completely disappear, but I do agree with the presentation that we need an as-needed basis, that we address those who are not afraid of humans, and as the mayor described, who are vicious, and and try and balance out the needs to make sure that we are ultimately protecting residents and their family members in the city. I appreciate that you want to bring forward an ordinance that we can address those who are feeding wild animals and making it more difficult for those of us to scare off wild animals because they feel too comfortable having been fed by some of us. So I appreciate what you brought and look forward to what that ordinance might look like. and I am looking forward to significantly reducing our program. I would just, I'm looking at it as an as needed basis. Thank you.

Thank you. Council Member Kartzonis.

Thank you, Mayor Kalani. And actually, I need to apologize to you first, because you were one of the two members of this body that I spoke to about this before. And you told me your story. And to be fair, it happened when I was six. So it wasn't on the front of my mind, but I had a very similar story to yours growing up. A small Sheltie named Pepper, beloved dog of our family, was mauled and torn apart. But that was done by an Akita, not by a coyote. So there are all sorts of situations that can happen. And it was a very similar situation. It was in the backyard, gated area. We totally felt that this was a safe environment, and it ended up not being that way. I do have a few questions actually for our General Services Department Director. Are there any legal requirements to maintaining animals around the airport?

Around the perimeter of the airport or on the grounds itself?

On the grounds itself.

The airport is treated just like the rest of the city, whereas if there's coyotes reported, we work with Ted's team and the trapping team, and it's treated just like any other part of the city since it's public property.

Got it. So it would only be if there was a specific situation. We're not legally required to continue trapping on the airport. That's correct. Got it. Okay. That was what I had thought, but I wanted to make sure. Okay. Mr. Stevens, we had a brief conversation about this earlier as well, but can you just elaborate? We're not legally allowed. Can you tell us where we're legally allowed to trap?

Yes. Thank you, Council Member. Ted Stevens, Community Services Director. Yeah, we're legally allowed to trap on our city property. And if we are within 150 yards of any dwellings or homes or anywhere where people live or habitat, we have to get permission and approval from people that live in that building.

Got it. So currently... there are very, very, very limited locations that we can trap, that we are trapping. And can I just ask you to confirm some of the science that we heard in regards to, and a lot of this is rhetorical questions, but the rebound effect that we heard, that's established.

Yeah, there have been some studies that have demonstrated in the past. I know one at least in Denver where they've shown that coyotes that are removed from an area, as long as there's still resources available, if trapping and removing is done, that sometimes litter sizes will increase. There's also the potential, as someone mentioned, one of the alpha male or female is removed or trapped or killed or removed in another way, that the other females within that family unit could start reproducing, which normally they would not. So you could potentially have more females reproducing rather than just the alpha female. So there's that and then even just if coyotes are removed, there's other coyotes in surrounding areas that will move into that undefended territory.

Got it. Thank you. And then regarding the wildlife feeding, currently it's a misdemeanor is my understanding.

Yeah, there is a state law that would make it a misdemeanor. I got to look. I think there may be some L.A. County Title 10 code that we may be able to enforce administratively, so.

that's the case we may not have to come back to this body with the muni code update we may be able to enforce title 10 administratively but I gotta look into that to be sure I'll touch base with the city attorney okay but for anybody listening if you know if we were to move forward with something that that made this an infraction made it easier for you for your team to have teeth when you're telling people not to do something that we know is detrimental to what we're trying to do as a city We usually are education forward warning forward not penalizing people could you just just elaborate on that how how you would see something like this going forward.

Sure councilmember yes I think education is always going to be the key is to try to get voluntary compliance and that comes with any of our codes whether it's licensing or rabies vaccinations but. Certainly with wildlife feeding as well, I think sometimes people don't understand. They think they're doing a good thing, and we try to explain to them what the negative effects are of that feeding. And so, yeah, education is always our first and foremost. Enforcement would be our last, kind of our last discharge effort.

Okay. And then I think the last question I have is that there are different tiers of interactions, I guess, the orange or red tiers. What would be a response to an orange tier or red tier?

Well, thankfully, I'm looking at that right now, Councilmember. So I can read for you the response to a level orange. And a level orange is an incident where there's an attended or unattended domestic animal loss or a coyote biting or injuring or killing an unattended pet. And the response, it says several level orange incidents in the same general area may indicate the presence of habituated coyotes. So the response would be education and aggressive hazing needed and public awareness of incidents and circumstances discussed. If multiple level orange incidents have occurred in the same vicinity within a short amount of time, lethal removal will be conducted if the area is conducive to trapping.

Okay. So in a situation like Pierre Kalani's, how would we respond as a city to something like that?

Well, I think one would be, you know, fully documenting and understanding the circumstances and then looking to see if we've had any other, if we've got a coyote rising to that level, Generally, there will be other issues in the neighborhood. So we could canvas the neighborhood, talk to other neighbors. Have you seen, are you having issues with this coyote? And try to understand if there is, in fact, a habituated coyote that's a problem.

Got it. Okay. You know, it's sort of a... hypothetical but you know if we were to get rid of regular trapping it doesn't necessarily mean that it's going to be the wild west out there for you know whatever happens we don't care anymore it's still going to be taken seriously and actually maybe more even more resources will be available to take it seriously yes i i i can concur with that thank you thank you mayor thank you council member shek

Thank you, Mayor. I also want to thank you for the presentation. That was important information. Thank you for sharing. And also, thank you for sharing your stories, both of you. And also, I understand that you are very passionate about wildlife as well. Thank you for sharing your story. And Director Stevens, it's good to have you on board for the City of Torrance with a vast experience. Very helpful. And thank you for sharing your experience. Couple questions from the staff and then to you. How many traps do we have in the city of Torrance?

Ted Stevens, community service director. Just understand how many traps are set currently right now. I actually touched base with our current trapper the other day and I believe we had four total snare traps. And But that number does vary depending on what's going on. But right now, that's how many we have.

But on an average, yes, you're right. It's about four traps in the entire city of Torrance. And looking at the data in, just gonna go at 23, 24, we had sightseeing 283, and it increased about 50%, 45% sightseeing to 24, 25 to 436. Right, so about 45% increase in sightseeing.

That's correct, yeah. Looking at the numbers, that looks correct.

And then when I look at the information that you're providing us, you're gathering us that the coyotes captured almost the same from 28 in 23-24 and same in 24-25. Yes. No change. However, The non-trap to carry on coyotes has gone down from seven to two. We had seven in 23, 24 and now in 24, 25 too. Do you think the coyotes are getting smart to see where the traps are?

One thing I do know about coyotes is they are very adaptable to living in cities and so Yes, I've seen, I've heard reports of coyotes running on the side of the road in bike lanes over bridges in Long Beach when I was there. So, yes, that is possible.

And how much money are we spending on this?

Currently, our contract is just under $80,000 a year. That's correct.

So by looking at how much we trapped, we're basically spending about $4,000 to trap one coyote, roughly. $180,000, and we trapped 28. It's about, you know.

I'm sorry, $80,000. $180,000. No, $80,000 per year.

Oh, so are you doing multiple? It's $80,000 per year.

I'm sorry. It's not $150,000? No, I think that's our overall budget because we have a part-time staff assigned to us. I think our overall budget for the program is around there, but $80,000 of that goes towards the trapping contract.

Right, but that includes everything. The entire amount is $150,000. Right, for the whole program, yes. So $150,000 divided by 28, we're spending about $5,000, $6,000 per trap, if I'm not mistaken, right?

Yeah.

Right, I'm just...

Yeah, I mean, like I said, the staff person that we have is assigned to the educational part. So she mostly handles the education. She writes the articles. She manages and calls people when they have reports and things like that.

So how can we engage or get help from CDFW, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife? What can we get from them? Because lots of cities, they use them. Any kind of wildlife...

I'm not aware of them doing any lethal removals unless there is an attack on a human.

Do they do any abatement and knowledge in education transfer to the?

Not that I'm aware of, at least not for cities that I'm aware of.

How much are we educating our community?

We do several articles. We do articles in almost every week's newsletter. We do social media posts. We have our website up. But we'll look at more ways. I like the idea of potentially putting together a video before our movie's in the park and things like that. I'd love to partner with the Madrona Marsh. They're wanting to do educational seminars for the public, so I'm open to any and all help. Thank you.

Do you think our education is not as much aggressive as it should be?

Actually, having a dedicated person to it is actually pretty good, because like I said, when people call and they have concerns, she calls, she spends time with them, she educates them, she sends them materials. So, I mean, she is limited in her availability as far as she's part-time, but she does a good job of talking to people and educating them. But we can always do more.

Right, but I was referring to proactive education, like even pre-active education. Before anything happens, do we distribute any material? Do we have any park and rec commission to educate the people, community? Do we have anything like that?

Again, Council Member, I believe we are pretty proactive in putting articles out. Like I said, they're in our newsletter. They're in our newsletter almost every week. And then we do additional information we put out there and So we are proactive in getting the information out there.

Well, thank you. I think what I'm trying to say is that hearing the stories from the mayor and you, it's definitely a concern. But I think, importantly, we need to start educating and be more aggressive how we can educate to the community what should they be doing to help us and help them. With that, I think... Well, I agree with the mayor that we need to spend more time and possibly have an ordinance to basically, probably is a strong word, to punish the people that don't obey the ordinance and possibly tell them that you will be cited or there will be citation if you don't take care of the food and don't leave on the porch and stuff like that. I think rather than spending five, six thousand per coyote, that probably material we can use citywide that can probably go a long way. Thank you.

Thank you, Council Member Kartzonis. You were ahead.

Thank you, Joanna, for sharing your story. And I really, I agree with you. I think the ordinance will be a great idea. I think that it is very, based on all the presentation, answers to questions, and the public's comments, I think it's very reasonable that we eliminate the regular practice of trapping and euthanizing coyotes. But I just, a few things. One of the things that I want is that we confirm, Director Stephens, that if there are attack cases or cases of fatalities for our pets, that we will still be able to go out there and we'll be able to track that specific coyote to euthanize. I think there shouldn't be any trapping anymore. But if there are attacks, are we able to track down those specific coyotes?

Good evening, Councilmember. Good question. It's kind of outlined in our management plan, as I read for Councilmember Kartzonis. We do still have the ability within our policy if we hit certain thresholds. The challenge would be, depending on where the coyote is, where we're having the issues, is finding an appropriate location that we could set a trap. Now, again, if the attack is on a human, we won't have to worry about it because Fish and Wildlife will handle it, but And in a case where like what the mayor has, it could be difficult. I can't guarantee that we'll be able to trap in that area. We will certainly try. But we can also ramp up our education door to door, canvas, talk to the neighbors. and see if we can somehow address it a different way through some proactive hazing or identifying if the coyotes are being fed somewhere, because often that is what happens. So I can't always guarantee that we'll be able to trap, but the ability will be in the policy to trap. So we would have the authority based on our current policy if we were able. Does that answer your question?

Yeah, somewhat. You're saying that you are not sure whether or not you'll be able to track the specific animal that might have attacked a human person or so. I understand that, and I also agree that the most important thing that we can do is to educate the public on this. That's better money spent than going around euthanizing coyotes. If it does happen, if there is an attack on a human person by a coyote, which I don't anticipate, would it be a per coyote cost kind of thing by those contractors?

If there's a bite on a human, I'm sorry, Council Member, I didn't mean to cut you off. If there's a bite on a human, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife will intervene and they will locate the coyote and kill it, and they will kill until they can match the DNA. They actually take the DNA from the bite on the human, get that DNA. When they look for the coyote in that area and they kill one, they will match up the DNA to confirm, because they want to make sure that they get the coyote that was involved in the bite. So they take, and that doesn't cost us anything. That's something that the Department of Fish and Wildlife will do.

That would be wonderful, especially that. I was an Environmental Quality and Energy Conservation Commissioner here in Torrance for 11 years, long time ago. And back then we had a problem with feral cats. And I understand that back then, what the right thing to do is not to trap cats and euthanize them, but rather do the TNR practice, the Trap, Neuter, and Release program. Do you think something like that would not help the coyote population? Um, is that still a practice that happens?

TNR is definitely still practiced. There are a lot of people that do it. Um, I think the issue when it comes to TNR, uh, as like council member Gerson mentioned is people that just put food out and just leave big bag. They'll just come and dump food everywhere that they think they're feeding the cats. They're actually feeding everything. Um, the way I handled that in long beach was we would identify who those feeders were and we would, educate them and instruct them like put the food when the cats come put the food down whatever the cats eat in 30 minutes that's it if they don't eat it all it goes away you can't just leave food laying on the ground because it attracts skunks possums coyotes raccoons oh absolutely and everything else and so there's a proper way to feed cats now as far as cats being free roaming Once a cat is free-roaming and outdoors, it's part of the food web. So...

Right. This is not what I'm asking for.

Okay. I'm sorry.

You're actually going off on cats. I'm just talking about the trap, neuter, and release program. Yeah. Obviously, we really should not be leaving food out where coyotes can be coming. I don't mean for the public to go trap these coyotes with their food. I'm just thinking where or not a program that we had here many years ago would also work to do the TNR method. Or it doesn't, or the science and data show that it doesn't.

I apologize, Councilmember, you were wanting to TNR the coyotes.

Yes.

Okay.

I don't want to talk about cats.

I'm sorry. I misunderstood, I apologize. To my knowledge, I'm not aware of that being tried anywhere. And I don't know what the, I mean, I'll do some research on that. I've never heard of that happening. I don't know what would happen, honestly, because I don't know that it's been studied. But I will do some research on that. But I'm not aware of that. I don't know what those impacts would be.

Well, I think the easiest thing is just to stop this program that we have to regularly trap and euthanize these poor animals who were here before we were. And educating the public is important in terms of learning how to coexist with them, learning about how we should be hazing them and what hazing actually means to a lot of people. And so I see that we're gonna go forward with more education. One suggestion I have besides a person answering the phone call or complaints about coyotes is that maybe we can utilize our very popular social media, have just maybe one reel or so during the season, the breeding season or whatnot. to show people how or what hazing means, what they should do if they encounter coyotes. Do you think we can do that?

Sure.

Yeah, I believe we can do that.

That would be great.

Councilman, City Manager, we made content in the past. We'll be able to leverage that.

Yeah, maybe you can recycle them.

Absolutely.

Yeah, once in a while, because I haven't seen any of them lately. Sure. What is the season when coyotes come out? Yeah.

Uh, so right now we're actually heading into what they call it kind of the dispersal season, which is where they'll start kind of leaving the older ones in the family units. We'll start going out and looking for territories. And then around December, January, they'll start kind of pairing up and getting ready to mate. Um, and then they'll mate somewhere January, usually February, have their pups in the spring. Um, So that's kind of their life cycle. And then they'll raise their pups throughout the spring and summer.

Good to know. Thank you. In my district, which is the hillside area, there are, I believe there are more sightings than other places. And so this is good to know that the season coming up next and maybe now is the time to educate the public, send out those social media reels so everyone would know what to do. and not train the coyotes to be comfortable with humans.

I agree. Councilwoman, I'll be following up with our team.

Good. Thank you. OK.

Council Member Lue? Yes. Thank you. Council Member Kartzonis.

Thank you, Mayor Kalani. Just two quick, probably rhetorical questions. And I ask this not because part of the city is more important than the other part. I guess sort of going along with what Council Member Lue said. Based on the sightings that we have been tracking, are we seeing higher numbers in the north than in the south part of Torrance? Is it pretty much equal across?

I'm gonna be honest with you a council member I don't I don't have that data, but we are working on that with IT at this very moment I met with them a few weeks back and we'll be creating a Map that you'll be able to see where all the sightings and stuff are so we'll have that information soon I know we're working on the map and I'm excited to see that I will say this is before I was before I was elected I did have someone asked me about it and I looked it up and

at least at the time that I got information last, looking like it's pretty similar in the north as it is in the south. There's not specific high numbers in the north part of the city versus the south part of the city. And the reason I ask that is because, and like I said, a rhetorical question, over the last two years, have we been doing any trapping within the city of Torrance north of Carson Boulevard?

I do not believe so, no.

Okay. So all the trappings happening in the south part of the city and we're not necessarily seeing enormous numbers of coyotes in the north part of Torrance and dwindling numbers in the south part of Torrance. Just to go to the question of how effective really is trapping. Sorry, it was a rhetorical question. It was even more rhetorical than I meant for it to be. Thank you.

Any other questions? All right, I would like to make a motion. I'd like to make a motion that we accept and file the Coyote Management Plan 2526, that we not renew the contract with the current trapper, that we review the ability to enforce penalties for people that feed wildlife and or create an ordinance. That we reserve the funds that are currently in the budget should we need to reinstate trapping or trap on a case-to-case basis. That we increase the education significantly, including the possibility of hiring an expert to help us step up the education for now. that we add to our site a link to coyote protective gear that does exist now that you can put on your dog or your cat so that hopefully that would help if we run into the situation. Not that people are required to use it, but we educate them on it existing. and that we possibly use some of the funds that we're saving to include possibly a citywide mailer because there's just some people that still say that they don't get information even though we offer Facebook and Instagram and Twitter and websites and torrents alerts and everything else we possibly can. That would be my motion if anybody else wants to change it or.

Can we add to reevaluate this in a year and see if?

That's a great suggestion, that we watch our numbers, we continue to encourage people to track sightings on the MyTorrents app, and we reevaluate it in one year.

Thank you, if you could please add that into your motion. Thank you. All right, I second your motion.

Start voting, please. Your Honor, that carried unanimously.

Thank you, thank you everyone. Okay, moving on to item 10B from General Services and Community Service to discuss and provide direction on the construction bid and funding for the World War II Japanese American Incarceration Monument. And I just want to welcome Assemblymember Aomarasuchi to our council chamber. Thank you for joining us tonight. Is there a presentation from staff?

Yes. Good evening, honorable mayor, members of the city council. Crystal Colarubias, senior business manager with the community services department. Tonight's agenda item 10b seeks your honorable body's direction on how to move forward with the construction and funding approach for the World War II Japanese American incarceration monument project at Columbia Park. Staff is also recommending authorization to request an extension of the state grant performance period and approval of the proposed donation and donor recognition policy to support external fundraising efforts. To provide context for the decisions before council this evening, I'll start with a brief overview of the project and its progression to the competitive bid process. Next slide, please. The project was initiated following a $5 million state grant allocation secured by Assemblymember Alma Rizzucci through Senate Bill 170 in 2021. Administered by the California Natural Resources Agency, the grant supports development of a memorial intended to educate the public on the history and impact of the mass incarceration of Japanese Americans without due process during World War II. In April 2023, the city accepted the grant and approved Columbia Park as the project site. Under the grant agreement, at least $4 million is dedicated to the design and construction of the project, with up to $1 million available for supporting infrastructure and site improvements. In December, 2024, the city awarded the design and construction administration agreement to Chi Silette, who has worked with the advisory committee and city staff to develop a design centered on remembrance, reflection, and education. In April, 2025, city council approved the schematic design and authorized staff to proceed with the construction plans and specifications. Next slide, please. At that time, the estimated project cost was approximately $10 million, resulting in an anticipated funding shortfall of approximately $5 million. To allow the project to continue advancing while external funding opportunities were pursued, an additional $5 million in general fund resources was approved as part of the fiscal year 2025-26 operating budget and capital improvement plan. This established the current project budget of $10 million. Next slide, please. With the construction documents substantially complete, the city advertised the project for competitive bidding in March of this year. Four bids were received at the June 25th bid closing, with all four exceeding the available project budget. In response to the bid results, staff worked with the design consultant and bidders to better understand the factors contributing to the difference between the earlier project estimate and the pricing received through the competitive market. That review identified several significant cost drivers, including the custom granite walls, specialty stone paving, supporting site infrastructure, and current market conditions. Subcontractor and supplier pricing also reflected higher labor, material, fabrication, shipping, and procurement costs than anticipated in the design estimate. Based on the bid results, staff has identified three options for council's consideration this evening. Next slide, please. The first option is to proceed with the project as currently designed and complete the remaining steps toward construction contract award. This would maintain the current project scope and provide the most direct path toward construction. Based on the bids received, anticipated project contingency, and design costs incurred to date, staff estimates that an additional $7.1 to $8 million would be required to complete the project as designed. Staff is currently completing its review to identify the lowest responsible bidder. If council directs staff to proceed with this option, staff would finalize that review and return to council at a future meeting with the recommended construction contract award, final funding requirement, and necessary appropriation. Next slide, please. The second option is to reject all bids and re-engage Chisolette to identify opportunities to reduce construction costs while preserving the project's primary purpose and historical significance. This would require revisions to the design and construction documents, resulting in additional design costs and impacts to the project schedule. If Council selects this option, staff would return with the proposed amendment to the design consultant agreement for the necessary redesign work. Once the revised construction documents are complete, the project would be advertised through a new competitive bid process. The amount of additional funding ultimately required under this option would not be known until the revised design is completed and the new bids are received. Next slide, please. The third option is to reject the current bids and defer construction while additional funding opportunities are pursued. This would allow the city to retain the existing design and potentially re-advertise the project if sufficient funding becomes available. However, both the timing and ultimate cost would remain uncertain as construction costs may change during the deferral period and a new competitive bid process would be required before construction could proceed. A prolonged deferral could also place the $5 million state grant at risk if the project cannot be completed within a performance period approved by the California Natural Resources Agency. Next slide, please. Given the bid results, the decisions now required regarding construction and funding, and anticipated weather-related delays, the project's previously anticipated completion date of December 2027 is no longer achievable. Staff therefore recommends requesting an extension of the state grant performance period through February 1, 2029. The extension would provide sufficient time to implement council's direction, complete any necessary design and procurement activities, construct the monument project, and satisfy the state's grant closeout requirements. If authorized, staff will submit the formal extension request to the California Natural Resources Agency for consideration. Next slide, please. The final action before your honorable body is approval of the proposed donation and donor recognition policy. In parallel with the construction process, staff has been developing an external fundraising strategy to support construction of the project. As part of those efforts, staff recommends establishing a formal framework for the acceptance, administration, expenditure, and recognition of voluntary monetary contributions. The proposed policy would authorize the city manager or designee to accept qualifying monetary donations without requiring separate council approval for each contribution. It would also establish a city-controlled donor recognition panel with physical recognition beginning at $100,000 and additional recognition levels at $250,000, $500,000, and $1 million or more. Importantly, all donor recognition would remain under city control. Contributions would not confer naming, advertising, promotional, ownership, procurement, or decision-making rights related to the project. Anonymous donations would also be permitted, and the city would retain final authority over the design, wording, placement, and continued display of donor recognition. If approved, the proposed policy would establish clear parameters for both the city and prospective donors and allow staff to move forward with external fundraising efforts, including the potential retention of a specialized fundraising consultant. Next slide, please. Lastly, the actions before council this evening, including potential modifications to the project design, remain consistent with the project's previously determined categorical exemptions under CEQA guidelines. Accordingly, no additional environmental review is required at this time. Next slide, please. In closing, the project has advanced through design and competitive bidding, and the bid process has established the current market costs to construct the project as designed. Therefore, staff recommend that your honorable body provide direction on the construction bid and funding approach for the World War II Japanese American Incarceration Monument project, authorize staff to request a formal extension from the California Natural Resources Agency of the grant performance period to February 1, 2029, and approve the proposed donation and donor recognition policy. Based on Council's direction this evening, staff will proceed with the appropriate next steps and return to Council as necessary for any subsequent contract, funding, or project approvals. That concludes staff's presentation. The project team is available to answer any questions your honorable body may have. Thank you.

Thank you very much for your presentation. It was very thorough, and I appreciate it. Deputy city clerk, has anyone signed up to speak?

No, your honor.

Okay, we've had no one sign up to speak, but if you'd like to address the council, please step up to the mic and you'll have three minutes.

Mayor, as part of the presentation, one of the initial people and the first funder of the project, maybe he could be included in the presentation?

Sure, of course. Did you want to step up first to the mic, Assemblymember?

Assemblymember, as a presenter, would you please come?

Actually, I appreciate the offer, Councilmember Gerson, but I wanted to defer. You know, the project was started as a dream and vision of Kanji Sahara, a longtime Torrance resident, and we have Kanji's granddaughter, Nicole Tang, here, and so I wanted to defer. I can actually speak at the end, whatever the mayor and council would like.

It's up to you, sir.

Okay. With your permission, I'd like to defer to Nicole Tang.

Hello, my name is Nicole Tang, and my grandpa, Kanji Sahara, was a longtime resident of Torrance until he passed away in February of 2025. During World War II, Kanji, along with his parents and siblings and many, many others, more than 125,000 in total, were unjustly incarcerated and put into camp. During his life, Kanji was dedicated to educating everyone, and his dream was to build a World War II camp wall memorial in Torrance, inscribed with the names of those who were denied their freedom during the war because of their ancestry. Kanji got strong support from the local community and he reached out to assembly member Alma Ritsuchi to support this project. In 2021, the assembly member was able to secure and deliver 5 million in state funding for this project. I also want to acknowledge and thank the city of Torrance for strongly endorsing this project and committing an additional 5 million to it. It has been five years since the state allocated the funds. Since then, my grandpa has passed and his 95 year old sister is now the only remaining camp survivor left in my family. With every passing day, the remaining survivors of the World War II camps are dwindling in numbers. During this time, it has been personally expressed to me by my grandpa and other survivors of the World War II camps how hopeful they were to see this project built in their lifetime. Time is of the essence. Thank you for putting together a concrete plan and timetable for a groundbreaking. We need to move this project forward to show the community that this is real, that we are committed, and that the memorial will be built. My grandpa really looked forward to the day he could find and touch his name on the World War II camp wall. It is too late for him, but my hope is that the project will be finished in time for other survivors to find and touch their own names. Thank you.

Thank you very much.

Good evening, Mayor and council members and city staff. California Assemblymember Al Murthichi proudly representing Torrance and the South Bay. First, I want to thank the City of Torrance and all of you for your strong support and commitment from the get-go for this project. I think it's really testament to who the community of Torrance is. in embracing its diversity, embracing its history, and really stepping up, making concrete commitments to support this project. As Kanji Sahara's granddaughter, Nicole, just shared with you, I just wanted to quickly recap that this was the original dream and vision of Kanji. longtime Torrance resident, retired aerospace engineer, and someone who, like 125,000 other Japanese Americans who were wrongfully incarcerated during World War II, he was put in an American concentration camp in Jerome, Arkansas. And So, you know, he was the one that came to me and asked for state support to help kickstart this project. I was able to get that $5 million in the state budget allocated to start this project. But clearly, you know, this is a partnership between the state and the city of Torrance. And we can only get this done with the city's ongoing support. We know that the original goal for Kanji and for myself was to have Kanji at that ribbon cutting for the completion of the project. As Nicole just shared, Kanji unfortunately passed away last year. And that just highlights the urgency, that time is of the essence. The bottom line is we need to complete this project while we still have as many survivors of the World War II camps still with us. And so that is why I appreciate the meeting that we had, the Zoom meeting that we had yesterday with you, Mayor, and Councilman Shaikh, in which this Columbia Park project is located in your district. as well as all the city staff. I just want to say, from my perspective, I know that we had a conversation about whether we should look at redesigning the project to try to address some of these cost concerns. We talked about the pros and cons of that. I just want to say that Again, this is a partnership. I'm prepared to do everything in my power to continue to work with the city of Torrance to get this project done. I'm also fully committed to supporting with your fundraising, your ongoing fundraising efforts to get this project done. Bottom line, I want to thank you, Mayor, and the entire City Council and all of the city staff for being such solid supporters of this project. And I'm here to continue to work with you to get this done for the people who are still with us, who are in the camps. Thank you.

Thank you, sir.

Good evening, Mayor and members of the City Council. My name is Stacey Toda, and I'm honored to be here tonight representing the World War II Japanese American Incarceration Monument Advisory Group. I'd also like to recognize my fellow advisory group members, Russell Akiyama, Lisa Akiyama Robinson, Priscilla Ochida, and Pastor Allison Mark, who are here with us tonight, both in the audience and virtually. And as a quick reminder, we proudly serve as your advisory committee for this project. After much thoughtful discussion and consideration, our group voted unanimously to recommend moving forward with option number one. I also want to say thank you to everyone who's dedicated their time, expertise, and heart to this important project. We're especially grateful to Assemblymember Murtsuchi for his advocacy for securing $5 million from the state and to the city of Torrance for its generosity and commitment for funding the additional $5 million as needed. But most importantly, there is urgency behind this project. As you've already heard, every day that passes, we risk losing another member of our Japanese-American community who endured the injustice of incarceration during World War II. We want them to have the opportunity to see this monument become a reality and to know that their experience, their resilience, and their stories will never be forgotten. We respectfully urge the City Council to help move this project forward with as few delays as possible and to support option number one. Thank you. Thank you.

My name is Kay Oda and I'm a board member of the Tunic Canyon Coalition Detention Center. And I'm speaking on behalf of myself. On December 7, 1941, the day of the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Japanese, German, and Italian immigrants were arrested. One of our board members was picked up 10 o'clock at night on December 7 by the FBI for no reason legally. It is the position of most civil rights group that we represent a symbol for all injustices have done in the world. So this monument would be not only a memorial to those incarcerated, but all people everywhere now and in the past, in the future. So let it be known that we represent, we're a symbol of all injustices, and that's what we fight for. Our motto is never let it happen again. So we want this to be a symbol that people recognize that Injustices are the world, and the way to combat it is through education, as previously mentioned in other topics today. We think that education will help reduce prejudice, and hopefully we get the word to the world. Thank you.

Hello. Mayor Kalani, Council of People. My name is Alvin Takamori. I'm president of the Guardian Valley Japanese Cultural Institute, and I'm a board member of the World War II Camp Wall organization, but I'm speaking just for myself personally. I want to thank you for the support of this project, and I know that that the thousands of Japanese people who were affected by the incarceration, as Nicole pointed out, the majority of people whose names would go on this monument have already passed, and that there is a small percentage remaining So it is really important that this project be expedited and delaying it with getting new bids and so forth. I'm concerned about that. So whatever can be done to speed up this process, I think, would be really important. This project is not just for the Japanese-American community. It's an important lesson for everyone on the consequences of extreme racial prejudice and a reminder to all citizens now and in the future of how fragile our rights as American citizens really are. And I think there's incredible value in this monument, and I really hope that it gets moved forward as quickly as possible. Thank you.

Thank you, sir.

Hi, my name is Jenny Chamory. Thank you, mayor and council members. I really, on an emotional level, my parents were incarcerated. Their families were incarcerated. And I want you to understand that time is of the essence. Because just even in torrents, You have Kanji Sahara, who has passed. You have Iko Kiriyama, who has passed. These have been giant people in our community that have been role models for us. And they wanted to see this project done. And they won't be able to. Yes, their families will be able to. But you know, we're all getting older. My mother will not be able to see it. She's passed. Bob Nakamura, I can give you a list of names within a year of the people have passed. Richard Katsuda's mother, who was 106, just died a couple of weeks ago. who will not be able to see this. And we have all been waiting for this to happen, to see it, because we need to make sure that history does not repeat itself, even though we know that it already is. We also need this project to educate others so that prejudice And people will be able to learn from it so that they will understand that even though there are differences in our ethnicities, there are similarities and our histories are the same. And I really, really hope that you take this into consideration because it is a project not just for the Japanese American community. It is a project for the American community so that people can learn from each other what has happened to us so that it does not happen again. Thank you.

Thank you.

Good evening, Mayor Kalani, council members, and city staff. Thank you for taking the time to work on this tonight. I'm Nancy Hayata, president of the World War II Camp Wall. If anyone's worked on this project for a long time, it's me. I worked with Kanji prior to him getting funding through the Assemblymen. The Assemblymen? Raise more money than we ever dreamt that we'd ever get it's not easy to find a million five million dollars these days The city gratefully guaranteed another five million so this project could continue I don't know where you stand in in fundraising towards replacing that city budget, but now we're looking at another seven to eight million and I think you're leaning towards a donor wall to help fund that and keep the project going and I know walking into this, we had an emergency meeting yesterday to talk about the project and decided that we liked option two where we scale back and just get this thing built. I personally have an uncle who was in camp that passed away last week. I have another uncle that I was supposed to visit today who's on his last leg, was in four different hospitals last week. He was in camp and I couldn't go visit him today because I wanted to be here. This is really important. Since the time that Kanji and I started working on this and Tuna Canyon, it was originally a Tuna Canyon concept. We've come so far, and yet we're so far away. And like everybody said, I think the important thing now is to get this monument built. My mother will be 97 this year. She's 96 now. And from day one, I just really wanted her to see her name on this monument. But I think the most moving thing is to watch her looking at my dad's name. My dad passed in 2011. to see her look at his name. And for so many of us here today that have relatives that were in camp, it's so important. So thank you for all your support over the years. And we, as the camp wall, are here. We want to build that educational program so that, as Kay mentioned, Kay Ota mentioned, This is an education. It's very important to teach from this monument as well. It was a moment, a very, very sad moment in history and should never be repeated. And that's what we want to do is teach the wrongdoing, the camp life, what happened in camp, so that everybody can learn from that. But we are here to help. It's now a city project. We are here to help you. We want to see this built. Thank you.

Thank you. Anyone else in council chambers that wish to speak on this item, please step up. I see none. So we'll now take remote participants. Callers can press star 9 to raise their hand. Staff, is there anyone that would like to speak?

Your Honor, I'm not seeing anyone raising their hand. Just kidding. Caller number eight, or excuse me, 5815. You have three minutes to address the council. Please press star six to unmute. Your time starts now. Caller number 5815, please press star six to unmute.

Your Honor, I'm not seeing anyone raising their hand. Just kidding. Caller number 5815, you have three minutes to address the council. Please press star 6 to unmute. Your time starts now.

Hello. My name is Priscilla Ochida. I'm submitting a public comment on item 10B.

Caller number 5815, please press star 6 to unmute. Your time is now up.

Your Honor, Danny Santana, City Manager's Office. If the viewer from home can please mute their TV and proceed with communicating to the Mayor and Council and Community, please.

Caller number 5815, if you've muted your background, you can press star six to unmute.

Hello? The monument pays homage to the men, women, and children who are unconstitutionally detained and will be a reminder of the need to preserve every citizen's constitutional rights. The advisory committee, of which I'm a member, has worked diligently to ensure survivors will be able to see their names on the monument. They have paid for the right to see their names for the loss of their freedom. Every year, we're losing a significant number of survivors. Even those who were young adults in 1942 are over the age of 100. I can understand the City Council's concern about the project's funding gap. The Japanese American Citizens League is in the process of signing an agreement with the City of Torrance to raise funding for the monument and to address the current funding shortfall. The JCL has a national membership. We are also reaching out to other resources to ensure funding for the project. The JCL is raising funding solely for the construction of the monument. and it's not diverting funding for other purposes relating to the monument. I urge your approval of option one to ensure the monument is completed by the end of 2027 and want to confirm that you have the support of the community in ensuring that the project is fully funded. Thank you. This is Pristova Ochida, who is a member of the World War II Japanese American and Conservation Monument Advisory Committee.

Thank you. Is there anyone else? No, Your Honor. Okay, we'll go ahead and bring it back to the council. I wanted to start by saying that this is a very important project to the city of Torrance. The city council has been working very hard to move forward with the World War II Japanese American Incarceration Monument. With the $5 million already secured, the city council agreed last year to also support the monument with $5 million that we would work with the community to fundraise to bring back. Our challenge now, and I wanna make sure people understand, is that we are now short another seven to eight million dollars that we'll be asking the city council to once again secure because we understand how important this monument is to the community and to our nation and in some cases to the world. We believe that it is an opportunity to educate, it's an opportunity to remember and very, very important to us. So if this does move forward tonight, I am going to ask now for the community to pull together to tell everyone, to let people know that we need to come together as a community to make this happen. So with that said, I know that Council Member Kartzonis has also clicked in. Would you like to speak, sir?

Yes, I would. Thank you, Mayor Kalani. I want to have several thoughts about this and several things I want to say. The Honorable former Assemblyman and former Councilman George Nakano, I'm blessed and honored to be a friend of his. He's been a mentor of mine for many, many years, and over the last decade and a half, two decades, I've had the opportunity to hear his stories and everything he went through. And I think it's so important for us as a community to remember what happened and ensure that it never happens again. Eight or nine years ago, I was a Parks and Recreation Commissioner for the City of Torrance. And I believe that was the first body that this was actually brought to. I remember Ms. Hayata and Mr. Sahara coming and speaking to us in the early, early, early days of what was, I think you recall, the camp wall at the time. And I remember saying, thinking this was a fantastic, fantastic idea. It would be fantastic for not only our community, but the region, the entire country, the world, as the mayor had said. And it's something that our commission wholeheartedly supported, and we're excited to see moving forward. I... was very sad to hear that Kanji did not make it to be actually there and see the unveiling himself. I really regret that this was not completed within his lifetime, because I would have loved to stand by his side while we revealed this incredible monument and incredible memorial. This is not, you know, what I'm about to say now is not directed at staff, but I am disappointed in the position that we are put in right now. This is a considerable amount of money we're in. Like I said, eight or nine years ago, I was very excited about this project and we all were very excited about this project and that would have been a fantastic time for us to really move forward at a 100% pace, full steam ahead. And I wish that we had, because then maybe we could have stood next to Mr. Kanji Sahara and marveled at this memorial with him while we still had him here um unfortunately we are not at that place but this council in my experiences has really shown up to support this project and i told kanji sahara that i supported this and i would do everything in my power to see it happen and i still support this. I will do everything in my power to see it happen. And although he will not be there to see it, I think it's very important for his memory, for the memory of the hundreds of thousands of people who suffered through this, that we make it happen. My opinion is that options two and three are unacceptable because they will, if not delay, totally make it impossible for this to ever be completed. So with that said, I want to stand by my friend George Meccano when we unveil this. So I am in 100% support. I think we can as a city front the money and i think that the community will rally around us and i think that this is something like i said eight or nine years ago when when this was first brought to us this is something that we need and it's something that we need to support and i will wholeheartedly be supporting option number one thank you mayor

Thank you. Is there any other council members that would like to speak? And just for the record, I support option one as well, because I'm very concerned if we go down any other path, it will not happen, and I'm determined to see it happen. Council Member Shaik.

Thank you, Mayor, and thank you, staff, for the presentation, and thank you for all the few being here. Thank you the strong support and the leadership by our leader, for your efforts on this project. We appreciate that. And obviously this project is very, very, very important to all of us. I remember the day on February the 15th when I heard the news that Kanji Sahara passed away. The first thing that came to my mind was the incarceration camp wall. And it was disappointing that he would not be able to be with us when we complete this project. And again on March 8, when I was at the memorial ceremony for Kanji Sahara, this was the question asked by a lot of people. What is the delay? What is going on? When are we going to start this project?

Like a lot of community members addressed already,

We have lost a lot of Japanese-Americans who witnessed, who was there at the incarceration camp. Kei Oda, thank you for your service, and thank you for sharing your story with us. It is very emotional. I don't think we can ever put the dollar amount on the efforts, on the emotions, and all the love that we have received about this project. And I don't think we need to delay anymore. We need to start this project immediately. In fact, I would say we need to adopt the donation policy and start collecting funds from all of you today, because we need to start this project without any delay. This is critical. We need to get this ball rolling. And I absolutely support this project. I absolutely adore the memories that I have personally meeting with Kanji Sahara and his vision. With this wall, people will get educated that this should not happen ever again to anybody. With that, I absolutely would like to request to adopt option one because anything else will delay this project. Any change on the plan, we have to start all over again and that will cause delay and that will not be rightful for this project. But thank you.

Thank you. Any other council members wish to speak? I don't see anyone clicked in, so I'll let you work that out. Thank you, Council Member Liu.

Well, anyway. Since I wasn't here when the city approved the building of this monument, I just want to say a few words about the significance of this project. I think I'm preaching to a choir here, but for those of you who are not familiar in public who are watching this, if you're not familiar with what happened to the Japanese Americans during World War II, I hope that this monument will inspire you to learn more about American history this part the sad part of our American history and I've always said that Asian American history is American history and uh I really hope that people out there will really support this by helping to fundraise either through your communities or other um support groups, and especially working with Nancy Hayata and the World War II Camp Wall Committee. I think that we can make this happen. And I also want to add that I'm very proud that we will have this monument built in our city, where this is where the largest concentration of Japanese Americans are in the mainland. And so I also agreed that we should work on this as fast as possible. We should proceed immediately and go for option one. And hopefully we will be able to finish this project before the elders pass away and as a speaker is saying that they will be able to touch their names. on the wall, it just means so much. Thank you.

Thank you. Council Member Gerson.

I was here during the meeting where we decided to backstop up to $5 million to handle getting this project started. And I was here when we named the project. And I'm gonna repeat a couple of things that I said just in case anyone watching didn't see it the first time. One of the things that was important to me is the legacy of Torrance and how the Torrance City Council, back at that time, took a stand and had a resolution denouncing the incarceration of Japanese Americans. I remember that there were other groups here and certain members of the council were wavering with phase two and phase three, and I absolutely, adamantly said that it needs to be focused on the Japanese American experience. And I was happy that the entire council did agree when it came time to vote. I'm gonna make it more personal this time and talk about something that I rarely do because of how much hate there is in the world, even sometimes here in Torrance. I am a third generation survivor of the Holocaust, capital H. My family wound up in Auschwitz-Birkenau. And luckily, my grandmother was placed in the line for able-bodied individuals. And because she was multilingual, she survived. A few years ago, and to give you a little background, when my students draw pictures, I have a wall where I put up their pictures, whatever they draw. But a few years ago, I was given a drawing from a student. It was a man. It was a character of a man. with his arm raised, a swastika on his chest, labeled Hitler. And I explained to him these symbols of hate, and he wanted to argue with me that these were not symbols of hate. And I didn't want to embarrass him, but I started asking all of my other classes, have you learned anything about the Holocaust? And in the district I worked in, you always get a few students who don't remember something they were taught, but you always get a few students who do remember. There were zero students who remembered because none of them had been taught about the Holocaust. And as the speakers came up and we talk about the incarceration of Japanese Americans, just the educational value alone, plus the permanence of this exhibit to make sure that people do not forget what happened and understand that my family's experience in Europe and the Japanese-American experience here in what should have been a safe place, the United States, and just... the important value of us making sure that we remember history, we not allow history to be rewritten, because as many writers have said before, otherwise we're doomed to repeat it. And unfortunately, even recently in our own country, we've seen similar repetition of targeting of individuals because they look one way, even American citizens being detained. And American citizens should not be detained for no reason other than they look like something, which was the experience of the Japanese Americans back then. They just looked like... rather than who they were and the fact that they were Americans. And so... Obviously, from the beginning of getting here till today, I absolutely full-heartedly believe that the monument needs to be built. I understand the importance of it and believe in the importance of it. I just also want to make sure that we are responsible and that as emotional as I feel about it, we do have a balanced budget and we do need to have serious conversations about where that, additional eight million comes from because something else gets affected in a balanced budget which we've been very fiscally responsible and we've been very good about it and so that's a conversation and it's a conversation that I'm very happy to have but obviously you all know that I've supported it from the beginning of getting here and I will continue to support it.

Thank you.

Council Member Barnett. Thank you, Your Honor. Although I wasn't here originally when this agenda item was brought forward, I'm in full support of this. The problem with waiting is that costs continue to go up. They're not going to go down. So we may be looking more, it would become more expensive by the time we made it through another process. So I would be fully in support of option one. Thank you.

We already have a motion on the floor. Council Member Liu.

In item number 10B, I want to move that first, we choose option one and proceed with project as bid. Two, that we authorize a formal request to CNRA to extend the grant performance period through February 1st, 2029. And three, that we accept the proposed donation and donor recognition policy to governed acceptance, administration, expenditure, and recognition of the voluntary monetary contributions to the monument project.

I'll second that.

Start voting, please. Your Honor, that carried unanimously.

Your Honor, Danny Santana, City Manager's Office. I just wanted to point out for the community's awareness that the city has a donation page that is live, and this project is listed under that donation page.

How do you feel like that? Thank you.

It is listed under the title of World War II Memorial Donations, and we encourage any and every member of the public that feels strongly about seeing this project come to fruition to please assist the leadership that Mayor and Council have demonstrated here today, and that was first started with Assemblyman Marasucci's initial down payment to start this project. Thank you, Your Honor.

Thank you. And we'll have a press release with the link, so please look out for the socials tomorrow. Thank you.

Thank you, I think that just evidenced how important it is for us to move forward as quickly as possible. But it's also important for us to be financially responsible in this situation. So we're gonna need every single one of your help. Thank you very much. Okay, should we continue going? All right. So we're moving on to item, good night everyone that's leaving. Now we're moving on to item 10C from city manager and police to discuss and provide direction on the 2027 Armed Forces Day Parade. Is there a staff presentation?

Yes, good evening, Honorable Mayor and members of the City Council, Chinchun City Manager's Office. Item 10C is a recommendation of the City Manager and the Chief of Police that the City Council, one, discuss and provide direction on the proposed 2027 Armed Forces Day parade and celebration format and proposed schedule adjustments. Two, approve the committee's recommendation to proceed with event planning. And three, accept and file the June 30th Armed Forces Day Special Standing Committee meeting minutes. As a quick recap, the committee met on June 30th, 2026 to review the 2026 event and discuss what worked, what we learned, what we may want to adjust as we begin planning for next year. Despite a number of challenges, including limited military commitments, heightened international tensions, relocation of the military exhibit, the 5K, and the welcome reception, the city successfully delivered the weekend with no major public safety incidents. As mentioned, we had some enhanced operational changes, including moving the military exhibit to the city yard and also introduced the Torrance Police Foundation Kids Zone and food trucks, which the community seemed to really enjoy. Thanks to Placer AI, we calculated close to 500 attendees on Friday, 750 on Saturday, and close to 300 on Sunday, totaling approximately 1,500 attendees throughout the weekend, a slight decrease from 1,700 attendees on last year. We also moved Friday's dignitary welcome reception to the Western Museum of Flight. It was well received and it eliminated an additional round trip on Saturday morning to the Torrance Airport, transporting our military dignitaries, reducing transportation and staffing demands. This year, we introduced a free park and ride service from the Regional Transit Center. That was also successful, carrying more than 1,100 riders over the three-day weekend. While we were pleased to see the park and ride utilized, we were a little bit disappointed to see the overall parade attendance decline. This year's parade attendance decreased from approximately 7,400 in 2024 to 5,900 in 2025, and then about 4,800 this year. Military parade entries also decreased from 20 entries to 16, while civilian entries went down from 27 to 22. We saw similar trends in other parts of the weekend. The 5K participation also decreased from 957 to 874 runners, with military participation declining significantly from 200 runners last year to 37 this year. Now, there are a number of factors that contributed to the decline in various events, including a reduced military availability, operational commitments, and international conditions that limited military participation. While some of those factors are outside of our control, the attendance trends also give us an opportunity to look at what we can influence, particularly awareness, promotion, and community engagement as we plan for next year. One of the recommendations from the committee was to look beyond our traditional organic social media efforts and explore paid advertising to increase visibility for the entire Armed Forces Day weekend. We also looked at community feedback through Zen City, our community engagement and sentiment analysis platform. That feedback also showed strong pride and nostalgia for Armed Forces Day as a long-standing Torrance tradition. but that positive sentiment isn't necessarily translating into attendance. This may be an opportunity for us to also better promote the event earlier, reach audiences beyond those already following city channels, and then provide clear information about parking shuttles and event schedules. The attendance numbers also gives us an opportunity to right-size certain parts of the weekend based on actual participation. For example, the banquet had a capacity for 180 guests, but approximately 124 attended. So reducing that footprint is just one opportunity we can better align cost with actual attendance. So as we move into 2027, we're looking at both sides, how can we increase awareness and participation, and where can we operate more efficiently while preserving the traditions and military recognition that makes Torrance's Armed Forces Day very special. And that is consistent with the discussion we had at the June 30th committee meeting. The committee unanimously recommended moving forward with planning for 2027, while also asking staff to explore several enhancements, potentially incorporating equestrian entries, inviting local groups such as the robotics teams, gathering more public input on what they would like to see, and then continuing park and ride and exploring paid advertisement beyond just our organic social media posts. So that brings us to 2027. Next year, we'll mark Torrance's 65th Annual Armed Forces Day Parade and Celebration. That is anticipated for May 14th through the 16th. It's always on the third weekend in May. And with the United States Air Force as our honored branch. Staff recommends keeping most of this year's format with a minor adjustment. For 2027, staff recommends shifting Friday's exhibit hours from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. to 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. This later schedule would allow for the military to have more time to safely stage equipment while also creating a better after-school and evening opportunity for families. Saturday hours would remain the same, opening shortly after the parade from 3 to 8 and Sunday from 9 to 3. Now traditionally, we would bring this item to your honorable body later in the year, closer to December, but bringing it forward now gives us additional time to coordinate with the Air Force, secure venues and participants, and pursue partnerships and begin our marketing efforts much earlier. Torrance has a longstanding tradition of honoring men and women of our armed forces. with the goal to continue that tradition while making thoughtful adjustments based on what we learned this year. I did want to touch briefly on the budget. Based on the approved budget for the Armed Forces Day program of 323,000, the non-wage total this year came in under 284,000. Now, as we plan for 2027, we'll evaluate both the size of the event and the staffing model to identify where meaningful efficiencies may actually be possible. Staff is requesting that council, one, discuss and provide direction, two, approve the committee's recommendation to proceed with the event planning, and three, accept and file the meeting minutes of June 30th. Staff is available for questions.

Thank you very much. Do any of the members of the public wish to speak? Has anyone signed up?

No, Your Honor.

Okay, if you're in the public and you'd wish to speak on this item, please step up to the mic. Did you want to step up, or you were just waving hello? Okay, thank you. Thank you. I don't see anyone stepping up. So we'll go ahead and take remote participants. Callers can press star 9 to raise their hand. Staff, has anyone signed up to speak?

No, Your Honor.

OK, thank you. We'll go ahead and move to the council. I just had one question, if I may. I didn't quite hear your numbers, the 323,000 versus the 280,000. Correct, our approved budget for non-wage costs were 323,890, and the non-wage total this year came in at about 284,000.

Okay, I'm just gonna suggest something. I know it's a lot of extra work, but I've had a lot of

feedback regarding it that people were looking for something to eat prior to getting onto the parade and would we consider i don't know how the council feels consider bringing back the the luncheon before before the parade started do you have any thoughts on that

I think bringing it back will just, I think we're finding that the majority of the cost is staffing. This is the non-wage cost. That would increase staffing and then that would add back in the budget for the food, the planning of the event.

Do you have any idea what that, and I'm sorry I surprised you with it.

I don't know the exact dollar amount. I think really it's more of a staffing and organizing planning than anything else.

Okay. I respect your experience. Thank you, I don't have anything else. Council Member Sheik.

Thank you, Mayor. Talking about the finances, I know that what I'm reading on page five is that The 2026 event costs $453,000, which reflects a decrease from the 2025 cost of $498,000. It's about $50,000 decrease, right?

I'm going to defer to Ian on some of the finance questions.

Mayor, city council, and daily finance director, I see your reference, council member. Yes, that's what those figures state.

Okay. Did we explore any other ways to reduce expenses? For instance, it seems like that we are paying about $8,700 on the same page for car rentals. Could we work with community members, some companies to support us for those vehicles rather than spending that much money. Can we explore that as well? Maybe compensate with money for food, for lunch. I think that's important. Could we explore that as well?

We can. I know that in past experience, cars may have been donated at one point years ago, but I think finding those opportunities became less and less, and then waiting last minute to find an opportunity to have those meet for planning challenges. So then they went ahead and booked those vehicles so that we have a uniform look coming down. We have the uniform look with all of the security detail that also drives the dignitary members around instead of piecemealing it from car to car and dealership to dealership.

Thank you. Any other aspects, any other ways we can cut down the expenses? We should explore that.

Absolutely.

Thank you.

The council on the mayor of the 10 Charles Fisher traffic and special events just address the vehicle question. We did pivot last year to rental cars. The logistics of returning that many cars to various locations throughout the city the day after and even the day of the parade was unbearable. Another concern was we did have loaner vehicles from Mercedes from very high-end retailers in the city and volunteers driving those vehicles was a concern. In fact, last year, the year we did switch to rental vehicles, we did have an accident. If we had the previous site picture, it would have been much more concerning and costly. That's one reason we moved to that model.

Real quick, so is the best option to have people donate and drive their own cars? Yes.

Right. It's a possibility we can explore, but in terms of security, that's also a concern. Are they capable of driving? Are these vehicles even capable of maintaining the pace? We've had some historic vehicles that broke down, those types of issues. And then we're going to need to vet the drivers in terms of security as well. In terms of simplicity and even cost and liability, I think the rental car route is the most likely beneficial scenario.

Thanks for sharing.

Anyone else on the council have any questions? Kay, would anyone like to make a motion? How would you like to proceed?

Sure, let me try. So I'll make a motion to approve the committee's recommendation to proceed with event planning and accept and file the minutes for June 30th, Armed Forces Day special standing committee meeting. Also, please still explore other ways to reduce any expenses that we can.

I'll second that.

Start voting, please. Your Honor, it carried unanimously.

Thank you very much. We have a couple more items, so continue. Okay, moving on to item 10D from the Citizens Development Enrichment Committee to discuss and provide direction on the logo concepts for the Torrance Municipal Airport. Is there a staff presentation?

Yes, Your Honor, Jamie Lay, City Manager's Office, on behalf of the Citizen Development Enrichment Committee. In 2024, Councilmember Gerson received Council concurrence to develop an official airport logo. Staff incorporated that effort into the City's broader website and branding update. With the new branding now launched, staff developed the concepts before you to reflect both the airport's aviation history and its connection to Torrance. The goal is to create a consistent logo that can be used across signage, digital communications, printed materials, merchandise, vehicles, and other airport applications. When reviewing the concepts, there are several key considerations. Is it easy to recognize and understand? Does it work with everything from a small digital icon to large signage? Will it remain recognizable even when details aren't visible? Can it work in different layouts and applications? Does it use clear forms and strong contrast? Can it be effectively printed, embroidered, fabricated, engraved, or applied to vehicles? Both of the concepts share two primary elements. First is the aircraft. The vintage-inspired P-38 provides an immediate connection to aviation while recognizing Torrance's longstanding aviation history. Second is the Torrance Municipal Airport wordmark. In both concepts, Torrance is emphasized with municipal airport underneath. Concept one is the airport first, a modern aviation-focused identity with a subtle Torrance connection. The sweeping arch represents a flight path over the P-38, creating a sense of movement and direction. Its simple design gives it a clean, contemporary look that should work well across signage, vehicles, digital communications, and merchandise. Overall, concept one places aviation and the airport at the center of the identity. Concept two is the Torrance Plus Airport, combining the city's identity with its aviation heritage. The multiple arches reference the Pacific Electric Railway El Prado Bridge, commonly known as the Torrance Bridge. These arches also appear in the city's current branding, including the My Torrance app, social media, and city gateway signs. Paired with the P38, the concept connects Torrance's civic identity with its aviation history. The arches also create a stronger standalone emblem that could become recognizable as the airport's identity over time. The main distinction is what each concept communicates first. Concept one emphasizes the airport and aviation. Concept two emphasizes torrents and the airport together. At the August 20th Citizen Development and Enrichment Committee meeting, the committee requested that staff collect feedback from the community. A supplemental was included in this item. Results revealed that the community was largely in favor of option one, with more than 80% selecting option one in the online survey. On behalf of the Citizen Development and Enrichment Committee, we are requesting that City Council discuss and provide direction on the logo concepts for the Torrance Municipal Airport.

Thank you very much, thank you for your presentation. Deputy City Clerk, has anyone signed up to speak on item 10D?

No, Your Honor.

Okay, is there anyone in the audience that would like to step up to the mic and speak on this item?

Hello. I'm not sure. I just thought about the poll you did online. In the poll, did you tell the differences, like the arches being a part of torrents, like what the significance is of the arches? Because that's the one I kind of like, because it ties it to torrents. And those arches, those torrents. The tunnels are a part of downtown, so I don't know. I don't know if that was mentioned in the poll. That's all.

Your Honor, to answer that question, Jamie Lay, City Manager's Office, the entire item that was presented to the Citizen Development and Enrichment Committee was supplied, was prepared with the poll. It included all of that information as well as the different variations.

Thank you. Is there anyone else that would like to speak on this item in the Council Chambers? If not, we'll take remote participants. Callers can press star 9 to raise their hand. Staff, has anyone signed up to speak on this item? No, Your Honor. Okay, so we'll go ahead and bring it back to the Council. Council Member Gerson.

Thank you, Mayor. I thought I should I'll go first. First of all, I want to thank staff. This has been, I mean, as you heard, we asked for it in 2024. And we have been through a long process. This is actually the third iteration The first two did not make it to committee for various reasons. And in the end, staff was able to create a logo that was simple and yet gave a complete nod to the history of Torrens Airport back when it was Lomita Flight Strip. The thing that amazes me is that in the entire history that the airport has been a part of Torrance, it's never had a logo. When I first got to council on the airport being the largest asset in District 6, I asked, what's the vision for the airport? And I was given an old document. I think, did we say it was from 1978? That is how long nothing new has been really created for the airport. And so in the moment when I saw this logo, especially if you look at the colorized version, it looked like a plane landing at our airport at sunset. And it was just, it was moving. The other iterations before this included an airplane that looked like a United Jet was landing at our airport, making it more commercial than municipal. And before that was just older, cluttered look. And so staff has worked really hard to create something that's more sleek and modern and usable. And I'm very happy that the businesses down at the Torrance Airport are welcoming that have offered to include it in their own branding and to help give our airport an identity. I'm also hoping that the council makes a decision because it will give us time to make sure that it is ready for the beer festival happening down at the airport that we've been working on for, I think, what? It's been almost two years. to really let our local breweries get attention, to make sure that my vision of us non-pilots being able to have access to our airport, of being able to participate in this beautiful asset as we try to really make it a valued part of our community instead of how it was before I came. So there's so many things going on emotionally to be able to see that staff came up with something that they could bring forward to us. And I want to thank the council for all of its support through this process.

Thank you. Council Member Lewis.

Thank you. I absolutely am supportive of getting the airport its own logo. It is definitely a asset to the city. And I think that this would give us the opportunity to market the airport, especially ahead of the 2028 Olympics coming into town and all of the visitors and all of the activities that that will bring the airport. I do think that when we were considering alternative logos and seals for the city, we had opened it up to the public to submit their ideas and their thoughts about what a logo could look like. And I was kind of disappointed that we didn't do the same here, not that staff didn't do a good idea, but I think some of the best artwork and creativity comes from our community members that are invested in the process. And I also believe that part of that could have been with the airport commission as well in considering their thoughts about what they would like and having the public to come out and say what they would like for the logo to look like at the airport. I understand we're on a time constraint to get this done, but I do think it could be done expeditiously if that's the way we would go forward. like I said, totally supportive of the logo. I think it's needed. It's gonna be on T-shirts, I'm sure, in the future. But I also would like to see some maybe ideas from the community as well.

Anyone else? Council Member Cracksonas.

Why not? Since Council Member Lewis spoke up, I'll speak up. I love the idea of having a mural and more brand, or a mural. Having a logo and more branding of the airport, I think it's very needed. I actually learned about the P-38 connection because I saw these logos and didn't know why we picked this aircraft. So I had a little bit of a... a learning opportunity. I had a couple concerns with it. Option one is my favorite of the two of these. A couple concerns with it in that the line looks like it's supposed to be a trail, but it's going the opposite direction of the plane. Sort of just a personal issue, but I don't know if anyone else sees that, but it was something that stood out to me. The other question I had was about the font on the word torrents. I don't know if we have a specific font that we always, always use. This doesn't match the one we have on our website. So I don't know if that's an issue or if it's not an issue from a branding standpoint, but it stood out to me.

I can answer that question, Jamie Lee, City Manager's Office. This font is actually used in all of our new signage, as well as the headlines in our website. Our current logo that we're using on the website was created with the website prior to the one that we have now, and so that's why that has a different font. Thank you.

Um, also to, to council member Lewis's point, I've always been a big fan of giving our commission something to do. Um, so I'm not, I'm not against, um, having the airport commission have a say in, or, you know, at least, at least have a voice in it.

Thank you. Council member shake. You don't need to speak.

I think Councilman Garland stole my thunder. Oh, okay, okay. A couple points that I had. Yeah, you're right. I absolutely like the idea we need to have branding, but I think we probably should have involved the airport commission and get some more. I understand the time constraint for this, but I think this will be forever. I think we should spend more time to have a creative idea. Thanks.

Thank you. I also concur that I think this was an amazing idea. Thank you Council Member Gerson for bringing forward a brand identity for the airport. But I do concur, I think we should have consulted with the airport commission and given them that opportunity to contribute. When is the next airport commission meeting? Does anybody know?

Good evening, Mayor, Members of Council, Sean McGregor, Deacon. I believe it's October 10th. Let me verify that.

Sorry, October 8th.

Okay, so a couple, few weeks away.

Correct.

Okay, thank you for that information.

Can you move it sooner?

Correct. The city attorney said we'd have to call a special meeting. So the regularly scheduled meeting is for October 8th. We could certainly put that on the agenda, get a recommendation by the airport commission, bring that back to your honorable body.

If he could do that.

Thank you. Mayor.

Yes, sir.

May I remind us, I'm, I'm, I'm really happy how we're all acting right now, but I'd like to remind us, um, This was kind of discussed in committee a little bit and as much as including the airport commission would have been nice. Not only did we have to suspend the commission for retraining and then after bringing them back still seeing the same errors. The current issue that's happening with them right now is even after advising them, they still were trying to instruct staff and trying to compel the city attorney to appear at their next meeting to answer questions of a person who is known to have a lawsuit against us related to the airport. And unfortunately, we still have not resolved that issue. And I think that, I don't know how we work that in, that we have a conversation or that we figure out how we get our commission to act as extensions to us. If you remember, even from when I first got here, one of my first comments was to get a former chair of the airport commission to resign because that person was acting as chair of the commission while having a lawsuit against the city, being a party in a lawsuit against the city related to the airport. It's been a challenge. I know it's been a challenge for staff. It's been a challenge for us. And I think it's an issue that we need to really seriously address because I would love to see the Commission involved in some larger plans. For example, was it Councilmember Lewis who mentioned LA-28? We need to talk about the organization of where airplanes park and there's interest down there for a reservation system. You know, the community doesn't like people doing donuts in the sky with their airplanes and annoying residents, but people flying in and then flying home would not be as big of an issue, but tasking them to take care of looking at reservation systems and helping sort that out for us would be something of use. There are many things that the commission could be doing, but I think that we also need to figure out how to get them to act in the city's best interest and act as extensions of our outreach. Thank you.

Thank you, sir. Any other thoughts, comments? How would the council like to proceed on this item? We have a motion from Councilmember Dr. Gerson.

Can I also, because part of the item is accepting the notes, the minutes from the meeting. There's one piece in the minutes that I'd like to correct, if that's okay with you.

I'm looking towards city attorney.

If he believes there is an error, he can request to correct it, and then the members who are there can agree or disagree, and the council can accept the changes or not. Thank you.

Okay, so this is directed at the committee members.

On page three, there's a motion that says I was made. There's a section that says, and only one person is present at a time. It is referring to the line at the end of page three. for individuals who are selling cottage food out of their homes, or in this case, when the council talks about it, from their driveways or from their property. I had asked Community Development Director Ramirez, if that was necessary, and the director clarified that just keeping the sidewalks clear was the important part, not the number of people in line, and so I did not include that as part of my motion. And I was hoping that that could be crossed out to reflect what happened in the meeting. Council Member Shea, is that okay with you?

Yeah, we can fix that. That's fine.

Okay. All right. Then I will attempt a motion. I'll start with a motion that we accept and file the committee meeting minutes as amended. And that... we accept the online vote of the residents of Torrance that their preferred design is option number one. And it'd be really great if the city would also make I Love Torrance stickers with that logo. In time for the beer festival on November 7th.

Looking for a second. Council Member Fournette.

I will second that.

Start voting, please. Your Honor, that motion carried with Council Member Lewis, Liu, and Sheik voting no.

Okay, moving on to item 10E. Sorry? Okay. From the City Manager's Office to discuss and provide direction on the Nike After Dark Tour LA 2026. Is there a staff presentation?

Good evening, Your Honor, Mayor and City Council. Gabrielle Amai, Staff Assistant at the City Manager's Office. Item 10E is to discuss and provide direction on the updated route and proposed fees for Nike's 2026 LA After Dark Tour special event on Saturday, October 24th, 2026. In 2025, Nike launched the After Dark Tour, a global race series focused on empowering women through nighttime running, building community, and creating opportunities for women athletes to connect through the sport. Following the success of the race series, Nike has continued the After Dark Tour in 2026. This year's international tour includes a 10K and half marathon events in Shanghai, Sydney, Mexico City, London, Los Angeles, Manila, and Mumbai. In Los Angeles, Nike is bringing the 2026 Afro Dark Tour to the South Bay and intends to have the 13.1 mile half marathon race travel through three South Bay communities, including the city of Hermosa Beach, the city of Redondo Beach, and the city of Torrance on October 24th of this year. The race would begin in the city of Redondo Beach before traveling south and entering the city of Torrance. Following the City Council's approval on the previous route on May 19th of 2026, subject to the location use fee being successfully negotiated, Nike has proposed an updated course route and proposal for City Council's consideration. The updated proposed route maintains the same original entrance and exit portion on Paseo de la Playa through Torrance, but adds a segment on Palos Verdes Boulevard. Under the updated route, runners will run through and leave Torrance along Paseo de la Playa, travel through Redondo Beach, and then briefly return into Torrance, traveling south on Camino de la Costa onto Palos Verdes Boulevard, briefly U-turning on Calle Miramar, and then exiting north on Palos Verdes Boulevard. The northbound racecourse portion of Palos Verdes Boulevard would require a single-lane closure of southbound traffic. With the proposed update route, a total of 492 residential units is expected to be impacted by the course race, with 57 single-family residential units and 435 being apartments in condominium residential units. These impacts include the temporary loss of vehicular access to properties located along the affected portions of the race course during the event, road closures between 4 p.m. to 8.30 p.m., with no parking signs posted 72 hours in advance, and towing conducted by the city two hours before the race. In addition to the residential impacts, the event would affect parking and access recreational facilities in the area. Street parking along the course would be unavailable during the course period, and parking within Los Angeles County Torrance Beach parking lot would also be temporarily unavailable. Additionally, Miramar Park will be utilized as an event activation area, and as a result would be temporarily unavailable for typical park goers from October 23rd through October 24th of 2026. Given the anticipated impacts, staff requested additional information from Nike regarding event operations, logistics, expected outcomes, and potential economic benefits to the city. Staff also requested that Nike provide a financial contribution to help offset the impacts associated with the event. In response to this request, Nike provided a proposal deck including all the requested information attached to City Council's review, which includes a $15,000 community impact contribution to the City of Torrance. 100 race bibs to Torrance residents, and 16 race bibs to North High School students through Student Run LA. Following further discussion with city manager staff, Nike revised a proposal to include a $25,000 contribution to the city, an additional $25,000 in-kind contribution through Nike's Friends of the Park for Youth Sports, 100 race bibs for Torrance residents, and 16 race bibs for North High School students through Student Run LA. In addition to this proposed amount by Nike, staff has estimated that the total amount of permit fees will be $3,473, with public safety fees estimating at 351 per hour. Final costs will depend on the finalized event components as the Nike team continues to confirm final event elements. Now, during this time, I will invite up the Nike representatives to join me at the podium to go over their proposal.

Hey, everyone. Jake Wanamaker, Nike Production.

Robert with Nike as well.

So I think a lot of the material in the deck that we have was discussed in the previous session, so we'd like to focus the conversation tonight on the updated routes, those impact considerations, and also the proposed usage fee. Do you have control of the deck? I think we can go to slide 14 is where we'd like to start.

Our version has page numbers and that one does not. Our road closure notification went out to the community little, probably less than a month ago, we did a direct mailer to about 17,000 residents and businesses along the route. We'll do another one in a couple weeks closer to race day. This just shows the impact area as far as what addresses did receive that flyer, and specifically Torrance obviously being on the south end of that course. Next slide. This is a copy of the road closure notification flyer that went out in the mail. One side has a breakdown of all the road closure timelines by street and then the course map as well. And this is also available digitally online. Next page. There is a section of the route where residents are impacted where they may have limited access outside of getting their vehicles in and out of their property. So we are providing a free golf cart shuttle service during the four-hour window that our streets are closed. And basically, our staff on site with golf carts, we're being proactive about it. We have street teams out there firing these homes door by door with this information on it. They're able to call a phone number in advance or the day of, and we'll have staff pick them up on a golf cart and get them to and from their vehicle, whether they parked their vehicle offsite somewhere or just need easier access in and around their community. So that's what our golf cart community plan is. Next slide. This shows the impacted area where that golf cart service will be provided on the south end of the course. Next slide. I'll keep on going to the next one. This is the overview of the course. Obviously, previously mentioned, the course does start in Redondo Beach, goes up to Hermosa Beach, as well as Torrance. The new section of the course we'll show you on the next slide. On the right-hand side, that map showing the Palos Verdes Boulevard section that we added to the course. I think it's about a half a mile distance that we had to add, showing access lanes. So we will maintain northbound and southbound access on Palos Verdes Boulevard. We will be closing just one southbound lane and separating runners via Waterfield K Rail. that will separate runners from the vehicles, maintaining a southbound lane access point. Is there another slide for this? One more. This gives you an overview of the street closure timeline. So our roads will be closed around 4 p.m. in the afternoon and reopened by, I believe it says 7.45 in the evening time. So about a little over close to four hours. And this is just the overview of closures. Next slide. One more. Keep going, sorry. We will be activating the Miramar Park, but only on one day, only on Saturday the 24th. We will not be there on the 23rd. We will be utilizing the beach lots there on the parking lots for back of house operations. Part of our planning with the city or just with the PD fire, et cetera, we're implementing bus barricades as an additional safety guard for our road closures. And we need a large staging area for those buses. We're bringing in about close to 50 buses now that will be deployed throughout all three cities. a handful of them in Torrance and Redondo. But we will be utilizing this parking lot just for a pre-staging and deployment area for the race. And I believe that is it. One more slide, just in case. There will be a chair zone, what we're calling the climb, on the very south end of the course. Basically, it is a chair zone for run clubs to go chair on the runners. That is somewhat of an incline for that part of the course. So we're just there to chair them on. We'll have run clubs and groups of people out there at the end of the course. But I think that is it. One more slide? Yes.

And also on the second part of the agenda tonight is regarding the monetary amount for the impact fee. Upon consideration of the overall scope of the race, the kind of impact through all the three cities in the South Bay, and additional conversations with the city staff team, as Gabriella mentioned, we're proposing a $25,000 community impact contribution to the city of Torrance, an additional $25,000, and an in-kind donation through our charitable arm at Nike, Friends of the Park.

Any questions for us?

Thank you. Thank you for your presentation. What we'll do is go to members of the public. Did anyone sign up to speak? Oh, I apologize. Were you done with your presentation?

Oh, no, no. That's okay. I'll just continue really quickly. I wanted to highlight a few points as well. My apologies. Staff wanted to also note the other associated fees with cities involved with the race. So we wanted to include the city of Hermosa beach fees, which includes their standard permit fees as well. as a $50,000 community impact contribution and an additional $50,000 in-kind contribution through Nike's charitable arm as well. Nike also provided Hermosa Beach with 100 tickets to community members and are looking to engage with Hermosa Beach Chamber of Commerce and local businesses to identify potential collaboration opportunities. Additionally, the City of Redondo is charging their $8,000 per square mile location use fee, the City and their fee schedule, along with other applicable permit fees as well. The City Manager's Office recommends accepting the proposed $25,000 community impact contribution to the City of Torrance with the additional $25,000 of in-kind contribution. The final amount approved by City Council would be applied towards location use fee and the in-kind contribution would be provided to the designated nonprofit organizations. This would be in addition to any other departmental application permit fees as well. and given the impacts of the proposed community benefits the city's existing special event permit fee structure staff is seeking direction from city council regarding the proposed update course route and the appropriate application of the city location use fee in addition to any additional conditions or community benefits that should be considered for the nike after dark tour la 2026 special event scheduled for October 24th, 2026. Staff is available for questions. Thank you. Thank you.

Appreciate that. Appreciate your presentation. Now we'll go ahead and accept public input. Did any of the members of the public sign up to speak on this item?

No, Your Honor.

And is there anyone in the council chambers that would like to speak on item 10E? Please step up to the mic. I see no one, so we'll take remote participants. Callers can press star nine to raise their hand. Staff, is there anyone that would like to speak?

No, Your Honor.

Okay, we'll bring it up to the council. Are there any questions from the council? Council Member Shaik.

Thank you, Mayor. Thank you for the presentation. Thank you for bringing this to our city. It seems like it's going to be a wonderful event for us. I just have a question on the outreach with the little bit concerns about the residents. What are we planning or how are we planning to notify to all the residents and make sure if there's an emergency, how are we going to navigate? And I know that you discussed about the card. Can you explain both questions, please?

Yeah, sure. So as mentioned previously, we had about 17,000 direct mailers that went out via USPS that hit every address along the route. Another one will be going out in a couple weeks. reason why I know that they are working because we are getting calls and we are being proactive about providing access for example today we got a call from I think it's the Riviera Hall Church of Palos Verdes they have a special event going on that evening we are accommodating them by providing some special access which but we are being proactive on providing that access to those who need it And we do have a full outreach team who's notifying the community via email, phone calls, street teams, and these direct mailers.

Are you going to have another outreach?

We're continuously, this is an ongoing effort between now and October 24th. And then to answer your question regarding emergency vehicles, we are working with fire and PD to, regardless of any street closures, emergency vehicles have the full right of way of access throughout the entire course. And we're working through plans of like contingency plans, access points, et cetera. We've been meeting with, we've had several meetings with the respective agencies to talk through those plans. When you say ongoing, are you referring to they're still going to have a mailer, you're going to reach out, or? We have a direct mailer going out again, I think two weeks out prior to the race.

And that will be the one more, or this is it?

That would be, so one already went out, and then we have another street team going out door to door. specifically for the golf cart plan, and then we have another one going out in a couple weeks prior to the race.

Okay. Sorry. Gabrielle Amaya, Staff Assistant, City Manager's Office. In relation to emergencies during the event, Nike has a command center in Redondo Beach, and there will be city staff there as well, from fire, PD, and OAS, if you want to touch on that, too.

Yeah, so we do have a full four command post in Redona Beach where all agencies and cities will be present, fully staffed. So we're able to deal with situations basically in real time.

I want to be hopeful, but I tell you, you're still going to get some complaints that we didn't get notified. So whatever you can do, is the city partnering up with them? Are we notifying them? Are we doing anything in addition to what they are doing?

Mayor and Council, Danny Santana, City Manager's Office. We could always do additional social media information as well as ensure that there are traffic signage message boards to advise motorists in the area.

Part of our traffic control plan, we will have message boards out one week prior, so about six days prior. So that Monday leading up to that Saturday, you'll see several message boards throughout, electronic message boards, and you'll also see static boards out. throughout the entire course. There will be a, we're calling a hotline. There's an active phone number and email, 24 hours. You'll get a response back, if not quicker. And it will be live on race day as well. That person will be in the command post managing that phone number and those calls. And we'll be able to deal with whatever situation in real time.

Well, thank you so much. I hope you understand it's very critical. It happens all the time. We send messages, mailer, but we still hear some. Of course. So I appreciate you willing to partnering with our city, and thank you, our staff, to work with you and make sure everyone is informed and everyone is aware of that. I know it's a few hours, but still we want to be proactive and make sure that everybody gets the message, especially the residents that are impacted. 100 tickets, what the 100 tickets are for?

Entry to the event.

To the event.

It's a sold-out event, but we were able to reserve some for the community for those who are not able to register.

And by the way, I like, Jake, your last name. Is it Wanamaker?

Correct.

That's the way to pronounce it? Yeah. Okay. Thank you. Thank you, Mayor.

Thank you. Anyone else want to make any comments? I see none, and I also see a motion. Council Member Kartzonis.

All right. Thank you, Mayor. I'm going to move that we approve the special event and accept the impact fees and the charitable contribution.

Second.

Start voting, please. Your Honor, that carried unanimously.

Thank you, thank you for choosing Torrance.

Thank you.

Okay, there's no agency agendas, so we're gonna go ahead and move on to oral communications number two. This portion of the meeting is reserved for comments on items that are not on the agenda. Under the Ralph M. Brown Act, City Council cannot act on items raised during public comment, but may respond briefly to statements made or questions posed. Request clarification or refer the item to staff. Speakers under orals are limited to either oral communication number one, or oral communications number two, and no longer than three minutes per speaker. For in-person participants, time starts when you step up to the microphone. If presenting handout material to counsel, please provide 11 copies to the deputy city clerk before speaking. Handouts will be distributed while you speak. For remote participants, time starts when your number is called. Due to a technical issue, the speaker timer is currently showing 3 minutes and 17 seconds, but in accordance with the agenda cover and our city council rules of order, each speaker will be cut off at 3 minutes. Deputy City Clerk, has anyone signed up to speak?

Yes, Your Honor. Elizabeth Yee.

I don't see them here. Is there anyone else that has signed up?

No, Your Honor.

OK, is there anyone in the audience that would like to step up the mic and speak under oral communications number two?

Hi, just me again. I officially want to say, because this was maybe my first time back here since you got elected, all of you. Not all of you, some of you. I just wanted to say congratulations. And congratulations to the new council members. And that's all I wanted to say. And have a good night.

That's very kind of you. Thank you so much. And it's good to see you. Okay, we're going to move on to... Council Orals, starting with Council Member Kartzonis.

All right. Thank you, Mayor. We are 51 minutes away from it being Mexican Independence Day, so viva Mexico to our southern neighbors. Happy Independence Day to them. We're entering Hispanic Heritage Month. those who were there got to hear me speak Spanish at the Selena concert, so that was a lot of fun. Fantastic job by staff putting that together. It was a very cool use of Columbia Park. We... Mayor Kalani, Councilmember Shaik, Councilmember Liu, and I all got to go play baseball together at the wrecking yard. So that was fun. Their grand reopening. City staff, Torrance Police, Torrance Fire did a fantastic and touching September 11th memorial. Really, it was a really, as usual, a great event. I attended the City of Hawthorne State of the City. Interesting stuff they're doing there. I learned more about Archer and how they're using their airport. I know most of us attended the Torrance Police Foundation barbecue, which was fantastic. I appreciate everything they do there. And I... I personally took advantage of our large item pickup. I had a refrigerator go out. I finally replaced it. So that was a great experience. Thank you to staff for making that easy. I highly recommend it for all of our residents, both our single family residential ones and our multifamily. I know there's ways for our multifamily residents to be able to do that.

well so so I highly recommend you look into it when you have stuff you got to get rid of otherwise have a good evening thank you councilmember Lewis Thank You mayor I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank the Torrance Police Department For a couple of years now and I've been championing e-bike reform in the city of Torrance And I'm sure you are tired of hearing from me, especially a lieutenant Fisher the traffic division Some of our residents who have reached out with their concerns But it gives me great great great pleasure to announce that on Saturday September the 12th the Torrance Police Department's traffic division is conducted an e-bike enforcement operation focused on promoting safe and responsible riding throughout our Torrance community, which we've also been partnering with Torrance Unified School District to also help educate kids and their parents on e-bike safety, what to buy, what not to buy, and more importantly, how to operate it on our streets. This very successful operation resulted in 27 e-bike stops, 22 citations, one written warning, and four e-motos impounded. Different from e-bikes, but that's the education part that we need to get out there, that e-motor is just a mini-motorcycle that most high schoolers, junior high schoolers, and elementary kids should not be operating, and it is illegal to operate. So we continue to encourage all the riders to know the rules. The city will continue to champion e-bike safety to help keep our streets safe. And just wanted to say thank you. The second thing I wanted to say is congratulations, Chief Dunn. Thank you for sticking around with us. It's his anniversary of coming, Chief. becoming chief, so excellent job on that. So thank you.

Thank you. Council Member Liu. Nothing, Your Honor. Thank you. Council Member Barnett.

Nothing, Your Honor.

Thank you. Council Member Shea.

Thank you, Mayor. I'll be quick. We were busy. We had a lot of thank you for covering most of the items. So we had a ribbon-cutting with Shoreline Cremation that we were there, Cremation Society of Torrance, mural unveiling of famous Robert Vargas, celebration at Genesis of South Bay, and my favorite inaugural Honda open house that you were there. And you were there as well, right? And then the second favorite was the Torrance Police Foundation barbecue. It was good, wonderful. And I think, Chief, you were with us for three years now, right?

Right, okay.

So first year as a chief, but you've been here for a while. Thank you for your service. Thank you.

Thank you, Councilmember Dr. Gerson.

Thank you, Mayor. I think I've talked enough tonight.

Okay, thank you. So I just wanted to say and once again extend my appreciation to my fellow council members and the staff and all the associates of Torrance constantly coming together as one team. This weekend, it was my honor to be involved in honoring Hispanic Heritage Month. and the closing of the Torrance summer nights. So the staff that put that together, it was a phenomenal season. We also hosted this morning the Council General of Japan. Several of us were present and just want to continue as a council to embrace our Japanese American community here in Torrance. But I do want to say in my six years on the council, I've never seen a council so engaged in the community and people are noticing it. So all of you just walk the theme of service before self, and I appreciate that. I'm also honored to be presenting the first State of the City, 2026 on Friday, September 25th at the Doubletree by Hilton and Torrance. It is a Torrance Area Chamber of Commerce event. I'm told it is sold out. However, there is a waiting list, and they are trying to rearrange the room to add additional space. So if you'd like to go, at least get on the waiting list, and I look forward to seeing you there. It will be taped if you're unable to make it. And then finally, I just wanted to say we did have the mural unveiling, but it wasn't quite finished. It is wow right now. It's really an incredible mural. You should stop by and see it at the Doubletree Hotel. And we're here for you. Thank you and good night. And with that, we will be going back into closed session at 11.16 p.m. Thank you.

Thank you. Okay. Thank you. Thank you. Bye. music music Thank you.

We'll now reconvene our City Council meeting at 1143 p.m. City Attorney, is there anything to report from closed session?

Yes, Your Honor. By a vote of seven to zero, the City Council amended its order in the dismissal of a police officer in compliance with an order from the Los Angeles Superior Court. They just amended one of the findings. The rest of my findings are upheld.

Thank you. And as we conclude this evening's meeting, I want to thank you for your active participation and interest in staying informed. I will take a motion to adjourn.

I would move to adjourn the City Council meeting to Tuesday, September 22nd at 5 p.m. for a closed session. I second.

Start voting, please. Your Honor, that motion carried with council members. Shake voting now.

Thank you. Good night.