City Council - Regular Meeting

Thank you.

I'd like to call the August 18th, 2026 City Council meeting to order. Let the record reflect that all council members are present tonight. Votes this evening will be recorded using the city's electronic voting system. Madam City Clerk, have we received any requests to speak during closed session public comment?

We've received none, Mayor.

At this time, the city will recess to closed session for the purpose of conducting regular city business.

Thank you.

At this time, the City Council will convene to consider public matters. If you wish to speak, please fill out a blue speaker card and provide it to the City Clerk. If you wish to submit any written materials, please provide those to the City Clerk. They will be distributed to the City Council. As required by state law, when speaking on an item listed on the agenda, limit your comments to the subject of that item. If you wish to speak on a subject not listed on the agenda, you may speak under the public comment portion of the meeting. Finally, please address your comments to the city council staff will not respond to questions from the city, uh, from the staff will only respond to questions from the city council, not from public speakers. We'll now move on to the invocation. So the invocation will be provided by pastor Dave Evans from grace community church.

good evening mayor city council staff please join me in prayer heavenly father thank you for the city of lake forest our residents and those who serve on the city council and all who serve and represent our city in various capacities in both paid and volunteer positions Thank you for our sheriff's deputies who protect us and enforce the law and for our chief of police services, Captain David Paltz. Thank you for the OCFA and that Lake Forest has been named as a 2026 California Fire Risk Reduction Community. And thank you for Scout Troop 321 who will lead us in the pledge of allegiance to our flag. Lord, we ask for safety for our city and for protection for our sheriff's deputies who so faithfully serve us.

Will you please give them patience in their interactions with the people?

And as school resumes, we pray for the teachers who invest themselves in the lives of the students and ask that you equip them to provide excellent education for our children. And we ask for the students to accept the challenge to learn and to prepare for their futures. God, will you help our city, our people, our businesses, and leaders to thrive and prosper economically, materially, physically, and spiritually. Please give our city council and leaders wisdom and perspicuity for the plans and decisions they are tasked with making. I ask all these things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, amen.

Thank you. That leads us to the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag of our country. It will be led by Scout Troop 321.

Audience, please rise. Would you please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance? 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. You may now be seated.

It's good, it's good. Keep going.

It's Leo, Leo. All right, that works.

All right, ready? Three, two, one. Thank you.

All right, that brings us to our closed session report. Mr. City Attorney, are there any reportable items from closed session?

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. There is no action to report this evening from closed session.

Thank you. Madam City Clerk, are there any voices to speak for closed session?

There are none, Mayor.

Thank you. We'll move on to presentations. Do I have a motion to consider approving presentations? I'll move item number two and four through four. Okay, let's vote.

And the motion passes unanimously.

Thank you. Madam City Clerk, please read the title to item number two.

The title of item number two is the I-5 El Toro Road Interchange Project Update.

Thank you. Madam City Manager, please introduce this item.

Thank you, Mayor. Tonight I'd like to introduce as guest, we have Rose Casey, the Executive Director of Planning from the Orange County Transportation Authority to provide an update on the I-5 El Toro Road Interchange Project.

Thank you so much. Good evening, Mayor Pequeno, Mayor Pro Tem Serbo, and council members. As was mentioned, I'm Rose Casey, Executive Director of Planning for OCTA, and with me is Angela Hui, the Principal Community Relations Specialist at OCTA. So we really appreciate this opportunity tonight to provide you with an update on the I-5 El Toro Road Interchange Improvement Project. The area studied in the draft environmental document is depicted by the red line boundary and extends nearly half a mile up and down El Toro road. So it's bounded by Rockfield toward the bottom of the screen and Paseo de Valencia towards the top of the screen. It also includes approximately two miles along interstate five. To provide some important context for this project, the I-5 El Toro interchange was identified as a top priority project by Laguna Hills, Laguna Woods, and Lake Forest during the development of M2. In the M2 ordinance that was approved by the voters in 2006, the I-5 El Toro interchange project is one of several local interchange projects in the M2 freeway program, and as a localized improvement is to be developed in cooperation with the local jurisdictions and affected communities. In the 2025 update of the M2 Next 10 Delivery Plan, this project is identified to be environmentally cleared by the end of this year so it's shelf ready for future advancement. Here, this provides an initial timeline of project events beginning in February 2015 with the planning phase where 15 alternatives were considered to the completion of the OCTA-led Alternatives Assessment Study in 2021, which studied an additional seven alternatives. So in total, 22 alternatives were studied, highlighting this as a very challenging project that required a high level of city involvement at every step. In March 2022, OCTA, Caltrans, and all three cities reached consensus on the two alternatives to move forward to the environmental phase. In January 2023, Caltrans and OCTA restarted the environmental phase. Fast forward to this year, Caltrans has completed the preliminary engineering and environmental technical studies, resulting in the draft project approval and environmental document that was released for public review on July 31st. So this is alternative one, which are the braided southbound I-5 hook ramps. This alternative includes a two lane I-5 southbound off ramp to El Toro Road with one lane assigned to El Toro Road West using the existing hook ramp while one lane is assigned to El Toro Road East that is braided over the southbound hook on ramp. This ramp then travels over El Toro Road on a new bridge and then ties into a realigned Avenida de la Carlota next to the village at Laguna Hills. This alternative is a design variation of alternative one on the previous slide. It includes a potential public street connecting the village at Laguna Hills development to the proposed southbound I-5 ramps and Avenida de la Carlota intersection. So this shows alternative two, which is the flyover ramp with a roundabout. This alternative was evaluated but eliminated because it is inconsistent with state policy. The revised design to meet state policy resulted in an alternative that is too close to existing residences, creates a landlocked parcel and a very small parcel with very limited access to and from Rockfield. Those are some of the reasons for the elimination of this alternative. Alternative three is the TSM-TDM alternative that includes advanced traffic signal improvements and other intelligent transportation systems or ITS enhancements. like traveler information systems or traffic management center upgrades. This alternative is a standalone alternative, but could also be incorporated with the other build alternative. The project benefits include traffic congestion reduction, safety enhancement, and improved emergency response times that are related to congestion relief. So we'll get into this in more detail with the next slide. So this graphic summarizes the benefits associated with alternative 1 slash 1A, including reducing traffic congestion and delays by distributing traffic from the existing southbound I-5 off-ramp to the new braided off-ramp denoted by the purple arrow. A substantial share of the southbound I-5 traffic headed to eastbound El Toro would shift to the new braided off-ramp in purple, replacing two left turns that are shown by the orange path with two right turns that are shown by the light blue path, reducing intersection delays. The intersections with a substantial improvement in level of service are circled in green. Reducing traffic congestion will also enhance safety by reducing congestion-related accidents, as well as improve emergency response times through the area. Next, Angela will share information on the public outreach efforts.

Thank you, Rose, and good evening, council members, Mayor Pequeno. Again, my name is Angela Hui, outreach manager for this project. As the project continues through the environmental review and public engagement, our team's comprehensive outreach campaign is already underway to keep residents, businesses, and stakeholders informed and involved. During the public review period, we are hosting two public hearings, one in person and one virtually to provide opportunities for the community to learn more about the project, ask questions and submit comments. The in-person public hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, August 26th from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Laguna Hills Community Center. The virtual public hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, September 2nd from 5 to 7 p.m. via Zoom. and we do have flyers with us today with more of the details of the public hearing if folks want that to support the public review and hearing process our team has developed exhibit boards and updated our project collateral materials including a fact sheet postcard mailers and flyers these materials are being used for our broader community outreach and public awareness efforts and we have also shared these materials with key stakeholders to help inform the community and raise awareness of opportunities to participate Overall, our goal is to keep this process transparent and ensure the public continues to have a voice in the selection of a preferred alternative later this year. With that, I'll hand it back to Rose to discuss next steps.

So the public review or circulation period closes Monday, September 14th. Angela spoke about the two public hearings that are coming up, and the selection of the preferred alternative, as she mentioned, is scheduled for October. with the final project and environmental documents scheduled for approval late this year or early next year. That concludes our presentation, and we'd be happy to answer any questions you may have.

Well, thank you for that presentation. Before we go to questions from the public colleagues.

Thank you, Mayor. First of all, thank you to the OCTA team for being here and raising awareness about this project. I know it's something that's been a long struggle to try and get where we are, but I'm hopeful we're going to get consensus and we can move something forward. A little bit about the timeline for this project. This is not something that's eminent, so maybe you could speak just briefly to what the projected schedule is for this, if it should move forward.

Councilmember Tettemer and the council. So the schedule for the environmental phase to be complete is the end of this year, early next year. At that point, assuming that there is a preferred alternative that is selected by the three cities, Caltrans and OCTA, then we could begin design as early as mid-next year, and then that would conclude in 2031, at which point construction could start, and then construction would be completed in 2035. the tentative schedule, assuming that we're able to complete the environmental phase.

And maybe just talk a little bit about the improvements, because I know in talking to you and others, the do nothing alternative certainly shows some challenges over time when you run the traffic models out. Can you speak a little bit to what we're hoping to achieve in terms of the benefit side?

So the project team has done, Caltrans and the consultant team have done an extensive job on the traffic analysis and what it shows with the alternative one, the braided ramps, that there is significant traffic reduction at all the intersections in the area. So right now, the first key intersection is the I-5 southbound off ramp that ends at Carlotta and then Paseo de Valencia. that intersection shows a big improvement in future projected traffic. So for example, it would go from a level of service F, which is the worst traffic condition, to a level of service D. And so there are other key intersections in that path that heads to Lake Forest that would be greatly improved like that.

Yeah, and it makes sense because if we can take some of that southbound traffic and send it over El Toro and then swing it back around, we're not having everyone coming southbound having to make the left left to go underneath. So it sort of makes sense on its face. But well, thank you again for being here. I appreciate you raising awareness and I'm hoping the community is engaged on the 26th. Thank you, Mayor.

Yeah, I do. Thank you for coming and thank you for the job that you do in mitigating traffic congestion in our county. Obviously, you guys do a great job. You know, if you go into other counties in other cities, it's it's a lot worse than we have. So thank you for what you guys do. My question is that the congestion on the five freeway southbound. Obviously, that's one of the reasons why we want to do this and trying to get the traffic flow off the freeway quicker, right?

Council Member Voitz, that is correct. There is a significant amount of southbound traffic that exits the ramp, and currently there's roughly half of the traffic that stays on the Laguna Hills side, and then half that goes to Lake Forest. So the build alternative, which includes the braided ramps, would basically split the traffic, lightening the load on the current intersections, and then also relieving any situation where there would be traffic that would be backed up on the southbound off-ramp. So primarily it's for improving local circulation in the area, but it also would have benefits to the I-5 freeway as well.

So that new bridge that would take the traffic going east on El Toro Road off the freeway on the other side of El Toro Road, is the Carlotta, the ability for Lake Forest residents to get off at Carlotta still there? So when you come off the freeway now, you're getting off on Carlotta, making a left and then a left on El Toro Road. Is that alternative still there for residents?

Yes, I understand your question now. So yes, that option is still there, and then there would be the new option with the new braided off-ramp.

And that would be one lane going across El Toro to a right turn lane on Carlotta on the other side of El Toro?

That's correct.

So do you foresee that maybe being backed up if people like that alternative better? I mean, obviously you'll mitigate that traffic with lights, traffic flow.

Yes, Council Member Voigt, we would be adjusting the signal timing such that it would address the traffic that is making two rights to go east potentially and also the traffic that's still taking the first off-ramp and perhaps going west or going east. So we will be timing the signals such that we maximize the traffic flow.

Do we have a traffic flow count of how many cars get off that freeway to El Toro in one day right now? Do you have those numbers?

We do. That is in the traffic study. And if you bear with me for a second, I might be able to find that. Let's see.

The reason I'm going there, because I think that in your study, it also shows the traffic flow five years from now or 10 years from now. So I think that the public, if you brought that up and talked about, you know, right now, this many cars get off five years from now, it's projected to be this. So the fact is, the urgency of allowing us to get this going is it's important to do nothing solution. I don't think serves the residents of Lake Forest or Laguna Laguna Hills.

I'm just immediately able to find the existing volumes. So these aren't the projected. And without my glasses, but the existing volume of cars that exit the freeway right now are 1,000 vehicles in the afternoon, about 1,500 vehicles in the morning. And then let's see here. Oh, my goodness. Yeah, I can't see this, but I will look it up and provide that information to you.

It's all right. I was just going to do the example of the increase of traffic at that location. And so El Toro Road is an extremely busy street anyways. And so this is very important to us. And so I want to say thank you for coming. And if you see that number before, we can maybe bring it back. It's quite a bit, I've seen the numbers, and it's quite a big, large increase of people getting off. Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mayor. Thanks for the presentation. Can you give us a quick summary of the M2 funding, how that continues to take care of the expense of this?

So Mayor Pro Tem Serbo, this project is fully funded in the M2 freeway program delivery. We update our annual sales tax revenues every year. There is enough funding in our cash flow to fully implement this project all the way through construction. That is something that we verify every year, and so that was verified in our last update in November of last year. So this is a commitment of OCTA to deliver this, and it is funded and planned.

I'm sure our residents feel more comfortable that way. They're not going to have another increased tax burden because of things that are more expensive and now it's going over time and things like that. It looks like the basic alternative that was abandoned was going to impact our side more so, but now that one's no longer part of the picture. and it looks like the burden is more on the Laguna Hills side if that adoption of that one is taken care of. So in terms of the businesses on our side, is that an eminent domain type of situation or those businesses are aware of these different plans that are coming about too and making plans and things like that? Is that accurate?

So with the circulation of the draft environmental document, it does have the design plans that show, for example, there would be businesses along Bridger Road that are shown to be potentially impacted. Long ago, there was an alternative that would have impacted the Green Thumb. That is no longer the case. So there are businesses or properties that are potentially impacted. are identified now in the plans. What OCTA has done in all of our M2 freeway project delivery is sought to reach agreement and arm's length transaction with all of the property owners where we need properties for our projects. So in the cases where a project schedule needs to be maintained, then in that case, we may go to eminent domain, but even in that case, we seek to reach an agreement or a resolution with a property owner. So that's been our experience so far.

Okay.

Thank you.

All right, thank you. So I'm in agreement with my colleagues about the do nothing alternative. That's not something that we wanna see because part of Lake Forest is covered by Station 22 in Laguna Hills, which is on PDV and El Toro. So if you're unfortunate enough to live in Station 22's area and Station 19's busy, At 5 o'clock, it would be inconvenience inconvenient to be to have an emergency there. My son was alive. Station 22 would always come scoop them up and take them to the hospital. And so. And with the traffic modeling that council member voice was talking about in a couple of years, it's only going to get worse. So we do have to do something because part of our city is an impacted. by the clog that happens at the El Toro underpass. So, yeah, I hope we come and we figure this out and the traffic modeling is not going to be any better. So if I have no other questions, do we have any public comment?

We do not, Mayor.

All right. Well, thank you so much. And if you get those numbers for Scott, you can send them to him. Thank you.

Thank you.

all right so we're going to move on to oh madam city clerk please read the title to item number three the title of item number three is the recognition of the 2026 fourth of july parade volunteers sponsors and award winners thank you madam city manager please introduce this item thank you mayor tonight we have recreation manager laura hunter to provide a presentation on our fourth of july parade

good evening mayor piceno and members of the council tonight we are here to recognize the hard-working individuals that made the fourth of july parade such a great success this year's theme was celebrate country and community first i would like to recognize the amazing parade committee that works so hard throughout the year to provide the lake forest community with a quality and exciting annual fourth of july parade there are 24 committee members and some of them are here to receive their certificates Now, I'm going to call your names. Please wait until all your names have been called to come up and take a photo with our council members. Nova Bates, Ralph Bates, Brandon DeRosa, Marty and Robbie Dutchman, Kevin Graham, Martha Halverson, Loretta Herron, Rosalie Irish, Steve Itzkiewicz, Cheryl Kempfener, Margie Lancaster, Timmy Montgomery, Doris Neal, Becky Sanchez, Jeremy Schumacher, Jeff Simon, Rich Stein, Michael Varma, Connie Visconti, Don Winkler, Todd Winkler, Sherry Zapala, and Jennifer Ziv. If you don't mind coming up. Come on. You want to go to the front? Yeah.

Thanks so much. Thank you.

All right, right in front of us here.

We'll kind of organize them.

Yeah, yeah, come on right in here. All righty, ready?

Three, two, one.

Thank you all so much. This was a very successful 4th of July parade. Of course, Laura, we've got to give her a hand for what she did. And Ariella. It was great. All the floats were great. You did a great job. It was a little hot for some people, but it was nice. So thank you all for what you did.

Great job. Thank you.

I would also like to acknowledge the hard work in the early hours from the Orange County Sheriff's Department with Deputy Devin Bachman leading the team along with the stars and the explorers securing the streets and a special thanks to our Justin Kirk and PV maintenance for the coordination of street closures and prompt neighborhood cleanup to reopen the streets in a timely manner. We also appreciate the service provided by Falk Ambulance to be there on standby and ready at a moment's notice. If I could have those groups come up as well, please. all right one more time three two one thank you go ahead and stay if you don't mind staying i have a couple more if you don't mind splitting the screen then the next will be the presentation now i'm going to be recognizing the parade winners we have a short presentation displaying this year's winners Please wait until all parade winners have been called and then come up to the front along for your photo. This year's Best of Lake Forest Award, Love Lake Forest. Best Vehicle Award, The Saddleback Area Historical Society and Moulton Museum. The Legacy Award, Abiding Savior Lutheran Church and School. Best Novelty Award, Comet Quest. Community Outreach Award, our Terranova Band. A new one this year, the Most Patriotic Award, Spirit of America with the Army Recruiting Station and George Washington. Our People's Choice Award that was voted with our QR code, that was PKSA Karate OC. and our Mayor's Award, Ballet Folklorico de Gates. That concludes all of our winners for this year. If you would like to come up and take a photo with our council, we would appreciate that.

Congratulations. These are all winners. Oh my gosh. Look at the colors. Awesome. Thank you. Congratulations.

We got dressed up for tonight.

It's awesome. Good to see you. Yeah, we split it up.

All right, let's get organized here for a photo.

All right, ready? Three, two, one.

So Dennis here had the spirit of America and he didn't win the award because George Washington was on the float.

And the last one more, sorry not to be forgotten. On behalf of the city, I would like to thank our local business sponsors that make such a difference with this parade. We have RC's Watering Hole, Eagle Community Credit Union, Row House Foothill Ranch, Oceans Pediatric, Mr. Planter, and the United Studios of Self-Defense Lake Forest. If you don't mind coming up and taking a photo. Hi.

Congratulations.

You can move towards the middle.

All right. Nice. All right. Perfect. Ready. Three, two, one. Thank you.

And that concludes my presentation.

Thank you, Laura. Madam City Clerk, were there any requests to speak on this item?

There were none, Mayor.

All right, thank you. Colleagues? All righty, so we'll move on to item number four. Madam City Clerk, please read the title to item number four.

The title of item number four is the Wildfire Mitigation Update.

Thank you. Madam City Manager, please introduce this item.

Thank you, Mayor. At the podium, we have our Administrative Services Manager, Sharlyn De La Paz, who is going to provide our presentation tonight.

Good evening, Mayor and Council Members. In 2024, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, CAL FIRE, released updated local responsibility area fire hazard severity zone maps, identifying moderate, high, and very high fire hazard zones. These maps are used to determine where California's defensible space requirements and wildland urban interface building standards apply. In June of 2025, the city council adopted the city's fire hazard severity zone maps. Hazard classifications are based on long-term physical conditions that influence expected fire behavior over a 50-year period and do not account for short-term changes. Fire risk, however, reflects the potential impact of wildfire under current conditions, including fire reduction efforts, defensible space measures, and ignition resistant building construction. CAL FIRE ESTABLISHED THE FIRE RISK REDUCTION COMMUNITY LIST TO RECOGNIZE COMMUNITIES THAT HAVE IMPLEMENTED EFFECTIVE WILDFIRE MITIGATION AND PREPAREDNESS MEASURES CITIES COUNTIES TRIBAL NATIONS AND SPECIAL DISTRICTS ARE ELIGIBLE TO APPLY FOR THIS DESIGNATION. To qualify, a jurisdiction must have areas designated as very high fire hazard severity zones and demonstrate the adoption of local wildfire planning and prevention best practices through ordinances, municipal codes, and community risk reduction efforts. Benefits of FRRC designation include priority consideration for wildfire prevention grants and potential for property insurance discounts for residents and property owners within the city. The city has two pending grant applications related to wildfire mitigation. In July, the city submitted a CAL FIRE grant application for hazardous fuels reductions in three areas of the city. totaling approximately 51 acres. Two project areas, Concourse Park and Foothill Ranch Community Park, are located within the very high risk zones. Broken Bow Open Space is located in the high risk, medium risk zone. The second grant was submitted on behalf of the city by our lobbyists through Senator Adam Schiff's office. This grant is for fire mitigation at Serrano Creek Park, which is about 44 acres. Both grant applications are pending approval. I am pleased to announce that the City of Lake Forest has been designated as a Fire Risk Reduction Community by CAL FIRE. This designation recognizes the City's commitment to implementing wildfire prevention and risk reduction measures that enhance community safety and resilience. As a result of this designation, residents may be eligible for discounts on their property insurance premiums. Residents can provide a copy of the certificate to their insurance provider when inquiring about the discounts. Please note, though, that eligibility and discounts availability by insurance companies are not always guaranteed. For additional information regarding insurance-related benefits, residents are strongly encouraged to contact the California Department of Insurance or their insurance carrier directly. Copies of the Risk Reduction Community Certificate will be available at the front counters of City Hall, the Clubhouse, and the Sports Park. The certificate is also posted on the city's website under fire risk for residents' convenience. Additionally, we have copies in the back information table for residents to take along with a variety of emergency preparedness and wildfire resources. This concludes my presentation and I'm happy to answer any questions that are anything specifically related to wildfire OCFA Deputy Fire Marshal Juan Huerta and Fire Captain Andrew Bergen are here to answer questions as well.

All right, thank you. Before we go to public speakers, colleagues.

Thank you, Mayor. Thank you, Sherilyn, for that information. Of course, I just celebrated my 40th year two days ago in Portola Hills at my home and have had the experience of being evacuated twice over the last few years. So this is a very TOPICAL SUBJECT THAT IS CLOSE TO MY HEART. AND JUST FOR AN AWARENESS PERSPECTIVE, IN PORTOLA WE'VE GOT ONE FIREWISE ORGANIZATION THAT'S IN PORTOLA HILLS 2 AND WE HAVE ANOTHER ONE IN PORTOLA HILLS 1 THAT'S UNDERWAY. SO I AM REALLY HAPPY TO SEE THAT we put the effort forward to get this certificate and hopefully provide some relief financially. I know it's not guaranteed as you mentioned, but it's something that will at least hopefully give some discount opportunities or for people who are at risk for losing their insurance, they'll now have something that says, we as a community are doing everything we can in these very high fire severity areas. I appreciate all the information you provided and also the efforts from our city and our staff to help mitigate that so we keep our residents safe. I'm also appreciative of what Southern California Edison has done and of course Orange County Fire Authority to help mitigate that as well. Hopefully, this is something that you know, we're more prepared for than ever and keeping our community safe. So again, thank you for your efforts in this as well.

Thanks, Sherilyn. But also, one of the things I was talking to staff about is we're going to be putting this information on the leaflet so people can know to either download it or come to City Hall or go to the clubhouse or to the sports park. But also, we're going to try to push it out to the HOAs so they can push it out to their people. I KNOW I WAS TELLING STAFF TODAY THAT WHEN I WAS A DEPUTY AND I PATROLLED PORTOLA HILLS AND FOOTHILL RANCH WHEN I WOULD WRITE THE ADDRESS AS LAKE FOREST I'D GET A LITTLE UPSET THAT I WROTE LAKE FOREST AND NOT PORTOLA HILLS OR FOOTHILL RANCH AND SO JUST SO THEY KNOW THAT THIS CERTIFICATE EVEN THOUGH IT SAYS LAKE FOREST THEY ARE COVERED BY THE LAKE FOREST UMBRELLA SO MADAM CITY CLERK ARE THERE ANY REQUESTS TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM

There are none mayor.

All right. Thank you. Well, that takes us to the public comment. If you'd like to make a comment, please fill out a blue speaker card and give it to the city clerk and your name will be called. The comments are limited to three minutes per person. The council and the staff will not respond to questions or comments during the public comment period. If you leave your contact information, staff may contact you to address your issues, raised your nerve comment. When you recall to speak, come up to the podium. Your three minutes will begin when the green light is on. The green light will remain on for two minutes. When the light changes from green to yellow, speakers will have one minute left to conclude their comments. When the light changes from yellow to red, your time is concluded and please return to your seat. A timer is not displayed on the screen. Madam City Clerk, have we received any requests to speak?

We do have three in-person speakers and our first public commenter is Anil Patel.

Good evening, Mayor Pequeño, council members, city manager Rose, city staff. My name is Anil Patel. I've been living in Lake Forest for the past 18 years here in District 3. I just want to take a moment to thank the city and its staff for putting together some amazing summer events that we've all enjoyed over the past summer. I took advantage of the opportunity to see the movies in the park. the summer concerts, the national night out. It was really great seeing all the families, the children, the residents of all ages come together and really take advantage of the free events the city had to highlight. Especially, I was grateful to see Councilman Chetimer, city clerk, at the last summer concert over the weekend. It was featured by a group called Yachty by Nature. I was introduced to a genre called yacht rock, which I've never heard of before, something I learned. Um, events like these are things that make Lake Forest a great place to live. Uh, they give residents opportunity to get outdoors, really be part of something greater, a bigger community. And, uh, I was really grateful for that. So once again, just want to say thank you to the city, the city's council city staff who did an amazing job. And I hope we continue to host these kinds of events in the future. Thank you. Thank you for your comments.

Our next public commenter is Randy Johnson.

Well, hello, Council. Randy Johnson, a longtime Lake Forest resident. You know, I'm here tonight to correct the record. There was some derogatory and inaccurate statements that were made about me at this meeting back on July 21st. And, you know, I've been coming to these meetings for about 20 years, longer than you've been on the Council there, Mr. Voits. And never, ever, and I'm proud of this, have I ever criticized another private citizen who came up to this podium, ever. I would never do that because it would be risking chilling free speech. And we don't want that to ever happen, ever happen, okay, in these council chambers, ever. So, anyway, the person who came up here was Mark Herbenson, by the way. He came up here and he accused me of calling Mr. Pequeno, Pequeno. I never said that. He said that at 44 minutes and 35 seconds on the video. I've never used that term before, ever, in writing or verbally, ever. And he came up here and said that about me. And I'm saying to myself, what is going on here? Why would he say that about me? He didn't give any substantiation. He didn't say he said it here, he wrote it there. He said nothing. He just said it, OK? And then he said also that I said I'm glad I'm not there so I don't have to see your faces. I never said that. I never said that. What I said is, boy, am I ever glad I stayed home tonight. The reason I said that is because the meeting went on for over four hours, and I didn't have to physically sit in these chambers and wait to speak. That's the reason I said it. I don't know where he comes up with this stuff. I really don't. And then he accused me of being disrespectful and mean to Ms. Merritt, the clerk. I've always treated her with respect, the utmost of respect, and she has to agree with that. I've always been polite to her, always, okay? And then he talked about that I called the city manager Deborah. Maybe I have in the past sometime, but he said I did in the previous meeting. I did not. I called her Miss Rose. And I have it documented here, you know, in this email. I don't respect her because I think she's overpaid, by the way, and she doesn't do her job. She doesn't enforce the fireworks ordinance, which is her obligation under 2.08.066 subsection A of the city's municipal code. That's a shell, by the way, city attorney. That's a shell. It's a mandate. And she doesn't do it. And she can do it because there's a social host, okay, ordinance that eight other cities have done in Orange County. She refuses to even address it.

Thank you for your comments. And just to clear the record, my last name is Pequeño, not Pencueno. You said Pencueno. My last name is Pequeño. There's only one N. Thank you, Mr. Johnston.

Our next public commenter is Bob Holtzclaw.

Bob Holtzclaw, resident of Lake Forest. A while back, you attempted to change the voting regulations for the city of Lake Forest. That residents voted for by 82.5%. About 50 people came to the city council and showed they were against the idea of the city council meeting later. Mayor Pequeno said, we dropped the idea and changed the voting for changing the voting regulations. and you were on tape. And I think Mr. Johnson probably got a copy of it because he keeps everything. Now you wanted to change again the Lake Forest voting regulations with a proposition on the ballot in November. Big change. Pretty soon, too. You lied to the residents and said that you weren't going to do it, and now you did it. that supported the current regulation by 82.5%. That's what the population voted for. And you did it with taxpayers' money. How about if you lose this proposition, all five of you come up with the money instead of the city? and repay us for a narcissistic ego proposition that you just resigned yourself. Matter of fact, I think you ought to come up also with the cash that whoever wrote the proposition, I'm sure it was our attorney. Maybe you should take care of that too. I mean, the whole proposition only benefits the five of you. That's it. Thank you.

Thank you for your comments.

Mr. City Attorney, could we clarify? I think that the issue that people were coming to talk about to the chamber here was term limits. What we have on the ballot is not term limits. Is that correct?

Mayor and Council, the measure on the ballot for November allows for the service of two consecutive terms with a four-year cooling-off period followed by an additional two consecutive terms. So it increases or it changes the current limit, which is a lifetime max of two terms, two terms with four years off and then two additional terms.

But just to clarify, that doesn't affect any of our limits?

That's correct.

Okay, so it's just for a cooling off period is basically what we're adding. Thank you.

And our last public commenter is Jeff Durenson.

Thank you, Ms. Merrick, for letting me follow these people. I'm going to try to say this with a straight face. um you guys are all horrible miss rose is overpaid just kidding don't try to attack me i want to thank all of you city council members staff and miss rose i was i'm starting the speech because of the july meeting where you guys were haggling and stuff people don't see the behind the scenes Where I live, I have the opportunity to be on the rec club. I've invited Ms. Deborah Rose and Mayor, excuse me, Mayor Pequeno, Councilmember Serbo, Voights, Tenemer, our old police chief, I don't remember her last name, I know her first name, and our current Chief of Police Captain Dave Pultz. Everybody has shown up and they had a bunch of positive reviews from them. They can't believe that just little old me can invite people like you. They think of you as high class, very quality people running the city. And I want to commend you for a financially sound city. That's great. You guys don't have any allegations of any type of wrongdoing. And all I have to say is just thanks again. And you guys are doing a great job. And sure, there's going to be haters, there's gonna be lovers, there's gonna be negativity, there's gonna be positivity, but we're all human and that's just the way life goes. And like, I don't remember which council member was saying it, if there's something you don't like, then put your name on the ballot. Maybe one day you might get up on the stage and be with you guys and might be on staff over here with Ms. Rose and the city attorney and city manager and Mrs. Merritt, so. I don't know what else to say and didn't mean to catch you guys off guard, but I thought I'd start with something joking and get it towards the tail end and be positive and happy. Thank you again. Appreciate it.

Thank you for your comments.

That's it, Mayor.

All right. Thank you. We'll move on to the consent calendar. All matters listed under the consent calendar are considered routine and will be enacted by one vote. There will be no separate discussion of these items unless... members of the city council or staff request specific items to be removed from the city count consent calendars for separate action have there been any requests to remove any item from the consent calendar

No request to remove any items, but we do have public comment on item number nine.

Okay, before we do that, I'll allow my colleague to read his statement.

Yes, there are warrants on the register for the County of Orange. I am an employee for the County of Orange, but I do not work for the departments that generate the warrants. Because the County of Orange is a public agency and because I do not work for the departments in question, I have determined I have a non-interest in these warrants and I will vote on the item all right i'll take the i'll take a i'll move motion i'll move the consent calendar with the exception of my nine public speaker okay i'll second the motion did you want to pull anything all right let's vote and that motion to move the remainder passes unanimously

and the title of item number nine is the lake forest municipal code amendments regarding electric bicycles and our public commenter is mr randy johnson you know the funny thing about you guys is that when i bring the facts and i always bring the facts everything i do is documented everything i do is documented

Your answer, why don't you run for office? Instead of actually addressing the facts, you come back and you insult me. See, that's the way you operate, you know? Especially you, , or , what I was accused of calling you, which I never said in my life. Anyway, with regard to this e-bike issue, I didn't have a chance to talk about it at the last meeting. You know, we had senior citizens come here probably eight, nine months ago complaining about being harassed and terrorized by e-bikers up at the sports park. I remember it vividly, okay? And nothing was done. In fact, you know, she was asked, the city manager, what the policy was with OCSD with regard to this type of enforcement. I don't know. It's what she said.

That's what she said.

And it doesn't surprise me at all. Is this going to be enforced? That's my question. Look at the fireworks ordinance. Every year, hundreds of skyrockets going up in the air, hundreds. She is mandated by the municipal code. You've already passed it. It's already an ordinance. It's already on the books. It's been on the books for years and years. It's her job now to enforce the law. Does she do anything? No, she just sits there and grins. That's all she does. That's dangerous fireworks, okay? E-bikes are dangerous too. It took a man dying in order for you people to come here and do something about e-bikes with regard to the ordinance. Took a man dying. You're always reactive. You're looking in the rear view mirror. Now you have to come in with damage control. That's what this is all about. Let's face it. But you won't admit that. You won't admit it, okay? That's the problem with you folks. You don't give us any truth. And we can't get it out of you. It's the same thing with the vendors on the streets. They had propane tanks on the sidewalks for a year. These could have exploded and killed our residents. They were feeding them unpermitted food. Took her a year to fix the problem. All it took was a security agency, a private security agency, to chase them away. She could have done that back in 2023, OK? She didn't do it. She waited a year. Same with the illicit marijuana dispensaries. Same thing. We had an ordinance on the books. Paid the city attorney $200,000 to do the whack-a-mole prosecutions on it. That's true. And all it took was an amendment to the nuisance ordinance. Could have been done months, maybe a year earlier. So this is the problem we have with this city. You folks won't admit your faults. You won't come clean. That's why I'm so disappointed when I come up to this podium, I'd love to congratulate.

Thank you for your comments. And by the way, my seat is up in 2028.

Our next public commenter is Amy Stevens.

Yes.

Good evening, Marin council members.

My name is Amy Stevens and I'm a district for residents.

Thank you for continuing to address e-bike safety. This is an issue I hear about frequently from neighbors, particularly parents, and people who use our parks and trails. I have two requests as you consider the ordinance and how it's implemented. First, I appreciate the clarification in the staff report about the difference between e-bikes and e-motos. Sorry. E-motos are already classified as off-highway vehicles and aren't are not permitted on our streets, sidewalks, bike parks, or parks. But I don't think that distinction is necessarily clear to families and young riders. As the city communicates these new rules, I'd encourage you to make it very clear what is an illegal and illegal e-bike and where each of these can be legally ridden. Second, I'd encourage the city to prohibit riding e-bikes through our parks while still allowing riders to use designated trails, bikeways, or other appropriate paved routes. Riders could walk their bikes through other areas of the park. That gives familiar, sorry, that gives families clear expectations while protecting people using playgrounds, fields, and park pathways. More broadly, I really appreciate the city is approaching this as an opportunity for prevention. Clear roles, good signage, and education gives riders, especially young ones, a chance to understand what is expected before someone gets hurt. I would much rather see us prevent another tragedy than simply respond after the second one. We can give kids the freedom to ride while setting reasonable boundaries that protect them and everyone around them. Thank you.

Thank you for your comments. I'll take a motion.

Mayor, I'll move item number nine, please.

I'll second that. Let's vote.

And that motion passes unanimously.

Thank you, and we'll move on to discussion items. Madam City Clerk, please read the title to item number 14.

The title of item number 14 is the award of a professional consultant services agreement for the design of the Lake Forest Sports Park renovations, 24P01, and Etnies Skate Park building improvements, 27F06.

Madam City Manager, please introduce this item.

Thank you, Mayor. Tonight we have a presentation by our principal civil engineer, Robbie Shaw.

Good evening, Mayor and council members. I'm here to present to you a recommendation for the Award of Professional Design Services for the Lake Forest Sports Park and Recreation Center renovations and the Etnies Skate Park building improvements. So these are two of the city's most visible and heavily used recreation facilities. The sports park opened in 2014 and includes 57 acres of sports fields and a 27,000 square foot recreation center. The Etney Skate Park opened in 2003 and includes over 62,000 square feet of skatable area and serves approximately 60,000 visitors annually. Both projects are included in the city's CIP and the investments will continue supporting public use and daily operations. For the sports park, the design work focuses on modernizing key interior spaces within the recreation center. That includes areas such as the front desk, staff office areas, restrooms, kitchen, meeting and activity rooms, with a focus on updating and refreshing finishes, AV systems, accessibility, and general long-term maintenance improvements. For etnies, the focus is on the existing building that supports skate park operations, The scope includes the office, pro shop, snack bar, restrooms, providing storage, HVAC, weatherproofing, and low voltage infrastructure. This item is for the building improvement design and not the scalable area improvements effort, which is a separate project that is going to go out for procurement of final design services soon. This agreement includes design services to take both projects from preliminary design through bid-ready documents. The selected firm will prepare preliminary design and cost estimates, final plans, specifications, and estimates, and provide bid support and design support during construction. If approved, staff will execute the agreement and begin design through our consultant. The next steps are to develop preliminary design and cost estimates, coordinate city review and the Entney Scalable Area design efforts, and complete bid-ready construction documents. Staff would then return to council later for a future construction procurement. So as detailed in our staff report, BOA was selected through the city's competitive RFP process and received the highest overall ranking. Staff also completed scope clarification and reference checks. The recommendation is to award the agreement to BOA architecture in the amount of $167,000, which includes $94,000 for the sports park and $73,000 for the Etnies project. That concludes my presentation and I'm available to answer questions.

Thank you. Madam City Clerk, are there any requests to speak on this item?

We have none, Mayor.

Thank you. Colleagues?

So this went out as a combined project RFP?

That's correct.

How many bidders did we have on it?

We got four bidders, and they were all eligible to submit for both projects.

So they weren't bifurcated? both of them were included in one bid? That's correct. Okay, that's it.

Thank you. I move approval. There you go. Second. All right, let's vote.

And that motion passes unanimously.

Thank you. Move on to item number 15. Madam City Clerk, please read the title.

The title of item number 15 is the Capital Improvement Plan Update.

Thank you. Madam City Manager, please introduce this item.

All right. Coming to the podium, we have our Assistant Public Works Director, Naz Makaram, and she's going to give us an update on our Capital Improvement Program.

Good evening, Mayor and Council Members. I'm here tonight to provide a brief update on the City's Capital Improvement Program. highlight what we delivered during the second quarter of 2026, what is currently under construction and what residents can expect to see coming next. Let me start with the big picture. Our current capital improvement program or CIP includes 60 projects representing about 55 million in investments across the city. These projects cover a wide range of needs from parks and recreation to streets and traffic improvements and to facilities and environmental projects. What have we delivered? During the second quarter, we completed two additional CLP projects. These may not be the largest projects in the program, but are good examples of the type of improvements that residents experience directly in their daily lives. The first is citywide park restroom painting and painting and renovation project. And the second is the annual citywide concrete trail repairs. Both projects were completed in May and focused on maintaining the city's existing recreational assets and keeping them safe, functional, and welcoming for residents. These 2 projects bill on 17 other CIP projects completed since June 2025. Collectively these projects have delivered surface streets and repaired sidewalks upgraded parks and facilities improve intersections and new recreational opportunities. This is really the headline of today's update. We have completed 19 projects and invested approximately $10.5 million within our community through our CIP program within the last fiscal year. And the value of this investment goes beyond the dollar amount. These projects improve the places residents drive, walk, exercise, play, and gather every day. And there is a lot more underway as another 12 projects are currently in construction. These projects are at different stages, but together they represent the next wave of improvements residents will see throughout the city. One of the most visible projects underway is the El Toro Road corridor improvements. Construction began in April, and we've already completed roadway widening at Geronimo Road, concrete bus paths, and sidewalk and curb ramp installations. We are now constructing raised medians on El Toro between Geronimo and Tribuco. During this phase, we are maintaining two travel lanes in each direction while the inside lanes are closed for construction of the new medians. We recognize that projects of this scale create temporary impacts for drivers and the surrounding community. But when complete, this project will provide long-term improvements in mobility, pedestrian access, safety, and the appearance of the corridor. We appreciate the community's patience as we work through the construction phase. We're also making significant progress through our Lake forest traffic mitigation program or lift and program these 3 intersection projects have reached completion from the lift and program. The long leads traffic cameras have all been installed and Council approved the notice of completion in July these projects improved efficiency and safety of dinner sections. Bay-Tribuco intersection project is also substantially complete. Roadway widening, median improvements, and the final paving work are all complete. We are now in the final landscape maintenance period. This is another example of a project that moving from construction impacts to a finished transportation improvement for the community. Not every CIP project is a multi-million dollar project. Small projects can deliver meaningful everyday benefits. For instance, the fifth phase of our audible pedestrian signal program improves accessibility at additional intersections. The skate park LED lighting project provides improved and more energy efficient lighting at the facility and Lake Forest Sport Park HVAC replacement will improve comfort for residents visiting sports park building. These projects may have a smaller construction footprint, but they directly improve the experience of residents using our facilities. At Foothill Ranch Community Park, we converted an existing roller hockey court into a dedicated box lacrosse facility. The project added the dasher boards, striping, benches, fencing, and goals needed for the new use. What I particularly like about this project is that we were able to create a new recreational opportunity without building an entire new facility. This is a great example of listening to the community, repurposing an existing asset, and delivering additional value from infrastructure we already own. As we complete projects and move others through construction, we are also preparing the next group. We currently have nine projects in pre-construction. A significant portion of the upcoming work focuses on maintaining our pavement infrastructure. The city has awarded contracts for the Zone D and Civic Center slurry seal projects with construction beginning this month. Bay Parkway, Regency, and Normandy resurfacing projects have also been advertised. By maintaining streets before they deteriorate further, we can extend pavement life and manage costs over the long term. The next wave of projects goes well beyond pavement. We are also advancing improvements at Nature Park, Lake Forest Park, Peachwood Park, along with repairs to lodge pool and metal fencing, and Lake Forest Park netting and screening. We are also advertising civic center exterior painting project in the coming months. Together these projects continue the city's focus on maintaining and improving the assets residents already use. And the pipeline continues beyond pre-construction. We currently have six additional projects in design. Design is where we turn an identified need into a buildable project. Within the park program, two of the projects currently in design are the Nature Park Trail connection and Aliso Creek drainage repairs. These projects address both recreational connectivity and the long-term condition of our infrastructure. On the street improvement side, we are working on design for arterial wall enhancement in Southwest Lake Forest. And three intersection improvement projects funded through developer fees are also under design. And finally, we have three projects entering the early design stage. Kavanaugh Park's design contract was approved by council in July, and staff had a kickoff meeting with the consultant to begin design. Earlier tonight, you received a presentation regarding Lake Forest Sports Park and Lake Forest Skate Park building improvements and approved award of the design contract for these two projects. So to wrap up, here is where we stand today. We've completed 19 projects representing approximately $10.5 million of investment. We currently have another 12 projects in construction, with nine moving towards construction, six in design, and three in predesign. So while we delivered 19 projects from our program, we have another 30 projects moving forward. In other words, we are delivering projects today, building the next group, and preparing the projects that will follow. Thank you, and I'm happy to answer any questions.

Thank you for that presentation, Naz. Colleagues?

Thank You mayor just a comment I'm reminded every time we do one of these quarterly updates of how fortunate we are to have the resources that we have and you don't have to look far to see what other cities are struggling with in terms of their budgetary circumstances and that's not our story and also it's not an accident that we find ourselves in this position to continue to make these investments in the community so I'm very proud of of where we are positioned and our ability to continue to enhance the community's lives so thank you to staff and thank you to previous as well as the current council for being very cognizant of the financial responsibilities of this organization thank you

Thank you, Mayor, and thank you very much for that nice, quick summary. And again, just to echo Kelsey Merterimer, the behind the scenes work that are very competent staff and our fiscal management allows us to be able to bring these amenities to our community, which are very impactful. get feedback all the time about how much people appreciate being here in Lake Forest. We're making the spend in areas that really enhance the, you know, the community. And got to get a couple of my key phrases in when I'm talking to people about how we're driving down Altoia Road, like we're having the short-term pain for the long-term gain. And I appreciate you saying the patience that some of our folks have to endure, and I hear that too. But again, this is very short-lived compared to the long-term gain that we get out of it. And my other favorite phrase, of course, is the biggest room is the room for improvement. And so it's right there in their CIP. So continuing to do that and seeing that we're not sitting on our hands, we've got people in the background that are thinking ahead and a cooperative effort between our residents and staff and the council all make that happen. So great work. Thank you very much.

Thank you.

I concur with both my council members. You know, Lake Forest is a great place to live, work, and play. And, you know, we get to sit on the dais and take some of the credit, but the fact is behind the scenes, you guys do a great job for us in improving, making Lake Forest better, making it more fun to be in. And so I just want to say thank you on behalf of the City of Lake Forest. Thank you, Doug. Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you for the presentation here. I just got one question here regarding the slurry CO2. How long it gonna takes?

We plan to finish it before the holidays, so hopefully.

Thank you.

Maybe even sooner, but. I'll keep some bigger room for the team.

There you go. So my colleagues made some points is that this is a very well-run city. we really have to understand that we make, or we vote on some of the policies, but it's the city staff that makes everything happen. We come and sit here, we read the staff reports that you write, we don't write them, and we make decisions based on your staff reports. And if you really think about this, The person that's in charge of this city, or of the staff, is Deborah. Deborah does a phenomenal job. We just won the Triple Crown. What was that, the Triple Crown? The GFOA is the Triple Crown for Finance. And Amy Lewis is in the back, she'll tell you about it. But out of

How many cities in the country, Bill? 431.

No, no. In the country. Only 441 cities across the country got this Triple Crown Award out of every city in America. So that's because of our staff. Public Works just got something. What was your... Yeah, for Heroes Park, they got an award. Where's Bella at? She's up there. Bella got the California PIO Award. So it's our staff that's doing this. And the person leading our staff is Deborah Rose. And before Deborah Rose, it was Bob Dunnick. But Deborah Rose has been our city manager or in our city since Christ was a corporal. So for a long time. So our city is well-run. If you look around, there are cities that are having financial issues, cities that are having all types of issues. Our city is well-run. And for anybody that doesn't like the way we're doing things, like I said, my seat's up in 2028. You can have it. But I don't think people, some people, they have the courage to type stuff, say stuff, and send emails, but they don't have the courage to sit where we sit. So thank you for your presentation. I'll get off my pedestal here. But great job, staff, all of you, even you, Keith. So this is a receiving file. Thank you for your presentation, and we'll move on to this city manager report. Madam City Manager, do you have anything?

I have nothing further, thank you.

Okay, for council comments. Council Member Tetimer.

Thank you. Attended the concert in the park with Yachty by Nature and a great car show, some great turnout, lots of people there. So thank you to staff for putting on another great event. Thank you.

Council Member Boyce.

I too attended the last concert of the year and with a wonderful car show. I want to say thank you to staff once again. It was the greatest turnout that I've probably ever seen at the sports park. The enthusiasm, the excitement for Yachty by Nature made us all Yachty by Nature crew members And participation on the dance floor was second to none. It was a fun, fun concert that closed out our summer concert series. So thank you to our staff. Thanks for Lake Forest coming and having a great time at the sports park. And that's all I have. Have a great rest of the week and stay cool.

Council Member You.

I have nothing further.

Mayor Pro Tem.

Thank you. Well, I missed the concert this last weekend because I was at my high school reunion, my 50th. So I'm the youngest 68-year-old you'll ever know, if I wanted to put that out there. And also had an opportunity to attend a very emotional wedding. It was so emotional that even the cake was in tears. Thank you.

Tears. Did I get that? Okay. Tears.

Why do I do this? So I attended national night out and, um, I also, I missed the concert because I was out of town. I was, I went to Hartford, Connecticut to see my nephew, Adrian get married. Uh, and there were no tears at this wedding, but I also had the opportunity to go to a Hartford yard goats, double a baseball game. And I got the opportunity to throw out the first pitch. Am I going to tell you how it went? It was right down the middle. I'll have the video for sure, showing you probably next meeting. But with that, thank you all for attending and watching, and we'll adjourn.