City Council - Special Meeting

Okay. Good evening, good evening, good evening to our special meeting this Tuesday, August 4th, 2026. And I will call this meeting to order at 5.05 p.m. this Tuesday, August 4th. And it says 4th. Is today the 4th? Yeah, I guess it is. For some reason, I've been thinking all day it was the 3rd. At any rate, we will start our meeting off with the invocation for Pastor Michelle Wright. Hi, Pastor.

Hello.

Followed by the Pledge of Allegiance by Councilmember Larry Spicer.

I greet you in the name of the MMA and the Monrovia Arcata Duarte Town Council. It's great to see you guys again today. If we can just take a minute and bow our heads. We gather here today as neighbors and public servants, working together for the well-being of the community. We welcome a spirit of unity in this room, leaving personal agendas at the door to labor for the common good. May we seek to understand before being understood, bridging our divides through shared humanity. Grant this council the wisdom to make decisions that are just, the patience to resolve conflict with grace, and the courage to act for the benefit of all. It's in this spirit and for our communities we begin our work. Thank you.

Thank you.

Please stand and join me in the Pledge of Allegiance to our flag.

Ready? Begin.

Okay, can we please have our roll call? Council members, Dr. Kelly? Here. Spicer? Present. Mayor Pro Tem Jimenez? Here. And Mayor Shevlin? Here. And Council Member Belden is excused. Okay, great.

Then we do not have any presentations or proclamations, nor do we have a student report that will be coming In September, it's hard to believe that school year starts next Wednesday, I think, for them. It's pretty crazy. At any rate, then, are there any changes to the order of business? I don't think so. It's pretty short this evening. And then our consent calendar, those are items CC1 through CC9 are considered, 11, excuse me, considered ordinary in business and can be entertained in one and enacted in one motion. Unless there's something that needs to be polled or discussed, do we have a motion to approve our consent calendar?

Move for approval.

I'll second it. We have a motion and a second, then without objection, then so approved. OK, we are moving to the public input. And I just thought of this. Since this is a special meeting, is this just public input on matters on the agenda, which is literally like nothing? In this case, we traditionally allow public input. All right, so then I'm opening it up to public comment. Thank you for joining us this evening. So at this time, we will take comments from our public here. You will have three minutes to address the City Council. Was there anyone that requested public comment? I will ask the audience, anyone present wanting to give public comment this evening? Not seeing any, then we will close that portion and move on to, we have no public hearings or meetings. We have, though, the report of our city manager and staff, so Mr. Feek.

Thank you, Madam Mayor. A few items for the council that I'd like to share. Last week we received information from L.A. County on the point in time count results. What's interesting is this year they broke out the numbers in much greater depth than they have in years past. And so the city saw an unsheltered population went from nine persons counted to 15. But also we went from zero persons sheltered to 27 persons sheltered because of the Pathway Home Project. And the time this was done is when they were also unwinding the Pathway Home Project. So we expect that number to decrease. Also on looking at improvised dwellings, which are your your camps and your tents that are set up, we saw a decrease from people and homeless persons counted from 21 down to 13. So overall, the numbers are good. It's hard to notice really. We don't make progress year to year. It's more about trends over time. And so the good news is Monrovia has seen a trend declining over the years. This year, we actually also saw the addition of counting of sheltered persons, which was positive for us to see. Um, also the, the 2026 summer pool program has completed its eight weeks, um, at the high school pool. We're very grateful for the partnership and we'll look forward to, um, uh, considering future partnerships and programs in the future. Um, the library project is out to bid. We're currently soliciting responses. Yesterday we did a pre-bid meeting and we had over 20 participants in the meeting. We expect it to be, um, A very successful and popular project. Also, 222 East Cypress is out to bid. Those documents are available on the website. In the very near future, we'll be releasing RFPs for both the community center project as well as the Anderson House project. So a lot of stuff to be working on through the end of this year and into next year. That's my report this evening. Thank you.

Do you have maybe a little closer estimate on the community center other than in the near future?

Within the next couple weeks, we're finalizing a few details for the RFP, but we expect to release it within the next few weeks. We also have our ratings call with S&P on the 20th of this month. So at the same time, we're preparing and soon releasing the RFP. We're also finalizing all the bond documents. We expect the library project to come back to city council for approval in September. The community center, it's possible late September, more likely October, that that item will come back to you for approval.

Any questions of Dylan this evening? I did have one more question on the homeless. I didn't see a final or maybe a follow-up report, and I don't know actually if – If it was prepared, the individuals that were housed at our pathway homes, the final number of those that were then went on to, I know many of them were housed in Baldwin Park. Others chose to leave the program. Do we have a final count on that?

I'll look. I believe the county provided us some level of detail, but in total there were 52 persons served over the period of time that Bathway Home operated. The vast majority of them were all moved into permanent supportive housing in Baldwin Park. The information that they provided us on those who did not move into permanent supportive housing were a small handful of people who either did not want to participate in the program, did not want to move into housing, There were some who were actually removed from the program for failure to follow program guidelines, but that was a pretty small percentage.

Right, and be nice to know since that program ended in February, it's now been almost six months now since it's been closed, what happened long-term with those individuals if they have been tracking them to know that they have remained housed? um so that would be nice nice to know um okay then we are just moving right along here uh to our reports of city council members and mr spicer i'll start with you okay mary i'll start off with a brief update on several community programs

and events that's happening throughout the month of August. First, this Friday, we'll be hosting the final session of our SPOT program for teens at Library Park beginning at 5 p.m. This event is open to all teens in grades 6 through 12, and it includes free food, games, music, and crafts. It's been a great way for our youth to stay connected and engaged, and we're looking forward to closing out the season with a strong turnout. Also, this weekend marks the final movie and concert events of our summer series. On Saturday, August the 8th, we'll be showing Wicked for Good at Recreation Park on the Barney Glen Field. And then on Sunday, August 9th, the Rotary Club Band Show at Library Park will host Bumptown, an old school funk band. We encourage all families to come out, bring their blankets and chairs and enjoy these last summer evenings together. On Saturday, August 22nd, we invite families to join us for Kids Craft in the Canyon from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. And that is sponsored by MPWR. THIS EVENT IS FREE ALSO. IT REQUIRES NO REGISTRATION. AND IT INCLUDES CRAFTS AND SNACKS FOR CHILDREN TO ENJOY IN A BEAUTIFUL OUTDOOR SETTING. REGISTRATION IS OPEN ALSO FOR OUR FAMILY HIKE AND CAMP OUT WHICH WILL BE TAKING PLACE AUGUST 29TH AND 30TH. THIS WEEKEND EXPERIENCE INCLUDES NATURE HIKES, OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES, CAMP BAR, STORY TIME WITH S'mores in both a barbecue dinner and breakfast. Dylan, you cooking? No? Space is limited, so we encourage residents to contact community centers soon to secure their spots. Finally, we ask the community to save the day for our annual Fountain to the Falls Run and Walk happening on Saturday, September the 19th. The route begins at the Library Park fountain and continues through the waterfall in Canyon Park and back. Registration opens Monday, August the 17th. These events continue to highlight the spirit of Monrovia, bringing families, youth, and neighbors together in a meaningful and enjoyable way. So thank you, and that's my report.

Okay, great. Thank you, Larry. Tamla?

Thank you. I just want to make a comment regarding the spot program. I've been getting a lot of feedback from parents in our city that are saying that the spot program has been such a great thing for their young adults and I mean their youth to be a part of. So it's so great that we have that available. I know that it was a big concern, a lot of concerns concerning Old Town. and youth and what to do because they were concerned parents. But I want to say that we're trying to meet those needs and we're trying to show up in real tangible ways to meet the concerns of parents in this community. So if parents have more ideas or any ideas, feel free to send an email to any of us. our community services department. Again, we're consistently looking for ways to meet the needs of our youth in our community. So I want to just give a spotlight. Did you catch that?

Yes.

Okay. Spotlight for the SPOT program. That's it. Thank you.

Great. Thank you, Mayor Pro Tem.

I wanted to share the wonderful celebration that Vons had. Vons isn't just a supermarket here in Monrovia. It's a community gathering place. All of us have probably been there. We've run into family, friends, and neighbors. They celebrated their 40th anniversary just recently. They had music, giveaways, food, but most importantly, they brought together the community, the special people that shop there, and the people, special people, that work there. And sometimes we take places that we go shop to get our groceries for granted, but that is a special place with all its amenities that it has, with its Starbucks, with its tables you can sit down and have coffee, but mostly a sense of community is brought. So I want to shout out and congratulate Vons for the wonderful celebration, the 40-year anniversary that they celebrated recently in Monrovia. I also wanted to give credit to the people behind the Burr House in Monrovia. They recently had the ribbon cutting. A lot of people take for granted that Monrovia, its cornerstone is really its historic identity. And here with the grand opening of the Burr House, And soon the Cafe Violas, which will be open for breakfast, brunch, and dinner, it highlights just how special Monrovia is, its deep roots in the San Gabriel Valley, and it's really unique. It's not like any other place where you can go and spend the night. And the food also is going to be unlike anything else in Monrovia or the entire San Gabriel Valley for that matter. So I just wanted to point out those two important community celebrations that we recently had, Madam Mayor. Thank you.

Thank you very much. And on mine, I just have a couple of items. I think I mentioned the last time, our last meeting, that I was going to be attending a conference in Washington, D.C., with Foothill Transit. It was a Compto conference, and that actually is a – group of nationwide transportation organizations everything from kind of trains planes and automobiles but buses but anything to do with transportation that was very interesting and was able to also do a little sightseeing in DC and they have a new exhibit there on the by the Lincoln Memorial and its two flags and it has scrolling constantly of the names of anyone who is actually served in the military and you can go if you're there you can give them a name uh and they will call it up and it will show up on these flags and you can take a picture of it and i was with my son and it was really kind of neat to to see that so if you happen to be in dc or you know somebody who is and they're a military person or they're They're related to one. Tell them to check it out, and that's right at the base of the Lincoln Memorial. It's really neat. I also attended the Arthur Blair ribbon cutting. They've had lots of either ribbon cuttings or grand openings on 4th of July, and then having, I guess they're right now having soft openings. But yes, it will be a really neat addition to our downtown area. And so really look forward to their success. And they have great mint lemonade. Ooh, it's really, really good. Yeah. And it is all, it's all, well, no, I won't go that far. It's very good just the way it's prepared, just the lemonade and the mint. And then thank you, Larry, for that update on the Fountain of the Falls. I was wondering if we were going to do it. I'm going to try. Not I. Going to try, going to try, going to try. Was able to attend some of the intern, student intern presentations. And would you like to, did you want to report on it, Larry?

No, but I just want to give, it's not Sophia. The young lady that was in charge of the yes interns, she did an excellent job this year.

Was that Haley?

Haley, that's her name. I keep mixing her up with the other young lady. But anyway, I just wanted to give her kudos, and I'm going to take her blueberry muffin one day.

Well, she did do an excellent job, and the dinner they had with all the interns, and they got their little certificates. and had dinner and their parents and family were invited. It was very nice and the presentations were done very, very well. And I did notice though, I was sitting out there, I don't often sit there while the monitors are going, I don't, we need bigger monitors, or I need better eyeballs.

When they update the city hall.

Yeah. So, but great job to the interns, and I really wish them all luck in the coming years.

Mm-hmm.

I also, the city has, the employees have their coffee Thursdays, every Thursday, and I was able to go to the one this last Thursday, and community services hosted it, and what would you call that game they were playing? It was kind of like pop-up bars. Yeah, Home Run Derby, but it had a hitch to it. I thought it was calibrated so it was the smaller number to the largest number, the furthest out. Oh, no. You had to have a little bit of control there, and it was smaller at the beginning, and then it went higher, but the furthest out was zero. So it wasn't the one that could slug it, and so congratulations to those who but it was real nice and I thank community services and it's just nice. Dylan and staff, thank you for doing that for our staff. I think they all have a great time doing that and sharing a little coffee and sweets in the morning on Thursdays. Was also able to attend the, oh, I did want to highlight the county has something called the City Selection Committee. And it's a crazy committee, but it exists because in the county of Los Angeles, whether if it's a county library or the metro board appointments and things like that that are through the county, They have to be ratified or confirmed or appointed through the city selection committee. 88 cities have to convene or a quorum of those. And it's not just a quorum of number, it's a quorum by population. And over the years, it's been very, very, very difficult to get consistent quorums. It's been nuts. I can't tell you how many times I drove to some crazy place just to find out we didn't have a quorum. Well, we have just recently been able to have satellite locations, and Monrovia served as one just recently. So we're doing better. But if you can imagine, if you have six different locations, all calling in, and they're not muting their phones, and it can be kind of crazy. But at any rate, the new elected chair for that committee is Corey Kaleike from Claremont, and he asked me to be the vice president. our vice chair so i am the new vice chair of the city selection committee and so i don't know if you heard the comments during the meeting and how everybody was unhappy i i don't know that might be kind of punishment but corey and i are going to work very hard to try to work at a better way to hold the meetings and so it assures quorum and they move efficiently. And the appointments are done efficiently as well because in years past a lot of them have been really pushed out for months and months because they couldn't get a quorum. So that's a little update there. I did attend the new teachers and employees breakfast. That was on Monday, yesterday. And that was always nice. It was nice to see that they have a relatively good crop of new teachers and employees. And this time they did actually, they introduced them, which was nice. And so that was very nice to take part in that. And they all got a tour of the city departments after that. And I really, really pushed for them all to have the city managers update. Did you have an opportunity to reinforce that idea? Okay, good. And last but not least, I also wanted to highlight in the city manager's update to the group has been, Monrovia's had its first West Nile virus positive number, and not in a person, but it was a dead bird, I believe. I believe it was a bird. At any rate, the San Gabriel Valley Mosquito and Vector Control also is starting a or has started a sterile mosquito program. It is a pilot program in just a certain area, but we hope to be able to really cut down on the number of mosquitoes and the 80s mosquitoes, all of which spread disease. But if you should believe that you have contracted West Nile or you find dead uh birds especially please please report them and you can go online to the San Gabriel Valley mosquito and vector control I'm sure if they wanted to call the city who would they talk to Dylan

For which specific part?

Like for reporting the dead birds, do you find a dead bird?

Yeah, well, I think the best thing to do is if they assume that there could be something else and they want to get it checked to call Mosquito and Vector Control, if you're just disposing of a dead bird, I think there's... Probably a couple options. I could tell you how I would do it. And I think- No, I wasn't talking about- What I want to do is I don't want to give people information that now bogs down the city staff. So I think the best way is if you think there's a concern that there could be West Nile virus contact mosquito vector controllers, we could have it tested. Right. Otherwise, you would just dispose of the dead bird as you typically would, whatever that is. bury it, it becomes organic material in the earth, maybe that's my recommendation.

I totally understand. Okay, with that. Then that is my report and then oh one more thing we have a designation of voting delegate for the 2026 League of California cities our general our annual General Assembly now the recommendation on our agenda is to have Me be the voting delegate, but anyone we're all attending so any one of you if you want to DO THAT.

I'D LIKE TO RECOMMEND THE

As the vice, as the alternate. Alternate? Okay. Okay. I will then, Sergio and I will act as the voting delegate and alternate.

And Dr. Kelly as the other alternate.

As the third one. I nominate Council Member Larry for the third. Hey.

I decline. I rather for you.

He's not here.

Can we just add Edwin?

I'm available and willing to serve. There you go.

All right. So we have a first, second, and third. So with that, do you need anything official on that? Okay, great. Then with that direction, we'll report those to the league, those delegates. Okay. Excuse me. Well, that brings us to the end of our agenda. We have no administrative reports, and there's no further public input. So with that, boy.

National night on.

We are now, and the reason for this special meeting, as you probably already know, we have National Night Out at Library Park, and that's where we're all headed to after this. And so with that, with no further business to, yes? What?

Lauren's aunt passed away.

Oh, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. There is, I'm sorry. in memory of Alice Eason, aunt of Assistant City Manager Lauren Vasquez. I'm sorry, Lauren. Yes, and we, our hearts and prayers go out to the family, and we're so sorry for your loss. So with that, we are adjourned at 5.31. See you next time. Our next meeting is Tuesday. September 1st. Oh my goodness. See you in September.