City Council - Regular Meeting

Thank you. Thank you.

All righty. My goodness. It hardly seems possible. It seems like we've been away forever, and here it is, September 1st, but it's so good to be back. And so good evening, everyone. Welcome, and I'm going to call this meeting of our regular city council this Tuesday, September 1st, 2026, at 7.35 p.m., Okay, we are convening our meeting this evening in honor of Robbie Rhodes Castaneda, born August 18th, 2026, to Captain Justin and Odessa Castaneda, and Miyaka Monroe... Hi, Gucci, born April 7th, 2026 to Yuka and Yudai Gucci. And so welcome to Monrovia. Do we have any? Oh, there. All right. Very cute. Welcome to Monrovia. Okay, and then we are going to move on to our invocation, which will be provided by Tricia Hellman and followed by the Pledge of Allegiance by Mayor Pro Tem Sergio Jimenez. Patricia, thank you.

Good evening. Dear Heavenly Father, Mother, Love, you are all-knowing, all-seeing, all-powerful, and ever-present. I know you love this city and its leaders and residents by the many blessings given to this community. I ask that your wisdom, truth and love be present at this meeting, providing peace, joy, honesty and affection to the meeting participants. I know you are with us now and hear our prayers. May your loving embrace guide each of us to your bountiful light. Thank you. Thank you.

Please stand and face our nation's flag.

Ready, begin. I pledge allegiance

Thank you, Sergio.

Okay. Can we please have the roll call? Yes. Council members, Belden?

Here.

Dr. Kelly? Here. Spicer? Present. Mayor Pro Tem Jimenez? Here. And Mayor Shevlin? Here.

We did have a closed session this evening, and I will turn it over to our city attorney to report out.

Thank you, Mayor. Prior to the meeting this evening, the council met in closed session regarding the two items on the posted agenda. Mayor Shevlin abstained and recused herself from item CS1 due to a conflict of interest with the property owner. The council heard reports from staff and took no reportable action.

Thank you very much. uh... moving on then we do not have any uh... presentations or proclamations this evening and on our student government representative report we do have a new uh... liaison but they are not here this evening we believe that will They'll be here for our next meeting. So Cassidy Carlson. So we'll look forward to meeting our new liaison next meeting. I don't believe we have any changes to our order of business. Is that correct? No, then we will move on then to our consent calendar, which are items CC1 through CC9, which are considered ordinary in business and can be enacted in one motion unless there's something that needs to be pulled for further discussion. Do we have a... A motion.

I'd like to move for approval. Second.

We have a motion and a second. Then without objection, our consent calendar items CC1 to CC9 are confirmed. Then public input. Boy, we're just moving right along. Public input, thank you very much for coming this evening. This is your time to come and address the City Council on Any item not on our agenda? And so I do believe we have quite a few cards. You will be given three minutes apiece. So please, it's all we ask is if you didn't have a card that you state your name for the record and be respectful. So with that, Alice, who do we have cards for?

Beginning with Sherry Lochner. Good evening, Sherry.

Good evening. My name is Sherry Lochner. I am here this evening to continue to advocate for day laborers and other people who are immigrants targeted by ICE. At the last city council meeting that I attended, I reported there had been 75 deaths as a result of ICE actions. As of today, five more people have lost their lives. Jose Chajon Razon died on July 14th. He died at Delaney Detention Center in New Jersey. He was from Guatemala and had only been in ICE custody for one day when he experienced a medical emergency. Jose was transferred to a local hospital where he died. On July 24th, Brasiliano Trejo Ricano died in an ICE detention center in Georgia. He was a 29-year-old man from Mexico. He came to the U.S. when he was three years old with his family. Brasiliano had only been in detention for three weeks when he died. He was in regular contact with his family and reported... severe sore throat, coughing up blood, and had intense migraines. He was denied medical treatment. On August 1st, Edwin Giovanni Lopez Cornejo died in the Delaney Ice Detention Center in New Jersey. He was 41 years old and from El Salvador. He was the sole provider for his 12 year old daughter and his mother. When Edwin was taken into ICE custody, he was not allowed to take his regular medications with him. He was denied medical treatment and suffered a medical emergency that resulted in his death. Jonah Neal died on May 20th, but his death by an ICE agent was not reported until August 23rd. Jonah was shot inside his Memphis home. by an ICE agent who responded to a 911 emergency call that his mother had made. His mother made the call because her son was experiencing a mental health crisis and needed help. She did not expect ICE agents to respond to her son's medical emergency and shoot him dead. Jonah was a U.S. citizen and a healthcare worker providing care for veterans. Pierre Damas Bell died yesterday, August 31st. He was a 20-year-old man from Haiti and a university student in Ohio. He was publicly bullied and denied participation in soccer and JROTC programs due to the ankle monitor he was forced to wear. In a social media post before his death, Pierre stated, I came to this country to pursue my education. I didn't come here to commit a crime or hurt anyone, yet now I'm walking through the streets of the U.S. with a GPS monitor on my leg, carrying a feeling of shame and humiliation that I never imagined I would experience. Pierre walked into oncoming traffic on Interstate 70 in Springfield, Ohio. We should be shocked and outraged at the deaths of these people, regardless of their immigration status. Immigration status should never strip someone of dignity, due process, or their life. This evening, I reiterate, as always, the following requests of the Monrovia City Council. Continue to pursue an independent report investigating the circumstances resulting in the death of Carlos Roberto Montoya Valdez. Two, adopt an ordinance declaring Monrovia a sanctuary city. And three, continue to work with us to establish a permanent memorial honoring Carlos Roberto Montoya Valdez. Thank you.

Thank you. Martha Mack. Good evening, Martha.

Hello, good evening. I will be reading the names of the 80 people who have died in ICE custody or as a result of ICE action since 2024. Jose Manuel Sanchez Castro, Pankaj Karan Singkataria, Ramesh Amichand, Henry Ronald Guillen, Saravit Gezahengdehene, Maxim Cherniak, Juan Alexis Tineo Martinez, Ruben Ray Martinez, Brian Rayo Garzon, Non Noc Nguyen, Marie Ange Blaise, Abelardo Avellaneda Delgado, Jesus Molina Vella, Johnny Noviello, Isidro Perez, Jaime Alaniz Garcia, Tien Xuan Phan, Chau Feng Gay, Carlos Roberto Montoya Valdez, Lorenzo Antonio Batres Vargas, Oscar Rascón Duarte, Silverio Villega Gonzalez, Santos Benegas Reyes, Ismael Ayala Uribe, Norlan Guzman Fuentes, Hua Bing Xie, Miguel Angel Garcia Hernandez, Leo Cruz Silva, Hassan Ali Moed Saleh, Gabriel Garcia Aviles, Josue Castro Rivera, Kai Yin Wang, Francisco Gaspar Andres, Pete Sumalo Montejo, Shiraz Fatahalle Shachwani, Isaias Sanchez Barbosa, Jean Wilson Brutus, Fawad Zaid Abdul Qadir, Delvin Francisco Rodriguez, Nenko Stanev Gonchev, Keith Porter Jr., Geraldo Lunas Campos, Luis Gustavo Nunez Caceres, Luis Beltran Yanez Cruz, Renee Nicole Macklin-Good, Paradis La, Victor Manuel Diaz, Eber Sanchez Dominguez, Wael Tarabishi, Alex Jeffrey Pretty, Jairo Garcia Hernandez, Lorth Sim, Linda Davis, Nurul Amin Shah Alam, Julio Cesar Pena, Alberto Gutierrez Reyes, Pejman Karsenas Najafabadi, Emmanuel Damas, Daffy Michelle, Irvin Cruznape, Orlin Hernandez-Reyes, Mohamed Nazir Pakhtiawal, Royer Perez Jimenez, Jose Guadalupe Ramos Solano, Tuan Van Bui, Alejandro Cabrera Clemente, Aled Damien Carbonell Betancourt, Denny Adan Gonzalez, Jonah Neal, Mamuka Atmeladze, Felix Alcorta Rodriguez, Adrian Andres Florian, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, Joan Sebastian Guerrero, Jesus Manuel Arenas Silva, Juan Jairo Corania Duran, Jose Chajon Roxon, Presidiano Trejo Ricano, Edwin Giovanni Lopez Cornejo, and Pierre Damas Bell.

Thank you. Daniel. Sorry, excuse me. Daniel Eel. Hello.

Can Ms. Carol Daly go before me, please?

Yes. Carol Daly. Thank you. Hi, Carol.

I'm here to counsel people and Dylan. Is this speaker? Do I have it over? Oh, yeah. Thank you. Hi, my name is Carol Daly, and all of you know me, and thank you for letting me have this moment. I run the Foothills Kitchen. We've served 105 people two weeks ago, 85 people this past week. It's very hot in the 100-year-old United Methodist Church. We don't have air conditioning. There's only three electrical sockets in the dining room. And many of the fans we have are blowing hot air around, and then we have the body heat. So it's very hot, but it's a joy to be there, actually. Our community center has not been set up during these past two weeks with the extreme heat wave. Last Saturday, I asked the guests, how many of you would use the cooling center? Of the 15 people that were there early, four of them raised their hand and said yes. One gal said, could we sleep there? Which started a conversation, another conversation. At the library, if we fall asleep, we're asked to leave. When I heard that, I thought of how easy it is for those of us with homes to go home and take it for granted that others are suffering, but not by being able to escape the heat or cold and need a place to... Wait a second. a need to find a place like the library to relax and possibly doze off. It's around that time that I began texting and emailing all of you about why wasn't the cooling stations opened. So I invited all of you to come over and join us at the kitchen for lunch. Becky and Tamla said that they would be looking into the cooling station further. Thank you, Edward, for coming over and walking through our dining room and meeting some of our guests and hearing their stories. I did a little research and found out that in El Monte Community Center they have a cooling center that is activated when the temperature reaches 90. It's been operating for many years. It serves generally 30 to 40 people, most of whom are seniors. They have four rooms. They have a TV room where people can come in and just sit or sleep. They have a computer room. They have a pool room, like billiards, with card tables for playing cards and puzzles. And they have a workout gym. People have to sign a waiver if they're going to use the equipment. The cooling center is opened on Saturday and Sunday, 10 till 5, and is staffed by two people. I believe I was told no food allowed inside, but drinks were okay. Drinking fountains are the source of water and restrooms, of course. They allow people to come in and sleep if they like, but not horizontally. When people arrive at the cooling center, they sign in with their name and phone number. The TV is regulated by the staff who comes into the room and asks whoever is there, these are your choices, what would you like to watch?

Carol, can you wrap it up?

Okay, I'd like to propose that Monrovia has a cooling station that opens automatically when the temperature hits 90, that we copy many of the ideas and implementations of El Monte now uses when it goes over 90 and it's open on Saturday and Sunday, a big sign out in front letting people know that it's available. And then there should be a charging station. I humbly submit these ideas on behalf of especially those that are living in the street and no place to turn to. And the invitation still stands that all of you are invited to come over for lunch. The reporting time is 1230. And you can either come over and serve or you're welcome to be served. And it's a wonderful experience in spite of the heat. Thank you. Thank you.

All right. Daniel Eel.

Good evening, Daniel.

This is my first time here, so please excuse my nervousness. Affordability, that's my topic. I recently became homeless. I'm a nurse, former nurse. My mother died. I suffered a stroke, and as a result of that, I was physically incapable of working and became homeless. Couldn't afford my $3,000 apartment anymore. When I moved to Monrovia, rent was $600, $800, and that was considered expensive at that time. So affordability. I've met three women. housewife-looking, clean-shaved women, men, and their complaint, similar, is affordability. One said $2,100. You know, when we invited business into Monrovia, I remember when that was the topic, and I didn't expect it to push the rest of us out, you know, make things so that we can afford it. So... Also, for the homeless, I think we should have more EBT-friendly shops, stores, what have you, because that's our income. That's basically all we have, the $200 a month. I can't survive on $200 a month. I don't know who can, but that's all I get. And so, thank you.

Thank you. Bobby Queen.

Good evening, Bobbie.

Hi, good evening. Thank you for having me. This is also my first time. And I brought some pictures. If you don't mind. There's two in here. The reason I'm here today is I'm here in regards to the trees. I live on Lyme Avenue. And on March 12th, my neighbor decided to build an ADU on her front lawn. And as a result, she hired some of her workers to chop down a very top heavy tree. They chopped down half of it on her side and let the other half remain. And then in June, she went and had them chop down a big Chinese elm tree that was between my property and her property. Mind you, when we moved in, that area was heavily shaded, so we accommodated that landscape with shade tolerant plants. Now that the tree is gone, all of that landscape is dead or dying. And with the El Nino that is approaching in Santa Ana's, this is a public safety hazard. I normally don't come out and make statements like this, but a group of citizens here decided to organize, to create a petition to either hire a city arborist and also expand the protection of trees. I would really appreciate if you would consider those, because imagine if there was an arborist in the city of Monrovia, this would not be allowed to happen. And because I live on Lime and between Primrose and Myrtle, There is a lot of foot traffic that goes on Fridays and any time there's an event. That tree is a public safety hazard. And that was a perfectly good tree that could now possibly be removed because of its condition. And that shouldn't have had to happen. And I'd like to say one more thing. One of the appeals of Monrovia is I moved here three years ago with incredible tragedy. I had lost three family members in a succession of six months. And it was literally the trees in the city that kind of became a part of my healing. Every day, taking a walk around the park and in the neighborhoods kind of gave me a sense of solace and comfort that I don't think anything else would have. So I would really like... if you guys would consider hiring an arborist and also expanding the protection of all the trees. Thank you.

Thank you. I did want, since there's a couple, a few of you, I guess that this is your first time, I just want you to understand public comment. It's really a one-sided dialogue. It gives you the opportunity to come and address the city council, but since these are not agendized items, we do not have a back-and-forth dialogue. So I just want you to be aware of that.

Desiree Thomas.

Good evening, Desiree.

Good evening. It's also my first time coming to a city council meeting and speaking, so thank you for your time. I came to speak for the trees. I'm here to support both petitions because I think we need to start looking at trees differently. Trees are infrastructure. The city spends money planting them, we pay to water them, we pay contractors to prune them, we repair sidewalks and infrastructures around them, and when they die or are removed, we pay to replace them. So shouldn't we be making sure we're protecting that investment? When a street light breaks, we don't just ignore it until it falls over. When we build a road, we don't spend thousands of dollars constructing it and then decide we're not going to maintain it properly. Trees should be treated with that same long-term thinking. A healthy mature tree can serve this community for generations. It shades streets and sidewalks, it reduces heat, it provides habitat, it makes neighborhoods more comfortable to walk through, and it contributes to the character of our community. Unlike most infrastructure, a mature tree cannot be simply purchased and replaced. You can replace a street light tomorrow. You can plant a tree tomorrow, but you cannot replace decades of growth tomorrow. That's why decisions about mature trees deserve more scrutiny. It's also why having a qualified professional overseeing our urban forest makes sense. A city arborist or urban forester can help make sure trees are planted correctly, maintained properly, evaluated appropriately during development and protected when protection is warranted. This isn't an extreme proposal. It's responsible management of a city asset. And stronger protections don't mean that no tree can ever come down. Trees become hazardous, development happens, sometimes removal is appropriate. The question is whether we have a thoughtful system for making these decisions and whether we're adequately replacing what we're losing. I support these petitions because I want future generations to inherit a Monrovia with more mature trees and more shade, not less. Please work with the community to strengthen these protections.

Thank you. Susan Pilcher.

Hi, Susan.

Hi.

Greetings to you. the esteemed council. Hello, my name is Susan Pilcher. I've lived in Monrovia for 40 plus years, 30 years at 1034 Wildrose Avenue. As many of you know, I've been a recent advocate for the trees in the Wildrose woodlands. Myself and many others are greatly concerned about the health and well-being of the trees here in Monrovia. Since the time we purchased our home, we stepped into our own backyard and saw the amazing oak tree that drew us to that home. Cautioned by the Monrovia realtor 30 years ago regarding the care and concern around oaks that we knew were a concern, we immediately felt the healing qualities of that beautiful oak tree. The oak tree was one of the elements that drew us to that home. For years, we have enlisted the help of a local arborist and certified tree care team in trimming our trees. Each and every week and year, this neighborhood arborist goes through our community, he lives in Doherty, and he generally approaches me, but sometimes I call him, and when he does, he brings both himself as a certified arborist and the estimator. They come out and look at the tree in advance, and then they schedule an appointment to go in three backyards to trim this oak. Three backyards. I wouldn't consider doing this without the help of a qualified care team. In addition to that, we have beautiful liquid amber trees in the front yard. Those are also cared for by an arborist. They bring beautiful green growth every year, then it usually turns to yellow, and sometimes we get a little bit of orange or red. It's amazing that we have these trees in our midst. When I heard about the two petitions, I immediately researched, listened, and then, of course, I'm supporting, I was asked if I would like to enlist others or to approach others on this matter. Of course, the answer was yes. The circulation team for this group is 20 volunteers strong. We're informing residents to the importance of caring for trees and yes, requesting signatures. As we continue to collect signatures of support, we're about halfway to our goal. We need approximately 3,000 signatures. That's with a little bit of a buffer. Meanwhile, we encourage everyone to log on to growmonrovia.org to learn more. I'm hoping that the City Council and the City of Monrovia will please do so. We appreciate your support and all that you do, and thank you very much for welcoming us to this meeting.

Thank you, Susan. Carlos Delgado.

Good evening, Carlos.

Can I place this poster facing the crowd so they know what I'm talking about?

I suppose if you put it right there on the end of the desk there facing out.

Good evening, New City Council. My name is Carlos Delgado. I am a longtime Monrovia stakeholder. I came here from Mexico around 1987, and Monrovia was my home. It's been my home since then. I work with Grow Monrovia as a landscape designer, project manager, and stormwater design consultant. And I'm here to paint a picture the descent of the devastating effects taking place in our own backyards due to our dated tree protection ordinance because often where the people come in afterward and witnessed such heartbreaking losses one clear example is one of our properties were currently working on it was originally 21,000 272 square foot lot that was heavily wooded that was heavily wood with 27 mature trees many of them oaks and native black walnut after the property was developed and split the oak woodland that took about a hundred plus years to grow and flourish was gone forever I want that to let it sink in for everybody in this room that roughly 21,000 square feet of native oak woodlands was destroyed without any notification. The results of these two properties became extremely hot. Privacy between homes disappeared, drainage problems emerged, wildlife habitat was lost. disturbed soil was replaced with heavy compacted fill, limiting water infiltration, making it difficult for plants to establish. Weeds associated with depleted soil spread rapidly while invasive Tree of Heaven took place, took over large portions of the property. We were brought in to help fix these problems and planted about 14 trees. Those 14 trees cannot replace what was lost. The benefits of newly sprouted tree to a 100-year mature oak tree are beyond compare. It will take decades for these trees to provide the shade, cooling habitat, privacy, and all the positive things that comes with this oak woodland. This is happening property by property, city by city, state by state, country by country, and we are sacrificing our life support systems for short-term economic convenience. All of this is connected to our weather patterns shifting dramatically. Natural disasters such as earthquakes and floods are becoming increasingly more destructive and common. And the highlight of this is how our shared commitment as Americans to preserve national parks and public lands is no longer here. We are asking the city, in closing, We are asking the city to stop development. We're not asking the city to stop development. We're asking the city to manage development better. A qualified, honest, transparent city arborist could be involved before construction begins when there is still an opportunity to identify healthy trees, preserve the rights of these trees, protect roots during construction, identify actual hazards, and require meaningful mitigation when removal truly cannot be avoided. We plant these trees for a living. We know how important planting new trees are.

Carlos, I need to have you wrap it up.

Yes. But we also know that the cheapest and the fastest way to grow a mature tree is to protect the ones that are already here. Please work with us to strengthen Monrovia's tree protections and hire qualified city arborists so we aren't continuously trying to repair the losses after they've already happened. Thank you. Thank you very much.

Ashley Ledesma.

Good evening. My name is Ashley Ledesma. You have received a handout with a table of metrics that compare Monrovia's tree protection ordinances to those of three neighboring cities. These cities are representative of those throughout the San Gabriel Valley. You will notice that Monrovia is far behind in many aspects of preserving the valuable resource. One, Monrovia is behind in updating its primary tree protection ordinance, which was adopted 32 years ago. Other cities have updated theirs in the past 10 to 15 years. Two, Monrovia is behind in expanding tree protections beyond oaks to additional species. Three, Monrovia is behind in extending protections to trees of importance to neighborhoods and to our history and to mature shade trees of all species. Four, Monrovia isn't behind because we do not protect trees in all locations within the city. 5. Monrovia is behind in centralizing enforcement of tree protections within one department of our office. Currently, enforcement is spread over four departments and committees. 6. Monrovia is behind because we do not require replacement of removed trees with newly planted ones. 7. Monrovia is behind because of lack of protection of trees and their roots during construction projects. We are asking you to rewrite Monrovia's tree protection ordinances, keeping in mind a goal of growing our tree canopy to benefit those who live and work in our city. We are asking you to move Monrovia from being behind to being a leader in using trees to help the city adapt to the challenges of our changed climate. Thank you for the opportunity to speak to you.

Thank you. Jonathan Woodside?

Good evening, Jonathan.

Good evening, city council. Thanks for letting us present our case before you. In support of the tree protection ordinance and proposal to hire a full time arborist to work within the city office. I grew up in the city and I came back to the city to raise my child here. It's a beautiful place. And as a kid I grew up climbing in the trees and so I had a very personal direct sensorial relationship with the trees on my property and in the neighborhood. We've planted camphor laurels on El Nido, so it's been wonderful to watch them grow over time. In the last number of years doing work with native plants, first starting at Arlington and then with Carlos and Rosemary here. I'm just putting my fingers in the soil and working with native plants. working with the native trees, and it's a process of mindfulness and engaging with the plants that belong to the ecology in the area around us. And all of us that are doing this kind of work have this experience of seeing the life that emerges from the earth when you provide the right species in the right place. And it feels like very important work. It feels significant, and it feels intuitively right. And I would encourage all of you to join us at Maryknoll, at Arlington, at California Botanic Garden. Experience these places yourself, and let this Sensorial experience inform your decisions as we move forward building this beautiful city. Thanks so much.

Thank you Good evening Bonnie

Good evening, everybody. I'm a student from Monrovia High School. My name is Ronnie. This is my first time here. We're here because, you know, me and my friends in the fourth row over there, we have a school project that we need to complete, and we had to attend here. We didn't have to speak, but I just wanted to thank the council members and, you know, everyone here for, you know, for their time and everything, and, yeah, thank you.

What was your project?

We have to, we could either do, like, a whole, like, Presentation or we could come attend a meeting. So if you guys see us on their phones, you know, we're not like doom-scrolling. I promise We're taking notes, you know, we're taking photos. So, okay.

All right.

Thank you very much.

Thank you So this is a part I just want to make sure I have this straight This is a part of your a class you're doing you have to attend City Council meetings and I tell you what, why don't you come up here and we'll take a picture so you have evidence you were here.

Don't be shy.

You guys, come over here. I take away. Congratulations.

I stand right here and we'll sit right behind you, okay? Are you guys in the same class?

Yes, we are. This is the same as the class?

Government. Okay. All right, ready? One, one, two, three. One more.

One, two, three.

All right. Good call, Mayor.

Now, we wouldn't really normally do that during public comment, but I think it's important that since you are participating in this process and that your instructor understands that you actually were here. So please come back any time. If you need anything from us, please let us know. Okay. Any other cards?

That was our last speaker card.

All right. Anyone else? Yes, Rosemary. Rosemary.

Good evening City Council. I've come here asking for your support for stronger tree protections and better oversight of our urban forest For years, one of the most frustrating parts of coming here is that many times after I speak, my comments are immediately dismissed or rebuted during the staff report. I don't think that process is fair. Residents don't have an opportunity to respond or clarify what was said. The staff may not always have all the information in front of them at the moment or give an accurate response. The result is that a resident raises a concern, staff says there isn't a problem or provides a different explanation, and the conversation ends. Council never really has an opportunity to address the underlying issue. The lack of response from city leadership is one of the reasons we eventually started circulating petitions. After years of bringing these concerns forward, we felt like we had exhausted the normal ways of asking for change. And what we have been asking for is pretty simple. Stronger protections for our city trees and a qualified professional oversight arborist of our urban forest. The lack of oversight is costing us. It has contributed to the loss of mature trees and canopy, improperly pruned trees that no longer shade our sidewalks and streets, damage that can shorten the usefulness and lifespan of trees, potential safety issues from poor tree structure, conflicts between trees and infrastructure that aren't addressed early, and ultimately wasted city funds. We spend public money planting trees, watering them, pruning them, and replacing them. It doesn't make sense to make that investment and then fail to properly manage those trees. And there is another cost that isn't as easy to put into a city budget, our quality of life. As you're driving or walking around Monrovia, I ask each of you to start paying attention to something very simple. How many of our streets are actually shaded? Look at our downtown, look at our main corridors, look at our neighborhoods. Because of tree loss and years of raised and over-pruning canopies, we don't have many streets where mature trees provide substantial shade. That matters when temperatures are reaching over 100 degrees. It matters to someone walking downtown, a child walking home from school, someone waiting for a bus or our local businesses, our wildlife, and everyone who lives in a neighborhood that continues to get hotter. A mature tree is not something we can replace next year. We can plant another tree, but replacing the benefits can take decades. I'm going to prepare a detailed report documenting the issues I have counseled over the years and will provide a copy to each of you. My hope is that instead of continuing to debate these problems one at a time, we can finally look at the larger pattern and work together on solutions. Thank you.

Thank you, Rosemary. Karen.

Hello, my name is Karen Suarez. I live here in Monrovia. Thank you for the opportunity for so many tree people to express their real earnest interest in our trees. And I also want to thank all of the council and staff for Actions that you have taken your collaboration with the native plant society and giving away trees At our native plant sale, which will be November 14th this year. So hope to see everybody there and volunteers I think that we're pretty lucky here in Monrovia with our council and how receptive you are to But I really do believe that some of the statements are correct. We're behind other cities. And I think that you're working on it and you hear us. And it is an election year, so people are a little bit more out in the community. But I just think that we can do more for our trees. You cannot plant your way out of cutting down a 200-year-old oak. I mean, we're pretty wimpy organisms compared to these mighty oaks. And here this wimpy organism, human, goes and cuts down something that took hundreds of years to grow and sustains so much, thousands of species within each tree. And they have evolved to live here with our ecosystem and support our biodiversity. And, oh, my gosh, it's been hot. I think we're kind of waking up to what's going on in the world a little bit. What happened in Nepal? What happened in the... Kaibab flooding, catastrophic flooding, the rain is going to come all at once. Instead of having to prepare for disasters, we could just be protecting ourselves every day with these magnificent trees here. So I just think it's more than an inconvenience. to move a tree, to put something in a backyard. So it's not that it won't happen. It's going to happen. We're going to lose some trees. But I think that there's a lot of trees we can protect as well. And I also would... Really love to see a landscape review committee. And it's just like other commissions and committees here. They're beholden to the city council where it would be advisory. But it would really... put their finger on the pulse of what's going on environmentally in our community and how we can be better stewards and put native plants, take out grass, and be really smart landscapers. I really want to applaud so much of what... Karen, I need you to wrap it up. I just want to applaud what Grow Monrovia has done and the landscaping they're doing. and a lot of their yards are award winners with the Monrovia Garden Club. So it's exciting to see, and thank you for the opportunity. You're welcome. Thank you.

Okay, when I see George coming forward, are there any others of you that are holding on to cards? Okay. Okay. Okay.

Good evening and thank you for allowing me to speak. My name is George Hills living in town and been in Monrovia for a number of years and I want to make sure that this is identified as non-adversarial. It's complimentary. Recently we had something happen in our neighborhood where a slope, we live in an area where there's a a slope and someone clear-cutted the oak trees off of it and it's going to because potential look like the Grand Canyon right now with the flash floods after the burn scar but with just a couple phone calls and a little attention I want to say that city manager director of community services the mayor the council you people responded wonderfully just extremely wonderfully and I Was so impressed not surprised but impressed with with the continued service in this city and I actually have a I Was blessed with working for the city for a number of years and I've seen so many good things happen between In the city here and I was actually a city arborist For I don't know five six years seven years something like that after being in Canyon Park and it held The same value in my heart as working at Canyon Park for 30 years, being an arborist in the city with the oak trees, the elms. Right now, I'm thinking about the cork oak up across the street from Clifton School on Palm. When people come from other cities, arborists and tree keepers, it blows their mind to see a tree like that. The cork oak in Library Park, the ficus tree in Library Park, the elms up on North Myrtle, all of those are just beautiful. I commend you for doing what you've done. I commend these people here with the petitions. And I, for lack of anything else to say that's constructive, I'd say that I would offer my services, think tanks, whatever else you do, to be of aid because this city is a wonderful place and just a good place to live, good place to be, good place to visit. And thank you.

Thank you, George. Okay. Anyone else wanting to address the City Council on any item not on the agenda? Okay, not seeing anyone else, then we will close that portion of our meeting, our public input portion, and moving on to public hearings and meetings. PH1, amendment to Monrovia Municipal Code Title 17, amending Chapter 17.42, affordable housing requirements, and Section 17.38.090, density bonus, to apply inclusionary housing requirements citywide um so thank you very very much and we we will why don't we wait just for a minute so we can clear the the room here I want all the attention to be on you, Jennifer. Thank you. No pressure. Thank you all for joining us. Okay, I think you can start now.

Okay. Good evening, Mayor and members of the City Council. Item PH1 is the review of ordinance number 2026-03, an amendment to the city's existing inclusionary housing ordinance. This focused amendment expands where the requirements apply without altering them. In this presentation, I'll briefly review the background of the affordable housing requirements, what is and is not changing, why staff recommends citywide applicability, and the Planning Commission's recommendation. The slide is supposed to show something.

It's got some numbers there on the side. It's coming.

Okay.

I guess I can move forward, or do you want me to wait until? Just keep going. Okay, so the City's Inclusionary Housing Program grew out of Goal 2 in Program 1.7 of the Sixth Cycle Housing Element, which directed the City to evaluate an inclusionary housing program. The evaluation included three City Council study sessions, a financial feasibility analysis, community and developer input, and a review of programs in other San Gabriel Valley cities. Based on that work, the City Council adopted Ordinance Number 2025-03 in June 2025. establishing the current inclusionary housing program. At that time, the council also directed staff to return with an amendment expanding the program's applicability. Ordinance number 2026-03 carries out that direction. Staff has since prepared the amendment and presented it to the Planning Commission on August 12th, and the Commission recommended approval. Thank you. Okay, presentation slides are not really presenting as prepared, unfortunately. Okay, so as council has seen in the city's re-init progress reports, Monrovia has made strong progress in permitting new housing. However, that progress remains uneven across income levels with most permitted units falling within the above moderate income category. The city therefore needs more housing opportunities to develop units for very low and moderate income households. Inclusionary housing ordinance is one tool intended to help address that imbalance as new development occurs. Next slide, okay. As you're aware, the ordinance adopted in 2025 began with a targeted area approach. It currently applies within certain districts like Station Square or South Myrtle and on housing element opportunity sites. It also applies to qualifying projects involving certain general plan or zoning amendments and projects proceeding under certain state law requirements. The targeted approach began in areas already planned for higher density housing and generally located near transit employment services and infrastructure Where one of these triggers applies residential developments containing five or more units must provide an affordable housing contribution Next slide Now getting to the amendment before you tonight. The proposed amendment essentially involves one change. As shown on the left, the ordinance would move from a targeted applicability to citywide applicability. Everything shown on the right remains the same. The amendment does not change the minimum project size, affordability requirements, exempt project types, alternative compliance options, in lieu fee eligibility or affordable housing agreement requirements. It's important to keep in mind that citywide doesn't mean that five or more units may be developed on every property. It means that wherever existing zoning already allows a qualifying project of five or more units, the inclusionary housing ordinance would apply. Next slide, please. Next, I'll quickly review what isn't changing in the proposed amendment. The minimum project size does not change. New residential developments containing five or more units remain subject to the program. Projects containing fewer than five units remain outside the program. Next slide. The affordability requirements also remain unchanged. The ownership and rental requirements shown here are the same requirements adopted by City Council in 2025. The amendment does not alter the percentages or applicable income categories. Next slide. The existing exemptions also remain unchanged. Accessory dwelling units, SB9 units, emergency shelters, assisted living facilities, and transitional and supportive housing remain exempt from the program. Next slide. The available compliance options are also not changing. Projects may continue to comply by paying an in lieu fee where eligible, providing affordable units at an approved off-site location, or converting existing market rate units to affordable units. Next slide. The in lieu fee structure and eligibility rules also remain the same. All ownership projects and rental projects with 20 units or fewer may still pay the fee. This amendment does not change the fee amounts or how the fee is calculated. Next slide. And lastly, the affordable housing agreement requirements remain unchanged. Affordable units will continue to be governed by a single agreement addressing the number, type, location, affordability period, monitoring, and enforcement of the required units. Next slide. In summary, the amendments would expand affordable housing requirements to any location where current zoning already allows five or more residential units, including RM and RH zones and other applicable zoning or specific plan areas. This map illustrates areas where the city's existing land use regulations could already support residential development at that scale, such as shown here in the RM and RH highlighted properties. Again, I want to make it clear that the the proposed ordinance does not rezone or approve a specific development But it does apply the same requirements wherever a qualifying housing project is already allowed. Next slide Applying the ordinance citywide accomplishes four primary objectives first it carries out the direction of council that what that it provided last year and Second, it ties the affordable housing requirement to project size rather than to a targeted area boundary. Third, it creates uniform requirements for comparable qualifying projects throughout the city. And lastly, it advances the goals of the general plan. The result is a consistent citywide rule for projects already allowed under the city's existing land use regulations. Next slide, please. In conclusion, the Planning Commission considered the amendment at its August 12th public hearing. Following its discussion, the Commission adopted Resolution No. 2026-01 recommending approval of Ordinance No. 2026-03 by a 6-0 vote. Staff recommends that the City Council adopt the ordinance to apply the existing inclusionary housing requirements citywide. Staff also recommends that the city council find the ordinance exempt from further environmental review pursuant to the CEQA guidelines sections identified on the slide. If approved tonight, the ordinance would return for a second reading on September 15th. And additionally, staff will always continue to monitor the program's implementation as the city gains more experience. Next slide, please. That concludes my presentation. I'm available for any questions. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Questions this evening? No questions? I did have a question about, and you were talking about some of the other options because when inclusionary housing or the idea of inclusionary housing ordinances came around, it was rather unique and there weren't all these other options for developers. One of them, and I'm sorry if you said it, I just didn't hear it, the bonus density. So if someone wants to build, they want to provide a certain number of affordable units, they can get bonus densities. If you want, can you expand on that a little bit or Sherry?

I mean, that's a statewide program that applies to properties that develop projects with five or more units. They're required to provide affordable units to get additional units to the project size. When looking at the percentages that we have in our current ordinance, they often don't correspond to a density bonus level. There's no matching bonus category. But there are some, like at the 15 percent of low income for when it's a larger project, that does equate to a density bonus. But there are some that it's just We wanted to capture all the projects at the smaller scale as well as the ones that will ultimately use the density bonus for the larger projects.

I just wanted to throw that out there because it's yet another option that developers have where they decide they want to go They want to choose, and it also allows them sometimes to make their projects pencil out easier because they can add more units. Many times that comes at the expense of the non-affordable units. But at any rate, I... Yeah, just a quick question.

Can a project at the same time be subject to the inclusionary... requirement and the state density bonus requirement at the same time?

They can select two. I mean, density bonus is not required, so they would have to opt into that program. But the same units that are physically provided onsite can satisfy the requirement for inclusionary and density bonus at the same time.

Could I? Thank you.

And just one second, Edward. That's what I was talking about. That is another option. And sometimes then in the inclusionary, depending on how you need to pencil out your project, it's another option so you have more units to sell or rent. Did you want to say anything else, Sherry?

No, I was agreeing with you. Oh, okay.

Edward?

Right, they work in concert well together to help you get there. Yeah, it's great. No, thank you so much for the presentation. I really appreciate it. And I think I answered my own question, so I'm okay today.

Thank you. I did. Oh, go ahead, Sergio.

Thank you very much for the presentation. It was great. I have a question. Originally, we went to a lot of effort, staff efforts, delineated certain specific areas of the city where we were going to try this inclusionary housing first and it's only been about a year that we've had the the ordinance we were going to do an evaluation uh that time and see how it was doing do we really haven't experienced enough data to evaluate what's happened in that period of time

I mean, to date, we have not approved a project that did require inclusionary housing. That doesn't mean that we haven't been working on projects that will require inclusionary housing. But yes, it is a short period of time to see actual results of the ordinance.

What was the linchpin that brought about moving from specific areas in the original intent to now doing it citywide?

I can jump in and answer that question. So when staff first brought this ordinance for the targeted approach, after the study sessions and the City Council meeting, that last meeting, I think there was a motion that we brought it back for the full expansion. When staff presented their annual general plan report this past March, we spoke about bringing it back, and so it was basically taking the overall council's direction to bring it back, and that's why it was taken forward.

and i don't think it was a full-blown conclusion on many of in our own minds that that yes it was an automatic go go to the whole city uh... i did talk to both you and to to dylan about there is still very much dot the opportunity we've got a couple of projects that are coming up a one that were six by their their uh... approval is expiring that's the one what's the name of that project

Arroyo.

Arroyo. At any rate, and so if they were renewing that, they would have to fall under this. Still very, very curious as we get requests and people that just inquire at the desk, and you told me you keep a list of those. If anyone is in particular turned away or turned off or they, you know... And especially if they want to just either address it through just paying off the fee or they might choose the higher density units for the affordability to make their project pencil out. I don't know that just sheer density, that's something that we're looking for. We're looking for quality affordability, which is, I don't know if that actually exists. This is not in stone and it can come back as easily as we put it on. We could come back and tailor it to if we're finding there's difficulty with not attracting builders or they're deciding just to pay the fee. I did a little bit of homework on this, and it actually was an interesting website because it was a YIMBY site, which is, yes, in my backyard. positive on these things, or they want these things to happen. And I know in years past, talking with the city of Pasadena, I know there's a real sweet spot for inclusionary housing. And you can either be too high or maybe too low, and you have to find that sweet spot. So it might take us a while to see how that might actually work for Monrovia. Because the other project that's proposed, I don't want to give jump ahead anywhere, but it's actually a for sale product. And so that too would have a different kind of inclusionary in how that would work out and pencil out. But the YIMBY side was, there was a cautionary tale there to be careful because sometimes when your restrictions are too high or punitive, or if it's, I guess, easy to just pay a fee, you don't end up getting the units that you want, and you actually have a negative effect instead of a positive. So my suggestion would be that we definitely watch it very carefully, And even if it's not on a schedule that it comes back to us like maybe once a year or something, that when you're keeping that list and you're entertaining people at the counter, that we're getting that information back. Are we turning people away or whatever?

So we're keeping updated. Yes. And so just to be clear that it does not change the provision related to other core services. policy decisions, so that the provisions do not change. Correct. Concerning that, okay, which is important. Yeah, I just wanted to clarify that, but okay. Thank you.

Just to your point, I mean, I think it's really relevant that we should keep tracking and making sure with these adjustments. 701 South Myrtle, though, was already going to use a density bonus and hit those thresholds of, I think it's what, almost 20 percent, maybe 10 percent. I've forgotten exactly what their affordability was.

Was it 10 to 20? Something around there.

Yeah. So they were basically doing it already and using that. So we're just basically making sure that we keep it.

And it's citywide.

Yeah, exactly.

If I could, Mayor Shetland, if I could make a couple quick comments. One is, Sherry, is this something we can add to our annual housing report? The council has to approve our annual report. That's usually in March. That's about six months from now. And then it becomes an annual cycle. So I'd suggest we include this at that time, provide a report. The other thing maybe I just add to some of the comments shared earlier is at the time we began preparing the ordinance for the focused inclusionary housing ordinance, remember that we were still under construction at Station Square. We had multiple entitlements being discussed in the Oak Park Apartments Project, the 701 South Myrtle Project. We also had new state housing laws. And so there is this kind of balance of how do we continue to focus and allow for the housing that the state's pushing on us, but also include the inclusionary units where we need to, At the same time, there was worry about unintended consequences of flashing lights that, hey, let's go build more density in all these other pockets of the city outside of the targeted general plan areas. And so at the time when we adopted this targeted focus, it was this is where the general plan has said we should focus our growth and development to achieve our arena, our housing goals. and i think what we've seen in the last even though it's only been a year year and a half is we're not really seeing that massive push for building either in that area or anywhere else and what we don't want to do is we don't want to lose affordable units where they would otherwise be required Our percentages are lower than other neighboring cities around us. Most other cities have either adopted inclusionary housing requirements or have them already or are discussing them already. Many are even higher than ours. We don't think this puts a chill on construction and growth and housing development in Monrovia. We just think it's able to get us affordable units as part of these larger projects.

There's also several though that have them and then they put them on pause or they're

City of Duarte is one. Yeah.

So I just want to make sure that we're keeping a real close eye on it. And with you say that report coming back in March, then we should know what's going to go on with the Arroyo project because you said that their approval expires the end of December, correct? Okay. Well, with that, people?

I would like to make a motion to introduce read by title only.

I think, I'm sorry. I think there's a public hearing. Oh, I forgot this is a public hearing. I'm sorry. I got so wound up here. This is a public hearing. So at this time, yeah, I'm sorry. That's my fault. That's my fault. That's my fault. This is a public hearing. And so I will open it up. Is there anyone wanting to speak on this matter either for or against the item?

not seen anyone then i will close that portion of the meeting and i will come back and i'd like to make a motion to introduce re by title only and waive further reading of ordinance number 2026-03 all seconded okay we have a motion in a second can we please have a roll call vote

Council members Belton? Yes. Dr. Kelly? Yes. Spicer? Yes. Mayor Pro Tem Jimenez? Yes. And Mayor Shevlin?

Yes. And I do apologize, Larry, that was my fault.

Ordinance number 2026-03, an ordinance of the City Council of the City of Monrovia, California, amending section 17.38. 38.090 and Chapter 17.42 of Title 17 of the Monovia Municipal Code to apply inclusionary housing requirements citywide and finding the adoption of the ordinance to be categorically exempt from review under the California Environmental Quality Act.

Thank you very much. And thank you for the report. You did an awesome job in light of all those little technical glitches. That's always a nightmare when that happens. Okay. Then we are moving on to our second public hearing. And this is issuance of Monrovia Financing Authority lease revenue bonds, capital projects, issue of and approval related financing documents resolution number 2026-50. And we have our very own Ray Bowman, Administrative Finance Director, who will be presenting.

thank you so much and good evening mayor chevlin and members of city council thank you for your time this evening the public hearing item before you tonight is the proposed financing for several of the city's priority capital projects as council will recall we were here before you in may when city council authorized staff to begin the preliminary financing proceedings for those priority projects And since that time, staff in our financing team have done quite a bit of work to evaluate financing options for your consideration this evening. Tonight, I'd like to briefly recap how we got here, walk through the recommendations of the financing team, and propose authorization to proceed with the issuance of our 2026 lease revenue bonds. This evening, I am joined by our financing team via Zoom. We have Rudy Salo, our bond counsel from Nixon Peabody, and Jim Pritchard, our municipal advisor from Columbia Capital, tuned in. So they're online. They've been hard at work for the city in collaboration with staff, Dylan, and our city attorney. And with that said, we'll go ahead and get started. So earlier this year, staff and city council held two study sessions on February 17th and March 3rd to take a broader look at the city's financial position and capital improvement program, including several significant projects that were on the horizon but did not yet have a dedicated funding source. Through those discussions, we identified four priority projects totaling approximately $76 million. And those projects include the community center renovation, recreation park improvements, fire station 102 renovations, and city hall renovations. These projects represent significant long-term investments in the city's facilities, parks, and public safety infrastructure. And following those discussions, Council directed staff to begin evaluating financing options for these projects. Staff then returned to council on May 19th with resolution number 2026-24. That resolution authorized us to begin preliminary financing proceedings and it established a framework for the work that would follow. Council provided us a maximum financing principal amount of 76 million dollars and a maximum term of 20 years to pay off potential financing. It also authorized us to engage Columbia Capital as the city's municipal advisor and Nixon Peabody as bond council and disclosure council. The resolution allowed the financing team to begin evaluating the appropriate structure, affordability conditions, and even potential opportunities to refinance some of the city's existing debt. And that approval mobilized the financing team to complete the work, but any bond issuance would need to return to city council for approval, and that's what brings us back tonight. So as the team worked through the financing structure, one of the primary questions was how much the city actually needs to borrow at this time. Our original discussions contemplated approximately 76 million for all four priority projects. And after evaluating the timeliness and readiness of those projects, the financing team is recommending that we move forward with approximately 56 million in project funding for three out of the four projects. Our focus for the nearer term would be the community center renovation, recreation park improvements and fire station 102. City Hall would be deferred to a future financing plan as that project is still earlier in the planning and design process and because bond proceeds have expenditure timing requirements. We'd essentially have to spend down bond proceeds within three years and that'd be pretty quick. And lastly, excluding city hall from this issuance prevents the city from borrowing funds before they're needed and gives us flexibility to reevaluate different funding options as we get closer to construction. The financing team also evaluated potential refinancing opportunities for the city's existing debt. But based on current market conditions, refinancing is not financially advantageous at this time. So no refinancing is included in the proposed financing. So the contemplated bonds are proposed to be sold through a competitive sale where prospective investors will submit bids to purchase the city's bonds. Those bids will essentially compete against one another based on the borrowing cost to the city. Columbia Capital will evaluate those bids and the bonds would be awarded to the bidder that provides the lowest borrowing cost within the parameters approved by City Council tonight. Part of tonight's council approval includes setting maximum parameters for the competitive sale, and that's what you see on this table at the bottom of this slide. Current estimates for this financing, also called the good faith estimates, anticipate bond issuance with a principal amount of $53.24 million with an estimated true interest cost of 4.07%. The maximum parameters proposed tonight are $58 million in principal and a 4.75% in true interest costs. So the good faith estimates are based on conservative assumptions provided by our municipal advisors, and it's essentially what they think the bonds will currently sell given the market right now. However, we all know that there can be fluctuations, so the maximum parameters are intentionally set somewhat higher than those estimates, providing a reasonable cushion for market fluctuations between tonight and the actual bond sale date. Maximum parameters are the points where we say we're not doing the deal, and so ultimately they provide a guardrail for the competitive sale. As discussed throughout this process, the Measure K revenues are anticipated to serve as the primary repayment source for the bonds. So in terms of annual debt service based on current market estimates, for the current fiscal year, the bonds that we're contemplating to issue, we anticipate approximately $1.7 million in debt service for the current fiscal year. Beginning in fiscal year 27-28, annual debt service is anticipated to be approximately $4.3 million and will remain relatively level throughout until December of 2045. I apologize. And as a note, even with this debt service payment, staff is still estimating around 3 million in remaining Measure K revenues annually. Over the course of the 20-year term, total estimated debt service is approximately 81.8 million. And we'll update the Measure K spending plan to make sure that we incorporate the annual debt service going forward. So I wanted to kind of hang out on this slide a little bit further because one question that's come up recently is, what if council wants to pay the bond off earlier? Does the city have this ability? So I wanted to provide a little bit of context In the municipal bond market, investors typically require what's called a period of call protection. So essentially, when an investor purchases one of our bonds, they're relying on receiving that interest for a certain period of time. So if cities could pay the bonds off at any time, investors would get principal back sooner than expected, and then they'd have to reinvest money potentially at lower rates. So investors place value on knowing that the bonds wouldn't be called essentially for a certain period of time, and that's what this call protection period is for. For this type of financing, a typical call period is about 10 years. However, we specifically asked for a shorter period, and the proposed bonds that we're contemplating tonight have an eight-year call period, which means the City would have the option to begin paying off the remaining bonds after that eight-year period in 2034. So we also looked at shortening that period further to maybe even five years but that additional flexibility would come at a significant cost because investors would price that additional risk into their bids. So the eight-year call gives us a balance between competitive borrowing costs while also giving the city an earlier opportunity to pay the debt off if council so chooses. Additionally, if council wants to fund, um, or if council wants to accelerate the payment even further, one option we could look at is to set aside additional funds during those first eight years and use those accumulated funds to pay down the bonds once the call period opens. Sorry, it's kind of a, it's a, it's an interesting concept to explain, but we don't need to make a decision about that tonight. But I did want to let council know that that option to pay it off earlier does exist. Okay. I also wanted to share some positive news. As part of the financing process, the City submitted the proposed bonds to SMP Global Ratings for an independent credit review. SMP conducted the review of the proposed financing and the City's overall financial position and assigned the 2026 bonds a AA rating. This is the highest possible rating for this particular bond structure given the City's current AA plus issuer credit rating And I do want to point out the distinction between these two ratings. So under SMP's methodology, lease revenue bonds are rated at least one notch below the city's general credit worthiness because of the nature of the lease structure. So given the city's current AA plus issuer credit rating, the AA rating represents the highest rating these particular bonds could receive. During their review, SMP highlighted several strengths for the city, including the city's strong economy, comprehensive management practices, solid financial performance, and healthy fund balance, in addition to strong budgetary performance and a stable outlook. Particularly relevant to tonight's discussion, SMP considers the city's debt and long-term liabilities as part of its analysis and expects debt service requirements to remain affordable for the foreseeable future. Overall, we are pleased with the rating and it puts the city in a strong position as we move towards the competitive sale. So tonight, this slide summarizes the steps that we're taking in the financing process. Tonight, council will conduct the public hearing and consider adoption of resolution number 2026-50. The Monroya Financing Authority will then consider its corresponding approval separately later this evening through resolution A2026-01. Following approval, the financing team will finalize the offering documents and proceed with a competitive sale. And once bids are received, the financing team will evaluate the results and accept the most advantageous bid that falls within the parameters approved by Council tonight, with anticipated bond closing date of September 30th. I do want to note that if the resulting bids are not favorable for the City, the City does retain the ability to reject the bids and not proceed with the financing. Lastly, staff will propose an update to the Measure K Spending Plan as part of the Q1 budget adjustments reflecting the final debt service amounts for the fiscal year. And to just put some dates on those items, with City Council's approval tonight, we anticipate posting the preliminary offering documents tomorrow, September 2nd. That's when the bonds actually go out to the market. And towards the end of next week, September 10th, we'll get the competitive bids back and our municipal advisors will evaluate the deals and pick the one that's most advantageous to the city. That's when we'll know the actual borrowing costs or interest rate on the bonds. tonight's approval authorizes our city manager to accept the winning bid and the team is again anticipating to close on September 30 which is when we expect to have the project funds available to the city I do want to reiterate again that if at any point the deals aren't favorable for the city the city has the ability to walk away our financing team on the call is finding the best deal that they can for the city So at this point in the presentation, I'd like to provide some context for the timing of the financing related to several significant capital projects actively moving forward as we speak. So earlier this evening, Council approved construction for the library enhancement project. The contractor for that project has approximately 42 business days for construction so that will move quite quickly. Staff will be returning for some additional project needs such as new furniture, landscaping and other repairs for Council's consideration in the next coming weeks. As for the community centre, the bid process is underway with notice to invite bids in mid-September and the winning contract will return to City Council in around November. after which we'll be able to set a date for groundbreaking and lay out the plans for the holidays. For example, do we want to begin as soon as possible or begin after the holidays? Staff is also, I've been informed, currently planning to host a celebration event to honor the building for its 50 plus years of service to Monrovia before we begin demolition. And lastly, for Recreation Park and Fire Station 102, planning and site plans are complete. Fire is currently working to secure a civil engineer that specializes in fire station design, and Community Services is currently working to secure a landscape architect for Rec Park. We expect these contracts to return to Council very soon with project awards in the upcoming months. So our recommendation this evening following the public hearing is for City Council to adopt resolution number 2026-50. The resolution would authorize the issuance of the 2026 lease revenue bonds, approve the related financing documents, establish the parameters for the competitive sale, and authorize the actions necessary to complete the financing. Later this evening, the same item will be considered for approval by the Monrovia Financing Authority Commission. And with that, that concludes my report. Thank you for your time. And again, the financing team is on Zoom, and I'm available to answer any questions you might have at this time.

Okay. Before I open it for the public hearing, are there any specific questions for Ray, and then we can have our public hearing and come back for discussion? Any questions for Ray?

I'll save mine for later.

Okay. Okay.

quick one it's not thank you for the presentation great um the uh when this goes out and we get bids back um is it anticipated then that one entity buys all the bond i mean they might spread it out but is it or are they asking for i want 10 or 20 or 30 how does that work

That's a good question. And it might be a question I could defer to our municipal advisor on the zoom call. Um, from what I understand is the underwriter puts together the package of the bond purchase. So whether it be parsed out on their end, once we get the deal on our side, we have an underwriter with a stated interest and all of the bonds listed out. But Jim, is there any additional input you'd like to provide?

Hi, good evening. Mayor City Council, Jim Pritchard, Columbia Capital here. Thanks, Ray. I think that's a good description. But we would expect one underwriting firm to purchase all of the bonds. That's actually a requirement in the notice of sale. So there would be one firm purchasing your bonds.

Okay. All right. Then at this time, this is a public hearing. I'll get this right this time. And I'm opening up that public hearing and asking if there's anyone that wanting to comment for or against. Yes, Phil, come up please. You don't get to speak from your seat. Speak your name, please.

I will. My name is Phil Tiffany. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to share my thoughts. I'm a little confused by this to be perfectly candid. My understanding as an initial member of the Measure K Committee was that Measure K was established to help to understand what it was that the council wanted to use these funds were and to offer our feedback both to the council and to community members. I understand that the Measure K Committee doesn't have any control over the final decision, but I do believe that the expectation was that we'd have a chance or the existing committee would have a chance to respond. And perhaps I misunderstood, so I don't know if there's feedback of this sort of thing or if Ray can address this, but it sounds as if this is largely going to be decided by September 30th. The next Measure K meeting is September 29th, so that clearly isn't going to allow any time for understanding and feedback. I didn't get a clear impression of what the expenditure was, if that's $3 million a year coming out of Measure K, or is it an undetermined amount?

MS. Craig, do I wait and get responses after I close it? Okay. MR.

Okay. So understanding what the amount is, Measure K typically generates about $6 million a year, I believe, give or take. So I'd be curious to know what the ongoing expense would be. And finally, my understanding when Measure K was initially developed, there were certain parameters with regard to how the money was going to be able to be used. One of those parameters was for one-time expenses, that this money was not meant to be used for ongoing expenditures. 20-year bond feels like an ongoing expenditure to me and seems inconsistent with the understanding that the Measure K Committee was initially given. So those are my three concerns, just kind of, you know, shooting from the hip here, and I appreciate any response to those questions. Please.

Ann Marie Buerkle Thank you very much. Anyone else wanting to speak on this? Okay, I will go ahead then and close our public hearing and come back then. And who is going to...

I can probably address the annual debt service payment. So Measure K currently has been pulling quite strongly. So currently we're estimating about $7 million a year in Measure K revenues. The current financing structure is based on the good faith estimate from Columbia Capital because we won't exactly know the precise debt service until we close the deal at the end of September. Based on current market and good faith estimates, the annual debt service is anticipated to be about $4.3 million a year. For fiscal year 26-27, we're only paying the interest around $1.7 million this fiscal year, but moving forward until 2045, it'll be $4.3 million. But again, this still leaves about $3 million of Measure K revenues available for other council priorities.

There were several other

Yeah, I'll address the other questions. So the two other questions I had was generally the role of the committee related to discussions like this, also a question about one-time expense versus ongoing expense. So I don't have the references before me, but generally speaking, the role of the Measure K Citizens Advisory Committee is to review and comment on spending plans adopted by the City Council. And as the city council determines how to spend this general purpose tax, which as it was approved by voters, it's a general purpose tax measure, three quarters of a cent sales tax that is collected in perpetuity. That can be spent on, because it was a general purpose tax measure, council could not earmark it or dedicate it to a particular thing. However, we've always treated it like it's its own separate account. We have set money aside and there's a whole history I won't go into. The role of the Citizens Advisory Committee was specifically to review and comment on expenditure plans provided by city council. There's been a lot of discussions over the years on what that means, on when that happens. But ultimately, the tax is decided by the city council and how you spend the money. You are legally allowed to spend it on anything you deem appropriate, the law and city's purchasing policies and how you would spend any other general fund tax revenues that is general purpose in nature. Related to one-time expenses, there were seven criteria, seven items that were part of the Measure K Spending Plan. There's an emphasis on one time expenditures, emphasis on capital projects, building reserves. There's other seeking out grants where appropriate. I think perhaps on this project, how the city moves forward on four large projects at the tune of $76 million when we only collect about $7.3 million each year. Where we also, as you recall, we measure K. Let me back up. How you move forward with a $32 million community center, we're either going to have to set aside cash to pay or we're going to have to finance it. There's other considerations we make such as if we pay all of our cash up front and we are now cash poor in the event of an incident or an emergency, or what happens when our investment accounts are returning greater sums in interest earnings than the interest we pay on debt. There's a business decision we make that it's cheaper to borrow while we maintain reserves, and we also are generating greater sums on the interest earnings of what we're holding in reserves in the event that we need it for certain assets. I think that's also critically important. If you think about how the city used to purchase computers and equipment, small utility vehicles, even some fire engines where we would lease them. We would make lease payments. We are now moving into where we pay cash upfront for types of equipment that last five years, seven years, even 10 years. These are 50 plus year buildings. And in order to cover the full cost of replacement for this building, which will be a significant interior renovations, community centers, you know, rec park. These are going to be large, large sums of money. We've sought out grant funding for as many projects as we can. We are seeing both federal and state grant awards and allocations dropping considerably. We're seeing greater competition, more competition for those funds as well. And I think ultimately the question about is this a one-time expense? Is this an ongoing expense? What we've tried to do, the way that this is structured, is replacing the community center is a significant expense. And we don't have $32 million sitting around to replace it. We've been talking about this project since 2016, and the costs continue to go up. And I think if the council wants to undertake the project, We have to come up with a solution that does it, but we have the same needs with the library. Notice the library wasn't part of this discussion tonight, but we did want to make it very clear that we're moving forward on the project too now that it's ready.

Since you brought that up, you want to confirm as to how we're going forward on the library?

The library, we've set aside this total cost of the library is, we estimate, under $2 million. We've set aside $2 million previously in surplus general fund revenues, but also we have some residual parcel tax revenues from the library bond measure that we've been carving out. That can be spent on facility repairs, renovations, and improvements. And so that project will be fully funded by money we've been setting aside. So I think it really comes down to, does the council feel this is an appropriate use of Measure K? It's a 20-year expense. There is an ability for us to pay it off early at eight years. When you're talking a very large expense, and even for municipalities around the region, To be able to save up enough money to pay that off, that's a significant undertaking. We're going to have needs between now and then as well. But we're trying to set it up to where we have that option to do it even sooner than most other municipal bond issuances would allow. So I think I'd be happy to answer any additional questions you might have. Can I add one thing?

I do think in terms of the purpose of the expenditures, There's a pretty clear distinction between special projects and ongoing expenses. And I guess in the context of the community center, we can give that example. The remodeling, a $32 million reconstruction of the community center as a special project and paying the financing for that special project is a one-time expense, right? If you take it all the way out, that $32 million is a one-time expense. The contract for maintenance of the community center, cleaning the floors, cleaning the bathrooms, stocking the restrooms, all of that kind of stuff, that's an ongoing expense. It's a normal expense of government. discussions at the time of Measure K were we're gonna do big things with this money. We're not going to just pay the maintenance contracts or the cost of changing the oil of the city vehicles and those kinds of things with that money. And that was always the purpose for putting it aside in the separate fund and having the spending plan. So I do think there's a distinction between financing a one-time project and ongoing city costs.

Any other questions? I did have one question about, okay, so we have that one remaining project, which is the city hall, which is around 20 million. So what is the estimated, what is our timeline for that? And would that mean we would go out for another bond issuance? Will we try to refi our existing bond debt? How would that go into the mix?

So what we want to do as we get closer to the time to do this building is we want to be able to not be locked in and evaluate what those options are. So it could be issue another bond. It could be pay cash. Just last week, the city received a reimbursement check for almost a million dollars for Canyon Park. And we expect now as we're getting into some of the larger construction reimbursements, we hope that we see and we plan to see greater sums of money being reimbursed to the city for Canyon Park. So there's about $15 million outstanding approximately, and we are planning on receiving a significant influx in cash within the next two years once the state and the federal government approve those reimbursements. So does the City Council, do we move forward with the City Hall project and pay in cash fully? We certainly aim to seek other grants as we've done all along with some of these other projects. But renovating a City Hall facility is probably a harder item to receive grant funding for, perhaps through some of the community project funds that are allocated by our congressional representatives. But we don't see very many competitive, I don't see many competitive state grants for things like City Hall. So that's the reason why we're kind of holding off on that. Once we break ground on the community center building, the architects are estimating approximately 12, maybe a few more, 16 months to do the actual project. To me, that just seems like a very fast turnaround for that project. So we're estimating closer to two years. From the time they break ground on the community center and we have it up and running, we're going to want to plan and design and get approvals for the city hall project. And once we move all of the staff from the temporary facility at 324 South Myrtle back into the renovated community center, we want to have a space where we can relocate city hall staff for the duration of this project. And so I think that's kind of your timeline is we want to begin construction on City Hall two years after we break ground on the community center.

Okay. All right. Any other questions?

No, all of my questions was answered.

Okay. Thank you. Thank you very much. Then if there's no further discussion, do we have a motion?

I make a motion to adopt resolution number 2026-50.

Then can we have a roll call vote? Council members Belden? Yes. Dr. Kelly? Yes. Spicer? Absolutely. Mayor Pro Tem Jimenez? Yes. And Mayor Shetland?

Yes. Is there anything you need to read after this one, Mr. Steele? We're good? Okay. All right. Well, that does it for our public hearings for this evening. Thank you very much. And so we will go back then to reports of city manager and staff. RCM1 City Council Directives Update. Mr. Feek. Thank you.

Just a couple updates on the directives log. We recently held a joint training operation up at Canyon Park, which included fire department, police department, even several of our CERT volunteers. We'll continue doing those joint exercises, which I think are fun. We also create a little bit of a commotion. We make sure to educate residents that we're going to be operating up there. We're going to have Care Solace at your next council meeting giving you an update on reports of the metrics that they're seeing related to our kind of concierge service for mental health access. Also, Alice will be providing an election update typically related to like security and safety of our local election process. A couple additional items I'd like to speak to. One is we're aware of a frontier issue really around Mayflower and Foothill. And the surrounding area, there's approximately 250 accounts that have been without their copper landline service since early May of this year. Frontier National Company has been very difficult to get committed to when they're going to replace the infrastructure. Apparently, Vandals stole some copper, and it's just... proving for them to be difficult to get it reconnected. There's many residents who have been without landlines, some who have even been without internet. They're still being charged for it. We're engaging with Frontier to push and urge them to get it going, fielding as many calls. We've spoken to local media. We've reached out to state agencies. I've personally been speaking with a very high ranking government affairs representative multiple times. And so we're very very frustrated because many residents are even more frustrated. But it's difficult because there's even some HOA rules, which haven't allowed other service providers in the area. So some of these residents don't have alternative options, and it's just proving to be a little bit of a mess. And so we just want anyone who's listening to know we're doing what we can. We can't go install the Copper 4 Frontier, but we're doing as much just complaining and noise-making as we can.

And if there's anybody else that doesn't have their service that we don't know about, by all means, let us know.

Is there anything on a municipal code level we can use to force the hand on Frontier?

I think some of the things we're doing right now is there's statewide franchise agreements that we could get into, and where they're dealing with damage from theft, I think the approach that we're trying to take is not only to get it up as quickly as possible, but we're also urging them to reimburse all of those account customers who are out of service. I don't know that I'm not sure if we would be able to motivate a different response from them. What they're telling us is that they have supply related issues. They can't get the large enough copper line on site and installed before a certain time. That's what they're telling us. They tell us they're working on it. In the beginning, it's a reasonable response. It takes us a little bit of time to get this in. We're going to have to get it engineered. We're going to have to get it installed. But at the end of the first month, second month, third month. And so we'll continue to see. Maybe there's an option we have.

Is that the only provider in that area?

For several properties, property specific, that is the only provider of a landline. Now, they do have access to fiber. So if they want to switch from the copper line over to fiber, of course, that probably comes with an increased charge. There's probably some other providers for that, too. But specifically, the primary issue since May has been copper landline. I want to comment on the earlier Carol Daly mentioned cooling centers. And I want to just admit from maybe perhaps a mistake on my part. Last week, we had multiple outages of equipment here at City Hall. We lost our air conditioning system here. We lost air conditioning over at the police station. And we spent the better part of the week working on getting those repairs made, taking care of employees. We also had additional really, really warm days towards the end of the week. Typically, what happens when we push out a notice that we are going to have a cooling center open is we either extend the hours of operation for the community center or the library. We ensure that they're open during the holiday. And we plan around, let's keep it open until 9 o'clock. And that didn't happen last weekend. So when Carol was talking about Saturday, community center was closed, I was personally under the impression that it was open that day. And so that's a mistake that we made, when we have those excessive heat days. And in the past, we've opened separate cooling centers and had exactly zero people come to a designated cooling center. What we found more successful was if we take our existing facilities, library, community center, and make those open for extended hours. They're already operational. We don't need to bring in more staff. We just staff the current buildings. And people would come in. They want to hang out with Staff Talk. We have cold water. We lend out box fans. There's all these other things we do. And that's been our approach. We'll continue to do that approach and hopefully avoid what happened this last weekend. And then last but not least, he should not be watching tonight because it's past his bedtime, but Benson turned 11 today. And so I just want to say happy birthday to Benihana Chikawana, as I like to call him. So happy birthday, Benson. Thank you very much. That's cool.

Dylan, could you maybe also let the council know we got a request or an invite to meet, I suppose I should say, from the Governor Newsom's office as they're going out. Was there anything that we'd like to – anything we'd like?

Yeah, so at any rate – It was a very strange email that they sent to the mayor and the city manager, and he basically said – You can imagine how busy we are getting ready for the gubernatorial transition, but are there any requests you have before we go? And we kind of contemplate, should we even respond to this? And so what we did do was we've spoken about this. Becky shared just via phone this particular issue about Frontier. And we also brought up the investigative report into Carlos Roberto Montoya Valdez. And then we also brought up an item we'd raised years ago with the governor's office related to a governor's pardon for Stephen Curamia. That was something we had made that request. We've made that request multiple times and we've asked them to reconsider that again. We have no idea if these requests are going to go anywhere with the governor's office, but to the mayor's point, we just resubmitted them again as we've submitted in the past.

Did we have any outstanding checks with the governor's office that perhaps we could be, I don't know, asking about?

And we're not letting them off the hook for those.

Okay. And Eric Boyd, many of you know, was with the YMCA several years ago, but he's now with Bonta's office. And I was talking to him today, and so he said to let him know those requests. And he goes, you never know. He said in circles I'm talking about, you never know what comes up. And I could especially the request for the – What's the gentleman's name, the Japanese? Yeah. And so at any rate, he says, you never know. That's the kind of thing that sometimes they like to do when they're leaving office. And on the frontier thing, he was going to see if he could get us hooked up with the Consumer Protection Division of the Attorney General's Office. So just to apply as much pressure as we possibly can. Nice to have friends in high places. Eric has a soft spot in his heart for the city of Monrovia, so that's very nice. Any other questions or anything for Dylan this evening? Okay. All right. Then we will move on. And I know Eric's back there. Oh, it's Sherry is going to maybe. Oh, it's Sherry is going to be doing this. I'm sorry. I saw Eric walk in with a bag. I have a surprise.

They're all coming up for you guys.

Monrovia Area Partnership Adult and Youth Leadership Academies, and Sherry is presenting on this, but I know she's got a whole crew.

Yes. Mod squad.

Yes. Well, first and foremost, before we start kicking off our Leadership Academy announcements, I do want to introduce to you our new Neighborhood and Business Services Manager, Fernando Perez-Garcia. Hi. So he thank you for getting all dressed up as a suit Wow said look sharp. Yep. Yeah so Fernando as the neighborhood business service manager is going to be in charge of our business license operation code enforcement and our Monrovia area partnership program All right, and so he comes with over ten years of experience working for the city of Alhambra in code enforcement He has the code enforcement mind but the Monrovia area partnership part and

All right. You say that.

We are happy to have him. And so with that, I will step aside and bring up Kerry Zessa and Carol, excuse me, Eric Carroll, who will be talking to you about our leadership academies that are going to kick off in two weeks. All right.

Now, Fernando, are you on board right now? You're on the clock?

Yes. Okay. So I'm here, and thank you for the opportunity. Thank you. Welcome aboard. Thank you.

Good evening, Mayor and Council. It's a pleasure for Eric and I to be here this evening to give you the details about the upcoming Youth and Adult Leadership Academy. This academy is successful for several reasons. First and foremost, because of the support of City Council and also the support of every department. Every department plays an integral role in making it a success with the youth and with the adults. And we're really excited. Registration is now open. But to give you a little bit more of the details, I'm going to turn it over to Eric. So thank you for your support. And we always appreciate everything you do for MAP.

That's where I thought, Eric, I thought you had some props with the big bag.

Good evening, Madam Mayor and members of City Council. I'm presenting today on two of my favorite programs, the Youth and Adult Leadership Academies. The Youth Leadership Academy is open to students from 6th all the way to 12th grade and will run every Wednesday from 3.30 p.m. to 5 p.m. starting September 16th all the way to October 21st. It is an amazing program that teaches youth important skills like effective leadership, civic engagement, public speaking, resume building, financial literacy, and many other great skills. Now, the Adult Leadership Academy is open to adults 18 and older and will run every Thursday from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. It starts September 17th and runs all the way to October 29th. This is another fantastic program that teaches and empowers adults on things like strategic leadership, civic engagement, the history of Monrovia, historic preservation, utilizing community resources and assets, and how to plan a map block party. The program is free and registration is now open. We are looking forward to developing our future leaders. I have the contact information up there as well. If you're interested and you're watching, please contact us at map at monroviaca.gov or give me a call at 626-932-5563. We would love to have both our youth and adult leaders. Thank you. I'm open to questions at this time.

I have a question. Do you reach out to or do any presentations to any of the high school groups?

Yes.

We have four gentlemen right here in their government class. I mean, you guys need to be signed up.

Oh, yes, I will go ahead and give you guys flyers after this as well. I brought some extra ones here. We'd love to have you join our Youth Leadership Academy. We've actually went and marketed to several different schools. We went to the registration at Monrovia High School. We went there for a few days. We've also attended the registration at Clifton. Tomorrow, actually, we will be going to both Canyon and Mountain School. We will be doing a presentation around lunchtime. And we'll be going back and doing a presentation during their back to school night. So we've marketed in various different aspects. We've also marketed with social media. We've been working very closely with the CMO office to promote the program. So we're doing everything to be able to promote these fantastic programs.

And I know it's been in the city manager's update as well.

Yes, it is. What number class is this? For the adults, what number?

So as of right now, we have six registered adults.

I think it means what year, the anniversary.

This is the seventh class, the eighth class, ninth class, what?

I think it's the 14th. Thank you. I think it is the 12th for the youth and 14th for the adults. There you go. All right. Thank you.

All right. Thanks.

If my math is correct.

Okay.

We'll take it.

Yeah. Thank you, Kerry. It sounds good.

All right.

All right.

Thank you very much, and welcome on board again, Fernando.

Thank you so much.

Okay, rounding out the agenda here, we have our reports of, and that was it, right? Reports of city council members, and I will start with Mr. Belden.

Thank you very much, Madam Mayor. It's been a hot summer, but also an opportunity for, I think, a lot of us to take a break. engage in other activities with family and friends and other groups, which has been outstanding. But I have had the pleasure to join a few folks from the Minerva Chamber at one of the recent mixers and glad to see there was quite a group of folks coming together right there in Old Town and making sure that our business community is still thriving, which is great to see. We had two events on the same day, two vigils, memorials, the one, of course, for Carlos Roberto Montoya, and then Ed Cunningham, and just reminds us about the impact we all have and the great number of folks that have been here in Monrovia and the great things they've done. So I think that's, well, one other just update with the Clean Power Alliance. They have been – we've been adjusting our rates. Of course, those are the – I think everyone knows these are the rates, the generation rates that are separate from the Edison distribution or bringing the power rates. The Edison rates have been going up, and CPA has actually been able to compensate in actually lowering our rates down. We're actually eating into some of our reserves a little bit to make sure that the actual – cost on an overall level equals out, and there's even a little bit of an incentive to stay with the CPA program that way. So just one of the things we've been doing there, and I was recently elected to the executive committee on that, so I'll be serving on that board.

Congratulations.

Trying to make sure our power stays green, but also is very affordable. Thank you.

All right.

Tamela. Hello there. Hello there, everyone. It's good to be back. And I can't believe summer is over already. I feel like we just got started. And Edward, I wanted to know, I wanted to say this publicly. I don't know if everybody knows that you make ice cream. So it's been hot. I'm not trying to put anything out there. But if you felt led to, I don't know. You had their option. They had to bid.

They had to beat Larry, apparently, on the bid. That was it. Sorry. Maybe next year.

Maybe next year. OK. Well, I have some announcements. The library. is doing some amazing things we have great opportunity we have a lot of announcements for teens so you guys have come on a good night because we've got a lot of announcements so uh for teens there's an event manga munchies cooking workshop Uh-oh. Is that right? Wait. Okay. Manga Munchies Cooking Workshop for Adults and Teens, 16 plus, Saturday, September the 5th at 2 p.m. in the community room. They are making chicken katsu. Also, Sewing and Crafting Hangout for Adults and Teens, 16 plus, Tuesday, September the 8th at 6 p.m. in the Story Room. Veterans, there's something great for you. Veterans Mindful Movement Class is happening Tuesday, September the 8th at 6 p.m. in the Community Room. We also have wonderful family programs, Story Time with Park National. Naturalist. I said Nationalist. Park Naturalist. Saturday, September the 12th at 10 a.m. in Recreation Park. We also have Innovation Lab for Kids Wednesday, September the 16th at 2 p.m. in the Story Room. Guess what? We have something exciting happening in Old Town Monrovia Saturday, October the 10th. Please write it down because that is our... A fall festival. Fall festival is happening Saturday, October the 10th from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Old Town Monrovia. We want you to visit Old Town Merchants. We want you to kick off your fall season, take out your fall candles, put out your fall decorations, and just have a wonderful fall day on October the 10th. And that's all I have.

Great. Thank you very much. And Mr. Spicer.

Thank you, Mayor. Just a brief update on several upcoming community programs and events. So I'll start off with Fountain to the Falls registration is now live. The event will take place on Saturday, September the 19th. Check-in begins at 6 a.m. at Library Park, and the race will start promptly at 7 a.m. Registration is limited to 350 participants. And as of today, we already have 126. You do the math. So you know how many is left. So hurry up and sign up. We encourage residents to register soon if they'd like to participate. Now, our AARP... Smart drivers course for seniors will be offered as a two-day class at the community center on Thursday, September the 10th, and Friday, September the 11th from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., both days. This program helps seniors refresh safe driving skills, understand new traffic laws, and make smart decisions on the road. Reservations can be made by calling the Community Center at 626-256-8246. We also invite our seniors to join us for several free educational programs at the community center. These sessions offer engaging learning opportunities, a complimentary lunch, and great company. Space fills quickly, so we encourage everyone to reserve their reservations early. Food Ed for seniors on Friday, September the 4th from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Topic, easy pickling, that's P-I-C-K-L-I-N-G. Lunch and Learn Thursday, September the 10th from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Topic, how to love your heart through nutrition. These programs continue to highlight our commitment to supporting wellness, education, and community connection for Monrovia's older adults. And that concludes my report, Mayor.

Thank you very much. And so, Mayor Pro Tem.

Thank you, Madam Mayor. I want to congratulate Monrovia's PD. Recently, they put on a video which had, Dylan, how many views did it have?

500. Wow.

They arrested someone that had an outstanding warrant. They were having dinner at Panda Express. And while they were having dinner, if you looked at the video, literally it shows what they were eating. And all of a sudden in the background, you could see the suspect that they had been looking for. He walked into the same Panda Express. And he... Even on their dinner break, Monrovia PD was quick to identify him and they arrested him right away. So I just want to say thank you for being vigilant and always being on the job, even when you're having dinner. So I think that they need to be recognized for just being right on it. And I want to also congratulate our first responders on the National Night Out. This year, they moved the event from behind the library to fronting right on Merlin. It made a big difference. It was huge, the number of people that came. They had music, great food. They had a dunk, a cop. as well as a bubble machine, lots of participation by the community and vendors as well, so I just want to congratulate them for that. Thank you, Madam Mayor.

Thank you. Okay, jotting down all these things. Sure. Coming up, yes, 9-11, which is the 25th anniversary of 9-11, and we shall never forget. Now, we do have a special event. Dylan, do you have the exact details that's on 9-11? It's in the morning at our fire department, but do you have the... Yep, 9 a.m. at 101. At 101.

Station 101 at 9 a.m. right here in this building.

Right. We're going to have a special commemoration of the 9-11. And, again, 9 a.m., that's at our Station 101. So I don't know if you say I'm looking forward to that. I guess I'm looking forward to actually commemorating and really having a nice commemoration.

nice remembrance um event for that can i can i just make a quick comment so the i want to be clear the the events starts at nine o'clock but we're actually gonna have the doors open a little early people usually like to come a little early and maybe talk and share some stories so we're actually gonna have the doors open at 8 30. we are asking people the rsvp will share that in the city manager's update but um the the ceremony itself starts at nine o'clock

I think we all know where we were at that very moment that we found out that it was happening and that day changed things forever for many, many people. And then it's what happened then beginning that day after and what we became committed to. continue to be committed to. Anyway, so lots of things. It might have been summer but it seemed like there were a lot of things going on. I did have the opportunity with Foothill Transit to go on a literally it was just overnight to Las Vegas to visit a bus manufacturing location and that's where their manufacturing some double-decker buses for Foothill Transit and then on to check out a hydrogen fuel location and it's rather a large location you would think they'd have to have a significant staff it's like five people I mean it's very very very few people but very impressive fuel factory there or for hydrogen fuel and then we also had the opportunity several of us uh went to check out lake mead which is scary low i mean really really low and that's something that we really need to worry about because that also lake mead and other and the Hoover Dam and all that, it has to do with electric production, and it's really frightening how low those locations are. At lowest point I think they've ever been. And so at any rate, I had the opportunity to do that earlier in August. And as Ed talked about, it was really wonderful to go to the Celebration of Life for Ed Cunningham, the longtime volunteer for our Canyon Park. I knew him through the Canyon Park, but oh my goodness, his life, he was a character. He reached the ripe old age of, was he 96? Something like that. He was well into his 90s or 93 at any rate. Really a great event, and it also highlighted what the types of events we could do in that location. And for those of you that haven't been up there for a while, oh, my goodness, the amount of trees that have filled in. The last time I was there, you could still – Seattle was kind of like from the fires, it was still kind of moonscapey. Those trees have just filled in and it's amazing. So you're kind of tucked into that amphitheater. It was a very nice event and I think the staff that were all involved as well on that. went to several chamber ribbon cuttings, went to the Monrovia Guild of Children's Hospital, LA, the Rise Credit Union. There was also one for the Mayan Room and noodle, and Sergio and I were both there, and they had a special tea party, not tea party, tea ceremony, and it was really pretty neat, and we participated in that. There was an evening mixer at John Hart Realty, and then also a Motab merchant mixer in the morning, one of the mornings in August, and that was at the Hall of Fame card shop and so lots of lots of things going on um and qantas club last thursday they had a guest speaker jeffrey prang our la county assessor the assessor was going to talk monday yesterday through the chamber at an event and unfortunately he had to cancel the last minute he had some personal something personal that came up but he did i understand i wasn't able to attend but i understand he did have his staff members and they're they're very accommodating the assessor's office and mr prang as well and so thank you to qantas club too um uh phil tiffany is the incoming president and he will be in are you installed on october 8th October 8th will be the new Qantas president. And Taste of Old Town is also coming up in Monrovia, the Qantas Taste of Old Town. And that's October 25th, Sunday, October 25th. So look forward. To that is wait. Yeah the day after make a difference day, but you can make a difference day every day Can't do a taste of old town every day so Also, San Gabriel Valley mosquito and vector control is very busy this season And treating black fly and things like that and also spraying various areas there have been some evidence of West Nile virus And always remember tip, toss, and protect. Lots of good tips on the San Gabriel Valley Mosquito and Vector Control website. And I think I, and tomorrow I will go back. The San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments has been dark July and August, and tomorrow morning, They have their they start meetings again. And so we are going to be having someone from the LA County homeless How it's the new it's HSH. It's the new homeless department and they're going to be giving Giving us an update is to how things are going It'll be interesting So with that, that is my report. We do not have any administrative reports this evening. And, oh my goodness, where's, somebody give me your memo.

I need the memo. Mayor, just don't forget the Monrovia Financing Authority.

Yes, okay. Yes, we need to, before we convene here, we're convening the Monrovia Financing Authority Commission meeting without adjourning the City Council meeting. So yes, we're almost there. So is Ray, who's, Ray is presenting on this one. Thank you. Take it away, Ray.

Thank you so much. So the item, good evening, President Shevlin and officers of the authority commission. The item before you tonight is the proposed financing for several of the city's priority capital projects. And this item is related to the public hearing item that was reviewed and approved by city council through the adoption of resolution number 2026-50 earlier this evening. So at this point, we are returning to the authority commission for approval of that same financing consideration. Our recommendation this evening following the public hearing tonight and city council's adoption of resolution number 2026-50 is that the authority commission adopt resolution number A2026-01. The resolution similarly would authorize the issuance of the 2026 lease revenue bonds, approve the related financing documents, establish the parameters for the competitive sale and authorize the actions necessary to complete the financing. And this concludes my item. Thank you again for your time. I'm here to answer any questions you might have.

And before we take a vote on this, I suppose it's very important we do a roll call. I was going to note that all were present. Let it be noted for the record that all members are present for this meeting. And we did have a, we'll go ahead and do this. I'm taking it out of order. So the MFA AR1, which is what Ray just presented, are there any questions of Ray? No. Do we have a motion then?

So move that we adopt resolution number A2026-01. I'll second.

Okay, we have a motion and a second. Then without objection, then so approved. And I'm going to go back to, thank you very much, Ray. I'm going to go back to our consent calendar, which is item just FACC1, the unadopted minutes of October 4th, 2016. And if you can remember back that far.

This is from yesterday.

Right, right. If there are no questions, comments, do we have a motion to approve our consent calendar?

I make a motion to approve the consent calendar.

Second.

We have a motion and a second, and without objection, so approved. And with that, then, we are adjourn our Monrovia, it's the Monrovia Finance. Financing Authority Commission and so then we are adjourning that and reconvening in the City Council meeting And again, we do not we're at the point in our meeting. We have no further agenda items and we are unfortunately adjourning in several the names of several people this evening and We have Jay Douglas Hanson, the brother of retired community services director Tina Cherry. Brian Ogden and Daniel Ogden, father and brother of Public Works Old Town caretaker John Ogden. And boy, and John Shirk, longtime Monrovia resident and former Monrovia High School football coach. And then just recently, Gene Glasgow, Vietnam veteran, retired Arcadia City Clerk and longtime community volunteer. And he was heavily involved with the, if not responsible for the veterans memorial there. at Arcadia Park there at the corner of Santa Anita and Huntington. So at any rate, with that, our hearts and prayers go out to each and every one of the family members, friends and family, for each of those individuals, and they will definitely be missed. So with that, on that heavy note, we will, our meeting this evening, and thank you for the little inconsistencies here. Sorry about that, Ray. I kind of got our meeting upside down there. Okay, we are adjourned. Thank you for joining us this evening. And gentlemen, I hope you enjoyed yourself, you learned something, and that you come back and you join the MAP leadership. Our meeting is adjourned at 9.53 p.m.