Remarks by Tamala Takahashi
286 remarks on the record, newest first · Page 1 of 12
Good evening and welcome to a joint meeting of the Burbank City Council with the Housing Authority on Tuesday, October 13th, 2026. Please join me in a moment of reflection. This moment is intended to begin our meeting with the positive and collective support for our beloved community. The City Council welcomes everyone joining us this evening. We encourage you to take a moment to reflect on our community and the work we'll be doing tonight. Although each of us has our own unique reasons for being here, we are united in our passion for our wonderful city. As we pause, let us consider our…
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So tonight there will be six periods of public comment. Members of the public may comment in person or remotely for all comment periods. In-person commenters must submit cards before the public comment period begins, and remote commenters must be in the queue with their hands raised before the public comment period begins. The first public comment period is for joint general public comment on any matter considering concerning city business and or any agenda item if you are here in person and you wish to speak during joint general public comment please submit a yellow public comment card to…
All right, we have four presentations tonight. Our first presentation this evening is a presentation of a proclamation declaring October 18th to 24th, 2026, as National Veterinarian Technician Appreciation Week in the city of Burbank. And I invite the city's veterinary technicians, Jeanette Dease and Kim Rotter, along with volunteer veterinary technician, Kristen Beach, to join me at the podium. Welcome. Would any of you like to say a few words about what you do and why you're so important in our city? I'm Kim.
Has anyone adopted an animal from the animal shelter? Yes, we did too. And about 10, 12 years ago before COVID. And our puppy, Dexter, when we adopted him, he had come from the streets and he had parvo before we adopted him. So thank you for taking care. I don't know if you were on staff back then, but thank you for taking care of him. Yes, so that he could, he survived it. And thank you for that so he could live with us. And, you know, let's really appreciate that. All right, so I'm gonna read the proclamation, then we'll take some pictures, okay? So National Veterinary Technician…
She's coming here. I'm going to go there. And who wants to hold the clock? One of you guys hold it. She did the talking.
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Thank you so much. Okay, I'm gonna read the proclamation and then we'll take a picture. Proclamation United Against Hate Week, October 18th to 24th, 2026. Whereas the city of Burbank is a community that respects diversity and affirms our commitment to safety and belonging for all residents, and whereas hate presents a threat to communities everywhere and creates an atmosphere of fear and division, and whereas education, compassion, critical thinking, and cooperation are key to unlocking understanding and embracing differences amongst people, and whereas we seek to join other fellow California…
Our next presentation is a presentation of a proclamation declaring October 1st through 31st, 2026 as Domestic Violence Awareness Month in the city of Burbank. I invite Executive Director of the Family Service Agency, Lori Bleck, I always pronounce your last name poorly, I'm sorry, to join me at the podium. Okay, all right, come on, come on up. Wow. Oh, wow. OK. So who would like to speak on this?
All right, thank you. All right, I'm going to read the proclamation and we'll do pictures. All right. Domestic Violence Awareness Month, whereas domestic violence occurs across society, regardless of age, gender, race, sexuality, wealth, and geography, and whereas domestic violence is the single largest cause of injury to American women from all racial, cultural, and economic backgrounds and affects other family members as well. And whereas nearly 3 in 10 women and 1 in 10 men in the U.S. have experienced rape, physical violence, and are stalking by a partner and reported having a related…
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All right, let's take a picture. Oh, would you?
All right, next up, City Manager, do we have a report this evening?
Okay. All right, our next item this evening is a presentation of a state legislative update by California Public Policy Group, and I welcome Senior Legislative Advocate Kira Ross and Associate Lobbyist Claire Sullivan to begin the presentation. Welcome.
Thank you so much for the presentation. Counsel, do you have any questions, comments? Council Member Anthony.
Council Member Rosati, any questions, comments?
Thank you for your presentation. I have a quick question about the e-bikes. I'm really glad to see the state has updated the definitions and made some other changes. Has the police department chatted with you about these updates yet? Have you talked to them about that? I have not.
Okay. Six months ago I think we talked about the e-bike conversation. So these updates will be important for them to hear and hopefully the police commission will hear this as well and we can get some updates here on council as well. And then just very briefly, the nitrous oxide sales, thank goodness that that's being prohibited. So when does that start? January 1st? That should start January 1st.
Great. Yeah. You know, we've get emails periodically about it, and other cities have tackled it.
So thank you so much for your presentation, all this hard work, such a close look at everything. And also for your regular reports, giving us updates of what's going on, because it's hard to keep up with everything. So really appreciate you keeping up for us. and highlighting all that for us. So thank you for your part tonight.
Okay, now is the time for joint general public comment. I'll be calling out the speaker's name as well as the person who is next in line to speak. In order to keep public comment moving in a timely fashion, we have a designated seat in the front row for speakers who are up next to the podium. Remote participants wishing to speak during joint general public comment who have not yet joined the speaker queue may do so now by dialing star nine by telephone or using the raise hand feature on Zoom. Please note if you are calling from a blocked or private number you will be introduced as anonymous…
Not quoted here: it may name a member of the public. Hear it at the meeting.
Not quoted here: it may name a member of the public. Hear it at the meeting.
Not quoted here: it may name a member of the public. Hear it at the meeting.
Not quoted here: it may name a member of the public. Hear it at the meeting.