City Council - Regular Meeting

Okay. Hello everyone. We're going to go ahead and get our city uh start it. Uh ask our city clerk to do roll call, please. Council member, commissioners, director Garcia here. Council member, commissioner, director Laurara here. Council member, commissioner, director Lutz here. Mayor Pro 10, Vice Chairman, Vice President Sanchez here. Mayor Chairman, President Kamacho

here. Thank you for that. I'm going to ask uh Council Member Garcia to lead us in the invocation and please stay uh standing as we'll do the flag salute by our special guest today. Heavenly Father, as we are assembled here today, may you bless this meeting as we discuss the business at hand. May you guide us to the proper and correct solutions that have been brought before us today. We pray for the ability to see clearly the directions we need to take care of the care and the well-being of our community. As we look with new vision, may our serving, caring, and sharing be onto us a life of service. Amen.

Amen. Amen.

Thank you, council member. And if uh we have a special guest here with us uh today, it's we have Tiffany Antona, third grader from Rio Vista Elementary that is going to do the flag salute. Let's give her a big round of applause and join in. Good e good good evening mayors. Good good evening mayor. Good evening mayors, members of the council, and members of the community. My name is Tiffany Antona. I am in third grade and I go to Rio Vista Elementary School. It is an honor to lead the pledge allegiance. Please face the flag. Place your right hand over your heart and join me as we begin. We I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, for liberty and justice for all.

All right, Tiffany. Thank you, Tiffany. Why don't you come up here and join us at city house? We got a certificate. You

can bring your mom up too. Bring mom this way. Mom as well. Is that mom with you? Is that mom? Come on over and join us yourself. Mhm. Thank you guys. Come on. Come over here. Come on over here. Thank you.

That was beautiful. Yes. She made one. Oh, no. No. Is that the husband?

Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. What just got

think he knows what he's doing. There you go. All right. Thank you. Thank you guys. Another round of applause. Thank you.

All right.

Everybody, my colleagues can remain standing. We do have a uh let's see here before I do the special presentation I just want to recognize our our commissioners uh with us today. We have our parks and rec commissioner Patricia Saledto. Thank you Pat for being here. And we have our sister city commissioner uh Bob Perez. Thanks Bob. Appreciate you both being here and all the work that you do. And want to recognize Bobby Tanner, our veterans commissioner who is also in the audience. Thank you, Bobby, for being here. And so with that, we want to we have a special recognition to someone who's been working with our veterans for some time. Uh, Mr. Kenneth Gonzalez. YES. OH, YEAH. Let me forget. We got Paul Kamacho as well, our veterans commissioner. I forgot you on forgot you at the Pico Boys. I can't do it second time. Thank you both.

You know, back in 2022, and I'll read this because it's important uh to be said, but Kent came with us and as many of you know, we did we started the veterans resource uh center here at the at the senior center as well. Something that we were proud of to provide a location for veterans to get the information they need. But when you have a veterans service officer in addition to the center itself, that's what truly brings the value. And I'm sure my veteran uh folks can concur that you have an re uh resource officer uh with us here. So we wanted to recognize you, Ken. I know it's been some time that we discussed and putting this whole plan together. You have a space, a private space here, and from what I gather, you've been busy, you know, servicing. So with that and it's an honor to recognize Kenneth Gonzalez for his outstanding service and dedication to the veterans of Picori Rivera. Kenneet began serving our community in October 2022 meeting directly with veterans at the Picora Senior Center and quickly becoming a trusted and invaluable resource through his leadership and collaboration with the city council. The Veterans Resource Center officially opened in November 2022, creating a dedicated space to support those who have served our country. As a veteran service officer, Kennan has provided critical guidance and one-on-one support to veterans and their families, helping them access benefits, navigate complex systems, and improve their quality of life. Uh, under the his service, the Veterans Resource Center has assisted approximately 162 veterans annually. And that's pretty good. That's pretty good size, man. Let's give that another round of applause. My support that truly makes the difference. His work has helped connect veterans to financial assistance, education opportunities, employment resources, and long-term support, changing lives right here in our community. He has also been instrumental in supporting justice involved veterans, focusing on our rehab and second

chances. Most importantly, Kenned has served our veterans with compassion, dignity, and respect, ensuring they receive the care and recognition they deserve. Kenneet, on behalf of the city of Picoretta, thank you for your dedication and for the impact you have had on the lives of so many. It is with great appreciation that I present to you the certificate on behalf of the city council, but quite frankly our all our veterans, Secretary of Service, and the entire city of Equator. Thank you. Let's give him A There you go. One hander. I should give it I should use this but let's uh if you could see a few words on what you've done and what we've been working on and so forth. Uh yeah. Can you hear me? Everyone

on. Is it on? Okay.

Yeah. Um no, I just like to say thank you city council um staff here um been great uh and assisting. Um yeah, we just been um claims that's what we do. Um providing services to the community. Um like the mayor had mentioned, we just I just got done doing a big uh campaign for justice involved. You know, helping veterans that are formerly incarcerated. um second chance initiative, getting some of them employed even in the county. County has a second chance initiative. Um it's just business as usual for me. Um um right now I'm overseeing uh a group of guys. So probably the whole supervisor district 4 and supervisor district 2. So I'm supervising them in um same thing here. Pico open up different locations and just trying to assist the community as much as we can. So I appreciate it guys. Thank you. um from me, Calvette, um County of Los Angeles, Military Veteran Affairs. Appreciate it. Appreciate it, guys. We appreciate you. Appreciate you. And what's important, uh in addition to that, you know, again, as I mentioned, having a a resource center is one thing, but having an an officer put those services and really take it to over the top is wasn't easy. Fortunately, uh Kenneth is a resident of Pico Rivera was committed and he from day one he's like I want to do this and whatever I can to help out. So we made it happen thanks to you as well. So again congratulations. Let's take a picture.

That's okay. You I worked very closely with Kenneth on this. Um I was mayor in 2022 when the resource center was open. So I know the details intimately. It was um the resolution that we used to form our veterans resource commission. I mean our veterans commission and the center was modeled after the county um veteran commission. And the devil is in the details. It almost got derailed. There was a lot of disagreement of where this center should be. But I gr I give it to Kenneth and the veterans that were involved that we were able to open dialogue and negotiate, discuss what our resources were available, and we were able to open up the center in 2022 and and establish the first commission. Bobby Tanner was the first female commissioner on the veteran commission. And you might not think that that you maybe you don't know or do know that we're not maybe you don't think it's a big deal because it's here and within our senior center, but it is a big deal for us to have this resource and Kenneth available to our city um in 2022. We were able to get that off the ground and I attribute that to Kenneth's knowledge, resource, and expertise as well as to our veterans for advocating and continuing to push this through to be in our city. So, thank you so much to all of you. Thank you. Excuse me. Uh,

all right, Kenneth, this is bittersweet because we go way back, but you know, Kenneth, we're we're proud of you. We know that you uh elevated in your position, that you'll continue to to look out after Pete Rivera. But thank you for uh saving the trips to the Long Beach VA. The veterans were able to come here to access their benefits, and you continue to improve quality of life. But thank you the way you handled the details with your passion, your dedication, and your commitment to all veterans. We're going to miss you, brother. And congratulations,

Kenneth. I too want to thank you for being there at the very beginning. Uh all those meetings at the VFW, at the American Legion, meeting with veterans, uh getting their input on what services they would like. Uh you spearheaded headed that along with then mayor, uh Dr. Monica Sanchez. So, I just want to thank you for all your effort that you've put in. I know it's a labor of love being a veteran. Uh, and we've had these discussions about individual veterans, unfortunately, people uh veterans who are homeless, experiencing homelessness, experiencing um inability to maybe fix a leaky roof, do home repairs, and you've stepped in. you've uh shed light to their plight and it's really helped us as a community, as a city council to be able to put in some of these programs to make their burden a little bit easier. You you are very much a large part of that. So, I want to thank you for your efforts.

Kenneth, I have a question for you on behalf of all of us in the council and I guess all of our residents and veterans. Are you going to continue to live in Pico Rivera? Yes.

Great. Well, we hope that we're going to have to check in your living room that you have that right right in the front of your living room. We want to We're very proud of you. You you were part of the initial architecture of creating our Veterans Resource Center and a lot of our veterans would go to neighboring cities or even in Long Beach, you know. So, we're very appreciative of what you've done. Uh, and very thankful for all the things that you continue to do for all veterans. And now, Pico Rivera, thanks to you and rest of our city council, we were able to have our very own veteran center. And, uh, our veterans don't have to go far. So, we truly do appreciate the investment of time that you provided. Uh, Pico Rivera, thank you, sir.

Thank you. Thank you. No, it's because of you that uh the center is where it's at today. So, and of course, we can't uh not thank our our staff here at CPI Corbett, in particular here at the senior center with Leette up there at the front. Hello, Lette over there. And uh the entire team, let's give them a space and made it happen. And our entire staff. So, thank you. Thank you. Thank you. And uh let's take a picture. One, two, three. Yeah.

CAN WE VETERANS? I think they're here for all you good looking. Oh, Fred has a certificate. The veterans. Fred, you have a certificate for

I just I just wanted to also say on behalf of Senator Bob Archeletta, I wanted to thank Kenneth Gonzalez because um uh not only did he serve here in Pico Rivera, but he serves throughout the county and he actually uh started uh coming to the senator's office on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings and and he took care of a lot of veterans from throughout the county uh there at our office. I mean, they would come from Riverside, San Bernardino, um, Long Beach, just to see Kenneth, not only because of that, because of the privacy that we give them there at the senator's office when he's in Sacramento. So, I wanted to thank Kenneth for all his hard work and congratulate him on his uh uh new job promotion and just thank him once again. Thank you, city of Pico Rivera, and thank you, Kenneth Gonzalez. Appreciate it.

And thanks, Senator Russ. Now, uh, for those veterans that are in the house, if you can indulge us in a picture right here, if you can come and join, Ken, if you're able to, I think that's appropriate. that picture. Hello. Ready. Thank you.

That's a nice photo.

Thank you. Thank you everyone for indulging us on that presentation. I think it's welld deserved and we want to make sure uh we recognize someone. Yes. Thank you. Before I go to the presentation by the Army Corps of Engineers, I forgot to ask our city managers. Any changes to the agenda?

Yes, mayor. We are uh moving the close session item to the following meeting.

Thank you. And I want to recognize that council member Lutz has joined us as well. And with that, I'd like to uh bring up uh our Army Corps of Engineers uh to do a presentation. Uh as you many of you are familiar with the Witter Dam Safety Improvement Project. If you're not, just a quick reminder you get to see it's that over on the north side, the entire dam that's been here since the 1940s is come to its its place of uh repair. There's a lot of work to be done. Um, it's been some years in the making since we first heard about it when they when they they told us that it was uh it was in need of repair. It's a public safety improvements, but there's a lot of work to be done. And we have our Army Corps of Engineers that's going to give us an update uh as to where we are and uh what's to come. So, please join us. Thank you.

I've got a couple inches on Tiffany, so

great. Thanks. Thank you, Mayor Kamancho, city council. I appreciate you guys um hosting me today. My name is Aaron Smith. As the mayor said, I work for the US Army Corps of Engineers. Um it's been a long time coming. Um but I've got some great news. Um, not only have we been fully funded to complete the repairs at Woodier and Arrows Dam that you guys have been hearing about for years, but we've awarded that construction option. And that work is actually going to start this year. Um, as early as October, but uh certainly by the time we all sit down with our families to break bread to celebrate the holidays this year, we'll have a contractor out there. uh Barnard Construction. Um they're a highly competent, well-qualified CI heavy civil construction firm. Uh they've built and repair dams around the world. We're lucky to have them as our partner. Um and um I'm excited that we get started on this project finally for you guys. Um I want to acknowledge right off the bat, I'm going to talk about here today that project will not come without some impacts to your all's lives. heard that we have a pico boy in the room. I know that that loss of that ball field associated with this construction is going to be hard for the community. Um, I'll talk about that here today. But I want to promise you that if there was anything I could do to repair this dam and keep it safe for all of you and not impact that recreational space, I would have done it. It's a critical area of vulnerability that we've got to make some modifications at. So, um, we'll get into that. The other thing is I want to commit to everybody in this room today. I've worked with the city management on this. This is not the only time you're going to see me or my team. Um we're going to be in your community for the next few years. Um we're going to start with some town halls. Uh we're going to participate in your community festivals and events. I'm looking for other

opportunities or suggestions on way that we can outreach to you all between now and when construction starts. give you a better sense what's coming to your way, let you talk to us personally, ask questions, express concerns, but then that's going to continue throughout the life of construction. Army Corps of Engineers has been a neighbor of Pika Rivera for a long time. As the mayor said, we're going to be your neighbor during this construction and we're going to be ne your neighbor when this thing's said and done. You guys can be able to get your lives back put back together. Um, I just want to acknowledge right off the bat there will be some tough impacts associated with this. I promise you I come to work every single day to do this kind of work for people like you. I believe in dams. I'm dedicated to dams. My entire team is dedicated to the dams. The reason we're dedicated to dams is because we believe what they do for people. That's the reason we believe in dams. We believe in this dam. We want to keep this dam operational for the people who are sitting in this room, your relatives, your neighbors, and all the communities downstream of Pika Rivera going all the way to the beach. So, want to start off with that. I've got a quick PowerPoint here. I'll tell you everything I'm going to tell you today is on a website. You guys will be able to see the address for that website. Um, there's going to be a dedicated email address between now and when you see us next time. I hope you'll share that with your community and your neighbors. We're looking for feedback and impacts um that you are worried about so that we can work to make sure we minimize those as much as possible and talk to you about that as we continue these engagements. Uh let's see. I'm in charge of the clicker, right? Okay. I am talking about damn safety issues. I'm talking about concerns we have with Whittier Nero's dam failing. That's a scary thing to talk about. It would be a extremely scary thing if that dam were to fail.

You need to be a little bit scared of that. You need to understand why I want to make this investment, why it's important that I make this investment. But I want to contextualize that investment and that fear. There is no imminent risk to Pico Rivera. Um, since we started talking to you about this project in in the late 201s all the way to now, we've experienced several storms. We've held water behind that dam. We've passed that water safely. We've had absolutely no performance concerns. The kind of storms that we worry about with this dam failing are what most of us would consider extreme, very unlikely to happen on a daily or annual basis, but they're probable and could happen one day. While they're rare, if this dam would fail, the consequences are so significant. That's why we feel an investment to make this dam stronger for you and your children and grandchildren in the future is worth it. It's not because we're worried about an imminent risk or a daily risk to your community. So, I want to make that clear. Okay. So, what are we going to talk about today? I'm going to talk to you about why we're doing what we're doing what we're doing. I'm going to talk to you about when the construction starts, what it's going to look like, what it potentially could feel like for your community. Want to drive home those long-term benefits of um allowing us to come in and make this modification. And then I want to point out some of our community outreach and engagement plans and proposals. So, what are we doing here? All right. There's two ways we're concerned with this dam failing. One, uh, the dam is designed to capture excess storms, waters that come down off the San Gabriels. They come down through the Rio Hondo or the San Gabriel River

in the form of the San Gabriel River. They pass through Santa Fe Dam, which is another one of our dams on the way here. And when we project that the Rio Hondo, the LA River downstream of Downey or the San Gabriel River downstream of here could go out of bank, we'll store those waters and slowly release them to keep those rivers in bank. Okay? The more it rains and the more water that comes off those mountains, the longer we'll have to store those waters and the higher those waters can get behind the dam. When we get to pools that exceed anything that we've seen in the lifetime of this dam, we get worried about water seeping underneath the dam and exiting on the downstream side. The dam itself is extremely strong and competent. It does not allow water to pass from upstream to downstream. The soils that are underneath the dam that found that found the dam are made up largely of sands. What do we know about sands? Water passes through sand pretty easily, right? So water's looking to move from upstream to downstream and it'll move through that sand foundation and it'll percolate on the downstream end. That in itself is a very innocuous situation. The problem we have here is the sands underneath this dam are highly erodable. And when you get that water moving under there with a lot of velocity and a lot of pressure, it'll start to erode those sands underneath our dam and start to create a tunnel or a cavity. And just like you wouldn't want a tunnel or a cavity to open up underneath the foundation of your house, we don't want one of those things to open up underneath our dam either. It cause our dam to fail, just like it would cause your house to collapse. So, how do we deal with that? Luckily, we've got some tried and trueue solutions that we've implemented on similar dams like this across the nation. We simply dig a trench. I say simply, we engineer a trench on the downstream side of the dam, the Pico Rivera side, that intercepts that water, relieves those

pressures, and doesn't allow sand to erode any farther to create a tunnel or cavity, blocks that sand from eroding, creating that tunnel and cavity. And then we extend what's called a burm, a low portion of the dam up over that to create some additional weight to keep that soil in place. So that's one of the things you'll see us do. Now the more complex problem we have with Woodier Narrows Dam is that we know now modern forecasting better understanding of um how water transmits from those mountains down to this dam that there are storms again extremely rare and unlikely to occur on a daily basis that can overwhelm the dam storage capacity. Even when we're releasing all the water we can down the San Gabriel and Rio Hondas, we'll have more water coming in, more water coming in, water, more water coming in. And sooner or later, the dam's going to over top and the downstream face of that dam, like you see here, is not designed to receive those flows. That dam will start to erode backwards and ultimately release a catastrophic wave of water downstream. So, how are we going to fix that? We're basically going to put some armor, a shield on the downstream face of that dam that keeps it eroding. Um it's a complex set of um concrete steps uh that are meant to dissipate the energy of that water and keep the dam in place. Um and that will be done across the entire downstream face of the dam. Um they sound like simple solutions. This is a threem long and dam. It is the most urban project that the core of engineers owns. We own 700 dams across the nation. The largest dams owned across the nation. Most of them in rural locations. The urban nature of this one makes access coming and going. We have limited staging area which kind of complex makes the job a little bit more complex.

Okay. So, what's construction going to look like during as we're implementing these two features? Like I said, we're going to start late 2026 this year. Everything you see on this map here, we're kind of looking at an overhead view of the dam. Pico Rivera is on the bottom of the screen. Elante's at the top. Everything you see see red hatched on this and again you can find all this on the website will be closed to the public and given to our contractor. That'll be what's called their construction work limits. Um, like I said, all the features they're going to be implementing will be on the Pico Rivera side of the dam, but they need a lot of space to store dirt, sands, gravels, uh, stage their equipment. They're going to have large batching mills. Um, and so some of that land upstream will be associated with that. And then they need ways to come and go from one side of the dam to the other. So everything in red will be uh used by our contractor. Okay, what's it going to look like? Uh, obviously you're going to see a lot of construction equipment and traffic moving through um the area in and around the dam. You'll see them moving through Pico Rivera. Um, you'll see them crossing over Roseme. You'll see them coming from Lincoln. Um, we're going to have a large staging area at the corner of Dery and Roseme called the Strawberry Fields colloally. Um, that's where our project offices and mills will be. That's where we'll be batching all that material that we're going to create that armored shield on the downstream of the dam. And then we've got to deliver it from that area to the dam. And once you batch that material, you can only cycle it so long in a cement truck before it goes bad. So, we've got to quickly find a way to get it to the dam and start placing it. Timing is really important to us. Um, you're going to see excavation on and below the dam. So, don't be alarmed if you see equipment cutting into the face of the dam. We're

doing that to create space to be able to put these armored steps into place. You're going to see people digging at the base of the dam. That's okay, too. They're creating that trench to keep those soils from eroding. Okay. Um, you're going to see them placing large volumes of sand, gravel, and then that concrete. Um, most of that construction is going to take place uh Monday through Friday during daylight hours. There will be times where we do have to work at night. I'm going to talk about us having to modify rows meet in Lincoln modifying rows. Sometimes the best time to do that work is when there's the least amount of traffic. That tends to be at night. Um there could be other times during critical placements when weather's either too hot or too cold where it might be advantageous for our contractor to get on site during off cycle hours. and that would only be to make sure that we get done quicker than we would if they couldn't. Um, if that has to happen, we'll coordinate carefully with this city government, make sure that we take all the precautions in place and our contractor cannot do that without our permission and working collectively with you all to make sure that that's worth that juice is worth the squeeze. The other thing is the site will be secure. It'll be secured physically. Um it'll be secured by uh security guards and that will be 24/7. Um there's going to be a lot of active construction be extremely dangerous if somebody wandered on site and I also know that the sad reality is that we do have a lot of people are experiencing homelessness in this area. Um, and we do I this will not be an attractive place to do, but we're going to do everything we can to make sure that we keep the site safe and clean so that once it's returned to you all, it will be in the best um condition possible. Okay. Talked about roads, I talked about over topping. There's two places that

cross this dam, two roads where I can't put those concrete steps in to armor the dam and keep functional roads that are important to the county and and the and the locals. Uh, and that's Lincoln and Roseme. So, at those two locations, I'm actually going to raise those two roads six feet so they don't ever overtop and we can keep roads. What's that going to look like? We've designed the relocation of those roads to keep all lanes open to traffic at all times except for minor times during night when we have to do a lane shift uh opportunity. Um but slower speed limits, active construction, narrower lanes, I expect traffic is going to be harder um as we modify those two roads. Uh the bigger permanent act uh uh impact to the city of Pico Rivera is that I have to permanently close the portion of Rook Road which you see highlighted on this map here. Basically coming off the 605 where it crosses over the dam and just shy of Sports Arena Road. The reason I have to do that is there's really no way to make that road compatible with the modifications I have to do. Now, closure of that road does not mean that I'm impacting the sports arena itself. There is nothing we're doing associated with this construction that will cause the sports arena to close. I understand that there may be some concerns with making sure that there's adequate in in ways in and out for emergency services for the sports arena. I know the community and your city leadership is talking about that. We're happy to support that any way we can, but I cannot replace that road when we're said and done. Now, here's probably the toughest thing for you guys. Um, there's two parks on the downstream side of that dam. You guys are very familiar with Streamland Park and then your golf course. I have very limited space for my contractor to

work and stage the amount of material they got to put on here. Those are two prime opportunities to allow me to do that. So, unfortunately, we are going to have to cancel the leases that you guys have at those two locations during construction and give those two spots to my contractor. I'm also going to have to permanently modify portions adjacent to the dam at Streamland Park and Pico Rivera Golf Course with that burm, that low part of the dam, that weighted piece of material that's going to cover that trench and keep those soils from eroding. Those are two critical spots where we're particularly concerned that the sands are highly erodable at that location. So, I've got to address those two spots there. When I'm said and done, even with these concrete steps, we're going to cover the whole thing with the same kind of earth and dirt that you see now. The dam's going to look very similar. Um, but it's going to the base of the dam is going to extend horizontally out closer toward the city that it does today. and that will be a part of the damning feature. So, we are very interested and engaged in reoutgranting those facilities to the city when we're said and done, but they're not going to look exactly the way they do now, and they may not be compatible for the kind of uses that you have for them now. May have to envision a different type of recreation. I know, particularly with the ball fields and the connection of the Pico Boys, it's a tough impact for this community. I empathize with that. I understand this might be the 70th anniversary of the Pico Boys and and I imagine that this is a tough pill to swallow for you guys and if there was anything else I could do, trust me, I would do it. Uh Bsentennial Park, which has been a park that's been closed for some time, uh we'll be using for staging. We'll probably have another u batching facility at that location. But when we're said and done, that area is going

to be cleared and grubbed, and it might be an opportunity to restore some recreational space for the city as well. Okay. We've also got a number of trails, equestrian, bike, pedestrian. Some of them start up in the mountains, go all the way to the beach. Some of them are more local connector trails. If you remember that red hatched area, I've got to keep the public out of that area. Large construction equipment, a lot of craft labor working. I need to keep people safe. going to have to close those trails during construction. I know a lot of people like to go over top across the top of the dam. When I'm said and done, that should all be in place again. And the county is looking for opportunities to restore the connection between the trails to the south and the north when we're said and done, too. But they are going to be closed during construction. Okay. Again, this is the eighth modification project I've worked on around the country. Our dams provide such great opportunities for people to take advantage of them for recreational space that there is always a park that's outred to a local municipality adjacent to our dams and we almost always have to impact that park during construction. I will tell you I have had no better partner in understanding that than the city of Pico Rivera. Um you guys have been laser focused on your flood risk. I have really appreciated the continued partnership we have with you guys. My commitment to you is to try to be the best partner and neighbor I can during construction. Again, me and my team are doing this for you. We're not modifying this dam for any other reason than we care about your lives and we want to make sure your lives and property are safe. That is what motivates us to come to work every single day. That's why I'm a civil servant. Um, and I wish that I could do this modification and you guys have to suffer

zero impacts associated with it, but I am confident that will not be the case. Um, we will do our best, but just remember we're doing it for you guys. Okay. So, right off the bat, we've worked the city. On April 16th, you guys will hear advertisements about it. We're going to host a big open town hall that's open, full and open to the public. We'll be there to give a little bit more detailed presentation than this. if you can stay awake and listen to me again. But then more importantly, I'm going to have my team available for folks to come in, talk, ask questions, have one-on-one conversations if you feel like, get contact information, understand this project a little bit better. We're working on schedule scheduling a second one in May. Then, like I said, you'll see us at local events and festivals. Um, you'll probably see us out canvasing the neighborhoods adjacent to the dam, leaving flyers, talking to you directly. Um, but most importantly, we've got a dedicated project website. You guys can see it on here. I think we've got some handouts, George. Wonderful. So, you can look it up on there. My ask to all of you in this room and to all your friends and neighbors as as you peruse this website, as you digest the information I've given you tonight, is you hit up that email, especially between now and April 16th, let us know what we need to talk about. Let us know what your biggest concerns are in that email so that we can tailor that town hall and future engagements to be the most productive for you. And with that, I'll turn the floor back over, open it for any questions, and again, appreciate the opportunity.

Thank you for that uh oversight, Erin. Thank you for that. You know, just to add some additional context before I ask my colleagues to ask some questions. You know, as you many have known the history of Picora because of this damn 1940 before, you know, the river just kind of ran a little wild and once these dams were created, it allow communities like Picoretta to to grow and to become what is today. But as we enjoyed all that Army Corps property, we grew with it in addition to Pico Boyce and Streamline Park and the golf course, Sports Arena and so forth. But the day has come to make those improvements that are necessary for us. However, those improvements do as stated come with those impacts. And one of the major ones that we've been working with is is the impact of equal voice. You know, who has been around since 1956 and yes, just celebrated their anniversary. And we've been working with them to try to figure out where to find them a new home, a temporary home, a hybrid home. We've had a series of meetings. um you know, it's just an area that they they've had for many years and uh sadly this impact is coming. So, we're working with them, city council staff to do what we can. There's some short-term plans with them as well as some long-term plans that were we're entertained as well. Um but uh aside from the golf course and the sportrina uh impacts as as as was stated um you know one of the things that we've been addressing over the years you know from 2018 is trying to make sure that you know as armory corp comes and and improves their land you know it's never was never equased to us for for a dollar ever since their city incorporation um and you know these impacts are dramat are are huge as you can imagine We've had some smaller construction out of the throughout the city and there's noise pollution, there's traffic, uh there's uh you know communication issues and so

we've been trying to address the you know and and Erin mentioned about uh security and homelessness. One of the biggest concerns we have had is and you know uh it's there's acres and acres of land back there and as all of you that live in Picori know that the rivereds become homeless encampments and our concern is that these areas are going to become homeless encampments. Um and as we spoken to the Army Corps and Eron is that you know when it comes to security we don't just want a security at the entrance and exit gates. We want to make sure there's security throughout rotating to make sure that we don't have these encampments uh set up and then we have to deal with those issues and then our sheriff department and staff have to drain resources for something that could have been prevented. So we've been discussing those security issues. Um the other is the noise pollution, the construction uh impacts that happen. Unfortunately, those area those residents that live within that area are going to be directly impacted for like you said, you know, up to five years. And so, we've been working with uh the Army Corps to try to mitigate those impacts, whether it be maintaining the dust control um and the noise control as to the days of operations and so forth. Um and you know in addition to that has been a communication plan as was stated but Aaron will town halls will be forthcoming canvas and into the community will be done and we want to make sure they are done they are done in a ma good manner I know and I expressed this to Aaron and we all as a council when 2018 when this came about you know it came so abruptly that we didn't even know about it and so it created a lot of fear a lot of concern from residents of the area as to the impact you know some folks even going to the extent of and do I need some sandbags? That's beyond sandbags, but it shows you the nature of what it is. But I think, you know, we've been working very well with the Army Corps and addressing those issues. And we want to make sure that as issues arrive, it's not just a 800 number that we that a message is left. We want to

make sure that there's direct communication where issues can be addressed. And so those are the things that we've been working on throughout the years, uh, as many others. Um, once again, it's a major impact to our community. Without a doubt, it's going to be a major disruption to everyone that lives and nobody travels because accessibility is only on Roseme 605 or to the city of Montabelloo. And so when you see that Roseby impacted for those years, talk about traffic. So, but we can avoid it. It must be done. These are safety improvements and like I said, highly unlikely it'll happen. However, we'll plan for for worst case scenario. So, I just wanted to ask some context. So, with that, I wanted to open up some questions. Council Member Garcia.

Uh, thank you, Mayor Kamacho. Nice recap and well said, Mayor. Um, I've I addressed several of my concerns when we had our our closed door meeting, but listening to the presentation and looking at at the diagram, I have one question. If you start working on the dam and you start digging underneath the dam and let's just say we get two or three days of full rain and you talked about sand eroding. What are the implications of that? Yeah, that's a great question and we've carefully planned and sequenced that work and in fact our contractor is constrained from doing certain amounts of excavation or work on the crest of the dam to make sure that it is not in any way degraded during construction from its current condition. Um, so we have emergency action plans put into place, but more importantly, the contractor can only excavate certain amounts at certain times with the confidence that we know they could backfill those if those storms should appear during construction. So, the dam will not be any more vulnerable than it is today during this construction. We've worked carefully to make sure of that. But that's a great question.

Thank you, Lad.

Great. Thank you, Erin, and thank you to your team and also city staff. This has been a rolling project for that the city's been aware for, I think, more than a decade, mayor, I want to say. Um, and we've been trying to deal with that. We we've been trying to push back when we can in order to preserve park space. My um concern from day one on hearing about this project though has been about the lack of lighting on Rosemead and and I've addressed this to you um privately publicly when your team has come before us and the argument that's given which given which I understand is that you're basically replacing what was there but that argument has never really sat well with me in the sense that you're well the Army Corps of Engineers is proposing and They will follow through with a major reconstruction of that road with the lifting Roseme Boulevard more than approximately 6 ft and that changes sight lines. It changes sight lines that changes drainage. So it's not just mainly replacing you're replacing what was there. It's a major modification of what's existing, right? So, you know, I I'd like to loop in um the LA County supervisors to see if there's any type of funding or any type of work that can be done with the Army Corps of Engineers to make sure that lighting is installed on that part of Roseme Boulevard over the dam and into the um for lack of uh into towards the Strawberry Fields towards the 60 freeway because when you travel that road at night, not only is it foggy, but it's very dark. And I get that that road was installed probably 50, 60, 70, 80 years ago, right? But just the nature of this community and the surrounding communities and the amount of traffic that transverses that

road has dramatically changed, right? So, I just want to push back on the argument that you're replacing what was already there. No, it's a major modification of what's there. and if we can involve the LA County Board of Supervisors because the second part of the argument is that well it's not our road it's not the army it's not the federal road but it's federal land right and it's their federal project that's going to ultimately have impacts on the community and it's really a public safety issue so I'd like to see if maybe funding could be found while they're construction while they're doing construction it's always better to install lighting or drainage or things of that nature when you know the road is open, right? So, you know, I'd like the city to kind of see if we can find some sort of funding with the LA County Board of Supervisors in regards to install installing lighting just because it would just be a major win for not only our community, but just everyone who travels that road because as a as a mayor said, right, we're going to be left with Lincoln, we're going to be left with Roseme and the 605 freeway. They're take, you know, Brooks Road is going away. I I use that as a shortcut, but you know, we're going to see more traffic on Rosem Boulevard. So, that's my Thank you.

No, no, thank you. I I appreciate it. Um I will tell you that um you know, the the road has been designed to meet every county ordinance for line of sight and drainage and all those sorts of things. Um in terms of lighting, that is considered a betterment. So, I'm procluded from funding that. But we do have ways to partner if non-federal found funding is found to where we could even incorporate that into our contract to modify it if that turned out to be something that everybody was palatable to. Like you said, sometimes it's easier to do it when you've got a contractor on site working. So we'd be open to that opportunity for sure. Thank you.

Thank you council member for highlighting that. I think that's just an important one and if there's a right time to make those improvements, this is a time for us to work with our partners including Army Corps and federal government on addressing those lighting issues. Thank you, Mayor Prom.

Thank you. I wanted I would like to um for you to describe a little better regarding the um mitigation when during the construction. Um, this is an area where I live, my backyard is the golf course area. I know there are houses that but along that golf course, but what are some of the um construction and and mitigation? Um, there are going to be dust of course. Um, coyotes are there, rodents and other creatures that crawl along and I'm sure that kicks up um it's going to come kick up some issues with the neighbors. So, what are some of your air um plans to assist in in dealing with that, especially the residential um areas that will be impacted?

Yeah, I appreciate that question because I think that will be the thing that most people on the north side feel on a daily basis. Um so, our contractor specifically specified to follow all they cannot exceed noise, vibration, or dust that exceeds any of your city count, you know, ordinances. They've got to comply with all local ordinances. Um they're actually now installing some baseline monitoring information to understand what the baseline noise um vibration are so that they can make sure that they modify their construction equipment accordingly. In terms of dust, they'll do all the normal things, regular watering, dust controls, suppressions. Um those plans are still being set up and finalized. Um, so there's opportunities for you all to express specific concerns between now and when we let that construction in October. Coming to these public engagements, giving us concerns um on that email could help us modify some of the best practices our contractor is going to use, but they can't do anything that your Sydney ordinances don't allow. Um, and they're not supposed to exceed the baseline noise or vi vibration. um uh that exists out there today. Um the other thing is um to be extra cautious um they're going to be seeking permission to go out and do some preconstruction surveys at and around the dam just to get an existing condition assessment of all the buildings and structures around the dam. We don't anticipate any impacts associated with those, but I don't want to find myself in a situation where a neighbor of ours feels something's happened to their home or their structure as a result of our construction and not be able to prove it. So, I want to have baseline information before we start construction. And if something happens,

and again, I don't anticipate that. We're going to work very hard for that never to be the case, but this is going to be a 5-year period of construction. Something could go wrong. if something happens, I want you to have the documentation to be able to come to us and that we can take uh remedies associated with that. That's a fairly extreme uh situation, but I just want to highlight that um that we're trying to be as cautionary as possible with everything that we do out there because we recognize we've got a lot of people that live up next to this dam and they need to continue to live up next to this dam while we do this work. So

you and I just have a comment in regards to um every year we conduct a homeless count and our economic development director can speak to this. Um one of the um tips in which they protect the businesses is the the businesses that had better lighting in their parking lots and areas were the ones that were preventative of having um the homeless individuals come to try to shelter there. Um, however, when you put the lighting, then the neighbors get upset because the lighting um doesn't give them privacy and and bothers them at nighttime. We've had um in my community uh people um complain about the lights. So, there are double challenges. You know, the lighting is is makes it more secure. However, you might have residents saying it's too bright at night. Um so, those are some some challenges that you may have in in the area. But I recall when we did the homeless count, um that was one of the findings that the businesses Alvie, you can correct me if I'm in if I'm wrong, but I remember recall that there were less count of homeless um in the areas that had better lighting.

Well, I appreciate you sharing that. You guys know your community. You know actions you've taken in the past and you know unanticipated impacts from those actions. So, if there's anything along those lines you can continue to share with us to make sure that we take the lessons learned and how we implement securing this site, we'd really appreciate it. Um, like you said, at night, that will probably be the biggest challenge. There will be physical barriers. There will be 247 security uh on site um throughout the entire site. It is a large site. Um, so I won't make any guarantees that we won't have people break into that site, but we're prepared to take action when that happens before it becomes a domiciling issue. Anything you guys can share with us that would help us improve our plan? We're specifically looking for that kind of wisdom. Appreciate it.

Thank you. One more comment. We're not strangers to construction and vacant land. We have Army, we have the Marine Corps base, which is the naval base. Um, we had some problems with that site that once it was vacated. In addition, we have two construction sites with KB Home and I um received comments of privacy um because the construction trucks are elevated and so as they get closer to the home, the workers can see into the residential backyards and homes. So, those are some other factors that we have to take into consideration is protecting the privacy of of the homeowners as we get closer to the residential areas. Great. appreciate you sharing the concerns. They're helpful.

That's exactly what we're looking for. Council. Yeah.

Thank you, mayor, and thank you, Erin, uh, for the presentation. We really do appreciate you, uh, doing the community outreach coming out today today with George as well and letting us know that you're going to be doing the community outreach, providing the website and the email. And just to summarize, seven-year project from 26 to 33, right? And uh Roseme's going to be elevated about six feet and Brooks Road's going to be cut off and it's not going to come back the southern entrance to the sports arena. And well, you know, this has been something that we've talked about and we were as a community interested in bringing that road back at the tail end of the completion of the project. Can you tell the audience, the community why that is not going to be uh part of the final stages of the project?

Yeah, for for us, first of all, the road as it exists today would not be compatible uh with what we need to happen at that location. Um when and if the dam were ever to over top, that road could actually impede that water hitting those steps as quickly as possible and dissipating that energy and cause a rupture at the dam at that location. Now, the reality is there is probably some technically feasible way to restore some sort of access, either crossing over the dam, potentially even penetrating it with some sort of closure system or flanking around it. Um, unfortunately that road um was built um after the dam was completed which means that I don't have the authority to pay for any sort of relocation or reestablishment of that access. Roseme and Lincoln on the other hand had uh for lack of a better term primary right use of those locations when the dam was built to begin with and we never severed those primary rights. And so as we modify the dam, we are on the hook to make sure that those primary rights are restored afterwards. Unfortunately, that same set of circumstances doesn't um apply to Rooks Road in this instance. However, um the core of engineers does have a permitting process. People do modify our projects all the time for things like that. Um and um we're happy to engage in the conversations as soon as now if you guys want to engage with an engineering, you know, professional to help start thinking about alternatives to reestablish either that road or something similar to it that would require a modification to our to our work. And that's done under a piece of US code called 33USC 408. A lot of times people call those 408 permits for short, but um you do not have to wait for us to be done to start engaging us in that conversation if you want to start evaluating some feasible

alternatives once we're done with construction. Now, the cost of that reestablishment would have to be borne by the entity requesting it. Very good. I appreciate you providing those options. Initially, I thought that there were no options and now that I know that there is an opportunity to restore access from the south um is promising for our community. Thank you. Yep.

Thank you colleagues for those questions. You know, you know, as was stated, unfortunately, we do lose 60% of our green space uh in in Picora that we've enjoyed all these years to for our youth and and other recreational programs. But you unfortunately like like was said it's not our land and and by that this is also not our project. So we staff is not directly involved in this project indirectly by uh the mitigate mitigating the impact outreach to the community and of course displacing our users. So, we're working with the Army Corps for a few years and and because of those impacts, we've been working with our federal representatives over the years to try to do the best to mitigate those impacts to our community to try to uh repair and and uh again, primarily to the users, Pico Boys in particular. Um, and so again, we'll be working with them. Erin, I mean, we've been having many conversations. You've been working with staff. you know, as you stated, let's do your best to mitigate. You stated earlier that you work for our communities, all our constituents that are impacted, you know, and the more the the the greater the mitigation to our residents, the better the results, right? because you have a job to do as to improve the safety of our community and improve the safety of many uh cities throughout but ua is on the front line and no one in that entire area has impacted the way Picoretta will be impacted and therefore we require a lot more support and so we be we're working with you and and um and uh working with our residents to to making sure that uh that those impacts are minimized as much as possible. With that, thank you for the presentation and uh we'll be having more information going to our residents. For those of you who are on on our audience, if you can begin to communicate to your neighbors and let them know that this is

forthcoming as you've heard the presentation, but we'll be doing everything we can to, you know, even go doortodoor uh to inform our communities because even though this has been going on for a while, I'm sure there'll be some residents that have never heard about this before and uh but nonetheless, we'll do our best. So, any other questions, comments, staff? We're good. Aaron, thank you very much. Appreciate it. We'll be Thank you, sir. Thank you all. Good day. Appreciate it.

Okay. Uh, moving on to our next portion of our, uh, council um, meeting here is we're going to go into our public hearing. Um, I'm going to open up the public hearing. Is there any uh any memos, city manager? No memos, mayor. Any written or oral communications? There's been no oral or written comm. With that, I will close this public hearing and entertain a motion to approve. Motion to approve. I hear a first. Second. And a second. Thank you. Roll call. Vote, please. Commissioner Garcia, yes. Commissioner Lutz, yes. Vice Chairman Dr. Sanchez,

yes. Chairman Kamacho. Yes. Motion passes 40. Thank you. Uh which will now lead us into our p our public comments. I'll read out your name if you can join us in the microphone. You have three minutes to for public comment. So we'll start off with Anna Anna Delgado, Realo Park Handball Courts, please. Right there at the microphone. Thank.

Yes, I think so. Yeah. Thank you. Um hello, my name is um Anna Delgado. I'm standing I'm standing here on behalf of our surrounding community of Pico Rivera and our locals for um near Rio Hondo Park. It has brought up to my attention that u they have planned to knock down the hambo courts and real hundo park. These courts have been up since um the early 70s. Everything was replaced in that park except for the um ham courts and the recreation center. The ham courts never got fixed. However, last year I did put um a complaint about having them fixed and and never got done. when the whole park was um rebuilt, all they did in that park was um they did do a beautiful mural that I did help um paint. We came up with ideas for the mural and until this day has caught a lot of attention with the city of Pika around that has to do with the cultura with our culture that was um painted in that mural. Um I was on Teen Club. Teen Club is on Rohondo Park. um we hop around um the city of Picoretta and it's still up until this day, my understanding. Um another of the reasons that we are I'm standing here on behalf is that these courts until this day they still get used about three times a week and then also by youth that go and practice because they do use them to practice to go to different um parks. Um they do have tournaments for ham as well as see as our elderly that use them for exercising. We are standing here I am standing here on behalf of the real hundo park ham courts to for them not to get knocked down. Um it was um it was brought up to our attention. So um this is why I came here in regards to it. Um

it let me see what else did I Sorry I got lost. Okay. So, these courts do bring a lot of memories. They have a lot historical. They still get used. Um, I was unfortunately um able to come here when this was talked about here. Um, so I was trying to look through the agenda, but it was hard for me to find when this was brought up. Um, so I do want to get more information in regards to it as far as um, you know, why are you guys choosing to remove these courts and um, when was it brought up so I could look more into it. We are let me the reason um okay I do hope you guys do take in and recreate and consideration in regards to these changes that you guys are trying to make to these handbook courts and the city and the city of Picodera for realo park as we will continue to stand strong and try to fight to keep these standing as we did in the past. Um thank you so much. This is all I have.

Thank you. Thank you for Thank you, Anna, for coming. If you wish to stay, I'm just going to continue. U if you wish to stay, um we could she could speak to our parks and rec uh director and get some additional details. So, yes, the mayor, if I wait may um I don't recall about the mural project. I I think um u if any type of mural work to stay, I don't recall any discussion about that, but if we could have a reminder in the a future meeting about that. So, if you can if you would like to say our parks director and give you some details at the end of the meeting as to what the schedule is with that park. Okay. Thank you so much.

Thank you. Yeah. And as I bring up the next speaker, I know we've had a a series of meetings um uh design meetings at PE at Real Hondo Park about this project. I know there a pickle ball pickle ball that will be added and so thank you for for those comments and for bringing up that information. Uh, with that, I'd like to bring up uh Liz Dosano uh resolution uh of continued problems. Lizo. Thank you, Liz.

Good evening, mayor, council members, and city staff. My name is Liz Tossano. I live on Maxine Street here in Pico Rivera. I'm here tonight because I've reached my wit ends. Over the past several months, I have filed multiple complaints with Perava code enforcement regarding ongoing issues of at a neighboring property. Issues that include constant junk, trash, and debris, repeated noise ordinance violations, trash cans being left in public view, and non-permitted construction taking place. I have followed every proper channel, submitted documentation, made calls, and waited patiently for action. I have reached out to city um coded officials. Um I don't know if you want me to give names, but I do have some and but not much has been done. I am going to give the names. I reached out to Alvie Benancen Court, Jonathan Florence, um Jonathan Flores, um those were the code enforcers, and Captain Hernandez with the sheriff's station. But not much has changed for me. I'm here tonight because I feel I'm unheard and overlooked. The daily disrespect and inconsideration that my family and I have continued to experience is not acceptable, and it's disheartening. I have been in a residence here on that block and vaccine for over 60 years and I can't believe that I'm living through this hostile environment for quite some time. Speaking here today is outside my comfort zone. I don't normally come to city council meetings, but I felt I had no other option if I wanted to be seen, heard, and validated. I'm asking for accountability. I'm asking for follow through. and I'm asking that the city to uphold the standards it sets for its residents. Thank you for your time and I sincerely sincerely hope action will finally be taken.

Thank you. Thank you for for bringing that to your attention. Mr. City Manager, can you work with Liz Esano on that issue and follow up with me on Yeah, on an update.

Thank you. Uh, next is uh Daniel Kano regarding the swimming pool. Uh, my name is Daniel Cono. I've been a resident for the city about 69 years. I've worked for the city. I decided I began swimming at this pool since 1988 doing lap swimming and I still do lap swimming. But luckily they've built this other one here in by uh Pioneer High School. I still continue swimming there. And I was wondering what they're going to do with this pool. Hasn't been improved. Has done nothing to it. Yet I see other all the other parks have been improved. You know, this is a nice pool. You know, lap swimming is very good for you and I enjoy doing it. Just wondering why it hasn't been taken care of.

Luckily, they built this pool right here. Montabell and in Pioneer High School. It's a county pool. So, I wish they would bring this back pool back to work. It's a very nice pool and lap swimming has helped me out a lot, you know, to I swim every day. Yeah. Well, thank you. Thank you for bringing that to our attention. Um and uh you know I'll ask our city manager, can we have our public works director yourself just to give a quick update um on the where we're at with the pool?

Sure. Yes. Uh that was awarded recently. Construction will start in June. We estimate a timeline about approximately two years or sooner to complete that pool. So it's moving forward. Uh so you know we are we've been if you've been here to the council meet council meetings uh the council has also been equally uh um a little frustrated as to the the amount of time that has taken. However, you know the silver lining is that we are breaking ground pretty soon and it'll be finally finally the day has come to to build that poo and once it's done it's definitely going to be you know our our our biggest project here in our city as relates to the resident. So, so it is forthcoming. It'll take a while, but the day has finally arrived. So, thank you for for sharing that and and uh and and bringing it up so we can give an update on that. Thank you. Um No, we're we're good with that. That's good enough. Good. All right. Next, uh Laura and Tab. Good evening, honorable mayor and members of the city council. My name is Lauren Talbot and I'm the community library manager at the Pico Rivera Library and the Rivera Library. Here are our updates for April. The Rivera Library is temporarily closed for construction, hopefully until May 2026. During that time, the Pico Rivera Library will be open on Mondays from 10:00 a.m. to 6 pm so that the community does not lose lose library services on Monday. Rivera Library halts are going to be transferred to the Pico Rivera Library in the meantime. Teens are invited to celebrate Earth Day at the Pico Rivera Library on Wednesday, April 1st at 4 p.m. by learning about ocean conservation and how to prevent marine plastic pollution. Teens will be

decorating reusable water bottles with personalized stickers. Families are invited to our DS celebration marble mar water marbling bookmarks on Tuesday, April 7th at 4 p.m. Kids will learn the process of marbling plain paper with water and ink to make bookmarks. Thank you.

Thank you for that, Lauren. Okay, next up is uh Ruben Valencia regarding the purple heart. Good evening, mayor and city council people. Uh, I'm here to praise you. Here to praise the mayor, city council people, Pamela, and everybody sitting up here. I'm here because finally uh in 2024 we put a proposal in to get a Purple Heart monument put up. And last week I sat in in a meeting and we heard that this monument is going to be coming up in May. Uh which makes me very happy about that. But what I'd like people to that are in this room to know about the Purple Heart. Okay. Purple Heart was established August the 7th, 1792. Another thing to know about it, since it was established, 1.8 million Purple Hearts have been passed out. that touches everybody in the United States, everybody in this community. If you're not a recipient of one, you're a family member of one. I look so forward to seeing this monument go up. And again, I wanted to tell you personally for Andrew, for Johnny, for Gustavo, for Monica, Eric, thank you all because I

came to all of you and you all listened to me and uh we're at this point now that it's actually going to complete it. And that's the reason I came for today. Thank you very much.

Thank you, RUBEN. THANK YOU FOR THAT, REUBEN. And I think it's appropriate for us to thank you. Uh thank you because you and took the lead, you and your colleagues, all the the veterans that took the lead in and getting us to this point and getting in that recognition. Welld deserved that it'll be uh well, it's in the item for approval for today, but it's um recommended to be at our veterans memorial uh area there. And so, you know, I know it was been forthcoming. We wanted to make sure we designed it well and positioned it well that all veterans would be uh happy to have there. And so to you, thank you. Uh I know that the Veterans Commission just approved the final design, which is this is why it's before us. But again, just a special thank you to you because you had you and your team and your colleagues have brought that to us. So, appreciate that. Thank you. Uh, next is uh Rh excuse me um Rudy uh Rudy Gasus. Good evening council members, staff, first responders, and my fellow Purple Heart honores. My name is Rudy Kasas and uh I'm a president of Pico Rivera and uh for 35 years. Uh when I first moved to Pico Rivera, I was amazed that uh there was other another place here that had a flame, eternal flame other than the one over there on the five corners of East LA. And uh through the years that I've been here uh I find, you know, that Pico Rivera is truly a city that supports its

veterans. I've been to all of these uh memorial days and Veterans Days uh affairs and uh I see all, you know, how it's grown and uh I'm very proud to be a resident here at Picorto. Uh I'm a Korean veteran but before Korean veteran I was occupation of Japan for a year and a half. Uh I was wounded October the 4th 193 1950 at 4:30 in the morning. I um I left the service June the 5th, 1952 and I didn't receive my Purple Heart medal October on April 2005 right here in this very f real famous room here that was way after and all I ask is that there's a lot of times that you letters are forgotten and I know there's some that we should have received the Purple Heart. They didn't receive it. One of them was a residence here in Pico Rivera, Tom Pico. He was wounded in the Air Force and I helped him get his medal. He was a World War II veteran and he never he never got a Purple Heart cuz they didn't have enough documentation. So, uh, whoever does this come out and they need more documentation when somebody, you know, is wounded and so it follows him through. I travel from hospital to

hospital to hospital and uh uh I never never received anything but I was very proud. I had my family here. uh fellow um go-getters, life riders here all to witness, you know, me receiving my purple heart along with seven other medals. I thank you river proud to be a member. Thank you, Rudy. Appreciate you.

Yeah. Thank you. Thank you, Rudy. Thank you to all of you for your service and uh you know, as we're definitely proud uh veteran community and we do what we can to support and you know, that's the least we can do for the services that the sacrifices you and your family have done for all of us. So, so I applaud you and thank you. Thank you for that. Um the last public comment I have, it was for Mr. Fredo from Senator Aleta's office, but I understand he has left. He got certificates for everybody that I'm going to thanking in my presentation.

Okay. Very well. He also had some comments for Mr. Kenneet Gonzalez, our veterans uh service officer that we recognized earlier. So, we'll definitely make sure that u he's give you the recognition. Thank you for that, Fred. And uh we did have one um uh public comment that was emailed to us in regarding um by Eddie Rios in regarding to street vendor enforcement policies. Um, with that, okay. Um, yeah, you know what? I'm going to go off script just a second here only because sake of time, but um, I know that Fred had to leave on behalf of Senator Babacer and hand it over some certificates over to our parks and rec director, Pam Yugar. I'll go ahead and and make those presentations. That'd be great. Well, if you can help me with that. Yeah, let's do that. Okay, I'm gonna I'm gonna read out your names, but I would like pretty much everyone here's in the call if you can join us here for for our picture and I'll go ahead and provide that to you. Yeah, please. Thank you. I could make it quicker since I only have one arm here. All right. So, we'll start off with uh R. Valencia, senior. Come on up, Mr. VALENCIA. We have Emily Valencia. Valencia. Yes. Come on up. We also have Chaplain Bob Castillo is

with us. Chaplain here. I don't see him. Bob, he's here. Just takes a second.

Come on. Come on over here. We also uh want to bring up uh um Anna Winters. Come on. and Rudy Gas. RUDY, let me know. And we have uh Commander Eddie Morin.

Morin, not here. Okay. We have Santiago Reese. Santiago. There we go. And we have Commander Safino John Madrial. Commander, is you here?

Okay. And that uh then of course we have one for Pam Yugar as well. Pam has been instrumental in working with our veterans in developing and designing and placing this this purple heart. So well deserving of course to the city of Picoretta for doing that. Welld deserved. Thank you Senator Baba Chilleta Fred Serando for bringing these certificates to recognize all these valuable individuals in our city. So let's give a big round of applause AND Come on. 1 2 Thank you.

You're nice, too. Thank you. I'm surprised. Totally.

Thank you so much. Good. Okay. Thank you. Thank you for that. And um moving on to today's consent calendar agenda items. um one uh two to two through 15. Um like to entertain a motion.

Mayor, I'll um I'll motion. However, I would like to um just pull not an opposition, but a quick question comment items number eight and number 12. Um I recognize we have owner president with us today um for the nationwide environmental services. Would would you like to um approve them and then comment on them after since you're not in a position to? Yes. Okay. So, can I get a motion to approve? And I'll motion that. Uh so, I got a first uh second and a second. Uh all those in favor say I. I. I.

I. Hear no opposition. So moved as recommended. So now uh please.

Yes. Thank you. I just want to um recognize Annie Samuelian. she's here in the audience and um she has clarified my question. I know that I' I've received a lot of kudos that Pico Rivera that our streets have been clean, our median beautififications, we've gotten awards for them and so I want to thank um your business has been I think part of that. Um in addition, my question was regarding um I know the business also does some graffiti removal and bus maintenance um for the city. this contract doesn't include that, but I know that um Nationwide has been instrumental in helping our u beautifification initiative. So, thank her for coming to our meeting tonight and and thank you for being part of our our service.

Thank you. Thank you, Moren. Uh with that, that'll lead us into our one more question. Number 12. Go ahead. And number 12, if we can have um I believe this is under our director of of innovation. Um the this is an exciting topic that everybody keeps asking me. What is Pico Rivera doing for World Cup 2026 games. Uh we just approved the over $44,000. So if you could give us a little brief snippet exciting excite us a little bit if you can share.

Yes. Uh this this item is to start putting deposits for some of the entertainment for that. We haven't fully developed the entire program. That is coming before you probably the next meeting possibly. And I'd uh again uh we just need some of this funding in order to start booking some of the talent for some of our shows coming up. Wonderful. So a little description of what you mean by talent and I know there's going to be fan zones uh street party. Give us a little bit of I know it's not set in stone but what were the ideas in the proposals?

Yeah, absolutely. Happy to provide uh some comment on that. Uh so the city of Picora was awarded uh a open streets grant through LA Metro uh specifically dedicated to helping us in hosting and coordinating a community festival dedicated uh and focused around the World Cup. Uh so our the weekend that we have targeted is that June 27th weekend uh where we're host looking to host an open streets event on Whittier Boulevard. Uh we're looking to accommodate some attractions to really uh attract people from throughout the region. Uh we'd be working with uh Metro, Calran, Skagg, and other partners to really help uh generate that excitement throughout the region. The only other uh event that's taking place uh that weekend will be at uh Union Station in La Plaza in Placto Vera uh which is an official fan zone. Um, but it's also a ticketed event. Uh, whereas ours is more of a free community event that's open to the public. Uh, but we are also we've also been awarded the official FIFA soccer clinics and tournament which we would be hosting at Smith Park. Uh, and then very similar uh to our typical summer street fest, we'll also have stages uh for concerts uh and other live entertainment as well throughout the route and on the corridor in Whittier Boulevard.

Wonderful. Thank you. Yeah, you're welcome. Can't wait. Yeah, thank you for that, Mayor Prom. There's some exciting activities coming. Looking forward to the to the full presentation as it relates to many activities that will be coming to host World Cup here in the city of Picora. Uh with that then lead us into our regular agenda item. Uh the final uh item number 16, final design for the Purple Heart Monument to be installed at the Veterans Memorial Plaza. Uh Mr. City Manager, presentation. Thank you, mayor. I'm going to turn it over to Pam Yugard to come up and give us a presentation. Thank you for that.

Honorable mayor and council, it's very exciting to be here today and you've seen many of the men and women that I've been working with for the last two years. It's been a pleasure. Developed a lot of nice friendships. Uh thank thankfully to Ruben Valencia, our Purple Heart um master. He brought to us many years ago with the support of council um to get approved to be a Purple Heart city. And that happened, that resolution happened on February 27th of 2024. We did a special unveiling that Memorial Day to make us a Purple Heart city with the signage that was given to us from the um um from the Purple Heart um recipients. They were gifted. If we can go to the next slide, Jonathan, there we have Bob Castile and Ru Valencia giving us this. This is at Memorial Day in 2024. So that was two years ago. Next slide. We they we've met together as a team and they want to thank you. I know several of them came up and thanked you, but they really want to thank you. They want to thank the city manager. They want to thank you for listening to them. We also need to thank the veterans commission. And if you're here, could you please stand? We have our chair, Daniel Garcia, Bobby Tanner, Paul Kamacho, Ephine Hernandez, and Gilbert Perez. They have been vital to helping me um to helping guide us with um language with placement with everything that has to do with reverence. I can't thank them enough. They've been a a world of knowledge for me. So, thank you very much. Did Bobby leave? I think we might have lost Okay. Thank you, Commissioner Kamacho, for being here. Next slide. You just honored the people that I've been working with. So I just want to go through it really quickly one more time. Military order of the purple heart chapter 392 at we don't know adjunct I

think we'll just call you Ruben Ruben Valencia Chaplain Bob Castillo commander Eddie Moren Santiago Rios and Kakiudi Kasas. Also we have the commander Zepharino John Madreal number three. He's the military order of the Purple Heart chapter 210. We've been honored by two different chapters which is pretty special. So, two chapters claim us. We have our Purple Heart supporters, Emily Valencia, Anna Winters, Fred Sereno on his own and also as a worker for state senator Barbara and of course our state senator as well. Thank you. The Purple Heart Monument will sit in the memorial plaza. That was where they um brought to you and where you all voted on. It was approved on March 25th of 2025. were almost one year directly one year's time away. On that day, you gave me um some seed money to go out and buy the matching stone. If I can go to the next slide. Oh, go. I'm sorry. Go back. I'm sorry. Thank you. Buy the matching stone, which was very difficult. We found it in China, but then the ports closed.

So, then we had to start all over again. And we found it in India. And I really need to thank our manager Ricardo Velos because he's was working on this for months to find the exact exact granite that matches the already placed granite and he did it. So very special thanks to uh Ricardo Velos for doing that. On this um the next slide, please. What we were working on the past year was the inscription. What was going to be on the back? What was going to be on the front? I'm going to read it so that it is in the minutes. It's going on the front facing. This was approved. Military order of the purple heart honoring the men and women wounded and killed in war. This very beautiful script was written by our media department. And I do want to thank Jonathan Baron. He's in the back right now. And also Rudy Alvarado, our media supervisor. They went through all of the videos and all the documentation when we had the Vietnam Memorial Wall here and they listened to everything that the veterans said and they scripted this based on everything that was that they heard and the Veterans Commission approved it unanimously. Not all heroes returned unmarked, but every mark tells a story of love for country. The city of Pico Rivera remembers and reveres all the brave men and women who served, fought, and gave the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom. And then it will say at the bottom, the city of Pico Rivera was recognized as a Purple Heart city on February 27th, 2024. Next slide. This was also voted on by the commission. The Purple Heart side, which we will show you in just a second, of the monument will face Roseme Boulevard. So this is how the veterans chose the the script will face the back of will

face the um flag pole. Next slide. On the presentation last week on March 18th, the commission was presented two different slides. They were two different options for designs. One has a ribbon and the wreath surrounding the heart and one is just the heart with go with a bigger gold emblem around it. Next slide. The Veterans Commission recommendation was very unanimous. It was a 50 vote voted by all of them with Bobby Tanner calling in because she was sick. So that's how important this was that she called in for this. But we had um given the community and we gave all of the um commissioners little hearts and we had them put where their favorite design was. And as you can see, we put the results there. It was um option one with the um ribbon and the wreath, the purple wreath surrounding the heart. Next slide. This is the option presented for you all today. Next slide. This is the back. Actually, if you go to the Would you go back one, John? I also want to let you know we put the seals of all of all of the orders um of all the military um branches down at the bottom of the slab. Next, we'll go next slide. So today in front of you, we're asking you to please accept the Veterans Commission vote 50 to accept these designs so that um um manager Ricardo Velos and I can move forward with getting this etched and then getting this ready for unveiling. Right now we have it scheduled for Thursday, May 21st at 6:00 p.m. to do it separately. I wanted to let you know the veteran commission asked that this be done separate that this not be done at Memorial Day that this be done in its own unveiling. So that's why we um we ask because if we do it at the actual ceremony for Memorial Day, our backs will be to the monument. So So we're

hoping that that would be we I'm asking for any discussion, which I think you already had, but we're asking for approval tonight. Yeah.

Thank you for that presentation, Pam. and and uh you're right, we need to do a a separate event specific to this unveiling uh right before our our our event um coming up. And so this is nice. Well done. Thank you veterans. Thank you. We're proud to have this in our city. And uh recall when we uh did the addition back in 2018 to enhance the eternal flame and uh we used that black granite. So, we didn't want to just put something that's going to look oddly, you know, in that area from a different design or a different rock, but something that matched and it complements the entire. So, I think uh you guys definitely did that and and very proud of it. So, thank you. I I will proudly move the item and thank you so much for all of your hard work on this and um may neighbor Ruben Valencia and all of to all the Purple Heart um wearers and everyone who brought this to our attention and thank you so much for it makes me proud to bring this to Pico Rivera.

Thank you for the motion. Any other comments in a second? I I'll I'll hell yeah second this motion. But but you know at at the same time I uh Ruben thank you for your leadership and all the committee and thank the uh veterans commission for advancing this and with the recommendation and all the staff who had a helping hand in this. Uh so thank you. A job well done. Thank you. So we have a first a first and a second u roll call vote please. Council member Garcia. Hell yes. Council member Lutz. Hell yes. Dr. Sanchez. Hell yeah. Let's do it.

And they keep making it four. Hell yes. Motion passes 40. We're so proud of it. Thank you everyone. I appreciate that. Looking forward to the event. And I know I just want to make just addition. I know council member Lada had to leave. However, just uh thank you to him because during his mayor mayorship, he did bring this forward working with Mr. Valencia. So, uh, we appreciate that and we finally come to this this point. So, thank you for that. Um, yes. And, uh, with that, uh, we're done with our, uh, regular agenda item, our city manager reports.

Yes, mayor, city council. I have a couple items just to report out. Um, happy to report and thank to Javier Hernandez and Jesse Garcia. The Metro Executive Management Committee approved our motion to advance the engineering design for the Metro Link station in Pic Rivera. Again, I thank you, mayor, for attending and speaking on behalf of the city. It was actually a great coalition that the city of Pic Rivera pulled together. It was complemented by uh multiple board supervisors at the meeting. So, again, thanks to everybody who supported us in that effort. In addition, um we submitted and it was selected for a $3.5 million grant uh earmarked for the same project by Congresswoman Sanchez. So, hopefully that moves forward and we can get some additional funding for that project to move forward. Uh, I also like to report out that tonight the city of Whittier is uh approving an item for the demolition of the Marine Corps Reserve Training Center on San Gabriel. So hopefully by June, uh, they should be demolished and then we're going to continue to work to see if we can identify what type of use we could hopefully bring to the city and working with the city of Whittier. Um, and I'm also happy to report that our next meeting will be at city hall in our new city council chambers.

Hell yeah. Hell yeah. I said it. Put that on. Hell yeah. Put that on the man. Hell yeah. Everybody heard that, right? Everybody heard that. That concludes my report.

We're going to We'll be at our new remodeled home or your home, I should say. Um but thank you for that, uh Mr. City Manager. And I just to highlight the the motion for Metro regarding uh the the station. you know, just a a special thank you to the co-authors uh specifically brought forward by Supervisor Han, not only this motion, but the previous motion to get to this point. And this in this is a committee that will go to the full body pretty soon, but uh chair Fernando Dutra, who's also council member Whittier and and Supervisor Hildo Solis that all co-authored this. So, we thank them for doing that. And the highlight that was said not only from the authors uh but other members that mentioned like you know when it comes to transportation projects that benefits not only Picoretta but the region usually it's done by the these regional agencies and there was a big kudos to our staff for bringing this forward doing the research bringing this project um forward to them and and highlighting how this came to be. It's rare, but it shows the level of capacity and staff we have here in our city as it relates to this project. So, kudos to our city manager and and Javier Hernandez who have led this effort. So, thank you for that. Appreciate it. Um, is that it?

Thank you, Mr. City Manager. With that, we'll go to the good of the order. I'll start off with Council Member Lutz. Yes. Thank you, Mayor. Um, I have no items for AB1234. I do want to highlight our recent um ribbon cutting of Mariachi Bakery that we had earlier today and of course a couple days ago we had SkyOne a ribbon cutting and uh we I think we had a really good time. Yeah, all of us uh jumping around on the trampoline park except me. I couldn't

Yes. But that concludes my comments. Um, and again, I just I just want to say I'm I'm deeply honored to be a resident of Pico Rivera that uh cherishes its veterans and now knowing that our city is officially uh putting a monument honoring our Purple Heart recipients. And uh thank you all of you Purple Heart recipients that live in our wonderful community of Pico Rivera. Thank you for choosing Pico Rivera to be your home and for your service to our country. Thank you, Council Member uh Council Member Garcia.

Thank you, Mayor. Um I for AB1234 attended LA County sanitation meeting. I just want to welcome everybody to March Madness. You know, and when I say March Madness, it's really kudos to the staff because you look at all the Saturdays in March where there's been two, three events or activities uh for the staff. Aside from their day-to-day operation, we have uh the Smith Park pony opening day ceremony that we attended the Sky Zone where Dr. Sanchez took a little injury on the elbow there. They tried to talk me going into a flying slide. No, no, no, no, no, no. And then we celebrated Pico Boy's 20th ann uh 70th anniversary uh 70 years. You have RBA coming up this Saturday. You have the egg extravaganza at Pico Park coming up. There was also a peace march with several pastors in the community. A march for love, peace, prayer, and unity praying for first responders uh starting at DD's discount going north of Dery. So, there's been a lot of movement on Saturdays and staff continues to deliver setting up moving pieces uh giving us talking points at these ribbon cutings. So, and including the mariachi bakery this uh earlier today. So, big shout out to parks and recreation, our public works and the media team. Keep up the good work. Thank you.

Tell them. Thank you, council member.

Thank you. I have a couple items um for AB1234. Um I was able to attend the uh I am the representative uh a community member for the presidential search committee at Real Hondo College and I'm proud to report we did forward um some names um to the board. I cannot disclose those names yet. I I don't know when the board is going to vote on it, but my job has been complete. It was very rigorous, time consuming, two days of interviews and um our trustee Roachcha rep uh Yetis Marocha represents Pico Rivera on the Rio Hondo College Board of Trustees. So I'm excited to report hopefully we will have a um president fulfilled uh within a couple of months. Um and I represented Pico Rivera for that. So thank you so much for being part of that. Um and Trustee Roachcha appointed me to represent Pico Rivera for that. Um, I also was able to attend the uh Pony Boy the Pony uh baseball league opening day as well as the Sky Zone grand opening. That was a lot of fun. They convinced me to go down the slide. You go head first down this slide that launches you. The woman gives you instructions and says, "Keep your elbows in because it's a tunnel slide." Well, I got so scared because I didn't realize how steep it was. I put my elbows out and I got a little rug burn on my on my elbow that they gave me a band-aid. I did sign the waiver. I'm fine. But city manager said he's gonna buy bubble wrap. We might have to do a little increase to to bubble wrap me because I'm the frequent injured one of the group. But I was it was a minor injury. A lot of fun. I jumped with my son and and was able to go down the slide. So it's a great great venue indoors especially for summer as as kids are going out on spring break. I think believe El Rancho is on spring break this week. So it's it's a great thing that we we open that for the kids to have. Um I also attended the Pico Boys opening day 70th anniversary. So um

this will be their last season. Um sadly as we heard in the Army Corps um presentation at that facility, but we are going to do everything we can to keep the legacy alive for Pico Boys and hopefully we find a new more beautiful home for Pico Boys to keep playing. Um and then I also attended today the mariachi bakery opening um the grand opening and that was wonderful. I had the chance to try the habiscus hamika tea was delicious. I loved it. It was not too sweet and habiscus is known to have properties that reduce your blood pressure. So there's health benefits. It's it's a modern twist to your Mexican favorites I say. So go check it out if you haven't been there. Right next door to uh carniseria. Uh so you have the carniseria, the baned terriia and Kamacho uh Mayor Kamacho is advocating for a um tequil tequil area. So that's it for Oh, I also attended participated in a St. Patrick's Day golf outing with uh sponsored by Latina Golfers. And so that was a great outing. We got to the wear green St. Patrick's Day theme. um enjoy the golf course the rest of this year because that too unfortunately will have a closure. So trying to maximize the time and and enjoy the the rest of the course while we have it available. So thank you.

We're going to do Wellness Tuesdays by Dr. Monica Sanchez.

Um thank you for that. Thank you for the for all that colleagues. And I I'll echo my colleagues from again exciting to have new businesses in our city having opening day baseball ceremonies, our Purple Heart uh monument. It's just uh it's been an exciting week. I would only add that uh representing Seaka uh Southeast Animal uh Control Authority. Uh as I mentioned before, we're looking for a permanent executive director. We currently have an interim that'll be with us six months. Started off well. The goal here is to uh as we're assessing the organization to make sure we provide uh adequate care and making sure that you're loved the your your furry ones that might get out we get them and their safety and improve services uh for our community. So that's we're working. Thank you to staff Angelina and Steve for being uh leaders as it relates to the city managers that that that um that uh service area their membership services. you guys have taken the lead on that and there's a lot of work involved especially on the financial side so thank you both for that and I know we'll we'll move it forward with that that uh ends my comment

mayor I just one thought um with pico boys as mentioned earlier and as we start to dismantle the the facilities there are we looked into whatever salvageable from fencing benching that might be utilized in other areas and then maybe archive some of the Pico boys, whatever that may be, into our historical society because they've been there for 70 years. There's um the dugout, I believe. Yeah, there could be uh items. So, maybe we could just look at that in the future. You're not saying we can archive. You're not saying to put me in there, right?

No, we seen your picture on the banner, Steve, as a kid. He did it. He did it. We seen your picture. He's alone. He's alone. He didn't explain it either. Do you have a picture of yourself in a peekabboard? Yeah, that's true. Thank you for for pointing that out. Uh, council member, I know that's been discussed and asked about and we'll get when we get to that point. I think there's some good stuff to to look at and address. So, yeah.

Well, with that in mind, that uh we as was mentioned, we are our close session item has been continued to the next meeting. And I before I adjourn this meeting, I'd like to adjourn it in in uh in uh the name of Todd Marquez uh uh previous Captain Phil Marquez's brother uh recently passed and so we send him and his family's condol. So during this meeting on behalf of Todd Marquez, thank you everybody for coming. Have a good evening. Thank you. Let me get you