City Council - Regular Meeting

Let me tell you a little bit about the two officers, Corporal Jesse Garcia. In 2009, Corporal Garcia attended Rio Hondo College Academy and graduated Class 193. In 2010, Corporal Garcia began his six-year law enforcement career, serving six years with the City of Val Police Department, where he developed a specialty in traffic enforcement, earning his three Mothers Against Drunk Driving MAT Awards and a DUI Century Award for arresting over 100 impaired drivers in a single year during three separate years. I can tell you that my experience in law enforcement and DUIs to achieve 25 or 40 is a large task. To be able to achieve 100 in a small city like Bell, that is an amazing task right there. CHP is usually really good at getting that because they have such a large area. To do it in such a small area is amazing.

That is definitely something that you strive to.

Corporal Garcia joined the Whittier Police Department in 2006 and brought his experience, beginning a decade of dedicated service to the department and the community. Corporal Garcia was assigned to the Whittier Police Department Traffic Bureau in 2019 and channeled a deep interest in traffic enforcement, collision investigation, and to an assignment as a traffic investigator. 2023, Corporal Garcia was promoted to the rank of corporal in recognition of his leadership, technical expertise, and operational performance. In 2024, Corporal Garcia was assigned as a supervisor for the city of Santa Fe Springs, supervising patrol teams and managing shift responsibilities. And to kind of give you an idea, as a corporal, you kind of are in two different positions. You're patrol out there, you know, managing calls for service, and you're also supervising. at the same time, so it's definitely a tasking position, and for him to be able to achieve the number of DUIs he did in that time while still doing an amazing job supervising is another, you know, extreme, amazing task. During the 2025 calendar year, while balancing dual responsibilities as supervisor duties and active enforcement, He personally made 26 DUI arrests to earn yet another DUI MAD Award. Corporal Garcia has built a distinguished career marked by proactive policing, hundreds of total criminal arrests, and well over 500 lifetime DUI arrests, removing dangerous drivers from the road and making a lasting contribution to the public safety in the community city of Santa Fe Springs.

I'd like to also introduce Officer Christopher Pineda.

Okay, yeah, left side.

Officer Pineda began his journey in public service as a police explorer with the Riverside Police Department, gaining early exposure to DUI checkpoints, practical tactics, community events, and legal standards. Officer Pineda was hired by the Whittier Police Department and attended the Orange County Sheriff Academy, Class 254, graduating in June of 2023 as the solo Whittier recruit in his class. Officer Pinedo has established a strong record of patrol focused on proactive enforcement in narcotics, illegal firearms, traffic safety, and the apprehension of impaired drivers. Officer Pinedo takes exceptional pride in conducting thorough and initial investigations, delivering detailed reports and evidence that provide detectives and prosecutors with actionable leads. Officer Pinedo maintains a strong dedication to proactive patrol, responding swiftly to crimes in progress, protect his residents, businesses, and visitors of the community of Santa Fe Springs. Officer Pinedo demonstrates exceptional commitment to roadway safety. He made 31 DUI arrests during the 2025 calendar year, earning a prestigious MAD DUI award. For the short time, and I don't mean it in a bad way, His short time that he's been out on patrol to achieve that many arrests and DUIs, it's also something we recognize. It's definitely an outstanding performance. Officer Pinedo has amassed over 50 career DUI arrests to date, actively removing impaired drivers from the road to protect the community. Today we have the MADD representative, Georgina Aviles. She is the Area Executive Director for the Southern California Region of Mother Against Drunk Driving.

Say that twice.

And I would like to present Georgina. And she would like to say a few words.

Thank you, Captain. All right, on behalf of victims, survivors, we serve every single day, it is my privilege to recognize and honor the officers here from Whittier PD. Today, we proudly recognize the two outstanding members of Whittier PD, Corporal Jesse Garcia with 26 arrests, and awards. And Officer Christopher Pinedo with his 31 arrests. We congratulate you both and extend our heartfelt thanks for your dedication, your professionalism, and unwavering commitment to traffic safety and impaired driving enforcement. More broadly, we celebrate you today as honorees and extend our deepest gratitude to each one of you that strengthens Matt's mission. The rise of impaired driving deaths and injuries, especially here in California, fuels our determination to end impaired driving. fight the drug driving, support the victims of these violent crimes, and prevent underage drinking. Even with the slightest decrease in fatalities, we know our work is far from finished. And any progress is encouraging, but it does not ease the reality of far too many lives that are still being lost. Behind every impaired driving statistic is a person, a life filled with family, friends, love, joy, and laughter. Those lives cannot be replaced, and that truth keeps us focused and determined. That is why we need you now more than ever, your commitment, your vigilance, and courage are essential in turning these numbers around. Matt's goal is clear, impaired driving ends here. We pursue that goal through education, awareness, technology, and strong public policy. But none of it is possible without the partnership of law enforcement and prosecutors. The Whittier Police Department plays a critical role in advancing that mission here. Once again, congratulations, Matt's commitment to strong effective traffic safety partnerships. Thank you for your courage, your professionalism, and your unwavering dedication to keeping our community safe. We know where we're going, and we know how we'll get there. Through advocacy, technology, victim services, and community engagement, MADD is building a future where impaired driving ends here. Thank you.

All right, we have new staff introductions. I would like to call upon Chief Michael Kozicki for a presentation.

I'll ask these two gentlemen to come up and stand up here with me. But good evening, Mr. Mayor, city council, staff, and guests. Tonight, I have the privilege of introducing two recently promoted chief officers within the Department of Fire Rescue. Joseph Walsh. and Michael Palacios. Joseph Walls has been promoted to the rank of Assistant Fire Chief. In this role, he'll be assigned to an administrative position, a 40-hour administrative position, a pretty big adjustment. He'll oversee the day-to-day operations of our fire suppression staff. Michael Palacios has been promoted to the rank of battalion chief. He will serve as our C-shift battalion chief and oversee our training and professional developments program. Both Chief Walz and Chief Palacios have earned these promotions through their dedication, leadership, and experience to not only our department, but to our community. And I know both will do extremely well in these new roles. At this time, I'd like to invite both of them up to introduce themselves and say a few words. We'll start with you both.

Anybody hear me all right?

All right, thank you. Mr. Mayor, council, and city staff, and all of our community guests that have come here today, I just wanted to start off first and foremost by thanking Chief Kozicki and the city leadership for placing this trust in me. It's an enormous responsibility, but one that I'm very excited to take on. And I look forward to learning the new role under good leadership and continuing to serve my department. The city of Santa Fe Springs has meant a tremendous amount to me both personally and to my family. I grew my family throughout my career in parallel as I moved into different roles and responsibilities and so I only hope by the end of my time here with the city that I have given as much as it has given to me and my family and I will continue to do that in this new role. um i'm also very excited for the future here i can honestly say that this is the most exciting time to work and live in the city of santa fe springs and i'm fortunate and i feel very honored to be a part of that change and how the fire department can continue to elevate the way that we are providing for this community that is so deserving of the highest level of service so Thank you, everyone. Thank you, Chief. And I look forward to learning this new role and serving all of you. Thank you.

Mayor Zamora. PRO TEM, RODRIGUEZ, CITY COUNCIL, CITY MANAGER, AND STAFF. THANK YOU AGAIN FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY AND ACKNOWLEDGMENT HERE AT THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING. IT TRULY MEANS A LOT. IT'S A VERY SPECIAL MOMENT FOR MYSELF AND MY FAMILY. I'd like to thank Chief Kozicki for placing the trust in me in this new position. Santa Fe Springs is a very special place. The council mentions it often, as well as city employees. It's a very special place, and there's no other place like this. I've had an opportunity to serve this community since 2001 in some capacity, beginning as a volunteer. And since then, I've developed great pride, great loyalty to this city. to this organization and to the public. I'm greatly ecstatic with the new position. Look forward to what it has to bring. And again, continuing to work on learning the new role and working with city staff in a new capacity and a new role. So thank you again for this opportunity. Shout out to my family, the support. WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO DO IT WITHOUT THEM. SO THANK YOU AGAIN FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH. YOU GUYS WANT TO TAKE A PICTURE WITH YOUR NEW POSITION WITH THE CITY COUNCIL? IS THAT OKAY? IF YOU GUYS HAVE FAMILY, OF COURSE. Mr. Bobadilla, are there any changes to the agenda?

Mayor, we have no changes to the agenda.

We have public comments. Public comments are now open. The public may address the city council on any non-public hearing item on the agenda or any other matter within the council's jurisdiction. You will have an opportunity to speak for three minutes once the city clerk announces your name. City clerk, do we have any members of the public that wish to speak today?

Mayor, yes, we do. And we also received an email today, a public comment that has been printed and given to you in your packets today. And there are also copies in the city clerk's office for those that want to view. And our first speaker in the audience today is Cindy Jarvis.

Good evening, everyone. I'm Cindy Jarvis. I'm the principal at Santa Fe Springs Christian School, but I also get the honor of being the chair for the Relay for Life event that happens here in Santa Fe Springs. So I want to take a quick second to remind everybody that it's next weekend. And we are very honored to support our cancer survivors at 10 a.m. with a brunch. And then 11 a.m. is the actual ceremony and the ribbon cutting. So please join us. It's going to be an amazing time. And we are about $2.7 million is what we've raised in this event over the past 22 years. So we're really excited about it. Thank you, Council, for all the support through the years. It's been an incredible journey, and we continue to keep going forward. So we're excited. Please join us. We had Palooza a couple of weeks ago, and Palooza at the pool at the new Nakamura Aquatic Center, and we had close to 200 people at the pool, and it was amazing. So if you haven't Seen the pool? Please go. Enjoy it. It's open during the week. But please join us for Relay for Life. We would really love your support and really appreciate it. I'll shift gears since I have another minute 45 left. I just wanted to share that I'm also a garden member here, and I really appreciate the council listening. to the community relocating and upgrading it. It's going to be amazing. I appreciate the effort that's put into it. I see it in the backdrop and I'm just excited for what's next for the community garden. So thank you all for keeping it because not every city has a community garden and you don't have to keep it. So for Santa Fe Springs to say it's important and to listen and to keep it and to upgrade it, I really appreciate it. So from my heart, thank you so much. But please join us Relay for Life next weekend. I'll be there. Say hi. Thank you.

Thank you. Next speaker, please.

Good evening, mayor and members of the city council. As many of you know me, my name is Irma Huitron. I'm a resident of the city of Santa Fe Springs. I live on Lake Center Park Lane. I'm here tonight because I have serious concerns about how the city has handled a code enforcement case matter involving my property where I live, where my husband and I and our family live. This began when I reported an unpermitted beauty salon operating out of my neighbor's house without city approval. What happened next came as a complete surprise. Shortly after I made the complaint about the beauty salon operating out of a house, the city opened a code enforcement case against my property. I have received, in the past, multiple calls and emails from the code enforcement team. They've entered my property multiple times without notifying me or my family, without my permission, and have taken photographs of my property. From my perspective, considerable more time and attention was spent investigating my property rather than the violation that I had reported at the time. The timing and manner in which this happened creates a lot of concern for me. My family and I, my husband, we've discussed how did this happen? How did we get here? Honestly, to us, it feels like retaliation. Residents shouldn't have to be able to report, should be able to report a violation without wondering if there's going to be some type of backlash directed back at them. What makes this even more concerning is what happened afterward. The home-based business, the beauty salon that we reported that was operating without city approvals at the time was ultimately approved by the city. I was here voicing my concerns about it, about a beauty salon operating at a house. It was approved. And ever since then, there's been crickets. There's been no follow-up about a court enforcement case on my property. raises to me what happened, what happened to the complaint that everybody was so interested in investigating at my house, coming onto my property, taking photos, me not knowing what's happening at my house, me being at work, seeing random people coming up, looking at our property, taking photographs, not knowing what's happening at my house, no emails from anyone, no phone calls, no voicemails. I wasn't being notified. And then I wondered, was there ever a legitimate concern about my property or was it simply because I reported something that was ultimately approved by the city? I'm not asking the city council to decide anything. I know you can't speak back to me. What I'm asking for is transparency and accountability about what happened on my property. what happened about the emails that I was getting so urgently. And I ask you to ask the city manager to follow up on this so I can get written explanation about what happened. Thank you.

Thank you. Next speaker, please.

Good evening, Mayor, council members, members of the staff. Thank you for the opportunity to address you. Following up on what my wife has said about this beauty salon next door to our property and all the stuff that has happened subsequently, There is no way I have enough time to address everything I want to address with you in three minutes allowed. So I'm going to leave it up to your discretion, Mayor, if you want to hear what I have to say and give me additional time. I think it'll be well worth it for you because it's very important stuff that you and all the city council members need to know. To give you some context about how we got here, because first of all, we never expected that it would get to this level as to our complaint about the beauty salon next door to our property. Prior to anything happening here, we tried to address it with our neighbors. On April 25th, my wife and I met with Mr. and Mrs. Andrade to ask them if they could please do something about our concerns. Mainly our concerns were that the constant traffic coming and going out of their property. And it's so much that there's even people idling in their cars in the street while they were servicing other people. This has gone on for 10 years. We have tried to be good neighbors. This family moved into this home with the intent of opening this beauty salon. Mayor, Council Member Rounds knew about this from the very beginning. He recused himself from the vote last meeting and refuses to tell us why he recused himself. That's another subject I would like to touch on to. Besides that, after our meeting with Mr. and Mrs. Andrade, they pretty much told us that this was none of our business, that they could do whatever they could in their home. So we had no other recourse than to come to the city for help. We met with Ms. Salazar and Ms. Hanning at the police service center to explain our concern. What happened after is inexplicable. I cannot believe that the city of Santa Fe Springs would treat the residents the way we have been treated. You are all some of my friends, best friends, You need to know this, and you cannot possibly stand behind this. I apologize, I'm shaking, I'm so angry. But this needs to be said. Our residents need to hear what is happening here. It is not okay. I'm out of time, but I have a lot more to say, Mayor. And if you give me the time, I will continue. But I want to be respectful of your time and everybody here.

Thank you, sir. Next speaker, please.

OK. This doesn't stop here.

Our next speaker is Sally N. Cyberg.

and good evening, civil servants and others. I was born and raised in this city. I went to all of the schools, graduated, went to UC Berkeley. And the city that I grew up in is very, very different than the city I live in now. There used to be trees. There used to be people taking care of their houses. There were kids in the street. And I noticed that none of that's happening anymore. I'm very concerned about the loss of the garden in the community garden. Gardening is a joy, and for people who need to do it, it's really important. And moving it to a smaller place near the Velasco Center may be extremely inconvenient for people who live in the actual neighborhoods closer to the central location it's in now. So I have some specific questions I would like to pose. Give me a sec, let me find my notes. So here, I'll just ask them and then you can respond. What exactly does the city plan to do with the land where the existing community garden is located? Has it been voted on? Has the plan been revealed? Why is the city replacing a garden with roughly 120 plots with one that accommodates far fewer? Who made the decision to close the existing garden and was that decision voted on and or formally approved by the city council at a public meeting if so when if there's no approved project for the existing garden property why can't the current garden remain open while the city determines its future use and the city has a vote on what they want to do with that property it's a beautiful garden it's very established that's not a small thing and the fact that there are so many houses in this town that don't have trees in front of them, and if they do, they're just palm trees, which are actually not trees, they're grass. We need to be doing things to combat the pollution that comes from the freeway that runs through our town, the two of them. I live near the 605, and my backyard is always completely covered in tire dust and other kinds of smog. So I would really like this to be taken a lot more seriously. Thank you for your time.

Thank you. Next speaker, please.

Good afternoon or evening everybody. I did want to come up and speak for a few minutes because I did at the last city council meeting. I was really disappointed in the plans to make a garden movement to the Velasco Center because it was so small. And after we all had our feedback that we gave, I really appreciate that you guys all did really look at it and give us a bigger garden that's comparable, that is right behind the existing garden. It's going to be almost just as big. It's going to have all the same amenities. and the garden that's gonna be at the Velazquez Center, there are people at that side of Santa Fe Springs that seem to be open to have a little garden over on that side. Right now, the garden that we're gonna have that you presented to us is almost in the same location. It's very accessible and very comparable, and I do appreciate you guys really wholeheartedly looked at it and gave a better solution. So I just wanted to let you guys know that I do appreciate you guys listening to us. Thank you.

Thank you. Next speaker, please.

Mayor, our next speaker is Anne Marie Marmolejo.

Good evening mayor and council members. I want to address the new community garden proposal presented to us on September 9th. I am asking a different question than what I did on that day. Why must creating new garden opportunities require destroying the two acre community garden we already have? The city's own master plan did not require relocation. It recommended considering whether to enhance, expand, relocate, or otherwise modify the community garden program. So I'm asking council to consider the option that appears to have been overlooked. Preserve and expand. keep our existing two acre community garden, and if residents nearby the Gus Velasco neighborhood center want those additional plots, create those too. There is also an important inconsistency that needs an explanation. On June 16th, the city justified declaring our garden property underutilized by stating that 59 of the existing 120 plots were not leased, used, or were vacant or abandoned. That would leave 61 plots outside that category. Yet, only three months later, the city's new proposal provides 98 replacement plots, 72 at Clark Estate and 26 at Gus Velasco. If there was demand for approximately 98 replacement plots, how was a garden with 120 plots and a waiting list characterized as underutilized? Before this garden is dismantled, residents deserve to see the actual records supporting the 59 plot figure, including the dates of the surveys, the condition of each plot, the waiting list at that time, and whether the city had stopped assigning available plots. We also know that there is another unresolved issue, the fruit tree planting foundation. Fruit trees were donated and planted at this garden through the agency in 2018. The foundation standard agreement contains significant provisions concerning perpetual community benefit. Preservation of donated trees, advanced notification and transplantation. I am still waiting for the city's actual 2018 agreement so I'm not accusing the city of violating it. But council should know exactly what obligations the city accepted before these trees are removed or this property is disposed of. Someone in the city in 2018 valued that and it doesn't seem to be valued now. Finally, please show us the financial comparison. What does it cost to preserve the garden we already own versus dismantling it, relocating gardeners and trees, and constructing two replacement garden areas? Before destroying an established public asset, the burden should be to demonstrate that doing so produces a greater public benefit than preserving it. Council members, tonight I ask for something specific. Please direct the city manager and city attorney to place resolution 10019 back before this council for reconsideration and determine whether the community garden property should continue to be designated as surplus. Ma'am, your time is up, ma'am. Until that happens, please pause further disposition of the property. Ma'am, your time is up.

Thank you. Thank you. Next speaker, please.

Mayor, our next speaker is Mary Flagg.

Good evening. While the new proposed garden adjacent to the Clark Center is far superior to what you previously had offered us at the Gus Velasquez Center, I question the necessity of moving our beautiful present garden. And this is going to entail two major projects. It's going to entail making a new garden area and it's going to be making a parking lot and It seems to me it would be wiser for us to keep our garden as it is and the area that you have designated for the future park garden that you make that into a parking lot and that would be easily accessible to the Clark estate people that come and a short distance for people that are going to the aquatic center. And so I'm just asking if you would reconsider your vote and save the city a lot of money. Have one project instead of two. Thank you.

Next speaker, please. Thank you.

I believe we have all of our speakers. Julian Jackson.

Thank you, Mayor, City Council, for the opportunity to speak for you today. I wrote a whole speech actually down here, but I know one of the bigger takeaways from our community garden meeting had a lot of input to do with what the residents wanted. We passed in June 16th of this year Parks and Recreation Master Calendar Plan or Parks and Rec Master Plan regarding some of the developments that occur at the garden. One of those plots, of course, though, was a suggestion from the Parks and Rec team having to utilize the space for Clark Estate to build parking lots within there. and also having extra space for event space and access without even harming or disrupting the garden. I just want to be able to throw that out there for the public, but the point being of this plan, there were multiple workshops that residents were able to attend and I know Y'all very much want residents to be able to be there at so many of our workshops. And it's easy for me to cherry pick a lot of these specific points, but I feel like that was the same thing going on during our community garden meeting. But the point, March 25th, we had a workshop number three over at the town center hall where there were a lot of key takeaways during this event. But one of the key takeaways that the residents stated was they liked the location of the community gardens. And another group, stakeholder number four for a sports group virtual assessment, that was on October 22nd of 2025. There were a lot of key takeaways. Once again, though, residents said they desired to improve the community garden by adding educational learning opportunities and upgrading walking paths and garden beds, not relocation. Within a survey poll about the things that mattered to the residents within our Civic Center area, only one person voted. but they voted the thing that mattered to them the most was our community garden. And in those comments, they said, I would like to know more info on how to help and how it works at the community garden. This is someone pleading that they want interest. We're asking how to do it. And I don't know if they ever did get that assistance, unfortunately. The last one was about the community existing garden opportunities. There were a lot of subject lines that were offered to residents, and one of those specific lines, though, read, relocating community garden and reconfiguring the site to a mixed-use residential space. Not one vote, but you know what did get votes? To upgrade nature areas, to create an outdoor classroom area, to upgrade garden beds, to not relocate but keep the place. What I ask, though, from council is just to be able to direct staff to look at these parks and recreational plans one more time. If we need to postpone this specific decision, I ask you, please, to just postpone it and give it a little bit more time. I appreciate the time that you had offered for me, and I appreciate those, Council Member Rounds, Monica Martin, for acknowledging my email, and thank you again for your time.

Thank you. Next speaker, please.

Mayor, we do not have any more speakers.

I will now close public comments and move on to the next item. Staff communications. Mr. Bobadilla, do we have any staff communications?

Mayor, we have no staff communications tonight.

All right. Public hearing. I would like to call on Mr. Bobadilla to read the title, please.

Mister mayor a public hearing number 3 consideration of ordinance number 1, 1, 7, 6 extending the provisions of an emergency ordinance number 1, 1, 7, 2 establishing a citywide moratorium prohibiting the approval establishment expansion or relocation of blood banks plasma centers and other specimen donation facilities for 22 months and 15 days effective September 15, 2026.

The public hearing is now open. Anyone who wishes to be heard, please sign up at the kiosk. If you are participating by phone, please use the raise hand feature. City Clerk, do we have any speakers?

Mayor, we do not.

I would like to close the public hearing. Is there any discussion or a motion for the approval of item number three?

I'll move. I'll second.

Moved by Rodriguez, second by Mora. All members please vote. Five yays, zero noes, zero abstentions. Motion passes. Public hearing, item number four. Mr. Bovidia, can you please read the title?

Yes, Mr. Mayor. Item number four is the introduction of ordinance number 1177, repealing section 10.23, which is our city seal, and adding chapter 12, which is the use of city seal, city logo, and city insignia. to Title I general provisions of the Santa Fe Springs Municipal Code.

The public hearing is now open. Anyone who wishes to be heard, please sign up at the kiosk. If you are participating by phone, please use the raise hand feature. City Clerk, do we have any speakers?

Mayor, we do not.

I would like to close the public hearing. Is there any discussion or a motion for the approval of item number four?

I'll move.

I already have a move by Martin. Mr. Rounds, you want a second then?

I'll second.

Okay. All members please vote. Five yays, zero noes, zero abstentions. Motion passes. Consent calendar, public finance authority, water utility authority, housing successor, successor agency, and city council consent calendar. We have a total of 14 consent items, number 5 through 18. Is there a motion for the approval of the consent calendar?

I'll move.

Moved by Martin.

I'll second.

Seconded by Rounds. All members please vote. Five yeas, zero nos, zero abstention. Motion passes. Appointments to boards, committees, and commissions. Council Member Martin.

None tonight, thank you.

Council Member Mora. None tonight. Council Member Rounds. None tonight, Mayor. Mayor Pro Tem Rodriguez.

None tonight, thank you.

And I have none. Council comments, AB 1234, council conference reporting. But before that, we have a birthday celebration for Council Member Rounds. So if you can please bring out the cake.

Where's the cake?

I didn't even see the name when I saw the cake out there. I just... Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday dear Bill. Happy birthday to you. So the cake is vanilla with strawberry, and as you can see, Council Member Rounds blew it out the COVID way, so that means if you guys would like cake, let us know.

Thank you, everyone, for that, for the birthday wishes.

Mr. Mayor, before you adjourn, we have one item we need to add on. Mr. City Attorney, if you can help me with that.

Sorry, my microphone is not working. We do have a walk-on item. Mayor, members of the City Council, this item came to the attention... This item came to the attention of my office after the agenda was posted, there is a need for us to take immediate action tonight in closed session. Because there is a central sensitive legal deadline associated with this item, so if we could add this item is item number 19 the item would be a closed session conference of legal counsel anticipate litigation. CLOSED SESSION FOR THIS ITEM IS AUTHORIZED PURSUANT TO GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 54956.92. SO IF THERE'S NO OBJECTION, IF WE COULD ADD THAT AS ITEM NUMBER 19.

SO IF I DON'T HEAR ANY OBJECTIONS, WE CAN GET THE DIRECTIVE AS ADDING IT ON? YES. ALL RIGHT. NO OBJECTIONS HEARD. SO LET'S ADD IT ON. OKAY. COUNCIL MEMBER ROUNDS. I know it's your birthday, but of course, you can lead us off, and happy birthday, sir.

Well, thank you. Thank you once again, everyone, for the birthday wishes. I was born on Mexican Independence Day, so everybody's going to be celebrating that.

Arriba, right?

Arriba, arriba. Good job.

I'll be brief. I want to thank the audience, the residents for being here tonight, voicing your concerns. We do listen to you. And then we, in the best interest, what we feel in our minds and what we do for our community. So thank you. It does mean a lot to me to hear your comments and know how you're feeling. I want to congratulate the two... Whittier police officers for the words they got. When they make every DUI arrest that they make, that could save someone else's life. So there was a number of them that they were doing that. And a great job of Eve, Captain, for your training on doing that. So good job with Whittier PD. With the promotion of our fire personnel, Remember when they were just rookies they've been here and in growing up through the ranks chief great choice on both of those I think we knew that at some point in time several years ago that they would be in these positions so a good job with that and I know that they're going to do a great job for our you the fire department and and the residents of Santa Fe Springs and the last thing is Cindy Jarvis thank you for bringing the relay for life it's it's Every one of us has been touched by cancer in some way or another. And it's a way to come out and show your support to the community. It's a really good event. It's a positive event. And please show up. You don't have to spend the whole day. Just come out. There's going to be a lot of entertainment, booze going on. So thank you. Have a great fall. I'm personally enjoying this cooler weather. So thank you, everyone.

Thank you. Mr. Rounds, Council Mayor Martin.

Yes, I'd like to report out myself and Mayor Samara. We're at a conference with Gateway Cog this last week. And a lot of stuff that's going on with transportation, I'll do some of it and then you'll do the other half. I had to leave early. Fiber optics is the big thing right now and we're almost completely done. The good thing about it that hopefully by the time the whole project is done, I think within this year, We're going to have fiber optics and hopefully Wi-Fi throughout the city and the cities around us. So you can go into any park and stuff and we'll be able to have that. Another thing that there's so many grants out there, and Cindy, you're going to be put on the spot again. People ask why do we go to some of these conferences and what's out there. A lot of times we don't know everything that's going on with the cities and different programs that we have. But by going to this, you do learn about many programs that are out there that we don't know. A lot of the programs that we have, and it's sad that they're more for the 710 freeway and west of us. And we don't know about it, and we miss out on a lot of the programs. With Gateway Cog, they actually bought a lot of information for us, and we used it last year. And Cindy Jarvis actually used one of the programs regarding the... Kid for Kids. The Kid for Kids, where we actually, after we got done with our conference, I called you up and said, hey, there's a program scholarship funding grant.

Third and fourth grade.

Yep, to try out for it. And you did, and you actually... got something out of it last year from Gateway Cog and this is something that her school is hardly has any funds but because of these programs that we go to we can expand it and have other people you know use these grants so thank you so much for listening to us why we listen to them and do it the other stuff that we talked about was traffic and they're trying to do more of a bike pass and a lot of people's not really for it they're trying to bring a lot of boat transportation. So there's so much traffic within the 710 freeway, the 110, 405. So they're literally trying to make a taxi from San Pedro to Long Beach and Orange County, but through a boat. And so that's actually coming down. They're doing grants and stuff on it. So hopefully we'll get something. And a lot more consultation aid for the Olympics. And they're really working on it. Hopefully, sooner or later, we'll have more information on that. But I'll have Mayor Zamora finish it up, because I had to leave early. officers that did that again kudos for them because of that we have people coming home we have families coming home and that's awesome and then chief with the two guys I was here when they got pinned when they were just on probation and seeing them with their family and grow it's great to see that and I can see them being here and retiring here that's great great to hear that residents we may it's hard to be up here you guys when you're up here We have 18,000 residents that we try to listen to everything that they say and their concerns. And it might not be what everybody wants to hear. And that's really hard on us because we do want to make all our residents happy. Our goal here is to make sure our city has ran great, our city is good without any bumps in the road. But it's very hard sometimes because we have so many different opinions and so many ulterior motives or what things have to be done a certain way and stuff. We try our best out here. We're five people out here that do it because we love it. And it's not always a happy meeting. It's not always awards. There's tough ideas and decisions that we have to make up here. And thank you for coming out and giving us a chance and giving us input. And we can go back and we hope and pray that we make the right decisions for our community. It might not always be what everybody thinks is right, but we do it from our heart. And I hope... We respect you the way you respect us up here and continue to come to our meetings, continue to reach out to us, call us, any concerns, we're here. It's not one person up here can say we know everything about the city. We don't. It doesn't matter if you're here one year or you're here 20 years. We still learn something every day up here. And what we can do is that we give it through our heart. And it's not easy, but we do it because we love the city. If not, we wouldn't be here. These decisions are hard to make, and so we always try to work with everybody to make sure everybody at least is happy. It might not always come out that way, but just know we're doing it here because we love our community. We wouldn't be living in our city. We'd be somewhere else. Thank you. Happy birthday, Bill.

Thank you.

To members of the audience and those watching from home, we were just notified by Caltrans that the I-605 freeway from Telegraph to the 10 freeway northbound, the two lanes, the right two lanes, will be closed from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. So if you're traveling northbound on the 605, after 7 p.m., expect detours or closures. the lanes, the off-ramps will be closed around 7-ish, and then they'll start delineating the freeway right before 10. So you can avoid that. And it's through Friday. So Monday started yesterday, and it'll go through Friday. So, again, if you're traveling northbound 605, just know there'll be delays. You might not be able to use a telegraph on-ramp or the ones up the way, so you may have to go all the way around. But just want to make sure everybody's aware. And we'll put that out on social media tomorrow as well.

Thank you. Of course, you're expecting it to go till Friday. Probably going to see it during the weekend, you know. So, I mean, it's sad to say, but just so you guys get ready for it.

Council Member Moore.

All right. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. No one needs to report since last time. Like as Council Member Martin had mentioned, Sometimes decisions are not easy. And like the one that we had tonight, it was not taken lightly. A lot of thought was put into it. But we do have to remember that as city officials, our primary responsibility is the preservation of our neighborhood character and also balancing out infrastructure for our residents at large. So like I said, it was not easy, but it's just a decision that we had to make. My dad was a gardener there for many, many years. And... He came to mind during this time. But sometimes, like I said, it's not easy, but we do have to do it. I'll be really brief here since I had no meetings to report. But once again, Relay for Life coming up. Cindy, my griddle's ready. So I'm ready when you are. Val, get ready. We're cooking. Congratulations to our recipients for the Matt Award. and also the DUI works with Pinero and Garcia and our fire department. I'm sure they're going to be doing great. Also, don't forget, this Thursday, the opening and official room of the Paul T. Nakamura Aquatic Center. It's going to be a big deal to all of us in the community, and especially to me, who I worked with Paul, taught him lessons, and, well, I'll have something to say that Thursday. But looking forward to seeing you guys there. Have a good night. And happy birthday, Bill.

Thank you. Mayor Pro Tem Rodriguez.

Thank you. First off, I would like to say congratulations to our firefighters. Great, great guys to get that promotion. I've seen them around for a long time, and it takes a lot to handle those type of jobs, and they're the best. They're totally fit for the position, so good job in making those decisions. And our... Our police officers, like my peers set up here, they save lives for everything that they've done, for everything you all do out there. When you wake up in the morning to go out there, and you're taking care of us, and we feel safe. And that's what matters. And we thank you so much for getting out there and doing what you do. And congratulations to the officers about the DUIs. So important. As my peers said, it's very hard to make these tough decisions up here. I want to thank everybody for coming here and voicing your concerns. The garden will be moved. Some people think that it's only going to be moved to the Gus Pulasco Neighborhood Center, but it is in addition to the garden that we're going to have here that's being pushed into the Clark estate we will also have a garden at the Gus Velasco neighborhood center a smaller one for the seniors that have disabilities and cannot take care of a one that size so we're going to have the one here at the Clark Estate, and in addition, we will have the Gus Velasco Neighborhood Center's plots. And we are here to help in any way we can. They're gonna be beautiful. The amenities are going to be fantastic. So let's get excited for this. We're gonna have restaurants, and a lot of our residents, that's what I've heard as we're walking, knocking on doors, and talking to our residents. The thing that they have said, and they've been saying this for years, we want more restaurants. We want a nightlife. So we're going to have a beautiful restaurant. We're going to have a beautiful garden. So right now, let's get excited for this because we're in a good place. We have a beautiful city. We have beautiful residents. And like we said before, this is what we want to do for you. We want nice things in our city. And why? because we deserve it. We deserve the best in Santa Fe Springs. So I just wanna say that, that we're gonna be doing everything we can to make our city the best that it can be. And on a separate note, I wanna say happy birthday to Bill. I hope you have a great birthday. And also, there's another birthday. Our commissioner, Isabel Cervantes, stop hiding. It's going to be her birthday, too. So this is my planning commissioner, and she's here to every council meeting. So thank you, and I want to wish you the best birthday ever, because it's well-deserved. Cindy Jarvis, I want to thank you for heading the Relay for Life. My mother had breast cancer in her 30s, and it was a tough time. So by you doing what you're doing, you are helping people that have cancer, people that have passed away from cancer, and just being out there to help all of us in our grieving moments, in our healing process. So thank you very much. We will be there next week. Thank you. And thank you to everybody. Have a great evening. Thank you.

Thank you, Mayor Pro Tem Rodriguez. I want to start off just by thanking all the speakers for showing up and just coming up and opening your heart and just taking the courage. I mean, I know it's difficult when you're there and you have a short amount of time to speak and you guys want to speak from your heart, speak from your minds, and sometimes it's difficult, but We're here to hear you guys out, and I know that it may be difficult on that side, and it's also difficult on this side. So it's a mutual respect that we have for our residents that we know that change is difficult. Sometimes change can be very difficult, but sometimes these things have to get done for the betterment of the city of Santa Fe Springs. And so we heard you loud and clear, and I know the staff are doing their part to make sure they're taking notes. So when you guys are speaking, everybody's taking their notes in whatever it may be, whether it be fire, whether it be police, whether it be city manager's office, or wherever they're at, people are listening. So thank you for voicing your concerns. I want to report out for my conference, also with Juanita. One of the first sessions was economic development, and they were talking about what the structure is going to be like here, Not only in Santa Fe Springs, but they're talking about the gateway cities. So gateway cities consist of 24 cities. and 11 unincorporated areas. So if you're looking at it, you're probably looking about 2 million people that we offer assistance to. And so it's a regional meeting that we meet up. Then we decide to go to a place where we can all sit. And this is where we hash things out. Sometimes some sides want, like Juanita was saying, that you're going to hear people fight for the 710. Well, we're there to fight for the 605 and 5. You know, so it's a constant battle. And sometimes it's not a great thing because you're going against other colleagues and they want to do what's best for their city. And, you know, people always look at the city of Satterface Breeds and, you know, sometimes they want to be like us. Sometimes they don't want to be like us. And, you know, I know there was a song that we all used to mess around up here, but they ain't like us. Right. And we do our part. Transportation-wise, they're talking about the different things of what type of transportation is coming up. They're talking about the EV transportation, that that's the route that everybody's looking to go before the Olympics. And of course, that ties in with environment. We are environmentally friendly, so we look at a lot of different things. And when you look at different cities that have producer, like Cindy Jarvis, they bring up with her school. And just to let you know, there's also water heaters that you can look into for not only your schools, churches, other things that we have in the city of Santa Fe Springs, or even if it's not in our city, but it's still in the Gateway City's jurisdiction, Guess what? They're offering those. The water heaters, they're not only offering them just for those type of, but they're also offering a rebate program for your home. So if you guys want to look into that, all you got to do is look up Council of Governance, Gateway Cities, and it will have the information there. And so some of you guys who have an older water heater, These are things that you guys can look into. If you guys look at solar, these are other things that you guys can talk to them about. And this is from a regional standpoint. Also, we talked about health and wellness, the innovation, the different things that we're trying to do with that. One of the biggest topics besides transportation was housing and homelessness. Everybody talks about that we need to build new housing. We've got to do all this stuff for housing. This is Northern California politics telling us what we need to address. It makes it very difficult because if you have locations here in the city and to build, you know, there's only certain areas that you could build, you know, without seeing so many wells and different things underneath. And sometimes we tell cities, like, you know, imagine if you guys decided to take our housing but we took your businesses, that maybe you may feel like, hey, this is different in our cities. And so that's where the communication comes in. And that's where we talk. We have organizations like LASA and Measure M dollars when it comes to homelessness. We as a city, we're giving up $8 million a year. $8 million. Our return, $0 for homelessness. We had to come out of our own general fund. When it comes to Measure A, Measure A, we're giving up $16 million now. Our return, 554,000. And Arlene, you guys have a group of department that's just kicking butt when it comes to homelessness. And that's what helps us out because when we're out there, it's the regional part that makes it easier. And of course, when it comes to the fiber optics, they're talking about, hey, what are we going to do with the fiber optics? Of course, that's a means for us to be a smart city. making sure when we go to our parks that we have the Wi-Fi services that we deserve, not like when we went to an ESPN game and everybody was talking about the Wi-Fi and we were like, made it real difficult. But there's challenges there and we need to make sure that we do our best to overcome those challenges. So with that being said, I do wanna also congratulate Bill Rounds and Isabel Cervantes on another year. You know, thank you very much. Paul T. Nakamura, 4 p.m. on Thursday. And everyone is invited. Walls and Palacios. I mean, like Juanita said, I mean, we've seen them, you know, just grow out of here. And it's just great to see them in their new roles. I mean, truly great to see them in their new roles. So thank you for that. The MAD program. When we went to the Oceanside Conference, They talked about what they were trying to do to enforce bigger laws when it comes to DUI. They say that our laws and our enforcement is not that strong. So they're asking different electors to try to get involved and say, hey, let's enforce it a lot stricter so people realize what is the punishment. So with that being said.

Excuse me, Mr. Mayor, not to interrupt. John, aren't you guys going to be doing something special at the pool opening in honor of the whistle? Could you explain that so people know what you guys are going to be doing? Sorry, but I think it's important that we should know.

So part of the ceremony is going to include what they call a whistle tribute. And this sometimes happens when we have a fellow guard just like police officers in fire, they have somebody that passes, we pay a special tribute. I'll give a full explanation at the time of the ceremony, but this is where we ask current and old Santa Fe Springs lifeguards to come on out, take the Fox 40, if you know what that is, that it's a very, very loud whistle, and we just pay a tribute to our fallen hero here in our own hometown. So that will take place during the Aquatic Center ribbon cutting ceremony. Thank you.

Thank you. So I would like to close today's meeting in honor, not only in our local hero, but also in the efforts of 9-11. For those first responders and those families that are still struggling with those sacrifices and what they had to see that day. May God always build a hedge of protection around their minds and their families. May God always bless the city of Santa Fe Springs. Thank you.

Before you adjourn, we have to recess into closed session.

Okay, so now we have to recess into closed session at 7.13. Thank you very much. Thank you for saving me there.

Okay.

Microphone on? I know you're ready.

What time is it, 727? Yes.

I want to reconvene the meeting at 727. City Attorney, can you please report out?

Thank you, Mayor and members of the City Council. The record to reflect that the City Council recess in the closed session to discuss walk on item. We added it as item number 19 to tonight's agenda. The item was closed session conference of legal counsel regarding anticipated litigation. Closed session consideration for this item is authorized pursuant to government code section 54956.92. With respect to this item, the city council received a briefing from the city attorney's office and city staff. Direction was given, but no final action was taken tonight in closed session. Thank you.

Okay, I'd like to report, we'd like to adjourn this meeting once again in honor of the 9-11 and of course of Paul T. Nakamura. Meeting adjourned.