Read the April 1 meeting.

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Jennifer L. Hall

Mayor, we're ready when you are.

Valerie Amezcua

Madam Clerk, please start the meeting.

Jennifer L. Hall

Yes, Mayor, please go ahead.

Valerie Amezcua

I hereby call the Santa Ana City Council meeting to order. This meeting is taking place with in-person attendance and by teleconference via Zoom. The public may access the meeting via the Santa Ana YouTube channel or the city's website. Please bear with us as the technology may disrupt the flow of the meeting. Madam Clerk, please conduct the roll call.

Jennifer L. Hall

Council Member Becerra. Council Member Hernandez. Present. Council Member Lopez. Present. Council Member Penalosa.

Present.

Jennifer L. Hall

Council Member Phan. Here. Mayor Pro Tem Vasquez.

Benjamin Vazquez

Present.

Jennifer L. Hall

Mayor Mezcua. Present.

Valerie Amezcua

Four members, that is a quorum. Thank you, Madam Clerk. Are there any additions or deletions to the closed session agenda? There are none. Do any council members need to announce their abstentions on closed session items?

Valerie Amezcua

Madam Clerk, do we have any speakers for closed session? No, we do not. Council Member Fant, anything before we move out back to closed session?

Thai Viet Phan

Thank you, Mayor. I'd like to announce that I will be using the Just Cause provision of the Brown Act tonight to attend the rest of the meeting via teleconference and on zoom so I will be leaving after the presentation tonight thank you thank you

Valerie Amezcua

so much for sharing that we will now recess this portion of the meeting to consider items listed on the closed session agenda

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Valerie Amezcua

Thank you all for being patient. Madam Clerk, please start the meeting.

Jennifer L. Hall

Yes, Mayor, you're ready to start.

Valerie Amezcua

I hereby reconvene the Santa Ana City Council meeting to order. This meeting is taking place with in-person attendance and by teleconference via Zoom. The public may access the meeting via the Santa Ana YouTube channel or the city's website. Please bear with us as the technology may disrupt the flow of the meeting. As a reminder, this is a meeting to conduct the business of the city. As Mayor, I am afforded the opportunity to call for a recess or break or to even clear the meeting room if a meeting becomes too disruptive to properly conduct business. Warnings will be provided prior to any action being taken.

Valerie Amezcua

We appreciate your cooperation. For everyone's safety, per the fire marshal, please do not stand or place objects in the aisles in front of the dais, along the back wall of the city of the council chamber, or in front of the entrances or exits. During city council presentations and oaths of office, guests of individuals being recognized eyes are invited to come to the front to take photos. Madam Clerk please conduct the roll call.

Jennifer L. Hall

Councilmember Becerra. Here. Councilmember Hernandez. Present. Councilmember Lopez. Here. Councilmember Penalosa. Present. Councilmember Phan. Here. Mayor Pro Tempestas. Present. Mayor Meskwa.

Valerie Amezcua

Present. Seven members present. Let's proceed with the Pledge of Allegiance. Councilmember Becerra if if you could lead us in Pledge of Allegiance, please.

Phil Bacerra

Please place your right hand over your heart.

Valerie Amezcua

Ready, begin.

David Penaloza

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,

David Penaloza

with liberty and justice for all.

Phil Bacerra

It sounded so much better this time.

Valerie Amezcua

I love hearing the voices of all the children. All right, words of inspiration. Police Chaplain Bob Barnett, please.

Simple prayer. Great to hear the kids' voices, though. Lord God, we're so privileged to be here and gather together to do the work of the city that blesses our people, blesses our businesses. Lord, we invite your presence to be here to give us wisdom and insight to take advantage of the gifts and talents that all have here. Thank you for those that are leading in a way by their service. Thank you, Lord God, that we have great leadership in our city. We ask blessing on this room, blessing on its people, blessing on our leaders, blessing on our chiefs. And Lord, please, we do pray for safety, safety and health for our community.

be with our first responders, men and women in law enforcement, men and women in the fire authority, those that work in our hospitals, and Lord, the teachers of our community too. Thank you, Lord, for those gathered here. In your name we pray, amen.

Valerie Amezcua

Madam Clerk?

Jennifer L. Hall

Yes, thank you, Mayor. So for additions and deletions to the agenda, there is a staff request to continue Public Hearing Item Number 22 to the meeting of May 6th, and if possible, to get a motion and a second and a vote on that request by staff. Second.

Thai Viet PhanItem 22

Mayor, before we take a vote on that, I have to announce my recusal based on the advice of council. Therefore, I will leave the dais during the discussion or vote on this item. Thank you.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 22

I believe we have two more that will be leaving.

Sonia R. CarvalhoItem 22

Yes, we have two more that make statements that are not going to be voting on this this evening.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 22

If you please leave the dais. Go ahead.

Jessie LopezItem 22

Yes, so we are requesting an FPPC letter due to the Levine Act, and so once that gets cleared up, we'll have more information about my participation.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 22

Councilman Wilson.

David PenalozaItem 22

And the advice of the city attorney, I have to recuse myself because of a lease, residential lease that I have in the vicinity, and we are also waiting an FPPC letter that the city attorney has requested. So I will be leaving the room.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 22

I'll second once you leave the room.

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 22

I'll make a motion, Madam Mayor, to move this item to the May 6th Council Meeting.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 22

I'll second that.

Jennifer L. HallItem 22

Motion by Council Member Hernandez, seconded by Mayor Emeswa, to continue public hearing item number 22 to the May 6th 2025 City Council Meeting. Council Member Becerra?

Phil BacerraItem 22

Yes.

Jennifer L. HallItem 22

Council Member Hernandez? Yes. Mayor Pro Tem Vasquez?

Benjamin VazquezItem 22

Yes.

Jennifer L. HallItem 22

Mayor Emeswa? Yes. So it is four ayes, no nays with three noted recusals by council members Fan, Lopez and Penalosa. Item number 22 has been continued to May 6th.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 22

Thank you. So once again on public hearing, item number 22 is continued. Thank you all for being here for that item. Okay, let's go on.

Jennifer L. HallItem 22

And just to clarify, that means the public hearing will not be heard. So no public comments will be received on that item this evening.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 22

So just for clarification, Madam Clerk, so that we all understand and those in the audience, there will be no public comments on that item.

Jennifer L. HallItem 22

That is correct.

Jennifer L. HallItem 22

Mayor and City Council at this point in time, ceremonial presentations are the next items on the agenda. And I believe Council Member Phan also has another announcement to make.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 22

That's correct. We'll wait until they get their seats.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 22

Go ahead, Madam Clerk.

Jennifer L. HallItem 22

Council Member Phan has an announcement for the record.

Thai Viet PhanItem 22

Thank you. I would like to announce that I will be, after the presentation, I will be participating via teleconference under the just cause provisions of the Brown Act due to appearance in Sacramento relating to public agency business. Thank you.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 22

Can we get the doors closed please so we don't hear all the noise? Thank you so very much.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 22

I'm sorry, Council Member Fan, can you repeat that please?

Thai Viet PhanItem 22

I'd like to state for the record that I'll be participating for the rest of the meeting via teleconference on Zoom or, excuse me, on Zoom under the Brown Act's just cause provisions relating to official business of a local agency. Thank you.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 22

Thank you. Thank you.

Jennifer L. HallItem 22

If I could just make one more announcement for the public. For members of the public who are on Zoom or teleconference to request to speak under public comments on the agenda or non-agenda items with the exception of public hearing item number 22 which will now be heard on may 6th please dial star 9 or press raise hand on zoom now in order to be in the queue when public comments commence thank you thank you madam clerk at this time

Valerie AmezcuaItem 22

we're going to go to presentations um council member fan you're up first please

Thank you.

Thai Viet PhanItem 22

Hi, good evening, everyone.

Okay.

Thai Viet PhanItem 22

So today's proclamation is to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the fall of Saigon, which occurred on April 30th, 1975. 1975. So a little bit of history because I know a lot of our residents don't know what Black April is. So on April 30th, 1975, South Vietnam fell to communist forces marking what we consider the fall of Saigon. This event not only led to one of the largest mass exoduses in modern history, but also signaled the beginning of a new chapter of the Vietnamese people both in Vietnam and abroad. The fall of Saigon, through a time of immense tragedy, also marked the birth of the vibrant

Thai Viet PhanItem 22

Vietnamese American community we know today. So every year, those of us in the Vietnamese diaspora come together to commemorate what we consider as Black April, or in Vietnamese, it's called . This period allows us to reflect on the hardships endured by our families, the lives lost, and the incredible strength that emerged from such devastation. It is a time of remembrance and renewal. Between 1975 and 1995, over 3 million people fled Vietnam, escaping the ravages of war and political persecution. My family and I were one of those.

Thai Viet PhanItem 22

In fact, my name, Thai Viet Phan, means Vietnamese person born in Thailand, because I was conceived in Vietnam but born near a Thai refugee camp. Many of my friends and community members were born in refugee camps or on the way, in Hong Kong, in Guam, Thailand, and many other places. The majority of these refugees found new homes in the United States, obviously here in Southern California, having the central hub of the Vietnamese diaspora in the world. Today we have Little Saigon, which in Santa Ana is commemorated by a Little Saigon sign,

Thai Viet PhanItem 22

and what a lot of people don't know, Little Saigon in Orange County was founded in Santa Ana. We have over 200,000 Vietnamese residents in the county, the largest concentration of Vietnamese people in the world outside of the country of Vietnam. As of 2021, the American Community Survey found that there were over 30,000 Vietnamese residents living in Santa Ana, the majority of whom live in Ward 1.

Thai Viet PhanItem 22

This neighborhood represents, or this area represents both the history of our past, as well as the bright future that we are building. So who am I, who are we issuing the proclamation to this year? We're issuing the proclamation to Little Saigon TV Network, founded in the 1980s, which has become the cornerstone of Vietnamese American media. With its focus on preserving and promoting Vietnamese culture, Little Saigon TV has played a pivotal role in uniting generations of the Vietnamese American community. They have programming that includes news, cultural content, of course entertainment, that helps to foster pride and awareness

Thai Viet PhanItem 22

within the diaspora. They're also a proud partner of the city of Santa Ana. They have played a key role in hosting the Vietnamese Business Forum as well as other cultural events highlighting the rich contributions of the Vietnamese Vietnamese American community. And little known fact, or maybe large known fact, our very own Tina Le has her own TV show on Little Saigon TV, promoting the city's programs and services.

Thai Viet PhanItem 22

Little Saigon TV will be covering an event coming up at the USS Midway to commemorate on 4-27, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the fall of Saigon. on today the city of santa ana and as the first vietnamese american elected in santa ana i'm just so proud to officially proclaim april 30th 2025 as black april to honor the lives lost during the vietnam war era and celebrate the resilience and contributions of the vietnamese american community little saigon tv will hopefully proudly accept the proclamation on behalf of the community Thank you. Thank you.

Good evening, everyone. I'm honored to be here, present for Little Saigon TV. As a media organization, we cover all the events in local city, especially the event in the city of Santa Ana. Again, I'm honored to be here. And thank you, Frank, and council member of city of Santa Ana. Thank you.

Thank you.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 22

All right, it's my turn. Will the Girl Scouts of Orange County join me, please? Please.

Hello.

How are you? Hi, girls. Come on close. Come on. Come on. Come around. Come around.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 22

Somebody's going to speak tonight. Who's going to speak? One of you are going to speak.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 22

Somebody's going to speak tonight. Are you going to pick one? Oh, you want to speak?

Oh, I just want to deal with your back. Okay.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 22

All right. Well, as you can see, I am surrounded by lovely young ladies. Can you all see them? Yes. All right. So March 12th, I know it's April 1st, but we had to get them on the calendar here. It's an honor to stand before you today as we celebrate a monumental milestone, the 113th anniversary of Girl Scouts of the United States of America. That's right. Which was founded by Juliette Gordon Lowe on March 12, 1912. 1912, wow,

Valerie AmezcuaItem 22

you guys have been around a long time. For over a century, Girl Scouts have been dedicated to its mission to build girls of courage, confidence, and character who make the world a better place. This enduring mission continues to inspire and empower millions of girls and women shaping the leaders of tomorrow. Today Girl Scouts offers innovative and exciting programming in science, science, technology, engineering, math, the outdoors, you guys still go outside and play, right, in camp? Yes, okay, good.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 22

Entrepreneurship and so much more, providing girls with invaluable life skills and experiences through the Girl Scout Leadership Experience. On this special anniversary, we also celebrate the legacy of Juliette Gordon-Lowe, whose vision and leadership laid the foundation for this global movement. Her commitment to helping girls grow physically, intellectually, socially, and spiritually continues to shape Girl Scouts today. Julia believed in the importance of public service and civic engagement and this remains a

Valerie AmezcuaItem 22

cornerstone of the Girl Scout experience. Today Girl Scouts learn about government and I want you to know they've been in my office several times to have a meeting with me. They called and asked to meet with me, engage with elected officials, and are inspired to become active, civically-minded individuals ready to create positive change, and they love riding in the parade with me, and I love having them. You guys will join me again this year, huh? That's right. Girl Scouts also carries forward Juliet's lifelong love for nature and the environment.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 22

Encouraging girls to spend time outdoors and participate in activities like summer camp, connecting them to the natural world, and fostering a sense of environmental stewardship. Juliet's vision transcended national borders. She utilized her global network to create a movement where girls can forge lifelong friendships and become global citizens dedicated to making a positive impact. In Orange County, Girl Scouts empower 15,000 girls from every zip code. Let me say that again, 15,000 girls. To honor Juliet's legacy and the Girl Scout movement,

Valerie AmezcuaItem 22

the United States Mint released the Juliet Gordon Logue Commemorative Quarter on March 25, 2025, further symbolizing the impact of girls and women everywhere. It is great pride that I declare March 12, 2025, I'm sorry I'm late, but we're still doing it, to be Girl Scout Day to honor their incredible impact over the past 113 years. Let us all support and celebrate the Girl Scouts in our community as we work toward a brighter future for our girls and women everywhere. Happy 113th Anniversary, Girl Scouts. Thank you so much.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 22

So if you don't know, the Girl Scouts here in Santa Ana is on First Street by the Food for Less and the McDonald's right in there. So if you have a young lady who wants to be a Girl Scout, a Brownie, and a Missy one, A Daisy, a Junior, and a Cadet. The office, the Girl Scout office is in off of First and well is it Orange? It's by Food for Less where McDonald's is. So you can't miss it. Big sign

Valerie AmezcuaItem 22

Girl Scouts but it's our Santa Ana Girl Scouts and so please stop by. Please take your children, your girls, your grandchildren, whoever you want to join the organization. I absolutely love them and I love going and spending time with them. And yes, they come to my office and we have cupcakes and juice and we chat. And they are incredibly, incredibly bright young girls and I'm so very proud to spend time with them. And I believe our deputy city manager, Ms. Vazquez, she was with us last time. Weren't you a Girl Scout? A Brony? Or they got to meet you? They got to meet her and

Valerie AmezcuaItem 22

spend time with her too. So this is a proclamation from the city of Santa Ana recognizing Girl Scouts of the United States of America on its 113th birthday and celebrating the legacy of Girl Scout movement and its founder Juliette Gordon-Lowe. And it's signed by me, the mayor, and it's signed by all the council members to congratulate all of you. So congratulations. And I know one of you are gonna volunteer to speak. Oh, wow, okay. She's our future mayor, can you tell? Or elected official? So I'm gonna take the mic off and I'm gonna hand it to you. You have to tell everybody your name, okay?

Valerie AmezcuaItem 22

So come on up.

And then you say why you're a Girl Scout and why today's important.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 22

Got it? Or you say whatever you like.

Thank you. My name is Ivy.

The reason why I'm a Girl Scout is because I wanted to sell cookies because I wanted to give them to people because they're not really that expensive.

And people that don't have that much money can still buy them.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 22

Tell them how much they are.

They're $5, right? Yeah. They're either $5 or $6. I can't remember right now.

And why are you a Girl Scout? That's the reason.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 22

Just for the cookies? Just for the cookies. All right.

I've made a lot of friends here, so I like you here. I'm not going to leave anytime soon.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 22

You're not leaving anytime soon. That's good to hear.

You can't get rid of me that easy. I'm staying.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 22

All right. You're staying. Cool. Okay? Yes. All right. Let's give her a round of applause.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 22

You have to stand where the X is.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 22

Hi. They're not shy. I love it.

Hi. My name is Alanis, and the reason why I'm a Girl Scout is I think I could make the world a better place. And I also love having friends, so I knew this might be the right place. That's beautiful. Thank you.

Anybody else?

I am, my name is May Lynn, and a reason that I wanted to be in Girl Scouts, I'm kind of nervous, is because I get to learn how to make the world a better place and get to know the mayor and like I get to well show my other like my nature self for like my other part of me that I really don't show to a lot of people and yeah that's why I like being a Girl Scout.

Well anybody else? Hi everyone my name is Liliana Real and I'm from the council the director of community programs there. And so on behalf of Girl Scouts of Orange County, thank you for the special recognition. We are honored to accept this proclamation celebrating our mission and our legacy. For over 113 years, Girl Scouts has empowered girls to become confident leaders and compassionate change makers. Here in Santa Ana, this tradition thrives thanks to dedicated volunteers, families, community partners, and our mayor's support for youth in our city. Your recognition underscores the importance of investing

in girls who make Santa Ana and the world a better place. Thank you.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 22

Thank you. So this is a proclamation for all of you. I'm sure you'll put it in the office so when I come by to meet with you I'll see it there. So I'm gonna take a picture with you first alone and then we'll invite the council to come down.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 22

Okay, now everybody look at Paul.

One, two, three. One, two, three. Girl Scouts. Girl Scouts.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 22

Calvin, do you want to come on down?

Valerie AmezcuaItem 22

I want to squeeze them and let them all in, okay? We'll let them in our club.

Congratulations. Thank you. Thank you. Do you want to come up here? Thanks.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 5

This is our future leadership right up here. Love it.

Look at Paul.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 5

All right, I'll see you guys soon, okay? Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. All right. I'm going to go back to waiting.

Bye. Congratulations. Bye, girl.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 5

you start girl scouts if you have homework you're more than welcome to stay or leave bye-bye bye-bye you can stay but if you got homework gotta get it done

Valerie AmezcuaItem 5

well then mija you can stay for the whole meeting

Valerie AmezcuaItem 5

good job good night good night

Valerie AmezcuaItem 5

all right councilman it's all yours i'm sorry bear pro time fast guys thank you thank you Let's have Latino Health Access in the Downtown Family Resource Center, please.

Benjamin VazquezItem 5

Good evening everyone. It is an honor to stand before you today to recognize the critical importance of child abuse prevention and the work being done by organizations like Latino Health Access and the Downtown Family Resource Center. Tonight we are proclaiming April as Blue Ribbon Month. These organizations will be hosting a series of events throughout this month to commemorate Blue Ribbon Month, also known as Child Prevention Month, Abuse Prevention Month. Blue Ribbon Month serves as a platform to highlight the importance of prevention efforts and how we can work collectively to protect children.

Benjamin VazquezItem 5

This observance emphasizes the need for creating safe, nurturing environments where children can grow, thrive, and reach their fullest potential. Our children deserve to be surrounded by love, support, and safety, and it is our shared responsibility to ensure they are provided with the resources and environments necessary to prosper. This month is not only a time for awareness, but also a call to action. It provides an opportunity for individuals, families, and organizations to unite in supportive initiatives that raise awareness and encourage education.

Benjamin VazquezItem 5

education. Together we can foster an environment where child abuse and neglect are prevented. With that in mind, I am proud to proclaim the month of April as Blue Ribbon Month here in Santa Ana. Thank you to everyone who continues to advocate for children and supports these important initiatives. Together we can make a meaningful difference in the lives of children and families in our community. Thank you.

On behalf of Latino Health Access Downtown Family Resource Center and families and communities together, Orange County and the Race Foundation, we would like to thank Mayor Pro Tem Vasquez and the council members for proclaiming April's Blue Ribbon Month. This is a month to raise awareness of child abuse, and we invite everyone to wear something blue for this month and join us to preserve the wonders of childhood. Thank you.

Thank you.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 5

Great, thank you. At this time, Councilmember Lopez, please. The Cambodian family. family.

happy Cambodian

Thank you.

Thank you.

Jessie LopezItem 5

Hello everybody. So we are going to be proclaiming April as Cambodian Heritage Month today, which which is really exciting because this is the first time that the city of Santa Ana proclaims April as Cambodian Heritage Month. And so it is truly an honor to be here today as we come together to celebrate the Cambodian American community and officially proclaim April as Cambodian Heritage Month in Santa Ana. For over four decades, the Cambodian community has been a significant and vibrant part of our city. Since the late 1970s, when Cambodian refugees first settled in Santa Ana,

Jessie LopezItem 5

after escaping the horrors of war and genocide, they have contributed immensely to the social and cultural fabric of our city. Despite facing tremendous challenges, they have not only rebuilt their lives, but they have also helped shape the unique identity of our city. This year, as we celebrate Cambodian Heritage Month, we also mark an incredible milestone celebrating the Cambodian family's 45th anniversary. So please give them a round of applause.

Jessie LopezItem 5

Since its founding, the Cambodian family has been at the forefront of supporting and empowering the Cambodian American community here in Orange County. Through their tireless efforts, they have helped countless individuals and families families navigate challenges of resettlement education and economic development their work in fostering leadership building community and promoting cultural understanding has been invaluable to our shared progress the cambodian american community along with organizations like the cambodian family has enriched our city with countless ways

Jessie LopezItem 5

From founding temples, mosques, and other vital community institutions to creating businesses that have become staples of our local economy, their contributions are evident everywhere you look. They've also made a profound impact on our city's culture, producing beautiful art, celebrating their traditional New Year, sharing their rich heritage with the broader community. Beyond their contributions to the economy and culture the cambodian american community alongside organizations as the cambodian family have played an essential role in civic engagement they work tirelessly to

Jessie LopezItem 5

improve their own lives and the lives of others creating opportunities for growth and well-being in the face of adversity through their activism and involvement in public life they become an integral part of what makes Santa Ana the thriving and diverse city that it is today. This month, as we celebrate Cambodian Heritage Month, let us take the time to learn more about the history, culture, and achievements of the Cambodian American community. I encourage everyone in our city to participate in the many events and activities happening throughout April to recognize

Jessie LopezItem 5

and honor the lasting impact of the Cambodian people and the impact that they have had in our city and to celebrate the work of the Cambodian family and supporting the vibrant community. It is important that we continue to celebrate the diversity that makes Soneana so special and ensure that all communities are respected, valued, protected, and heard. Thank you for being here to celebrate this important moment in in our city's history. As I said at the beginning, this is the first time that the city proclaims April as Cambodian Heritage Month. And so now therefore I, Councilwoman Jessie Lopez,

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with great honor and pride do hereby proclaim April

Jessie LopezItem 5

as Cambodian Heritage Month in Santa Ana. This proclamation stands as a testament to the strength, resilience, and unwavering spirit of our beautiful Cambodian community. As we acknowledge this month, we also recognize the sacrifices made by those who did not make it. I stand in solidarity with our Cambodian brothers and sisters who have triumphed over adversity. I celebrate their contributions of those who have worked tirelessly to help refugees seek a better life, and we we express our gratitude to their dedication. I am deeply proud to present the Cambodian community

Jessie LopezItem 5

and I am committed to ensuring that their stories, their legacy and their incredible journey are heard and shared not just in Santa Ana, but throughout the county and beyond. Our Cambodian community is not defined by tragedy alone. We are a community full of joy, resilience, hard work and above all, hope. hope. We are the dreamers, the doers, and the builders of a better future. By designating this April as Cambodian Heritage Month, we solemnly commit to never forgetting the atrocities that took so many lives too soon. We vow to honor those lives, to remember their sacrifices,

Jessie LopezItem 5

and to ensure that we continue the hard work needed to protect human dignity and prevent to prevent such horrors from ever happening again. I would like to extend my heartfelt thank you to the Cambodian community leaders who work tirelessly every day, every year, for as long as you've been here, to protect and preserve and celebrate your culture and your heritage and traditions. Your work is invaluable, and Santa Ana will always be a better place because of you. You're welcome. Together, we stand united, and together we celebrate the beauty, the strength, and the legacy of the Cambodian community. Thank you for this honor.

Thank you.

Jennifer L. HallItem 5

Would you like to hold this?

I'm going to hold this. I know. Yeah, I know. Yeah. One there. Okay. Go ahead. Thank you. Good evening, and This is in Cambodian way, we call and put our hand together. My name is Fatana Pung. I am the executive director of the Cambodian Family Community Center right here in Santa Ana. First of all, I would like to express my sincere thanks to our mayor and our entire city council for making this historic decision to proclaim April as Cambodian Heritage Month, which is translated into Khmer as Khai Batekapuan Chit Khmer. I would like to express my special thanks

to and gratitude to Councilwoman Jessie Lopez for your historic initiative to help introduce this important proclamation. Thank you. Can I get a big round of applause for our entire City Council?

45 years ago, the city of Santa Ana welcomed Cambodian refugees with open arms. The Cambodian family was founded in 1980 when Cambodian refugees were resettled in Santa Ana after escaping the war and genocide in Cambodia. Beginning in 1980, our Cambodian refugees settled in Santa Ana's Mini Street. Feeling compelled to address the desperate needs about their community, a small group of more skilled and knowledgeable Cambodian refugees came together, pooled their resources, and took action. They rented a small apartment in the Mini Street neighborhood and volunteered their time teaching English

and provide critical assessment services to help their fellow community members overcome their recent trauma from the genocide, learn new skill, and move forward with their lives in America, especially in the city of Santa Ana. Over the years, our services has been expanded to immigrants and refugees from around the world. As Councilwoman Jessie Lopez mentioned in her proclamation speech, this year we celebrated 45 years of services and resiliency to our mission of providing refugee and immigrant family with the opportunities to develop the knowledge, skill, and desire for creating

better health and valuing their life. We would not have been possible to do that without the city's support and without community's thanks and resilience. On behalf of my community, I praise Santa Ana for creating a home for Cambodian Americans, for helping us rebuild our lives, our temples, our mosques, our churches, and our community centers. Not only has the city kept our cultural heritage alive, but help us thrive and build as a distinct Cambodian American identity. Our Cambodian American community in Santa Ana has contributed to the city economic development through iconic donut shops.

And so if you've been to one of the donut shop in the city center, more likely to be owned by Cambodian community and task them, are you Cambodian? That's the one thing you can do too, to ask them. and also we have contributed to cultural diversity through our thriving visual and fine arts and has empowered our community to overcome decades of trauma and resentment. Just last year, the Cambodian family outreached to over 66,000 diverse community members and served over 8,600 clients. April 17 marked the 50th anniversary of the fall of Cambodia into the Cambodian genocide, which killed over 2 million people.

April is also a time for us to remember the dark moment in our human history, which is known in our Cambodian-American community as Remembrance Day. April is also a time to celebrate our New Year's. Therefore, proclaiming April as Cambodian Heritage Month means so much for our Cambodian-American community members in Santa Ana and beyond. As you see our Cambodian American community members from our children to elders to our Buddhist, Hmong leaders to our mosque leaders are here today so excited and have packed the City Hall to

celebrate the historic moment with all of you. And I would like to take this opportunity to thank our board of directors, staff, community partners, community leaders, religious leaders, community community members, ethnic media representatives from Khmer Thawee all the way to the back there, and to come here for showing up today to celebrate the Cambodian Heritage Month and the diversity in the city of Santa Ana. To the city of Santa Ana and all of its residents, thank you for welcoming us into your home. April is so significant for Cambodian people, and I sincerely invite all of you to join the many events and activities

happening throughout this month and recognize and honor the lasting impact Cambodian people have had on our city. And to also celebrate the work of the Cambodian family in supporting the vibrant community. Please join our upcoming Cambodian New Year celebration in the city of Santayana on April 19. And please allow me to say a few words in Khmer Cambodian for our elders who are monolingual and did not understand much of the English that I'm talking.

I would like to wish everyone a happy and prosperous Cambodian New Year. And in Khmer, we say, I want you to repeat and follow me. Let's do it.

Happy New Year. Thank you so much.

Okay, cool picture? Cool picture.

Okay, everybody get as close together as you can. All right.

Okay, look over here.

Everybody up here. So, one, two, three.

Two, one, two, three.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 3

Okay, next up is Councilmember Penalosa, please. Viola Sanchez. Viola.

Congratulations.

Hi.

David PenalozaItem 3

All right everybody, so is this on Madam City Clerk? It's not on? Did I turn it off?

David PenalozaItem 3

Perfect. Perfect, okay. So you all know that I don't often use the recognition time up here in respect to time, but this is extremely important and just a huge achievement. So I wanted to darles la bienvenida a ustedes, por favor, come on down this way to Paola and her parents. Paola, you can stand right here.

David PenalozaItem 3

So today, I'm honored to recognize Paola Sanchez, a proud resident of Ward 6's Memorial Park neighborhood, like myself, where I grew up, for her outstanding academic achievements and accomplishments. Growing up in a low-income family of four, Paola spent much of her life in a small, one-car, garage-sized room in another family's home. Her father, right here, a janitor, and her mother, a former waitress, worked tirelessly to provide a better life for Paola and her sister. Despite these challenges, Paola dreamed of a

David PenalozaItem 3

future beyond the confines of her small room, aspiring to one day work on Wall Street. She was determined to break free from her circumstances and build a better future for herself and her family. Paola enrolled at Middle College High School, where she dual-enrolled in college courses. A personal finance class ignited her passion for economics, providing her with the tools to support her family and opening her eyes to the financial literacy gap in her community. Living in a shared room posed significant challenges, particularly as Paola's coursework grew more demanding. However, she overcame these challenges by

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by joining the Nicholas Academic Center, where she gained access to study spaces and tutoring, enabling her to succeed academically despite her difficult living conditions.

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Paola's participation in speech and debate took her across the country, providing her with the platform to address important, often overlooked issues, such as the women of Ciudad Juarez. This experience not only enhanced her public speaking skills but also deepened her commitment to advocacy, inspiring her to engage with affordable housing resources in her community. Since her freshman year, Paola has mentored an elementary student through Big Brothers Big Sisters, offering support with homework and simply being there for her. This experience fueled Paola's desire to give back even more, leading her to found her school's Key Club.

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Under her leadership, the club distributed over 300 books in local parks when the Santa Ana Library closed for renovations, and since then have completed over 400 hours of community service. Paola also became a Thrive Scholar, a six-year program that helps prepare students for the rigors of college. Through this program, she spent several weeks at Amherst College, strengthening her academic foundation and working towards her goals of economic mobility and success in higher education. Paola is set to graduate as her school's valedictorian with three associate degrees in liberal arts, economics, and mathematics.

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She will continue her academic journey at Princeton University on a full-ride scholarship. She is excited to study economics with plans to pursue a master's and doctorate, Ultimately, building a career in finance to not only uplift her family, but also continue making a positive impact on her community. Paola's journey is a powerful example of resilience, dedication, and a commitment to creating positive change. On behalf of the Santa Ana City Council and myself, it is my honor to present you with this Certificate of Recognition. Congratulations and best of luck as you embark on this exciting new chapter.

David PenalozaItem 3

So let's give her a round of applause everybody.

David PenalozaItem 3

So on the subject of distributing books when our library closed, Paola, as you all know, I championed our book mobile to bring it back, now known as the Knowledge Mobile. And one of the first stops that I demanded for it to be at was Memorial Park. Park. And one of our very, very first Knowledge Mobile customers was Paola and her family and her mom and her sister, if you guys remember. And that's where I met them. I was out there making sure that the Knowledge Mobile rolled out smoothly and see what kind of engagement

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we would get. And Paola, with her family, walked up. And I still remember, I think her mom checked out one of my favorite books, The Alchemist, but she checked it out in Spanish, which was cool because I didn't know that the Knowledge Mobile offered it in Spanish. So everyone went home with the book. So I was happy to see that and that's where I met Paola. So nice to see you again. Paola is the story of

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thousands of people in our community. Like myself, like people on this dais, everyone out there.

David PenalozaItem 3

I'll say this in Spanish because I want to make sure that the parents understand fully.

David PenalozaItem 3

The effort you have made and the sacrifice, I hope you take that and know that it was not for nothing. And I always try to tell my mom, I think of her too, the same story, to flee from Mexico and come here as an immigrant and sacrifice so much so that our children can have those dreams and make them come true. Muchas gracias a ustedes por su esfuerzo y por el sacrificio que han hecho para sacar a Paola y a su familia adelante. Muchas gracias.

David PenalozaItem 3

Paola, this is for you. If you want to come up and say a few words. And familia, si ustedes también quieren decir algo, por favor. Pasen.

First of all, I want to take a moment and thank the mayor and the city council for all the work they have done to help families in Santa Ana. and for presenting me with this award. I am extremely grateful for my family, for all the works. This award is a testament to all the challenges we have faced and overcome, and everything that is still ahead. I want to thank my family, specifically my parents, for their sacrifices and their support. My community for giving me everything. I promise to continue giving back, and to the programs that have shaped who I am, such as SAUSD Speech and Debate, Nicholas Academic Centers, and ESAILI.

And I want to thank everyone who has supported me in my journey. Thank you so much.

y solo quiero dar gracias a todos. Gracias por todo el trabajo.

David PenalozaItem 3

Y que viva Guerrero. Son de Guerrero igual que yo. So, Guerrero, Mexico. All right.

Okay, we'll do one here.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Jennifer L. HallItem 3

Mayor and City Council, Council members of the public, if I could announce that Council Member Fan has rejoined the meeting via Zoom. Council Member Fan, do you have an announcement to make? Hi, everyone.

Thai Viet PhanItem 3

I'm here at John Wayne Airport waiting to board my flight, but I definitely wanted to participate as much as possible. This is an airport. There are a lot of people over the age of 18.

Jennifer L. HallItem 3

That's all I got. Thank you.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 3

All right. Thank you. this time we're going to be going to the consent calendar items i'm sorry go ahead mayor we

Jennifer L. HallItem 3

actually have the closed session report and then public comments i apologize i was trying to rush

Valerie AmezcuaItem 3

through things madam city attorney do you have anything to report out of closed session yeah

Sonia R. CarvalhoItem 3

mayor council members members of the public we do have some reportable action this evening we'd like to let the public know that we pulled item 1c the stater brothers case from the agenda as there was new information and we'll be returning to council at a later date and we also like the public to know that with respect to items three and four they were not addressed in closed session but they will be continued to the next meeting it's all the reportable action that i have

Valerie AmezcuaItem 3

thank you so much madam city attorney um public comment this is the time of the meeting for the city council to receive comments from the public on agenda and non-agenda items madam city clerk please explain the public comment procedures and call the first speakers thank you mayor pursuant

Jennifer L. HallItem 3

to resolution number 2023-047 speakers are requested to address the city council directly and refrain from profane language racial epitaphs and libelous or slanderous statements that disturb the decorum of the meeting pursuant to the brown act the city council may not enter into discussion at this time speakers will have three minutes for their comments before calling speakers i'll report the summary of emails provided as of today as of today at 2 pm city received a total of 36 36 e-comments, 34 were on non-agenda topics, and two were related to item number 16. Those were distributed to the council and posted online.

Jennifer L. HallItem 3

We'll now hear from members of the public that are physically present in the council chamber followed by those on the conference call or Zoom to provide their comments on agenda or non-agenda items. Please state your name and the ward or neighborhood that you reside in for the record. When I call your name, if you could please line up behind the podium. First two speakers, Emilio Ramirez and Sherry Kerr.

Thank you.

Dear Honorable Mayor Meskwa and members of the City Council, I'm here today as a concerned resident of Ward 3 regarding the City of Santa Ana's plan to spend $788,000 on Agenda Item 12 to widen the entire road for the 55 freeway access. While I understand the goal of improving traffic flow, extensive research shows that road widening is not a sustainable solution and often leads to more congestion, safety hazards, and long-term financial burdens. Furthermore, the city in 2016 set forth its Vision Zero plan to achieve zero fatal bicycle

and pedestrian collisions, with one of its primary objectives to prioritize traffic safety over congestion management. I would like to say that studies confirm that expanding roadways leads to what is called induced demand, meaning more lanes attract more cars, and within a few years, congestion returns to previous levels. The fundamental law of road congestion found that a 10% increase in roadway capacity lead to 10% more increase in driving, nullifying any benefits. Instead of relieving congestion, widening roads encourages more car dependence.

Also, studies show that just a 5 mph increase in speed doubles the likelihood of a fatal pedestrian collision. Santa Ana should prioritize street safety improvements over widening roads. Widening the street is extremely expensive, not just in initial cost, but in long-term maintenance. Meanwhile, it weakens local economies by making streets less walkable and reducing food traffic for businesses. Cities that prioritize walkability, protected bike lanes, and transit improvements see increased property values, stronger local businesses, and reduced infrastructure costs.

Instead of spending $788,000 in a capital investment that may lead to worse traffic and quality of life for residents, the project scope can be done cheaper and faster by deciding not to widen the road. This will reduce material and labor costs, and the community will still keep the benefit of a Class II bike lane, wider sidewalks, and landscaping. Santa Ana should be designing streets that prioritize people, not just cars. I strongly urge you to reconsider this costly widening project and put a moratorium on any new street widening projects.

It was very disappointing to see the Council approve a few weeks ago $27 million on less than a half a mile for the Bristol Phase 4 project when we are facing budgetary constraints. trains. Instead, let us pursue solutions that make Santana safer, more accessible, and more economically vibrant. Thank you for your time and leadership.

Can you hear me? Okay. I have to read from this. I am Cherie Kerr, founder and artistic director for the Orange County Crazies, which is a theater, a performance, a comedy school. at the DiPietro Performance Center located at 809 North Main next door to the Orange County School of the Arts. Together we share a parking lot. For the past year the school has designated the parking lot as a dismissal center for its students Monday through Friday between 3 and 5 p.m. This arrangement is a mess and it's extremely dangerous. I'm mostly here to talk about safety which I've heard a lot of tonight. We are concerned not only for the safety of

their students but for our students as well our patrons our clients and our employees the school has effectively closed off all three of the driveways on the property one at 8th street has cones across it little ones one with a sandwich board saying parents pickup starts here and the other the one we typically use has an exit only sign on it for two hours this has confused our people this has irritated our people and it's a roundabout thing that's very dangerous couple that with the fact that these kids are walking in and around these cars as they're moving through the lot to get in and out the street is also backed up to

Main Street the cars are backed up to Main Street and I have by the way it unrestricted unconditional easement that provides for ingress and egress to all three driveways we've had a lot of economic issues now with the crazies people don't want to come there and take classes our classes are between four and five that's when they start our students range from eight years old to 87 years old our 87 year old has stopped coming because he's very concerned about walking through the lot in that kind of configuration so we're asking we're pleading with you guys i haven't come here yet

this has been going on for a year and i have asked repeatedly for help with the situation next door This is not the first interference or difficulty we've had. We've been there since 2000. We've been in that building. I think many of you have been there. And in 2010, when the school moved in, the parking lot became a football field sometimes. It became a place where the kids were sitting in chairs. You were there. You saw it. And they were painting on easels on canvas. And there's kids sitting on the asphalt on this little brick... I don't know what you call it, it's a little stoop.

And we're very, very concerned about safety. I'm not here to give anybody a bad time. I'm asking you guys, let's take care of these children. And let's take care of the people coming and going. And as a secondary thing, I'd really like access to my property without intimidation, without being threatened that I'm gonna be arrested for turning around their exit only sign. It's the one most people come in and out of to our building. when i'm sure i can use all three my time is up yes ma'am sorry thank you for listening to me i hope you will do something we were supposed to meet last may and you cancelled

this is my 14th request mr alvaro

Jennifer L. HallItem 4

mayor and city council that concludes the public speakers that are present we will now call the one zoom speaker when unmuted please announce your name in the ward or neighborhood that you reside in within the city of santa ana for the record victor mendez

hello can you hear me yes go ahead please oh hi thanks so i just want to talk briefly about item 20. uh it's a proposal that requests 13 ftes to the water department um you know the proposal proposed purports to improve delivery of maintenance repairs and improvements in the the Santa Ana water system. And I'm not here to argue that point. Sounds like a good proposition. But however, this proposal is really lacking in some really key areas of finance. And I heard where this young lady wants to go to Princeton and study finance. Well, some of these comments

are a good lesson for her. First of all, the financials are incomplete. All you're getting getting is just the wage level, the wage amount. You don't have anything loaded for benefits. You don't have anything for the retirement expense. You have nothing regarding workers compensation. Certainly these internal workers or employees are going to need equipment and tools and of course training. None of that's included in this proposal. Also, there's just really no estimate for cost savings it's supposed to be a cost beneficial uh exercise or or strategy

but over all there is is a vague reference that the savings are longer term but what do you mean by longer term how long is it going to take to actually start recouping these costs and show some benefit back to the residents and and the businesses actually pay for this and again um These are residents and businesses that pay this jointly out of the water rates that they pay back to the city fund. The fact that it's funded by rate payers outside the general fund should preclude the inclusion of the really fundamental components of basic cost benefit analysis. Again, this is just basic. Again, I'm not disputing the intent here.

It's just that the proposal itself is just so lacking and fundamentals. So I just really recommend the council request a more complete proposal before committing harder money of residents and businesses who have to, people who have to work really hard to get where they're gotta go and to pay for the great water that we get, we do have in Santa Ana. Finally, on a side note, I just wanna encourage all residents to watch the UCLA's Women's Basketball Team, the number one team in the nation this Friday. It's been 30 years since UCLA LA took home a national basketball title and this time the women are stepping up to get this job

done. Oh and the fact the SC has stayed home and watching this on their own TV makes it all the

Jennifer L. HallItem 4

better. Take care and have a great night. Mayor and City Council that concludes the public speakers

Valerie AmezcuaItem 4

this evening. Thank you Madam City Clerk. At this time we'll be going to the consent calendar items 6-19. Consent Calendar Items 6-19 are before us. Councilmembers, please announce any items that you'll be abstaining from due to a conflict and if there are any requests to pull an item from the consent calendar for further discussion. Councilmember Hernandez.

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 6

Yes. Thank you, Madam Mayor. I'd like to pull Item 16 for a comment and then I would like to move the consent calendar and register a no on Item 12.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 6

Thank you. Councilmember Becerra.

Phil BacerraItem 6

I'll pull item 17 and then second the motion to approve the rest.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 6

I'm sorry?

Phil BacerraItem 6

Excuse me. Sorry. I said I'll pull item 17 and second the motion to approve the rest.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 6

Thank you. Council Member Lopez? No items to pull. Thank you. Council Member Panalosa?

David PenalozaItem 6

No items, Mayor.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 6

Thank you. Mayor Pro Tem? No items to pull. Thank you. Thank you. And I have no items. There is no motion. There's a motion on the floor. What about me? I'm sorry, oh, I apologize. Council Member Phan, I usually see you next to me. Council Member Phan.

Thai Viet PhanItem 6

I just need to recuse myself. I'm so sorry, I don't have the number, but it's the item involving the City of Anaheim as that's in line with my employer, Lieutenant Tucker. I'll recuse from that item, thank you.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 6

I'm sorry, I can't understand. I can't understand you.

Jennifer L. HallItem 6

I believe, correct me if I'm wrong, Council Member Phan, but you said you were recusing yourself on an item

Thai Viet PhanItem 6

pertaining to the city of anaheim yes it's the uh joint agreement with anaheim or in

Valerie AmezcuaItem 6

and a couple other cities do you have a number madam city clerk 18 18. thank you councilman um council member fan is that the only item yes boss i think i heard yes okay Okay, all right, there's a motion to approve and there's a second.

Jennifer L. HallItem 6

I'm sorry, Mayor, did you have any items?

Valerie AmezcuaItem 6

No, I'm sorry, I did not, thank you. Thank you.

Jennifer L. HallItem 6

So the motion is by Council Member Hernandez, seconded by Council Member Becerra to approve consent calendar items number six through 19 with the exceptions of items 16 and 17. We'll be doing roll call votes due to the usage of teleconference this evening. Council Member Becerra?

Phil BacerraItem 6

Yes.

Jennifer L. HallItem 6

Council Member Hernandez?

Phil BacerraItem 6

Yes. Yes.

Jennifer L. HallItem 6

Council Member Lopez. Yes. Council Member Phan.

Yes.

Jennifer L. HallItem 6

Council Member Penaleza.

David PenalozaItem 6

Yes.

Jennifer L. HallItem 6

Mayor Pro Tem Vasquez. Yes. Mayor Meskwa. Yes. Vote is seven ayes, no nays with a noted recusal by Council Member Phan on item number 18 and a recorded no vote by Council Member Hernandez on item number 12. Motion carries.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 6

Thank you, Madam City Clerk. clerk, there was appointed members today, item number nine, Alejandra Rodriguez. Alejandra, are you still here? If so, come on up, let's get you sworn in.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 6

Congratulations.

I, Alejandra Rodriguez, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution the Constitution of the United States, and the Constitution of the State of California, against all enemies, foreign and domestic,

that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of the United States, and the Constitution of the State of California, that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation, or purpose of evasion, that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties upon which I'm about to enter. Thank you.

Thank you.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 6

Okay, all right. Madam City Clerk, it's all yours.

Jennifer L. HallItem 6

Yes, Mayor Masqua, the first item pulled is item number 16 by Councilmember Hernandez.

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 6

Thank you, Madam City Clerk. I just pulled this item because I am immensely supportive of our city manager. Having gotten elected in 2020, I had the honor of working with two other city managers during my tenure, and one of the things that really excites me about our city manager Alvaro Nunez is the eight different areas of focus that he's applied to our city manager's office those areas are number one city stability number two public safety number three is legislative affairs number four is community engagement number five is fiscal responsibility number six is economic development

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 6

number seven is immigration and number eight is arts and culture these are a number of areas where our city manager has ensured to improve the city's not only services but the way that our city is able to function in these respective areas some areas that i want to highlight as a council member that are deeply important to me is the meeting efficiencies that have improved here in our city hall our city council meetings have been streamlined our members of the public have been able to you know advocate for what's important to them they've been been able to have outreach that comes directly to their backyard to engage them in budget

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processes. And more importantly, we're seeing a city council agenda that is not moving past the midnight hour. We are establishing a strong executive management team, and that is part of our city's stability plan. We have added Kat Downs as our assistant city manager, Min Tai as our assistant city manager, Sylvia Vasquez as our deputy city manager, and Robert Rodriguez as our our police chief. Furthermore, our city manager's office on the eighth floor is fully staffed. We unfortunately had a number of openings in the city manager's office that I felt

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 6

impeded our ability to effectively deliver services. Immediately, as soon as he became our city manager, he made sure to fill those positions so that we can increase our output as a city and our deliverables. When we get those calls for service, we want to be able able to to adamantly get back to our residents and more importantly deliver on their results we were able to expand quality of life team staffing we were able to train our sergeants within our police department in the area of public safety we've seen an active city attorney's office engage and work across our police department and the city of Santa Ana we're seeing focused

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enforcement we're seeing police training in the area of public works we're seeing safety fencing along bike trails that have synonymously over the last couple of years have caused concerns for each of our residents across respective wards we're now seeing these areas get the attention that they deserve from our city manager's office we're seeing a windstorm response that we once didn't see we're seeing focused bus stop cleanings Cal Optima Street Medicine program was successful under the city manager's office and I will make a motion to support the increase to our city manager and we have a motion on the

Sonia R. CarvalhoItem 6

floor before you take that action I think our city clerk has an

Jennifer L. HallItem 6

announcement on this item yes before final action of the council for item number 16 pursuant to government code section 54953 c3 an oral summary of the salary and benefits shall be made prior to final action of the council on any local agency executive approval of item number 16 includes a salary increase for the city manager resulting in an annual salary of three hundred and forty thousand two hundred dollars effective March 18th 2025 also noting for the record council member fan did board her flight and is no longer on the zoom call thank you so i have

Valerie AmezcuaItem 6

my comments and then i don't know if anybody else has them thank you councilman hernandez for pulling this item and i know you wanted just to make comments and i do as well so first of all mr city manager thank you for sharing this with us um and i do support the this item 110 percent I have not been sitting here as long as others have, but I can tell you that since you've come on as acting, and then you have now been our official city manager for, I know it seems like a lifetime, but it's only been, I think, officially six months.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 6

And in that time period, and this is the start of my third year as the mayor, you have accomplished many things with your team. and you things that people things that we're not getting done it's like you pull back a piece of the onion and underneath it you find layers upon layers upon layers of things that need to get done and corrected and we have wonderful staff and we have a great city that you you are the city manager to so you know you brought as councilman Hernandez said you brought in first and foremost our deputy city manager who she's just been phenomenal she's great

Valerie AmezcuaItem 6

to work with um and she's uh i she's part of our future you know she's you're gonna stick around for 10 years i hope mr city manager i'll be long gone by then but i'm sure our deputy city manager would be here and then you brought on mintai and cat downs and um it's the first time in the history of santa ana that we actually have that i can recall somebody correct me if i'm wrong um that that you actually have a city manager, two deputy city managers, I mean two assistant city managers and a deputy city manager. There are cities that are smaller than us that have a level of leadership like that. But when you came on,

Valerie AmezcuaItem 6

you were able to recognize the need for that. So as Councilman Hernandez mentioned, we can be more efficient, right? We're getting things done. And I really appreciate that.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 6

The clerk just announced your annual salary. It's great. The whole public world, the whole world knows about it, right? So, and I'm not ashamed of it. I also want to be clear to announce that you're not taking a car allowance. Every city manager before you has taken a car allowance, but Mr. City Manager, are you taking a car allowance?

Alvaro NuñezItem 6

No. No.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 6

And I thank you for that because that is a savings, right? And so for whatever your reason is to not do that, I appreciate that. But by all means, if next time around you want your car loan, say something. So I also wanted to bring it to people's attention. You know, if people say, well, you know, we're in a financial crisis, cause I've read articles, well, oh, Santa Ana's in a financial crisis. You know, we have been fiscally responsible up here. There are things that we can tighten up on. There are many things that we can do. But as far as having a city manager, we need a city manager who is going to take care of stuff.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 6

I'd use another word, but I can't. And that is you. Santa Monica is 16 square miles and 93,000 people. their city manager makes four hundred and ten thousand dollars a year on top of all of the car allowance and everything else right and so Santa Ana has sixteen hundred city staff Santa Monica has two thousand we're twenty seven square miles and you're gonna make three hundred forty thousand dollars a year right so I just want to just say thank you for your service I want to say

Valerie AmezcuaItem 6

say thank you for you know all the work that you do I was here yesterday when it was a holiday because I I come in to get work done and it's quiet nobody's here but who was here you and deputy city manager working all day I left at five you all were still here working and when I've spoken to you on other holidays you're here working and that says a lot right and you don't have to be but you are and so whether it's a police department cold you go to community events that city managers were not doing before you um you answer phone calls you have relationships at

Valerie AmezcuaItem 6

the federal level at the state level you've been in the city you've been an employee here 32 years so if anybody says to me well you know he doesn't have the experience well um i i could tell you that they're wrong they're wrong because in the time that you have been here these meetings that council hernandez is right they run very they run smooth and that's not because you know we don't break bread together still and that's okay i don't mind that but we get things done up here and so and that comes from you working with all seven of us not one of us but you work with all

Valerie AmezcuaItem 6

of us and if you disagree with us you you share that and I can only speak of my experience you share with me why and how and what's a better way to resolve the matter and and that's what I appreciate about your leadership is that you know you're not afraid to take things on you're not afraid to meet with all seven of us as you say you know we're your bosses we yeah we are we can sit up here and say that but on the flip side the city of Santa Ana is truly a family and yes we are the policy makers but we look to you to handle the 1600 employees and to

Valerie AmezcuaItem 6

make things happen and so we are the third largest city in this county anaheim is 54 square miles and irvine is a third of that 67 square miles and we're only 27 square miles and we're a big city and we need to start acting like a big city and that's what you have brought to us Mr. City Manager, we no longer act like we're Mikey from the cereal commercial or we're a stepchild. We act like a big city. We wear big boy pants. We go to Sacramento. We go to DC. We say thank you. We want that money. Thank you. You want to do business in our city. We're open. Thank you for

Valerie AmezcuaItem 6

this. Thank you for that. However, we're a big dog in the game. And so that wasn't the case before. SO WITH THAT, I WANT TO THANK YOU AND I SUPPORT THIS ITEM 100%. THANK YOU. ANYBODY ELSE?

Benjamin VazquezItem 6

MAYOR POTEMP. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE WORDS, MADAM MAYOR. I WANT TO ECHO EVERYTHING SHE SAID, INCLUDING COUNCILMEMBER HERNANDEZ AND HIS WORDS. BUT THE ONE THING I DO WANT TO ADD IS YOUR VISION OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND WHERE WE'RE GOING WITH THAT. AND AS WE SEE 2029 COMING AND WE'RE ON A CLIFF, WE'RE GOING TO BEAT IT. we're going to get there by building up and making sure we have the funds ready not by cutting services but making sure we grow and i love that vision that you've brought to this city and we're continuing to be with you and it's all of our responsibilities uh all my council members are

Benjamin VazquezItem 6

on board with that that vision they all have it as well so i appreciate the body and thank you to your team that you've put together they do amazing work and the morale seems to be like it's it's great and we're pushing forward so thank you for that councilman paneloso thank you madam mayor i

David PenalozaItem 6

just want to thank you mr city manager alvaro nunez for your work over the last year and for the 30 years before that as a dedicated employee of the city one thing that i don't think was mentioned is san anna resident leading this organization and i think that's very important because there's been times where I call you at 11 p.m., midnight, and my wife yells at me, she's like, don't you dare call him. And I'm like, well, I'm going to call him because there's something, and sometimes my wife says, you know what, that's an important reason to call him when we're driving around the city and see stuff going on.

David PenalozaItem 6

And he answers, whether it's 6 in the morning, 11 p.m., he answers, and he sometimes is there before the police shows up, which is very appreciated. That's how to paint a picture of how, you know, having a city manager that lives in the city is is very beneficial to this organization so thank you for your leadership and your work uh i want to let city staff know that he's doing the job we hired him to do and and are trusting him with so uh getting and i'll say it because i've said it before you get done so thank you for that uh i didn't want to say no i'll say it because i've said that

David PenalozaItem 6

before and i won't shy from it and i want to thank you for that and uh and i know that you're gonna to steer this ship accordingly and and and keep us from falling off any of those edge edgy waters off the cliff so with that mayor those are my comments

Phil BacerraItem 6

thank you Thank You councillor Becerra Thank You madam mayor and I don't want to repeat everything my colleague said I'll just say you know what is impressive about you Alvaro is the fact that you can manage to work with all seven of us and and somehow some way get get stuff done as my colleagues said um no i really appreciate it i mean it was obvious from you know just your your work with the council prior to your arrival as city manager and you continue to do the good work so thank you very much

Valerie AmezcuaItem 6

We all keep up with it. We don't have to do one site. Councilmember Lopez, please.

Jessie LopezItem 6

Yes, I'll make this super brief. But first I want to thank you for the work that you've done since being interim and then being appointed as permanent city manager to lead the city. Part of my professional background in corporate, for better or for worse, sometimes makes it challenging for me to not implement what I've learned. And part of that is just the importance of how reviews are done and also the importance of metrics. And I think for me, the 8% was just outside of the ballpark of what I wanted to see.

Jessie LopezItem 6

But that's not because I don't think that you deserve a raise. Again, I think you worked hard in the short time that you've been in your position. But there are other factors that I do have to take into consideration. And at the end of the day, I also have to be responsive to my constituents who have made it very clear to me that sometimes public service isn't or shouldn't be about how much you can make and I just want to make it clear from my perspective I don't think that's why you're in this role but again I think giving the status and other

Jessie LopezItem 6

issues I'm not going to be supporting what the council recommended but again I do I do just want to thank you for your work it doesn't mean that you are that you should not be receiving a raise and I think that's also what the council

Valerie AmezcuaItem 6

to recognize this so thank you thank you mr city manager as i my mic was off um when i was speaking i apologize um the work that you have done along with chief rodriguez thank you so very much and again i want to say what council what uh congressman correa says what does he say he says you pick up the darn phone and that's how well it is here because before nobody picked up the phone and I believe, Gasto, we picked up 21 million dollars, correct? Something like that from our congressman? 20? Alright, I'm off a million. 20 million and 25 million

Valerie AmezcuaItem 7

and that's because of relationships that you have with our congressman, whether it's Correa, Padilla, Schiff, our assembly members, CalCities, all of the above and that eight percent raise is well deserved and so with that let's prepare to vote a motion by

Jennifer L. HallItem 7

council member hernandez seconded by mayor mesqua to approve recommended action for item 16 approving a first amendment to the employment agreement between the city of santa ana and alvaro nunez and adopting a resolution of the city council of the city of santa ana to affect certain changes to the city's classification and compensation plan we do have the electronic voting available

Valerie AmezcuaItem 7

I'm going to go back to electronic because council member fan is no longer on with us.

Jennifer L. HallItem 7

That is correct. Thank you.

Jennifer L. HallItem 7

And the vote is five ayes, one nay. Nay by council member Lopez with a recorded absence by council member fan. Motion carries.

Jennifer L. HallItem 7

Mayor, the next item is item number 17 pulled by council member Becerra. Council member Becerra.

Phil BacerraItem 7

Thank you, Madam Mayor. Mayor. So this item is to award a construction contract for Fire Station 70 up on Old Grand. This item asks our council to amend the 2024-2025 capital improvement program to include $716,000 in construction funds for this fire station construction project. One of the reasons I pulled this item i support the item but i just want to take the opportunity to echo or reiterate excuse me reiterate that we need to have a long-term plan when it comes to our fire stations

Phil BacerraItem 7

we need something comprehensive that assesses all of them kind of similar to what we did for our parks master plan so i just want to take this opportunity to again emphasize how important this is because as we've seen lately it's important that we have very very adequate fire stations and fire infrastructure so with that I'll go

David PenalozaItem 7

ahead and move the item I'll second any comments I just want to say that I concur with the council member Becerra in his role as a council member and as chair of the OCFA Authority I know that there are a couple of fire stations in my district that look just from the outside that they're there they need a lot of uh tlc so i think it this warrants a a full um study on all the fire stations in our city um those are

Jessie LopezItem 7

my comments mayor thank you thank you councilwoman lopez yes super supportive of this item um thank you chief henry and to everybody else that worked on this um for a while now because when i toured this firehouse which is in worth three it was pretty outdated and so I know a couple of them are and so you know meeting talking to some of the firefighters that work there recognizing that they need some of these improvements to happen in order for them to be in a productive conducive environment in order for them to carry out their duties was important to me and

Jessie LopezItem 7

so of course I'm super happy to be supportive of this request and thank you to everybody that worked on it

Valerie AmezcuaItem 7

good no okay

Jennifer L. HallItem 7

a motion by council member becerra seconded by mayor mesqua to approve the recommended actions for item number 17 inclusive of determining the actions are exempt from further review pursuant to sequa vote is five eyes no nays with absences by council members hernandez and fan motion carries great thank you mayor and city council that concludes the consent

Valerie AmezcuaItem 7

calendar this evening all right at this time we're going to the business calendar item number 20 is the fiscal year 2425 to create a construction services section and add 13 full-time positions may you please have the staff report does the council need the staff report would like the staff report no i mean i read it so all right no all right let's repair is there a motion i'll make a motion second seconded by mayor comment you have a comment councilman always not here i can't say

Phil BacerraItem 7

it to him but um alvaro i wanted to thank you uh for bringing this item forward i frankly can't believe we didn't have this before um it's amazing that we were relying so much on outside consultants for a lot of the work that we need done very quickly so i just want to thank staff for bringing this item forward and looking forward to supporting it thank you thank you no other comments let's

Jennifer L. HallItem 7

prepare to vote please a motion by mayor mesquite seconded by mayor protean vasquez to adopt a resolution of the city council of the city of santa ana to amend the current fiscal year 2024-25 annual budget to add full-time positions in the public works agency

Jennifer L. HallItem 7

vote is six eyes no nays with an absence by council member fan motion carries

Valerie AmezcuaItem 7

thank you item number 21 is the omnibus amendments to chapter 2 of the santa ana municipal code does that does council need a report

Phil BacerraItem 7

say none is there a motion i'll move it with uh um i'll move it but with one condition and that is um so on uh section 2-331.5 and that's the um portion regarding the personnel board and their meeting frequency, I would like to add to the end of that particular section and may hold up to two additional meetings per month. That's my motion. Other than that, I just want to say thank you, staff. Thank you, city attorney, for putting that together for us. And this is great cleanup language that we really needed. So thank you.

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 7

I'll second your motion and support the amendment.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 7

So I just have a question, Mr. City Manager. SO YOU WILL BE HAVING ADDITIONAL MEETINGS, CORRECT?

Alvaro NuñezItem 7

YES, THIS PROVIDES FOR A STRUCTURAL, ACTUALLY, DESIGNATED MEETINGS. SO THE ADDITIONAL MEETINGS THAT SHE RECOMMENDS IS SOMETHING THAT IF THE PERSONNEL BOARD REQUIRES IT, THEY CAN HAVE ADDITIONAL MEETINGS.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 7

RIGHT, AND I KNOW YOU SAID UP TO. I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE, BECAUSE THERE'S SOME CASES THAT HAVE BEEN LINGERING FOR QUITE SOME TIME, AND SO IF THEY HAVE TWO MEETINGS A MONTH, I THINK WE CAN GET THROUGH THINGS QUICKER. I'm quicker. Please provide that structure. I only bring it up for the public and understand what we're doing.

Sonia R. CarvalhoItem 7

And even without the language, the Brown Act allows any legislative body of the city, city council or commissions or boards to call special meetings. So even without this language, if they feel it's necessary to hold an additional hearing, they are allowed to do that and their secretary can post that as a special meeting.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 7

No, I realize that and thank you for sharing this for the public, but they don't tend to do that, some commissions and boards. So this allows us to try to fit nicely. I'm not like council panelist almost I'm gonna try to say it nicely we want to get stuff done yes so thank you for bringing this provides a structure yes there was a motion and a second

Jennifer L. HallItem 7

it's the motion by councilmember Becerra seconded by councilmember Hernandez to introduce for first reading and ordinance of the City Council of the City of Santa Ana amending chapter 2 of the Santa Ana Municipal Code as to section 2-3 to 8 regarding meetings chairperson and recording secretary of appointive boards and commissions adding section 2-331.5 entitled meetings amending the title of article vii of chapter 2 amending section 2-748 regarding city manager contracting authority adding section 2-749 regarding city attorney and city clerk contracting authority and repealing

Jennifer L. HallItem 7

section 2-107 regarding prohibited campaign contributions as amended to add additional language to section 2-331-5 to add language saying that they may hold up to two additional meetings

Valerie AmezcuaItem 7

per month for the personnel board thank you madam clerk vote please

Jennifer L. HallItem 7

vote is six eyes no nays with the recorded absence by councilmember fan motion carries ordinance is introduced thank you at this time we are going to

Valerie AmezcuaItem 7

city manager comments mr city manager can we please have your comments

Alvaro NuñezItem 7

So, March 27, we had our growth conference with the Chamber of Commerce, where we announced many of our continued growth and development. And the key focus, as we continue to work with the Chamber and our development community, is to indicate the fact, as Mayor Pro Tem indicated, that we are open for business. we're trying to highlight some of our key exceptions and again we highlight our PBX with the folks that's what we're trying to curtail that component and again some of the key developments occurring within the city in addition for those where they were around this weekend we had the Saguaro Expo

Alvaro NuñezItem 7

business Expo a cultural event this is the first annual and for people that that attendants were very well attended. Many, many people came. And the key component, and this is what happens when we do actually the active sister city type of event is that many times we always look at something that's cultured, especially with sister cities as an engagement between two cities from different countries. Our idea is to make sure that we have a mutual benefit, an economic benefit. and I think this past weekend we demonstrated that component where we were

Alvaro NuñezItem 7

able to bring again the president of Sahuayo many of the businesses they connected with key business here in the city including a Northgate so it's an ongoing component to the generous sales tax for us so next year we hope to do better and again is making sure that our our business in Santa Ana connects with people from Sahuayo not for one weekend but for a continual evolution of economic gains right in addition april 19 we're going to have earth day arbor day tree planting that's that's a saturday we'll work with each council member in their ward to have

Alvaro NuñezItem 7

folks participate and each you know ward have their own tree planting events so it's going to be a little bit of a of an organizer or an effort but again it's seven wards and seven planting opportunities so that's the key and so we're looking forward to that and as a last but not least this April the 5th we're gonna have the memorial parks Aquatics Center groundbreaking this is an event that's been promised what 20 years comes from open a little stuff 25 years so we are moving with that and so if you notice we're doing a groundbreaking with Wesley see folks

Alvaro NuñezItem 7

working which is not always the case so this is this is one of our key events and thank you mayor so I'm 16 today really appreciate the mayor the mayor for Tim the city council for the comments thank you mr. city manager

Jessie LopezItem 7

councilmember Lopez yes so we want I want to announce our hosting monthly office hours again this time it'll be in Edna Park on April 12th at 9 a.m. and and our social media channels. I also just wanna thank staff for all the work that they did with the Cultural and Business Expo that just took place with our sister city, Saguayo. It was really nice to be there for the opening ceremony, for the closing ceremony, and I know that staff worked really hard.

Jessie LopezItem 16

Our economic development team, my executive secretary was there all three days, and so I was really glad that they also got the day off for Cesar Chavez Day because it was supposed to end at a certain time and then it was extended because there were so many people there and so I think that really speaks to the market that we were able to capitalize on and also just tells us that there's a need for more and to make it bigger and better next year whenever we host it again and I do want to thank the delegation of Sehwail, the president of the wild always so professional kind and just a joy to be around and lastly as the city manager

Jessie LopezItem 16

mentioned there's going to be tree planting ceremonies throughout the entire city for earth day which you all know how important it has been for our office and i really want to thank parks and recs and public works for helping us with those efforts and in war three you can expect a tree planting ceremony at santiago park and at cabrillo park so thank you and i hope that we see you all participating at the tree planting ceremonies have a good night councilman panalosa

David PenalozaItem 16

thank you madam mayor um i just want to reiterate again thank you city staff and city manager you just mentioned that memorial park over 25 years in the making bristol street over 30 years in the making centennial park improvements over 10 years in the making so these are all things that the council has prioritized over the last couple of decades and we finally have somebody that really is is uh making them happen so thank you thank you thank you um i also want to announce that at the last city council meeting on march 18th if you all recall i abruptly left midway didn't want to

David PenalozaItem 16

because i wanted to really partake in the budget discussion but my wife had reached out to me that her contractions were were getting very close and uncomfortable so so I left and I'm happy to announce and excited and proud that my we welcomed our second child my son our son Lucas Elias Pena Lhosa at about 345 in the morning so about five hours after I left the City Council meeting I did have this I was listening to it for about two hours at the hospital room then I was yelled at by my wife and and the nurses that came in so i did shut it off and but i tried to to listen as

David PenalozaItem 16

much as i can but our son is healthy mom is healthy he was born march 19th shares a birthday with his grandpa and 19 inches 6.1 pounds and and penny little penelope was very excited and happy to meet him uh so we're all happy and healthy and and just wanted to make that announcement for the record and yes please join us this Saturday at 10 in the morning at Memorial Park for the groundbreaking ceremony of this long-awaited reconstruction of our of our Aquatic Center Memorial Park it's intended to be the flagship Aquatic Center for the city so we're excited to finally break ground

David PenalozaItem 16

in that and seeing the movement and and and speed of that construction and demolition take place over the last couple of months has been great to see and refreshing. So thank you city staff, thank you Public Works and Parks and Rec for your leadership there. With that said, Mayor, those are my comments. Thank you.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 16

Thank you very much. Councilman Hernandez?

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 16

Thank you, Madam Mayor. I just wanted to start by thanking our city staff and our members of the public who tuned into today's council meeting. We thank you for your participation and your comments. I particularly would like to thank our city manager for his leadership and his work. today we were able to to vote in favor of that increase and I believe it is important that we reward our workers and we celebrate just how demanding the city of Santa Ana is and when we have a executive manager who is willing to not only work with all seven of us and how diverse those demands are but being able

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 16

to offer those essential services that our residents need making sure that our Our streets are cleaned, our sidewalks are paved, making sure that construction that has historically been neglected, like the restrooms at El Salvador Park, are prioritized. So I wanna personally tell you, as an elected that represents over 30,000 residents in my district, thank you. The work that you've done has improved the quality of life for residents in my district, and we just wanna tell you we're thankful. I also, on that note, want to highlight that this Friday, April 4th,

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 16

We are going to be hosting an event at Angels Park, and this is going to be with UCI Playful Learning Landscapes, as well as Santa Ana Early Learning Initiative, and the Flower Park, and Downtown Neighborhood Association. We're going to be having an outstanding event celebrating new playground equipment that is installed at Angels Park. This playground equipment was installed at no cost to the community, and it will combine play and learning. And as we know, education is a social determinant over a person's lifetime. So if we can give children access to education early on, I believe that'll prepare them for the next 80 years.

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 16

If we can also highlight some of the good work that Parks and Rec is doing, of course we have the Aquatic Center happening this Saturday. We also have El Salvador Park, the opening for the garden, the community garden. Parks and Rec is doing a double header. They're doing El Salvador Park and the Aquatic Center. We also have the Thrive Micro Farm, which will be opening on April 5th, 2025, here in Ward 5. And we also have a brand new pizza restaurant in downtown, Santos Pizza, will be having their grand opening at 307 West 3rd Street.

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 16

And on a more somber note, I would like to respectfully request my colleagues for us to close our meeting today in memory of a Santa Ana employee, Isidro Sid Pineda. He was a sanitation inspector with our city since 2009 and he passed away peacefully at his home on Friday. He was a member of SEIU Local 721 and he was a member of the Santa Ana Chapter Board. And as an employee who worked for our city since 2009, I had the privilege of meeting him over the years that I've served here as a council member. And I just want to say may he rest in peace. He will be remembered for the great work that he did here in Santa Ana.

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 16

And my condolences to his family and to his brothers and sisters of SEIU. Thank you.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 17

Thank you, Council Member Hernandez. And thank you for recognizing Sid and closing in his honor. Council Member Becerra.

Phil BacerraItem 17

Thank you, Madam Mayor. And I would like to also congratulate Kim and David on welcoming your new baby boy. Congratulations. Congratulations. I want, you know, the city manager brought up the Swayo Expo and I wanted to thank Assistant City Manager Minh Thai. One thing that we've seen, so first of all, I'm very happy to say that the Expo was held in Ward 4 over at the Hotel Zesa. But the hotel has limited parking and so sometimes they use parking further down First American Way. And unless you're a hiker, it's not an ideal trek between that parking and the hotel.

Phil BacerraItem 17

tell but uh director i'm sorry director getting mixed up there um assistant city manager ty uh just jumped out there and helped make sure that we had a very nice safe sidewalk it'll help our city attorney not have to worry about too many trip and fall cases so thank you for that uh again assistant city manager ty uh also i wanted to actually thank staff as well our city manager our police chief our finance director our let's see who else was there we had planning planning as well I wanted to thank all of you guys

Phil BacerraItem 17

for being there at our March 26 community meeting that we held with the South Coast neighborhood and the Sandpoint neighborhood very productive a lot of dialogue about all those topics the budget as well also safety and that brings me to my next topic which is the oc flood control channel adjacent to flower i want to thank the city manager and the mayor for making sure that we got that fence built i believe that we have an agreement with the county and it looks like we've fulfilled our portion of that agreement so i'm looking forward to seeing a supervisor sarmiento and county staff helping to make sure

Phil BacerraItem 17

that that county flood control channel stays free and clear of debris that would be very appreciated appreciated and let me just be clear I don't care how much the county spends just keep it clean that's all you could spend 14 million you can spend 14 billion just keep it clean the people don't care how much you're spending you're not going to get a gold star for that just please keep it free and clear we've already had two kids assaulted from people that were able to trespass into that channel. Please keep it clean. On another note, speaking of criminals, I would like to ask that with Prop 36 passing with such overwhelming support,

Phil BacerraItem 17

our State Senator Tom Umberg is pushing a bill, Senate Bill 28, and that bill will help to implement treatment courts as demanded by Prop 36. So there are those out there that tried to say that the Prop 36 was just going to be another war war on drugs, going back to the 80s, and that is absolutely a lie. We know that Prop 36 is a much better alternative. It involved having treatment-mandated felonies, which would mean getting folks into treatment, and if they were able to complete that treatment, then the felonies would be washed from their record. But you need to actually implement it.

Phil BacerraItem 20

So the voters have spoken, and I appreciate Senator Umberg for doing what he's doing by introducing Senate Bill 28 and I am very enthusiastic about supporting that. One more thing I want to express my support for is the Orange County School of the Arts. The Santa Ana Unified School District is in my opinion trying to balance the budget on the backs of one of the best schools in the entire state if not the country. They're right here in Santa Ana and instead of partnering with OSHA it's almost like they want to put them out of business and that would be such a blow to our city

Phil BacerraItem 20

and the entire county so I am hopeful that the Santa Ana Unified School District will be able to work with OSHA and come to an agreement so that OSHA can continue to just thrive and send so many wonderful kids both from Santa Ana and throughout Orange County to universities all all around the country and God forbid, get them on TV or radio or anywhere else where they can perform and let their talents shine. Lastly, I will be hosting my monthly office hours on Saturday, April 5th at 10 a.m. at George Upton All Access Park over at Thornton Park. Good night, everybody.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 21

Thank you, Mayor Pro Temp.

Benjamin VazquezItem 21

Thank you, Madam Mayor. Congratulations, I wanna say to David and Kim, to your beautiful son Lucas Elias. Congratulations, it's great to see you this happy. I like that smile. As well, I went to the growth conference and the optimism that we had and the reports were great. I love it that we have this economic environment in Santana and I did meet with a high school friend of mine who's a regional director of Bear Paint. And he went, he played water polo with me, We knew his whole family. And I just wanted to say, bear paint is homemade here in Santa Ana. When I went to go get my house painted,

Benjamin VazquezItem 21

and I was at Home Depot, they're like, which paint do you want? You can get that cheap one, or this bear paint that's gonna last you longer. I'm like, I'll pay for the bear paint because it's gonna last me longer and it's great. So bear paint is our paint. It's made here in Santa Ana. So we support anybody, any company here in Santa Ana, for sure. So thank you, Vincent, for taking the time to talk to me. The Saguaro Expo was great. I loved it. We are really, truly Pueblo Magico Santana. We are Pueblo Magico, and whether we get that or not, we are already that.

Benjamin VazquezItem 21

We are a beautiful city, and I appreciate it, and I hope we can work on it with the government of Mexico. In my last speaking notes, you know, I've been so much more busier, and I want to thank my office aide Karina Romero for doing all the work so much things we've organized with the neighborhoods we've got them dumpsters we have resource fairs some neighborhoods want neighborhood watches we're gonna support them if they need that and we want to support neighborhoods that have gone dormant or working on making sure they all meet so thank you not only just got you know the metal but all our all our aides you're the

Benjamin VazquezItem 21

the unspoken heroes of the city, you guys, all of you, all of your aides do good work and they're hardworking people. And with that, thank you and good night.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 21

Thank you, Mayor Protem, I appreciate it. And you are right, our aides are the unsung heroes that people don't really talk about. I know that I, I think I have the best one, but whatever, I'm a little biased. So, but I can tell you that, you know, mine is busier than i am and she does so much for me and i appreciate everything that she does and so thank you claudia for everything um okay so my comments so wow this weekend amazing you know the business expo wonderful i can i can everybody said it it was just great and i want to really thank

Valerie AmezcuaItem 21

anna and gabby and all the other city staff that really went above and beyond made it successful and I know there's so many people that really just made it wonderful and the shuttle and having the hotel Zesa yes it's in councilman Becerra's ward we won't hold that against them but it was there were so many people on next year it'll be bigger and so I was very pleased and as you had indicated you know IKEA was there and Northgate and some other businesses so really happy I'm happy about that and I just, I wanna thank everybody who made it happen. And I know it didn't happen overnight. There was a lot of planning

Valerie AmezcuaItem 21

and people involved in that planning. And so thank you to all the city staff and Mr. City Manager, your leadership with your team. Thank you for everything. And I know you were there all weekend. I was there opening day and I know Claudia was there for me the other days, but you got your staff, you guys were there all weekend. So I, and I know you didn't rest yesterday cause you guys were here. So, but thank you for everything. It was wonderful. And Manuel and Jimena are just, and all of them, they're happy. They're just so happy. So great, wonderful. The GROW conference, you know, I was there with the Mayor Pro Tem

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and Councilman Becerra. It was great. It always is a wonderful event. But we made it clear to let people know that Santa Ana's open for business. And so we wanted them to know that. And so we should put that everywhere, all over the city. We're open for business. Only good businesses, of course.

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before i go any further i do want to announce that on march 26 i attended i through ab 329 need to report that i was in sacramento testifying on senate bill 329 with senator blakespeare and it was regarding legislation to ensure timely investigation of complaints against alcohol and drug treatment facilities and sober living homes because as we know many things are occurring in these programs and we have them here in santa ana so we're hoping that things go well with that bill so that we can have some local oversight as well right some local control and

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thank you to senator umberg as councilman becerra indicated with prop 36 with his bill senate bill 28 really appreciate always his support i also have the privilege of attending the league of cities policy committee meeting in burbank and i sit on the public safety committee It's a good committee to be on. We talk about policies and resources for quality of life and cleanup bills. And one of them was about law enforcement, one of the bills, and it was really a cleanup bill that we all voted on. And it was to not make it easier to hire police officers, but looking at what are the requirements for police officers.

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And thank you, Chief, for being available when I call and ask the questions about it. Hopefully you'll be with me at the next meeting. I am not the expert, but I do learn something new from you and your staff and from these committee meetings. So I really appreciate it. We had a Morrison Park Neighborhood Association meeting. It was super cool. A lot of people. Thank you, Cesar, to you and your staff for coming out and giving us a tour of Well 39. Everybody was so impressed. So impressed. It looks great. They finished that well quick because they knew we were coming.

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You must have told them, Mr. City Manager, we were coming, or Cesar did. But the well looks beautiful. And then when we shared with the community how many wells are located in our city, everybody was shocked. And so we did offer a tour of the water district. So people want to take that. So I'm sure we'll be doing that soon. Coffee with the Mayor two weeks ago was at the Boys and Girls Club here in Santa Ana on Highland. Thank you to all the city staff that come out on a Saturday, answer the questions, share with our community the good the bad and sometimes the ugly and thank you

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to all of you the police department Mike Hawk Nabil everybody who comes out the city manager staff everybody a Menti was there this time so he got the little hit back and forth a little bit but overall it's pretty positive the big issues are always parking homeless police right Mike it's about it and then Hawk gives almost the closing right to talk about all the wonderful things that we're doing at parks so we can't wait for the butterflies to come back because they are coming back and i cannot wait um tree planting event i'm so excited we were originally going to do a mayor's tree

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planting day but i was like i'll share the love so because i had already put it on the books i'll share the love with the entire city council because council becerra panelists are going to join me so let's just share with everybody so i'm super excited about it on april 19th i will be at on Santiago Park planting trees. And if you all remember Iker, who came to do the Pledge of Allegiance with me, he's working with Wyatt, our youth commissioner. Iker has a tree that's about this big now, and he's super excited to plant his tree. And he's been asking me for two years to plant his tree.

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So we're going to plant it at Santiago Park and Morrison Park. We got a couple we got a guy, a gentleman who donated some trees. So we're really excited about that as well. All right, the last thing I'll close with is really important. Do not forget to take the city budget survey. Do not forget, please. Those of you that are watching from home, I know, Mr. City Manager, we're putting it out there. We need to put it out there more and more and more. We need people to take that survey. It is until when, Kat?

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End of April?

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and then we'll hold it over a little bit. Okay, so we're gonna hold it over. It'll end in April, but then we'll hold it over a little bit. So everywhere I go, I give the cards out, every Coffee with the Mayor, Neighborhood Association, community meeting, Passamata gas station, Passamata churches, please take the budget survey because what you want, what's important to you is important to us. And I say that because Mr. City Manager, I'm sure you saw the article today in the register about the county and their freeze, hiring freeze, and cutting vacant positions. And it was in today's Orange County Register, and it was a good article,

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and I think as we move forward in the budget, I don't mean to be closing comments as a buzz killer, but as we move forward in the budget, we need to remember it's kind of like a family. When a crisis hits or we're hitting a budget issue, you have to decide what is a priority. DO WE PAY OUR MORTGAGE OR OUR RENT OR DO WE GO ON VACATION? SO HOW DO WE TIGHTEN UP OUR BUDGET HERE IN SANTA ANA? WHAT VACANT POSITIONS DO WE HAVE THAT WE CAN TAKE OFF OUR BOOKS, RIGHT? WHAT DEPARTMENTS ARE YOU LOOKING AT? AND I KNOW YOU'RE DOING ALL OF THAT. I THINK COUNCIL PENALOSA TALKED ABOUT WE WON'T YOU USUALLY JUST INTERRUPT ME, BUT OKAY. THANK YOU.

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THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE NOT GOING TO BE GOING OFF THAT CLIFF EVEN THOUGH THERE'S BEEN two articles and two different blogs about you know we're looking at a fiscal crisis somebody asked at morrison park you know are we in a fiscal crisis i think there's a lot of cities that can be heading that way maybe heading that way but i want i have faith and i want to believe as mayor pro tem had mentioned you're already addressing those issues with your team and all the executive team we're looking at where we tighten up how do we do this where we cut do we need all these consultants that's why today the ten man crew man woman crew

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was approved I don't think we need consultants to pay them four hundred thousand dollars to draw us a picture of a project we don't need that so you're tightening the belt take it off use it in a good way because when Measure X does sunset we want to be I won't be up here but others will be up here and you want them to be able to say we've been working on this since 2025 and we're ready and so I want our constituents I want the community to know that it is like a family for anybody up here that has a family or pays bills or owns a

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home or just has a budget sometimes you have to tighten the belt and you have to say no i can't go to starbucks every single day and spend five dollars on coffee that i need to make coffee at home and here's why and no we're not going to spend 200 a week on groceries where are we going to cut and you had indicated we have 1600 staff i'm not asking please don't go home anybody and say we're cutting staff i didn't say that what i'm saying is you are evaluating evaluating everything because we are in budget season and you have Kat and her staff expertise to guide us and I'm looking forward to the budget this year

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because we are gonna start to tighten the belt and we should because we need to. And so we'll keep watching, we all will. And then Councilman Penalosa wanted me to announce that April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, April 30th is Denim Day. Please do not forget that and I would really like us to if we could please light up the tower for teal Teal tonight if we could do we have teal? Does anybody know if we can light it up, please? For sexual assault awareness month is any council member object to that if not?

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Okay, we can do that. Please this meeting is adjourned and we'll see you on April 15. Thank you

Thank you.

Thank you.