Read the August 5 meeting.

CALL CALL CALL CALL CALL CALL CALL CALL CALL CALL CALL CALL CALL CALL CALL CALL CALL CALL CALL CALL CALL CALL CALL CALL CALL CALL CALL CALL

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

guitar solo

Thank you.

© transcript Emily Beynon

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

guitar solo

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

guitar solo

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

© transcript Emily Beynon

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

guitar solo

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Jennifer L. Hall

You can go ahead Mayor.

Valerie Amezcua

I hereby call the Santa Ana City Council meeting to order. This meeting has taken 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. site please bear with us as the technology may disrupt the flow of the meeting madam clerk please

Jennifer L. Hall

conduct the roll call councilmember becerra here councilmember hernandez councilmember lopez councilmember penalosa councilmember fan here mayor paton vasquez president mayor mesqua here

Valerie Amezcua

four members that is a quorum thank you madam clerk are there any additions or deletions to

Jennifer L. Hall

the closed session agenda yes mayor and city council we do have one item 1b a workers workers compensation claim has been withdrawn by staff.

Valerie Amezcua

Great thank you. Do any council members need to announce their abstentions on closed session items?

Valerie Amezcua

Hearing none do we have any speakers for closed session?

Jennifer L. Hall

Mayor and City Council we do not have any in person or Zoom speakers and we did not receive any e-comments related to the closed session agenda items.

Valerie Amezcua

At this time we'll go into closed session and we'll be back. Thank you.

Thank you.

guitar solo

guitar solo

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

© transcript Emily Beynon

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

guitar solo

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

guitar solo

Thank you.

guitar solo

guitar solo

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

guitar solo

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

© transcript Emily Beynon

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

guitar solo

guitar solo

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

guitar solo

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

guitar solo

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

© transcript Emily Beynon

Thank you.

Good night.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

guitar solo

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

guitar solo

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

guitar solo

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

guitar solo

Thank you.

Thank you.

© transcript Emily Beynon

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

guitar solo

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

guitar solo

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Valerie Amezcua

Thank you.

Valerie Amezcua

Okay, Mayor, you're good to go. Let's start the meeting. I hereby reconvene the Santa Ana City Council meeting to order.

Valerie Amezcua

Go ahead, Madam Clerk.

Jennifer L. Hall

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. This is a meeting to conduct the business of the city. City. There is an opportunity to call for a recess or break or even to clear the meeting room if a meeting becomes too disruptive to properly conduct business. Warnings will be provided prior to any action being taken. We appreciate your cooperation.

Jennifer L. Hall

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 walls of the Council Chamber, or in front of entrances and exits. During City Council presentations and oaths of office, guests of individuals being recognized are invited to come to the front to take photos.

Jennifer L. Hall

Madam Clerk can you conduct the roll call please? Yes thank you Mayor. Council Member Becerra? Here. Council Member Hernandez? Here. Council Member Lopez? Here. Council Member Penalosa? Present. Council Member Phan? Here. Mayor Pro Tem Vasquez? Present. Mayor Meskwa? Present. All seven members are present.

Valerie Amezcua

Madam Clerk before we proceed to the Pledge of Allegiance please make an announcement.

Jennifer L. Hall

For members of the public on Zoom or teleconference to request to speak during public comments on agenda or non-agenda items within the City's jurisdiction, you must dial star 9 from your phone or click the button labeled raise hand in Zoom now in order to be in the speaker queue once public comments commence. Thank you. Thank you very much.

Valerie Amezcua

All right. Let's do the Pledge of Allegiance. Can I have one of you officers please come up and lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance? Not everybody run at once. someone thank you so very much

right hand over your heart ready again I pledge allegiance to the flag the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you.

Valerie Amezcua

Words of inspiration will be provided by Chaplain Bob Barnett. Thank you, sir.

Thank you. You know, a search of our inspiration comes from different places, different times, and today was peculiar for me. I decided to clean out a drawer. When I did that, after you've been married 50 years and been in ministry 52 years, you accumulate a lot of things. But one thing I found today I want to bring to you because I want to pass this blessing through you to other people, everybody you meet, not just here, but those that are present in the room. I pulled out a shirt. Now, they looked at it, it took me back in time. I'd been speaking at a camp. A lot of people were going through

difficulty, facing depression, and I was addressing the issue of depression, which hits so many of us at many times in our life. We go through the traumas of losing a loved one, job or health but it takes a toll and in that time one of my sons was present as a young man he was there listening to me and was paying attention to so many other people I was wondering after it was over what he got from it but I was explaining to the people what depression is in simple terms I said you know when you're in a depression remember it's a terrain term

it's a low place and sometimes when things go wrong it's like we have an emotional crater we're trapped in when you're down low like that it's hard to see the horizon see the future i said take someone to help you to inspire you to encourage you to lift you to where you can look beyond the walls of that which tries to define you when you get those people around you before long you can see that there is a future and there is a hope because hope is the future gaze of faith you look down the road and you see i didn't realize the effect it had on my son until i got home and a couple days later he

made me a t-shirt kind of peculiar one but he had a statement on the front of it it said hope dealer

and i go what do you mean he says that's what you do And you know what? That's what I've always hoped to do. But I didn't realize how powerful it was needed until the next day I put it on and I started walking around with it in public. When people would see it, at first they'd see the end of it and they were wondering what it was until they saw it was hope. Hope dealer. And I had people walk up and say, I need that right now. I need that. and I was surprised that everywhere I went that phrase got so much attention so if I could give a word of inspiration to all of us our whole city really our

world did we bring brighter days to people help them see ahead of the problems they face it beyond the hurts so I'm gonna say a simple prayer and ask God to bless through us all of us in our city that tomorrow we meet people even Even tonight, bring a word of encouragement to them. Try to help them smile. Lift them so they can see beyond the problems. Lord God, I thank you for the men and women of our city, our city council members, our mayor, all that serve in our community. I'm thankful for them, Lord. Ask a blessing on them that you would work through them. You'd make a difference through all of us.

Lord, we would all be a word of encouragement wherever we go. I'm thankful for the talents and gifts in this room. I'm thankful for those that will be honored tonight and those that will have the privilege of speaking and sharing. But Lord, bless through us in your name. Amen.

Valerie Amezcua

Well, that was very powerful. Thank you, Chaplain Burnett, very much. Madam Clerk, are there any additions or deletions to the agenda? There are none. All right. We're going to do the ceremonial presentations. Mayor Pro Tem, you want to flip a coin? Who goes first?

Valerie Amezcua

All right. Let's do it. I'm going to go first. Can I have the CULT team join me, please?

Valerie AmezcuaItem 1

So before I start, we've had colds for several years now, Mr. City Manager. Since when?

More than five years.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 1

More than five years. And I don't believe they've ever been recognized for all the great work that they do. And so I wanted to recognize them because we see them and we see the truck and I don't know if anybody stops to say thank you. And I've been on a ride along with them and I see what they do day in and day out. And so I wanted to take a moment to thank each and every one of you for everything that that you do because you just work and we don't stop to say thank you. So let me read this. And Chief, I have to tell you, when I went on my ride along, I was just so impressed. And so touched by, it wasn't just going out there

Valerie AmezcuaItem 1

and arresting people, they were offering services and they were talking to them and they were doing things that I would say a lot of the community, the community doesn't know what they do. They're not just policemen arresting people, they're trying to help them. And so I really was, I knew that that's what they did, but for me to see it, and it wasn't an act because I wasn't with all of them, I kind of just showed up different places. And so they do a phenomenal job.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 1

So today it is my honor as the Mayor of Santa Ana to recognize the extraordinary efforts of one of the city's most impactful collaborations. A partnership I am proud to say is well known to our businesses and our residents. The Santa Ana Quality of Life team, commonly referred to as CULT, has been working for our community since 2018, bringing together the Police Department, Public Works, Code Enforcement, City Attorney's Office, Parks and Rec, and our contractor Landscape West in a unified mission to enhance public safety, revitalize public spaces, and improve the

Valerie AmezcuaItem 1

quality of life for every resident in our city. CULT's success is not found in the work of one entity but in the power of collaboration and how each partner embraces their shared responsibilities to carry out the day-to-day work that this team addresses

Valerie AmezcuaItem 1

this dedicated network of public servants and contractors each play in a vital role provides enforcement cleanup legal support or community outreach representing the very best of what can be accomplished when departments and partners work together toward a common goal.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 1

In the past year alone, 16,207 encampment-related service requests were submitted through the MySan Ana app. Let me say that again, in the past year alone. That is just over 44 service requests per per day. Each of those issues was addressed through joint efforts led by Colt, resulting in extensive cleanups of encampments throughout the city. From those cleanups, over 1,500 tons of debris were removed. 1,500 tons of debris. To put that into perspective, that volume of trash

Valerie AmezcuaItem 1

would cover the entire surface of the Eddie Westfield Stadium in three feet of debris. Let that sink in for a moment. That's the magnitude of the work being done and the scale of the problems being solved every day. In addition to cleanup operations, the team has also addressed public safety head-on, making over 1,800 arrests, including 140 felony arrests, as part of their mission to restore order and peace in neighborhoods affected by chronic nuisance activity and criminal behavior. behavior. None of this happens by chance. It happens because of collaboration. It happens

Valerie AmezcuaItem 1

because Colt, Landscape West, Public Works, Parks and Rec, Code Enforcement, and City Attorney's Office come together every day with a shared purpose to serve this community with pride, urgency, and accountability. To every individual involved in this operation, your work is not just seen, it is deeply appreciated. You are restoring neighborhoods, rebuilding public trust, and making Santa Ana stronger. One response, one cleanup, one connection at a time.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 1

And I know some people will say, well, Mayor, we still have a homeless problem. We still have an issue. Yes, we will, and we will continue. But these officers and Parks and Rec and the city attorney's office and everybody that's part of the colt team will continue to work and do this work every single day seven days a week so congratulations to the entire team this truly is what public service looks like and you are truly making a difference in our city and so i want to thank you all very very much from the bottom of my heart for everything that you do As you know, I'm a regular caller, huh, Sergeant? I call all the time.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 1

And I call them and they respond. And I know I do the My Santa Ana app, and now it's in Spanish, English, and Vietnamese. And they respond. And the businesses, they respond. I can't speak for the other council members, but I know the council members that I do speak with on a regular basis. We forward our emails to the police department and to Colt and they take care of it. I just have to say that they do a phenomenal job, these officers and they go home with their families at the end of the day and that's what we want them to do every single day we want them to go home with

Valerie AmezcuaItem 1

their families so before I call chief or and one of you to come up to speak I'd like to the deputy chiefs to join us as well please deputy chief Andrade deputy chief Al Elms and deputy chief Rodriguez did I get there right then Julie Julian yeah I call him Julian sorry okay who's gonna come up and speak corporal sergeant come on up

well thank you very much ma'am for uh always uh recognizing the work that we do um basically it's the guys behind me we're missing a gal but they do all the work and um we appreciate it and we'll

Valerie AmezcuaItem 1

continue to work hard and and i will answer calls whenever can you share with the community your Your hours?

Our hours, we have a team that comes in, basically at six in the morning, and then the last team will leave at 10 to 10.30 at night.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 1

Seven days a week.

10.30 at night till Monday through Friday, and then we do have coverage seven days a week. The weekends it's till six.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 1

Till six p.m. And what number do they call?

They can call our dispatch or non-emergency or the My Santa Ana app is probably the easiest and most convenient way to contact COLD.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 1

Perfect, thank you, Sergeant. Thank you, ma'am. Appreciate everything. Chief?

Thank you, Mayor, and thank you to all the members here of COLD Public Works, Parks and Rec. You know, a lot of time your work is done behind the scenes, and I'm sorry if I turn my back towards you. Your work's done behind the scene, but tonight, thanks to the Mayor and the City Council, your work is at the forefront and being recognized. You know, what perfect words of inspiration today by our chaplain Bob Barnett, because you are that voice that provides hope. You reach people where they're at, probably at their worst time. And it's not just about law enforcement and taking people to jail. It's about connecting them with services.

So I wanna acknowledge all of you here today and thank you for the great work you do on behalf of me as a chief and on behalf of your community that appreciates all the work that you all do. So thank you.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 1

Thank you, Chief, very much. I think we're gonna have our chaplain make t-shirts so we can all buy them, and we're gonna be hope dealers, okay? I'll wear it here at the council meeting on the dais. So anybody else? One of our DCs?

Valerie AmezcuaItem 1

Who oversees? Don't be shy now, please, like you're shy.

Hello, everybody, and thank you, Mayor, for recognizing the team and all the great work they do. you know and I just called Commander Frank Gutierrez up to the front. He was sitting out in the crowd trying to trying to hide on this situation but Frank, the mayor said amazing words, Sergeant Blake and of course our chief but I also want to recognize our commander that oversees this unit because every layer of the police work has supervision, leadership and guidance and Commander Frank Gutierrez recently assumed command of the Colt team and he's done a phenomenal job being responsive to all our community members,

our business owners, our elected officials, and it's really a team collaboration from the chief to us at the DC level, all the way down to our command staff, our sergeants, our corporals, and ultimately our officers, and it really takes a team effort to provide this mission for the community.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 1

And thank you for calling up Commander Gutierrez. He thought he'd hide in the back of the room. So I just wanna share with the public and everybody here that these officers, they give out their cell phone numbers and people call them, and Commander Gutierrez, since you've taken over, I think everybody everybody has your cell phone number. So I really appreciate that because when I go to events in the city, he's always with me and as we know, the homeless and criminal activity is one of the biggest topics in our city and so I have to say yes, Commander, thank you for all that you've done.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 1

And thank you to all of you and I can't say enough how much that we all appreciate you very much. So if nobody else wants to speak, we're going to take a photo. Who do I present this to? Come on, Chief, tell me who. Ah, Commander Gutierrez.

Welcome to my world.

One, two, three.

One more.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Benjamin VazquezItem 1

Can we get the Ramos girls, Ramos family up here, please?

Benjamin VazquezItem 1

Yeah.

Benjamin VazquezItem 2

Okay, we got some more Hope dealers here in Santana.

Benjamin VazquezItem 2

And these are some powerful girls, and I've been following them grow up. Today, we're proud to recognize two remarkable young athletes, Vida and Eleanor Ramos.

Benjamin VazquezItem 2

They live in Heddinger Park, Ward 2. I've been following them grow up. And I'm so proud of Nora and Rafa Rambo, their parents, because they have these confident young ladies. They're shy right now, but when they're running, they got a smile and a confidence and they own it. And they're amazing. And I'll text Rafa, I'm like, damn, doing a good job, buddy. Like you're doing a great job raising these kids because they're amazing and they're happy. And you could just tell by their faces and I'm inspired by that confidence of the work that you do. Vida began running competitively at the age of eight. Eleanor at just six years old.

Benjamin VazquezItem 2

Their early dedication and passion for the sport had led them to accomplish extraordinary feats at a young age. They first ran with the Lightning Youth Academy and currently represent Quick Track Club, a program known for developing elite young talent. Together, they've competed in over 30 track and cross-country races across the country, representing Santa Ana in states such as Indiana, North Carolina, Texas, and Georgia. Most recently, from July 24 to the 26th, they competed in the prestigious United States of America Track and Field Junior Olympics and the National Championships in Savannah,

Benjamin VazquezItem 2

in Savannah, Georgia, an event that features the top youth athletes from across the nation.

Benjamin VazquezItem 2

Eleanor, who went undefeated this past season, captured the gold in the 1500 mile with a time of 5 minutes and 23 seconds, earning her the title of National Champion. champion. She also secured silver in the 800 meter and impressively closed the season with the fastest 1500 time in the nation in an eight and under division. Vita also delivered an astounding performance, earning two all-American honors, placing sixth in the 1500 meter and eighth in the 800 meter. As they now transition into upcoming cross-country season, both girls

Benjamin VazquezItem 2

are aiming to build on their success and help their teams to national championships. Their dedication, their talent, sportmanship serve as an inspiration to young athletes throughout our community, young and old athletes and old people like myself because I'm inspired. Please join us in congratulating Vida and Eleanor on their outstanding achievements. We look forward to seeing all they will accomplish in the future.

Thank you.

Thank you. Oh, you're welcome.

Benjamin VazquezItem 2

And here we go. This is for you. Congratulations.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 2

Okay. Mr. City Manager, can we have a presentation, please?

Alvaro NuñezItem 2

Yes. Deputy City Manager Sylvia Vasquez will do a very brief, short presentation regarding our Sahuaro relationship with the sister city. Sylvia?

Good evening, Mayor, Council Members. Happy to be here to share some of the activities that we're currently moving forward with our sister city, Saguayo. We've had a few activities this year and wanted to provide an update to you. So to start, sister city was established in 2022 through an agreement. And we have met with them on multiple occasions here at the City of Santa Ana and most recently in Saguayo. So today's presentation I'll cover a little bit about what we've done here in the U.S. And the delegation visit out in Saguayo.

Saguayo is a municipality of about 80,000 people. And it's in the Northeast region of Michoacan. Back in 2024 the Saguayo delegation came to visit us during our Fiestas Patrias. During that event, there was tours, there was meetings, and some key plans that came out of that collaboration was a Santa Ana-Saguayo Business Expo, a donation of water equipment for Saguayo, and a mural collaboration.

So to touch on 2025, the first major activity that we hosted with our sister city, Saguayo, here in the U.S. was our Business Expo 2025. This brought in 50 Santa Ana businesses, over 39 Sahuayo businesses, which had over 100 business-to-business meetings and an attendance of 1,000 or more local residents. This was held in March 2025 at Hotel Zaza here in Santa Ana. The delegation from Sahuayo came, showcased all of their artisanal and all of their entrepreneurial work.

work. We had a three-day event in which we found the products that Sahuayo businesses manufacture and opened up lines of communication for potential international trade here in the US.

The second activity that we have worked on with Sahuayo is the donation of the surplus plus water equipment. So here in the city, we had meters, water meters that we were no longer using, inspection trailers, vacuum trailers, a few items that for us, while we no longer needed them for our purposes, could really serve our sister city, Sahuayo, and help them with their water infrastructure. So Sahuayo's infrastructure for water does have issues because of the way the the water comes down. And once you're able to start tracking and measuring where the water is going, it's gonna be helpful for their city to help

them generate funding from the federal government. So this is an initiative that was pushed by city council in May of 2025, and it's part of an ongoing commitment for international goodwill, collaboration and humanitarian support between our two municipalities. So that donation is on its way and will shortly arrive in Sahuayo.

The third activity that we've done here in the US, in Santa Ana, with our sister city, is the collaboration on a sister city mural in downtown Santa Ana. When Saguayo officials first toured the city of Santa Ana, they were taken to see the beautiful murals in our city. This inspired the idea of having a mural between the city of Santa Ana and Saguayo, so that that we can have cultural exchange, unity and an identity between Santa Ana and Sahuayo. Santa Ana selected two artists through the Arts and Culture Commission that will collaborate on the mural with two artists

from Sahuayo. So that will be at Plaza Calle Cuatro, our parking garage. There's a space that has been selected. You can see the graphic in the presentation. The tentative completion date for this collaborative mural is November 2025. 25. In addition, there may be a complementary sister mural in Sahuayo, again, by Santa Ana and Sahuayo artists. That's very exciting and that's forthcoming. Now most recently, we had a Santa Ana delegation visit Sahuayo from July 24th through July 29th. That was comprised of Councilmember Phan, Councilmember Hernandez and two city

staff that assisted with the delegation. Some of the activities that took place there was Fiestas Patronales. This is Saguayo's most prominent celebration. Each year, this happens honoring the St. James Apostle. These festivities are held from July 16th through August 4th, so it was a great time to experience the full culture of Saguayo. The festivities included religious events, parades, traditional dances, live music, cultural performances, and street fairs. The Santa The Santa Ana delegation was able to experience a vibrant march of the Tlahualiles, the Tlahualiles

parade, and this featured thousands of dancers wearing elaborate wooden masks and ornate costumes. This traditional event has become a defining culture of Simbolimxhahuayo. We actually have one of those masks that was gifted to our city a few years ago, and we still display that at our Fiestas Patrias.

The delegation also attended a recognition ceremony for the winners of the Arts History Expo 200 Years of Saguayo, the Expo honored artists who celebrate Saguayo's bicentennial anniversary. Notably, one piece highlighted the sister cities relationships with Santa Ana, incorporating key symbols from both cities, and you can see that up on the presentation. presentation. And who would have known that Saguayo hosts two Guinness World Records? I mean, we have one that we know of for sure with the Mazapan, right? But Saguayo has the largest jigsaw puzzle depicting a world

map, and that's 75,000 pieces. The second one is the world's largest huarache. This is a sandal crafted by local artisans and honors Saguayo's heritage as a national hub for huarache production and stands prominently in Plaza del Huarache as a cultural landmark. Is that Councilmember Phan in the Huarache?

Valerie AmezcuaItem 3

Yes, that is Councilmember Phan in the Huarache.

Also, there was the 28th Annual St. James Patron Race, and Councilmember Jonathan Hernandez participated in this annual 5K event, joining approximately 2,000 community members from from Saguayo and achieving his personal best time for a 5K.

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 3

24 minutes and 50 seconds.

Aside from all the fun cultural experiences, there was also some economic meetings that took place between businesses and local artists. The delegation visited some of the businesses that participated in our first annual Saguayo Business Expo and that included Calzado Tovar, a family owned leather goods manufacturer, and Sombreros Avila, a third generation hat making operation. These visits showcase Saguayo's entrepreneurial spirit and skilled craftsmanship, opening up economic opportunities again here for Santa Ana and Saguayo to conduct trade negotiations.

Now, there is a new business that opened and our delegation was able able to attend the ribbon cutting, and that's Perfumes de Lys, which is a new fragrance that has launched a commemorative line of Saguayo's bicentennial anniversary. I am told that they have some interesting scents. Maybe they're...

Smoky? Mezcal? Some interesting mezcal scented perfumes.

Notes of Saguayo. Additionally, our delegation visited local food and beverage industry leaders. Our delegation toured Beera's Brewery, Taqueria Hacienda Saguayo, and Panaderia Santiago, a multi-generational old bakery known for producing pan dulce sold across Michoacan. These business visits, again, open opportunities for important business in Santa Ana.

Our delegation also visited a historical site, the Catacombs of Sagrado Corazon de Jesus. And these are located beneath one of the parroquias, the churches of Sagrado Corazon de Jesus. They provide a powerful look into the city's religious history and the legacy of those who endured persecution during the Cristero War.

And along the lines of economic development initiatives, the delegation was able to attend the ribbon cutting ceremony for Saguayo's first public park with a playground dedicated to children ages 3 to 13.

The Saguayo delegation visit concluded with a special council meeting between Santa Ana and sawyer with officials with officials discussion discussing additional sister city initiatives so again we have had a sister city relationship for a few years now but 2025 was a very active year for us we expect really great things both culturally and economically for our city based on this

Thai Viet PhanItem 3

relationship thank you thank you very much mayor can I comment yes of course so I won't go over everything but I just wanted to say this was an incredible experience for me I've been to Mexico many times but this was my first time in Sahuayo and to really understand what it means to be a sister city it was it was definitely an experience and I kept saying that it felt like home because it it felt so much like Santa Ana. There were Santa Ana residents that we met there, some who lived in Council Member Hernandez's ward, folks, families just visiting Sahuayo or visiting Santa Ana,

Thai Viet PhanItem 3

people who live in Sahuayo who have homes in Santa Ana, and everyone was just so incredibly welcoming, so friendly. Everyone offered us a lot of food and something called ponche, look it up. And, but I wanna say, in regard to the specific work that we did you know this wasn't just a about culture and it wasn't just about history but it really was about empowering both communities with our economic development and our growth for example with the surplus water equipment you may not know but in Sahuayo the federal government actually charges the money to recycle water Orange County has been recycling water

Thai Viet PhanItem 3

for decades the showers to flowers we were the leader in water recycling but but in Sahuayo, in order to get water to their residents, clean, reliable water, they have to pay extra for that. And so anything we can do to help that community is not just helping Sahuayo or helping Mexico, it's really helping Santa Ana, because our families really go between both cities often. As to a lot of the cultural events, the parade, the Art History Expo, and of course all the Guinness Book of Records, That was really fantastic, but I really wanted to put a focus on the economic and artisan business visits.

Thai Viet PhanItem 3

This is one of the hats from Sombrero Avila. I got to actually press one of them. It was very interesting. It was run by two brothers who was just in a small room. It was probably smaller than about the size of this well with a hundred plus year old machine to press hats handmade hats the traditional way and those are the products that can be brought here into Santa Ana to make ourselves make Santa Anna a hub for these handmade artisan goods it's if you want something that's genuine leather that's genuinely made in Mexico that is that's hard to find here

Thai Viet PhanItem 3

unless you spend thousands of dollars I would love to see us invest in that that relationship to grow our economy, not just in Sahuayo, but here in Santa Ana. These are the opportunities I'd love for us all to see. And finally, I did tell Bura Brewery to do a Santa Ana beer, so if they do do a Santa Ana pale ale, I will let you know. With that, thank you so much. It was an honor to go. It was an honor to represent our city, and an honor to participate in their commission meeting to talk about how else we can collaborate in order to bolster both cities. Thank you.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 3

Thank you. Any other comments?

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 3

Yes, Madam Mayor. I'll be brief with my comments. I just want to fully concur with you, Council Member Phan, and I want to thank Anna and Gaston for being fantastic representatives from our city. The relationship that's being fostered between Sahuayo and Santa Ana is an intentional one. And as evidenced with our city manager's leadership getting them the water equipment, not only do we want residents here at home in Santa Ana from Sao Wai O to feel welcome and embraced, but we want their relatives to feel the same way as well. One of the things that really stood out to me that I want to share with our neighbors

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 3

is Sao Wai O is about 80 miles long, so it's significantly larger than Santa Ana, but we as a city are double their size in terms of residents. We have over 300,000 residents. They have about maybe 60,000 to 80,000 residents. And one of the things that really stood out is as Fan, myself, and Gaston, and Ana were in the centro, we encountered a family who approached us and said, are you guys from Santa Ana? And we said, yes, of course. They said, I see your pictures when I pay my bills. And they said, I was born in Sao Paulo, raised in Sao Paulo, but I moved to Santa Ana early on.

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 3

They then introduced us to their daughters, to their wife, to their nieces and nephews. And I ended up meeting somebody in passing who said, I grew up in Santa Ana. I want to settle back high school. I spend every single year going to school here. And she even said, I went to school with Council Member Penalosa. So somebody I met there that went to school with you. And that to me is really humbling. When you're in a place like Sahuayo where we're proud to be a sister city, and you're speaking in both English and Spanish with residents who are from your community,

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 3

who have been educated in Santa Ana and may now live in Sahuayo or own property there, and own property in our own beloved city of Santa Ana as well, it shows you just how important these relationships are. And so to that, I want to thank my colleague, Council Member Phan, for representing Santa Ana and for embracing the city of Saguayo with open arms. And I also want to thank them for doing the same. They were a delegation that was classy and welcoming, and they made us feel right at home. And so to the people of Saguayo,

Valerie AmezcuaItem 3

Thank you. Okay. At this time, Madam City Attorney, do you have anything to report out of closed session?

Sonia R. CarvalhoItem 3

No, Mayor. We had no reportable action from our closed session this evening.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 3

Thank you. 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.

Jennifer L. HallItem 3

Pursuant to resolution number 2025-004, speakers are requested to address the City Council directly and to 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.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 3

Madam City Clerk, can you hold on? I apologize. It's okay. If you guys would allow me, I'd like to go, if we can, get an approval, a vote for item six seven eight so that we can appoint commissioners and then they can go home with their families or their children if that's okay I'll second your motion thank you very much can we take a vote please roll call man um mayor I'll

David PenalozaItem 3

make a sub motion to approve the entire consent calendar approve your motion um

Jennifer L. HallItem 3

you do have to hear public comments before acting on any so we're just gonna

Sonia R. CarvalhoItem 3

We could ask if there are any public comments on consent calendar items. Hold on one second.

Jennifer L. HallItem 3

We do have some agenda related comments in the group of cards.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 3

So we're just gonna bring up the commissioners at this point. So if everybody's okay with that, if nobody's opposed.

David PenalozaItem 3

I rescind my motion.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 3

Yes, thank you, Council Member Loza.

Jennifer L. HallItem 3

The motion on the floor is by Mayor Homesqua, seconded by Council Member Hernandez to approve items six, seven and eight, the appointments to boards and commissions. Council Member Becerra?

Yes.

Phil BacerraItem 3

Yes.

Jennifer L. HallItem 3

Council Member Hernandez? Yes. Council Member Lopez? Yes. Council Member Penalosa?

David PenalozaItem 3

Yes.

Jennifer L. HallItem 3

Council Member Phan? Yes. Mayor Pro Tempaskis?

Yes.

Jennifer L. HallItem 3

Mayor Meskwa? Yes. So it is seven ayes, no nays, motion carries. And noting for the record, there were no public comments related to either of those three agenda items. And if the appointed members could please come forward for their oaths of office. Come on up please so that Adrian Vick and Dylan .

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

and I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of California

Jennifer L. HallItem 3

that I take this obligation freely

without any mental reservation with the purpose of evasion. Or for the purpose of evasion. Or for the purpose of evasion.

Jennifer L. HallItem 3

And that I will well and faithfully discharge.

And that I will well and faithfully discharge. The duties of the bondage. I'm about to enter. I'm about to enter.

Thank you.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 3

Okay, Madam Clerk, at this time now we'll go to the, thank you gentlemen, congratulations to both of you. At this time we'll go to the consent calendar items. Mayor, we do need to do public comments. Oh, you have public comments. I apologize. I'm like Councilman Penalosa, I was trying to move along.

Jennifer L. HallItem 3

Go ahead with the public comments please. So before calling the speakers, I'll report the summary of emails provided as of today at 2 p.m. We received a total of 10 e-comments, seven on non-agenda topics, two on item number 10, and one on item number 12. Those were distributed to the city council, made part of the record, and posted online for the public to review. 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, Zoom to provide comments on agenda or non-agenda items only.

Jennifer L. HallItem 3

Please state your name and the ward or neighborhood that you reside in for the record. I'll call three names at a time. If you could please line up in the center aisle when you hear your name behind the podium. Bruce Senator, Emilio Ramirez and Ana Gomez.

Jennifer L. HallItem 3

»» I can come forward. »» Sure.

»» Good evening. I prepared an outline.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 3

»» Can you get closer to the mic? Sorry, I apologize. »» Sure.

I prepared an outline for each of you. And I emailed it to you in PDF format. map. So in addition to what's printed here, you'll be able to download it and it's bookmarked and everything.

It's pretty clear as to what I wrote. I want to touch on, there are six issues here. The Warner Widening Project and Neighborhood Reclamation. Second one is Del High Community Center Garden Nursery Expansion. The third one is South Eastwood Street Traffic Concerns. Fourth is the homeless invasion and gang intimidation, community health and safety concerns. The fifth is homeless invasion, bus them back. And the sixth is related to that and concerns Southern Pacific and other railroad firms.

Touching on the Warner issue, the Warner widening project, I've done some research into your historical documents. documents, and it appears that there is a material difference between what you put forward and going forward with eminent domain and taking these properties and what you actually built out. So material are the differences, it's basically fictitious as to what you utilized to enforce eminent domain and what you have today. What you have here is you have a project which went from the Warner widening project to the

Warner widening boondoggle. We need the city to really take a hard look at it, because it's kind of like at a crossroads right now. You can still make some corrections to it. You have pockets of homes that were taken away. Those pockets need to be returned to the landlords, the original homeowners. They can reconfigure those homes on those lots in different configurations. Parking would come in from the side streets that run perpendicular to Warner so they wouldn't be encroaching on Warner Avenue.

But you can return those homes, those lots, to the homeowners, rebuild new homes there, possibly two-story row homes or some other configuration, and also return those lots to the property tax rolls. You've lost a lot of property taxes because those homes have not been there. It's a problem. People who have lived there for decades, if not generations, were uprooted. You have the ability to correct that. Some of the lots, because of the widening, are so narrow now that you can't really constitute a regular home.

Those can be rebuilt in small, low-income, and senior housing, almost like ADUs. The city can go forward with things like that. But you need to take a look at what you built there. Because you have a section between Main Street and Oak which is like a side street there. And all it's going to do is bring homeless encampments, people parking RVs, the same thing with those pocket park areas. »» Bruce, your time is up. »» Pardon? »» Sir, your time is up. Thank you. »» Oh, it went so fast. All right. I'll come back again.

Jennifer L. HallItem 3

»» Thank you.

»» Thank you.

Jennifer L. HallItem 3

»» Next speaker, Emilio Ramirez.

I wanted to thank you guys for a couple of weeks or city council meetings ago. You put a moratorium on the street widenings and it didn't go unnoticed. Speaking to what the gentleman said before here, we see what these projects, how they can affect the community. and I'm glad that we're making these smart decisions because yeah, ultimately I want you guys to get a raise and get revenue for the city. And besides, thank you guys. I also wanted to bring some discussion on the agenda item 20 about called cities. I feel like called cities need Santa Ana more than it needs that Santa Ana needs them.

I know they put forward some research that maybe city uses. I know some other city staff uses their information, but really they're very much an anti-development organization. They do a lot of lobbying, especially they were very aggressive against Assembly Bill 79. I know that we didn't take their position, and I know that the city is very smart about reading through their documents. But yeah, I just feel a little uncomfortable that we give them money so that then they lobby to take revenue against the city. So yeah, just a matter of discussion. I hope that you guys choose some delegates

that can bring some good talking points to their organization, maybe a change from within. But yeah, as of it is right now, Call Cities I don't think is a great organization to support. And yeah, I yield my time. Thank you guys.

Good evening. My name is Anna Gomez and I'm a Ward 3 resident and homeowner. I'm here today to address the agenda item number 10 and to respectfully urge the Council to reconsider the city's current ban on short-term rentals, particularly in light of the Orange County Grand Jury Report and to explore a more balanced, regulated approach that supports both our neighborhood and residents. residents. The recent 2024-25 Orange County Grand Jury Report offers valuable insights. It concludes that the short-term rentals are not a major driver of our housing shortage,

stating clearly that short-term rentals should not be considered a significant factor in the availability of affordable housing. Even if every short-term rental in the county were converted to long-term housing, it would make a small dent in what's needed. The report also found that short-term rentals can be good neighbors when reasonable rules are in place. Things like quiet hours, occupancy limits, emergency contacts, and permit numbers. In fact, cities like Dana Point and Seal Beach have adopted these measures that now report very few complaints. I understand and I have read that the city staff has responded to this report, but

what stood out to me out and what the report didn't do is it did not provide provide evidence showing that short-term rentals cause more noise, trash, or parking problems than long-term residents. Nor did it dispute the Orange Jury finding that short-term rentals have a limited impact on housing affordability. It simply restated the existing ban without engaging in the court findings or presenting the regulatory framework Council requested back in December 2024. There are also real costs on the current approach the city is taking. The city likely forfeits substantial tax revenue.

Santa Ana at the time in April of last year had over 1,100 short-term units before the ban. Yet we see no accounting as to the lost revenue of those listings that could have helped fund local city projects. There are ongoing legal costs from the least one lawsuit over the ban and more could follow. Code enforcement. We have no public data on the actual impact or cost effectiveness of those enforcement efforts. And while we're told that the ban would increase housing supply, the city staff or report has offered no proof that former short-term rentals have become long-term rentals.

So we've lost revenue, spent money on legal and enforcement efforts, and haven't verified the effectiveness of those enforcement efforts. or the city's offered no proof that former, I already read that so I'm sorry, the housing gains that have even materialized. There's a high price for a policy that so far hasn't shown results. The grand jury report warned that the bans alone often fail. Short-term rentals frequently go underground, making them harder, not easier to regulate. A permitting system with rules, or. Anna, your time is up. Thank you.

Jennifer L. HallItem 10

Next speakers, Patty Cabada, Norbert Chen, Sherry Menke.

Hello, my name is Patricia Cabada. I'm a former resident of this city. I'm asking this board to please look into California Assembly Bill 495, known as the Family Preparedness Plan Act of 2025. It addresses issues related to family separation, particularly concerning immigrant families, and aims to ensure children maintain access to care and essential services during parental absences. I know that all of you care about the undocumented community because it shows in all the actions that you have

done to support the people in that community. community. And I feel that that particular bill was written with good intentions because something does have to be set in place for children that are separated from their parents. But there's many concerns with that bill because a lot of lawyers have looked at that bill. It's a nonpartisan issue because it's just children. I'm asking this board to please look into the bill because the language is so vague that a a person can use it to legally kidnap children. And that is a deep concern that many residents of the whole state have, so much so that many,

there will be thousands of parents in the steps of Sacramento August 19th, and there will be some people from Santa Ana, parishioners from local churches here that have the same concerns. So even though I'm not a current resident, I feel that this is something that this particular city council could help in. Because each of you have relationships with people in politics. And if you decided to look into this bill and found any flaws, then perhaps you could bring those up to the people that you know,

because the ones that will be hurt will be parents, undocumented parents and their children. And if this is passed with the language that it has, I also fear that there will be issues within the undocumented community because my understanding is this bill was created specifically for the undocumented parents when they have issues with their children. And if this is passed as is, then people are going to blame this whole bill on undocumented parents for the creation of it. so again i'm just asking that you just please take the time and look into it because it would help

many of the residents here because many of the residents here in this city will be deeply affected by it thank you for your time

norbert

Robert? Good evening, Mayor and Council Members of Santa Ana. I am Norbert Chen. I do not live in Santa Ana. I come from the city of Cerritos. But I'm honored and it's a great pleasure to be here tonight. It's such a lovely, lovely city. I come here often. But to my point of concern, issue number 10.

As an Airbnb operator in my own city, Cerritos, I was blindsided nine years ago when the city of Cerritos passed a ban on short-term rentals in 2016. And before that time, I was freely able to operate my two listings as I wanted, hosting people for sometimes three nights, sometimes for a week, or much longer. But when the ban came into force, I was told that my license would be revoked if I hosted anybody shorter than 30 nights.

And this was passed, the bill was passed with very little public debate or feedback. To me, that ban was an infringement upon my freedom to run my house the way I like it. To be told that it's legal if you host somebody for 31 nights, 35 nights, but very bad if you host somebody for 25 nights was to me just appear rather ridiculous especially when the

mayor at that time was somebody who operated hotels and did not recuse herself from this conflict of interest issue so i i basically would like to urge all of you to rescind and the ban that was put in force, I believe, in 2024, April 2024, because it's basically, you can consider it an infringement upon the rights of somebody to operate the way, their home the way they want it to. Yeah, it's basically a rights and freedoms issue for me. So thank you so much for your consideration.

Jennifer L. HallItem 10

»» Sherry Menke.

»» Sherry Menke, Morrison Park. I was hoping that the next time we revisited the short-term rental issue there would be regulations and we would talk about it. But we are making progress because the OC grand jury recently released a study to help cities like ours. In the study it concludes that the long-term solution to short-term rentals is tax and regulation. STR programs are part of the solution to the housing crisis. They increase inventory by opening up rooms and homes that would otherwise be sitting empty.

They make home ownership within reach for more people. They do not contribute to high housing costs here in Orange County. And they provide jobs so people have income to stay in their current home. It states in the study that STRs are in high demand and travelers like my large family family of seven will stay in surrounding cities who allow them rather than staying at a hotel in a city where there is a ban. As a city, you are not only losing out on top taxes, but sales taxes as well from those travelers. Councilmember Hernandez, I was proud to see you on Democracy Now!

Thank you for advocating for immigrants and residents of Santa Ana. And I agreed with your comments. And I thank all of you for all the work that you've been doing in the last months. I know it cannot be easy. A tax and regulated program is friendly towards migrants. We provide jobs, affordable accommodations to people traveling to visit family and friends friends here and we create and promote diversity, welcoming people from all over the world. The much needed funds to help the economy in Santa Ana right now during these difficult times could come from STR taxes. The current band is only draining the city of resources.

As again, according to the study, as soon as one STR is shut down, another one pops up. up. Please take seriously the OC jury study. They spent time collecting all the evidence and a tax and regulation program is the long-term solution to short-term rentals in Santa Ana. And as Ana said, there has not been a full study presented to you all. So please give Give tax and regulation a try. Thank you.

Jennifer L. HallItem 10

»» Mayor and City Council, that concludes the public speakers that are present. We'll now begin the Zoom speakers. Speakers on Zoom, when unmuted, please announce your name and the ward and neighborhood that you reside in within the City of Santa Ana for the record.

Jennifer L. HallItem 10

First speaker, Nina Jurek. Please unmute and make your comments.

»» Hi. Thank you. Again, my name is Nina Jerick. I'm with Ward 5. I'm speaking on a non-agenda item, and thank you once again for allowing me the opportunity to speak with you. I'm here again to keep the desire for a walkable park in Washington Square alive. Addressing this desired project has now become more urgent than ever. Senate Bill 1123 became effective July 1st. first. Not sure how many of you have read the details of it, but it is alarming to those of us

who think of the vacant land and what it can become. What it does is it allows for the development of 10 residential units on a single lot less than 1.5 acres, including the addition of ADUs. As you can imagine, this brings up a big, big concern for us. Developers, that land has been for sale and with the passing of SB 1123, it does make it very attractive for developers and that concerns us. Having that completely

incongruous to the feel the environment of our neighborhood is is not a good thought it really changes the landscape of where we are I know that we've the feasibility study was brought in-house it's been massaged it's been kicked back it's been reviewed it's I trust that it is now as good as complete and I look I look forward to being as invested as we are that some of us here in Washington Square have an opportunity to look at it.

I urge you to please bring it to the forefront for discussion. I know you have an awful lot of in your plate. There's some very important business in Santa Ana to attend to, and I can imagine a park is not exactly at the top of the list for you for some of the agenda items. but trust me, for the neighbors, for the residents of Washington Square, it is one of the top three items. Please, I urge you to keep the dream of a walkable park in Washington Square alive. Thank you for your time.

Jennifer L. HallItem 10

Next speaker on Zoom, Victor Mendez.

Jennifer L. HallItem 10

Please unmute and make your comments.

Hi, can you hear me?

Jennifer L. HallItem 10

Yes, go ahead, please.

I will stand first comment. It's kind of disappointing to see three council members leave during public comment but that's just my standard of governance. I just want to point that out to the home audience. There are some council members who believe in listening to the public and I'm glad they're here. So having said that, I just feel the city and the council and the staff have just really got to do a better job of achieving goals in in the most efficient manner possible. I just got a letter from Social Security that said I reached full retirement age. And that means I have to look at things.

I have to make sure my life can continue on, but I have to be cognizant of the limitations. Let me be clear. $20,000 is just a lot of money for training and conferences. $20,000 can pay for an entire year of fees, transportation of books at UCLA for 2526, which is the number one public university in the country. $20,000 would pay for probably a year's worth of groceries for the Ramos family that Councilmember Vasquez came out to honor. Basically, there's a lot of options for both staff and council to develop professionally and personally, and those definitely should be pursued.

Let me be clear. Harvard offers a lot of online courses simply for free. UCLA offers a lot of seminars on Latino politics for free. I just went to one a few months ago was outstanding. We just simply have to do a better job of looking at our options on all cases and do what we can with what we have. Having said that, on some agenda items, number 16, a great proposal on the ERP, it's a long time coming. I know it's been under discussion for years and maybe based on today's technology, the timing will probably work out pretty good to the city's knowledge.

The very solid proposal, I only have two issues that I hope the council would really seriously consider before they vote on this or approve this. Ten years for a contract without further council approval is just way too much. I'd recommend three years with two one-year extensions separate to council approval. And then after that, maybe you can look at a five-year plan or whatever. You know, 10 years is giving up something that should be earned, namely brand loyalty. We shouldn't just give that away up front. Ten years may put a smile on Larry Ellison,

and the sixth largest richest man in the world and the largest shareholder of Oracle. But I don't know what that will do for the taxpayers. Secondly, there are several processes missing in the staff proposal. Nothing to hold this up, namely training, conversion, hardware, budgets, and staff costs to implement, as well as cybersecurity. You really should ask for a comprehensive presentation just to make sure what you're going into. And I think with that, you would be in very good shape, have your questions answered. anything that's come up in the future, you're better prepared to have it addressed and be

more knowledgeable. Again, it's a pretty good job. You know, they're putting together another budget implementation, which I think is great. I actually put together the first Internet-based public sector budgeting about 20 years ago, and the technology has since evolved. These are now cloud solutions. We used to call them hosted. But I think it's a very good step in the right direction. Victor, your time is up. I think it's being done. Thank you.

Jennifer L. HallItem 10

Next caller, caller whose phone number ends in 477. Please unmute and make your comments.

Yeah, this is Dale Helbig, 35 year resident of ward three. I'm calling just to report that the Park Santiago has seen a dozen to two dozen sightings of coyotes, skunks, raccoons every day. And at some point, this is going to be a crisis that is going to develop into personal injury to little kids or whatever, because the animals are getting way too comfortable. When we contact the city, they say it's urban wildlife and they can't do anything about it.

If a resident is to contact someone that can do something about it, what they'll do is trap it and euthanize it. I don't think that's the way we want to go either. there so hopefully we can come up with a process where the city can get involved and help this out the other thing that I'd like to point out is item number 17 the main street the improvement repaving I'm hoping that the city has coordinated with the main place mall development group and that we don't go off and spend

a million dollars repaving main street only to find out that we have to dig up the street again to provide more utility services to main place so it's got a due date of completion of october 31st of this year so i know the time's short but hopefully you contact main place and see what what they have on their agenda. Thanks and have a good night.

Jennifer L. HallItem 10

Mayor and city council that concludes the public speakers that were in the queue when we began.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 10

Thank you, Madam clerk. So at this time we are going to now go, Mr. Councilman Penalosa to the,

Valerie AmezcuaItem 10

the count, what I lost my consent. I was waiting for him to look to the consent calendar items Items six, seven, and eight we already voted on. So it would be nine through 19.

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 10

Make a motion to move the item.

David PenalozaItem 10

Second. Madam Mayor, I have a.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 10

Nobody wants to pull an item?

David PenalozaItem 10

I just have a question on item 17.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 10

Go ahead, Councilman.

Thai Viet PhanItem 10

I have a recuse. You have a recuse, go ahead. Yeah, so I'd like to recuse myself from item number 17, as All-American Asphalt is a client of my employer, Rattan and Tucker, so if it is pulled for question, I will leave the room, thank you.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 10

Councilman Penalosa is going to make a comment on this item I believe.

David PenalozaItem 10

Yes I have a question and just wanted to make Councilman Fan leave the room. The only question I had Mr. City Manager and the previous speaker, oh he's in the room now, Mr. Helvick brought up a good point. I just want to because of the of the ongoing questions and concerns revolving around a lot of public works projects I need to ask, has our team in Senate here in public works connected with Main Place Mall, Centennial

David PenalozaItem 10

to make sure that these projects are not, you know, are consistent. I'm complimentary when they work.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 10

Madam City Clerk, so we're gonna pull that item because there's a question, so, and I'm sure, it sounds like Council Member Becerra might have a question. So we're just gonna pull that item, please.

Jennifer L. HallItem 10

support okay then if we could have um council member fan return so that we can vote on the consent calendar or you want to just take this item individually first if we can just take this

Valerie AmezcuaItem 10

we'll just we're going to take this one first and then we'll move forward go ahead come on

good evening mayor councilmember thank you for the question uh yes staff has specifically coordinated and contacted centennial the management group for main place for those exact to coordinate the project, make sure that they were aware of the impacts and there would be no sort of utility conflicts. This is a slurry seal project and so we'll be in and out of that area real quick.

David PenalozaItem 17

But what I'm saying is you're saying they would be in and out of the area really quick but I mean we're going to wait until Centennial does the work that they need to do because Because I imagine there will be some sidewalk reconfigurations, some ripping up of driveways, entrances into that side of the mall on Main Street while we're doing work on Main Street. I mean, are we going to re-slurry the street and then have it ripped up by the mall in a couple months, in a year for their construction work, I guess is the question?

So as part of this project, the slurry seal improvements are a thin overlay on the street. We've coordinated and we've seen what Centennial and the Main Place Mall improvements have in that area. They are not duplicative. And then just as a backstop, if there is a need for Main Place as things changes, plans change if they were to cut into the street they would fully repair at their

David PenalozaItem 17

cost the work that we did so I guess so that that brings up the question what is the purpose of us doing this part of the street if we don't know yet whether there will be some cutting into the street some cutting into the sidewalks would it not make sense to just wait till main place is done and see what the scope of the work is left of the project to do?

So our pavement management program and our adopted capital improvements plan has identified this area as needing to be restored. Our recommendation would be to proceed with our city improvement improvement project and not be delayed on our projects waiting for the improvements at the Main Place Mall. Again these are roadway slurries improvements, some pedestrian improvements and other corners

and anything as I said that we've coordinated with Main Place Mall and recognizing things things change and their plans may change, if they have any impacts on our streets, they will repair and make those improvements at their cost. But there are no utility improvements, there's no like water mains or sewer mains or anything like that that has to happen that's going to rip up Main Street.

David PenalozaItem 17

Thank you for that. But I guess regardless of who pays for it, whether it's Centennial paying for any future,

David PenalozaItem 17

it's still a waste of resources if we're gonna repair it now with the anticipation that Mayplace may or may not rip it up but they're gonna take care of the cost later on it's still gonna be another frustrating delay to residents traffic delays traffic jams additional construction why Why spend city resources today if tomorrow Centennial might rip up the street? Regardless whether I understand they're going to pay for it, but that's not the point. The point is to not be just ripping up streets every couple of months.

Totally understand, Council Member, the point of view, and I don't disagree with it. I think what I'm trying to convey is with the information we have at hand, we don't anticipate that to happen, and we don't want to delay these needed public improvements for what may be a maybe from a private developer impact. So recommendation would be to proceed with these improvements on Main Street in this corridor, knowing that we have these contingencies, if you will, in place in case main place changes course?

Alvaro NuñezItem 17

To put it easy, it's primitive maintenance, period. Main place improvements should not impact ours. Now, can we guarantee it? If that's the question, obviously there's concerns because sometimes good things do change. But at this point, what he's saying is, and what we looked at is that our improvements have nothing to do with the main plane's impacts to ours. That's the key. Ours is quick, slow, primitive maintenance component, period. If, that's the big if, right, if they were to damage it, they will make the repairs. But at this point, our assessment, our evaluation and communication with the main plane says

Alvaro NuñezItem 17

that there's supposed to be no impact. impact. Their improvement should not be mitigating our improvements, period. And precisely to address your concern, right? Did we check? Yes. Are we supposed to do a do-over? Technically, no, because that's what they tell us. This is what we know now as the facts of today, period. Is it a possibility? A construction is that way, and especially when it's at that that level of complexity and things do change, but the information we have, it says there's no impact to our preventive measures period.

David PenalozaItem 17

Okay, thank you for that, Mr. City Manager. I guess this just reminds me of, I wanna say it was like 10 years ago, before any of us were on this council, when the blue police poles were put into 4th Street, along 4th Street, knowing that at the same time there was a conversation happening of the OC streetcar coming in and eventually ripping up these streets but the city's direction was well we don't know if that's gonna be tomorrow or in a year we're gonna put in the the blue police poles guess what three years later they were ripped up because of the streetcar construction so I guess it's

David PenalozaItem 17

not at our cost at OCTA's cost right but so I guess that's the same conversation but trying to make an example or use an example from the past that I see just often repeating itself throughout the city.

Alvaro NuñezItem 17

And, Councilmember, there is no debate regarding that understanding, right? So it's one of those kind of aspects. We know that we have to take maintenance approach. We know we have to have primitive measures, right? A small amount now, it's better than waiting to have a bigger impact with a bigger cost. And we've seen that in our discussions, right? Things that we approved five, six years ago, because we wait, five years later, they're 30, 40% more expensive. This is one of those issues that whether, we're not saying you're wrong, because you are right, that did happen. We look at history and that's a typical approach.

Alvaro NuñezItem 17

And we can wait. We can definitely wait. knowing that if the main place completes their stuff and then in the end they stay to the information we have now and they don't impact, there's a possibility there are costs because there's more damage, more wear and tear, it might be more expensive. And that's just one of those items that public works, especially in streets and permitted measures have to deal with all the time. Thank you. Thank you for that. To answer the question, right, did we check? Yes. Are we confident in the information today? Yes. From a city perspective, right? Okay.

Alvaro NuñezItem 17

But these still happen in private development and sometimes they have impacts. And those are one of those catch-22 where government has to then adapt. It's not because we fail to do our due diligence. It's just sometimes, you know, as things happen, they might want to expand, they might want to add. All of a sudden there's a change in design. And so how do we make a development more successful? The city has to be complementary in that component also.

David PenalozaItem 17

Thank you for that. I appreciate it. Thank you, Mr. City Manager. Thank you, Director of Public Works.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 17

So, Mr. City Manager, the only thing I would add to that is that I've shared with you my concerns. There's so many projects going on. And, for example, you know, Bristol. I won't go into detail. Bristol and Warner and so many other projects. And I know you're working on them and they're getting done since you've been here. And so thank you for that. But I, too, am concerned that the constituents need to know what's happening as well. So, main place, like you indicated, if main place changes, all of a sudden they flip and they say, we're going to go this way instead of that way, we're going to rip the street

Valerie AmezcuaItem 17

up and because, and then we find Indian bones or something there and we got to stop. It's a problem for our constituents. And so, I really just want to make sure that Public Works is in communication with them on a regular basis and there's no surprises and nobody's going to come back here to the council and say, oh, I'm sorry, you know, they came back and told us this, that and chicken fat. Well, guess what? We should know that right from the get-go. I just want to be clear about that.

Alvaro NuñezItem 17

And in all honesty, Mayor, without interrupting you, we can say no, right, to that component. And more in that discussion we had, especially the last year, whether it be in our parks or in our streets, we are holding some of those agreed upon from previous council approval as far as improvements. We are preparing a presentation so we can update, have a reaffirmation of the discussion. This is what was approved. This is what was completed. This is how long it has been. And here's where we're at, right? So that we don't have that level of frustration anymore. Whether it be Standard, right?

Alvaro NuñezItem 17

Bristol, Raitt, McFadden coming up. McFadden and Elder, Warner. So as the speaker said, right? This is something that we committed over a month ago. So, and the speaker has already asserted that we are looking to pause that so that we can have a better discussion up to date at 2020 aspect and if you notice that's what we've done this whole year we've we focused some more attention on those aspects where the council members especially this council has made a priority of that's one and and two looking at those um projects that were previous councils so we know

Alvaro NuñezItem 17

we're ramped so that we don't have just construction construction with no finality to it no thank you

Valerie AmezcuaItem 17

we all i'm sure we all really appreciate that i know i do because we've talked about that So I'm very much looking forward to all the projects that we have, we'll have, and then the completion dates. So thank you very much for that. I appreciate it. I'd like to move the item. Go ahead.

Jessie LopezItem 17

Yes, I just wanted to thank our team for doing their due diligence and being in communication with the developer. And to provide a little bit more context to the public, this isn't just slurry sealing. This is also being in compliance with state law. There are ADA ramps needed in this area. area and so I just want to thank our team for being responsive because it has been our constituents that live in this corner of the city that have reached out and have shared pictures and videos of the things that they are seeing and the repairs that they want in their neighborhood

Jessie LopezItem 17

where they live and so I want to thank our team for again being responsive I appreciate it

Valerie AmezcuaItem 17

No other comments? I'll make a motion for the item.

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 17

Second.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 17

Let's prepare to vote.

Jennifer L. HallItem 17

Motion by Mayor Meskwa, seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Vasquez to approve the six recommended actions for item number 17.

Yes.

Jennifer L. HallItem 17

Thank you. The vote is 6 ayes, no nays with a recorded recusal by Councilmember Fan. Motion carries.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 17

Thank you.

Jennifer L. HallItem 17

If we could return back to the overall consent calendar, please.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 4

Okay. Okay, there was a motion and a second to approve.

Jennifer L. HallItem 4

A motion by Council Member Hernandez, seconded by Council Member Becerra to approve the consent calendar. Items number four through 19, with the exception of item 17 that was pulled for separate discussion and consideration and item six, seven and eight that were previously approved. Let's vote please.

Jennifer L. HallItem 4

VOTES 7 AYES, NO NAYS.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 4

MOTION CARRIES. AT THIS TIME WE'RE GOING TO GO TO THE BUSINESS CALENDAR. ITEM 20 IS A DESIGNATION OF A VOTING DELEGATE FOR CAL CITIES 2025 ANNUAL CONFERENCE GENERAL ASSEMBLY. MADAM CITY CLERK MAY WE HAVE A STAFF REPORT. DOES THE COUNCIL NEED A STAFF REPORT? I see that we do not. I nominate Council Member Penalosa.

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 4

I'll second that nomination.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 4

Hold on, hold on, hold on. Hold on, hold on. We went really fast, so here. Let me ask my question, are there any comments by the council? Council Member Phan. I'm being serious, you're gonna make a nomination? Go ahead now.

Thai Viet PhanItem 4

Oh, I nominate Council Member Penalosa as he is going to be Chair of the Orange County Division of the League of California Cities. Thank you. I'll second

Valerie AmezcuaItem 4

that motion. I'm going to make a sub motion and nominate Councilman Becerra. I'll second

David PenalozaItem 4

that. All right.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 4

Madam Clerk go ahead. This is

Jennifer L. HallItem 4

for the delegate position? Yes. A motion by Mayor this is the sub motion by Mayor Emescuwa seconded by Councilmember Pena-Losa to appoint Councilmember Becerra as the delegate to the Cal City's General Assembly. Councilmember Becerra?

Phil BacerraItem 4

Yes.

Jennifer L. HallItem 4

Councilmember Lopez? Councilmember Hernandez?

David PenalozaItem 4

Yes.

Jennifer L. HallItem 4

Councilmember Pena-Losa?

David PenalozaItem 4

Yes.

Jennifer L. HallItem 4

Councilmember Phan? Yes. Mayor Pro Tem Vasquez? Yes. Mayor Meskwa?

Valerie AmezcuaItem 4

Yes. And now we have to have…

Jennifer L. HallItem 4

So there's seven ayes, no nays. Councilmember Becerra will serve as the city's delegate. And if you would like to… to select, you can select up to two alternates.

Phil BacerraItem 4

Yeah, I was gonna say, we need two alternates. Quick question for my colleagues. So, does Council Member Paloza, given your title with Cal Cities, are you gonna be a voting member already?

David PenalozaItem 4

That's a good question, I'm gonna find out.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 4

And so, since we don't know the answer, why don't we just nominate two alternates?

David PenalozaItem 4

I don't think so, that's the whole purpose of this. I'm pretty sure we're, I'm not. Okay. Yeah.

Phil BacerraItem 4

Yeah.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 4

Yeah.

Phil BacerraItem 4

I'll nominate Council Member Penalosa for the alternate. I'll second that motion.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 4

Okay. Let's just do two together at the same time is there another one?

David PenalozaItem 4

I'll nominate myself and Council Member Lopez.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 4

All right, let's vote. Two alternates, Council Member Penalosa and Council Member Lopez.

Jennifer L. HallItem 4

Two alternates. This is the sub motion by Council Member Penalosa seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Vasquez to have Council Member Penalosa and Councilmember Lopez serve as the alternates? Councilmember Becerra? Yes. Councilmember Hernandez? Yes. Councilmember Lopez? Yes. Councilmember Peñalosa?

David PenalozaItem 4

No, I'm just kidding, yes.

Jennifer L. HallItem 4

Councilmember Phan? Yes. Mayor Pro Tem Vasquez? Yes. Mayor Meskwa? Yes. Vote of seven ayes, no nays, motion carries. The delegate will be Councilmember Becerra, the alternates will be Councilmembers Peñalosa and Councilmember Lopez.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 4

Thank you. At this time, Mr. City Manager, can we hear your comments please?

Alvaro NuñezItem 4

So press release tomorrow, or if can this evening, we are proud to inform you that the city has launched their city funded assistance program to help low and to moderate income residents impacted by the recent immigration enforcement actions. Our program is called Santana Ayuda Sin Fronteras. Again, Santana Ayuda Sin Fronteras, or Help Without Borders. And so we are working for the six or seven nonprofits as referral aspects. Part of our program assistance is helping with rent and utilities, and so it's already in our website.

Alvaro NuñezItem 4

And so we're going to start announcing that as we move forward. It actually went into effect July 28th. So we're gonna make sure that the information gets out and make sure we are hiring any internal kinks that we may have some concerns. So we'll monitor and as recommended by the last council approval regarding this item, we'll be happy to come within 90 days for with our report regarding success and use of the funds.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 4

Thank you, Mr. City Manager. At this time, I'll call on the council members to announce their comments. Council Member Lopez.

Jessie LopezItem 4

Thank you. So earlier this year I discussed with our city manager the opportunity to attend a program for local elected officials at Harvard and so this program focuses on effective governance cross sector collaboration and professional development. The city manager did review and approve my participation using funds from the previous fiscal year's budget. The total cost was $17,900, not $20,000, as it was misrepresented on the dais here. And most importantly, these funds were funds that were earmarked in last year's budget

Jessie LopezItem 4

and had no impact on this year's budget. And so the training brought together 70 elected officials from California to Maine all across the country to really convene and start a conversation about how other cities are tackling some of the most pressing issues that small cities are beginning to see, but that big cities like a city like our size of almost 300 and over 300,000 people live here have been experiencing. And of course, one of the big topics of conversation was homelessness, this training.

Jessie LopezItem 4

And so one of the key lessons involved discussing the city of Rockwood in Illinois, which is comparable to our size. And essentially, we got to hear and learn about how Rockwood solved chronic homelessness and ended veteran homelessness for their community. And again, they're a city comparable to our size. And so I think that we have a lot to learn from other jurisdictions in terms of how they're doing and how they're doing their operations and the issues that they're solving. One of the things that I learned and that I found out was that they in fact move away from using the point-in-time count which is a system

Jessie LopezItem 4

that we use here in California under the county and here in the city right where we base counting people that are experiencing homelessness sometimes by recruiting volunteers and volunteers going out all at all hours of the night And so we know that that is not a system that is truly representative of the issue at hand here in the city, really the county, the state, and so the model that they essentially implemented was again moving away from the point-in-time count and essentially, you know, being data-driven. And we've heard so much sometimes about why data-driven approaches are so important,

Jessie LopezItem 4

but it allows you to focus on what actually works by by having things that you are measuring in terms of outcomes and goals. And so I think that as we are going to continue to see a rise in people in our public streets, because it is the summertime and that's usually what happens, and as the cost of living continues to increase, we're going to expect more people in our community, especially given the approach that we have as a city decided to take in terms of shuffling people around and so that approach is now impacting

Jessie LopezItem 4

different neighborhoods and so I really want us to think about what is a different way that we can really approach this problem which is not just a moral failure but really a policy failure at all levels of government and how we can better use data like other cities have used to solve this number number one issue in our community and other social issues that we're experiencing and that contribute to that one main issue. We also discussed, and I would like to see our city move in this direction, and I'm happy to bring a policy recommendation forward, using demographic analysis to guide budget recommendations.

Jessie LopezItem 4

We often talk about being a very young city in the county, and yet I don't know necessarily necessarily right because we don't do a demographic analysis now to guide budget recommendations, but really the servicing, the services that we provide, how they impact our constituents and who we're leaving out essentially. One of the biggest challenges that I hear directly from my constituents is the cost of living and you might say, well why should a city work towards, not just the cost of living, I apologize, childcare? childcare. And so one of the questions is, why should the city care about childcare?

Jessie LopezItem 4

Because whether you're a five-year-old or a 10-year-old, you're still our constituent. And so these are the type of questions that I think a demographic analysis will help us better understand in terms of the programs that we're bringing forward and who they are servicing in our community. The other big issue at this training was artificial intelligence, something that I think our city currently lacks is a policy for AI. I know the county adopted one and other municipalities have also adopted one. And I'm not against using AI, but I do wonder if our employees know that they shouldn't be uploading sensitive data

Jessie LopezItem 4

to these clouds just so that we're protecting people's personal information. And I think the mayor of San Jose recently was interviewed and talked about using AI to streamline processes and in the process of doing that they found out that city staff were still collecting these old newspapers so that the mayor can read and so that was something that they decided we no longer need to do but again using the tools that we have available to take into account and put to work for the city is I think important as we see AI becoming much more popular and that's not to say that artificial

Jessie LopezItem 4

intelligence should replace any of our employees it shouldn't but it should help us become more efficient as a city as a whole and one of the other things that I would like for us to discuss is possibly creating a chat bot for our website that can help address the most frequently asked ask questions that we get as a city and possibly that can interact with the public if it asks a question about how can I apply for a business license, where do I go for this or that. And so I think again that's a feature that we have a box on our website but it's not

Jessie LopezItem 4

necessarily back and forth and so I would like for us to figure out how we can use these technologies to better deliver services to our constituents. I brought some resources for you city manager that I'll be handing over again just different case studies about different cities and different issues and how they've been able to address them and I think the biggest takeaway here is they have a Bloomberg Center for Cities. There is absolutely no reason why the city of Santa Ana should not be a partner with the Bloomberg Center for Cities. We are we're no longer considered a major city in the county

Jessie LopezItem 4

or in the state, we've lost that designation. And so I think that really raises a lot of alarms for me. You know, losing residents means that we're losing access to dollars at the state and at the federal level. And so we really need to work in terms of making sure that this is a city that people wanna live in and we need to support that growth. So thank you. Thank you.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 4

Thank you. Council Member Fan.

Thai Viet PhanItem 4

Thank you, Mayor. A couple things. First I wanted to thank Ana Gaston. I completely forgot because I was super excited about everything else in Sahuayo, but as many of you know, I don't really speak Spanish, and so they were just extremely helpful in not just translating, but I also had my first Spanish media interview, so that was quite quite an experience. Thank you, that experience really was something so... I think it just really helped me frame what the sister city relationship means, and I'm so grateful I had the opportunity to go.

Thai Viet PhanItem 4

I look forward to more visits from the Soil delegation as well as us visiting them with our team, whether it's water engineering workforce. Love to talk to you about any ideas that we might have. So thank you to our team. On August 12th we had our annual legal clinic in Ward 1. Thank you to my Chief of Staff, Jasley Morales, for putting that together with our partners, Public Law Center, the Vietnamese American Bar Association of Southern California, as well as Advancing Justice SoCal. We served dozens of residents and folks who just needed to come in and ask some legal questions

Thai Viet PhanItem 4

because they might not know where to go or just get referrals. Always happy to do that. We also had National Night out recently. It was awesome. Thank you so much to PD and Parks for collaborating, for doing it together. I was there with Mayor Mezcua and Councilmember Penalosa in his ward. The greatest thing ever happened to me. I have fulfilled every dream I've ever had as a councilmember and I got to sit on Willow the horse. I'm done. I've achieved everything I've ever wanted to achieve as a council member so thank you so much to our officers I'm

Thai Viet PhanItem 4

sure we have insurance and I wanted to make sure that we announced on August 16th we have our annual zoo far which is the largest fundraiser for our zoo here in Santa Ana I've gone I think almost every year since I've been on this dais and it's always an incredible time I believe this year the theme is black tie tie with a touch of emerald. So I mean, Council Member Penalosa already came in theme. So if you want to know how to address, come in some emerald, some green. But it's always a great way to fundraise with the zoo, for the zoo, for our habitats, for our animals,

Thai Viet PhanItem 20

and really meet a lot of the staff out there. And I also just as a final note, congratulations to Council Member Lopez for completing your time at the Harvard Kennedy School. As someone with a Master of Public Policy, I think it's a wonderful way to improve all of our skills up here on the dais. And it's something that historically we've done here in the city of Santa Ana. I believe former council members Jose Solorio, Michelle Martinez, as well as some other staff have done it. And I think that anything we can do in order to improve our skills, professional development to better serve our constituents is a good thing for the city.

Thai Viet PhanItem 20

So congratulations and I look forward to a lot more of your ideas and I hope you share the resources with me.

Phil BacerraItem 20

Thank you. Council Member Becerra. Thank you Madam Mayor. As part of the AB 1234 disclosure the city paid for my travel and accommodations in Atlanta for the AAPI LEAD conference where I had the opportunity to interact with elected officials from throughout the United States and we were definitely popular at least the electeds from Southern California given the attention the feds like to give us these days. But it was good to share ideas with other big city councils and mayors to get an idea what

Phil BacerraItem 20

everybody's handling or how they're handling some of the same challenges. I want to thank everybody who attended the digital marquee unveiling and my office hours at Carl Thornton Park this past Saturday. I want to thank Parks and Rec. I want to thank the city manager's office and PD for for participating, we had a great turnout. And one thing I mentioned at the event was, for as much as sometimes this council can be divided, there's certain things that we all just seem to align on. And one of those things is transparency and trying to make sure that the community has as much information as possible about what the city does.

Phil BacerraItem 20

And I think that this digital marquee will be helpful in making sure that folks get information about what the city is doing. and my understanding from Paul was that I think at the same time that they were well not the same time we were first but second and third I believe was Centennial and I'm not sure what other park it was but doesn't matter Carl Thornton Park was first so that's good so with that being said one thing I wanted to ask our PD about so I've gotten multiple messages from folks as we all know fireworks is quite the popular topic not always on a positive

Phil BacerraItem 20

side and one thing I've been receiving multiple messages about is on social media the Riverside PD has been highlighting their use of drones to identify folks that are shooting off illegal fireworks and I can't say I disagree with the idea of using those because I can't tell you how many calls I get from folks that say hey there's somebody shooting off illegal fireworks can PD get out there and do something and we all know that by the time they've made the call it's probably too late but the drone technology and what the riverside pd was showing

Phil BacerraItem 20

on their social media was phenomenal they were able to identify folks that were committing this legal activity and i just wanted to ask pd where are we at when it comes to our drone program

yes thank you council member for the question and yes we are currently in um finalizing a proposed proposed agreement with the vendor regarding drones and the use of drones. And you're absolutely right. They can be used for fireworks enforcement. And the other part to that, they can also be used for, it's also a de-escalation tool because when you confront someone when they're lighting illegal fireworks, they probably, if they've been drinking alcohol or something, that's probably not the right time for an engagement. Usually it's better that they get an admin site through their mail and it doesn't create that confrontation.

So we're in the final process of finalizing that agreement and we plan on bringing it forward, I believe, at the September. Because we don't have an early council meeting, right? September council meeting.

Second one, yes.

Phil BacerraItem 20

So we should see that in September then?

Yes.

Phil BacerraItem 20

That's fantastic. That's great news. I think a lot of folks will appreciate that. Last but certainly not least, tomorrow at 4 p.m. over at Taft Elementary, there'll be an opportunity for the community to provide input on the design of the new playground over at Sandpoint Park. The playground over at George Upton is amazing and very popular, so no pressure. You got a little benchmark there to match up to. hopefully we'll see the at least if not more success at Sandpoint Park when it comes to the design there but I would encourage everybody to come out and give your two cents on how you would like to see the playground designed and I

Phil BacerraItem 20

believe Hawk is it we want folks younger folks to come out about 4 p.m. so they get their own opportunity to share their input and then adults coming in at what at 5 30 correct okay great thank you uh with that have a good night everybody

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 20

thank you councilman hernandez thank you madam mayor i just wanted to start by thanking our city staff for today's council meeting thank you for the good work that you you are all doing and i wanted to highlight the ab1234 disclosure i had my travel and lodging paid for by the city for the national association of latino elected officials conference in atlanta georgia from the 22nd to the 25th the conference was one that touched on protecting our firefighters and our resources protecting the environment la was a big topic due to the fires in altadena so i played

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 20

very close attention to that so we can protect our resources here for our firefighters we talked a lot about of course immigration as well and i was happy to meet electeds from neighboring cities that have also joined the lawsuit against our federal government leadership from Huntington Park, City of Bell Gardens, a number of cities that were there. It was an honor to be able to meet with them and to learn and to share. I also had the honor of joining the Sister City Partnership event in Sahuayo, Michoacan, which took place from the 25th to the 29th, a fantastic opportunity for us to strengthen the relationship that we have.

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 20

Santana has between Santa Ana and LA there are over 60,000 residents from Sao Joao between the two communities and so a very large number of residents and I just wanted to highlight August 21st between ward 2 and ward 5 we have the Jerome outdoor library which will be opening this is the first of its kind in the state of California I'm very proud that this is going to be shared with with Mayor Pro Tem Benjamin Vasquez in the district right there at the Jerome Park. This new amenity will bring an outdoor library kiosk, which will be available 24 seven, as well as parks and recreation, bring in programming and additional amenities

Johnathan Ryan HernandezItem 20

for young children and families to engage. And then I want to invite all of our neighbors out to Sunday, August 24th, Centennial Park, Chicano Heritage Festival. This will be the fourth annual event and it will be headlined by LA's own El Chicano and come on out and enjoy Viva El Tirado together. Nos vemos.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 20

Thank you. Councilman Panalosa.

David PenalozaItem 20

Thank you, Madam Mayor. I just wanted to also disclose that per AB 1234 disclosure, I had initially scheduled to be at Naleo back in April, but going through our budget process and seeing the deficit that we're in and the upcoming budget problems that we're having, I decided to cancel the trip because I couldn't justify spending nearly $1,500 for me to go to a conference. All these conferences are great. They're great educational resources. But to sit here and question the budget and question the increase to the travel budget for council members

David PenalozaItem 20

and then go on, yeah, almost a $20,000 trip to Harvard on the back of taxpayers taxpayers is completely inappropriate. So I would hope that as we move into next year's budget cycle, all of the council members up here take a close look and look at what the choices you're making up here with the people's tax dollars. So I chose to cancel the trip because yes, the Harvard training might have cost basically $18,000, but we also paid for airfare for Council Member Lopez, but she didn't mention that. So I would hope that all of us up here, including Council Member Phan, these trainings are great, but when

David PenalozaItem 20

when you're facing a budget deficit, it's inappropriate and a misuse of tax dollars. You didn't need to go to Sahuaro, but you chose to. So I would hope that we all do better as we move forward. With that said, on August 14th at 3.45 p.m., I invite everybody to join us at Del High Park for the unveiling and ribbon cutting of the city's first library in over, over, I want to say, how many years, Mr. City Manager?

50.

David PenalozaItem 20

50 years that we're opening on the south side of town at Del High Park, at the Del High Community Center. This is something that I've been championing since I first got elected, is just expanding our library programs and the library department. First thing we did was bring back our library department. Over the last 10, 15 years, it was absorbed by Parks and Rec and it should have never have. and we were able to create our own library department. Then I slowly agendized and the council unanimously voted to bring back the bookmobiles. And now we have a second one coming in on the next year

David PenalozaItem 20

or so, and now we're about to open Del High Park. Well, it's actually already open, but the big ribbon cutting celebration is on August 14th. So I invite everybody to come and join us. Also, I want to acknowledge the multiple multiple vehicular deaths that have been happening in the city. Every day, whether it's Main Street, Sigurdsson, Bristol, there is a vehicular traffic collision with multiple deaths. This has been a

David PenalozaItem 20

traumatic week. Just yesterday, there was one of a senseless driver that was, I don't know if the The guy was on a suicide mission or whatnot, but there are innocent lives that are being taken. And we need, it's not, people blame the sidewalks, the protected sidewalks, the protected bike lanes, but it's speeding. People need to slow down. I, along with everyone in this room, drive these streets hundreds, if not thousands of times a year. And thank God we've never been involved in one of these accidents, but it's happening way too frequently.

David PenalozaItem 20

What I do, it's nobody's fault but the driver's fault that they're driving 100 miles per hour down Main Street or Sigurström. And that's unfortunate, but we need to really do better as a community in just practicing just regular driving safety. What I do want to ask is from our police chief. I drive around this entire city and I don't expect you to respond because it's just my council comments but I drive around the city like many of us do all day long and I it's been a while that I've seen a traffic officer a motor cop out there enforcing speeding enforcing these laws I remember growing up in the

David PenalozaItem 20

city and my childhood and I would see motor cops everywhere I would always see them and i know because i'd be driving with my mom and she'd throw her cell phone in the back of the seat or put on her seat belt or slow down and you know and she'd point out the motor cop i i haven't i'm sure you're probably out there or you're you're you're but i would hope that we really beef up our traffic division in patrolling and really enforcing traffic laws like speeding mainly mainly speeding, because I see them all the time, all day long, where we're seeing speeding cars

David PenalozaItem 20

everywhere. And I don't think, just because I know that I'm not seeing these motor cops out there, I would hope that we put emphasis in that area and start focusing on enforcing these speeding laws and going after drivers, ticketing them, because that's the only way that this community is going going to learn that they shouldn't be speeding the way they've been doing uh so that that's it for for comments um i do want to thank parks and rec uh for the movies in the in the in the park at memorial park it was uh and the police department for having the national night out

David PenalozaItem 20

that day uh thank you for not doing it tonight uh so all of us could attend and uh yeah those

Benjamin VazquezItem 20

are my comments so thank you madam mayor thank you mayor parton thank you so much um i too did did not go to Naleo this year, nor did I go to Sahuayo, but that was for the ICE Enforcements that we were having in the community. I had gone to Naleo a year ago to New York and I did go with Councilmember Peñalosa. We did approve a budget for $40,000. Seven of us voted for a budget for travel. Seven of us agreed and we didn't fight on it, but we did approve that budget, the seven of us, together as all of us agreed on that.

Benjamin VazquezItem 20

And I did want to talk, I did have Chief Rodriguez, I was having a discussion about Sanctuary City with one of my close friends and he was worried about us

Benjamin VazquezItem 20

and criminals coming or international criminals coming and not supporting the feds if there's a criminal investigation. There's a difference between a criminal investigation and immigration enforcement. enforcement. Can you kind of discuss how we would deal with that and what that means sanctuary city means to us really quick?

Sonia R. CarvalhoItem 20

Um Councilmember I just want to remind you this is Council comments. Okay just and I mean if you want to have if you I don't know how quick that could be and it really is up to the chair but we want to remind you it's Council comment. Yeah just the comments please. Thank you just to be quick

Benjamin VazquezItem 20

if there's an investigation our police would investigate international crime international international gangs in Santana. They're not going to go free. Sanctuary doesn't mean crime goes as people want, but it's just about immigration enforcement itself. That is correct, MPT. Thank you. I also, hear me out, Mayor, and I'm going to give you an idea about, thank you for bringing in the Quality of Life team, because I did, I've done ride-alongs with them, and they're constantly working. They're non-stop. You get in the car with them, and they're

Benjamin VazquezItem 20

just work work work work work it just keeps going they do not stop they're uh i know we have 36 missing uh positions so i i like here's what i and i like what you said because i when i brought up before i said if we could hire 10 more officers maybe two could be for quality of life team because we have 36 open positions we had 40 at one time so we could have more people helping us out and enforcing it because they're doing amazing work and when i went out with them there was i I only went for four hours and they engaged with 16 people and some people didn't want the service

Benjamin VazquezItem 20

but one person I think believe was arrested they had narcotics on them in an alley and head injured park uh one woman uh an elderly woman couldn't go back to the shelter because she had missed curfew so they didn't let her back in for a few weeks which was really sad she wanted to go back in and then uh one woman she went in for mental health she needed mental health and uh luckily the quality of life team was there to support her and then we found a man on first street over by the dmv and he didn't want to go in he didn't want to go to a shelter

Benjamin VazquezItem 20

but the quality of life team and the officers stood there for half an hour trying to convince him to go to shelter and eventually he decided to go into shelter and it was good work and they were very graceful and did the work so i see the work that they're doing it's amazing so if after we hire 10 officers uh chief rodriguez and we could increase include increase the quality of life team because they are working with you i've gone on rides with the regular patrol and they ride or they're doing work and they're waiting for the phone calls but if they see an unhoused person

Benjamin VazquezItem 20

they're not going to pull over because they're ready for those hard harder phone calls they're They're ready for what the work that we've expected them to do when we call them. They show up, but they're not going to pull over like the quality of life. They'll see somebody. It's not a call. They'll just see them, and they'll go talk to them, regardless if they got called in or not. They're going to engage all the time. Our patrol officers cannot do that because they're doing police work. They're doing the police work that we expect them to do. So I do appreciate the quality of life team and our police officers for doing their work.

Benjamin VazquezItem 20

And just hear me out, and I think we could do this together, and I think you agree, so that's really cool. So I appreciate you listening and taking it on.

Benjamin VazquezItem 20

Surprise, yeah, we do agree a lot of times. I wanna bring out, we did Musica, and I organized an event called With a Few Friends with Alicia Rojas, with Sandra, with Tzuyu, with Jenny. We organized a music festival called Musica Namigra, We raised $7,200 for Orange County Rapid Response Network. That's the second group we did, and I wanna thank, I wanna, all our sponsors, La Santa and the Garcia family, for reaching out, because they reached out, like, do another one for us, because we did one for the National Day Labor Organization Network, and we had a great time. Tomorrow, I invite all the teachers of Santa Ana.

Benjamin VazquezItem 20

Sometimes you have to do things from the dais as a council member or as a teacher, but I am organizing this as a community member or as your neighbor. Tomorrow I'm calling teachers to come in in that capacity because we really have to defend ourselves. Tomorrow I'm organizing a training on ICE specifically for teachers in defense of our communities and what we can do, how we can train teachers, teachers taking the role of patrolling the community and also the lessons we can teach our students to defend themselves and how to interact when they see an ICE raid happening. I want to thank Union del Barrio

Benjamin VazquezItem 20

and Association of Raza Educators for coming out to Santa Ana. We will be at five o'clock. We will be at Festival Hall.

Benjamin VazquezItem 20

And at this meeting, I would be remiss if I didn't mention, I couldn't get ahold of her family, but I did have a, I wanted to close the meeting in honor of Jenny Dang, who was a friend of mine from high school. And a lot of us are going to miss her. She was, in the words of one of her close friends, Han, Jenny was charismatic, vivacious, bold, intelligent, beautiful, compassionate, authentic, funny, vocal, unfiltered, rebellious, and intolerant of justice. She was fiercely loyal to her friends. She was larger than life.

Benjamin VazquezItem 20

She possessed a fiery, passionate, blazing spirit that perhaps was too brilliant for her mortal body. Rest in peace, Jenny Dang. We love you.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 20

Thank you. Thank you, Mayor Pro Tem. I appreciate that. First, I want to thank the staff for the Santana Ayuda Sin Fronteras, Help Without Borders. Thank you. I know you guys moved very quickly on that. Really appreciate all the work. Also Mr. City Manager, thank you so very much because I asked you to put up resources at the bus stops that the city owns for Know Your Rights and resources for our community at our bus stops with the QR code and whatnot. And I know our staff are working on that. So Rudy, thank you.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 20

City Manager and Deputy, thank you so very much because our families use our bus stops and what a great place to put up the posters and the information. but at our bus stops right so it's a great opportunity for us as a city to provide that information first of all I want to start off I too like council Penalosa and mayor Pro Tem I did not travel to Nile I've been there I'm twice as a school board member and once I believe as the mayor if I'm incorrect somebody will surely correct me and I did not go because whether it was last year's budget or this year's budget it's not the time you know we're slimming things down and we're

Valerie AmezcuaItem 20

all talking about how to save money and he was even brought up during the budget to you know cut travel costs and whatnot because i was going to sacramento to speak on bills and whatnot i also did not go to saguayo and that's a very big deal for me because they were going to give us the keys to the city as the mayor and so I am deeply honored to represent the city of Santa Ana and receive the keys to the city at Sahuayo and I did not go because our families are far more important than me going to Sahuayo or Naleo and so there's too many things going on in this city whether it is the immigration issue

Valerie AmezcuaItem 20

or the budget or just everything that comes up every single day it is not the time to be traveling and so like council Penalosa and Mayor Pro Tem I chose not to and that was our our choice but for me the constituents come first and I know mr. city manager you and your team we're also going to go to so while with us and you also decided not to travel and so thank you for that and so while is giving the city of Santa Ana fifty thousand dollars for immigrant fund that's a lot of money for so while to give us and so on top of the money that we excuse me that we've approved they are also giving us fifty thousand

Valerie AmezcuaItem 20

dollars for our family so thank you to um our family and so while for that so i will not be traveling um with the city paying for anything so if i travel it's either to be on my dime or another agency that i am traveling for if they ask me to go speak in sacramento on a bill they will need to be paying for it the city i will not be asking the city to pay for my travel for the remainder of the year that is my commitment as the mayor okay so mr mayor pro tem thank you about the police officers because when I first sat here first year we were 48 officers short and now we

Valerie AmezcuaItem 20

are only chief I believe 31 roughly and we just brought in five five last week very rough we

brought in five new ones last week yes and we had a homicide detective retire okay okay so we're

Valerie AmezcuaItem 20

short so let's get those 10 officers man pro time I'm there with you and don't tell me not to take of time because you all spoke okay so thank you chief rodriguez for doing um producing a video with that with me the importance of calling 9-1-1 especially when people are afraid right now to call 9-1-1 in the times that we are experiencing so thank you for doing that because i know many residents watch that video and we shared it in spanish and in english and paul where is paul thank you paul for all the work that he's doing as our pio with their videos i really appreciate that

Valerie AmezcuaItem 20

I was able to attend a ribbon-cutting at the Bishop Manor Playground. It was a community project with Kids Work and other agencies and so other organizations. It's a beautiful playground so if you get an opportunity stop by Bishop Manor and take a look at it. We also, I also co-host a back-to-school backpack event with the Santa Ana Elks and other partners including POA. We were able to stuff 4,500 backpacks. That is a wonderful number. So and we've handed them out to students elementary level and high school level so we do that ever i've been doing

Valerie AmezcuaItem 20

that this is my third year with them and so thank you to all the people who volunteered and have handed out the backpacks i'm continuing for the neighborhood association meetings councilman becerra thank you for bringing up the drones because at the last neighborhood association meeting chief i know that the neighborhood leaders all of them requested drones and not just for fireworks but there are other cities who have drones um and so i want to i want to thank you and I'm glad that you're bringing this forward. And so also in that meeting Mr. City Manager

Valerie AmezcuaItem 20

it was brought up that there was, I want to get make sure I get it correctly, that there was something that was put out by a council member that the council approved mass surveillance, a mass surveillance system and that has now shown to share sensitive data with ICE. And so I would like that to be looked at because I want to be able to go back next month to the neighborhood association meeting and share with them that we did not approve a mass surveillance this is exactly how it was written a mass surveillance system we did not approve that and so honesty is very important and so when we

Valerie AmezcuaItem 20

sit up here I want to make sure that that's accurate so if we did approve one I'd like to know because I didn't miss that meeting and nobody's taking your DNA and it's not a mass surveillance system and so I'm sure we'll have the same conversation when drones come up and other things. Our community is asking for to address public safety and you can look at data and you can go here you go there whatever it's about safety for our community and every neighborhood association meeting that I've had in the last three years that I've been sitting here every leader wants to be safe in their community and their neighbors want to be

Valerie AmezcuaItem 20

safe and so I want to make sure and that was brought to our attention on at that meeting that we approved a mass surveillance system so I would like you to please find out what system did we approve it chief somebody and let us know if in fact this council approved a mass surveillance system because that's how it was read off by a constituent that read the newsletter um Also, great news, we attended, Councilman Penalosa, myself, Councilman Becerra, Mayor Pro Tem, Councilmember Lopez attended a push-in ceremony for the Orange County Fire Authority's new 1.5 million fire engine. Yay! It's a state of the art.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 20

It will help the department respond better, more effectively. It is truly a beautiful machine. Please go look at it. And when D.C. Henry said push-in ceremony, I thought he was joking. But yes, we did push in the fire truck. We had some help. but we did push it in and they will be getting two more new fire trucks so DC Henry thank you for the invitation I'm sure we'll be joining you at the next push-in ceremony and that's at fire station 74 also I met with Michael Hunn CEO Cal Optima and street medicine is coming we're meeting it should be rolling out hopefully by the first of the year and we also did a video

Valerie AmezcuaItem 20

together and he was sharing the resources that we that Cal Optima has has, from medical transportation to virtual care options for our residents, because residents are afraid to leave their home. And so Cal Optima is providing services. Families Forward has a wonderful community market. If any of the council members have not been out there to visit with Families Forward, please go take a look at their community market, and they offer incredible services out there.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 20

and Ishmael had a friend named Ishmael had, gosh, what's his last name? I apologize. I apologize. Slatiana had backpack giveaway. We gave away 400 backpacks and we had great music. And it was just amazing to have the community come out there in that neighborhood and get backpacks and food and music and the lowrider cars were there. So it was a really good event and we gave away 400 backpacks. Thank you to the zoo. Thank you Hawk. We had coffee with the mayor at the zoo. It's always a hit. We had over 50 people there, well over 50 people. But we had two special guests, the otter, bless you.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 20

The otter and the monkey joined us, and they assaulted me. Everybody saw it. It's on video.

David PenalozaItem 20

The name's Tammy.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 20

I'm sorry?

David PenalozaItem 20

It's Tammy, not monkey.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 20

The monkey?

David PenalozaItem 20

Yeah, Tammy. Oh, it's Tammy.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 20

Is she a monkey?

David PenalozaItem 20

It's a tamarin monkey, so it's Tammy.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 20

She's a tamarin monkey, and the otter, does the otter have a name, Hawk? What's his name?

Benjamin VazquezItem 20

Ollie.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 20

Ali, okay. So they joined us at the coffee with the mayor and the families loved it and so invite them to come out to your events because the otter and the monkey are wonderful to have. They just might pull pulgas out of your hair and eat them and things of that nature and attempt to assault you, but thank you to the otter and Tamara, Tamara the monkey, Tammy for joining us. And then the Orange County Labor Federation, we had a dinner with them and it was great to celebrate with them and the union leaders that are creating change throughout Orange County, throughout the country actually. And then

Valerie AmezcuaItem 20

yesterday, Sunday, with Santa Ana, the third annual charity classic car show at the Santa Ana Alps Lodge. It was a great event. They raised money for the scholarships and for all the wonderful things that they do there. That was just wonderful. It's been really, really busy and so I'm honored to represent the city in so many different places. And finally, I'm also honored at this time that I've been appointed chair of the California Sober Living and Recovery Task Force. CASLR is a nonpartisan, solutions-focused coalition working group to elevate standards

Valerie AmezcuaItem 20

for sober living and recovery homes across Santa Ana and the state of California. And I'll be advocating for safe, ethical, and accountable housing for those in recovery. So as we know, we need to make sure that they're running properly because we've had people die in there and get services and get kicked out to our streets and so we don't want that. So I'm honored to sit on that board representing the City of Santa Ana as the mayor. I'm gonna close in memory and I'd like to take a moment

Valerie AmezcuaItem 20

to honor the lives of three brave Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department detectives who tragically lost their lives in an explosion at the Academy Training Facility in Los Angeles. This is what I always talk about when I tell people, you know, officers go to work, they have families and significant others and children, and you know, I would hope that we would all thank them because sometimes they don't go home and it's very tragic. Detective Joshua

Valerie AmezcuaItem 20

Kelly Eagland served with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department for 19 years and most recently he was with the Special Enforcement Bureau. He is survived by his wife and seven children. Seven children.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 20

Detector Victor Lemus. He served, sorry, that's a little difficult. He served for 22 years, also with the Special Enforcement Bureau. He is survived by his wife, who's also a detective with the department. Three daughters, three sisters who served in the department, and four brothers. Detective William Osborne, a 33-year veteran of the department, also signed to the Special Enforcement Bureau. He is survived by his wife, a detective with the department, his four sons, and two daughters.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 20

Their end of watch was Friday, July 18, 2025. 25. On behalf of the City of Santa Ana, I extend our deepest gratitude to those officers and their families for their dedication and for their service.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 20

And may their memory be a blessing and their sacrifice never be forgotten. So when you go out in the streets at night and you see them working, just remember they have families families to go home to and take a moment to thank them because there are people up here who beat them up sometimes. And I'm sure that those three detectives did not go to work that day and know it was going to be their last day on the job and it was going to be the end of their watch. And they all have children and families.

Valerie AmezcuaItem 20

And so with that, this meeting is adjourned.