City Council Meeting — December 15, 2021

Please put your right hand on your heart and follow after me. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which you stand, one nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Thank you all.

So, City Clerk Vincent, would you please call roll? Thank you. Council Member Peter Chan? Here.

Here. Council member Hans Liang. Here. Council member Fred Cernoso. Here. Mayor Pro Tem Henry Lo.

Here.

Okay. And Mary Yvonne Yu. Here. All present. Thank you. Thank you.

City manager or city attorney, do we have any agenda addition, deletion, change, or adoptions?

Yes, Madam Mayor, Mayor Pro Tem and council. Also, I would request that we would pull from consent item from the consent calendar item 3E so we can talk about hybrid meetings. And that would be the only request from staff.

Okay. And then attorney, do we have anything to add or daily?

City attorney, how?

sorry technical difficulties

there's nothing from the city attorney's office although i am going to report that there were no

reportable actions taken in closed sessions closed session concluded at 6 23 p.m okay thank you

and deputy city clerk do we have any any public communications

Thank you, Madam Mayor. Audience, if you want to speak during public communications,

now's the time to do so. If you are on the phone, please press star 9. If you are on your device, please use the raise hand feature at this time. The first speaker I have is our city treasurer, Joseph Leon.

Joseph?

Hello? Can you hear me now? Yes, please. Sorry, I had a communication issue. Good evening, Madam Mayor, Councilmembers, and residents of Monterey Park. Joseph Leon here tonight as the city's representative of the San Gabriel Valley Mosquito and Vector Control District. I just want to remind everybody, now that the rainy season started, to make sure to look out for any stagnant water around your homes as it creates a breeding ground for mosquitoes. My name is Parkinson. I'm very lucky. We haven't had any West Nile virus with any of our residents in the past and hopefully never in the future. And, of course, we could all help each other by making sure we have no stagnant water around in our homes. any small amount of water can create breeding ground for mosquitoes. I can't see myself so I'm not sure if you can see what I'm holding up. It's a cup of water. I can't see. Anyway, this is where a lot of mosquitoes will breed. So make sure you have no water laying around the house. And if there's any questions, please call 626-814- 9-4-6-6, which is a direct number for the San Gabriel Valley mosquito retro control number. And they don't ask any questions regarding any mosquitoes or any black flies or any concerns you may have. And lastly, a lot of people don't realize that there's no direct cost to anyone as we pay for these services when we pay our property taxes. Thank you very much. And that's all.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Joseph. Next speaker, phone number ending in 406. Please state your name.

Good evening, honorable mayor and members of the City Council for Monterey Park. My name is Charles Leone, and I have the honor and blessing of working for SCIU Local 721, and we represent city workers in Monterey Park, And it is an absolute blessing to work with the rank and file in Monterey Park. First and foremost, I want to thank all of you for your leadership. I want to thank all of you for being good stewards of the city's finances and for the city having robust finances. Thank you so much, Mayor Yu, Mayor Pro Temt Henry Lo, Honorable Members of the City Council. I'm reaching out to you tonight, and some of our other members may be calling as well, because SEAU 721 is very interested in building a relationship with the Monterey Park City Council. The history that we have with each other, the working relationship that we have with each other, the collaboration that we have with each other is rich. It's deep. Our heart is in the city of Monterey Park, a wonderful city. But we have some pending matters, and this union has got some unresolved issues. We've been working with folks in HR. You have a new HR director, and we're looking forward to continuing to work with your HR director. But we also wanted to call upon you tonight, calling you tonight, to build a relationship with you for the long term, where we can work together, where we're able to partner, where we're able to have that relationship be a reflection of our common interest and our common commitment to the residents and the services that our rank and file provide. but we do have a couple of pending matters, particularly in public works. And I'm going to continue reaching out to HR, and hopefully we can get some resolution on these matters. But I'm reaching out to you as well for us to be able to build a relationship. Our folks provide essential services, have been there since day one during the coronavirus pandemic. We know you value the workforce. We know you value the services that they bring to the residents. Let's build this relationship. and for that I'm grateful for your time. Mayor, I'm grateful for your time. Council members, I am grateful for your time and I'm looking forward to a great new year and I wish all of you a happy holiday season.

Thank you.

Happy holidays to you too. Thank you. Thank you.

Next speaker,

speaker, the phone number ending is 016.

Please press star six to mute yourself and please state your name.

Hello, Mayor Yvonne Yu, City of Monterey Park Council members. Happy Holidays. My name is Jesus Hernandez. I've been employed with the City of Monterey Park as an electrician for about nine years.

I'm assigned to Building Maintenance, a division of Public Works.

Our labor union, SCIU 721 Service Employees International Union,

represents 68 job classifications, over 120 employees,

and 15 departments in the City of Monterey Park.

I'd like to say that we are pleased tonight to be represented by Charles Leone and Unique

Ferguson of SEIU 721, specifically on overdue and exhaustive matters pertaining to grievances and the conditions of our employment.

Again, happy holidays and thank you for your time.

Thank you. Happy holidays to you too.

Thank you, Mayor Bayer. I don't see any other hands.

And then we don't. Well, actually, we have one more.

Photo of the NN442.

Please press star six to unmute yourself and please state your name.

Good evening. Yes. My name is Simboia Wright, and I am the vice president of Service Employees International Union Local 721. We represent the beautiful city of Monterey Park, but not only the beautiful city of Monterey Park, we also represent other cities, 98,000 members throughout Southern California. Our members here in Monterey Park are proud to serve the city. They have served the city through the pandemic. Through a pandemic, no pandemic, they are there to serve. We have some ongoing issues with the Department of Public Works that we would ask the city council to assist in resolving. We have HR that is aware of this. We want to make sure that our city employees continue to serve the city efficient and safe. We want to make sure that the services, that the central services that our city employees provide continue in an efficient manner. So we want to thank you. We want to say happy holidays. And we look forward to working with you. Thank you.

Thank you. Happy holidays to you, too.

Thank you, Madam Mayor. I do not see any other speakers for public communications. We do not have any written communications as well.

Okay. Thank you. So next, we don't have any staff communications as well. So we just move on to the consent calendar. So we have consent calendar from 3A to actually 3G. I believe 3E being removed. And so any council member would like to pull any items?

Okay. So if no one wanted to pull any items,

can we have a motion to approve a consent calendar from 3A to 3G? Madam Mayor? Yes?

Can I check with the audience to see if they want to speak on consent calendar?

Sure.

audience if you want to speak on consent calendar item now it's the time to do so

please press star 9 if you're on the phone or if you're on your device please use the raise hand feature and matter there I believe uh city of treasurer joseph leon want to speak on an item

sure good evening madam mayor council members across residence Monterey Park again joseph leon this time I have for the city as city treasurer. As far as on the agenda on 3B, if you notice, interest rates are still very low. We have very few cities because interest rates are still very low. I checked today and it's still very low. And as you can see, most of the funds are still in the LEAF, in the state pool, and in the county pool. But as you can see, the county pool has a higher return than the state pool right now. So I've asked our Director of Management Services, Martha Garcia, to try to move as much of the funds as she feels feasible into the county pool so we can get a better return for the city of London Park. Not necessarily any particular matter. ! Not necessarily any particular amount, whatever she feels comfortable with. ! She's in charge of every day to day operations. ! But to be better. ! Hopefully we can move some of those funds from the state to the county So we can get a high return for the city of Rundering Park. ! And that said with that, I just want to wish everybody a happy holidays and a happy new Year's! Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. There are no other speakers for consent calendar item. There are no written communications as well. Thank you.

Thank you. So may I get motions to approve item from 3A to 3G?

Move to approve consent agenda.

Okay.

Okay. Sure.

And so City Clerk Vincent, would you please call roll?

Thank you. Council Member Peter Chan? Yes. Council Member Han Ziyang? Yes. Council Member Fred Cernoso? Aye. Mayor Pro Tem Henry Lo? Aye. And Mary Yvonne, you? Yes. Motion passed. Thank you. Thank you.

All right. So we move to the new business 5A, authorized city manager to amend agreement number 1925-A with Carnival Midway attractions and provide directions regarding the play days parade.

Madam Mayor? 3E.

3E, I think. Yeah. Pulled that one.

Thank you. Madam Mayor, Mayor Patem, Council Members, 3E talks about the AB 361, but we wanted to have that item pulled because we are talking about possibly having a hybrid meeting on the 28th for the mayoral installation. we have our Assistant City Manager Inez Alvarez that will be talking about that specifically just so we can get some type of direction and approval by council so that way we can add hybrid meetings into the approval process. Inez?

Thank you, City Manager. Inez Alvarez, Assistant City Manager. Good evening, Madam Mayor and members of the council. So our staff report and draft resolution that's attached to the staff report, AB 361 allows for the extension of the local emergency and allows for the extension of allowing for virtual meetings. We drafted the resolution originally to continue virtual meetings. If the council would like to direct staff to make adjustments to the resolution to allow for a hybrid option, we just need to know if that's the direction of the council for tonight. And then we could start those hybrid type meetings effective December 28th for the mayoral installation. So we're just looking for direction. We know at the last council meeting, we did discuss the potential for allowing for a hybrid option. However, we drafted the resolution based on what our current practice has been. We can make an adjustment. That's the request that we're making tonight is direction from council what we would like to do moving forward. And we're available for any questions.

Can you just clarify what you mean by a hybrid meeting? Sure.

A hybrid meeting would allow for members of the council to be in person in the council chamber. and members of the public to still participate remotely. So still utilizing a Zoom option. So to keep the numbers down in the council chambers or the in-person numbers down, elected officials and city staff, a few city staff that would be presenting would be in the council chambers, but the members of the public would still either have the option to call in or to utilize exactly what we're doing right now, which is a Zoom link and participate virtually. Mayor Pro Temlo, your hand.

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

Thank you, Inez, for being available to answer questions. Let me ask, so in the hybrid format, if we were to have it in the council chambers,

would that mean as part of the hybrid format,

it would be presumably Zoomed as well as our streamed to our cable,

station as well our YouTube page?

Correct. So it would still function the same that it is now. We would just have one of the squares that we see on our computer monitors would actually be a live image of the council chambers. But correct. We would have the same options. You can stream it on our website or YouTube or you can watch it live on the cable channel.

Okay. Correct.

Council Member Chen.

Thank you, Madam Mayor. And I would like to ask, because you mentioned that all council members and staff, you know, doing presentation will be present in person in the council chambers. But I would like to add if any council members or staff that does not feel comfortable coming in to the council chamber in person and they can still can do it at home or in their place that they feel comfortable by soon so I'd like to add that in yeah so that sort of the council members of the staff doesn't feel comfortable then they can still you know do it the only way. I mean, so I would like to thank you. Okay.

And council member Chen, as a yeah, just really quick, you know, LA County has had the new mandates regarding indoor masking. So I'm assuming that anyone attending would have to be mass

correct. Yes, that is correct. Yes, absolutely. Anybody participating indoors would be masked. The council chambers has also been, the dais has been fitted with plexiglass dividers in between the seats for extra protection. But yes, we would have to be masked. Correct.

And I don't know if this is a stretch, but for people that are attending, would it be too much to ask if they were vaccinated? Anyone that, I mean, of all the people that are in the room?

is that um i'm gonna have to sorry about that i'll defer to um our city attorney i'm not sure if that's language that we can include

oh bye carl madam mayor members of the council i i think the draft resolution is fine as is if the city council simply wants to give direction in terms of how it wants to set up the hybrid then staff could do that. It doesn't have to obligate the city to do it on an ongoing basis. This is being suggested simply because of the mayoral ceremony that's being planned for the end of this month, moving into January. So come January 19th, the city council would have the opportunity to once again, give direction in terms of how it wants to move forward. Right now, the governor's order extending the statewide emergency is going to expire at the end of March. So we are looking at least until the end of March for some sort of direction on how to perform these types of virtual meetings. There are many jurisdictions, as the council is aware, that are doing either a combination of purely telecommunications versus hybrid. Some are completely in person in other counties as well. So based upon the statewide mandate that has come down today from the state health office requiring all masks wearing indoors, I think the balance between ceremonial presentation for the transition in the mayors versus the health mandates, you may want to have a hybrid whereby simply the city council members that wish to appear in person may do so. The city manager and the city attorney would appear, the city clerk, and then certain invited guests that have been verified by the city manager to be vaccinated could enter into the city council chambers. That would be my recommendation at the moment. The fire department and police department, I'm sure, would want to weigh in if you had any additional health concerns. That's a very long-winded way of saying, which I guess is my usual forte. But I think simply direction rather than changing the resolution is fine under these circumstances.

And really quick, do we have, if this resolution is passed with those provisions, do we have the ability to pivot if between now and the 28th, you know, there's some new public health orders or something happens where, you know, we're barred again from getting together?

Yeah, the city manager has his local emergency powers. So he actually, under the municipal code,

has control over the city facilities during a local emergency.

And if that's the case, then he would simply exercise that authority for those purposes. Okay, perfect. Thank you.

Thank you. Any other questions? Okay. I don't see any questions then. Okay. So do we get the motions to approve item 3?

Motion to approve item 3E with the provision of a hybrid meeting for the 28th with the understanding that the city manager, depending on the public health situation, can modify that as necessary. Seconded motion.

Okay. So, city clerk, please call vote.

Thank you. Council member Peter Chan?

Yes.

Council member Han-Zang? Yes. Council Member Fresno. Aye. Mayor Procter-Mann-Milou. Aye. And Mayor Yvonne Yu.

Yes.

Okay. Motion carries.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. So for item 5A for new business, authorize City Manager to amend agreement to number 1925-A with Carnival Midway Attractions and provide directions regarding the Play Days Parade. So let's hear that report. Robert, the floor is yours.

Good evening, Mayor, Mayor of Potem, and City Council. Robert Aguirre, Director of Recreation and Community Services. So tonight's here to talk about our Play Days celebration. So every year, the City of Monterey Park celebrates its birthday in the month of May. And this is done with a four-day celebration called Happy Birthday, Monterey Park Play Days. Now, the celebration is a four-day carnival that includes live entertainment, food trucks, and also the Play Days parade. So due to the pandemic, back in 2020 and 2021, events were canceled. And so Carnival Midway, which is our carnival vendor for the rides, has requested that the city extend the current three-year agreement to make up for those lost years. So if approved, the agreement would include carnivals for 2022 and then 2023. So as part of the carnival agreement, Carnival Midway does share a percentage of the revenue with the city. And on average, it's about $13,500 each year. Now, the funds that are generated at the carnival actually do help offset the cost of the parade because the parade vendor alone is about $14,000. So there are some additional costs that do come with putting on the parade, and those do include restaurant rentals along the parade route, the rental of safety barriers. And then also it does include staff time for the police department, our public works department, and also recreation. And as you can imagine, we start planning for this event months in advance, and it can be staff intensive. So city does start planning with the street closures far in advance, making sure we have ample time to notify the businesses and residents in and around the parade route. They're going to be impacted by the street closures. Then on the day of the parade, Public Works and Police Department actually work together to shut down the street safely. And in previous years, the police department has been able to utilize their volunteer reserve staff and also the citizen patrol. And that was able to help safely shut down the parade route and during the parade. But in recent years, they've actually had a decrease in volunteers and instead of had to bring in off-duty officers resulting in some overtime in order to maintain safety during the parade. So back in 2019, we actually tried to address the shortfall with the volunteers by adjusting the parade route. And we not only wanted to address the decrease in available personnel, but we also wanted to see if we could compact the parade route a little bit more, go to some residential areas. And that way we could hopefully increase some of the struggling attendance that we've had with spectators. So planning for 2022, the police department has indicated there will be an additional shortfall in volunteers resulting in the need for additional off-duty personnel and some overtime. So the approximate cost, if we were to have a 2022 parade, would be about $41,000. dollars. The parade has continued to increase in cost over the years, but it has struggled in attendance and the attendance has somewhat decreased in some years. I will share that over the past 20 years, staff has, you know, worked to address the attendance by increasing marketing. We've done a number of promotional giveaways along the parade route. We've set up VIP experiences for our senior centers, senior citizens. We've had a number of celebrity grand marshals. And, you know, through all of that, we've had some limited success on increasing the spectators. However, what we... We have had some success with is when we've ramped up our live entertainment and also added food trucks to the carnival. We have seen an increase in the attendance at the carnival. So a possible alternative to utilizing the revenue would, an alternative to the parade would be actually to instead enhance and improve on the experience at the Pleiades carnival. So we can, by utilizing the revenue that's generated by the carnival, we could also reduce the impact on the general fund. So some of the things that we might be able to do to enhance the carnival might be hiring higher caliber experience that council could go up there and be able to introduce some really top-notch bands. We could develop a program like a read and ride program that rewards students for reading and rewarding them with complimentary ride tickets for doing so. We could also perhaps bring in a formal or a current professional athlete to provide autographs, maybe book some DJs and to perform and kind of cater to a younger demographic. Or we could even support a local competition and maybe try to develop something like a city flag. Now, that's not to say if we were to not do the parade annually, you know, later on, if councils see fit and wanted to have a future parade that maybe celebrated a milestone birthday in the future, that could be something that could be revisited as well. I would also note that by enhancing the carnival and adding some of these elements and adding to the attendance at the carnival, we would also increase the amount of revenue that would be generated at the carnival. And that could also be further support some of our other well-attended events and kind of increased and enhanced the experience for residents at events like our 4th of July, our Cherry Blossom event, if anyone went to our massive Monster Mash event, or Holiday Snow Village, and that would just further conserve our general fund. So tonight, you know, staff is recommending that the City Council authorize the City Manager to execute an amendment to the agreement for the Carnival Midway to have carnivals in 2022 and 2023. And I'm also here to ask for council's direction in regards to the play date spread. That concludes my staff report and I'm available for questions.

Thank you. And then before I actually go on to the questions for council, do we have any public comments? Deputy City Club?

Thank you, Madam Mayor. Audience, if you want to speak on this item, this is the time to do so. please utilize the raise hand feature if you're on the device or beyond the phone press star 9 at this time madam mayor i do not see any speakers for this item how and i do uh we do not have any written communications for this item as well thank you thank you i just see a raise hand from my

Mayor for Temlo.

Yes, thank you, Madam Mayor. And thank you, Mr. Aguirre. Well, I mean, since you are asking for direction and suggestions from city council, here is a thought.

Because if the issue about the parade is, you know, attendance, and I think probably since it's supposed to be a celebration of a city,

and one way, of course, I guess one gauge is enthusiasm is attending a parade.

I was wondering, actually, would it be possible, since theme tonight, another item with the hybriding things to do,

but would it be possible maybe instead of a parade, we do like a community walk or even a 5K run?

And the idea is that we could even have a, you know, we have several charities that serve our city

and even have any fees that would go towards a walk or a run to go towards our charities.

And I'm sure some of the fees could also defray the cost of the event.

Or, you know, if I recall, pre-pandemic, in the past, I've attended a Relay for Life walk in Barnes Park.

I know it was done by a private organization, but for those of you who probably follow the Relay for Life, these ways of awareness for those who are cancer survivors.

But I believe several communities, like in Rosemead, I know in Monterey Park, people have organized Relay for Life walks.

I mean, that's just an idea, but can we do a play days in partnership with Relay for Life?

Again, I'm not saying Relay for Life, but the idea is we do something with a partner, a community organization, to raise awareness, but also to support some of our community organizations as well.

Yeah, that's certainly something we could visit and look into stuff differently.

Okay, just to add a message, if the issue is that how do you drum up enthusiasm for a parade, then perhaps we repackage it as either a run or a walk or even a bike train.

You know, I mean, I know that's for Earth Day, but, you know, in Los Angeles, they just did Ciclavia a few weeks ago.

And Ciclavia in Los Angeles, it is, of course, a celebration of and encouragement of people to use alternative transportation.

And, you know, why not our own version of Ciclavia on Play Days?

Good suggestion. Any other comments from any other council members?

Okay, Council Member Chen. Thank you. And I'm okay for this year to cancel the parade in May because the pandemic is, you know, we still under the uncertainty of what's going on. And of course, we have officially canceled the Lunar Year Festival and also the Cherry blossom and because of the pandemic is still going on and we really don't know if in the summer it's done or not so it's everyone's guess so to but the parade is a tradition and for to celebrate the birthday of the city of monterey park so and of course you know council member hans and i and the previous councils for so many years, we enjoyed the parade, we enjoyed the play days and so forth. And it's a good experience. I have to tell you, it is very good regardless of the attendance. It's getting less and less year by year. But still, it's a great experience and I think all the council members and even the members that join the parade will enjoy. But since this is our last year in council, and the new council will take over, you know, end of next year, and so I just want to state that it's a good tradition, but I will leave it to the future council to decide how to celebrate the birthday of the city. But I have no problem canceling the parade this year, but But in the other activities, I hope we can still celebrate the birthday, like what Mayor Proton mentioned, even a 5K. Well, he can run, but I have to walk.

But any other and all the other things that you have suggested, I think that's a good idea.

And I have no problem with that as well.

But let's keep the celebration. And I think we need that. We need some kind of celebration to enjoy outdoors, but have to do it safe.

And so, yeah, so go ahead.

Absolutely. I hear you 100%. And that's really my goal with the staff report is to continue the celebration of the birthday and understanding that the amount of staff and resources and money that's put into the parade, you know, I was just suggesting some alternatives to still celebrate the birthday, but do it in a

manner where people are really enjoying themselves and are flocking to, which has been the Pleiades Carnival. So, because we have seen an increase in attendance at the carnival, so we're looking to further enhance the residents' experience at that activity.

Right. And then one thing I want to add is that after the parade, all the schools, you know, in the vicinity areas, they have the marching bands. And after that, we give out trophies to them. And that was a big success.

so hopefully we can have some way accommodate that

the marching bands may not be on the parade

but still have a chance for them to perform and compete and get some trophies just some suggestions to see how it goes I don't know

since they're marching bands

without marching on the parade so how do we do it but of course I think we can come up with some innovative ways to accommodate that. And then, of course, because of the students on the marching band, they do, you know, afterwards, they do participate in the play days,

do the games and everything, and eat and everything.

So there's a big revenue from them as well. So see what we can do to accommodate that. Thank you.

Thank you. Council Member Liang?

yeah i share similar sentiments with uh councilmember chan i know that uh you know we did enjoy that but as the years progressed you know even when we're on the parade route you know we could see that there are fewer people and it's understandable you know like they want to go play and go to the carnival and go eat food and you know a lot of people you know while they maybe want to see the parade they're willing to forego that as long as they have a chance to go you know experience the carnival and the other things but as councilmember chan said it's it is an experience and i don't think that you know future uh generations should um exclude the parade completely uh it's an experience i think you guys should experience in the future i don't mind just as peter said this is our last year and because of the circumstances of our you know the COVID and everything. It's, I'm not gonna, I'm not worried about that so much. But again, you know, as a result of what's happening here, you know, Robert, thank you for those suggestions. It really opens up people's imaginations on how we can celebrate the birth of Monterey Park or the founding of Monterey Park. And, you know, I think Peter's comments are important in that we We should always take time to recognize those dates and those milestones. And while we may not do it the same way every time, you know, we definitely need to do it when the time comes. But it also opens the, like I said, some creative ideas on how it might be done for generations to come, how the parade may evolve or change into something else. But, you know, we are 100 years old, over 100 years old. And there are many generations that have come through Monterey Park. And I think that, you know, ironically with COVID, it's giving us an opportunity to look at creating some new traditions. And, you know, changing some of the old ones, keeping some of the old ones, but really being more creative in how we recognize the city and how we celebrate the birthday. so I'm okay with excluding the parade for this year but I do recommend that when the new council comes in and when things get better that at least you all have an opportunity to experience that at least once and then maybe there's a way you know maybe when it's not there people will ask what happened to the parade you know how come we don't have the parade right well you know not a lot of people are showing up you know we need more people to show up you know so you know that may also be a a way to gain interest in terms of curiosity and why it's not happening. And, you know, we could try to highlight that a little bit more. So yeah, I'm okay with that. You know, I don't know what my new council members feel, but I don't mind if we exclude the parade for this year. Thank you.

Thank you. Council member Farsenoso.

Yeah, so I just want to comment on Henry's idea of a 5k 5k and then um peter's idea of band so i'm into uh competition so maybe be like for the 5k we could do awards for the you know have like different age divisions and have awards maybe that'll increase participation um i get my 97 year old uncle to participate i'm sure he'll probably finish first in his division even if it takes him all day to walk the 5k but But then also, like the bands, maybe have a competition between the different school bands and award a trophy for first place, second place, third place, have judges and stuff. So maybe that might increase participation and excitement, maybe. Just an idea.

Good suggestions. Yeah, so we can increase the participations, right? Sure. Sure. So any other comments or questions? And then I think to me, I'm more, I agree with all of you that, and I see that Mayor Pro Tem Lo is an environmentalist, more care about the climate. And so I think 5K run or even bike is actually more suitable, you know, for his vision. and I do the same too because I did participate in the parade before and I kind of you know have all the smell in the car and I feel like you know and then we block off all the roads so I feel like you know doing something different may be good for this year so we can actually hold off for it for a year and then let the new council decide it it actually hold off for a year and then let the new council decide if they want it to continue on later. ! So if we don't have any other comments then can we get a motion to approve item 5a?

! Move to approve item 5a. ! Move to approve item 5a. ! Move to approve item 5a. ! Move to approve item 5a. With the understanding that we are going to forego the parade for this year.

Right. Circuit. Okay, sure. And city clerk please call. And City Clerk, please call her.

Okay. Council Member Peter Chan? Yes. Council Member Hans Liang? Yes. Council Member Fred Sunoso? Aye. Mayor Pro Tem Henry Lo?

Aye. And Mayor Yvonne Yu?

Yes. Okay.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

So for City Communications and the remarks, so City Council Member Chan?

Thank you. and the whole city council went to Las Vegas to participate in the ICLC.

That's the real estate convention for, you know, two days. And we had some appointments, good appointments, and talked to different developers and companies. And the response was pretty good, and they would like to come to Monterey Park.

But because this year, because of the pandemic, it's like one-third or less than one-third the size of the regular ICSC convention. But still, there's a lot of things that's been done. And I want to thank the city manager and the economic development, Joseph Torres, and his assistant, Karen Cole, you know, also coming with us to arrange all the meetings.

And we do, you know, make a lot of success in that convention. So thank you for that. And then I and other council members went to the snow village.

And it was just right after big rain last week.

And the participants, less than before, usually we have like a few thousand kids enjoying the snow and so forth. And I know that council member Fresno also even tried to slay. which is good. I saw his video. And yeah, enjoy the ride. And also

many council members, we participate in the CAMS fundraiser dinner, and that is the Chinese American military support that was taking place just last Sunday. And it was a great event to honor all the veterans and so forth. So thank you and happy holidays to all of you. Enjoy the holidays with families, but still be careful and stay safe. Thank you. Thank you. Council Member Lea.

Yeah, thank you. Yes, I attended the ICSC conference along with my council members. I'm not going to go over that again. I mean, Peter was very accurate in reporting that, But I just want to comment that it was wonderful being able to be with all of my colleagues on the council, all five of us, to be able to be together, to be able to have meetings with these, you know, different perspective businesses coming into the city. and even on the evening of our first night to be able to sit down and have dinner together and just to create the kind of relationship and bonding that I think is always necessary for people like us that work together on a regular basis. But thank you all for participating. Thank you all for your time. Thank you all for your good conversation. I also attended the CAMS, Chinese American Military Support Event as well. I was unable to attend the snow village, but I did see our council member Fred Cernoso tearing up the slay, the slopes there. So since this is our last council meeting for the year, I'd like to wish everyone happy holidays and also to wish everyone a happy and safe new year. Thank you.

Thank you. Council member Fersonoso?

Yes, so I attended the Snow Village, and as my fellow council members said, I actually went down the slide there and got the motivation to start training for the next time's Winter Olympics. So I'll be going to Big Bear every so often and going down the toboggan run there. Also looking forward to Chief Halleck's swearing-in ceremony next week. So looking forward to participating in that.

Enjoy going to Las Vegas and spending time with my fellow council members and enjoy the dinner that we had afterwards.

And was surprised that they had karaoke and I wanted to get up and sing some Elvis tunes. But my fellow council members said to save it for either the bear ceremony coming up or for Chief Alex swearing in ceremony. So don't be surprised if I stand up and start singing some Divas Las Vegas or something.

Just want to thank Mayor Yu for her tenure as being mayor and just did an outstanding job coming in, like right off the bat, being elected and being an awesome mayor.

So thank you for your hard work in doing that.

Santa letter. I actually sent in a letter to Santa, and I got a response. I don't know if you can see here, but Santa sent me a letter promising that the Dodgers will win next year.

So looking forward to that happening. Attended the CAMS ceremony with a few, I think, except for the mayor. So that was fun and interesting to listen to the stories of the different military personnel there.

So thank you for their service. and also just want to thank and wish everybody a happy holiday season. So I'm looking forward again to the swearing-in ceremony next week and then our mayor installation on the 28th.

Oh, and I forgot one more thing. We're going to have a community cleanup day on Saturday, January 18th, I believe, at Elder Park. Is that right? And I know I don't have the fire in front of me, but I think it's on the 18th.

So everybody, you know, take time to start going through your garages and any bulk items that you have. And I think it's going to include electronic items this time, too, right?

So if you get some new TVs for Christmas and you want to dump your old TV, this is your opportunity to get rid of any computers, TVs, mother-in-laws, whatever you want to get rid of. Now is the opportunity. So anything you want to add to that, Inez?

That date is January 15th. Yes, Saturday.

Yes, January 15th. And it is at George Elder Park.

Yes. And yes, e-waste this time is going to be alLod because we did figure people were going to get new gadgets. So, yep, see you there.

All right. That's the end of my report. Thank you. Thank you. Mayor Pro Temlo.

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

And let me also continue the compliment that was started by my colleague, Councilman Sennoso, towards your leadership, Mayor Yu, during this past year. It's certainly been, I still tell people that it has been a very interesting way to begin all of our terms, as well as those who are on the council who can continue their terms during a pandemic and all the challenges that came with it.

But I think that now looking back from April of 2020 to now, December of 2021, I think that we've been a very collaborative city council working together in the interest of our constituency in the city of Monterey Park.

And I think that's why it's reflected in that we are also, you know, as a unified council,

we're able to attend these conferences like ICSC to promote the city, to bring good quality retail to the city,

and really to highlight and raise the availability of Monterey Park to those who are at the conference. I also attended the snow village and, you know, was able to say hello to Santa. And I want to thank Carol Sullivan, who was there helping Santa and children who wanted to take their pictures with him.

and to everyone who attended the village.

I also attended the Greater LA Area Council Boy Scouts

El Camino Outstanding Awards Dinner

that was at the Singapore Hilton

and it was also attended by Council Member Peter Chan and at this year's award, one of our council members from our neighboring city,

Roseby Council Member Maggie Clark

was actually one of the honorees for her commitment and devotion to the Boy Scouts And I just want to give my compliments to Alhambra School Board member Bob Jen, because it was Mr. Jen and his brother who have been very involved in the El Camino Council of Boy Scouts and continues to promote the Boy Scouts and the work that they do.

Also on December 4th, in our own Barnes Park, I participate in a workshop sponsored by API Ford Movement, in which people from the community from both Monarch Park and Alhambra came out to give input and suggestions on their vision to make Atlantic Boulevard and Garfield more pedestrian friendly,

because both Garfield and Atlantic are shared by Alhambra and Monterey Park. And I think there was probably about 50 people who attended this workshop

that was at the picnic area of Barnes Park,

as well as it was attended by council members,

Sasha Renee Perez from Alhambra, as well as council member Adele Andrade-Stadler.

Our own city clerk, Vincent Chang, was there. and so you know it was it was a good meeting of people just to give their input and visions um also um i also attended the camp oh i'm sorry also um um thank you valley municipal water board president thomas wong also attended the uh place of workshop on the 4th in uh barnes park and so we thank him for uh coming as well and um i also attended the cams uh dinner um to recognize the contributions of our military families from Chinese American backgrounds and let's see you know again just want to thank the city council and the staff and the residents and constituents of our city for participating in our civic governance and you know making the city a

better place so thank you. Thank you thank you Mayor Pro Temlo. Before I get started I wanted

to have the last call for anyone that who wanted to give comments or anything um yeah because um yeah i may just wanted to adjourn the meeting after my remarks so um last call if anyone wanted to jump out and to give any comments or or any uh questions okay so if not then um yeah um i attend

the ICSC events with everyone, all the council members. I think it was a very pleasant, you know, finally we get to, you know, get together. We had a great time. I attend the Topgolf events hosted by Montebello City Council with Mayor Pro Temlo, and I'm jealous that the Topgolf actually will be coming to Montebello, but since we're really close by, so hopefully we'll get some traffic from them and our mayor pro temlo tried to play golf his first time and people ask me how did that go i said whatever happened in vegas stay in vegas

so i'm not i'm not going to comment that um i hope um you all enjoy our videos um on our christmas party i did actually play some little trick and innovative um cartoon on it and i also attend all city meetings um the league of california city contract city ica a christmas celebration last week and the whole room was packed with a lot of people i'm glad to be able to meet a lot of elected officials over there um this is actually a last regular city council meeting that i host as a mayor so i hope you all enjoy the meetings um i will have my outgoing remarks on the December 28th special meeting. And I also wanted to report that it is with such sadness that Monterey Park Police Department Detective Brian Entrust passed away on Monday,

December 13, 2021. Brian served in the U.S. Military, Marine Corps, and Army from 1993 to 2003. He became a beloved member of our department in 2003 after graduating from Rio Hondo Police Academy Class No. 168.

He was a field training officer for 11 years and a member of our range staff for the last two years. Throughout his years of service, he received various accommodations and letters of appreciation and his service with our community. His final assignment with the department was a detective, which he excelled in. On a personal level, the police department was sorely missed Brian's smile and friendship. Our thought and prayer are with his family during this difficult time. Now I would like to declare the City Council meeting adjourned in memory of Brian Andrus. Thank you so much. Thank you so much for attending.