[3:56] I'd like to officially call to order the

[3:57] regularly scheduled traffic and parking

[3:59] commission meeting of January 5th, 2026.

[4:02] Let the record show that all

[4:03] commissioners are present tonight. Vice

[4:06] Chair Arando will lead us in the pledge

[4:08] of

[4:08] >> allegiance.

[4:15] to the flag of the United States of

[4:17] America.

[4:33] We have one ceremonial item this

[4:35] evening. I will hand it over to

[4:36] Commission Secretary to present the

[4:39] item.

[4:44] Yes. Uh, thank you, Cher. We open

[4:47] nominations tonight for the position of

[4:50] uh, chair of the traffic and park

[4:52] commission.

[4:56] Nominations.

[5:00] » I nominate Commissioner Riker.

[5:06] » I'd like to nominate Vice Chair Armando

[5:08] to chair position.

[5:12] Any others?

[5:17] Okay, we'll vote first for uh

[5:21] Is there a second on any of these?

[5:27] » Can I second for me?

[5:31] » Second for Mark. Commissioner Mondo,

[5:34] >> a second.

[5:37] » a second.

[5:37] Is there a second for

[5:40] Commissioner Rickert?

[5:43] » I'll second that motion.

[5:48] » Vote for

[5:50] Commissioner Rickert.

[6:11] That motion passes for commission record

[6:13] as uh chair of the traffic commission

[6:17] meeting

[6:19] three to two. Three yes's three nos.

[6:24] Commissioner record, you are the new

[6:26] chair for 2026.

[6:34] not used to this. I'm very honored.

[6:36] Thank you folks very much. Uh

[6:39] nominations. Go ahead. Vice chairman.

[6:43] >> Open nominations now for the position of

[6:48] » Open nominations now for the position of

[6:48] vice chair for the traffic and parking

[6:50] commission.

[6:52] >> I'd like to nominate Commissioner Patel.

[6:58] » I'll second.

[7:06] Uh, please vote.

[7:21] The nomination for vice chair for

[7:25] Anil Patil passes 5-0.

[7:29] Cong congratulations, Commissioner

[7:31] Patel.

[7:33] >> Thank you, Madam Secretary. Thank you,

[7:34] » Thank you, Madam Secretary. Thank you,

[7:34] commissioners.

[7:37] » Okay, next we'll move on to public

[7:39] comments. Public comments are restricted

[7:41] to three minutes per person. Do we have

[7:44] any public comments, Madam Secretary?

[7:50] » Uh, not at this time.

[7:52] >> No public comments. Then we'll move on

[7:54] » No public comments. Then we'll move on

[7:54] to the consent calendar. Does anybody

[7:56] want to pull any item from the consent

[7:59] calendar?

[8:03] I'd like to pull item three, ask lake

[8:05] forest summary report. Just have a

[8:07] question on one.

[8:10] And I'll make a motion to approve item

[8:12] two, which is the minutes.

[8:15] >> I'll second that motion.

[8:17] » I'll second that motion.

[8:17] >> Motion made in second to approve the

[8:18] » Motion made in second to approve the

[8:18] minutes.

[8:32] Vote to approve minutes.

[8:43] Minutes for the November 23rd meeting

[8:46] are pass unanimously.

[8:50] Okay. Thank you.

[8:52] In regarding uh the aslakes forest

[8:56] summary report number three, there's a

[8:58] comment at the beginning about the

[9:03] calrans

[9:05] controlled light on the five freeway

[9:07] north on Lake Forest Drive always being

[9:10] read at the wrong time and not and I

[9:13] know we've talked about this before and

[9:15] I I personally have asked Al Calrans

[9:17] about about it and didn't get an answer.

[9:20] Is there any suggestions you have? Can

[9:22] we should the commission maybe write

[9:25] them a letter and say, "Hey guys, can

[9:26] you do something or is there any ideas

[9:30] or suggestions?"

[9:32] >> Yeah, at this point it is up to Cow

[9:34] » Yeah, at this point it is up to Cow

[9:34] Trans to obviously do their own signal

[9:37] timing for their facilities. We do have

[9:39] a cooperative agreement uh for the Lake

[9:42] Forest TSSP that has come and gone at

[9:46] this point. Uh so if uh you would like

[9:49] uh I could certainly take the request

[9:51] and then bring it up to their higherups

[9:52] as well, but we could reach out again to

[9:55] let them know that we would like to have

[9:57] them cooperate in regards to that signal

[9:59] timing at that intersection.

[10:01] >> Okay. Is that something we need to vote

[10:02] » Okay. Is that something we need to vote

[10:02] on or something you can just do or

[10:04] >> No, I could go ahead and do that on

[10:05] » No, I could go ahead and do that on

[10:06] behalf of the commission. I think it

[10:07] would help. I what you fellow

[10:09] commissioners think, but that light's

[10:11] been a mess for a long time. And uh

[10:13] people cross Rockfield and they get

[10:16] greens and a hundred cars stop at that

[10:18] light and it's it's just always red. So

[10:23] yeah, I think that would help. Thank

[10:24] you. I make a motion to approve item

[10:26] three, which is the

[10:29] uh Aslake Forest report.

[10:32] >> Uh that's a receive and file item.

[10:34] » Uh that's a receive and file item.

[10:34] >> Oh, sorry.

[10:38] Okay, next item on the agenda

[10:44] is a ceremonial or is the uh discussion

[10:46] of traffic and parking commission roles

[10:48] and responsibilities.

[10:51] I don't know who has that.

[10:53] >> Good evening. Hi.

[10:55] » Good evening. Hi.

[10:55] >> Um my name is uh Michael Irvin. I'm from

[10:57] » Um my name is uh Michael Irvin. I'm from

[10:58] the city attorney's office from Best and

[10:59] Creger. uh just invited tonight to give

[11:03] a brief uh overview of the you know

[11:06] legal boundaries of being a

[11:07] commissioner, some of the roles and

[11:09] responsibilities as well as just a a

[11:11] general overview of the you know common

[11:13] uh ethics and obligations. So uh have a

[11:17] little bit of a presentation. I can turn

[11:20] this on. Okay,

[11:25] there we go. Okay. Uh so some of this

[11:29] you may be familiar for however long

[11:31] you've served uh on the commission. If

[11:33] not it's a refresher. Uh but before

[11:35] jumping in uh you know just a basic

[11:37] overview uh between you know a the legal

[11:40] framework of the city and the commission

[11:43] uh Lake Forest is a general law city

[11:45] which operates different from a charter

[11:47] city. What this means in the context of

[11:49] a commission uh is that there are

[11:52] different rules for how commissions are

[11:53] appointed and that in addition the

[11:55] commission's duties uh are not just

[11:58] found within the city's code but there

[11:59] are also state limitations which uh I'll

[12:02] go into

[12:04] uh now you know why this uh is important

[12:07] uh you know is uh the way that uh the

[12:10] city has been set up with the city

[12:11] manager form of government is that while

[12:14] commission may interact with staff

[12:16] operational authority rests with the

[12:17] city manager and staff acts under that

[12:20] oversight.

[12:24] Now, uh I won't read off the qualities

[12:27] of a great commissioner. I'm sure

[12:29] everyone is doing a wonderful job. uh

[12:31] but uh I will just make a general

[12:33] observation that you know since we're

[12:35] all here as uh in a public service

[12:37] capacity that uh my primary focus is

[12:41] maintaining uh and reducing conflicts of

[12:43] interest uh and understanding

[12:46] uh you know how to identify those and uh

[12:50] making that clear when necessary to uh

[12:52] the commission.

[12:59] And what is important uh as I've noted

[13:01] like I said commissioners are public

[13:03] officials. We're bound by standards of

[13:04] conduct, ethics and transparency that

[13:07] ensures fairness. Uh so as you know as

[13:10] you're representing the city's

[13:11] interests, not your own personal views.

[13:13] Uh this requires maintaining an

[13:15] objective stance, encouraging public

[13:17] trust, demonstrating commitment to the

[13:18] community, really about impartiality.

[13:24] Uh now when it comes to the relationship

[13:27] with city staff, as I mentioned before,

[13:29] staff has accountability to the city

[13:31] manager. Staff is here. They're going to

[13:33] provide support to the commission for

[13:35] its initiatives and directives as a

[13:37] whole. The way I like to say it, staff

[13:39] supports the commission but not the

[13:41] commissioner. So uh while uh you know

[13:44] there's a structure that you know

[13:46] there's a essentially a chain of

[13:48] command. While the commission as a whole

[13:49] can provide direction on a specific

[13:51] issue uh within its purview uh staff

[13:54] does not respond to an individual

[13:55] commissioner's uh uh request. We have to

[13:58] act collectively as a body for staff to

[14:00] respond. This includes you know agenda

[14:02] requests through commissioner uh

[14:04] commission consensus and uh yeah making

[14:09] sure that you know if you want to

[14:11] discuss an item collectively during a

[14:13] public meeting that that's done as a

[14:14] body not individually.

[14:20] Now as I mentioned before uh you know

[14:22] commissions are an advisory capacity uh

[14:26] or they can be either a decision maker

[14:28] in advisory capacity. What this means

[14:30] depending on the specific commission or

[14:32] the agenda item. Oftentimes uh we're

[14:35] acting in the capacity of making a

[14:38] recommendation to the city council. Uh

[14:41] and sometimes it may be your duty to

[14:43] implement city council policy that has

[14:45] already been uh enacted.

[14:55] I think this one is pretty

[14:56] straightforward but you know as it helps

[15:00] you know what I like to always recommend

[15:02] is that we just focus on the process uh

[15:04] ra you know and try to demonstrate

[15:06] impartiality and reduce even the

[15:09] appearance of uh bias or prejudice.

[15:21] So, and when it comes to some of the

[15:22] best practices, number one, knowing

[15:25] council priorities. This can involve

[15:27] reviewing council agendas, even

[15:28] attending meetings periodically. Staff

[15:30] can also provide guidance on annual

[15:32] objectives.

[15:33] Um, navigating council and commission

[15:36] disagreements. That is going to happen

[15:38] from time to time where there's going to

[15:40] be a disagreement between the commission

[15:41] and the council on the decision. And

[15:45] really all that's required is that as

[15:47] respect of the process and recognizing

[15:48] that differing viewpoints lead to

[15:50] different outcomes. U like an appeal

[15:53] court council has final authority and so

[15:56] sometimes you know there may be

[15:58] differences with the commission but we

[15:59] respect that that's council policy.

[16:06] Okay.

[16:09] Yes. Uh when it comes to best practices

[16:11] in decision-m, like I said, if you can't

[16:13] be fair, don't participate. Avoid

[16:16] statements before the close of a

[16:18] hearing. Uh especially ones that might

[16:20] be signed to signal bias, uh impacting

[16:24] perceived fairness.

[16:27] It's all just about keeping an open mind

[16:28] so that it aligns with due process,

[16:30] which you know, I'll cover a little bit

[16:32] more.

[16:34] Uh also, you know, making decisions

[16:36] based on the administrative record. When

[16:38] a decision is before the commission, uh

[16:40] the facts of what is in the report have

[16:43] to make up 100% of what is going to be

[16:45] based off of what the count uh

[16:47] commission recommends. Uh and so if

[16:49] there is extraneous information or facts

[16:51] that are not contained and not disclosed

[16:54] to the commission, then that is not

[16:56] something that can be a part of the

[16:57] decision-m that is something that you

[16:59] know could include the appearance of

[17:01] bias or conflict.

[17:04] Now going into uh what some of those

[17:07] conflicts are. The most general one is

[17:11] uh the common law conflict of interest.

[17:14] Uh this one is not there's no specific

[17:17] statute. Uh it is just about trying to

[17:21] it's a doctrine against the conflict of

[17:23] interest of public officials that

[17:24] prevent you from replacing yourself uh

[17:26] where your personal interests might have

[17:28] a conflict with your duty to the public.

[17:30] It doesn't even require a specific

[17:32] financial gain. There just has to be a

[17:34] reasonable perception of conflict. Now

[17:36] you know I'm probably doesn't come up

[17:38] often ideally uh but you know when it

[17:42] does uh oftentimes the common law

[17:44] conflict of interest will come up if

[17:46] there is a personal relationship or

[17:48] affiliation say with a club organization

[17:50] that would influence your judgment on a

[17:52] matter. So even if there's no direct

[17:54] impact in such cases you would recuse

[17:57] yourself uh in order to avoid you know

[17:59] any appearance of partiality.

[18:06] the

[18:07] change. There we go. This one is

[18:09] statutory. The Political Reform Act,

[18:11] which is uh the state's primary conflict

[18:15] of interest law as a commission. This is

[18:18] for the most part what this commission

[18:20] would be uh dealing with if we were

[18:22] going to be looking at public interest

[18:24] and avoiding situations where your

[18:26] financial interest could appear to or

[18:29] could influence or appear to influence

[18:31] your decisions. Uh because yes, even in

[18:33] a court law, even if there isn't a

[18:35] direct financial interest, uh if it

[18:38] could be seen that there is even

[18:39] indirectly a financial interest in a

[18:41] decision, that can be enough to violate

[18:44] the political reform act. So for your

[18:47] purposes, it's critical just for

[18:49] maintaining transparency and public

[18:50] confidence. If you're aware of a

[18:53] financial interest in a matter that

[18:55] comes up before this commission, all

[18:57] that the Political Reform Act requires

[18:59] is that you disclose it and you recuse

[19:01] yourself from the vote.

[19:12] We're missing the text on this one. Uh

[19:14] but

[19:19] » interesting. Okay. Well, the general

[19:21] rule is you shall not make or

[19:25] participate in making or attempt to

[19:26] influence any governmental decision in

[19:28] which you have a financial interest.

[19:30] That's the essential rule.

[19:39] Okay.

[19:42] Where did that go?

[19:45] Yes. Okay.

[19:47] The next one I think the title is cut

[19:50] off but this is ref reference to

[19:52] contracts. Uh now this is entire only

[19:55] apply everything else applies when

[19:56] there's not a contract if and when the

[19:58] commission is approving or entering into

[20:00] a contract which um you know for TPC

[20:04] purposes uh may not occur often. Uh but

[20:06] this is what we would call se this is

[20:08] section 1090. This is if a public

[20:10] official who has a financial interest

[20:12] participates in making a contract. Now

[20:15] unlike the political reform act recusal

[20:18] is not enough. If uh you have a

[20:20] financial interest in a contract then

[20:22] the city cannot enter into the contract

[20:24] as a whole. This one is uh the stakes

[20:26] are much higher. Uh in fact we would

[20:29] probably you know want to know about

[20:31] this far in advance in order to avoid

[20:33] that kind of situation because in that

[20:36] instance the contract is void penalties

[20:38] can apply. uh the penalties are even

[20:40] high enough to bar someone from holding

[20:42] any public office in California. Uh so

[20:44] it's one of the strictest conflict of

[20:46] interest laws because it wants to ensure

[20:47] that public resources are used

[20:49] responsibly without self-interest.

[20:52] So um that instance

[20:55] uh yeah in the decision- making for a

[20:57] contract you would uh we would avoid

[21:01] uh participating in the making of a

[21:03] contract.

[21:05] Okay.

[21:14] the per personal advantages and perks.

[21:17] So, some bullet points uh might be

[21:19] missing off of this one, but just as a

[21:22] general overview, public officials have

[21:23] strict rules around the personal

[21:25] benefits that you receive when you're in

[21:26] office in order to kind of prevent the

[21:28] misuse of your position. This includes,

[21:31] as you would see on I hope maybe it's on

[21:33] your screen. I'm not sure, but I can't.

[21:34] Okay. Interesting. Um but this would

[21:37] include the receipt of uh gifts uh

[21:41] travel and lodging, loans,

[21:42] reimbursement,

[21:44] you know, mass mailing, nepotism,

[21:47] charity funding disclosures, you know,

[21:50] things that are uh that signal undue

[21:52] influence. Uh there there there are

[21:55] strict rules around uh things that might

[21:57] convey a personal benefit to you.

[21:59] particularly if the person I'll give an

[22:01] example with the gifts if they have

[22:04] business before the city and you were

[22:05] receipt of a gift the law requires you

[22:08] actually to disclose that if it's over

[22:10] $50. Um

[22:15] yeah, there we go. At least that one's

[22:17] on there. Yes, disclose over $50

[22:20] disqualified if it's more than $590 uh

[22:23] in any 12-month period or within any

[22:25] count or f within any calendar year. uh

[22:28] if you receive that amount uh from one

[22:31] single source, one single person, then

[22:33] you're disqualified from participating

[22:35] in any decisions that could impact that

[22:37] source. Uh the limit is, you know, kind

[22:40] of discourage officials from being

[22:41] influenced by large gifts,

[22:44] uh golf, tickets to Disneyland, anything

[22:48] like that, which I think a single ticket

[22:50] probably would be over 590 these days.

[22:55] Uh the options by the way if you are to

[22:57] receive a gift and you probably con

[22:59] consult with the city attorney's offices

[23:00] you can uh refuse it uh return it donate

[23:04] it there are some other options uh which

[23:06] can also be used as an exception if you

[23:09] are to gifts uh that you know the strict

[23:11] rules that generally apply to gifts or

[23:13] public benefits for officials. There are

[23:14] certain exceptions uh that that we the

[23:17] state law allows uh flexibility without

[23:20] compromising ethics. Some of these would

[23:22] be like if it was the if the gift wasn't

[23:24] to the commission but it was to the city

[23:25] uh in that instance you know you're not

[23:28] impacted it wouldn't require disclosure

[23:30] wouldn't require recusal. Now if it had

[23:34] uh you know say uh chair Riker's name on

[23:37] it uh on those tickets when they donated

[23:40] it then now it is a personal gift rather

[23:41] than a gift to the agency but you know

[23:43] so long as it's a name as an individual

[23:46] it's not earmarked for them then we

[23:47] could say it's a gift to the agency. Um,

[23:50] other exceptions, like I said, are gifts

[23:51] that you refuse or reimburse the donor

[23:53] within 30 days, uh, gifts from family

[23:56] members, gifts of hospitality, you know,

[23:58] a housewarming party and someone gives

[24:00] you baked goods or something, it's not

[24:02] going to count as a gift,

[24:04] and certain tickets and passes to

[24:06] certain fundraisers like for charity

[24:08] events.

[24:11] Okay. Uh next moving is that I'm not

[24:15] sure what happened why the so much text

[24:17] is removed but uh what you should be

[24:20] seeing on your screen is governing

[24:21] transparency laws i.e. the Brown Act uh

[24:24] which I'm sure uh the commission is

[24:26] already familiar with. Uh the Brown Act

[24:28] requires transparency for all meetings

[24:30] that involve a quorum of the legislative

[24:32] body ensures public access. So the Brown

[24:34] Act is why we have to have public

[24:36] comment uh before approving any action

[24:39] item before the commission and why we

[24:41] have to have a general public comment

[24:42] and allow the public to come and address

[24:44] the body. Uh this happens any regularly

[24:47] scheduled meeting anytime that there's a

[24:48] quorum of commissioners that happen to

[24:50] run into each other. So if there's three

[24:51] of you that happen to meet in an event

[24:53] and you're discussing city business

[24:55] qualifies as a meeting and that needs to

[24:57] be properly noticed and agendaized. So,

[25:00] in the event that you're running into

[25:01] each other socially, try not to discuss

[25:03] city business.

[25:11] Okay. Uh this goes on more to say about

[25:15] what happens uh how meetings are

[25:17] defined. Uh now a meeting doesn't happen

[25:20] when you are just physically meeting but

[25:22] could also happen say if you were to uh

[25:25] one was to talk to one was to talk to

[25:26] one was to talk to one. Soon as you hit

[25:28] a quorum, you've officially se, you

[25:31] know, if it's, if you're discussing

[25:33] something that's within the purview of

[25:34] the commission and its authority, you

[25:37] discuss city business, it becomes a

[25:39] meeting. That's what we would call a

[25:40] serial meeting or or a daisy chain

[25:42] meeting. Um, same thing can happen uh if

[25:45] you're, you know, bccing commissioner,

[25:48] you know, other commissioners on an

[25:49] item. Uh, just because, you know, you

[25:52] know, avoid replying all is what I would

[25:54] say. That's that's my big advice. you

[25:57] know take caution with all digital

[25:59] communication. Uh in fact even um

[26:02] publicly commenting on Instagram or

[26:04] Facebook on other posts. Uh in last year

[26:07] circuit court basically held that even

[26:09] that can count as a meeting as well. And

[26:11] so if you're replying to each other's uh

[26:13] you know Facebook messages and

[26:15] discussing uh city business within the

[26:17] purview of the commission then that

[26:19] could also potentially count as a

[26:20] meeting. Um you know just something to

[26:24] keep in mind.

[26:26] Okay. And

[26:32] there we go. Distribution of writings.

[26:36] Uh so

[26:38] for the most part, anything that's uh

[26:40] related to city business uh must be made

[26:42] available at the meeting. This is just

[26:43] all about public access. Uh you know,

[26:46] this is something that mostly staff will

[26:47] take care of. But uh yeah, just upon

[26:50] request things must be made available to

[26:53] the public. legislative body must be

[26:54] made publicly available at all times

[26:56] during you know public you know when a

[26:58] majority of the public majority of the

[27:00] legislative body is gathered

[27:04] and with that I've reached the end of my

[27:06] presentation and if there are any

[27:08] questions for me I welcome it but if not

[27:11] >> thank you for the excellent information

[27:12] » thank you for the excellent information

[27:12] appreciate it you have any questions

[27:14] from commissioners Mr.

[27:17] Now, I'm just making this up, but just

[27:18] as a as a for instance, let's say I have

[27:21] a friend that has a business, whatever,

[27:24] and he has a suite at Anaheim Stadium,

[27:27] let's say, and then so he invites me or

[27:31] invites, you know, somebody just as a

[27:33] friend, and you go to the suite and have

[27:36] a good time and whatever, whatever. No,

[27:38] no city business involved. He's not a

[27:41] business owner, anything in the city.

[27:43] Never would vote. That's not a that

[27:46] wouldn't be a problem. It as just making

[27:50] this up, but as an example,

[27:52] >> uh if the friend has no business before

[27:54] » uh if the friend has no business before

[27:54] the city, then I see no reason why

[27:55] there'd be a conflict.

[27:57] >> Okay? Because I know I know city of

[27:59] » Okay? Because I know I know city of

[27:59] Anaheim, it's a different thing. They I

[28:01] think the city owns a suite and you

[28:04] know, sometimes people will go go to

[28:06] that, but since the city owns it, that

[28:09] would be a different

[28:10] >> that would be different. Yeah. That'd be

[28:11] » that would be different. Yeah. That'd be

[28:11] qualitatively different. Yeah. Usually

[28:12] we're when we're talking about gifts or

[28:14] receiving remun better remunerative

[28:16] benefits money uh it would be from a

[28:19] private source from a governmental

[28:21] agency.

[28:22] >> Great. Okay. Thank

[28:24] » Great. Okay. Thank

[28:24] >> any other questions Commissioner Patel.

[28:28] » any other questions Commissioner Patel.

[28:28] >> Thank you sir. Uh Mr. Irwin thank you

[28:30] » Thank you sir. Uh Mr. Irwin thank you

[28:30] for the presentation very informative.

[28:32] Uh my question is more towards uh let's

[28:35] say we've got a public comment uh from

[28:37] the audience uh about a concern within

[28:41] related to traffic and parking. Um I'd

[28:43] like to understand more about that

[28:45] situation. Uh can I meet with that

[28:47] individual and ask questions, visit, you

[28:50] know, a street for example where that

[28:52] traffic and parking issue is is

[28:54] occurring. Can I go uh on my own time

[28:56] and investigate that that concern? Uh

[28:59] and similarly also as a follow-up also

[29:02] um during meetings can I research um on

[29:04] the internet for information uh to

[29:07] better understand uh the agenda items

[29:09] also. Uh so in response to the first

[29:12] question absolutely you can meet with

[29:14] someone after public comment if they

[29:15] raise a complaint or a concern uh about

[29:18] you know some intersection that is of

[29:19] concern to them. I would say and in fact

[29:22] encourage that as a as as a wonderful

[29:24] function as your duty as a commissioner

[29:26] uh of public service to to meet with

[29:28] them. Uh the the conflict of interest

[29:31] rules just broadly speaking happens when

[29:34] you have someone who has business before

[29:36] the city. They're going to be there's

[29:38] going to be a vote before the city

[29:40] council. They're going to be receiving

[29:41] some kind of benefit. Maybe a contract,

[29:43] maybe a grant, maybe a a land use

[29:46] entitlement like a zoning change. I mean

[29:49] that's more for planning commission but

[29:50] just to give an example that is where we

[29:53] would have a concern about like you know

[29:55] meeting with them uh exparte as in out

[29:58] you've met with them outside of the the

[30:00] publicly available meeting but if you're

[30:03] meeting with a concerned citizen that is

[30:04] that is within your prerogative as a

[30:06] commissioner

[30:07] >> and and do I have to disclose those uh

[30:09] » and and do I have to disclose those uh

[30:09] at future meetings also who I've met

[30:11] with or

[30:11] >> if that person ends up having business

[30:13] » if that person ends up having business

[30:13] before the city then yeah uh and if it's

[30:15] related to that business but that's very

[30:16] fact specific I I couldn't you know,

[30:18] give 100% based off that hypothetical.

[30:21] And then your uh second question, remind

[30:23] me

[30:24] >> um there's an agenda item uh in the

[30:27] » um there's an agenda item uh in the

[30:27] meeting and during the meeting, I'd like

[30:29] to just better understand the situation.

[30:31] Can I use a tablet to research that item

[30:33] also?

[30:34] >> Absolutely. Yeah. Uh and you know, I'm

[30:37] » Absolutely. Yeah. Uh and you know, I'm

[30:37] sure it' be encouraged and that's part

[30:38] of the uh feedback that's given to staff

[30:41] as part of you make your recommendation.

[30:43] uh as a best practice anything you

[30:45] discover that's germanine or pertinent

[30:47] that you'd like to share I would

[30:49] encourage it for transparency

[30:50] >> and um the reason I as you mentioned

[30:52] » and um the reason I as you mentioned

[30:52] earlier in the presentation uh you have

[30:54] to rely on the the staff report only to

[30:57] make the decision

[30:58] >> you have to rely on every information

[31:00] » you have to rely on every information

[31:00] that is publicly available so this is

[31:03] I'll give the example if you were to

[31:05] meet exparte outside of the meeting and

[31:07] have private information and then to

[31:09] vote upon an item based off that private

[31:11] information you have bias appearance of

[31:13] prejudice something like that if if

[31:16] there's new information that's germanine

[31:18] ideally this would be known by staff I I

[31:20] think this is very rare hypothetical

[31:22] where you know the staff is because this

[31:24] is anything that's going to come before

[31:26] the commission has already been vetted

[31:28] very thoroughly by staff they've done a

[31:29] excellent job of uh refining it

[31:32] preparing it for the commission to be

[31:33] able to deliberate and make its

[31:34] recommendation but if there is something

[31:37] ideally you would probably bring it up

[31:38] with staff as they put it into their uh

[31:41] agenda reports Great. Thank you, Mr.

[31:43] Herman.

[31:44] >> Any other questions?

[31:48] » Any other questions?

[31:48] >> Thank you again. Appreciate it for

[31:49] » Thank you again. Appreciate it for

[31:49] coming. Of

[31:50] >> course.

[31:50] » course.

[31:50] >> Thank you.

[31:52] » Thank you.

[31:52] >> Next item on the agenda is director

[31:54] » Next item on the agenda is director

[31:54] comments. Mr. Erdman, have any comments

[31:57] tonight?

[31:57] >> Nothing to add. Happy New Year.

[31:59] » Nothing to add. Happy New Year.

[31:59] >> Thank you,

[32:01] » Thank you,

[32:01] Mr. Patel. Patel.

[32:05] Um, well, I just want to say thank you

[32:07] uh for a great 2025. Uh, Chair Falset,

[32:10] previous chair of last year. We will

[32:12] obviously uh do a uh recap of that, but

[32:17] uh just want to say thank you for your

[32:18] leadership. Uh also congratulations,

[32:21] Chair Riker, as well as Vice Chair

[32:23] Patel. Uh just looking forward to 2026.

[32:26] So that's all. Thank you.

[32:28] >> So I think next meeting is there

[32:30] » So I think next meeting is there

[32:30] anything on our meeting agenda exciting

[32:33] for next month?

[32:34] >> Yes. uh we will finally be able to bring

[32:37] » Yes. uh we will finally be able to bring

[32:37] forth uh to obtain some feedback from

[32:39] the traffic and parking commission

[32:41] regarding the traffic operational

[32:42] improvement study. So that will be uh in

[32:45] front of you and the commission uh to

[32:48] kind of provide us some feedback,

[32:50] discuss what's on there, some

[32:51] recommendations though, it will be in

[32:53] draft form, so it'll be more of a

[32:55] working type of uh discussion and so

[32:58] we're looking forward to that.

[32:59] >> Thank you. Thank you, Tren.

[33:02] » Thank you. Thank you, Tren.

[33:02] >> Commissioner comments, Mr. Camarina,

[33:06] » Commissioner comments, Mr. Camarina,

[33:06] Commissioner Patel.

[33:08] >> Thank you, Mr. Chair. Uh, I just want to

[33:10] » Thank you, Mr. Chair. Uh, I just want to

[33:10] thank staff and my fellow commissioners

[33:12] for uh continue to play a significant

[33:15] role with this traffic and parking

[33:16] commission for doing a wonderful job in

[33:18] 2025. I look forward to working with

[33:20] every one of you uh in this coming year.

[33:22] Uh for for the general public, I just

[33:24] wanted to make a announcement about uh

[33:26] Snowfest. Uh it's coming up this

[33:28] Saturday, January 10th at 10:30 at

[33:30] Pittsburgh Park. It's a it's a

[33:32] long-standing tradition with the the

[33:34] city of Lake Forest to celebrate our

[33:36] winter season. So, looking forward to

[33:38] seeing some of you at Snowfest on this

[33:40] Saturday. Thank you.

[33:42] >> Thank you, Commissioner Armando.

[33:43] » Thank you, Commissioner Armando.

[33:43] >> Uh, no comment. Thank you,

[33:45] » Uh, no comment. Thank you,

[33:45] >> Commissioner Fost.

[33:47] » Commissioner Fost.

[33:48] >> I kind of had a general comment as well.

[33:49] » I kind of had a general comment as well.

[33:50] Uh, the city of Lake Forest uh does

[33:53] passport services and my family utilized

[33:56] them. It was very convenient and I think

[33:58] most people don't know about it. I went

[34:00] to the local AAA office and they sent me

[34:02] somewhere else. They didn't know we did

[34:04] it here. So, uh, for the public in the

[34:08] audience and watching online, please

[34:10] come into city hall. You can make an

[34:12] appointment online. Very convenient.

[34:15] >> Okay. Well, thank you. We're going to

[34:17] » Okay. Well, thank you. We're going to

[34:17] adjourn the meeting and happy new year

[34:18] to all of you and thank you for all your

[34:20] support and look forward to having a

[34:22] really good year. Thank you everyone.

[34:24] Meeting is adjourned. Thank you.

[34:28] You have to sign with your

Traffic and Parking Commission Meeting January 5, 2026

Transcript