[clears throat]
[snorts]
This is the issue we were having
Okay. Sorry about the delay,
technical issues.
Okay. Um, good evening and welcome to
the January 12th, 2026 city council
meeting. I will now call the meeting to
order. Um, Mayor Prom Wong, will you
lead us in the pledge of allegiance,
please?
>> Yes. Thank you.
I pledge algiance to the flag of the
United States of America and to the
republic for which it stands. One nation
under God, indivisible, with liberty and
justice for all.
>> Thank you.
» Thank you.
[clears throat] City clerk, will you
please take role? Council member Calm.
Council member Calm.
Council member Cyn
>> here,
» here,
>> Council Member Steel
» Council Member Steel
>> here,
» here,
>> Mayor Pro Tim Wong
» Mayor Pro Tim Wong
>> here,
» here,
>> and Mayor Landau
» and Mayor Landau
>> here.
» here.
>> All present.
» All present.
>> Thank you.
» Thank you.
Okay, now we will move on to uh
presentations.
Uh this is going to be a proclamation in
recognition of the Harbor family, Harbor
Surfboards, and Harbor Chronicles.
Almost seven decades ago, in 1959,
Rich Harbor started one of the most
recognized California surfboard
companies from his parents Seal Beach
Garage before opening his own shop.
[snorts]
Harbor Surfboards on Main Street in Seal
Beach in 1962.
It [snorts] wasn't long before many of
the town locals were asking Rich to make
them surfboards.
>> [snorts]
» [snorts]
[clears throat]
>> Soon, Harbor's boards were gracing the
» Soon, Harbor's boards were gracing the
pages of Surfer Magazine underneath the
feet of the era's most respected and
recognized surfers.
The legacy of Rich Harbor and the
business operations at Harbor Surfboards
are still going strong and being carried
forward with Rich's family and daughter
Melissa as head of the Harbor Surfboards
brand, the surfboard production, and its
worldwide distribution. Now therefore,
be it proclaimed, the city council of
the city of Seal Beach does hereby
recognize the Harbor family, Harbor
Surfboards, and Harbor Chronicles,
shaping a legacy for their
accomplishments and honoring Harbor's
long-standing legacy in the city of Seal
Beach.
Uh this is for the Harbor Surfboards
proclamation. So, um, Harbor Surfboards,
if you would like to come to the podium,
[applause]
Harbor Surfboards, located at 329 Main
Street in Seal Beach since 1962, stands
as one of the longest operating surf
shops in its original ation and
cornerstone of the community's surfing
history. Robert House, an owner of the
retail operations, has played a vital
role in preserving and evolving Harbor
Surfboards, transitioning it into a
thriving destination while honoring
while honoring its foundational legacy
established by Rich Harbor. Under Robert
House's stewardship, the shop continues
to serve surfers worldwide, maintaining
the tradition of quality craftsmanship
and community spirit that has defined
Harbor Surfboards for over six decades.
Now, therefore, be it proclaimed, the
city of Seal Beach does hereby recognize
Robert House, owner of the Retail Harbor
Surfboard Shop at 329 Main Street, for
his achievements in carrying forward
this cherished legacy.
Thank you very much. Is
>> Would you like to say a couple words?
» Would you like to say a couple words?
[applause]
» Thank you. Um it has been a tremendous
honor to represent Harbor Surfboards and
the Harbor family for all these years.
Um, I am very very grateful to the town
of Seal Beach who who has provided me
and my wife Chris an opportunity to
carry on this legacy and we look forward
to doing it for many many years to come.
Thank you.
>> Thank you. [applause]
» Not yet.
>> Not yet.
» [applause]
» I'd like to invite up Chris Sardellis
and his wife Enza Enz. Zia
Chris Sardellis and Enzia Ferrell have
dedicated years to creating the
documentary uh film Harbor Chronicles
Shaping a Legacy, capturing the life and
influence of iconic surfboard shaper
Rich Harbor. Harbor Chronicles Shaping a
Legacy has earned a claim, including
best action sports feature audience
award at the Newport Beach Film
Festival. I was there.
>> Yes, you
» Yes, you
>> uh best cinematography for a documentary
» uh best cinematography for a documentary
feature film at the Culver City Film
Festival, both in 2025. Through their
passion and artistry, Chris Sardellis
and Enzia Ferrell have preserved and
shared the rich history of Seal Beach's
surfing heritage with audiences
worldwide. Now therefore it be it
proclaimed the city the city council of
the city of Seal Beach does hereby
recognize Chris Sardellis and Enzia
Ferrell for their achievements in
creating Harbor Chronicles shaping a
legacy for celebrating Seal Beach's
enduring surf culture. Thank you so much
and please say a couple of words.
>> Thank you. Thank you.
» Thank you. Thank you.
>> Thank you. This is a huge honor.
» Thank you. This is a huge honor.
[applause]
Well, well, first of all, I want to
thank you, mayor, for showing up to the
Newport Film Festival. I know you went
to the terri the enemy's territory to
see the movie, but you saw it and it was
great and it actually probably helped us
there, and I appreciate that. I
appreciate the Harbor family. Thank you
guys for letting me in their life and
and letting me go through all their
photos and everything, using all their
footage and stuff to make the the
incredible movie of their father, Rich
Harbor, and their family. Uh Harbor was
a special man to me. He gave me a break
in my life and u I was able to move
forward in life and and kind of get get
my life together. I'm kind of choked up.
So yeah, when my grandmother brought me
here when I was 1969, I love Sil Beach.
I've lived here and I I adore the city.
I thank you guys for everything. Thank
you.
>> Thank you very much. Thank [applause]
» Thank you very much. Thank [applause]
you. Thank you, Mayor Landal.
It's a huge honor.
>> Okay, here. Did you want to say a couple
» Okay, here. Did you want to say a couple
words?
» [applause]
[applause]
» I'd like to now call up the Harbor
family. Can you please come to the
podium?
[applause]
Okay, I'm gonna have you you guys each
say your name and who you are.
>> Do you want me to say everybody?
» Do you want me to say everybody?
>> Okay, this is Ava. This is um my dad's
» Okay, this is Ava. This is um my dad's
grand first granddaughter. My mom,
Helen, Rich's wife. My daughter Elena.
My daughter, my son, Harrison, my son,
Miles, I'm Carrie Harour. I'm the other
daughter. And this is my he my husband
Kieran.
Thank you all for coming. Um it was such
an amazing treat to to see Harbor
Chronicles. If you haven't seen it yet,
you've got to go. Um I've been in Seal
Beach 15 years. I know that's new in
Seal Beach Time, but uh I learned so
much. I mean, Larry Krueger was in the
movie. So, um it it was it was amazing.
Chris, you did, you know, um a great
justice to this wonderful family. And uh
we'd like to um um
>> Oh, Bay Theater. Is it January 24th or
» Oh, Bay Theater. Is it January 24th or
>> 23rd? F 7:30 p.m. at
» 23rd? F 7:30 p.m. at
>> $10 discounts at Bay Theater. Thank you.
» $10 discounts at Bay Theater. Thank you.
>> Uh Deb, can you present them with the
» Uh Deb, can you present them with the
proclamation, please?
>> Did any of you want to speak?
» Did any of you want to speak?
>> No.
» No.
>> Helen, would you like to speak?
» Helen, would you like to speak?
[laughter]
>> We're a very shy group.
» We're a very shy group.
>> We have lots and
» actually do you want to come down?
>> Yeah.
» [applause]
[applause]
» I'll go
need to get the wide angle here. Okay,
everyone.
Very nice. Now, stay there. [applause]
Everyone else, come on.
Okay.
» Okay, everybody looking good.
Perfect.
[applause]
I also want to mention that um uh
Supervisor Janet Wyn also provided uh
proclamations to uh the family as well,
Harbor Surfboards and to Chris.
[clears throat]
The Harbor Chronicles has shown shown a
spotlight on what a huge impact Rich
Harbor and Harbor Surfboards has had on
the surf culture and industry, not only
nationwide, but worldwide. Like many
other beach communities who honor their
surfing legends, plans are in the works
to erect a statue in Eisernh Howard Park
in honor of Seal Beach's very own Rich
Harbor. Stay tuned for the details.
[applause]
» Thank you all for coming and thank you
Harbor family for giving us Rich Harbor.
Okay, we are now going from Rich Harbor
to the sand dunes restoration
presentation.
Um, I would like to call upon Surf Rider
Foundation Southern California Regional
Manager Miguela Coats.
Try and move this up here a little bit.
Can you guys hear me? All right. Without
having to bend down too much. Amazing.
Um, thank you guys so much for providing
us with the time and opportunity to come
and speak with you all about um, our
vision for protecting and restoring the
coastal dunes here in Seal Beach. Um,
like was said, my name is Michaela Coats
and I'm the Southern California regional
manager here representing the North
Orange County chapter of the Surf Rider
Foundation. And um, next slide, please.
So just a quick overview of what we'll
cover today is who we are and why we're
here, why coastal dune habitats matter,
the current project site and conditions,
the project overview, and then I would
be happy to answer any questions that
you all might have at the end. Um, next
slide, please. So the Surf Rider
Foundation is a nonprofit organization
that is dedicated to the protection and
enjoyment of the world's ocean waves and
beaches for all people through a
powerful activist network. We work
through grassroots chapters that are
100% community-led all across the
country. And our mission centers around
five core initiatives. One of which that
is bringing us here today is the coast
and climate initiative which aims to
tackle the issues that threaten our
beaches and our natural shorelines. Next
slide, please. Um, the climate action
program is the community-directed
program that lives within the coast and
climate initiatives and the goal is to
use nature-based solutions to enhance
coastal resilience. This looks very
differently across our network but all
um encompasses various restoration
projects. So whether that is restoring
mangroves in Puerto Rico or um dune
grass in San Francisco, we have
volunteers and community members
engaging in this kind of stewardship
work all across the network and we're
hoping to bring that here to Seal Beach
as well. Next slide, please. Oh, you
guys are so quick. Um so like I
mentioned, I'm here representing in the
North Orange County chapter. We extend
from Seal Beach here in the north down
to Newport Beach in the south as well as
inland in order to represent those
inland upstream communities that all um
deserve right the access to clean
beaches. Next slide please. Um the North
Orange County chapter was formed from
the recent merger of the Newport Beach
and Seal Beach/Honeyington Beach
chapters. So we've had a long-standing
presence here in the Seal Beach
community um through beach cleanups at
the San Gabriel River Jetty in 2025. We
removed almost 4,000 lbs of trash from
the beaches and waterways. We also host
native um plant restoration events at
Rivers End Park and have installed
hundreds of native plants um and engaged
community members through those events
too. Next slide. Um so here you can see
um the site at first um that we envision
this project occurring. So we want to
protect and restore the approximately
2.3 acres of coastal dunes that exist
between First and Third Street. We aim
to engage the local community through
hands-on volunteer days to instill and
foster stewardship. Um, all with the
vision of strengthening Seal Beach's
natural coastal resilience and native
biodiversity.
So, why protect and restore coastal
dunes? Well, healthy dunes can act as a
natural barrier against storm surge and
erosion that protects not just the
coast, but the infrastructure that we
have built around it. Healthy dunes play
a critical role in providing native
habitat for wildlife um including plants
and birds such as the endangered
California lease turn and the threatened
western snowy clovers that both utilize
dunes as nesting habitat. Restoring
coastal dunes can also provide a more
cost-effective method of coastal
defense. I'm aware that the city um
constructs a burm in order to protect
the restaurant in the parking lot from
storm surges that can occur. And so
restoring dunes can be a natural
cost-effective mechanism of getting that
same goal. Um and lastly, by doing these
projects in the community, we can engage
local residents and foster stewardship
of the environment so that we can all
work to protect it together.
So, the current conditions, uh, this
project was brought to the chapter from
concerns from local residents and
community members over the trampling
that has been occurring at the dunes,
whether that's from unmanaged foot
traffic or even ebikes as well as RV
cars, um, that can destroy the
vegetation and destroy the dune
structure. The dunes are also currently
covered in invasive species, mostly ice
plant, which out competes natives, and
reduces the overall biodiversity and
health of the site. And overall, the
lack of protection of the dunes
continues to leave this habitat
vulnerable to these continued human um
as well as natural impacts. These are
just some photos that were sent to us
from local residents that um show
examples of the current conditions that
I was describing. Whether that is the
foot traffic, the RV and ebike cars um
or also these signs that were approved
by the coastal commission that are
regularly vandalized. Um but those do
serve to try and educate people about
the reasons why um these dunes should be
protected.
So, we aim to take all of these
challenges and transform them into
solutions through dune protection, which
is the installing of symbolic fencing.
Um, we can create designated walking
areas that maintain pedestrian access
while protecting the habitat at the
site. Through June restoration, we can
remove those invasive species, giving
more space for the native species to
thrive while also um manually installing
native plants or native seeds in the
site to help give those native species a
little bit of a boost. Um and through
regular maintenance of the site through
workshop and restoration days, we will
continue to engage the community in
ongoing stewardship of this area.
So, as I mentioned, this project was
brought to us by residents and this is a
fully community-led initiative. The
chapter is 100% volunteer-led.
And so, the North Orange County chapter
is prepared to fund, plan, implement,
and maintain this restoration project.
We have be begun to find funding for
this project to cover the materials,
tools, and technical support, which
would in include a restoration
consulting company to help develop a
restoration plan. We're going to find
funding through a combination of grants
as well as local donations. There are
are already many residents who are eager
to help support this project and bring
it to life. Um, and the city will remain
fully informed throughout the process.
We've received such amazing support so
far and we're so grateful and the city
will continue to approve any elements
that they want to review such as project
plans and event dates that may occur in
the future.
So on this picture here you can see our
tentative sort of map for the first
stage of the project which is protecting
the dunes. The green quadrants there are
the areas of the dunes that will be
protected by symbolic fencing. The
spaces in between are the areas that we
will leave open for pedestrian access
and the black lines are the areas that
will be wide enough for vehicle access
specifically for lifeguards to continue
their regular patrols. We are currently,
oh, sorry, we are currently in the
process of securing permits and funding
for this first stage.
After we protect the dunes, we aim to
implement the restoration plan. So, like
I mentioned, we'll be working with a
restoration consulting company to have
that developed for us. And again, that
will be dependent on permits as well as
continued funding for this project.
And lastly, we will continue to engage
the community um not just in the actual
restoration itself, but in the ongoing
maintenance for as long as needed, but
the ultimate goal is to make this
habitat um healthy and stable enough to
thrive all on its own. And so, where we
are today, we have walked the site with
city staff and community members um in
order to map the vehicle and public
access routes. We have identified the
fencing layout that will help reduce
disturbance while preserving key access
for the public as well as public safety
like lifeguards. We've done a
preliminary assessment of present
vegetation and photographed site
conditions. Um, and like I've said,
we've built a lot of community interest
around this project and we have many
engaged volunteers ready to bring it to
life whenever we are. Um, and so like I
mentioned, we're currently going through
the permit application, fundraising, um,
and grant writing process in order to do
that.
Um, and so again, uh, Surf Writers work,
we really are community first. And so by
bringing folks out to the site, engaging
them in this project, we can not only
help the native biodiversity, but we can
help to continue to foster environmental
stewardship and anybody that wants to
come and contribute to a more healthy
and resilient coastline here in Seal
Beach. And thank you all so much for
your time. I'm happy to answer any
questions that you might have.
[applause]
U Michaela, do you find that uh ebikes
uh pose a threat to this vegetation?
>> Ebikes were one of the Yeah. threats
» Ebikes were one of the Yeah. threats
that um sort of had been a concern of
the local residents. Um, I mean, not
only from a safety issue. I I have my
own personal opinions about how ebikes
can be unsafe, but also just blatantly
going over the dune habitat, um, and the
plants, which overall degrades the
dunes.
>> And Chief, uh, if somebody is caught
» And Chief, uh, if somebody is caught
riding ebikes in the dunes, what, uh,
should they do it? Should PE residents
call in?
>> Yes. Uh, I would ask that they, uh, call
» Yes. Uh, I would ask that they, uh, call
our non-emergency number directly. Um
that's uh 562-5947232.
» Perfect. Thank you so much.
>> Yeah, thank you. Very helpful
» Yeah, thank you. Very helpful
information. Uh anybody else have
questions for Miguela?
>> Oh, thank you very much.
» Oh, thank you very much.
>> Thank you all so much. [applause]
» Okay. At this time, uh, members of the
public may address the council regarding
any items within the subject matter
jurisdiction of the city council.
Pursuant to the Brown Act, the council
cannot discuss or take action on any
items not on the agenda unless
authorized by law. Matters not on the
agenda may at the council's discretion
be referred to the city manager and
placed on a future agenda. All speakers
will be limited to a period of 5
minutes. Speakers must address their
comments only to the mayor and the
entire city council and not to any
individual member of the staff or
audience. Any documents for review
should be presented to the city clerk
for distribution. Speaker cards are
available at the clerk's desk for those
wishing to sign up to to address the
council. Although the submission of a
speaker card is not required in order to
address the council. Um I've got a
couple speaker cards, so I will start
with them first. and Lion Kevin Young.
Okay. Good evening, Mayor, City Council.
Uh, [snorts] I'll be speaking about the
Rose Lions Rose Float and the Rose
Parade. If you want to go ahead and
start the
International. They win the trophy for
the tournament volunteers
out [music]
of the great league among close 35 ft
and under length. They're calling it an
army.
This is a really pretty one, isn't it?
Harmony, of course, just another word
for the magic in depicted here by four
[music] flax seed covered lions. They're
growing a canoe made of buffalo tree
bark. Life will remind you that we
really can't achieve more together than
one.
And some detail for you on those big
cats. They [music] have veins of paw
grass and pink flowered noses. We're all
pedling across a water of greenery,
lavender, and white roses with waves of
white.
Behind them is a rustic log cabin.
That's the
» [music]
>> flag you see there, all of it tribute to
» flag you see there, all of it tribute to
the resilience of communities rebuilding
[music] alliance around the world
rallying to help.
» Well, here they are returning to the
Rose Parade from Alabama.
Okay. [applause]
So, Lions Club International has been
involved in the Rose Float for
approximately 25 years. Um,
the average cost for a float is around
$275,000.
That's on the low end. So, the Lion's
float is done for a fraction of that,
less than 100,000. Most of it is p most
of it is paid for through donations. You
know, several of the people you saw on
the float, they buy a a ticket called
Ride for Your Life. They get to ride on
the parade. You get a raffle ticket and
if you win, you you know, you ride then
you got another ticket you could walk
alongside the parade. But we do things
like that to try try to raise money for
the float.
The one thing about the lion's float in
the parade is for us as Lions, it's one
of our biggest marketing tools because
it's seen by approximately 400 million
people worldwide who watch that parade.
So, it raises a lot of visibility for
the Lions as a whole.
Um, one of the things what I wanted to
talk about is where Seal Beach got
involved in it. Seal Beach for well Seal
Beach has been involved ever since the
beginning too as for 25 years and we
usually have anywhere from 30 to 40 Seal
Beach Lions that work
several days during the period
decorating the float. They put together
an average of 600 volunteer hours during
that period of time. Altogether there's
roughly what a thousand volunteers to
put together probably 10,000 hours of
labor putting the dry material on the
outside and then the flowers and
everything. Um, but
in an effort to try to, you know, raise
a little bit of visibility for the city,
um, for the last seven years, we've been
letting the the Lions group use our van
that's got Seal Beach Lions all over the
side of it, and they've been driving the
dignitaries around to to the airport, to
the float, the float barn, wherever they
need to be. Well, this year my wife and
I drove the van. And what was really
cool about it is by driving the van, I
got to speak with AP Singh, the
international director. I got to speak
with PE or the international president.
I got to speak with the international
director from Canada. I got to speak to
people from Indiana, from you know,
Illinois. And I and the one thing that I
told all of them is just how wonderful
our community is, how wonderful our city
council is, how wonderful our chamber
is, and how we all work together so
well. Because, you know, I'm the
president this year, and I know our our
club's success would not happen without
the cooperation of the chamber, the the
council, and us. It's a great
collaboration that we all work together
so well. So, basically, I just want to
thank you for your time. Thank you for
letting me come and talk about it. And
you know, the parade this year was great
because we actually won an award. We won
an award for the the uh floral
representation for a float under 35 ft.
And it was it was absolutely amazing.
So, pretty good for volunteers.
[applause]
Do you have any Leos with you?
Leos, other Leos who worked on the
float. I see two right there. Uh, the
Leos are the the youth component of the
the Leos. The Leos are the youth
component of the Lions Club and it's a
great organization. So, if you have a
child under 18, um, I highly suggest
getting them involved with the the Leo
Club. Thank you very much, Kevin.
>> Thank you.
» Thank you.
[applause]
» Next, I have Robert
Frackleton.
>> That's it.
» That's it.
>> Well done. Good evening, mayor, mayor
» Well done. Good evening, mayor, mayor
prom, and city council. I am Robert
Frackleton. I am the mayor prom from the
city of Villa Park. Typically, when I
take the 22 over here and get off at
Seal Beach, my stomach starts thinking
caramelized salmon. It doesn't know what
to think now because it hasn't had it
yet. But u uh my brain knows why I'm
here and that's to beg of you to implore
you to to please please keep Joe Calmic
on the Orange County Fire Authority
Board. Uh I serve on the OCFA board
representing Villa Park and Joe is
currently our vice chair and in a couple
of weeks, God willing, he'll be
nominated as our chair. Uh our fire
chief resigned earlier this month. So,
we have a big vacuum and we need the
continuity of leadership now more than
ever. We need Joe in that center seat
guiding us in 2026.
And it will be a tremendous advantage to
Seal Beach because you're going to have
somebody there that's going to have a
lot of influence on who is hired to be
our next fire chief. If you send
somebody new, quite honestly, the way it
works, like a lot of committees you've
been on, you're going to be the newbie.
You're not going to get a plum
assignment. You're probably not going to
be on any of the committees that are
going to be making those big decisions.
So Joe will be right there in the middle
of it if you send him back. As a cash
contract city, you need to be concerned
about some major budget issues coming up
in 2026. Uh the hiring of our highest
paid chief being one of them. And we're
ending our unfunded liability after 20
some odd years. And uh four of our labor
groups are getting pretty excited about
that. And at least one if not two want
to open negotiations in 2026. Joe knows
these issues and again he will be
intimately involved so as to minimize
the effect on our cost cash cash
contract cities like Seal Beach. Again,
if you send a newbie, they're not going
to be a part of that committee most
likely. Uh they're going to be on the
road cone committee um and and won't be
uh having much voice. It takes about a
year, if not two, to even understand how
this huge uh half a billion plus uh
dollar organization operates. But Joe
gets it. He's been there. He's probably
the most qualified elected official in
all of Orange County to serve on the
OCFA board because of all the decades of
service he had as a firefighter and as a
captain here in Seal Beach. But you
probably already know that. He probably
doesn't shut up about it is my guess.
Um, and we need a person with Joe's
experience leading OCFA and to be there
when the where the big decisions are
going to be made. Uh, OCFA is pretty
unique in that it's not unlike a lot of
other committees a mayoral decision, but
it's a resolution by the entire council.
So I sincerely ask you council to please
send Joe back to OCFA and let him
complete his service in the fire service
and set you up for a great several years
to come as a cash contract city and with
a fire chief that you helped pick. I'll
await your answer at Waltworf.
[applause]
» Thank you, Robert. Uh, is there anyone
else that would like to address the
council at this time?
John.
[applause]
Um, I just want to say that I finished
my Godgiven
Drug Administration,
Drug Enforcement Administration
exemption pursuant to the Religious
Freedom Restoration Act. Um, I'm going
to show it next week. I didn't know I
had to bring the PDF like on Friday to
present it here, but there is a little
uh paper over there if you don't believe
me. Um
yeah, I just wanted to say uh for Joe
again, uh thank you for the work on the
San Gabriel River and I saw I think
we're going to talk about it later. Um,
and the harbor surfboards. Um, it's been
there my whole life. It's amazing that
like such a local feeling. I love that.
Um,
and then the dunes we were talking
about. Um,
I have concern that's only on one side
of the beach. Uh, what are we doing on
the other side would be a question. Um,
one of my ideas was
for the Prop 4 grant to put out some
3D printed concrete uh things in the
ocean in order to
uh stop the beach erosion as much. And
then maybe as a side effect, we could
put them in this like real nice way that
gets the waves when they hit it. I don't
know. I don't know if it's possible, but
I'm just putting it out there. Um,
[snorts]
yeah, I'll have more next week or two
weeks. I love you all. [applause]
» Thank you, John. Is there anyone else
that would like to address the council?
Ken.
Thank you, mayor, and uh happy new year
everyone and steam council staff and our
first responders. I'm back again to talk
about uh the Hannes pipelines project.
I'm Ken Cy from College Park West. Um
I'm sure most of you or many of you,
maybe all of you have saw Tom Moore's
letter to the editor in the sun from uh
Thursday, December 11th, just before the
holidays there. Uh, I actually wasn't
going to read from it, but the more I
look at it, it makes a lot of sense. So,
I'm just going to mention that he
pointed out that that bridge is our only
daily access point as well as our only
robust emergency access. You've heard
these things before. In Tom, Tom's
words, any risk to the bridge is a risk
to our neighborhood safety and
emergency. For those of you who know Tom
Moore or have known him, he was a
councilman for eight years. He served
the term as mayor. Uh personally I think
he's a very deliberative guy and very
datadriven and information driven. um
you know he he looked at a lot he's
looked at a lot of information over time
and made up his own mind and uh actually
you know like a like any proponent I
guess I've been trying to you know when
you think you're right you try to say
don't you see that this this and uh but
you know Tom in his usual way has wanted
to weigh everything and after the
meeting at the pickle ball center which
a lot of you attended for which I'm
still grateful we're still grateful uh
He mentioned that the uh federal
national bridge inventory officially
determined that that bridge is
structurally deficient, poor
substructure rating of four, federal rec
re recog recommendation for actual
bridge replacement due to substandard
load capacity and outdated geometry. I
actually thought that they that they
thought a retrofit, a robust retrofit
would be okay, but Tom pointed out to me
that they actually recommend
replacement. Uh he also mentioned the
January 2025 CALR inspection which was
the latest one which confirms decades of
worsening deterioration of the peers
including spallings and exposed rebar.
Um despite that this this pipeline's
proposal is to add two additional
pipelines permanent loads onto the
bridge that federal data says needs
replacement. This raises a clear safety
concern for Seal Beach residents and for
Long Beach liability. As far as uh the
importance of that bridge, I I think our
uh first responders know about uh the
importance of that bridge in an
emergency. I've I've talked with our
chief and also um um our sergeant Gray
about that uh with the they've known
about this in in redoing the natural uh
I'm sorry that the the hazard mitigation
plan every 5 years. So uh this is not a
new thing but the pipelines may propo
may pose a significant risk. Uh and um
uh Tom said no new pipelines on a
structurally deficient bridge until it
is rehabbed or retrofitted or pipelines
are routed by an alternative path. This
is not opposition. This is ensuring
public safety and regional reliability
before adding new infrastructure. I
think most most people in Seal Beach are
vast majority are not against this
pipeline project. It's just we really
believe and from the evidence we've
developed and the discussion that it
doesn't need to come before through our
area or over that bridge. Sounds like
the bridge needs attention anyway. Uh
probably pretty soon, but uh the we
believe it can be routed in other
directions and uh we don't have to go
through the bridge uh or even through
College Park West and the uh grove
there. Um
so it it it is it is a regional uh uh
benefit to all of us to have clean water
and to improve the functioning of the
power plant, the DWP plant. But really
this project offers no specific benefits
to Seal Beach. At the pickle ball
meeting, there was one slide and the one
benefit they talked about is potential
use of reclaimed water. So I think that
ship is sailed. I think I hope to talk
to you more about that at another time.
The expense involving with that
>> would be uh would be difficult. You'd
» would be uh would be difficult. You'd
need to have collecting systems. You'd
have to be able to uh use use the
reclaimed water as well as your uh your
water that you're collecting to go to be
reclaimed, your storm water, your
runoff. So uh there's really no other
improve other specific elements that
they mentioned would be u a benefit to
the city other than putting back they
say better than before the work that
they do. So I hope to continue to engage
you in in discussion on this as we go
forward. Uh last last time I gave the
big booklet the big orange booklet.
>> Hopefully uh hopefully uh you'll be have
» Hopefully uh hopefully uh you'll be have
had a look at that and then we can
continue the discussion. Thank you very
much.
Thank you, Ken.
[applause]
» Good evening, uh, Mayor Lendow and the
city council. I'm here to speak about,
uh, new business item E, the trash
interceptor project. Um,
I'm a longtime surf rider volunteer and
I can tell you I've been in this San
Gabriel River cleaning it up for I think
about five years now and dozens of
cleanup events. Just this last Saturday,
we removed 1500 lbs of trash from
River's End Park in only two about three
hours with 100 volunteers.
I can tell you. Thank you. [applause]
I can tell you, you've all heard the
definition of insanity. We could be
there every day doing the same thing and
if you expect a different result, you're
crazy. Okay, so I want to just say that
this project is hugely important for not
only the city of Seal Beach, but also
all of North Orange County as it will
prevent tons and tons or hundreds of
thousands of tons of trash from entering
our oceans and ending up on our beaches
every year. Um, I've also been on the
working group that uh, Mr. Comic, I
believe, has chaired uh, since its
inception. And just to see this project
evolve and move forward the way it has
is a is a huge um, uh, commitment to
what you guys have have done for the
environment here and it shows your
commitment for the environment going
forward. So, I personally support the
project. I hope the city continues to
support the project. It's hugely
important and I look forward to seeing
it become real. Thank you very much.
[applause]
» Uh good evening. Uh Theres Miller from
Oldtown. Um uh first I just had one
comment on the uh strategic plan that
was done in December. I hope that uh
there would be a recap at some point. I
think um it was on a Saturday. A lot of
people couldn't go. Uh I don't know how
many people watched it on YouTube.
Probably not that many. And I think
there were some important decisions that
were discussed and that need to be um
potentially uh put in a I don't know
some kind of a document and sent out. Um
Charles did do a great job with in the
sun to post some things you know with
online and in the paper. Uh but that's
not enough because there has been some
more discussion online about committees
and upcoming things and I think that um
I don't think that the whole city uh is
aware of it. Uh the other thing I want
to just talk about briefly I don't know
if you guys have seen the uh article
recently in the Orange County Register
about the city of Orange and what they
did uh last year. they were they they
running they are running a similar
parallel path that we are in terms of
you know deficits and stuff. So last
year in early December or in early
January 2025 they underwent a
multi-million they were coming up to a
multi-million dollar deficit and to
avoid bankruptcy what they did is they
contacted Grant Thornton um to do an
audit and put them in a better fiscal
responsibility. really they did it
because uh they are approaching they
were approaching a long long-term
structural deficit similar to what we're
facing. Uh they had some uh you know
need for transparency and public trust
another uh issue that Seal Beach is
facing. Uh risk of bankruptcy looming
just like us and deferred maintenance
and other liabilities. And what they
were able to do is to uh you know make
some huge cuts along the way. Uh
identify where there were spending um
gaps, what could be done to fix it. Um I
think this is a good time. It's the
beginning of the year. It's a good time
for our city to kind of look closely
before we go into the budgeting process
uh for the following fiscal year. look
at what we spent, where we're where the
outcomes, uh, you know, were good or
bad, uh, and what we what we can do to,
uh, you know, stop a potential
bankruptcy from happening. So, um, thank
you and, um, hopefully we'll hear more
about the budget and everything in in
meetings to come. Thank you.
[applause]
» Thank you, Teresa. Is there anyone else
that would like to address the council?
My name is Rio McCcoll. I'm a Seal Beach
resident and I want to thank Surf Rider
Foundation for taking on the Sand Dune
project. That really does a lot for us.
It's just amazing what changing that
habitat to what what the animals expect,
what difference that makes for the shore
birds, uh other coastal birds, the
pollinators, uh all the habitat. So,
it's really going to be nice once it's
done. And uh like you might have seen in
that picture that in case you're not
aware that there are many shorebirds
that lay their eggs on open ground. So
they need the right open space in order
to see there aren't any predators coming
toward them. But they need enough sand
with the right type of plants that will
allow them the sand opening to
camouflage their eggs in the sand where
the ice plant takes over. so thick that
they can't get to the sand underneath
it. So, and many of them don't even feed
their babies. As soon as they're born,
within two to three hours, shoreirds
like the western snowy clover and the
killed deer, as soon as their feathers
dry, 2 to three hours, the fathers walk
them to the water and teach them to feed
themselves. So, they have a very narrow
area where they can live.
So, and also the trash interceptor
project is really exciting to hear. I
volunteer with Riverzen Park and I've
had people asking me what can we do
about this? You know, there's something
they've done in the Santa Ana River and
I said yes, Surf Rider is on it. So,
that's really exciting. Thank you.
[applause]
Thank you, Rio.
Good evening, Mayor Landau council
members. Uh, my name is Stephanie Wade.
I'm a District 5 Leisure World resident
and I'm also a Surf Rider Foundation
member. I've been a member of the Surf
Rider Foundation and involved in Surf
Rider uh for 23 years. And in that time,
I've been uh with four different local
chapters and four different beach
communities. And nowhere do I see the
need for dune restoration more than here
in Seal Beach. So, I'm really proud of
the council for embracing this project.
I'm glad it's going forward. I'm very
proud of Rich and the rest of the
chapter for working so hard on this. I I
owe you some volunteer hours on it. Um
and I also want to say the trash
interceptor project is terrific. I think
it's great, but we also have to do work
about getting rid of and reducing our
use of plastics. Even once we get that
off our beaches and out of the trash
interceptor, there's no throwing it
away. There is no way. Those plastic
molecules break down and we're all now
familiar with the health effects and
that we all carry it. So, I hope we'll
be looking at maybe a polystyrene band
going forward. Thank you.
[applause]
Thank you, Stephanie. Anyone else?
Okay, going once. Oh, okay.
» Uh, good evening everybody. Uh, thank
you city council and mayor for this
time. Uh thank you sir Ryder for uh the
important presentation on the uh dunes
and um thank you for adopt hopefully
adopting it and going forward. Um and
thank you for the trash interceptor
project as well. Uh the main reason I am
here today is to uh make sure that uh
when moving that project forward to
consider that there are uh sea turtles
in the San Gabriel River. uh there have
been documented over a hundred uh plus
and so uh when if and when moving
forward with that project to include uh
the aquarium of the Pacific and other
partners within the area. Uh thank you.
>> Thank you. [applause]
» Anyone else like to speak?
Any of the many young people in the
audience want to speak? Oh, here we go.
[applause]
Hello, my name is Grayson Oslick. I go
to Fountain Valley High School, which is
a way far away from here. But many of us
are here because we have a government
project. And I think that it's very
important um that we get out here and
we, you know, we don't live in Seal
Beach. None of us do. At least I don't
think so. But I think that it's very
important that we're able to listen and
see these different perspectives on the
different issues. And so chairs, I just
want to thank you for your time and
thank you for the opportunity for having
us out here. And I think that it's
important that uh us as students like
going out of high school into college
and into our adult lives. I think that
it's very important that we learn the
skills on how and what to do when
attending these kind of meetings because
eventually, if you think about it, we're
all going to be living in different
cities with different people and we're
going to have different perspectives.
And so being able to see those different
perspectives and different people and
being able to be confident, be speak up
here just off the fly, I think it's very
important that we learn those skills.
And so I just want to thank you guys for
this meeting and thank you for having us
all out here uh on behalf of all of
Fountain Valley High School. Thank you.
[applause and cheering]
Uh may I make a quick comment to the
last speaker to Grayson from Fountain
Valley High School. Um, I love it. And
you are talking to an alumni from
Fountain Valley High School, class of
97. [applause]
So, I love the fact that you guys are
here from your government class, um,
here to speak and just here to observe.
And this is awesome.
[applause]
» Thank you very much, Grayson. That was
great. Anyone else like to speak?
» Come on up.
Well, so if you're in model UN, you must
be a great public speaker,
>> right? Yeah,
» right? Yeah,
>> that's that. Well, that's terrific.
» that's that. Well, that's terrific.
Thank you guys very much.
>> Thank you guys.
» Thank you guys.
[applause]
» Okay, anyone else?
Okay, I am going to
>> um can we respond to one comment that
» um can we respond to one comment that
was made from the audience?
>> Sure.
» Sure.
>> Um the Yeah. Um, so a comment was made
» Um the Yeah. Um, so a comment was made
by Terresa Miller about the strategic
plan, about a recap in documents. I
thought I recall from that meeting we
were going to produce an outline or some
minutes and so forth. So can you um
director, you want to or city manager
Gyogus, you want to just provide a brief
update?
>> Yeah. No, thank you uh Teresa for
» Yeah. No, thank you uh Teresa for
bringing it up and council member Sen.
Uh we will be bringing that item back
with a strategic planning report on the
26th of January. So, you'll get to see
the full report. We'll get that that out
to the public and uh we'll be able to
discuss that item. Thank you.
>> Thank you. Okay. Anyone else? Okay,
» Thank you. Okay. Anyone else? Okay,
we're moving it on. Um by motion of the
city council, this is the time to notify
the public of any changes to the agenda
and or rearrange the order of the
agenda. Does anyone want to pull a
consent calendar item?
>> Yes, mayor. I do. I'd like to pull item
» Yes, mayor. I do. I'd like to pull item
uh what is it? C. Item C.
Okay. Noted. Anyone else?
City clerk, do we have any supplemental
communications?
>> Yes, mayor. We have um four supplemental
» Yes, mayor. We have um four supplemental
communications that were received after
posting the agenda. They've been made
available to the council and also to the
public. I don't know if I should do the
correction here or wait until we take
the item item C. Now, on item C, there
was a correction to the resolution 7722.
Um for there was a reference to
dissolving um the city tree advisory
board in the heading of the resolution
that should not have been included in
that resolution and has since been
removed. You have a copy of the current
resolution now and there's copies here
available for the public as well.
>> Thank you very much, city clerk. Okay,
» Thank you very much, city clerk. Okay,
I'd like to call for a motion and a
second to approve tonight's agenda.
>> Motion.
» Motion.
>> Second. Roll call, please. It has been
» Second. Roll call, please. It has been
moved by Mayor Pro Tim Wong and second
by council member Synagle. Council
member Calm, how do you vote?
>> Yes.
» Yes.
>> Mayor Pro Tim Wong, how do you vote?
» Mayor Pro Tim Wong, how do you vote?
>> Yes.
» Yes.
>> Council member Cynical, how do you vote?
» Council member Cynical, how do you vote?
>> Yes.
» Yes.
>> Council member Still, how do you vote?
» Council member Still, how do you vote?
>> Yes.
» Yes.
>> Mayor Landau, how do you vote?
» Mayor Landau, how do you vote?
>> Yes.
» Yes.
>> Motion carries. Five votes. Yes.
» Motion carries. Five votes. Yes.
>> Thank you very much. Now on to uh
» Thank you very much. Now on to uh
reports of city attorney Gelli. Do you
have anything to report?
>> Thank you, Madame Mayor. The city
» Thank you, Madame Mayor. The city
council met in close session this
afternoon to discuss the two items on
the posted agenda. All five council
members were present and no reportable
action was taken. And before I pass this
on, I did just want to give uh the
council a happy new year and a happy new
year from the state legislature because
they have seen fit to adopt a very
comprehensive update to the Brown Act.
And the Brown Act for those in the
audience is the law that governs uh
public meeting transparency. And so
there's a litany of new changes um some
minor changes that took effect on
January 1st. the bulk of the changes um
that are going to affect how the council
meetings are run take effect July 1st of
this year and the biggest change just to
give you a quick update is that um going
forward council meetings are going to
have to be hybrid meetings meaning that
there's going to have to be a telephonic
or zoom option for
uh the public to be able to participate
in the meetings remotely. So, there will
now have to be a either Zoom or phone
system to allow public comment via um
one of those systems. And I have not had
an opportunity to talk to staff about
what [clears throat] our IT capabilities
are. Obviously, we were able to do quite
a bit during COVID, but we're going to
have to uh rethink about how that to
implement this new law uh on July 1st.
Some of the other changes include um a
[clears throat] requirement to adopt a
disruption policy. The meeting actually
can't proceed uh if there is a uh
technical dis uh interruption with the
internet service or phone service. Um so
we have to adopt a policy on how we're
going to address those uh potential
technical difficulties. And our meeting
agendas are actually going to have to be
translated into certain languages. And
so we're looking at all that to make
sure that the city council is in
compliance with the Brown Act.
What's that?
And and just to be clear, the the te the
public comment period via the hybrid
meeting format only applies to the city
council. It's not going to apply to
every uh single city commission. So with
that, um that's my report for tonight.
>> City manager clarification. Was there a
» City manager clarification. Was there a
threshold in the size of the city in
terms of the hybrid approach?
>> Uh, I believe
» Uh, I believe
>> is it a population count?
» is it a population count?
>> 25,000.
» 25,000.
>> Yeah. And we're we're right on it.
» Yeah. And we're we're right on it.
>> I think we we made it right.
» I think we we made it right.
>> Just [laughter] below
» Just [laughter] below
>> 24,95.
So we're below the 25,000 thresholds.
>> Well, we're going to have to look at
» Well, we're going to have to look at
that and make sure. It may not apply to
us.
>> Yeah. Yeah,
» Yeah. Yeah,
>> it's as easy as a link anyway.
» it's as easy as a link anyway.
>> But we're in a county that has more than
» But we're in a county that has more than
600,000.
>> Oh, that's right. I'm sorry.
» Oh, that's right. I'm sorry.
[clears throat]
>> Thank you, city clerk.
» Thank you, city clerk.
>> You You threw me for a wrench cuz I was
» You You threw me for a wrench cuz I was
like I knew it applied here. It's 25
cities of 25,000 or any city in a county
with 600,000 people.
>> So, it does apply to Seal Beach.
» So, it does apply to Seal Beach.
>> Okay. Thank you, city attorney. Uh city
» Okay. Thank you, city attorney. Uh city
manager Gyos, do you have anything to
report?
>> Uh yes, I do. Mayor, uh good evening. Uh
» Uh yes, I do. Mayor, uh good evening. Uh
happy new year, everyone. Uh I hope
everybody had an enjoyable holiday. Um I
want to briefly acknowledge one event
that took place since our last city
council meeting. Uh on December 17th,
the Sil Beach Police Department held a
swearing in ceremony to welcome new
members and recognize promotions within
the department. Uh it was a meaningful
event and I want to thank Chief
Henderson uh and the entire police
department for their continued
commitment to public safety uh to
service our community. Uh and finally,
as we begin the new year, I want to
extend my appreciation to our city staff
for their dedication and
professionalism, and I look forward to
another productive year ahead in service
to the Sil Beach community. With that,
mayor, that concludes my report.
>> Thank you very much. Okay. Now, general
» Thank you very much. Okay. Now, general
council member comments and reporting
pursuant to AB1234.
Uh Councilman Kelmick, would you like to
start? Uh this evening I just have that
I attended the uh swearing in ceremony
for our new police officers and it looks
like we have a very good group and the
promotions as well. Thank you.
>> Thank you,
» Thank you,
>> Councilwoman Senle.
» Councilwoman Senle.
>> Yes, thank you. I just wanted to make a
» Yes, thank you. I just wanted to make a
note that the uh Christmas parade was
fabulous. There was a lot of volunteers
and uh it was a great event. Really
enjoyed it. Um, I do want to comment
that during the rain uh season, I want
to compliment our public works
department and say thank you. We've
talked about being proactive getting our
sign stage uh, you know, flooded.
Please, you know, use a different street
and because uh, what happens when in
College Park East when our streets flood
and then people drive through it, it
creates the wave that goes right up to
the houses into the garage. So, um, we
were proactive with signs out. We had
the um what's the machine? Um the pump
machine, [laughter]
the pumping machine um pre-staged and
the rains came during when our staff a
lot were taking vacations and holidays
and staffing was thin. And so really
appreciate our staff that had to um be
coordinated, jump in to make because you
can't turn on those machines unless we
have a staff person there.
>> And so and I drove my neighborhood and I
» And so and I drove my neighborhood and I
saw our staff working. it was raining
and it was late and it was cold. And so
I just want to um share appreciation
that we were proactive and um also in
terms of being proactive for the
flooding, the storm water runoff
flooding uh neighbor for neighbor um
Sergeant Gray is not here, but um our
neighbor for neighbor program put out
notices um in those of us that have
signed up for it. And so the notices let
you know storm is coming, here's where
your sandbags are at. We're also now
have the inflatables that people can buy
in terms of blocking garages, you know,
and so forth. So, our neighbor for
neighbor put out a lot of really timely,
excellent information and the storm
tracking and then also appreciation to
the staff who it seemed like every 30
seconds we had a storm update. It was
like every day, but um it was a lot of
effort to keep us informed and again uh
keeping us safe. So, I want to
acknowledge public works for um really
um going that extra mile and especially
during a holiday period when we were
downsized with staffing. So, um please
pass that on. Thank you.
>> Thank you very much, Councilman Steel.
» Thank you very much, Councilman Steel.
>> Yes.
» Yes.
>> Uh thank you very much, Mayor. Uh since
» Uh thank you very much, Mayor. Uh since
our last meeting, I attended the
swearing in ceremony. I think uh we were
all there. Nice to see the PD. Nice to
see the badges and the advancements in
the uh our police department. I attended
the board of directors meeting of the
ACCOC which is the association of city
councils for Orange County. It was their
board meeting where they elected a new
president president and uh and so on. I
also attended the Cal City's Orange
County Division their final lunchon of
last year. Um, I attended the OCMBBD,
which is Orange County Mosquito Vector
District, which is uh one of those board
assignments that uh is important for a
city like Seal Beach. Uh, nothing much
going on on the mosquito front these
days, but we're gearing up for next year
and um, plans are in motion for that.
Um, and I also attended the OCO act uh,
which is the Orange County uh,
Orange County
Older adults. Thank you very much.
Orange County Older Adults Advisory
Commission. OCO act. Older adults
advisory commission.
>> Did [clears throat] you ever see your
» Did [clears throat] you ever see your
moment?
>> I'm losing something with age here.
» I'm losing something with age here.
That's right.
>> You're looking at me
» You're looking at me
>> from my memory. [laughter]
» from my memory. [laughter]
So anyway, uh just that blank space. I
also would like to, if I may, Dave, I'm
going to uh point a finger at you. We
have a brand new executive director in
Leisure World and he is Dave. Stand up
for us, Dave. Please say hello.
>> [applause and cheering]
» And I'm honored honored to see you here
tonight. Tell me your last name again,
please.
>> Norbell.
» Norbell.
>> Norbell. That's right. Dave Norbell. And
» Norbell. That's right. Dave Norbell. And
so we are uh grateful for his presence
in Leisure World. He's taking over. He's
figured out You figured out where the
men's room is. Correct.
>> Not yet.
» Not yet.
>> Not yet. Working on it. Uh anyway,
» Not yet. Working on it. Uh anyway,
welcome. Thank you for being here. And
that's my comments.
>> Thank you very much, Mayor Pro Tam Wong.
» Thank you very much, Mayor Pro Tam Wong.
>> Uh thank you, mayor. Um since our last
» Uh thank you, mayor. Um since our last
council meeting in December, um on
December 12th, Friday, I attended the uh
mayor's wheels, meals on wheels over at
the North Seal Beach Library. So there
city staff was there to uh basically
help welcome the seniors and help make
the holidays a little bit nicer. There
was volunteer musicians and then we got
a chance to talk to a lot of the
residents within Seal Beach around the
Rossmore Shopping Center and uh
basically help hopefully made their day
a little bit nicer. On uh Friday, excuse
me, December 14th, uh Sunday, um I
attended the Precious Life Shelter in
Los Alamos. Uh a tour of their campus
and their grounds. If you don't know
what Precious Life Shelter is, it they
provide emergency transitional single
parent residents for pregnant women with
uh no place to live. So essentially,
these are women facing immediate
financial, physical, or even emotional
abuse that are escaping their
situations. And so what they do over at
Precious Life Shelter is very much um
appreciated. On December 17th, I also
attended the COB PD's promotion and
swearing in. So that was great to see
that the turnout there and the positive
energy towards our police. Um on
December 20th, Saturday, I myself joined
with College Park West residences and
the group from the CPW preserve and
there we did um what I take as very
personal is graffiti cleanup. So for
many of those that crossed the bridge
into College Park West into from Long
Beach, we went I was down in San Gabriel
River when it was a low tide and then
all that graffiti you might have seen at
the base of the bridge has now all been
covered with concrete gray and and from
out of view once when you venture out
some more, you'll see a lot more tagging
and a lot more graffiti. And I'll just
say it's all been covered. So that took
about five hours on Saturday. So I'm
very much uh very proud of the work that
College Park West residents [applause]
did.
and we very much said those to
ourselves, even if it does come back,
we'll be back. Right. Then on um also
quick shout out to SP uh police
department as well. Um this week in
College Park West, we received emergency
flyers, FEMA um emergency exits. Again,
this is great as far as uh signs going
up earlier last year is if there's an
emergency um that strikes College Park
West and the bridge were to be removed
where there's some two emergency exits
for residents. And then the flyers that
went out was passed out by Seal Beach
Police volunteers. And so that was very
much appreciated. And then uh lastly,
this past week was uh January 6th. It
was a Tuesday and this is what I am
trying to coin as the first Tuesday in
Leisure World. And then there was the
kickoff for my monthly uh first Tuesday
uh coffee and donuts. And so there I was
at uh Leisure World. Uh I I put the c
the start time is between 7:30 a.m.
until 8:30, but I was there about 7:10,
a little bit there earlier. And um got
coffee from Bogart's Coffee over on 905
Ocean Avenue. And we also got donuts
from Donut City over on 1210 PCH. And
then there uh we had a massive turnout.
We had a total of nine people. Right. I
know, but it's a start and we're going
to be there every Tuesday, every first
Tuesday of the month going forward. And
so hopefully uh just the presidents
alone will hopefully indicate to the
residents of Leisure World that hey,
I'll be there available. I'll take any
complaints. I'll take any questions or
even any comments, but I'll be there,
right? And then so it was great to meet
some of the residences that that I
haven't already met before. So that was
a great little kickoff. Thank you very
much.
[applause]
Thank you very much. [clears throat] Um
I cannot uh articulate any better than
city manager Gyos and Mayor Prom Wong um
at how amazing um both those events the
the promotion and police swearing in
ceremony and the meals on wheels um for
our seniors and leisure world at the
North Seal Beach Center. Uh both were
incredible events and very proud to be
part of this community. Um, I just have
a quick update on OC sanitation. Um, I
have nothing to report for Fountain
Valley. I'm sorry. Um, Seal Beach
though, uh, construction continues on
the Seal Beach pump station replacement
project, uh, with wet well excavation
and waterproofing, uh, to protect the
concrete. Uh, this project is at Sil
Beach Boulevard in Westminster. Uh, one
of the things that we did do is get uh
the cones removed, uh, most of the cones
removed uh, on Sil Beach Boulevard
leading to Westminster Boulevard, uh, to
relieve traffic there at that
intersection and then to allow quicker
right turn onto Westminster Boulevard.
So, that was helpful. Um, and also, um,
happy new year to everybody and, um,
let's have a great 2026.
Um, [applause]
Okay, that completes council comments.
Um, now we move on to the consent
calendar. Items on the consent calendar
are considered to be routine and are
enacted by a single motion with the
exceptions of items removed by council
members. I would like to now call for a
motion and a second to approve the
consent calendar with the exception of
item C.
>> I'll move.
» I'll move.
>> I'll second.
» I'll second.
>> Please take a role.
» Please take a role.
It has been moved by council member
Calming and second by Mayor Pro Tim
Wong. Council member Calm, how do you
vote?
>> Yes. Mayor Pro Tim Wong, how do you
» Yes. Mayor Pro Tim Wong, how do you
vote?
>> Yes.
» Yes.
>> Council member Synico, how do you vote?
» Council member Synico, how do you vote?
>> Yes.
» Yes.
>> Council member Steel, how do you vote?
» Council member Steel, how do you vote?
>> Yes.
» Yes.
>> Mayor Landau, how do you vote?
» Mayor Landau, how do you vote?
>> Yes.
» Yes.
>> Motion carries five votes. Yes.
» Motion carries five votes. Yes.
>> Thank you very much. Uh, now on to items
» Thank you very much. Uh, now on to items
removed from the consent calendar. Uh,
city manager, is there a staff report?
There is not mayor, but I believe
council member still uh would like to
discuss or answer questions.
>> Okay. I'm going to make a statement
» Okay. I'm going to make a statement
first if that's okay. Uh before we move
on to discussion, uh as you know, it's
the mayor's responsibility to assign
council members to the various inter
agency committees. I took everyone's
suggestions into consideration when
making these assignments. My goal was to
do what's best for Seal Beach. The
purpose of serving on these committees
is to bring information back to the full
council so that every council member
understands what's happening at the
county and state levels and how it
affects Seal Beach. That's why these
assignments are meant to rotate over
time. I will now o open it up for
discussion.
» Okay. Um [clears throat]
these uh there are three committees in
uh Orange County that are kind of the
countywide
uh board positions that are available to
each city in the county or at least in
the jurisdiction. One of them is
mosquito vector which gladly comes to
district 5 and I enjoy that board. Uh
that's a board where you see uh we we
make decisions about budgets, we make
decisions about executive assignments,
we make decisions about the strategic
direction, we have uh actual input into
the uh the agency itself. We approve
budgets and things like that. Uh the
other two uh countywide boards are um
Orange County Sanitation District. uh
you have a seat for everybody who is
part of the jurisdiction of Orange
County sanitation which I believe is
every city in Orange County has a seat
on that board. So the mayors appoint the
people who sit on that board. Now uh and
then the third board is the Orange
County uh fire authority OCFA. OCFA is
unique in many different ways. Number
one, their business uh is complicated.
Their organization is vast. Uh they have
uh I don't know how many employees, 1500
or something like that, but they've got
a a a lot more than that. Okay. Uh but
nonetheless, it's a half a billion
dollar budget. Uh it's a complicated
sort of situation with capital
equipment, with firehouses, with uh
personnel issues, union issues. All of
these things uh take time for anybody on
that committee to uh absorb and be able
to discuss intelligently. The the
other aspect of this is we are a term
limited city. Most cities in Orange
County are term limited, which means
that uh if we get a spot on a board and
we swap out every couple of years our
particular representative, uh we have
very little chance of rising up the
ranks of influence inside of those
organizations. Uh Joe has been Joe
Cowick has been on the OCFA board since
2021 and I think he served on it uh a
couple of years before that as well. He
has been on that board continuously. his
influence on the board has continued to
rise. He serves on, I believe, three
different committees besides the uh
board itself. Uh he knows u the board,
he knows the people on the board, he
knows the executive committee. The
people on the executive floor at OCFA
know Joe very well. Joe spent, I
believe, 20 years at least as a
volunteer firefighter. So, he's very
keen on what the issues are for
firefighters. I've spoken to the union
uh and they like Joe. I'm not sure if
they can actually endorse or anything
like that, but they're very concerned
about uh losing that position on the
board uh uh just for the sake of
turnover. Uh Joe is about to become the
chair of the OCFA. This is 25 cities on
the board. I believe it's 25. And uh
this is no small shakes. For a small
city like Seal Beach to have that much
influence in a board of that size and
that much uh across the county is really
a very very rare and unique thing. So he
has the respect of the uh the board of
directors. Um
I've got a letter here I'd like to read
uh from the beginning as chair. This is
from Phil Bera who is the chair of the
OCFA board of directors and it says, "As
chair of the Orange County Fire
Authority Board of Directors, I am
writing to request your assistance in
the coming months when OCFA's member
agencies make annual appointments of
representatives to the authorities
board. Presently, each director serves
on the OCFA board until the selection of
a successor by the appointing body. As
part of our ongoing efforts to foster
effective governance of the OCFA, we
would like to retain continuity of vice
chair director Calm serving on the board
and minimize turnover
to the extent possible with an operating
budget over a half a billion dollars,
over 1,500 employees, four labor
associations, and the operation of 78
fire station. The issues we face at OCFA
are myriad and complex. The learning
curve is steep to become familiar with
the organizational structure, its
operations, finances, and the types of
policies and issues that come before the
board. We recognize that regional board
appointments are considered holistically
and serve to support overall needs of
the organization. However, as chair, I
am seeking support from our member
agencies to minimize voluntary changes
made to our board appointees, such
[clears throat] as those that can occur
in January when most other cities and
the county reorganize the leadership of
their governing bodies and make it a
variety of uh committee appointments.
The key factor here is uh
this is from the chair of the board and
they're asking for Joe Calmic. Joe is
about to become the chair of the OCFA
later this month probably likely. I have
personally spoken to four different
members of the board of directors and
they're concerned about any change uh at
this time. Uh the other thing is that
there are some big issues that are
coming at OCFA right now. Uh among them
the emergency response team, the rapid
response team and the helicopters and
the kind of uh the capitulation on what
their participation is in that which is
a critical issue. The resignation of
their former executive director who's
gone on to bigger and better things and
the appointment of the next executive
director. This is a big deal. The
unions, I believe, are going to be
coming up this coming year. And so, we
need somebody with an orientation to
what the unions are doing. So, I'm
asking, not you folks, I'm asking this
panel right here to do the right thing
and send Joe Calm back to the OCFA.
So, I'm going to make a motion. And I'm
how uh how would I word this? So, we
would uh put Joe as the
uh
currently the resolution before the
council includes Mayor Landau as the
nominated me uh council member to be on
the OCFA board. If you'd like to change
that, we need a motion to adopt the
resolution with whomever you choose to
be uh on appointed to the OCFA board.
>> Okay. So, that would be my motion. My
» Okay. So, that would be my motion. My
motion is to uh put Joe Calmic onto the
OCFA board.
>> Do we have to wait for a vote on that to
» Do we have to wait for a vote on that to
further discussion? Give others
opportunities to
>> Well, you can have the the motion
» Well, you can have the the motion
pending and then debate that motion at
this point. We don't have a second
though.
>> Second.
» Second.
>> I'll second.
» I'll second.
>> I'll second.
» I'll second.
>> So that motion can now be debated
» So that motion can now be debated
or modifi or you know a substitute can
be offered.
Um the only thing that I would add to
the kind comments that have been made by
other speakers is u
you know I attend every board meeting.
I've not missed a board meeting. It's
very important for us to be represented
there. Um
in addition I serve on three committees,
one of which I'm chair of the operations
committee.
In addition, I attend because it's
important for the city and it's
important for the progress of the fire
authority. I attend all the graduations
for the firemies
and I've because of availability I've
been asked to speak at uh the last three
u academy graduations having a
relationship with both the operations
side of the department uh the chiefs and
so forth as well as folks that are in
the HR department uh the auto shop uh
and other aspects of of the function ing
of the fire department has proven
somewhat beneficial. It I I hate to
admit it, but it's taken me a few years,
but I finally managed partly because of
of being in the position I'm in
currently able to acquire a utility
vehicle for fire station 44 across the
street. And this was specifically
requested uh due to the fact that we
have had three fires on our pier. And
after each of those fires were reviewed,
it was recommended that we had if we had
a utility vehicle that we could ferry
firefighters andor equipment and hose
lines out on the pier since the pier is
not uh the fire engine is not supposed
to go out onto the pier. The support is
somewhat limited for that. So again, the
continuity of having those kinds of
relationships
um it took a while, but in that one
regard uh has paid off. Uh
and and I do agree that um that for a
city like Seal Beach who has never had
uh anyone uh in the chair's seat to have
that seat that you do have additional
influence. There's no question about it.
Um, and I think that uh it's important
to take advantage of that opportunity.
Thank you.
Okay. Um, any other comments or
Okay. Um, I would like to thank Joe Calm
for the five plus years that he's served
on OCFA committee. Uh, Joe has built
strong relationships on behalf of Seal
Beach and that work is appreciated. So,
thank you Joe. OCFA is incredibly
important to our city and all of Orange
County. Uh that said, Joe is term
limited at the end of this year. He uh
has served his eight years and uh will
not be returning to council uh the
following year. And it's important that
we prepare for when he's no longer in
that role. Right now, no other council
member has direct experience with OCFA.
We know nothing about OCFA. That creates
a gap we need to address.
Um, as a letter that, uh, Councilman
Steele um, referenced, uh, that I also
received, um, with an operating budget
of over half a billion dollars, over
1500 employees, four labor associations,
and the operation of 78 fire stations,
the issues we face are myriad and
complex. The learning curve is steep to
become familiar with the organizational
structure, its operations and finances,
and the types of policies and issues
that come before the board, quote
unquote. This is a perfect example of
why we need new representation so we can
all learn these ropes, all of us. Uh,
and that means rotating so we all are in
the loop. Uh since Joe is termed out
with a new council member in place this
year, at least we have Joe for the next
10 11 months to help mentor us and bring
us up to speed with OCFA. That is what
is best for Seal Beach. I would like to
make a substitute motion to keep item C
as it is written.
I'll second.
Are we still have comments or questions?
Um, if I may, um, let me first ask, um,
uh, Councilman Steel. So, uh, you
mentioned that you've talked to
different groups in support of Joe.
Would you mind sharing which groups are
in support of Joe?
>> I spoke to Dave Shaver, who has, uh,
» I spoke to Dave Shaver, who has, uh,
been on the OCFA board since 1992. He's
from Stanton, and they're not term
limited like cities like Seal Beach. And
so, he's been on the OCFA board since it
was formed in 1992. I spoke to Bob Ris
who is also on the board of directors
and a friend of mine from uh the
mosquito vector board. He contacted me
when he found out this was going on and
they are all concerned about losing uh
Joe on the on the uh on the board. Uh
there are several other people I also
spoke to a union representative who is
concerned about it. I don't think the
union can speak up about this per se,
but uh uh it's it's one thing to take
the uh put the new blood into the office
next year as opposed to this year. Just
as we are coming into the point where we
get the maximum currency on the board of
directors for the benefit of Seal Beach
and for the benefit of OCFA, that's
happening this year right now with Joe.
We can go to new blood next year. Joe
has done an excellent job on OCFA. It's
an absolutely uh uh he's been key on
them and he's on those other committees,
too. So, I mean, swap out new blood
right now just as we're ascending to the
uh the most influential position on the
board. Doesn't make sense to me. You can
wait for that for next year and put
yourself on the board next year and we
can start swapping back and forth. But
to to spend all of the currency that Joe
has built with the board, with the
executive staff, with the operations
people, with the houses is is a waste of
currency. It's a waste of of political
capital. And if I may, so for the groups
for the the leaders that you have spoken
with, I know I understand we have uh
Robert Fleton from the mayor promp here
endorsing Joe and then we also have you
said a letter from Phil Bera. For the
others that you have mentioned that you
spoke with, do they have letters in
support
» or did you just speak them?
>> Do you don't want to take my word for
» Do you don't want to take my word for
it, Ben?
>> No, no, no. I'm asking you a yes or no.
» No, no, no. I'm asking you a yes or no.
>> Take my word for it. They I've spoken to
» Take my word for it. They I've spoken to
those people and they all support Joe.
>> I think you misunderstood my question.
» I think you misunderstood my question.
My question was yes, you spoke with
them. Have they come out and publicly
endorsed him?
» They publicly endorsed the letter from
the chair of the board.
>> You're not answering my question. Where
» You're not answering my question. Where
is their letters of support?
>> Ben, make up your own mind one way or
» Ben, make up your own mind one way or
the other. If you're having trouble
making a decision on currency or no
currency, that's your problem, not mine.
But I tell you this, we are spending if
you would like to hear some political
capital.
>> If you would like to hear a discussion,
» If you would like to hear a discussion,
>> you want to speak over me?
» you want to speak over me?
>> If you would like to hear a discussion
» If you would like to hear a discussion
and another point of view, I would
suggest you listen and you might you
might hear another point of view.
>> I've heard another point of view.
» I've heard another point of view.
>> Okay, then. Well, I would like to share
» Okay, then. Well, I would like to share
a lot more, but if we would like this to
go to a vote, I don't mind.
City clerk.
>> It has been moved by Mayor. No,
» It has been moved by Mayor. No,
>> go ahead.
» go ahead.
>> It has been moved by Mayor Landal and
» It has been moved by Mayor Landal and
second by council member Synico. Mayor
Landal, how do you vote?
>> What do we
» What do we
>> This is the substitute motion which is
» This is the substitute motion which is
as
>> the substitute motion is to adopt
» the substitute motion is to adopt
resolution number 7722
as proposed to staff. Under Robert's
rules, you take the substitute motion
first. If the substitute motion passes,
it replaces the main motion. And that's
the conclusion of the item.
>> So what we're voting on right now is Joe
» So what we're voting on right now is Joe
on the
>> Joe not on. Joe not on. Okay.
» Joe not on. Joe not on. Okay.
>> Please continue with the role.
» Please continue with the role.
>> Okay. Mayor Landau, how do you vote?
» Okay. Mayor Landau, how do you vote?
>> Yes.
» Yes.
>> Council member Cynical, how do you vote?
» Council member Cynical, how do you vote?
>> Yes.
» Yes.
>> Council member Calm, how do you vote?
» Council member Calm, how do you vote?
>> No.
» No.
>> Mayor Pro Tim Wong, how do you vote?
» Mayor Pro Tim Wong, how do you vote?
>> Yes.
» Yes.
>> Council member Still, how do you vote?
» Council member Still, how do you vote?
>> No.
» No.
>> Motion carries three to two.
Thank you very much, city clerk. Um,
there is no public hearing, no
unfinished and continued business. We
will now move on to new business, uh,
consideration of a memorandum of
understanding with the county of Los
Angeles and the ocean cleanup for the
San Gabriel Gabriel River Trash
Mitigation Initiative. I'd like to call
on Silsby Strategic Advisor, CEO, Shane
Silsby. [clears throat]
Good evening, mayor and council member,
council members. Uh, thank you, mayor,
for the introduction. Shane Silsby, CEO
of Ssby Strategic Advisors and also your
external consultant and project manager
for the initiative working uh with your
team at public works. Uh, you mentioned
what the item is about, but I'll just
give some quick background on this and
then if you have questions, we we can
take it from there. First of all, there
are two distinct efforts going on with
this issue and this initiative which is
called the San Gabriel River Trash
Mitigation Initiative originally um
initiated by council member Kelmick and
then uh had a number of agencies join
the San Gabriel River working group
including uh the Surf Rider folks you
heard from earlier. So there are two
distinct uh issues initiatives uh one is
a feasibility study which we've
completed and now posted live to uh a
website today. It's sgrcleanup.com if
anybody wants to see that document which
talks about feasibility of future
projects. And then we have theou
discussion which is before you today to
work with other uh agencies on a
specific future project yet to be
determined. Okay. feasibility study
gives them information, but um the funer
of that in cooperation the ocean cleanup
wanted to make sure that agencies were
on board with helping with certain items
before they moved forward multi-million
dollar efforts to do the actual project,
whatever that project will be at the
location. So, why does this initiative
matter? The the overall trash cleanup,
you all know because you live here, 500
tons of trash each year collected off
the beaches. That's not what goes into
the ocean. That's just off of the
beaches. Obviously important there. This
is a regional collaboration as I
mentioned state assembly districts 69
and 72. The San Gabriel River working
group was ch co-chared by council member
calm and assembly member Dixon. Also
interest from uh state senate district
36 cities of seal beach and long beach
counties of Los Angeles and Orange
County Surf Rider Foundation and various
other interested uh entities including
environmental groups and special guests.
So what is being done now? As I said,
the feasibility study has been posted.
Now that phase is effectively complete
and uh that study talks about 15 to 17
locations depending how you count the A
and B's of different technologies, but
effectively it says these are the the
things that you could do from a
feasibility standpoint within the San
Gabriel River and it ranks those. It
gives you a priority of prioritization
of those based on feasibility. It's a
feasibility study. Also, it talks about
environmental considerations. Um, sea
turtles were discussed exclusively
there. There's a comment about that
earlier. We met with the aquarium of the
Pacific. I think Mayor Pro Tim Wong and
I were both at one of the events where
we were releasing a a green sea turtle
that was caught up in trash. So, we're
trying to balance how do we protect the
wildlife from the trash before they get
capped, you know, caught up in that and
then have to be released later. Also,
there was stakeholder collaboration as
part of that feasibility study as well.
So, that is effectively complete that
phase. Now, the second phase is looking
at projects. uh that comes into the part
partnership with the ocean cleanup. And
so theou is asking a few things. one,
it's identifying the agencies involved
or the organizations involved and it's
the city of Seal Beach, Los Angeles
County, uh because they have
jurisdiction in the flood control
district and it's the ocean cleanup
which is the the funding element of this
and a technical expert uh worldwide on
solutions um like those being evaluated.
The Los Angeles County Board of
Supervisors is targeting a February date
to do a similar action to what you all
are considering this evening to take
this upon uh their board for
authorization for their CEO to execute
the sameou.
What is the city being asked to do as
part of thisou? I know you have the
documents in front of you, but just to
be clear about that, the city's being
asked to help with future permitting
elements to the extent they relate to
the city of Seal Beach's jurisdiction,
potentially a bridge or something like
that. They're being asked to provide the
feasibility study at its conclusion.
Well, as I said, that's been completed
and we will provide that if the board if
the uh city council approves theou. So,
that's effectively complete. The third
thing is to share any data related to
the San Gabriel River. We talked about
the trash data earlier and any other
hydraulic data which is easy and we've
been sharing that already. So
effectively the city has completed most
of its tasks um already to comply with
it with its portion of the MOU. That's
great news. Um the other great news is
that if LA County uh signs theou which
we don't have a reason to believe they
won't. They've agreed to this point they
agree to take on the operations and
maintenance for a future project. And
that is not a small dollar amount
either. And then of course the ocean
cleanup agrees to implement a project
after it's studied and has the proper
community outreach and analysis and all
those elements. So the Seal Beach uh the
city of Seal Beach effectively gets a
project delivered to them uh at no um
material cost if you will to the city.
It has a material benefit certainly and
staff time will be engaged in all of
that but but the cost of those things
are largely borne by other agencies. So
that's why I think it's a great um
position for the city to be in with
thisou
quick on the expected benefits of the
community obviously cleaner beaches
improving public health protection of
the marine wildlife that we talked about
before and sensitive habitats reduce the
city maintenance costs over time. If you
reduce that 500 tons of trash annually
that has to be collected off the beach,
that improves your maintenance, better
water quality along the coastline,
obviously, and then a more engaged
informed community.
So, uh, I mentioned that and then how
people can stay involved. As I mentioned
earlier, the the website is up and
running now. It's, uh, www.sgrcleup.com.
The feasibility study is posted there,
but I just wanted to lay out the whole
story for you here and how the
feasibility study differs from a
potential future project, which is what
this memorandum of understanding is
linked to. And with that, I'd be happy
to take any questions. I appreciate
working with uh the council and the city
staff on this initiative.
>> Thank you very much. Any comments?
» Thank you very much. Any comments?
Questions?
>> Um just a quick comment. Um, one thing I
» Um just a quick comment. Um, one thing I
learned, um, recently that when this
trash is coming down, that it, uh, it's
not a one-time beach, go out and clean
it up. That trash goes out and we, it
cycles to us for like three weeks
because the tide is taking it out and if
we didn't catch it on a cleanup, then
it's out. It comes back. So, it's like
this three week cycle of continual trash
coming in on the beaches. And of course
the um we're lucky we have volunteers,
you know, and we're very much
appreciative of all the volunteer hours,
but also our public works, you know, and
we're cleaning those beaches. We have a
lot of equipment out there. And so um I
just want to recognize the um the
volunteers, but also our public works in
terms of the cost, you know, the um M&R
costs uh um to our budget. And so um
really want to appreciate that. But and
also um during those three weeks of
trash in, trash out, trash in, you know,
it you know, families don't want to use
the beach, right? You're worried about
the stuff that you find in the sand and
you don't want your kids playing in it
and then you don't want your your kids
surfing in it because you don't know,
you know, what's out there and how much.
So, um I think this is a really
important um thing for us to do and
thank Joe for the leadership getting us
started on that path and um I'm going to
support this when we go to vote. But um
I think it's this is a great thing for
us to be doing.
>> Any comments?
» Any comments?
>> No.
» No.
I was just wondering um is there any
participation um responsibility for the
60 plus LA County cities upstream to
mitigate the trash that's coming from
their cities going into the river to get
to us?
>> That's a great question. Uh mayor, thank
» That's a great question. Uh mayor, thank
you for that. Um
I will answer this in two ways. First,
there's not a solution to um ask those
cities to pay for a fair share partly
because we don't know what that fair
share would be at this point. Uh the
feasibility study does talk about
hydraulics, how the water moves in the
rivers, and it talks about the
percentage of the watershed capture at
each of the evaluation points. But we
are not yet able to determine where uh
specifically those are coming from. We
are just saying at these points, how can
we address that trash? So that's the
first answer, more technical one. The
second one is that uh we've been working
with the ocean cleanup to help them
install cameras that have advanced
technologies at key locations uh using
AI and other um technologies which are
proprietary to them to look at the trash
and try to evaluate actual volumes and
materials of that trash. Meaning is it
debris? Is it plastic? What what is
that? to try to see if we can more
accurately uh predict where that is
coming from. So, it's unlikely that
we'll get down to uh an individual city
of 60, but we're at least trying to to
see if we can divide it by areas
in case there's a need for future
assignment of financial responsibility
for that.
>> Perfect. Thank you.
» Perfect. Thank you.
>> Yes,
» Yes,
>> I have a question. Um I know that we
» I have a question. Um I know that we
installed them a couple of years ago in
Leisure World. Uh, and it's a a state
law or requirement that all of the uh,
what do you call those? The catch that
we put in what? Can you describe that
for me? Uh, Iris,
>> they're the uh, catch pace and trash
» they're the uh, catch pace and trash
inserts.
>> Yeah. All of our water uh, inputs where
» Yeah. All of our water uh, inputs where
the water goes into the storm drains. I
don't know what you call that particular
part part there, but that's the storm
drains all in leisure world have a catch
on them and they get cleaned out on a
frequent basis. And I understood that to
be uh kind of like the law of the land
that everybody in California has got to
install those by a certain date. Don't
don't our upriver neighbors have to have
those installed as well?
>> It's a good question, Council Member
» It's a good question, Council Member
Ste. I'll do my best to answer what
you're talking about is the tier one
compliance for the storm water program.
County, I used to work for the county.
Some of you may know I used to run some
of that program. Every city we've talked
to have said they're in full compliance
with that tier one mandate. So what that
leads us to then is the trash is being
uh provided or implemented or put into
the system after those catch basins
>> from bridges overcrossing or direct
» from bridges overcrossing or direct
introduction through illegal dumping
>> or if you have you know maybe a person's
» or if you have you know maybe a person's
experiencing homelessness.
>> Yeah, I know it's not meant to catch it
» Yeah, I know it's not meant to catch it
all and I I'm sure there are many other
entry points too but uh I would hope
that would help anyway. it cost us
400,000 or something like that. So
>> that does work in combination also with
» that does work in combination also with
street sweeping. That's another part of
the clean water program,
>> right?
» right?
>> Um another reason why this I think is
» Um another reason why this I think is
good for Orange County cities is that LA
County has a measure W, which is a storm
water and quality effort to generate
revenue. Orange County does not have
that. So there's very minimal ways to to
do projects like this locally.
Appreciate your comments.
>> Thank you. Any more questions?
» Thank you. Any more questions?
We'll make a motion to move the item.
>> Is there a second?
» Is there a second?
>> Second.
» Second.
>> It has been moved by council member
» It has been moved by council member
Synagle and it has been second by Mayor
Pro Tim Wong. Mayor Proim Wong, how do
you vote?
>> Yes.
» Yes.
>> Council member Synagle, how do you vote?
» Council member Synagle, how do you vote?
>> Yes.
» Yes.
>> Council member Calm, how do you vote?
» Council member Calm, how do you vote?
>> Yes.
» Yes.
>> Council member Still, how do you vote?
» Council member Still, how do you vote?
>> Yes.
» Yes.
>> Mayor Landau, how do you vote?
» Mayor Landau, how do you vote?
>> Yes.
» Yes.
>> Motion carries. Five votes yes.
» Motion carries. Five votes yes.
>> Thank you very much.
» Thank you very much.
>> Thank you very much, Shane.
» Thank you very much, Shane.
Okay. It is a with a very heavy heart
that tonight's meeting will be adjourned
in memory of Marcus Mchasanova,
a local 19-year-old boy who passed away
in a tragic hiking accident on Mount
Baldi on December 29th, 2025.
He was a Seal Beach native since 2011.
And he loved everything about this town.
He attended Mcgallo Elementary School,
Oak Middle School, and Los Alamos High
School. He was a freshman at Santa Clara
University's Ley School of Business.
Marcus loved the outdoors with a kind of
wholehearted joy that was impossible to
miss. Hiking the local mountains,
sailing off of Seal Beach's coast,
rowing, fishing, and surfing in and
around Seal Beach, skiing, free diving.
If it put him outside, he was all in.
The outdoors weren't just recreation for
Marcus. It was where he felt most alive,
most himself. He also loved sharing that
joy. Marcus was a sailing instructor at
Leeway Sailing Center in Long Beach. He
had a natural way with kids. Patient,
encouraging, and generous with his time.
Helping young people discover
confidence, freedom, and wonder through
outdoor experiences mattered deeply to
him. The family has set up an outdoor
scholarship fund in his name, the
Marquitos Adventure Club. All proceeds
are donated to organizations that help
underserved kids experience the joy of
outdoors. Uh there is a GoFundMe. It's
gofundme.comfarquito
adventure club. As a community, we are
saddened by this tragic loss and offer
our support and prayers for his family
during this unimaginably difficult time.
I will now adjourn tonight's city
council meeting in memory of Marcus
Mchasanova to Monday, January 26, 2026
at 5:30 p.m. to meet in close session if
deemed necessary.
Thank you and have a good night.
[applause]