[0:00] the September 8th meeting of the Garden
Grove City Council. Madame clerk, please
[0:03] call roll.
[0:06] » Council member Dwin
>> here.
[0:08] » Council member Tran
>> here.
[0:10] » Council member Doven
>> present.
[0:12] » Council member Muneton
>> here.
[0:14] » Council member Edesty
>> here.
[0:16] » Mayor Prom Brigham
>> here.
[0:18] » And Mayor Clumpenstein
>> here.
[0:21] » Uh this will take us to our invocation
and pledge of allegiance. Our invocation
[0:24] will be led by assistant city manager
Matt West. And if I could have Ariana
[0:27] Ersteaggi from District 6 lead us in the
pledge, please.
[0:34] » Thank you. Please prepare yourself
according to your faith. Dear Lord, we
[0:38] give thanks for the opportunity to serve
our community and for the people who
[0:41] call Garden Grove home. Grant our city
council wisdom, integrity, and
[0:46] compassion as they consider the matters
before them. Help them listen
[0:49] thoughtfully, act fairly, and make
decisions that promote safety,
[0:53] opportunity, dignity, and the well-being
of all residents.
[0:56] And Lord, please bless our city, its
families, its workers, and all those who
[1:00] serve the community. We ask this in your
name. Amen.
[1:05] » Please remove your hats, face the flag,
and
[1:11] flag the United States of America and to
the
[1:16] stands. One nation,
indivisible,
[1:21] and for all.
[1:33] All right, thank you. Uh, that moves us
into presentations this evening. Item
[1:37] number one.
>> Item number one is the hazardous
[1:39] materials incident update and city
manager Lisa King will introduce the
[1:44] item.
>> Thank you, Madame Mayor, members of the
[1:46] city council. Uh we have Steve Carling
from GKN providing an update to the
[1:51] council relating to some next steps
relating to um the GKN um recovery
[1:56] process.
[2:06] » Madame Mayor, city council members, I'm
pleased to be with you again tonight
[2:09] representing GKN. Um, this will be
somewhat of a short update, but
[2:13] obviously whatever questions you may
have as we move along, I'm happy to uh
[2:16] answer them. Um, when I was here two
weeks ago, I announced the claim process
[2:21] of up to 100 million, and we've said
we'll be working as quickly and
[2:26] diligently as possible to open up that
claims process this fall. I'm happy to
[2:31] report now that um we expect to open up
the claims process, be open for
[2:36] submission of claims next month in
October.
[2:40] um in this in conjunctions on we we
start finalizing some details working in
[2:45] conjunction with the DA's office um once
we have the final date and we're a
[2:50] little more close to it we'll be
announcing a slew of community events um
[2:56] um phone banks that will be set up um
we'll also announce where the location
[3:00] of a storefront for a physical location
for people to come in to submit claims
[3:03] and things like that'll all be
conjunction with that um kickoff event
[3:07] which right now for we expect to happen
in October.
[3:13] Beyond that, I would just say we
continue to work um diligently in the
[3:17] plant. Um last two weeks ago, I offered
up the opportunity for community or
[3:23] council members to come visit the site.
Um that offer, reiterate that offer. I
[3:27] think it's really hard to explain what
we do unless you actually come and see
[3:30] it. It's a very unique site. Um so that
offer still stands. And with that, I
[3:35] think that is the extent of the update I
have at this moment in time. Happy to
[3:39] take questions.
>> Thank you, Mr. Carlin. Council member,
[3:43] » uh, thank you, mayor, and members of,
uh, our council. I did manage the tour
[3:48] earlier today and, um,
uh, I had full access. I was able to see
[3:55] everything I wanted to see. Um, even the
expansion that's, um, under
[4:00] construction. And I think that's going
to be um
[4:05] uh an asset to our city. We're going to
add another 100 170 jobs at the new
[4:13] facility. Uh that will take our
employment at Jan around 700
[4:19] employees that are going to be fully
employed. And that um to me is actually
[4:24] good news. So, I I hope that we can um
get going on that as well as the um uh
[4:32] get back into um productions because a
lot of our um major airliners are
[4:39] depending on their canopies and their
windows getting um met there. There's
[4:48] there's actually a backlog of orders.
Um, so I hope the council uh will also
[4:55] take tours. They're very open to it. Um,
so you can see for yourself what's
[5:01] happening there. And I didn't feel
unsafe or unwell at all. Was very just
[5:06] like any manufacturing plant that I've
been on.
[5:10] There's really nothing special going on
there, honestly. So, I would um
[5:16] encourage my fellow council members and
others um to schedule a tour and go see
[5:21] for theelves. Don't take my word for it.
We got to put some eyeballs on it, like
[5:25] I said, and reach your own conclusions.
Thank you.
[5:31] » Yeah. Um, since I got you here, can you
can you and you might not be able to
[5:35] elaborate yet, but have you been has uh
GKN been looking seriously into changing
[5:40] some of the safety protocols uh going
forward? And if so, can you elaborate on
[5:46] some what those may be? Or maybe it's
not appropriate right now to talk about
[5:50] that? I don't know.
>> No, I think it's appropriate to talk
[5:53] about. We have so as you know we brought
in outside experts both safety experts
[5:57] and chemical experts and people who deal
with piping and that sort of thing to
[6:00] look at the entire system. Um they've
they've recommended and we're installing
[6:05] significant safety enhancements and
monitoring equipment to prevent what
[6:09] happened from ever happening again. Um
so it's addition to above what's the
[6:12] norm that you would have in there and
those things are working closely every
[6:16] step of the way with the regulator. So
everything that we have an enhancement
[6:19] or a new monitor whatever those
everything gets approved. So we're not
[6:23] opening up anything or we're not taking
any steps without it having all the
[6:27] necessary approvals all the way through.
So, we're working with, like I said, the
[6:31] outside thirdparty experts, the
regulatory community, and also the
[6:35] safety experts to make sure. And then
the last thing I would say is once in
[6:39] order for us to get started, remember we
have that independently court approved
[6:44] um safety program that will be submitted
with before we start operations and that
[6:51] will be approved before we start
operations.
[6:54] And will that include um limiting the
amount of chemicals on site or limiting
[6:59] less than what was there before
>> at this time? I'm not sure I want to go
[7:03] into the detail of that. I'm actually
not privy to that detail, but
[7:08] » thank you.
>> Yeah.
[7:11] » Um thank you for being here with us. Um
I have a a question that concerned from
[7:17] a lot of my constituents.
um for the $100 million compensation.
[7:25] Number one, when when actually the the
money can
[7:31] distribute to uh my constit uh
constituent's
[7:36] hand since I know a lot of them are in
trouble financially
[7:42] because of the incident.
Can you tell me how fast and how easy
[7:48] they can obtain the money?
>> So, what we pledged is to make it as
[7:52] accessible and efficient as possible
going through. So, that includes having
[7:56] bit having access to multiple languages
and things like that, multiple avenues
[8:00] for submitting claims, whether it be
online, those who want to come in person
[8:04] and do it and get help and provide that
as they go through. Um, and then we've
[8:07] actually committed to expediting as
quickly as possible the payments. I
[8:12] can't give you an exact date of how long
that'll be how long it'll be from
[8:16] submission submission of the claims to
actually um delivering a check or
[8:22] something along those lines. But I can
pledge to you that we're going as fast
[8:25] as we can and this system is set up to
be as efficient. That's one of the
[8:28] things that we're taking to make sure
we're dotting all the eyes and crossing
[8:31] the tees to make this as efficient as
possible so that when it rolls out we
[8:35] can do we can get money in the folks
pockets as soon as possible.
[8:39] » Yeah. So uh this [snorts] question is
for the city manager and uh
[8:44] uh city attorney. Uh I know um our city
management been working relentlessly
[8:51] with the GKN.
So would you let the people know our
[8:57] resident know what is going on with the
working uh with or negotiating with GKN?
[9:06] » Thank you madame mayor, members of the
city council. Council member Wyn, we are
[9:10] continue to have ongoing dialogue with
GKN and their representative including
[9:14] Mr. Carlin. We have stressed the
importance of the council direction and
[9:18] that's accountability and transparency.
They have requested a timeline in which
[9:22] the claims process will be advanced.
Hence, uh Mr. Collins's presence today
[9:27] to communicate to the council that a
target date has been identified and
[9:31] announced in October. Obviously, this is
an end our conversation. He hears from
[9:36] me regularly and um very clearly that uh
the claims program is integral. In
[9:43] addition, any additional improvements
whether it's the expansion, whether it's
[9:47] addressing um mitigation to the tanks,
uh we are working closely with our
[9:52] building department as alongside uh
public works relating to storm water
[9:56] control. There is extensive dialogue
with all the regulatory agencies and
[10:01] it's just not just the city involved at
this point. We do try to stay in
[10:05] communication and a touch point
regularly with um GKN and their
[10:09] respective team of consultants and um
each week there's uh progress made. Um
[10:15] it's not an easy um transition but we're
working through that process and it's
[10:20] very technical. I wish I understand
construction lingo. It's it's um but
[10:25] there are way smarter folks in our city
staff team that's able to assist us
[10:29] through that process. So we are
monitoring daily and regularly. So, um,
[10:33] and I continue to update the council
when, um, new information becomes
[10:36] available.
>> Yeah. Would you please,
[10:38] » Madam Mayor?
>> Yeah,
[10:39] » I do have one more quick question. Um,
the 100, uh, million
[10:45] is, um, not as a result of any court
action. This is not the result of any
[10:52] uh,
oh, I don't know, arm twisting or
[10:56] anything. This is GKN's effort to uh,
make people right. the the folks that
[11:02] were affected. Correct.
>> So, as we pledged right afterwards that
[11:05] we wanted to make things right and as
you know, I've said here, we've been
[11:08] assessing a claims process for quite
some time in order to do that. So, that
[11:12] is being done by us.
>> This wasn't court ordered though. This
[11:16] this was GKN just doing it.
>> We do appreciate the uh being able to
[11:22] discuss this with the DA's office
because it makes it more robust and a
[11:25] stronger claims program, which is what
we all want in the end.
[11:28] » Okay. And can you assure um this dis
that any of the current lawsuits that
[11:35] are going on involving this um won't
take money from this fund as well?
[11:42] » That's a question I think I would have
to defer to the lawyers at this stage of
[11:46] the game. But our fund is set up to get
money to the individuals and small
[11:52] businesses up to hund00 million who are
directly impacted by the evacuation. So
[11:57] I hopefully that
>> so if there's a judgment let's say on
[12:02] one of the class action lawsuits or
something like that they could
[12:05] conceivably be dipping into this fund as
well.
[12:09] » I wouldn't even be able to speculate on
that hypothetical at this stage of the
[12:12] game. That really is a question for the
lawyers.
[12:15] » Thank you
>> colleagues. Anyone else?
[12:18] » Hello Mr. Carlin. Uh, a question that
has come before me for my own
[12:24] constituents has been with regards to
things like missed wages and missed
[12:28] opportunities to go and work in their
place of business um because it was
[12:32] within the evacuation zone. So my
question for you with regards to this
[12:37] claims process is would my constituents
who were affected because they weren't
[12:42] able to go to their place of work or to
the business that they own in this
[12:45] evacuation area would they qualify for
this claims process? So the claims
[12:52] process itself, the overall things that
we looking at and obviously the details
[12:56] aren't finalized yet, but some of the
major items that we've been looking at
[12:59] are obviously hotel stays or you know
any kind of lodging at that stage of the
[13:03] game, transportation associated with
that, meals, loss of use and loss of
[13:09] wages. So the two circumstances you
think would be encompassed I believe by
[13:13] those last two items in there.
Obviously, I can't with every item's
[13:17] going to be specific to that, but those
are things we are definitely looking at
[13:20] and those are things that are we
envisioned as being part of the hund00
[13:23] million claim.
>> Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Carlin. My
[13:26] other question has to do with the matter
of the town hall. Um, and I'm not going
[13:31] to let it go, Mr. Carlin, because I do
recall that you committed to having a
[13:36] town hall, and I want to make sure that
we hold you to that. uh the community at
[13:41] large does deserve accountability and
the opportunity to ask you questions.
[13:46] Where are we with regards to the
organization of the town hall? Um what
[13:50] what's the hold up here?
>> So that was what I talked about before
[13:53] is that we want to do everything kind of
injunction with the act conjunction not
[13:57] injunction conjunction with rolling out
the actual date of okay here's when the
[14:01] claims process is going to open up. And
so we'll have the community events that
[14:05] will go along with being able to get
information about the claims process,
[14:08] but also there'll be plenty of
opportunity for anyone and anyone to
[14:11] speak with me. We expect this to be an
open and be able to ask questions and
[14:15] gather information whether it be
information related to the claims
[14:18] process or just general information
about GKN.
[14:20] » So the they will be open to the general
public.
[14:23] » Yes.
>> Thank you, Mr. Carlin.
[14:27] » Um I did have that question as well. So
thank you for answering that. Um, and
[14:31] then another question I did have was uh
what will GKN do to regain the
[14:36] community's trust? What are some things
that you foresee? I know that um uh
[14:42] the fund is one thing, but to gain the
trust of a community that still lives in
[14:47] your backyard and uh what can you do? Um
it it doesn't have to be well if you can
[14:54] also um come back with more um
suggestions as to how can you regain the
[15:00] trust of our community because this is
something that um many people not just
[15:05] our city had to go through. So what are
your thoughts on that?
[15:10] » So there's no doubt that that's going to
be one of our focuses um as we move
[15:14] forward. the immediate was look, how do
we make things right for the immediate
[15:19] impact we caused to the folks and things
like that. But if you remember when we
[15:22] first started out, we pledged an
additional $1 million, which we haven't
[15:26] even looked at right now, which is to go
into the community and community events
[15:31] or sponsoring different things or how
best do we deploy that to make an impact
[15:35] on the community right away. And then
longer term, it's things like, you know,
[15:39] having the third-party safety plan and
all that sort of stuff and being more
[15:43] open about what we're doing and things
like that. Going through holding the
[15:46] community events. Those are the first
steps. And then progressively as we move
[15:50] along, hopefully we can work with the
city council and the local area to try
[15:54] and figure out what's the best way to do
that. It's it's not something I can say
[15:58] overnight, right? Nobody's going to
trust me at the end of the day. We have
[16:00] to prove it by actions and what we're
doing and both what we're doing in the
[16:04] community and what we're doing at the
site.
[16:07] That's all for me. Thank you. Sure.
>> Um I just have three quick notes um for
[16:13] you. So I go to St. fully cap church
which is in Stanton and they have a lot
[16:18] of choir member and parisher that they
have to they was evacuated and so um
[16:24] just three quick thing first when you
have the process for the resident to
[16:30] clamford I hope it's going to be you
know easy and if people have question
[16:34] they will be able to call somebody to
help not just sometime you know you you
[16:38] just get stuck and so that first and
second when during that night when we
[16:43] have to evacuate There were a couple of
businesses that came and helped me with,
[16:48] you know, helping the evacuees and um
the shelter and bringing food and all
[16:53] that and they actually were in that zone
and they were evacuated. So um another
[16:58] thing relate to them too in a way that
hopefully um you will be able to help
[17:03] the small businesses to you know go
through that and feel that you know they
[17:09] you care and as you could see a lot of
people in the room you know come here
[17:13] and raise that voice and the last thing
kind of agree with my true council
[17:18] member here that the town hall that they
have been they have question and they
[17:22] want to hear from you. I know that you
come here and we appreciate that. But
[17:26] they also want to talk to you directly.
So I hope that's going to happen soon.
[17:31] That way you will be able to answer to
the resident. That's it. Thank you. Oh,
[17:36] one last thing. I did the walk and I got
um some feedback from the resident
[17:42] beside what in here. We also have people
brought up that they would like to see
[17:49] you here because they don't want the job
that you know the people that working
[17:54] that lose their job. So I just they
asked me to bring that feedback here. So
[17:58] I just want to relay the message. Thank
you.
[18:02] » Yes.
>> Can I
[18:05] » Yes. I heard you mention about the each
uh case you're going to be evaluate
[18:11] before you uh fund down the
compensation. I would like to know if
[18:16] you going to uh publicly let people know
what kind of requirements that will make
[18:23] them qualify for your compensation.
[cough and clears throat]
[18:27] » So the details of that will become as we
as we roll out the plan more so the next
[18:31] one. So I don't want to get into
specific details, but I would say the
[18:34] purpose of it is to get is to make it
right with the folks who were directly
[18:39] impacted by the evacuation. So those who
were in the evacuation zone, the small
[18:42] businesses in the evacuation zone, that
is the focus of the and that's the
[18:47] reason we've set up the claims program.
So those would be the people we would be
[18:51] targeting. So um the folks who were
directly impacted by the evacuation and
[18:55] ordered out through that make sense. I
hope that answer your question. I can't
[19:00] give you the details specifically, but
look, we're trying to make things right.
[19:04] So, we're we're not going [snorts] at
this trying to figure out, okay, you
[19:07] didn't dot your eye or cross your tees.
>> I understand uh your purpose, but in the
[19:12] same time, I I would like the public to
know and uh to make uh to understand
[19:18] exactly how they require before, you
know, they submit.
[19:22] » Uh that's why I like you to uh be able
to submit your requirement publicly. So
[19:29] the people know or at least let us know.
So we'll we'll let people know either
[19:34] way.
>> That is definitely going to happen when
[19:36] we do the community events and things
like that. It'll be very clear.
[19:39] » I'm really one of these days I'm going
to get right without smacking this
[19:42] microphone through one event. But we'll
go through all the event all the uh
[19:46] stages and what the different things. So
I think that will be very clear.
[19:49] » Yeah. And uh one last thing that um my
con constituents were talking about is
[19:56] you know $100 million is a great step
that you did uh G GP uh GKN did but for
[20:03] 50,000 people evacuate and the business
loss
[20:09] that's merely nothing. So I hope I hope
you working on it.
[20:15] um
how you call this have the sentimental
[20:19] think about it compensate the people
better
[20:24] that's all my concern thank you
thank you colleagues thank you Mr.
[20:29] Carlin, we look forward to more
information as you roll out your town
[20:31] hall. Obviously, that's still very
important to all of us here on the dis
[20:34] as well as the claims program. You
mentioned perhaps October. Um, so we'll
[20:38] be anxious to to learn more and I'm sure
more of that information will come on
[20:42] your website and and so forth.
Obviously, the community is very anxious
[20:45] to have that opportunity. So, thank you.
>> Thank you for the opportunity.
[20:54] » All right. Uh, with that, we will move
into oral communications.
[21:00] Uh, we ask that you keep your public
comments respectful and within a
[21:03] two-minute time limit. Any person making
impertinent, slanderous, or profane
[21:06] remarks or who becomes boisterous while
addressing the city council be called to
[21:09] order. If the conduct continues, you'll
be barred from addressing the city
[21:12] council any further and removed from the
meeting or remote participation. The
[21:16] city clerk will now provide instructions
for remote participants.
[21:20] » Thank you, mayor. Oral communications is
the time for general public comments to
[21:24] address the city council and the
successor agency heard simultaneously.
[21:28] If you are joining the meeting through
the Zoom app virtually raise your hand
[21:32] at this time. You will be called by name
when it is your turn to speak and you
[21:36] will be prompted to unmute your
microphone on your device. You must
[21:40] click unmute. Please identify the agenda
item you are commenting on. Then proceed
[21:45] with your comment. You will have two
minutes. If you are joining the meeting
[21:49] by telephone, you may request to speak
by dialing star9 from your phone. You
[21:54] will be called by either the last three
digits of your phone number or your
[21:57] caller ID. You must dial star six to
unmute. Please state your name and the
[22:03] agenda item you are commenting on. Then
proceed with your comment. You will have
[22:07] two minutes. At this time, we will begin
with in-person speakers followed by
[22:11] remote participants.
First three speakers were going to be
[22:15] Mosen Ahmed followed by an
and then seven mot
[22:28] council
Tiger Construction as you guys know. Uh
[22:33] last I was here the
the vote to have the uh contract
[22:39] terminated and transferred was deferred
uh for two weeks. It's been two weeks. I
[22:44] don't see it on the agenda. Some you
know still came today. Want to let you
[22:49] guys know we're still willing to meet
and find a constructive path forward. I
[22:53] did reach out to everyone individually
for a meeting. No one responded. You
[22:57] know that is disappointing but uh once
again we're still here and we're looking
[23:00] for a constructive path forward. So,
please reach out and I'd love to talk to
[23:04] any of you and uh we can uh have a
fruitful relationship together.
[23:07] » Thank you for your time and
consideration.
[23:11] » Thank you. Next speaker an
[23:19] » good evening city council mayor and pro
Tim. My name is an uh I'm going to be
[23:24] reading this and then I'm going to be
giving each of you a copy because I only
[23:28] have two minutes and so I want to make
sure I get all of my message to you.
[23:33] According to the Islamic Quran, which is
their guide book, all people who are not
[23:38] Islamic, that is who are not Muslims,
are called infidels.
[23:42] Their ultimate goals are to get rid of
all infidels, no matter what other
[23:47] religion they are or if they are no
religion at all. They have a playbook
[23:51] they have been using for centuries. They
manipulate peaceibly and then little by
[23:57] little they they
and then little by little they take over
[24:02] using more and more um manipulations,
violence and force. They have been doing
[24:08] this in all countries not just the USA.
They will not pledge allegiance to the
[24:13] flag of the United States of America or
what it stands for liberty and justice
[24:18] for all. They believe in the total
destruction of the United States
[24:22] Constitution, our Bill of Rights, and
all American freedoms and our culture.
[24:27] They believe in lying, cheating,
stealing, and killing when necessary in
[24:32] order to bring in their political
ideology, masking as a religion. They
[24:37] are in cahoots with communism and
socialism, a one world dictator,
[24:42] Antichrist, who is both Islamic and and
communist. They do not integrate
[24:49] Has it been two minutes?
>> Uh, no.
[24:53] » They do not integrate with our culture,
but live a totally separated,
[24:58] non-assimilated culture, having their
own shopping centers, their own schools,
[25:03] their own moss, and like a wild donkey,
fighting every which way, constantly.
[25:10] See cities, see Islamic cities in Texas,
like Katy for example. Uh, by the way,
[25:16] there are 433
434 Islamic temples in Texas.
[25:23] » Or the one next to the training.
>> Ma'am, I'm sorry. Your time is up.
[25:26] » Okay.
>> Thank you.
[25:28] » And [applause]
[25:32] I will take that paperwork. And
>> thank you.
[25:38] Next speaker seven.
[25:46] » After seven we will have Margaret.
After Margaret it's Dawn.
[25:52] Seven. Go ahead.
>> I'm a res.
[26:00] It has been more than two months since
since Gan is it has had their an
[26:06] incident and they're still allowed to
continue expansion and $100 million is
[26:12] not is not a way to get accountability.
If they want to take accountability,
[26:17] they have to ensure that this that their
facility is safe and not to like
[26:21] endanger GR growth working-class
residents and $100 million is not going
[26:26] to take is not going to take is not
going to take make us believe that they
[26:29] that they would that we can trust and
work near us or going to wear
[26:33] accountability and not to and and not to
mention why and not to mention how can
[26:38] we be so sure that they're safe? Why
haven't they released things like
[26:41] earlier of this meeting? like how can we
trust them to continue operate in Garden
[26:46] Grove endangering so many lives and and
and just that $1 million it's not going
[26:52] to it's not going to make them safer.
It's just going to it's just going to
[26:54] possibly bring another instance is going
to come around potentially because of
[26:58] their poor safety record and also to not
to mention and and and also like not to
[27:04] mention but but them and danger but also
like contributing to like genocide in
[27:09] the Middle East as well when when like
there's new strikes in in Iran and a
[27:14] bunch and and more killing in Palestine.
G Can is is contributing that and I
[27:19] don't understand why would would we be
expendable just a fund in the US
[27:24] Imperial's war effort that's just fueled
by pure Islamophobia and and how is and
[27:31] how is this going to like make us
believe that like because of this war
[27:36] that we became trustee can't work near
us and which which is not like they're
[27:40] there have poor safety record and
hundred million dollars is ain't going
[27:43] to change our minds it's just that like
how can we be so gestured or safe and it
[27:48] could endanger many lives, shut down
businesses and and disrupt daily
[27:52] livelihoods and we and we are not going
to sit by this and we are not going to
[27:56] be abide by this and we're not going to
conform to this. We want Gan to take
[28:00] accountability and not not by the way
our accountability.
[28:05] [applause]
>> City city clerk I need to call for a
[28:08] fiveminute recess please.
[applause]
[28:27] We
[34:52] call the meeting back to order.
Apologize uh madame mayor wasn't feeling
[34:56] well so I am going to step in for her
for the time being. Uh can we uh
[35:01] continue with the oral communications
please?
[35:03] » Yes mayor Pam uh Bridegum. So currently
we will start with Margaret.
[35:09] Uh next speaker following Margaret we
have to Don Thomas
[35:14] and after Dawn we will have Natalie
Nellison.
[35:25] » Thank you city council. Um, I appreciate
the privilege of being able to talk with
[35:30] you and share my concerns as a citizen
of Garden Grove.
[35:36] » Can't hear you.
>> Oh,
[35:38] okay. And um, thank you very much for
um, allowing me to do this. I just I'm
[35:44] just here as a citizen wanting to
represent the liberties and freedoms
[35:48] that um, so many of our families have
fought for. uh my my grandfather, my my
[35:56] uh father, my relatives have all been in
the military to protect the freedoms of
[36:01] the United States of America as well as
in law enforcement, protecting citizens.
[36:06] And so I just want to um say that as a
citizen here, my hope is that all of us
[36:12] pursue the um safety of our city and
protect that because we're here together
[36:20] and that we would live in harmony and
that there would not be um uh
[36:26] interruptions or inconsider not
considerations for other people's
[36:31] beliefs. And so my concern is that when
we move forward with um
[36:40] areas of uh groups that are not wanting
to um live in harmony but be dominant
[36:49] that we would consider that as something
that we would um not have uh as a part
[36:57] of the city um
because it's a threat to our safety. I
[37:03] think we do need to have police
enforcement. I think we do need to have
[37:07] strong leadership that um everyone in
the world comes to the United States of
[37:12] America for and we can't have that
freedom if it is um being ignored that
[37:18] there are positions that are trying to
oppose that and we have to consider not
[37:25] ourselves but our children and our
grandchildren. And so we can take an a
[37:31] shortterm
>> your time is up.
[37:33] » Oh, thank you. Thank you very much for
your time. God bless you.
[37:37] » Next speaker, Don Thomas.
[37:45] [clears throat]
>> Does it need to? Okay.
[37:49] [sighs] My name is Don Thomas. I'm from
the city of Garden Grove. And um I'd
[37:55] like to um thank GKn for coming and
speaking and um uh filling us in on some
[38:03] of the uh money that has come in. I do
have friends that were affected um just
[38:10] by the leak part of it where the air was
um had affect affected her lungs and so
[38:18] I was concerned about that um making
sure that she gets taken care of um
[38:23] because she did have to go to emergency.
Um, I know that um it did get over very
[38:29] quickly and I really appreciate um
everything that was done on on behalf of
[38:36] uh all US constituents. Um I know that
um it actually was over very quickly
[38:43] because I I had worked with MMA in my
life and um once it hardens once it gets
[38:49] hot it hardens immediately and it
cracked the cylinder. So, um it was
[38:53] mainly the fumes that were the issue and
uh I don't think there was as much of an
[38:59] issue um that we didn't need to even be
closed down for as long as we did, but
[39:03] I'm glad it ended quickly. So, I thank
you for that and I'm glad GKn is still
[39:08] continuing um to expand here because it
is good um for our city. Um it brings in
[39:14] money for the city and not only that um
across our nation. Um it helps out with
[39:20] uh you know having aerospace and flying
the airplanes. Um I was con concerned
[39:26] about the money that I found out that um
Gavin Newsome and Shiff got and where
[39:30] was that money going? So I guess we're
going to have to address uh the state of
[39:35] California on that part because they did
get money. We we looked it up and I just
[39:40] want to thank uh all of you for
everything that you've been doing for
[39:43] us. Uh we appreciate it and um I bless
you in the name of Yahusha Hamashiach,
[39:49] Jesus the Christ.
[applause]
[39:52] » Next speaker, Natalie Nellison.
[39:58] » Hi, good evening. My name is Natalie
Nellison and I grew up in Garden Grove
[40:03] and I just want to thank you for your
service. Um I came because my friend
[40:08] asked me to come because the last city
council meeting um there were a lot of
[40:13] um yelling and people weren't able to
speak and like Margaret said it's very
[40:19] important that we [clears throat] stand
for the flag because that's what gives
[40:22] us our liberties. It's actually God but
that flag is under God. And I really
[40:28] feel sorry for some of these young
people who are misguided. I my heart
[40:33] really breaks for them. And um it's
important that we speak truth and that
[40:38] we're not um that we don't bow down when
people are bullies and um that you know
[40:47] we respect each other and when people
come to this country it's good when
[40:55] they're respectful of our laws of our
culture and not try to indoctrinate try
[41:02] to take over. So, um, that's why I'm
here. I just wanted to stand up and
[41:06] speak truth and thank you for your
service because it's not easy being in
[41:11] public service and my I have a whole um
line of people who sacrifice for the
[41:19] flag and so it's very important and I
think a lot of young people don't
[41:23] realize that what was involved. I mean,
a lot of young men not older than them
[41:32] sacrificed their life and so it's not a
laughing matter and um really the people
[41:38] they're aligning with they don't care
about them and I just I think it's sad.
[41:43] So I just want to thank you.
Next three speakers [applause]
[41:49] we have Honey Ruiz
followed by Dylan Teuzman
[41:55] and then Robert Gutierrez.
[clears throat] Honey Ruiz.
[42:09] » Hi, my name is Honey and I do live in
Garden Grove. Um, I want to kind of
[42:13] address this whole JK J GKN thing. Um,
honestly, I would love to talk to you
[42:21] after this because with all the research
I did, it became very clear to me that
[42:27] the substance inside that tank that
everybody was freaking out over was
[42:32] liquid acrylic. You know, like the stuff
you put on your nails, the stuff that
[42:35] they make our foam screens out of.
wouldn't have a phone screen if you
[42:39] didn't have what they make. You guys
wouldn't have any screens to play with.
[42:45] Um,
out of an overabundance of caution, I
[42:49] get why the city moved people out. Um,
but I think it became really clear
[42:56] pretty early on there was never going to
be an explosion.
[43:00] Um,
so you know, I get why you guys did it,
[43:05] but I I do think that the fear-mongering
about this chemical should really really
[43:10] stop because all anybody has to do is
look it up and you'll see what it is. I
[43:16] mean, I'm not a scientist. I looked it
up. I read about it, figured out it was
[43:21] liquid acrylic. And what you had after
that tank, inside that tank was a giant
[43:27] hardened piece of acrylic because it got
too warm. Something failed in the c in
[43:33] the in the refrigeration. It reached a
certain temperature and everything
[43:37] hardened. It's all that that happened.
The worst thing that could have happened
[43:41] is because of the expansion of the heat
of it hardening, it might have cracked
[43:46] it, but that's about as far as it was
going to go. You guys moved out blocks
[43:50] and blocks and I mean the area you guys
cleared was insane. So many people
[43:55] displaced.
Um
[43:59] if I may uh ask you later or or suggest
to you hold that town hall meeting and
[44:05] explain to the people what was in that
tank and what happened so this craziness
[44:11] can stop because this is insane.
>> Madam, your time is up.
[44:15] » Thank you. [applause]
Next speaker, Dylan Deuzman.
[44:21] [applause]
[44:24] » Uh, good evening, city council. My name
is Dylan Duzman, a Garden Grove resident
[44:28] for the last seven years, and I'm a
member of Anuk Bayan, a Filipino
[44:31] organization fighting for the rights of
Filipinos. Um, the $100 million, right,
[44:35] it's a victory hard one through the
continuous pressure from our community
[44:40] and from many pro people organizations
here tonight demanding accountability
[44:43] and fighting for genuine change.
However, the fight is far from over. Uh,
[44:47] this hund00 million can only pay out an
estimated $2,000 per individual and has
[44:52] arrived three months late. We've met
residents who sustained injuries past
[44:55] the evacuation who need more than
$2,000. Small businesses in the evac
[44:59] zone lost days of revenue and more and
they need more than $2,000. Filipino
[45:04] workers who lost their jobs, their
source of income, who need more than
[45:07] $2,000. And why should they be forced to
wait another month for an unconfirmed
[45:10] day in October? So, while the $3 million
mutual aid fund was a drop in the
[45:14] bucket, this $100 million claims program
is just a bigger drop in the bucket
[45:19] compared to the multi-billion dollar
bucket of revenue that Gan earns. And
[45:23] from the last city council meeting, we
heard stories from workers who don't
[45:26] want to lose their jobs at Gan, who
depend on that income. That only
[45:30] emphasized that this delayed attempt for
compensation isn't enough to support the
[45:33] economic needs of its own workers who
bore the brunt of not only working in
[45:37] the hazardous conditions at the
facility, but were forced out of work by
[45:40] GKE's original fatal mistake and its
disregard for basic safety. And to hear
[45:45] that, you know, city council
representatives took a store a tour of
[45:48] the facility and that was enough to
reassure you of its safety when we've
[45:50] been told two meetings ago to wait on
agencies to finish reports on this
[45:54] facility and that we can't say if this
facility is safe to operate without
[45:57] those reports. Instead of taking serious
the demands of trans transparency, we're
[46:01] being told that Gant's expansion is
imminent. We all want community safety.
[46:05] If the committee was able to achieve a
concrete step towards winning these
[46:08] demands, we will continue to show up
until the people are put over profit,
[46:11] until the safety of our community is
protected and a moratorium is put on
[46:14] Genan's operations, and until we make
Genan truly pay. Thank you.
[46:19] » Next speaker for Rupier [applause]
[46:32] kind of tall here. Hi, my name is
Roberto Gutierrez here for B&D towing.
[46:36] Um, kind of want to say thank you guys
just for being the public servants that
[46:40] you guys are. Honestly, it's not it's
not easy. Um, it's crazy to love a city
[46:44] so much as we've come to love Garden
Grove. We've been towing for Garden
[46:48] Grove for the police department since
2008 and we've come to do everything we
[46:52] can possibly do for it. We love it so
much. We we've we've got scholarship. I
[46:56] mean, the the stuff that we've done so
much for the city is because because the
[47:01] love for it you guys got you can't you
wouldn't be doing what you do if you
[47:03] didn't love the city. You wouldn't deal
with a harassment that you deal if you
[47:07] didn't love what you do, right? What we
do for the Garden Grove Police
[47:11] Department is because we want to serve.
We want to serve the officers. We want
[47:15] to get there quick so they can be off
the road. They could be on to the next
[47:17] person that needs their help. We do it
because we love them. We and they they
[47:20] like the motors are very picky about
their bikes. They request us because
[47:23] they want us only to move their bikes.
With time, you guys, over the years, we
[47:28] went from five companies to three
companies to two companies to now one
[47:31] where it's just us.
It sounds good, but it's also it's been
[47:35] it's been we've shaped our company where
we had to stop doing all the other
[47:40] business because we wanted to be there
for you guys. So much so, I I was at an
[47:44] interview for the San Police Department
panel and they say, "Hey, okay, we if we
[47:48] consider you guys, are you going to
treat us the way you treat Garden PD?
[47:52] They were jealous the way we treat
Garden Row PD. Right. We we we sh we
[47:57] hired the drivers. We got the trucks. We
got a facility on the on the west side
[48:00] to make sure that we were there for
them. Right. On topic now is they're
[48:05] considering you guys are considering
contracts for three companies. I get it.
[48:09] For safety reasons, you might have to
add a company. But three companies you
[48:12] have to understand a financial burden
that we've done. We've given everything
[48:15] we have. We have shaped our company to
be providing for you guys as solos to so
[48:20] they wouldn't miss anything. We were
there for the what JK and our trucks
[48:24] were on standby there ready for them,
right? We we're not the police
[48:28] department. We're not the fire
department. We have to make these funds
[48:30] for drivers to stand by and be at the
ready, right? So, I do consider I ask
[48:34] you guys to consider I get it. You have
to add more companies. I can I would ask
[48:38] you to consider two, not three to help
us.
[48:41] » Sir, your time is up, sir.
>> I don't want to fire drivers that that
[48:44] have given everything to the city. Thank
Our next three speakers will be Sophia
[48:48] followed by Mariela and then Andy Lee.
Sophia.
[49:02] Hello again. Uh my name is Sophia. I'm a
Garden Grove resident. I was born and
[49:07] raised here. And for months I've been
coming out with community to demand for
[49:12] a moratorum, not a supposed moratorium
on MMA. MMA isn't the problem here. It's
[49:18] GKN and it's their inability to operate
safely. We're demanding a moratorium on
[49:24] existing, expanding, and new military
manufacturing facilities and reviewing
[49:28] their environmental and labor regulatory
compliance. These facilities have proven
[49:33] to be categorically hazardous and prone
to violating environmental regulations,
[49:38] labor standards, and international
humanitarian law like we've seen with
[49:42] GKN.
In the last city council meeting, many
[49:46] of you said safety was a top priority.
GKN has never once in the past
[49:51] prioritize safety. And now that all eyes
are on them and that everyone's watching
[49:55] them, they're saying that they do. But
how can we trust them again? only when
[49:59] the camera's on them, they're saying
that they prioritize safety. How can we
[50:03] allow more employees to work in this
facility, if any employees?
[50:08] This is a company that can never
responsibly operate in our city and
[50:12] never will. Today, your constituents are
coming out to you with a clear demand
[50:16] again for a moratorum, just like the
last city council meeting and the city
[50:20] council meeting before that and the one
before that and the one before that.
[50:23] Today, we're demanding a moratorum.
don't prioritize GKN over the 50,000
[50:29] people evacuated and the thousands
others in Orange County who could be
[50:33] affected by this by the causes of of the
MMA uh crisis that aren't even disclosed
[50:41] yet. Adopt an immediate moratorium now.
Thank you.
[50:46] Next speaker, Mariela.
[applause]
[50:58] Hello, my name is Mariela and I grew up
in Garden Grove. Uh, city council, you
[51:04] need to impose mortorium now, especially
with GKN looking to resume production as
[51:08] soon as the next two weeks. The
reluctance to act is confusing as this
[51:13] is not uncharted territory. Back in
2023, the council adopted a 45-day
[51:17] urgency moratorum that prohibited
issuing new licenses for substance abuse
[51:22] treatment centers in Garden Grove in
order to protect the public health
[51:25] safety and welfare of the community.
This ordinance was was then later
[51:29] extended to an additional year so that
staff could have enough time to review
[51:32] regulations to protect the health and
safety of residents. If this was a
[51:36] priority back then, why isn't it what
now? There are still developing
[51:40] environmental and health risks that we
don't know about and its resuming
[51:43] production will only exacerbate those.
You have a multi-billion dollar company
[51:48] profitering off of genocide and
destruction operating in your backyard
[51:52] that avoided a catastrophe by sheer
luck. And yet you're still waiting for
[51:56] after incident reports to act. You don't
need to wait. There are already multiple
[52:00] facts in front of you regarding GPN's
negligence and multiple environmental
[52:03] and work violations spanning 2018. GKN
chooses to pay settlements instead of
[52:08] properly responding to the needs of the
community and history keeps repeating.
[52:12] Compensating the community is a bare
minimum GKN could do and 100 million is
[52:16] not enough like many have mentioned. But
after we want them gone claiming that
[52:21] GKN only makes windows is misleading.
Those windows are transparency canopies
[52:25] that are integral to the production of
F-35 fighter jets and without them
[52:29] cannot function. GKN is not just another
manufacturing plant. It is part of the
[52:33] war supply chain that continues to bomb
Palestine, Lebanon, and Iran. And they
[52:37] have no place here in Garden Grove or
anywhere. Stop the expansion. Implement
[52:41] moratorium and GPN out now. Shame on
you, Steve.
[52:46] Next speaker, Andy. [applause]
[52:54] Next speaker, Andy.
[53:02] Following Andy, we'll have Ahmed,
followed by Lynn
[53:08] Gra, followed by Seline.
Andy, go ahead.
[53:12] » Thank you. Hello. Hi, city council and
mayor and everyone here. I just want to
[53:17] say really quickly,
um, expanding acrylic is not dangerous.
[53:23] We just scrape that thing up. Let 700
Let the 700 workers go back to work.
[53:29] Don't let them lose their jobs. This is
where they work. Um, acrylic is not
[53:34] dangerous. So, these fearmongers need to
stop it with their fear. And um, that's
[53:38] that's all for that. I do want to
reiterate that Islam is not a religion.
[53:45] Their objective is conquest. There it
says it in the Quran. Uh, it's called
[53:51] tea. Basically, you could lie, cheat,
murder, and you're commanded to do that.
[53:59] You're commanded to do that to the
infidels, which is anyone who is not
[54:03] subscribed to Islam. So, what they do is
they take over, and then we have Sharia
[54:09] law. And Sharia law is going to be the
the murder of everyone. We don't want we
[54:14] want western civilization to have
liberty and freedom and the and the the
[54:20] rights that are afforded to everyone
under Islam. Women don't have rights.
[54:24] Neither do gays. Gays get tossed off of
buildings for being gay and then women
[54:29] have to cover their head, wear g
beekeeper outfits and hijabs and they
[54:34] get murdered if they don't do that. So
there it's a very oppressive religion.
[54:39] um if uh if their husband rapes their
wife, the wife
[54:44] her testimony in court, she needs um
five people on her side, which is not
[54:52] possible. That's not possible that they
have no judicial system. So yeah, we
[54:56] want freedom and liberty. And um lastly,
I oppose flot cameras. I oppose data
[55:04] centers.
Last thing. Oh, and then one last thing.
[55:08] I'm not pro- Israel either. Netanyahu
needs to be arrested for his war crimes,
[55:13] so I'm fair.
>> Next speaker, Ahmed. [applause]
[55:28] » Can I start? Okay. Sounds like Jen wants
to do some identity politics, whatever.
[55:35] Anyways, I'm not gonna get lost in it.
Hi everyone, my name is Ahmed. I'm an OC
[55:40] resident. I'm here to express my descent
towards GKN and the city council. It's
[55:44] been more than three months since the
GKN chemical crisis. More than three
[55:48] months of GKN's false promises of a town
hall and being transparent. Didn't they
[55:52] say that?
Anyways, um more than three months of
[55:57] the city council neglecting the
community safety. I've spoken to several
[56:02] small businesses that still expressed
frustration with this crisis. Some lost
[56:06] tens of thousands and were were even
more worried when I showed them GKN's
[56:11] history of negligence and similar
crisises. They were very visibly
[56:15] worried. Has GKN been to any of these
small businesses? No. Has the city
[56:20] council been to any of these small
businesses?
[56:23] No. Has GKN held a town hall? No.
Have any of these crazy organizations
[56:31] held a town hall? Yes. Did anyone from
the city council show up? No.
[56:41] What kind of equation is it that all
these small businesses get hammered down
[56:45] and GKN gets away with a slap on the
wrist? What kind of equation is it pri
[56:49] prioritizing 540 dangerous jobs and 170
new dangerous jobs so that GKN can keep
[56:57] creating military military transparency
canopies which are used to bomb people
[57:01] all over the world. Stop acting like
they just make windows for our airlines.
[57:08] Don't lie in front of everyone. GK and
the city council doesn't care about the
[57:12] residents of Garden Grove residents of
the world because it doesn't even care
[57:16] about the safety of the workers who
literally work for them.
[57:22] We've stated before that GKN as a
facility is the problem. 100 million
[57:26] doesn't cover the gap. proved that GKN
as a facility is a problem is that even
[57:31] after they were cited about the lack of
training for their employees, they
[57:35] waited 11 months to address that on the
and on the night of October.
[57:39] » Thank you.
>> Your time is up.
[57:43] [applause]
>> Next speaker, [cheering]
[57:44] Lynn Brock.
>> We have a point of order. Um,
[57:51] » I know my name was not mentioned by the
last speaker, but I was implicated in a
[57:56] lie. You know, you implicated me, so I
will have to rebut. [snorts]
[58:03] I was on the ground this morning.
And I don't feel unsafe and I don't feel
[58:10] unwell.
And
[58:13] I was told by the people there that they
have taken many precautions, many
[58:22] including retaining outside safety
experts to come and uh there are
[58:29] multiple jurisdictions that will have to
um allow them to be able to go into
[58:36] production again.
So,
[58:40] uh, we're not giving them a pass.
They're not off the hook. They're still
[58:44] having to meet a lot of regulatory
safety precautions.
[58:50] So, I'm with you. I'm with you.
And I know they're taking a lot of steps
[58:58] to make GKEN very safe in our community.
And I'll be the first to protest them if
[59:05] they fail.
And if there's another violation at
[59:11] their facility,
I'll be the first to protest.
[59:15] » But until then, until then, I want to
tell you something, brother. Windows
[59:21] don't kill people.
War criminals do. You take your fight to
[59:26] the war criminals. Don't take your fight
to the workers here and working
[59:30] families.
Hey, the city needs the revenue to keep
[59:36] our city's budget healthy and to provide
for everybody in this city over 200,000
[59:43] people. Okay? Windows don't kill people,
man. War criminals do. You go after the
[59:50] war criminals. Step it up. But your
fight is not with working families.
[59:56] Okay?
[1:00:01] order, please. Um, I will start up the
oral communications again. I just want
[1:00:07] to remind everybody that the
communications are supposed to be within
[1:00:11] the scope of the subject matter or
jurisdiction of the city council. Okay?
[1:00:15] So, things we have no control over,
there's it's really inappropriate to be
[1:00:19] bringing those up. With that being said,
the next speaker, please,
[1:00:23] » Lynn Grath.
[1:00:27] » Hello. Good evening, council. Um, first
of all, I wanted just to share I am a
[1:00:33] resident of Garden Grove. I am in
Georgia's district and um I was affected
[1:00:38] by the GKN incident and um I know it's
still heavy on a lot of residents hearts
[1:00:44] about reimbursements and you know I know
it's a slow it's a very slow process but
[1:00:51] my question is has there been a list
provided does GKN know all of the
[1:01:00] residents like all of the addresses um
of all the zones
[1:01:04] so that they actually have a number, an
idea how many families were displaced,
[1:01:10] how many people may or may not have
worked. I don't know if that's in part
[1:01:16] of what you all are meeting about when
you talked about the October date um to
[1:01:22] really establish some criteria for
payouts, reimbursements. Are those
[1:01:27] things in order? because I think there's
a lot of people in our community that
[1:01:32] would probably be willing to, you know,
step up and to kind of speak other ideas
[1:01:39] about what they think should be rolling
out. So, the town hall, I know a lot of
[1:01:43] people have brought that up, but I'm
going to go to that. I think that that
[1:01:46] should have been done or maybe there
needs to be layers of a town hall,
[1:01:50] right? It has to be a multi-step
process. Is that possible to start
[1:01:56] before the October date so that the
community actually does get input? Maybe
[1:02:03] it's a town hall meeting in one zone and
then another zone and one of the other
[1:02:08] zones. Right, there were three main
zones that were really affected. Have we
[1:02:13] gotten any feedback from the residents?
I don't know. I've not seen anything in
[1:02:19] the mail. Um, I get a lot of lawyers
trying to bid, right? Trying to get me
[1:02:25] to uh sign up, but that's kind of
ridiculous. The other part is working in
[1:02:30] healthcare. I know material safety data,
OSHA regulations, GKN has a lot
[1:02:36] » to um to be looking at.
>> Thank you.
[1:02:41] » Next speaker, Seline.
[1:02:47] » Um, hi again everyone. My name is
Seline. Um, I'm a member of the local
[1:02:51] Palestinian and Muslim community. Um, I
just wanted to come up again here to
[1:02:56] again remind you that your constituents
have been asking for a moratorium and an
[1:03:00] end to the expansion since May 26th,
since a few days after the crisis. And
[1:03:04] we're asking this because this is within
the city's power to do. We don't trust
[1:03:09] GKN whether they have a town hall or
not. We've been hosting our own
[1:03:13] community town halls and we've been
coming to share with you what people are
[1:03:17] actually concerned with. And it's not
just about payment. It's about
[1:03:20] environmental safety. It's about the
long-term health consequences because
[1:03:24] we've seen disasters like this happen
over and over again. We know that there
[1:03:29] have been many cases where the health
impacts don't even show up until many
[1:03:33] years later. And by then, no
accountability has been served. So, we
[1:03:37] shouldn't give them another chance to
fail. It's not about this one chemical
[1:03:41] MMA. It's about GKN and its history of
negligence. So, I'm going to just reread
[1:03:45] the history of violations. It's not
comprehensive, and I'm not going to even
[1:03:49] have enough time to finish it because
there are so many, but I'm going to read
[1:03:52] them to remind you why we don't trust
GKN. Why people don't feel safe living
[1:03:56] near this facility.
October 2018, GKN cited by the
[1:04:02] California Department because it did not
correct unsafe working conditions or use
[1:04:06] appropriate cutting coolant. June 2019,
OSHA issued six workplace safety
[1:04:11] violations citations to GKN. September
2019, county health inspectors find fire
[1:04:17] hazard where flammable waste was stored
less than 15 meters from the property
[1:04:20] line. April 2021, South Coast Air
Quality Management District issued a
[1:04:24] violation notice to GKN for failing to
maintain emission records. February
[1:04:28] 2022, OSHA issues two workplace safety
citations to GKN. October 2023, about
[1:04:35] 200 gallons of MMA spills during a tank
transfer after a quote unquote a
[1:04:39] facility operator may have left a valve
open. 2023 November health inspectors
[1:04:43] found unlabeled and open waste
containers and MMA scrap and regular
[1:04:47] trash. 2024 uh 2025 Gan Aerospace pays
nearly $1 million to SQAQMD
[1:04:54] in a settlement.
Next speakers will be Christine Petus,
[1:05:00] followed by Yay,
followed by Rodrigo.
[1:05:10] All right. First of all, I want to say
that I'm a proud lifelong member of our
[1:05:15] diverse community of Garden Grove. We
welcome all cultures, races, and
[1:05:19] religions. The first comment sounds so
disconnected with the reality of our
[1:05:24] Garden Grove communities.
As an evacuee of the GKN chemical
[1:05:30] incident and who lives less than a mile
away, I am very concerned that GKN plans
[1:05:35] to begin production again in just a
couple of weeks. How has GKN reassured
[1:05:40] the neighborhoods who are in close
proximity of the plant? What cautionary
[1:05:46] measures would be taken to ensure that
the threat does not happen again?
[1:05:50] Nothing concrete have we heard yet. We
know that if GKN was in compliance or if
[1:05:57] they just allowed the rules, if they
just followed the rules, this would not
[1:06:02] happen. It would not fail. How will the
valves be checked or monitored? There
[1:06:07] needs to be a better system to ensure
compliance that works for the community.
[1:06:13] There must be experts in compliance and
safety to ensure a plan is in place that
[1:06:18] will help build the trust of the
surrounding community before any attempt
[1:06:23] of production begins. I had the
privilege to meet with neighbors in the
[1:06:28] blast zone. All had losses and
displacement, some to the extent they
[1:06:32] lost a week of work as they left their
equipment behind. Some had medical
[1:06:37] issues that they left their medical
equipment. Uh they had to go to the
[1:06:42] emergency room. Students came to visit
from college had their plans canled and
[1:06:47] lives turned upside down. With the
population and businesses that were
[1:06:52] impacted. The 100 million is simply not
enough. safety and property and proper
[1:07:00] compensation first GKN before any
attempt to open up production again.
[1:07:06] Thank you.
Next speaker. Okay.
[1:07:22] Good evening everyone. My name is
Rodrigo Garay. I live I live actually
[1:07:26] two blocks. I live on between Beach
uh Chapman and Lamson. So, we're just
[1:07:32] like right you're just you're our
neighbors. Um I understand there's a lot
[1:07:36] of moving parts and there's um a lot
things that need to be done. However,
[1:07:43] safety needs to be um
transparent and we need to have a full
[1:07:49] report. And when we we mean we we're
talking about the community at at large,
[1:07:54] right? Um we want to make sure that uh
whatever uh is privy privy um that it's
[1:08:02] it's being given to the community as
well. We want to make sure that any
[1:08:06] discussion that happens uh it's a
political season
[1:08:11] » sir we want to make sure
>> you're addressing the council not the
[1:08:14] » So we want to make sure that it's a
political sorry about that. We want to
[1:08:16] make sure that it's a political season.
We want to make sure that everything is
[1:08:19] transparent, that we don't hear about
any closed door meetings, that
[1:08:24] everything is on the open to the public
and that we are aware of what's really
[1:08:30] going on because I know that when we do
research as a community, we will find
[1:08:34] out things will happen. Things will come
out and once things come out, that's why
[1:08:41] we are becoming emo. We became emotional
in the beginning. I slept at Golden West
[1:08:48] and like I mentioned last time, all I
had was a cot to sleep on and people are
[1:08:53] are making money off of these contracts.
So, we want to make sure that the city
[1:09:00] uh
please hold, you know, these companies
[1:09:04] accountable and make sure that they're
on the up and up basically. Okay. And
[1:09:08] Garden Grove is a community where
everyone can live and we have different
[1:09:13] nations here. So we want to make sure
that we understand that. Okay. We we all
[1:09:18] love Garden Grove and Garden. So yeah,
thank you.
[1:09:23] » Next we have Andres Rubio
followed by Nicole Himeus and then Quan
[1:09:30] Wong.
[1:09:34] » Hello. Today I come very emotionally
because some um last time last city
[1:09:38] council me last city council meeting um
the mayor proterm said the folks that
[1:09:43] are only claiming $100 or $200 I mean
the reality is you know the vast
[1:09:46] majority of people and I'm just going
from my informal talking with folks you
[1:09:50] know it was for this evacuation some
people were able to take their mobile
[1:09:53] homes out to the beach and I'm here to
talk to you as someone who was
[1:09:56] personally evacuated as someone who had
to sleep at Freedom Hall someone who
[1:10:00] only had one cut to stop minimizing all
of the things that we have to go through
[1:10:05] as a community of your district. So, I'm
here to ask if you're going to talk and
[1:10:10] you said it last time, we only need to
bring up items that you guys can handle.
[1:10:15] Please handle how you talk to the
public. Stop minimizing all of the
[1:10:18] things that we have to go through as in
during the evacuation order and and you
[1:10:24] know, you you mentioned um your folks
were only they only took their their
[1:10:28] mobile homes down to the beach. And
while my neighbors, senior citizens, a
[1:10:34] lady that didn't even know what was
happening, imagine that that was going
[1:10:38] to explode. She would have been there
cuz she didn't even know what happened.
[1:10:42] Why? Cuz I we were ordered to evacuate
with no time to pack our things up. So,
[1:10:48] we have to go back to my apartments. And
when I got there, there was a lady who
[1:10:52] didn't know what was happening because
you guys did a horrible job to get the
[1:10:56] news out there. There were people who
were still in the evacuation zone while
[1:11:00] this was happening, while we're in
danger of of a bomb because of companies
[1:11:04] like GKN who are able and you know you
guys listen all of the violations that
[1:11:09] GKN has gone through all the past years.
You you said if if you find out any new
[1:11:15] violations that we're going to protest.
So come here now stand against Jen. You
[1:11:18] have Gen right here. You already heard
all of the list of violations that GKN
[1:11:23] has been through.
So that's straight up BS that they have
[1:11:27] been building that for 60 years. This
new this image of a good corporation in
[1:11:32] our city when that's all lies. Thank
you.
[1:11:37] » Next speaker Nicole Herman.
[applause]
[1:11:48] » All righty. I don't know if I could get
this done in in two minutes since you
[1:11:51] guys kind of eliminated our public
comment time, but I shall do my best.
[1:11:57] So, I'm also going to be kind of
speaking on, you know, GKN, but I think
[1:12:02] some of us need to be a little bit more
realistic given the amount of time that
[1:12:07] they have been here. We cannot just ban
them because they could sue us, right?
[1:12:15] they have vested interest and that's one
of the things that we need to take into
[1:12:19] account and the other part we need to
take into account is the classification
[1:12:24] of the chemical and all the other
businesses that have the same
[1:12:28] classification. So are we going to ban
all of them? So that's another part we
[1:12:33] need to take into account and but a lot
of the speakers do have a really good
[1:12:38] point on the failure for notification
and emergency planning. So, um, perhaps
[1:12:46] there needs to be a new emergency plan
drafted. Maybe you guys need to look at
[1:12:50] the last time we had an emergency plan
and maybe update it and take into
[1:12:55] account everything that could happen in
the city. And why don't you look at the
[1:12:58] neighbors, too? We have a lot of
neighbors. This is Southern California.
[1:13:02] It's really crowded here. And also, um,
we got 40 seconds.
[1:13:09] Um, as far as checking, so I know, you
know, if they ever want to expand again,
[1:13:16] why don't you look at Gosh, I'm going to
blank the word conditional use permit.
[1:13:21] Why don't you guys make some changes to
those? If they ever want to expand
[1:13:24] again, why don't you guys go and
actually go in there? Everyone's going
[1:13:29] to list every single time. We're just
word vomiting all this crap they did.
[1:13:33] We've heard it so many times. Are they
going to do it again? I think they are,
[1:13:37] but that's not my job to babysit them.
That's your guys's job. So, why don't
[1:13:41] you guys come in and be like, who was
supposed to go here and check? Why don't
[1:13:45] we write a list and then make sure they
actually do it and give you guys report
[1:13:49] and that's it. Thank you.
[1:13:54] Next speaker, Quan Vong.
[1:14:03] » Hello. Um, I'm Quan Vong. I want to
speak um in support of GKN. Um, I live
[1:14:10] in the evacuation area. Uh, we're a
family of five. I'm not going to um uh
[1:14:17] sue or trying to get any money from GKN.
Uh, if anybody that I want to sue, that
[1:14:23] would be the government. The people that
decided the evacuation order. After the
[1:14:30] first night, it was clear to me that I
had nothing to worry about long term
[1:14:36] long-term effect. Um, so the evacuation
order was not created by GKN. It was
[1:14:44] given by the government. All right? So
if lives were turned upside down, I
[1:14:49] don't think it was GKN's fault. It is is
the government's fault. All right? Um,
[1:14:57] and
I'm actually here because of the U Islam
[1:15:03] um, uh, agenda. Um, I don't want to see
Garden Grove to be another Dearborn
[1:15:11] Michigan or New York, New York where a
call
[1:15:16] of prayer at this play publicly loud in
public. Okay? Please do not ever allow
[1:15:24] that in the city of Garden Grove. That's
all I got to say. I thank you.
[1:15:29] » Okay, we have one last uh inerson
speaker. Is [applause] it
[1:15:35] guy? Spelling is g h ai.
Go ahead.
[1:15:44] » Hi, thank you for being in the the
council. I'm a garden grow resident and
[1:15:50] I am really concerned about, you know,
when I'm watching the news coverage and
[1:15:54] there's so much chaos and division in
the world and I would like uh the city
[1:16:00] council to protect Garden Grove to
remain an American city. Um we my family
[1:16:07] came here from another country and we
came here legally and I had to be uh
[1:16:13] become a naturalized citizen. So I
waited five years and I went through the
[1:16:18] normal process of becoming a naturalized
citiz citizen. I had to learn how to
[1:16:22] speak English because I didn't know. I
had to learn how to read and write in
[1:16:26] English because they test you on that.
They give you a book on American civics
[1:16:31] which I studied in past. And then they
get you to stand up and raise your hand
[1:16:36] and you have an allegiance to this
country. just like when we stand up and
[1:16:41] we pledge allegiance to the flag and to
this nation and one nation under God. So
[1:16:47] I would like the uh council to be
consistently and con um always aware of
[1:16:54] um your oath that you took to support
and defend the constitution
[1:17:00] against the enemies foreign and
domestic. And when we have invasions
[1:17:07] into our ideology that is inconsistent
and incompatible like Sharia law, like
[1:17:13] Islam uh invasion, like in Dearbornne,
New York and Texas and all around the
[1:17:19] world, I have watched I've been here
since 1970 and I have watched the
[1:17:25] deterioration, the use usurpation of
American citizens rights. The
[1:17:30] constitution says that we have
individual rights endowed by our creator
[1:17:36] and one of them is to pursue our pursuit
of happiness, our individual liberties.
[1:17:43] These we hold sacred and please preserve
them. You took an oath. Thank you.
[1:17:52] » Now we will start with our remote
participants.
[1:17:57] Steve Andrews, go ahead. You have two
minutes.
[1:18:03] » You might need to repeat that.
>> Steve Andrews,
[1:18:12] go ahead.
>> Good evening, Mayor Prom and members of
[1:18:16] council.
This call is just a test to make sure
[1:18:20] that the system for remote callers is
functioning. Thank you.
[1:18:25] » Thank you, Steve.
Our next remote participant is caller
[1:18:32] ending in 238.
Go ahead and unmute and you have two
[1:18:40] minutes.
[1:18:44] » Yes, council. It's Mr. Dery. I have some
requests. Number one, Chapman to
[1:18:51] Burkers. Um there's no landscaping.
There's graffiti, cars, parked at
[1:18:56] Burkers and Bixie least. There's no
sidewalk for the students on the Bixie.
[1:19:02] That's number one. Number two, there's
no dog waste ordinance. We worry about
[1:19:06] the cigarettes, but and for hazardous
waste has not been done by the city. uh
[1:19:12] three in the metal volume you do not
have speed signs for e by safety or
[1:19:18] pause for the dog or you have uh this
the issue of a signal there occasion in
[1:19:25] Nelson
um all this is not being given because
[1:19:29] you don't allow the public to call in to
your traffic commission and your uh
[1:19:33] parks um the other thing is that we need
to look at um the trees that uh that
[1:19:41] Councilman George Ber brought up about
the the condition of uh Chavin and not
[1:19:47] why aren't the trees that were in forest
plan? It's calling for the city to part
[1:19:51] of the city. That's what Mr. Um, do we
have a government that actually connects
[1:19:55] to the community? And uh, density is
also an issue that we have not
[1:20:00] addressed. And for the five-year plan on
the budget, I just assured our park
[1:20:05] assessments last to pay for the
continued growth of a tree increased
[1:20:10] park space. Um, I'm really concerned how
we're going to move forward as a
[1:20:15] resident when it was just cows and
orange trees and on Sally Street. Uh I
[1:20:21] wonder if council is going to put this
on the agenda. Um we do have resolutions
[1:20:26] regarding dog uh far as uh recognition,
but there's no safety in our community.
[1:20:33] I hope this will be put on the agenda. I
hope we will get out there and find out
[1:20:38] what we need to do in our budget to move
forward in park assessments so we can
[1:20:42] pay for it. Thank you very much.
>> Next speaker, Zuri Rashad.
[1:20:54] Go ahead. Minutes.
>> Okay, cool. Hello. Um, my name is Zur
[1:21:00] Rashad. I am a PhD candidate at UC
Irvine studying chemical and
[1:21:04] biomolelecular engineering. Um, I'm
speaking mainly because I feel like the
[1:21:10] public has a misinformed opinion about
the content MMA methylacrylate.
[1:21:17] Yes, it is an acrylic. Um, yes, it is
found in common products like airplane
[1:21:22] windows and well, not not MMAs
particularly, but acrylic is a thing
[1:21:27] that is used in lots of places, but it's
never something you want in your lungs.
[1:21:33] It's never something you want to be
blown up next to an elementary school.
[1:21:37] So, just because it's an everyday
chemical that people use in their lives
[1:21:41] does not mean that what GKN did was in
any way okay. And if a small business
[1:21:46] like a nail salon was storing acrylic
improperly and it caused a health hazard
[1:21:52] to surrounding citizens, we would take
away their cosmetology license. We would
[1:21:57] hold them accountable and shut them down
as necessary. I am asking that we hold
[1:22:02] GKN, a multi-billion dollar corporation,
to the same standards we would to any
[1:22:08] other business in Garden Grove. Thank
you for your time.
[1:22:14] Mayor Prom, that concludes all our
public comment speakers.
[1:22:18] [applause]
>> I'm sorry that there's no other
[1:22:20] speakers.
>> No other speakers.
[1:22:21] » Okay. Um with that, I'm going to go
ahead and uh close um oral
[1:22:27] communications and we're going to take a
fivem minute recess
[1:30:52] All
[1:31:14] right, ladies and gentlemen, if you can
please find your seats, we're going to
[1:31:18] move forward here with the meeting.
[1:31:27] Uh, we're going to go ahead and recess
into successor agency at this time.
[1:31:33] » Uh, madam clerk, please call roll.
>> Member Redum
[1:31:36] » here.
>> Member Nuin
[1:31:38] » here.
>> Member Tran
[1:31:40] » here.
>> Member Doven
[1:31:41] » present.
>> Member Edesty
[1:31:43] » here.
>> Vice Chair Moneton
[1:31:46] » here.
>> And Chair Clumpenstein
[1:31:47] » here. We've already held oral
communications, so we'll move on to our
[1:31:51] consent items. We have one. Uh, receive
and file the minutes.
[1:31:55] » Moved.
>> Second.
[1:31:57] » All right. I have a motion and a second.
Call for the vote, please.
[1:32:05] » Not working.
>> Do it slow.
[1:32:07] » Slow.
>> No. Hold it down.
[1:32:10] » I think we're gonna have to do a roll
call vote. You can do that.
[1:32:14] Member Brigham.
>> Yes.
[1:32:16] » Memberwin. Yes.
>> Member Tran.
[1:32:19] » Yes.
>> Member Doven.
[1:32:20] » Hi.
>> Member Edgy.
[1:32:22] » Yes.
>> Vice Chairman.
[1:32:23] » Yes.
>> Chair Clevenstein.
[1:32:25] » Yes.
>> Motion receive. Seven yes votes. Motion
[1:32:27] carries.
>> Thank you. Uh any matters from successor
[1:32:30] agency members.
>> All right. Hearing and seeing none,
[1:32:35] we'll adjourn and go back to city
council.
[1:32:39] Uh that will take us to our consent
items. We have uh items number two
[1:32:44] through nine. I'll entertain a motion
unless someone would like to pull.
[1:32:46] » Move. Second.
>> Second.
[1:32:49] » All right. Motion in a second. Call for
the vote, please.
[1:32:53] » I don't think my screen
[1:33:00] » What about a mouse?
>> We can do a roll call vote.
[1:33:06] » Okay. Motion received. Seven yes votes.
Motion carries.
[1:33:10] » You can put me on the IT payroll. Just
>> Yeah.
[1:33:13] » Um Okay. Okay. Uh that will take us into
items for consideration. I'd like to um
[1:33:19] move up item number 12, please.
>> This evening, item number 12 is approval
[1:33:25] of an employment agreement with Matthew
S. West for the position of city manager
[1:33:31] and
our uh deputy uh director Lean Quan will
[1:33:38] provide the report.
>> Good evening, mayor and members of the
[1:33:41] city council. I am pleased to present to
council the employment agreement for
[1:33:45] Matthew S. West for city manager
services. In preparation for Miss Lisa
[1:33:51] Kim's retirement, the city council met
in close session on August 31st, 2026 to
[1:33:57] discuss the upcoming city manager
vacancy. The council unanimous
[1:34:01] unanimously agreed to offer the position
of city manager to assistant city
[1:34:06] manager Mr. Matthew West upon Miss Kim's
retirement on November 2nd, 2026.
[1:34:12] City Council further directed staff to
prepare a city manager employment
[1:34:16] agreement for municipal management
services between the city of Garden
[1:34:20] Grove and Mr. West. The agreement
provides for terms and conditions of
[1:34:24] employment beginning officially on
November 3rd, 2026.
[1:34:29] The employment agreement establishes the
city manager base salary and benefits
[1:34:34] based upon the survey conducted earlier
in 2026. The compensation outlined in
[1:34:39] the agreement is commensurate with other
Orange County cities. As outlined in the
[1:34:44] employment agreement, the annual salary
will be 363,756.
[1:34:52] In consistent with benefits provided to
the city central management executive
[1:34:56] staff, he annually receives health,
dental, and vision allowance in the
[1:35:00] amount of $25,800
along with an employer paid contribution
[1:35:06] amount of $43,177.84
[1:35:11] towards his Kalpers's retirement
account. He will also receive an auto
[1:35:15] allowance of $10,416
and 40 hours of administrative leave,
[1:35:21] sick leave and an acrruel rate of 96
hours and vacation at an acrruel rate of
[1:35:26] 120 hours based upon his years of
service at the city.
[1:35:30] The city also provides disability and
life insurance to Mr. West. He will
[1:35:35] receive standard long-term disability in
the amount of $2,155.92.
[1:35:42] Long-term disability for executives at
$2,710.50.
[1:35:47] Long-term disability for management
employees at $928.20
[1:35:52] and group term life insurance in the
amount of $538.98
[1:35:58] and a cell phone with paid service and
laptop. In addition, the city will also
[1:36:03] provide 80 hours of vacation annually in
January starting in 2027
[1:36:08] along with the maximum of annual 457b
deferred compensation contribution
[1:36:14] amount permitted by law. The cost of the
city manager salary and benefits have
[1:36:19] been appropriated in the adopted fiscal
year 2026 27 operating budget. So, it's
[1:36:25] recommended that the city council
approve the city manager employment
[1:36:28] agreement from Matthew S. request as
attached and authorize the mayor to
[1:36:32] execute. This concludes my report and
I'm available for any questions.
[1:36:36] » Madame Mayor,
>> thank you for the report. Yes.
[1:36:39] » Yeah. Um I am ecstatic that this board,
this dis um decided to go with uh Matt
[1:36:47] West, soon to be city manager Matt West.
Um I think he's been tagging along with
[1:36:53] Lisa, getting firsthand information now
for about three years.
[1:36:57] That's about the best longest
[clears throat] job interview I've ever
[1:37:01] heard of. But um I do have a question on
that contract.
[1:37:06] Is there any provision in there that'll
force him to put a picture on his wall
[1:37:11] in his office,
[clears throat]
[1:37:14] » decorate, do something, a plant,
something? Is there anything in the
[1:37:18] contract that that allows for that?
>> He has a plant, George.
[1:37:22] » Is there a plant now?
>> No.
[1:37:27] Oh, okay. Well, we should have we we we
missed that. We should have got that
[1:37:30] while we could. So, anyway,
congratulation, Matt. I think you're
[1:37:34] going to do a great job. You got big
shoes to fill.
[1:37:37] » And I'm a Yes. I'll make the motion.
>> Thank you, George.
[1:37:41] » Um, we have a motion in a second, but
I'm sure there's more comments. Cindy.
[1:37:46] » Well, um I think we uh we talked about
this a little bit already, but um just
[1:37:51] want to take the opportunity to say
thank to you and Lisa, we will talk
[1:37:55] later. But um um yes, from day one when
Matt just took the job um at any time,
[1:38:01] any given time I asked him something, he
were able to find the answer quickly and
[1:38:07] regard whatever that is at any given
time, late or weekend or anything. So um
[1:38:14] as uh the mayor pro mentioned a big suit
to fill. Um there's so many project that
[1:38:20] going in the city that I don't think
anyone would be able to catch up with
[1:38:25] Lisa and so having you to s Lisa I'm
looking forward to it. I'm excited and I
[1:38:32] cannot wait to see what you can
accomplish. Thank you.
[1:38:38] I would like to get it on the record
that Matt and I have actually been
[1:38:41] working for a very long time together.
He just doesn't know it. Uh because Matt
[1:38:46] was the uh worked for the city of Tustin
for a very very long time. Um pretty
[1:38:52] pretty much started out there and was a
city manager there up until 2019.
[1:38:58] And when he was working at 300
Centennial Way, I worked across the
[1:39:02] street for seven years at 315 Centennial
Way. So, he doesn't know it, but our
[1:39:06] paths were crossing every single day for
seven years without him even knowing it.
[1:39:11] So, I think this is very serendipitous.
I think that this is very um you know,
[1:39:15] very fateful that we get a chance to to
really work together. Now, Matt um in
[1:39:20] all seriousness um has been outstanding
uh from the very beginning. I have every
[1:39:27] single ounce of faith faith that um
you're going to do an excellent job in
[1:39:33] leading the city and and helping us
execute all of our visions going forward
[1:39:38] um in getting us through all of the
obstacles and challenges that we have.
[1:39:43] Um you are a consmate professional and
you have an excellent rapport with each
[1:39:49] and every single one of us on this dis
and I think that that is just a sign of
[1:39:53] your professionalism. um and a sign of
also your commitment to the city. You
[1:39:57] are an incredibly loyal person to to the
cities that that you work for um as as
[1:40:02] established with your commitment with
the city of Tustin here with the city of
[1:40:06] Garden Grove. So, I know that you're
going to be doing an excellent job with
[1:40:09] us here. I'm very excited that we get a
chance to really take things to the next
[1:40:14] level. Uh and u I'm I'm going to uh step
up with regards to George. He wants you
[1:40:21] to put a plant in his office. I I
continue with you my challenge. You You
[1:40:25] know what I need you to do, Matt. You
know what I need you to do. Uh M Matt
[1:40:30] and I have an inside joke. Uh but Matt
is um by all means someone that I have
[1:40:36] an insurmountable amount of trust in. Um
and I know that we're going to do really
[1:40:41] really great work together. So, thank
you, Matt. Um and and I look forward to
[1:40:46] at minimum the next three years at
minimum.
[1:40:50] » Thank you, Matt. Mayor.
>> Yeah.
[1:40:55] » Thank you, Mayor. First of all, I would
like to show my appreciation and thank
[1:41:01] you uh city manager Lisa Kim for being
doing a great job, strong leadership,
[1:41:09] help and carry us through a lot of
difficult time. And uh for that I
[1:41:15] appreciate it. And next thing I want to
congratulate uh Mr. Matt for will be our
[1:41:24] city manager.
And uh as my knowledge uh Mr. is a very
[1:41:31] strong leadership. His knowledge, his
experience
[1:41:35] is quite
[1:41:39] more than needed to uh actually get this
transfer smoothly and carry our city to
[1:41:48] a more and more better situation. Thank
you, Matt.
[1:41:53] » Hello, Matt. I just want to um thank you
so much for stepping up to the plate. I
[1:41:59] think um you know our city is going to
be it's going to do well in your hands.
[1:42:04] Um as we we we have spoke about you um
in regards to the city manager position
[1:42:10] and um as many things that were
mentioned was the knowledge that you
[1:42:15] have the map that you know um you're
very quick to answer uh you have a heart
[1:42:21] for our city and and and I see it um
genuinely you um have been here and have
[1:42:30] shared the load many times contributing
to the solutions as well. And I know
[1:42:36] that that's going to continue um for
many years, more than three of course,
[1:42:41] and I look forward for that um to that.
So, congratulations. Very well earned.
[1:42:48] All right. Uh we have a motion, a
second, and uh to assistant city manager
[1:42:53] Matt West. Looks like soon to be city
manager. Um I've had the good fortune of
[1:42:58] working with you now. Um, as mayor, I
get to work very closely at city hall
[1:43:01] with obviously with Lisa, with you and
with staff. Um, and I appreciate your
[1:43:06] consmate leadership. Uh, you're very
driven, and I appreciate the way you
[1:43:11] look at things um from a a really deep
perspective. Uh, you don't get overly
[1:43:17] emotional. You stay very technically
sound and based in in your logic and
[1:43:21] your thinking, your analytical. Uh, I
think you bring a wealth of expertise
[1:43:25] and knowledge uh to our city. And one of
the things I've appreciated the most is
[1:43:29] Garden Grove is my hometown. It matters
to me. The people, the city, the
[1:43:33] businesses. And one thing I saw is um
you your willingness to roll up your
[1:43:38] sleeves and really accept Garden Grove
as your home too. Um it was always a
[1:43:43] yes, I'll go to that event. Yes, I'll
meet with that business owner. Yes, I'll
[1:43:46] meet with that resident. Yes, I want to
immerse myself in the culture and just
[1:43:50] everything that Garden Grove is. We're
such a beautifully diverse city and
[1:43:53] you've embraced all of that. um and
really I think just hit the ground
[1:43:56] running from the time you started here.
So I see how well you work with staff,
[1:44:00] the relationship you've built, the
leadership you've shown and so I'm very
[1:44:03] much looking forward to the future.
Appreciate you.
[1:44:06] » All right, we have a motion and a
second. Let's call for the vote. Mayor,
[1:44:10] for the record, who was the second?
>> I believe it was
[1:44:13] » I think it was George and Phillip. There
may have been several seconds.
[1:44:23] Motion received. Seven yes votes. Motion
carries. Thank you. We're going to call
[1:44:27] for another recess.
[1:45:44] to work.
All right. So, we uh already handled 12.
[1:45:49] I guess we'll go back to 10
>> this evening. Item number 10 is an award
[1:45:54] of contracts to BND Towing, Inc., DBA
Casades, and Davalos Towing, Action
[1:46:02] Southland Enterprises, Inc. doing
business as action Southland Towing and
[1:46:07] Pacific Towing, Inc. to provide on call
towing services as needed by the police
[1:46:11] department and Chief Amir Alura is here
to provide the report.
[1:46:17] Mayor, council members, good evening. Uh
this item for consideration is for on
[1:46:21] call towing services for the Garden
Grove Police Department. In uh July of
[1:46:26] uh 2025, we received a total of six
responses from towing companies. Of
[1:46:31] those six, three of them made it through
the application process. That's B&D
[1:46:35] Towing, Action Southland Towing, and
Pacific Towing. There is no financial
[1:46:39] impact uh to the city. And it is
recommended that the city council award
[1:46:45] contracts with a term of three years and
two option years for on call towing
[1:46:49] services as needed by the police
department to B&D Towing Action,
[1:46:54] Southland Enterprises and Pacific Towing
and authorize the city manager or
[1:46:58] designate to execute the contracts with
minor modifications as needed and
[1:47:03] exercise optioners on behalf of the
city. I'm available for any questions.
[1:47:09] » Any questions, comments? motion.
[1:47:14] » Got a motion by uh Councilman W
>> and second by Councilwoman Tran and call
[1:47:22] for the vote.
[1:47:31] » Well, I think we need to do a roll call
vote since you're taking council mayor
[1:47:35] prom or mayor clumpins seat. Oh, it it
shows me as
[1:47:39] » shows you as absent. So, let's do a roll
call vote.
[1:47:44] » Council member Nin,
>> yes.
[1:47:47] » Council member Tran,
>> yes.
[1:47:48] » Council member Dovin,
>> hi.
[1:47:50] » Council member Munyon,
>> yes.
[1:47:52] » Council member DGI,
>> yes.
[1:47:55] » Mayor Proen Bredigum,
>> yes.
[1:47:56] » And Mayor Clenstein is absent. Six yes
votes. Motion carries.
[1:48:02] » And we'll move on to item 11.
Item 11 is award of award of contract to
[1:48:10] CCS Facility Services Orange County,
Inc. to provide janitorial services for
[1:48:15] the new public safety building and
parking structure. And our new public
[1:48:20] works facility manager, Jess Co Pepper,
is here to provide that report.
[1:48:27] » Thank you. Uh good evening, Mayor Prom
and and members of the city council.
[1:48:31] Before you tonight is a request to
approve a one-year janitorial services
[1:48:34] agreement for the new public safety
building and parking structure with CCS
[1:48:38] Facility Service Orange County
Incorporated in the amount of $768,5355
[1:48:44] with the option to extend the contract
for additional one-year terms. In July
[1:48:50] 2026, staff issued an RFP for custodial
services at the facility prioritizing
[1:48:55] several key elements giving the building
sensitive and critical nature. These
[1:49:00] aspects included appropriate staffing
levels, tiered service level options to
[1:49:04] allow flexibility, and rigorous facility
safety and security standards, including
[1:49:10] mandatory background checks and
confidentiality agreements for all
[1:49:13] contracted staff. The city re received
and evaluated six proposals and the
[1:49:19] selection committee unanimously rated
CCS facility services as the most
[1:49:24] qualified firm based on proven public
safety experience and best overall
[1:49:28] value. Staff recommends award at the
tier 2 service level which preserves
[1:49:33] flexibility to scale up or down as
needed after a 30, 60, and 90day quality
[1:49:39] control reviews. Accordingly, staff
recommends the city council authorize an
[1:49:44] additional appropriation of $320,554
from the general fund and authorize the
[1:49:50] city manager to execute the agreement
with CCS facility services. This
[1:49:55] concludes my report and I'm available to
answer any questions you may have.
[1:49:59] » Council, any questions?
[1:50:03] » Motions, comments? Uh,
>> mayor, can I?
[1:50:07] » Yes. Go ahead.
>> Yes, I have a question.
[1:50:12] Uh number one, uh
I actually uh saw from the district uh
[1:50:21] school district that they hire
full-time
[1:50:27] janitor uh worker
of course with the phone benefit.
[1:50:39] Is it more beneficial for us to hire
uh to open employee
[1:50:47] uh job for our ground resident
to get more job and um get full benefit
[1:50:57] instead of hire a contractor to do the
job? um is that because of the
[1:51:06] monetary saving or something like that?
>> Um there's actually that that that
[1:51:11] answer is really twofold. So you have
two two aspects that we're really
[1:51:15] looking at. Flexibility is one of them.
This is obviously a great facility
[1:51:20] that's over 100,000 square feet and 80
over 80,000 that we're maintaining. So
[1:51:24] this with this building we have a lot of
unknowns, right? And so when we get into
[1:51:28] it, that's why these 30, 60, 90day uh
evaluation periods are really important
[1:51:33] for us to really see where we're going
with the contracted services. It allows
[1:51:37] us to evaluate and then look if we need
to step up the tier and step up more uh
[1:51:42] resources or step it down potentially if
we were to bring in full-time staff and
[1:51:47] commit to full-time staff, we'd lose
that flexibility. So, we're really
[1:51:51] looking at this thing as we're going to
know more after this first year, and
[1:51:55] that's why we have the awarding the
contract with that one year, but then
[1:51:59] having four four one-year terms to to
renew or or go potentially other
[1:52:03] directions. So, this allows the city the
most flexibility. And costwise as we've
[1:52:09] done as we've broken broken down the uh
the cost factors we look at if we would
[1:52:13] have to bring on pro likely seven to
eight positions which represents along
[1:52:19] with um consumables uh in this contract.
That's one thing uh that's noteworthy is
[1:52:25] the consumables toilet paper towel soap
that's all that's all provided by the
[1:52:29] contractor. So this con this number that
you see includes all those which
[1:52:33] represents about $150 to $200,000 per
year. It's very expensive especially for
[1:52:39] 247 facility um like this. So, um, so
with that flex, excuse me, with that
[1:52:45] staffing flexibility and, um, and those
costs where if you look at what it would
[1:52:51] cost to bring on those full-time
positions and that commitment to that as
[1:52:54] well as, as the equipment cost, the
consumables cost, you're looking well
[1:52:59] over a million dollars,
>> 1.1, 1.2 conservatively.
[1:53:03] » Okay. Thank you for the well
representation.
[1:53:05] » Thank you. Any other questions, Mariana?
Um, I actually appreciate that council
[1:53:10] member Wyn um brought up those concerns.
I I do appreciate that, you know, we are
[1:53:15] entering an unknown with regards to the
administration and the management of the
[1:53:19] building and uh we don't quite know what
challenges we're we are going to face in
[1:53:24] terms of um the maintenance of it and
and uh what it's going to cost, how much
[1:53:30] work it's going to take to maintain a
facility of this size um and labor and
[1:53:36] all of that. But um I think that council
member Wyn speaks to something that I
[1:53:40] think many of us um have had concerns
about which is our our goal really has
[1:53:45] been to make sure that the people that
get to work in our city are people that
[1:53:50] are taken care of. um that we know that
there are folks that are getting good
[1:53:55] benefits, that are getting paid fairly,
that are getting good um good treatment,
[1:53:59] and um but also making sure that um
there are people there there are City
[1:54:03] Garden Grove employees and we're
creating positions for them to be a part
[1:54:07] of our Garden Grove family. So, I think
um I I would definitely be open to as we
[1:54:12] go forward and we learn more um to and
as we go forward with our budgeting
[1:54:16] processes in the future to um to explore
what it would look like to potentially
[1:54:22] add positions. Um what it I I would be
interested in seeing what it would cost
[1:54:27] us down the line once we learn what it
does take to manage this building. um
[1:54:32] what it would cost us to create these
positions for us and our staff um and
[1:54:38] have these be positions that are part of
us and our public works department and
[1:54:42] our facilities maintenance department.
>> Thank you, council member.
[1:54:46] » Thank you.
>> I mean, thank you. Just a quick note um
[1:54:52] when looking at the number 768,000
for custodian for you know janitory work
[1:55:01] that's a big number but I know that it
came to the council tonight for the
[1:55:07] approval and so I want for us here we
always put you know safety uh uh first
[1:55:15] and that's why we support our policemen
we support you know we that's why We
[1:55:19] have the big building there but at the
same time um we want to see the study
[1:55:25] that you said 30 60 90 day because it's
new. Uh and then um when we come back we
[1:55:30] will see what the number look like. Um
but at the same time we are here to
[1:55:35] support our you know policemen and
support our um the new building that we
[1:55:42] have. And so um thank you for sharing
the information and we hope to get some
[1:55:48] more information so that way when we
make a decision something like this we
[1:55:52] feel more comfortable that yeah it's a
big number and it's going to it's come
[1:55:56] from the general fund. So um we just
want to make sure that we look at the
[1:56:02] number. So thank you.
>> Is that a motion?
[1:56:05] » Um
>> okay we have a motion. We have a second.
[1:56:10] » Second.
>> Okay we have a motion and a second. Um,
[1:56:12] I I do have some comments on this. Um,
when you look at the number, you know,
[1:56:17] you subtract the $200,000 for toilet
trees and paper and all this stuff. Um,
[1:56:23] you still have 500,000, you could hire
five
[1:56:27] custodians at $100,000 a piece for that,
right? Which you would assume could
[1:56:34] handle a building of that size, right?
Um, so I do hope we learn from this
[1:56:39] investment and maybe
look at ways that we can both a save
[1:56:46] money and also provide decent jobs for
our community. So um, and with that call
[1:56:54] for the vote.
>> Council member Tran.
[1:56:59] » Yes.
>> Council member Dovin.
[1:57:01] » Hi.
>> Council member Mueton.
[1:57:04] » Yes. Council member Medi,
>> yes.
[1:57:07] » Council member Nwin,
>> yes.
[1:57:09] » And Mayor Promigum,
>> yes.
[1:57:11] » And Mayor Clumpenstein is absent. That's
six yes votes. Motion carries.
[1:57:18] » Now move us into ordinances
for second reading. Item 13.
[1:57:24] Item 13 is second reading and adoption
of ordinance number 2980
[1:57:28] with the ordinance entitled an ordinance
of the city council of the city of
[1:57:32] Garden Grove, California adding chapter
8.72 to title 8 of the Garden Grove
[1:57:36] municipal code to establish safety and
security requirements for hotel workers
[1:57:41] and
city attorney can answer any additional
[1:57:45] questions.
No, the city council already discussed
[1:57:49] this ordinance, made some amendments,
and what's before you is what the city
[1:57:52] council introduced at your last meeting,
and this is uh now for your adoption.
[1:57:58] » Second reading.
>> Yes.
[1:58:00] » Do we have any comments or uh a motion?
[1:58:07] » Huh?
>> I'll second a motion. Okay.
[1:58:09] » I'll start the motion.
>> Okay. So, we have a
[1:58:12] » Yeah, it's a second reading. So we have
a motion by Councilman Tran and uh and
[1:58:16] Yenio was our second.
>> No discussion. Call for the vote.
[1:58:21] » Council member DGI.
>> Yes.
[1:58:23] » Council member Nwin.
>> Yes.
[1:58:26] » Council member Tran.
>> Yes.
[1:58:28] » Council member Meton.
>> Yes.
[1:58:30] » Mayor Pro Tim Bredigum.
>> Yes.
[1:58:33] » Council member Dovin.
>> I.
[1:58:36] » And Mayor Clumpins is absent. Motion
carries. Six yes votes. Okay. And uh
[1:58:41] we're going to go ahead um and pull item
14 for the next meeting. Um as uh the
[1:58:47] mayor is not here, I think it's fair
we're all here to uh discuss that. So
[1:58:50] we'll we'll uh I'm going to go ahead and
pull that and bring it to the to the
[1:58:54] next meeting.
[1:58:59] » With that being said, um matters. Guess
we'll go around the horn. Who started
[1:59:04] last time? Was it you or me?
>> Actually, it was you.
[1:59:07] » It wasn't me. So we'll start with you
then. sleigh.
[1:59:10] [laughter]
[1:59:12] » I'm solidly a millennial, guys. I'm
sorry. Um,
[1:59:16] » sleigh. Oh my god.
>> It is. It is a [laughter] slay. Um, I'll
[1:59:20] I'll start off by saying, Matt,
congratulations.
[1:59:23] [snorts]
>> I'm very excited to uh get to work with
[1:59:25] you for the next three years.
>> Thank you very much. and I will hold you
[1:59:28] to my challenge that uh you're going to
have to face off with me at the Orange
[1:59:32] County Fair and uh enter your vegetables
into the uh competitions at the Orange
[1:59:38] County Fair.
>> I was hoping it was the demolition
[1:59:41] derby.
>> It will not be the demolition derby, but
[1:59:44] uh you might have to challenge my squash
uh or or the peppers. So, I'm very
[1:59:49] excited to get to work with you, Matt. I
I can't I I don't know if uh I I can say
[1:59:54] anymore about how excited I I I am to
get to work with you more. Um Lisa, I'm
[2:00:00] um I I can't say thank you enough for
all of your years of service to the city
[2:00:06] of Garden Grove and um the vision that
you've executed here um and all the
[2:00:12] passion and energy that you've given us.
uh you've made some big things happen
[2:00:16] for us in the city um and and taken us
into the next level for for so many
[2:00:22] things that I don't I don't even know if
some of our residents can realize yet
[2:00:26] kind of what uh what you've kind of set
us up for, right? And for in some of the
[2:00:31] big vision big steps um for our city in
the long term. So, um, you know, you're
[2:00:38] our first female city manager, and I
think that that's, you know, something
[2:00:43] that's amazing, commendable, and you you
broke glass ceilings, and you broke
[2:00:49] barriers, and
um I'll save my the rest of my speech
[2:00:54] and my my thoughts to a later date, but
I just want to say for now, thank you.
[2:01:01] Um because it's uh it's it's going to
continue being fun. It's going to
[2:01:07] continue being fun. You're not you're
not out of you're not rid of me yet.
[2:01:12] Um to that effect, um one one of the
great things that that Lisa certainly
[2:01:16] helped us uh get done uh was the
renovations on Woodbury Park. And we did
[2:01:21] a our ribbon cutting on Woodbury Park
and boy, what a fun event that was. Boy,
[2:01:27] I mean, that was years in the making.
Um, I I'm just I'm so glad that we all
[2:01:33] got a a chance to be a part of that. Um,
when when I was on the Parks,
[2:01:37] Recreation, and Arts Commission, uh, and
we first had our, um, John and Janet
[2:01:43] present those renderings for us and you
guys first started going through the
[2:01:47] grant application process to get all the
funding. Um, and we just first started
[2:01:51] envisioning everything. I I could not
have imagined how beautiful everything
[2:01:55] would have turned out. And boy, it was
um so great to be out there with the
[2:01:59] community and seeing the vision that
took so many years uh become a reality
[2:02:03] and to be there and see people enjoy it
and and be there with their family. Um
[2:02:09] and I was so excited to be able to to
jump into the pool with um with director
[2:02:14] John Montis and my predecessor Kimwin
Pinosa. It was so great to to have her
[2:02:19] there with my niece Penny and my nephew
Lucas. Um it was great to be able to
[2:02:23] share in in a moment that um that we've
all worked so hard for. Um and to see um
[2:02:30] our staff get to enjoy something that
they worked so hard for. Um you guys did
[2:02:34] amazing. Um
where are you guys? You guys did great.
[2:02:39] Uh you guys killed it. You slayed. You
really did.
[2:02:44] Now I'm so excited because we get to
share in that with all of the community
[2:02:48] and um we get to enjoy it for years to
come. So, thank you to all of our
[2:02:52] amazing city staff um who helped work on
that. The the amazing contractors that
[2:02:56] helped put all of that together. Um all
of the favorite uh folks that I mean
[2:03:02] helped contribute to the skate park. Um
the the folks at Contenders that helped
[2:03:06] uh consult with regards to the skate
park as well. That was uh amazing. I
[2:03:10] don't know anything about skateboarding,
but they did amazing. Everyone had a
[2:03:13] great time. Um
so, thank you so much. Um I it's it was
[2:03:20] great to have a a nice moment uh amidst
all of the the things that we've been um
[2:03:26] dealing with. It's great to be able to
have something to celebrate. Um so uh
[2:03:31] I'm going to I'm going to leave it that
on that blissful note. It was really
[2:03:34] great to be able to be out with
community um and get to enjoy things
[2:03:38] with our constituents in district 6.
Thank you guys.
[2:03:43] » Good evening everyone. I'd also like to
join my colleagues in welcoming our new
[2:03:48] senior manager, uh, Matt West. I look
forward to working with you and
[2:03:52] continuing um to um uh be that positive
impact for our community and and to see
[2:03:59] you grow and and really flourish for our
city. So, I I look forward to that. and
[2:04:03] Lisa, thank you so much for um your
passion for city, for um your passion
[2:04:09] for [clears throat] businesses and for
your vision um and for uh guiding me u
[2:04:14] my first year in council. I I really do
appreciate that. Um and to many more
[2:04:20] years to come, you'll always be part of
the Garden Grove family. So, thank you.
[2:04:24] Um, I would uh it was great to attend
the ribbon cutting at Woodbury Park to
[2:04:31] see the community members enjoy the
beautiful space, the parks. Um, parks
[2:04:37] like this bring the community together
and create uh places where families can
[2:04:42] make memories for years to come. I'm
looking forward to seeing residents
[2:04:46] continue to enjoy Woodbury Park. And I
am especially excited about what's ahead
[2:04:51] for Hastur Bas and Park. We all have so
much to look forward to. And on that
[2:04:58] note, I would like to um staff can uh
please provide an update on the progress
[2:05:03] and timeline on uh Hastur Park as well.
also when um when we can expect a ribbon
[2:05:10] cutting or um uh I I I know our
residents and our community district 5's
[2:05:17] community is eager to see it come to
life and just to see the equipment
[2:05:21] moving um every single day. It it's just
very exciting. So, if we can get an
[2:05:26] update on that, that would be amazing.
Um I uh it was also great to attend the
[2:05:32] ribbon cutting uh for the Garden Grove
Police Department's new building. It is
[2:05:37] an important important investment in our
department and in the community it
[2:05:43] serves. As we celebrate this new
facility, I am also reminded that
[2:05:48] supporting our police department means
investing in the people who serve it. Um
[2:05:54] uh
[2:05:57] comp uh competitive pay and benefits are
important part of retaining experienced
[2:06:03] officers especially as department our
department crosses the uh region comp uh
[2:06:10] compete for talent and personnel.
I I uh strong a strong department needs
[2:06:18] both the facility and the people to
serve our community well. So I look
[2:06:24] forward to continuing supporting both.
And that will be all for me. Thank you.
[2:06:33] [clears throat]
For my part, I'd like to uh close out
[2:06:38] tonight's meeting in honor of my
mother-in-law,
[2:06:43] grandmother to my two sons, Donnie and
Joey, who passed just uh two days ago,
[2:06:50] Miss Maria Gwen T Lei.
I'm reminding uh our family and
[2:06:58] everything she taught and sacrificed for
us to love all peoples,
[2:07:04] embrace all cultures,
and respect all religions.
[2:07:10] May her memory live on in all our
hearts.
[2:07:14] Thank you.
[2:07:19] » That's it. Okay. Um, so first just want
to say thank to Lisa. I know that we're
[2:07:24] gonna have uh another celebration or um
goodbye later, but um just want to take
[2:07:30] the opportunity to say thanks to you for
your leadership. I think people don't
[2:07:35] know how many thing that you actually
how many project our city has. Um just
[2:07:42] couple days ago, Lisa give a long list
for every single district or the project
[2:07:47] that um our city is working on. And so
that kind of go to um Matt um we going
[2:07:54] to you're going to have a lot of fun
time but also um you know how you used
[2:08:00] to walk my district and go to visit the
uh small businesses with Lisa. I'm still
[2:08:06] I still going to hold you to that
meaning that you're going to have to do
[2:08:09] the same thing in term of you know with
other thing that you have to fill in for
[2:08:13] Lisa. So uh congratulation and looking
forward to that. Um second just want to
[2:08:21] um say couple quick thing to our staff
and the uh all the um partner that who
[2:08:28] help with the GGPD the um the new
building that's you cannot um see you're
[2:08:35] not going to be able to see another
building that big of the project you
[2:08:39] know get it done in just the two years
and um as a council member we see our
[2:08:47] staff doing the work and see the the
team work. Um just amazing feeling. See
[2:08:53] how
it's going to be hard for someone else
[2:08:56] to be able to have a project like that.
And then uh also go next to that is the
[2:09:02] uh the Woodberry uh cutting um ribbon
cutting. Um so just want to say thank to
[2:09:08] our staff and also um the partner
because I know that before our council
[2:09:13] um have to walk there and give input and
some of the thing that I I said I would
[2:09:18] love to see more color and that's what
we saw that it was just so nice to see
[2:09:24] the whole thing come together and I
would love to see something like that
[2:09:27] you know within district three but of
course it hard to find money this day.
[2:09:32] Um but I did provide some of the
information to um our director John
[2:09:37] Montanges for uh pursuing couple of the
grant and so we'll see how that going to
[2:09:41] go. Um I walk my district every single
day for the last week and um couple of
[2:09:49] thing I want to bring up to our staff.
First is um from the first day I got to
[2:09:55] I I came to this diet. I mentioned about
the light and I know that there's a a
[2:10:01] lengthy process and it cost a lot of
money to put a street light in your
[2:10:05] neighborhood. But when I walk my
neighborhood um that was a topic that um
[2:10:10] the resident brought up and I have been
um working with the uh well our staff
[2:10:17] and I know that we're going to have some
kind of uh process coming up or some
[2:10:21] something to help with our residents. So
hopefully that will come soon and uh I
[2:10:27] already asked to give me the update on
that. Um, next one is um the clean up
[2:10:35] and I have done several project to do
cleanup in my district but um the
[2:10:41] feedback from the residents still you
know there's still a lot of trash on the
[2:10:46] public um for example at the Galpert and
Chapman you know near the um the track
[2:10:52] or the railroad and so um hopefully
we'll have to come up with a way how we
[2:10:58] could handle that because I don't like
to you know you you live in a city you
[2:11:03] love the city but you keep seeing the
trash there and there has to be a way to
[2:11:07] to address it somehow so that's uh
something to challenge um another
[2:11:13] challenge project for Matt um so uh
thanks to our um uh public work for
[2:11:22] doing the um fixing or resurface the
street on Galbert um so we saw the work
[2:11:29] getting done there in my district. So
I'm happy with that. Um the resident
[2:11:33] happy with that too. Um one of the thing
is uh coming up for um the at the
[2:11:41] Atlantis. So I I told Atlantis um part
today. Um we still need help with um I
[2:11:47] brought up the issue about the restroom.
So hopefully our staff will put some
[2:11:52] effort in taking a look of that. The
paint is falling off the the wall and
[2:11:58] the ceiling. But anyway, so we're going
to have an event there on September 19
[2:12:03] from 11 to 2:00 p.m. That's the
Moonlight F. Uh yeah, wait. Um yeah, the
[2:12:10] um Moon Festival. So everybody invited
and um there will be, you know, game and
[2:12:18] um toys to give out. Um so just want to
say thank to our staff and also um for
[2:12:25] the Tabit who is leading this effort. We
do that every year and everyone is
[2:12:29] welcome. Um that and then uh on the uh
October 3 I'm working with couple of the
[2:12:38] um yoga and Arabic structure. We're
going to do a walk at garden park but
[2:12:46] also beside the walk you also we're
going to have some yoga and some Arabic
[2:12:50] exercising for fun. So looking forward
to do something like that. just um you
[2:12:55] know kind of want to bring people to um
my district I guess. Um and then on I
[2:13:03] think September
we're going to have a cleanup event at
[2:13:07] the senior center I think September 26.
I don't know I don't remember the day
[2:13:13] exact but um we'll come back after. So
um that's it for me. Pass to you sir.
[2:13:20] Thank you, Pome.
[2:13:24] My matter today, uh, with all this, I
want to dedicate my time.
[2:13:29] Uh,
condolence to my brother-in-law,
[2:13:35] Rangman.
He passed away last week. Uh, he's
[2:13:43] was a brother-in-law and a very good
friend of mine.
[2:13:47] Um I myself and my in-law family took it
very hard.
[2:13:54] So please pray for him and for us. Thank
you.
[2:14:02] Yeah, the Woodberry Park uh ribbon
cutting was kind of cool. It was really
[2:14:06] good. I want to give uh props to uh John
Montage and Janet Palio and the whole
[2:14:12] staff. They did a great job. The park is
beautiful. There's a pool in there. Um,
[2:14:19] kids were already jumping in while we
were doing the, you know, it was really
[2:14:23] good to see. Um, on that note,
um, back in my district over at
[2:14:30] Westgrove Park, the local youth have
taken the east side of the park over to
[2:14:38] make into a impromptu ebike track.
And uh, got a few complaints, but
[2:14:45] thinking about it, this is what the kids
want. This is something that, you know,
[2:14:50] it's a holistic thing. They they they've
got their own track going and jumps and
[2:14:54] all this stuff going. Why not embrace
it? You know, maybe explore um setting
[2:14:59] up an actual ebike track over there for
them where they can have some fun. You
[2:15:05] know, the skateboard park over there at
at Woodbury is another good example of
[2:15:09] that. Yeah, it's kind of skateboards are
dangerous. You can fall, but you wear
[2:15:13] some protective equipment and you do,
you know, and you can have some fun. And
[2:15:17] you know, when you get these uh holistic
uh natural things that just kind of pop
[2:15:23] up in a park like that, well, maybe
that's something we should look at as a
[2:15:28] city. Maybe
uh the kids are doing it. Why don't we
[2:15:32] let them continue to do it and make it a
nice place for them? So, um the event
[2:15:39] today
was um the dedication of the William
[2:15:46] Bill Dalton
um community room over at the police
[2:15:51] station. Um you know, Bill and I went
back long many years and uh he was
[2:15:57] probably one of the most respected um
individuals in our city. So, I'm really
[2:16:04] really glad to see that happen. Um, you
know, he he did over 30 years with the
[2:16:10] Garden Grove Police Department,
retired as a lieutenant.
[2:16:16] Um, got the Medal of Honor
for or the Medal of Valor for um
[2:16:24] saving a suspect's life who was um he
actually had to go and apply first aid
[2:16:30] to the suspect that was shot.
um and uh diffused the hostage situation
[2:16:36] all at the same time. That was it was
kind of cool to hear the story how he
[2:16:41] got that. Um he then went on after he
retired to become a Garden Grove
[2:16:45] councilman and then Garden Grove mayor
for eight years and uh really really
[2:16:51] just a great event to see that in his
honor. So real happy with that.
[2:16:57] Um, there was a comment on GKN earlier
about a $500 thing and I'm I'm if it was
[2:17:06] taken in that regard. I don't think it
was given in that regard, but um I I
[2:17:10] apologize if you if you took it that
way. It was not in any way to demean
[2:17:16] anybody's claim or hardship that they
experienced. Um it was simply a notice
[2:17:22] of saying that the most people that I've
spoke to
[2:17:27] um in the area that we're talking about
how much they were out how much the vast
[2:17:33] majority of them was 500 and less. There
was some that were 2,000 and more. And
[2:17:40] of course some of the businesses and
other people I mean it was a 4-day
[2:17:44] evacuation. So, you know, there was some
cost associated and there's a lot of
[2:17:48] hardship associated with that. But, um,
so I just wanted to make that clear.
[2:17:54] That was not in any way meant to be a
belittling thing, just a factual
[2:17:58] statement of the people who talked to me
and how much they said they were out.
[2:18:02] So, um, with that being said, I have,
um, we're going to adjourn in memory of
[2:18:12] Lewis Alberto Casus.
Uh, we're going to, yeah, in memory of
[2:18:17] our very own Lewis Alberto Casus, who
sadly passed away on August 29th at the
[2:18:22] age of 25.
Lewis was a Garden Grove resident who
[2:18:26] served as a parking control specialist
with the Garden Grove Police Department
[2:18:31] and as an extra help park maintenance
worker with the OC parks. He joined the
[2:18:38] city on February 17th of last year.
According to his supervisor, Lewis was a
[2:18:44] passionate about helping the community
where he lived and worked. He took great
[2:18:49] pride in keeping Garden Grove streets
clean and the city looking its best.
[2:18:55] Lewis worked two jobs to help support
his parents and younger siblings.
[2:19:01] He was a role model to his younger
siblings and his desire to provide
[2:19:05] better life for his family motivated him
to work hard and strive for more.
[2:19:12] Lewis is survived by his mother, father,
and three younger siblings. On behalf of
[2:19:18] the city of Garden Grove, we extend our
heartfelt condolences to Lewis's family
[2:19:22] and our deepest appreciation for his
service and contributions to our
[2:19:26] community. And with that,
>> and before we adjourn really quickly,
[2:19:30] » I'm sorry, we got to we got to do a
>> There is there is no reportable action
[2:19:34] out of the closed session items tonight.
Thank you.
[2:19:37] » Okay. And city manager, did you have
something as well?
[2:19:40] Thank you, Mayor Prombride again and
members of the city council. Thank you
[2:19:44] again for your kind and amazing
um words of appreciation. Uh my 10 years
[2:19:51] with Garden Grove has been absolutely
extraordinary. I wouldn't change a
[2:19:55] thing. And one of the best professional
decisions I've ever made was to join
[2:20:00] this most extraordinary organization and
be able to touch the life of our
[2:20:04] community members and really transform
the city to where it is today. And I'm
[2:20:09] excited that Matt has taken the helm as
part of our succession plan. And thank
[2:20:14] you again.
>> You will be here at the next meeting,
[2:20:17] right?
>> Cuz because we all want to throw eggs.
[2:20:22] [laughter] And with that we'll stand
adjourn