[0:02] Following the invocation, scouting America, pack and troop 371 will lead us in the pledge to our flag. Would you please stand now for the invocation and then remain standing for the pledge?

[0:34] trust in your infinite mercy to forgive our failings and your wisdom to solve everyday

[0:39] trials and problems we face. Lord bless the leaders of the city, the mayor, the vice

[0:44] mayor, the council, and all those who serve. Grant strength and peace to those who protect

[0:49] heal and labor for the well-being of liquid. Reward their sacrifices and let your light guide

[0:56] their service. We ask Your Heavenly Father to preside over this meeting, guide every discussion

[1:01] and every decision according to your goodwill and holy benevolence for the benefit of your people.

[1:12] Through the grace and mercies of your only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, to whom is due all glory and honor forever and ever. Amen.

[1:58] of the United States of America and to the Republic, for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

[2:12] Thank you, Father Mena, and thank you, Pack and Troop 371, if you'd like to go over and introduce yourself, and then Mr. Johnson has one of our special 250th patches for you.

[2:25] Hello, my name is Madeline, and I'm ranked scout, and I'm in Troop 371.

[2:32] Hello, my name is Sophia, I'm scout rank and I'm in trip 371.

[2:38] My name is Nadine and I'm in scout rank and I'm in trip 371.

[2:43] Hello, my name is Sian and I'm in re-beloes.

[2:53] I'm a lion scout,

[2:58] I'm Noah and I'm a lion scout.

[3:03] Hello everyone, my name is Viana.

[3:07] Hi, my name is Dominic Ian and I'm a first class scout of trip 371.

[3:11] Thank you very much.

[3:19] Would the City Clerk please call the roll?

[3:21] Councilmember Rogers?

[3:23] Here.

[3:23] Councilmember Villaria?

[3:24] Here.

[3:25] Vice Mayor Ariano?

[3:26] Here.

[3:27] Councilmember Chase?

[3:28] Here.

[3:28] Mayor Wood.

[3:29] Here.

[3:31] Now I'm going to go over the public participation guidelines.

[3:34] Members of the audience may address the City Council on any item on the agenda before the

[3:38] item is voted on.

[3:39] Items not on the agenda may be addressed during oral communications at the end of this

[3:43] council meeting.

[3:44] If you plan to speak, please sign in now.

[3:47] Write your name, address, and the subject of your remarks on the sign and sheet at the

[3:50] rear of the room, and we ask that you please stay within a three minute time limit.

[3:55] As a reminder, there's not a separate public comment period before individual items on the

[4:00] agenda, except for the items listed as public hearing, which will have its own public comment

[4:05] period.

[4:06] We're first going to hear from speakers present in the room, and then we'll invite comments

[4:09] from those participating by telephone.

[4:11] on. Do we have anybody signed up to speak?

[4:19] None? Okay. Do we have anybody online?

[4:21] Mayer, we do not have any remote callers at this time.

[4:23] Okay.

[4:28] Okay. We're going to go to announcements and presentations. Good evening again, everyone.

[4:32] Without a doubt, the weather has affected us all. I hope you're doing what you can to stay cool and hydrated.

[4:37] And I want to take a moment to acknowledge the terrible tragedy that has unfolded at the China and

[4:43] the Paul border late last month.

[4:45] The catastrophic flooding there has caused an unimaginable loss of life,

[4:50] displaced thousands of people, and devastated entire communities,

[4:55] with search and rescue efforts still continuing.

[4:58] On behalf of the city council and the Lakewood community,

[5:01] I want to extend our deepest condolences to the northern Nepal and China,

[5:05] China's Tibetan communities, as well as the families here in our region,

[5:09] who may have family members or loved ones affected by this tragedy,

[5:13] including the foreign nationals visiting that area.

[5:18] Our thoughts are also with the first responders, rescue workers, and volunteers

[5:24] who continue working under incredibly difficult conditions,

[5:27] demonstrating that miracles can happen even a week since the deadly flood.

[5:33] Tragedies like this are sobering a reminder of how quickly a disaster can change lives,

[5:38] and overwhelm a community.

[5:40] We're also thinking of our neighbors in coastal Long Beach

[5:43] and Sil Beach who are dealing with powerful swells generated

[5:47] by Hurricane Maria and the flooding homes and streets

[5:50] that have created dangerous conditions and evacuations

[5:53] in some areas.

[5:56] While we can't predict every emergency,

[5:58] there are things each of us can do ahead of time

[6:00] to make ourselves, our families,

[6:02] and our communities more resilient.

[6:04] That's especially appropriate to remember this month

[6:07] as I've signed a proclamation for September as National Preparedness Month.

[6:12] Here in Lakewood we encourage every household and business to take some basic preparedness steps.

[6:19] Have an emergency supply kit, make a family or workplace emergency plan, and

[6:25] know how you will get reliable information when an emergency occurs.

[6:29] The city also works year round to prepare through staff training and exercises,

[6:34] is public education and emergency preparedness information for our residents.

[6:39] Preparedness really is a shared responsibility and taking steps,

[6:43] taking a few steps now can make a tremendous difference when an emergency occurs.

[6:49] And we have a free event coming up that offers the perfect opportunities for families

[6:53] and community members of all ages to meet first responders who serve their community

[6:58] and learn about the latest and emergency preparedness.

[7:01] The cities of Lakewood's annual Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Expo will be held on Saturday, September 26th, from 10.30 to 2 in the Civic Center parking lot here at Delamo and Clark.

[7:15] Kids can enjoy the family fun zone with an array of activities while everyone can get an up close look at Sheriff's Department and Fire Department vehicles, including fire trucks,

[7:24] share of patrol cars, and a chance to meet the pilot of and see Lake with sky night helicopter.

[7:30] While it will be fun day, no doubt with El Nino coming this winter, there's no time like now to begin preparing.

[7:36] The city will be sharing more information and resources in the coming months as we all brace for a wet winter.

[7:44] This Friday marks 25 years since the September 11 terrorist attacks, and

[7:48] it remains an important day for our nation to remember the nearly 3,000 people whose lives were lost,

[7:54] as well as extraordinary courage shown by first responders and ordinary citizens that day and in the days that followed.

[8:01] I want to invite liquid residents to join us this Friday, September 11th for annual Patriot Day Ceremony.

[8:07] We'll gather at 6.30 in the west parking lot of Lakewood City Hall for solemn flag-lowering ceremony.

[8:14] And a time to remember, reflect and honor those who were lost.

[8:19] At this event, we'll also kick off Lakewood's annual thank-a-service member campaign.

[8:24] Another tradition that reflects our community's long-standing appreciation for military service.

[8:30] Since the campaign began in 2014, Lakewood residents, schools, businesses and

[8:36] community groups have created more than 50,000 cards, letters and drawings that have been sent to US service members stationed overseas.

[8:46] So as we remember the service and sacrifice of September 11th, we hope residents will also take a few moments to write a message of thanks to the men and women serving our country today.

[8:55] You can learn more by visiting our website or by calling City Hall.

[9:01] I'd like to recognize someone whose passing has touched people across the country and around the world.

[9:06] Dolly Parton, who passed away on August 25th at the age of 80.

[9:11] Dolly Parton was certainly an extraordinary entertainer, but she had a remarkably unique

[9:15] ability to connect with people across generations, backgrounds, and viewpoints.

[9:20] She did it with humor, warmth, humility, and an unmistakable kindness towards others.

[9:26] And she backed up those values with actions.

[9:29] Throughout her life, she gave generously to causes ranging from education and

[9:34] and childhood literacy to health care, disaster relief,

[9:38] and assistance for communities in need.

[9:41] In recognition of that remarkable life and legacy,

[9:43] we'll be proclaiming September 25th or 925,

[9:48] a fitting nod to her famous nine to five

[9:51] as Dolly Parton Day in Lakewood.

[9:53] So on September 25th,

[9:55] we hope Lakewood residents can honor her,

[9:56] not by simply remembering her music,

[9:58] but by following her example and pay it forward.

[10:01] help a neighbor, support a good cause, do something kind for someone who needs it, or simply find a way to lift somebody else up.

[10:10] Lastly, I'm pleased to announce a new series of community gatherings called Mosie with the Mayor, City Council, and Community Connect.

[10:20] We'll have our first event plan for Saturday, October 3rd at Delvae Park, and I welcome all of you to join us for a morning walk and talk,

[10:28] check out our community resource fair and enjoy a day at the park.

[10:32] We hope these gatherings can bring our community together one step at a time and connect with our city council, staff, and one another.

[10:40] And at this time, are there any announcements from our city council members?

[10:46] Councilmember Rogers?

[10:48] Thank you, Mr. Mayor.

[10:49] A lot of announcements.

[10:50] I'll be brief tonight to the interest of time.

[10:52] One thing I would like to announce is that the Lakewood Education Foundation is having one of its biggest fundraisers on September 18th, which is a Friday, and that's our Golf Tournament, a Lakewood Country Club Golf Course.

[11:05] I'm pleased to report that it's almost a sellout, but I'm also sad to report that it's not quite a sellout.

[11:11] So we have a seven spots left, I think, we have 138 golfers signed up, we have room for 137, we have room for 144.

[11:23] So if anybody would like to sign up, obviously, if you would like to sponsor or buy a T sign, we also invite you to do that.

[11:31] We also have a special raffle, we have a lot of really cool prizes from a 65 inch TV, to a tool set, to a griddle,

[11:38] to four free tickets in Osbury Farm or six flags, Magic Mountain, and all those that anybody's able to buy those tickets or $5 a piece and you do not have to be present to win.

[11:51] So if you would like to sign up, please reach out to me or our City Recreation staff.

[11:56] 9-11 is obviously something that weighs heavy on all of our minds, those of us who were around 25 years ago.

[12:04] You know, it's amazing.

[12:05] We have a whole generation of folks that weren't even here and just know it from the history

[12:10] books.

[12:10] But for those of us who were here, we will always remember exactly where we were when

[12:15] we heard the news about the planes hitting the Twin Towers or the Pentagon or Flight 93

[12:21] or the White House being evacuated or whatever news report you heard.

[12:26] And it was obviously one of the darkest days in our history.

[12:31] But what I'm also reminded of is it also shines a light on what's best about this country,

[12:38] what's best about the people who live in this country, and that's stepping up.

[12:42] You know, we have this saying that we use in the law enforcement profession,

[12:48] Heroes Rise, and Heroes Rise to the occasion when things are the darkest.

[12:53] And when folks are fleeing from danger or having the worst day of their lives,

[12:56] we have those, whether they be in uniform, whether they wear badge,

[13:00] or whether they don't, just good people who rush in to help.

[13:04] And I know they use that term in Hollywood a lot to talk about when the

[13:09] heroes rise to solve some dilemma in the movie or in the plot.

[13:13] But in real life it happens and that was a shining example in this country of what

[13:17] it happened. And we're fortunate to live in a country where people step up and do that

[13:22] all the time. And I think this world would be a better place if people would follow that

[13:27] But more people would follow that example and step up and rise to the occasion when this country with this community, when our neighbors need it.

[13:36] So thank you.

[13:37] Thank you council member.

[13:39] Anybody else?

[13:41] Vice mayor.

[13:45] Yes, a few things to touch on.

[13:47] I was joined with the mayor the other day.

[13:50] We had a grand opening.

[13:51] The orange grill, which is the old Charles chicken if you guys remember that.

[13:55] But I feel like honestly when Toronto chicken left, Orange Grill came right in there.

[14:02] It didn't even miss a beat.

[14:04] And we got an opportunity.

[14:05] I know Kazuma Rodgers got to go there, check it out too.

[14:10] But what stood out to me the most is like, as we're trying to push businesses over and over again,

[14:17] our economic development team.

[14:19] You know, they have new banners.

[14:20] They came out together.

[14:21] There's new ways that they're pushing the business community.

[14:26] And our city TV is doing a great job with a lot of post.

[14:31] And just general members of the community, and also everybody on the dice here on my fellow council members,

[14:37] you guys are doing a great job on pushing the business community.

[14:41] And my ask is for the residents to do the same.

[14:45] I was like, our business community is important.

[14:46] And so like even a little corner lots that you have, I know people shop at the mall,

[14:51] but you know those are small business owners that are in those neighborhood like storefront.

[14:57] So I just want you guys to go out, you know.

[15:00] Please share what you did. I mean, it's all important. We're all doing our part, and that would help if you guys went out, shared, enjoyed what we have to offer in Lakewood, and you know, gave those businesses money. And then going from there, I just wanted to. I know everybody has a lot going on the city and we like taking this time. And since everybody's watching everybody's here, you kind of have to listen what I have to say. So I'm going to take this time. Take this time and talk about how great are you sports program or and give you guys a big shout out. And I know we have.

[15:29] We have the fall season and everybody should have got this in the mail if you're a resident.

[15:35] And if you're not a resident, can you make sure that you stop by City Hall?

[15:40] Because we have a new sign up, and I know we had a great job with, I think it's volleyball,

[15:44] volleyball tennis, and we have flag football for boys and girls.

[15:48] And when I say the girls part, it's the first time we've ever done that.

[15:52] And it's very important because we're creating more spaces for everyone to play in.

[15:57] And with that being said, I want to make sure if you have a daughter, or you know

[16:03] someone's daughter that's age 12 to 14, I want to make sure that you get them to the

[16:07] park, sign them up because we need more signups on that.

[16:11] We want this year to be successful and this season to be successful.

[16:14] So I will be there with my own team and I hope to see your guys there because I plan on

[16:19] winning the championships.

[16:20] So I'm sorry ahead of time, I don't mean to.

[16:23] But I definitely, I mean, this is what makes it great is our park program and our community coming out, but when it comes to the signups, if you guys know anybody with from age 12 to 14 girls, please have them sign up.

[16:36] This is something they don't have to play flag football. It's a good time for them to get a taste of it. And just please get a chance to come out sign up and even just watch what we're doing at the parks. It's an amazing time.

[16:48] And then one more thing, I just want to thank the city manager to give a little softball shot out.

[16:55] And I know it's our city team that we had a, what was the company that came out at our,

[17:03] Adura, they were at the roundabouts and I know the roundabouts would definitely have been a big conversation piece throughout the city.

[17:13] But I think I stopped by talks to some residents, and the staff that was out there, they listened, they took the hits, they wrote down.

[17:24] Some people were very respectful, some people were a little bit more passionate than normal, but I appreciate their patience.

[17:31] And I think when people came out, they had, they're from other cities out and know why they came from Long Beach and other cities.

[17:37] They were just with friends and they were giving kudos to Lakewood saying that we're one of the only cities that took the time out

[17:45] To get suggestions from the city so I definitely want to thank you guys and make sure that you thank them for spending a Saturday

[17:51] And taking the hits for for Lakewood. Thank you.

[17:54] We appreciate that. Thank you.

[17:58] Okay, just a couple things I wanted to report on. I had an opportunity to go with the city team led by our deputy city manager on

[18:06] Right along with meals on wheels. It was a great opportunity to see

[18:10] the program and interact with some of the residents and just a reminder, if anybody

[18:17] wants to volunteer, donate or know somebody that might need the services, including themselves

[18:25] to please reach out to the city we can provide information.

[18:29] I was able to attend Bingo at the mall.

[18:31] It was a great opportunity for the community to come together on an event that's sponsored

[18:34] by the mall.

[18:34] to have a fun evening. A lot of prizes. It was a great turnout. I went to chalk the walk which was

[18:42] a day before Cleveland Elementary opened and that was a time for the community to leave messages

[18:48] on the sidewalk with chalk. So it was nothing permanent or anything but just in words of encouragement

[18:55] for the new school year. And then I happened to stop by Monroe just to observe Patrick Henry's

[19:01] There's grades three through five that were temporarily being relocated and traffic looked like there were no issues and

[19:09] great to see the community come together to support Patrick Henry coming over while they're schools under construction.

[19:16] And lastly, I joined the city manager, the vice mayor, council member Virial.

[19:22] We were at the Cerritos Memorial for the, it was the 40th anniversary of the Cerritos Air Crash.

[19:32] And the community still comes together, remarks by former Supervisor Don Canabi, who was

[19:38] the mayor at the time.

[19:39] And they were very appreciative of Lakewood Station, who was at the time responded to the

[19:45] disaster since Cerritos did not have their own substation at the time.

[19:50] And a lot of things and aviation's safety came after that.

[19:57] So it was a solemn reminder of that day, and like 9-11, I remember I was when that happened, and I just remember the tragedy, so that's all I have to report, and if there's nothing else, council member Vriel.

[20:15] Good evening everybody.

[20:16] The last, on the last weekend of August at the honor of joining our mayor or vice mayor and our city manager at the California Contract City's Association of Fall Education Summit, it was an honor to represent our great city of Lakewood at this conference.

[20:30] It was great to connect and network with other elected officials from around the region.

[20:35] I think it's very important that we continue to foster that work in relationship with our neighboring cities.

[20:41] And then lastly, I wanted to take the time to pause and remember the victims of 9-11.

[20:47] There were a lot of courageous heroes that lost their lives that day.

[20:51] And subsequently many more lives were lost in and out of you.

[20:55] People, heroes in and out of uniform in the years after that.

[20:59] I can't believe it's been 25 years.

[21:02] I do remember that day.

[21:04] My watch printer had called me.

[21:06] We woke me up and said, get your bed in work.

[21:09] So, I can't believe it's been 25 years, but please take a moment and honor those heroes.

[21:18] Thank you.

[21:19] Okay, we're going to begin our agenda with the routine items.

[21:23] These actions are minor in scope or procedure on nature.

[21:25] We can approve these items with a single motion or an item can be considered separately at the request of a council member.

[21:31] Do I have a motion on the routine items?

[21:33] Make a motion to approve.

[21:35] I want to, I want to, I want to.

[21:36] Second.

[21:37] Thank you.

[21:37] It's been moved and seconded.

[21:39] With the city clerk, please call the roll on the routine items.

[21:42] Council member Rogers.

[21:43] Aye.

[21:44] Council member V. Arianna.

[21:45] Aye.

[21:46] Vice Mayor Arianna.

[21:47] Aye.

[21:48] Council member Chase.

[21:49] Aye.

[21:50] Mayor Wood.

[21:51] Aye.

[21:52] We're now going to go to public hearings.

[21:54] We have item 1.1, which is a community development block grant fiscal year 2025-26 consolidated annual

[22:01] performance report, and we will go to our director of community development, all those

[22:06] Mr. Cervantes, Director Cervantes.

[22:08] Yes, thank you, Mayor and City Council.

[22:10] The Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report,

[22:13] also known as the Caper, is an annual routine item,

[22:17] where staff provides the public and the council with a performance report of the CDBG programs.

[22:23] This year, the Caper includes a summary of the progress in meeting the city's priorities and goals during the program year.

[22:31] And under fiscal year 2025 through 2026, the funds totaled over $940,000, which included

[22:39] newly awarded funds as well as carry-over funds from prior years.

[22:44] The highlights of the program include several ongoing programs such as Meals on Wheels,

[22:51] Community and Individual Service programs, loans and grants for home improvements, as well

[22:56] as the WineGuard Senior Center renovation project.

[22:58] The Meals on Wheels service about 51 individuals and over 180 individuals utilize the Human Services Association.

[23:08] The Fair Housing Program service well over 100 individuals or households I would say who needed guidance related to housing rights and their rights in question.

[23:18] So, the city also issued 10 loans for the housing rehab program and four grants were issued to households for the fix-up and paint-up program.

[23:31] And so, with that said, staff recommends that the city council open and conduct a public hearing for citizen input and direct staff to consider all comments received and submit the paper to HUD.

[23:43] That concludes the report. I open for questions.

[23:46] Thank you. Any questions for the director?

[23:50] Seeing none, this is the time and place for public hearing.

[23:53] I don't have anybody signed up as anybody that wishes to speak on this item. Do we have anybody online?

[24:00] Mayor, we do not have anybody online wishing to speak.

[24:02] Okay, with that, I'll go ahead and close the public hearing.

[24:07] Any, it's a pleasure to counsel.

[24:11] Mr. Mayor, I'll make a motion that we direct staff to consider all comments.

[24:15] I guess we don't have any, or any received prior, therefore to submit the caper, including any comments that are received to HUD.

[24:25] Second, it's been moved and seconded, any further discussion from the council?

[24:29] Okay, would the city clerk please call the roll on item 1.1.

[24:33] Councilmember Rogers.

[24:34] Aye.

[24:35] Councilmember Villaria.

[24:36] Aye.

[24:37] Vice Mayor Arriano.

[24:38] Aye.

[24:39] Councilmember Chase.

[24:40] Aye.

[24:40] Mayor Wood.

[24:41] Aye.

[24:42] Thank you.

[24:42] We're now going to go to reports, we have item 3.1, which is the new City website content management system, and we will turn that over to our Deputy City Manager, Palo Beltran, Deputy City Manager.

[24:54] Yes, good evening, Honourable Mayor and City Council tonight, myself and Annette Davis, our Public Information Specialist will together provide an overview of the proposed new website and content management system, which is before the council's consideration this evening.

[25:07] So the City of Lakewood is a pioneer when it comes to websites.

[25:13] We launched our own website 30, 31 years ago when the Internet was filled in its infancy.

[25:18] A content management system where CMS was introduced in 2002.

[25:24] And which enables city staff to more easily update the site contents with new stories,

[25:29] calendar events, and other pertinent information via a graphical user interface.

[25:33] The website was essentially unchanged since 2002 was updated in 2013 to accommodate increased

[25:43] use of widescreen monitors and smartphones that necessitated a redesign that took advantage

[25:50] of those technologies.

[25:51] And last updated in 2021, as you recall, when our then current provider exited the business

[25:57] forcing us to look for another vendor.

[26:00] The city website along with our weekly E-magazine, our Lakewood Living Magazine print magazine,

[26:06] social media and city TV is part of our comprehensive public information strategy.

[26:12] The latest analytics show that there are nearly 38,000 unique visitors per month to our

[26:18] website with the top three most visited content pages being activities, classes, registration.

[26:23] That's one page, jobs, and paying the water or trash bill.

[26:27] So,

[26:30] why are we replacing the website at this time?

[26:33] The first is that over the past year, we have experienced a decline in service levels

[26:38] from the current vendor.

[26:39] When the city started to prepare to meet the DOJs, Title II website and mobile applications,

[26:45] accessibility guidelines for state and local governments last year, we reached out to our

[26:50] current vendor for assistance and unfortunately did not receive the response or proactinist

[26:56] that we frankly expected from them.

[26:58] Another reason is that the current content management system is no longer as flexible for designing new pages outside of the templates that we are provided to create those pages, excuse me.

[27:09] The other reason is that we have seen an emergence of advanced features on municipal websites since we last updated our site five years ago.

[27:17] So this includes deep search capabilities.

[27:20] We found that folks, when they're using our website, they go straight to the search tool

[27:25] and put in their search terms.

[27:29] And so with new websites, the search capabilities are deeper and more integrated into the content.

[27:35] We've also seen the inclusion of artificial intelligence into the websites and chat

[27:40] bots so that the interactivity with the user of the website is more robust, more productive

[27:49] and efficient workflow where it takes less clicks due to advanced editing tools built right

[27:53] into the system, a greater design flexibility with subsites and market sites, and accessibility

[27:59] tools now being built straight into the platform. This helps eliminate the use of other third-party

[28:05] and saves them costs, which I'll go over later when I discuss the fiscal impact.

[28:10] So five years seems to be the city's spot for re-evaluating website technology, and we are at that time now.

[28:19] In the process of selecting a new vendor, staff follow the city's approved purchasing policy.

[28:24] We contacted CMS providers that are part of the federal government's general services administration's authorized federal supply schedule, price list, to contact them.

[28:34] And basically, that's a cooperative purchasing process that already provides competitive pricing

[28:39] through using the federal government's buying power.

[28:43] We found two CMS providers as viable replacements.

[28:47] We contacted them to perform a demo for our city staff.

[28:52] And we created 12 criteria to be able to fairly evaluate both companies.

[28:58] And the product demonstrations were held over the summer on July 21 and

[29:03] 28, and based on feedback and evaluation and assessment, city staff is recommending

[29:08] that GulfStack be the CMS provider to move forward.

[29:14] So GulfStack has extensive experience delivering public facing websites.

[29:19] There are a product line of a larger company called GHD Digital, which is a leading professional

[29:26] services company which has been producing website design and development since 1999.

[29:31] They have extensive experience with public facing websites, like said, with 475 city and county clients and have built over 1200 websites.

[29:43] Their CMS was built specifically for public sector organizations like Lakewood that require full control of the site content.

[29:52] There are tools to provide content management, digital forms, and community engagement tools.

[29:58] Many of the...

[30:00] Who migrated to GovStack from the software platform we currently use? So they're pretty used to folks using the previous vendor to migrate to GovStack. The other feature that absolutely stood out with GovStack was for their accessibility features. They're built to fully comply with the latest Web Content Accessibility Guidelines or WCAG 2.1 level AA standards. And when content is created, their tools catch accessibility errors in the workflow before content

[30:30] and goes live saving staff time.

[30:33] It also includes Dock remedy software

[30:35] which my colleague Nanette will go over

[30:36] in more detail what that is,

[30:38] but it also works with accessibility.

[30:42] So with that, for more information,

[30:45] I will now hand it off to our public information specialists

[30:48] Nanette Davis.

[30:53] Thank you, good evening everyone.

[30:57] Gustak has three main things that really interested us

[31:01] in improving the website for residents

[31:03] and stand for the staff behind providing the information to the residents.

[31:07] And the top three were these three, which is as Pele mentioned the built-in accessibility.

[31:12] It's engineered into the platform.

[31:14] It's not an add-on, it's not an afterthought.

[31:17] We had issues with the current provider over correcting some of those ADA related type of procedures.

[31:24] And so this is really nice because from the ground up it's going to help us make sure

[31:29] that everything we provide to our residents is accessible in many ways.

[31:34] So that was very important.

[31:36] And the second thing is that it's got very flexible time-saving design features, so we're

[31:41] not so limited on the template as we are right now.

[31:44] We, right now, if we want to make a certain type of page, we're kind of limited in the

[31:49] size of images and various things.

[31:51] And there's a lot of flexibility with this, it's very drag-and-drop.

[31:55] it automatically resizes images to what we need and we don't have to have a

[32:00] complete cookie cutter look for every area and that's really important for the

[32:04] economic development website that we want to build so that we can have

[32:08] something that's very closely branded but still is different and dedicated to

[32:14] just the information needed for that topic and finally what was important to us

[32:19] was the smarter search.

[32:20] As currently our search is all keyword-based, so if you put a keyword in, you're going to

[32:26] pull up whatever pages have that keyword on it, and it's not the same kind of intuitive

[32:32] search that the AI can provide.

[32:36] So on accessibility, it's just showing the three-top type of features that Doc Remedy,

[32:41] as Paula mentioned, it turns PDFs that are uploaded automatically into accessible,

[32:45] a full, navigable HTML, no manual rework.

[32:49] Right now we have to do a lot of reworking in HTML

[32:51] to make sure it's fully accessible to everyone.

[32:54] So that will be really nice feature

[32:56] and save a lot of time for everybody.

[32:59] Page checker audits the pages against WCAG

[33:03] with a non-page issue overlay.

[33:05] So it's automatically going to alert us to anything

[33:07] before we make it go live.

[33:09] And a side scan is something that checks the whole site

[33:11] and reports issues page by page.

[33:13] And I think they're going to assign us somebody on their staff also to do that annually to go through everything and make sure that we're meeting all the requirements that we need to for accessibility.

[33:23] So these are overall comprehensive, efficient tools to help us keep everything accessible.

[33:30] And this is an example of the flexible design because we want to do the economic development subsite, which is included in the package.

[33:38] This shows you how you have a branded main-city website, as shown on the left, and then you

[33:44] can have the economic development subside, which is still connected to it and branded

[33:48] for uniquely for Lakewood.

[33:51] This is an example, but it looks different, and it's got a different navigation, and each

[33:55] page will be designed just for what we need to promote our businesses and opportunities.

[34:01] So that was a big difference from what we have right now.

[34:05] And this also is included in the package.

[34:09] And finally, on the Smarter Search and Assistance, again, this is AI-powered search.

[34:14] It's not just keyword-based, so it's better, it's more relevant for residents.

[34:19] As Palo said, people just want to type a question in and get the answer right away.

[34:23] They will not only get the answer, but they'll also get the link to the underlying page.

[34:27] They don't just get a link to then go search for what they want.

[34:30] And it also is response as well.

[34:35] It can further the conversation in a way to get to exactly what you're looking for.

[34:42] So this is going to be a game changer for us as we don't have this level of resource right now.

[34:48] So those are all the reasons why it's great.

[34:51] So back over to you, hello.

[34:52] Thank you.

[34:57] Okay.

[34:58] Thank you very much, Nanette.

[34:59] So regarding the cost, the staff is proposing a five year agreement to save the city money.

[35:04] Also it gives us the five years that I mentioned earlier that is the sweet spot for

[35:08] re-evaluating website technology.

[35:10] The vendor has agreed to roll into implementation costs which are usually paid up front into the five year agreement.

[35:16] And as I touched on earlier, the city will also rely savings from streamlining redundant services that we procured last year to help us with accessibility compliance, as those will no longer be necessary.

[35:27] One example of this is saving $16,000 per year on a document remediation service that we will no longer need.

[35:34] The agreement starts on July 1st, 2027, so it's pretty early and the vendor has agreed to start the project with us prior to the agreement kicking in because the implementation takes a while to complete.

[35:49] So our timeline is that we, if the council approves this tonight, is that we do the project kickoff on October 1, 2026, gives the staff about six months to migrate the content over and create pages with an estimated go-alive date by March 31st, 2027, which is ahead of the current vendors agreement expiring in April 2027.

[36:15] So it is the staff's recommendation for the City Council to award a five-year service agreement and the amount of 239,123 for the design implementation and support of a new city website and content management system to Govstack and recommending to authorize the mayor to sign the five-year service agreement with Govstack that commences on July 1st, 2027, subject to the approval asked to form by the city attorney.

[36:40] I might be to answer any questions that the council may have.

[36:42] Thank you for the report and Ed and Palo any questions we'll

[36:50] start with the vice mayor

[36:52] Just kind of curious on that when you talked about the transition

[36:56] Is it gonna be a slow transition? Are you creating a whole different website?

[37:00] And it's just gonna switch over when it goes live in 27. How is that gonna?

[37:04] So we're gonna be we're gonna have a planned delivery transition

[37:07] So it's not gonna be entirely new because the content that exists in our current website will be migrated over by the company to the new website

[37:14] But of course the design templates will be different so we want to make sure that whatever

[37:19] we're migrating looks good for what it is in the new website.

[37:24] And so we're as part of the transition process that's what we'll be looking at as well

[37:28] as making sure that the data is compatible that old web pages is also the time to call

[37:34] old web pages that don't get any clicks anymore just to reduce the footprint of the new website

[37:40] moving forward.

[37:40] And if we move forward with this agreement, will we start seeing changes slowly?

[37:47] So no.

[37:47] So when we go on the go live in March, it'll be going live to the new website.

[37:53] So it won't be like a patchwork where it's a combination of the old design with the new

[37:58] design.

[37:59] It'll just transition over.

[38:01] In the meantime, relating up to March 31st, we'll be doing like parallel testing of the

[38:08] website.

[38:09] So, you know, there will be versions that we can access that will be running the same time as the current website is running.

[38:17] So, just so that we could compare and how it's functioning while we're clicking around and testing it.

[38:22] Yeah. And with this company, is there any other website, have they done other obviously other cities?

[38:27] They have, yeah, so one example is our neighbor's

[38:30] city of serietals, they had engaged with GulfStack,

[38:35] I think within the last one or two years,

[38:37] with their new website redesign.

[38:39] So it's fully transitioned over, serietals is live.

[38:41] Correct.

[38:42] With gun stack, okay, all right, thank you so much.

[38:48] Councilmember Rogers, thank you.

[38:49] Just one quick question, you mentioned the cost offset,

[38:52] but we're also gonna have some cost savings

[38:53] in terms of what we're paying our current vendor.

[38:56] Yes.

[38:56] So is there, and that's been what are the net fiscal hit as to the city per year or over the five year period?

[39:03] So I could tell you on a yearly basis council member Rogers were paying the current vendor about $30,000 per year now.

[39:10] And the five year agreement averages out to about 46 to 50 per year with the new vendor.

[39:17] And I included one of the cost savings that we're going to realize on the document remediation service as an example.

[39:23] So if you balance that out, that's already a $4,000 cost to just for that one year.

[39:31] So we're saving a lot just because we're not going to be able to.

[39:34] We don't need to use those other additional services for document remediation.

[39:38] So it could be over the five years, it could be an even cost like as if we didn't change the website.

[39:44] Sounds like a great deal, thank you.

[39:48] Just a question, on the search feature, one of the challenges sometimes of search features is if you don't put in the exact wording, you're not going to, you won't get it, right?

[40:00] Like, if somebody wanted to search the municipal code to know how many chickens they can have in their yard, if you don't put the search in right, poultry, however, it's worded in the municipal code, they may not get it.

[40:11] But if you put in how many chickens can I have through AI, would it be able to find the municipal code and tell me how many chickens we could have?

[40:19] I believe so, Mr. Mayor, I expect that AI would be smarter than just the keyword-based search of the current website.

[40:27] So you would be able to reframe your question and be able to retrieve the information to answer the question effectively.

[40:34] And then I think the vice mayor asked a lot about the migration and

[40:40] keeping current pages, and then they're going to be building two systems.

[40:44] And then of course, we'll have the same domain.

[40:47] We just pull the other one off and go there.

[40:49] Right, yeah.

[40:49] And we'll be doing, the residents won't see a difference.

[40:53] They'll still be able to get the access to current website.

[40:57] And then we'll be like in the past in 2021 when we transition over to this current website.

[41:03] Right, we made sure we had ample public information to that resident, so we had a banner up that said, hey, you know, we're under construction, part of our dust, you know, so we'll be doing that with this new website as well.

[41:15] And then will the new system, two things, I guess, broken links, we'll be able to identify any broken links.

[41:22] I believe so, I mean, I can't speak for it in that, but yes, it should be, yeah.

[41:26] And then, is it a more robust calendar?

[41:31] I think sometimes our calendar is kind of confusing.

[41:33] Things change at the last minute.

[41:35] People think they're coming to a meeting and there's no meeting or there's a meeting and no notice.

[41:39] What I've seen is that it's a more full featured calendar.

[41:42] And just lastly, just a side note, there was a website you could put in a website.

[41:47] And it would tell you what the website looked like at a certain period of time.

[41:50] And I remember going to the cities back in the 90s.

[41:53] Dot matrix, clip art, and we've come a long way.

[41:57] So I think the website has to provide updated, concise, ready to find information for a resident.

[42:05] So looking forward to the new system, I know it's going to take a while.

[42:08] But if we could get a report prior to roll out or any status, something would be great.

[42:13] We'll do that.

[42:14] And if there's no further questions, this is an action item.

[42:20] We have staff recommendations. Is there a motion on this item?

[42:26] I'll make a motion for 3.1.

[42:29] The item's one and two.

[42:32] Okay.

[42:33] I'll second it.

[42:34] Okay, it's been moving seconded.

[42:36] If there's no further discussion, we'll have the city clerk call the roll on this item.

[42:41] Council Member Rogers.

[42:42] Aye.

[42:42] Council Member Villarreal.

[42:44] Aye.

[42:44] Vice Mayor Arianna.

[42:46] Aye.

[42:46] Council Member Chase.

[42:47] Aye.

[42:48] Mayor Wood.

[42:49] Aye.

[42:49] Thank you, the motion passes.

[42:50] So we're going to go to item 3.2, which is for consideration of a community card customer agreement with YIFTI Inc for the Discover Lakewood Community Card Program, and we will hear from the Director of Community Development, all the Servantists, Director Servantists.

[43:10] Thank you, Mayor and City Council.

[43:12] The newly adopted economic development strategy describes many opportunities for business

[43:18] support initiatives as well as business retention and attraction programs.

[43:22] The department has already launched the Fosada Improvement Program and is receiving a lot

[43:28] of interest in that program.

[43:30] We've also laid out the ground rules for our future of buzzman programs.

[43:33] So a lot of activities happening in the economic development world in the department.

[43:39] To parallel these programs, staff would like to launch a Lakewood Community Card program,

[43:45] which offers city branded digital cards to purchase and spend at local Lakewood businesses.

[43:53] The shop local program is what we can want to call it as well, invest about $40,000 in these

[43:59] bonus funds, which allows residents to purchase these bonus bucks to use at our local businesses.

[44:06] And the imagery of the card on the screen is not the card that we're looking at right now at the moment.

[44:12] This is just a mock-up of kind of the what's in play in our near future for the card itself.

[44:20] So how does the card work?

[44:22] So the city will work or partner with HDL and Yifty to brand the card after liquid.

[44:29] HCL and the city will partner with an outreach campaign, which includes notifying the public reaching out to merchants to participate into the program, build out a webpage for customized for the city of Lakewood, provide infographics to the merchants, as well as provide training opportunities for the staff who work at these businesses to highlight that these cards are valid and they should be certainly utilized.

[45:01] Once the program launches, residents will be able to purchase the gift cards and bonus cards via the YIFTY webpage. The gift cards and bonus cards will be programmed to be used at pre-selected merchants. Unauthorized use of a non-participating merchants will be provided to the city in the form of KPIs for future consideration in that. Let's just say, for example, a resident uses the gift card, a merchant that is not authorized.

[45:30] we will actually receive that information so we can maybe consider that merchant at another program.

[45:38] The city, as I mentioned, is looking to invest $40,000 into the program, which can offer upwards of $100 per gift card,

[45:49] which will provide the residents with the additional $50 in bonus cards or bonus bucks.

[45:55] To give a total quantity, for example, if everyone purchased a $100 gift card,

[46:01] with the $50 bonus card, that would equate to about 1,500 cards issued through the program with the $40,000 invested.

[46:10] And according to YIFT and our conversations with the group, most people actually purchased the $100 gift card rather than the amounts that are lesser.

[46:20] It's also worth noting that the $40,000 that we're going to invest into this program is actually going to yield in about at least $120,000 in local business

[46:31] with taking into account not only the fully funded gift card, but also the bonus funds.

[46:38] It is also highly likely that the $40,000 fund that we provide in terms of the investment will be exhausted fairly quickly as soon as we launch the program.

[46:50] And so the benefits of the program are a variety of benefits to the city as well as our residents, so we're keeping the money local.

[46:57] As I mentioned, we are limiting the participating merchants to small businesses in the city of Lakewood,

[47:06] which does mean that we're going to be excluding a lot of the big box retailers, at least for the time being.

[47:12] We're looking at reducing any leakage, meaning that the businesses will be eligible only here in Lakewood,

[47:22] and the cars will only be eligible here for local businesses here in Lakewood.

[47:26] So they won't be able to utilize the cards in other cities surrounding us.

[47:31] And so those are the small, the benefits of the program.

[47:36] The other benefits are employers are allowed to purchase in bulk.

[47:41] So if case the city of Lakewood or the mall, for example,

[47:44] would like to purchase a bulk of cards, for example, of issuing these cards to employees in terms of events or what have you.

[47:52] That's also a benefit with respect to this program.

[47:58] And lastly, here are just some of the examples of other agencies that utilize the program.

[48:03] The two very specific ones are the City of Lake Forest, as well as the City of Palm Springs.

[48:09] Lake Forest started their program in 2022.

[48:13] They invested about half a million dollars into the program and is yielded them a significant

[48:17] amount of self-tax revenue for that city.

[48:20] This is sort of an every green program for the City of Lake Forest and it's sort of the example

[48:26] an example that a lot of us are looking at in terms of how to build our existing program.

[48:30] And according to YIFT, they acknowledge that even the half a million dollars funded to the program,

[48:38] those funds as soon as the program went live, went fairly quickly with the sales of the cards.

[48:46] And so with that said, staff recommends that the City Council approve the proposed community car program,

[48:52] and authorize a city manager to execute the agreement, as well as launch the community

[48:58] card program.

[48:59] Any open for questions?

[49:02] Okay.

[49:03] Questions?

[49:05] Councilmember Rogers?

[49:06] Yeah.

[49:07] Thank you.

[49:08] Shoplakewood is a big deal for us, right?

[49:10] And you know, we get a lot of feedback on social media and in person and the grocery store

[49:15] about the type of businesses that are attracted here and you know, we hear some consternation

[49:21] about the glut of chicken restaurants, for example, on cana wood, which are all extremely

[49:26] busy, by the way.

[49:27] They're like the leading chicken restaurants in the chains, and we bemoan the fact that

[49:33] we lose other businesses, and the reason we lose other businesses is because they don't

[49:37] receive enough support, they don't make enough money, because if they made plenty of money,

[49:42] they would never close up.

[49:43] They would stay here, right?

[49:45] It's a very rare business that closes when they're being extraordinarily successful.

[49:50] This is something we've been talking about for a long time.

[49:52] You mentioned our economic development strategy.

[49:55] This was a part and parcel of that in terms of encouraging the shop,

[49:59] Lakewood program.

[50:01] The question I have though is, are we going to identify the businesses first?

[50:06] I mean, there has to be some marketing, right, to encourage people to buy these.

[50:09] Yeah, great question.

[50:10] We've actually provided a YIFT and HDL with about 15 or 18 businesses already.

[50:15] And the reason for that is, once we establish a list, it allows for us to start the campaign for participation.

[50:25] As I mentioned, the training is highly needed because we want to make sure we train the staff to make sure that they understand the card is valid.

[50:34] We heard from Yifty that one of the big issues is the cards are churned away at merchants because they don't trust the card.

[50:41] So, there's a heavy amount of training for the employees at these businesses.

[50:48] Also worth noting is we'll be providing these merchants with a lot of infographics,

[50:54] QR codes for posting on the windows that we can advertise hopefully a phase two of this

[50:59] program next fiscal year.

[51:01] And so, yeah, there's, as I mentioned, there's going to be a heavy amount, HDL as well as our

[51:08] partners that Yifty are going to be providing a heavy amount of campaigning for this program.

[51:12] We'll be utilizing our communications team to help launch a social media campaign.

[51:17] Our website will be including a lot of information regarding the system.

[51:22] We'll have to build a Yifty link to our website as well so residents can find it, purchase

[51:27] the cards, and of course start using the cards as soon as possible.

[51:31] Great.

[51:32] Thank you.

[51:35] That's my review, Ariel.

[51:37] Thank you.

[51:38] That was a great presentation.

[51:40] This was a great idea.

[51:43] And this is just in time, hopefully.

[51:47] Is this going to be implemented in time for the holiday season?

[51:51] There's a lot of people that love to buy gift cards for Christmas.

[51:57] Yeah, another great question.

[51:59] We're looking to launch in October.

[52:01] So as soon as the contract is approved,

[52:02] We'll start working with Yifty on the merchants, start reaching out to the merchants to get them to participate.

[52:08] It's free for the merchants to participate, by the way.

[52:10] And so once we get all that locked in, we're ahead of the holiday season to get the cards purchased and out.

[52:18] I guess I'll go next.

[52:20] Just on the cards, gift cards are one of those areas that there's some state laws that says if a card has $10 or less, the merchant is required to refund that.

[52:31] I mean, a lot of gift cards go on used and people don't realize $1.25, $3, whatever, they can legally get that refunded by state law.

[52:41] Would that be the case on these cards?

[52:44] And okay.

[52:45] And part two then is, I guess the bonus cards technically can have an expiration date.

[52:51] A bonus card can, but I believe California law says a gift card in California cannot expire.

[52:57] So I want to confirm that.

[52:58] That's correct so the bonus card does expire and that expiration date is on us to point that

[53:04] The program is launching with a six month expiration date and the reason for that is because we want the funds to be spent

[53:11] funds

[53:12] In a bonus card goes if it goes beyond six months that money goes back into the pool into the $40,000 pool for someone else to purchase

[53:21] And then what about the $10 or less?

[53:27] I

[53:28] case for our gift cards that they, if there's a small amount of funds that they get somehow recaptured,

[53:36] that's not been what we've been told by Yiftee.

[53:39] Well, if we could confirm because I believe those state laws says if a gift card has $10 or less,

[53:45] the consumer can request the merchant.

[53:47] Now that might be different because that's a merchant issued card.

[53:50] So this might, I'm just, might have answered my own question.

[53:53] We can take a look at that.

[53:54] Yeah, and then if so once the 40,000 is spent like if somebody if everybody reached out and got him right away

[54:04] They just wouldn't be no bonus. We'd still encourage the cards to be purchased, which I might really show what the incentive is

[54:11] Yeah, yeah

[54:13] So yeah, so once so we are funding the bonus cards. That's what the fund is for and so what's the $40?

[54:20] $40,000 is expanded. There's no more no more bonus cards

[54:24] certainly folks can purchase the fully valued car, whether it's $150, $25, but there isn't a bonus added to that.

[54:33] So the incentive has gone once the $40,000 goes away.

[54:38] If they did so rapidly, we'd be coming back to probably touting the success of the program and asking for more cards and budget appropriation accordingly.

[54:50] And I think it'd be great if we could put together a small meeting of some of our local business owners, maybe a quick meeting where you can go over the program, invite them to City Hall and talk about the importance of it, get them to sign up.

[55:03] And then I would just ask if our Economic Development Committee, which is Council Member Chase and Rogers, if you guys could maybe get quarterly reports on the status, or if we could the entire council probably, but if you guys examine it to see how the program is working.

[55:18] And lastly, does GIFT stand for anything?

[55:21] It's just kind of a, you,

[55:22] I don't think it's an acronym,

[55:23] just the name of the business.

[55:25] Pretty ifty.

[55:26] Okay, we'll move down the line.

[55:28] Vice Mayor Arriano.

[55:29] Well, it's a nifty to hear about GIFT, yeah.

[55:35] The most, I mean, this sounds like a great program

[55:38] and I know it's a lot of work

[55:39] and your team is always looking for ways to help out.

[55:42] The business isn't, you know,

[55:45] push economic development.

[55:46] But I am kind of curious about the outreach and campaign

[55:48] on this. I know all of us love social media, not as much as so many people, but some of

[55:55] us use it a lot. And realistically, social media doesn't reach as many people as we

[56:00] think. So with this campaign, are we going to physically go to the businesses? And are

[56:05] we going to have like maybe postcards? Because even though we only have 6%, you know, business

[56:12] committee, it is actually spread across the whole city and each one of our districts. And

[56:17] And I'm not sure how the time is going to be taken to visit the businesses, given them

[56:22] a flyer, because there's a lot of small businesses that could benefit from this.

[56:27] That may not get it because they're not by the mall or they're not a, you know, hop in

[56:33] chicken spot.

[56:33] So it just kind of cares like, as we think about this, doing an e-mag and a social media

[56:38] post, is that really going to help, you know, the laundry place that really doesn't care

[56:46] about that?

[56:46] but would be nice to get these cards working?

[56:50] Yes, so the goal of the program is to provide a center for small business which is retail and restaurants.

[57:03] You're looking at more of the sales tax generating type of businesses.

[57:06] And so the 18, 15 to 18 businesses that we've provided already are coffee shops, small restaurants, retailers, that sort of thing.

[57:15] And we're looking to, hopefully, in that sense, expand it beyond that.

[57:20] Now $40,000 to us is a lot of money, and so we're looking to, with that investment, pilot this program.

[57:30] There's a heavy amount of reliance on HDL, this is why we brought on HDL as a partner, because they've done this before.

[57:36] They've been in for Lake Forest, they've been in for Palm Springs and other cities.

[57:40] And so there is a sort of a track record in doing this properly.

[57:46] The campaigns that were done with the other examples have been heavy on the door kind

[57:53] of walking around, doing their surveys, dropping off flyers, infographics.

[57:59] And so myself as well as Giselle, who is our economic development specialist, who we just

[58:04] onboarded, will be walking around giving out infographics cards on top of the social media,

[58:09] on top of the e-mag, on top of the website.

[58:14] And so there's, again, a heavy amount of walking around by staff, myself, social media

[58:21] campaigning, whether that's enough, it's yet to be seen.

[58:24] But again, HDL and YIFT are saying that that is typically enough for an agency to launch

[58:30] the program.

[58:31] Of course, as the funds expand or get larger and more merchants start to participate, you

[58:36] might have to pivot there and do something differently.

[58:39] But at this point in time, we're looking at launching it with about less than 20 merchants to participate.

[58:47] That's, I mean, less than 20 merchants to, all right, that makes sense.

[58:51] Only because I was thinking as your workload and then you're trying to get out there and

[58:56] talk to the merchants and pass it along, it just seems like a heavy load to kind of go back

[59:01] forth.

[59:02] But if you have the time,

[59:05] it's not a big lift, I would say.

[59:10] And now that we have Giselle, who's on my team, it does help with a little bit of the burden, but it's not undoable for us to do this.

[59:20] Okay.

[59:21] All right.

[59:22] Well, thank you looking forward to seeing the results.

[59:25] Hopefully we can get that as they roll out.

[59:27] We'll get some updates.

[59:30] Councilmember Chase.

[59:31] Thank you, Mayor.

[59:32] The vice mayor asked the exact question that I was hoping to ask you, director,

[59:38] and I think you for your response, I think it was very clear.

[59:43] It did bring up another question for me.

[59:46] I know that you share that you'd like to start with about 20 businesses

[59:50] and I'm looking at the numbers on this last slide of different cities that have been successful.

[59:55] have you?

[1:00:00] As might look like in terms of participation.

[1:00:05] I don't have the number of quote-unquote small businesses at my fingertips, but the goal is, of course, is to always provide these incentives to those small shops. And the 15 to 18 businesses that we provided to Yifty already are across the entire city of Lakewood. We're talking about east side, we're talking about the west side as well. So we try to be sensitive

[1:00:31] to what we feel are the small businesses that are needing this type of incentive.

[1:00:38] But to say that we've reached sort of the milestone in terms of a success story, we hope

[1:00:45] to capture every single small business.

[1:00:46] But again, to the point of the Vice Mayor, at some point in time, there's going to be a

[1:00:53] tipping point where resources become limited.

[1:00:57] And so right now with myself and the economic development specialist, we can handle a certain

[1:01:04] level of reaching out and walking to businesses and managing this kind of a program.

[1:01:12] But once we get to that point of reaching that tipping point, then we can suddenly come

[1:01:16] back to Council and say, this is how far we can go with this program.

[1:01:21] And we need to figure out under the strategy.

[1:01:23] But it's sort of pinpoint what makes it successful.

[1:01:27] I think in this case, as we're piloting this program,

[1:01:30] if we get 20 merchants to participate and they get enough sort of

[1:01:35] business as a result of this, then that's a win for me.

[1:01:40] Thank you.

[1:01:42] It seems like it's really a win for everybody.

[1:01:47] Obviously the business gets the revenue.

[1:01:49] If I'm a consumer, I give you a hundred bucks and I get 150.

[1:01:52] that just means I get $50 more to spend for free.

[1:01:55] It's not really free, it's money we're investing,

[1:01:59] but I don't really see the downside.

[1:02:02] I hope we, besides our restaurants and coffee shop,

[1:02:05] we have some locally owned hardware stores.

[1:02:07] We have some great dry cleaners and service industries

[1:02:11] that I think would be good.

[1:02:13] So people may not eat out or buy coffee out,

[1:02:16] but they do those other, which would be good.

[1:02:18] And will we see like Yifty accepted here

[1:02:21] We're a Yifty Mark business, like a window sticker or something to, you know, your Yifty dollar accepted here.

[1:02:30] That's the part of the plan, yes, that's the infographics that we're looking at, I'm providing.

[1:02:34] Okay, yeah, if we can get an update, as we started adding businesses, that's some of our judges.

[1:02:39] Just one more comment, I mean, I don't want to, I know you want to control this and keep tabs on what's going on.

[1:02:47] But I don't mind putting in the work, I'm sure the council doesn't mind putting in the work.

[1:02:50] We all shop liquid, I would like to maybe have a list of the participating businesses that are signed on those who haven't, and maybe some of those flyers, and when we're out shopping liquid, we can encourage our local shopkeepers to sign up.

[1:03:13] I think we can see the list broken down by council district and I think if you're out there walking, I think inviting the council if it's appropriate and something we can do because we all know every business mostly but there may be some that the council

[1:03:28] might be out frequently regular and not seeing the yifty and may not know but they know

[1:03:33] that if we recommended it might be good so if we could get the current list of people

[1:03:38] that might be saying yes those that you want to hit and if we could get it by district and

[1:03:43] again if we can have an information meeting that might be as well we could come and do that

[1:03:47] so great idea.

[1:03:49] Give me an excuse to go to a donut shop.

[1:03:51] I have to it's for the city.

[1:03:53] I have no choice.

[1:03:55] I have no choice.

[1:03:55] I don't think I have any chicken in my district matcha right yeah, I just I it's not my it's not for me

[1:04:01] It's for the city, right. We'll buy our bonus cards, too, right? That's right. Okay, um, could we was this the end of the presentation?

[1:04:09] Could you I think there should be one more slide?

[1:04:12] No, that's that's the other recommendation slide. Okay. I mean he's learned for the recommendations. Okay. Um, so the recommendation would be

[1:04:25] There are three listed on the agenda.

[1:04:27] Proof of the Community Card Agreement with the FD, authorize the City Manager to execute the agreement on behalf of the City of Lakewood, and authorize the City Manager to administer the Discover Lakewood Community Card Program, including entering into the initial and sub-equent Bywin Getwin Campaign via the FD Community Card, Bogo Campaign Quick Start Agreement until Program Funds are exhausted, since I did it, I guess I'll make the motion.

[1:04:49] Is there a second second seconded by Council Member V.

[1:04:52] Reale any further discussion?

[1:04:55] Okay, would the clerk please cut the roll on that item.

[1:04:58] Council Member Rogers.

[1:04:59] Aye.

[1:04:59] Council Member V.

[1:05:00] Reale.

[1:05:01] Aye.

[1:05:01] Vice Mayor Ariano.

[1:05:03] Aye.

[1:05:04] Council Member Chase.

[1:05:05] Aye.

[1:05:05] Mayor Wood.

[1:05:06] Aye, thank you.

[1:05:07] That passes.

[1:05:07] We're going to go to item 3.3 which is a report on the fall winner programs and special events.

[1:05:12] We will have that presentation by Director of Recreation Community Services.

[1:05:16] Director Valerie Frost.

[1:05:18] Director Frost.

[1:05:18] Yes, good evening, Mr. Mayor, members of the City Council.

[1:05:23] The fall and winter catalog was posted online and mails Lakewood residents' Labor Day weekend.

[1:05:29] The cover portrays photos of participants enjoying fall, winters, activities, including

[1:05:36] our Lakewood Youth Sports Flag Football program, tree lighting and playground swing and festival

[1:05:43] in the background.

[1:05:44] You all have a copy of this fall's catalog for your review.

[1:05:51] If you did not receive it at home, please let me know so we can fix that.

[1:05:57] Parks are a fun place to go after school and all eight of our parks offer opportunities for creativity.

[1:06:04] Socialization and being active by providing playground equipment, board games, and arts and craft supplies for check out from our staff.

[1:06:13] Park supervision hours do adjust to school schedules to provide additional supervision on early dismissal days and holidays.

[1:06:24] Parks are open until 6 p.m. until October 31 and again at 5 p.m. starting November 1st through March 13th.

[1:06:36] Parks are also closed Thanksgiving Day Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

[1:06:40] When to break camp will be offered for children ages 6 to 12 at Maple Park with arts and crafts,

[1:06:50] outdoor sports, indoor games, and specialized activities.

[1:06:54] Week 1 will be offered December 21st through 23rd with an excursion to Edward's regal cinemas,

[1:07:02] and week 2 will be offered December 28th through the 30th with a New Year's Eve themed party.

[1:07:11] There are many teen programs offered this fall at the Liquid Youth Center and the teen

[1:07:16] Resource Center as well at Bloomfield Park.

[1:07:19] And one of the more significant ones is the College Fair which is scheduled for Tuesday,

[1:07:25] October 13th, from six to 8 p.m. at the center.

[1:07:29] At this event, colleges from all over California and many other states will be on site with students

[1:07:37] to talk about admission requirements, application deadlines, campus life, and

[1:07:43] financial assistance programs. Students from all liquid area high schools are

[1:07:49] invited to attend the college fair. Flag football will be offered this fall with

[1:07:55] non-competitive rookie and sports divisions for ages 4 to 5 and 6 to 7 and

[1:08:01] and competitive divisions for ages 8 to 17 with an all-girls league this year for Flag Book Ball.

[1:08:10] Volley Tennis is offered for ages 8 to 9 and Volley Ball is offered for ages 10 to 17.

[1:08:18] Teams will practice and play league games on weekday evenings and Saturday mornings from August 31 through November 7.

[1:08:27] Playoffs will conclude by November 14th.

[1:08:32] Basketball signups will take place November 14th through the 28th

[1:08:37] and teams will begin practicing at the end of December with league play beginning in January.

[1:08:44] In addition to the LYS sport, we offer many fee-based contract classes such as tennis,

[1:08:52] karate, gymnastics, and soccer.

[1:08:56] Older adult activities are often running with fitness classes, pick-a-ball, active plus

[1:09:02] classes, workshops, seminars, and congregate lunch.

[1:09:07] On Monday, October 19th, from 10 to 12, the benefits information fair will be held by

[1:09:14] the Winegart Senior Center staff at Mayfair Park.

[1:09:17] Older adults ages 50 and older are invited to pick up health insurance-related information

[1:09:24] and speak with company representatives.

[1:09:28] As previously mentioned this evening,

[1:09:31] Patriot Day will be commemorated

[1:09:33] with the flag-lowering ceremony on Friday, September 11.

[1:09:38] In the west parking lot of City Hall,

[1:09:40] we'll have the presentation of colors,

[1:09:43] remarks from City Council, musical performances,

[1:09:47] and a moment of silence.

[1:09:51] Fantastic Family Nights featuring dinner and a show

[1:09:54] at the center will include the amazing Dave on Friday, October 16th, and Mad Science,

[1:10:02] it's electric on Friday, November 20th.

[1:10:07] Lollipop Lane returns to Mayfair Park on Saturday, October 17th from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., offering

[1:10:14] over 100 vendors selling various handmade gifts and food items, and there'll be a food truck

[1:10:21] Benefitney Meals on Wheels of Long Beach. On Friday, November 20, parents night out, kids night in, gives parents an evening out and a head start on that Christmas shopping while their children are being supervised by recreation staff at the Lakewood Youth Center.

[1:10:40] This event will take place from 6 to 10 p.m. with pizza, snacks, and games and more for the kids.

[1:10:48] The Festival, representing a wide variety of cultures from the Lakewood community will

[1:10:55] be held on Saturday, October 10, from 3 to 7 p.m. at Palm Spark.

[1:11:00] Event elements include a multicultural food court, entertainment, a family fund zone

[1:11:07] with inflatables, a craft village, children's culture booth, and community booths being sponsored

[1:11:15] by liquid nonprofit organizations. Halloween carnivals would be offered at all eight parks on Saturday,

[1:11:23] October 31 from 6 to 8.30 pm. Carnivals are free and offer preschool and school age games

[1:11:32] and contests with prizes. There will be a costume contest at all of the parks at 7 pm and haunted houses

[1:11:39] This will be available at Boulevard, Del Val, and Samartine Parks.

[1:11:44] Maple Park will also have inflatable attractions available at a minimal cost.

[1:11:51] Families can sign up for Project Shepherd holiday assistance program,

[1:11:55] beginning November 2nd through November 15th,

[1:11:59] with distribution to families on Friday, December 18th, and Saturday, December 19th.

[1:12:06] Online donation drives will be utilized

[1:12:08] to purchase all of the canned food, gift cards, and teddy bear tree gifts as necessary.

[1:12:16] Schools would be given information to participate in the online donation opportunities and

[1:12:22] food drives to replenish our pantries.

[1:12:26] The Amazon wish list toy drive is amazingly helpful, which shoppers purchasing a toy directly online and having it sent to city staff.

[1:12:35] the teddy bear trees will still be available for shoppers who want to choose a

[1:12:41] bear and purchase a gift for a child either through the Amazon wish list or

[1:12:46] by shopping in person. In summary the recreation and community services

[1:12:53] department continues to provide opportunities for residents of all ages to be

[1:12:59] active learn and grow each season of the year. This is a receive and file

[1:13:05] report, but I'm happy to answer any questions that council members may have.

[1:13:10] Thank you, Director Frost, this is receiving a follow-up of any questions.

[1:13:15] I just want to say thank you for all the hard work.

[1:13:17] There's a lot of great programs and hope thanks for not calling me off-sides for

[1:13:21] mentioning the flag football at a time.

[1:13:23] But I definitely want to make sure that we, it's a five-year-old panel.

[1:13:27] As I hear, it's still in my thunder, but I, I definitely want to make sure that

[1:13:34] that people sign up, and it's gonna be a great season.

[1:13:37] And I definitely, I've heard a lot of chatter about the teen center.

[1:13:40] And if you can relate to your staff that some of the parents are complaining that it's too much fun.

[1:13:45] And when they go and pick up their kids, their kids don't want to leave.

[1:13:48] So I definitely want to let your staff thank you for all they do.

[1:13:52] And they're actually making it enjoyable, they're getting their homework done there, having a good time.

[1:13:56] So it's a great space that we've created and it's being utilized by our teens and

[1:14:01] actually younger individuals.

[1:14:03] So thank you, there's always skittles and sour patch kids, so.

[1:14:08] Thank you, Director Frost.

[1:14:09] I wanted to just comment on the catalog.

[1:14:11] I, you know, every year it gets just, it's amazing when you look back.

[1:14:15] And I've had more than one resident actually really comment

[1:14:19] on the community event and activity section, which is at the beginning.

[1:14:23] And I know we've, we've highlighted in some in the past, I believe it's kind of been mixed,

[1:14:27] you know, in through, maybe if I'm remembering, but any event,

[1:14:31] And I think that this section is really identifies a lot of the things that are coming up for this catalog period.

[1:14:38] So, just, I know a lot of work goes into this catalog.

[1:14:41] I remember you have a lot of people involved, but it really highlights a lot of the activities that are taking place.

[1:14:48] Yeah, production of the spring catalog started a month ago.

[1:14:52] So it takes about five months for it.

[1:15:00] So, each catalog to get organized and before it goes out to the public. Well, thank your team for all the hard work. If there's no questions, we'll receive and file this. We're going to move on on the agenda, the liquid housing successor agency.

[1:15:17] Sorry, I lost my spot again. Move approval of demands. Thank you. Second. It's been moved in second. Any discussion?

[1:15:24] session.

CC Mtg 09-08-26.mp4

Transcript