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Good evening, and welcome to the special meeting of the
city council of the city of Moreno Valley. Please know
that the city council receives a separate stipend from the
community services district If any CSD business is conducted during
this meeting. And now call this special meeting to order
on February 26. At 6 PM. The Pledge of Allegiance.
Will be led by Mayor Protem Gonzalez. Followed by a
Rocal. Please Place your right hand of your heart and
repeat after me I pledge allegiance to the flag of
the United States of America. And to the Republic for
which stands. One nation, under God, indivisible with liberty and
justice for all. Thank You mayor Pro Tim.
Next item is C, a roll call Madam Clerk, I'll
turn it over to you. Thank you Mayor Council Member
Bernard Here Council Member Delgado Here ma'am Council Member Bakasana
Cruz. Here, we are pro - Tem Gonzalez Here, and
Mayor Cabrera. Here Thank you. Thank you Before I move
on to staff introductions I would like to note that
we only have relevant staff here. Tonight Uh, uh, the
mall topic under discussion Typically we have a full... team
of staff that is here But just wanted to clarify
for the record Y UC some of these empty seats
We have only the relevant staff Uh... For this particular
item here this evening. And so with that I'll turn
it over to Uh... Our city clerk for staff introductions,
please. Thank you Mayor Patty Rodriguez City clerk. Sonia Gomez,
senior deputy city clerk Stephen Kitniya City Attorney Brian Mohan,
city manager. James Verdugo Billion Official. Edgar Gonzalez Fire Marshal.
Jesse Park, fire chief. Sarah Mac Chief of police. Thank
you team. Next we will go to item E, which
is public comments. And a friendly reminder that public comment
shall be limited to only those items listed On the
special meeting agenda pursuant to California Government Code Section 54954..
3. As many of you know, the city offers language
translation services through a free app called Wordly The app
automatically translates a variety of languages into English and vice
versa. To use this service, please scan the QR code
at the speakersign - up table by the double doors.
For the visually impaired, please use your earphones, or earbuds
to listen to the verbal translation. If you do not
have any such listening devices, please let the city clerk
know. And we will gladly let you borrow some for
this meeting. La ciudad ahora ofrece servicios de traducción de
idiomas a través de una aplicación gratuita llamada Worldly Si
gustan usar este servicio avísale Y entregue una tarjeta para
hablar. Para usar la traducción escanee el código QR que
está en la mesa junto a las puertas. Before we
move on to public comment on The only item on
tonight's special agenda I respectfully request that all comments be
addressed to the presiding officer Which is myself... And to
the city council, my four colleagues And I ask that
all speakers keep their comments respectful And that members of
the audience be courteous and refrain from disrupting any speakers
At the podium. Now we'll move into item F, special
order of business. I now open the special order of
business regarding the status of the mall's closure. Item F1.
Report on status of Reynold Valley Mall closure. And we
will have a staff report. From The Fire Chief Building
Official And the city Attorney. The fire chief Jesse Park,
building official James Verdugo and city attorney Steve Quintanilla. Following
the staff's presentations, the city council will have an opportunity
to ask questions of staff I will then open the
matter up for public comment. However, I like to remind
everyone beforehand that since this is a special meeting Public
comments must pertain to the subject matter that is under
consideration. Those wishing to comment are encouraged to complete a
purple speaker slip and submit that to the city clerk's
staff Each speaker will have a total of 3 minutes
to comment, which may be modified Based on the number
of speakers that are present and submit their speaker slips
If necessary, I will ask for consensus from my colleagues
Uh, to reduce the amount of time per speaker In
order to ensure that we can complete our business this
evening. Now, let's proceed with the staff's presentations And at
this time I will turn it over to our city
staff And first up is our fire chief Jesse Park.
Good evening. Council and to our attendees My name is
Jesse Park, and I act as the city's fire chief.
I'll be presenting information regarding the Moreno Valley Mall This
presentation is a summary The times, dates, and violations are
on record And this presentation isn't intended to provide the
full comprehensive list. It is intended to give you an
overview of the events leading up to the closure of
the mall. To start with, I want to provide some
background information The city does not have its ow municipal
fire department in the same way our neighbor Riverside city
does. Moreno Valley contracts with Riverside County to be part
of regional Cooperative fire protection. This is similar to other
regional county fire departments in Southern California, like Orange County,
Los Angeles County, and San Diego County Both Riverside County
and San Diego County contract with CalFire, the state's fire
department. For operational staffing, and Cal Fire has many such
cooperative fire protection agreements throughout the state. Moreno Valley also
contracts with Riverside County for fire marshal services County Fire
Marshals are not Cal Fire staff And therefore the patches
may be different. But the mission is the same to
protect life and property. Fire codes and laws are initiated
at the state level. The state issues the current fire
code, the county then adopts the code, and the city
in turn adopts the code, and it becomes city policy.
Each jurisdiction can amend the code However, we have not.
Made any changes, and we accepted the code as written.
Your fire marshal then uses the city code to perform
inspections in the city. I'm providing this background because CAL
FIRE was not responsible for the mall being temporary closed.
And Riverside county fire is not responsible for the mall
being closed. Nor is the city of Moreno Valley responsible
for the mall being closed. The person responsible for the
mall's closure is the owner of the mall. And I'll
tell you why I can say that with full confidence.
But before I go into the timeline of the current
mall closure, I want to remind everybody that this is
the second time in three years That the fire department
has had to partially close the mall due to serious
life - safety violations. The first time was in 2023
at the anchor store location that was formerly Gotchox, which
is still owned by the current mall owner. Although this
building was occupied. It did not receive the same amount
of attention as today. Because it was operating as an
unpermitted distribution center. And its closure did not affect the
suites inside the mall. The reason that it was ordered
closed and vacated were very serious. Unpermitted high pile storage,
high hazards in a building where fire protection systems had
been disabled. Doors welded shut. Fire exits blocked, emergency lighting
removed, and Unrated electrical hanging. These violations are the responsibility
of the mall owner, and despite having them all owner
and his team, a meeting here at City Hall, it's
still took more than a year to make those corrections.
And the city litigation is still Unresolved in that case.
This pattern. Of removing fire protection systems, performing unpermitted construction,
and storing inappropriate material in the mall continues On one
occasion, our inspectors found the mall owner Illegally storing pallets
of expired hand sanitizer in a vacant portion of them
all hand sanitizer is incredibly flammable. And the sprinklers are
not rated to extinguish that type of fire. We were
very lucky that our inspectors were so thorough, and we
had that hazard removed immediately. But our warnings to stop
this type of practice seemed to go unheard by the
mall owner. In March of 2025 our inspectors were at
the mall looking at the tenant improvement plans for four
new businesses. When they found the sprinkler pipes and alarms
had been ripped out without getting a permit, or installing
new ones. If a fire occurred in that location There
would be nothing to stop it from growing, and the
results could be catastrophic. That portion of the mall was
immediately placed on fire watch. And unfortunately counsel to this
day. They're still on fire watch almost a year later.
And that's because the mall owner will not replace the
fire system. Effectively, this makes it impossible for those four
businesses to open. So now let's get to the timeline.
Of the current mall closure. On April 3rd of 2024.
The mall was scheduled for its routine annual inspection The
mall, just like any other business like it, is required
by law to provide us with the testing and maintenance
records for their sprinklers. Alarms, generators. Exit an emergency lighting,
and smoke control systems. When a business is prepared They
will hand over these records on our arrival, and our
walkthrough, an inspection is relatively brief. Unfortunately, the mall did
not have any of these records, and during the walkthrough
our inspectors found many other violations that needed to be
resolved. It's important to note that just because of property
owner doesn't have a curtain current maintenance records We don't
shut them down immediately. We only deem a building unsafe
when there is a true threat to public safety. So
when we ask them all to provide a record, that
says their generators are working order. And they tell us
they don't have one. But they say the generator works,
we give them the benefit of the doubt. Our inspectors
are not certified contractors We do not make the owner
start up the generator to prove that it runs, because
we would be making ourselves liable if we signed it
off. That's what the contractor's for. If we ask them
all staff if their sprinklers are in good working order,
and they say yes, but we don't have any records
to prove it We still issue them a notice of
violation They're still in violation And then we inform them
in the requirements and schedule another inspection Hoping that upon
the next inspection, we'll have the proper documents And we
can sign that violation off. We provided them all the
notices of the violation. All the violations, how to correct
them. And we scheduled and rescheduled many return visits. But
the mall owner refused to correct these violations, and this
is continued past 2024 through 2025. And right into early
2026. Over time, despite the mall revitalization plan
being approved, we suspected that the mall may not comply
with the law, and this could really affect all the
businesses in the mall In general, unless there is an
obvious life safety violation, we do not close a business
due to outdated documentation. If a business is located in
a larger building like them all. And the smaller business
has completed their requirements, but the larger shell has not,
and they have outdated requirements. Our past practice is still
at the new business Open and create revenue. Believing fully
that the building owner is indeed making those needed corrections.
However, the continued pattern by the mall owner of refusing
to correct any violations. Became so concerning that it needed
to be brought to the attention of the city manager.
And the council. We requested that the mall owner come
to City Hall, and we reinform him of the violations.
And schedule return inspection in two weeks Where he could
provide us the required testing and maintenance records that had
been due for the last two years. We met with
the mall owner on February 5, 2026. And then we
scheduled our return visit for February 19. On February 19th,
myself, your fire marshal, and your city building official went
to the mall to collect the updated records. Unfortunately, not
only did the mall owner not have the required maintenance
records. But the mall staff also freely admitted, and this
is very important. They admitted that the exit doors were
broken, the alarm panel didn't work. And the generators did
not work. We had given them the benefit of the
doubt in the past, but now we knew for a
fact That the mall was unsafe for the public to
be in. I denied on safe, and our city building
official provided them a notice to vacate effectively closing the
mall to the public. While still letting the required security
and contractors Enter to get the work done, and to
get them all back open. That's what we've been doing.
Every day, your farm Russia staff, myself unceded of doing
their daily business, we're going back to them all. Explaining
again and again what is required to get them all
back open. Every day our answer to the mall is
the same, fix the nine life safety violations. The mall
actually has hundreds of FIRE - code violations that need
correcting. But there are nine that we have identified as
true life safety hazards. When those Niner corrected, the Mal
can open. Finally. I want to counter of false narrative
that the mall was ignorant of the violations and caught
off guard. Our inspectors all utilize an iPad. With location
services enabled. Every violation is digitally recorded. It's accompanied by
a picture. And that is timestamped and dated. The notices
are recorded onto our server and provided to the mall's
owner's designated officials. All of this information is stored for
analytics and for billing, and for potential litigation. In no
way was the mall ignorant to the violations or corrections
made. Or needed. The only people that were caught off
guard were the tenants. It would have been highly inappropriate
for the fire department to tell the tenants that the
mall can close. That is the responsibility of the mall
owner to tell them what's going on. However, once it
became clear that the mall was unsafe, your fire martial
staff, along with myself, we went door to door to
every suite, and we handed them oppress release, and we
answered their questions. Again, it was never our intent to
see the mall closed, but it is our responsibility to
ensure that serious public safety violations are resolved. That's why
I can confidently say that the reason the mall is
temporary closed is due to the mall owners in action.
That is the end of my report in presentation, and
before any take any questions I'd like to provide our
city building official And our city attorney, an opportunity to
provide some additional information. Thank you. Good evening. My name
is James Verdugo, and I serve as the billion official
for the city of Marino Valley. In light of the
serious nature of this matter I would like to provide
additional context regarding the role and involvement of the billing
official within the timeline reference by fire chief Jesse Bart.
The core duties and responsibilities of a billing official are
established through certification by the international code council, and through
the enforcement of the California Building Codes, as adopted by
this jurisdiction. Under this authority, the billing officials with authorize
an obligated to administer and enforce the California Building Code,
and all applicable state - adopted standards. The purpose of
these codes is clear to establish minimum requirements that safeguard,
public health, life safety, and the general welfare of the
community. These standards address structural integrity, adequate means of egress,
proper lighting, and ventilation, accessibility, and protection of life and
property from fire, and other hazards associated with the built
environment. They are not aspirational guidelines, they are the minimum
safeguards necessary to ensure that buildings remain safe for occupancy
and enjoyment of the public. Pursuant to section 104. 1
of the California Building Code, the billing official is responsible
for enforcement of the code, and it's authorized to interpret
and apply its provisions While interpretations, policies, and procedures may
be adopted to clarify application They must remain consistent with
the intent and purpose of the code, and may not
waive any explicitly prescribe requirements. Preservation of life safety is
not discretionary, it is a defined boundary of the authority
entrusted to this office. Similarly, the fire code is official
is charged with ensuring that required fire protection and life
safety systems are properly maintained, documented, and brought into compliance.
When conditions are present, when conditions present a clear threat
to life, safety, or health under the California fire code,
those conditions must be addressed Any structure or equipment deem
unsafe due to inadequate means of egress, inefficient lighting, or
ventilation, fire hazards, improper occupancy, or lack of maintenance is
referred to the billing official for appropriate action Which may
include repair alteration or demolition, or notices and orders to
follow procedure. When unsafe conditions are identified, the code requires
that notices be served by the property owner authorized to
the property owner or authorized agents specifying the deficiencies and
the correction of actions necessary to obey the hazard. The
billing official is further authorized to issue required notices or
orders, including written and vacate orders when occupancy is determined
to be unsafe. Unlawful. In order to protect life. These
provisions collectively establish the fundamental life safety obligation of the
code officials to ensure that no occupied condition falls below
the minimum standards established by the California Building and fire
codes. Property owners bear the ongoing responsibility to maintain all
- fire protection and life safety systems and operable condition
at all times. Under the authority granted by the state
of California billion fire codes and undermised certification as a
billing official through the international code council in order to
vacate was issued, as noted by a chief Jessie Park.
That order will remain in effect until all require life
safety systems within the building have been fully repaired, restored
to proper working order, and verify to comply with applicable
life safety codes and regulations. This action is protective. Our
obligation both legal and ethical is to ensure that buildings
occupy by the public meet the minimum life safety standards
established by law. Until these standards are met occupancy will
need to be differed into compliance is achieved. I refer
to Mike over too. City Attorney Steve continue. Thank you
James Good evening everyone, good evening council, and good evening
to everybody who took the time to come out here.
I'd like to start out with talking about what we
all have in common in this room. And all we
have in common is that we want the mall to
be open and open as soon as possible. I can
tell everyone in this room that each one of these
council members have come to me and pleaded try to
do whatever you can figure out anything you can. To
get this mall reopen. But at the same time, the
council understands the predicament we're in, and that predicament is
a good predicament, and that is we have a fire
department who has a duty and an obligation to ensure
that whatever business operates within the city is operated in
a matter that protects health and safety. So I'd just
like to start with that, so that's what we all
have in common, that's what our common objective is, is
to ensure that this mall is open as soon as
possible. We are losing tax revenue every day. From the
cells that take place there at the mall. Our retail
businesses are losing income. Their employees are losing, they have
lost their jobs. That affects families in our community. Families
who depend on the income that they earn from these
retail tenants. Who have their businesses in the mall. To
feed their families, to clothe their children. To do everything
that's necessary to take care of their families. Without that
income, they continue to suffer. That's why we all want
this mall to reopen. And in addition to that, it
causes a lot of inconvenience for shoppers and visitors. Of
the mall We not only have shoppers in the mall,
but we have groups of senior citizens who go in
there and get exercised by walking throughout the mall. I
would do that, I'm a senior, but I don't have
time to go for walks. Anyway, so let's begin with
that We all know what the issues are here We
all understand that this council understands it. And it's unfortunate
for them that they have their hands tied here Because
the fire department has to do with the fire department
has to do to protect the life, safety. Of everyone
in this room. So this is all really about life
safety and fire protection deficiencies at the mall. That's simply
what it's all about. When do they have to comply
with all of these violations, and the nine violations. As
soon as possible. Before the mall can be realpen. And
the determination as to when they comply is a determination
that has to be made by our experts, which include
our fire chief and our fire marshal. You know we
all heard about these horrible stories that came out of
the city of Oakland when there was a fire there,
we lost over 30 lives there. When you take a
deep dive into what the result of all that was,
families were destroyed. Because of the lost of loved ones.
But in addition to that, the taxpayers had to cover
the bill. For the damages and the loss of these
loved ones. They had to pay out millions, millions of
dollars. That's not going to restore the lives of the
people who were laws. But that was a direct impact
on the taxpayers in the city of Oakland. In Switzerland,
you I'm sure many of us have read about or
heard about the fire that took place there. And what
was in common in both the Oakland fires and the
fire in Switzerland. Or lack of inspections. Lack of follow
- up. By their respective fire departments. That is not
happening here. And with our fire department I can assure
you it will never happen here. So this is what
this is all about. It's all about a deficiencies that
are fire department has determined exists there with respect to
life, safety, and fire protection. Oh, as an aside, I'd
just like to point out that... Staff has set up
a page on our city's website that provides background information
on this particular situation. Explains how we got there, or
how we got here. It also includes a list of
frequently and frequently ask questions that are be frequently asked
about the situation. And we are also providing a status
update every day at 4. 30 Uh... listing all the
violations that have been resolved, and all depending violations. Now
in this came to my attention Um... In January, so
I was aware that a lot were violations out there.
But when it got to the level of having to
make a determination. That we may have to shut them
all down. The city manager and I immediately dispatched a
joint letter to the mall owner. Informing them all owner
that our fire department has identified That there are various
fire protection systems that were demolished, they were moved or
modified without the knowledge or pre - approval of our
fire department. And this included like basic, very basic life
- saving devices such as fire alarms and fire sprinklers.
I mean that's something we all understand is necessary. We
also pointed out in that joint letter to the owner,
that in addition to these fire violations. We had community
enhancement in our neighborhood services division, which essentially our code
enforcement division. We had learned that they had issued 88
code violations. To the mall for, things such as unpermitted
construction. The lack of certificates of occupancy If you don't
have a certificate of Occam C, that means that that
place, it's not been determined to be safe for anyone
to occupy that facility. That the pavement curbing, adequate and
complete parking and lane striping. There's a long list of
violations. But I just want to point out those are
not the reasons why the mall was ordered to be
shuttered. After I sent this letter I had anticipated that
I would receive an immediate response from the mall owner
or the mall management, and lo and behold, nothing. And
then I was informed by the fire department that. We
had some very, very significant fire safety issues there. Some
of these issues were discovered simply because we have a
contractor there working on the facility that we have leased
for, or immersive museum that the city is planning on
opening up their suit. So our contractor had reported to
staff that they've identified that the issues there that we
should be concerned about with respect not only to the
least premises, but also for the entire mall. The concern
that we have is that, with a concern that I
had is that since I didn't receive a response I
thought, okay Let me give the owner another opportunity to
respond. So on February 26 just coincided with the time,
the fire department had considered issuing an order to vacate.
A dispatched a letter to the mall owner, informing the
mall owner that these issues have not been resolved. And
I included in that letter. Oh, on February, that was
on February 19th, I'm sorry, thank you. Brian So I
sent a letter on February 19 And in that letter
I reiterated the nine violations that had been identified by
the fire department, and those included lack of inspections in
regards to, and testing in regards to the fire sprinklers,
the malls fire sprinkler system, the multi - fire alarm
system. The smoke control system, the malt fire doors, the
malls fire stamp system Which I have no idea what
that is. The fire smoke dampers, emergency generators, emergency lighting,
and emergency exit lighting. Now these are just the categories.
That they were cited for. And within these categories, it
included issues such as locks on certain exit doors that
needed to be either removed because they weren't working, or
needed to be repaired or replaced. There was signage that
was missing, that was... These are, we're talking about emergency
exit sighting, just basic signage like that that needed to
be repaired or replaced. The mall needed to provide updated
key codes for the emergency communications room Can you imagine
having our fire department show up, and they can't get
into that room. You know in the case of an
emergency There are multitude of smoke detectors that needed to
be clean immediately to clear some of the dust build
- up are replaced In fact, my fire alarm was
going off on Sunday, and I couldn't figure out what
was going on, I looked up there, and it was
covered with dust. There are various fire extinguishers throughout the
mall that needed to be tested and inspected to ensure
that they work. There are piles of storage that needed
to be removed, that were placed and stored near certain
emergency exit doors. There were... We have fire rated doors
throughout the mall, and a lot of business establishments that
withstand fire and smoke during an emergency. Many of those
needed to be repaired. The fire rated doors. They had
to have some of the self - closing hardware, and
the smoke seals tested and replaced There are certain repairs
that needed to be made to all the fire resistant
walls to ensure that smoke and fire couldn't go through
these walls to spread throughout the mall They needed to
install Illuminated signs that fire exit doors. The main alarm
control unit and the fire command room needed to be
a diagnosed to ensure that it was functional during a
fire emergency. They needed to remove storage that was piled
up in the electrical room. And so the list goes
on and on... So although there's only nine violations that
they've been cited for for reasons which is the justification
for shutting down the mall. Within each of those categories,
a host of violations, and issues that need to be
resolved immediately before the mole is allowed to be open.
So one thing that the good news I have to
report is that the mall retain attorneys. And I have
to say that it was a relief to be talking
to their attorneys, because I believe they understand the law.
With respect to these particular issues They understand the procedures
they must comply with in order to get us through
this. Ordeal. In order to get them all open. So
that's the good thing to report. The other good thing
to report is that the mall has resolved for violations
so far. So now we're down to 5 of them.
And the 5 that have been resolved include. The 4
that have been resolved. Include the inspection and testing and
documentation for the fire sprinkler systems. The fire stampite systems,
the fire smoke dampers, and the emergency generators. So we're
down to 5 now that need to be resolved before
the mall can be reopened, and that includes these very
critical issues. They need to... conduct inspections, testing, and maintenance,
not just inspection, not just testing, but all three with
respect to the fire alarm system, the smoke control system.
The fire doors, the emergency lighting, and the exit lighting.
Now how long that's going to take, I can't tell
you. The mall's attorneys have informed me that they designated
an individual who has some background with fire issues. Who's
been assigned to deal specifically with our fire department and
our building department on how to comply with these various
issues At first. They assign these duties. To a security
person. Which shocked me. Which indicated to me that somehow
somebody was missing the point here. But again I think
we are moving in the right direction. Because we are
getting compliance In fact on my way into city hall
today, by the time I got here, they resolved another
issue. So we are moving in the right direction. In
the meantime, unfortunately this city council does not have the
legal authority, I do not have the legal authority Your
city manager does not have the legal authority. To order
the mall to be reopened as long as these fire
safety, these life safety and fire protection issues are resolved.
And so I anticipate that, and I should also point
out that in order to expedite matters in this particular
situation are fire department, and they're not required to do
this has promised and committed to show up every single
day during the weekdays at 1 o'clock PM to conduct
inspections, to answer questions, to assist in any way they
can. To get the ball in a condition where they
should be to ensure that the public who visits them
all, the employees who work there, the retail tenants who
rent space there. And anybody else who walks in that
mall is going to be safe and ensured that if
there is a fire emergency, and a fire evacuation That
is most likely they'll survive that situation. Now, so the
bottom line question is when do they have to do
this. And I think that the question should be. And
the answer to that question is. They need to do
it as soon as possible. To get back into business
So these retail businesses can get back and earn money,
pay taxes. The customers can come in there shop. Without
any concern about their safety. And families can earn money
to put food on the table, pay the rent and
mortgages. And live their lives as in a peaceful way
without the stress of not knowing where their next paycheck
is going to come from. So again I'll conclude my
remarks with. We all have in common the objective to
get this mall open as soon as possible in a
matter that's safe for everyone. So I am, that concludes
my statement. If there's available to try to answer them.
Thank you very much to our fire chief, our building
official, and our city attorney for the report Uh, at
this time, we'll bring it back to the dais for
council questions of staff, and it looks like Uh, we
have Question from Council Member Bank of Santa Cruz. Chief
Park Could you explain firewatch and who pays for then?
And what's the purpose. You said that the mall's been
on fire watch for a year Yeah, actually I'll defer
to agrees, our expert for firewatch, and exactly how it
works, because he receives the reports. Yeah, so a fire
watch is conducted by a security company, and they're required
to monitor the building 24 - 7 and basically act
as a point of Uh, communication for people that are
Occupying the building in case there is an emergency, you're
a fire They see smoke Uh... To help evacuate people
and call the fire department, some and help Um... Act
as a fire alarm system would traditionally if it was
installed. All covers that, right? That's an additional cost that
the mall has to have, because their systems are not
up - to - date Correct. Council Member Delgado. Thank
you for those presentations, all three of you guys, that
was very helpful for us, very helpful for the public
to understand Uh... What transpired, and we just didn't wake
up one day and decide that this needed to be
done I have two questions for Chief Park. We understand
why fire extinguishers are so important, fire sprinklers are so
important Doors being... readily available to exit egress... But what's
the importance of having backup generators for the mall? I
mean lighting I guess would be the number one, what
would be the other, for fire life safety in that
regards? Yeah Fabulous question, even without a fire, if the
mall goes dark because of a power outage, like we
just recently had with our storms. There would be panic
in the mall Because the generators are there to provide
that emergency lighting, to light up the way to go,
to keep the alarm system running, the PA, and to
highlight where the exits are So even if there wasn't
a fire without any backup generators going, that can create
a hazard all - on - its own. Um... However,
with a fire, we may not be able to have
the doors work, we may not have the smoke control
systems work We may not get alarms There could be
a fire in the mall. Uh... That occurs... After a
power outage. And that could create just pure chaos And
a true catastrophe, so that's why the generators are so
important. Thank you, sir, in my last question for you
Chief Park From your training and experience, would it be
safe or appropriate for this city council, for this body,
or city staff to override any safety issues that were
presented to us regarding the closure of them all. I
would not recommend that I would strongly discourage that, and
one of the reasons being... We're here to be your
experts, experts are here to tell you what happened in
the past We can't, you know, see what's happening in
the future But we know what's happened in the past,
and the rules out there for this... The other reason
is You would be accepting the liability completely, as the
city council, because you would be going against your building
official, your fire marshal, and your fire department, and you
would be taking on all that liability. Yourself So I
would not recommend that. Thank you Chief Parkin, thank you
to each of you guys for your presentations. Thank you,
next we'll go to Mayor Pro Tim Gonzalez. Again, thank
you, thank you team for those presentations, and chief Park
of the five remaining violations Are these almost challenging ones
of the... of the nine? Or are they... Are they
all different? Um, what's the kind of challenge of the
last remaining five? Yeah, that's actually a good question So
in our opinion, the mall handled the easier ones first
So for instance, they did not buy new generators They
just rented temporary ones, right? And I will explain that
in a minute, but... So their renting generators that are
in good working order They haven't fixed their generators Um...
So that still needs to occur, but that's an easy
fix, because your renting something that works The sprinklers as
well Uh, are pretty basic I mean it's plumbing, right?
So to get a clean sprinkler report and a standpipe
report is pretty basic However. If you have not maintained
your fire alarm panel, and it has gone completely outdated
You're going to have a hard time, they're not going
to make those parts They're not going to update that
software So you're looking at more challenging Same with your
smoke control systems that are tied into that. Uh... Also
your fire doors, and your exit signs, and your emergency
lighting Those are all more challenging things, because they outdate
themselves, and if you've never kept up on them You
may have to just replace them completely, and that's going
to be a timeline Because you're going to have to
wait for the shipping, right? So I would agree with
you, sir, that Yes, the less challenging things occurred first,
and the 5 remaining are going to be more challenging.
Thank you. Next up, council member Bernard. Thank you, so.
The questions that I have is... So JCPenney's Macy's in
harkens were able to stay open Can you please explain
why they were able to stay open? Yeah, so in
the case of Macy's and Harkins, or excuse me, Macy
and JCPenney's. They own their own building, they own their
own parking lot, they own their own fire protection systems
And one of the crucial things is, is their exit
and evacuation plans, exit outside them all So they have
sufficient exits. With the mall concourse doors being closed, which
is what they're at now And they're all up to
date. And so we have a history in the city
if we are going to issue violations of only Closing
down the offending area, right? We're not going to close
down a whole business if we can just say, hey
your firehood isn't working So you can't cook There, but
we'll slat your business stay open, right? Because we don't
want the full impact to the business Um... And so
that's the case for Macy's and J. C. Penny Harkinson's
a little different We had to go and change their
business practice So we had to work with their management.
Harkins has sufficient exits because of the type of occupancy
It is, you know, with it being a theater They
need to be able to exit a lot of people
very quickly And so they have a lot of exits,
and they actually have like 6 bay doors at the
rear entrance of them all, kind of over there by...
Our GB. And so we were able to identify that
they still had smoke doors, that they could bring down
They could close off their kiosks, they could partition off
those exit doors that normally people would exit into them
all And so we weren't able to do it to
start with councilwoman, but we were after working with them
all We were able to let them open Unfortunately every
other business, they share fire protection, and they share exits,
and hallways... And so Even though we went to all
the businesses that we thought, Okay, maybe the Open This
business They're just already tied in, and so those were
the only three that we could. Thank you. Thank you,
and then one last question, maybe. For our city manager.
Uh, to transition over... Uh, toward the businesses. Uh, the
employees who are without work... And more of the economic
and financial components of this. Can you share Mr. City
Manager, any of our members of our staff... Uh... What
options the city might have to try to provide any
kind of assistance Uh... Economic, financial, or otherwise... For the
businesses, for the workers... Who have been affected by the
closure. Um... Thank you Mayor Council Members, let me go
back to what economic development... Has already done... So the
day of the notice evacuation... As fire was going through...
Uh, the building... Uh... Economic development was also... We had
developed a strike team, in which they were going through
to the businesses, to the employees, providing them information about...
Their respective resources, whether it be an employee or business.
Um... They've also put out additional information... About the Burke
and other resources that are available to the business community,
as well as the employees. Um... Regards to your specific
question... Um... On what does the city do now... Um...
The city does not have anything... Uh... Currently... codified... that
when a situation like this happens, that a particular... fund
or particular reserve... or particular policy kicks in, in which
we deem... an economic package... Give you an example. Recently...
When we had... Federal shutdown. One of the longest ones
in history. Um... This particular body under emergency powers created
a fund......'for a food program. So, although we don't have
a standing codified policy or practice...... this body could make
a decision...... as to...... something of that nature that we
did with the food program, or the food pantry,...... do
something here. Um, but at this particular point in time,
we do not have anything in place. Other than the
economic development, uh, department department going out, and providing resources
for the businesses and the employees. Did that answer your
question? Yes, thank you, Mr. Senior Manager. Mr. Mayor. Yes.
If I could, I'd like to give a progress report
of what occurred today so that you can be fully
up - to - date. I couldn't put it in
the presentation because it occurred today, and you know, we
have a posting time. But I think it would be
beneficial to the council, if you would like. Absolutely, please.
Okay, so today myself in Edgar and the team went
out to meet with the mall owner, and his staff,
and this is what we found. Um... The good news
is the mall owner has hired several people to address
the nine life safety violations, and each day that we
go to the mall, we receive... reports, and we continue
our inspections, and some progress has been made. Some of
that has been explained pretty well by our city attorney.
But I'd like to show you what one of the
reports. This is called a clean report. I know you
can't see it very well, but on the clean report,
what you'll see is there's a spot that says pass,
and then the spot that says fail. This is for
the sprinklers, okay? So this is a clean report, and
that's why it's got everything is itemized, right? It says
all the parameters. Who did it? Where it was? What...
What sprinkler they're looking at? All those things. And then
the opposite is a dirty report. So the Durry report
basically has a box here that says fail. Right? And
so that is also required so that we know what
they're working on, right? So when we go in, we
say, where's your dirty report, and they hand it to
us? And we said, okay, how are you working on
this? And so, so far, we've gotten clean reports from
sprinklers and stamp pipes and smoke dampers. When we asked
for the report. For the emergency lights and exit signs.
We were given this letter. This letter is... this is
when we were there on 221, okay? So a few
days ago on 21, we went there, and they gave
us the layer. We said, where's your report? We want
more information. Do you have a clean report? They said,
yes, this is our clean report. Okay, I'm gonna read
it to you, okay? To whom it may concern, this
letter is to confirm that all emergency lights and exit
signs. At the above reference job site have been inspected
and tested. All units are currently in good working order......
and operating as intended. Testing was performed to verify proper
illumination...... and functionality during emergency power. No deficiencies where it
deserved at the time of this inspection. Of a signature......
it didn't put a name down. It's an electrical services.
Okay, so this is what they presented to us. Except...
That we know it's false. Because it says they tested
it under emergency power. But they didn't have generators. So
how are they going to test something that it's under
emergency power? They can't. Also, we know, because we've done
the inspection that there's several exit signs that are in
violation. So we went out to check them, right? They're
telling us that it's good. Okay? Again, I know you
can't see these, but they're for you. Broken. Broken. Broken.
Broken. And broken. So we cannot sign off anything, right?
That says, an obvious violation. It also makes us very
hard for us to trust who we're talking to. Now,
today, full transparency, they came in at the mall owner
and his representative came in. They gave us some more.
Dirty reports. Okay, so... I just told you that they
told us that this was their clean report. And now
they gave us this report. For fire and exit signs.
Because we told them we cannot accept this. And it's
dirty. Okay, so it means that the failures in this.
In all the additional reports, they had failures. So here's
another report. That we receive from a contractor. And they're
just being honest here, this contractor. They wrote, repairs are
needed. Units turned off at the breaker. And they list
the items. So we know the smoke management system is
not in working order. And even if some of it
did work, it's turned off right at the breakers, because
it's failed. So. We do have additional reports each day.
We will be looking at them. We'll go out there.
But the past history is not helping the situation. And
our goal is for the mall to be safe and
prosperous, right? We all want that, like our city attorney
said. We want to reopen it, but we want it
to stay open. And I say, stay open, because the
mall owner told us that their generators are 30 years
old, and they don't work. And so he asked us,
could we approve a backup to the backup. In other
words, temporary generators, right? One's on wheels. We said, yeah.
Okay. As long as they meet the requirements of the
building, and they're approved by our building official, we'll do
that, because we want you to get the testing done,
and we want it up and running. But the law
is very clear. Temporary means 90 days. Okay? So the
mall has pledged that they'll fix these nine life safety
violations. But remember, they have hundreds. The ones that Steve
talks. There's hundreds of those other violations. So, what happens
in 90 days when we go back? They still have
many violations undone. And they didn't get the generators. It's
really a tough question that we're all having to think
about right now, but that's the situation we're in. So
that is today's update. Tomorrow there will be a new
update, but I hope I was able to shed some
clarity on that. Thank you. Thank you very much. Once
again, for the reports and the updates. We'll go ahead
and. Bring it back to the day and sell out
just one last time if there are any further questions
from the council. If there are none. Seeing none, we
will go ahead and move into public. Council Member Broncos
hackers. One more question that has been brought up on
your business card that you're leaving at the mall? Yeah.
Is there a bad contact number on it. It's possible.
It's a city card. It may go to, and it's
supposed to go to the admin, fire admin. I'll have
IT look into it. Thank you. Yes. Thank you for
letting me know. Thank you. We have been directing everybody
to the website and the FAQs, and the call line,
um, that goes to the appropriate person. So if it's
a question that I can answer, I'll call them back.
Thank you. So seeing there are no further questions. We
will go ahead and move into public comment. Madam Clerk,
how many requests do we have to speak. Thank you,
Mayor. We currently have 15. I'd like for them to
have the full three minutes. Okay. Madam Clerk, please go
ahead and call up our first speakers. Thank you, Mayor.
The first three speakers are Sheena McGill, followed by Toni
Hernandez. Followed by John Stevens. And just a friendly reminder,
you couldn't see your names up on the screen just
in case if you're curious in what order you fall
on the list. Um, so you can be prepared. And
then a friendly reminder that every speaker does get three
minutes per speaker. And there is a clock up on
the screen, just in case if you want to reference
that. Thank you. Hi, I'm Sheena McGill. I'm pretty sure
everybody's sitting on the panel has heard for me. I'm
speaking not only on behalf of my business, but in
support of the mall and the many small business owners
who operate within it. I have been overseeing properties of
this magnitude since 2003 over 20 years of experience in
mom management and large - scale property management. In my
space alone, I have 20 staff members, including my 66
- year - old mother and my child. We represent
just a small portion of many individuals currently out of
work and unable to provide for their families due to
this closure. I poured my heart, my soul into this
place, and I've sacrificed so much over 100, 000 dollars
in my 4, 000 square feet. When I've learned that
the mall was closed, closing, I immediately reached out to
ownership who's in the building right now, and I asked,
what's needed to be done, and how could I help?
Within days I worked with ownership, I've secured qualified vendors
to begin addressing the site of corrections, even on the
weekend. I also reached out to my city and county
contacts to ensure I was speaking with the right decision
makers. Matt has acknowledged that mistakes were made. Ball was
dropped. However, we are supposed to also believe in accountability
paired with correction. Jesus teaches us to forgive, right? Neighborhood
fire owner, Steve Miller, who's also in this building, a
former fire chief with dead cake, decades of experience has
evaluated this property. He has continuously stated and certified that
the mall is in no immediate danger and does not
pose a life safety risk at this time. Of the
nine correction cited, the remaining items are, we're talking about
doors and alarm components. We're talking about stuff that we
can't find that you have to source and then buy.
I'm gonna skip through some of this because I got,
you know, just a minute, but your guys'city of Reno
Valleys vision statement speaks about building a strong, safe, and
prosperous community about economic vitality about opportunity and partnership. Keeping
this small clothes as long as you guys are keeping
this mall closed, this doesn't strengthen the community. It weakens
a small businesses, it displaces the workers, it disrupts families
and reopening with oversight. And eerie opening with an oversight
aligns with your vision. You guys have to align with
your vision that's on your website. It allows safety and
economic stability to move forward together. Look at your mission
statement, look at what's happening right now with this mom.
We have so many people that are not able to
go back to work for some doors. And some lighting.
You just admitted that the backup generators are back up
and running temporarily. There can be a fire watch, an
extended fire watch. There's other avenues than to keep this
mall close. Thank you. Our next three speakers are Toni
Hernandez, followed by John Stevens, followed by Ismael Gonzalez. Hey,
my name is Toni Hernandez, and I'm here to represent,
I'll speak on behalf of them all. You know, in
our main concern, I'm always to provide a safe environment
for our tenants and customers. And we try to keep
up as much as possible with our equipment, with our
fire equipment. We have been working diligently with the fire
department in the last week or so, we have been
working 24 hours a day to make sure we take
care of these issues. And basically, uh, we are working
on that, and we are asking basically that, you know,
here you mentioned something of the generators, the generators, we
have ordered their parts, you know, and that's one thing
where you guys are incorrect. You ordered parts and the
parts are due to come in within the next few
days. And, you know, we are working on these repairs.
We are working on these issues, and basically you guys
are being negative that we are not doing anything about
this. We are working really hard, you know, cause this
mall, the people that depend for this mall, you know,
for their, you know, to provide for their families, you
know, for their rents, for their families, you know, we
have a lot of seniors that go in there in
the mall walking. We have two schools that are, you
know, that are backed up by the federal government. We
have, you know, a couple of doctors, you know, dentist
in the mall, you know, and basically this, you guys,
uh, all we're asking for, you know, we will go
ahead and continue to gather, to take care of all
these issues in a timely manner. We just asking for
an extension and let them all go back to work,
you know, all the employees, cause, you know, basically you
are hurting that. And we're supposed to be a city
where we're supposed to be united to work together. We
understand the safety issues. We understand what the fire department
is doing. You know, and, you know, but we need
to work together. And my recommendation is to give them
all an extension and, you know, basically to allow us,
uh, to get these things done while, you know, while,
you know, we have the people back to work and
them all, you know, to creating revenue for everybody else.
So basically that is what I'm recommending the stuff to
do. We're supposed to be a city to work together,
not to destroy, be destroyed by the media. The media
is destroyed, the city, destroying the mall, everywhere. And I
understand we're working for safety. Two and a half years,
we have knocked it a single issue in the mall.
You know what? And basically, but I understand that there's
certain issues, you know, cause you know, the most 30
years old. And we are working on these issues and
with your support, you know, and basically for you to
a loss to do something with them all. I would
appreciate it because we're going to work together and make
this city what it should be. And that's what I
have to say. The next three speakers are John Stevens,
followed by Ismael Gonzalez, followed by Elizabeth Toribio. Hi counsel,
my name's John Stevens and I'm a lawyer and I
represent them all. Um, but I'm also the mayor of
the city of Costa Mesa. So first thing I want
to do is say thank you to Mary Cabrera to
hold this meeting, this special meeting and hold it is
a very good thing to listen to the public and
to listen to the mall owner and me. And I
appreciate it. I also like to commend your city attorney,
uh, Mr. Keen to knew who since I've been working
with him has been a model of responsiveness. Um, we
can disagree on the substance our position, of course, is
the mall shouldn't have been red tagged as a substantive
manner because it didn't meet the standard of the health
and safety code. We also filed an appeal that says
that the actual documents were procedurally deficient. And you can
read our appeal. Uh, because there wasn't a reasonable time
limit for correction based on the nature of the nuisance,
which is right in your code section. 6. 04. There
wasn't a reference to the potential consequences of failure to
abate the nuisance by the specified period. And there wasn't
a notice of right to appeal in those documents. So
the documents themselves were deficient. But, but I'm not here
to litigate that. What I'm here to do is to
be an agent to fix this problem. And as Mr.
Keeniya said, he, he and I are on speed dial
with one another right now. He picks up on the
second ring and he responds and I appreciate it. One
thing I would like to do by way of an
ask is I would love it if other, um, uh,
I know the fire, uh, fire department and is important
is busy. But if they could have that level of
responsiveness to our team, we have Mr. Miller who's working
around the clock. I'm on this 24 seven to make
them all open. We want this mall open, please. Please,
by the weekend. Okay. And, and I, I know the
position you're in also, because I sit in your chair
and I know you have to listen to your experts.
And I know you can't overrule your experts. But please
ask them to be used their own discretion. When you
elevate this to a level of a fire chief or
a fire marshal, they have discretion. Please ask them to
be creative and collaborative with them all. I understand that
there's trust issues that have been built up over many
years. I'm here as an agent to address those trust
issues. I'm willing to talk to all of you. I'm
willing to talk to you mayor, mayor to mayor. And
I know I have the right to do that. Whatever
we can do to open this mall, let's do it.
Let's do it together for this community because a lot
of people need to get back to work and the
city needs to start running again. Thank you. The next
three speakers are Ismael Gonzalez followed by Lisbeth Terribio, followed
by Thomas Smith. Hello and good evening. My name is
Johan Gonzalez. I'm a member of the Hero Club and,
uh, Iled Alliance for Environmental Justice as well as Mary
Novelli historical society. Um, I want to first buy first
congratulate and applaud your fire staff, uh, your fire staff
are the true heroes and the circumstance in the story.
Um, without them, uh, fire chief paints a very, uh,
unfortunate situation where there was pellets of alcohol sanitizer just
waiting in the, uh, wrong areas of them all without
any power generators, right without any sort of, uh, sprinklers.
Uh, that paint, he's not eating his head. Like that
paints a gruesome. Idea of one of those crates lighting
up, exploding possibly with hundreds of people kids in the
mall. And for the owners who asked for extensions and
more leniency from the staff and from city council is
ridiculous because they've even said that they've been contacting, uh,
the owners for two years since 2024 in that city
staff report. If he wants more availability with the fire
staff, I mean, the fire staff has already said they're
there every day at 1 p. m. Like how much
more do you need, right? And my heart goes out
for all the small business owners of the, uh, citizens
of Miranda Valley because here is an owner who admitted
that is from Costa Mesa, Orange County. Um, I'm not
sure why the mall cannot afford its penalties or any
of, uh, the upgrades that it needs 30 years for
power generators. The mall was constructed in 1992. That's 34
years. So that means they've never even thought about replacing
them, upgrading them, um, as well as the fire emergency,
uh, technology, right? Uh, that's really unfortunate. And maybe it's
due to be cut or it's due in part because
of how much e - commerce has infiltrated or new
livelihood, right? Every day, um, people order online unceded of
going to the mall. Maybe the mall needs more money
to pay for all these repairs. And they're afraid to
say so, you know? But that goes back to the
problem of warehouses. You guys have, you guys have caused
this issue in reality. You know, you guys are in
part, um, responsible for the lack of, uh, malls, the
decline of malls. And here are the real, uh, the
constituents who are hurt by warehouses. You guys failed to
pass moratorium to, uh, stop incidents like this. And here
is a real life incident where, um, e - commerce
is really taking advantage of brick and mortar stores. They're
being so, uh, competitive that it's, it doesn't really make
sense to have moss anymore. Across America. This is a
problem. And, um, yeah, I think unfortunately the more has.
The next three speakers are Elizabeth Terebio followed by Thomas
Smith, followed by Stephen Miller. And I would like just
before the next speaker comes up, Liz bet Toribio. Just
a friendly reminder for everyone to please keep it respectful.
Everyone gets equal amount of time. Um, hearing some kind
of, um, people speaking up while we have a speaker
at the podium, if you could please just, uh, everybody
be respectful and allow everybody their three minutes to, uh,
make their public comments. So next up, Lisbeth Toribio.
I'm speaking on behalf of Luni Suede Cafe. I understand
everything that's going on. You know, you guys explained everything
pretty well. Um, it's good to hear it. Um, good
to hear positive feedback. It's really just, we really just
want to be back, you know, uh, we have a
lot of, um, employees. My whole family works there. It's
just kind of been a lot on us. Want to
reopen, you know, just kind of want you guys to
push us, you know, push it a little bit, even
if it's, I know it's hard. I know a lot
of stuff going on, but if there's just any way
for us to get open as soon as possible next
week, maybe in two weeks, just not a month. Don't
let it go for too long, you know. It's affecting
us a lot, a small businesses. You know, but it's
really all I have to say. Just try to get
it reopened pretty quick. Thank you. The next three speakers
are Thomas Smith, followed by Stephen Miller, followed by Laura
Vallejo. Is Thomas Smith here. If not, we can come
back. Okay. We'll go ahead and go to Steven Miller.
Thank you. Uh, Mayor and Council members. I want to
compliment you on your fire department. I'm a professional firefighter
retired with Orange County. And I've been in the fire
protection industry for 50 years. And I see with your
professionals that they're doing just an A plus job, their
knowledge is above base. They're, um, staff, the inspectors are
there. They've been working with us. I've only been there
five days. So in those five days, I think we've
done leaps and bounds. Um, the only. Thing that I
would like to bring into bear to mind is the
current owner and manager has only had this building for
three years. Everybody's talking about 30 years and all these
things that need to be done. Well, he's moving forward.
We've had contractors there day and night working. I, in
my personal opinion, believe there may be some other options
to the closure of the mall. But that's just me.
And every firefighter will fight a fire a different way.
And they interpret things differently. But again, they're doing their
job right. And I hope that we can come to
some understanding. I believe so to move this forward and
get them open as fast as possible. And again, Matt
is not the problem. He's the solution. Thank you very
much. The next three speakers are Laura Vallejo followed by
surgery Jones followed by Bob Palomares. Is Laura Vallejo here.
Oh.
Hello counsel. My name is Laura. I am speaking on
behalf of Vallejo Western wear. And just wanted the community
to know. Put a face to our name. That we
are one of the small family businesses that has been
deeply affected by the mall closure. It has deeply affected
our livelihood as we are of small family business. And
we just want them all to be open as soon
as possible. Thank you. The next three speakers are surgery
Jones followed by Bob Palomaris, followed by Seth Cox. Hello.
I'm surgery Jones. I'm a supermodel and community activist. I
just moved on July 1st. And my aunt been staying
in Marino Valley for 25 years. She brought me to
this mall. When they first opened. I already been helping
some of the, um, some of the business owners. To
support them to help bring more revenue to the, um,
to the stores. And I don't feel like it should
be closed. I'm going to be honest. It's the hub
of this neighborhood. They got two schools in this mall.
Too. That helped the neighborhood. They helped the homeless. They
have a library. They have several different things. They feed
the homeless. If this mall closed, a lot of people
going to lose their jobs. A lot of people going
to lose their revenue. A lot of people going to
be out on the street and then it's going to
be more homeless people. I'm disabled because I got hit
by a truck last year and I was planning on
opening a store in this mall. And I feel like
every day I go in that mom. Them people are
very nice to me. They're very opening. They respectful. And
I understand they have issues, but they could be worked
out. It's not even that bad of the issues. I
understand they have cool issues. They all could be figured
out. I also have a plane to help them all
have a fundraiser to help to raise money. At the
end of the day, I don't think y'all should close
this mall because it's going to close moove out. Thank
you. The next three speakers are ball Palomares followed by
Seth Cox, followed by Christopher Bacca.
And Council. Uh, I feel bad for these people that
have businesses in the mall and all the employees. They're
the ones that are really hurting. But, uh. My opinion,
you know, I'm not an attorney or anything, but I
think the city had and has an obligation going back
to 2019 when there was violations then up to now,
uh, apparently the current owner had it for three years
in the violations have been there. And everybody's talking about,
you know, what we're going to do. And I got
to take my hat off to the fire chief for,
you know, the great job. He did exactly what he
had to do. Period. But the city has an obligation
to all the people that go in that mall. And
the one thing I didn't hear, and I haven't heard
is that no legal action was taken against the owner.
Had an incident occurred in that mall where there was
life lost. Believe me, we would be in court. There's
probably going to be lawsuits anyway. But we're fortunate that
we're here talking about correcting these things. But the city
is obligated to protect the citizens. And because you didn't
take no legal action. That's no good. You know, you
had plenty of time, all the violations are there. I
know maybe you want to smooth it out and make
a good with a... And even the city has investment
in that mall. And you would risk. That all these
violations are here. And you're allowing people to go in
there that are affiliated with the city. That's negligent. So
you need to clean it up. You've got to do
what you've got to do now. The chief told us
what has to be done. But you, as the city
council. Need to get this guy in court. Because it's
been going on for far too long. You know, this
way at least you can have something to tell him.
We took you to court. They told you what you
need to do. Now we're going to take action. But
right here, it seems like there's a little passing the
buck going on. Thank you. The next three speakers are
Seth Cox, followed by Christopher Bacca, followed by Alexander Johnson.
Good evening, Council Mayor. Staff, first responders gallery. I'm going
to steal from Ms. Palmerish tonight. All right. Wow. Just
wow. How did we get here? Uh, thank you fire
department for telling us how we got here. All right.
Um. And it's even more disturbing to me after I
hear how we got here. All right. Uh, I'm a
data guy and a numbers guy. Back in June of
2023. There was a notice of determination filed. About the
marino Valery development. Right. At 11 bullet points that they
were going to do. I don't believe any one of
them has been done. Okay. So that's one way. What
that's one thing. Now comes the most current stuff. Over
the 15 months. The last 15 months. The city of
Marino Valley. Has spent 12. 389 million dollars on the
mall. Would you like to know how they did that.
The immersion studio has been paid. Seven and a half
million dollars. The five million dollars they got up front.
And 250, 000 dollars for the next 10 months. They
were supposed to open when. This month. What's the condition
of that contract right now. Is it ever going to
happen. We also paid VA consult VCA consultants 75, 000
dollars for structure engineering services for mall museum project. We
paid electric incorporated. 4. 7 million dollars for the marina
valley lease facility improvement project phase one two and three.
Which that line item, I believe is in the development
thing They were supposed to rehab the series building for
commercial use. And now we're doing that for them in
my opinion. Uh, the last one. We have a library
there over the last year. If anybody doesn't know I
believe the current monthly rent on that is 6, 874
dollars in 54 cents. So over the last year we
paid merino valley. Mall holding LLC 8, 000 82, 500
dollars worth of rent. So we've been bailing them all
out for over forever At least the current. The next
three speakers are Christopher Baka followed by Alexander Johnson followed
by Krista Hawkins. Hello good evening.
Again my comments on my own don't reflect anybody else's
opinion other than myself Um, so I want to start
with Moreno Valley. The land of economics I mean commercial
and retail. Development forces. So I'll start with Aqua Bala
That's the longest that's been BS in the books for
over 25 years Then you have the WLC that's been
on the books for 10 years with nothing going on.
Now you have the Gilmans which is coming up during
the political season. So you'll vote for it so they
won't have candidates running against you Um, and then now
the point to this is. The redevelopment of the mall
was approved in 2022 I believe. How many years has
that been 2022 to redevelop the mall? And where are
we now. Where are we now? Look at this situation
that we're on now As far as I'm concerned This
mall should be gutted out I mean I'm sorry for
the businesses I think I commend the city Uh... Staff
I believe Uh Santa Cruz and Bernard are proactive in
helping the retailers in their economic Um... Downfalls They should
be subsidized and moved Uh, and there's space throughout the
city for them to be relocated to that mall should
be gutted down Uh, like one of the other speakers
said this era is over. It is completely over. And
you need to rethink the redevelopment of this malt interior
Including when they do the apartments and so forth Grocery
stores may be educational facilities Maybe Just other stuff You
know these trick - in chops And you know Cinnabons
and all of that stuff is stuff of the past
So you really need to rethink the redevelopment And as
far as I'm concerned I was there Last time I
was at the mall was May And that place is
borderline indoor swap meet. The escalators don't work Their stores
there They are plywood and chain link fence. I mean
it's not You know That's not gonna attract nobody You
think people are gonna get off the freeway to come
to that? I don't think so That mall needs to
be totally gutted out and redevelop And the city should
take incentive into relocating these businesses elsewhere And those businesses
can sue the mall for whatever infrastructure They put in
there But otherwise It's ridiculous for them to pour and
more money. The next three speakers are Alexander Johnson followed
by Krista Hawkins Father by James Abaca.
Good evening my name's Alexander Johnson I'm here just to
speak on behalf of the city I'm on the city
resident I've been here for my entire life I just
want to speak on the behalf of the city and
their anger and all the small businesses that were closed
down during the small shutdown Also want to call on
the council to build a milled touring fund for the
businesses that were affected These people are going to go
weeks without revenue We're going to go weeks without being
their families And they're going to be behind on rent
And they won't get any city support or support from
the residencies Electric utilities They won't get any support. I
Want the city council to put an issue Um... Into
the... Their next agenda for the next city council meeting
Also want to applaud the fire department Um... Their hard
work and everything they've did. To make sure the mall
is up to date Uh, the mall owner was very
negligent And, um, he should be held accountable for that
Um, these businesses are going to be greatly affected Um...
It's also quite convenient that May season JC pennies and
Harkins theater Uh, also Big businesses that were affected by
this shutdown I think that's Totally Unfair for all the
businesses that were... Affected by this shut down. Also want
to talk about fire department Uh... When a great lead
Thank you them for all their service for the past
couple of weeks Um They gave them all two weak
notice I was kind of just skimming through the meeting
agenda February 5 On February 5th They contacted the mall
owner And then February 19th They shut them all down
I don't think they should have shut them all down
On the 19th I think they should have Um... Worked
with the city council Um... And... Do that. So what
I want the city council to also as well is
to work with the fire department and come to agreement
Uh compromise Um... You know, either be forced to sell
them all to make sure This doesn't happen again in
the future Um... Not being able to even restore backup
generators after you got them all in three years ago
Is a gross negligence And... And I think there should
be I just wanted to again speak to the anger
Of the city And I just want those businesses to
know that we are all Um... In your prayers Thank
you so much. The next three speakers are Krista Hawkins
followed by James Vega followed by Louise Palomares. Hi my
name is Krista Hawkins I'm just here as a resident
Been in Renovalle all my life Um My heart goes
out to the small business owners And wow I just
I just have to say Wow merino Valley Like you
guys are just doing an amazing job Showing what merino
Valley is about. Like the... You guys are gonna go
home tonight Y'all Y'all gonna Eat I'm sure you're gonna
be able to pay your bills And these business owners
These small business on theirs They're gonna have to sit
up tonight and try to figure out How they're gonna
make things work How they're gonna pull it together And
like everyone has been saying It's been negligence Years of
negligence I don't know all the politics I don't know
The hierarchies But I don't know You can't work any
job Where you don't have accountability Everyone has a boss
Everyone has someone to answer to And it's been years
of the owner or whoever the city council The city
Not holding this person accountable To what's been doing And
now in the end Capitalism The small businesses suffer. They
suffer And they're the ones that are gonna have to
figure out what they have to do To feed their
family and to keep on going with the business The
young man who just spoke He spoke amazing I didn't
even think about that They're gonna be behind on their
bills And I'm sure they're still gonna be expected to
pay them. And not being in business right now. So
it's just really sad And also we know that Marino
Valley Let's be transparent There's not a lot of jobs
here Moreno Valley is a commuter city Unless you work
at the hospital Maybe at the college Maybe at some
schools There's not a lot of jobs here And I
really blame that on the city And I want you
guys to think the city council What vision do you
have for more in a valley. What vision do you
have? Because the mall is a place where jobs are.
And now the mall is closed. Not everybody wants to
work out a warehouse I'm sorry That you guys keep
putting every other day Every other week. So I'm just
looking at you guys And I really hope that you
hold yourself accountable Everyone here Like I said I don't
know the politics But everyone who has a position to
do something. I hope you guys hold yourself accountable And
think come together I don't know if the fun I
don't know if the budget But I know the money
somewhere that you guys can help these small businesses while
they're out of work. And I do I understand that
the chief that you guys are under a lot of
pressure The fire department is under a lot of pressure
Because it's been ongoing problems with the mall Since I've
been in high school. But like I said once again
The small business owners are the ones who are affected
So really sit and think about your vision from Rinavalle
Because it's just being destroyed And think again before you
put another Um, warehouse. The next three speakers are James
Vega followed by Louise Palomares followed by Nikita Wilson. Hi
everybody Good afternoon. Here on behalf of Robert Garcia Specifically
he's out of town So Uh So He just wants
to put on the record Uh based on him coming
to the city and trying to bring something positive to
the city that Uh, obviously he's unhappy A big investment
on his part time effort to try to bring something
positive to the city But he wants to put on
the record that the current lease that he's in is
Unvalid Uh, based on lack of disclosure. Um... About the
conditions of the mall Okay Uh Two parts The contract
never stipulates anything in regards to them being any external
issues with the fire department Uh, that can affect his
livelihood Over 200 kids that he trains Uh just in
bad taste Uh, he's not happy about it It's very
unfortunate Um, second part Uh, we went through Personally I
went through over a year. Uh... Working to try to
make this happen And Unfortunately We were never told by
the fire department outside of the building What the conditions
were... Or else the investment would have never been made
So With that said It's unfortunate Uh, but he just
wants to put on the record that he has no
ties Uh... To the mall at this point. Uh... Due
to the contract not stipulating what... And needed to stipulate
Or anything that can hinder his business He runs a
multi - million dollar championship boxing Operation that was in
Reynold Valley. And he can't do it at this point
with no idea when it can happen again So based
on that, the lack of communication from Lamar Uh He
just wants to put that on the record Thank you
Jim. The next three speakers are Louise Palomar is followed
by Nikita Wilson. Wow Just swap We're on the Titanic
here. This is our merit The Titanic Mayor Everything is
touched turns the crap It's so sad He's the leader
of the city here He's the one I know He
was involved with the Garcia boys You know to bring
it on Hey we can do this Let's do it
They brought it the poor man Right now He could
lose his shirt here Because of you that encouraged him.
You know You should have told him all the red
tape That was going on behind the scenes You're the
mayor You should've known This was going on But you're
too busy on a campaign trail. unceded of doing what
you gotta do for the city You probably knew a
lot of these violations Why didn't you get on the
owner over there? Don't you know the owner also Mr.
Matt We should be protesting at his house You know
really It's so sad It's a sad day Amarino Valley
That we have a mayor with no leadership skills And
other businesses that are there too also are suffering Because
the museum We had... It's not even open yet We're
pouring money there Why did we even Do it there
When we knew all these violations We're going on Who
knew what and when did they know it And golly
really really really Come on You're too busy suing people
like me that come in speak truth to power And
the facts. So to shut us up to go away
You know the Thomas's You suit them You put them
in court for over a year Violated the First Amendment
right. The First Amendment Right We the city had to
pay They took you back to court We the city
had to pay 2 million dollars on your watch We're
paying your bill Maybe we could use some of that
2 million to help these people out It's not their
fault They went to work one day and didn't have
a place to go to work at People got up
in the morning Then know that they were going to
a job That wasn't going to be there When were
you going to tell these are the victims These are
the victims The decisions that our mayor has made And
a leadership Yes you're too busy suing your company The
flock cameras The flock camera member You were working for
them That's a complic adventures But you were working for
them And you turn them around in student for a
sexual harassment lawsuit Come on wasn't that a complic of
interest You suit them got money from them You shouldn't
have been working for those camera people Really really really
So it's sad The leadership here is going to pot
here I just feel sorry for the people here that
work in those stores And that own the stores rent
the start And the people that work in those stores
Wow tell Cabrera give me a break When are you
going to change it up Cabrera. Man you got us
on a train wreck slash Um golly I'm upset I'm
upset because outrageous me How much money do these people
owe in back taxes Over 7 million? I mean Strike
that over 700, 000 from 119 One owner to another
When we're going to collect those black taxes But we
let it go on and on and on. Everybody's got
a part to play here Really really. Come on Kaber
Get with it Do the right thing for the right
reason It's not just about. The next three speakers are
Nikita Wilson followed by SI followed by Micah Barrett. Hello
everyone I'm Nikita Wilson My comments is of my own.
I just wanted to address Repeated notices. Repeated opportunities. Continued
non - compliance. Institutional patients. I'll repeat that. Institutional. Patience.
I Understand that the violations. Are the responsibility of the
owner. We've heard that. Going forward I'm just curious Are
there being policy tools implemented to prevent You know make
shorter enforcements when people are non - compliant. Is there
been something implemented to once you have this amount of
non - compliance and institutional patients. Is there a shorter
limit being implemented to prevent this risk from happening in
the future. The next three speakers are SI followed by
Micah Barry followed by Jeslyn McGill.
This will allow you to under him. Thank you everybody
here that we want to see some solution today. I'm
honored up to a story in the mall. And I
have family and I have to pay the rain I
have to pay my family Also I have to survive
I have old mother 85 years old I have to
feed for heart. And I work every seven days in
this mall. I'm being here three years. And I didn't
see any bad things in this model. And all the
customer was happy And I want to know like the
fire department and the mall management They both say hyperman
say nine violation and moral say is fixed. What is
the who making this decision to solve this problem Party
permanent state the hundred court can be they counted. How
they say nine and they let her on and say
100 point gonna become a later on This is I
know I understand. We don't understand this point We only
want to see as soon as possible to mold the
opinion. Is this decision. What we're going to do we
now have code I'm hungry and the and the fire
dependence say close your business Ford We don't know when
they're going to hop in I invested their 300, 000
Dollars And I know making money in nothing I staying
home I get in depression. I Getting so sick. My
family need the money. The hungry Uh the lion If
they see any food They're going to grab it. So
you guys at least do something that the power department
can work perily as well the mall Open the same
times So we can do the business and solve the
problem as well We want to these assault the problem
We don't want like that Oh the firepan may be
time Go and say stop it Stop it Is he
at this point So I know when I open the
business Party Mind men go and say two problem I
fixed troops They send the different man and they go
They say Oh no no no You have two other.
So when you say the two it should be two
It's not be like again Oh another two. So same
thing that small management close That is the 134 restore
And there is the 3, 000 employee walk I have
employee They don't have put I ask them What did
they do not getting any job Monobilly is the best
city Here we have the good mayor We have good
to stop. Why the monoville mall going to be close
for seven days. Why should anybody tell in 10 years
more and he has the fire. Nobody can say the
moyle has the fire pole M safety I drive every
day from here to enter a year And I drive
my thought I can be accident. But he's I cannot
say Oh I'm not going to go home because I'm
going to get accident. I type every day 1000 thousand
people driving Maul is good place to go there by
shopping And we make money there And the customer Thanks
a lot of stuff on that Thank you The next
three speakers are Micah Barrett followed by Jeslyn McGill. Followed
by Oliver Olivares. My name is Michael Barrett all comments
I make her of my own opinion Uh, I've been
a resident of Reyno Valley for the last two years
Um, I enjoy living in this city Um, and when
I listen to everyone that has spoken today The number
one thing that I see that comes up is the
communication And I know that you said that the onus
of the communication is on the mall owner Which I
do agree with because a lot of these violations should
have been addressed much sooner They should have also been
you know made known to the tenets of them all
so they can understand You know what consistent What type
of situation they could face in the future Um, and
one thing that I'll say Mr. Uh mayor Cabrera that
I appreciated was your social media post yesterday And I'm
sure it was posted other places as well Um, you
know addressing the situation with them all Uh, and then
also You know council members holding this meeting today I
really do appreciate that And I hope that the city
does as well Uh, but I think that we need
more of that communication going forward Um, I speak to
the mall owner I've spoken to him since I've gotten
back on Tuesday And you know he told me on
Tuesday that they expect to be open end of day
Wednesday I spoke to him today He said he expects
to be opened by end of day Thursday Which is
today I understand there was fire marshal Uh inspection Uh,
done today And we just don't know where we stand.
And I think that I know again that the onus
is on the mall owner to provide that communication But
I think that we also appreciate hearing it from you
as well And that we feel that we know that
you guys are handling it and that you're on top
of it Um, and I also liked in that post
because I didn't know about this until yesterday was that
there is the mobile. org slash mall that shows that
the violations are being addressed Um, and I think just
maybe as those violations get addressed unceded of just You
know the update on the website is just kind of
setting out like hey You know This is where the
mall is currently and you know they've addressed another two
violations or another one violation and you know We're expecting
and you don't have to give a date on when
you expect them all to be open But just giving
us that you know that Uh that sense of comfortability
that you know things are moving ahead because again when
I talk to them all owner He doesn't know and
so I'm not saying that you would know or that
you know the fire chief of no or the fire
marshal would know Um, but at least we can get
a sense that you know things are moving ahead and
You know we are going to be reopened You know
in a timely manner. Thank you for your time. The
next two speakers are Jesslyn McGill followed by Oliver Olivares.
Hello good evening my name is Jessly McGill. I just
had just a few things just I just wanted to
say in regards to my daughter Oh she know she
owns a boutique inside the mall A hair salon. You
know the fire department comes in they check everything out
You know but they check them out You know as
soon before they when they open a business they come
in So how do them all have all these issues
When they're checking everyone that moves into the mall We
have a whole lot of new people that moved into
the mall But yet they're saying that the mall have
all these issues How can that be with all these
issues When you're checking everyone that moves into the mall.
I don't understand that. Yeah we are including the museum
The museum is downstairs They're they allowed them all to
open up that well get ready to open up the
museum But yet they have all these issues. And I
don't understand that how can they have all these issues
all these Reports and all these things that need to
be done Whenever someone Open up they check them I
don't understand it That's all I have to say. The
next two speakers are Oliver Olivares followed by Lorena Calderón.
Good evening everyone My name is Halo Olivares CEO and
co - owner of Roy Garcia Box and Academy. And
the reason why I'm here You know That problem that
everybody has out here Uh just open up the gym
last year Uh, thinking all this kid Kids and people
that we could help And we have over 300 kids
plus a professionals that we had Um I had the
opportunity to work with Uh Weed Ulyses and his team
Do you guys great people I know you guys can
pull this off I know you guys can make it
happen I know you guys are smart enough to help
us out and get this going Um, also I'm a
general contractor Hajjno And I know what they're calling is
true. You know it's safe to issues that needs to
be Um, resolve But we can make it happen guys
I mean there's a lot of people that they need
There's been this open And talking to my business and
my behalf Uh, we just Like I said We just
open up our business like a year ago And we
have compliances with everything I mean Everything that you guys
are looking for We had it We have Umors going
to the parking lot So I mean I don't want
to be selfish here But we have hundreds of thousands
of dollars investing this There's a lot of kids Uh
They see their future there So I think our business
to be compliant to be reopened tomorrow. We have everything
we comply with lighting and everything We just pass that
I Mean March 8. Last year we opened this gym
And we complain with everything So we went through the
whole thing And thank you who listens for putting up
the team We work with James Verdugo También He help
us out a lot to went through So please guys
Let me open my gym tomorrow. We comply not too
long ago And I know It's good to go. Thank
you. Our next speaker is Lorena Calderón. Hi my name
is Lorena I have a sports shop at the Marino
Valley Mall. I came tonight to see hopefully there was
a solution Which I don't see any solution Like I
thought you guys were here to help us attendance or
anything I don't see anything like that There's stuff that
have question is like Harkin stayed open But yeah They're
still using the entrance to go to the mall to
go into their theaters. The museum It was open So
with all these violations How did it get approved to
get open. When I opened my location The fire department
went in They didn't let him You know about any
of all this And now like all this. So I
just asked for please let us. The next speaker is
Roy Blecker. What
a great points were just made. Want to say this
off the beginning I mean I can go back to
wiser The recently retired cow Fire Chief County chief to
Jesse I've been crossing these guys for parts of seven
decades. I can tell you this from my experience If
it got to this point There is something really radical
wrong Because those guys will bend over backwards to try
and help you out So all this maligning of the
fire department of that I believe in my experience has
shown that there is no way that could be possible
going on. So I listen I've heard the reports everything
in the comments. Now we're going to address the elephant
in the room. There's a reports I heard the mall
company owes almost half a million dollars at least from
press reports I saw for officers services billing hours that
were provided in the last year that were not paid
for. If this is the case then how did that
get to Forition. And is there a provision for that
to be taken care of? Because that's actual money that's
been paid out. And what is the contract? Because I
believe my understanding If I remember correctly back in 89
The conditions of approval were supposed to be an officer
for every hour that mall was open was supposed to
be on site. What are the billing hours today? When
how are they... How many hours are on there Because
my understanding Temecula has four cops For every hour that
mall down there is open Everybody talks about public safety.
Let's compare merino valley to what everybody else does and
what this mall is doing Let's get the real Fox
out on the table. Something is going wrong here. Big
time. We didn't get to this Position. Out of nowhere.
And well you can go Central City Mall if you're
a fossil like me or care somal Disappears to me
to be going that direction. And if we don't stop
it or correct it. What the... What you're hearing today
is going to be tittly Wings to what's coming. And
you heard the amount of money Everything needs to be
put on the table We need a full report of
what the contracts were What's been spent? What's been done?
We shouldn't have to make FOIA requests It should be
out there tomorrow. Everything. Any amendments Anything to disagreement Because
public safety is at stake And I will tell you
Mr. Costa Mayor Attorney Mayor or anybody Maul All of
you Again I will put the offer on the table
You can come on my show And we'll address this
till the cows come home. Come on have some balls
and stand up and defend your positions and your actions
all around That's how we'll solve this anywhere else You're
all the chicken beliefs that you. Mayor that concludes all
of public comments for tonight's item. Thank you Madam Clerk
And thank you to all of our public speakers as
well for coming out this evening At this time We
will before we bring it back up to the dais
I do want to just bring it back to the
staff level And hand it over back to Uh our
city staff to respond to any questions that may still
need to be answered So at this time I'll go
ahead and turn it over to city staff. Well I
think some points of clarification Um... As the city and
attorney and I were listening to some comments. I don't
know how... People reference that the mall owner has only
owned it for three years He's owned it since November
of 2017. So much longer than three years And the
owner does have the responsibility Uh... To ensure that... Uh...
The property meets the state building codes Also somebody mentioned
that the museum is open The museum is not open
And we were going through tenant improvements and working with
lighthouse immersive Uh... Which is the consultant Uh... For the
museum... And designing and building out that all work has
stopped Um... And... And our library that the city owns
Uh... The mall doesn't own that It's a city library
has also seized operations as well Um... Yes, we have
been... Um... Tenants of that particular mall Um... For some
time. As it has been an initiative of this particular
council and councils before this council. That we have libraries
in every district And so just as we have a
main library We also have satellite libraries in each of
the districts And we're currently building one Um... At Lakeshore
Village And so... Um... That is why we Our tenants
there I would also say that Um... As far as
when businesses come in. And there's an inspection what is
more typically known as a certificate of occupancy That particular
inspection is inspecting the suite Um... Or the space in
which the business or tenant is going into All of
those have sub - panels. All of those have different
requirements for the tenant to ensure that Um... It is
safe for that space The sub panels are not the
issue here It's main pane panels Uh related to fire
safety life safety Um... Any of the panels in their
area It is the main panels for the entire mall
Um... So that takes care of why businesses are able
to Occupy those spaces when they become new tenants Um
I do want to also mention that when council Um...
In early 2025 Uh... Approved Uh... The lease and the
immersive mall Uh... To go in the bottom Uh... Or
the first floor of the old Sears building Um... Once
we started getting in that space and started taking a
look at Um... Various tenant improvements Uh... We And I
think Chief alluded to this earlier We started noticing some
things about Um... How the mall operates and saw some...
Unpermitted work and so forth Even steel beams that we
cut out Um... Do a 16, 000 square foot Um...
Sorry... Um... Floor to ceiling Uh... Section in the second
floor of the seers building. Those particular beams Uh... That
were laying on the ground Um... Later that week were
used by the mall owner Uh... Weld in where they
were supposed to be closing Uh... The escalators that were
in the old Sears building Well those are warped Um...
Steel beams And so Uh... That is against building codes
and so forth So we did learn a lot over
2025 Um So I've answered Um... Why tenants are able
to Occupy certain spaces I've answered the fact that the
mall owner his own Uh the building since November 2017
Talked about our museum and our library I think that's
covered a lot of the things that we were concerned
about And some of the comments But I know Uh
the city attorney Uh... Wants to briefly discuss Um... Why
the city didn't take... Um... Legal Action against them all.
This may sound very awkward coming from an attorney But
I believe that litigation should always be the last resort.
Particularly when alternative remedies exist. In this particular case You
know we have a relationship with the mall Because we
have entered into a lease agreement with the mall. And
with respect to the numerous code violations The violations related
to our municipal code Which are not the reasons for
shutting down the mall. We have attempted The staff has
attempted to resolve these matters or to get them all
owner to resolve these matters Over the last few years.
Um... And some of them have been resolved. But because
as a city manager mentioned We have had contractors in
there Uh... Working on preparing the premises that we have
leased for the immersive Museum We're planning on opening there
And through our contractors That's... I understand that's where our...
When our fire department discovered That some of these issues
related to fire protection and life safety issues were a
lot more severe That we have no we knew or
in anticipated. In response to that When that came to
the attention of the city manager in my office That's
when we made a decision to send out this joint
letter to the mall owner Advising the moral owner Not
only of the municipal code violations Which again don't form
the basis for shutting down the mall But it was
all the life safety and fire protection issues that turned
out to be very very serious. And when we didn't
get a response from that We I sent out another
letter, a follow - up letter And at the same
time You know after comparing with fire department We realized
that we had reached an impasse with the mole owner
Because I didn't receive any response to the letter that
I sent to him And the fire department did not
receive any response with respect to any attempt or any
planned attempt by the mall owner to remedy These nine...
Safety issues. So again litigation should always be the last
resort And also in the context of government Right now
we're dealing with a property interest and as all of
us know in this country We protect property interests. We
cannot take the rights away from a property owner without
providing them with due process What's that mean? Well we
have to provide them with an opportunity to appeal our
decision. And I can inform the council today That as
of yesterday we did receive an appeal of this determination.
So we have to go to that process before we
can initiate any litigation against the mall owner. So I
just wanted to put, you know Go on record to
explain why we didn't jump to litigation on this issue.
And of course this is part of the process as
well. Thank you very much for that. And for answering
those additional questions And so at this time we will
bring it back to the dais for any additional questions
or comments from the council Before adjourning and then opening
our closed session meeting We do have a closed session
immediately after this as well Uh, so at this time
I would look to my colleagues. For questions comments Uh...
Primarily comments But if there are more questions that come
up We can address those as well. Council Member Delgado.
Yeah First of all I want to thank everybody that
came out tonight to express their concerns Um... Our hearts
do go out to the tenants and the employees of
them all Um... Obviously you guys are part of our
community I've been in constant contact Uh... Prior to the
attorneys getting involved with Sheena Um... Yes And we were
working on solutions Uh... With the employees and how we
can help them But what I... What I will say
is on any critical incident. Um. I think Chief Park
brought up the Oakland Incident over 30 people perished in
that fire Right They didn't leave there that night Leaf
home They got ready and they went out And they
went to an event at that They didn't do that
knowing they were gonna Lose their life. Critical incidents like
that Do not tell us that they're going to occur.
So we have to prepare and plan. For such incidents
Then that's what Firelife safety is all about. If we
saved one life By following the law and following our
fire department's building safety And our attorney If we saved
one life Because we did that. All of this is
worth it In my opinion. So again our hearts do
go out to the employees Because they are part of
our community Um... We will come up with a solution.
And get this... This mall that our mall back open.
Council Member Baka Santa Cruz. Um When we found out
Tuesday a final inspection was going to happen on Wednesday
I did You know reach out to the mall owner
And so he knew that this was coming that day
And... Once the inspection was failed I also tried to
warn business owners and the community That you know This
was happening that day And we've Put out communication We've
made a webpage We've given it a daily update We've
sent people out there. The goal is opening the mall.
In district 1 The mall is the largest employer I
mean all the businesses are in there And we value
those businesses I remember being in high school in 1992
When the mall opened And applying for jobs at the
trailers And I remember applying You know and thinking This
is going to be the greatest thing ever A mall
right in our city And you know My kids grew
up spending Friday nights going there I dropped them off
and picked them up And not anymore But the older
But I have grandson now And you know We go
to the mall We took pictures at the mall in
the center Um... Two weeks ago And we haven't been
able to pick them up Because the mall's been close
But We have two schools in the mall Um... Schools
that we work with closely A lot of businesses We
do food giveaways with nonprofits in the parking lot We
the mall is a center point of this city And
it is all of our highest priority to get it
open That's why we've dedicated staff Um... Updating You to
going out inspecting And we've said If we inspect and
the one thing left And you're able to fix it
We'll come out again that same day The goal is
to get them all opened But we can't risk your
lives We can't risk our lives Um... And it's just
the right thing to do. And when you're up here
Decisions are hard Because the people affected on both sides
of your decision And it's hard to shut down a
business And when we were told All of us went
home with worry And you know a heavy heart But
at the end The next day we all came back
ready to Um... Do whatever it takes to reopen So
we don't want to Let the mall go We don't
want it to close down And, um... I plan to
do everything I can to get it open And even
if it means You know We do some kind of
a Bateman Like we did with Keltrans Where the freeway
accents weren't being cleaned So we went into an agreement
We made an MOU And we said We'll clean the
exits and then we'll bill you That's a possibility too
Maybe we can do the repairs and then Bill The
something that we'd have to ask resort Um... We don't
ever want to take property You know We have property
rights We don't want to do that To business owners
We wouldn't come into your business We wouldn't come into
your home We shouldn't Right but... That's where we are
today. And this meeting You know came up so that
we could be transparent and stand here and answer your
questions And presents the information Because you deserve this You
deserve to know what's going on And we will do
everything right. And make sure that the mall is safe
when you come back And the things that can be
worked on will continue to work on those So that
they're done Um... So that the mall is entirely safe
All of the code violations are addressed And even the
violations When we violate Business owners or residents Or the
goal is correction We're not looking to make money We're
looking for correction. So That's where we're at today And
that's where I stand And I stand with you Unreaopening
the mall as soon as possible. Council Member Bernard. Um
So I just Again want to thank everyone for coming
out This when we found out everything that was going
on in the mall It was not a decision that
was taken lightly Um, I think there had to be
some conversations around the fact that The goal is not
to close them all I know There are all of
these rumors that we want to close them all permanently
That's what this is why we were calling the temporary
clothes Um, there are Will the city wants to take
over them all We do not. We actually approved a
plan for the redevelopment of the mall. And that is
why we were putting the museum There's why we were
renovating this ears Because we are trying to invest in
them all because we are trying to be part of
the growth And I think... There's no way that we
can say like Oh, this was an easy decision to
just shut it down But at some point Um... I
had to, me personally I had to think of the
lives in there Because there were two schools in there
There are dozens of people that have businesses in there
There are like people are in and out of that
Maw My own family is in and out of that
mall Also I mean Lord, thy brow shopping me go
way back almost 20 years in that mall Um... So
for me I had to look at At some point
we were talking about people's lives And the truth is
really simple Um... We said we would send someone out
there every day to check to see what's being done
He's making the corrections that are needed I think for
me Um This may or may not land well It
is what it is. I wish that the mall owner
had just did What was asked of him from jump?
Because then we wouldn't be in these predicaments V I
know someone was like Well how do you have all
these violations? Because those violations were ones that were like
You can work on those Those are fine That those
aren't life - threatening violations It's the life - threatening
ones that got him shut down The rest of them
We even went as far as to wave What was
it? 350, 000 dollars worth of fees. To bring it
down. So it's the life - threatening ones that actually
were the ones that got him shut down And so
at some point though Um... I'm actually sad that we
had to get to a predicament to shut it down
In order for him to start to address these things
And I'm hoping Um... Like everyone said to get this
mall open as soon as possible That he's able to
continually address him Which by the way The way he's
lighting the fire to address them I wish he'd had
had this fire the entire time. Because he is put...
All of you in these predicaments Of how you're going
to take care of your families And what are you
going to do? And so... We are not here to
be difficult. We are not here to keep you all
from your businesses If he go out there tomorrow And
everything is checked off. Then good You guys can open
up What I also do think is false is that
He's promising you from day to day Oh no You're
going to open Wednesday Well Wednesday's here Okay Thursday Well
Thursday's here He's also not giving you all a realistic
timeline. And the realistic timeline should be Here are the
things that I actually have done left. And I understand
There are parts that we need to get And this
is that But realistically These are the things that I
have done left The other thing that I think is
very important is that they are running on the temporary
generators that are good for 90 days The goal is
for us If we are able to get all of
these Met to not be back here in 90 days
Because he hasn't gotten the permanent generator into So I
think that's the other thing That we have to constantly
keep thinking about Um So again The goal is not
to keep you all shut down and out of your
business and unable to take care of your families and
provide the services that you all provide Um, the goal
is to get this mall open If we could have
got that mall open two days later 48 hours later
Trust me We would have done it Um, so I
promise you I think all of us up here That
is our main goal is to get this small open
Where we can make the compromises at We will As
you can tell when they said like We have the
temporary generators And the chief fine We'll take the temporaries
for now But it's only for 90 days So we're
taking them But it's only for 90 days And those
are the things that I think we need to just
keep in mind That we are trying the best we
can to get it done And that's why we also
had this meeting Because we wanted all of us in
the same room So that we could all talk about
this And hopefully be able to come to a resolution
or solution to get this done Thank you Mayor. Thank
you Mayor Pro Tem Gonzalez. Good evening everyone And thank
you for all the participants that came tonight Um, again
I'm gonna I don't want to belabor with repeating what
my colleague said But our goal is to reopen them
all. Make sure that all the businesses continue thriving Um,
you know I It's there's a personal connection as well
You know I have family that Uh owns a business
there And they're suffering Just like everyone else that is
a business owner Um, and our goal is to make
sure that the more reopens And I also want to
kind of dispel a few things You know That's why
the checks and balances Right we need our building officials
or fire officials to give us that objective Um, analysis
of when there's life threatening issues And it insulates us,
right? Because if not, we would probably negotiate our way
out of these issues And we can't do that. We
want to make sure that the businesses are taken care
of But at the same time That the owners held
accountable And that we're able to move forward in a
safe manner And I know we will I know with
my colleagues We're going to Hopefully provide some solutions And
we need to move forward so we can make sure
that these businesses that are key to our economy Tormenta
Valley that the reopen again And continuing for their families
So thank you. And I'll say that I first and
foremost agree with everything that all four of my colleagues
have said And to also not repeat everything that they
have said. At the end of the day This is
about protecting all of you. Making sure that we protect
your lives And not only that But your property Imagine
if there were a fire. And we didn't do anything
to try to correct and fix that You would not
only possibly injure yourself or get seriously hurt You would
possibly lose everything that's in your store And then what
kind of position does that put you in? That's the
last thing any of us want The lasting any of
us wanted was to close down that mall But we
were left with no choice. And all of us were
in agreement. To ensure that that mall comes into compliance
that those life threatening violations are addressed and fixed and
corrected Not just to reopen the mall in the short
term But to ensure that that mall is thriving for
the long - term. That you all continue to scale
and grow your businesses That we drive as much foot
traffic as possible into those businesses To ensure that you're
successful. That is the goal. And like Council Member Bernard
mentioned That's why we're doing everything that pertains to approving
the revitalization Back in 2023 We did our part By
approving the proposal that the mob brought to us. It's
up to them to build it We can't force them
to build it. We already did our part. We can
help them to attract businesses to attract others to come
to the mall But they're the ones that have to
sign the contracts They're the ones that have to finish
the work They're the ones that have to build Hire
the contractors We want that mall to thrive. And how
do you think it makes me feel When I spent
years trying to convince a few Several of those businesses
Like RGBA To come to Moreno Valley And then for
this to happen How do you think that makes me
feel. Because I put my neck out there And told
them to come here And then this happens It's the
last thing That I wanted to happen And I have
to face all of you and just keep it real
We have to be honest And that's what this meeting
is all about So that we put the truth out
there Because from the get - go There was a
lot of misinformation and rumors and flat out lies that
were being told. And this was to clarify all of
that. So that there's no room for misinformation and spewing
of the facts. And at the end of the day.
Even as a council Our hands are tied by the
law We have to abide by the law. And that
is clear It was stipulated and spelled out by our
staff Uh... During their staff report. And so I have
no doubt That we're gonna go into closed session Immediately
after this We're gonna have a robust conversation To figure
out a solution to reopen the mall ASAP. And again
In short not just that we open it for 30
days 90 days That that mall stays open in perpetuity
And that we do everything we can to ensure that
it is successful That is the goal. We have a
museum That's under construction And it had to pause Because
of this situation. That museum needs to get open. The
schools need to get reopened. All of it needs to
be reopened. And I know that we're gonna go into
this close session Put our heads together Have a very
hard difficult thorough conversation And my hope is that The
five of us After closed session can come out here
and report out What that solution What that plan looks
like so we can get that mall reopened in a
safe Matter. So with that I'll conclude my comments. And
we'll conclude deliberation. For this particular item. And we will
adjourn the special open session. At 8 12 PM. And
at this time We'll go ahead and transition over to
our special closed session. And again I need to note
for the record by law that the city Council receives
a separate stipend from the community services district If any
CSD business is conducted at this meeting I now call
the special closed session meeting to order on February 26th
at 8 12 PM. Item B is public comments on
matters on the agenda Only And again I would like
to remind everyone that since this is a special meeting
All public comments must be limited only to those items
that are on the special closed session meeting agenda And
there is a three minute time limit per person unless
modified based on the number of speakers.
View to do so if you wish. So Madam Clerk.
Yes mr. City Manager. Do we need a moment to
transition over to close session? Yes, maybe. Okay, so we'll
take a brief five minute recess. We're gonna take a
break while staff transitions are computers over to close session
and we'll resume in about five minutes. Thank you.