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HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 05 - Minutes from the Special Meeting of May 15, 2025CITY COUNCIL 1 MAY 15, 2025 DRAFT Minutes of the Special Meeting of the City Council City of Santa Ana, California May 15, 2025 SPECIAL OPEN MEETING – 5:30 P.M. (Immediately following the Closed Session Meeting) CITY COUNCIL CHAMBER 22 Civic Center Plaza Santa Ana, CA 92701 CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL OPEN SESSION CALL TO ORDER MINUTES: Mayor Amezcua convened the Special City Council Meeting to order at 5:42 P.M. ATTENDANCE Councilmembers Mayor Pro Tem Phil Bacerra Johnathan Ryan Hernandez Jessie Lopez David Penaloza Thai Viet Phan Benjamin Vazquez Mayor Valerie Amezcua City Manager City Attorney City Clerk Alvaro Nuñez Sonia R. Carvalho Jennifer L. Hall ROLL CALL MINUTES: City Clerk Jennifer L. Hall conducted roll call. Councilmembers Bacerra, Hernandez, Lopez, Phan, Mayor Pro Tem Vazquez, and Mayor Amezcua were present. Councilmember Penaloza was absent. CITY COUNCIL 2 MAY 15, 2025 PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Eduardo Flores and Gaston Flores PUBLIC COMMENTS – Public comments will be held during the beginning of the meeting for ALL comments on agenda ONLY. MINUTES: City Clerk Jennifer L. Hall reported out the summary of email comments received: eight (8) Agenda Item No. 1. The following speakers addressed the City Council in-person: 1. Desi Reyes spoke in favor of allocating funding for sidewalk, street, and alley repairs. 2. Martha Molina, President, Riverview Neighborhood Association, requested a gate to secure the parking lot by the cabin before the Riverview Golf Course. 3. Selica Diaz requested allocation of funds for the Cypress Street Fire Station. 4. Debra spoke in favor of a dedicated arts fund and spoke regarding the beneficial aspects of arts to the community. 5. Alicia Rojas spoke regarding public arts, the benefits to the community, and supporting arts through use of cannabis tax funds. 6. Logan Crow spoke regarding the beneficial aspects of arts to the community and requested additional funding for the arts. 7. Leobardo Chamu requested funding to rehabilitate the Cypress Street Fire Station. 8. David spoke in support of converting the Cypress Street Fire Station into a community space. The following speaker addressed the City Council via teleconference: 9. Ana Licon spoke in support of funding for parks, graffiti abatement, Cypress Street Fire Station, and the arts. 1. Fiscal Year 2025-26 Budget Work Study Session Department(s): Finance and Management Services Recommended Action: Discuss and provide direction to staff. WORK STUDY SESSION CITY COUNCIL 3 MAY 15, 2025 MINUTES: At 6:06 P.M., the Work Study Session was considered. Acting Director of Finance and Management Services Alex Trinidad gave a presentation regarding the FY2025-26 Budget. Councilmember Hernandez thanked staff for their work on the presentation. He requested additional funding for sidewalk repairs, installation of blue security lights in the Willard neighborhood, El Salvador Park, and Jerome Park, and bus stop upgrades at 17th and Bristol. He also suggested allocating funds for senior center expansions, conducting a traffic study at Willard and Washington and establishing a $50,000 arts fund. Mayor Pro Tem Vazquez thanked staff for the presentation, expressed support for the proposed workforce changes, and spoke in favor of a cannabis festival. He opposed increasing park fees for nonprofit groups and supported funding a new crosswalk at Angels Park, the Cypress Street Fire Station, and a skate park. He requested funding for traffic mitigation on and around Center and Raitt, and for a park in the Pico-Lowell neighborhood. Councilmember Bacerra thanked staff for the presentation. He requested funding for installation of speed bumps on the south end of the City, street lights in dimly lit neighborhoods, and left turn signals at the intersections of Flower and MacArthur and Greenville and MacArthur. He spoke in favor of the allocation for sidewalk repairs and inquired regarding the expected revenue from the proposed $250,000 investment at Bristol and Edinger. Assistant City Manager Kathryn Downs responded that staff is currently assessing potential revenue. Mayor Amezcua requested additional informational on the plan for Senior Centers and requested quarterly updates. She thanked staff for their work on the budget, highlighted her number one priority is public safety, and spoke in support of bus shelter upgrades on McFadden and Center, tree planting initiatives, and art funding. City Manager Alvaro Nuñez explained that the City aims to generate revenue at Senior Centers by renting out spaces for celebrations and he assured the council that such events would be managed carefully to avoid interfering with existing senior programs. Councilmember Lopez expressed support for utilizing one-time funds to create a safety net for grant-funded positions and asked for clarification regarding the proposed adjustments listed for parking control. Assistant City Manager Downs clarified there is not enough revenue currently coming in from the parking structures to cover the full cost of parking control operations. Councilmember Lopez requested information on the branding and communication budget item. CITY COUNCIL 4 MAY 15, 2025 City Manager Nuñez stated that the proposed $150,000 would fund consulting services to assist in the City’s branding efforts. Councilmember Lopez opposed the proposed increase in the allotment for councilmember travel to $40,000. Councilmember Phan spoke in favor of funding updates and repairs to Euclid, additional lighting at Centennial Park, and the proposed budget for Councilmember travel. Councilmember Hernandez spoke in favor of purchasing Chromebooks and hotspot devices for checkout at the library, building a crosswalk at Angels Park, and completion of the basketball court. He suggested setting aside $5 million from the Bristol Related project to prepare for Measure X. He expressed support for tree planting initiatives and incentives, the completion of the Cypress Street Fire Station, building the Bristol and Tolliver Park, installing security light at Ed Caruthers Park, and a $60,000 cannabis fund to pay for Summer Night Lights at El Salvador Park over the next two fiscal years. Mayor Pro Tem Vazquez spoke in support of the blue lights at parks, repairs to the Pacific Park neighborhood, Summer Night Lights at El Salvador Park, and suggested collaborating with local groups to promote the budget survey. Councilmember Lopez spoke in favor of the lot restoration at Riverview Park, blue light cameras, park restorations at Cabrillo, Edna, and Santiago Parks, and spoke in support of building the Bristol Tolliver Park. Councilmember Bacerra spoke in support of the Cypress Street Fire Station and asked whether the City currently has funding for underground powerlines. Public Works Director Nabil Saba stated that the funding from SoCal Edison for underground powerlines has been exhausted. Councilmember Bacerra requested a basketball court at Lillie King Park and security cameras along the Alton bike trail. Mayor Amezcua requested a traffic study for traffic calming measures at MacArthur Fundamental and additional school sites, Fairview Street, Washington Street, and Memory Lane between Bristol and Flower. She also requested installation of “no pandering” signs on street medians. Councilmember Lopez spoke in favor of installing a street light on Fairview and Downie, making alley improvements, placing stop signs and speed bumps on Lincoln Avenue, conducting street repairs off Fairhaven and 17th, adding stop signs on Lyon, establishing a four-way stop on Towner and 21st, and installing speed bumps on English and Alona and on Tammy Lane and Santa Clara. She supported the use of street bots and repairs on Grant, between 4th and 17th, and from Grant to Fruit, thanked staff for installing red reflectors in the Portola Park neighborhood and requested that sidewalk repairs use concrete instead of asphalt. CITY COUNCIL 5 MAY 15, 2025 Mayor Pro Tem Vazquez expressed support for increasing staff members for the Quality of Life Team, installation of blue lights on the Alton bike trail, and trees along Center. Councilmember Hernandez requested additional lighting on Civic Center and spoke in favor of additional lights at Centennial Park and repairs on Fairview. Councilmember Bacerra cautioned the Council on discussing allocation of funds that do not currently exist and he reiterated his requests for left turn signals on MacArthur, a basketball court at Lillie King Park, security cameras along the Alton Bike Trail, and speed bumps and repairs near the First American campus and Hutton Centre. Councilmember Phan inquired regarding the cost to restore the Cypress Street Fire Station Director Saba stated the current estimated cost of repairs and restoration is $4 million. Councilmember Lopez requested installation of lighting on 17th and Jefferson, sidewalk and pothole repairs to 18th and Jefferson, and lighting on 14th at Martha Lane and Hathaway. She spoke in favor of establishing a legal defense fund and public art trust fund and expressed concern regarding tree trimming. Mayor Amezcua inquired regarding the potential staffing configuration if the City were to operate with four homeless Quality of Life Teams. Discussion ensued regarding the cost of additional Quality of Life Teams. Mayor Amezcua asked staff to provide an estimate of the cost of erecting a fence to secure the cabin at Riverview. CITY MANAGER COMMENTS MINUTES: City Manager Alvaro Nuñez stated staff is committed to presenting a balanced budget that addresses the needs of all wards and council members' requests. He shared that staff’s objective is to develop a plan by the end of the calendar year for the sunset of the sales tax in three to four years, incorporating current additions and leveraging an in-house construction team to expedite smaller projects. COUNCILMEMBER COMMENTS MINUTES: Councilmember Lopez thanked staff for the draft budget and encouraged the public to read and review the budget. CITY COUNCIL 6 MAY 15, 2025 Councilmember Phan thanked staff for the budget and stated she looks forward to reviewing the next budget proposal. Councilmember Hernandez thanked staff for the budget. He asked to adjourn the meeting in memory of Armando Morales and asked that the Santa Ana Unified School District (SAUSD) reconsider their layoff decisions. Councilmember Bacerra thanked staff for the presentation. Mayor Pro Tem Vazquez thanked staff for the presentation and expressed his condolences to the family of Armando Morales. Mayor Amezcua thanked staff for the presentation and stated she looks forward to passing the budget at the next meeting. She thanked Councilmember Hernandez for sharing his sentiments regarding Armando Morales and the SAUSD layoffs and expressed her condolences to the Morales family. She invited the community to the Fun Run on Saturday, May 17th. ADJOURNMENT – Adjourn the City Council meeting. MINUTES: Mayor Amezcua adjourned the Special City Council Meeting in memory of Armando Morales at 7:52 P.M. Respectfully submitted: ___________________________ Jennifer L. Hall, CMC City Clerk