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Sep 24, 20214 min read

Council Meeting Recap: Sep. 21, 2021

Updated: Oct 6, 2021

All council members were present for the Tuesday, September 21 City Council meeting. Open session started at 5:00 p.m. and ended at 9:21 p.m. Here's what you missed:


Assemblymember Mike Gipson attains an additional $3 million for Carriage Crest Park. Assemblymember Mike Gipson secured another $3 million for the Carriage Crest Park expansion responding to the challenge issued by Mayor Lula Davis-Holmes back in August. The $6 million total funds Gipson attained covers over 50% of the estimated $11.4 million cost of the expansion which was agreed on during the Jan 26 meeting. According to Mayor Pro Tem Jim Dear, the park will triple in size with the expansion. The council thanked Representative Jun Aglipay for sharing the good news with Mayor Davis-Holmes inviting the Assemblymember to present the money personally at a future council meeting. Councilman Cedric Hicks noted that one more $3 million would help with improvements for other city parks.

Aglipay also highlighted a couple of the Assemblymember’s bills which passed through the Assembly and Senate and are now awaiting approval by the Governor:

  • AB 490. This bill seeks to ban law enforcement from using restraints that cause positional asphyxia which lead to the deaths of George Floyd and Angelo Quinto. Also known as the ‘Angelo Quinto Act’.

  • AB 958. This bill seeks to make all enforcement agencies develop policies against law enforcement gangs. The bill also states that officers in a department gang may be subject to termination and will not be able to seek employment as an officer in any department in the state ever again.

  • AB 342. This bill seeks to remove cost barriers for individuals seeking colonoscopies to help catch cases in colorectal cancer earlier. Specifically, it would require health service plans to cover colorectal cancer screenings and related tests without cost sharing.

Three Carson teachers among Shell Science Lab Regional Challenge Winners. The city recognized three local teachers in the Carson Communities of Schools for winning the Shell Science Lab and Regional Challenge Competition. Matthew Medrano from Carson High School, Dan Bonn from Towne Avenue Elementary School, and Brenan Leyden from Andrew Carnegie Middle School were presented with certificates of recognition for being among 36 regional winners across four states. Sponsored by Shell, the competition awards exceptional and innovative science educators utilizing outstanding K–12 school programs with limited laboratory resources for their exemplary approaches to science lab instruction. According to www.nsta.org, award winnings include a lab makeover at $10,000 for elementary and middle schools, and $15,000 for high schools. Introducing the teachers were Local District South Superintendent Michael Romero and Carson Community of Schools Administrator Dr. Afia Hemphill who added that Mayor Lula Davis-Holmes had sent an email in the past requesting Carson schools win this challenge.


Council Meetings will allow Live Public Comments beginning in October. Starting with the next City Council meeting in October, members of the public may chose to give their public comment live via a call in option. Emergency Services Manager Raymond Cheung informed the council regarding passage of AB 361 which allows legislative bodies to decide whether to continue teleconferencing their meetings beginning October 1st. Passage of AB 361 came in a timely manner as the Governor’s past executive orders, allowing meetings to be held via teleconference by suspending some Brown Act requirements, were set to expire on Sep 30th. According to Cheung, AB 361 added the following new requirements if an agency chooses to continue teleconferencing:

  • Agencies must identify and allow the public to call in (or call in online).

  • The legislative body must allow members of the public access to the meetings and agendas must include an opportunity for members of the public to address the legislative body directly.

  • At least one member of the legislative body must be physically present, during that portion of the agenda.

City Attorney Sunny Soltani also informed the council that every 30 days the legislative body must announce findings of whether the circumstances for an emergency still exist to allow teleconferencing. As of today the City has not identified a method to leave public comments. CAT reached out to city staff and was assured the information will be available to the public in the near future.


City adopts Emergency Operations Plan following 4.3 magnitude earthquake. The council unanimously approved the City’s very own Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) following its successful trial run during the 4.3 magnitude earthquake that hit Carson last Friday night. Emergency Services Manager, Raymond Cheung presented the EOP, stating that the city’s plan incorporates the federal’s National Incident Management System (NIMS) and the state’s Standardized Emergency Management System. According to him the EOP aims to complete the following:

  • Establishes the structure of Emergency Management Organization required to mitigate any significant emergency or hazard affecting the City.

  • Identifies the roles and responsibilities required to protect the health and safety of City residents, public and private property and the environment due to natural or human-caused emergency disasters.

  • Establishes the operational concepts associated with a field response to emergencies, the City’s Emergency Operation Center (EOC) activities and the recovery process. This was done on Friday night with L.A. County Fire and Health departments.

The council thanked the Emergency Operations Team along with LA County Fire Chief and Captain Jones from the Carson sheriff’s station for the successful implementation of the plan during the earthquake. “We have been trying to get something in place that is concise and to the point,” said Mayor Lula Davis-Holmes, “Because I was very nervous about how the city would react in an emergency. I must say I was pleasantly surprised.” The Mayor requested staff to look into running mock scenarios for the EOC.


City made the following Proclamation:

  • Recognizing Sep. 15 – Oct. 15 as Hispanic Heritage Month

*Councilmember Cedric Hicks would like residents to know about these government contact information:


 

Upcoming Events:

  • Jazz Festival Virtual Event Saturday October 2, 6 p.m. Live Stream at carsonca.gov/jazz



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