Special Council Meeting Recap: Jan. 14, 2021

All council members were present for the Thursday, January 14 Special City Council meeting. Open session started at 10:02 a.m. and ended at 10:50 a.m. Here are the highlights:

Councilmembers to Meet this Saturday to hold Interviews for Captain Of The Carson Police Station. A closed session special council meeting has been set for Saturday, January 16, 8:30 a.m. to interview 5 candidates for the position of Captain of the Carson Police Station. The council was asked by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department to create a panel to interview candidates and nominate one person to the Los Angeles County Sheriff, Alex Villanueva, who would ultimately make the final decision. During the December 15 special council meeting, the council created the panel and agreed to appoint then Councilmember Lula Davis-Holmes, Mayor Pro Tem Jim Dear, Councilmember Jawane Hilton, and the chair of the Public Safety Commission. Mayor Davis-Holmes brought the item back for the January 14 meeting and motioned to repeal the previous appointments and instead appoint all 4 active councilmembers. Additionally, the Mayor motioned to include a representative from Supervisor Holly Mitchell’s office to the panel as a voting member and add City Manager Sharon Landers and Pastor Ealey as non-voting members. The previous Captain Jason Skeen was permanently promoted to the position of Commander.

Special Meeting called for Thursday January 21 to hold General Plan Workshop, assign Appointments to the Carson Reclamation Authority and Declare Councilmember Vacancy. Mayor Lula Davis-Holmes called for a special council meeting to be held Thursday January 21 at 6:00 p.m. to cover items she feels are too important to mix in with the busy agenda of a regular council meeting. The special council meeting will include a workshop for the update to the General Plan, appoint members to the Carson Reclamation Authority, and declare Mayor Davis-Holmes old council seat vacant. Additionally, the city plans on announcing a date for the 2nd workshop regarding the closure of Imperial Avalon Mobile Homes Estates Mobilehome Park during the upcoming special meeting. The need for the appointment of members for the CRA comes after Mayor Davis-Holmes motioned to vacate and remove all commissioners, committee members, and board members during the January 14 meeting to start with a clean slate.

Councilmembers send out letter asking for COVID-19 Vaccination Site be placed in Carson. A letter signed by the council will be sent seeking for the placement of a vaccination site in the city, following a request from Mayor Lula Davis-Holmes. “We have to be our own caliber here. We have to reach out and do whatever we can to protect our residents,” announced Davis-Holmes sharing that many of her constituents have been calling asking for a vaccination center. Councilmember Jawane Hilton recommended reaching out to the Commmunity Organized Relief Effort (CORE), a charitable non-profit who currently runs the vaccine program in Dodger Stadium. Mayor Pro Tem Jim Dear praised the motion, adding that according to the superintendent of LAUSD, students would not be allowed to return back to school until they are vaccinated as another reason to have a vaccination site in the city.