14-E
TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
ATTENTION: Jeffrey L. Stewart, City Manager
FROM: Mayra Ochiqui, City Clerk
SUBJECT: Consideration and possible action to approve the Minutes of the June 12, 2023, Special Meeting of the City Council.
DATE: June 26, 2023
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
None
RECOMMENDATION TO CITY COUNCIL
1) Approve the June 12, 2023, Special Meeting Minutes; or
2) Alternatively, discuss and take other action related to this item.
FISCAL IMPACT
None
ATTACHMENT
Minutes of the June 12, 2023, Special Meeting… ....................... ………………………… 2
1 MINUTES
CITY OF BELLFLOWER
SPECIAL MEETING OF THE BELLFLOWER CITY COUNCIL
MONDAY, JUNE 12, 2023, 4:00 P.M.
BELLFLOWER CITY HALL – COUNCIL CHAMBERS
1 CALL TO ORDER
Mayor Santa Ines called the Special Meeting to order at 4:01 p.m.
2 ROLL CALL
The following Members of the City Council responded present to roll call:
Mayor Sonny R. Santa Ines
Council Member Ray Dunton
Council Member Dan Koops
Council Member Victor A. Sanchez
For the record, it was moved by Council Member Koops, seconded by Council Member Sanchez, and carried without objection to excuse the absence of Mayor Pro Tem Hamada.
Staff Participants:
Jeffrey L. Stewart, City Manager
Karl H. Berger, City Attorney
Mayra Ochiqui, City Clerk
Len Gorecki, Assistant City Manager/Director of Public Works Jim DellaLonga, Director of Economic Development
Travis Sais, Assistant to the City Manager
Jennifer Poole-Eidd, Management Assistant
3 PUBLIC COMMENTS
For the record, there was no one in attendance wishing to provide public comments.
2 Bellflower City Council Special Meeting Minutes Item No. 4-A June 12, 2023 Page 2 of 5
4 STUDY SESSIONS
A Consideration and possible action to conduct a City Council Study Session to discuss and consider a proposal from Care Solace for mental health care coordinator services.
City Manager Stewart introduced the item , provided a brief verbal report of the Staff Report, and introduced Chad Castruita, CEO of Care Solace.
For the record, 1) CEO Castruita gave a Canva presentation providing an overview of Care Solace’s services and proposal; and 2) along with City Manager Stewart, responded to Council Members’ questions.
At the request of Mayor Santa Ines, CEO Castruita confirmed that on average there are 27 providers available at any time and the list is updated every three months.
At the request of Council Member Sanchez, CEO Castruita 1) explained that Care Solace’s contract with Bellflower Unified School District (BUSD) provides access to services to district staff, students, and their families at a cost of $4/student per year, and therefore the BUSD student population had been deducted from the City’s cost proposal of $1.50/resident per year; 2) clarified that although Care Solace would provide marketing materials, the City would be responsible for marketing the services to its residents through existing communication channels; 3) conducted a live demonstration of Care Solace’s website and services; 4) clarified that “Care Solace verified” means that Care Solace looked at “rip-off” reports and lawsuits and providers are removed from the list if any are found, noting that the list is updated every three months versus waiting for the annual County update; 5) confirmed that they employ 600 staff members licensed through the State of California to ensure compliance with Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) laws, and they both make appointments and coordinate “warm hand-offs”; and 6) demonstrated Long Beach Unified School District Impact Report as a sample.
At the request of Council Member Koops, CEO Castruita 1) confirmed that the City’s cost proposal excluded 12,000 students already covered by BUSD’s contract with Care Solace; 2) confirmed that people who find the company on the website through general search engines would not be turned away, even if not covered by a current contract; and 3) provided his personal biography of how he came to create the company, including his experience with homelessness for a period of three months and his parents experiencing difficulty finding mental health services to help him during that time, even though they did have adequate insurance coverage.
Council Member Sanchez, stated that he was concerned that having a background in the mental health industry himself, he had not been able to vet Care Solace with BUSD, as the district was not familiar with the company, to which CEO Castruita clarified that BUSD was not currently under contract, explaining they are under contract with 75 of the 81 school districts in Los Angeles County, and he had mistaken BUSD for another local school district.
3 Bellflower City Council Special Meeting Minutes Item No. 4 -A June 12, 2023 Page 3 of 5
4 STUDY SESSION – Continued
A Consideration and possible action to conduct a City Council Study Session to discuss and consider a proposal from Care Solace for mental health care coordinator services – Continued
At the request of Council Member Sanchez, City Manager Stewart stated that he was not incredibly concerned with the marketing aspect of the program, but shared concerns regarding who would use the services, noting that the City would learn fairly quickly if the program was going to be used effectively.
For the record, Council Member Koops stated his disappointment that CEO Castruita had not done proper research relative to the contract with BUSD.
At the request of Council Member Dunton, CEO Castruita 1) explained that their staff members respond to requests for service within 15 minutes with either a referral or a “warm hand-off” to a provider or law enforcement; 2) confirmed that they work with court orders; and 3) stated that he would provide an additional report relative to requests for help regarding substance abuse in Los Angeles County.
For the record, Council Member Koops 1) stated that he was concerned that people from our community would say that it’s a farce and they didn’t received services, but stated that the City would see the usefulness of the program if they are able to save even one life; and 2) confirmed with CEO Castruita that the company’s focus had been on school districts, but was now shifting to focus on cities, Care Solace was proposing the City enter into a contract for a one-year pilot program, and the City would not be let down, as he has been doing this since 2018.
At the request of City Manager Stewart, CEO Castruita confirmed that Care Solace has a working relationship with the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) and they are a new provider within their coordination service network.
Council Member Koops made a motion, seconded by Mayor Santa Ines, to direct the City Manager to enter into a one-year agreement with Care Solace, in a form approved by the City Attorney, for mental health care coordinator services.
At the request of Council Member Dunton relative to whether there was any Federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding left that may be used for this purpose, 1) Director of Economic Development DellaLonga, in conversation with Director of Finance Rhee, confirmed that the ARPA funding had all been allocated, however there was a possibility of using the Drug Education Fund for this purpose; and 2) City Manager Stewart confirmed that there was sufficient funding in the Drug Education Fund and the authorized amount for the agreement could be incorporated into the Operating Budget for fiscal year 2023 -24 under the Drug Education Fund.
4 Bellflower City Council Special Meeting Minutes Item No. 4 -A June 12, 2023 Page 4 of 5
4 STUDY SESSION – Continued
A Consideration and possible action to conduct a City Council Study Session to discuss and consider a proposal from Care Solace for mental health care coordinator services – Continued
For the record, 1) Council Member Koops requested and received confirmation from CEO Castruita that the proposed term could be modified from one year to six months and amended the original motion to include an agreement term six months; and 2) Mayor Santa Ines as the seconder of the motion agreed to the amendment of the motion.
Following discussion, noting the motion by Council Member Koops and second by Mayor Santa Ines, the motion carried by the following roll call vote, to direct the City Manager to enter into a six-month agreement with Care Solace, in a form approved by the City Attorney, for mental health care coordinator services, with the authorized amount incorporated into the Operating Budget for fiscal year 2023-24 under the Drug Education Fund:
AYES: Council Members - Koops, Sanchez, Dunton and Mayor Santa Ines
ABSENT: Council Member - Mayor Pro Tem Hamada
B Consideration and possible action to implement a city-wide Vehicle Replacement Program through Enterprise Fleet Management Inc.
Assistant City Manager/Director of Public Works Gorecki gave a PowerPoint presentation providing an overview of the Staff Report and introduced Zeke Jenkins, Enterprise Fleet Management Senior Account Executive.
Senior Account Executive Jenkins 1) gave a PowerPoint presentation providing an overview of the proposed Vehicle Replacement Program; and 2) along with Assistant City Manager/Director of Public Works Gorecki and City Manager Stewart, responded to Council Members’ questions.
Following brief discussion, it was the consensus of the City Council to direct the City Manager to gather more information regarding the program, including a vehicle-by vehicle cost comparison and annual cost analysis, and bring the matter back at a future date for further consideration.
5 Bellflower City Council Special Meeting Minutes Item No. 5 June 12, 2023 Page 5 of 5
5 ADJOURNMENT
Without objection, Mayor Santa Ines adjourned the meeting at 5:31 p.m.
Sonny R. Santa Ines, Mayor
City of Bellflower
ATTEST:
Mayra Ochiqui, City Clerk
Approved: June 26, 2023
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