15-H
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 October 2, 2023, Special Meeting of the City Council.
DATE: October 9, 2023
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
None
RECOMMENDATION TO CITY COUNCIL
1) Approve the October 2, 2023, Special Meeting Minutes; or
2) Alternatively, discuss and take other action related to this item.
FISCAL IMPACT
None
ATTACHMENT
Minutes of the October 2, 2023, Special Meeting… .................... ………………………… 2
11 MINUTES
CITY OF BELLFLOWER
SPECIAL MEETING OF THE BELLFLOWER CITY COUNCIL
MONDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2023, 4:00 P.M.
BELLFLOWER CITY HALL – COUNCIL CHAMBERS
1 CALL TO ORDER
Mayor Santa Ines called the Regular Meeting to order at 4:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers at Bellflower City Hall, 16600 Civic Center Drive, Bellflower.
2 ROLL CALL
The following members of the City Council responded present to roll call:
Mayor Sonny Santa Ines
Mayor Pro Tem Dan Koops
Council Member Ray Dunton
Council Member Victor A. Sanchez
3 PUBLIC COMMENTS
There was no one in attendance wishing to provide public comments.
4 CONSIDERATION ITEM
A Consideration and possible action to appoint a successor to Council Member Raymond Y. Hamada’s Council District 1 seat with a term ending December 2024.
City Manager Stewart introduced the item and provided a brief verbal report of the Staff Report.
Mayor Santa Ines, on behalf of the Ad Hoc Subcommittee and the City Council, 1) thanked the seven applicants for submitting an application ; 2) stated that initially there were four finalists (three female candidates and one male candidate); however, one applicant was disqualified as he had a conflict of interest due to a relative who works for the City, which is not allowed per the Code of Conduct; 3) noted that another finalist has a spouse who is a City Commissioner and she has confirmed that if appointed to the City Council, her spouse would resign his position on the Commission; 4) announced that the Subcommittee is recommending the following finalists for further consideration of the appointment:
Wendi Morse, Ruth Zymkowitz, and Stacey Chanan; and 5) noted that there were existing procedures first established in 2016 that the City Council may utilize in the event of a tie vote, which are that one Council Member can change their vote right away or the Council can reconsider a previous vote.
2 Bellflower City Council Special Meeting Minutes Item No. 4 October 2, 2023 Page 2 of 3
4 CONSIDERATION ITEM – Continued
A Consideration and possible action to appoint a successor to Council Member Raymond Y. Hamada’s Council District 1 seat with a term ending December 2024 – Continued
Mayor Pro Tem Koops 1) stated that the City Council appreciated the quality of all the applicants, noting that any one of the seven applicants could serve as a City Council Member, so it is just a matter of finding out which one is the best fit; and 2) noted that they are working on a time consideration as there is a deadline to make a decision and the person chosen will be sworn in at the next City Council Meeting.
For the record, 1) Council Member Dunton and Council Member Sanchez disclosed that they requested, received, and reviewed all application packets; 2) Mayor Santa Ines pointed out that the applications and Form 700s are public records and available upon request from the City Clerk; and 3) Mayor Santa Ines announced that they would call on the finalists one at a time in the order they filed their applications to make a brief statement and be available for questions.
City Council applicants Wendi Morse, Ruth Zymkowitz, and Stacey Chanan provided brief introductory statements about themselves and responded to Council Members’ questions. For the record, substantially the same questions were asked of all three candidates.
Following discussion, Mayor Santa Ines opened nominations for the office of City Council Member District 1. For the record, 1) Council Member Dunton nominated Wendi Morse; 2) Council Member Sanchez nominated Stacey Chanan; and 3) Mayor Pro Tem Koops nominated Ruth Zymkowitz. Mayor Santa Ines called for a roll call vote on the matter:
Council Member Sanchez - Stacey Chanan
Mayor Pro Tem Koops - Ruth Zymkowitz
Council Member Dunton - Wendi Morse
Mayor Santa Ines - Wendi Morse
It was moved by Mayor Pro Tem Koops, seconded by Council Member Dunton and unanimously carried by the following roll call vote to appoint Wendi Mors e by acclamation as successor to fill the Council Member District 1 seat for a period with a term ending December 2024:
AYES: Council Members - Sanchez, Koops, Dunton, and Mayor Santa Ines
3 Bellflower City Council Special Meeting Minutes Item No. 5 October 2, 2023 Page 3 of 3
5 ADJOURNMENT
Without objection, Mayor Santa Ines adjourned the meeting at 5:08 p.m.
Sonny R. Santa Ines, Mayor
City of Bellflower
ATTEST:
Mayra Ochiqui, City Clerk
Approved: October 9, 2023
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