ADJOURNED MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING
OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
LA VERNE
Monday, February28, 2022
1. The City Council Meeting was opened to the public. Inaneffortto keepa safeenvironmentandto minimizethe spread of the COVID- 19 Virus, the City limited occupancy and required masking for those in attendance. To facilitatepublicparticipationforthosewhodidnotwishto attendinperson, themeetingwasmadeavailable virtually.
2. AregularmeetingoftheLaVerneCityCouncilwascalledtoorderbyMayorHepburnat6:35p.m.
3. Council Members present: Mayor Tim Hepburn Mayor Pro Tem Muir Davis
Council Member Robin Carder
Council Member Wendy Lau
Council Member Rick Crosby
Absent: None.
Advisory personnel present: City ManagerRobertRussi
Assistantto the City ManagerJR Ranells
CityAttorneyRobertL. Kress
AssistantCity Clerk LupeGaeta Estrella
CommunityServicesManagerYvonneDuran
Finance Director Marla Pendleton
Public Works Director Shawn Igoe
4. PledgeofAllegiancewasledbyCouncilMemberCrosby.
5. Review Fire Operations and FireChiefNiggandCityManagerRussiprovidedtheCityCouncilwithan County Services overviewon the statusof the Fire Department's currentfire servicesoperation, aswellasinformationonthediscussionswiththeCountyof LosAngeles regarding fire services along with a power point presentation. Kurt Latipow fromAPTritongavea preliminarilyupdateontheStandardof Coverage.
Staffrecommendedthatafterthepresentation, CityCouncilshouldreviewand consider, andprovidestaffwithdirectiononwhetherto continuethepursuitof contractingfireservicesorabandoningthosediscussionswiththeCounty.
Mayor Hepburn called for public comment on this matter.
There were public comments at the meeting. ( To hear what was said during publiccomment, pleasevisittheCity'swebsitetoviewthearchivedCouncil meeting.)
TheCityCouncilwasallinsupportofkeepingtheLaVerneFireDepartment.
TheythankedFireChiefNigg, CityManagerRussiandtheLaVerne Firefighters' Association for their hard work and for the negotiations; and discussions with the County of Los Angeles Fire Department for fire services.
CityCouncilAdjournedMinutes, Monday, February28, 2022, Page2.
ChiefNiggstatedthatthiswasa teameffort. Hethankedthe LaVerne Firefighters for their spirit of cooperation and willingness to move forward in a positive direction. He also thanked the County of Los Angeles Fire Department for their time and efforts on the fire study to provide fire services to the City of La Verme.
It wasmovedby Davis, secondedby Lau, andunanimouslycarriedto discontinue negotiations with the County of Los Angeles for fire services.
There was one public comment email received and is attached.
6. Public Comment This was the time set aside for anyone wishing to address the City Council on items not listed in any other place on the agenda. Mayor Hepburn called for public comment and waited for staff to check for any public comment via telephone communication.
Mayor Hepburn called for public comment.
There were public comments at the meeting and via the webinar. To hear what wassaidduringpubliccomment, pleasevisitthe City's websiteto viewthe archived Council meeting.
7. Adjournment at 8: 00 p. m., toMonday, March7, 2022at5 p.m. fora CityCouncilStudySessiononSB9.
Respectfully submitted,
QQ
Lupe Gaeta Estrella, CMC
Assistant City Clerk
Mayor Tim Hepburn
Councilmember Robin Carder
Councilmember Wendy Lau
Councilmember Rick Crosby
Councilmember Muir Davis
TheLaVerneFirefighters'AssociationwouldliketheCityCounciltodecidewhetherwearestayingLa VerneFireortransitioningtolaCountyFire. Continuingtogodownbothroadsiscounterproductive andisawasteofresources.Wecannotfixtheongoingproblemsplaguingthedepartment,suchas recruitment, retention,andanautomaticaidagreementwithLaCoFD, untilthecitycouncildecidesona definitivedirection.Withoutthatdirectionandcommitment, itwillbedifficulttoprovidethebest serviceandprovideahighlevelofsafetyfor boththecitizensandyourFirefightersalike.
TheLVFAcontinuestovoiceoursupportinthedirectionthatFireChiefNiggisleadingourFire Department.WesupportedhisplantostartanAmbulanceOperatorProgram,StaffFireStation3witha Fire Engine, and staff our Fire Ladder Truck( Quint 761). Although this is a huge step forward, it is only theinitialstep.AcommitmenttosavetheFireDepartmentmeansacommitmenttocontinuefunding wages, benefitsandtheoperationalneedstosupportandkeepussafeinourduties. IfCityCouncil affirmsitscommitmenttoalloftheabove,we, inturn,committosupportingCouncilindiscontinuing contract discussionswith the LACounty Fire Department. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Andy Glaze
La Verne Firefighters' Association President