AGENDA
SPECIAL MEETING OF THE MAYWOOD CITY COUNCIL AND THE
SUCCESSOR AGENCY TO THE MAYWOOD COMMUNITY
REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY
THURSDAY, JANUARY 20, 2022 AT 1:00 PM
Maywood City Council Chambers
4319 E. Slauson Avenue, Maywood, CA 90270
www.cityofmaywood.com
I. CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL
CALL TO ORDER
ROLL CALL
II. CITY OFFICIALS
MAYOR
Heber Marquez
MAYOR PRO TEM
Frank Garcia
COUNCIL MEMBERS
Eduardo De La Riva
Ricardo Lara
Jessica Torres
CITY CLERK
Flor Aguiluz
CITY TREASURER
Mary Mariscal
CITY MANAGER
Jennifer E. Vasquez
CITY ATTORNEY
Roxanne Diaz
III. COVID-19 MEETING PROCEDURES
PUBLIC ADVISORY: This meeting will be conducted pursuant to the provisions of Government Code Section 54953(e) (as amended by AB 361), which authorizes teleconferenced meetings under the Brown Act in compliance with Government Code Section 54953(e) during a proclaimed State of Emergency. For this regular meeting, members of the City Council and City Staff are permitted to attend the meeting by teleconference and such teleconference locations are not accessible to the public and are not subject to special posting requirements. Some members of the City Council and staff may attend the meeting at City Hall in the City Council Chambers located at 4319 E. Slauson Avenue. The City Council Chambers, however, will not be open to the
Public. The meeting will be broadcast using the Zoom platform as well as broadcasted live on the City's Facebook page.
If you would like to speak on an agenda item, you can access the meeting remotely via zoom :
Join by phone 1-669-900-6833 Enter Meeting ID: 894 9865 8834 Passcode: 282024 OR
Please click the link below to join the webinar:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89498658834?pwd=WWd0M1ZTMDUzT3Boem1qNWNUMnI1UT09 Passcode: 282024
To participate in the meeting by providing public comment via teleconference/video conference:
Live real-time verbal public comments may be made by members of the public joining the meeting via Zoom. Zoom access information is provided above. Use the “raise hand” feature (for those joining by phone, press *9 to “raise hand”) during the public participation period for agenda items or during the public participation period for non-agenda items. The Zoom Host will call on people to speak by name provided or last 4 digits of phone number.
Before the meeting: You can also submit your public comments for the record in advance by 11:30 am the day of the meeting by email to [email protected]; or if you are unable to email, please call the City Clerk's Office at (323) 562-5714. Your comment will be made part of the written record but will NOT be read verbally at the meeting.
In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, if you need special assistance to participate in the Council meeting, please contact the City Clerk’s Office, (323) 562-5714 within 48 hours of the meeting.
IV. MAYOR, COUNCILMEMBERS AND STAFF COMMENTS
V. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION (Agenda Items; Time allotted: 3 minutes) Speakers wishing to address the City Council on an item on the agenda may use the instructions provided in section III. COVID - 19 MEETING PROCEDURES on page 1 of this agenda.
VI. PRESENTATIONS
VII. PUBLIC HEARING
VIII. CONSENT CALENDAR
All matters listed under CONSENT CALENDAR are considered to be routine and can be acted on by one roll call vote. There will be no separate discussion of these items unless members of the City Council request specific items to be removed from the Consent Calendar for separate discussion or action.
1. RECONSIDERATION OF THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE COVID-19 STATE OF
EMERGENCY TO DETERMINE WHETHER THE LEGISLATIVE BODIES OF THE CITY
OF MAYWOOD WILL CONTINUE TO HOLD MEETINGS VIA TELECONFERENCING
AND MAKING FINDINGS PURSUANT TO GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 54953(e)(3).
IX. DISCUSSION/ACTION ITEMS
X. CLOSED SESSION
XI. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION (Non-Agenda Items; Time allotted: 3 minutes) Speakers wishing to address the City Council on a non- agenda item you may use the instructions provided in section III. COVID - 19 MEETING PROCEDURES on page 1 of this agenda.
XII. ADJOURNMENT - The next Regular Meeting of the Maywood City Council is Wednesday, January 26, 2022 at 7:00 p.m.
PUBLIC ACCESS TO MEETING AGENDA AND AGENDA PACKETS
I, _______________________________, Flor Aguiluz, City Clerk or Shirley Quinones, Deputy City Clerk, hereby certify that this agenda was duly posted by law at 4319 E. Slauson Avenue, Maywood, CA 90270 and the City Website. Any public record, relating to an open session agenda item, that is distributed within 72 hours prior to the meeting is available for public inspection at the Maywood City Hall, 4319 E. Slauson Avenue, Maywood CA 90270. If you challenge in court any discussion or action taken concerning an item on this Agenda, you may be limited to rising only those issues you or someone else raised during the meeting or in written correspondence delivered to the City at or prior to the City's consideration of the item at the meeting. In compliance with the ADA, if you need special assistance for the meeting, call (323) 562- 5723 within 72 hours prior to the meeting so the City can make reasonable arrangements to ensure accessibility.
AGENDA REPORT
CITY OF MAYWOOD
AGENDA ITEM NO. 1.
DATE: January 20, 2022
TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: JENNIFER VASQUEZ, CITY MANAGER
BY: SHIRLEY QUINONES, EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT/DEPUTY CITY CLERK SUBJECT: RECONSIDERATION OF THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE COVID-19 STATE OF
EMERGENCY TO DETERMINE WHETHER THE LEGISLATIVE BODIES OF THE CITY
OF MAYWOOD WILL CONTINUE TO HOLD MEETINGS VIA TELECONFERENCING
AND MAKING FINDINGS PURSUANT TO GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 54953(e)(3).
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the City Council has (i) reconsidered the circumstances of the COVID-19 state of emergency and (2) find that the State and local officials (the County of Los Angeles) continue to recommend measures to promote social distancing and the state of emergency continues to directly impact the ability of members of the City's legislative bodies to meet safety in person.
BACKGROUND:
The City Council and its legislative bodies have met remotely through the pandemic to protect the health and safety of the public and staff. The factual circumstances exist for the City's legislative bodies to continue to hold meetings pursuant to AB361. The state of emergency is still in effect and on October 13, 2021, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 6200 finding that state and local officials (the County of Los Angeles) have recommended measures to promote social distancing as a result of the Covid-19 state of emergency and meeting in person would present imminent risks to the health or safety of attendees at the meeting of the City Council and all other legislative bodies of the City. On December 22, 2021, the City Council reconsidered the findings and continued to make the required findings in order to meet remotely in accordance with AB361.
DISCUSSION:
While the Delta variant was the prevailing variant, the Omicron variant has taken over and is the dominant variant. Omicron is fast-spreading and the Los Angeles Department of Public Health reported on January 17, 2022 there were 22,688 new cases in Los Angeles County. . The Omicron variant prompted the California Department of Public Health to adopt a universal masking indoors requirement statewide that went into effect on December 15, 2021.
Accordingly, the Omicron variant along with the Delta variant and COVID in general continues to dominated in the County and the State of California in general. Continuing the flexibility of teleconferences will allow the continuation of the City’s business so that Council or Commission meetings would not have to be cancelled should members have health concerns or are sick and would provide the flexibility to each member of a legislative body to determine for themselves based on their own health matters whether attending a meeting
will be risk to their health and safety. The California Department of Public Health and the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) caution that the Omicron variant of COVID-19, currently the dominant strain of COVID-19 in the country, is more transmissible than prior variants of the virus and even fully vaccinated individuals can spread the virus to others resulting in rapid and alarming rates of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also continues to advise that COVID-19 spreads more easily indoors than outdoors and that people are more likely to be exposed to COVID-19 when they are closer than 6 feet apart from others for longer periods of time.
To continue to have the ability to meet remotely pursuant to Government Code Section 54953(e) (AB 361), the City Council must make certain findings no later than 30 days after teleconferencing for the first time pursuant to AB361, and every 30 days thereafter. Accordingly, by reconsidering the circumstances of the state of emergency created by the COVID-19 pandemic and finding that the state of emergency continues to directly impact the ability of the members of the City's legislative bodies to meet safely in person and that state and local officials continue to recommend measures for social distancing, the public meetings of the City of Maywood can continue to be conducted by Zoom for the next 30 days. Accordingly, staff recommends making the findings so the City's legislative bodies may continue to use virtual teleconferenced meetings in compliance with Government Code Section 54953(e).
LEGAL REVIEW:
The City Attorney has reviewed this report.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no financial impact if the City Council makes the determination under AB 361 as the City has been meeting in a remote format since the onset of the pandemic in March 2020.
ATTACHMENT(S)