AGENDA
SPECIAL MEETING OF THE MAYWOOD CITY COUNCIL AND THE
SUCCESSOR AGENCY TO THE MAYWOOD COMMUNITY
REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2022 AT 4:00 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
Andrea Aguilar
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.
To maximize public health and safety while still maintaining transparency and public access, members of the public can observe and participate in the meeting virtually via Zoom or follow the meeting live via the City’s Facebook page. Public participation is highly encouraged using the virtual platform. Below is information on how the public may observe and participate in the meeting.
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: 875 6570 6138 Passcode: 644088 OR
Please click the link below to join the webinar:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87565706138?pwd=VlhRYU9rbUYwK2xIem9FaXNjSkFqdz09 Passcode: 644088
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 nonagenda 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 4:30 pm 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 AND DETERMINE THAT THE CITY 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, September 14, 2022 at 7:00 p.m.
PUBLIC ACCESS TO MEETING AGENDA AND AGENDA PACKETS
I, _______________________________, Andrea Aguilar, 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: September 6, 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 AND DETERMINE THAT THE CITY 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 adopt a motion 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 County of Los Angeles officials continue to recommend residents get vaccinated and continue the measures to promote social distancing and therefore, the legislative body meetings of the City shall continue in a virtual teleconference format in compliance with Government Code Section 54953(e).
BACKGROUND:
The City Council has met remotely throughout the pandemic to protect the health and safety of the public and staff. Since the August 10, 2022 City Council meeting when this item was discussed, the highly infectious BA.2 subvariant and sub-lineages has driven the increase in COVID-19 case and the factual circumstances exist for the City's legislative bodies to continue to hold meetings pursuant to AB361 a law AB 361 (Chapter 165, Statutes of 2021), enabling local public agencies to continue to use teleconferencing without complying with certain Brown Act provisions
DISCUSSION:
Since the beginning of the year, there have been several COVID-19 variants, including the Delta variant, the Omicron variant (which was prevalent in the beginning of the year), and the subvariant BA2, which is sometimes referred to as the "stealth omicron" and is a subvariant of Omicron. In addition, there are two new Omicron strains (BA.4 and BA.5) that have become dominant nationwide. Because of that, Los Angeles County’s coronavirus case rate remains high.
Los Angeles County has remained high with regard to COVID-19 cases and there are concerns of another spike with the upcoming Labor Day Weekend. The past seven (7) -daily average is 38,083 new cases in Los Angeles County. While cases and hospitalization admission rates have dropped since July, it was announced on August 30, 2022, that Los Angeles County continues to have a high rate of transmission.
Accordingly, transmission still remains high, with increased risk for the elderly, the unvaccinated, people with serious health conditions, and workers in close contact with others. The State of California and the County of Los Angeles have asked residents to continue the recommended measures to promote social distancing. The
California Division of Occupational Safety and Health still requires that employers provide training on the effectiveness of physical distancing in the workplace. Cal OSHA Emergency Temporary Standards continue to recognize the importance of social distancing and state that the fact that particles containing the virus can travel more than six feet, especially indoors, training and instruction should be given to employees in that regard as well as inform them that physical distancing, face coverings, increased ventilation indoors, and respiratory protection decrease the spread of COVID-19 and are most effective when used in combination. Based on the additional research conducted since the last City Council meeting, the factual circumstances exist for the City’s legislative bodies to continue to hold meetings pursuant to AB 361.
The flexibility of a virtual format will allow the continuation of the City’s business so that Council meetings would not have to be canceled should members have health concerns or are sick and would provide the flexibility for each member of a legislative body to determine for themselves based on their own health matters whether attending a meeting will be a risk to their health and safety or that of the other attendees. 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 to meet safely in person and that state and local officials continue to recommend measures to promote social distancing, the public meetings of the City can continue to be conducted by teleconference (i.e. Zoom) for the next 30 days pursuant to Section 54953(e)(3).
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)