MINUTES
CITY
COUNCIL
CITY
HALL
COUNCIL
CHAMBER
38300
SIERRA
HIGHWAY
,
SUITE
B
PALMDALE
,
CALIFORNIA
FEBRUARY
16 ,
2022
www
.
cityofpaImdale
.
org
3 :
30 P
.
M
.
1 )
MAYOR
TO
CALL
MEETINGS
TO
ORDER
Mayor
Hofbauer
called
the
meetings
to
order
at
3 :
30 p
.
m
.
2 )
ROLL
CALL
MAYOR
HOFBAUER
,
MAYOR
PRO
TEM
LOA
,
COUNCILMEMBERS
CARRILLO
,
BISHOP
,
BETTENCOURT
PRESENT
:
Steven
Hofbauer
,
Richard
J
.
Loa
,
Juan
Carrillo
,
Austin
Bishop
,
Laura
Bettencourt
.
ABSENT
:
None
.
3 )
PUBLIC
COMMENTS
The
following
individuals
provided
public
input
:
Dave
Bowman
commented
regarding
the
Palmdale
Freedom
Coalition
and
redistricting
process
.
The
following
individuals
commented
in
support
of
City
Manager
Murphy
:
Timothy
Schroder
,
Claudia
Heredia
-
Clarke
,
Ben
Berk
;
Woodrow
Anthony
Roeback
,
Pastor
Mike
Gonzalez
,
Kevin
Sanders
,
Ruth
Sanchez
,
Vladimir
Gomez
,
Oscar
Iraheta
,
Sky
Jung
,
and
Rick
Ruiz
.
Jason
Zink
commented
regarding
Amazon
warehouse
and
City
Manager
Murphy
.
4 )
PRESENTATION
BY
CITY
ATTORNEY
City
Attorney
Beck
confirmed
the
items
would
be
heard
as
listed
.
4.1 )
This
closed
session
is
being
held
pursuant
to
the
authority
of
California
Government
Code
Section
54957
.
PUBLIC
EMPLOYEE
DISCIPLINE
/
DISMISSAL
/
RELEASE
PUBLIC
EMPLOYEE
PERFORMANCE
EVALUATION
Title
:
City
Manager
4.2 )
CONFERENCE
WITH
LEGAL
COUNSEL
—
ANTICIPATED
LITIGATION
Significant
exposure
to
litigation
pursuant
to
paragraph
(
2 )
of
subdivision
(
d
)
of
Section
54956.9
:
One
case
.
Closed
session
is
recommended
because
the
City
will
assess
the
merits
of
this
matter
,
and
/
or
threat
.
Based
on
existing
facts
and
circumstances
,
there
is
a
significant
exposure
to
litigation
against
the
City
CC
Minutes
02 /
16 /
2022
1 of
Palmdale
.
The
existing
facts
and
circumstances
that
might
result
in
litigation
against
the
City
of
Palmdale
are
that
the
law
firm
of
Shenkman
&
Hughes
has
sent
a
letter
to
the
City
of
Palmdale
regarding
decennial
redistricting
process
which
could
amount
to
a
threat
of
litigation
.
The
aforementioned
facts
and
circumstances
are
stated
as
required
by
Government
Code
Section
54956.9
(
e
)
(
2 )
.
Based
on
the
existing
facts
and
circumstances
,
it
is
the
opinion
of
the
City
Attorney
that
it
would
prejudice
the
position
of
the
City
of
Palmdale
to
discuss
this
matter
in
public
or
to
disclose
further
circumstances
in
this
potential
case
.
Further
,
such
disclosure
may
harm
any
settlement
attempts
or
other
efforts
to
resolve
the
matter
without
litigation
.
CONFERENCE
WITH
LEGAL
COUNSEL
—
EXISTING
LITIGATION
CV
Communities
v
.
AVEK
Los
Angeles
County
Superior
Court
Case
No
.
BC
66107
This
closed
session
is
being
held
pursuant
to
the
authority
of
California
Government
Code
Section
54956.9
(
d
)
(
1 )
.
5 )
ANNOUNCEMENT
BY
CITY
ATTORNEY
All
members
of
the
City
Council
were
present
and
able
to
participate
on
all
items
.
Item
4.1 -
On
a
5 to
0 vote
of
the
City
Council
,
the
Council
has
elected
to
dismiss
the
City
Manager
without
cause
pursuant
to
the
employment
agreement
.
The
Council
further
directed
the
issuance
of
the
30 -
day
noticing
requirement
in
the
Palmdale
Municipal
Code
Section
2.04 .
100
,
and
the
separation
would
be
effective
30 days
after
the
delivery
of
said
notice
.
The
City
Manager
will
remain
on
paid
administrative
leave
until
that
time
.
Council
further
directed
staff
to
return
at
the
March
2 ,
2022
,
meeting
of
the
City
Council
with
an
item
appointing
Ronda
Perez
as
Interim
City
Manager
,
to
take
effect
on
the
effective
dismissal
date
of
the
City
Manager
.
There
was
no
further
reportable
action
.
Items
4.2 and
4.3 were
tabled
until
the
March
2 ,
2022
,
meeting
of
the
City
Council
.
Mayor
Hofbauer
announced
that
Item
13.1 would
be
tabled
to
March
2 ,
2022
.
6 )
ADJOURN
CLOSED
SESSION
MEETING
The
Closed
Session
meeting
was
adjourned
at
7 :
01 p
.
m
.
7 :
00 P
.
M
.
7 )
PLEDGE
OF
ALLEGIANCE
AND
MOMENT
OF
SILENCE
IN
HONOR
OF
OUR
TROOPS
Resident
Larissa
led
the
pledge
of
allegiance
.
8 )
WAIVER
OF
FULL
READING
OF
RESOLUTION
(
S
)
and
ORDINANCE
(
S
)
Motion
:
Move
to
waive
full
reading
of
the
Resolution
(
s
)
and
/
or
Ordinance
(
s
)
to
be
considered
and
voted
on
at
this
meeting
.
Moved
by
Richard
J
.
Loa
,
seconded
by
Juan
Carrillo
.
Motion
carried
(
5 -
0 )
Steven
Hofbauer
,
Richard
J
.
Loa
,
Juan
Carrillo
,
Austin
Bishop
,
Laura
Vote
:
Yes
:
CC
Minutes
02 /
16 /
2022
2 Bettencourt
.
9 )
PUBLIC
COMMENTS
The
following
individuals
provided
public
input
:
Alenna
Schofield
inquired
about
the
status
the
employment
application
submitted
for
the
Measure
AV
Oversight
Committee
and
the
Public
Records
Request
submitted
for
fund
allocations
.
Dave
Bowman
commented
regarding
Council
leadership
.
Kai
Keeble
and
Marina
Centron
expressed
concerns
regarding
the
dangers
of
secondhand
smoke
.
Mario
Presents
,
Eric
Shore
,
Jim
Randall
,
and
Erika
Alverdi
spoke
in
support
of
Item
10.1 and
the
adoption
of
Ordinance
No
.
1577
.
Mario
Presents
commented
in
opposition
to
Item
10.2 .
Denize
Verduzco
spoke
in
opposition
to
Item
10.4 .
Brian
Uribe
expressed
concerns
regarding
lock
downs
and
COVID
-
19 mandates
.
Eugene
Hernandez
commented
in
support
of
masks
mandates
.
Yul
Gevargis
spoke
in
support
of
removing
COVID
-
19 mandates
.
David
Harris
complimented
and
thanked
Council
for
representing
the
City
well
.
The
following
individuals
commented
in
support
of
adopting
Ordinance
No
.
1577
:
Abraham
Saucedo
,
Garlena
Davis
,
Lorianna
Guajardo
,
Katelyn
Guajardo
,
Jennifer
Guajardo
,
Jason
Zink
,
Robert
Enos
,
Mario
Presents
,
Amanda
Palmer
,
Martin
Paulatino
Carol
Ross
,
Linda
Enos
.
Miguel
Verduzco
and
Betsy
Haslett
commented
on
District
Attorney
Gascon
and
in
support
of
adopting
Ordinance
No
.
1577
.
Alenna
Schofield
expressed
her
views
regarding
discrimination
in
the
City
of
Palmdale
and
encouraged
Council
to
adopt
Item
11.3 .
Mario
Presents
commented
in
opposition
to
the
approval
of
Items
10.3 and
10.4 .
Betsy
Haslett
spoke
in
opposition
to
the
approval
of
Items
10.2 and
10.4 ,
and
in
support
of
approving
Item
10.1 .
Residents
Maline
Medina
,
Estefania
Rodriguez
,
Larissa
Gomez
,
Hunter
Gomez
,
and
Andy
,
encouraged
the
City
Council
to
adopt
Item
11.3 .
10 )
CONSENT
CALENDAR
10.1 )
Adopt
Resolution
No
.
CC
2022
-
019
,
a
Resolution
of
the
City
Council
of
the
City
of
Palmdale
Authorizing
Remote
Teleconference
Meetings
of
the
City
Council
and
All
City
Subordinate
Bodies
for
the
Period
of
February
21 ,
2022
,
through
March
23 ,
2022
.
(
Staff
Reference
:
City
Attorney
Beck
)
CC
Minutes
02 /
16 /
2022
3 102
)
Adopt
Resolution
No
.
CC
2022
-
021
,
a
Resolution
of
the
City
Council
of
the
City
of
Palmdale
to
approve
the
street
name
change
of
Avenue
R
-
12 ,
between
65 th
to
70 th
Street
East
,
to
be
named
Hawks
Way
.
(
Staff
Reference
:
Director
of
Public
Works
Heffernan
)
10.3 )
Adopt
Resolution
CC
2022
-
024
,
a
Resolution
of
the
City
Council
of
the
City
of
Palmdale
to
Support
the
Recall
of
Los
Angeles
County
District
Attorney
George
Gascon
.
(
Staff
Reference
:
City
Attorney
Beck
)
10.4 )
Approve
Legal
Services
Agreement
Between
the
City
of
Palmdale
and
Bradley
,
Gmelich
&
Wellerstein
in
the
amount
of
$
250
,
000
.
(
Staff
Reference
City
Attorney
Beck
)
Mayor
Pro
Tern
Loa
pulled
this
item
for
discussion
.
City
Attorney
Beck
provided
clarification
on
the
rates
for
legal
services
.
Motion
:
Approve
Legal
Services
Agreement
with
Bradley
,
Gmelich
&
Wellerstein
in
the
amount
of
$
250
,
000
.
Moved
by
Richard
J
.
Loa
,
seconded
by
Juan
Carrillo
.
Vote
:
Motion
carried
(
5 -
0 )
Yes
:
Steven
Hofbauer
,
Richard
J
.
Loa
,
Juan
Carrillo
,
Austin
Bishop
,
Laura
Bettencourt
.
Motion
:
Approve
all
item
listed
on
the
Consent
Calendar
except
for
item
10.4 .
Moved
by
Juan
Carrillo
,
seconded
by
Richard
J
.
Loa
.
Motion
carried
(
5 -
0 )
Steven
Hofbauer
,
Richard
J
.
Loa
,
Juan
Carrillo
,
Austin
Bishop
,
Laura
Vote
:
Yes
:
Bettencourt
.
11 )
PUBLIC
HEARING
11.1 )
Public
Hearing
to
review
and
consider
the
redistricting
draft
maps
recommended
by
the
Advisory
Redistricting
Commission
.
(
Staff
Reference
:
Acting
City
Manager
Perez
)
Kristen
Parks
,
National
Demographics
Corporation
,
presented
an
overview
of
the
redistricting
process
timeline
,
State
and
Federal
legal
requirements
related
to
council
districts
in
relation
to
equal
in
population
size
,
and
that
the
total
population
deviation
should
be
less
than
ten
percent
and
that
District
boundaries
cannot
be
drawn
with
race
and
ethnicity
solely
in
mind
.
Ms
.
Parks
provided
clarification
regarding
the
analysis
of
the
Alianza
Latina
del
Valle
del
Antilope
(
“
ALVA
”
)
map
.
Mayor
Pro
Tern
Loa
inquired
regarding
the
consideration
of
California
rules
of
maintaining
compactness
,
as
well
as
requirements
related
to
not
favoring
or
discriminating
against
a
political
party
.
Ms
.
Parks
clarified
that
political
parties
are
not
considered
in
a
non
-
partisan
municipal
election
and
a
proposed
map
is
not
allowed
to
discriminate
against
a
political
party
.
Discussion
ensued
.
Following
discussion
,
Mayor
Hofbauer
opened
the
Public
Hearing
.
The
following
individuals
provided
public
input
:
CC
Minutes
02 /
16 /
2022
4 Kevin
Shenkman
provided
legal
advice
to
the
Council
related
to
adopting
council
district
boundaries
and
the
time
requirements
,
which
he
opined
were
contrary
to
the
April
17 ,
2022
,
deadline
indicated
in
the
staff
report
.
Dave
Bowman
commented
regarding
the
history
of
districting
in
the
City
of
Palmdale
.
Alenna
Schofield
commented
on
the
selection
of
the
demographer
and
the
timeframe
for
selecting
a
map
.
Xavier
Flores
expressed
concerns
regarding
the
false
allegations
that
the
ALVA
map
was
politically
motivated
and
splitting
communities
of
interest
.
Marcos
Alvarez
commented
on
the
analysis
of
the
ALVA
map
and
encouraged
the
Council
to
do
what
is
in
the
best
interest
of
the
community
.
Amanda
Palmer
encouraged
Council
to
review
the
maps
created
and
submitted
by
the
community
.
Ruth
Sanchez
spoke
regarding
equitable
representation
in
the
selection
of
districts
.
Vladimir
Gomez
commented
regarding
bettering
the
community
.
Jason
Zink
inquired
when
the
maps
would
take
effect
and
suggested
equality
of
power
in
districts
.
Mario
Presents
encouraged
Council
not
to
select
a
map
based
on
racial
lines
.
A
motion
was
made
and
carried
unanimously
to
close
the
Public
Hearing
.
Mayor
Pro
Tern
Loa
made
a
brief
statement
addressing
comments
made
about
him
and
clarified
his
tenure
and
service
to
the
City
of
Palmdale
since
2001
.
He
has
known
the
struggles
of
the
Latino
,
Chicano
and
Mexican
American
community
and
that
he
was
elected
to
represent
all
the
people
regardless
of
his
experiences
and
his
culture
.
Councilmember
Carrillo
expressed
his
concerns
about
insults
lobbed
at
Council
and
commented
that
the
City
Council
has
been
insulted
.
Both
he
and
Mayor
Pro
Tern
Loa
have
advocated
on
behalf
of
Latino
issues
for
education
,
affordable
housing
,
and
resources
for
businesses
and
that
he
was
elected
to
make
decisions
best
for
the
City
of
Palmdale
and
for
District
4 .
Discussion
ensued
.
Motion
:
Move
to
adopt
the
pink
map
.
Moved
by
Richard
J
.
Loa
,
seconded
by
Steven
Hofbauer
.
Vote
:
Motion
carried
(
4 -
1 )
Yes
:
Steven
Hofbauer
,
Richard
J
.
Loa
,
Austin
Bishop
,
Laura
Bettencourt
.
No
:
Juan
Carrillo
.
112
)
Public
Hearing
and
Review
of
Proposed
Ordinance
No
.
1580
for
adoption
.
(
Staff
Reference
:
City
Attorney
Beck
)
AN
ORDINANCE
OF
THE
CITY
COUNCIL
OF
THE
CITY
OF
PALMDALE
CC
Minutes
02 /
16 /
2022
5 CONTINUING
A
TEMPORARY
SUSPENSION
OF
SECTION
5.04 .
670
(
H
)
(
4 )
OF
THE
PALMDALE
MUNICIPAL
CODE
PROHIBITING
THE
SALE
OF
FLAVORED
ELECTRONIC
CIGARETTE
PRODUCTS
Mayor
Hofbauer
opened
the
Public
Hearing
.
Testimony
:
Mario
Presents
commented
on
the
adoption
of
Ordinance
No
.
1580
.
A
motion
was
made
and
carried
unanimously
to
close
the
Public
Hearing
.
City
Attorney
Beck
read
the
title
of
Ordinance
No
.
1580
.
A
motion
was
made
and
carried
unanimously
to
introduce
Ordinance
No
.
1580
.
Discussion
ensued
regarding
the
ban
of
flavored
electronic
cigarette
products
.
Motion
:
Move
to
continue
discussion
on
item
11.2 .
Moved
by
Juan
Carrillo
,
seconded
by
Richard
J
.
Loa
.
Vote
:
Motion
carried
(
5 -
0 )
Yes
:
Bettencourt
.
Steven
Hofbauer
,
Richard
J
.
Loa
,
Juan
Carrillo
,
Austin
Bishop
,
Laura
Ordinance
No
.
1580
was
not
voted
on
.
Mayor
Pro
Tern
Loa
instructed
staff
to
bring
back
Ordinance
No
.
1577
to
the
March
2 ,
2022
,
meeting
.
Motion
:
Move
to
hear
item
11.3 .
Moved
by
Richard
J
.
Loa
,
seconded
by
Laura
Bettencourt
.
Vote
:
Motion
carried
(
5 -
0 )
Yes
:
Bettencourt
.
Steven
Hofbauer
,
Richard
J
.
Loa
,
Juan
Carrillo
,
Austin
Bishop
,
Laura
11.3 )
Public
Hearing
and
Review
of
Proposed
Ordinance
No
.
1571
for
adoption
.
(
Staff
Reference
:
City
Attorney
Beck
)
Staff
read
the
title
of
Ordinance
No
.
1571
.
ORDINANCE
NO
.
1571
,
AN
ORDINANCE
OF
THE
CITY
COUNCIL
OF
THE
CITY
OF
PALMDALE
AMENDING
MUNICIPAL
CODE
SECTION
8.34 ET
.
SEQ
.
:
REGULATION
OF
SMOKING
AT
PUBLIC
PLACES
AND
PLACES
OF
EMPLOYMENT
A
motion
was
made
and
carried
unanimously
to
introduce
Ordinance
No
.
1571
.
Testimony
:
Xavier
Flores
,
Pueblo
Y
Salud
,
commented
regarding
the
youth
CC
Minutes
02 /
16 /
2022
6 and
tobacco
products
,
and
grant
funds
received
for
enforcement
.
A
motion
was
made
and
carried
unanimously
to
close
the
Public
Hearing
.
Motion
:
Move
to
adopt
Ordinance
No
.
1571
Moved
by
Richard
J
.
Loa
,
seconded
by
Juan
Carrillo
.
Vote
:
Motion
carried
(
5 -
0 )
Yes
:
Bettencourt
.
Steven
Hofbauer
,
Richard
J
.
Loa
,
Juan
Carrillo
,
Austin
Bishop
,
Laura
12 )
APPOINTMENTS
121
)
Approve
nomination
for
appointment
of
the
Public
Member
to
the
board
of
directors
for
Visit
Palmdale
.
(
Staff
Reference
:
Director
of
Economic
and
Community
Development
Garibay
-
Presented
by
Economic
Development
Coordinator
Gonzalez
)
122
)
Approve
alternate
member
nomination
for
appointment
to
the
Measure
AV
Oversight
Committee
.
(
Staff
Reference
:
City
Clerk
Smith
)
Mayor
Hofbauer
continued
items
12.1 ,
12.2 ,
and
13.1 to
the
March
2 ,
2022
,
meeting
.
13 )
NEW
BUSINESS
13.1 )
Discuss
potential
move
to
five
Council
districts
and
rotating
mayor
.
(
Staff
Reference
:
City
Attorney
Beck
)
14 )
ADJOURN
Mayor
Hofbauer
adjourned
the
meeting
at
11 :
03 p
.
m
.
in
memory
of
Glen
Allen
of
Los
Angeles
City
Fire
Department
.
PASSED
,
APPROVED
,
and
ADOPTED
this
6 th
day
of
April
2022
.
.
^
"
Steven
D
.
Hofbauer
,
Mayor
ATTEST
:
Shanae
S
.
Smith
,
City
Clerk
/
CC
Minutes
02 /
16 /
2022
7