CITY COUNCIL/SUCCESSOR AGENCY TO THE WESTMINSTER, CALIFORNIA WESTMINSTER REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY APRIL 28, 2025
MINUTES OF SPECIAL MEETING
CONVENE CITY COUNCIL MEETING: The City Council/Successor Agency to the Nestminster Redevelopment Agency meeting convened on Monday, April 28, 2025, to a Special Meeting at 5:00 p.m.
SPECIAL MEETING
5:00 P.M.
CALL TO ORDER
Mayor Nguyen called the Special Meeting of the City Council/Successor Agency to the Westminster Redevelopment Agency Meeting to order at 5:07 p.m., on Monday, April 28, 2025, via In-Person, at the City Council Chambers, 8200 Westminster Boulevard, Westminster, California.
ROLL CALL MAYOR CHI CHARLIE NGUYEN
PRESENT: VICE MAYOR CARLOS MANZO, DISTRICT 2
COUNCIL MEMBER AMY PHAN WEST, DISTRICT 1
COUNCIL MEMBER MARK NGUYEN, DISTRICT 3
ABSENT: COUNCIL MEMBER AMY PHAN WEST, DISTRICT 1
(Arrived at 5:08 p.m.)
COUNCIL MEMBER NAMQUAN NGUYEN, DISTRICT 4
(Arrived at 5:17 p.m.)
City Clerk Arocho announced a quorum of the City Council present.
STAFF PRESENT: City Manager Christine Cordon
Assistant City Manager Adolfo Ozaeta
City Attorney Scott Porter
City Clerk Ashton Arocho
Assistant City Clerk Ashley Kumar
Deputy Police Chief Ron Weber
Sergeant at Arms Jerad Kent
Public Works Director Jake Ngo
Economic Development Manager Caroline Velarde
Human Resources Director/Risk Manager Jodie Griner
Community Services Director Vanessa Johnson
Finance Director Erin Backs
Interim Community Development Director Sheri
VanderDussen
SALUTE TO THE FLAG
Vice Mayor Manzo led the flag salute.
District 1 Council Member Phan West entered the meeting at 5:08 p.m. 1 CITY COUNCIL/SUCCESSOR AGENCY TO THE WESTMINSTER, CALIFORNIA WESTMINSTER REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY APRIL 28, 2025
MINUTES OF SPECIAL MEETING
INVOCATION
City Attorney Porter conducted the invocation.
1. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS FOR STRATEGIC PLANNING WORKSHOP
1. Terry Rains commented on the previous Strategic Planning Workshop held on April 10, 2024, the lack of a Strategic Planning Workshop that should have been held in November 2024, and the previous SWOT analysis; opposed the decision not to have a staff report for the meeting; requested that any documents provided to the City Council prior to the meeting be made available to the public, highlighting the importance of the meeting; and urged the City Council to approach the meeting with seriousness.
2. Strategic Planning Workshop Facilitated by Tripepi Smith President Ryder Smith.
Prior to the presentation, City Manager Cordon commented on the 2022-2025 strategic plan, objectives, and goals.
Vice Mayor Manzo asked City Manager Cordon to provide the status of the 2022- 2025 strategic plan.
Discussion ensued regarding the 2022-2025 strategic plan progress and completeness of the goals and objectives.
District 4 Council Member N. Nguyen entered the meeting at 5:17 p.m.
City Manager Cordon spoke on the lack of documents provided ahead of the meeting and commented on the structure of the workshop.
Vice Mayor Manzo commented in excitement of recent goals.
District 4 Council Member N. Nguyen left the dais at 5:18 p.m.
Facilitator Smith thanked City Manager Cordon for setting the tone for the evening and went over the agenda for the meeting.
District 4 Council Member N. Nguyen returned to the dais at 5:18 p.m.
Facilitator Smith discussed the work done prior to the workshop, one-on-one interviews with the elected officials, and the planning phases with the City Manager's Office.
2 CITY COUNCIL/SUCCESSOR AGENCY TO THE WESTMINSTER, CALIFORNIA WESTMINSTER REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY APRIL 28, 2025
MINUTES OF SPECIAL MEETING
District 1 Council Member Phan West left the dais at 5:22 p.m.
Strategic Planning Overview
Facilitator Smith went through the strategic planning process and key points throughout, including meetings with elected officials and staff, and commented on the City's current "Mission Statement.".
District 1 Council Member Phan West returned to the dais at 5:24 p.m.
B. Review FY 2022-2025 Goals
Facilitator Smith reviewed 2022-2025 goals, specifically focusing on the specific plans for Little Saigon, the Downtown District, and the West Side.
Mayor Nguyen requested clarification as to why the Specific Plan for the Civic Center was not included in the 2022-2025 goals.
Assistant City Manager Ozaeta stated that the Specific Plans that are included in the General Plan were ranked based on the highest priority.
Vice Mayor Manzo requested clarification regarding the order of priorities on the General Plan.
Assistant City Manager Ozaeta stated that Facilitator Smith may be able to answer these questions during his presentation.
Facilitator Smith went over "Achieve Financial Stability." Facilitator Smith went over "Implement and Support Effective Land-Use Policies that Encourage Quality Development."
Facilitator Smith went over "Attract, Develop and Retain Well-Qualified Staff Members."
Facilitator Smith went over "Improve Customer Service Delivery to the Community."
C. Discuss FY 2025-2028 Goals
Facilitator Smith stated that the 2025-2028 goals would mirror prior goals and added, "Enhance Quality of Life and Beautification Throughout the City," 3 CITY COUNCIL/SUCCESSOR AGENCY TO THE WESTMINSTER, CALIFORNIA WESTMINSTER REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY APRIL 28, 2025
MINUTES OF SPECIAL MEETING
based on feedback received by members of the City Council regarding their priorities and concerns.
Facilitator Smith went over "Enhance Quality of Life and Beautification Throughout the City."
Following the brief overview, Facilitator Smith stated that the next step would be to go over the five goal areas and asked for feedback from the City Council.
There was no discussion.
Facilitator Smith continued to comment about consistent tone in conversations with Mayor Nguyen and the City Council, showing passion for community and various areas of policy interest.
Discussion ensued on "Achieving Financial Stability" and identifying timelines for specific objectives.
City Manager Cordon suggested pulling tax specific items as a separate objective.
Vice Mayor Manzo commented on the annexation objective listed under "Achieving Financial Stability."
Discussion ensued regarding annexation.
District 1 Council Member Phan West left the dais at 5:44 p.m.
Discussion continued regarding the potential timelines for taxes, annexation, and updates remaining on the proposed matrix.
Vice Mayor Manzo commented on generating revenue.
Mayor Nguyen asked for clarification on achievable timelines.
Discussion ensued regarding the overall objective of Item 1 of "Achieving Financial Stability" and the workload on staff.
District 1 Council Member Phan West returned to the dais at 5:59 p.m.
Discussion continued regarding timeline-specific objectives. 4 CITY COUNCIL/SUCCESSOR AGENCY TO THE WESTMINSTER, CALIFORNIA WESTMINSTER REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY APRIL 28, 2025
MINUTES OF SPECIAL MEETING
Mayor Nguyen left the dais at 6:11 p.m.
Mayor Nguyen returned to the dais at 6:12 p.m.
Discussion ensued regarding sales tax and proposed objectives.
District 4 Council Member N. Nguyen left the dais at 6:37 p.m.
District 3 Council Member M. Nguyen left the dais at 6:46 p.m.
District 1 Council Member Phan West left the dais at 6:49 p.m.
RECESS: Mayor Nguyen called for a recess at 6:50 p.m. due to lack of quorum.
RECONVENE: Mayor Nguyen reconvened the meeting at 6:59 p.m.
ROLL CALL
PRESENT:
MAYOR CHI CHARLIE NGUYEN
VICE MAYOR, DISTRICT 2 CARLOS MANZO
COUNCIL MEMBER, DISTRICT 1 AMY PHAN WEST
COUNCIL MEMBER, DISTRICT 3 MARK NGUYEN
ABSENT
COUNCIL MEMBER, DISTRICT 4 NAMQUAN NGUYEN
Discussion continued regarding proposed objectives around specific plans.
District 1 Council Member Phan West left the dais at 7:23 p.m.
Human Resources Director/Risk Manager Griner provided further clarification on the current status of staff training and professional development.
District 1 Council Member Phan West returned to the dais at 7:24 p.m.
Discussion ensued regarding the need for a classification and compensation study.
District 1 Council Member Phan West left the dais at 8:51 p.m.
Discussion ensued regarding code enforcement processes for the new goal which consisted of quality of life and beautification of the City.
District 1 Council Member Phan West returned to the dais at 9:01 p.m. 5 CITY COUNCIL/SUCCESSOR AGENCY TO THE WESTMINSTER, CALIFORNIA WESTMINSTER REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY APRIL 28, 2025
MINUTES OF SPECIAL MEETING
Discussion continued regarding beautification of the City.
Mayor Nguyen left the dais at 9:03 p.m.
District 1 Council Member Phan West commented on her need to excuse herself for the remainder of the meeting, as the meeting was originally anticipated to end at 9:00 o.m.
Mayor Nguyen returned to the dais at 9:05 p.m.
District 1 Council Member Phan West left the meeting at 9:06 p.m.
Assistant City Manager Ozaeta commented on the beautification of the City.
Facilitator Smith requested clarification from the City Council regarding addressing the homelessness issue in the City and welcomed discussion from the City Council.
Mayor Nguyen commented on a possible report from the Westminster Police Department regarding homelessness.
City Manager Cordon confirmed that a report would be on the upcoming City Council agenda.
Discussion ensued regarding removing the homelessness issue from the 2025-2028 Strategic Plan.
Following the discussion, Mayor Nguyen thanked Facilitator Smith for his time.
3. COUNCIL ADJOURNMENT
Mayor Nguyen adjourned the Special City Council Meeting at 9:31 p.m. on Monday, April 28, 2025.
Respectfully submitted:
felton Frocke
Ashton R. Arocho, MMC
City Clerk
6 CITY COUNCIL/SUCCESSOR AGENCY TO THE WESTMINSTER, CALIFORNIA WESTMINSTER REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY APRIL 28, 2025
MINUTES OF SPECIAL MEETING
ATTEST:
Ashton R. Arocho, MMC
City Clerk
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CITY COUNCIL/SUCCESSOR AGENCY TO THE WESTMINSTER, CALIFORNIA WESTMINSTER REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY APRIL 28, 2025
MINUTES OF SPECIAL MEETING
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