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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04/24/2018 - Special Meeting Minutes ARCADIA CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES TUESDAY, APRIL 24, 2018 CALL TO ORDER— Mayor Amundson called the special meeting to order at 7:04 p.m. INVOCATION — First Reader, Kristin Bennett, First Church of Christ, Scientist PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE - Gene Glasco, City Clerk ROLL CALL OF CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT: Chandler, Verlato, Tay, and Amundson ABSENT: Beck It was moved by Council Member Chandler, seconded by Mayor Amundson to excuse Council Member Beck from this portion of the meeting. Pursuant to Government Code Section 54953(b), Council Member Beck will be attending the City Council Special Meeting via teleconferencing from Sun City, South Africa, the Palace Hotel, Room 543, at 4:00 a.m. (South Africa Time). SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION FROM CITY MANAGER REGARDING AGENDA ITEMS City Manager Lazzaretto announced that Council Member Beck will be participating in this Special Meeting from Sun City, South Africa after the Remarks by Outgoing Mayor portion of the agenda, and suggested the Mayor take a short recess at that time in order to get Council Member Beck on the telephone for the record. MOTION TO READ ALL ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS BY TITLE ONLY AND WAIVE THE READING IN FULL It was moved by Mayor Pro Tem Tay, and seconded by Council Member Chandler to read all ordinances and resolutions by title only and waive the reading in full. There being no objection, the motion was considered approved. 1. CONSENT CALENDAR a. Regular Meeting Minutes of March 6, 2018, March 20, 2018, and April 3, 2018. Recommended Action: Approve b. Resolution No. 7215 reciting the fact of the All Mail Ballot General Municipal Election held in District 2 and District 5 in said City on Tuesday, April 10, 2018, declaring the results and such other matters as provided by law. Recommended Action: Adopt It was moved by Mayor Pro Tem Tay, seconded by Council Member Chandler, and carried on roll call vote to approve Consent Calendar Items 1.a. and 1.b. 1 04-24-2018 Grace Kwok, an Arcadia resident, appeared and spoke about the negative campaigning in this election regarding racism; and urged Mayor Amundson to show respect to the Chinese- American community and stand against racism, and vote Sho Tay for Mayor. Judy (no last name given), an Arcadia resident, appeared and read a prepared statement addressed to Mayor Amundson, on behalf of an Arcadia resident (no name given), regarding his responsibility as Mayor, and the selection of Mayor Pro Tem Tay as Mayor. Jolly Wu, an Arcadia resident, appeared and thanked Mr. Amundson for his year as Mayor; she provided statistics in the election regarding Chinese-Americans that voted; she indicated that each City Council Member is a reputable person and they should be able to choose our Mayor, and that residents should not give them pressure; she stated that the decision should be based on the person's morality, ethics, and capability to lead this City to a new and united City. Former Mayor Gail Marshall appeared and congratulated Mayor Amundson on the birth of his first grandchild, and thanked him for his year of service as Mayor; she stated that she appreciates his effort to try and unite the City, but unfortunately Mr. Tay and Mr. Chandler have divided this City; she stated that she believes there has been fraudulent voting in this election and feels that Council Member Chandler stole the election from Joyce Platt; she challenged Council Member Verlato, Council Member Beck, and Mayor Amundson to look into the fraudulent voting that is mentioned in the Sierra Madre Tattler; and asked the City Council if they would vote for an immoral person to run the City. Arthur Fry, an Arcadia resident, appeared and thanked Mayor Amundson for his year of service as Mayor, and the notebook he handed out at the Mayor's breakfast; he stated that Arcadia has a Class I Fire Department, and one of the best Police Departments in the whole valley; he thanked the Police Chief for keeping Arcadia safe; and stated that we have a Vice Mayor that is ready to step in as Mayor, and feels that it is the right thing to do. Charles Greene, an Arcadia resident, appeared and stated that he feels the recent election has badly blemished the City's image, and would like the City Council to restore the integrity and civility, and friendly welcoming image of Arcadia when electing the next Mayor; he stated that Mayor Pro Tern Tay and Council Member Chandler have divided the City; that it is time to make Arcadia great again and elect a Mayor who will represent all Arcadians fairly, with integrity, civility and upstanding character. John McMahon, an Arcadia resident, appeared and indicated that he is very upset by all the negativity, and upset that it has gotten into the choosing of our next Mayor; he stated that the article in the Arcadia Weekly is full of innuendo and accusation, but no substance; and cited the acknowledgement of an allegation made against Sho Tay in the Arcadia Weekly; he stated that Mayor Pro Tem Tay makes himself accessible to the public; and encouraged the City Council to ignore the negativity and follow the precedence of Mayor. Lindy (no last name given), an Arcadia resident, appeared and stated that she supports Mayor Pro Tem Tay and provided the reasons why he is the best candidate for Mayor; she stated that Arcadia is divided now and with his cultural background, he will bring back Arcadia as one and do good things; and on behalf of her and her family, they support Mr. Tay as Mayor. I 3 04-24-2018 Roy McMeen, an Arcadia resident, appeared and stated that it is absolutely shameless about what was said about a couple of candidates in the last election; he stated that the next Mayor should be fully aware of the ramifications of Robert's Rule of Order; he stated that we cannot identify how many people in the room are actually residents of Arcadia, and urged the City Council to consider that when making their decision for Mayor. Joyce Platt, an Arcadia resident, appeared and shared qualifications and characteristics of a Mayor; she stated that a Mayor should consistently act with integrity, high values, be an independent thinker, speak positively about the City and staff, and respect the opinions of others and their right to express their opinions, a person who is truthful and does not spread false information or use scare tactics to further their agenda, can clearly articulate their position on issues facing the City, who unites rather than divides our community, and stated that it is clear Sho Tay does not exhibit these characteristics; she shared some examples, as a Candidate in District 5, regarding mailers sent out by Mayor Pro Tern Tay attacking candidates by name, which contained falsehoods about votes and positions and sought to divide community. Edie Nelson, an Arcadia resident, appeared and spoke about accusations on both sides; she stated that where there is smoke there is fire, and asked the City Council if they want to be a negative City and be embarrassed by their leaders. Andrew Lin, an Arcadia resident, appeared and urged the City Council to work together, and shared that he is glad the election is over; and supports Mayor Pro Tern Sho Tay as Mayor. Carol Smith, an Arcadia resident, appeared and expressed her opinion regarding dirty politics in Arcadia; she noted that last year the City Council did not follow Mayor protocol selection, and wanted to know why they cannot do the same this time; she commented on lies, intimidation, possible voter fraud, Brown Act violations, and questionable accusations; and recommended the City Council take a look at what "American" means to them before they take a vote. Janet Chan, an Arcadia resident, appeared and spoke about differences and opinions that bring people together to discuss the issues and work together to create harmony; she stated that for many years there was never enough involvement in the Asian community, and many people have witnessed this; she feels it is time for the Asian to community step up and perform their civic duty; she stated that it is because of Mayor Pro Tem Tay that more and more people in the Asian community are starting to know what is going on in Arcadia; she stated that she supports Mayor Pro Tern Tay as Mayor because he will encourage more and more Asians to voice their opinions and take part in City events and politics. David Liu, an Arcadia resident, appeared and indicated to Mayor Amundson that they exchanged words on Facebook, and provided the City Council copies of these comments; he urged Mayor Amundson to make the right decision, and indicated that the community is divided and that Mayor Pro Tern Tay will bring the community together as one. Debbie Priester, an Arcadia resident, appeared and indicated that she is extremely upset with the voting in this last election; she stated that there are about 40 suspected voters that are fraudulent where adult children live somewhere else and they are voting in Arcadia's election; she stated that she has already provided proof of deeds to the City, and asked City Manager Lazzaretto to take care of this issue immediately; she provided the qualifications for Mayor, and explained that she is not in favor of Sho Tay being named Mayor and provided her reasons. 5 04-24-2018 Mayor Pro Tern Tay commented on his request for the City Attorney to investigate the voter fraud issue with the District Attorney office. Council Member Verlato and Mayor Amundson concurred. In response to Council Member Beck's question, Mayor Amundson confirmed that he will continue to serve as Mayor for the next 45 days. Council Member Chandler indicated that this is highly irregular and it is easy to make a complaint to the FPPC; he stated that the selection of Mayor must move forward, and the accusations are contrived; and if an appointment of Mayor is made and that individual was found guilty of a serious charge, they can voluntarily step down, and asked Mayor Amundson to call for the election of Mayor. Council Member Beck stated that Sho Tay has already admitted that he was guilty; he stated that someone cannot raise money for their own campaign and spend it on mailers to help other candidates, and in the meeting Sho Tay said he raised money for his own campaign and spent it on mailers to help Chandler and Harbicht, which is a violation of the law. Mayor Pro Tern Tay asked the City Attorney Deitsch if it was legal for a candidate to raise money and spend it on another candidate's behalf. City Attorney Deitsch responded that he could not provide an answer on that question tonight. Mayor Pro Tern Tay indicated that in his communication with the FPPC, he was told that it is okay to raise money for your own campaign and spend it on another candidate's behalf; he also stated that he worked with an election consultant, Mike Lewis, who also said it was legal. Mayor Amundson asked for a second to his earlier motion. Council Member Beck seconded the motion. On motion by Mayor Amundson, seconded by Council Member Beck, and carried on roll call vote to continue the selection of Mayor for 45 days (i.e. June 5). AYES: Beck, and Amundson NOES: Chandler, Tay, Verlato The nomination for Mayor was called by Mayor Amundson. 3. CITY COUNCIL REORGANIZATION a. The City Clerk calls for the election of Mayor Council Member Chandler nominated Mayor Pro Tern Tay for Mayor. Council Member Beck nominated Council Member Verlato for Mayor. Noting no other nominations, City Council Members cast their votes for the following: 7 04-24-2018 having an article that reads something about Arcadia Mayor found guilty of campaign violations which would be an embarrassment to Sho and the City, and based on that ongoing investigation and the dirty mailers that Sho sent he does not feel it is time for Sho Tay to be Mayor. Council Member Chandler stated that the "Monopoly" mailer sent out about him is great; that his wife framed it for him, and would like to say to whoever put it together, "Good job." Council Member Verlato stated that this process has been very exhausting; she thanked everyone for coming out tonight no matter what side they are on; she feels that this is what makes America great, and what makes our local City be a better City and more responsive to its residents; she stated that we will move forward and take a look at each step we take, and ask ourselves how this step is helping to unite Arcadia. Mayor Pro Tern Tay noted comments made by former Mayor Gail Marshall and all the rumors of him making a video teaching Arcadia residents how to vote, and feels that this is a very serious allegation; he explained that this is why he requested the District Attorney to look into this; he noted comments made by Joyce Platt that indicated he was walking the beat for the candidates, and noted that it was not him; he stated that regarding the FPPC investigation, Mike Lewis, who Mayor Amundson knows, indicated that it was legal for him to send mailers supporting other candidates from his own campaign money; he confirmed that he mailed mailers when asked by Council Member Beck; he stated that because he WeChat's information regarding issues in Arcadia, he is being accused of violating the Brown Act, which he indicated is not a violation; he stated that there is no reason to attack each other; he stated that as Council Members, they are setting the example for the community, and wants everyone to work together. City Clerk Glasco announced a carnival at Highlands Elementary School on April 27, and invited everyone to attend. Mayor Amundson announced that the City is accepting Board and Commission application, and encouraged residents to get involved. ADJOURNMENT The Special City Council meeting adjourned at 9:35 p.m. to the regular City Council meeting on Tuesday, May 1, 2018, 6:00 p.m., in the Council Confere - "o. 1 Mayor of the City of Arcadia ATTEST: fI A1.' Chi;f ry=puty City Clerk/ Rec. ds Manager 9 04-24-2018