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All council members were present for the Tuesday, Sep. 20 & Oct 4 City Council meetings. For both meetings, open session started at 6:00 p.m. and ended around 9:00 p.m. Here's what you missed:
New Development brings new Self-Storage Facility coming to Carson. Council approved the introduction of a couple of ordinances which approves and allows the development of a 120,000+ square foot self-storage facility at the corner of Carson street and Perry street. In addition to a self-storage facility, the 2.8 acre project will also build a new 1,500 square foot café, a new 700 square foot retail mail facility (either a UPS or FedEx), and 41 new parking spaces. Several positive oral communications were received on the project praising the council for finally dealing with the vacant lot and
As part of the 15-year development agreement the applicant agreed to the spending over $817,000 in “community benefits.” Including:
$175,000 payment prior to issuance of building permits
$250,000 payment to the City’s Façade Program to be used in lieu of contribution from property owners for an area north of Carson Street.
$392,115 in development impact fees.
Community Facilities District Annual Assessments and Sales Tax Revenues in perpetuity.
In order to approve the development, City Council introduced a general plan amendment which changes the zoning from Light Industrial to Heavy Industrial for the area. But the council didn’t want to disturb the nearby residential area and established hours of operation for the development’s potential future businesses:
Self-Storage Office Hours: 8 a.m. – 8 p.m.
Café and Mail Retail Store hours: 6 a.m. – 10 p.m.
“Restricted Hours” of northern driveway: 10 p.m. – 7 a.m.
All City Parks and Facilities will have free Wi-Fi by Dec. 2022. The council approved a contract agreement which aims to establish free Wi-Fi in all City buildings and Parks by the end of this year. "The overall goal of this project is to implement the City Council's vision of expanding public Wi-Fi to create more opportunities across the City if Carson for residents to connect to the Internet." according to staff presentation.
City of Carson receives $15,000 grant to fund animal shelter assistance program. The City of Carson received a $15,000 grant to support low income pet owners with animal kits and supplies, as well as vouchers for spay/neuter surgeries and medical care. This $15,000 grant is a result of the City’s decision to join California for All Animals program in July 2022. Initially joining the program lead to a the City receiving a $5,000 grant to be used for general operating expenses relating to animal care by joining the program. The program did allow the City to apply for additional animal-care grants ultimately leading to the City accepting this $15,000 check. The Grant Agreement term is for the period of September 1, 2022 through August 31, 2023.
Council approve boosting City Manager severance to 16 months in contract agreement. The council approved a contract amendment for City Manager, David Roberts Jr. in a 3-2 vote which improved his severance from 12 months to 16 months paid on a month-to-month basis. Mayor Lula Davis-Holmes and Councilmember Cedric Hicks voted in opposition.
Additionally, Councilmember Jim Dear attempted to include a friendly amendment which would require a 4/5th vote by the Council to remove the City Manager without cause.
After discussions on whether a supermajority vote is needed to add a subsequent need item to the agenda, Roberts Jr respectfully declined Dear’s friendly amendment stating his wishes to not tie the hands of the council and will continue to be an advocate for City staff as long as he is needed. Councilmember Arleen Rojas and Mayor Pro Tem. Jawane Hilton praised the City Manager for the "classy move".
Public Works presents list of Maintenance projects. Public Works Director Eliza Jane Whitman presented a list of tasks done by the department in the past 2 weeks and highlighted the activities the department will focus on over the next 30 days. According to Whitman Public Works was mainly focused on receiving feedback on the new pickleball courts from enthusiasts of the sport. Whitman explains that PW is currently working on sending the council a contract to review at the next meeting. Additionally, Public Works also completed Anderson Park’s HVAC maintenance, began resurfacing multiple park playgrounds, establishing water bottle dispensers at City Parks, and several other maintenance activities in the past 15 days.
Whitman also presented items which Public Works will focus over the next couple of months including:
Emergency PO’s for severely damaged playgrounds and elevators at City Hall and Community Center
Roof and Flooring Repair at Mills Park
Glass repair at Dominguez Park
Sand and Wood Chips to be added in all parks.
Scoreboard maintenance.
Lighting maintenance at each park.
Union Pacific Bridge Crossing
Financial Director Tarik Rahmani becomes the 2022 Los Angeles Business Journal CFO Awards Finalist. The council congratulated Assistant City Manager, Tarik Rahmani on becoming a finalist for the Los Angeles Business Journal’s 2022 CFO Award Finalist. Specifically, Rahmani was finalist for Public Service CFO of the Year. His co-finalist is Patricia Smith, CFO of Los Angeles County Office of Education. Rahmani also works as the elected Vice President of League of California City fiscal operations department.
Events:
CERT (Community Emergency Response Training): Oct. 15, 22, & 29, 9 a.m. - 4:30 p.m., at Carson Community Center
8th Annual Women's Health Conference & Business Expo: Friday, Oct. 21, 7:30 a.m. - 3 p.m., at the Carson Event Center
Electronics Recycling and Paper Shredding Event: Saturday, Oct. 22, 8 a.m. - 12 p.m., at City Hall Parking Lot
Larry Itliong Day Celebration: Saturday, Oct. 22, 9 a.m. - 12 p.m., at Veterans Park
10th Annual Think Pink - Breast Cancer 3 Mile Walk: Sunday, Oct. 23, 8 a.m. - 11 a.m., at Veterans Park