* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [00:00:01] THEN [1. CALL TO ORDER] I'D LIKE TO CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER AND LIVE. WEBCAST TO THE MEETING MAY BE VIEWED ON THE CITY'S WEBSITE. NOTICE AGENDA AND INFORMATION ON THE CITY OF NATIONAL CITY'S WEBSITE INFORMS MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC THAT THEY MAY SUBMIT A GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT OR A PUBLIC COMMENT ON A SPECIFIC AGENDA ITEM IN A NUMBER OF WAYS, IN PERSON AND THE CITY COUNCIL CHAMBER BY SUBMITTING ONE OF THESE SALMON COLORED SLIPS. AND PLEASE GET THOSE OVER TO OUR CITY CLERK'S DESK RIGHT AWAY, OR EMAILING NO LATER THAN FOUR HOURS BEFORE THE MEETING. ALL WRITTEN COMMENTS RECEIVED WILL BE DISTRIBUTED TO THE COUNCIL PRIOR TO THE MEETING AND PUBLISHED ON THE CITY'S WEBSITE IF RECEIVED BY THE DEADLINE. WITH THAT, CAN WE HAVE ROLL CALL PLEASE? COUNCIL MEMBER BUSH HERE. COUNCIL MEMBER YAMANI HERE. VICE MAYOR MOLINA. PRESENT. MAYOR MORRISON. PRESENT AND CURRENTLY COUNCIL MEMBER RODRIGUEZ IS ABSENT. WE HAVE A FOUR. UH, WITH THAT, IF WE COULD STAND FOR THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE AND, UH, MEMBER YAMANI, WOULD YOU READ AL PLEASE, PLEASE STAND. CAN, UH, READY BEGIN? MY PLEASURE. ALLEGIANCE TO RELY OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS. NATION, ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE RAW. THANK YOU MAYOR. ALRIGHT, [4. PUBLIC COMMENT (Public Comment will be restricted to Agenda Items Only)] WITH THAT WE WILL NOW GO INTO PUBLIC COMMENTS. DO WE HAVE ANYTHING FOR ZOOM? I KNOW THERE WAS NO, NO, THERE ARE NOT. NO WRITTEN COMMENTS. NOTHING ON ZOOM THEN? SO WE'LL TAKE ONES FROM THE AUDIENCE AND, UH, OKAY. THESE ARE PUBLIC COMMENTS THAT ARE SPECIFIC TO THIS AGENDA ITEM AND THERE'S ONLY ONE ITEM ON TODAY, SO I'LL MAKE THAT EASY. AND, UH, DO YOU HAVE ANY MORE SLIPS OVER THERE? I DO. OKAY. UM, WE WILL GO AHEAD AND HEAR THE DOOR COMING. ALRIGHT. SO WE'LL GIVE EACH PERSON, UH, UH, TWO MINUTES AND I'LL CALL YOU. CALL UP THREE AT A TIME HERE. FIRST OF ALL, MCCARTHY TO BE FOLLOWED BY MICKEL POLANCO, FOLLOWED BY DOYLE MORRISON. ATTORNEY, FOUR PEOPLE HERE FOR COMMENT. WHY NOT THREE MINUTES? OKAY, BECAUSE WE HAVE, IT'S A CLOSED SESSION MEETING. WE GOT A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME, SO GO FOR IT. THE POSITION OF CITY ATTORNEY PLEDGES TO PROVIDE HONEST LEGAL ADVICE TO THE CITY, EVEN IF POLITICALLY INCONVENIENT AVOIDS CONFLICT OF INTEREST. ANGELO'S TOWING CONNECTED TO RON'S ASSISTANT ACT WITH INTEGRITY, SERVES THE PUBLIC INTEREST, NOT PERSONAL OR POLITICAL GAIN. THIS POSITION IS TO BE TAKEN SERIOUS. WE NO LONGER WANT TO SEE WHAT SEEMS TO BE THE NORM HERE UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF RON MORRISON. THE CITY NEEDS A CITY ATTORNEY FOR THE PEOPLE, NOT FOR THE MAYOR, OR NOT TO PROTECT ANY COUNCIL FROM ANY WRONGDOINGS. THE TRUTH SOONER OR LATER IS REVEALED AND IT HAS COME AT A VERY HIGH PRICE, LOSING $10 MILLION ON A SEXUAL HARASSMENT CASE. AND MANY OTHER CASES THE CITY HAS LOST AT THE EXPENSE OF THE PEOPLE. THE MONEY LOST DOESN'T SEEM TO PHASE RON. WHY WOULD IT? HE HASN'T HAD A JOB A JOB FOR 34 YEARS PLUS HE'S PLAYING WITH TAXPAYERS MONEY. MY MONEY, MARCUS CAN'T EVEN HOLD A JOB. SO WHAT DOES HE CARE? WHAT DOES HE KNOW? I HOPE YOU IMPLEMENT DRUG TESTING BECAUSE MARCUS HAS LOST THE TRUST OF MAKING SOUND DECISIONS THAT IMPACT THE CITY. PLEASE STICK IT TO THE SUBJECT THAT'S ON THE AGENDA. HIS OPENLY USE OF MARIJUANA AND PRESCRIPTION DRUGS. OKAY. THAT IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE THE PEOPLE NEED TO HAVE SOMEONE WHO HAS A CLEAR HEAD IS HEALTH HEALTHY TO MAKE DECISIONS THAT IMPACT THROUGH OUTTA ORDER THE CITY. HOW SO? OKAY, BECAUSE YOU ARE OFF THE SUBJECT. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. I'M NOT OFF THE SUBJECT. YES, YOU'RE AGAIN, THE CITY ATTORNEY POSITION IS A VERY SERIOUS POSITION AND THEY SHOULD HOLD PEOPLE ACCOUNTABLE AND I ENCOURAGE THEM TO SUGGEST, TO BRING IN DRUG TESTING FOR THE BENEFIT OF EVERYONE. WHAT ARE YOU SCARED OF? MAYOR? WHAT ARE YOU SCARED OF? YES. YOU ARE NOT SCARED. YES YOU ARE. NO. WHY DON'T YOU DO IT? ALLOWING YOUR THEATRICS TO BE LAID OUT. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. GOOD EVENING. THE ONLY THEATRICAL PERSON UP HERE IS YOU, RON. THIS POSITION IN NO WAY SHOULD BE FOR POLITICS OF THE CITY. I, UH, HOPE THAT ALL OF YOU COUNCIL MEMBERS [00:05:01] TAKE THAT SERIOUSLY, THAT THIS POSITION IS FOR THE PEOPLE AND NOT AT THE EXPENSE OF THE PEOPLE. AND I WANT ALL OF YOU COUNCIL MEMBERS TO PLEASE TAKE THAT INTO CONSIDERATION BECAUSE IT IS VERY, VERY IMPORTANT ROLE OF THE CITY. NOW, WHATEVER ATTORNEY YOU ALLOW IN THE CITY SHOULD HAVE AN INDEPENDENT VIEW, AN UNBIASED OPINION OF ALL DECISIONS AND NOT BE POLITICALLY CONNECTED TO ANY OF YOU. AND I MEAN ANY OF YOU, THEY SHOULD TOTALLY HAVE THEIR OWN SAY AS TO WHAT IS RIGHT FOR THE PEOPLE. UM, THIS PO POSITION SHOULD ALSO, UH, NOT BE AT THE EXPENSE OF THE HARD WORKING TAXPAYERS. IT'S VERY, VERY IMPORTANT THAT YOU PUT YOURSELF IN THE SHOES OF THESE PEOPLE THAT ARE EARNING THE MONEY TO PAY FOR THESE CITY ATTORNEYS. WE SHOULDN'T BE IN A LOT OF LAWSUITS. WE SHOULDN'T BE IN THIS $10 MILLION LAWSUIT. WE SHOULDN'T HAVE TO BE PAYING MORE INSURANCE BECAUSE OF THESE LAWSUITS. ALL OF THESE LAWSUITS COULD BE PREVENTED IF WE MAKE THE PROPER DECISIONS. AND IT ALL STARTS WITH THE PROPER DECISIONS, EVALUATING THE DECISIONS. WE WOULDN'T BE HERE TODAY AND WE WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN HERE FOR ALMOST A YEAR. IF WE WOULD'VE HAD TRANSPARENCY AND IF THE PROCESSES OF THE CITY AND OF THE PLANNING DEVELOPMENT, UH, DEPARTMENT WOULD'VE BEEN FOLLOWED, WE WOULDN'T BE FIGHTING THIS HARD. WHY WOULD WE? WE'VE NEVER BEEN HERE BEFORE. THIS IS OUR FIRST TIME IN MORE THAN 20 YEARS THAT I'VE EVER STEPPED FOOT IN THIS CITY COUNCIL. WHY? BECAUSE I KNOW THAT THERE'S FRAUD, THERE'S CORRUPTION GOING ON. SO THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMENT. THANK YOU. UH, GOOD. A YOUR NEW CITY COUNCIL. UM, MY COMMENT TONIGHT WAS GOING TO START WITH SOMETHING ELSE, BUT WHEN WE JUST LOOK AT THE 30 MINUTE SET ASIDE FOR PUBLIC COMMENT FOR A PUBLIC MEETING, IT, UM, IS A LITTLE CONCERNING THAT MYSELF, I'VE BEEN UP HERE BEFORE AND I'VE ASKED WHAT IS THE CRISIS OR WHAT IS, WHAT IS THE DETERMINATION OF HOW LONG PEOPLE GET TO SPEAK FOR? AND IT WAS SAID THAT THERE'S A 30 MINUTE TIME PERIOD AND BASED ON THE AMOUNT OF SLIPS THAT WE GET, HOW MANY SPEAKERS THAT IT SHOULD BE LIMITED TO TRY TO GET EVERYONE AN OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK. AND I'M NOT SEEING THAT TODAY, WHICH BRINGS ME UP ABOUT WHY WE'RE ACTUALLY HERE FOR THE, FOR THE CITY ATTORNEY. MAYBE THE CITY ATTORNEY CAN SHED LIGHT ON ON THAT, ON HOW THAT DETERMINATION SHOULD BE MADE AND WHETHER OR NOT THAT SHOULD BE ELIMINATED AT, AT, AT THE, UH, DIRECTION OF THE MAYOR. UM, FOR ANY PARTICULAR REASON OTHER THAN WHEN YOU LOOK AROUND THE ROOM, THERE'S REALLY DOESN'T APPEAR TO BE A REASON FOR THAT. AND MAYBE HE HAS A ANOTHER REASON THAT I DON'T KNOW ABOUT, AND I'M, I'M OKAY IF THAT'S THE CASE, BUT IT JUST SEEMS A LITTLE OFF. I THINK YOU GUYS HAVE A BIG DECISION TO MAKE THE CITY ATTORNEY, NOT ONLY DOES IT PROTECT, UM, THE CITY AND THE TAXPAYER'S, UH, REVENUE, BUT IT ALSO PROTECTS YOU ALL FROM MAKING MISTAKES LIKE, UM, BROWN ACT, BROWN ACT VIOLATIONS, WHICH HAPPEN IN OPEN MEETINGS HERE. AND IT'S RECORDED. AND I THINK THAT SHOULD STOP. IT WILL PROTECT ALL OF YOU. IT'LL PROTECT THE CITY AND IT WILL HELP, UH, MAKE THE TAX PAYERS DOLLARS GO TOWARDS WHAT IT'S INTENDED TO, TO PROVIDE SERVICES FOR THE RESIDENT OF NATIONAL CITY. THANK YOU. GOOD AFTERNOON. UM, YOU ALL HAVE A VERY IMPORTANT JOB THIS AFTERNOON IN SELECTING THE RIGHT INDIVIDUAL FOR THIS POSITION. I HAVE SEEN PRIOR CITY ATTORNEYS IN HERE WHO HAVE DONE THE JOB AND HAVE NOT DONE THE JOB. AND I'M GONNA GIVE YOU ONE EXAMPLE OF WHEN THE JOB WAS DONE. I CAME BEFORE THE CITY CLERK TO REQUEST A FILE THAT WAS PUBLISHED IN A, A PUBLICATION AND THAT FILE WAS NOT PRODUCED THAT EVENING AT THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING. WHEN I MADE MY COMMENT, THE CITY ATTORNEY THEN, UH, MADE AN ANNOUNCEMENT PRIOR TO THE MEETING THAT THAT ITEM HAD TO BE PULLED BECAUSE THE, UH, FILE WAS NOT PRESENTED. WHERE I'M GOING WITH THIS IS THAT I TOO HAVE SEEN BROWN ACT VIOLATIONS AT THIS MEETING. I'VE SEEN BROWN ACT VIOLATIONS WHEN, [00:10:01] UH, MS. SHABEL, THE CITY CLERK HAS POINTED OUT TO MR. UH, RON MORRISON, THE MAYOR, THAT THERE WERE CERTAIN ITEMS THAT WERE NOT ON THE AGENDA AND HE IMMEDIATELY TOLD HER NO, BUT THAT'S OKAY. AND YOU'LL SEE WHY. AND PROCEEDED, HE PROCEEDED WITH A PROCLAMATION THAT WAS NOT LISTED ON THE AGENDA, THAT WAS NOT PUBLIC NOTICE. SO I WOULD'VE HOPED THEN THAT THE CITY ATTORNEY WOULD'VE STEPPED IN AND STOPPED HIM, BUT IT DIDN'T HAPPEN. SO I WANNA CLOSE WITH READING, UH, A PRE EMBLEM OF THE BROWN ACT, WHICH ALL OF YOU ARE REQUIRED TO TAKE BROWN ACT TRAINING. YOU'RE ALL REQUIRED TO TAKE THE FF UH, THE FAIR POLITICAL PRACTICES TRAINING. SO THIS IS THE PRE EMBLEM. THE PEOPLE DO NOT YIELD THEIR SOVEREIGNTY TO THE BODIES THAT SERVE THEM. THE PEOPLE INSIST ON REMAINING INFORMED TO RETAIN CONTROL OVER THE LEGISLATIVE BODIES THAT THEY HAVE CREATED. THANK YOU [5. CLOSED SESSION] SESSION THIS AFTERNOON AND WE WILL BE CONVENING IN A CLOSED SESSION. I'M GONNA INTRODUCE OUR ASSISTANT CITY ATTORNEY TO THANK YOU THE ITEM. THANK YOU MAYOR. THE COUNCIL WILL NOW RECESS INTO CLOSED SESSION UNDER GOVERNMENT CODE 5 4 9 5 7 B ONE PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT POSITION OF CITY ATTORNEY. OKAY, WE'RE NOW IN CLOSED SESSION. WE'LL BE REPORTING OUT AFTERWARDS. OH, WE'RE OKAY. WE'RE COMING OUT OF CLOSED SESSION. AND WITH THAT WE'LL HAVE THE, UH, ASSISTANT CITY ATTORNEY MAKE THE REPORT. SO THE CITY COUNCIL ENCLOSED SESSION ON ONE ITEM FROM APPROXIMATELY THREE 15 TO 4:10 PM AND THERE IS NO REPORTABLE ACTION. OKAY, WITH THAT WE ARE ADJOURNED. THANK YOU MA'AM. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.