City Council will consider approving the following among other items on their agenda at tonight’s meeting:
● Change the deadline by which cannabis business applicants have to open their businesses. (2F)
● Adds administrative penalties to violations of the municipal code including “Registration of New Construction and Other Separately Alienable Residential Rental Units,” “Side Agreements Disclosure,” and “Requirement for Resident Manager” (2G)
● Spend $128,918.34 on installation, removal and storage of Christmas lights/decorations on Santa Monica Blvd. (2M)
● Give operational control of the weekly Farmer’s Market to Strandro, Inc. DBA Farmer Mark, who will take a 6.5 percent cut of vendor revenue. Last year, total revenue was $890,571. (2N)
● Approve a 5.5% base salary increase for the Assistant City Manager, Deputy City Manager, and Department Directors and West Hollywood Municipal employees. Each subsequent year of the MOU, employees will receive a base salary increase on July 1st, based on the annual CPI-W adjustment with a minimum of 1.75% and a maximum of 3.25%. The estimated cost for the first year is $1,550,505. (2X)
● Swap the city’s underperforming Dial-a-Ride service for MicroTransit, which would provide curb-to-curb transportation to older adults or community members living with a disability and offers corner-to-corner service for the general public. The general public would need to walk no more than a ¼ mile to be picked up at a nearby bus stop or intersection. The transition will cost about $300,000 over the next three years. (2Y)
● Schedule National Night Out for Aug. 2 (2Z)
● Change the names of the Lesbian and Gay Advisory Board to LGBTQ+ Advisory Board and the Russian Advisory Board to the Russian-Speaking Advisory Board (2DD)
● Gives more control of the city’s tort liability claims to the California Joint Powers Insurance Authority (2EE)
● Prohibit unlawful possession of catalytic converters (2FF)
● Expand the current ban on official travel and contracting with states that adopt bans on legal and safe abortions (2II)
● Support a senate bill which would allow bars to open till 4 a.m. in WeHo (2CC)
● Increase the rates for collection and handling of trash, recycling, and organic waste services (3A)
● Adopt the 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 city budgets.
● Direct staff to proceed with a historic resources survey for Betty Way and Greenacre Ave. (4E)
● Councilmember Sepi Shyne will appoint a new Planning Commissioner and Russian Advisory Boardmember. The City Council will also consider making an at-large appointment to the Planning Commission and Women’s Advisory Board.
Hopefully the Council Members will limit their comments to 2 or 3 minutes which is also afforded the public rather than go on with long winded comments about Roe vs. Wade.
If they have a startling new piece of information I’m sure the public will be receptive, otherwise, please get on with the meeting.
Mark Anderson, the sole employee of Strandro, received a $10,000 PPP *loan.*
Strandro Inc in Marina Del Rey, CA – SBA PPP Loan Data (Paycheck Protection Program) (federalpay.org)
Why is the current group giving up control and WTF is Mr Anderson qualified or going to get a 6.5% stake in the enterprise?
Hope you will be making a comment this evening.
Not enough time, but I will send an email to CC members.
Thank you.
This item, although passed on Consent, deserves more scrutiny. Traditionally the vendors pay a rentsl fee for their space and I know of not a single Farmers Market that pays a percentage of their take to the producer/manager. Since the city was running this market previously, they may have been naive as to how the commercial markets operate. Most of the vendors are hard working vendors and don’t need an extra gouge like this.
I tried for a while to watch the meeting but there was a loop for a commercial for the WeHo station.
Lousy outcome.
Thank you for the update.
Thanks Joshua, I will follow up on this today. The end of the meeting was horrifying. Do you remember at what time the commercial interrupted the proceedings?
The 5.5% increase seems extreme. Even if city employees were on wage freeze, during COVID. I’m not sure if they were, or not.
Re: the 4:00 am proposed bar closures, John Terzian of H.Wood Group was interviewed advocating this. While he indicated it was not about the additional revenue, it actually IS ALL ABOUT THE REVENUE. With all of his locations he apparently has no interest in public safety this proposal may bring. He features himself as a world class bar/restaurant owner whose favorite food is chicken fingers, and a philanthropist. Perhaps he would like to develop a fund for increased Public Safety personnel, which should be the purview of individual owners, for the general public. This guy is not believable but hawked… Read more »
2.E. on Consent Agenda entitles City to continue holding Teleconference hearings rather than in person hearings for commissions and advisory boards claiming City is still under a State of Emergency. This arrangement allows people to conduct themselves in an undisciplined manner, keeps City Hall effectively closed giving Staff the opportunity to avoid full engagement with the public. City claims to lack infrastructure to reconvene full meetings. At the same time they are requesting 5.5% increases for department heads and City Manager. Any raises should be dependent on their job performance and voted upon by the public. They buck the public… Read more »