Rita Aguilar

The City Council meeting included recognizing special members of the Paramount community, including the Paramount High School varsity cheer team for their volunteer work at city events, the Latinas Art Foundation and its volunteers for their work organizing Santo Los Muertos, and Jose Vaka for his work with Skill Set Group and the Paramount education program. The council also recognized the winners of the holiday home decorating contest and expressed gratitude to the Public Safety team.

The meeting included discussions and actions on various agenda items. A presentation was given regarding conditional use permit number 954 for Alas Kitchen and Bar, including public safety considerations and a six-month Planning Commission review. Additionally, there was a discussion regarding a zone change request by Paramount Gateway LLC to allow a supermarket and three restaurants, including updates on the tentative parcel map and conditional use permit applications.

The joint meeting between the City of Paramount and the PUSD focused primarily on reviewing and discussing current communication strategies for both entities. The City detailed its communications program, which is supported by a full-time manager, part-time specialists, and contract services for social media monitoring and broadcasting. Key communication tools reviewed included three websites (general portal, Explore Paramount, and environmental portal), YouTube, SmugMug, social media platforms (LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, with plans to add Nextdoor), direct email updates (with a subscriber base of 5,000), traditional media (Around Town magazine, Pulsebeat), Cable Channel 36, and the Nixle app for emergency notifications. The PUSD Superintendent then outlined the district's communication practices, highlighting their website as the main repository and emphasizing the comprehensive, two-way communication capabilities of the ParentSquare application, used by the district, individual schools, and classroom teachers. Both entities acknowledged the collaborative spirit fostered by the ad hoc committee that organized the agenda. Discussions also touched upon school site recognition accomplishments and city accomplishments, including energy efficiency awards and public response to the LED streetlight replacement project. Concerns were raised by a school board member regarding the lack of detailed environmental impact communication related to the World Energy site and the need to address poverty impacting 20% of children in her district.

The meeting included updates and discussions on various topics. Updates were provided on public comments from the February 13th city council meeting, addressing concerns about neighborhood permit parking and adult sports programming. There were also discussions regarding male adult sports, handling of business licensing, and enforcement upon unlicensed businesses. The council also discussed planning department highlights, development activity, building and safety, housing, and long-range plans. Updates were given on Capital Improvement projects, including the Bikeway project, traffic signal installations, traffic safety improvements, waterline extension, neighborhood street projects, arterial street projects, and alley improvements.

The City Council meeting commenced with recognition segments. This included acknowledging Hazel Mahia from the Mariposa Kids Club for leading the Pledge of Allegiance, presenting the Mayor's Gold Key Award to resident and business owner Vera Jimenez for her community involvement, and proclaiming August as National Wellness Month while recognizing Diane Nichols from The Children's Clinic (TCC Family Health). A significant portion of the meeting was dedicated to honoring the retirement of the longtime City Attorney, John Kavanagh, after 27 years of service, during which he was instrumental in major community projects like the Civic Center Plaza and the Paramount Pond revitalization. Council members shared testimonials regarding his guidance, open-door policy, and dedication.