Meeting colors

OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Torrance City Council Regular Meeting Summary – November 19, 2024

City Council — Tuesday, November 19, 2024

BodyTorrance, California

SessionCity Council

DateTuesday, November 19, 2024

StatusFILED

Video Record

⇩ GET FROM SOURCE

STREAMING COPY IN PREPARATION — RECORDING AVAILABLE FROM THE ORIGINAL SOURCE

Transcript — Verbatim

Speaker numbers apply only to this recording.

Speaker 1

0:00

Your host of senior scene.

0:02

As seniors, we go through the aging process in many different ways.

0:06

Some of us need glasses, some of us need hearing aids, some of us get osteoarthritis.

0:11

I know for me that's been my problem.

0:14

Today we're going to meet a doctor who is going to tell us what kinds of things can we do to keep our body moving free of pain and be strong.

0:24

Come on, let's go see.

0:47

Here at Torrance Memorial Medical Center, there is a department called occupational therapy.

0:54

They help people with physical, sensory, or cognitive disabilities be as independent as possible in all areas of their lives.

1:03

It's a form of therapy that helps rehabilitate through therapeutic use in everyday activities.

1:10

Dr.

1:11

Alexander is one of the specialists diagnosing seniors with these problems.

1:16

That's the one that really confuses me.

1:18

Where did the word occupational therapy come from?

Speaker 2

1:22

Well, I think it's because the occupational helps with day-to-day self-care activities.

1:28

So it's really for using the hands.

1:32

So if someone has a hand arthritis and there's a disability, they have weakness or deformities, or they can't grasp grasp things, they have to learn how to you need your hands for self-care to wash to dress yourself.

1:45

So I don't know, maybe it's just you know it's an occupation to dress yourself or but it's really that kind of specific.

1:53

It's a really specific thing that we do for occupational therapy.

1:58

I I prescribe that more for stroke patients.

2:01

So for them to learn after a stroke, they're usually weak or numb on one side, so they have to learn how to deal with that disability and be and be weak on one side to dress themselves.

2:12

It's very hard if you have just one hand to use.

Speaker 1

2:15

What happens if seniors go through the aging process and get arthritis or other types of inflammation?

Speaker 2

2:22

In you know, society here in Western or in America that you know aging isn't as highly looked upon as other societies, and I think that we need to change our attitude about that because the baby boomers are now taking over and they are, you know, they want to be taken seriously for and they're living longer and they should be taken seriously, and so we have to step up our game as health care providers and you know provide these, you know, these type of services like occupational and physical therapy that maybe weren't as popular in the past, but now they're you know, I think that's the number one referral.

Speaker 1

3:03

What can we do to help our aging population understand that there will be challenges to our body movements, which in turn can lead to joint pain and even mobility problems.

Speaker 2

3:15

Physical therapists and occupational therapists are specially trained health care providers and they learn, you know, they have to go to school and they have training and they have to have a certification and they're you know have to keep up their credentials just like every other health care provider.

Speaker 1

3:31

Dr.

3:31

Alexander says it's imperative that older adults keep moving and continue to exercise to keep the body and mind strong, especially as we age.

Speaker 2

3:43

It's going to slow it down, stabilize it.

Speaker 1

3:45

Really

Speaker 2

3:46

yeah, sometimes things that we do are worsening the problem.

3:50

So, like you said, you were working out with weights that worsen your arthritis.

3:54

So now you don't you're not doing that, so maybe it'll just stabilize it, you know.

Speaker 1

4:00

Dr.

4:01

Alexander has taken her profession to a new type of care.

Speaker 2

4:05

I'm family medicine trained, board certified, and I also had a fellowship in integrative medicine and spiritual psychology masters.

4:13

So I kind of believe in the whole mind, body, soul, and as people age, and you know, I kind of uh borrowed this from one of my colleagues at ECLA, they say ABCs of aging is attitude, so if you have a good attitude, you're gonna do good, as well as activity A for activity and attitude.

4:31

So keep moving, motion is lotion, be for balance, so you want to prevent fall, so balance training, you know, standing on your foot while you're brushing your teeth, you know, standing on one foot, Tai Chi is excellent for balance, and see community.

4:44

People that are in connected communities that in good relationships really do better and thrive.

Speaker 1

4:51

Dr.

4:52

Alexander gives us important bits of advice that is easy to understand.

Unassigned speaker

5:00

It's usually lower in sugar and so you want to avoid yogurts that have additives, colors and sugar so you want to look at the ingredients in all your food.

Speaker 2

5:08

So if the first ingredient says Greek yogurt then you're good.

5:11

If the first ingredient is sugar then you need to not pick that one.

Speaker 1

5:14

Seniors today are fortunate with all the wonderful information on how they can improve life by listening to their doctor's recommendations reading great articles on successful aging and getting some good exercise.

5:53

One of the most painful and motion limiting events can happen when a senior experiences pain.

6:01

And occupational therapy can help improve a senior's life by exercising those parts of the body

Unassigned speaker

6:08

Speaker 1

6:08

make

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Healthcare Services█████████████████████████████████████████████100%

Summary of Proceedings

Torrance City Council Regular Meeting – November 19, 2024

The Torrance City Council convened on November 19, 2024, for a regular meeting that included a closed session at 5:00 PM and open business beginning at 6:30 PM. Due to the unavailability of meeting minutes and a non‑relevant transcript (the provided transcript pertains to an unrelated occupational therapy discussion), this summary is derived solely from the published agenda. All items are presumed to have been considered as listed unless otherwise noted.

Consent Calendar

8A – Adopted a resolution approving Program Supplement No. F019 for the design of Citywide Traffic Signal Improvements (T‑171) and appropriated $88,530 in Carbon Reduction Program grant funds, increasing the project budget to $1,881,530.
8B – Approved a first amendment to the Goldsworthy Desalter ground lease with the Water Replenishment District (WRD) for an additional 16,591 square feet and adopted a resolution of public interest.
8C – Adopted a resolution implementing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Torrance Police Commanders Association (TPCA) for hours, wages, and working conditions for the period January 1, 2024 – December 31, 2025, with an expenditure of $971,568 (approx. $485,784 annually from the General Fund).
8D – Approved the second and final reading of Ordinance No. 3939 amending sign regulations, electronic/digital billboards, and enforcement.
8E – Authorized emergency slope repairs between Vista Montana and Vista Largo, adopting CEQA categorical exemptions and direct payments totaling $424,928.66 to Ford Foundation Drilling, Inc. ($378,543.66) and Clarke Contracting Corporation ($46,385.00).
8F – Approved a fourth amendment to the lease with KinderCare Education LLC for continued daycare operations at 1520 Greenwood Avenue within Greenwood Park.
8G – Authorized a purchase order for six 2026 Autocar/Heil ACX64 CNG refuse trucks at $3,363,305.37 via cooperative purchase.
8H – Appropriated $640,976.41 and authorized a purchase order for two 2024 Ford F‑450 Medix Metro 153 Type I ambulances via cooperative purchase.
8I – Approved setting a closed hearing date of January 14, 2025, to consider an employee termination appeal (Police Officer).
8J – Accepted and filed the FY2023‑24 Traffic Commission Annual Report.
8K – Approved an examination to fill the Finance Director position on an open basis.
8L – Accepted and filed the September 2024 Investment Report.
8M – Approved reclassification of 1.0 FTE Fire Battalion Chief to Deputy Fire Chief.
8N – Approved three on‑call roofing service contracts (Rainy Day Roofing, Bazan Roofing, Rite‑Way Roofing) each for up to $1,500,000 through June 30, 2027, plus CEQA exemption.
8O – Approved two on‑call general contractor service contracts (Harry H. Joh Construction, MDJ Management) each for up to $2,250,000 through June 30, 2027, plus CEQA exemption.
8P – Approved City Council minutes from October 8, 22, and 29, 2024.

Community Matters

6A – Proclamation declaring November 30 – December 7, 2024, as Torrance Small Business Week.
6B – Accepted and appropriated a donation for the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) with no General Fund expenditure.

Hearings

9A – Public hearing on municipal water rate increases: Proposed annual increases over five years (January 1, 2025 – December 31, 2029), with a maintained discount for low‑income senior and disabled customers.
9B – Public hearing on replacing an expired pipeline franchise with Zenith Energy West Coast Terminals LLC for a ten‑year term (with one ten‑year extension option); CEQA categorical exemption adopted.
9C – Public hearing on the Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice (AI) covering July 1, 2024 – June 30, 2028; final AI approved.
9D – Public hearing on the FY2023‑24 Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report (CAPER) and appropriation of HOME and CDBG awards.

Administrative Matters

10A – Accepted and filed the forensic review of the City’s financial processes report.
10B – Discussed and considered amending Torrance Municipal Code sections related to commission compensation; directed the City Clerk to bring back an ordinance.
10C – Discussed and considered adopting an ordinance amending the Municipal Code regarding public art murals and adopting a mural policy resolution; CEQA exemption adopted.

Closed Session

13A – The Council met in closed session for a performance evaluation (City Manager), conference with legal counsel on existing litigation, labor negotiations, real property negotiations, and anticipated litigation.

Adjournment

The meeting adjourned to December 3, 2024, at 5:00 PM for closed session, with regular business at 6:30 PM. (November 26, 2024, was a dark night.)

Note on Source Material

No meeting minutes were provided, and the transcript supplied is unrelated to the City Council meeting (it discusses occupational therapy for seniors). Therefore, this summary reflects the agenda as published; actual discussion, public comments, and vote tallies beyond adoption of the consent calendar and resolutions are not available.

Meeting Transcript

Your host of senior scene. As seniors, we go through the aging process in many different ways. Some of us need glasses, some of us need hearing aids, some of us get osteoarthritis. I know for me that's been my problem. Today we're going to meet a doctor who is going to tell us what kinds of things can we do to keep our body moving free of pain and be strong. Come on, let's go see. Here at Torrance Memorial Medical Center, there is a department called occupational therapy. They help people with physical, sensory, or cognitive disabilities be as independent as possible in all areas of their lives. It's a form of therapy that helps rehabilitate through therapeutic use in everyday activities. Dr. Alexander is one of the specialists diagnosing seniors with these problems. That's the one that really confuses me. Where did the word occupational therapy come from? Well, I think it's because the occupational helps with day-to-day self-care activities. So it's really for using the hands. So if someone has a hand arthritis and there's a disability, they have weakness or deformities, or they can't grasp grasp things, they have to learn how to you need your hands for self-care to wash to dress yourself. So I don't know, maybe it's just you know it's an occupation to dress yourself or but it's really that kind of specific. It's a really specific thing that we do for occupational therapy. I I prescribe that more for stroke patients. So for them to learn after a stroke, they're usually weak or numb on one side, so they have to learn how to deal with that disability and be and be weak on one side to dress themselves. It's very hard if you have just one hand to use. What happens if seniors go through the aging process and get arthritis or other types of inflammation? In you know, society here in Western or in America that you know aging isn't as highly looked upon as other societies, and I think that we need to change our attitude about that because the baby boomers are now taking over and they are, you know, they want to be taken seriously for and they're living longer and they should be taken seriously, and so we have to step up our game as health care providers and you know provide these, you know, these type of services like occupational and physical therapy that maybe weren't as popular in the past, but now they're you know, I think that's the number one referral. What can we do to help our aging population understand that there will be challenges to our body movements, which in turn can lead to joint pain and even mobility problems. Physical therapists and occupational therapists are specially trained health care providers and they learn, you know, they have to go to school and they have training and they have to have a certification and they're you know have to keep up their credentials just like every other health care provider. Dr. Alexander says it's imperative that older adults keep moving and continue to exercise to keep the body and mind strong, especially as we age. It's going to slow it down, stabilize it. Really yeah, sometimes things that we do are worsening the problem. So, like you said, you were working out with weights that worsen your arthritis. So now you don't you're not doing that, so maybe it'll just stabilize it, you know. Dr. Alexander has taken her profession to a new type of care. I'm family medicine trained, board certified, and I also had a fellowship in integrative medicine and spiritual psychology masters. So I kind of believe in the whole mind, body, soul, and as people age, and you know, I kind of uh borrowed this from one of my colleagues at ECLA, they say ABCs of aging is attitude, so if you have a good attitude, you're gonna do good, as well as activity A for activity and attitude. So keep moving, motion is lotion, be for balance, so you want to prevent fall, so balance training, you know, standing on your foot while you're brushing your teeth, you know, standing on one foot, Tai Chi is excellent for balance, and see community. People that are in connected communities that in good relationships really do better and thrive. Dr. Alexander gives us important bits of advice that is easy to understand. It's usually lower in sugar and so you want to avoid yogurts that have additives, colors and sugar so you want to look at the ingredients in all your food. So if the first ingredient says Greek yogurt then you're good. If the first ingredient is sugar then you need to not pick that one. Seniors today are fortunate with all the wonderful information on how they can improve life by listening to their doctor's recommendations reading great articles on successful aging and getting some good exercise. One of the most painful and motion limiting events can happen when a senior experiences pain. And occupational therapy can help improve a senior's life by exercising those parts of the body to make

SUMMARIZED BY OPENPUBLICA AI

TRANSCRIPT VIA PUBLIC VIDEO
openpublica.com

Torrance City Council Regular Meeting – November 19, 2024

Consent Calendar

8A – Adopted a resolution approving Program Supplement No. F019 for the design of Citywide Traffic Signal Improvements (T‑171) and appropriated $88,530 in Carbon Reduction Program grant funds, increasing the project budget to $1,881,530.

8B – Approved a first amendment to the Goldsworthy Desalter ground lease with the Water Replenishment District (WRD) for an additional 16,591 square feet and adopted a resolution of public interest.

8C – Adopted a resolution implementing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Torrance Police Commanders Association (TPCA) for hours, wages, and working conditions for the period January 1, 2024 – December 31, 2025, with an expenditure of $971,568 (approx. $485,784 annually from the General Fund).

8D – Approved the second and final reading of Ordinance No. 3939 amending sign regulations, electronic/digital billboards, and enforcement.

8E – Authorized emergency slope repairs between Vista Montana and Vista Largo, adopting CEQA categorical exemptions and direct payments totaling $424,928.66 to Ford Foundation Drilling, Inc. ($378,543.66) and Clarke Contracting Corporation ($46,385.00).

8F – Approved a fourth amendment to the lease with KinderCare Education LLC for continued daycare operations at 1520 Greenwood Avenue within Greenwood Park.

8G – Authorized a purchase order for six 2026 Autocar/Heil ACX64 CNG refuse trucks at $3,363,305.37 via cooperative purchase.

8H – Appropriated $640,976.41 and authorized a purchase order for two 2024 Ford F‑450 Medix Metro 153 Type I ambulances via cooperative purchase.

8I – Approved setting a closed hearing date of January 14, 2025, to consider an employee termination appeal (Police Officer).

8J – Accepted and filed the FY2023‑24 Traffic Commission Annual Report.

8K – Approved an examination to fill the Finance Director position on an open basis.

8L – Accepted and filed the September 2024 Investment Report.

8M – Approved reclassification of 1.0 FTE Fire Battalion Chief to Deputy Fire Chief.

8N – Approved three on‑call roofing service contracts (Rainy Day Roofing, Bazan Roofing, Rite‑Way Roofing) each for up to $1,500,000 through June 30, 2027, plus CEQA exemption.

8O – Approved two on‑call general contractor service contracts (Harry H. Joh Construction, MDJ Management) each for up to $2,250,000 through June 30, 2027, plus CEQA exemption.

8P – Approved City Council minutes from October 8, 22, and 29, 2024.

Community Matters

6A – Proclamation declaring November 30 – December 7, 2024, as Torrance Small Business Week.

6B – Accepted and appropriated a donation for the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) with no General Fund expenditure.

Hearings

9A – Public hearing on municipal water rate increases: Proposed annual increases over five years (January 1, 2025 – December 31, 2029), with a maintained discount for low‑income senior and disabled customers.

9B – Public hearing on replacing an expired pipeline franchise with Zenith Energy West Coast Terminals LLC for a ten‑year term (with one ten‑year extension option); CEQA categorical exemption adopted.

9C – Public hearing on the Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice (AI) covering July 1, 2024 – June 30, 2028; final AI approved.

9D – Public hearing on the FY2023‑24 Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report (CAPER) and appropriation of HOME and CDBG awards.

Administrative Matters

10A – Accepted and filed the forensic review of the City’s financial processes report.

10B – Discussed and considered amending Torrance Municipal Code sections related to commission compensation; directed the City Clerk to bring back an ordinance.

10C – Discussed and considered adopting an ordinance amending the Municipal Code regarding public art murals and adopting a mural policy resolution; CEQA exemption adopted.

Closed Session

13A – The Council met in closed session for a performance evaluation (City Manager), conference with legal counsel on existing litigation, labor negotiations, real property negotiations, and anticipated litigation.

Adjournment

The meeting adjourned to December 3, 2024, at 5:00 PM for closed session, with regular business at 6:30 PM. (November 26, 2024, was a dark night.)

Note on Source Material

Meeting Transcript