Present: Mayor Tasha Cerda; Mayor Pro Tem Mark E. Henderson; Council Member Rodney G. Tanaka; Council Member Paulette C. Francis; and Council Member Wanda Love. Other City Officials and Employees present: City Manager Clint Osorio; City Attorney Carmen Vasquez; City Clerk Mina Semenza; and Deputy City Clerk Becky Romero. City Treasurer Guy Mato was not present.

None.

City Clerk Semenza called roll and reported that all Members of the Council were present.

When Mayor Cerda asked City Attorney Vasquez if there was anything to report out of Closed Session, City Attorney Vasquez reported that Council met with regards to Item 3.A; staff was provided with direction, but no reportable action was taken.

Kyle Chin, who is in 10th grade at North High School, led the Pledge of Allegiance. Kyle is currently serving as a Youth Commissioner with the City and is an active volunteer who is passionate about giving back to his community. He enjoys trying new things and staying involved in a variety of activities. Kyle has participated in cross country and tennis. He is currently taking dance, where he continues to explore new interests and challenge himself.

Pastor Les Higgins of True Way Missionary Baptist Church led the Invocation.

There were no Appointments.

There were no Public Comments.

1) Andrea Simental, Community Library Manager of the Mayme Dear Library; came to give updates regarding the Mayme Dear and the Masao W. Satow Libraries.

2) Rachel Johnson, representative of the Holly Park Homeowners Association; came out to ask Council to re-evaluate the parking district on Van Ness Avenue between 132nd and 134th streets.

3) Hermina Singson Minami, resident; came to speak regarding a situation she experienced at El Camino College, asking Council for their support.

No Items.

No Items.

No Items.

No Items.

No Items.

None.

City Manager Osorio stated he had no updates.

1) COUNCIL MEMBER FRANCIS – Since the last Council Meeting, she attended the Los Angeles County Democratic Central Committee meeting; and the State of the City. She mentioned she got to see our new Aquatic and Senior Center, and stated its a really beautiful facility. She attended the Gardena Holly Park Community Association meeting and the Beautification Commission meeting. She encouraged everyone to tour the Gardena Willows Wetland Preserve. She thanked Ms. Simental from the Gardena Library for coming to the meeting and announcing all the library events. She also encouraged everyone to visit our public library. She mentioned Spring Break is coming up, so watch out for the kids when you are driving. She reminded everyone about the election coming up, and she encouraged everyone to vote; she also mentioned to take your young people with you so they can see you voting, and perhaps we can increase the number of votes in our City.

2) MAYOR PRO TEM HENDERSON – He attended our State of the City at the new Gardena Aquatic and Senior Center. He mentioned it's a beautiful facility, and thanked all the staff who helped put it on. He also thanked the community for coming out. Since the last meeting, he attended the Assembly District 66 Town Hall meeting at Torrance's City Hall. He mentioned he also did his regular business visits and community visits around town. He brought greetings on behalf of the council at the Los Angeles International Church of Christ Health Fair, where he educated the congregation on the Gardena boundaries. He asked Mr. City Manager to thank the Department Heads and Staff at the next staff meeting for being available for questions, comments and concerns. Lastly, he mentioned he wants us all to pray and support all our servicemen and women who are doing their job, whether they want to or not; they signed up for a job to do. Let’s pray that these folks come home.

3) COUNCIL MEMBER TANAKA – Since the last meeting, he attended the State of the City address by our Mayor showcasing our new Aquatic and Senior Center. He mentioned that this is an amazing, terrific place and that he hopes, once it opens, people will start coming. He thanked all the Department Heads, all the employees who came out and celebrated with us for this great accomplishment, and for a job well done and commented that we are the Emerald City. On St. Patrick's Day, he mentioned we were surprised by Gardena Valley Baptist Church members, who along with Pastor Daniel, showed up with some of the staff and went around to our departments giving out little thank-you gifts. He also mentioned that this church is so awesome that on cleanup days, half the church comes out and joins the Beautification Commission event. He mentioned he also attended Casino Night and the Kiwanis Club of Gardena fundraiser at the Lucky Lady. He stated that he also wants us all to pray for our military people and pray for this country. Lastly, he congratulated the City of Torrance on the unveiling of its Dodger mural on the hotel.

4) MAYOR CERDA – Since the last time she gave a report, she attended a District 2 meeting; presented a Certificate of Recognition for our resident, Mr. Reginald’s 70th birthday; she was a speaker at the Progressive Democratic Club, where she gave them a quick overview of some of the great things that the City of Gardena is doing. She attended her monthly CCGA meeting; her monthly Sanitation meeting; the California Contract Cities Association meeting; a meeting with Union Pacific Railroad; and the ICA conference in Santa Barbara. Since the last meeting, she met District Attorney Nathan Hochman, who came to visit our Police Department; she attended the County Sanitation personnel meeting; she presented a Certificate of Recognition to a resident who turned 100 years old. She also mentioned that she had her Town Hall meeting last month with Chief Fox; she also attended the Lions Club Love event; Serra High School’s Black History Month program; the JCI's Day of Remembrance; a Beauty Pageant in our City called the Miss Los Angeles County Scholarship Pageant; the Holly Park Homeowners meeting; and the 20th Anniversary of Sun Goddess Beauty Center, joined by her colleagues, Council members Francis and Love. She mentioned she attended the State of the City, and she thanked everybody for coming out; she wanted everyone to know that she just presented at the State of the City, but it's what all of you guys have done, and it's our community that is out here supporting us. She mentioned we got a couple of shoutouts from the KJLH radio station because of our mistress of ceremonies, Adai Lamar; she was so happy and intrigued to be here in our City, and she just fell in love with our pool. She attended the Good Neighbor Health Fair; she was also in the office with Council Member Tanaka as Gardena Valley Baptist Church members came by to present some of the gifts to us; they took a moment to pray for our City and for our City Council. She also attended the City of Carson's State of the City; she was the guest speaker for the 153rd Street Elementary School Career Day.; she attended the Spring Equinox Event; the Koi Show; and the Kiwanis Casino Poker Event. Lastly, she announced her next Town Hall meeting coming on Friday, March 27, 2026, at 6 p.m. at Matthew's Homestyle restaurant; this month, they will discuss all the upcoming developments, projects, and things that are happening here in the City of Gardena.

5) COUNCIL MEMBER LOVE – Since the last Council Meeting, she mentioned she had the pleasure of attending a walk through of the Pelican Manufacturing over in the City of Torrance. She thanked Torrance’s Chamber Director, Donna Duperron. She also attended the Gardena State of the City address; she mentioned raising her sons in the City of Gardena, she and her sons remember when they would go swim at Primm Pool, and so to see the transformation, they were all amazed. She stated she hopes to get her grandchildren in the same water. She thanked the staff for a great job they all did, and Public Works for the work that they did to hurry up and get that facility ready for that event. She also attended Carson's State of the City address, and they are raising the bar on us, and we have some catching up to do. She attended the Girl Boss Day and the Koi Show. She also attended Councilwoman France’s Financial Literacy event; the Spring Equinox Event, and she thanked Cheryl Sherman for her dedication to the Willows. She thanked Pastor Higgins. She also attended the District 4 meeting at GJJIP. She thanked Gardena Valley Baptist Church for the gift. She attended the Holly Park Homeowners Association meeting. She commented that we all have to be respectful of other people's opinions; you can respectfully agree to disagree, but you should never scream, holler, or be disrespectful in a meeting; be considerate, respectful, mindful of our neighbors, and watch out for our neighbors. She mentioned she agrees with her colleagues about praying for our military; being a mother of a son who's in the military, she not only wants to pray for our military that's being deployed, but also for our military that's refusing deployment; they signed up to serve our country and go to war, but to go to war that was ordered by Congress.

1) Paper Shredding Event, Saturday, March 28, 2026 from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at the City Hall Complex;

2) Willows Week of Service, Monday, March 30, 2026 to Friday, April 3, 2026 from 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. at the City of Gardena's Willows Wetland Preserve;

3) Hoppin Good Time & Egg Hunt, Saturday, April 4, 2026 from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at Rowley Park;

4) Bunny Brunch Buffet & Egg Hunt, Saturday, April 4, 2026 from 8:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. at the Nakaoka Community Center;

5) Shine Gardena, Graffiti Clean-up Event, Saturday, April 11, 2026 from 8:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. and Saturday, May 2, 2026 from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. starting at Gardena Public Works Department;

6) 2026 Youth Chess Tournament, Saturday, April 18, 2026 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the Nakaoka Community Center;

7) Compost Giveaway, Saturday, April 18, 2026 and Saturday, May 30, 2026 from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at Rowley Park; and

8) Spring Community Yard Sale, Saturday, April 25, 2026 from 7:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Mas Fukai Park.

Mr. Richard Gomez, 82 years of age and a member of AADAP; a Gardena resident, and was once a Block Captain in our City; a GDAAP Chairperson, as well as the President of the El Camino Lions Club.

At 9:18 p.m., Mayor Cerda adjourned the Gardena City Council Meeting to the Closed Session portion of the City Council Meeting at 7:00 p.m., and the Regular City Council Meeting at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 14, 2026.