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.

There was no Closed Session.

Daisy Ramos and Benjamin Gallegos, both in the 5th grade attend Purche Elementary School. Daisy participates in a lot of school programs, including cheer. She is a part of the Orchestra where she plays the trumpet. Daisy enjoys playing volleyball, camping, and going to the beach. Benjamin enjoys going to school. He plays football with the City of Gardena at Rowley Park. He is also an aspiring artist who specializes in drawing anime.

Pastor Kevin Moore, of Restoration Church, led the Invocation.

There were no public comments.

There were no Items.

There were no Items.

There were no Items.

There were no Items.

Council Member Francis

Subject: To get a memo from staff that will fully explain the timing and process of all projects in development.

Purpose – To encourage reasonable development and completion of a project once it’s approved.

Reason – To make sure projects we approve begin by “a date certain.”

Benefit – To encourage projects be started and completed within a reasonable timeline.

Mayor Cerda seconded it.

City Manager Osorio stated that he did not have any updates to any of the directives, but wanted to announce that Stephany Santin, Director of Recreation and Human Services, has resigned from her position; he has asked Nikki Sweeney to be Acting Director in the interim.

1) COUNCIL MEMBER TANAKA – On a sad note, he’s sorry to lose the Director of Recreation and Human Services, Stephany Santin. He wished her well in her future endeavors. He knows Nikki will do a great job as acting Director. He stated enjoy celebrating Black History Month. He thanked Gizelle for showing up tonight. CPR is important. He hopes people sign up for that event. Since the last meeting, he attended a major Elks event where the California-Hawaii president and his first lady came here for dinner. He attended the COG Transportation Committee meeting, and the COG Steering Committee meeting. They are working on scheduling a meet and greet with some of the senators, assembly members, and congresspeople.

2) COUNCIl MEMBER LOVE – Since the last Council Meeting, she attended Congresswoman Waters' Town Hall meeting and the county's toxic waste collection. She announced her town hall meeting with Council Member Francis will be February 28th at 16921 S. Western Ave. They welcome everyone, and they encourage everyone to come out and get involved.

3) COUNCIL MEMBER FRANCIS – Since the last meeting, she attended Congresswoman Maxine Waters' Town Hall meeting. There were a lot of great questions and some confusion, which is why Council Member Love and her are having this town hall meeting. She hopes you all can come out and attend and ask your questions. She thanked Daisy and Benjamin from Purche Avenue for leading the Pledge of Allegiance. She thanked Gene Hale for his service to our community for serving on the Gardena Economic Business Advisory Commission. She congratulated our Gardena Police Explorers Post 142 for their efforts and for the win. She also congratulated Nikki for stepping up as the Acting Director for the Recreation and Human Services Department. She wants to be clear and let everyone know that Dr. Martin Luther King's holiday is in January and Black History Month is in February. Lastly, she thanked Ms. Simental for announcing the activities going on in the library. As a teacher, she encourages everyone to read and visit the library.

4) MAYOR CERDA – Since the last Council Meeting, she attended her LA County Sanitation personnel meeting; the City of Gardena’s employee mixer; the Environmental Charter Middle School, as Council Member Francis and she sat on a panel, where the question was asked what young people could do to be more involved? There were representatives there from the City of LA, from Gardena, our Police Officers, Code Enforcement, Homeless Coordinator, and Dave Matthews team. They were informed about the Gardena Direct app, so we encouraged them all to download the Gardena Direct app and then had the great idea to have a challenge for the kids. Any young people from February 14th through March 13th, who submit the most Gardena Direct items from the ECMS-Gardena school, will win two Disneyland tickets as well as a $50 gift card to a place of their choice. And then she was challenged by Mr. Dave Matthews on the LA side to do the same thing. So, the kids have an opportunity to participate in two challenges, one on the Gardena side and one on the LA side, by downloading the My LA 311 app. She attended her monthly Town Hall with the Chief of Police at the Toss up restaurant. She is having another Town Hall meeting with the Chief at Matthews Homestyle Restaurant on Thursday, February 26th. She attended Congresswoman Maxine Waters' Town Hall; a funeral of one of our residents, Ms. Dorothy Dawson. She attended the installation banquet for the consolidated board of realtors. She attended the LAUSD round table; the Too Toxic to Trash event, she gave kudos to the Public Work's staff; and Challenge Athletes with one of the business owners here in Gardena. An upcoming event is a stamp unveiling by the New Earth Christian Church, which hosted the Black Heritage stamp unveiling at Rowley Park, Sunday, February 15th. It begins at 2 PM. She would like everyone to enjoy Black History Month as well.

5) MAYOR PRO TEM HENDERSON – Happy Black History Month. He congratulated the Explorers and Ms. Ryan Henderson. He attended his SCAG meeting. He had two points of pride, one at Congresswoman Waters' Town Hall. She said, "You know, your city really looks good, and it feels safe, and I really like coming here”. He wants us all to take a bow. The other point of pride was on Sunday; we had some filming going on in the City of Gardena. Hopefully, we'll have more filming opportunities, and maybe somebody will be discovered. He thanked GPD for being out there making sure everyone was safe, and the production went off as it was intended.

1) Therapeutic Recreation Program, Spread the Love Cupid's Soiree, Friday, February 13, 2026 from 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at the Nakaoka Community Center;

2) Glow in the Dark Youth Kickball Game, Saturday, February 21, 2026 starting at 5:30 p.m. for ages 5-8 and 6:30 p.m. for ages 9-12 at Rush Gymnasium;

3) Gardena Seniors on the Go, Lakers Game, Tuesday, February 24, 2026 Departure time is 5:30 p.m. visit Nakaoka Community Center for more information;

4) Youth Spring Break Camp, March 30, 2026 thru April 3, 2026, from 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. for ages 5-12 visit Nakaoka Community Center for more information;

5) Come Share your ideas to help shape the future of Mas Fukai Park, Saturday, February 28, 2026 from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at Mas Fukai Park; and

6) Semi-Annual Clean up Event, if your normal trash day is Mondays cleanup day will be Feb. 14, for Tuesdays it will be Feb. 21, for Wednesdays it will be Feb. 28, for Thursdays it will be Mar. 7, and for Fridays it will be March 14.

Ms. Charleta Williams, a long-time City of Gardena resident.

At  9:25p.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, March 10, 2026.