Public Comments

Several people from a group called Dare to Struggle advocated for homeless people who have faced some of the highest forms of injustice at the hands of the police. 

“To City Council members, how would you feel if the Fullerton Police Department killed your relative or close friend? And the officers involved were never publicly known or punished for their crimes?” said one member. 

“Just like what they did to Kelly Thomas, they weren’t just maiming and killing those individuals. They were sending a message. A message to all the homeless, core, and dispossessed people in the city to stay in your place, or this is what will happen to you. It’s no different in form and reality than the brutal lynchings that the KKK and local sheriffs did in the Jim Crow South, which told black people that the dominant power structure did not see them as fully human. But these days, the police play that role with state backing and the thin blue line of silence,” said another member. 

Yet another member said, “People will stay homeless until this city chooses to manage its housing crisis accordingly. In 2023, it was documented that one in three individuals experiencing homelessness in the US has a disability. Criminalizing people based on poverty, disability, or housing status is not a solution to homelessness and will continue to exacerbate every issue in the city. Criminalization does not work. It doesn’t work for any public housing or any public health crisis. It does not work for substance abuse.” 

Anjali Tapadia: “As you likely know, another bicyclist member of our community was killed by a car driver this month. This occurred on Orangethorpe near the park and ride. Details are not available, but I do not think they matter. The fact is that another member of our community has died a sudden and horrible death, and our roads are still not safe for anyone outside of a car. 

“I am asking the City Council to take concrete measures and direct staff to prioritize meaningful road safety measures. They should not be optional. They should not come secondary to car driver convenience. They should be meaningful parts of a larger vision to improve road safety. I say no more road deaths. Everyone comes home safe. 

“If you don’t act on this, you’re basically saying that certain community members are expendable. You’re saying that you accept a certain number of road deaths and injuries because if we don’t do something meaningful, then there will be more. And so I ask, whom in Fullerton would you appoint to die next? Is it someone in this room? Maybe one of your neighbors? Someone who lives in your district. Is it me?

“The way our transportation system is currently designed, it is extremely difficult for anyone outside of a car to move around. Our lack of safe crosswalks and our lack of traffic calming our diagonal curb cuts our dismal bicycle infrastructure that puts vulnerable bikes next to 40 miles an hour. 

“Car traffic is high. Car travel speeds are Construction zones that do not accommodate bikes and PEDs. Our crosswalks are too far apart. All of these threaten public safety and restrict people’s freedom of mobility, especially those who cannot drive, of which there are numerous in our city.”

Zee: “At the last City Council meeting, the street engineer stated that he could utilize street maintenance funds to repave in the past years, but not this year. No funds are available. 

“There are parts of the city that do not have working St. lights. Our Police Department is down by 24 officers. The fire department is forced to work with equipment that is older than expected. 

“Tonight, I will ask each of you, what your idea is to widen the tax base for Fullerton? I have an idea. It would increase our city revenue by $30 million to $100 million every six years. 

“To all of the 600 Fullerton city workers, union and non-union, you all need to support a new tax dollar initiative to ensure your future and that your current job still exists at a pay raise annually that you can live on.” 

Revised Paramedic Subscription Program

Established as the “Paramedic Service Program” by City Council Resolution No. 7086 in June of 1983, the City’s utility bill was chosen as the billing method for the annual fee. The program waives out-of-pocket expenses for eligible emergency medical services the City provides, including first responder, advanced life support escort, and unlimited service visits. The membership does not cover ambulance transportation. A single membership covers the entire household or business.

The requested change to the utility bill enrollment process is automatic enrollment with an opt-out provision. Currently, the City’s new Tyler Munis Utility Billing System does not support the “opt-out” option. Enrollment will continue to be offered through the utility bill. However, residents must now manually opt-in to be enrolled. Meaning that even if residents pay through autopay, they must return the utility bill with additional payment of $46 annual fee.

The City Council Adopted this revision.

Street Sweeping Operations Alternatives & Enforcement Update

The city’s street sweeping program began operating over 40 years ago. This sweeping operation was conducted in-house until 2019, when it was outsourced to Sweeping Corps of America (SCA). Their current operation includes 3 sweepers weekly. St. sweeping is considered a best management practice for compliance with stormwater regulations for the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System, which is the most efficient method to eliminate debris, oils, and pollutants from entering our stormwater system.

When vehicles are parked in the sweeper’s path, streets are not properly swept. Therefore, parking enforcement for St. Sweeping was initiated to improve the effectiveness of St. Sweeping operations. In August 2023, the Public Works completed a citywide no parking signage on St. sweeping routes. The city also retained SP Plus Citation services to enforce the sweeping parking restrictions.

Citywide enforcement began shortly afterward. In the past five months, the average monthly citations were approximately 3500. The decrease in citations and resident calls indicates residents are progressively complying with the street-sweeping parking restrictions.

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Proclamation on behalf of National Public Works Week May 19th – 25th

Public works professionals focus on infrastructure, facilities, and services that are of vital importance to sustainable and resilient communities and to the public health, high quality of life, and well-being of the people of Fullerton. The dedicated efforts of public works professionals provide these infrastructure, facilities, and services. The engineers, managers, and employees at all levels of government and the private sector are responsible for rebuilding, improving, and protecting our nation’s transportation, water supply, water treatment, solid waste systems, public buildings, and other structures and facilities essential for our citizens.

It is in the public interest for the citizens, civic leaders, and children in Fullerton to gain knowledge of and to maintain an ongoing interest in understanding the importance of public works and public works programs in their communities. 2024 marks the 64th annual National Public Works Week, sponsored by the American Public Works Association and Canadian Public Works Association. Nicholas Dunlap, Mayor of the City of Fullerton, on behalf of the entire Council, designates May 19th through 25th as National Public Works Week to celebrate public works, public works professionals, engineers, managers, and employees and to recognize their substantial contributions to protecting National Health, safety and quality of life.

Proclamation for Drinking Water Week May 5th – 11th

Water is the most valuable natural resource, and drinking water serves a vital role in the daily lives of residents, serving an essential purpose for their health, hydration, and hygiene needs. Tap water delivers public health protection and fire protection, supports our economy, and improves our quality of life.

The entire water sector works to serve the community, from designing capital projects to operators ensuring the safety and quality of drinking water or a member of a pipe crew maintaining the infrastructure communities rely on to transport high-quality drinking water from its source to consumer taps.

The City experiences 100 to 115 main breaks each year, and the Public Works staff responds quickly to ensure continued safe drinking water to the community at all times.

We are all stewards of the water infrastructure upon which current and future generations depend, and to ensure quality drinking water, the City is proud to partner with the Orange County Water District to operate and manage the second PFAS treatment in the City of Fullerton.

The citizens of Fullerton are called upon to help protect the source waters from pollution, practice water conservation and get involved with their water board by familiarizing themselves with it.

60th Anniversary of the Greek Festival and the 62nd anniversary of the Saint John the Baptist Greek Orthodox Church

“This is a special place for me because many years ago, my dad was an altar boy there when he was a kid after coming over from Greece,” said Mayor Nicholas Dunlap. Dina Maverick Sakis, the vice president of the Greek Orthodox Ladies Philoptochos Society at Saint John the Baptist Greek Orthodox Church, said, “We’re the Ladies Auxiliary, the charitable arm of the church.

We do a lot of work within our community or church community and with the community at large. We have been working with Higher Ground Youth and Family Services, which recently opened its services at Raymond Elementary [located at 517 Raymond Ave, Fullerton].” Mark your calendars for the Greek Festival, a three-day extravaganza from May 17th to May 19th at Saint John the Baptist Greek Orthodox Church, 405 Dale St, Anaheim. Get ready to immerse yourself in the vibrant world of Greek culture with authentic food, lively music, traditional dances, and much more!

Arborland Montessori Children’s Academy Dubbed the animated Chinese TV show Flower Angel in English

Arborland Montessori School acquired exclusive rights to dub the animated Chinese TV show Flower Angel in English. The students enrolled in the Theater & Voice Acting Workshop auditioned to lend their voices to the American-dubbed movie version of Flower Angel. Arborland students landed most of the speaking roles in the movie. Arborland held a red carpet premiere on May 3 at the Krikorian Metroplex 18, 8290 La Palma Ave, Buena Park.

Students honored were Kira Suinn, Lucas Astudillo, Isabella Estudillo, JaelynAn, Kiaan Iyer, Jolie Michaels, Kaitlyn Han, Noah Malan, Sirisha Sriram, Briana Schroeder, Cecelia Zeni, Shoshana Ling, Sophia Kim, Zenona Kwinciak, Alexandria Qin, Aarav Gupta, Billy Poolsawat, and Aiden Si. Faculty honored were Doctor Sue Ling Chen, Miss Veronica Chen, Miss Denise Biasca, and Ryan Blatchford Smith.