The City Council barely had time to warm its seats Tuesday night before wrapping up one of its shortest meetings in recent memory, racing through its agenda in just about 14 minutes.
The Oct. 27 meeting moved so quickly that one Councilmember joked afterward that he hadn’t even finished his coffee.
“I didn’t get through my cup of coffee,” Councilmember Jason Lyon remarked moments after adjournment.
The meeting began at approximately 6:36 p.m. and ended at roughly 6:50, lasting just 14 minutes and some change.
Despite its brevity, the council managed to recognize a local veterans organization, hear public comment, approve its consent calendar, discuss police drone training and unanimously adopt an ordinance updating the city’s water conservation regulations.
Mayor Victor Gordo opened the meeting with a proclamation recognizing the 100th anniversary of East Pasadena American Legion Post 280.
Representatives of the organization thanked the city and invited Councilmembers to attend its three-day centennial celebration Nov. 21-23.
The council then heard from one speaker on matters not on the agenda.
Pasadena resident Les Hammer criticized the city’s spending priorities and Measure PFD, the proposed parcel tax intended to fund fire department infrastructure. Hammer also complained about the time allotted for public comments at previous meetings.
The council then turned to its consent calendar, where Councilmember Jess Rivas requested clarification about a $39,000 grant for police drone operator training.
Police Lt. Anthony Russo explained that the money would be used to train additional personnel to operate drones in support of SWAT operations.
Rivas sought assurances that accepting the grant would not automatically expand the department’s use of drones into a broader drone-as-first-responder program, an issue the council has discussed separately.
Russo said the training would support existing tactical operations, although certified operators could potentially serve in other capacities if the city later approved expanded drone deployment.
The council approved the consent calendar without objection, with the exception of one item from which Gordo recused himself because of his employment with LIUNA. That item was subsequently approved without objection.
The council also unanimously adopted an ordinance amending Pasadena’s water waste prohibitions and water supply shortage plans.
The ordinance updates the Pasadena Municipal Code and addresses water conservation requirements, including restrictions on irrigation of nonfunctional turf.
The City Clerk’s Office reported receiving correspondence requesting consideration of a landscape exemption district to preserve landscaping along Orange Grove Boulevard.
The ordinance passed without debate.
“So that completes our agenda and we are adjourned,” Gordo said.
The meeting’s rapid pace stood in contrast to council sessions that can stretch for hours when controversial land-use proposals, budget decisions or other major policy matters generate lengthy presentations and public testimony.
Tuesday’s session featured no extended public hearings, no lengthy staff presentations and only limited discussion of consent calendar items.
The meeting also illustrated how quickly the council can complete its business when most items generate little discussion or opposition.
As Councilmembers prepared to leave, the unfinished-coffee remark prompted another lighthearted exchange.
“Is that a complaint?” Councilmember Rick Cole jokingly asked.
“I can take it with me. It’s a to-go cup,” Lyon said.
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