What Garden Grove is about to decide

The council convenes Tuesday at 5:30 PM in the Community Meeting Center, 11300 Stanford Avenue, Garden Grove, for a closed session on two legal matters; the regular meeting follows at 6:30 PM in the same room. These are pending decisions from the posted agenda — not outcomes. Every item links to the official record.

Source: closed session agenda (PDF) · regular meeting agenda (PDF) · Meeting pages: regular, closed session · Next regular meeting: September 22, 2026, 5:30 PM

✅ What actually happened (partial): Ordinance No. 2980, the hotel worker safety and security ordinance, was adopted. A city staff report for the September 22 meeting states that “on September 8, 2026, the City Council adopted Ordinance No. 2980,” adding Chapter 8.72 to the Municipal Code, and that it “is scheduled to become operative on January 1, 2027.” The report gives no vote count. Minutes of this meeting have not been posted, so the results of the other items — including the City Manager employment agreement — are not yet on the official record; we will update this page when they are. See the September 22 brief for the separate hotel worker ballot initiative.

The headline: the council is asked to approve an Employment Agreement with Matthew S. West for the position of City Manager, and to give second reading and final adoption to Ordinance No. 2980, which adds a chapter to the Municipal Code establishing safety and security requirements for hotel workers. The biggest contract on the agenda is a $768,535 per year janitorial award to CCS Facility Services Orange County, Inc. for the new public safety building and parking structure; the council will also consider resolutions revising the City Manager's contracting authority and the city's bidding thresholds. Mayor Pro Tem Brietigam has requested a Charter City discussion, and before the public meeting the council confers behind closed doors on the federal lawsuit Anton Vu v. City of Garden Grove.

🔒 Closed session, 5:30 PM — before the public meeting

Existing litigation: a conference with legal counsel under Government Code Section 54956.9(d)(1) on "Anton Vu v. City of Garden Grove, USCD Case No.: 8:25-cv-00624-FWS(KES)." The agenda gives no further detail on the case. Closed Session 2.a
Anticipated litigation: a conference with legal counsel on "significant exposure to litigation per Govt. Code 54956.9(d)(2): One potential case relating to facts and circumstances not yet known to a potential plaintiff." Closed-session litigation matters are confidential by law; any reportable action is announced when the public session opens. Closed Session 2.b

👔 City Manager & how the city buys

A new City Manager contract: approval of an Employment Agreement with Matthew S. West for the position of City Manager. The agenda does not state salary, term, or other contract details. Item 12
Purchasing rules: adoption of resolutions "amending the City Manager's contracting authority, revising bidding thresholds, and updating the City's Purchasing Policy and Procedures Manual." The agenda does not state the current or proposed thresholds. Item 3
Charter City discussion, requested by Mayor Pro Tem Brietigam, under Matters from the Mayor, City Council Members and City Manager. The agenda gives no further detail. Item 14

📜 Ordinances

Hotel worker protections, final vote: second reading and adoption of Ordinance No. 2980, "An Ordinance of the City Council of the City of Garden Grove, California, Adding Chapter 8.72 to Title 8 of the Garden Grove Municipal Code to Establish Safety and Security Requirements for Hotel Workers." The agenda does not detail the requirements; Council Brief's August 25 brief covered the ordinance's introduction. Item 13

🏗️ Contracts, bids & purchases

$768,535 per year contract award to CCS Facility Services Orange County, Inc. for janitorial services at the new public safety building and parking structure. Item 11
On-call towing for the Police Department: contract awards to B&D Towing, Inc., dba Balcaceres and Davalos Towing; Action Southland Enterprises, Inc., dba Action Southland Towing; and Pacific Towing, Inc., to provide on-call towing services as needed. The agenda does not state a dollar figure. Item 10
$60,035 purchase order to All Access Rentals & Sales for one articulating boom lift for PFAS water treatment operations. Item 7
$19,000 amendment to the agreement with Unifirst Corporation for uniform rental and laundering services. Item 6
$14,085 Amendment No. 3 to the agreement with OCY Management, LLC for transportation services for the Senior Mobility Program at the H. Louis Lake Senior Center. Item 5

🪑 Also on the agenda

Approval for city staff to travel to the Republic of Korea to participate in the 2026 KBIZ Leadership Forum, "to promote the City as a business destination and continue to foster the relationship with KBIZ." The agenda does not state a cost. Item 4
A proclamation recognizing September 15, 2026 through October 15, 2026 as National Hispanic Heritage Month. Item 2
Receive and file warrants; waive full reading of ordinances listed. Items 8–9
Council roster as printed on the closed session agenda: Mayor Stephanie Klopfenstein; Mayor Pro Tem George S. Brietigam (District 1); Council Members Phillip Nguyen (District 2), Cindy Tran (District 3), Joe DoVinh (District 4), Yesenia Muñeton (District 5), and Ariana Arestegui (District 6). The regular meeting opens with a presentation listed as "Hazardous Materials Incident Update" — no further description is printed on the agenda. (The opening pages of the regular-meeting PDF are image-only; the item title and the 6:30 PM start time were read from the posted PDF.) Item 1