A group of West Covina residents used Tuesday’s council meeting to press elected officials on service quality, constituent needs and government transparency.

Sage Newman, chief executive of Valley Light Center for Social Advancement, told the council she had sought legal counsel after comments at a July meeting that she called “untrue” and said could have jeopardized supporters and grants for the nonprofit. Newman handed a packet of emails and records to the council and asked the city manager to arrange a follow-up meeting so staff and council could review the complaints.

Brian Calderon Tabatabai described a West Covina resident, Hong Tom Huang, who family members say was detained in Adelanto after an immigration check-in. Tabatabai said the family has contacted congressional offices and asked the council to write a letter supporting efforts to reunite Huang with his family and continue his immigration process.

Resident John Shoemaker raised procedural concerns about transparency, asking that any materials distributed at meetings by councilmembers be uploaded as part of the public record and urging the council to limit phone use during meetings so off-the-record communications are not perceived to influence deliberations.

Other speakers promoted library programming (sewing basics and a teen gingerbread-house workshop), historical-society events and thanked Economic Development staff for including downtown merchants in Small Business Saturday. City Manager Roderick Wells responded to several comments, offering to facilitate a meeting with Newman and to have staff post materials distributed at meetings to the website when practical.

Council did not take formal action on the nonprofit allegation at the meeting but instructed the city manager to facilitate follow-up meetings with Newman. On the immigration matter, the city manager acknowledged the request and said staff would pass the family’s information to appropriate offices for follow-up.