Speakers at Montebello meeting raise firefighter morale and lawsuit concerns, cite park restroom conditions and nearby data‑center fears

A series of public commenters at the Jan. 14 Montebello City Council meeting pressed officials on firefighter morale and personnel matters, neighborhood infrastructure and transparency, and raised concerns about a proposed data‑center project in nearby Monterey Park.

Will Sivero, who identified himself as a resident, asked council to consider litigation strategy in a pending case (Molinari v. the City) and urged prudence over payouts. He told the council the public and the planning commission had opposed the plans related to the case and said, "If not, can we just make sure we get a judge decision on this instead of paying out like we typically do?" (public comment).

Several speakers focused on public‑safety staffing and personnel issues. Kimberly Cobos Cawthorn, a former mayor, said the situation involving firefighters “demands immediate action” and called on the mayor and council to provide leadership rather than treat the matter solely as an HR issue. Will Sivero (later in the public‑comment period) said the Montebello Fire Department has experienced high turnover and cited past settlements, telling the council settlements were costly: "When we settled with Vernon Creswell, we spent over $2,000,000." He warned that pending lawsuits could total millions and affect emergency‑service staffing.

Public commenters also flagged neighborhood infrastructure problems. Linda Nicholas described the restrooms at Grant Ray Park as "embarrassing and unacceptable," contrasting Montebello's maintenance with other nearby cities and urging the council to prioritize basic facilities over ceremonial spending.

Regional development concerns surfaced when Randy Kaye, a resident of Alhambra, asked Montebello’s SCAG representative to engage Monterey Park about a proposed 250,000‑square‑foot artificial‑intelligence data processing center. Kaye said only nearby residents were notified, raised water‑and‑power strain concerns and questioned the small projected permanent workforce for the site.

Council members did not take action on the personnel or litigation questions during the open public‑comment period; the council had earlier recessed into closed session to receive a briefing on existing litigation and the city attorney later reported that the council provided direction to counsel with no reportable action.

Speakers across the public‑comment period called for greater transparency, accountability on spending and prompt leadership to resolve personnel issues they said were hurting city services.