Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Mall Safety topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Fire chief says Moreno Valley Mall making progress but city and mall provide conflicting repair counts
Summary
City officials and the mall’s representative gave differing accounts of how many fire-doors and life-safety items remain to be completed, as the council and fire department said inspections and documentation are required before the city will lift its vacate order.
Moreno Valley’s fire chief told the City Council on March 3 that the Moreno Valley Mall had asked the city to re-inspect repairs and that some work remained before the city could lift its vacate order.
"They believe that by tomorrow morning they'll have everything completed," Fire Chief Jesse Park said, describing a request from the mall for a follow-up inspection once contractors provided the required documentation. Park told council staff had inspected fire doors earlier in the day and that the city would re-inspect sooner if the mall was ready and provided the necessary paperwork.
The mall’s representative delivered a more optimistic update. "We are down to two corridors," Sheena McIll said, asking council for "some grace" so vendors and contractors could finish work and get employees back to work. McIll said contractors have been on site around the clock and identified the remaining items as door assemblies that will take weeks to arrive.
City staff and the fire chief said that account conflicted with their field counts. Chief Park said inspectors found more outstanding items during recent site visits — earlier lists of 40 doors had been reduced to 25 still requiring completion — and that separate documentation is required to place doors on fire watch. "They said that they were going to work through those and that's why we said that we would come back tomorrow," he said.
The dispute over counts has immediate consequences for reopening. City Manager Ryan Milahan told the council that the city will continue to coordinate with the mall's legal team and contractors and will only lift the vacate order after inspectors verify required corrections and receive proper logs and certificates.
Public commenters alternated between urging caution and demanding accountability. Community activist Luis Palomares criticized long-term spending tied to the mall and asked for greater transparency about city expenditures; Roy Blackard said the mall "should not open till the half a million dollars to the cops is paid." Several speakers praised first responders and urged a rapid but safe reopening.
Council members and the mayor repeatedly thanked staff and contractors for daily inspections and oversight. Council member Baka Santa Cruz said the city had given the mall 14 days to come into compliance and described the remaining tasks as "attainable," while Mayor Prom Gonzalez noted the number of outstanding violations had fallen from six to one and expressed optimism about reopening "in the next couple of days."
The council and staff posted an updated inspection summary on the city’s website and said any further updates will be posted there. City officials said they will perform a final inspection when the mall owner requests it and provides required documentation; the decision to reopen remains contingent on those verified inspections and certificates.
