GARDEN GROVE Mayor Stephanie Klopfenstein and city leadership during Monday live-streamed event.

By Jim Tortolano
Orange County Tribune

City leaders in Garden Grove took the unusual step of holding a live-streamed meeting to announce an event that was not going to happen.

On Monday morning, members of the city council and top city staff stood behind Mayor Stephanie Klopfenstein at the lectern as she reassured viewers that GKN Aerospace would not be resuming production of the MMA chemical that figured in a hazardous materials incident that led to the evacuation of as many as 50,000 people in Garden Grove and surrounding area on Memorial Day weekend.

“GKN’s Garden Grove facility can not and will not fully resume operations today,” she said. “It has not been approved by the City of Garden Grove.”

She pointed out that the resumption of previous operations awaited the approval of a court-ordered safety plan. Additionally, the city has code enforcement and compliance issues still to be settled with the company.

“GKN cannot resume this process simply by announcing an opening date,” she said.

She also pointed out that details for a proposed $100 million compensation plan for those affected and a comprehensive town hall have not been available.

“We have yet to see this full accountability take place,” she said.

Steve Carlin, a spokesman for GKN Aerospace, was questioned at a recent Garden Grove City Council meeting about the Sept. 28 date.

It was just a goal and not a firm date, said Carlin.