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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Min 2002-10-28 10-14-02 / 10-28-02 (/h. erk and ex-offic'o e City of Seal Beach Approved: ~~L~ I Attest: Seal Beach, California October 28, 2002 The City Council of the City of Seal Beach met in regular adjourned session at 6:30 p.m. with Mayor Larson calling the meeting to order with the Salute to the Flag. ROLL CALL Present: Mayor Larson Councilmembers Antos, Campbell, Doane, Yost Absent: None Also present: Mr. Bahorski, City Manager Mr. Barrow, City Attorney Ms. Yeo, City Clerk I The City Attorney offered that any member of the public wishing to speak to the item on the agenda could do so at this time. No comments were made. CLOSED SESSION The City Attorney announced that pursuant to the Brown Act the Council would meet in Closed Session to discuss the item identified on the agenda, to confer with legal counsel with regard to one item of anticipated litigation, Government Code Section 54956.9(b). By unanimous consent, the Council adjourned to Closed Session at 6:31p.m. and reconvened at 6:47 p.m. with Mayor Larson calling the meeting to order. The City Attorney reported that the Council had discussed the item previously identified, no reportable action was taken. ADJOURNMENT It was the order of the Chair, with consent of the council, to adjourn the meeting at 6:48 p.m. I Approved: ~~~ Mayor 10-28-02 Attest: Q'lJ/nlll2r j2 . City Clerk I Seal Beach, California October 28, 2002 The City Council of the City of Seal Beach met in regular session at 8:10 p.m. with Mayor Larson calling the meeting to order with the Salute to the Flag. ROLL CALL Present: Mayor Larson Councilmembers Antos, Campbell, Doane, Yost Absent: None I Also present: Mr. Bahorski, City Manager Mr. Barrow, City Attorney Mr. Whittenberg, Director of Development Services Mr. Dancs, Director of Public Works/City Engineer Chief Sellers, Police Department Mr. Vukojevic, Deputy City Engineer .Mr. Cummins, Associate Planner Ms. Yotsuya, Assistant City Manager Ms. Yeo, City Clerk APPROVAL OF AGENDA Councilman Yost requested that Item ".L" be removed from the Consent Calendar for separate consideration, Councilman Doane noted that Item "N", the proposed Resolution relating to the loan to the Agency for consultant services, was removed from the agenda, and Mayor Larson requested that Item "K" be removed from the Consent Calendar. Yost moved, second by Antos, to approve the order of the agenda as revised. AYES: NOES: Antos, Campbell, Doane, Larson, Yost None Motion carried ANNOUNCEMENTS There were none. PRESENTATIONS There were none. I PUBLIC COMMENTS Mayor Larson declared the Public Comment period to be open. Mr. Doug Korthof, Seal Beach, agreed with the Agency Chair that there is a misunderstanding regarding redevelopment and as other members of the Agency said there is a lot of trepidation and worry about things. Mr. Korthof said the Trailer Park is good, the person who tried to buy them out is bad, the problem was getting through all of the troubles, a redevelopment agency is somewhat like a mini-Mello Roos which is a bet on future revenues which in his opinion is wrong, that puts one at the mercy of government regulations, when one looks back at what happened in Long Beach and Huntington Beach it is far better, as has been authored, to spend a few 10-28-02 dollars to fix up the downtown of Long Beach, support the merchants, clean the streets, paint the buildings, that would have gone a long way to revitalize that downtown, it would have cost a tenth of the money rather than building the mall, tearing it down, and building it again, the same with Huntington Beach. Mr. Korthof said as he sees it that is the problem with redevelopment agencies, it is best to steer clear of them because mistakes are made due to government bureaucracy, laws and regulations that must be followed. Mr. Korthof said he wanted to raise the visibility of the Hellman mesa again, there is going to be an upcoming series of meetings, at present there is no work being done, the project is stopped, the meetings will concern what is on the table, that is that the developer, John Laing Homes, has offered to consider leaving the Native American graves in place, that is the kind of thing at issue, the question is in what manner, can this be done in such a way that it is an asset to the community or can it be done only in a cursory manner that is only symbolic, he believes what the Native American monitors and others are looking for is to have this be an asset where the entire little section could be created as a memorial, a separate entrance from Seal Beach Boulevard, with a small garden in the area that would be preserved as a cemetery separate from the housing, if that is the way this would work then the offer of the developer is generous, this could be a significant asset, something no one else has, a significant reminder of the culture that went before. Mr. Jim Caviola, Seal Beach, claimed that Councilmember Campbell continues to espouse how wonderful the Redevelopment Agency is and said he is not done with the dissolution issue. with regard to the Trailer Park, Mr. Caviola stated that Mr. Hall purchased the Park in 1998, put it into his limited liability corporation in 1999, then sued the Agency in July of 2000 to break the Covenant that was drafted in 1981 stating that the restrictive covenants that controlled the rents were no longer valid, that was because the Redevelopment Agency did not do their job, they did not submit in writing to the State of California every year an inventory of how many people qualified for low income housing, not once since 1981 did anyone go through the Trailer Park and audit the books pursuant to the contractual agreement that established the Agency, that lawsuit was settled on October 21st, the Agency was advised that they should settle the lawsuit because the Covenant would not be valid because the Agency did not do its job. On October 21st the bonds were approved, for a Park that sold for $2.9 million to Mr. Hall, the Agency floated bonds and Mr. Hall got $7.5 million, that is $6.7 million in bonds plus the City's money, $4.5 million of profit in two years on the backs of the taxpayers. On February 28, 2001 a settlement agreement was entered into which said that Mr. Hall and Linc Housing was going to indemnify and defend the City in any lawsuits, now it is found that the former member of the Agency/Council was on the payroll of Mr. Hall the entire time, he claimed to have the checks, yet it is said that redevelopment is wonderful, there were forty-eight years left on the deed restriction, there are now thirty, therefore there are eighteen years less of affordable housing in the Trailer Park than before, and, who owns the Trailer Park, Linc, there was no entity called Seal Beach Affordable Housing until May 6, 2002, and it does not really exist, there was merely an amendment of an Oxnard corporation called Linc Seawind. Mr. Caviola claimed that the Agency was taken, that is what is wrong with redevelopment. Mr. Gene Stegman, 13th Street, provided the Council with a copy of his statement. Mr. Stegman recalled that at the last meeting he I I I 10-28-02 I spoke about his outrage with the City paying legal expenses for the former member of the City Council, as was previously pointed out, the settlement agreement indemnified the City if a third party was brought to bear, yet the City is going to pay those legal expenses where there is no obligation to do so. Mr. Stegman said to that he had a concern about legal fees, on October 11th he submitted a written request to the Finance Department for copies of all invoices paid by "the City for legal fees with regard to the Seal Beach Associates, LLC versus the Redevelopment Agency suit, some eleven days later he was informed by the City Finance office that the invoices would be sent to him by the law office of Richards, Watson and Gershon, he felt that was somewhat strange in that his request had been to the City and the City Attorney determined to act upon his request. Mr. Stegman said what he received were five invoices, the first dated August 18, 2000 in the amount of $l,154.75, the second was September 25th in the amount of $5,227.50, the next was October 9th, $1,704, November 8th was $5,950.00, and December 31, 2000 for $5,092. Mr. Stegman said in his business career he has dealt with attorneys and had to pay legal fees, he has never seen an attorney that says for legal services rendered, he has been charged by the hour for every possible item, the total of these invoices is $16,237.75, he then read the transmittal letter that stated 'enclosed please find all invoices that include all legal fees paid by the City in the case of Seal Beach Associates, LLC versus the Redevelopment Agency of the City of Seal Beach', yet the Agency expenditures for legal fees total $l26,000, if one does the math then $110,000 is not accounted for. He said he still wanted to know why the City did not act on his request rather it was the City Attorney, asked again what happened to the difference between the $126,000 and the $16,237.75. Mr. Stegman stated that as of this date he provided the Finance office with a written request again for invoices paid by the City along with canceled checks, also asked the City Clerk.to provide him with copies of the agreements with the City Attorney's law firm for 1999, 2000, 2001, and 2002, he wants to know what the City was charged for in the $16,000 amount, not just services rendered, as well as the differences in the money, if there is this type of discrepancy in legal fees, and if this City continues to agree to pay the legal expenses of the former member of the Council that are going to be billed by the same attorney firm in defending him, something needs to be looked at, it is not right. Mr. Joyce Parque, 6th Street, mentioned that at the last meeting the last item was Rivers End, the Mayor said he had had four phone calls, did not like receiving phone calls, to that she said if there is a concern then the public should be listened to. She mentioned that it was also said that the people who live on the beachfront can drink in their backyards if they choose to do so, but that is because they live on and pay for their property, yet the taxpayers pay for the public parking that people use to go to Rivers End, they pay $.50 for each person. Ms. parque noted that the Council gave the City Manager a pay increase and an extension of his contract, at the time it was said that the Manager needs to be compensated similarly to a CEO of a private business, yet they are making money for their organization or they may be driving their company in the ground as this City may be doing. She pointed out that the City adopted a hiring freeze yet the City has already contracted for three public works persons for fifteen weeks for $35,000, there is a new intern, contract building department which was $400,000 and is now $500,000 for a code enforcer, the City is paying too much for the police and fire I I 10-28-02 departments, that is fifty-four percent of the budget, the Manager has talked the Council into these things. There were several positions that the Council determined to not address for fear that those employees might go elsewhere for a better job, it is understood that one has already gone, a patrol sergeant in Seal Beach is $133,000, a support services sergeant is $133,000, a detective sergeant is $130,000, a detective is $99,000, a crime prevention/drug education officer is $99,000, stating that this City can not keep up with the pay increases and retirements, there is a $3.5 million firefighter retirement for ten years, that is a half million a year, but there is no money to keep the Old Town streets repaired, the Public Works Director needs $650,000 to just keep the streets up, he has a list of streets to be repaired, 6th Street was not included for ten years. Ms. parque said the Manager is also talking about grants, which is said takes two to three times the amount of time than the grant that is being applied for, $1.1 million for the restoration of wetlands and improvement of water quality on the Hellman property, this City can not afford that, and every time a grant is applied for there needs to be a fifty percent City match that comes from the General Fund. Mr. Paul Jeffers, Trailer Park, offered that as he has said before that he was here when the Park was first redeveloped, there were problems with the Agency and the developer that originally did the Park, originally it was to be cabanas, then they started building the big two story dwellings with a foundation, he and others came to the Planning Commission, he tried hard to fight them, came to the City, politics was being played in the Park, people would do petitions, the City and Ag~ncy knew what was happening in the Park, he came to the City with regard to auditing the Park, he knew there were people who were not low income, the operator of the Park was playing games, he came to the Council, they played politics and overlooked it, they did not want to pay an auditor or an attorney to take care of the problems. He said the residents tried to buy the Park at one time, the deal fell apart because the owner found out, a law was then passed that there could be long term leases and then do away with rent control, the City wrote to the owner of the Park to stop selling long term leases, that was part of the lawsuit that Mr. Hall was concerned about besides the two story structures, for eighteen to twenty years he kept coming to the City, every time the owner wanted a rent increase he did not notify the City as he was to have done, when the City was told they would then address the issue, Mr. Parrington, legal counsel regarding Park matters, wrote the Covenants, he said they were good and the people would be safe until 2044, the only time he heard they were no longer valid was after Mr. Hall bought the Park, the committee in the Park said time and again that the Covenants were not good, yet the attorney for the residents said they had a fifty percent chance, the City Attorney did not seem concerned either at the time, but that was not the story coming from the committee. Mr. Jeffers said he had been told verbally that the former member of the Council was going to Mr. Hall, that he told Hall that there was $2 million in the setaside funds, that is why the first offer was turned down. Mr. Jeffers said the MPROP loan is meant for people who are buying their trailer parks, the Seal Beach residents did not buy a trailer park, there is nothing in writing, as everyone knows in real estate it has to be in writing, therefore this is taking money from the State but it is not going to buy a trailer park, he has been told this can not be done, it is cheating another government agency, the IRS, these are sold as tax free bonds, it is still being I I I 10-28-02 I hidden that the residents are going to own the Park after so many years, that was said by Linc Housing and why they can not change the wording, this is after the sale went through, Linc Housing owns the Trailer Park, the residents will pay it off, the Agency is subsiding a lot of rents in the Park that were not subsidized before the Park was sold to Linc. Ms. Rita Brenner, Trailer Park, said she along with Terascio and Jeffers remember coming to the City consistently asking why the Park was not being audited, why it was not being managed right, there were so many stories given over the years. Ms. Brenner confirmed that there are a lot of places that are damaged and look bad. She charged that the City paid with taxpayer money for what was supposed to be pads but there are no pads, at the time of redevelopment of the park the people were told there would be a place to stay, that they would be moved adequately, everything would be fine, that did not happen, they were moved in the mud, some people did not have sidewalks, they put planks down, it was the biggest scam for this City, it is now the plumbing, the electricity. Ms. Brenner mentioned the over $600,000 in low and moderate income penalties, for that a resident could have purchased a small home for about $20,000 to $30,000, that could have meant thirty to forty homes for less than the $600,000, there could have been adequate parking, the residents were told they could not park on First Street, they had to park in the Park, that does not happen because there are people that are low to moderate yet have four to five vehicles, there is no visitor parking, all in all it is the stories, lies, and games, if a movie was made of the injustices no one would believe it. With regard to low and moderate rent, Ms. Brenner suggested a guess at who is paying the higher rent, it is the low to moderate income people, the people were told they would be paying higher rents because they would be the owners, but they have nothing in writing that says they will own the Park. There being no further comments, Mayor Larson declared the Public Comment period to be closed. I COUNCIL ITEMS I GUM GROVE PARK Councilman Yost noted that there has been an incident in Gum Grove Park where a resident gained access and disrupted the Nature Park as a function of what was transpiring on an adjacent property, to that several steps have been taken to assure that this does not happen again, he just wanted to let the public know and apologize on behalf of the City and staff, there are persons present that are part of the Gum Grove group that are upset at this happening, but first invited staff to make their presentation. The City Manager acknowledged that staff had made a significant mistake. Photos were shown of the area as it now exists, the Manager explained that a building permit had been issued and essentially what occurred was in order to backfill a retaining wall dirt was scooped up and dumped behind the wall. The Manager noted that instead of keys being distributed to most everyone, they have been recalled, locks have been rekeyed and keys will be limited, secondly henceforth all building permits will be stamped to basically state that anything in the public right-of-way must have an encroachment permit, at present a building permit can be obtained but that gives no detail as to how something is going to be done, some people are under the impression that once a permit is obtained they can do basically what they want, also, there will be more training and refresher courses about the use of City property, Gum Grove is the most recent 10-28-02 occurrence but is not limited to that area, one can not use City property just because it is there. He mentioned that there will be some additional work that must be done by the property owner, some cleanup, the Coastal Commission has been to the site with City staff, the property owner will need to deal with Coastal, there is some landscaping that the property owner wants to do, technically the wall is not the property line, it is believed it is further towards the park. I Mr. Mario Voce, Seal Beach, said he still does not understand the location of the property line, on the park side of the fence or the other side. The Development Services Direction explained that there is a set of utility poles along the upper portion of Gum Grove Park, those poles are within the private property backyards of all of the homes, there is a five or ten foot Edison easement over the private properties for the poles, in this case it is believed that the private property line is on the Park side of the pole, the exact distance at this point is not known. As to the inquiry of the property owner doing some landscaping, the City Manager confirmed that there had been some discussion of doing some landscaping, that will require a Coastal permit, staff will work with them, thus far the property owner has been amenable to suggestions for some appropriate planting. Mr. Voce said what he noticed on Thursday when the machines were rolling was that the angle of the slope in back of 1405 Crestview in the Park is completely changed, now it looks like a skip loader slope looking like the heavy equipment that created it, the grade of that area is now completely different, the drainage of the slope is now a dirt swath leading to a culvert, the fill material is not just dirt, the fill material does not match the existing substrate in Gum Grove and is junk filled, complete with large chunks of concrete, that is not becoming to a nature park, the tree bases in the area are now buried in several inches of the junk fill material, area substrates have been disturbed and are now hardpan by both compacted junk fill and by the large backhoe and skip loader and eighteen wheeled dump trucks pounding and compacting that area, areas that were once grasses are now pounded into hardpan. Mr. Voce mentioned that no archaeological monitor was present when this was going on, the reasoning he was given was that this is fill being added, not removed, how does one put this much dirt with concrete chunks in it on an uneven surface with skiploaders and backhoes and not disturb the substrate somehow, even the tire ruts alone does it, with all that has been going on with the main of the Hellman site it would be thought that an archaeological monitor would have been on- site. Mr. Voce said the gate to the lower emergency vehicle road was unlocked and completely open allowing the oversized construction vehicles access, and questioned who gave them the key. The City Manager responded that his understanding is that it was the Senior Building Inspector, that problem will be resolved. Mr. Voce stated that he wants a moratorium on all activities in Gum Grove Park so that a proper analysis and restoration plan can be accomplished, the Council can declare a moratorium, then declare at the City level that Gum Grove Park is an area of environmental concern, this would correspond to the California Coastal Commission designation of Gum Grove Park as an environmentally sensitive habitat area. Mr. Voce said there is some discussion on this, he keeps hearing that this is not an esha, yet he 'called the Coastal Commission and they say it is, Mr. Schwing is who he spoke with, he needs to know how something like this can happen in an area that is designated as an esha, he feels I I 10-28-02 I that staff having some guidelines would be helpful, the City can do this by itself and designate the park as an area of environmental concern, and said he frequently gets staff notations that the Environmental Board, of which he has been a member for about twelve years, does not have any jurisdiction over the area, staff does not recognize Gum Grove as an esha, and if it is not an esha then the City can make it an esha for its own concern, this is a responsibility that must be placed with the Council because the City now owns Gum Grove, it is no longer leased. The City needs to comprise an environmental policy specific to Gum Grove Park by qualified people, creation of that policy could be started now, and since the City is on the verge of putting together a Land Use Plan make certain that the policy is indicated in the Land Use Plan, that was advise from the Coastal Commission, he would say that considering what has gone on in Gum Grove over the years and now with this incident that the City not wait for a Land Use Plan, do a moratorium now and commence putting together an environmental policy specific to Gum Grove Park, this is now a challenge as to how this can be done, he is open to suggestions, he would volunteer his services yet said he is not qualified in all aspects, there needs to be qualified people to do this, and there needs to be assurances that activities regarding Gum Grove Park are considered by the Parks Commission, the Archaeological Advisory Board, and the EQCB, possibly if there were some citizen oversight these things would not happen. Ms. Carla Watson, Catalina Avenue, there is a real problem now with the uncovering of the culvert, it has created a large muddy area that could be unsafe for fire trucks, it was very muddy with even the light rain, the water was somewhat trapped rather than where it came out before. Mr. Doug Korthof, Seal Beach, said in Seal Beach it seems that the Coastal Act does not exist, the Hellman work started in August, ongoing for a time, it is true that the City owns Gum Grove Park, but it is under the obligation of following Special Condition seventeen of the Coastal Development Permit which was granted to the Hellmans under which the property was then deeded to the City, this is a passive recreation nature park, not for heavy equipment. He said the representation was that this work was only to be done on the property of the individual and that any access would only be temporary, acknowledged that it is difficult to do such a job from the front of the house however the representation was that the property owner was only looking for access, no damage would be done, when that occurs they get a waiver in that the City does not have a Local Coastal Program, that Program is designed to make the Coastal Act obsolete except in special cases, when there is an LCP the building permit is a coastal development permit therefore this owner, in order to do anything, would have had to have a coastal development permit, he did not, therefore this could go before the Coastal Commission to obtain an ex post facto coastal development permit, the homeowner was just trying to accomplish a job, there should not be penalties on staff or anyone else, but the lesson is clear that policies need to be developed about the kind of activities permitted in Gum Grove Park, there needs to be some oversight, this is an egregious violation, if this is taken before the Coastal Commission it will look very bad and he would almost guarantee that penalties will be levied, so there needs to be some action to show that this is being resolved. I I Councilman Yost stated that his recommendation to staff is that any issues involving Gum Grove Park go through the Parks and Recreation Commission so that there is public oversight, 10-28-02 the Environmental Quality Control Board as well, both of those bodies are comprised of very interested local citizens, that may help some, the other steps that staff has taken will hopefully prevent something like this from happening again. He said his intent was to just have a public forum so that they understand that although they saw something in Gum Grove Park once, hopefully it will never be seen again, he would not like to see a tractor in Gum Grove Park moving dirt around especially with the cultural resources and other things that may be there, he would also recommend that the EQCB take up the issue of having the area designated as an esha, that staff look at the pluses and minuses of the area being an esha, have that go through the appropriate channels and then bring it to Council. That would be his recommendation, and so moved. I Councilman Antos seconded the motion for the purpose of discussion. He noted that the City's Open Space/ Recreation/Conservation Element of the General Plan calls this a nature area, the City already has policies in place that prohibits all vehicles in that Park other than Public Works or Police vehicles on City business, he does not understand how this private contractor got into the Park area with heavy equipment, and, seeing that there was destruction to a public park, those who did the destruction need to restore it at their expense, not at City expense, restored to the way it was. Mr. Voce added that restoration would mean the removal of ,all of the junk fill, what was dumped there will have to come out, the property owner needs to pay for that. Councilman Yost reiterated his motion and amended it to include pursuing from the land owner restoration of the area in Gum Grove Park to its original state. Councilman Antos seconded the amended motion. I AYES: NOES: Antos, Campbell, Doane, Larson, Yost None Motion carried CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEMS "B" thru "M" Campbell moved, second by Yost, to approve the recommended action for items on the Consent Calendar as presented, except for Items "K" and "L", removed for separate consideration. The City Attorney read the title of Item "H", Ordinance Number 1491. B. Approved the waiver of reading in full of all ordinances and resolutions and that consent to the waiver of reading shall be deemed to be given by all Councilmembers after the reading of the title unless specific request is made at that time for the reading of such ordinance or resolution. I C. Approved the minutes of the regular meeting of September 23, 2002. D. Approved regular demands numbered 39530 through 39706 in the amount of $631,050.76, payroll demands numbered 17843 through 17975 in the amount of $160,088.21, and authorized warrants to be drawn on the Treasury for same. 10-28-02 E. Received and filed the Monthly Investment Report for September, 2002. F. Adopted Resolution Number 5070 entitled "A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEAL BEACH CONDITIONALLY APPROVING CUP NO. 01-9 FOR THE SALE OF BEER AND WINE FOR ON PREMISES CONSUMPTION" (RIVERS END) By unanimous consent, full reading of Resolution Number 5070 was waived. I G. Received and filed the staff report relating to the senior citizen business license tax provisions and operating procedures, recommendation that no amendments be made to the existing Code as written. H. Adopted Ordinance Number 1491 entitled "AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF SEAL BEACH REGARDING SPECIAL EVENTS AND AMENDING CHAPTER 19E OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF SEAL BEACH." By unanimous consent, full reading of Ordinance Number 149l was waived. I. Accepted the resignation of Ms. Lisa Chattler as the District Two representative to the Recreation and Parks Commission, and declared the position vacant for the unexpired three year term ending July, 2005. I J. Canceled the November 25th and December 23rd, 2002 City Council meetings in recognition of the upcoming holiday season. M. Presented Council with a preliminary draft of the Newsrack Ordinance for review, and received and filed the status report relating thereto. AYES: NOES: Antos, Campbell, Doane, Larson, Yost None Motion carried ITEMS REMOVED FROM THE CONSENT CALENDAR I ITEM "K" - RESCINDING CONTRACT AWARD - SEAL BEACH BOULEVARD BIKE LANE/STORM DRAIN - PROJECT NUMBER 50025 - AUTHORIZE RE- BID Mayor Larson noted that a contract was awarded for the Seal Beach Boulevard Bike Lane and Storm Drain Project south of Westminster Avenue, evidently the contractor in turn has not responded or returned calls, the Public Works Director confirmed that to be true, the proper contract documents were not submitted. Mayor Larson inquired if there is a bond that will be forfeited, and stated if that is not enough to cover the difference between the bond and a subsequent contract he would request that that be pursued against this contractor. The Public Works Director stated that the thought was that better prices could be obtained if the project were rebid. Mayor Larson acknowledged that direction, however asked that this contractor be placed on a list of not responsible bidders so that bids will not be accepted from him again. Larson moved, second by Doane, to rescind the award of the contract to Southland Construction in the amount of $174,800 for the construction of the Seal Beach Boulevard Bike Lane and Storm Drain Project south of Westminster Avenue, 10-28-02 authorize staff to rebid the project, and declare the bid bond of Southland Construction to be forfeited to the City of Seal Beach as provided by Public Contract Code Section 20172. AYES: NOES: Antos, Campbell, Doane, Larson, Yost None Motion carried ITEM "L" - ORDINANCE NUMBER 1492 - GRADING REOUIREMENTS Councilman Yost noted that this is the Grading Ordinance that certain residents had requested, it will become part of the City Code. Yost moved, second by Larson, to approve the introduction of Ordinance Number 1492 entitled "AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF SEAL BEACH ADDING CHAPTER SA TO THE CODE OF THE CITY OF SEAL BEACH RELATIVE TO GRADING REQUIREMENTS." By unanimous consent, full reading of Ordinance Number 1492 was waived. I AYES: NOES: Antos, Campbell, Doane, Larson, Yost None Motion carried PROPOSED RESOLUTION - AUTHORIZING LOAN TO REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY This item was removed from consideration, no action taken. PUBLIC HEARING - LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT BLOCK GRANT - 2002 Mayor Larson declared the public hearing to be open to consider the acceptance and appropriation of the Local Law Enforcement Block Grant, 2002. The City Clerk certified that notice of the public hearing had been advertised as required by law, and reported no communications received either for or against this item. The City Manager noted that this is the standard law enforcement grant, it is in the amount of $15,815 for year 2002, the City match will be $l,757. There being no public comments relating to this matter, Mayor Larson declared the public hearing closed. I Yost moved, second' by Doane, to adopt Resolution Number 5072 entitled "A RESOLUTION OF ,THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEAL BEACH, CALIFORNIA, AUTHORIZING A BUDGET AMENDMENT, NO. 03-10, FOR THE 2002 LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT BLOCK GRANT." By unanimous consent, full reading of Resolution Number 5072 was waived. AYES: NOES: Antos, Campbell, Doane, Larson, Yost None Motion carried CITY ATTORNEY REPORT No report was presented. CITY MANAGER REPORT No report was presented. COUNCIL COMMENTS Councilmember Campbell mentioned that the College Park East Neighborhood Association held its Halloween Haunt on Sunday, it went well, she believed that the children set a new record in the donut eating contest. For information of the public, Councilmember Campbell stated that a Toyota vehicle key was found and is in her possession. She reported too that the new playground equipment is being installed at Heather Park, mentioned that due to the recent road work on Lampson Avenue the traffic light at Lampson and Candleberry is on a timer, the area will be patched this week, the signal loops can then be installed, and the signal will work correctly. Councilmember Campbell reported that at the last Orange I lO-28-02 I County Sanitation District meeting the Board voted to join with the Orange County Water District for a water reclamation project, this could be very important for Seal Beach in several ways, the ocean outfall pipe is about four to four and a half miles off of Huntington Beach, there has been ongoing talk of cleaning up the ocean yet that can not be done until the pollution of the ocean stops, once they go to reclamation then they shut down the outfall pipe, the reclamation project will also provide a water source that Orange County needs so badly, the Colorado River people want to shut off the Northern California water supply to Southern California, and the aquifer is not where it should be. Councilmember Campbell pointed out that there could be some severe water problems not too far into the future, the reclamation project should have been approved much sooner, this project will provide Orange County with added water, and the added benefit for Seal Beach is that the outfall pipe would be closed. In response to a comment by a member of the public, Councilman Yost offered that there was a suspicion relating to the relationship of the former member of the Council with the Trailer Park owner, there was no evidence until July of 2001 after the sale of the Park had closed, there was rumor however nothing to act upon officially. Based upon the comment of Councilmember Campbell, Councilman Antos noted that in the past the City had a Water Committee and based upon things that have come up and probably will come up he would request that the Council place on one of the next agendas a discussion to reconstitute a Water Committee, but not to deal only with water runoff as in the past, there are some other issues relative to water reclamation, if that process goes into effect there are some opportunities for the City to save a tremendous amount of money by using reclaimed water in the parks, etc. instead of using potable water, it is believed that the Engineering Department could save considerable in their budget from that, there are also some policies that need to be discussed relative to putting in lines to accept that water when tearing up the alleys in the event that reclaimed water becomes available in Southern California, there is cleanup now of some hazardous materials that are near and getting nearer the ground water. Councilman Antos expressed his opinion that all of those things need to be looked at, as well as water quality, therefore he would request concurrence of the Council to place this matter on an upcoming agenda for discussion of reconstituting the Water Committee but with broader objectives. Councilman Antos noted the upcoming election, and depending upon the outcome the State will be doing something about its budget, therefore in relation to that the Council should give thought to looking at the City budget as a mid-year review. With regard to the Redevelopment Agency and comments relating to eminent domain, Councilman Antos acknowledged that the City, CalTrans, and other agencies can take property, however the Redevelopment Agency is the only agency that can take property for a non-public purpose, rather than for a road, or park, or city hall, an Agency can take property for what is considered a public benefit, not to say that the Seal Beach Redevelopment Agency would ever do that however the power to do so is there. Councilman Antos also noted a comment relative to the tax increment money and pointed out that there is really no money to do anything except pay the bond debt, reserve the setaside monies, and money for the schools, otherwise there would have been $95,000 to complete the Agency dissolution study, and in turn if those monies existed they could only be spent within the boundaries of the Agency. For the residents of Leisure I I 10-28-02 / 11-l2-02 World, Mayor Larson mentioned that the traffic exiting 'Leisure World-is backed up due to a new signal system, he has received explanations from the City Engineer several times, and he has been assured that the problem will be resolved. CLOSED SESSION No Closed Session was held. I ADJOURNMENT It was the order of the Chair, with consent of the Council, to adjourn the meeting until Tuesday, November 12th, 2002 at 6:30 p.m. to meet in Closed Session if necessary. By unanimous consent, the meeting was adjourned at 9:16 p.m. t Clerk and the City of clerk Approved: Attest: I Seal Beach, California November 12, 2002 The City Council of the City of Seal Beach met in regular adjourned session at 6:30 p.m. with Mayor Larson calling the meeting to, order with the Salute to the Flag. ROLL CALL Present: Mayor Larson Councilmembers Antos, Campbell, Doane, Yost Absent: None Also present: Mr. Bahorski, City Manager Mr. Barrow, City Attorney Ms. Yeo, City Clerk There were no public comments to the items identified on the agenda. I CLOSED SESSION The City Attorney announced that the Council would meet in Closed Session to discuss the items identified on the agenda pursuant to Government Code Sections 54957.6, 54956.8, 54956.9 (a) and (b), to confer with the City's labor negotiator, the real property negotiator, with legal counsel relating to one case of anticipated litigation, and existing litigation in case BC277499, Peddicord versus Linc Housing. The Council adjourned to Closed Session at 6:3l p.m. and reconvened at 7:06 p.m. with Mayor Larson calling the meeting