Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Min 2003-02-24 2-10-03 I 2-24-03 CLOSED SESSION No Closed Session was held. I ADJOURNMENT It was the consensus of the Council to adjourn the meeting until Monday, February 24th at 6:15 p.m. By unanimous consent, the meeting was adjourned at 8:41 p.m. C' o Attest: Jh#JJ ~ Mayor 9A~ffZ?(;Z Approved: Seal Beach, California February 24, 2003 I The City Council of the City of Seal Beach met in regular adjourned session at 6:15 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 CLOSED SESSION The City Attorney announced that the City Council would meet in Closed Session to discuss the items identified on the agenda, a public employee performance evaluation pursuant to Government Code Section 54957, to confer with legal counsel with regard to initiation of litigation pursuant to 54956.9(c), and pending litigation pursuant to Government Code Section 54956.9(a). The Council adjourned to Closed Session at 6:17 p.m. and reconvened at 7:04 p.m. The City Attorney reported the Council had given direction to staff, no other reportable action was taken. ADJOURNMENT It was the order of the Chair, with consent of the Council, to adjourn the meeting at 7:07 p.m. 2-24-03 it Clerk and the City of Approved: ~LttJ ~k1~ Mayor ~n,!Jh( ,d City Clerk I Attest: Seal Beach, California February 24, 2003 The City Council of the City of Seal Beach met in regular session at 7:01 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. Dancs, Director of Public Works/City Engineer Mr. Vukojevic, Deputy City Engineer Ms. Yeo, City Clerk APPROVAL OF AGENDA Yost moved, second by Antos, to approve the order of the agenda as presented. AYES: NOES: Antos, Campbell, Doane, Larson, Yost None Motion carried ANNOUNCEMENTS There were no announcements. PRESENTATIONS W A V E AWARDS Mayor Larson welcomed Ms. Robin Fort-Linke, the Public Access, Education, and Government cable station manager. Ms. Fort-Linke requested that Mr. Davies, the Cable Foundation Board President, join her at the podium, and recognized the presence of Board members Betty Martin, Margene Walz, and Fred Fuhrman. Ms. Fort-Linke noted that it is time once again to take the opportunity to recognize the volunteer producers for their achievements in community programming, the WAVE Awards, an acronym for Western Access of Video Excellence, awarded by the Western States Region of the national organization of the Alliance for Community Media, the region includes California, Hawaii, Arizona, New Mexico, I 2-24-03 I and Nevada, and the judging panels include industry professionals and volunteers from the hosting site area. Ms. Fort-Linke noted that last year there was an amazing seven SBTV3 award winners, it was thought to be a challenge to again get anywhere near that however this year there are five winners. Ms. Fort-Linke acknowledged the first winners, Richard and Sally Parker, for The Making of Just Another Religious Program, it was a witty way to show a behind the scenes look at what takes place in the studio to set up a production and incorporated it into the program as Mr. Parker interviewed the crew members, this program was the second place finalist in the Innovative Category, their second award was for the program The Resurrection. where reporters traveled back in time in a way cleverly devised by the producers, the first place winner in the Inspirational Religious Category, their third award was for the program Just Another Reality, an indepth look at the art of caricature while the artist drew and discussed the art, a first place winner in the Live To Tape Category., Ms. Fort-Linke introduced Mr. Peter Anninos and Dr. Shawn Stewart, their first award for their program that focused on sharing insights with Dr. Stewart and Dr. Annet as they discussed how therapists handle difficult issues, the program intertwined with lighter moments of dance by the Keltic Gold Dancers, this program the second place finalist in the Live To Tape Category, their other award was for a remarkable program that featured inspiring interviews with three doctors from Childrens Hospital of Orange County who work on healing children's hearts, this the first place winner in the Talk Show Category, and it is believed that Dr. Yost was part of that program. She mentioned that this past December SBTV-3 was featured in the Community Media Review, a national publication, which featured PEG facilities around the country and related to persons with disabilities that are involved in public access, how those people make use of their access, the quality of an hour with Dr. Stewart speaks for itself. Ms. Fort-Linke noted that producing programs requires considerable hard work and effort and in year 2002 the producers contributed more than two thousand two hundred volunteer hours to SBTV-3, their hard work is greatly appreciated. Ms. Fort-Linke announced one other award, stated that on occasion the Cable Foundation takes the opportunity to recognize producers that have gone above and beyond or have contributed in a significant way to community programming, this year the recognition is of a producer team, one member of the team is highly recognizable, everyone knows him, the other producer works behind the scenes in a less visible but equally important capacity, this program has benefited many organizations, not only in Seal Beach but also Rossmoor, Los Alamitos and neighboring communities, many animals from the Seal Beach Animal Care Center are adopted because of their exposure on the program, the Chamber of Commerce, Lions Club, Seaside Lions, Womens Club, Las Damas and many other nonprofit organizations have all benefited from the opportunity to inform the public about their upcoming events and programs, it has also highlighted sports teams from Los Alamitos High School and a variety of activities at McGaugh School and City events, this program has also been an avenue for the City to provide information on a particular subject to the community and during election years has provided a candidates forum for voters to have an opportunity for a closer look at the individuals running for office. Ms. Fort-Linke said the remarkable accomplishment of the producers of this program is that it has been on the air for twelve years, one hundred forty-four consecutive programs, to bring this program to the community for all of I I 2-24-03 those years has generated in excess of two thousand eight hundred volunteer hours by the two persons and by all of the volunteer producers who have participated as crew members, March 6th will mark the beginning of the thirteenth year of Talk of the Town, previously known as City Watch Live, the rewards of this program to this community and its neighbors are many. Ms. Fort-Linke presented the award for twelve years of live programming at SBTV-3 to Rick Paap and Peter Anninos for outstanding dedication to community television in Seal Beach. with the absence of Rick Paap due to a prior commitment, Ms. Fort-Linke read a message from Officer Paap expressing appreciation to the Cable Foundation for the award and support and thanks to all of the talented volunteers at SBTV-3 that helped to make the Talk of the Town a reality and the community for being a supportive cornerstone of the program. Mr. Anninos expressed appreciation to the City and the community for the support of the program over the years, the recognition is appreciated, they do the program because they love it and know that it provides a valuable service to Seal Beach, also expressed a desire to continue the program for years to come. Ms. Fort-Linke thanked the Council for allowing the opportunity to present the WAVE awards, stated that SBTV-3 will continue to strive to be the best they can, as it is important to recognize the local government, community and public access programming for its benefit to the community. I It was the order of the Chair to declare a recess at 7:18 p.m. Mayor Larson reconvened the meeting at 7:23 p.m. PUBLIC COMMENTS Mayor Larson declared the Public Comment period to be open and reminded that it is the policy of the Council to not allow the speaking time of one person to be loaned to another. Mr. Ed Simmons, Seal Beach, noted that at the last meeting the Council voted to approve the rebuilding of the pier and groin, the expenditure was approved without question to which he said was wrong. His reasons for believing it was wrong is that money was received for the pier to be rebuilt, he explained that between the pilings there are cross members, between the odd pilings there are no cross members, installing cross members between the odd pilings should be looked into to make the piles stronger, he heard a statement that the light weight concrete was taken off the pier because it was a cause of the failure of the pier in 1983, the light weight concrete had nothing to do with that pier failure, one should walk on the pier, see if one can see through, he can not, so what did the light weight concrete have to do with the failure, he compared the removal of the light weight concrete with a shear panel in a house, now the pier moves a lot, it did not before the light weight concrete was removed. Mr. Simmons objected to an expenditure of $110,000 on repair of the groin that he deemed to be a worthless, said one swell took two of the big plates off, having been in the construction business for all of his working life he claimed the proposed repair is a joke, in his opinion half of the groin should be taken down. Mr. Simmons noted that when one walks onto the beach from the 8th Street parking lot it is light weight sand, when one gets three quarters of the way out it is heavy grit sand, the heavy grit sand came from the south side of the beach when it was replenished, now it is on the north side, sand moves, yet the City does not watch what is going on with the beach, the north side of the beach has an abundance of sand yet there is little sand by the:south jetty, the beach needs to be monitored, and there are many I I 2-24-03 I pictures. Mr. Simmons explained that he is not suggesting to do away with the groin, only proposing to talk about it, it should be fairly easy to repair the groin, put a concrete cap on it of about four feet, he would like to have a couple of meetings where people can talk about the beach, made reference to the millions of dollars that have been spent on the beach, pier, and groin and to that he stated that nothing has been accomplished. Ms. Jennifer Gonzales introduced herself as the new Public Affairs Manager for the Gas Company, said she has city background which is hoped will help her to maintain a strong relationship between the City and the utility to accomplish work in a safe and efficient manner. I Mr. Jim Caviola, Seal Beach, said his comments were to the City Attorney, the money that everyone says Seal Beach does not have, and the Trailer Park, and since the Park situation is confusing he decided to obtain certain documents himself. Mr. Caviola stated that former Councilmember Boyd and Boyd/ Perkins is being defended by the City Attorney, that notation is on one of the initial appeal documents, his question is then who is the attorney for Seal Beach, this is being placed on appeal for a case that the City is not a party to, the notation of the City Attorney of Seal Beach appears on the papers as a misrepresentation to the Court of Appeals that the City is involved in this case, he claimed that is wrong, his taxpayer dollars are being spent on the former member of the Council. Mr. Caviola raised a question as to how the Seal Beach Trailer Park transaction occurred, Resolution 00- 3, a unanimous vote, August 14th, refers to the local public entity as a co-applicant with the Seal Beach Trailer Park Residents Association who shall submit an application to participate in the Mobile Park Resident Ownership Program, MPROP, he claimed that sixteen days later the application was submitted with the City as the co-applicant with the applicant Linc Housing, and stated the Resolution contains no enabling language for that to occur. Mr. Caviola said the application states that residents of a Park can apply by one of three ways, a resident organization that is incorporated and submits an application with the local public entity as a co-applicant, said he has the corporation form of the residents in March of 2000 for that purpose, it was not listed as co-applicant. Mr. Caviola offered that the Trailer Park cost Mr. Hall $2.9 million, the City spent $9.1 million to obtain the Park yet does not even own it, how did that occur, staff report of November 13, 2000, tax exempt bonds, $6.7 million, MPROP Loan $1 million, Agency loan payable from proceeds of the State MPROP Bridge loan of $1 million, Agency income set aside loan $1 million, Agency grant $765,000, the staff report stated that upon receipt of the MPROP loan the Bridge Loan is to be repaid, it is now known that the MPROP money was never given because Linc submitted different forms and ended up with the Park, that was not the plan. He mentioned obtaining a letter of April 30, 2002 from the State Housing and Community Development Department extending the MPROP contract until May 1st, 2003, the City now has sixty- six days to get the $1 million back otherwise the Bridge Loan will be lost, an illegal gift of public funds. Mr. Caviola said next time he will talk about the General Plan that is not being followed because Hellman, Bixby, Rockwell or Leisure World are not being required to provide low income housing, and in the Trailer Park there is supposed to be one hundred twenty units but now only one hundred. Ms. Reva Olson, Seal Beach, expressed appreciation to Mr. Caviola, said he only wants honest government as does Councilman I 2-24-03 Antos, at the last meeting Mayor Larson voted against the Trailer Park issue, Councilmember Campbell abstained, why. Ms. Olson noted the formation of the Trailer Park organization, the City then substituted the name'of Linc Housing for the Park Association and quickly recorded it, Linc has not told the people in the Park they will be on the Board in thirty-five years, they will be outvoted by the Board, and it is doubtful if the Park will be there for thirty-five years as there will likely be another land grab. Ms. Olson asked if the Council does not care about the Park residents, they are making payments but have nothing, claimed that the Redevelopment Agency is a joke, it is not providing affordable housing for people, it is a feeding frenzy for attorneys, bond brokers, etc. She said she recalled the former Park owner advising the City that it was supposed to audit the Park, it did not, why is the City Attorney defending a felon, all of the blame can not be placed on the former Councilman as the Council must have known because Mr. Hall filed a suit and offered to pay the legal fees of the former Councilman, that was July, 2000, and now it is heard that the Council then voted to give the property to Linc. She mentioned the money that the City has spent so that Mr. Hall could double his money, charged that it was the ineptness of the City that prompted the Hall lawsuit, the City was guilty so it just paid Hall off, why is the former member of the Council being supported with citizen tax dollars, is it not correct that the former member of the Council consulted with the attorney before the transaction, questions need to be answered, it is the Council who duped the citizens. Ms. Elizabeth Levi, Trailer Park, stated she had brought a video of a Park resident who is ill and could not attend the meeting, Ms. Penny Pennerton, the video communication stated that she is not better off than four years ago, claimed that rents have gone up one hundred twenty-seven percent, will go up another one hundred percent, her home is four hundred twenty square feet, it will cost $250,000 to keep it on the land in the Trailer Park, the people were told they would own the land, she lives on a fixed income of retirement and social security, her rent goes up and income goes down, the City is sending her to the poorhouse, the City got the residents out from under Richard Hall then put them in bondage with Linc Housing who will make millions of dollars, that is taking from the poor and giving to the rich, asked what the people did to make the City so unwilling to give them what they are paying for, the land they paid for has been stolen from them, she would like to be as secure in her golden years as are the people in Leisure World, she needs food, clothing, and a home, and asked that the situation be fixed and secure their future. Ms. Levi said that even after seeing the video there are still those who will say thank you for what the City has done, she too asked that the Council fix the situation. I I Mr. Richard Fischbacha, Trailer Park, stated that many people were scared when Mr. Hall bought the Trailer park, the alternative was to pay $2,500 per month in rent or somehow, some way get him out of the Park, questioned what the speakers were saying about buying the land, no one in the Park put money up for that, the lady in the video could apply for a rent subsidy, in the past there were no rent subsidies, now there is, what alternatives were there, was there another way to acquire the Park, why did the people not get information before that they now say is correct, he attended all of the meetings and when he heard there were no alternatives he was convinced this was"the way to go, to just I 2-24-03 I pay the taxes on that land would be prohibitive, there were not enough people in the Park to purchase the Park, it was necessary to go to a nonprofit to get out from under Richard Hall, Hall did make a lot of money but how much would he have made if he bulldozed the Park or raised the rents to $2,500 per month. He recalled also when Councilman Yost recused himself because there had been a change in the law. Mr. Fischbacha said he would rather be one that appreciates being in the Park, the City tried to help the residents. Ms. Rene Reschon, Park resident, stated that she has lived next door to the woman in the video for over twenty years, why did she say she could not attend the meeting as she drives her car and walks her dog daily. Ms. Reschon thanked Councilman Yost for helping and supporting the Trailer Park residents to own their homes, said she has a copy of the complaint filed by Mr. Jeffers claiming that Counclman Yost benefited from voting on issues relating to the Trailer Park, that makes no sense, because he lives close to the Park does that make his property more valuable. Ms. Reschon claimed that there is a person who wants to discontinue the Redevelopment Agency, he lives in an expensive home on Ocean, he did not want poor people potentially moving in next to or close tO,him, does he not know then that that would have raised the value of his land by living close to poor people. She noted that if Councilman Yost voted on Park issues before and the laws have now changed he is no longer voting on issues regarding the Park, it is certain that his home would have been worth much more had he not voted as he did and helped Mr. Hall who planned on developing the land. She offered that Councilman Yost has done so much good for the people in the Trailer Park and she is ashamed that some people are agreeing with the complaint filed with the District Attorney, perception is everything and because of that the reputation and credibility of Councilman Yost has been tainted, no one of any intelligence can believe that his property is more valuable by the efforts he made to enable the Park to stay. She voiced her expectation that Mr. Jeffers rescind his complaint to the District Attorney and to notify all newspapers that he has done so. Ms. Reschon said she attended almost all of the meetings when Hall owned the Trailer Park, most were attended by members of the Council, Linc Housing and attorneys, she was never told that she would own her lot or the park, everything she has been told by Linc or the participants has come true, she did not have to put in money or a down payment, many of the residents could not have afforded to put money down or afford the increased monthly payments that a non tax exempt loan would have cost, she does not expect to own anything that she did not buy, she was only promised that she could sell or continue to live in her home at a low monthly rent, and to participate in issues relating to the Trailer Park. Ms. Reschon inquired if Mr. Jeffers wrote his complaint, if not, who did, perhaps the newspaper could help find that out. Mr. Ken Williams, Trailer Park, said sometimes it is good to find something that can be agreed upon, to think that Councilman Yost would have voted on Trailer Park issues to increase the value of his home is preposterous, to that he said he would like to defuse this issue if possible, Mr. Jeffers has rescinded his name on the petition, what he believed to be a petition, it is believed he was mislead in that respect, that will go to the papers, a letter is being acquired from an appraiser to state that the Park would not have an affect on the home of Councilman Yost. Mr. Williams said he anticipated some people will address the Council as that is the reason they are present, they are withholding records, will not communicate, which has caused I I 2-24-03 considerable trouble. Mr. Williams said he did not believe that anyone would disagree that the original intent of the Trailer Park purchase was for resident ownership as was stated in forty letters prepared by the then Park recording secretary and as stated by former members of the Board, both the President and Vice President, that have since been voted off of the Board, still sit on the Affordable Housing Corporation, they were removed properly for misinformation and nondisclosure of records, the people were told the residents would become the owners of the Park, Councilmember Campbell said it was in writing, it is not, there are others as well that stated the residents would own the Park, Hunter Johnson of Linc was present when the statements were made, Linc made statements to add to the misrepresentation while he was given $8 million and the land rather than admitting that everyone was tricked, it is clear, there is no denying. Those who said that the residents would own the Park have refused to share records, refused to recognize the elections, the purchase occurred with false information, it was said that by signing a document of consent the residents would own the Park, everywhere that it stated the amount of money that the residents would pay for their space and the monthly payment it states NA, it was said that NA meant "not available" as the price of the Park was not yet known, at the bottom of the form it said that the residents would be told when the amounts were known, then a second form would be needed, that form needed to acquire the MPROP $1 million, it also said it would be owned as a coop, that was in August of 2000, yet in the application to the State it was found that the price was $8 million agreed upon on May 15, 2000. Mr. Williams stated that another person would conclude his presentation. I I It was the order of the Chair, with consent of the Council, to declare a recess at 7:58 p.m. Mayor Larson reconvened the meeting at 8:05 p.m. Mr. Alan Gouge continued the presentation, stated that the NA was said to mean "not available" because the sale price was not known, that was August 9, 2000, the document was signed, the check boxes stated that it was a nonprofit corporation with no sale of membership shares which means they knew the price of $8 million as agreed to on May 15, 2000, yet on August 9th the residents were told they did not have a price, Linc told the State that NA meant "not applicable", according to the application it was not a resident purchase, the City Resolution 00-3 was completed on August 14, 2000, the City was to apply for a $1 million loan with the Resident Association, Linc Housing was not mentioned as a co- applicant, it said the Resident Board was the co-applicant yet Linc Housing signed as the co-applicant therefore Resolution 00-3 was not properly executed, Hunter Johnson signed the document as to the certification of compliance not the Resident organization, Linc Housing and the City signed the application and stated that the residents agreed to the application as it was presented, however the residents did not agree in the manner in which it was presented, the residents of the Park were told that the Park would eventually be turned over to resident control, the application had boxes that could have indicated eventual resident control, those boxes were not checked. Mr. Gouge noted that Linc and Richard Hall signed a purchase agreement for $8 million in May of 2000, so why did Hall sue the City in July of 2000, after the purchase agreement, was the lawsuit to expedite the sale, convince the State that the I 2-24-03 I residents were desperate for the $1 million loan, enable a friendly condemnation by the City to rid the Covenant. Mr. Gouge posed the question as to what is the solution, the City could get together with the SBTPROA Board and their lawyers to write an agreement that more closely resembles what was promised the residents of the Seal Beach Trailer Park. Councilman Yost requested that those persons making the presentation make a copy available to each of the Councilmembers. I Ms. Mary Cardwell, Trailer Park, offered that as of last week an assault had been made on the good name of Councilman Yost, she regrets and is sorry that this has happened, Councilman Yost has been a valued friend to all residents of the Trailer Park and the community, an encourager and supporter over the past several years as the people tried to get out from under the domination of Mr. Hall, he has been fair to all. Ms. Cardwell noted that now a complaint has been brought against him and filed in the office of the District Attorney, it has been said that this complaint originated and was written by someone outside of the Park and unfortunately found someone in the Park to sign it, and objected to the signature of the man especially because above his name it is written 'residents of the Seal Beach Trailer Park' as though by signing this wretched piece of work he represents the people, he neither represents her nor many others in the Park with this document. Ms. Joyce parque, Seal Beach, said she would like to tell the families of the military people who have gone to protect the freedom of the nation that she appreciates all of their loved ones for being there for the people, God bless President Bush and God bless America. Ms. parque made reference to the billing records for legal services for the Trailer Park, confirmed that she did request them and paid for them, all four hundred sixty-four pages, she has reviewed the Agency bills and said they do not match, what needs to be known is how the amount of $213,143.85 comes to $40,750.18 to her count, there needs to be an accounting for the checks, how can that be obtained, is it necessary to make a request, who was the attorney firm representing in the Trailer Park, it was not the taxpayers. She said there are some people in the City that think the City has money that floats out to them, the City does not make money, it takes money from the Seal Beach taxpayers, people need.to realize there are no free lunches, that is paid for by the taxpayers. Ms. parque mentioned that there was a letter in the newspaper that reported that none of the Park residents had to put any money down, to that Ms. parque said it was the taxpayers that put $2 million down and are still paying $1 to subsidize the rents, there are four people who are paying hardly any rent, twenty are paying low income rent, everyone else is paying as well as the taxpayers of the City, the City does not have a money machine. Ms. parque again mentioned the letter in the newspaper, the author was secretary to the Park Board from 1999 to 2001, said to have attended almost every meeting, to that she noted that the people in the Park would like to have copies of those meetings, why have they not been made available. Ms. parque acknowledged that after the bonds are paid the residents will have controlling interest in the Affordable Housing Corporation, that has already been transfe7red three times so who knows who will own it by.then, th~ res1dents are on a month to month so they can be eV1cted upon notice because Linc bought the Trailer Park and the land on behalf of the residents, but Linc did not buy it, it was the Seal Beach taxpayers that bought it. Ms. parque noted that the Redevelopment Agency purchased the Zoeter School I 2-24-03 therefore the Agency could have purchased the Trailer Park for the low income families for years to come, yet due to the Covenants at that time Richard Hall had a case against the City. Ms. patricia Clerk, Trailer Park, expressed regret that a resident of the Trailer Park filed a conflict of interest complaint with the District Attorney against Councilman Yost damaging his good name and reputation even though nothing has been proven, the complaint made no sense, this was a trailer park before the purchase and it is still a trailer park, since when does living close to a trailer park increase the value of surrounding homes, it is usually the other way around, the Councilman is one of the most open and honest persons she has met, has been a believer in getting out all of the information he can, especially to the Park residents, and has answered any and all questions that he could and by any means possible, always trying to find solutions, the peace maker, and said for this resident to make these charges is an abomination. Ms. Clark also took exception to Mr. Jeffers signing the complaint under the words Residents of the Seal Beach Trailer Park, how dare he indicate that he represents her or all other residents of the Trailer Park, there was no discussion or vote on this by any Park resident, he and his group do not represent her or others in any way, she would never be a party to any complaint against Councilman Yost and she knows that she speaks for many other residents of the Park, Councilman Yost does not deserve this. Ms. Clark noted that at the last meeting it was mentioned by a member of the Council that Linc owns six homes on Riversea in the Park, also that it was not believed that the County assessor made mistakes, that is a correct statement, yet it is confusing to try to pull all of the pieces together after the fact, Linc does not own six homes on Riversea or any homes in the Park, there are six Park residents, two of whom live on Welcome Lane who receive two property tax statements, the first statement is on their personal property which is their trailer, registered in their name on the tax bill as the owner of record, the second tax bill is on the space beneath the trailer, it is called a land utilization or land use tax even though it says land tax on the statement, this was confirmed by a call to the Orange County Assessors office, these are two property tax bills received by one of the six long term lease residents, again, the personal property bill shows only the name of the resident as the owner of record, the land use statement shows Linc Community Development Corporation and the name of the resident, these six residents also receive two property value notices from the office of the assessor showing the assessed value on their trailer and assessed value on their land use tax, that is received before they receive the property tax bills', this land tax is levied on their spaces because their leases are over thirty-five years and are registered with the Orange County Tax Assessor, if their space lease was under thirty- five years they would not pay the land use tax, Linc owns the land and pays all of the real property taxes, this is why the Linc Community Development Corporation name is on the land use statement as the owner of record along with the name of the resident, these six residents also receive two tax bills with the previous .owners names, Bill Dawson and Seal Beach Partners, and Richard Hall as RHC Communities, LLC, their names are on the land use property tax statements because they owned the land. Mr. Jeffrey McMorrow, Trailer Park, said he is a former resident of Welcome Lane, offered that he has fulfilled two promises made to himself, one that he would I I I 2-24-03 I no longer serve on the Board of the SBTPHOA if believed that there was no more good that he could do in terms of effecting change, he has counseled people since prior to the sale and escrow close in 2000, he believed the lawsuit was necessary, secondly, as long as he could happily or helpfully live in the Park he would yet unfortunately it is a very divisive community, if it can even be called that, as has been seen tonight there has been heckling and whatever on the part of people, it is not a happy place to live. Mr. McMorrow noted that on September 6th he filed a lawsuit against the City of Seal Beach, Linc Housing, and the Chair of the former Board, however in deference to Mr. Caviola and the law firm of Girardi and Keese he did not serve process on the entities or defendants named. Mr. McMorrow stated that as of this coming Friday he will no longer be a resident of the Trailer Park, what finally encouraged him to retain a realtor and sell his home was his relationship with his next door neighbor, in April of 1999 and upon recommendation he tried to run for a seat on the committee after this crisis first came to light, at that time he was retired from his practice of law, the last thing he wanted to do was be in the middle of some kind of broil with a very aggressive businessman who was grabbing land from poor mobile home park residents, but after months ensued and the situation that is now seen it is basically a neighbor against neighbor situation, he personally does not want to live in that kind of place, he has the luxury of moving, this was his grandmother's home, she applied for the permits, she built a second story cabana, and died in 1993, he can live elsewhere, he does not need or qualify for rent subsidies, this is a class struggle, the have not's that are happy with their subsidies and people who would rather have something a bit more permanent. Mr. McMorrow said he felt they made persuasive arguments that the Park deal was not as promised, he was involved in the recall election and was unhappy to do it to a couple of individuals who are still on the SBAFC Board, but they had the opportunity to defend themselves and respond to questions, subsequent to that he has now gained the ire and disrespect of many neighbors in the Park, he in fact had to show his neighbor his degrees and licenses as an attorney, however his name, like Councilman Yost, has been sullied many times, he does not choose to live this way, his belief is that the City has a choice and several options before them, there are a number of people who do not have to put in the hours that they have to make a difference and see that things change. Mr. McMorrow offered that it was no surprise to him that it proved that the former Councilmember was an employee of Richard Hall and no surprise that Mr. Boychuck has done computer consulting for the City, what he is not surprised at though is the current state of affairs in that some people are getting a good deal with the subsidies and some are not, some people would rather have equity, his feeling is that this City can make a change, maybe it will be a community again, he will not be here. I I Mr. Ray MOlinex, Trailer Park, expressed his appreciation once again to be able to live in Seal Beach, a beautiful town, when he moved here he was paying less than $200 per month to live a block from the beach, now he pays less than $400 a month, he has nothing to complain about. He said he was disappointed yet not surprised at the recent news articles with regard to Councilman Yost, many hours were donated to the Trailer Park residents by he and Councilmember Campbell, and the Board, older residents, who stood up to try to save peoples homes, the people tried to buy the Park yet none of the residents had any money, it was determined that a 2-24-03 non-profit organization was needed, help from the State, the City, and the residents of Seal Beach, it is wonderful that there is a Council such as this that have given thought to the people in the community that really need the Trailer Park, people on fixed incomes, etc. Mr. Molinex again offered apology to Councilman Yost for what has been done, yet noted that apology is not sufficient as the damage has been done, this is typical of the new group of people, the people who helped to secure the Park has been under a constant barrage of misinformation, criticisms, false and withholding of information, the new group managed to get rid of the Park Board that did all of the work, their newsletter as well, the new group also announced that all Board meetings would be open to all residents, yet when one goes to a meeting they say it is closed, they will not allow a person to record the meeting, there has not been an open Board meeting in about two months, the new group is involved in three lawsuits, the residents did not get to vote on them, and given the lawsuits it would seem that is a conflict of interest and they should resign from acting as the Resident's Board. Mr. Michael Narz, Trailer Park, thanked the Council for doing what they did to save the Park. Mr. Narz said since the new group took over they claim to represent him, which they do not, stated he has seen letters to the newspaper signed as 'residents of the Seal Beach Trailer Park' which he had never seen, he has learned of the lawsuits filed which he is supposed to be a party to yet they were never discussed with him, there was never a vote, the new Board talks only of people not communicating, he recalls only one meeting that was open, all others have been closed, they complain about not getting information yet he has seen no minutes from any of those closed meetings so the subjects of discussion are not known, as a Board they are supposed to represent him, they are in court cases against everyone that they ought to be talking to, his understanding of the law is that communication is now shut down between the parties, that makes no sense either. Mr. Narz said this Board is not representing him nor what he believes to be the majority of residents of the Park, with regard to investigations maybe that will cause the City to go back a few more years before where they want the City to investigate, it is felt it will be discovered why they_want the City to go back only to certain dates. Mr. Narz said he hears things like the Covenant being broken, he would agree that the original Covenant" did not cover all situations well enough and the Park let things slid by, that is possibly the reason that Richard Hall had an easy time getting rid of the Park in that the Park was in considerable violation, it is likely it will be found that the major violators are those who are now complaining, the City investigations may find that out. I I Mr. Glen Clark, Trailer Park, said he has listened to people making comments about the ,former Park Board and himself, it makes him somewhat unhappy, yet Councilman Yost did not deserve what happened to him recently, headlines in newspapers stating that Yost was violating his duties as a member of the Council, that is unbelievable, and now it is heard that the person who signed the complaint is going to recant and issue some type of apology, for Councilman Yost to be held up before not only this City but Long Beach and all over Orange County as someone who is using his office as a Council representative to make his home better than what it was, that is ridiculous, to apologize is also ridiculous in that the damage has been done. Mr. Clark expressed his disbelief that someone would come into the Park to have I 2-24-03 I someone sign such a document, but it did happen, in addition signed as 'residents', plural, of the Seal Beach Trailer Park, this individual, who sits as Vice President on the new Park Board, is apparently representing himself as the spokesperson for the residents of the Trailer Park. Mr. Clark said his intent had been to rebut some of the comments and statements made yet there are so many he could not do so within the five minute time allotment, there is so much misinformation, so much maligning of the names of people, their reputations. Mr. Clark recalled someone calling the Trailer Park situation a boondoggle, if it was and if there are some people who do not quite measure up to the standards of Mr. McMorrow who implied it was something like the poor against the rich, if the people do not quite measure up to those standards then it was a pretty good boondoggle because the people still have their homes, the people are going to continue to have their homes, and he believes that the Council would agree that this was the best answer to save the Trailer Park. Mr. Clark again apologized to Councilman Yost on behalf of residents of the Park. Ms. Rita Brenner, Trailer Park, offered that what has happened to Councilman Yost was a complete error, claimed that no one.in the Trailer Park wrote the complaint, it was written and congealed with someone outside the Park, it is rumored it was the former member of the Council who planted the seed with Ms. Corbin, she was approached by Ms. Corbin but did not come into the Park rather spoke to Mr. Jeffers and said a petition would be circulated, that is the reason the reference to the Park residents was plural, Ms. Corbin placed the petition/ complaint in her mail box, then called, to that Ms. Brenner said she was to then seek signatures of Park residents and yet declined to do so. Ms. Brenner stated that Councilman Yost is a good person and only wants the best for all of the residents. She mentioned also that she likes having Police officers at the meetings, especially when meetings are over and people are being harassed, if something happens again she will make certain there is an arrest. Ms. Sue Corbin, Seal Beach, denied that the comments of Ms. Brenner were true, said it never happened, rather, it was Ms. Brenner who spoke the words that 'he is going to pay'. Ms. Corbin said she can see why Mr. McMorrow would not want to live in the Trailer Park where no one is getting along. Ms. Corbin claimed that giving Linc $8 million solved the problems of no one, offered that the 1090 violation that the former Councilman pled to makes the contract null and void, the State gets the profit, the City does not need to be a party to this, all that needs to be done is to go to court and explain that someone pled guilty to a felony therefore the contract is null and void, anyone can approach the court, Councilman Yost does not need to be begged to do the right thing, he has had three or four years to do the right thing for the Park residents, he helped them yet they are complaining, the former Councilman and Councilman Yost should have been referred to the FPPC. Mr. Mike Berry, Trailer Park, offered that the power point presentation was a nice touch however there is something that does not work out, it is uncertain if it is the dates or the amounts, the Park was not sold for $8 million, it is believed it was $7.1 million, if there had been an agreed to price on the date mentioned it would have followed the process throughout, that was not the case, something is wrong. Mr. Berry said his initial intent was to speak regarding the complaint recently filed with the Orange County District Attorney against Councilman Yost, it is now known the complaint was signed by one resident, Mr. Jeffers, this is the same person that claims to be the new Vice President of I I 2-24-03 the Seal Beach Trailer Park Resident Owners Association, the premise for this complaint is that the property value of Councilman Yost increased substantially as a result of votes cast on Trailer Park issues at either City Council or Redevelopment Agency meetings. Mr. Berry said he understands that Mr. Jeffers is going to apologize for this action yet in the February 20th. issue of the local newspaper Jeffers indicated that he did not write the complaint however he agreed with everything in it and was standing by it, to him that does not sound like an apology, Jeffers also said that he did not have a problem with Yost, that as far as he was concerned he has been a good Council representative. Mr. Berry asked if this is the way to thank the members of the Council who have helped the Park residents, it is not, this action is despicable and outrageous. Mr. Berry asked why just one signature, not even the author of this document signed it, why, logically speaking the preposterous idea that the home of Councilman Yost grew in value substantially because it was next to a Trailer Park, that is ridiculous. He suggested that thought be given to better ideas, for instance there has been considerable talk about the tennis facility so the next time that there is discussion of what to do with the Trailer Park property why not move the tennis courts there, solve more than one issue at a time, there is no logic between leaving this property as a Trailer Park and the claim that the Yost property value increased, and only one person signed the complaint. Mr. Berry apologized on behalf of being part of the Trailer Park that this happened to Councilman Yost by someone within this Trailer Park. Mr. Berry mentioned that at the last meeting a young lady claimed that it was very hard to buy or sell in the Trailer Park, she was right, it is a low to moderate income project, there were Covenants for many years and one needed to fit a narrow profile to be approved to live in the Park, with the new arrangement under the 5013C it may be even more difficult to get into the Park, that same speaker then turned to prior speakers and told them that everything they had said was wrong, yet what speakers had previous said was that eleven people had bought and sold since Linc has taken over ownership, there are two currently in escrow, that is not bad, there was only one when Richard Hall owned the Park. There being no further comments, Mayor Larson declared Public Comments to be closed. I I Councilman Yost said inasmuch as he has made headlines in the newspapers he would request to make a brief statement. Councilman Yost stated that he is saddened to have his name in the headlines in this manner, it does bother him, to that he offered to make a deal with all sides of the Park issue, he will do his best to help resolve the issues starting the following morning provided that all parties agree to stop the rhetoric against each other and try to get along because as bad as each person feels they have been treated by one another he has been treated worse, what is sad is to see the amount of fighting and aggressiveness this has caused amongst people. I CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEMS "B" thru "H" Doane moved, second by Campbell, to approve the recommended action for items on the Consent Calendar as presented. Councilman Antos noted that the City Clerk had provided corrections to the Resolution and Ordinance numbering. B. Approved the waiver of reading in full of all ordinances and resolutions and that I C. D. 2-24-03 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. Approved the minutes of the regular meeting of February 10, 2003. Approved regular demands numbered 40854 through 40999 in the amount of $899,603.02, ADP payroll demands numbered 2106526 through 2106644 in the amount of $151,161.33, and authorized warrants to be drawn on the Treasury for same. E. Received and filed the Monthly Investment Report for January, 2003. F. Adopted Resolution Number 5107 entitled "A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEAL BEACH ADOPTING THE PERSONNEL RULES FOR THE CITY OF SEAL BEACH." By unanimous consent, full reading of Resolution Number 5107 was waived. G. I H. AYES: NOES: Adopted Resolution Number 5108 entitled "RESOLUTION OF INTENTION TO APPROVE AN AMENDMENT TO CONTRACT BETWEEN THE BOARD OF ADMINISTRATION, CALIFORNIA PUBLIC EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM AND THE CITY COUNCIL, CITY OF SEAL BEACH." By unanimous consent, full reading of Resolution Number 5108 was waived. Adopted Resolution Number 5109 entitled "A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEAL BEACH APPROVING THE APPLICATION FOR GRANT FUNDS FOR THE CALIFORNIA CLEAN WATER, CLEAN AIR, SAFE NEIGHBORHOODS, AND COASTAL PROTECTION BOND ACT OF 2002." By unanimous consent, full reading of Resolution Number 5109 was waived. Antos, Campbell, Doane, Larson, Yost None Motion carried PUBLIC HEARING / RESOLUTION NUMBER 5110 / ORDINANCE NUMBER 1494 - COMMUNITY FACILITIES DISTRICT - LANDSCAPE MAINTENANCE - SEAL BEACH BOULEVARD/LAMPSON AVENUE Mayor Larson declared the public hearing open to ,consider Seal Beach Community Facilities District No. 2002-02, Seal Beach Boulevard/Lampson Avenue Landscape Maintenance. The City Clerk certified that the notice of public hearing was advertised and mailed to affected landowners as required by law, reported there are no registered voters within the District boundaries, and that no communications had been received either for or against this item. The Deputy City Engineer presented the staff report, explained that as part of the Bixby development Bixby was to establish a Community Facilities District for the maintenance of landscaping on Seal Beach Boulevard and Lampson Avenue adjacent to the Bixby development property, before the Council is the Special District Report and a request of approval of a special election to consider the Facilities District, and noted that the consultant that prepared the Report was present to I 2-24-03 respond to any technical questions. There being no public comments, Mayor Larson declared the public hearing closed. It was confirmed to Councilman Yost that the Community Facilities District will affect only the Bixby development and will not impact the property taxes of any resident of College Park East. Councilmember Campbell said she had noticed on the boundary map that the District extends all the way to the curve, and asked if the District includes the medians from that point westward. The Deputy Engineer responded that the District goes to about sixteen hundred feet east of Seal Beach Boulevard, to approximately where the new Sunrise facility will be built, it covers areas A, B, and C shown on the boundary map. I Yost moved, second by Antos, to adopt Resolution Number 5110 entitled "A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEAL BEACH, CALIFORNIA, ESTABLISHING CITY OF SEAL BEACH COMMUNITY FACILITIES DISTRICT NO. 2002-02 (SEAL BEACH BOULEVARD/LAMPSON AVENUE LANDSCAPE MAINTENANCE), AUTHORIZING THE LEVY OF A SPECIAL TAX WITHIN SUCH DISTRICT AND TAKING CERTAIN ACTIONS RELATING THERETO" and adopted Ordinance Number 1494 entitled "AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEAL BEACH, CALIFORNIA, ACTING IN ITS CAPACITY AS THE LEGISLATIVE BODY OF CITY OF SEAL BEACH COMMUNITY FACILITIES DISTRICT NO. 2002-02 (SEAL BEACH BOULEVARD/LAMPSON AVENUE LANDSCAPTE MAINTENANCE), CALLING A SPECIAL ELECTION FOR MAY 27, 2003." By unanimous consent, full reading of Ordinance Number 1494 was waived. AYES: NOES: Antos, Campbell, Doane, Larson, Yost None Motion carried I CITY ATTORNEY REPORT No report was presented. CITY MANAGER REPORT The City Manager'displayed a spread sheet of revenues and expenditures and made specific reference to property tax revenues which in fiscal year 1990/1991 was $3.1 million and in fiscal 2000/2001 $3.1 million was collected, thus the City has received the same level of property tax for the past twelve years. The Manager offered that should the public wish to receive a copy of the report it will be available from the City Manager's office or the Finance Department. A member of the Council requested that it be placed on the City website. COUNCIL COMMENTS Councilmember Campbell asked the City Attorney if the firm of Richards, Watson and Gershon wrote the Trailer Park Covenants. The response of the City Attorney was that they did not, the Agency had a special legal counsel, Mr. Thomas Parrington, who drafted the Covenants and all of the documents relating to the Trailer Park at that time, believed to be in the late 1970's. Councilman Doane thanked all who called or sent cards during his recent illness, he did however watch the meetings on cable, for the first time he feels that there can be a meeting of the minds, he was pleased to see both sides of the Trailer Park issue come to the support of Councilman Yost who has been maligned, commended all who did so, he is encouraged that there is hope that one day all of the residents, not the outsiders who have become involved, can sit down with Linc Housing, the Council, I 2-24-03 / 3-10-03 and the attorney and get the issues settled. Mayor Larson announced that Boeing is sponsoring a community meeting in Leisure World to discuss their proposed land use plan for their site adjacent to Seal Beach Boulevard on Monday, March 3rd in Clubhouse 3 at 2:00 p.m. I ADJOURNMENT By unanimous consent, the meeting was adjourned until Monday, March 10th at 6:30 p.m. to meet in Closed Session if necessary. It was the order of the Chair, with consent of the Council, to adjourn the meeting at 9:04 p.m. clerk Attest: ~*~ k~,." S;d'~~ j& Approved: I Seal Beach, California March 10, 2003 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 CLOSED SESSION The City Attorney announced that the Council would meet in Closed Session to confer with legal counsel relating to the item identified on the agenda, Wiles versus City, pursuant to Government Code Section 54956.9(a). The Council adjourned to Closed Session at 6:32 p.m. and reconvened at 7:11 with Mayor Larson calling the meeting to order. The City Attorney reported that the Council had discussed the item identified on the agenda, gave direction to the City Attorney, no other action was taken. ADJOURNMENT By unanimous consent, the meeting was adjourned at 7:13 p.m.