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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Min 2003-03-24 3-10-03 I 3-24-03 Ci of clerk I Approved: ~ lbJ6/.1) h~ ~o:~( a City Clerk / Attest: Seal Beach, California March 24, 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 Campbell, Doane, Yost Absent: Councilmember Antos I Councilman Antos joined the Council in Closed Session at 6:35 p.m. Also present: Mr. Bahorski, City Manager Mr. Barrow, City Attorney Ms. Yeo, City Clerk CLOSED SESSION The City Attorney announced that the Council would meet in Closed Session to discuss Item A (a), Peddicord versus Linc Housing, pursuant to Government Code Section 54956.9(a), that Item A-2 (b), Wiles versus City of Seal Beach, and Item B, a conference with legal counsel relating to anticipated litigation, would not be discussed and held over to a future meeting. The Council adjourned to Closed Session at 6:31 p.m. and reconvened at 7:10 p.m. with Mayor Larson calling the meeting to order. The City Attorney reported that the Council had discussed Item A (a), gave direction, no other reportable action was taken. I ADJOURNMENT It was the order of the Chair, to adjourn the meeting at 7:11 with consent of the Council, .m. Approved: ~Ml.<U0t'\ ayor 3-24-03 Attest: c}Q",';ChC f2 City Clerk / Seal Beach, California March 24, 2003 I The City Council of the City of Seal Beach met session at 7:11 p.m. with Mayor Larson calling order with the Salute to the Flag. in regular the meeting to ROLL CALL Present: Mayor Larson Councilmembers Antos, Campbell, Doane, Yost Absent: None Also present: Mr. Bahprski, City Manager Mr. Barrow, City Attorney Mr. Whittenberg, Director of Development Services Mr. Dancs, Director of Public Works/City Engineer Captain Schaefer, Police Department Chief Cushman, Lifeguard Department Ms. Arends-King, Director of Administrative Services Lt. Pounds, Lifeguard Department Mr. Vukojevic, Deputy City Engineer Mr. Cummins, Associate Planner Ms. Yeo, City Clerk I APPROVAL OF AGENDA Councilmember Campbell requested Item "0" be removed from the Consent Calendar to pose a question, a member of the audience requested Item "0" removed as well, and Councilman Antos requested Items "J" and "0" removed. Yost moved, second by Campbell, to approve the agenda as revised. AYES: NOES: Antos, Campbell, Doane, Larson, Yost None Motion carried ANNOUNCEMENTS There were no announcements. PRESENTATIONS PROCLAMATIONS NATIONAL PUBLIC SAFETY DISPATCHER WEEK Captain Schaefer noted that this Proclamation declares the week of April 13th through the 19th as "National Public Safety Dispatcher Week". The Captain explained the term 'dispatcher' is not commonly known as to what it denotes, to that he explained that about fifty years ago an idea was put forth to establish a universal system whereby persons could summon emergency assistance from the police, that developed into the 911 system which became available in about the mid 1990's, in northwest Orange County that evolved into a regional communication center in which the Council was I 3-24-03 I involved in supporting and allows the sharing of police communication costs with Cypress and Los Alamitos Departments, this Comm Center handles over one hundred thousand calls in a year, fifteen thousand of those are emergency 911 calls handled by dispatchers that work three hundred sixty-five days a year, twenty-four hours a day. Captain Schaefer introduced Kristin Berry, Supervisor, having seven years experience, Kathy Mohen, nine years experience, Lisa Scott, fifteen years experience, and Lindsay Linart who recently started her first year, collectively that is thirty- seven years of law enforcement experience in handling emergency calls. The Captain read excerpts from the Proclamation. Councilman Doane said it is his honor and privilege to serve on the West Comm Joint Powers Authority Board as the Seal Beach representative along with representatives from the two other cities, and in his five years of service in that capacity he has never heard a complaint about the dispatch services, such approval rating by the community speaks well for what the dispatchers do. It was mentioned also that even though the dispatchers are not seen they are appreciated, they are sensitive people in handling their tasks. COMMUNITY SERVICE PROGRAMS Mayor Larson proclaimed April 11th, 2003 as the Service Programs" 30th Anniversary Celebration. second by Antos, to approve the Proclamation. "Community Doane moved, AYES: NOES: Antos, Campbell, Doane, Larson, Yost None Motion carried I FAIR HOUSING MONTH Mayor Larson proclaimed April, 2003 as "Fair Housing Month." Antos moved, second by Campbell, to approve said Proclamation. AYES: NOES: Antos, Campbell, Doane, Larson, Yost None Motion carried I PUBLIC COMMENTS Mayor Larson declared the Public Comment period to be open. Ms. Penny Peddicord, Trailer park, presented her understanding of what took place leading to the Trailer Park sale and posed a number of questions. Ms. Peddicord claimed that the Park Homeowners Association at the time collected thousands of dollars to fight Richard Hall, the goal was to buy the Park, not for someone ,else to own the Park. She noted that in January, 2000 the Council voted against a thirty-seven percent rent increase under the Covenants, shortly thereafter there was no longer a Covenant, why was the Covenant not good after the sale, in May, 2000 a letter of intent to sell was signed by Richard Hall for a purchase agreement price of $8,000,000, then in July the Council passed Ordinance 1463, Mobilehome Park Conversion, guidelines for compensation, relocation, etc. to be followed if the owner of the land were to remove the residents, asked again why Ordinance 1463 was passed after the purchase agreement was signed, why was it needed if Hall was selling the land, was it passed to protect the residents or to protect the City because it was known that Linc Housing was going to own the land, yet Ordinance 1463 gives Linc the power to relocate the residents up to fifty miles away. Ms. Peddicord said in the past three years the residents have received no written reports on the Park sale except for rent increases, the first two increases cost the residents $235,500, this time next 3-24-03 year it will be $708,000 in just rent increases. She asked too what was the total cost of the bonds, when will they be paid off, how deep in debt are the residents yet not owning the land, what is there to protect the residents from Linc obtaining a loan on the land that the residents will have to payoff after the bonds are paid, how can the Park be protected from more debt. She also asked what the Linc Board does, are they putting the Park in deeper debt, what is the profit, how many people are on the Trailer Park payroll, how many at the Park and how many at Linc Housing, what is the monetary amount of the payroll, the residents and taxpayers have a right to have these answers. Ms. Peddicord stated it is well known that the agreement for low to moderate housing between Mr. Dawson and the City was not audited, no one was accountable, the City has to be accountable to all residents and taxpayers relating to the nonprofit corporation, the people have the right to know where the money is going, is there a plan to keep the residents from having control of the Park and owning the land, her feeling is that there should be a formal investigation. She offered that the residents are not protected under Linc Housing, they have the deed that the residents are paying for, they control the money, control the housing assistance program, control the Board, they have the land and get the profit, in this case the nonprofit takes from the needy, gets the land, keeps the profit and gets a tax break as well, the residents have the right to control and own what they are paying for, live their lives knowing that their homes are safe, live in peace with security for the future, if this is not corrected the residents will lose the land again in a few years having paid good money only to lose it. Ms. Peddicord asked how many people are on assistance for the years 1999 through 2003, how much will it grow.in upcoming years. Mr. Jim Caviola, Seal Beach, stated he is tired of the Redevelopment Agency, yet the Agency continues to divert property taxes to one neighborhood, in his case his taxes go to the County, pays for schools and police, yet Bridgeport and other neighborhoods are not. Through a visual presentation, Mr. Caviola claimed that the total cost of the Trailer Park was $10.9 million for a Park that was purchased from Mr. Dawson for $3 million, when all of the fees are added it will be seen that the City funded or caused to be funded $11 million for a Trailer Park that cost $2 million in 1977. He quoted the enabling language that created the Agency "the City of Seal Beach Redevelopment Agency operates as a separate legal entity, the Agency maintains four separate accounts, the tax increment fund accounts for the collection of property tax revenues and rental income from property within the Redevelopment Project Area, the revenues are for the fund and the debt service...", the purpose is stated to be "to assist, support private developers, other assistance for private developers...", there are performance indicators, the properties in the Agency are Oakwood Apartments, the Trailer Park with a statement that the purpose is the blighted condition, the project description is rehabilitation and conversion to tenant ownership, that was the mandate but that was not done, Bridgeport is cited for current blighted conditions, they are now $800,000 homes, there are no such conditions therefore there is no need for the increment money to be going to the Agency any more, nor should his tax dollars continue to subsidize the government services of those residents. The Hellman Ranch, seventy homes are going to go into the Agency, million dollar homes, as to the budget, yes the Agency was good, but that was in the past, some twenty-three years ago, legal fees are $111,000, Surfside, why is that shown, those I I I 3-24-03 I are $4 million homes. The Riverfront Project Area, City staff is paid with bond money, that is borrowed money, debt service is shown as $9.2 million, borrowed, the cost of issuance of the bonds is $344,000, Riverfront tax increment fund shows strange numbers, under legal fees it says that the affordable housing setaside may be used to pay these services relating to providing, maintaining, and preserving affordable housing, the Agency is now paying a $640,000 fine for not putting the money into low income housing because those monies were not in setaside, yet legal expenses are paid out of setaside, does that lower the obligation, long term debt allocations are shown as $8.5 million, promissory note is $1.9 million, loan to the City. Mr. Caviola showed a diagram of redevelopment project areas of the City, noted that none of those property taxes go to the General Fund, none go to the County for the schools, but his taxes do, that is wrong, there are expensive homes, there are no legally blighted areas in this town, the Redevelopment Agency should be closed down, eliminate the Trailer Park stuff, give the Park away, give it or sell it to the Park residents, the Agency is costing the City money. I Ms. Rita Brenner, Trailer Park, stated that there are seventy-six residents plus the Board of Directors that have signatures ready to go for the MPROP loan as soon as the MPROP is written the way it was promised. A video was shown of excerpts from previous City Council meetings at which certain statements were made by members of the Council relating to the Trailer Park sale, control of the Park, ownership, etc. A statement was made by Mr. Goudge, current Board President, that all they are trying to do is make those statements become a reality and put it in writing today. Mr. Joe Levi, Trailer Park resident, monitored the second part of the video which contained further comments by the Council, the President of Linc Housing, Mr. Johnson, noted that Linc was not the lenders rather the borrowers, Mr. Goudge then said it was at a meeting in September of 2002 that the major decision was made to fund the Park purchase, thereafter Hunter Johnson was about to receive the title to the Park, and he should have explained at that time that the comments were mistaken with regard to the Park purchase relating to resident ownership and control, also, the way the cooperation agreement is presently written the Park will not revert to the residents when the bonds are paid unless it is amended now and secure the residents interest as was promised. Ms. Elizabeth Levi, Trailer Park, said it is a shame that the poor in the Park are being told untruths, they feel that if they fight for what is rightfully theirs, ownership of their homes, they will lose their subsidies, people are telling them this because they have been paid off, some pay only $50 a month rent and do not want change because they do not want to pay the eventual $1100 per month rent that others are going to be paying, some own two homes, some were given free homes, everyone seems to be making a profit from the poor and low income housing, it is only the Council that can help. Ms. Levi monitored the third portion of the video. Mr. Goudge again said what they are trying to do is get the best deal for the residents pursuant to what they were told by the City and the previous Board, they are not trying to subdivide the Park, not trying to own the Park, what they are asking is that all parties agree that the residents will in deed control the Board which owns the Park once the bonds are paid, this can be done without jeopardizing the bonds or the nonprofit status, and the residents will not lose their subsidies. As to what needs to be fixed, Mr. Goudge said it I 3-24-03 is the Cooperation Agreement, the Agreement was not received by the Park until months after the Park was sold, why could it not have been seen before, the Agreement says that Linc will transfer the Park to the nonprofit SBAHC, the Directors of this organization are the ones that control the Park, Linc has three seats, the Park has two, and these five are to select two community leaders from the City or surrounding communities, it is said that after the bonds are paid and other financing and by request of a majority of the residents, Linc will drop its three seats, then the remaining four will elect three new members, which leaves room for a potential deadlock in the selection of replacement Directors, this translates into uncertainty on the Board as to the future to of the Park, there is a possibility that in the end the residents could end up with only two seats, these two persons could vote to turn the Park into a hotel, they are not required to secure any vote from the one hundred twenty- five residents, these two persons could sell the Park out, all of the residents are represented by these two members for the next thirty-four years and not required to receive input on any decision they make, all seats need to be committed to the residents at the end of the thirty-four years, it is also necessary that the by-laws require the representatives to acquire two-thirds resident approval by a mail-in ballot when making decisions on major issues to assure that the land use does not change. Mr. Jerry Eves, Driftwood Avenue, requested the playing of the remainder of the tape during which Mr. Goudge noted that in recent meetings both Councilman Yost and Gerald Gibbs agreed that the Cooperation Agreement should be amended, and in a meeting last year Hunter Johnson made a verbal commitment to everyone that he would write an agreement to clarify eventual resident control, therefore resolution is not that far off. I I Mr. Edward Ferraro, Bridgeport, made reference to a flier he found on his doorstep over the weekend, there was no name identification on the paper, he contacted the California Redevelopment Association, noted that the flier was loaded with errors, and requested that if redevelopment is proposed to be agendized for some future discussion he would request clarification as to what the word 'blighted' means, it is not a dictionary term, rather a legal term as he understands it, the. second thing that is confusing is that the flier says his property taxes go to the Trailer Park, that is not true, according to the law it is the increment and not the basic property tax, he would appreciate some ground rules as to what the terms mean. Ms. Elizabeth Kane, Seal Beach, reminded that there are eleven days remaining to register for the 29th Annual Seal Beach 10K and 5K Run/Walk event, the committee has worked hard over the past twelve months to make this an event that will bring pride and visibility to Seal Beach. Ms. Kane explained again that a kids 5K Fun Run is being offered commencing at 7:45 a.m., a 5K walk, a 5K and 10K run commencing at 8:00 a.m. from First Street and Marina Drive, registration is available on the website, at City Hall, the libraries, a number of merchants, they will be taken Friday evening at the Community Center where the race package can also be picked up, finish line activities will be in the location of the pier. She mentioned that the Marina Community Center has benefited from race proceeds in recent years in the way of upgrades to that facility. Ms. Kane encouraged those who do not wish to participate in the walk or run to line the race route to encourage those who do participate. She invited a young runner present in the audience from.'down under' to address the children of Seal I 3-24-03 Beach. Max Paine said he just wanted to promote the race for the kids to run, and especially the schools. Councilmember Campbell suggested that residents not running or walking can come to volunteer their services. I Mr. Glen Clark, Trailer Park, took exception to a prior comment that there were persons in the Trailer Park that were getting a free ride because they had been on the Park Board or whatever, to that he said there is .no one in the Trailer Park that gets a free ride, that he has personally donated thousands of hours to try to get the best deal he could for the people in the Trailer Park, has contributed thousands of dollars from his own pocket over and above anything else that was spent to get things done, for someone to say that he was getting a free ride, or alleging collusion, that bothers him considerably. Mr. Clark stated that there is no one in the Park where Linc owns their homes, a statement was made at the last meeting that there were six such homes that Linc had acquired, he confirmed that Linc does own the land on which the Trailer Park sits, true also that there are six long term leases that are recorded with the County Assessor's office, and each of those six homes get two separate and completely different tax bills, one is because their leases are for over thirty-five years and they are honest enough to have their leases recorded, there are other residents of the Park that do not have their leases recorded, one of the tax bills is for the space on which the trailer sits, the other bill is because they have a lease longer than thirty-five years which was given by Mr. Dawson. Mr. Clark reiterated that Linc does not own one home in the Park, however they do own 313 Welcome Lane, that is the office, the recreation center, as well as a parking lot. He mentioned too that there are persons present who were part of the group of six, people have been pointing to them as getting a free ride from Linc, again, . that is not true, they pay their rent just as does everyone else, yet there are some that receive a rent subsidy, thanks to the Redevelopment Agency. Ms. patricia Clark, Trailer Park, recalled that at the last meeting she had mentioned that a group in the Park was holding the repayment of the $1 million MPROP Bridge Loan to the Agency hostage in order to have their demands met, it is now in writing as to what their demands are, it has nothing to do with the repayment of the Bridge Loan. Ms. Clark noted that last week a resident was observed asking Park residents to sign a letter to the MPROP Program Administrator in Sacramento that states in part that they 'support the use of MPROP funds to pay back the interim loan provided by the Redevelopment Agency of the City of Seal Beach', yet a group distributed a flier a short time later on the same day, the revised flier was distributed on Saturday, both say 'do not sign the MPROP form', that they will sign the MPROP form after there is a written contract more closely stating what was promised, that she said was extortion, the flier also said that by signing the form at this time would weaken the chance for eventual resident control of the Park, to that Ms. Clark said it does not, the Bridge Loan is between MPROP, the Redevelopment Agency, and Park residents, the Cooperation Agreement which they want revised is between Linc and the Homeowners Association, this is talking about two different things. Ms. Clark said there are three points that this group does not seem to know, first, the loan from the Redevelopment Agency will be paid back over a period of time, they will not stop the Bridge Loan from being repaid, they will only stop when it is paid, the residents will either pay it back to the State of California H/CD MPROP program or to the City of Seal Beach Redevelopment Agency, I I 3-24-03 secondly, both fliers state that MPROP stands for Mobilehome Park Resident Ownership Program, that is right, they do not seem to know that there was a change in the law that became effective January of 2000, signed by the Governor in 1999, that allowed the Public Benefit 501C3 nonprofit, such as Linc, to purchase a troubled trailer park on behalf of the residents using an MPROP loan of up to $1 million towards the purchase. The purchase of the Seal Beach Park under that criteria was the first of its kind in California purchased by a Public Benefit 501C3 nonprofit with the backing of the bonds by the City of Seal Beach, a $1 million MPROP loan and tax free low interest bonds, the benefit to the Park residents were no down payment, zero real property taxes for the land under the trailers for low income. residents, and purchase with low interest bonds, the savings on real property taxes and low interest bonds over a thirty to thirty-five year period could be millions of dollars and should help keep the rents low for years. Ms. Clark reiterated that the Seal Beach Affordable Housing Corporation is waiting for IRS approval, once that is received the title will be turned over from Linc to SBAHC per the Cooperation Agreement, SBAHC will be a stand alone 501C3 nonprofit with the Park as its only asset, and, last October the Agency offered four programs to help low to moderate income Seal Beach residents to repair their homes or buy their first home, many of the Park residents responded to the offer, those that applied first will likely be funded, her understanding is that there is now a waiting list as there are no more funds available for this year, yet if the majority of the Park residents sign the MPROP letter the State will repay the $1 million Bridge Loan to the Agency then there will be more Agency funding to help the residents upgrade their homes, there are a lot of residents of the Park that want to do the right thing and are working hard to get the signatures to pay the Bridge Loan back, once the residents understand that they would be paying back that loan one way or another they will sign the approval letter immediately as it is for the good of everyone. It is hoped that they now understand that the Bridge Loan has nothing to do with revising the Cooperation Agreement. I I Ms. Karen Tarascio, Welcome Lane, stated that there is a clubhouse at the Trailer Park and she feels that a lot of the dialogs could probably be best held at the Park between the homeowners and the competing factions, start talking to each other rather than in this setting where the citizens are not desirous of hearing the dissatisfactions. Ms. Tarascio said she wished to speak to the rental subsidy program, it is understood that as part of the purchase agreement of the Park a rental subsidy program was created to assure that no low income homeowners in the Park would be forced to move because of the higher rents, per this agreement Linc Housing receives $180,000 per year from the Redevelopment Agency setaside funds to subsidize rents. She mentioned having made copies of the application forms for the Council, her concern is that the forms that Linc is distributing to the homeowners to apply for the subsidy requires that the homeowners reveal their financial information, the account numbers, etc., and it has come to her attention that the Orange County Department of Housing only requires tax information to be submitted in order to qualify for Section 8 housing, possibly the Mayor or Council could inquire of the City Attorney as to who is the overseeing body for the rental subsidy program, who created it, and who monitors or audits it, she was told that apparently the Agency provides the money to the bond I I I I 3-10-03 company, Linc Housing in turn submits requests to the bond company for the funds that go to the rental subsidy, in between all of that where is a governmental agency that monitors or audits the program, also, why are the residents being asked to reveal financial information that people making application for federal or Section 8 funding would not be required to reveal. Ms. Tarascio expressed her opinion that that is a dangerous situation, an invasion of privacy, and there is no control over who might have access to that information, having particular concern are those who are senior citizens, the application form also requires one to sign a statement that it is understood that it would be a criminal offense to make a false statement, the application forms also have no address or phone information, no contact information whatsoever, it merely'says the Seal Beach Affordable Housing Program. Councilman Yost asked that the questions be added to the list of responses to questions. The City Manager suggested that Ms. Tarascio contact the office of the City Clerk for a copy of the Regulatory Agreement that explains the majority of the questions. Mr. Paul Jeffers, Trailer Park, conveyed that he did receive a letter from the District Attorney on his request to investigate some possible misdoings in the City, the letter indicated that they would be closing the file for insufficient evidence to prove a violation of the law. Mr. Jeffers stated at the last meeting the former vice President of the Park Association said there is nothing in the Trailer Park by-laws, which he wrote, that states anything about purchasing the park, however his reading of Section 2.02 states that 'the specific and secondary purpose for which this Corporation is formed is to arrange for the acquisition of the Seal Beach Trailer Park, a mobilehome park, through purchase...', Mr. Jeffers said the by-laws were formed to purchase the park, that was the authority that the Association had, to purchase the Park. Mr. Jeffers made reference to a letter from Linc Housing to the City Manager in February, 2000, proposing to form a separate 501C3 nonprofit corporation that would be the owner of the park, the corporation would have seven directors, three selected by Linc, three selected by the homeowners, and those six members would select a member from the community, to that he said that is not what is set forth in the Cooperation Agreement, stated again in the MPROP loan documents which they are trying to file again because they did not do it right the first time, the date of the first application to MPROP was August 30, 2000, the form required a description of what arrangements would be made to provide residents and participants control, the response was that the residents would elect three of the seven members of the 501C3 Corporation that will be formed to take title of the Park, the applicant will appoint three directors and the six members will appoint a seventh director. Mr. Jeffers said that was how this was sold to the residents of the park, but it did not happen, what is being asked is that the Council help resolve this issue, the application now being proposed is for two directors appointed by the park, he would hope that these people would be required to back up their facts and figures as have his group. Ms. Joyce Parque, Seal Beach, thanked and blessed all of the military families with family members serving in the war, America, and President Bush. Ms. Parque mentioned that they still have not received the invoices for the $200,000 paid to the attorney firm, that amount related only to the Trailer Park sale, if she does not get answers she knows where to go to seek more information. She acknowledged that there are six homes in the Park that 3-24-03 have long term leases, she has spoken with four of the six, they do have a tax bill, she knows that the four leases were bought from Mr. Dawson for $30,000, the City gave Dawson the Trailer park, completed the park, moved people out, then he was making profits in the Park, how was he allowed to do that, he got fifteen trailers from the taxpayers, and when in need of money he sold the long term leases. Ms. parque claimed that those having the long term leases have another forty-one years, all other residents have twenty-seven years and then Linc can remove them, who made this bad deal, this is on top of the fifteen lots that were given to Dawson. With reference to a previous speaker from the Bridgeport area, Ms. Parque said if he bought in 1969 when those houses were built and under proposition 13, guess what his taxes are, fifteen percent on the dollar of the $500 tax plus the Mello Roos, the long term Park leases pay Mello Roos taxes as well, yet Leisure World does not pay the Mello Roos, the remainder of the residents are paying $17 million for the schools. There being no further comments, Mayor Larson declared Public Comments to be closed. I It was the order of the Chair, with consent of the Council, to declare a recess at 8:15 p.m. The Council reconvened at 8:25 p.m. with Mayor Larson calling the meeting to order. APPOINTMENT - GENERAL PLAN/LOCAL COASTAL PLAN COMMITTEE Mayor Larson moved to appoint Mr. Louis Silberling to the General Plan/Local Coastal plan Committee to fill the District Two vacancy. Councilman Doane seconded the motion. AYES: NOES: Antos, Campbell, Doane, Larson, Yost None Motion carri~d I CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEMS "E" thru "P" Doane moved, second by Antos, to approve the recommended action for items on the Consent Calendar as presented, except for Items "J" and "0" removed for separate consideration. E. 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. F. Approved the minutes of the March 10, 2003 regular adjourned and regular meetings. G.. Approved regular demands numbered 41213 through 41260, 41266 through 41293 in the amount of $273,664.74, payroll ADP checks numbered 2599847 through 2599932 in the amount of $97,695.35, checks numbered 41261 through 41265 were damaged, 41294 was voided, and authorized warrants to be drawn on the Treasury for same. I H. Received and filed the Monthly Investment Report for February, 2003. 1. Adopted Resolution Number 5113 entitled "A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEAL BEACH, CALIFORNIA, AUTHORIZING A BUDGET AMENDMENT, NO. 03-22, FOR THE 3-24-03 PARTNERSHIP WITH RANCHO SANTIAGO COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT", (Lifeguard training). By unanimous consent, full reading of Resolution Number 5113 was waived. I Approved the License Agreement between the City of Seal Beach and the County of Orange to utilize the Orange County Sheriff's Department Katella Firing Range, and authorized the City Manager to execute said Agreement on behalf of the City. K. L. Bids were received until March 13, 2003 at 10:00 a.m. for Project Number 49665, the Construction of Seal Beach Boulevard and Westminster Avenue Intersection Widening, at which time they were publicly opened by the City Clerk as follows: I Sequel Contractors, Inc. EBS, Inc. Orion Construction, Inc. Alliance Streetworks, Inc. Beador Construction Co. Terra-Cal Construction Silvia Construction, Inc. Los Angeles Engineering, Inc. Sully-Miller Contracting, Inc. Nobest, inc. Shawnan Palp, Inc. - dba Excel Paving R. J. Noble Company $686,110.50 $686,251. 85 $698,983.90 $706,152.00 $723,700.00 $733,531.10 $756,693.33 $764,235.00 $776,543.50 $779,723.00 $787,000.00 $833,928.00 $863,884.19 Awarded the contract for Project Number 49665 to the lowest responsible bidder, Sequel Contractors, Inc. in the amount of $686,110.50 and authorized the City Manager to execute the agreement on behalf of the City. M. Approved the Agreement with the Southern California Water Company for a water interconnection for emergency water and fire flow located at Seal Beach Boulevard and Towne Center Drive. N. Adopted Resolution Number 5115 entitled "A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEAL BEACH FOR THE URBAN FORESTRY GRANT PROGRAM AS PROVIDED THROUGH PROPOSITION 12 FUNDING." By unanimous consent, full reading of Resolution Number 5115 was waived. I Approved the introduction and first reading of Ordinance Number 1495 entitled "AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEAL BEACH AUTHORIZING AN AMENDMENT TO THE CONTRACT BETWEEN THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEAL BEACH AND THE BOARD OF ADMINISTRATION OF THE CALIFORNIA PUBLIC EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM." By unanimous consent, full reading of Ordinance Number 1495 was waived. P. 3-24-03 AYES: NOES: Antos, Campbell, Doane, Larson, Yost None Motion carried ITEMS REMOVED FROM THE CONSENT CALENDAR ITEM "J" - RESOLUTION NUMBER 5114 - ANNUAL CAR SHOW - STREET CLOSURE Councilman Antos said his understanding is that everything has been worked out relative to the Car Show, the cars will be placed in the middle of the street and the merchants that had concern with this event are willing to accept that arrangement. The City Manager confirmed that the understanding is correct, this is a new approach and it will be seen as to how it works this year. I Antos moved, second by Doane, to adopt Resolution Number 5114 entitled "A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEAL BEACH APPROVING THE CLOSURE OF THE NORTH AND SOUTHBOUND TURN POCKETS LOCATED AT THE MAIN STREET/PACIFIC COAST HIGHWAY INTERSECTION." By unanimous consent, full reading of Resolution Number 5114 was waived. AYES: NOES: Antos, Campbell, Doane, Larson, Yost None Motion carried ITEM "0" - MAIN STREET PARKING METER / PREFERRED PARKING APPLICATION - RESOLUTION NUMBER 5116 - BUDGET AMENDMENT Councilmember Campbell said she believed that a traffic study had been done at the time the Main Street Specific Plan was adopted, the revelation at that time was that there was not a parking problem rather it was parking management, because parking was free on Main Street there were people who would not use the beach lots, at that time it was stated that if the City had a cost for parking on Main Street the beachgoers would no longer park on the Street but in the beach lots, therefore there would no longer be a parking utilization problem on Main Street. She asked if there were any aspects of that parking study that could be forwarded to the Coastal Commission or is it that it is more than a couple of years old therefore not sufficient. The City Manager noted Attachment A of the Coastal Commission letter where they acknowledge that there was a parking study component to the Main Street Specific Plan however stated that the study is at least six years old and may not reflect the current parking supply and demand, that also drew some other concerns with the study, that study was submitted however Coastal wants additional information that is up to date. Councilman Doane said this proposal is only to appease the Coastal Commission. Councilman Antos mentioned that the Ad Hoc Parking Committee looked at parking, parking meters, etc. and agreed that one of the parking management aspects besides the limiting of parking between 5th and 12th Streets was also to look at the possible eventual placing of parking under Eisenhower Park for the beach, that would be to cut Eisenhower Park back to Ocean Avenue, construct parking, then put the Park back on the top. Councilman Antos stated that if the Council votes to approve this item, in that he does not support parking meters he will vote no, however in order to satisfy the Coastal Commission he believes that the aspect of additional parking under Eisenhower park could be one of the things that should be put into any study long term. I I Doane moved, second by Campbell, to adopt Resolution Number 5116 entitled "A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEAL BEACH, CALIFORNIA, AUTHORIZING A BUDGET AMENDMENT, 3-24-03 NO. 03-24, FOR THE INCREASE IN CONSULTANT SERVICES FOR THE PARKING METER STUDY TO AUGMENT THE COASTAL COMMISSION APPLICATION FOR PARKING METERS ON MAIN STREET." By unanimous consent, full reading of Resolution Number 5116 was waived. I AYES: NOES: Campbell, Larson, Doane Antos, Yost Motion carried I SUNSET AOUATIC PARK - SEWER LINE LEAK - DECLARATION OF EMERGENCY - RESOLUTION NUMBER 5117 The Director of Public Work presented the staff report, explained that Sunset Aquatic Park is located in the southeast section of Seal Beach and is served by a sewer line that crosses the Bay, is pumped to Seal Beach Boulevard northerly and up the Boulevard, on March 12th a sewer leak was discovered within the thirty year old force main that crosses the Bay, the depth of the line is approximately twenty feet, upon discovery of the leak temporary holding tanks were set up, it is pumped out by truck at a cost of about $3,000 per week. The Director stated that staff proposes a solution to this problem by installing a new line in Edinger Avenue and execute an agreement with Huntington Beach to accept the sewage, this would be instead of dredging up the Bay to repair the line, a fast track implementation program has been developed and the fiscal impact will be $600,000 in the Sewer Enterprise Fund thus reorganizing the Capital Improvement Plan to maintain adequate reserves. The Director said staff believes that this project makes engineering, environmental, and financial sense, asked that the Council affirm this as an emergency, declare a public nuisance, and to adopt budget amendment of $600,000 to abate this nuisance. I Councilmember Campbell reported that a resident has suggested the de annexation of Sunset Aquatic Park thus giving it back to the County and they can make the $600,000 expenditure. The Public Works Director emphasized that at this point time is of the essence, it is a $3,000 per week expenditure and time is moving on, staff would like to do everything possible to reroute the sewage easterly, de annexation could be worked out at a later date if that were the desire of the Council, at this point the most important thing is to get the line out of the Bay easterly in Edinger and have Huntington Beach accept the sewage. Councilman Doane asked if they are in agreement with that proposal. The Director noted that staff has met with Huntington Beach operations and engineering staff, they were supportive of the idea, an agreement will need to be executed with Huntington Beach, there were some capacity concerns with their system, those have been accommodated in the concept report, however there will need to be some engineering restrictions but it seems likely that the sewage can go to their system. Councilman Doane said that so long as they are in agreement it appears that there is no other choice, in the future he felt that Aquatic Park should be looked at as to whether it generates revenue to the City, is it an advantage to own the Park or would the City be better off with out it, one has to go out of town to even access Aquatic Park. The Director explained that the City is the sewer service provider therefore it has to serve within the corporation boundaries, however it would be a Council decision as to whether the desire was to deannex the Park to Huntington Beach. Councilman Yost noted that Sunset Aquatic Park is part of his District as is the Naval Weapons Station and the National wildlife Refuge, he is pleased that the City is a steward of the Refuge and if the desire were to deannex 3-24-03 that particular section he would not want to deannex the National wildlife Refuge area thus maintain some degree of ownership and responsibility over it, other than that he has no major issue, he felt it very important to not send the sewage across the National wildlife Refuge, rather reroute it, obviously this must be done, he would not want to have another break within the largest wetland area in Southern California, he would have no problem with deannexing the Park area yet not the Refuge area. Councilman Antos said since this is a County facility and a regional Park, would it be possible to place portable restrooms in the area, tell the County Harbors, Beaches, and Parks that this is their facility and that the City would be willing to deannex the Aquatic Park or work with Huntington Beach, yet not support them in a manner in which they have become accustomed for a regional Park facility, let the County work it out, it is their regional Park, his feeling is that it is the responsibility of the County. Mayor Larson noted that in his conversations with Supervisor Silva he has indicated that the County does not relish taking over things that costs them money, if there is discussion of de annexation the first thing that would be said is provided the City would annex Rossmoor, his response to that is talk to Los Alamitos, however they do not want Rossmoor either, deannexation of Sunset Aquatic Park could be a good idea if the County would accept it. I Doane moved, second by Campbell, to adopt Resolution Number 5117 entitled "A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEAL BEACH, CALIFORNIA, DECLARING A NUISANCE, DEEMING CERTAIN WORK TO BE OF URGENT NECESSITY PURSUANT TO THE CITY CHARTER, AND AUTHORIZING A BUDGET AMENDMENT, NO. 03-23, FOR THE SUNSET MARINA PARK SEWER LINE REPAIR." By unanimous consent, full reading of Resolution Number 5117 was waived. I AYES: NOES: Campbell, Doane, Larson, Yost Antos Motion carried CITY ATTORNEY REPORT No report was presented. CITY MANAGER REPORT No report was presented. COUNCIL COMMENTS Councilmember Campbell mentioned that she is a representative to the Orange County Regional Airport Authority, this City does not financially contribute given the lack of funds, however Seal Beach is not the only city in that situation, the OCRAA has requested that each of the City Council's of the smaller cities be asked if they could contribute $500 per month for one year, $6,000 for the year, and asked that this matter be placed on a future Council agenda. Councilmember Campbell explained that what OCRAA is now doing, since El Toro was lost, is pursuing transportation systems to reach other airports, of concern is that the people in South County will be using the 405 Freeway to reach Los Angeles International, that has implications for this City in terms of volumes of traffic in future years; and she has a vested interest in not expanding or widening the 405 in Seal Beach. She noted a comment heard from a councilmember in another City with regard to the money that goes to Sacramento and money returned, for every dollar that the County sends to Sacramento the City gets back $.06 on the dollar, this is a donor County, for every dollar that San Francisco sends to Sacramento they get back $1.14, that is one of the reasons I 3-24-03 I for budget problems. with regard to Mello ROOSi Councilmember Campbell noted there was a Proposition K that was to provide additional funds to the School District, anyone over sixty-five years of age can apply for an exemption, and her recollection is that Leisure World is exempt because they do not contribute any students to the District system. Councilman Yost suggested to the groups making presentations to the Council that they put together some type of settlement of their concerns or option in that the issues are between Linc Housing and the Seal Beach Trailer Park Resident Owners Association, it does not involve the City directly yet the groups seem to want to portray the issues before the Council. Councilman Antos recalled that the City was to have developed a master event calendar of upcoming events, although not formally announced as yet he understands that there will be an Easter Parade in April, he has heard of this from the community not from the City, it might be well to develop the calendar so that everyone is aware. His understanding too is that there is a hiring freeze yet he was told that there is a new Police Department Aide, and asked if it is a non-paid position. The City Manager said he believed it is paid and part time, there is no freeze on part time employees, the City is also creating an eligibility list only for police officers, not that the position is going to be filled, yet with the three percent at fifty going in about June or July, the day will come when it is necessary to make some decisions, thus the eligibility list. With regard to the Police Department motorcycles, Councilman Antos said he assumed that they were through a lease rather than purchase, and competitively bid. It was noted that that item was on the prior agenda. Councilman Antos raised the issue of reinstituting a Water Committee to look into water issues, Councilman Yost has expressed an interest in that, his belief is that it is warranted, and asked that it be placed on a future agenda for discussion. I CLOSED SESSION No Closed Session was held. ADJOURNMENT It was the order of the Chair, with consent of the Council, to adjourn the meeting until Monday, April 14th at 6:30 p.m. By unanimous consent the meeting was adjourned at 8:47 p.m. clerk Approved: ~~ I Attest: