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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Min 2002-04-22 4-8-02 I 4-22-02 ADJOURNMENT It was the order of the Chair, with consent of the Council to adjourn the meeting until Monday, April 22nd at 6:30 p.m. to meet in Closed Session. By unanimous consent, the meeting was adjourned at 10:08 p.m. I ~'ch y lerk and ex-offic' he City of Seal Beach Approved: ~~ Attest: Seal Beach, California April 22, 2002 I The City Council of the City of Seal Beach met in regular adjourned session at 6:30 p.m. with Mayor ProTem Larson calling the meeting to order with the Salute to the Flag. ROLL CALL Present: Mayor ProTem Larson Councilmembers Boyd, Yost Absent: Mayor Doane, Councilmember Campbell Councilmember Campbell arrived at 6:32 p.m. Boyd moved, second by Larson, to excuse the absence of Mayor Doane from this meeting. AYES: NOES: ABSENT: Boyd, Larson, Yost None Campbell, Doane Motion carried 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, to confer with the City's labor negotiator pursuant to Government Code Section 54957.6 with regard to the Orange County Employees Association, and to confer with legal counsel regarding one case of anticipated litigation pursuant to Government Code Section 54956.9(b). By unanimous consent, the Council adjourned to Closed Session at 6:34 p.m. The Council reconvened at 6:44 p.m. with Mayor ProTem Larson calling the meeting to order. The City Attorney reported the Council had discussed the first item on the agenda relating 4-22-02 to labor negotiations, no reportable action was taken. ADJOURNMENT It was the order of the Chair, with consent of the Council, to adjourn the meeting at 6:45 p.m. 'ty, Clerk and he City of clerk Approved: " \" ,L\ I /?r1lh(1lA 9~proTem Attest: --={!WJ!Jr;, .# City Cler Seal Beach, California April 22, 2002 The City Council of the City of Seal Beach met in regular session at 7:05 p.m. with Mayor ProTem Larson calling the meeting to order with the Salute to the Flag. ROLL CALL Present: Mayor ProTem Larson Councilmembers Boyd, Campbell, Yost Absent: Mayor Doane Also present: Mr. Bahorski, City Manager Mr. Barrow, City Attorney Mr. Whittenberg, Director of Development Services Mr. Dancs, Director of Public Works/City Engineer Ms. Yeo, City Clerk Mayor ProTem Larson stated that the Council would accept the presentation of Supervisor Silva and Mr. Art Brown at this time, upon conclusion, this meeting would adjourn back to the Redevelopment Agency meeting. PRESENTATION - WEST ORANGE COUNTY PROJECT DEFINITION STUDY Supervisor Silva stated that in addition to being an Orange County Supervisor he is also a member of the Orange County Transportation Authority Board of Directors, was accompanied by Mr. Art Brown, a councilman from the City of Buena Park, also a member of the OCTA Board, and Mr. Dave Olbaum, an executive with OCTA. Supervisor Silva said this is a significant project for west Orange County cities and represents an important partnership with OCTA. The Supervisor noted that transportation is a main concern in the County, some present have had the opportunity to participate in the West orange County Cities Association, the Rail I I , I I I I I , I , , I 4-22-02 I Feasibility Study was completed over a year ago, the study resulted in a request to OCTA to perform a technical analysis of transit options for this part of the County, the objectives were to prepare for future needs, provide a system that people will use, and be realistic with the final recommendations, the study goals were to provide transit mobility in and around west Orange County, this includes better connections to Los Angeles, central Orange County, around all neighborhoods, the alternative shown with this presentation will effectively join a comprehensive fixed route bus system with MetroLink's highly effective commuter rail service, connection to the light rail project plan for central Orange County is also included. The Supervisor said there is no magic solution but what has been discovered so far is that one route does not fit all, it needs to be where the people want to be, and matching technologies of the corridors and communities are vital. He noted that there are many steps in the process, they will continue to involve this community along the way, much of. the input received to date has been through the policy committee with representation from Mayor Doane and Mayor ProTem Larson. I The Supervisor requested that Mr. Art Brown address technologies in the network alignment now under consideration. Mr. Brown said that technologies available for transit have evolved over the years, the systems of today are more quiet and efficient than ever before, light rail in Orange County will be electrically powered, a modern and popular system, the system under consideration for central Orange County is the centerline, most likely a combination of elevated and at-grade track depending upon the needs of the community and the traffic impacts in the area it serves. What is being looked at in west Orange County is bus rapid transit, BRT, it is the next generation of bus operations and is widely viewed as an interim step to light rail in the growing market, BRT uses a combination of dedicated travel lanes, fewer stops, signal operation elements to act as an express bus on roadways or dedicated right-of-ways. The first being looked at is bus rapid transit light, an abbreviated version of BRT as it tests the market in high capacity transit, BRT operates in mixed flow lanes just as does existing bus service yet BRT should be branded differently to eliminate public confusion such as in Los Angeles where they painted the buses a completely different color and designated the bus stops in a unique way, stops would be spaced further apart to eliminate constant stops and starts, signal prioritization is being evaluated but that is not signal preemption, unlike emergency vehicles which preempt the signal, bus prioritization only allows the bus to get a head start on other traffic, it provides flexibility to each city to activate and deactivate the special provision for transit vehicles depending on the city engineer's choice. Mr. Brown stated that there are a number of alternatives in the area for bus rapid transit light, the Katella corridor would use the 605 to connect with the green line while the westminster line would provide connection opportunities to the blue line in Long Beach, the Los Alamitos City Council recently asked that the BRT light line be extended on Katella through their city, that is being looked at to see how it could best be accommodated. Alternative B builds upon Alternative A with the addition of a dedicated BRT guideway on the Pacific Electric right-of-way that connects directly into the planned light rail system in central Orange County, is the area from the Santa Ana Transit Station, run up the current Pacific Electric right-of-way and connect with the I 4-22-02 green line to provide transportation from there into Los Angeles airport. Alternative C also builds on Alternative A but uses the Pacific Electric right-of-way for light rail and includes BRT guideway that parallels certain portions of Katella Avenue along the abandoned rail line, the light rail follows the Orange County eighty-seven mile master plan and serves the next phase of implementation. Mr. Brown reported that each of the Alternatives is now undergoing technical evaluation for cost, ridership, and flexibility, and requested feedback from the City Council to OCTA as to the desires of the City on this issue and preferred alignments in Seal Beach, a status report is planned for the next West Orange County Cities Association meeting, there is conceptual engineering with a Mayor June start, and another series of public workshops will be held in the summer with the results shared with the City. I Mayor ProTem Larson mentioned that he had read that there would updated areas where people could wait for the bus and there would be some form of television so that the people could see the approximate arrival of the bus, if it was late or on time, and inquired if that remains under consideration. Mr. Brown said it is, especially on the BRT lines, that would be in the future when there are complete lines, not on the demonstration project, it will be when there is the dedicated right-of-way for the BRT. Councilman Boyd stated he has always supported the light rail BRT concept, public transportation and mass transit is something that Orange County is going to wrestle with, this is going to be a challenge, a statistic he recently read was that Orange County has surpassed Cook County Illinois in terms of density, and as land use pressures mount and urbanization becomes greater in Orange County these are the kinds of tools that will be necessary to ease the congestion on the roadways, and commended the efforts. Supervisor Silva said if one looks at OCTA they are probably still in the adolescent stage, there is a long way to go, yet at this point his feeling is that a lot of major improvements can be seen, he also offered to meet with Seal Beach representatives, involve the OCTA staff if desired, to get into more detail relating to this issue. I Councilman Boyd extended condolences on behalf of the Council to Supervisor Silva on the passing of his mother, a Leisure World resident, and mentioned that this meeting is being dedicated in her memory. The Supervisor expressed appreciation on behalf of his family. It was the order of the Chair, with consent of the Council, to adjourn back to{the Redevelopment Agency meeting which they did at 7:15 p.m. The City Council meeting reconvened at 9:25 p.m. with Mayor ProTem Larson calling the meting to order. I APPROVAL OF AGENDA Councilman Boyd suggested that Item "K", the presentation of the City Sewer Infrastructure, and Item "L", the Catch Basin Filter Testing Summary Report, be moved from New Business to the Consent Calendar. Boyd moved, second by Yost, to approve the order of the agenda as revised. AYES: NOES: ABSENT: Boyd, Campbell, Larson, Yost None Doane Motion carried 4-22-02 ANNOUNCEMENTS Councilmember Campbell reminded that Candidates Night will take place on Wednesday, April 24th at 7:30 p.m. in the City Council Chambers, also shown live on SBTV Channel 3. I PRESENTATION Councilman Boyd read in full the proclamation of Saturday, May 11th as "Fire Service Recognition Day." Battalion Chief Don Forsythe accepted the Proclamation on behalf of Chief Prather and the personnel of the Orange County Fire Authority, this recognition established by the President in 1968. He extended an invitation to all to attend the open house at the fire stations, obtain information as to the programs available on fire and public safety, and learn what the fire service has to offer. I PUBLIC COMMENTS Mayor ProTem Larson declared the public comment period open. Mr. Jim Caviola, Seal Beach, said he wanted a plan to get rid of the Redevelopment Agency, the plan done by an outside firm, it is nothing but a debt builder, this is justified. Mayor ProTem Larson noted that the staff was requested to come back with an initial proposal yet there may be outside firms that do that type of work. Mr. Caviola said he was attending a session over the weekend on redevelopment abuse, there are some very smart private individuals. Ms. Beverly Pearce, Seal Beach, said it is important that the City do everything per the State and federal law especially if things like dissolving the Redevelopment Agency are considered or low and moderate income housing. She said there may be a question as to why she is so certain that the law should be followed, the answer is that she worked for a city that decided to go back on a bond, dissolve the Agency, to that she walked away from her job before participating in the choices that were made, their action led to numerous lawsuits. Her request is that the City make sure that they follow State and federal law at all times before ending up in trouble that other cities have found themselves, there is a legal way to dissolve a Redevelopment Agency, there are appropriate ways to do things like low and moderate income housing, suggested that the City may want to form some type of committee with some of the speakers participating because many have stated inaccurate and incorrect facts, if the community is educated one can still move forward and stay within the law, she does not participate in breaking the law, she does not support changes in positions to garner votes, does not support conflicts of interest, does not support backdoor deals, and does not support ignoring the law when looking into these things, it may be a good suggestion to get some outside counsel. Ms. Pearce said she would like to help keep the public informed, as she said before you know when you have done something wrong because the people show up at the Council meetings, doing things legally, educating people, keeping the people informed by any means possible, to these things everyone should pledge. Ms. Sue Corbin, Seal Beach, offered that Ms. Pearce is a nice lady, perhaps in about ten years she will be ready to serve on the Council. Ms. Corbin pointed out however that she just said she had quit a former city employer yet she personally read an article reporting that she had been fired, there is nothing wrong with telling the truth. Ms. Corbin asked if Mayor Doane was excused from this meeting, the response was he was as he was ill. Ms. Corbin asked for whom does the Mayor speak when attending meetings such as the Chamber, defaming a District One candidate, yet he is a representative of the City, said his I 4-22-02 own conduct should bring into question whether he should be speaking about anyone, suggested that he should step down as Mayor, this is a problem for the City and potential litigation. Mr. Antos was a whistleblower, he was pushed out of his position. She again said if the Mayor is acting as a representative of the City he should not talk about Council candidates; also stated that the personnel records of Mr. Antos need to be accounted for, whether they were distributed twenty years ago or recently, to do that is a violation of federal law. Ms. Joyce Parque, 6th Street, noted that Ms. Pearce just spoke about government programs, to that said she is not for any more government programs, she would like to get rid of government programs, people just finished paying State and federal taxes, they pay City taxes, if the people did not have to pay all of those taxes they would not be here, the City could do its own thing with its money without considering more programs, suggested that everyone vote no for more government programs, vote for Mr. Antos. There being no further comments, Mayor ProTem Larson declared Public Comments closed. I APPOINTMENT - ARCHAEOLOGICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE Councilman Yost moved to appoint Mr. Richard Coles as the District Three representative to the Archaeological Advisory Committee for the unexpired term ending July 2002. Councilman Boyd seconded the motion. AYES: NOES: ABSENT: Boyd, Campbell, Larson, Yost None Doane Motion carried CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEMS "D" thru "J" and "K" and "L" Boyd moved, second by Yost, to approve the recommended action for items on the Consent Calendar as presented as well as the recommended action for New Business items "K" and "L". I D. Approved the waiver of reading in full of all ordinances and resolutions and that consent to the waiver of reading shall be given by all members of the Council after reading of the title unless specific request is made at that time for the reading of such ordinance or resolution. E. Approved regular demands numbered 37053 through 37165 in the amount of $475,922.55, payroll demands numbered 15666 through 15805 in the amount of $170,632.21, and authorized warrants to be drawn on the Treasury for same. F. Adopted Resolution Number 5000 entitled "A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEAL BEACH, CALIFORNIA, AUTHORIZING A BUDGET AMENDMENT REGARDING OLD CITY HALL LEASEHOLD BUYBACK." By unanimous consent, full reading of Resolution Number 5000 was waived. I G. Adopted Resolution Number 5001 entitled "A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEAL BEACH AUTHORIZING A BUDGET AMENDMENT FOR OVERTIME COSTS TO PERFORM SEWER/WATER SAFETY CHECKS." By unanimous consent, full 4-22-02 reading of Resolution Number 5001 was waived. H. Adopted Resolution Number 5002 entitled "A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEAL BEACH AUTHORIZING A BUDGET AMENDMENT FOR McGAUGH POOL, FY 99/01 UTILITIES." By unanimous consent, full reading of Resolution Number 5002 was waived. I I. Instructed staff to continue to monitor the planning process for the West Orange County project Definition Study (future transportation needs), and received and filed the staff report. J. Approved the plans and specifications for City Playground Improvement CIP Project Number 50093, and authorized staff to initiate the bidding process. K. Received and filed the interim report relating to the Sewer Main Line Cleaning and Video Inspection Project Number 50039 and 50040. L. Received and filed the report relating to the first set of test results from a selected sample of catch basins installed on October 15th 2001, the purpose of this program is to increase public awareness to improve ocean water quality. I AYES: NOES: ABSENT: Boyd, Campbell, Larson, Yost None Doane Motion carried CITY ATTORNEY REPORT No report was presented. CITY MANAGER REPORT No report was presented. ADJOURNMENT It was the order of the Chair, with consent of the Council, to adjourn until May 13th at 6:30 p.m. to meet in Closed Session if necessary. By unanimous consent, the meeting was adjourned at 9:45 p.m. ....... I Approved: ~(JN ayor ProTem ~&'''e~ ( ~ City Clerk Attest: