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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Min 2000-12-11 11-27-00 / 12-11-00 Seal Beach, California November 27, 2000 The regular meeting of the City Council scheduled for November 27th, 2000 was canceled due to the Thanksgiving holiday and lack of business items requiring action. I clerk Seal Beach, California December 11, 2000 The City Council of the City of Seal Beach met in regular adjourned session at 6:03 p.m. with Mayor Campbell calling the meeting to order with the Salute to the Flag. ROLL CALL Present: Mayor Campbell Councilmembers Boyd, Doane, Larson, Yost Absent: None I Also present: Mr. McIntyre, Interim City Manager Mr. Barrow, City Attorney Ms. Yeo, city Clerk . CLOSED SESSION The City Attorney requested an item be added to the Closed Session agenda, the case of Seal Beach Associates versus the Redevelopment Agency of Seal Beach, Superior Court Case 00CC07866, a settlement agreement between the City/Agency and Seal Beach Associates, this issue having come to attention after the posting of the agenda. The Council indicated unanimous approval of the motion of Councilman Larson, seconded by Councilman Doane, to amend the agenda as requested. The Council adjourned to Closed Session at 6:05 p.m. and reconvened at 7:09 p.m. with Mayor Campbell calling the meeting to order. The City Attorney reported that the Council had discussed the items identified on the agenda as well as the additional item, gave direction with respect to those items, no other action was taken. ADJOURNMENT It was the order of the Chair, with consent of the Council, to adjourn the meeting at 7:10 p.m. I clerk 12-11-00 Approved: -jJ a75t/(~p.-) 1 ~~ Mayor Attest: I Seal Beach, California December 11, 2000 The City Council of the City of Seal Beach met in regular session at 7:10 p.m., joined by the Redevelopment Agency for a brief adjourned session, with Mayor Campbell calling the meeting to order with the Salute to the Flag. ROLL CALL Present: Mayor Campbell Council/Agency Members Boyd, Doane, Larson, Yost Absent: None I Also present: Mr. McIntyre, Interim City Manager Mr. Barrow, City Attorney Mr. Badum, Director of Public Works/City Engineer Capt. Schaefer, Police Department Chief Cushman, Lifeguard Department Ms. Beard, Director of Recreation/Parks/ Community Services Ms. Arends-King, Director of Administrative Services Mr. Dorsey, Assistant to the City Manager Mr. Dancs, Assistant City Engineer Mr. Corbin, Office of the City Manager Ms. Yeo, City Clerk APPROVAL OF AGENDA Councilman Boyd requested that Items "L" and "0" be removed from the Consent Calendar for separate consideration. Boyd moved, second by Doane, to approve the order of the agenda as revised. AYES: NOES: Boyd, Campbell, Doane, Larson, Yost None Motion carried I ANNOUNCEMENTS Councilman Boyd extended appreciation to Steve and Kim Masoner, representatives of the Chamber of Commerce, and Ann Tuler for their efforts to keep the Holiday Parade a tradition. Mayor Campbell expressed appreciation to Santa Claus and all who helped with the College Park East Neighborhood Holiday in Heather Park celebration, noted that the toy donations were forwarded to a person referred to as the 'Los Alamitos Santa' to benefit needy families in the school district. Mayor Campbell announced the College Park East Holiday Lights judging on the 16th and 17th of December. The Mayor also mentioned having received applications for the California Senate Fellows, a program jointly sponsored by the 12-11-00 State Senate and the Center for California Studies at California State university, Sacramento, the program allowing eighteen college graduates to become legislative staff members for eleven months commencing October, 2001, they receive a monthly stipend and earn twelve units of University credit. Mayor Campbell said she would leave the applications with the City Clerk for anyone interested. PUBLIC COMMENTS Mayor Campbell declared Public comments to be open. Mr. Bill Ayres, Seal Beach, 10K Race Committee member and president of the 10-K non-profit organization, announced that the next race/walk will be held April 7th, 2001, this will be the twenty-seventh annual event, sponsors are currently being sought, the Race is manned by more than one hundred fifty volunteers, those organizations receive compensation, the remaining proceeds are given to the Recreation Department. Mr. Ayres noted that $15,000 was donated to the 'Save The Pool' effort in 1999, in this year 2000 a donation will be made to help expand and refurbish the Marina Community Center, a facility that is extensively used by people of all ages, in turn, the proceeds from the 2001 event is likewise intended to be donated to that effort. Mr. Ayres presented a check in the amount of $10,000 to the Marina Community Center project. Mayor Campbell praised the efforts of the volunteers. Mr. Pete Arnold, Seal Beach, noted that a Historical Society newsletter spurred his interest and research of a reported Seal Beach float having been in the Rose Parade, particularly as a senior member of the Tournament of Roses and Seal Beach being the residence of his family for more than sixty years. Mr. Arnold displayed photos of Seal Beach Rose Parade floats in the years of 1914, 1950 and 1951, also offered to participate in any fund raising effort to replace the official photos of the Tournament of Roses organization. Mr. Arnold announced the Family Festival, near the Rose Bowl, to be held from December 26th through the 31st, a large event with diverse activities, and offered to leave information pamphlets with the Clerk for information of staff and public. Mr. Doug Brown, 8th Street, once again brought containers of debris collected from the beach, primarily bottle caps, cigarette lighters, glass, fish hooks, "0" rings, shoes, and cans which he said were collected from about a hundred fifty yards in only an hour and a half. He requested the name of someone at the State level to whom he could forward pictures of debris, and to the River being a navigable waterway said he has only seen two jet skis in those waters. Councilman Boyd offered to prepare a list of four or five agencies that Mr. Brown could contact. Ms. Teri Quinlan, Seal Beach, said she wished to comment on an item believed to have been scheduled for Closed Session discussion. She mentioned being a public access producer for about eleven years, the producers actively involved in creating community programming, noted that it has come to her attention that the lease for the building which public access occupies is coming to an end in January, the concern is that there'may not then be a studio from which to produce the programming, suggested that the merchants, the Chamber, and local citizens be alerted that public access needs a studio from which to operate, if it were necessary for public access to move it would take considerable time, possibly months, to relocate the equipment to another location because there is not staff to adequately take care of such a move. Ms. Quinlan asked if any consideration has been given to the fact that Adelphia will be taking over the Comcast system, has anyone advised them that public access is part of community I I I 12-11-00 I television that should be kept in place, if Adelphia is assuming the franchise it would be thought they would carry out all of the provisions of the franchise, she is aware that the public access lease provision goes only until January yet public access has always been a part of the franchise agreement. Ms. Quinlan emphasized the need to have a studio, requested the Council do whatever possible to keep it in place here or elsewhere even though'it is understood a studio as part of the Bixby project is no longer part of that plan. Mr. Gordon Shanks, Surf Place, stated he would like to speak to agenda item "X", the software issue. Mr. John Unrath, Dogwood Avenue, expressed appreciation for the comments relating to the Holiday in Heather Park event, made reference to mile two of the 10-K, and noted being the recipient of letters from the Tournament of Roses inviting him to volunteer. With regard to the Bixby project, Mr. Unrath recalled being in attendance at the meeting where the proposed church was substituted with seventy low to moderate income houses, at that time the configuration of the housing was rectangular, his belief is that that is the configuration that the Airport Land Use Commission approved, at a subsequent meeting the configuration was changed to the "L" shape wrapped around the back of the Target store, he protested that because of the proximity of the houses to the Target loading dock, his belief is that that configuration did not go back to the ALUC, which he believed it should have, his belief also that the last ALUC approval was of the 1995 version of the original project, however that plan was not approved by the Council, then the rectangular configuration which was approved by the ALUC. He offered that since the 1995 project was not built that part of the ALUC approval no longer holds weight, only the rectangular housing development holds, that leaves open questions, first, when the housing configuration changed did the City request approval of the ALUC, it is believed it did not, also, where is it reflected that when the homes were wrapped around that part of the sod farm was taken, which, is seven acres, and the zoning was changed from Public Land Use to Residential, also, was the General plan amended to reflect the seventy-five homes on the 'L' shaped parcel, if so, where and when, if the General Plan was not changed, why not, if it was did the new configuration go back to the ALUC, again, his belief is that it did not. Mr. Unrath mentioned also his observance of the signage advertising the homes as 'luxury homes', the sale price believed to be about $500,000 each, that conflicts with the low and moderate income housing that was going to be put in when the change was made to put in residential, he remembers that a question was asked if the low and moderate housing would impact the property values of existing homes, the response at that time was no, the homes in College Park were higher income so there would be no impact, now there is, question then is was the Housing Element changed to reflect these homes, if it was not then it seems the City is operating in conflict with that Element and may be in trouble legally because the 'L' shaped housing did not go back to the ALUC, he would hope that the City would at least look into this, and envisioned lawsuits forthcoming from those two- story homes once the first C-5 takes flight. At the request of the Mayor, the City Attorney reported that the City has been in dialogue with the Executive Director of the Airport Land Use Commission on this issue, the Director is looking at the maps and reviewing the minutes from 1998, the City will be submitting some additional maps with regard to what was approved in 1995, the Council will be kept informed of this issue. The Mayor asked to see the record of where the I I 12-11-00 General Plan and Housing Element were amended, her concern is with a potential for future liability. Ms. Karen Terrascio, Trailer Park, noted having mentioned at a prior meeting certain concerns that residents of the Park wanted to have addressed in written form, a letter was then sent to all homes in the Park asking that they put any questions in writing, the questions were then compiled and sent to the Council and City Attorney, and asked if any problems are anticipated with regard to submitting written answers to the questions. The City Attorney noted that a number of questions were posed, some can be answered however there are three or four other sources of the information, some may be from Link, some the City, there will be a best effort to answer them. Ms. Terrascio said a concern that has come up since the letter was,compiled has to do with people who will not be able to meet the higher rents; it is understood subsidies are being offered to them, are the subsidies considered section 8. The City Attorney responded that they are not Section 8, as part of the agreement the Agency has contributed money to a fund to assist the people who qualify for rental subsidies, as to question relating to the application process, there are persons who can respond to that question however not at this meeting. Ms. Terrascio asked if there will any form of court review once this package is complete, to that the response was in terms of the bond issue the answer is no, this is not the type of action that requires any certification or approval by a court, there are other processes that require a legal court validation, this is not a validation proceeding. Ms. Terrascio mentioned that the Marina Pacifica development was a similar land lease situation put together by Mr. Dawson, the prior Trailer Park owner, in that case the condominium owners were unable to obtain financing on their units when they chose to sell them, the City of Long Beach came forward and issued bonds that allowed the homeowners to purchase their land, that was $22 million divided by five hundred seventy homeowners, Long Beach required a review by the court and a vote by the entire homeowners association. The City Attorney said he could not respond to the Long Beach action, however with this type of financing there is no requirement for a court validation or vote, explaining that there are a number of different financing vehicles, some require a vote by the public in general, some require a vote by affected property owners, not in this instance. Councilman Boyd added that in the case of Marina Pacifica, where there is a situation of real property and improvements attached to the real property, structures that are not moveable whereas a mobile home is moveable, fee simple interest would be attached in that case therefore the requirement that the individual owners vote on the issue, that is the reason for the hearing. Ms. Terrascio claimed there are a number of homes in the Park that are immovable, residents have also been advised that they should have a land use attorney review the entire package before it is finalized. Councilman Boyd stated the improvements referred to are not considered to be attachments to the real property, there are improvements but they are different from permanent improvements that are structures. There being no further comments, Mayor Campbell declared Public Comments to be closed. I I I PRESENTATION TREES FOR SEAL BEACH Mr. Rallie Rallis, Seal Beach, request support from the City. stated he was present to He mentioned that the 12-11-00 I California Non-Point Source Pollution Control Program provides funds for grants that would be applicable citywide for storm water runoff, upon review of the information recently released the funds allocated for California for year 2000/2001 are approximately $11.4 million and associated with non-point and coastal non-point source runoff, next year the amount becomes $57 million, the total funds allocated for California is $258 million to the year 2004, sixty percent of those funds have been earmarked for Southern California with Seal Beach a primary area for grant consideration. Mr. Rallis said in light of the need for improvements in the City, specifically drainage, Ocean Avenue having been a recent discussion however was dropped due to an element of resistance, and other sources of revenue for the improvements were looked at. Mr. Rallis offered that as a non-profit organization under the guidelines of the State of California it is felt that Trees for Seal Beach is eligible to apply for grants for public improvements provided the City concurs with their efforts, in so doing the group would then be responsible for the twenty percent matching funds that would be associated with the project, the size of the project would be determined by their ability to provide the twenty percent, as an example a $5 million project would not be feasible as an initial effort, a project in the area of $1 million would seem more likely, however it is $5 million that the City needs to correct the drainage and runoff onto the beach areas, update the pumping stations and sewage system so that the City will be in compliance with new regulations of the State, there are many concrete parkways that need to be taken up for better drainage and to curtail the flow of water into the sea, the issue too is pollution during the first few minutes of rainfall. Mr. Rallis requested approval for Trees for Seal Beach to proceed with the preparation of a grant, the deadline for the first phase is February 1st, the next phase of money receives approval in May with submittals by November, that would be funding some two years in the future, there will need to be an analysis done, tradeoffs need to be determined for alternatives for the maximum opportunity to be funded, consideration is being given to using the firm of Davis, Evans & Associates for the grant preparation, the cost of the application will be between $16,000 to $20,000, the request is for assistance from the City in the amount of $5,000 to show good faith in their program, the remainder will be raised through private funds, the final grant proposal would not be submitted without review by the City as it would not in the best interest to be awarded a grant and have the City then determine they did not want to move forward. Again, the funds are limited, the Regional Water Board in Santa Ana will make the determination as to which projects from this district will be considered, they will be reviewed by July, projects to selected and funded by November, thereafter there is a period of twelve months for completion, this is an opportunity for the City, successful in receiving a number of grants, however under-staffed to pursue others, that is why the Trees group would like the opportunity to start'this process, a benefit for the community as a whole, the end result possibly twenty years of clean water. I I Councilman Boyd mentioned that he had spoken with the Interim City Manager and the Director of Public Works with regard to this issue, generally the public has pressed for the City to seek grants, however the City has been successful in being awarded about $2 million in grant monies in the past couple of years, noted that Trees for Seal Beach has gone beyond its 12-11-00 initial goal of planting trees and now seeks to address water quality issues. Councilman Boyd said he would support this effort provided there is concurrence of staff with an appropriate budget amendment in the future should the community be fortunate enough to secure this type of funding, that the Council would be willing to commit funds for staff to administer a grant and to put those monies to use effectively in the next fiscal year, that would be a priority. The Interim City Manager offered his opinion that the City is not adequately staffed to deal with this opportunity, as was pointed out there will be money coming available in the future for this issue, namely water quality, suggesting that next year's budget would be the time for the City to address the issue, and if the intent is to maximize the ability to obtain the grants there needs to be staff to monitor them, at this point it would be difficult to do that, monitor Bixby, the alley projects, and other projects including a new west-end pump station with existing staff. Councilman Boyd suggested support of the concept then, at the time of the mid-year budget review, look at staffing priorities and the funding available to increase that level to meet the demand given the upcoming alley, sidewalk, curb and gutter projects as well as the Bixby, Hellman, and Boeing projects, possibly the City could indicate support for their efforts, let them start the process to secure the funds, then the Council be prepared to support the effort during the mid- year budget review and amendments. Councilman Doane said he could see a tie-in with the Water Quality Committee, suggested that before any decision there should be discussion of how the Ad Hoc Committee is to function, and will it cover things like this proposal. The Mayor said she believed the proposal was initially for trees, then water quality. To that Mr. Rallis clarified that the grant effort is beyond trees, the grant program affords the opportunity to correct drainage problems on Ocean Avenue and other streets, curbs and gutters, drainage, the tree and landscape issues are supplemental to the major project, which from a cost standpoint would be the overall improvement of the streets, it is understood that some consideration for the Ad Hoc Committee will be water quality with regard to the Gabriel River water going onto the beach, that would be a grant proposal separate from what they are proposing for street and drainage improvements, and from a timing standpoint preference would be to get into the February 1st funding phase as it is believed they may have a chance to obtain some funds prior to those that will be seeking the funds next year. Councilman Boyd noted that a number of things are going on to get the focus back on water quality, the Ad Hoc Committee is one, the Trees for Seal Beach outgrowth looking at urban water quality and other issues, maybe a strategy session would be helpful to develop a plan which falls within the areas of the City Manager and Director of Public Works to coordinate and funnel some of these efforts, the desire is to support the effort but it appears things are getting a little off focus. It was mentioned that duplication of efforts is not what is needed. Councilman Larson stated he shares the concern, however it is the bacteria in the water, not cans, bumpers, etc., from which people are going to get sick, and made reference to a $12 million dollar project in Santa Monica to clean the water and resell it, some usage also for restroom and non-drinking facilities, the Committee needs to look at all of the options and determine if Seal Beach could do that. Councilman Yost agreed that the issue is extremely complicated, made reference to the line of wells that exist on the Boeing property yet drinking water is being pumped I I I 12-11-00 I back into the ground, the storm drain systems in turn drain the rain water into the River and out to sea, however there needs to be more effort to conserve water, enrich the groundwater system, and deal with the urban runoff, all of which are interrelated, issues such as reclaimed water need to be dealt with, Long Beach is producing a large amount of water from reclaimed sewage for irrigation of parks, Seal Beach needs to look at that as well, the cost of which is about fifty cents on the dollar as compared to tap water. With regard to individual water quality issues he noted that the Chamber and he are scheduled for the Long Beach Council meeting the following day to pursue discussions relating to a boom project in the San Gabriel River, the contact with Long Beach is basically due to the fact it is in their jurisdiction, and agreed that this needs to be a coordinated effort primarily with the Ad Hoc Committee. Mr. Steve Masoner, Seal Beach, mentioned that there is a sense of urgency with regard to the availability of monies through the grants, it is a buildup over the next two to three years but that money will go away, this is an opportunity that requires an action to take advantage because while the grants are written in advance the monies are not received until later, if this opportunity is missed it is not known whether it will come around again, it is understood that there are constraints with regard to personnel but if this money is lost it is an even bigger loss. Agreement was indicated in that at present there is an economic upturn, propositions 12 and 13 did pass which is where some of these monies are derived. Councilman Boyd inquired as to the time frame required for a City commitment to participate in the grant application process, although the Council may be looking to support this request the recommendation may best come from the Water Quality Committee. The Mayor asked when the Water Committee is scheduled to meet, it is now the holiday season, a first meeting will likely not be until January, therefore weeks are lost, with a February 1st submittal deadline that leaves only thirty days to prepare the grant. Mr. Rallis explained that dependent upon the action of the Council the intent was to meet next week with the Regional Water Board to assure their guidelines are understood as to what they will recommend for approval for the available money this fiscal year, this would include the scope of work set forth by the City, reminding again that the grant authority is limited to $5 million per project under the non-point runoff and only $1 million this year for coastal, if a $1 million project could be commenced and completed in this year then application could be made next year and the next for $5 million until everything is done. Councilman Yost inquired as to what is being looked at, low-flow diversions, storm ceptors, to that Mr. Rallis said there has not been a final decision as yet, possibly an example such as Ocean Avenue where the water now runs down the alleys onto the beach area, the Coastal Commission is looking to basins to catch some of that water, a simplified program would be to remove the concrete from the parkways, regrade Ocean, catch basins where the water can be sent to a reclaiming center for future reuse, if the roadwork could be done in the first phase then a $5 million grant could be sought in the future for the water recycling. Councilman Yost inquired, given the fact that most of the Old Town water flows through the west end pump station, why would thought not be given to putting those funds into upgraded filters, etc. that are very expensive, to that Mr. Rallis stated the program would include anything to upgrade the current systems. Councilman Boyd noted that most of the engineering issues lie within the realm of the City Engineer, I I l2-1l-00 would he be supportive of City participation in the amount of $5,000 so that the Tree group could pursue preparation of the grant and would he be ready to develop the concept that this group is looking for. The City Engineer first stated that he understands the time frame, explained again that part of the $450,000 State appropriation received by the City was to first purchase the equipment to clean the beach, the second part was to perform a study to prepare a Master plan, and third was to implement one of the capital projects that is the result of the study, at present the study is being initiated, given time his preference would be to go through the study to see what is priority and most cost efficient, determine the problems specifically and what the solutions are, that is a primary reason for establishing the citizen committee so that they understand where the priorities lie, again, he understands the grant deadlines, there is not City staff to pursue them, without an analysis first the grant monies may not be as useful. Councilman Yost then suggested that the Ad Hoc Committee be expedited. Councilman Doane asked if the Tree group could move forward with the grant. without having to be too specific with regard to a project, to that Mr.' Rallis explained that the grant is very specific, there are ten questions to which there must be a detailed response. The City Engineer added that it would not hurt to go forward but until it is known what that project may be it may be premature, yet the Tree group could be encouraged to go forward on their own, and Councilman Doane stated he would not want to discourage their efforts yet the specifics will likely need to come from the Ad Hoc Committee. Mr. Rallis said in order to give the Committee something to look at for more detail the project could be broken down and have them determine what alternatives there are within the scope of the grant. Councilman Boyd suggested that this request for funds be deferred until the meeting of the 20th, that will allow additional time to discuss the issue with staff, then a meeting of the Committee could be called at the earliest possible time to review what has been done to date, with a report to Council and consideration of City funds. It was the consensus of the Council to continue this item until December 20th. I I COUNCIL ITEMS APPOINTMENTS - AD HOC WATER OUALITY COMMITTEE Councilman Boyd appointed Mr. Rallie Rallis, Councilman Larson appointed Mr. Raymond Fortner and Mr. Louis Eversmeyer, Mayor Campbell appointed Mr. Stephen Ostrich and Mr. Jack Healy, Councilman Doane appointed Mr. Matt Mikkelsen and Mr. Gary O'Neil, and Councilman Boyd appointed either Steve or Kim Masoner, that decision left to them. Boyd moved, second by Larson, to approve the appointments to the Ad Hoc Water Quality Committee as stated. AYES: NOES: Boyd, Campbell, Doane, Larson, Yost None Motion carried I APPOINTMENTS - AD HOC PARKING MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE Councilman Boyd stated his second appointment would be forthcoming at the next meeting, Councilman Larson appointed Mr. Stan Anderson and Mr. Douglas Wright, Mayor Campbell appointed Mr. Brian Kyle and held over her second appointment until the next meeting. Boyd moved, second by Larson, to approve the appointments to the Ad Hoc Parking Management Committee as stated. 12-11-00 AYES: NOES: Boyd, Campbell, Doane, Larson, Yost None Motion carried I APPOINTMENT - ENVIRONMENTAL OUALITY CONTROL BOARD Mayor Campbell appointed Mr. John Unrath as the District Four representative to the Environmental Quality Control Board for the unexpired term ending July, 2004. Larson moved, second by Boyd, to approve the appointment. AYES: NOES: Boyd, Campbell, Doane, Larson, Yost None Motion carried PROCLAMATION Mayor Campbell proclaimed the remaining holiday months of year 2000 and all of year 2001 as "Buckle Up For Life Challenge." RESOLUTION NUMBER 4861 - CALIFORNIA STATE MILITARY RESERVE - 60th ANNIVERSARY Mayor Campbell read in full Resolution Number 4861 entitled "A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEAL BEACH RECOGNIZING THE CALIFORNIA STATE MILITARY RESERVE." Boyd moved, second by Campbell, to adopt Resolution Number 4861 as presented. AYES: NOES: Boyd, Campbell, Doane, Larson, Yost None Motion carried I LITTER ENFORCEMENT Councilman Boyd made reference to discussions relating to water quality, the citizen who comes forth with bags of litter, the action of the City to stop smoking on the pier thus disposal of cigarette butts in the ocean, yet Main Street is the visiting serving area, there needs to be better and continuous cleaning of that area, at the conclusion of the parade it was unsightly, weekends as well. He suggested that the Ad Hoc Water Quality Committee discussions also include suggestions to improve efforts to maintain the areas impacted by visitors, the pier, Main Street, Electric Avenue areas specifically, as litter disposed of in the gutters ultimately ends up in the River, that an issue that has not been dealt with, an example is ,Belmont Shore that has a Business Improvement District where the merchants take certain maintenance upon themselves such as sweeping the sidewalks, gutters, etc., yet in this community there are many times, even on weekdays, that the Main Street trash receptacles are overflowing, trash in the parks as well, a known constant labor, resources management issue, public works employees are only funded for a five day work week yet it is the weekends that are impacted the most. Councilman Boyd requested concurrence of the Council to request that the Directors of Public Works and Recreation, Parks and Community Services make recommendations to the City Manager as to how these efforts can be improved at the earliest time possible, that may mean monies need to be found to hire weekend employees or implement a Friday through Monday schedule, particularly in the summer months, to improve conditions in the visiting serving areas as well as help the water quality issues, it may also be possible to institute an awareness program on Main Street with the community services volunteers. Mayor Campbell recalled information from the League Conference relating to a beach cleaning roller that also leaves an imprint in the sand to 'not litter the beach', this was said to have reduced beach litter by twenty percent, I 12-11-00 it is believed the cost was minimal because the company is being allowed an advertisement, and requested that the Assistant to the City Manager look into this equipment. Councilman Boyd said his primary focus is the sidewalks and streets because that litter ends up in the water and on the beach, his request is that staff develop recommendations to resolve the litter issue. Councilman Doane suggested that the Business Association pass these comments on to the business community. He mentioned having observed one business owner sweeping the store frontage however it was being swept into the gutter, which, as correctly stated, ends , up in the water and on the beach, possibly the businesses need to be requested to pick up dirt and litter by means of a dust pan. I CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEMS "H" thru "V" It was noted that the City Attorney requested that Item "N" be approved subject to the approval of the City Attorney, also that the recommended action for Item "V" be revised to reject all bids and approve the professional services contract. Boyd moved, second by Doane, to approve the recommended action for items on the Consent Calendar as presented or revised, except Items "L" and "0", removed for separate consideration. H. 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 reading of the title unless specific request is made at that time for the reading of such ordinance or resolution. I I. Approved the minutes of the regular adjourned and regular meetings of November l3, 2000. J. Received and filed the Monthly Investment Report for October, 2000. K. Approved regular demands numbered 29416 through 29418, 29420, 29641, and 29960 through 30384 in the amount of $1,448,141.80, payroll demands numbered 9929 through 10224, and 27701 through 27702 in the amount of $345,329.05, and payroll liability account 9000425 through 9000450 in the amount of $l75,163.38, and authorized warrants to be drawn on the Treasury for same. M. Approved the Intergovernmental Service Agreement between the City of Los Alamitos and the City of Seal Beach to allow the Los Alamitos Police Department the use of the Seal Beach City Jail and the services of Correctional Services Incorporated, said Agreement for the term of January 29, 2001 through January 1, 2003, and authorized execution of the Agreement by the Interim City Manager and City Clerk, subject to the approval of the City Attorney. I N. Approved Amendment A-I to Cooperative Agreement No. 12-386 with the State of California to extend the term of the funding agreement for the Anaheim Bay Channel Debris Removal Project from December 31, 2000 to December 31, 2001, and P. I 12-11-00 authorized the Mayor to execute said Agreement on behalf of the City. Adopted Resolution Number 4862 entitled "A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEAL BEACH SUPPORTING AND AUTHORIZING AN APPLICATION FOR GRANT FUNDS FROM THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA, DEPARTMENT OF BOATING & WATERWAYS UNDER THE PUBLIC BEACH RESTORATION PROGRAM FOR THE SURFS IDE BEACH FEASIBILITY STUDY." By unanimous consent, full reading of Resolution Number 4862 was waived. Q. Adopted Resolution Number 4863 entitled "A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEAL BEACH AUTHORIZING BUDGET AMENDMENTS FOR THE 2000/2001 FISCAL YEAR." By unanimous consent, full reading of Resolution Number 4863 was waived. R. Denied the claim for auto damages of Emily Brennan and referred same to the City's liability attorney and adjuster. S. I Adopted Resolution Number 4864 entitled "A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEAL BEACH, CALIFORNIA, OBJECTING TO THE PROPOSED CONSENT DECREE RELATED TO THE CAL COMPACT LANDFILL SUPERFUND SITE IN THE CITY OF CARSON, CALIFORNIA." By unanimous consent, full reading of Resolution Number 4864 was waived. T. Adopted Resolution Number 4865 entitled "A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEAL BEACH, RECOGNIZING JOHN GRANT III." By unanimous consent, full reading of Resolution Number 4865 was waived. I AYES: NOES: U. Adopted Resolution Number 4866 entitled "A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEAL BEACH ESTABLISHING SALARY FOR THE POSITION OF POLICE RECRUIT." By unanimous consent, full reading of Resolution Number 4866 was waived. v. Approved a Professional Services Contract with Ricoh Business Systems for informational technology support, digital imaging printers/ copiers, and document production support, rejected all other bids, and authorized the Interim City Manager to execute the Contract on behalf of the City upon review by the City Attorney. Boyd, Campbell, Doane, Larson, Yost None Motion carried ITEMS REMOVED FROM THE CONSENT CALENDAR ITEM "L" - POLICY and PROCEDURES MANUAL Councilman Boyd said he believed there were a couple of policies that have recently been adopted by this Council and reminded that they need to be integrated into the policy and Procedures Manual. Boyd moved, second by Doane, to approve 12-11-00 Policy 101, Policy and Procedure - General, and policy 102, Issuance of Administrative Directives - General. AYES: NOES: Boyd, Campbell, Doane, Larson, Yost None Motion carried ITEM "0" - PLANS and SPECIFICATIONS - ANAHEIM CHANNEL DEBRIS REMOVAL - PROJECT NUMBER 995 Councilman Boyd recalled that when the City received the State grant about two years ago he had made an issue of the concrete bridge debris that remains in the channel entry to Huntington Harbour, the bridge was a former Pacific Electric right-of-way that spanned Anaheim Bay, that bridge was demolished by the Navy in the 1960's and the debris left. He noted that with the assistance of the Director of Public Works a project was devised and after considerable discussion with the federal government and State Coastal Commission, grant funds in the amount of $75,000 will be used to remove the concrete bridge debris including the steel reinforcement, then natural grasses and pickle weed will be planted to restore the channel to its natural condition, this should please those living in Surfside and the recreational boaters that use this waterway. He expressed appreciation to the Public Works Director for his efforts in this regard. Boyd moved, second by Larson, to approve the plans and specifications for Project Number 995, Anaheim Channel Debris Removal. Councilman Larson noted that it should not have been necessary to go through such a process to accomplish this project. I AYES: NOES: Boyd, Campbell, Doane, Larson, Yost None Motion carried I JOINT PUBLIC HEARING - CITY COUNCIL/REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY/ PUBLIC FINANCING AUTHORITY - REFINANCING RIVERFRONT REDEVELOPMENT PROJECT / FINANCING LIBRARY IMPROVEMENTS and OTHER CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS Mayor Campbell declared the joint public hearing to be open. The Interim City Manager explained that if refinancing funds are used for improvements to any public building a public hearing is required, about $100,000 will be spent on the library pursuant to the obligations of the City under the contract with the County, however the greater amount of the monies will be spent for storm drain facilities. The City Clerk certified that notice of the public hearing had been advertised as required, and reported having received no communications relating thereto. The Interim Manager summarized the staff report, noting the library improvements consist primarily of painting, new carpet, and air conditioning however there may be a means of accomplishing the air conditioning through a different means. There being no comments from the audience, Mayor Campbell declared the public hearing closed. The City Attorney mentioned that members of the financing team were present to answer questions if desired. I REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY RESOLUTION NUMBER 00-6 - REFINANCING - TAX ALLOCATION BONDS - MAKING DETERMINATIONS / AUTHORIZING ISSUANCE / APPOINTING TRUSTEE / AUTHORIZING EXECUTION Resolution Number 00-6 was presented to the Agency entitled "A RESOLUTION OF THE REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY OF THE CITY OF SEAL BEACH MAKING CERTAIN DETERMINATIONS, AUTHORIZING THE ISSUANCE OF TAX ALLOCATION BONDS, APPOINTING A TRUSTEE, AND AUTHORIZING THE EXECUTION AND DELIVERY OF CERTAIN DOCUMENTS 12-11-00 IN CONNECTION THEREWITH." By unanimous consent, full reading of Resolution Number 00-6 was waived. Larson moved, second by Boyd, to adopt Resolution Number 00-6 as presented. AYES: NOES: Boyd, Campbell, Doane, Larson, Yost None Motion carried I Councilman Boyd explained that this is the refinancing of Redevelopment Agency bonds which in turn will make additional revenues available to do other projects such as the west end pump station, the 'amount nearly $3 million. RESOLUTION NUMBER 4867 - REFINANCING - TAX ALLOCATION BONDS - DETERMINATIONS / ISSUANCE / SALE Resolution Number 4867 was presented to the Council entitled "A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEAL BEACH MAKING CERTAIN DETERMINATIONS AND APPROVING THE ISSUANCE AND SALE OF BONDS OF THE REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY OF THE CITY OF SEAL BEACH." By unanimous consent, full reading of Resolution Number 4867 was waived. Boyd moved, second by Larson, to adopt Resolution Number 4867 as presented. AYES: NOES: Boyd, Campbell, Doane, Larson, Yost None Motion carried Mayor/Chairman Campbell declared the Seal Beach Public Financing Authority meeting to be open. I PUBLIC FINANCING AUTHORITY - RESOLUTION NUMBER 00-5 - REFINANCING - TAX ALLOCATION BONDS - EXECUTION / DELIVERY - BOND PURCHASE CONTRACT Resolution Number 00-5 was presented to the Seal Beach Public Financing Authority entitled "A RESOLUTION OF THE SEAL BEACH PUBLIC FINANCING AUTHORITY AUTHORIZING THE EXECUTION AND DELIVERY OF A BOND PURCHASE CONTRACT AND ACTIONS RELATED THERETO." By unanimous consent, full reading of Resolution Number 00-5 was waived. Boyd moved, second by Larson, to adopt Resolution Number 00-5 as presented. AYES: NOES: Boyd, Campbell, Doane, Larson, Yost None Motion carried In response to Council, the Director of Public Works noted that the pump station project is actually under way, the consultant will be providing a scope of what it will take to do the full design of the project, it will include a number of water quality improvements, possibly a low flow diversion as well as water/trash debris separation, the most recent pump station incident has focused the need to upgrade that facility, and the refinancing is a mechanism to accomplish that. Councilman Boyd expressed appreciation to the staff. I Mr. Frank Boychuck, Trailer Park, expressed appreciation to the Council for taking this action, also offered the services of his company for telemetry services that will be needed. It was the order of the Chair, with consent of the Authority, to adjourn their meeting at 8:37 p.m. By unanimous consent, a recess was called at 8:38 p.m. and the Council/Agency reconvened at 8:57 p.m. with Mayor Campbell calling the meeting to order. 12-11-00 PURCHASE - ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE The Director of Administrative Services presented the staff report, noted that the issue of the purchase of new accounting software was brought forth during the budget workshops, the Finance Department and the City's consultant have been researching software since approximately January, 2000, stated she has been through conversions in both the public and private sectors, software replacement is not to be taken lightly, it is a big responsibility, considerable time and effort, this request based on the City's needs to change its accounting software to a software that is a stable relational database to ensure the integrity of its financial information. She noted that the present software is believed to have been acquired in early 1992, at the time it suited the needs of the City however it is now year 2000, there have been considerable technology changes, one problem is that it is an antiquated database therefore vulnerable to any types of changes or interruptions on a file server, the computer system is run on a file server network, the system is vulnerable and many times information is incorrect. The Director again stated that considerable time has been spent researching the types of software on the market, the best to suit the City of Seal Beach, also the cost, the price of software can range from $75,000 to $600,000, the determination should be based on the City's needs when there is just so much money available, in this case there were few software companies where the cost was less than $300,000 to $500,000. She noted that companies were identified and sent requests for proposals, there was a fairly good response, the sources were then narrowed to two companies, it was determined that the company that best met the needs of the City, met the budget requirements, came with excellent references with whom contact was made, was Springbrook Software, a representative present to respond to questions, as was the Finance Assistant and the City's consultant, Mr. Magaldi. The Director mentioned that some of the problems with the current software were set forth in the staff report, noted that the various departments maintain their own records which on many occasions has been found to be inaccurate, an inappropriate use of time and effort. To the Springbrook representative, Mr. Kendall, Councilman Larson said his understanding is that some of the public entities served by Springbrook had the MOM system therefore he would be familiar with the changeover of the system, Mr. Kendall stated that to be correct. To the question as to whether the problems experienced in this City's Finance Department are common in other entities, Mr. Kendall responded that it is common for any system that is antiquated and has not gone forward with a new type of database, staying with one type of database throughout the years. He said for considerable time their firm ran on a different type of database than it is now however it would not handle what they wanted to go forward with as the technology is advancing, one of the cities that were converted from the present system of this City did convey many system problems. Councilman Larson inquired if the present system could be fixed or is it necessary to implement a new system, to that Mr. Kendall said for a city to service its customers better he would recommend a new system, Councilman Larson stating his concern with the dropping of the 1099 forms which then had to be redone, inquiring if the new system would do that, the response being no. Councilman Larson also inquired about the provision for training and help in the event of problems. Mr. Kendall confirmed that is provided, training can be on-line, on-site, or at their site, there are a variety of ways to train, I I I 12-11-00 I maintenance upgrades are also provided after the purchase of the software, that comes with the annual maintenance agreement. councilman Larson asked if the City would need to employ an additional person with expertise in this software to operate the system the response was no, this is a friendly, one hundred percent Windows based product, there can be a number of applications going at one time, also, Springbrook support staff have either been utility billing managers or finance directors from other cities, people who understand the urgencies of cities. The Finance Director mentioned that another city had the same 1099 problem, the more one talks with the other agencies the more they convey about software, with regard to Springbrook the comments from every city was that the system is reliable, is user friendly, one city established the system on their own, the support from the current provider is just not there. Councilman Doane inquired as to the anticipated downtime for the change over, to that Mr. Kendall said he would not anticipate any downtime, what needs to be done in a conversion is to run both systems parallel so that there is no downtime, he has however been involved in conversions where an old system shut down completely so there was not the luxury of running parallel, that makes it more difficult but it is doable. Mayor Campbell inquired as to the size of the reference cities provided, to that Mr. Kendall responded that most are about the size of Seal Beach, some smaller, some larger, some very comparable. He stated the Springbrook firm has been in operation for sixteen years, of the cities listed some have been customers for the sixteen years, the most recent about eighteen months to two years. The Mayor mentioned that she too had made a number of calls, the finance people in Bellflower and Vandenburg Village spoke favorably of the MOM system, in turn the people in Palos Verdes Estates are desirous to getting rid of MOM and Carmel did not feel that the training or support from MOM was adequate. With regard to training and support, Mr. Magaldi said it needs to be understood that while the MOM software was being touted as a standard package when purchased, in actuality it was highly customized by the vendor to meet the needs of the City then, since his involvement with the City it appears that it was all customized packages as modifications or applications were added, therefore when one tries to upgrade or train it is difficult for the vendor to respond, what staff is looking for now is a package that is standardized with no customization for ease of upgrading and training. Mayor Campbell said it seems there are some people at Corbin willits that are very good at training and support, the cities that have those people do not have problems, the cities who do not get the training or support they need are apparently the ones where communication breaks down, that may be what happened in Seal Beach. She mentioned too that of concern is the amount shown in the budget, her understanding was that there was $100,000 not $160,000, to that the Finance Director responded there was $100,000 in the Finance budget, $60,000 in the Water budget, this would be for a finance and water software package. The Mayor said she also got the impression that the attitude of MOM was that it was up to the user to determine what the problems were, that could be frustrating, yet in looking at the cities that had no problems the question becomes why does Seal Beach need to spend $160,000 because it did not have the right people to assist with training. Mr. Magaldi stated he did not believe it was all training, rather software updates, explaining that there was a Text Windows upgrade to MOM about two or three years ago, it went from DOS to the Text Windows version, a I I 12-11-00 primary application of Windows prior to the graphical interface, at that time there were considerable upgrade problems requiring phone conversations for days on end, in fact there were water billing problems for months, once that was resolved there were continuing problems with printers, etc., then when the Y2K era was entered there were three or four consecutive MOM upgrades, that is when the software seemed to become unstable, wrong answers, the 1099 issue, that means within the multitude of lines of code something is missing, that is a quality control problem and things start to fall apart, it is not felt there has been a stable software since then. The Mayor inquired as to how many people in the Finance Department currently use MOM and would the new software be used solely by Finance or other departments as well, the response of the Finance Director was all Finance personnel. To the second question, the Director said when MOM was first obtained they tried to setup the system so that other departments could use it but it was frustrating to use and the departments seemed to give up, the new software would be setup so that the other departments could use it for purchasing, a cash register system for the Recreation Department, some will have the capability to view the general ledger, purchasing, their encumbrances, etc. To the question as to whether members of the Council could access the system, the response was yes, just come to the Finance Department and it would be made available. The Mayor asked if there are any contractual obligations with MOM, the response of the Director was that a contract with MOM has not been found, there is a monthly payment yet there is no existing contract, payment is made for maintenance somewhere between $800 to $1,000 or more, dependent upon the number of service requests, their billings are most confusing as well. As to the length of time to make the conversion, Mr. Kendall said in one city that was converted from MOM, the system was converted, implemented, trained, and running in ninety days, the training for Finance only is much shorter, most likely within a matter of days, depending on the number of billing cycles, utility billing may take a little longer. The Mayor asked if the utility bills could be something other than the current postcard type, possibly a bill with an envelope, Mr. Kendall stated there are a number of billing formats, a postcard style to a full page, a choice of the standards in the system can be made at no additional cost, to the envelope style it would be a matter of making the request as to desired style. The Mayor asked how Springbook structures its support, Mr. Kendall responded that in the event there was need for a support charge that is not done until there is a returned, signed notice of agreement of what the cost would be, with the annual maintenance, which currently seems to be about $12,000 per year, it would be half or less than current, there is no charge for training during implementation, there are also no additional charges for upgrades. The Mayor inquired if the product carries a warranty, the response of Mr. Kendall was yes, believed to be a year and through the implementation period. He stated they are a privately held company based in Portland, Oregon, also, should there be question of their company going out of business he explained that they have a national user group, there are also local user groups, the codes to their software are held in a vault by the national user group president, the location of the vault is unknown even to Springbrook, that is a reassurance to their users, their meetings are even controlled by the national user group, not Springbrook, they are merely invited. Councilman Boyd asked who the conversion manager for the City will be, the Finance Director responded I I I 12-11-00 I that she would be. Councilman Boyd mentioned that the end product of the utility billing most likely constitutes the greatest number of complaints received by the Council from customers, he would like to see an accurate and user friendly billing system, it sounds as ,if that will be resolved, also asked if the system will generate a monthly financial report that will consolidate a general ledger, balance sheet, and investment report. The Director responded stated that information can be downloaded to spreadsheets so that graphs and reports can be generated, even without going to a spreadsheet, rather than the hours it takes to prepare such reports under the current system. Councilman Boyd agreed that far too much time is being spent at present, that change will be welcomed. Mr. Kendall noted an additional feature relates to audits, in that process an auditor may want to see data for a six month prior period, if that is not on hard copy it can not be retrieved, this system will allow one to generate such report for months or years, and be completed in minutes. To the mention of features to make things easier for the City's customers, he said something is being worked on to offer payment of utility bills on-line, this will allow making payments, viewing one's account payment history, or write a service request. To the question as to what type of information residents could obtain on-line, Mr. Kendall responded that that would only be their personal account. The Director mentioned that reports could also be placed on the website, the budget summary would be an example. Councilman Yost asked if this is an individual program' that will run off the City's file servers or an application service provider, to that Mr. Kendall responded it could be on a client-server basis, they run on an NT platform, there is an ASP service as well where the data is on-site and one could log in via the network or cable. The Finance Director said upon review of the numbers it seemed to be more cost effective to be on the City's servers. With regard to a question as to backup, Mr. Magaldi advised that the City recently purchased a full NT backup system, at present it is being backed up every night by means of a multi-tape system, before, because of budget constraints, there was not the ability to do that yet the volume of data on the servers was so large that it took two tapes over two days to backup, that meant over weekends, the present system has been place for about two months, it works well, a one hundred percent backup is done each night of all systems, a deck of tapes is kept off-site, on the weekend a master backup is done. Councilman Yost inquired how information is secured, to that Mr. Magaldi said it is NT secured, NT authentication security is the base, secured by the City and by the firewall against anyone from outside, all access in the City is departmentized individually, the security codes go to those departments and individuals, the department head would likely be the individual with clearance to access different portions of their department, this is a relational database, a modern sequel type database which allows the use of one id database, by its structure much more secure than the existing system, with the current most anything that may happen could corrupt the database, the firewall is a protection to hackers. I I Councilman Boyd moved to approve Springbrook Software, Inc. as the vendor to provide the City with accounting software in an amount not to exceed $160,000, and that the Interim City Manager be authorized to execute the contract on behalf of the City pending review by legal counsel. Councilman Doane seconded the motion. 12-11-00 The Finance Director offered an invitation to the members of the Council to look at the software during the training period, also the training for the RICOH business systems which Council just approved. AYES: NOES: Boyd, Campbell, Doane, Larson, Yost None Motion carried I The Interim City Manger mentioned that the City has what is considered to be a deficient training budget, when this system is set up there needs to be on-going training, this recommendation will be made in writing to the Council upon his departure, the Sanitation District as an example provides two percent of payroll for training, not a lot, about a week a year, but the new technologies can not be kept up with without training. PROPOSED ORDINANCE NUMBER 1458 - REVIEW OF PLANNING COMMISSION DECISIONS Councilman Boyd said it was he who had requested the City Attorney to draft the proposed ordinance inasmuch as in the past there have been several appeals filed by members of the Council to Planning Commission decisions, that poses somewhat of a problem, and having had the opportunity to observe the operation of City Council's in other cities there is another way to handle that issue. Upon discussing this matter with the City Attorney a suggestion was made that an ordinance could be adopted that would provide Consent Calendar review of Planning Commission decisions. He mentioned that to some it has been a concern that the Commission makes decisions that the Council by defacto is responsible for because of the Commission being appointees of the Council however the Council is not always aware of those decisions, said he would disagree with that opinion as it is felt the Council does review Commission decisions yet this would provide a second opportunity for review without removing the ability of a Councilmember to appeal, it also expands the opportunity for a citizen to approach their Councilmember to request that an item be appealed. The City Attorney explained that there have been recent court decisions, one involving the City of Torrance, where a judge allowed review of a Planning Commission decision pursuant to the City's own rules and procedures, there was also a case in Hermosa Beach about six years ago where a councilmember appealed a decision of the Planning Commission, the court found that the councilmember was biased based on the appeal and directed the city to conduct another hearing, also, in a decision involving the City of Thousand Oaks the Councilmember appealed the decision of the Planning Commission however the court of appeal through out the Council decision and reinstated the decision of the Planning Commission. The Attorney mentioned that based upon those three cases a number of their cities have adopted a procedure called Council review, this gives the Council the opportunity to be made aware of all Planning Commission decisions by means of a listing of same on the Consent Calendar to receive and file unless a member of the Council chooses to pull an item to discuss whether or not it should be reviewed by the Council, if two members of the Council agree that it is the type of matter that requires the elected officials to make a determination then it would come back on a subsequent agenda for a full de nova public hearing and Council decision. Councilman Boyd noted his concern that court decisions have invalidated Council actions because a councilmember appealed a decision, his feeling is that that almost circumvents the rights of a councilmember as a I I 12-11-00 I citizen, whereas a citizen can appeal an issue but a councilmember can not, this ordinance would be a further protection for the citizens and the rights of the Council as well. The Mayor mentioned there is an issue of the cost as well, if a citizen appeals there is a substantial fee, if a member of the Council appeals there is no fee. Councilman Boyd reiterated the process as proposed as a Consent Calendar item. The City Attorney explained that in the event that a member of the Council did not get a second member to concur that an item would be the type of issue that should be reviewed, the member of the Council would still have the ability to appeal under the appeal process however that again brings up exposure to claims of bias and potential for disqualifying oneself, therefore there would be two means of appealing an issue, yet under the review process proposed the bias issue would not exist by making a finding that the matter was of citywide importance warranting review and determination by the elected officials of the City, the process also proposes the notification to the applicant of the reconsideration and the issues for discussion. It was mentioned too that a Council review would stay any further action on the action taken by the Planning Commission pending completion of the review proceedings, that also allows the Council to protect the interests of the public. The city Attorney noted that to earlier versions of the proposed ordinance there were some concerns by the Council that if only one member of the Council called for review there could be delay of a project for perhaps months and that was thought to be unfair, yet if it is a matter of citywide importance the City would not want the person to be proceeding before a Council determination therefore the Planning Commission action would be stayed. Councilman Boyd spoke favorably of the proposed ordinance in light of the court decisions, practices of good government, and citizen participation. I I Councilman Larson inquired about matters before the Planning Commission that are administrative decisions and not public hearings. The City Attorney pointed out that the review hearing would be noticed in the same manner as required for appeals, the same procedure and criteria followed as with the original proceeding, it is believed that there are some minor plan reviews that do not require a public hearing therefore would not require a public hearing before the Council, an alternative, for Council consideration, is that this could be limited to certain quasi-judicial actions where there is not presently the opportunity for review, CUP's, variances, tentative maps that are not required to come before the Council are examples, the draft of the proposed ordinance at this point gives the opportunity to review every Planning Commission action. To Councilman Larson's inquiry with regard to an item not coming to the attention of the Council until the time for appeal passes, the City Attorney noted that he and the Director of Development Services had reviewed the calendar to determine if there might be a time when there would be a ten day delay between a Commission and Council meeting, mentioning that about six years ago the Commission meeting days were changed to make certain that the Commission met prior to the Council, it is believed this has been covered, there could be a problem in November or December, but it is thought that will not occur. Councilman Larson expressed his feeling that the Planning Commission might as well be abolished if there is not going to be confidence in that body, and with regard to this consideration if a member of the Council can not get another to agree to review then his feeling is that that member should not have the right to 12-11-00 appeal. Councilman Doane mentioned that three members of the Council have been members of the Planning Commission, his question would be if it would not be demeaning to the Commission if this Ordinance were to be approved. Councilman Yost agreed, his preference would be to limit the Ordinance to quasi-judicial issues as the City Attorney mentioned, in this City the Commission has been a strong body, overturned only on occasion, all CUP's go through the Planning Commission, that includes alcohol permits, that affords the Commission a large say as to what occurs in this community and its quality of life, with regard to provisions of Section 4-B and D of the Ordinance, if a Councilmember is going to get another member to agree to appeal something how is staff going to know what their issues of concern are, this is an issue of protecting a member of the Council from bias yet on the other hand let the applicant know what the issues of concern are. The Mayor mentioned that Cypress does not have a Planning Commission, several years ago there were several projects that came before the Council that resulted in recalls, etc., pointing out that one of the greatest services of the Planning Commission is that it reviews all of the concerns of a project then by the time it gets to the Council people have had time to think about and weigh the issues, that is critically important. Councilman Larson agreed that the Planning Commission is a hard working body, he would not want to take away their right to think independently even though the Council may not agree, there is also the right of appeal. Mayor Campbell questioned the appearance to the Commission of the Council reviewing, by means of a Council agenda, everything that they do. Councilmembers Doane, Yost, and Mayor Campbell indicated they did not agree with this proposal, that they have confidence in their commissioners. Councilman Boyd said he felt the point was being missed, that other cities with equally as competent Planning Commissions as Seal Beach have gone to this review procedure. In response to the comment relating to notification to the applicant, the City Attorney explained that should the Council adopt the proposed Ordinance the procedure, after two Council votes to review, would then be to inquire of the Council what issues they would want the applicant to be prepared to discuss relating to the item of concern. with regard to the comments of Council, the City Attorney suggested that the proposed Ordinance be held over for now, offered to provide copies of agendas from other cities if that is desired, as it is felt important to have Council review, cautioned that based upon the referenced cases one day an appeal may draw a lawsuit charging bias and the Planning commission decision will be reinstated or worse yet a court will superimpose its judgement as to what is best for the City of Seal Beach, that is what this ordinance is trying to avoid. Councilman Yost expressed his appreciation for this effort, said he learned from his two appeals, but he was not certain that a system that is working needs to be fixed. Councilman Larson suggested possibly no charge for an appeal from the public. Councilman Boyd said the issue here was not to oversee the actions of the Planning Commission, rather allow the Council to simply review the decisions made, as elected officials the Council is accountable for that with the ever changing law in California, one example is the Mola issue where the Commission approved the project, the Council approved first reading, then given the change of Council at that time possible the long, arduous process could have been avoided, which Seal Beach has come to be known for, an environment has been created where there is a hostile citizenry, disrespect for both Council and public and staff, I I I 12-11-00 I an environment that the City does not want. He proposed to go with the suggestion of the City Attorney, have him provide information over the next few months for a further understanding of the process, it is felt this would help the residents to be more of a part of the process. Mayor Campbell suggested that the Planning Commission be afforded the opportunity to review the Ordinance proposed, Councilman Yost agreed, and offered his respect for the citizens of Seal Beach as they are intelligent and very involved, he would not want to do away with the Planning Commission in this community, Councilman Boyd too agreed to allow the Commission the opportunity to review the document and see if they are' offended by the process proposed. The City Attorney confirmed the expressed desire that the proposed Ordinance be presented to the Planning Commission for review. CITY ATTORNEY REPORT No report was presented. CITY MANAGER REPORT No report was presented. I COUNCIL COMMENTS Councilman Yost expressed appreciation to the Police Department for their detailed draft report relating to the process of handling hazardous materials spills, when the report is complete he will make it available to the public. Councilman Boyd mentioned that the Orange County Fire Authority is moving forward with the discussion and process to construct their new Regional Fire Operations Training center, they will be hosting a public forum to review the facility on January 4th at 6:30 at Station 43 in Tustin which is immediately adjacent to the new site. Councilman Larson said he believed the Council all received a copy of the letter from the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars citing some conflict with regard to the use of Eisenhower park for Memorial Day and Veterans Day, requesting that those days be reserved for their use. The response of the Recreation and Parks Director was that that issue has been taken care of. Mayor Campbell commended Mr. Chet Corbin for his academic achievements and the anticipated arrival of twins in April. ADJOURNMENT It was the order of the Chair, with consent of the Council, to adjourn the City Council and the Redevelopment Agency until Wednesday, December 20th at noon to meet in closed and open sessions. By unanimous consent, the meeting was adjourned at 10:07 p.m. I Attest: ~~te~ 9~?1l~ Approved: