Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Min 1999-01-25 1-11-99 I 1-25-99 Approved: I Attest: Seal Beach, California January 25, 1999 The City Council of the City of Seal Beach met in regular adjourned session at 6:35 p.m. with Mayor ProTem Campbell calling the meeting to order with the Salute to the Flag. ROLL CALL Present: Mayor ProTem Campbell Councilmembers Boyd, Doane, Yost Absent: None Vacancy: One Also present: Mr. Barrow, City Attorney Mrs. Yeo, City Clerk The City Manager joined the Council in Closed Session. I APPROVAL OF AGENDA Doane moved, second by Boyd to approve the order of the agenda as presented. AYES: NOES: VACANCY: Boyd, Campbell, Doane, Yost None One Motion carried ORAL COMMUNICATIONS There were no Oral Communications. CLOSED SESSION The City Attorney reported that the Council would meet in Closed Session pursuant to Government Code Section 54956.9(a) to discuss the three items identified on the agenda, Brendel versus Johnson, Los Alamitos versus Seal Beach, and Seal Beach versus Seal Beach Anglers. By unanimous consent, the Council adjourned to Closed Session at 6:36 p.m. and reconvened at 6:48 p.m. with Mayor ProTem Campbell calling the meeting to order. The City Attorney announced that the Council briefly discussed the items identified on the agenda, and in deference to the future Councilmember, the Council will return to Closed Session at the end of the 7:00 p.m. regular session. I ADJOURNMENT Boyd moved, second by Doane, to adjourn this session until the end of the regular meeting. AYES: NOES: VACANCY: Boyd, Campbell, Doane, Yost None One Motion carried 1-25-99 This portion of the adjourned meeting concluded at 6:49 p.m. The meeting was reconvened at 9:46 p.m. with Mayor Yost calling the meeting to order. I CLOSED SESSION The City Attorney announced that the Council would return to Closed Session to discuss the items identified on the agenda and as previously announced. By unanimous consent, the Council adjourned to Closed Session at 9:46 p.m. The Council reconvened at 10:34 p.m. with Mayor Yost calling the meeting to order. The City Attorney reported the Council had discussed the three items listed on the agenda and gave direction with regard to the Los Alamitos versus Seal Beach matter. No other action was taken. As a point of clarification, the City Clerk reported the language set forth in the City Charter with regard to Council reorganizations. ADJOURNMENT It was the order of the Chair, with consent of the Council, to adjourn the meeting at 10:35 p.m. clerk I Attest: Approved: Seal Beach, California January 25, 1999 The City Council of the City of Seal Beach met in regular session at 7:03 p.m. with Mayor ProTem Campbell calling the meeting to order. I Councilman Boyd invited the members of Girl Scout Daisy Troop 2269 to take their positions to lead the Salute to the Flag. While the girls took their places he explained that the Pledge of Allegiance was written in 1892 yet it was not adopted by Congress until 1942 as were guidelines for the presentation of the Pledge. Troop 2269 presented the Salute to the Flag, thereafter Councilman Boyd presented each girl with the Daisy Flag badge. INVOCATION Gregg Anderson, Chaplin for the Orange County Fire Authority, Division One, was introduced by Councilman Boyd. Chaplin Anderson stated it is a pleasure to serve in this community, an honor to be present, and offered an invocation of support 1-25-99 for the Council and community. Appreciation was extended to Chaplin Anderson. PROCLAMATION Mayor ProTem Campbell read in full the Proclamation commending the Seal Beach Host Lions Club 60th Anniversary. A representative of the Lions Club accepted the Proclamation with appreciation. I ROLL CALL Absent: Mayor ProTem Campbell Councilmembers Boyd, Doane, Yost Absent: None Vacancy: One Also present: Mr. Till, City Manager Mr. Barrow, City Attorney Mr. Whittenberg, Director of Development Services Mr. Badum, Director of Public Works/City Engineer Chief Sellers, Police Department Mr. Dorsey, Assistant to the City Manager Ms. Beard, Recreation and Parks Director Ms. Yeo, City Clerk APPROVAL OF AGENDA Mayor ProTem Campbell requested that Items "G" and "J" be removed from the Consent Calendar for separate consideration, a member of the audience was advised to address agenda Item "D" during Oral Communications, and Councilman Boyd requested Item "I" removed. Boyd moved, second by Yost, to approve the order of the agenda as revised. I AYES: NOES: VACANCY: Boyd, Campbell, Doane, Yost None One Motion carried ORAL COMMUNICATIONS Mayor ProTem Campbell declared Oral Communications open. Mr. Ed Simmons, mentioned First Annual Surfing Contest in Seal Beach held last weekend, organized by the City's Lifeguard Department and with considerable effort by many people, and declared it was fantastic. He said there were between seven hundred to a thousand people on the beach, the contest very well run. He extended appreciation to Messrs. Boyd, Barrow, Yost, and Till for coming to the event, entering the contest, bringing their families, expressed his hope that this will take place once a year, the type of event that the City needs more of. Mr. Simmons said he also wanted to comment on the beach, if the City were to put a dollar into the beach it will get five back, yet there is much to be done, suggested that a committee be formed to include the District One Councilperson, the City Manager, bring in Moffat & Nichol, people familiar with the beach, sit down, talk, look at pictures, figure out a plan. He claimed that the five years of sand is gone, the south end of the beach is eroding, the worst he has seen in some forty years, there is a massive amount of sand next to the seawall and if there is a large storm the pier will be lost again, that is because there is no sand at 13th Street to break the waves before they get to the beach, the waves will come in, through the pier, bounce I 1-25-99 I off the buildup of sand, hit the seawall, then the waves can only go one place which is straight up. After rains, Mr. Simmons said there should be a monitoring program as to the quality of the water, find out what is coming down the River, other cities are allowing things to come down the River that is ruining this beach, it is dirty, and noted two world class surfers here this past weekend commented that it was dirty. He offered that this is our beach, our playground, the kids are at the beach, they are going to surf, the beach needs to be cleaned, also long range issues looked at for the south side, the ocean is rising each year, now 7.1, 7.2, it is said within two to three years it will be 7.5, 7.8, the jetty will not be seen at 7.8. Mr. Simmons asked if things are being done with the Seal Way people in mind, yet other people are affected, the berm doesn't help, look at the pictures from 1983. He mentioned that he lives on 17th Street, Seal Beach Boulevard to 15th Street is about four feet three inches lower than Seal Way, thus who is going to be impacted more with a major storm or surge, all of Seal Beach, and made reference to grates placed in the streets of Laguna Beach to deal with massive water runoff, that is the type thing he would like to see a committee start talking about. He said everyone listens to Moffat & Nichol yet they do not live here, walk on the pier every day, surf in this ocean, suggesting that the knowledge of the Lifeguards should be sought, people need to start working together, there needs to be input, the community should be able to help itself. Mr. Simmons said there has to be an alternative to sand replenishment, the south end of the beach is being ruined to make money, no one can use it because of the berm and it can not be cleaned, if the water washes over the sand will be cleaned, the last time the water washed over the berm it sat next to the wall along Seal Way, kids played in the water, it was a health hazard. He mentioned that there are now twenty- six State regulations against water pollution, to which he asked how much money is Seal Beach getting, how much money is the City getting from the debris coming down the River, suggesting that when a rain is expected, drop some grates across that River to catch the debris. Mr. Simmons stated again that it is time for a committee, time to do something, share ideas, the City is losing money from a part of this community that no one goes to now, when the visitors leave they throw their trash on the ground. He concluded his comments with appreciation once again for the participants in the surfing event. I OATH OF OFFICE - DISTRICT TWO APPOINTEE The City Clerk administered the Oath of Office to Mr. Paul Snow, the newly appointed member of the City Council representing Councilmanic District Two for the unexpired term ending May, 2000. Councilman Snow assumed his City Council position to applause and congratulatory comments from the members of the Council. I CITY COUNCIL REORGANIZATION SELECTION OF MAYOR Nominations were declared open for the selection of Mayor. Councilman Boyd nominated Mayor ProTem Campbell for the position of Mayor. By unanimous consent, nominations were declared closed. AYES: NOES: Boyd, Campbell Doane, Snow, Yost Motion failed 1-25-99 Councilman of Mayor. closed. Doane nominated Councilman Yost for the position By unanimous consent, nominations were declared AYES: NOES: Doane, Snow, Yost Boyd, Campbell Motion carried Dr. Yost was declared to be selected as Mayor. II SELECTION OF MAYOR PRO TEM Nominations were declared open for the selection of Mayor ProTem. Councilman Boyd nominated Mayor ProTem Campbell to continue in that position, and Mayor Yost nominated Councilman Doane. Vote on the nomination of Mayor ProTem Campbell: AYES: NOES: Boyd, Campbell, Snow Doane, Yost Motion carried Mayor ProTem Campbell was declared to be selected to continue in that position. Dr. Yost assumed the Mayoral position. RESOLUTION NUMBER 4678 - MAYORAL APPOINTMENTS For information of the Council, it was noted that certain Councilmembers are currently serving in the capacity of representative or alternate to the various Boards/Agencies. A suggestion was made that appointments be made or reconfirmed. Counci1member Boyd stated he has served as the alternate representative to the Board of Directors of the Sanitation Districts, would like to continue, and suggested Councilman Snow as the alternate, is the current representative to the Orange County Fire Authority, would like to continue, and Councilman Snow accepted the alternate position. Councilmembers Campbell and Snow agreed to be the representative and alternate to the West Orange County Water Board. Confirming that the City is not currently a fee participant in the Southern California Association of Governments, Councilman Boyd suggested that a representative and alternate not be designated, and that the City disassociate itself from that organization, to which a consensus of the Council was indicated. Councilmember Campbell agreed to continue as the representative to the Orange County Division of the League of California Cities, Mayor Yost to serve as the alternate. Mayor Yost offered to continue as the representative to the Santa Ana River Flood Protection Agency, and Councilman Snow was selected as the alternate. II Councilman Boyd noted that he is the current representative to the Orange County Library Advisory Board however requested that another member of the Council consider assuming that participation. As to reference to the Orange County Regional Airport Authority, Councilmember Campbell indicated her continued interest in serving. The recommendation was that appointments to those bodies be placed on the next agenda for consideration. As to the Vector Control appointment, now held by Mr. Frank Laszlo, the City Clerk advised that that appointment is made at a different time and for a specific period. I With regard to the SCAG appointments, the City Attorney noted that the City has never been active in that organization, 1-25-99 I however that body sets the regional housing needs, which has been deferred since 1992, however will establish numbers in the year 2000 therefore the City may wish to have some involvement. He recalled that about ten years ago this was an issue in that the City was not participating and SCAG was telling the City how much housing was needed, the positions could be left vacant yet the City may wish to remain a member of SCAG in order to participate in the housing needs process when it comes forth. For the purpose of information, the City Manager offered to provide a report relating to SCAG, to which the Council agreed by consensus. Boyd moved, second by Campbell, to adopt Resolution Number 4678, as amended to reflect the appointments as mentioned, entitled "A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEAL BEACH, CONFIRMING APPOINTMENTS MADE BY THE MAYOR AND COUNCIL OF REPRESENTATIVES TO VARIOUS BOARDS, AGENCIES, AND ORGANIZATIONS, ASSIGNING CERTAIN DUTIES TO COUNCILMEMBERS AND REPEALING RESOLUTION NUMBER 4633." By unanimous consent, full reading of Resolution Number 4678 was waived. AYES: NOES: Boyd, Campbell, Doane, Snow, Yost None Motion carried I APPOINTMENT - WESTCOMM It was mentioned that Councilmembers Campbell and Doane had indicated an interest in serving on the Westcomm Board. Councilman Doane said he attended one meeting as the interim representative and expressed interest in continuing. Boyd moved, second by Campbell, to designate Councilman Doane as the representative to the Westcomm Board. AYES: NOES: Boyd, Campbell, Doane, Snow, Yost None Motion carried I RESOLUTION NUMBER 4679 - CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS - PROCEDURAL RULES Resolution Number 4679 was presented to Council entitled "A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEAL BEACH, CALIFORNIA, ESTABLISHING PROCEDURAL RULES FOR CONDUCT OF COUNCIL MEETINGS." Councilman Boyd said in an effort to update the Council agenda format he developed a proposed format from a compilation of agendas of seven different agencies, the draft distributed to the members of the Council, legal counsel, and departments for their input. He noted that there are two different cover pages for the monthly meetings, there is no Agency session on the second Monday, the Council meeting would commence at 7:00 p.m., the agenda cover sheet notes the cablecasting of the meetings and when, also gives the web site, the fourth Monday meeting would commence at 7:00 p.m., the Closed Session would be moved to the end of the Council business session, and the Redevelopment Agency meeting would be held at the conclusion of the Council meeting. Councilman Boyd pointed out that it is proposed that the designation of Oral Communications be changed to Public Comments, then, as requested by legal counsel, the general statement under the first public comment designation revised to provide that the public may address any item on the current agenda rather than any item of interest. To that the City Attorney explained that when there are two public comment periods, most cities provide for comments to agenda items at the first, the second is for any item within the jurisdiction of the Council, however it can be done either way. Citing time constraints of many members of the public, not wanting to remain until the end of 1-25-99 meetings to bring forth comments, Councilman Boyd said his preference would be to maintain public comments as they are presently. He noted the new format will show the action requested in bold type, there is a category for City Attorney Reports, that would only be for legal issues that would not require a Closed Session discussion, there is a category for City Manager/staff reports, to that he noted a recent request for a quarterly financial report, requesting that a quarterly Treasurer's report be agendized accordingly. Councilman Doane noted that occasionally people desire to bring items before the Redevelopment Agency, his concern is that without a specific meeting time they would need to wait until the conclusion of the Council meeting. In response, Councilman Boyd pointed out that the time would be established at 7:00 p.m. then adjourned until the end of the Council session, however if there are persons present who wish to speak the Agency meeting could be moved forward, the intent is to expedite the meetings so they will not be so lengthy. He pointed out also the elimination of the use of City letterhead in the preparation of the agenda, rather, the cover page would be the City logo. Mr. Gordon Shanks, Surf Place, stated his opposition to changing the format of the Redevelopment Agency, the meetings are 6:45 p.m., it takes just one additional sheet of paper for the agenda, although the agendas have been minimal for some time there will be issues forthcoming where there will be considerable public input. He commended the efforts of Councilman Boyd, stated he had not seen the proposed format change until coming to the meeting, and requested that action on this matter be delayed to allow for public review, as it is felt the procedures are stricter than need be. Mr. Shanks was provided a copy of the actual agenda format as proposed as his reference was determined to have been to the proposed Resolution, and Councilman Boyd emphasized that the intent is to keep the format as simple and uncomplicated as possible. Mr. Shanks repeated his request to delay action on this matter until the next meeting, and expressed his opinion that the change of the Agency meeting time is not a minor change. Councilman Boyd pointed out that the only changes are the designation for Public Comments and the addition of reports from staff, that previously adopted meeting regulations have now been incorporated into one document, and pointed out that the Agency meeting time has already been changed by Resolution of that body. Yost moved, second by Campbell, to postpone consideration of this item until the next meeting. I I AYES: NOES: Campbell, Doane, Snow, Yost Boyd Motion carried CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEMS "E" thru "N" Doane moved, second by Campbell, to approve the recommended action for items on the Consent Calendar as presented, except Items "I, G, and J", 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 reading of the title unless specific request is made at that time for the reading of such ordinance or resolution. I F. Approved regular demands numbered 21978 through 22197 in the amount of $971,213.18, 1-25-99 payroll demands numbered 2134 through 2416 in the amount of $286,372.40, and authorized warrants to be drawn on the Treasury for same. H. Received and filed the staff report relating to the Seal Beach Weapons Support Facility Installation Restoration Program, Draft Final Site Management Plan, and instructed staff to forward same to the Planning Commission, Environmental Quality Control Board, and Archaeological Advisory Committee for information purposes. I K. Denied the claim for damages of Lourdes R. Ines and referred same to the City's liability attorney and adjuster. L. Denied the claim for damages of Yefim Davydovich Kulik and Yelena Kulik and referred same to the City's liability attorney and adjuster. M. Approved the minutes of the November 17, 1998 regular adjourned meeting. N. Adopted Resolution Number 4681 entitled "A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEAL BEACH SETTING SALARY AND BENEFITS FOR THE ASSOCIATE PLANNER AND ASSISTANT PLANNER POSITIONS." By unanimous consent, full reading of Resolution Number 4681 was waived. I AYES: NOES: Boyd, Campbell, Doane, Snow, Yost None Motion carried ITEMS REMOVED FROM THE CONSENT CALENDAR I ITEM "G" - BOLSA CHICA CHANNEL IMPROVEMENTS - MITIGATED NEGATIVE DECLARATION - COMMENT LETTER Councilmember Campbell noted her concern with the County proceeding with improvements to the Bolsa Chica Channel, of concern is that there is considerable wildlife in the Channel behind Wisteria, it is now a rock culvert, when it is turned into a concrete box culvert the wildlife will be gone, this was brought to attention some months back however it is known that nothing can be done because Garden Grove is pushing forward this project. She expressed regret that the wildlife will be lost. Councilman Doane agreed, however mentioned that the channel through the middle of Leisure World is concrete, said he has seen wildlife there, they seek the algae. Councilman Snow inquired as to a more specific location of this channel, to which Councilmember Campbell explained that it is on the eastern side of the Armed Forces Reserve Center, separates Seal Beach from Garden Grove south of Lampson Avenue, the homes on the eastern side of Wisteria back to this drainage culvert, the water runs under the 405 Freeway and eventually through Leisure World, the culvert is currently lined with rock, there is a meandering stream, and when there was the 1995 flooding this channel did overflow in an area north of Lampson yet did not come into the backyards of the homes on Wisteria, not known if that occurred on the Garden Grove side. Doane moved, second by Boyd, to receive and file the staff report and instructed staff to forward 1-25-99 same to the Planning commission and the Environmental Quality Control Board for information purposes. AYES: NOES: Boyd, Campbell, Doane, Snow, Yost None Motion carried ITEM "I" - MONTHLY INVESTMENT REPORT With the revised agenda format, Councilman Boyd inquired if the Finance Director would be willing to provide a quarterly report of revenue and expenditures in accordance with the budget, this would tie into the goal for strategic financial planning and provide information to the public as to where revenues are coming from, where they are being spent, etc. The Finance Director/Treasurer agreed to do so. Boyd moved, second by Campbell, to receive and file the Monthly Investment Report for December, 1998. I AYES: NOES: Boyd, Campbell, Doane, Snow, Yost None Motion carried ITEM "J" - RESOLUTION NUMBER 4680 - SIGNATURE AUTHORIZATIONS Resolution Number 4680 was presented to Council entitled "A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEAL BEACH, CALIFORNIA, PROVIDING AUTHORIZATION TO SIGN DEMANDS AND CHECKS FOR THE WITHDRAWAL OF FUNDS ON DEPOSIT WITH THE BANK OF AMERICA AND WELLS FARGO BANK, AND AUTHORIZING ALTERNATIVE SIGNATURES, AND RESCINDING RESOLUTION NUMBER 4627." By unanimous consent, full reading of Resolution Number 4680 was waived. Counci1member Campbell made reference to the third recital of the Resolution suggesting that language be added to read 'duly appointed City Manager' as is the Finance Officer duly appointed. The City Attorney agreed to the additional language. Campbell moved, second by Doane, to adopt Resolution Number 4680 as amended. I AYES: NOES: Boyd, Campbell, Doane, Snow, Yost None Motion carried TEEN PROGRAM - NEEDS ASSESSMENT STATUS The Recreation and Parks Director reported that she and Ms. Cynthia Lydeoff have toured the Los A1amitos Teen Center, met with Mr. Stretz, the Director, who showed some of the programs they are producing, talked about the possibility of producing some of the same programs for Seal Beach, he was enthusiastic with considering Seal Beach as another site of the Youth Center. He will be helping with the assessment process, the first draft of the assessment instrument to be presented in February, the Council will receive the assessment for consideration of additions, deletions, etc. prior to finalization and distribution, the assessment hoped to be completed by the first part of April. She noted that Mr. Stretz has applied for a grant funded by United Way in the amount of $25,000 to fund the program. The Manager said it is hoped there will be good information forthcoming from the assessment, also that a commitment of the families can be obtained to participate in the program. I AGREEMENT - PROJECT MANAGEMENT SERVICES - SEAL BEACH BOULEVARD/I-40S BRIDGE WIDENING - PROJECT NUMBER 750 The Public Works Director stated this item is a request for authorization to enter into a professional services agreement with Mr. Gail Pickart for project management of the Seal Beach Boulevard bridge widening at the 405 Freeway, noted that prior approval was received for preliminary engineering, environmental documentation, and project development through 1-25-99 I the CalTrans process, and because of the limited staff size the desire is to retain a full time person to be aedicated to this project to keep it on-track. The Director described the experience of Mr. Pickart, a current project in Newport Beach, and his familiarity with the CalTrans process. Councilman Boyd noted the cost of not to exceed $45,000, inquired if application has been made and if the monies have as yet been received. The Director responded that monies were promised through the OCTA standard process, GMA 2 and 6 previously approved and allocated funding for the preliminary portion of the project, about $300,000 is presently dedicated to that effort, with this amount it is just under another $300,000, confirmed that a Council Resolution had been adopted some time back approving submittal of this project, and explained that once a project award has been made and the agreements executed a billing is sent to OCTA for ninety percent of the project, at the completion of the project the final ten percent is awarded. Councilman Doane inquired if local elected officials are still participating in the GMA's, to which the Director responded that he was uncertain yet presumed that Councilmember Campbell was participating in GMA 2 and Councilman Boyd in GMA 6. Councilman Boyd expressed his belief that this project is moving forward rather quickly because of the available funding, irregardless of the Bixby project, the overpass bridge does have problems, however said he personally did not want to see further General Fund money being allocated for consultants, the City has a good staff, there are more engineers employed now than there has ever been, yet hearing that this will not be paid from the local budget is reassuring. I Boyd moved, second by Doane, to approve the professional services agreement with Gail Pickart, P.E. to provide project management and oversight for the engineering services contract which includes planning, environmental, and preliminary engineering services in conjunction with the Seal Beach Boulevard Bridge Widening over the I-405, Project Number 750, and authorized the City Manager to execute the contract. AYES: NOES: Boyd, Campbell, Doane, Snow, Yost None Motion carried With the permission of the Council, Councilman Snow spoke to a previous item, commending the efforts being put forth for a teen program to benefit the children. I RESOLUTION NUMBER 4682 I RESOLUTION NUMBER 4683 - MASTER PLAN AGREEMENT AND PROGRAM SUPPLEMENT - MARINA DRIVE BRIDGE RECONSTRUCTION - PROJECT NUMBER 676 The Public Works Director explained that Resolution Number 4682 authorizes execution of a master agreement with the State, CalTrans, for the use of federal funds for the reconstruction of the Marina Drive Bridge, the agreement necessary in order to bill the State for those funds, the State funding ninety percent of the project up to $5,000,000, the remaining ten percent will be split with the City of Long Beach, that would be about $250,000 for Seal Beach of which there is currently $175,000 allocated in the budget, the expectation is close to that amount. He said this is authorization to bill the State for this City's share of the design costs, the project is presently in design and moving toward a bridge type selection, Seal Beach has offered to be the lead agency for the project therefore Long Beach will be forwarding their share to Seal Beach. Councilman Boyd asked 1-25-99 if the bridge will be closed completely during construction, to which the Director responded that that continues to be reviewed with Long Beach, there has been agreement to construct a reduced sized bridge, two lanes rather than four lanes with improved bicycle and pedestrian facilities, also, it is realized that considerable money could be saved if there were agreement to close the bridge, which could pose a greater problem for Long Beach than Seal Beach, thus that issue has been deferred to them, if they opt for a one year rather than two year closure the difference in cost could be up to or over a million dollars, yet they will want to be sensitive to the businesses in the marina area, their comments are being awaited. Contact of the Long Beach elected official representing that area was mentioned, noted that their concern is the impact on the businesses in the marina, also, State regulations allow work to be done only during the summer months, if the intent is to get it completed it would likely be only one lane and require signalization, which will impact traffic flow and the businesses, the concern of this City is to reduce the bridge to two lanes which will effect traffic calming and provide a better pedestrian access to the marina area. I Boyd moved, second by Yost, to adopt Resolution Number 4682 entitled "A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEAL BEACH APPROVING AND PROVIDING EXECUTION OF ADMINISTRATING AGENCY-STATE AGREEMENT WITH THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION FOR EXPENDITURE OF FEDERAL AID FUNDS" and Resolution Number 4683 entitled "A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEAL BEACH, AUTHORIZATION BY CITY COUNCIL FOR DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS TO EXECUTE INDIVIDUAL 'PROGRAM SUPPLEMENT' AGREEMENTS FOR THE MARINA DRIVE BRIDGE PROJECT #676." By unanimous consent, full reading of Resolutions numbered 4682 and 4683 was waived. I AYES: NOES: Boyd, Campbell, Doane, Snow, Yost None Motion carried PRESENTATION - STRATEGIC FINANCIAL PLAN / UTILITY TAX REPORT The City Manager reported that the City departments have worked with him on this Plan for the past six months, his intent being to provide the Council with an overview and background of this report along with twelve recommendations that he would request be considered at a future meeting or workshop. The Manager noted that with the adoption of the 1998/99 budget in June of 1998, the Council directed the preparation of a mid-year report analyzing the City's financial position, particularly with respect to the utility tax. The basic premise for this report is that it is understood the Council placed a high priority on fully justifying the current level of utility users tax with an eye to reducing it below the current eleven percent if and when other revenue sources are sufficient to meet infrastructure I replacement and operating needs of the City. He noted that the Finance Department prepared a revenue projection analysis that incorporated State and regional economic outlooks, State political trends, historic trends in the City, recent land use decisions and conservative estimating concepts. * The most significant change in the revenue outlook is the estimated $1.03 million per year in sales tax income from the Bixby Towne Center project which is anticipated to begin in 2001-2002; I I I 1-25-99 * Absent any catastrophes or major State takeaways, this sum could, in whole or in part, be applied toward tax relief, specifically, the utility users tax; In evaluating the utility tax this broadened into a strategic financial plan, the other side of the equation is the costs for a capital improvement program, capital maintenance and operations, which must be carefully weighed in any tax relief deliberation inasmuch as when it is reduced it is likely permanent; Areas of concern are: Storm drain system Master Plan implementation; Sewerage system Master Plan implementation; Water system Master Plan implementation; Pavement Management system implementation; Curb, gutter and sidewalk replacement expenses; City facilities deterioration - 1st Street beach complex, pier and main beach area, community centers, parks, City Hall; Public safety operations cost increases - Fire Authority and police personnel for optimal manning; Each year funds are budgeted to repair the worst of the problems, years of deferred maintenance have resulted in a substantial backlog in the millions of dollars; The policies and implications of setting reserve funds have not as yet been addressed by the Council; The utility tax is actually a cost consideration matter because if that revenue is reduced a means must be found to cover the costs that will be there no matter; The sales tax from the Bixby Towne Center will be the major change from what the City has experienced in the past and most likely for years to come; It is important to not overlook cost efficiency measures, the Council has made it clear that they would not just look to the revenues and anticipate spending whatever comes in until there is an exercise in cost efficiency; Again with regard to the Bixby Towne Center, by year 2001, according to the fiscal impact report, a little over a million dollars is anticipated, yet once built out, about 2001/2002, it is estimated that approximately $1.5 million of new money would be available to the City; Cost considerations need to be faced before looking at tax relief and the spending of the additional revenues; Noted that there are some cost considerations that will come to the City eventually, having been in the Fire Authority for three years, cost increases have been very minimal, now that the labor issue has been resolved, it is known that there will likely be an increase of about three percent, built in to the existing formula, there has been a lot of effort with regard to the equity study, thought to determine how monies will be distributed between the twenty-one members, that is a possible implication, yet if not touched by that it is known that Seal Beach has not been responsible for funding capital improvements at the Authority, that would point to increased costs; These are things that need to be considered when looking at the current revenue stream and tax income before cutting it off where the reduction would be permanent; With regard to police personnel, there have been discussions with the Police Chief, determined that the level is not defined as, in a business sense, an optimal staffing level, as there have been substantial staff * * * * * * * * * * * * 1-25-99 * reductions over the years in POlice, Public Works, and other departments, from a business and public safety standpoint it is not felt that police personnel is at the optimal level, therefore before there is any permanent tax relief or loss of permanent income sources the Council needs to be made aware; Estimates by the Public Works Department as to the cost of the backlog as a result of deferred maintenance for a number of years, totalling $39.5 million: Storm Drains - $7 million; Sewerage - $10 million; Water system - $7 million; Pavement program - $12 million; Curb, gutter, sidewalk replacements - $2.5 million; City facilities - $1 million; These are not year to year projects that would be funded out of available revenues after expenditures and operational costs, this is a backlog that is given little thought until something breaks; If looking at a strategic financial plan for the City with an objective to remain a viable municipality in California, whatever may come, it is believed the Council has to look at its infrastructure, commit to a long range plan to come up with $40 million, not all deferred maintenance problems should be addressed at once, a prudent approach is to identify the on-going revenue sources and commit to a capital improvement program which designates funding for specific projects over time and to achieve the goal of halting the deterioration of the infrastructure; It is necessary to begin now with a financial commitment to the CIP, it is proposed that in addition to the annual operating budget and capital improvement program, that the Council designate annually - An additional $600,000 for storm drains; A half million for the sewerage system; $200,000 for the water system - it is understood several years ago there was a water system master plan however it did not go quite far enough in identifying all of the water lines that are going to fail in the next fifteen years - that plan needs to be amended - from a business standpoint it makes sense to designate more funds each year; $750,000 for streets; $150,000 for curbs and sidewalks; $50,000 for City facilities; A total annual cost of $2,250,000; There is need to make a commitment now to start providing additional funding for the backlog of projects, the $2,250,000 is more money than there is available today and even with the new revenue from the Bixby project; Not all is a demand on the General Fund, sewer and water are enterprise funds, those monies, paid by the customers, are meant to offset the entire cost of running the system, including the infrastructure, if those costs are removed then the additional total annual demand on the General Fund is $1.55 million, that is money needed to address the backlog over about a fifteen year period; The $1.55 million is about $500,000 more than the $1.03 million that is projected from the Bixby Towne Center project by year 2001-2002, in 2002-2003 and subsequent I I * * I * * * I I I 1-25-99 * years the Bixby project is anticipated to generate about $1.5 million, that would basically balance with the program previously mentioned, putting aside those monies to deal with the seven areas of backlogged infrastructure, if the Bixby money were applied solely to infrastructure it would roughly cover it, this would assume that no General Fund monies would go to the sewer or water projects; With regard to the City's deficiency in reserves, until the last couple of years the Council could not even consider a reserve policy because the City was barely meeting its basic operating expenses and some curb, gutter, sidewalk repair, consequently there has been no determination as to what amount of reserve would provide sufficient security for the City, it is felt however that a twenty-five percent reserve would be prudent for this size municipality, one quarter of a year's estimated revenue, that would be set aside as an unobligated emergency reserve, recent memory is that the City nearly did not meet payroll, memory also that the State took a large portion of property tax and never returned it, without the utility tax the City could have been bankrupt or would have shut down its operations; This year the State legislature looked hard at taking the vehicle in-lieu fees which would have been a big item for Seal Beach, a large organization can possibly set aside a lesser reserve yet has a number of other resources to draw from in an emergency, to which it was suggested that the Council consider setting a target reserve level at twenty-five percent, that amount be set aside in a bank earning interest and generating income to the General Fund before considering the sacrificing of ongoing revenue sources to the City in the form of tax relief or any other means; Reserves have been broken out into two categories, mandated reserves, a Charter requirement for a $1 million reserve for contingencies, that has been built up to about $750,000; membership in OCCRMA requires a $900,000 set aside to pay claims, that amount is about a half million dollars short at this point; compensated absences is estimated at $950,000, opinion is that it is prudent to not totally fund that, a suggested half million dollars would be reasonable and not expose the City to unnecessary risk or legal exposure; the government accounting standard sets basic guidelines and suggests that cities recognize that comp, vacation, and sick time built up by employees needs to be funded but they do not set a specific requirement; The $1 million mandate needs to be met before adequate reserves can be discussed; Other reserves for contingencies and emergencies equals about twelve percent, it is recommended that that be built up to about twenty-five percent over time, about $1.4 million more, then the City would be in good financial position and have adequate reserves, it is felt that can possibly be achieved in a five year period; There should be a total of $2.4 million set aside in mandated reserve accounts and contingency accounts before considering lowering any revenues to the City, first, mandates should be met and General Fund reserve balances should be double what they are now; Efficiency measures - with Council direction an organizational review was performed in the fall to determine where and how efficiency measures could * * * * * * 1-25-99 * provide cost savings while maintaining equal or better service, the Council was not in a service reduction mode for the sake of reducing costs but to see if there were ways to achieve efficiency and maintain present service levels or enhance service levels; The result is a series of recommendations that is estimated could provide the City with $292,000 cost savings by the end of fiscal year 1999-2000 - Add one traffic officer position, net $40,000 in citation revenue; Contract with the County for Animal Control Services - net saving of $67,000; Efficiency measure savings for the Police Department would be $107,000; This City provides Animal Control Services under the Police Department, the Department was asked to evaluate options for animal control such as joining with other cities or contracting with other cities or selling the Seal Beach services to other cities so that overhead could be reduced, and still use the shelter, the conclusion of that was that because of limitations on space and the proximity of the shelter to residential and future residential neighborhoods it was determined that a larger animal population could not be accommodated, therefore if the City was to contract its services it would not be feasible to have animals brought to Seal Beach, other cities may have been interested but there was not adequate shelter, contracting with other cities and having the animals handled by them was looked at too; in discussions with the County animal control it was found that they could provide animal control services to Seal Beach and continue to use the local shelter as a facility, in other words dogs would not be taken out of Seal Beach, it would in effect be taking Seal Beach Animal Control Officers and the Animal Control vehicle and putting them under the auspices of the County, in meetings with the Police Department staff the County indicated a willingness to do that and honor and respect the local no kill shelter in this City, they were perfectly comfortable with that, suddenly that idea had more appeal because financially there was a $67,000 net savings per year; the shelter has been apprised of this, there are people that have not been able to separate the two functions, a City operated Animal Control function operates under the laws of the State of California, then you have to pick a shelter, most cities do not have a shelter and contract with the County with animals taken outside the City limits, an inconvenience and an emotional experience for people going to collect their pets, that was a condition at the outset, having been made clear by the Council and the community; It was clarified that the Council is very fond of the shelter, the Council does not want pets going to the County facility, this would be a contract for patrol services only; Concern was expressed with animals being picked up from Lampson Avenue and taken to Garden Grove; Not speaking specifically for the shelter, however Capt. Maiten, the City's coordinator for animal services, has spoken to them many times, assured them of what the City's objectives were, in looking at the report regarding animal services it has been shown that that function is overpaid, more being paid than is warranted, this is presented to Council for possible policy I I * I * * * I I I 1-25-99 * consideration, but the shelter is not an issue; Efficiency measures relating to Parks, Recreation and Community Services - contracting out landscape median maintenance and park mowing, called a mowing contract, estimated savings could be $75,000 per year, and contracting janitorial services would be a $25,000 per year savings, net savings $100,000; Efficiency measures in the Public Works Department - discontinue boat ramp maintenance on the pier, a $25,000 saving, the sportfishing operation and Torch Petroleum would maintain the ramps, contract out signal maintenance, that may require some signal upgrading however should pay for itself, this a $30,000 saving, revise and automate refuse collection, an example would be trash and debris from the beach and Main Street, cost reduction would be about $40,000, and consolidate the street supervisor position into an Assistant City Engineer position, placing the responsibility into one rather than two positions resulting in a $60,000 saving, net value in Public Works $180,000; Efficiency measures in the Finance Department - outsourcing of payroll services, replacing two full time positions with three part time positions has already resulted in an estimated annual savings of $68,000, much of this has been accomplished by reassigning personnel and attrition; Through the outsourcing program of the Public Works Department, the course of action is not to eliminate the positions, rather, reassign those positions to either water and sewer operations or beach cleaning for improved service levels, as the Council had indicated a priority of dealing with maintenance problems due to the lack of staffing and cutbacks over time, cleaning the beach, maintenance of landscaped medians, etc., these non-repetitive tasks where problems can be solved, those savings are suggested to be reapplied to the human resources in the areas that are top priority, the net efficiency measures of Public Works is $60,000; The grand total of the cost efficiency measures is $292,000, this is felt to be doable, will actually improve service by reassigning people to the different tasks, and will be recognized by the end of next fiscal year; In summary, there is currently a General Fund budgetary shortfall of about $1.5 million annually to fund the Capital Improvement backlog projects, it is expected this can be addressed by year 2001 with the slightly over $1 million of new revenue derived from sales tax from the Bixby Towne Center project, by fiscal 2002 it is expected those revenues will be sufficient to cover the backlog project program; There is an approximate $1 million mandated reserve shortfall, that needs to be met, another $1.4 million needed to reach what is felt to be a prudent General Fund reserve level, contingency reserve funds; With the efficiency measures described of about $292,000, progress can continue with regard to the reserves and over a five year period that goal can be reached, the financial Plan would commit each year to setting aside the monies saved through these efficiency measures and designate them to the reserves before anything else; This means in order to resolve the Capital Improvement Program backlog and meet legal and prudent reserve requirements, the City will not be in a position to * * * * * * * * 1-25-99 * consider reduction of the utility tax or any other revenue source until revenues reach the $1.47 million level in 2002, at that time current projections indicate some reduction in the utility tax may be possible, perhaps as much as a 9.1 percent reduction, which is 11 percent down to 10 percent, that without negatively affecting the desired financial balance; On the basis of those assumptions, it would be recommended that the Council set a target date of December 30, 2001 to consider reduction of the utility users tax, which would take effect in year 2002-2003, to coincide with the cash flow anticipated from the Bixby Towne Center project; This report and Financial Plan on the assumption that the Council wishes to fund the CIP backlog at the level suggested, and agree to fund the mandated and General Fund reserves at the level suggested, as well as agree to the efficiency measures as outlined; If the Council were to place a higher priority on immediate tax relief, it would be possible to accelerate the schedule of utility tax reduction, however this would delay the backlog of infrastructure projects and lead to higher costs in the long term, this is a policy determination and the Council needs to weigh the competing needs; It would be risky to ignore the legal and contractual mandated reserve funding levels, it would not violate any laws or contracts to reduce the recommended General Fund reserve level as was suggested, that could be done, a downside would be the uncertainty of the ability to function following any serious emergency or large revenue take away or loss, keeping in mind also that reserves are another income source to the General Fund, the City uses revenue from interest each year to fund operations and costs to the City; It is also possible to take more dramatic cost cutting measures than outlined, yet Council should keep in mind that more than half of operating costs from the General Fund budget go to personnel, therefore any cost cutting measures over those recommended would inevitably require staff reduction, it is possible however in the opinion of staff there would be a resultant reduction in service levels which has already been reduced about sixty percent from peak levels and there are no longer any readily available means to maintain service levels if there are further staff reductions, also, with approximately sixty percent of the General Fund going to public safety it would be extremely difficult to reduce costs without affecting both police and fire services; Staff recommendations - * Set target date of December 30, 2001 to consider a possible reduction in utility tax, a reduction from 11 percent to 10.5 percent represents an actual 4.5 percent decrease, about $182,000; * Establish one additional traffic patrol officer position for increased citation revenue effective April I, 1999; * Contract with County for animal control services effective July 1, 1999; * Contract out landscape median maintenance effective May 1, 1999; * Contract out janitorial services immediately; * Contract out beach restroom maintenance effective May 1, 1999; I I * * * I * * 1-25-99 * Consolidate Street Supervisor and Associate Engineer positions into a single Assistant City Engineer position immediatelYl Discontinue maintenance of boat ramps for private enterprises effective February, 1999l Contract with Huntington Beach for signal maintenance in July, 2000; Revamp refuse collection operations with partial automation in June, 1999; Continue to monitor level of utility tax in terms of infrastructure and operational needs and changes to City's revenue stream; Establish a policy of fully funding mandated reserve accounts and establishing a General Fund reserve equal to 25 percent of annual operating revenues. * * * I * * I Council requested a copy of this report in written form. The Manager expressed appreciation to the Finance Director for her assistance in putting together this program and to the department heads and staff for their efforts to this report. Councilman Boyd noted that much of this presentation was the result of Council direction from the budget workshops in May and expressed appreciation for the efforts. He offered that the recommendations look good, his concern however is with the first, the utility users tax, he personally does not like any tax on the residents yet some are necessary, there have been efforts to economize and reduce costs administratively and operationally. As to the vehicle license fee tax, Councilman Boyd urged the Council to consider this matter, it will be a legislative matter before the State Assembly this year to reduce the vehicle license tax that all pay on their auto registration, the average savings to a typical Orange County family is about $2,000 per year, it is believed that this reduction would cost the City nearly $1 million per year, the legislative proposals to change this say it will not affect City revenues, yet it is known how such things work, when Sacramento loses money all lose money. Councilman Boyd suggested that the Council support a resolution to support a vehicle license fee tax reduction, the reason being that if the City is going to lose revenue let it be revenue over which there is no control, the State can take it away at any time, the City at least has control over the utility users tax, thus would request that any discussion of reduction of the utility users tax be postponed until there is some solidification in the State legislature as to the vehicle license fee tax, he would not want the Council to obligate itself to a significant utility users tax reduction over a three or four year period, maybe two to four percent, yet on top of that the City could lose a million dollars a year in vehicle license tax. Councilman Boyd said he also believed there are further cost efficiencies that can discussed during budget deliberations, he agreed with the reserve policy of a minimum of twenty-five percent. Councilman Boyd noted that last year the new Council received a budget packet that is believed most did not have the opportunity to review prior to the study sessions, to which he suggested that the Council form committees of two, take operational areas such as water, sewers and storm drains, work with the staff and City Manager to identify priorities within the infrastructure and Capital Improvement budget, then bring that back to the Council, another committee for administrative, facility repair, etc. He based his request on the workings of the Orange County Fire Authority where there are three committees dealing with operations, I 1-25-99 administration and personnel, and finance, suggesting this procedure is productive, a closer participation in the prioritization and expenditure of tax dollars. He asked also that debt reduction be looked at. Councilmember Campbell suggested bringing the public into the budget workshop process, as some cities have done, this forces people to look at some of the hard choices that are before the Council. A comment was made that there are talented people in the community of which the Council could avail themselves. Councilman Doane referred to the public comments relating to the beach, spoke in support of the suggestion to form a citizens committee to discuss the beach issues, the speaker an example of the talent and background in the community, his opinions may not coincide that those of the consultant with regard to sand retention yet could be brought forth. Councilman Boyd agreed with the suggestion of Councilmember Campbell as to involving the public, there needs to be some significant participation rather than staff providing a large document for the Council to just read through, that is not functional, serves no purpose, and does not allow participation of the Council as a policy making body in order to guide the staff in the direction that the Council desires. Again, the recommendations of staff were initially generated from the Council, they can now be expanded upon by creating more of a working relationship with the staff in terms of prioritization and expenditures. Mayor Yost noted considerable reference to outsourcing, to which he said he wanted to make it clear that the greatest asset of the City is its employees, the desire is that they be retained as much as possible. As to the suggestion that the Council form two person committees, Mayor Yost offered his opinion that he liked the setting of a budget study session where all members of the Council sat together yet the public was invited, would like that to continue for the present, however would consider the suggestion. For information of the public, explained that a percent of Utility Users Tax represents about $300,000 of revenue. Councilmember Campbell pointed out that there may be an eleven percent utility tax yet it needs to be realized that it does not apply to water or cable use, as it does in other cities, if it did the tax could be lowered to about eight or nine percent. The City Manager said the that report will show that there are qualifiers around the ~tility tax in 2001, at that time it will be better known as to where the legislature is going, as well as sales tax projections, and the reserves, there was no specific recommendation on the utility tax, rather, that was felt to be the first time that the Council could consider a reduction. He explained also that although the term outsourcing and contracting was used several times, in almost every case where routine tasks have been contracted it has been done with either reassignment or through attrition, that is not anticipated to change. I I CITY MANAGER REPORTS The City Manager made reference to on-going news articles relating to Y2K readiness, reported that Seal Beach is looking at this issue, has achieved a lot thus far, there has been upgrading, City Hall is Y2K compliant, as are the microsoft products, the financial software is nearly completed, expected to be completed by the end of the first calendar quarter along with a certification letter, the automatic reader software is Y2K compliant and has a certification letter, the data base program of Engineering and Public Works is being replaced and it will be compliant for the water system, work is being done to upgrade the signals, that will not only make it possible to contract for I 1-25-99 I signal maintenance but they will be compliant as well, the equipment in the water department is so archaic it was never computerized so there is no Y2K problem to worry about, Planning permits needs to be placed in microsoft as well as Recreation, the Police Department is working with the City's contract service provider with regard to options, they have guaranteed Y2K compliance certification for at least Police communications purposes, yet other options for benefits are being looked at. I ORAL COMMUNICATIONS Mayor Yost declared Oral Communications open. Mr. Gordon Shanks, 215 Surf Place, mentioned that each year Seal Beach is next to the lowest per capita income receiver of sales tax revenue, this City has not utilized its Redevelopment Agency to attract car agencies or some other means to increase the sales tax return, at some point sales tax should be apportioned based upon population and not origination. To that Mr. Shanks suggested that this be proposed or an item of discussion when attending meetings of the League, SCAG, or whatever, as this City can not be the only one on the losing end of sales tax receipts. Ms. Fran Johnson, Coastline Drive, made reference to the animal services comments, asked if there will be specific hours of patrol, how many hours, and will the County be provided the animal control vehicles. The City Manager said he believed that service hours would be increased. Councilman Boyd suggested that in-lieu of discussion at this time, that the inquiries be noted and then addressed at such time as the issue of whether or not that service will be contracted is before the Council. Ms. Johnson recalled that this issue has existed for some time, she has attended meetings at the County, it is uncertain as to what their services will be, how responsive they will be, will they use the trucks or will they be retained by the City. Ms. Johnson said it seems as if the City wants to give everything away, her preference is to keep services in the City. Mr. Stan Anderson, Balboa Drive, offered that some of the best natural resources are the people in this town, there are people who could become a blue ribbon committee as Councilman Doane mentioned with regard to the comments of Mr. Simmons, there are people who consult to other cities and have the ability to be at the leisure of the Council, people who have expertise in many fields who are not here to make money and could be an asset to the City. His understanding is that another sand replenishment is not foreseen therefore something needs to be done as to how that is going to be addressed, whether it means a reef or removing the berm or whatever, there needs to be a plan as to what to do. Mr. Anderson commended the weekend surfing contest, this was a good opportunity to have this community known as a great little surfing town, there were good waves, he complimented the Lifeguard Department and other supporters of the event, and to comments that some time back Seal Beach lost surfing, offered that his father was a member of the Council that said if the surfers couldn't behave they would have to be eliminated. He acknowledged that the local beaches do need to be cleaned, also that the City should keep on top of Los Angeles and Orange counties as they are the primary source of the pollution problem. Mr. Anderson noted that the parking meter poles are in the designated lots, at some point hopefully on Main Street as well, asked when they will be activated, Seal Beach probably the only Southern California coastal city without meters, a source of revenue that needs to be addressed and a consideration when talking of reducing the utility tax as an example. In reference to the Animal I 1-25-99 Care Center, Mr. Anderson noted he has done some fund ra~s1ng for that facility, asked what in fact will happen to the trucks and facilities, to which he noted that at one point the City gave up its schools, then the fire services, gave up school property and then the City had to buy it back, everything should be known with regard to the Center and services before it is lost. To a time table for installing the parking meters, Mr. Dorsey advised that they should be operable in about two to three weeks. There being no further comments, Mayor Yost declared Oral Communications closed. I COUNCIL CONCERNS Councilman Doane commended Mr. Bowles of the Sun Newspaper for his coverage of crimes in Leisure World, specifically those instances of taking advantage of senior citizens, the Police Department has been conducting seminars, the video producers of Leisure World have taped them, and he encouraged the people of Leisure World and elsewhere in the City to seek an awareness of the kind of crimes that are being perpetrated on seniors, encouraged also the reading of the news article with regard to the persons that were apprehended and what they are charged with. He emphasized coverage of these instances and public awareness. Councilman Boyd announced that the Girl Scouts, including the Daisy's, will be joining the Food Finders for a food drive in the month of February, and requested participation by the public. He mentioned the death of a small child this week in Laguna Niguel as a result of a park bench, and requested staff to take appropriate action to assure that does not happen in this city. With regard to "an outstanding legal debt to an attorney that serves the City, said his intent is to agendize this matter for information of the Council, another item for Closed Session discussion at the next meeting will be an issue relating to the Ruby's Diner contract. with regard to the Council reorganization, Councilman Boyd said, with no disrespect to the newly selected Mayor or members of the Council, he felt the action was somewhat shortsighted as the Mayor ProTem was functioning well, yet now there will be another reorganization in about s~x meetings,. his preference would have been something more lasting, thirteen to fourteen months of leadership of the Council, one impact will be the moving of the State primary to the first Tuesday in March, shortening the election cycle of the City by three weeks, his recommendation explained in a memorandum that was provided to the Council. Councilman Doane noted that the memo had not been placed in the agenda. The Mayor asked if the desire would be to place the reorganization on the agenda to consider the fourteen month term. Councilman Boyd said the intent was to reorganize for a period of fourteen months effective at this meeting, the Mayor ProTem was the natural successor, had been functioning as Mayor, yet with the action of the Council reorganization will again take place after six meetings. Councilman Snow said his preference would be to have further detail on this issue, to which Councilman Boyd explained his viewpoint in somewhat greater detail. Mayor Yost welcomed Councilman Snow. He commended the efforts that have been put forth with regard to the Marina Bridge project. with regard to beach cleanup, said that is a major problem, he has obtain information relating to booms and possible compromises that were obtain for the bridge, supports the idea of a blue ribbon commission to study the beach and water issues and to avail the City of interested people in the community. He commended the surf contest and congratulated the City Manager for his surfing accomplishment to gain a first place, noted that the Hellman project is continued to I I 1-25-99 / 2-8-99 the Coastal Commission meeting of February in Coronado, there are issues that still need to be resolved. As to the mayoral position, Mayor Yost thanked those who supported him, offered to do his best to be fair and run meetings as evenly as possible, his view of the position is not so much of that of a leader, rather as a facilitator where all views are heard. I CLOSED SESSION The City Attorney announced that the Council would meet in Closed Session to discuss the three items identified on the agenda and previously announced. The Council adjourned to Closed Session by unanimous consent at 9:46 p.m. and reconvened at 10:34 p.m. with Mayor Yost calling the meeting to order. The City Attorney reported the Council had discussed the three items identified, gave direction with respect to the matter of Los Alamitos versus Seal Beach, no other action was taken. As a point of clarification, the City Clerk reported the language set forth in the City Charter with regard to Council reorganizations. ADJOURNMENT It was the order of the Chair, with consent of the Council, to adjourn the meeting at 10:35 p.m. I Attest: k Mayor ~~ City Clerk /4 Approved: Seal Beach, California February 8, 1999 The City Council of the City of Seal Beach met in regular session at 7:00 p.m. with Mayor Yost calling the meeting to order with the Salute to the Flag. I ROLL CALL Present: Mayor Yost Councilmembers Boyd, Campbell, Doane, Snow Absent: None Also present: Mr. Till, City Manager Mr. Barrow, City Attorney Mr. Whittenberg, Director of Development Services Mr. Badum, Director of Public Works/City Engineer