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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Min 1999-03-02 3-2-99 Seal Beach, California March 2, 1999 The City Council of the City of Seal Beach met in regular adjourned session at 4:03 p.m. with Mayor Yost calling the meeting to order with the Salute to the Flag. ROLL CALL Present: I Mayor Yost Councilmembers Boyd, Campbell, Doane, Snow Absent: None Also present: Mr. Till, City Manager Mrs. Yeo, City Clerk As requested by Mayor Yost, the consensus of the Council was to allow public comments during the workshop session. AGENDA AMENDED Boyd moved, second by Campbell, to amend the agenda to include Public Comments. AYES: NOES: Boyd, Campbell, Doane, Snow, Yost None Motion carried COUNCIL STUDY SESSION - 1999/2000 PRIORITIES Mayor Yost explained that the purpose of this session is to discuss priorities, the members of the City Council to bring forth no more than five issues for the purpose of consideration. I The priorities of Mayor Yost were: * Infrastructure - sewer, water, streets~ * Water Quality / San Gabriel River - allocate staff time and resources, also an oversight committee to add more broad based support~ * Treatment of the City entrance at the corner of 5th and Marina Drive as well as traffic calming at 4th Street and Central to avoid increased problems at 5th Street~ * Allocate staff time and resources to make Marina Drive two lanes and extend the bike path from the River down Marina contiguous with the southbound lane, similar to what is believed Councilman Boyd is planning to do from Surfside, for a continuous regional bike path. The priorities of Councilman Boyd, were: * specific to District One, * Repair of sidewalk, curb and gutter damage throughout Old Town~ Rehabilitation of two specific alleys, inclusive of sewer and water lines - Main Street/10th Street and 15th/16th Street~ Seal Beach Boulevard Rehab - storm drains, curbs, sidewalks, gutters, parkway, street median - between Electric and Pacific Coast Highway~ Bike path from Surfside Colony entrance to Seal Beach Boulevard and Electric~ Securing County, State, and Federal funds I * * * 3-2-99 for beach cleanup and shoreline protection in conjunction with continuing lobbying efforts. I councilman Doane noted that his constituents read in the news that based upon the financial projections of the City Manager nothing can be done about the utility users tax until the year 2001, their comments were that they elected him to do something about the utility users tax: * He would be making some suggestions with regard to a goal to reduce the utility users tax. Councilman Snow said his issues would likely overlap the suggestions of others: * Flood Control; * Sewer System Master Plan; * Privatization/Alternatives; * Pavement Plan implementation; * San Gabriel River pollution. I Councilman Snow said he can not understand why the Department of Water and Power has not sold its acreage to the City of Seal Beach, and why it can not be developed. It was explained that the City has an adopted Specific Plan for that land, someone would have to buy the site, provide seven acres of open space and develop three acres. As to the issue of asbestos on the property, it was explained that the site was cleaned of asbestos years ago. Councilman Snow mentioned that the DWP is one of the worst to work with, in view of their financial problems, initially reported as a $4.5 billion deficit, now raised to $7 billion, they have problems with several cities such as Anaheim, Glendale, Pasadena, to name a few, it would seem they would want to rid themselves of that property, they are not even producing power at the Haynes plant. The priorities of Councilmember Campbell were: * Regrade Lampson near the curve; * Repaving of streets in College Park East, especially the cul-de-sacs; * Park equipment for Bluebell Park; * Block wall by the Navy golf course removed from WestEd east to parkwood - cleaned and landscaped; * Remove block wall from the end of the Bixby property to the WestEd building and landscape area - issues four and five could be combined. I Mayor Yost suggested that possibly the biggest issue should be discussed first, that being infrastructure, except for the issue brought forth by Councilman Doane. Councilman Doane said his intent is to talk about things to help meet the infrastructure need. It was mentioned that there has been a consensus of the Council to devote resources of the City to work on infrastructure problems, also, there needs to be sufficient revenue sources in order to reduce the utility tax. Councilman Doane said he wished to address the issue of increasing revenues. He suggested that the Council should not just bring forth things that are needed, the City needs a lot of things, in fact the approach to this is very conservative, this should tie into financial availability and 3-2-99 be reflected in the preliminary financial reports which are prior to development of the budget. One of the things he looked for however did not see in the Manager's financial report was reflected in an article in the News Enterprise by Stan Anderson, Mr. Anderson referred to a number of things on Main Street that ties into the priorities mentioned, sidewalks, etc., also mentions something that he too has been anxious to see, that is parking meters, which has now been initiated. Councilman Doane said he wants meters on the entire Main Street and the beach portion of Ocean Avenue, this is the only City from Shell Beach south that does not have meters. He said metering the'off-Main lots is just a start, it is understood that the Main/10th Street parking lot was paid for through the use of parking meters, after the lot was paid the meters were removed, they were not taken out because of failure, they were put in for a purpose, removed when the goal was met. Councilman Doane said what is being done now is just a token, saying after every available space on Main is filled the people can pay to park, his opinion was that no one will pay as long as there is parking available on Main Street, and that will not alleviate the problem. He mentioned sitting at the front window of a local restaurant a few years ago watching the people, they parked, took their surfboards and beach gear to the beach, then came back to remove their car or the chalk marks, at that time he was urging people to shop locally, which he is doing again, some people were supportive, some complained that they could not find parking. He made reference to the Zucker study for downtown that makes the statement that there is not a parking shortage, rather, there is a parking management problem, an observation that he believes still exists. Councilman Doane again expressed his belief that parking meters should be installed on Main Street and in the beach parking lots, beach goers would then not park in the 200 and 300 blocks of Main Street and take away spaces that could be used by the business and restaurant customers, they would use the beach parking lots, that would also eliminate the need for manned booths into the beach lots, the current rates for the beach lots are high, they should be more flexible, tokens could be sold to the merchants at half price for them to distribute to their customers, his belief is that the businesses are in support. Councilman Doane recalled that he and former Councilmember Forsythe visited Huntington Beach, looked at their computerized system for the lots, the staff was helpful in answering questions, it is certain they would do so again, one of the concerns was what potential impact of meters on Main Street would have on adjoining streets where people would park for free instead of paying a meter, Huntington Beach deals with that by means of permit parking, in the case of this City the permit costs would need to be palatable, provision for temporary permits for guests, there may be problems but there are also solutions. He noted having hosted the Rick Paap Show where one guest spoke for meters on Main Street, one spoke against, another reviewed the past history. Councilman Doane suggested that the additional revenue derived from the installation of the meters then be placed in a separate fund dedicated to the problems of downtown, this is the oldest part of the City, the infrastructure, the sewer and water lines are in need of repair or replacement, alley reconstruction, that in turn would free money to be used in other parts of the City. Councilmember Campbell agreed that any money realized from parking meters should stay in Old Town. Ms. Sue Corbin claimed that the lots off the 300 block were both empty today, pushing the parking down Electric, resident parking is I I I I I I 3-2-99 becoming business parking which was not to have happened with the in-lieu parking program, the patrons and employees then park on the residential areas, resident parking was not supposed to be for businesses. The Mayor asked what the revenue is from the new metered lots, to that the Manager reported it was about $2,660 for the first eight days, around $300 per day for the seventy-five meters, that with a holiday, however there were a number of citations written. Mr. Stan Anderson, Balboa Drive, said he has spoken with both Councilmembers Doane and Boyd regarding these issues, he also walked College Park East recently to observe some of their problems, noting specifically the cul-de-sac areas, showing that problems are shared throughout the community. He said he too has had some complaints regarding meters however it will take some time to work out the problems and let people get used to them, at this point it appears to be a win situation where the monies from meters can be retained for Old Town repairs and free the General Fund for other infrastructure needs in the community, also, as in other cities, there may be some flexibility of lowering the meter rates during off-seasons. He expressed his opinion that unless Main Street and the beach lots are metered it will be difficult to have consistency as people will park wherever they can for free, urging that metering Main Street be considered and the revenues be used for improvements, reconstruct the street and bring the curbs back to where they once were as an example. He added to a comment of Councilman Doane that a day does not go by that there is not a problem with the Main Street sidewalks, acknowledging however that no one really wants meters, yet parking has been free for many years, meters are fair and are a means of obtaining revenues to accomplish other things, and there are merchants that have lost customers because their patrons have been unable to find parking, this then would help those merchants as well. Ms. Corbin suggested a citizens committee to look into grants, there is not staff available to do that but staff could oversee, to which the Mayor responded that the City is already doing that, Seal Beach Boulevard, sidewalks, curb cuts, etc. are examples. The City Manager mentioned that the Director of Public Works attended an Orange County Transit Authority meeting last week, Seal Beach was in the competition with other cities for grant monies, and was awarded $150,000 for fibre optics for traffic signals. Councilmember Campbell noted the comment of Mr. Anderson with regard to the rates being consistent, her preference would be that they be consistent year round, that the beach lots be metered as well, stating that no one is going to pay $6 when they can park elsewhere for less, if the beach lots are the same rate as Main Street the beach goers will opt for the beach lots. Councilman Boyd inquired as to the current rate in the beach lots, his belief is that they are not a $6 flat rate rather $1 an hour, the same as metering those lots, in the winter the rates are reduced, he would not be opposed to opening the beach lots in the winter at 6:00 or 7:00 p.m. for free rather than manning them until 8:00 p.m. at a rate of $2, in his opinion putting meters in the beach lots would defeat the purpose since the rates are equal to what is currently being done, what should be monitored is the cost of staffing the booth as an equivalent over possibly a five year period to meters, meters in a beach environment where they have exposure t9 the salt air will last three years at best, and cited an example of the rusted out meters along the cliffs on Pacific Coast Highway before Go1denwest Street, they are three years old. Councilman Boyd 3-2-99 said he has not come to a conclusion with regard to meters on Main Street as yet, however the need for additional revenue is known and he would support those revenues remaining in the downtown district, it is known also that the purchase of the off-Main lot was made possible by the revenue generated from the parking meters, that was a policy decision of that Council as they could have bought the land, built upon it, I sold the building or whatever. He noted that the day the meters were installed in the off-Main lots they were empty, before that they were full, the merchants were the ones displaced by putting in meters, his response to some business people is that the City is not here to provide merchant parking, the parking is for customers and visitors, their concern as a merchant should be customer parking not convenient employee parking. Maintaining those lots for parking is a policy decision of the Council, the lots are land owned by the City, the decision has been made that they remain parking lots, the land could have been sold or built upon to generate revenue, a policy decision also to meter the lots and make them revenue generating. Seal Beach may be the only city in Orange County without meters on its main street or beach access areas. Councilman Boyd said his thinking is that there is no alternative use of the streets, revenue can not be generated from the streets in any other way, it is a street and will remain so, the parking spaces are not going to be taken away and turned into patio cafes as has been done elsewhere. He said before the metering of Main Street is discussed seriously his belief is that what currently exists should be evaluated for at least a year, the use monitored throughout the summer. He noted that what was missed in the metering program however was the 8th and Central lot, it is I used at night by Main Street customers and residents, during the day both City and merchant employees park there by means of a permit, if metered that program should continue, currently about twenty-five percent of that lot has parking spaces available. As to rates he cited Sacramento as an example, twenty-five cents for twelve minutes, Seal Beach is twenty-five cents for fifteen minutes, his parking meter costs for three days was over a hundred dollars, in his opinion, on those parcels of land that the City owns people should be required to pay for parking, meters on Main Street is another issue, people have said they would not support anyone who approves meters for Main Street, that they will not pay to park on a public street in their city. He again suggested a period of time to evaluate the process that has begun, the parking management plan is not going to be implemented all at once but in phases with additional data to consider with each change. Councilmember Campbell asked if the merchants have been surveyed as to their feelings about Main Street meters. The City Manager responded that they have by means of one to one meetings. Councilman Boyd suggested that the Seal Beach Chamber and Business Association be requested to do such survey, and Councilmember Campbell requested that the Council have the opportunity to I review the survey prior to its distribution. Mr. Anderson said he believed that there are some merchants that would be in opposition to Main Street meters right now because they too were using the free parking in the lots, now they can not, yet many of the residents he has spoken with are supportive, his feeling is that some goals need to be set as to how Seal Beach can be repaired. Mr. Anderson offered his services to develop a survey, to walk Main Street and some adjacent residences as well to determine how meters would impact them. In response to an inquiry, the Mayor described the exact location of the off-Main lots in the 100 and 300 3-2-99 I blocks. Councilman Snow noted that the lot in the 300 block adjacent to the mall has a sign stating 'mall parking only', to that the Mayor advised that is a private lot and they are policing the area themselves. To a question of the involvement of the City of Long Beach, the Manager responded that they will come into Seal Beach, collect the coins and maintain the meters for $10,000 per year. Mayor Yost conveyed appreciation for the input, this somewhat of a pre- budget session, although discussion is primarily focused on spending there needs to be thought given to intake as well, his commitment is to being fiscally responsible. I The Mayor pointed out that infrastructure was a high priority of the Council, to that he mentioned the Pavement Management Plan recently developed by staff and the prioritization of future projects, that can be used as an objective measurement as to what needs to be done first, second, etc. Councilman Boyd mentioned that the Capital Improvement Program of last year, covering years 1998 through 2003, proposed the resurfacing of the beach parking lots in 1999, inquired if it is still planned that those projects will be done, the cost for the 8th and 10th Street lots is $50,000 each, the 1st Street lot is $70,000. He said to him these projects are a fairly low priority, he would like to delay them for maybe a year. Councilman Boyd said he walked the area with the tree committee and identified tree well areas that were in disrepair or unplanted, new trees were planted and pavers installed, there are six other locations where the sidewalk, curb and gutter is extremely damaged and is likely the worst locations for potential trip and fall incidents, his preference would be to redesignate the beach lot monies to Main Street for those repairs. The Mayor said it seemed that the intent at this meeting was that monies from the parking meters would be used for some of the downtown/Main Street problems rather than taking money from other areas or projects of the City, his understanding was that some of these projects are part of the Main Street Specific Plan and contained in budget appropriations. Councilman Boyd noted that the beach parking lots are all in his district, those projects budgeted for this year and next, his proposal was if it is possible to delay those projects, which he understands they can be, utilize some of those monies now to repair some of the trip and fall hazards on Main Street, that would be about $100,000 of work to be commenced in the spring, and then put the meter revenues back into the resurfacing of the beach parking lots. The Mayor referred to discussion during the Pavement Management presentation with regard to the increase of costs with deferring maintenance, in this case suggested a report from the City Engineer be forthcoming as to an assessment of the most cost effective way to deal with this. Councilman Boyd pointed out that the project consists of slurry sealing the lots, the City Engineer had said postponement would be possible however he would need direction from the Council. Mayor Yost again stated his preference would be to not reallocate budgeted funds. The City Manager concurred that this is basically an opening of the budget process, what he would need as a result of this meeting would be some direction with regard to staffing issues, contract professionals, new projects, reprioritized projects, things that will take additional staff time or contract people. I An approximate five minute recess was called. 3-2-99 The Mayor said he wished to discuss the water quality issue. Ms. Corbin made the suggestion that if there were dumpsters on the beach above the mean high tide line it is likely people would pick up trash and put it in them, the greatest problem is near the San Gabriel River, if there were plastic bags to distribute to the fishermen they might pick up their own debris, the biggest problem is the fishermen and the flow down the channel. Councilman Doane pointed out that the storm drains flow into the channel, debris of all types wash down the storm drains and then into the river. Mayor Yost noted that water quality was mentioned, to which he asked in what form would the Council like to have staff put their energies, Councilman Boyd had mentioned a professional lobbyist to seek funds, in his personal opinion he felt that the issue needs to be dealt with at a higher level, one thing he would like would be a broader based community active organization, the Environmental Quality Control Board might be good as far as looking at the heavy metal counts, toxic counts, raw trash counts, coliform counts, etc., this issue can probably be dealt with by both groups, his feeling is that the larger organization needs to take responsibility for the River and make it nicer, it will likely be an issue that will be dealt with long term, considering issues such as discharge from the power plants, water temperature, and it may be something that will dovetail into the Hellman project and the wetlands creation to assure they are healthy. Councilmember Campbell offered that this issue will likely require an effort on several fronts, should probably be brought up to the member cities of the Orange Coast Association to determine what they are doing because at some point this may require legislation to deal with the cities upstream. The Santa Ana River is considered to be the dirtiest river mouth, the San Gabriel the next, possibly Huntington Beach and Newport should be queried as to what they are doing with regard to the Santa Ana. The Mayor mentioned that there are two bills pending in the legislature at the present time. The Manager said there are groups in place that are trying to tackle these problems, Seal Beach is the least equipped to do so, some cities have assigned staff full time to deal with the Orange County Water District issue relating to the annexation and Irvine Ranch Water Company, Seal Beach does its best with a small staff, it is hard, upon hearing the Council say this is a priority that needs to be addressed on several fronts, next is the consideration of the allocation of resources. Councilmember Campbell offered that if Seal Beach could connect with the efforts of Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, and Long Beach it would be to the City's benefit, to that Mayor Yost said he has had some discussions with representatives of Huntington Beach and Long Beach thus far. Councilman Boyd noted that Matt Knabe will be attending the Orange Coast Association luncheon as a guest of the City. He noted that the Los Angeles Board of Supervisors provides the City of Long Beach $500,000 annually for beach cleaning, beach cleaning could be a first victory in this effort, and to that said he had pointed out to Supervisor Don Knabe that the flow of the San Gabriel River empties into Seal Beach not Long Beach, they have the advantage of the additional length of jetty that protects the debris from going into Alamitos Bay, it is acknowledged that they also have the Los Angeles River, yet it is known that the San Gabriel is the second dirtiest. Councilman Boyd said his request of the Supervisor was a fixed dollar amount for the purpose of beach cleaning, it is not believed that the jetty on the Seal Beach side of the channel will be lengthened nor will the Alamitos Bay jetty be shortened, said I I I I I I 3-2-99 in his opinion the first step would be to physically remove the trash from the beach, next would be to prevent debris from coming down the River, which is probably a legislative issue. He noted the issues are shoreline protection, sand, trash on the beach, removal thereof, and water quality, the sand issue has been accomplished, the next should be removal of trash from the beach, that will require passage of a resolution once a dollar figure is established, then attendance at a Los Angeles Board of Supervisors meeting to lobby for funds in the public forum. Councilmember Campbell said it is not just beach cleaning, money is needed for booms, chemical removal, and Mayor Yost mentioned that booms were just recently placed in the Los Angeles River, hopefully the San Gabriel will be next. Councilman Snow noted that there is a spirit of cooperation with the Sanitation District, they have studied this issue for years. Councilmember Campbell stated she does not want someone to pay for the cleaning of the beach, it needs to be stopped from being polluted, to that Councilman Boyd said there will need to be a progression, and the Mayor offered that when going to the Board of Supervisors it would be helpful to have a broad based group that is overseeing the beach and cleanup, they tend to listen more when there are several prominent people who are traditionally involved in such issues and are taking responsibility for their beach. The Manager noted the discussion focus on a grass roots citizen effort, getting them actively involved and supportive, there could also be a supportive group that would pursue money and legislation and long term resolution, which may not be realized for several years. Councilmember Campbell offered that if something is not commenced now what will the situation be in five or ten years. The Manager said he was trying to interpret if the idea is for staff to reallocate time, tag onto the efforts of the larger agencies, or, maybe some of that and let a contract to a firm that would conduct the technical studies for the City, a lot will involve data collection, that would involve some costs, also seek data of other agencies. The Mayor said first phase to him would be getting a quantification of the problems, the gross volume of trash, the actual bacteria counts, and levels of heavy metals, those need to be monitored and more may be needed depending upon what is found in the River, that is traditionally done by technical people, possibly that staffing could come through the EQCB. Councilman Doane mentioned that with the development of Hellman and Bixby the EQCB will have less to do therefore possibly their expertise could be utilized for assistance in lieu of staff time. Councilman Boyd pointed out that the EQCB primarily holds meetings, the scope of what they can do is very limited, if there is to be a citizens committee, define what it is they are to do, give them written guidelines, otherwise the committee will get frustrated and walk away as did the prior Beach Commission, also, it seems there should be a dedicated staff person, suggesting the Assistant to the City Manager, Mr. Dorsey, given his years of experience in the Lifeguard Department and grasp of the beach issues, someone needs to coordinate the effort on the staff and volunteer level. Councilman Boyd recommended that a formal request of the Los Angeles Board of Supervisors be prepared to seek funding, a resolution in support of any legislation that would support the City's goal, define what the citizens group is to do and commission them to do that task, if it is a political task it will be limited because the Boards of Supervisors for Los Angeles and Orange Counties will want to hear any requests from the members of the Council and not a citizens group, their 3-2-99 support of any request of the City is essential but not the most important issue, that being an organized plan of attack or strategy to do exactly what is wanted to be done, go after the first two priorities which, hearing the comments today, would be to seek funds for the physical cleanup of the beach, and second would be to substantiate by means of data collection the levels of bacteria in the River, the water temperatures, where it flows, and said his understanding is that former Public Works supervisor Cornwell had kept a record of the amount of trash collected during the El Nino, that is the type of data needed to approach the Board of supervisors for immediate funding, then to approach the City's representatives to prepare legislation of a bi- partisan nature, not too liberal or conservative. Councilmember campbell suggested contacting other beach cities to see what tactic they are taking and then build upon it, suggesting too some staff time to determine what has been done. The Mayor suggested that Mr. Dorsey sit in on the EQCB meetings as well. The Manager said he wanted to develop a strategy for this issue and come back to the Council. Councilman Boyd recommended that the City Manager designate a staff person for the committee, water quality, shoreline protection, all phases of this beach/water effort, he will be the primary contact for all, work with the Mayor and Council for guidelines for the committee, etc. The Mayor mentioned that Long Beach has basically done nothing other than place booms in the L. A. River. Mr. Stan Anderson mentioned that a primary concern during the last election was the River, noted the comments with regard to staff time to which he suggested the use of the telephone, if a blue ribbon committee is established it will consist of experts, the best resources in this community, it is important also to utilize the other cities to establish background data. He agreed with the importance of beach cleanup, the community of Seal Beach impacted much more than Long Beach by the San Gabriel, yet they receive $500,000 for beach cleanup. Mr. Anderson said he felt that this has been talked about for long enough, his hopes were that there would have been some answers at this meeting rather than just questions. The Mayor mentioned that he has met with the Los Angeles Director of Public Works and a Supervisor to discuss these issues yet this will not be something that gets done quickly. I I Mayor Yost noted the mention of bike path priorities, possibly seek money from outside sources, inquiring if that would be through Public Works. The Manager offered that staff could lay the ground work and then it would be up to the Council. Councilman Boyd said this would not only be for the Marina Drive path but also Surfside to Seal Beach, the Council needs to direct the staff to develop some preliminary engineering drawings and visuals, there has been an indication by the City's Supervisorial representative that there may be funding. The Mayor agreed that the response to him had been similar, it is important to link the paths together for a regional bike path. Councilman Doane asked if the greenbelt is presently designated as bike path, the response was affirmative, therefore the proposed paths would be linked by means of the greenbelt path, also, serve to bring more bicycle traffic to Main Street. I Mayor Yost mentioned other issues brought forth, block walls, regrading of the Lampson Avenue curve, and inquired about the engineering study for same. The Manager mentioned that it has been found that there are people who have done studies and analysis of Lampson, before going into an expensive I I I 3-2-99 design plan there needs to be a review of what has been done in the past, also, the Engineering Department has been asked to obtain an overview observation type report and design analysis by an independent outside engineer as to the conditions and what type of options could be explored by the City for traffic calming purposes, beautify the area, and improve conditions overall. The Mayor noted that Almond Avenue, etc. are part of the overall, prioritized Pavement Management Plan, to that Councilmember Campbell asked if there is a perceived commencement of roadway improvements, the Manager responded that the report provided a time frame. Councilmember Campbell said she requested an engineering study because the curve is not graded at all, there are two sections near Old Ranch that are graded and there has never been a problem in that area, in her opinion the curve was never graded because then there could be a drainage problem in that the water would naturally flow towards the houses. She noted that money was placed in the budget for an engineering study, said she wanted that done as soon as possible to see what is needed, there is a history of deaths on that street, the block wall will show the many times it has been repaired, some sections as many as six times. As to removal of the northerly block wall, asked if any estimates of cost have been done, to that the Manager responded he believed those items were included in the Bixby Development Agreement, funds for removal of the block wall/fence were thought to be $35,000. As to Bluebell Park, Mayor Yost said he believed that $1 million from the Bixby project had been designated for park improvements, etc., to that Councilmember Campbell reported the equipment is bad, a cover over the picnic benches must be taken down, an estimate to refurbish the Park was about $20,000, the Neighborhood Association is holding a paper drive each month for that purpose however it is very slow and the desire is to expedite the process, to that Councilman Boyd referred to Public works Account 49-701 which provides a playground equipment replacement program with an allocation of $5,000 annually, and pointed out that a number of things being mentioned are already in the Capital Improvement budget. The self-help efforts were commended for improvements in all areas of the community. Councilman Boyd reported receipt of a letter from the Chief of the Orange County Fire Authority advising of the intent to initiate the process to build a new headquarters, the cost of which could be passed on to the cash contract cities, the letter advises also of realizing an opportunity to request State budget funds for the building of the Authority facility. Councilman Boyd noted the request is that each member City adopt a resolution and letter of support, read excepts of the request, noted also that the Authority has received an irrevocable offer of 16.5 acres of land from the Irvine Company for a Regional Fire Operations Training Center, the value of land is $10 million and conveyance of the land must occur by January 1, 2000, the property to be used only as a Fire Operations and Training Center or the property will revert back to the Irvine Company. He said a conceptual plan has been developed for the Training Center, detailed site plans must be prepared to continue the process, partial funding is sought to hire the appropriate consultants and an architect to begin the necessary site development work. Councilman Boyd requested Council adoption of a resolution in support as it will eventually reduce the costs to the City associated with the Fire Authority, if the Authority does not get the requested funds the cost to build the new headquarters could become a burden of the cities. 3-2-99 With regard to the utility users tax issue, councilman Boyd noted that last year the legislature brought forth a proposal to cut the car tax, most orange County cities passed resolutions opposing it, it did not pass as a result of efforts of the League of cities, it is now coming back as an initiative, in less than thirty days they have half of the required signatures, it is guaranteed that the car tax will be cut, the issue for this Council is whether or not to support it, the initial thought is to not support it, yet the initiative freezes the motor',vehic1e fee rate at the 1992 appreciation schedule, it is understood that when the car tax stops there will be a loss of interest, yet there is $408,000 that would be returned to the city if the initiative passes, there would also be a shift in State General Fund revenue to stop any loss of revenue to the City, that is about $1.2 million, the initiative guarantees no loss of revenue to counties, special districts, and cities. He offered to provide Council with the information, the Council could take a collective or individual posi~ion, if th~re is. an intent to give tax relief to the residents it could be done by cutting the utility users tax but that is the only revenue the City has control over, the car tax is revenue over which the State has control, they will cut it whether the cities like it or not, however the voters are going to cut it, if the City says do not cut it then the citizens are going to want a utility tax cut, or support the vehicle license cut which would result in no lost revenue and in fact would be a gain of $408,000 on a one time basis. He noted this will be on the March, 2000 ballot, Assemblyman McClintock is the author of the initiative, the average return could be on average about $1,200 per household per year based on the age and number of cars. Mayor Yost agreed that the Council should consider taking a collective position. Councilman Boyd referred to Senate Bill 165 and Assembly Bill 24 as well, both an attempt to bring property tax back to where it was in about 1992, a shift of about twelve cents of every property dollar lost, which could mean about $2 million per year to Seal Beach, suggesting that the Council take a position of support of those bills also. I I With regard to Charter amendments, Councilman Boyd noted that there was some consideration of amendments a few months back, there are some constitutional issues that need to be updated, also, the Charter sets forth a spending limit of $5,000 whereby if something needs to be done that exceeds that amount it requires the formal bidding process, to that he suggested that the City Manager and Public Works Director determine a reasonable amount, possibly $25,000, also, that he did not want a committee to prepare amendments, rather, the legislative body, the Council. It was confirmed that Charter amendments are required to be submitted to the voters. The City Manager offered that he has been involved in Charter amendments in the past, some have been by means of a committee, suggesting that that be given consideration. Counci1member Campbell announced the intent to update the City's letterhead and showed samples from other communities, to which Councilman Boyd added that he has obtained a couple of quotes for preparation of design and printing. Counci1member Campbell reported that representatives of the Orange County Regional Airport Authority will be traveling to WaShington, D. C. in either March or April and that she has been asked to make the trip, the intent is to make a statement in support of airport reuse of E1 Toro, and requested Council consideration and authorization of I 3-2-99 / 3-8-99 expenses. ADJOURNMENT It was the order of the Chair, to adjourn the meeting at 5:58 with consent of the Council, p.m. I ~ Approved: ~ ~",iit! Ci Y Clerk Ie Attest: Seal Beach, California March 8, 1999 I The City Council of the City of Seal Beach met in regular session at 7:01 p.m. with Mayor Yost calling the meeting to order. The Salute to the Flag was led by Girl Scout Troop 1282 from College Park East. Councilmember Campbell presented a commemorative pin to each Scout and expressed appreciation for their leading of the Pledge. ROLL CALL Present: Mayor Yost Councilmembers Boyd, Campbell, Doane, Snow Absent: None I Also present: Mr. Till, City Manager Mr. Barrow, City Attorney Mr. Whittenberg, Director of Development Services Ms. Stoddard, Director of Administrative Services Chief Sellers, Police Department Mr. Dorsey, Assistant to the City Manager Ms. Beard, Director of Recreation and Parks Mr. Danes, Assistant City Engineer Ms. Yeo, City Clerk APPROVAL OF AGENDA Yost moved, second by Campbell, to approve the order of the agenda as presented. AYES: NOES: Boyd, Campbell, Doane, Snow, Yost None Motion carried