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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Min 1995-06-12 6-12-95 Seal Beach, California June 12, 1995 The City Council of the City of Seal Beach met in regular adjourned session at 6:31 p.m. with Mayor Hastings calling the meeting to order with the Salute to the Flag. ROLL CALL Present: I Mayor Hastings Councilmembers Brown, Doane, Forsythe, Laszlo Absent: None Also present: Mr. Bankston, City Manager Mr. Barrow, City Attorney Mrs. Yeo, city Clerk APPROVAL OF AGENDA The City Attorney requested that the agenda be amended to include a Closed Session discussion pursuant to Government Code Section 54956.9(b) (3) (e) relating to anticipated litigation in response to telephone calls received this date with respect to a possible action by the Council on the undergrounding project bids. Brown moved, second by Forsythe, to approve the agenda as amended. AYES: NOES: Brown, Doane, Forsythe, Hastings, Laszlo None Motion carried ~~~~ I It was the consensus of the Council to adjourn to Closed Session pursuant to Government Code Section 54957.6 to meet with the City's negotiator with regard to the Orange County Employees Association, also to discuss the item identified and added to the agenda with respect to the undergrounding project bids. The Council adjourned to Closed Session at 6:35 p.m. Mr. Dennis Elser, Elser Construction, submitted written letters to the City Clerk for Council consideration in the Closed Session. The Clerk delivered the communications to the Council. The Council reconvened at 7:04 p.m. with Mayor Hastings calling the meeting to order. The Cit:y Attorney reported the Council had discussed the two items previously identified, no action was taken, however certain directions were given to the city's negotiator. ADJOURNMENT It was the order of t~e Chair, with consent of the Council, to adjourn the meeting at 7:04 ~m~ , I . the Approved: I Attest: I I I . I" \ ;t ~ . . 6-12-95 Seal Beach, California June 12, 1995 The city Council of the city of Seal Beach met in regular session at 7:05 p.m. with Mayor Hastings calling the meeting order with the Salute to the Flag. ROLL CALL Present: to Mayor Hastings councilmembers Brown, Doane, Forsythe, Laszlo Absent: None Also present: Mr. Bankston, City Manager Mr; Barrow, City Attorney , Mr. Whittenberg, Director of Development Services Mrs. Stoddard, Director of Administrative Services Mr. Jue, City Engineer Mrs. Yeo, City Clerk Mayor Hastings expressed appreciation to the Council for their selection of her .s Mayor for the upcoming.year, and commended the strength and cooperative attitudes of the other members of the Council. She noted also a suggestion that she wished to try, a means to advise persons addressing the Council of the conclusion of their five minute speaking time through the use of the voting lights. APPROVAL OF AGEND~ A member of the auditmce requested that Item "0" be removed from the Consent Calendar, the city Manager requested Item "un be removed from the agenda, councilmember Forsythe requested Item "G" removed from the Consent Calendar, and Councilman Laszlo requested Items "K, S, and T" removed. Brown moved, second by Laszlo, to approve the agenda as revised. AYES: NOES: Brown, Doane, Forsythe, Ha&tings, Laszlo None Motion carried .. -. PRESENTATIONS LOS ALAMITOS UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT Mayor Hastings read in full the proclamation recognizing and applauding the outstanding accomplishments: of the Los Alamitos Unified School District in providing a diverse education for its students and contribu~ing significantlY to the quality of life in our community, which she presented to Mr. Michael Miller, School Superinten~en~, Ms. Lorene Gonia, Assistant Superintendent, and Mr. Matt Dugan, member of the Los Alamitos School Board. Ms. Gonia expressed appreciation for the recognition of the accomplishments of the District which she said has a continuing history of success, boasting that all of the elementary school~ are California distinguished and that the community and the parents are most supportive. Councilmember Forsythe mentioned that other publications have not been as flattering of the District as one would like, indicating a decline in the q~ality of education in the District, to which she inquired as t~ a comparison of figures referenced within the articles and thos~ from the State, also noted a recently formed Communications Coalition which offers open discussion by the cities of Los Alamitos, Seal Beach and the District of the perception of declining scores, the impact of reduced funding from the State, the saturation point of inter-district 6-12-95 transfers, etc. Ms. Gonia said that upon receiving the data from the Orange County '94 referenced publication, inaccuracies were found in comparing that data to data from the state, in the case of McGaugh School the relative rank was used rather that the rank within the State, relative rank meaning a comparison within the compa:t:'ison band or schools compared having the same socioeconomic data, and when scoring is above a fifty percent of I the comparison band that means you are doing better than fifty percent of like schools and that is considered quite successful. She said the information from the State in no way correlates with that of the publication, the referenced numbers are those of CAT scores, the District has always been within the ninetieth percentile, a slight drop in 1990, the last year that the test was given, thereafter class scores have been used for statistical data for comparison purposes as to standings within the County, which tends to be one of the highest scoring counties in the State. With regard to the class tests, a nationally normed IRI test, she said it is rated on a scale of one to six, a bell-shaped curve, taking those averages provided a means of ranking wi~hin the County, examples were that qrade four was second in reading, grade eight was fifth by a difference of four tenths of a point, second in the County in reading at the high school level. She again emphasized the impact of high socioeconomic areas on schools, Laguna Beach is the second highest sooioeconomic area, Seal Beach is third, also, noted that high schools are compared by school rather than by district, Los ..lamitos High School is ranked thirteenth in the County yet was second in reading; writing was ranked fifth at grade four, grade eight was third, and the high school was fifth; in mathematics grade four was second in the County, seventh and eighth grade was fourth, over all the District did quite well within the County and at the State level. Mr. Miller I also extended appreciation for the recognition, as to economics he said the Distr~ct is stable, has a substantial year end balance, the budget has been dealt with conservatively, and acknowledged that every school district in the State is suffering because of the low level of funding from the State ~er pupil, pointing out that in the 60's california ranked fifth 1n actual dollars spent oy the State per pupil, today the ranking is fortieth, the Los Alamitos Board is going to continue to put pressure on Sacramento to bring California at least to the median as are twenty-five other states, which would mean $1,000 more per pupil per year. This District has been fortunate in having. enough school sites for growth, there has been moderate in-district growth and as Board policy there have been transfers in from other dis~ricts, which is a financial positive to the District and the children in the District. Mr. Miller noted the passage of a bond issue some four plus years ago for renovation of the aging schools, mentioned that there are considerable assets of the Distric~ which allowed two parcels of property to be sold, the interest from the principal on those properties has been utilized to fund the General Fund, one other sale will possibly be looked at, other financial sources as well. He said as resources run out other sources will be considered, a long range Planning Task Force has been formed consisting of community members to address the financial stability of the I District as it is kn~~ that the health of the community is tied to that of the District, one thing being reimplemented is the Educational Foundation, headed up by volunteers with a goal of raising $1.6 million over the next three years in order to get more technology into each classroom. Mr. Miller confirmed that the various schoel di'3tricts throughout the State are making a concerted effort to petition the State for more educational monies, the Los A;,lmitos Board very active in that regard individually, as are other groups. Mr. Matt Dugan also extended appreciation for the recognition proclamation, stated his awareness of the need for cities, businesses and the schools to I I I . , 't(-' I 6-12-95 work together, and offered an invitation to anyone wishing to visit the schools to personally observe their class rooms and programs. INTERIM CITY MANAGER The city Manager introduced Mr. Jack Shelver as the Interim City Manager commencing his duties on June 15th through the selection process for a new city Manager. He noted Mr.,Shelver's prior employment with the City of Lemon Grove as City Manager from 1977 to 1994, prior to that with the cities of Imperial Beach and Del Mar, and more recently the Interim Manager in Solano Beach. Mr. Shelver expressed his' appreciation for having the opportunity to work with the Council and community of Seal Beach. ORAL COMMUNICATIOllli Mayor Hastings declared Oral Communications open. Ms. Geri West, 1201 Electric Avenue, congratulated Mrs. Hastings on her selection as Mayor. She recalled observing a structure being framed west of the pier in 1985 that was about five feet higher than Eisenhower Park, that structure was to be a Lifeguard Department garage, there was no study as to its need, was submitted under a negative declaration, upon public outcry the building was lowered, and now a second story is proposed to that structure. She provided copies of 1985 newspaper articles to the Council. Ms. West informed the Council of her objection to the negative decl~ration and the expansion of. this building, offering that sin~e the building was not needed then, space can surely be found in that building now for a substation. Mr. Roger West, 1201-A Electric Avenue, expressed dismay that once again a solution to a problem is to block out another portion of view of the ocean and beach, this time to establish a sub- station on top of the Lifeguard auto repair shop, a station manned by teenagers, the most valuable property in Seal Beach and Southern Califor.1ia which, at some point in the future will likely become emp€y and then turned into a restaurant. Mr. West made reference to a recent news article relating to the one hundred twenty seven parking spaces in Huntington Beach which, when fully utilized, generates $1,000 per day, and they are now installing a $9,000 change machine to facilitate the use of the parking meters. According to a recent study of downtown Seal Beach parking spaces it was determined there are approximately four hundred fifty spaces available to the business community, and in accordancr. with Huntington Beach rates, they will generate $2,500 per day or up to $2,277,500 per year, .to which he suggested that the fr.ee parking program for the Main Street ~ merchants be cut ~~ck, the sales tax generated from Main Street is insignificant, yet'the residents south.of Electric Avenue must pay for a permit to park in front of their house. Mr. Bruce Stark, Seal Beach, spoke to the police. substation item which was initially p;~oposed to curtail crime and disturbances on Main Street and'in the vicinity of the ,pier, however there are conflicting r(lport.s that there will be a building with a phone for public use, or that it will be manned by reserve and/or junior officers, or that it will be manned by sworn personnel. He said that basically the idea seems to be sound yet questioned if the building is what is needed even if paid for through donations, to which he suggested' alternatives, a foot patrol on Main Street, or a sworn officer in Old Town permanently, or a parked patrol car in the vicinity, possibly bike patrols with radios. Mr. Stark voiced his support for parking meters as well, especially on the beach. There being no further comments, Mayer Hastings declared. Oral Communications closed. 6-12-95 APPOINTMENT - ARCHAEOLOGICAL COMMITTEE Mayor Hastings requested that the District One appointment to fill the Archaeologic~l Committee vacancy be held over. CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEMS "D" thru "V'" Mayor Hastings read a description of the items on the Consent Calendar for information of the public. Brown moved, second by I Forsythe, to approve the recommended action for items on the . Consent Calendar as presented, except Items "G, K, 0, S, T, and un, removed for s,:'parate consideration. D. 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 unless specific request is made at that time fOl~ tile reading of such ordinance or resolution. E. Approved regular demands numbered 9032 through 9231 in the amount of $1,002,196.62 and payroll demands numbered 11759 through 12134 in the amount of $522,843.20 and authorized warrants to be drawn on the Treasury for same. F. Ratified the 1995/96 West Orange County Water Board Budget as presented. H. I. Denied the claim for storm damages of Mr. Sander Rogoff. Denied the olaim for storm damages of Mr. William H. Jacobson. I Denied the claim of Mercury Insurance Company (Ingram) and referred same to liability attorney and adjuster. L. Approved and accepted the COPS FAST Grant # 95CFWX0145, u. S. Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services. M. Approved the declaration of surplus property as set forth in the June 12th memoran~um from the Director of Administrative Services and authorized staff to dispose of the vehicles through sale and/or auction. Approved the Ground Lease between Pacific Bell Mobile Services (AirTouch) and the City of Se~l Beach, said property located south of the 405 Freeway and west of the Seal Beach Boulevard overpass (3101 Beverly Manor Road, Water Pump station/ Reservoir Site) for the term of five years with option~ to renew. Adopted Resolution Number 4381/~ntitled IQ,o "A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEAL BEACH, CALIFORNIA, INITIATING PROCEED!NGS FOR ANNUAL LEVY OF ASSESSMENTS AND ORDERING THE PREPARATION OF AN ENGINEER'S "REPORT" FOR A STREET LIGHTING ASSESSMENT DISTRICT." By unanimous consent, full J. N. P. the City's I I I I 6-12-95 reading of Resolution Number 4381 was waived. Q. Adopted Resolution Number 4382 entitled "A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEAL BEACH, CALIFORNIA, APPROVING THE ENGINEER'S REPORT FOR PROCEEDINGS FOR THE ANNUAL LEVY OF ASSESSMENTS IN A 'STREET LIGHTING ASSESSMENT DISTRICT." By;o unanimous consent, full reading of ~ Resolution Number 4382 was waived. R. Adopted Resolution NUmber 4383 entitled "A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF S~~ BEACH, CALIFORNIA,eDECLARING ITS INTENTION TO PROVIDE FOR AN ANNUAL LEVY AND COLLECTION OF ASSESSMENTS ~N A STREET LIGHTING ASSESSMENT DISTRICT AND SETTING A TIME AND PLACE FOR PUBLIC HEARING." By unanimous consent, full reading of Resolution Number 4383 was waived. U. (The Public Employees Retirement system Contract Amendment was removed from the agenda as requested by the City Manager.) V. Ratifieq the Employment Agreement of the Interim City Manager, Mr. Jack D. Shelver. AYES: NOES: Brown, Doane, Forsythe, Hastings, Laszlo None Motion carried ITEMS REMOVED FROM THE CONSENT CALENDAR ITEM "G" - SOLID t~AS'l'E MANAGEMENT SERVICES AGREEMENT - FOURTH AMENDMENT Councilmember Forsythe noted that this Agreement renewal is for solid waste management services pursuant to AB 939, a State mandated recycling program for all cities, a violation of AB 939 was a $10,000 per day fine for not reducing waste by twenty-five percent by 1995 and fifty percent by 2000. She noted her concern in that this service agreement is a cost of $10,000 to the city for monitoring at the landfill sites in order to verify that the landfilJ. waste is being reduced,.despite the fact that the county has yet to implement a greenwaste ~isposal program. Councilmember For~ythe pointed out that the Board of Supervisors have determined ti'double the gate fee at.the landfill which in turn means that the'hauler will be paying fifty percent more in gate fees, and in turn that will be passed on to the residents, also, it was thought that the intent of AB 939 was to reduce the amount of waste going to the landfills, however the Supervisors have now elected 'to allow outside counties to use the orange County landfills, which is counter to the' intent of AB 939. Mayor Hastings said she understood that Briggeman Disposal has someone in their office doing this same job that the City is contracting for. ~he Manager explained that,this monitoring is for State reportings and must be independent from the hauler, also the $10,000 is a not-to-exceed amount. Forsythe moved, second by LaSZlo, to authorize the Mayor to execute the Fourth Amendment to the Solid Waste Services Agreement with the City of Cypress for the period July 1, 1995 through June 30, 1996. . AYES: NOES: Brown, Doane, Forsythe, Hastings, Laszlo , Nor,e Motion carried 6-12-95 ITEM "K" - ORANGE COUNTY BEACH EROSION CONTROL PROJECT - SAN GABRIEL RIVER TO NEWPORT BAY - STAGE 10 The Director of Development Services explained that this item relates to preparation of construction and specification documents by the corps of Engineers for beach nourishment of the Surfside/Sunset Beach area with 1.6 million cubic yards of sand, this project tentatively scheduled to commence in October and be I completed by March, 1996. The Director stated that in conjunction with that project the city is requesting that the Army Corps provide a bid alternate for the provision of providing sand fr~m the off-shore dredging area to the Seal Beach main beach as well, the cost of which would be much less than the prior trucked sand replenishment. councilman Laszlo said he felt it will be difficult to obtain sand for the main beach in that other cities are also looking at this project as a source. Staff offerej that by using the same cost formula as used for Surfs ide it is likely that two hundred twenty cubic yards of sand could be obtained for about $135,000 to $140,000. CITY HALL - HOURS OF OPERATION Councilman Laszlo asked that the proposed adjusted hours of operation at City Hall be explained for information of the public: The city Manager noted that the proposed adjustment of hours is due to some degree to requests of the public over a period of time for expanded hours of operation at City Hall, with current staffing, and an effort to not incur overtime yet maintain the forty hour work week, the rescheduling will provide that City Hall will be open for the convenience of the public from 7:00 a.m. un~il 6:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday and be closed on Fridays. He pointed out also that an Air Quality Management District rule requires a twenty percent reduction of trip miles for employers of one hundred or more employees, Seal I Beach has ninety-eight, and the AQMD has given consideration to imposing that rule in the case of fifty or more employees, noted also that a number of cities have implemented revised City Hall hours of which there has been a high degree of acceptance, and overhead costs of City Hall operations have been reduced by about fifteen percent. Noting that the Public Works and Police Departments have been on this type of revised schedule for some time, the Manager explained that holiday hours will be addressed in the Memorandum of Understanding for city Hall employees, as an example when a holiday falls on Friday the holiday is granted for the Thursday prior, such occurrence no more than twice in a calendar year, and the experience of other cities indicates that sick time usage has been reduced. The Manager pointed out that upon Council appr~val the revised hours will commence on July 1st. AGREEMENTS - SALE I TAANSFER - LEISURE WORLD LIBRARY with regard to the closure of County libraries, Councilman Brown noted that the City of Garden Grove has negotiated with the County to keep their two libraries open two days per week, an offer was made to Leir.ure World as well to keep that library open one day a week, however that came with a warning that upon further budget cuts by the County the library would be closed. He reported that the Golden Rain Foundation is currently in the I process of trying to buy the Leisure World library, that through an auction process to be held on June 20th. He mentioned also that it was found that the City had paid a sum of money to the County for the construction of the Leisure World library with a fifty year option to purchase that facility as a city library,- the result of which is that the County has agreed to give the books to the City if the City will agree to not exercise the option to purcha~e, which the city has done, in turn the Golden Rain Foundation has agreed to purchase the books for $35,000. Councilman Laszlo commended the intense efforts of Mr. Brown in his pursuit of securing the Leisure World library. I I I --.' 6-12-95 Vote on Items "G, K, 0, S, and T": Brown moved, second by Laszlo, to authorize the Mayor to execute the Fourth Amendment to the Solid Waste Services Agreement with the City of Cypress for the period July 1, 1995 through June 30, 1996, Item "G"; to authorize the Mayor to sign a letter to the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, receive and file the staff report relating to the Orange County Beach Erosion Control Project, -San Gabriel River to Newport Bay, Stage 10, and directed that same be forwarded to the Environmental Quality Control Board for information purposes, Item "K"i certified Negative Declaration 95-1 for the Community Safety Office, 820 Ocean Avenue, instructed staff to file the appropriate documentation with the County of Orange, and to submit the required application to the California Coastal Commission, Item "0"; approved the changing of hours of operation for City Hall from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday to 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday commencing July 1, 1995, and close City Hall on Fridays, Item "S"i and approved the Agreement between the County of Orange and the city of Seal Beach and the Asset Acquisition Agreement between the City of Seal Beach and the Golden Rain Foundation for the sale and transfer of the Leisure World Library. AYES: NOES: Brown, Doane, Forsythe, Hastings, Laszlo None Motion carried It was the order of the Chair, with consent of the Council, to declare a recess at 8:12 p.m. The Council reconvened at 8:27 p.m. with Mayor Hastings calling the meeting to order. CONTINUED PUBLIC HEARING - ASSESSMENT DISTRICT 94-1 - UNDERGROUNDING UTILITIES I WATER SYSTEM PROJECT - SURFS IDE COLONY Mayor Hastings declared the second pUblic. hearing open to consider protests or objections to the Resolution of Intention, the Engineer's Report and all other matters relating to Assessment District No. 94-1, Surfs ide Colony. The City Clerk certified as to the receipt of ninety-four communications in opposition to the formation of Assessment District 94-1 representing ninety-nine and one half of the two hundred fifty- four assessable parcels, a letter addressed to the city Council as well from one of the ninety-four opposing persons, and a communication from a representative of the Surfs ide Storm Water Tax District with reference to the Underground Utilities District and the Stage 10 Sand Fill for 1995, copies of which were provided to the Council and staff. The City Engineer presented the staff report relating to proposed Assessment District 94-1, explaining that the purpose of the public hearing is to allow the affected property owners the opportunity to express their views in favor of or in opposition to formation of the District, that the boundaries of the District are the entire of Surfs ide Colony, the extent of improvements is the installation of a new water system and underground conduit for the undergrounding of overhead lines, the Engineer'S Report has been prepared and submitted to Council which contains the boundary map and the assessment amount, the preliminr.ry bo~d3d assessment was $2,375,000 which equated to an assess~ent Fer parcel of $9,350, that amount was to be refined upon receipt of bids, those bids were opened on May 19th, and based upon ~he bid amount the assessment per parcel would have been reduced ~y 6-12-95 approximately $250, however due to discrepancies in the two lowest bids it will be the recommendation of staff to reject all of the bids and readvertise the project for a bid opening on June 29th. He explained that the formula to establish the assessment gave a single family residence a value of one, the total number of units in the Colony were divided into the total assessment in order to arrive at the assessment per parcel. The Engineer mentioned that upon approval of the District, agreements with Southern California Edison and General Telephone will be executed to allow those companies to install their cables once the conduit is in place, the cost of which is . included in the assessment total, noted as well a previously approved agreement with the City of Huntington Beach consenting to Seal Beach taking over the water system once it is installed, an easement has been provided by Surfs ide Colony allowing the City to enter their private streets to construct the improvements and also maintain the water system, and that Surfs ide Colony will be submitting $208,750 as their portion of this project. The Engineer noted that representatives of the Surfs ide Board of Directors, Bond Counsel, the Assessment District Attorney, and representatives of Willdan Associates were present to respond to questions. Mayor Hastings invited members of the audience wishing to speak to this item to come to the microphone and state their name and address for the record. Mr. E. G. Salequi, A-67, and representative of the Surfs ide storm Water Tax District, spoke of the portion of funding of the Army Corps sand fill project that has been deleted from the state Boating and Waterways budget, to which efforts are being made to reinstate that funding. He said the Tax District merely wanted to point out that there is narrowness at the west end of Surfside thus there could possibly be some jeopardy with an open trench during the stormy months of January and February, therefore offered the suggestion for consideration a delay of the project until Spring. The city Engineer said the anticipated construction time frame is between August and November, that being the period when the trench would be open. Mr. Middleton, B~110, said he had voted with the-majority in favor of the undergrounding in 1990 and 1994, the majority has voted twice to move forward with the project, his disappointment being that it has taken so long. Ms. Charlene Anderson, B-108, spoke for commencing construction of the undergrounding project. Ms. Wendy Weneger, B-68, said the undergrounding, beautification and bringing Surfs ide into the twentieth century has been important to her, described her experience as a result of a transformer exploding, stated the project should not be delayed further, and although it is a financial burden it will be worth it. Ms. Nancy Waldron, A-84, said she was anxious to see this project started. Ms. Mary Ellen Glick, A-73, B-23 and B-77, said she favors the project and it should go forward without further delay. Mr. Michael Elias, B-93, stated that he had signed the petition in opposition to the District however after learning more facts has now requested that this name be removed. Mr. Bob Kendrick, undergrounding project manager, expressed his excitement to finally see this project move forward, cited Surfside as a disaster waiting to happen, the major improvement being the water system, noted that of the ninety-four persons filing an objection to the District many are multi-property owners, and requested that the Assessment District be approved. Mr. Allison, A-113, expressed his opinion that the undergrounding project is not only a benefit for Surfside but the community as a whole, particularly the ~'ater system and fire protection. Mr. Randy Turnbow, B-60, President of the Board of Directo~s, recalled his comments at the prior hearing on the merits of this project, however noted that if the majority of property owners were opposed he would be in support of their cause. He I I '1 I 'I I 6-12-95 mentioned that after multiple meetings and multiple petitions the percentages in favor of and opposed remain about the same, in the thirty to forty percent range, for a variety of reasons. Mr. Turnbow offered that there has been considerable misinformation passed around yet the reasons that make this project valid, have never changed, and after spending nearly $100,000 thus far on miscellaneous engineering reports, etc., those monies never to be recovered, he expressed his opinion that this project should go forward. Mr. Turnbow submitted a check from Surfs ide Colony in the amount of $208,750 on behalf of the seventy percent that did not sign a petition in opposition to the District. Mr. Bob Loughland, A-31 and A-34, stated support for this project but not necessarily the way it is being handled. He said at the shareholders meeting in July, 1993 the cost was $1.9 million, in February, 1994 the cost was $2.0 million, the same in March, 1994, in JUly, 1994 the cost was 3.0, and in May, 1995 there was a bond estimate of $2.3 million, at the last hearing the Council was told the costs were going down however upon exiting the building he had acquired a piece of paper that gave the total as $2.9 million including a contribution by the homeowners of approximately $180,000 for outside work. He offered that when the people in Surfs ide signed the petition for the Assessment District they were led to believe that the cost was $1.9 million yet it is now $2.25 million, and it would seem to him that the people paying for this bond should know these facts. Mr. Loughland acknowledged having received a letter from the Surfs ide Board with some press clippings relating to the annual meeting however there was no mention of the associated costs, he challenged the accuracy of the reported expenditure of $100,000 thus far, stating it is more than that, and expressed doubt as to whether the bonded amount will cover the project costs. Mr. Loughland said since the fi~al costs are not known and if this is going to be renegotiated through the bids, why not postpone further action until after the annual meeting in July in that at the 1994 annual meeting the assessment was $7,345, it is now $9,354, and people are not aware of the amount. Mr. Bill Fitzpatrick said he was speaking on behalf of his father-in-law, Mr. John RIeker, B-29, and read a letter he had sent to property owners as part of the opposition group to the Assessment District, which he claimed was not misinformation. Mr. Fitzpatrick recalled a statement made that those who filed opposition to the District are mUlti-owners, to which he said his father-in-law has resided in the Colony since 1944. He claimed that there had been a lack of democratic vote, that a final vote should be on a prescribed agenda where all facts are known and all sides to the issue may be heard, that the Colony is representing to the council what they insist is the true feeling of the shareholders, those that are opposed disagree with that representation as there are ninety-three communications in opposition representing twenty- six homeowners, he claimed that four properties being counted are owned by the Colony thus belong to all property owners, and that two votes in favor of the project are from people who no longer reside in the Colony. Mr. Fitzpatrick said the shareholder vote on this issue was about sixteen months ago, today there are more definitive costs, all information must be provided to the property owners, and there must be a revote before going forward. Ms. Ella Rowe, Surfside, explained that she had sent a letter and packet of information to the Council to show the confusion of the costs that received prior discussion, also the residents had onoe been informed that the reason for going to bonding was that it would be a tax write- off, yet it is now said that it is not a tax write-off, only the interest, and there has yet to be a oonfirmation of this from the Internal Revenue Servioe. Mr. Joe Rullo, A-38, B-43 and B- 44, inquired if the Counoil could vote on this item if the bids are to be oonsidered non-responsive, and urged that there be no 6-12-95 further delay. The city Attorney explained that the recommendation of staff is to close the public hearing, reject the blds, readvertise for bids, and continue the resolutions relating to this matter until the next meeting at which this item will be considered. Mr. steve Rowe, A-40 and B-103, said after listening to those opposed to this project they appear to be supportive of having the deficiencies of the utilities taken I care of, what they are opposed to is the way it is being handled, they would like to have a complete cost, last meeting the road improvements had been taken out, that being a cost outside the assessment district yet required to complete the project, now the roads are apparently back in. He suggested that formation of the Assessment District be postponed until everything is resolved and allow the shareholders to vote one final time, that action would not be a waste of time if the sand is an issue and people do not have the most current information. Mr. Fitzpatrick offered that taxes for improvements to property are not deductible, which includes assessments such as proposed, rather the value of the property should be increased by the amount of the assessment. There being no further comments, Mayor Hastings declared the public hearing closed. Brown moved, second by Doane, to reject all bids for improvements under Assessment District 94-1, Surfs ide Colony, direct staff tb readvertise for bids to be received until June 29th, 1995 at 10:00 a.m. at which time they will be publicly 9pened. AYES: Brown, Doane, Forsythe, Hastings, Laszlo NOES: ~ None Motion carried ~ Brown mated, second by Doane, to continue consideration of I Resolutions numbered 4384, 4385, 4386, 4387 and 4388 until an adjourned meeting to be scheduled for June 29th, 1995 at 6:30 p.m. The city Attorney confirmed that should the Council determine the second set of bids are higher than is felt to be reasonable, the Council has the option to reject the bids once again. AYES: NOES: Brown, Doane, Forsythe, Hastings, Laszlo None Motion carried COUNCIL REPORTS Councilmember Laszlo reminded all interested persons that a hearing on the Bixby project will be held by the Planning Commission on Wednesday at the North Seal Beach Community Center. Councilman Laszlo announced that a meeting of the Seal Beach Base Preservation Committee will be called for Wednesday, June 28th at 10:30 a.m. and noted that as of this date neither the Naval Weapons Station or the Armed Forces Reserve Center are on the base closure list nor can they now be placed on it, the Long Beach Shipyard remains on the list and all efforts are being put forth to have it removed. Councilman Brown announced that a meeting will be held with Naval Weapons Station personnel on June 22nd in City Council Chambers at 10:00 a.m. to discuss issues relating to flooding to which he invited all interested I' persons to attend, and subsequent to that an open house will be held to address the overall flooding problems. Councilmember Forsythe inquired if something is occurring at the Weapons station that would produce very loud noises, the noises having been heard on the Hill and in Old Town. The City Manager offered to inquire as to the source. Councilmember Forsythe announced that Saturday, June 17th will be the Kids Baseball Fun Day and the Ice Cream Social, the tickets for which are in need of being turned in. Mayor Hastings offered a suggestion that Main street be swept earlier in the morning before cars are parked. Councilman Laszlo suggested 8th Street in front of city I I I 6-12-95 / 6-26-95 Hall as well. Mayor Hastings expressed a desire that hourly parking be implemented in the beach parking lots for the interim period prior to adoption of the Main street Specific Plan; and that this be done as quickly as possible. She also announced new businesses in town, the Yellow Armchair and Forever Flowers, and she and Councilman Laszlo's attendance at the Change of Command at the Armed Forces Reserve Center this past Sunday. with regard to loud noises, Councilman Laszlo mentioned that there were thirteen cannon blasts from the AFRC during the Change of Command. Mayor Hastings mentioned Kids Kabs as another new business. 1995/1996 FISCAL YEAR BUDGET The City Manager reported that the 1995/1996 fiscal year budget has been scheduled for public hearing on June 26th, amendments to the preliminary budget will include the cost of the tram and finalization of the beach testing program with either the city of Long Beach and Orange County as to the most reasonable cost, other minor revisions will be reported at that meeting as well as some revenue suggestions. The Mayor asked if pictures of the tram would be available. The Manager noted the difficulty in locating a tram that meets the Disabilities Act requirements, however a manufacturer has been found in Downey, the vehicle operates electrically and on gas and can be modified to meet ADA requirements. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS Mayor Hastings declared Oral Communications open. Ms. Francis Johnson, Coastline Drive, said she did not think that parking meters are needed however they would likely be a good idea for the beach lots. There being no further comments, Mayor Hastings declared Oral Communications closed. ADJOURNMENT It was the order of the Chair, with adjourn the meeting until June 26th Closed Session if deemed necessary. meeting was adjourned at 9:30 consent of the council, to at 6:30 p.m. to meet in By unanimous consent, the Approved: / Clerk and ex-of of Seal Beach Attest: Seal Beach, California June 26, 1995 The City council regular adjourned meeting scheduled for 6:30 p.m. this date was cancelled as there were no Closed Session items requiring consideration.