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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Min 1987-05-19 5-IB-87 / 5-19-87 CLOSED SESSION The City Manager advised that th~ Closed Session would be held the following day, after the departmental workshop, to discussion employee negotiation matters. I ADJOURNMENT By unanimous consent, the Council adjourned the meeting until Tuesday, May 19th at 10:00 a.m. for a departmental workshop. The meeting was adjourned at 9:24 p.m. by unanimous consent of the Council. Approved: Attest: I Seal Beach, California May 19, 1987 The City Council of the City of Seal Beach met in regular adjourned session at 10:08 a.m. with Mayor Clift calling the meeting to order with the Salute to the Flag. ROLL CALL Present: Mayor Clift Councilmembers Hunt, Wilson Absent: Councilmembers Grgas, Risner Also present: Mr. Nelson, City Manager Mr. Rudell, Assistant City Attorney Mr. Joseph, Assistant City Manager Mr. Hemphill, Director of Public Works/ City Engineer M~. Knight, Director of Development Services Mrs. Yeo, City Clerk DEPARTMENTAL WORKSHOP I Public Works/Enqineerinq Depa~tment Mr. Hemphill commenced his review of the functions -and responsibilities of the Public Works/Engineering Departments with the public beach area. He pointed out that the westerly beach maintains adequate sand, however -the east beach, which is subject to erosion and storm damage, lacks of sand, and annually approximately $30,000 is spent to transport sand from the west to the east beach area, noting that a million dollars worth of sand, extension of the groin at an estimated cost of $600,000, and approximately -$175,000 fo~ -repai~-of -the existing groin, would serve to resolve the ongoing erosion problems of the east beach. He advised that to his knowledge, contact has been made with all agencies 5-19-87 that could be potential funding sources to repair or extend the groin, those contacts having been unsuccessful to date, noting that the Corp of Engineers have indicated they feel this to be a local responsibility. Mr. Hemphill added that there are alternative solutions to the erosion problem, a small breakwater or additional smaller groins, however such alternatives would more than likely be environmentally, socially and/or politically unacceptable, where the extension of the groin would probably receive.the least I opposition and is felt by the consultants that it would resolve the.problem. -The City Manager added that he had made contact with a number of legislators .from federal to local level seeking funding, however to no avail. He reported that there may.be some funds made available through the Department of Boating and Waterways as a result of the Coastal Resources Bond Act, .however those funds relatively small considering the number of potential projects on a statewide basis. - Mr. Hemphill explained that there are three persons devoted to beach maintenance, the main .beach cleaned daily, as well as the parking lots, one.hundred thirty-five trash.cans maintained, noting also that due to the lack of personnel .resources,-the Surfside beach is cleaned twice per year. He advised that there are forty-five miles of streets in the downtown, hill, College Park East and.College.Park .West areas, four to five persons devoted to that.responsibility. Mr. Hemphill stated it is felt the street system is basically in good condition overall with the exception of streets in the College Park East area where there is.a high level of .deterioration due to poor soil conditions and a high water table, noting that those streets are being improved on a worst case basis as funds become.available. He reported about one-half of Orange County .cities .now have I the capability of.monitoring .street conditions through a new computerized -evaluation program, for example a computer evaluation would most .likely determine that most Old Town streets are in.poor condition and in need of replacement. He noted also .that the City has a.substantial problem.with curbs, gutters.and.sidewalks. With regard to street signs, he reported that the existing signs are old and in need of replacement, however the cost of such replacement has been deleted from the proposed budget. Mr. Hemphill reported there are seven Public Works personnel who maintain the public parks and .open areas year-round, each area having its.own unique problem, and.offered a comparison of the City's landscape maintenance.personnel with the seventy full-time landscape workers.in Leisure World. He stated he.felt there .are.a fair number of parks. in Seal Beach comparative to the population, and that parks are generally a high priority with regard to community cultural values. He also made note that although there are more.than eleven-thousand trees.in.this community,.tree trimming was .deleted from the current fiscal year budget, .as it will be for the upcoming year. In addition, he reported vehicle maintenance consists of three full-time mechanics, - maintaining all city equipment and vehicles, and pointed out the expertise.of certain personnel in that division who have I designed and built special equipment for the City's use. The.Public Works Director advised that Seal Beach has.the best quality water of all.Orange County-cities, that.the high.capacity well.produces .a.quality water that requires no chlorination, the.water retrieved.from a depth of more than eight hundred feet .and filtered through .layers of sand. He reported that.water-mains are.tested periodically, and when it is determined that maintenance costs exceed the cost of 5-19-87 I replacement, the mains should then be replaced. Mr. Hemphill noted the City has a forty-five mile sewer system with the sewage pumped to County facilities, that the system is inspected by the City by means of a television camera, however sewer cleaning is done under outside contract. In addition, there are twenty-one traffic signals within City boundaries, much of the hardware in rather poor condition even though a number of the signal controllers have been replaced, noting that the cost of resignaling an intersection is between $75,000 to $100,000, and that traffic signals are maintained for the most part, by two City electricians. He added that there is also one carpenter in the Public Works Department who performs various tasks throughout the City. He continued with a review of the personnel contingent of the Engineering Department. Mr. Hemphill-pointed out that functions that are funded by enterprise funds are operated and maintained at a higher level than those functions that must compete for general funds, .and likewise, vehicles that would normally be replaced within seven years are being maintained to a degree that they may operate for ten to twelve years. Mr. Hemphill expressed the need for a capital improvement program, noting.that there are no capital projects forthcoming in .the budget with the exception of those with fixed funding sources such as water, sewer and streets, which causes some organizational concern due to the fact there is no.advance plan.for replacement of the City's fixed infrastructure in the future. I He stated that national economics.and the erosion of wages has a substantial impact on personnel -and morale, particularly-in the area of Public Works, where -persons are doing much more than in -the past, -and even though the education level is higher and improved equipment is used, employees are continually asked to do more with no additional personnel, and always under threat that their duties could be contracted out.. Mr. Hemphill stated.that Public Works personnel care about-their responsibilities, are sensitive to local concerns, often dealing with a hostile-element of citizenry, and respond to community needs no matter what the .situation. - He-added .that although Public Works does not represent glamour positions, the personnel do need recognition for their efforts. Assistant City Attorney Rudell arrived at 11:00 a.m. I Department of Development Services - Mr. -Knight reviewed the organization of the Development Services -Department consisting of planning and building functions, the staff including the Director, an Administrative Aide, secretary, two ~uilding Inspectors, and a part-time clerical .position referred to as a Building Aide. In addition he stated that the City utilizes the services of a contract plan .checker which appears -to be cost effective for the City although processing may take a somewhat longer time. He explained.that current planning consists of zoning -laws, laws enacted by the City and State, conditional.use permits, variances, plan check, zone changes, .etc., as.opposed to advanced -planning which deals with long term future planning, citing.the.General Plan.as an example of.a long -term planning document. He referred to the department's involvement-with environmental issues, implemented .or impacted by State law, with specific reference to .the California Environmental Quality.Act which governs the requirement for and preparation of environmental 5-19-87 impact reports, which is a disclosure or information document that sets forth the impact of a specific project or development on such things as water quality, air quality, traffic, seismic issues, open space, etc. He explained however that there is no requirement that the impacts identified by an ErR be resolved, and a project may be approved without taking into consideration or mitigating those impacts. He added that hazardous waste is becoming a very important issue which has filtered down from the state I level, and that the City will become involved in the preparation of a hazardous waste plan as required by State law. Likewise, Seal Beach falls under the authority of the Coastal Commission which was created by the legislature to administer the Coastal Act adopted by the voters. Mr. Knight referred specifically to the Local Coastal Program which must be in compliance with the Coastal Act, noting that .this City's LCP was submitted to the Commission for approval and subsequently returned to the City with specific comments relating to Surfside access and development of the Hellman property, therefore is yet to receive Coastal Commission approval. He added that once the Hellman development goes forward the concerns with that particular property will be resolved, also that it is his goal to obtain approval of the Seal Beach LCP. The City Manager noted he has reached agreement with the Coastal Commission to segment the LCP, leaving out the Surfside portion for the present, in order to obtain approval of the Program which, after adoption will give the City an expanded roll in issuing permits. Mr. Nelson also explained that the Commission has -approved the Specific Plan for the -Department of Water and Power property, however if a development proposal is submitted that is not in compliance with that Specific Plan it will be required to seek Coastal Commission approval. Mr. Knight noted that the Subdivision Map Act is I administered in cooperation with the Engineering Department, the Act providing a means for cities to achieve their public facility goals for such things as sewers, water lines, streets and street lighting, the developer required to provide those improvements in order to obtain their map approval. The Director reported that a computer is now being used to log code enforcement-problems, updated on a monthly -basis, many of the .enforcement problems the direct result .of the size of lots, size.and number of units, etc., and since.the City has no code enforcement personnel, code enforcement .is pursued-only on a reactive basis. He advised that in the near future a status report of code enforcement will be prepared for the information of the staff and City Council. Mr. Knight noted that studies and activities .of adjoining agencies also have a direct impact on the community, citing the Bolsa Chica area as an example. He explained that in addition to the City'-s local codes, the Building .and Planning Divisions are also subject to .provisions of the various State Codes. He stated that for a community that is substantially built -out, there is a.great deal of building activity, a-considerable amount of that activity in Leisure I World with the addition of sky lights and patio enclosures. He reported .there are between one hundred thirty to two hundred seventy building permits issued per month and approximately fifteen to twenty new dwelling units per year, requiring from one to a number of inspections. Mr. Knight noted that building inspection in this .community is somewhat more-difficult than in many cities given the number of existing building problems.and-conflicts that arise with property owners and/or contractors in the field. 5-l9-87 / 5-26-87 I CLOSED SESSION The City Manager stated that the Council would meet in Closed Session to discuss potential litigation with regard to the School District development fees, and labor relations regarding the meet and confer process. The Council adjourned to Closed Session at II:S3 a.m. and reconved at 12:55 p.m. with Mayor Clift calling the meeting to order. The Assistant City Attorney reported the Council had discussed the items previously reported. rnformal discussion followed regarding the Department of Water and Power property and the potential for the City to license or lease approximately 2.2 acres of that site. The City Manager reported that the asbestos removal from the site had cost the Department of Water and Power approximately one million dollars and that it now appears it will be some years before development will be considered. He noted that along with the 2.2 acre parcel, which could be seeded and some planting incorporated, an easement exists at the southerly portion of the.site which, if not -used, is to revert back to the owner of that property, advising that the City could utilize that land for.bike path purposes, connecting the existing path with Ocean Avenue. He pointed out that the more property -the City acquires and converts to open space park use, the more difficult it would be for the DWP to convert that land to something other than that use in the future which would require an amendment to -that Specific Plan, also that it would tend to-reduce the market value of the site. He also mentioned that this DWP land is such a high priority with the Coastal Conservancy that they appear to be willing to renegotiate the pier restaurant loan to a longer term if the City would agree to commit the .savings realized to maintenance of the Department of Water and Power land that may be acquired. By unanimous consent of the Councilmembers present, the meeting adjourned at 1:14 p.m. I Attest: Approved: I Seal Beach, California May 26, 1987 The City Council of the City of Seal-Beach met in regular session at 7:04 p.m. with Mayor Clift calling the meeting to order with the Salute to the Flag.