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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC AG PKT 2003-09-22 #K • Seal Beach, California August 25, 2003 The City Council of the City of Seal Beach met in regular adjourned session at 6:30 p.m. with Mayor Campbell calling the meeting to order with the Salute to the Flag. ROLL CALL Present: Mayor Campbell Councilmembers Antos, Doane, Larson, Yost Absent: None Also present: Mr. Bahorski, City Manager Mr. Barrow, City Attorney Ms. Yeo, City Clerk The City Attorney announced that this is the opportunity for any member of the audience to speak to the items listed for Closed Session discussion. There being none, the City Attorney noted that the Council would be considering the items identified on the agenda, anticipated litigation and a conference with the City's labor negotiator, and the case of the people of the State of California versus Joseph Ribal. The Council adjourned to Closed Session at 6:31 • p.m. and reconvened at 6:49 with Mayor Campbell calling the meeting to order. The City Attorney reported that the Council had considered the items identified on the agenda pursuant to Government Code Section 54956.9(b) and Section 54957.6 as well as the item that was identified prior to the Council adjourning to Closed Session, the Council gave direction to the labor negotiator and the City Attorney, no other reportable action was taken. ADJOURNMENT It was the order of the Chair, with consent of the Council, to adjourn the meeting at 6:51 p.m. THESE ARE TENTATIVE MINUTES ONLY, SUBJECT TO THE APPROVAL OT THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEAL BEACH. Council Minutes Approved: • Item K • Seal Beach, California August 25, 2003 The City Council of the City of Seal Beach met in regular session at 7:20 p.m. with Mayor Campbell calling the meeting to order with the Salute to the Flag. ROLL CALL Present: Mayor Campbell - Councilmembers Antos, Doane, Larson, Yost Absent: None Also present: Mr. Bahorski, City Manager Mr. Barrow, City Attorney Mr. Whittenberg, Director of Development Services • Captain Schaefer, Police Department Ms. Arends-King, Director of Administrative Services Mr. Cummins, Associate Planner Ms. Yeo, City Clerk APPROVAL OF AGENDA • Mayor Campbell requested that Item "J" be removed from the Consent Calendar for separate consideration, and Councilman • Antos requested Item "K" removed. Larson moved, second by Yost, to approve the order of the agenda as revised. AYES: Antos, Campbell, Doane, Larson, Yost ' NOES: None Motion carried ANNOUNCEMENTS Councilman Antos mentioned that there will be a meeting in the Council Chambers at 6:30 p.m. the following evening with the City's consultants and the Engineering Department to discuss matters relating to sand, the berm, and the groin, and respond to public questions, the residents of • Seal Way and Ocean Avenue have been apprised of the meeting. Mayor Campbell advised that there will not be a Council meeting on September 8th due to attendance at the League of California Cities Conference. Councilman Yost also mentioned an upcoming meeting on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. with regard to the Marina Drive bridge replacement project. PUBLIC COMMENTS Mayor Campbell declared Public Comments to be open. Ms. Reva Olson, Seal Beach, said she had heard a lot of moaning about the City not having enough money, to that she offered that there may not be enough in the General Fund but there seems to be plenty in the Redevelopment Agency to subsidize rich people who make $100,000 a year, the reason there is not enough money is not the taxpayers fault, they are paying the highest Utility Tax in the State, not voted upon by the people, the sewer assessment has been increased, the • Sanitation District assessment has been increased, the City has now informed the people that they need a water increase of seventy -four percent. Recent news articles report that Page Two - City Council Minutes - August 25, 2003 the Utility being Tax is bein returned to people in certain 1 11 1 cities, and the opinion of the Jarvis group is that the tax levied on telephones, electricity, cell phones, cable television, and natural gas is illegal, she wonders how long it will be before some citizen will contact Jarvis and sue the City for charging the people an illegal tax, also many people in the City are complaining about the increased assessments, and there are still no streets or sidewalks, she would ask that the Utility Tax be discontinued as it is going to have to be given back anyway. Ms. Joyce Parque, Seal Beach, in response to a comment made during the Agency meeting, said that the Trailer Park lawsuit was not filed against the City rather against the former member of the Council, the City was talked into representing that person. Ms. Parque said the $10,000 grant money does not have to be repaid, it is free, the MPROP was the money given by the City for the Trailer Park purchase but now it is wanted to be repaid to use it for something other than the residents program, the penalty assessment is $180,000 per year for twenty years to subsidize the rent, in 1981 there was an amendment yet the City Attorney did not enforce the amendment, Civic Stone was paid $43,000, Mayor Campbell suggested that the City is in the same situation as the homes that are no longer new homes, things wear out and need to be replaced, the Sanitation District just raised rates, the Mayor also has a problem with borrowing money, that is a double standard for the people who live in Old Town, the City does not want to borrow money for streets, curbs, and sewers yet it is alright for the Agency to 1 11 1 borrow money, the,City should get the money back from legal counsel that was paid to represent the former Councilmember, proceeds from the affordable housing set ' aside may be used to pay for these services relating to providing, maintaining, and preserving affordable housing. The Trailer Park election issue is bribery, one person did not get the money, another was told he had to sign the MPROP before he would get the money, the Mayor should not be sitting on the Linc board and should resign as Mayor, people should not be required to sign a document to get the million dollars back, it is gone, it will be repaid in thirty years, the taxpayers deserve more, and if the staff does not have time to do an application then they should work five days a week. Ms. Parque asked the meaning of 'equity adjustments', and why are there nearly $500,000 in workers comp cases. Ms. Sue Corbin, Seal Beach, commended the two prior speakers, in her opinion they have stepped up over the years and made the community a better place, the League of Cities should be teaching the Council to be kinder to the speakers, honest with the public, staff should let the people know that the two year budget is coming to a wall where there is no money, if there are negotiations going on with the Orange County Sheriffs Department or-other police agencies to dissolve the Seal Beach Police Department, she would like to know who the Manager is negotiating with and his contacts, spoke negatively of the actions of the Sheriffs Department, it would be best to have volunteers at City Hall, it has been proven that people will step up and work for free, there also needs to be a people's initiative to cut expenses. 1 11 1 The next meeting is being canceled because Council is attending the League of Cities, the League is teaching the ti Page Three - City Council Minutes, August 25, 2003 11111 Council how to run the City for the benefit of cities, why not do something for the benefit of the taxpayers. Because the two items are related to the Trailer Park does not allow one to engage in influencing, who got the grants, special things for special people. There is a need to cut expenses, there is no money when the two year budget is over, there needs to be honesty, there is a duty to tell the people that there is no money, the School District and the Fire Department were lost over night because there was no money, now there will be a need to get rid of the Police Department, there have been problems in the past however they have professionalized themselves, there are negotiations and she wants to know with whom, it is being kept from the Council too. She asked how is it that Jarvis requires that the people be able to vote on any money that is left for over a year in the Water Department, yet that } money was loaned to another fund for over one year, this is a violation of Jarvis, there needs to be a vote if the money is going to be held longer than one year. Ms. Corbin said the Associate Planner does not come to work and possibly works out of his home is why the Development Services Director is so short handed, this can not be, you can not run a city where some people have special rights, people need to be at City Hall working, there is no need for four engineers, all that is needed is one. There was a $17 million bond to fix the library, where is that money, just floating around and ending up in the Trailer Park. Ms. Corbin stated that the Mayor and Councilman Yost should 4111 not be serving on the Linc board, it is known it is a conflict of interest, the reason for remaining on the board is to make sure that the City's position is protected, that • is the ultimate conflict of interest. Mr. Glen Clark, ' Trailer Park, mentioned the upcoming Sand Castle event on September 6th and 7th, a wonderful event, last year drawing about twenty thousand people, he and his wife will be volunteering their services for the fourth year, and invited all to attend. There being no further comments, Mayor Campbell declared the Public Comment period to be closed. In response to a public comment Mayor Campbell explained that City staff works ten hour days, if they work four days a week that is forty hours, if they work five days a week that is fifty hours, any hours over forty are not subject to overtime, and no one is out to volunteer their time. CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEMS "A" thru "K" Larson moved, second by Doane, to approve the recommended action for items on the Consent Calendar as presented, except for Items "J" and "K ", removed for separate consideration. A. Approved the waiver of reading in full of all ordinances and resolutions and that consent to the waiver of reading shall be . deemed to be given by all Councilmembers after the reading of the title unless specific request is made at that time for • the reading of such ordinance or resolution. B. Approved regular demands numbered 43140 Page Four - City Council Minutes - August 25, 2003 through 43277 in the amount of $451,033.68, 1 11 1 ADP payroll demands numbered 5259414 through 5259415, 5288774 through 5288891, 5296011, 28007 through 28015 in the amount of $213,242.61, and authorized warrants to be drawn on the Treasury for same. C. Approved the minutes of the regular adjourned and regular meetings of July 28, 2003 and August 11, 2003. D. Received and filed the Monthly Investment Report for July, 2003. E. Adopted Resolution Number 5160 entitled "A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEAL BEACH AMENDING THE •POSITION CLASSIFICATION PLAN TO INCLUDE THE POSITION OF MARINE YEARLY LIFEGUARD." By unanimous consent, full reading of Resolution Number 5160 was waived. F. Adopted Resolution Number 5161 entitled "A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEAL BEACH RELATING TO BENEFITS /WAGES FOR CERTAIN NON - REPRESENTED POSITIONS." By unanimous consent, full reading of Resolution Number 5161 was waived. G. Approved the Agreement between Senior Meals • and Services, Inc. and the City of Seal Beach to provide nutrition and senior services for the term commencing July 1, 2003 for a period of four years with provision for annual renewal. H. Received and filed a status report with regard to the proposed Educational Center at Gum Grove Nature Park. I. Authorized the Mayor to sign the comment letter to the County of Orange regarding the Notice of Intent to Adopt Mitigated Negative Declaration 03 -105 for the Los Alamitos Pump Station Project. AYES: Antos, Campbell, Doane, Larson, Yost NOES: None Motion carried ITEMS REMOVED FROM THE CONSENT CALENDAR ITEM "J" - COMMENT LETTER - ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT PREPARATION - COUNTY OF ORANGE - SUNSET HARBOR MARINA BOAT LAUNCH PARKING /DRY BOAT STORAGE EXPANSION The Associate Planner reported that the City is in receipt of a Notice of Preparation which under CEQA is a notice of the intent by the County to prepare an Environmental Impact Report which invites comments of affected agencies and other cities relating to that EIR before it has even been drafted, this is a disclosure that the County intends to prepare an EIR relating to the areas outlined in the Notice 1 11 1 for an expansion to the Sunset Harbor Marina facility, to that the City has prepared a draft comment letter to the Page Five - City Council Minutes - August 25, 2003 4111 County requesting further clarification in a number of areas and additional discussion that they had not identified in the Notice to assure that it is included within the EIR. The Planner noted that the Environmental Quality Control Board reviewed the draft letter and forwarded their comments to the Council as shown in bold type. Councilman Yost mentioned that this issue came up about two years ago, at that time the County tried to run it through, of great concern was that the area would have drained directly into the National Wildlife Refuge, at that time the project was stopped. He suggested that staff look very carefully at this project, look at the environmental aspects with attention to the dry boat storage which involves motor oil, etc. next to the Wildlife Refuge and wetlands. Councilman Larson said he felt it was a well written, diplomatic letter, letting the County know that they are not going to get by the City and that the City is to be advised of every step of the proceeding as to what they are going to do. Councilman Doane said his concern is with the Navy, that they should be involved in this, his recollection is that shortly after the 9/11 incident and security was high the Navy was anxious to have a second entrance into the harbor for the security of the boats that would be loading ordnance from the Weapons Station, now this project would increase boat travel and his feeling is that the Navy should have a say in this, there should be more people involved in this issue than there are now. Councilman Doane noted also the anticipation of enhanced • revenue to the County Harbors, Beaches and Parks fund, and suggested that there should be some type of reimbursement provision for related City costs in dealing with this proposal, this area is within the boundaries of Seal Beach ' even though there is no generation of revenue. In response to a question posed, the City Manager stated his belief that the area is leased from the State Lands Commission. With regard to accuracy of the map, the Planner noted that the site location was incorrectly south of Pacific Coast Highway, the EQCB asked that that be corrected. Mayor Campbell mentioned that the boats use the Navy inlet, yet under the table of responsible and trustee agencies the only military agency is the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers who look at things from an engineering standpoint, she does not see that the Department of Defense or Department of the Navy has been contacted where they deal with security issues, after 9/11 the inlet was shut down, this in turn will be increasing the volume of boating traffic with ships loading and unloading ordnance, her concern is with security. Mayor Campbell asked that the staff write a letter to the Naval Weapons Station Base Commander to let them know of this proposal and forward a packet of information received thus far, as she would not depend on the County to provide this information to the Base and the Army Corps does not always communicate well with other departments. The City Manager confirmed that a letter and all information will be forwarded. Councilman Doane noted the environmental issue with the wetlands as well even though there was some reference to 'improving' the wetlands in some way. Larson moved, second by Doane, to authorize • the Mayor to sign the comment letter relating to the Sunset Harbor proposed expansion. Page Six - City Council Minutes - August 25, 2003 AYES: Antos, Campbell, Doane, Larson, Yost 1111 NOES: None Motion carried ITEM "K" - RESOLUTION NUMBER 5162 - RECORDING LOAN - REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY Councilman Antos stated he removed this item to be consistent with his vote during the Redevelopment Agency meeting. Doane moved, second by Larson, to adopt Resolution Number 5162 entitled "A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEAL BEACH RECORDING A LOAN TO THE RIVERFRONT REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY OF SEAL BEACH." By unanimous consent, full reading of Resolution Number 5162 was waived. The City Attorney confirmed to Councilman Yost that he was allowed to vote on this item in that it is a citywide project. AYES: Campbell, Doane, Larson, Yost NOES: None ABSTAIN: Antos Motion carried CITY ATTORNEY REPORT No report was presented. CITY MANAGER REPORT The City Manager assured the Council that there is no consideration of moving the Seal Beach Police Department to the Sheriff, that is consistent with what he has told the Police Department, he wished to make that clear before rumors are started. 1 11 0 COUNCIL COMMENTS Councilman Larson mentioned that since wars have been ' declared in several nations of the world, there seems to be money available for new, big, loud jets at the Joint Forces Training Base, there have been many flying over recently, and asked if an inquiry could be made as to whether this is going to be permanent or a temporary activity. Mayor Campbell mentioned that one was Air Force I, also, there are two F18's that do touch and go landings usually on Sundays, said there were a couple more this week, it could be that a carrier is in port, however described incidents of two jets flying over last week that were a concern, one was a 737 that was just north of her home at the southern end of the Base, coming in at an angle at about seven hundred feet, she called the Long Beach Airport and is anticipating a return call, that type of incident should not happen, then a few days later a corporate jet came in very low on the same route, that is a concern because they are flying over the airspace of the Base and would intercept if there were a takeoff, she also called the airfield commander to ask him to look into these incidents, there is also a noise limit on Long Beach Airport where it is believed they are restricted as to what kind of flights can land after 10:00 p.m. Councilman Larson said his reference was to military jets, his question is whether this is going to be a new pattern for the future, when the Country was at peace there was not enough money to fuel all of the planes so the number of flights were restricted. Councilman Doane mentioned that in the early 1990's the • former College Park East Council representative and the Base Commander worked out a flight pattern which was Page Seven City Council Minutes - August 25, 2003 • supposed to not go over any of the residences, it followed the Naval Weapons Station until the flights were over the ocean, if that is no longer in effect possibly the Air Force should be contacted to find out why. Mayor Campbell said the flight pattern has not been changed, and noted that five helicopters flew over her house a couple of days before Air Force I arrived, her neighbor called the Base and was informed that they were not to fly over the tract, that they are to fly up the Weapons Station and turn. Councilman Larson said he read that the Long Beach Airport does not have enough room for the Los Angeles County Sheriffs helicopter squadron so they are planning to come to the Joint Forces Reserve Training Base, there needs to be some protection from them just flying anywhere and over Leisure World. Mayor Campbell offered to provide the appropriate phone numbers to call the Airport or the Center, and assured that they will return telephone calls. She noted too that since the closing of El Toro that airspace has been opened up and the planes landing at Long Beach Airport are coming in at a lower altitude over Costa Mesa, Huntington Beach, and Seal Beach, not only are there increased flights it is the altitude that is the problem, it may be necessary for groups of people to address the Long Beach City Council. Councilman Antos requested that an item be placed on the next Redevelopment Agency agenda to discuss the By Laws, policies and procedures, of the Agency in that it is felt there are some problems with them. Councilman Antos also reported having received calls 1111 from people on Main Street that have been told that he has the power to change Main Street, so for the record said that Code enforcement is done by City staff, what he has been trying to do is work with the Council and staff to ' move along the newsrack ordinance which he understands is in the process and have the rules and regulations enforced equally on the Street, so whatever lot in life people on Main Street are having is not his doing. Mayor Campbell mentioned the recent Kids Swap Meet held at Heather Park, it was a great event, and thanked the Police Department for helping with fingerprinting the kids and the Fire Department for bringing their unit and distributing red fire hats to the children. To those at home watching the cablecast of Council meetings, Mayor Campbell suggested that when they hear statements made at Public Comments that they call City Hall to get correct answers. CLOSED SESSION No Closed Session was held. ADJOURNMENT It was the order of the Chair, with consent of the Council, to adjourn the meeting at 8:00 p.m. with the notation that the September 8 ° " meeting will be canceled and adjourned to a Closed Session on September 22 the next regular meeting to be held on September 22nd. THESE ARE TENTATIVE MINUTES ONLY, SUBJECT TO THE APPROVAL 4111 OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEAL BEACH Council Minutes Approved