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Minutes 1994-04-26 . t- . 274 MINUTES REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL TUESDAY, APRIL 26, 1994 CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS, 215 EAST BRANCH STREET ARROYO GRANDE, CALIFORNIA The City Council of the City of Arroyo Grande met at 7:00 P.M., with Mayor Matthew Peter Gallagher, III, presiding. 1. & 2. FLAG SALUTE AND INVOCATION Mayor Gallagher led the Pledge of Allegiance to our Flag, and the Rev. Randy Quimette, Fire Chaplain and pastor of st. John's Lutheran Church, delivered the invocation. 3. OATH OF OFFICE. ADMINISTERED BY CITY CLERK NANCY A. DAVIS. TO COUNCIL MEMBER MICHAEL A. LADY The City Clerk administered the Oath of Office to Council Member Lady. 4. REMARKS BY COUNCIL MEMBER MICHAEL A. LADY The new Council Member said it is an honor to represent the citizens of Arroyo Grande, and thanked the Council for appointing him. He introduced his family. Immediately following Council Member Lady's talk, a reception was held for him. THE REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING BEGAN AT 7:30 P.M. 5. ROLL CALL Present were Mayor Gallagher and Council Members Drew Brandy, Bernard Burke, Michael Lady, and James Souza. Staff Members present were city Manager Chris Christiansen, city Attorney Roger Lyon, the City Clerk, Planning Director Doreen Liberto-Blanck, Acting Public Works Director John Wallace7 Special Counsel Peter Brown and Police Chief Rick TerBorch. 6. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS REUBEN KVIDT of 116 vista Drive said there has been a problem with skateboarders at Grace Bible Church. He said painted curbs had been scratched and marked up, and signs destroyed. He said there is a need for a place for skateboarding, and that young people probably were not intentionally malicious. Mayor Gallagher said the City is looking for a location to establish a skateboarding area, and when that is found an ordinance regulating skateboarding will be brought forward. ROBERT SHUTT of 529 Nelson Street questioned the council about a study of areas of the City where painted crosswalks may 1 , 275 CITY COUNCIL MINUTES APRIL 26, 1994 be needed. Mayor Gallagher said the City is looking at traffic patterns near the schools and anyone in the community can bring an area where painted crosswalks may be needed to the attention of city staff. 7. SELECTION OF MAYOR PRO TEM Council Member Burke nominated Council Member Souza for the position of Mayor Pro Tern, and Council Member Brandy seconded the nomination. voting aye were Council Members Burke, Brandy, Lady, Souza and Mayor Gallagher. a. CONSENT AGENDA It was moved by Burke/Souza, and the motion passed unanimously to approve Consent Agenda Items a.a. through 8. 1 . , with the recommended courses of action. ',- 8.a. Proclamation, "Special Olympics Day," May 6, 1994. Mayor Gallagher presented the proclamation to Mary Ellen Gibson. 8.b. Proclamation, "March of Dimes Walk America Day," April 30, 1994. Mayor Gallagher presented the proclamation to Pete Dougall. a.c. Proclamation, "Perinatal Substance Abuse Awareness Month," May, 1994. Mayor Gallagher presented the proclamation to Barbara Machado. 8.d. March 23, 1994, Special Joint City Council Meeting of City of Grover Beach and city of Arroyo Grande Minutes. Approved. a.e. March 31, 1994, special Joint City Council Meeting of city of Arroyo Grande and city of Grover Beach Minutes. Approved. 8. f. April 12, 1994, City Council Minutes. Approved. 8.g. Letter of Resignation from Frank M. Klavon, Mobile Home Rent Review Board Member. Accepted with regrets. 8.h. Liability Claim, OTTSE, Inc. (c/o Peter C. Miller, Esq. ). Rejection approved. 8.i. Request to Allow Parking on Orchard Street, West Cherry Avenue and California Street on Friday, May 6. 1994, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. , for the Special Olympics Area Meet at Arroyo Grande High School. Approved. 8. j . Water Neutralization Program; Four-Lot Subdivision; 1101 Huasna Road; Bob Bowen. Staff's recommendation accepted. 2 276 CITY COUNCIL MINUTES APRIL 26, 1994 8.k. Annual Clean-Up Week, May 11 - 13, 1994. Information. 8.1. First Quarter, 1994, Departmental Monthly Reports. Information. 9. REGISTER OF CHECKS It was moved by Souza/Burke, and the motion passed unanimously to approve Cash Disbursements in the amount of $534,896.21, as listed in the April 20, 1994, Staff Report of Finance Director David Bacon. 10.A. CONTINUATION OF PUBLIC HEARING - CONSIDERATION OF A TRASH PICKUP RATE INCREASE OF 12.4 PERCENT. OR $.95 PER MONTH FOR RESIDENTIAL USERS AND COMMENSURATE AMOUNTS FOR COMMERCIAL USERS. EFFECTIVE MAY 1, 1994: CITYWIDE Mr. Christiansen referred to his Agenda Synopsis and said the City's franchise agreement with South County Sanitary Service provides for a rate of return of 11.5 percent, and the company has not had an operational rate increase since 1991. He said the cities of Grover Beach and pismo Beach have approved a 95 cent per month increase for residential users and a commensurate amount for commercial. He said the franchise agreement allows low-income users to purchase "blue bags" and only be charged $1.00 per bag rather than pay the full garbage rate. Mr. Christiansen said the Council had requested that he look into the variable rate as it is used by the City of San Luis Obispo. He described a schedule of variable rates and said two- thirds of the community would be subsidizing the other one-third. He said the variable rates would be more expensive by about $50,000.00 due to billing switch-over and a high percentage of bad debt. He said under Arroyo Grande's current rate, less than one-percent is bad debt, while in the variable rate cities it is 7 1/2 percent. He recommended that Arroyo Grande stay with its present program and that the Council institute the 95 cents increase. After Council questions of Staff, Mayor Gallagher opened the Continued Public Hearing to the floor. TOM MARTIN, controller of South County Sanitary Service, said the $1.00 "blue bags" are for hardship cases only, and the 33-gallon bag is picked up only once a month. He said there are very few users. HEATHER JENSEN, manager of the Chamber of Commerce, said the increase amounted to about 12 1/2 percent for commercial users, and this would hurt the business people in town. She asked if 3 277 CITY COUNCIL MINUTES APRIL 26, 1994 the increase was allowed under the current contract, and the City Attorney said yes, but the company had to demonstrate the need. Mayor Gallagher said the Sanitary Service had assured the City that it would not ask for another increase for 20 months. When no one further carne forward to speak, Mayor Gallagher closed the hearing to the floor. Council Member Brandy said a once-a-month pickup of the "blue bags" is inadequate and he would like to negotiate that and the formula for rate increases in the new contract in 1995. He said perhaps the City will be looking at a more efficiency type service. "- Council Member Burke said when the new contract comes up in 1995, the formula for rate increases should be studied. He said the variable rate is too costly. Council Member Souza said he would like to see in a resolution or the new contract some type of award system for residential and commercial people who recycle. Council Member Lady said he was concerned about the commercial users, but that the rates had not been increased in almost five years. He questioned why the "blue bags" were not more widely used, and said if the costs are the same to go up and down the streets, why not pick up the "blue bags" more than once a month. He said the variable rates are too costly. Mayor Gallagher said there should be pickups more than once a month for the "blue bag" users. He said the trash pickup should be automated to cut down on labor costs. He agreed with Council Member Souza's suggestion about rewarding recyclers. It was moved by Burke/Souza (4-1-0, with Burke, Souza, Lady and Gallagher voting aye and Brandy voting no) to approve Resolution No. 3025 Amending the Current Disposal Service Franchise Agreement Rates, Effective May 1, 1994. 10.B. CONTINUATION OF PUBLIC HEARING - FOR THE OPERATION OF A TAXICAB SERVICE AND A TAXICAB SUBSIDY PROGRAM FOR SENIOR CITIZENS: CITYWIDE Mr. Christiansen referred to the April 20, 1994, Staff Report of city Clerk Davis, who recommended that the Council approve a resolution granting a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity to Five Cities Yellow Cab, effective upon full and total "compliance with the conditions and requirements of Title 5, Chapter 10 of the Arroyo Grande Municipal Code. 4 , , 278 CITY COUNCIL MINUTES APRIL- 26, 1994 Council Members asked questions about how to judge the viability of the taxi company. Mr. Christiansen said the company seems to have met the requirements of the city. After being assured that the Public Hearing had been duly published and all legal requirements met, Mayor Gallagher declared the Public Hearing open and said all persons would be heard regarding the matter. When no one came forward to speak, Mayor Gallagher closed the hearing to the floor. " It was moved by Souza/Burke (5-0-0, Souza, Burke, Lady, Brandy and Gallagher voting aye) to approve Resolution No. 3026 Granting a Certificate of PUblic Convenience and Necessity to Jay Freeman and Reuben Temple, Operators, Five cities Yellow Cab, for the Operation of a Taxicab Service Within the City Limits. 1LA. SECOND READING OF ORDINANCE AMENDING THE MUNICIPAL CODE REGARDING LIABILITY INSURANCE FOR TAXICABS OPERATED WITHIN THE .em Mr. Christiansen recommended that the Council adopt the ordinance increasing the amount of liability insurance required for taxicabs operated within the City to $500,000.00 for injury or death of one person and $1,000,000.00 for injury or death for two or more persons in the same accident. Mayor Gallagher opened the meeting to anyone in the audience who wanted to speak. JAY FREEMAN AND REUBEN TEMPLE, operators of Five cities Yellow Cab, objected to the insurance increases and said they may have to increase the fares charged for the Senior citizen Taxicab Subs~dy program. Mayor Gallagher said the City Council is responsible to protect its citizens in case of accidents. He said the City's insurance carriers had recommended these minimum amounts. He suggested that the taxicab company operators meet with the City Manager to discuss this matter. When no one further came forward to speak, he closed the hearing to the floor. It was moved by Souza/Brandy (5-0-0, Souza, Brandy, Lady, Burke and Gallagher voting aye) to adopt Ordinance No. 463 C.S. Amending Municipal Code Title 5, Chapter 10 Regarding Liability Insurance for Taxicabs Operated within the City. AGENDA ITEMS 11.B. AND II.C. REGARDING RANCHO GRANDE TRACT 1994 Mr. Christiansen told the Council that the attorneys for the Rancho Grande Subdivision and the Acting City Engineer and the Special Counsel were still negotiating on this agenda item, and 5 279 CITY COUNCIL MINUTES APRIL -26, 1994 suggested that it be skipped at that time until notification from the attorneys and/or the City Engineer. 12.A. CONSOLIDATION OF POLICE SERVICES: CITIES OF ARROYO GRANDE AND GROVER BEACH Mayor Gallagher said Grover Beach city council Members Ronald Arnoldsen, Lowell Forister and Gene Gates were in the audience and welcomed them to the meeting. Mr. Christiansen recommended that if the Council wished to proceed with the next step toward consolidation, they take the following courses of action: 1. Direct staff to proceed with the legal research to develop a Joint Powers Agreement with limited powers for the purpose of '-. reaching an agreement with the bargaining unit; 2. Direct staff to proceed with meet and confer on behalf of the consolidated agency, which once formed will require that a bargaining unit also be formed; 3. Appoint, two Council Members to serve as a subcommittee to provide direction and work with management representatives, and 4. Adopt a resolution declaring intent to proceed with consolidation of police services. Mr. Christiansen explained that the tentative joint powers agreement only gives authority to move in the direction of sitting down with the police bargaining units to negotiate a salary and benefit package and return it to the two Councils for their approval or disapproval. He said if approval was given by the two Councils, then the committee would proceed with a-full joint powers agreement and consolidate the two police departments. He said the abreviated joint powers agreement would not consolidate the police departments. Mayor Gallagher said the proposal only allows the city as an entity to enter into meaningful contract negotiations with the police organizations for memorandum of understanding development. He said the consolidation would be precedent setting in the State, and that there was only one other consolidated department. Mayor Gallagher opened the discussion to the public, and said any questions would be answered. ERIC CORSINI of 211 Spruce street said governments that get bigger usually are not more efficient, there is more red tape, officials become more entrenched and it is more difficult for 6 2 8.0 CITY COUNCIL MINUTES APRIL 26, 1994 officials to be answerable to the public. He began discussing a personal complaint against the Police Department, but Mayor Gallagher suggested that he address only the consolidation issue. Mr. Corsini said if the departments joined, it would be even more difficult to get a complaint addressed. Mayor Gallagher said he still would be,able to register complaints with the city Managers or the Police Chief. TIM QUIGGLE of the Chamber of Commerce Economic Development Committee said that the committee had conducted a survey and found that citizens think neighboring cities should share services. He said the majority of the community supports police consolidation. Council Member Burke commented that if you say sharing services will save money, citizens are not going to say no. JIM YACONO of 153 Tally Ho Road said that while he supports the consolidation, surveys based on a small percentage of citizens can be wrong. Mr. Quiggle said the survey was designed by a man who has a doctorate in city and regional planning at Cal Poly and has done similar surveys in the past. He said the man does not live in Arroyo Grande, has no involvement with the community and was impartial. He said the focus of the survey was business development, business growth and City spending. He said while those surveyey supported combining services, only 46 percent supported combining the cities. ERIC ROOKWALD said as things start to grow, people lose personal responsibility. When no one further came forward to speak, Mayor Gallagher closed the hearing to the floor. Council Member Burke said he was strongly opposed to the consolidation of the police departments. His points were as follows: 1. The Arroyo Grande Police Department is a proud part of the heritage of the City, and some of that heritage will be lost with the consolidation. 2. Home Rule will be dissipated if the merger takes place. The average tenure of Arroyo Grande officers is 14 years and that represents a lot of experience and dedication. The Police Chief 7 . 281 CITY COUNCIL MINUTES APRIL 26, 1994 has said that he received only three formal complaints in four years. 3 . The feasibility study is predicated on estimates, and not much credence can be put in it. The police will want a new station and that would wipe out any savings for the next 20 years. Bigger is not necessarily better. 4 . The public has the right to know what assets each City is contributing to the JPA. A list of assets, the original cost and when they were bought is needed. 5. The whole thing may be an exercise in futility because it is not known how the labor negotiations will come out. ~ Council Member Souza said when the Utility Users Tax was passed, there was a promise to look for creative ways to save money. He said it is not known whether the consolidation will save money until the labor negotiations are completed. He said in 1992 he said he would not be in favor of consolidating services, but he did not know at that time he would be passing a five percent utility tax. He said he believed that the tentative JPA must be formed in order to get the real costs of the consolidation. council Member Lady said he does have some questions about the feasibility study, but he is convinced the Council owes it to the community to enter into the tentative JPA phase. He said the consolidation may not save money, but will ensure better police support, better response time and increase services to both cities. council Member Brandy said regarding preserving the heritage and character of Arroyo Grande, there is heritage and character in Grover Beach as well. He said better and safer character and heritage would be preserved by having more officers on the street. He discussed the crime rates in the two cities and said the extra officers would be dispatched where they were needed. He said if there is less crime in Grover Beach, there will be less crime in Arroyo Grande. He said there would be a spin off and consolidation would help both towns. He agreed with Council Member Burke concerning the assets of both cities. He said there should be some "pre-nuptial" agreements, but he wanted to go into the consolidation with a positive attitude. Mayor Gallagher discussed the projections in the feasibility study. He said they were created by the staffs of the two cities, not an outside consultant. He said the other cities that consolidated police departments have operated out of two units 8 282 CITY COUNCIL MINUTES APRIL 26, 1994 for 13 years, and he did not feel a new building would be needed. He said the people who comprise the JPA will be Council Members, City Managers and Finance Officers from the cities and they will not be spending monies unnecessarily. He spoke about increasing levels of crime and quality of life that could suffer if the consolidation fails. He agreed with Council Member Souza that with the passage of the Utility Users Tax, the Council promised to look for ways to save money. He said the uniqueness and character of the cities can be preserved by being free of crime. He said there are some mechanical problems to work out, but the citizens will be better served by providing a better level of service in a cost-effective manner. It was moved by Brandy/Souza (4-1-0, Brandy, Souza, Lady and Gallagher voting aye, Burke voting no) to direct staff to proceed with the legal research to develop a Joint Powers Agreement with limited powers for the purpose of reaching an agreement with the bargaining unit, and proceed with meet and confer on behalf of the consolidated agency, which once formed will require that a bargaining unit also be formed. It was moved by Souza/Brandy (4-0-1, Souza, Brandy, Lady and Gallagher voting aye, Burke abstaining) to appoint Council Members Brandy and Lady to serve as a subcommittee to provide direction and work with management representatives. It was moved by Souza/Brandy (4-1-0, Souza, Brandy, Lady and Gallagher voting aye, Burke voting no) to approve Resolution No. 3027 Declaring the Intent of the City of Arroyo Grande to Proceed with Consolidation of Police Services with the City of Grover Beach. 12.B. TEEN ADVISORY COMMITTEE: EXTENSION OF COMMITTEE FOR ~WO YEARS-TO MAY. 1996 It was moved by Burke/Brandy, and the motion passed unanimously to extend the life of the Teen Advisory Committee to 1996 and direct Staff to return to the Council with a proposal to make the Teen Advisory Committee a permanent advisory committee of the City. 12.C. APPROVAL OF COUNCIL MEMBER LADY AS CITY'S ALTERNATE REPRESENTATIVE TO THE COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENTS (COG) Mayor Gallagher appointed Council Member Lady as the City's alternate representative to the Council of Governments, and the Council agreed. 12.D. RESIDENTIAL ANTIDISPLACEMENT AND RELOCATION ASSISTANCE PLAN: AUTHORIZE MAYOR TO SIGN PLAN It was moved by Burke/Lady, and the motion passed 9 . . . 283 CITY COUNCIL MINUTES APRIL 26, 1994 unanimously to authorize the Mayor to sign the Residential Antidisplacement and Relocation Assistance Plan. 12.E. APPOINTMENT OF COUNCIL MEMBER SOUZA TO THE LONG RANGE PLAN COMMITTEE Mayor Gallagher appointed Council Member Souza to the Long Range Plan Committee, and the Council agreed. 12.F. APPOINTMENT OF NORM STEVENS TO THE MOBILE HOME RENT REVIEW BOARD: TERM EXPIRES JUNE 30. 1994 (REPLACING FRANK KLAVON WHO RESIGNED) Mayor Gallagher appointed Norm Stevens to the Mobile Home rent Review Board, with a term expiring June 30, 1994. The Council agreed to the appointment. _. II.B. GRADING APPROVAL: LOTS 70-75 AND 63-65: TRACT 1994: RANCHO GRANDE (OTTSE. INC. ) Mr. Christiansen said Mr. Brown, the City's Special Counsel handling the Rancho Grande Tract 1994 matter, and Mr. Wallace, Acting City Engineer, had reached an agreement regarding grading and the final map with Peter Miller and Michael Durkee, attorneys representing Ottse, Inc. Mr. Brown said prior to acting on the recordation of the final map for Tract 1994, Staff recommended that the Council approve the as-built grading that had been filed in connection with the final map. He said Mr. Wallace's Staff Report gave a short summary of the circumstances regarding the grading. He said he and Mr. Wallace recommended that the Council make the following findings of approval: 1. Find that the revised grading meets the standards and requirements of the City's grading ordinance. 2. Find that the revised grading is consistent with the conditionally approved tentative tract map found by the City Planning commission and the City Council to be consistent with the General Plan and City zoning pursuant to Resolution No. 2468, adopted by the City Council on April 30, 1991. 3. Approve the revised grading as shown on the as built plans for Tract 1994 and in accordance with the Engineer's certification dated March 21, 1994. Mayor Gallagher asked if Staff was satisfied that all conditions had been met, and Mr. Brown said yes. It was by Brandy/Burke, and the motion passed unanimously to give grading approval for Lots 70-75 and 63-65, Tract 1994, 10 "284 CITY COUNCIL MINUTES APRIL 26, 1994 Rancho Grande, with the three findings recommended by Staff. 11.C. APPROVAL OF FINAL MAP: TRACT 1994: RANCHO GRANDE (OTTSE. INC. ) Mr. Brown said there were a variety of agreements that the parties have negotiated. He asked that they be placed on the record. He noted that in several of the agreements, specifically those related to Conditions 84 and 85 and Mitigation Measure 23, substitute originals may be needed and the representat~ves of Ottse, Inc. had said they would provide them, if necessary. Mr. Wallace said the Council had before it, along with the subdivision map, several agreements and documents that had been submitted to the City to facilitiate the final approval of the final map for Tract 1994. He said they were the Open Space Agreements for Lots 76 and 77, the Retarding Basin Maintenance Agreement, the agreement pursuant to Condition No. 85, an agreement pursuant to Mitigation Measure No. 23 and an agreement pursuant to Condition No. 84. He said the Staff Report mentions the City is receiving and/or had taken action on other documents including the CCandRs, the Design Manual, the Shared Driveway Maintenance Agreements, as built plans, Engineer's Improvement Certification, tax certificates, Subdivision Guarantee, Warranty Agreements, cash deposits, final fees and other miscellaneous documents that include a Drainage Erosion Mitigation and Remediation Agreement and a striping Agreement. Mr. Brown requested that the Council make the following findings and approvals: 1. Find that by previous action, revised grading has been approved by the City Council and therefore the final map configuration is in substantial conformance with the approved tentative map. 2. Find that the map is consistent with the conditionally approved tentative tract map found by the City Planning commission and city Council to be consistent with the General Plan and city zoning pursuant to Resolution No. 2468, adopted by the City Council on April 30, 1991. 3. Approve the final map and accept on behalf of the public, as indicated on the title sheet of the final map, the offers of dedication shown thereon. 4 . Approve and direct the Mayor or other appropriate staff to execute on behalf of the City, various agreements and other documents, listed above by Mr. Wallace, that are required to effectuate the approval of the final map and fulfill its conditions of approval. 11 . . .. 285 CITY COUNCIL MINUTES APRIL 26, 1994 It was moved by Souza/Brandy, and the motion passed unanimously to approve the final map for Tract 1994 with the four findings and approvals as submitted by Staff. 13. WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS None. 14. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS None. 15. CLOSED SESSION None. 16. ADJOURNMENT It was moved by Burke/Souza, and passed unanimously to adjourn the meeting at -1 ATTEST: ~ {i. ~ NANCY A. AVIS, CITY CLERK 12