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Minutes 1995-03-14 , , - , 427 MINUTES REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL TUESDAY, MARCH 14, 1995 CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS, 215 EAST BRANCH STREET ARROYO GRANDE, CALIFORNIA The city Council of the city of Arroyo Grande met at 7:30 P.M., with Mayor A. K. "Pete" Dougall, presiding. 1. AND 2. FLAG SALUTE AND INVOCATION Mayor Dougall led the Pledge of Allegiance to our Flag, and the Rev. Robert Banker, Oceano Open Door Church, delivered the invocation. 3. ROLL CALL -, , ." Present" W1 th Mayor Dougall were Council Members Drew Brandy, Michael Fuller, Michael Lady and James Souza. Staff members present were Interim City Manager Rick TerBorch, City Attorney Roger ,Lyon, city Clerk Nancy Davis, Planning Director Doreen Liberto-Blanck, Interim Public Works Director John Wallace and Finance Director Dave Bacon. 3 .A. EMERGENCY ITEM CONCERNING LOCAL STATE OF EMERGENCY Mr. TerBorch said an emergency item concerning a resolution adopting a proclamation, confirming the existence of a local State of Emergency, should be added to the agenda. He said the emergency arose after the agenda was printed. He said the item needed immediate action and was being added pursuant to Government Code 54595.2 (d) Subsection 2. It was moved by Lady/Brandy, and the motion passed unanimously to add the emergency item to the agenda as Item B.C. 4. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS ALTON JONES, 1189 Flora Road, protested poor street conditions in the City and erosion of private property rights, including the possible taking of farmlands by the city. He objected to the placing of a park in any new city annexation. He said that would affect farmland water and create a place for child molesters. 5. CONSENT AGENDA It was moved by Lady/Fuller, and the motion passed unanimously to approve Consent Agenda items 5.a. through 5. e. , 5.g. , 5.h., 5. j. and 5.k., with the recommended courses of action. 5.a. Proclamation, "Red Cross Month," March, 1995. 5.b. Proclamation, "National Agriculture Day," March 20, 1995; 1 '4,28' CITY COUNCIL MINUTES MARCH 14, 1995 and "Agriculture Week in Arroyo Grande," March 19 - 25, 1995. Mayor Dougall presented the proclamation to Arroyo Grande farmer Tom Ikeda. 5.c. February 28, 1995, city Council Minutes. Approved. 5.d. March 1, 1995, Senior Advisory Commission Minutes. Information. 5.e. February, 1995, Investment Report. Information. 5.g. Award of Bid; Floor Covering; Elm Street Center; Budgeted item. Awarded to low bidder, Hanson's Floor covering for $5,498.60. 5.h. Public Pay Telephones Space Use Agreement. Authorization given to sign agreement with Nucom. 5.j. General Plan Annual Review. Approval given to review and consider status. 5.k. Employee Suggestion Award Program; Approval of awards given. It was moved by Brandy/Souza, and the motion passed unanimously to approve Consent Agenda Item 5.f., with the recommended course of action. 5.f. Payment to San Luis Obispo County for November 8, 1994, Consolidated General Election. Council Member Lady questioned the increase in charges by the county. Mr. TerBorch said the city Clerk would provide the Council with a breakdown of the election costs. It was moved by Brandy/Souza, and the motion passed to approve Consent Agenda Item 5.i., with the recommended course of action. Council Member Lady said he may have a conflict of interest on the proposed Rancho Grande Park, and abstained from voting. 5.i. Approval of contract with SEDES, Consultant, Regarding Rancho Grande Park Expanded Initial Study. Mayor authorized to sign contract. 6. REGISTER OF CHECKS It was moved by Lady/Souza, and the motion passed unanimously to approve Cash Disbursements in the amount of $657,366.85, as listed on the March 8, 1995, staff report of 2 -" . . . , 429 CITY COUNCIL MINUTES MARCH 14, 1995 Finance Director Bacon. 7.A. REPORT ON SWINGING BRIDGE: CONSIDERATION OF AWARDING BID TO REPLACE THE BRIDGE Interim Public Works Director Wallace referred to his March 9, 1995, staff report and said the Council had results of the bidding on the repair of the Swinging Bridge. He said the apparent low bid was an excellent bid in terms of the engineer's estimate of what the project should cost. He said the City bid the project with three different alternatives in order to look at the City acquiring lumber ahead of time and saving costs by changing hardware from stainless steel to galvanized. He said Vernon Edwards Constructors was the apparent low bidder for the entire project, including the lumber and the stainless steel - hardware. He said the engineer's estimate was $62,500. He said the total cost of the project to date is approximately $87,500. Mr. Wallace said the city does not have written confirmation that FEMA will reimburse the City for repair of the bridge, although there had been verbal confirmation from the FEMA Los Angeles office. He recommended that if the Council wants to proceed with "pretty good assurance" that the City will receive reimbursement, the job should be awarded to Vernon Edwards Constructors in the amount of $65,692. He said if the Council still wishes to receive written confirmation from FEMA, the City should wait to award the bid. He said if the City wants to achieve the repair completion by the time of the Strawberry Festival, it should award the bid at this meeting. Council Member Lady asked questions of staff regarding the risk of losing state and Federal funding, if the City goes ahead with repair of the bridge. Mr. Wallace said they could be jeopardized. Council Member Fuller asked about the construction time table. Mr. Wallace said there is a provision in the contract that says if it is not finished on time, there will be a $500 a day, penalty on the contractor. He said the contractor would be on a tight time schedule and completion date would be May 15, 1995, unless there are weather problems. Mr. TerBorch said for the time being the bridge funds would come out of contingency reserves for unusual events. He said on top of the $250,000 bridge money, the city will be looking at approximately $100,000 for flood-related problems. He said the money should be reimbursed within the next year. JOHN CLARK of the Village Association said that fund raising 3 43.0' CITY COUNCIL MINUTES MARCH 14, 1995 for the bridge has been going well, and asked about the possibility of a private group ordering and paying for the lumber and cables and being reimbursed by the city at a later date. Council Members discussed with Mr. Clark and city staff the feasibility of Mr. Clark's suggestion. The majority of the Council felt grant monies and reimbursement would be jeopardized if any part of the bridge repair was undertaken before written reimbursement approval is received. Council Member Brandy said he did not want to spend any money to repair the bridge until the reimbursement approval was in hand. Mayor Dougall said the city has said all along that it wants the bridge repaired. He said the target date has always been the Strawberry Festival, but if that date cannot be met, it would not be the end of the world. Council Member Souza said his frustration was that there is a citizens group working so hard on fund raising for the bridge. It was moved by Lady/Fuller, and the motion passed unanimously to table awarding of the bid to the meeting of March 28, 1995, in light of the city not receiving final written authorization concerning reimbursement. Council Member Lady thanked Mr. Clark, village merchants and citizens for their efforts to raise money for the bridge. Mayor Dougall said the community is getting back together in an effort to repair the bridge. 7.B. AWARD ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GRANT TO APPLIED DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS: AUTHORIZE MAYOR TO SIGN CONTRACT Planning Director Liberto-Blanck referred to her March 14, 1995, staff report and recommended that the city Council: 1. Award the Economic Development Grant Contract to Applied Development Economics (ADE) to prepare an Economic opportunities Analysis; and 2. Authorize the Mayor to sign a contract in the amount of $35,100 with ADE. She referred to her June 28, 1994, staff report and said the program design of the Economic opportunity Analysis includes the following: * Business climate analysis to assess the community characteristics relevant to the business development and growth. * Market analyses to determine the sales potential and market 4 - ~ , 431 CITY COUNCIL MINUTES MARCH 14, 1995 gaps for various business cluster. * Examination of potential sites to support development projects. * Establish project priorities for City action. * Implementation planning for high priority future project. After Council discussion on a time frame for the analysis, payment to the consultant and history of the community work that led to the grant, it was moved by Souza/Brandy, and the motion passed unanimously to award the Economic Development Grant to Applied Development Economics to prepare an Economic Opportunities Analysis and authorize the Mayor to sign the contract. 8.A. REOUEST BY VERN AND MIKE FREDERICK REGARDING SPHERE OF INFLUEijCE AMENDMENT AND POSSIBLE ANNEXATION: LOCATED SOUTH OF CITY LIMITS AND EAST OF U.S. 101 (FORMER SHANNON RANCH PROJECT) The Planning Director referred to her March 14, 1995, staff report and recommended that the Council: 1. Ask Mike and/or Vern Frederick to present their proposal; 2. Provide direction on staff's involvement with the proposed sphere of influence amendment and/or annexation. 3. If the City Council endorses a change in the City's land use pattern due to support of a sphere of influence amendment and/or annexation, determine whether an interchange should be considered for the SR 227 Alignment Study; 4. Inform the Fredericks whether an annexation study should be prepared concurrently with the annexation process (if residential development is proposed); and 5. Allocate funding to supplement staffing. Ms. Liberto-Blanck said the City's Sphere of Influence is mostly north and east of the city. She said she did not recall any Sphere of Influence south of the City. MICHAEL FREDERICK, one of the owners of the property in question, spoke to the Council. He asked the Council to consider investing in the future by seeking a Sphere of Influence amendment with the Local Agency Formation Commission. He said his property is an 180 acre parcel adjoining 107 acres zoned residential and in the City limits. He said the owners would 5 4,3 2- CITY COUNCIL MINUTES MARCH 14, 1995 like to see one large planned development for the whole entire 300 acres so parcels could be placed in an efficient and orderly manner. He said the development should contain commercial and light industrial zoning and no significant increase in residential zoning, no more than 25 more residential units than exist now. Mr. Frederick listed the benefits of his proposal, as follows: 1. Proximity 2. visibility 3 . Access 4. will not impact the village or other neighborhoods -'--' 5. White collar and head-of-household jobs will be created 6. Central to San Luis Obispo and Santa Maria, Los Angeles and San Francisco and the San Joaquin Valley 7. Increase tourism 8. Offer a place where existing businesses can expand to 9. Could serve as a State Highway 227 bypass 10. Could eliminate the dangerous Los Berros crossing at Highway 101 Mr. Frederick said if the city is willing to take'the initiative of applying for an expanded Sphere of Influence with LAFCO, the Frederick family will then be willing to spend the money on plans and studies such an Environmental Impact Reports, etc. MARIE CATTOIR, 195 Orchid Lane, spoke about the options offered in the study on possible improvements of SR 227 by Omni- Means, engineering firm that is contracting with the City. She said option 6 - EI Campo Road Alignment and Interchange would be far less damaging to use. She said Option 5 - Ridge Alignment and Interchange with US 101 would be more damaging and eliminate an orchid greenhouse. She said if Trinity Avenue was to be widened, it would be necessary to pound out another section of rock, and the eight new homes in the area would be damaged. She said if the City is looking for revenue producing land, it has no where else to go. She said many problems are created by piece- 6 . . . . 433 CITY COUNCIL MINUTES MARCH 14, 1995 meal decision-making. HEATHER JENSEN, executive director of the Chamber of Commerce, said the Chamber Board of Directors and the Economic Development Committee, have said the city needs to increase the potential for growth for commercial and light industrial businesses. She said the timing is good, and a complete planned program for the Frederick property could compliment existing businesses and attract new business. Council Member Lady said there is long-term economic potential in this proposal. He said the city needs revenue sources and the Frederick property is a logical solution. He said he would be in favor of amending the Sphere of Influence to include the property. - council Member Souza said he had questions about how many homes and how much commercial/industrial zoning there would be. He had questions about the cost of amending the Sphere of Influence. Mr. Frederick said the basis of the project would be commercial/industrial, and there would not be a lot of homesites. Council Member Fuller said the proposal is a logical step for the city and a way to look into the future. He said it could solve a lot of problems. He said the EI Campo crossing at Highway 101 is a death trap, and option 6 - EI Campo Road Alignment and Interchange would tie into the Frederick project. Council Member Brandy said he was in favor of looking into amending the Sphere of Influence, but it should be done in a way that other segments of the city would not be harmed. He suggested using the Economic grant money for this, and Ms. Liberto-Blanck said the Frederick property could be one of the sites the study looks at for future development. Mayor Dougall said he liked the concept, that the property is ideally located, and a planned development would not create a patchwork. He said he liked the possibility th~t it could tie in with the SR 227 bypass. He said more definitive costs are needed, and perhaps Paul Hood, LAFCO director, could be at a council meeting. It was moved by Lady/Brandy, and the motion passed unanimously to direct staff to do a cost analysis and bring back to the city council as soon as possible the cost study to amend the Sphere of Influence regarding the Frederick property. 7 4'3.4' CITY COUNCIL MINUTES MARCH 14, 1995 8.B. REOUEST FOR PRESENTATION REGARDING THE COUNTYWIDE COMMUNITY ACCESS PLANNING CONSORTIUM AND DRAFT MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING: ELLEN STURTZ. COUNTY FRANCHISE ADMINISTRATOR ELLEN STURTZ, County Franchise Administrator, spoke to the Council about participation in a community Access Planning Consortium. She said there had been meetings of a task force consisting of governmental, educational, hospital, cable television, library, SLONET, telephone and public television representatives. She said the government and educational representatives were primarily interested in, (1) enhancing distance learning and continuing education opportunities, (2) retraining and more economical staff development, and (3) increasing coverage of events and meetings throughout the community. Ms. Sturtz referred to the February 10, 1995, letter from county Board of Supervisors Chair David Blakely to Mayor Dougall. She said the task force's initial objectives were listed there. She said the membership benefits of joining the consortium were, (1) Save staff time and money, (2) Accomplish more by reaching joint solutions, (3) Enhance business and economic development by offering wider access, (4) citizen access for training and education, and (5) Gain access to resources from other jurisdictions. council Members asked questions of Ms. Sturtz concerning, (1) saving staff time, (2) the public operating the system, (3) membership costs and future costs, (4) participation by the educational entities and the libraries, and (5) looking for other funding sources at the end of the initial six to eight month organizational period. Ms. Sturtz said she was asking the Council for initial support of the consortium and to direct staff to work to finalize a draft memorandum of understanding that would be brought back to council for approval. It was moved by Brandy/Lady, and the motion passed unanimously to approve Ms. Sturtz request. 8.C. EMERGENCY ITEM CONCERNING LOCAL STATE OF EMERGENCY Mr. TerBorch said on March 10, 1995, the City experienced heavy rains and runoff causing four critical incidents. He said it was necessary to initiate a proclamation declaring a local State of Emergency to enable the city, if matters worsened, to call in all resources all the way up to the Governor's office, through the Office of Emergency Services. He said the proclamation must be ratified by the City 8 . . . . . .. ~ 435 CITY COUNCIL MINUTES MARCH 14, 1995 Council within seven days. He recommended that the declaration be left open, and if the weather improves he would return to the Council on March 28, 1995, to close the declaration. It was moved by Souza/Fuller (5-0-0, Souza, Fuller, Lady, Brandy and Dougall voting aye) to approve Resolution No. 3068 Adopting a Proclamation Confirming the Existence of a Local State of Emergency. 9. WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS None. 10. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS Mayor Dougall commended all city staff who did an excellent job in maintaining the flood waters and preventing the disasters '~, the city could have had if such talented people had not been working. Mr. TerBorch said a Council commendation could be put together for the city staff. 11. CLOSED SESSION The council adjourned at 9:37 P.M. to a Closed Session on existing litigation: Government Code section 54956.9(a): (a) vic Pace Construction Co.. Inc.. et ale v city of Arroyo Grande. et ale San Luis Obispo County superior court No. CV 60060 (b) Coker Ellsworth, et ale v City of Arroyo Grande. et ale San Luis Obispo County superior Court No. CV 68739 Second Appellate No. B083514 (c) Berger. et ale v city of Arroyo Grande, et ale San Luis Obispo county superior Court No. CV 73149 (d) Kawaoka v City of Arroyo Grande, et al. San Luis Obispo County superior Court No. CV 76693 12. ADJOURNMENT The Council reconvened at 9:55 P.M. and immediately adjourned the meeting, on the unanimously approved motion of Brandy/Souza. Q~' A. K. ATTEST: 9