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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021_01_19 - RegularMINUTES Regular meetings of the City Council and the Redlands Financing Authonty of the City of Redlands held on January 19, 2021 at 5 00 P M Present Staff Paul Foster, Mayor Denise Davis, Mayor Pro Tempore Paul Banch, Council Member Eddie Tejeda, Council Member Jenna Guzman -Lowery, Council Member Charles M Duggan, Jr , City Manager, Dan McHugh, City Attorney, Robert Dawes, City Treasurer, Jeanne Donaldson, City Clerk, Carl Baker, Public Information Officer, Chris Catren, Police Chief, Danielle Garcia, Management Services/Finance Director, Chris Boatman, Facilities and Community Services Director, Brian Desatmk, Development Services Director, Jim Topoleski, Fire Chief, John Harris, Municipal Utilities and Engmeenng Director, Janice McConnell, Assistant City Manager This was conducted as a virtual teleconference meeting with all Council Members and staff participating remotely All votes during the meeting were conducted by roll call In compliance with public health recommendations to limit public gatherings during the Covid-19 pandemic and acting as the City of Redlands Emergency Services Director, City Manager Charles M Duggan Jr , directed meetings of the City Council/Successor Agency of the former Redevelopment Agency of the City of Redlands be closed to the public and be conducted virtually until further notice or until the current local State of Emergency has been lifted The City Council will continue to meet to conduct essential business Public comments, up to 250 words and received by 5 00 P M the day before the meeting, were read aloud by the City Clerk Mayor Foster called the meeting to order at 5 00 P M and a quorum was established PUBLIC COMMENT No public comment related to Closed Session was received by 5 00 P M the day before the meeting CLOSED SESSION Conference with legal counsel Anticipated Litigation - Government Code §54956 9(d)(2)(e)(3) (City Attorney McHugh) One Case a Facts and circumstances Receipt of threatened litigation against the City by Ms Laurel Falcomen Conference with real property negotiators - Government Code §54956 8 (Facilities and Community Services Director Boatman) Property APNs 0170-191-39-0000, 0170-201-31-0000, 0170-181-49-0000 and 0170-201-40-0000 CC_RFA_January 19, 2021 Page 1 Agency Negotiators Negotiating Party Under Negotiation Charles M Duggan Jr , Chris Boatman Came Schindler, San Bernardino County Transportation Authonty (SBCTA), Jason Doyle, University of Redlands (UofR) Terms of payment and price for possible sale of City property and lease of SBCTA property RECONVENE CITY COUNCIL MEETING The meeting reconvened at 6 00 P M with an invocation by Council Member Barich followed by the pledge of allegiance to the American flag CLOSED SESSION REPORT City Attorney McHugh announced that no reportable action was taken during the closed session PUBLIC COMMENT Comments received by 5 00 P M the day before the meeting were read into the public record Comments related to specific agenda items are incorporated into the item discussion Various Concerns - Dennis Bell raised concerns with the Utilities Advisory Committee and the possible rate increases to sewer, water and non -potable water He was unhappy with the rebar that's been erected for the parking structure at the future train depot and thought it would stick up like a sore thumb He wondered why the City did not red -tag and bulldoze the beacon printer building many years ago Crystal Springs Historic Property - Amanda Frye voiced frustration with City staff red tagging historic buildings on the Crystals Springs property before they were destroyed She added that with the buildings gone, the City has lost rare and irreplaceable structures, and she added that Council should have designated the property, including the Stage Coach Stop and ticket booth building, as a historic building or site Keeping Businesses Open - Ashley Collins, Allison Maxwell, Corn Vara, Leslye Roman, Melody Wedergren and James and Donna Gunther expressed their displeasure with the City's policy of issuing fines related to COVID-19 restrictions placed on local small businesses, and they recommended the Council allow businesses to operate in the same capacity as big box retailers, so they can remain open by enforcing masks, offenng samtizers and encouraging social distancing CONSENT CALENDAR Minutes On motion of Council Member Paul Banch, seconded by Council Member Eddie Tejeda, the City Council unanimously approved, by roll call vote, the minutes of the regular meeting of December 15, 2020 Vote 5 - 0 Passed CC_RFA_January 19, 2021 Page 2 Proclamation National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention On motion of Council Member Paul Barich, seconded by Council Member Eddie Tejeda, the City Council unanimously authonzed, by roll call vote, the issuance of a Proclamation declaring the month of January 2021 to be National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month in the City of Redlands Vote. 5 - 0 Passed Interagency Council of Homelessness Liaison On motion of Council Member Paul Banch, seconded by Council Member Eddie Tejeda, the City Council unanimously appointed, by roll call vote, Council Member Guzman -Lowery as the City's representative to the Interagency Council of Homelessness Vote 5 - 0 Passed Planning Commission Appointment On motion of Council Member Paul Banch, seconded by Council Member Eddie Tejeda, the City Council unanimously appointed, by roll call vote, Angela Keller to serve the remainder of an unexpired term on the Planning Commission ending January 6, 2022 Vote• 5 - 0 Passed Cultural Arts Commission Appointments On motion of Council Member Paul Banch, seconded by Council Member Eddie Tejeda, the City Council unanimously approved, by roll call vote, to reappoint Margo Mullen to serve a four-year term on the Cultural Arts Commission ending January 6, 2025, and approved to appoint Candice Cabamlla-Stewart to serve a four-year term on the Cultural Arts Commission ending January 6, 2025 Vote: 5 - 0 Passed Library Board of Trustees Appointments On motion of Council Member Paul Banch, seconded by Council Member Eddie Tejeda, the City Council unanimously approved, by roll call vote, to reappoint Rosa Gomez and Martin Davis to serve an additional three-year term on the Library Board of Trustees ending January 1, 2024 Vote 5 - 0 Passed Dispatch/Records Management System Maintenance Payment On motion of Council Member Paul Barich, seconded by Council Member Eddie Tejeda, the City Council unanimously authorized, by roll call vote, the Finance Director to pay the annual maintenance invoice for the Redlands Police Department's Computer Aided Dispatch/Records Management System to Spillman Technologies, Inc in the amount of $86,193 65 Vote 5 - 0 Passed CC_RFA_January 19, 2021 Page 3 Donation for Housing and Resources On motion of Council Member Paul Banch, seconded by Council Member Eddie Tejeda, the City Council unanimously approved, by roll call vote, to accept an anonymous donation in the amount of $18,000 to be used to assist the homeless in obtaining housing and resources, and approved an additional appropriation of the same Vote 5 - 0 Passed Ordinance No. 2917 CA Model Water Efficient Landscape On motion of Council Member Paul Banch, seconded by Council Member Eddie Tejeda, the City Council unanimously adopted, by roll call vote, Ordinance No 2917, amending Chapter 15 54 of the Redlands Municipal Code to adopt the California Department of Water Resources' 2015 Model Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance, and rescinding Ordinance No 2724 Vote• 5 - 0 Passed SCAQMD Variance Emergency Procurement On motion of Council Member Paul Banch, seconded by Council Member Eddie Tejeda, the City Council unanimously agreed, by roll call vote, to receive and file the City Manager's Emergency procurement for a nonpublic project related to the South Coast Air Quality Management District Variance Emergency Procurement, and authorized the City Manager to execute any residual costs associated with this emergency Vote• 5 - 0 Passed SBCTA License Agreement On motion of Council Member Paul Banch, seconded by Council Member Eddie Tejeda, the City Council unanimously determined, by roll call vote, that approval of the license agreement is exempt from environmental review pursuant to Section 15061 (b)(3) of the State's guidelines implementing the California Environmental Quality Act, and approved a License Agreement with San Bernardino County Transportation Authority (SBCTA) for City utilities within SBCTA rights -of -way at Mountain View Avenue Vote 5 - 0 Passed Landscape Maintenance Agreements On motion of Council Member Paul Banch, seconded by Council Member Eddie Tejeda, the City Council unanimously determined, by roll call vote, that the agreements are exempt from environmental review pursuant to Section 15301 of the State's guidelines implementing the California Environmental Quality Act, and approved the Landscape Maintenance Agreements among the city of Redlands, the State Department of Transportation, and Property One, LLC , for the maintenance of both the east and west sides of Tennessee Street between the eastbound I-10 off and on -ramps at Tennessee Street and West Colton Avenue Vote 5 - 0 Passed CC_RFA_January 19, 2021 Page 4 COMMUNICATIONS Conservancy "Walk a Million Miles" Challenge Kathy Behrens of the Redlands Conversancy made a brief presentation regarding the Fresh Air Challenge encouraging Redlanders to Walk a Million Miles in a Month As co-sponsors, the City and the Redlands Conservancy are urging participants to walk, run, bike or "ramble" any trail, path, sidewalk, or driveway To register and for additional information, please refer to the following website redlandsconservancy org/freshairchallenge CAFR and Accountants' Report Management Services/Finance Director Danielle Garcia explained the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) is an audited summary report of the financial position and transactions of the City for FY ending June 30, 2020 It represents hundreds of hours of work performed by staff and the certified public accounting firm of Eide Bailly, LLC She introduced Phillip White, of Eide Bailly, who presented the firm's unmodified opinion that the City's financial statements are fairly presented and that the information used in the report is consistent with generally accepted accounting principles No material weaknesses or significant deficiencies were found in the audit The independent audit of the financial statements of the City was part of a broader, federally mandated "single Audit" designed to meet the special needs of federal grantor agencies The standards require the independent auditor to report not only on the fair presentation of the financial statements, but also on the audited City's internal controls and legal requirements involving the administration of federal awards Council Member Tejeda asked how the firm would handle any disagreements that arose with City management, and Mr White assured the public that the firm worked directly for the City Council The goal was to have a good working relationship with staff but to perform the audit m an independent manner Mayor Foster thanked Director Garcia and her staff, who devoted many hours toward the report's completion Council Members agreed to accept, as presented, the City of Redlands Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, and the Independent Accountants' Report on applying agreed -upon procedures related to the Article XIII-B Appropriations Limit Calculation for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2020 PUBLIC HEARINGS Resolution Nos 8163 and 8164 - CFD Annexation No 24 Mayor Foster opened the hearing and called upon Don Young, of Municipal Utilities and Engineering, for a report on a request from Redlands Railway District, LLC to annex territory (CUP No 1129), to Community Facilities District No 2004-1 (CFD) for the purposes of performing maintenance of parkways within and adjacent to the property of approximately 0 79 acres of land located at the southeast corner of Eureka Street and Stuart Avenue City Clerk Donaldson agreed to hold the special election within the annexing territory on January 19, 2021 With no further comments, Mayor Foster closed the public hearing City Clerk Donaldson conducted the special election and announced the results, which determined the required two-thirds of the votes cast (1-0) were in favor of levying the tax CC_RFA_January 19, 2021 Page 5 On motion of Council Member Eddie Tejeda, seconded by Council Member Paul Banch, the City Council unanimously approved, by roll call vote, Resolution No 8163, calling a special election of the question of levying the special taxes within the territory to be annexed to the CFD No 2004-1, and on motion of Council Member Tejeda, seconded by Mayor Pro Tempore Davis, the City Council approved Resolution No 8164, declaring the voting results were in favor of levying the tax, and therefore, the territory will be annexed to the CFD No 2004-1 Vote 5 - 0 Passed NEW BUSINESS Planning, Environmental and Development Review Services Development Services Director Desatnik provided background of an agreement with Michael Baker International, Inc to perform professional planning, environmental, and development review services He explained that on January 15, 2019, the City Council approved a funding agreement with Property One, LLC and Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc (ESRI), and a professional services agreement with Michael Baker International, Inc for the purposes of providing developer funded contract planning services to augment Planning Division staff for one year and to provide contract project management services exclusively for Property One, LLC and ESRI's future projects A new one-year agreement was approved with Michael Baker International, Inc in early 2020, which expired in January 2021 If approved the agreement for consideration tonight is for one-year, with the option to extend for two additional one-year terms As public comment, Amanda Frye was opposed to hiring consultants to do a job that, she thought, should be handled by City staff and it seemed to her to be a waste of taxpayer's money On motion of Council Member Eddie Tejeda, seconded by Mayor Pro Tempore Denise Davis, the City Council unanimously determined, by roll call vote, that approval of the agreement with Michael Baker International Inc is exempt from environmental review pursuant to Section 15061 (b)(3) of the State's guidelines implementing the California Environmental Quality Act, and approved the agreement with Michael Baker International, Inc to perform professional planning, environmental, and development review services in an amount not -to -exceed $150,000 for one-year with the option to extend the agreement for two additional one-year terms with the same terms and conditions for a total compensation not -to -exceed $450,000 Vote• 5 - 0 Passed Resolution No 8162 Return of Grant Funding for Caltrans Program Municipal Utilities and Engineering Director Harass explained the need for Resolution No 8162, to return a portion of Caltrans State Local Partnership Program Grant Funding for the Redlands Boulevard/Alabama Street Intersection Improvement project In October 2012, Caltrans awarded the City $1M in State Local Partnership Program (SLPP) grant funding to supplement construction costs for the project After completion of the Project, Caltrans conducted an administrative audit and on December 20, 2019, issued a Corrective Action Plan (CAP) for specific audit findings The CAP requires the City to repay $417,483 to Caltrans due to the City's methodology for tracking staff time accrued to the Project Caltrans did not approve of the methodology and disagreed with expenditures accrued to the Proposition 1B funded portions of the Project Despite staffs' efforts to resolve these issues with Caltrans, they still insist that $417,483 in SLPP grant funding must be returned Council Member Banch asked whether the City had exhausted all possible avenues to challenge the decision of Caltrans Director Harris clarified that City staff met with the Caltrans grant administrators on several occasions to resolve the Caltrans concerns, but to no avail City Manager Duggan added CC_RFA_January 19, 2021 Page 6 that the project is complete and the City is reaping the benefits of the intersection improvements and it is time to pay the invoice On motion of Council Member Eddie Tejeda, seconded by Mayor Pro Tempore Denise Davis, the City Council unanimously determined, by roll call vote, that adoption of Resolution No 8162 is exempt from environmental review pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3) of the State's guidelines implementing the California Environmental Quality Act, approved Resolution No 8162 to authorize the return of a portion of Caltrans State Local Partnership Program Grant Funding for the Redlands Boulevard/Alabama Street Intersection Improvement project, and approved an additional appropriation in the amount of $417,483 for the return Vote. 5 - 0 Passed Selection of Mayor and Mayor Pro Tempore Mayor Foster explained this item was a continued discussion from the December 15, 2020 meeting, during which Mayor Pro Tem Davis proposed an annual rotating methodology for the selection of the Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem At that time, Council directed staff to bring back additional information and provide all options for the Council's consideration in selecting the Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem, including the option of placing a question before the voters to create the position of Mayor to be elected at -large and reducing the number of districts to four By tabling the matter in December, Council Members were given more time to gather residents' preferences Public Comment Thirty-mne people supported the rotation proposal put forward by Mayor Pro Tem Davis, crtmg the method would offer real change that was long overdue and would provide for more diversity and shared representation from all parts of the city They said the current model lacked transparency, was too vague and encouraged the mayor be chosen by back channels A few added that if the City pushed forward a question to ask the voters how they wanted their mayor selected, there should be a double proposition on the ballot, including the options of a rotation method or a vote at -large method Fourteen people recommended Council move forward and put the question to the voters in 2022 to decide whether they prefer to elect a Mayor at -large, stating that by general election, all the citizens would have equal opportunity for Mayoral leadership while at the same time, allowing all voters to have more direct input in the political process Twenty-one people pushed for the City Council to maintain the current process, saying there is no reason to fix something that is not broken and a rotation system is too random and would create short term leadership by potentially unqualified persons It was offered that the position of mayor is very time-consuming and must be performed by someone who has the time, energy and expertise and because the mayor represents the other council members, it makes sense they elect the position amongst themselves Rotation Methodology Mayor Pro Tem Davis reiterated her support of the annual rotation method and indicated her continued research and ongoing discussions with residents, only reinforced her position on the matter She presented the system allows for more equity of power as each voting district is given the opportunity to fill the top leadership roles, it provides the public transparency by clearly defining who and when would be the next mayor, and it eliminates uncertainty and competition amongst the Council, which she says exists in the current process Council Member Tejeda restated his opposition of the rotation proposal and questioned the motivations of Mayor Pro Tem Davis in requesting Council consider amending the City's code Council Member Guzman -Lowery urged her colleagues to focus on the issues and not on making this personal, by attacking the character of people Mayor Foster and Council Member Banch thanked Mayor Pro Tem Davis for her thoughtful proposal and her associated research efforts Mayor Foster admitted he was still not convinced this methodology best serves the public CC_RFA_January 19, 2021 Page 7 VOTE - Annual Rotation of Mayor On motion of Mayor Pro Tem Davis, seconded by Council Member Guzman -Lowery, by roll call vote, the motion failed due to lack of a majority with Council Members Barich and Tejeda and Mayor Foster voting NO Vote - Failed Consideration of an Elected Mayor Mayor Foster opened the discussion surrounding his proposal to put the question to voters He indicated he had spoken with roughly 300 people since the last meeting and said that most were in favor of maintaining the current system or were willing to consider letting the voters decide whether the Mayor should be elected at -large for a four-year term His desire was to turn the matter over to staff who would research the costs and detail the process of having a mayor elected by the voters Council Member Tejeda was not in favor of the proposal and found the extra work load placed on staff to be unnecessary Mayor Pro Tem Davis and Council Members Barich, Tejeda and Guzman -Lowery each expressed concerns with the burden of added costs the City would incur Mayor Pro Tem Davis stated she was also opposed to this approach because in her estimation, the proposal could leave the City vulnerable to a California Voting Rights Act lawsuit by diminishing the minority vote with a shift from five districts to four VOTE - Ballot Question for Voters to Elect Mayor in 2022 On motion of Mayor Foster, seconded by Council Member Barich, by roll call vote, the motion failed due to lack of a majority with Council Members Tejeda and Guzman -Lowery and Mayor Pro Tem Davis voting NO Vote - Failed Nominations from Floor With both motions failing, it was determined the City Council would continue with its current practice for selecting the Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem City Clerk Donaldson called for nominations for the office of Mayor for a two-year term Council Member Guzman -Lowery nominated Denise Davis, while Council Member Tejeda nominated Paul Banch There being no further nominations, a roll call vote was taken VOTE for Nominee Denise Davis Ayes Denise Davis and Jenna Guzman -Lowery Nays Paul Banch, Eddie Tejeda and Paul Foster VOTE for Nominee Paul Banch Ayes Paul Banch, Eddie Tejeda, Denise Davis and Paul Foster - Mayor Pro Tem Davis added that she voted yes to show she strongly believes that each and every council member can serve as Mayor Nays Jenna Guzman -Lowery City Clerk Donaldson declared Paul Banch the new Mayor for a term of two years City Clerk Donaldson called for nominations for the office of Mayor Pro Tem for a two-year term Mayor Paul Banch nominated Eddie Tejeda There being no further nominations, Eddie Tejeda was declared the new Mayor Pro Tem for a term of two years Brief comments were provided from Mayor Banch and Mayor Pro Tem Tejeda ADJOURNMENT With deep sorrow, Paul Foster announced the meeting would be adjourned in memory of Planning Commissioner Julie Rynerson-Rock, a long-standing resident who served for many years on the City's Planning Commission and on the National Orange Show Board The City was fortunate to have her expertise and dedication, and she served the City well She will be greatly missed There being no CC_RFA_January 19, 2021 Page 8 further business Mayor Barich adjourned the meeting at 9 15 P M with the next regular meeting of the City Council to be held on February 2, 2021 REDLANDS FINANCING AUTHORITY Chairman Barich called the regular meeting of the Board of Directors of the Redlands Financing Authority to order PUBLIC COMMENT No public comment related to the Redlands Financing Authority was received by 5 00 P M the day before the meeting Minutes On motion of Vice Chair Tejeda, seconded by Board Member Davis, the minutes of the regular meeting of September 15, 2020 were unanimously approved by roll call vote Vote 5 - 0 Passed ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, the Redlands Financing Authority adjourned at 9 16 P M The next regular meeting of the Agency will be held on May 18, 2021 CC_RFA_January 19, 2021 Page 9