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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021_05_04 - RegularMINUTES Regular meetings of the City Council and the Board of Directors of the Successor Agency of the former Redevelopment Agency of the City of Redlands held in the Council Chambers, Civic Center, 35 Cajon Street, on Ay 4, 2021 at 5 00 P M Present Staff Paul Banch, Mayor Eddie Tejeda, Mayor Pro Tempore Paul Foster, Council Member Denise Davis, 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, Pubhc Information Officer, Chris Catren, Police Chief, Danielle Garcia, Management Services/Finance Director, Chns Boatman, Facilities and Community Services Director, Brian Desatnik, Development Services Director, Jim Topoleski, Fire Chief, John Harris, Municipal Utilities and Engineenng Director, Janice McConnell, Assistant City Manager This was conducted as a teleconference meeting in the City Council Chambers, Civic Center, 35 Cajon Street, Redlands, California Mayor Pro Tempore Tejeda and Council Members Foster, Davis and Guzman -Lowery were present via teleconferencing All votes during the meetings 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 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 Banch called the meeting to order at 5 00 P M and a quorum was established CLOSED SESSION LATE BREAKING ITEM City Attorney McHugh reviewed the need to take immediate action on anticipated litigation Mayor Pro Tem Tejeda moved to add to the City Council's closed session agenda as a "late breaking item", the consideration of a conference with legal counsel for anticipated litigation against the City by the American Youth Soccer Organization relating to the operation of the Redlands Sports Park The motion was seconded by Council Member Foster and carried unanimously, by roll call vote The item was added to the Closed Session Agenda RECONVENE CITY COUNCIL MEETING The meeting reconvened at 6 00 P M with an invocation by Council Member Guzman -Lowery followed by the pledge of allegiance to the American flag CC_SA_May 4, 2021 Page 1 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 Coyote Aviation - Nineteen people including, George and Kathleen Karcher, Ten Tom, Lou and Joan Hemmers, Sara Sibley, Sondra Kesler, Nathan Lewis, Joe Stickney, Carmen Ramirez, Doug Fleenor, Edison Baron, Richard West, Bill Ingraham, Michael Paisner, Knssy Salvesen, Eric Paul and Carol Brown reiterated their support of Coyote Aviation and urged Council to reconsider a lease renewal for the minonty owned small business owners They asked Council to work towards resolving this conflict by hearing both sides Some wondered how the City could attract new businesses with this sort of treatment and added the Council should aid and assist small businesses wherever possible Many indicated the owners were honest, hardworking, well respected and have developed a first-class hangar complex with private funding and much personal effort It was stated that long term leases help owners to build up the airport community yet allow them to recover their investments Various Concerns - Dennis Bell drew attention to a contractor's yard on Kansas Street where he claimed there needs to be dust control for all the dust and dirt their vehicles are dragging on the street He had several thoughts concerning the topic of Universal Basic Income (UBI) that would put a set amount of money m peoples' pockets to alleviate poverty, and he suggested it was a great idea to help veterans He pointed out another restaurant was closing in the old "Rainbow Theater" building across from City Hall Closed Council Meetings & Developer Fees - Joshua Hall claimed the Council was using COVID-19 as an excuse to deny the public their voice, and he was worried they were not honoring the voters' defeat of Measure G He said they were choosing to exempt development projects from fees and charges and instead pass along the charges to the taxpayers Save Live Oak Canyon - Joanne Lessard, Dr Elizabeth Richards, Dr Jimmie Morrison, Carol Blaney, Bnan Roche, Linda Richards, Tom Gillett, James Neff, Susan Finsen, Kathy Behrens, Nikolay Figurin, Sondra Hodson, Tim Watson and Jim D'Amico voiced concerns that AB 1561 automatically granted an 18-month extension of time for the Mistretta project with a new expiration date set for November 26, 2022 They advocated for Council to consider transferring development rights from Little Live Oak Canyon to areas of the City more approprate for high density housing This would be a major step toward attaining the goals of accessible housing and environmental preservation It was requested the City Council make this an agenda item in the near future to develop a proposal to submit to Mr Mistretta CONSENT CALENDAR Minutes On motion of Council Member Paul Foster, seconded by Mayor Pro Tempore Eddie Tejeda, the City Council unanimously approved, by roll call vote, the minutes of the regular meeting of April 20, 2021 Vote 5 - 0 Passed Proclamation Small Business Week Mayor Banch emphasized the importance of the Proclamation declaring the week of May 3, 2021, as Small Business Week, and encouraged everyone to shop locally and support small business owners CC_SA_May 4, 2021 Page 2 On motion of Council Member Paul Foster, seconded by Council Member Jenna Guzman -Lowery, the City Council unanimously approved, by roll call vote, the issuance of a proclamation declaring the week of May 3, 2021, as Small Business Week Vote• 5 - 0 Passed Amending Transitional Housing Services On motion of Council Member Paul Foster, seconded by Mayor Pro Tempore Eddie Tejeda, the City Council unanimously approved, by roll call vote, the First Amendment to the agreement between the City of Redlands and Steps 4 Life Community Services for the provision of transitional housing services in an effort to address issues associated with homelessness, to increase the annual not -to -exceed amount from $20,000 to $30,000 and to amend the operative term ending on June 30, 2023 to June 30, 2022 Vote• 5 - 0 Passed Resolution No 8175 Annual SLD and LMD Assessments On motion of Council Member Paul Foster, seconded by Mayor Pro Tempore Eddie Tejeda, the City Council unanimously approved, by roll call vote, Resolution No 8175, initiating proceedings to continue levying assessments, appointing an assessment engineer, and ordering the preparation of an Engineer's Report for Street Lighting District No 1 and Landscape Maintenance District No 1 Vote: 5 - 0 Passed Funding Agreement Friends of Prospect Park The Friends of Prospect Park requested this item be pulled from the agenda As public comment, Richard O'Donnell insisted Prospect Park deserves more attention than it currently gets and needs a lot of routine maintenance He said the condition of the park was slowly deteriorating and, and he described problems including, sprinklers eroding dirt roads, mature trees dying because of water deprivation and the use of weather -worn sandbags Mobile Office Purchase On motion of Council Member Paul Foster, seconded by Mayor Pro Tempore Eddie Tejeda, the City Council unanimously approved, by roll call vote, the purchase of a mobile office at the California Street Landfill from Blok Modular Constructors, Inc , in an amount of $77,382 84 Vote 5 - 0 Passed MOU Fire Agencies & Inland Counties Emergency Medical On motion of Council Member Paul Foster, seconded by Mayor Pro Tempore Eddie Tejeda, the City Council unanimously approved, by roll call vote, the Memorandum of Understanding among the City of Redlands, seven other San Bernardino County public fire agencies, and the Inland Counties Emergency Medical Agency, as presented by City staff and subject to minor confirming and clarifying changes approved by the City Manager and City Attorney Vote 5 - 0 Passed CC_SA_May 4, 2021 Page 3 COMMUNICATIONS COVID-19 Update Fire Chief Topoleski provided a COVID-19 update, reporting statistics continue to trend in the nght direction and the rate of incident occurrences they have responded to of known COVID-19 patients, has significantly decreased since the beginning of the year The Department continues their ongoing partnerships with Redlands Community Hospital, University of Redlands, Esn, Redlands Unified School District and local community organizations as they assist in administenng vaccinations to area residents Annual Report Street Tree Committee Street Tree Committee Chairman Andy Hoder presented the annual report of accomplishments and activities for 2020 Despite the challenges of COVID-19, the Committee planted a tree in conjunction with Arbor Day, to maintain the active status with the Tree City USA program Recommendations were made to Council regarding the need for an increased budget for tree tnmmmg, removal of dead trees, stump grinding, and other tree services They developed a brochure for Tree Maintenance Donations, which explained a new method for citizens to make contributions directly to tree tramming activities and would be administered through the Redlands Community Foundation, issued Certificates of Appreciation to homeowners and businesses in recognition of exceptional maintenance and care of City trees in public easements adjacent to their properties, initiated "Landmark Trees, Heritage Tree Rows & Stands, & Scenic Preservation" master list Some goals for 2021 included development of a comprehensive long range strategy for the maintenance and enhancement of the Redlands Urban Forest and continued efforts to work with City leadership and increase the Street Tree budget to make more meaningful progress m tree tnmming and removal of dead trees PUBLIC HEARINGS Ordinance No. 2926 Wastewater Rates Mayor Banch opened the hearing and called upon Municipal Utilities and Engineering Director Harris to provide background of the proposal to increase Wastewater rates by fifteen percent (15%) in fiscal year 2021-2022, and fifteen percent (15%) in fiscal year 2022-2023 He presented supporting data for the impact of the increased rates and spoke to the process to develop rate recommendations that provide revenue to recover costs for services that are equitable to all customer classes, comply with state and federal laws, and are easily explained to customers He added a Wastewater rate increase is necessary to preserve the City's bond rating and eligibility for State Revolving Fund (SRF) loans The City intends to apply for an SRF loan to pay for critical Wastewater Treatment Plant improvements before the December 31, 2021, application deadline To clarify, both bond issuance and SRF loans require repayment of the secured funding As public comment, Kathryn Wilson, Michael Layne, Stephen Rogers and Joshua Hall expressed their opposition to the proposed ordinance, citing the following reasons overall inadequacy of the City's process, practice and program for holding a Proposition 218 "protest vote" in order to increase connection fees and rates for public services, rate increase would be harmful to disadvantaged populations, including low-income, single parents and the elderly, alternative methods to fund improvements should be considered, such as applying for grants, stricter budget controls on a yearly basis, strong leadership to develop a strategic plan addressing long-term needs of the wastewater treatment plant without relying on rate increases CC_SA_May 4, 2021 Page 4 In response to Proposition 218 notices sent to 19,973 wastewater customers, 47 written protests were received by the Office of the City Clerk This number was insufficient to meet the 50% plus one standard required for a successful Proposition 218 protest and stop implementation of the new rates With no further comments, Mayor Barich closed the public heanng At the end of Council discussion, Council Members stood firm in their belief that the rate increase proposal was the best current approach to provide and maintain a safe wastewater system On motion of Council Member Paul Foster, seconded by Mayor Pro Tempore Eddie Tejeda, the City Council unanimously introduced, by roll call vote, Ordinance No 2926, amending Chapter 3 62 of the Redlands Municipal Code relating to Wastewater Rates Vote: 5 - 0 Passed NEW BUSINESS Citywide Annual Purchase Orders Assistant City Manager McConnell presented Citywide Annual Purchase Orders for Fiscal Year 2021-2022 for the purchase of miscellaneous tools, services, equipment and supplies and have been budgeted by each department By leveraging on purchasing power and economies of scale, the City is expecting to receive roughly $200,000 savings off wholesale prices On motion of Council Member Paul Foster, seconded by Council Member Denise Davis, the City Council unanimously approved, by roll call vote, the Citywide Annual Purchase Orders for Fiscal Year 2021-2022, including Lowe's, Fastenal, Home Depot and Office Depot, to provide miscellaneous tools, equipment, and supplies on a need -by -need basis for "not -to -exceed" total annual amounts as described in staffs presentation Vote 5 - 0 Passed MOU School Resource Officer Program Police Chief Catren reviewed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Redlands Unified School District to continue the School Resource Officer (SRO) Program Due to the success of this program, both parties would like to continue the program for the next three fiscal years This MOU provides for RUSD to reimburse the City $180,000 per fiscal year for each officer assigned to the SRO program Two officers will be assigned to the program for a total of $360,000 per fiscal year Council Member Guzman -Lowery raised questions and concerns about the program She asked how the hybrid model in place at RUSD schools impacted their day-to-day work, were officers armed, did officers receive additional training in family systems to better assist them with student and family interactions? In response, Chief Catren detailed the aspects of the program and how it was far different from traditional models used, which focus on enforcement The City and RUSD collaboratively established needs and determined the best approach to serve students, while building relationships in a safe and secure environment Despite COVID-19 challenges with at-home learning, officers still provided value by assisting with home visit follow-ups, making sure students stayed connected, delivered online learning tools and participated with the food delivery program Mayor Pro Tem Tejeda pointed out that many school districts have moved to "Wellness Centers" models CC_SA_May 4, 2021 Page 5 On motion of Council Member Paul Foster, seconded by Mayor Paul Banch, the City Council approved, by roll call vote, the Memorandum of Understanding between the City of Redlands and the Redlands Unified School District for the School Resource Officer Program Vote• 4 - 1 Passed NAY Council Member Jenna Guzman -Lowery COUNCIL MEMBER ANNOUNCEMENTS AND ACTIVITIES Council Member Banch requested the COVID-19 Sub -committee review the matter of reopening City Council meetings to the public He was hopeful the City could begin to hold open meetings by as early as June 15, 2021 Mayor Pro Tem Teieda reminded everyone it was "Teacher Appreciation Week" ADJOURNMENT There being no further action required the meeting adjourned at 7 28 P M The next regular meeting of the City of Redlands City Council will be held on May 18, 2021 SUCCESSOR AGENCY OF THE FORMER REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY OF THE CITY OF REDLANDS Chairman Banch called the meeting to order PUBLIC COMMENT No public comments related to the Successor Agency of the former Redevelopment Agency agenda were received Minutes On motion of Vice Chairman Tejeda, seconded by Board Member Foster, the minutes of the regular meeting of April 6, 2021 were unanimously approved by roll call vote Vote 5 - 0 Passed ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, the Successor Agency to the Redevelopment Agency adjourned at 7 29 P M The next regular meeting of the Board will be held on June 1, 2021 CC_SA_May 4, 2021 Page 6