HomeMy WebLinkAbout020111-cc_CCv0001.pdf MINUTES: of a regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Redlands held in the
Council Chambers, Civic Center, 35 Cajon Street, on February 1, 2011 at 3:00
P.M.
PRESENT: Pete Aguilar, Mayor
Paul Foster, Mayor Pro Tem,
Jon Harrison, Councilmember
Jerry Bean, Councilmember
Bob Gardner, Councilmember
ABSENT: None
STAFF: N. Enrique Martinez, City Manager; Dan McHugh, City Attorney; Sam Irwin,
City Clerk; Carl Baker, Public Information Officer; Jim Bueermann, Police
Chief, Jeff Frazier, Fire Chief, David Hexem, Chief Information Officer;
Rosemary Hoeming, Municipal Utilities and Engineering Director; Les Jolly,
Interim Quality of Life Director; Tina Kundig, Finance Director/City Treasurer;
Oscar W. Orci, Community Development Director; Deborah Scott-Leistra,
Human Resources Director
The meeting was opened with an invocation by Mayor Pro Tem Foster followed
by the pledge of allegiance to the American flag.
PRESENTATIONS:
Redlands Animal Shelter - Volunteer Lynda Ackerman and Officer Bill Miller
introduced Wishbone, a two year old male Parson Russell Terrier, who is
available for adoption at the Redlands Animal Shelter along with forty-seven
other dogs and twenty-seven cats. Ms. Ackerman informed the Council forty
dogs and eight cats have been adopted since the last City Council meeting.
Scout Master Proclamation - Mayor Aguilar informed those present of a
commendation to be presented at another time to James L. Gates for over 62
years in scouting including 18 years of service to the community as Scout
Master of Troop 44, Boy Scouts of America.
PUBLIC COMMENTS:
None forthcoming.
CONSENT CALENDAR:
Minutes - On motion of Councilmember Harrison, seconded by Councilmember
Gardner, the City Council unanimously approved the minutes of the regular
meeting of January 18, 2010.
February 1,2011
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CUP Extension - On motion of Councilmember Harrison, seconded by
Councilmember Gardner, the City Council unanimously agreed a one year
extension of time for Conditional Use Permit (CUP) No. 836 does not require
further environmental processing, pursuant to California Environmental Quality
Act Guidelines, and approved the extension request.
Fee Waiver - On motion of Councilmember Harrison, seconded by
Councilmember Gardner, the City Council unanimously approved a request
from the Boy Scouts of America for a waiver of fees associated with the annual
Lincoln Pilgrimage parade to be held on.February 5, 2011..
Local Emery Status - Fire Chief Frazier introduced Danielle Garcia, of the
Quality of Life Department, who presented an update on the sources of funding
to pay for the Local Emergency Declaration validated by the City Council at a
special meeting on December 23, 2010.. Federal and State Emergency
Management Agency reimbursements are expected to cover 93.25% of the
expenses resulting from the Emergency. To date $92,062.38 has been charged
to the storms, $90,568.51 in salaries and benefits for overtime and$1,493.87 for
repair and maintenance supplies. There are encumbrances of$178,600.00 with
Larry Jacinto Construction for repair of damage in various locations; $1.4,332.25
with. RD Construction for damage along Lugonia Ave; $27,907.50 with L. Curti
Trucking for cleanup of San Timoteo Canyon; and $4,000.00 with CHJ, Inc. for
geologic evaluation services. On motion of Mayor Pro Tem Foster, seconded by
Councilmember Harrison, the City Council unanimously agreed to receive and
file the report.
COMMUNICATIONS:
Budget and Finance Policies - Councilmember Gardner presented a report from
the budget committee comprised of himself and Councilmember Bean. He
proposed a four phased approach to budget derivation. The first phase is to
establish budget policies. The second phase deals with establishing budget goals
and priorities. The third phase involves looking at the numbers associated with
the goals and priorities. Finally, the fourth phase would be the budget review.
The City .Manager suggested a fifth phase would deal with an audit of the
budget performance. Councilmember Gardner announced his intention to
provide a draft list of budget policies at the February 15, 2011. council meeting.
As a public comment, Steve Rogers expressed the importance of transparency
during budget derivation.
Budget Goals and Priorities - Mayor Pro Tem Foster presented a framework for
establishing budget goals and priorities. Using terminology from presentations
given at a recent California League of Cities Conference, he suggested levels of
service provided by city government: core services, important services and
value added services. The concept would involve categorizing budget items
into groups identified by the different levels of service they provide and
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prioritizing the items within their respective groups. David Hexem, as head of
the Path to Excellence Team, was tasked to provide a core services discussion
from the Fire Department, Police Department and Quality of Life Department to
the Council at the .March 1, 2011 regular meeting. As a public comment, Steve
Rogers suggested an effort to update the City of Redlands General Plan would
provide the same framework for establishing budget priorities.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS:
Emergency Response Equipment - This item had been returned to staff at a
previous City Council meeting because it was not evident a lease purchase
agreement for new cardiac monitors and defibrillators had been subjected to
competitive bidding. Battalion Chief Scott MacDonald explained the rationale
for choosing the selected vendor and pointed out the competitive bidding
process had been applied at the state and county levels. On motion of Mayor
Pro Tem Foster, seconded by Councilmember Bean, the City Council
unanimously approved a lease purchase agreement between the City of Redlands
and US Bancorp Equipment Finance, Inc. for the equipment.
NEW BUSINESS:
Finance Consulting - As a public comment, Don Wallace, speaking before any
information had been presented on this item due to his need to leave the meeting
early, expressed opposition to hiring a consultant to perform studies which he
believes are either unnecessary or should be performed in house. Tina Kundig
provided an overview of the requirement for an overhead cost allocation plan.
and comprehensive user fee study. Further discussion revealed a statutory
requirement for the study and no qualified personnel within the Finance
Department to perform the work. On motion of Councilmember Gardner,
seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Foster, the City Council unanimously approved a
cost increase appropriation for a consulting services agreement between the City
of Redlands and MGT of America, Inc. to prepare the overhead cost allocation
plan and perform the user fee study.
Encumbrances and Carr overs - On motion of Councilmember Bean, seconded
by Councilmember Gardner, the City Council unanimously approved an
additional appropriation for FY 2009-2010 year-end encumbrances and
carryover balances.
Firefighting Grant - Chief Frazier provided an overview of a 2010 Assistance to
Firefighters Grant received by the City of Redlands Fire Department. The grant
provides $636,000.00 for the purchase of a new ladder truck for the Department.
The Chiefs plan calls for solicitations and events to raise, through donations, the
remaining $1.59,000.00 necessary to acquire the truck. On motion of Mayor Pro
Tem Foster, seconded by Councilmember Harrison, the City Council
unanimously authorized acceptance of the grant.
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Grant Application - On motion of Councilmember Bean, seconded by Mayor
Pro Tem Foster, the City Council unanimously authorized the submission of a
grant application to the California Department of Resources Recycling and
Recovery. Any funds received from the grant would be used to enhance the City
of Redlands use of rubberized asphalt concrete derived from recycled tires.
Water and Wastewater Rates - Ross Whitman, of the Municipal Utilities and
Engineering Department (MUED), presented an overview of the rationale
driving MUED staff recommendations for water and wastewater capital
improvement projects and the associated rate increases. As a public comment,
Jesse Siglow said the new rates would be killers to small business owners and
asked for a better public information program to address unanswered questions
about the rate increase. Phillip Naman appealed to Council not to allow the rate
increase. Steve Rogers observed no mention of water usage conservation and
the potential impact such emphasis might have on system costs. Further
discussion revolved around the question of the impact of delaying capital
improvements and not raising rates. On motions of Mayor Pro Tern Foster,
seconded by Mayor Aguilar, the City Council voted to accept the
recommendations of the staff, directed the preparation of ordinances for
implementation of the recommended rates, and ordered the issuance of the
required Proposition 218 notice for a public hearing. Councilmember Bean
voted No on the motions insisting rate increases should be avoided during the
current times of economic slowdown.
Sale of City Assets - On motion of Councilmember Bean, seconded by
Councilmember Gardner, the City Council approved a stock purchase agreement
between the City of Redlands and Rancho Ladero, LLC for the sale of 98 shares
of common stock in Crafton Heights Pipeline Company. Councilmember
Harrison recused himself from discussion and voting on this item due to his
employment relationship with Rancho Ladero.
Resolution No. 7023 - Crosswalk Striping - On motion of Mayor Pro Tem
Foster, seconded by Councilmember Bean, the City Council approved
Resolution No. 7023 authorizing installation of a white striped crosswalk on the
East side of the intersection of State Street and New York Street.
Councilmember Harrison recused himself from discussion and voting on this
item due to his employment relationship with parties requesting the crosswalk
striping.
Land Use Negotiations - Graeme Bethell, President of North American Biomass
Company, LLC, provided an overview of his company's proposal to construct a
gasification facility capable of processing approximately 4.7 tons of City-
generated biosolids and 60,000 tons of municipal solid waste annually and to
sell all of the electricity generated by the gasification facility to the City of
Redlands at a discount to Southern California Edison Company rates. As a
public comment, several speakers suggested the taxpayers' interests would be
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better served if the opportunity to build such a facility were opened to
competition. Further discussion revealed the proposed Memorandum of
Understanding would not preclude other entities from making their own
proposal to provide the gasification service. On motion of Councilmember
Bean, seconded by Councilmember Harrison, the City Council unanimously
approved adding stipulation to a proposed Memorandum of Understanding
(MOU) between the City of :Redlands and North American Biomass, LLC
stating all solid waste used by the proposed facility will be provided by the City
of Redlands or parties authorized by the City. On motion of Councilmember
Harrison, seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Foster, the City Council unanimously
approved the MOU as amended for exclusive negotiations for the possible lease
of approximately six acres of real property located immediately south of, and
contiguous to, the City's Wastewater Treatment Plant.
COUNCILMEMBER ACTIVITIES:
Energy Conservation - Councilmember Harrison and Mayor Aguilar attended a
forum entitled Expanding Innovation: Public Policy Opportunities for Growing
Clean Tech Jobs and Businesses. Discussions highlighted Energy Upgrade
California, a $2 billion program to assist homeowners with whole house
upgrades for energy conservation.
Rooftop Solar Panels - Mayor Aguilar helped flip the switch on a Prologis
program which provides for rental of large building rooftops for installation of
solar panels to generate electricity.
Future of Redevelopment - Mayor Aguilar attended a California League of
Cities event which focused on ways to protect the future of redevelopment
agencies in California.
Storm Damage - Mayor Pro Tem Foster thanked the Redlands Conservancy for
their tour of Oakmont Park and the damage resulting from recent storms.
Core Values - Councilmember Gardner commended the staff for their efforts to
display the City of Redlands Core Values in conspicuous around City Hall. He
solicited feedback from the staff and the public as to the City Council's
performance in exhibiting the values.
LATE BREAKING ITEM:
Real Property Negotiation - On motion of Mayor Pro Tem Foster, seconded by
Councilmember Harrison, the City Council unanimously authorized the addition.
of Item 3 on the closed session agenda.
CLOSED SESSION:
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The City Council meeting recessed at 7:27 P.M. to a closed session to discuss
the following:
1. Conference with legal counsel: Anticipated Litigation - Government Code
§54956.9(b)(2)(B)
a. One Case - Facts and circumstances: Threat of litigation by Redlands
Country Club regarding non-potable water rates
2. Conference with legal counsel: Anticipated Litigation - Government Code
§54956.9(b)(2)(C)
a. Two Cases - Facts and circumstances: Consideration of government
claims by Charles Holcombe and Harry Schwimmer
3. Conference with real property negotiator—Government Code §54956.8
Property: APN 0167-511-26 (1455 Research Drive)
Agency negotiators: N. Enrique Martinez and Oscar Orci
Negotiating party: Sorensen Engineering
Under negotiation: Terms for payment and price for interest in real
property(recorded land use operating covenant)
CLOSED SESSION REPORT:
City Attorney McHugh announced there would be no reportable action taken.
during the closed session.
ADJOURNMENT:
There being no further business, the City of Redlands City Council meeting adjourned
at 7:33 P.M. The Council will meet next at their regularly scheduled meeting on.
February 15,2011.
February 1,2011
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