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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020.04.21 - Minutes - Study Session CITY OF DIAMOND BAR MINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL STUDY SESSION APRIL 21, 2020 STUDY SESSION: M/Tye called the Study Session to order at 5:17 p.m. Mayor Tye stated that consistent with COVID-19 regulations, all Council Members and staff are participating via teleconference and there is no physical location for public attendance. The Public has been invited to join the meeting online or by phone at the numbers printed on the agenda. M/Tye asked if there were any members of the public that wished to speak on tonight's Study Session item. CC/Santana stated there were no comments submitted by email. With no persons wishing to speak, M/Tye closed the Public Comment portion of the meeting. ROLL CALL: Council Members Andrew Chou, Jennifer "Fred" Mahlke, Ruth Low, Mayor Pro Tem Nancy Lyons, Mayor Steve Tye Staff participating telephonically: Dan Fox, City Manager; Ryan McLean, Assistant City Manager; Anthony Santos, Assistant to the City Manager; David Liu, Director of Public Works; Dianna Honeywell, Director of Finance, Greg Gubman, Director of Community Development; Ryan Wright, Director of Parks and Recreation; Ken Desforges, Director of Information Services; Marsha Roa, Public Information Manager; Christian Malpica, Associate Engineer; Fabian Auon, Associate Engineer; Kristina Santana, City Clerk. ► DRAFT FISCAL YEAR 2020-21 CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECT BUDGET. CM/Fox stated that this was the first Study Session regarding the Fiscal Year 2020- 21 budget and focuses on the Capital Improvement Program. The Global COVID- 19 Pandemic has altered the course for all cities and states as they respond to this health crisis. Staff has identified a significantly scaled back list of projects to move forward. In addition, staff prepared a second list of projects that are recommended to be deferred at this time. PWD/Liu summarized the current fiscal year 2019/2020 CIP projects and indicated that by June 30, 2020, eleven (11) projects with a total value of improvements of $5.6 million will be complete. With the COVID-19 crisis continuing, the proposed 2020/21 FY CIP has been limited in scope to include only those critical projects that can be accommodated within the lower than anticipated revenues. For Fiscal Year 2020/21 staff is proposing a total of only 11 prioritized projects which include the following: $1.46 million for Street Improvements; $107,000 for Traffic Management and Safety improvements; $100,000 for Transportation Infrastructure Improvements; APRIL 21, 2020 PAGE 2 CC STUDY SESSION $1,441,900 for Miscellaneous Public Works improvements; and, $212,780 for Facilities, Parks and Recreation improvements, for a total budgeted amount of$3.3 million. PWD/Liu explained the details of the proposed projects. M/Tye asked if staff was certain that grants from Foothill Transit will be available. PWD/Liu responded that until staff hears otherwise, they are assuming these annual grants are still in place. M/Tye said he assumed that if the grant were to evaporate, the City would not move forward with those improvements. PWD/Liu indicated that would be correct. M/Tye said he thought the shelters belonged to the ad companies. PWD/Liu indicated that is correct. The City has a franchise agreement with Clear Channel and that contract will be coming up in June 2020/21. Under the franchise agreement they own and operate all of the bus shelters and amenities. The new shelters being installed using the grant money belong to the City of Diamond Bar and the City takes over the ownership with the weekly maintenance being done and paid for by Clear Channel during the upcoming year. C/Low asked about the timeframe of the Grand Avenue/Golden Springs Drive improvement project. PWD/Liu responded that the construction is anticipated to begin in May/June and expected to last a year. C/Low asked if the $1.3 million was being paid by the City of Industry. PWD/Liu responded that there are a variety of funding sources for the project. CM/Fox explained that the $1.3 million is Diamond Bar's share of the $20+ million dollar project and provides for some of the decorative traffic signals and landscaping enhancements to match the City's community branding. C/Low asked for confirmation that none of the money is coming from the City's General Fund. CM/Fox responded that is correct. ; MPT/Lyons asked for verification that those who take advantage of the charging station will be paying for the electricity. CM/Fox responded that is correct and that it will be a "pay for the electricity" program. PWD/Liu provided a list of projects that are being deferred based on the economic uncertainty, with total project costs estimated to be about $4.3 million. If revenue APRIL 21, 2020 PAGE 3 CC STUDY SESSION estimates improve over the course of the upcoming fiscal year, staff will bring CIP amendments to the Council to advance some of these deferred projects. C/Mahlke asked if the DBC Slope Stabilization project included the design. PWD/Liu explained that $450,000 is the proposed construction number. Design cost is included in the current fiscal year CIP budget. M/Tye asked if the first item under Street Improvement Projects amount of$83,000 referred to the design costs. PWD/Liu responded yes. M/Tye asked if the Arterial Street rehab would be deferred. CM/Fox suggested that items on Slide 10 be split up into separate line items to provide additional clarification. PWD/Liu stated the ultimate goal for these street projects is to have a shelf-ready plans. M/Tye asked if the ground drainage improvements at Flapjack were done. PWD/Liu said that it was part of the current fiscal year CIP. PWD/Liu said staff did a citywide study and looked at all of the trouble spots and came out with a list of 11 or 12 locations in priority order and staff has been moving forward one project at a time. With the passage of Measure W, staff wants to make sure that the City can utilize that special fund from the county to pay for this project rather than other funding sources including the City's General Fund. With the expectation that the funds will be coming to the City from Measure W in a month or two, staff is hopeful there will be some money. Until we know exactly what we are getting we don't want to spend any money. MPT/Lyons said the City had received a number of emails over the years regarding Flapjack and thought it would be a good idea to notify those homeowners that it is being put off until we know how much we have coming in Measure W funds. PWD/Liu confirmed staff is in communication with residents along Flapjack. C/Chou asked if any of these projects were considered emergency projects that would render them eligible for FEMA funding. PWD/Liu said he did not believe any of these projects were considered emergency projects. PWD/Liu emphasized that there are three projects that are currently unfunded: Heritage Park renovations, the new Sunset Crossing Park and Diamond Bar Boulevard Complete Streets project. These projects have funding shortfalls and staff will continue reviewing the funding options. APRIL 21, 2020 PAGE 4 CC STUDY SESSION PWD/Liu referred to Slide 12, a list of funding sources and special funds being proposed to pay for the City's projects. With the exception of the Building and Facilities Maintenance funds of $175,000, everything proposed is considered special funds (outside funding sources) for a total of$3.3 million. PWD/Liu said that going forward, it will be important to pay attention to the funding sources. Staff will continue to monitor these funding sources very carefully and propose any adjustments later on in the fiscal year and as they are needed. C/Chou thanked staff for their efforts on the 2020/21 fiscal year budget. Assuming completion of the battery backup system, when can the public anticipate an improvement in traffic flow? PWD/Liu explained that the $107,000 is to finish the battery backup work at the final eleven signalized intersections. Separately, the Adaptive Traffic Control system was finalized a couple of months ago and staff is monitoring traffic conditions, making adjustments, and tweaking the sets of information. Traffic has been very light so the City has not been able to take full advantage of the latest technology. C/Low asked if there was a cost to the City to operate the charging station. PWD/Liu said that in speaking with the vendor, the usage of electricity is very low. ; Staff is in the process of finalizing the proposal before coming back to the City � Council with an agreement. In addition to the electricity usage, the vendor is proposing a revenue sharing proposal they would like the City to consider. PMS/Jordan said that staff and the consultant looked at a couple of scenarios in terms of administration of the system and the short answer is that all of the maintenance moving forward will be borne by the vendor whether it be normal wear and tear maintenance or vandalism. There will be a very insignificant increase in the City's electric bill which will be covered by the user's cost. C/Chou asked if the charging station usage was intended to be a point of sale system where the user would insert a credit card. CM/Fox explained that most of the stations such as the one at AQMD use an app or TAP (Transit Access Pass) card such as one uses for the Metro system where it is pre-loaded and drawn down with each use. M/Tye directed everyone to the last line of the second paragraph of the report which states, "should the revenue estimates improve over the course of the year, amendments to the CIP could be presented to the City Council" and he wanted everyone one to know that they should be presented to the City Council. On the first page of the spreadsheet on Capital Improvements, the line item reads, "a bus shelter replacement" and he wanted to know what happened to the bus shelter that was there. AE/Malpica explained that the current condition of the bus shelter is poor and is need of replacement. APRIL 21, 2020 PAGE 5 CC STUDY SESSION PWD/Liu expanded further that it is not salvageable. CM/Fox said that at the next Study Session, the City Council will be looking at the operating budget. M/Tye thanked staff for their work on the CIP Budget. ADJOURNMENT: With no further business to come before the City Council, M/Tye recessed the Study Session at 5:57 p.m. to the Regular Meeting. Respectfully submitted: G�;�'�"� Kristina Santana, City Clerk The foregoing minutes are hereby approved this 5t" day of May, 2020. � l` � ��-- Steve ye, Ma or