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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1/7/2003 Minutes - Regular MeetingCITY OF DIAMOND BAR CITY COUNCIL STUDY SESSION JANUARY 7, 2003 STUDY SESSION: M/Herrera called the Study Sess on to order at 5:30 p.m. in Room CC -8 of the South Coast Air Quality Management District/Government Center Building, 21865 E. Copley Drive, Diamond Bar, CA. Present: Chang, O'Connor, Zirbes, Mayo Pro Tem Huff, Mayor Herrera. Also present were: Linda Lowry, City Manager; Mike Jenkins, City Attorney, James DeStefano, Deputy City Manager; Dave Doyle, Deputy City Manager; David Liu, Public Works Director; Bob Pose, Community Services Director; Linda Magnuson, Finance Director; Lynda Burgess, City Clerk; Ann Lungu, Associate Planner; Fred Alamo ioda, Senior Engineer; Kim Crews, Senior Management Analyst and April Blakey, Public Information Manager. 1) DISCUSSION OF IN-HOUSE BUSINESS LICENSIN — presentation by AssocP/Lungu. C/Zirbes said his interest in establishing business licenses is n t for purposes of revenue generation. Having served on the Planning Commission, he was aware of businesses opening withou the proper licensing. He felt it would be important for the City to be aware of what businesses were being conducted and where they were being conducted, especially in residential neighborhoods He would not advocate taxes or burdensome fees, but a one time registration fee with a small annual or semi-annual (every two years) renewal fee. He currently does business in the Ci y of Industry, which has no business license fee. Every year his business submits a form and the City underwrites the cost. When he did business in the City of EI Monte, he paid a huge fee b sed upon gross receipts, number of employees, etc. Although h did not advocate high fees, there would be a severe penalty or fee for failing to obtain a business license. In certain areas, people repair vehicles, run pool cleaning businesses and so forth. Although these businesses are not a problem, the chemicals they store Wuld present a problem to the City and the residents. Could this be c one without adding staff? DCM/DeStefano felt that there might be need for one additional part time or full time staff. It depends on which option the Cotincil decides upon and how much work results therefrom. Staff does not believe there would be a need for additional Planning staff members because the types of businesses that would requite a typical business license would also require a discretionary permit. The license renewal fee process would require additional time of the Finance Department based upon when the licenses are renewed, what type of invoicing would be required, etc. JANUARY 7, 2003 PAGE 2 CC STUDY SESSION AssocP/Lungu responded to C/Zirbes that the number of regulatory licenses issued by L.A. County for D.B. varies from year to year based on the types of activities each business conducts. According to the Chamber of Commerce survey, there are approximately 1100 businesses in D.B. Staff believes that there may be about 1500, including home-based businesses. C/Zirbes asked if the City could mirror the regulatory license process now performed by the County or would the County continue to administer those types of licenses. DCM/DeStefano responded that the County could continue to administer business licensing for the more difficult operations and the City could conduct the business registration portion, similar to what Hidden Hills does. Or, D.B. could take on that portion of the licensing. However, it would place a greater burden on staff when D.B. becomes the agency routing requests to the Sheriff's Department for background checks to the Health Department and other Departments, etc. D.B. would have to collect the data and handle all of the related paperwork. Staff believes the business licensing could be handled in-house because there would not be a significant number of businesses requiring the regulatory aspect. C/Zirbes explained that the Planning Commission received several complaints that took an inordinate amount of time for the County to complete the paperwork. Would it speed up the process if it were done in-house? DCM/DeStefano said it would be difficult to determine in advance whether or not the process could be speeded up. Especially in the case where the license is attached to Conditional Use Permits and there are a variety of issues that take time to resolve. He believed that one agency, the City, would be able to synchronize and speed up the process. C/Chang asked how D.B. would determine what businesses were not registered. DCM/DeStefano responded that staff would search existing databases to obtain lists of businesses. Using those lists with the County's information, staff would send letters to specific businesses along with mass mailings to get the word out that this program, once adopted, would commence on a certain date listing the subsequent activities that would take place. There would likely be a significant lead-in time. Assuming that Council wants to move JANUARY 7, 2003 PAGE 3 CC STUDY SE SION forward, it would likely be 45-60 days before the details co Id be ascertained. After that, there would likely be another 90 days before the program commenced on the new budget year of July 1. In addition, as outlined by AssocP/Lungu in her report, th City would need to purchase appropriate software to manage the program. unty MPT/Huff asked how staff intended to enforce the program. DCM/DeStefano responded that at the direction of Council, staff would forward its recommendations. Typically, it woul I be accomplished through the City's Finance staff coordinati g its renewals with the Neighborhood Improvement staff through Clocle Enforcement attempting to gain compliance. How this proc ss is actually accomplished, what fines are imposed, etc. would ne d to be determined. AssocP/Lungu responded to MPT/Huff that in 2002, L. A. +nty issued 196 licenses. In 2001, there were 243. C/O'Connor pointed out that the number would include businesses like Oak Tree Lanes that had multiple businesses. In fact, thE 196 businesses might consist of fewer entities with multiple licenses. DCM/DeStefano explained that some of the businesses requir d by the County to be licensed may not be required to be licensed by the City and vice -versa. For instance, one of the businesses that D.B. might require to be licensed would be the cyber cafe's. The Cc unty does not require a license for that type of activity and staff believes it should require one. Council would need to decide hich businesses would quality for a regulatory business license and which businesses would be appropriate for a simple registration. C/O'Connor asked the price of the software. CM/Lowry said the cost would depend upon the sophisticatiof or the program requirements. DCM/DeStefano explained that if the business licensing as revenue generating beyond the cost to provide the service, it w uId require an election. Aziz Amiri was not clear about the City's objective in initiating such a program. If the City intends to regulate business activity, he wanted to know the purpose and what would be regulated. In the Gateway Center, businesses are association controlled. His hotel pays $1,500 per month to maintain common areas, etc. No JANUARY 7, 2003 PAGE 4 CC STUDY SESSION services are received from the City. 10% of the hotel's revenue goes to the City and no specific services are received back from the City. General services only are provided. His hotel is already paying a significant amount to the City and he would like to know what additional financial burden would be placed on his business by initiation of a City controlled business licensing. If the City wants to know what businesses exist, call it registration and let each business register so that services can be increased accordingly. If the City requires businesses to be licensed, he believed it also needs to provide service. MPT/Huff asked if Mr. Amid felt the City could provide better services to his establishment. Mr. Amid replied "not really." The establishment has a very stringent inspection program conducted by AAA, by the fire department, etc. His hotel provides a safe and comfortable environment at this time. MPT/Huff asked Mr. Amiri if he was getting the level of service he wanted. Mr. Amid responded that there is no service, there is only inspection. The license for his hotel renews every June, inspections are the following October and he receives the license in December. The license always comes with additional items the hotel needs to correct and involves additional expense. MPT/Huff asked Mr. Amiri if he thought it would be beneficial his establishment to have the licensing handled by the City. Mr. Amid said he would leave the licensing with the County because the bottom line is to protect the public and not the business. The purpose of licensing is to protect the public, not the businesses. If the City intends to charge for licensing, it needs to provide some service (to the business) in return. Mary Hall, Diversified Securities, echoed the concerns expressed by Mr. Amid. This matter was previously discussed at the Chamber of Commerce. Without a clear understanding about why the City would want to take on this responsibility, she would be opposed to changing the procedure. M/Herrera explained that part of the reason for taking on this task would be to provide the City with a greater knowledge of the types of businesses being conducted in D.B. Another reason would be to monitor home-based businesses. Unless the City assumes control JANUARY 7, 2003 PAGE 5 CC STUDY SE SION of the licensing, it would never have a handle on the number and types of businesses. Ms. Hall felt that one way to gain a handle was to initiate some sort of registration process. Calling it a license is an additional burden to a businessperson already required to have a number of licenses in order to do business. It would be more agreeable if the City required businesses to register. She also believed that if thq City required the business to have some type of license, it wasonly natural for the business to expect some type of emergen y or critical service in return. M/O'Connor asked what kind of services the businesses wou�d be looking to have the City provide. Mr. Amiri believed the businesses were already paying a fee for services such as Sheriff. The question is, what additional se ices would the City provide. The Council is talking about the lice sing fee covering administration costs. That administration does not exist, so it would be like creating a cost that was non-existent for no reason. Clarifying the number and types of businesses that exist D.B. is different from charging businesses additional tax. in C/O'Connor was not looking to add more licensing requireme s to a business. She was looking at whether it would be feasible to take over what the County is now doing. To that end, businesses m ould not incur additional fees. Businesses are already provided se vice and required to submit to inspections. There would, in this cas be no additional layer of government. Therefore, what additi , nal services would businesses expect to be provided by the City? Mr. Amiri explained that if the City discovered businesses handling hazardous waste materials, for instance, there might be a need for additional fire stations, etc. to mitigate these circumstances. He did not feel that a previous need existed for such services. He would prefer that the situation remain status quo. C/O'Connor explained that what is being proposed would keep the current process in place except that business would be dealing ivith the City and not the County. There would be no additional requirements. Mr. Amiri again stated that businesses are not currently receiving any services for the license fee they pay. Businesses are always complaining that they are regulated without being provided services in return. He further explained that local businesses would I se the clout available to them through the County's larger number o JANUARY 7, 2003 PAGE 6 CC STUDY SESSION licensed businesses. There are greater numbers of restaurants, etc. in the County that local businesses can join with to fight. A local group of hoteliers would be very small and would not have the clout to fight for certain issues. MPT/Huff pointed out that business would still have governmental agencies to fight such as OSHA no matter what entity handled the licensing process. Mr. Amid cited the example of his waste pickup costs tripling in the past year and the City gets the contract fee. The previous hauler charged him one-third of what he currently pays. Since he is a non- resident and non-voter of D.B., he does not have the clout as a business and does not have a voice in what happens. That is why he joined the Chamber of Commerce — to create a larger voice. Their association attempts to influence the City to consider other tactics. M/Herrera thanked the speakers for their input. Jeff Koontz, Executive Director, D.B. Chamber of Commerce, has championed the business registry for the past couple of years and for many of the reasons outlined in staff's report under Item 1.6.3. One of the items that he felt was essential was "to use the information for marketing purposes." Often companies who are researching whether to locate in D.B. call the Chamber and ask for a list of top ten employers and businesses in town along with demographics of those businesses. The Chamber does not have that kind of information because it is not required of the employers and businesses. Mr. Koontz offered that the Chamber would take responsibility for initiating a program to provide the information to the City and charge the City only for administrative costs. There are multiple layers to the data base the Chamber is currently developing and proceeding as a joint venture would fall in line with the City's wish to gain control of businesses registration. He tended to agree that the regulatory portion of licensing would best be left with the County. Orien Pagan is a resident of D.B. and has a business in this City. As a business owner, it would not bother her to pay a nominal fee for her small business. However, most business owners are fearful that fees would be increased to a point that it would be a burden. She has a number of clients who are contractors. They pay licensing fees in all cities wherein they conduct business. She was concerned that charging $25 per year for 1500 businesses would not generate enough money to purchase a computer program and pay for administrative costs and enforcement. That charge could 1 1 JANUARY 7, 2003 PAGE 7 CC STUDY SESgION place an undue burden on small businesses that are not me king money in these difficult economic times. C/Chang indicated that implementation of a business registr tion program would not be for generation of revenue for the City but to record what businesses exist in the City and what they do. No one in town fully knows what businesses exist today and where they are In order to provide better public safety services, the City needs to know whether there are explosives, etc. out there that could r salt in safety problems later on and to eliminate conflict with exi ting ordinances such as when the cybercafes began to open. W are currently operating in reverse by modifying zoning regulations in order to accommodate that type of existing business. He was personally interested in a minimum fee to cover the cot of providing business registration including the purchaSE of specialized software. If the software were too costly, ther the process would have to be reconsidered before the City comm is to taking over the program. We would be bringing the process f rom the County so businesses would pay the fee to the City rather than to the County. This is simply for the safety and quality of lif D for D.B. residents, not for revenue generation. M/Herrera closed the public comment portion of the study sess Following discussion, Council directed staff as follows: 1) 2) 3) Council concurred that there is no interest in o4ring business licensing that would require a vote of the peopl . Council is interested in business registration. Council is interested in pursuing the feasibility of taking some of the regulatory items. CM/Lowry offered that staff could shop around to see what o are available, find out what other cities are doing regarding dil levels of inspection and enforcement, and build scenaric Council's consideration. In addition, staff would determine software programs are available and what penalties mig established for non-compliance of inspection requirements. Council concurred and requested an additional study during which staff would provide the requested information. C/Zirbes asked staff to provide an analysis of appropriate initis renewal registration fees. He felt that the City could improve the County's ability to speed up the process. He wanted to kn over Rnt for -gat be and pon JANUARY 7, 2003 PAGE 8 CC STUDY SESSION what businesses businesses staff licensing as well licensing. would qualify for regulatory licensing and what would recommend deleting from the regulatory as what fees would be charged for the regulatory M/Herrera asked staff to provide a timeline from point of application to completion of the licensing process. ADJOURNMENT: With no further business to conduct, M/Herrera adjourned the study session at 6:34 p.m. Y l y) LYt DA BURGESS, City Clerk ATTEST: - iai�= - CAROL HERRERA, Mayor u MINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY OF DIAMOND BAR January 7, 2003 STUDY SESSION: M/Herrera called the Study Session tc order at 5;30 p.m. in Room CC -8 of the South Coast Air Quality Managerneni District/Government Center Building, 21865 E. Copley Drive, Diamond Bar, CA. Present: Council Members Chang, O'Connor, Zirbes, MPT/Huff, M/Herrera. II Also present were: Linda Lowry, City Manager, Mike Jen kins, City Attorney, James DeStefano, Deputy City Manager; David Doyle, D putt' City Manager; David Liu, Public Works Director; Bob Rose, Community Services Director; Linda Magnuson, Finance Director; Lynda Burgess, City Clerk; Ann Lungu, Associate Planner; Fred Alamohoda, Senior Engineer; Kim Crews, Senior Management Analyst and April Blakey Public Inform tion Manager. ➢ DISCUSSION OF IN-HOUSE BUSINESS LICENSING ➢ Public Comments CLOSED SESSION: None M/Herrera announced that during the study session, staff was direct provide additional information to the City Council. Currently, the contracts with L.A. County for regulatory business licensing. In an eff have better information regarding businesses housed in the City, the Cc is considering bringing the licensing in-house. to ity to CALL TO ORDER: M/Herrera called the meeting to order at 6:40 p.m. in the Auditorium of the South Coast Air Quality Management District/Government Center Building, 21865 E. Copley Drive, Diamond Bar, CA. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Council Member Zirbes. INVOCATION: The Invocation was given by Reverend Ted Meyers, Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church. At the request of M/Herrera, CA/Jenkins responded to comments mad by Reverend Meyers by stating that the California Appellate Court, i i a published decision, determined that prayer commencing a public meeting in the form of an invocation, is constitutionally acceptable only if it is on - sectarian. Accordingly, the City has implemented the rule of the Court. ROLL CALL: Council Members Chang, O'Con or, Zirbes, Mayor Pro Tem Huff, Mayor Herrera. JANUARY 7, 2003 PAGE 2 CITY COUNCIL Also present were: Linda Lowry, City Manager, Mike Jenkins, City Attorney, James DeStefano, Deputy City Manager; David Doyle, Deputy City Manager; David Liu, Public Works Director; Bob Rose, Community Services Director; Linda Magnuson, Finance Director and Lynda Burgess, City Clerk. APPROVAL OF AGENDA: CM/Lowry asked that Consent Calendar item No. 6.3 be removed because the Traffic and Transportation Commission Minutes were not yet approved by the Commission for submission to the Council. 1. SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS, CERTIFICATES, PROCLAMATIONS: 1.1 PRESENTATION GIVEN BY D.B. HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS - ' Virtual Enterprise Class" - students Christina Delgadillo, Kevin Naseery, Julian Jahja, Rachel Stewart, Vanessa Garcia and Ethan Force. 2. CITY MANAGER REPORTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS: 2.1 FD/Magnuson introduced Susan Full, new Accountant II. 2.2 STATUS REPORT - Panhandle Drive Water Seepage - given by PWD/Liu. 3. PUBLIC COMMENTS: Lydia Plunk, 1522 Deerfoot Dr., stated that she had not received a response to or acknowledgement of questions she posed to the Wildlife Corridor Conservation Authority in early November. She felt that the language in the letters inviting persons to provide the invocations should be revisited in order not to offend people of good intention. Kwang Ho Lee, 23746 Gold Rush Dr., felt that Council should reconsider spending the City's money to build a new library at this time. He believed that the lease revenue bond proceeds should not be used to build a library until the Community/Senior Center is paid in full and the economy improves. If the Council decides to proceed with the Library, it should consider providing a more technologically intensive atmosphere to assist the learning process. Juvencio Figueroa, 750 Panhandle Dr., thanked the City for looking at the seepage problems but felt that staff had not correctly assessed the situation. He invited staff and Council Members to come onto his property and look at �-- his back yard area. He also believed there were eight properties suffering from swamp -like conditions and that houses above him may be subject to slope failure. He was told that the City required a licensed and bonded contractor to provide a "pour and bore" on his curb. To date, he has been JANUARY 7, 2003 PAGE 3 CITY COU CIL unable to locate an acceptable contractor and asked for assistana in locating one. George Davidson, 23426 E. Wagon Trail Rd., resides above the homes experiencing seepage problems. His house has some settling problems that may be related to the water seepage and felt the problem may be affe ting Homes above him. He wanted staff to look at his property. He suggested dye be injected into the Pulte Homes water system to determine whet er or not it may be the source of the problems in his neighborhood. Roy Paige, 732 Panhandle Dr., thanked the Council Members who took time out of their busy schedules to visit his neighborhood. He reiterated his concerns about the water seepage related problems throughoul the Panhandle Dr. neighborhood. How many homes need to be affecte and what needs to happen before the situation is considered to be a "nuisa ce." Lee Kemble, 23637 Bower Cascade PI., appreciated installation of s eed humps in his area. He complained about the lack of maintenance of the old L.A. Fitness building and suggested the City consider purchasing the bu Iding to house a much needed new and upgraded library. He wanted to know the financial impact of street sweeping and monitoring of the program be ause he felt the program was ineffective. Martha Bruske spoke about the Panhandle Dr. issue. She felt staffshould have provided an answer about why, after working with the residents for almost a year, they were abandoned and told it was a private issue. These residents are very concerned about what will happen to their property. 11 curb cuts are called out in the Code, there should be some method for comp eting the process. The storm drains appear to be working okay so there ML St be some other problem that needs to be addressed for these residents. George Davidson requested a copy of the EIR for the Pulte Devel M/Herrera explained to Mr. Davidson that he could obtain a copy of the Pulte Development EIR at City Hall. Marie Buckland, 21762 Santaquin Dr. was concerned that the Cit has ignored the residents of Panhandle Dr. for two years. She felt the Pulte Homes project was responsible for the situation and that the Councils ould "bite the bullet" and face up to what should have been done with respect to approving the soils report. 4. RESPONSE TO PUBLIC COMMENT: C/O'Connor said she finally received an e-mail response from indicating they would not respond to any of the letters until the between the City and MBCA was settled. She received general re,, and requested that WCCA provide written responses to everyone v JANUARY 7, 2003 PAGE 4 CITY COUNCIL presented them with letters M/Herrera explained that with respect to a speaker's comments regarding the lease revenue bond for a library, the bond term is a 10 -year variable rate bond and not 30 -year bond. The City does not currently own any public buildings that could accommodate a library. Further, she indicated that City staff would continue to work with the residents of Panhandle Dr. to resolve the seepage problems. PWD/Lui confirmed that staff would provide Mr. Figueroa with a number of contractors suitable to perform the work. M/Herrera explained that mold and roaches are public health problems and the Council is very concerned. She first became aware of this issue when speakers commented during the December 17, 2002 Council meeting. DCM/DeStefano reported that the old L.A. Fitness building is in escrow. The property is being sold to a church group for conversion to a church. CM/Lowry stated that statistics would be made available to Council highlighting the benefits of the street sweeping program. 5. SCHEDULE OF FUTURE EVENTS: 5.1 CHRISTMAS TREE RECYCLING PROGRAM — continues through January 10, 2003. Place tree at curbside on regular trash pick up day for disposal. 5.2 CITY -SPONSORED ELECTRONIC WASTE PICK UP — continued through January 17, 2003 — Free removal of TVs, VCRs, Monitors, CD Players, Telephones, Radios, etc. Call 1-800-449-7587. 5.3 LIBRARY BOND ACT COMMUNITY MEETING —January 9, 2003 — 7:00 p.m., Room CC -6, SCAQMD/Government Center Building, 21865 E. Copley Dr. 5.4 TRAFFIC AND TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION — January 9, 2003 — 7:00 p.m., SCAQMD/Government Center, 21865 E. Copley Dr. 5.5 COMMUNITY FOUNDATION "SILENT AUCTION OF OLD RESIDENTIAL STREET SIGNS" — Saturday, January 11, 2003 —1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., Deane Homes Swim Club, 1010 Overlook Ridge Dr. 5.6 PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING — January 14, 2003 — 7:00 p.m., SCAQMD/Government Center Auditorium, 21865 E. Copley Dr. JANUARY 7, 2003 PAGE 5 CITY COUNCIL 5.7 STATE OF THE CITY ADDRESS (Chamber of Commerce Bre kfast) — January 16, 2003 - 7:00 a.m. — St. Denis Catholic Church, 251 S. Diamond Bar Blvd. 5.8 COMMUNITY FOUNDATION MEETING —January 16, 2003 7:00 p.m., SCAQMD/Government Center Building, Room CC -8, 21 65 E. Copley Dr. 5.9 CITY COUNCIL MEETING — January 21, 2003 — 630 p.m., SCAQMD/Government Center Building Auditorium, 21865 E. opley Dr. 5.10 LOS ANGELES COUNTY HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WAST AND ELECTRONIC WASTE ROUND UP — February 1, 2003 — 9:0 a.m. to 3.00 p.m., Claremont City Yard, 215 Cornell Ave. 6. CONSENT CALENDAR: Moved by MPT/Huff, seconded by CC to approve the Consent Calendar, with the exception of Item No. 6.3. A carried by the following Roll Call vote: AYES: COUNCIL MEMBERS - Chang, O'Connor, Zirbes, MPT, M/Herrera NOES: COUNCIL MEMBERS - None ABSENT: COUNCIL MEMBERS -None 6.1 APPROVED CITY COUNCIL MINUTES: 6.1 .1 Special Meeting of November 12, 2002 — As Continued from December 17, 2002. 6.1.2 Regular Meeting of December 17, 2002 — As submitted. 6.2 RECEIVED AND FILED PLANNING COMMISSION MINUT S - Regular Meeting of November 26, 2002. 6.3 TRAFFIC AND TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION MINUTES — Regular Meeting of November 14, 2002 — Continued to JanuanF 21, 2003. 6.4 APPROVED WARRANT REGISTERS - December 19, 2002 and January 2, 2003 in the total amount of $1,046,562.33. 6.5 REVIEWED AND APPROVED TREASURER'S STATEMENT - of November 2002. 6.6 RECEIVED AND FILED COMPREHENSIVE ANNUAL FINANCIAL REPORT AND SINGLE AUDIT REPORT ON FEDERAL AWA DS FOR THE YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 2002. JANUARY 7, 2003 PAGE 6 CITY COUNCIL 6.7 ADOPTED RESOLUTION NO. 2003-01 AUTHORIZING THE FILING OF A LAWSUIT CHALLENGING THE STORM WATER/URBAN RUNOFF PERMIT FOR THE COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES AND THE INCORPORATED CITIES THEREIN, EXCEPT THE CITY OF LONG BEACH (NPDES NO. CAS004001). 7. PUBLIC HEARINGS: None 8. COUNCIL CONSIDERATION: None 9. COUNCIL SUB -COMMITTEE REPORTS/ COUNCIL MEMBER COMMENTS: C/O'Connor wished everyone a Happy New Year. She spent the holiday season redecorating her home. She reminded residents about the Community Foundation's Silent Auction of old street signs. The Planning Commission is in the process of analyzing the potential development of the Walnut Trailer Park area, she was concerned about the potential of oversized vehicles ending up on the City's streets. She asked staff to bring the Council an ordinance protecting the streets against parking of oversized vehicles. She told staff that she did not put Mr. Kemble up to asking his particular questions about street sweeping even though she has been asking the same questions during the past month or so. She said she was also unaware of the water seepage problems on Panhandle Dr. until speakers commented during the last Council Meeting. The next day, she drove to the Panhandle Dr. area, observed the concerns and sent her suggestions to staff, one of which was to look at the houses on Wagon Trail and Mane Dr. to see if the problem originated in those areas. If Council had been aware of this problem it could have acted sooner. C/Chang wished everyone a Happy New Year. During other holiday seasons, he and his family visited other family members in other states and overseas. This year, they stayed home and had a most enjoyable holiday. He looked forward to the coming year in the service of D.B. He drove to the Panhandle Dr. area to look at the seepage problems. As was suggested by one of the residents, he should have knocked on doors and asked to see the back yards and he will do so in the next couple of days. C/Zirbes spent the holidays with his family and still found Time to work on D.B. issues, especially those on Panhandle Dr. He visited the Figueroa's back yard and several other back yards and was visiting the neighbor above the Figueroa's just prior to tonight's meeting. He was aware of the problem and was encouraged today to observe that the seepage over the sidewalk is just about gone. It is a major concern to him as well as to the residents. D.B. had a great 2002 and accomplished much. For all of the things Council and staff worked on in 2002, there is that much ahead of Council and staff in 2003. Council anticipates a busy and productive year in the pursuit of the City's business. He wished everyone a Happy New Year. JANUARY 7, 2003 PAGE 7 CITY COUNCIL MPT/Huff enjoyed the high school student's presentation during tonic ht's meeting. The Council is very concerned about the residences on Panha idle Dr. He thanked homeowners for their patience and hoped that better news would be forthcoming. He wished everyone a Happy New Year. M/Herrera said she too was very concerned about the problems in thearea of Panhandle Dr. Addressing a former speaker, M/Herrera said she believed that when public health issues arose, it became a public nuisance. Council is looking for causes and answers and hopes to offer solutions to the problem. She wished everyone a Happy New Year. She is very pro d of Council and staff. 90. ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business to M/Herrera adjourned the meeting at 7:56 p.m. L NDA BURGESS, CITY CL RK ATTEST: CAROL HERRERA, MAYOR