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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1/21/2003 Minutes - Regular MeetingCITY OF DIAMOND BAR CITY COUNCIL STUDY SESSION JANUARY 21, 2003 STUDY SESSION: Mayor Herrera called the Study S ssion to order at 5:36 p.m. in the South Coast Air Quality Manag ment District/Government Center Building, Room CC -8, 21865 E. Copley rive, Diamond Bar, CA. Present: Council Members O'Connor,irbes, Mayor Pro Tem Huff and Mayor Herrera. Council Member Chang a rived at 5:40 p.m. Also present were Linda Lowry, City Manager; Christi Hogin, Assistant City Attorney; James DeStefano, Deputy City Manager; David Liu, Public Works Director; Bob Rose, Community Services Director; Linda Magnuson, Finance Director; Lynda Burgess, CityClerk; April Blakey, Public Information Manager; Lt. Joe Maxey, Fred Alamolhoda, Senior Engineer; Sharon Gomez, Management Analys and John Ilasin, Assistant Engineer, 1) Street Sweeping Modification Report C/Zirbes agreed that there was a problem at the Windwood ulti- family complex. Some units have two car garages, some have one car garages. When they have more than one car they're forced to use the street. He was not in. favor of the proposal because they are multi -family units, but for this particular development, b sed upon the inadequacy of the development, the proposal presnted by staff seems fair. C/O'Connor was concerned about the proposal to sweep one side of the street in the morning and the other side of the street ir the afternoon. What happens when no one is home to move his oi her car? PWD/Liu responded that if Council approves staff's recommendation this evening, all residents would be contacted and the proposal would be presented to them for consideration. What staff has proposed seems to be the best resolution for the residents and the street sweeper. C/O'Connor asked how many complaints staff received from Windwood residents. On Washington Street, the proposal is to sweep the street on alternate sides on two different days. When is the ACE project supposed to start on that street and the street would be closed and not accessible? She asked for an explanation of staff's proposal regarding street sweeping around schools. PWD/Liu reported that staff received approximately 10 complaints from Windwood residents and that the ACE project closur is expected to begin next year at this time. The normal street JANUARY 21, 2003 PAGE 2 CC STUDY SESSION sweeping day for Washington is Monday. He further indicated that the street sweeper cannot begin work before 6:30 a.m., the same as trash pickup times. C/O'Connor asked how many complaints staff has received from the eight elementary schools. She felt that it might be premature to consider changing the system at this point in time. She did not believe the City had received enough complaints to warrant the City spending an additional $20,000, especially in light of the current budget crisis. In addition, she was not sure that the problem of parents needing space in front of the schools would be solved if the residents realized they could move their vehicles to that area. She wasn't sure that was an effective solution and did not believe the costs warranted the proposal. She had not seen a sufficient number of complaints from the schools to warrant such a change. She believed that the schools could decide, for instance, that they would not have volunteers on Tuesday, or whatever the day happened to be. She felt the schools should help the City. She received an email from a resident who felt there was no problem dropping children off at school. The resident said that it was unacceptable to her to have the street sweeper on the street before 7:00 a.m. According to the resident, the program is working fine, why change it. C/O'Connor went on to state that there were many residents who appreciated the street sweeping program and did not feel the proposed changes would solve problems for only a few residents. PWD/Liu said he believed there were few complaints around schools because staff had been working with the schools to coordinate street sweeping and make certain the street sweeper was following the appropriate schedule. Still, the lack of parking in several off-site areas is a concern. In response to C/O'Connor's question about how residents could be prevented from parking in front of schools and still prevent school use of the areas in front of schools, PWD/Liu said that staff would talk with the residents and school officials before proposing any changes. He did not believe the City could eliminate the possibility of residents parking in front of the schools. Staff would be working to reach a compromise and get the cooperation of the residents. C/Zirbes agreed with C/O'Connor. He would like to improve circulation around the schools but he did not want to do anything to jeopardize the kids by not having volunteers on certain mornings. Schools struggle as it is and they are understaffed so it seemed that it is a very reasonable alternative to increase the window of time. JANUARY 21, 2003 PAGE 3 CC STUDY SESSION M/Herrera said the Council would not know it would work until the City tried it to see how it would work. If it doesn't work, you have three months to come back with new information. PWD/Liu stated that before any changes were made, staff would meet with the school officials and residents in the area so that everyone would be apprised of what was being proposed. If there were no consensus for change, that would present another issue. C/Chang believed it was an effective program. The collection of more debris proves this is an effective program and we have cleaner streets. But we still receive quite a few complaints. Many are two -fold: there are not enough signs and as a result, people receive citations. Among the six complaints he received, two of them lived out of the City and they did not feel welcome in D.B. The signage is too difficult for them to see and residents did not advise the visitor, so he was cited. The people who complained to him asked if the street sweeper could sweep one side of the street and come back at another time to do the other side of the street. It certainly is a better program but it would cost the City a lot more money. He felt that there should be a little more signage and there should be street sweeping on alternate sides of the street at different times, both for residents and schools. MPT/Huff was glad the Council was revisiting this issue before the end of the first six-month review period, although his preference would be that everything was on the table as opposed to discussing a few little spots. PWD/Liu reiterated that the plan would be to go back and start talking to those individuals. MPT/Huff felt that the neighborhood should be able to review those issues on a spot basis. He preferred sweeping opposite sides of the street on alternate days but it's more expensive. We've consistently heard there was a problem with signage. Even when we knew where to look for them we had a problem finding them. And we have to try to explain away that situation. He's heard the argument before that it's ugly and people don't like signs. On the other hand, the Gateway Corporate Center has signs on about every street light. He felt the City should bite the bullet on the cost because less stuff was going into the storm drains. He had concerns about spot -fixes. If we spend $20,000 on this now and bring this back at a later date we may end up redoing some of this. M/Herrera asked MPT/Huff if he was recommending that the Council wait for the six month period before taking any action. 1 1 1 JANUARY 21, 2003 PAGE 4 CC STUDY SESSION MPT/Huff said he would actually prefer that it be brought back at that time along with an analysis of sweeping one side of the street on alternate days. M/Herrera asked if staff had an analysis of what it would cost to redo the program to sweeping alternate sides of the street and replacing signage citywide. PWD/Liu said he had scenarios about specific areas, not on a citywide basis. He felt that if the policy was changed on a citywide basis the budget would double and that more equipment and personnel might be required. C/Chang said the City did a good job educating the public about the street sweeping program. Regardless of how much education is done, there are always some people that would have problems. He did not feel additional education was necessary. The signage seemed inadequate to him but he didn't want too many signs either. The question is whether the City can cover the costs. He would like to have staff provide information about the additional cost for signage and revision of the program to street sweeping on alternate sides of the street for discussion. 2. Library Update DCM/Doyle stated that staff is still awaiting information necessary to complete the bond act application. In general, the bond act requires specific elements such as a needs assessment, a plan of service, a building program, an operating resolution and joint partnership agreement. Staff is still waiting for the County to provide feedback on the needs assessment that is basically the first step in the process. Due to unforeseen delays in the process and lack of information forthcoming from the County, there is no possible way to meet the March 24, 2003 deadline for submitting the bond act application. Staff has been pushing all parties for information and cooperation as an attempt to meet the deadline, but it does not appear it will happen. It is, however, possible to move forward to meet the January 2004 deadline. C/Chang said that the reason the Council decided to move forward with the consultant was because the County agreed to grant a grace period to D.B. Would the information provided by the consultant to date allow the City to proceed without spending more money on the consultant? DCM/Doyle explained that all monies spent to date for information from the consultant is applicable to the process. If, by some JANUARY 21, 2003 PAGE 5 CC STUDY SESSION miracle, the issues were resolved and the application was submitted for March, based upon the way the applications were reviewed and how the money was given out, it appears that it is not based upon the merits of the project but rather how well the application is put together. if D.B. rushes through the process and does not focus on the details of the application, it would likely fail. And, D.B. would have to go back and spend more money to change the program and fund the service and other application information in order to get into the January 2004 application period. It seemed to C/Chang that it would be foolish to rush into failure just to get an application submitted by March when there are five other applicants ahead of D.B. DCM/Doyle said that, according to the County, they are not hearing from any other member cities that anyone is putting forth an application for 2004. M/Herrera said the news was very disappointing but not unexpected. ADJOURNMENT: With no further business to conduct, M/Herrera adjourned the study session at 6:33 p.m. LYNDA BURGESS, City lerk ATTEST: CAROL HERRERA, Mayor 1 MINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY OF DIAMOND BAR January 21, 2003 STUDY SESSION: Mayor Herrera called the Study SesE ion to order at 5:36 p.m. in the South Coast Air Quality Management District/Government Center Building, Room CC -8, 21865 E. Copley Drive, Diamond Bar, CA, Present: Council Members O'Connor, Zirbes, ayor Pro Tem Huff and Mayor Herrera. Council Member Chang arrived a 5:4Q p.m. Also present were: Linda Lowry, City Manager; Christi F Assistant City Attorney; James DeStefano, Deputy City Manager; Davi Public Works Director; Bob Rose, Community Services Director; Magnuson, Finance Director; Lynda Burgess, City Clerk; April Blakey, F Information Manager; Lt. Joe Maxey, F=red Alamolhoda, Senior Engi Sharon Gomez, Management Analyst and John llasin, Assistant Engii Street Sweeping Modification Report ➢ Library Update Public Comments CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Herrera called the meeting to at 6:40 p.m. in the South Coast Air Quality Management District/Govern Center Building Auditorium, 21865 E. Copley Drive, Diamond Bar, CA PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Allegiance. INVOCATION: Center gave the invocation. ROLL CALL: Mayor Pro Tem Huff led the Pled Ahmad H. Sakr, Ph.D, Islamic Ed Council Members Chang, O' Zirbes, Mayor Pro Tem Huff, Herrera gin, Liu, nda blit ger; ger. of nor, Ivor Also present were: Linda Lowry, City Manager; Christi H gin, Assistant City Attorney; James DeStefano, Deputy City Manager; David Liu, Public Works Director; Bob Rose, Community Services Director; L nda Magnuson, Finance Director and Lynda Burgess, City Clerk. APPROVAL OF AGENDA: CM/Lowry indicated that the Study Ser, sion Minutes, Item 6.1.1, had been amended to include comments madd by C/Chang. Council could either approve the corrected version or req est further modification to the minutes. CM/Lowry requested that Item 8.2 be moved to immediately following "Response to Public Comment." JANUARY 21, 2003 PAGE 2 CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS, CERTIFICATES, PROCLAMATIONS: 1.1 Presented Certificate of Recognition to Clarence Brown on being elected to the Los Angeles Ronald McDonald House Charities of Southern California Board of Trustees. BUSINESS OF THE MONTH: 1.2 Presented City Tile to Paul Park, International Deli, Business of the Month, January 2003; display of Business of the Month video. 2. CITY MANAGER REPORTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS: None Offered. 3. PUBLIC COMMENTS: Allen Wilson suggested the City broadcast Planning Commission meetings every other week in place of the extra two City Council meetings to promote a better understanding of how City government works. He reminded everyone about the May 1, 2003 deadline for purchase of tiles to be placed at the Community Center. Martha Bruske complained about the audio portion of the broadcast of the last Council meeting. She asked how the City monitors the broadcast for quality and suggested a City cell phone number be made available so that the public could advise staff about the poor audio quality. Dr. Larry Rhodes said that street sweeping in his neighborhood is a problem. When he called the City last week he was told he could not park in the area because the street sweeper had not been in his area. He asked that the City advise residents when their streets would be swept. If streets are swept every other week, residents should be allowed to park on alternate weeks without being cited. Clyde Hennessee expressed concern about the federal government's efforts toward putting together a database containing detailed information on all citizens. Barbara Aarts, Dryander Dr., received a ticket for parking during street sweeping. She asked where the residents in her neighborhood are supposed to park? She suggested that the sweeping schedule be changed to parking on one side of the street in the morning and the other side in the afternoon. Johnson Lee asked if the City would reconsider the "no -right -hand -turn" sign on Rolling Knoll at Grand Ave. because it seemed unnecessary. 4, RESPONSE TO PUBLIC COMMENT: DCM/Doyle explained the process used by staff to prepare for broadcast of Council meetings. M/Herrera explained the philosophy behind restricting right-hand turns from JANUARY 21, 2003 PAGE 3 CITY COL NCIL Rolling Knoll Rd. onto Grand Ave. The purpose is to prevent cut -through traffic. 8.2 PANHANDLE DRIVE SEEPAGE INVESTIGATION UPDATE Juvencio Figueroa thanked the Council for being pro -active in to king at his area. He especially appreciated all the effort put fo h by C/Zirbes and members of City staff for trying to deal with the problem to date. Roccio Figueroa displayed a power point presentation regardin the drainage of water from the Pulte Development through tc her neighborhood on Panhandle Dr. At what point does the City consider this problem a public nuisance or public concern? Staff has :)een extremely cooperative in this matter. PWD/Liu reported that staff has been facilitating meetings to ad( issues regarding this matter. Shortly after the January 7 City Cc meeting, staff engaged L.A. County Health Services and the Gr L.A. County Vector Control District to monitor the situation. ' conclusion from those visits and observations was that there wr. evidence of any health concerns at any of the locations ai properties. Furthermore, two of the City's consultants were eng to present the City with a scope of work to mitigate the situation results of which are included in tonight's staff report to the Cou Last week, staff received the geotechnical report from Pulte Ho The engineer concluded that none of the conditions create established by Pulte Homes caused any of the concerns expre by the property owners immediately below on Panhandle Dr. Wagon Trail Rd. However, Pulte Homes will increase their moniti of the situation. Yesterday, staff received last year's wat( schedule for Pulte Homes. Staff will study the schedule to see if t is a correlation between the conditions at Panhandle Dr. and the I Homes irrigation schedule. Weather permitting, Pulte commencE summer irrigation schedule on Friday, January 24 for four consec days. Tuesday and Wednesday, January 28 and 29, Pulte will r( to its normal irrigation schedule. All interested parties will attenc daily observations three times each day in an effort to estai whether or not a correlation exists. He further reported that dr conditions of the Panhandle Dr. properties appear to be an improv However, since the root cause of the problem is unknown, situation will continue to be monitored. As a matter of interest, learned that the drainage system at 750 Panhandle Dr. was clog! The source of that clog is unknown at this time. Pulte Homes indicated a good faith willingness to continue working with staff the residents to determine the source of the problem. uncil ,,ater -heir s no id/or iged , the Icil. nes. J or ,sed and )ring ring sere 'ulte s its itive vert the ilish ling ing. the JANUARY 21, 2003 PAGE 4 CITY COUNCIL In response to C/O'Connor regarding the broken storm drain, PWD/Liu stated that the "V -ditch" was constructed prior to the City's incorporation. He believed that the intent of the device was to capture some of the natural water flow. During the grading phase of the Pulte Development, staff observed that the V -ditch was damaged, possibly by earth settlement. Pulte and staff are working to determine the ownership of the ditch. According to documents available to the City, the ditch is in the public right-of-way. Who is ultimately responsible for maintenance of the V -ditch will be determined. The crucial issue is to get it repaired and then address the balance of the issue. Staff has an estimate from Pulte and is awaiting two additional estimates. However, all parties have agreed that no conditions would be changed until the source of the problem is determined. George Davidson, Wagon Trail Rd., displayed a power point presentation showing photos of the Pulte development and landscaping. He did not believe Pulte had provided landscaping in accordance with the City's conditions of approval and due to a lack of watering, the development's landscape materials were not flourishing. The photographs depicted what Mr. Davidson considered to be issues of concern within the Pulte development area that could be _ causing problems in his neighborhood. C/Zirbes said he had spent a considerable amount of time observing the areas of concern. It is somewhat curious that vast amounts of water pools up and does not go to the V -ditch but disappears into the earth. He was encouraged by the cooperation of Pulte and that the properties in the Panhandle Dr. area are finally starting to dry up. He wondered why and hoped that the upcoming test would provide answers. Regardless of the outcome, he hoped that the V -ditch would be repaired and that the matter of water discharge into the natural area would be further studied. Given the current status of this problem, would the City need to move forward on either of the geotechnical presentations now or is this something Council should consider at the conclusion of the Pulte tests? The properties on Panhandle Dr. are beginning to dry up. This next week will prove whether that is so. If Pulte is determined to be the contributing factor to the problems on Panhandle, is there a need to hire either consultant to do the geotechnical studies. Secondly, if it is shown that Pulte is not a contributing factor to the problems on Panhandle Dr. and Panhandle continues to dry up, what is staff's opinion on hiring a consultant? PWD/Liu responded that, in light of current information, staff's recommendation is to follow up with the experiment to determine a possible correlation and possibly establish a bottom line. Based on discussions with consultants, the information is not conclusive. Everyone agrees, however, that prior geological conditions should be JANUARY 21, 2003 PAGE 5 CITY COUNCIL compared to the current conditions and what has taken place since the Pulte Development was completed. C/O'Connor asked if staff knew the elevation of the homes below the Pulte Development. PWD/Liu said that only preliminary information is available to s aff at this time. The old USG contour map dated 1981 indicates an ele ation of 800 feet. The area of the development indicates an elevation f the V -ditch just south of Gold Rush Dr. is approximately 60 feet lowe than Panhandle Dr. C/O'Connor stated that she, too, felt it was curious that homes located on Panhandle, at a lower elevation than the subject properties, did not seem to have a problem and she appreciated Pulte's willingness to cooperate in the venture. M/Herrera agreed that it was advisable to take one step at a time during this process. One critical step is to proceed with the t st to determine the results before Council issues directions to staff. C/Chang stated that following the last Council meeting; he visite J the three affected homes. He agreed that the water appears to be inore than normal leakage because with regular leakage it would not be noticeable. Apparently the volume of water is excessive. He fel that there were two possibilities — someone has a huge leakage anc has not noticed it and apparently the residents have investigated an d no one has noticed a significant change in their water bill or, there nust be a natural spring or underground water because at Mrs. Figue oa's house the water still kept coming up. Also shown on the report is a small well and according to Mrs. Figueroa, the well is about two feet deep and it kept filling up. For the past several days, there has been no rain. He went to see all of the streets and believed it was a nuisance. Water was flowing down the street 24 hours a day, When he was there it was not so serious but there is still constantly run ling water. He went to Panhandle and Stirrup and those are the orst spots. At the intersection of Panhandle and Stirrup, the whole Width of the street was covered by water so you see pretty much a nuis nce in that area. The leaves and debris had collected in the area and that was observed by him at about 9:00 a.m. The debris stayed in the street until the street sweeper picked it up. He believed that it probably began to build up again immediately after the street sweeper left the area. Again, either a big association or big operation has a big leakage although it's not big enough to draw attention to it, or it is spring water. He spoke with staff and encouraged them to speak ith Pulte Homes about the matter. He appreciated his fellow COL ncil Members going in the right direction thanks to the cooperation f om Pulte Homes. He felt the Council should wait until they receive t ie JANUARY 21, 2003 PAGE 6 CITY COUNCIL results from the Pulte Homes experiment to increase the irrigation and then to shut it off so that it can be determined whether they are contributing to the problem. Staff and the City's consultant will also study the problem to see whether it is related to Pulte Homes. If it is not, the City would have to jump to the next step and see whether Council would want to use public funds to further investigate and determine whether it is really underground spring water. If that is determined to be the problem, Council would have to see what it wanted to do with that information and whether to ask the public to contribute toward mitigation. For the study, he would prefer to spend public monies. If the spring water needed to be mitigated, the City would have to determine what should be done about it. He recommended that the City wait until it gets the results of the Pulte Homes irrigation study. Council concurred to direct staff to proceed with the irrigation test and bring the results to the Council at its February 4 meeting. C/Zirbes explained to Mr. Davidson that upon receiving a telephone call from Mr. Figueroa about repair of the access road, staff assured him that Pulte was doing absolutely nothing to modify any conditions with respect to the drainage. Just prior to tonight's meeting, he visited m._. the site where the water was disappearing into the ground and observed that all of the conditions all the way back up to the sub -drain are just as they were Sunday morning when he and Mr. Figueroa visited the area. Additionally, all of the conditions are the same in the area of the 40 -mph sign. Pulte has promised they will do absolutely nothing to modify any of the conditions there. Absent rain, Pulte will go back to the full summer schedule, the heaviest water flow they put onto those hills, for a period of time and revert down to the standard winter schedule so that all parties can observe the situation three times daily. 5. SCHEDULE OF FUTURE EVENTS: 5.1 PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION — January 23, 2003 — 7:00 p.m., SCAQMD/Government Center Hearing Board Room, 21865 E. Copley Dr. 5.2 PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING —January 28, 2003 — 7:00 p.m., SCAQMD/Government Center Auditorium, 21865 E. Copley Dr. 5.3 L.A. COUNTY HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE AND ELECTRONIC WASTE ROUNDUP — February 1, 2003 — 9:00 a.m. — 3:00 p.m., Claremont City Yard, 215 Cornell Ave. 5.4 CITY COUNCIL MEETING — February 4, 2003 — 6:30 p.m., SCAQMD/ Government Center Auditorium, 21865 E. Copley Dr. JANUARY 21, 2003 PAGE.7 CITY COUNCIL 6. CONSENT CALENDAR: Moved by C/Chang, seconded by MP /Huff to approve the Consent Calendar, with the exception of Item 6.1.1. N otiori carried by the following Roll Call vote: AYES: COUNCIL MEMBERS - Chang, O'Connor, Zirbes, MPT Huff, M/Herrera NOES: COUNCIL MEMBERS - None ABSENT: COUNCIL MEMBERS - None 6.1 APPROVED CITY COUNCIL MINUTES: 6.1 .1 Study Session of January 7, 2003 - Continued to Febru ry 4, 2003. 6.1.2 Regular Meeting of January 7, 2003 — As submitted. 6.2 RECEIVED AND FILED TRAFFIC AND TRANSPORTA ION COMMISSION MINUTES — Regular Meeting of November 14, 122002. 6.3 APPROVED WARRANT REGISTERS - dated January 9, 20013 and January 16, 2003 for a combined total of $339,151.34. (C/O'C nnor voted No on approval of Warrant No. 12343 on the January 9, 003 Warrant Register). 6.4 REJECTED CLAIM - Filed by Jose F. Pacis, 111 on Decembe 14, 2002. 6.5 APPROVED NOTICE OF COMPLETION FOR COMMUNITY/SEISIIOR CENTER GRADING PROJECT PERFORMED BY LT EXCAVATING — and authorized the City Clerk to file the Notice of Completion and release any retention amount thirty-five days after the recordation date. 6.6 EXONERATED CASH DEPOSIT IN LIEU OF GRADING BON IN THE AMOUNT OF $9,900 FOR LOT NO. 2 OF TRACT NO. 13536 (1200 S. Brea Canyon Rd., The Church in Diamond Bar). 6.7 ADOPTED RESOLUTION NO. 2003-02: APPROVING INSTALLATION OF MULTI -WAY STOP SIGNS ON GREAT BEN AT STIRRUP DRIVE. 6.8 ADOPTED RESOLUTION NO. 2003-03 APPROVING APPLICAI FOR GRANT FUNDS IN THE AMOUNT OF $536,000 FOR THE CAPITA GRANT PROGRAM UNDER THE SAFE NEIGHBORH( PARKS, CLEAN WATER, CLEAN AIR, AND COAS PROTECTION BOND ACT OF 2000. ER FAL JANUARY 21, 2003 PAGE 8 CITY COUNCIL 6.9 ADOPTED RESOLUTION NO. 2003-04 APPROVING APPLICATION FOR GRANT FUNDS IN THE AMOUNT OF $172,078 FOR THE ROBERTI-Z'BERG-HARRIS URBAN OPEN SPACE AND RECREATION PROGRAM UNDER THE SAFE NEIGHBORHOOD PARKS, CLEAN WATER, CLEAN AIR AND COASTAL PROTECTION BOND ACT OF 2000. 6.10 ADOPTED RESOLUTION NO. 2003-05 URGING THE CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE TO REJECT THE GOVERNOR'S PROPOSED SHIFT OF LOCAL MOTOR VEHICLE LICENSE FEE (VLF) REVENUES AND HONOR THE 1998 COMMITMENT TO RESTORE THE VLF. 7. PUBLIC HEARINGS: None 8. COUNCIL CONSIDERATION: 8.1 AMENDING RESOLUTION NO. 2002-20 PROHIBITING THE PARKING OF VEHICLES ON RESIDENTIAL STREETS DURING CERTAIN HOURS AND DAYS FOR RESIDENTIAL STREET SWEEPING AND APPROPRIATE $20,000 FROM GENERAL FUNDS FOR ADDITIONAUREVISED SIGNAGE — presentation by PWD/Liu. Lee Kemble reiterated his desire to know the financial impact of the street sweeping program on the City. CM/Lowry reported that the collection rate of ongoing load of citations is very low, particularly because of the notification process as well as the manner of collecting delinquent fees through the Department of Motor Vehicles. Collections would therefore be low at the initiation of the program. She would be surprised if the City had received more than $30,000 from collections. Although there has been a significant decline in the number of citations, the City's cash recognition is very low. It would be more feasible to present a realistic number after the program has been in place for a longer period of time and there is a sense of reliability and sequence of collection through the provider that provides the citations. Mr. Kemble also suggested that the placement of signs at neighborhood entries seemed to be inadequate especially for non- residents visiting neighborhoods because no signage exists within those neighborhoods. Clyde Hennessee stated that, during tonight's study session, this matter was discussed and he understood there would be another study session within six months of the inception of the street sweeping program. He also understood that the matter was being discussed at this early date due to the problems associated with the program. He believed there were many residents who were unhappy about having JANUARY 21, 2003 PAGE 9 CITY COUNCIL to move their vehicles off of the City's streets. A few weeks ago, it was noted that as soon as the area is swept, vehicles could be moved back onto the street, which appears to have satisfied a number of residents who were unhappy about the program. The mat er of signage was sufficiently discussed before inception of the program. He would be uncomfortable with additional signage. He pointEd out that new residents are sometimes not provided information about street sweeping and other pertinent matters. Barbara Aarts, Dryander Dr., reiterated that she is still looking for a place to park during street sweeping. She again suggestec that residents be allowed to park on one side of the street in the a.m. hours and the other side of the street in the p.m. hours. Her famill has six vehicles and there is no place to park. MPT/Huff shared during the study session that if the Council followed staff's recommendation, the City could spend $20,000 now an find it necessary to fix the situation again later on, requiring addi Tonal expenditures. He was concerned about adequate notification an J felt the City would be better served to continue until the Council had a more comprehensive understanding of the issues. C/O'Connor read an email from resident Diane Howard, Ballena Dr., complaining that changing the schedule would result in swe ping beginning before 7:00 a.m. She felt the program was working fie as it is. C/Zirbes spoke with a resident who said he lost an appeal on his parking ticket. Overall, the resident was satisfied with the prog am. His only concern was that the sign at the entrance to his neighborhood was placed far enough back (about 10 feet). Perliaps staff could consider placing a sign at the beginning of each stre t, a much more cost-effective way to mitigate the situation rather thaq go with an every other street side approach that would be very costly and chaotic. He was totally opposed to inundating the City with signs. He spoke about the inadequate parking at the Windwood Condominium complex and how street sweeping could be scheduled during off-peak parking hours. He agreed with MPT/Huff to schedule a comprehe sive meeting about the subject before the six-month date. He pointec out the benefits of the program to the City, C/Chang felt the program was effective as currently structured. According to staff, 16 additional tons of debris was collected in a f ur- month time. That means about 50 tons of additional debris would be collected on an annual basis. That means the streets are cleaner, the City is looking better. the ocean, rivers and air will be less pollued. He felt this is a good program. Some residents are not used to the program but the vast majority of the population understand the JANUARY 21, 2003 PAGE 10 CITY COUNCIL program. He agreed with some residents who felt there was not enough signage, especially when they had visitors from out of town. The City is placing a burden on the residents to monitor their parking habits. He felt the best solution was to offer street sweeping on alternate sides of the street but that would cost the City a lot more money. He believed that the City needed to study the matter further and that the Council should not make a decision today. He suggested that staff bring back more information about additional signage including related costs. In this time of budget crisis, the City needs to watch its spending but if something needs to be spent, he felt this Council would not be stingy about spending it. Safety is a number one priority but the City doesn't want to spend something that is not really necessary. Council should also know how much it would cost to offer street sweeping on alternate sides of the street on the same day so it can make an informed decision. M/Herrera suggested that this matter be brought back for further consideration at the February 18 Council meeting with suggestions for the following: a) signs as originally proposed ($300,000); b) a slightly scaled down proposal and c) a further scaled down proposal. Following discussion, Council concurred to continue the matter to the February 18, 2003 regular meeting. 9. COUNCIL SUB -COMMITTEE REPORTS/ COUNCIL MEMBER COMMENTS: C/O'Connor reported that the D.B. Community Foundation held its first "old residential street sign sale" on Saturday, January 11. Approximately 50 signs were sold and since that date, another 40 or so signs were sold. The Foundation has realized about $1,000 from the sale to date. Only one sign went up for live auction. It was a most enjoyable event. The next area to receive new signage is scheduled for February or March. Therefore, the next auction would likely be held in May. Call 881-0090 for further information. Tonight's meeting will be adjourned in memory of Carol and David Turietta, long time residents of D.B. David Turietta taught at Lorbeer Middle School for more than 18 years. In December, Carol succumbed to cancer and 24 days later, David Turietta suffered a fatal heart attack. The school district brought in counselors for the Lorbeer Middle School students who were taught by Mr. Turietta. She thanked Council for its tribute. C/Chang said that most of the cell phone numbers and home telephone numbers for the Council are listed and Council Members are available to members of the public. On January 10 he left home at 5:00 a.m. for a personal trip to Chicago. When he called his wife from Chicago he found out that right after he left home, a resident called at 5:00 a.m. seeking help to find a ride from Dial -A -Ride. It took more than an hour to arrange a cab for the resident in order for her to make an appointment with the City of Hope. This is an example of how the Council Members are willing to give assistance to JANUARY 21, 2003 PAGE 11 CITY COONCIL residents. He thanked the many residents who attended the State oft e City address at St. Denis Church on January 16. The support and input Y the residents is essential to the vitality and improvement of the City. He attended ribbon -cutting ceremonies and wedding ceremonies during the past couple of weeks. He was happy to see the students grown up, graduating from school and finding their life partners. He wished them a wonderful life. He also attended several annual functions such as the construction and bL ilders associations in different regions. One of the residents invited him o the Chamber of Commerce gathering of Taiwanese -Americans. Many are residents of the City of Diamond Bar. The Council is always very pro- ctive within the community representing each and every one of the residents and always trying to do a good job. C/Zirbes said that the last couple of weeks had been pretty busy for him The only meeting he attended outside of Council meetings was the Mayor's ries breakfast. The breakfast was well attended and he appreciated the opportunity to hear Mayor Herrera give her vision for the City and thEl City Council in addition to a recap of the wonderful things accomplished in 002. Most of his time was spent on Panhandle Dr. and he was happy the City is moving forward on that matter. When residents have a concern, please call your Council representative. During the past year, he and other Cc until Members have been working diligently to re-establish a full service ize supermarket at the south end of town in The Country Hills Towne Center. Early on, several entities expressed an interest in locating in D.B. O e in particular was very interested and spent 10's of thousands of dollars researching the site, drawing up plans, revising plans, talking to staff an the property owner about the potential. Unfortunately, due to budget concerns and sinking stock prices, -they notified the City last week that they do not intend to move forward at this time. He and DCM/DeStefano will "get right back on the horse" and begin discussions with six other potential m rket players. He reported that in visiting some of the businesses in the shopping center at Brea Canyon Rd. and Golden Springs Dr., there is a major cor cern in the area with regard to nighttime cut -through traffic. Motorists proceE ding northbound on Brea Canyon Rd. from Pathfinder Rd. to Golden Spring Dr. are turning left through the center in order to exit at the westerly portion f the center at the signal and continue left on Golden Springs Rd. into Ro land Heights or access the eastbound SR 60. This type of travel is causi ig a traffic problem and safety concerns within the center. MPT/Huff reported that, recently, the leadership of San Gabriel Counci of Governments met with the Gateway COG. Of note is that the San Ga ries COG is also applying for about four billion dollars of funds for truck lan s to speed the container traffic up to east L.A.. There is a tremendous incr in ase commerce and there is tremendous congestion on the roadway as is apparent. Their solution is to have a dedicated freeway for trucks. D. 3. is concerned about what that would do to the City and the already conge 3ted freeway system. Those involved in regional government should continL a to speak up on this matter. He suggested the Council might wish to ages ize JANUARY 21, 2003 PAGE 12 CITY COUNCIL this matter in order to put forth its official position. In his opinion, citizens should facilitate the extension of the 710 to the 210 freeway. Most recently, a tunnel was suggested and that suggestion might serve to mitigate objections by the City of Pasadena. Any solution for truck lanes includes a toll fee to help pay for the impact. The CSP is strongly objecting to grade separated truck lanes due to potential hazardous chemical spills and related cleanup. Last week he, M/Herrera, CM/Lowry, DCM/Doyle and DCM/DeStefano traveled to Sacramento to meet with legislators as part of the Contract Cities tour. Each year, Contract Cities closes the conference right after the Governor's budget talk and lays out the items that the organization is interested in seeing included in the budget or matters of concern in the budget. The biggest hit to all cities is the backfill to the vehicle license fee that was taken over by the State. During last week's Council of Governments meeting, a resolution was passed to keep the backfill coming to the local governments since it is a primary source of funding for cities. M/Herrera clarified statements she made during the last Council meeting in response to a resident's comments about the City entering into a 30 -year loan. She said it was a 10 -year loan when in fact, the City purchased a 10 - year cap on a 30 -year variable interest rate loan. At the end of the first 10 years, the City has the option of paying off the entire loan or entering into another agreement. City Council and staff members consistently work with �^ legislators to control budgetary concerns for cities and counties. D.B. does not want to have to make any budget adjustments. To the good of cities, the majority of legislators currently serving in Sacramento were city council members and are aware that the decisions they make could have significant impacts on cities' budgets. She said she is very proud of the improvements to the City during the recent years due to a very hard working Council and staff. As cities go, D.B. has fewer employees than adjacent cities. D.B. staff puts out an extraordinary amount of work and she is very proud of them. She is also proud of the D.B. residents. In 2003 the residents can look forward to the materialization of the Community/Senior Center, a very exciting event. Residents can also look forward to more concentrated efforts to bring forth economic development, increased City beautification and increased communication with new residents as well as increased customer service. 10. ADJOURNMENT: M/Herrera adjourned the meeting at 9:15 p.m. in memory of Carol and David Turietta, owners of All Star Games in the Country Hills Town Center. LYNDA BURGESS, CITY CLERK JANUARY 21, 2003 PAGE 13 CITY CO ATTEST: 1..,i 044� CAROL HERRERA, MAYOR 1 1