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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2/7/2006 Minutes - Regular MeetingCiTY OF DIAMOND BAR CITY COUNCIL STUDY SESSION FEBRUARY 7, 2006 STUDY SESSION: Mayor Herrera called the Study Session to order at 5:57 p.m. in Room CC -8 of the South Coast Air Quality Management District/Government Center, 21865 Copley Dr., Diamond Bar, CA. Present: Council Members Chang, Tanaka, Tye, Mayor Pro Tem Zirbes and Mayor Herrera. Also Present: Linda Lowry, City Manager; David Doyle, Assistant City Manager; Michael Jenkins, City Attorney; David Liu, Public Works Director; Bob Rose, Community Services Director; Nancy Fong, Interim Community Development Director; Linda Magnuson, Finance Director; Ann Lungu, Associate Planner; Ryan McLean, Senior Management Analyst; Kim Crews, Human Resources Manager; Sharon Gomez, Senior Management Analyst; Ken Desforges, IS Director; and, Tommye Cribbins, Assistant City Clerk. 1) MID -YEAR BUDGET REVIEW: CM/Lowry reported that the City is well in balance with or without the budget adjustment. The budget adjustment that FD/Magnuson will present includes all of the operational adjustments plus a couple of new items without the inclusion of compensation matters. FD/Magnuson reported that when the City Council adopted the FY 2005- 06 Budget last June the General Fund estimated resources equaled $17,653,775. Since that time there have been a few changes in the revenue estimates. In December the City Council approved the exchange of Prop A funds resulting in a net gain to the City of $225,000 (from other agencies). The transfer -in was increased by $10,000 as a result of the transfer of CDBG funds for the City Hall ADA door installation. At the last City Council meeting the Council approved the use of $950,000 for the purchase of the Janz property with the funds earmarked for economic development. The revised current budget balance including the aforementioned items totaling $1,190,000 is $18,843, 775. The mid -year General Fund Budget Amendment proposes that General Fund Resources be increased by $1,296,480 to $20,140,255. FD/Magnuson stated that in the "other taxes" category the sales tax compensation fund amount is being reduced by $95,000. The adjusted budget of $774,400 appears to be a more realistic estimate of what the City anticipates this year. This revenue is from the State and is a replacement of the 25 percent of the 1 percent of Sales Tax that the City would have received that is being used for repayment of the deficit bond issue. There have been more real estate transactions during this fiscal year that has resulted in higher anticipated property transfer tax receipts. This estimate is being increased by $50,000, which increases the net reduction and the estimate for other taxes to $45,000 instead of $95,000. FEBRUARY 7, 2006 PAGE 2 CC STUDY SESSION The State Subvention Revenue is being increased by $672,700 for the VLF property tax in -lieu revenue replacing the in -lieu license fees the State is replacing the amount of reduction in license fees increasing the anticipated revenue to $3,867,968. A major change in the "from other agencies" category is an increase in revenue from the Federal Education Grant awarded to the City through the efforts of Congressman Miller's office. There is also a small adjustment to the FEMA revenue based on actual receipts and the City is receiving $11,000 from the State for traffic safety DUI enforcement grants. Building and Engineering fees have increased due to an increase in building activity and a portion of this revenue has been offset by the increase in expenditures. Planning Fees have been reduced by $165,000. Developer fees were reduced by $175,000 as a result of the Brookfield Development door charge and it is not anticipated the City will receive any of those charges back until FY 2006107. When the budget was completed there was no revenue included for the business registration and a $10,000 increase has been included in the amendment. Recreation fees have been adjusted to account for additional programs not included at the time the original budget was prepared resulting in an additional $45,800. Special event fees from the Calvary Chapel assumed the traffic signals would be in place on Golden Springs and that the church would no longer have to pay the fees. However, because the signals have not yet been installed the item has been adjusted accordingly ($40,000). Revenue from the Diamond Bar Center rental continues to increase and as a result the amendment includes an additional anticipated $129,000. However, along with the increased revenue there are some additional expenses that will be discussed later. Interest rates have been on the increase giving the City an improved investment yield resulting in an estimate increase of $200,000. The above-mentioned items results in a total revenue increase of $1,296,480. FD/Magnuson explained the line items within the appropriations portion of the budget amendment that resulted in a total General Fund Appropriation Budget of $24,575,600. The amendment proposes an increase of $907,493 taking into consideration a typo on Page 4 under Engineering (001-5551) CS -Traffic that should read ($14,750) instead of ($5,750) bringing the increase in expenditures to $898,493. ISD/Desforges stated that this was the first year the GIS system was up and running. Previous estimates were based on a "best guess" estimate and could not have predicted the City's economic development growth. From its inception the GIS development has progressed rapidly. The site was quickly enhanced and made available through a hosted website through ACT and after acquiring the necessary hardware and software the website was moved in-house. Several user training sessions were provided and requested site changes were incorporated into the website. The demo website was made into two actual sites — the internal City site FEBRUARY 7, 2006 PAGE 3 CC STUDY SESSION with enhanced ownership information and a public site for 24/7 access for the citizens. ACT and staff produced a digital version of the General Plan and zoning map layers from scratch. He explained the features of the GIS database. CM/Lowry explained that staff is requesting another "Lasagna Layer' to enhance the system. M/Herrera asked if what ISD/Desforges was presenting was part of this evening's agenda item 8.4. ACM/Doyle responded yes. CM/Lowry indicated that staff wanted to give the presentation in order for Council to have some sense of the reason for the request so that questions could be raised and answered prior to the regular meeting. M/Herrera said she wanted to conclude the Study Session early, and asked the Department Heads to please give a brief recap and then make their Power Point presentation during the regular meeting. C/Tye asked if the bottom line was that staff needed $30,000 more to develop the product. ACM/Doyle said "yes." FD/Magnuson corrected an earlier statement by saying that the appropriations would increase by $379,987 instead of $898,000 and that there should be an additional $40,000 under law enforcement — special events (Page 1) ACM/Doyle referred the Council Members to Page 3. He explained the request for satellite phones for emergency in the event land lines and cell phones were rendered useless - $5,250. CM/Lowry — Office furniture for the Planning Department and Community Development Director's offices ACM/Doyle — Building and Safety - $162,670 contract services to increase the contract payout due to increased activity offset by the increased revenue. CM/Lowry — Neighborhood Improvement - $15,000 for legal services for landslide cases primarily related to Minnequa issues. ACM/Doyle — Economic Development - $10,000 GIS and Topography Maps for specific plan areas and areas being considered for annexation. FEBRUARY 7, 2006 PAGE 4 CC STUDY SESSION CM/Lowry stated that under Community Services they were fine tuning the Budget with some additional expenditures related to staffing. The $111,440 expenditure for the Diamond Bar Center is offset by the $129,000 increase in rental fees. Part of the ongoing issue is staff gaining experience about the true cost of maintaining the center. CSD/Rose estimates a standard $350,000 per year cost beyond the rental. ACM/Doyle said it was a shortfall between revenue versus expenditures. Park Operations — increased costs for utilities and services with a reduction of $8,000 in expenditures. CSD/Rose explained that the $8,000 reduction in capital improvements resulted from renegotiating expenditures for Peterson and Pantera Park turf areas to be included in the cost of the Parks Maintenance Contracts. CSD/Rose explained that there were two parts of the overtime wages that were rebated directly to the operation of the Diamond Bar Center. As the use of the facility is increased so too are the costs and part of that increase is overtime wages ($17,500). Although the costs are recovered through revenue this figure is a hard cost to be included within the budget. Part time salaries resulting from an increase in day camp from 65 participants to 75 participants per week resulting in additional part time salaries and the workers compensation and Medicare expenditures are directly related to the overtime wages and part time salaries. CSD/Rose — U.S. Department of Education Grant — the money is being used to pay for tutoring, Peacebuilders program, additional contract classes and supplies. CM/Lowry stated that outside funds pay for these expenditures Public Works — PWD/Liu - inspection services are offset by increased revenues as a result of Target and the Brookfield Homes activities. CM/Lowry said the (250,000) line item — transfer out — is the outcome of getting the Prop 42 money advanced. CSD/Rose -- Landscape Maintenance; the two parts to the tree increase is that in the Grand Avenue median the 14 Eucalyptus trees were removed and replaced ($7,300). Staff felt it was a good opportunity to talk about replacing all of the trees between the SR60 and Diamond Bar Blvd. eventually and at the very least between the SR60 and Cahill because of the Grand Avenue project. Staff would like to propose a different species. For the City to provide the same level of service performed the first six months it would cost $75,000 additional for the next six months. As staff FEBRUARY 7, 2006 PAGE 5 CC STUDY SESSION looks more closely at the matter it appears that if the frequency of grid trims is increased it should reduce the number of as -needed trims. Staff wants an opportunity to conduct further investigation and come back in the next fiscal budget with a package. The other option would be to go back out to bid because staff now has the real inventory numbers and can evaluate the situation much better than was done this year. CM/Lowry said that the choice was to either stop trimming and not spend the $70,000 or continue on the current path and spend an additional $70,000. CSD/Rose stated that staff should have all of the numbers to report back to the Council on February 21. Public Comments: Clyde Hennessee said that if the City replaced all of the trees with cacti it wouldn't have a problem. ADJOURNMENT: With no further business to come before the City Council, M/Herrera adjourned the Study Session at 6:27 p.m. Linda C. Lowry, Cit Clerk The foregoing minutes are hereby approved this 21st day of Februart 2006. CAROL HERRERA, Mayor MINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY OF DIAMOND BAR FEBRUARY 7, 2006 CLOSED SESSION: 5:00 p.m., Room CC -8 Public Comments on Closed Session Agenda ON. Government Code Section 54956.9(c) Potential Litigation — 1 case IN. Government Code Section 54956.8 -- Conference with Real Property Negotiators Property Negotiations: Address: Agency Negotiator: Negotiating Party: Under Negotiations: Property Negotiations: Address: Agency Negotiator: Negotiating Party: Under Negotiations: Portion of Lot 1, Tract No. 1479 and Lot 61, Tract No. 42557 City Manager D&L Properties, Inc. Price and Terms of Payment Portion of Lot 13, Tract No. 3941 and Portion of Lot 3, Tract No. 3941 City Manager Robert R. Reed Family Trust Price and Terms of Payment MlHerrera adjourned the Closed Session at 5:57 p.m. to the Study Session STUDY SESSION: 5:57 p.m., Room CC -8 ► Mid -Year Budget Review MlHerrera adjourned the Study Session at 6:27 p.m. to the Regular City Council Meeting. CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Herrera called the Regular City Council meeting to order at 6:36 p.m. in The Government Center/SCAQMD Auditorium, 21865 Copley Dr., Diamond Bar, CA. MlHerrera announced that the City Council began its evening with a Closed Session and Study Session at 5:00 p.m. CA/Jenkins reported that at 5:00 p.m. City Council convened to Closed Session for discussion of certain items listed on the Agenda and that no reportable action was taken, at which time Closed Session was adjourned at 5:57 p.m. to the Study Session. M/Herrera reported that Council received staffs presentation on the proposed mid- FEBRUARY 7, 2006 PAGE 2 CITY COUNCIL year Budget Amendment and that the item will continue to be discussed during tonight's Regular agenda. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: M/Herrera led the Pledge of Allegiance. INVOCATION: Associate Pastor Ab Kastle, Diamond Canyon Christian Church gave the Invocation. ROLL CALL: Council Members Chang, Tanaka, Tye, Mayor Pro Tem Zirbes and Mayor Herrera. Staff Present: Linda Lowry, City Manager; David Doyle, Assistant City Manager; Michael Jenkins, City Attorney; David Liu, Public Works Director; Bob Rose, Community Services Director; Linda Magnuson, Finance Director; Nancy Fong, Interim Community Development Director; Ken Desforges, Information Systems Director and Tommye Cribbins, Executive Asst. APPROVAL OF AGENDA: As Presented. SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS, CERTIFICATES, PROCLAMATIONS: 1.1 M/Herrera presented a City Tile to Anyork Lee in recognition of his eight -years of service with the Walnut Valley Unified School District. Jody Roberto, representing Assemblyman Bob Huffs Office and on behalf of Senator Bob Margett's Office, presented a Resolution to Dr. Lee. C/Tye presented a City Tile Steve Lustro in honor of his service with the Pomona Unified School District. Jody Roberto representing Assemblyman Bob Huffs Office and on behalf of Senator Bob Margett's Office presented a Resolution to Steve Lustro in recognition of his service as a member of the Pomona Unified School District. 1.2 C/Tanaka presented Certificates of Recognition to the South Pointe Middle School participants in the "Read Together Diamond Bar Challenge." 1.3 MPT/Zirbes presented a Proclamation to Ingrid Johnson proclaiming February 2006 as "Black History Month". BUSINESS OF THE MONTH: 1.4 C/Chang presented a City Tile to Dr. Kevin S. Glenn, D.C., DABCO, Board Certified Chiropractic Orthopedist and owner of Diamond Bar Chiropractic, as Business of the Month for February 2006. FEBRUARY 7, 2006 PAGE 3 CITY COUNCIL 2. CITY MANAGER REPORTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS: None Offered. 3. PUBLIC COMMENTS: Rosanne Bader, Mt. San Antonio College, presented a Certificate of Appreciation to C/Chang for his commitment to education. Susan Biller, 23202 Charwood Place, stated that one day last week it took her 52 minutes from the time she exited the freeway at Diamond Bar Blvd to get to Quail Summit Dr. She felt that if people followed the speed limit there wouldn't be so much traffic congestion. She thought it might help to open a roadway through Toner Canyon. She expressed her frustration at the lack of respect for residents. Mary Matson, 1300 Diamond Bar Blvd., felt that D.B. like other cities should do more to honor its service men and women by displaying flags with their names and branch of service somewhere within the City such as along Diamond Bar Blvd. Clyde Hennessee reiterated his opposition to a new library and that he would prefer to see a wall built to honor service men and women. 4. RESPONSE TO PUBLIC COMMENTS: M/Herrera said she understood many residents were frustrated with the City's traffic. Unfortunately, D.B. is disconnected by two major freeways and that the City was doing its best to address the growing traffic problems. CM/Lowry reminded the audience about staff's presentation at the January 17 meeting that spoke to the long-term commitment the City Council had made over the past 10 years investing in traffic signal improvements and timing improvements to better the situation. Each year the City budgets an amount for these improvements and to the dismay of some, have installed a large number of traffic signals since the City was incorporated. The City is configured with few arterials and is complicated by the cross -traffic from the Inland Empire. The City continues to lobby for the creation of a bypass road and participates in regional government to the greatest extent possible including lobbying efforts in Washington, D.C. and Sacramento as well as creating and participating in the Four Corners group in order to make sure that D.B.'s priority of focusing legislators' attention to the SR 57160 is upheld. To repairthe engineering flaws in the SR 57/60 would consume about a half - billion dollars and the City's Operating Budget is less than $14 million per year. How can the City Council on its own possibly deal with the situation other than to press forward on its current path — this City and City Council has always assumed the lead by lobbying on behalf of its community on transportation efforts while continuing to do its part on a local level with its available resources. She believed that the City's effort to maximize its use of funds and its political networking to benefit the community was unmatched in the surrounding four counties. FEBRUARY 7, 2006 PAGE 4 CITY COUNCIL M/Herrera understood it might appear to some residents that the City was not making much progress in mitigating traffic congestion. There is a lot of competition for transportation dollars up and down the State as well as nationwide and D.B. continues to be in the forefront of the competition. Caltrans is moving forward with the carpool lanes and it was Mayor Phyllis Papen who in 1994/1995 got the matter added to the California STIP list. The project request was about to be bumped from the list by another project and several residents, staff and public officials flew to Sacramento to testify on the matter and it remained on the list. The project finally commenced in 2003 and completion is anticipated for the summer of 2006 a year ahead of the original projection. Other projects continue to move to the forefront and the City asks that residents continue to be patient through the ongoing process. 5. SCHEDULE OF FUTURE EVENTS: 5.1 Traffic and Transportation Commission Meeting -- February 9, 2006 — 7:00 p.m., Hearing Board Room, AQMD/Government Center, 21865 Copley Dr. 5.2 Planning Commission Meeting -- February 14, 2006 — 7:00 p.m., Auditorium, AQMD/Government Center, 21865 Copley Dr. 5.3 President's Holiday — February 20, 2006 — City Offices will be closed in observance of the Holiday. Offices will re -open Tuesday, February 21, 2006. 5.4 City Council Meeting — February 21, 2006 — 6:30 p.m., Auditorium, AQMD/Government Center, 21865 Copley Dr. 6. CONSENT CALENDAR: C/Tanaka moved, C/Chang seconded to approve the Consent Calendar as presented. Motion carried by the following Rall Call vote: AYES: COUNCIL MEMBERS: Chang, Tanaka, Tye, MPT/Zirbes, M/Herrera NOES: COUNCIL MEMBERS: None ABSENT: COUNCIL MEMBERS: None 6.1 APPROVED CITY COUNCIL MINUTES: 6.1.1 Study Session of January 17, 2006 —as submitted. 6.1.2 Regular Meeting of January 17, 2006 —as submitted. 6.2 PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES: 6.2.1 Study Session of December 13, 2005 — Received and Filed. 6.2.2 Regular Meeting of December 13, 2005 — Received and Filed. FEBRUARY 7, 2006 PAGE 5 CITY COUNCIL 6.3 PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES -Regular Meeting of November 17, 2005 — Received and Filed. 6.4 TRAFFIC AND TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION MINUTES: 6.4.1 Regular Meeting of September 8, 2005 — Received and Filed. 6.4.2 Regular Meeting of October 13, 2005 — Received and Filed. 6.4.3 Regular Meeting of November 10, 2005 — Received and Filed. 6.5 RATIFIED CHECK REGISTER --containing checks dated January 13, 2006 through February 2, 2006 totaling $984,612.33. 6.6 TREASURER'S STATEMENT — Month of December 2005 — Reviewed and Approved. 6.7 AUTHORIZED AN INCREASE OF THE CONTRACT WITH GOVIS, LLC FOR THE TRANSIT PASS SYSTEM IN A TOTAL AMOUNT OF $30,000; AND APPROPRIATED AN ADDITIONAL $15,000 FROM PROP A (TRANSPORTATION) FUNDS FOR DEVELOPMENT OF ONLINE TRANSIT PASS SOFTWARE. 6.8 EXONERATED CASH DEPOSIT (ACCOUNT NO. 0010039707) IN THE AMOUNT OF $2,520 POSTED BY JOHN GASPARIAN TO COMPLETE GRADING ACTIVITIES AT 2112 INDIAN CREEK. 6.9 AWARDED DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION ADMINISTRATION SERVICES FOR AREA 2 SLURRY SEAL AND ASPHALT RUBBER AND AGGREGATE MEMBRANE (ARAM) PROJECT TO NORRIS- REPKE IN THE AMOUNT OF $55,960 AND AUTHORIZED A CONTINGENCY AMOUNT OF $6,000 FOR CHANGE ORDERS TO BE APPROVED BY THE CITY MANAGER FOR A TOTAL AUTHORIZATION AMOUNT OF $61,960. 6.10 AWARDED DESIGN SERVICES CONTRACT TO KIMLEY-HORN AND ASSOCIATES, INC. FOR PROSPECTORS ROAD STREET REHABILITATION PROJECT FROM SUNSET CROSSING ROAD TO GOLDEN SPRINGS DRIVE IN THE AMOUNT OF $46,438 PLUS A CONTINGENCY AMOUNT OF $3,562 FOR A TOTAL AUTHORIZATION OF $50,000. 6.11 (a) ADOPTED RESOLUTION NO. 2006-05: ORDERING THE CITY ENGINEER TO PREPARE AND TO FILE A REPORT RELATED TO MAINTENANCE OF PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CITY OF DIAMOND BAR ASSESSMENT DISTRICT 38 AND ANY ASSESSMENT THEREON FOR FY 2006-07. FEBRUARY 7, 2006 PAGE 6 CITY COUNCIL (b) ADOPTED RESOLUTION NO. 2006-06: ORDERING THE CITY ENGINEER TO PREPARE AND TO FILE A REPORT RELATED TO MAINTENANCE OF PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CITY OF DIAMOND BAR ASSESSMENT DISTRICT 39 AND ANY ASSESSMENT THEREON FOR FY 2006-07. (c) ADOPTED RESOLUTION NO. 2006-07: ORDERING THE CITY ENGINEER TO PREPARE AND TO FILE A REPORT RELATED TO MAINTENANCE OF PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CITY OF DIAMOND BAR ASSESSMENT DISTRICT 41 AND ANY ASSESSMENT THEREON FOR FY 2006-07. 6.12 APPROVED LETTER ENCOURAGING THE FCC TO CONTINUE TO ALLOW CITIES TO ENTER INTO FRANCHISE AGREEMENTS WITH CABLE AND VIDEO SERVICE PROVIDERS TO PROTECT THE INTEREST OF RESIDENTS AND THE CITY. 7. PUBLIC HEARINGS: 7.1 FIRST READING BY TITLE ONLY, WAIVE FULL READING OF ORDINANCE NO. 02(2006) APPROVING ZONE CHANGE NO. 2005- 01 CHANGING THE EXISTING ZONING OF COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL PROPERTIES CITY WIDE IN ORDER TO COMPLY WITH THE GENERAL PLAN LAND USE DESIGNATION. AssocP/Lungu presented staffs report for Zone Change No. 2005-01, a City initiated project. When the City was incorporated it adopted Los Angeles County's Zoning Map as its designations. Subsequently, D.B. adopted a General Plan, and the City needs to update the Zoning Map to be in compliance with the City's General Plan. On November 8, 2005 the Planning Commission held a Public Hearing on the matter and recommended approval of the Zone Change to the City Council. In addition, the City Council received information about the Zone Change and rezoning during a recent Study Session. Staff recommends that the City Council open the Public Hearing, receive public comments and approve Zone Change No. 2005-01. Marianne Cordova -Breen, owner of the American Mini Storage located at 21320 Golden Springs Dr., said that the site was being re- zoned to a CO Zone and a self -storage facility is not a permitted use. She has attempted to approach the Planning Department about eliminating a number of vehicle parking spaces and converting the facility to a clean indoor storage facility. However, if her site were a non -conforming use it would restrict her ability to add to or change the facility. She asked that her property remain as it is currently zoned or that her self -storage facility be allowed in a C -O Zone with a Conditional Use Permit, as it would be in most cities. She said that she attempted to discuss this matter with the Planning Department on FEBRUARY 7, 2006 PAGE 7 CITY COUNCIL several occasions and has not received a call back. ICDDIFong responded to MPTIZirbes that the current zoning of the mini -storage facility is C-2 and the General Plan is Office Professional. if the site were rezoned to CO it would put the facility into a non -conforming use. However, as the speaker suggested, the CO use could be changed to add a "mini -storage" use as a Conditional Use Permit. With Council's direction, staff would issue a Development Code amendment to add the use into the CO District. MlHerrera closed the Public Hearing. MPTIZirbes moved, C/Tye seconded, to approve for First Reading by Title Only Ordinance No. 0X(2006) and direct staff to add "mini - storage" as an allowed use in the CO Zone. Motion carried by the following Rall Call vote: AYES: COUNCIL MEMBERS: Chang, Tanaka, Tye, MPTIZirbes, MlHerrera NOES: COUNCIL MEMBERS: None ABSENT: COUNCIL MEMBERS: None 8. COUNCIL CONSIDERATION: 8.1 REVIEW OF THE CITY'S BUSINESS REGISTRATION PROGRAM. ICDDIFong stated that for the past two years the City Council has discussed a Business Registration Program to promote public safety and to make certain that businesses are operating in an appropriate manner and located in an appropriate zoning district. Additionally, it would allow the City to verify its fair share of sales tax revenue and to collect business data for economic development. The City Council considered several options: 1) A fee-based program with an initial cost -recovery fee of $77.50 to a subsidized fee of $10 or with renewal, a cost -recovery fee of $42.50 to a subsidized fee of $10; 2) a no -fee program and, 3) initial and renewal subsidized fees of $10 each with the option that home-based businesses would be exempted from the fee. Council also considered a regulation type of program as well as a full-blown business tax program. After deliberating the matter the City Council agreed on a fee-based program with a subsidized fee for initial and renewal of $10. The City Council directed that if D.B. businesses come in to the City concurrently with a zoning clearance their fee of $30 would be reduced by $10. She explained how the Business Registration Program would be administered. Staff estimated the costs for administering the program as follows: To date, the City has invested $26,500, $25,000 for software, $1,200 for pamphlets and $300 for advertising. The annual ongoing software FEBRUARY 7, 2006 PAGE 8 CiTY COUNCIL maintenance cost is $3800 plus an additional cost to be determined for staff time. Staff believes there are about 1500 businesses in the City and to date 446 have registered. ICDD/Fong stated that if the City Council decided to continue with the program no action was required and staff would begin mailing notices to existing businesses requesting that the business be registered with the City. The second option would be to continue the Business Registration Program at no charge requiring an amendment to the fee schedule and a General Fund budget adjustment. The third option would be to continue the Business Registration Program and amend the fee schedule thereby suffering the loss of the initial investment. Staff recommends that the City Council direct staff to continue the Business Registration Program. ICDDIFong responded to M/Herrera that failure to pay the Business Registration Fee when due shall double the fee on the day following the last day of each consecutive 30 -day interval following the due date while the fee remains unpaid ($20.00 for every 30 days). CM/Lowry explained that the City created an encumbrance of $25,000 for the software program and since the program is not yet fully implemented and if Council directs staff to not implement the program the City could de -obligate a large portion of those software funds. CM/Lowry responded to M/Herrera question about why the system was not fully functional stating that the City's financial system was completely converted during the last year and staff had been shopping and negotiating for the past six months with vendors to obtain a software license that would meet the City's needs and eventually convert to an on-line application system at the lowest cost possible. Staff has spent a considerable amount of time determining how the information on the 1500 businesses in the Board of Equalization Tax information database could be incorporated into the GIS system to determine whether businesses were located in the proper zone. In addition, staff has been in a quandary about whether the Council wanted to move forward with the program. Delilah Knox -Rios, Chamber of Commerce, said that a business registration program was a business-related matter or fee that the Chamber would prefer to contribute to and to consult with the City before the matter were reviewed by the full Council. Therefore, the Chamber would request that the matter be postponed until there was an opportunity to discuss the program and exchange ideas and recommendations with the City's staff and ultimately the full Council. The Chamber believes it may have alternatives that could negate a fee. FEBRUARY 7, 2006 PAGE 9 CITY COUNCIL Kevin Clayborn, Clayborn Hair Studio, urged Council to say "no" to the fee because he and his wife oppose the principle of the fee and because it is yet another bureaucratic tax on businesses. It sends the wrong message and establishes a dangerous precedent. Businesses already pay top dollar for permits, plans, fees, applications, etc. Businesses want buildings safe and well kept and now the City wants businesses to pay for their promotion. Let business owners use their own money to promote their businesses as they see fit. $10 would do little to pay costs to produce a business directory and $15,000 would not cover the full cost of this program even if there were full compliance. Even the Chamber has difficulty registering its members. Roughly six percent of the businesses in D.B. are registered and he believed that the Chamber had the resources to do a better job of administering such a program. Marie Buckland said she believed Council was elected to represent and protect the people and felt the City should be in a position to let residents know who and what kinds of businesses were being conducted in their neighborhoods. Joe McManus stated that he had been a business owner in this and surrounding communities for more than 20 years. He has a contractor's license and has spent considerable time at City Hall paying fees and pulling permits. The only thing he ever found to be justified was a permit that gave the City the opportunity to visit the site to make sure he did his job correctly. He has never received any benefit from any other license or fee. Recently, he discussed this matter with several high profile business owners and found that most of them do not support this program. The reason people support the program is more out of fear of not getting the City's support on other matters. Other business owners refused to speak up because they did not want to get anyone mad at them. This program is an exercise in futility and an irritant to the business community. He recommended that the City Council either cancel the program or discuss it with the Chamber before moving forward. C/Tanaka opined that the City's reason for implementing this program was to be able to monitor home based businesses to ensure the safety of the residents and he continues to support the Business Registration Process. He recommended that the matter be set aside to allow staff and City Council time to discuss the program with the Chamber. MPT/Zirbes said that he too had supported the program because he felt it was important for the City to know who was doing business and where businesses were located. He supports the program and wanted to move forward although he was still opposed to the $10 fee. He would like for the program to remain with the City and in time people FEBRUARY 7, 2006 PAGE 10 CITY COUNCIL who are operating illegally will be found. C/Tye said that when this program was introduced last June there was no response to his question about what $10 would get him. He believed that the program was not about safety and did not believe a $10 fee-based program would prevent a disaster. Public safety is the number one focus of this Council. When he was told that the registration program would help individuals market their business he commented that marketing was best left to the Chamber of Commerce, the yellow pages and the business owners. To the statement that "it's only $10" he felt the $10 was best left in the pocket of the businessman. He said he was frustrated that the software program was not implemented and felt that the Council should scrap the program and recover as much money as possible. Considering the businesses that will register there are things for which the City cannot provide protection. He reiterated that he could not be sure that a $10 Business Registration fee would promote businesses and make sure that appropriate businesses were in an appropriate area and Building and Safety, the Planning Department and the Planning Commission had oversight on such matters. He felt the Business Registration Program was a solution where there was no problem and the Council needed to undo that solution. The Council needs to focus on what the City does well and not focus on areas the Chamber can handle and handle better than the City or what the yellow pages can do and can do better. It also troubled him that residents would be subsidizing the program. Either the City should charge what the program actually costs or not do it at all. When legislation is flawed from the beginning it rarely if ever improves. He strongly urged the Council to discontinue the Business Registration Program. C/Chang reminded Council that this program was approved 5-0 and that residents had a right to know what types of businesses were in the City and staff indicated that for health and safety reasons the program was legitimate. He reiterated the numerous reasons he agreed with the program and took exception to some of C/Tye's assertions. He said that the $10 cost is minimal; the Council spent two years discussing this program, the program should remain in tact and the Council should move forward. M/Herrera felt that to a number the Council Members were concerned about safety and home-based businesses. Council Members want the neighborhoods to be safe and the City wants to capture the economic development dollars that are slipping away. She said she was not sure that the program in its current state was the best way to accomplish the goal. Home based business owners do not trust that the City will keep the fee at $10 so they are reluctant to register in D.B. and register their businesses in other cities and the City is not accomplishing what it set out to do. She appreciated Delilah Knox- FEBRUARY 7, 2006 PAGE 11 CITY COUNCIL Rios's comments and thought it was something the City could explore. M/Herrera moved, ClChang seconded to continue with the program and direct staff to collaborate with the Chamber of Commerce and report back to the City Council in five months. CITye explained to ClChang that he was not saying to eliminate the fee he was advocating elimination of the program. In speaking with thousands of residents over the last 10 months he received input that they were not in favor of this program and frustrated that their input was ignored. The business community does not want this program and it smacks of big brother if the City advocates neighbor turning in neighbor. At one time the Chamber offered to register businesses for free and that is why he believed the City was involving itself where it should not. He did not believe the program would plug the sales tax revenue leaks. When voters decide to make a change on the Council they are dissatisfied with their input not being acknowledged. He never supported the program and it would be irresponsible to support a program he believed was not the right business for the City to be in. He recommended the program be discontinued and that the City not throw good money after bad. ClChang believed that most cities establish these kinds of programs upon incorporation. D.B. is a very young City and there are many things that need to be improved. If this program had been implemented at incorporation this would be a non -issue. He owns a business in another city and that city requires all businesses to register. City Council Members cannot raise taxes and he did not believe that one Council Member advocated raising taxes in the City of D.B. Residents often discuss in-home nursing care and voice concern about the increased amount of traffic and whether or not the patients are cared for properly. D.B. does not want to make headlines when something happens and he believes that this program would help prevent such concerns. He felt that most businesses would register because D.B. was a good City that was known for its good business and living environment. Sooner or later this was a good system for everyone. Motion carried by the following Roll Call vote: AYES: COUNCIL MEMBERS: Chang, Tanaka, MPT2irbes, M/Herrera NOES: COUNCIL MEMBERS: Tye ABSENT: COUNCIL MEMBERS: None FEBRUARY 7, 2006 PAGE 12 CITY COUNCIL 8.2 PUBLIC SAFETY REVIEW Lt. Joe Maxey introduced members of the Public Safety Team. Sgt. Chris Blasnek, Deputy Mark St. Amant; and Deputy Tom Lanning and presented a 2005 Public Safety Review video. Council Members thanked members of the Sheriff's Department for the presentation and for their commitment to the safety of the residents of D.B. MPT/Zirbes asked that the video be rerun several times on DBTV. 8.3 INFORMATION SYSTEMS REVIEW ISD/Desforges reviewed the City's Information System using a Power Point presentation. The IS Division is responsible for the enhancement and management of the City's information technologies and activities including the evaluation, procurement and maintenance of computer network, telecom and GIS systems and software as well as leading implementation of the E -Government plan. The Information Systems Division supplies ongoing technical and software support to all departments of the City along with the support for all government and GIS support to residents. MPTIZirbes, C/Tye, and M/Herrera thanked ISD/Desforges and praised him him and his staff for their excellent work on behalf of the City. M/Herrera asked what it would take to put the City Council meeting on the website. ISD/Desforges responded that with Council's approval of $50,000 the City Council meetings could be broadcast. C/Chang thanked ISD/Desforges for his professional presentation and said he looked forward to WiFi in D.B. 8.4 ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 2006-08: AMENDING THE FY 2005-2006 MUNICIPAL BUDGET. CM/Lowry reported that tonight's mid -year proposal included a series of adjustments including re -estimates of revenue and appropriations to take the City throughout the balance of 2006; complete certain projects and add new projects. The total of the new revenues is almost $1.3 million and the request for appropriations is $419,000. FD/Magnuson explained the additional revenue and appropriation line items; FEBRUARY 7, 2006 PAGE 13 CITY COUNCIL ISD/Desforges spoke about the $30,000 appropriation request for Professional Services Fees for information systems. ICDD/Fong informed Council that there was a request for increase of $10,000 to finish two offices, $162,670 for the Building and Safety due to increased development activity, $15,000 for legal services for landslide and code enforcement cases, $10,000 for economic development, as well as Topal maps for annexation and specific plan study areas. CSD/Rose explained the $5,000 request for overtime wages for additional use of the Diamond Bar Center, $8,000 for telephone, maintenance and publications for the center and additional cost for fuel. The operating costs for the Diamond Bar Center have increased in the amount of $111,440. a increase of $4,000 in cost for utilities for park operations, $1,950 maintenance cost for the new trailhead at Sycamore Canyon Park and $8,000 reduction in the capital improvements budget. $5350 in additional overtime costs for the Diamond Bar Center were included in the recreation budget and overtime wages were increased by $12,000. Part time salaries increased by $1,100 to allow 10 additional children per week to attend the summer day camp program and the program costs are recovered by program revenue. The operating supplies, community services and contract class costs are covered by the U.S. Department of Education grant that Congressman Gary Miller helped to secure for the City. PWD/Liu reported that the Public Works Department increased expenditures for inspection and pian checking due to the increased development activities and specifically the Target and Brookfield Homes improvements. As reported by FD/Magnuson increased revenues directly offset the expenditures. The Prop 42 subvention was the Governor's honoring the commitment that money would come back to the local rolls in the current fiscal year and staff estimated a total of $250,000 that could be used toward the slurry seal project. CSD/Rose stated that staff was seeking an increase of $82,350 for the tree maintenance budget for removal and replacement of median trees on Grand Ave. ($7,350) and $75,000 for as -needed tree work for the remainder of the 2005-06 fiscal year. CM/Lowry reported that the reverse. appropriation recognizes the reduction to the Capital Improvement Fund in the amount of $250,000 for the increase in the Prop 42 Funds. CM/Lowry asked for Council's recognition of $1,296,480 of increased revenue and appropriations request in the amount of $419,987, for an increase of the General Fund carryover by the amount of $876,493 in accordance of the City Council's goals without putting the City at risk FEBRUARY 7, 2006 PAGE 14 CITY COUNCIL for future years. Staff continues to review the actual cost far managing the Diamond Bar Center and looking for ways to track the costs within one City department. CM/Lowry thanked the Council for their continued support of staffs efforts and asked for Council's approval. MlHerrera thanked CM/Lowry and staff for a fine presentation. ClChang moved, MPT/Zirbes seconded to Adopt Resolution No. 2006-08: Amending the FY 2005-06 Municipal Budget including the Special Funds adjustments. Motion carried by the following Roll Call vote: AYES: COUNCIL MEMBERS: Chang, Tanaka, Tye, MPT/Zirbes, MlHerrera NOES: COUNCIL MEMBERS: None ABSENT: COUNCIL MEMBERS: None 9. COUNCIL SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTSICOUNCIL MEMBER COMMENTS: C/Tanaka attended the Foothill Transit Quarterly Board Meeting with MlHerrera. He attended the Neighborhood Traffic Management meeting, the Opportunities 2006 Seminar sponsored by the San Gabriel Valley Economic Partnership. He attended the 11th annual seminar at D.B.H.S. during which 22 scholarships were awarded. He thanked the Friends of the Library for hosting an Appreciation Dinner for their volunteers. He visited Azusa Canyon to see the historical acquisition of property by the Rivers and Mountains Conservancy, the Watershed Conservation Authority and the City of Azusa for future park space and educational areas. He attended the Pomona Unified School District meeting and listened to teachers express their concerns about imminent salary negotiations and programs for schools in the Pomona and D.B. area. He attended the D.B. staff quarterly breakfast meeting and heard staff members present their goals and missions and how they would implement their ideas. He also met with the D.B. Senior Groups. He attended the St. Denis Leadership Awards Dinner with MlHerrera and witnessed five community leaders receive leadership awards. He attended Eagle Scout Ceremonies for Jason Tucker from Troop 730 and Trenton Vail from Troop 737. He and C/Tye attended Tom Magnum's retirement ceremony and reception. This past weekend the D.B. Chinese Association celebrated its Chinese Lunar New Year. On Sunday he attended the Vietnamese Community of Pomona Valley's celebration of the New Year and that evening attended the Chinese American Parents Association of D.B.H.S. He attended the City Council Economic Development workshop and worked with his colleagues to set goals and direction for the City. ClChang stated that the City is fiscally sound. ClChang said that many Asian Americans have been celebrating the Lunar New Year over the past nine days and he has had the pleasure and honor of joining many of the events to FEBRUARY 7, 2006 PAGE 15 CITY COUNCIL celebrate festivities, cultural differences as well as unity. During the six -hour Economic Development Workshop the City Council reached consensus on many items and goals for the City. Refurbishing of the Country Hills Towne Center is moving forward and the City is doing its part to make it a reality because the City needs a good shopping center at the southern end of the community. He recommended that at its next meeting the Council present a City Tile to Tom Magnum for 25 years of service to the educational system. He said he was proud to participate in the college preparatory seminar and commended the sponsor and host, Mike Shay. C/Tye wished the Asian citizens "Kung Hay Fat Choy". The D.B. Chinese Association in conjunction with others put on a terrific festivity on February 4. He congratulated C/Chang and Mrs. Chang for their participation and leadership of the organization. Tom Magnum's retirement was special. C/Tye's three children attended Golden Springs Elementary School and Tom Magnum was at Golden Springs for 25 years and at Pantera School four years with a total of over 40 years in education. He attended Trenton Vail's Eagle Scout Court in Walnut and viewed the banners honoring the servicemen. He echoed Mrs. Matson's observation that it would be terrific if D.B. would do the same. Yesterday was an excellent day at the Economic Development seminar. Pat McLaughlin was an excellent facilitator and at the end of the day he and his colleagues generally. agree. He thanked residents who joined him at Starbuck's a couple of weeks ago. Jerry Hamilton has joined with the City to start a Senior Walking Class and is scheduled to lead the class on Tuesdays at 8:00 a.m. at the Diamond Bar Center. He invited citizens to join him once again — this time at Diamond Bar Bagels at 574 N. Diamond Bar Blvd. from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. afterwhich he will attend the Counsel of African-American Parents at Sycamore Canyon Park. MPT/Zirbes said that watching the Santiago Canyon burn reminded everyone of the D.B. topography. Although we would not expect it to be so dry in February it is very dry and he encouraged everyone to trim their slopes to keep their homes safe. A Hazardous Waste Program is scheduled for February 18 at the SCAQMD and there are new laws regarding what can and cannot be thrown in the trash. This week it becomes illegal to throw batteries, light bulbs, animated greeting cards, etc. into the garbage. He asked to research the matter and present a report about the new law and how the residents could be notified. In addition, he recommended that the City contact its waste haulers to suggest a pilot program for hazardous waste instead of having to wait for the next hazardous waste pickup. It appears that the SR57/60 interchange upgrade and street rehabilitation on Grand Ave. should be finished prior to the Target opening. The Council is very encouraged by what is scheduled to take place at the Country Hills Towne Center with the opening of an H Mart, an extremely large chain on the east coast that is expanding to the west coast. FEBRUARY 7, 2006 PAGE 16 CITY COUNCIL_ Demolition is scheduled to begin in four to six weeks with a new shell in March/April. The new building should be ready by July with the new tenant beginning tenant improvements in anticipation of a December 1 scheduled opening. Council continues to work with the developer to provide a class A shopping center for the City. In addition to looking at all of the different parcels in D.B. during the six -hour Economic Workshop, the Council was able to build consensus and identify a few key projects that would soon commence for the benefit of D.B. M/Herrera thanked the Council Members for attending many events and making sure that D.B. was well represented throughout the area. She acknowledged that residents were very frustrated about traffic and said that it was unfortunate that D.B. was victimized by economics as well as poor freeway planning at the interchange. It is frustrating when residents have difficulty leaving their tract to take their children to Little League practice or soccer practice. It is economically frustrating because the more moderately priced houses are in San Bernardino County, the largest and fastest growing County in the State. People are buying houses in San Bernardino County and Riverside County and working in Orange County. Forty to fifty percent of the Grand Ave. traffic is regional cut -through traffic. D.B. continues to be on the forefront taking leadership roles whenever and wherever possible. Sometimes other cities express resentment about D.B. grabbing the leadership roles. D.B. has discovered that if its officials don't step up to the plate it doesn't get done. It is in the City's best interest for its officials to take the leadership role to try and get things accomplished. Many in the City are pushing for coalitions to get City improvement projects on lists for MTA, SCAG and other organizations to get State and Federal funding. D.B. has made a good start. One of the City's goals is to get the final freeway fix for the SR57/60 interchange, an item that is on the COG list. A resident spoke about a bypass roadway, an item that is also on the COG list. The SR57/60 project is on an MTA list because the City has contributed dollars. D.B. is beginning to make a difference and it seems to take a long time for residents to actually see improvements. The Caltrans project was originally scheduled to take about four years to complete and should be completed in about three years, good news for the community. She asked residents to remain patient because it takes regional investment to get the necessary funds for a regional project. D.B. continues to be very diligent in its pursuit of funds. She thanked staff for their outstanding contributions toward the pursuit of funds for the City. ADJOURNMENT: With no further business to conduct, M/Herrera adjourned the regular City Council meeting at 9:50 p.m. in memory of Civil Rights Activist Coretta Scott King. r I DA C. LOWRY, CI LERK FEBRUARY 7, 2006 PAGE 17 CITY COUNCIL The foregoing minutes are hereby approved this 2lstday of Fehzi7ar�z , 2006. - LA204A� CAROL HERRERA, MAYOR