HomeMy WebLinkAbout9/1/2009 Minutes - Regular MeetingMINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL
REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY OF DIAMOND BAR
SEPTEMBER 1, 2009
CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Everett called the Regular City Council
meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. in The Government Center/SCAQMD Auditorium,
21865 Copley Dr., Diamond Bar, CA.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: C/Tye led the Pledge of Allegiance.
INVOCATION: Alex Barrett, Associate Pastor, Church of the
Valley, led the invocation.
ROLL CALL: Council Members Chang, Tanaka, Tye, Mayor
Pro Tem Herrera, and Mayor Everett.
Staff Present: James DeStefano, City Manager; David Doyle,
Assistant City Manager; Michael Jenkins, City Attorney; Ken Desforges, IS
Director; David Liu, Public Works Director; Bob Rose, Community Services
Director; Linda Magnuson, Finance Director, Greg Gubman, Community
Development Director; Ryan McLean, Assistant to the City Manager; Rick Yee,
Senior Civil Engineer; Kimberly Molina, Associate Engineer; Marsha Roa, Public
Information Manager; and Tommye Cribbins, City Clerk.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA: As Presented.
SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS, CERTIFICATES, PROCLAMATIONS:
None
2. CITY MANAGER REPORTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS:
CM/DeStefano stated that as reported in the September edition of the City
News, the City's emergency alert system is now in effect. Yesterday,
through an introductory message, the City connected with about 20,000
telephone numbers within D.B. providing a brief notice regarding the City's
efforts through the adoption and implementation of the Connect CTY
Emergency Notification. It also notified residents that they could go onto
the City's website to amend any information they had regarding the
requested notification process. He further stated that residents who have
unlisted telephone numbers should get on the City's website, select
"emergency notification" and update their information.
3. PUBLIC COMMENTS:
— Desiree Lee, Diamond Bar Library Manager, reported on the successful of
the 2009 Summer Reading Program. She stated that some 1500 people
participated in the program which included 800 children and that 142
teenagers read more than 800 books during the program. Additionally,
more than 500 young adults participated in the 15 programs. The Library
also hosted a party at Pantera Park for those who participated in the
program with 200 people in attendance. She thanked the Friends of the
SEPTEMBER 1, 2009 PAGE 2 CITY COUNCIL
Library who provided funds for the program, the children's librarian Julie
and full and part time staff who provided wonderful programs for the
children. She also thanked the City for its support and for
allowing the Library to use Pantera Park.
4. RESPONSE TO PUBLIC COMMENTS:
M/Everett thanked Ms. Lee for her excellent report and stated that the City
appreciates the library, its staff and the services offered to residents.
5. SCHEDULE OF FUTURE EVENTS:
5.1 Caltrans SR 57/60 Confluence Project Public Meeting — September
2, 2009 — 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. — Diamond Bar Center Main
Ballroom, 1600 S. Grand Ave.
5.2 National Parks Service — San Gabriel Watershed and Mountains
Special Resource Study Public Meeting — September 2, 2009 —
7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., Diamond Bar Center, 1600 S. Grand Ave.
5.3 Labor Day Holiday — September 7, 2009 — City Offices will be
closed in observance of Labor Day. City offices will reopen
Tuesday, September 8, 2009 at 7:30 a.m.
5.4 Planning Commission Meeting — September 8, 2009 — 7:00 p.m.,
AQMD/Government Center Auditorium, 21865 Copley Dr.
5.5 Traffic and Transportation Commission Meeting — September 10,
2009 — 7:00 p.m., AQMD/Government Center Hearing Board
Room, 21865 Copley Dr.
5.6 Community Workshop — Presentation of Draft Parks Master Plan —
September 12, 2009 — 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., Diamond Bar
Center Grandview Ballroom, 1600 S. Grand Ave.
5.7 City Council Meeting — September 15, 2009 — 6:30 p.m.,
AQMD/Government Center Auditorium, 21865 Copley Dr.
6. CONSENT CALENDAR: MPT/Herrera moved, C/Chang seconded, to
approve the Consent Calendar as presented with the exception of Item 6.5
pulled by C/Tye. Motion carried by the following Roll Call:
AYES: COUNCIL MEMBERS: Chang, Tanaka, Tye, _
MPT/Herrera, M/Everett
NOES: COUNCIL MEMBERS: None
ABSENT: COUNCIL MEMBERS: None
SEPTEMBER 1, 2009 PAGE 3 CITY COUNCIL
6.1 CITY COUNCIL MINUTES:
(a) Study Session of August 18, 2009 — Approved as submitted.
(b) Regular Meeting of August 18, 2009 —Approved as
submitted.
6.2 RECEIVED AND FILED TRAFFIC AND TRANSPORTATION
COMMISSION MINUTES — Regular Meeting of July 9, 2009.
6.3 RATIFIED CHECK REGISTER — Dated August 13, 2009 through
August 26, 2009 totaling $760,397.47.
6.4 APPROVED TREASURER'S STATEMENT — Month of July 2009.
6.6 RECEIVED AND FILED GENERAL PLAN STATUS REPORT FOR
2008.
6.7 AWARDED CONTRACT TO SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
CONTRACTORS, INC. FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF
SYCAMORE CANYON PARK IMPROVEMENTS IN THE AMOUNT
OF $203,703; PLUS A CONTINGENCY OF $20,370 (10%) FOR A
TOTAL AUTHORIZATION OF $224,073; AND, REJECTED BID
PROTEST BY BRAUGHTON CONSTRUCTION, INC.
ITEMS WITHDRAWN FROM CONSENT CALENDAR:
6.5 APPROVE APPROPRIATION OF $40,000 FROM GENERAL
FUND RESERVES TO REPLACE OUTDATED AUDIOVISUAL
SYSTEM COMPONENTS IN THE COMMUNITY ROOM AT THE
DIAMOND BAR BRANCH OF THE LOS ANGELES COUNTY
PUBLIC LIBRARY.
C/Tye said he felt it was important for the public to understand that
the City was not just giving $40,000 to the Library in an attempt to
make it a better place Former Mayor Zirbes' goal was to make
the library the very best it could be; he convened the Library Task
Force and as a result, the Council considered a lot of different
improvements that could be made. In his opinion, this
appropriation is one of the best things that happen when groups,
cities, non -profits and the County put their collective minds to an
issue. This is an investment by the City to improve the audio-visual
system components in the community room that will be completely
refurbished. The Friends of the Library have committed over
$40,000 to this project as well as the County for improvements to
this facility. It is a pleasure this many years later to realize Mayor
Zirbes' dream to make the County Library of Diamond Bar the best
it can be.
SEPTEMBER 1, 2009 PAGE 4 CITY COUNCIL
C/Tye moved, MPT/Herrera seconded, to approve appropriation of
$40,000 from General Fund reserves to replace outdated
audio/visual system components in the community room at the
Diamond Bar Branch of the Los Angeles County Public Library.
C/Tanaka said he too believed that improvements to the library
community room were much needed but at this time the City has
only a rough estimate as to what the project will cost the County
and others. He would like to see an accurate bid prior to approving
the $40,000 for audio and visual improvements for the community
room. Also, since it is a County Library he would like to see the
County's portion of the contribution to be significantly larger
although it does not include kitchen improvements at this time.
MPT/Herrera pointed out that the staff reports indicated the actual
cost is likely to be less than $40,000 and that the Council is being
asked to approve a maximum of $40,000.
C/Tye said it was his understanding that if the cost is greater than
$40,000, the maximum expense to the City would be $40,000 and
that it was possible that it could come in under the maximum.
Motion carried by the following Roll Call vote: —
AYES: COUNCIL MEMBERS: Chang, Tanaka, Tye,
MPT/Herrera, M/Everett
NOES: COUNCIL MEMBERS: None
ABSENT: COUNCIL MEMBERS: None
7. PUBLIC HEARINGS:
7.1 ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 2009-39; ESTABLISHING FEES FOR
THE RELEASE OF STORED AND/OR FEE IMPOUNDED
VEHICLES AND RESCINDING RESOLUTION 1992-05 IN ITS
ENTIRETY.
Asst. to CM/McLean reported that staff recommends approval of
Resolution No. 2009-39 establishing updated fees for impounded or
stored vehicles. Such vehicles include abandoned vehicles,
vehicles with expired registrations, vehicles with five or more
outstanding/unpaid tickets, situations in which the driver may have
been arrested and, other violations of the Vehicle Code. Currently
the City's impound fees are $60 and have remained unchanged
since established in 1992. Annually, the City receives
approximately $12-$16,000 depending on the number of impounds.
Since implementation of these fees 17 years ago the City's overall
annual public safety costs have increased dramatically each year
SEPTEMBER 1, 2009 PAGE 5 CITY COUNCIL
rendering it appropriate to review fee levels and recommend new rates to
effectively offset'the cost of our public safety program. When fees such as
this are created the City needs to estimate staff time it takes to conduct
the event and in these cases the deputies spend about 90 minutes
processing the impounds from start to finish at which point the fees are
handed off to the City's finance staff for review which takes on average 5
to 10 minutes. In effect, true costs to process a single impound is
approximately $100; therefore staff is recommending to Council the
implementation of $100. Staff conducted surveys of other area contract
cities including Walnut, San Dimas, La Mirada, Industry and LA County
and found the average impound fee to be $131.33. Along with staffs
recommendation for a $100 impound or stored vehicle fee staff is
recommending that the Council adopt an annual escalator equivalent to
the percentage change in the City's annual public safety contract costs.
Since 1998 the annual increase has been about 3.1 %.
CA/Jenkins advised the Mayor and City Council that due to the fact that it
was not quite time for the public hearing as advertised that Council would
need to wait to open the public hearing on this matter until 7:00 p.m. or
after and that they could choose to go to Council Comments in the interim.
Mayor Everett moved to Council Comments:
9. COUNCIL SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS/COUNCIL MEMBER
COMMENTS:
C/Tye said it was a privilege for him to attend Congressman Miller's
listening session on the healthcare initiative. He estimated 700 people in
attendance at the Nixon Library and that it was a very informative session
and urged people to become informed and make their views known. As
the City's representative on the LA County Solid Waste Management
Committee and the Integrated Waste Management Task Force he
attended his first meeting. C/Tye stated that less than one year ago D.B.
faced fires that threatened the City's neighborhoods and asked that
everyone keep in their thoughts the firefighters who are battling the area
blazes. He asked that tonight's meeting be adjourned in memory of the
two firefighters who lost their lives -- Tedmund Hall and Arnaldo Quinones.
C/Chang echoed C/Tye's sentiments about the LA fires and stated that as
of today the fires were 22% contained. He too asked that thoughts and
prayers go to the firefighters and that tonight's meeting be adjourned in
memory of the two firefighters who sacrificed their lives to bring safety to
the communities. C/Chang stated that the Sheriff's Department released
crime rate statistics for this year and that crime is down from 725 cases
last year to 624 or about 15%. He thanked the Sheriff's Department for
keeping D.B. safe. On Thursday September 17 the LA County Fair will
celebrate Diamond Bar Day. He invited everyone to attend the many
SEPTEMBER 1, 2009 PAGE 6 CITY COUNCIL
events at the Fair. He thanked all of the community participants who put
this event together and stated that The Diamond Bar Community
Foundation had raised $7,000 to allow 400-500 students to attend the fair
free.
C/Tanaka announced that this year's Diamond Bar Day heroes' are: Mike
and Marney Shay and Elizabeth Fan. The community youth hero is
Anantha Singarajah who just graduated from Diamond Bar High School
and an active member of the DBHS Leo Club. C/Tanaka went on to state
that summer is coming to a close and that the last Concert in the Park was
sponsored by the D.B. Community Foundation. He further stated that the
second Teen Night Out sponsored by the City and the DB 4 -Youth in
Action Group was successful. Four days after DBHS began their fall
session they held their annual rodeo roundup raising funds to support
activities and events for the students. Last Saturday he attended an Eagle
Court of Honor for John Hale from Troop 443 in Covina. He was also
pleased to see D.B. Boy Scouts present this evening to earn credits
toward their government merit badges.
MPT/Herrera said that tonight prior to the City Council meeting she and
M/Everett met with public safety officials and staff who presented an
excellent report from the Fire Department and Sheriff's Department.
Representatives of both entities will attend the next City Council Meeting
to make a presentation on public safety. She stated that this is a very
dangerous fire season and she urged residents to be very watchful about
dry brush. God bless the firefighters and members of the Sheriffs
Departments and other departments that are working so hard to get
control of the terrible fires that are currently raging. She hoped no one
else would be injured and that there would be no more loss of life.
M/Everett attended the 2009 Chinese Youth Folk Dance Championship at
the at the beautiful San Gabriel Valley Mission Playhouse. He announced
that there is an opportunity to take a tour on Saturday, September 26 to
see one of the best government agencies in action, the LA County
Sanitation District that supports D.B. and several large cities throughout
the County of Los Angeles. Student tours are available for the asking. He
encouraged residents to take the opportunity to respond to the Draft Parks
Master Plan on Saturday September 12 from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
Residents may also respond online.
7. PUBLIC HEARINGS: Continued:
7.1 ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 2009-39: ESTABLISHING FEES FOR
THE RELEASE OF STORED AND/OR FEE IMPOUNDED
VEHICLES AND RESCINDING RESOLUTION 1992-05 IN ITS
ENTIRETY.
SEPTEMBER 1, 2009 PAGE 7 CITY COUNCIL
M/Everett opened the Public Hearing.
With no one present who wished to speak on this item, M/Everett
closed the Public Hearing.
M/Everett stated that he felt that the City had a significant amount
of liability with respect to impounded vehicles and that it was too
generous to set the fee at $100 or even $130 which barely covers
the cost. He recommended a minimum of $150 baseline which
would be more serious for offending individuals.
MPT/Herrera stated that staff had weighed the matter carefully
taking all aspects into consideration and that the fee would be
going up $40 from what it was before. She suggested approving
staff's recommendation and to monitor the situation for a year. If
after a year expenses are still out of balance it could be brought
back to the Council for reconsideration.
C/Chang said he agreed with MPT/Herrera. The City is not trying
to make money from this and if $100 covers the City's cost the
Council should approve that amount. There are further penalties
that befall the offender once the car is impounded.
MPT/Herrera moved, C/Chang seconded, to Adopt Resolution No.
2009-39 as recommended by staff. Motion carried by the following
Roll Call vote:
AYES: COUNCIL MEMBERS: Chang, Tanaka, Tye,
MPT/Herrera
NOES: COUNCIL MEMBERS: M/Everett
ABSENT: COUNCIL MEMBERS: None
8. COUNCIL CONSIDERATION: None
9. ADJOURNMENT:
With no further business to conduct, M/Everett adjourned the Regular City
Council meeting at 7:17 p.m. in honor of all firefighters, especially firemen
Hall and Quinones who lost their lives in the line of duty and with
condolences to their families.
TOMMYE CRIBBINS, CITY CLERK
SEPTEMBER 1, 2009 PAGE 8 CITY COUNCIL
The foregoing minutes are hereby approved this i 5th day of ,spptPmber ,
2009.
RON EVERETT, MAYOR