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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07/05/2011 Minutes - Regular MeetingMINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY OF DIAMOND BAR JULY 5, 2011 CLOSED SESSION: 5:30 p.m., Room CC -8 Public Comment on Closed Session Agenda — None offered. ► Government Code Section 54956.8 Property Address: Agency Negotiator: Negotiating Party: Under Negotiation: Closed Session adjourned at 6:30 p.m. 21810 Copley Drive Diamond Bar, CA City Manager Los Angeles County Library Terms and Conditions CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Tye called the Regular City Council meeting to order at 6:31 p.m. in The Government Center/SCAQMD Auditorium, 21865 Copley Dr., Diamond Bar, CA. CA/Jenkins reported that tonight's meeting began at 5:45 with a Closed Session and that there were no public comments on the closed session agenda. The only item discussed was the matter of negotiations with the County with respect to leasing a portion of the City's property at 21810 Copley Drive for the purpose of the construction of a new Library. Items discussed were the terms and conditions of the lease and direction to the City's negotiator regarding the lease terms which is on tonight's public agenda for approval. No action was taken in Closed Session. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Margaret Todd, County Librarian, led the Pledge of Allegiance. INVOCATION: Ahmad H. Sakr, PhD gave the invocation. ROLL CALL: Council Members Carol Herrera and Jack Tanaka, Mayor Pro Tem Ling -Ling Chang and Mayor Steve Tye. Council Member Ron Everett was excused. Staff Present: James DeStefano, City Manager; David Doyle, Assistant City Manager; Michael Jenkins, City Attorney; Bob Rose, Community "~ Services Director; David Liu, Public Works Director; Greg Gubman, Community Development Director; Rick Yee, Senior Civil Engineer; Kimberly Young, Associate Engineer; Patrick Gallegos, Senior Management Analyst; Anthony Santos, Senior Management Analyst; Cecilia Arellano, Public Information Coordinator and Tommye Cribbins, City Clerk. JULY 5, 2011 PAGE 2 CITY COUNCIL APPROVAL OF AGENDA: As Presented. SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS, CERTIFICATES, PROCLAMATIONS: 1.1 M/Tye proclaimed July 2011 as Parks and Recreation Month and presented the Proclamation to Parks and Recreation Commission Chairman Dave Roberto. 2. CITY MANAGER REPORTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS: In response to a request by C/Tanaka, CM/DeStefano updated the City Council on the Washington Street Mini -Park project. He stated that staff has been working on this project for the past couple of years and that at this time bids will be available the beginning of next week with the bid opening in early August. It is expected that the award of contract is anticipated to be brought to Council for approval the middle of August. Following that, construction is anticipated to take four months with completion around the second week of January 2012. CM/DeStefano then reported that he had received confirmation from Los Angeles County CEO Fujioka that the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors with the support of Sheriff Baca and encouragement by California Contract Cities Association have declared that the annual contribution of about $208,000 that the City is obligated to pay was waived for the 2011/12 Fiscal Year. He thanked Sam Olivito, Executive Director for Contract Cities for working hard on behalf of cities like D.B. and to the County CEO, Sheriff Baca and the LA County Board of Supervisors. Diamond Bar needs this money in its budget and is very grateful for the consideration. 3. PUBLIC COMMENTS: Allen Wilson asked for clarification as to whether or not the City Attorney might have a conflict of interest in reference to Consent Calendar Item 6.7 since he represents both cities? Mr. Wilson then referred to a newspaper article in the San Gabriel Valley Tribune regarding a settlement had been reached between the Council of Governments and their Executive Director and stated that he was concerned about the City's membership in this organization. 4. RESPONSE TO PUBLIC COMMENTS: CM/DeStefano responding to Mr. Wilson with respect to the sale of Proposition A Funds to the City of West Hollywood that the City Attorney had nothing to do with the negotiations that took place and asked — PWD/Liu to elaborate on the process. JULY 5, 2011 PAGE 3 CITY COUNCIL PWD/Liu explained that the City had in the past negotiated with other cities for sale of Prop A funds and that staff had contacted some of the agencies previously contacted as well as other cities that had gone through similar processes such as the Commerce, Lakewood, Bellflower and Industry. Ultimately, staff contacted the staff at Metro who directed D.B. to West Hollywood because they were looking at transit projects for which they desperately needed Prop A Funds. In this case, D.B. was successful in working with West Hollywood which is on the Council agenda this evening. CM/DeStefano stated that about every two or three years when D.B. has excess Prop A funds that staff has determined the City will not be able to use in the restrictive manner allowed, the City goes out to market to determine whether it can receive unrestrictive funds for other City purposes. With respect to the San Gabriel Valley COG, and the settlement issue back in 2008, C/Herrera has been the City's leading voice on COG for many years. The Executive Board made the settlement with Mr. Conway which is within their scope of powers and authority and was not voted on by the entire Board. For details, one would need to seek answers from the San Gabriel Valley Council of Government. D.B. is a contributing member along with about 30 other cities and resources that would have been used for this purpose as he understands the matter, came from the COG's reserves. D.B. is not privy to the discussions that occurred in 2008. M/Tye reiterated that the City Council initiated the Proposition A sales of funds. The City must use those funds within three years or return them so it is a "use it or lose it" proposition. The City does a very good job of making sure it utilizes those funds in the best way possible. 5. SCHEDULE OF FUTURE EVENTS: 5.1 Concerts in the Park — July 6, 2011 — 6:30 to 8:00 p.m., Ravelers (Classic Rock) — Sycamore Canyon Park, 22930 Golden Springs Drive. 5.2 Movies Under the Stars — July 6, 2011 — How to Train Your Dragon — Immediately following Concerts in the Park, Sycamore Canyon Park, 22930 Golden Springs Drive. 5.3 Planning Commission Meeting — July 12, 2011 — 7:00 p.m., SCAQMD/Government Center Auditorium, 21865 Copley Drive. 5.4 Concerts in the Park — July 13, 2011 — 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. Bumptown (Latin) — Sycamore Canyon Park, 22930 Golden Springs Drive. JULY 5, 2011 PAGE 4 CITY COUNCIL 5.5 Movies Under the Stars — July 13, 2011 Despicable Me — Immediately following Concerts in the Park, Sycamore Canyon -- Park, 22930 Golden Springs Drive. 5.6 Traffic and Transportation Commission Meeting — July 14, 2011 — 7:00 p.m., SCAQMD/Government Center Hearing Board Room, 21865 Copley Drive. 5.7 City Council Meeting — July 19, 2011 — 6:30 p.m., SCAQMD/Government Center Auditorium, 21865 Copley Drive. 6. CONSENT CALENDAR: C/Herrera moved, MPT/Chang seconded, to approve the Consent Calendar as presented. Motion carried by the following Roll Call: AYES: COUNCIL MEMBERS: Herrera, Tanaka, MPT/Chang, M/Tye NOES: COUNCIL MEMBERS: None ABSENT: COUNCIL MEMBERS: Everett 6.1. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES - Regular Meeting of June 21, 2011 — Approved as submitted. 6.2 RECEIVED AND FILED PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES: (a) Regular Meeting of May 10, 2011 (b) Regular Meeting of May 24, 2011 6.3 RATIFIED CHECK REGISTER — Dated June 16, 2011 through June 29, 2011 totaling $1,296,719.65. 6.4 APPROVED TREASURER'S STATEMENT — For the Month of May 2011. 6.5 ADOPTED ORDINANCE NO. 04 (2011): REGARDING RECOVERY OF ATTORNEY FEES IN NUISANCE ABATEMENT PROCEEDINGS AND AMENDED DIAMOND BAR MUNICIPAL CODE 6.6 APPROVED CONTRACT WITH THE REGIONAL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE OF SAN GABRIEL VALLEY, FOR FY 2011-12 BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT AND RETENTION SERVICES IN THE AMOUNT NOT -TO -EXCEED $12,000. 6.7 ADOPTED RESOLUTION NO. 2011-33: AUTHORIZING AND APPROVING THE SALE OF $209,000 OF PROPOSITION A FUNDS (LOCAL RETURN TRANSIT FUNDS) TO THE CITY OF WEST HOLLYWOOD. JULY 5, 2011 PAGE 5 CITY COUNCIL 7. PUBLIC HEARINGS: None 8. COUNCIL CONSIDERATION: 8.1 APPROVAL OF MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING, LEASE AGREEMENT AND LANDLORD'S WORK LETTER, BETWEEN THE CITY AND THE COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES PUBLIC LIBRARY FOR CONSTRUCTION AND OPERATION OF THE NEW DIAMOND BAR LIBRARY AT 21810 COPLEY DRIVE. ACM/Doyle reported that this item is about the operations, of the new Diamond Bar Library. The three documents before the City Council tonight include a Memorandum of Understanding, Lease Agreement and Landlord's Work Letter. These documents represent the culmination of a series of negotiations. The Memorandum of Understanding deals specifically with Library services and the use of the funds that are generated by D.B. residents. Currently, D.B. residents provide approximately $1.5 million of their property taxes to library services. The current library operates within that amount of money. The MOU allows for property taxes, as they rise, to remain in the City to be used for library services in D.B. If there are surplus funds above and beyond what the library costs to operate, those funds are called "set aside" funds and governed by this MOU are then available to be spent for the Diamond Bar Library. The MOU specifies that on an annual basis the City and the Library staff will meet with the County Librarian to discuss the library services at the building. The Library staff requested that the City Council on an annual basis pass a resolution that dictates the services it would like to have in the Library and the City has made a partnership commitment to work with the Library staff to make those meetings happen and to make that resolution available to them so that all participants are on the same page relative to Library services. ACM/Doyle stated that the Lease Agreement is the tenantllandlord relationship between the City and the County relative to the operation of the new building. The City will construct the facility and then lease it to the County on a 40 -year lease for an annual lease payment of $1 per year. The City will contribute the cost of janitorial service as well as maintenance to the grounds and buildings of the Library space. The Library is contributing about $100,000 to increase its budget to help offset the cost of operating a larger library than what currently exists. The current library consists of about 9,000 square feet and will move to what is a dedicated library space of about 18,000 square feet. With the joint use space available and the availability of other facilities in the new space the Library will have a combined space of about 24,000 JULY 5, 2011 PAGE 6 CITY COUNCIL square feet of combined library and public space for their use. ACM/Doyle reported that the final item presented this evening is the Landlord Work Letter that governs the construction and repayment to the City for construction of the new Library. The County and the City have worked in partnership to develop the plans and specifications for the new building and the County and the City have worked jointly in concert to select a contractor which is tonight's agenda for the award of construction. ACM/Doyle stated that these three documents are the pre-curser to being able to award the construction contract and allows for a contractual relationship between the City and County for library services, for the construction and repayment of the library construction funds as well as, the ongoing lease and operations of that facility. The County Library staff is present this evening and the documents under consideration this evening were approved by the County Board of Supervisors earlier today. Margaret Todd, County Librarian complimented staff on the professional and business -like manner in which negotiations were conducted. ACM/Doyle and Chief Deputy Fred Hungerford have spent many hours on the telephone and in person to make sure that this deadline was met. C/Herrera moved, MPT/Chang seconded, to move approval of Item 8.1. C/Tanaka said he favors a larger expanded library with improved services but not under the proposed lease agreement and use of the first floor of the new building. The City purchased a 57,000 square foot two-story building and did not pian for a Council Chambers with the new City Hall. He stated that he has personally surveyed over 25 cities in the immediate area of D.B., and every city that has a city hall also has council chambers. Diamond Bar will rent the AQMD auditorium starting at $2,000 per month for Council and other Commission meetings. He feels that there is adequate meeting space on the first floor that could be used for several purposes including City Council meetings, library uses and other community meetings. Large agenda items could be scheduled in the AQMD auditorium. Charging the County $1 per year and because they were in negotiations that amount was not able to be discussed before tonight. He feels that this is lost revenue to the City and that if leased at market rates, funds generated could refund $10 million back to the General Fund -- Reserves which could be used for providing services and programs for all D.B. residents. Therefore, he is unable to support the lease JULY 5, 2011 PAGE 7 CITY COUNCIL portion. MPT/Chang said that before she decided to approve anything having to do with the building and the library she calculated the cost of renting the AQMD facility versus building a Council Chambers at the new location. Ultimately, the City would be saving a lot of money for the residents and for the City by leasing the AQMD and therefore she is very comfortable with the lease agreement which she believes is a win-win. This community has been asking for a library for a very long time. The City was able to purchase the new building for such an excellent price housing two different public agencies within one building is a phenomenal opportunity for D.B. C/Herrera acknowledged that D.B. residents have said time and again over the last several years that they want a larger library. There was a measure on the ballot to build a brand new library next to the Diamond Bar Center and 71 percent of the voters said they did not want to have themselves taxed to build a new library. They wanted a new library and wanted the City to figure out some other way to provide that facility. She thinks that by buying this building (21810 Copley Drive) which has 56,000 square feet, accomplishes that directive. It also provides an excellent deal for the County Library and provides the residents with a much larger space as well as an additional 170 parking spaces. In addition, the building is serviced by public transit. She believes that D.B. residents want the City Council to be conservative with government expenditures, by consolidating when and where it can. By the City continuing to use the current AQMD government building and not duplicating the construction in the new City Hall seems to her to better serve the public and avoids duplicative costs. In the current City Hall offices staff was being squeezed and needed more space and as a result, the City needed to expand the amount of space it rented from AQMD. By buying its own building the City is saving significant rental costs, $400,000 annually, which is ultimately taxpayer money. This proposal is very cost-effective, the City is providing space for the County Library and believes the City Council is making the most prudent decision for the residents of D.B. M/Tye said he agreed with C/Herrera and was disappointed in C/Tanaka's position on this matter. The City has the use of the AQMD space and needs to make the very best use of the space available especially to make the very best use of the resources it has available. Whether it is Parks and Recreation partnering with the Pomona School District for fields and partnering with the Walnut Valley Unified School District for fields and classrooms and facilities, it is making the best use of the resources the City has available. Providing the opportunity for the library to take 18,000 JULY 5, 2011 PAGE 8 CITY COUNCIL square feet of new and improved space and the additional parking, is just an outstanding opportunity to provide the community with the state-of-the-art library this community deserves. Motion carried 3-1-1 by the following Roll Call vote: AYES: COUNCIL MEMBERS: Herrera, MPT/Chang, M/Tye NOES: COUNCIL MEMBERS: Tanaka ABSENT: COUNCIL MEMBERS: Everett 8.2 AWARD OF CONTRACT TO WOODCLIFF CORPORATION IN THE AMOUNT OF $5,032,000 FOR CONSTRUCTION OF A CITY HALL AND LIBRARY AT 21810 COPLEY DRIVE; AUTHORIZE AN ADDITIONAL $152,000 FOR OTHER CONSTRUCTION WORK AND CONTINGENCY AMOUNT OF $884,616 (17.5%) FOR A TOTAL AUTHORIZATION OF $6,068,616. ACM/Doyle acknowledged County Librarian Todd's earlier comments and stated that staff worked at breakneck speed to get those items accomplished much quicker than the County is used to working and only at the direction and leadership of the County Librarian and her direction to her staff. If not for her, these documents could not have been completed in such a timely manner. ACM/Doyle reported that Item 8.2 is the beginning of a new Diamond Bar City Hall with the award of contract to Woodcliff Corporation in the amount of $5,032,000 for construction of a City Hall and Library at 21810 Copley Drive. As part of this agenda item staff is asking Council to authorize an additional $152,000 for other types of construction work that staff believes will be needed as well as, a contingency amount of $17.5% or $884,616 for a total authorization of $6,068,616. The City Council authorized staff to proceed with plans and specifications when it hired LPA as the architect some months ago. Since that time, staff has been working very closely with County Library staff and City staff to design plans and specifications for both the library and the new City Hall building. These plans and specifications were advertised beginning on June 2 for solicitation of bids. The City received 11 bids from a low bid of $4.97 million from Woodcliff Corporation (staff's recommended contractor) to a high of $7.1 million. As part of the process, the City asked for a number of alternatives to be identified and priced as part of the bid submittal. The City is picking two additional items as alternate 1 and 3 for painting and other interior work and the library is picking up two alternatives as part of their base bid. Staff is asking that the low bid amount of $4.97 JULY 5, 2011 PAGE 9 CITY COUNCIL million be increased by $62,000 for the contract amount earlier mentioned. ACM/Doyle stated that staff conducted a due diligence review on Woodcliff Corporation. Woodcliff met all City specifications and qualifications for the contractor during the bidding period. In addition, staff contacted references. Woodcliff most recently completed a library for the County of Los Angeles, the Lawndale Public Library, completed the City of Orange main library in Orange County and is currently working on a project at UCLA. Reference checks have produced high marks for the contractor. Staff met with the contractor to discuss some of the contract items and staff feels very good about bringing this matter to the City Council tonight for approval. If approved by the Council, construction of City Hall and the Library will commence shortly with the City's goal for the City Hall project to be completed around the end of 2011 calendar year. The library will take about an additional six months for construction and move -in period for an opening in about a year. As part of the package that was not included in the original documents staff is asking that the Council also approve a resolution (Resolution No. 2011-34) to approve the design plans and specifications for the construction of Diamond Bar City Hall for the City of Diamond Bar and Los Angeles County Library pursuant to Government Code §830.6 and establishing a project payment account for the authorization to pay the contractor. ACM/Doyle reiterated that the City has agreed to front the cost of the library and the library has agreed to repay the City within 30 - days of invoice for each of the progress payments as the project moves forward. MPT/Chang moved, C/Herrera seconded, to award a contract to Woodcliff Corporation for a total authorization of $6,068,616 and adopt Resolution No 2011-34. Motion carried by the following Roll Call vote: AYES: COUNCIL MEMBERS: Herrera, Tanaka, MPT/Chang, M/Tye NOES: COUNCIL MEMBERS: None ABSENT: COUNCIL MEMBERS: Everett 9. COUNCIL SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS/COUNCIL MEMBER COMMENTS: C/Tanaka said that as a member of the LA County Junior Fair Board Advisory Committee he had an opportunity to participate in the scholarship awards and attended the D.B. Senior Baseball JULY 5, 2011 PAGE 10 CITY COUNCIL team's last home game played at Peterson Park. He congratulated ReMax top producers on their new offices in North D.B. and stated --- that he was sorry to see Jody's Hallmark leave D.B. He reported that yesterday's 4th of July Blast was wonderful and thanked CSD/Rose and staff for providing such an outstanding event. He also thanked the D.B. Leos and DB4-Youth groups that volunteered during the event and reminded everyone to participate in the first Concert in the Park and Movies under the Stars tomorrow, July 6 at Sycamore Canyon Park. C/Herrera thanked all staff members who worked so hard to put on a special 4th of July Blast which was enjoyed by the biggest crowd she has ever seen. She stated that many cities have had to make cutbacks in their programs and she is proud to be part of D.B. which continues to offer this event to its residents. As a result, many who attended last night's event were from other cities such as Placentia, LaHabra, Chino, Chino Hills, Rowland Heights and Walnut. Many people spoke to her after the event and expressed their appreciation for the City's offering to its residents. C/Herrera went on to say that one of the reasons D.B. is such a great place is because of its schools and the two outstanding school districts it makes the values of the homes even higher. She congratulated DBHS for recently being recognized by Newsweek as ranking second in the County and seventh in the State as being the most excellent toward college preparation for its students. In these days of declining resources it is amazing that DBHS and DRHS students continue to achieve so magnificently. C/Herrera then went on to report on the recent articles regarding the San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments. Some decisions are being made by the officers on the Executive Board that she does not agree with and is sorry to see such deterioration. In 2008 she was not the Governing Board representative. If she had been she would have voted "No" on the question of giving the Executive Director the settlement that he received. Much of the information is confidential personnel information which cannot be disclosed but it is shameful that there are such abuses. The City pays dues to this organization while others are authorizing expenditures that not everyone on the COG Governing Board agrees with. Hopefully, things will get better in that regard. MPT/Chang announced that residents could follow her on Facebook and Twitter and echoed her colleague's comments regarding yesterday's 4th of July Blast. The feedback she received centered on the fact that this was the best ever 4th of July Blast. She loved the music and the fact that they were close to the action so they could enjoy a phenomenal view. She offered a big thank you to staff. She has posted photos of the fireworks on Facebook JULY 5, 2011 PAGE 11 CITY COUNCIL and Twitter for anyone who missed the event. Last week she traveled to Taiwan to attend her cousin's wedding and visit her grandmother. She also visited with D.B.'s Sister City officials. It was not an official D.B. visit but merely a voluntary action to connect with them. In December 2010 Taiwan consolidated cities to create larger cities. The Sister City was Sanhsia which is now a district within the newly formed Taipei City in Taipei County Taiwan Province with a population of 2.6 million. She met with the Deputy Mayor and other officials who would like to connect more with D.B. to share areas of concern such as traffic and transportation and economic development. She thanked M/Tye and the Diamond Bar Community Foundation Chair Jody Roberto for co -sponsoring her membership into Walnut Valley Rotary. M/Tye thanked County Librarian Todd and her staff for helping get the new City Hall/Library project moving forward so quickly and said he believes this is the way things will get done in the future. When he was running for Council he said to anyone who would listen that the way to get things done was to take advantage of the facilities that are available. We cooperate with the school districts — they have the space and the same can be said of the library. D.B. has the new and improved space that will be made into the best library in the system. It will be a terrific public partnership and the City looks forward to a long-term mutually beneficial relationship. He thanked CSD/Rose and his crew for a terrific effort at DBHS last night. Staff was out at 8:00 a.m. preparing for the event. Staff never gets the 4th of July off and the community appreciates their efforts. He felt there were more people at DBHS than at recent Dodger games. He felt everyone had a terrific time and hoped that everyone will join in the Concerts in the Park and Movies under the Stars to keep the party going 6:30 p.m. at Sycamore Canyon Park. He hopes everyone appreciates what CM/DeStefano reported earlier about the Liability Trust Fund. When people look at what D.B. has been able to accomplish over 22 years, contracting with the library system for library services, contracting with the Sheriffs Department for enforcement services, contracting for Fire Department, etc. and what happens with the opportunity to go to the Board of Supervisors to ask for a "holiday" — a relief from the liability trust fund contribution, it gives the City an opportunity to put $200,000 back into the General Fund for the City's use toward these contract services. Overall, for the 40 plus cities that are part of the Contract Cities in LA County it saved over $10 million. As Sheriff Baca recently said and as others have said, "together we are better" and together as a Contract City D.B. is a better organization. He does not know how D.B. on its own would have figured out on the basis of what the trust fund sits at on an actuarial basis that it was actually overfunded and the City should receive JULY 5, 2011 PAGE 12 CITY COUNCIL some relief. Contract Cities was also able to negotiate the contribution to the Liability Trust Fund going forward from 6 percent to 4 percent. He thanked C/Herrera for talking about DBHS and he thanked Principal Catherine Real for keeping continuity with the standards set by Dennis Paul that got DBHS to being one of the top schools in the State and in the Nation. He congratulated Alex Morgan, DBHS graduate, the youngest Member of the US Women's Soccer Team playing in the Women's World Cup who graduated from Cal Berkeley a semester early so that she could play on the team. He wished all the best to Alex and her teammates in bringing the World Cup home. M/Tye stressed how important it was to shop D.B. because the City is now looking at losing two retailers that it has perhaps taken for granted, Ralphs that will close the end of this month and Jody's Hallmark that closed the end of last month. This Council and staff are working very, very hard with the property owner to get a retailer in the Ralphs space that will be recognizable. ADJOURNMENT: With no further business to conduct, M/Tye recessed the Regular City Council meeting at 7:35 p.m. TOMM E CRIBBINS, CITY CLERK The foregoing minutes are hereby approved this 19th day of Jule , 2011. STEVE ,MAY R