HomeMy WebLinkAbout05/07/2013 Minutes - Regular MeetingCITY OF DIAMOND BAR
CITY COUNCIL STUDY SESSION
MAY 7, 2013
STUDY SESSION: M/Tanaka called the Study Session to order at
5:30 p.m. in Room CC -8 of the South Coast Air Quality Management District,
21865 Copley Drive Diamond Bar, California,
Present: Council Members Ling -Ling Chang, Carol
Herrera, Steve Tye, Mayor Pro Tem Ron Everett, and Mayor Jack Tanaka.
Staff Present- James DeStefano, City Manager; David
DeBerry, City Attorney; David Liu, Public Works Director; Bob Rose, Community
Services Director, Greg Gubman, Community Development Director; Dianna
Honeywell, Finance Director; Anthony Jordan, Parks and Maintenance
Superintendent; Christy Murphey, Recreation Superintendent; Ryan McLean,
Assistant to the City Manager; Anthony Santos, Sr. Management Analyst; Ken
Desforges, IT Director; Marsha' Roa, Public Information Manager, and Tommye
Cribbins, City Clerk.-
11101� DISCUSSION OF THE FY 2013-14 BUDGET — Discussion and Action
CM/DeStefano introduced the proposed FY 2013-14 Budget to the
Council. He stated that this is his sixth or seventh City Budget since
becoming the City Manager and this is the first time that he is not
recommending making cuts and is actually adding resources to various
departments to aid them in their operation. Dollars were added for capital
asset maintenance this year. He feels that this is the light at the end of
the tunnel and staff is feeling good about this budget as well as, budgets
going forward. If all goes well with tonight's discussion, staff would
anticipate taking the budget to City Council on May 21 st for adoption.
FD/Honeywell provided an overall budget message. She thanked
everyone present for helping and that this was truly a group project. The
proposed budget is balanced and increases the General Fund Reserves
by $131,000 that incorporates modest, yet realistic growth in both
revenues and expenditures over the current years while maintaining
service levels in the community. The General Fund Revenues are
expected to grow about 2.3 percent of the FY 2012/13 General Fund
Revenues. The three most significant revenues to the General Fund are
property taxes, proper ty tax in lieu of vehicle license fees and sales
tax which accounts for about 60 percent of the General Fund Revenue.
Property tax is expected to grow by about 1.8 percent over the 2012/13
projected levels and property tax and new vehicle license fees are
expected to grow about 1.7 percent. Other taxes and fees, which include
sales tax, Transient Occupancy Tax, Franchise Tax and Property Transfer
Taxes are expected to grow about 1.2 percent over the current year level
due to an upward turn in the economy. It should also be noted that staff is
expecting to recover about $185,000 in legal fees related to outstanding
Code Enforcement cases in the upcoming budget year. Projected
MAY 7, 2013 PAGE 2 CC STUDY SESSION
General Fund Expenditures for 2013/14 are projected to grow about 4.9
percent, most of which is attributed to the Public Safety budget, Personnel
and Benefit increases and much needed improvements and maintenance
at the Diamond Bar Center and City Parks. The Public Safety budget for
the 2013/14 year is anticipated to increase about 5.2 percent over the
projected amount for this fiscal year with 2.4 perc ' ent going to the Sheriffs
contract. The upcoming budget also anticipates a payment of 4 percent
($211,000) to the Sheriffs Liability Trust Fund. The FY 2013/14 Budget
assumes that the Community Relations positions that have been vacant
for the majority of the current fiscal year will be filled. This amounts to a
total Public Safety Budget increase of about $303,000.
CM/DeStefano explained that the position was left vacant by Mark St.
Amant with a special exception that was good for only one year.
MPT/Everett asked if this was separate from personnel as categorized.
CM/DeStefano responded that it was part of the Sheriffs Department (law
enforcement).
FD/Honeywell continued stating that the proposed FY 2013114 budget
assumes a 1.5 percent cost of living adjustment for City employees as well
as, a $50 increase in the benefit allotment which amounts to total increase
of personnel costs of about $125,000 of which $114,000 is General Fund
dollars.
FD/Honeywell explained that the FY 2013/14 proposed budget includes
changes to the personnel budget as noted to more accurately meet the
needs of the residents and the community. These proposed changes
include reclassifying the vacant Planning Technician position to Assistant
Planner; and, due to increased responsibility related to new and existing
state and federal regulations the budget adds an accountant. Further, the
Public Information Coordinator be repositioned in order to"enhance the
City's communications. Also incorporated in this proposed budget is
changing a Public Information Specialist to a Media Specialist at no
additional cost. In order to increase productivity the budget proposes an
addition of one senior maintenance worker and the Human Resource
Manager position be increased from three-quarter time to full time. The
impact to the General Fund for all of these changes is $186,000.
C/Tye asked why the Human Resources Manager. was being pushed to
full time.
CM/DeStefano said that the City had a unique relationship with that past
Human Resources Manager that began as a half-time position and grew
to a three-quarter time position and believed it would be difficult to find
someone to serve in the same time position. Staff is growing and
MAY 7,2013 PAGE 3 CC STUDY SESSION
therefore the City's needs are growing. There are new regulations coming
forward between CalPers, IRS, and Affordable Care Act and there will be
a need for more training and experiences for the employees. It is time to
go back to a full time manager in that department.
IVIPT/Evereft asked if there was a similar explanation for adding an
accountant in the Finance Department due to government requirements.
CIVI/DeStefano responding affirmatively stated that the City has been
running with four employees in that department for 20 years while not only
dealing with the requirements increasing but also all of the City's internal
needs have increased. With a full service department head there are a lot
of things the City has engaged in during the past year and a half and a lot
more that staff wants to do. It was about six years ago that he asked the
Council for authority to hire a part time additional benefited person in the
finance department. He then had to immediately freeze that position
because of resource needs in other areas but the department needs
assistance and it would help both with external and internal customers.
FD/Honeywell stated that this proposal also includes maintenance and
improvements to the Diamond Bar Center in the amount of approximately
$252,000. These items have been deferred in recent years due to budget
constraints so this is a catch up item for staff this year. These
improvements include landscape and irrigation improvements, lighting
improvements, purchase of new tables and chairs, new front door
mechanism and painting of the exterior walls. Also included are
maintenance items at various parks including resurfacing of basketball
and tennis courts at four parks as well as, interior and exterior painting of
the Heritage Community Center. The proposed budget provides for the
use of General Fund Reserves in the amount of approximately $980,000.
The most notable use of the General Fund Balance Reserves includes
construction of the Grandview Trail and Grandview Trail Link in the
amount of $178,000. The City has been awarded a grant for these
projects and one of the requirements of the grant is that the City provides
matching funds, thus the recommendation that General Funds be used
because many of the park related funds have been depleted in recent
years due to other major CIP projects that have been completed. Also
included in the use of the General Fund Reserves is the design of the
Heritage Park Community Center, updating of the Housing Element as it
relates to the General Plan, Economic Development activities, partial
funding for slurry seal projects, a document scanning system and the
construction of a permanent housing for the generator at City Hall.
Another use of General Funds Reserves includes the transfer to the
Lighting and Landscape Assessment Districts (LLADs) in the amount of
about $121,000. Staff is also proposing the addition of two new funds: 1)
a Law Enforcement Reserve Fund to take any realized savings from the
annual law enforcement budget in the current year and set it aside for
MAY 7, 2013 PAGE 4 CC STUDY SESSION
future increases in the law enforcement budget which will be helpful in the
2014/15 budget because the -City has exhausted all of its asset forfeiture
funds which helped pay for the STAR Deputy. It is anticipated that at the
end of the current fiscal year the City will have a savings of about
$245,000 that would be transferred into this fund (Mark St. Amant
vacancy); and 2) the Waste Hauler Fund which would collect the revenue
collected from the City's Waste Hauler, funds that are collected to mitigate
damage to City streets caused by large trash trucks. Each year this
revenue source is used to help fund the slurry seal projects. In the past
this revenue was collected into the General Fund and because of the
timing of the project those projects had to be carried over to the next year.
This fund will allow the City to separate the revenue so that it is easily
identifiable. Next year the City will set aside $125,000 which will be used
to rehab area 2.
FD/Honeywell stated that following tonight's discussion and Council
direction, staff plans to conduct a study session on May 21 to d ' iscuss any
special revenue fund questions and the five year CIP budget which will be
followed by City Council adoption at its regular May 21 meeting.
MPT/Everett asked if the City was doing anything about the transfer out
for the LLADs to consider reducing the cost and service to those districts.
M/Tanaka responded that after the last subcommittee meeting, staff was
asked to follow-up with a report addressing all of those issues to include
the question of putting the question to the property owners/homeowners
regarding increases to maintain the service or possibly returning some of
the property back to the homeowners/p rope rty owners.
CM/DeStefano stated there are a couple of issues. One is that staff owes
the full City Council a report and recommendations similar to a discussion
that as the Mayor said, just took place with the subcommittee consisting of
M/Tanaka and MPTIEverett. Second is an issue that MPTIEverett asked
staff to research a few weeks ago as to how the City would manage the
districts if the City was only to use the resources that came from the
districts with no subsidy at all. CM/DeStefano stated that CSD/Rose has
looked at that issue and has some ideas that the Council may or may not
want to incorporate into this year's budget.
CSD/Rose stated that the only way to reduce costs is to reduce watering
or reduce areas that are currently being maintained. To reduce
maintenance in the three districts, District 38 which is the medians and not
including staff subsidy, costs about $30,000-$35,000 from the General
Fund per district. In District 38 the General Fund subsidy is about
$12,000. In order to save $12,000 in District 38 staff would not
recommend that service be reduced because they are so visible. Staff
could reduce the budget by about $12,000 by eliminating money that pays
MAY 7, 2013 PAGE 5 CC STUDY SESSION
for repairs and balance it between the years. However, when repairs. have
to be made staff would have to come to the Council to ask for an'
appropriation for those funds. The City spends $1,000 on south Brea
Canyon Road for additional gopher control so the landscaping could be
eliminated from the freeway side of Brea Canyon Road which would
eliminate the need for gopher control and save those funds as well.
Those are the main items in District 38. The other option is to take it back
out to bid and possibly reduce the maintenance costs for District 38 and all
of the Districts.
For District 39 the General Fund subsidy not including staff is almost
$82,000 and in order to save $82,000 the City would need to eliminate the
maintenance and watering of about 12 areas which are not along major
arterials but that residents would notice a significant change because
when these areas are not maintained they revert back to natural status. If
the City decides to reverse the course and begin irrigating those areas
again it would be extremely expensive to recover the land and to
reestablish the areas.
District 41 has a subsidy of about $27,000 which could be reduced by
eliminating maintenance and watering. Agai'n these are areas that are not
along arterials, but are in the middle of neighborhoods.
MPT/Everbtt felt that there is something in between because staff does a
masterful job on parks across the City. What he has heard is that the City
essentially has the same standard of service for the LLADs and that
possibly the districts do not have to be as labor intensive and do not have
to be watered as much so they might -get a little grayer.
C/Tye asked what the savings would be if the medians were mowed every
other week instead of every week, what would the savings be?
CSD/Rose said the only way to find out would be to take it back out to bid
with reduced service levels. He guessed that it might save the City
$20,000.
MPT/Evereft said that is the question he is asking. He respects the way
staff does the City's business but he has a. concern that the City can make
some cut backs because it is in some of the more remote areas and that
the 'City doesn't have the budget to pay for it and if the people have to vote
they will then understand that if they don't pay for the increase it will not
look like the medians on Diamond Bar Boulevard, for example. This will
give people a reality check and the City is in over its head. The people in
these areas would understand they have to pay if they want something
better.
MAY 7, 2013 PAGE 6 CC STUDY SESSION
CSD/Rose said staff would have to go out to bid on various service levels
and bring the matter back to the Council to see what those service levels
would be before actually going out to bid to find out what could be saved
in the cost of doing the maintenance because that is the only way to
obtain a hard cost.
MPT/Everett said he wanted to be sure the City was thinking about what is
practical and realistic and if the City can save $50,000 or $100,000 by
reducing service levels, what those implications would be.
PWD/Liu said that the City Attorney is doing some work on options for
Districts 39 and 41 and that -staff Will forward those recommendations to
the City Council. The other option that was discussed at the
subcommittee meeting is whether or not the City Council would be
interested in forming a "Benefit Assessment District" and taking it to the
residents or initiate a survey, both of which will be a cost to the City.
CM/DeStefano said it is a good conversation topic which he has raised in
the six or seven budgets he has presented to the City Council. The
Council can make a budget adjustment if the allocations are reduced for
the districts with the adoption of the budget and make adjustments to raise
those after the Council has had more time to digest the information
presented. The Council can keep the budget amounts as they exist
including the subsidies as presented and make adjustments down the
road. The Council needs to hear more from staff as was previously
discussed. Giving the full Council more information with respect to what
the subcommittee heard and what the Council needs to understand the
SCI proposal and the costs of an election which would probably take place
in 2014, all of which staff roughly estimates at about $50,000. That
$50,000 is not in the proposed budget because the Council has not talked
about what it wants to do going forward with the LLADs. We can leave
things as they are while we continue to look at it or the Council can make
changes. Council needs to let staff know so that its wishes and desires
can be appropriately implemented.
M/Tanaka recommended that similar to the last Study Session, the
Council wait for the full report and decide what action to take. Since the
budget is balanced at this point he would recommend that the budget
remain as is. At the same time he is sensitive to MPT/Everett's frustration
because it is being addressed every time and it seems like nothing is
being done. But he believes with the full report coming to the City Council
it will be in a better position to make its decision.
C/Herrera said she seconds M/Tanaka's motion and said that there are
many services the City provides where it is an outright expense out of the
City's General Fund such as maintenance for parks. Residents expect the
MAY 7P 2013 PAGE 7 CC STUDY SESSION
City to maintain its parks and to do certain things. So that is part of the
balance that the Council has to consider.
M/Tanaka said the other part is that Districts 39 and 41only a certain
group of people are benefiting as opposed to District 38 which benefits the
entire City. So, the question becomes whether the reside nts/p rope rty
owners should take ownership of those two districts and therefore he
would like to wait for the report.
CM/DeStefano reiterated that with nods of the heads of Council Members,
staff will continue with the budget for the three districts as it has been
presented and the team will work on its presentation to the City Council,
possibly for a June meeting.
CM/DeStefano reported that there is an upcoming election. Last time
because staff budgeted $75,000 or $80,000 and the County's cost was
$120,000 staff had to do a mid -year adjustment, staff is assuming the
County's costs will be even higher so the budget includes an additional
$145,000 for this year. It is still more cost-effective to use the County
versus an election at the City level. $50,000 for a scanning project would
likel,v increase annually until the City was caught up. There is a lot of
money being utilized this year for maintenance purposes. One
component, which is not a budgetary issue but a management issue, is
that the slurry seal for all of the parks will become the responsibility of
PWD/Liu. As PWD/Liu works through the different districts for slurry seal
he will work in each of those seven districts' parks to make sure the parks
are included in the program. There are a couple of park parking lots that
are in much worse shape so PWD/Liu and CSD/Rose will work closely
together to make sure that proper and less costly slurry seal mitigation
occurs. With respect to resurfacing basketball and tennis courts, the
lighted courts have longer usage and while all have been budgeted this
year, staff is not likely to do all of the courts this year but instead set up a
cycle where a certain number are done each year and not all in any given
year. There is a $50,000 budget item for Heritage Park which was the
only building the City inherited from the County. The Heritage project was
redone within about five years of cityhood which was some 20 plus years
ago. So the building needs to be updated and ' modernized. The $50,000
is for the design work and then staff will look to budget the task for the
next year or two depending on where the City is with its resources. Maybe
it would be an additional use in reserves for a major investment in capital
or perhaps there is CDBG money for some of the improvements. Most
urgent of the work that needs to be done is painting the inside of the
facility. The painting and the design are both in the budget.
MPT/Everett asked if the park slurry seal was in the budget to a point and
he is giving the Council a heads up because of the sequence issue with
the streets.
MAY 7, 2013 PAGE 8 CC STUDY SESSION
CM/DeStefano responded "yes" and reiterated his explanation.
M/Tanaka thanked FD/Honeywell for presenting a balanced budget to the
Council.
C/Herrera said that Council is grateful and saved this Council from having
to make tough decisions that neighboring cities are finding they have to
make.
FD/Honeywell said that DB is very fortunate.
C/Herrera echoed that sentiment. She thanked staff for their good
management.
PUBLIC COMMENTS: None Offered.
ADJOURNMENT: With no further business to come before the City
Council, M/Tanaka adjourned the Study Session at 6:13 p.m. to, the Regular City
Council Meeting. L.
TOMMVP- CRIBBINS, City Clerk
The foregoing minutes are hereby approved this 21stdayof May
2013.
Jack --Tanaka, Mayor
MINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL
REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY OF DIAMOND BAR
MAY 7, 2013
STUDY SESSION:
5:30 p.m., Room CC -8
► Discussion of the FY 2013-14 Budget — Discussion and Action
Public Comments:
None Offered.
Study Session recessed to Regular City Council Meeting at 6:13 p.m.
CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Jack Tanaka called the Regular City
Council meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. in the South Coast Air Quality Management
Auditorium, 21865 Copley Drive, Diamond Bar, CA.
CMIDeStefano reported that during tonight's study session, staff introduced the
FY 2013-14 General Fund Budget and was pleased to announce that the City
has a balanced budget again this year with estimated resources of $21.5 million
and appropriations of about $21.4 million. On May 21 staff will bring to the
Council for consideration the Special Funds, Capital Improvement Program (CIP)
and adoption of the City budget for FY 2013-14. The proposed balanced budget
provides no change or reduction in service levels and enhancements in
numerous maintenance areas. No action was taken during the Study Session
nor was action proposed for tonight's meeting.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: MPT/Everett led the Pledge of Allegiance.
INVOCATION: Senior Pastor Troy Wong, Gateway Friends
Church, gave the invocation.
ROLL CALL: Council Member Chang, Herrera, Tye, Mayor
Pro Tem Everett and Mayor Tanaka.
Staff Present: James DeStefano, City Manager; David
DeBerry, City Attorney; Ken Desforges, IT Director; David Liu Public Works
Director; Bob Rose, Community Services Director; Dianna Honeywell, Finance
Director; Greg Gubman, Community Development Director; Ryan McLean,
Assistant to the City Manager; - Anthony Santos, Senior Management Analyst;
Cecilia Arellano, Public Information Coordinator, and Tommye Cribbins, City
Clerk.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA: As Presented.
1. SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS, CERTIFICATES, PROCLAMATIONS:
1.1 CIChang proclaimed May 2013 as Water Awareness Month and
presented the Proclamation to Walnut Valley Water Board
Members Ebenkamp, Carrera, Kwong and Wu.
MAY 7, 2013 PAGE 2 CITY COUNCIL
BUSINESS OF THE MONTH;
1.2 M/Tanaka presented a City Tile to Khawaja (Sunny) Hussain owner
of Baskin Robbins, 325 Diamond Bar Boulevard as Business of the
Month.
2. CITY MANAGER REPORTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS:
CMIDeStefano updated the community on two Code Enforcement issues
in which the City has been involved during the past two years. The
concrete railings (K -Rail) to hold the soil back at the intersection of Clear
Creek Canyon Road and Diamond Bar Boulevard are the result of a
private residence on Banner Ridge that suffered a slope failure in
December 2010. After a significant amount of time, in an attempt to allow
the homeowner to correct the failed hillside, the City was forced to file a
complaint against the homeowner in 2012. With the courts approval, a
receiver was appointed and is working with the homeowners and a
settlement was reached. The receiver will work with the homeowners and
the City to repair the hillside so that the K --Rail (concrete rail) can be
removed.
The second matter is a higher profile location occupied by the Shell
Station at Palomino and Diamond Bar Boulevard in front of Vons
Shopping Center and is a case that has been ongoing for several years.
A couple of months ago the Court finally allowed a receiver to be
appointed. The receiver is currently working with contractors to obtain bids
to develop cost estimates to complete the construction which will bring the
station up to the City's Code standards after which the project will be sold.
The timeline on this effort is three to six months before any conclusion is
reached so that the station can again operate and provide employment
and tax revenues to the City.
CITye asked CMIDeStefano to describe more fully the process the City
has undergone over a several year period to get the property owners to
comply.
CMIDeStefano stated that each case is different. In the case of the
landslide which resulted from heavy rains in the fall of 2010, there were
several property owners that had small sloughs on their property, most of
which were interior. Staff, working with the property owners, was able to
resolve all of those. in 2011 and 2012. In this particular case, the slough
moved the earth onto the public right-of-way and covered the street and
sidewalk which were rendered impassible. Staff spent a lot of time
working with the property owners to gain their compliance but for a variety
of reasons, those efforts were unsuccessful. If after numerous attempts
staff is unsuccessful the City moves through a court process to obtain a
court order to achieve the end result which is to clean up the property,
MAY 7, 2013 PAGE 3 CITY COUNCIL
remediate the hillside slope and allow the K -Rail to be removed. In this
case, there were a variety of complications including issues with the
homeowners' ability to afford the costs associated with the cleanup. Once
the City enters into the court process it loses a lot of control and with
reduced service levels in the courts, caseload, etc. it takes a lot of time to
get an actual hearing. Once the hearing takes place judges ' give all
preferences to the private property owners, giving them plenty of time to
resolve the problems. In many instances, the property owners seek more
time which causes these issues to drag on. At the same time the City
provides detailed information about its efforts and why the City believes
the Court should not give a private property owner more time; however,
the judge will always give a private property owner more time. At some
point everyone concedes and the City asks for a receiver to step in to
ensure that the property is remediated to the City's standards. This
particular case is nearing three years before it will be completed.
CMIDeStefano reported that with respect to the Shell Station, it was a City
approval for remodeling of the station approximately six years ago.
Building permits were issued. Construction began and stopped and
started again and then stopped due to a variety of problems the property
owner had financially and otherwise. Working through that myriad of
issues the City went before a judge seeking relief for the Court to mandate
the property owner's completion of the improvements to eliminate the
eyesore. That did not happen and that led to the City begging for a
receiver to be appointed by the court in order to ensure that the work
Would get done. The court process for this case has taken at least two
years and it was three or four years prior to that with the property owner.
The construction/financial issues will happen from time to time but they
usually involve single family homes or a large project in "The Country
Estates". Staff is working at the mercy of others to try and get this issue
resolved and no one should or could say that this could easily be resolved
in six months to a year.
Each case has its own issues and each one, when it gets to the courts,
takes time as related to what the judge believes is appropriate, the court
calendar and so forth. These are anomalies. DB has one of these a year.
However, there are now two or three cases that are overlapping in their
correction timeframe. Staff looks at 700-800 cases a year where the City
has requests for homeowners to clean up their property which are done
very quickly and effectively when the homeowners are cooperative. On
occasion, the City has this type of situation at a high profile location and
these are the complicated cases that take a few years to resolve.
MAY 7, 2013 PAGE 4 CITY COUNCIL
3. PUBLIC COMMENTS:
Debbie. Avila -Mott representing DRHS's Instrumental Music Department
invited everyone to join them for the Third Annual Spring Suite on Sunday,
May 26 at 5:00 p.m. for dinner and music at the Fox Theater in Pomona.
Gil Rivera, a 22 year resident, invited residents to become volunteer
members of the Sheriff's Booster Club (Diamond Bar/Walnut Sheriff
Station). This club is comprised of residential and business members of
the DB community and exists solely to benefit the needs of volunteers who
donate their time and talent at the station. He stated that Captain
Scroggin has challenged his force to raise awareness for more volunteers
to participate in one of four volunteer capacities — Reserve Deputy,
Explorer, Civil on Patrol or Disaster Communication Services. Individuals
can join the Booster's Club for a $15 individual or $25 family membership.
Club members meet monthly to discuss and work on fundraising
opportunities and every penny raised helps fund the purchase of uniforms,
equipment and training for the volunteers. Stop by the Sheriff's Station at
Grand Avenue and Valley Boulevard to ask how you can help make a
difference.
Brian Quan, President, Diamond Bar Breakfast Lions Club, invited the
Council to join with club members for "Lions Day at Bob's Big Boy" a
fundraiser on Monday, May 20 from 5:00 p.m. to closing.
Pui Ching -Ho, DB Acting Library Manager announced several upcoming
events that will take place at the library.
4. RESPONSE TO PUBLIC COMMENTS: None
5. SCHEDULE OF FUTURE EVENTS:
5.1 Traffic and Transportation Commission Meeting — May 9, 2013 —
7:00 p.m., Windmill Community Room, 21810 Copley Drive.
5.2 Tonner Canyon Drill — May 13, 14 and 15, 2013 -- 8:00 a.m. to
approximately 2:00 p.m., Tonner Canyon. In anticipation of Fire
Season, LA County Fire Department will conduct an annual multi -
agency training exercise.
5.3 Planning Commission Meeting — May 14, 2013 — 7:00 p.m.,
Windmill Community Room, 21810 Copley Drive.
5.4 City Council Meeting — May 21, 2013 — 6:30 p.m., SCAQMD
Auditorium, 21865 Copley Drive.
MAY 7, 2013 PAGE 5 CITY COUNCIL
6. CONSENT CALENDAR: ClHerrera
approve the Consent Calendar as
following Roll Call vote:
AYES: COUNCIL MEMBERS
NOES: COUNCIL MEMBERS:
ABSENT: COUNCIL MEMBERS:
6.1 CITY COUNCIL MINUTES:
moved, ClChang seconded, to
presented. Motion carried by the
Chang, Herrera,
MlTanaka
None
None
Tye, MPTIEverett,
6.1.1 Study Session of April 16, 2013 -Approved as Amended.
6.1.2 Regular Meeting of April 16, 2013 -- Approved as Submitted.
6.2 PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES:
6.2.1 Regular Meeting of February 28, 2013 — Received and Filed.
6.2.2 Regular Meeting of March 28, 2013 — Received and Filed.
6.3 PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES — Regular Meeting of March
12, 2013 --- Received and Filed.
6.4 RATIFIED CHECK REGISTER — Dated April 11, 2013 through May
1, 2013 totaling $1,624,492.25.
6.5 TREASURER'S STATEMENT — for the Month of March 2013.
6.6 APPROVED NOTICE OF COMPLETION FOR THE 2012-2013
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT (CDBG). CURB
RAMP INSTALLATION PROJECT.
6.7 APPROVED CONTRACT AMENDMENT NO. 2 WITH KOA
CORPORATION FOR THE DEVELOPMENT AND
IMPLEMENTATION OF A TRAFFIC RESPONSIVE PLAN (FOR
GRAND AVENUE, DIAMOND BAR BOULEVARD AND GOLDEN
SPRINGS DRIVE) IN THE AMOUNT OF $19,290.
6.8 APPROVED FY 2013-14 CITY COUNCIL GOALS & OBJECTIVES.
7. PUBLIC HEARING:
7.1 ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 2013-06: APPROVING A ONE-YEAR
EXTENSION OF TIME FOR CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT NO.
2007-10 AND DEVELOPMENT REVIEW NO. 2006-11 TO
CONSTRUCT A NINE -UNIT RESIDENTIAL CONDOMINIUM
LOCATED AT 23671 GOLDEN SPRINGS DRIVE. (ASSESSOR'S
PARCEL NUMBER 8281-028-030)
MAY 7, 2013 PAGE 6 CITY COUNCIL
CDDIGubman presented staff's report stating that the first time he
brought this project before the City Council he was three months
into his job as the new Planning Manager in November 2007. This
is for a condominium development project which is a
redevelopment of Diamond Jim's Dairy site with a nine residential
detached condominium project. When this project was originally
approved the entitlement was good for three years. In the earlier
stages of the project, the main challenge facing it was in developing
a drainage plan to carry storm water runoff from the site. The initial
effort was to negotiate for a drainage easement through the
condominium complex to the south which would have allowed the
drainage system to operate via gravity flow. Prior to the 2010
expiration date, the applicant requested a one-year extension to
continue negotiating with the neighboring homeowner's association
and the Council granted that extension in February 2011. These
negotiations were ultimately unsuccessful so an alternate method
of storm water management had to be engineered involving backup
pumps, an emergency generator, and additional capacity to retain
storm water onsite. The Council approved the subsequent
extension in April 2012. In July 2012 the Public WorkslEngineering
Department approved the applicant's grading and sewer plan and
last month the applicant submitted construction plans to the
Building and Safety Division for plan check. There are several
tasks that must be completed before the applicant can begin
construction and record the condominium map. In light of the
steady progress being made toward that end, staff and the
Planning Commission believe it to be appropriate to extend the
project entitlements . for an additional year. Therefore, staff
recommends that the City Council adopt a resolution to approve a
one-year extension for Conditional Use Permit No. 2007-10 and
Development Review No. 2006-11 based on the Findings of DB
Municipal Code Section 22.66.050.
MlTanaka opened the Public Hearing.
With no one present who wished to speak on this item, MlTanaka
closed the Public Hearing.
ClChang moved, C/Herrera seconded, to approve a one-year
extension for Conditional Use Permit No. 2007-10 and
Development Review No. 2006-11 based on the Findings of DB
Municipal Code Section 22.66.050. Motion carried by the following
Roll Call vote:
MAY 7, 2013 PAGE 7 CITY COUNCIL
AYES: COUNCIL MEMBERS: Chang, Herrera, Tye,
MPT/Everett, M/Tanaka
NOES: COUNCIL MEMBERS: None
ABSENT: COUNCIL MEMBERS: None
8. COUNCIL CONSIDERATION: None
3. COUNCIL SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS AND MEETING ATTENDANCE
REPORTSICOUNCIL MEMBER COMMENTS:
C/Herrera congratulated Eileen Tillery for her recognition by the Friends of
the Library, Supervisor Knabe's Office and Senator Huffs office and the
City of DB. Thanks to Eileen for 50 years of volunteerism to the City and
contributing so many things to the Friends of the DB Library which has
allowed them to hold fundraisers for additional programming for the library.
The City has greatly benefited from Eileen's generosity and dedication and
DB is very fortunate to have her in the City. Eileen will be relocating to
Upland to be with her daughter and she will be missed. C/Herrera stated
that she has been a very special inspiration to all of DB.
C/Herrera reported that she has attended several meetings during the
past two weeks. On April 18 she attended the San Gabriel Valley Council
of Government meeting and was very disturbed by a resolution that was
being proposed for adoption by the San Gabriel Valley COG Board.
Southern California Edison has the Tehachapi Renewable Transmission
project and throughout the greater region people have most likely noticed
the extraordinarily high transmission towers which are proposed to align
through various cities and are now coming close to DB. Fortunately, it will
not come through DB but it will go through Chino Hills. Edison is asking
the San Gabriel Valley COG to adopt a resolution that would allow
undergrounding of these towers instead of the massive towers being
placed next to homes in Chino Hills which would cost between $400
million to $1 billion providing the City of Chino Hills paid for it. In her
opinion, this is a shift in policy for the San Gabriel Valley Council of
Governments and is certainly not the norm of business. Certainly if one of
the cities that DB participates with and other organizations such as
League of Cities or Contract Cities, if there is a city that does something
that some disagree with they do not adopt resolutions to not support that
city and she is very disturbed the SVCOG is going in this direction. There
were people from the City of Chino Hills that spoke out against SVCOG
adopting this resolution. Chino Hills is not in the San Gabriel Valley, is in
another county and outside the jurisdiction of the SVCOG. Chino Hills is
in San Bernardino County. The matter was continued to the meeting of
May 30 and she plans to vote No and not support the resolution.
MAY 7, 2013 PAGE 8 CITY COUNCIL
On April 24 a group of individuals traveled to Sacramento to visit very
important offices and met with staff members of the Assembly
Transportation Committee, staff members of the California Transportation
Commission and staff members of the State Business Transportation and
Housing Agency. C/Chang, CM/DeStefano and PWD/Liu also attended
with the intent to ask for these agencies to help DB get the SR60 identified
as a critical and vital link between the 710 and 15 as a Goods Movement
Corridor. Having this corridor recognized as a critical and vital link has the
potential for funding from the Federal government to help fix the SR57/60
Interchange which DB has been working on for a long time. She thanked
PWDILiu who put together a booklet that was presented to everyone they
met with including individuals from the City of Industry, all of whom were
very impressed with the booklet and with PWD/Liu for his leadership in.
meetings and talking with individuals. She is very proud that PWD/Liu is
part of the DB team and thanked him for his outstanding job. Last week
she attended the Southern California Association of Governments General
Assembly and at each of the Council seats at the dais she placed a copy
of the summary. In mid -2012 SCAG adopted the Regional Transportation
Plan and commissioned six subcommittees to work on filling out more
details within the plan. The six subcommittees are Active Transportation,
Goods Movement, High Speed Rail and Transit, Public Health,
Sustainability and Transportation Finance. The subcommittees came up
with additional points contained in the summary she has shared with her
colleagues and staff, which were adopted and approved by the General
Assembly.
She asked that tonight's meeting be adjourned in memory of Reon Moag,
a 50 year resident of DB and a very active volunteer in Junior Ail -
American Football, DB Girls Softball and many, many other organizations.
One reason DB is a good and wonderful place to live is because of its
volunteers and how very hard they work to make DB better and benefit the
youth.
C/Tye congratulated the Friends of the Library on a successful 20th Annual
Wine Soiree a couple of weeks ago. He wished there was record of the
10s of thousands of dollars the Friends have contributed to the library, to
having the reading garden built, the many books that are available, and
the computers they continue to support. He also thanked the food
contributors such as Whole Enchilada, Mandarin Taste, East 180 and
asked residents to say thank you when they visit the establishments.
Other contributors include Xavier's Florist, and In -and -Out. During the
past couple of weeks the Walnut Valley Education Foundation held its
Annual Teddy Bear Tea which is another opportunity to see what a
generous community DB has where every penny raised by the Foundation
goes for mini -grants for the teachers which helps them do things for their
classes that the District is no longer providing, not unlike the Friends of the
Library providing things that the County Library system is no longer
MAY 7, 2013 PAGE 9 CITY COUNCIL
providing. Earlier tonight it was a pleasure to be part of honoring Eileen
Tillery who founded this organization as well as being a charter member
of that organization or an executive director of this and that and simply
put, it boils down to one word — Eileen is a Dynamo! She has been a
wonderful contributor to this community and has made a difference in DB.
DB is grateful for everything she has done and everyone is sorry to see
her move away but know that it is in her best interest. DB looks forward to
seeing Eileen at every opportunity.
C/Chang reminded everyone that they can follow her activities on
Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare and Pinterest. CM/DeStefano, C/Tye,
M/Tanaka and she attended the Contract Cities Board meeting in
Paramount honoring outgoing president Diane Martinez who did a
phenomenal job with the association this past year. The new slate of
officers was ratified and C/Tye will be the new President of Contract
Cities. She and MPTIEverett attended Senator Huffs Education Summit
which was eye-opening. Many school principals were in attendance and it
was good to hear from them as well. The Friends of the Library Wine
Soiree was very well attended and is always a fun event. Congratulations
on a great and successful event. She also attended the Diamond Bar
Community Foundation's "Spotlight on the Arts". This year it was
fascinating to see a DBHS student, Tiffany Dean, actually conducting the
orchestra for a segment of Swan Lake and she was phenomenal. She
and MPTIEverett were present to appreciate DBHS and DRHS orchestras'
performances.
Continuing on C/Herrera's discussion regarding their trip to Sacramento,
ClCang said the idea was to get the SR57160 into the State's Freight
plan and DB has been working very, very hard on this issue for the past
few years.
Eileen Tillery is a phenomenal human being and has always been a role
model for ClChang. C/Chang told Eileen this afternoon that she would like
to grow up to be exactly like her and hopefully C/Chang can learn a lot
more from her in her retirement.
MPT/Everett stated that many of his activities have been addressed but in
the form of "Discover Diamond Bar" The places are great but he thinks the
programs and organizations are equally great and impactful and the
bottom line is, the people -- people like Eileen Tillery who is retiring from
the Friends of the Library and has been over 50 years in every activity in
DB — founder, negotiator, volunteer model. On April 18 he went to a
celebration with M/Tanaka and several other elected and representatives
to the retirement of Battalion Chief Ed Gandara, just under 30 years of
service.
MAY 7, 2013 PAGE 10 CITY COUNCIL
Along with C/Chang and others including many educators from Orange
County, he attended Bob Huffs 4th Annual Educational Summit which was
stimulating and challenging. Diamond Bar is a community that believes
highly in education. He attended the 17th Annual Teddy Bear Tea by the
Walnut Valley Education Foundation and the 20th Annual Wine Soiree on
April 21. The community teamwork; the local restaurants and food
providers, service entities are there from all over and come from all-over -
our neighbors from Chino Hills, DB and Walnut and all around, to have fun
and socialize and most of all it is a benefit auction and it is phenomenal. It
is the only really funding source for Friends of the Library and you know
what Friends of the Library have done recently — you see it all around in
the library near the City Hall and with people like Eileen Tillery retiring we
need to all pick up and do some more. He spent Monday, April 22
celebrating with friends from Walnut, a Quiet Zone commemoration on
Brea Canyon Road. There is also one on Lemon near the Valley
Boulevard train crossing. The City ,has some of those in our plans on the
DB side in our Goals & Objectives. It takes literally millions of dollars to
get a "Quiet Zone" due to all of the safety preparation, engineering and
approval. But it is safe and very quiet.
Tonight we heard a great presentation by Gil Rivera describing the
Sheriff's Booster volunteers who are so important and who contribute real
money hours to serve and free up the Sheriff's Department. The
challenge from the new captain . is to expand these resources. There are
31 volunteers from DB and we want to double it if we can The second
group he spoke about was the Explorers. We have four explorers from
DB, one from DRHS and three from DBHS. We'd like to have more.
These young people are fantastic individuals and we met some of them at
the celebration and awards program this past month at the Royal Vista
Golf Course. We have five Reserve Deputies in DB — one Mark St.
Amant. You know him. They get paid $1 per year. One that was honored
at the awards banquet is a man who as a reserve was a part of a narcotics
team and is now waiting for his canine unit to be delivered to him. So it is
unlimited opportunity in that area as a Reserve Deputy. Disaster
Communications System we have two volunteers from DB and if you have
interest ham radio licensing helps, consider that. If you are unable to find
the time to do one of those four elements of volunteer — Volunteer,
Explorer, Reserve Deputy or DCS volunteer, join the Boosters with Gil and
$15 - $25 for a family annually. It's a lot of fun and a regular annuity and
the more we have participating in that membership the more revenue we
have coming into the station for our reserve officers and our volunteers.
On Thursday, April 25 he joined M/Tanaka as he opened the DB Seniors
Softball Intercity League The next day he went with M/Tanaka to the Arbor
Day Celebration at Pantera Park as well as attending the "Spotlight on the
Arts" .It was a fantastic experience with that young director from DBHS.
MAY 7, 2013 PAGE 11 CITY COUNCIL
Also performing was the String Orchestra from DRHS under the direction
of Mr. Ruis. Pacific Crest was there with DRHS — Pacific Crest and DBHS
and DBHS had Mr. Acciani with his wind ensemble. Also performing were
the woodwinds ensemble from Mr. Ruis at DRHS and then finally the
symphony orchestra of DBHS — Mr. Acciani -- music from the 1600's,
1700's, 1800's and even several from 1958.
May 1 he had a chance to be at Pomona Unified School District to
celebrate their recognition for serving consistent with the theme of the
night, the serving of people at the Friends of the Library — Eileen Tillery
and many that :you see here and in our community. He and M/Tanaka
then had a chance to watch the new format of the presentation/recognition
of service awards and that went very well, a video audio-visual done by
one of their senior students available online and it went very fast, not a lot
of talking, just moving quickly seeing the recipients of service awards in
their school or in their place of dedication. He and M/Tanaka attended the
WVUSD World Cafe May 1 along with other parents, community leaders,
students of all ages in the classroom as well as, parents. The World Cafe
is a meeting which centered around the 215 Century skills and it's an
ongoing project to discuss and develop common core — "Common Core" is
a major national thrust for education to reach and stretch us into the 21St
Century. The information was presented to us by people at each one of
the workshop tables. Then placed online and available so that you and I
can continue to interact with developing the education for WVUSD and
probably others into the 215{ Century. With that he hoped everyone had
thought about some ways and places they might find in discover DB, a
little bit richer, a little bit deeper.
M1Tanaka. spoke about attending the Pomona Habitat for Humanity's
Volunteer Recognition luncheon. He also attended the California Contract
Cities Association meeting in Paramount. He congratulated CITye on
being elected President for the California Contract Cities Association. He
attended the retirement celebration for retiring Battalion Chief Gandara
and on that Friday he attended the Arbor Day Celebration at Pantera
Elementary School during which all. grades performed different songs and
read essays describing what Arbor Day meant to them. Stories about pine
trees from the forest service were given and how to plant and they also
helped plant five new trees on campus.. He thanked CSCCTarazon and
her staff for coordinating a wonderful event. On Saturday, April 20 he
served as Master of Ceremonies for the Walnut Valley Educational
Foundation's Teddy Bear Tea. Each school site decorates and donates
gift basket and they hold a silent live auction with the money used for
classroom or school site mini -grants. On Sunday, April 21 the Friends of
the Library hosted a wonderful Wine Soiree with silent and live auctions
and there was great food and wine to taste. Thank you to all of the
participants. On April 22 he attended and thanked all of the DB Senior
MAY 7, 2013 PAGE 12 CITY COUNCIL
Volunteers for all of their work with a nice luncheon. On April 23 he met
with the Executive Director of Foothill Transit and received orientation as a
governing board member. On the 24th he attended the Walnut/DB
Station's Sheriff's Boosters Volunteer Recognition dinner. Congratulations
to all of the volunteers of the year and especially to Jorge Torres from DB.
He wished all of the DB Senior Softball teams good luck in their season
during their opening ceremonies and he had a chance to toss out the first
pitch. On May 1 PUSD celebrated their Community Services Awards and
Recognitions ceremony where individuals and organizations were
recognized for their donation of time and talent. They also recognized
money contributors who had donated more than $3000 to the district. The
event was attended by different individuals, . family, teachers,
administrators, school board members and a government representative
as well. The WVUSD held its World Cafe. It was great to see that there
was large attendance by teachers, administrators and students as well.
DRHS held a groundbreaking ceremony to modernize the football and
track field on May 2 and they will be getting new artificial turf with school
logos and graphics, new goal posts and scoreboards similar to DBHS
which had theirs done a couple of years ago. They will also be getting a
new track surface and lighting on the field. That evening he attended the
Senior's Cinco de Mayor dinner dance where there was Mexican
Folklorico dancing from different regions of Mexico that were performed by
young dancers. There was a delicious Mexican dinner followed by
dancing and door prizes as well. On May 6 the American Cancer Society
Relay for Life in DB held a fundraiser at Chili's Restaurant and the DB
Relay for Life this year is going to be held at Lorbeer Middle School on
June 8 and 9. This evening everyone heard about honoring a longtime
resident and volunteer, Eileen Tillery and were able to congratulate her for
her long support of the Friends of the Library organization over the past 20
years. He thanked 40 of the DBHS students for attending tonight's
meeting and commented that there are only two and one-half weeks of
school but that they are getting their assignment completed and we will
see you all at graduation on the 30th.
ADJOURNMENT: With no further business to conduct, M/Tanaka
adjourned the Regular City Council Meetin at 7:43 p.m. in memory of Reon
Moag.
9 �
TOMMYlt CRIBBINS, CITY CLERK
The foregoing minutes are hereby approved this %i St day of m,
20 .
JACK TANAKA, MAYOR