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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10/01/2013 Minutes - Regular MeetingMINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY OF DIAMOND BAR OCTOBER 1, 2013 CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Jack Tanaka called the Regular City Council meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. in the Windmill Community Room, Diamond Bar City Hall, 21810 Copley Drive, Diamond Bar, CA. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Mayor Tanaka led the Pledge of Allegiance. INVOCATION: Monsignor James Loughnane, St. Denis Catholic 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 Doyle, Assistant City Manager; Omar Sandoval, Assistant City Attorney; Dianna Honeywell, Finance Director; Greg Gubman, Community Development Director; David Liu, Public Works Director, Bob Rose, Community Services Director; Ken Desforges, IT Director; Ryan McLean, Assistant to the City Manager; Kimberly Young, Associate Engineer; Cecilia Arellano, Public Information Coordinator; Alfredo Estevez, Help Desk Support Technician; and, Tommye Cribbins, City Clerk. APPROVAL OF AGENDA: As Presented. 1. SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS, CERTIFICATES, PROCLAMATIONS: NEW BUSINESS OF THE MONTH: 1.2 Mayor Tanaka and Council presented a Certificate Plaque to Mike Navas, owner of Hunan Restaurant, 1155 S. Diamond Bar Boulevard, Unit L, as New Business of the month for October 2013. 2. CITY MANAGER REPORTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS: None. 3. PUBLIC COMMENTS: Pui-Ching Ho, Diamond Bar Library Acting Librarian, announced upcoming events: High school students will read and discuss Jane Austin's novel "Pride and Prejudice" on October 2 at 4:00 p.m. The Teen Literature Circle will meet every Wednesday during the month of October. On Saturday, October 5 at 2:00 p.m. elementary school children will learn how to design and build a rubber band powered car. For more information, stop by the Library's Reference Desk or call 909-861-4978. Beginning Wednesday, October 16 at 10:00 a.m. in the Windmill Community Room a series of five workshops will be offered to children and parents of newborn to four years old. These workshops are designed to help both parents and children learn to play together as well as learning about local resources for parenting. Included in the workshops topics to OCTOBER 1, 2013 PAGE .2 CITY COUNCIL be discussed will include child development, nutrition, speech, literacy and dental care. Ms. Ho also invited students from kindergarten through 12th grade to enter the annual bookmark contest to create a bookmark designed around books and/or reading. Bookmarks will be judged on creativity and originality. Entry forms are available at the library and must be returned no later than October 19. Winners will be notified in November. Dr. Nove Deypalan, founder and music director of the Walnut Valley Symphony Orchestra, invited Council, young musicians and members of the community to join the Orchestra and Master Chorale. Auditions will be held on October 6 for the orchestra at the Walnut Senior Center and Sunday, October 6 from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. for choir members. This is open to all ages and groups. Nancy Lyons stated that in speaking with residents she has heard comments about the lack of casual and upscale sit down restaurants and retail shopping in Diamond Bar. She asked the City to consider being more business friendly and streamline the permit process. She also suggested working with the San Gabriel Valley Chamber of Commerce to bring more businesses to the City. Last month she attended the "Wine Walk" in Claremont which was a tour of downtown businesses. Also, Glendora presents "A Taste of the Village" to encourage people to patronize restaurants and retail stores. She suggested that the City Council consider appointing a task force to work on increasing business and retail in the City. RESPONSE TO PUBLIC COMMENTS: CM/DeStefano responding to the last speaker stated that the City is working very hard to bring businesses to the City. Diamond Bar is the single largest contributor to the San Gabriel Valley Chamber of Commerce contributing $12,000 per year to help market Diamond Bar, Diamond Bar businesses, property owners and employers large and small. At the last City Council meeting he mentioned the success' he believes both Council and staff is having citywide with respect to full shopping centers and that it includes not only retailers but restaurants, medical as well as other office uses. Diamond Bar restaurants with the exception of a few in the northern part of the City are doing extremely well. A short time ago the City produced a Restaurant Guide to help to further promote some 100 restaurants in the City. The guide lists restaurants by the type of food served, price points, website information, delivery service information, etc. The City can always use more restaurants and the City has made every effort to get a restaurant next to Chili's which is the number one restaurant in the City and the number one restaurant for most of the immediate area. Diamond Bar went after Chili's a few years ago because the City knew it would be good for the community and do well in this area. The problem OCTOBER 1, 2013 PAGE 3 CITY COUNCIL n N with the property next door is that the current owner (Panda Express) bought the property at the peak of the market and they are struggling to make that business -decision work which has resulted in them seeking the highest rents in the City which is why the property remains vacant. The $3.50 per square foot is about a dollar more than other rents for business properties in the City. While staff and the Council continue to work on getting other business in the City it remains somewhat difficult because Diamond Bar does not have a "downtown" area enjoyed by other cities such as Claremont, LaVeme and Glendora nor does it have a centralized Chamber of Commerce that has a closer link to the business community. CMIDeStefano further stated that he and CDDIGubman are meeting with the property owners of the Kmart property to discuss a new plan. The property owner has purchased the parcels two doors away where East West Bank and Baskin-Robbins are located. While land is scarce, Diamond Bar continues to move forward to attract businesses. Diamond Bar is a very business -friendly community. In fact, the Kosmont Rose Institute study on southern California cities and their business -friendly attitudes including time to process projects, costs associated with processing projects, regularly lists Diamond Bar as a very low-cost "to-do business" City. This is a tool that the City has benefited from when marketing to developers and businesses. While staff would like to have additional fees for work performed, the City's fees remain low and covers only the costs and work to the advantage of the City in attracting developers and businesses. SCHEDULE OF FUTURE EVENTS: 5.1 Planning Commission Meeting — October 8, 2013 — 7:00 p.m., Windmill Community Room, 21810 Copley Drive. 5.2 Traffic and Transportation Commission Meeting — October 10, 2013 — 7:00 p.m., Windmill Community Room, 21810 Copley Drive. 5.3 City Council Meeting October 15, 2013 - 6:30 p.m., Windmill Community Room, 21810 Copley Drive. CONSENT CALENDAR: C/Herrera moved, CITye seconded, to approve the Consent Calendar as presented. Motion carried by the following Roll Call vote: AYES: COUNCIL MEMBERS: Chang, Herrera, Tye, MPT/Everett M/Tanaka NOES: COUNCIL MEMBERS: None ABSENT: COUNCIL MEMBERS: None OCTOBER 1, 2013 PAGE 4 CITY COUNCIL 6.1 APPROVED CITY COUNCIL MINUTES — Regular Meeting of September 17, 2013 - As Submitted. 6.2 RECEIVED AND FILED PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES — Regular Meeting of July 25, 2013. 6.3 RECEIVED AND FILED TRAFFIC AND TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION MINUTES — Regular Meeting of August 8, 2013. 6.4 RATIFIED CHECK REGISTER — Dated September 12, 2013 through September 25, 2013 totaling $1,634,331.53. 6.5 APPROVED TREASURER'S STATEMENT W Month of August 2013. 6.6 AUTHORIZED THE CITY MANAGER TO PURCHASE ONE FORD F-350 XLT SUPER DUTY WORK TRUCK FROM MCCOY MILLS FORD AT A COST NOT TO EXCEED $48,000 USING FUNDS FROM THE EQUIPMENT REPLACEMENT (VEHICLES) AND ROAD MAINTENANCE FUNDS. 6.7 APPROPRIATED $20,000 FROM GENERAL FUND RESERVES TO THE PUBLIC WORKS OPERATING BUDGET AND APPROVED THE EXECUTION OF THE MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING (MOU) WITH THE LOS ANGELES GATEWAY WATER MANAGEMENT AUTHORITY (GWMA) TO DEVELOP A WATERSHED MANAGEMENT PROGRAM AND COORDINATED INTEGRATED MONITORING PROGRAM FOR THE LOWER SAN GABRIEL RIVER WATERSHED COMMITTEE "LSGR". 7. PUBLIC HEARING: None 8. COUNCIL CONSIDERATION: 8.1 ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 2013-30: THE EMPLOYEE DEFERRED COMPENSATION PLAN INVESTMENT POLICY AND APPOINT ITS MEMBERS. FD/Honeywell reported that shortly after incorporation in 1989, the City of Diamond Bar established a 457 Deferred Compensation Plan in order to encourage employees to build long term careers with the City by providing eligible employees with a convenient way to save on a regular and long term basis. This is a completely voluntary 100 percent employee funded plan. During the last decade, there have been legislative and regulatory changes that have impacted the way public sector employers must manage their deferred compensation plans. Employers are required to exercise OCTOBER 1, 2013 PAGE 5 CITY COUNCIL due diligence to ensure that fund options and provider services are competitive and provide optimal investment returns to participants. The City's Finance Department has engaged the services of the firm of Fiduciary Experts to conduct a comprehensive review of its Employee Deferred Compensation Plan. As a result of this review, the City is formalizing its fiduciary process under the provisions set forth and required by the California Constitution. The 457 plan states that the plan sponsor is the ultimate fiduciary of the plan and the plan sponsor in this case, is the City of Diamond Bar, which makes the City responsible for the oversight and management of the Plan. As a means of delegating this responsibility, the formalization of the 457 investment committee, the appointment of its members and the adoption of the plan investment policy, is a critical component in managing this liability. The Investment Committee will be tasked with providing input on fund selections and services rendered by the City's Deferred Compensation provider, which is currently ICMARC. The committee may negotiate lower costs and make adjustments to fund choices as well as educate participants on plan disclosures and plan. The committee would be in charge of facilitating the process to restructure plans and negotiate changes on the City's behalf as its fiduciary. The committee will document these processes as part of the best practices in order to provide consistency under a due diligence process. It is proposed the Investment Committee consist of the City Manager, Finance Director and Human Resources Manager, which would be the committee's "standing" members". In addition to these three standing members, it- is proposed that there would be two City staff members who are current participants in the plan and appointed by the standing members on an annual basis. This five - person committee would be tasked with acting on the City's behalf as its fiduciary. It is therefore recommended that the City Council establish an "Investment Committee", appoint its members and adopt the Investment Policy for the City's Deferred Compensation Plan. C/Herrera asked if there would be any alternates to the committee such as in the event of the City Manager's absence, should the committee have occasion to meet. OCTOBER 1, 2013 PAGE 6 CITY COUNCIL FD/Honeywell responded that a provision could be added to state the City Manager "or his designee". Generally, there is not a need for the committee to meet on an emergency basis and meetings are usually planned well in advance of the meeting date. CMIDeStefano stated that with a committee of five, a majority vote would be three and his sense is that it would be unlikely that there would be any less than five and certainly no less than three to provide a quorum. One option would be to leave the committee membership as recommended and another would be for the standing committee as referenced by the Finance Director to appoint a person to serve as an alternate in the absence of any of the other five committee members. Staff would recommend that the City Council move forward with five members as indicated but would remain open to comments, suggestions and directives. C/Herrera asked how often the committee would meet. FDIHoneywell responded that she was proposing quarterly or semi- annual meetings. CITye asked if it was staff's intention that appointed staff members would serve for a fixed term. FD/Honeywell responded that staff's proposal was that staff members would serve for a one-year period and rotate off. CITye asked if the same staff members could be re -appointed or would they have to take a break. FD/Honeywell said she believed it was advisable to limit the terms to provide for a fresh perspective. There was no one present who wished to speak on this matter. CITye moved, MPT/Everett seconded, to Adopt Resolution 2013-30 to establish the Deferred Compensation Plan Investment Policy. Motion carried by the following Roll Call vote: AYES: COUNCIL MEMBERS: Chang, Herrera, Tye, MPT/Everett, M/Tanaka NOES: COUNCIL MEMBERS: None ABSENT: COUNCIL MEMBERS:. None OCTOBER 1, 2013 PAGE 7 CITY COUNCIL 8.2 APPROVE FOR FIRST READING ORDINANCE NO. 08 (2013): ADDING CHAPTER 9.02 TO TITLE 9 OF THE DIAMOND BAR CITY MUNICIPAL CODE ESTABLISHING A REWARD FOR INFORMATION LEADING TO THE ARREST OR CONVICTION OF A PERSON DAMAGING PROPERTY AS A RESULT OF A RESIDENTIAL BURGLARY. ACM/Doyle read the 'Title into the record as required by law and provided staffs report. ACM/Doyle stated that under Section 9.02.010 the first sentence states that "The City Council is authorized to offer and pay a reward for information leading to the identification and apprehension of any person or persons who willfully damage or destroy any real property or personal property" which should read "arrest or conviction" rather than "apprehension". ACM/Doyle stated that thanks to the Diamond Bar City Council and its recognition of public safety as being the highest priority as well as, the City's excellent working relationships with its partner, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department that residents in Diamond Bar enjoy one of the lowest crime rates in Los Angeles County. Certainly, serious and violent crimes are nearly non-existent in this .community. However, that does not mean that residents are not the victims of crime. Diamond Bar, like other affluent communities, is the victim of vehicle and residential burglaries, and while these vehicle and residential burglaries are low in overall numbers as compared to other communities, staff and the City Council believes that if one resident is the victim of crime it is one too many. As a result, the City is always looking at opportunities to discourage thieves and crooks and encourages arrest of thieves and crooks that enter this community. One of the best ways to prevent vehicle and residential burglaries is to have neighbors watching out for one another because it is impossible to put a police officer on every corner and every house 2417. Staff is proposing a rewards program so that when someone is a victim of a crime or someone observes a crime in progress or suspicious activity, this program will encourage them to call the Sheriff's Department. Such examples have occurred in which neighbors have witnessed suspicious activity and called the Sheriff's Department which resulted in arrests of burglars and recovery of property. This tool will promote the effort to watch out for each other and reward those individuals who get involved and help stop crime in Diamond Bar. The basis of the program would be that if an individual witnesses a crime in progress and calls the Sheriff's Department, if the person is arrested or convicted, the individual who called in the matter would be eligible for a $100 reward. OCTOBER 1, 2013 PAGE 8 CITY COUNCIL This ordinance was reviewed and approved unanimously by the Public Safety Committee last week and is now before the City Council for consideration. If the City Council approves first reading of this ordinance this evening, staff will immediately market and promote this program encouraging residents to watch out for each other and to report any suspicious activity. C/Herrera said she thought the program was a great idea and would send a strong message to people who intend to commit crimes that Diamond Bar has zero tolerance for such activity. She asked if signage would be installed to advertize the program to deter crime. ACM/Doyle responded that the Public Information Department will be marketing the plan to residents and businesses as well as, service providers. Staff will look at all opportunities to market to criminals as well. . C/Tye said he did not believe folks were motivated by money but felt the reward should be worthwhile and believed it would be more impactful if the City were to offer $000 per incident and budget $10,000 for the program. C/Tye questioned whether the reward would be paid upon arrest or conviction. ACM/Doyle explained that guilt can be established at the time of arrest; however, convictions can take years. C/Tye said he wanted to avoid a Christopher Dorner situation where it was not clear about whether the money should be awarded, who should get a reward and whether or not any reward should be paid because he was not actually convicted of a crime. C/Tye said he was also concerned about the reward recipients remaining anonymous to the greatest extent of the law, to avoid discouraging future witnesses from providing tips and wondered why witnesses might not have complete anonymity. ACA/Sandoval stated that under the Public Records Act and Privacy Law the identity could be kept anonymous only if the City made the payment in cash. Although the City promises anonymity, the City cannot guarantee anonymity because many things can happen that would cause the identity of the person to be revealed, which is the reason for the language. If the City Council wanted to keep the reward completely anonymous, it would have to be a cash rewards program. Public funds are subject to audit and during the OCTOBER 1, 2013 PAGE 9 CITY COUNCIL annual audit of the City the City Manager will have to prove that he did not pocket the money. For that reason because the City is dealing with public funds, everything the City does is open to public review which is the reason for the language in the ordinance. ACM/Doyle responded to CITye that the City's goal is to encourage people to participate in the program and the City Council may bring those people to a Council meeting for recognition which has happened in the past. However, the City wants to be sensitive to whether people want to stay anonymous and if they do, the City will do everything within its scope and power to make that happen. MPT/Everett said he agreed with CITye that $500 would give the program more impact. He also agreed with the efforts toward anonymity. MPT/Everett moved and CITye seconded the approval for first reading, waiving full reading of Ordinance No. 08 (2013), along with amending the amount of the award of up to $500. Motion carried by the following Roll Call vote: AYES: COUNCIL MEMBERS: Chang, Herrera, Tye, MPT/Everett, M/Tanaka NOES: COUNCIL MEMBERS: None ABSENT: COUNCIL MEMBERS: None 9. COUNCIL SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS AND MEETING ATTENDANCE REPORTSICOUNCIL MEMBER COMMENTS: . C/Chang reminded everyone they could follow her on Facebook and Twitter. She participated in the Chili's nationwide fundraiser for St. Jude Medical Center and Children's Hospital a couple of weeks ago. She received an award from the Diamond Bar Evergreen Senior Club. She attended the League of California Cities Annual Conference with CMIDeStefano, ACM/Doyle and ATCMIMcLean in Sacramento last week. Most recently she was invited to Quail Summit Elementary School to honor Caleb Lim and Sai Dilip Ponnaganti for completing their Eagle Scout projects, a beautification of the school project which included planters and a Japanese garden. Caleb is a former student and Sai is a graduate of Castle Rock Elementary. Last Thursday she and MCTanaka attended the Parks and Recreation Commission meeting honoring the 96 Volunteens and their families. CITye said that in spite of the nonsense going on in Washington, D.C. Diamond Bar is open for business and will continue doing business as necessary on behalf of its residents. OCTOBER 1, 2013 PAGE 10 CITY COUNCIL CITye welcomed back to Assistant Fire Chief Dave Stone for all that he did to assist with the Yosemite fire and congratulated FD/Honeywell and her team for Diamond Bar being recognized for Excellence in Financial Reporting. He thanked them for all that they do and said that Diamond Bar has a wonderful staff and the City appreciates everything they do. C/Herrera reported that she attended the San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments meeting on September 26 and a full hour and one-half was spent discussing Congresswoman Judy Chu's National Recreational Area proposal. The San Gabriel Valley COG was asked to provide input regarding the legislation. A great deal of debate and arguing about water rights, a very serious issue, took place since several of the foothill cities receive their water from the San Gabriel Mountains. Many people were concerned with private property rights and many of the cities were concerned with the intrusion into their city limits and whether this National Recreation area would propose doing something different in their cities that they perhaps did not want. All of these provisions were taken care of in the resolution and she asked that the final language be emailed to her so that she could share the final action and vote with her colleagues and staff. This is merely a recommendation to Congresswoman Judy Chu and she may or may not accept it. There are those who are pressing her for including in her legislation provisions for protection of wild and scenic rivers. It will be a month or two for the'final legislative language to appear and she will report back to the Council upon receipt. MPT/Everett reported that on Wednesday after the last City Council meeting he attended the Los Angeles County Library Commission meeting and said that the work in the Diamond Bar Library is a model and respected. There was discussion about 21s� Century library planning including hardware and technology such as 3-D printers and robotics. The County is looking at options throughout the network and encouraged residents to take advantage of the many programs offered at the Diamond Bar Library. He and his wife attended the local Chili's Fundraiser on September 19 and 23. 'Chili's in Diamond Bar has been recognized as the number one spot in the nation and the local Chili's thanked the community for its support via The Windmill. Chili's was also recognized for employee retention, employee engagement, guest engagement, food and beverage cost, waste reduction and sales records as well as, the highest profit over plan.. He also attended the Planning Commission meeting on Tuesday, September 24. to congratulate the new Chairman Tony Torng and Vice Chairman Frank Farago as well as, the newest Commissioner, Ash Dhingra. OCTOBER 1, 2013 PAGE 11 CITY COUNCIL Friday, September 27 he attended the Public Safety meeting with Fire Department personnel present who reminded everyone that it is a dry fire season condition so everyone beware. With respect to Agenda item 8.2 Neighborhood Watch and residential and business owner awareness have led to successful arrests. Thursday, September 26 MPT/Everett attended a Lunch hosted by the City and the Sheriff's Department for the principals in the Pomona Unified Schools and Walnut Valley Schools. Traffic issues, safety and burglary prevention and future community watch meetings were discussed. ACMIDoyle presided over the meeting and presented an update on the community trailer. MlTanaka welcomed Assistant Fire Chief Stone back to Diamond Bar and thanked him for his work on the Yosemite fire. The Tip -A -Firefighter Chili's fundraiser was a great success and he thanked the firefighters for their help in raising money for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. On Saturday the Diamond Bar Pageant hosted a Princess Tea for 50 princesses in the Windmill Room of City Hall. On Monday he joined golfers and sponsors of the Inland Valley Humane Society at their Golf Tournament Awards Dinner which was held at Western Hills Country Club. Funds raised went directly to the Inland Valley Humane Society which services Diamond Bar. On Tuesday he attended the Planning Commission meeting and helped welcome new Commissioner Ashok Dhingra. He congratulated new Chairman Tony Torng and Vice Chairman Frank Farago. On Wednesday he attended the Sanitation District's 21 meeting during which the Puente Hills Landfill closing for October was discussed. On Thursday he attended the Parks and Recreation Commission meeting to help congratulate all of the more than 107 Volunteens that were recognized and the almost 100 that were present at the meeting. The Volunteens participated with programs including Tiny Tots, Senior Citizens, Day Camp, Concerts in the Park and Movies under the Stars, and Youth Sports .and amassed a total of 9,368 volunteer hours this summer. He and MPT/Everett attended the Public Safety meeting last Friday and on Sunday attended the last day of the Los Angeles County Fair. OCTOBER 1, 2013 PAGE 12 CITY COUNCIL He thanked the Diamond Bar High School Civics Class students for their participation in tonight's meeting and stated that the meeting is short this evening because there were no public hearings. ADJOURNMENT: With no further business to conduct, M/Tanaka adjourned the Regular City Council Meeting at 7:32 p.m. TOMMYE tRIBBINS, CITY CLERK The foregoing minutes are hereby approved this 15th day of October , 2013. JACK TANAKA, MAYOR