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HomeMy WebLinkAbout12/19/16 Minutes - Special MeetingMINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING OF THE CITY OF DIAMOND BAR DECEMBER 19, 2016 CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Lin called the Special City Council meeting to order at 8:00 a.m. in the Grand Conference Room of City Hall, 21810 Copley Drive, Diamond Bar, CA. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Mayor Lin led the Pledge of Allegiance ROLL CALL: Council Members Herrera, Lyons, Tye, Mayor Pro Tem Low and Mayor Lin Staff Present: James DeStefano, City Manager; Ryan McLean, Assistant City Manager; Greg Gubman, Community Development Director; Anthony Santos, Assistant to the City Manager; Amy Haug, Human Resources Manager, and Tommye Cribbins, City Clerk. APPROVAL OF AGENDA: 1. PUBLIC COMMENTS: As Presented. Cynthia Smith asked what the City Manager position entails and the tasks performed by the person in that position. She wanted to understand the detailed job -description of the City Manager position and how it relates to an Assistant or Deputy City Manager position as well as what the industry standard was for a typical tenure of a City Manager position. Does a City Manager have to have professional training to advise and/or coordinate natural resource conservation policies and projects in Diamond Bar? Does the City Manager issue a list of requirements from contractors and consultants? And most important to her, what is the relationship between the City Manager and development consultants, developers or consultants that have project bids or in granting projects in the City. She also asked if the City Manager position gains some sort of professional esteem or status or remuneration for securing development projects in the City — is there a quota, is there a production calendar that is perpetual on the City's agenda? CM/DeStefano responded to Ms. Smith by stating that the easiest way to describe what a City Manager does is to equate it to the private sector where the City Manager is quite often referred to as the "Chief Executive Officer' of this public corporation. City Managers are responsible for the overall organization, structure, implementation of City Council policies and directives, implementation of federal, state, county and local laws, and managing all of the different disciplines that are within the framework of the City's organization including Community Development, Information Systems, Finance, Human Resources, and Public Safety. A City Manager typically is someone who has worked in the public sector for several years, particularly so in California. Most often this person is a professional that has come from one of the disciplines previously mentioned. Often City Manager's come from the Finance arena or the Community Development arena. CM/DeStefano explained that he came from DECEMBER 19, 2016 PAGE 2 CITY COUNCIL the Community Development side. Linda Lowry who preceded him as City Manager came from the Finance side and prior to her, Terry Belanger came from the Community Services/City Managers arena. City Managers typically, but not always, come from the public sector and come with a history of public service and have usually served 10 plus years at an executive level. As far as a tenure of a City Manager, the ICMA reports indicate that City Managers tend to stay for no more than about four years, which has a lot to do with the political stability of any given community, the shift in the desires of the community and their City Councils. For a person in that position, four years is a really short period of time because it is difficult to get anything and see its implementation during that time - period. Personally, CM/DeStefano had the luxury of working toward his 11th year in Diamond Bar which is not unusual in a very stable community. Blaine Michaelis has been the City Manager in San Dimas for about 16 years; Mark Alexander has been the City Manager in La Canada Flintridge for about 14 years; newer City Managers in the San Gabriel Valley came from places they worked for 10-15 years. Chris Jeffers, the City Manager in Glendora has been there about 6-8 years and came from a City where he served for about 14 years. Rob Wishner has been the City Manager in Walnut for about 9 years and was a City Manager in other places as well. There are occasions in which City Managers last for only a few months due the instability of the City or the City Council. CM/DeStefano responded to C/Tye that while he has been the City Manager for 11 years he has served Diamond Bar for more than 26 years. CM/DeStefano stated that regarding a City Manager's background and interests in natural resource preservation, this is typically not an area of expertise that a City Manager brings to the table; however, it is part of the broad palate of responsibility within a community. It also depends on the community's values. He said he did not believe Hawaiian Gardens, for example, cares as much about natural resources and preservation of open spaces, a community that is fully developed, versus a community that has beautiful hillsides and vacant spaces to develop or preserve within its community. Most City Managers have a background in some form of Community Development, either directly in processing projects that come from planning architecture or City Manager backgrounds, or are familiar with it because development is an issue in any City. There is no quota, no contract and no remuneration/compensation that comes to a City Manager as a result of anything the City Manager does. Acquisition of open space or development of property is determined by the City Council which sets the goals for fiscal strength and stability and part of that responsibility is to find revenue sources, one of which can be "development" in order to fund things like Public Safety and Parks and Recreation, etc. MPT/Low said that with respect to cities having long-standing relationships with their City Managers, a cynical person might say that the reason a City Manager has lasted so long is because he/she is somehow in with the City Council and does their bidding. In reality and in addition to the stability issue, a more realistic DECEMBER 19, 2016 PAGE 3 CITY COUNCIL view of why some City Managers have longer tenures in their cities is because of the good working relationship with a stable City Council compared to someone who does not have that good relationship. CM/DeStefano said he felt the demeanor of the City Council speaks to the stability of employment and Diamond Bar has had a very stable community for 20 to 22 years. There were a couple of rough years in the mid 90's, but the then City Manager weathered that particular storm, was with the City for almost nine years and went on to serve as a City Manager in another jurisdiction. It is the stability — if the Council is stable and provides good judgment and good direction then it is easier for the City Manager to implement those desires. As Council's change over the years through election and re-election, as long as the base is solid and the philosophies remain the same, typically a City Manager will be in a place for 10 years or so. It really starts at the top. If this was the unstable environment that existed in 1994-1995 CM/DeStefano said he would not have stayed in Diamond Bar for 10 years because the Council was changing pretty rapidly and a couple of the Council Members were not the best and deliberately stirred things up. C/Tye said he wondered if CM/DeStefano would have even accepted the position of City Manager. CM/DeStefano responded no, in fact, to that point, Council does not have to be 5-0 and the Council can have professional disagreements. It is when those disagreements carry over from meeting to meeting and Council Members begin to toss accusations, it is with that kind of instability that city's will not get good candidates because those meetings and statements are all a part of the public record and press. Again, it is not a matter of total and complete agreement, it is a matter of respectful disagreement and collaborative nature and vision of looking forward and retention of the foundational goals as Diamond Bar has had as a contract city that are important as well as, having been and being good stewards of the public's trust, finances and so forth. As he looks to retire, Diamond Bar will have the benefit of having had a current and previous City Councils that has managed this City well which will guarantee an active and robust round of candidates to consider. MPT/Low said that anyone who is interested in putting in their application and for members of the public, the stability and goals that have been put forth by the Council over the years is all a matter of public record, and anybody who wants to can see that the City's economic development and fiscal prudence has always been in a particular direction and she personally does not see changing course at this time. CM/DeStefano said he believed that was fair based upon conversations and actions of the City Council. The Council will not have any problem finding a candidate to select as its next City Manager. The Council has had 20-22 years of stability and has kept the City fiscally sound since day one and particularly in DECEMBER 19, 2016 PAGE 4 CITY COUNCIL the past 20-22 years. City Managers who will be coming from places with instability and where things may have changed as a result of the last election, places where they are struggling financially and will always be struggling. Diamond Bar has not had those issues and the Council has maintained its focus on Public Safety, Parks and Recreation, good customer service, and been good stewardship for the community. All of these things have been visible in Diamond Bar for many years. Some Council Members have been around longer than others and newer Council Members have continued to share that same philosophy and carried it forward. As the newest Council Members, it sounds to him like MPT/Low wishes to continue that. Those are all very, very good signs. Diamond Bar has beautiful parks, clean streets, absent potholes and it is because the City has the money to hire the right professionals to implement and maintain those things and there will be a lot of interest because of these things. The fact that the City does not have labor unions within its organizational structure will be very beneficial to the City Manager. There are certainly instances where representation is needed, but that can also get in the way of cities. Diamond Bar's internal organizational structure has been extraordinarily successful without barriers that unions can sometimes create. Finally, the Council expends and has a great priority for Public Safety and the fact that the City through contracts with LA County and the Fire Department District is extremely beneficial to the Council running the organization. It is also very important on the Human Resources/Labor Management side, which can be a nightmare which Diamond Bar does not have. That makes Diamond Bar rather unique and is of great interest to a lot of City Managers because they can focus in on the core issues without having to deal with labor issues that can get in the way and in addition, that financial burden has been lifted as well. MPT/Low said she felt that other issues were important as well including an open door policy and transparency between the City Manager, Council and the public. She asked how CM/DeStefano saw the issue of communicating with the public and the transparency of the business of the City. CM/DeStefano said he saw that as being exactly the same. A successful City Manager in any size community has to be accessible to the public, has to have an open door, and has to be transparent. The City Manager works for the City Council. The City Manager does not technically work for the public (constituency/citizens). The City Manager will typically reflect the philosophy of the City Council and if not, becomes a two-year City Manager. A City Manager has to be all of those things — has to be out in the public, has to engage, has to listen, etc. It is an integral part of the position. M/Lin said in response to public comments about what kind of relationship the City Manager has with developers and consultants that the answer is very simple — no relationships. The City Manager works for the City Council to the benefit of the public and the City. It would not be helpful for the City Manager to favor any particular developer or consultant. Everything the City Manager does is for the benefit of the City. DECEMBER 19, 2016 PAGE 5 CITY COUNCIL 2. COUNCIL CONSIDERATION: 2.1 DISCUSSION OF CITY MANAGER RECRUITMENT. CM/DeStefano said the reason for today's meeting is that he has announced to the City Council that after 26 plus years in Diamond Bar and almost 11 years as City Manager, he will be retiring from the City in July 2017. Staff has put together a game plan for marketing and advertising for the upcoming vacancy to assist the City Council in selecting the next City Manager and trying to do so in a way that there can be an opportunity for the new City Manager coming in to have time for some crossover during the month of June. HRRM/Haug will walk the Council through confirmation of the recruitment process, profile components of an ideal candidate and other key issues and challenges moving forward. In addition, this meeting is to confirm the direction going forward. While it may seem early to begin advertising, in order to meet the publications of the major journals and magazines that attract City Manager readership and to get the word out to the City Manager profession, the City needs to begin making those decisions now. Western City (League of California Cities) magazine is a key statewide publication that requires an ad placement by January 3 for the February edition. The bulk of the advertising will take place in February for what is anticipated to be about a five -six week time period for which an individual who has interest may apply from early February into March. HRR/Haug provided Council with two documents: 1) Executive Search Process and 2) Draft Language for City Manager Recruitment Brochure. She stated that staff believes that what is outlined to be "best practices" in the industry for an Executive Search Process as well as, one that would suit Diamond Bar well. There are three phases in the search process, 1) Planning Phase, 2) Recruitment Phase and 3) Selection Phase. At this point, the City is undertaking the Planning Phase which includes defining the ideal candidate's characteristics, key opportunities, issues and challenges facing Diamond Bar in the next five years or so, keeping in mind what would be important to include in advertising as well as, a recruitment brochure. Staff is targeting February for an actual job- opening/application filing period and proposes that the period run from February 1 through March 12. Staff is looking to place an ad in the advertising section of Western City's February edition which will set the tone by publicly advertising what the City Council is looking for, which is potentially the most critical piece of this entire process. The ad is intended to set the direction, target outreach of candidates that meet the ideal qualifications, list what the job entails, and outline some of the key projects and priorities an incoming City Manager may anticipate. So the Council needs to spend time honing in on the key qualification criteria and elements of preferred candidates. Once the job DECEMBER 19, 2016 PAGE 6 CITY COUNCIL application period closes, applications will be reviewed against the criteria established by the City Council, thus it is very important that staff is made aware of all of the Council's desires for a preferred candidate. C/Lyons said that under the "responsible party" section, she spoke with CM/DeStefano about having a person from another City as part of the review process so there would be a disinterested party reviewing the applications. Her opinion is that there should not only be Diamond Bar people reviewing applications but someone from a similar city. CM/DeStefano asked if C/Lyons was referring to a well -seasoned and well-respected City Manager who has done this before and may have some familiarity with Diamond Bar to be able to assist in the process. C/Lyons said she was not necessarily thinking about a City Manager but definitely somebody at CM/DeStefano's level or ACM/McLean's level who had experience with the job and requirements from a City similar to Diamond Bar. CM/DeStefano said he was not sure that was necessary, but that it was up to the City Council to decide on its process. If the Council decided to bring someone in from outside of Diamond Bar, he would strongly recommend a seasoned and well-respected City Manager from the San Gabriel Valley. He could offer a couple of names of people who would not likely be a candidate and who would be interested and probably feel honored to assist, but definitely an individual at the City Manager level, because it would need to be someone who understood all of the dynamics as opposed to an elected official or an assistant planner, for example. C/ ye felt it should be a colleague — an HR colleague or a City Manager or Assistant City Manager. CM/DeStefano reiterated that if the Council decided to bring someone in, he would highly recommend it be a seasoned well-respected City Manager who is not a candidate for the position. C/Lyons said she valued CM/DeStefano's comments and asked her colleagues to comment. C/Tye asked if C/Lyons was talking about Step 4, resume review and candidate correspondence, not the interview process. CM/DeStefano said that this had not been discussed. The City will likely get 50 applications and when those applications are received, and to C/Lyons' point, this person will be invited in to cut through those applications to figure out which 12 to 15 the City Council should consider for a second or final interview. DECEMBER 19, 2016 PAGE 7 CITY COUNCIL C/Lyons said she would like an outside perspective. M/Lin asked what staff was trying to accomplish today HHRM/Haug responded that the City Council was being asked to confirm the process and to confirm the language for the proposed advertising and brochure, the two key elements that need to be accomplished this morning. M/Lin said this will be a long process and there will be public meetings and executive sessions so those kinds of issues as to who is to be involved can be eventually discussed. HHRM/Haug said this is a roadmap and it is not uncommon to make judgments along the way. There is some flexibility which could happen when the Council gets into the interview process which is typically an oral or verbal process and the City Council might decide that written skills are very important so that during that process, candidates could be given homework for example, and bring forth an executive summary memorandum that would employ samples of writing. Although that is not listed, it is a flexible option. This is the framework and outline for the process but it can be tweaked along the way. M/Lin asked about the deadline for submission of the ad for the February publication. HHRM/Haug said it depends. If the City were to provide the copy that is currently ready and meets all of the publication's specifications, the deadline would be January 3. However, if the City Council wants staff to pull together the advertising and proof for the City Council to approve, that deadline was last Thursday. However, she has reserved the ad space and the publication granted the City a bit of an extension for submitting the text for the brochure. The Westem City ad is 175 words. The actual text in the recruitment brochure is on the table and staff wants to get through that text to see what the Council's comments are; however, staff will put together an actual professional publication. Staff has time to get this done and it will be posted to the City's website. She needs to get the 175 words for the Western City ad. C/Herrera asked if today's meeting was called to get through Step 1 and 2. HHRM/Haug said yes, that was what she hoped to accomplish today C/Tye asked if there was consensus for C/Lyons recommendation. DECEMBER 19, 2016 PAGE 8 CITY COUNCIL MPT/Low said she would say yes and because CM/DeStefano is already on the board, perhaps it could be an executive from a business that would provide a different perspective that would be of more value. The five City Council Members each have different perspectives and she felt that C/Lyons' suggestion offered a different perspective. CM/DeStefano reiterated that although the Council did not ask his opinion, it would be better served for the City Council to bring in a well-respected and seasoned City Manager because the dynamics of the position of a company CEO are a lot different from that of a City Manager and that will not be seen by looking at a resume or application. A seasoned City Manager will duplicate what CM/DeStefano would be doing and look at the background, skills, work history, probably know somebody somewhere, and that seasoned City Manager who is already imbedded in the system will have a similar perspective to CM/DeStefano but have a different set of eyes and ears in looking at the application. A private CEO type will not know the nuances of this business and at this stage he is not sure it would be beneficial. M/Lin said he would agree with CM/DeStefano C/Lyons said that MPT/Low's statement about all five Council Members having different backgrounds and when the Council reviews the applications they are looking at those applications from those different perspectives. CM/DeStefano said that from those different backgrounds each Council Member will ask different questions. For example, M/Lin would probably ask more organizational types of questions where someone else may ask questions related more specifically to a particular discipline and so on. MPT/Low said that inasmuch as this is Item 4, the Council has time. CM/DeStefano said he could recommend three or four City Managers in the San Gabriel Valley that work for similarly structured cities. He would be honored to have them as part of the team because they are very good people. HHRM/Haug said that the application process will close March 12 (Sunday) and the application review will begin immediately thereafter. The previous discussion involves the technical assessment of the applications and from Council's discussion, that technical assessment will involve her (HHRM/Haug), CM/DeStefano and another seasoned City Manager which can be considered at that time. DECEMBER 19, 2016 PAGE 9 CITY COUNCIL HHRM/Haug said that the applications would be reviewed to narrow the selection to 10-12 applicants and that staff would look at public information resources to verify the background information. The applications will be brought to the City Council for review in Closed Session. The next time the City Council meets to discuss the search process it too will be in Closed Sessions and the remainder of the meetings will be in Closed Session as the Council works its way through the decision making process. CM/DeStefano said the reason these things take place in Closed Session is because it has to be a "confidential" process. City Managers will not be openly and actively looking to leave their current locations. Because the process is intended to generate the greatest number of applications of interest it has to be a highly confidential process which means it becomes a closed process. HHRM/Haug continued that as the Council works its way through the applications it will identify the top six to eight candidates who will be invited to interview. Staff will be working with the Council to develop the list of questions based on backgrounds, interest, perspectives, etc. to make sure that each candidate is thoroughly reviewed. Depending on whether the Council agrees to two or three top candidates they may wish to bring the applicants in for a second or final interview. Whoever the Council determines to be the finalist candidate they would be entered into the reference and background check stage. Once the background details and criminal histories, etc. are confirmed the City Council will work with CA/DeBerry to work through the terms and conditions of the Employment Agreement. The formal Employment Agreement will be brought forward to the City Council for a decision in May 2017 to review and improve during a regular business meeting, and the goal is to have the new City Manager on board in late June or early July to ensure a smooth transition. Because CM/DeStefano has given the Council ample notice it will have the luxury of working through this process. C/Herrera said that in terms of a third party looking at applications, she has the same opinion. What these two will be doing is working through a checklist which is being determined by the City Council to determine if the applications fulfill the checklist. Although she is of the opinion it would be good to have a third party she is confident that CM/DeStefano and HHRM/Haug can make their way through the applications according to the Council's checklist. She believes there will be closer to 100 applications rather than 40 because Diamond Bar is a very desirable City and it will be an arduous task to wade through that many applications. What CM/DeStefano and HHRM/Haug will be conducting is a pass/fail test and those that pass the test will go on to the next phase. She said she has confidence they can complete that task. DECEMBER 19, 2016 PAGE 10 CITY COUNCIL CM/DeStefano went through the various segments of the draft brochure prepared by HHRM/Haug, and said that the summation of the information would go into the Western City ad. He asked for Council questions, comments, change and general feedback. HHRM/Haug said the candidate requirements are comprised of two components: 1) minimum requirements — minimum education and experience including a Bachelor's degree, and 2) five years of experience working in government at the executive level (department head, assistant city manager, city manager) in the state of California. CM/DeStefano said that the reason for the statement that the experience should be in the state of California is because California is different from every other state. Some states have copied California but California experience is rather unique. In a very small organization such as Diamond Bar (53 full time employees) Diamond Bar would not want someone from Minnesota, for example, who would have to learn all of the California perspectives while trying to run the organization. Through this process Diamond Bar will receive applications from outside of the state because the word gets out, but his advice to the Council would be that it focus in on a California base. It could be someone who works in Minnesota who worked for many years in California and wants to come back which is different. But if the Council starts to look at candidates without California experience the learning curve will be much steeper and his honest opinion is that Diamond Bar is too small and it needs to move too quickly to allocate time for that type of learning curve. The process would most likely include language such as "California experience preferred" in order to automatically weed out candidates from other areas. C/Lyons asked if staff had prepared the content of the 175 word ad. HRRM/Haug responded that she did not prepare a draft but it goes fast and is a summation of the brochure. Basically, the ad is to catch people's attention and direct them to the website to see the full brochure which is where all of the details are. The ad will include minimum requirements to make sure the right candidate is being attracted. HRRM/Haug responded "by the size" which is the bigger box. HRRM/Haug said the following information would be included in the ad according to what she has heard from the City Council: Bachelor's Degree, minimum five -years of experience as an executive, California experience preferred and someone with a generalist background. As CM/DeStefano mentioned, they will have to roll up their sleeves and get involved in a variety of departments and issues within the City. To that end, the list includes economic development history, finance and budget experience, public safety experience, public-private partnerships, DECEMBER 19, 2016 PAGE 11 CITY COUNCIL development projects, technical agreements. C/Tye asked how it would be determined that someone would not merely turn over these items to a staff member or department head to handle and not be involved themselves. HRRM/Haug said that some of the homework staff will do before presenting City Council Members with the top 12-15 candidates is to look at their current work which can be determined through public information records such as supervision of public safety and various departments. Staff will look at City Council agendas and work that has been accomplished. Some of the investigatory work may have to be done later in the process. CM/DeStefano said that in today's environment where City Council meetings are routinely videotaped, one can go to websites and find that available and learn a lot more about what a manager is doing and not doing. Being a good manager does not mean that delegating is not a bad trait, but how actively engaged is the manager. Good questions that probe deeply are pertinent to getting that type of information. HRRM/Haug said that questions that will be important to the process will be behavior based questions such as "tell us about a time that you worked on this type of specific project" or, "tell us about a particular accomplishment having to do with x, y and Z' and in that way, all of that experience or lack thereof will be uncovered during the examination process. C/Lyons said that in her opinion, when speaking about the characteristics of Diamond Bar the cultural diversity would be important. HRRM/Haug said it was in the Position section, midway through the second paragraph which states that "as a representative of the City, the incoming City Manager should serve as an example to staff setting high standards of ethics and be particularly sensitive to Diamond Bar's diverse community." C/Lyons asked if it could be included in the ad by describing the City's diversity. CM/DeStefano referred Council to the Compton ad. It is very typical to have those kinds of statements in an ad. Obviously a City Manager candidate will probe much, much deeper into the community and figure out what those multi-racial/multi-cultural issues, opportunities and challenges might be and decide whether or not they wish to work in that type of community and whether it is a high-priority issue or just a foundational statement about the community and whether the Council is DECEMBER 19, 2016 PAGE 12 CITY COUNCIL more concerned with economic development or some other issue. C/Tye said he felt it was less of an issue in the ad than it is on the website because the ad points the prospective candidate to the website. M/Lin said he agreed that a responsible respondent would conduct very thorough research prior to submitting an application. C/Herrera said an applicant will also research who the Council Members are. HRRM/Haug reiterated the components of Part 1 of the process. Part 2 is KSAO/Knowledge, Skills, Abilities and Other characteristics which are things the City Council will evaluate during its review process such as, knowledge of legislative process, California state law, municipal operations, communication skills, negotiation skills and whether the applicant can make a long-term commitment to the City. These things will be vetted through the interview process and evaluated at that time. Those are things that she will not be able to tell by looking at an application but she believes it is worth including the Council's desires as it relates to those knowledge skills and abilities because the applicant is put on notice as to who the Council is looking for i.e. the ideal candidate profile. A couple of key highlights in the candidate profile are the ability to be diplomatic, strong ethics, integrity, etc. If the Council has strong feelings about including other items in the candidate profile let her know as there is time left to complete the design of the brochure. CM/DeStefano said that Diamond Bar has had the luxury of having City Managers that have lasted beyond the average tenure which again goes back to the City Council as the leaders of the organization and the community. Council will want a long-term commitment no matter what that definition is to Council. Every candidate will answer affirmatively and the reality is that most City Managers will be around for five or six years on their own. They may get pushed out for one reason or another, but five or six years is the typical commitment. While the Council is looking for long terms, Council is encouraged not to focus too much attention on that because Council will get the answer it wants. Obviously, the Council is looking for a long-term commitment. HRRM/Haug said the focus would be on getting the best candidate possible which would include someone willing to make a long-term commitment. CM/DeStefano said that Council would be able to tell based upon who they are without asking their age. One of the things candidates will ask is about the stability of Diamond Bar politically. There are three Council Member positions up in November and a candidate will be making a DECEMBER 19, 2016 PAGE 13 CITY COUNCIL decision to come to Diamond Bar while Council is making a decision on a candidate come May and six months later, there could be three different Council people and a City Manager has to look at that very carefully and weigh the facts of the politics. If these things are fairly stable and if he/she loses one Council Member for example, it will be okay. If two Council Members were lost, it might be a different consideration. Those kinds of things can affect the long-term nature of the relationship. C/Lyons asked if Council needs to be concerned about how far the City Manager lives from Diamond Bar. CM/DeStefano said probably not, because with today's technology, etc. the City Manager is never more than a phone call or email away. C/Tye said that his concern was about how committed someone might feel to be present so how does the Council get that information? CM/DeStefano said he would ask "how are you going to do that from Redlands" and see how you feel about the response and go back and sort all of that so that we will be able to know whether the City Manager has that commitment and care for the community. The City Council cannot force the City Manager to live in town — the City Council can negotiate for it, and in those areas where that becomes the desire of the City Council, the City usually pays for it in some respect - whether through some kind of housing allowance, or by some other means which would be determined during negotiations. C/Tye said he believed it was illegal to require someone to live in the City. CM/DeStefano agreed. Council cannot require it but it can be negotiated. CM/DeStefano said that from his perspective, the Council will want to make sure that whoever it brings forward to serve as City Manager will maintain the strength of the City Council/City Manager relationship which has been very strong for the past 20 plus years as well as, the outstanding professional staff. Diamond Bar has a remarkable set of employees who really care for the community, whether they, live by or not. Over the next couple of years, following the General Plan process will be very, very important. The General Plan sets the tone for the community and in a lot of different areas and CDD/Gubman is managing that effort but the City Council has to really pay attention to the General Plan, particularly when it comes to decisions the Council will make in late 2018 and 2019. There is a lot of freeway -related construction that is underway and coming in this and adjacent cities. The City Manager through individuals like PWD/Liu are going to have to watch and monitor and direct wherever possible, those construction projects because there will be chaos for several years while all of those projects are under construction. In a couple of weeks DECEMBER 19, 2016 PAGE 14 CITY COUNCIL the Grand Avenue Bridge that goes from Diamond Bar to Walnut will be cut from three down to two lanes and he will be taking Brea Canyon Road because to get over that bridge will be a nightmare. Even though it is a Caltrans project, the City of Diamond Bar gets blamed for that so managing those major freeway related projects over many years will be a task. Diamond Bar has aging infrastructure which will need to be maintained and replaced both above and below ground and coming up with the finances for those projects will be very important. Finances have always been an issue with CM/DeStefano but to maintain the Council's practical approach in having fiscal strength and stability the City has to grow its base. Everything costs more and whether that is through development that brings taxation (sales tax, hotel tax, property tax) or through assessments or through taxing the public directly for a public service such as parks capital improvements needs, City Council will be making all of those decisions and is part of what the Council will need to think about going forward and making sure that the very robust reserves are used very, very prudently. The City may be able to afford something on its fact, but that does not mean it should be purchased. The City may be able to afford the purchase and not the maintenance. Council has to be very careful and make sure it has a good steward at the top of the organization to guide it through those things. Development of the remaining spaces in Diamond Bar or redevelopment in the general term of some of those spaces such as Kmart, will be critical. Because the City has limited spaces it has to make really good choices about what those land uses should be. Staff and the City Council disagreed on the overall approach to Site D. It is good and healthy to have conversations like that but Council has to be really careful about what is commercial in the future that generates a certain amount of taxation and captures the market share and what is residential which provides housing and does other things for the community, but winds up costing the community in dollars. Even to the issue of parks — the City will always want to grow more parks but Council has to make sure it has sufficient money to maintain them and so economic development will be a critical issue. Over the next few years the City will see Kmart Phase 2 and Phase 3 and other projects move forward. Council will have to make decisions on some of the major vacant spaces like Tres Hermanos and what the City really wants there. And a City Manager should be telling the Council to not make a knee-jerk reaction to keep it vacant cattle -grazing land if that is not what the City should be doing long term. If it is what the City should be doing long term, then that is what the decision should be. It maybe something that will occur 10-15 years from now and the City Manager has to be the one to tell you the truth of it whether or not Council wants to hear it — the things that the City should be looking at and doing. Council needs to have a watchful eye on its neighbors and in particular, the City of Industry that tends to surround Diamond Bar. The Industry Business Center project currently under construction will suck market share from Diamond Bar which will make it harder for Diamond Bar to compete. This is a reality. City of Industry DECEMBER 19, 2016 PAGE 15 CITY COUNCIL owns Tres Hermanos over which Diamond Bar has land -use authority to make Tres Hermanos whatever it wants. With Industry being the owner it makes it a bit more complicated. Industry will continue to build warehouses and other things that will generate traffic which does not mean they are evil beings - that is their primary land use and it happens to be next to Diamond Bar and the City will still be dealing with traffic coming from its neighbors, coming from the freeway and so forth. Another circumstance the City will need to deal with is that there are other staff members in their 50's and 60's that will be looking to retire. If Council wants to retain the great staff it currently has, it will be necessary to prepare to move those mid-level managers/supervisors into the executive level as the executives move toward retirement. These are general thoughts he believes the Council needs to be focused on and what he believes the next City Manager needs to be looking at. Obviously, there are many other things such as maintaining the City's safety profile, low crime, etc. MPT/Low asked if all of this information that CM/DeStefano provides to the City Council in terms of recommendations and budgeting come from the brain of Jim DeStefano or does that come through another process because if the City Council is looking for a replacement, obviously CM/DeStefano cannot be duplicated per se so help the City Council unravel how it gets to that end. CM/DeStefano said that the new City Manager will have to be smart enough to know what they do not know and have to be bright enough to find the talent to fill the gaps and to seek out resources that are available. He has been here for a long time and has a lot of depth and breadth of this and surrounding communities. Not every candidate that comes to the table will have that knowledge, but that is okay. The question is, do they have the ability and do they know what to look for and can they do. it in a way that leads the City Council forward to help it make the choices that will benefit the community. It is not any one person, it is the totality of it all. MPT/Low asked how much CM/DeStefano relies on his executive staff to formulate recommendations that he ultimately presents and how much of it is his judgment which would help the Council to know whether this person is bright enough inherently or whether they have the resources in house? CM/DeStefano says he relies tremendously on staff. He is not an expert in IS. No City Manager will be. There are City Managers that have strong backgrounds in Finance. He does not happen to have a strong background in Finance. He has a very strong background on the physical side of the City. His strengths are with Public Works, Building and Safety, Parks development. The applicants will come from different backgrounds DECEMBER 19, 2016 PAGE 16 CITY COUNCIL and they have to know what they do not know, as he said, and then seek out all of the things they need in that position including getting the right people in they can rely on to perform that service. CM/DeStefano said he knew what he was missing with respect to his Finance Department and an opportunity came up to hire a Finance Director. He talked to people he knew in that profession and spoke with people in the Diamond Bar organization about what was needed, developed a recruitment profile and went out and hired Dianna. He could not be happier with what she has brought to the table in terms of innovation. Likewise, he was looking for something different in an HR Manager. But it is not just him, it is a combination because no City Manager will know everything. They will come from a specialized background. Linda Lowry specialized more in finance and personnel labor negotiations and knew nothing about development and relied heavily on CM/DeStefano and PWD/Liu. Everybody will come from a different perspective and background. M/Lin asked for any other comments about the brochure. HRRM/Haug said she felt this morning's discussion was helpful and the next step is to draft the design of the brochure which will go out to the Council Members in the next week or so, move forward with the ad and determine an appropriate third -party. M/Lin asked if the Council needed to take any formal action on this matter CM/DeStefano responded they could but that it was not necessary. C/Herrera moved, MPT/Low seconded, that the City Council adopt requirements discussed and specified during this meeting. Motion carried by the following Roll Call vote: AYES: COUNCIL MEMBERS: Herrera, Lyons, Tye, MPT/Low, M/Lin NOES: COUNCIL MEMBERS: None ABSENT: COUNCIL MEMBERS: None M/Lin verified that no one currently within the Diamond Bar organization was being prohibited from applying for the City Manager position. CM/DeStefano said that was definitely the case. C/Tye wanted to know if CM/DeStefano changed his mind the Council could reinstate him. CM/DeStefano said that he has submitted his Letter of Resignation regarding his pending retirement in July. If he chooses to rescind his letter, technically, the Council does not have to give it back to him. He has DECEMBER 19, 2016 PAGE 17 CITY COUNCIL no plans to change his mind and would not put the Council through this process. What may occur, depending on how this process goes, he may end up retiring in June or August. C/Tye said that CM/DeStefano has given the Council the freedom that if they hire someone that needs more time for guidance, he would be willing to provide that. CM/DeStefano responded yes, but that he had to make a decision and give PERS an exact date within the next couple of months. He wants to get through the budget first. C/Herrera asked when the Council would again meet. HRRM/Haug responded that it was anticipated to be early April. However, the Council will be provided updates in the interim. C/Herrera asked at what point the Council would provide feedback about questions asked during the interview process. HRRM/Haug said that it would likely be sometime in April when the Council next meets. C/Tye asked if the third party would be required to come to Diamond Bar to review applications to comply with confidentiality agreements. CM/DeStefano responded yes. HRRM/Haug explained that it would be a best practice and something she would feel more comfortable with, with respect to confidentiality issues. MPT/Low asked if the third party would expect to be paid. CM/DeStefano said that would not happen. HRRM/Haug explained that in the public sector it is a best and common practice for agencies to lend staff for technical evaluations and anyone who comes to the City for such reasons is asked to sign a confidentiality agreement. CM/DeStefano said he would be recommending three or four very good City Managers who are aware of these matters and would not breach that confidence. DECEMBER 19, 2016 PAGE 18 CITY COUNCIL ADJOURNMENT: With no further business to conduct, M/Lin adjourned the Regular City Council Meeting at 9:30 a.m. TOMMA CRIBBINS, CITY CLERK The foregoing minutes are hereby approved this 17thday of January , 2017. JIMMY LIN, MAY R