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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03/07/17 Minutes - Regular MeetingCITY OF DIAMOND BAR CITY COUNCIL STUDY SESSION MARCH 7, 2017 STUDY SESSION: M/Lin called the Study Session to order at 5:30 p.m. in Room CC -8 of the South Coast Air Quality Management District/Government Center, 21865 Copley Drive, Diamond Bar, CA 91765. ROLL CALL: Council Members Herrera, Lyons, Tye, Mayor Pro Tem Low and Mayor Lin Staff Present: James DeStefano, City Manager; David DeBerry, City Attorney; Ryan McLean, Assistant City Manager; David Liu, Public Works Director; Ken Desforges, IS Director; Dianna Honeywell, Finance Director; Greg Gubman, Planning Director; Anthony Santos, Assistant to the City Manager; Amy Haug, Human Resources/Risk Manager; Marsha Roa, Public Information Manager, and Tommye Cribbins, City Clerk. ► FEE STUDY UPDATE — DEVELOPMENT AND ADMINISTRATIVE MISCELLANEOUS SERVICES. ACM/McLean reported that tonight the City Council will discuss the City's recently completed Fee Study, a document that identifies the fully burdened costs to provide all services that are provided to the public throughout and across the organization. The two areas of discussion tonight include Development Services and Administrative and Miscellaneous Services. Recreation will come back to the City Council at another Study Session. Community Supported Services serve the overall community welfare and include a specific rationale for subsidizing those fees which include Public Safety, provision of Parks, and Streets (general things that everyone uses for which the City does not charge fees). These particular fees are usually funded with tax revenues because they serve the entire public. The second type of services are Personal Choice Services, services that go directly to an individual, business, developer, etc. that provide personal benefit which includes, facilities rentals, building permits, etc. which are primarily funded through the collection of service fees. In general, the assumption is that these services are not subsidized with tax dollars that go to fund Community Supported Services. Currently, the City subsidizes the Personal Choice Services with the General Fund tax dollars. Earlier this year CM/DeStefano authorized a new study and the City used a consultant Revenue Cost Specialists (RCS), a firm that has conducted many fee studies for cities across the state of California. Components used to create a fee study include Cost Revenue Analysis, Identifying the Beneficiaries, Developing legally defensible baseline for a full -fee resolution and recommending fee and policy adjustments for Council's consideration. Consultant Eric Johnson spent a lot of time with each department going through the service levels and the time it takes MARCH 7, 2017 PAGE 2 CC STUDY SESSION to provide each service. Staff reviewed the budget, developed a cost - allocation plan, reviewed services and categorized between those that are community support and personal choice, and reviewed the recovery percentages in order to develop its recommendation. Staff found that Personal Choice Services are exceeding the City's revenue on an annual basis which means that the taxpayer is subsidizing the costs of providing those services. At the current rate, the City is subsidizing at a level of $917,534 based on the year that included the Willow Heights Development which means it is a little higher than expected in a normal year because there were permits generated for the project. If the fees had been charged at the level of costs that staff has now determined them to be, it would have generated an additional $917,534 for the year meaning that those dollars would not have been taken from the General Fund for subsidies. Staff anticipates that in Fiscal Year 2017-18 that amount will be lower because the City is not anticipating as much traffic across the counter for those services. The fee study shows the current level versus the actual cost to provide the service based on the recently completed study. C/Tye asked why the City would not charge what it believes to be the actual cost. AtoCM/Santos explained that for purposes of this study some costs were rounded down. C/Tye asked if the charge should be hourly instead of fixed AtoCM/Santos said that for some items such as a plot plan, the standard is 10 hours and based on the time allocation the City could justify a flat fee or split the difference. CM/DeStefano said rather than look at the breaks, he would look more at the fundamental principal of the full -cost recovery. Philosophically, the question would be, does the Council want to continue with the traditional approach, particularly with respect to Development Service fees, for which the applicant is paying the full cost for the services/permits they are seeking versus the general public continuing to subsidize those services. Staff's recommendation is that the Council consider reducing or eliminating the subsidies on the Personal Choice Services and implement a full -cost recovery method with annual fee adjustments based on CPI during the period between these fee studies. Again, staff will bring the Parks and Recreation fees to the City Council at a future meeting to discuss in depth. The City Council is the policymaking authority on this matter, this is staffs recommendation. MARCH 7, 2017 PAGE 3 CC STUDY SESSION MPT/Low asked how the City's fees compare to those of neighboring cities and/or cities of similar size. ACM/McLean reiterated that this study did not compare Diamond Bar with other cities because other cities are very different — different cost factors, different administrative overhead, different staffing and retirement concerns — because it is very difficult to get a number that is comparable, especially when developing the depth of detail in this study. CM/DeStefano said that other cities' policy objectives could be different. There were questions asked about certain fees in Arcadia for an item on the last City Council agenda. Just as with that item, every city does it differently. They may receive significantly more property tax or sales tax or other things Diamond Bar does not have. They have other fees they charge the public so they can charge less or more for development. They may wish to encourage development by being overly business -friendly in every category of development services; or they want to discourage development so they charge higher fees. City Council discussion ensued. C/Tye said that because of the current system, last year the City subsidized a national builder which is ridiculous and that should not have been done. It is too late to fix it but going forward, the City should not put itself in that position again. CM/DeStefano said that with any project, based upon the fact that the fees have not been increased in several years, in many categories the City is subsidizing the cost to provide that service. Lennar is a little different because the City negotiated a developer fee, benefits to the school district (a collateral benefit for residents in the community) and the City came out on the right side of that project. To C/Tye's point, there are other projects where over the last several years the City has probably subsidized and whether it was a large or small developer, the City should not have done so. C/Lyons asked if the City subsidized the office building that was parceled out into office condominiums. CM/DeStefano said those were likely hourly rate projects to process it through the Planning Commission and/or the City Council and all of the tenant improvements for the buyers/operators would be quantity based fees for their building permits. While the City charged an hourly rate for the work it performed the City likely did not charge the rate it should have because the rate was based on numbers from a few years previous. MARCH 7, 2017 PAGE 4 CC STUDY SESSION C/Tye said that several Council Members have remodeled their homes and asked if that would have prevented any one of them from moving forward with their remodel and the answer is "no." C/Lyons said she did not figure the permit cost into the remodel. Staff processes thousands of permits per year and when issues come up they are rarely, if ever, about the fees. It is always about the time it took to get something done, clarity of the direction/regulations, and concerns of the homeowner who does not have the expertise. It is never about the money for those permits — those are soft costs that are part of the project processing. C/Lyons said that when she first moved into her home she did not have neighbors to the north and south of her property and she would prefer it be that way today so she did not perceive a benefit from the new neighbors_ acquiring building permits to improve their properties. CM/DeStefano said the point is that the person requesting the service should be paying the full cost of that service, not other property owners, taxpayers in Diamond Bar. M/Lin felt the fixed costs should be lowered by removing fixed costs. CM/DeStefano reminded Councilmembers that during the five worst recessionary years Diamond Bar did not have to lay off any staff. Staff helped him find the money he needed to keep the City afloat. On the contract side, there were no building and safety people and not a lot of construction was taking place on the roadways. Those things were not happening and everything was absorbed through those down years. C/Herrera said that when speaking about subsidizing it is actually a drain on the General Fund. CM/DeStefano agreed. C/Herrera said that the more there is a drain on the General Fund the less money the City has for other programs and people are constantly knocking on the City Council's doors asking for more fields for the kids, better parks, senior's wanting more programs and so on. If one aspect of a business is constantly draining its general fund there won't be enough money to do other things for the public good and it becomes out -of -balance. Council Members felt that certain projects that are making more profit should provide more dollars to the City. C/Tye said that those developers paid the fees that were on the books. MARCH 7, 2017 PAGE 5 CC STUDY SESSION ACM/McLean said that the City cannot just arbitrarily double their rates because the City cannot charge them more than what it costs to provide the service. CM/DeStefano said, and that's the difference between the public and private sectors. The private sector can charge whatever the market will bear. The City cannot. It can only charge what it costs to provide the service. The City can charge less, but not more than what it costs. C/Lyons asked if the Council felt the subsidy should apply to residential and not on anything else. C/Tye felt the City should charge the going rate period. MPT/Low said that to CM/DeStefano's earlier point, the City's agreement with Lennar included certain givebacks to the community which would not be possible with small homeowner projects. C/Lyons thought that Lennar paid full -bore. CM/DeStefano said that they paid more, which was in lieu of the sales taxes and property taxes the City would have expected from a commercial project and that it was all part of the negotiated conclusion. To MPT/Low's comment, like business licenses, the City deliberately subsidizes that under the theory that Diamond Bar wants to make it easier for any size business to do business in this City. $39 is not that much more money than the $11 the City currently charges, but the Council may wish to subsidize certain "common" homeowner -oriented things like a water heater for example. He is not suggesting the Council needs to do that but if the Council wants to do that it may be a way because it would be a direct benefit to the homeowner/property owner. By extension, the cost of that permit to make sure the installation was done properly and safely, the permit is well worth the cost. C/Tye said the real problem is that if the City finds itself in a situation that the fee costs as much as the project, that is a problem and he does not hear that being said. If it costs $102 for a permit to put in a new water heater, that is part of the cost of the water heater and he does not believe his neighbor should subsidize that fee. He believes that is a far better example than whether it is a 300 foot, 500 foot or a full remodel or a full blown construction project like Lennar because that is something everyone will face as part of their project. MPT/Low felt some things should continue to be subsidized such as student filming permits. MARCH 7, 2017 PAGE 6 CC STUDY SESSION CM/DeStefano said staff tried to incorporate that philosophy in the document and the Council's philosophy about Business Licenses is a very good example of that philosophy. It is a gift. The City is consciously providing that gift. It doesn't hurt the City and in MPT/Low's example, staff is thinking that if it is a student and legitimately a student event and not just a case of a student applying on behalf of an adult, that it assures the filming benefits the economy in California and that that particular industry remains in California rather than moving their production to another state. Some cities charge outrageous rates for film production and that pushes filings to Arkansas, for example. Some cities have a much more open view of it because of the collateral benefits to the overall economy. Diamond Bar subscribes to the theory that it benefits the local economy. Diamond Bar works with Film LA and charges a minimal fee. If the filming requires Sheriff's, road closure, fire department, those are extra. But for 99 percent of what Diamond Bar gets, it's a no-brainer. M/Lin asked what staff would like from Council on this matter. CM/DeStefano said that C/Tye has suggested that the Council move toward what is staff's recommendation for full -cost recovery and if the Council concurs, this will be placed on an upcoming City Council agenda for formal consideration and adoption. C/Lyons said that if there are certain things people feel strongly about subsidizing such as the Business License, would those comments be accepted by staff prior to it coming back to the Council. CM/DeStefano said yes. MPT/Low agreed with C/Lyons. C/Lyons said she generally agrees with cost -recovery but felt it would be fair for any Council Member to have input regarding certain items. MPT/Low said that Council Members could mark the items they feel deserve subsidies. This is a bedroom community and constituents are homeowners. C/Lyons said to C/Herrera's point, whenever one thing is subsidized it is being taken out of the General Fund which takes away from other programs. C/Herrera said she is not interested in going line -by-line. C/Tye said he was not interested either and felt the City should be at full cost recovery. C/Herrera said it takes three Council Members to provide a direction to staff and asked what M/Lin wanted to do. MARCH 7, 2017 PAGE 7 CC STUDY SESSION M/Lin said he did not believe in micro -management but felt the Council needed more time to contemplate further changes. C/T'ye said that making this decision would not preclude the Council from coming back to this matter after something came to their attention that needed to be massaged. M/Lin agreed. CM/DeStefano said that staff would prepare this item for an upcoming Council meeting for late April or early May which does not preclude Council from continuing to think about it, review the documentation, ask staff questions for which answers will be shared with all five Councilmembers as this item moves forward. Public Comments: None ADJOURNMENT: With no further business to come before the City Council, M/Lin recessed the Study Session at 6:25m. to the Regular Meeting. r _ Tommye Cribbins, City Clerk The foregoing minutes are hereby approved this 21st day of march 2017. Jimmy Lin, Mayor MINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY OF DIAMOND BAR MARCH 7, 2017 STUDY SESSION: 5:30 p.m., Room CC -8 ► Fee Study Update —Development & Administrative Miscellaneous Services — Discussion and Action Public Comments: None Offered. Study Session Adjourned to Regular Meeting at 6:29 p.m. CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Lin called the Regular City Council meeting to order at 6:36 p.m. in the South Coast Air Quality Management District/Government Center Auditorium, 21865 Copley Drive, Diamond Bar, CA. CM/DeStefano reported that staff brought to the City Council for the second time a fee study that staff and consultants have been working on. The City provides a variety of customer service focused and cost-effective services to the community. Fundamentally, there are two areas of services, one of which is community supported services (parks, streets, public safety services) and personal choice services (building permits, facilities rentals, etc.). Tonight the City Council provided staff with good direction on the personal choice services to bring back the documents for more formal decision-making with the overall philosophy that the City will continue to seek full -cost recovery at an upcoming City Council meeting. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: C/Lyons led the Pledge of Allegiance INVOCATION: Monsignor James Loughnane, St. Denis Catholic Church, gave the invocation ROLL CALL: Council Members Herrera, Lyons, Tye, Mayor Pro Tem Low and Mayor Lin Staff Present: James DeStefano, City Manager; David DeBerry, City Attorney; Ryan McLean, Assistant City Manager; David Liu, Public Works Director; Ken Desforges, IS Director; Dianna Honeywell, Finance Director; Anthony Santos, Assistant to the City Manager; Amy Haug, Human Resources/Risk Manager; Danette Allen, Management Analyst; Cecilia Arellano, Public Information Coordinator; and, Tommye Cribbins, City Clerk. APPROVAL OF AGENDA: As Presented. MARCH 7, 2017 PAGE 2 CITY COUNCIL 1. SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS, CERTIFICATES, PROCLAMATIONS: None. 2. CITY MANAGER REPORTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS: None. 3. PUBLIC COMMENTS: Nick Holden, representing Supervisor Janice Hahn invited residents to connect with his office to exchange information. Pui Ching Ho, Diamond Bar Library spoke about upcoming Library events. During March residents are invited to come to the library to pick up coloring sheets to celebrate women authors who have written children's books. On Saturday, March 11 at 3:00 p.m. join the library for an afternoon of gardening with Master Gardener Joan Borgman and create a family container garden of herbs and vegetables to take home. Plants, pots and soil will be provided. Space is limited so please sign up at the information desk. On Saturday, March 18 at 3:00 p.m. families are invited to bring their children to a hands on event featuring science, technology, engineering and math concepts. Please check the library website at http://colapublib.org/libs/diamondbar/index.php for additional programs and events. Teri Muse, Waste Management, presented the City with a paint care reimbursement check for the At -Your -Door program for quarter 3, 2016. During this quarter, Diamond Bar residents recycled 644 gallons of paint which equates to $1,257.90 that goes back to the City of Diamond Bar. She encouraged everyone to continue recycling by using the At -Your -Door program which allows residents to dispose of any household hazardous waste. She invited everyone to participate in the Medication Takeback Program from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on April 29 at the Diamond Bar Kaiser-Permanente offices and thanked the Sheriffs Department for volunteering to assist the DA's office with the opportunity for residents to bring any unused and/or expired medication for proper disposal. "From environmental protection to everyday collection, think green, think Waste Management." Dr. Doshi, along with Mr. Shah and Mrs. Kothari representing the Diamond Bar High School South Asian Parents Association (SAPA) invited everyone to attend a fundraising event being held on March 31, 2017 at the Diamond Palace Restaurant, with funds going to the high school. This is the fourth year the organization will be celebrating the "Evening of Colors" and like any other Indian event, there will be good food, colorful attire and good entertainment. In the past the Diamond Bar Foundation and the Diamond Bar City Council have contributed to help the event become successful and the organization looks forward to their continuing support. Mrs. Kothari thanked the City Council for their support. Mr. Shah said they are grateful for the City's financial support. MARCH 7, 2017 PAGE 3 CITY COUNCIL Dr. Doshi responded to C/Tye that anyone who is interested in joining in the fundraising event he will leave a flyer with phone numbers and emails at City Hall tomorrow morning. 4. RESPONSE TO PUBLIC COMMENTS: None. 5. SCHEDULE OF FUTURE EVENTS: 5.1 Traffic and Transportation Commission Meeting — March 9, 2017 — 7:00 p.m. —Windmill Community Room, 21810 Copley Drive. 5.2 Planning Commission Meeting — March 14, 2017 — 7:00 p.m., Windmill Community Room, 21810 Copley Drive. 5.3 City Council Meeting — March 7, 2017 — 6:30 p.m., AQMD/Government Center Auditorium, 21865 Copley Drive. 5.4 Joint Meeting of the City Council and Planning Commission — March 29, 2017 — 6:30 p.m., Windmill Community Room, 21810 Copley Drive. 5.5 State of the City — March 30, 2017 — 6:00 p.m., Diamond Bar Center Grand View Ballroom, 1600 South Grand Avenue. 6. CONSENT CALENDAR: C/Herrera moved, C/Tye seconded, to approve the Consent Calendar with MPT/Low asking that Item 6.6 be pulled for discussion. 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 6.1 WAIVE READING IN FULL OF ALL ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS AND ADOPT THE CONSENT CALENDAR. 6.2 APPROVED CITY COUNCIL MINUTES: 6.2.1 Study Session Minutes of February 21, 2017 — as submitted. 6.2.2 Regular Meeting of February 21, 2017 — as submitted. 6.3 RECEIVED AND FILED TRAFFIC AND TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION MINUTES OF January 12, 2017. 6.4 RATIFIED CHECK REGISTER DATED February 16, 2017 through March 1, 2017 totaling $1,357,898.37. 6.5 APPROVED TREASURER'S STATEMENT FOR JANUARY 2017. MARCH 7, 2017 PAGE 4 CITY COUNCIL MATTERS WITHDRAWN FROM CONSENT CALENDAR: 6.6 AWARDED CONTRACT TO OPENGOV, INC., IN THE AMOUNT OF $32,450 ANNUALLY FOR FINANCIAL AND NON-FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE SERVICES. MPT/Low asked if a five-year term was prudent and reasonable for a software contract. FD/Honeywell responded that the City is entering into a five-year contract that can be canceled by providing a 30 -day notice to the vendor. The reason the City entered into a five-year agreement was to lock in the 2016 pricing. MPT/Low asked for the total five-year amount to which FD/Honeywell responded about $162,250 with a pro -rated amount (of $11,750) for the current fiscal year bringing the total to $174,000. MPT/Low moved, C/Lyons seconded, to approve Award of Contract to OpenGov, Inc., in the amount of $32,450 annually for Financial and Non - Financial Management Software Services. Motion carried by the following i Roll Call vote: AYES: COUNCIL MEMBERS: Herrera, Lyons, Tye, MPT/Low, M/Lin NOES: COUNCIL MEMBERS: None ABSENT: COUNCIL MEMBERS: None 7. PUBLIC HEARING: 7.1 ADOPT ORDINANCE NO. 01(2017): AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF DIAMOND BAR MOVING CITY COUNCIL ELECTIONS TO A STATEWIDE GENERAL ELECTION DATE AS REQUIRED BY STATE LAW. CM/DeStefano stated that the City holds its local elections in odd - numbered years. State law has changed to require that the City Council consider its options and to move its City elections to even -numbered years. Foundational information was provided in a recent Study Session and tonight's action item with staff's recommendation is before the City Council for consideration. AtoCM/Santos reported that tonight's item before the City Council is related to Elections. Since incorporation, City elections have been held in November of odd -numbered years. Statewide Election Law has changed MARCH 7, 2017 PAGE 5 CITY COUNCIL as a result of the adoption of SB415 which requires that cities adopt a plan by January 1 of 2018 and commence even -numbered election years by November 8, 2022. Staff performed an analysis which looked at the last four year statewide, primary and general election cycles which were held in June and November of even -numbered years and looked at City elections which were held in November of odd -numbered years. The result shows by percentage the number of voters that participated in election cycles in statewide, primary and City elections. As a result of SB415 there was a requirement wherein if City voting election patterns were under a certain threshold, the City would be required to move the elections to even -numbered year cycles. Based on the numbers, Diamond Bar meets that threshold, which requires the City to move the elections to an even -numbered cycle. Information was provided to the City Council that included information on ballot voter and voter fatigue on the estimated cost. There are various different numbers of items that are included in June and November elections which vary from election to election. Currently, the City spends approximately $150,000 every other year and it is likely that cost may decrease with consolidation with LA County in November of even -numbered years; however, at this point there are no firm numbers from the County Registrar -Recorder. With respect to timing, the current election is scheduled for November 2017 and depending on the outcome of Council's decision this evening, staff will need to contact the Registrar -Recorder's Office and request that the Board of Supervisors formally adopt the City's plan to render it "operative" at which point the City will notify registered voters in advance of the November 2017 election indicating when the new election will take place. November elections traditionally have a higher turnout than June elections, especially in even -numbered years. There are three options under consideration: 1) No change in 2017 which means the City would have the 2017 election and it would change the subsequent 2019 and 2021 elections to either June or November of even - numbered years. 2) Modify beginning in 2019 which means it would change the 2019 election to an even -numbered cycle with the 2019 election moving to an even -numbered cycle before the November 8, 2022 requirement that "all changes be made." 3) Extend the existing terms by six or 12 months so that the 2017 election would take place in November 2018 and extend the 2019 election to 2020 which would be either a six or 12 month extension. As a result of information presented to the City Council, staff is recommending that the City Council consider Option 3, and adopt an Ordinance moving the City Council elections to a statewide General Election date in November of even numbered years which would move the November 2017 election to November 2018 and the November 2019 election to November 2020. Once the Council takes action, the Ordinance immediately takes effect at which point it will be submitted to the LA MARCH 7, 2017 PAGE 6 CITY COUNCIL County Registrar -Recorder so that they can provide it to the County Board of Supervisors for formal action at which point the Ordinance will become operative and all registered voters in the City of Diamond Bar will be notified of such action within 30 days of the County Board of Supervisor's Notice of Approval of the Ordinance. M/Lin opened the Public Hearing at 7:04 p.m. Paul Sherwood said his initial reaction is that a November election provides residents with large voter pamphlets containing so many choices and he felt a June election might better serve the community so that the City Council elections would not get lost in a November election. M/Lin closed the Public Hearing at 7:06 p.m. M/Lin responded to Mr. Sherwood that the City Council discussed his concern with staff in depth. AtoCM/Santos responded to Mr. Sherwood that when staff performed its analysis, the Registrar -Recorder provided a substantial amount of information with respect to voter fatigue regarding such things as the number of pages, items to be voted on, and the number of pages in the voter pamphlet. In general terms, there were more total numbers in November but in actuality, there were often more decisions to be made in the June elections. For example, there may be five individuals running for one assembly seat, seven running for one school district seat, etc. and the way California elections work, depending on the outcome of the primary election, the top two then go to November for final selection which means there might be more people one would have to choose from for one open seat in June, but fewer ones would selected in November. In fact, there were fewer pages in the November pamphlet than in the June primary although there were more total numbers to be voted on in the November versus June. Voting percentages in November were substantially higher than in June and the City's election in odd -numbered years. In short, there are cases to be made in either situation. C/Herrera said she appreciated staffs analysis and the time they took to investigate this matter and to try and choose a time when it might be easiest for residents and voters to make their decisions and as such, staff is recommending Option 3 with elections being in November of even - numbered years. C/Lyons felt it was unfortunate that the state legislature was causing the City to change the date of its election because as a speaker just pointed out, the November ballot in the odd years is quite small and it allows people to focus on the races that are more important to the residents and what happens in the community for the school boards, water board and MARCH 7, 2017 PAGE 7 CITY COUNCIL City Council. She is also very concerned about voter fatigue and has looked at the issue with AtoCM/Santos several times. Ballots have become very long and convoluted for the primary and general elections and that the titles of the proposition do not always accurately reflect what the propositions mean. So in order to vote intelligently, one has to do some research. Most of the propositions end up on the November ballot and what she looked at was the number of decision points between November and June for each of those years which would be a proposition or a state assembly or City Council position. What she found was that there were considerably more decision points in November than in June. Even though there may be 20 people running for Governor, it is still one decision. That is why she believes the June ballot is better than the November ballot. MPT/Low said she agreed with C/Lyons in that voter fatigue is an issue and it seems like voters are bombarded with initiative after initiative after initiative which is unfortunate. It is also unfortunate that the state legislators have altered the law requiring cities to make this change. She thought that the current system of odd years was very good but here we are. C/Herrera moved, MPT/Low seconded, to Adopt Ordinance No. 01- 2017: An Ordinance of the City of Diamond Bar moving City Council elections to a statewide General Election date as required by state law. Motion carried by the following Roll Call vote: AYES: COUNCIL MEMBERS: NOES: COUNCIL MEMBERS: ABSENT: COUNCIL MEMBERS: 8. COUNCIL CONSIDERATION: None. Herrera, Tye, MPT/Low, M/Lin Lyons None 9. COUNCIL SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS AND MEETING ATTENDANCE REPORTS/COUNCIL MEMBER COMMENTS: C/Lyons said that along with her colleagues she attended the Regional Chamber of Commerce Salute to Heroes Breakfast. It was a pleasure to recognize law enforcement, fire and emergency personnel from this area. One of Diamond Bar's own, Deputy Chad Holland, was recognized. The entire Diamond Bar City Council, CM/DeStefano and ACM/McLean met with the new County Supervisor Janice Hahn and everyone did their best to educate her on what is considered one of Diamond Bar's priorities — traffic, traffic and more traffic. Last Sunday she and C/Tye joined the community at the Diamond Bar Community Foundation event "Walk for the Kids" which was a lot of fun and involved a lot of small children who beat everyone on the 5K run. MARCH 7. 2017 PAGE 8 CITY COUNCIL C/Herrera thanked Nick Holden for introducing himself to the City Council and she looks forward to contacting him in the Rowland Heights office. It was a pleasure to attend Janice Hahn's reception for all elected officials in her district. The City looks forward to working with her, particularly with respect to Diamond Bar's favorite project which is the SR57160 Confluence/Interchange. She thanked Teri Muse for talking about the program where residents can call in to make arrangements for Waste Management to pick up paint and other hazardous waste materials. She asked how many such pickups were allowed per year per household and was told "two." C/Tye said that as nice as it was at the 1 K15K he beat C/Lyons across the finish line. He asked Mr. Holden to remind Supervisor Hahn that Diamond Bar was the only Council that turned out en mass and he is pretty sure she owes the Council a trophy. It was great that the Diamond Bar Community Foundation hosted the 1 K/5K which seems to get better and better. Congratulations to Crystal Spindler who works on the Windmill who does a great job. Congratulations to the Diamond Bar Pony League on their new season with more kids this year than last year. It is encouraging to see parents turn out on a day that it is raining sideways and the temperature is at about 50 degrees. The fields look great and in the immortal words of Ernie Banks, "It's time to Let's Play two". MPT/Low reminded everyone that today is voting day so it is time to register your vote so that it will count. Last week she attended the Audit and Public Safety Council Subcommittee meeting and it was her pleasure to report that Diamond Bar has a number of safeguards in place to ensure that its tax dollars are properly spent and accounted for thanks to FD/Honeywell and her team. The Public Safety Team led by Captain Reyes and Lt. Marquez demonstrated their knowledge, commitment, innovation and grit to and for the community in their effort to solve and deter crimes in Diamond Bar. As they reported, it was very evident that they had a genuine concern and commitment for the safety of each resident. Last Saturday a group of Cub Scouts were promoted to Boy Scouts. She and M/Lin honored and thanked the adult leaders for their leadership, commitment and time spent working with the kids, showing them skills and teaching values and character traits they need to become good citizens. Birthday wishes to C/Lyons today and every day in the coming year. M/Lin said it has been a very busy two weeks for the City Council with the Heroes Breakfast and committee meetings. The highlight of the week for him was the evening with the Cub Scouts. It was a lot of fun and there were a lot of people present at the event. ADJOURNMENT: With no further business to conduct, M/Lin adjourned the Regular City Council Meeting at 7:19 p.m. Tommye ribbins, CITY CLERK MARCH 7, 2017 PAGE 9 CITY COUNCIL The foregoing minutes are hereby approved this 21st day of March , 2017. Jimmy L*MAYO