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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08/19/2014 Minutes - Regular MeetingCITY OF DIAMOND BAR CITY COUNCIL STUDY SESSION AUGUST 19, 2014 STUDY SESSION: M/Herrera called the Study Session to order at 5:30 p.m. in Room CC -8, South Coast Air Quality Management District, 21865 Copley Drive, Diamond Bar, CA 91765 Present: Council Members Ling -Ling Chang, Nancy Lyons, Jack Tanaka, Mayor Pro Tem Steve Tye, and Mayor Carol Herrera. Staff Present: James DeStefano, City Manager; Ryan McLean, Deputy City Manager; David DeBerry, City Attorney; Dianna Honeywell, Finance Director; David Liu, Public Works Director; Greg Gubman, Community Development Director; Bob Rose, Community Services Director; Kimberly Young, Senior Civil Engineer; Ken Desforges, IS Director; Anthony Santos, Senior Management Analyst; Amy Haug, Human Resources Manager; Marsha Roa, Public Information Manager; Cecilia Arellano, Public Information Coordinator; and, Tommye Cribbins, City Clerk. Also Present: John Hunter and Cameron McCullough with John Hunter Associates, Consultants. ► MUNICIPAL SEPARATE STORM SEWER SYSTEM (MS4) PERMIT AND WATERSHED MANAGEMENT PROGRAM (WMP) UPDATE — Discussion and Action. DCM/DeStefano turned the matter over to PWD/Liu and the City's Consultants for tonight's presentation. PWD/Liu stated that the purpose of tonight's presentation was to provide an update on the Storm Water System Permit (MS4) and overview of the Watershed Management Program (WMP) required by the new permits, implementation of the monitoring program and the treatment projects as well as, the anticipated costs as they impact the City of Diamond Bar. Because of these requirements, the financial issue is coming to the forefront. From this point, any decision-making or discussion of how the program will move forward will come back to the Council for decision with recommendations from staff and the consultants. If the City fails to comply with the requirements, the Regional Board will embark upon an enforcement program. For example, San Diego was recently assessed a $950,000 fine for non-compliance of past and current permit requirements which Mr. Hunter will discuss. PWD/Liu then introduced John Hunter and Cameron McCullough of John Hunter Associates who continued with the presentation. Mr. Hunter explained that San Diego was fined $950,000 because they were not properly implementing the permit requirements. When private developments come into the city, staff would require that the development AUGUST 19, 2014 PAGE 2 CC STUDY SESSION build certain types of treatment facilities. There were about 150 such cases that stretched back over two permit terms. Everyone in the business has been under the assumption that the Board would not go back to a previous permit; however, in this case it happened. Even though the city's planning department had approved plans that told the private builder precisely how to build it, someone in the chain of overseers, whether it was the building inspector or storm water inspectors, did not discover that the facilities were not being built correctly. The San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board inspected the sites and found that all of the 150 were not properly implemented, which resulted in the $950,000 fine for which the city was liable. PWD/Liu said that there are also a number of environmental (watchdog) groups closely monitoring these activities and how requirements are being implemented. MPT/Tye asked if the Board used the $950,000 to remediate the 150 problems. Mr. McCullough responded that he believed a portion of the money went to improving the program. Typically, the Board requires cities to pay half to the Board and make sure cities allocate the other half back to fixing the problems. Mr. Hunter stated that the Water Management Plan (WMP) was submitted to the Regional Board the end of June 2014. The public comment period ended yesterday. Within 45-60 days from now the Regional Board will post their findings on Diamond Bar's plan. After discussing the monitoring program in March or April 2015 they will come out with comments on the WSMP itself (projects). As a cost-saving measure, the cities of the Gateway COG, of which Diamond Bar is not a part, got together and said that if all cities work cooperatively on this project everyone can save money. Except for the Upper Reach 2 LA River area, the Lower SG River, Lower LA River, Coyote Creek and Los Cerritos Channel, all joined together into essentially one group and because of that they were able to save $100,000 per watershed. Diamond Bar actually sits in two regions: San Jose Creek which goes into the upper portions of the San Gabriel River and discharges into Coyote Creek and ultimately flows into the lower San Gabriel River. What that means for Diamond Bar is that it has two sets of responsibilities — technically, Diamond Bar has three because the City has a small portion of land on the eastern side that actually flows into Chino Creek, which is a different permit and different water board in a different county. Pomona AUGUST 19, 2014 PAGE 3 CC STUDY SESSION and Claremont were actually required by the MS4 permit to join the watershed effort in Chino Creek — Diamond Bar was not. Because all areas of the City have to be covered by the watershed plan, Diamond Bar's plan says that it will be covered for anything that occurs in the San Jose Creek drainage area and the Coyote Creek/Brea Canyon area. The hope is that the Regional Board will approve that plan rather than requiring the City to produce an entirely new plan. He provided the Council with a copy of the Watershed Management Plan. MPT/Tye asked if the California Regional Water Quality Control Board was issuing these permits Mr. Hunter responded affirmatively. MPT/Tye asked if that Board decided Orange County would have a different permit from LA County and San Bernardino County and why the Water Board decided that it did not make sense for cities in contiguous areas to have the same permit. Mr. McCullough responded that they are a county PA that answers to the State Water Resources Control Board out of Sacramento which divided the regional efforts into nine regions so it happened that they have a LA Conservative Region, a North Orange County north of EI Toro Road and San Bernardino/Riverside Board, and a San Diego Board. Boundaries that were set some time ago are still in place and the regional boards each do their own thing without much communication about making the permits standard. Mr. Hunter explained that half of some cities were under one board and the other half under a different board, both with different requirements. Mr. McCullough said that the permits have diverged substantially where it is kind of a mess. There should be relatively similar regulations and there is now a push from Sacramento to correct this mistake. Sacramento has implemented a Storm Water Initiative in an attempt to work with these issues for consistency. Mr. Hunter said he believes this is a step in the right direction because previously, every city was on its own and this is the first time Sacramento has said "come up with a watershed plan". So there is an initiative toward working together for a watershed. C/Lyons asked where Coyote Creek is located. Mr. Hunter responded that Brea Creek turns into Coyote Creek and is in the middle of Site D development along Castle Rock Road. AUGUST 19, 2014 PAGE 4 CC STUDY SESSION PWD/Liu explained where each creek is located Mr. Hunter pointed out what is called the Coyote Creek drainage area that begins in Long Beach/Hawaiian Gardens makes its way through Lakewood, Cerritos, and La Mirada and turns into Brea Creek and goes up into Diamond Bar. Located south of the demarcation is Coyote Creek and north is San Jose Creek along with a very small portion of Chino Creek. PWD/Liu said that basically, it is the Tres Hermanos area surrounding Diamond Bar High School. There are about 15 cities working together on this particular plan. The MS4 Permit that was issued in 2012 basically gave cities two options. Diamond Bar did not have to have a watershed plan and did not have to spend any money developing the plan. The City could take its chances but if the Numeric Effluent Limits (somebody holding a bottle at the end of the storm drain pipe as the water comes out into Brea Canyon and takes that sample to a lab to test for 140 chemicals) were exceeded with any one of the i40 chemicals, it would immediately put the City in violation of the Clean Water Act and subject it to a $10,000 per day fine. MPT/Tye asked how a city could trace where effluents came from and how a city could begin to correct the issue. Mr. Hunter responded that violations of the Clean Water Act are subject to citizen suit and if the Regional Board does not fine the City any citizen group can. If excessive effluents were detected coming out of Diamond Bar's pipe Diamond Bar would have to determine who or what caused the issue and face the $10,000 per day fine from the day the excess was discovered. In order to find the origination the City would have to trace it upstream which would be very difficult if not impossible. M/Herrera asked how a City could detect which resident dumped something inappropriate down the storm drain. Mr. Hunter said it would be difficult and very unlikely so it would probably be cheaper for the City to pay a fine that could amount to $60,000 rather than to spend $100,000 to find the source of the problem. MPT/Tye said he thought Mr. Hunter talked about a $10,000 fine. Mr. Hunter explained that the fine is $10,000 per day and the Board tends to "save up" the fines and come back later to impose the fine which would make the City responsible for paying $10,000 per day from the date the problem was discovered even though the City was unaware of the problem until the day the fine was imposed. Sometimes the Board will AUGUST 19, 2014 PAGE 5 CC STUDY SESSION impose a very high dollar fine and tell the cities that if they pay a portion of that fine the Board will consider it paid. While it may seem like a shakedown, it is very effective. M/Herrera said the City would have no option because it would be fighting the State of California. Mr. Hunter said that M/Herrera was correct which is why he invested a lot of time and effort in making sure his firm put together a very good plan. When these issues go before the Court and the environmental groups say they want to impose a $12 million or $100 million fine, Diamond Bar can say to the Court that it has a plan that has been accepted by the State. In these instances, judges will most often give the City a break. Mr. McCullough stated that a distinction to make in this instance is that if it is not raining the City could find an individual upstream and pinpoint the source but if it is during a rain event it could be runoff from all of the streets and parks that causes the excessive limit. One of the problems is that the City is concrete and if the chemicals are coming from cars driving on the streets it will be impossible to pinpoint the problem. Mr. Hunter said that option.2 would be that the City develops this plan that sets forth a time period for compliance. Several cities administratively challenged this permit and that case will be heard in the next couple of months. Baring an appeal, the other option is to prepare this report and then the Numeric Effluent Limits would be phased -in which buys the City time to come into compliance. Every city in Los Angeles chose this option except for one city which does not own a road or storm drain (Rolling Hills which is a private HOA). Mr. Hunter said that cities had a chance to develop an enhance EWMP which would have given the City another year to prepare this report; however, everyone said "No" just do the WMP. Mr. Hunter said he is always asked "now that we know we have to follow this plan, what does implementation look like" so he gathered slides from around the county to show what in place physical projects look like. He wanted these slides to emphasis non-physical watershed controls. Projects are expensive so if the amount of zinc, copper, etc. going down the drain can be reduced (soft BMP's) it is preferable. The City should attempt to reduce sediment and runoff by making sure building inspectors go to areas that are under construction to make sure the development is using sandbags; if there are any lots that are prone to erosion the landowner should be informed that although they have not yet applied for permits, they are causing sediment to run off during rains so tell them to put sandbags or 10 foot wide vegetative strip or something to prevent sediment runoff. The problem is zinc which is a naturally AUGUST 19, 2014 PAGE 6 CC STUDY SESSION occurring metal that is in sand and dirt and if there is a hillside that is eroding zinc is automatically moving down into the river and the City should strive to keep the sediment out of the street. The City should provide public outreach to residents and businesses to not put pollutants out in the street. The City should sweep its streets and make sure street sweepers travel no faster than 5 mph. The City needs to clean its catch basins and inspect industrial and commercial facilities. All of these non- structural watershed control measures come at a cost but are far cheaper than building a project. PWD/Liu told the Council that the City has been doing most of these measuras since 1991. Mr. Hunter said that if possible the City should provide measures similar to what was done in the Dominguez Gap where a huge ditch was created that allows for 2500 acres of soil to remove the sediment. He does not believe there is any place in Diamond Bar where this can be done, but if the opportunity presents itself it can be done on a smaller scale which is by far the cheapest way to stay within the effluent limits with large treatment systems centrally located. If this cannot be done, there can be large regional projects similar to the project in Southgate. The regional shopping mall has infiltration systems scattered throughout the area so that all of the runoff from the shopping center goes through the filtration system. Diamond Bar has infiltration problems because the soil is not amenable to filtration but bio -filtration can be used to put the runoff through an engineered mix of soil so that the water comes out the bottom cleaned by the soil and plant material. This method is a little more expensive but works well. Green Street Projects is the cheapest system. Green streets have curb cuts so that water goes into planters where there is porous soil that filters out the 'materials. So, whenever the City has a street project it should include green streets whenever feasible. This will not be feasible for parking areas because it is not easy for drivers to emerge from their vehicles and walk across these areas. Diamond Bar needs to think about five years down the road because these projects take time to get designed and funded and there should be consideration of projects where green streets can be incorporated. C/Lyons asked if this could be done in medians. PWD/Liu said that cross streets would have to be considered and it would be very expensive. However, if the streets or medians were being reconstructed, some type of green program could be considered. AUGUST 19, 2014 PAGE 7 CC STUDY SESSION Mr. Hunter said that nothing about the NPDES program is cheap. As smaller development comes in, the City can ask the builder to include a small swale, for example. C/Chang said that some of the City's parks have bio-swales. PWD/Liu explained that some of the more recent projects including Kaiser and Chili's have bio-swales included as well. CM/DeStefano said that Washington Park has bio-swales and they will be done at Diamond Canyon for the Willow Heights project. M/Herrera asked what remediation is being done at Lennar Homes. PWD/Liu responded that with the help of Mr. Hunter and his team the City is able to require the project to channel all of the water to the retention basin, and through that process the water will be treated. M/Herrera said she thought that was the Coyote Creek area. Mr. Hunter said it is similar but on a much smaller scale. M/Herrera asked if it would emit an odor. Mr. Hunter said that the trick is to make sure the water does not stagnate. As long as the water moves out (percolates through) within three to four days there should be no problem. M/Herrera said she thought it would be filled with water at all times. Mr. Hunter said "No", the City purposely does not want stagnant water because the driving force is mosquitoes which have a 3 -day life cycle which means that the water needs to cycle out of the area within three days. Mr. Hunter showed examples of an infiltration that would go under a paved parking lot with a vegetative swale in the middle. Another example was a split (cut) curb area next to a parking lot. Mr. Hunter said that with respect to how many facilities will be needed, the model used for the plan is the same model that the Regional Board and USEPA hired for a lot of their studies. Diamond Bar was divided into about 20 hydrological units (areas) and identified as primarily residential with a small amount of commercial. The study predicted the most efficient locations for reducing pollutants and how quickly the City would need to move forward on this project. Every city is assigned a value of the amount of runoff they must treat. This does not prevent Diamond Bar from joining AUGUST 19, 2014 PAGE 8 CC STUDY SESSION up with another city to save money. For example, Diamond Bar could talk with Long Beach about joining with them on an infiltration project and ask them to increase the size of their project for an additional cost, which could then be credited to Diamond Bar. Many times, this is the easiest way to move a project forward because every city has been assigned an amount they have to accomplish. It is also good protection for the City to do this in-house because under the current permit, if Long Beach treats it and the Board approves it, Diamond Bar is good; however, the next permit might indicate that every city has to be responsible for its own and all of the .money that Diamond Bar gave Long Beach would be gone and Diamond Bar would have to start over again from the beginning. In short, it is prudent and cost-effective for the City to produce its own permit devices. How much water must be treated? Mr. McCullough came up with what he calls the "Compliance Cube" which is 118.6 acre feet (acre foot = one acre of land to a depth of one foot or about the size of a football field) or 5.2 million cubic feet and this is what all cities have to work together to achieve. The cities of Claremont, La Verne, Pomona and San Dimas did their own plan and came up with 543.9 acre feet. Diamond Bar's portion is 9 acre feet. M/Herrera asked how Diamond Bar got lumped in with the other cities when it has such a small compliance cube. Mr. Hunter stated that the 118.6 acre-feet of water belongs to Coyote Creek and Lower San Gabriel combined. Diamond Bar's portion is the 9 acre-feet. Important to note is that "building projects capturing water is not the compliance measure". The compliance measure is the person who is taking the sample and the computer model says that in order to achieve that compliance measure, Diamond Bar will have to do the 9 acre-feet. However, if the non-structural BMP's are done in good fashion and the demographics of the City are such that the runoff is clean, the City will have to build less. If the opposite is true, of course more will have to be built. The beauty of the current MS4 permit is that it says that as long as the City is making progress toward the 9 acre-feet it doesn't really matter what the runoff is because the City cannot be sued or fined. Even though this statement is not 100 percent accurate, it would be very difficult for the environmental groups and the Regional Board to come after the City if it is making progress toward that 9 cubic feet. A chapter in the plan talks about a "Coordinated Integrated Monitoring Program" meaning that all cities are working together to monitor the runoff. Diamond Bar's share of the cost will be about $7,000 which could go up to $80,000 in year 3, and after that, when the sampling stations have been built, that shared cost will go back down to about $40,000 a year. Keep in AUGUST 19, 2014 PAGE 9 CC STUDY SESSION mind that the environmental community is screaming that there is not enough monitoring. C/Lyons asked if Diamond Bar's cost was a portion of the water it would be sending down the line or if it was determined by population. Mr. Hunter responded that everybody pays a 50 percent flat entry fee and a 50 percent fee based on the City's total acreage. PWD/Liu said that the City has $40,000 budgeted in this current fiscal year for consulting, special studies, etc. which is Diamond Bar's share of the monitoring costs. Monitoring stations in the white triangle (north Coyote Creek La Mirada, Whittier, Santa Fe Springs) were installed last year and do not impact Diamond Bar. These installations were completed early so that the Board cannot say that nothing is being done - the project is already underway. Once approved, the next station will be at the mouth of the San Gabriel river and in the second year there will be automated monitoring stations which are hooked up to electrical systems and will take samples every hour during a storm. These samples will be taken to a laboratory to be analyzed. Each of these automated systems cost about $100,000 to install. In year three, if needed, the City will come back and put in stations or do grab samples. MPT/Tye said that since none of the stations are in Diamond Bar the only cost to the City will be the annual $40,000 shared cost. Mr. Hunter responded that MPT/Tye was correct. If Diamond Bar decided to go on its own it would have two of the stations at $100,000 each plus. the samples which typically cost $40,000 a year for a total of $200,000 initially and $80,000 per year. Joining the group gives Diamond Bar more flexibility. MPT/Tye asked what entity would be liable if the test sample failed in the first year. Mr. Hunter said that Diamond Bar would not. Mr. McCullough said it gets somewhat confusing on this issue because one of the things the Watershed Management Program does is that it has final limits. For example, in 2026 Diamond Bar has to meet safer metals and there are interim limits, which if exceeded, would not cause the City to be fined but would cause the City to have to modify its plan to improve its limits across the water shed. The idea is that by 2026 everyone will have complied through these efforts. So the response is that we are using best management practices by putting in more systems and the question about AUGUST 19, 2014 PAGE 10 CC STUDY SESSION where those should be placed becomes somewhat tricky. One of the primary purposes of this plan is to protect downstream cities from exceedance lawsuits. If this plan was not in place, the Board could say that everyone upstream was liable unless they could prove otherwise. C/Lyons asked who administers this program and who gets paid. Mr. Hunter responded that it is the Gateway Water Authority. M/Herrera explained that the Gateway Water Authority is an organization that was started by COG. C/Lyons asked if they are responsible for building the stations. Mr. Hunter said that Gateway would act as the fiduciary agent handling the money. The technical committee comprised of a member of each city will meet every month and determine what needs to be done and who will do what needs to be done. Mr. Hunter explained that the way this original agreement was formed was when there was a metals only component. The permit was not issued at that time and the GWA was trying to figure out how to deal with zinc and copper. The group estimated that it would be about $250,000 a year for the entire group through 2026. All of the city council's including the Diamond Bar City Council approved that. The group is pretty certain now that it might get away with bringing next year in at that cost with the following year being somewhat iffy. Beyond that, there does not seem to be a way to do so, so a new MOU will be submitted to all city councils within the next few months. Mr. Hunter stated that the Watershed Program stresses source control and runoff reduction which is cheaper than building the projects. The Program identifies that every open space area of publicly owned parcels in the City was considered for future building. The Program has a new monitoring program and some of the PNDL's that are targets are extended out 25 years. Diamond Bar has to come into compliance with the metals program by 2026 and with bacteria by 2037. The program speaks to the fact that there is not enough money to pay for it. The Water Board does not care about this fact, but it is mentioned in the plan. The plan is based on a computer model which was done by the USEPA and Water Board's modeling consultant. It is obvious that this is a very expensive program. For example, Diamond Bar's 9 -acre feet will cost the City approximately $3-6 million assuming the City does not acquire any additional land and the program is being phased in. Diamond Bar is amongst the smallest of all of the watershed groups and the City does not have to build anything by the first deadline under the MS4 Permit. Some cities have to build by 2017 — Diamond Bar does not because it is already in compliance. AUGUST 19, 2014 PAGE 11 CC STUDY SESSION Diamond Bar will have to treat runoff and have facilities of capturing .3 acre feet of water by 2020 and for capturing the remaining 8.7 acre-feet by 2026. MPT/Tye asked how the $3-6 million would be used and over what time. Mr. Hunter explained that he surveyed the moderate to large treatment systems in existence, how much it cost the agencies to build those systems and averaged the cost and the average cost is about $400- 500,000 per -acre foot. As private developments come online the benefits will go toward the .3 acre feet. MPT/Tye asked if the 9 -acre feet had to be captured every year or every storm. Mr. Hunter said MPT/Tye's question was very astute. Basically, cities have to build their facilities large enough to contain 9 -acre feet. If the City is capturing a 9 -acre foot storm it is compliant so if the City builds the systems to accommodate 9 -acre feet it will bring the City into compliance. M/Herrera asked if the State Board answered to a higher authority. Mr. Hunter responded that they answer to the state legislature. However, the EPA can revoke their permit. Mr. Hunter further stated that using averages, the cost for Diamond Bar to be in compliance will be $4.9 million over the next 12-14 years whereas the watershed group will have to spend $34-60 million and Claremont and Pomona will spend more than that amount. MPT/Tye asked what the Willow Heights project is being built to capture. Mr. Hunter stated that he was not prepared to answer that question but would provide an answer in the future. MPT/Tye asked who the bad guys were. Mr. Hunter said that there are many players in this game. Because of these standards, they took pristine lake water from the east coast and upper mid west and put really clean water in with east coast organisms that are used to the clean water. They sprinkled zinc or copper in the water and when a certain percentage of the organisms died, they determined that to be the goal. In southern California the organisms are much heartier and the limits could be raised four or five times and they would still be living. AUGUST 19, 2014 PAGE 12 CC STUDY SESSION Mr. McCullough said the Regional Board is the bad guy but they have their hands tied because they are watched by the environmental groups who make sure the Board is strict enough with their permits. There are many groups that have to be satisfied by the Board and in general, no one is happy- MPT/Tye asked Mr. Hunter how long he had been in this business to which he responded "30 years." MPT/Tye said that Mr. Hunter seemed like a reasonable person who has told the Council that it is not reasonable to use east coast water, has asked the Board to give him an idea what this is building to and they will not do it. It all seems unreasonable to M PT/Tye. Mr. Hunter explained that LA started it and did a copper spec and said this is wrong. They spent $1.2 million contributed by all of the cities of LA River. The study said that a minimum of four could be raised full which is a tremendous drop and those compliance cubes will shrink tremendously by that factor because Diamond Bar is already achieving its 98 percent compliance. It took four years to conduct the study and it will take another three years for it to go to the Board for a final vote. Regional Board staff says the study looks good and is supportive of the outcome. They are scheduling it for a hearing and they will go through the process, but it is unknown what the outcome will be because it will take three years and the regulatory process is just now beginning. Because they will now allow the LA River study to apply to the other regions the committee is talking about doing a translator study which is the cheap way, and hopes the Board buys off on it or, the cities will have to do the $1.2 million study. Invariably, when a study is conducted better levels are determined and that will save the cities much more money than the study will cost. Mr. Hunter said the reason the Diamond Bar study was so expensive is because of the cost of hiring experts from around the country to oversee the work. CM/DeStefano cautioned the City Council that it was out of time and asked if Mr. Hunter could speak to the funding issue and how it translates to what Los Angeles County is trying to do with the property tax measure. Mr. Hunter reiterated that this will be quite expensive and in order to avoid getting sued or being fined by the State, the City has to show continual progress. Because the modeling was so good Diamond Bar has been given the gift of not having to have anything built until the year 2020 but, the City needs to begin setting aside the funding for that now. The money can come from the general fund or impose a parcel tax but the money has to come from some source to fund these projects or it will put the City in jeopardy. AUGUST 19, 2014 PAGE 13 CC STUDY SESSION PWD/Liu explained that there was a joint effort between the California Contract Cities and LA Division of the League of Cities. The Stormwater Funding options study will be released in September and the next step is for the group to form a steering committee to look at all of the options contained in the report and begin engaging all of the cities to come up with a strategy to look at all of the funding options. C/Chang asked if there was supposed to be a line item in the Water Bond. PWD/Liu responded affirmatively; however, the Board has made it clear that they want all of the stakeholders to be at the table including school districts and property owners. As a result, it is possible that this will be a ballot measure in 2016 so the City will be closely monitoring this issue. M/Herrera asked how much money the City needs by 2020. Mr. Hunter said he thought it would be less than $1 million because the City needs only .3 acre feet. PWD/Liu said that staff is looking at a figure of $1.6 million a year. Conservatively, the City wants to be prepared for the ultimate deadline by 2026. Mr. McCullough believed the amount could be even higher. CM/DeStefano said that while it may be distasteful, the City may want to support a county -wide measure to generate these kinds of funds or Diamond Bar will have to do it on its own. PWD/Liu said that when the County was looking at this issue the best case scenario was $54 per parcel for an annual revenue amount of $295 million with a certain percentage going to the cities equal to about half of the per parcel amount. M/Herrera thanked the speakers for the good news. Mr. Hunter said that if it is any consolation, Diamond Bar is in better shape than most everybody else. One of the reasons is because they have not been monitoring the San Gabriel River and the details will be in the new data. PUBLIC COMMENTS: None Offered. AUGUST 19, 2014 PAGE 14 CC STUDY SESSION ADJOURNMENT: With no further business to come before the City Council, M/Herrera adjourned the Study Session at 6:35 p.m. 1�04-1 Tommye Cribbins, City Clerk The foregoing minutes are hereby approved this 16th day of September 2014. Steve Tye, Mayor Prd Tem MINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY OF DIAMOND BAR AUGUST 19, 2014 STUDY SESSION: Adjournment: 5:30 p.m., Room CC -8 Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) Permit and Watershed Management Program (WMP) Update — Discussion and Action Study Session recessed at 6:35 p.m. to the Regular City Council meeting. CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Carol Herrera called the Regular City Council meeting to order at 6:40 p.m. in the South Coast Air Quality Management District/Government Center Auditorium, 21865 Copley Drive, Diamond Bar, CA. CM/DeStefano reported that during tonight's Study Session, the City Council received a report on a very complicated and expensive regional water mandate for the reduction of pollutants from the storm water system (urban runoff) that flows from Diamond Bar to the ocean. Staff and Council talked about overall requirements, Diamond Bar's portion of the regional program requirement and received some very good education. Council took no action as this matter was simply a Receive and File report. There may be further actions the Council will need to take to allocate budget resources for the City's portion of the program in the future. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Mayor Herrera led the Pledge of Allegiance. INVOCATION: Shaykh Nomaan Baig, Institute of Knowledge, gave the invocation. ROLL CALL:. Council Members Chang, Lyons, Tanaka, Mayor Pro Tem Tye and Mayor Herrera. Staff Present: James DeStefano, City Manager; Ryan McLean, Deputy City Manager; David DeBerry, City Attorney; Ken Desforges, IS Director; David Liu, Public Works Director; Bob Rose, Community Services Director; Dianna Honeywell, Finance Director; Greg Gubman, Community Development Director; Kimberly Young, Senior Civil Engineer; Anthony Santos, Senior Management Analyst; Amy Haug, Human Resources Manager; Marsha Roa, Public Information Manager; Cecilia Arellano, Public Information Coordinator; and, Tommye Cribbins, City Clerk. APPROVAL OF AGENDA: As Presented. 1. SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS, CERTIFICATES, PROCLAMATIONS: M/Herrera and City Council Members AUGUST 19, 2014 PAGE 2 CITY COUNCIL Proclaimed September 2014 as "National Preparedness Month" and presented the proclamation to Fire Chief Stone. 2. CITY MANAGER REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS: 2.1 Presentation on Brush Fire Safety by Chief Stone. Chief Stone presented a video and reported that this season has seen a lot of fire activity in northern and central California. The LA County resources are helping the fire service in the northern part of the State with 48 overhead personnel, four engine strike teams and five hand crews for a total in excess of 150 firefighters. Drought conditions are severe and in the Fall when the winds start to increase in velocity the southern portion of the State will likely need help as well. "The Ready, Set, Go" program helps residents prepare for the potential of wild land fire. The three goals of the program are 1) Heightened awareness for residents, 2) strengthened relationships with cities, residents and partners, and 3) educate everyone about what firefighters and communities need to do to prepare (Ready). Homeowners can help by clearing brush away from their homes creating a "defensible space" and provides firefighters an opportunity to stop the fire before it reaches the home. Local fire stations are happy to provide consultation to residents on how to protect their homes. (Get Set) by putting documents, medications together and having a plan for moving livestock, animals, people with special needs, etc. together for quick departure. (Go) means that people need to leave as quickly as possible upon receiving an evacuation notice to allow firefighters to do their job. Chief Stone provided brochures for the public on the Ready, Set, Go program and offered to provide more in depth presentations to civic groups, Neighborhood Watch organizations, etc. if invited to do so. Residents can follow Division 8 on Facebook and Twitter. Chief Stone also announced that beginning September 3 the Department begins its contract aircraft program and that Canada Air Super Scoopers will then be available. MPT/Tye asked if the Department would provide brochures for City Hall and the Library. Chief Stone said he will provide the number of brochures requested. In addition, information can be found on the County's AUGUST 19, 2014 PAGE 3 CITY COUNCIL website at www.lacountyfire.gov. M/Herrera thanked Chief Stone for his presentation and reminded residents that due to the drought conditions, this year's fire danger will be very high. While everyone enjoys the scenic views surrounding Diamond Bar it is surrounded by about 8,000 acres of undeveloped land which makes the City vulnerable to devastating fires. 3. PUBLIC COMMENTS: Richard Seo, 2865 Woodbridge Court spoke about the Millennium project. The west side includes leveling a large ridge and how the necessary grading would destroy natural defenses against landslide which will specifically impact Bentley and Woodbridge Court and his quality of life. He asked if the City had considered this project to be overdevelopment. Allen Wilson thanked CC/Cribbins and PIM/Roa for answering his questions regarding why some residents did not receive the email alert for the first meeting of August. He also thanked the City for quickly responding to a sign on Golden Springs Drive at Grand Avenue. Mr. Wilson also suggested, that the City Council consider moving council elections to even -numbered years to coincide with the national election in order to gain a greater voter turnout. Theresa Lee, 22379 Kicking Horse Drive, spoke about the Millennium Project, and requested that the City review the prior approval. In February 2006 the City Council adopted Resolution 2006-15, a 48 home project in the vicinity of The Country Estates. She asked if the approval was contingent upon annexation to The Country Estates because Millennium had filed a lawsuit against The Country Estates in order to pursue their easement rights. She wanted to know if the project was considered to be landlocked because there appears to be access through Tonner Canyon which is owned by the City of Industry. The Association is opposed to installation of a debris basin on its property and if the easement is already granted they would like to know if there will be a public hearing during which residents can voice their opinion. Also at issue is the uplift sewage system, the existence of Schubarum Trail which cuts through the project area as well as, the risk to a private secure community becoming "at risk" of losing its identity, the amount of cut and fill risking the westerly ridge to mudslide, and the vesting of liability of the project to the association. Cassandra Maclnnis asked for help concerning Tentative Tract Map No. 53430 that was issued in 2006 by the City with conditions still to be met by the developer on an approximately 80 -acre parcel that lies adjacent to The Country Estates. Issues of concern are 1) annexation to The Country Estates required by the City of Diamond Bar; 2) a very complicated AUGUST 19, 2014 PAGE 4 CITY COUNCIL drainage system that LA County and the City of Diamond Bar will not maintain; 3) sewer system maintenance that LA County and the City of Diamond Bar will not maintain; 4) water and slope maintenance that LA County and the City of Diamond Bar will not maintain; 5) liability for slope slippage on a project that will be mostly cut and fill; and 6) recent realignment of the Schubarum Hiking and Riding Trail located outside of The Country Estates property that will now offer public access with possible maintenance demands. The homeowners do not want to be on the hook for liability and maintenance issues and would like the Council's attention in this matter so that the Association does not suffer liability and great cost with this project. She asked if a City representative could speak to the homeowners about this project to clarify these issues and concerns. David Lam spoke in opposition to the Millennium project and asked if the project was scheduled to move forward since a portion of the land was sold to a third party. 4. RESPONSE TO PUBLIC COMMENTS: CM/DeStefano stated that the Millennium Project is a very complicated project and the discussion regarding the details and history is indeed worth a meeting with the residents and City staff in an attempt to clarify all of the various issues associated with this particular project. This is an 80 -acre parcel in what is commonly called the back side of The Country Estates and is the last major parcel for development opportunity within the area. Other projects were developed over the 25 -year period of Cityhood including two or three JCC projects on Watercourse Way, Bentley, Windmill Horizon Pacific (12 -unit project) and Horizon Pacific now engaged in building a five -unit project at the end of Alamo Heights also adjacent to the Millennium property. The City concluded a 20 -year process about 2006 when the Planning Commission and the City Council approved the 48 -unit project. The project is designed to be a subdivision of homes with access off of Alamo Heights and off Horizon Lane that would mimic developments that already exist in The Country Estates with large pads for large homes and amenities that residents want for those large homes including pools, tennis courts, etc. Because of its location, it is on the other side of the hill from The Country Estates which requires that the sewage be pumped out of the area, storm drain systems be handled differently, etc., which is not unique to that part of The Country Estates. The aforementioned projects have sewer lift stations within them off of Water Course Way, the Bentley Project that comes off of Oak Knoll and continues down to the pump station at the end of Horizon Lane. All of these were the result of the physical location of those developments of which Millennium is similar, that need those extra tools to deliver utilities to n the property in order to remove the waste from those properties. This is a very complicated project; there is a lot of earth movement proposed which AUGUST 19, 2014 PAGE 5 CITY COUNCIL is not uncommon in Diamond Bar. When projects have earth movement as they all do, detailed studies are required by licensed engineers. Geotechnical reports and other tools are required and submitted by the developer and reviewed by the City and third party experts consulting with the City who have expertise in those areas. Reports are reviewed based on the way the property is characterized as well as details associated with construction of homes on top of those properties. These reports have to be approved by the City before any physical work can be done. These include storm drain plans, sewer plans, utility plans, roadway plans, etc. In this particular case, the property is behind the gates of the private The Country Estates community. To the best of his knowledge, like the other parcels mentioned that were developed over the past 25 years, this property has access rights through The Country Estates but no other rights to the use of any of the amenities within The Country Estates. Developers built the other properties and in some cases created their own homeowners associations and in other cases immediately annexed into the larger Country Estates. Eventually, those projects that created their own HOA's decided to merge into The Country Estates. This particular application has a condition from the City encouraging annexation into The Country Estates, but it is not a requirement. The requirement is that they work with The Country Estates in a good faith effort and consider and ultimately seek annexation into The Country Estates. CMJDeStefano further stated that it is his understanding that the property's developer has an interest in annexing, likely because of the benefits that can be achieved through the sale of the lots and homes as being directly associated with The Country Estates as opposed to simply being within The Country Estates. There is also a benefit to the developer if the Country Estates Board of Directors agrees to maintain the sewer pump station, storm water devices, and maintenance of the landscaping. However, if the Board of Directors does not agree to allow those responsibilities to come before the totality of The Country Estates it leaves the entire responsibility within the 48 -home subdivision, should it ever be constructed. This is a private negotiation between the developer and The Country Estates. This is an issue that is, at its roots, the result of a development project that the City approved with substantial conditions associated with it. These are not uncommon conditions. The Site D- Lennar Willow Heights Project under construction at Brea Canyon and Diamond Bar Boulevard has very, very similar conditions — that the geotechnical issues that exist everywhere in the City must be dealt with, that plans have to be designed to meet the standards, that those studies and plans have to be approved by the City and that the work must commence based on the solutions outlined in the design within those plans. In addition, that construction is overseen by the City to ensure that construction is consistent with the plans which are consistent with the studies that were done beforehand. AUGUST 19, 2014 PAGE 6 CITY COUNCIL The Millennium project has a long list of outstanding issues, not uncommon for a large project in a hillside area with the issues that have been identified. The Millennium Development Company has been working its way through resolving those issues but they have a long list of unresolved issues including all of the items outlined by several of the speakers. These issues must be resolved or the plans will not be approved and those pieces, if not approved, mean that a map can never be recorded and if the map is not recorded the developer cannot sell parcels. A speaker suggested that the developer might be selling lots or parts of the company, but by law, they cannot sell parcels (lots for future development) until a variety of documents are filed but most importantly, until the subdivision is recorded. What may be occurring (his speculation) is that the company that is building the project may be seeking investors in the company which is different than selling parcels because no one can sell parcels of land that do not exist until the subdivision map is recorded which does not occur until all standards have been met. Someone commented that residents may not be aware of this project. This project went through a rather exhaustive public hearing process in 2005-2006 leading to the referenced approvals. There has been significant turnover in The Country Estates management and Board of Directors as occurs in such organizations and as a result, perhaps continuity of information may have been lost. Some of the details about the project, in order to avoid rumor and innuendo from flourishing may be occurring and that speaks back to staff in assisting in talking about the project. The City Council approved the project and has done so with a long list of conditions that must be completed prior to the City Council approving the Final Map for recordation. The developer still has, by California State Law, at least a few more years to resolve all of those issues. Now that market conditions have improved it is his presumption that the developer is moving more quickly to meet the demand that exists in The Country Estates to produce more homes of that stature and caliber. He suspects that the developer is looking into annexing with The Country Estates in order to defray some of the costs of the large landscape areas, sewage systems, storm drain systems, etc. The sewage and storm drain systems are very complicated because of where this particular project is located and in other areas of The Country Estates as mentioned, the County took over maintenance and that is an issue that needs to be addressed to understand that if the County has concerns what those concerns are because it makes more sense for the County that has experience in doing so, to maintain those stations than it does for a homeowners association that has no experience in doing so. However, that decision rests with the Board of Directors of the homeowners association to determine what is most appropriate for that neighborhood. AUGUST 19, 2014 PAGE 7 CITY COUNCIL With respect to the Schubarum Trail, it has existed for many years and runs through the rear of the projects mentioned that are adjacent to The Country Estates and continues from The Country Estates to Grand Avenue and keeps going in the opposite direction through Brea Canyon Cutoff, Diamond Bar Boulevard and west into Rowland Heights and beyond. It is meant to be predominately an equestrian trail and can, as he understands, be used by humans for walking as well. The design was typically outside the boundaries of The Country Estates and this particular project drawings show that the trail does creep to this particular project's boundaries. Although he has not seen the details of how that will unfold he understands the public concerns where a public easement to allow equestrian and other uses is coming within this proposal. Whether there are opportunities to change that by changing the route of the trail is unknown to him at this time. In conclusion, the developer has the right and time to continue to implement the conditions imposed by the City and will not get the project recorded or built until those conditions are met. CM/DeStefano agrees that it would be good to talk about the project. The Council cannot revoke the approval but if the developer does not meet the standards set by the conditions of the project, the project will not come to fruition. M/Herrera asked for clarification that what the developer holds is a Tentative Tract Map approval and must meet all of the other conditions before the Final Map approval. CM/DeStefano responded that M/Herrera is correct and added that the final map approval is not discretionary. If this developer or any developer has met all of the conditions and requirements of the Tentative Tract Map, the City Council shall approve the Final Map. The Council had discretion in approving the Tentative Tract Map in 2006 and if the developer complies with all of the conditions of that approval, the City has no option but to approve the Final Map. C/Lyons felt the joint meeting between staff and residents was a really good idea and asked how that would be arranged. CM/DeStefano said he would need to discuss this matter further with staff and include the developer because it is the developer's proposal that is being questioned and try to help the residents understand what is involved in the physical improvements (grading, sewer and storm drain) should the association wish to accept responsibility or not and help to identify some of the outstanding issues. A lot of what he has heard this evening is directly related to the developer and the Board of The Country Estates because it is the Board of Directors that will be making decisions on behalf of the residents of The Country Estates and that Board has a lot of discretion. He would not see staff being in a position to advocate for the AUGUST 19, 2014 PAGE 8 CITY COUNCIL project. The City Council made its decision and the developer is responsible for implementing the conditions as approved by the City Council. Staff's position would be to provide facts that would help residents better understand the project so that they can make their own decisions and work with their Board of Directors on the future issues of the development. 5. SCHEDULE OF FUTURE EVENTS: 5.1 Planning Commission Meeting — August 26, 2014 — 7:00 p.m., Windmill Community Room, 21810 Copley Drive - canceled. 5.2 Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting — August 28, 2014 — 7:00 p.m., Windmill Community Room, 21810 Copley Drive. 5.3 Labor Day Holiday — City Offices closed in observance of Labor Day, September 1, 2014. City Offices reopen Tuesday, September 2, 2014 at 7:30 a.m. 5.4 City Council Meeting — September 2, 2014 — Canceled 5.5 Planning Commission Meeting — September 9, 2014 — 7:00 p.m., Windmill Community Room, 21810 Copley Drive. 5.6 Diamond Bar Day at the Los Angeles County Fair - September 11, 2014 — Los Angeles County Fairplex in Pomona. 5.7 Traffic and Transportation Commission Meeting — September 11, 2014 — 7:00 p.m., Windmill Community Room, 21810 Copley Drive. 5.8 City Council Meeting — September 16, 2014 — 6:30 p.m., SCAQMD Auditorium,. 21865 Copley Drive. 6. CONSENT CALENDAR: C/Lyons moved, C/Chang seconded, to approve the Consent Calendar as presented. Motion carried by the following Roll Call vote: AYES: COUNCIL MEMBERS: Chang, Lyons, Tanaka, MPT/Tye, M/Herrera NOES: COUNCIL MEMBERS: None ABSENT: COUNCIL MEMBERS: None 6.1 APPROVED CITY COUNCIL MINUTES: 6.1.1 Study Session of August 5, 2014. 6.1.2 Regular Meeting of August 5, 2014. 6.2 RATIFIED CHECK REGISTER — Dated July 31, 2014 through August 13, 2014 totaling $863,770.76. AUGUST 19, 2014 PAGE 9 CITY COUNCIL 6.3 APPROVED CONTRACT WITH ECS IMAGING, INC. IN THE AMOUNT OF $87,000 PLUS A CONTINGENCY OF $5,000 FOR A TOTAL CONTRACT AMOUNT OF $92,000 FOR THE PURCHASE OF THE LASERFICHE AVANTE DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM AND RELATED PROFESSIONAL SERVICES; AND, APPROPRIATED $100,000 FROM GENERAL FUND RESERVES. 6.4 APPROVED CONTRACT AMENDMENT FOR EXISTING ON- CALL CIVIL ENGINEERING SERVICES WITH ONWARD ENGINEERING TO PERFORM A COMPREHENSIVE PARKWAY DRAINAGE CURB ANALYSIS IN THE AMOUNT OF $22,680 WITH A CONTINGENCY AUTHORIZATION OF $4,000 FOR A TOTAL CONTRACT AMOUNT OF $26,680. 6.5 ADOPTED RESOLUTION NO. 2014-36: APPROVING THE APPLICATION FOR $153,346 OF HABITAT CONSERVATION FUND GRANT FUNDS, WHICH, IF AWARDED, REQUIRES A $153,346 MATCH FROM THE CITY FOR THE SILVER TIP PARK TRAIL AND TRAILHEAD. 7. PUBLIC HEARING: 7.1 ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 2014-37: AMENDING THE CITY'S CONFLICT OF INTEREST CODE FOR DESIGNATED CITY PERSONNEL AND RESCINDING RESOLUTION NO. 2012-36: IN ITS ENTIRETY. CM/DeStefano stated that staffs report for this item to amend the City's Conflict of Interest Code will be presented by CC/Cribbins. CC/Cribbins stated that every two years the FPPC requires cities to review their Conflict of Interest. Code and, if necessary, make any changes to accurately reflect job classifications that may fall under the Conflict of Interest Code. On May 20, 2014, the City Council adopted Resolution 2014-20 re-establishing the position of the Deputy City Manager job classification with salary grade and fringe benefits. In order to correctly identify the positions, which must file statements of economic interest, and match the City's personnel system, the City's Conflict of Interest needs to be amended to reflect the position of Deputy City Manager. No other changes, additions or deletions need to be made. Staff recommends that the City Council open the Public Hearing, receive testimony, close the Public Hearing and adopt Resolution No. 2014-37, the City's Conflict of Interest Code. M/Herrera opened the Public Hearing at 7:42 p.m. AUGUST 19, 2014 PAGE 10 CITY COUNCIL With no one present who wished to speak on this matter, M/Herrera closed the Public Hearing at 7:43 p.m. MPT/Tye moved, C/Tanaka seconded, to adopt Resolution No. 2014-37: Amending the City's Conflict of Interest Code for Designated City Personnel and Rescinding Resolution No. 2012-36 in its entirety. Motion carried by the following Roll Call vote: AYES: COUNCIL MEMBERS: Chang, Lyons, Tanaka, MPT/Tye, M/Herrera NOES: COUNCIL MEMBERS: None ABSENT: COUNCIL MEMBERS: None 8. COUNCIL CONSIDERATION: 8.1 DIAMOND RIDE PROGRAM MODIFICATIONS AND ADOPTION OF UPDATED PROGRAM RULES & REGULATIONS. CM/DeStefano introduced DCM/McLean who presented a program overview analysis and recommended modifications for the Diamond Ride Dial -a -Cab service. DCM/McLean reported that the City Council established the Diamond Ride Program in April 1995 and at that time, the program's stated goal was "to provide local and affordable supplemental transportation to the community". Those that are eligible to receive a Diamond Ride Card include individuals who are 60 years and older and disabled adults 18 years and older. Current guidelines for the program are that if one is an eligible member that person can receive 30 one- way trips per month or 15 round trips. The service is available seven (7) days a week from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. and all trips must be reserved the day prior to the trip. There are currently three different service areas for the program: 1) Area 1 within the City limits; 2) Area 2 for non-medical and shopping trips or for medical trips within Area 2 bound by San Dimas to the north, Chino to the east, Brea to the south and Hacienda Heights to the west; and 3) Area 3 is for medical trips only with boundaries at points stretching from Fontana to Norco/Corona, Long Beach and Pasadena. The City has three established rates for those particular areas. Currently, Area 1 is $.50 each way; Area 2 is $3.00 each way and Area 3 is $1.50 each way. During the recently completed Fiscal Year of 2013-14 ending June 30, 2014, there were 10's of thousands of trips with almost 300,000 miles traveled. The service was primarily used on weekdays and about 75 percent of all trips taken were for medical or shopping. AUGUST 19, 2014 PAGE 11 CITY COUNCIL It is important to understand the program funding source for the Diamond Ride Program. Since 1995 the City has spent approximately $6.9 million to fund the program. Last year's costs (FY 2013-14) were approximately $567,000 which is the highest annual costs since the program began and the first invoices for July 2014 are on pace to exceed last year's costs. Currently, the program is funded with Prop C Funds which are funded through the County in accordance with the $.50 tax measure, for which the City receives approximately 20 percent based on a per -capita formula. This funding is restricted to public transit projects and programs on arterial streets and is not limited to shuttles or taxi service as it also includes transportation and congestion relief projects. Prop C money cannot be sold for General Fund use and must be used by the agency that receives it. In addition to the Diamond Ride Dial -a -Cab service there are many CIP projects related to transportation on the City's arterials that were funded by Prop C such as median improvements on Grand Avenue at Diamond Bar Boulevard; traffic signal improvements, signal battery backup system installations and arterial slurry and overlay projects on those streets. As Diamond Ride costs have increased over the years Proposition C funds for infrastructure projects are diminished with about 71 percent of this year's Prop C allocation marked for Diamond Ride alone, the reserves the City once had for Prop C are now depleted which means that General Fund or other subsidies will be needed to complete transportation projects that have been included in the CIP projects going forward unless there is an offset. With that overview in.mind, staff conducted an analysis to obtain additional information and statistics on the program. The first thing staff noticed was the discrepancy in the original program philosophy. At the beginning of the program that was established by the City Council it was a supplemental service and was not meant to be a primary source of transportation. Based on a review of the numbers and use pattern it seems that the program has shifted to more of a primary source of transportation for many individuals. For example, the top 10 riders for the year (10 cardholders) averaged nearly a trip per day for the entire year so in such cases the program is being used on a regular basis and not on a supplemental basis. Staff found that the non-medical and shopping trips particular to Area 2 outside of the City was contrary to the existing guidelines and countered the City's Economic Development goals. Currently, riders can schedule shopping trips outside of the City and Area 2 stretches about 10 miles from the AUGUST 19, 2014 PAGE 12 CITY COUNCIL City Center outward and the trips to other shopping districts in other cities undermine the "Shop Diamond Bar" program, adversely impacting the City's economic efforts and effectively subsidize sales tax leakage to other cities. Staff also noticed that there is growing usage inequity in the program. Staff's review found that a very small group of users (40 or about 3 percent) out of approximate 1300 current cardholders were responsible for about 30 percent of all trips, miles and costs. This usage inequity is very evident when looking at the cost of the top five riders in FY 2013-14. During this 12 month period the top five riders took trips costing from $7200 to $11,000. It is also important to note that staff found no fraudulent activity — all trips have been taken in a manner consistent with the current rules and regulations. There is a growing impact of long-distance trips. The costs of the program are driven by long-distance trips, primarily to those in Area 3, which amounts to about 60 percent of the trips for Diamond Ride to destinations outside of the City. According to staff's estimates in reviewing a sample of about 9,000 individual trips it was determined that 86.5 percent of the trip costs are generated from those trips that are outside of the City. Another example of the impact of long-distance trips is the fact that during one period of six months, approximately 40 percent of the riders in the top 20 did not take a single trip within the city limits of Diamond Bar — all of their trips were to destinations outside of Diamond Bar. Staff felt it would be valuable to compare the current Diamond Ride program to other Dial -a -Cab services in cities in the region and found that most of these programs limited trips to within the city limits or to very small boundaries or to medical facilities with very specific destinations. Staff is confident in saying that the Diamond Ride program boundaries today are among the most generous, if not the most generous in the entire southern California region. At the August 5 City Council Study Session staff presented this analysis and a series of three modification options for consideration and after its discussion the City Council directed staff to bring the following modifications forward to tonight's meeting for consideration: 1) Maintain in -City trips in Area 1; 2) Establish a new medical service area (Area 2) with an AUGUST 19, 2014 PAGE 13 CITY COUNCIL approximate 5 mile radius which would include medical exceptions for trips to Pomona Valley and St. Jude Hospitals and their associated medical centers and eliminate subsidized non-medical and shopping trips to destinations outside of the City limits including trips to Ontario Airport and Fullerton Amtrak Station; 3) Allow for same-day reservations. If approved, staff would recommend that Council change the current practice of 24-hour notice and allow riders to make reservations the same day for all trips; and, 4) Rates remain the same for Area 1 within the City of Diamond Bar $.50 per trip and trips to medical service areas Area 2 would remain at $1.50 per trip. Staff believes that these modifications will have a number of positive impacts. It will maintain an effective Dial -a -Cab program for seniors and stable adults and the program will continue to have very generous boundaries that are most likely at the top of the list for the southern California region even after these changes. Staff believes the recommendation would improve the long-term financial viability, it would allow Proposition C Funds to reach and benefit the greatest number of residents, and, it would ensure transportation projects are not delayed so that the City can continue doing congestion relief and traffic mitigation projects. As part of the recommendation, staff would ask that modifications commence December 1 if approved by the City Council to give ample opportunity for riders to make adjustments to their schedules and secure other transportation options, if necessary. Staff recommends that the City Council adopt modifications as proposed effective December 1. MPT/Tye asked DCM/McLean to explain the third bullet point under recommendations "eliminate subsidized non-medical and shopping trips" with emphasis on the fact that this is not proposing to eliminate their ability to go to Fontana or San Gabriel. DCM/McLean responded that falls under "cab conversion" and some riders may actually take advantage of that now. What this means is that if a rider wants to go to a location outside of the City limits (a non-medical trip outside of the City limits, for example), the City will subsidize the trip up to the point of the City limit and from there the rider would pay the standard cab fare for the remainder of the trip to its destination. Cab conversions would remain available under this program and if someone wished to go beyond the AUGUST 19, 2014 PAGE 14 CITY COUNCIL medical service area to a medical appointment the only change would be that the City's subsidization of that would be at the border of that particular service area. C/Lyons asked if the vendor was capable of and agreed to handle the same day reservation program. DCM/McLean said he spoke with the Vice President of Yellow Cab and discussed the proposed modifications. He did not believe there would be any issues since the company has done so in the past and would prepare for this change effective December 1 with the same grace period. C/Lyons asked how users will be notified of changes to the program. GCM/McLean said that staff is planning a full outreach program with notices sent to each rider and public information outlet usage including the City's newsletter and website. M/Herrera asked for clarification that the changes would take people within Area 2 or if someone wanted to go to Heritage, St. Jude or Pomona Valley Hospital they would spend $1.50 and once the rider went beyond that border it would be the cab conversion fare. DCM/McLean explained that for those two sites the City Council requested that exceptions be made for Pomona Valley Hospital and surrounding medical center and St. Jude Hospital in Fullerton and surrounding medical center so those would be covered under the $1.50 fare. There would be no cab conversion fare to those two locations only. M/Herrera asked for public comment. Allen Wilson appreciated staff's report and acknowledged the potential $29,000 savings to the program. He suggested that the City could save more money by looking at the defined benefits for the City Council. M/Herrera closed public comments. M/Herrera stated that in 1995 when this program was created the annual budget was $350,000 to be spent for the year. At this time, the budget is $575,000 and it is important for a City to live within its means and not exceed its means and believes that these changes are the right thing. Still, Diamond Bar is running a very generous AUGUST 19; 2014 PAGE 15 CITY COUNCIL program when compared to surrounding cities. C/Chang moved, C/Lyons seconded to approve the Diamond Ride Program modifications and, adopt the updated Program Rules and Regulations. Motion carried by the following Roll Call Vote: AYES: COUNCIL MEMBERS: Chang, Lyons, Tanaka, MPT/Tye, M/Herrera NOES: COUNCIL MEMBERS: None ABSENT: COUNCIL MEMBERS: None 8.2 ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 2014-38: APPROVING THE CITY OF DIAMOND BAR EMERGENCY OPERATIONS PLAN (EOP), AUTHORIZE THE MAYOR TO SIGN THE LETTER OF PROMULGATION, AND DIRECT STAFF TO PROVIDE A COPY OF THE APPROVED PLAN TO THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA OFFICE OF EMERGENCY SERVICES. CM/DeStefano stated that staff is recommending an update to the City's Emergency Operations Plan (EOP). He introduced SMA/Santos who provided a background on the program and introduced recommended updates. SMA/Santos stated that Public Safety in the City of Diamond Bar is composed of a variety of components including the Los Angeles County Sheriff, Los Angeles County Fire, Inland Valley Humane Society and staff support for emergency preparedness and response, all of which are the City's attempt to have the best in public safety services available to the City and its residents. Activities include staff training (monthly training events, training for new employees), exercises with partner agencies, updating emergency planning documents, comprehensive public education and outreach efforts (information posted on the City's website, DB Connection, Facebook, Twitter, etc.) and promoting the agency's emergency alert system (sign in at the City's website) as well as, EOC activation in response to emergencies (fires, earthquakes). In response to a disaster whether it is a natural disaster incident or human caused incident, the City Manager and his designee have the authority to activate the EOC. Employees of the City are disaster service workers and have an obligation to report to the City when available, analyze the situation and use the City's Emergency Operations Plan as a guiding tool to respond to the situation. The City Council proclaims disasters, which is important to triggering higher response from the Governor up to the President of the United States. AUGUST 19, 2014 PAGE 16 CITY COUNCIL Collaboration is essential. In short, the City uses the EOP as a guiding document, the City Council provides the policy direction, proclaims disasters to ensure the appropriate level of response from the State and Federal government. The EOP is a large document which has been consolidated from an even larger document to something that is more user-friendly for staff to ensure the appropriate response. There are four specific components to the plan: Part 1 — Basic Plan, which talks about Diamond Bar and specific threats in and to the City. Part 2 — Section Checklists that are specific action items for positions in the EOC (Emergency Operation Center) and what those sections do. Part III — EOC Documents and Part IV — Restricted Use, which is confidential information specific to the EOC needs and not meant for public dissemination. The EOP document has been streamlined to 250 pages and is a living document subject to customization to fit the contract model. EOC Part 1 includes information about the National Incident Management System (NIMS) which was patterned after the State's standardized emergency management system. The checklist is the best revision of the plan and allows for cooperation between public agencies. Staff wants this to be a document that is kept with responsible staff members and at strategic locations to allow staff members to move forward expeditiously. Staff will use this document to undergo additional disaster response staff training and if approved, the training calendar will be updated to include the revised EOP document. SMA/Santos recommended that the City Council Adopt Resolution 2014-38 approving the City of Diamond Bar EOP, authorize the Mayor to sign the Letter of Promulgation, and direct staff to provide a copy of the Approved Plan to the State of California Office of Emergency Services. M/Herrera said it was a great plan and that she loved the maps that are included, especially those maps showing the location of the earthquake faults. It is helpful for the City Council and residents to know who has what assignment but she did not hear the responsibility of the City Council in the event of a disaster. SMA/Santos stated that in addition to providing training documents for staff, staff has put together a handbook for City Council Members to delineate Council Member's roles and responsibilities AUGUST 19, 2014 PAGE 17 CITY COUNCIL such as declaring proclamations, providing assurances to the public that the City is working proactively to try to identify how the community is being affected as well as provide updates about response. The situation will influence what information is communicated between staff and Council and information ultimately communicated to the public immediately after an emergency. Such as a fire, earthquake or other large-scale incident, staff will communicate information to the Council and Council Members will be contacted by staff if they are requested to be at City Hall or some other location. Once the information is provided to the City Council and updates are provided to the public, that will influence whether the EOC is activated which will trigger what information is to be provided to Council such as declaring a proclamation, what type of proclamation needs to be declared, whether there will be press conferences (first to the Mayor, then to the Mayor Pro Tem and then to remaining Council Members based on seniority). In short, staff will work proactively with the City Council and residents to make sure that everyone is provided information they need to conduct and perform their duties. M/Herrera acknowledged the cooperation of the Sheriffs and Fire Departments who play significant roles in emergency operations, both of which have their plans and procedures. SMA/Santos explained that Diamond Bar as a contract model supports and has as its main focus on what goes on in the field with the Sheriff and Fire Departments. These are the law enforcement and fire enforcement agencies as well as, ]VHS and other public safety agencies. To every extent possible, staff is charged to support what those agencies do in the field on a collaborative basis to make sure staff understands and can support what they do in the field. It is a total team effort. MPT/Tye thanked SMA/Santos for a great presentation. It is always important for the public to understand that the City has a plan. As an example, the Triangle Fire never reached the City but the City was prepared for that eventuality. Diamond Bar knew where it would send residents in case of evacuation and he felt that this type of document would have helped and it is good to know that this program is constantly moving forward and is something that might have led to handling things differently five years ago with a fire threatening the City or five months ago with an earthquake that affected the City. He also believes it is important that residents understand that cities throughout the State are required to have an updated plan every five years with revisions typically costing about AUGUST 19, 2014 PAGE 18 CITY COUNCIL $50,000. Diamond Bar has chosen to update its plan in-house at a significant savings to the City as it continues to move forward on a very cost-effective basis. M/Herrera asked for public comment. Kim Hsieh said that when the fire threatened her residence she was told she might have to evacuate but was never told where she needed to go and she wanted to know if there were places people could go to get help and was there a crisis management team in place to assist people under stress. SMA/Santos responded that since the 2008 Freeway Complex Fire the City has implemented its emergency alert system (telephone based notification system that provides information by message, text, SMS, etc.) The intent of the system and Facebook, Twitter, the City's website, YouTube, etc. is to provide real-time information to residents. Depending upon the incident, LA County Fire Department will make a determination if an evacuation is necessary. The LA County Sheriff will execute the evacuation order. Depending on whether residents are evacuated or sheltered, that information will be communicated to staff and staff will work collaboratively with Fire and Sheriff to ensure information is provided to the residents. Staff is continuing to improve and since 2008 has implemented many positive opportunities so that the communication system improves going forward. Many times information is misrepresented by the media and staff and Council attempt to make sure the information being reported is correct by providing accurate real-time information. M/Herrera asked what number residents should call at City Hall in order to register their cell phone to get these messages. SMA/Santos responded that residents can call him at 909-839- 7013 or seek information online at the City's website at www.citvofdiamondbar.gov and click on the Public Safety Tab and link for the Emergency Alert System and sign up for the call back. M/Herrera stated that the City has cooperative agreements with the school districts and when fires occur and people are told to evacuate they were sent to the Diamond Bar High School gymnasium. However, there are agreements with schools toward the north end closer to Diamond Bar Center. CM/DeStefano said it would depend on the emergency and based on the information such as if a large earthquake destroyed the Diamond Bar High School gymnasium, it would not be a source and AUGUST 19, 2014 PAGE 19 CITY COUNCIL staff would look for other acceptable sites. The Diamond Bar High School gymnasium can house a great number of people who have access to adequate restroom and/or shower facilities and sleeping facilities are sites that the City would be looking for. Typically, elementary schools, junior high schools and even the Diamond Bar Center do not offer those facilities. Fundamentally, the City looks at high schools. For the Triangle Complex fire, Diamond Bar High School was used and next in line was Walnut High School which was activated as well. C/Chang said that with respect to misrepresentation by the media, what she noticed with the La Habra earthquake, TV media started picking up on twitter feeds and she was very proud of the City of Diamond Bar for having its own twitter feed and other avenues for putting out correct information. M/Herrera thanked staff for the great presentation and for updating the City's emergency plan. It is great information for the public. C/Lyons moved, MPT/Tye seconded, to adopt Resolution 2014-38 approving the City of Diamond Bar EOP, and authorize the Mayor to sign the Letter of Promulgation, and direct staff to provide a copy of the Approved Plan to the State of California Office of Emergency Services. Motion carried by the following Roll Call vote:. AYES: COUNCIL MEMBERS: Chang, Lyons, Tanaka, MPT/Tye, M/Herrera NOES: COUNCIL MEMBERS: None ABSENT: COUNCIL MEMBERS: None 9. COUNCIL SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS AND MEETING ATTENDANCE REPORTS/COUNCIL MEMBER COMMENTS: C/Tanaka said that during the past two weeks he attended the last two Concerts in the Park and Movies Under the Stars. August 6 was National Night Out and the event concluded August 13. August 9 was the Diamond Bar Youth Baseball Awards at Heritage Park where sportsmanship trophies and pizza parties were earned by various teams. Monday was a Neighborhood Watch meeting in the Rio Lobos/Cogburn Lane area during which Deputy Scheller gave an outstanding presentation. Last Thursday was the Children's End of Summer Reading Program party at Sycamore Canyon Park. Diamond Bar Day at the LA County Fair will be on Thursday, September 11 and there are $5 coupons available online and at various locations around the City. C/Chang said that as usual, residents can follow her on a variety of social media outlets. She too attended the National Night Out and Concerts in AUGUST 19, 2014 PAGE 20 CITY COUNCIL the Park. There was great attendance and she was very impressed with the Sheriff and Fire Department demonstrations. She thanked everyone for their attendance. This past year she has been honored to serve as President of the League of California Cities, LA County Division. It has been a very busy year. She thanked M/Herrera, MPT/Tye, CM/DeStefano, and DCM/McLean for coming out and supporting her as well as, the participation of various cities.She thanked Congressman Royce for swearing in incoming President Steven Lee from Rosemead and the Board. She wished him success in his new position. C/Lyons attended many of the Concerts in the Park including the last concert which was very much enjoyed by all of the residents. She thanked staff for a very successful season. She appreciates staff's work on the Diamond Ride Program and Emergency Operations Plan, very good things about which to inform the public. The Diamond Bar Friends of the Library has announced the book for this year's Read Together Diamond Bar Program True Notebooks by Mark Salzman. There will be a variety of activities during the month of October that center around that book and its author. She saw that Bob's Big Boy is here to stay in Diamond Bar. The owners appeared before the Council awhile back and asked for support of the residents to make it a viable location for them. Congratulations to Bob's Big Boy. MPT/Tye said that a week ago today he was privileged to be at the Walnut Valley Diamond Bar Rotary Club when Congressman Ed Royce was inducted as a dues -paying member. He thanked CSD/Rose for another terrific "Concerts in the Park" series. A great time was had by all. He is not sure which is more popular, the Concerts in the Park or the Movies. It is a terrific program that has grown over the 25 years as a City and knows the residents are very appreciative. Kudos to you staff members who worked to make the programs a major success. He reminded residents that Diamond Bar Day at the Fair is September 11, just three weeks away, and he hoped to see everyone there. M/Herrera congratulated C/Chang for completing her year as President of League of California Cities, LA County Division and congratulated MPT/Tye for completing his year as President of Contract Cities. She believes this is the first time ever that two sitting Council Members were presidents of major San Gabriel Valley organizations and is sure it was AUGUST 19, 2014 PAGE 21 CITY COUNCIL challenging for staff to keep up as fast as these two were moving. Diamond Bar is very proud of both C/Chang and MPT/Tye and she thanked them for their work on behalf of the City. She thanked Chief Stone for his very important fire prevention presentation and thanked the LA County Sheriff's Department for its safety teams who do a lot of great work to make Diamond Bar residents safe and their -work is greatly appreciated. M/Herrera announced that her Planning Commissioner, Jack Shah, resigned effective August 15 and asked that any interested parties in becoming a planning commissioner can request an application form from CC/Cribbins or log on to the City's website, complete the application form and submit it to the City Clerk for consideration. It is likely that a decision will be forthcoming at the first Tuesday in October City Council meeting. ADJOURNMENT: With no further business to conduct, M/Herrera adjourned the Regular City Council Meeting at 8:30 p.m. Tommye tribbins, City Clerk The foregoing minutes are hereby approved this 16th day of September 2014. Steve Tye Mayor Prb Tem