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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1994-02-01 CRC MINS MINUTES OF AN ADJOURNED REGULAR MEETING OF THE CHARTER REVIEW COMMISSION February 1, 1994 Council Conference Room 6 : 00 p.m. (Adjourned Regular Meeting of January 18 , 1994) ------------------------------------------------------------------- MEMBERS PRESENT: Bob Campbell, John Dorso, Sharon Reid, Jack Blakely, Janet Lawry, Susan Fuller MEMBERS ABSENT: None STAFF PRESENT: Assistant City Attorney Rudolf OTHERS PRESENT: William Tuchscher, Chairperson, Economic Development Commission; Community Development Staff Persons Cheryl Dye and Curtis Valenzuela The meeting was called to order by Chairperson Campbell at 6 : 05 p.m. The roll was called and all members were present . There were no comments from members of the public . Agenda Item 4 - Continued Consideration of Charter Amendment Items from the regular meeting of January 18, 1994 : Item 4A: Charter Sections 600-604 - Committees . . Chairman Campbell requested renewed approval of the Charter Review Commission revision of January 18, 1994 which had been mailed to all members of the Commission (although marked "hand delivered 2/1/9411 ) . Mr. Rudolf pointed out that the revised version was consistent with the final motion of the Commission at its January 18 , 1994 meeting in that it deleted authority for the Mayor and City Manager to create committees, leaving only the full City Council capable of creating advisory committees, and specifically authorizing the Council to do so either by ordinance or resolution; deleted the proposed power in committees to conduct investigations and compel attendance of witnesses and production of evidence in proceedings before the committee (and the power of committee members to administer oaths and affirmations under such circumstances) and made that power permissive in the Council in the ordinance or resolution creating the committee . MSUC (Blakely/Fuller) to approve the February 1 revised version of Charter Sections 600-604 and the title to Article VI . Agenda Item 4B: Charter Section 602 (d) - Economic Development Commission Membership Eligibility for Voting Members and Quorum. Charter Review Commission Minutes Adjourned Regular Meeting of January 18 , 1994 Held February 1, 1994 Page 2 William Tuchscher, Chairperson of the Economic Development Commission (EDC) made a further presentation. Mr. Tuchscher indicated that the EDC did not have problems getting members, but did have problems getting the most effective people . He acknowledged that the EDC' s proposal did not address potentially similar problems in other commissions, arguing that if other commissions had similar problems, they could have brought those concerns forward to the Charter Review Commission, and the absence of that information being brought forward to the Commission indicated to Mr. Tuchscher that they were not experiencing similar problems and did not need similar provisions applicable to them, and that indeed the EDC' s problem was unique . He stated that in any event, the EDC requested approval of the proposal so that the City could use the EDC as a test case to determine if allowing non- resident participation in a limited way did provide better results for the City. Mr. Tuchscher read into the record a letter from Art Sellgren, Director of Facilities at Rohr, in support of potential participation by Rohr Senior Management who are not Chula Vista residents if the Charter proposal was approved. Mr. Sellgren' s letter made reference to the EDC' s unanimous approval of the proposal . Finally, Mr. Tuchscher presented a letter dated February 1, 1994 from Doug Fuller of Fuller Ford addressed to the Charter Review Commission, supporting the Charter amendment proposal . In response to a question from Member Reid, Mr. Tuchscher advised that the Chamber of Commerce had reviewed the EDC' s proposal, and indeed two members of the EDC were also members of the Chamber of Commerce . Mr. Tuchscher pointed out that the Chamber of Commerce members' reservations about the concept had resulted in their drafting of the proposal and in its restrictive form, it was approved unanimously by the entire EDC. Members Campbell and Fuller expressed the view that the EDC was unique and that support of this proposal would not affect other boards and commissions . Member Reid disagreed and felt that the same problem experienced by the EDC would also be experienced by the Safety Commission or other City commissions . Member Dorso found it hard to understand the EDC' s difficulty in finding good people since Chula Vista was the second largest city in the county, and was uncomfortable in modifying the Charter without an across-the-board solution applicable to all boards and commissions . Mr. Tuchscher replied that his interest as Chairperson of the EDC was to expand the EDC' s, influence and effectiveness and that that could best be brought about by making changes which would allow powerful persons with a broader swath of influence to be members of the EDC. He felt that the Chamber of Commerce was not designed to perform that function and that it was beyond their role and budget Charter Review Commission Minutes Adjourned Regular Meeting of January 18, 1994 Held February 1, 1994 Page 3 capabilities to do what the City' s EDC was created to accomplish. MSC 4-2 (Blakely/Fuller) (Dorso/Lawry opposed) to approve the EDC proposal . Member Blakely explained that his motion and support thereof was for the purposes of moving the matter forward to the City Council so that they could wrestle with the same concerns the Charter Review Commission was grappling with and make a final determination. Item 4C: Charter Sections 600 (a) and (d) - Youth Commission. Mr. Rudolf provided the faxed letter addressed to him on behalf of the Commission from the Chairperson of the Youth Commission addressing the reasons he was opposed to the staff recommendation to eliminate eligibility for service on the Youth Commission three months following high school graduation. Member Fuller asked why the staff was recommending the limitation. Mr. Rudolf replied that Parks and Recreation staff indicated there was a significant influence by the older youth over the younger students merely because of the difference in age and sophistication. Member Lawry stated that the fact that there was a staff recommendation indicated that there was some kind of a problem, and it seemed to her inappropriate for eighteen year olds to be involved with the Youth Commission; once they were involved in college, they had significantly different interests from the middle school and high school students . Member Reid felt that there was no problem with the reduction of the terms for four years to two and allowing half terms to count for the purposes of the two year term limit because of the nature of the applicant pool for the Youth Commission, but thought that that change in itself would address the problem and it was not necessary to limit eligibility to three months following high school graduation. Member Fuller agreed and stated that the City Council ought to take the 'age of the person into account at the time of appointment if staff was concerned about the age differential . Under the new proposal, a person could not be appointed if they were over eighteen and therefore would have to be under twenty if serving two full terms . MSUC (Reid/Lawry) to approve the reduction in terms and provision for half term, but delete staff recommendation for loss of eligibility three months following high school graduation. Charter Review Commission Minutes Adjourned Regular Meeting of January 18, 1994 Held February 1, 1994 Page 4 COMMISSION MEMBER COMMENTS Member Reid suggested the reference to two technical housekeeping measures in the draft Commission report to the Council be expanded to more accurately reflect nine changes in two ballot measures. 'there being no further business before the Commission, the meeting was adjourned at 7:21 p.m. Respectfully. submitted, D. Richard Rud f Secretary J (C:\Minutes\CharRev5) MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING OF THE CHARTER REVIEW COMMISSION January 18 , 1994 Council Conference Room 6 : 00 p .m. ------------------------------------------------------------------- MEMBERS PRESENT: Bob Campbell, John Dorso, Sharon Reid, Jack Blakely, Janet Lawry MEMBERS ABSENT: Susan Fuller (excused) STAFF PRESENT: Assistant City Attorney Rudolf OTHERS PRESENT: Councilman Moore; William Tuchscher, Chairperson, Economic Development Commission; Community Development Staff Persons Cheryl Dye and Curtis Valenzuela The meeting was called to order by Chairperson Campbell at 6 : 01 p.m. The roll was called and all members were present except Member Fuller. Member Fuller was excused, having called in to report a prior family ceremonial event conflicting with the Commission' s meeting schedule . MSUC (Reid/Dorso) to approve the minutes of the October 19, 1993 regular meeting. There were no comments from members of the public . Agenda Item 4 - Continued Consideration of Charter Amendment Items : Item 4A: Charter Sections 600-604 - Committees . Chairman Campbell requested Councilman Moore make his oral presentation with regard to the agenda item so that the Councilman could return to the City Council meeting as soon as possible . Mr. Moore expressed his concerns that there were too many committees; that even though the draft proposal called for short term and specific focus of the committees, as drafted, the provision allowed the creator of the committee to extend it indefinitely; that the approval of so many committees and the requirement that the City ' Manager designate a secretary to take minutes all resulted in additional staff time and, therefore, cost for the City which was not being reviewed by the City Council . Mr. Moore was therefore comfortable with the proposed additional sentence added to the new subdivision (b) of Section 600 requiring. Council ratification, but would prefer deletion of authority for the Mayor or City Manager to create committees, and have instead a provision that required Council creation of any committees, so that the Council was aware of the function and potential cost of creation of the committee. Mr. Moore was also concerned about the proposed provision in Section 604 giving committees the power to investigate and take C Charter Review Commission Minutes Meeting of January 18 , 1994 Page 2 evidence under oath or affirmation. He felt that there were potential costs involved in such committee work, potential liability because of the manner in which some committees might conduct such investigations, and the lack of experience by most committee members to be able to conduct such sophisticated procedures in an effectual way without creating liability for the City. Therefore, Councilman Moore proposed that the provision be changed so that if the Council thought a particular committee should have investigative powers and, therefore, its committee members needed the authority to administer oaths or affirmations, the Council should so state in the ordinance or resolution creating them. Chairperson Campbell agreed with Mr. Moore regarding the scope of investigative powers for committees . Member Reid inquired of staff whether, if the Charter was silent as to investigative powers, it wouldn' t be interpreted to imply that the City Council had authority to create committees and give them investigative powers . Mr. Rudolf replied that the structure of the section would be interpreted to imply that committees created by the City Council could not be given investigative power by the City Council, in the absence of an express provision. Member Dorso agreed with the position that committees should be limited in their powers, but that the Charter should expressly provide that the Council could give committees investigative powers if they wanted to. Chairperson Campbell didn' t feel committees should have investigative powers, and if the City Council wanted to have a committee and the expense involved in having that committee, the Council should do it, not the City Manager or the Mayor, just the full Council . MSUC (Campbell/Blakely) to amend the proposal to delete authority for Mayor and City Manager creation of committees; authorize the City Council to create committees by either ordinance or resolution; and require the City Council to specify at the time of creation whether the committee had investigative powers, and the members thereof the authority to administer oaths and affirmations; and that the duration of the committee could only be extended by affirmative *action by the City Council . The Chairperson requested staff to check with the City Manager to ensure that the proposed changes did not handcuff the City Manager in conducting normal City business . Agenda Item 4B: Charter Section 602 (d) - Economic Development Commission Membership Eligibility for Voting Members and Quorum. ti Charter Review Commission Minutes Meeting of January 18 , 1994 Page 3 Chairperson Campbell welcomed William Tuchscher, Chairperson of the Economic Development Commission, and requested he make an oral presentation regarding his proposal . Mr. Tuchscher stated that the Economic Development Commission (EDC) endorses the proposal in concept, and that it was aware of the potential for conflict of interest by having persons economically interested in the community as voting members of the EDC. He said obviously such members, if allowed, would have to be disqualified to participate where they had a disqualifying financial interest . Mr. Tuchscher summarized the work of the EDC and concluded that he felt the Commission would . be more effective if high level executives of business enterprises doing business in the Chula Vista area be allowed to participate as full voting members on the EDC, even if they did not live in the City of Chula Vista . Member Blakely asked if there were any other commissions which could benefit from this type of a proposal . He felt that the EDC was experiencing a problem similar to that faced by many prior commissions, and they discovered well qualified, interested persons who could add substantially to the work of the Commission, but were not allowed to be full voting members . He suggested that if the proposal was focusing just on the EDC, it was unlikely to pass, because it did not allow for an across-the-board solution to a solution to a perceived problem. Member Reid asked if the proposal included keeping five ex-officio members on the EDC. Mr. Tuchscher stated, yes, the proposal did include that . The ordinance used to have three ex-officio members, was recently increased from three to five, but in his opinion, there was still a limited commitment from such members without the power to vote . Members Reid and Dorso inquired why the EDC thought this change would work, suggesting that the problem was really with the number of ex-officio members . Mr. Tuchscher replied that the increased number of ex-officio members did not help, because of expertise not available in the City. Chairperson Campbell felt that if the problem was filling the ex- officio memberships, then the concept of ex-officio should be reduced or eliminated and the voting membership expanded. Mr. Tuchscher replied that such a solution would not solve the lack of expertise problem where the expertise was not resident in the City of Chula Vista. Members Dorso and Blakely expressed sympathy with the difficulties the EDC was experiencing, but felt that the problem was an historic one for all commissions in the city, the good people with Charter Review Commission Minutes Meeting of January 18 , 1994 Page 4 businesses in the city and wanted to participate, but who resided outside city limits and so could not be made full voting members . Member Reid was concerned that embracing the EDC proposal would open the flood gates for similar complaints from other boards and commissions, and it seemed that there ought to be other ways to solve the problem without opening the doors to non-resident participation as full voting members . Member Lawry pointed out that the proposed structure would allow more non-residents than residents in the makeup of the Commission and on the votes required for the EDC to take action. Mr. Tuchscher requested action on the matter be delayed, and that the Charter Review Commission meeting be continued to February 1 so that the EDC could attempt to meet the concerns of the Charter Review Commission and be more creative . MSUC (Reid/Lawry) to continue the meeting and consideration of this matter to 6 : 00 p .m. on February 1, 1994 . Agenda Item 4C: Charter Sections 600 (a) and (d) - Youth Commission. Mr. Rudolf summarized the proposal from the Youth Commission and Parks and Recreation Commission staff arising out of the original request for consideration by the City Council that the terms of Youth Commissioners be reduced from four years to two, but still be left subject to the two term limitation. Mr. Rudolf explained that the Chairperson of the Youth Commission was unavailable for the meeting (on vacation in Hawaii) and he was uncomfortable in the matter being considered by the Commission without the opportunity for the Chairperson of the Youth Commission to tell the Charter Review Commission his reasons (or the reasons of the full Youth Commission) for opposing the Parks and Recreation staff recommended provision to have Youth Commission membership end three months following high school graduation. Member Lawry pointed out the significant difference in assertiveness and self-confidence between high school and college aged persons . MSUC (Blakely/Campbell) to continue the item to February 1, along with consideration of the EDC item, and directing staff to invite the Chairperson of the Youth Commission to make a presentation. Agenda Item 5 : Member Comments Member Reid was highly complimentary of the City Attorney' s Charter Review Commission Minutes Meeting of January 18, 1994 Page 5 Secretary.; Lorraine Kraker, for leaving clear telephone messages with regard to the upcoming ".meetings, and requested that the- compliment be passed on .by staff. The meeting was adjourned at 7:54 "p.m. to be "continued at 6: 00 p.m. on February 1, 1994 as an adjourned regular meeting to finish consideration of Agenda Items 4B and C. Respectfully submitted, . . D. Richard Rudolf 1 Secretary ,(Minutes\CharRev4)