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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1994-01-18 CRC Agenda NOTICE AND AGENDA FOR REGULAR MEETING CHARTER REVIEW COM USSION Tuesday, January 18, 1994 6:00 p.m. Council Conference Room 276 Fourth Avenue Chula Vista, Ca. 91910 Please take notice that the Cliarter Review Commission will meet at the above-stated time and place to consider the following matters: 1. Roll Call 2. Approval of Minutes of October 19, 1993 Regular Meeting 3. Public comments 4. Continued Consideration of Charter Amendment Items: A. Charter Section 600 Revisited - Councilman Moore (1) See Councilman Moore's attached annotated Charter Review Commission Draft Minutes of October 19, 1993 meeting. (2) Oral Presentation by Councilman Moore. (3) See proposed language change to (new)proposed Section 600(a) (in addition to language approved by Commission ° at its 10/19/93 meeting). B. Charter Section 602(d) - Community Development Item re Economic Development Commission membership: (1) Letter from ' Economic Development Chairperson William Tuchscher.. (2) Oral Presentation by Mr. Tuchscher. (3) City Attorney suggested Alternative Language Charter Review Commission Notice Page 2 C. Charter Section 600(a) and (d): (1) Council Referral of 5/4/93 re Youth Commission terms. (2) Youth Commission recommendation. (Draft minutes of the 1/10/94 Youth Commission Meeting will be presented at the meeting). (3) Proposed language changes for §600 (a) and (d) (see my 5/18/93 memo to Emerson/Valenzuela and 6/14/93 memo to John Gates. 5. Members' Comments 6. Adjournment Notice Dated: 1/10/93 J40" UCROnotice D. Richard Rudolf. Secretary cc: City Manager as Ex-Officio Member City Attorney The City of Chula Vista, in complying with the American With Disabilities Act, request individuals who may need special accommodation to access, attend and/or participate in a City meeting,,activity or service contact Lorraine Kraker at (619) 691-5037 for specific information on existing resources/or programs that may be available for such accommodation. Please call at least forty-eight hours in advance for meetings and five days for scheduled services and activities. California Relay Service is available for the hearing impaired. i 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 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. 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 theEDCthought 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 intheCity 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 k+e 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 ) Secretary (Minutes\CharRev4) i