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HomeMy WebLinkAboutcc min 1997/05/20 MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CHULA VISTA Tuesday, May 20, 1997 Council Chambers 6:01 p.m. Public Services Building CALL TO ORDER 1. ROLL CALL: PRESENT: Councilmembers: Moot, Padilia (arrived at 6:08 p.m.), Rindone (arrived at 6:02 p.m.), Salas, and Mayor Horton. ABSENT: Councilmembers: None ALSO PRESENT: City Manager, John D. Goss; City Attorney, John M. Kaheny; and City Clerk, Beverly A. Authelet. 2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG. MOMENT OF SILENCE 3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: MSC (Moot/Salas) to approved the minutes of May 6, 1997. Approved 4-0-1 with Padilia absent. 4. SPECIAL ORDERS OF THE DAY: a. Lorena Lopez, Director, San Diego Office of the Environmental Protection Agency presented Council an award tier the City's success in completing the Green Lights Program. CONSENT CALENDAR (Items pulled: none) CONSENT CALENDAR OFFERED BY MAYOR HORTON, rifles read, texts waived, pa.~sed and approved unanhnoasly 5.0 with speciai note that Item 8 was approved 3-0-0-2 (Moot and 'Salas abstaining because they lived in the District; ltem 9 was approved 4-0-0-1 (Padilia abstaining because he lived in the District); and Ite~n 13 was approved 4-0-0-1 (Moot ahs'taining because of a conflict of interest). 5. WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS: a. Letter from the City Attorney stating that as a result of ddiberations that occurred in Closed Session on 5113197, the City Attorney's office reports in Cruz v. City of Chula Vista that the City Council agreed to accept the arbitration award. Except for the foregoing, there was no other observed reportable action taken by the City Council in Closed Session. The letter was received and filed. 6. RESOLUTION 18666 ACCEPTING BIDS AND AWARDING CONTRACT FOR THE PURCHASE OF ONE 4-CUBIC YARD STREET PATCH TRUCK, AND APPROPRIATING $13,214 FROM THE EQUIPMENT REPLACEMENT FUND FOR THIS PURCHASE - On 4/30/97, the bids for the purchase of one 4-cubic yard street patch truck were opened. Out of sixteen prospective bidders, five bidders responded, of which, one was a local dealership. Staff recommends approval uf the resolution awarding the contract to Minutes May 20, 1997 the lowest bidder E.W. Truck and Equipment Company, Inc. with a net total price after trade-in of $56,582.86. (Director of Public Works and Director of Finance) 4/Sth's vote required. 7. RESOLUTION 18667 APPROV1NG THE ENGINRRR'S REPORTS FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 1997/98 SPREAD OF ASSESSMENTS FOR CITY OPEN SPACE MAINTENANCE DISTRICTS 1-9, 11, 14, 15, 17, 18, 2.0, 23, 2.4, 2.6, 31, 33, BAY BOULEVARD AND TOWN CENTER, DECLARING Tile INTENTION TO LEVY AND COLLECT ASSESSMENTS AND SETTING JUNE 17, 1997 AT 6:00 P.M. AND JULY 15, 1997 AT 6:00 P.M. AS THE DATES AND TIMES FOR THE PUBLIC HEARINGS - The City administers 25 open space districts established over the last 25 years. The districts provide the mechanism to finance the maintenance of cnmmon open space areas (canyons, trails, medians, etc.) associated with and benefitting that particular development. As part of this process, a levy of an annual assessment was necessary to enable the City to collect funds for the propused open space maintenance. Staff recommends approval of the resolution. (Director of Public Works) 8. RESOLUTION 18668 APPROVING THE ENGINEER'S REPORT FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 1997/98 SPREAD OF ASSESSMENTS FOR CITY OPEN SPACE MAINTENANCE DISTRICT 10, DECLARING THE INTENTION TO LEVY AND COLLECT ASSESSMENTS AND SETTING JUNE 17, 1997 AT 6:00 P.M. AND JULY 15, 1997 AT 6:00 P.M. AS THE DATES AND TIMES FOR THE PUBLIC HEARINGS- Based on the advice of the City Attorney, the item has been separated due to conflict of interest concerns since a Councilmember owns property subject to the proposed assessment in this district. Staff recommends approval of the resolution. (Director of Public Works) Item was approved 3-0-0-2 with Moot and Salas abstaining because they lived in the District. 9. RESOLUTION 18669 APPROVING THE ENGINEER'S REPORT FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 1997/98 SPREAD OF ASSESSMENTS FOR EASTLAKE MAINTENANCE DISTRICT 1, DECLARING THE INTENTION TO LEVY AND COLLECT ASSESSMENTS AND SETTING JUNE 17, 1997 AT 6:00 P.M. AND JULY 15, 1997 AT 6:00 P.M. AS THE DATES AND TIMES FOR THE PUBLIC HEARINGS - Based on the advice of the City Attorney, the item has been separated due to conflict of interest concerns since a Councilmember owns property subject to the proposed assessment in this district. Staff recommends approval of the resolution. (Director of Public Works) Item was approved 4-0-0-1 with Padilla abstaining because he lived in the District. 10. RESOLUTION 18670 APPROVING THE SECOND AMENDMENT TO 'IRE, AGREEMENT WITH RICK ENGINEERING COMPANY FOR PRELIMINARY ENGINEERING DESIGN SERVICES FOR THREE INTERCHANGES WITH INTERSTATE 805 AT TELEGRAPH CANYON ROAD, ORANGE AVENUE AND PALOMAR STREET, WAIVING THE SELECTION PROCESS, AND AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO EXECUTE SAID AGREEMENT ON BEHALF OF TttE CITY AND APPROPRIATING $150,000 OF TRANSPORTATION DEVELOPMENT IMPACT FEES TO PROJECT STM-327/I-805 INTERCHANGE - In January 1996, Council approved an agreement with Rick Engineering to peepare Preliminary Studies for interchanges at 1-805 and Telegraph Canyon Road, Orange Avenue and Palomar Street. Such studies are required by Caltrans prior to construction of major projects within Caltrans Right of Way. Caltrans has identified additional modifications to the Telegraph Canyon Road Interchange, based ~'~ on a recently updated traffic forecast report, which requires additional work related to the preparation of ( final design plans. Staff recommends approval of the resolution. (Director of Public Works) 4/5th's vote I' It Minutes May20, 1997 Page 3 11. RESOLUTION 18671 APPROVING AGREEMENT WITH THE SPRING VALLEY SANITATION DISTRICT AND THE CITY OF SAN DIEGO FOR THE TRANSPORTATION OF WASTEWATER IN THE SPRING VALLEY JOINT SYSTEM AND AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO EXECUTE SAID AGREEMENT - A new agreement was drafted by the Spring Valley Sanitation District of the County of San Diego to provide for an equitable allocation of its maintenance, operation and capital replacement costs among the Out-of-District Users of the Spring Valley Sanitation System until the year 2003. The City was an Out-of- District User. The new agreement must take effect on 7/I/97. Staff recommends approval of the resolution. (Director of Public Works) 12. REPORT IN ACCORDANCE WITH CHARTER SECTION 504(f), THE FISCAL STATUS REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR 1996/97 AS OF MARCH 31, 1997 IS BEFORE COUNCIL FOR CONSIDERATION - Section 504(f) of the City Charter requires quarterly and annual fiscal status reports to be filed by the Director of Finance through the City Manager. The report is covering the period 7/1/96 through 3/31/97. Staff recommends Cuuncil accept the report. (Director of Finance) 13. REPORT PROPOSAL FOR ADDITIONAL PEDESTRIAN ACCESS POINTS/GATES CONNECTING THE APPROVED RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT ON RANCHO DEL REY PARCEL R-6 TO T!tE WESTERLY ADJACENT VOYAGER COMMUNITY PARK (DRC-97-O1) - On 2/18/97, Council considered and approved the site plan and architectural proposal for a 240-unit residential condominium complex to be located on the south side of East "J" Street between Paseo Ranchero and Vaquero Court within the Rancho del Rey Planned Community. At the meeting, Council expressed concerns about the limited pedestrian access points cunnecting the proposed residential develupment to the westerly adjacent community park. Staff recommends Council accept the report. (Directur of Planning and Director of Parks & Recreation) Item was approved 4-0-0-1 with Moot abstaining because of a conflict of interest. * * * END OF CONSENT CALENDAR * * * ORAL COMMUNICATIONS · Jack Blakely, on behalf of the Downtown Business Association, reported that the DBA was updating their directory. For the 1997 issue, they had 11 businesses deleted and 87 businesses added. On behalf of the Lemon Festival, banners have been installed, and they have doubled the booths this year compared to last year. · Thomas Lewis, 457 River Creek Court, a seventh grader at Bonita Vista Middle School. Three months ago, he was hit by a car while riding his bike to school. He was in the crosswalk and was hit by a car that ran a red light. The man that hit him stopped long enough to ask if he was okay and then left. He was upset with the way he was treated by the Chula Vista Police Department. The man who hit him was an off duty San Diego Police sergeant. · Terry Lewis, 457 River Creek Court stated that Thomas was her son. He was struck on the way to school. The man that hit him ran a red light, struck him broadside, and threw him onto the hood of his car. When Tom rolled off the hood, he hit the intersection. The man stopped his car and asked a twelve year old kid if he were okay. Tom was frightened, disoriented, injured, and was intimidated by the situation. The man left and didn't leave his name and didn't offer to help him to school. She was appalled at the way the Chula Vista Police Department handled her son's accident. After the police got the call that the other party was a policeman, they became coercive and leaned on Tom emotionally. Thomas' statement never showed up in the police report. Minutes May 20, 1997 Sid Morris, Assistant City Manager, stated that he had been in touch with Ms. Lewis. This was a matter that was investigated first by the traffic division and then subsequently, when Ms. Lewis and her family were not satisfied with the report they received, it was sent to Internal Affairs for an investigation. Internal Affairs did not substantiate Ms. Lewis claim. In addition, the matter was referred once verbally and once in writing to the District Attorney's office. They also rejected the claim. · Brenda Khaleghi, 4095 Bonita Road, a witness to the accident stated she was on her way taking her boys to school. One of her sons had stated that the light was green for her. At that time, the intersection was crowded. No one was in the middle of the road. but all the lanes were full. They all heard a car skidding. The car skidded quite some distance, and then hit Tom on his bicycle. Tom went up onto the hood and dropped to the ground. The man opened the car door, stood outside and said something to the little boy as he was getting up. Then, he got back into his car. She was quite alarmed and disturbed at how hard the car hit Tom. She dropped her boys off and went to the Junior High where the boy was headed. She found him limping and crying. His legs were skinned up, and he was complaining about his back, neck, and arm. The school called the parents and the police. Finally the police arrived. They were taken into a room and asked for their versions of the story. At the point when they were giving their stories, a phone call came in. One of the officers had said that there was a witness who was an off-duty detective. The officers went out and then came back. The whole flavor turned into an interrogation and coercion even with her. There were no specifics in the report; it was very misleading and very ambiguous. Mayor Horton stated she would look into this matter herself. PUBLIC HEARINGS AND RELATED RESOLUTIONS AND ORDINANCES None submitted. BOARD AND COMMISSION RECOMMENDATIONS None submitted. ACTION 1TEMS 14. RESOLUTION 18672 AUTHOR1ZING THE APPROPRIATION OF $11,000 FROM COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT (CDBG) FUNDS AND $14,000 FROM THE GENERAL FUND AS A ONE-TIME PAYMENT TO THE BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB, SUBJECT TO THE CLUB MATCHING THE GRANT, WITH THE GENERAL FUND PORTION REIMBURSED BY CDBG ADMINISTRATION FUNDS IN THE FORM OF INCREASING THE FUNDING LEVEL OF THE HUMAN SERVICES COORDINATOR On 3/11/97, staff presented Council with a partial solution to the financial concerns outlined by the Boys and Girls Club, which left unresolved, could force the closure of the "L" Street facility immediately. In response, Council approved a matching grant of up to $25,000, with only $11,000 specifically identified by staff at that time as a short-term remedy for the current fiscal year. Staff was directed to provide Council with a recommendation for funding the additional $14,000 necessary to meet the $25,000 commitment. Additionally, staff was directed to explore longer term funding solutions which should include a better understanding as to the fiscal condition of the Club. Staff recommends approval of the resolution. (Director of Community Development) 4/5th's vote required. Lyle Haynes, Assistant to the Community Development Director, stated that this item was a follow up to the meeting whereby the Council made a commitment of $25,000 to keep the "L" Street facility open and operating until June 30, 1997. At that time, staff had only identified about $11,000 of that amount. Staff was directed to come back with an identification of funding sources for the additional $14,000 and to work with the Club for a longer term solution. Staff's recommendation was to formally adopt the commitment of $25,000 for the current year based upon $11,000 coming from CDBG unexpended program funds from the 95-96 year and the additional $14,000 to come from increased funding for the Human Services Coordinator position from CDBG. The money would be coming from the general fund, but would be reimbursed through CDBG. The Boys and Girls Club has applied for $25,000 in CDBG funds tbr next year to cover their maintenance and utilities costs. With the recent contributions " I I Minutes May 20, 1997 Page 5 and with the success of the auction, staff feels confident that the "L" Street fhcility can remain open throughout next fiscal year. Scott Mosher, Executive Director of the Boys and Girls Club of Chula Vista, 1301 Oleander Avenue, Chula Vista stated there has been an outpouring of community support which he believed was largely due to the Council's challenged match. They have met the $25,000 challenge match and are moving forward. They were asked to come back with a formal request which included increasing that nmtching challenge to $40,000. This will enable them to end the year in a positive financial position and will help to keep the momentum going. There was a question by staff regarding increase in salaries frmn FY 96 to FY 97 for the "L" Street staff. The biggest chunk of that comes from vacancy savings which they experienced during FY 96. They had one position which was open because of budgetary restraints and they also had their Center Director on a medical leave for a few months. Likewise, they had an increase in the Teen Program. They moved one position from a part-time to a full-time position this fiscal year because the number of kids and program necessitated that. They increased their Fun Shine staff, which was a day camp staff because they served more kids this past summer. They also spread some of their supervisory personnel costs into the Fun Shine program, and they experienced an increase in both the Worker's Compensation and Unemployment Insurances this past year. They have been successful in identifying new funding sources going into this next Fiscal Year which includes support from commitments from the Water Park, MCA, Mr. Vs, some increases in significant fitcility rentals, the Chula Vista Center, and the Chula Vista Outdoor Swapmeet which was a partial list. Going into next year, they will also be facing minimum wage increases which will mean about $40,000 as well as having to address program supplies, purchases, and maintenance projects which have been deferred in the past. As long as they provide the types of services that they do to kids who don't have the same opportunity as others where they are paying minimum cost to participate in a wide-range of programs, they will continually need the support of the local community to insure the continuation of services. Their number one priority has been to maintain services at the "L" Street Center. Councilmember Salas stated that in looking at FY 93/94 and 94/95 it seems that the salaries were rather constant with a variance of only $5,000. When you are looking at the difference between fiscal year 95/96 and 96/97, there was a $26,000 difference. Although she read the report thoroughly, she could not see a breakdown on that. She still had questions about the increases. Mr. Mosher again sunmarized the expenses, and then stated he would be glad to provide this information to staff. RESOLUTION 18672 OFFERED BY MAYOR HORTON, titles read, text waived. Councilmember Rindone asked don't we have a cap on the block grant funds, and if we were to remain under the cap and this issue not arise, would we have made other a4iustments to be able to get full benefit of CDBG monies. Juan Arroyo, Housing Coordinator, replied that the category in which this particular part of monies was being taken was from the administrative planning category which has a 20% cap. We can take this additional $14,000 without exceeding the cap. The 20% was specific to the administration and coordination of the CDBG block grant program. Chris Salomone, Community Development Director, stated that what we do at the end of every year if there are any fund balances, they are rolled over into the fbllowing year. The policy was to expend those funds within the year that they are appropriated. Unless they are encnmbered, we give them back to the program and put them under all the caps again. Council reallocates them every year. Councilmember Padilia expressed concern about the City becoming incrementally greater and greater committed from various sources to helping to provide subsidy to make sure that those programs remain open no matter how well and beneficial they are to the community. Councilmember Rindone stated that the one issue that was not addressed was the reason fi~r the United Way reduction. He would hope that when this comes back in future years that we would understand why that took place. It was not addressed in the A-113. The only issue before us was the $25,000 monies, so in future years he felt this issue should be included. Minutes May 20, 1997 VOTE ON RESOLUTION: Passed and approved 5-0. 15. REPORT: PLAN FOR PROCESSING OF MASTER PLANNED COMMUNITY PROJECTS - Over the past few months, the Planning Department has been in discussions with project applicants regarding several proposed master planned connnunity projects which either have been submitted, or are scheduled to be submitted in the near future. On 3/1/97, Council requested that staff' return with a plan which would address how these master planned community projects will be reviewed in an efficient manner while ensuring that the City's General Plan and growth management policies are fully implemented. Staff recommends Council accept the report. (Director of Planning) Robert Leiter, Planning Director, emphasized that staff will be retuming to Council with a Supplemental Budget report that addresses the specific staffing requirements fur these master planned community projects. The report before Council was really focused on the projects themselves and our process. MSUC (Rindone/Padilla) to accept staft's report and direct staff to come back with specific information regarding new staffing positions as appropriate fnr the 97-98 budget. * * * Council called a recess at 7:20 p.m. and reconvened at 7:35 p.m. * * * 16. REPORT; THIRTY DAY STATUS REPORT- COMPARISON OF CITY AND COUNTY ANIMAL CONTROL SERVICES - This report is in response to Council's request for a comparison of City and County animal control services. It provides a comparison of City and County service levels, staffing and revenue recommendations to be considered during fiscal year 1997/98 budget deliberations. Staff recommends that Council: (1) accept staffs report; (2) consider staffing, extended hours at the Shelter and revenue recommendations during the fiscal year 1997/98 budget deliberations. (Chief of Police) City Manager, John Goss, responded to the main issue of "Why Chula Vista was in the Animal Control Business." Chula Vista has been involved in animal control 1923. When we provide a service ourselves, the City usually has better control over service levels and the cost of those services. While the Shelter service has had an issue because we have an older facility and the senior supervisor had been out for almost a year because of ill health, the field service has been excellent. We are at the point that we can start planning and building a new facility. There has been an interest in developing and relocating the City's Corporation Yard which would include the animal shelter. With the money that we would use to buy the land, the shelter could ride on the coattails of that. In addition, as part of the development impact fees of the City, we have approximately $1.7 million which can go toward a new animal shelter. Mayor Horror stated that in the report you were talking about Chula Vista's long-term capital plans which include the acquisition of land and construction of a new animal shelter at an estimated cost of $1.7 million. The report further states that the facility cost was partially ofTset by DIF charges and revenue from contractual cities. Mr. Goss stated that we have, in terms of our contractual relationships with other cities, the ability to negotiate because that makes sense for them to pay for a share of the capital cost. The amount that was covered by the DIF revenues, based upon an estimate by the staff, was about $1.7 million, The way the DIF was set up and structured we can utilize parts of the DIF like the corporation yard tbr the animal shelter. In other words, you can emphasize parts of the corporation yard as you enter into its construction. In terms of the total amount of money that we have received, we have enough money to do the prqiect, if it was a $1.7 million project. The tbllowing addressed Council: Minutes May 20, 1997 Page 7 · Greg Cox, 1600 Pacific Highway. San Diego, County of San Diego Supervisor, expressed that the County has done exceptionally well with animal control services and this service was one that lends itself to a regional type approach. By having more regionalized animal control service, they would be able to enhance not only the services they provide for the eight cities they currently contract with, but also be able to upgrade a lot of additional components including the latest technology. He presented a video which depicted the overall services offered by County Animal Control. · Vicki Scholl, 8070 Canton, Lemon Grove, expressed concern about the Chula Vista animal control services. · Larry Prior, County of San Diego Chief Administrative Officer, 1600 Pacific Highway, San Diego, presented the County's Proposal for animal services. · Hector Cozares, County of San Diego Animal Control Director, 1600 Pacific Highway, San Diego, outlined some of the animal control services they would offer the City. Mayor Horton stated that the cost of the County's proposal was different than what was originally provided to the City Council. Mr. Prior responded that the first letter that was sent out and included in the staff report was very preliminary and was not based on any real hard numbers provided by the City. The document presented tonight, they haven't even seen as far as the revised comparison. They were interested in providing this service and would be happy to sit down with the City to see if there were areas where costs could be cut. Councilmember Moot asked how do we know that we are going to get the benefits of the licensing revenue. Michael Shontz, Assistant Director of Animal Control, responded that the estimates used for licensing was based upon taking the seven cities that they currently contract with (not the City of San Diego), taking a per capita average and applying it to the City's population. They believe that they could bring the City's revenues up to par. However, it does involve a fee increase over and above what the City's residents were currently paying. They will collect all the revenues and give the City a net cost. The estimates were conservative since they were low bailing them. However, in all of their small contract cities, they have been able to exceed the revenue pro. jections. Any revenues generated within the City of Chula Vista would be a credit to the City. If revenues were over-realized, that would actually lower the net costs to the City. Councilmember Salas asked if the County's employees were covered under PERS and she stated she did not understand the grandfathering. Mr. Prior replied that he understood there were people who are grandfathered into one system that would carry those benefits into another on an individual basis depending upon their seniority. The City does pay their employees more than the County pays some of their employees, so they would have to look at them on an individual basis in terms of their qualifications and skills for the .jobs they would assume. Mr. Powell stated that the City was a PERS agency. The County has their own independent system; its a 1937 Act system and are definitely under social security. They have a reciprocity agreement between the two systems so that you may defer your retirement with the City of Chula Vista and enter into the County system. When you retire, you could simultaneously retire from both systems if you were vested in both systems. The reciprocity allows a person to retire from the Chula Vista system at the highest pay they obtained at the County system. Councilmember Rindone asked if an employee were to make a shili to the County, could they be "Y" rated at the current salary. Mr. Prior stated that they had not reached that point in their considerations. Although he would be opposed to that because it would not be right to have two people working side-by-side doing the same .job and one making more than the other. Minutes May 20, 1997 Councilmember Rindone stated he had several questions: (1) There appears to be a considerable difference in the response time. (2) What would be the length of the term or what guarantee would we have for the costs. (3) Was it true that if we were going to go with the County, there would have to be a substantial increase in fees, perhaps as high as 90%. Supervisor Cox replied that their license fees were greater tbr the multiple year license option. There wasn't too much difference with the one year option. Regarding the length of the term, that would be negotiable. Lastly, regarding the response time, it was based on actual response times that they have done in prior years. The City indicated a 38.5 minute average response times tbr Priority I calls. They have recalctdated their response times lbr Priority I calls which vary in dift~rent .iurisdictions. For example, in Santee the average response time was approximately 40 minutes, in some areas of the City of San Diego, it was 38.5 minutes and in another area it was 34.4 minutes. Chief Emerson stated that currently the City's shelter was open 43 hours during the week. When comparing the County's coverage, although their hours were longer, in some instances, the number of people are fewer during those times. Currently, we have four people who are assigned to the shelter. It was our understanding that the County's proposal would have about two people on duty during that time. One of the issues he looked at was whether we should stay in the animal control business. In looking at it, he felt that we have been in the business since 1923, and during that time, there have been a lot of good services provided in a very cost-effective manner. The shelter was located in our City; that was important tbr local control. It was extremely important that the City Council set the policies and has the people working on staff to carry out those policy decisions. He expressed concern about the County and the short-term contract, although Supervisor Cox mentioned the possibility of a three to live year extensions with escalator costs. He was also concerned about the service levels. He was concerned about the costs being re-evaluated afier we shut our operation down; then to try to start up an operation after that would take a significant time. Finally, the County's philosophical viewpoint was that the sale of animals for research was an acceptable practice. It has never been a practice in the City of Chula Vista. · Scott Carroll, an Administrative Analyst in the City Manager's Office, City of Lemon Grove, told of their City's experience in contracting with the County. The reasons they terminated their agreement with the County and implemented an agreement with Chula Vista were: (1) Their costs escalated by 45% from $58,000 in FY 90 to $85,000 in FY 95 for a City of 25~000 people with less than fbur square miles; (2) Level of service was inadequate; (3) Regarding shelters: in using a 1994 survey, the number of dogs adopted in the Chula Vista shelter was 37% compared to 20% in the County. Chula Vista euthanized 29% compared to 62% fi~r the County. Chula Vista currently has a full-time animal control officer assigned to Lemon Grove; the County will not do that. The County believes it was more cost effective to patrol other cities. Councilmember Rindone asked if Lemon Grove would be willing to consider the possibility of the costs for building a new animal shelter being amortized with the contract cities. Mr. Carroll replied that their experience with the County with costs escalating was still fresh in their minds. They would like to see costs stabilized for another couple of years, but when the contract expires, they would be willing to negotiate costs. · Captain Jim Baker, San Diego Humane Society, 887 Sherman Street, San Diego stated they have been investigating the current problems at the animal shelter. He was here to advise Council that the San Diego Humane Society would recommend that the City of Chula Vista turn over the animal control services to the County and get out of the animal control business. He urged Council to seriously consider taking the County up on their proposal. · Toni DiMaggio, Director of Mercy Crusade, 4329 Mt. Putnam, San Diego, stated she became involved with the Chula Vista animal shelter in 1995 when her organization started to get many complaints concerning the conditions at the shelter. She has never been able to get any records from Chula Vista with a breakdown on euthanasia, impounds, adoptions, etc.; there were no records available. So, she could not understand where the man from Lemon Grove was able to get any of these figures. Minutes May 20, 1997 Page 9 Candy Schumann, 6303 Muirlands Drive, La Jolla, stated she was opposed to pound seizure. Regarding the statistics from Lemon Grove, she was astounded because no one has been able to get any numbers from Chula Vista animal control, and the figures that he stipulated regarding euthanasia and adoptions are two or three times better than the national average. She felt it was time for Chula Vista Animal Control services to step into the 90s. · Dr. Ginny Bischel, local veterinarian, 2260 Otay Lakes Road, 91915 stated her concern was with the band- aid approach to the problems at the animal shelter. There have been no adoption programs nor spaying and neutering programs started. Since the County does have adequate thcilities, veterinarians on staff, and full-time technicians, she encouraged the City to contract with the County. · Richard Pruess, Vice President of the Chula Vista Employees Association, 276 Fourth Avenue, Chula Vista, stated that he represented the employees at the animal shelter. They were against any contracting out of services that were already provided by Chula Vista employees. They felt that the best services given to Chula Vista were the services provided by employees of the City who have a vested interest in the City. · Wendell Prude, SEIU and CVEA Employees, P. O. Box 722891, San Diego, urged the Council to fix the problem. He felt the issue was a challenge of whether or not the City was going to decide to spend the money or not. He f~lt it was that simple. He urged the Council to build the adequate facility and staff it properly. · Dr. Doug Tomblin, veterinarian at Bonita Pet Hospital, 3438 Bonita Road, Chula Vista, stated that they have been providing services to the City for a number of years. They provide a 24 hour, 7 days a week service. Animal Control brings animals to them all day long. If an animal was sick and ir[jured, they bring them to us from the shelter, and leave them at our facility for up to 3 days or more for continuous medical care. He had seen a lot of negative things written in the paper recently about the animal shelter, and he felt there was a totally different viewpoint. Although he agreed there needed to be improvements in the thcility, he had seen the Human Society's facilities and felt it was not much better. He has been at the San Diego Animal Control shelters and they have the same problems. Mayor Hortton asked Dr. Tomblin if having a part-time veterinarian and a registered veterinary technician would be adequate for the facility to accommodate the health care needs of the animals. She stated that the City recently hired an individual who was a licensed veterinarian in Mexico. She felt that this additional staff person with this type of background should help enhance the medical care the animals are receiving. Did he agree? Dr. Toblin responded that it depended on whether you wanted to provide a hospital situation or whether you wanted to provide a shelter. He did not feel it was necessary to have a veterinarian them three hours a day. He stated there were different degrees of qualifications. He did not know what the degree of qualification this individual had. Was he licensed to practice in the State of California. If you have a degree fi'om Mexico University, it was his understanding you have to come to the U.S. to do an internship tier a year or so with a university. Mayor Horton stated that the service that was provided by the patrol officers was at a very high level with superior service in response time. Would we be able to somehow bifurcate this situation and .just use the County shelter only and still have control over the service type issues. Maybe this could be an interim type of solution. Councilmember Rindone stated that staff was requesting Council to consider and accept this report and consider improving the staffing and extending the hours at the shelter. This issue has mushroomed into a bigger issue and that was looking at either contracting out fully or partially with the County and/or improving or building a new shelter. He felt that some of the services at the animal shelter were adeqnate, but in many cases we are not meeting the level that was not only minimal, but was desirable. He limit we needed to do one of two things. (t) Improve the service and the facilities, or (2) Get out of the business. What was before the Council, he was not supportive of at all. He felt the only option out was to direct staff to develop a viable plan on a fast-track basis for the construction of a new animal shelter thcility, and what was the adequate staffing that would be necessary to go with it; and at the same time, direct staff to open serious negotiations for contracting out in the interim basis until we can get those reports back. Minutes May 20, 1997 Page 10 Councilmember Padilia expressed his disappointment and dissatisthction because he would have liked to be able to analyze the many issues, to give some direction to staff as to whether we should begin the process of staying in the animal control business. Six weeks agn, he made it very clear what he felt was important and should be included in this report. He will not accept this report because it was inaccurate, it didn't address the major issues that we have to address, and now we're thced with coming back and wasting more time. He would like to see staff come back with some options and estimates about timetables, locations, costs, financing. Should the City Council decide to stay in this business, we will need a new facility. Then we will need to know what the needs of the facility will be, how much it may cost, and how will we pay for its, and what will be our timeline for getting it online. Mayor Hotton stated that it was obvious the County wants our business and its obvious that City management wants to keep the shelter. When staff comes back with the report, the two different entities will have to work with each other so that when we do get the information we are assured that we are looking at the same types of service, the same levels of service, and there be a definition of exactly what the service was going to be provided and what the City can provide. Part of that service should include public education, the spaying and neuter programs, and if City staff can do this on top of the animal control duties which will increase the costs due to the additional staffing. Councilmember Salas t~lt that we needed to look at several different options. Maybe using the County's facilities tbr sheltering and somehow having control over the patrol service. Although we do have some cost breakdowns, this needs to be analyzed further. Councilmember Moot felt he did have adequate information to make a decision. He felt this was a problem of Chula Vista and that we needed to solve our own problems. There was a reality that we need to build a new shelter. He did not think two years in this fiscal time was unreasonable. He felt we were going to have to upgrade the existing shelter to make the improvements recommended by the Humane Society. He was committed to solving this problem. He had a great deal of confidence in our department and employees that, given direction from Council, they will begin and continue to solve this issue. He would like to give them an opportunity to do so. If they prove us wrong, then we'll have to contract with the County. Councilmember Moot stated he was not going to vote flor the motion for the reasons he has already stated. He did not need to do any more studying. He wanted to get on with the repairing of the facility. MSC (Rindone/Padilla) to direct staff to come back within 45 days with the following two proposals: (1) A plan for siting, financing, staff, and a timeline for the construction of a new animal shelter facility and (2) to negotiate with the County an option to contract out animal services, and to bring both back in 45 days. Motion carried 4-0-1 (Moot voting no). Mr. Goss asked if Council wanted staff to investigate certain hybrid options as well when negotiating with the County. Mayor Horton responded yes. She wanted to make it clear that the Council recognizes that the welfare of the animals was first and foremost on our minds, and secondly they recognized our commitment to the taxpayers. So these two items are at the top of our list as we move forward. Councilmember Rindone wanted to make another motion before we finish. While waiting for the report, the welfare of the animals and the appropriate staffing level was inadequate, so he would like to authorize staff to fill the four positions which they have identified on a temporary basis lbr the 45 days. The tbur positions will be: a Kennel and part-time Veterinarian, Registered Veterinarian, a Technician, and two Kennel and Office Workers and to appropriate up to $12,000. MSUC (Rindone/Padilla) to give staff the authority to hire four positions identified by staff on a temporary basis for the 45 days. Minutes May 20, 1997 Page 11 17. RESOLUTION 18649 APPROPRIATING $30,000 OF UNANTICIPATED ANIMAL CONTROL FEE REVENUE FOR CONSTRUCTION OF A CATTERY AND PURCHASE OF CAGES AT THE ANIMAL SHELTER - The Animal Shelter is in need of repairs. Staff is recommending $30,000 be appropriated from unanticipated Animal Control Fee Revenues to RD205 Animal Shelter Capital Improvement Project. These funds will be used to build a cartcry in the event that donations are not secured. Staff' recommends approval of the resolution. (Chief of Police) 4/5th's vote required. Continued from the meeting of 5/6/97. RESOLUTION 18649 OFFERED BY COUNCILMAN MOOT, headings read, text waived. Councilmember Padilia stated that this was for construction of the cattery as well as for pnrchase nf cages at the animal shelter. He could go along with the cages, but going ahead with the construction of the cartcry seemed redundant in light of the discussion on the previous item. He felt we should wait on this until we make a decision on the animal shelter. If we decide to continue, we can incorporate it into our plans that we come up with for an interim and permanent solution. He wanted to make sure that we are spending the money wisely. VOTE ON MOTION: Motion litlied 1-4~0 (Padilia. Rindone, Salas, Hotton no). MSUC (Hortnn/Padilla) to continue item until after a decision was made on the animal shelter item in 45 days. 18. RESOLUTION 18673 ACCEPTING DONATIONS IN THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF $3,853 TO THE ANIMAL SHELTER AND APPROPRIATING SUCH FUNDS FOR REPAIRS AT THE ANIMAL SHELTER The donations to the Shelter have historically been made to help with care t'br the animals and repairs to the kennel area. This resolution is requested to provide funds to continue improving conditions fbr the animals at the Shelter. Stag recommends approval of the resolution. (Chief of Police) 4/Sth's vote required. Mayor Horton stated that the $2,500 she presented to staff from Ayers Land Company should be designated for the cattery only because they were one of the developers who have colne tBrward offering their assistance. Since that developer was not in the position to offer labor because they were not that far along in their project, they have donated the $2,500 for the cattery instead. Councilmember Rindone stated that we could accept the balance of $1,353 which during the interim period would be well used. AMENDED RESOLUTION 18673 OFFERED BY COUNCILMEMBER RINDONE TO ACCEPT THE $1,353 AND TO CONT1NUE THE $2,500 DONATION FOR 45 DAYS, heading read, text waived, passed and approved 5-0. 19. RESOLUTION 18674 APPROVING A REIMBURSEMENT AGREEMENT WITH VILLAGE DEVELOPMENT, L.L.C. FOR ALL INITIAL CONSULTING AND ADMINISTRATIVE COST AND EXPENSES ASSOCIATED WITH FORMING A PUBLIC FINANCING DISTRICT FOR CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS SERVING THE OTAY RANCH VILLAGE ONE, WAIVING CONSULTANT SELECTION PROCESS AND GUIDELINES, AND APPROVING AGREEMENTS WITH BERRYMAN & HENIGAR; BROWN, DIVEN & HENTSCHKE; AND KADIE-JENSEN, JOHNSON & BODNAR FOR SERVICES ASSOCIATED WITH SAID DISTRICT AND AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO EXECUTE SAID AGREEMENTS - Village Development has requested the City initiate proceedings to form an assessment district for the acquisition or construction of public facilities associated with Village One of Otay Ranch. They have also signed an agreement providing for the advance of funds to pay for all initial consulting, City administration, and appraisal expenses related to the tbnnation of said district subject to reimbursement from bond proceeds. Staff' recommends approval of the resolution. (Director of Public Works) I1 Minutes May 20, 1997 RESOLUTION 18674 OFFERED BY COUNCILMEMBER RINDONE, headings read, texts waived, passed and approved 4-0-1 (Padilia out of the room). ITEMS PULLED FROM THE CONSENT CALENDAR (No items were pulled) OTHER BUSINESS 20. CITY MANAGER'S REPORT(S) There was going to be a budget workshop on Wednesday, May 21, 1997 at 6:00 p.m. in the Council Conference Room. Mr. Goss stated he had passed out the map in connection with the "C" Street Sewer Extension. This was in our Capital improvement budget tbr 97-98. Because of recent problems, staff was trying to speed that project up and will be presenting a report next week on that. This was a "heads up" that we are going to take it out of the CIP tier next year and try to address it as soon as possible because the on-site septic tank on one of the properties has liiled and waste water was presently rising to the surfhoe of the yard, to adjacent slopes, and to neighboring properties which can create health and odor problems. Because of the rapid deterioration of the situation, staff plans to come forth with the complete modification of the existing plans within the month of May and obtain informal bids from three selected contractors, and award a contract for construction. The cost of the project will be about $62,000. 21. MAYOR'S REPORT(S) - None 22. COUNCIL COMMENTS - None ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 11:15 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Beverly A. Authelet, CMC/AAE City Clerk