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HomeMy WebLinkAboutcc min 1993/01/25 MINUTES OF SPECIAL MEETING/WORKSESSION OF THE CHULA VISTA CITY COUNCIL Monday, January 25, 1993 Council Conference Room 5:38 p.m. Administration Building CALL TO ORDER 1. ROLL CALL: PRESENT: Councilmembers Fox, Horton, Moore, Rindone, and Mayor Nader. ALSO PRESENT: John D. Goss, Bruce M. Boogaard, and Beverly A. Authelet BUSINESS 2. GOAL SETtING SESSION - Discussion of setting City goals and priorities for major projects. Mayor Nader stated the purpose of the meeting was to hold a goal setting conference with the city manager to discuss city goals and priorities for the year. He suggested that Council go through the major project list from the 1991 goal-setting workshop, then Council could comment, add, or delete from that list. City Manager Goss stated that anything which helps stuff focus on the top priorities of Council is very useful in terms of using limited resources and staff. Staff had given Council background information from the last goal-setting workshop along with some information as to how goal-setting sessions occurred with the council in 1984 and 1987. A number of the projects listed have either been completed or are in progress. M/UOR CIP PROJECTS: Council went over the list briefly identifying those items which have either been completed or are in progress. Mayor Nader requested that when the list comes back for final adoption that projects which have been completed or virtually completed be deleted. Council could point out projects they wished to have as a high priority or lesser priority than previously listed, then staff could allocate resources and time accordingly. Maior East/West Street Proiect in Montgomery Area/Neighborhood Revitalization: Councilman Rindone stated that we are doing a lot of significant projects in the Montgomery area, but he was not aware of a major East/West project; for example, Naples or Moss. City Manager Goss stated we would have to do some evaluation for an East/West project. He felt that maybe Oxford might have more traffic. Councilman Moore stated that on streets which are not primary arteries, the residents should be putting in sidewalks, curbs, gutters; not the City. If we start doing major streets like we did on Fifth Avenue, he did not know how many we could do unless we delayed the 1/2 cent sales tax on Main Street. When you talk about East/West streets, you are talking about basically residential. This improves property values which will not bring money to the City. Minutes January 25, 1993 Page 2 Councilman Rindone suggested that we look seriously at an East/West CIP project which would continue efforts to upgrade that portion of the City and look at traffic flows and willingness to participate in the sharing of costs by the property owners. Councilman Moore expressed that we should phase out the indepth support of the Otay Committee since they are well organized and adopt another one. Then put staff time and joint efforts into another revitalization program and do it every three years instead of every five years. Mayor Nader suggested that we add two items to the list, and that staff develop additional information and options on those items to come back for a final goal setting or in conjunction with the CIP budget process: 1. Additional Montgomery Street improvemere, particularly East/West. 2. Excellerate neighborhood revitalization project. Third Avenue at Anita: Councilwoman Horton stated there was a portion on Third Avenue, past Anita where the street is very wide at one point and then suddenly narrows with no sidewalks. She felt that was a dangerous situation and that it was a high priority for safety reasons. City Engineer Swanson stated that we had submitred a project for this to SANDAG for approval with TDA funding, and they rejected it because their priority was bicycle facilities rather than pedestrian facilities. Staff is working to fred out how we can get money to build it. The Mayor stated that we designate this as a high priority project. Drainage Improvements: Mayor Nader stated that he did not see anything for drainage improvements. Both in terms of the items approved last year, which should be included on this list, and the Telegraph Canyon Storm Drain to the west of Hilltop Park. Even though staff is looking at obtaining Federal Assistance, when there is a need for a drainage improvement which could save us from significant property or life loss, it should be included on the list and designated as a very high priority. Ia'brarv HVAC System: Mayor asked about the status of the Library HVAC System, and if we were really committed to a HVAC System? Deputy Public Works Director Byers responded that we have looked at a couple of systems and are ready to go out to bid. They have met with the person suggested by the Mayor, and he agreed that the ch~lers needed to be replaced and that there was no other cost effective option. Mayor Nader encouraged staff to look at alternatives since the HVAC system has been increasingly linked to employee ~lness. Marina View Paric Mayor asked about the current status of the Marina View Park and when it would be reopened for public use. Parks and Recreation Director Jess Valenzuela stated the park should be opened in about five weeks (about the first of March). Freeway Interchan~re Proiects: The Mayor stated he would like to see the Orange and 1-805 interchange designated a littier higher priority than average. When Otay starts building, that intersection will have a lot of traffic. Minutes January 25, 1993 Page 3 Councilwoman Horton questioned whether this should have a higher priority than H Street. Mayor Nader responded that H Street already had an interchange; they need some improvements, but at least they have a traffic signal. Orange doesn't even have a traffic signal. GFJ~IERAL ADMINISTRATION: Street Li~h[ Acquisition: Assistant City Manager Morris reported that the item has gone to the SDG&E Board and on to the PUC for approval. Councilman Rindone expressed concern regarding the dim lighting in the downtown area on Third Avenue. He suggested that something be done particularly when there are parades, etc. Councilman Moore stated that when they took the 1925 lights and brought them back new and tested them at the comer of Third and F, everyone agreed those were the lights. In the last two years, the City has put up six or eight cobra head lights in the area, and everyone in the business area agreed with those. This was completed in 1992. A lot of time and money has been spent on this. Civil Sendce Rule Update: City Manager Goss stated that the Civil Service Rule Update is a huge project given our limited resources. Mayor Nader asked when would we expect to see something? Personnel Director Candy Boshell answered it would probably be at least nine months. Mayor Nader asked if we would see more progress if we acted piece-by-piece as opposed to waiting for the entire overhaul. Ms. Boshell responded, possibly. We are actually looking at that in a few areas especially those which need major revision. Mayor Nader expressed that we should have a system which allows us to use job titles which describes a person's function so that the public know what a person's job really is. Ms. Boshell stated that in those cases, we have a couple of options. We can actually change classification titles or use working titles on business cards. Mayor Nader stated that he didn't think it would require changing classification titles, but simply being less rigid about the tides we use in daily practice. performance and Appraisal System: City Manager Goss stated that we simply have not had the money to fund this. Ms. Boshell stated that although it is on hold, we have made some progress. It is simply a very time consuming project. Mayor Nader felt that the Civil Service Rule Update and Performance Appraisal System would make a good subject for a future Council workshop. Neighborhood Watch: Mayor Nader suggested that we set up a separate category on Public Safety. This would obviously be listed under that category. Minutes January 25, 1993 Page 4 Councilman Rindone requested a brief repor~ on the De~brillators as to the number of times used, how many people were saved, etc. in 1992. Mayor Nader requested the City Manager inform the Council of staff members responsibilities so when they have a question in a particular area, they will know who to go to directly. Recycling'.. Mayor Nader stated there has been a lot of progress in this area, and he viewed this as a very high priority because of the AB-939 mandates. Police Computer Assisted Dishatch - Records Muna~enenE Councilman Moore asked about the status. Police Chief Rick Emerson stated they had a meeting set up to talk with AdminisU'ation about the proposal for a Regional CAD system. One of the components would be computers in cars, but that it was costly. However, we are more concerned about getting a CAD system for the Police Department so we can manage the information. Mayor Nader stated this is another item which should be added under a Public Safety heading. High Priority Items: Mayor Nader felt the high priority items were the Bi-national Airport and the Clean Water Program. Councilman Moore felt the Council needed a workshop on the Clean Water Program and the Solid Waste Disposal matter; and it should be soon. Boundaries - San Die~o/Chula Vista: Mayor Nader asked what was the issue on this? City Manager Goss responded that it related to a process which we agreed to enter into with City of San Diego to jointly plan the area of the Otay Valley regarding the Fenton property. When that is done, there needs to be a discussion as to how services are going to be provided to that property. ReEional Crime Lab and Regional DNA Lab: Mayor Nader felt these were public safety issues. Chief Emerson stated that the DNA Lab was built by San Diego. The County is currently looking at the Regional Lab process, but there an $80 million price tag associated with the plan they are looking at. We have a lab now. If we wanted to do additional testing, we would have to bring in additional personnel. We have the square footage to do it. His proposal to the Sheriff has been to give us a couple of their criminalist (they need more space for them anyway), let us house and supervise them, and we will do the work for the entire South Bay. International Relations: Mayor stated that since Chula Vista is within the free trade zone proposed under NAFTA, and we will have from time-to-time issues which come up with foreign governments. He suggested to look at whether we have some people on existing staff that could be designated to acquire experience to deal with foreign governments, particularly Mexico. Financing Regional Facilities: Councilman Moore stated we have had a SANDAG report on this. He had some concerns and felt that we should get a mutual agreement. Before we start financing regional facilities and adding a burden to our residents, we should establish a base DIF similar to Chula Vista's. Minutes January25, 1993 Page 5 Otav Valley Regional Park: Councilman Moore felt that if we are going to do anything as far as parkland in southwest Chula Vista in the regional park area, we don't have to wait for a master plan to say this is the area we would like to pursue. Get it to the regional team for their input. We should narrow this down. Mayor Nader asked ffwe are ready to proceed with property acquisitions under grants issued by the Coastal Conservancy? Parks and Recreation Director Jess Valenzuela responded that the City of San Diego has received a $1.5 million from the Coastal Conservancy. Transit Center:. Councilman Rindone stated this item should be added to the list. NAFT~u City Manager Goss stated this item should be added. Mayor Nader felt this should be under the heading of International Relations. MASTER PLANNING: CulnLral Arts Center/BaVfront Mayor Nader stated we should move the Cultural Arts Center and the Bayfront to a new level which, he hoped, was of the highest priority. In particular, the completion of the negotiations that are underway with the Port right now so we have a development partner that has the experience and where withall to get the project done. Councilman Moore stated that if the Port does not buy the Bayfront, as a last resort maybe they would buy the site to build the Cultural Arts Center. If the Port takes on this, we would have less subsidy. Mayor Nader expressed that the Port probably would want to do the hotel and retail development portion because it would be more profitable to the them than the Cultural Arts Center or the Ice Rink. Bonita Inn: Councilman Rindone felt the planning of the Bonita Inn on Bonita Road at the golf come should be added. City Manager Goss stated it really should be added under Redevelopment. LAND USE: Otay Ranch: City Manager Goss felt this should be diFided into two projects. One, the current one, the general development plan; and two, sphere of influence annexation. The whole annexation issue of Otay Ranch will be a separate major work effort on staffs part. Olympic Tminin~ Center:. City Manager Goss felt this should be separated into two parts: (1) the general effort and (2) the financing effort. Mayor Nader felt that getting financial support was the priority of the Olympic Training Center. Chula V'~ta Greenbelt Implementation: Councilman Moore asked ff this was a duplication of the Regional Park° Mayor Nader felt that the Regional Park was the southern portion of the Greenbelt. City Manager Goss stated that the Greenbelt went around the City. Minutes January 25, 1993 Page 6 University:. Mayor Nader stated that a lot of the workload on this issue was carried privately by Margie Phares who was an active member of the UC Task Force, and until recently, was retained by Baldwin to work on the university issue. That is no longer the case. He felt it was imperative that somebody on the Administrative staff be designated as lead person on the university issue and that it be made a priority. Mayor stated that the level of assistance to the Task Force has not been the same since Ms. Phares ceased her relationship with Baldwin. We need to have more active staff support on this issue. Mayor Nader responded that he was thinking more of the type of activity that Ms. Phares had been undertaking outside of Task Force meetings -- the contacts with university officials, finding out when they were going to be here and that we showed off the site, the watch dogging of the Otay Ranch planning process to make sure the university is properly considered, etc. It is those areas, not the staffmg of the Task Force meetings, which are important. City Manager Goss suggested that we talk with Baldwin as to what level support they would be willing to offer to get somebody to replace the work she was doing. We might even talk to out legislative consultant to see ff they could help us. Mayor Nader felt the latter suggestion would be a more productive way to go. He felt that Baldwin was in some economic distress fight now. Maior DevelonmenV. Mayor Nader asked if there was any work on these that would be a priority assignment for staff. City Manager Goss responded that it was just like a regular work program. They are ongoing. Fenton Master Plan: Councilman Moore asked if this was West Fairfield. City Manager Goss responded this was the property between the I-5 and 1-805 owned by Fenton Materials, south of Main. This is where there will be a joint planning process between us and the City of San Diego. Entewrise Zones: Counc~woman Horton inquired if this was the proper place to include the Enterprise Zones. We should also add, when it comes up again, the State Enterprise Zones. Council concurred that both items could be included under land use and under economic development. FISCAL: Internal Efficiencies: Councilman Rindone asked what this meant. City Manager Goss stated we are always looking at internal efficiencies, and it was listed two years ago as a work effort. Council concurred this should be left. Mayor Nader felt this should be the highest priority on this list in that any internal efficiencies we can achieve, getting the same job done for less expenditure, is the best way to stretch our resources. State lOUs: Mayor Nader stated that some of the larger cities have been engaging in some creative ways to find additional resources. Recently, some cities have been buying up some of the State IOUs at a ) / discounted rate and then bundling them up, speculating in them rather profitably. Others have been looking Minutes January 25, 1993 Page 7 at taking bonds and re~nancing them, applying the difference to supplement other programs. He asked if we were looking at any other those kinds of programs. City Manager Goss stated we look at any valuable way that would be cost effective versus spending staff time doing it. He did not think buying up the State IOUs was a great idea. We have done some refinancing. Host Community Fees/l,andfill Facility Fee: Councilman Moore asked what City Manager Goss' goal was for this. City Manager Goss responded that we may not be able to proceed unless we have some understanding on how we are going to handle the garbage. The Flow Control Agreement is going through extensive discussions by staff. Councilman Moore stated whether we like it or not, the landfill is going to be here and they will be using our streets. We need to get this in place. City Manager Goss stated that we were hoping to implement this around April 1st. Councilman Moore asked how San Marcos got theirs. City Manager Goss responded they went ahead end starting collective the fees through the County before the users were even aware of it. They were able to get the County to pay out of their enterprise fund last year as opposed to having to collect it at the landfill itself. They have taken the lead, and we are riding on their coat tails. There was a point when the County went to San Marcos to get approval through a CUP. We have not been in the same relationship. ECONOMIC DEVF~OPMENT: Councilman Rindone stated that the Bonita golf course inn should be added. City Manager Goss stated there has been some direction by Council that staff should pursue a Walmart in this community, and it should be added. Councilman Rindone stated the Pierre Building (Windmill Farms) should be added. City Manager Goss stated this will probably be added under Redevelopmerit. Second Peninsula: Councilman Fox asked what are we doing to achieve a second peninsula. City Manager Goss responded very little. We did have some discussions with SDG&E when they were doing the environmental analysis for some dredging in the bay to see if there was any way to use the spoils for the second peninsula. As it turned out, it was not useable, Town Center Manaster.. City Manager Goss stated that this could be deleted. Mayor Nader expressed that it could be folded in with the Town Centre I - Third Avenue redevelopment - Town Centre Plan Update. This is still a priority in that we need to see that the person succeeds. Renarnin~ of the Economic Develol~ment Section and Other Chan~es: Mayor Nader felt this section should be renamed to Economic Development/Jobs in order to emphasize the top goal in this recessionary time. The economic development policy should be good jobs for the region. He felt the following should be considered: Change: Under Economic Development Plan Marketing -- the word Strategy should be added. Minutes January 25, 1993 Page 8 Add: Rohr Retention -- staff be directed not to negotiate for any consideration of a land use change for the Rohr property without prior notification and approval of the City Council. City Attorney Boogaard stated the item should agenditized. Mayor directed the Clerk add to the February 2rid agenda an item under his comments regarding direction to staff on the consideration of rezoning of industrial land. Cooperation with education and private institutions to maximize job training opportunities should be a priority under economic development. Regulatory streamlining: there is more which can be done. Provision of Industrial Infrastructure in conjunction with the Port and other agencies in the region; and perhaps with the federal government as part of the economic recovery program. Enterprise zones as mentioned by Councilwoman Horton. Environmental technology as mentioned by Councilman Fox. Biomedical, biotech, and hi-tech EIR Overlay as mentioned by Councilwoman Hor~on. * * * (Councilwoman Horton left at 7:20 p.m.) * * * Broadway:. Mayor Nader stated there is an increasing mount of vacant space on Broadway. Direction had ', been given to staff about a year ago to look into and bring back some possible rezoning to encourage some / mixed used development to help revitalize the area. This should be added. Mayor also felt that the North end of Broadway should be added. Job Crealin~ Infrastructure: Mayor Nader felt job creating infrastructure should be added. San Diego has put together a program which we should look at. Neighborhood Revitalization Program: Councilman Moore felt we should take the revitalization program and make it a three year program, make them more or less independent, and move on to another neighborhood. This was fairly high on his list. Town Centre I - Third Avenue redevelopment - Town Centre Plan Update: Councilman Fox felt this should the highest priority of the City since it is the heart of the City. Counc~man Moore responded that we have put millions of dollars into one half mile of strip shopping. He wanted to know when we were going to quite hold their hands. Mayor Nader suggested that this should be rephrased for clear understanding. We are talking about Economic Revitalization not necessarily the Town Centre Plan or further investment in Town Centre per se, but opportunities to assist the Town Centre or the Town Manager in their success. Funding for Nature Internretive Centexz. Councilman Kindone stated the funding of the Nature Interpretive Center should be added to the redevelopmerit area. Minutes January 2S, 1993 Page 9 HUMAN SERVICES/HOUSING: Mobilehome Re_location Park Mayor Nader asked if this has been basically taken care of with the Bayscene deal? Community Development Director Solomone responded that Bayscene is in the middle of being resolved. There are some issues with the non-profit and the bonds, so staff is not ce~ain it is going to go through. Child Care Facilities: Mayor Nader felt we should explore pooling with other agencies in the re,on that have programs or might want pool their resources to get programs to move this forward. Its an increasing need in the City. Maybe we need to look at including in a request for federal assistance in terms of infrastructure for facilities because good child care facilities are the kinds of things which will attract good paying jobs into the City. Councilman Fox asked if he was talking about pooling resources for both the Coordinator as well as the facilities. Mayor Nader responded in the positive. Mr. Fox felt we should look at putting a facility near mass transit as well. Councilman Moore felt there were a number of churches that would do something with day care, but the costs were too much to get the facilities to meet the Code. If we encouraged churches to set up day care, then we could waive all fees. City Manager Goss stated there is a need for affordable day care. A lot of the churches already have day care programs, but they do not have them for the extended period of time which is necessary. Parks and Recreation Director Jess Valenzuela stated that preschools work well in church settings because youngsters don't have to go to a public school. At Lauderback, the youngsters attend Lauderback School, whereby the 4-H staff take them to the school and pick them up. The parents can drop the children off and pick them up all within the same area. Councilman Fox stated there were also other agencies which would do child care if they had a facility which was located in an area where they could serve those who need affordable day care. People who can afford day care, can find it. Those who cannot afford it, have difficulty finding it and often leave their child at home. Councilman Rindone stated if you are looking for extensive cooperation, you can get that from the school disu-icts. Maybe we should be looking at pattnerships in child care. Councilman Moore stated a good subject for this would be Subsidized Tenant Improvements, which means you are modifying your building internally. Juvenile Prograrn~: Councilman Fox stated he had a priority to concentrate effort on juvenile delinquency diversion programs. He felt this was another area in which agencies could come together to pool their resources. Subsidized Housing: Councilman Fox stated he was interested in promoting the sale of real estate property without involving financial liability on the part of the City. There were programs out there for low and moderate income which are being utilized that don't necessarily put people into low cost housing apartment- type buildings, but put them into single family residences. Programs such as silent seconds or other type of programs exist throughout the Country. Minutes January 25, 1993 Page 10 Mayor Nader stated that looking for opportunities to expend these type of programs should be one of the priorities on this list. Homeless: Mayor Nader stated he would like to see programs added to the list to address homelessness. POLICY DEVELOPMF2qT: COmrnUlllty COUI1Ci] MeerirlEs: Councilman Fox asked what was this. City Manager Goss responded that is when the Council meets in various parts of the City. Councilman Moore stated this hasn't been done because the Charter curtails it. Mayor Nader felt this should be put on a future agenda of the Charter Review Commission for consideration. POTENTIAL PR0dECTS: Annual Cornraurtlty Everit - Pride FaiE. Councilman Rindone stated we haven't targeted this specific idea where we have the various ethnic groups and organizations involved in a community pride fair. His suggestion was to tie in with the Fourth of July since the City already has good activities at the Marina. He felt the focus was to see ff we could ever get this off the ground. This should be referTed to the Parks & Recreation staff to see if it could be tied into the Fourth of July activities and to see what ideas they come up with. Mayor Nader did not want to confine this to the Fourth of July at the expense of other events which staff is already supporting. Museum: Councilman Moore stated if you are serious about the museum and if you are looking for a place for a cultural arts staffer, and if the town manager is really successful, the economical thing to do is to expand the present building and move it into Phase III of Memorial Park. PROJECTS ADDED BY COUNCIL: Computer Sales Canter.. Mayor Nader felt this was a terrific potential future revenue opportunity for the City. PUBLIC SAFETY: Mayor Nader requested this category be added and under it add: Programs and Policies to address issues of Substance Abuse, specifically continued cooperation with the schools on gang education programs and other substance abuse education programs; to continue the advocacy by the state legislation to provide life sentencing for drug dealers; and any other things the police or social services agencies may have in the works to address the problems of substance abuse. MOTION: Moved by Nader, seconded by Rindone to direct staff to draw up a new list based on the discussion and bring it back to a future Council meeting for consideration and adoption. Councilman Rindone felt that we should pick a top ten from the list. Minutes January25, 1993 Page 11 After some discussion, the motion was modified by both the mover and seconder to pick the top five in each category and list them first. Motion carried 4-0-1 (Horton absent). ORAL COMIViUNICATIONS There were none. OTHER BUSINESS 3. CITY MANAGER~ REPORT(S) - There were none. 4. MAYOR'S REPORT(S) - There were none. 5. COUNCIL COMMENTS - There were none. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 8:15 p.m. Beverly A.~Authelet, CM% City Clerk