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HomeMy WebLinkAboutcc min 1993/05/26 MINUTES OF A SPECIAL WORKSESSION/MEETING OF THE CHULA VISTA CITY COUNCIL Wednesday, May 26, 1993 Council Conference Room 6:05 p.m. Administration Bu~ding CALL TO ORDER 1. ROLL CALL: PRESENT: Councilmembers Fox, Horton, Moore, Rindone, and Mayor Nader. ALSO PRESENT: John D. Goss, City Manager; Bruce M. Boogaard, City Attorney; Beverly k Authelet, City Clerk; and all Department Heads. BUSINESS MSC {Rindone/Horton) to hold the balance of the Budget Sessions in the Council Chambers in order to accommodate more people. Motion carried 4~1 {Moore voting no}. 2. REVIEW OF DEPARTMENTAL BUIK}ETS Review of as many individual departmental budgeB as time permits. MSUC (Rindone/Moore) that all budget approvals will be tentative until we hear from the State and final approval is given by Council. City Attorney.. MSUC (Rindone/Moore) that a supplemental be brought back regarding the use of outside legal counsel services. MSUC (Moore/Kindone) to give the City Attorney's budget conceptual approval. (City Attorney Boogaard was excused) PUBLIC SAFETY Police: City Manager Goss stated that there was a need, and therefore, five additional officers were being proposed that will be funded by the Public Facilities Development Impact Fee (PFDIF). The ongoing operational impacts of the five new officers will be approximately $325,000 and will be felt in the FY 94-95 budget. Hopefully, the opening of Mervyns, a second Price Club, second K-Mart, and perhaps the Auto Park will help suppor~ this type of risk. Councilman Rindone asked if there were any measures being taken to address the increase in car thefts at the Price Club and Trolley Stations. MINUTES May26, 1993 Page 2 Chief Emerson replied that this was one of the issues that the five additional o~ficers would be used for. They will not be used just as additional patrol officers. The Department will put together a crime suppression unit in uniform which will work specific problems. We are also looking at specific trends with the Regional Auto Thef~ Team. Mayor Nader asked the City Manager to explain why the process for CAST, PAL, and the CAD/RMS system was such that we don't anticipate budgeting anything this fiscal year. Chief Emerson stated that the RFP was in the process of being drafted and will be submitted. Then we will have m look for vendors to try to develop the system for us. The monies would not be expended this fiscal year; they would be identified and expended next fiscal year. Mayor Nader asked for a ball park figure on the cost. Chief Emerson replied approximately $750,000. It depends; if we can get other cities to join with us; Coronado, National City, and Harbor Police have thought the concept sounded good. Mayor Nader stated that staff was moving in the right direction, but his concern was how fast are we moving? He thought he had been told that the RFP had been prepared last year. Chief Emerson responded that it was prepared and floated before he came to the City, but there were some issues and concerns, so we had to sit down with the consultant and redraft the RFP taking into consideration the sub-regional approach. We needed a lot of input from the other cities, but the consultant is about finished. There is about an 18 month lead time by the time a RFP is generated, a vendor is selected, the equipment is built, and it is installed. Councilman Rindone inquired into whether we were reimbursed from other agencies when we responded to the emergency situation last year in Los Angeles. He wanted to know what the financial arrangement Chief Emerson replied that when there is a dedicated emergency and mutual aid is called for, we have to follow protocols, then we are reimbursed basically for 95% of our expenditure. The State was to reimburse another 5% which we have not received. We did receive a $17,000 check from Federal Emergency Management Association (FEMA) for our expenditure. It was for all the overtime utilized, mileage to the disaster site; and if we had lost any equipment, we would have been reimbursed for that. Councilman Rindone asked what happened when we had to have assistance come in at H and Fifth Streets, does that impinge upon this city other than our staff and overtime. Chief Emerson replied that we asked San Diego to come in to assist us. We paid for our overtime, but San Diego would bill FEMA. MSUC (Moore/Fox) m give the Police Department budget conceptual approval. Fire: Councilman Fox asked for an estimate on the cost of maintenance once the educational trailer is obtained. Chief Hardiman responded it would be very minimal. Councilman Moore asked if staff was seeking to improve cooperation among the South San Diego area. MINUTES May 26, 1993 Page 3 Chief Hardiman responded that as part of the general discussion of streamlining services, there is an idea of consolidation. Currently, the most serious discussion on reg/onal consolidation for fire services is spearheaded mostly by special d/strict fire departments. They have the most serious problem with AB-8 funding which may be cut from them. His understanding is that everything is primarily in discussion stage at this time. In the South Bay, we endorse the idea of economizing and streamlining, and we have worked diligently to improving our response schedules and communications. However, he did not believe it was something very imminent in the South Bay at this time. Even all the special districts are not participating at the same level. Councilman Moore asked ff the Fire Department had any type of training for the hazardous waste plant by the landfill. ChiefHardiman responded that they have training regularly for hazardous materials response. It is requ/red by the State. They also do pre-fire planning for individual target hazards in our immediate area. They have the basic equipment, but when you get into hazardous materials response, you need special equipment. That is why the department is part of the Hazardous Materials Response Joint Powers Agreement through the Unified Disaster Council. In this case, instead of having duplication of a number of separate hazardous response teams for each city, there are two which serve the entire County: one with San Diego City Fire and the other with the County. MSUC (lqader/Rindone) m give the Fire Deparm~ent budget conceptual approval. IAbraryAjteraey Grant/h'brary Grants: Councilman Moore asked ff there was a slippage in the time line for the new library. Acting Library Director, David Palmet, responded that it looked like they will be needing about one more month. We will meet the State requirements if we award the bid by August 30 which is the State's definition of starting construction. If there are addendures resulting from questions, it would require a delay. We will probably have to request a one month extension from the State Librarian who has indicated to his assistant that would be acceptable. Councilman Moore asked if the drop-off pocket on Fourth Avenue will be north of SDG&E fight-of-way was too close to the signalization for a drop-off and then make a left on Orange. Mr. Palmet stated he had requested, when this was raised by Councilman Moore, that it be closer to the parking and sidewalk into the building, particularly the meeting room complex. Engineering has assured him that the drop-off north of the SDG&E right of way would be okay. Councilman Rindone asked if Mr. Palmet was comfortable with his current staffing for non-computer literate adulB who are seeking services. Mr. Palmer replied that the catalog introduced to the library was really very simple. However, it does challenge some people. They could use additional librarians on the floor to help those individuals who utilize the catalog. In the South Chula Vista Library, there will be the introduction of a computer lab where MINLrrES May 26, 1993 Page 4 they will have a staff member available to assist people to use software packages which will be available at the library. Councilman Rindone encouraged some well publicized workshops to address the need of non-computer literate adults to help them become familiar with the library. Councilman Fox asked if he anticipated the Foundation to be administered by staff people. Mr. Palmet replied that Foundations could be organized in different ways: you could utilize your Friends group, or you can establish a Foundation Board of independent citizens. Councilman Moore inquired if Park and Recreation had instituted the appropriate water conservation measures with the irrigation system for this library. Jess Valenzuela responded that the landscape architect incorporated all the new techniques into the library plan. MSUC (Rindone/Nader) to give the Library budget conceptual approval. Parks and Recreation/Open Space: City Manager Goss stated that a supplemental will be coming out for a Youth Action Program with an approximate cost of $73,000. This is a result of the Youth Summit. He felt the best thing to do would be to put this on the wish list. Mayor Nader asked for a clarification regarding bringing all irrigation back to pre-drought levels. Jess Valenzuela stated that they were trying to maintain the existing irrigation the way we have had it. We are not exceeding the units we had during the pre-drought levels. In some areas, they were watering more and some areas less. Mayor Nader stated he was not comfortable for both conservation and budgetary reasons with the idea that all irrigation would come back to pre-drought levels. If we don't need additional irrigation in order to keep a playing field useful, maybe we need to go long-term to drought tolerant plantings to save on the watering and irrigation equipment. Mr. Valenzuela stated that we are not at the 2O percent level that we were at two years ago, but in certain areas we have held back as far as getting to the 100 percent levels that we were at three years ago. In the newer parks, we are instituting and planting all drought tolerant plants. We are also putting in Bermuda grass before we add rescue grass since rescue has a tendency to brown very quickly in drought situations where the Bermuda is a tough strain of grass. We have a very sophisticated computerized irrigation schedule based upon weather patterns and systems. This allows us to program all the parks in one central location and allows us to save a lot of water. We will have nine parks within that system, and we will have nine areas within the Open Space District in EastLake already outfitted for this system. Eventually, we will have all of our controllers outfitted so they can communicate with the central system. Mr. Valenzuela added that his staff is looking at the tufted medians, such as those on East Orange, for a long-term goal through a Capital Improvement Project doing hardscaping through a 65/35 set-up to save water. This will save considerably in water and in the deterioration of streets from the water. We are also MINUTES May 26, 1993 Page 5 looking at the unusable parks where there are sloped conditions, maybe mulching those areas and planting with drought tolerant plants. Councilman Rindone stated he wanted to know why there were not any plants around the Parkway Gym. Mr. Valenzuela responded that as part of the rehabilitation program for the complex, we will be putting in more trees and more planter areas with drought tolerant plants. Councilman Rindone wanted a quick solution to planting some plants in front of the the gym now. If we need to save them to use somewhere else when the time comes, then we can do that. Councilman Rindone asked about the after school program. He felt that the Council had voted last year to add seven this year to the program. He requested a supplemental on the double staffing. If it was not part of the former request, then it should be included on the wish list. MSUC {FoX/Horton) to give the Parks and Recreation budget conceptual approval. DEVF~OPMFMT AND MAINTENANCE Planning:. Councilman Moore asked how you could increase the percentage of subsupport through fees ff we use the full cost recovery system. Mr. Goss answered that what we are saying is to focus the staff and allocate staff resources to work on projects where we know we will get fees back. If we allocate staff resources to those projects where we don't get fees back, then we won't get as much money to support the Planning Department operation. Councilman Rindone stated that the Planning budget indicates there was no change in the Director's salary from 91-92. Dawn Herring, Budget Manager, responded that the executive management adjustments were made mid- year. If a department submitted their budget after those adjustu~ents had been made, then the department request included the proper amount. Some departments, however, submitted their budgets before we had final figures, then there will be a difference. Councilman Rindone stated this doesn't give Council a true reflection of the cost change from one fiscal period to another. He suggested in the future there be a consistency in reporting the salary figures. Councilman Rindone asked if Council could have a breakdown of the funding of the positions with non-city funds and positions funded by Baldwin or other projects. Mr. Goss stated that what staff has done is to take into account the amount of money we get from developers by way of fees which is about 61 percent. There are other fees for conditional use permits, variances, fezones which are also part of the 61 percent. He had no idea if this could be broken out. MINUTES May 26, 1993 Page 6 ) Mr. Leiter, Planning Director, responded that it is not broken down that discretely but could give a breakdown by categories, such as percentages of major projects venus conditional use permits versus environmental reviews. Mayor Nader felt it would be helpful to have a breakdown as to what is general fund supported and what is covered by the fees. He was concerned by the overall amount, about the fact we are increasing the Planning Depa~uxxent budget at a time of economic down turn. He felt we should be looking at consolidating Planning with one or two other departments as part of the streamlining program. He was also concerned that we are proposing to meet a need by reclassifying someone's position at a higher pay level. Those are concerns which might lead him to not vote for this particular budget if it is coming out of the general fund. Mr. Goss stated that there is a report coming on the overall referral on streamlining among two or three of the departments. Regarding the redassification, it is not a current Associate Planner that we are reclassifying to a Senior Planner. It is a vacant Associate Planner position that would be reclassified to a Senior Planner, then a contract architect that we have been utilizing with Design Review would be eliminated and pushed into the Senior Planner slot in order to meet a lot of the criticism and desire to improve that process with Design Review. It would be a transfer of a contract person into a full city position. Mayor Nader asked why not take the Associate Planner position and do the same thing if it is already vacant. Mr. Goss replied that we are proposing to reclassify it because the contract person that we have is at that Senior level and not at the Associate level. Mr. heiter stated the contract person has been working in Design Review approximately six months and working about six months prior to that in Advance Planning. The position was authorized in last year's budget as a tempora~ measure. Mr. Goss suggested, and Council concurred, to provide Council with a chart showing each project, status of the project, and whether they are fee supported or general fund supported. Mayor Nader also felt a Supplemental be provided on the issue of the Associate Planner reclassification to Senior Planner to handle Design Review to include how the position was funded in last year's budget, how it is proposed to be funded, and a comparison of the two and some policy justification for the increase in the budget. MSUC (Nader/Moore) to defer the Planning budget until receipt of the supplemantals. Community Development: Counc~woman Horton asked if the Biotech Reception and Tour included land owner participation or developer participation. Economic Development Manager, Cheryl Dye, answered they would be looking to the developers to contribute to it. Councilwoman Horton asked if we were replacing Tony Ciotti's position or would it remain unf~led. /j MINUTES May 26, 1993 Page 7 Assistant Community Development Director, Bill Gustarson, replied that we were currently holding the position open in case there needed to be some adjustment because of the State budget problem in terms of transferring people from other departments. It is filled on a temporary, full-time basis by someone who was trained under Tony Ciorti. MS {lqader/Fox) to give the Community Devdopment budget conceptual approval. Mayor Nader suggested that a report be prepared indicating the projects which have come on line or anticipated to come on line through redevelopmerit efforts and what the State share of revenues under existing tax structures are from those that are likely to be, as well as some ball park estimate on job generation. Councilman Moore did not think that Induswial Development Bonds were well known at all. He suggested that staff write an article about IDBs and put it in various newsletters, such as Chamber of Commerce, Realtors, or Downtown Association in order to make people more aware of what is available. Ms. Dye stated that IDBs are now currently unavailable. The enabling legislation had expired, however, it was anticipated that they will be reinstating them. She thought Councilman Moore's suggestion was a great idea. Motion to give the Comrnuuity Devdopment Budget conceptual approval was approved 5-0. Building and Homing MSUC C~/ader/Moore) to give the Building and Housing budget conceptual approval. Public Works: Council questioned the following: (1) grease pits for restaurants, (2) over qualifications of staff, reimbursement for storms, and (4) relocation of public works yard. Mayor Nader asked if a freeze in filling a supervisor position in this department would be a reasonable cost saving measure to look at. Mr. Goss responded that in terms of being effective and saving money, there would have to be a vacancy. Currently, there were no vacancies. Mayor Nader stated that we were creating a half position in this budget. Mr, Goss stated that we have three new positions for the sewer crew and the fractional position was basically from the budgeting of part of planning and engine ering staff in a special account for the Otay Ranch project. We are now feeding those back into the operating budget and deleting the special account for Otay Ranch. We will still keep track of those costs and get them back from Baldwin as they occur. Otherwise, there are no positions being created in engineering. Council requested a supplemental detailing how projects are funded -- either by general fund or other funds. MINUTES May 26, 1993 Page 8 Mr. Goss stated that if we have another major cut from the State, we could look at the street maintenance operations which require general fund support. Another way to approach this would be to utilize more gas tax money for maintenance instead of operations. This type of shift could help the general fund if it became necessary. Councilman Moore asked if there had been a concerted effort to review the inventory and usage of city vehicles. David Byers, Deputy Public Works Director/Operations, responded that they had looked at the vehicle inventory this year. Part of the replacement program addressed this and had identified some vehicles that had low mileage and might not be necessary. Departments had been instructed that keeping them had to be justified, or they would be removed fi'om the fleet. When he first started, he looked at the pool vehicles because of their low mileage. He felt that it would be cheaper to get rid of the pool vehicles and pay employees mileage. However, with the new nip reduction program starting July 1st, it makes it tough to pay mileage when an employee might not have their car. The Environmental Resource Manager and the Fleet Manager were working together to figure out what the best mix would be. They have looked at the fleet and do not believe it is over-sized. Councilman Moore stated that when you look at a tight budget, you need to look at the use of vehicles and overtime. Councilman Rindone supported Council's concerns and felt a report should come back as an Agenda item within the next three or four months regarding the City's vehicles. MSC (Rindone/Moore) to give the Public Works budget conceptual approval. Motion passed 4-1 C~lader voting no). BAYFRONT CONSERVANCY TRUST (N.I.C.) Councilman Moore asked if all the checks and balances for repayment were in place. Assistant City Manager, Jim Thomson, reported that Council made a minor change to the lease and operating agreement. At the last BCT meeting, the Directors approved the agreement with the change. Also at the BCT meeting, the Directors voted to amend the name of the Chula Vista Nature Interpretlye Center to delete the word 'Interpretire." Councilman Moore stated it has been done, and we had nothing to say about it. Mr. Thomson stated the Council could transmit a comment back. The rationale for the change was in tens of promoting the Center; the word "interpretire" has created confusion. Some of the public relations professionals advised them on this maker. It is still the Chula Vista Nature Center. Councilman Rindone stated that at the very least there should have been an informational item on this. Mr. Thomson replied that he was planning on doing that. Mayor Nader asked if the rest of the Council got copies of agenda statements and other materials which are going to the BCT Board. Mr. Thomson stated he was not sure, but it could be done. MINIYI~S May 26, 1993 Page 9 Councilman Moore asked how they were doing with the volunteers. Barbara Moore, Volunteer Coordinator, stated the number stays around one hundred; they could always use more. Councilman Rindone asked what would the estimated income from the admission charge for the three summer months be. Mr. Thomson responded that the net income would be approximately $30,000 to $40,000. MSUC (Moore/Hot-ton) to give the NIC budget conceptual approval. RESOLUTION 17131 kMENDING THE FISCAL YEAR t"FY) 1992-93 BUDGET TO ADD 0.11 NA'IURF~ CEI',,,qqE. R .AIDE POSITIONS TO 'FIIE BUDGET OF THE BAYFP, OI~FF CONSERVANCY TRUST RESOLUTION 17131 OI'P.ERED BY COUNCILMAN RINDONE, reading of the text was waived, passed, and approved 5-0. LEGISLATIVE AND ADMINISTRATIVE City Council: Councilman Moore requested a breakdown of all of Council's expenses allocated and what was actually spend at the end of the Fiscal Year to be provided during the month of August. MSUC (Nader/Horton) m give the City Council budget conceptual approval. City Clerk: Councilman Moore stated that the role and functions of the Boards and Commissions would be in the Commissions Handbook. He asked if the Clerk had printed a new one. Beverly Authelet, City Clerk, responded that she was waiting until Council made the changes with the PACS. She stated she had money to do so once a decision was made by Council. Councilman Moore asked what the date was for the boards and commission seminar. Ms. Authelet sated that the dollars for the seminar had been removed from the budget. Usually the seminar was held in the Fall just before the Recognition Banquet. Councilman Moore asked if there was a policy that the City Clerk would hold an annual seminar for Boards and Commissions. Mayor Nader sated he was not sure if there was an official policy, but there should be. MINUTES May 26, 1993 Page 10 Ms. Authelet stated she found the best time to hold the seminar was right after work, provide a light meal, and have them out at a reasonable time. Council inquired about the cost, and if it could be done for less. Ms. Authelet responded that it could. She further stated that the feedback she received from the last one was to make the emphasis for the new commissioner. Councilman Moore stated that it was not compulsory. However, he has seen some commissioners who have been on a commission for years forget what their purpose, role, and functions were. MS edoore/Nader) to establish a policy that the City Clerk hold an annual seminar for all Boards and Comrnlnsions with the City Attorney, City Clerk, Mayor and Councilmembers, and key staff members. Councilman Rindone questioned if annually wasn't too frequent. Councilwoman Horton stated she agreed that annually was too frequent. She stated that when she was on the Planning Commission, no one wanted to go. Perhaps if it was every two years, more commissioners would want to participate. Councilman Moore withdrew his motion. Mr. Goss stated that perhaps it could be held on an annual basis but have a new commissioners' workshop and old commissioners could be invited to come. Councilman Rindone stated that perhaps we could make a requirement for every two years unless there are forty or more new commissioners in a period of one year. To mandate it every year, may not be necessary. However, it should be on a scheduled frequency basis. Mayor Nader stated it should be every year. There are new commissions every year. If a commissioner has been around for a long time and feels they don't need to go, it is not compulsory. Councilman Moore felt the City Manager stated it well; a seminar for new commissioners and anyone else could attend. Councilman Rindone agreed; the focus should be on the new member and anyone else who would like to attend. Mayor Nader stated that there was no motion on the floor. If there was not going to be one, perhaps someone would put it on the agenda later. However, there was nothing prohibiting the Clerk to schedule a seminar. MSUC tlVloore/Nader) to give the City Clerk budget conceptual approval. /~dminjstration: Mr. Goss stated that Council had indicated a desire to take a position to help support Economic Development as part of their duties. MINUTES May 26, 1993 Page 11 Sid Morris, Assistant City Manager, stated that they have been working with Community Development to developed a program where we would send a Senior Management Assistant from Administration and an Analyst II from Management of Information Services to Community Development. They would be assigned to Community Development one day a week and will begin that program next month. They would work in Community Development 20%, thus giving the Department almost the equivalent of a paR-time person. Councilman Moore asked how does one go about requesting an aide. Assistant City Manager, Sid Morris, stated that in the past Council has submitted a request to Personnel to begin recruitment. It is basically handled the same way as a normal recruitment. Mayor Nader asked ff there was any other position which was being assigned to another depaL'h~xent or office besides the ones assigned to the Mayor/Council office and the 20% position assigned to Economic Development. Mr. Goss replied no. MS 0Vlooreflrlorton) to give the A,4mlnistration budget conceptual approval. Mayor Nader stated he had a real concern about the Administration budget. He felt the department head reports going to Council should receive less review, revision, and rewrite. He felt there was room in administration to allocate the talent away from that function toward other functions in the City. He had proposed in his State of the City address, a 5 percent cut in administration. Councilman Rindone stated that this level of individual is providing the leadership, direction, and brain power. There is a lot more than supervising people; that is the most minimal task senior officers would be doing. MOTION CARRIED 4-1 (Nader voting no). ORAL COMMUNICATIONS None. OTHER BUSINESS 3. CITY MANAGER'S REPORT(S) None. 4. MAYOR'S REPORT(S) None. MINUTES May 26, 1993 Page 12 S. COUNCIL COMMENTS None none. ADJC)LIRNMENT Pending litigation pursuant to GC §54956.9 - Institution of ligation against County of San Diego regarding Daley Rock Quarry CUP. MSUC (Nader/Horton) to continue the Closed Session item to May 27, 1993 meeting since the City At'tome? had already left. The meeting adjourned at 9:10 p.m. to a Regular Worksession/Meeting on Thursday, May 27, 1993 at 4:00 p.m. in the Council Conference. Respectfully submittal, Beverly A. Authelet, CMC City Clerk