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CC - 05-12-09Minutes of the REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING May 12, 2009 The regular meeting of the Rosemead City Council was called to order by Mayor Clark at 7:00 p.m. in the Rosemead City Council Chamber located at 8838 East Valley Boulevard, Rosemead, California. FLAG SALUTE: Council Member Low INVOCATION: Council Member Ly PRESENT: Mayor Clark, Mayor Pro Tern Taylor, Council Member Armenta, Council Member Low, and Council Member Ly. OFFICIALS PRESENT: Interim City Manager Stewart, Interim City Attorney Montes, Assistant City Manager Saeki, Assistant City Manager Hawkesworth, Director of Finance Brisco, Director of Parks and Recreation Montgomery-Scott, Economic Development Administrator Ramirez, Deputy Public Works Officer Marcarello, and City Clerk Molleda. 1. PRESENTATIONS A. Proclamations - Firefighter Month No one was present to receive the proclamations and Mayor Clark asked staff to.please mail them to the appropriate organization. B. San Gabriel Valley Mosquito & Vector Control Presentation - Robert Bruesch Mr. Bruesch - thanked Council for letting him serve on the San Gabriel Valley Mosquito & Vector Control board again. In addition, he clarified a few misconceptions the public might have about the bee population. 6. MATTERS FROM MAYOR & CITY COUNCIL A. Funding the IRS Penalties of the Rosemead Youth Association Council Member Armenta made a request at the City Council meeting on April 28, 2009, for staff to bring back an agenda item regarding the contribution of funds from the City to pay off the Internal Revenue Service penalties assessed to the Rosemead Youth Association (RYA). Staff contacted the RYA Treasurer, Desiree Tuyin, and found that the RYA currently owes $9,890.43 in penalties for not filing the necessary annual financial data on time with the IRS for the years of 2004, 2005, and 2007. Rosemead City Council Meeting Minutes of May 12, 2009 Page I of 18 Recommendation: That the City Council provide direction regarding the contribution of funds to the Rosemead Youth Association. Juan Nunez - asked why the RYA was behind on their taxes and asked who was keeping their books. Mayor Clark stated it was her understanding it was the previous (RYA) administration. Desiree Tuyin - RYA treasurer explained that the previous board had not filed the league's 2004 and 2005 taxes and had stolen money from the league. Furthermore, the reason why the 2007 taxes were not filed was because an extension was not filed with the IRS; the IRS took money from the league for penalties for unfiled taxes for 2004 and 2005 and the money owed now also included penalties for 2007. Mr. Nunez asked again who takes care of the books and added that he did not want the RYA or anyone else coming to the city to ask for a bail out. He thought that the previous members should be held accountable for not paying those taxes. Ms. Tuyin responded that she was not sure of what kind of legal issues the previous board would have to go through but stated that since 2007 the league has cleaned their books and has been making $500 payments a month to the IRS. Mayor Pro Tem Taylor stated that on the report it showed a payment of $500 and another of $650 but it did not say those payments were monthly. Ms. Tuyin responded that she believed the $650 was an initial payment and the $500 was a monthly payment and all three years had been combined to one monthly payment. Mayor Pro Tem Taylor stated he thought Council would have to do something about this situation because this was draining all assets they RYA might have. Mr. Taylor reiterated that the previous board members were negligent and were no longer on the board. He asked Ms. Tuyin if she was aware that the previous city attorney had promised to help the RYA last year as a pro bono obligation and had promised to solve the issue. Ms. Tuyin responded she was not and she had only become part of the board in April of this year. Mayor Pro Tem Taylor stated he understood that Ms. Tuyin would not be aware of that information given she was new to the board; however, he would like to find out if the previous city attorney had tried to help the league. Mr. Taylor also clarified that the city has no control over the internal business of the RYA and the league is not an organization of the city. Mayor Clark asked if the previous city attorney made any attempts to contact the RYA (pro bono) or made any pleadings to the IRS for them. Mrs. Clark also stated that she is aware of situations when people or organizations make pleas for forgiveness to the IRS and their penalties are dissolved. Rosemead City Council Meeting Minutes of May 12, 2009 Page 2 of 18 President of RYA responded that the associations had sent many letters to the IRS to the point that they asked them to stop sending letters. He explained that the reason why the 2007 taxes were not filed was because the IRS had taken the money from their account and the league at that point no longer had money to pay their accountant, by the time they were able to collect funds to file their 2007 taxes the IRS had added another $3,200 of penalty fees. He also clarified that the league does not pay any actual tax if,they file their taxes on time and that the fees being charged to the league were all penalties because that had not been done by the previous board. Mayor Pro Tem Taylor asked if the league had any correspondence from the previous city attorney. President of RYA responded that this was also his first year serving as president of the league Juan Nunez - asked if the city gets any information on how the program is running and forward that information to Council. He asked if there was a way to have the Director of Parks and Recreation monitor the funds. Mayor Pro Tern Taylor responded that it was up to Council to monitor where the funds were spent and not the Parks and Recreations' director. Council Member Ly asked how much the city has given in donations to the RYA. Assistant City Manager Hawkesworth stated that the last two payments were $15,000 each for a total of $30,000; one given on May 2007 and the other on February 2008. Council Member Ly asked the RYA President who was on the board when these problems were going on. RYA President responded that now they have a new board and their existing secretary is the only one who also served on the previous board. Council Member Armenta asked if anyone from the last board still active in anyway with the RYA. RYA President responded no. Mayor Clark made a suggestion that if this item was approved the RYA hire an accountant to make sure their books were in order. Council Member Ly asked if what was approved and given to the RYA in 2007 and 2008 if that was used for their taxes. Mayor Pro Tem Taylor stated no and it was for the benefit of the organization not the taxes. Dolores Wiedemann - asked if there was any correspondence from Mr. Garcia to any of the previous board members. Rosemead City Council Meeting Minutes of May 12, 2009 Page 3 of 18 Mayor Clark asked staff if this item was approved if the check could go directly to the IRS to pay for the penalties. Interim City Manager Stewart clarified that the fees that were owed to the IRS for only for penalties. Mayor Pro Tem Taylor stated he was a bit confused because if this was a non-profit organization they did not pay taxes and the penalties were strictly because they had not filed on time. Mr. Taylor stated he was in favor of helping the organization but was not clear on what the actual amount owed was to the IRS and needed clarification on what the tax was for. Interim City Attorney offered a couple options, one to continue the item and have staff bring it back with more information with responses to the City Council's questions or if Council wanted to expedite the matter; they can approve a not to exceed amount and delegate to the City Manager to determine what the best way is to pay those penalties. Mayor Pro Tem Taylor stated he was in favor of the first option. Council Member Steven Ly made a motion, seconded by Mayor Pro Tern Taylor, to direct staff to work with RYA's board and their accountant to figure out where they are with their tax situation and have staff report back to Council on the next meeting. Vote resulted in: Yes: Armenta, Clark, Low, Ly, Taylor No: None Abstain: None Absent: None 2. PUBLIC COMMENT FROM THE AUDIENCE Pat Trujillo - asked Council how to get the traffic on her street down to regular residential traffic. Stated that during the week around 2 p.m. the AT&T trucks start driving by and are very noisy; the streets are getting really torn up, there are pot holes, and there is an accident there every 90 days. Suggested that maybe posting be put up for trucks or speed bumps. Juan Nunez - asked if the city had cancel the procedure of assessing a fee for having to send out the Sheriff to a home if they were having a party and playing loud music. He added that on May 2nd there were lots of parties on Del Mar and he had to call the Sheriff's department five times. Phyllis Tury - asked for an update on the Cal Poultry business. Mayor Pro Tem Taylor stated that there was a closed session item scheduled for later on tonight and other than that there was no other new information available. Rosemead City Council Meeting Minutes of May 12, 2009 Page 4 of 18 3. PUBLIC HEARING A. Public Hearing on the Fiscal Year 2009-10 Annual Action Plan A public hearing is being held tonight and approval of the City's Annual Action Plan for the period of July 1, 2009 - June 30, 2010. An Annual Action Plan is required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in order for the City to receive federal funds under the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME Investment Partnership (HOME) programs. The Annual Action Plan includes the proposed activities, resources and expenditures for the CDBG and HOME programs. A list of staff-endorsed projects has been developed based on the funding requests and ongoing CDBG and HOME funded activities. These recommendations are consistent with the housing and community development priorities that the City has set and followed in the past. In addition, all the proposed projects meet the CDBG and HOME eligibility requirements. Recommendation: That the City Council: Conduct a public hearing and take public testimony on the Annual Action Plan covering the period of July 1, 2009 - June 30, 2010; 2. Approve the CDBG and HOME funding recommendations, authorize the submittal of the City's FY 2009-10 Annual Action Plan to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Department; 3. Authorize the Interim City Manager to execute all appropriate and necessary documents to receive funding and implement approved use; and 4. Award the following pubic services agencies with CDBG funds and authorize the Interim City Manager to execute service agreements: • Family Counseling Services - $40,000 • Morrison Health Care (Senior Nutrition Provider) - $76,808 • People for People - $27,600 • Rosemead School District - $11,698 • Rosemead High School - $13,650 • The Southern California Housing Rights Center - $25,000 5. Award $27,560 (5%) of HOME funds to the Rio Hondo Community Development Commission to defray certain cost for the operation as the City's Community Housing Development Organization (CHDO) and authorized the Interim City Manager to execute Operating Expense Agreement. Rosemead Cite Council Meeting Minutes of May 12, 2009 Page 5 of 18 Economic Development Administrator Michelle Ramirez reviewed the staff report. Council Member Low asked if the city had some sort of plan to address certain potential impediments, such as, disability discrimination and health and complaints from Asian community. Mrs. Ramirez explained that as part of the five year plan, the consultants are required to do an analysis on what the potential impediments could be; however they were not saying these were actual impediments. If such possible impediments arise then there are two Housing Rights seminars a year, one for the tenants and one for the owners, to inform them of the Housing Rights Law. Also there is a Housing Rights 24 hour hotline of which the city receives monthly reports. Council Member Armenta stated she had attended one of the seminars and she found it very informative. The Mayor opened the Public Hearing at 7:55 p.m,; there being no public comment requests the Public Hearing was closed at 7:55 p.m. Council Member Polly Low made a motion, seconded by Council Member Steven Ly, to approve staff's recommendations. Vote resulted in: Yes: Armenta, Clark, Low, Ly, Taylor No: None Abstain: None Absent: None 4. CONSENT CALENDAR B. Resolution No. 2009-22 Claims and Demands Recommendation: Adopt Resolution No. 2009-22, for payment of City expenditures in the amount of $1,227,983.54 numbered 100290 through 100327 and 65909 through 66073. C. Release of Bond - Tract Map 61005 (3313 Del Mar Avenue) A Faithful Performance Bond and a Labor and Material Bond were required to guarantee construction of new curb and gutter, sidewalk, driveways, parkway drains, sewer line, water line, and survey monuments for Tract Map 61005. A Bond was issued to the City in the amount of $64,800. Recommendation: That the City Council accept the public improvements and release the Bond. Rosemead Cite Council Meeting Minutes of May 12, 2009 Page 6 of 18 D. Release of Bond - Parcel Map 62444 (3843 Delta Avenue) A Faithful Performance Bond and a Labor and Material Bond were required to guarantee construction of sewer laterals and installation of survey monuments for Parcel Map 62444. In lieu of bonds, a Cash Deposit was issued to the City in the amount of $12,600. Recommendation: That the City Council accept the public improvements and survey monuments and refund the Cash Deposit including interest. E. Release of Certificate of Deposit - Parcel Map 62018 (4214-4220 Barlett Avenue) A Faithful Performance Bond and a Labor and Material Bond were required to guarantee construction of sewer laterals, driveways, sidewalk, a parkway drain, and a parkway tree for Parcel Map 62018. In lieu of bonds, a Certificate of Deposit was issued to the City in the amount of $14,550. Recommendation: That the City Council accept the public improvements and survey monuments and authorize the release of the Certificate of Deposit including interest. Release of Certificate of Deposit - Parcel Map 65274 (8958 Whitmore Avenue) A Faithful Performance Bond and a Labor and Material Bond were required to guarantee construction of new curb and gutter, sidewalk, driveways, parkway drains, sewer laterals, plan a parkway tree, and install survey monuments for Parcel Map 65274. In lieu of bonds, a Certificate of Deposit was issued to the City in the amount of $14,550. Recommendation: That the City Council accept the public improvements and survey monuments and authorize the release of the Certificate of Deposit including interest. H. Sewer System Management Plan (SSMP) - Contract Award In accordance with the State Water Resources Control Board's (SWRCB) Order No. 2006-0003-DWO, public agencies are required to develop and implement a Sewer System Management Plan (SSMP). The mandate includes the requirement to properly manage, operate and maintain all parts of the City's local sanitary sewer system, including the mitigation of any potential sewer overflows. Recommendation: That the City Council approve an agreement with Kimley-Horn & Associates, Inc. to develop the City's Sewer System Management Plan (SSMP) and authorize the City Manager to execute the contract. Rosemead City Council Meeting Minutes of May 12, 2009 Page 7 of 18 Annual 2008-09 Slurry Seal Project - Contract Award As part of the City's Fiscal Year 2008-09 Capital Improvement Program, the City Council approved a program entitled, `Targeted Public Works Projects", which consists of public improvements to the City's local streets and public right-of-way areas. This project will help extend the life of local streets and improve community aesthetics. This project is funded through the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, which requires that funds be spent on specific project types and in specific target areas. This proposed project meets CDBG requirements. Recommendation: That the City Council: Authorize the City Manager to enter into a contract with American Asphalt South, Inc. for the Annual 2008.09 Slurry Seal Project in the amount of. $140,063.50. 2. Establish an amount of 15% of the contract amount ($21,000), as a contingency, to cover the potential cost of unforeseen site conditions. Council Member Steven Ly made a motion, seconded by Council Member Polly Low, to approve staff the Consent Calendar with the exception of Items A, G, and J. Vote resulted in: Yes: Armenta, Clark, Low, Ly, Taylor No: None Abstain: None Absent: None A. Minutes February 10, 2009 - Regular Meeting Council Member Polly Low stated that she had listened to the tapes of that meeting and did not hear the names mentioned as stated on page 3 and asked that the two paragraphs that included Mr. Flournoy's comments needed to be moved further down on that page. Council Member Polly Low made a motion, seconded by Council Member Sandra Armenta, to approve Minutes of February 10, 2009. Vote resulted in: Yes: Armenta, Clark, Low, Ly No: None Abstain: Taylor Absent: None Mayor Pro Tem Gary Taylorstated he had abstained from voting on the Minutes because he had not attended this meeting. Rosemead City Council Meeting Minutes ofA9ay 12, 2009 Page 8 of 18 A. Minutes March 10, 2009 - Regular Meeting Mayor Pro Tem Taylor referred to page 3 of those minutes where Mr. Jarrett Lewin made a comment regarding a letter sent by Mr. Taylor in which he spoke of Mr. Henry Lo's association with the Gay and Lesbian Association. Mr. Taylor gave a copy of the webpage blog to Brian Lewin since his father had not since attended another Council meeting. Mr. Taylor wanted the record to show that he had provided clarification and a copy of the document referred on page 3 of the March 10, 2009 regular meeting. Mayor Pro Tern Gary Taylor made a motion, seconded by Council Member Sandra Armenta, to approve Minutes of February 10, 2009. Vote resulted in: Yes: Armenta, Clark, Low, Ly, Taylor No: None Abstain: None Absent: None Mayor Clark stated for clarification that she did not do.any fundraising for Proposition 9 nor did she use Henry Lo's sexual orientation in any of her conversations. (I reviewed tape and this comment was made) G. School Resource Officer Program Funding The City currently contracts with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department for a Special Assignment Deputy that is assigned to Rosemead High School as a School Resource Officer (SRO). The El Monte Union High School District currently shares half the cost of the SRO with the City, however, the agreement must be renewed by both the City and the School District. City staff will include the necessary funding in the 2009-10 Budget to cover the City's portion of the agreement. Recommendation: That the City Council approve the agreement with the El Monte Union High School District for assistance in funding the SRO program. Mayor Pro Tem Taylor asked that this item be removed and asked for clarification. Assistant City Manager Hawkesworth stated that under this agreement the District would pay the city $85,504.65. Mayor Pro Tem Taylor asked if that was the full cost or if the city was participating in that cost. Mr. Hawkesworh stated no; the district was paying 50% of 1815 hours. Rosemead City Council Meeting Minutes ofMay 12, 2009 Page 9 of 18 Mayor Pro Tem Taylor asked who was paying the other $85,000. Mr. Hawkesworth responded that the city was paying it as part of the current sheriff department's contract. Mayor Pro Tem Taylor stated that he thought the city had a deputy who helped out with all the schools. Director of Public Safety Don Anderson responded that this position was solely for Rosemead High School and that there was another position that helped with all the other schools. Council Member Steven Ly made a motion, seconded by Mayor Margaret Clark, to approve the agreement with the El Monte Union High School District for assistance in funding the SRO program. Vote resulted in: Yes: Armenia, Clark, Low, Ly No: None Abstain: Taylor Absent: None Mayor Pro Tem Gary Taylor stated he would like to receive a report back from the school district on the number of deputies they have for each school and how their cost is split. Gary Metz - asked if the school had secondary security besides the deputy they have in campus; he stated he had seen 3 to 4 guys walking around the schools. J. Del Mar Avenue Resurfacing Project - Contract Award As part of the City's Fiscal Year 2008-09 Capital Improvement Program, the City Council approved a program entitled, "Del Mar Avenue Resurfacing", which consists of asphalt concrete overlay, sidewalk repairs, traffic striping, signage installation, curb ramps construction, traffic signal upgrades and appurtenances. The limits of this project are from Garvey Avenue to Highcliff Street. Proposition C funds were allocated for this program. Recommendation: That the City Council: Authorize the City Manager to enter into a contract with Silvia Construction, Inc., for the Del Mar Resurfacing Project for the base bid amount of $254,563.40. 2. Establish an amount of 15% of the contract amount ($38,200), as a contingency, to cover the potential cost of unforeseen site conditions. Juan Nunez - stated he had spoken on this item before and he had obtained 15 signatures from his neighbors stating they did not want trees. Rosemead City Council Meeting Minutes ofMay 12, 2009 Page 10 of 18 Council Member Polly Low made a motion, seconded by Council Member Sandra Armenta, to approve staff's recommendations. Vote resulted in: Yes: Armenta, Clark, Low, Ly, Taylor No: None Abstain: None Absent: None 5. MATTERS FROM CITY MANAGER & STAFF A. Quarterly Interim Financial Update for the Quarter Ended March 31, 2009 The City of Rosemead Quarterly Financial Update for the Quarter Ended March 31, 2009 has been included for City Council review. Also, the Quarterly Financial Update is the treasurer's report of cash balances for the Quarter ended March 31, 2009. The treasurer's report of cash and investment balances is being presented to City Council for the first time. Recommendation: That the City Council receive and file the update report and the Treasurer's Report. Interim City Manager Jeff Stewart reviewed the staff report and asked that the report be received and filed. The update report and Treasurer's Reports were received and (fled. B. Del Mar Avenue Tree Planting Project As part of the City's Fiscal Year 2008-09 Capital Improvement Program, the City Council approved a project entitled, "Del Mar Avenue Resurfacing". The limits of the project are from Garvey Avenue to Highcliff Street. Tree planting in parkway areas on Del Mar was included to contribute to the overall efforts of beautification and urban forestation in the City. In an effort to attract the most economical bid for the tree planting portion of the project, which requires a different contractual trade than the regular resurfacing work, the project was split into two contracts: One for the tree planting work and the second for the resurfacing-related work. Subsequent to an informal competitive bid, a contract with CLS Landscape was approved by the City Manager in the amount of $21,274.55. Excavation of tree well locations including concrete cutting and concrete removal began on April 22, 2009. All cutout locations have since been backfilled with dirt to minimize potential safety concerns. Since then, work has stopped pending further direction from the City Council. Rosemead City Council Meeting Minutes of May 12, 2009 Page I1 of 18 Recommendation: That the City Council direct staff to: 1. Meet with residents along Del Mar Avenue to discuss the tree planting project and the 3 tree species recommended for planting; 2. Survey Del Mar Avenue residents and determine if there is a desire to move forward with tree planting; 3. Present the results of the neighborhood surveys to the City Council at its next meeting, and make a final staff recommendation. Juan Nunez - stated he had spoken against those trees before and stated he had obtained 15 signatures of neighbors that were also against the project. Asked if there would be more meetings regarding this project. Council Member Low asked City Manager Stewart if the city usually obtained surveys from the neighborhoods prior to planting trees. Mr. Stewart responded that there are three approved species of trees that are in the current policy and usually the residents are asked what three they prefer. Staff is recommending that the same policy be followed. Mayor Clark clarified that this was not put on the agenda before because it was approved by the previous city manager without council's approval. She added that this was a good project but the city needed to reach out to the residents Council Member Polly Low made a motion, seconded by Council Member Steven Ly, to approve staff's recommendations. Vote resulted in: Yes: Armenia, Clark, Low, Ly, Taylor No: None Abstain: None Absent: None 6. MATTERS FROM MAYOR & CITY COUNCIL A. Interim City Financial Summary Council Member Ly has requested a brief overview of the City's finances. This staff report focuses on fund balances and its relation to cash and investments of the General Fund. A Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2008 is available upon request and provides a much more detailed presentation than this report; it also includes the independent auditor's opinion. For fiscal year 2007-2008 the City received an unqualified opinion from its independent auditor, Mayer Hoffman McCann P.C. Rosemead City Council Meeting Minutes of May 12, 2009 Page 12 of 18 As stated previously, this report will concentrate on the General Fund, the City's principal operating fund. The City also has 13 special revenue funds, including an equipment replacement fund and a technology replacement fund. Special revenue funds are legally restricted as to their use. Except for approving specific qualified uses of special revenue funds, City Council has fairly limited discretion as to how these funds can be used and will not be discussed in this report. There is also one capital projects fund which is used to account for capital improvements projects which are approved by the City Council on a project by project basis, they will also be exempted from discussion in this report. As of March 31, 2009 all City funds have total cash and investments of $22.3 million. Out of the $22.3 million the General Fund's portion is $15.2 million. Recommendation: That the City Council receive and file this report. Council Member Steven Ly stated the information provided to Council was sufficient and no additional information was needed at this time. C. Request for the City to Participate in the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life Event A committee consisting of Rosemead community members, in partnership with the American Cancer Society, is coordinating Relay for Life at Rosemead High School. The event is scheduled for Saturday, June 20 through Sunday, June 21 from 9 a.m. to 9 a.m. (24 hours). Council Member Armenta has requested that the City of Rosemead participate in this year's event. Based on input and requests from members of the Relay for Life Committee, staff has looked into the costs associated with providing the Relay for Life event with equipment such as the use of the City's large stage, canopies, and booths. The cost for providing the equipment is approximately $720, and is a result of staff overtime that is necessary so that Public Services Department team members can deliver, set-up, tear-down, and retrieve the equipment. Recommendation: That the City Council authorize the donation of up to $1,000 in staff time/service to assist with the Relay for Life. Council Member Armenta asked if staff knew how many people had signed up to be in the City's team and would be participating in this event. Public Affairs Manager Flores stated it was 7 people that had signed up and also reviewed the staff report and offered more information on the event. Council Member Ly stated that having a father who passed away from Cancer, he was very much in favor of the participation of the city in the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life event. Rosemead City Council Meeting Minutes ofMay 12, 2009 Page 13 of 18 Council Member Armenta stated it that it was appropriate to have a team to participate in this event since it would be held at Rosemead High School and also encourage the public to sign up and help raise funds for the event. Mayor Margaret Clark made a motion, seconded by Council Member Steven Ly, to authorize the donation of up to $1,000 in staff time/service to assist with the Relay for Life. Vote resulted in: Yes: Armenta, Clark, Low, Ly, Taylor No: None Abstain: None Absent: None D. Request Regarding Cinco de Mayo and Lunar New Year Events At the City Council Meeting of April 28, Council Member Polly Low requested that staff research the possibility of developing special events in celebration of Cinco de Mayo and the Lunar (Chinese) New Year. For many years, the City celebrated Cinco de Mayo at Garvey Park. The full-day festival featured activities for all ages including music, dancing, and a variety of other live entertainment, games, attractions, and food. The event was eventually discontinued due to steadily declining attendance. The event cost approximately $7,500 (for entertainment, equipment, and supplies) in addition to staff. It was last held in 2005. Seniors in Rosemead, however, still celebrate Cinco de Mayo. Approximately 300 seniors attended this year's event at the Rosemead Community Recreation Center on Tuesday, May 5. It featured live music, dancing, and refreshments. Further, Radio station Que Buena (FM 105.5) continues to host an annual event at Whittier Narrows Regional Park which features a full-scale carnival, popular bands, dancing, and community organizations. According to the San Gabriel Valley Tribune, approximately 100,000 people attended this year's festival the weekend of May 3. This and similar fetes may have contributed to the waning interest in Rosemead's event. In 2006, the Cinco de Mayo commemoration was replaced by an International Fair at Rosemead Park. It featured multi-cultural entertainment, food, and game booths, and was held in October. It was not well attended, and was replaced by Rosemead's first-ever Oktoberfest in 2007.Oktoberfest features adult and youth stage entertainment, children's carnival, and 100 community and business booths selling food, crafts, and miscellany. Thousands attend the event, which significantly increased attendance at our annual Haunted House at Rosemead Pool as well. Oktoberfest has also served as a vehicle for fundraising in support of historic Savannah Cemetery. Rosemead City Council Meeting Minutes ofMay 12, 2009 Page 14 of 18 Rosemead seniors have celebrated Chinese New Year at Garvey Center for a number of years. The dinner, dancing, entertainment, and raffles draw 250 seniors to the annual event. As with most of our senior celebrations, the event quickly sells out. There have been no other City-sponsored efforts to celebrate the Lunar New Year. Locally, the City of Monterey Park's Business Improvement District Advisory Committee hosts a 2-day Chinese/Lunar New Year celebration. The event, in its eleventh year, is free to the public. It is located on Garvey Avenue-less than 1 mile from Rosemead's western border at Garvey and New. The 2009 festival featured a "Kids Zone," carnival rides, "Cultural Zone," dumpling cook-off, talent/Karaoke contest, live entertainment featuring traditional performances, and 120 community organization, vendor, and business booths. The event is supported by more than 100 sponsors, and was attended by approximately 70,000 regional residents. It is coordinated with the assistance of a specialized professional event producer and costs in excess of $100,000 (including $20,000 in BIDAC funding, sponsorships, and booth sales and other event revenues). The event is financially self-sustaining. Similar festivals are also held in Alhambra, Los Angeles, and Rowland Heights. Given the brief window for such celebrations, these could limit Rosemead's access to vendors, entertainment, and participants. While we have yet to host a city-wide Lunar New Year celebration, the Parks and Recreation Department can develop a smaller scale event that is distinctly Rosemead. It would include traditional entertainment, games, attractions, and food and Rosemead Park would serve as the venue. Recommendation: That the City Council vote against the development of a Cinco de Mayo event due to demonstrated community disinterest, but vote for the creation of a special event in celebration of the Lunar New Year as one has never been hosted in Rosemead. Wendy Chanp - stated that she was very happy to see that council would be sponsoring these events. Explained that this would be a good activity to help other people understand other people's culture. She thought that the city might not have to incur large expenses if they rented booths during these events. Also, stated that these events would increase business in the city. Charlene Lung - stated she was also in favor of this item. Council Member Low asked that the Cinco de Mayo event and the Lunar New Year event be discussed separately. Mayor Clark agreed to discuss the two events separately. Council Member Low stated the city had a large population of the Asian community and she thought bringing the Lunar New Year event to the city would help awareness and help the local businesses in the city. Rosemead City Council Meeting Minutes ofMay 12, 2009 Page 15 of 18 Council Member Polly Low made a motion, seconded by Council Member Steven Ly, to move forward with the Lunar New Year event. Vote resulted in: Yes: Armenta, Clark, Low, Ly No: None Abstain: Taylor Absent: None Mayor Pro Tern Taylor stated he had abstained because he wasn't sure what staff was going to provide when this event was planned. Interim City Manager Stewart explained that the city would create the event at a much less scale and have it at Rosemead park; furthermore, staff would put a report together for Council and bring it back for further Council action. Council Member Low stated she would now like to discuss the Cinco de Mayo event. Added that the city also had a large population of a Hispanic community and would like to have residents come out and participate in this event; however, she noted that on staff recommendation, this event in the past has not been very well attended. Mayor Pro Tem Taylor stated he wanted more information on this because if the city had this event before and the public did not participate then he was not in favor of it. Parks and Recreation Director Montgomery-Scott stated that his understanding was that the last event was held in 2005 and in 2006 this event transition to the International Festival and in 2007 it was Oktoberfest. Mr. Stewart suggested that if Council wanted more information on this item it could also be included when the staff report for the Lunar New Year was brought back to Council. Council Member Armenta stated that in the end of the 90's the city hosted this event and it was successful. Asked that she would like to know when and why the transition happened. Council Member Polly Low made a motion, seconded by Council Member Sandra Armenta, to direct staff to bring back information on the Lunar New Year and also including information on the Cinco de Mayo event with the potential of bringing it back in 90 days. Vote resulted in: Yes: Armenta, Clark, Low, Ly, Taylor No: None Abstain: None Absent: None Rosemead City Council Meeting Minutes of May 12, 2009 Page 16 of 18 E. Consideration of Contract for City Manager/Interim City Manager Services The City Council is scheduled to conduct interviews in closed session with candidates for the position of Interim City Manager on May 9, 2009. The identity of the person selected to serve as Interim City Manager or City Manager, if any, will not be known until after the completion of the interview process. If the City Council selects a candidate, and if the Council is able to agree to terms on an interim employment agreement with a candidate (other than compensation, which must be discussed in open session), the item will be considered formally by the City Council on May 12, 2009. If an Interim City Manager Services Agreement is prepared for consideration on the May 12, 2009 City Council agenda, a copy will be made available to the public at the same time it is available to the City Council. Interim City Attorney stated that on Saturday the City Council had conducted interviews for the position of City Manager and had at the direction of the Council he believed he had negotiated a mutual acceptable city manger contract for Mr. Jeffry Allred. A copy of the contract is available in the City Clerk's office for anyone who would like to review it. The relevant terms are: start date will be June 15, 2009, the starting compensation will be $175,000, the benefits will be the same as received by other executive management team, and in the event of the city's termination for no cause the severance will be 6 months with an escalating one month per year, not to exceed 9 months. Council Member Ly asked for clarification for the purpose of the audience how much the previous city manager earned. Mr. Montes responded $178,000 and had some additional in lieu of benefits that included an additional 10%. Council Member Ly reiterated the terms of severance pay for Mr. Allred and asked the city attorney to state how many months of severance the previous city manager had under his contract. Mr. Montes replied that it had started at 6 to 8 months but with time had escalated to 18 months of severance. Council Member Steven Ly made a motion, seconded by Council Member Sandra Armenta, to approve the City Manager's contract for Mr. Jeffry Allred, Vote resulted in: Yes: Armenta, Clark, Low, Ly No: Taylor Abstain: None Absent: None Mayor Clark introduced Mr. Allred to the audience and stated Council was very pleased to have him in the City. Rosemead City Council Meeting Minutes of May 12, 2009 Page 17 of 18 Mayor Clark announced that council would now be recessing to closed session at 8:42 p.m. Council MemberArmenta stated she would only be attending the closed session on Item 1 but would recuse herself on item 2 of the closed session. 7. CLOSED SESSION A. Conference with Legal Counsel --Existing Litigation Government Code 54956.9 (a): 1) Randy Hato et. at v. City of Rosemead 2) Tran v. Armenia, Molleda, Logan (the County Registrar of Voters) and the City of Rosemead B. Conference with Legal Counsel--Anticipated Litigation Initiation of litigation pursuant to Government Code 54956.9(c)--1 matter. Council reconvened from Closed Session at 9:47 p.m. City Attorney Montes stated the only thing to report was that Council voted unanimously to transfer the Haro v. Rosemead case from the Garcia firm to Burke, Williams & Sorenson. 8. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 9:48 p.m. The next regular City Council meeting is scheduled to take place on May 26, 2009 at 7:00 p.m. Margaret rk Mayor AlI ST: Gloria Molleda, City Clerk Rosemead City Council Meeting Minutes of May 12, 2009 Page 18 of 18 STATE OF CALIFORNIA ) COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES ) SS. CITY OF ROSEMEAD ) I, Gloria Molleda, City Clerk of the City of Rosemead, do hereby certify that the minutes from May 12, 2009, were duly and regularly approved and adopted by the Rosemead City Council on the 28`h of July 2009, by the following vote to wit: Yes: Armenta, Clark, Low, Ly, Taylor No: Taylor Abstain: None Absent: None loria Molleda ,City Clerk