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CC - 08-08-89• APPROVED MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING CITY OF ROSEMEAD ROSEMEAD CITY COUNCIL ISATE AUGUST 8, 1989 nv The Regular Meeting of the Rosemead City Council was called to order by Mayor McDonald at 8:18 p.m. in the Council Chambers of City Hall, 8838 E. Valley Boulevard, Rosemead, California. The Pledge to the Flag was led by Councilman Bruesch. The Invocation was delivered by Pastor Wilfred Su of the First Evangelical San Gabriel Valley Church. ROLL CALL OF OFFICERS: Present: Councilmen Bruesch, DeCocker, Taylor, Mayor Pro Tem Imperial, and Mayor McDonald Absent: None APPROVAL OF MINUTES: JULY 25, 1989 - REGULAR MEETING MOTION BY COUNCILMAN TAYLOR, SECOND BY COUNCILMAN BRUESCH that the Minutes of the Regular Meeting of July 25, 1989, be approved as submitted. Vote resulted: Yes: DeCocker, Taylor, McDonald, Bruesch, Imperial No: None Absent: None Abstain: None The Mayor declared said motion duly carried and so ordered. Mayor McDonald thanked the Southern California Edison Company for allowing members of City staff to attend Edison's Big Creek Workshop and hydroelectric facility. I. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS A. Bill O'Connor, 4635 Fendyke Avenue, cited a problem with weeds on Valley Boulevard adjacent to Reliable Lumber and on Rosemead Boulevard at the railroad overpass. B. Holly Knapp, 8367 E. Whitmore Street, reported a burglary ring that is working the mobile home parks masquerading as a cleaning service and asked the Council to consider adjourning in the memory of Superintendent Roger Temple. Mayor McDonald requested that staff prepare flyers to warn residents of the burglary ring and to include it in the newsletter as well as posting a notice at the Community Center. Councilman Bruesch suggested that a permanent feature of the newsletter be a senior's corner to provide pertinent information. II. PUBLIC HEARINGS An explanation of the procedures for the conduct of public hearings was presented by the City Attorney. The City Clerk then administered the oath to all those persons wishing to address the Council on any public hearing item. A. A PUBLIC HEARING TO CONSIDER AN APPEAL OF A PLANNING COMMISSION DECISION REGARDING A REQUEST FROM LIN MAY CORPORATION FOR A CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT TO CONSTRUCT A 92-ROOM MOTEL AND FREESTANDING RESTAURANT AT 8930 E. MISSION DRIVE (CUP 89-446) Mayor McDonald stated that the applicant had requested that this public hearing be continued to the meeting of September 12, 1989. The Mayor opened the public hearing. CC 8-8-89 Page #1 0 Frank Forbes, 822 Victoria Drive, Arcadia, representing the applicant, stated their intention of beginning discussions with Caltrans for traffic reconfiguration and reiterated their request that this item be continued for thirty days. Fred Mascorro, 9303 Rose Street, was opposed to the project because motels tend to be used as permanent housing for low-income persons and could be dangerous for the school children. Joe Vasquez, President of the Rosemead School District Board, 3633 Marybeth Avenue, presented a School Board Resolution in opposition to this project, citing concerns with the safety of the children attending the two schools that are near the site. Holly Knapp, 8367 E. Whitmore Street, cited the problem with traffic and the proximity to schools as her objections to this project and stated the preference for a supermarket at that location. Terry Helie, 8929 E. Lawrence, lives adjacent to the site and stated that the building will be three-stories tall, blocking his view of the mountains. Mr. Helie also was concerned that the hotel/motel would affect traffic flow in the area. Luis Chavez, 8936 Lawrence, lives adjacent to the site and was concerned that his view will be affected by the erection of a three-story building. Councilman Bruesch requested the applicant to have current and complete information when this item is returned in thirty days. Mayor Pro Tem Imperial was concerned that there was not a need in Rosemead for another hotel/motel. There being no objection, this public hearing was continued to September 12, 1989 at 8:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers of the Rosemead City Hall, 8838 E. Valley Boulevard, Rosemead, CA 91770. At 8:55 p.m. the Council adjourned to a Closed Session to discuss a Sheriff's Department personnel matter and no action was taken. The meeting was reconvened at 9:35 p.m. III.LEGISLATIVE A. RESOLUTION NO. 89-42 - CLAIMS & DEMANDS The following resolution was presented to the council for adoption: RESOLUTION NO. 89-42 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ROSEMEAD ALLOWING CERTAIN CLAIMS AND DEMANDS IN THE SUM OF $534,560.50 NUMBERED 24979-25000 AND 25803 THROUGH 25943 MOTION BY MAYOR PRO TEM IMPERIAL, SECOND BY COUNCILMAN BRUESCH that Resolution No. 89-42 be adopted. Vote resulted: Yes: Decocker, Taylor, McDonald, Bruesch, Imperial No: None Absent: None Abstain: None The Mayor declared said motion duly carried and so ordered. B. ORDINANCE NO. 647 - APPROVING A CITY-INITIATED ZONE CHANGE FROM R-3 TO R-1 FOR PROPERTY LOCATED AT 8328 MISSION DRIVE, 4633-47 EARLE AVENUE, AND 4622-35 DELTA AVENUE (ZC 89-166) The following ordinance was presented to the council for adoption: CC 8-8-89 Page #2 L ORDINANCE NO. 647 • AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ROSEMEAD APPROVING A CHANGE OF ZONE FROM R-3 TO R-1 FOR PROPERTY LOCATED AT 8328-8420 MISSION DRIVE, 4633-4647 EARLE AVENUE AND 4622-4635 DELTA AVENUE MOTION BY COUNCILMAN BRUESCH, SECOND BY COUNCILMAN DeCOCKER that Ordinance No. 647 be adopted. Vote resulted: Yes: DeCocker, Taylor, McDonald, Bruesch, Imperial No: None Absent: None Abstain: None The Mayor declared said motion duly carried and so ordered. C. ORDINANCE NO. 648 - IMPOSING A 45-DAY MORATORIUM ON THE ISSUANCE OF NEW CONDITIONAL USE PERMITS FOR THE PURPOSE OF ON OR OFF-SITE ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE SALES - URGENCY The following ordinance was presented to the council for adoption: ORDINANCE NO. 648 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ROSEMEAD IMPOSING A 45-DAY MORATORIUM ON THE ISSUANCE OF NEW CONDITIONAL USE PERMITS FOR THE PURPOSE OF ON OR OFF-SALE ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE SALES AND DIRECTING THE PLANNING COMMISSION TO INITIATE A STUDY WITH RESPECT TO DEVELOPING APPROPRIATE ZONING REGULATIONS GOVERNING SUCH USES MOTION BY COUNCILMAN BRUESCH, SECOND BY COUNCILMAN DeCOCKER that ordinance No. 648 be adopted. Vote resulted: Yes: DeCocker, Taylor, McDonald, Bruesch, Imperial No: None Absent: None Abstain: None The Mayor declared said motion duly carried and so ordered. D. RESOLUTION NO. 89-43 - FOR THE TRANSFER OF NEWMARK AVENUE STORM DRAIN NO. 1258 TO LOS ANGELES COUNTY FOR MAINTENANCE PURPOSES The following resolution was presented to the Council for adoption: RESOLUTION NO. 89-43 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ROSEMEAD, CALIFORNIA, REQUESTING THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF THE LOS ANGELES COUNTY FLOOD CONTROL DISTRICT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA TO ACCEPT ON BEHALF OF SAID DISTRICT A TRANSFER AND CONVEYANCE OF STORM DRAIN IMPROVEMENTS KNOWN AS MISCELLANEOUS TRANSFER DRAIN NO. 1258 IN THE CITY OF ROSEMEAD FOR FUTURE OPERATION, MAINTENANCE, REPAIR AND IMPROVEMENT, AND AUTHORIZE THE TRANSFER AND CONVEYANCE THEREOF MOTION BY COUNCILMAN BRUESCH, SECOND BY COUNCILMAN DeCOCKER that Resolution No. 89-43 be adopted. Vote resulted: Yes: DeCocker, Taylor, McDonald, Bruesch, Imperial No: None Absent: None Abstain: None The Mayor declared said motion duly carried and so ordered. CC 8-8-89 Page #3 • _J E. RESOLUTION NO. 89-44 - AUTHORIZING A REWARD FOR INFORMATION LEADING TO THE IDENTITY, APPREHENSION AND CONVICTION OF ANY PERSON CAUSING GRAFFITI IN THE CITY OF ROSEMEAD The following resolution was presented to the council for adoption: RESOLUTION NO. 89-44 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ROSEMEAD AUTHORIZING A REWARD FOR INFORMATION LEADING TO THE IDENTITY, APPREHENSION AND CONVICTION OF ANY PERSON CAUSING GRAFFITI IN THE CITY OF ROSEMEAD MOTION BY COUNCILMAN BRUESCH, SECOND BY MAYOR PRO TEM IMPERIAL that Resolution No. 89-44 be adopted. Vote resulted: Yes: DeCocker, Taylor, McDonald, Bruesch, Imperial No: None Absent: None Abstain: None The Mayor declared said motion duly carried and so ordered. F. RESOLUTION NO. 89-45 - RELATING TO THE DENIAL OF AN APPEAL REGARDING A CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT FOR SEAFOOD CITY RESTAURANT Leroy and Cleo Young, 7533 E. Garvey Avenue, thanked the Council for its efforts. The following resolution was presented to the Council for adoption: RESOLUTION NO. 89-45 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ROSEMEAD APPROVING CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT 89-460 FOR THE ON-SITE SALE OF BEER AND WINE FOR PROPERTY LOCATED AT 7540 E. GARVEY AVENUE dba SEAFOOD CITY RESTAURANT MOTION BY COUNCILMAN DeCOCKER, SECOND BY COUNCILMAN TAYLOR that Resolution No. 89-45 be adopted. Vote resulted: Yes: DeCocker, Taylor, McDonald, Imperial No: Bruesch Absent: None Abstain: None The Mayor declared said motion duly carried and so ordered. Councilman Bruesch was opposed because of the proximity of alcohol sales to the schools. G. RESOLUTION NO. 89-46 - TO ALLOW REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY PAYMENT FOR STREET IMPROVEMENTS IN MELROSE AVENUE, ECKHART ALLEY, MUSCATEL AVENUE, AND ARTSON STREET The following resolution was presented to the council for adoption: RESOLUTION NO. 89-46 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ROSEMEAD MAKING CERTAIN FINDINGS AND DETERMINATIONS WITH RESPECT TO REDEVELOPMENT PAYMENT FOR STREET IMPROVEMENTS IN MELROSE AVENUE (JACKSON/WEST END), ECKHART ALLEY (WHITMORE/SHORT END), ARTSON STREET (CHARLOTTE/GAYDON) AND MUSCATEL AVENUE (GARVEY/KLINGERMAN) CC 8-8-89 Page #4 MOTION BY MAYOR PRO TEM IMPERIAL, SECOND BY COUNCILMAN BRUESCH that Resolution No. 89-46 be adopted. Vote resulted: Yes: DeCocker, McDonald, Bruesch, Imperial No: Taylor Absent: None Abstain: None The Chairman declared said motion duly carried and so ordered. Councilman Taylor stated his approval of the project for Muscatel Avenue only but that the other streets were too far out of the project area. H. RESOLUTION NO. 89-47 - TO ALLOW REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY PAYMENT FOR LANDSCAPING IN WALNUT GROVE AVENUE This item was deferred to the next regular meeting. I. RESOLUTION NO. 89-48 - TO ALLOW REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY PAYMENT FOR SEWER IMPROVEMENTS IN NEWMARK AVENUE RESOLUTION NO. 89-48 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ROSEMEAD MAKING CERTAIN FINDINGS AND DETERMINATIONS WITH RESPECT TO REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY PAYMENT FOR THE INSTALLATION OF THE NEWMARK AVENUE SEWER PROJECT MOTION BY COUNCILMAN TAYLOR, SECOND BY COUNCILMAN BRUESCH that Resolution No. 89-48 be adopted. Vote resulted: Yes: DeCocker, Taylor, No: None Absent: None Abstain: None McDonald, Bruesch, Imperial The Chairman declared said motion duly carried and so ordered. IV. CONSENT CALENDAR (ITEMS CC-G AND CC-J REMOVED FOR DISCUSSION) CC-A AUTHORIZATION TO ATTEND LEAGUE OF CALIFORNIA CITIES CONFERENCE IN SAN FRANCISCO, OCTOBER 22-25, 1989 CC-B AUTHORIZATION TO REJECT CLAIM FILED AGAINST THE CITY BY FRANK TREJO CC-C RENEWAL OF AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF ROSEMEAD AND THE COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES FOR LANDSCAPED MAINTENANCE SERVICES AT THE COUNTY LIBRARY CC-D AUTHORIZATION TO REJECT CLAIMS AGAINST THE CITY FILED BY TONY LIEM CHOI, TAI NGUYEN, CHRIS CHOI, CHRISTY CHOI, NHAT NGUYEN, AND NGA HOANG CHOI CC-E ACCEPTANCE OF STREET EASEMENTS - FERN AVENUE (FALLING LEAF/SAN GABRIEL), NEWMARK AVENUE (FALLING LEAF/PINE) AND CHARLOTTE AVENUE (GARVEY/SOUTH END) CC-F APPROVAL OF PARCEL MAP NO. 20126 - 8054 GARVEY AVENUE CC-H ACCEPTANCE OF WORK - STREET IMPROVEMENTS IN PROSPECT AVENUE (GARVEY/WHITMORE) CC-I AUTHORIZATION TO FUND ATTENDANCE OF SHERIFF'S DEPART REPRESENTATIVES AT 1989 CALIFORNIA SEXUAL ASSAULT INVESTIGATORS ASSOCIATION ANNUAL TRAINING SEMINAR IN SACRAMENTO - OCTOBER 4-6, 1989 MOTION BY COUNCILMAN TAYLOR, SECOND BY COUNCILMAN BRUESCH that the foregoing items on the Consent Calendar be approved. Vote resulted: Yes: DeCocker, Taylor, McDonald, Bruesch, Imperial No: None Absent: None Abstain: None CC 8-8-89 Page 45 CC-G MUTUAL RECISION OF AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF ROSEMEAD AND ROSEMEAD FOUNDATION, INC. AND APPROVAL OF AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF ROSEMEAD AND THE ROSEMEAD CHAMBER OF COMMERCE FOR THE CONSTRUCTION AND OPERATION OF A VISITORS' INFORMATION CENTER VERBATIM DIALOGUE FOLLOWS AT THE REQUEST OF COUNCILMAN TAYLOR. JUAN NUNEZ: 2702 Del Mar. Maybe I should let you discuss what you intend to do with this agreement or are you going to go through with it..... the agreement on the Chamber of Commerce or the.....? McDONALD: It's on the agenda for us to vote on, Juan. NUNEZ: Okay. I think that according to the ballot measure that we approved and voted on, people in the City of Rosemead, ordinance submitted to the voters that reads this amendment was unanimously approved by the Rosemead City Council. It's Ordinance No. 587, on July 8, 1986. It is submitted to the voters in compliance with Proposition 62 consisting of provisions proposed to be deleted or stricken or new provisions proposed to be inserted or added are printed in bold type to indicate they are new. And then the ordinance, the tax imposed for the privilege of occupancy of the motel and I won't go through all that but I'll go to Section 2 where it's the City of Rosemead and the Rosemead Building Trust Fund, an affiliate of the chamber of Commerce, agreed on terms and conditions regarding the construction and operation of Rosemead Visitor's Center, then the Finance officer shall earmark 25% of the total funds collected hereunder for such projects for a period of four years from the effective date hereof. The Ordinance shall become effective September 1, 1986. I believe it was for that time frame that we, the people, voted for that proposition to allow the Chamber of Commerce to have that money, whatever was collected, whether they thought that they would get, I believe that they thought they would get $450,000 or $500,000, that's irrelevant. The proposition was only whatever came out of it, 2%, for those four years. Now, you intend to.... well, it was discussed on May the 2nd I believe, that it may be extended and according to the new agreement, be extended for nine years. TAYLOR: Total of nine years. NUNEZ: Well, a total of nine years.from '86 to '95. I think that you Councilmen that voted on that or intend to vote for it, I think maybe you should button your britches and stick to an agreement. An agreement was made two and a half or three years ago to fund it for four years. Now, if that money isn't there, that shouldn't be your consideration and I believe the agreement was that if they didn't start construction by that time then the money would revert back to the City. BRUESCH: Mr. Nunez. May I remind you, I don't think I'll convince you of this point, but may I remind you that in the last seven years there has been about a seven fold increase of property values within the City of Rosemead which... especially in commercial land values ...and something like that was not foreseen back three, four years ago. NUNEZ: Well, I think that that sometimes is, you know like they say, hindsight is better than foresight and if we could all make agreements like that and come back and find out that we did not meet our goals in a certain time that we can come back and write up another agreement to satisfy our..... McDONALD: Mr. Nunez, the situation is that we're with the Chamber of Commerce developing an information center for the City of Rosemead, not for the Chamber of Commerce, for the City of Rosemead. City of Rosemead wants the information center to pass out information on the City of Rosemead like most cities do. So, as the City body here, what we would like to do is see the implementation of that visitors' program. The TOT (transient occupancy tax) was to help house also the Chamber of Commerce. So, we decided that we would certainly like to CC 8-8-89 Page #6 • o McDONALD CONTINUES: see an information center and it's going to be from here unto perpetuity, not for four years, not for nine years, but as long as this City is here, that information center's going to be there. Information on the City is going to be passed out. We're going to be part of the maintenance of that program and what we've done is made an agreement to work with the Chamber of Commerce to provide that and with the same monies. All we're doing ...we're not changing anything other than the extent that we had projected four years, now we're projecting nine years. NUNEZ: You say that for perpetuity, you're going to extend it to eternity whenever this agreement is over..... McDONALD: we're going to have to maintain our Visitor's Information Center (VIC) once we establish it. The monies we thought were going to be there in four years aren't there but we still intend to establish a VIC. NUNEZ: I think you're violating the trust of the people that voted for that.... McDONALD: I don't think you understand exactly what you voted for, then. NUNEZ: Well, according to the proposition... that's just what it reads. And the agreement that was made with the City, with the non-profit organization, was for four years. McDONALD: For the TOT tax. That money is going now into the General Fund. In four years they're going to have so much money. But we're going to take money out of the General Fund to maintain the VIC and also to help build it. It doesn't make any difference what it's called, money-wise, because we're going to use that money anyhow. NUNEZ: I believe in the meeting that you had on May the 2nd, I believe it was, there was a lot of talk being talked back and forth, between you, the Council and the Chamber and there was somebody referred to as a banker. The banker must have been a banker that was doing business for the Chamber or that the Chamber contacted for financial assistance or financial...... FRANK G. TRIPEPI, CITY MANAGER: Juan, wait a minute. If I might.... McDONALD: Hold it, just one second. Let the City Attorney explain the situation. ROBERT KRESS, CITY ATTORNEY: The voters had some explanation of how these funds were intended to be used but the voters actually voted to increase the TOT. The Council can use those funds, they're General Funds. The Council is free to enter into a contract with the Chamber of Commerce which is not subject to voter approval and that's what they're proposing to do. I reviewed all these documents and I do not see a problem with what is being done here. It's a policy question and not a legal question. TRIPEPI: Let me go one step ...what we have to try to establish is, and we may not be able to do that, and if not, then nothing is going to address your question ...you have to look at this as a City project in partnership with the Chamber. That's what it is. If we, if the Council budgeted $500,000 to do a street project and it came in at $650,000, they wouldn't say that since it's $500,000 we're not going to build it. It's for the community, we need it, we're going to build it. That's what they're saying in the case of this VIC. Now, if you don't agree, and that's certainly your prerogative, I'm not saying you have to, but you have to look at as a City it's not a Chamber project, it's a City project. It's something that assists the community in putting out the word to visitors what this community is all about. That's what it is. The City council has elected to support that project by however long it takes to get it constructed. In this case they feel that nine years is adequate. That's what it is. CC 8-8-89 Page #7 s o NUNEZ: It's a Chamber of Commerce project. Why doesn't the City build the building, purchase the property and rent it out to the Chamber instead of in ten years giving it title free to the Chamber, whoever may be in charge of the Chamber.-..I can understand..... TRIPEPI: It only stays with the Chamber as long as it's operated as a VIC which is in support of the City. That's what we wanted, the Council. NUNEZ: Why cannot the City, as I say, build a building or rent a building and lease it out to the Chamber of Commerce, minus the services that the City would be paying for that promotion, that the City would be getting..... McDONALD: We looked into several of the alternatives and we thought that was the best one.... BRUESCH: ....extend of how much does it cost for this additional service because it is an additional service that the Chamber will be giving to the City. It's not something that is normally done by Chambers of Commerce. When you look at brochures about cities that are sent out all the time, a lot of those come from city general funds. What we're saying now is that we're going to have the Chamber run this VIC for us. Yeah, we could contract with them and rent it out and have an agreement like that but this is a lot more straight forward and in the long run, I think it's going to be cheaper. NUNEZ: Well, I don't know. As I was referring to the remarks that the banker made. He wanted something concrete that he could set his hands on to be able to say here's so much money, loaned it out to you, you know, we're loaning out a mortgage, we're mortgaging you, we're mortgaging the City for this amount of money. Now, in your agreement it's only for nine years but that mortgage may last longer than that and there's no turning back. IMPERIAL: Mr. Nunez, you've been a friend of mine for a long time to this date when I tell you, you're wrong. I wasn't here the night of this meeting but I will tell you that we not only need the happy people in this City but we need a healthy business community and that's brought on by the help of the Chamber of Commerce and this City is going into a joint venture with them. I think if we want to pioneer against something, we should be looking at what they're doing to us in Sacramento, like Prop. 103, Prop. 13, the death penalty. I'll be glad to help you with those, Mr. Nunez, but I take offense to the fact that we even indicated that this might be tainted. I've said my piece and I think you know what I mean. McDONALD: Thank you very much, Mr. Nunez. I think we've given you the legal opinion. If you're against it, that's fine. I don't think we're going to convince you of it but we go with the legal analysis not the public your individual input and I think you brought up a good point.... NUNEZ: You may go with your legal advice but I'm going to sure work against any kind of tax proposal that comes in the future for the city because I cannot..... McDONALD: You don't pay this tax, do you? NUNEZ: No, I don't pay this tax but still I think that perhaps if the tax was less more people would come and use the motels in Rosemead. McDONALD: The tax was not going to ever lapse. It was still going to go into the General Fund. BRUESCH: It is presently at the low range. Other cities are charging 9-10-11%. McDONALD: We're the least in the Valley. Thank you very much for your input. CC 8-8-89 Page #8 U L TAYLOR: Mr. Mayor. I believe that this is a very critical issue and we had our discussion verbatim in the minutes for the last session, I'm going to ask that this be in here verbatim, also. I disagree with this project. I'm not against the Chamber. I support the Chamber in their concept of what a Chamber of Commerce does. The benefit that we're going to get out of this as a VIC, I'm going to put a ratio of 10% on it, 90% of it is going to be Chamber functions. At this time I'd like to make a request that the Council be given copies for the last year of the Board meetings for the Chamber of Commerce and I would like a current listing of paid up members of the Chamber of Commerce. Getting back to the main issue, as far as when this was voted on three years ago by the voters I did take and a politician has to take the flak. I don't mind it. i supported it at that time as a concept of helping to support the Chamber in a reasonable fashion. What happened now, this has exploded into a million dollar subsidy for a private concern. It's not a public entity. The Chamber of Commerce is formed by business people for business people, primarily. That's the first concept. They are not a public agency. And again, I'm not faulting the Chamber for what their business is, if they can come to a City Council and get a million dollars, that's the name of the game. If they can do it, that's fine. We've only subsidized one other business in this community of a thousand businesses and 45,000 people and that was the write-down, the subsidy for the K-Mart property in the redevelopment project. We bought it for something like a $1,600,000 and subsidized the costs, a write-down of over a million dollars. Now, the Chamber has a function and they do a good job as the Chamber. If you will go back over the past several years and review the budget appropriations for the Chamber of Commerce, we have appropriated the funds for them to supplement the City and give out information for residents, businesses, promoting the City of Rosemead. I think we're currently paying them something like $28,000 a year and that's what that money goes for but to buy property and a building for a private entity, I can't go along with that and I think the voters ...this is a fraud on what they voted for three years ago. As I stated, I am going to vote no on it and I don't criticize the chamber members as such; if it's there, they're going for it but it's the policy that we're voting on and I won't go for it. There is another solution to this. We're going to be building another community center and I'm going to assume or make the statement, it'll be somewhat like what we have across the street, here. That's going to be built in the near future, hopefully. And a question to Mr. Burbank, in regard to the operation of these centers and such, what is going to happen to Zapopan Center in your opinion, Mr. Burbank? The biggest complaints we've had about that center, Mr. Mayor, is that it's too small for a lot of the City functions for the senior citizens, whatever it may be. We're going to have a building down there that I think would be a good potential for the Chamber to use. The comment was made in those minutes that we had, that the people in the southern part of the City thought it was great when the Chamber was down there on Garvey Avenue. Zapopan, and I think it needs to be considered, is a much more ideal situation because it's centrally located right on San Gabriel and Garvey. And the majority of the businesses are in that area, number wise, on Garvey and San Gabriel Boulevard. I think we do have a viable alternative, rather than a write-down of almost a million dollars for one business. I'm not opposed to helping the Chamber but I'm not going to vote for a give-away of funds. That's all I have at this time. McDONALD: Okay, gentlemen. Do I have a motion? NUNEZ: Juan Nunez, 2702. I would like to ask the question, is there any councilmembers that belong to the Chamber of Commerce? McDONALD: Mr. DeCocker is a member. An associate member. Mr. DeCocker? He's asking if any councilmembers are members of the Chamber. Are you a member of the Chamber? DeCOCKER: Yes, sir. NUNEZ: Would a member be in conflict of interest, for voting? CC 8-8-89 Page #9 • o KRESS: No. Just as several members participate in the Boys Club and voted on that matter, school board matters, other matters, that is not a conflict of interest. TAYLOR: I think it becomes a monetary interest, Mr. Nunez. If they were to gain from it then there's a conflict but they're just on a membership or advisory. IMPERIAL: This is the reason, Mr. Nunez, I resigned from the Board of the Boys Club because at that time there were three members from the Council which constitutes a majority of the Council and I didn't think it was healthy even though there was no problem, I resigned. DeCOCKER: Juan, I was a member of the Chamber before I was elected. TAYLOR: Mr. Mayor. Question to my fellow councilmembers. What is the Council's reaction to using Zapopan for a Chamber building? IMPERIAL: Mr. Mayor. I love it. TAYLOR: I think it's a viable solution rather than an outright turnover of another million dollars in tax money. IMPERIAL: In fact, Mr. Mayor, I would like to suggest that we take that into consideration; build that center over there as soon as possible; and go a little further with that. I'd like to go four stories on that center on Garvey and put three stories senior citizen housing for the people in the trailer courts. The people that need it. I would like to propose we look at that new center on Garvey as not only a bigger center than what we've got right here but the second, third, and fourth floor be senior citizen housing for the people in the trailer courts that are handicapped and senior citizens. I think we can come up with a viable plan to get it done. BRUESCH: Point of information, Mr. Mayor, directed to our staff. By voting on this tonight we're not saying that that money must be used on the VIC because if it isn't it reverts back to the City, correct? KRESS: Getting those funds if in the circumstances contained in the agreement, just as you have before. BRUESCH: The point I made was that in the language of the resolution it says that should that money not be used in x number of years it will revert back to the..... I want the public to know that so that if the idea of using Zapopan as our VIC/Chamber headquarters were a viable solution and acceptable to the Chamber that money would go directly back into the General Fund, would it not? KRESS: If that provision were made and agreed to there would another agreement or an amendment to this agreement that everyone would agree to and that would be the... some funds perhaps would flow for the operation of that building but the physical building would be available for the Chamber's use. IMPERIAL: As I get the drift from Mr. Taylor, we're talking about a city-owned building, we lease it for a dollar a year maybe to the Chamber of Commerce to take care of their needs. Is that correct, Mr. Taylor? TAYLOR: Mr. Imperial, I think it's a much more viable solution to get a better use out of that building than the complaints that we have ,received over the past years as being a second-rate community building. IMPERIAL: I think it's a very good idea. McDONALD: Mr. Taylor, would you make a motion to the effect that we give the Zapopan Center to the Chamber of commerce when we complete our Community Center? CC 8-8-89 Page 410 TAYLOR: Mr. Mayor. Make it available at a reasonable rate and by reasonable rate it can be a tokenism. Again, a granting of a special concession to one business out of a thousand in the City the Chamber should not be exempt of any operating costs of a normal business. The Chamber..... McDONALD: We're talking about including our VIC. TAYLOR: We've already got that, Mr. Mayor. The Chamber's obligation with the money.... McDONALD: The people have voted $400,000, also. TAYLOR: That's right. Because that's the emphathetic way of getting the people involved saying gee, it's going to be our VIC. You can only do so much for a VIC. We are a fully developed City. We're not going to be promoting land deals and speculations. When they come in the people normally go a City government to find out about the City. Anytime I go into a City for information, general plan, business opportunities, I go to the City. If I'm in there for business, I'll go to the Chamber of Commerce. They're two separate entities. But since we're giving the Chamber twenty something thousand dollars, they have agreed to provide information for visitors, residents, citizens, we're already doing that. Now we're going to supplement it to almost a million dollars, as far as this project goes but it's still not clear how much annual operating money we're going to give them. IMPERIAL: Is that a motion, Gary, then that you are saying when our new center is built, the Chamber, that building will be leased to the Chamber for a token, we'll say a dollar a year, to meet their needs for as long as they need it? TAYLOR: I think we need to discuss the fee, and I'm not talking about a $1,000 or $2,000, a reasonable fee. Again, a dollar is too much of, a tokenism as far as the other thousand businesses in this City are concerned. IMPERIAL: What's your motion, Mr. Taylor? TAYLOR: I would make the motion that the agreement that we have before us tonight and again... I'm going to ask that this be brought back to the next meeting because what we have in this agreement tonight we need to iron out what kind of assistance we're going to give the Chamber. Are we going to continue the current agreement we have for the four years. I think we're on the same wavelength of getting a solution but what are we going to do with our current contract? BRUESCH: Mr. Mayor. Mr. Taylor, that was one of the questions I asked in the conversation that we had with the Chamber and I think it was..... to my idea it was agreed to that operating the VIC was an added service to the City, which it is. TAYLOR: It's not an added service, Mr. Bruesch. Go back in your annual budget packet; you will be given a proposal by the Chamber of Commerce, what they're going to provide for the City of Rosemead. For years that's been listed that they will supply information to the public and that includes visitor information. What function would a VIC have ...the comment was made that business people want to meet and they want to have a meeting hall as such, that is in Zapopan already. BRUESCH: What I'm getting at is that I think the gist of the conversation that we had that night was that operating expenses would be a line item budget entry, you know, what they needed would be presented to us in our budget session. It would not be a fait accompli each time that we give x number of dollars. I think that we kind of agreed to that. I would like to say that that building is located on a major arterial. However, the interior may not meet the needs of the services that the Chamber is going to give and it will need some renovation so, I would go along with allowing the Chamber to have that building for a nominal fee, whatever is agreed to, along CC 8-8-89 Page #11 • • BRUESCH CONTINUES: with using the money that is accumulated in the fund already for renovation purposes so that the city wouldn't have to go in there and do anything like that because if the Chamber were to move in there right now, they would not have the money to renovate it or make it suit to the purpose of the VIC, either. TAYLOR: Mr. Mayor. I'm sure all of us have been in the Chamber offices. As far as the way they're functioning now, that would be a big improvement over any office they've ever had, Zapopan Center. McDONALD: I think we've made the point that if that becomes available at a reasonable price, it's a viable situation. Let's just continue this. TAYLOR: Mr. Mayor. I'd like to bring it back because this agreement has a lot of meat and a lot of dollars in it but I think we've got a viable solution and it's a good solution and the existing building should serve the Chamber very well. There's a lot of square-footage in there for what they were asking for in their original proposal meeting with different motels wanting a room where people could meet in. McDONALD: We've never brought up the Zapopan Center before, the availability of it, how it could be utilized, never discussed it with the Chamber and I think it's a viable alternative. It will certainly get our community center off the ground maybe a little quicker. We're going to table CC-G. Thank you very much for your input, gentlemen. END VERBATIM DIALOGUE CC-J DEDICATION OF THE JESS GONZALEZ SPORTS COMPLEX Councilman Bruesch expressed favor with the project but requested that the School Board provide a list of the names it would like to have included on the dedication plaque. MOTION BY COUNCILMAN BRUESCH, SECOND BY MAYOR PRO TEM IMPERIAL that the Council authorize staff to develop a jointly sponsored dedication ceremony with the Garvey School District for the Jess Gonzalez Sports Complex; approve the acquisition and proposed language for the plaque; set aside Saturday, September 16, 1989, for the ceremony; and names of the Garvey Board will be provided and approved by said Board. Vote resulted: Yes: DeCocker, Taylor, McDonald, Bruesch, Imperial No: None Absent: None Abstain: None The Mayor declared said motion duly carried and so ordered. V. MATTERS FOR DISCUSSION & ACTION - None VI. STATUS REPORTS A. HR 2699 (Bates) - PROTECTION OF THE OZONE LAYER This item required no action. B. BUSINESS CENSUS No vote was taken on the recommendation for this item. VII.MATTERS FROM OFFICIALS A. CLOSED SESSION - PERSONNEL - TEMPLE STATION INTERNAL INVESTIGATION STATUS REPORT This item was handled earlier in the meeting. CC 8-8-89 Page #12 B. COUNCILMAN BRUESCH 1. Asked that Federal guidelines for recycling by cities be on an agenda in the near future. C. COUNCILMAN TAYLOR 1. Requested a status report on the cleanup of the weeds that Caltrans is responsible for removing. Frank G. Tripepi, City Manager, stated that Caltrans should have their crew out there by the end of this week and if not, the City will remove the weeds. VIII.ORAL COMMUNICATIONS A. Leroy Young, 7533 E. Garvey Avenue, thanked the City for trimming the trees on Garvey Avenue. There being no further action to be taken at this time, the meeting was adjourned at 10:20 p.m. in the memory of Superintendent of the Garvey School District, Roger Temple, who recently passed away. The next regular meeting is scheduled for August 22, 1989 at 8:00 p.m. Respectfully submitted: APPROVED: •Gei ~l/~tii~Lt~S/ _ V Clerk MA CC 8-8-89 Page #13