Loading...
CC - Minutes - 07-10-12Minutes of the Joint City Council, and Housing Development Corporation July 10, 2012 The joint meeting of the Rosemead City Council and Housing Development Corporation was called to order by Mayor Armenta at 7:04 p.m. in the Rosemead City Council Chamber located at 8838 East Valley Boulevard, Rosemead, California. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Council Member Ly INVOCATION: Mayor Armenta PRESENT: Mayor /President Armenta, Mayor Pro Tem /Vice- President Low, Council Members /Directors Alarcon, Clark, and Ly STAFF PRESENT: City Manager Allred, City Attorney Richman, Assistant City Manager Hawkesworth, Community Development Director Ramirez, Director of Parks and Recreation Montgomery- Scott, Public Works Director Marcarello, and City Clerk Molleda City Attorney Richman request to add two closed session agenda under anticipation of litigation pursuant to Section 54956.9(a) Director /Council Member Steven Ly made a motion, seconded by Vice- President/Mayor Pro Tern Polly Low to add the Tammy Gong and Cal Poultry claims the closed session regarding anticipation of litigation pursuant to section 54956.9(a). Vote resulted in: Yes: Alarcon, Armenta, Clark, Low, Ly No: None Abstain: None Absent: None President/MayorArmenta announced that closed session would take place at the end of the meeting. 1. PUBLIC COMMENTS FROM THE AUDIENCE Dean Wiedrich - commented that the services provided by Consolidated Disposal had recently been unsatisfactory. Mr. Wiedrich stated that he had spoken with staff about his issues and still the trash had not been picked up on the west side of Bartlett Avenue. He requested that there be a designated waste manager at City Hall to handle questions and issues. President/MayorArmenta stated that staff had been working on the waste haulers project since January; and residents had praised Consolidated Disposal services. She added that Elizabeth Martinez of Consolidated Disposal, liaison to the City, was in attendance to answer any questions or concerns. Rosemead City Council and Housing Development Corporation Joint Meeting Minutes of July 10, 2012 Page 1 of 8 Director /Council Member Clark asked Mr. Wiedrich if the street was not swept because the trash cans were on it. Mr. Wiedrich - replied yes, because the trash company requires that all containers be on the street and if trash cans are on the street, then the street does not get swept. President/MayorArmenta asked Mr. Wiedrich to speak to Elizabeth Martinez of Consolidated Disposal. Dolly Leong - stated she had billing problems with Consolidated Disposal and that she had written a letter to the City Manager and Council regarding her concerns. Mrs. Leong explained that on the meeting of June 26th, she spoke to another resident, who got their late fees waived 100 %. In speaking to Sadie Adragna, Collection Manager at Consolidated Disposal, she agreed to waive Mrs. Leong's late fees by 50 %. She stated that her billing was not under her name; therefore she would not receive the bills. Mrs. Leong also stated that she was on workers compensation for 18 months, which made it difficult for her to pay the additional late fees on her bill. She reiterated that Consolidated Disposal's late fees were excessively high; between 29% and 30% of her $198.77 bill. President/MayorArmenta asked Mrs. Leong if she did not know that her bill was due every quarter. Mrs. Leong - replied no, because the bill was not in her name. President/MayorArmenta told Mrs. Leong that every time there is a lien segment on the agenda, she is always in attendance. Ms. Armenta stated that there had been letters sent to her attempting to notify her of the payment due to Consolidated Disposal. Mrs. Leong — replied that she was sent an invoice for $64 and then a new invoice, with her name that included new fees and late fees. She expressed that the fees and advance billing practices were unreasonable. Mrs. Leong reiterated that another resident got their late fees 100% waived and she felt discriminated and pleaded to the company about her financial hardship. Director /Council Member Ly asked who currently handles the liens. City Manager Allred replied that the City Manager's office still continues to handle the lien issues and that he responded to the letter that Mrs. Leong sent. Mrs. Leong attended the public hearing that was conducted on June 26th, but did not raise the issue at that point. The public hearing has then closed and staff is now proceeding with the liens; however, the deadline to confirm with Consolidated Disposal is July 13th, and she has a few more days to see if she can work something out with Consolidated Disposal. DirectorlCouncil MemberLy stated he trusted that the City Manager's office will handle the lien process with phenomenal customer relations with the residents. President/MayorArmenta asked Mrs. Leong why she attended the public hearing and did not mention her issues. Mrs. Leong - stated that she had written a letter because another person had their late fees waived 100% and asked that the City to do the same for her. Rosemead City Council and Housing Development Corporation Joint Meeting Minutes of July 10, 2012 Page 2 of 8 President/MayorArmenta replied that it was not the City who waived the fees and explained it was Consolidated Disposal who had done so. She added that this issue should have been brought up during the public hearing. Ron Esouivel - thanked the City for the tree he had requested and also for the 4th of July celebration. He stated that many residents gave a lot of positive comments. However, he expressed concern regarding illegal fireworks that were used by some neighbors. President/MayorArmenta stated that the illegal firework issue was on the agenda for discussion and added she received many phone calls concerning this matter. 2. PRESENTATION • Presentation by Southern California Gas Company Helen Romero Shaw - Public Affairs Manager of Southern California Gas Company spoke about the advance meter project and presented a PowerPoint presentation, which is available in the City Clerk's office. Paul Simonds - Outreach Project Manager for the advance meter project at Southern California Gas Company continued with the power point presentation. Director /Council Member Ly thanked the Gas Company representatives for attending previous meetings and checking some of the pipelines which were a controversial issue. He stated that Council previously approved a wireless transmission facility ordinance and asked if the ordinance applied to the project of advance meters, since it's a wireless transmission. Public Works Director Marcarello replied no; looking at the ordinance this falls in the city's franchise agreement with the gas company, which is public utility. Staff researched other communities that have installed the advance meters and they have taken the same approach. Director /Council Member Ly asked if Council approval was needed in deciding where to install the poles. Public Works Director Marcarello stated that it would fall under the discretion of the Public Works Department through the issuance of a public work permit. Staff would like to inform Council, where the sights will be located in case members of the public have questions. Director /Council Member Alarcon asked how long will the batteries on the transmission last. Mr. Simonds - replied that the batteries will last twenty years, however research shows that the batteries can last longer. Director /Council MemberAlarcon asked if customers will be able to view their bills the same way. Mr. Simonds - replied yes, customers will be able to go online and see day to day activities, but not see what utilities are being use, only how much gas had been used. President/Mayor Armenta asked Mr. Simonds what is being done to camouflage the poles. Rosemead City Council and Housing Development Corporation Joint Meeting Minutes of July 10, 2012 Page 3 of 8 Mr. Simonds - replied that many cities do not want the fake palm trees any more to act as camouflage. The Gas Company will work with staff to assess any real estate locations and not put a pole on a front yard or in someone's view of the right of way; but rather on an alley or on a side street. City Manager Allred stated that the poles are made of either marble like, metal or wood, which will match what is in the area. 3. CONSENT CALENDAR A. Claims and Demands • Resolution No.2012 -07 Recommendation: to approve Resolution No. 2012 — 07 entitled: A RESOLUTION OF THE ROSEMEAD HOUSING DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION OF THE CITY OF ROSEMEAD ALLOWING CERTAIN CLAIMS AND DEMANDS IN THE SUM OF $172,750.67 NUMBERED 1549 • Resolution No.2012 -43 Recommendation: to approve Resolution No. 2012 — 43 entitled: A RESOLUTION OF THE ROSEMEAD CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ROSEMEAD ALLOWING CERTAIN CLAIMS AND DEMANDS IN THE SUM OF $2,559,099.10 NUMBERED 77804 THROUGH 77960 INCLUSIVELY Vice-President/Mayor Pro Tern Polly Low made a motion, seconded by Director /Council Member Steven Ly to approved Consent Calendar item A, with the exception of items B and C. Vote resulted in: Yes: Alarcon, Armenta, Clark, Low, Ly No: None Abstain: None Absent: None B. National League of Cities Summer Policy Forum — July 19th — 21St — Nashville, TN The Council will consider authorizing attendance, at the National League of Cities Summer Policy Forum, which will take place in Nashville, TN. Recommendation: That the City Council authorize the attendance, at City expense, of any Council Member that wishes to attend. Rosemead City Council and Housing Development Corporation Joint Meeting Minutes of July 10, 2012 Page 4 of 8 Director /Council Member Ly stated Council Member Clark was the only Council Member attending the conference as part of a policy committee and recommended that Council authorize only Council Member Clark to attend the conference. Director /Council Member Steven Ly made a motion, seconded by Vice-President/Mayor Pro Tern Polly Low to authorize Council Member Margaret Clark to attend the National League of Cities Summer Policy Forum. Vote resulted in: Yes: Alarcon, Armenta, Clark, Low, Ly No: None Abstain: None Absent: None C. Approval of Professional Services Agreements for On -Call Engineering Services The City utilizes professional consultant services for the design of major capital projects involving street, landscaping, transportation, and utility improvements. As the work load requires, staff will utilize these firms to perform design services, traffic engineering studies, public works inspection services, review of private development projects, geotechnical services, survey work, and special analyses. On -call professional services agreements will continue to provide the City with the ability to obtain multiple bids for services on a project by project basis and help ensure efficient service delivery to the community. Recommendation: That the City Council approve professional services agreements with the approved list of engineering services firms to provide as needed on -call professional services and authorize the City Manager to execute the agreements. Council Member Ly recues himself from the meeting at 7:43 p.m. Brian Lewin — stated that there are multiple agencies that are providing on -call engineering services but a few are providing a specific service. He suggested that providing potential cost variations in terms of saving money, getting different types of levels and expertise perspective might be good to see if the City can fill in the gaps and get additional alternatives for some of those services. City Manager Allred explained that Mr. Lewin was referring to the summary of the on -call engineering services firms' attachments. Those firms provided multiple services and just because a service is not listed by a firm, it does not mean they do not provide that service. For example, NPDES for water quality assessments, there are other firms that provide that service on that list. Vice- President/Mayor Pro Tern Low asked staff to demonstration in the attachment what the choices are in terms of companies that provide a particular service. Public Works Director Marcarello explained that there are some costs sharing benefits that the City realizes by utilizing certain firms for certain services. Certain services like NPDES for water quality are able to put water resources together with other communities. For example, if the City needs to send a representative to a water quality board meeting, Rosemead can share with other cities the cost of only one consultant. Rosemead City Council and Housing Development Corporation Joint Meeting Minutes of July 10, 2012 Page 5 of 8 Director /Council Member Margaret Clark made a motion, seconded by President/Mayor Sandra Armenta to approve the professional services agreements with the approved list of engineering services firms to provide as needed on -call professional services. Vote resulted in: Yes: Alarcon, Armenta, Clark, Low No: None Abstain: Ly Absent: None Council Member Ly returned to the meeting at 7:48 p.m. 4. MATTERS FROM CITY MANAGER & STAFF - None 5. MATTERS FROM MAYOR & CITY COUNCIL A. Discussion of concerns regarding illegal fireworks City Manager Allred reviewed the staff report Fire Battalion Chief Rowland Owens - explained that safe and sane fireworks are fireworks that are approved by the State of California Fire Marshall's Office. Illegal fireworks are fireworks that are shot or projectile into the air. He stated that the Fire Department receives a list of firework stands prior to their opening and they inspect those stands for fire extinguishers and fireworks with the State's seal of approval. City Manager Allred clarified that the enforcement of illegal fireworks is a difficult proposition because police officers, firefighters and/or code enforcer officers cannot be on every street in the city. Therefore, patrolling can be ineffective because people see officers and they wait until they are gone to continue using illegal fireworks. He explained that neighboring cities that allow safe and sane fireworks have banners to indicate that illegal fireworks are banned; and that is something the City of Rosemead can participate in to educate the people and make them understand that illegal fireworks are not okay in the city. City Attorney Richman stated that other cities have passed ordinances allowing cities to impound vehicles if illegal fireworks are found. Council Member Low asked Fire Battalion Chief Owens how people purchase illegal fireworks. Fire Battalion Chief Owens - replied that people are approached at parking lots or other public places Council Member Ly stated that he had heard comments about illegal fireworks. It's difficult to balance catching people and enforcing the law. He suggested that the Public Safety Connections Forum get involved in helping draft a prevention ordinances and /or policy. Council Member Clark reiterated that the education issue is very important and anything that goes up in the air is illegal. Rosemead City Council and Housing Development Corporation Joint Meeting Minutes of July 10, 2012 Page 6 of 8 Brian Lewin - suggested more education programs regarding illegal fireworks be implemented. Imposing fines for setting off illegal fireworks and having more outreach and an increase law enforcement presence in the community would be beneficial. MayorArmenta thanked Fire Battalion Chief Owens for presenting and answering questions and concerns of the public and City Council. Ms. Armenta stated that she received many phone calls the day after the 4th of July regarding illegal fireworks. It was more prevalent than past years and education programs should be provided to the community to know that the City has no tolerance for illegal fireworks and people will be fined. She suggested that there be more law enforcement presence. Shirley Wiedrick — expressed concern with the illegal fireworks because there are people who have post traumatic stress disorder resulting from war. She stated that her husband suffers days after the 4th of July and suggested that the City ban fireworks all together, except in the park. Council Member Clark stated that in the San Gabriel Valley Tribune newspaper there were two letters to the editor from people who were concern with illegal fireworks. The article stated that fireworks are all together banned in some cities but there are still illegal fireworks present. Therefore, Mrs. Clark stated that she was not in favor of banning the sale of safe and sane fireworks. Council Member Alarcon stated the City should not let the bad guys ruled the good guys on the firework issue. 6. COMMENTS FROM CITY COUNCIL Council Member Alarcon stated that staff did a great job on the 4th of July celebration and parade. Mr. Alarcon stated that a code officer at another City was shot and expressed concern with Rosemead's code officers' safety when addressing a situation. Chief of Police Murakami stated that Rosemead has a unique design and if there are any questions or hazardous situations, the code officers can be assisted by Deputies. For example, anytime officers encounter gang members they do not go by themselves. Council Member Clark commended staff on the 4th of July celebration and Parks and Recreation Director Montgomery-Scott for keeping the parks clean and picking up all the trash immediately after the celebrations. Council Member Ly agreed with Council Members Alarcon and Clark that staff did a phenomenal job with the floats and the parade. He commended Parks and Recreation Director Montgomery-Scott for a great job. Mr. Ly announced that he became the Chairman of the San Gabriel Service Sector, the committee that looks at different bus lines in the region. Council Member Low thanked the Parks and Recreation Department for a fun parade and 4th of July celebration. MayorArmenta reiterated the Council's remarks and commended Parks and Recreation Director Montgomery-Scott and staff for making phenomenal floats that represented the City and good entertainment and fireworks. Also thanked staff for making Council's visions a reality. Rosemead City Council and Housing Development Corporation Joint Meeting Minutes of July 10, 2012 Page 7 of 8 Council Member Clark suggested that for future 4th of July events, the band play a patriotic song when the fireworks begin. Mayor Armenta recessed the City Council meeting to closed session at 8:14 p.m. and reconvened back at 8:38 p.m. City Attorney Richman reported back from closed session that the City Council approved that Burke, William, and Sorenson, LLP defend the City in the Tammy Gong & L &G Rosemead Garden litigation. 7. ADJOURNMENT The Meeting adjourned at 8:38 p.m. The next regular City Council meeting is scheduled to take place on July 24, 2012 at 7:00 p.m. Sandra Armenta Mayor ATTEST: V v oria Molleda City Clerk Rosemead City Council and Housing Development Corporation Joint Meeting Minutes of July 10, 2012 Page 8 of 8 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 joint minutes from July 10, 2010, were duly and regularly approved and adopted by the Rosemead City Council on the 9 of October 2012, by the following vote to wit: Yes: Alarcon, Armenta, Clark, Low, Ly No: None Abstain: None Absent: None &PA Mt.0 n 1 9- Gloria Molleda City Clerk