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CC - Minutes - 01-25-2022MINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL AND HOUSING DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION REGULAR JOINT MEETING JANUARY 25, 2022 The regular meeting of the Rosemead City Council was called to order by Mayor Low at 7:00 p.m., in the Rosemead City Council Chamber located at 8838 East Valley Boulevard, Rosemead, California. PRESENT: Mayor Low, Mayor Pro Tem Dang, Council Members Armenta, Clark, and Tang ABSENT: None PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE was led by Council Member Tang INVOCATION was led by Council Member Armenta STAFF PRESENT: City Manager Molleda, City Attorney Richman, Chief of Police Shigo, Interim Director of Finance Chamberlain, Director of Parks and Recreation Boecking, Director of Public Works Chung, and City Clerk Hernandez 1. PUBLIC COMMENT Mayor Low opened the Public Comment period. Sue Yamamoto, Community Rosemead Library Manager, announced the Rosemead Library will serve as a PCR pick-up testing kit site until March. Residents of Los Angeles County could pick up a free test kit on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday from 9:30 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. and on Tuesday from 11:30 a.m. - 7 p.m. The public is encouraged to contact the Rosemead Library for any questions. There being no further speakers, Mayor Low closed the Public Comment period. 2. PRESENTATIONS A. Introduction of New Chief of Police — Lieutenant Paul Shigo City Manager Molleda introduced newly appointed Chief of Police, Lieutenant Paul Shigo from the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department. He brings over 30 years of law enforcement experience and working in various capacities with other local government agencies. Lieutenant Paul Shigo thanked the City Council for providing the opportunity to serve as the City's Chief of Police and looks forward to working with them. Rosemead City Council and Housing Development Corporation Regular Joint Meeting Minutes of January 25, 2022 Page I of 15 Temple Station Captain Reyes commended Lieutenant Shigo on his law enforcement career and commitment to public safety. He looks forward to working with Lt. Shigo in his new role as Chief of Police for the City of Rosemead. Council Member Clark welcomed Lt. Shigo and looks forward to working with him and expressed support. Council Member Armenta welcomed Lt. Shigo and stated she would like to meet with him to share thoughts on how to make the city safer for residents and businesses. She opined events like Coffee with the Chief are important because it allows residents to speak to him directly. Expressed support of law enforcement and the Deputies in Rosemead. Council Member Tang welcomed Lt. Shigo and stated Rosemead is a city that works closely in collaboration with the Sheriffs Department. Looks forward to working with him and continue building that collaboration. Mayor Pro Tem Dang welcomed Lt. Shigo and stated what set him apart during the interviews was his extensive experience in working in and improving the safety in communities. Mayor Low welcomed Lt. Shigo and looks forward to working with him. B. 2022 Youth in Government Program Presentation Director of Parks and Recreation Boecking introduced a new program to get local youth a first-hand look on how local government works. The program is open to High School juniors and seniors who are residents of Rosemead. Applicants will indicate what position they are interested in and why and selected participants will be assigned to an elected office or department. Participants will participate in a Shadow Day on March 17 and then the Youth in Youth in Government Day on April 7. Council Member Armenta express excitement about the new youth program to allow kids to be civically engaged. She recalled when the city had a Youth Committee and sad to have seen it gone due to low participation. She asked if there is enough interest, maybe the Youth Committee could come back. Mrs. Armenta asked if private schools such as Don Bosco Tech School, were invited to participate in the program, since there are Rosemead students that attend that school. Director of Parks and Recreation Boecking replied staff would reach out to Don Bosco Tech. Council Member Tang expressed support for the program and stated he was very passionate about getting the community civically engaged because of the work that is done and it's only as good as the engagement that is received from constituents. He noted it's important to have young and up and coming leaders too as the leaders of today and know that one day they can be up on the dais too. Rosemead City Council and Housing Development Corporation Regular Joint Meeting Minutes of January 25, 2022 Page 2 of 15 Mayor Pro Tem Dang Commended Director of Parks and Recreation Boecking for bringing this new program that provides an opportunity for engagement for high school youth to interact with local government and see the inner workings of it. Mayor Low stated it is important to introduce local government to the youth and learn what it's about. 3. PUBLIC HEARING A. Public Hearing on Municipal Code Amendment 21-04 — Adoption of Urgency Ordinance No. 1005 and Introduction and First Reading of Ordinance No. 1004 Implementing Senate Bill 9 On September 16, 2021, Senate Bill 9 (SB 9) was signed into State law by Governor Newsom. SB 9 amended California Government Code Section 66452.6 and added Sections 65852.21 and 66411.7 to allow for urban dwellings and urban lot splits. The changes, which became effective on January 1, 2022, required local agencies to ministerially approve applications to subdivide single-family residential (R-1) zoned lots into a maximum of two lots and allow for the construction of two units on each new lot. Municipal Code Amendment 21-04 (MCA 21-04), Urgency Ordinance No. 1005, and Ordinance 1004 are intended to immediately bring Title 16 (Subdivisions) and Title 17 (Zoning) of the Rosemead Municipal Code (RMC) up to compliance with State legislation regarding the development of urban dwellings and urban lot splits in the city. Recommendation: That the City Council take the following actions: 1. Move to introduce and adopt, by title only, Urgency Ordinance No. 1005, entitled: AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ROSEMEAD ADOPTING BY REFERENCE, PURSUANT TO GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 50022.2, FOR THE APPROVAL OF MCA 21-04, AMENDING TITLE 17 (ZONING) OF THE RMC BY UPDATING AND ADDING DEFINITIONS TO SECTION 17.04.050, UPDATING TABLE 17.12.020.1 TO PERMIT AN URBAN DWELLING AND AN URBAN LOT SPLIT AS A PERMITTED USE IN THE R-1 ZONE, AND ADDING SECTION 17.30.210 FOR URBAN DWELLINGS AND SECTION 17.30.220 FOR URBAN LOT SPLITS, AND AMENDING TITLE 16 (SUBDIVISIONS) OF THE RMC BY ADDING SECTION 16.08.240 FOR URBAN LOT SPLITS; and 2. Move to introduce for first reading, by title only, Ordinance No. 1004, entitled: Rosemead City Council and Housing Development Corporation Regular Joint Meeting Minutes of January 25, 2022 Page 3 of 15 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ROSEMEAD ADOPTING BY REFERENCE, PURSUANT TO GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 50022.2, FOR THE APPROVAL OF MCA 21-04, AMENDING TITLE 17 (ZONING) OF THE RMC BY UPDATING AND ADDING DEFINITIONS TO SECTION 17.04.050, UPDATING TABLE 17.12.020.1 TO PERMIT AN URBAN DWELLING AND AN URBAN LOT SPLIT AS A PERMITTED USE IN THE R-1 ZONE, AND ADDING SECTION 17.30.210 FOR URBAN DWELLINGS AND SECTION 17.30.220 FOR URBAN LOT SPLITS, AND AMENDING TITLE 16 (SUBDIVISIONS) OF THE RMC BY ADDING SECTION 16.08.240 FOR URBAN LOT SPLITS Associate Planner Lao presented and spoke about Senate Bill (SB) 9 amending California Government Code section 66452.6 and added section 65852.21 and 66411.7 to allow for urban dwellings and urban lots splits in the R-1 zoning lots, into a maximum of two lots and allow for the construction of two lots on each new lot. Municipal Code amendment 21-04 is intended to bring Title 16 and Title 17 of both Municipal Codes up to compliance with state legislation regarding the development of urban dwellings and Urban lot slits in the city. Highlights include, prohibited short term rentals, affordable housing cannot be demolished, and off-street parking leniencies such as one space per unit. However, no parking is required, if the parcel is located a half a mile from a major transit corridor or stop or one block from a car share vehicle location. Development standards permit one home for every 6,000 square feet of lot area, with SB 9, cities shall ministerially approve two urban dwellings that are at least 800 square feet with side and rear yard setbacks of four feet. Municipal Code Amendment 21-04 will limit the maximum number of units permitted for urban dwellings. For urban lot splits, R-1 development standards require a minimum lot with 50 feet and a minimum lot area of 6000 square feet, for each lot created by a parcel. SB 9, the City shall ministerially approve a parcel map for two new parcels of approximately equal lot area, provided that one parcel shall not be smaller than 40% of the lot area of the original parcel proposed for subdivision. Both newly created parcels by urban lot splits must be no smaller than 1,200 square feet. An applicant can also propose an urban dwelling in conjunction with an urban lot split. City Attorney Richman clarified staff's recommendation that initially the agenda stated the adoption of Urgency Ordinance No. 1005 and introduction of Ordinance No. 1004. This item was worked on a few months ago and there was recent discussion that the regular Ordinance does have to go to the Planning Commission first and then return to the City Council. Staff is only recommending the adoption of Urgency Ordinance No. 1005. Since state law, took effect at the beginning of the year, we can rely on urgency findings to become compliant. Rosemead City Council and Housing Development Corporation Regular Joint Meeting Minutes of January 25, 2022 Page 4of15 Mayor Low opened the Public Hearing for public comment. There being no public comments received, Mayor closed the Public Hearing. Council Member Clark asked for clarification on the reason why staff was recommending adopting an urgency ordinance. City Attorney Richman explained the City had no procedures in place, and the new state law created new definitional terms that the City does not have the Municipal Code, such as an urban dwelling unit, or urban lot splits. If those definitions are not in the code, it makes it confusing for an applicant to come in and follow what the state law requires. She noted, if there is nothing in the code, then the city would just follow state law completely. By having an ordinance, this allows the process to be clearer for an applicant and there are some areas the City can place some objective standards on it, providing more control within the statutory scheme. Council Member Clark stated she gathered ordinances from the cities of San Marino, Temple City, and Alhambra. Asked if City staff looked at those ordinances from other cities to ensure the urgency ordinance was just as good. City Manager Molleda affirmed City staff did reach out to other cities and had ongoing conversation with Alhambra, Temple City and San Gabriel. Council Member Clark expressed concerns with the bill because it took away from local control. She explained that by passing the urgency ordinance, she did not want anybody to think that she voted in support of the bill but wants to make sure the urgency ordinance is less stringent. She opined the bill hurts low-income communities and causes gentrification in minority communities, because there are no affordable housing mandates. She added, the bill benefited developers and did not understand how the bill passed during the pandemic, when people could not travel to Sacramento to protest the bill. There are petitions to overturn the bill and if overturned, then the SB 9 requirements would no longer apply. Council Member Armenta stated the City of Alhambra also adopted an urgency ordinance with the intent to amend the regular ordinance at a later date. Asked if that was an option for the City. City Attorney Richman explained that City can always amend the Municipal Code at any time. Since legislation is always changing, there may be time the City may have to amend the code to fine tune what is working and or areas the City may need to regulate more. Council Member Armenta inquired about urban lot splits and that the City already had an ordinance prohibiting flag lots. Asked if SB 9 overrides city ordinances that are in place. Associate Planner Lao explained flag lots would only be permitted in the R-1 zones, where these urban lots splits can occur. In R-3, R-4, and R-2 and any other zones, Rosemead City Council and Housing Development Corporation Regular Joint Meeting Minutes of January 25, 2022 Page 5 of 15 flag lots are not permitted. SB 9 does overrule our ordinance; it does not specifically state how wide a lot can be. City staff did spruce up the definitions and made additional requirements that should be at least 15 feet on the flag lot area, and then the lot that is existing shall have at least 50 feet. If a lot is 65 feet, we would permit a flag lot, but if it's less than 50 feet, we would not permit the flag lot. Council Member Armenta expressed it was discouraging since a lot of time was spent with city staff, Planning Commission, and City Council adopting an ordinance that prohibits flag lots. Asked about ADU's, if they can be larger than the primary residence. Associate Planner Lao explained it would depend on the project's situation. If they do not meet FAR or no more density required, we still have to permit them. We will just permit an 800 square feet urban dwelling unit and an ADU. However, if a lot is big enough, then we will permit an ADU that is at least 1,200 per our current ordinance. Council Member Armenta asked if an ADU does become bigger than the primary home, could the ADU be the primary home and the front house the ADU. Associate Planner Lao replied no, an ADU will always be an accessory to the single- family home. Council Member Tang commented that he along with Mayor Pro Tem Dang and Planning staff in the Commercial Task Force did survey other cities. Planning staff ensured we looked at every city and what they were doing. We could have brought this as an urgency ordinance several weeks ago but wanted to ensure that we're in compliance and do our due diligence. Mayor Pro Tem Dang crafted a creative way to ensure how we can still comply with the state law but still have as much control as we can, especially when it comes to flag lots. Mayor Pro Tem Dang explained the state mandates that urban lot splits are allowed, which trumps local jurisdictions. A flag lot situation is there because the subdivision map that says all properties must touch a street they must front a street for obvious reason, because if you don't own that piece of land that touches the street, your neighbor could just build a wall and block you off. It only applies to R-1 zones because SB 9 only allows you to do these urban lot in the R-1 zone. Staff is here today with this urgency ordinance because we need to give the public, if they're going to do an urban lot split, how are they going to do it. This emergency ordinance fixes that. Mayor Low stated she is always in support of the city growing in the commercial corridor and having mixed use. However, the new state mandates will change the R-1 zones to be very small lots with the added houses. Reiterated city staff will continue to work hard in protecting the environment of life for the residents. Rosemead City Council and Housing Development Corporation Regular Joint Meeting Minutes of January 25, 2022 Page 6 of 15 Council Member Armenta asked if under SB 9 the property owner had to live in the property. Associate Planner Lao replied that a property owner would have to sign an affidavit and live at the property for at least three years from the date of approval. ACTION: Moved by Council Member Tang and seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Dang to introduce and adopt Urgency Ordinance 1005, by title only. The motion was carried out by the following roll call vote AYES: Armenta, Clark, Dang, Tang, and Low; NOES: None 4. CONSENT CALENDAR ACTION: Moved by Council Member Clark and seconded by Council Member Armenta to approve the Consent Calendar. The motion was carried out by the following roll call vote AYES: Armenta, Clark, Dang, Tang, and Low; NOES: None A. Claims and Demands • Resolution No. 2022-09 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ROSEMEAD, CALIFORNIA, ALLOWING CERTAIN CLAIMS AND DEMANDS IN THE SUM OF $670,047.89 CHECKS NUMBERED 110477 THROUGH NUMBER 110569, DRAFTS NUMBERED 5492 THROUGH NUMBER 5511 AND EFT NUMBERED 50902 THROUGH NUMBER 50916 INCLUSIVELY Recommendation: Adopt Resolution No. 2022-09. B. Approval of Minutes Recommendation: That the City Council approve the special and regular joint meeting minutes of June 9, 2020. C. 2022 National League of Cities Congressional City Conference from March 14 —16, in Washington, DC The City Council will consider authorizing the attendance of any Council Member and City staff who wishes to attend the 2022 National League of Cities Congressional City Conference in Washington, DC from March 14 — March 16, 2022. If a majority of the City Council requests to meet with a State or Federal legislator or Department to discuss issues within a subject matter of the City's jurisdiction, a special meeting agenda must be posted at least 24 hours before the scheduled meeting. Rosemead City Council and Housing Development Corporation Regular Joint Meeting Minutes of January 25, 2022 Page 7 of 15 Recommendation: That the City Council authorize the attendance and finance of any Council Member and City staff to attend the 2022 National League of Cities Congressional City Conference in Washington, DC from March 14 — 16, 2022. D. Acceptance of Annual Audit Reports for the Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 2021 The certified public accounting firm of Lance, Soll & Lunghard, LLP (LSL) was engaged by the City Council to perform an audit of the financial statements and perform compliance testing of the City of Rosemead of the fiscal year ended June 30, 2021. LSL conducted the audit in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards and issued an unmodified (clean) audit opinion on the financial statements. This report provides a summary of the audit report to be used as a companion to the published Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR) (formerly referred to as the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report). Also included are the Rosemead Housing Development Corporation Financial and Compliance Report, and other documents related to the financial audit. Recommendation: That the City Council receive and file the City of Rosemead Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR), the Rosemead Housing Development Corporation (RHDC) Annual Financial Statements, and other related audit reports for fiscal year ended June 30, 2021. E. Introduction of an Ordinance of the City Council of the City of Rosemead, California, Amending Section 2.08.070(B) of the Rosemead Municipal Code Relating to the Chief of Police At the City Council meeting of January 11, 2022, the City Council directed that an ordinance be brought back to the City Council for introduction amending the Municipal Code to remove the position of Chief of Police from section 2.08.070(B) for clarification purposes. Upon the City's incorporation in 1959, initial ordinances of the City were adopted by the first City Council. Over time changes occur, which may necessitate the Council to make amendments to the Municipal Code to properly reflect the status of certain matters. In the present case, the City's provision of law enforcement is provided by a contract approved by the City Council with the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department and not by an internal City Police Department with a City employed Chief of Police. The draft Ordinance would amend the Municipal Code to remove reference to the position of Chief of Police as falling under the City Manager as stated in Section 2.08.070(B) to further clarify the current status. Recommendation: That the City Council introduce and read by title only, Ordinance No. 1007, entitled: AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ROSEMEAD, CALIFORNIA, AMENDING SECTION 2.08.070(B) OF THE ROSEMEAD Rosemead City Council and Housing Development Corporation Regular Joint Meeting Minutes of January 25, 2022 Page 8 of 15 MUNICIPAL CODE RELATING TO THE CHIEF OF POLICE 5. MATTERS FROM CITY MANAGER & STAFF A. Receive an Overview of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Funding and Provide Direction on Use of the Funds On January 6, 2022, the U.S. Department of the Treasury issued the Final Rule on the use of Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF), which were established under the American Rescue Plan Act. Staff will provide an overview of allowable uses of the ARPA funds and committed uses of the funds this far. Recommendation: That the City Council review the presentation and provide direction on the use of available ARPA funds. Interim Director of Finance Chamberlain provided a brief overview of the COVID-19 relief funding: 1) The Cares Act allocated the City $671,227 during Fiscal Year 2020-2021, which was primarily spent on senior meals, janitorial services, supplies, test kits, signages, small business loan assistance, unemployment, public safety, and legal services; 2) Community Development Block Grants (CDBG- CV) allocated $443,682 to the City, which was spent on senior meals, consultant services, and employee payroll; 3) The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 allocated $17,878,653 to the City, noted the Council already allocated $1.5 million to the FY 2021-22 General Fund Budget; and 4) The City has filed an application with FEMA to claim $80,000 for eligible expenses that are COVID-related materials, supplies, labor and contracts. Ms. Chamberlain stated the SLFRF program provides four categories of eligible uses of SLFRF funds including (1) to replace lost revenue; (2) to respond to the public health and economic impacts of COVID-19; (3) to provide premium pay to eligible workers, and (4) to invest in water, sewer, and broadband infrastructure. The Final Rule, published on January 6, 2022, provided several key changes which broadened the eligible uses and provided additional clarity and flexibility of use of the recovery funds. The use of SLFRF funds has been divided into four categories: 1) Public Sector Revenues; 2) Public Health & Economic Response; 3) Premium Pay for Essential Workers; and 4) Water, Sewer and Broadband Infrastructure. The ARPA's SLFRF program provides the ability for recipients to use these funds to replace Lost Revenue. Under the Interim Final Rule, the amount a City could claim was limited to actual losses caused by the pandemic. However, the Final Rule provided clarification on the lost revenue calculation and provided the option of selecting either a flat $10 million (up to the grant amount) or the actual revenue loss based on SLFRF calculation factors. The funds may not be used to build reserves or pay unfunded pension liabilities other than current year costs. Rosemead City Council and Housing Development Corporation Regular Joint Meeting Minutes of January 25, 2022 Page 9of15 The category "Responding to the Public Health Emergency" Impacts includes assistance to households, small businesses, nonprofits, and impacted industries, and public sector capacity. Through the public sector capacity category, the City is able to increase its full time staffing by 4 positions with SURF funding. Mayor Low asked for clarification as to how Council can use the money — does it have to be spent right away or can it be saved for future use. Council Member Tang asked if he is understanding this correctly that we can either take the standard allowance of $10 million with almost unrestricted use of it or we can take the $17 million but must show from when the pandemic started in 2020 to the end of 2024 that the City will project a $17 million loss of revenue; if we do not do that, then we must spend the money based off the four categories you presented. Ms. Chamberlain affirmed that is correct; asserted she will be thoroughly reviewing the numbers to ensure we project the $17 million loss of revenue; emphasized this is a one-time deal, noting if you decide to take the $10 million and restrict the $7 million, you cannot go back and change your mind; stated if you only want to take the $1.5 million, you can use that on restricted categories. Mayor Low expressed it would benefit us to go for the $17 million. Council Member Armenta referenced slide two of the PowerPoint, asked how much money was spent on consultant services from the CDBG-CV funding and what consultant services are we talking about; expressed concern that if consultants see we have this money than they will start charging us more. City Manager Molleda responded column two is only for CDBG/HOME funds, so those are the consultants being paid out of this account; stated if it is Council's desire to not use consultants, then that is the direction we will take. Council Member Armenta stated she wants to see how much of the $443,682 CDBG-CV funds has been allocated to consultants when that could have been used elsewhere for another project; opined I understand we are short staff, but I am confident our staff is capable of completing some tasks that we are paying consultants to do. City Manager Molleda clarified' these funds were spent on COVID matters only, in which services were provided to the community and business community; mentioned food distribution events. Ms. Chamberlain indicated she has those details but not with her tonight, however she will provide those to Council; explained when we have restricted programs, we tend to spend more on programs because we have to make sure we are in compliance, however if you are putting it in the General Fund, then you don't have Rosemead City Council and Housing Development Corporation Regular Joint Meeting Minutes of January 25, 2022 Page 10 of 15 to pay consultants to monitor since there are no restrictions on what we are spending it on, so it may serve more that way. Council Member Armenta referred to slide fourteen, restoring employment by hiring up to 7.5% of pre -pandemic baseline that would be four positions; inquired what four positions are we talking about (i.e., management, middle management, administration), noting the positions make a difference on the salary and how much money will be allocated for those positions. Ms. Chamberlain responded there are no set positions at this time, we are allowed to hire the four positions but there are no restrictions on what type of positions they are or what classification to receive that money. Council Member Armenta stated so it only stipulates the four positions but not specific positions. Ms. Chamberlain replied that is correct. Council Member Armenta referenced slide 17, stating since Steven Ly is not present with us, I know since we were elected that his dream has been to have broadband infrastructure in the city; expressed this funding will help facilitate that; any city facility including parks so that children who do not have access at home can have that access; noted Spectrum came in to put a tower in one of our mobile home parks so the children could still do their schoolwork; I think it is more transparent if we do $10 million and allocate the funding to one of the categories the government stipulated instead of just going to General Fund since we cannot account for every penny; shared when there are different props that say the funds will go to schools, but there is a fine line that says it will go to General Funds so that schools itself will not see the money. Ms. Chamberlain stated Council adopts the budget every year, at that time you can specify what funds you want to go where, and we can set up any type of accounting Council desires. Council Member Armenta pointed out that all you need is three votes to pass the budget; reiterated at least if we know where the money is being allocated to, we know they are going to those set categories only. Council Member Tang asked how we got this calculation of $17 million. Ms. Chamberlain responded it was based off of the CDBG allocations cities receive and then they broaden that to use the same type of calculations for the 350 billion that they gave the government. Council Member Tang inquired if the $1.5 million used to balance this current budget is from the Care Act or the allocated $17 million. Rosemead City Council and Housing Development Corporation Regular Joint Meeting Minutes of January 25, 2022 Page 11 of 15 Ms. Chamberlain replied it is from the allocated $17 million; noted we finished last year with a positive balance, noting we added 1.3 million to the General Fund last year even though we thought we were going to have a $2 million dollar deficit; our property and sales taxes are coming in well, so that will be part of the $10 or $17 million that you allocate. Mr. Tang asked if he was understanding this correctly — let's say we take the money from the standard allowance or the calculated loss allowance to use it on park maintenance, we could use it if it was under General Fund, but we could not use it if it was under one of these four categories. Ms. Chamberlain concurred that is accurate. Council Member Tang asked if we have an idea what pockets in the city would need broadband infrastructure. City Manager Molleda responded we do not have that information for you tonight but will provide it to Council. Council Member Tang questioned how will it work when the utility company will be charging the customers on the infrastructure that we built for them? City Manager Molleda stated we allow them to break into our streets, but whoever is providing the service is the one that collects. Interim Director of Finance Chamberlain asserted that while the utility company will benefit from the infrastructure, one of the rules that applies is if we use this money to expand a broadband, they must provide low-income assistance programs. Council Member Tang inquired what the additional audit requirement entails that Ms. Chamberlain stated that a major fund would trigger. Ms. Chamberlain responded the auditors will spend more time to ensure our purchasing code is up to date for, federal standards and our annual report is under more scrutiny. Mr. Tang asked if we moved these funds into a General Fund account, can we create a subaccount to manage the specific allotment so that it is clear what the ARPA funds were spent on. Ms. Chamberlain stated yes, we could actually keep it in a separate account altogether and put it together under the General Fund for reporting purposes only. Mayor Pro Tem Dang opined the $17 million gives us the flexibility to make a list for the City Manager to execute how we spend the funds; noted we will be transparent because how specific our reporting will be, so it is a win-win. Rosemead City Council and Housing Development Corporation Regular Joint Meeting Minutes of January 25, 2022 Page 12 of 15 Ms. Chamberlain added that, the funds could also be used for construction projects, so the projects we wanted to do this year but could not fund through the street assessment. Council Member Clark asked if Council had to decide on this matter tonight as this is a lot of information to consider. Interim Director of Finance Chamberlain responded no. Council Member Armenta concurred about tabling this item for a future meeting, stating Council Member Tang brought up some points that she didn't even think about and should be talked about further. City Manager Molleda stated this is what we wanted for Council to start the discussion, so we can definitely bring this item back. Mayor Low reiterated it would be great to receive the most money for the city, but agrees we should understand the pros and cons of whichever direction we decide to go; emphasized it is important that Council is able to see a report each year to ensure this money is being used appropriately. Council Member Tang inquired what was the reason why they allowed for the standard allowance and for certain cities to collect the loss allowance. Interim Director of Finance Chamberlain stated they did a survey of all the loss and came out with an average of $10 million; noted some cities did not even get a $10 million allowance and they could just take the full amount as it was. City Manager Molleda stated we will bring this item back two Council meetings from now so that staff has time to gather the requested information. Ms. Chamberlain asked for clarification what Council would like staff to bring back. Mayor Low responded we would like to know what kind of reporting we would have to do if the funds are allocated outside of the General Fund. Council Member Clark asserted she would like to see the pros and cons, if we take $10 million, we can spend it on such and such or if we take the $17 million, we have these restrictions, but we could do this. Council Member Armenta stated she would like to see how the money will be deposited, noting she did not know you could do a line item for this money and not put it in the General Fund. Ms. Chamberlain further explained we can keep it in a separate fund until Council directs us how to use it, if it is a general operating expense, then we would move the cost to the General Fund but the money unspent would stay in this other fund until Rosemead City Council and Housing Development Corporation Regular Joint Meeting Minutes of January 25, 2022 Page 13 of 15 it was allocated by the Council. Ms. Chamberlain confirmed she will bring this item back for Council to further discuss. B. COVID Update This is a recurring item that will be on the agenda to update the City Council on items related to COVID-19. Recommendation: That the City Council discuss and provide further direction. City Manager Molleda reported as of to date, there are 9,934 confirmed cased of COVID-19, and 173 deaths related to the COVID-19. In parentship with Mountain Castle Marketing various COVID -19 testing sites at Rosemead Community Recreation Center and Zapopan Park will be offered to the residents. A COVID-19 testing site will continue every Friday until the end of February at the Rosemead Community Recreation Center. A vaccination clinic is scheduled for January 26 at the Rosemead Community Recreation Center. City staff received notice 2,000 COVID-19 testing kits will be received to distribute to the residents. Lastly, due to the COVID-19 numbers declining, City facilities will open to the public on February 1. Council Member Armenta asked how residents could up sign up to receive a free COVID-19 test kit. City Manager Molleda replied residents can register online or in person at the Rosemead Community Recreation Center. 6. MATTERS FROM MAYOR & CITY COUNCIL A. Council Comments Council Member Armenta stated she received an email from a resident expressing concerns with parking during street sweeping. Mrs. Armenta noted that many homes in Rosemead have small driveways due to the streets being widened or streets were added during the time when the city was mainly farmland. She explained the resident expressed her driveway is cut short and there is not enough space for her vehicles to park on her driveway during street sweeping. Also, the city does allow residents to park on their lawns during street sweeping, this resident does not have a lawn to park her vehicles either. Mrs. Armenta asked if staff could look into doing something like additional signage allowing limited parking to help residents in this similar situation. Mayor Low reiterated Mrs. Armenta's comments and noted she was asking the City to be more lenient about parking during street sweeping days. Council Member Armenta suggested allowing a certain amount of time frame to allow residents to park in their shorten driveways, during street sweeping. Rosemead City Council and Housing Development Corporation Regular Joint Meeting Minutes of January 25, 2022 Page 14 of 15 City Manager Molleda clarified street sweeping is scheduled either half day in the morning or half day in the afternoon. She stated staff could look into the matter. Council Member Armenta expressed concerns with Airbnb's in the City. She noted there are homes listed in the Airbnb website that look like motels inside. Asked that City staff look into the Airbnb homes matter. She requested, if possible, for a flock camera to be installed near the bridge near Rice Elementary School and other points in the city where a flock camera would ease speeding. Mrs. Armenta opined that maybe using funding from the American Rescue Plan could help the purchase of flock cameras. Council Member Tang agreed with Council Member Armenta in putting to use the American Rescue Plan funding the City will be receiving. He thanked City staff for working in providing adequate services to the residents during the pandemic. Mayor Pro Tem Dang wished everyone a Happy Chinese New Year. 7. ADJOURNMENT Mayor Low adjourned the meeting at 8:55 p.m. The next City Council meeting will take place on February 8, 2022, at 7:00 p.m. in the Rosemead City Hall Council Chamber. Ericka Hernandez City Clerk APPROVED: Polly w, �yor Rosemead City Council and Housing Development Corporation Regular Joint Meeting Minutes of January 25, 2022 Page 15 of 15