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09/22/2005 CITY OF GRAND TERRACE CITY COUNCIL MINUTES REGULAR MEETING- SEPTEMBER 22.2005 A regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Grand Terrace was called to order in the Council Chambers, Grand Terrace Civic Center, 22795 Barton Road, Grand Terrace, California, on September 22, 2005, at 6:00 p.m. PRESENT: Maryetta Ferr6, Mayor Herman Hilkey, Councilmember Lee Ann Garcia, Councilmember Jim Miller, Councilmember Tom Schwab, City Manager Brenda Stanfill, City Clerk Steve Berry, Assistant City Manager Larry Ronnow, Finance Director Jerry Glander,Building& Safety Director John Harper, City Attorney ABSENT: Bea Cortes, Mayor Pro Tem Gary Koontz, Community Development Director Lt. Hector Guerra, Sheriff s Department The City Council meeting was opened with Invocation by Pastor Roberto Garcia, Terrace Crest Baptist Church, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance led by Councilwoman Lee Ann Garcia. ITEMS TO DELETE 8B. Consideration of a Lease Agreement Between the City of Grand Terrace and T- Mobile Wireless on a Cell Tower Site at the City's Corporate Yard SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS 2A. Grand Terrace Little League Girls Junior Softball All-Stars Mayor Ferr6 introduced each girl from the Grand Terrace Little League Girls Junior Softball All-Stars and their coaches and presented them with a certificate of recognition and a City Pin. 2B. County Fire Department Reorganization-Peter Hills,Fire Chief Peter Hills. Fire Chief gave a presentation on the County Fire Department reorganization. Council Minutes September 22,2005 Page 2 Svlvia Robles, 23008 Orangewood Court, suggested that the .City look into contracting with the County like we do the Sheriff's Department so that we have local control. CONSENT.CALENDAR CC-2005-96 MOTION BY COUNCILMEMBER GARCIA,SECOND BY COUNCILMEMBER MILLER, CARRIED 4-0-1-0 (MAYOR PRO TEM CORTES WAS ABSENT),to approve the following Consent Calendar Items: 3A. Approve Check Register Dated September 22, 2005 3B. Waive Full Reading of Ordinances on Agenda 3C. Approval of 09-08-2005 Minutes PUBLIC COMMENT Jeffrev.McConnell,21158 Walnut Avenue,questioned the status of the Barton Road bridge and why there have been so many delays. Questioned the status of the Notice of Determination withregards to the Manhole Builders project. He also referred to the fact that there wasn't a 10 day waiting period for an appeal of the Senior Housing Project. He suggested that staff provide the public notices on the City website in addition to the regular requited noticing. Barnev Kamer, 11668 Bernardo Way, stated that he cares about Grand Terrace. He expressed his concern with undesirables that reside in town and where redevelopment funds are being spent. Svlvia Robles, 23008 Orangewood Court, expressed her concern with the amount of information that is available on the website and would like to see more information available. She feels that the Redevelopment Agency should be abolished. Citv Manager Schwab, stated that the Barton Road Bridge retrofit project is a Caltrans project that is being shared between Grand Terrace and Colton. We are still working with Caltrans and will get a status of the project. The notice of Determination for the Planning Commission for Manhole Builders,when that item went before the Planning Commission they approved it. It is the obligation of the staff to file a notice of determination in the newspaper stating that the item was approved by the Planning Commission. That notice was filed properly. Subsequently,there was an appeal and that project will be heard again by the Planning Commission. The Planning Commission heard the Senior Housing Project and prior to the end of any 10 day period it went to the Council,however,the reason the 10 day appeal period is there is that if there is an item that goes to the Planning Commission that does not go to the City Council,you have 10 ten days to appeal since the senior project had Council Minutes September 22,2005 Page 3 to go to the Council there is no purpose for anyone to appeal the Planning Commission decision because it was automatically going to the Council. ORAL REPORTS 5A. Committee Reports 1. Emergency Operations Committee a. Minutes of 08-02-2005 CC-2005-97 MOTION BY COUNCILMEMBERHILKEY,SECOND BY COUNCILMEMBER GARCIA, CARRIED 4-0-1-0 (MAYOR PRO TEM CORTES WAS ABSENT), to accept the August 2, 2005 Minutes of the Emergency Operations Committee. b. Appoint New Committee Member(Hurst) CC-2005-98. MOTION BY COUNCILMEMBER HILKEY,SECOND BY COUNCILMEMBER MILLER, CARRIED 4-0-1-0 (MAYOR PRO TEM CORTES WAS ABSENT), to appoint Debra Hurst as a regular member to the Emergency Operations Committee with a term continuing to June 30, 2008. 2. Crime Prevention Committee a. Minutes of 08-08-2005 CC-2005-99 MOTION BY COUNCILMEMBER HILKEY,SECOND BY COUNCILMEMBER GARCIA, CARRIED 4-0-1-0 (MAYOR PRO TEM CORTES WAS ABSENT),to accept the August 8, 2005 Minutes of the Crime Prevention Committee. b. California Sexual Predator Punishment and Control Act CC-2005-100 MOTION BY COUNCILMEMBERHILKEY,SECOND BY COUNCILMEMBER MILLER, CARRIED 4-0-1-0 (MAYOR PRO TEM CORTES WAS ABSENT), to adopt and support the California Sexual Predator Punishment and Control Act and prepare a letter of support for this act on behalf of the City of Grand Terrace and forward them to State Senator Robert Dutton, 3 1"District and Assembly Member Bill Emmerson 63`d District. 3. Historical and Cultural Activities Committee a. Minutes of 07-11-2005 CC-2005-101 MOTION BY COUNCILMEMBER GARCIA,SECOND BY COUNCILMEMBER HILKEY, CARRIED 4-0-1-0 (MAYOR PTO TEM CORTES WAS ABSENT), to Council Minutes September 22,2005 Page 4 accept the July 11,2005 Minutes of the Historical and Cultural Activities Committee. COUNCIL REPORTS Councilmember Hilkev, would like to see the crime statistics made more available to the residents. He would like to see the minutes available on the website. Councilmember Garcia. expressed her concern with the erosion of what the Crime Prevention Officer does in terms of Crime Prevention. She requested a report on what the specific duties of Beth Powell is for Grand Terrace. She feels that it is important to keep our residents informed with regards to Crime. She feels that the website would be a good place to look for things that are going on in the community. She encouraged residents to call into City Hall if they ever have a question on what is going on. She questioned what is preventing the information from being provided on the webpage. She suggested that Jeffrey McConnell put some of the questions that he has been hearing throughout the Community in the Blue Mountain Outlook and have someone knowledgeable answer the questions and place them on the webpage as well. She enjoyed the concert in the park and felt that everyone in attendance enjoyed the evening. She questioned how many people were in attendance. Assistant Citv Manager Berrv.responded that there were approximately 200 to 250 people. It was a great evening and the band played fantastic songs. They are looking at possibly adding a farmers market to it next year. Councilmember Miller.noticed that there is going to be a graffiti clean-up on the gage canal. He feels that the graffiti needs to be cleaned up as quick as possible. He wants the residents to know that the City is working to keep the graffiti cleaned up and would like the information to be posted on the Webpage and newsletter. He stated that there are a lot of campaign signs up and feels that we need to address the issue of campaign signs before they become a problem. John Harper. City Attorney, stated that the Courts have said that the City's do not have the ability to control when signs go up only when they come down. Political signs can go up anytime. It is the hope that candidates will abide by the rules, however, there is no constitutional way to enforce it, except in the public right of way. Mavor Ferre,stated that letters were sent to candidates who are running for the Colton Joint Unified School District Board. Citv Manaeer Schwab. stated that letters were sent out to candidates and we removed signs that were in the public right of way which will be returned to the candidates. Council Minutes September 22,2005 Page 5 Mavor Ferr6. questioned if staff could elaborate at all on what was going on with the helicopter today. Citv Manager Schwab. stated that at approximately 7:30 a.m. they came in contact with an individual. That individual gave the deputy a false name and while the deputy was checking out the name, the individual got into his vehicle and drove off. The deputy followed the individual. He hit a block wall and ran. For about two hours there was a perimeter that was set up while they searched for this individual. They found out that he was a parolee at large out of the City of Colton. They could not find the individual. Mayor Ferr6. questioned what is available on the website. Assistant Citv Manaver Berrv. stated that news and events, key statistics, anyone can be contacted through the website. He feels that there could be more information provided, however,staff is limited to what they can do. There are companies out there that can provide this service for us. PUBLIC HEARING 6A. Street Cut Policy and an Ordinance of the City Council of the City of Grand Terrace, California Establishing Fines for Failure to Obtain a Street Cut Permit and Failure to Perform Street Cut Construction in Accordance to the Specifications as Described in the Specifications for Construction Within the Public Right of Way CC-2005-102 MOTION BY COUNCILMEMBER GARCIA,SECOND BY COUNCILMEMBER MILLER, CARRIED 4-0-1-0 (MAYOR PRO TEM CORTES WAS ABSENT), to continue the Street Cut Policy and an Ordinance of the City Council of the City of Grand Terrace, California Establishing Fines for Failure to Obtain a Street Cut Permit and Failure to Perform Street Cut Construction in Accordance to the Specifications as Described in the Specifications for Construction Within the Public Right of Way to October 27, 2005. UNFINISHED BUSINESS 7A. Second Reading of an Ordinance of the City Council of the City of Grand Terrace Approving SP-05-01 (Blue Mountain Senior Villas Specific Plan)and Environmental Assessment E-05-16 Second Reading of an Ordinance of the City Council of the City of Grand Terrace, State of California, Approving General Plan Amendment Case No GP-05-01 for an Amendment to the City General Plan-Community Development Element to Add a New Land Use Designation of Medium High Density Residential Council Minutes September 22,2005 Page 6 CC-2005-103 MOTION BY COUNCILMEMBER HILKEY,SECOND BY COUNCILMEMBER MILLER, CARRIED 4-0-1-0 (MAYOR PRO TEM CORTES WAS ABSENT), to approve the Second Reading of an Ordinance of the City Council of the City of Grand Terrace Approving SP-05-01(Blue Mountain Senior Villas Specific Plan)and Environmental Assessment E-05-16 and the Second Reading of an Ordinance of the City Council of the City of Grand Terrace, State of California, Approving General Plan Amendment Case No GP-05-01 for an Amendment to the City General Plan- Community Development Element to Add a New Land Use Designation of Medium High Density Residential 7B. Approve August 25, 2005 Council Minutes and Re-vote on Voucher#56055 in the Amount of$890,674.00 CC-2005-104 MOTION BY COUNCILMEMBER GARCIA, SECOND BY MAYOR FERRE, CARRIED 3-1-1-0 (COUNCILMEMBER HILKEY VOTED NO AND MAYOR PRO TEM CORTES WAS ABSENT),to approve the August 25,2005 City Council Minutes. CC-2005-105 MOTION BY COUNCILMEMBER GARCIA, SECOND BY MAYOR FERRE, CARRIED 2-1-1-1 (COUNCILMEMBER HILKEY VOTED NO, MAYOR PRO TEM CORTES WAS ABSENT, AND COUNCILMEMBER MILLER ABSTAINED), to approve Voucher#56055 in the amount of$890,674.00. NEW BUSINESS 8A. Discussion on Fireworks Regulations CitvMana_er Schwab,stated that the City Council adopted an ordinance in 1998 establishing the sale and regulation of safe and sane fireworks in the City of Grand Terrace. During the seven years that the City has allowed legal fireworks, and especially in recent years, the number and quality of illegal fireworks has proliferated considerably. In staff s research,it appears that the illegal fireworks are now more readily available within the United States, and particularly in the State of Nevada,for purchase by California residents to be utilized in our local neighborhoods. Whether it is increased availability of illegal fireworks or the use of legal fireworks in Grand Terrace that has caused the proliferation of the illegal variety is open to debate. He stated that in the limited research of local law enforcement agencies both the City of Loma Linda and the City of Highland both prohibit the use of fireworks of any variety legal or otherwise and it is our conclusion that those communities had a high level of illegal fireworks use even though they allow no legal fireworks. Staff is looking for direction from the City Council as to whether there is any desire to amend our current fireworks regulations. He suggested creating some sort of task force to come up with a solution. Council Minutes September 22,2005 Page 7 John Kellv. TNT Fireworks, indicated that he would like to be a resource for a task force should one be formed. He stated that there are stores in Nevada that sell the illegal fireworks. He encouraged the formation of a task force, continue local efforts, continue education,punish offenders. Mickev Bubier.22659 La Paix, stated that if the City no longer allows the sale of fireworks in Grand Terrace the local youth leagues will suffer tremendously and struggle to fund their organizations. He questioned how many responses the fire department participated in on the 4'of July. Nicole Page.22734 De Soto Street,stated that it is difficult for the organizations to come up with the funds to support the leagues. She feels that the fireworks booth sale is a strong way for the leagues to raise money. Brian Phelps.22857 Wren Street,stated that losing the fireworks fundraising would hurt the leagues and asked that the Council consider this when discussing the issue of fireworks. Councilmember Miller,stated that he supports having the sale of fireworks as fundraisers for our local organizations. Councilmember Garcia, stated that she is in support of forming a task force and she would like the fire department,police department and crime prevention to be involved. She would like to see updates monthly or every other month. She would like to see the Fontana Fines idea and a major education campaign. Councilmember Hilkev. he questioned if there were fires on the 4"' of July. Citv Manager Schwab,stated that there were two fires,however,there was no direct link to fireworks. Councilmember Hilkev, he would like to attach a fine to the residence not the actual individual. He would be supportive of a committee that would look at this at long range. Mavor Ferr6. feels that a committee would be extremely important in this decision. She questioned what the chances would be to have a fireworks show in Grand Terrace. Citv Manager Schwab, stated that it would be up to the Council to direct staff to do that and staff would have to come up with a way to fund it. Mavor Ferre. would like the committee to consider a fireworks show in Grand Terrace. Citv Manager Schwab, stated that the formation of a task force will have to come back to Council Minutes September 22,2005 Page 8 Council for approval and recommendation of members. 8C. Blue Mountain Villas - Ground Lease Svlvia Robles, 23008 Orangewood Court, requested that priority be given to residents' extended family. Citv Manager Schwab, stated that this issue has been discussed and they will be addressing that issue. CC-2005-106 MOTION BY COUNCILMEMBER HILKEY,SECOND BY COUNCILMEMBER GARCIA, CARRIED 4-0-1-0 (MAYOR PRO TEM CORTES WAS ABSENT), to authorize the execution of the Ground Lease By and Between the City of Grand Terrace/Lessor and Corporation for Better Housing/Lessee. CLOSED SESSION -None Mayor Ferre adjourned the meeting at 8:45 p.m. until the next CRA/City Council Meeting which is scheduled to be held on Thursday, October 13, 2005 at 6:00 p.m. G CITY CLERK of the City of(Aand Terrace MAYOR of the City of Grand Terrace