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12/08/2005 CITY OF GRAND TERRACE CITY COUNCIL MINUTES REGULAR MEETING-DECEMBER 8, 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 December 8, 2005, at 6:00 p.m. PRESENT: Maryetta Ferr6, Mayor Bea Cortes, Mayor Pro Tern Herman Hilkey, Councilmember Lee Ann Garcia, Councilmember Jim Miller, Councilmember Tom Schwab, City Manager Tracey Martinez, Deputy City Clerk Steve Berry, Assistant City Manager Larry Ronnow,Finance Director Richard Shields, Building& Safety Director John Harper, City Attorney Lt. Hector Guerra, Sheriff's Department ABSENT: Brenda Stanfill, City Clerk Gary Koontz, Community Development Director The City Council meeting was opened with Invocation by Pastor Rick Doucette,Calvary,The Brook Church, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance led by Councilmember Jim Miller. ITEMS TO DELETE -None SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS -None CONSENT CALENDAR CC-2005-128 MOTION BY COUNCILMEMBER HILKEY, SECOND BY MAYOR PRO TEM CORTES,CARRIED 5-0,to approve the following Consent Calendar Items with the removal of item 3C.: 3A. Approve Check Register Dated December 8, 2005 3B. Waive Full Reading of Ordinances on Agenda 3D. Installation of an All-Way Stop at the Intersection of Palm and Rosedale 3E. Resolution of Final Parcel Map No. 16986, southeast corner of Pico Street and Oriole Street,being a Subdivision of a portion of the northwest 1/4 of the southeast 1/4 of the southwest 1/4 of Section 4,Township 2, south,Range 4, Council Minutes December 8,2005 Page 2 west San Bernardino Meridian 3F. Resolution Authorizing the Participation with the City of Colton in the Replacement of Barton Road Overhead Bridge Project. (OH54C-0379) Acknowledge Eligibility to Receive Federal and/or State Funding for Certain Transportation Project and Delegate the Public Works Director to Sign Agreements on Behalf of the City. 3G. Notice of Completion of the Grand Terrace Corporate Yard Project (EGN Corporation) 3H. Special Events Permit Requested by Calvary, the Brook for the use of Richard Rollins Park for a New Year's Day Service and Picnic on Sunday, January 1, 2006 3I. Resolution Adopting the 2005-2006 Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Program Goal 3J. Resolution in Support of Statewide Greenhouse Gas Reduction Targets 3K. Annual Financial Report for Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 2005 ITEM REMOVED FROM CALENDAR 3C. Approval of 1.1-10-2005 Minutes CC-2005-129 MOTION BY MAYOR PRO TEM CORTES, SECOND BY COUNCILMEMBER GARCIA, CARRIED 4-0-0-1 (MAYOR FERRE ABSTAINED), to approve the November 10, 2005 Minutes. PUBLIC COMMENT Stacev West. 17794 Lemon Street, Hesperia, indicated that she is speaking on behalf of Swertfeger Equipment,located at 1243 8 Michigan Street. She indicated that they have been trying to obtain a building permit for their building. They have sent a letter to City Manager Schwab from their attorney back in August and have not heard a response to date. They need to come to a conclusion. In their initial conditions they were not told that they had to move power poles,if they were they would have made the cost a part of their loan. They are being told that if they don't move the poles they can not get a building permit. They are at a complete standstill because they don't have the money to move the power poles. Charles Homsbv, 22656 Brentwood Street, stated that around the corner of Preston and Barton Road there is a concrete barrier on the edge of the sidewalk that has been there for approximately 6 months that is an accident waiting to happen. Thelma Winkler Beach. 12570 Mt. Vernon Avenue, stated that she has opinions on a lot of things and wanted to share some of them. She expressed her concern with some of the recent Ordinances and feels that the City isn't communicating properly with the community. She Council Minutes December 8,2005 Page 3 feels that 2006 will present problems never anticipated in this community. She would like to see the same unity of spirit that created this community years ago. Bobbie Forbes. 11850 Burns Avenue, reported that the Chamber of Commerce will have their Holiday Decorating Contest on December 10, 2005 at 6:00 p.m. Patricia Farlev, 12513 Michigan Avenue, expressed her dissatisfaction that the Colton Joint Unified School District held their Board Meeting the same evening as the City Council Meeting. She feels that the residents are consistently left out of the loop. She questioned why the City Council is allowing projects that she feels is trashing the community. She questioned if the Council was aware that the Attorney for the District is stating facts that she believes to be untrue. She stated that they said there is appropriate circulation in Grand Terrace to handle the new high school. She questioned when the circulation issues in Grand Terrace are going to be addressed. She is tired of going to meetings and feeling that she is being walked over as a resident and that no one is representing her. She stated that the District did not bother to show the enviromnental report to the City of Riverside. She feels that we are not being good neighbors to Highgrove or Riverside. The residents affected by this project should have been involved in any forums. She questioned when the Council is going to represent the residents. City Manager Tom Schwab,stated that the Conditions of Approval on the Swertfeger project requires them to widen the road to the ultimate width and pave out the roadway. It does not specifically state that they must move the power pole, but it is implied. Staff has tried to work with Edison, however, they haven't responded positively. He can relay that to Swertfeger's attorney but it is not going to be the response that they want. He would have liked to be able to come up with a way to move the .poles. He stated that staff will immediately look at the area that Mr. Hornsby referred to. The EIR public Hearing for the proposed High School was held this evening. Community and Economic Development Director Gary Koontz is at the meeting. Staff was given a copy of the EIR and have made responses. There are a tremendous amount of circulation issues that staff has concerns with. The High School does not have to go through the City planning process they require no approvals from the City it is strickly a fimction of the State. Staff has commented on the circulation and will work with the School District to create the best circulation that we can. The City does not control the permitting of the high school. ORAL REPORTS 5A. Committee Reports 1. Historical and Cultural Activities Committee a. Minutes of October 3, 2005 Council Minutes December 8,2005 Page 4 CC-2005-130 MOTION BY MAYOR PRO TEM CORTES, SECOND BY COUNCILMEMBER GARCIA, CARRIED 5-0, to accept the October 3, 2005 Minutes of the Historical and Cultural Activities Committee. 2. Emergency Operations Committee a. Add Two Alternate Positions to the Emergency Operations Committee CC-2005-131 MOTION BY COUNCILMEMBER GARCIA,SECOND BY COUNCILMEMBER HILKEY,CARRIED 5-0,to add two alternate positions'to the Emergency Operations Committee. 3. Crime Prevention Committee a. Minutes of September 12, 2005 and October 10, 2005 CC-2005-132 MOTION BY COUNCILMEMBER HILKEY, SECOND BY MAYOR PRO TEM CORTES, CARRIED 5-0, to accept the September 12, 2005 and October 10, 2005 Minutes of the Crime Prevention Committee. COUNCIL REPORTS Councilmember Hilkev. wished everyone a happy holiday and gave special thanks to the Historical and Cultural Activities Committee for the Birthday Party. Councilmember Garcia, thanked the Historical and Cultural Activities Committee for the Birthday celebration. She thinks it would be nice to have something that highlights those that have given years of time. She commended the Lion's Club for all of the charities that they do. The Historical Committee does a display in the foyer`and this year it will focus on the Lion's Club. She reported that SCAG voted at their last meeting to go from a 3 year regional transportation plan cycle to a 4 year. She is concerned that the 215 South got put by the wayside for the last measure and that we are suppose to be at the top of the list but from what she understands there are other cities regionally that are trying to get above us. She is an activist at heart and she shares the same concerns with circulation as the residents and feels that it needs to be a priority. She stated that the BMO will be doing an article on Citizen's Patrol and encouraged residents to get involved. Councilmember Miller. feels privileged to be a member of the Lion's Club. He stated that it is a hard working organization and that they provide services for a lot of different agencies and provide funding for a lot of different causes. He thanked the Historical and Cultural Council Minutes December 8,2005 Page 5 Activities Committee for the nice Birthday Party. He expressed his frustration with the amount of graffiti that he is seeing in town. He reported that there is graffiti at both entrances into the City. He feels that it is very important to get a handle on the graffiti and that it gets removed quickly. The Lion's Club has offered to have work parties to remove the graffiti in the City. Mavor Pro Tem Cortes,thanked the Historical and Cultural Activities Committee for putting on such a wonderful event. She knew that the Lion's Club did great work, however, she didn't know the extent of their work. She agrees that organizations and people that do for the City should be acknowledged. She reported that at the SANBAG Board of Directors Meeting, they decided on a new Executive Director Mark Tony Grasso. She also reported that Board Officer,Susan Van Note passed away. She thanked the Fire Department for their help at the Birthday Party. She thanked City Manager Schwab and Lt. Guerra for their help with an incident on DeBerry Street. She requested an update from Lt. Guerra. Lt. Guerra, responded that over the past several weeks they have been stepping up their efforts involving enforcement efforts on some of the kids that have been creating some of the problems in town. They did a couple of sweeps during the evening hours and were able to make several arrests which varied from curfew violations to possession of a fire arm. Since some of those enforcement efforts,it appears as though things have quieted down a little bit and they are keeping an eye on it. If they need to continue the enforcements they will do so. Mavor Pro Tem Cortes,wished everyone a happy and safe holiday and thanked everyone for being at the meeting on the City's birthday. Mavor Ferre,stated that she always enjoys the birthday party and thanked the Historical and Cultural Activities Committee for Hometown America and feels fortunate to live in a community where each year we celebrate our birthday. People come to this event that have no more reason than to say Happy Birthday to the City. She stated that Tony Petta and Ed O'Neal, for the past 10 to 14 years went to Terrace View Elementary School and had a flag ceremony every February and brought a flag for each of the students. She appreciated Ed O'Neal,Tony Petta as well as the Lions Club,they are a vital part of the community and are certainly showing the students and people of the community what really is important and what matters. She wished everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy Holiday. PUBLIC HEARING 6A. Non-owner Occupied/Rental Property Ordinance An Ordinance of the City Council of the City of Grand Terrace, California, Establishing the Non-Owner Occupied/Rental Property Program Council Minutes December 8,2005 Page 6 Assistant Citv Manager Berrv. stated that at the October 27, 2005 City Council Meeting, the Council passed the Non-Owner Occupied Rental Property Program. This program is expected to help our City clean up sub-standard rental stock, improve the quality of life in our neighborhoods, and maintain or increase the economic value of single-family homes and other rental residences. The Council expressed some concerns with the initial program proposal and requested a number of changes that have been addressed. During the draft of this ordinance staff met with community groups,property owners and looked to similar ordinances from other Cities for guidance. It was staff s desire to balance the implementation of an ordinance that would create an incentive to maintain rental property to an acceptable standard while not unduly penalizing property owners who have always taken care to maintain their properties. It is staff s recommendation to approve the first reading of the non-owner occupied/rental property program. Councilmember Hilkev. questioned if there will be a second reading of this ordinance. Assistant Citv Manager Berrv, responded in the affirmative. Councilmember Hilkev. thanked staff. He stated that there were some dramatic changes that were requested by the Council and staff incorporated them. Mayor Ferre opened discussion to the public, there being none she returned the discussion to the Council. CC-2005-133 MOTION BY COUNCILMEMBER HILKEY, SECOND BY MAYOR PRO TEM CORTES, CARRIED 5-0, to approve the first reading of an ordinance of the City Council of the City of Grand Terrace, California, Establishing the Non-Owner Occupied/Rental Property Program. 6B City Wide User Fee and Rate Study An Ordinance of the City Council of the City of Grand Terrace, California, Amending Title 4 of the Municipal Code and Establishing User Fees Assistant Citv Manager Berry. reported that in February 2005 at the City Wide Prioritization Workshop, the council rated Development and User Fee Review as their#12 priority out of 35 projects for staff to pursue. In the 2004-05 Budget, the Council approved the appropriation of funds for two fee studies. The first fee study, which is currently being finalized,is a developer fee study. Developer fees help pay for infrastructure costs such as streets,traffic signals and bridges. The second study approved by the Council was for a user fee study. User fees help cover the cost of Council Minutes December 8,2005 Page 7 providing the public with services such as dog licensing,photocopying,planning,and others. CBIZ Accounting, Tax and Advisory of Orange County, LLC (CBIZ) was engaged by the City of Grand Terrace to prepare a comprehensive City wide user fee and rate study. The Rate Study document represents the results of the study and the recommended user fee increases,decreases,additions and deletions per staff. At the November 10,2005 Council Meeting, staff gave the first presentation of this study. The Council expressed concerns over the use of acronyms in the report (EIR, SAR,etc.)And the lack of comparisons of the proposed fees to those of neighboring cities. Staff has since amended the reports to include rate comparison data from other cities. It is staff s recommendation to adopt the increases,decreases,additions, and deletions of selected user fees as noted in the rate study. Councilmember Miller,questioned if the public works and planning fees are the fees that are currently being studied and will be brought to the Council in January or February. Assistant Citv Manager Berrv, responded that what will be coming in January or February are the development fees. Councilmember Miller, confirmed that the fees that are before them are one of the fees that will be adopted tonight. He indicated that he looked at the list and compared it to other cities. He feels that we are low on some of the fees compared to other cities. Assistant Citv Manager Berrv,responded that we are low compared to some of the cities. It is hard to compare one city to another. Citv Attomev Hamer, stated that cities by law are limited to charging the actual cost of providing the service. Councilmember Miller, confirmed that fees are the actual cost of doing the work. Assistant Citv Manager Berrv,stated that some of them are and some were reduced. Councilmember Hilkev, questioned of the fees that are being changed are those in exhibit H. Assistant Citv Manager Berm responded in the affirmative. Councilmember Hilkev,questioned if there are any changes in handling fees for pets with the chip implant. Council Minutes December 8,2005 Page 8 Assistant Citv Manaver Berrv, stated that only the licensing fees are being changed. Councilmember Hilkev,questioned if the appeal for the Planning Commission is on Exhibit H. Assistant Citv Manager Berrv,responded that it is included on Exhibit H. Mavor Ferr6,confirmed that the fees are based upon the amount of work that it takes staff to perform the job. Assistant Citv Manaizer Berry,responded in the affirmative. Mayor Ferr6 opened the Public Hearing. Jeffrey McConnell. 21758 Walnut, stated that he has concerns with the copy fees, video tape fees and the Appeal of Planning Commission Fee. He feels that there _ needs to be a nominal fee for the appeal of the Planning Commission Fees. He feels that the City needs to seriously consider placing a lot of the documents on the webpage to eliminate the need for copies. He feels thatit is very important to remove graffiti in a quick manner. Charles Homsbv. 22656 Brentwood Street, is for maintaining user fees as low as possible but using their discretion. He has also noticed graffiti and feels that this is something the City needs to address. Mayor Ferr6 returned discussion to the Council. CC-2005-134 MOTION BY MAYOR PRO TEM CORTES, SECOND BY MAYOR FERRE CARRIED 5-0, to approve the first reading of an Ordinance of the City Council of the City of Grand Terrace, California Amending Title 4 of the Municipal Code and Establishing User Fees. UNFINISHED BUSINESS 7A. Second Reading of an Ordinance Approving Specific Plan No. 04-02(SP-04-02)for a Lot Subdivision with 15 Single Family Detached Units and One Open Space Lot on a Two Acre Site Located on the North Side of De Berry Street Between the Gage Canal on the West and Mt.Vernon on the East and Environmental Review Case No. 04-01 (E-04-01) - Mitigated Negative Declaration as Provided by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) CC-2005-135 MOTION BY COUNCILMEMBER HILKEY, SECOND BY COUNCILMEMBR Council Minutes December 8,2005 Page 9 MILLER, CARRIED 4-0-0-1 (MAYOR PRO TEM CORTES ABSTAINED), to approve the Second Reading of an Ordinance Approving Specific Plan No. 04-02 (SP-04-02) for a Lot Subdivision with 15 Single Family Detached Units and One Open Space Lot on a Two Acre Site Located on the North Side of De Berry Street Between the Gage Canal on the West and Mt.Vernon on the East and Environmental Review Case No. 04-01 (E-04-01)-Mitigated Negative Declaration as Provided by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). NEW BUSINESS 8A. HVAC Financing Agreement with Municipal Services CC-2005-136 MOTION BY COUNCILMEMBER MILLER, SECOND BY MAYOR PRO TEM CORTES, CARRIED 5-0,to approve the Financing Agreement between the City of Grand Terrace and Municipal Services Group, Inc. ,for the purchase of HVAC Equipment. CLOSED SESSION 9A. Real Estate Negotiations - 22874 Arliss Mayor Ferre announced that the Council met in Closed Session to discuss Real Estate Negotiations at 22874 Arliss and that there was no reportable action taken. Mayor Ferre adjourned the meeting at 9:00 p.m., until the next CRA/City Council Meeting which is scheduled to be held on Thursday, January 12, 2006 at 6:00 p.m. CITY CLERK of the.City,9f Grand Terrace MAYOfof the City of Grand Terrace