Loading...
07/22/2008CITY OF GRAND TERRACE CITY COUNCIL MINUTES REGULAR MEETING - JULY 22, 2008 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 July 22, 2008, at 6:00 p.m. PRESENT: Maryetta Ferre, Mayor Lee Ann Garcia, Mayor Pro Tern Bea Cortes, Councilmember Jim Miller, Councilmember Dan Buchanan, Councilmember Brenda Mesa, City Clerk Steve Berry, Assistant City Manager.'City Manager Pro Tern Larry Ronnow, Finance Director Richard Shields, Building & Safety Director John Harper, City Attorney Lt. Mike Newcombe, San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department John Salvate, San Bernardino County Fire Department ABSENT: Tom Schwab, City Manager Gary Koontz, Community Develo ment Director The City Council meeting was opened with Invocation by Mayor Pro Tern Lee Ann Garcia, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance led by Councilwoman Bea Cortes. Mayor Ferrd made the following announcement: Tom Schwab is still recovering and has been moved from ICU to a step down unit where he now can receive flowers and that type of thing. He still can not have any visitors. He is at Loma Linda University Hospital. While we all pray that Tom will return in the very near future in the interim the Municipal Code requires that Assistant City Manager Steve Berry shall serve as City Manager during Tom's absence. ITEM TO DELETE - None SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS 2A. Commendation - Boy Scout Troop 40 Councilman Dan Buchanan read a Commendation for the Boy Scouts of America Troop 40 that is celebrating 50 Years in Grand Terrace commending them for 50 years of service to the young men of Grand Terrace by providing the tools for strengthening their character, Council Minutes 07 -22;'2008 Page 2 encouraging personal fitness and good citizenship and for being a valuable asset to the City of Grand Terrace and presented it to them. Sam Fisk, thanked the City of Grand Terrace on behalf of Troop 40. He stated that the purpose of Boy Scouting is providing effective programs for boys designed to build a desirable quality of character, citizenship and personal fitness through community organizations. He thanked the Council for the opportunity. 2B. 30`h Anniversary Presentation - San Bernardino County Sheriff s Department and San Bernardino County Fire Department Mayor Ferrd stated that as part of our 30`h Anniversary Celebration the Council has been honoring people and groups who have made an extraordinary impact on the City of Grand Terrace. This month we are honoring two very important groups of people and two very important services and they are the San Bernardino County Sheriff s Department and the San Bernardino County Fire Department. We honor them and wouldn't be the safe City that we are without the Sheriff s Department and the Fire Department. Mayor Ferre, he presented Lt. Mike Newcombe, San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department with a 30" Anniversary Plaque. 0 Lt. MikeNewcombe, introduced the Gary Penrod, Sheriff, Rod Hoops, Assistant Sheriff, Bill Abernathy, Deputy Chief and Valerie Tanguay, Captain. He stated that when he first received this assignment to Grand Terrace Lt. Guerra said to him that he will love working with the staff and Council. He told him that they will listen to you and support you. He stated that his experience with the City so far has been very positive and he is appreciative. He thanked the Council for recognizing the Department and Deputies when they do a good job. He indicated that the Sheriff s Department has something to present to the City. Gary Penrod, Sheriff, presented the City with a plaque congratulating the City on Celebrating 30 years. He indicated that the relationship between the City of Grand Terrace and the San Bernardino County Sheriff s Department goes back to incorporation. He reported that the County Sheriffs Department contracts with 24 cities in the County and the contract forces make up 55% of the patrol force. We truly appreciate the relationship that they have with all of the cities and especially Grand Terrace that are always supporting them and where public safety is the number one priority. He sent well wishes to City Manager Tom Schwab. Mayor Pro Tem Garcia, presented Division Chief Terry Welsh, San Bernardino County Fire Department with a 30" Anniversary Plaque and thanked them for everything that they do for the City of Grand Terrace. John Salvate, Battalion Chief, San Bernardino County Fire, indicated that they have enjoyed Council Minutes 07 '22- 2008 Page 3 a long relationship with the City of Grand Terrace. Contract cities are a great part of what they do and a great part of their organization. He gave a presentation on what the department does and the support that they provide. Terry Welsh, Division Chief San Bernardino County Fire, recognized John and indicated that he does a tremendous job for the County and that he and the City are very fortunate to have him here. The relationship between the City and County Fire has been terrific. Staff and Council have been good to the Department and they appreciate the relationship and look forward to many more years. He sent well wishes to City Manager Tom Schwab. He presented a plaque to the City of Grand Terrace congratulating the City on their 30 year Celebration. CONSENT CALENDAR CC-2008-60 MOTION BY COUNCILMEMBER CORTES, SECOND BY COUNCILMEMBER MILLER, CARRIED 5-0, to approve the following Consent Calendar Items: 3A. Approve Check Register Dated July 22, 2008 3B. Waive Full Reading of Ordinances on Agenda 3C. Approval of June 24, 2008 Minutes 3D. Continuing Appropriations for Fiscal Year 2008-2009 3E. Reclassification - Clerk/Typist to Secretary PUBLIC COMMENT Patricia Farley, 12513 Michigan Street, made the following statement: As you know, I have been quite alarmed and very concerned about a number of issues in our city. The reason I have a number of issues with what I've observed going on in Grand Terrace is not because I am against development in our city. At the very center of my concerns is the General Plan which serves as the constitution of the city guiding future development and overall quality of life in our community. The General Plan for the City of Grand Terrace has not been legally processed or approved since 1984. Extensive research of city documents support and prove my concerns to be valid. Different versions of legal documents such as the 1988 General Plan were and are continuing to be given to city officials, citizens, developers, lawyers, and courts. Undated, unapproved, and conflicting versions of documents (particularly maps) have been and continue to be distributed and relied upon when important decisions werelare being made. I question whether the council members who approved the 1988 General Plan even knew that maps got switched in the end. What council members and citizens saw and discussed are different than what appears in the General Plan of 1988. In addition, the final General Plan of 1988 Council Minutes 07- 22 -2008 Page 4 contains extremely different maps affecting important and large areas of the city. Major revisions like these are required to go back before the Planning Commission and the public before being approved. This did not occur. Important parts of the General Plan of 1988 are missing, and staff have not been able to locate them. Important decision have been made and continue to be made using this illegally processed and incomplete document. Our Planning Commission is currently supposed to be updating our General Plan, but the inaccuracies and missing documents of the 1988 General Plan are being relied upon and promoted, undermining every development decision city official are making, undermining the integrity of our city, and making our city very vulnerable to unscrupulous people who have already taken advantage of us as well as encouraging more to do so. Recently our Planning Commission meetings have been canceled, and I was told that there wasn't anything to discuss. There are extremely important things that they need to discuss and resolve immediately regarding the updating of the General Plan. The city must always follow the laws and proper procedures carefully to prevent the detrimental things which undermine nice development, the environment, and property values. City documents prove that not only are concern of private citizens being ignored, but also expressed and documented concerns of past city officials. Disorganization, lack of page numbers, same page numbers on various versions, missing dates, missing signatures, and dissemination of numerous conflicting maps etc. have done and continue to do irreparable damage to our city. City officials should not make important decisions or respond to the questions or citizens without checking city documents and getting accurate information. I can prove from meeting minutes that this has been happening. There is documented proof that city officials responded to citizens questions and accepted information from applicants without checking legal documents for accuracy. Citizens should not have to tolerate lack of answers to their questions. Councilmembers, members of the Planning Commission, staff, and citizens need to always have and refer to accurate, complete, and legally approved documents when questions are answered and important decisions are being made. This can not and will not happen until we have a legally processed and properly approved General Plan. It is imperative for the Council to have an extensive public meeting on our General Plan immediately to resolve these important issues. 0 Council Minutes 07 '22:'2008 Page 5 Todd HousIey, 22709 Minona Drive, introduced himself as a candidate for upcoming school board election in area 3. He expressed his desire to be included in any candidate forums or Council events that are school board related. As a 15 year employee of the Colton Joint Unified School District, a resident of Grand Terrace and a parent of two students within the district, he is committing to work with the citizens and leadership of Grand Terrace to keep the school boards attention focused on the City where he feels it needs to be. Assistant City Manager Berry, stated that the City has been very open to documents being available for review. He stated that he would be willing to sit down with Ms. Farley and Community and Economic Development Director Gary Koontz to go over any concerns she may have on the General Plan. REPORTS 5A. Committee Reports 1. Emergency Operations Committee a. Minutes of June 3, 2008 CC-2008-61 MOTION BY MAYOR PRO TEM GARCIA, SECOND BY COUNCILMEMBER CORTES, CARRIED 5-0, to accept the June 3, 2008 Minutes of the Emergency Operations Committee. 2. Historical and Cultural Activities Committee a. Minutes of June 2, 2008 CC-2008-62 MOTION BY COUNCILMEMBER CORTES, SECOND BY MAYOR PRO TEM GARCIA, CARRIED 5-0, to accept the June 2, 2008 Minutes of the Historical and Cultural Activities Committee. 5B. Council Reports Mayor Pro Tern Lee Ann Garcia, encouraged everyone to attend Chamber of Commerce events. She reported that Jessica Borzilleri is the new Chamber of Commerce President. She reported that she attended Market Night hosted by the Chamber of Commerce, which was a good event. She feels that it is important to support our local businesses and shop Grand Terrace. She recognized the Woman's Club and everything that they do to help. Looking forward to the movie night. Assistant City Manager Be=, announced that Enchanted by Disney will be the movie shown at the next movie event at the park on August 22, 2008. There will be a lot of fun activities for the entire family. Council Minutes 07 '22; 2008 Page 6 Councilmember Jim Miller, questioned if the synchronization of the lights has been taken care of Assistant City Manaizer Bera, responded that there has been a stall in the synchronization of the lights and is unsure how long it is going to take but he will check on the status. Councilmember Jim Miller, stated that the lights are starting to get backed up when you get off the freeway on Barton Road. He also indicated that the Preston Street signal does not seem to want to change. He stated that he has met with a couple of the owners of the houses next to the freeway that has the chronic graffiti problem. He stated that the individual that will be taking care of the graffiti has asked if Sheriff s Department unit can be there while they are cleaning up the graffiti for safety reasons. Lt. Newcombe, responded in the affirmative. PUBLIC HEARING 6A. Resolution of the City Council of the City of Grand Terrace Confirming and Providing for Annual Assessment Levy for a Landscaping and Street Lighting District 0 Cily Attorney John Harper, stated that this is the annual levy on the Landscaping and Street Lighting District that was formed in 1989. The assessment is a result of proposition 218 in 1992. They have increased and do not propose to increase them this year. We are fortunate that it appears that the cost of providing the maintenance on the improvements and the assessments break even. Mayor Ferre opened the Public Hearing for discussion there being none she returned discussion to Council. CC-2008-63 MOTION BY COUNCILMEMBER MILLER, SECOND BY COUNCILMEMBER CORTES, CARRIED 5-0, to approve a Resolution of the City Council of the City of Grand Terrace Confirming and Providing for Annual Assessment Levy for a Landscaping and street Lighting District. UNFINISHED BUSINESS - None NEW BUSINESS 8A. Appoint Voting Delegate and Alternate for League of California Cities Annual Conference Council Minutes 07,`22-2008 Page 7 CC-2008-64 MOTION BY COUNCILMEMBER BUCHANAN, SECOND BY COUNCILMEMBER CORTES, CARRIED 5-0, to Appoint Mayor Maryetta Ferre as the Voting Delegate for the Annual League of California Cities Annual Conference and Mayor Pro Tem Lee Ann Garcia as the First Alternate and Councilman Jim Miller as the Second Alternate. 8B. Designate No Parking on South Side of Westwood Street and Designate a Red Curb in Front 22830 Lark Street CC-2008-65 MOTION BY COUNCILMEMBER MILLER, SECOND BY COUNCILMEMBER BUCHANAN, CARRIED 4-0-0-1 (MAYOR FERRE ABSTAINED), to designate no parking on the south side of Westwood Street. CC-2008-66 MOTION BY COUNCILMEMBER BUCHANAN, SECOND BY COUNCILMEMBER CORTES, CARRIED 5-0, to designate a red curb in front of 22830 Lark Street. CLOSED SESSION 9A. Conference with Legal Counsel - Existing Litigation GC54956.9(a) Guzman vs. Grand Terrace (Case 4SCVSS 130982) Mayor Ferrd announced that a conference was held with legal counsel on existing litigation GC54956.9(a) Guzman vs. Grand Terrace (Case 9SCVSS) and there was no reportable action taken. Mayor Ferre adjourned the meeting at 7:46 p.m., until the next CRA/City Council Meeting which is scheduled to be held on Tuesday, August 12, 2008 at 6:00 p.m. r MAYOR the City of Grand Terrace CITY CLERK of the City of Grand Terrace