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12/10/1992CITY OF GRAND TERRACE CITY COUNCIL MINUTES REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING - DECEMBER 10, 1992 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 10, 1992 at 6:00 P.M. PRESENT: Byron Matteson, Mayor Ronald Christianson, Mayor Pro Tem Gene Carlstrom, Councilmember Herman Hilkey, Councilmember Jim Singley, Councilmember Thomas J. Schwab, City Manager Patrizia Materassi, Planning Director Phil Bush, Finance Director Brenda Stanfill, City Clerk John Harper, City Attorney Joe Kicak, City Engineer ABSENT: Randall Anstine, Assistant City Manager The meeting was opened with invocation by Pastor Tom Comstock, Assembly of God, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance led by Councilmember Singley. Mayor Matteson convened City Council meeting at 6:00 P.M. Mayor Matteson reconvened City Council meeting at 6:07 P.M. SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS 2A. Mayor Matteson announced that Mr. and Mrs. Plake of 23059 Jensen Court are the recipients of the November 1992 Recycling Family of the Month Award and of local merchant gift certificates from Jack's Golf Shop, the Food Connection, Dimitri's, and True Value Hardware. Mayor Matteson presented outgoing Mayor Pro Tem Hugh J. Grant with a Proclamation which honors Mr. Grant for his 14 years of exemplary service to the City as a Councilmember. Dan Torres, on behalf of Senator Ruben Ayala, praised former Mayor Pro Tem Grant and awarded Mr. Grant with a plaque for his dedication to the City and his participation in the founding of Grand Terrace. Council Minutes - 12/10/92 Page 2 Mayor Pro Tem Christianson, presented Mr. Grant with a California Legislative Assembly Resolution, drafted by Assemblyman Paul A. Woodruff of the 61st District, commending Hugh J. Grant for his achievements and his community service as a founding member of the City and an active member of the City Council. Ed O'Neal, on behalf of 3rd District Supervisor Barbara Riordan, presented a Resolution to Mr. Grant, expressing appreciation for his sincere efforts to improve the community and recognizing him for his 14 years of outstanding service and dedication to the City. Elsa Ingalls, President, Grand Terrace Chamber of Commerce; awarded former Mayor Pro Tem Grant with a plaque, honoring him for his support of the Grand Terrace Chamber of Commerce. Tony Petta, 11875 Eton Drive, Grand Terrace; commenting that 1992 is the thirtieth birthday of the Grand Terrace Chamber of Commerce, applauded the Chamber's concept for the formation of the City of Grand Terrace and described the establishment of the City. He reported that the Charter City Council was installed at Terrace Hills Junior High School on November 30, 1978 and recognized those who participated in the development of the City, lauding Mr. Grant for his selfless service to the community. mayor Matteson, recognized the first Mayor of the City of Grand Terrace, Tony Petta, for his participation in the formation of the City. Mayor Pro Tem Christianson, presented Mr. Grant with a T- shirt bearing Mr. Grant's photograph. Hugh J. Grant, thanked the Historical and Cultural Committee for sponsoring the 14th Annual City Birthday Party. He also expressed appreciation to the community for the opportunity to have served as a Councilmember and praised the current and past Council and Staff. CONSENT CALENDAR CC-92-171 MOTION BY COUNCILMEMBER CARLSTROM, SECOND BY COUNCILMEMBER SINGLEY, CARRIED 5-0, to approve the remainder of the Consent Calendar with the removal of Item 3D. 0 A. APPROVE CHECK REGISTER NOS. 112592 & 121092 Council Minutes - 12/10/92 Page 3 B. RATIFY 12/10/92 CRA ACTION C. WAIVE FULL READING OF ORDINANCES ON AGENDA E. APPROPRIATE FUNDS FOR PURCHASE OF CITIZEN PATROL CAR F. RELEASE CASH DEPOSIT (AZURE HILLS SEVENTH -DAY ADVENTIST CHURCH) ITEMS REMOVED FROM CONSENT CALENDAR 3D. APPROVE 11/12/92 & 11/24/92 MINUTES CC-92-172 MOTION BY COUNCILMEMBER HILKEY, SECOND BY COUNCILMEMBER CARLSTROM, CARRIED 5-0, to approve the November 24, 1992 Minutes and to approve the November 12, 1992 City Council Minutes as amended to show that Councilmember Hilkey indicated that the Grand Terrace Area Youth Basketball Club has received an incrementally lesser amount in donations over the past two years. PUBLIC COMMENT Dennis Kidd, 22874 Pico St., Grand Terrace; indicated that he missed the Public Hearing regarding the specific Plan for the construction of the communications tower atop Blue Mountain and expressed concern about access to the facility. ORAL REPORTS 5A. Committee Reports 1. Historical and Cultural Committee (a) Minutes of 9/14/92 CC-92-173 MOTION BY MAYOR PRO TEM CHRISTIANSON, SECOND BY COUNCILMEMBER SINGLEY, CARRIED 5-0, to accept the Historical and Cultural Committee Minutes of September 14, 1992. 5B. Council Reports Mayor Pro Ten Christianson, referring to the League of California Cities annual dues, expressed reservations as to whether the City has been receiving adequate representation from the League. Council Minutes - 12/10/92 Page 4 Mayor Matteson, reported that Mayors and City Managers had a meeting regarding the League's questionable representation to Sacramento, adding that the City of Redlands is no longer paying the League dues. He expressed his belief, however, that the cities will elicit a better response from the State government as a group rather than individually. Mayor Pro Tem Christianson, complimented the sign replacements that the City subsidized following the fire at the Stater Brother's shopping center but questioned whether the Laundermat sign in the center will be replaced. Planning Director Materassi, replied that the laundermat owner is negotiating with the insurance company and indicated that the company intends to upgrade their sign. She expressed her opinion that the business is ready to submit a sign proposal to the City. Mayor Pro Tem Christianson, indicated his belief that the South Coast Air Quality Management District offers a grant program to fund the purchase of alternative fuel vehicles and recommended that the City investigate the possibility of acquiring such a vehicle for the Citizen Patrol. City Manacier Schwab, stated that the City has examined the possibility of purchasing an alternative fuel vehicle, observing that the purchase incentive program and discounts offered by the Air Quality Management District make the alternate fuel vehicles comparable in price to gasoline powered cars. He mentioned, however, that the Sheriff's Department vehicle maintenance chief advised the City to avoid using methanol fueled vehicles since the Citizen Patrol members do an excessive amount of slow, stop and go driving. Nevertheless, he explained that the City has applied to acquire a methanol -powered Ford Taurus for one week through the AQMD alternative fuel car loan program. Expressing his reservations, he remarked that methanol fueled engines are less efficient and less reliable than gasoline engines. He added that methanol fuel retailers are sparse, indicating that none of them are located within the City limits. He also revealed the City's interest Council Minutes - 12/10/92 Page 5 in a compressed natural gas car but asserted that the technology to produce such vehicles is limited. Mayor Pro Tem Christianson, indicating his understanding that the Mayors' Committee would be meeting to appoint another representative to the Local Agency Formation Commission, inquired as to whether the Mayor had a recommendation to offer to Council. Mayor Matteson, responded in the negative, adding that he has received only one request for the position. He explained that he is awaiting further applications prior to endorsing anyone for that appointment. Mayor Pro Tem Christianson, announced his intention to bring an ordinance before Council in January 1993 that will advocate the ban of cigarette machines in Grand Terrace, citing the Fourth District Court of Appeals' recent approval of City ordinances banning such machines. Expressing satisfaction, he extended his appreciation to the Staff and the volunteers for the City's 14th Annual Birthday Party and thanked Assistant City Manager Anstine for making the table centerpieces for the celebration. Councilmember Carlstrom, reported that he attended the monthly SANBAG meeting, indicating that there were new representatives in attendance at the meeting due to the November 3, 1992 Election. He also mentioned that he attended the Caltrans workshop on the California Transportation Plan on December 10, 1992, adding that he attended a Transportation Committee meeting the same morning with representatives from the Air Quality Management District and Ty Shilling from the County and John Michaels, Supervisor. Indicating that the State is preparing to meet future traffic problems, he reported that SANBAG's Congestion Management Plan was implemented in June 1992 and revealed that Caltrans' California Transportation Plan will be activated by June 1993. Although relating that the transportation plans will not be fully executed until 2010 and will cost millions of dollars, he expressed optimism regarding their success. Councilmember Hilkev, citing the widening of the I- 215 freeway between Barton Road and Center Street, Council Minutes - 12/10/92 Page 6 requested an update on the proposed Iowa exit from the I-215. Councilmember Carlstrom, remarked that the transportation workshops are scheduled throughout 1993 and indicated that there will be another workshop in January. Expressing concern regarding the Barton Road overpass and the ingress and egress to the City, he related that a $475,000 feasibility study was completed two years ago that involved the 1-91 from the 60 interchange in Riverside County to the I-10/I-215 interchange. The study discussed the widening of some of the bridges on the freeway and the widening of the I-215 by one lane. He voiced his dissatisfaction with the poor coordination of the two plans between Caltrans and the County Transportation Board. Councilmember Hilke , commented that a meeting was held at UCR several years ago regarding the transportation plans, indicating that the City's concerns were aired at that meeting. He remarked that the City has a commercial area near the freeway but asserted that there is limited access to that site. Voicing his chagrin, he suggested that the City either obtain proper access to the commercial location or amend the General Plan to redesignate the area. Mayor Matteson, stressed that the City needs to eliminate the bottleneck on Barton Road irregardless of the designation of the area. Councilmember Hilkey, remarked that the transportation plans reveal that the Waterman Avenue freeway offramp in San Barnardino will be replaced by the Hospitality exit and added that Colton will have a "super exit" on Washington. He surmised that Grand Terrace's problems with the commercial corridor stem from poor or nonexistent freeway exits. He offered his opinion that Grand Terrace's hesitation in the matter will cost the City the needed exit improvements. Commenting that the Southern California Edison property is the only obstacle between Grand Terrace and an Iowa Avenue exit, he stated that he spoke with Jim Burns of SCE who indicated a willingness to negotiate the establishment of a road through that property. Council Minutes - 12/10/92 Page 7 Councilmember Carlstrom, stressed that the City needs to adamantly vocalize its needs at the Caltrans meetings and explained that Caltrans, although primarily influenced by traffic count, considers all aspects of traffic, such as how many vehicles are stopped at any given stop sign at any given time. Councilmember Hilkev, referred to a list of names and titles of contact people involved with the transportation and congestion plan that was developed at the UCR meeting and inquired as to whether that list could be updated. Planning Director Materassi, commented that she and the City Manager are collaborating to compose correspondence to send to SANBAG requesting technical and financial assistance to develop the Main Street corridor. Councilmember_Hilk_ey, commented that the League of California Cities conference consisted of seminars which focused on methods to attract businesses into municipalities. He announced that he attended two of those seminars and offered the recorded audio tapes of the seminars to Council. He reported that the seminars stressed two main issues --retaining the present businesses and inducing new businesses to locate in the city. He remarked that the seminar indicated that California cities are competing with Mexico, Arizona, and Nevada locales but inferred that Grand Terrace can attract small businesses due to the City's safe community atmosphere, good schools, and nearby shopping malls. He mentioned that the seminar recommended the formation of a committee comprised of experts in various fields such as finance, planning, and real estate to answer questions from the public in order to assist in the retention of the businesses that are already in existence within any given city. He suggested that Grand Terrace assemble such a committee and requested that the item be agendized for review at a future Council meeting. Councilmember Carlstrom, expressed his belief that grant money is available to cities to develop programs designed to assist in the retention of small businesses. Council Minutes - 12/10/92 Page 8 Planning Director Materassi, responded that the City applied for such a grant and speculated that the City may have received a $69,000 grant for a feasibility study. She explained that there are grants available from the federal government and some foundations which provide funding for the support of businesses but commented that the City needs to research the matter. Councilmember Carlstrom, stated his feeling that the government is interested in maintaining a viable job market through small businesses, adding that funds are available to augment the City's efforts to maintain and attract businesses to Grand Terrace. Councilmember Hilkev, revealed his intention to meet with staff prior to the upcoming Council meeting to discuss the points that the seminar consultant recommended and to compose a checklist of the recommendations to present to Council at the January 14, 1993 City Council meeting. He declared his belief that the City needs to be prepared to take advantage of the end of the current recession and questioned whether Comcast had supplied the City with the Character Generator. City Manager Schwab, reported that the Character Generator is located in the City Clerk's Department and stated that Mike Marron of Comcast will train members of the City Manager's and City Clerk's Departments on the operation of the Generator. Councilmember Hilkev, advised Comcast to provide Grand Terrace businesses with a sizeable discount on their cable costs since the City is funding the company's equipment, remarking that cable service costs $40 per month in Grand Terrace. He expressed concern that Colton businesses will advertise on the Grand Terrace funded community access channel, thereby drawing consumers away from Grand Terrace. He encouraged staff to meet with Comcast management to arrange a discount rate for Grand Terrace companies, suggesting $10 per month. Councilmember Singley, thanked the citizens of Grand Terrace for electing him to Council, mentioning that he served previously on Council as an appointee following the resignation of Councilmember Susan Crawford. He indicated his I Council Minutes -- 12/10/92 Page 9 intention to attempt to continue the legacy of Mr. Grant's tenure, stating that he has Hugh Grant's support and will seek advice from Mr. Grant and the remaining Council in order to fulfill that goal. Mayor Matteson, inquired as to whether any action had been taken on the time/temperature sign at Mr. T.V. Video on Barton Road. Plannina Director Materassi, responded that the sign is in operation. Mayor Matteson, announced that Citizen Patrol and Fire Station No. 23 are selling Christmas Trees and inquired as to the status of the City's request for a zip code change. City Manager Schwab, replied that the City recently received a letter from the Postal Service which indicates that the request has gone to the committee that determines the feasibility for the establishment of zip codes. He estimated that more information would be forthcoming within 60 days. Councilmember Hilkey, reported that the zip code request was approved locally and was forwarded to Washington, D.C. He added, however, that the contact person who was assisting the City with the zip code request was re -assigned. Indicating that Grand Terrace does not have a local Postal Office, he expressed reservations that although the City would have its own zip code, the mail might still be postmarked as Colton. Mayor Matteson, commented that Riverside's mail is postmarked as San Bernardino and added that the City of Riverside wants to change the postmark to the Inland Empire Post Office. He expressed optimism that the City will receive its own zip code. Councilmember _HilkeY, information regarding the be available until January the Breakfast With Santa December 20, 1992, from c commenting that tickets i noted that further zip code change will not 1993. He announced that will be held on Sunday, :00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., :an be obtained at City Hall for $5.00 per person. He encouraged the public to attend the Breakfast with Santa and to bring their children, adding that interested Council Minutes - 12/10/92 Page 10 citizens should contact 824-6621 for more information. PUBLIC HEARING 6A. An Ordinance of the city Council of the CitV of Grand Terrace California Regulating the Discharge to the Storm Water System Mayor Matteson opened discussion to the public, there being none, he returned discussion to Council. CC-92-174 MOTION BY MAYOR PRO TEN CHRISTIANSON, SECOND BY COUNCILMEMBER HILKEY, CARRIED 5-0, to adopt the first reading of the Ordinance, by title only, regulating the discharge of substances into the Storm Water System. UNFINISHED BUSINESS 7A. CC-92-175 MOTION BY MAYOR PRO TEM CHRISTIANSON, SECOND BY COUNCILMEMBER CARLSTROM, CARRIED 5-0, to adopt the second reading of the Ordinance approving Specific Plan 92-01 and the associated Negative Declaration (E-92-09) for Kruse Microwave Enterprises. Dennis Kidd, 22874 Pico Street, Grand Terrace; referring to a map that he provided to Council, stated that there is no recorded easement across the property in question as supposed by Mr. Kruse. Mr. Kidd refuted that the former owner of the property, which was subsequently purchased by Mr. Kruse, had a prescriptive easement across his property. He also cited the locked gate at the bottom of the hill which prohibits vehicles from accessing the property where the Kruse communication facility will be constructed. city Attorney Harper, commented that the applicant must demonstrate proof of the right to access the property in question before permits will be issued. NEW BUSINESS 8A. General Plan Update ji L Council Minutes - 12/10/92 Page it CC-92-176 MOTION BY MAYOR PRO TEN CHRISTIANSON, SECOND BY COUNCILMEMBER SINGLEY, CARRIED 5-0, to approve the formation of a Task Force to update the General Plan and to place an article soliciting membership in the Task Force in the City's community newsletter, the Senior's newsletter, and on the cable television community access channel. ORDER OF ADJOURNMENT Mayor Matteson adjourned the City Council Meeting at 7:48 p.m., until the next regular CRA/City Council Meeting, which is scheduled to be held on Thursday, January 14, 1993. CITY CLERK of the ity of Grand Terrace YOR of the Ci y f Grand Terrace