CITY OF LA HABRA HEIGHTS
MINUTES OF A SPECIAL MEETING OF
THE LA HABRA HEIGHTS CITY COUNCIL
APRIL 20, 2006
1. CALL MEETING TO ORDER
Mayor Douglas called to order a Special Meeting of the La Habra Heights City Council on April 20, 2006 at 7:40 p.m. in the Multi Purpose Room at 1245 Hacienda Road.
2. ROLL CALL
Roll Call: Mayor Douglas, Mayor Pro Tem Millsap, Councilmembers Bergman, Carroll and Klein. Also present: City Attorney Levin, City Manager Bates, Community Development Director Powers, Fire Chief Nielsen and Sheriff Lieutenant Claus.
3. FLAG SALUTE
Janice Slattery led the flag salute.
4. PRESENTATIONS
á Public Works Committee, Chairperson Jerry Shipman
Mr. Shipman was not present.
á Emergency Preparedness Committee, Chairperson Kathy Sauble
Ms. Sauble spoke of the importance of preparing survival kits; she noted that she has given Joe a video on earthquakes to put on the cable broadcast; she presented the County proclamation that April is Earthquake Preparedness Month.
The consensus of the City Council was a unanimous approval of the Proclamation.
Stephen Blagden, Citron Road, noted that the building of the new City Hall should go to a vote; mentioned how projects have been going over budget and estimated time; money could be used in better ways; Senior Housing; low income housing will bring an end to our 1-acre zoning and single family residences; will change Community Character; other Communities have done other things to deal with this problem.
Theda Clark, introduced herself as Mr. Avocado and invited everyone to the Avocado Festival on May 20th and the Home Tour on Sunday, April 23.
Sandy Dykier, also invited everyone to the Avocado festival and noted it will be between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. She thanked Jervis and Associates for their donation for a hot air balloon and Jan Fiori and Eileen Green for the donation for the Velcro Wall and the jumper. She also thanked Brett Marie Bruce for a voucher for $1,000 for travel for whoever wins it. She mentioned a 50/50 raffle.
Martin Brown, Dial-a-Ride Service representative, noted that they have a new bus and encouraged those over 60 years and disabled persons to use it. Call the office at 562-698-2131 for more information.
Judy Hathaway Francis, Chota Road, commented that she supports the new Fire Department/City Hall facilities, but noted the concern that it will be further from the east side; the new facilities need plenty of storage and space for production of the meeting tapes; much work goes into getting ready for the meetings; no change of Parks and Recreation Commission to a Committee.
Janice Slattery, Sharpless Drive, asked for confirmation that the Garden Harvest would still be under the City umbrella; she asked for six more people to volunteer their help at the Garden Harvest; and to leave their name and number at City Hall and she will respond; we will also start an artisans group
Stan Quade, Encanada, pointed out the lack of maintenance by the City of La Habra Heights; landscaping; bulletin board; gate at the park with no plan for opening and closing; fascia needs paint; some benches have dangerous screws sticking out by childrenÕs area; sandbags are used for water control without correcting the cause; tree trimmings not picked up at Park; creek full of dirt; castor beans; signage not being replaced; a lot of debris and dumping along the streets; double standard for City and residents.
Mike Bagwell, Dorothea, spoke about the wall above his property at 707 Dorothea being a danger to him; proposal is to move half of the hill closer to him at a 30 degree slope; settlement agreement will require an additional import of 5,000 to 6,000 cubic yards; staff is not following City Council direction.
John Beau, Casalero Drive, suggested that the whole City (including residents) have a Òfire emergencyÓ drill; try out emergency plans that include resident and animal evacuations. That will tell you how well your plans are working. He noted that there should be an agency that works on non-collectable accounts owed for paramedic service; whether you call the Parks and Recreation group a Commission or a Committee, what makes it work is dedicated people with good leadership.
Norman Zezula, noted the City Hall debt will have to be continued for twenty (20) years regardless of business cycles or whatever else may happen; the money spent on the facilities will not be available for anything else; at some point we will either have to cut back on other services or raise taxes; our surpluses will have already been committed and that means at some point, taxes will have to be raised for some purposes.
Mayor Douglas explained that there are not additional recent plans to look at tonight for the new facilities.
George Edwards, Fullerton Road, noted that response time to Fullerton Road on a Fire Department report was listed as being twelve minutes; Mr. Edwards asked that it be placed on the May Agenda for consideration of a privately financed Fire Station on the east side; if feasible, they will finance it completely.
Ed Borrowe, Reposado Road, stated that he supported an East Side station being placed on the Agenda for discussion; he spoke that his opinion was that the cost of the new facilities would be higher than estimated, which seems to be $4,000 to $5,000 per resident no matter where it comes from; the new facilities will bring more staff; SheriffÕs contract may increase and the roads are in bad shape; possible sewers; fire equipment will come up; new facilities need to be put to a vote of the residents.
Randy Ulray, noted that he was in favor of placing a discussion of an East Side Fire station on the May agenda.
Jim Najera, Chota Road, stated his concern of a major fire; would be good to have an East Side Fire Station.
Roy Francis, gave his background in a Fire Department; he noted that he supported the new facilities and hopes they will be carefully thought out; he noted that response time is very important and should be 4-6 minutes; he asked that an East Side Fire Department discussion should be placed on the May Agenda.
1:02:35
5. CITY MANAGERÕS REPORT
City Manager Bates introduced Susan Chung from the Puente Hills Habitat Authority for an update.
Ms. Chung stated that they are a Government Park Agency that acquires, manages and restores open space in our area. She provided their first news item pamphlet and mentioned their first Earth Day on Saturday, April 22, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at Powder Canyon. There will be many activities. Opening ceremonies for the Harbor Blvd. animal underpass will be June 1, at 11:00 a.m. The wildlife has already started using the underpass.
City Manager Bates continued that he attended a SKAG, MAG-LEV meeting and they are considering a high-speed electric rail system that floats above the track to connect Ontario Airport with the downtown area and out to the UCLA area and on to LAX. They are considering two routes, one along the 10 freeway and one along the 60 freeway with a possible stop at Industry.
Mr. Bates noted that the new payroll system has been instituted. There have been two significant developments in the AERA project: the Significant Ecological Area Technical Advisory Committee of the County, has done an evaluation of the AERA project which says that from a biological view the project does not work and would impact the vegetation and animals. In order to work it would need a major scale-back in number of houses. The Habitat Authority will try to acquire that property with part of the bond act.
Mr. Bates noted that we will have a part-time maintenance worker to improve our Public Works activity. There is much graffiti on our signage. Weed abatement is being started on City property. Mr. Bates mentioned the Home Tour this weekend. The tickets are still available at City Hall and will be sold in the Parking Lot of the Park on Sunday before 11:00 a.m.
6. COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTORÕS REPORT
Mr. Powers noted that he had nothing beyond his written report.
7. CITY ATTORNEYÕS REPORT
City Attorney Levin noted that she had no report.
8. FIRE CHIEFÕS REPORT
Fire Chief Nielsen reported that they had inspected about 56% of the homes for Weed Abatement and only 4% were not in compliance. It is not as good on the unimproved parcels. There also needs to be a spark arrestor on all chimneys. Chief Nielsen explained that the Ambulance sitting in the parking lot is not in his budget report because the City or the Fire Department does not own it. It is a free service until we have a call and it is used.
Mayor Douglas noted that at some point it would be good to possibly have a Town Hall meeting so the Fire Chief can explain how the Fire Department operates.
City Manager Bates explained that it is important that the residents understand that we get professional service from LA County Fire stationed in La Habra, just as we give service to them when needed.
9. SHERIFFÕS DEPARTMENT REPORT
Lieutenant Claus stated that he did not have anything beyond his written report.
Mayor Douglas opened Public Comment for Item 8.
George Edwards noted that in his opinion the City should not depend on LA County to protect us, we should protect our own City.
Fire Chief Nielsen noted that they do have a resident volunteer program for the City and there are 15 resident firefighters that have put in their hours for training even though they donÕt want to be career firemen.
CONSENT CALENDAR
Mayor Douglas asked to pull item 16 – MAP REVISION 2005-01, 245 CANADA SOMBRE
10. APPROVAL OF WARRANTS – Approve
11. TREASURERÕS REPORT – Approve
12. HEIGHTS CHRISTIAN SCHOOL MONTHLY REPORT – Receive and file Feb./March Report.
13. ESTABLISH COSTS AND LIEN PROPERTY – 1965 SUBTROPIC DRIVE - Approve
14. PLANNING AIDE – Approve the Planning Aide position and direct staff to hold the Associate Planner Position vacant until further Community Development Department organizational options are presented to Council in six months.
15. IMPLEMENTATION OF AB1234 – approve Resolution No. 06-08, Travel and Implementation Procedure.
Councilmember Carroll moved approval of Items 10 through 15. Seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Millsap.
NOES: None
ABSENT: None
16. MAP REVISION 2005-01, 245 CANADA SOMBRE – Approve Resolution No. 06-09 regarding Map Revision 2005-01, conditioned on completion of the previously mentioned grading improvements.
Community Development Director Powers reported that this is a request by the Applicant to vacate a portion of the Flood Hazard area from 66 feet to 35 feet at 245 Canada Sombre. There have been two hydrology studies that conclude that this would be possible. In 1995 it was reduced to 30 feet, however the reduction never got recorded. Staff supports the reduction to 35 feet as long as they mitigate the storm drain facility per part of the condition in 1995.
Stephen Blagden, Citron Road, noted that the State SUSMP law had not been enacted in 1995 and our new General Plan had not been enacted. Drainage shown violates State law and the General Plan and gives the applicant a double increase in grading and impervious coverage.
Norm Zezula, stated the Council should find out why the limits were set in the first place.
Councilmember Bergman asked if what we decide now will be transferred to a new owner.
City Attorney Levin explained that it should transfer to any new owner and can be recorded if necessary. Any approval of the revision does not approve any grading or physical change to the lot.
Councilmember Bergman asked that there be a condition in the Resolution that it should be recorded and the cost absorbed by the owner.
City Attorney Levin noted we should add to Condition 4 that a copy of this Resolution shall be recorded on Title of the property and the owner shall pay all costs.
Councilmember Bergman offered a motion to approve Map Revision 2005-01 and Resolution 2006-09 with the condition as stated. Seconded by Mayor Douglas and approved as follows:
AYES: Bergman, Carroll, Douglas, Klein and Millsap
NOES: None
ABSENT: None
1:43:35
NEW BUSINESS
17. CITY COUNCIL REORGANIZATIONS – Council Policy
After discussion:
Councilmember Carroll offered a motion for Tela Millsap for Mayor and Brian Bergman as Mayor Pro Tem. Seconded by Councilmember Klein and approved as follows:
AYES: Bergman, Carroll, Douglas, Klein and Millsap
NOES: None
ABSENT: None
Mayor Millsap presented former Mayor Douglas with a City pin for his service.
18. DIRECTION REGARDING TELEVISING OF PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION MEETINGS AND FUTURE STATUS OF COMMISSION – Council Policy/Provide direction to staff.
City Manager Bates noted that Staff is working with the Commission to help them comply with the Brown Act and the decisions are up to the Council as policy. If changed to a Committee, they would report to the City Manager.
Stephen Blagden, Citron Road, stated that not televising the Parks and Recreation Commission meetings and changing the Commission to a Committee is a mistake; they are doing two jobs and should report to the City Council.
Judy Hathaway Francis, commented that the Parks and Recreation Commission is a training ground for further service; televising them is very important. They need committees to help them.
Norm Zezula, noted that volunteers are very important; City Manager Bates would have control over the Parks and Recreation Committee.
City Manager Bates commented that he made no recommendation on this, it is up to the Council. He also noted that the Commission has had a hard time functioning under the Brown Act.
Councilmember Carroll explained that he was the one that asked that it be on the Agenda because it was hard for them to work under the Brown Act.
City Attorney Levin noted that you canÕt just change the name. It covers the structure and who appoints them.
The Council discussed these issues.
The consensus of the City Council was to continue the item to the June meeting and consider all of the Committees. The Parks and Recreation Meeting should be video taped, but not televised.
2:21:37
OLD BUSINESS
19. FIRE STATION/CITY HALL – Discussion
City Manager Bates noted in his Staff Report that they received a preliminary Geotechnical Report showing there is a condition at a depth of between 25 and 40 feet. This means that the standard foundation for the complex may not provide the necessary earthquake protection. We expect the final written report by the end of this month. We will then get everyone together to discuss the different options and their costs. After we evaluate the information, we will present the options to the City Council.
The Council continued discussion.
City Manager Bates noted that it would probably be June or July before we are ready to report on this to the Council.
2:26:57
CITY COUNCIL COMMENTS
Councilmember Klein noted that there are some better cameras that we could now spend our CLEEP money on to possibly catch the people doing the graffiti.
The Councilmembers discussed how soon the graffiti should be removed.
Councilmember Klein suggested Mr. George Edwards should talk with the City Manager about what might be involved in setting up a privately financed Fire Station on the East Side. There is also a cost to running another Fire Station in perpetuity and manning it.
Mayor Millsap noted that with all of the problems involved and the other things going on, it would not be good to place what Mr. Edwards wants to do on the May Agenda.
The consensus of the Council was that they need to gather a lot more information first.
CONTINUED PUBLIC COMMENTS ON ITEMS ON THE AGENDA AND NOT ON THE AGENDA
Sandy Dykier, asked if it was not the Chairperson of the Parks and Recreation Commission that asks for another meeting if it is necessary.
Mayor Millsap answered in the affirmative and noted that the chairperson, along with the City Manager, sets the agenda for the Parks and Recreation meeting.
Sandy Dykier thanked Mr. Jervis and the others for their generous donations.
Roy Francis, noted that there needs to be some education on the difference between Òmutual aidÓ and Òautomatic aidÓ.
Ed Borrowe, noted that he found immediate cleaning of graffiti discourages the tagger. If we repair the present facilities, we would probably have money for the East Side Station.
Kathy Sauble, asked what her Committee might expect when the Council looks at the different Committees.
Mayor Millsap answered that they will be looking at everything and she doesnÕt know any specifics at this time.
Stephen Blagden, noted his City Hall floor plan; ÒEvents CommitteeÓ should solve the Parks and Recreation Commission problem; need good statistics of Fire Department calls.
ADJOURNMENT
Mayor Millsap adjourned the April 20, 2006 City Council meeting at 10:29 p.m. to the next regular meeting on May 11, 2006.
ATTEST:
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RONALD BATES, CITY CLERK