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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1995 - MINUTES - 8/9/1995 CITY OF PALM SPRINGS CITY COUNCIL MINUTES AUGUST 9, 1995 An Adj. Meeting of the City Council of the City of Palm Springs, California, was called to order by Mayor Maryanov, in the Council Chamber, 3200 Taltquitz Carryon Way, on Wednesday, August 9, 1995, at 6:00 p.m., at which time, the City Attorney announced items to be discussed in Closed Session, and at 7:00 p.m., the meeting was convened in open session. ROLL CALL: Present: Councilmembers Hodges, Kleindienst, Lyons, Reller-Spurgin, ' and Mayor Maryanov Absent: None The meeting was opened with the Salute to the Flag, and a Moment of Silence. REPORT OF POSTING OF AGENDA: City Clerk reported that the agenda was posted in accordance with Council procedures on August 4, 1995. REPORT OF CITY ATTORNEY ON MATTERS DISCUSSED IN CLOSED SESSPON (All Entities) - See items on Page 3 of agenda this date. PUBLIC COMMENTS: a) Comments concerning Item 1: Ray Picard, resident, stated that the Council needs to move forward with the consolidation, because there will be a 50% improvement in the level of service (087- to Palm Springs, and a savings to both cities; that all components of the, system 002) are already capitalized; and the leadership prevails with Palm Springs to get the two cities together and to proceed. Jim MacLean, Fire Department Management Unit, stated that the Council needs to stop considering an operationally weak proposal, which was not recommended by the initial task force, nor the work team; that Palm Springs takes all of the cuts, including a fire station; that the cuts are worth 30 firefighters to achieve the $1.2 million in costs reductions; and that Ire suggested the Council eliminate response boundaries between the jurisdictions, combine police\fire dispatch between the cities, and not create a JPA. b) Comments concerning Item 2: Bob Stranger, SCE, expressed opinion that the voters will find it is not in the public's interest to waste the taxpayer money to proceed at this time with the action the Council is suggesting. Steve Grasha, resident, considered it ill-advised to suggest a lax to conduct a (147- study to provide for a possible situation, with the hope of going into the utility 004) business; that everyone favors reducing rents, and he suggested a voluntary contribution "check box" on the property tax bill, for $4, to achieve die same purpose. Dick Sroada stated that the tax is an attempt to fund city bureaucracies; that Duncan& Allen have said there would be significant income to the City, and lie questioned whether carpeting or replacing the utility tax was considered, and whether carpeting is more important than city solvency; and he suggested the ' council find the money elsewhere, and not place added taxes on people; that everyone agrees there should be lower electric rates, but he questioned why the Council was taking this action in the summer; and he considered it irresponsible, even if it is an advisory vote. t; r� Council Minutes 8-9-95, Page 2 c) Comments concerning Item 4: Chuck Hubbard, resident, opposed any effort to change the fire department; and expressed opinion that there is confusion as to who R.O.A.R.E. represents, and the City should clearly identify who it is and who are all of the residents affected ' by the litigation; that he felt the proposed contract under Item 4 is illegal, and premature considering the ballot issue; and he did not understand why the contractor would work without pay. Bill Williams, resident, stated that it was reported to the Council that the (051- referendun only objected to the runway extension, and he did not think that was 021) correct; that signatures were collected, and it was the will of the people in the referendum to put the entire Airport Master Plan on the ballot, and nothing should be considered by the Council prior to the vote; that concerning pre- approval of gaming applications, the Council should not proceed prior to the ballot issue on that matter; and he expressed views of the hotel industry's effort to enhance tourism over the past several years. Jeff Madison (?) expressed opinion that decisions are made by "whim" and checks and balances of government are being violated, if Airport plans are approved prior to the ballot issue. Lissa Hubbard, resident, stated that there is a master plan in place, and it is not simply a collection of projects; that the referendum only suspends the right to carry out the approved master plan; that if the referendum fails, the master plan will not be required to be re-approved; that the new master plan overrides prior master plans, and prior plans lost their status when the new plan was approved; that the City applied for $122 million hi federal funding when the plan was approved, and the design must be set aside until after the election; that once the ' referendum was qualified,R.O.A.R.E. only became one of many voices, and that one element cannot be contended to be more or less than another; and that the Cou ncil's system would be circumventing the will of the people. Hal Williamson, P.S. Air Museum, stated that the project is proceeding, i.e., lease obtained, $2 million financing reached, with added money expected; architect hired, and Planning Commission approved site plans and basic building desired; that soils work will commence in a week, and landscape plans are underway; that they hoped to start work in September, with completion by end of February; that Item 4 may mean a tacit moratorium on airport museum, and they will loose $435,000 from a contributor if they do not proceed. He asked that it be allowed to continue. Eric Meeks asked that the Council not act on this matter, in that it is part of the Master Plan, which is part of the subject of the referendum; drat he filed the petition, along with a lot of volunteer help, and lie regretted it had to include the entire plan, however, that was how the Council adopted it; that the issue was extension of the runway, and he would have preferred it be limited to that; that he regretted the impact it has on the air museum, and he would like to see it move ahead, and would not take steps to circumvent it from proceeding, unlike any action the Council may attempt concerning the runway, in which case he would contact the FPPC. d) Comments on matters not related to an agenda item: Darrell Meeks, resident, objected to the Council not meeting for the remainder of August, and suggested that it should schedule its meetings, and then if there is no business, that it adjourn; that regarding casinos, he felt tourists are more interested in safety and privacy, than gaming; and he questioned the residency and citizenship status of a gaming promoter. Marilyn McArthur, Rancho Mirage resident, favored bringing prayer to local government. Council Minutes 8-9-95, Page 3 Fred Ebeling, resident, stated that tourism cannot be promoted if people are afraid of being on streets, in homes, or in cars, and safety and quality of life are the first issues to focus on. He stated that most property taxes come from residents, and they are subsidizing tourism, and a lot of business owners do not live in Palm Springs. Joe Foster commented on a nuisance abatement process concerning his property, , and lack of response from the Fire Marshall. Mayor asked Mr. Foster to contact the City Manager. LEGISLATIVE ACTION: 1. FIRE CONSOLIDATION At the joint meeting with Cathedral City, the City Council directed that further consideration, and action, if any, be scheduled at this time. City Manager highlighted memorandum from Assistant City Manager of Cathedral City, noting that its council determined that it had only acted on an amended motion, and not on the original motion, and the matter was on its agenda for its meeting of this date, to (087- approve Proposal 2-A, to work towards a final JPA, and to create an interim body to 002) develop the JPA in concert with the two city attorneys. He stated that there is a requirement to listen to the those who have not been heard in the past few weeks. He recommended awaiting the decision of Cathedral City, and act to affirm favoring (lie concept of fire consolidation, and the JPA concept. Councilmember Lyons stated that consolidation still makes sense. Councilmember Reller-Spurgin stated that the Fire Department should be told that it is a Cadillac department; that the insults at Palm Springs at the last meeting were appalling; that the department is to be commended for responding to the recent rash of fires:, that she has been pro-consolidation, because the Council has been pressured daily to reduce the budget, and the cost of doing business; that the put-pose of consolidation has"been lost, i.e., 3-men engine companies to increase the level of service to the community, at.reduced cost; that she would like to start with a test to see what can be done with the City's own department, i.e., eliminating the response boundaries - mutual aid - and consolidate dispatch, and see what the cost savings are, and if that is successful, to proceed ffrotn that point. She also stated that current MOU does not preclude use of reserve firefighters, as long as they are not used to replace personnel, and perhaps a reserve might be used to provide the third man on the engine company, and it should be considered. Councimember Kleindienst stated that it is difficult for both Councils to dialogue simultaneously, and there needs to be a point reached where botlu can sit at the same table in a unified manner; that the interim JPA gives an opportunity For independent: body to share concerns at one time; that lie would like to move forward toward that end, and to work out final details; that if the Council waits for Cathedral City action, and vice versa, the ability to get started is forestalled. Mayor stated that he had reservations about appointing an interim board, and questioned who it would be; that ire favored fire consolidation, and feels there is an economy of scale that can benefit Palm Springs; that Palm Springs doers not have a Cadillac department, because it does not have 3-men engine companies; that he would like to see moving forward with an approach on those things about which something can be done now, i.e., dispatch; and that the City Manager should be authorized to negotiate to , consolidate that aspect; that lie did not know what the implications are of lifting response boundaries, and he would like to hear more from staff on that, as well as the use of reserves; and that the City Manager could proceed with discussions with Cathedral City City Manger to see what its Council has adopted. He stated that time was needed to understand what its action might mean, and that he had concerns about funding, personnel, and who was responsible for hiring. Council Minutes 8-9-95, Page 4 1. FIRE CONSOLIDATION Councilmember Hodges stated that site had not heard this proposal until it was raised by Mr. MacLean, and the Council was getting away from the original purpose of consolidation three years ago which was to save money and improve and increase service and benefits to Palm Springs residents; that the issue has been hashed over and the Council is no further along with it, and the Council should either take the leadership and say yes, or no. Councilmember Kleindienst urged that the Council at least authorize the committee to (087 continue dialogue; and that one body can discuss and concise the issues, and bring back 002) a specific plan to be ratified by the two Councils, i.e., the most recent subcommittee - two members of each City Council, Qre two City Managers, and staff to help with the dialogue, but not be committee members. Councilmember Hodges stated she did not think there is a need to form a JPA, that the October 1 deadline should be set, and if the parties have not gotten together and put together some type of agreement, the subject should be dropped entirely; that the subcommittee can achieve that purpose, and if it does not work, then the Council should forget it, and move on. She stated that the issue has been reduced to three items, and the reserve firefighters issue was discussed before, but nothing came of it; that she questioned if Cathedral City was interested in consolidating dispatch, and this is just another side tangent; that if those items are to proceed, then it should be done, but she did not consider the little items as the consolidation issue. Mayor stated that he did not consider them consolidation either, but worthy of doing them anyway; and he felt something could be brought back by September 6; that the interim JPA is a one-year long process; and that the reserve program is worthy of consideration even without consolidation. ' Councilmember Reller-Spurgin stated that the dispatch issue was discussed before, and better trained staff will be an improved level of service. No specific motion adopted; Council consensus to direct the City Manager to review joint dispatch services, reserve program, and eliminating boundaries, and review by subcommittee with a report back by September 6, 1995. 2. ELECTRICAL MUNICIPALIZATION STUDY On July 19, 1995, the Council considered recommendation relative to contractual services for the second phase of an electrical municipalization study; and continued the matter to this date, in order to also consider a possible ballot measure to increase the utility tax to provide needed funding related to this matter; said matter was rescheduled to this date at the August 2, 1995 meeting. City Manager reported that the City Attorney prepared two ballot measures, i.e., one as an advisory measure, and the second as binding vote, which would requited a 2/3 (147- approval. 004) Councilmember Lyons expanded on the nature of the issue, why it is critical to proceed, the issues involved, and the funding needed for the consultant's contract. He stated that the proposal would utilize a process whereby the City would seek to become an "aggregator" under FERC (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission)vis-a-vis its in-place mechanism as a municipal utility, enabling the City to "wheel" power, resulting in financial benefits to the City and to the residents; that even if a full condemnation proceeding is necessary, the benefits are still ,worth it. He staled that "poolco" is re- regulation and not de-regulation, and 60% of the pool will be manipulated by SCE and PGE; that SCE is attempting to write-down as much of the cost of the San Onofre Plant as possible, which will not be achieved until well after 2000, and its "wait and see approach" is not justified; that SCE would still own its facilities, and the City would pay a transmission and distribution charge. He stated that the FERC process is a contained timeframe, and the City would know the results by April; that he has secured $50,000 written commitment from Enron to purchase option for power for 5 raw (to be sold Council Minutes 8-9-95, Page 5 2. ELECTRICAL MUNICIPALIZATION STUDY (Continued) at 4.8 cents pkh, which could be held in a separate account, to be added to by other contributors, until the total $t50,000 is attained; that lie has a commitment by another power broker for another 5 raw at$50,000, which is not yet firm, but potentially feasible. He stated he did not favor placing any ballot issue on this matter, and the Council should either proceed, or cease the effort. He stated that other cities may wish to contribute, however, the more other cities are added, the more political issues become involved, and the focus is lost, but he was willing to solicit funding from them. Councilmember Reller-Spurgin stated that the voters approved the utility lax, and during the interim period, the Council is to reduce it, and she did not favor any ballot issue on the tax. Mayor and Councilmember Hodges agreed. Councilmember Hodges added that it is important to keep the momentum of the project going, and the Council needs to find the funds to achieve the effort; and that other contributions would be appreciated, perhaps individual contributions as well. Following discussion, Minute Order 5621 approving the contract, as recommended, contingent upon raising $100,000 by September 6, 1995, in which case the contract could be executed and implemented. 3. PARKS MAINTENANCE CONTRACT AMENDMENT Recommendation: That the Council approve amendment to contract for parks maintenance services with Landscape West Inc., for an increase of$72,660.47 for three years, and $77,020.10 for two years, to cover overseeding the parks, A3458. City Manager highlighted the memorandum of the Director of Priblic Works, noting that (109- ' the work was not included at the time of contract parks maintenance, because of then 003) existing staff, and availability/pricing of seed, and that the project was bid, and the current maintenance contractor was the lowest bidder. Minute Order 5622 approving amendment, as recommended, was presented; after which, it was moved by Hodges, seconded by Reller-Spurgin, and unanimously carried, that MO5622 be adopted. 4. AIRPORT - ENGINEERING SERVICES AGREEMENT AMENDMENT Recommendation: That die Council approve amendment No. 3 to agreement with Isbill Associates, to include design of the Ramon Road access route, and the relocation of Taxiway A, and establish design costs of$171,400 and $160,950, respectively, A3138. Item continued from August 2, 1995, for additional information concerning Ail-port proposed projects. Councilmember Kleindienst stated that he has been dealing with a potential conflict of interest with the FPPC, and title companies, which has produced about 6,000 ploperlies, (051- data about which will be examined to determine how many of those have bad transactions 021), in which his wife's business was involved; and that it will take about a month to Complete the process. He stated that he would abstain on this matter because of the unresolved issue of potential conflict. Councilmember Hodges stated she felt it important that the Council take no action until after the election; that there are overlapping issues, and some of the projects may have been in the prior master plan, but they are a part of the new plan, and it is not appropriate to take action on those in dealing with the referendum. Councilmember Reller-Spurgin agreed, and stated that everyone: favors the air museum, and it is something that is wanted, however, it is a part of the master plan and, therefore, a part of the ballot, and it would be wrong to deal with it until after the vote on the referendum. 0 Rk Council Minutes 8-9-95, Page 6 4. AIRPORT - ENGINEERING SERVICES AGREEMENT AMENDMENT Councilmember Lyons agreed, as well as the Mayor, who added that the process should be followed, and although he favored the museum, and perhaps action could be taken, but ethically it is responsive to await the results of the ballot. ' It was moved by Reller-Spurgin, seconded by Hodges, and unanimously carried, Kleindienst abstaining, that staff be directed to not move forward on any project covered by the Master Plan until after the November 1995 election. ADDED STARTERS: None ADDITIONAL LEGISLATIVE ITEMS: 5. FRANCES STEVENS PARK - DESERT ART CENTER LEASE If desired, motion to reconsider approval of lease proposal for Desert Art Center for a portion of the Frances Stevens Park building, at 550 N. Palm Canyon (action date: August 2, 1995) A3568. It was moved, seconded and unanimously carried, to reconsider the lease approval. (117- Mayor stated that the Council approved a one-year lease, with two one-year options to 023) renew at the discretion of the tenant; that long-term leasing is not beneficial for the property as a whole, and if there are no plans for the property after one year, then the lease could be renewed for another year. In response to question by Council, Director of the Downtown Development Center reported that the tenant was advised that the matter was subject to reconsideration, and their original proposal was for a 3-year lease, with one 3-year option; that the changed terms was then developed; that he has discussed it with the group, which has not yet executed the agreement, and a modified option has been suggested, i.e., that the City may offer an additional one year, upon a 60-day advance notice prior to the commencement of the second year, which would result in expiration running concurrently with that of the Village Center for the Arts. It was moved by Hodges, seconded by Reller-Spurgin, and unanimously carried, that the lease be approved for one year, with landlord option to extend for additional one year within 60 days of termination of first year's term. ADDED STARTERS: 6. ARNOLD PALMER GOLF MANAGEMENT COMPANY LEASE AMENDMENT City Attorney stated that this meeting was the last opportunity before September 6, to correct the legal description, which is needed in order to proceed with financing; that the legal description in the agreement included the entire golf course, which has been modified over the years with easements and property disposal; and that the issue was not apparent until the financing plan was being looked at. It was moved by Hodges, seconded by Kleindienst, and unanimously carried, to determine (092- the matter eligible for consideration, and added to the agenda. 012) ' Minute Order 5623, approving Amendment No. 1 to the lease agreement with Arnold Palmer Golf Management Company to correct the legal description contained in Exhibit A and referred to in Section 2.1 of said lease agreement A3468, was presented; after which, it was moved by Hodges, seconded by Kleindienst, and unanimously carried, that MO5623 be adopted. Council Minutes 8-9-95, Page 7 7. HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL REPRESENTATIVE DESIGNATION City Manager stated that a confirmation from the designees, Nate and Jerry Israelson as Palm Springs representatives, to attend the dedication service in'Washington, D.C., was only received this date, and action is needed prior to the next meeting. It was moved by Reller-Spurgin, seconded by Kleindienst, and unanimously carried, that (144- ' this matter be determined eligible for consideration, and added to the agenda; and that the 002) Israelson's be designated as official City representatives at the memorial event. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, Mayor declared the meeting adjourned. _ JUDITH SUMICH City Clerk CITY OF PALM SPRINGS CITY COUNCIL MINUTES AUGUST 16, 1995 ' The Regular Meeting of the City Council of the City of Palm Springs, California, was called to order and adjourned by the City Clerk due to lack of a quorum. ROLL CALL: Present: None Absent: Councilmembers Hodges, Meindienst, Lyons, Reller-Spurgin, and Mayor Maryanov - JUDITH SUMSUMICH City Clerk