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CC MINS 20090321 ADJ MINUTES RANCHO PALOS VERDES CITY COUNCIL ADJOURNED REGULAR MEETING MARCH 21, 2009 The meeting was called to order at 9:09 A.M. by Mayor Clark at Fred Hesse Community Park, 29301 Hawthorne Boulevard, notice having been given with affidavit thereto on file. City Council roll call was answered as follows: PRESENT: Long, Wolowicz, and Mayor Clark ABSENT: Gardiner (excused) and Stern (excused) Also present were Carolyn Lehr, City Manager; Carolynn Petru, Deputy City Manager; Carol Lynch, City Attorney; Joel Rojas, Director of Planning, Building, and Code Enforcement; Jim Bell, Director of Public Works; Ron Rosenfeld, Director of Recreation and Parks; Kathryn Downs, Deputy Director of Finance/Information Technology; Eric Mausser, Human Resources Manager; Matt Waters, Senior Administrative Analyst; Sara Singer, Senior Administrative Analyst; and Carla Morreale, City Clerk. FLAG SALUTE: The Flag Salute was led by Planning Commissioner Paul Tetreault. APPROVAL OF AGENDA: Mayor Pro Tem Wolowicz moved, seconded by Councilman Long, to approve the Agenda, as presented. Without objection, Mayor Clark so ordered. PUBLIC COMMENTS: None. REGULAR NEW BUSINESS: Tactical Plan for 2009 (307) City Manager Lehr introduced the Tactical Plan for 2009 and Deputy City Manager Petru provided an overview of the major goals of the Tactical Plan for 2009. Discussion between Council and staff included the following items: proper maintenance of arterial streets and the prioritizing of arterial paving projects; optimization of resources to achieve the goals regarding arterial streets; a funding plan to bring the arterials to the "excellent" standard; examination of General fund reserves in light of pricing discounts and available opportunities given the slow economy; improvement to City Council Minutes March 21, 2009 Page 1 of 10 traffic safety in residential neighborhoods and on arterial streets; the oversized vehicle permit program and ordinance; neighborhood parking permit program; the Eastview School Boundary goal and related challenges; the Emergency Preparedness goal, including letters of request from the four Peninsula cities to Supervisor Knabe regarding emergency supply cache grant funding assistance; the new Civic Center goal, including the funding of a feasibility study, financing mechanisms, and site plans; the Palos Verdes Nature Preserve goal, including timing challenges and renegotiations for purchase of the Upper Filiorum property; the Park Ranger program for the Preserve; the Recreational Educational Facilities goal, and a suggestion to change wording to read: "improve the City's educational and recreational facilities by expanding active recreational opportunities and improving access to all parks"; and, the new goal of Re- examination of City plans, including the General Plan and Coastal Specific Plan, including the responsibility and frequency of updating these plans. Lynn Swank, Traffic Safety Commissioner, Rancho Palos Verdes, stated that the June 30, 2009 deadline for the Neighborhood Parking Permit Program milestone was ambitious and suggested changing the deadline to the end of the year. Council Members agreed to move the deadline date for the Neighborhood Parking Permit Program milestone to August 1, 2009 and clarified that the Traffic Safety Commission could request additional meetings if necessary due to the added workload. Councilman Long moved, seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Wolowicz, to adopt the Tactical Plan for 2009, as amended, thereby setting goals for the two-year period ending in December 2010 with specific strategies and timelines for achieving them. Without objection, Mayor Clark so ordered. RECESS AND RECONVENE: Mayor Clark called a brief recess from 10:07 A.M. to 10:20 A.M. Budget Policy Issues (602) Employee Merit Pool and Bonus Pool for FY 09-10 City Clerk Morreale reported that late correspondence had been distributed prior to the meeting regarding this item. Deputy City Manager Petru provided a summary staff report regarding the item. Discussion between the Council and staff included the following topics: the current economic environment; employee merit pool, Cost of Living adjustments (COLA), and bonus pool; the anticipated change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) of zero; the City's last comprehensive salary survey in 2002 and the need for an updated salary survey every two years; the need for information regarding the employee's total compensation package including health care and retirement funding; creation of a larger City Council Minutes March 21, 2009 Page 2 of 10 one-time bonus pool based on staff's recommended percentages proposed for the FY09-10 merit and bonus pools; Federal efforts to jump start the economy and the role of government in the economy; available discretionary funds; the number of employees ineligible for merit increases; adjustments to salary ranges; clarification that the City has a balanced budget; discretion regarding the bonus pool by Department Heads and the City Manager; a monetary way to reward staff without making a long-term commitment; and, the existence of unions and step and grade systems in several of the surrounding cities, which allows for step and salary increases, with zero COLA increases. Mayor Clark moved, seconded by Councilman Long, to create a bonus pool equivalent to 5% of salaries in the amount of$203,000, with distribution to employees at the discretion of the City Manager and Senior Management staff to reward performance in 2009-2010. Deputy Finance Director Downs, addressing concerns raised by Mayor Pro Tern Wolowicz, reported that costs for employee benefits were not expected to increase for 2009-2010, noting that staff factored in a 5% increase for health care due to an absence of information regarding that matter, but the PERS costs were decreasing. Additional discussion included the following issues: Councilman Long's assertion that health care will probably increase this year by 14%; the decrease and the smoothing effect regarding PERS contributions; clarification that the employee merit pool was increased at a lesser amount than originally proposed due to the economy; equity of the combined bonus pool; clarification that the bonus pool is applied throughout the year but the merit pool occurs at the employee's anniversary date; and, instruction to have management report back if a mid-term correction was necessary. Ken Dyda, Rancho Palos Verdes, stated that the motion as stated increased the bonus pool but did not address the merit pool. Mayor Clark restated the motion, seconded by Councilman Long, to eliminate the merit pool and enhance the bonus pool to include the proportionality percentage of payroll that was in the merit pool into the bonus pool, at an amount of approximately $203,000, for Fiscal Year 09-10. Additional discussion between the Council and staff included the following items: concern that the Council's methodology will be viewed as a disadvantage by employees since there will be no movement in the employees' salary ranges; clarification that the goal was not to show a lack of recognition to staff but that this one year interim will allow the Council to review current information that will be brought forward to fulfill the Council's goal to reward the staff at the 75 percentile of the market for public employee services; and, acknowledgement that there may be a salary catch-up necessary after the salary survey is presented to and reviewed by Council. The motion passed on the following roll call vote: AYES: Long and Mayor Clark City Council Minutes March 21, 2009 Page 3 of 10 NOES: Wolowicz ABSENT: Gardiner and Stern RECESS AND RECONVENE: Mayor Clark called a brief recess from 11:28 A.M. to 11:34 A.M. Mayor Clark advised that the REACH Budget Proposal item would be considered next for discussion and invited public speakers to participate. REACH Budget Proposal Susan Warhol, Rancho Palos Verdes, stated that she has participated in the REACH Program since 1990; noted that there was a requirement that 50% of the participants be residents of Rancho Palos Verdes in order for the City of Rancho Palos Verdes to fund a portion of the program; described the program benefits including reliance on the program by the participants to gain social skills; and, requested continued City support. Bernie Slotnick, Rancho Palos Verdes, stated that he requested the Council's continuing support for the REACH Program. Ann Stahl, Lawndale, stated that she requested continuing support for the REACH Program and expressed her willingness to pay more for the program as an out-of-City participant. Steve Foltz, Rancho Palos Verdes, stated that he was in favor of continued Council support of the REACH Program; highlighted the benefits of the program including social skills, life experiences, and physical fitness for the participants; commended City staff in their management of the program; and, expressed willingness to pay more to subsidize and continue the program. Sandra London, Torrance, read a letter dictated by her special needs son in which he expressed concern with possible cuts to the REACH Program. She expressed willingness to help defray costs by paying more for the program. • Mayor Clark suggested that Ms. London consider approaching the Torrance City Council to request that they help to support the City of Rancho Palos Verdes' REACH Program. Discussion between the Council and staff included the following topics: an inquiry as to whether or not there was a REACH Program parent group; the number of participants currently in the REACH Program and the average number of participants in past years; numerous cities that do not provide a program of therapeutic recreation services for youth and adults with developmental disabilities; the mandate for the 50% residential participant requirement in order to receive Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding; a suggestion to reach out to South Bay cities to make the program more of a joint program; program costs and funding sources; and a combination of City Council Minutes March 21, 2009 Page 4 of 10 suggested increase in fees, coalition of parents' group, and outreach to South Bay cities requesting proportionate shares for participants in the program. Councilman Long moved, seconded by Mayor Clark, to direct staff to approach the parents of participants and other cities with participants in the program to develop a proposal to increase fees and outside funding sources in order to reduce the City's subsidy for the program. Additional Council discussion focused on the following topics: the importance of joint participation with other cities; a suggestion to contact the local school system or other institutions in the South Bay as they could be contributory sources for the program; and, the need for a change so that the City is not subsidizing a program that is comprised of 50% non-resident participants. The motion carried on the following roll call vote: AYES: Long, Wolowicz, and Mayor Clark NOES: None ABSENT: Gardiner and Stern Mayor Clark encouraged program participants to contact other cities to encourage their participation. Councilmember Long clarified that the Council was not implementing the staff recommendations at this time and instead was looking for staff to identify and seek out other contributions by other cities and entities and/or fee increases that could provide savings to be considered prior to the adoption of the budget. He added that the budgeted amount would remain at zero, and if staff is not successful in identifying other funding sources the item would be reconsidered. Mayor Clark indicated his willingness to sign letters to other Mayors in the area to request participation, which should be followed up with personal contact. City Grant Requests Deputy City Manager Petru introduced the topic regarding City Grants and the inclusion of evaluation criteria and an application form to be completed by grant requestors this year. Mayor Pro Tem Wolowicz moved, seconded by Councilman Long, to adopt the evaluation criteria and application form for City Grants as presented. Without objection, Mayor Clark so ordered. Discussion between the Council and staff ensued regarding the following issues: the composition of the grant program by recipients and the suggestion to begin with a zero biased budget for City grants. City Council Minutes March 21, 2009 Page 5 of 10 Employee Merit Pool and Bonus Pool for FY 09-10 Further Council and staff discussion focused on readdressing th4 proposed budget figure for the combined bonus pool for employee compensation; dcirification that the merit pool at 3.5% assumes that one-third of the employees would receive nothing since they are at the top of their salary ranges, clarification that a $203,000 bonus pool is equivalent to a 4% pool insteae of 5% pool; and, the Council's intent to support a 5% figure equal to a step increase to-employee pay for performance. Mayor Clark stated that as makel of the motion regarding the expanded bonus pool for FY09-10 employee compensatior, rye wanted the proposed budget figure on the cr art to be equivalent to 5% of total salaries ($250,000). Councilman Long endorsed this decision, as the second secondd of the motion. Student and the Law Program Deputy City Manager Petru introduced the topic of the Student and the Law Program, which she explained is a class taught by los Angeles County Sheriff Deputies and offered at Peninsula High School and Rancho Del Mar High School. She stated that the cost of the program is shared by the three Regional Law Enforcement cities. Council and staff discussion focused on the following issues: a comparison of student participation at the two high schools; increased costs and funding for the program; the difficulty in quantifying the value of this type of program; the suggestion to continue the classes at Rancho Del Mar High School, but discontinue them at Peninsula High School; the importance of police presence on high school campuses to help educate and have an impact on the lives of young people; and, the funding by the Department of Justice for the CORE Team Deputies. Councilman Long moved, seconded by Mayor Clark, to adopt Alternative No. 2, to direct staff to eliminate funding for the classes offered at Peninsula High School for the Student in the Law program, but to continue to fund classes at the current level at Rancho Del Mar High School. Additional Council and staff discussion included the following topics: the need to share the cost with other cities on programs such as the Student and the Law program, but the necessity to evaluate the best value for the money spent when there is pressure to keep costs down; a suggestion for staff to attain information from the Sheriff's Department regarding other programs that may be available at a lesser cost; and, acknowledgment that the motion is subject to further discussion based upon the funding impacts as a result of decisions by the other Regional Law Enforcement cities who participate in the program. The motion carried on the following roll call vote: City Council Minutes March 21, 2009 Page 6 of 10 AYES: Long and.Mayor Clark NOES: Wolowicz ABSENT: Gardiner and Stern Employee Merit Pool and Bonus Pool for FY 09-10 City Clerk Morreale noted that the Council did not vote on the modification to the Employee Merit Pool and Bonus Pool as discussed earlier. Mayor Clark moved, seconded by Councilman Long, to eliminate the merit pool for FY09-10 and expand the bonus pool to 5% of payroll ($250,000). The motion carried on the following roll call vote: AYES: Long and Mayor Clark NOES: Wolowicz ABSENT: Gardiner and Stern Special Events Councilman Long moved, seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Wolowicz, to waive the staff report on special events and approve a budget threshold of$5,000 per event for one- time, unanticipated, invitation-only special events for FY 09-10. The motion carried on the following roll call vote: AYES Long, Wolowicz, and Mayor Clark NOES: None ABSENT: Gardiner and Stern RECESS AND RECONVENE: Mayor Clark called a lunch recess from 12:40 P.M. to 1:20 P.M. Park Ranger Program Deputy City Clerk Petru provided a brief summary report regarding the proposed Park Ranger Program for the City's parks and open space areas, which was one of the items recommended in the 2008 Organizational Assessment Final Report. Council and staff discussion ensued regarding the following topics: use of volunteers for the program for public education purposes; the need for the Park Rangers to have citation authority; research of programs in other cities by the staff in the Recreation and Parks Department regarding similar programs; the suggestion for the Ranger Program to be under the Recreation and Parks Department with close liaisons with the Sheriff's -Department CORE Deputy Team; specific issues that could be addressed in the Palos Verdes Nature Preserve and the individual parks; regular and directed patrols of the City Council Minutes March 21, 2009 Page 7of10 Sheriff's CORE Team; and, a possible reduction in the directed patrols of the CORE Team once the Park Ranger Program is in place. Councilman Long moved, seconded by Mayor Pro Tern Wolowicz, to approve the addition of funding for a Park Ranger Program in the Recreation and Parks Department using part-time staff equivalent to 1.5 full-lime employees with the addition of a milestone to the Tactical Plan to implement the Program by 12/31/09: and, to direct staff to look for opportunities to utilize the Ranger Program as a substitute for the more expensive Sheriff's patrols and consider whether more than 1.5 fill time employees are required depending on needs and experiences. The motion carried on the following roll call vote: AYES: Long, Wolowicz, and Mayor Clark NOES. None ABSENT: Gardiner and Stern Review of First Draft of Five-Year Capital Improvement Plan (602) City Clerk Morreale reported that late correspondence was distributed prior to the meeting on this item. Senior Administrative Analyst Singer provided an update on the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP); summary of the public outreach; review of the Draft 5-year CIP, unfunded project list, and stimulus package update; and, outline of the proposed future timeline. Discussion between Council and staff included the following issues: projected costs for new accounting and systems software, including the business licensing module, a point of sale system, integration with the City's permitting modules, and training costs; contract bulk pricing discounts in which the City participates; proposed scheduling of the Storm Drain Master Plan Update; residential and pavement management programs; a large arterial street program to take advantage of stimulus funds; median and pedestrian improvement projects; storm drain lining program; preliminary steps in planning for the Lower San Ramon/25th Street Storm Drain Project; playground equipment needs and park facility upgrades; trail and park improvements; opportunities for possible grant and stimulus package funds; pavement management and other infrastructure improvements; possible acceleration of other projects if stimulus funding is received; project cost estimate updates; phasing and interim steps towards the development of the Civic Center site for a new City Hall and public amenities for the community; and, the proposed timeline. Mayor Pro Tem Wolowicz moved, seconded by Mayor Clark, to approve the staff recommendation to receive and file the staff report. Mayor Clark invited public participation. City Council Minutes March 21, 2009 Page 8 of 10 • Ken Dyda,, Rancho Palos Verdes, stated that an update of the General Plan could be made in approximately 2 years time; commented on the history of the conceptual plan for the Civic Center at Upper Point Vicente; and, discussed the Portuguese Bend Landslide area and financing of a stabilization plan to address the issue. Bob Mucha, Forrestal Preserve Advisory Group, Rancho Palos Verdes, stated that he was happy to seeing the phased plans for the development of the Gateway Park and requested that the existing gate be opened to allow access to the area and parking be allowed along Palos Verdes Drive South. He recommended that a portion of the Gateway Park be retained for use by the Public Works Department for storage of equipment and materials for the maintenance of Palos Verdes Drive South. Mayor Pro Tem Wolowicz suggested that staff should investigate the suggestions made by Mr. Dyda and Mr. Mucha. Planning Director Rojas explained that staff would have to check with the City geologists to make sure Gateway Park was safe for parking; check with the traffic engineers regarding ingress and egress to the area; and, investigate costs for improvements, such as a parking lot, to the area. Mayor Pro Tern Wolowicz questioned whether the item should be placed on a future agenda. Councilman Long pointed out that one of the milestones under the Recreational Facilities Goal of the Tactical Plan was to consider alternatives presented by staff for improved access and usability to all City parks including more parking, restrooms, etc., which should address Mayor Pro Tem Wolowicz's issues. Mayor Pro Tem Wolowicz moved, seconded by Mayor Clark, to receive and file the first draft of the Five-Year Capital Improvement Plan. The motion carried on the following roll call vote: AYES: Long, Wolowicz, and Mayor Clark NOES. None ABSENT: Gardiner and Stern RECESSED REGULAR SESSION AND CONVENED CLOSED SESSION? 2:35 P.M. RECONVENED REGULAR SESSION: 4:06 P.M. CLOSED SESSION REPORT: City Attorney Lynch reported that the City Council completed the City Manager's Performance Evaluation and directed one item in the contract to be brought back when all four Council Members are present. City Council Minutes March 21, 2009 Page 9 of 10 ADJOURNMENT: At 4:08 P.M., Mayor Clark adjourned the meeting. rw ayor Attest: /' /1 City Clerk W:\City Council Minutes\2009\20090321 CC MINS.doc City Council Minutes March 21, 2009 Page 10 of 10