CC MINS 19880502 ADJM I N U T E S
RANCHO PALOS VERDES CITY COUNCIL
May 2, 1988 - 6 p.m.
The budget workshop meeting was called to order at 6:25 p.m. by Mayor Ryan, at
Fred Hesse Community Park, 29301 Hawthorne Boulevard, notice having been given
with affidavit on file.
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PRESENT: BACHARACH9 HINCHLIFT HUGHES (late arriv al), MbTAGGART,
AND MAYOR RYAN
Also present were City Manager Dennis MeDuffie, Public Works Director George
Wentz, Finance Director Kevin N. Smith, Leisure Services Director Mary Thomas,
and Environmental Services Director Robert Benard.
Recess
At 6 :27 P.m. the meeting was recessed to a special meeting of the Rancho Palos
Verdes Redevelopment Agency. The Council meeting reconvened at 6:28 p.m. with
the same members present (Councilman Hughes had not yet arrived)*
-7
Finance Director Smith requested changing the order of the agenda to handle
the Recreation and Parks budget earlier to enable the director to attend a
Trails Committee meeting this evening.
Hearing no objections, Mayor Ryan so ordered that the Recreation and Parks
budget be considered prior to Environmental Services.
Review Replacement Pages and g2 es
Finance Director Smith reviewed. the replacement pages and changes 'to the
document which were made subsequent to the last meeting.
Review General Fund Budgets.,
PUBLIC WORM (continued from last meeting)
Mayor Pro Tem Bacharach asked why Charles Abbott Associates was budgeted 20
percent over actuals for the second year (page 33, code .37).
Public Works Director Wentz said the $185,000 figure was incorrect, and he
estimated that the actual expense for this year would be much closer to the
$210,000 figure, and noted that it was already at $190,000. He explained that
1 May 2, 1988
the department budgets by man-hour allocations, not by dollars, and that the
cost projection is based on manpower needed to get the job done. He said
there has been no reduction in the service level.
Mayor Pro Tem Bacharach asked if the department had the freedom to move funds
within budgeted categories.
Public Works Director Wentz said not without City Manager permission. He said
the procedure would be to let the City Manager know why the department was
overspending in a particular account and show where the department would
underspend in another. He said the projections are their best estimate,
Mayor Ryan asked if there were management tools in place to assess the Public
Works budget of nearly $1 million. He said the Public Works Director should
be a City employee, not an Abbott employee, and that no other city operates in
this manner. He said the system contains many flaws, with decisions being
made outside of the City, and was also concerned about the shifting of funds
between accounts. He said there should be reasonable control over the Public
Works department by someone who works for the City, reports to the City
Manager, and has the ability to hire and fire.
Public Works Director Wentz said although he may be an Abbott employee, he is
the Public Works Director for the City and does report to the City Manager.
Mayor Pro Tem Bacharach said she was satisfied with the department's monthly
reports to the City Manager which the Council receives quarterly. She said
the City has received excellent service from Abbott Associates, but that it
would be appropriate for the City to go out for competitive bids every five
years. She said the current contract has been in effect for four years and
suggested that Council authorize staff to prepare, prior to the next fiscal
year, a request for proposal for the project.
Councilmembers Hinchliffe and McTaggart concurred.
Councilman Hughes arrived at 7-:10 P.M.
Councilman Hughes said the City is not the only entity contracting in this
way. He said it is very common practice to go outside for technical expertise
because it is extremely efficient and practical, and it works. He said every
major research facility is run by an independent contracting firm.
At 7:15 p.m., Mayor Ryan turned the gavel over to Mayor Pro Tem Bacharach and
left the meeting for a brief time period.
Public Works Director Wentz referred to item E. on page 43 (window replacement
for the Ladera Linda buildings). He said the options were to simply replace
the existing glass or purchase new windows similar to those in the beige City
Hall building. He recommended using Lexan instead of glass and installing
sliding windows for needed ventilation, which would cost about $12,000.
Councilman Hughes said Lexan is a good choice at sites where security is a
concern because it is unbreakable.
2 May 2, 1988
Mayor Ryan returned at 7.,,20 p*M#
Leisure Services Director Thomas said vandalism at the site has riot been a
problem, but agreed with the need for ventilation*
It was the consensus of Council to replace the windows at Ladera Linda with
sliding windows and the use of Lexan and, accordingly, item E. on page 43 was
changed to reflect a cost of $12,000 rather than $5,000.
Councilman Hinchliffe asked about the increase from $160,000 to $235,000 for
utilities (page 35, code .20)0
Public Works Director Wentz said that was based on increased utilization in
addition to a five-percent increase in the rates.
Mayor Pro Tem Bacharach proposed a motion, seconded by Councilman Hinchliffe,
to authorize staff to prepare to go out to bid next spring for Public Works
contract services*
Mayor Ryan said his concern was for the City to have a project manager--not an
additional staff person, but a substitution. He said it was simply a question
of putting into place a management tool that the City currently does not have.
Councilman Hinchliffe called for the question, which carried unanimously.
The above motion to go out to bid next spring carried with no objections*
11��Ipq� rl�qg]lw
Finance Director Smith referred to two additional sheets (marked page 57A)
showing a summary of five recreational parks and a comparison of last year's
budget. He said a new van (page 60) would be the department's major purchase
in the next fiscal year. He proposed using the equipment replacement fund and
giving the department five years to reimburse the fund. He said it is
necessary for the department to rent a van every summer, and that there were
several ways that the new, larger van would generate higher revenue.
Leisure Services Director Thomas said they currently have a 15-passenger van,
which they propose to return, and that the new one would accommodate 24
passengers. She said two members of.staff are currently licensed class II
which permits them to drive up to 24 passengers. She said it was staff's hope
that with the larger van, they could offer summer outdoor venture programs at
an acceptable cost to the public.
Councilman Hughes asked if there was any way to combine with Proposition A
funds to purchase the van.
Leisure Services Director Thomas said if Prop A funds are used, they could
not take the vehicle out of Los Angeles County. She said perhaps they could
replace the existing van with a second new van using Prop A funds and isolate
it for local use only.
3 May 2, 1988
Councilman Hughes suggested looking at the possibility of using Prop A funds
to purchase a van which could also be used to transport Rancho Palos Verdes
students to school.
Mayor Pro Tem Bacharach said the City cannot solve the School District's
dilemma. She said a vehicle purchased through Prop A funds is specifically
prohibited from being used as a school bus service. I
Finance Director Smith said staff would examine the possibility of acquiring a
separate van to use inside the County.
Leisure Services Director Thomas said one larger van makes more sense than two
small vans because two drivers are necessary during the summer when they rent
a second van.
Mayor Ryan suggested leasing the van at the peak hour, and Leisure Services
Director Thomas said she would like staff to explore that possibility.
Mayor Pro Tem Bacharach said page 63 does not refer to lifeguard services
Leisure Services Director Thomas said she spoke with the Department of Beaches
and was told that the County will continue to supply lifeguard services at no
charge but will try to extract from the City some relief on liability. She
said that issue would be negotiated between the City and the County. She said
al
it was her understanding that if an accident occurred due to negligence on the
part of the lifeguard, the County is responsible, but if it is the result of
negligence on the part of the City (i.e., maintenance of the parking lot), the
City is responsible. She said they will be meeting again about bringing the
City into the loop via personal contact and written reports by the lifeguards.
Recess
At 8:15 p.m., a brief recess was called. The meeting reconvened at 8.-34 p.m.
with all members present*
ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES
Finance Director Smith said Environmental Services had two budgets, one for
the planning division and one for the building division. He said the planning
budget includes the addition of two staff members for code enforcement, but no
major changes from the previous year. He said three computers and printers
were proposed and also the replacement of a vehicle which would be purchased
out of the vehicle replacement fund and replaced by the department over the
next four years. He said page 47 refers to a contract assistant planner which
the department may need to work on special projects, but said the document
should state that person would be "as needed."
Environmental Services Director Benard said the code enforcement activities
are currently shared under advanced planning, using three assistant planners
and one associate planner to perform both functions. He said the proposed
organization would separate code enforcement which should be more efficient.
4 May 2, 1988
He said the current planning structure would stay the same, with one senior
planner, two associates, and one assistant; advanced planning would have one
associate planner and two assistant planners, and code enforcement would have
one associate planner and two assistant planners. He reviewed the current
case load.
Councilman MoTaggart said code enforcement handles nuisances, but there is
also a section in the Public Works budget for nuisance abatement. He asked if
all nuisance abatement could be handled by one department to avoid duplication
of effort.
Finance Director Smith said for Public Works, nuisance abatement is primarily
for situations like tree limbs from private property encroaching into the
parkway. He explained that if the property owner does not trim back the tree,
the Public Works crew will go out and take care of the problem and bill the
property owner. He said these are Minor bills which average under 1200 and
cover actual cost plus an administrative feet
Councilman Hughes noted that the property owners are not fined but are merely
relieved of the burden of doing the job themselves, and that it may even be
economically advantageous for them to have the City do the work.
Councilman Hinchliffe said this was similar to the way the Fire Department
handles weed abatement. He had no problem with the system since it costs the
City nothing to provide the service.
Finance Director Smith said having the Public Works crew do the work may be to
the City's advantage because it ensures not only that the job gets done, but
that it is done correctly*
Environmental Services Director Benard said the basic areas of nuisances that
his department abates are overgrown vegetation and illegal dumping. He said
in the past, staff responded only to complaints concerning vegetation but now
is actively surveying areas and sending out notices of overgrowth. He said
they achieve 98-100 percent compliance on the second notice*
Councilman Hinchliffe said it appears that the nuisance is handled by
Environmental Services and then turned over to Public Works for abatement only
if the problem is not solved by the property owners
Public Works Director Wentz said they pull in one of their contractors to
abate the nuisance and add an administrative fee to the cost for billing the
property owner*
Councilman MbTaggart said if the violators are not fined, there is nothing to
discourage them from committing the offense, particularly with regard to
dumping.
Environmental Services Director Benard said illegal dumping often occurs
without the property owner's knowledge, and that identifying the dumper is the
exception rather than the rule. He said there were perhaps two to three dozen
of these types of violations a year, and a City investigation to identify the
May 2 1988
violators would take more time and ultimately cost more money. He said he
would investigate with the City Attorney the City's ability to establish a
fine for illegal dumping. With regard to political signs in the public right-
of-way, he said 18 to 24 signs have been removed since the last budget
meeting. With regard to the department's handling of all violations, he said
violations are handled by the code enforcement officers up to the point where
an application is filed, at which time the case goes to current planning for
processing. I
Councilman Hughes said the process should continue in that manner. Another
problem he cited was that in the past, building and safety inspectors look at
plan check items but are oblivious to zoning violations. He said they should
be adequately trained to be sensitive to all code violations.
Environmental Services Director Benard said cross-training is now provided
for the building inspectors which deals specifically with setbacks, height,
pad verification, etc. He said all plans receive planning approval first and
then, after building plan check, the plans are reviewed again by a planner to
insure compliance with all Development Code standards. He said verification
of the topography is required for plot plans.
Councilman Hinchliffe expressed concern about adequate staffing for basic
planning, particularly with such important planning issues coming up.
Environmental Services Director Benard said with the addition of two planners,
the separation of code enforcement, and the contingency to hire a contract
planner for special projects, the staffing will be adequate. He said the
department is managing the work being done for Subregion 1, Subregions 7 and
8, and Longpoint by using a team approach, noting that a lot of the work is
being done by the developer,
City Manager McDuffie said bringing the code enforcement to a divisional level
would make the department work more efficiently,
Councilman Hughes said most of the complaints he receives concern the length
of time it takes to get a permit. He said he was referring to over-the-
counter permits that should only take one or two weeks rather than six to
eight weeks. He asked if there was any kind of internal check or audit,
Environmental Services Director Benard said there currently was not, but
agreed that was a good idea. He said one application where there is no
control is the height variation, which requires a view analysis. He said-
delays often occur if the weather is not satisfactory or if there is a lack of
cooperation from the applicant or the neighbors. He said at certain times of
year, because of the weather, it is almost impossible to determine view. With
cases requiring geological review, he said many times a delay occurs because
the geology report must be rewritten due to the applicant's geologist being
unfamiliar with the area.
Mayor Pro Tem Bacharach asked the City Manager to perform an audit and monitor
the system.
6 May 2, 1388
Councilman ounc lilman McTaggart asked what percentage of the applications were delayed
through the fault of the applicant.
Senior Planner Ann Negendank, current planning supervisor, said about 10-20
percent of the applications were delayed no more than two months from the time
of submittal, and that most of them were delayed because of code enforcement.
She said often the delays which occur in plan check are the result of finding
something that triggers another planning review*
With regard to the Planning Commission workload, Environmental Services
Director Benard said in a number of cases where there are no issues, the
applications are listed on the agenda as consent calendar items, which limits
the number of public hearing cases and allows the Commission to get through
more projects.
Councilman Hughes asked about the requested computers and printers. He wanted
to ensure that the system was moving ahead toward automation*
Mayor Ryan asked if new projects are being put into the computer as they come
in. He said staff should take advantage and computerize as much as possible.
Environmental Services Director Benard said staff was attempting to get a good
data base together. He said the best way to computerize the information would
be to hire a consultant to come in and program the whole system in a short
period of time.
Councilman Hughes said the 15,000 residences will require that many files in
the data base. He said it should not be put off year after year, because the
longer they wait, the longer it will take to get it done. He asked if the
equipment to be purchased will be adequate to accomplish that*
Finance Director Smith said the equipment to be purchased is sophisticated
enough to do the job.
In response to questions by Mayor Ryan, Environmental Services Director Benard
said the City Geologist is in-house one day a week, and that his fee is the
only one for which they still use a trust account, with each applicant paying
the exact cost of the service. He said only the clerical staff of the
building and safety division are City employees, that the remaining staff are
either employed by or contracted by Abbott Associates*
Mayor Pro Tem Bacharach suggested that the inspectors and plan checkers be
invited to a City Council meeting to meet the Councilmembers.
Councilman McTaggart suggested that all training trips and conferences, etc.,
come under the City Manager's budget and be controlled by him rather than
having the individual department heads select which ones to attend.
City Manager McDuffie thought it was more efficiently handled at a department
head level because they would better know what training would be beneficial
for their employees. He said reimbursement requests for college credits do
require his approval, but not training classes or seminars.
7 May 2, 1088
Mayor Ryan said he would like the City Manager to have total control over
travel, etc.
City Manager MeDuffie said out-of-state travel already requires City Council
approval. He said they could set up a system requiring City Manager approval
for all other travel, just as vacation requests are currently routed to him
for approval. I
In response to questions regarding the five- percent increase in building and
safety billing rates (page 56, code .37), Finance Director Smith said that
although the Environmental Services Director supervises the building and
safety division, he is not involved with what the City pays for the service.
He noted that the building and safety revenue covers most of the cost of the
entire Environmental Services Department.
Environmental Services Director Benard said some planning services are not fee
related. He said Code enforcement does not generate revenue, and he estimated
that about two-thirds of the planning staff's time at the counter is spent
dispensing information. He said those functions are covered by the fees
generated through building permits. He said he was not specifically involved
in the auditing process, but does receive detailed reports from Abbott which
specify permit activity and contain a monthly break-out of those figures.
The remainder of the agenda was continued to the scheduled budget workshop on
May 16, and the Council also discussed the possibility of meeting on May 24 or
May 31 for an additional budget meeting.
Recess
At 10:49 p.m., the Council recessed to a meeting of the Rancho Palos Verdes
Redevelopment Agency. Council reconvened at 10:50 with all members present.
AT)MY TPMMPW
At 10:51 p.m., the Council adjourned to a regular meeting on Tuesday, May 3,
1988, at 7:30 p.m., at Dodson Junior High School, 28014 Montereina Drive, in
said City.
ATTEST:
D1063
May 2, 1988