20200413 Late Correspondence
TO: HONORABLE MAYOR & CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS
FROM: CITY CLERK
DATE: APRIL 13, 2020
SUBJECT: ADDITIONS/REVISIONS AND AMENDMENTS TO AGENDA
_____________________________________________________________________
Attached are revisions/additions and/or amendments to the agen da material presented
for tonight’s meeting.
Item No. Description of Material
1 Email from Sunshine
Respectfully submitted,
_____________________
Emily Colborn
L:\LATE CORRESPONDENCE\2020 Cover Sheets\20200413 additions revisions to agenda.docx
1
Subject: Maybe tomorrow will be better. Fwd: Budget Workshop and request for further trails related
clarification
From: SUNSHINE <sunshinerpv@aol.com>
Sent: Monday, April 13, 2020 1:03 PM
To: Teresa Takaoka <TeriT@rpvca.gov>; CityClerk <CityClerk@rpvca.gov>
Cc: CC <CC@rpvca.gov>; PC <PC@rpvca.gov>
Subject: Maybe tomorrow will be better. Fwd: Budget Workshop and request for further trails related clarification
Hi Teri,
Thank you for the reply. Given that this Workshop has been postponed from a previous date, I don't
understand why a statement of Staff's "assumptions" is not available for review prior to Council's
discussion. Even worse, since the presentation of said assumptions is not stated in the Agenda Item's
Title, is the Council not precluded from moving a direction to Staff in relation to these assumptions?
My focus on trails is just to provide specific examples of how the future of The City of Rancho Palos
Verdes, the whole Peninsula, LA County and beyond is being manipulated by undisclosed Staff
assumptions and intentions.
Mr. Sassoon's statement that the trail maintenance budget is adequate to deal with this new circumstance
is an assumption until he can back it up with a successful history. Mr. Mihranian's statement that the City
does not intend to close more trails based on the Final NCCP is at best, a half truth, given how many trail
connections have already been lost under the various draft NCCP's.
I keep looking to the City Clerk's Office to produce documentation of Staff's interpretations of Council's
directives. When the Minutes state that Council (or the Planning Commission) Moved and Approved Staff's
Recommendation, there is no record of what the City Manager actually directed his staff to do, and more
importantly, not do.
Defend your health and your integrity. ...S
From: sunshinerpv@aol.com
To: cc@rpvca.gov, pc@rpvca.gov, fac@rpvca.gov, trails@rpvca.gov, esassoon@rpvca.gov
Cc: aram@rpvca.gov, cicoriae@aol.com, barbailor@gmail.com, smhvaleri@cox.net,
yojay67@hotmail.com, s.philipp777@gmail.com, david.nott@reason.org
Sent: 4/13/2020 11:27:12 AM Pacific Standard Time
Subject: Budget Workshop and request for further trails related clarification
MEMO
FROM: SUNSHINE
DATE: April 13, 2020
TO: RPV City Council, Staff and interested Parties
RE: Request for special Budget Line Item 1
2
Closure of the Preserve and other public trails is going to cause the need for additional Trail
Maintenance Funds. The normal "wear and tear" which keeps back the overgrowth and smooths
out minor erosion is not happening. Restoration will be a major project with the added burden of
debris and green-waste removal.
I see a real problem with figuring out how much should be budgeted. Since the draft update of the
Trails Network Plan is not yet available for public review, our Public Works Department does not
have an accurate description of what standards/criteria are to be met, on specific trails.
Please take advantage of this unique situation to increase our City's transparency.
I continue to volunteer to draft the updates of the "narratives" called for in the update Consultant's
Scope of Work. The lack of a response beyond… "I'll look into it" makes me question Staff's
intentions. In this case, it is the lack of action which speaks louder than words. Trails which are in
the current Trails Network Plan (TNP) have been both closed (not from just lack of maintenance)
and not pursued for public access.
Staff's assumptions for the proposed budget need to be "vetted" much more thoroughly than they
have been in the past. This is not the time to reduce public participation in the budget review
process. Staff's presentations and Council discussions at "Workshops" need to be videotaped and
posted to the City's web site, promptly. Staff's "assumptions" need to be stated/written both clearly
and concisely.
An analysis of the consequences of a recommended action and the corresponding consequences
of different or no action needs to be provided in every Agenda Report. The proposed budget is a
daunting document. That makes it difficult to identify what is missing. It is how the intentions and
the assumptions of all of us are reflected in the authorized spending which needs to be discussed
and agreed upon in public.
I left a voice message at the City Clerk's Office asking how I can obtain/retain Staff's
Presentation. No timely reply expected. Teri did send me a link to the Workshop Agenda which
does not mention nor provide a listing of Staff's "assumptions". Brown Act?
ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT April 8, 2020 Page 9 FINANCE 2020-21 Budget Workshop: On
Monday, April 13, the City Council will host its annual budget workshop for the General Fund (City’s
chief operating fund). The budget workshop will be conducted virtually via Zoom at 6:00 PM. Staff
will be presenting the FY 2019-20 year-end estimate of revenues and expenditures, the
3
assumptions used to prepare the FY 2020-21 proposed budget, and fund balance.
The preliminary FY 2020-21 General Fund budget will be presented at the regularly scheduled
meeting on May 19.
The Listserv Notice of the Budget Workshop is the same as the above with no instructions for public
participation. I wrote the following to a friend in a COVIR-19 update.
My big concern is that our Staff has been implementing a draft Natural Communities Conservation
Plan which supports the UN Agenda 21 goal of prohibiting human access to 90 percent of the
earth's surface by 2300. Lots of miles of trails have not been maintained due to veiled access
restrictions. Public notices emphasize that the Preserve closure is "temporary" but nobody is
proposing any funding to restore the trails after this Spring's erosion and vegetation growth
vanishes them. The temporary closure of the Terranea facility and the Trump Golf Club is going to
put a huge dent in our Transient Occupancy Tax and greens fees income. I can already hear the
report to Council... This was an unforeseen consequence. Sorry, of the 80 miles of trails which
were in use when the City purchased the Reserve properties, the 40 miles of trails which were open
to the public in 2019 will have to remain closed until we have the funds to make them "safe".
I have spoken with Elias Sassoon and he expressed his confidence that the normal Trails
Maintenance Budget will be sufficient in light of the projected reduction in City income.
I recently came across a quote in the Introduction to a book which was reprinted the year I was
born. Sorry I can't provide better credits.
"It is not sufficiently considered," said Dr. Johnson, "that men require more often to be reminded
than to be informed."
What I have noticed is that there is so little to remind people of. INFECTION PREVENTION and
financial acuity is now "news" co mingled with "fake news". What we have not tried to learn can
hurt us as a society and as a community. …S 310-377-8661