Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013/11/06 - Minutes - Special November 6, 2013 RANCHO CUCAMONGA CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES I A. CALL TO ORDER The special meeting of the Rancho Cucamonga City Council convened in the Tri-Communities Room at the Civic Center, located at 10500 Civic Center Drive, Rancho Cucamonga, California. Mayor L. Dennis Michael called the meeting to order at 3:30 p.m. Present were Councilmembers: Bill Alexander, Marc Steinorth, Diane Williams, Mayor Pro Tem Sam Spagnolo and Mayor L. Dennis Michael. Also present were: John Gillison, City Manager; Jim Markman, City Attorney; Linda Daniels, Assistant City Manager; Lori Sassoon, Deputy City Manager/Administrative Services; Jeff Bloom, Deputy City Manager/Economic & Community Development (4:20 p.m.); Bill Wittkopf, Public Works Services Director; Candyce Burnett, Planning Manager; Nettie Nielsen, Community Services Director; Tamara Layne, Finance Director; Ingrid Bruce, GIS/Special Districts Manager and Debra McNay, Records Manager/Assistant City Clerk. Ruth Bernstein, Principal, EMC Research was also present. B. PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS I No communication was made from the public. C. ITEM FOR DISCUSSION I C1. DISCUSSION CONCERNING THE CITY'S WEST-SIDE LANDSCAPING AND STREET LIGHTING DISTRICTS City Manager John Gillison reported that the purpose of the meeting was to follow up on the discussion held regarding the landscaping and street light maintenance districts on the west side of the City. As requested, Ms. Bernstein from EMC Research was present at today's meeting in order to discuss the structure and implementation of the survey. Jim Markman, City Attorney, noted that Council Member Steinorth has discussed his property interests with him and has been advised that he may participate in this general discussion. When it is time to consider action on a specific District, Mr. Markman indicated that Council Member Steinorth has been advised to abstain from the discussion and voting. In response to Council Member Williams, Mr. Markman noted that the property interests of the City Council members have been reviewed. Council Member Williams and the remaining Council members may participate in any future decisions regarding these Districts. Council Member Steinorth has been advised to abstain when the time comes to discuss and vote on district balloting and formation. Deputy City Manager Lori Sassoon reported that staff had spent time considering the feedback that was provided by the City Council at the last meeting. The first item to be addressed was whether or not funding could be gathered for additional one-time capital investments. Mrs. Sassoon affirmed that this could be done, noting that a capital improvement list could be created for each District; the District could Special Meeting —City's West-Side Landscaping and Street Lighting Districts 3:30 PM — November 6, 2013—City Council Minutes— Page 1 of 3 obtain a temporary advance to fund these projects after it was approved by the property owners and repayment of this temporary advance could be done as part of the newly-approved assessment rates. When the advance is completely repaid, the rates would be adjusted downward accordingly. It is possible that the property owners may favor creating a new capital improvement list at that time, triggering another temporary advance and maintaining the assessment rate. Mrs. Sassoon indicated that Attachment A to the staff report provides a comparison of the proposed rates and the proposed alternate rates including some capital improvements. Mrs. Sassoon suggested that the discussion with the property owners include dialogue about a capital improvement list and the slightly higher rate. Council Member Steinorth concurred with the concept, noting that this would provide an added benefit to the property owners. Also, the City would be able to obtain feedback on the type of capital improvements to include in each District. Council Member Alexander noted that artificial turf and drought tolerant landscaping should be placed wherever possible. n Mayor Pro Tem Spagnolo stated that we are heading in the right direction and stressed the importance of a clear and concise message during the community engagement process. Council Member Alexander inquired if the survey could address Central Park development. Discussion was held. Mayor Michael noted that Central Park is a City-wide issue while the survey will only be conducted on the west side of the City. Also, he noted the need to keep the survey as straight forward as possible. Council Member Williams indicated that her assessment will rise quite a bit. She was concerned with how other property owners will feel about this and whether or not they would support it. Ruth Bernstein, Principal, EMC Research addressed the City Council, noting that the number of residential properties in two of the Districts was too small for a survey to be beneficial. This is due to the large amount of commercial and/or industrial development in those two Districts. Mrs. Bernstein indicated that reaching a prospective voter was possible for residential properties. Surveying in Bear Gulch Park and Hermosa and Church Park is not included in the survey work, because the number of residential properties is so small. In response to Council Member Alexander, Mrs. Bernstein read some examples of survey questions that could be used. Mrs. Sassoon noted that the survey will include the actual ballot question, which is crafted very carefully from a legal standpoint. Mrs. Bernstein conformed that demographics are important and indicated that this data will be carefully monitored to be sure that surveys are gathered from property owners who are expected to vote. In response to Council Member Steinorth, Mrs. Bernstein confirmed that the survey work that was done last time was in line with the votes that were actually received later on in the process. Mayor Michael wondered how contact will be made with the owners of the commercial and industrial areas. In response, Mrs. Sassoon indicated that staff would be contacting the Chamber of Commerce and send a specific mailer(s) to the property owners in this group. Also, she stated that the major property owners will be identified so that individual outreach can occur. Discussion was held regarding absent property owners and how contact can be made to the property owners of commercial and industrial properties. Mrs. Sassoon also reported that information has been shared at recent School Superintendent's meetings and with the School Board. Mayor Michael suggested that the mobile home park managers should be identified and contacted. In conclusion, Mrs. Sassoon reported that the next steps would be to fine-tune the assessment amounts and the capital improvement projects to propose. Work is underway in engaging the community and she expected to finalize and conduct the survey in January, 2014. Special Meeting —City's West-Side Landscaping and Street Lighting Districts 3:30 PM — November 6, 2013—City Council Minutes— Page 2 of 3 Mrs. Sassoon reported that all of the informational material will be reviewed by the attorneys to be sure that the communication and the methods used are appropriate. She also indicated that these Districts will be referred to as"Parks and Street Lighting Districts" rather than "Landscaping Maintenance Districts." In response to Mayor Michael, Mrs. Sassoon indicated that she would keep the Council informed of when the mailers would go out and when the survey work starts. She expected that the first mailer would be sent in late December. She indicated that she would be making a PowerPoint presentation at the next City Council meeting as part of the community engagement process. ID. ADJOURNMENT I Mayor L. Dennis Michael adjourned the meeting at 4:36 p.m. Respectfully submitted, 1 Deb L. McNay, MMC Assistant City Clerk/Records Manager Approved: November 20, 2013 Special Meeting —City's West-Side Landscaping and Street Lighting Districts 3:30 PM — November 6, 2013— City Council Minutes— Page 3 of 3