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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC MINUTES 2000 03 06 MINUTES REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL CITY OF TUSTIN, CALIFORNIA MARCH 6, 2000 CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order by Mayor Worley at 7:08 p.m. in the Council Chamber, 300 Centennial Way, Tustin, California. The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Tustin Girl Scout Flag Patrol and the Invocation was given by Pastor Dane Counts, Kings Way Church. ~ ROLL CALL Council Present: Tracy Wills Worley, Mayor Jeffery M. Thomas, Mayor Pro Tem Mike Doyle Jim Potts Thomas R. Saltarelli Council Absent: None City Clerk: Pamela Stoker Others Present: William A. Huston, City Manager Christine Shingleton, Assistant City Manager Lois Jeffrey, City Attorney George Jeffries, City Treasurer Steve Foster, Chief of Police Tim Serlet, Director of Public Works Ronald A. Nault, Finance Director Pat Sanchez, Director of Parks and Recreation Services Dana Kasdan, Engineering Services Manager Rita Westfield, Asst. Director, Community Development Jim Draughon, Senior Project Manager Dave Gottlieb, Senior Project Manager " Scott Reekstin, Acting Senior Planner Valerie Crabill, Chief Deputy City Clerk : Bettie Correa, Senior Personnel Analyst Approximately 75 in the audience PROCLAMATION Census Day - Mayor Worley read and presented a proclamation recognizing April 1, 2000, as Census Day. Nampet Panichpan, Census Partnership Specialist, accepted the proclamation, encouraged residents to complete and return their census forms by April 1st, and pointed out that a successful census count could bring needed resources into the City. Mayor Worley mentioned that the City had been greatly undercounted during the last census and encouraged residents to make Census 2000 a success by completing and returning the questionnaires by April 1st; and information was confidential and would not be shared with any other government agency. PUBLIC INPUT - None PUBLIC HEARING - None CONSENT CALENDAR ( ITEMS I THROUGH 6 ) It was moved by Thomas, seconded by Saltarelli, to approve the Consent Calendar as recommended by staff. Motion carried 5-0. i. APPROVAL OF MINUTES - FEBRUARY 22, 2000 REGULAR MEETING Recommendation: Approve the City Council Minutes of February 22, 2000. 2. APPROVAL OF DEMANDS AND RATIFICATION OF PAYROLL Recommendation: Approve Demands in the amount of $1,760,249.59 and ratify Payroll in the amount of $409,555.20. 380-10 360-82 Minutes - City Council March 6, 2000 - PaSe 1 3. PLANNING COMMISSION ACTION AGENDA- FEBRUARY 28, 2000 All actions of the Planning Commission become final unless appealed by the City Council or member of the public. Recommendation: Ratify the Planning Commission Action Agenda of February 28, 2000. 120-50 4. CENSUS 2000 UPDATE Recommendation: 'Receive and file subject report as recommended by the Community Development Department. 390-85 5. RESOLUTION NO. 00-15 - A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF TUSTIN, CALIFORNIA, ORDERING THE PREPARATION OF AN ENGINEER'S REPORT FOR THE TUSTIN LANDSCAPE AND LIGHTING DISTRICT LEVY OF ANNUAL ASSESSMENTS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2000-2001 Recommendation: Adopt Resolution No. 00-15 which orders the preparation of the Engineer's Report for the Tustin Landscape and Lighting District Levy of Annual Assessments for fiscal year 2000-2001 as recommended by the Public Works Department/Engineering Division. 340-60 6. APPROVAL OF AMENDMENT NO. 2 TO THE MASTER FUNDING AGREEMENT NO. C- 95-993 WITH ORANGE COUNTY TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY FOR PROJECTS FUNDED BY MEASURE M Recommendation: Approve Amendment No. 2 to Cooperative Agreement No. C-95-993 with the Orange County Transportation Authority, and authorize the Mayor and City Clerk to execute the agreement on behalf of the City upon approval by the City Attorney as recommended by the Public Works Department/Engineering Division. 400-10 REGULAR BUSINESS ( ITEM 7 ) 7. FIRE SERVICES The following member of the audience gave a presentation seeking approval to commence an in-depth study on re-establishing a Tustin Fire Department and requested the City appropriate $8,500 for that study: Eric Pearce, President/CEO of Firechief. Org Council/Speaker Pearce discussion followed regarding the formula used in the study for determining firemen salaries; the $2 million startup costs included the cost of leasing new apparatus; study estimates were based on attaining a Class 1 fire department; each engine would be manned with two firefighters, an engineer and captain; based on the City's call volume, two paramedic units were warranted; reserve figures and deductibles such as liability insurance would be explored in the full study; the plan called for utilization of paid call firefighters; four engine companies staffed 24 hours per day with two additional paid call engine companies; it would also be the City's option to have an entire paid staff with no paid call firefighters; the City would join in the State Master Mutual Aid Agreement providing aid to other cities while receiving aid in return; actual mutual aid costs were not taken into account; and the study needed to access information from staff to give more definitive estimates and meet the July 1 st contract deadline. The following member of the audience presented a video giving a comprehensive overview of services provided by the Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA) including fire suppression/prevention services; personnel trained in highly specialized areas with task forces available for response to large-scale, catastrophic emergencies; a helicopter program with immediate response for rescue, medical transport, wildland fire assistance, and transport of emergency task forces/equipment; an extensive new construction plancheck/engineering section; fire code administration; arson investigation; and hazardous materials response team: Chip Prather, Chief of the Orange County Fire Authority Following the video presentation, Chief Prather expressed concern over misinterpretation of an emergency at a local restaurant where Councilmember Doyle heard that a patient had died during a twelve-minute response time caused by the engine company attending a training class; he clarified that there had been no units at training but there had been four concurrent calls at that point in time; the response time was not twelve, but seven minutes; Minutes - City Council March 6, 2000 - Page 2 and the patient did not die, but was treated and later released. He also stressed the depth of service provided by the OCFA during concurrent emergency calls where units based inside the City were joined by those based outside the City; two recent incidents of concurrent calls required forty-four and fifty-two working firefighters; 75% of OCFA firefighters assigned to Tustin had more than ten years experience in the City; 80% had over ten years experience on the job; there were 1800 fire safety inspections conducted in local schools and businesses during 1999, 229 hazardous materials permits, 230 new construction site inspections, and review of 375 new contruction plans; training was provided to over 500 children and CPR/fire safety/earthquake preparedness/water safety presentations to 3000 Tustin residents; and Tustin citizens who had called for services rated those services at 96.75%. '"-- Council/Chief Prather discussion followed regarding mutual aid, service level studies and stance of other cities in relation to OCFA. The following individuals spoke in opposition to the fire service study: Shirley Wells, 1651 Mitchell, G-3, Tustin Susan Hall, 12160 Lamb Drive, Tustin John Cochrane, 2415 Kiser, Tustin Kirk Wells, 14412 Acacia, Tustin The following individuals spoke in favor of the fire service study: Dan York, 14171 Livingston, Tustin Mike Perry, 14462 Deerfield, Tustin John F. Garner, 1671 Lear Lane, Tustin Jack Neeman, 1260 Walnut, Tustin David Nitzen, 17832 Bigelow Park, Tustin Berklee Maughan, Tustin Mayor Wodey commented on her service and that of Councilmember Saltarelli as OCFA board members, stating the Council had been closely involved with OCFA since its inception; the City's main concern was to obtain excellent and economical fire service; 60% of the City's annual budget was expended on public safety and was increasing annually; on a per capita basis, the City's fire costs were currently the second lowest in the County; the proposal had been presented to continue with OCFA at 3.5% for five years and 4.5% for the succeeding five years; she felt that with the current economy of services and excellent fire protection, it would be unwise for the City to consider starting its own fire department; and based upon these combined factors, it was unwarranted to spend money on a study when the outcome was already known. Councilmember Doyle clarified he was not criticizing OCFA's service but simply wanted the best service for the dollar; felt the absence of non-dedicated paramedic units could be life- threatening; and urged the Council to approve the expenditure for a fire service study. Councilmember Saltarelli reflected on the evolution of the County, from 80% County occupancy of land to cities occupying 90%; expounded on the creation of the OCFA as a regional body with a board of directors consisting of representatives from the cities and County; added that as regional problems were solved, so were the individual entity problems; cities and fire management/unions had felt the County was out of touch with the cities' needs; this awareness brought massive involvement of Councilmembers and City Managers who handled cityfire/safety budget constraints, thus the concept of OCFA; expounded on the massive undertaking of creating the Fire Authority consisting of 20 cities; touched on the complexities of structural fire fund versus contract cities; felt it would be more difficult to control costs with the City's own fire department than with regional services; response times from OCFA had been good; the City's reserves did not equip it to handle major disasters; felt Council would be irresponsible to change from OCFA after the efforts expended by member cities; and with the present negotiated contract and excellent service, he did not wish to seek a lesser alternative. It was moved by Saltarelli, seconded by Wodey, to deny the proposed $8,500 expenditure for a fire service study and retain the OCFA contract. Mayor Pro Tem Thomas stated he had never had a complaint in eight years which indicated the system was working; felt paid-call firemen should be a part of OCFA; mentioned other cities joining OCFA because of the practicality; questioned if the City had only one paramedic Minutes - City Council March 6, 2000 - Page 3 unit and its sufficiency; stressed OCFA should be more community involved; expressed support for the City's current contract and was concerned with the best interests of the City; levels of service with OCFA were contractable; the City should remain with OCFA because the citizens were satisfied with service; and was unaware there would be a $8,500 expenditure connected with the proposed study and felt it unjustified. Councilmember Potts mentioned the City of Irvine's subsidizing of OCFA might not continue; the cost of safety professionals continued to rise; stressed the community-mindedness of volunteers, felt they would be necessary in the future, and the City should find a way to utilize them; stressed the importance of keeping core people; cautioned the Fire Authority/police departments to remain competitive, pay a professional wage and keep numbers of fire/police employees to a minimum; and did not support the expenditure for the alternative study. Motion carried 4-1, Doyle opposed. 400-70 PUBLIC INPUT Fire Service - Berklee Maughan, Tustin, spoke in favor of the alternative fire service study. OTHER BUSINESS / COMMITTEE REPORTS Primary Election - Councilmember Ports, Mayor Pro Tem Thomas, and Mayor Worley encouraged residents to exercise their right to vote in the primary election on March 7th. Miss Tustin Pageant - Councilmember Saltarelli congratulated the contestants and commended the volunteers and pageant staff for a successful event. Mayor Worley congratulated the new Miss Tustin, Cindy Stuck, and the runner-up contestants. Cedar Grove Park - Mayor Pro Tem Thomas reported on numerous comments he had received on the beauty of Cedar Grove Park. Marconi Automotive Museum - Mayor Pro Tem Thomas requested staff explore the possibility of renaming Industrial Way' to Marconi Way in recognition'of the Marconi Auto Museum and mentioned public comments about the need for directional signage to the museum. Sports Fields - Mayor Worley expressed displeasure that the school district had installed a gate between the Sports Park and Tustin Ranch Elementary School blocking the public's access to the school grounds, and commended the volunteers who refurbished the fields at Utt Middle School. Letter to the Editor - Mayor Worley expressed displeasure with a letter to the editor containing disparaging remarks about Mayor Pro Tem Thomas and Councilmember Saltarelli, commented that the newcomer was unaware of the clout those Councilmembers carried within the County, stated the letter was very offensive, and it appeared that Campaign 2000 was underway. CLOSED SESSION - Mayor Worley announced the City Council would convene in closed session to confer with its labor negotiator, William A. Huston, City Manager, regarding unrepresented employees; and to confer with the City Attorney regarding pending litigation to which the City was a party: Plaza Lafayette, LLC v. City of Tustin, OCSC No. 815036. ADJOURNMENT - Mayor Worley adjourned the meeting at 9:32 p.m. The next regular meeting of the City Council was scheduled for Monday, March 20, 2000, at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chamber at 300 Centennial Way. T~ORL~E~,b~MAyOR~~ PA'ii2i'~LA ~TO~ER, ~iTY CLER*K Minutes - City Council March 6, 2000 - PaB;e 4