HomeMy WebLinkAbout01 MINUTES 03-20-00 MINUTES
REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL
CITY OF TUSTIN, CALIFORNIA
MARCH 6, 2000
NO. 1
03-20-00
CALL TO ORDER
The meeting was called to order by Mayor Wodey at 7:08 p.m.. in the Council Chamber, 300
Centennial Way, Tustin, Califomia. 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:
Council Absent:
City Clerk:
Others Present:
Tracy Wills Wodey, Mayor
Jeffery M. Thomas, Mayor Pro Tem
Mike Doyle
Jim Potts
Thomas R. Saltarelli
None
Pamela Stoker
William A. Huston, City Manager
Christine Shingleton, Assistant City Manager
Lois Jeffrey, City Attorney
George Jeffdes, City Treasurer
Steve Foster, Chief of Police
Tim Sedet, Director of Public Works
Ronald A. Nault, Finance Director
Pat Sanchez, Director of Parks and Recreation Services
Dana Kasdan, Engineering Services Manager
Rita Westfieid, 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 Wodey 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 retum their census forms by April 1st,
and pointed out that a successful census count could bring needed resources into the City.
Mayor Wodey mentioned that the City had been greatly undercounted during the last census
and encouraged residents to make Census 2000 a success by completing and retuming the
questionnaires by April 1st; and information was confidential and would not be shared with
any other govemment agency.
PUBLIC INPUT- None
Minutes - City Council March 6, 2000 - Pase !
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.
11
APPROVAL OF MINUTES - FEBRUARY 22, 2000 REGULAR MEETING
Recommendation: Approve the City Council Minutes of February 22, 2000.
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.
1
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.
4.
CENSUS 2000 UPDATE
Recommendation: Receive and file subject report as recommended by the Community
Development Department.
1
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.
Si
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.
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
Minutes- City Council March 6, 2000 - Page 2
Council/Speaker Pearce u,..cussion followed regarding the ,..,mula 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 1st 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 concem 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 cladfied 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;
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:
Shidey Wells, 1651 Mitchell, G-3, Tustin
Susan Hail, 12160 Lamb Drive, Tustin
John.Cochrane, 2415 Kiser, Tustin
Kirk Wells, 14412 Acacia, Tustin
Minutes - City Council March 6, 2000 - Page 3
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 city fire/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
unit and its sufficiency; stressed OCFA should be more community involved; expressed
support for the City's current contract and was concemed 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.
Minutes - City Council March 6, 2000 - Pase 4
Councilmember Ports 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.
PUBLIC INPUT
Fire Service - Berklee Maughan, Tustin, spoke in favor of the altemative fire Service study.
OTHER BUSINESS / COMMITTEE REPORTS
Primary Election -Councilmember Potts, Mayor Pro Tem Thomas, and Mayor Wodey
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 Wodey 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 Wodey 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 Wodey 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 Attomey regarding pending litigation to which
the City was a party: Plaza Lafayette, LLC v. City of Tustin, OCSC No. 815036.
Minutes- City Council March 6, 2000 - Page 5
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.
TRACY WILLS WORLEY, MAYOR
PAMELA STOKER, CITY CLERK
Minutes - City Council March 6, 2000 - Pase 6