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Home My WebLink AboutMinutes 010901 Approved January 23,2001 MINUTES iii$ ® 19 ATASCADERO CITY COUNCIL MEETING TUESDAY, JANUARY 09, 2001 7:00 P.M. REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY: 6:30 P.M. CLOSED SESSION: None REGULAR SESSION, 7:00 P.M.: Mayor Arrambide called the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m. and led the Pledge of Allegiance. ROLL CALL: Present: Council Members Clay, Johnson, Luna, Scalise and Mayor Arrambide Absent: None Others Present: City Clerk Marcia Torgerson and City Treasurer David Graham Staff Present: City Manager Wade McKinney, Assistant City Manager Brady Cherry, Police Chief Dennis Hegwood, Acting Fire Chief Kurt Stone, Administrative Services Director Rachelle Rickard, Public Works Director Steve Kahn and Deputy City Attorney David Fleishman. APPROVAL OF AGENDA: MOTION: By Council Member Clay and seconded by Council Member Luna to approve the agenda. Motion passed 5:0 by a roll-call vote. COMMUNITY FORUM: Charlotte Burn, President-elect of the El Camino Homeless Organization (ECHO), announced to the Council they formed this organization as a result of the increasing numbers of homeless in the North County. She explained their goals and services and thanked the Council for their support. Mike Burn, 4064 Tranquilla, President of Loaves and Fishes and also a member of the Board of ECHO, read the Mission Statement of ECHO, explained more about the services of ECHO and urged the Council to stay informed and involved on the issue of the homeless. Richard Mullin, 4200 Portola Road, expressed his concerns about road problems. He stated he is concerned about the traffic problems on San Anselmo near the intersection of Monterey Road, and the traffic problems as a result of the realignment of Highway 41. Todd Tognazzini, Fish and Game Warden with the California Department of Fish and Game, stated he is here tonight at the request of Police Chief Hegwood to address the increased sightings of mountain lions in Atascadero. He explained that, even though there have been more sightings recently, the lion population in the City of Atascadero has not increased. The lack of rain this year has caused the deer, which is the main prey for mountain lions, to stay in our neighborhoods where there are plants to eat. Therefore, the mountain lions are forced to come into our neighborhoods to obtain the deer. Mayor Arrambide closed the Public Comment period. COUNCIL ANNOUNCEMENTS AND REPORTS: Mayor Pro Tem Scalise stated she would be taking over the meeting as Mayor Arrambide has laryngitis. Council Member Clay asked when the elevator would be fixed. Mr. McKinney stated it will be on the Council's next agenda. Council Member Luna stated that the Governor has asked everyone to cut back on their electricity and Council Member Luna asked if the City was going to set an example and how. Mr. McKinney stated the City will take steps to conserve energy. Council Member Johnson stated that the fuel cell technology issue is becoming closer where we could do a small, city-size amount of power generation through fuel-cell technology. He wondered if Atascadero should look into this technology. Mayor Pro Tem Scalise announced Mayor Arrambide would like to recommend the Council appoint a panel that would be responsible for doing candidate interviews for Planning Commission and the Parks & Recreation Commission. She stated if the Council wants to consider this proposal, we could place this issue on the next agenda. There was Council consensus to bring back the panel proposal, and the current recruitment deadline was extended to January 24, 2001. Mayor Pro Tem Scalise announced the Mayor's assignments of Council Members to committees. Mayor Pro Tem Scalise also read aloud the Draft Council Norms that have been agreed upon in the past by the Council. The Council Members made a few suggested corrections that will be presented to the Council when they formally review the draft at a later meeting. CC 01/09/01 Page 2 Council Member Clay asked Public Works Director Steve Kahn to respond to the traffic problems brought up during Public Comment. Mr. Kahn stated the problem areas mentioned are included in future programs already established. A. CONSENT CALENDAR: 1. City Council Minutes—November 28, 2000 ■ City Clerk recommendation: Council approve the City Council minutes of November 28, 2000[City Clerk] 2. City Council Minutes—December 12, 2000 ■ City Clerk recommendation: Council approve the City Council minutes of December 12, 2000[City Clerk] 3. November 2000—Accounts Payable & Payroll ■ Fiscal Impact: $1,219,290.11 ■ Staff recommendation: Council approve accounts payable and payroll for November 2000 [Administration Services] 4. December 2000—Accounts Payable & Pam ■ Fiscal Impact: $784,621.65 ■ Staff recommendation: Council approve accounts payable and payroll for December 2000 [Administration Services] 5. Open / Hazard Abatement Burning — Amending the City's Burning Ordinance — Second Reading of Ordinance ■ Fiscal Impact: Minimal for public education programs and inspections ■ Staff recommendation: Council adopt, on second reading by title only, the draft Ordinance amending Chapter 7, Section 5 of the Atascadero Municipal Code relating to Backyard Burning [Fire] 6. Traffic Way Storm Drain Project—Award of Contract ■ Fiscal Impact: Engineer's estimate is $231,410.63 to be funded through STIP ■ Staff recommendation: Council authorize the Mayor to execute an agreement to construct the Traffic Way Storm Drain Project and make the necessary appropriations. [Public Works] 7. Upgrade of Previously Approved Turf Sweeper ■ Fiscal Impact: $1,500,plus tax ■ Staff recommendation: Council authorize additional funds for the upgrade of the previously approved Turf Sweeper. [Public Works] MOTION: By Council Member Luna and seconded by Council Member Clay to approve the Consent Calendar. Motion passed 5:0 by a roll-call vote. (#A-5—Ordinance No. 378) (#A-6—Contract No. 2001-001) B. PUBLIC HEARINGS: None CC 01/09/01 Page 3 C. MANAGEMENT REPORTS: 1. Information Bulletin Council Member Luna commented about the PG&E report in the Information Bulletin. He stated he approved the decision to underground the utilities in the Downtown and feels it was the wrong thing to do to overhead the utilities to the Bonnema Brewery. D. COMMITTEE REPORTS: Water Committees Council Member Clay stated they had an engineer's report at their last meeting. E. INDIVIDUAL DETERMINATION AND/OR ACTION: City Council Council Member Johnson stated, in response to a Letter to the Editor that was critical of staff and the City's management, that he strongly supports the Atascadero staff. He also said he has heard many positive comments from employees. Council Member Johnson stated that he finds the City staff loyal to the City at large, not just the City Manager. He said the Letter to the Editor was an unfair comment in the press and insulted our employees. Council Member Johnson stated that he defends our Staff in the face of public criticism in the press. Mayor Pro Tem Scalise and Council Member Clay seconded that comment. City Manager Wade McKinney announced the appointment of Kurt Stone as the Acting Fire Chief. F. ADJOURNMENT: Mayor Pro Tem Scalise adjourned the meeting at 8:05 p.m. to the special meeting scheduled on January 16, 2001, at 7:00 p.m. MEETING RECORDED BY AND MINUTES PREPARED BY: Marcia McClure Torgerson, City Cl*k /w Barbara Patton, Deputy City Clerk CC 01/09/01 Page 4