Minutes – October 15, 2008
Minutes – October 15, 2008
CITY OF LAGUNA WOODS, CALIFORNIA
CITY COUNCIL MINUTES
REGULAR MEETING
October 15, 2008
2:00 P.M.
I. CALL TO ORDER
Mayor Pro Tem Ring called the Regular Meeting of the City Council of the City of Laguna Woods to order at 2:00 p.m.
II. FLAG SALUTE
Councilmember Ross led the flag salute.
III. ROLL CALL
COUNCILMEMBERS: PRESENT: Bouer, Robbins, Ross, Ring,
ABSENT: Hack
STAFF PRESENT: City Manager Keane; City Attorney McEwen; Assistant City Manager Reilly; City Clerk Condon
IV. PRESENTATIONS
None.
V. CITY PROCLAMATIONS
Moved by Councilmember Robbins, seconded by Councilmember Ross and carried unanimously to approve City Proclamation 5.1.
5.1 Proclamation – Constitution Week – September 17-23, 2008
VI. CONSENT CALENDAR
Moved by Councilmember Ross, seconded by Councilmember Robbins, and carried unanimously to approve Consent Calendar Items 6.1 – 6.6.
6.1 City Council minutes from the regular meeting of September 17, 2008
Approved City Council minutes from the regular meeting of September 17, 2008.
6.2 Approved the reading by title of all ordinances and resolutions. Said ordinances and resolutions that appear on the public agenda shall be determined to have been read by title only and further reading waived.
6.3 Treasurer’s Report
Received and Filed September 2008 monthly Treasurer’s Report.
6.4 Warrant Register
Approved the October 15, 2008 Warrant Register in the amount of $482,059.83.
6.5 Employee Compensation Schedule
Approved Resolution No. 08-18 making minor modifications to the current employee compensation schedule, entitled:
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF LAGUNA WOODS, CALIFORNIA, RESCINDING RESOLUTION NOS. 07-14, 07-17 AND 08-05 AND ESTABLISHING A COMPENSATION SCHEDULE FOR CITY EMPLOYEES
6.6 Medical Marijuana Dispensary Application Fees
Approved Resolution No. 08-19 establishing medical marijuana dispensary application fees entitled:
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF LAGUNA WOODS, CALIFORNIA, ESTABLISHING FEES FOR MEDICAL MARIJUANA DISPENSARY REGULATORY PERMITS
VII. PUBLIC HEARINGS
None.
VIII. CITY COUNCIL
8.1 Tie Vote Procedures Related to the City’s General Municipal Election
City Clerk Condon advised that California Elections Code 15651 provides that a city may resolve a tie vote by lot or by conducting a special runoff election. Currently, City Resolution No. 99-52, authorizes a special runoff election in the event of a tie vote at any municipal election. The Orange County Registrar of Voters has advised that, if a special runoff election was required due to a tie vote, the cost would be approximately $95,000. The proposed resolution would rescind Resolution No. 99-52 and authorize resolving a City Council election tie vote by lot. The proposed procedure to resolve a tie vote by a coin toss was discussed.
Moved by Councilmember Robbins, seconded by Councilmember Bouer and carried unanimously to approve Resolution No. 08-20 rescinding Resolution No. 99-52 and providing a procedure to resolve a tie vote by lot at any municipal election entitled:
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF LAGUNA WOODS, CALIFORNIA RESCINDING RESOLUTION No. 99-52 AND PROVIDING FOR A PROCEDURE TO RESOLVE TIE VOTES BY LOT AT ANY MUNICIPAL ELECTION
IX. CITY MANAGER’S REPORT
9.1 Curbside, Inc. Contract Renewal
Assistant City Manager Reilly advised that in April 2002, the City initiated a door-to-door Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) collection program using Curbside, Inc. The program was expanded over the years to include Sharps, electronic waste, and universal waste drop-offs at City Hall of batteries, small appliances, cell phone, medication and fluorescent tubes. Just recently, an in-home bulky item collection was also conducted. Staff and residents have been very pleased with the performance of this contractor and staff is recommending approval of a contract extension through June 30, 2010, subject to availability of funds in the budget. Assistant City Manager Reilly briefly discussed future in-home pickups which are scheduled for December and March.
At the request of Mayor Pro Tem Ring, City Manager Keane advised that residents were concerned that there were no separate recycling bins in the Laguna Woods Village. She reported the City is not able to arbitrarily place recycling bins within the Laguna Woods Village without the homeowner associations’ approval. The City has applied for a grant to purchase bins and Ware Disposal has indicated they could pick up recyclables in separate bins at no additional cost.
Moved by Councilmember Bouer, seconded by Councilmember Robbins and carried unanimously to authorize the City Manager to modify and extend the agreement with Curbside, Inc. for household hazardous waste, electronic waste, medical waste and bulky item collection services to June 30, 2010, subject to approval as to form by the City Attorney.
9.2 City Council Meeting Captioning
City Manager Keane advised that the City Council authorized captioning of the televised September 17, 2008 Council meeting. Council and the audience viewed a demonstration of that captioning on the TV in the Council Chamber. She advised that staff received positive feedback from those who viewed the meeting with the caption option. The total equipment cost would be $4,900 and would be funded from the $10,000 the City receives per year from GRF Broadband Services for PEG equipment, and the $3,000 for captioning operator services could be funded from the Council contingency account which currently contains $49,750.
Councilmember Ross advised that she has heard from the hearing impaired group and they were very pleased with the captioning.
Mary Wall, resident, questioned the $10,000 received from GRF. City Manager Keane advised that the $10,000 payment is a requirement of the cable franchise that was issued last year and reminded everyone that the cable franchise fee has been waived for this year, which is over $300,000. Ms. Wall suggested that the City should consider waiving this fee.
Moved by Councilmember Ross, seconded by Councilmember Bouer, and carried unanimously to:
A. Authorized captioning services for televised City Council meetings for the balance of Fiscal Year 2008-09.
And
B. Transferred $3,000 from the Council Contingency Account (001.6590.7100) to Contract-Other Services (001.6100.7391), and authorized the expenditure of $4,900 of Public, Educational and Governmental (PEG) fees to purchase required captioning equipment.
X. CITY ATTORNEY’S REPORT
City Attorney McEwen provided brief explanations of Senate Bills 375 and 731. SB 375 related to green house reduction and SB 721 transferred licensing of massage establishments to the state. He advised staff will be reviewing policies and codes and report back if necessary.
XI. COMMITTEE REPORTS
11.1 Transportation Corridor Agencies (Mayor Hack)
There was no report as Mayor Hack was not in attendance at the meeting.
11.2 Southern California Water Committee (Mayor Hack)
There was no report as Mayor Hack was not in attendance at the meeting.
11.3 Vector Control District (Councilmember Bouer)
Councilmember Bouer reported that West Nile Virus activity had been heavy this year and that the City had a total of 5 infected dead birds.
11.4 Library Advisory Board (Councilmember Robbins)
Councilmember Robbins advised that the OC Board of Supervisors authorized the OCPL to hire a consultant to review the branch allocation formula.
11.5 Orange County Fire Authority (Councilmember Ross)
Councilmember Ross advised that there was a presentation of children 10 and under, who had called 911 and were able to remain on the line and assist responders. Residents who had used the 911 service and received an evaluation form were also encouraged to return the form.
11.6 Laguna Canyon Foundation (Mayor Pro Tem Ring)
Mayor Pro Tem Ring showed a presentation on the Nix Nature Center and announced that they had been awarded first place in Orange County from the American Institute of Architects.
11.7 Coastal Greenbelt Authority (Mayor Pro Tem Ring)
Mayor Pro Tem Ring advised that they met a month ago and had hoped to receive a report on Barbara’s Lake, but the County representative was not able to attend the meeting.
XII. PUBLIC COMMENTS
Michael Genner, resident, requested the City educate residents on medical marijuana dispensaries.
City Manager Keane advised areas where MMDs could be located, but stated that property owners are not required to rent to MMDs.
Mary Wall, resident, stated she did not feel MMDs should be located in the City. She also stated that graffiti in the City had not been removed and questioned the removal policy. City Manager Keane stated she would investigate the complaint and the resident would be provided a status report.
Councilmember Bouer briefly discussed MMDs and advised that the FDA is currently testing a marijuana medication.
Marty Rhodes, resident, questioned the MMD application and fee. City Manager Keane explained the procedure.
Mark Stein, resident, advised that his wife had a hearing disability for the last 47 years and wished to thank Council for the closed captioning. He stated she really appreciated being able to view the City Council meeting to keep up to date on City issues.
XIII. CITY COUNCIL COMMENTS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
None.
XIV. CLOSED SESSION
None.
XV. ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 3:00 p.m. The next meeting will be at 2:00 p.m. on November 19, 2008 at the Laguna Woods City Hall, 24264 El Toro Road, Laguna Woods, CA
__________________________________
SUSAN M. CONDON, City Clerk
Adopted: November 19, 2008
__________________________________
BERT HACK, Mayor
