Day 1999.08.10CC

A joint meeting of the Redevelopment Agency and the City Council of the City of Vacaville was held at the City Council Chambers, 650 Merchant Street, August 10, 1999. Mayor Fleming called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m.

Mayor Fleming asked if there were any additions or deletions necessary for the agenda. The City Attorney noted a typographical error on the agenda and clarified that the minutes to be approved are dated July 27, 1999. Council member Slade, seconded by Council member Augustine, made a motion “ to approve the agenda as amended.” Motion unanimously approved.

4. APPROVAL OF MINUTES - Council member Clancy, seconded by Council member Slade, made a motion “ to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of July 27, 1999, as written.” Motion unanimously approved.

Fairfield/Suisun Rotary Club President Mike Garver introduced the Russian delegation of city officials who are visiting the United States as part of a Rotary Exchange Program. To achieve their main goal of observing the Democratic process, he noted they have visited Senate and Assembly Committees, the Fairfield Planning Commission, Solano County Board of Supervisors, and tonight would like to observe the Vacaville City Council. Through an interpreter, Deputy Aleksei Kleshko expressed hope for positive change in the new millennium and thanked all those who helped open the doors of America to them.

Mayor Fleming asked if anyone on the Council or in the audience wanted to remove an item from the Consent Calendar for separate discussion. Council member Clancy and Mayor Fleming requested that Consent Calendar Item 6h be discussed separately. Council member Slade, seconded by Council member Clancy, made a motion “ to adopt the ordinance, resolutions and other Consent Calendar items, with the exception of 6h." Motion approved by the following vote:

A. Ordinance No. 1623 – ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF VACAVILLE LEVYING SPECIAL TAXES WITHIN COMMUNITY FACILITIES DISTRICT NO. 6 (THE SARATOGA) OF THE CITY OF VACAVILLE) – Second Reading

B. Resolution No. 1999-97 - RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS OR ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS TO ACT ON BEHALF OF THE CITY IN OBTAINING FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE FROM THE STATE WATER RESOURCES CONTROL BOARD FOR THE EASTERLY WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLAN RENOVATION AND EXPANSION PROJECT

Resolution No. 1999-99 - RESOLUTION OF INTENTION TO LEVY ASSESSMENTS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2000-01, PRELIMINARILY APPROVING ENGINEER’ S REPORT AND PROVIDING FOR NOTICE OF HEARING ON THE VACA VALLEY BUSINESS PARK LIGHTING AND LANDSCAPING MAINTENANCE DISTRICT

E. Resolution No. 1999-102 - RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF VACAVILLE APPROVING THE TRANSFER OF PROPERTIES ALONG INTERSTATE 80 NEAR THE ALLISON OVERCROSSING FROM THE CITY OF VACAVILLE TO THE REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY OF THE CITY OF VACAVILLE and

Resolution No. RD-1999-13 - RESOLUTION OF THE REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY OF THE CITY OF VACAVILLE APPROVING THE TRANSFER OF PROPERTIES ALONG INTERSTATE 80 NEAR THE ALLISON OVERCROSSING FROM THE CITY OF VACAVILLE TO THE REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY OF THE CITY OF VACAVILLE

As a member of the Board of Directors of the League of California Cities, Mayor Fleming expressed the League’ s opposition to SB402 which mandates binding arbitration for the resolution of collective bargaining disputes with police and fire personnel. His main concerns included loss of local control over significant portions of the budget and conditions of employment, as well as the high cost of arbitration. Mayor Fleming expressed his opinion that the voters elected the Council to manage the City and protect the taxpayers, and any change should require voter approval. He was also upset that, by this action, the State has placed the Council in a position of confrontation with fire and police personnel. He noted that the League Board of Directors opposed the Bill 100%. Not all members were opposed to the concept of arbitration, but all were opposed to an unfunded mandate imposed by the State.

Council member Clancy stated that she has never seen a copy of SB402 and was not successful in reaching Senator Helen Thomson or Mr. Burton to discuss the reasons behind the Bill. She stated she would not be in a position to make a decision until she had an opportunity to study both sides of the issue.

John Jansen of the Vacaville Fire Department expressed support of SB402 as an important tool for resolving salary disputes. He described how the process would work and pointed to research that showed those cities that have mandatory arbitration seldom use it, particularly due to the costs involved. He explained that the bargaining group would be responsible for paying for the arbitrator and for their representative, and the City would pay for the City’ s representative. He also provided cost information on recent arbitration cases in the $20-$30,000 range, which was much lower than the $100-$300,000 per case estimated by the League of California Cities. He encouraged the Council to do more research on the Bill and encouraged fellow firefighters and citizens to call their Legislators and express support.

Gary Anderson, President of the Vacaville Police Officers Association, also acknowledged that the process is seldom used by those cities that have binding arbitration, but he felt it was an important tool for “ leveling the playing field.” He encouraged further study and noted that Napa and Vallejo already have binding arbitration and Berkeley and Sacramento just voted it in for their cities.

Council member Clancy expressed confidence that an arbitrator would be unbiased and fair and, perhaps, would be the best method of resolving bargaining disputes. She also expressed concern that an issue of this magnitude was included on the Consent Calendar which is normally reserved for items that do not require discussion.

Vice Mayor Wood asked about the costs of the binding arbitration process. The City Attorney stated that under the current system, the employer and the employee group split the costs. Under SB402, the majority of costs would fall on the bargaining unit. He noted, however, that there is an enormous cost in staff time to prepare for arbitration. Vice Mayor Wood expressed concerns about giving up the Council’ s decision-making authority to an arbitrator and felt that the relationship between employees, the Council, administration and the unions would deteriorate. He felt that the Council was elected to make these types of hard decisions and had concerns about how the Council would maintain fiscal management under binding arbitration. He stated that he is currently open-minded and would support the request to postpone a decision pending further study.

Council member Augustine also expressed concern that this item was placed on the Consent Calendar. He felt the issue was far too important and affected far too many City employees to be approved without input and discussion. He felt that the Council was fair and impartial and that the proposed Bill places Council members in an adversarial role. He stated that the potential costs are disturbing and expressed his willingness to delay a decision until all Council members have a chance to study the issue.

Council member Slade stated that she feels the Council needs to take a stand, whether or not it appears to be popular. She expressed concern about the costs and about turning over to the State the Council’ s ability to manage and make fiscal decisions for the City.

Council member Clancy made a motion, seconded by Council member Augustine, “ to table the issue until Council members have an opportunity to study SB402.” Motion approved 3-2 (Fleming/Slade- no)

Resident Dale Borden addressed the Council on the need for senior housing in the City of Vacaville. Mayor Fleming asked Housing & Redevelopment Manager Charlie Learned to meet with Mr. Borden to review the efforts that have been made and the plans for the future in regard to the housing needs of seniors in the community.

Director of Public Works Dale Pfeiffer explained the purpose for instituting the lien process in order to recover potentially lost revenues and avoid rate increases. He noted that there are currently 554 delinquent accounts totaling $127,500. He reviewed the notification process (both resident and non-resident property owners), and the process established by Vacaville Sanitary for property owners to check on the status of their tenants’ accounts. He introduced Recycling Coordinator Connie Donovan and Ed Farwell and Diane Liebert of Vacaville Sanitary who were available to answer questions.

Council member Slade, seconded by Council member Clancy made a motion “ to adopt the subject resolution.” Resolution No. 1999-103, “ Resolution Confirming Delinquent Refuse Collection Accounts and Directing Liens be Placed Against Affected Properties,” was approved by the following vote:

Assistant City Manager David Van Kirk reviewed the process for collecting unpaid weed abatement assessments. He noted that there were four outstanding accounts and recommended that the Council authorize staff to proceed with the lien process.

Council member Slade, seconded by Council member Clancy made a motion “ to approve the subject resolution.” Resolution No. 1999-104, “ Resolution Pertaining to Unpaid Assessments – Weed Abatement,” was approved by the following vote:

C. RESOLUTION APPROVING ENGINEER’ S REPORT, CONFIRMING DIAGRAM AND ASSESSMENT AND ORDERING LEVY OF ASSESSMENT FOR FISCAL YEAR 1999-2000 FOR THE BASIC PROPERTY SETBACK LIGHTING AND LANDSCAPING MAINTENANCE DISTRICT

ACM Van Kirk gave a brief overview of the proposed Lighting and Landscaping Maintenance District in the area of the old Basic site. He explained that the affected property owners would be required to maintain the setback landscaping along I-80. The properties involved include Brenden Theaters, Vacaville Skating Center, Chevron and McDonalds. He noted that no opposition had been expressed.

Vice Mayor Wood, seconded by Council member Slade, made a motion “ to approve the subject resolution.” Resolution No. 1999-105, “ Resolution Approving Engineer’ s Report, Confirming Diagram and Assessment and Ordering Levy of Assessment for Fiscal Year 1999-2000 for the Basic Property Setback Lighting and Landscaping Maintenance District,” was approved by the following vote:

Community Development Director Ron Rowland discussed the objectives of the proposed amendment. He reviewed the history of residential growth in the City of Vacaville, the status of uncompleted projects, and development forecasts.

Director Rowland reviewed five alternatives presented for Council’ s consideration. He explained the concept of shifting the point of control for the rate of growth from the building permit stage to final map approval. He outlined the benefits of the change, both to the City and to developers. He noted that a few members of the building community were included in the discussions and are generally supportive of the proposed amendment. He stated that once staff has direction from the Council, information meetings will be held with all builders and landowners in the City.

Tom Phillippi of Phillippi Engineering stated that he was involved in discussions concerning the proposed changes and was in favor of the modifications. He feels the amendment offers more assurance to builders/developers that their financial investments are protected by the certainty that building permits will be issued.

Vice Mayor Wood questioned whether time limits, i.e. 2-3 years, should be placed on pulling building permits for approved projects. Mr. Phillippi stated it was his understanding that once a final map has been recorded, there is no set time limit for pulling permits. Director Rowland clarified that a maximum number of new homes built in a one-year period has been established as protection for the City in terms of managing the rate of growth (currently 750 plus development agreement projects). Several Council members commented on the need to consider time limits to alleviate the potential for periods of excessive growth.

Council member Augustine questioned staff concerning exemptions. Director Rowland noted that exemptions include senior housing, low income, custom homes and small builders. Council member Augustine expressed that it is important to retain the exemptions. He expressed support for the proposed amendment and asked staff to ensure that small builders have the opportunity to review the proposed changes.

Vice Mayor Wood, seconded by Council member Clancy, made a motion “ to initiate an amendment to the Planned Growth Ordinance as outlined in the staff report and to postpone the annual implementation of the Planned Growth Ordinance, pending the outcome of the proposed ordinance changes and public hearing process.”

Mayor Fleming expressed the need to maintain some type of safeguards in order to prevent unlimited growth. Council member Slade pointed to Vacaville’ s success in recruiting major industry with income levels to support the purchase of new homes and emphasized the importance of balancing new jobs and housing. Council member Augustine echoed her point of view.

Director Pfeiffer noted that staff made a presentation to the Council last year concerning traffic calming devices, costs, and implementation measures in the City of Vacaville. In accordance with the Council’ s direction at that time, staff prepared a recommended policy for Council consideration and approval.

Traffic Engineer Gian Aggarwal reviewed the goals and objectives of traffic calming measures, and Shawn Cunningham presented slides and a video illustrating various devices to familiarize the Council with the options available.

Mr. Aggarwal reviewed the proposed funding options. (1) When warranted, traffic calming measures would be constructed as a condition of approval for new residential development at the developer’ s expense. (2) In Redevelopment areas, costs would be paid by the Redevelopment Agency. (3) Retrofitting traffic calming measures on existing residential streets would require 50/50 financial participation by the affected property owners. He explained the neighborhood petition process and noted a minor policy change that restricts the voting process to property owners only; not to renters.

Vice Mayor Wood expressed concern about requiring neighborhoods to pay for traffic calming devices initiated by the City. Director Pfeiffer expressed that he felt the majority of requests would be neighborhood-initiated and the proposal is based on that assumption. He noted that sharing the costs is a necessary measure for controlling the number of requests received.

Council member Augustine also expressed concern about residents being required to pay for the devices. He felt the voting process could cause friction among neighbors. He also expressed concern that the method of traffic calming selected would be based on a neighborhood’ s ability to pay, and could become a financial burden for small neighborhoods. Director Pfeiffer and Mr. Aggarwal assured the Council that there would be several options available at varying costs depending on what a neighborhood could afford. Director Pfeiffer also noted that devices in all instances would be installed on a temporary six-month basis to ensure the neighborhood is pleased with the results.

Council member Clancy stated that the Police Department is highly effective in reducing the problem of speeding, simply by their presence. She noted that a $50,000 device could just about pay the salary of a new police officer. Mr. Aggarwal commented on the tremendous support and effectiveness of the Vacaville Police Department, however, they have limited resources and can only provide random selective enforcement. Council member Clancy encouraged the Police Department to continue to make a show of force in target areas. She also questioned funding sources. It was noted that the gas tax could be used for this purpose, however, these funds are limited and are now being used for street resurfacing. ACM Van Kirk stated that Redevelopment funds could be used in some areas, but must meet specific regulations. The City Attorney added that there might be instances where Redevelopment could pay a portion, thereby reducing the amount the neighbors would be required to pay.

Council member Slade expressed concern that drivers will avoid the devices by simply going down adjacent streets and recommended that new development be designed to avoid this situation. She expressed her support and pointed to the need for a collaborative effort of education, enforcement and calming measures.

Vice Mayor Wood, seconded by Council member Clancy, made a motion “ to adopt the subject resolution and include some language in the policy to clarify that residents would be required to help pay the costs for traffic calming measures only when the request is neighborhood-initiated.”

Council member Slade expressed some concern about the neighborhood-initiated restriction. She felt staff should have the leeway to inform callers about the options that are available, since not everyone will be aware that the program exists.

Mayor Fleming expressed concern about instituting a new program that will take funds from other areas. Council member Slade noted that as the City grows, the needs will grow as well and she expressed confidence in staff’ s ability to seek out new funding sources.

Mayor Fleming presented information and a video concerning a new colored-tread tire developed by B. F. Goodrich. He stated that the “ Scorcher T/A” is being marketed as “ car customization,” however, promotional materials make clear that these tires will leave colored skidmarks on the roadway during rapid acceleration and hard-breaking stops. Mayor Fleming stated he strongly opposes the sale of these tires which he feels encourages reckless driving. He is also concerned that the colored-tread tires could increase gang activity by providing a new means for gangs to leave their color markings. He requested that the Council authorize him to prepare a resolution opposing the distribution of these tires by B. F. Goodrich and, failing that, to petition the State and federal government to ban the sale of “ Scorcher T/A” tires throughout the country.

Council member Slade suggested that the resolution recognize the company’ s positive involvement with youth and communities and prevail upon them to consider the safety of the young people who may be inclined to purchase the colored-tread tires.

Vice Mayor Wood, seconded by Council member Slade, made a motion “ authorizing the Mayor to express the City’ s opposition to the B. F. Goodrich colored-tread tires.” Motion approved (4-1 – Clancy abstained).

Mayor Fleming announced that the City received a $638,000 Community Development Block Grant. He also shared a letter received from the City of Dixon expressing gratitude for Vacaville’ s assistance during the recent fire.

Council member Slade expressed her thanks to the inmates and staff of CSP-Solano for the refurbished bicycles they donated to the Opportunity House for use by residents as transportation to and from work. She also acknowledged the Police Department’ s donation of helmets. She requested that Mayor Fleming adjourn the meeting in memory of Lt. Col. Vivian McKinnon.

Vice Mayor Wood provided details of several upcoming community events. He also reminded the Council that there is still an opening on the Community Services Commission and encouraged the Mayor to initiate the process for filling the vacancy.

Council member Clancy asked that the Mayor also close the meeting in memory of Linda Celestre’ s father, Lee Pennington and long-time Vacaville educator Pat Bomberg. Also, for the benefit of the public, she shared a recent sales tax report that reflects a 10.6% increase over the last period.

Council member Augustine nominated Brian Clay to the Strategic Plan Public Safety Community Committee. He asked for thoughts and prayers for Mac McDeavitt who is in serious condition at David Grant Hospital. He took a moment to describe the successful MEDS program available through the Vacaville Fire Department, and Council member Clancy noted that NorthBay Hospital doctors are supporting the program by ensuring that their patients’ cards contain up-to-date information.

12. PAYMENT OF CLAIMS – Council member Clancy, seconded by Council member Slade made a motion “ to order the payroll register dated July 30, 1999, and check register dated August 5, 1999, paid.” Motion unanimously approved.

14. ADJOURNMENT - There being no further business before the City Council and/or the Redevelopment Agency, Mayor Fleming adjourned the joint meeting at 10:40 p.m., August 10, 1999, in memory of Lt. Col. Vivian McKinnon, Lee Pennington, Pat Bomberg, his neighbor Oscar Vaughan, and with special thoughts of Mac McDeavitt.