City Council Meeting

CITY OF LOS BANOS CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES FEBRUARY 7, 2018 ACTION MINUTES – These minutes are prepared to depict action taken for agenda items presented to the City Council. For greater detail of this meeting refer to the electronic media (CD and/or audio) kept as a permanent record. CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Villalta called the City Council Meeting to order at the hour of 7:00 p.m. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Police Chief Brizzee led the pledge of allegiance. ROLL CALL – MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL PRESENT: Council Members Daronica Johnson-Santos (7:20 p.m.), Deborah Lewis, Scott Silveira, Mayor Michael Villalta; Absent: Tom Faria. STAFF MEMBERS PRESENT: City Manager Terrazas, City Attorney Vaughn, Admin. Clerk I/Deputy City Clerk Huff, Police Chief Brizzee, Fire Chief Hurley, City Treasurer/Accounting & Budget Supervisor Tomas Finance Director Williams, Public Works Director/City Engineer Fachin, Community & Economic Development Director Elms. CONSIDERATION OF APPROVAL OF AGENDA: Motion by Silveira, seconded by Lewis to approve the City Council Meeting agenda as submitted. The motion carried by the affirmative action of all City Council Members present. ABSENT: Faria, Johnson- Santos. PUBLIC FORUM: MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC MAY ADDRESS THE CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS ON ANY ITEM OF PUBLIC INTEREST THAT IS WITHIN THE JURISDICTION OF THE CITY; INCLUDES AGENDA AND NON-AGENDA ITEMS. NO ACTION WILL BE TAKEN ON NON-AGENDA ITEMS. SPEAKERS ARE LIMITED TO A FIVE (5) MINUTE PRESENTATION. DETAILED GUIDELINES ARE POSTED ON THE COUNCIL CHAMBER INFORMATIONAL TABLE. MICHELLE SANDOVAL, Los Banos Chamber of Commerce, welcoming a new member - Just a Dog Pet Hotel, located across the street from the Fire Department on H Street, preparing for the Downtown Spring Street Faire which will be on April 14, 2018, applications to partake in the Faire are available in the Chamber of Commerce office, Paraiso Brewery will be hosting this month’s mixer on February 22, 2017 at 5:30 p.m., the Chamber of Commerce office will be closed February 12 and 19, 2018; CLIFTON RILEY, Los Banos, wanting things recovered that have been taken from him, doesn’t want to complain, is tired of not getting anywhere and not receiving any responses, he won a Nobel Peace Prize at the age of 7 for inventing the chemotherapy and MRI machine, he has been trying to get what belongs to him such as his money and his funds, went to Wells Fargo and asked why is the fingerprint machine not sitting there on the counter as it usually is, addressing these concerns for himself and other people also, believes it should be looked into; MAYOR VILLALTA asked if a department within the City of Los Banos has something of his for which Mr. Riley spoke to revenue and reimbursement and how he has talked to many different departments; MAYOR VILLALTA directed him to speak to Police Chief Brizzee at a later date for further assistance. No one else came forward to speak and the public forum was closed. CONSIDERATION OF APPROVAL OF CONSENT AGENDA. Mayor Pro Tem Lewis stated that she would like to remove item G – City Council Resolution No. 5936 – To Approve the Creation of a Board of Building Code Appeals and the Appointment of Board of Building Code Appeals Members (Chet Guintini, Richard H. Young, John Luna; Terms Expiring December 31, 2021) from the consent agenda separate consideration and approval. Motion by Silveira, seconded by Lewis to approve the City Council Meeting consent agenda as follows minus item G: Check Register for #208708-208975 in the Amount of $1,155,207.93; Second Quarter Investment Report for Fiscal Year 2017/2018; Minutes for the January 17, 2018 City Council Meeting; City Council Resolution No. 5933 – Accepting the K Street Storm Drain Improvements as Complete and Authorizing the Filing of a Notice of Completion with the Merced County Recorder; City Council Resolution No. 5934 – Authorizing Entering into a Facility Use Agreement Between the City of Los Banos and Los Banos American Little League for the Use of the Colorado Ball Park through July 2021; City Council Resolution No. 5935 – Authorizing Entering into a Facility Use Agreement Between the City of Los Banos and Blaze Baseball for the Use of the Ag Sports Complex through July 2020; City Council Resolution No. 5936 – To Approve the Creation of a Board of Building Code Appeals and the Appointment of Board of Building Code Appeals Members (Chet Guintini, Richard H. Young, John Luna; Terms Expiring December 31, 2021); City Council Resolution No. 5937 – Approving an Extension for the Racquet Club Estates Vesting Tentative Tract Map 2015-04 for Twenty-Four (24) Months, Located at the Northwest Corner of San Luis Street and Racquet Club Drive, APN 428-030-019, Applicant Hassan Ahmadi. The motion carried by the affirmative action of all Council Members present; ABSENT: Faria; Johnson- Santos. CITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION NO. 5936 – TO APPROVE THE CREATION OF A BOARD OF BUILDING CODE APPEALS AND THE APPOINTMENT OF BOARD OF BUILDING CODE APPEALS MEMBERS (CHET GUINTINI, RICHARD H. YOUNG, JOHN LUNA; TERMS EXPIRING DECEMBER 31, 2021). Mayor Pro Tem Lewis spoke to who the potential members are and spoke to the building code. An inquiry was made as to what training would be offered in order to help the people who are appealing decisions make those decisions. Fire Chief Hurley stated that all three members are familiar with the Building Code. He further spoke to their backgrounds, who they are, and how they are familiar with the Building Codes. This board will have the final say on any appeal and if the applicant disagrees with the decision, they can take the issue to the Superior Court. Motion by Lewis, seconded by Silveira to approve City Council Resolution No. 5936 – To Approve the Creation of a Board of Building Code Appeals and the Appointment of Board of Building Code Appeals Members (Chet Guintini, Richard H. Young, John Luna; Terms Expiring December 31, 2021). Motion carried by the affirmative action of all council members present; ABSENT: Faria, Johnson-Santos. PUBLIC HEARING – TO RECEIVE PUBLIC COMMENT AND CONSIDERATION OF REVISING THE REGULATION OF MASSAGE ESTABLISHMENTS AND SERVICES ORDINANCE OF THE LOS BANOS MUNICIPAL CODE; ORDINANCE NO. 1162 – AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF LOS BANOS AMENDING IN ITS ENTIRETY CHAPTER 16 OF TITLE 11 OF THE LOS BANOS MUNICIPAL CODE REGULATION OF MASSAGE ESTABLISHMENTS AND SERVICES. (SECOND READING & ADOPTION). Community & Economic Development Director Elms stated that City Attorney Vaughn would be presenting the staff report, for which Mr. Vaughn proceeded to do [Council Member Johnson-Santos arrived at 7:20 p.m. and took her seat at the dais.] Mayor Villalta opened up the public hearing. No one came forward to speak so the public hearing was closed. Motion by Silveira, seconded by Johnson-Santos to waive the second reading of Ordinance No. 1162 – Amending in its Entirety Chapter 16 of Title 11 of the Los Banos Municipal Code Regulation of Massage Establishments and Services. The motion carried by the affirmative action of all Council Members present; ABSENT: Faria. Motion by Silveira, seconded by Johnson-Santos to adopt Ordinance No. 1162 – Amending in its Entirety Chapter 16 of Title 11 of the Los Banos Municipal Code Regulation of Massage Establishments and Services. The motion carried by the following roll call vote: AYES: Johnson-Santos, Lewis, Silveira, Villalta; NOES: None; ABSENT: Faria. PUBLIC HEARING – TO RECEIVE PUBLIC COMMENT AND CONSIDERATION OF REPEALING AND AMENDING IN ITS ENTIRETY CHAPTER 1 OF TITLE 11 OF THE LOS BANOS MUNICIPAL CODE REGULATING BUSINESS LICENSES; ORDINANCE NO. 1163 – AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF LOS BANOS REPEALING AND AMENDING IN ITS ENTIRETY CHAPTER 1 OF TITLE 11 OF THE LOS BANOS MUNICIPAL CODE REGULATING BUSINESS LICENSES (FIRST READING & INTRODUCTION). Community & Economic Development Director Elms stated that City Attorney Vaughn would be presenting the staff report, for which Mr. Vaughn proceeded to do which included a PowerPoint presentation. There was Council Member and Staff discussion pertaining to businesses not passing inspections repeatedly or simply not complying with requirements deemed by the Fire and/or Building Department for which City Attorney Vaughn noted that there would be consequences such as revocation or suspension of business licenses for those businesses that do not comply. Mayor Villalta opened up the public hearing. GENEVA BRETT, Los Banos, thanked Council and Staff for working on this new and improved ordinance, appreciates how things are defined, she said that there are certain things the City cannot regulate however such as real estate licensees, she gave an example of how individual real estate licensees are regulated by a broker, the City does not have the knowledge or the enforcement capability to regulate these licenses, licensees are unable to provide a lease agreement for their building in order to obtain a business license, how is the City going to know who has a license, how is the public going to know they need a license, it’s discriminatory in a sense to have to require real estate licensees to obtain a business license, other cities have reversed their business license ordinance in a sense for real estate licensees due to the enforcement issue. No one else came forward to speak and the public hearing was closed. One of the concerns of Council is the City often has realtors or agents from out of town that post sales in the community and it is unknown whether they have a license to operate in the City. City Attorney Vaughn noted that enforcement is always an issue in any type of regulation. There will be those who know they need a business license but won’t until it comes to the attention of the City. In regards to realtors, some of them have their own LLCs and yes they are under the supervision of a broker, but under the City’s definition, independent contractors are considered individuals in terms of licensing as opposed to an employee. The City believes it should continue to have the ability to require realtors and real estate agents to have a business licenses to ensure they have the appropriate licenses to be doing what they’re doing. The out of town businesses is a code enforcement issue and those businesses should know that they need a license to be operating in this City, but may choose not to obtain one until it comes to the attention of the City. 100% compliance is not going to happen and it’s going to be up to code enforcement to enforce that and recognize who is not complying. There was discussion pertaining to the online business license system and how a company called OpenCounter is being utilized for all kinds of new business processes. This same application will be used to allow folks to apply for their business license. Features of the OpenCounter system were discussed and how it is enabling the Community & Economic Development Department to become more efficient in its operation. The Finance Department is looking into a new finance system that has a business license module included in it that will become a more permanent fix for the department. Mayor Villalta opened up the public hearing once again to give GENEVA BRETT additional time to speak on the subject. She spoke to how individual real estate licensees cannot have LLCs. Real estate agents still have to work under a broker and it is their responsibility to oversee the agents. The health and safety is the responsibility of the building owner or the person leasing the building not the individual agent. Motion by Lewis, seconded by Johnson-Santos to waive the first reading of Ordinance No. 1163 – Repealing and Amending in its Entirety Chapter 1 of Title 11 of the Los Banos Municipal Code Regulating Business Licenses. The motion carried by the affirmative action of all Council Members present; ABSENT: Faria. Motion by Lewis, seconded by Johnson-Santos to introduce Ordinance No. 1163 – Repealing and Amending in its Entirety Chapter 1 of Title 11 of the Los Banos Municipal Code Regulating Business Licenses. The motion carried by the following roll call vote: AYES: Johnson-Santos, Lewis, Silveira, Villalta; NOES: None; ABSENT: Faria. PRESENTATION OF THE LOS BANOS AIRPORT FEASIBILITY STUDY BY ECONSOLUTIONS. Community & Economic Development Director Elms introduced Barry Foster of Econsolutions and gave some background information on him which included a PowerPoint presentation. Council requested a list of the thirty (30) airports that have closed since 1990 and a list of those cities who are currently in the process of closing their airports for which Mr. Foster noted that he would get that information to them. There was Council Member and Staff discussion with Mr. Foster pertaining to the suggestions of land use for the current airport site. It doesn’t seem as though a warehouse/distribution center would be the appropriate thing to put in that spot. There was talk about how there are developing businesses in the vicinity of the airport and how it is introducing danger to the community by developing so close to the flight zone. Logistics, such as the cost and the appearance of distribution centers are not what they were before. There is high employment retention for these facilities. According to Mr. Foster’s presentation and statistics, the best choice for the City would be to begin the process of closing the airport in order to use that land for something else. The timeline to close an airport such as the one the size of Los Banos could be approximately five years or more. There will be resistance when it comes to closure which is why a consultant who has experience in airport closures would be recommended. Any grants related to the airport would also have to be paid back in the event of a closure, however exact numbers were unavailable. Council agreed that there needs to be a stakeholders meeting for those involved in the airport. Money has already been spent on wind studies, relocation sites, etc. and there needs to be a meeting to discuss the future of the airport. Recommendations will be presented in the next sixty (60) days on how to proceed. Informational item only, o action taken. CODE ENFORCEMENT UPDATE BY THE LOS BANOS POLICE DEPARTMENT. Police Chief Brizzee presented the staff report which included a PowerPoint presentation. There was Council Member and Staff discussion regarding residential citations and whether the tenant or property owner is responsible for those citations for which Chief Brizzee stated it is up to the tenant initially but if no compliance is shown, eventually the property owner will be responsible. Council thanked Police Chief Brizzee and his code enforcement staff especially with the multi-family residential building inspections. Those inspections will be continued as complaints come in. Animal control was also spoken of and how they are doing a tremendous job in their department. The Police Department is hoping to obtain another code enforcement officer in the future in order to stay on top of keeping the community aesthetically pleasing. Informational item only, no action taken. UPDATE REGARDING MERCED COUNTY ASSOCIATION OF GOVERNMENTS (MCAG) REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION IMPACT FEE (RTIF) PROGRAM. Mayor Villalta presented the item and gave a brief history of the RTIF program. Mayor Villalta spoke to the three choices the municipalities can vote on in regards to the RTIF. Those options are: 1) to rescind the RTIF and apply for a share of the remainder of the RTIF fees. In order to qualify for this, all cities within Merced County and the County itself must rescind the RTIF; 2) to adopt the 2016 project list - the Pioneer Corridor project being on that list; 3) to accept a plan approved by the MCAG governing board to distribute the remaining $5 million of the RTIF funds. Approximately 36 cents of every dollar of what Los Banos contributed will be returned to Los Banos. These funds would also have to be used on approved projects on the regional transportation list. Mayor Villalta added that if option one (to rescind the RTIF) is chosen, then the distribution of funds is out of the question. These options will all be discussed and decided upon at the March 7, 2018 City Council meeting. There was Council Member discussion pertaining to how a portion of the Atwater/Merced Expressway has already been completed but yet they would still get some money back from the RTIF funds, which is sort of double-dipping. Additionally, the smaller cities that contributed to the fund wouldn’t be getting their whole contribution back and those cities could really use the money they put in especially if they didn’t get anything out of it. Informational item only, no action taken. CITY MANAGER REPORT: City Manager Terrazas thanked the Human Resources/City Clerks Department for coordinating the recently held City-County Dinner. CITY COUNCIL MEMBER REPORTS. DEBORAH LEWIS: Thanked Staff and the Code Enforcement Department, spoke to vehicles being parked in backyards, how the grass is dry, could potentially be a fire hazard, extra cement is being poured in front yards to accommodate extra vehicles, over and above the idea of abandoned vehicles, request that Staff look at enhancing and drafting an ordinance to limit amount of space anyone can have in the front yard area to park a vehicle, people are parking business vehicles in the backyard, would like Staff to draft an ordinance addressing excessive vehicles being parked on residential properties. SCOTT SILVEIRA: Stated that he wasn’t able to make City/County dinner because of his mother’s surgery, everything is going well now, she is on the road to recovery. TOM FARIA: Absent. DARONICA JOHNSON-SANTOS: Thanked City Staff for coordinating the City-County dinner. MAYOR MICHAEL VILLALTA: State that the City-County Dinner had a great attendance and a great program, everyone was well fed, the food was great, it was a very smooth event, it went very well, the coordination was right to the T, everyone had a great time. ADJOURNMENT. The meeting was adjourned at 10:05 p.m. APPROVED: /s/ Michael Villalta__________ Michael Villalta, Mayor ATTEST: /s/ Sara Huff______________ Sara Huff, Deputy City Clerk