CITY OF ELK GROVE Incorporated July 1, 2000  MINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL  REGULAR MEETING Wednesday, April 10, 2013  CALL TO ORDER/ROLLCALL  Mayor Davis called the regular City Council meeting of April 10, 2013 to order at  6:03 p.m. Present: Absent:  Mayor Davis, Vice Mayor Detrick, and Council Members Cooper, Hume  and Trigg. None.  Mayor Davis led the Pledge of Allegiance.  Mayor Davis asked that a moment of silence be observed.  APPROVAL OF AGENDA  Motion: M/S Hume/Detrick to remove Item 10.2 and approve the remainder of the agenda as presented. The motion passed by the following vote: Ayes: 5 Noes: 0.  CLOSED SESSION None.  PRESENTATIONS/ANNOUNCEMENTS  4.1 Council Member Cooper presented a proclamation recognizing April 21 to 27, 2013 as National Volunteer Week with special recognition to the Elk Grove  Volunteers In Police Services Advisory Committee.  4.2 Vice Chair Nana Tufuoh provided a presentation and update on the Disability With the aid of an overhead presentation (filed), Ms. Tufuoh noted accompishments of the Disability Advisory Committee during 2012 including: providing a letter of support for Fiscal Year 2013 Community Development Block Grants, prioritizing public works accessibility projects, working with the Emergency Operations Manager on the City's Access and Functional Needs Plan, working with the Cosumnes Community Service District (CCSD) to identify and list their parks with Universal Amenities on the City website, providing feedback to the CCSD and City transit and planning services, conducting the annual Above and Beyond Accessibility Awards recognition program, and recognizing October at Disability Employment Awareness Month. The work plan and goals for 2013 included continued work on Access and Functional Needs Plan,  Elk Grove City Council Regular Meeting, April 10,2013 Page1of11    continued review of transit and e-van services, and support to public works in 4.3 Presentation by Rivkah Sass, Library Director of the Sacramento Public Library Authority and Rick Mercer, President of the Elk Grove Friends of the Library With the aid of an overhead presentation (filed), Ms. Sass provided an overview of the Sacramento Public Library system and services provided through 28 branch locations and via online services. She highlighted services including research tools and resources for both educational enrichment and business development, support of content for personal electronics, and tutoring and literacy training programs. Ms. Sass expressed thanks to the 30 Friends of the Library affiliate support groups for their  establishing best practices in regards to accessibility.  donations of time and resources in support of the library system.  PUBLIC COMMENT  Barbara Sloan voiced opposition towards the City considering a soccer stadium complex estimated at a cost of $100 million, and expressed general opposition to Sharon Anderson read an excerpt regarding background history and the current condition of biological habitat in the Camden Lakes area. She believed local jurisdictions approached maintenance of the area in varying ways, and currently controlling agencies were exterminating beaver in the area citing that the animals were creating problems regarding erosion and flow of the creek. She believed that though most of the beaver were now gone, the remaining beaver dams had maintained the nature habitat area but now had been damaged by local agencies, lowering water levels and changing the area habitat as previously established. Ms. Anderson noted meeting with staff on the issue, but requested the issue continue to be looked into and allow for public participation on how to address conditions and policies for the area. Lynn Wheat read an article reflecting on benefits of the Endangered Species Act, and noted the consent calendar included an item regarding signing an open letter to the Califoria Legislature in support of California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) modernization, which she did not believe was in the best interest of protecting  government spending.  environmental resources.  GENERAL ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION  City Manager Laura Gill reviewed the April 10, 2013 Administrative Report (filed). She added that an open house and community outreach meeting regarding the Kammerer  Road Project would be held April 11.  COUNCIL COMMENTS/REPOREPORTS/FUTURE AGENDAITEMS  Council Member Trigg voiced appreciation for the presentation and services provided by the Sacramento Public Library Authority, and thanked Olga Batey for her contributions  ina assisting libraries in the community.  Elk Grove City Council Regular Meeting. April 10,2013 Page2of11    Council Member Hume had no items to report.  Council Member Cooper stated the Sacramento Regional County Sanitation Board did not meet, and reported meeting with Larry Greene, Executive Director of the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District, to discuss the functions and Vice Mayor Detrick attended the Crystal Apple Award teacher recognition program, the Running of the Elk half marathon event, and noted he would be traveling to Washington D.C. for the annual Capitol-to-Capito regional lobbying effort participating as part of the Mayor Davis attended the Running of the Elk half marathon event and thanked Theresa Rodriguez for organizing and coordinating the event, and thanked event volunteers. He noted on April 13 the fourth annual "Walk to Remember" would be held at Elk Grove Regional Park to honor Sergeant First Class Bryan E. Hall and all American soldiers, and the American Cancer Society Relay for Life event would be held on May 18, raising  responsibiities of board members of the agency.  Jobs and Business Growth Team.  funds for cancer research and awareness of cancer prevention.  CONSENT CALENDARITEMS PUBLIC COMMENT None.  Council Member Trigg noted he would abstain from voting on Item 8.2 regarding past Motion: M/S Cooper/Detrick to approve the Consent Calendar as presented (noting Council Member Trigg's abstention on Item 8.02). The motion passed by the Agenda Item No. 8.1: Received Automatic Clearing House (ACH) No. 6674 thru 6856 dated March 1, 2013 through March 31, 2013, General Warrant Nos. 71541 through 72197, and Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT) Nos. 2013147 and 2013149 Agenda Item No. 8.2: Approved City Council Meeting Minutes for: 1)August 22, 2012 regular meeting; 2) September 12, 2012 special meeting; and 3) September 12, 2012 Agenda Item No. 8.3: Received report on City Manager approved purchases and contracts authorized by Elk Grove Municipal Code Chapter 3.42 Contracts and Agenda Item No. 8.4: Received report on Requests for Proposals, Qualifications, and  minute sets for meetings he had not attended as a Council Member.  following vote: Ayes: 5 Noes: 0.  through 2013166  regular meeting  Purchasing, filed through April 3, 2013  Bids  Elk Grove City Council Regular Meeting, April 10, 2013 Page 3of11    Agenda Item No. 8.5: Ordinance No. 5-2013 adopted amending Elk Grove Municipal Code Title 16 related to the Affordable Housing Fee for New Residential Development Agenda Item No. 8.6: Ordinance No. 6-2013 adopted amending Elk Grove Municipal Code Title 16 related to the Affordable Housing Fee for New Nonresidential Agenda Item No. 8.7: Resolution No. 2013-60 adopted ratifying Certifications and Assurances sent to the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) for Public Transportation Moderization, Improvement, and Service Enhancement Account (PTMISEA) funds in the amount of $162,012 to reimburse the City for expenses Agenda Item No. 8.8: Resolution No. 2013-61 adopted determining the annexation of territory to Community Facilities District No. 2005-1 (Laguna Ridge) and to levy a Agenda Item No. 8.9: Resolution No. 2013-62 adopted finding that no further environmental review is required under the California Environmental Quality Act for the Emerald Park Drive Storm Drain Improvement Project; authorizing the City Manager to execute a construction contract with Martin General Engineering for the Emerald Park Drive Storm Drain Improvement Project in the amount of $1,044,745.74, and authorizing the City Engineer to approve change orders not-to-exceed $156,712, and authorizing the City Manager to execute a construction contract with the second lowest bidder if Martin General Engineering does not meet its obligations to execute the contract Agenda Item No. 8.10: Resolution No. 2013-63 adopted authorizing the Mayor, on behalf of the City of Elk Grove, to sign an open letter to the California Legislature in  (Second Reading)  Development (Second Reading)  incurred in purchasing one new 40-foot Transit Bus in FY: 2010-11  special tax to pay for certain facilities and services (Annexation No. 2)  support of California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)r moderization  PUBLIC HEARINGS  Agenda Item No. 9.1: A public hearing to consider a resolution determining to levy street maintenance assessments for certain properties in the Laguna Ridge Area which represents annexation No. 5 into the Street Maintenance District No. 1, Zone 5 and creating a subset of Zone 5 titled Street Maintenance District No. 1, Zone 5-B  RECOMMENDATION: Zone 5-B  Adopt resolution determining to levy assessments in Street Maintenance District No. 1- Jason Lindgren, City Clerk, presented an overview of the staff report and  recommendation.  Mayor Davis declared the public hearing open.  PUBLIC COMMENT: None.  EIK Grove City Council Regular Meeting, April 10,2013 Page 4of11    Mayor Davis declared the public hearing closed.  City Clerk Lindgren noted there was no majority protest. Of one possible vote, one affirmative vote was returned. The ballot approved the proposed assessment and the proposed inflation adjustment limit described for the parcels identified in the ballot. A resolution determining to levy assessments in the district was available for Council Motion: M/S Detrick/Hume to adopt Resolution No. 2013-64 determining to levy assessments in Street Maintenance District No. 1 - Zone 5-B. The motion passed by  consideration.  the following vote: Ayes: 5 Noes: 0.  REGULAR AGENDA ACTION TEMS/RECOMMENDATOAS Agenda Item No. 10.1: Civic Center Aquatics Complex Project Update  RECOMMENDATION: and provide direction.  Receive an update on the Civic Center Aquatics Complex Project, discuss alternatives With the aid of an overhead presentation (filed), Assistant City Manager Rebecca Craig presented an overview of the staff report. In Fall 2012 staff presented the scope of the aquatics complex project comprised of facilities on 20 acres providing competition facilities including an Olympic sized pool, a second pool with a dive tower, covered bleachers, lawn seating, shared support structures and parking space, and an outdoor recreational park (targeting that the commercial park would provide revenues to subsidize any shortfalls in the competitive facilities operational costs). The City Council authorized to proceed with a Design, Build, Operate model of delivery and the Request for Qualifications was developed and released November 2012. Four responses were received, with three teams certified as qualified. Subsequently one team withdrew from the process and a second team determined that they were not able to proceed, resulting int there being one responsive team to date. Staff was checking in with the City Council to determine interest to continue the project as originally scoped with the Design, Build, Operate model with only the one team (P31/ /N McCarthy / Harvest Family Entertainment), noting the concern that without a competitive proposal process the City would be negotiating without alternatives. The City could negotiate without alternatives, but staff would ask for confirmation of recommended deal points for such negotiations. Alternatives included returning with a more traditional delivery model than the Design, Build, Operate model, conducting preliminary studies and opening the process back up to a competitive process of a different scope, or to reevaluate and determine if a  different project should be considered at this time.  Ms. Craig responded to questions of the City Council as follows:  Ifc considering a traditional delivery model, it was expected an additional outlay for design of the facility and a feasibility study analysis would first be required, estimated as an expense of the City of at least $200,000 or more; For two teams, the commercial operator partner was the same for both teams,  the teams differed by the development partner.  Elk Grove City Council Regular Meeting, April 10,2013 Page5of11    PUBLIC COMMENT: Hall at the Civic Center site.  Sophia Scherman requested consideration to prioritize delivery of a Veterans Memorial Mayor Davis believed the Veterans Memorial Hall was an element to be delivered in phase two or three of development of the Civic Center. He noted the Design, Build, Operate model was used to share investment risk and control costs for the facility, and Council Member Trigg appreciated the Design, Build, Operate model building a public Council Member Hume believed the remaining team was viable, holding the qualifications for delivery. He observed from the responses that though the recreational competitive component was the most important for the community, potential recreational park developers were not interested in delivery of the competitive aquatics facility. Council Member Cooper noted the City would be investing both land and potential funding up to $14 million for the project, and a developer partner needed to be invested Vice Mayor Detrick did not want to see any ongoing cost for the City in delivery and operation of the facility, believed the entire $14 million did not need to be expended, and believed other revenue streams should be pursued by partnering with the Elk Grove Unified School District and the Cosumnes Community Services District. Mr. Detrick commented that the design of the facility should take into account that the location would be in proximity to the City's future Civic Center, and to take that into consideration when designing both the recreational competitive component and the commercial water By City Council consensus, direction was given to proceed with negotiations with the recommended deal points with the remaining team of P31 / McCarthy / Harvest Family  likely such factors resulted in the withdrawal of other teams. and private partnership sharing the financial risk of the project.  as well, assuming some risk of the project.  feature.  Entertainment.  NOTE: Item 10.2 was removed during approval of the agenda.  Agendaem-No.102 Consider-introduclon.dian.Ordimance-amending Chapter3.70 of the Elk Grove Municipal Code and adoping-a-FeS01uOR-aPPrewIng the Service teruPHOR-PoHciese-ena-Procedures-and-a-c9t-rePweF-mechaNsAaPisR-er-Servce Agenda Item No. 10.3: Adopt resolution authorizing the City Manager to request a Federal Transit Administration grantee transfer of nine 2005 Orion 40' CNG buses from Georgia Regional Transportation Authority (GRTA) and authorize staff to expend up to  Interruptions  $500,000 in transit grant funding RECOMMENDATION:  Elk Grove City Council Regular Meeting, April 10,2013 Page 6of11    Adopt resolution authorizing the City Manager to request a Federal Transit Administration grantee transfer of nine 2005 Orion 40' CNG buses from GRTA and authorizing staff to expend up to $500,000 in transit grant funding for necessary inspection, transportation, maintenance, repairs, painting and decaling of said vehicles. With the aid of an overhead presentation (filed), Douglas Scott, Facilities and Fleet Manager, presented an overview of the staff report. He presented the schedule of the transit fleet inventory and management plan, noting the majority of buses held two determinate expiration dates the Federal Transit Association (FTA) determination of the average useful life of a bus (12 years), and the Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) tank life (15 to 20 year expirations). Of the 49 CNG buses operated by the City, 12 exceeded their FTA life, six buses would exceed their 15-year CNG tank life in November 2014, and an additional six in March 2015. The first six buses requiring replacement were those recently acquired from Sacramento Regional Transit (RT), the next six were Unitrans buses acquired from UC Davis. Staff was recently contacted by the Georgia Regional Transit Authority (GRTA) who offered the option of transferring nine spare inventory buses. The buses were manufactured in 2005 and had four years of FTA life remaining, and seven years of CNG tank life remaining. Staff had contacted other agencies to procure buses, noting RT had responded they had no buses for purchase, and to date no response had been received from MV Transportation. A $1.5 million grant from the Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG) had been awarded to the City for the purchase of three new buses within the current fiscal year, with the release of funding based on the sale of bonds, and the funding was expected to be available in Spring 2014. Staff had received concurrence from SACOG to reprogram $500,000 of the grant funding to refurbish the nine GRTA buses, and use the remaining $1 million to purchase two new buses. If authorized, prior to the transfer from GRTA, staff and regional fleet managers would travel to Atlanta to inspect the buses to ensure they were in acceptable condition. In taking this action to replenish the fleet, the next major planned replacement would be addressed in Fiscal Year 2019-20. Inr reply to Council Member Cooper, Mr. Scott noted that the prior bus purchase by the City from GRTA in 2011 was for 12 buses that had not been in running condition, equating that three were ultimately determined to be unworthy for service. The current group of buses were from the spare inventory of GRTA and were required to meet Georgia state-mandated operations, inspection and service intervals, and were anticipated to not have the same type of issues as encountered with the out of service vehicles previously purchased. Mr. Scott noted that approximately 60% of the current City Manager Gill stated the City objective was to limit future purchases of used vehicles. She noted current efforts in conjunction with SACOG were underway to develop the Short Range Transit Plan, and the City hoped to better determine the type of fleet needed, with the potential to use smaller sized buses in the fleet. On average, three smaller buses could be purchased with the same amount of funding as one large bus, and a revised transit plan and resulting fleet needs schedule could expand the In regards to the timing of funds from SACOG, staff clarified local agencies often were required to expend funds initially, and to then receive grant funding as a reimbursement.  City fleet was comprised of new vehicle purchases.  purchasing power of grant funds received.  Elk Grove City Council Regular Meeting, April 10, 2013 Page 7of11    The initial expenditure of funds would come from the General Fund, with the expectation to be reimbursed in 2014. SACOG staff had stated there was low risk on the bond sale, and the matter was more related to the interval timing of the state process to sell the  bonds. PUBLIC COMMENT: None.  Motion: M/S Cooper/Hume to adopt Resolution No. 2013-65 authorizing the City Manager to request a Federal Transit Administration grantee transfer of nine 2005 Orion 40' CNG buses from GRTA and authorizing staff to expend up to $500,000 in transit grant funding for necessary inspection, transportation, maintenance, repairs, painting and decaling of said vehicles. The motion passed by the following vote: Ayes: 5; Agenda Item No. 10.4: Receive report and provide direction on changes to the City's  Noes: 0.  signage regulations RECOMMENDATION: desired.  Staff recommends that the City Council receive this report and provide direction, as With the aid of an overhead presentation (filed), Christopher Jordan, Planning Manager, presented an overview of the staff report. Mr. Jordan reviewed current regulations on temporary signs, political messages (considered non-commercia signs" under the current code), and regulations of signs on City property. He presented options to change current sign regulations including: 1) increase allowed size of signs and have variations for commercial messages throughout the city, 2) exempt all temporary signs from regulation, and 3) provide special exemptions for noncommercial signs. He offered examples of noncommercial sign special exemptions such as having no restrictions, exemptions up to a certain size, or place a similar size exemption but allow expanded size limits during a particular period of activity, such as leading up to the time of an election. Regarding signs on City property, all commercial signage on City property was prohibited, and noncommercial messages were permitted in the traditional public forum" with some restrictions on the size, number of signs, and the requirement that such signs be either personally held or attended to by a person. Shane Diller, Code Enforcement Manager, discussed City sign related code enforcement practices, noting the City employed both reactive and proactive components of enforcement. Reactive practices were primarily used responding to complaints of unwanted signs on private properties and prohibited signs. One issue of reactive enforcement was that signage enforcement was different depending on if the property in question was private or public property, and scenarios did occur where property ownership in vicinity of various types of signage was different, creating different approaches to enforcement and creating a perception by the public that sign enforcement was selective in how enforced. Mr. Diller referred to "bandit" signs, those signs placed in off hours with no association with a given business center, that often were requested to be removed, and could be done with the consent of the property owner. He noted in 2011 there were 70 reactive cases, 2012 had 100, and currently in  Elk Grove City Council Regular Meeting, April 10, 2013 Page 8of11    2013 there were 40 cases in the first quarter, placing the year on track to exceed previous year totals. He reviewed the enforcement process commencing with a courtesy notice with time to comply, a Notice and Order for compliance providing an appeal opportunity, and from that point assessments of administrative citations, fees and fines were initiated. Proactive enforcement was conducted to remove prohibited signs on City property and other authorized public property (such as the Cosumnes Community Services District). When such signs were removed, they were removed without notice but were retained at City Hall for a brief amount of time, and could be picked up prior to disposal. Proactive practices by the City were conducted weekly through sweeps of illegal signs, two annual citywide "spring cleaning" sweeps were held primarily focused on nuisance code violations, but also some zoning violations, and any  identified safety hazards were also proactively addressed. Staff responded to questions of the City Council as follows:  Any mechanical sign was illegal under current codes, and commercial signs attended by a person (often see as a sign waver or human billboard) were illegal as well. Staff noted they would enforce such illegal signs if complaints were Noncommercial signs attended by a person were of a different nature, and did have first amendment protections, but purely commercial signs could have For businesses that continually set up displays of illegal signs on a recurring basis there were means to conduct enforcement for businesses within the City, but it was difficult to conduct enforcement on businesses that didn't have an identifiable physical location in the City, or businesses just outside the City's jurisdiction, as there was no ability to encumber those external properties or Variations of temporary signs were permitted for commercial messaging, with the code setting maximum durations such signage could be displayed: two weeks per quarter or season, not to exceed eight per year, with the ability to combine those timeframes for no more than four consecutive weeks of 30 days at any one time. Once a complaint was received regarding a temporary sign, staff would commence counting days exceeding those timeframes and hold bsuinesses to  received;  restrictions placed on them;  business licenses;  the timeframe standards.  PUBLIC COMMENT:  Colin Saeger requested consideration of a six month trial period to allow mechanical signs for commercial messaging. He described that his restaurant, and many locally owned businesses, often had business locations away from. main thoroughfares, and additional signage options would assist those businesses. Mr. Saeger responded to questions of the City Council noting: 1) a mechanical sign was less cost, providing several years of use, and was preferable to costs of hiring an employee as a sign waver, 2) online coupon businesses were not very cost effective as the local business often only received 25 percent of the deal offered, and customers using such coupon offers often sought the next bargain resulting in low customer returns, 3) he had utilized temporary signs as currently permitted under the code, and such signage was effective, but limited as to how often such temporary signage could be posted annually.  Elk Grove City Council Regular Meeting, April 10,2013 Page 9of11    Angela Perry spoke on behalf of the Elk Grove Chamber of Commerce, voicing support to create regulations to provide for effective commercial temporary signage to assist Anthony Cooper addressed sign wavers believing they were more of a nuisance, crowding into the street or distracting vehicular traffic, or blocking pedestrians on sidewalks. He was inclined to be more supportive of regulations against having people as sign wavers, and creating reasonable regulations to allow electric signs on properties Vice Mayor Detrick believed current regulations on political signs did not take into account federal, state, and county guidelines, and believed the City's regulations for political signs should match the Sacramento County guidelines. Relative to monument signs, he noted one sign was currently allowed at each driveway on a commercial property. He believed that for instances of properties with extended frontages between driveways that an exemption be allowed to permit additional monument signage. He stated that when a business owner leases a location, much of the cost was for the visibility of the site to the main street. Mr. Detrick believed that with over 1,000 businesses in the area that a pilot program easing restrictions on temporary signage would create an enforcement burden, and advocated for keeping temporary sign Mayor Davis felt small businesses located in lease locations that were less visible to reduce overall operating costs, and did not have corporate backing or a franchise to support higher rent, higher visibility locations. He felt such small businesses often were locally owned, emphasizing that an expanded temporary sign program would assist local business owners. He acknowledged concerns of sign proliferation, but believed a pilot program would provide the means to evaluate the validity of such concerns and see the effect of expanded signage for businesses. Mr. Davis suggested a pilot program be offered to a select number of businesses for a set evaluation time period, and to gauge and measure generated business activity and enforcement complaints. City Attorney Jonathan Hobbs noted if a pilot program was implemented to offer it citywide, as restricting which businesses owners could participate could lead to claims from those excluded from the program that they were being discriminated against. Council Member Cooper believed current regulations were satisfactory and that most business owners were compliant. He believed loosening regulations would place a burden on code enforcement staff with increased complaint calls. He opposed motorized and mechanical signs, and agreed that human billboards waiving signs could be safety hazards. Mr. Cooper voiced support to evaluate monument signs as Council Member Hume opposed mechanical signs, and supported the suggestions for updating political sign regulations and monuments signs. He held reservations on creating a pilot program, believing businesses would invest in signage for the program, when there would remain the possibility that the ability to use such signage could later be taken away. Mr. Hume expressed he was amenable to discussing expansion of the  local businesses.  and off the sidewalks and public right of way.  regulations as they were, but addressing political and monument signs.  addressed by Vice Mayor Detrick on a case by case basis.  Elk Grove Cily Council Regular Meeting. April 10,2013 Page 10c of11    annual time restrictions on temporary signs (including conditions if signs were removed after business hours), and modifying some size restrictions, with a goal to limit In reply to Council Member Cooper, Mr. Diller stated the City's sign regulations were consistent with other jurisdictions in the region, noting some jurisdictions did allow By City Council consensus direction was provided to staff to evaluate allowing exemptions on locating monument signage for properties with extended frontages between driveways, and to coincide regulations relating to political signs with that of  proliferation and maintain aesthetics.  mechanical signs through special permits.  Sacramento County's political sign regulations.  ADJOURNMENT  With no additional business to conduct, the April 10, 2013 regular City Council meeting  was adjourned at 8:11 p.m.  JASONL  CLERK  E  ATTEST:  bliw GABYOAMIS,MAYOR  Elk Grove City Council Regular Meeting, April 10,2013 Page 11of11