CITY OF HIDDEN HILLS
CITY COUNCIL MEETING
VIA TELECONFERENCE IN COMPLIANCE WITH
GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 54953(E)
Monday, March 14, 2022 at 5:30 p.m.
Consistent with Government Code Section 54953(e) (Assembly Bill 361), all members of the indicated further below. The City Council Chambers will not be open to the public. If you are an individual with a disability and need a reasonable modification or accommodation pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA") please contact Deana Gonzalez at 818-888-9281 or [email protected].
MINUTES
CALL TO ORDER
A regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Hidden Hills was duly held via teleconference on Monday, March 14, 2022 at the hour of 5:30 p.m. Mayor Laura McCorkindale called the meeting to order and presided thereover.
ROLL CALL
Council: Mayor Laura McCorkindale
Mayor Pro Tem Steve Freedland
Council Member Eniko Gold
Council Member Larry G. Weber
Council Member Stuart E. Siegel
Staff: City Manager Kerry Kallman
City Attorney Roxanne Diaz
City Engineer Dirk Lovett
Building Official Greg Robinson
Administrative Analyst Chantelle Limón
City Clerk Deana L. Gonzalez
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March 14, 2022
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
Mayor McCorkindale announced that the Council is going to forego the approval of the agenda from here forward, and she asked City Attorney Diaz to explain the reason why it's okay to skip over that formality.
City Attorney Diaz explained that the Hidden Hills has historically always approved the agenda, however it's not legally required once the agenda is posted, and so there is no requirement to approve it.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Happy Birthday to Mayor McCorkindale on 3/19, Happy Birthday to Mayor Siegel on 3/25, and Happy Birthday to Accounting Specialist Theresa Folk on 3/26.
AUDIENCE
Resident and Library Commissioner representing Hidden Hills stated that she was available to answer any questions about library policy, programs, services and budget.
City Manager Kallman read an email received by resident Traci Blumenthal, which stated:
She feels that nighttime use of the tennis/pickleball courts would be louder and more disruptive than daylight play. Because the courts are below my house, the noise level ises! When people are playing tennis and pickle ball it is very loud. When the total of ights are lit it will be very bright and a nuisance. I believe in the HH bylaws it says n lights on tennis courts at any home in Hidden Hills! So why should there be lights at the Spring Valley Courts? I will also have an issue with my home value. I am sure the noise and lights will disrupt the nice people on the Woodland Hills side too! Thanks, Traci"
CITY COUNCIL COMMENTS
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March 14, 2022
Council Member Siegel would like to add to the March 28, 2022 agenda, a discussion item regarding returning to in person and/or hybrid City Council meetings, for which the Council was in consensus to add the item to the next agenda.
STAFF COMMENTS
There were no comments at this time.
PRESENTATION
Discussion of City of Hidden Hills Overhead Utility Line Removal Projects City Manager Kallman presented the following report:
the City Council requested staff provide an overview of the City's current Utility Undergrounding program and identify a potential consultant who could assist the City with the implementation of future undergrounding projects; in 2018, the City Council established a goal to identify priority areas for utility undergrounding, and to research all available funding options, including, but not limited to, earmarking surplus funds to a utility underground fund reserve, and the possible creation of assessment districts; staff has identified an expert in assisting cities with undergrounding projects; Jeffrey M. Cooper, PE, is a Vice President at NV5, a multidiscipline nationwide engineering company, with more than 35 years of undergrounding engineering experience, assisting agencies across Southern California in successfully forming (1913 Act Assessment Districts) and managing the construction of utility undergrounding projects; staff has had multiple conversations with Mr. Cooper and he performed a site visit in the City on March 8.
Mr. Jeffrey Cooper presented an extensive introduction of his company and his 35 years of experience of financing and engineering for assessment districts, and provided an overview of assessment district programs.
Council Member Siegel wanted to confirm that there needs to be 60% or two-thirds, of property owners on the petition.
Mr. Cooper answered that the code says that 50% of the interested property owners need to sign the petition, but many cities set the bar a little higher than what the code requires and that's is why most agencies prefer 60% of interested property owners. The reasoning, for that is when it goes City Council Minutes
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to a vote, the vote threshold is 50% so most cities would like the petition to be greater than 50% just to allow some people that may decide to change their mind, when it goes to the real vote, it's 50%.
Mayor Pro Tem Freedland commented that undergrounding utilities is one of the most important things we can do for the residents of Hidden Hills, and he thinks it's critically important for public safety, for property values and to prevent fires and he's in favor of anything that will accomplish that. He doesn't have any prejudice, except for things that will slow the City down to underground poles. He believes that if we are going to utilize this as another tool in our toolbox that's great, but none of this should stop our individual effort with what the City is doing and what has been somewhat successful. Mr. Cooper agreed that the City should continue the program that is in place, but it will take many, many years for the City to underground the whole city on that program alone, but allowing property owners that want to do it more quickly to have this option can speed up the process.
Council Member Weber commented that the older parts of our city, which have some original residents still involved that can't even afford to replace their wood shingle roof, won't be able to pay a tax that may force them to move. I don't think the Council would want anything like that to happen, and how does the Council control the size of the group that wants to underground, without harming the ones that can't afford undergrounding?
Mr. Cooper responded that the City has a lot of ability to guide the proposed boundaries of the district, and if the Council knew that property owners that felt that way, the districts could be formed to avoid them.
Council Member Gold inquired as to whether or not Mr. Cooper is aware of a city that undergrounded the entire city at once and did not form assessment districts, to which Mr. Cooper responded he is not.
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Mayor McCorkindale asked Mr. Cooper in terms of what's coming from the state and the federal that might make it easier for undergrounding projects or there may be some utility payment for undergrounding, is there anything he sees in the near future that's going to change the game at all.
Mr. Cooper responded that the Public Utility Commission has made it even more challenging to get money because they've pretty much eliminated the credits for Rule 20A (SCE program). He feels that if monies do become available, they would be more for rural mountain communities with very strong winds to prevent fire from occurring, rather than residential areas as he thinks philosophically it's hard for them to divvy up underground money to local residents, because there's so many residents would like to see power poles gone.
Mayor McCorkindale thanked Mr. Cooper for his report and asked if anyone in the audience had any questions, for which Mr. Kenny Hawk raised his hand.
Mr. Kenny Hawk (23747 Oakfield Road) - His question for the consultant is that when they bought their home, they had quite the challenge in finding an insurance company that would provide fire insurance, and they had to go to quite a few insurance companies, before they found that they're not in the highest fire risk area, but we are in a risky area. Is undergrounding a whole community have any impact on the insurability or the breadth of insurance will cover the area, versus a community that still has above ground wires. And also, while it's hard to gauge, it was mentioned that property values can go up and any idea what kind of range, has he seen it and has anybody quantified that.
Mr. Cooper responded that as he is not an insurance agent, that in his opinion it would make a house easier to be insured, but whether or not it will reduce your costs, that is unknown. To answer the home value question, it's hard to quantify, but he has had real estate agents tell him that they've seen property values go up 10%, 15%, and as high as 20% with underground overhead utilities.
Mr. David Stanley (24408 Little Hollow Road) - the City might need an encroachment permit or an easement from a property owner for either the undergrounding itself or for access or for one of City Council Minutes
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the above ground, containers for the below ground vaults. How does it get handled once you get a group of Homeowners, and one of them, even though they would like to have undergrounding gets decides to not give permission to grant an easement or encroachment person? Mr. Cooper stated that he thinks the number one answer would be try to avoid it and he thinks it can be done with proper design techniques.
Mayor McCorkindale asked City Manager Kallman if there were any emails to be read into the record, for which he responded yes.
Mr. Kallman read the following emails into the record:
"Hello, unfortunately I can't attend the meeting tonight, but I'm very curious to know why we have been delaying. burying the power lines in our community for the longest time I'm always hearing different things, when I talk to people that are involved with this project some say we have the funds to do it and some say we don't. In my opinion, that is one of the most date, this is one of the most important agendas in our community, not only does it look better but, more importantly, it is safer when it comes to spreading wildfires I've talked to hundreds of residents and hidden hills. have not met one person who is against doing this. So, you can you please come to an agreement and start to prod this project and make all the residents happier appreciate your time and take in advance. Bobby Motamedi"
"Good afternoon I'm in favor of burying the power lines in the city. Mark Nassab" Council Member Gold, with the Council's support, would ask staff to ask Mr. Cooper to provide a proposal to help promote and move forward undergrounding projects, through assessment districts.
Mayor McCorkindale asked to see a show of hands to have staff get a proposal from NV5, for which the Council was in consensus.
City Council Minutes
March 14, 2022
PUBLIC HEARING
Consideration of Approval of Resolution No. 984 Adopting an Updated International Code Council Valuation Data Table, as Modified, for the Purpose of Establishing Building Permit Fees
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF HIDDEN HILLS,
CALIFORNIA, ADOPTING AN UPDATED INTERNATIONAL CODE COUNCIL
VALUATION DATA TABLE, AS MODIFIED, FOR THE PURPOSE OF ESTABLISHING
BUILDING FEES
Building Official Robinsons presented the following report:
building valuations are used in the process of calculating building permit fees; staff reviewed surrounding cities, and the valuation used by most use the County of Los Angeles Department of Public Works Building and Safety Division Building Valuation Guide Sheet, the County offices in the area and the City of Calabasas use a valuation of $198.92 per square foot for a single-family home; the City of Los Angeles uses an "exceptional" home valuation of $184.00 per square foot for a single-family home; staff is recommending making the valuation either $187.61 or $176.51 per square foot, depending on the type of construction, and are recommending the City Council adopt Resolution No. 984 adopting an updated international code Council violation data table as modified for the purposes of establishing permit fees.
Mayor McCorkindale opened the public hearing. As there were no questions from the City Council, Mayor McCorkindale asked if anyone from the public would like to speak. There was no public comment.
As there were no further comments, Mayor McCorkindale closed the public hearing.
As there was no further discussion, upon MOTION of Council Member Siegel, seconded by Council Member Weber and unanimously carried on roll call vote, it was resolved to approve Resolution No. 984 entitled: A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
HIDDEN HILLS, CALIFORNIA, ADOPTING AN UPDATED INTERNATIONAL CODE
COUNCIL VALUATION DATA TABLE, AS MODIFIED, FOR THE PURPOSE OF ESTABLISHING BUILDING FEES.
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CONSENT CALENDAR
A. City Council Minutes - February 28, 2022 Regular Meeting B.
C. Reconsideration of the Circumstances of the COVID-19 State of Emergency and Determine that the City will Continue to Hold Meetings Via Teleconferencing Pursuant to the Finding Set Forth in Government Code Section 54953(e)(3) Upon MOTION of Council Member Gold, seconded by Council Member Siegel and unanimously carried on roll call vote, it was resolved to approve items A, B, and C' of the consent calendar as submitted.
NEW BUSINESS
Consideration of Adoption of Resolution No. 985 and Approval of a Proposition Assignment Agreement Between the City of Hidden Hills and the City of Pasadena Regarding the Sale of Proposition A Funds
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF HIDDEN HILLS ASSIGNING TO THE CITY OF PASADENA $117,127 OF ITS AVAILABLE
PROPOSITION A LOCAL RETURN FUNDS
City Engineer Lovett presented the following report:
over the last several years the City has accumulated $117,127 in Prop A funds that it is unable to spend in relation to transportation, as they are very restricted funds; the City of Pasadena has offered to purchase the City's Prop A funds at an exchange rate of 75 cents As there was no further discussion, upon MOTION of Council Member Weber, seconded by Council Member Siegel and unanimously carried on roll call vote, it was resolved to approve Resolution No. 985 entitled: A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF HIDDEN HILLS ASSIGNING TO THE CITY OF PASADENA $117,127 OF ITS AVAILABLE
PROPOSITION A LOCAL RETURN FUNDS
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Consideration of Approval of Resolution No. 986 Adopting an Amended City of Hidden Hills Personnel Policy Handbook
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF HIDDEN HILLS
AMENDING THE HIDDEN HILLS PERSONNEL POLICY HANDBOOK
Administrative Analyst Limón presented the following report:
in 2021, the City Council adopted the original version of our policy handbook, which contains six policies, including the equal employment opportunity, the anti-discrimination and harassment free workplace policy, the Americans with Disabilities Act policy, the drug free workplace policy, the workplace violence prevention program, and the employee vacation policy and sick leave policy; staff continued to research policies applicable to the City and was able to put together and amended version of the policy handbook which included 10 additional policies to the original; staff worked extensively with the City Attorney's office on the development of this handbook; one policy in particular our jury duty policy staff noticed that it was particularly different than our neighboring cities, which leaves it up to staff's interpretation to be required to take vacation time when participating in jury duty; staff is seeking direction from the Council on clarification or interpretation of our jury duty policy; staff has been advised by the City Attorney's office that the City must comply with all California employment laws, regardless of which policies are contained within the handbook.
City Attorney Diaz then introduced Rebecca Green from Richards, Watson and Gershon, a partner at the firm and in the Labor and employment Department and she assisted staff on the legal issues with respect to the policies that are before the Council.
Council Member Siegel commented that this handbook seems to be a little overkill for the size of the staff at the City.
Ms. Green responded that the handbook could be shortened and still comply with the law, but the more robust a written policy is, the more the employer is going to be protected, so if, in the unfortunate event the city was sued for an incentive harassment or discrimination, it would really help to be able to point to this policy and say we had all of these different mechanisms in place and we were following them.
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Council Member Gold stated that this handbook is a work in progress. She appreciates all the work that staff put into it. Some issues she feels that need to be addressed before the handbook is approved are the following: there are some formatting and stylistic issues, including pages need to be numbered, some titles are underlined and some are not, some are bolded and some are not, there needs to be more stylistic consistency; there should be a definition of terms, and an introduction, She also feels that in regards to the social media policy, which was approved before she was on the Council, that it states " the establishment of city social media site is subject to approval by the city manager" and she feels that approval should be given by the Council and not staff. She also mentioned that in other cities handbooks, she found a grievance section, that is completely separate, like a procedure section explaining how somebody can file a complaint and go through a process. In this proposed handbook she gets the sense that we have that in in every section where it applies, as opposed to separate sections. What's the rationale for that, as opposed to having a separate general section?
City Attorney Diaz stated that it is more of a style preference regarding the grievance policy.
Ms. Green also agreed that it is a style preference and an overall grievance policy would work but that not all of the policies would be subject to a grievance procedure.
Council Member Gold also mentioned that she didn't recall seeing unpaid leave discussed in the policies. As an example, if somebody has to go on unpaid leave for personal emergency that is not medical, maternal, or military.
Ms. Diaz responded that it is not in the policy as it is not offered.
Council Member Gold also commented that the City Council hired a firm to look at the salary and compensation packages and, in some handbooks, she has read, the review of salaries, review of performance by employees, and step advancement in the salary schedule, are all part of the handbook. She is wondering if it would make sense for us to wait on approving this version of the handbook until we get the report back from the consultant with recommendations and then include that in the handbook or just amend it later.
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City Manager Kallman assured Council Member Gold that this handbook can be amended, as often as needed. Staff is recommending adoption of what is provided tonight and once staff receives the report from the classification study, and if it's something that the Council would like to add into the policy, then that can be done at that time.
Mayor McCorkindale commented that this handbook has quite substantially expanded she also feels that there might have been an oversight, as there were eight or nine things that she had asked to be added into the handbook that didn't make it in there. She is not sure if there was a miscommunication or they are private sector standards to protect employers and they may not applicable to government. She would like to see those notes incorporated and isn't sure the Council shouldn't approve it once those changes have been made. She feels that without knowing what my questions, additions or changes are, it feels like this is a lot for a four-person city, as Council Member Siegel mentioned. Even the protections for staff, which I wholeheartedly encourage, but the amount of bereavement leave (12 weeks), for example, seems excessive and she doesn't if that's the California law or if it was copied from other larger cities policies.
City Attorney Diaz stated that staff pulled policies from different cities, as indicated in their report, and the attorney firm provided the technical legal review. Regarding bereavement leave, that's what staff is moving forward for adoption, and it is certainly up to the Council, if they want to change that, as it is not legally required.
Mayor McCorkindale would like staff to review the policies and point out what policies exceed the law in each category, and provide a highlighted version to Council before approval of the handbook. Some policies that mirror bigger cities may or may not be appropriate, given the size of our staff. She reminded staff that she had asked for some conflict-of-interest paragraphs, gift paragraphs, policies related to informational systems, ownership of work product, electronic communications, email dissemination, workplace privacy, electronic monitoring, video monitoring, and monitoring of electronic data which are really basic standards for private sector protection of employees and if those are applicable for cities, she would really want to engage City Council Minutes
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someone who is an expert on this versus going out and seeing if anyone else has it. A skilled Labor Attorney, such as Ms. Green, should take a look at this draft and. expand upon it remove anything that you think shouldn't be in there and call out where we've exceeded state policy, so we know what we're approving and we know what has to be approved. Ms. Green replied that she would be happy to do that.
Mayor Pro Tem Freedland expressed an interest in seeing what policies the surrounding cities have approved, and some of it may be completely inappropriate, but maybe there's some merit to what the other cities are doing. He'd also like to see fellow Council Members suggestions they'd like added to the policies and what the minimum requirements under the law are.
Mayor McCorkindale suggested that staff bring back the draft handbook back to a study session format at the front end or back end of a light meeting. Council Member Siegel agreed.
City Manager Kallman asked the City Attorney's office to have the next draft ready in thirty (30) days, and will place the item on an appropriate agenda within the next ninety (90) days.
C. Consideration of Approval of a Professional Services Agreement with MNS Engineers to Provide Grant Writing Services for a Sub application to the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) for the Jed Smith Utility Undergrounding Project Administrative Analyst Limón presented the following report:
in researching grants for the City of Hidden Hills, staff found the FEMA Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, which provides federal funding to develop projects that reduce risk to loss of life and property, including wildfire management projects such as our utility underground project; staff reached out to Rolling Hills regarding their experience in applying for this same grant; they outsourced their entire grant writing process to a consultant, Mr. Greg Jaquez of MNS Engineers who specializes in the technical aspects of the grant; staff submitted the required Notice of Intent, which was approved; the next step, a sub application, needs to be submitted, and given the complexity of FEMA guidelines, staff recommends that the Council consider retaining Mr. Greg Jaquez to support city staff with the application at a cost of $10,290, and if the City is awarded the grant, this cost would be reversible at 100%.
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Council Member Weber asked City Attorney Diaz if he need to recuse himself from this discussion, citing he may be within 1000' of the project. It was also discovered that four out of the five Council Members are within 500'-1000'.
City Attorney Diaz commented that the City Council will go by the rule of necessity, which means that a game of chance is done, where we would pick straws to get the Council to get only a quorum, literally three.
City Manager Kallman stated that staff will schedule a special meeting to perform the rule of necessity process to have a quorum for the vote. The Council agreed.
CLOSED SESSION
CONFERENCE WITH LEGAL COUNSEL:
Conference with Real Property Negotiators Pursuant to Government Code Section 54956.8 Property: 6165 Spring Valley Road
Negotiator: Kerry Kallman, City Manager
Negotiating Party: Hidden Hills Community Association
Under Negotiation: Price and Terms of Payment
Upon MOTION of Council Member Weber, seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Siegel and unanimously carried, it was resolved to adjourn to closed session at 7:39 p.m. to address the items listed above.
The City Council returned from closed session and the City Attorney announced that in closed session the Council discussed the items listed above, and that no reportable action was taken.
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business to come before the Council, the meeting was adjourned at 8:29 p.m.
macorandale
aura McCorkindale, Mayor
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ATTEST:
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Dega I. Gonzaler, CMC. CirClerk