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MINUTES
CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING
FEBRUARY 1 4 , 202 3
CALL TO ORDER
The regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Highland was called to order at 6:0 1 p.m. by Mayor McCallon at the Donahue Council Chambers, 27215 Base Line, Highland, California.
The invocation was given by Pastor Tracy Johnson , Immanuel Baptist Church , and the Pledge of Allegiance was led by Council Member Timmer .
ROLL CALL
Present: Chavez, Lilburn, McCallon, Solano, Timmer
Absent: None
REPORT FROM CLOSED SESSION
No meeting.
SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS
None
PUBLIC COMMENT (ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA)
Daniel Jirajee spoke regarding his concerns with the Airport Gateway Specific Plan.
Albert Flores spoke regarding his concerns with the Airport Gateway Specific Plan.
Kristine Scott spoke regarding Southern California Gas Company ’s winter bill update.
Jody Scott spoke about the upcoming Neighborhood Watch celebration and wanted to invite City representatives.
Martha Romero spoke regarding her concerns with the Airport Gateway Specific Plan.
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CITY C OUNCIL CONSENT CALENDAR
A MOTION was made by Council Member Timmer , seconded by Council Member Solano, to approve the consent calendar as submitted. Motion carried on a roll call vote, 5-0.
1 . Waive the Reading of All Ordinances
Waive d the reading of all Ordinances in their entirety and read by title only. 2 . Minutes – January 10, 2023 City Council Regular Meeting Approve d the Minutes as submitted.
3. Minutes – January 10, 2023 City Council Special Meeting Approved the Minutes as submitted.
4 . Warrant Register
Approve d Warrant Register No. 7 50 for February 1 4 , 202 3 , in the amount of $ 3 ,751 ,612 .68 and Payroll of $ 2 55 ,228 .37 .
5 . Treasurer ’s Report for December 2022
R eceive d and file d Treasurer ’s Report for December 2022 . 6 . Easement Acceptance/Michael & Gina Roquet – “Mike Roquet Construction ” Industrial Project (27114 Meines Street)
1) Accepted the Grant of Easement for Road and Drainage purposes from Michael & Gina Roquet; and
2) Directed the City Clerk to record the Grant of Easement. 7 . Final Map Approval/Tract 19915 (Mastercraft Homes)
Adopted Resolution No. 2023-002 to:
1) Approve the Final Map of Tract No. 19915;
2) Accept the subdivision bond; and
3) Authorize the Mayor to sign the standard subdivision agreement.
RESOLUTION NO. 2023-002
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF HIGHLAND,
CALIFORNIA, APPROVING THE FINAL MAP AND SUBDIVISION
AGREEMENT, AND ACCEPTING THE SUBDIVISION BONDS FOR
TRACT NO. 19915 (MASTERCRAFT HOMES)
8 . 27th Annual Highland Community Trails Day Event
Approved Saturday, June 3, 2023, as the date for the 27 th Annual Highland Community Trails Day Event.
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9 . Request for a Special Event Permit (SEP-22-015) by the Redlands Bicycle Classic for its Annual Highland Circuit Bicycle Race on Wednesday, April 12, 2023
1) Authorized the one-day Highland Circuit bicycle race as part of the Redlands Bicycle Classic on various streets in Highland subject to the Conditions of Approval; and
2) Approve d the Redlands Bicycle Classic request for co-sponsorship (waiving of City fees in the amount of approximately $23,224.96. 10 . Preparation of Annual Engineer ’s Reports for 2023/2024 Assessments 1) Adopt ed Resolution No. 2023- 003 ordering the preparation of an Engineer ’s Report for Consolidated Landscape and Lighting District No. 96-1; and
2) Adopt ed Resolution No. 2023- 004 ordering the preparation of an Engineer ’s Report for Street and Drainage Maintenance District 96-1.
RESOLUTION NO. 2023-003
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF HIGHLAND, CALIFORNIA, ORDERING THE PREPARATION OF ENGINEER ’S
REPORT FOR CONSOLIDATED LANDSCAPE & LIGHTING DISTRICT
NO. 96-1 FOR FISCAL YEAR 2023/24
RESOLUTION NO. 2023-00 4
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF HIGHLAND, CALIFORNIA, ORDERING THE PREPARATION OF AN ENGINEER ’S
REPORT FOR STREET AND DRAINAGE MAINTENANCE
DISTRICT 96-1 FOR FISCAL YEAR 2023/24
11. Environmental Services Proposal/Tom Dodson & Associates for Victoria Avenue Street and Storm Drain Improvements (Project No. str17002) 1) Approved proposal from Tom Dodson & Associates (TDA) to provide environmental services for the Victoria Avenue Street and Storm Drain Improvements (Project No. str17002); and
2) Authorized the City Manager to approve contract amendments up to 10% of the contract amount.
CITY COUNCIL PUBLIC HEARING
1 2 . A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Highland Vacating Berry Street between Cunningham Street and Hillview Street
Mayor McCallon stated there are two public hearing items, the first being the allocation of the City of Highland ’s Community Development Block Grant Funds (CDBG). Before opening the public hearing, Mayor Pro Tem Lilburn stated she would like to abstain from this item due to a conflict of interest. She is going to leave the room because she is employed by one of the agencies that has applied for the CDBG funding. Mayor McCallon opened the public hearing and 0 2 .1 4 .202 3 – cc regular
introduced staff member Assistant Community Development Director Stater who present ed the information .
Assistant Community Development Director Stater thanked Mayor McCallon and members of the City Council. She stated the City is looking at next year ’s CDBG allocation. The City will receive about 7% less than last year, but it ’s fairly close and that ’s just an estimate. H ard numbers will come in later in the year. The City received a total of six applications, 15% of the allocation maximum can go towards public service and the remaining 85% minimum needs to go towards construction and code enforcement related projects . She directed the attention to the two revised pages that were received , pages 12 and 13 . T here was a correction to page 13 and page 12 shows the total available is $351,476 for construction projects , but the total requested is $320,000. T hose two projects can be fully funded, and the remaining amount will roll over and can be used and allocated later in the year if need-be. On page 13, there are 4 applications : San Bernardino County Public Library , YMCA, Senior Center, and Central Little League. Those four applications total 66,000 and the total available amount is $62,025. That will conclude staff ’s report.
Mayor McCallon asked if there were any questions from staff? Seeing there was none, he referenced several speaker slips were submitted .
Michelle Williamson , spoke in support of Central Little League.
Latoya Courtney, Librarian II, spoke in support of the San Bernardino County Library.
Lindsey Cobaugh, Executive Director, spoke in support of the Highland YMCA.
Amy Alcantara spoke in support of the Highland YMCA.
Dominique Mackey spoke in support of the Highland YMCA.
Diane Harvey spoke in support of the Highland Senior Center.
Linda Sowell- Mollenkopf spoke in support of the Highland Senior Center.
Kelly Malloy spoke in support of the Highland Senior Center.
Sharon Pierce spoke in support of the Highland Senior Center.
Char Schitlinger spoke in support of the Highland Senior Center.
Rosetta Love spoke in support of the Highland Senior Center.
Mayor McCallon confirmed there were no more remaining speaker slips and asked if anyone in the audience wished to speak either for or against any of these applications? No response from the public was given . Mayor McCallon 0 2 .1 4 .202 3 – cc regular
stated he will close the public hearing and bring it back to the Council for deliberation and action.
Council Member Timmer stated action was previously taken for the construction portion and would recommend Council make a motion to continue with the same recommendation.
Mayor McCallon suggested we act on that motion first before moving on to the second portion.
Council Member Solano stated she will second that motion.
Mayor McCallon confirmed we had a second motion to fund the construction portion of the application at $320,000 with a total available amount of $351,476 .
The remaining amount will be carried over.
Council Member Timmer stated on the second portion of the application, the City has been working with the four agencies that came before us: the Library, YMCA, Senior Center, and Little League and recommended we continue to support those organizations as we have in the past. With the reduction of funding this year, he recommends selecting option one that staff recommended with an equal reduction to all agencies.
Council Member Solano seconded that motion and thanked everyone who came and spoke . She stated it ’s a beautiful thing to hear how much these programs impact all of you.
Council Member Timmer appreciated all those that came out and stated that they are all familiar with their programs and they continue to support them.
Mayor McCallon echoed Council Member Timmer ’s comments, he stated all their programs are vital to this City and appreciates all the efforts put into these programs that help our citizens, kids and our seniors.
A MOTION was made by Council Member Timmer , seconded by Council Member Solano , to prioritize funding of FY 2023-2024 Community Development Block Grant applications in the following allocation amounts : Application Number HIGH23 CN-002 Highland Street Improvements in Target Areas including Union Street and Elmwood Court in the amount of $200,000 ; Application Number HIGH23CN-001 Enhanced Code Enforcement within the low-and moderate- income target areas in the amount of $120,000 ; Application Number HIGH23PS- 057 Highland Branch Adult Literacy Program in the amount of $9,007 ; Application Number HIGH23PS-051 Highland Family YMCA programs in the amount of $14,006 ; Application Number HIGH23PS-044 Highland Senior Center Services and Programs in the amount of $24,006 ; and Application Number HIGH23PS-019 Highland Youth Recreation - Central Little League in the amount of $15,006 with a total of $62,025 . Motion carried, 4 -0 , with Mayor Pro Tem Lilburn abstaining.
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1 3 . A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Highland approving Security Agreement, Assignment of Rents, and Cooperative Agreement between the City of Highland and Lumar Devco IV, LLC, MG Gasoline, Inc., and YN Properties, LLC for the D esign and C onstruction of a T raffic S ignal and O ther P ublic Improvements along Base Line between Buckeye Street and SR-210 and M aking a F inding that N o F urther E nvironmental R eview is R equired U nder California Environmental Quality Act Guidelines Section 15162
Mayor McCallon stated we have a second public hearing for a project that is on Base Line and he will open the public hearing. He asked that staff present the item .
City Manager Hughes stated he will be presenting the item on behalf of Public Works Director/City Engineer Zamano. He mentioned, the item is a joint agreement that the City is participating in with the property owners in the area between Buckeye Street and the SR-210 freeway on Base Line which include the gas station , Starbucks and Popeyes, and on the north side of the street with the proposed restaurants. Right now , it ’s known the Habit Burger is going to be one of the restaurants, the second restaurant cannot be stated, but there are two pads at that site to necessitate those two new restaurants coming in and there will be an impact on Base Line. It ’s already very, so a traffic signal is required.
The City has been working with the landowners on the north side and the south side to try to get participation to install the traffic signal at this location. The City has been successful in getting all the parties to come to the table to participate.
It ’s recommended that the City participate using bond funding from the former 2007 RDA Bond funds up to $250,000 to do the median work that would be required of this project . A s the Council is aware , the City has already done a lot of median work on Base Line, particularly through this area . T here will be some modifications due to the intensity of use on the northern side, so the medians will be modified to allow for a better traffic flow with the installation of this traffic signal. T he property owner on the north side would be the largest contributor, and the gas station would be the second largest contributor , the City with the median work would be the third largest contributor, and lastly the property owner that owns the Starbucks and the Popeyes would b e the fourth. This has gone before the Public Works Subcommittee and is now being brought forward to the City Council for adoption. If anyone has any questions and would like to get into the “nuts and bolts ” of it, Community Development Director Mainez can jump in and he lp out. That concludes s taff ’s presentation.
Mayor McCallon asked if s taff had any question s .
Council Member Timmer had a question and stated he knew the agenda item was just to approve the agreement for the financing part of this project but asked if the re-design or the re-configuration of the median strip had to go back to the Planning Commission for review and approval or was that done already? 0 2 .1 4 .202 3 – cc regular
Community Development Director Mainez clarified that had already been done, the Planning Commission had already reviewed the concept.
Mayor McCallon stated he had no speaker slips and asked if anyone in the audience wished to speak to this item either for or against it. Seeing none, he closed the public hearing and brought it back to the Council for discussion and action.
Mayor Pro Tem Lilburn asked if the properties on the southern portion had already agreed that they would participate in the agreement? City Manager Hughes responded that yes, they had all agreed to be a party to the agreement.
Mayor Pro Tem Lilburn and Mayor McCallon both commended Community Development and Engineering staff on their efforts on getting all parties to come together on this.
Mayor McCallon asked if there were any other comments or questions.
A MOTION was made by Mayor Pro Tem Lilburn , seconded by Council Member Solano, to:
1) Open and conduct a public hearing regarding the proposed economic subsidy in the amount of up to $250,000 pursuant to Government Code S ection 53083;
2) Adopt the Resolution Approving the Security Agreement, Assignment of Rents and Cooperative Agreement between the City of Highland; Lumar Devco IV, LLC, a California limited liability company; MG Gasoline, Inc., a California corporation and YN Properties, LLC, a California limited liability company;
3) Authorize the Mayor to sign the final version of the Agreement, subject to review and approval by the City Attorney; and
4) Approve the following Budget Adjustment: transfer $250,000 from 007- 2100 (2007 Bond Fund Balance) to be expended from 007-8330-6550 (Traffic Improvements) . Motion carried, 5-0.
RESOLUTION NO. 2023-005
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF HIGHLAND
APPROVING SECURITY AGREEMENT, ASSIGNMENT OF RENTS, AND
COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF HIGHLAND AND
LUMAR DEVCO IV, LLC, MG GASOLINE INC., AND YN PROPERTIES, LLC
FOR THE DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF A TRAFFIC SIGNAL AND
OTHER PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS ALONG BASE LINE BETWEEN BUCKEYE STREET AND SR-210 AND MAKING A FINDING THAT NO FURTHER
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW IS REQUIRED UNDER CALIFORNIA
ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT GUIDELINES SECTION 15162
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CITY COUNCIL LEGISLATIVE
1 4 . 2023/2024 Work Program
City Manager Hughes gave a brief review of the staff report.
A MOTION was made by Council Member Timmer , seconded by Council Member Chavez , to adopt the 2023/2024 Work Program . Motion carried, 5-0. 1 5 . HDR Contract Amendment for Professional Services – Victoria Avenue Street and Storm Drain Improvements (Project No. str17002)
City Manager Hughes gave a brief review of the staff report.
A MOTION was made by Council Member Chavez , seconded by Mayor Pro-Tem Lilburn , to :
1) Approve a contract amendment to the Professional Services Agreement with HDR Engineering, Inc. (HDR), to provide right-of-way and additional engineering services for the Victoria Avenue Street and Storm Drain Improvements; and
2) Authorize the City Manager to approve contract amendments up to 10% of the revised contract amount. Motion carried, 5-0.
1 6 . Resolution No. 2023- 006 Amending the Hourly Rates for Various Categories of Legal Services of the City Attorney ’s Office (Richards, Watson & Gershon) Director of Administrative Services Dantuono gave a brief review of the staff report.
A MOTION was made by Council Member Chavez , seconded by Council Member Solano , to approve Resolution No. 2023-006 amending the hourly rates for various categories for legal services of the City Attorney ’s office (Richardson, Watson & Gershon) . Motion carried, 5-0.
RESOLUTION NO. 2023-006
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF HIGHLAND,
CALIFORNIA, APPROVING A NEW EXHIBIT A TO THE LEGAL SERVICES
AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF HIGHLAND AND RICHARDS,
WATSON & GERSHON, AND DESIGNATING MARICELA E. MARROQUIN
AS CITY ATTORNEY AND CRAIG STEELE AS
SENIOR ASSISTANT CITY ATTORNEY
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1 7 . City Manager Report and Comments (Work Program, Regional/Legislative/ Development Issues, Subcommittees, etc.)
City Manager Hughes stated that on February 7, the Planning Commission approved a design review application for the rehabilitation of a vacant building at the northwest corner of Base Line and Vine Street , the proposal is for a minor auto repair shop. The owner will re-stucco, repair, repaint, and re-roof the building as well as install landscaping, new fencing and lighting and construct new street improvements along Vine Street.
The preparation for the 25 th A nnual Citrus Harvest Festival is ongoing. On March 25 , you can expect to see plenty of local vendors, antique and vintage car s , historic demonstrators and Highland musicians live on stage. The festival honorees for this year are former City Manager Sam R a cadio and the former local newspaper the Highland Community News.
On Wednesday February 22, residents will have an option to apply and pay for their yard sale permits online. The City ’s new web-based permit management system software iWo rQ is making this possible. The online yard sale permit service is a precursor to the additional online permitting services. That will also go live very soon, so that ’s what we ’re going to test the system with .
The historic bank building on Palm Avenue and Main Street has a new owner.
The new owner is Brett Waterman, a Historic building preservationist and design host on HGTV and the Magnolia Network. Brett plans to move quickly and rehab the structure and use it for his office and design studio.
City staff in late January received notification from San Bernardino County that the regional CalRecycle rubberized asphalt concrete RAC grant application in the amount of $350,000 had been awarded to both agencies. Highland is anticipated to received $107,000 of those grant funds for street improvements. The County will serve as the lead agency on this process.
The next item is going to impact weekends here in Highland from February through April, with a directional change on the SR-210 freeway. It ’s going to require a 55 - hour freeway closure on various lanes over the next month. During Friday , February 24 through Monday , February 7, the westbound lanes of the SR-210 freeway will be closed from 10:00 p.m. Friday to 5:00 a.m. Monday. A continuation of the westbound lane closure s will occur Friday , March 3 through Monday , March 6, and Friday , March 10 through Monday, March 13. March 24 through March 27, the eastbound closures will start and go on for two additional weeks after that. There might be a n uptick in traffic during that time period through City streets. All these closures are subject to weather conditions. This project is scheduled for completion in June 2023 .
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Staff has started the budget process and is starting the orientation meetings with department heads . The projected timeline for submittals is as follows: operational expenditures and revenues will be given to the Finance Subcommittee in early April , CIP to the Finance Subcommittee in late April , a C ouncil study session for the preliminary budget in late May, and the public hearing in June.
From Volunteer Services, Thursday, March 9, the Citrus Harvest Festiva l Baking Contest will be held at City Hall from 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
On Monday, March 13, there will be a Blood Drive committee meeting here at City Hall.
On Saturday, March 18 at 8:00 a.m. there will be a HIT team doing clean up in the Historic District.
Monday, March 27, there will be a blood drive held at the Highland Police Station from 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
The Sheriff ’s Department from January 9 through February 13 responded to 3,648 calls. They had 325 reports and 147 arrests. We don ’t have Fire Department statistics because we don ’t have a Battalion Chief yet. CalFire is in the process of doing interviews and the City should acquire one within the next month.
18. Council Member Comments (Agency/Committee/AB 1234 Reports, District Updates, etc.)
Mayor McCallon stated that at the last [San Bernardino County Transportation Authority ] SBCTA meeting, funding was approved for the Highland/Redlands Regional Connector Project. This project was split up into three separate projects. The Redlands portion, Highland portion and the middle portion where the mitigation issues were , this will be the third segmented project that will be lead by SBCTA.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
None
CLOSED SESSION
No meeting.
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ADJOURN
There being no further business, Mayor McCallon adjourned the meeting at 7 :02 p.m. in memory of Ken Cottrell, Patricia Fisher, John Magness and Tanya Rigot.
Submitted By: Approved By:
Betty Hughes, MMC Larry McCallon
City Clerk Mayor