City Council Minutes 1 September 24, 2024
MISSION VIEJO MINUTES
City Council, Community Development Financing Authority, Successor Agency of the Community Development Agency,
Housing Authority, and Library Board of Trustees*
September 24, 2024
A Regular Meeting of the City Council, the Community Development Financing Authority, the Successor Agency of the Community Development Agency, the Housing Authority, and the Library Board of Trustees of the City of Mission Viejo, California, was called to order by Mayor Kelley at 5:01 p.m., on September 24, 2024, at 200 Civic Center, Mission Viejo, California.
A complete copy of the agenda for the meeting containing all items as shown he rein was posted by 5:00 p.m. on September 19, 2024, on the outdoor bulletin board at City Hall. A copy was also posted at the Montanoso Recreation and Fitness Center, 25800 Montanoso Drive and Norman P.
Murray Community and Senior Center, 24932 Veterans Way. *All Board and Agency memberships are reflected in the title "Council Member."
Present: Council Member Bucknum
Council Member Goodell
Council Member Vasquez
Mayor Pro Tem Ruesch
Mayor Kelley
Absent: Council Member Vasquez (left at 6:07 pm)
Staff Present: Elaine Lister, City Manager
Jerry Hill, Assistant City Manager
William P. Curley, City Attorney
Cheryl Dyas, Director of Administrative Services
Kimberly Schmitt, City Clerk
Renata Winter, Assistant City Clerk
CLOSED SESSION
CS1. Labor Negotiations - The Council Will Provide Direction to its Labor Negotiator Pursuant to Government Code Section 54957 and 54957.6. The Parties to the Negotiations Are the City and City’s Unrepresented Employees. The City’s Negotiator is Elaine Lister.
REPORT OF CLOSED SESSION
City Council Minutes 2 September 24, 2024
City Attorney Curley announced there was one properly agendaized Closed Session item, but no reportable actions occurred.
RECESS TO CLOSED SESSION AND RECONVENE
At the hour of 5:01 pm Mayor Kelly recessed to Closed Session. Mayor Kelley reconvened the meeting at 6:04 pm with all five Council Members present.
INVOCATION: Council Member Vasquez
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Council Member Bucknum
PRESENTATIONS
P1. Recognize District 68 Little League Challenger Team
Mayor Kelley presented commendations.
P2. Adopted Headquarters Battalion of the 1st Marine Division Quarterly Recognition
Mayor Kelley presented certificates of commendation to the "Marine of the Quarter" Lance Corporal Andrew T. Dodd, and "Noncommissioned Officers of the Quarter" Sergeant Ysabel A. Bautista.
P3. Legislative Platform Update
Received presentation from Townsend Public Affairs Vice President Cori Takkinen and Senior Associate Elisa Arcidiacono.
PUBLIC COMMENTS
Cathy Schlicht, M.V.: Spoke on her complaint regarding Measure Y for using resources to promote its ballot measure. State it is against both Federal and State Law for any government agency to influence the elections process.
Lisa Moncur, M.V.: Asked that Barcelona Park be renamed in honor of her son Sergeant John Barcellano who served honorably in the U.S. Army, was deployed twice and received many awards for his service.
Saga Conroy, M.V.: Spoke on the AI W orkshop this Saturday , September 28 at 5:00 pm at the Norman P. Community Center.
Paola Trumbly, M.V.: Spoke about the new Annual Love Mission Viejo Day to be held on Saturday October 12, kicking off at 8 am at Newhart Middle School. She outlined various activities that will be scheduled. For more information go to www.lovemissionviejo.org .
City Council Minutes 3 September 24, 2024
Jeff Creer, M.V.: Spoke in favor of the Los Osos project and thanked the Council for moving forward with this project.
Tom Moore, M.V.: Spoke on the current political signs being posted and asked for clarification of the policy
Mark Hamilton, M.V.: Spoke on the new building permit process and the length of time for issuance. He feels the new online process is more cumbersome.
Doug Zielasko, M.V.: Spoke on behalf of the Chamber of Commerce regarding Measure Y which is an increase on the Transient Occupancy Tax within the City. He outlined the benefits of this increase in tax for the City.
CONSENT CALENDAR
Item #6 was considered under separate discussion
Motion made by Council Member Goodell, seconded by Council Member Bucknum, to a pprove the Consent Calendar outlined below.
On roll call, said motion carried by the following vote:
AYES: Bucknum, Goodell, Kelley, and Ruesch
NOES: None
ABSENT: Vasquez
1. City Council Minutes
Approved the Minutes for the regular City Council Meeting of September 10, 2024, as presented.
2. General Check Register Dated August 30, 2024, in the Amount of $560,600.94 Ratified the accompanying check register.
3. General Check Register Dated September 6, 2024, in the Amount of $3,880,834.51 Ratified the accompanying check register.
4. Golf Check Register Dated August 30, 2024, in the Amount of $14,476.36 Ratified the accompanying check register.
5. Golf Check Register Dated September 6, 2024, in the Amount of $24,608.39 Ratified the accompanying check register.
City Council Minutes 4 September 24, 2024
7. Appropriation of SB 1383 Local Assistance Grant Funds in the FY 2024-2025 Budget
Adopt Resolution 24-46 Amending the FY 2024/25 Budget to Appropriate SB 1383 Local Assistance Grant Funds.
ITEMS REMOVED FROM THE CONSENT CALENDAR
6. Purchase (1) Electric Vehicle Fleet Truck for the Public Services Department
Assistant City Manager Jerry Hill presented the staff report.
Motion made by Council Member Goodell, seconded by Mayor Kelley, to (1) authorize the issuance of a Purchase Order to Theodore Robins Ford for the purchase of one New 2023 Ford Lightning EV Truck in the amount not to exceed $60,241.68; and (2) adopt Resolution 24-45 Amending FY 2024/25 Operating Budget.
On roll call, said motion carried by the following vote:
AYES: Bucknum, Goodell, Kelley, and Ruesch
NOES: None
ABSENT: Vasquez
MAYOR’S, COMMISSION, COMMITTEE REPORTS AND ACTIONS
8. Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) Report Receive written report.
CITY MANAGER REPORTS
No report given.
CITY ATTORNEY REPORTS
Attorney Curley addressed the comments from a public speaker earlier this evening regarding Measure Y and the use of public resources to promote it. He cited from a case, Vargas vs. Salinas, which explains the use of public resources on educating the public regarding a measure. He stated that the City well understands the law and we are not advocating, but have factual materials.
COUNCIL MEMBER COMMENTS AND ACTIONS
9. Council Member Reports of Events and Activities Attended ~ AB1234
City Council Minutes 5 September 24, 2024
By consensus, the City Council Members acknowledged their event and activities calendars as presented in the report and agreed to provide any changes to the City Clerk for the public record.
Council Member Bucknum
Council Member Bucknum thanked public speaker Lisa Moncure for bringing forth her idea to rename Barcelona Park after her son who served our nation. She thanked Paola Trumbly for speaking on the Love Mission Viejo Day which will be held on October 12, with the many opportunities for volunteering at this event. Council Member Bucknum thanked Doug Zielasko from the Chamber of Commerce for giving a good summary of what at a Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) is. She addressed speaker Tom Moore’s concerns on political signs and Jeff Creer for his willingness to serve in our community and his nice comments. Council Member Bucknum did voice concerns over the online permitting process. She attended the following events: Patriots Day, the installation of butterfly art at the Chabad Jewish Center that honored children of the Holocaust, and the Armed Forces/First Responders Football game at Mission Viejo High School.
Lastly, she commented on the eight firefighters that were hurt in an accident on the 241- toll road this past week.
Council Member Goodell
Council Member Goodell mentioned that he spoke with public speaker Mr. Hamilton regarding his frustration with the permit process and asked him to attend this evening to address the Council.
He indicated that our businesses and homeowners need to be supported with this new online permit process. Council Member Goodell highlighted last week’s Sports and Economic Tourism Committee meeting and announced that the Netherlands Team will be coming the first week of November. This meeting will be to define exactly what their needs will be and how we can hel p them. He indicated that our neighboring cities have expressed interest on how they can get involved, as well as a French agency that assisted fifteen countries at the 2026 Paris Olympics line up their training facilities. Council Member Goodell stated that we have received initial feedback from some of the Economic Consulting Groups and that information will be coming forth to the Economic Development Committee and then to the City Council.
Mayor Pro Tem Ruesch
Mayor Pro Tem Ruesch updated that the eight OCFA firefighters that were inju red, four are still in the hospital with two in critical condition. The prognosis is positive, but recovery will be a long time. He announced that Friday night there was a fire at the Fairfield Inn on Oso Parkway that was housing some of the firefighter’s families. 120 people were displaced due to the fire, but they were able to immediately find new places for the families to stay. Mayor Pro Tem Ruesch represented the City at the Relay for Life where the Mayor received an award for 29 years of support and five million dollars that have been raised over the years. He stated that next year will mark the 30
th anniversary for Relay for Life in our city. He attended the Night Market this past weekend and said it was a tremendous event with over a thousand people in attendance. Lastly, he highlighted his trip to Washington D.C. particularly the sports tourism and upcoming Olympics in 2028.
City Council Minutes 6 September 24, 2024
Mayor Kelley
Mayor Kelley thanked Police Chief Ivans who spoke at the Patriots Day Event on September 11.
She commended Community Services Christy Quaid who organized the event. Mayor Kelley attended the Mayor ’s R ound Table which was sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce on September 16. She attended the Armed Forces event at Mission Viejo High School and was happy to see a lot of our first responders both fire and police in attendance. Mayor Kelley thanked Mayor Pro Tem Ruesch for filling in for her at the Relay of Life event and gave a shout-out to former city employee Steve Bell for all the work he has done for the last twenty-nine years for this event. She attended the Night Market on September 21 and commented on the great turnout. She also attended the Remembrance of Sergeant Matt Davis on September 23 which is an annual remembrance that is very meaningful. Lastly, she asked f or prayers for those firefighters that were injured and for those that would like to help, donations may be made at www.ocfabenevolent.org
ADJOURNMENT
At the hour of 8:09 p.m., with no further business to come before the City Council at this session, Mayor Kelley adjourned the meeting in honor the eight injured firefighters to Tuesday, October 8, 2024, at 5:00 p.m.
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Kimberly Schmitt, City Clerk
Approved at the meeting of October 8, 2024