MINUTES
Regular meetings of the City Council and the Board of Directors of the Successor Agency of the former Redevelopment Agency of the City of Redlands held in the Council Chambers, Civic Center, 35 Cajon Street, on May 3, 2022 at 5:00 P.M.
Present: Paul Barich, Mayor
Eddie Tejeda, Mayor Pro Tempore
Denise Davis, Council Member
Jenna Guzman-Lowery, Council Member
Mick Gallagher, Council Member
Staff: Charles M. Duggan, Jr., City Manager; Dan McHugh, City Attorney; Robert Dawes, City Treasurer; Jeanne Donaldson, City Clerk; Janice McConnell, Assistant City Manager; Chris Boatman, Assistant City Manager; Carl Baker, Public Information Officer; Chris Catren, Police Chief; Danielle Garcia, Management Services/Finance Director; Brian Desatnik, Development Services Director; John Harris, Municipal Utilities and Engineering Director; Rich Sessler, Fire Chief
Mayor Barich called the meeting to order and explained that comments could be presented in- person, via Zoom, via cell phone or landline. He announced there were no Closed Session items to consider.
CLOSED SESSION
No closed session matters.
RECONVENE CITY COUNCIL MEETING
The meeting reconvened at 6:00 P.M. with an invocation by Council Member Davis followed by the pledge of allegiance to the American flag.
PRESENTATIONS
SCE WISE Program
Municipal Utilities and Engineering Director Harris introduced Christian Torres, Key Accounts Advisor with Southern California Edison, who provided background of the WISE Program and presented an energy efficiency incentive check, in the amount of $290,007.70 to Mayor Barich.
The City was recognized for the significant energy savings achieved through the upgrades performed at the Wastewater Treatment Plant, and specifically upgrades of the Membrane Bio- Reactor process.
Proclamation Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month Council Member Davis presented a Proclamation to Willis Saloman of The Artlands, declaring the month of May as Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month and celebrating the achievements and contributions of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders that enrich our history, society and culture.
Proclamation Redlands Open World Week
Council Member Gallagher and Mayor Barich presented proclamations to six Serbian university educators who are visiting Redlands through the Open World Program. The program increases civic, culture, and professional exchanges between the United States and young Eurasian leaders, improves mutual understanding, encourages goodwill, and promotes peaceful interchange of ideas among all people. For the last several years, the Sunrise Rotary Club of Redlands has been honored to support the program and host the delegates.
PUBLIC COMMENT
Public comments were presented either in-person, via Zoom, via cell phone or landline.
In-Kind Requests & More - Dennis Bell argued that no matter what the City chose to call a gift of public funds, whether it be called an in-kind request or a fee waiver request, he stated it was still a gift of public funds, and he complained the City was less than transparent when reporting these types of expenditures in the budget. He raised concerns with the Bicycle Classic, questioning the value of spending public funds on the event when he claimed the popularity of the Classic has continued to steadily decline over the years. He recommended the City slow down its spending of Measure T money.
CONSENT CALENDAR
Minutes
On motion of Mayor Pro Tempore Eddie Tejeda, seconded by Council Member Denise Davis, the City Council unanimously approved the minutes of the regular meeting of April 19, 2022, and the special meeting of April 20, 2022.
Vote: 5 - 0 Passed
Citrus Preservation Commission Appointments
On motion of Mayor Pro Tempore Eddie Tejeda, seconded by Council Member Denise Davis, the City Council unanimously reappointed Marc Shaw, Roger Hardy, and Jack Steward to serve four- year terms on the Citrus Preservation Commission ending April 16, 2026; and appointed Thomas Lanza to serve a four-year term on the Citrus Preservation Commission ending April 16, 2026.
Vote: 5 - 0 Passed
Cultural Arts Commission Appointment
On motion of Mayor Pro Tempore Eddie Tejeda, seconded by Council Member Denise Davis, the City Council unanimously appointed Daniel Rodriguez to serve the remainder of a four-year term on the Cultural Arts Commission ending January 6, 2026.
Vote: 5 - 0 Passed
Proclamation Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month
On motion of Mayor Pro Tempore Eddie Tejeda, seconded by Council Member Denise Davis, the City Council unanimously approved the issuance of a proclamation declaring May 2022, as Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month.
Vote: 5 - 0 Passed
Proclamation Redlands Open World Week
On motion of Mayor Pro Tempore Eddie Tejeda, seconded by Council Member Denise Davis, the City Council unanimously approved the issuance of a proclamation declaring May 1st through May 7th, 2022 as Redlands Open World Week.
Vote: 5 - 0 Passed
Resolution No. 8336 Remote Teleconference Meetings
On motion of Mayor Pro Tempore Eddie Tejeda, seconded by Council Member Denise Davis, the City Council unanimously approved Resolution No. 8336, authorizing remote teleconference meetings by the City Council and all Boards, Commissions, and Committees of the City in accordance with Assembly Bill 361 (2021) for a period of 30 days.
Vote: 5 - 0 Passed
Ordinance No. 2932 Military Equipment Use Policy
On motion of Mayor Pro Tempore Eddie Tejeda, seconded by Council Member Denise Davis, the City Council unanimously approved Ordinance No. 2932, adopting a military equipment use policy.
Vote: 5 - 0 Passed
Release of Liability & Agreement Redlands Jiu Jitsu
On motion of Mayor Pro Tempore Eddie Tejeda, seconded by Council Member Denise Davis, the City Council unanimously approved a Warning, Waiver and Release of Liability and Agreement to Participate between the City of Redlands and Redlands Jiu Jitsu to conduct training, presentations, and testing from May 3, 2022, to May 3, 2025.
Vote: 5 - 0 Passed
Redlands Arts Festival Event
On motion of Mayor Pro Tempore Eddie Tejeda, seconded by Council Member Denise Davis, the City Council unanimously determined that the event is categorically exempt from environmental review pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3) of the state’s guidelines implementing the California Environmental Quality Act; approved the request by the Redlands Arts Festival, Inc. to hold the Redlands Festival of Arts event on May 28-29, 2022; authorized street closures related to the event; approved a request for in-kind support in the amount of $5,747.00; and authorized the sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages at the event.
Vote: 5 - 0 Passed
Redlands Crush Baseball Sports Field Use Agreement
On motion of Mayor Pro Tempore Eddie Tejeda, seconded by Council Member Denise Davis, the City Council unanimously determined that the agreement is exempt from environmental review pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3) of the State’s Guidelines implementing the California Environmental Quality Act; and approved a Sports Field Use Agreement with Redlands Crush Baseball.
Vote: 5 - 0 Passed
Resolution No. 8294 Annual SLD and LMD Assessments
On motion of Mayor Pro Tempore Eddie Tejeda, seconded by Council Member Denise Davis, the City Council unanimously approved Resolution No. 8294, initiating proceedings to continue levying assessments, appointing an assessment engineer, and ordering the preparation of an Engineer's Report for Street Lighting District No. 1 and Landscape Maintenance District No.1.
Vote: 5 - 0 Passed
MUED Purchase Order Modification
On motion of Mayor Pro Tempore Eddie Tejeda, seconded by Council Member Denise Davis, the City Council unanimously approved the Fiscal Year 21/22 Purchase Order modification for Municipal Utilities and Engineering Department in the amount of $18,000 with Cintas for uniform, laundry, and janitorial services.
Vote: 5 - 0 Passed
Local Water Company Annual Meetings Summary Report
On motion of Mayor Pro Tempore Eddie Tejeda, seconded by Council Member Denise Davis, the City Council unanimously agreed to receive and file the Summary of Local Water Company Annual Meetings.
Vote: 5 - 0 Passed
Brookside Mobile Home Park Water System Intent to Consolidate
On motion of Mayor Pro Tempore Eddie Tejeda, seconded by Council Member Denise Davis, the City Council unanimously approved a Letter of Intent to Initiate the Planning Process to Consolidate the Brookside Mobile Home Park Water System with the City of Redlands Water System.
Vote: 5 - 0 Passed
COMMUNICATIONS
Accelerate Neighborhood Climate Action
Mayor Pro Tem Tejeda announced this was the third of a series of presentations by Accelerate Neighborhood Climate Action (ANCA), and he introduced Dr. Valerie Rountree, PhD, Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies at the University of Redlands. She provided a brief overview of the work the organization was doing within the City as it relates to the effects of climate change. She encouraged others to seek ways to reduce their carbon footprint, stressed the importance of learning to live with less energy and discussed ways to build climate resiliency, through mitigation and adaptation.
Traffic and Parking Commission Annual Report
Traffic and Parking Commissioner Eric Shamp provided the annual report and review of accomplishments of the Traffic and Parking Commission over the past year. The Commission's purpose and mission is to receive complaints and suggestions relating to traffic matters and recommend to the City Council ways of promoting safety, improving traffic conditions and the enforcements of traffic regulations. He described recent activity to include, the installation of various stop signs, mid-block crosswalk additions and the realignment of Eureka Street and Brookside with a right-turn only lane and a left-turn pocket lane. He pointed out the public can easily submit their traffic concerns via the City's website.
On motion of Mayor Pro Tempore Eddie Tejeda, seconded by Council Member Jenna Guzman- Lowery, the City Council unanimously approved to receive and file the Traffic and Parking Commission Annual Report, as presented orally.
Vote: 5 - 0 Passed
NEW BUSINESS
Household Hazardous Waste Collection
Fire Chief Sessler offered a summary of the household hazardous waste collection program and a multi-year contract with the San Bernardino County Fire Protection District not to exceed $717,933.79 over a five-year period. Mayor Pro Tem Tejeda pointed out this program was an excellent example of working to keep harmful items out of our landfills.
On motion of Mayor Pro Tempore Eddie Tejeda, seconded by Council Member Jenna Guzman- Lowery, the City Council unanimously approved a multi-year contract with San Bernardino County Fire Protection District for household hazardous waste collection management in an amount not to exceed $717,933.79 over a five-year period.
Vote: 5 - 0 Passed
On-Call General Architectural Services
Assistant City Manager Boatman detailed a professional services agreement with Miller Architectural Corporation for on-call general architectural services and explained the on-call agreement will expedite projects planned by the Facilities and Community Services department and will allow for a more efficient utilization of the available funds. The funding for this agreement will be derived from individual project budgets in an amount not-to-exceed $300,000.
On motion of Mayor Pro Tempore Eddie Tejeda, seconded by Council Member Jenna Guzman- Lowery, the City Council unanimously approved a professional services agreement with Miller Architectural Corporation in an amount not-to-exceed $300,000 for a period of two years.
Vote: 5 - 0 Passed
Arts and Culture Master Plan & Arts Economic Impact Study Assistant City Manager Boatman offered a brief recap of events leading to tonight's presentation of the Arts Economic Impact Study and introduced Randy Cohen, Vice President of Research, of Americans for the Arts. In 2019, the City Council authorized the Cultural Arts Commission to contract with Americans for the Arts to conduct a separate economic impact analysis focused solely on the nonprofit arts and culture industry in the City. The Cultural Arts Commission identified a total of 26 eligible nonprofit arts and culture organizations, fourteen of which participated in this study, with a 53.8% response rate. Also included was a total of 708 valid audience-intercept surveys, collected from in-person attendees to arts and culture performances, events, exhibits, experiences, and facilities that took place in the City during the period from June 2019 to August 2021. Mr. Cohen was pleased to report the findings as shown on a summary sheet.
Partial findings included: Direct Economic Activity for Total Industry Expenditures was $14,222,546; Average event-related spending per person was $20.85 for resident attendees; $33.77 for Nonresident Attendees and $23.25 for All Cultural Audiences.
Allan Griesemer, of the Redlands Art Collaborative, thanked the Council and staff for their support of the Economic Impact Study, explained it was a long-time in the making, and gave special thanks to Kimberli Munkres and the Art Collaborative for their vision and willingness to financially contribute funds for the study. Council Member Guzman-Lowery pointed out the arts provide substance to people's lives and their value should not be underestimated, as shown in the positive economic numbers just reported. Council Member Davis expressed her gratitude for all those who were instrumental in moving this study forward and making it come to fruition.
On motion of Mayor Pro Tempore Eddie Tejeda, seconded by Council Member Denise Davis, the City Council unanimously agreed to receive and file the Arts Economic Impact Study completed for the City of Redlands by the Americans for the Arts.
Vote: 5 - 0 Passed
2022 Fourth of July Celebration
Assistant City Manager Boatman introduced the request from the Redlands Fourth of July Committee asking the City to financially partner with the Committee in support of the 2022 Fourth of July Celebration event and authorize $30,000 for the cost related to the fireworks show. He pointed out that the City, on occasion, authorizes the use of City resources in support of a special event, when it is determined the financial support for the event serves a public benefit. The Committee intended to submit a request for in-kind services but as yet, has not done so, leaving a few questions unanswered. Council Members expressed concerns with the site location and its accessibility, they questioned whether the event provides a public benefit, and they were hesitant to move forward with the request. It was agreed to table the matter. As public comment, Dennis Bell wondered exactly how the Committee would spend the $30,000, and he recommended the City provide more oversight of resources allocated to serve a public benefit.
On motion of Mayor Pro Tempore Eddie Tejeda, seconded by Council Member Denise Davis, the City Council unanimously agreed to table the matter until the City Council meeting scheduled for May 17, 2022.
Vote: 5 - 0 Passed
Business License Tax for Distribution Center Businesses Management Services/Finance Director Garcia provided background for a proposed ordinance on the ballot for the November 8, 2022 General Municipal Election to increase the Business License Tax for Distribution Center Businesses (warehouses) operating within City limits and explained that Mayor Pro Tem Tejeda requested this item be considered. If the voters were to approve an increase, Mayor Pro Tem Tejeda stated his purpose behind raising the tax was to provide an additional funding source to offset warehouse impacts made on the City's infrastructure and environment.
The current business license rates for warehouses and distribution centers were established in December 2007 after being approved by the voters of Redlands. The City’s rate structure for warehouses and distribution centers is based on a per square foot model, with the initial set at $0.035/square foot and providing for an annual increase by a CPI factor up to a maximum of $0.05/square foot. Relative to other cities charging by square foot, Redlands is the second lowest based on past research from 2019. If the City were to increase rates to that of Rialto and Fontana ($0.075/sf), the additional revenue generated is estimated to be roughly $255,300/year. She offered a projected timeline and noted the deadline to submit a measure to the County Registrar of Voters was August 12, 2022. City Manager Duggan suggested the item could be brought back for Council's consideration in July and at that time, staff would recommend an increase to the Business License Tax and present the necessary documents to place an ordinance on the ballot later this year.
On motion of Mayor Pro Tempore Eddie Tejeda, seconded by Council Member Denise Davis, the City Council unanimously directed staff to prepare the required documents and make their recommendations to place an ordinance on the ballot for the November 8, 2022, General Municipal Election to increase the Business License Tax for Distribution Center Businesses.
Vote: 5 - 0 Passed
COUNCIL MEMBER ANNOUNCEMENTS AND ACTIVITIES
Mayor Barich encouraged everyone to get involved with one of the many projects planned at various site locations for the Community Day of Service scheduled for May 7, 2022.
Mayor Barich participated in the San Bernardino Valley Municipal Water District for the Upper Santa Ana River Water Forum with Municipal Utilities and Engineering Director Harris. He attended the Annual Teacher Appreciation event, hosted by the Church of Latter Day Saints and enjoyed the Town and Gown Annual Awards of Distinction Dinner at the University of Redlands on April 16, 2022.
Council Member Davis attended the Confire Board meeting, Dinner at the Grove School, and she announced next week was the last meeting for the Redlands Youth Council before a summer hiatus. A graduation ceremony was planned for participants.
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further action required the meeting adjourned at 7:25 P.M. The next regular meeting of the City of Redlands City Council will be held on May 17, 2022.
SUCCESSOR AGENCY OF THE FORMER REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY OF THE CITY OF
REDLANDS
Chairman Barich called the meeting to order and offered anyone present the opportunity to address the Board on any subject, not already on the agenda, within the jurisdiction of the Successor Agency.
PUBLIC COMMENT
None forthcoming
Minutes
On motion of Vice Chair Tejeda, seconded by Board Member Davis, the minutes of the regular meeting of April 5, 2022, were unanimously approved.
Vote: 5 - 0 Passed
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business, the Successor Agency Board of Directors' meeting was adjourned at 7:26 P.M. The next regular meeting of the Agency will be held on June 7, 2022.
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