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MINUTES OF APRIL 19, 2022
REGULAR MEETING OF THE SAN GABRIEL CITY COUNCIL
CALL TO ORDER
Mayor Ding called the regular meeting of the San Gabriel City Council to order at 6:30 P.M. on Tuesday, April 19, 2022, in the Council Chamber at City Hall, 425 South Mission Drive, San Gabriel, California, 91776.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Council Member Wu.
ROLL CALL
Council Members Present:
Council Members Absent:
Staff Members Present:
CLOSED SESSION REPORT
Denise Menchaca, Carina Rivera, John Wu, Vice Mayor
John R. Harrington, and Mayor Tony Ding.
None.
City Manager Mark Lazzaretto, City Attorney Keith
Lemieux, Community Services Director Rebecca Perez,
Police Chief Eugene Harris, Chief City Clerk Sharon Clark, Public Works Director/City Engineer Greg de Vinck, Fire Chief Steven Wallace, Human Resources/Risk
Management Director Edward Macias, Finance Director
William Kaholokula, Community Development Director
Aldo Cervantes, and Administrative Assistant II Jessica Zhao.
A. CONFERENCE WITH LABOR NEGOTIATOR (GOVERNMENT CODE §54957.6) City Negotiators - City Manager Lazzaretto, City Attorney Lemieux, and Human Resources/Risk Management Director Macias, Labor Relations Counsel Steve Filarsky.
Regarding the following Employee Organization - San Gabriel Police Officers' Association, San Gabriel Police Management Group, San Gabriel Firefighters' Association, San Gabriel Fire Management Group and all Unrepresented Employees.
City Attorney Lemieux announced that no reportable action was taken.
AN NOU NCEM ENTS
Chief City Clerk Clark provided information for the public on how to view the meeting and how to request meeting agendas.
1. APPROVAL OF AGENDA ORDER
Hearing no objection, Mayor Ding stated the agenda order was approved.
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2. PRESENTATIONS
A. POLICE DEPARTMENT EMPLOYEE INTRODUCTION - LIAM HOWARD Police Chief Harris made the presentation and Chief City Clerk Clark administered the Oath of Allegiance.
B. COMMENDATION FOR OLDER AMERICAN AWARD- FLORENCE LIN
Mayor Ding made the presentation. The following provided recognition of Ms. Lin:
• Sandra Armenta Lopez representing Senator Susan Rubio; • Mr. Frank Lu from Supervisor Hilda Solis' office;
• Mr. Jimmy Wu, from Supervisor Kathryn Barger's office; • Enrique Robles, Deputy Chief of Staff for Congresswoman Judy Chu; • Monterey Park Mayor Henry Lo and Council Member Yvonne Yiu; and • Assemblymember Mike Fong.
RECESS AND RECONVENE
The meeting was recessed at 7:11 P.M. and reconvened at 7:27 P.M. with all Council Members present.
C. PROCLAMATION FOR 2022 CALIFORNIA MOSQUITO AWARENESS WEEK Council Member Menchaca made the presentation; and Levy Sun, Director of Communications for the San Gabriel Valley Mosquito and Vector Control District, accepted the proclamation.
D. PROCLAMATION FOR DONATE LIFE MONTH
Mayor Ding made the presentation and Jolene Vargas, OneLegacy Ambassador, accepted the proclamation.
3. PUBLIC COMMENT
Sean McMorris, resident, provided comments congratulating Florence Lin on being awarded 2022 Outstanding Older American.
Debbie Kilgore, resident, expressed displeasure with a Council Member's actions at a recent Special City Council meeting.
Jeffrey Welch, resident, commented on the positive presentation items earlier in the meeting, and pronounced a blessing on the City Council.
4. CONSENT CALENDAR
Item 4G was pulled by Vice Mayor Harrington for separate discussion.
A motion was made by Council Member Menchaca, seconded by Vice Mayor Harrington, to approve Consent Calendar Items 4A - 4F as presented.
Motion carried by a vote of 5-0 as follows:
AYES: MENCHACA, RIVERA, WU, HARRINGTON, DING
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NOES:
ABSTAIN:
ABSENT:
NONE
NONE
NONE
A. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
The City Council approved the following:
1. Minutes of the City Council Regular Meeting of April 5, 2022.
2. Minutes of the City Council Regular Meeting of April 5, 2022.
B. MATERIAL DEMANDS
The City Council approved March 25, 2022, and March 31, 2022, Registers of Demands and Warrants for the payment of City expenditures.
C. CASH AND INVESTMENT REPORT - MARCH 2022
The City Council received and filed the Cash and Investment Report for March 2022.
D. MONTHLY BUDGET UPDATE- MARCH 2022
The City Council received and filed the report.
E. APPROVAL OF RESOLUTION NO. 22-23 AUTHORIZING THE ADDITION OF A
LEAD RECORDS SPECIALIST SPECIAL PAY ASSIGNMENT
The City Council adopted Resolution No. 22-23, authorizing the addition of a Lead Records Specialist Special Pay Assignment.
F. PURCHASE OF NEW FORD F-550 TRUCK WITH AN ALTEC LIFT BUCKET
SYSTEM FOR THE FIELD OPERATIONS DIVISION
The City Council:
1. Waived formal bidding and authorized the Cooperative Purchase Agreement for an aerial bucket truck, consistent with the piggyback bidding requirements pursuant to Municipal Code Section 34.35; and
2. Authorized the City Manager to approve a Purchase Order to Altec Industries, Incorporated, in an amount not to exceed $142,547.00 from the Gas Tax fund account 124-800-41-99-767.
G. FIRE APPARATUS PURCHASE
Discussion on Item 4G included lease versus purchase details, basis for purchasing two apparatus at once, financing terms, and pros and cons of purchasing one apparatus instead of two.
A motion was made by Vice Mayor Harrington, seconded by Council Member Wu, to authorize the purchase of one apparatus if financing terms remain the same for one; and to authorize a cash purchase for one apparatus if financing terms are not the same.
Motion carried by a vote of 5-0 as follows:
AYES: MENCHACA, RIVERA, WU, HARRINGTON, DING
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NOES:
ABSTAIN:
ABSENT:
NONE
NONE
NONE
5. PUBLIC HEARING - None.
6. CONTINUED BUSINESS
A. AGREEMENT WITH FIRST TRANSIT FOR DIAL-A-RIDE AND EXPANDED
TRANSIT SERVICES
Community Services Director Perez made the presentation.
Clarifying discussion included if any similar services to those provided are RideCo are available in our area; that only First Transit and RideCo responded to the City's Request for Proposals (RFP); and the three-year proposal is due to a three-year expected vehicle life span, after which the price would likely go up.
There was no public comment.
Discussion included the possibility of a Metro pilot program; benefits of ridership data that would be provided by RideCo; benefits of outsourcing this service; pricing structure for riders; details of scheduling rides, paying fares, and distance to stops; the proposed service would be open to all residents; whether tourists could access the service; and timeline and process for the service to start, including community outreach.
A motion was made by Council Member Menchaca, seconded by Council Member Rivera, to:
1. Review and approve the Professional Services Agreement with First Transit for the expanded transit services for a period of one year, with the option to renew for two 1-year additional terms;
2. Authorize the City Manager to execute the Agreement; and,
3. Authorize the City Manager to renew the Agreement for Optional Year 1 and Optional Year 2 should the City wish to continue the partnership with First Transit for the Dial-A-Ride and microtransit service.
Motion carried by a vote of 5-0 as follows:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSTAIN:
ABSENT:
MENCHACA, RIVERA, WU, HARRINGTON, DING
NONE
NONE
NONE
I 7. NEW BUSINESS
A. PROPOSED CITY FEE SCHEDULE ADJUSTMENTS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2022-2023 Finance Director Kaholokula made the presentation.
There was no public comment.
Discussion included whether the City can stay competitive with the proposed Mission Playhouse fees; consideration of a reduction of the proposed Mill's Act CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING MINUTES Page 4 of 6 April 19, 2022 I
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fees, which are high compared to su rrounding communities; getting input from the Historical Preservation and Cultural Resource Commission and looking into grants; considering a 25-30% recovery of costs; allowing a different fee for appeals for residents versus a developer; methodology for increasing fees, including maximum increases; when new fees would take effect; details of encroachment permit fees; and details of proposed Mission Playhouse fees.
There was a consensus of the City Council to direct staff to bring back Mills Act fees as a separate discussion item; and to lower the proposed appeal fee to $1000.
RECESS AND RECONVENE
The meeting was recessed at 9:10 P.M. and reconvened at 9:20 P.M. with all Council Members present.
B. DISCUSSION ON THE FEASIBILITY OF LOCAL MISDEMEANOR PROSECUTIONS City Manager Lazzaretto and Police Chief Harris made the presentation.
Judith Vada-Campos, resident; Viki Goto; Chasity Jennings-Nunez, M.D.; Dr. Felix Nunez; and Cheryl Cabot, resident; provided comments in opposition to the City pursuing local misdemeanor prosecutions.
Eric L. Chan, resident, spoke in favor of pursuing local misdemeanor prosecutions.
Jeanne Raya, resident, spoke in opposition to pursing this matter, for fiscal reasons; expressed dissatisfaction with the messaging associated with this item; and suggested alternative courses of action.
Discussion included the responsibility of the City Council to the community; root causes of misdemeanor crimes and diversion of offenders; the importance of the San Gabriel Police Department's Mental Evaluation Team (MET); possible consequences if the District Attorney's current policies are continued; clarification on the status of other cities who have requested local prosecution; the importance of balance and the ability to divert offenders to appropriate assistance; details of crime statistical analysis; declinations to prosecute for crimes committed in San Gabriel and associated consequences; San Gabriel creating its own misdemeanors that do not interfere with State law; and escalation of defiant behavior toward police because offenders feel they will not be held responsible.
Discussion continued on the importance to consider victims by the City Council doing their due diligence in researching this matter further; clarification that the item tonight is to gather more information and outreach to the community about what is going on in San Gabriel related to crime; that fees to continue this research are expected to be in the range of $5000 - $10,000; various ways to fund and structure a prosecutorial office or department; possibility of a new District Attorney as early as November 2022; timel ine and staff responsibility for the proposed study; making sure funds are spent wisely on this matter; and community concern for safety.
There was a consensus of the City Council to direct staff to proceed with further study and to seek consent from the District Attorney for local prosecution.
8. PUBLIC COMMENT - None.
9. CITY MANAGER'S REPORT - None.
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10. COUNCIL COMMENTS AND CONFERENCE/MEETING REPORTS
Council Member Menchaca thanked Human Resources/Risk Management Director Macias and the Human Equity, Access ad Relations (HEAR) Commission for the diversity and inclusion training the City provided; and reported on the Kiwanis Annual Pancake Breakfast and thanked City Council Members and staff who attended.
Council Member Wu commended Mayor Ding on conducting a smooth meeting and thanked staff for staying so late through the meeting.
Vice Mayor Harrington thanked all for a good meeting.
Mayor Ding thanked staff for their meeting preparation, congratulated Ms. Lin on her award, reported on Implicit Bias training and thanked the HEAR Commission and City staff for arranging it, commented on the Kiwanis egg hunt, and commented on a Ramadan service he attended.
11. CLOSED SESSION - None.
11. ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 10:54 P.M.
Respectfully submitted:
Approved this 3 rd day of May, 2022:
TONY DING, Mayor
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