On the evening of Nov. 3, the Signal Hill City Council entertained a motion to solidify a contract with MCM Management Company and appoint Dezi Alvarez as project manager for the Los Cerritos Channel Sub-basin 4 Drainage Area construction project.
The contract, which is to be awarded in the amount of $225,000 and last for three years alongside the duration of the project, was ultimately approved, but not without hefty discussion from the City.
A physical copy of the contract was not made available to the City through the proposal packet, which turned into a point of contention with Councilmember Tina Hansen.
“I think my concern about this agenda tonight is there’s almost this assumption that we’re going to take these reports that have minimal information in them and say ‘okay’ and pass them,” Hansen said. “This item doesn’t have the contract attached. So, there’s not enough information coming in…and I think for our comfort level, for the public’s comfort level, that we need these things.”
Signal Hill resident Maria Harris stepped forth with questions of her own, asking for clarification on what exactly the $225,000 would provide for the City in terms of service from Alvarez and what the financial specifics of the agreement between the City and Alvarez would look like, since there was no inclusion of it in the report.
Vice Mayor Lori Woods expressed concern about appointing Alvarez as the sole manager for the project because of the tight three-year timeline the project must stick to in order to maintain grant funding and the high risk of placing the entire project on one man’s plate.
“I would like to express the caveat that while I plan to vote for this, maybe staff come up with a backup plan,” Woods said. “If something happens to Dezi during this tight time frame, and we have got to hit the mark at the right time, I would like to see somebody shadowing Dezi…I don’t think it’s unreasonable. Can we have a contingency, can we have a backup, can we have something?”
As the recommendation moved into a formal vote, Councilmember Hansen again spoke up; this time addressing the fact that she felt the vice mayor had been spoken to disrespectfully as she raised her point of a possible contingency.
“I’m in a bad mood, and I’m ticked off, and I just need to say this,” Hansen said. “I don’t think that Vice Mayor Woods is saying she’s against Dezi Alvarez…she’s just expressing a concern. Well, what if something happened to him, what would we do? Well, I think the question is that we don’t know, but I don’t think that asking the question is improper.”
Parkway tree replacement
The Parks and Recreation Commission requested approval for a $1,900 plan to replace four trees located on Dawson Avenue, bordering Hilltop Park, with five new crepe myrtle parkway trees.
Mentioning that residents in the Promontory Crest area who initially approached the commission about the replacements would supplement half of the total cost, a commission representative introduced the plan as a way for the City to regulate inconsistencies with landscaping between the east and west portions of Dawson Avenue.
“There are two trees to the south and two trees to the north, relatively close together, not consistent with our street tree ordinance. It is not consistent with our current proof design,” Steve Myrter, public works director, said. “The [neighborhood residents] just essentially wanted to propose matching the street tree layout to the east of the street.”
Myrter went on to explain the criteria with which replacements are considered, including the type of trees acceptable for varying areas in the city and whether the City would be responsible for the health and maintenance of new trees.
Vice Mayor Woods questioned the age of the current trees, the plausibility of relocating the trees in a manner more consistent with existing landscaping, whether Promontory Crest residents would have any claim to the trees in future years, and whether the $1,900 estimated cost included labor.
[aesop_image imgwidth=”500px ” img=”http://www.signaltribunenewspaper.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Screen-Shot-2015-11-06-at-10.18.59-AM.png” credit=”Sebastian Echeverry/Signal Tribune ” align=”left” lightbox=”on” caption=”Mayor Larry Forester presents a certificate of achievement for excellence in financial reporting to Terri Marsh, finance director.” captionposition=”left”] Councilmember Wilson voiced a dissenting opinion for the plan, citing a similar scenario that had previously been presented to the City and denied.
“As we bring this back, first of all, the trees are not adjacent to the property, right? They are in the park,” Wilson said. “When we had this discussion years ago, we talked about this not applying to street trees that are in the park. They were separate, and it is not something we were going to do, and I’m surprised that we are back here talking about this. The trees in the park are not just for the people that live across the street. The trees that are in the park are for everyone in the city. That’s what it is.”
Wilson went on to say he did not want to set a precedent in which a select number of residents could make decisions on landscaping meant for the city as a whole, especially when the trees in question are perfectly healthy and not harming nearby infrastructure in any way.
Councilmember Hansen also questioned why the tree ordinance was not included in the physical proposal submitted to the council and why there was a year-long delay in the proposal moving from the commission to the council.
After all questions from the dais were answered, the council voted to approve the request with three members in favor and two in opposition.
Banking services
In a unanimous vote, City Council approved Wells Fargo as the newest banking services provider for Signal Hill.
After emerging as one of three potential providers, alongside Bank of the West and Union Bank, Wells Fargo was recommended to the City by members of a specialized selection committee consisting of Councilmember Wilson, City Treasurer Larry Blunden, City Manager Charlie Honeycutt, Director of Administrative Services Terri Marsh and Cindy Byerrum of Platinum Consulting Group.
Wells Fargo was chosen after the company submitted a formal proposal to the committee, underwent an interview process in front of its members and excelled in reference reports.
“Proposals were evaluated on several factors, including ability to meet city needs and comparable value of services provided,” Marsh said. “At Wells Fargo, costs were slightly higher than other banks, all their references were superior to the other banks that were interviewed. Most references commented on Wells Fargo’s excellent customer service, easy-to-use technology, and the ability to serve the agency and all their investment needs.”
Wells Fargo also has a physical branch within Signal Hill city limits, which Marsh noted to be a desirable quality for the City’s provider.
Councilmember Wilson also vocalized his experience on the selection committee, as well as listing his personal ties to the banking industry that bolstered his positive opinion on Wells Fargo.
“It’s interesting because I was a chief financial officer for a local bank in the 1980s…and that came out during the discussion, more so than understanding what banks do and their processes,” Wilson said. “I will say that with Wells Fargo, the technology was a key part of the component, also them being local, because that question came up.”
Wilson’s fellow councilmembers had no opposition in approving Wells Fargo, and two banking staff were present to accept the position and thank the selection committee for their choice.
Ordinances
Councilmembers passed a recommendation to adopt a resolution that would amend the contract between the City and California Public Employee’s Retirement System (CalPERS), specifically regarding retirement formulas for Signal Hill Police Officers’ Association (SHPOA).
Slated to become effective on Jan. 9, 2016, the amendment moves to include Section 20516, the Employees Sharing Additional Cost provision, in the contract as a way to ensure SHPOA members have pension credits attributed to their individual CalPERS accounts.
Previous negotiations between the City and SHPOA concluded that SHPOA members under the “classic” and retirement formulas will now be fiscally responsible for a portion of their employers’ CalPERS pension costs.
Employees hired after January 2013 are currently referred to as “PEPRA employees” because of their relationship with the Public Employees’ Pension Reform Act (PEPRA) that was implemented that same month. PEPRA instituted change in the way retirement benefits are applied to employees, and thusly removes accountability from employees outside of the classic retirement model to pay the same portion of employers’ pension costs.
Resident Harris asked for specificity as to whether both sworn and unsworn personnel would be affected equally by the amendment and was informed that only officers and sergeants would see an effect.
Each councilmember boted in approval of the amendment authorization.
Water conservation
In another show of unity, the city council unanimously passed amendments to alter the current Municipal Code in favor of more water-friendly guidelines for landscaping and hardscaping in accordance with state regulation mandates.
Ordinance Amendment 15-04 repeals Chapter 13.10 of the code and instead incorporates regulations specific to turf limitations, irrigation efficiency, and general state mandates on water conservation.
Ordinance Amendment 15-02 adds landscaping and hardscaping standards to Title 20 of the code in hopes of encouraging both residents and the City to replace turf in existing developments.
Councilmember Wilson presented potential unintended consequences of these measures, including a potential increase in the prevalence of ants in residential properties, but still ended up voting affirmatively.
Presentations/introductions
At the commencement of the meeting, Mayor Forester introduced the newest administrative assistant with the Community Development Department, Sarah Tsao.
The mayor then presented a certificate of achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting to Terri Marsh, finance director.
Human Resources Manager Mary Gilmore was not present to receive a certificate of appreciation from Forester for her 17 years of service to Signal Hill.
