The pros and cons of retaining City Attorney David Aleshire, who has worked for the City of Signal Hill since the mid 1970s, came to the forefront during last Tuesday’s Signal Hill City Council meeting after Aleshire requested the council change its meeting days to accommodate a new client. (Aleshire was not present at Tuesday’s council meeting. Filling in for him was Dave Kwon, who serves as assistant city attorney.)
City Manager Charlie Honeycutt explained that Aleshire requested that the city council’s meeting dates be changed from the first and third Tuesdays of each month to the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month because of a schedule conflict with another city that he serves. (Consequently, the meeting of the Planning Commission would change from the second Tuesday each month to the third Tuesday each month. Honeycutt added that the meeting days for the Parks and Recreation Commission would also need to change. He said that the commissioners had expressed a willingness to accommodate the changes.) However, if the meeting days do not change, another city attorney from Aleshire’s firm would be available to serve the City of Signal Hill.
After Honeycutt mentioned that the meeting days had been changed before, Councilmember Edward Wilson asked him what the reasons were. Honeycutt replied that it was because Aleshire had had a scheduling conflict with another city.
Wilson then requested that the council’s discussion of the matter in 2008 be played on the video monitor in council chamber, and the staff accommodated his request.
In that archived video segment, Aleshire is seen making the request and apologizing for doing so. Although Wilson is seen as the only member of the city council not wanting to change the meeting days, Councilmember Tina Hansen says she does not like that a perception was being created that Signal Hill is a second-rate city in the view of Aleshire’s firm, since it was Signal Hill that was being asked to make the change. However, she also notes that, because Aleshire had served as city attorney for Signal Hill since the 1970s, no other attorney could possibly have the historical knowledge of the city that he has. Then-Councilmember Ellen Ward says she supports the change because she wants to retain Aleshire, whom she calls “just an outstanding city attorney” and “a fantastic negotiator.”
After that video was played, Wilson commented that the city council was now “back here at the same issue.”
“I’m not opposed to Dave Aleshire being our city attorney,” Wilson said. “In fact, he can be our city attorney. The only issue that we are talking about today is changing our city council meeting— changing our city— so one person can sit in a seat during our council meeting. That’s it. He can make another million dollars in another city, and I think that’s a great thing. However, I do not think we put our city second for that, and that’s what was talked about. [Councilmember] Tina [Hansen] mentioned it, [Councilmember] Mike [Noll] mentioned it (in the video), and we’re back here.”
Wilson added that the issue concerns retaining Aleshire’s presence for the council meetings but it is not those meetings where he is most needed.
“Most of the work he does is not in that seat,” Wilson said. “That seat is simply for the council meeting.”
Wilson mentioned that he is not that “insecure” that he needs Aleshire sitting at the meetings and that the city attorney’s firm hires “fantastic staff.”
“I believe the work that happens each and every day will continue to happen,” Wilson said. “Throughout the years, Dave has missed council meetings, for personal reasons, and we did not suffer from that. In fact, when I talked to Dave, he said he could still be the city attorney but he couldn’t make the meeting.”
Wilson added that perhaps it is time for the City to allow another attorney to take over, since Aleshire will eventually retire, and staff would be able to build relationships with that new attorney.
“Normally, when you apologize about something, and you’re sincere about that apology— and I’ve talked to various people— when you apologize, you don’t come back and do it again, if you’re sincere about it,” Wilson said.
Noll said that Wilson had made “a lot of good points.” However, he added that, despite whether or not Aleshire is actually in attendance at council meetings, he wants him present during closed-session meetings.
“I’ve been on the council for 23 years, and Dave has been very strong on getting Signal Hill to grow the way it has grown,” Noll said. “We have a lot on the table right now that I don’t want [another] attorney, even though they may be very capable, because [Aleshire] has the history.”
Noll pointed out that it isn’t during the actual council meetings that the city attorney provides much input, but during those closed sessions. Noll expressed that he wasn’t happy with the request Aleshire was making and referred to Signal Hill as “a little pawn for him to move to another city” but he would support him and vote for the change.
Hansen said she considers herself “a 24/7 councilmember” and is willing to be flexible with the schedule. However, she wanted to make sure that all other affected commissions and departments would be amenable to the schedule modification. She also said that she didn’t find Aleshire’s presence necessary, but she wants him there.
“I don’t need to have him here as a security blanket,” Hansen said. “But I want him here. I choose to have him here. I choose to hear his opinion in closed session, and I still think he’s the most brilliant person I’ve ever met.”
Vice Mayor Woods described Signal Hill as being “victims of our own success” in that Aleshire’s firm has grown and become more successful partially through its work with the City.
Acknowledging that it may not be the best analogy, Woods likened the situation to a wife who puts her husband through medical school. Although the wife would reap the benefits of his success, Woods said, she would ultimately have to sacrifice as a result of that success.
“So, while we may be part of why Aleshire-Wynder is such a success, we’re also kind of the victims of that success, in a way,” Woods said. She added that, because Aleshire has worked for the City of Signal Hill for 37 years, she considers him family to the City.
“You make accommodations for family,” she said. “And so that’s how I view this.”
Woods said that Aleshire’s financial success should not be a factor in the council’s decision, and Forester echoed that sentiment when he spoke.
“I don’t disagree with [Wilson],” Forester said. “I disagree with him adamantly in throwing a dollar value [into the discussion], because [Aleshire] wants to make more money. That’s totally obnoxious. But what I have to say at this time is we need [Aleshire.] We have many things still in the fire.”
Forester noted the dissolution of redevelopment, the city’s new library and issues with the Water Replenishment District as examples of items of which Aleshire has knowledge and for which he has provided legal guidance.
“At this time, I think it’s critical that I see Dave Aleshire sitting there (at council meetings),” Forester said, “but, more importantly, that I see Dave Aleshire sitting with us in closed session.”
The council voted “yes” on the recommendation to waive further reading and introduce the ordinance amending Sections 2.08.040 and 2.36.060 of the Signal Hill Municipal Code to change the meeting days for the regular city council meetings and the regular Planning Commission meetings. Wilson was the dissenting vote.
Water-conservation program
During a public hearing, the city council discussed amending Signal Hill Municipal Code Chapter 13.03, which enables the city council to establish a water-conservation program to minimize the effect of a shortage of water supply on the City’s residents and businesses. As required by Signal Hill Municipal Code, the city council must hold a noticed public hearing and make appropriate findings to amend the City’s conservation program.
Before the council discussed the matter, Honeycutt explained the purpose of the amendments.
“The revisions primarily deal with bringing our program in line with the State’s mandated water-conservation goals,” Honeycutt said, adding that the City had received a letter from the California Pool and Spa Association opposing any limitation on the ability for residents to fill up their swimming pools.
Travis Brooks, the City’s public works management analyst, spelled out how the City is indeed meeting its water-conserving goals because of its full adoption of the Metropolitan Water District’s model ordinance for water conservation in 2009.
However, Brooks said that the original ordinance did not specify new technologies available, including low-flow spray heads and very low-flow drip systems. He clarified that the ordinance’s designated watering times do not just apply to hand-watering but also automated systems “because those are the most prone to waste and inefficiency.” He also explained that one measure of inefficiency is how much runoff is left after watering.
Brooks said that drip-irrigation systems with flow rates less than two gallons per hour are exempt from day and duration limitations as long as no visible runoff is created.
He reviewed the recommended changes to the program, which included: changing Level 1 water-supply shortage watering days from Monday, Thursday and Saturday to Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday; changing Levels 2 and 3 water-supply shortage watering days from Monday and Saturday to Tuesday and Saturday; setting minimum spray-washer pressure at 1,000 pounds per square inch; prohibiting watering lawns within 48 hours of rain; and exempting hand-watering from day and duration requirements, specifically clarifying the exemption of trees and gardens.
During the public-comment period, Jose Solorio of The Association of Pool & Spa Professionals outlined some of the reasons his organization also opposes restrictions to the ability for residents to fill up their swimming pools and spas, including safety concerns about empty pools and that pools are not as water-wasting as some lawns.
Councilmember Wilson voiced the need to add “standing water” to the section about runoff, since watering may not indeed cause actual runoff but could leave puddles of unnecessary water nevertheless. The change was made to the new ordinance, which the city council adopted.
Hotel guest-registration cards
Ordinance No. 2015-09-1477 was introduced at the city council meeting of Sept. 1, 2015 and was presented for a second reading and adoption on Tuesday. The ordinance grants police access to hotel and motel guest registration cards at any time, without judicial process, to be in compliance with a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling.
The city council waived further reading and adopted the ordinance.
POA MOU
The city council waived further reading and adopted a resolution amending Resolution No. 2013-12- 6051, approving a memorandum of understanding (MOU) pursuant to the California Meyers-Milias-Brown Act by and between the City of Signal Hill and the Signal Hill Police Officers’ Association and approved a budget adjustment reallocating $175,000 for FY 2015-16 from already appropriated funds.
Environmental assessment services contract
The council voted to authorize the city manager to enter into a two-year contract services agreement with Mearns Consulting, LLC to provide specialized environmental assessment services. According to staff, the assessment services are needed in order to sell property formerly owned by the Signal Hill Redevelopment Agency.
The types of services to be completed by the contractor include Phase I and Phase II environmental site assessments, soil vapor surveys, human health-risk assessments, soil management plans, methane assessments, well assessments and project management.
Sustainability Award
Mayor Larry Forester presented the City’s Sustainability Award to the owners of the residence at 2001 Obispo Ave., Mary and Nicholas de los Reyes.
Summer concerts presentation
Community Services manager Aly Mancini said the City’s summer concerts in the park series was overall a great success.
“The venue saw consistently large crowds of families and adults enjoying fantastic live music in the beautiful setting in Signal Hill Park,” she said. “Results of the surveys distributed at the event indicated that 95 percent of those surveyed were extremely satisfied with the series. Others commented on particular aspects of the series they enjoyed, such as our nightly children’s and adult raffle, the strong presence of our business and nonprofit community, and the safety and cleanliness of the park.”
The City had invited the concert series’ sponsors to attend the meeting that night, and Forester presented certificates of recognition to them, after thanking the Signal Hill Community Foundation and staff for their contributions.
The next Signal Hill City Council meeting will take place Tuesday, Oct. 6 in the council chamber of City Hall, 2175 Cherry Ave.
