Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Min 2016-06-20 I Cathedral City CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS 68-700 AVENIDA LALO GUERRERO CATHEDRAL CITY, CA 92234 Monday, June 20, 2016 SPECIAL MEETING 6:00 PM • CALL TO ORDER Mayor Stan Henry called the Special Meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. • PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Council Member Shelley Kaplan led the Pledge of Allegiance. • INVOCATION (MOMENT OF REFLECTION) Council Member Mark Carnevale offered the Invocation. • ROLL CALL Present 5- Mayor Stan Henry, Mayor Pro Tern Gregory S. Pettis,Council Member Shelley Kaplan,Council Member Mark Carnevale, and Council Member John Aguilar • STATEMENT OF PARTICIPATION BY DEPUTY CITY CLERK 1. SPECIAL PRESENTATION Certificate of Appreciation for outgoing Parks and Community Events Commissioner Arianna Menon. Mayor Henry and the City Council presented a Certificate of Appreciation to outgoing Parks and Community Events Commissioner Arianna Menon. Arianna Menon, thanked the City Council for the Certificate of Appreciation. She expressed her appreciation for the opportunity to serve the community in this capacity and thanked her fellow Commissioners for their guidance and hard work. 2. PUBLIC COMMENT Sonja Marchand, Cathedral City, was called to speak. She indicated that she supports moving forward as a Charter City. She feels that there should be a recapture provision. Alan Carvalho, Cathedral City, was called to speak. He thanked the City Council for their involvement to the President Candidate's recent visit to the City. He also thanked the Council for their show of support on the recent tragedy in Orlando, Florida. 3. PUBLIC HEARINGS 3.A. 2016-244 Public Hearing on Proposed City Charter Cathedral City Page 1 Printed on 8/3/2018 City Council Special Meeting SPECIAL MEETING June 20,2016 Recommendation: Staff recommends the City Council hold a public hearing to receive input regarding the adoption of a City Charter and the content of the draft Charter and provide direction to Staff. Mayor Stan Henry opened the Public Hearing. Bethany Ballard, Cathedral City, was called to speak, questioned what a Charter is and what benefit is it to the residents and the City. Paul Marchand, Cathedral City, was called to speak. Thanked the Council for their accomplishments. He suggested adding language on prevailing wages,living wages, and a recapture provision on tax rebates. He feels that careful consideration should be taken when having the next higher vote getter clause. He feels that the initial draft is good and feels that the City is moving in the right direction. Tyrone Pearson, Cathedral City, was called to speak. He expressed his thoughts on the proposed City Charter. Rosario Avila, Cathedral City, was called to speak. Requested that the City spend money to solicit help with the City Charter process. She indicated that she supports district elections. Tyrone Pearson, Cathedral City, was called to speak. He suggested getting the media involved. Bethany Ballard, Cathedral City, was called to speak. She referenced a list of websites that she provided to the Council and expressed her concern with having a City Charter. Paul Marchand, Cathedral City, was called to speak. He is support of district elections. He feels that having the threshold at 60,000 would be better than 75,000. He urged the Council to be proactive. Mayor Stan Henry indicated that anyone wishing to make comments to the City Council can speak during public comments at any City Council Meeting, send an email to the Deputy City Clerk or Council Members of send letters to the Council. The Council will consider all input from residents. He indicated that there will be another Public Hearing on this item on July 20, 2016. Mayor Stan Henry closed the Public Hearing and returned the discussion to the City Council. Mayor Pro Tem Greg Pettis, addressed the comments that were made regarding public financing and partnership with developers. He stated that the draft charter specifically speaks to project labor agreements, so living wages would be included. He stated that the City doesn't do any other financing except for assisting developers with tax r charter very etc., and feels that a capture clause should be included in some form. The draft c art is ry clear that the City Council can not raise taxes on its own, it has to go to voters and be a 2/3 vote. He stated that Districts are done by residents not voters and feels that it is not effective to have district elections with communities of our size. He feels that Cathedral City is a very blended community and it would be hard to have districts that would be a true representation. He feels that there are other ways to represent the entire community, residents need to register to vote and vote. He feels that the third highest voter getter language still needs to be addressed as well at the 75,000 population threshold for District Elections. He appreciates the comments that are being made tonight. Council Member Shelley Kaplan, stated that he brought up the possibility of doing demographic evaluations and evaluate what the implications would be going to District Elections and how it would affect the equality of coverage. Council Member John Aguilar,stated that he prefers the lower number for the required population to go to District Election. He has heard support for a rotating Mayor instead of a directly elected Mayor. He stated that it is his understanding that a Charter works as a frame work to give the City more authority and control, more content can be added in the future to implement procedures. Cathedral City Page 2 Printed on 8/3/2016 City Council Special Meeting SPECIAL MEETING June 20,2016 Council Member Shelley Kaplan,reminded everyone that with the possible annexation of Thousand Palms, the population would increase about 15,000. Mayor Stan Henry, stated that eliminating the directly elected City Clerk and Treasurer would be a cost savings of about$50,000. The survey showed that the residents seemed to be in favor of these positions being appointed by the City Manager. It appears that half of those surveyed are in support of district elections. He agrees with Mayor Pro Tem Pettis that Cathedral City is small right now but in the future will need to move towards district elections. He indicated that he is in favor of a rotating Mayor as opposed to a Directly Elected Mayor, however, he feels that there needs to be guidelines in place to ensure fairness. He feels that more discussion needs to take place with regard to the third highest vote getter. Council Member Shelley Kaplan, stated that there were 54,000 residents at the last election with approximately 19,000 registered voters, only about 7,500 voted. People need to register to vote and vote. He questioned if the City could set moving violation fines. Erica Vega, Deputy City Attorney,indicated that those fines are set by the State. Council Member Mark Carnevale, stated that there are no false pretenses with the proposed Charter. He feels that becoming a Charter City is positive for the City for the present and looking towards the future. He feels that District Elections will come in the future and feels that the only challenge will be the formation of fair district maps that represents the community. Mayor Stan Henry, stated that he did not stick to the three minute rule due to the importance of the item. 4. CLOSED SESSION 4.A. 2016-249 Public Employee Performance Evaluation Per Government Code Section 54957 (B)Title: City Manager The City Council adjourned to Closed Session at 7:14 p.m. The City Council reconvened at 7:50 p.m. The City Attorney announced that the Council met in Closed Session and there was no reportable action taken. ADJOURN Mayor Stan Henry adjourned the Special City Council Meeting at 7:50 p.m. STANLEY E. a.NRY, Ma.. / ATTEST GARY F.HOWELL, City Clerk Cathedral City Page 3 Printed on 8/3/2016