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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - June 24, 2013 - CC, Special Meeting7,., Mm^� 1. CITY OF AZUSA MINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING ' MONDAY, JUNE 24, 2013 — 7:05 P.M. The City Council of the City of Azusa met in special session at the above date and time in the Azusa Light & Water Conference Room located at 729 N. Azusa Ave., Azusa, CA 91702. Mayor Rocha called the meeting to order. ROLL CALL PRESENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: GONZALES, CARRILLO, ALVAREZ, ROCHA ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: MACIAS ALSO PRESENT City Attorney Martinez, City Manager Makshanoff, Director of Public Works/Assistant City Manager Haes, Police Chief Gonzalez, Assistant Public Works Director/City Engineer Hassel, Economic and Community Development Director Christiansen, Assistant Director of Economic and Community Development McNamara, City Clerk Cornejo, Deputy/Assistant City Clerk Hernandez. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION Call to Order Roll Call Also Present Public Part City Clerk Cornejo announced that Ms. Sandra Benavides had submitted written comments regarding the J. Cornejo presentation of the proposed parking structure; copies of these comments were distributed to Comments Counci (members. City Attorney Martinez stated that the study session was to get Council acclimated to the proposed M. Martinez project, give an update on the changes that have been made and the comments that the public has Comments submitted on the study; a public hearing on this matter was scheduled for July 1, 2013, at which time the public will have an opportunity to submit additional comments. Mr. Jorge Rosales addressed the meeting stating that he found it unusual to hold a study session after the J. Rosales Planning Commission's approval of the proposed parking structure and before a scheduled Public Comments Hearing of the City Council on the same project. Mayor Rocha announced that this was an informal study session and the public was welcomed to J. Rocha participate in the discussion. Continents REPORTS, UPDATES, AND ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM STAFF/COUNCIL Staff Reports Presentation from staff on a proposed Intermodal Parking Facility Project (Project) and its related Presentation entitlements, to provided information about the Project and its relationship to possible Transit Oriented Developments (TOD). No action was taken by the City Council as the public hearing for this matter was scheduled for July 1, 2013. 'City Manager Makshanoff addressed the item stating that the purpose of the study session was to discuss J. Makshanoff the parking structure and design; there was time at this meeting and staff considered it was appropriate to Comments use it for this session to answer questions from Council and the public, and to help staff prepare a comprehensive report to be presented at the Public Hearing of July 1, 2013. Public Works Director/Assistant City Manager Haes addressed the item giving a presentation of the T. Hacs proposed project; he began by giving a back ground history of the project stating that blocks A2 and A3 Presentation were previously identified by Council to be used as retail mixed use development; the Gold Line identified block A2, located north of the tracks between Alameda and Azusa Ave. across from Target Store, to build a 200 space at grade parking lot; Gold Line's proposal for block A2 covered the entire block, leaving only block A3 for future development of retail and/or mixed use; staff addressed Council regarding alternatives to provide the required parking needed by the Gold Line, and free block A2 for other uses; in October 2010, Council authorized staff to move forward with an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) to analyze an alternative location; Alternative I was presented, which provided 520 parking ,7 I spaces, 200 for Gold Line, 200 for Foothill Transit and 120 for the City, 36 feet high, three story with roof top parking, located between the Police Department, City Hall and Veterans Freedom Park, taking a portion of the park and Alameda Avenue; residents concerns were heard at various Council and public meetings, such as the reconfiguration of Veterans Freedom Park, the traffic on Alameda and Santa Fe, changing Santa Fe to one way traffic and buses that would travel through it, and the parking structure aesthetically not fitting with the Civic Center and Veterans Freedom Park; with the elimination of Redevelopment, staff was directed to further analyze the EIR for alternatives north of the railroad tracks. Because Alternative 1 was negatively viewed by the public, staff is now focusing on Alternative 2 and Presentation of the No Build at Grade Alternative; he presented Alternative 2 study, which is north of the tracks, behveen Alternative 2 Alameda and Azusa Ave. nearing the alley, which will provide 550 parking spaces, 200 for Gold Line, 200 for Foothill Transit and 150 for the City and/or overflow parking, approximately 38 feet high, three 'story with rooftop parking; the structure will not be 38 feet high when it first opens, but eventually it will be finished to that height; the aesthetical structure of the building is geared to match Target's structure; during the phase of building the structure, there will be construction and design documents for review; he presented draft drawings of what they anticipate the building will look like. Regarding concerns of how additional buses and traffic will affect the downtown area; both parking Additional alternatives are roughly in the same area, bus traffic would travel north on Azusa Ave., enter the parking, Presentation exit on Alameda and move up to 9th; according to Foothill Transit, there will not be additional bus lines, hence no additional traffic with either alternative; the No Build Alternative, there is no room on the property to have bus layovers, they would be re-routed as close to the station as possible going through Santa Fe; Alternative 2 study has 4 bus layovers on the south side of the block; buses would continue north on Alameda, and go east or west on 9th, they would be off the public right of way. The No Build option, if additional parking is needed above the 200 spaces on any given day, people Additional would have to park elsewhere throughout town; if business parking is taken by commutes, Council may Information on need to consider doing limited parking allowed throughout the downtown area to keep those spaces Alternative 2 available for customers of the local businesses; other existing stations have posted signs of "No Gold Line Parking" or "No Metro Parking," due to the limited parking at their stations; Gold Line is required to build 200 parking spaces, their EIR calls for 200 additional parking spaces at a future date; Metro would build them whenever they deem necessary and would need to find a suitable location. Other community concerns, not part of the EIR, were cost and maintenance of the parking structure; the Maintenance No Build option, Metro would maintain it and there is no direct cost to the city; to estimate Alternative 2 Cost maintenance cost, staff compared with City of Covina Metro Link Station which is approximately 660 'spaces, transferring their numbers to 550 space, it would be $36,000 to $37,000 annually; that would includes telephone FiOS for alarm monitoring, elevator contract (highest cost item), close circuit television maintenance and repair, water and electricity, general repairs that include painting the structure every 5 years; this would be approximately $67.00 per parking space a year; Metro would contribute to the maintenance of their 200 spaces, an amount that has not been determined; the Gold Line currently has $243 million to purchase the land and build 200 parking spaces, should the City build the 200 parking spaces for them, that amount will go to the City to be used at Council's discretion. Regarding Security, the No Build option, Gold Line would be responsible to include security measures; Security they would work with the Police Department to incorporate those measures; Alternative 2, the architect on this project is familiar with public parking structures, has built several and knows what security measures to incorporate into the design; the Azusa Police Chief would participate on the design to discuss and incorporate security, he has a team of officers that are trained on crime prevention, who can provide input on key features that can be implemented i.e. lighting, emergency call buttons, cameras, vehicle license plate identification and equipment; all that information would be sent directly to the Police Department; after a year of trial, staff can analyze and address improvements needed, and if other kind of security is required; security guards are limited to what they can do, as they are not properly trained on handling certain and different issues when confronting the public, they are eyes and ears and can only call 911 on emergencies. Assistant Director of Economic and Community Development McNamara gave a presentation on the C. McNamara, status of the Transient Oriented Development (TOD) study; he noted that Citrus Station was not included Transient in the presentation as it was not part of the proposed project; the City of Azusa received a grant from Oriented 'Metro of approximately $653,000, to analyze TOD within a quarter mile radius of each of the train Development stations; the study will be for a period of nine quarters, 2 years and one quarter; several properties in these areas are owned by City of Azusa; with the dissolution of Redevelopment, and the State's economy issues, the cities' economies were impacted; this changed the way cities look at retail and the need to find new ways to attract businesses; the study is an opportunity for Azusa to have a plan in place once the Gold Line become operational; since 2005, Council has had in place Zoning that is supportive of TOD; Phase 1 of this study, will be to hire a team of land use experts to analyze these areas to determine what is the highest use for these properties and what can be built, it would take approximately I year; the second component of the study will be land use, Urban Planning Consulting Firm can assist to determine what kind of specific plan standard can be implemented over these areas that is supportive of Council and residents; throughout this analysis, there will be public participation, and comments from residents will be encouraged for the purpose of having a balanced plan; in doing the analysis, the location of the 06/24/2013 PAGE TWO I proposed parking structure and the number of parking spaces that can be available will be taken into consideration, as the goal is to create the need for more than 200 parking spaces; there are improvements that can be made along Azusa Ave. between Foothill and 6th; staffs goal is to build a vibrant downtown; Council could consider for the future, implementing a comprehensive parking management plan such as the City of Pasadena. Public Works Director/Assistant City Manager Haes summarized the presentation by stating that it is unknown if Alternative 2 is the best solution for Gold Line Parking and the downtown; the city can try and have a station such as Del Mar, with housing and retail all at one time; however, there is no time to wait for a developer to come on board, due to time constraints in having parking available for when the station is finished; Gold Line has started construction of parking on other stations along the line, and if Azusa waits any longer, they can build their 200 space parking at grade, as they own part of the land; to wait and let the Gold Line build their parking lot and try to work with Metro to get a good cohesive development after, it is a very low possibility of making it a reality; although Azusa is number one in our hearts, downtown L.A. does not consider what is best for Azusa; it is staff's recommendation for Alternative 2 for the Gold Line Alameda Station; there is no impact on Veteran's Freedom Park, provides land for future mixed use development, keeps bus layovers off pubic streets, keeps Santa Fe Ave. in its current state, there will be no additional traffic or bus impact, it could provide $243 Million to the City of Azusa that can be used at Council's discretion; Gold Line gave the city until July 30, to clear the LIR for the parking structure. Presentation Summary Discussion was held and staff answered questions posed by Council and the public, on Alternative 2, as Discussion and follows: Question and Answer On Azusa Ave. south of the tracks, the width of the streets was built as required by the California Session Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), and is intended to accommodate the buses, the islands give the impression that the streets are narrower, and as far as the distance of the bus layouts from the tracks, there is no exact measurement at this time; There will only be 4 bus stops with Alternative 2, no increase of buses, all of Foothill Transit buses will be CNG or alternative fuel, they will not be polluting diesel exhaust, as there have been concerns about the air quality and buses idling; by the time the Gold Line is in operation, Foothill will have converted their buses to alternative fuel, buses will be off the city streets and will not be interfering on traffic for residents when they are laying over; Other Gold Line stations do not provide parking such as Del Mar or Chinatown; Sierra Madre station gets full, but is unclear if it exceeds parking capacity; It was suggested that people could walk, ride their bikes or take the bus to the station; The parking structure would be a net gain of 550 spaces in addition to what is in existence throughout town; Once the Gold Line finishes building the train station, they will hand the keys to Metro who will be responsible of operating the train; if Metro needs additional spaces they can work a deal with the City of Azusa or Foothill Transit to buy or lease additional spaces; they won't be able to eminent domain them; these parking spaces have real property value that can be used at the owners discretion; The stations that were not required to have parking available, were part a separate phase of the Gold Line EIR; Azusa is part of Phase IIA, from Arcadia to Azusa, and each of the stations along that section require parking; The City requested to have these stations, it could have opted out and the train would have gone right through Azusa, but without stopping; the City needs to figure out the most effective way to accommodate the Gold Line and the vehicles that this will bring; the goal of the proposed parking structure is to provide more amenities and opportunities to the residents of Azusa; It would be Council's decision to charge for parking; however, staff does not recommend it; the City needs to attract people to come to Azusa, and charging commuters can drive them away to other ' parking stations that provide free parking, or avoid riding the train all together; The maintenance cost can be offset by increase of people doing business in Azusa; If Alternative 2 is built, it is certain that the City will receive $2-$3 million from Gold Line; however, the exact amount is not known at this time; Council thanked staff for holding this discussion, it is an important decision they will make regarding this project and needed to be better informed; further they stated that this has been an ongoing project that began with previous Councils, and has been inherited by the current Council. 06/24/2013 PAGE THREE D. AGENDA ITEM BLANKET PURCHASE ORDERS OVER $10,000 FY 2013-14 (CITY AND SUCCESSOR AGENCY). City Manager Makshanoff addressed the item stating that blanket purchase orders are presented on annual basis for consideration and approval, in order to continue payments into the new fiscal year of the ongoing purchase orders; he requested the following items to be removed as they were inadvertently left on the list and are no longer needed: page 2, $20,000 to Best Best & Krieger and $25,000 to Superior Operating Solutions; page 3, $70,000 to Southern California Edison, page 4, $120,000 to lberdrola Renewables, and page 5, $1,000,000 to Matrix Imaging. 'Mayor Rocha stated that according to the report, they will not have an impact in the 2013-14 budget until they are actually used, and all these will be going through the formal bid threshold. Councilmember Alvarez stated that one of the removed items, So. Cal. Edison, is the only source; staff responded that this could have been a onetime deal that was inadvertently carried over. Moved by Councilmember Carrillo, seconded by Councilmember Gonzales and *carried, to approve, in accordance with Sections 2-523 and 2-524, under Article VII, Bidding and Contracting, of the Azusa Municipal Code, the issuance of Blanket Purchase Orders detailed on the schedule, in an amount of $10,000 or more, with the aforementioned corrections to said schedule. E. ADJOURNMENT It was consensus of the City Council to adjourn the Special Meeting. TIME OF ADJOURNMENT: 8:06 P.M. NEXT RESOLUTION NO. 2013-C42. (City) NEXT ORDINANCE NO. 2013-01. NEXT RESOLUTION NO. 2013-119 (Former Redevelopment Agency) * Indicates Mayor Pro -tem Macias absent. 06/24/2013 PAGE FOUR Agenda Item Blanket Purchase Orders over $10,000, FY 2013-14 Adjourn