Cerritos City Council Meeting Minutes
MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING OF THE
CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CERRITOS
HELD MARCH 12, 2009
CALL TO ORDER
The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers at Cerritos City Hall, 18125 Bloomfield Avenue, Cerritos, California.
INVOCATION
Pastor Samuel Oh Kwon with the Korean Eden Reformed Church in Cerritos offered the invocation.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
Boy Scout Troop 1005 led the assembly in the salute to the flag.
ROLL CALL
The following Members of the City Council were in attendance:
Councilwoman Carol Chen
Councilman Jim Edwards
Councilwoman Laura Lee
Mayor Pro Tem Joseph Cho, Ph.D.
Mayor Bruce Barrows
PUBLIC COMMENTS AND SUGGESTIONS
Lori Kim, representing Assemblyman Tony Mendoza's office, announced that tax refunds withheld by the State are being released and that the 2009 legislative package will be posted to the Assemblyman's website next week.
CONSENT CALENDAR
Approval of Register of Demands
MOTION: It was moved by Councilwoman Chen and seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Cho to approve the Register of Demands dated March 12, 2009, Checks 106832 through 107243, in the total amount of $17,680,815.15. The motion carried unanimously.
Approval of Treasurer's Report
MOTION: It was moved by Councilwoman Chen and seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Cho to approve the Treasurer's Report for the period ending January 31, 2009. The motion carried unanimously.
PENDING LEGAL MATTERS
Ordinance for consideration
Consideration to waive reading of and introduce AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF CERRITOS AMENDING TITLE 1 OF THE CERRITOS MUNICIPAL CODE BY ADDING CHAPTER 1.10 TO ESTABLISH AN ADMINISTRATIVE CITATION PROCESS.
Community and Safety Services Director Berg reviewed the Code Enforcement process and the ordinance proposal to provide for the issuance of administrative citations as a method of remedying minor code violations in conjunction with the staff report dated March 12, 2009, noting modifications to the proposed ordinance as follows:
"Section 1.10.050(a) Compliance order and office conferences. Before issuing an administrative citation for any violation of the Cerritos Municipal Code or any violation of building, plumbing, electrical, mechanical, or similar structural or zoning regulations set forth in this code or incorporated by reference, the enforcement officer must first issue a written compliance order and provide an opportunity for an office conference…"; and
"Section 1.10.060(a)(4) Administrative citation. Service of Citation by Publication. If the enforcement officer cannot serve the administrative citation by personal service, or by certified or first class mail, or by posting, the citation may be published in a newspaper likely to give actual notice to the party subject to the citation at least one newspaper circulated in the City. The publication must be once a week for four successive weeks in a newspaper published at least once per week. Service under this subsection is deemed effective 24 hours after the fourth weekly publication of the notice…"
Discussion ensued regarding the proposed administrative citation process as a tool to encourage property maintenance compliance with the code while in many instances avoiding legal action, which is costly and could result in a permanent record for the resident. Additional discussion was held regarding the citation fee and it was noted during the discussion that an initial citation fine of less than $100 for the first violation would likely not cover the cost of issuing the citation, which includes staff processing time, and would not address the possibility of repeated violations and associated costs.
MOTION: It was then moved by Councilman Edwards and seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Cho to waive reading of and introduce Ordinance No. 945 entitled AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF CERRITOS AMENDING TITLE 1 OF THE CERRITOS MUNICIPAL CODE BY ADDING CHAPTER 1.10 TO ESTABLISH AN ADMINISTRATIVE CITATION PROCESS, as amended, with a first violation citation fine of $100. The motion carried by the following vote:
AYES: Chen, Edwards, Lee, Cho, Barrows
NOES: None
ABSENT: None
ABSTAIN: None
NEW AND OLD BUSINESS
Consideration of the selection of a food and beverage concessionaire for the Cerritos Iron-Wood Nine Golf Course.
MOTION: It was moved by Councilwoman Chen and seconded by Councilwoman Lee to award the concessionaire contract for the Cerritos Iron-Wood Nine Golf Course to Anthony and Jun Ji Thomas (DBA JJ's Café) and forward staff instructions to negotiate and execute the appropriate agreement, as recommended in staff report dated March 12, 2009. The motion carried unanimously.
Review and consideration of a request by the California Redevelopment Association for funds to assist in the payment of legal services in the matter of: California Redevelopment Association, et al. v. Michael C. Genest, Director of the Department of Finance, et al., as it relates to a shift of Cerritos Redevelopment Agency funds to the Educational Revenue Augmentation Fund (ERAF) for the State of California.
MOTION: It was moved by Councilwoman Lee and seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Cho to approve payment of $6,250 to the California Redevelopment Association for legal services related to the lawsuit of California Redevelopment Association, et al. v. Michael C. Genest, Director of the Department of Finance, et al. as it relates to a shift of Cerritos Redevelopment Agency funds to the Educational Revenue Augmentation Fund (ERAF) for the State of California. The motion carried unanimously.
CITY COUNCIL COMMUNICATIONS/COMMITTEE REPORTS/REPORT ON MEETINGS
Councilman Edwards thanked the residents for allowing him to serve for four more years on the City Council.
Councilwoman Chen thanked the residents for the opportunity to serve for the next four years and commented on her attendance at a recent Cerritos Girls Softball Association activity on February 28.
Mayor Pro Tem Cho reported that he went on an educational tour of the Colorado River Aqueduct provided by the Metropolitan Water District from February 27 to March 1 at which a variety of water-related issues were discussed.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting adjourned at 7:45 p.m.
/s/Josephine Triggs
Josephine Triggs, City Clerk
ATTEST:
/s/Bruce Barrows
Bruce Barrows, Mayor
Approved: March 26, 2009