Cerritos City Council Meeting Minutes
MINUTES OF A SPECIAL MEETING OF THE
CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CERRITOS
HELD JUNE 7, 2010
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 Carl Bernal with St. John Lutheran Church in Cerritos offered the invocation.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
Councilman Jim Edwards led the assembly in the salute to the flag.
ROLL CALL
The following Members of the City Council were in attendance:
Councilman Bruce Barrows
Councilwoman Carol Chen
Councilman Jim Edwards
Mayor Pro Tem Laura Lee
Mayor Joseph Cho, Ph.D.
PRESENTATIONS
The following proclamations were presented: Golden Star Technology (GST) for being selected as part of the City's Business Recognition Program; Randall Suzuki for achieving the rank of Eagle Scout; Samantha Spawton for being the first place overall winner in all categories of Congresswoman Linda Sanchez's 8th Annual High School Congressional Art Competition; Cerritos High School Model United Nations Teams for outstanding achievements in the 47th Annual North American Model United Nations Conference held in Washington, D.C. and the 36th Annual National High School Model United Nations Conference held in New York; and June 26-27, 2010 as Relay for Life days in the City of Cerritos.
PUBLIC COMMENTS AND SUGGESTIONS
David Forward, Cerritos resident, thanked the Council for the City's support and use of the Cerritos Senior Center for income tax preparation assistance provided by AARP.
Janet Beach, Cerritos resident and Cerritos Fine Arts and Historical Commissioner, indicated she was not speaking on behalf of the Commission and expressed disappointment regarding the Council's action to not participate in the 2011 Rose Parade. She noted considerable effort was expended by Commissioners and float designers in order to recommend a float design to the Council, which was subsequently approved by the City Council, with the Council eventually voting not to participate in 2011. Ms. Beach suggested that in the future, if the Council considers participation in the Rose Parade, that funding be allocated prior to any related actions by the City Council.
Julietta Williams, Cerritos resident, opined that the Rose Parade float provides an opportunity for civic pride and community involvement. She referenced the community contributions for the float through the water bills and asked that the Council reconsider its previous action and allow involvement in the 2011 Rose Parade.
CONSENT CALENDAR
Approval of Register of Demands
MOTION: It was moved by Councilwoman Chen and seconded by Councilman Barrows to approve the Register of Demands dated June 7, 2010, Checks 116915 through 117171, in the total amount of $5,404,642.91. The motion carried unanimously.
Approval of Minutes
MOTION: It was moved by Councilwoman Chen and seconded by Councilman Barrows to approve the Minutes of the Regular Meeting of May 27, 2010. The motion carried unanimously.
PUBLIC HEARINGS
Consideration and review of the 2010 City of Cerritos Water Supply Public Health Goal Assessment.
Title was read to the foregoing item, the public hearing opened, and staff report presented.
Interested parties were invited to present testimony.
Paul Bellenbaum, Cerritos resident, requested and received clarification that the City of Downey uses ground water sources from the same aquifer as Cerritos, but not from the same water system as Cerritos. He referenced the previous Rockwell facility in Downey, and staff responded that from the sampling of Cerritos well sites there is no evidence of pollution resulting from those sources that affect the City's water supply.
No one else wished to present testimony and the public hearing was closed.
In response to Council inquiry, it was noted by staff that the informational report provided to the Council with regard to the 2010 City of Cerritos Water Supply Public Health Goal Assessment is routine and required by state law.
MOTION: It was moved by Councilwoman Chen and seconded by Councilman Barrows that the City Council direct staff to send confirmation to appropriate regulatory agencies that the City of Cerritos 2010 Public Health Goals Report has been completed and the City Council public hearing on the report was held on June 7, 2010. The motion carried unanimously.
NEW AND OLD BUSINESS
Review and consideration of a potential art project and artists for the Cerritos Auto Square, generally located in the street median of Studebaker Road, south of Auto Square Drive.
Assistant City Manager Matsumoto presented the staff report dated June 7, 2010.
Discussion ensued among and between City Council members and staff with regard to the disposition of the tree within the median near the potential location for the art piece, with the possibility of relocating the tree or selecting an art piece that would be visible with the tree in place; whether the potential location is appropriate for an art piece or an alternate location may be more suitable; whether the artist pool should be expanded to out of area artists for maximum participation or limited to local artists given the economic environment and job creation concerns. The difficulties of an open competition were addressed and it was noted during discussion that since the open competition had been held in the past, staff would be more experienced in undertaking that type of competition for this art piece selection; and staff responded to Council inquiries with regard to funding of the project and maintenance costs through the art fund as well as discussion with artists who had been contacted and who indicated that a piece could be created with the estimated budget, but specific costs were not discussed.
Julietta Williams, Cerritos resident and Fine Arts and Historical Commissioner, indicated the Commission had discussed similar issues, noting they were informed that the potential location was one of the few owned by the City in the Auto Center and that the cost factor was considered when addressing a local artists competition.
MOTION: It was moved by Councilman Barrows and seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Lee to establish a budget of $204,000 as the total project cost of an art piece for the Cerritos Auto Square. The motion carried unanimously.
MOTION: It was moved by Councilman Barrows to select the street median of Studebaker Road, south of Auto Square Drive, as the location of an art piece for the Cerritos Auto Square, as recommended in the staff report dated June 7, 2010. The motion carried unanimously.
MOTION: It was moved by Councilman Edwards and seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Lee that the selection process for the Cerritos Auto Square art piece project include the limited competition or invitation process, with a preference given to local artists from Santa Barbara to Kern County to San Diego. The motion carried unanimously.
MOTION: It was moved by Mayor Pro Tem Lee and seconded by Councilwoman Chen to authorize a lighted art piece for the Cerritos Auto Square art piece project located in the street median of Studebaker Road, south of Auto Square Drive. The motion carried unanimously.
PENDING LEGISLATION
City Manager Gallucci reported on the revised State budget submitted by the Governor.
CITY COUNCIL COMMUNICATIONS/COMMITTEE REPORTS/REPORT ON MEETINGS
Councilman Edwards commented on the City's Memorial Day ceremony and asked that the video of the ceremony at which 1st Combat Engineer Battalion Marine Lance Cpl. Alejandro J. Yazzie and Sgt. Michael W. Heede, who were lost in combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan, were honored, and asked that the video of the ceremony be presented to their families.
Councilwoman Chen invited the community to the Neighborhood Watch town hall meeting on June 9, 2010 at 7:00 p.m. at Cerritos Senior Center. She commented on her attendance at the Orange County Chinese American Chamber of Commerce 2010 Scholarship Awards banquet at which Whitney High School student Deborah Teng and Cerritos High School student Esther Yang were awarded $1,000 scholarships, and at the 1st Combat Engineer Battalion Annual Jane Wayne Day at Camp Pendleton this past Saturday.
Councilman Barrows commented on his attendance at the City's Memorial Day service and requested the meeting be adjourned in memory of former UCLA basketball Coach John Wooden who recently passed away.
Mayor Pro Tem Lee also commented on her participation in the 1st Combat Engineer Battalion Annual Jane Wayne Day at Camp Pendleton this past Saturday and her attendance at the City's Memorial Day ceremony. In referencing the comments made earlier by Commissioner Beach, Mayor Pro Tem Lee commented on the difficulty in making the decision to not participate in the Rose Parade given the intangible benefits to the community of the float process and inquired if there were some way to prevent the process from occurring in this manner in the future. City Manager Gallucci responded that a sitting City Council cannot bind the actions of a future Council and addressed the unusual economic conditions that governmental agencies are operating under. He confirmed that an allocation for the float had originally been included in the preliminary budget.
Mayor Cho noted his attendance at the Memorial Day services at the Civic Center and Vintage Cerritos. He noted the City Council held a budget study session on June 4, 2010, noting budget reductions made over the past two years without the elimination of resident programs; and commented on his attendance at the Lou Fernandez retirement luncheon at corporate yard; Meritorious Marine decoration ceremony; Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts Investors Spring Social; Cerritos Regional Chamber of Commerce installation luncheon; and Cerritos Kid's Fishing Derby at Cerritos Regional Park sponsored by Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe. Mayor Cho also announced that the City recently received several awards for Cerritos TV3 programming in the 2010 Southern California and Nevada Chapter National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors Star Awards Program.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting adjourned at 9:00 p.m. in memory of former UCLA basketball coach John Wooden, who recently passed away.
/s/ Josephine Triggs_______
ATTEST: Josephine Triggs, City Clerk
/s/ Joseph Cho_______
Joseph Cho, Ph.D., Mayor
Approved: June 24, 2010
