m20220524 1 May 24, 2022
CITY OF SANTA MONICA
CITY COUNCIL MINUTES
MAY 24, 2022
A regular meeting of the Santa Monica City Council was called to order by Mayor Pro Tem McCowan at 5:33
p.m., on Tuesday, May 24, 2022, at City Council Chambers, 1685 Main Street, Santa Monica, CA.
Roll Call: Present: Mayor Pro Tem Kristin McCowan
Councilmember Phil Brock
Councilmember Gleam Davis
Councilmember Lana Negrete
Councilmember Oscar de la Torre
Councilmember Christine Parra
Absent: Mayor Sue Himmelrich
Also Present: City Manager David White
Acting City Attorney Susan Cola
City Clerk Denise Anderson-Warren
CONVENE/PLEDGE
On order of the Mayor Pro Tem, the City Council convened at 5:33 p.m.,
with all members present except Mayor Himmelrich. Boy Scott Troop 223
led the assemblage in the Pledge of Allegiance.
CLOSED SESSIONS
There was no one present for public comment on closed sessions.
On order of the Mayor Pro Tem, the City Council recessed at 5:36 p.m., to
consider closed sessions and returned at 8:06 p.m., with all members
present except Mayor Himmelrich, to report the following:
1.A. Conference with Labor Negotiator: Government Code Section
54957.6 -- Agency Designated Representatives: City Manager David
White and Chief People Officer Lori Gentles; Bargaining Units: ATA-
Administrative Team Associates; IBT-California Teamsters Local 911;
FEMA-Santa Monica Fire Executive Management Association; FIRE-
Santa Monica Firefighters Local 1109 IAFF; MEA-Municipal
Employees Association; AFSCME Local 4819, Management Team
Association; PALSSU-Public Attorneys’ Legal Support Staff Union;
PAU- Public Attorneys Union; POA-Santa Monica Police Officer
Association; SMART TD-The International Association of Sheet
Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation Division, Local 1785; STA-
Supervisory Team Associates; Coalition of Santa Monica City
Employees.
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The Acting City Attorney advised this matter was heard with no reportable
action taken.
MOMENT OF
OBSERVANCE
The Mayor Pro Tem asked for a moment of observance for the 19 students,
and 2 adults who were senselessly gunned down at Robb Elementary
School in Uvalde, Texas today.
AGENDA
MANAGEMENT:
The Mayor Pro Tem announced there has been a request to hear Item 8.A.
before the Study Session.
Motion by Councilmember de la Torre, seconded by Councilmember
Brock, to perform agenda management and hear Item 8.A. before the Study
Session items. The motion was unanimously approved by voice vote, with
Mayor Himmelrich absent.
SPECIAL AGENDA
ITEMS:
2.A. Commendation: Ricardo "Rick" Crocker, was presented.
Members of the public Lauralee Asch- PAL Board President, LT. Sal
Lucio- PAL Board and Rick Crocker 5K Chair, and Emma Vides- PAL
alumni and parent, spoke in support of this item.
2.B. Proclamation: Bike Month, was presented.
2.C. City Manager Report: Presentation by Assessor Jeff Prang, was
rescheduled.
2.D. City Manager Report, was presented.
Member of the public John Alle (time donated by Olga Zuwarska) spoke on
this item.
REPORT ON COUNCIL
TRAVEL
Councilmember Brock reported that he traveled to the Inland Empire to
attend the Contract Cities Conference, where they discussed current issues
including Homelessness and New State laws. Councilmember de la Torre
traveled to Sacramento for the League of California Cities Summit where
they held a Lobbying Day, discussed new housing, land use, diversity
equity and inclusion, and other unfunded mandates.
CONSENT CALENDAR: All items were considered and approved in one motion unless removed by a
Councilmember for discussion.
There were no members of public present for public comment.
Motion by Councilmember Negrete, seconded by Councilmember Davis, to
approve the Consent Calendar, reading resolutions by title only and
waiving further reading thereof. The motion was approved by the
following vote:
AYES: Councilmembers Parra, Davis, Negrete, Brock, de la Torre,
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Mayor Pro Tem McCowan
NOES: None
ABSENT: Mayor Himmelrich
WELLS 3.A. Award Bid and Enter Into Agreement No. 11266 (CCS) with
Yellow Jacket Drilling Services, LLC for the Construction of Two
Replacement Groundwater Supply Wells, was approved.
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Award Bid #SP2663 to Yellow Jacket Drilling Services, LLC for
the drilling of two replacement groundwater supply wells;
2. Adopt determination that the project is exempt from California
Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Section
15302 (Class 2 – Replacement/ Reconstruction;
3. Authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute an agreement
with Yellow Jacket Drilling Services, LLC, in an amount not to
exceed $4,854,450 (including a $231,165 contingency); and
4. Authorize the Director of Public Works to issue any necessary
change orders to complete additional work within contract
authority.
BUSES 3.B. Award Bid and Execute a Purchase Order with Toxguard to
provide coolant for Department of Transportation transit buses, was
approved.
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Award Bid #4405 to Toxguard Fluid Technologies for the purchase
of pre-mixed coolant for heavy-duty engines in transit buses for the
Department of Transportation;
2. Authorize the Procurement Manager to issue a purchase order with
Toxguard Fluid Technologies for heavy-duty engine coolant in the
amount not to exceed $394,925, which includes a $35,902
contingency, over a five-year period with future year funding
contingent on Council budget approval.
FUEL STORAGE TANKS
3.C. Approval of Second Modification to Agreement #11099 with
Fleming Environmental for Urgent Repairs to the Veeder Root System
of Underground Fuel Storage Tanks, was approved.
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council authorize the City Manager to
negotiate and execute a second modification to agreement #11099 (CCS)
(formerly CT# 3438) in the amount of $182,000 (including contingency)
with Fleming Environmental Inc., to perform an urgent repair to the
Underground Storage Tank (UST) monitoring system at the Public Safety
Facility (PSF) along with additional funding for maintenance and repair on
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the 13 other sites located in the City. This would result in a five-year
amended agreement with a new total amount not to exceed $353,730, with
future year funding contingent on Council budget approval.
FIRST COURT
PEDESTRIAN MALL
3.D. Adoption of Resolution No. 11420 (CCS) entitled “A
RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA
MONICA DECLARING ITS INTENTION TO ESTABLISH A
PEDESTRIAN MALL ON A PORTION OF FIRST COURT BETWEEN
SANTA MONICA BOULEVARD AND ARIZONA
AVENUE, IN THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA”, was
adopted.
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Adopt a Resolution of Intent declaring the Council’s intent to
establish a Pedestrian Mall along a southern portion of 1st Court
between Santa Monica Boulevard and Arizona Avenue;
2. Adopt the determination that the action to approve the Resolution of
Intent to establish the Pedestrian Mall is exempt pursuant to CEQA
Guideline 15061 (b)(3); and
3. Set a public hearing for September 27, 2022 to consider the
establishment of the proposed Pedestrian Mall along a southern
portion of 1st Court between Santa Monica Boulevard and Arizona
Avenue.
DRUG/ALCOHOL
TESTING
3.E. Approval of Modification to Agreement with Barry W. Leeder,
Inc., dba Collections Plus for Drug and Alcohol Collection (Testing)
Services, was approved.
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council authorize the City Manager to
negotiate and execute a first modification to agreement #10724 (CCS) in
the amount of $595,000 with Barry W. Leeder Inc. dba Collections Plus, A
California based Corporation for professional drug and alcohol testing
services for all departments. This will result in a nine-year amended
agreement with a new total amount not to exceed $917,820, with future
year funding contingent on Council budget approval.
USER EXPERIENCE 3.F. Award User Experience Design and Development Professional
Services Agreement Nos. 11267 (CCS) and 11268 (CCS), was approved.
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Award RFP #307 to PXL for user experience, development and
other services; to The Glue for user experience, development and
other services; and, to WeUsThem for user experience,
development and other services;
2. Authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute agreements
with: PXL to perform as needed user experience, graphic design
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and other services in an amount not to exceed $95,000 over a 5-year
period, with future year funding contingent on Council budget
approval; with The Glue to perform as needed user experience,
graphic design and other services in an amount not to exceed
$95,000 over a 5-year period, with future year funding contingent
on Council budget approval; and, with WeUsThem to perform as
needed user experience, graphic design and other services in an
amount not to exceed $95,000 over a 5-year period, with future year
funding contingent on Council budget approval.
TELECONFERENCE
MEETINGS
3.G. Adoption of Resolution No. 11421 (CCS) entitled “A
RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA
MONICA MAKING FINDINGS AS REQUIRED BY AB 361
TO PERMIT COUNCIL AND CITY BOARD, COMMISSION, AND
TASK FORCE MEETINGS TO CONTINUE TO BE CONDUCTED BY
TELECONFERENCE WHILE THE COVID-19 EMERGENCY
REMAINS IN PLACE”, was adopted.
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that Council adopt a resolution making the findings
required by AB 361 to continue teleconference meetings of the City
Council and City Boards, Commissions, and Task Forces through June 23,
2022.
COVID-19 3.H. Adoption of Resolution No. 11422 (CCS) entitled, “AN
EMERGENCY RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF SANTA MONICA PURSUANT TO CHAPTER 2.16 OF THE SANTA
MONICA MUNICIPAL CODE RATIFYING THE PROCLAMATION OF
EXISTENCE OF LOCAL EMERGENCY AND SUPPLEMENTAL
PROCLAMATIONS THERETO”, was adopted.
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that Council adopt the proposed resolution ratifying the
Executive Order issued by the Director of Emergency Services declaring
the existence of a local emergency in the city of Santa Monica and the
Supplements to that Order.
STAFF
ADMINISTRATIVE
ITEMS:
600 PALISADES AVENUE
8.A. Approval to Rename Goose Egg Park Located at 600 Palisades
Avenue to Bob Holbrook Park, was presented.
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council consider the Recreation and Parks
Commission's recommendation to officially rename Goose Egg Park to
Bob Holbrook Park.
Members of the public Jerry Rubin and Johnathan Foster, spoke to the
recommended action.
Motion by Councilmember Brock, seconded by Councilmember de la
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Torre, to adopt the staff recommendation. The motion was approved by the
following vote:
AYES: Councilmembers de la Torre, Brock, Negrete, Davis, Parra,
Mayor Pro Tem McCowan
NOES: None
ABSENT: Mayor Himmelrich
STUDY SESSION:
COUNCIL MEETING
FORMATTING
4.A. Discussion and direction to staff on best practices to change the
Agenda formatting to make Council meetings more efficient and
consideration of cost and implementation of Hybrid meetings with a
call-in option, was presented.
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Review and comment on changing the Council meeting agenda
formatting to make meetings more efficient;
2. Discuss potential for hybrid meetings with a call-in option for all
boards and commission meetings; and,
3. Provide direction to staff to come back with resolutions amending
the Rules of Order and Procedure for the Conduct of City Council
meetings, and amending the Establishing Policies for City Boards,
Commissions, Committees, Task Forces, and Regional Advisory
Boards.
Members of the public John Alle, Denise Barton, Olga Zurawska, Jerry
Rubin, Ann Thanawalla, and Johnathan Foster spoke on the
recommendation.
Questions asked and answered of staff included: is it true that none of
these item are reducing time, but instead shifting the meeting items;
respectful of the public’s time, would mean that all public comment on all
items could be heard at the beginning of the meeting; does the City Clerk’s
Office have a recommendation for the best way to reduce meeting times;
how was the amount of participation measured; is there a difference in cost
between using Zoom versus Teams; would using Zoom be easier to use for
members of the public, since that seems to be what all other agencies are
using, and would it increase participation; what can be done in addition to
hybrid meetings to get more residents involved; how do we take care of the
people who have hearing impairments or speech impediments, or are afraid
to come in-person because of COVID, if we don’t have a hybrid option; is
there any consideration to have members of the public send a video in to be
played, or have a staff member accept a phone call from the public; is there
a way that we can have notification on the website to inform members of
the public that they can submit public comment via phone call or video;
were there any discussions with IT about Zoom; for clarification, our
definition of hybrid would be to have people call in live, as well as have
people in-person; if someone request an accommodation, are they able to
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call in; and, did staff look into any other grants or funds that could help
fund this upgrade.
Considerable discussion ensued on topics including, but not limited to: we
need to find a way to have hybrid meetings that include a call-in option;
move all comments to the beginning of the meeting; if we are going to
hybrid, staffing would only need to be here for the beginning of the
meeting; because Council, as well as members of the public have full-time
jobs, it would be a hardship to start the meetings earlier than 5:00 p.m.; one
of the reasons the Council has not been as diverse in the past is because of
lack of accessibility due to the long hours of the meetings; doing it more
times a month, makes it less attractive to those who might be interested in
being on Council; having more meetings won’t solve the problem of
shortening the meetings; have public comment at the beginning of the
meeting until Dec. 31st as a test, then come back and revisit; separate Study
Sessions and Appeals to a different day and time, which will shorten the
meetings; set a time for Closed Session; think which boards and
commissions should be included at this time; consider allowing recorded
public comment to be received and played during the meeting; option of a
virtual meeting for Study Sessions; support hybrid meetings, but concerned
about the price tag; see if there are any grants out there to get the ball
rolling; there has to be a way to accommodate someone remotely and not
take time away from somewhere here in person; not ideal to add more
meetings because of work/life responsibilities; starting at 4:30, not an
option; consider a fixed time for the public meeting to start; support
moving the 13 item deadline to help with agenda planning; support Ad hoc
updates on a quarterly basis; support 13 item deadlines to the Monday at
noon, one week before the Council meeting; set a hard stop time for Closed
Session and move it to the end of the meeting; for Closed sessions where
additional staff is involved in Closed Session, consider moving those
meetings to start earlier; consider starting the public meeting later, if there
is going to be a lot of staff for certain items; move the proclamations and
commendations before Closed Session; hear all public items first at 5:30,
then go to Closed Session, and once out of Closed Session, propose Agenda
Management with consultation from the Mayor and Assistant City
Manager; and, be mindful of residents and commissioners who have
accessibility issues that need to be accommodated.
BUDGET 4.B. Financial Status Update, FY 2022-23 Proposed Budget, and FY
2022-24 Biennial Capital Improvement Program Budget, was
presented.
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Receive the FY 2021-22 through FY 2027-28 May Forecast;
2. Review and provide direction to staff regarding the FY 2022-23
Proposed Operating Budget Adjustments (Attachment A) and FY
2022-24 Proposed Biennial Capital Improvement Program (CIP)
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Budget (Attachment B);
3. Review and provide direction to staff on establishing a parklet
license fee, Fire Department fee study changes and revisions to
Cemetery fees (Attachments C, D, E);
4. Direct staff to proceed with setting the FY 2022-23 Operating and
FY 2022-24 Biennial Capital Improvement Program (CIP) Budget
Adoption hearing on June 28, 2022; and
5. Provide direction on potential revenue measures for the November
2022 ballot and direct staff to prepare ballot measure language.
Members of the public Denise Barton (time donated by Olga Zuwarska),
Marianne Laguardia, Lori Brown, Eve Lopez, Jerry Rubin, Ann
Thanawalla, Tara Barauskas, and Ericka Lesley spoke on the
recommendation.
Questions asked and answered of staff included: were the voters aggregated
by race and language; how many voters are estimated to participate in the
upcoming November election; is there some sense of why there was such a
difference between the Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) and Library tax;
was there any sense from the polling where there were differences in the
type of safety that voters prioritized; were people asked about their
preferred response with regards to homelessness; what is $4.1 million in
TOT going to get us in terms of the residents; are there some public safety
items that cannot be considered at this time; if the TOT was placed on the
ballot, is it true that those other non-public safety items, like mental health
will not be able to be addressed; when will we return to collecting full
fines, and how much revenue will that be; how do you know when a person
doesn’t have a real ability to pay; does Council discretionary funds reset at
some point; explain the field maintenance money, has it been removed, and
how is this going to be handled; what sports fields need to be maintained
that aren’t being maintained now; how do we get those fields open, and
find a way to have staff maintain those fields; does the permitted use
provides revenues for parks, and how does that revenue go back to the
parks; how much are we losing if we didn’t have the permitted use
providing revenue for these fields; if a restaurant has a hardship, is there a
waiver for water fees; how much is in our Housing Trust fund; with the
additional TOT that came in, if the increase had been in this year, what
would the amount of the surplus have been; would that have covered most
of the cost that we talked about previously; is the reason that we can’t
provide for park maintenance because we don’t have the revenue; what is
considered vacation rentals, why are they being charge 3% and the hotels
are paying 1%; is there any additional cost to collect that 3%; do we have
any sense of how much money we’re losing on not enforcing vacation
rentals; and, when is it expected to expand library hours.
Considerable discussion ensued on topics including, but not limited to:
somewhere in the budget, we would like to see the public fields maintained
and reopened; find revenue to fund park maintenance, even in a budget
crunch; for the scoreboard at the Historical Belmar park, can be paid for
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through a public/private partnership; encourage staff to go and come back
to find ways to fund the items that make Santa Monica desirable; fund
parks, green space, items that are essential to residents who live in mostly
apartments; look into using some of our reserves to provide some of the
services the residents require; work with Community Corp to help them
complete a housing project that has run out of funding; reimagining how
we provide services, look at our practices that make things more efficient
and effective; there’s a lot of concerns that Santa Monica is being
overburdened because we provide so many services; would like to leverage
our past experience but share the cost with other agencies in the region to
help solve the homeless problems; how are wastewater fees calculated, and
how are they impacted by outdoor dining; concerned that when considering
staffing enhancements, make sure that the staff is serving our residents on
the streets; make sure services are restored and concentrate on the
downtown and making sure that they are economically feasible; use
discretionary funds to reinvest $10K to the Westside Coaliton for the MLK
event; set aside $5K for Los Amigos Park for their scoreboard, with
Councilmember Brock seeking a match from the Kiwanis Club; good with
proposed CIP budget; and direct city staff to study an appropriate amount
of a real estate property transfer tax that could be used to pay for needed
city services at a 50% +1 passage, with exemptions, with a cost of living
increase, would only effect commercial property, as an advisory measure to
be added to the November ballot.
CONTINUING AFTER
11:00 P.M.
In accordance with the Council Rules, the Mayor asked if Council would
like to finish the remainder of the items on the agenda or adjourn and
continue the remainder of the agenda to the next meeting. Council
unanimously agreed by voice vote to hear the remainder of the agenda, with
Mayor Himmelrich absent.
ORDINANCES:
OUTDOORS PILOT
PROGRAM
7.A. Second Reading and Adoption of Ordinance No. 2705 (CCS)
entitled, “AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF SANTA MONICA AMENDING SANTA MONICA MUNICIPAL
CODE SECTION 6.40.050 TO EXTEND THE TERM OF THE SANTA
MONICA OUTDOORS PILOT PROGRAM,” was presented.
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that City Council adopt the attached Ordinance.
Motion by Councilmember Negrete, seconded by Councilmember Davis, to
adopt the ordinance, reading by title only and waiving further reading
thereof. The motion was approved by the following vote:
AYES: Councilmembers Parra, Davis, Negrete, Brock, de la Torre,
Mayor Pro Tem McCowan
NOES: None
ABSENT: Mayor Himmelrich
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COUNCILMEMBER
DISCUSSION ITEMS:
FOURTH OF JULY
PARADE
13.A. Request of Councilmembers Brock and Davis that, in support of
the annual Fourth of July parade along Main Street: (1) the City
should co-produce the parade along with the Ocean Park Association;
(2) the City should establish a pilot program that would allow the 2022
parade to be staged in the southernmost beach parking lots and then
travel from those lots in a northern route on Main Street to the Civic
Center; and (3) that the Council allocate $15,000 of its discretionary
funds to the Ocean Park Association to help defray costs associated
with producing the parade, was presented.
There were no members of the public present to speak on this item.
Motion by Councilmember Davis, seconded by Councilmember Brock, to
adopt the staff recommendation.
Councilmember Davis amended her motion to give direction to staff to
come back with an urgency ordinance amending the Parade route in the
municipal code. The amendment was considered friendly by the seconder.
The motion, as amended was approved by the following vote:
AYES: Councilmembers Parra, Davis, Negrete, Brock, de la Torre,
Mayor Pro Tem McCowan
NOES: None
ABSENT: Mayor Himmelrich
BEACH BIKE PATH 13.B. Request of Councilmembers Negrete and Brock that the City
Council direct the City Manager and City Attorney to return to the
Council with an ordinance amending Section 3.12.600 of the Santa
Monica Municipal Code to allow a limited number of non-electric
pedicabs on the beach bike-path, was presented.
Members of the public Jay Gladstone, Teddy Rycroft, William Cobian,
Neil Gitnick, Keith Brown, Chris Rink, John Berry, Randy Metz, and Ann
Thallawalla spoke on the recommended action.
Considerable discussion ensued on topics including, but not limited to: look
at width of the pedicab; training, and overall safety; don’t want to
overcrowd the bike path; recommend how many should be approved; could
this become a more prevalent mode of transportation in the city, as a
method of mobility; concern about enforcement for unpermitted pedicabs;
loading and unloading of pedicabs are not blocking any fire access lanes,
maybe create designated areas; and find a way to block any impediments to
having them downtown.
Motion by Councilmember Negrete, seconded by Councilmember Brock,
to adopt the staff recommendation. The motion was approved by the
following vote:
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AYES: Councilmembers de la Torre, Brock, Negrete, Davis, Parra,
Mayor Pro Tem McCowan
NOES: None
ABSENT: Mayor Himmelrich
PUBLIC INPUT: Members of the public Johnathan Foster, Eve Lopez commented on various
local issues.
ADJOURNMENT On order of the Mayor Pro Tem, the City Council meeting adjourned at
2:07 a.m. in memory of Charles Alvarez and Bob Neuwirth.
ATTEST: APPROVED:
Denise Anderson-Warren Kristin McCowan
City Clerk Mayor Pro Tem
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