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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-04-16 LEGISLATIVECITY OF SANTA ANA LEGISLATIVE CITY COUNCIL COMMITTEE MINUTES APRIL 16, 2014 CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 1:05pm by Vincent Sarmiento at City Hall, Room 831. ATTENDANCE Members Present: Councilmember Michele Martinez Councilmember Vincent Sarmiento, Chair Members Absent: none Staff Present: David Cavazos, Sonia Carvalho, Carlos Rojas, Brad Hadley, Mark Lawrence, Alma Flores, Jose Gonzalez, Tanya Lyon, Jorge Garcia and Becky Magallon. Also present were Dan Maldonado (by phone) from Holland & Knight; Christopher Townsend and Casey Elliott (by phone) from Townsend Public Affairs; and Tony Cardenas from the League of California Cities, OC Division. Members of the public present: Jaime Lopez, SEIU representative Public Comments: No public comments. AGENDA ITEMS 1. Minutes Approval of the January 15, 2014 minutes was motioned by Councilwoman Michele Martinez and approved by a vote of 2 to 0. 2. Scope of Work/Schedule for 2014 UASI Allocations Police Chief Carlos Rojas reported that Santa Ana has been designated as an Urban Area Core City and has received funding under the UASI Grant Program. The program is designed to address the regional homeland security needs of the entire urban area. Chief Rojas reviewed the key points on the FY 2014 UASI allocations. David Cavazos reported that Santa Ana and Anaheim received a 35% increase in UASI funding, which is the highest increase in the nation. The next highest in the nation was a 5% increase. He added that the lobbying work by the Legislative Legislative City Council Committee Minutes April 16, 2014, Page 1 Committee as well as Holland & Knight contributed to Santa Ana's increase in funding. Committee members thanked Holland & Knight for their advocacy. Michele Martinez asked if cameras in the downtown could be purchased with UASI funding. Chief Rojas mentioned that the funding has to be used on projects that benefit the entire Orange County region and does not think cameras in the downtown would quality. However, all the cameras in the Civic Center were purchased with UASI monies since Santa Ana is the County seat. Daniel Maldonado suggested that the City and lobbyists continue to keep Congresswoman Sanchez and Senator Feinstein informed of the importance of maintaining the same or higher level of funding so that Santa Ana does not go to the bottom of the list in future allocation years. Chief Rojas mentioned that earlier in the day the City Manager and staff met with the Deputy Chief of Staff for Congresswoman Sanchez and the discussion included the need to maintain UASI funding. 3. Santa Ana Legislative Platform David Cavazos went over the recommended platform, which includes three guiding principles: preserve local control, promote fiscal stability and support funding opportunities. The Legislative Platform was modeled so that it would be consistent with the approved Strategic Plan. David Cavazos asked for input from the Legislative Committee and will seek endorsement by the full City Council to adopt the Legislative Platform, which would provide guidance to staff as well as state and federal advocacy consultants. Vincent Sarmiento mentioned that the Legislative Platform provides clear direction of where the City wants to be and where it wants to go. He is pleased with the platform and would like to review it in more detail and will provide staff some comments in a few days. He is in agreement with the goal areas and their consistency with the Strategic Plan. Christopher Townsend mentioned that the Legislative Platform will be a very helpful tool when quick action needs to be taken at the State level. Dan Maldonado is glad to see that the platform is well balanced and includes broad enough parameters. The principles and various projects and concerns are specific enough but not so rigid or restrictive that would prevent them to act quickly. Councilmember Sarmiento discussed goal 2, bullet 1 about bridging the digital divide and said he would like the City to create an internet or virtual library because it's important to provide better library services for our youth which could include Wi -Fi accessibility, iPads for check out, etc. Legislative City Council Committee Minutes April 16, 2014, Page 2 Councilmember Sarmiento also mentioned that advocacy efforts related to the fixed guideway project need to continue. He added that the City Council is very supportive of the project and has designated the City Manager as the project manager. He asked that lobbyists work with Mr. Cavazos and not the consultant since decisions and the lead needs to come from the City Manager's Office. Councilwoman Martinez reminded lobbyists that the Tiger grant deadline is coming at the end of April and asked staff to keep grants a top priority. Michele Martinez also talked about the importance of regional collaboration. Santa Ana should be leveraging these resources as much as possible and sharing the principles with other regional agencies that have similar goals and needs. An example of regional collaboration would be water conservation efforts which would fall under goal # 6. With the new bond act, Santa Ana should be able to capitalize on and be innovative and creative in seeking funding in a collaborative effort. Michele Martinez thinks having this platform is helpful, especially because it is in line with the Strategic Plan. It provides direction when the Council is asked to take a position on a particular legislation or a resolution. Sonia Carvalho mentioned that we should continue to monitor SIB 7 - prevailing wage issue and state funding restriction for charter cities — since it's a high priority for Santa Ana. Tony Cardenas mentioned that the League of California Cities is working on a law suit and several cities are joining the effort. After the Legislative Committee provides comments and input, it will be ready to go to the full City Council. 4. Report Out — Legislative Resolutions and Letter Requests City Manager David Cavazos reviewed the legislative resolutions and letter requests process. He added that staff is sensitive about communication and will make every effort possible to communicate to the Legislative Committee. Councilwoman Martinez mentioned that it is very simplified and staff needs to make sure that the City Council and staff are on the same page. She added that it's important that these resolution /letter requests get vetted fully and then communicated to the full Council so that the entire Council is aware. Sonia Carvalho mentioned that it's beneficial to have a process. Her expectation is that all requests will go to the City Manager. When the City Council adopts the Legislative Platform, the City Manager will have a guide and will use his judgment to make decisions. If it's something controversial, then the City Manager may need to call a special meeting of the Council. If the issue is not addressed in the process and the City Manager determines that it's not within the process scope, then he will place the item on the agenda for the full Council. Legislative City Council Committee Minutes April 16, 2014, Page 3 Sonia Carvalho added that some cities have an ad hoc committee and Santa Ana's challenge is that the Legislative Committee is subject to Brown Act regulations. She asked that the Legislative Committee consider making this body an ad hoc group. Michele Martinez asked that the process explain that any councilmember can draft a letter of support from them as individuals, and it doesn't need City Manager review. Vince Sarmiento asked if the City wants a committee dictating legislation for the entire council. He asked that this topic be continued for future discussion. Committee Member Comments Councilwoman Martinez asked that staff review agendas for regional boards that the City Council serves on. This is important because a lot of action is taken at these meetings and the Council members serve as the City's representatives on these regional bodies. Future Anenda Items No items ADJOURNMENT Meeting was adjourned at 2:25pm ct ai Becky Ma allow Executive Assistant City Manager's Office Legislative City Council Committee Minutes April 16, 2014, Page 4