of Spl U MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE SOLVANG CITY COUNCIL Council Chambers April 13, 2015 1644 Oak Street Monday Solvang, Ca. 93463 6: 30 pm CALL TO ORDER Mayor Richardson called the meeting to order at 6: 30pm. ROLL CALL PRESENT: Mayor Richardson, Council Members Duus, Jamieson, Skytt and Zimmerman STAFF: Brad Vidro, City Manager, Roy Hanley, City Attorney, Sandra Featherson, Administrative Services Director, Arleen Pelster, Planning/ Community Development Director, Matt van der Linden, Public Works Director/City Engineer, Charlie Uhrig, Community Resource Officer, Mary Ellen Rio, City Clerk PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Led by Mayor Richardson. PRESENTATION Mayor Richardson acknowledged proclamations had been presented at the Valley Foundation Dinner on March 28th honoring Kathleen Campbell as Woman of the Year, Ken Andersen as Man of the Year and Walt and Kay Alves with the Lifetime Achievement Award. Mayor Richardson presented a proclamation to Jill Ater, recognizing April 2015 as Parkinson' s Disease Awareness Month. CITY MANAGERS REPORT Informational report only. 1. PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS WRITTEN OR VERBAL Lansing Duncan Attended the Board of Architectural Review( BAR) meeting in which the new shopping center project was being discussed
Page 2 of 7 The BAR was able to view the guidelines or findings however there were not copies available to the public Considering the size and location it was surprising that the public had virtually no information about this project Why is a perfectly good existing shopping center that is well suited for the area being demolished Feel the BAR was getting a snow job and a lot of doubletalk from the developer This project has too many serious implications for our community and now is the time to promote an active dialogue with concerned parties Gay Infanti Would like to know the status of the water purchase recently approved What is the number of water connections in Solvang Notice State is measuring usage on a month to month basis however unless this is done on an annual basis we won' t get a clear picture of where we stand with usage Sue Moualim Provided information on the upcoming forum being sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce " Grow your Community" and invited all in the community to take part Looking for volunteers for this event and hoping that the same volunteers will help out with the Special Olympics Aaron Petersen Speaking about the water issue, our City is driven by the tourist industry and on behalf of the food operations and probably the hotels in the City wanted to express the difficulty we experience when being asked to cut back as the Governor requires Short of closing down for a period of time, there is no other way to cut back; more customers mean more dishes to wash, more water for the soda machine, water for ice and on and on Retailers are not affected however hotels, bakeries and restaurants feel the pressure as more tourists result in increased usage 2. COUNCIL REQUESTS None. 3. APPROVAL OF AGENDA AS PRESENTED No changes. 4. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES OF MARCH 23, 2015 Motion was made by Council Member Duus, seconded by Council Member Skytt to approve the minutes as presented. Motion carried with a verbal response of 5 ayes.
Page 3 of 7 5. CONSENT AGENDA Consent Agenda read by City Clerk. a. Approval of warrant register b. Approval of Animal Control contract with County of Santa Barbara c. Notice of Completion Sewer Line Rehabilitation Project d. Adopt Resolution authorizing the City Manager to execute and file a claim with the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments for allocation of Transportation Development Act Funds for Fiscal Year 2015/ 2016 e. Receive and file Santa Barbara County Fire Department update for 1St quarter of 2015 f. Scada& Telemetry System Engineering Services for Upland Wells Project: 1. Approve Amendment 1 to the Professional Services Agreement with Carollo Engineers in the amount of$ 18, 500 2. Authorize execution of the Amendment by the Mayor Council Member Jamieson pulled item 5b requesting that Jan Glick of Animal Services explain what Animal Control does for the City. Motion was made by Council Member Duus, seconded by Council Member Skytt to approve items 5a and items 5c through item 5f as presented. Motion carried with a roll call vote of 5 ayes. Jan Glick provided statistics on the services Animal Control had provided Solvang for the past 3 years, explained the rate structure which is based on population and briefly reviewed some of the programs they provide. Motion was made by Council Member Duus, seconded by Council Member Jamieson to approve item 5b as presented. Motion carried with a roll call vote of 5 ayes. PUBLIC HEARING 6. REQUEST TO RENEW THE LICENSE WITH SOLVANG TROLLEY AND CARRIAGE COMPANY TO ALLOW CONTINUED USE OF THE HORSE- DRAWN CONVEYANCE, AND TWO DIESEL TROLLEYS FOR TOURS IN SOLVANG Staff report by Planning/ Community Development Director This is the required process for renewal of the horse drawn trolley and carriage as well as the licensing of the diesel trolley bus A request is being made to add an additional diesel trolley with this renewal application A revision is also being requested allowing duplicate signs for businesses which operate exclusively in Solvang, that have previously been approved by the BAR be allowed to be placed on the Trolley Recently it was requested to have the signs reviewed by the BAR again
Page 4 of 7 Public Comment: Sal Orona We thank the City for supporting our operation It is difficult at times to locate locations for the stops as sometimes shop owners do object During hot weather we are required to have shady locations and it is better for business ifthey could be downtown if people do not see the trolley in the street we have no riders The City needs to make the final decision for approval of these locations Council Members discussed the signage, inquiring if all received BAR approval. Council Member Jamieson responded that the signs used for advertising the photo opportunity are not very professional looking and do not fit the first class operation; she also suggested the trolley used to take tourists out of the city should use the bus stop by Solvang Park. Public Hearing was opened at 8: 03pm. Jamie Martinez Sue Moualim Expressed support for the Solvang Trolley Company. It is a real asset for the City and they provide excellent service The horses are well cared for I would welcome them in front of my business The Orona Family does an excellent job, they are very professional People need to reconsider having them park in front of their stores, we send a lot of people to the stores Aaron Petersen I advertise on the trolley and feel it is a great asset to have the horse drawn and the diesel trolley in town I do encourage you to redo the Conditional Use Permit (CUP), I do note some remote signs, but you have the authority to change that We have 3 businesses in town that run under a CUP, the Honen and the Diesel Trolley, the Surrey Cycles and Farmer' s Market, they all 3 make money off our streets however they still require conditions My concern is with signs, I feel the signs should be limited to 7 square feet just like all the other business signs, limit the number of signs they have, no roof signs as it distracts from the beauty of the Honen and once the BAR guidelines are developed and this is in writing, staff could approve the signs over the counter this way Sal is very clear on what is expected of him I do not feel signs should be allowed on the electric trolley' s I understand charging for the signs on the Honen as the fees are used to maintain and feed the horses
Page 5 of 7 The Public Hearing was closed at 8: 15pm. Motion was made by Council Member Duus, seconded by Council Member Zimmerman to approve: 1. Renewal of the horse drawn conveyance license for Solvang Trolley for a two year term 2. Renewal of the diesel trolley license for a two year term 3. Applicant' s request to allow duplicative BAR approved signage with amendments to the licensing agreement for signage to include submission of a sign plan to the Board of Architectural Review( BAR) within 60 days of execution of the license with the BAR recommendations presented to City Council for final approval. Motion carried with a roll call vote of 5 ayes. REGULAR AGENDA 7. PARKING IN LIEU AGREEMENT AND PROMISSORY NOTE Staff report by Administrative Services Director As Conditions of Approval for the development of Solvang Suites an additional 17 parking spaces were required Applicant has developed a payment plan for consideration for the Parking in Lieu If Council approves a parking in lieu agreement, staff is recommending a 20 year plan instead of the applicants 30 year plan Recommending an interest rate of 4.25% fixed rate for the life of the loan to make the fmancial aspect easier and the applicant would be aware of the interest fees Looking to Council for approval of Promissory Note and Parking In Lieu Agreement Mayor Richardson asked about the amount in the Parking In Lieu fund inquiring if there was enough to purchase a property for parking use. City Manager responded that currently there is an estimated 300,000 in the fund however with this type of agreement, the money is fmanced over a period of many years and is not immediately available. Council Members inquired if in the future the applicant purchases property to meet the parking requirement if he then would receive a refund of what had been paid. City Attorney responded no, that at the date the agreement was entered into, the requirement had not been met. Discussion continued on the security of the loan with the City Manager and the City Attorney responding that at a later date the agreement could be amended. City Attorney recommended giving staff the authority to sign a subordination agreement to the construction loan for the project. Public Comment: Brian Raschiatore At the present time I need to be careful with my money and at which time the business is open and I have revenue coming in I could consider buying additional property for the hotel parking The loan I will be securing cannot be encumbered if it required taking out a second as I would not be able to secure funding for the project
Page 6 of 7 Motion was made by Council Member Duus, seconded by Council Member Jamieson to: 1. Approve and execute the Parking In Lieu Agreement with South Coast Property Development Company for the financing of 17 parking spaces at $ 12, 376 each for a total of$210, 392 2. Approve and authorize City Manager to execute the Promissory Note for the Parking In Lieu fees for the project located at 425 First Street known as the Solvang Suites Hotel with amendments to the in lieu financing agreement and the promissory note adding under the installment payment language that City agrees to subordinate to a first deed of trust in which the interest rate will change to 5. 75%. Motion carried with a roll call vote of 5 ayes. 8. CITY OF SOLVANG GOALS- UPDATE This item was tabled to the meeting of April 27, 2015, however public comment was taken. Public Comment: Gay Infanti Addressing the first goal for working towards water independence D D Recommend adding specific objectives that would deal with water recycling and water treatment facilities, looking for long term planning Not optimistic in looking to future rainfall Are there any future projects that have not been included in the budget such as the water treatment facilities or the Alamo Pintado wells, do not think money has been set aside for this 9. CREDIT CARD ACCEPTANCE AND FEE OPTIONS Staff report by Administrative Services Director At present customers are allowed to pay utility bill by credit card for an additional $5 fee however the City is not recovering the costs associated with this fee New fmance system will allow for online payments with a surcharge fee Would like to open this convenience to all types of payments made to the city As a whole, the City would recover all the costs associated with these payments Mayor Richardson responded he objects to payment by credit card of fees that the tax payer has already paid, such as Tourist Occupancy Tax, and Tourist Business Improvement District tax. Public Comment: None. Motion was made by Council Member Duus, seconded by Council Member Skytt to: 1. Accept recommendation for a new fee structure for credit card acceptance that provides for 2. recovering all costs associated with accepting credit cards Authorize the City Manager, in coordination with the Director of Administrative Services, to increase or decrease customer fees for accepting credit cards as appropriate in order to maintain total cost recovery, unless the average transaction amount does not warrant the need to recover the cost
SOLYANG CITY COUNCIL MINUTES Page 7 of 7 3. Accept recommendation to allow for credit card payment for other City transactions excluding payments for Transit Occupancy Tax and TBID Tax Motion carried with a roll call vote of 5 ayes. 10. COUNCIL MEMBER REPORTS ( Oral reports: Each Council Member will give oral reports on their activities in relation to the following_committee or agencies. In addition, each member may report on items that will be included on the agenda for such committee or agency and seek guidance from the Council as a whole on such items, including on what position to take on behalf of the City) Santa Barbara County Association of Governments Air Pollution Control Board Joint Wastewater Committee Finance Committee Water Committee Indian Gaming Benefit Committee California Joint Powers Insurance Authority Other Committees/ meetings 11. ADVANCE CALENDAR Informational calendar no action. 12. CLOSED SESSION Council entered into Closed Session at 9: 27pm. GC 54957 Personnel Evaluation City Manager GC 54957. 6 Conference with Labor Negotiators Agency designated representative Brad Vidro, City Manager Employee organization Teamsters Local 986 Council adjourned to Open Session with Mayor Richardson announcing no reportable action. 13. ADJOURNMENT Mayor Richardson adjourned the meeting at 9: 58pm. Mary Ellen Rio, City Clerk