Regular Agenda

The meeting was called to order as indicated at 7:00 p.m. with Council Member Nutt leading in the Pledge Allegiance to the Flag

ROLL CALL: Council Members Elden R. Nutt, Dean Uecker, Mike Restuccia, Vice-Mayor Chuck Winn, Mayor Curt Pernice

OTHERS PRESENT: City Administrator Leon Compton, Interim City Engineer Pete Santina, City Attorney Tom Terpstra, Planning Director Ken Zuidervaart, City Clerk Lynette Van Laar, Deputy City Clerk Jeanne D. Hall, Director of Public Works Ted Johnston, Police Chief Richard Bull, Recreation Director Kye Stevens, Bernice Finley, Lorraine Gaff, Stu Long, Brigitte Long, Dennis Bitters, Joel Castro, Diana Villegas, Mayra Vega, Randy Clark, Darrel Reaves, Ivan Perez, Pedro Hernandez, Adam Perez, Diane and Thom Patten, Melinda Kopp, Navid Fardanesh, Stephanie Hobbs, Craig Vincent, Toni Banne, Monique Salai, Oscar Tejeda, Thalia Tostada, Jennifer Zuniga, Andy Varian, Angelina Racacho, Julia Torres, Ginger Eskes.

PUBLIC DISCUSSION: Melinda Kopp, Librarian, Ripon Memorial Library, discussed how libraries are funded and said that California’s libraries need $94 million, but only receive $2.3 million.

Navid Fardanesh, President of the Ripon Chamber of Commerce, said the Almond Blossom Festival was well attended. He said that the Chamber begins planning for the festival in August. He said that the Soroptomist ran the pageant, the Lions Club held the spaghetti dinner, and the 4-H sold pies – all to raise funds for their organizations. Fardanesh thanked Public Works Director Johnston and his crew, and Chief Bull and the Department. He thanked Council Member Restuccia for helping with the parade judging.

Brigitte Long, Ripon, representing the Friends of the Library, said that California spends less on libraries than all other states except Florida. She said there is a movement to seek funding from the county and the state.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES: MOTION: MOVED, SECONDED (RESTUCCIA, NUTT) AND CARRIED BY A VOTE OF 5-0 TO APPROVE MINUTES OF THE REGULAR RIPON CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF FEBRUARY 20, 2007.

Council Member Restuccia requested that Item 2O be pulled from the Consent Calendar for a separate vote.

Council Member Nutt requested that Items 3A and 4J be pulled from the Consent Calendar for discussion.

City Administration Compton requested that Item 4K be pulled from the Consent Calendar for discussion.

Vice Mayor Winn requested that Items 2M and 3D be pulled from the Consent Calendar for discussion.

Planning Director Zuidervaart stated that Item 5A, the Public Hearing, will have to be postponed.

MOTION: MOVED, SECONDED (RESTUCCIA, NUTT) AND CARRIED BY A VOTE OF 5-0 TO APPROVE THE CONSENT CALENDAR AS AMENDED.

1.	Income
	A.	STATE OF CALIFORNIA
		Retail Sales Tax	$172,700.00
		Motor Vehicle License Fee	$8,769.00
		TOTAL		$181,469.00

	B.	COUNTY OF SAN JOAQUIN
		Municipal Sewer	$408.06
		Ripon Lighting	$259.10
		General	$877,800.81
		TOTAL		$878,467.97

	C.	CINGULAR
		Tower Lease		$811.10

	D.	SPRINT NEXTEL
		MCI Ground Lease	$419.28
		Invoice (2-17-07)	$840.00
		Invoice (2-22-07)	$420.00
		TOTAL		$1,679.28


2B.	McROY WILBUR COMMUNITIES
	Cornerstone Unit 1 and Unit 2 SIA Reimbursement - Shoulder Improvements Progress Payment	$31,530.00

2C.	McROY WILBUR COMMUNITIES
	Palm Grove SIA Reimbursement - Vera Avenue Improvements Progress Payment	$37,789.00

2D.	CB&I CONSTRUCTORS, INC.
	Mistlin - Water Tower Progress Payment	$21,768.66

2E.	DON PEDRO PUMP
	Construction of Wells 15 and 16 Progress Payment	$180,126.00

2F.	MID-VALLEY ENGINEERING Main Street & Stockton Avenue Rehabilitation Progress Payment	$3,127.50

2G.	ECO:LOGIC
	Report of Waste Water Discharge Progress Payment	$8,916.03

2H.	DAMON S. WILLIAMS ASSOCIATES
	Well No. 12 Prop. 50 Application Support & SMI Pilot Progress Payment	$6,089.75


2I.	INTERWEST CONSULTING GROUP, INC.
	Transportation Planning Consultant Progress Payment	$4,481.00

2J.	MILLER, PEZZONI & ASSOCIATES
	CNG Fueling Station Progress Payment	$690.00

2K.	INSITE ENVIRONMENTAL, INC.
	Main Street & Stockton Avenue Rehabilitation Progress Payment	$3,620.65

2L.	LIEBERT CASSIDY WHITMORE
	Professional Services	$857.50

2M.	STOCKTON-SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY LIBRARYThis item was pulled for discussion.
	Salary for Added Library Staff Hours	$61,611.00

2N.	JONES & STOKES
	Shadow Hawk Master Plan EIR	$15,213.77

2O.	PENSION PLANThis item was pulled for a separate vote.
	Bank of Stockton Semi-Annual Administration Fee	$28,366.52


3.	Resolutions
	A.	RESOLUTION NO. 07- (16)	This item was pulled for discussion.
		A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF RIPON CERTIFYING THE APPOINTMENT TO AND SETTING THE TERM FOR A VACANCY ON THE COMMUNITY AND YOUTH COMMISSION	This resolution appoints Stephanie Hobbs to a 4-year term on the Community and Youth Commission.

	B	RESOLUTION NO. 07-13
		RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF RIPON ACCEPTING THE CITY OF RIPON TRANSPORTATION DEVELOPMENT ACT AND MEASURE K FUNDS NON-TRANSIT PURPOSES AUDIT REPORT JUNE 30, 2005 AND 2004	This resolution accepts the City of Ripon Transportation Development Act and Measure K Funds non-transit purposes audit report.

	C.	RESOLUTION NO. 07-14
		RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF RIPON ACCEPTING THE CITY OF RIPON TRANSIT FUND AUDIT REPORT JUNE 30, 2005 AND 2004	This resolution accepts the City of Ripon Transit Fund Audit.

	D.	RESOLUTION NO. 07- (15)	This item was pulled for discussion
		A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF RIPON IN SUPPORT OF FULL FUNDING OF THE PUBLIC LIBRARY FOUNDATION (PLF)	This resolution supports the full funding of the Public Library Foundation by the State of California.


4B.	BMR HOME ALLOCATION SCHEDULE
	Cornerstone I McRoy Wilbur Communities	Approve a request to begin construction on the below market rate homes for the 2^nd cycle, prior to the completion of the 1^st cycle building permit allocation requirements.

4C.	DON PEDRO PUMP
	Well No. 15 & 16 Construction Change Order No. 1	Approve Change Order No. 1 credit for the change out of the proposed motors for wells 15 and 16. (Credit: $5,994.00)

4D.	KINETICO
	SMI Pilot Nitrate Removal System Change Order No. 2	Approve Change Order No. 2 to add monitoring features and installation systems. (Cost: $59,372.00)

4E.	DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT COMMITTEE
	Frank Borges 1190 S. Roberts Avenue	Authorize Frank Borges to meet with the Development Agreement Committee to development 1.02 acres located at 1190 S. Roberts Avenue. (2 homes)

4F.	LOCAL AGENCY FORMATION COMMISSION (LAFCO)
	Mid Year Funding Adjustment	Approve Ripon’s share of the funding to LAFCO. ($2,809.00)


4G.	MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING (MOU)
	City of Manteca General Plan Land Exchange	Approve the MOU with the City of Manteca to work cooperatively to modify their respective General Plan Boundary and Land Use Diagrams in the vicinity of Austin Road and Graves Road.

4H.	CLAIM
	Dietrich C. Chambers	Deny the claim filed by Dietrich C. Chambers for an accident occurring on August 13, 2006.

4I.	CLAIM
	Wilbert Williams	Deny the claim filed by Wilbert Williams for an accident occurring on August 13, 2006.

4J.	LOCKHEED MARTIN	This item was pulled for a separate vote.
	Change Request	Approve the Change Request for installation of conduit to support the voting system infrastructure cabling. (Cost: $25,000.00)

4K.	AWARD CONTRACT	This item was pulled for discussion.
	Granite Construction Stanislaus River Trail, Phase 2	Award the contract for the Stanislaus River Trail, Phase 2 to Granite Construction, the lowest bidder. ($825,633.40)


4L.	MEASURE K CONSTRUCTION, CONSTRUCTION ADMINISTRATION, and INSPECTION COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT
	Council of Governments South Frontage Road - Phase 2 Improvements	Authorize the City Administrator to sign the cooperative agreement with the San Joaquin County Council of Governments for the S. Frontage Road, Phase 2 Improvements project. (Measure K to fund up to 45% capped at $428,823.00)

4M.	STREET ABANDONMENT
	Beverley Place	Authorize the Planning Commission to provide a written report on the consistency of the General Plan Goals and Policies pursuant to Government Code Section 65402(a) regarding the abandonment of a portion of Beverly Place.

4N.	EMPLOYEE COMPUTER PURCHASE PLAN LOAN AGREEMENT
	Ted Johnston	Authorize the computer purchase and loan agreement for Ted Johnston. ($3,245.40)

MOTION: MOVED, SECONDED (RESTUCCIA, NUTT) AND CARRIED BY A VOTE OF 5-0 TO APPROVE THE CONSENT CALENDAR.

Vice Mayor Winn said the City’s General Fund is being depleted, but records show that library usage is up 10%, so funding needs to be found for libraries.

MOTION: MOVED, SECONDED (RESTUCCIA, WINN) AND CARRIED BY A VOTE OF 5-0 TO APPROVE ITEM 2M, SALARY FOR ADDED LIBRARY STAFF HOURS, AND ITEM 3D, RESOLUTION NO. 07- 15 TO SUPPORT FULL FUNDING FOR LIBRARIES.

Council Member Restuccia said he cannot vote on this item because he has a conflict of interest.

MOTION: MOVED, SECONDED (UECKER, WINN) AND CARRIED BY A VOTE OF 4-0 (RESTUCCIA ABSTAINING) TO APPROVE THE PAYMENT TO BANK OF STOCKTON FOR THE PENSION PLAN SEMI-ANNUAL ADMINISTRATION FEE

Council Member Nutt introduced Stephanie Hobbs and thanked her for her commitment to youth.

MOTION: MOVED, SECONDED (RESTUCCIA, UECKER) AND CARRIED BY A VOTE OF 5-0 TO APPROVE RESOLUTION NO. 07-16 APPOINTING STEPHANIE HOBBS TO THE COMMUNITY AND YOUTH COMMISSION.

Council Member Nutt asked if the installation of conduit to support the voting system infrastructure cabling was in the original contract. He asked why the Council needed an electronic voting system. He said there is a lot about the whole building that is overkill.

Vice Mayor Winn said that was some question about who was supposed to install the infrastructure. The builder was waiting for Lockheed Martin to do it, and Lockheed Martin said it was the builder’s responsibility. It had to be done so the whole system would work, so it could not be left out.

MOTION: MOVED, SECONDED (UECKER, WINN) AND CARRIED BY A VOTE OF 4-0 (NUTT - NO) TO APPROVE THE PAYMENT TO LOCKHEED MARTIN FOR THE INSTALLATION OF CONDUIT TO SUPPORT THE VOTING SYSTEM INFRASTRUCTURE CABLING.

Interim City Engineer Santina said that Granite Construction was the apparent the low bidder for the Stanislaus River Trail, Phase 2 project, but their documents were not complete.

City Attorney Terpstra recommended that the Council could award the contract to Granite Construction with the following paragraph added to their notification letter:

“This award of bid is conditional upon the City of Ripon’s receipt of a properly executed Consent to Cross U.S. Government Easement from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. It is expected that this condition will be satisfied within 90 days from the date of this letter. In the event such Consent has not been received in that time frame, Granite Construction may withdraw its bid, or the City of Ripon may withdraw its award of the bid, or the parties may meet and confer as to adjustments to the bid.“

MOTION: MOVED, SECONDED (RESTUCCIA, NUTT) AND CARRIED BY A VOTE OF 5-0 TO AWARD THE BID FOR THE STANISLAUS RIVER TRAIL, PHASE 2 PROJECT TO GRANITE CONSTRUCTION ON THE CONDITION THAT THE ADDITIONAL STIPULATION BE MET AS STATED BY THE CITY ATTORNEY.

5.	PUBLIC HEARINGS		Notes:

	A.	COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT and HOME PROGRAM
		Fiscal Year 2007-08	This is a public hearing to provide the community residents with the opportunity to hear recommendations on proposed projects and to provide comments to the Council regarding $75,000 in CDBG funds and $28,523 in HOME funds intended to assist in resolving identified community development needs and housing problems.

6.	DISCUSSION ITEMS		Notes:

	A.	FIREWORKS AMERICA CONTRACT
		4^th of July Show	Fireworks America has provided two options for fireworks shows in Ripon. One option is for a 3-year contract with a 5% discount that can be taken in a cash reduction or in additional products added to the event. The second option is for the usual one-time contract. (Cost for one year: $35,000.00)

Council Member Nutt said he pulled this from the last agenda because he did not like the 3-year contract. He said he would like to see the total cost of the show, including the Police and Public Works costs. He said the City should be careful of expenditures and the liability. He said it is not wise to provide this show, and most people come from out of town, anyway. He said that all that money just goes up in smoke.

Council Member Restuccia said he agreed with Council Member Nutt. He added that the issue last year was about the size of the shells.

Fire Chief Bitters said that the Fire District has always supported the show. He said the professional show is safer than the “Safe and Sane” fireworks that people buy. He said that, last year, the company tried a few 8" shells because there had been complaints that people couldn’t see the show. Bitters said the District is governed by the FPA (Fire Program Analysis), and standards are set for the fallout zone. He said that the operator recommended that they use nothing larger than 6 inches. Bitters said the show was more difficult at the High School because of the fallout zone.

Nutt said that when the land develops around the Mistlin Park, it will be a problem there, too.

Mayor Pernice said the 8" shells could be eliminated, but he asked about the traffic.

Chief Bull said traffic is always a problem for public events. He said the Department can do the job, but it is a lot of work.

Thom Patten, Ripon, asked why the contract was on the Consent Calendar last time, and why the Fire District wasn’t brought in sooner.

Stu Long, Ripon, said he used to live in Contra Costa County, and they have had no fireworks for the last eight years because of houses that burned on the 4^th of July. He said he is against fireworks because of property damage.

Stephanie Hobbs, Ripon, said she really enjoys the show and it is a great memory maker.

Joe Franscella, Ripon, (Editor of the Ripon Record) said he is not advocating either way, but he said the two best events the City has are National Night Out, and the events the Chamber put on during the day for the 4^th of July. He said the fireworks show generates more letters to the Ripon Record that any other issue. He said it would cost a lot less that $35,000 to buy hotdogs for everyone. He added that when he was at the park last year taking pictures for the paper, he had no trouble finding Ripon residents.

Joel Castro, Fire Marshal, said the professional show is not the main issue. The problems are the “Safe and Sane” fireworks – this is when the illegal fireworks are brought into town. Last year they confiscated 200 pounds of illegal fireworks. They had to call the Lodi bomb squad to destroy these illegal fireworks.

Mayor Pernice said there are a lot of non-profit organizations who use this as their main fund raiser.

Council Member Uecker said we need to look at the whole situation, but he added that he loves the show.

Council Member Restuccia said he appreciates the fun, but we have a fiscal responsibility.

Pernice said it is great show and a great event for the community. He said that Ripon was the first city in the county to provide a show. He said that the City spends money on other things for the community. The City pays for National Night Out, Almond Blossom, the Balloon Festival, and others. He said he wants to go forward with the show. He said we can get comments from the community for next year to find out if Ripon residents want to continue with fireworks.

Nutt said that it is a large, expensive park and people should celebrate in an old-fashioned way with picnics. He said the City is on borrowed time, and something bad will happen.

Vice Mayor Winn said that people truly enjoyed the show. He said we can look at the issue for next year.

MOTION: MOVED, SECONDED (WINN, UECKER) AND CARRIED BY A VOTE OF 3-2 (RESTUCCIA, NUTT - NO) TO APPROVE THE ONE-YEAR CONTRACT WITH FIREWORKS AMERICA ADDING THE STIPULATION THAT THERE WILL BE NO EIGHT-INCH SHELLS.

Vice Mayor Winn said Council can look at the show’s benefits for the next year.

Winn said the non-profits have already signed contracts, so it is too late to end it this year.