August 15, 2013 City Council Agenda

Find complete agenda here.
Call (559) 621-8000 to speak to your council member on any one of these issues.

Consent Calendar:

1A) Sub-divider, Lennar Homes, is requesting the City of Fresno to increase the responsibilities of maintianing the property located adjacent to Riverside Country Club, bounded by N. Thiel, N. Josephine and N. Bryan (see map). This will increase the annual cost of the lots by $340.21 or $149.15, depending on the lot. The Resolution of Consideration begins the process, sets the required  public hearing for Thursday, September 26,2013 at 10:15 a.m.

1B) Fresno PD is granting $35,000 to West Fresno Faith Based Organization which is lead by Pastor Booker T. Lewis to continue community outreach services in the high crime area of Southwest Fresno, possibly through their "Night Walks," and to eventually conduct an Anti-Violence Youth Summit.

1C) Fresno PD wants to extend a Health and Fitness Program that cost $650,000/year, of which $100,000 is to pay for the private contract with "The Studio" (which can not be found online) and "a minimum of $550,000 is used to provide members of FPOA a monetary incentive for participating in the program. Members of FPOA who choose to participate in the program can earn up to 56 hours of additional pay (pro-rated should the number of participants and earned hours exceed the negotiated dollar amount), dependent on their level of participation."

Below are the duties in which the private vendor is expected to perform:

• Conduct Health Interest Surveys & Fitness Evaluations.
• Design personal fitness programs for participants.
• Coordinate/administer Department-wide health promotion activities.
• Coordinate/administerinformation needed toprovide wellness incentives.
• Provide instruction instress management, smoking cessation, injury prevention, nutritional & weight management.
• Design and provide educational material.
• Provide any necessary testing equipment

1D) Central Unified School District will pay the City of Fresno for 2 School Resource Officers at the total cost. One officer would be assigned to the Central East and Teilman Center, while one officer would have responsibility over the three CUSD Middle School campuses.

1E) Fresno PD was awarded $180,000 in 2012 by the State Homeland Security Grant Program for the purchase of equipment to support our first-responders and terrorism prevention efforts.  $40,000 was still left over at the end of the 2013 fiscal year, so that amount is being moved over to the 2014 budget.

1F) "Hands On entered into a Lease Agreement with the City of Fresno on September 1, 2011, to provide visitor's services at no net cost to the City [at the Historic Fresno Water Tower in Eaton Plaza]. Hands On paid no rent, but provided all staffing for the Tower and paid all utilities, janitorial and minor maintenance costs for the Tower. The Lease Agreement has expired and Hands On wishes to continue leasing and operating the Tower and is offering to renew their lease with the same provisions."

1G) As part of the Fresno Regional Workforce Investment Board the City of Fresno is approving the Local 5-Year Strategic Plan.

1H) California State University, Fresno University Police Departments wants to install 2 cameras in the City Limits West of the campus' stadium.  One camera will be located on the Northwest corner of Sixth St. and Bulldog Lane (map) and the other will be on the Southwest corner of Fourth St and San Ramon (map).

1I) Subdivider, Norman Kizirian and Pamela S. Kizirian, Husband and Wife, has filed for approval for a 6-lot single-family residential planned development subdivision with one outlet for public utility easement purposes and private street purposes, and a remainder parcel, located on the west side of the North Chestnut Avenue alignment, North of East Copper Avenue on 12.13 acres (map).

1J) The Parks, After School, Recreation and Community Services (PARCS) Department submitted an application to the CalRecycle Beverage Container Recycling Grant Program on July 17, 2013 to improve beverage recycling at our City parks. PARCS is requesting up to $221,355 to help purchase and install recycling containers at various parks and park facilities. The grant would also provide for educational promotion, equipment and staff.

1K) Subdivider, Highland E, LLC, a California Limited Liability Company, (Gary McDonald, President and Chief Executive Officer), has filed for approval for a 21-lot single-family residential planned development subdivision with four outlets for public utility easement purposes, private street purposes, private open space purposes and landscaping purposes and one outlet to be deeded to the adjacent property owner, located between North Friant Road and East Copper Avenue, within the Copper River Ranch Master Planned Community on 13.07 acres (map).

1L) The PARCS Department put up for bid vendors to provide concession services at various regional and neighborhood parks in Fresno.  They are recommending awarding one year contracts with up to two (2) one year extensions to Java Joe for the Regional Sports Complex, Sno-Ball Express for the Todd Beamer Park, and Tropical Island for Lions Skate Park.

1M) The City Council desires to modify Ms. Spence's employment agreement to reflect Ms, Spence's positive  performance. This modifies the agreement to provide the City Clerk an annual base salary of $97,850.00 per  year.

1N) The League of California cities is holding its Annual Conference in Sacramento on September 18-20, 2013. It is being recommended that the City Council designate Councilmember Clint Olivier as a voting delegate and Councilmember Paul Caprioglio as a voting alternate for the upcoming Conference and that the City Council authorizes these delegates  to vote in the affirmative on all proposed resolutions.

General Administration:

2A) Fresno Yosemite International Airport wishes to sell 26.25 acres of underdeveloped land on the West side of Clovis Ave and North of Air Corp Way (map) to Don Pickett and Associates, Inc. for $1,734,000. Staff seeks Council authorization to (I) apply to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for release from federal grant  assurance obligations (referred to as a land release process), (ii) negotiate final terms and conditions of the  sale with the potential Buyer, (iii) open a purchase and sale escrow and, (iv) tender documents, instruments and instructions into escrow. Staff will return to Council at a later date for final approval to sell  the Property and authority to close escrow.

2B) As part of the franchise agreement when the City of Fresno franchised its commercial solid waste to Mid Valley Disposal and Allied Waste Services in 2011, the contract requires a review of financials in year three and year eight of the agreement which allow the City to determine if the service rates need to be adjusted (up or down) "to meet the requirement capping the allowable profit margins related to the agreements." The City wants to use HF&H Consultants LLC who helped with the franchising process for $110,000 and they will review:

• Rate adjustments dependent on results of the review.
• Background for the requested performance review of the franchisees, to occur in the fifth year of the 10-year agreements, to evaluate rates and customer service
• Background for the review of the overall franchise system, to occur in the eighth year of the 10-year agreements, to evaluate the efficacy of the exclusive franchise.

2C) Clovis Unified School District (CUSD) will be paying the City of Fresno $1,984,253.27 to plan and build out a fiber optic system that will connect 17 CUSD schools that are located within Fresno's City Limits. Kertel Communications Inc. DBA Sebastian was the lowest responsive and responsible bidder.

2D) As part of the Development and Resource  Management Department's Fiscal Year 2014 Budget, $845,000 has been made available to fund Community Housing Development Organization for acquisition of nine vacant parcels and construction of nine affordable single-family houses. Habitat for Humanity Fresno, Inc. will be funded for their Belgravia/Laval Avenue single-family housing project (map). The proposed project plan is to construct three 3-bedroom units consisting of 1,100 square feet; three 4-  bedroom units consisting of 1,300 square feet; and three 5-bedroom units consisting of 1,600 square feet. The $845,000 loan is proportionally conveyed to the nine homebuyers as a silent second mortgage. Upon completion of each house, the property will be conveyed  through escrow to a low-income homebuyer. Also upon conveyance, the City will forgive $17,000 of each  homebuyer's respective portion of the loan to make the homes more affordable. In addition to the City's silent  second mortgage assistance, the homebuyers will receive "sweat equity" credit toward the purchase of their  home as facilitated through Habitat.

2E) The City of Fresno will pay West Valley Construction Company $619,119.63 to transfer water service connections from the aging, failing water mains in easements at the rear of properties to the newly constructed water mains within the street right-of-way in the neighborhood of Gettysburg and Wishon (map).

Scheduled Council Hearing and Matters:

2:00PM) Chris Kliewer, on behalf of Lennar Fresno, Inc. proposes to amend the 2025 Fresno General Plan and the McLane Community Plan for approximately 2.328 acres of property located on the west side of North Armstrong Avenue between East Ashlan and East Dakota Avenues (map) from the low density residential planned land use designation to the medium density residential land use designation. 

2:15PM) The City of Fresno Development and Resource Management (DARM) Department is proposing a revised policy on Wireless Telecommunications Facilities that slightly modifies our existing policy approved in 2006. Language was placed in federal law which states that local governments "may not deny, and shall approve, any eligible facilities request for a modification of an existing wireless tower or base station that does not substantially change the physical dimensions of such tower or base station" Historically, the City of Fresno has considered wireless facilities to be "public utility and public service structures, uses and buildings." The only major change from the 2006 policy contained in this policy document is that a definition of "substantial change" has been added. 

Substantial change to an existing facility shall include the following:  

1. The addition or replacement of equipment that would result in an increase of over 20% to the existing diameter/width of the existing pole/mast/tower. The total width includes the pole, antennae and radome.
2. The addition or replacement of equipment that would result in an increase of over 35% to the  vertical length of the existing antennae and other equipment located on the pole.
3. Any expansion in area to the existing fenced or enclosed lease area if the proposed lease area  is located within a required setback or within a parking lot.
4. The removal of a radome which would expose antennae.
5. Any increase in the height of the pole/mast/tower.
6. The replacement of an existing pole/mast/tower.

     2:15PM Supplemental Info) Crown Castle, who owns and operates numerous wireless telecommunications facilities in the city, and the California Wireless Association have sent in letters noting that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has already developed and adopted the widely known and used definition of "substantial change" and that the City of Fresno's DARM department's proposed policy definition of "substantial change" is inconsistent with Federal Law.

2:30PM) Workshop on The Fresno County Assessor’s Office, presented by Mr. Paul Dictos, Fresno County Assessor. No additional information provided.

4:30PM #1) The Subdivider, Centex Homes, wishes to be annex the property located on the SW corner of E. Francher Creek and S. Sunnyside (map) into the City of Fresno's Community Facilities District, requiring the City to be responsible for services for landscaping and irrigation systems within street and landscaping easements, concrete curbs and gutters, valley gutters, entrance median curbs, sidewalks, curb ramps, local street paving, street signage and street lighting  associated with this subdivision. The ordinance would levy the proposed Maximum Special Tax of  $538.87 per residential lot to pay for the services. The Maximum Special Tax will be adjusted upward annually by 3%  plus the rise, if any, in the Construction Cost Index for the San Francisco Region.

4:30PM #2) The same subdivider and property for the 4:30PM #1 item has filed for approval for a 86-lot single-family residential development subdivision with one outlot for water pump station purposes.

5:00PM) The City of Fresno wishes to implement a 4-year water rate increase plan "to fund the replacement of aging infrastructure and expansion of the existing water system, both of which are needed to support current and future population and  economic growth."
The total water capital program is $409.5 million over the next four years and includes these  projects:

• Southeast Surface Water Treatment Facility - $226.6M
• Southeast Surface Water Treatment Facility Transmission Pipelines - $49.6M 
• Water Main Renewal - $55.3M
• Water Well Construction and Rehabilitation - $32.8M
• T4 Downtown Tank & Booster Pump Station - $9.7M 
• City Recharge Basins - $7.1 M
• Water Main Extensions - $6.4M
• Downtown Water System Upgrades - $4.1M
• 19 other water capital projects - $17.9M

"To establish these new water rates, staff has proceeded with and followed a Proposition 218 process as required by state law. The Notice of Public Hearing was mailed on June 28,2013 which is attached as Exhibit A. The Proposition 218 process is now complete." See report for proposed rate increases.