05-18-1970 - Regular Meeting - MinutesMINUTES OF THE ADJOURNED REGULAR MEETING OF CITY COUNCIL
AND JOINT MEETING WITH PLANNING COMMISSION
CITY OF WEST COVINA, CALIFORNIA
MAY 18, 1970.
The adjourned meeting of City Council was called to order at 7:35 P.M.,
in the West Covina City Hall by Mayor Ken Chappell. •The Pledge of
Allegiance was given, and the invocation was -given by Mr. H. R. Fast,
Public Service Director.
ROLL CALL
Present: Mayor Chappell; Councilmen Shearer, Nichols, Young,
Lloyd
Planning
Commission: Chairman Adams; Commissioners Mayfield, Jackson,
Browne; Commissioner Cox arrived at 7:45 P.M.
Others Present: George Aiassa, City Manager
H. R. Fast, Public Services Director
Richard Munsell, Planning Director
Lela Preston, City Clerk
George Zimmerman, City Engineer
William Vanettes, Communications Director
Doug Dawson, Administrative Analyst
JOINT MEETING WITH PLANNING COMMISSION
Discussion of Planning Department Work.Projects Schedule
• Chairman Adams: It has been our pleasure to meet with you
at intervals of approximately six months
for the :past three or four_years- We have
presented our work program of what we are doing what we have
accomplished and what we hope to do in the next six.months, and to
get your comments and direction on the items with regard to
the priority, addition or deletion of work items. We have found
this to be of help to us and it also makes the Council aware of
what our thoughts...and actions are. We have looked to the General
Plan for our ioverall guidance on our long range plan of work and use
that as a check list of work accomplished and work yet to be done.
We feel we have made very good progress in meeting many of the
recommendations pointed out as items of particular importance in the
General Plan and the implementation thereof. Tonight, we would like
to make a brief presentation along with slides pertaining to the
studies underway and the.work we are proposing to accomplish. We
would appreciate your comments on these matters.
Mr., Munsell: (Slides shown of the Central Business
Planning Director District (CBD) as it is in the CBD Plan
adopted by City Council about a year ago.
Explained location of various businesses
-and pointed out the circulation system after redevelopment of
streets.) The view is to improve the quality of the stores and
hopefully attract another major tenant to complement the Broadway.
(Slide shown of a sketch plan depicting what could -be done with
the Civic Center Complex when completely developed, the Cal -Store,
the West Covina Plaza and an anticipated -shopping center .with a
modified plaza immediately adjacent to the east.) The thought here
was that a long mall.wo.uld-.not be too.comple.mentary and perhaps two
individual shopping centers would be .better with.a.good deal of
parking around them. In this plan the anticipation was that the
West Covina Center area would become office -financial type of a
complex rather than a competitor to the.,Plaza. Again this is
illustrious, showing :the West Covina Parkway -going -under the Freeway,
the new interchanges, etc.
( Slide shown -along the. Freeway at
Oceanside pertaining to Freeway Oriented Use) This.slide shows
what the State has been exploring with regard to Freeway Oriented
Use signs. A Freeway oriented use is one which someone -driving
ADJ. C. C. 5-18-70 Page Two'
Joint Session with Planning Commission - Cont°do
from Los Angeles to Las Vegas might wish to take advantage of. This
slide is one pointing out that there is a Motel, Gas and "restaurant
adja.ceut to —the —freeway o£f..-r.amp. (Slide showed a neat attractive
small type freeway sign) This is not of a shoe store or bank. When
you talk about freeway orientation that is different, but a freeway
• oriented use is what might be needed while you are travelling from
one point to another.
(Commissioner Cox arrived at 7:45 P.M.)
(Slides shown of Freeway Oriented Signs and other
areas were pointed out and discussed as to signage being used
effectively; slides shown of some of the signs in West Covina that
have been abated or changed voluntarily. Slides shown in connection
with the Freeway Widening that is now going on, showing what is
being accomplished.) I have a tally sheet that is much too long to
display on the wall but it is available, showing what has been
purchased and -what is in process. This is available and I will be
glad to explain it'in detail later if anyone is interested. Along
with the freeway widening there is a great deal of uses being
disturbed on the north side of Garvey Avenue (slide shown and
it was explained as ,to the procedure the State uses in advising the
City of purchases contemplated or completed, and what the City is
doing with regard to advising the owners of property and the
offering of assistance.)
(Slides shown pertaining to the revision of the
R-2 zone.) In terms of revising all the zones in the City the R-1:
and R-4 have been revised bringing them up to standards which in
• most cases increase the quality of the product the City gets, and
in most cases adds incentive to the developer. We are also in the
process of attempting to redo the entire City in terms of some of
the zones which we have now adopted and updated but have not done
so on the land. When we modified the R-3 to MF-25 all of the R-3
was automatically blanketed in as MF-25 and the same with the R-4.
Then we changed the C-1 zone and all C-1 was.blanketed in as
Neighborhood -Commercial. We had C-2 and C-3 zoning and�unfortunately�
it wasn't located in such a way that we could automatically blanket
it in to one of the new commercial zones. The new commercial zones
include not only the Neighborhood -Commercial, but the Community„
Commercial and a Regional -Commercial and a Service -Commercial.
We are currently working with Eastland Center in terms of rezoning
their land to the C-2 Regional -Commercial zone. And we are
currently working with several of the smaller shopping centers with
a view to rezoning their property from C-3 into a Community —
Commercial zone. We are in the process of attempting to clean up
all of these areas shown on the map where the land is in a zoned
area which we intended to phase out but couldn't easily do it at
one public hearing with all the legal problems, notification problems,
etc. We determined it would be better to approach these centers on an
individual basis. (Explained reasons and the procedure being followed.)
(Slide shown of a close-up of the.General Plan and
Mr. Munsell explained it was shown to define the limits of the
Specific Plan 5 that has not been worked on recently because of the
planning staff°s workload. The purpose of Specific Plan 5 was
designated to take in the Eastland Shopping Center. Explained in
detail what was contemplated in an attempt to upgrade the major
regional shopping centers.)
The next item pertains to the Service Station
ordinance. We are currently working on a resolution which spells
out the standards. (Slide shown of a before and after picture of
a service station, pointing out the criteria now used with regard
to requirements of landscaping, etc.)
On the last page of the written report given to you,
you will note that a good deal of staff time has been spent on the
Umark Master Plan and the Planned Community Development; and that a
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ADJ. C.C� 5-18-70 Page Three
Joint Session with Planninq Commission Cont°d.
number of our lower priority items have been, put in abeyance so that
a good number of items that you see before you are still in a state
not much more advanced than four months ago when presented to Council.
Chairman Adams: Thank you, Mr. M.unsell. In a mail out to
• Council we listed some 14 specific studies
and we have given a short narrative to each
and the priority. We also have a chart displayed on the wall showing
percentage completion. As pointed out., some of these studies have
been with us for some time and that in the last six months the City
has been presented with the more sophisticated and complex proposals
which have come in over the counter requiring most of staff time,
And we certainly think this time was well spent and that it will be the
kind of thine we want to see in the City.
We would appreciate any comments you may
have on any of these particular studies listed. Do you have any
questions with regard to what we are attempting to accomplish,
the scope of the work, the time allotted, priorities given, etc.?
Many of these studies listed will be completed within the next 6
months
Mayor Chappell. One comment on the :PCD - Bren. project,
At first I was very dissatisfied with the
offering presented originally and with a
lot of hard work and time spent in meetings, consultations, etc.,
with the Bren people, it has really come out to be something that
I think we all will be able -to point with pride to and be able to
say - this is the way we wanted it. The Commission and staff is
to be complimented on the hard work and the number of hours
• spent on the project. I believe being hardnosed has paid off and
that this is the type of thing we expect from our Commissions and
they are providing this efficiency and I want to commend you -, John,
and your Commission. Does Council have any questions or comments?
Councilman Nichols, I plead ignorance on the G-P housing
element, I would like a little explanation..
Mr. Munsell: The General :Plan has certain elements within
Planning Director it which the State requires to have for what
they call a complete General .Plan. At the
time the City adopted the General :Plan the housing element was not a
required element,, There were a number of elements such as schools,
parks, etc., which most cities attempt to put in their plans. In a
fairly recent enactment and really as a device to activate re-
development applications under the701 Grants, etc., the State has
modified the .Planning and Zoning law to require a housing element
for every General Plan. A General :Plan without a housing element,
as far as the State is concerned, as about . the middle of last
year, is not a complete General Plan. The effect this has on our
General Plan for all practical purposes at present is zero. There
is no penalty if you do not have one or any agency forcing you to
get it, but you do not have a complete General Plan as spelled out
by the Law. There is one minor kicker in it and this has to do
where the City might in the future wish to use some of the tools
available to it through the State Redevelopment Law and without
• a complete General Plan these tools are not readily available.
1 might add that the County of Los Angeles and
SLAG; the five county area in this immediate vicinity, are currently
working on an overall housing element whichl,ho.pefully, many of the
Cities may take unto themselves and use as"a housing element. The
State criteria is that each community must provide housing for all
segments of its community - economic, social., etc. The problem is,v,
as in most le islationethere is no real sure criteria as to whether
they are talking about your community, or whether they are talking
about say San Marino and providing all the housing that San Marino
needs at its economic and social levels, or whether you have to
provide the housing element for the metropolitan area in which you
live.
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ADJ. C.C. 5-18-70 Page Four
Joint Session with Planning Commission - Cont°d.
The East San Gabriel Valley Planning Committee
has been involved in this. For the benefit of the new Councilmen
I might explain that this is a group made up of the various cities
in the East San Gabriel Valley ...
• Councilman Young: A question - the County is working as
to County territory or on an across the
board type of basis?
Mr. Munsello Originally, when the East San Gabriel Valley and
the southwest and east central areas were set up
there were I believe 12 in number and that
geographically broke the County up. They got together and did a
-Land Use Inventory and the attempt was to do the 12 areas by the
County, as County staff could do this in a reasonably short time
and come up with a breakdown of everything in the County in the
incorporated and unincorporated areas. There was no intent, as
far as I know, to seize some sort of control over the cities within
the territories. I think they have accomplished 7 of these 12 or
13 territories and have found the most effective thing they have
done is gotten the cities together and because the cities were done
at a different period of time and with different staffs, they
don't fit when they tried to put together. (Explained) Also the
County Supervisors were unwilling to take any action to adopt these
plans when set out. The South Bay Area was the first to be
completed and all of the cities endorsed what was in the plan, and
the County refused to take official action. So they had a plan
endorsed by everyone except the County. Now the County is in the
process of going back and trying to do a whole new General Plan
• in an attempt to get this mass urban area under control.
The big question is that the State has indicated
every City must have a General Plan and a housing element within it.
The feeling in this urban area is that the housing element is a
vast problem that is bigger than just a City like West Covina rather
than like Irwindale and LaPuente. We can't possibly absorb every
housing element in this area, whereas the County of Los Angeles
might be able too. So we have a situation where nobody is sure
what will satisfy the housing element and there is no need for it in
terms of sanctions against us if we don't have one. However, everyone
is looking to meet the requirements set out for a complete General
Plan. The total impact of the housing element hasn't been fully
explored because we haven't felt the pressing need for it. We do
hope to be presenting something on it in the near future and bring
to you what we can gather will be the impact of it on this community,
so we will have some direction on how you would like to proceed.
Councilman Young. We are talking about shifting the business
areas, the object is redevelopment in some
of the business districts and yet we are involved with extensive
private property interests here. I know we can use the Parking
District Law to a point but the City isn't going into the merchandis-
ing business and furnishing land for Penney § or Broadway - will you
explain what our particular hopes are in that area?
Mr. Munsello The State Redevelopment Law is set up in such a way
that there are a whole series of programs available,
none of which are funded. For example, the City first
must set up a Redevelopment Agency and they would establish an area
for redevlopment such as the CBD and then they may go in and establish
a plan for the area and in effect exercise eminent domain over one
or two individuals that may be putting the damper tothe whole thing
without some legal authority to move in. It can be set up on a
situation where all the individuals owning property within an area
may participate. They may take advantage of the State Redevelopment
Law and the eminent domain practice, which is rather complicated and
depends on any number of factors. There can be redevelopment with
private participation, the same owners staying in the redevelopment
area and redeveloping with the assistance of some of the State Law.
legal technique. On top of that, as you mentioned, we have a situation
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ADJ. C.C. 5-18-70 1 w Page rive
Joint Session with P.lanning_Commission m Cont°do
where there are a whole series of very helpful laws which really
have been around a long time and people are still finding new ways
to package them such as the 1913, 1918, 1911 Assessment Districts,
bonding techniques - 1959 Mall Act, etc., which allows a City
to close a street and develop it in participation with the property
• owners and allows those property owners unwilling to participate or
unable, allows them a fair market value for their land and'they can
go somewhere else and they have certain advantages such as a tax
write off, etc., because their property is taken rather than a resale.
Councilman Young: Essentially then we are talking, for
example, about a small business owner say
undere.capitalized and we buy him out ® is that the essence of it?
If you have the consent of the majority of business within the area?
Mr. Munsell: If you go on an Assessment District or any
of the other situations other than a
typical redevelopment program, it takes a
majority of those people by assessed value of the land to agree.
Most of the acts are written if fewer than a majority protest then
you are ready to go. You don't go out for vote; only those who file
a written protest at the time of the meeting and their vote counts
on the dollar value of the land.
Councilman Young: You get into a redevelopment at that point
of reconstructing or redesigning?
Mr. Munsell: It might become a Parking District or a
Municipal :Improvement District and it
doesn't matter whether you are building it around the Civic Center
Is area, a shopping center, or a -heliport, basically you are building a
City facility.
Councilman Young: You have two interests - the private
commercial and the City? (Answer., Right)
How do these interests mesh?
Mr. Munsell., The only reason for me to exist is community
development in terms of attempting - the
City itself is say a ten or twelve million dollar corporation _ and if
we sit back and let the City run itself.it generally runs down, so
our part is to insurethat every part of the City is functioning.
Our commercial areas are the things that make us run, so it behooves
the City to go out and insure that these commercial areas are as
efficient as they possibly can be. Our process is to go out and
consolidate,wherever possible, strip commercial generally. (Explained
further) Our intent is to make this wherever we are going to have
commercial, to make it as viableand productive as possible. This is
our life blood. We do the same thing with residential properties, the
better quality we can keep, the better population we have in terms of
expendable income. We are in the process of servicing people, but
also attempting to keep standards at a level where we have a
reasonable market for commercial areas and then we take these commercial
areas and make them as effective as possible. Some of the surveys done
recently for the C.B.D indicate that about 60% of the customers that go
• to the C.BD area come from outsideof the 7 cities immediately around
the City, referring to the Broadway, West Covina Plaza, Cal -Store
Complex. We did a one-shot parking study on Eastland for two different
days and we did an extensive parking study on the CBD area for those
two days. One was the weekend before Christmas and the other a month
before to get a non -peak time and a peak tame, to indicate where people
are coming from an& the sales volume. I don't have the analysis on
Eastland because our emphasis. -was right here.. Our most important
product here is to bewable.to go to the business people and say we
know you have a problem in parking and how can.we help you solve it
talk with them in terms of standards which we -have researched in
developing new ordinances, etc.- Whether it would be beneficial for'
the City m for example.®. to be involved in the situation of assising
in a parking district to help get them off the ground .would bg,,,based
on the er- nomi.cs of the situation. Can .:the City _participate, -where it
5
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ADJ. Co Co 5-18-70 Page Sic
Joint Session with .Planning Commission m Cont°do
might have to spend money or go through a situation of assessing
the property owners for it and have them pay it back over a 30
year period.
Councilman Young: Ultimately we have to have a large
measure of) consent from the businesses
themselves?
Mr. Munsell: Anything other than redevelopment has to
be consent or at least a "no protest
situation.
Councilman Young: If we go redevelopment what do we have?
Mr. Munsell- Then you establish a Redevelopment Agency
such as the City Council. or another body
and they draw a line on the map and you hold public hearings just
as we do on other matters. It is not a protest situation, only
one of getting the general feeling of the people.
Councilman Young: Suppose the public decides it is a feasible
thing, then what?
Mr, Munsell: Technically it is a matter for the Council
and Commission to decide in the best
interests of the Community and in a
redevelopment situation they may disregard public sentiment. This is
a matter that usually everybody gets involved in. Most assessment
projects take a majority of the land: value ;to protest out a project.
Generally speaking it becomes a -practical matter that unless 80% are
in favor most public agencies are reluctant to act on it'because it
just becomes a problem. If we assume we have a redevelopment project
and the City desires to go ahead, 1 might add the City of Torrance,
the City of Long Beach and the City of Colton have done this .....
Councilman Young- But that redevelopment ultimately comes
down t.o) say) a new shopping area?
Mr. Munsell. You draw a line and say we want a new
shopping center here, then you draw a sketch
plan and say this is what we want and we want it here, and then you
shop around to developers and say m okays are you willing to come in
and provide this type of lo_ca.t.ion if we can get the land at a
reasonable cost? So you m the Redevelopment Agency ® buyS the land
and clears it and sells it back to somebody at somewhat less.
Long .Beach, I think, is purchasing the land in the neighborhood of
$12 ® $14 a sq. foot, and selling ' for $3.00,
Councilman Young: Do we have a reading at the present time
on the feasibility of this approach
the Redevelopment approach, or on anything
for that matter?
Mr. Munsell'. I think m one, we have been working with
the property owners in the CBD area,'and
• two, a good number are cooperating in terms of talking with the City
and in talking with major retailers trying to attract a major store
or two, hopefully. Luckily in this situation we are talking with
only three or four owners rather than fifty, which you might have in
some other areas in West Covina. In the West Covina Center area
we are participating with them, however, in this case there are a
goodly number of owners and it is very likely that -we will have to
go to a Redevelopmentapproach. If we go on a voluntary approach
with some assistance from the City, the central core ® the Plaza,
Broadway, Civic Center area - would be perhaps the most ready to.
redevelop. As far as I know there has been no testing of the
waters as to a .Redevelopment 4rogram in the City. Frankly, I don't
® 6
ADJ. C.C. 5-18-70 Page Seven
Joint Session with Planning Commission - Cont'd.
think I would be prepared to go out and test the water either. It
requires a great deal of ground work to make sure that you have all
the tools at hand and insure that the various people in the
community know exactly what you are doing, the service groups, etc.
Chairman Adams-. This might be an appropriate time to
reference the fact that tomorrow night
the various Committees will be meeting
on the CBD study.
Mr, Munsell-. Yes, it is tomorrow night, However, the
Financial Committee cannot function until
the other Committees get more information
to theme
Chairman Adams-. However, there will be a lot of discussion
on this with regard 'to what can or cannot
be done.
Mr. Munsell: Yes, the Land Use Committee, the Design
Committee, Environmental Committee, etc.,
will have a great deal of information available perhaps as to where
we should be heading and the Financial Committee when they receive
enough input will start cutting up the pie and saying the stores
here can absorb a 50e, per square foot assessment to pay for what
it will take to redevelop.
Councilman Young: I guess it will come to the point on all
of this that we will need the ultimate con-
• sent of the community right across the
board to accomplish these things effectively?
Mr. Munsell: I don't think there is any question ® as far
as I am concerned,that th.e:knowledge of what
we are trying to accomplish is essential, but it is not always a case
of where the community specifically is involved. .Many of these
things can be done without participation or:city funds at all.
Generally speaking where the Community likes to be informed is when
you are taking it out of the tax funds. Where there is city partici-
pation with the aspect of long term return .then it is essential that
the community knows about it, but whether they would have to vote on
it depends on the technique used, If you went to a general obligation
bond, obviously you would have to have the vote of the people. There
are many other devices perfectly legal which attack the financing in
a different area. Say you required all the stores to pay X number of
dollars per space and this mone-y is then used to pay off any financial
indebtedness incurred by the district to construct parking. The City
of Long Beach is going on a tax increment where they have sold bonds
based on the concept that what they are going to put on the land will
increase the tax input so that they can pay off all the costs, they
figure within 10 years on a 30 year obligation. (Explained in further
detail that the land is taken at assessed value and they freeze the
value and clear the land and still pay whatever the School District
share was, the County -share and the City share, even though the land
is fallow as long as ten years, and when something is built as they
start to return the money they keep the tax rate frozen and that money
is used to finance another at the original rate base of the redevelop-
ment.
Councilman Young: I would like to say it sure sounds to me
like we are heading in the right direction
with this type of planning,
(THE CHAIR CALLED FOR A RECESS AT 8-.40 P.M. COUNCIL RECONVENED AT
8:50 P.M®)
Mayor Chappell: With regard to the completion of -the Sign
Ordinance revision it says it is 95% com-
pleted, when will the recommendations be made to the Planning
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ADJ. C.C. 5®18-70 Page Eight
Joint Session with Planninq Commission W Cont°do
Commission and then to City Council?
Mr, M.unsell.- Staff .is in the process of putting together
the recommendations from the Committee
appointed by Council, and will be mailing to the participants this
material this week to be sure it reflects everything that went on at
the meetings. It is being put .into Ordinance form and Council will
receive shortly.
Mayor Chappell.- Are we looking forward to changes that may
cause great concern?
Mr. Munsell.- I think the changes are really logical ones.
Commissioner Jackson.- How does abatement stand as far as com-
pleteness?
Mr o Munsell .- The abatement itself has been in abeyance
while we have gone through the Ordinance.
A number of the minor changes I don't think significantly affect the
overall sign program and are such that the abatement itself will be
cut drastically because there are a lot of minor infractions which we
think we can adjust due to some of these recommendations. The whole
abatement program itself will rest on what the Commission and the
Council does in adopting the modifications being recommended. One of
the recommendations of the Committee is to establish a Board of Sign
Adjustments, which would be akin to another lay body. Sign viola-
tions or individuals who would like a slight deviation in the Ordinance
could go for relief without having to trouble the agendas of the
Commission or Council - which are rather full already. There are
devices being suggested which should help the abatement program and
the relief programs, for those that actually deserve some relief.
Mayor Chappell, A new business coming to town, when they
get their business license they get a copy
of our Sign Ordinance do they get an
explanation as to the pitfalls or problems they' might be .facing on
their signs?
Mr. Munsell.- Yes/they doa but it is a common practice
for the businesses to come in and apply
for their business license a month or two
after they have purchased the business and this then sometimes causes
problems. So we still have some practical problems involved with
just processing through business license.
Mayor Chappell: I have noticed some businesses opened -recently
and their signs are so far in violation
already that it disturbs me that we can't
stop this immediately as it happens. I have pointed out a couple
of them.
Mr. Munsell.- We catch most of them and if the signs are
brand new they can take them down imme-
diately, but if it is an abatement problem we still have the
• legal procedure to go through which takes ime and if the man wants
to be hardnosed and wishes to go to Court --
(Mayor Chappell thanked the Planning Commissioners for attending
and bringing Council up-to-date and giving the new Councilmen an
opportunity to discuss.)
Chairman Adams.- It certainly has been our pleasure to
meet with you and it is our intent to be
responsive to the individual that comes in with an interpretation of
something — like the Umark matter ,,or anything that comes down from
the Council that you feel should be given consideration.
ADJ. C.C. 5-18-70
Page Nine
Joint Session with
Planning Commission - Cont°d.
Councilman Lloyd:
I would like to take the opportunity to
express on my own behalf and I hope I ex-
press -,for the Council, that we are indeed
very much blessed with
a very fine Planning Commission and I think
the fortitude and effort
exhibited by this very fine group in support
of our City is certainly
well worth bo.th'receiving'the information
and watching, because
I consider each of these five individuals real
professionals who have
given a tremendous service to our City, and I,
for one, want to give
a personal "thanks".
Mayor Chappell:
I am sure we all agree Councilman Lloyd,
�eep
and we hope they will up the good work.
MAYOR°s REPORTS
Mayor Chappell-.
I would remind Council that we have a
Mayor's and Councilmen's Institute m
May 20th. Many of you
indicated you might want to go and we now
have to let the City Manager
know so firm reservations can be made.
(Discussion by Council. Councilmen Lloyd and Nichols and Mayor
Chappell indicated they would be attending and turned in cards.
Councilmen Shearer and Young indicated they would not be attending.)
COUNCIL COMMITTEE REPORTS
Councilman Lloyd: This is an editorial reply which was given
by myself on May 7, and I thought you might
like to see it. I have received some very favorable comments from
some of the other independent cities. All and all I thought it was
beneficial. I would point out to you that I managed to get the name
of "West Covina" in the copy five times, and the value on the name
alone for the two minutes time is figured at about $25,OOO.
The other item I would like to bring up is
Councilman Nichols and I had a meeting Friday with regard to the
Sister City Foundation, and-1 regret to inform .you ,that our Sister
City Foundation to all intents--.and.ppu-rposes is, -defunct. We are,
however, moving.along-.with this. Mr-, Aia,ssa.has.been kind enough to
offer the services of Doug Dawson to help get it off the ground,
and we have gotten together and .we._are.faced-.--with a visitation as of
Tuesday and for those of you. whoare participating. _ iL certainly
thank you very much for this help.in.-housing, the sixteen young
gentlemen from Toluca. But. what. -we -really need -now -is to go the
next step beyond this immediate problem. A decision.will have to be
made as to what our City wants in the -way of involvement with our
Sister City. I think I can safely say Councilman. Nichols and I
had the feeling this was a very worthwhile program and were favorably
disposed° However, if people exhibit no more interest than that
which was exhibited, I feel we will have to make the recommendation
that we no longer be involved, because the way -.we have been going
does not do justice to a very important program.. It requires more
time and attention. Some of the things being proposed is that we
set up sort of a central room or meeting place and designate it as
the Toluca Room at City Hall, and the -City -.Manager said we might
delegate one office space, -not solely for this, but it could be
called the Toluca room. Then over and above this we must find
levels of involvement by the people of our community whether from
a social, age, economic, group m or from the cultural backgrounds -
high schools, colleges, etc. These things have to be defined and
once defined then we can decide whether we can make it move or not.
I am sorry .this is 'such a negative
report because I think this is a very worthwhile project, but I can
not come up with any kind of a report at the present moment,
Councilman Nichols ido you wish to make any further comments?
Councilman Nichols: No�I believe you.have covered the subject.
ADJ. C.C. 5-18-70 Page Ten
Council Committee Reports
Mayor Chappell. It is kind of strange because we had the
meeting and they were almost indignant
that the Councilmen were moving in on their balliwick and trying to
get things done and now we find they aren't even around. Are you
going to make any recommendations?
• Councilman Lloyd. We will ca11 a meeting within the next two
weeks and all of those listed as members
will be notified, plus I will speak to the local paper and ask them
to run a free display )ad in favor of the West Covina Sister City
and set up a meeting here at City Hallo We would at that point
invite people in, invite them to join, and find out what type of
participation we have and what type of involvement they would like,
whether it is a drive to Mexico - Toluca, or some other place that
somehow orients with it, and finally to see if we can get this
program running along. Right now we don't have anything.
Councilman Young: I think we are in the age of involvement
and I intend to offer a Resolution along
that line. I think that our community
wants to be involved and I think the example of that took place on
Saturday when we had something like two thousand young people walk-
ing around this City. I got involved in it because the neighborhood
girl came .down and asked me to sponsor her and I said sure, well she
walked twenty-four and a half miles in 99 degree temperature, and my
daughter heard about it and she wanted to do it, so I sponsored her
and she walked twenty-two miles and I walked about two miles myself
with my daughter before I pooped out - I didn't have a sponsor.
�It x4as amazing. People that lived along the .route were out sprinkling
the `children that wanted to be sprinkled in orde;i7 to cool off. One
house was serving kool-aid gratis - so this was a kind of involvement
and.curiously,,the thing that sparked this was the representation that
44/ of the money raised would be used in Mexico for hungry children.
So there is no doubt in my mind as to the interest of constructive
involvement. The Sister City program is up at a level that isn't
reaching these children but when you give them something constructive
to do rather than burning down college buildings, they get on with it.
If we can get action involvement then I think we have something.
And I would suggest the City Council room as a perfect location
for the Toluca meeting place. I feel that I was the last person
to use the room several weeks ago when I was given a key to it and
showed around because I was up there the other day,and nothing was
changed.
Councilman Shearer. I did use it once recently.
Mayor Chappell: I think we should try and form a new
organization, one that is willing to move
along with things, because as I remember when it first started there
were some nice things done and nice projects undertaken between here
and Mexico. If we can find the spark, let's try it. I think your
idea of having a meeting and explaining is a good idea. I will be
at the meeting and get behind it too. Maybe we can find some people
that will dedicate their time in that area.
With regard to the Resolution suggested by
Councilman Young m let's prepare it so we can have it on our agenda
at our next meeting.
Councilman Young: I think it was a very wholesome, constructive
activity ® the Freedom for Hunger March, and
I think we ought to recognize .it.
I. would request that the Councilmen join in
a resolution commendation for the sponsorship and participation of the
Freedom from Hunger:M arch that took place in this City on Saturday,
May 16, 1970.
(Council agreed and asked City Manager 'to have such a Resolution prepared
and presented on the agenda at the next regular meeting of Council.)
. ADJ. C.C. 5-18-70 Page Eleven
There being no further business, Council adjourned
at 9:12 P.M., on motion made, seconded and carried.
•
ATTEST:
CITY CLERK
s
MAYOR
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