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11-13-1972 - Regular Meeting - MinutesMINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL CITY OF WEST COVINA, CALIFORNIA NOVEMBER 13, 1972. The regular meeting of the City Council was called to order at • 7:33 P.M., by Mayor Robert Young in the West Covina Council Chambers. The invocation was given by the Reverend Robert Jeffries of Christ Lutheran Church, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. ROLL CALL Present: Mayor Young; Councilmen: tShearer, Nichols, Lloyd, Chappell Others Present: George Aiassa, City Manager George Wakefield, City Attorney Lela Preston, City Clerk George Zimmerman, Public Services Director Bert Yamasaki, Acting Planning Director Richard Munsell, Planning Director John Lippitt, Acting City Engineer Leonard Eliot, Controller Craig Meacham, Deputy Chief of Police Jeff Butzlaff, Administrative Analyst, Jr. Claudia Luther, Staff Reporter - L.A.Times Jeff Schenkel, Staff; Reporter, S.G. V.D. Tribune CONSENT CALENDAR Mayor Young explained the procedure of the Consent Calendar items and asked if there were any comments on the following items: 1. WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS a) PROTESTS TO RESOLUTION Business Improvement Tax Levy. NO. 4650 (See attached list; refers to Hearing Item B-1) b) ROBERT HIRSCH Requests consideration of HIRSCH/STERN Tentative Tract. No. 30872 held over to meeting of November 27, 1972. (Refers to Planning Commission Item No. CC-2a-1) c) LOCAL AGENCY FORMATION Re "Criteria and General Statement COMMISSION of Policy for Adopting Spheres of Influence for Cities". (Refer to Staff) d) WEST COVINA CHAMBER OF Re supporting the proposed align - COMMERCE ment of the West Covina Parkway. HIGHWAY & TRANSPORTATION (Refer to hearing, November 27, COMMITTEE 1972) e) WEST COVINA COUNCIL OF Re discontinuance of recreation pro - PARENT TEACHERS ASSOC., gram at elementary schools. (Receive and file) f) HOLLENCREST INTERMEDIATE Hollencrest Intermediate PTA re PTA _ discontinuance of recreation program at elementary schools. (Receive and file) (See discussion on Page 3) g) KENNETH HAHN, Re television blackout of sporting SUPERVISOR SECOND DIST, events in Los Angeles and surround- ing area within 75-mile radius. (Receive and file) - 1 - 0 CITY COUNCIL CONSENT CALENDAR - Cont°d. h) ED and GLADYS LABERGE 28517 PACIFIC COAST HWY., MALIBU i) ARTHRITIS FOUNDATION j) SALVATION ARMY kY LOS ANGELES COUNTY HEART ASSOCIATION 1) PHIL WAX WEST COVINA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE Request for Joint Meeting m) 14EST..COVINA CITY EMPLOYEES ASSOCIATION n) WEST COVINA BEAUTIFUL 2. PLANNING COMMISSION a) SUMMARY OF ACTION 1) TENTATIVE TRACT NO. 30872 3. RECREATION & PARKS COMMISSION a) SUMMARY OF ACTION Page Two :11/13/72 Re construction in connection with 336 N. Azusa:'.Ave.(Refer to Staff to follow-up with State) Re fund raising appeal to be con- ducted February 1, 2, and 3, 1973. (Approved in prior years, recommend approval subject to Staff review) Requests permission to place Christmas Kettles with attendants in Plaza Shopping Center and Eastland Shopping Center from November 24 through December 24, 1972.. (Approved in prior years; recommend approval subject to Staff review.) Requests permission to solicit funds during the month of February, 1973. (Approved in prior years; recommend approval subject to Staff review) Re recommendations for land use development to compliment major resource commitments in Phase I of the CBD REDEVELOPMENT PROGRAM. (Council) (See discussion on Pages 3 & 4) From President of Employees Association requesting funds budget- ed for Annual Awards Dinner. (See Page 4) Invitation to participate in the Annual Awards and.Installation Dinner, Saturday, November 18, 1972, at M ame's Restaurant. November 1, 1972. (Receive and file) Robert Hirsch. Recommended by Planning Commission Resolution No. 2446. (Refers to Item No. CC-1 b) October 25, 1972. (Accept and file) 4. HUMAN RELATIONS"COMMISSION a) SUMMARY OF ACTION October 26, 1972. (Receive and file.) 5. ACCEPTANCE OF"IMPROVEMENT'S AND RELEASE OF BONDS a) PRECISE PLAN NO. 618 LOCATION: Northwest corner of Valley FREDRICKS DEVELOPMENT Boulevard and Sentous Avenue. CORPORATION Accept street improvements and authorize release of Insurance Company of North America Bond No. MNR 676722 in the amount of $19,000. (Staff recommends approval) b) PRECISE PLAN NO. 610 LOCATION: North side of -North Garvey WITTENBERG CORPORATION Avenue 450 feet west of Baymar Street. Accept sidewalk and driveway approach improvements and authorize release of American Motorists Insurance Company Bond No. 1SM 160 937 in the amount of $1,500. (Staff recommends acceptance) M - 2 - • • CITY COUNCIL CONSENT CALENDAR - Cont°d. 6. CLAIMS FOR DAMAGES' FILED WITH CITY CLERK a) GENERAL TELEPHONE CO., P. O. Box 889 SANTA MONICA 7. ABC APPLICATIONS a) Ray Sik Yun 140 Mariposa Avenue Los Angeles Page Three 11/13/72 Underground communications facilities. (Deny and refer to Insurance Carrier and City Attorney) Chief of Police recommends PROTEST. dba Alta -Dena Drive -In Dairy 310-F South Vincent Avenue Councilman Shearer: Mr. Mayor, I am a little confused regarding Item 1-f - we have a letter here purported to be from the West Covina Unified School District, at least it is typed on their letterhead, protesting the dropping of certain recreation activities, yet it is signed by the Corresponding Secretary of the Hollencrest PTA. Are we to assume this is from the local PTA or the School Dis- trict, or does the School District allow the PTA to use their stationery? Can anyone on Staff answer that? Mr. Aiassa: I cannot answer that. Councilman Shearer: I would like to have this item with- drawn from the Consent Calendar until it is clarified - whether this:'.is :.the positio.n':of :the West Covina Unified School District or if it is only speaking for the PTA group. Mayor Young: One nice thing about it is the letter very nicely asks that we consider restoration in another year. Motion by Councilman Shearer, seconded by Mayor Young and carried, to hold Item 1-f over to the next regular meeting of City Council, for further clarification. Councilman Shearer: One further comment on Item I-1. There is no recommendation. It is a letter from Phil Wax requesting a meeting to discuss possible other areas of major development, and I am not sure whether that needs further action. I assume it does. My question - if such a meeting is legal other than an adjourned meeting of the Council? The request was for a meeting at the Chamber°s conference room and if the Council meets as a body does that constitute a public meeting? Mr. Wakefield: City Attorney the City Council and it must of Councilman Shearer: Mr. Wakefield: City Attorney Councilman Shearer: Mr. Aiassa: You may have the meeting at the Chamber office; however, it should be an adjourned regular meeting of necessity be open to the public. A way to avoid that would be to have just two members of Council meet with the Chamber of Commerce? Yes. I think we need clarification then if the request was for the whole Council or just two members. I think it is meant for the whole Council. - 3 - CITY COUNCIL CONSENT CALENDAR - Cont Id. Page Four 11/13/72 Mayor Young: I have been meeting with this particular Committee over a period of several weeks now and this particular Subcommittee of. - the Chamber of Commerce has been reviewing various elements of present and prospective commercial development in the City with the • thought in mind of conducting studies and even going so far as to develop overlay type concepts for the development of various areas • such as the CBD, the .area we have included within that, the North Azusa, South Glendora, the Galaxie Area, Eastland Shopping Area, the proposed industrial park area, and they are further concerned with transportation arteries, access to these various areas, and I think that the Subcommittee would like to present some of its thinking to the entire Council. I think we are at a position where we will be faced with some decision making as to whether we should continue these studies, particularly with the participation of City Staff carefully studying the areas to be developed on a priority basis. I gather this particular meeting would be to bring all the entire Council abreast of some of the discussions and reasons developed over a period of time by the Subcommittee. Councilman Shearer: That is fine. I only brought it up because the letter requests a meeting a week from today, so when we adjourn tonight I didn't want it to become a problem and we should adjourn to that date..at 4 : 00 P.M. Councilman Lloyd: A point ofprivilege,.Mr. Mayor,, I will not be in town on Monday and I certainly would expect to participate in the discussions and since it is not a normal meeting date I would ask for that con- sideration. (Discussion followed on a possible meeting date; Mr. Wax advised the Council that the request was not only for the Council attendance but also for the Planning Commissioners to be present, and that it is intended as a work shop session; further advised he did not know if it would be convenient to hold the meeting at,City Hall or in the Chamber of Commerce's conference room. Council decided to set it for the 29th of November at 4 P.M. in the Council Chambers.) Motion by Councilman Chappell, seconded by Councilman Shearer, to approve Items 1 through 7 of the Consent Calendar. Mr. Aiassa: Mr. Mayor, a comment. Item I-m refers to the annual funding that we give the Employees Association - it is budgeted and I just want to be sure the Council realizes this. Mayor Young: Yes, I believe we have all reviewed this material. This is the item of the $950.00 contribution to the West Covina City Employees Association for a Christmas Party. This has been an annual approval over a good many years. Is there any further comment? Councilman Shearer: Lest we give a completely wrong picture, that is a Christmas Party and Awards dinner, and the intent of the City is to have this in order to give various awards to city employees. Isn't that 4C correct? Mr. Ai.assa: Yes. We used to have two separate affairs and then we combined them into one. Motion carried on roll call as follows: AYES: Councilmen: Shearer, Nichols, Lloyd; Chappell, Young NOES: None ABSENT: None 4 - CITY COUNCIL RESOLUTIONS FOR ADOPTION Page Five 11/13/72 WOODSIDE VILLAGE LOCATION: North side of Amar Road at Temple MAINTENANCE DISTRICT Avenue. NO. 1 RESOLUTION NO. 4654 The City Attorney presented: • ADOPTED "A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF WEST COVINA ACCEPTING A GRANT OF • EASEMENT EXECUTED BY UMARK, INC., AND DIRECTING THE RECORDATION THEREOF." UNCLASSIFIED:` -USE LOCATION:. Southeast,corner of Citrus - _... ,r PERMIT:. NO:._:.179:_ ....Street,..and: Workman.. -Avenue RESOLUTION NO. 4655 The City Attorney presented: ADOPTED "A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF WEST COVINA ACCEPTING A GRANT DEED EXECUTED BY J. K. EICHENBAUM, JOSEPH K. EICHENBAUM, BEN WEINGART, AND DIRECTING THE RECORDATION THEREOF." Motion by Councilman Chappell, seconded by Councilman Lloyd and carried, to waive further reading of the foregoing resolutions. Motion by Councilman Chappell, seconded by Councilman Lloyd, to adopt the foregoing resolutions. Motion carried on roll call vote as follows: AYES: Councilmen: Shearer, Nichols, Lloyd, Chappell, Young NOES: None ABSENT: None END OF CONSENT CALENDAR PUBLIC WORKS SALE OF VACATED STREET LOCATION: Vacated Vincent Place between AREA Glendora Avenue and Vincent Avenue adjacent and northerly of Winchell Donut House. Motion by Councilman Shearer, that City Council approve entering into a joint escrow for sale of the City owned property. in Vincent Place to N L Industries on the basis of their offer to purchase the parcel at the appraised price of $14,350, plus the cost of public works already installed by the City in the amount of $3,675.17, payable all in cash through escrow; and authorize the Mayor to sign a Letter of Agreement for the sale. Seconded by Councilman Chappell and carried. PLANNED COMMUNITY LOCATION: Shadow Oak Drive and Giano Street. DEVELOPMENT NO. 1 COMMUNITY PARK DEDI- CATION - UMARK, INC. Coundilmafi._L1ayd.: `Mr. ka'yor a question of Mr. Aiassa. What kind of funds is it going to cost us at this point or does the Umark Company maintain the park? Mr. Aiassa: Mr. Yamasaki will answer that question and I believe it only involves 6 acres. Mr. Yamasaki: Mr. Mayor and members of Council, this is Acting Planning Dir., a portion of the total 20 acres that will be required for the Umark development in West Covina. The dedication is for land only and it will be the City's responsibility to make the improvements for a park. Councilman Lloyd: The improvement of the land and the main- tenance falls upon us? - 5 - CITY COUNCIL Page Six PUBLIC WKS.: PCD NO. 1 PARK DEDICATION 11/13/72 Mr. Yamasaki: Yes, that is correct. Councilman Lloyd: So we have an ongoing requirement in the area of parks and recreation for addition- al funds - is that correct? • Mr. Yamasaki: Yes. • Councilman Lloyd: I have no objection to the doing of it but I see a steadily mounting cost in that area. Councilman Chappell: Wel1j at the rate we are going it will be a vacant piece of land for a long time. Mr. Aiassa: Mr. Yamasaki, will this fall in the Maintenance District that we now have in that area? Mr. Yamasaki: No, it will not. It will be a City responsibility. RESOLUTION NO. 4656 The City Attorney presented: ADOPTED "A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF WEST COVINA ACCEPTING A CORPORATION GRANT DEED FOR COMMUNITY PARK PURPOSES EXECUTED BY UMARK, INC., AND DIRECTING THE RECORDATION THEREOF." Mo;fion by Councilman Lloyd, seconded by Councilman Chappell and carried, to waive further reading of said resolution. Motion by Councilman Chappell, seconded by Councilman Lloyd to adopt said resolution. Motion carried on roll call vote as follows: AYES: Councilmen: Shearer, Nichols, Lloyd, Chappell, Young NOES: None ABSENT: None PLANNING COMMISSION TENTATIVE TRACT NO. LOCATION: Easterly terminus of Fairgrove 25047 Avenue approximately. 750 feet easterly of DONALD L. BREN CO., Lark Ellen in PCD-1 Zone. REQUEST: Approval of a tentative tract map for the reversion to acreage of portions of Lots 9 and 10 of Tract.No. 24006, creat- ing one lot of 3.562 acres as recommended by Planning Commission Resolution No. 2435. Mr. Yamasaki: Mr. Mayor and members of Council, this is Acting Planning Dir., part of a previously approved tract involving the four-plex.area of Donald L. Bren Company's Woodside Village in the triangle formed by Lark Ellen, Amar and Azusa. This tentative tract is a reversion to acreage in order to permit the realignment of a street because of some area found to be unstable geologically. The Planning Commission recommends approval with one condition: temporary drive- ways to be constructed in order to service the alleys which will be 49 deadended by this reversion of acreage. We do have some slides to show you if you desire. (Mayor Young asked that the slides be shown. Mr. Yamasaki pointed out the area that would be reverted back to acreage and the area that was discovered geologically unsound; also the streets that are to be deleted and the alleyways to be used as replacement access for the existing alleyways.) - 6 - • • CITY COUNCIL PLANNING COMMISSION: TT #25047 Page Seven 11/13/72 Motion by Councilman Lloyd to approve a tentative tract map for the reversion to acreage of portions of Lots 9 and 10 of Tract No. 24006, creating one lot of 3.562 acres. Seconded by Councilman Chappell and carried. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS None. CITY ATTORNEY ORDINANCE Mr. Wakefield: Mr. Mayor and members INTRODUCTION of Council, a word of Vending Machines explanation. The legislature at its 1972 session passed legislation which required that all vending machines, including so-called music machines, be taxed on a gross receipts basis rather than on the former basis based upon the size of the coin which the machine was designed to take in its operation. So in conformity with that legislation and in order that it may be effective in time for the renewal of Business Licenses in January, I prepared this amendment to that por- tion of the Business License Ordinance pertaining to vending. machines. It places the tax on a gross receipts basis and it is designed to produce the same level of revenue to the extent that this can be done as the presenttax on a per machine basis. The effect of the Ordinance will be simply to require the operators or lessees of.property on which vending machines are placed for public use to not only apply annually for the Business License as they do at the present time but at the time they apply for renewal of their licenses annually -to report the gross receipts received from each individual machine and if the gross receipts exceed the amount specified in the Ordinance that would be due and payable at that time. The Ordinance is entitled.: "AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF WEST COVINA AMENDING SECTION 6235.E OF CHAPTER 2, ARTICLE VI OF THE WEST COVINA MUNICIPAL CODE, RELATING TO LICENSE FEES AND VENDING MACHINES." Motion by Councilman Lloyd, seconded by Councilman Chappell and carried, to waive further reading of said Ordinance. Motion by Councilman Shearer, seconded by Councilman Lloyd and carried, to introduce said Ordinance. ORDINANCE Mr. Wakefield: This is an item which INTRODUCTION has been pending for Alarm Systems sometime, it has to' do with the problem which the Communications .Department, the Police Department and the Fire Department have experienced in connection with the use of the alarm systems which are installed in private residences or business properties and which set off an alarm, usually a telephone alarm, in a City regular telephone line or Communications Center. What the Ordinance proposes to do is authorize any person who is licensed to install burglar alarms and similar alarm systems'in the City through arrangements with the Communications Department, to pay for a special telephone line which will have a terminal in the Communications section and which can be used by the subscribers to the alarm system as a means of alerting the City and its emergency forces to the alarm or trouble at the other end of the line. The special line must be paid for by the subscribers and maintained by them, at their expense, and not at the expense of the City. The operating departments feel this will provide a system by which alarms can be received directly by the City yet the responsibility for the maintenance of the system and the cost incident to the extra telephone lines will be borne by the installer or some one that is authorized by him.to make those - 7 - CITY COUNCIL CITY ATTORNEY: Ordinance Introduction Page Eight 11/13/72 arrangements with the City. The Ordinance heading: -,reads: "AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF WEST COVINA ADDING CHAPTER 6 TO ARTICLE III OF THE WEST COVINA MUNICIPAL CODE, RELATING TO TELEPHONIC ALARM SYSTEMS." Motion by Councilman Lloyd, seconded by Councilman Shearer and carried, to waive further reading of said Ordinance. Motion by Councilman Lloyd, seconded by Mayor Young and carried, to introduce said Ordinance. HP ARTN(;S PROPOSED FORMATION OF LOCATION: Citywide. "BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT Hearing of protests and/or receiving of AREA" evidence for or against the proposed action set for this date by Resolutnn No. 4650, adopted October 24, 1972. Mayor Young: ,Noting the size of the audience and number of phone calls received during the course of the week and the amount of correspondence received, I would gather that many of you here are interested in this item. I don't know just how the testimony will go but I would ask that the utmost consideration be given to an orderly procedure here this evening. Let's keep our discussions between ourselves to a minimum and quiet! That would certainly be appreciated. The hearing is to essentially receive protests or -evidence for or against the proposed action. Each of the businesses in the City, myself included, has received a notice from the City which has described the proposed program. Madam City Clerk/do we have the affidavits of Publication and Mailing? City Clerk: Yes, we do. Motion by Councilman Shearer, seconded by Mayor Young and carried, to receive and file affidavits of Publication and Mailing. Mayor Young: I don't know if this is the appropriate time or.not. I do know we have received written protests and these certainly should be considered in our deliberations. Mr. Wakefield...... Mr. Wakefield: Mr. Mayor and members of Council, I think the City Clerk has tabulated a number of protests and the amount of Business License Tax annually paid by each of the protestors. The statute under which these proceedings are being conducted provides in substance that ifr,-p:epsonsn.w-hb.cpay more than 50/ of the annual business license taxes presently levied and collected by the City protests the formation of the proposed Business Improvement Area,,'then these proceedings must terminate. Two things are involved: the number of protests and the. annual amount of business license tax paid by those persons who have filed;'. written protests with the City. In addition, of course, if there are those who have not filed their protest in writing they would be en- titled to be heard this evening and the amount paid by them be given to the City Clerk. Mayor Young: Mr. Wakefield, you mentioned two things are involved. .The matter of number and the matter of dollars. Is it a matter of numbers or dollars? 8 - CITY COUNCIL. Page Nine HEARINGS: Formation of Business Improvement Area 11/13/72 Mr. Wakefield: It is a matter of dollars actually for the calendar year of 1971 and the City°s revenue tax income from Business Licenses was $117,854.78. If persons protesting have paid 50/ or more of that amount then this hearing would terminate. Mayor Young: Thank you, Mr. Wakefield. At this point, Madam City Clerk, you have received and tabulated the protests received? City Clerk: Yes, I have. The total amount of protests received is $6,321. Mayor Young: Are all of these written protests before us at this time? City Clerk: Yes,,you have received all of them. The last packet which you received tonight came in late this afternoon. Mayor Young: And we have a quick calculation on that by Councilman Lloyd of'5% to 5-3/4/ of the total. So if it meets the pleasure of the Council suppose we receive testimony in the usual fashion of a hear- ing. We will hear from proponents and then the opponents and then rebuttal. Is there a formal staff report or' -do we just go o.n into the hearing? Mr. Wakefield: Mr. Mayor and members of Council, this pro- ject was initiated pursuant to the Parking and Business Improvement Area law of 1965, which is a part of the Streets and Highways Code. The statute pro- vides for two kinds of Districts. One/ in which the primary purpose is to provide additional parking facilities forbusiness establish- ments within the City and the other provides for the general pro- motion of retail trade activities within the City area. The pro- ceedings tonight are directed towards the latter objective. The proposal is that each category of Business Licenses be increased by a specified percentage. The general percentage applicable to apartment houses, motels, to businesses engaged in retail trade activities within the City, other kinds of business activities, such as manufacturers, whole- salers, storage companies and others,.w_ould all pay.an additional Business License Tax under the proposal equal to 60% of the tax that individual is currently paying. With respect to professional services the proposed increase would be 75/ of the present Business License Tic-encL that same tax would also be applicable to those businesses taxed on a fixed fee or gross receipts basis. The additional funds derived from the additional business license tax would be .placed in a special fund in the City Treasury and earmarked for the expenditure exclusively for the general promotion of the retail trade areas of the City. This is specifically the proposal before the City Council tonight. If the Council elects to proceed, then it at the conclusion of your hearing it would be necessary for you to consider the introduction of an appropriate Ordinance which would amend the Business License Tax Ordinance of the West Covina Munici- pal Code to provide for the additional levy of the Business License Tax. THIS IS THE TIME AND PLACE FOR THE PUBLIC HEARING ON THE PROPOSED FORMATION OF THE "BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT AREA.' - 9 - CITY COUNCIL Page Ten HEARINGS: Formation of Business Improvement Area 11/13/72 IN FAVOR Richard Oldenberg (Sworn:, n::by the.:City :Clerk.).. 1540 West Covina Pkwy. I have prepared a statement that Manager - Wells Fargo Bank I would like to read. Mr. Mayor Pres., of Chamber of Commerce and members of the City Council, . during the past few years that I community through the Chamber of have been privileged to serve this Commerce, it has become increasingly clear that in order for the Chamber to carry out its responsibility and to become more viable it had to seek new methods of funding. As a result, early last Spring we began to investigate the possibili- ties and the opportunities afforded under the California Business Improvement law of 1965. The investigation was headed by Harvey Krieger, a Board member. After lengthy and careful review including discussions with City Staff, the plan was presented to the Chamber's Executive Committee and Board of Directors, which incidentally is made up of 24 men and women representing a cross section of the leaders in both the business and professional community. These groups after review and study unanimously endorsed the implementation of the Act in the City of West Covina. It was the first time the Chamber of Commerce has ever'gone down in favor of a license fee increase, but they did so because of the merits of this program, which are many. In early August, during budget meetings, City Staff presented to you in a Staff Report a recommendation for an across the board general increase in Business License fees based upon an increase per employee to�help balance the budget. It was at that point that Mr. Krieger presented an alternative. Our proposal, which is a much more attractive approach to solving the problem. In our plan Business License fees are used'to promote business and commerce rather than going into the General Fund. In turn our funding from you is dis- continued. In considering the adoption of this Ordinance Public notice was sent out to all business licensees within the City. At the same time the public notices were being sent out regarding the hearing, the Chamber of Commerce called for a series of meetings to explain exactly what we were proposing. The first meeting was with the major employers in the City. The second meeting with the Chamber's general members and the third meeting with the other members of the business and professional community at large. After many questions, misconceptions were cleared up and opposition that did exist generally was turned to support. Gentlemen, the concepts of the Business Improvement law of 1965 are good ones. As a result of its implementation a number of things will happen. 1 - Future revenues for business promotional activities will come from Business License fees, not the general fund.' 2 - The Chamber of Commerce as administrators under the program will be able to free its pool of business and professional volunteers to work towards more meaningful objectives. 3 - there will be established new lines of communication between you, the Council, and us, the business community. Backing us, in the active support of the program, are many business and professional- men, many of which you see here tonight. Speaking for them and most of the other 325 members who could not be here tonight, we ask you to adopt the Ordinance in the name of prosperity and for the economic well being of our City. We sincerely believe it is a giant step in the right direction. Thank you. 10 - CITY COUNCIL Page Eleven HEARINGS: Formation of Business Improvement Area George Zartman (S`worn in by the City Clerk) 1058 W. Garvey Ave., Gentlemen, I have been before you Manager - Bank of America and your counterparts in the past West Covina Plaza many times on many issues. This Treas., of Chamber of Commerce one I am happy to state I am • speaking in favor of the adoption of the Business Improvement levy proposed tonight. As many of you . know, I have been a member of the business community in West Covina since January, 1961, and have been vitally interested in the development and advancement of the entire City of West Covina during this time and not just one segment of ,the community. For years we have sought the best method for implementing the general promotion of retail trade activities and commerce throughout the City and under the Business Improvement Area.law of 1965 it would appear we have the tool to accomplish this goal. This is the first time that I can recall the Chamber of Commerce coming out in favor of a Business License Tax incrase. And I am sure -many of you here will recall our previous attempts to hold the line on Business License Tax increases - we had a few general discussions with pointed remarks and the general agreement that business licenses should not be increased by and large too often. I think you all know as we do that it has been 5 years since there has been any Business License tax increase in West Covina, not so the property tax. So there was certainly some merit in the Staff's request to increase the Business License tax this year, at least in the opinion of those of us who studied the measures from the Chamber of Commerce's standpoint. At no time can we recall any plan offered which would specifically earmark funds out of the tax dollars to promote the business development and the retail trade for the entire City. Therefore, when we looked at this Improvement Act early in the year and long before we had any notion that there would be any tax increases, it looked to us like the tool - the method of earmarking tax dollars for specific purposes. I like the idea of specifically earmarking funds for a specific need. I think as a banker and businessman, we all strive to set aside and budget for specific developments and certainly there has been this need throughout the years. We all know up to this point that business license tax dollars go -into the General Fund and out of that General Fund are allocated the many needs of a City of this size. In this proposal we tried to tell the community and the people at large, including the merchants and property owners, that this is a way of earmarking these dollars and setting them aside for the development and promotion of business and commerce in the City of West Covina. The Chamber of Commerce, in my opinion, is the one entity in the City that is capable of acting in this behalf. We all know there are various entities throughout the City that promote their particular group or their particular segment of the community and well they should, but in this plan we --need a community -wide entity that can get behind this and pro- mote the entire City of West Covina and in my opinion this the Chamber of Commerce can do. I know there are probably many property owners represented here tonight and I think they too would agree that this type of allocation and specific setting aside of funds for the.purpose it is intended would meet with their approval. We know there has been much discussion throughout the community on this issue. None of us like a tax increase or any type of increase: -in expenses if it can be avoided, but as a member of this community and knowing the situation and how we have attempted to get the word across to the public and the response from those who at first were negative to this but later after reviewing the entire program and seeing what it would do and what it was primarily set out to accomplish — well we feel we have a good program for their future as well as the Chamber - 11 - CITY COUNCIL Page Twelve HEARINGS: Formation of Business Improvement Area 11/13/72 of Commerce's..' So, gentlemen, I urge that you pass this enactment tonight and I certainly approve it. Lief Erickson (Sworn in by City Clerk). . Honeywell, Inc. Mr. Mayor and members of City 1200 East San Bernardino Rd., Council, ladies and gentlemen, . West Covina I am here tonight as a Personnel Manager representative of Honeywell, Inc. and as a member of the West Covina Chamber of Commerce, and also an officer of the Executive Committee of this fine Chamber. As an industrialist representative, I believe I represent the City's largest single employer engaged in private enterprise. Although our commercial facilities are located and we are fortunate to call West Covina our home, we are not engaged in any retail trade within the community, but rather a manufacturer dealing in commerce which readily affects all of us in one form or another. It is true Honeywell's concern for social and community involvement allows me as a salaried employee to devote a considerable amount of time to the affairs of the Chamber in support of the business interests of the City in order to insure the economic growth of West Covina. Our business is national in: -scope and we actively seek to recruit professional engineers, scientists and professional people, as well as administrators and support personnel from all over the nation. The image that West Covina reflects in progressive government, community involvement, school goals and quality of life and the public support of these endeavors has a direct bearing on our success and subsequent impact on the economic involvement of the community in which we reside. Since early Spring of this year when the Business Improvement Act of 1965 came to my attention through the Chamber of Commerce, I have been a witness to one of the finer experiences in cooperative government. As a businessman engaged primarily in the betterment of the community activities without a direct profit motive has allowed me to review the proposed -Ordin- ance as a funded management method of assuring that the funds are collected and allocated to the use that maximizes the expenditure and support of those paying the freight. I truly believe that the passage of this Ordinance by the City Council of West Covina will be a landmark decision that cannot help but influence the trends of Cities in California and also in other states in such enactments, and will provide more adequate distribution of government levies to those whose major interests are concerned, to the betterment of all, both public and private. Government is not just for the people as individuals but also for the institu- tions that support those individuals and make a free enterprise system properly benefit all. Any program which provides the needed funds to support the group they represent without dilution to some specific revenue collection pot and at the same time provides assistance to the expense posture that has overall responsibility to efficiently run the government for which they exist has to be a positive move to provide benefits for both interested parties. I firmly believe this Ordinance provides this unique answer and I personally have attended all the meetings that Mr. Oldenberg mentioned, that were designed to explain the Ordinance to all interested parties. Although there are undoubtedly those here tonight who may disagree, but I believe those in doubt and who were opposed, were for the most part convinced on presentation of the facts that this was the way to go. To me it represents the most effective way to go. As a community member I am very much interested in working a smarter and more intelligent:_.:. method for expanding retail trade and commerce in the Headquarters City. - 12 - CITY COUNCIL Page Thirteen HEARINGS: Formation of Business -Improvement Area 11/13/72 In summary, this Ordinance provides that a total of monies is provided to support those who contribute without some benefiting on the coat-tails of others either through dollars, taxes or the sweat of others. "You get what you pay for" is not • just a comedian's statement, it is a point of fact. The Ordinance is good for the businessman, the City, the property taxpayers, and zeroes in on the non -contributor, both in dollars and services. If this is a wrong concept we are, in my opinion, all foolish in being here tonight. Service without representation still costs money and this Ordinance provides the best way to satisfy both extremes. I solicit your endorsement because this Ordinance provides proper management and exposure to the City Council by the establishment of an Advisory Board to insure a mutual evaluation of the most effective means to promote the economic well being of the City and make us - West Covina - more competitive to direct business and homeowners in our community. Phil Wax (Sworn in by the City Clerk) 1014 W. Garvey Gentlemen of the Council, I also favor West Covina the adoption of the Business Improvement Area Ordinance rather than the proposed increase in the Business License Fees as recommended by City Staff during the last public hearings on the budget. The Staff proposal calls for an increase in fees that go into the City's General Fund. Under the Business Improvement Act the funds go into a special Fund specifically earmarked for the promotion of retail trade activities and the benefits are shared by both business and pro- fessional members of the City of West Covina, who presently are licensees. I would like to state after many years ' of working in this community for the betterment of the businesses,, as well as the professional and the community as a whole, that I find that we have reached a plateau where we are now reaching the goal of "regional", which is a goal that many years ago we spoke of when we adopted the Headquarters City concept. I also find as time goes along that the regional concept in its growth is coming into being but at the same time the business people as a whole have stayed status quo - so eventually the workers of the community after many years either tire, move or retire, and the burden is left more and more to the few people who have tried to carry the ball. I find there is a tremendous amount of coopera- tion at the City level because if you didn't believe in the programs of the Chamber of Commerce and the business people, you wouldn't support it with $40,000 and $43,000 a year commitments at budget time. We now find to unite the business and the community as a whole we face a difficult situation in asking for a tax increase, hoping that this will cement the relationship of the people. There is an old adage - if you want to get people interested get them to invest - and I think the small investment of the average businessman, that he will be putting into the pot, will certainly make him come forth - as shown tonight by the attendance we have here and by the protest letters received. I know I have worked very hard on specific programs and we don't even get 10/ of this type of turnout, but sometimes you have to cost somebody a few dollars to make them pay attention. Again, I say it is a very needed program in this City. Our growth potential hasn't even started. We are just approaching the first stages of the redevelopment and we are very shortly going to be approached by many many organizations that wish to come to West Covina. We need the dollars in order to make the attractions known to these people in order to pursue the proper land uses, the compatibilities, the way of life that we would like to see this City adopt, and because of these goals - 13 - CITY COUNCIL Page Fourteen HEARINGS: Formation of Business Improvement Area 11/13/72 it takes dollars, it takes workers and cooperation between the business community and the City and I don't know of a better method than total participation. Thank you. Harry Kaelin (Sworn in by the City Clerk) • 611 So. St. Malo The way I understand it and I am sure you West Covina will correct me if I am wrong - at the present time the City collects $117,000 in business license fees from a little over 300 business and professional people throughout the City of which there are approxi- mately 2100 licenses? Mayor Young: The collection is from all 2100 licensees and the 300 are Chamber members. Mr. Kaelin: And the City has allocated to the Chamber this year approximately $43,000 and under this new proposal all the businesses would be taxed in order to collect $187,000 of which $117,000 would then go into the General Fund and the balance would go to the Chamber of Commerce for operating purposes? The $117,000 would stay in the General Fund of the City and could be used for city operations and not take out the $43,000 that has been used by the Chamber of Commerce. So if this is so I think all the taxpayers would be for it. Don Casler (Sworn in by the City Clerk) 1733 Alaska Street As a present member of the Chamber of West Covina Commerce Board of Directors and also a member of the Covina Board of Realtors, I am here tonight speaking on behalf of both. As a representative of the Realty Board to the Chamber of Commerce I felt it incumbent upon me to solicit the support of the fellow realtors in the area they would be subject to by this new surtax. I conducted a consider- able survey of my colleagues and found very little opposition to the program by members of the Realty Board with.one proviso and that is one that is unique to the realtor only. That is the proviso of tax- ing a realtor for a business license fee who in fact does not have a business within the City of West Covina. With that in mind the Realty Board conducted a meeting as late as this morning of the Legislative Committee of the Realty Board and came up with the following statement for submission tonight: B1Upon receipt of a new license fee schedule presently under considera- tion the legislative committee of the Covina Valley Board of Realtors conducted a study of the plan and found little grounds for opposition, providing however that the Council amends the provision relating to imposing this surtax on realtors located outside the City of West Covina for the following reasons: 1 - This type business has no relationship to the intent of the ordinance; 2 - This type business has no effect on ietcail sales which is the primary directive of the surtax funds; 3 - An outside business has no direct or indirect benefit from increased retail trade in the City of West Covina; 4 - The automatic Chamber membership of outside Realtors may have a detrimental effect upon the activities of the Chamber due to a possible conflict of interest; 5 - An outside realtor could not justify the new license fee as it relates to an isolated listing taken in the City, therein having the same effect as restricting trade." Personally, if this fee schedule were to be imposed by all the other cities around us it would put a finan- cial burden on me which would restrict my business to only West Covina. - 14 - CITY COUNCIL Page Fifteen HEARINGS: Formation of Business Improvement Area 11/13/72 Under the.new ordinance a general contractor who now pays a license fee of $40.00, the same as the outside realtor, is exempt from this new surtax for the same reasons as are outlined above. At present there are 45 Real Estate offices located • outside West Covina paying license fees in this City. The total dollar value is $1,760. A 75% increase in this particular category as relates to outside Realtors would be $1,320. If there is to be an increased license fee or surtax, we feel it should categorically be equitable and urge the City Council to consider an amendment exempting the out of town realtor. Thank you. THE CHAIR CALLED A RECESS AT 8:43 P.M. COUNCIL RECONVENED AT 8:53 P.M. Mayor Young: I am sure I speak for Council when I sincerely congratulate this audience on the courtesy that is being shown. It is a very nice thing. At this particular point let's hear from the opponents to this proposed increased business license fee. Also, we have two problems. One is that those of you who oppose this and have not formally done so in writing need to bring before the City Clerk's attention the amount of tax you pay, because this is a legal require- ment as I understand from the City Attorney. Perhaps we could pass a paper through the audience for those wishing to protest. (A point of order was raised by Dr. Snyder, stating that any citizen can object to this increased tax.) Mayor Young: City Clerk. Please put tax -you paid and if you repeat it - that is not can protest. And if we would be helpful. IN OPPOSITION That is true. I just wanted to be sure that everybody that objects get his objection properly presented before the your name on the sheet and the amount of have already submitted your protest do not fair! And as Dr. Snyder pointed out - anyone can minimize the repeats of arguments this Dr. Norman J. Snyder (Sworn in by the City Clerk) 2042 Daniels, First I would like to ask some questions to West Covina clarify some points brought up by earlier speakers. As the questions are answered I May make comments on them. Mayor Young: I don't think we will have an interplay of questions and answers at this time. I would hope your questions would be taken care of during the course of the evening. Dr. Snyder: It was said earlier the written protests totalled approximately $6,000+ which indicated that much of the business community was not against this tax. However, I would like to remind the Council in the notice sent out nowhere did it say if a written protest of over 50/ were to be received .in writing this would automatically override this hearing. If I am mistaken about that then I apologize. Perhaps if many of the business community had known a written protest was necessary they would have either written or appeared tonight. It wasalso my.understanding from a speaker that all money that comes from the Business License tax would be placed in a fund for the promotion of retail trade. It was my understanding from the notice sent out and from what I read in the paper that only the additional tax was to be placed in the fund. - 15 - CITY COUNCIL Page Sixteen HEARINGS: Formation of Business Improvement Area 11/13/72 (Mayor Young indicated to the City Attorney to answer that question.) Mr. Wakefield: Just the additional tax is to be placed in City Attorney the Special fund. , • Dr. Snyder: One can see why the Chamber of Commerce is in favor of this. The first two speakers were bankers and banks do not pay a business tax. The Chamber of Commerce is in favor of this because they do not have to go out on membership drives, they will be handed a sum of money mandatorily at the expense of the taxpayers. I also understood from one of the previous speakers that you would automatically have Chamber membership. Just a comment on this. I have no objection to this but you could carry this much further, put a tax on all doctors to become automatically members of the Medical Association, or realtors to become members of the Realty Association, if you start sliding into the hole economically you can come to the government to pay a tax to raise the funds you need. I speak not tonight as a doctor, but as a former four year member of the League of California Cities Revenue and Taxation Committee and I speak out philosophically against this proposed tax. First, let me give you the facts if facts are important to you. Last year in round figures the City of West Covina had a budget of $6,900,000. Out of this budget we. obtained $1,600,000 from property taxes. We obtained $1,400,000 from sales tax. We obtained $300,000 from business license fees and other forms of taxation in this bracket. This constitutes the main por- tion of the financial support of the City that comes from direct taxation of the people. Out of this $1,600,000 property tax portion, the portion that is nonresidential - business or apartments - pays in round figures (and this has not been broken down, but as;a member of the Committee on Revenue and Taxation I remember these figures), pays approximately $600,000 and the homeowner pays approximately $800,000. So adding up the 20% of the property tax, the 49/ of the sales tax and approximately less than 1/ of the business license tax, the business community is already carrying more than their fair share of the burden of taxation. The purpose of the business license tax, as I understood it when I was on this Council, was to pay for the added police protection, fire protection and extra streets needed to support the cost of your doing business in that City. I still think that is the basic purpose of the business license tax and I think that this measure would subvert that purpose. If it can be applied to the entire business license tax then I submit to you and the homeowners that here is a $117,000+.that will be taken out of the General Fund and no longer useable for police, fire .and the general services of this City. Now to get to the Chamber of Commerce and their proposal of this tax, I submit that they are not an arm of the government. The Chamber represents the businessmen in the promotion of business trade andprivate industry. I believe that many of those who support the Chamber of Commerce and believe in the ideals of the Chamber believe that this proposal would be repugnant to them - the fact of making membership mandatory. And I submit to you that this will not revitalize the Chamber of Commerce and will not in the long run from practical aspects improve the business community in this City. The second question is: How would this be spent? Is it to be handed over to the Chamber without any accounting? And how many organizations have you seen that have been revitalized by handing them money? The Chamber of Commerce represents the free enterprise system in their ideals and their approach and I submit to you that this mandatory support of the - 16 - CITY COUNCIL Page Seventeen HEARINGS: Formation of Business Improvement Area 11/13/72 Chamber would weaken them and not strengthen them. What about the businessman that is doing very well in the City because of his advertising methods, as compared to the man that is just getting by? Is it fair to mandatorily tax a man that by his own skill and industry has promoted his own business against that of the man who may be failing because he wasn't meant to be there in the first place or because of poor business methods? As a doctor, if this tax is passed, I am not opposed to the differential of 75% for professionals as to the 60% for business, because businesses make up the difference in sales taxes. I understand that and if it is passed I have_no: objection to that. I am objecting to the mandatory support of the Chamber of Commerce. I understand the Chamber of Commerce's arguments - that this would help all businesses and therefore help the sales tax income of this City which is our greatest income, and I understand how that argument might appeal to you, but I feel the power to tax is the power to govern and the power to control and once you make mandatory membership to the Chamber of Commerce you have removed that power from the people and placed it in your hands and the hands of .the Chamber of Commerce. Thank you. Edward B. Stevens (Sworn in by the City Clerk) 1232 East El Dorado I protest very strongly this increase in West Covina my license fees and not that I object to the increase in my fees because I screamed my head off when it went from $27., t6 $40!:, -but I'-,do:,—dbject-..very... ..:.i strongly to'_:your' telling:- me-that,-l. have to add 65/ more on to my tax to support the Chamber of Commerce. Now if there is as many businessmen in the City of West Covina who are not members of the Chamber of Commerce and they tell me they have no intention of being then there is something wrong somewhere. I am just a small businessman. As I indicated in my letter my gross income in the City is only about $500. and if I make Z0% above my expenses that is only $100. a month, which is not much. I go to other cities also. Now there are 77 cities in the County of Los Angeles I go to about 30 of them and pay a business.license in everyone of them and West. Covina right today has the highest business license fee of any of the Cities I know. The Secretary of Agriculture under President Eisenhower visited me and spent a day on my ranch and he said to me and stated it very strongly - "you independent business- men that earn your living working alone ut& the elite of society and there will never be a time when. they put you out of business and the only way you can be put out of business is to be taxed out." I would think and certainly recommend to you people that you consider ways of reducing taxation rather than raising them. We have all the taxes we can stand. I speak for no one only for myself. I hope you will very strongly consider the reasons for this tax. If you want to raise my business license and put it in the general fund and forget about the Chamber of Commerce I won't say a word but don't tell me I have to support the Chamber of Commerce because I won't. It is just that simple gentlemen. Mike Lestig (Sworn in by the City Clerk) 225 S. Glendora Gentlemen, I am representing not only West Covina myself but members of our West Covina Center Merchants Associatio a d I feel I n n am speaking primarily for these people. -First of all I have listened, to both pros and cons so far and one thing that had been slightly touched upon that I feel we are sidestepping completely in this is the rights of a democratic process in this Ordinance. The only way this could be stopped is by having money behind it. I think it is a sad day in this society and this great Country of ours if money takes precedence over the people. That is the only thing that I can really find wrong with this ordinance. Not - 17 - CITY COUNCIL Page Eighteen HEARINGS: Formation of Business Improvement Area 11/13/72 its concept because I can see possibly where it would be a great boon to the City of West Covina, but I don't like to see any of the processes we have strove to carry forward in this Country just shot down the tubes. The second thing that I would like to bring up is the factor of the amount that the business licenses are at the present time in the City of West Covina - they are quite high compared to other cities. Other people brought up the point that it is a small increase - speaking for the people in my area that small increase might be the difference between that man spending a weekend with his family. Maybe if we were larger companies we could afford this but as it stands I can assure you it is going to create a hard- ship on the small businessman. The next point is the factor that I think this resolution will be affecting the people who have voted to put you gentlemen in office. The majority of our small businesses are owned and operated by the residents of the City of West Covina. I just don't understand how this could be set up on the basis that money is the thing that will get this resolution through and not the people themselves. That is all I have to say. Thank you. Paul Harmon I represent about twenty or twenty-five Orthopedic Surgeon doctors, mostly not orthopedic surgeons, West Covina who have signed a collective letter which you have before you. (Sworn in by the City Clerk) The general purpose of Business License taxing is for the purpose of promoting the welfare of those taxed and if this is not done then the purpose of the business license tax is not met. If the majority of the Business License tax is thrown into the General Fund then this is merely a sham on the purpose of Business License taxing; so therefore I am surprised when I learn that such a large amount of the tax does go into the General Revenue Fund. Now if itis proposed as stated in this new resolution that this will be for the purpose of promoting business then what about the welfare of the various professional and other groups who will be paying the lion°s share of this tax? That is one of the main reasons why we are not in favor of it. It, of course, will be stated that this is to study the problem, which will mean more people on the public payroll and will require hiring some experts which will mean an outpouring of fees for the experts. None of these activities have anything to do with the maintenance or the welfare of the professionals of this group for which I am trying to speak. Now at the'risk of being somewhat naive and to bring a little lighter tone into this, we have just heard from.our re-elected President who states that the key code for his administration during the coming four years will be "Better Government - cheaper." Now if we are to get better government cheaper every augmentation increasing taxes will be in defiance of our President. So that should be taken seriously. The men I represent `are in favor of this. We are in favor of no increase in taxation of any kind; we are in favor of no new activities; we are in favor of no increase in public employees; we are not in favor of any 'increase in public functions. All needs of public functions should be met by request- ing loyalty and efficiency from existing employees in this inflation and tax crisis. Thank you. CITY COUNCIL Page Nineteen,..,. HEARINGS: Formation of Business Improvement Area 11/1.3/72 Carl Yaeger (Sworn in by the City Clerk) Weiner & Weiss I am appearing on behalf of a client of our firm, 225 N. Barranca Azusa Western, and for the record our client's West Covina tax bill for your Business License fee is $150.00 per year. We would like to have it noted in your record that our Client, Azusa Western, opposes the proposed increase for some basic reasons. Much like the realtor who spoke earlier in favor of the increase, Azusa Western merely trucks into the community for the development and building of your community. They do not maintain an office here and they feel much like the out of town realtor that they should be exempt and I urge you, in the event you are to pass this resolution pending before you, that you consider them if you are going to consider exemptions at all. I believe constitutionally in a legal form that you may well have to,and so I ask that you consider Azusa Western and like merchants or people engaged in their areas. In reviewing the resolution on behalf of our client we find it hard to explain the unequal percentage that your resolution proposes between the various categories and why there should be dis- tinctions between them. We further find it hard to advise our client as to what assurances he has as to future increases of the percentages. It is kind of like that which many people refer to as socialism security or the income tax - once you get the concept through it is awful hard to stop the increase and we find it hard to advise our client in that area. We further find it hard to advise him as to how the guidelines will be established for the spending based upon the resolution published to the public. We feel the guidelines are vague. We feel the ways the funds will be spent are hard to explain to our client on the basis that it is uncertain other than the money will be given to the Chamber of Commerce. We also find it hard to explain to our client how the governmental entity can tax a merchant or retailer, one not actually engaged in retailing for purposes of nongovernmental work such as the Chamber of Commerce. I recognize, as a past officer of the Junior Chamber of Commerce,the benefit derived to the community by these organizations, however it is not a governmental agency. I would call to your attention that possibly the distinction between the Jaycees, the Junior Chamber, and the Senior Chamber, I think have become clear to me in listening to the pros and cons tonight. One organization goes out and raises their own money and the second comes before you and asks for more public funds. Arthur A. Brooks, Jr., (Sworn in by the City Clerk) 217 N. Sunset Mr. Mayor and gentlemen, you have copies of Office at 1500 West my very brief statement. I desire to lodge a Covina Parkway protest against this resolution and any West Covina ordinance passed pursuant thereto. As a practicing attorney I paid a business tax of $40.00 for the calendar year of 1972. My protest is based on the following grounds: Paragraph C of the resolution is extremely vague and perhaps unconstitutionally so. I am informed the purpose is to aid the West Covina Chamber of Commerce. The proposed revenue will be used as a sort of inlieu tax to enable licensees to become members of the Chamber without paying dues if a licensee so desires. If this is the case then the resolution in Paragraph C should have so stated. Please refer to Page 2 of the proposed resolution - Taxes and Categories of Businesses - numbers 1, 2, and 3 are raised by 60% of the present tax. Categories 4 and 5 raised by 75%. The differences in rate of increase may well violate the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution as being dis- criminatory and without valid or reasonable basis for such discrimina- tion. The resolution, therefore, in my opinion invites litigation. - 19 - CITY.COUNCIL Page Twenty HEARINGS: Formation of Business Improvement Area 11/13/72 On a more personal basis the State Bar of California is raising the lawyer's annual dues from $60.. to $85. on January 1, 1973, according to the November 8th issue of the Los Angeles Daily Journal. Those of us in private practice and one or two man offices expect no reduction in our overhead expenses. • In conclusion let me state I think last Tuesday the voice of the people of this Country rang loud and clear against any increase in taxes. Thank you, Robert E. Iwasaki (Sworn in by the City Clerk) 250 East 1st Street I am legal counsel for the Southern California Los Angeles Gardeners Federation, we are primarily professional gardeners. In our organization we have gardeners who have a few homes in West Covina maint&-inih4^.them on a monthly scale and then they proceed on to other surrounding cities. Under the circumstances, as you know, the professional gardener doing business in West Covina does not always live here,,.- although some do. Generally our members work here only a few hours a day and for us to be taxed right now at $25.00 a year we feel is high and for you to increase it from here we feel would create an unjust burden financially on our members. Our position here is a very unique one, in that our members are travelling from city to city. As one example, I have a member living in Baldwin Hills who has three homes that he maintains in West Covina at approximately $20.00 a month. At this rate he is earning $60,,00 a month from West Covina and paying a $25.00 yearly tax into the City at this time. We have various members under the same category and we feel if this ordinance should pass that we urge an exception for this particular class. Robert M. E.biner (Sworn in by the City Clerk) Attorney Mr. Mayor and members of the Council, I am 1502 West Covina Pkwy in the rather unique position having practiced West Covina law here in West Covina for some 18 years, having been a member of the Chamber of Commerce for some 15 years or 16 years, having served in every capacity there is to serve in the Chamber including its Presidency, and I stand here in opposi�ion to the position taken officially by the Chamber. But I think there are a few points which should be reinforced and mentioned again. If there are only some 300 of the members of the business community as members of the Chamber of Commerce and there are 2100 license fees generated by the business community in this City then we have a representation for the Chamber of approximately 14 or 15%. -A relatively small minority and it may be that the Chamber is not doing its job and therefore not attracting a large membership thereby generating its own fees and funds to support its own activities. Secondly, I think it has been touched upon and I will reiterate my feeling® If I understand the proposal it -will result in effect to coerce membership in the Chamber of Commerce, whether one likes it or not, whether one adheres to its policies or not. And that is a choice that should be left to the individual and not forced upon him. This is rather a unique statement I suppose because I am considered to be a liberal democrat® Finally, in line with that thought, as I understand the proposal, we have the creation of a public entity which will deal with the Chamber of Commerce or some other entity which is one step further removed from this legislative body which has the primary responsibility for governing this City and whenever we remove the power to govern from those who have the responsibility to the people we are creating another problem, another removal and poten- - 20 - CITY .:.COUNCIL...._... HEARINGS: Formation of Business Improvement Area Page Twenty-one 11/13/72 tiality'for abuse, one which I don't believe is fair to this City or any group. I think and I submit to you that the Chamber of Commerce has a rightful position in this City. I belong to it because it has that position in the City. As an individual body dealing with private • enterprise in the private enterprise sector and limited to private enterprise, but I don't want it involved in governmental affairs. I have come before this body both formally and informally at budget time to propose and urge upon this body support of the Chamber of Commerce under a contract provision. That is open to scrutiny, it is open to the public. I suggest to you that you are opening another door which will create another barrier and another interfer- ence between that particular form of activity. Thank you, gentlemen. Mayor Young: I am sure if everyone here speaks we will be .here all night - not meaning to cut it off, but as a matter of interest can we have a show of hands of those -in opposition to this proposal? Also a show of hands in favor? That':iskind of a substitute for everyone speaking-. and as I said we are not cutting anyone off - your presence' 's, certainly felt: Freida"Edinan (Sworn in by the City Clerk) 199 S. Glendora Square Of course I agree with all that has been West Covina said before, but I have a little thorn in my side. You say this is to help the business people - help us get more sales and more sales tax income for you - well I have been waiting almost 8 years to get help from the City and I haven't had it yet. I can't even get a little sign put up anywhere so people can find me. If it wasn't for my friends and neighbors I would have gone down long ago. I have a picture here and I dare any of you to be able to find my place on this picture. And it is just a few feet from where this is - let alone going up and down Glendora. Forever and ever I have people coming in and saying - I have been driving around for ages to try and find a place for a cup of coffee, I didn't know your place was here - well that gets kind of sickening after awhile. I pay an awful lot of taxes to hear -all this all the time. So what do you propose? Mayor Young: Anything further)Mrs. Edman?': Mrs. Edman: No, I think that is enough. Herbert Adelman (Sworn in by the City Clerk) Real Estate Broker Mr. Mayor and Councilmen and particularly 266 S. Glendora Ave., those in attendance, I agree with every - West Covina thing that has been said in opposition . I will be very brief but I would like to say a few things. I can't see how this is going to help businessmen down at Nogales and Valley - far flung.from here, but they are going to be taxed the same and forced to;'join in the Chamber of Commerce. This smacks of unconstitutional grounds. I have heard nothing here in opposition that is going to get something together to block this because we are outnumbered not by voices but by those who have the power to put this in .place. Therefore, I suggest to you people in the audience let's form a group anal get taxed right now and hire the best attorney we can find and take this to court. If anyone wants to contact me at my real estate office I will be very happy to pass the information along and help find an adequate attorney and I believe there are several in the audience this evening that could handle it very well. (Mayor Young asked if anyone else wished to speak and if everyone in the audience had an opportunity to sign the pad opposing the proposal and stating the amount of business tax paid? Pad turned over to the City Clerk.) - 21 - • • t CITY,_.,COUNC,IL Page Twenty-two HEARINGS: Formation of Business Improvement Area 11/13/72 REBUTTAL Harvey Krieger M r. Mayor and members of the Council, I am 1326 Hollencrest Drive a practicing attorney in the City of West West Covina Covina for.the last fourteen years, my office address is 100 South Vincent Avenue, Suite 307, West Covina. I have heard comments this evening in<: opposition to this Ordinance, a matter that I have studied now for the last eight months, that strike me..as comments that have no relevancy at all to the basic issue before the Council but are comments that would be tendered to this Council regardless of what the question is if it involved an increase in the tax of the individual who was testifying before this Council. In response to a comment made by a former colleague of mine on this Council, a Resolution of Intention circulat- ed to 2;.100 licensees in the City of West Covina contained the follow- ing statement: "These proceedings shall terminate if protest;,is made by owners of businesses in the proposed area which pay the majority of the taxes under the general Business Licenses of the City." This language was included in the Resolution of Intention because it is required by law to appear in such notice of intention. If I under- stand the report of the City Clerk correctly, there were dollar protests of $6,321 up to this evening and then there was a yellow pad circulated and if I understand the Mayor correctly, he said "please do not indicate on that pad if you have already filed a written protest", and yet I looked at that pad as it went by me and I read every written protest filed with this body and I certainly recognized a number of names in duplication on that pad and in the dollar figure the City Clerk has given, but let's say the benefit of doubt is and let's say there is an additional $2,000 on that pad (T. would ~be..surpr :sed .ii;fcthere is $1, 000) that means 'you have approximately $8,000 of written protests. I pose this question .of this City Council. If in August when you were contemplating a 20� increase in the pro- perty taxes of this City and you had sent a notice of this type to the 15,000+ homes in this City and it said we contemplate imposing an additional property tax of 20� on you if you would like to protest this would you please let us know? I wonder how many dollar amounts the City Council would have received in opposition to that proposed property tax? That is a.;.rhetarical question, of course, but it is an actual question.in terms of what we have here in the City of West Covina. We have 2,100+ licenses and we have $117,854.78 in business licenses and at the most you have protests of $8,000. And I have heard this is unconstitutional, it is inequitable, it is <:,unconscionabl.e - I have never heard such comments made however at budget time when the discussion is how do we increase the income or the revenue of this community? How do we support the services that we demand .in this community? Then it is not :unoonS_d1.Qn0.b10.:: or unconstitutional, and the language that is in the Resolution of Intention and in the proposed Ordinance is not a figment of somebody's imagination. It is contained in the Streets and Highways Code of the State of California and if it is vague it has been vague since 1965 or for seven years and in which it says: "shall be used for the general promotion of trade activi- ties in the area." That is how vague it is. Now if somebody would propound to us the proposition that this is a matter of mandatory attendance or membership in the Chamber of Commerce - there is nothing in this proposal to suggest any such thing. What we are suggesting and this is the first time the business community has come forward and suggested such a thing, we are suggesting an increase in business licenses. Now where would these opponents have been if in August when there was a proposal to increase their business licenses $5.00 - 22 - r CITY COUNCIL Page Twenty-three HEARINGS: Formation of Business Improvement Area 11/13/72 per employee? That in fact was before this Council in August. That was the question this Council was confronted with in August. It wasn't just an increase in property taxes by 20�. The question was - isn't it fair after five years of no increase in business licenses that the business community also share in the increased expenses of government and the City Staff submitted a proposal to that effect and it was dated July 24, 1972 while this Council was sitting in budget sessions. But I didn't hear anybody then come down and say don't increase our business licenses. I don't think they even know it was a possibility of increased business licenses and they are not even entitled as a matter of law to a notice that the Council may increase business licenses. It has been done in the past as a matter of courtesy to the, business community. The last time it was done was in 1967 and I was then sitting on the opposite side of this bench and I heard 6-omei.of these same things, not these exact people but their counterparts, come down and say - I do very little business in the City of West Covina, or I can't afford to do business in the City of West Covina, or it is not fair for you to impose a business license upon me for the right to do business in the City of West Covina, and their counterparts are coming down here 5 years later saying - you can't force me to join the Chamber of Commerce - where there is nothing in 'this proposal that suggests they are being forced to do any such thing. It is not an issue of mandatory participation or membership in the Chamber of Commerce. The basic issue is —where are the funds going to come from if the funds come at all in order to create and promote and precipitate commercial vitality in this community. That is the basic issue. This Council and past Councils have answered that question in the past. They said - recognizing it is a vital source of income to promote sales of commercial activity in this community - that we would use General Fund Revenue for this purpose. And where did anyone come down to this Council, past or present, and say it is unconscionable.. to use General Fund revenues in order to promote the retail trade activity in this community? I heard no such comment. And where did those monies come from? Where did the General Fund monies come from? They come from every taxpayer in the City of West Covina, and $43,000 of those monies this current year has been taken out for the promotion of retail trade activities in the City of West Covina. That in effect is what is being done with the money, but that is not un- conscionable;. . Now what we are suggesting is this, that the people who are most directly beftefitifig,-i.by this economie climate pay for it. If they would like to join the Chamber of Commerce -they are invited to do so and if they want to maintain their past role they are invited to do that also. But what we are suggesting is that this is the equitable way to do .it and this is the conscionable.., way to do it, and this is the way the people who are deriving the most immediate benefit from it, whether they are on Glendora Avenue or down on Valley Boulevard, share in the responsibility as well as the benefits. In terms of this - the economic life of this community - we have turned again and again to additional sources of revenue and seeking out additional sources of revenue and we are suggesting an additional source of revenue, one that does not impose upon the General Fund of this community and that is why we are pro- pounding it. The issue is not the merits or the ;'demerits of the Chamber of Commerce. And there was.one speaker who I would have anticipated would have known better. But this doesn't suggest that the additional levy raised from the business license increase will go into the hands of the Chamber of Commerce - that is no where in the Ordinance. What is proposed is that a contract be negotiated - 23 - CITY --COU.NCZL.._.-- _......_ _ - - -- -.. - - .-- ------ Page Twenty-four HEARINGS: Formation of Business Improvement Area 11/13/72 between the City of West Covina and the Chamber of Commerce to engage in activities to promote the retail trade activities and if the City can find some other agency to do it better, then do it. If you can find somebody here in opposition that can do the job better then let . them do it. But what I suggest is that there are at least 325 people in the Chamber of Commerce whose services you can't buy because they give them freely, they give to you without charge and without any compulsion but out of a sense of civic responsibility and civic duty. That is why in our opinion the Chamber of Commerce is the best entity to carry out this charge, it has done it in the past. I ask you to look around this room, look at the people who have addressed the Council on this issue and ask yourself when they appeared before you previously, and on what kind of matters did they appear? Was it always for something or was it always against something? we suggest there is something here that is of mutual advantage to the City of West Covina as well as to the advantage of the Chamber of Commerce and that is why'we brought this proposal to the City. We don't think it is a question between the Chamber of Commerce and the non -Chamber of Commerce, we think it is a question of are you going to increase business licenses for this purpose or increase business licenses for General Fund purposes? Because there was a deficit and you were prepared to meet that deficit and that responsibility by increasing property taxes which you did, and I would assume ultimately by increasing business licenses, as you must without such an alternative. Now there is another aspect embodied in the program::. and there were some comments about representative govern- ment and don't divest the people of their independence and they have spoken out. Well one of the problems in the past,basically�is communication, and if there is one graphic illustration of lack of communication it is on the understanding or appreciation of this -pro- posal. But there would come into existence by the adoption of this Business Improvement Area an Advisory Board who could establish .direct and immediate contact with the City Council on these matters which are of paramount importance, not to the Chamber of Commerce, but to the City of West Covina. That is why we have suggested over the years that there had to be a solution to this quandary,this vicious;-: circle, that has perpetuated itself .in the past as far as the desire to revitalizing the commercial industries of the community and yet that question of conscience - how do you finance it? How do you go about doing it? I respectfully suggest to you this is the way to go about it. That the Business Improvement Act is on the books as a valid statute of the State Legislature in a way that this Council can adopt a program which is sensible, which is financially responsible and which would be productive, because if that contract were entered into with the Chamber of Commerce the vicious,, circle would be broken of trying to get people interested in programs and projects of this community when they are not interested in anything except opposition or indifference. It would free at least the people who are willing to work; who want to work, to get them onto projects that are pro- ductive for the entire community. And they can't shout out and say - well are you a member of the Chamber and if you are we will go to work for you and if you are not we are not going to work for you! That line has never been drawn in the past and now they would like to draw that kind of a line. That divisiveness should not exist in this community and if it does exist it will be destructive to this community in production. We commend this program to this Council because it would be productive to the economic growth and development of the community, which would in turn enhance the financial stability of the community, which would enable the Council to Moak in the future hopefully to increased sales tax revenues as that additional source of income. - 24 - • CITY COUNCIL Page Twenty-five HEARINGS: Formation of Business Improvement Area 11/13/72 We would ask that this program be judged on its merit and emotions aside. I have yet to hear criticism of the program itself. There is criticism of the City, there is criticism of the Chamber of Commerce, but there is lack of discussion on the program itself and I would ask that the program be :Judged`, on its merits. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Donald Krall Some of the things I have heard said kind of Bell Tone Hearing Aid bother me, and I felt I would like to give my Service point of view. First of a114 I am a member of 917 West Covina Pkwy, the Chamber of Commerce in Pomona because I also have an office there. I was approached by members telling me the advantages, the reasons they would like me to join and the reason they wanted and requested my financial support. Nowias I understand it, I am told I am forced to support the Chamber of Commerce. This I don't like, not because of the Chamber but because of the manner it is done. The main reason and the subject they seem to think we want to dis- cuss - and I am so unorthodox that I have rather old-fashioned ideas. I bought a business 9 years ago and feel I have a fairly successful business in these 9 years. It is all due to my effort, and my work, and my knowledge, and my ability. I feel I am better qualified to run my business than anyone else. And I don't mean to be disrespect- ful to you or anyone else, but I feel, let me run my business, don't come in and say give me money and let me run it for you. Make me earn it myself. I believe I can and I should be able to. Thank you. Mayor Young: We have had parting shots on all directions. If there is no further testimony I will declare the hearing closed. HEARING CLOSED. THE CHAIR CALLED A RECESS AT 9:50 P.M. COUNCIL RECONVENED AT 10:06 P.M. COUNCIL DISCUSSION. Councilman Lloyd: Mr. Mayor. There are some things that disturb me about this situation. The bulk of the West Covina voters, unfortunately, are.,not here. Those who own property, those who contribute the $43,000 are not in evidence, probably for a lot of reasons. I guess it is the old routine of whose ox is being gored and they do not feel their ox is being gored. Fundamentally I am in favor of the Chamber of Commerce's proposition. However, I concur with some. of the attitudes and moralization of an obligation to be involved with the Chamber of Commerce. That strikes me as not being - well it isn't even fair, it has nothing to do with constitutional democracy and all the rest of it, it is kind of a fundamental right as to whether you will or will not be a part of an organization. The fundamental problem we are faced with is we have an organization - the Chamber of Commerce - which has been charged by the City and certainly by its own organization - with the development of business. I heard the argument when I first came to this Council and I was certainly one of the champions of the cause. ;:; When T: came: 'here it was $18, 000, " I believe, being given to the Chamber and today it is $43,000. I am sure you would accept the fact that is a decided increase. And I would like to believe that I was one of the decisive factors and that my arguments were persuasive on this Council to encourage that type of involvement. And I have no intention of backing down from that type of a commitment. We have an obligation as Councilmen. We have reviewed the potential of the financial support of this City in many ways. We have looked at industry and I hear repeatedly from people - well if we just get some industry - and the answer is very simple. We don't have a real estate which is available for - 25 - CITY COUNCIL Page Twenty-six HEARINGS: Formation of Business Improvement Area 11/13/72 industry. We can talk about an industrial park and all the rest of it and the answer is we are not going to have it. we can talk of specialized items where we will attract tourism or an influx of people as a result of conuentions,or a speciality situation involving a • Disneyland or whatever attraction area it may be and the answer is again very simply, it is not going to happen here. At least at this • time I see nothing in the foreseeable future which will allow us this privilege of perhaps floating on top. We see the problems of increased taxation, we see the problems of increased involvement. The crime rate is definitely going up and we must give additional attention to the areas of law and order and additional attention translates out very simply - dollars! We have to have a better economic base and that means more dollars. There are several ways of doing this and we have already done one of them. We increased the tax rate 20� much to the pleasure of some of the cities surround- ing us and perhaps to the chagrin of the taxpayers, of which I happen to be one. I was strongly in opposition to that. I stated my position on this Council, I argued with the members of this Council and asked them to please consider no increase in taxes and questioned the administration very strongly on whether or not we would have revenue sharing and in the finality of the thing my vote was right along with the rest of the Councilmen up here saying we have to raise the taxes for a.simple basic reason - we have to pay for the services we get. This is really what we are talking about. That is what we are talking about in the business community. On the positive side of this thing if the business people don't pay for it then who does pay? I am a businessman. I hear great cries about what will happen if we increase business licenses. In my case I believe I pay $55.00 because of the couple of employees I have and when all through I think I would increase to $75.00 or $80.00. So I am affected just like the rest of you. I don't want additional taxes but the point'I make is that there has to be a conscience on the part of the business community to somehow participate in the activities which will generate business for them .and now we have the exceptions that begin to appear. I see the gardeners, and they say I get $20.00 here and $20.00 there and if I have to pay a $25.00 or $50.00 license it is really a very pointless involvement and I agree. I don't see any reason why a gardener who is earning a total of $50.00 or $60.00 a month in the City of West Covina should be paying 10% of his total income for the year in the City of West Covina, which discounts any of his cost of production, to be a member of, a Chamber of Commerce which in reality is not going to get him one iota of business. I really understand that thoroughly and I don'.t think that is fair, and I was not aware of that prior to this evening. In addition to that I agree that there are certain types of businesses, the realtors. There has to be some methodology.if we are to involve ourself in this business endeavor and I would like to see it go forward. If we are going to involve ourself we have to have some sort of a relief situation where those who do not primirkly derive their business in this City can do business in this City and let it go at that, because it does not compile their major effort. I happen to be,one of those people. I get almost no business out of the City of West Covina. I belong to the Chamber of Commerce and I can say without hesitation that I have not got one piece of business out of the Chamber. It isn't the reason I joined.I knew that before I went. I felt I had an obligation to join as a businessman and say by my joining that I encourage those who have given so unselfishly of their time, that yes, indeed, the business community of West Covina, which is in the final analysis, the economic basis of this City, and it comes from the Chamber of Commerce. For those of you who are not members of the Chamber I can only tell you you start with one strike against you as far as I am concerned. Not because you are doing something wrong but because you are refusing to - 26 - CITY COUNCIL Page Twenty-seven HEARINGS: Formation of Business Improvement Area 11/13/72 participate in an area that requires participation if you want to be a professional. If you are a businessman th@ n act like one and belong and participate, but I can't tell you tat as a member of this Council only as a fellow businessman. • What I would like to see as far as I am concern- ed, I would like to spread this thing out, hold it over and look at the • areas that need consideration and I think the gardeners were a clear example of that. In other words, Mr. Mayor, and obviously I want my fellow councilmen to speak, but on hearing from them and I find there is some concurrence, I would probably ask for either a tabling or holding over of this until we can work that angle out. Councilman Shearer: Mr. Mayor. There has been about two or three times in the last fetal years that I wish I could have had something else to do tonight than make a decision, because this is a difficult one, but we can't.._. shrug off our duties regardless of what they are. So I will start out by saying I am not a member of the Chamber of Commerce, never have been and probably never will be, note_-bhat I have anything against the Chamber but because I don't earn my living in the City. I think it is a fine organization. You read the proposed Ordinance and there is only one place in the entire Ordinance that the Chamber of Commerce is mentioned. I think tonight it has boiled down to an issue of pro-Chamber/anti-Chamber a great deal. The only place I see, unless I misread, is with regard to the Advisory Board. The Advisory Board is designated in the Ordinance as the Executive Board of the Chamber of Commerce to advise'the City as to how the revenue should be derived. Now, of course, the intent of the people drafting the Ordinance and the intent of myself if I should vote for the Ordinance, is that the Chamber of Commerce shall be the arm, at least in 1973, to spend the money. There is nothing in the Ordinance that says in 1974 they have to continue to spend -the money. If they don't do a job there is no obligation by Ordinance that says we have to continue to support. About three years ago I had printed a card in'.April of 1970, I distributed it around to the voters of this community and stated "I pledge myself if elected to consider the overall interest of West Covina." Now what does that mean? What it means - you look at the revenues derived in this City - $1,400,000 dollars or roughly 25/o comes from sales tax. If I can do anything tonight or any other time to increase this.,it is a benefit to all of West Covina. Now there may be some inequities, I guess there are inequities in just living and I am not God, I can't eliminate all inequities, I don't propose to. I like the idea of money earmarked. If we accept the concept I want someone, whether it be the Chamber of Commerce or City Staff, to promote retail sales activities. I like the concept that this may not be before us each year when we consider budget competing with Parks and Recreation, which we did this year. We drastically cut back our Park activities. We had two letters tonight from PTA saying we would like you to reconsider that. In effect, what we had to do was decide between General Fund money for 1972-'73 going to the Chamber of Commerce or your kids_;playing flag football. Now that is a pretty tough decision. Who is more important, the kid with the football or the Chamber of Commerce? And that basically is what we are faced with tonight and we are faced with that year in and year out. The Chamber of Commerce, or whatever organization we designate as the promoter of retail sales in this community competing with kids, competing with the Symphony Orchestra and everybody else who wants money out of the General Fund. I think the Chamber hs�;a whole has done a good job., There - 27 - CITY COUNCIL Page Twenty-eight HEARINGS: Formation of Business Improvement Area 11/13/72 is no mandatory membership. If participate yesterday you don't anytime. I think this approach of West Covina. If the Council • attempt to work out some of the I would not object to that, but • because I favor the Chamber of limited ability I am trying to of all of West Covina. you don't want to be a member and have to tomorrow or next year or is for the.,over.--a.11 good of the City is disposed to hold it over and things that appear to be inequities, I do favor the basic concept, not Commerce but because I feel in my do what I think is for the benefit Councilman Nichols: Those who advocate this proposal are much better known to me than the majority who oppose it and the one gentleman, who has worked so many months in'developing it is one of whom I am quite fond, and so to take a position in opposition is much more painful to me than to take one in support of his fecommendation. But there are some areas in which I have concern and they are not re- solved in this proposal and in good conscience I feel I cannot support the proposal as it stands and I would like to indicate my thinking. I am not particularly concerned with those here tonight in the sense of the testimony given pro or con as vital to my consideration because I recognize there are applicants here on both sides of the issue but not representative of the total of 2100 licensees in the City, so I feel that I have to make my decision as independently of personalities and advocacies as I can. The first feeling that I have is that this approach to the funding and operation of the Chamber of Commerce will ultimately destroy the Chamber as a viable organization in the City. I believe it is an easy way out, I believe the capability of not seeking members, not being immediately account- able to those people who voluntarily join and pay, will ultimately dilute the effort of those people in the community who should be involved and would be involved more fully by participation. I have rarely in my life, in the experiences of a lifetime1seen anybody, by that I mean organizations, prosper and grow over the long term with its income guaranteed. I have seen those groups prosper that generated their capability and their enthusiasm but not those prosper who are taken care of in some fashion. I believe very deeply the long term result will be inimical to the interests of, the community. The second great concern I have is that we have received no proposal at all before this body as to what additional things the Chamber of Commerce intends to accomplish for the husinbss community that it has not been able'to accomplish over the past year. We have a,•aproposal for revenues but no proposal for programs or::expenditures to indicate the additional benefits that these dollars will bring to the City. I am also concerned in another area. We are told these dollars and this program will rest with the Chamber of Commerce if it is able to do the job, and if not, the Council.might turn elsewhere. Again, history and experience has indicated to me that this will not occur. The Chamber of Commerce has increased its funding from the City from some $8,000 to $43,000 in the 8 years I have been on Council. I expect over the years because of programs, demands and needs, that figure will continue to be increased. I haven't seen signs of it being decreased and I haven't seen any instances of significant criticism resulting by this body or the public in terms of those failures that indeed -'exist in the Chamber, as indeed in every group. The concern becomes focused more carefully, however, when built into this • CITY COUNCIL Page Twenty-nine HEARINGS: Formation of Business Improvement Area 11/13/72 proposal by law and by the adoption of this Council an Advisory Board is created to advise the Council how future monies under this law are to be spent and that body is composed exclusively and totally of the Executive Board of the Chamber of Commerce. I cannot see any method of objective auditing or eVAluating and reporting to this Council that would lead. me in anyway to believe that I would have the capability of learning in that sense that the money was or was not being spent most efficiently. These are some of the con- cerns that I have generated in my mind as I looked at the Ordinance and the proposal. The final one is a simple one. In all the years I have been on Council I have never voted against an appropria- tion for the Chamber of Commerce. I have voted for all increases and have been as supportive of the Chamber's programs in every way as any individual. Mr. Krieger asked us to look at the issue, not at the emotional attitudes. One of the thrusts of his argument from his.7point of view is that the money should be generated for the Chamber of Commerce from those sources in the community that will benefit. It is my judgment that there is no sin in taking $43,000 from the General Funds of our City and appropriating these for the promotion of business activities in the community.;::As�.has..�been testified repeatedly here tonight when the business community prospers and revenues increase for the City the homeowner benefits. If we can hold the property tax down because of increased sales tax revenues,the homeowner gains and so what is good for the businessman is good for the homeowner and we are all in the boat together. , I would think in looking at this that the man who is in business and sells eggs to a handful of houses in West Covina has about as remote an interest in the Plaza as any citizen who lives down in the Galaxie Tract. I think in the scope of 2,100 business licenses you will have such a divergency of direct or indirect interests in the prospefity of the downtown business community as you will have out in the community at large. So I am prepared this year, next year and every year to fund our Chamber of Commerce with its needs and allow for its proposals as always and find those funds in as equitable,a manner as I can, but in terms of this proposal and the concerns I have expressed here I find after a great deal of soul searching and a lot of thought I can't support it. Councilman Chappell: It is unfortunate that we have a situation here where it seems to be pro or anti -Chamber of Commerce, because I look at this whole program as a means of generating activity for our business develop- ment in the community. I think whether we fund the Chamber, and in this instance because of their proposal they are the ones that will carry the ball, at least for the first year, either all of it or part of it, we are still going to have the dedicated businessman in the community functioning in the capacity of working for West Covina and their own businesses. Much of the time in working for the Chamber of Commerce you are in some indirect method strengthening your own business - if it is by more employment in the community, more traffic generated, more growth. I was talking to a gentleman here a few minutes ago - Wickes - we are not all happy with the construction the way Wickes is going to look., but the Chamber of Commerce did convince Wickes to come into West Covina and some six to eight million dollars will be generated by this particular business and a tremendous amount of people are going to come into West Covina, not all from West Covina, and they will be buying chicken, they will be buying business cards or envelopes, you name it - they will be buying before and after while shopping at Wickes. - 29 - CITY COUNCIL _ Page Thirty HEARINGS: Formation of Business Improvement Area 11/13/72 So we will all benefit by it. Anything that generates a sales tax dollar is the concern of Council. I think the Chamber of Commerce as I have seen • it over the years has spent a tremendous amount of time in spinning its wheels in memberships.— Having served in that capacity two different times myself prior to coming on Council. We have had a lot of good business people working in membership when we could have been working in other areas and doing:far more good than going out and selling memberships. For a person that doesn't want to join the Chamber of Commerce he will not join in this new set up and for a person that would rather sit on his hands and do nothing he will not join. As an example, I am a member of the Plaza Merchants Association, just an item coming up at this time - Christmas decorations. I don't develop any business from Christmas but I help support the Christmas decora- tions because I believe as part of the Plaza I should, but over half of the merchants don't even help spend the money to put up the Christmas decorations whether good or bad or if they derive benefits from it. And in this program anyone who derives benefits will be helping to pay and I think the overall results will be a far better community and a far better place to do business. I think some of our businesses that aren't doing as well':tdday with this effort will do far better in the future and I can support this measure with some reservations that Councilman Lloyd brought out. Maybe we are going to have to revise certain elements of the taxation structure but I think we can do that after we analyze it further. In my mind the plan itself is a sound one. Mayor Young: It looks like the onus of the decision almost begins to fall upon the Mayorr:_as I read the comments made. So if you would like to elect a new Mayor right now...... Not to belabor the point)I did not intend to support this program this evening. This, notwithstanding the fact I have expressed myself privately as being very much in favor of the programs and indeed I amJas a concept in the matter of financing activities for the business community from the business community. But I share the view - in fact two thoughts - one, that there are numerous unanswered questions. I think we are frankly moving too fast all at once in various areas involving innovation and taxing the resources of this City, this Staff and this community, to the point, if not beyond the point, of endurance. I don't feel in good conscience that this is the moment now to come forward with suddenly a new concept, a new program of the dimension obviously involved here. This would be my reason for voting against the program this evening. I would like to see it studied more; and discussed more. As Mr. Krieger says the law is on the books and it can be used constructively for the benefit of this community, but I don't feel that we have at this time sufficient constructive community impact to lead to a workable or constructive implementa- tion at this time. So I hope it will come forward at a later time with some of the questions answered that have gone unanswered here this evening. Not the least of which is the unrebutted assertions by several, and I don't know this to be a fact, but we have been told here in testimony that our business tax at this time is greater than many if not all surrounding communities. If this, is true or if we are approaching the level of other communities then I don't think this is the time for a drastic change. I have been a member of the Chamber of Commerce in the past and expect to be in the future. The only reason I am not a member at this time is shortly after I was elected to this Council it came out that there might be some conflict of interest involved in - 30 - CITY -COUNCIL Page Thirty-one HEARINGS: Formation of Business Improvement Area 11/13/72 voting,: for a contract with a private institution funding public funds when a member of that organization. That is the only reason I am not a member. I reserved that independence. I cannot overlook the protests that have been • made, written and orally, and this you might call Phase II of my reasons.for not being in support this evening. To me the term • "politics" is not a dirty word and it is a political decision because I am firmly convinced that the atmosphere of consent is of primary importance. I think there is an atmosphere of consent in our City for the City's participation with the Chamber of Commerce as we parti- cipate. At election time when I was campaigning throughout the City, going from house to house and forums and what have you, I don't think I heard a word of criticism of the Chamber of Commerce. I have voted on three budgets now as a member on this Council „ each of which contain- ed substantial monies for the Chamber and I have not had one voice of protest on that. And believe me.,I get some criticisms. I get calls at home, I get them at the office criticizing decisions but our Chamber of Commerce operates in an atmosphere of consent. I think that a precipitous move at this time may be destructive bf that. I certainly congratulate everyone who is a part of this evening's meeting on the good faith you have shown and the courtesy you have shown to one another and to this Council. That certainly speaks well for this community. Councilman Lloyd: Councilman Chappell: we have an opinion on Mr. Mayor, I will move to hold this over for sixty days. A question, Mr. Mayor. We have a January 1 deadline for Business Licenses. I don't think we can go retro-active after January 1. May that? Mr. Wakefield: Yes, Mr. Mayor and members of Council, it is true that the Business License period begins January 1 and in general it is an annual business license. If the Ordinance increasing the Business License tax is to be implemented for the 1973 calendar year it should be effective prior to January 1 and actually it should be effective as soon as possible in order that the clerical work involved in sending out the statements of amounts of business license taxes due may be processed in a timely fashion. Mayor Young: Councilman Shearer: year because of the time Ordinance? Councilman Lloyd, your motion has died for a lack of a second. A question. Would it delay beyond a matter effectively then kill e involved in sequence be true that any real of a week or so would this for this calendar reading of the Mr. Wakefield: Yes, the Ordinance must be read for the first time at one regular meeting and adopted at the next. So if it were continued to your next regular meeting it would mean the Ordinance would not be effective until the latter part of December and the time frame in which the City Clerk has to prepare and send out the notices would be extremely short. Councilman Shearer: Could we send the licenses out in February instead of December? Is there any legal requirements that say they have to be out by January 1? - 31 - • • lJ CITY COUNCIL Page Thirty-two HEARINGS: Formation of Business Improvement Area 11/13/72 Mr. Wakefield: No, except that the Business License for which the fee is charged is an annual license tax running from January 1 to December 31m So what we are talking about is the annual business license tax that is collected primarily during the month of January. If the statements are not sent out then the businessmen tend to send in the same license tax which they paid the previous year and it causes confusion and additional clerical work in returning thee -amounts paid that are incorrect. So as a practical matter it would seem to me it would be extremely difficult to administer the tax. Councilman Shearer: I didn't realize that so many of our business people were so forthright that they would send their remittance in before they got the bill. I would really question that. Mayor Young: We had a motion to table this matter for sixty days; the maker now joins me in saying the motion died for lack of a second. Is there a substitute motion? Perhaps a question of Mr. City Manager. We still have coming before us a proposal for an across the board increase in business licenses for budgetary purposes? Mr. Aiassa: That matter is to be considered by Council if you are not going to have the Federal Aid funds. Mayor Young: And with regard to the Federal Aid funds, we have been led to understand that the future of these funds will depend to some extent on their being spent for more than the housekeeping chores of the City - isn't that true? So this will be a matter of major consideration to this Council. I think we have something like 6 months to make a decision on these funds, as I understand it. Councilman Nichols: Speaking again to the concerns that I have and that a review of the proposal might make this acceptable to me, in light of the deadline which appears to be imposed upon the Council it seems to force a decision tonight without the opportunity to review, so I would move that the proposal in its present form be tabled: Mayor Young: I will second it to get it before us. Is there any discussion to that motion? Councilman Shearer: Yes, somebody tell me what that means? .Are we going to table it and forget it? Is that what "tabling"means? Councilman Nichols: No sir, not in the sense of the use of the term. A motion to deny the proposal, or to refuse to consider it further, or turn it down would have been stated differently. My intent in tabling was that it places it in a locker for future consideration and I think that is the historic interpretation of the word "tabling." Councilman Shearer: And throw away the key! Councilman Nichols: No, I didn't intend to do that either, but I did intend to indicate I couldn't support it tonight in its present form with the con- cerns I have expressed.. I meant no more than that. Mayor Young: I take it this thing could be reopened at every meeting and if after further input and clarification we decided we were ready to move ahead with it we could pass it in February and make it effective in January of 1974. That wouldn't be illegal -.Mr. City Attorney? - 32 - • • I CITY_COUNCIL Page Thirty-three HEARINGS: Formation of Business Improvement Area 11/13/72 Mr. Wakefield: No sir. Councilman Nichols: The fact of the matter is the Council could' adopt an emergency ordinance and we have thirty days and wait a month or six weeks if it really desires to do so and redirect itself, if that course were in fthe L)urview of the Council. I am not making that as an advocacy, you understand. Mayor Young: We have a motion and a second to table it. Any further comments? Councilman Lloyd: Mr. Mayor, I think if we vote the motion to table that we are not going to make any decision at this point and unfortunately in view of the emergency which I was really kind of aware of but on the other hand was trying to continue the thing to give it a chance to be heard in those areas that were of concern - I would ask for "no" vote on the tabling thing. I think we are down to 'the point that if we are going to decide on it let's decide tonight and if it fails the Chamber can bring it back up again. If it doesn't fail) then we go forward with it. Councilman Shearer: Mr. Mayor, a question of the City Attorney. If substantive changes are made in the Ordinance, for example let's say the gardeners are exempt and part-time realtors in the community, etc., would this require an additional public hearing? Mr. Wakefield: No sir, not so far as the rates of tax are concerned. That is,if the proposal, for example, applicable to gardeners is 65/ of their basic business license tax that percentage could be reduced or eliminated without further public hearing. There are some changes in therrprocedure which would require further public hearing, for example,if the City Council decided to change the boundaries of the area to limit it'to a particular part of the City a notice to that effect would be required. So far as the exemptions are concerned the way the notice was prepared it was predicated upon a percentage of the existing business license tax which the individual pays so if the gardeners or the real estate broker who transacts business within the City but does not actually have a place of business in the City tare -exempted that would require a change in the basic business license provisions of the existing City ordinance. Councilman Shearer: I would like to pursue that a little. I hate to table something. To me "tabling" is synonymous, regardless of what Councilman Nichols had in mind, with throwing away the key and;a.way of getting rid of something. There is somewhat of an urgency, it is either now or another full year. This has been discussed since Spring, it is not a Johnny -come -lately idea, although it may be so to csome people. Is there s;omeyway, that perhaps the main proponent of this - Mr. Krieger - could work with the individual councilmen to resolve their questions and concerns over the possible exemptions and maybe make some revisions that would not require additional hearings and within a couple of weeks and there would still be time? In the meantime the City Clerk could be instructed not to mail out the bills and if two or three businessmen happen to send theirs. in in advance I am sure we can take care of that problem. Maybe we could get to a decision - yes or no - by the end of this month. I think we should, I think it is only fair to the people on the Chamber of Commerce who have worked so long on this. Any decision is better than no decision. So I will vote "no" on the tabling and introduce another motion. - 33 - CITY.COUNCIL Page Thirty-four HEARINGS: Formation of Business Improvement Area 11/13/72 Councilman Nichols: A quick comment. I am inclined to be of the opinion if the Council attempts to get into the area of which group should be exempted because of their particular type of work, or the volume of their . production, or whatever other reason, the Council will be opening a huge new can of worms that will be very difficult to relid after- wards. I think the same type of concern has come up in the past at the times of the revision of the Business Licenses and any exemptions on this program would have to -also be an exemption in the Business License Fee Program and this would be of rather great major concern that probably could not be resolved in a short time. That would be my opinion. Call for the vote, Mayor. Motion failed on roll call vote as follows: AYES: Councilmen: Nichols, Young NOES: Councilmen: Shearer, Lloyd, Chappell Councilman Shearer: I would move that this matter be continued for a period of 2 weeks to our next regular meeting and in the meantime the City Clerk is instructed not to mail out the bills. Seconded by Councilman Lloyd. Mayor Young: If we continue) it will just come back to us in its present form I take it. Is that your thought, Councilman Shearer? Councilman Shearer: No, that is not my thought. I would hope that somebody that has some interest' in this will work on it. If it comes back in its present form )I think it will probably get voted down. Mayor Young: If it comes back with various changes does that require a further hearing - Mr. Wakefield? Mr. Wakefield: It depends on what the changes are, Mr. Mayor. The statute itself simply says if the area to be subjected to the tax is changed then a further hearing would be required based upon notice of the revised areas. The other provisions of the Ordinance whibh�are substantive is that so long as the proposed percentage rate in'the increase of the tax is not increased but decreased from that which was noticed - so I think that may be done without further public hearing. Councilman Lloyd: Mr. Wakefield, is there a possibility then to insure that we have covered all the bases, can we reopen the public hearing this evening and continue it? Mr. Wakefield: The public hearing should be continued if there is any possibility you want to take further testimony from either the people supporting the proposal or those opposed to it. So I would suggest that you continue the hearing to the next regular meeting and in the meantime if there are proposed revisions to be considered those people interested will have an opportunity to comment at that time. Councilman Lloyd: Mr. Wakefield: reopen the hearing and be in order. Can we vote this motion and then have another motion for the continuation of the hearing or incorporate that in this motion? The chair has indicated that the hearing has been closed® if this motion carries then I would think, a subsequent motion to continue to your next regular meeting would - 34 - CITY -COUNCIL . - ... _ .. _ ... - ... Page Thirty-five HEARINGS: Formation of Business Improvement Area 11/13/72 Councilman Nichols: Mr. Mayor, speaking to the motion, it is apparent to me that I and the chair tend to feel we would not be supportive of this proposal except under significant modifications. It seems apparent to • me that three on the Council are generally supportive of the proposal although there is some uncertainty within the three of you gentlemen • as to what your concerns might be as witnessed by your willingness, Councilman Lloyd, to hold the matter over and your expressions of some concerns, and now for us to move at this point to hold over for two weeks with the hearing held open and with no specific directive to the proponents, to those who brought it before us, as to what those areas of concern might be and what would need to be changed to gain that support, it would seem perhaps to be an act in futility to set a hearing and invite people back again when they do not know tonight what the area of negotiation and concern is and what might be modified. It seems somehow an incompletion of an act that we should be performing here tonight. I wonder if any of you would care to respond to that. Councilman Lloyd: I would respond. I think that your point is valid. I think it is well taken. However, the things which are at stake here at the present moment really go deeper, at least the way I see it, than what has been presented here. I have some reservations and I think. I expressed those reservations. I just used the gardeners as an example and I want some solution to that before I go forward. On the other hand there are only two major areas that I expressed interest in. Some people expressed other views.- One, is the problem of how to get people to participate in the thing and I think this expression of doubt as to the validity or viability of having people participate without some -.conscionable, commitment was valid also. There is no question in my mind that if we hold this over for two weeks, I know Harvey Krieger well enough to know that he will have proposals, he will make recommendations and solutions. I don't think anyone in this room will be franchised from the democratic principle by coming back in two weeks. If their only shot at it is tonight and they have given the ultimate by coming here and giving their time for a one shot deal in the City then my reaction to the thing is that the democratic process requires additional consideration of this thing. I don't want to see it die at the present moment because I don't think it has had a fair day in court. I don't know that two weeks is a sufficient amount of time. I think we are squeezed and caught in a trap and Councilman Shearer has come up with a good solution, whether it is a good one or workable I don't know. All we are asking is let's have it back one more time to take a look at it. If it comes back exactly the same way�I am prepared to vote "no" on it. But I think it will be changed. I want to keep it alive so we can look at it again and I don't think we are going to harm anyone by doing that and I ask you to join in that. Councilman Nichols: wellteven though Councilman Shearer demeaned my motion to table I am going to support his. Motion carried on roll call, vote as follows: AYES: Councilmen: Shearer, Nichols, Lloyd, Chappell NOES: Mayor Young ABSENT: None Motion by Councilman Lloyd to reopen the hearing and continue to the next regular meeting of the Council. Seconded by Councilman Shearer. Councilman Shearer: Is there anyway we can reserve the reopening of the hearing to those possible changes in the Ordinance? I would hate to go through all this again and hear the same thing. Can we restrict the testimony to only those changed provisions? Is that legal? - 35 - CITY COUNCIL Page Thirty-six HEARINGS: Formation of Business Improvement Area 11/13/72 Mr. Wakefield: I really don't think there is anyway that can be done except through the good offices and persuasive influence of the chair. Councilman Shearer.: Even though he/voted ".no' on my motion I hope • he will come through next time. . Mayor Young: The'chair will strive. MAYOR YOUNG CALLED A RECESS AT 11 P.M. COUNCIL RECONVENED AT 11:10 P.M. SOUTHEASTERLY ANNEXATION LOCATION: East of Hollenbeck at Merced DISTRICT NO. 217 Avenue and Shasta Street. Set for PROTEST HEARING hearing on this date by Resolution No. 4644, adopted by the City Council on October 10, 1972. Mayor Young: Madam City Clerk, do you have the Affidavit of Publication? City Clerk: Yes, I do. Motion by Councilman Chappell, seconded by Councilman Lloyd and carried, to receive and file Affidavit of Publication. Mayor Young: Madam City Clerk, do you have any written pro- tests? City Clerk: I have received none. Mayor Young: I will declare the public hearing open - is there anyone in the audience that wishes to protest the Southeasterly Annexation District No. 217? Hearing none, I declare the public hearing closed. We have a proposed resolution, Mr. City Attorney? Mr. Wakefield: Mr. Mayor and members of Council, the latest date upon which the election could be held consistent with the statutory requirements would be the 23rd day of January, 1973. The resolution is entitled: RESOLUTION "A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF WEST COVINA FINDING AND DECLARING THAT A MAJORITY PROTEST HAS NOT BEEN MADE AND CALLING A SPECIAL ELECTION TO BE HELD ON THE 23rd DAY OF JANUARY, 1973, PERTAINING TO THE ANNEXATION OF SOUTHEASTERLY ANNEXATION DIS- TRICT NO. 217 TO THE CITY OF WEST COVINA." Motion by Councilman Lloyd, seconded by Councilman Chappell and carried, to waive full reading of said Resolution. Motion by Councilman Chappell, seconded by Councilman Lloyd, to adopt said Resolution. Councilman Shearer: Mr. Mayor, two questions. An election held on the 23rd, assuming it is successful, will it result in the area being in the City on the assessment date in March so the 1973-'74 taxes will accrue to the ' City of West Covina? Mr. Wakefield: No sir, the present law requires that the maps and resolutions completing the annexation be filed with the State Board of Equalization before January 1. So this means the area will continue to be un- incorporated until the year following. That is 1974-'75*tax year. - 36 - CITY.COUNCIL Page Thirty-seven HEARINGS: South.easter1y.A, rinex:a�tion: District No. 217 1 -11/13/72 Councilman Shearer: As far as the taxes, but who will provide fire services, sweeping of streets, etc., during 1973-'74? • Mr. Wakefield: Those services will be continued to be provided by the County Fire Protection District and the sewer services by the County Sewer Maintenance District, In other words the County agencies now providing the various services will continue to do so until July 1, 1974. Councilman Shearer: Mr. Wakefield: Councilman Shearer: Mr. Wakefield: So this area even if it of 1973 wouldn't become until July, 1974? is positive in January a part of West Covina ,So far as services and taxes are concerned. Are the people there aware of this? I was wondering if the day after election they would assume they are in West Covina. I am sure they must be aware of it although I have not had any direct contact with the pro- ponents of the annexation. Councilman Nichols: I think it is rather important that we reassure ourselves that they do know this, because the following week after they vote they will be calling the West Covina Police Department for service and West Covina City Hall with complaints and if they are told abruptly they are not yet in the City for another fifteen months it will be much more offensive than if they know in advance. Mr. Aiassa: Is there anyway we can have the election sooner, Mr. Wakefield? Mr. Wakefield: No sir. The statute provides the election must be held not sooner than 54 days and no later than 75 days after the adoption of the Resolution. If it is not adopted tonighty the only effect would be to carry the date of the election into February. Councilman Shearer: How many people refused to sign this petition? Mr. Zimmerman: Mr. Mayor and members of Council, there were two people. One couple, one property owner. Councilman Shearer: Maybe we could hold the election over until October, 1973 - maybe that couple will move away and you will get 100% of the people and you won't have to have an election. Mr, Aiassa: Well we may have the reverse. We had one coupe already move. Councilman Shearer: Okay, you convinced me®' Councilman Chappell: Couldn't we do all of the things for them that we normally do for -people in the City after we have the election? Wouldn't they be a part of West Covina if an election were coming up and their mailing address and things like that? Does all that have to wait until 1974? Mr. Wakefield: There is no legal way the City could advance the procedures. As a practical matter I am sure if the Fire Department gets a call of a - 37 - CITY COUNCIL Page Thirty-eight HEARINGS: Southeasterly Annexation District No. 217 11/13/72 fire in the annexed area they will respond to it. The same thing would be true as to the Police Department. But the properties within the area will continue to pay the County Fire Protection District levy for example until the area is actually effectively withdrawn and that cannot happen until July 1 of 1974. • Mr. Aiassa: There'is one more point the Council should realize, that they are not also paying a city tax. They are exempt from the City tax. Mayor Young: The only concern is their own concept of it. I take it the ballot itself would specify the effective date if it passed, would it not? Mr. Aiassa: Right and they will not be paying double taxes in the sense that they would be paying both City and County. They will only be paying the County taxes. Councilman Nichols: This is just a small area admittedly.17'.!homes, and I believe this will be of great concern to them whether they read it on their ballot or not they want to come to West Covina. This has been hanging in-thefire. for quite a long time. I would suspect that it would be the spirit of the Council that Staff indicate to these people that although the effective date is not for 1973 that for practical purposes the services of the City of West Covina will be readily available to them. Mr. Aiassa: If we have annexed them physically even though they are not paying taxes, aren't they our responsibility, Mr. Wakefield? Mr. Wakefield: Legally they are not our responsibility until the annexation is legally effective and it will not be legally effective until July of 1974. Councilman Shearer: Then I don't see why we should have an election in January of 1973. We are going to confuse the thing. If this is a concern and it seems to me it isJ,,we ought to set the election at a more appropriate time so we don't muddy up the waters. Mr. Aiassa: Mr. Wakefield, can we carry this portion of the resolution over to our next meeting and we meet with some of the property owners involved and clear this up with them? Mr. Wakefield: Yes, City Council has 30 days from today to adopt the Resolution. Mr. Aiassa: So we will just advise them. Mayor Young: We have the Resolution before us and a motion and a second to adopt. This would be super - ceded by a motion to table for a period of 2 weeks to the meeting of November 27. Would anyone care to offer such a motion? Motion by Councilman Shearer that this item be held to the next regular City Council meeting, November 27, 1972. Seconded by Councilman Lloyd and carried. Councilman.Shearer: Mr. Mayor a further comment. The statement was made earlier that we need some guidelines, so what I want to know is why we need an election in January. CITY COUNCIL.. _. _ _-. Page Thirty-nine HEARINGS: Cont'd. 11/13/72 1972-73 WEED & RUBBISH LOCATION: Throughout the City. ABATEMENT PROGRAM Review Acting Street Superintendent's report. HEARING OF PROTESTS Hearing of protests or objections from owners and other interested parties to the proposed program of weed and rubbish abatement for 1972-73 pur- suant to Resolution of Intention No. 4647 scheduled for hearing this evening. Mr. Wakefield: Mr. Mayor and members of Council, the City Council has elected to continue the contract of the contractor who bid on the project last year for an additional year, so it is not necessary to readvertise the bids on this work. Mayor Young: Thank you. Madam City Clerk, do you have the Affidavit of Mailing? City Clerk: Yes, I do. Motion by Councilman Shearer, seconded by Councilman Lloyd and carried, to receive and file the Affidavit of Mailing. Mayor Young: Madam City Clerk, have you received any written protests against the weed and rubbish abatement program? City Clerk: No, I have not. THIS IS THE TIME AND PLACE FOR THE HEARING OF PROTESTS AGAINST THE 1972-73 WEED AND RUBBISH ABATEMENT PROGRAM. THERE BEING NO PUBLIC TESTIMONY PUBLIC HEARING CLOSED. Motion by Councilman Shearer, seconded by Councilman Lloyd and carried, to order the abatement of weeds and rubbish on those proper- ties described in Resolution of Intention No. 4647.. CITY ATTORNEY - Cont'd. ORDINANCE Councilman Shearer: Mr. Mayor, may I INTRODUCTION have the floor for a moment. It is now approaching 11:30 P.M. and I probably have 35 or 40 minutes of questioning on this upcoming Ordinance pertaining to noise. There doesn't appear to be any urgency on it so I would like to move that this be held over and in the meantime perhaps I can get my questions answered in contact with the City Attorney and it will save time. Councilman Nichols The Ordinance could be introduced tonight and it couldn't be acted upon until another meeting anyway and you would have the opportunity'to vote °'yes " or "no" on it. Would you see any reason why we couldn't go ahead and introduce it as scheduled? Councilman Shearer: That is ;fine.. I will hold my questions either to the preceding meeting or be in contact with Mr. Wakefield. OR�INAN E _The:(;ity�_Attorney presented: INTRODUCTION "AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE Noise CITY OF WEST COVINA ADDING CHAPTER 6 TO ARTICLE IV OF THE WEST COVINA MUNICIPAL CODE, RELATING TO NOISE." Motion by Councilman Shearer, seconded by Mayor'Young and carried, to waive full reading of said Ordinance. - 39 - CITY COUNCIL Page Forty CITY ATTORNEY: Ordinance Introduction (Noise) 11/13/72 Motion by Councilman Lloyd, seconded by Councilman Shearer and carried, to introduce said Ordinance. ORDINANCE INTRODUCTION The City Attorney presented: re Sewer Pipe "AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY' COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF WEST COVINA AMENDING SECTION 5245 AND SECTION 5245.1 OF THE WEST COVINA MUNICIPAL CODE RELATING TO KIND AND SIZE OF SEWER PIPE." Mr. Wakefield: This Ordinance is offered to permit the use of plastic pipe in sewer connections to residential properties. Motion by Councilman Nichols, seconded by Councilman Shearer and carried, to waive full reading of said Ordinance. Motion by Councilman Nichols, seconded by Mayor Young, to introduce said Ordinance. Councilman Chappell: Did you say the County has approved this and they are using plastic pipe in sewers? Mr. Lippitt: Yes. I know for a fact the City of Long Beach Acting City Engineer and the City of Los Angeles have approved it. This is the sewer pipe which is on private property and doesn't have.the traffic loads. This is the sewer line from the property line to the house and the line in the street still remains clay. Councilman Lloyd: Is this a better way of doing it? Mr. Lippitt: This is allowing another solution. Plastic pipe in the last several years has been an acceptable solution and it is less expensive. Councilman Lloyd: Less expensive, so it is better that way but will it last? Mr. Lippitt: Yes lit will last. Mr. Aiassa: What Mr. Lloyd is asking is it will be cheaper and it is all on private property and that gives the alternative to the property owner. He can go the cheaper route if he wants to. Mayor Young: Having just had a clay pipe installed at my house I feel no conflict of interest here. Let's have the question. Motion carried. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS REOPENED Mayor Young: There is some indication of someone desiring to address Council under Oral Communications and we had an early call on Oral Communications so with your consent I will reopen Oral Communications at this time. Mrs. Bert Bergman Gentlemen, I bring you an item of very sincere 426 South Leaf Ave., concern having known that this Council has West Covina recorded a concern over the preservation of the contour of the City and that also in a joint meeting with the Covina City Council has expressed a concern over the development of retail sales areas within the City of Industry which are going to naturally draw from West Covina. So I find it hard to resolve property in West Covina, namely BKK Dump having the hills leveled with the dirt being used to fill the very 1 1 ► CITY COUNCIL ORAL .COMM MICATIONS Page Forty-one 11/13/72 shopping center that will apparently be in direct competition with West Covina. The only explanation of what is happening in this particular vicinity that I have been able to get is that there is a ballfield being constructed, which again brings a question to my mind that all other ball parks in the City were actually worked on by people involved in the direct League and suddenly the City seems to be doing • something about it. I hope I have a Mi ai'hterpretation of what I have seen and some concerns that have been posed to me in discussion. Mayor Young: Thank you, Mrs. Bergman. Do you have any immediate response, Mr. Aiassa? Mr. Zimmerman,: dire Mayor and Imembers of Council, I can cite Public Service Dir., some of the facts of the case; There has been a removal of approximately 150,000 cubic yards of dirt which was hauled from the Home Savings area operated by BKK to the City of Industry shopping center, which is now under con- struction for fill of their various perking lots, etc. This material was removed from an area immediately above the scale house and the removal was stopped and transferred to the area of the proposed ball diamond. This is part of the approval of Change Order No. 5 of the BKK operation, Unclassified Use Permit No. 71, which is not yet effective, and would permit a ball diamond approximately.400' x 400' which would be available for installation of lighting without causing objections of any adjacent property owners and this is a request of some of the other ball parks in the more populated portions of the City. This was viewed by the Planning Commission on Wednesday, November 4 and also several 'members of the City Council were on that tours I believe that is a summary of where we stand at this time. Mr. Aiassa: they are going to Mr. Zimmerman Mr. Zimmerman, there also that BKK is to cover that damaged where they had no emulsify it? of the bare areas which They complain they can't from rainfall to make it was a provision area that was permit to do it - Yes, the owners have indicated they would put a particular material on which will in turn sprout necessary ground cover on some they have developed near the scale house. do it until there is sufficient moisture properly perform. Councilman Shearer; Mr. Mayor, a question. As I understand9the initial gradiftg;;wassdone contrary to the permit and that was stopped? Mr. Zimmerman: Yes, the initial grading was just started without any permission. Councilman Shearer: What they started to do was in conflict to what they were allowed to do - then you said it was transferred to an area that was designated as a possible ball park? -Was that in accordance with what they are allowed to do? Mr. Z immerman : Mr., Shearer, the °mo' , Sri li for the ball park was removed without permit. Councilman.Shearer:_ Why was that not stopped then? They were still working there on the 4th of November because I was there watching them. I was under the impression that what they were -doing was in.accordance with - shall we say - some legality.. Mr; Zimmerman- Again' p it was' in".aco�rd with Proposal No. 5 for the revision of the Unclassified Use Pewit. The opportunity was there to remove 41 CITY..COUNCIL. Page Forty-two O: 1kh-.COMMUNICF,TIODdS 11/13/72 this'ver.y'large amount of material, something the City had been for an alternative to perform for a considerable length ,looking of time•and there was no time to -completely get all the conditions of a permitq An effort was made to take out a permit but certain onditions:regarding relandscaping Wchat, were not properly made and for :reasgn the permit was not issued. The request for the permit wa.s made however. ..Mayor,.Younge And the permit is paid for? Isn't it? Mrm:.Zimmerinan:' The necessary financial arrangements were completed properly. ' Mayor Y'o.ungo Anything further on that? 'Counci;lman:Nichols: It is an.intriguing subject matter that gets more interesting as we move into it but I am afraid at this hour I just as soon not explore it further. THE CHAIk`J '.,:0 THE COUNCIL MEETING AT 11:35 P.M., FOR THE PURPOSE . OF CALLING. REDEVELOPMENT MEETING TO ORDER. COUNCIL MEETING :,CONVENED AT 11 :45 P.M. .CITY MANAGER RECREATION PROGRAM Motion by Councilman Chappell, seconded by AGREEMENT WITH Councilman Lloyd, that the proposed agreement BASSETT UNT;F1J�) between the Bassett Unified School District and SCHOOL DISTRICT the City of West Covina for recreational services at Tonopah School be approved for the 1972-73 fiscal year, and that the City Council authorizes the Mayor and City Clerk to execute said agreement on behalf of .the. City, Councilman Shearer: Mr. Mayor, I have a question. Here we have an agreement involving Recreation and Parks and I see nothing to indicate that this has been even seen by,our Recreation and Parks Commission. I see it has been. recommended by Mr. Stevens. .Mr o Aiassa: This was recommended for approval by the Recreation and Parks Commission. I believe it - is so stated in their minutes. 'Councilman Shearer: I only suggest that in the future it be so written in our report so we don't have to ask this question. Mayor Young: And if it hasn't we would like for our Commissions not to be short-circuited if at all possible. Motion carried on roll call vote as follows: AYES: Councilmen: Shearer, Nichols, Lloyd, Chappell., Young NOES -..None ABSENT-. None YOUTH ADVISORY COMMITTEE Mayor Young We have a Staff Report on this ' matter - what is your pleasure, gentlemen,,on appointments to this Commission?. We have apparently ten and a possible incumbent. .Councilman Chappell: I think we should interview them. 42 - CITY COUNCIL Page Forty-three CITY MGR.: Youth Advisory Commission Appointments 11/13/72 Mayor Young: Do you want to set a special time and place for the interviews? Councilman Nichols: How many do we have? (Mr. Aiassa answered "5".) .Mro Aiassa: I do have the list of the schools the candidates are from, all but No. 4e The first one is from Covina; second - West Covina; third - Nogales; fifth - West Covina; sixth - West Covina, - eighth - Edgewood; ninth - West Covina; tenth - Edgewood® So we covered all bases. Councilman.Nichols: Mr. Mayor, I had the understanding somewhere along the line that we were going to have the Committee do the screening for us and make recommendations to us and act on that. I didn't realize that they were going to bring it down to ten and then we reinterviewo Mayor Young: This is the way we followed last year and I think we all found it interesting and helpful in making the selections. I would be willing to establish an evening in the.near future when we could interview up in Mr. Aiassa's office. Mr. Aiassa: With regard to Councilman Nichols' comment. Last time they recommended the first five and we went down to seven and eight. So that is probably one reason why they didn't give you a recommendation. Councilman Shearer: I notice only one name down as an incumbent. Has Miss Wilson indicated a desire not to serve? I thought she was a student at West Covina High this year? Mr. Aiassa: I can't answer that question. I wasn't at the interviews. Mr. Duvall and Mro.Reiner were. I can get an answer for you, Mr. Shearer. Mayor Young: How much time would it take for you to get notification to these youngsters? Mr. Aiassa: One day. Mayor Young: I would move that we conduct these interviews commencing at the hour of 7 P.M., Wednesday evening of this week in the City Manager's office. Councilman Lloyd: Mr. Mayor, I teach a class Wednesday night from 7 to 10. We did this last time and I ended up seeing them on my own afterwards, which is fine with me® Mayor Young: Councilman Nichols has also indicated a conflict with that date. Councilman Nichols: Does the chair feel it is mandatory that all five Councilmen attend? I have great faith in the Mayor's judgment. Mayor Young: I don't believe it is necessary only as a matter of courtesy - I know Councilman Lloyd certainly wants to and he would prefer to do it with all the others. Councilman Lloyd: Well I certainly do, but I would not hold the s.it3ation up because of that, If .it requires - 43 - CITY COUNCIL Page Forty-four CITY.MGRo: Youth Advisory Commission Appointments 11/13/72 an immediate decision�I would abide by it© If it can be worked out - fine, if not then we will go forward on the thing. Mayor Young: By way of the Mayor's report I will mention that the Citizens' Advisory Committee is having its first organizational meeting this Thursday evening in the City Manager's Conference room. We could go over until Monday of next week on the Youth Advisory appointments. (Councilman Lloyd indicated he would not be available on Monday night.) Cowrilman Shearer: I would be prepared tonight to take the recommendation of the Committee because I think they are just as capable of interviewing these peoples unless there is a feeling of shirking our responsibility, and:appointing on the basis of their recommendation 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, depending on'whether you want to consider the incumbents. Mr. Aiassa: Also you appoint -two alternates. Councilman Chappell: We do have at least one person that served before and is eligible to go again. I think we have to look at them.. Councilman Lloyd: Didn't we discuss the possibility of having 10 - five primary and five alternates m which really solves your problem very fast. Mr. Aiassa: Well you mould have to have eleven because the�e is an incumbent. Mayor Young: Gentlemen, -the hour is late, how about Tuesday night at 7 P.M. in the City Manager's Conference Room? (Council agreed), Is there anything else Mr. City Manager? Mr. Aiassa: I will probably be gone Monday and Tuesday, I am finally going to go to the invitation of IBM at their expense. I might have to pay for my lodging, I don't know yet, but I will advise Council, you have already given me permission to attend. CITY CLERK ABC APPLICATIONS Chief of Police recommends NO PROTEST. a) Frances Elizabeth Eng ) dba Pacific Liquor Mart, Edward Jang Eng ) 2017 W. Pacific Avenue 2321 No Commonwealth Avenue ) Los Angeles ) b) Albert Norman N�klson ) dba The,Islander 3320 Merced Street 2233 E. Garvey Avenue Los Angeles ) Motion by Councilman Chappell, seconded by Councilman Shearer, that there be No Protests. City Clerk: Mr. Mayor - I might announce that Mro.Nielson has withdrawn his application. Motion carried. CITY COUNCIL MAYOR'S REPORTS Mayor young,. present at the first meeting and they are *n the City Manager's Conference room, if COUNCILMEN'S REPORTS/COMMENTS qw— Page Forty-five 11/13/72 I have already reported on the Citizens' Advisory Committee There were approximately fifteen meeting again Thursday evening any of you desire to attend, Councilman Lloyd: I am sorry I do have something and I apologize. We have a problem and very briefly what it is is some of the businesses located along the freeway are indeed suffering, at least from the small survey I have taken, as a resultof the widening of the freeway. I am proposing that the sign ordinance in that area be lowered to allow them some additional signage by.some reasonable amount so 'the signs can be seen along the freeway and perhaps even giving direction on how to get to 'their place of business. With the closing of ramps and shifting of ramps in my opinion there is an undue hardship and if nothing else it is defeating the purpose of much of the discussion this evening regarding improvement of business, In other words I am prepared 'to make a motion that Staff look into the reducing of the Sign Ordinance requirements for those businesses which have been disrupted by either the redevelopment project or the widening of the freeway and report back to the Council with recommendations. Councilman Chappell-. Councilman Lloyd: Mayor young-. Councilman Nichols-. anyone 'that would feel signs going up all over unless you are careful Are you talking about a temporary basis? yes) it would be on a temporai7l basis, but 'they can make it permanent if 'they want. I will second for purposes of discussion, I think using 'the term "disrup't" because of the freeway or the redevelopment, covers a tremendous spectrum which involves practically disrupted in anyway and you will have -temporary the City that you couldn't be selective about, in defining what you mean by "disruptive". Councilman Lloyd, What I have really done is to send it back to Staff for them to put in: the definable limits and we would presume they would at least incorporate in them thinking of a solution, some of the proble�rms the people are having and in addition 'to that would be 'the continuance of no great garish signs and all the rest of it. In other words what we are trying to do is protect the business people. The example brought to mind is that of Ted Block, where Kasler-Ball has entrenched themselves directly in front of the guy and he claims it is hurting his business and I think reasonably so Councilman Nichols: I think the visual disruption that has happened there is certainly a type Of complaint that is exclusive. I.th.ink someone else that may :feel t'-hey have been disrupted for some other reason may not be as equally 'ridinance? stressed. May I ask the question o do you envision this as a matter be referred to the Planning Cowmission and an amendment 'to 'the Councilman Lloyd: No, what I envisioned in 'the whole 'thing would be variances through the normal processes which would be Planning, but not in the idea of restrictive but with the idea of abating the thing for a period of about two years to give them relief. Certainly somebody that borders on Glendora Avenue and up further north on Azusa may have suffered as a result of the problems of getting on a*-,d off'at.Azusa, but they 45 CITY COUNCIL Page Forty-six Councilmen's Reports/Comments 11/13/72 certainly wouldn't fall into the p.nWietw_ I was thinking about. Mayor Young: I think we are getting into rather dangerous ground. What happens when you install sewers and this)of cours(;,is disruptive to businesses What have a big trench in front of 'their place for several weeks? Wfny activity that disrupts the business then gives credence to a request or signage,for some type of emergency signage to overcame that dis- ruption. It is kind of a Pandora's Box type situation. I think I would be receptive if Ted Block or any other businessman comes in through normal channels for a request for a variance for a certain period of time, but to approach it the other way is kind of a blanket thing. Councilman Lloyd: I think somehow we have to notify them that they have that right. At -the present time 'they get their heads knocked off if they even remotely think of it. I think it is time we indicate to them we are willing to sort of encourage them. Mayor Young-. How do they get -their heads knocked off? Councilman Lloyd.- Well it was the next point I was going to bring up anyway. The routine of Staff has been almost adamant about not granting -these things and I am very.; --.perturbed over this. Specifically, I asked that a meeting be held between Kasler-Ball and the City to offer some sort of relief with regards to Ted Block and I have no vested interest in doing 'that. I was told there seemed to be some hardships and no one seemed to be in contact with these people, yet when I unfortunately tobk%the bull by the horns and charged in there I found out that the City had indded had a meeting, that there had been some agreement on the -thing. I was very perturbed over this. I felt the Staff had failed to notify me properly, I think Staff is working in the area of policy and I want that policy defined for this Staff so they 'thoroughly understand 4xh6.t_ this Council is thinking. I am not trying to 'take away any of the decision process of this body but I don't want that pciicy situation to be handled by Staff because I don't think they fully understand the things this body is talking about. I have been deeply offended by the fact that somebody over here seems to think 'they are seitting policy and that is what I am -trying to do right now. I want. 'the policy set by this body and not the administrative functions of the City. Councilman Nichols: 114y reactionjCouncilman Lloyd, is that Mr, Block should, if he has this problem and he wan-ts relief and he is rebuffed by the Staff.when he comes to you tell him to come before Council and tell us what his problem is. What I don't want to do is set up a blanket procedure widely publicized that anybody can apply. Councilman Lloyd: councilman Nichols: their Councilman. if I ere losing dollars and s atisfaction)I darn well, Councilman Lloydg I understand. That is the Pandora's Box Mayor Young is talking about. Yes)and it might just overload staff and on the other hand those who are being disrupted by this certainly have 'that right to cont-act were a businessman in this community and I I came up here to Staff and didn't get would contact my Councilman. They have! Councilman Nichols: We have indicated we would be w' Ming to help, so just tell. the guy come on in and ask for 10t. Mayor Young.- With a proposal. - 46 - CITY -COUNCIL Page Forty-seven Councilmen's Reports/Comments 11/11/72 Councilman Shearer: This whole discussion seems to be centered around Ted Block and for the life of me - I approach his business from the Los Angeles side five days a week and I don't know how he could be helped by additional signs because the first thing you see is Ted Block's sign, •sticking up there in the air long before you see any equipment or even the building. I fail to see where additional signage will help direct ct people into his place of business. His showroom is somewhat blocked by the equipment but if you are talking about another sign I don't know where you will put it, you see his sign in either direction before you see his building or Kasler-Ball e(T-,ipment. If that is the example for new procedures for signage I can't see it, there is no point in it® .Councilman Lloyd-. Apparently we are down to a point of perception then, because in my opinion the Easler-Ball equipment out there in front is a disruptive influence ® the dirt, , dust and all the other things are apparent and definitely hurt his business, actually costing him money. We did have a meeting on the thing and unfortunately I wasn't advised of it but finally I find out we did have a meeting and Mr. Kasler informed me that he was going to try and move part of his equipment and try and work it out, which I am pleased to hear. The fact is that some of these people are being hurt and whether they are hurt even in reality the fact the merchant feels he is being hurt is a significant factor. And I felt there ought to be some vote of confidence for these people if they wished to come in here, I think we have an extraordinarily tough sign ordinance, I am not fully in accord with our sign ordinance and probably that is my problem, I think it is restrictive to business in comparison to other areas around us and particularly with the widening of the freeway I think that we are reducing revenue and I think it can be pepped up® That is my honest opinion.. I am basing that unfortunately on part of my trade which is in the area of advertising. If I was a professional in the area I would say that some of the things we have around here are difficult to damn near untenable. So I think there should be some sort of encouragement or latitude extended to these people, at least during the period of time we are talking about. I am not opening up 'the gates to SL.qnaqe which would be totally destructive, but I -think something has 'to be done to aid these people and that is what I am bringing up. Mayor young: I would certainly listen with a sympathetic ear and an open mind to any specific proposal of any businessman who does feel imposed upon like you are describing along the freeway and in the redevelop- ment area, because I am certainly in accord with you, I don't like to see a businessman overly restricted in his ability to advertise his location and beyond that statement I don't know how much further I can go, I am not willing -to go along with a sudden blanket revision of any kind but I am willing to pledge myself to be open- minded and sympathetic towards any variance request based on this. Councilman Lloyd: ..Af the rest of the Council is amenable to that then I think that defines the policy area and I think Staff could be expected to see it on that basis and go forward on that basis, Councilman Nichols: But the burden of proof has to be on the individual. We are gong to have to ultimately judge this and every Tom, Dick and Harry that comes in and says I have been disrupted, we are going to have to evaluate every one of those applications. Councilman Lloyd I think t],Iat i,s emin.entiv fair and I don't think anybody thinks anylthinq else besides that. - 47 - CITY COUNCIL Page Forty-eight Councilmen's Reports/Comments 11/13/72 I would be satisfied and if you need that in the form of a motion, but I don't think it is necessary. Mayor Young: If we have a consensus expressed by Council. • we can let it go at that and ask 'that it be circulated as best it can to the people involved. I believe we do have a motion before us on this, although we probably don't need that motion now,. Councilman Lloyd: Right, the motion.was for Staff 'to review it and bring it back© It doesn't damage in anyway what we have done. Councilman Nichols: Except that it puts somebody else out on the street in terms o,f analyzing -the whole city in terms of this problem. I rather let the individual who is concerned know that he can come in and apply and let him apply. Mayor Young: Let's call for the question. Motion failed. Mayor Young-. We have a good solid consensus. Was there Something further, Mr. Lloyd? Councilman Lloyd: Yes, I did ask Mr. Zimmerman to have this meeting and apparently I misunderstood him or misinterpreted what he said. However, I was very perturbed when I called ICasler®Ball and the Division of Highways and found the meeting had taken place and I would ask hence forward that the Council be notified on those things. Mr. Aiassa: Yes. We found out there was a breakdown in the lower echelon and we have corrected it. APPROVAL OF DEMANDS Motion by Councilman Lloyd, seconded by Councilman Shearer, to approve Demands totalling $423,564.71 as listed on Demand Sheets B550A through B553A, and B553 through B557e This total includes the payroll account. Motion carried on roll -call vote as follows: AYES% Councilmen: Shearer, Nichols, Lloyd, Chappell, Young NOES. None ABSENT: None ADJOURNMENT ..Motion by Councilman Lloyd, seconded by Council- man Chappell and carried, to adjourn meeting at: 12:15:A1_'M.,,, :to November 21, 1072, at 7 P,,M., in the City Manager's Conference room. APPROVED: MAYOR ATTEST-. CITY CLERK