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11-25-1975 - Regular Meeting - Minutes• ADJOURNED MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL CITY OF WEST COVINA, CALIFORNIA NOVEMBER 25, 1975 The adjourned meeting of the City Council was called to order at 8:00 A.M. by Mayor Ken Chappell at the Carrows Restaurant, West Covina. ROLL CALL Presents City Council: Mayor Chappell; Councilmen: Browne, Miller, Tice Congress: Congressman Lloyd J. Giovaniello, Congressional Administrative Assistant M. O'Donnell, Field Representative Absents Councilman Shearer Others Presents G. Aiassa, City Manager L. Preston, City Clerk L. Eliot, Controller G. Salazar, Coordinator, Redevelopment F. O'Connor, Administrative Analyst B. Freeman, Reporter, S.G.V.D.T. M. Ward, Reporter, L.A. Times Cathy Jones Mayor Chappell welcomed everyone to the meeting with Congressman Lloyd and his Staff. Congressman Lloyd thanked everyone for coming to the meeting, and for the opportunity to meet with the West Covina City Council. Congressman Lloyd: If I was to pick one subject you would like to..hear about, it would be revenue sharing. Nothing will.pass this year, probably next year, and it has problems. A major problem is that most of the people in the Congress have not served at the local level.. While I do not advocate it, it has been evident to me that if everyone had served in the areas of local government, we would do a better job. General law cities require a balanced budget. Unfortunately, in Washington, we have not fully learned the lesson. It is a problem that we face and it contributes mightily to -the problems of our economics today. • Revenue sharing will be an issue next year. Some people feel that to give federal monies to local government is - 1 - CITY COUNCIL Adjourned Meeting Congressman Lloyd November 25, 1975 Page Two a waste on the basis that all they do is incorporate it into their own budgets; then,it becomes a necessity. My question is simple - "What is wrong with that, if that is what they want to • use -it for?" I am convinced that the most important level of government is local government. I have made this speech on several occasions in Washington. You are closest to the people. With that recognition and knowledge, I would also emphasize and underscore your responsibility to the people. It is the toughest level of government because you meet the emotional impact before any of the rest of us do. The minute something goes wrong - gutters, development situations, misunderstanding with the local newspaper, etc., you take it on the chin much quicker than we do. Once on the federal level we have a buffer; you are the buffer. This is the reason I have selected the method of trying to communicate with the people of the District through such meetings as this. This is not a report from.me to you, but a report from you to me. As to revenue sharing, a group of us from California that are from local government - city, county, and all new in Washington, feel very much alike with regard to support. You have no problems as far as my support is concerned for revenue sharing. If I had any reservations a year ago, I have none now. If you want to spend the monies in any area, I have no objection to it. I don't have to tell you, the city councils will handle it. I am not fearful that the local governments will not serve well the communities with which they are associated. • One of the questions I get is, "What can we do?" If I were to ask for one thing, I would ask that you approve.one trip for your mayor or a council member to Washington. You do it for Sacramento, and you should do it for this governmental level, too. We will effect you more on the big items - money, etc. I would appreciate it if you would see to it that one of your elected officials shows up in Washington once a year. This is absolutely non -partisan. The mayor from the City of Pomona comes to Washington once a,year and attends breakfasts, special meetings, etc. On a percentage factor, Pomona is one of the best funded cities. I am not going into the philosophy of federal funds coming in. People are not just coming back to Washington because it is a jolly place to be; it is important involvement. It is easy to say, "We are not going to waste the taxpayers money on a trip to Washington. But, the taxpayers money is in Washington. I would.encourage you to give considera- tion to it. We would be pleased to see you. Regarding .the New York crisis, I would like to have you indicate to me how'you feel. I want to hear from all of you. Just call Maggie We return our calls within 24 hours. If it is really - 2 - • 11 CITY COUNCIL Adjourned Meeting Congressman Lloyd November 25, 1975 Page Three a crisis, they will call me from the Floor, Committee, or whatever. That is really my report from Washington. What can I do to help you do your job better? Mr. Eliot: I would like to ask about the CETA Program. I have heard a serious rumor that some congressional people do not feel that the cities are fully qualified to administer the Program; therefore, Congress is not going to give.the monies to cities again, but to non-profit organizations. The impact of CETA is almost as big as revenue sharing. From a financial point of view, we would have to lay—off everyone employed under CETA. The financial crunch is more severe than with PEP. Congressman Lloyd: I don't see it as having nearly the problem that revenue sharing does. This is a philosophical area; CETA is easy to justify under the employment laws. It would be for cities to receive the funds; no fault there. Mr. Aiassas What can we.send you 'to help you support the stand? Congressman Lloyds Every time you send a.letter, I forward it to the appropriate committee and that is good. Congressmen send all corres- pondence where it belongs. (Congressman Lloyd introduced his Staff.) Councilman Browne: Regarding CETA, we should write a letter outlining our exact projects and what is done with the money in our City? Congressman Lloyd: That would be good. Mr. Salazar: What is the feeling for the CDA Grant? This is also a form of revenue sharing. Although it is a three year program, as of now I don't know what the possibilities are for extending it for next year. Congressman Lloyds The first phase went in on schedule. Since nothing has come in to the contrary, we have to assume that the second phase will be on time. We need to know very shortly what your feelings were from the handling of the first phase. I have not run into any cities in the District that had a bad time. Mr. Salazar: No, we didn't either. • in hot water? Is the program -3- CITY COUNCIL Adjourned Meeting Congressman Lloyd November 25, 1975 Page Four Ccngressman Lloyd: No. No foreseen problems. I have so far not had the tour of the • Fashion Plaza. We are going to try to have the opportunity by Christmas. I am delighted with what I see. The traffic patterns have improved. The Fashion Plaza is a credit to the City. You have created a certain amount of envy. Mr. Aiassa: When will you be in town next? Congressman Lloyds December 12th through the 20th. Mr. Aiassa: We'll make sure you have the grand tour. Councilman Tice: What about the budget deficit this year? Congressman Lloyd: It will probably be about $72 billion. I am sure you are aware that some of the budget is discretionary and some mandatory. For example, the Defense Budget, I believe it is for $103 billion, and of that $31 billion is discretionary. I think it can be cut._ One of the reasons why we are in deficit is that up until this year the Congress had no budgetary process. The Administrative branch operated the budget. We have changed that this year; the Congress has its own Budget Committee. This has been, probably, one of the sources of irritation between the • Administrative branch and the Congress. The White House no longer dictates the budgetary process. Now that we have our own, I think that we will see a rolling back. But we will need a period of time to establish a balanced budget. There was no way to have balanced the budget this year considering the tax rebates and various programs. I would like to see more monies go into technology and science and space. I think the most critical item we face is a shortage of petroleum. Don't fool yourselves that we aren't in serious trouble with that. The tip of the iceberg is showing, but the underneath is melting away rapidly. I maintain that we should investigate all possible sources of energy. There is a program investigating entering the water for useable energy available to us. Some feel that we should go full bore on nuclear power; it is a technology instantly available to us. I voted for very strict requirements on strip mining, coal mining, and I am willing to back off and say, "Let us go forward at a rapid rate." It is imperative that we take ourselves out of the world market. If not, 5 years and they will own us. It is bad. It don't pass. It is a very serious situation. It is very serious to Southern California • as it pertains to our transportation system. We are absolutely dependent upon the freeways and automobiles; we must make our adjustments in that area. - 4 - CITY COUNCIL Adjourned Meeting Congressman Lloyd November 25, 1975 Page Five But, as to a mass transit system... Come to Washington and take a look at one of the most "boon- danggling" systems ever come to man. They are proposing that • in L.A. The demands have increased and they are already running out of money; it has consumed billions of dollars. To apply the same principle to L.A., it would cost 10 to 20 Mimes that much. It would bankrupt the nation to put it into L.A. Councilman Brownes In what areas do you receive the most opposition to nuclear power?. Congressman Lloyd: That is two -fold. People are concerned that the waste production will be unmanageable. At the present moment, this production must be stored. But this objection presumes that our technology will not go any further on the use of the production. The United States is not exclusive in the nuclear power area. Europe is two to three years ahead of us already. The other -concern is that a thereto -nuclear device can be made out of the production. If you have the technol- ogy, you would be far better off just going to steel one. I don't think that is very valid. Another thing is in the area of genetics. Some people are concerned that there will be a mutation of man. In each case, my response is, "It is reasonable and we must solve the problem." I have asked these • people if, in 1959, they were able to project man on the moon in 1969. If not, they do not understand the capability of the science in our nation today. For every one person in science who warns against going forward, there are 100 persons that say we must go forward. About nuclear power being a danger to our health, I talked to a man in science from England who worked in the coal mines. He asked me if I had ever seen a mine explosion, or black lung. In comparison, numbers of people have died as a result of the mines, and it has never been challenged. Councilman Tice:Maybe if more of the delegates in Washington had local experience, some of the material and legislation wouldn't come out in the form it does. Councilman Browne$ Washington is listening to the major points of view - those who speak out the loudest. Any time that you enter into any type of industry, you are going to find a hazardous area. We are expending huge sums of money in the area of exploration. We should take some of that money to enlighten the people on the proven methods. Congressman Lloyds I think that the major problem is one of • interpersonal impact. Somehow nuclear power has come to symbolize the awesome power of nuclear war. - 5 - CITY COUNCIL November 25, 1975 Adjourned Meeting Page Six Congressman Lloyd Councilman Brownes All of the nations are ready to go into nuclear war. • Councilman Tices Don't underestimate solar power. Congressman Lloyds I think solar power is the power of the future, but we need an interim power. The state-of-the-art can only move so fast. Mr. Eliots What about the Comprehensive Energy Bill? Congressman Lloyd: It should be out by Christmas. We will either extend it or pass it. It will be on the Floor by the 2nd or 3rd of December. Energy and New York will be done before the first of the year. Councilman Tices What is the feeling on solid waste matter? Congressman Lloyds There will be federal monies for that. Very much so. Councilman Brownes What about thepostalservice? I admire your stand on consolidation. Congressman Lloyds We are going to have to review the role of the Post'Office. In all probability, we will have to admit that if it continues to ,operate as it is currently operating, it will not operate at a . profit. Mailing services are profitable. But they operate in dense areas, not rural areas which is where you take a fantastic beating. Now we allow five days for a letter from Washington to California. I know for a fact that even ten years ago, you could mail a letter in Washington and you would get it here on the next day. There is a real problem with the Post Office. UPS'has practically taken over parcel post, but they are in the areas of density where the profit is. I have introduced a Bill called the Self-Distruct Bill. I think it has been very necessary. It probably came about as a result of my serving on a Council. I remember the agencies. We, who had been elected, would be gone, and the agencies would still be there. My Bill calls for agencies to go out of existence within three years unless Congress requests their continuance. Mr. Aiassas Take,for instance, the mail delivered without a person's name "Occupant" That is junk mail. In rural areas maybe a postman goes one hundred miles just to deliver that. Congressman Lloyds Write a letter on that. - 6 - i C CITY COUNCIL Adjourned Meeting Congressman Lloyd November 25, 1975 Page Seven Councilman Browne: The im-nact of the postal service has been terrific. Businesses receive certain percentage discounts if invoices are paid within a specific period of time. When you run a large or small business, you are dependent upon factors such as this. Today, you can mail the invoice in time, but it doesn't always get to its destination in time. When you lodge a complaint with the Post Office, it is,like going into the back room and talking to the wall. Their attitude is that we are subservient to them. We should get it back under control. Congressman Lloyd: I agree. Mr. Aiassa: On the issue of hand guns. Is -the federal government going to handle it, or let the states handle it? Congressman Lloyd: It is a local issue, and a very emotional issue. The right to bear arms is a basic constitutional right, and we don't want to give it up. I would be supportive of the following: Registration of guns, set standards of manufacture, a waiting period of anywhere from 10 to 30'days, and demonstration at an appropriate place of the owner's basic knowledge of the weapon. protect individual's strictly enforced in Councilman Tice: Congressman Lloyds Councilman Browne, Congressman Lloyd: Laws such as the Sullivan Law exist to rights, but they are not uniformly or many areas, room for discussion when What about EPA and OSHA? I voted against them. Bureaucratic nonsense. How does GSA operate back there? We use it as a method of control for some of the agencies. I find that agency rules and regulations melt away and make GSA enters the picture. There is a Bill that might require GSA audit of IRS. The present investigation of the IRS is revealing many things, as has the investigation of the CIA. Investigation of the CIA has been good and bad. Good in that it has proven that all agencies are responsible; and, bad because we have probably destroyed intelligence for a period of time to come. I would like to thank you for this opportunity, and I wish each of you a warm and hospitable Thanks- giving. I hope we meet again,quicker than this. And, I hope to see you in Washington. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 9:00 A.M. until December 8, 1975, 7:30 P.M. -7-