AVALON CITY COUNCIL 
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2008
7:00 P.M. - CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS
410 AVALON CANYON ROAD, AVALON
A G E N D A

CALL TO ORDER
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE / INVOCATION
ROLL CALL
ANNOUNCEMENTS / WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS 
ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
Members of the public may address the City Council at this time.  No action will be taken on non-agenda items at this meeting.  Speakers should limit comments to three (3) minutes each.

PRESENTATION
Wayne Griffin, CEO Catalina Island Chamber of Commerce, will give a presentation about possible changes to the Cruise Ship schedules and their future in Avalon.

John McNamara, Environ Strategies, will speak about a Pilot Tertiary Treatment Program at the Waste Water Treatment Plant.  

CONSENT CALENDAR
All items listed on the Consent Calendar are considered to be routine by the Council and will be enacted with one motion.  There will be no separate discussion of these items unless a specific item is removed from the Consent Calendar for further discussion and possible action.

1. Motion to Waive
Government Code Section 36934 provides that all ordinances shall be read in full either at the time of introduction or passage, unless the City Council adopts a motion to waive further reading following the reading of the titles of the ordinance. The following is on tonight's agenda:

AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF AVALON REGARDING WIDTH RESTRICTIONS FOR CERTAIN VEHICLES OTHERWISE QUALIFIED AS AUTOETTES AND AMENDING THE AVALON MUNICIPAL CODE

2. Actions
Although the live recording is the official record of public meetings, actions  are prepared for the Council's approval.
Recommended Action
Approve the actions from the January 15, 29, and February 5, 2008, City Council meetings.  
 
3. Renewal of Lease of Las Casitas Unit to LA County Sheriff's Department for Avalon Sheriff Personnel
The County of Los Angeles Sheriff's Department has contacted the City to request renewal of their lease, which expires on July 31, 2008.
Recommended Action
Authorize the City Manager to execute a three year lease with LA County Sheriff's Department for one Las Casitas unit to be used as a residential facility for employees of the Avalon Sheriff Station.
 
GENERAL BUSINESS
4. Transportation Permit for "The Barge Electric Bike Rentals LLC"
"The Barge Electric Bike Rentals" came before Council for a second time at the February 5, 2008, City Council Meeting, requesting a transportation  permit. At that meeting the owner was instructed to allow each of the Councilmembers that were interested, to test ride the bike before giving  their approval.  Several Councilmembers had issues regarding the speed  and safety of the bike.  
Recommended Action
Approve the transportation permit for a trial period of one year.   

5. Temporary Vehicle Permits for Businesses in Pebbly Beach Area
Last February 20, 2007, the City Council adopted an ordinance that would  allow businesses suffering hardships because of the Pebbly Beach Road  restrictions to obtain a temporary permit for a full size vehicle  without waiting on the commercial vehicle list. Certain criterion was  established in order to qualify for this permit. The City has received a  request for another classification of this type of temporary permit.
Recommended Action
Discuss issue and provide direction to City Attorney if consensus is to  revise current ordinance. 

6. Proposed Ordinance Revising Autoette Width to Accommodate "Smart  Cars"
The City has received many inquiries regarding the "Smart Car", an  alternative fueled vehicle that measures only 106" in length, but exceeds  the City's width requirement by six inches. Staff proposes to change the  ordinance to allow a width of up to 61" for both electric and alternative  fueled vehicles and for fully enclosed vehicles such as the Smart Car.
Recommended Action
Introduce the ordinance and pass to a second reading.

CITY MANAGER'S REPORT
 
MAYOR'S REPORT
 
COUNCILMEMBER'S REPORT
Item of discussion by Councilmember Nelson -Sidewalk Electric Charging
Stations

ADJOURN
 
NOTICE OF POSTING
I, Denise Radde, declare that the City Council Agenda for February 19, 2008, was posted on Thursday, February 14, 2008, at the Catalina Island Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Bureau, located on the Pleasure Pier, at City Hall, 410 Avalon Canyon Road, and on the City's website www.cityofavalon.com.  Copies of agendas and staff reports are available to the public at City Hall. 

____________________________________
Denise A. Radde, City Clerk / Secretary to the City Manager 

CALL TO ORDER: 7:00 p.m.

ROLL CALL: Present- Mayor Kennedy and Council Members Ponce, Nelson, and Winslow: Councilmember O'Connor absent. Also present: City Manager Pete Woolson; City Attorney Pam Albers, and City Clerk Denise Radde.
 
ORAL COMMUNICATION- None
 
ANNOUNCEMENTS -None
 
WRITTEN COMMUNICATION
Mayor Kennedy acknowledged a letter he had received from the Hall Family which will be referred to staff for response.

PRESENTATIONS
1) Wayne Griffin, President  & CEO Catalina Island Chamber of Commerce, gave a presentation regarding the economy on the Island and mainland, the visitor trends, and the Chamber's efforts to create events to attract visitors.  He identified the following key factors that have or maybe contributing to the decline in the economy and the visitor count: the Island fire in May, stiff competition from other Southland locations, high gas prices, fuel surcharges, and the lack of new product development in town. The day trippers have disappeared because of these factors; however the number of overnight guests appears to be holding.  The Chamber has been working hard on advertising, and continue to use the slogan "Relax...You're on Island Time" in magazines, newspapers, flyer cards, electronic advertising, and on the web. They also have an additional website www.GoToCatalina.com where information is available regarding the Island, boat transportation, vacation packages, and a contest entry. The Chamber has established an email database of 18,200 consumer addresses that is growing all the time.

Mr. Griffin then touched upon the problems that might be facing the cruise ship economy. Royal Caribbean - Monarch of the Seas- has announced its last visit date to the Island as Wednesday, October 15, 2008. The Chamber has been trying to find a replacement, however it is proving to be a wait and see thing because of the pending decision regarding the Passenger Vessel Services Act.

Finally, Mr. Griffin discussed special events that the Chamber is working on: (1) the 50th Grand Catalina Prix Reunion (April 25-27); (2) Flying Fish Festival (May 29- June 1) and (3) 1st Annual Lodging Open House (Thursday, February 21, starting at 6:00 p.m.)

2) John McNamara, Vice President of Environ Strategy Consultants, Inc., gave a presentation on a proposed grant application to partially fund a Pilot Project to install and operate a demonstration recycled water treatment at the Avalon Waste Water Treatment Plant. He covered the various steps involved in the grant application project process. The grant would cover eligible cost up to $75,000 per project and then the City would have to come up with the remaining matching funds, estimated to be $60K to $75K. Councilmembers had comments and questions for Mr. McNamara regarding the necessity of having a pilot program first and the type of water that is made and the method by which the recycled water would be brought to town. City Manager Pete Woolson stated that he will be attending a Sustainable Island Action Group meeting on February 27, 2008, at which he can ask the director of the USC Energy Conservation School if there is a need to do a pilot program. Mr. McNamara informed Council that the water is reclaimed, recycled tertiary water, but the proposed method does not remove salts and certain minerals.
At the regular meeting of the Avalon City Council, February 19, 2008, the following actions were taken:

CONSENT CALENDAR
There were three items on the Consent Calendar, Item # 3 removed by Scott Nelson. Motion to approve as recommended by staff, made by Michael Ponce, seconded by Tim Winslow. (4 Ayes, 1 Absent-O'Connor))     

1. Approved reading of Ordinance Title(s) and Motion to waive pursuant to Government Code Section 36934.

2. Approved City Council Actions of January 15, 29, and February 5, 2008.

Pulled Item:
3. Renewal of Lease of Las Casitas Unit to LA County Sheriff's Department for Avalon Sheriff Personnel - Councilmember Nelson inquired how much the Sheriff's actually are charged for rent, since the lease provides for an annual rent of only $1, while a side agreement provides that fair market rents will be charged to the sheriff personnel residing in the unit, and to be credited toward their law enforcement contract charges with the City.  Staff will find out from the Finance Director what the payment is.  Motion made by Scott Nelson to authorize the City Manager to execute a three year lease with the LA County Sheriff's Department for one Las Casitas Unit to be used as a residential facility for employees of the Avalon Sheriff's Station, seconded by Tim Winslow. Mayor Kennedy on a side note requested that staff look into moving the Recreation Department into City Hall, thus freeing that unit for additional Sheriff housing. City Manager replied that the Sheriffs were having a hard time filling there vacancies now and the housing is not needed at this time. Pete also commented that City Employees also are in need of year round housing.

GENERAL BUSINESS
4. Transportation Permit for "The Barge Electric Bike Rentals LLC" - (Michael Ponce, as an employee of Brown's Bikes, abstained) This item, regarding a transportation permit application by the Barge Electric Bike Rentals for a permit to rent 12 electrically assisted bicycles, was continued from the February 5, 2008 meeting. Councilmembers had requested an opportunity to test drive a bicycle before making a decision. Councilmember Winslow stated he was still not in favor due to safety reasons, additional traffic, and setting a precedent. Councilmember Nelson and Mayor Kennedy had both test ridden one of the bikes and were impressed with its limitations and what the bike could do. Motion to approve the transportation permit on a 12 month trial period by Scott Nelson and seconded by Bob Kennedy. (2 Ayes, 1 No- Winslow, 1 Abstained-Ponce, and 1 Absent-O'Connor) 

5. Temporary Vehicle Permits for Businesses in Pebbly Beach Area - A request was made by Kim Hall, owner of a business which produces and distributes flyers, rack cards and similar types of advertising material, to be issued a temporary commercial vehicle permit. Her materials are stored at her home, #6 Pebbly Beach Road. Ms. Hall stated that the closure of Pebbly Beach Road is causing a financial impact to her business because of the wear and tear on her golf cart by having to go up over the hill. Pete Woolson summarized the purpose of the existing ordinance that was approved by this Council in February of 2007. Council believed the request was warranted and requested that the City Attorney draft changes to the ordinance to broaden the definition of "financial or other hardship" and the proposed use of the vehicle. The ordinance will continue to provide that the permit be temporary and expire once the restrictions for Pebbly Beach Road are removed. In addition, the vehicle use can only be for commercial proposes and has to be removed from the Island once restrictions on the road are lifted. 

6. Proposed Ordinance Revising Width to Accommodate "Smart Cars" - Staff proposed that a change to the Vehicle Ordinance be made to allow for the "Smart Car" to qualify as autoettes. The current ordinance would prohibit its use because it exceeds the current width requirement by 6 inches. Council determined that a minor change to this ordinance would be appropriate. The City Attorney was directed to alter the proposed ordinance to include the specified width and to also insure that other vehicles are not allowed to fall under this ordinance until the impact of allowing vehicles with this width on City streets can be assessed. Motion to introduce, as modified, and pass to a second reading with modifications by Michael Ponce, seconded by Tim Winslow. (4 Ayes, 1 Absent-O'Connor)

CITY MANAGER'S REPORT - None

MAYOR'S REPORT
Mayor Kennedy reported on his discussions with Rich Coffey, Catalina Freight Lines, regarding cooperatively working to retain a lobbyist to try to have federal laws and grant programs for Federal Highway funds changed to include the cross channel carriers.  Mr. Coffey also advised the Mayor that the Port of Los Angeles has advised Catalina Freight Lines of its intent to move them in order to build a park in their current location.  This will result in a 30% increase in the facility rent paid by Catalina Freight Lines and obviously impact freight charges.  Consensus of the City Council is to direct the City Manager to draft a letter to the Port of Los Angeles opposing the proposed move.

COUNCILMEMBER REPORT -
Councilmember Ponce, who is also a member of the CHOICES board, requested the City write a letter in support of the Avalon Guidance Center, which had recently been informed that due to budgetary issues, a significant restructuring of the office will take effect the first week of March. This will result in the elimination of staff positions and hours of operation. These cuts will limit the number of children and families they are able to serve and it will increase the length of time children must remain on the wait list before receiving services.

Councilmember Nelson:
1. Gave a presentation on a proposal to permit property owners to install electric charging stations on the public right away area of the sidewalks. A pole and box would be placed in front of a person's home, at the owner's expense and would allow the home owner exclusive parking privilege in front of their home. Mr. Nelson believes that this is a step in the right direction and it would aid in encouraging more people to purchase an electric golf cart.

2. Announced that Lori Montgomery is working on streaming the City Council and other official meetings to the internet so they will be available via home computer.

3. Inquired of the City Manager about the stop sign on Pebbly Beach Road adjacent to Catalina Freight Lines. City Manager Woolson reported that he contacted Cheryl Allison at the Island Company and was informed that the reason for the sign was so drivers will stop and read the warning sign and limitations to driving on the road.  The Island Company agreed to look into removing it.

4. Inquired about the obstruction permit requirement as applied to a resident placing a ladder or similar equipment in the sidewalk or alley for a short period of time. He would like to change the ordinance so a fee is not charged for a permit to do something like cleaning windows.

5. Complained of pedestrian and vehicular traffic problems at the Cabrillo Mole.  He stated that it reflects poorly on the City and needs to be better organized.  He suggested that the City create a new employee position to provide directions to visitors as they leave the cross channel boats.

Mayor Kennedy reminded the public that the Avalon Sheriff Station is holding a community meeting Wednesday night, February 20 at 7:00 p.m., in the Council Chambers. He encouraged people to attend and be heard.

ADJOURN: 9:20 p.m.

I, Denise Radde, City Clerk of the City of Avalon, do hereby certify that the DVD videotape of the City Council Meeting of February 19, 2008, is the official record of that Council Meeting and is on file and maintained in City Hall.

_____________________________                                            
Denise A. Radde, City Clerk/Secretary to the City Manager