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HomeMy WebLinkAbout12_7_2004 - Council Minutes - Adjourned Regular MeetingAPPROVED BY THE COUNCILMEMBERS ON JANUARY 11,2005 CITY COUNCIL MINUTES ORANGE, CALIFORNIA OF AN ADJOURNED REGULAR MEETING December 7 2004 The City Council of the City of Orange, California convened on December 7, 2004 at 7:00 p.m. in an Adjourned Regular Meeting in the Council Chambers, 300 E. Chapman Avenue, Orange, California. 7:00 P.M. SESSION OATH OF OFFICE CEREMONY 1.1 INVOCATION Given by Rev. Fr. Christopher Smith, Vicar for Priests, Diocese of Orange 1.2 PRESENTATION OF COLORS Presented by Orange Police Department Color Guard 1.3 PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG Led by Lieutenant Colonel Joe Ruthenberg, USMC, Ret. 1.5 ROLL CALL PRESENT Ambriz, Alvarez, Mayor Murphy, Coontz, Cavecche ABSENT None 2. PUBLIC COMMENTS - None.3. CONSENT CALENDAR All items on the Consent Calendar are considered routine and are enacted by one motion approving the recommended action listed on the Agenda. Any member of the City Council, staff or the public may request an item be removed from the Consent Calendar for discussion or separate action. Unless otherwise specified in the request to remove an item from the Consent Calendar, all items removed shall be considered immediately following action on the remaining items on the Consent Calendar.Page I CITY COUNCIL MINUTES December 7, 2004 3. CONSENT CALENDAR (Continued) 3.1 Declaration of City Clerk, Mary E. Murphy, declaring posting of City Council Agenda of an Adjourned Regular Meeting, December 7, 2004 at 7:00 p.m. at the Orange Civic Center kiosk, Police facility at 1107 North Batavia, Shaffer Park; all of said locations being in the City of Orange and freely accessible to members of the pnblic at least 72 hours before commencement of said Adjourned Regular Meeting; and available at the City Clerk's Office and Main Public Library at 101 N. Center Street. ACTION: Accepted Declaration of Agenda Posting and authorized its retention as a public record in the Office of the City Clerk. MOTION - Alvarez SECOND - Coontz AYES - Ambriz, Alvarez, Mayor Murphy, Coontz, Cavecche All items on the consent calendar were approved as recommended.END OF CONSENT CALENDAR 4. LEGAL AFFAIRS RESOLUTION NO. 9932 A Resolution ofthe City Council of the City of Orange, California, reciting the fact of the General Municipal Election held on November 2, 2004 declaring the result and such other matters as provided by law.MOTION - Coontz SECOND - Alvarez AYES - Ambriz, Alvarez, MayorMurphy, Coontz, Cavecche Moved to approve Resolution No. 9932. Page 2 CITY COUNCIL MINUTES December 7,2004 5. SPECIAL TRIBUTE TO COUNCILMEMBERS JOANNE COONTZ AND MIKE ALVAREZ. Presentations were made to Councilmembers Coontz and Alvarez by: Congressman Ed Royce (representative) Assemblyman Todd Spitzer Assemblyman Bob Pacheco Orange County Supervisor Bill Campbell Orange Fire Association Orange Police Association Orange Park Acres - Tom Davidson Orange Library Foundation - Doug Willits and Nora Jacob Rancho Santiago Community College District - Lisa Woolery, BoardPresident Waste Management Company - Crystal Fennel Public Works Department - Harry Thomas Mayor Murphy and City Councilmembers Comments by Councilmember Coontz -It has been a wonderful life as was the theme for my going away party the other evening and I thank Steve Ambriz for that. During my 26 years as a Planning Commissioner, City Councilwoman and Mayor, I worked enthusiastically for you and I hear that a mayor once called me the little engine. I always thought I was a big person, but the little engine? Yes, I just kept going and I owe all that forward movement to support from council members and a great staff.When a city planner predicted that the future of downtown Orange would be high rise, I went to work on the first National Register historic home, the Ainsworth House, and moved on to chair many historic preservation efforts for Old Towne.Revering the past, but embracing new ideas led me to participate in the decision-making in the major new roadways of Jamboree and the eastern corridor; the widening of the 1-5; and more recently the 55, all in an effort to help solve traffic congestion. The 55 was the toughest. We had to fight CalTrans, protect Tustin Avenue businesses and see that children were bussed to school during construction.Former Councilmember Slater joined me in insisting on the very first landscaping on the 55 in its long history. We hope you notice that. Out of that experience as Mayor I developed an ongoing,positive relationship with the director of CalTrans which is still going on.As soon as I was sworn in as Mayor, my leadership ability was put to task when the County announced bankruptcy. We had kept money in the investment pool in spite of my warning against it. I refused to give in to a lesser dollar return and with the help of a great new management team at City Hall, we got our money back. To the new council: watch the money!Morale was low and we needed positive, community spirit and I said "yes" to Tom Hank's movie production in the Plaza.Page 3 CITY COUNCIL MINUTES December 7, 2004 5. SPECIAL TRIBUTE (Continued) Community Services came forward with our first tree lighting, which I said they could do, and the candlelight procession and the 3'd of July event at Kelly Field. I said yes to all of those and it turned out very popular. Another help to me were what I call the Prayer Ladies, who began to regularly pray with me before council meetings. We prayed for our staff and the City Council and the entire community and what a blessing they have been. Other favorite accomplishments over the years included promoting our paramedic system, new fire prevention roofing standards and the first emergency operations center at Fire Station No. I. Others were land use computer mapping, clean up of overcrowded apartments, new housing for seniors, Chapman Law School, Century Theatre in place of a swap meet, putting our sometimes very tedious Council meetings on Channel 3, the Veterans Memorial, successfully killing the less than desirable centerline transportation project down Chapman Avenue, and three attempts to place another jail site in Orange. New opportunities for youth sports became a main goal as Mayor. McPherson School was our first joint-use site and we hope OUSD will join us on more sites. The Santiago Canyon College site came together easily, but Grijalva almost didn't get off the ground with Council votes. I am proud of the Park Planning and Development Commission, the Community Foundation and Library Foundation~all which came about under my watch. The Community Foundation was the idea of Mike Alvarez. You are only as good as the people around you.Libraries are an indication of whether or not your community is interested in the future of children or not. We lost the dollar incentive for a new main library during the recession, but we have that opportunity now. I have raised $135,000 to help reach the over $4,000,000 we need.Now $135,000 doesn't sound like much, but I have got to tell you it is hard to get. Through generous donations at my going away party, plus money from my campaign account, we' ve reached $50,000 in additional dollars~the easiest money I ever went after and I really appreciate the event. We are on the way, and I hope the community will step up to the plate for a facility that will help with the education of our children and definitely help the Orange Unified School District.What a great time it is! The people ask me what my plans are. I have never made plans - they were made for me; and I am still attempting to figure out what He had in mind. I know I will remember all of you very kindly for your support and I will spend more time with my family, friends, and new projects. I thank you very much. Comments by Councilmember Alvarez -I want to thank you all for being here. It is nice to see a lot of friends that I have made along the way and friends that I brought with me when I was elected. It takes a lot of people to get up here. It is not just us and our desires and ambitions, but it takes a lot of friends to get here.Page 4 T CITY COUNCIL MINUTES December 7,2004 5. SPECIAL TRIBUTE (Continued) My beginning was two-fold. I met with Bill Steiner and Bob Tunstall. We had a meeting in which they encouraged me to run, but warned me of the presence of pitfalls. There are a lot of rewards too. As part of that you have to put together a campaign. I turned to my two best friends, Bob and Dan, and said to them we are going to try to get elected. The campaign involved a lot of volunteers and family and friends. To my daughter, and everybody that was there, again I want to thank you for being here and thank you for everything that you have done in terms of support. I could not have done it without you.Then I get elected and I get this card with a bald-headed guy with a plunger on his head from Carolyn and it says "Now What?" Well, for eight years you work with a lot of really good people. A lot of the people you saw today-department heads, the Policemen, Firemen, Public Works and Planning and Nora at the Library~you get to work with them. As Carolyn alluded to, it is funny how the world is. You go back and there was a time that Carolyn and Nora Jacob and I were on the Library Board and we met in this little room in the Library not realizing back then that out of that room would walk two Council people and the Head of the Library. That says a lot about this city.Here at the City of Orange, we are so lucky to have so many dedicated people that work for the City of Orange and I learned a lot. My colleagues, Mike Spurgeon and Dan Slater, it was a total pleasure to work with both of you. They came from different perspectives, a lot of passion in Dan who had things to tell me. I will never forget those late-night calls when we discussed Council things and I appreciate the great friendship you gave me.With all my colleagues here it has been great. Working with everybody, truly we are all good friends and that is what makes Orange so strong~is that we support each other which is important. As we go out and represent our city in different avenues and commissions, they realize that those of us who serve as council members are proud of each other. It was a real pleasure to work with you.For the two Daves, Dave Rudat and Dave DeBerry, I want to thank you for all your help. Dave Rudat) came on before I did and he has become a tremendous City Manager and because of that,I was the one that asked him to look into going to the TCA because they need good leadership and I thought it would be a great opportunity for him.Most importantly, my thanks go to everybody in Orange. You don't get here unless you're elected and the people that were there for me. The people that opened their door when I knocked on it, people that I visited because they wanted me to take a look at a problem. It was truly an honor to represent the people in Orange and for over eight years I got to meet a lot of good people. It is probably the best thing about being here. I got a chance to do things I would have never been able CITY COUNCIL MINUTES December 7, 2004 5. SPECIAL TRIBUTE (Continued) I got to represent our City and the County when I got a chance to meet with President Bush about 1-1/2 years ago. I got to talk to him about Orange, education in Orange County and it was truly an honor to talk to him about our little city. When we were done, we got to talk about his teenage daughters and I talked about my teenage daughter and I found out that even as president,you have your own concerns about raising your kids.The second highlight was Mark and I would fundraise at Chapman University with Amold Schwarzenegger and one of the things that Mark and I would do is to stand up straight and see if we were taller than Amold and bigger than Amold (Mark is taller than Amold) only to realize that he becomes governor and I was one of the first elected officials to endorse him. He has never forgotten that~his staff people have been kind to me. I was able to sit within twenty rows at his inauguration ceremony in Sacramento and that was exciting to me.I also represented our city overseas. I went to Queretaro, Mexico and Orange, Australia. It was fun to walk around Queretaro and see old City of Orange paramedic vans being reused in Mexico. Or being in Orange, Australia and talk to the head of Public Works about the dam that they were building there. Also, seeing Orange things and realizing that you are halfway around the world. Whether you are in Orange Australia, which also has circles and plazas like us, or Orange, CA~people are all the same.Another highlight was probably being appointed to the Great Park Foundation. As Assemblyman Spitzer pointed out, I really believe that an EI Toro airport was going to affect the quality of life in our City and so I joined that fight~both Measure F and Measure W, and am happy to see that not only is the airport not coming to Orange County, but we are going to get a great park that we all get to enjoy and I get to serve on that foundation.Finally, all the wonderful things that this Council has done in the eight years I have been here. I will never forget the night that this Council said that we have never done a condemnation, but we did it and now we have Grijalva Park. That is something that the Council can be proud of. As well as the work that Mark Murphy did in helping to bring The Block here to Orange and helping to bring a lot of movies here~it was really tremendous too and it helped to put us on the map.We all got to meet Tom Hanks which was a lot of fun.When I became a councilman, my intent was to serve the people of Orange and to be responsive to them. I wanted to be accessible. I tried to reach out to every corner of the city and I believe I did that in eight years. I didn't know anybody in Orange Park Acres when I was elected, now I think I know most of the people now. Bob Bennyhoff pulled me aside and told me I would be meeting everybody up there, and he did that.There were oftentimes that I would complain to other council members because I was always getting calls from people that had called Fred Barrera that I had followed after his 22 years. I was getting all these calls and they wanted me to turn on their gas, etc. Monsignor Jolm is here from St. Norbert's - sometimes I felt like a priest where I had to absolve some people. I would Page 6 r- CITY COUNCIL MINUTES December 7, 2004 5. SPECIAL TRIBUTE (Continued) complain to Carolyn and Carolyn said, you know Mike, you are a peoples' councilman. I am real proud of that title. About nine months ago I applied for an appointment to the State Office of Historic Planning. I am waiting on that appointment by the governor. I have agreed to become the District Chairman of the Boy Scouts of America. I am proud of that. Because of all the Eagle Courts I went to and all the scouting events I tried to support, they drafted me. If God is willing, I have a goal to one day run for the office of Mayor. I will make a decision as to whether to do that or not in the next two years. And finally, to the two new council members, I wish you all the best success. Public life has its rewards, but it is also very challenging. You will both make good council members. I wish you the best of luck. You both ran good, clean campaigns and that is real important in this city. It was a real pleasure to serve you. I want to introduce my family. Thank you and I look forward to seeing you out there as a regular citizen. 6. OATH OF OFFICE The Oath of Office was administered to City Clerk-Elect Mary E. Murphy.The Oath of Office was administered to Treasurer-Elect Helen Y. Walker The Oath of Office was administered to Councilmember- Elect Teresa Smith The Oath of Office was administered to Councilmember-Elect Jon Dumitru The Oath of Office was administered to Mayor-Elect Mark A. Murphy Comments by Councilmember Smith -First of all Mr. Mayor, are you sure they finished counting?About a year ago when we were weighing the possibility of running for Council, I came across this pretty little bracelet with orange crystal beads and the letters H-O-P- E - hope. I put it on with my hope and prayers for Orange, our health, our success and prosperity and especially for the peace in our community and in our world. And I also began my hope and prayers of being elected ifit seemed to be God's will.And first of all, I thank God for being elected and chosen to represent the people of Orange, my hometown. It is indeed humbling and very exciting at the same time. As Councilman Alvarez said earlier, no one wins office by themselves. Democracy is indeed the work of many and what a privilege as Americans that we CITY COUNCIL MINUTES December 7,2004 6. OATH OF OFFICE (Continued) There are so many people to thank for countless hours of hard work during our campaign. It would be impossible to name tonight all of those who supported me and to whom I am so grateful. To each of you I hope you know who you are and I hope you are celebrating with me and my family here tonight. There are some folks who are with me here from the beginning and who are here tonight and without whose support I would not be here. My heartfelt appreciation to Mayor pro tern Cavecche; Mike Spurgeon who appointed me to the Planning Commission twelve years ago, Bill Steiner; Dan Slater; Fred Barrera; Jim Beam and our own Don Smith, Mayor- retired.I want to thank the leaders of our actual campaign. Your work was tireless and priceless. From start to finish you were amazing (She named all of her campaign workers). You and your families were the foundation of our success and I sincerely thank you. You know I don't really like politics very much. I have a little story. My family is not very much into politics at all.Several months ago, my nephews called me on the phone and asked which animal represented which political party. We know one is an elephant and one is a zebra my nephew said. We just don't know which goes with which party. That is how political we Smiths are. But I really like service in the community and it appears that the way our process goes, those two are pretty closely related.I thank each and every one of you here tonight and in our community for your vote of confidence and I pledge to you four years of service to our beautiful community. I promise you my interest,my energy and lots of good, old-fashioned hard work. Tonight, I would also like to take this opportunity to introduce to you the people who shared this kind of lifestyle and the love of Orange, CA with me over my entire lifetimenmy family the Smiths. Each and every one of them worked along with us on the campaign, doing things you really can't ask of anyone but your family to do. I hope you all know how proud I am of you and how grateful I am to you She introduced her family members).Campaigning in Orange was absolutely wonderful. I thought that I knew a lot of great people in Orange, but I have met even more wonderful people in our community and I have seen so many beautiful neighborhoods. What a magnificent place we live in.I have heard your concerns about developments in the east and about developments in the west.I have heard from virtually everyone their concern about the traffic in-between. I have heard your desire for thriving businesses and parks and your hopes for collaboration between our city and our school district. I am listening and I want to hear more. You would not believe how many people suggested to me that we plant some more orange trees. I don't think I can make an impact alone, so I propose that we all plant some orange tress--In our yards, our neighborhoods.Christmas is coming--we can give them as gifts. Nothing recalls the orange of our hearts better than the smell of orange blossoms in the spring. I remember that as a little girl growing up--in the spring that smell was just so strong. Let's bring back that signature fragrance CITY COUNCIL MINUTES December 7, 2004 6. OATH OF OFFICE (Continued) Finally, I want to thank the City of Orange Police Association and the Orange City Firefighters, not only for their endorsement, but also for the countless hours of time they spent on my behalf. You are all unbelievable. Our association with each other caused us to take some knocks, but I think we did just fine in the end. On behalf of our entire community, my heartfelt thanks to all of you men and women of the Police Department and Fire Department who keep our community safe each and every day for all of us here in Orange. To you here on the dais, I am excited to continue the work of leadership with each of you. Mayor Murphy, Carolyn, Steve and Jon. What a gift to be an American and to have experienced democracy firsthand~God bless America and God bless our sweet, sweet Orange. Comments by Councilmember Dumitru -For decades we have had an illuminated path. It has drawn people from all origins, cultures and creeds to this special place~the glimmering warmth of our small town. The city that we love so much, so rich in its history and its traditions that brings people together for a realized and recognized common bond. We all live under the same sky and we all want a better tomorrow for us and for our children.That is why I am both honored and extremely, extremely, deeply humbled to have taken the oath of office tonight as your city councilman for the next four years. As I took that oath tonight I was looking around at this room and I was just so honored and blessed that so many friends and so many people who have helped me, and truly all of us, to stand here today and look towards to that better tomorrow.I want to give a very special thank you to my parents, my brother, my grandmother, my uncle. It is just their examples of love without bounds. Of course, to my mom who raised three boys in the City of Orange-patience beyond measure. To my entire family - thank you for putting up with me for so many years. (He spoke to and about family and friends, including the Fire Department and Police Department supporters).He thanked the other candidates for entering into the debate) It was that debate that brings out our better tomorrow. I am so proud that I have gotten to meet you and build and develop friendships and I hope that they will carry forward for many years to come.This city is extremely fortunate that we have so many good people that are willing to step up and say - I'll be a leader. Of course, in each person's life there comes a very special person who shapes us and sends us forward. In the long story of our lives their moments are very brief, but their impact everlasting. One of the special individuals is watching at home, one of my teachers,Mr. Short. You have taught me more than how to read or write, you taught me to believe in myself, how to believe in the future. In front of all of Orange, thank you for everything you do,Page 9 CITY COUNCIL MINUTES December 7, 2004 6. OATH OF OFFICE (Continued) from giving of yourself so much every day, it is incredible. And you strive and you achieve a better tomorrow every day. I have not been able to mention everybody that has helped, but for everyone out there that has e- mailed a friend or made a phone call, stopped by Hank's place and gotten a cut and was told that you had to vote for me. For those of you who gave me a glass of water on a 103-degree day--from my heart, thank you.In closing, to the voters of the City of Orange, you have given me and us the opportunity to serve. Serving the City of Orange is an incredible honor that I will cherish with great pride. Our task is before us and that is to strive for that better tomorrow~a City that shines.He said thank you in various languages).Thank you again from my heart. May God bless you, may God bless your families, and God bless the City of Orange.Comments by Mayor Murphy - I am really proud and privileged to be Mayor of my hometown. I think most of you here consider Orange your hometown as well - when I see people talk about Orange and I see people dedicated to the community and I see people doing extraordinary things to make our city extraordinary. We are all up here really privileged to take leadership roles and be recognized representing the City of Orange. It is truly people in this room and people in the community that make Orange different, make Orange special, make Orange a place to raise a family, and make Orange a place where you want to grow old together.I am excited where we have come and I am excited where we are headed. Lots has been said already, but I want to put a special thanks out to our entire staff, certainly our Police and Firefighters. I have enjoyed your support over the years each and every time I put my name on the ballot and I am truly honored by that and I am thankful for that and the efforts that you put in.To all the rest of our staff in the City of Orange, I want to say thank you. You are the folks --when we set policy--that really make it happen. You are the folks that make the library happen.You are the folks that make the community center happen, the new parks, the new facilities.When somebody calls 9-1-1 and needs help, when somebody is doing something they shouldn' t be doing, and they need to be reminded of where they are~all of those things are really the fabric oflife and that is why we are all here.To the candidates that ran for office, I commend you, I congratulate you, and I encourage you to continue to be active in the City of Orange. I know you all will. The debate, the discussion, the ideas are what really makes this place special.He thanked his family members). We have lots of things ahead of us. We have new plans ahead of us, we have new proposals ahead, we have new parks, we have new libraries ahead.Page 10 l.--..---.-.-~--.-.. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES December 7,2004 6. OATH OF OFFICE (Continued) Our downtown continues to grow and thrive. We have newscasts coming to our town because they want to continue to brag about the City of Orange, from Orange Park Acres to uptown Orange, it is a place we are all proud of. I know partnering with the Library Foundation and Community Foundation was talked about earlier. Partnering with our college district, Chapman University, our business community. Orange will be a better place tomorrow than today because all of you care so much about that. And for that I want to say thank you. I want to say thank you to those that have supported me. I want to say thank you to those that challenged me in the past and debated the issues with me, because it only serves to make all of us better up here. I am truly honored by your trust, and your commitment to the community. I am committed to do all I can and I know that this Council is committed to doing all they can to make us very, very proud of this very special place we call the City of Orange. I want to wish you all, from my family to yours, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and a healthy and prosperous New Year. God bless you all and God bless the City of Orange. 7. ADJOURNMENT The City Council adjourned at 9:00 p.m. to a reception in the George Weimer Room. tft~ TYCLERK Page 11 T