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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013-05-21; City Council; MinutesMINUTES MEETING OF: CITY OF CARLSBAD CITY COUNCIL (Regular Meeting) DATE OF MEETING: May 21, 2013 TIME OF MEETING: 9:00 a.m. PLACE OF MEETING: 1635 Faraday Avenue, Room 173A, Carlsbad, CA 92008 CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Hall called the Meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. ROLL CALL was taken by the Senior Deputy Clerk, as follows: Present: Council Members Hall, Packard, Wood, Blackburn, Douglas. Absent: None. COUNCIL REPORTS AND COMMENTS: No reports were given. PUBLIC REPORT OF ANY ACTION TAKEN IN CLOSED SESSION: City Attorney/General Counsel Celia Brewer announced that Council/Board heard the matters presented during the City Council and Carlsbad Municipal Water District Joint Special Meeting of May 21, 2013, but took no final action. Final action, when taken, will be reported out at a subsequent meeting. PUBLIC COMMENT: No public comment was given. DEPARTMENTAL AND CITY MANAGER REPORTS; 1- AB #21.233 - CALPERS UPDATE. Administrative Services Director Chuck McBride and Doug Prior, Vice President, Bartel Associates, gave the staff report and PowerPoint presentation (on file in the Office of the City Clerk). Mr. McBride explained that Carlsbad's pension plan is a defined benefits plan, where the risk is assigned to the employer. There have to be enough funds in the plan to cover the amount annually paid to a retired employee. Mr. McBride further explained that Carlsbad's pension plan has two components and annual contributions are defined as a percentage of payroll. He added that Carlsbad pays 24% of its payroll into PERS and half of that amount is normal cost (the cost to provide pension for a year of service of an employee), and the remaining half is amortized cost, (the result of any changes in the contribution). May 21, 2013 Carlsbad City Council Meeting Page 2 In response to an inquiry from Mayor Pro Tem Packard, Mr. McBride said there was data provided by CalPERS showing the amortized cost to the city regarding the change in benefits to city employees in 2003-04. Discussion ensued regarding CalPERS smoothing and actuarial methods in calculating pension contributions, assets, and liabilities. Mr. McBride informed Council that CalPERS is always working two years in arrears. The last PERS valuation date was June 30, 2011. Mr. McBride said that the City of Carlsbad's pension is approximately 80% funded. He also stated that CalPERS has been trying to address the unfunded status of pension plans. He added that CalPERS realizes that the methodology it was using was not getting the funds to peak status. Mr. McBride reviewed charts in the PowerPoint presentation that showed Carlsbad's percentage rate of payroll increases to CalPERS based on the recent payment plan adopted by CalPERS to address the unfunded pension matter. In response to an inquiry from Mayor Hall, Mr. Prior said that projections assumed that a 7.5% return rate is built into the plan going forward, with the intent to reduce the unfunded liability. He added that plan assets cannot be determined several years from now. Mr. McBride explained that over the past two years employees have picked up their portion of the pension contribution rate. He also said that Council took some budgetary steps two years ago to address the unfunded status by putting aside $3.2 million. He added that all but $650,000 was paid to CalPERS; however, the city will not see the effects of this payment until 2014/15. Mr. McBride further said that there will be a shift to employees receiving a reduced benefit plan that will start to decrease pension costs to the city in the long term. In response to an inquiry from Mayor Pro Tem Packard, Mr. Prior explained that under PEPRA (Public Employees' Pension Reform Act 2013), employee benefits decreased from the Tier One employee pension plan to the Tier Two employee pension plan. Mr. Prior also advised that CalPERS may also revise its mortality methodology along with a proposed decrease in its assumed investment rate. 2. AB #21.234 - NATIONAL POLLUTANT DISCHARGE ELIMINATION SYSTEM PERMIT PRESENTATION. Environmental Services Manager Elaine Lukey with Public Works Director Skip Hammann gave the staff report and PowerPoint presentation (on file in the Office of the City Clerk). Ms. Lukey reviewed the watershed management area and the city's current compliance programs with the San Diego County Regional Water Quality Control Board (SDCRWQCB). She said that the Carlsbad watershed area is comprised of eight agencies with Carlsbad operating as the lead agency for most watershed activities. May 21, 2013 Carlsbad City Council Meeting Page 3 In response to an inquiry from Mayor Hall, Ms. Lukey said that recently cities have been included in determining and the SDCRWQCB has contracted with independent scientists regarding pollution standards. Ms. Lukey added that the scientists hired by the Board are able to maintain their objectivity and distance with the goal of obtaining swimmable, fishable and drinkable water. Ms Lukey further added that state water quality guidelines are used, as these guidelines have been in existence for a number of years and are updated periodically. Carlsbad could present its own quality water standards in the future. Ms. Lukey reviewed the three de-listings from the TMDL (Total Maximum Daily Load). She cited that when the Agua Hedionda Lagoon was removed from the list, an improvement with fishing occurred in the lagoon. Mr. Hammann said that the removal of these three areas from the TMDL has saved the city a substantial amount of money. Ms. Lukey stated that Carlsbad is in compliance with the municipal permit issued for the TMDL regarding the San Marcos Hydrologic area and the city did not have to demonstrate a load reduction plan. Ms. Lukey informed Council of significant changes for the 2013 permit. She highlighted that staff is working on the watershed focus to develop a water quality improvement plan with the other eight agencies. She also said that the SDCRWQB has determined cities will now be able to adapt the management of their water quality plans to prioritize their work plans. She added that SDCRWQB realized that new management practices did not fall into the five year permit renewal schedule and extended the implementation schedule to allow for the new changes. Mr. Hammann informed Council that revised development requirements will permit offsite mitigation regarding water runoff from not only private development projects but also public projects. In response to an inquiry from Mayor Hall, Ms. Lukey explained that depending on a specific water quality monitoring program, samples are pulled to test for indicators of pollution such as bacteria, heavy metals, biotic integrity, nutrients and pesticides as well as clarity. She added that the SDCRWQB could ask for the test or the city tests if there was indication it was warranted. 3. AB #21.235 - ALGA NORTE COMMUNITY PARK NAMING. Parks and Recreation Director Chris Hazeltine gave the staff report and PowerPoint presentation (on file in the Office of the City Clerk). Mr. Hazeltine provided Council with a brief history and background on Council Policy No. 48 regarding naming rights to city facilities. He stated that the park has been named Alga Norte Park as far back as 30 years. Mr. Hazeltine added that if Council wished to pursue the formal naming process it would take approximately three months. Mayor Pro Tem Packard stated that the park was named by a staff member, its location is not on Alga Road, and Council policy in the past has been that the community is provided the opportunity to name a park. Mr. Packard motioned to pursue the naming process for the park. May 21, 2013 Carlsbad City Council Meeting Page 4 Council Members Douglas and Wood stated that they were content with the current name of the Park. Ms. Wood she was interested in exploring opportunities to name amenities within the park and highlighted the Cannon Art Gallery and Schulman Auditorium in the Dove Library as examples. Council Member Blackburn stated he had no preference on changing the name of the park. Mayor Hall stated he was interested in exploring if naming opportunities of various components of parks may assist with offsetting maintenance costs. The motion failed due to a lack of a second. In response to an inquiry from Council Member Douglas, City Manager John Coates said that Council Policy No. 48 was taken into consideration regarding the value of naming rights based on location. Mr. Hazeltine and Mr. Coates informed Council that an item was being prepared to bring forth for Council discussion regarding marketing city facilities and amenities within city facilities. Council concurred to continue using the name Alga Norte Community Park. Mayor Hall inquired about the Manzano Property and Carlsbad Boulevard Realignment Project, adding that a timeline had been prepared and he would like to keep the process moving on this project. Mr. Hammann explained that staff was working with the state regarding outreach to stakeholders. He added that the legislative portion of the process had been delayed due to the state's concerns about the EIR. Mr. Hammann said the EIR would take a year to complete. He further added that staff was working with the city's consultants Joe Gonsalves & Sons on the preparation of a revised timeline for the legislative process which is tentatively scheduled to begin next spring. Mayor Hall asked that staff provide Council with the original timeline and the revised timeline for review and discussion. ADJOURNMENT: By proper motion, the Regular Meeting of May 21, 2013 was adjourned at 10:45 a.m. \Y FREIS Senior/Deputy