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Home My WebLink About01/30/2007 B A K E R S F I E "'~ L ~.. D Sue Benham, Chair David Couch Jacquie Sullivan Staff: John W. Stinson Special Meeting of the LEGISLATIVE AND LITIGATION COMMITTEE of the City Council -City of Bakersfield Tuesday, January 30, 2007 1:00 p.m. City Manager's Conference Room City Hall, 1501 Truxtun Avenue -Suite 201, Bakersfield, CA A G E N D A 1. ROLL CALL 2. ADOPT NOVEMBER 14, 2006 AGENDA SUMMARY REPORT 3. PUBLIC STATEMENTS 4. DEFERRED BUSINESS a. Update on Community Prosecution Program - Gennaro 5. NEW BUSINESS a. Discussion and Committee recommendation regarding amending and adopting the 2007 Committee meeting schedule -Stinson 6. CLOSED SESSION a. Conference with Legal Counsel -Potential Litigation Closed session pursuant to subdivision (b)(1)(3)(C) of Government Code section 54956.9 -Claim of Caden Waskom. b. Conference with Legal Counsel -Existing Litigation Closed session pursuant to subdivision (a) of Government Code section 54956.9. (6 cases): • DKS Investments, LLC, et al v. City of Bakersfield Kern County Superior Court Case No. S-1500-CV- 259731-LPE • John M. Tarabino, et al v. City of Bakersfield, et al KCSC Case No. S-1500-CV-257620-SPC • Lori Hedberg v. City of Bakersfield, et al Kern County Superior Court, Case No. S-1500-CV-257870-SPC • Wanda Grant, et al v. City of Bakersfield, et al. Kern County Superior Court Case No. S-1500-CV-257611-SPC • Anthony Campbell, et al v. City of Bakersfield, et al. USDC, Eastern District, Case No. CIV-F-04-5585 AWI TAG • Pamela Brown v. Brian James Looney; City of Bakersfield Kern County Superior Court, Case No. S-1500-CV-257804-SPC 7. CLOSED SESSION ACTION 8. COMMITTEE COMMENTS ADJOURNMENT • B A K E R S F I E L D ~~. ~ ~ ~~, i~ ;` a ~'- (1,~-- ~ ~,,- Zack Scrivner, Chair Staff: John W. Stinson Sue Benham For: Alan Tandy, City Manager David Couch AGENDA SUMMARY REPORT LEGISLATIVE AND LITIGATION COMMITTEE MEETING Tuesday, November 14, 2006 - 1:00 p.m. City Manager's Conference Room, Suite 201 Second Floor -City Hall, 1501 Truxtun Avenue, Bakersfield, CA 1. ROLL CALL Called to Order at 1:00 p.m. Present: Councilmembers Zack Scrivner, Chair; Sue Benham; and David Couch 2. ADOPT AUGUST 15, 2006 AGENDA SUMMARY REPORT Adopted as submitted. 3. PUBLIC STATEMENTS 4. DEFERRED BUSINESS A. Review and Committee recommendation on citizen's request for an ordinance to regulate cats Lt. Gary Moore provided a memorandum, which was included in the Committee packet. With the current staffing levels for Animal Control to regulate and license dogs, pick up loose dogs, and investigate dog bites, there is no staff to adequately regulate cats. Licensing dogs is a health issue due to the need to control the spread of rabies and dog licensing became the tool used by animal control agencies. If the City were to hire one person to provide traps and pick up cats, the County does not have the space to take more cats. Cats must be kept for the State required four days. As there are other higher priority staff needs such as canvassing for dog licensing compliance, Police Department staff did not recommend any regulations for cats at this time as staff was not aware of any cost-effective program to regulate cats. LEGISLATIVE AND LITIGATION COMMITTEE AGENDA SUMMARY REPORT Tuesday, November 14, 2006 Page 2 ~ ~ ~ `~~ Assistant City Manager John Stinson had invited David Price from the County to the Committee meeting, but he was out of the country. County staff indicated they are not prepared to move forward to regulate cats. Mike Polyniak spoke regarding the need to regulate cats and have animal control respond to calls regarding trapping and picking up cats. Committee Chair Zack Scrivner questioned why the City has regulations to license dogs and nothing for cats. Captain Tim Taylor explained cats are different from dogs as they are mobile, can jump fences, and are regarded as "free spirits." Dog licensing regulations have evolved from just rabies control to making sure the community is protected from loose or dangerous dogs. Committee Member Sue Benham expressed it is important to regulate dogs as citizens need to be able to report dogs that are threatening people. Loose cats generally do not pose the same threat as loose dogs. She further expressed hiring an employee to pick up trapped cats should be evaluated with the need for additional employees in areas such as Code Enforcement and Graffiti. Committee Chair Zack Scrivner wanted to know how much staff and time it would take to provide cages and allow people to trap cats. Lt. Gary Moore responded one person could handle the paperwork to loan traps at the beginning, but the demand would grow and resources needed elsewhere would be expended. He further explained in very difficult situations, City animal control has gone out and helped trap and round up cats. However, a larger problem is that the Kern County Animal Shelter is at capacity with cats every day. If traps were provided and trapped cats were brought to the Shelter, there would be no place to house the cats as required by State law. Kern County Animal Control staff has indicated they are not in favor of any cat trapping program. At the request of the Committee, City Manager Alan Tandy will have staff survey other cities to see if there are any cost-effective models, which would pay for a license canvassing program. B. Update on Community Prosecutor Program City Attorney Ginny Gennaro stated the Community Prosecutor Program has been under way in-house for about six months and overall the City Attorney's Office has been pleased with the program's success with handling the prosecution of quality-of-life criminal cases. LEGISLATIVE AND LITIGATION COMMITTEE AGENDA SUMMARY REPORT Tuesday, November 14, 2006 Page 3 _. -~ ., Assistant City Attorney Janice Scanlan provided statistical findings and an overview of the process. Criminal complaints first go to the District Attorney's Office who reviews and evaluates which cases are to be filed. Most cases are disposed of because people plead guilty. Cases with a plea of not guilty are sent back to the District Attorney's Office and those that occurred in the City and fit the quality-of-life crimes criteria are sent to the Community Prosecutor's office for review and prosecution. The City Attorney's Office enters the cases into a data base, which shows the type of crime, location, defendant and disposition sorted by ward. From mid-May to November 1St there were 315 cases reviewed and handled, which included 400 separate counts. Police Captain Tim Taylor stated they are pleased with the success of the program and especially the number of guilty pleas to resisting arrest. Before the Community Prosecutor Program many of the cases were not filed by the District Attorney's Office due to their overload of cases. Captain Taylor expressed they would like to see weapon charges (in possession or having concealed weapons) added to the list of crimes handled by the Community Prosecutor Program. City Attorney Ginny Gennaro explained she would prefer the Council have a role in deciding where the Community Prosecutor Program begins and ends, and what should be handled by the District Attorney's Office. Committee Member David Couch made a motion to recommend to the City Council to add weapon charges to the list of crimes and also to give the City Attorney discretion to add other crimes that fit within the Community Prosecutor Program. The Committee unanimously approved the motion. C. Review and Committee recommendation on restaurant grading ordinance City Attorney Ginny Gennaro explained there are two ways the City can adopt a restaurant grading ordinance: 1) a section can be added to Chapter 8.04, "Transfer of Health Functions," which adopts the County ordinance by reference; or, 2) a stand-alone Chapter 8.05 could be added using the wording in the County's ordinance verbatim. The City Attorney recommended the first option since that method is the cleanest and presents the least likelihood of conflict in the event the County amends its ordinance. Terry Maxwell, T. L. Maxwell's Restaurant & Bar, spoke in favor of the ordinance and the difficulty for older restaurants to compete with new restaurants. Committee Member David Couch made a motion to recommend to the Council that the City add a section to Chapter 8.04, "Transfer of Health Functions," which would adopt the County's ordinance by reference. The Committee unanimously approved the motion. LEGISLATIVE AND LITIGATION COMMITTEE AGENDA SUMMARY REPORT Tuesday, November 14, 2006 Page 4 City Manager Alan Tandy explained the City just received correspondence from the County requesting the City adopt the restaurant grading ordinance and also the tobacco ordinance. However, the correspondence was not received prior to agenda distribution and the tobacco ordinance is not on the agenda. City Attorney Ginny Gennaro suggested the County ordinance regarding tobacco be referred to the Legislative and Litigation Committee as requested in the letter. 5. COMITTEE COMMENTS 6. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 2:02 p.m. Staff: City Manager Alan Tandy; Assistant City Manager John W. Stinson; City Attorney Ginny Gennaro; Assistant City Attorney Janice Scanlan; Associate Attorney Helena Rho; Police Captain Tim Taylor; and Police Lt. Gary Moore Others present: Kern County Environmental Health Services Director Matthew Constantine; Mike Polyniak; Terry Maxwell, T. L. Maxwell's Restaurant & Bar; David Burger, reporter, The Bakersfield Californian; Dante Jackson, KGET-TV; Daphne Phump, KUZZ News; Tamara Christian, CBS/Fox; and Jeff Lemucchi, CBS 29/Fox 58 cc: Honorable Mayor and City Council S:\JOHN\Council Committees\06 Legislative&Litigation\LL 06 nov 14 summary.doc Legislative and Litigation Committee JANUARY 2007 THROUGH DECEMBER 2007 All meetings will be held in the City Manager's Conference Room Committee Meetinas -1:00 p.m. Council Meetings Holidays -City Hall Closed JANUARY S M T W TH F S 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 31 APRIL S M T W TH F S 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 JULY S M T W TH F S 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 OC TOBER S M T W TH F S 1 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 Budget Meetings and Presentations Monday's @ Noon, Wednesday's @ 5:15pm Joint City/County Meeting FEBRUARY S M T W TH F S 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 M ARC H S M T W TH F S 1 2 3 4 5 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 MAY S M T W TH F S 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 AUGU ST S M T W TH F S 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 NOVEM BER S M T W TH F S 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 JUNE S M T W TH F S 1 2 3 4 ~ 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 SEPTEMBER S M T W TH F S 1 2 3 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 DECEM BER S M T W TH F S 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 a U ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT LEG & LIT COMMITTEE MEETING DATE: January 30, 2007 AGENDA SECTION: Closed Session ITEM: TO: Sue Benham, Chair David Couch Jacquie Sullivan APPROVED FROM: Virginia Gennaro, City Attorney DEPARTMENT HEAD ~/b~ DATE: January 19, 2007 CITY ATTORNEY y~ SUBJECT: 1. Conference with Legal Counsel -Potential Litigation Closed session pursuant to subdivision (b)(1)(3)(C) of Government Code section 54956.9 -Claim of Caden Waskom. 2. Conference with Legal Counsel -Existing Litigation Closed session pursuant to subdivision (a) of Government Code section 54956.9. (6 cases): • Anthony Campbell, et al v. City of Bakersfield, et al. USDC, Eastern District, Case No. CIV-F-04-5585 AWI TAG • DKS Investments, LLC, et al v. City of Bakersfield Kern County Superior Court Case No. S-1500-CV- 259731-LPE • John M. Tarabino, et al v. City of Bakersfield, et al KCSC Case No. S-1500-CV-257620-SPC • Lori Hedberg v. City of Bakersfield, et al Kern County Superior Court, Case No. S-1500-CV-257870-SPC • Pamela Brown v. Brian James Looney; City of Bakersfield Kern County Superior Court, Case No. S-1500-CV-257804-SPC • Wanda Grant, et al v. City of Bakersfield, et al. Kern County Superior Court Case No. S-1500-CV-257611-SPC S:\CAUNCIL\CommflteeLL.EG & LIT108-07\ClSeeeAdmM.01~30~07ExLL1t8PotlNtdoe 1/19/2007 LEGISLATIVE AND LITIGATION COMMITTEE Tuesday, January 30, 2007 ATTENDANCE LIST Name Organization Contact: Phone/ E-mail ~c,vi~ fir, ~~z~~~i~`~ :~ 1..5 -~Y~L ~ 1,~~.~ r ~ ,~~~ ~ z = 3 I~ny~ L~,~,J i~~'r~ 3L~ ~ ~L ~ T ,~ ~ ~~zc ~' ~f .~ -- 37~ c~L4-~ _ ~~ ~'lR- ~~4~ ti'~'~ ~Z Z - 3Z -3