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Home My WebLink About3/17/2006 B A K E R S F I E L D CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE MEMORANDUM March 17, 2006 TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council FROM: Alan Tandy, City Manager �T r SUBJECT: General Information 1. We continue our efforts to communicate the City's concerns to the GSA relating to the appeal of the federal courthouse location. On Friday, March 17th, SDA (a downtown proposer) was scheduled to present their case to the GSA Agency Protest Official who is hearing the appeal at the federal level in Washington D.C. Castle & Cooke has formally notified the federal hearing officer that they will agree to a voluntary termination of their lease, if requested by the GSA. 2. The first 100 trees were planted last Saturday, March 11th, at the new Memorial Grove located off Manor Street and Denise at the bike parking area. Mayor Hall presented a proclamation in celebration of Arbor Day and the tree planting event. Vice-Mayor Maggard was on hand to greet the volunteers. Volunteers from the Breakfast Rotary were there with their families, and all of the trees were planted in less than two hours. The next step is to create the trails around the trees, complete the management agreement with the Tree Foundation, and prepare for the grand opening with the Breakfast Rotary in early June. 3. The recent spat of wet, cool weather was just what the Kern River watershed needed. The early forecast of 101% of normal issued February 1St was followed by an extremely dry weather pattern and, by near the end of the month, was down to below 80%. Intermittent storm activity resumed at the very end of the month, helping to dodge what would have been the driest February in 32 years. Storminess has continued into March with the Water Resources Department rain gage recording measurable precipitation 10 out of the first 12 days of March. Though not spectacular in strength, the much-needed series of storms resulted in above average precipitation for the period increasing the runoff yield to 94% of normal. The next scheduled snow survey is for April 1st, which historically reflects the date of peak snow pack accumulation. 4. The agenda for the next March 22nd High Speed Rail Authority meeting is enclosed for your information. 5. The Streets Division work schedule for the week of March 2 0th is enclosed. Honorable Mayor and City Council March 17, 2006 Page 2 6. Responses to Council requests are enclosed, as follows: Councilmember Carson • Request to advertise the federally funded road projects with the Kern Minority Contractor Association; • Report on use of space at the MLK Center; Councilmember Benham • Graffiti removal from the overpass on the bike path near Beach Park; Vice-Mayor Maggard • Status report on the investigation of non-traditional of securing contracts and the feasibility of dispensing with traditional bidding procedures; • Administrative fines for graffiti violators; • Graffiti removal at Siemon Park, Councilmember Hanson • Citizen inquiry regarding availability of softball facilities; • Citizen inquiry regarding abandoned shopping carts; Councilmember Scrivner • Administrative fines for animal control violations. AT:rs cc: Department Heads Pamela McCarthy, City Clerk Frances(Fran)Florez,Chair ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER Marc Adelman,Vice-Chair GOVERNOR Donna Andrews,Vice-Chair _ Rod Dindon 4s� Joseph E.Petrillo Lynn Schenk T.J.(Tom)Stapleton LIFORNIAMehdi Morshed,Executive Director t ever leaving the ground. CALIFORNIA HIGH-SPEED RAIL AUTHORITY RECENED March 10, 2006 MAR 13 2006 CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE Dear Stakeholder: TI__ I:.S_-._' o L n i , r l.. nnnd Board is Calilo nia nlcJl -peed Rail Authority's iVlarcrI « public board Meeting will be held iti Oakland at the Elihu Harris Building - Auditorium, located at 1515 Clay Street. Please note the meeting is scheduled to begin at 1:30 pm. At the March 22nd public board meeting, the Authority staff will be presenting a set of potential high-speed train alignments and station locations for investigation, and the draft Evaluation Criteria for the Bay Area to Central Valley HST Program Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement (EIR/EIS). At the January 25th public board meeting, the Authority was updated on the status of the Bay Area to Central Valley High-Speed Train Program EIR/EIS, the update included information on the draft Scoping Report as well as the draft Purpose and Need statement. For information on the all of the Authority's work visit the Authority's website located at www.cahighspeedrail.ca.gov. I look forward to seeing you in Oakland at our Board Meeting. Sincerely, Mehdi Morshed, Executive Director 925 L Street, Suite 1425 Sacramento, CA 95814 916.324.1541 fax 916.322.0827 www.cahighspeedrail.ca.gov STREETS DIVISION —WORK SCHEDULE WEEK OF MARCH 20 — MARCH 24, 2006 Weather permitting Continue pulverizing streets in the area north of Auburn Street, east of Maywood Drive. Continue working on the amphitheater at Riverwalk Park. Constructing a turn pocket on Rosedale Highway, east of Calloway Drive. Crack Sealing on Stockdale Highway between Ashe Road and Gosford Road. AREA SWEEPING SCHEDULE Monday, March 20, 2006 Area between Wilson Road & Planz Road from Hughes Lane to So. "H" Street. Wednesday, March 22, 2006 Area between Granite Falls Drive & Hageman Road from Calloway Drive to Coffee Road. Thursday, March 23, 2006 Area between Bernard Street & 178 Highway from Union Avenue to Baker Street. Tuesday, March 21 and Friday, March 24, Sweeper Operators are on their regular sweeping routes. C:\DOCUME-1\rsmiley\LOCALS-1\Temp\Work Schedule-Week of March 20 2006.doc RECEIVED • MAR 16 2006 B A K E R S F I E L D CITY OF BAKERSFIELD CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT MEMORANDUM TO: Alan Tandy, City Manager FROM: Raul Rojas, Public Works Director Gam. DATE: March 15, 2006 SUBJECT: KERN MINORITY CONTRACTOR ASSOCIATION Referral No. 1429 COUNCILMEMBER CARSON REQUESTED STAFF CONTACT MARVIN DEAN TO DISCUSS THE ATTACHED WRITTEN MATERIAL CONCERNING KERN MINORITY CONTRACTOR ASSOCIATION'S REQUEST TO ADVERTISE THE FEDERALLY FUNDED PROJECTS WITH THEM. Public Works staff sees no problem with advertising the Thomas Roads projects in the Kern Minority Contactor Association's publication. The Purchasing Division handles bid advertisements for the City. The Thomas Roads projects are generally several years away from bidding. Mr. Dean will need to contact that Division at the time a project is ready to bid to obtain the information necessary for advertising. G:\GROUPDAT\Referrals\2006\02-22\Ref#1429(Ted W.).doc RECEIVED MAR 15 2006 • CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE B A K E R S F I E L D Department of Recreation and Parks Date: March 15, 2006 To: Alan Tandy, City Manager From: Dianne Hoover, Director of Recreation & Parks ` Subject: Vacant Space at MLK Center Referral # 001453 —Ward 1 Councilmember Carson requested staff explore uses for the vacant space at the MLK Center and report back to council. Office use at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center Currently, all available office space is occupied at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center. The following is a list of offices and their current use: Office # Office Use 1. Office for Linda McVicker, Supervisor II 2. Office for Pilar Colunga, Program Coordinator 3. Office for Ellis Porter, Program Coordinator and other temporary after-school staff members. 4. Storage for the following: 100+ additional chairs for rental and special event use, tennis equipment, sports equipment and computer lab supplies. 5. Conference Room (rental use, staff use, parent meeting use, and program participant use.) 6. Office for David Stricker, Recreation Specialist. 7-8 Computer Lab (20 workstations). Other existing offices include: • Dean Jones, Supervisor II, MLK Center • Cheryl Clayborn, Clerk Typist Staff Lounge used for sports: • Equipment and Uniform Storage • Used as an office for the Camp King Program's staff members during the summer • Used as a staff lounge during the summer months Copy Room used for copying and collating documents, also used for office support staff. Z� 4 RECENED B A K E R S F I E L D CITY OF BAKERSFIELD MAR 13 2006 PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT MEMORANDUM CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE TO: Alan Tandy, City Manager FROM: Raul Rojas, Public Works Director DATE: March 13, 2006 SUBJECT: GRAFFITI ON OVERPASS AT BEACH PARK Referral No. 1448 COUNCILMEMBER BENHAM REQUESTED STAFF REMOVE GRAFFITI FROM UNDER THE OVERPASS ON THE BIKE PATH NEAR BEACH PARK. The graffiti was removed from the Bike Path on the underpass of Highway 99 and the 24`h Street underpass on March 9,2006 by the General Service's staff. G:\GROUPDAT\Referrals\2006\03-08\Ref#1448 Am B A K E R S F I E L D CITY OF BAKERSFIELD PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT MEMORANDUM TO: Alan Tandy, City Manager FROM: Raul Rojas, Public Works Director , DATE: March 17, 2006 SUBJECT: DISPENSING WITH BIDDING PROCEDURES Referral No. 1446 COUNCILMEMBER MAGGARD REQUESTED STAFF EXPLORE ALL OPTIONS OF NOW TRADITIONAL WAYS, AS WELL AS DESIGN BUILD, TO SECURE CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTS, AND THE FEASIBILITY OF DISPENSING WITH TRADITIONAL BIDDING PROCEDURES. STAFF TO WORK WITH LEGAL TO ASSURE CHARTER/MUNICIPAL CODE COMPLIANCE. BRING BACK A REPORT TO BUDGET & FINANCE COMMITTEE. Public Works staff will be working with the City Attorney's Office to develop a report on various ways that contracting can be done using non-traditional methods. This report will be presented at the next Budge & Finance Committee meeting. G:\GROUPDAT\Referrals\2006\03-08\Ref#1446 JRL.doc BAKE O�aCOAPORATQ�(�� U r d IF O?, MEMORANDUM CITY ATTORNEY March 14, 2006 TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL FROM: JANICE SCANLAN, ASSISTANT CITY ATTORNEY VIRGINIA GENNARO, CITY ATTORNEYdv,, �jj SUBJECT: ADMINISTRATIVE FINES FOR GRAFFITI COUNCIL REFERRAL NO. 001416 AS PART OF A LARGER REFERRAL, VICE-MAYOR MAGGARD REQUESTED STAFF REPORT BACK REGARDING ADMINISTRATIVE FINES FOR GRAFFITI. Since there have been several City Council referrals regarding graffiti, this office is preparing a comprehensive memo addressing the majority of the issues. In the meantime, this memo will only address the issue relating to administrative fines for graffiti violators. The crime of applying graffiti to public or private property is primarily covered entirely by state law (Penal Code section 594, et. seq. and Penal Code sections 640.5, 640.6, 640.7 and 640.8). When the State passed most of the Penal Code graffiti statutes, it specifically prohibited cities from enacting similar statutes—preempting cities from doing so. Thus, cities, even charter cities, are not permitted to enact ordinances prohibiting the application of graffiti onto public or private property within their boundaries. In any situation involving graffiti where the State has not preempted cities from enacting ordinances, Bakersfield has done so. When the State enacted its graffiti laws, it set the punishment. The City cannot alter the punishment of crimes established by the State. The City, can, however, set forth the punishments for crime which are a violation of its own municipal code. All persons (adult or juvenile) applying graffiti to property are charged with one of the State Penal Code sections. Those sections set forth specific fines, community service and other criminal punishments — administrative fines are not permitted. The area of the City's municipal code which addresses graffiti sets forth regulations regarding: 1) displaying spray paint cans and certain marker pens; 2)the sale of marker pens to minors; and 3) possession of spray paint and markers by minors. The first two violations could be subject to administrative fines, because they are not controlled by State law. As the third offense involves juveniles, and, thus, juvenile court, administrative fines would be difficult to HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL March 14, 2006 Page 2 need to be amended and an administrative fine process would need to be established. At this time, the City Attorney's Office suggests this not be pursued. We have a strong ordinance which gives the Police Department both a criminal and civil option. With the Community Prosecution program coming into full swing, both State and City laws will be enforced to the greatest extent possible. VG:js SACOUNCIL\Referrals\05-06 Referrals\maggard-graffiti-adminfines.doc RECENED MAR 16 2006 B A K E R S F I E L D CITY OF BAKERSFIELD CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT MEMORANDUM TO: Alan Tandy, City Manager FROM: Raul Rojas, Public Works Director DATE: March 16, 2006 SUBJECT: GRAFFITI AT SIEMON PARK Referral No. 1451 COUNCILMEMBER MAGGARD REQUESTED STAFF REMOVE GRAFFITI ON TRASH RECEPTICALS, TABLES, ETC. AT SIEMON PARK IN THE NORTHEAST. COLOR PHOTOS AVAILABLE IN CLERK'S OFFICE. Graffiti was removed from the trash receptacles, tables, etc. at Siemon Park on 3/13/06 by General Services Staff. G:\GROU PDAT\Referrals\2006\03-08\Ref#1451 .doc RECENED MAR 15 2006 • CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE B A K E R S F I E L D Department of Recreation and Parks Date: March 15, 2006 To: Alan Tandy, City Manager From: Diann oover, Director of Recreation & Parks Subject: Youth Softball Facilities Referral # 001449 —Ward 5 Councilmember Hanson requested staff contact Ira Cox regarding his concerns for youth softball facilities. Correspondence attached. The City of Bakersfield does not currently have a softball complex. The Recreation & Parks Department has four fields located at different park sites and two fields located at the bottom of a drainage sump. We are negotiating with Southwest Baseball to build a youth baseball facility off Jewetta Avenue and they have assured us they will work with girl's softball on scheduling at the 40 acre complex. The Recreation & Parks Department is in the process of completing a master plan for the Mesa Marin sports facility which will include four softball fields. In addition, a major sports complex is being planned off Taft Highway, adding 12 more baseball/softball fields to the City. These additions will help address the city's softball needs in the next 3 to 5 years. North of the River, Recreation & Park District currently provides facilities for girl's softball seven days a week, on four fields, at their North Rosedale facility. During the summer of 2004, two North of the River softball fields were reserved for the High School Girl's League, but due to the lack of participants, the fields sat idle all summer. Adult Softball is gaining in popularity; last summer North of the River had over 90 adult teams and the City had 102 adult teams. North of the River and Kern County Parks & Recreation each has one softball field available to rent this summer to the Girls High School Softball League. The local high schools also have fields available to rent. If the City of Bakersfield tried to accommodate girl's softball, 12 adult softball teams would have to be eliminated. Every organization in Bakersfield that operates sports fields charges fees for their use. Most leagues charge fees to their participants and offer fund raising opportunities to help with the cost. The rental fees barely cover costs such as lighting, field preparation, bases, water, equipment, lighting, and repair work. The Recreation & Parks Department has tried not to compete with the many agencies who offer programs in youth softball and baseball. Those organizations include Bakersfield Southwest Little League, South of the Tracks Softball, Bakersfield Amateur Softball Association and Fairfax Softball League. All of these organizations offer programs for girls and boys. /4 L 0 M"O_� B A K E R S F I E L D OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER MEMORANDUM March 17, 2006 TO: Alan Tandy, City Manager FROM: Alan Christensen, Assistant City Manager SUBJECT: Abandoned Shopping Carts Council Referral #001450 Councilmember Hanson requested staff review e-mail from Mr. Pelz regarding abandoned shopping carts and provide a response. The City Council encourages grocery outlets to be responsible citizens, but has not chosen to regulate such activity as it is a private property owner issue. Hopefully, other grocery outlets will follow the example of WinCo by using the latest technology to prevent carts from leaving their property. Staff believes the best course of action for any citizen who sees a problem is to contact the grocery outlet directly and encourage them to be more responsible with the carts. Staff sent correspondence to Mr. Pelz thanking him for his interest and explaining the City's approach on the issue. o� BAKEh h � 4 PoR r v d cgLIFOR�IP MEMORANDUM CITY ATTORNEY March 14, 2006 TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL FROM: JANICE SCANLAN, ASSISTANT CITY ATTORNEY VIRGINIA GENNARO, CITY ATTORNEY - SUBJECT: ADMINISTRATIVE FINES FOR ANIMA ' CONTROL VIOLATIONS COUNCIL REFERRAL NO. 001436 REFERRAL TO POLICE DEPARTMENT & CITY ATTORNEY COUNCILMEMBER SCRIVNER AT THE JOINT CITY/COUNTY MEETING, ASKED STAFF TO PARTNER WITH THE COUNTY TO ESTABLISH A JOINT PROGRAM FOR ENFORCEMENT OF ANIMAL REGULATIONS, IMPLEMENTATION OF A FIELD EDUCATION PLAN, DEDICATION OF AN ANIMAL CONTROL OFFICER AND ANIMAL SPECIALIST TO CANVASS NEIGHBORHOODS AND ESTABLISHMENT OF A JOINT SUBSIDY FOR THE PURPOSE OF SPAY/NEUTERING. ADDITIONALLY, STAFF TO INVESTIGATE UTILIZATION OF ADMINISTRATIVE FINES TO AID IN ENFORCEMENT OF STATUTES. This memo will only address the issue highlighted in bold. The State of California has enacted a plethora of statutes regarding animals. They are contained mostly in the Penal Code, Health and Safety Code, Fish and Game Code, Food and Agricultural Code and the Civil Code. The California Constitution permits charter cities to enact laws which do not conflict with State laws. Additionally, if the Legislature decides a matter is of statewide concern, even charter cities cannot enact ordinances addressing the matter. Thus, the State preempts any City ordinance on the same subject. When the State adopts laws, the State sets the punishment. The City cannot alter the punishment of a State law violation. If the State law does not set forth administrative fines, the City cannot assess them for State law violations. The City has adopted animal control ordinances which do not conflict with State law. Pursuant to the ordinances, these violations can be charged as misdemeanors or infractions. HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL March 14, 2006 Page 2 dog. Upon proof of appropriate licensure, the citation is dismissed. There is no mechanism under the Municipal Code for animal control violators to be assessed an administrative fine. If the City Council desires to establish administrative fines for such violations, the Municipal Code would need to be amended and an administrative fine process would need to be established. VG:js SACOUNCIL\Referrals\05-06 Referrals\scrivner-animalcontroladminfines.doc