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HomeMy WebLinkAbout6/02/2006 B A K E R S F I E L D CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE MEMORANDUM June 2, 2006 TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council FROM: Alan Tandy, City Manager �y SUBJECT: General Information 1. How can we make a win - win situation out of the courthouse from its present status? Well, we thought we had a great plan, and pitched it to GSA in the attached letter. Regrettably, though, they were not open to the idea. We will brainstorm some more and keep trying! 2. Please spread the word! Johnny Rivers will play Bright House Networks Amphitheatre on Saturday, June 17th, and Herman's Hermits will play there on June 30 . Tickets are $10. Please spread the word and help keep concert prices affordable since our advertising budget is very small. Let your friends and associates know! Both should be great acts, similar to the Fab Four! Check out the new website at www.bakersfieldamphitheatre.us for more events this summer, including Music and Movies, and more concerts in July. 3. An exciting afternoon of more budget presentations awaits your next Monday, June 5th, at noon in the Council Chambers! 4. McAllister Ranch, the annexation of which is scheduled for action at your June 21St Council meeting, will feature a Greg Norman-designed public golf course. This will be a quality addition to the southwest. 5. The Streets Division work schedule for the week of June 5th through June 9th is enclosed. Honorable Mayor and City Council June 2, 2006 Page 2 6. Responses to Council requests are enclosed, as follows: Councilmember Carson • Feasibility of establishing an ordinance to authorize the seizure of drug/gang houses; Vice-Mayor Couch • Graffiti abatement on the Stockdale Highway bridge, westbound on the bikepath; • 7th Standard Road development standards; Councilmember Sullivan • Crowd gathering at Copelands on Ming Avenue; • Repair/replacement of sidewalk at the northwest corner of Ming Avenue and Stine Road; • Investigation of missing trees on "F" Street; Councilmember Scrivner • Fireworks FAQs. AT:al cc: Department Heads Pamela McCarthy, City Clerk B A K E R S F I E L D Alan Tandy • City Manager June 1, 2006 Jeff Neely Assistant Regional Administrator U.S. General Services Administration Pacific Rim Region 450 Golden Gate Avenue San Francisco, California 94102-3434 Dear Mr. Neely: On May 24th, Regional Administrator, Peter Stamison, wrote to Bakersfield Mayor, Harvey L. Hall, and indicated that you or members of your staff would be in contact with me regarding future strategies for housing the courts. On May 25th, United States Senator Barbara Boxer wrote to Mr. Stamison saying, in part, "I stand ready to work with the GSA, the Eastern District Court, and the City of Bakersfield to move forward with an appropriate downtown court site". In the spirit of collaboration proposed by both Regional Administrator Stamison and Senator Boxer, the City of Bakersfield proposes what we believe is a win-win situation for all parties, as follows: ■ GSA, and presumably, the Eastern District Court, preferred the architecture and design excellence" of the Castle and Cooke proposal. This has been articulated over and over in GSA communications and documents. ■ The City of Bakersfield, Senator Boxer, Presidential Executive Orders, and about 3,000 Bakersfield citizens who signed a petition, prefer a downtown location. ■ The court needs a suitable facility in which to conduct its business and serve the needs of Bakersfield and Kern County. The court and its users would be better served if this could be done sooner rather than later. The answer to satisfy all interests is to move the Castle and Cooke design to the downtown site. This can be done with very minor design revisions, as long as it is acceptable to move the employee and visitor parking about 36 feet east of the site, across "O" Street to land that would be added for the program. Please see the attached City of Bakersfield • City Manager's Office • 1501 Truxtun Avenue Bakersfield • California • 93301 (661) 326-3751 • Fax(661) 324-1850 Jeff Neely, GSA Federal Courthouse June 1, 2006 Page 2 aerial photograph. As you can see, it is very accessible and convenient. The same secure enclosed Judge/Marshal's parking provided in the Castle and Cooke design would be included in the downtown courthouse. Castle and Cooke would be in agreement with this as they could recover some of their design costs from SDA. SDA believes they can deliver this at a lease price that does not exceed the rate approved previously for Castle and Cooke. The City of Bakersfield believes that GSA has the discretion and the legal authority to accomplish this action immediately. In this regard, SDA's Legal Counsel, James Roberts, has contacted GSA Legal Counsel, Barry Segal and Marilyn Paik. Based on the knowledge base the City of Bakersfield has of the other bidders in the process and citizens in our community, we do not believe that there would be any legal or practical challenge to this proposal. While no one intended for this project to get off track, it has. Let us now work together to get it done! Sincerely, A n Tandy City Manager Attachment cc: Honorable Barbara Boxer, United States Senator Honorable Mayor and City Councilmembers Donna Kunz, Economic Development Director Edwin Wilson, Attorney at Law Philip Ganong, Attorney at Law Steve Biagiotti, President SDA James Roberts, Counsel for SDA Barry Segal, Counsel for GSA Marilyn Paik, Counsel for GSA r K >z; n , y k s t t �is n ; Lra Zv o'A Y r'Q f. *� •y» � ��' it`d�� �. r u n 3 k GSA Pacific Rim Region June 2, 2006 Alan Tandy City Manager City of Bakersfield City's Manager's Office 1501 Truxtun Avenue Bakersfield, CA 93301 Dear Mr, Tandy: On May 31, 2006 you contacted me with a proposal concerning the General Services Administration (GSA) procurement for a leased courthouse in downtown Bakersfield, You suggested a procurement approach which would involve the design of Castle and Cooke (C+C) and the site of SDA. On June 1, 2006 GSA also received an email from James Roberts, representing SDA, incorporating these same concepts. After conferring with the regional legal counsel, I called you late in the day on June 1, 2006, outlining GSA's positions on the issues raised. You requested I put the substance of our conversation in writing and that is the purpose of this letter. Today, June 2, 2006 1 received a copy of a letter from you which seems to ignore our conversation. Your letter reaffirms the same proposal and points to other entities which might support your proposal. First, I want to reiterate that the original procurement has been cancelled. After the termination of the lease with C+C, GSA cancelled the procurement and so notified the GAO. GAO has formally dismissed the protest. Second, I explained to you that our client was in the process of revalidating their housing requirements. You seem to be aware they are considering the housing implications connected to possible future judicial growth. Until our client identifies their requirements, GSA can and will take no further action to initiate a new procurement. In the event GSA is asked to procure requirements similar in scope to the one just cancelled, GSA will begin discussions with the City of Bakersfield on how best to mutually identify appropriate sites. I believe the only way to move forward in a future procurement is to resolve the site issue first, perhaps by identifying a single site for competitive der e lopltle nt. U.S.General Services Administration 450 Golden Gate Avenue San Francisco,CA 94102-3434 www,gsa.gov Allan Tandy Bakersfield Court House June 1, 2006 Page 2 Finally, you and Mr. Roberts suggested GSA could do a noncompetitive procurement involving C+C's design and SDA's site. Even were this technically possible, it is inappropriate. From the very beginning of this process, GSA has proceeded in accordance with applicable laws to make every effort that the procurement be competitive. This concept drove the expansion of the delineated area and was a significant reason for the cancellation of the recent procurement. Our decisions in this regard have been driven by the desire to proceed in accordance with all applicable legal requirements and the best interests of the govemment, and not by concerns regarding potential threats of litigation. For these reasons, GSA continues to believe that all means should be exhausted to meet this client need competitively before any consideration is given to a noncompetitive award. Based upon my ongoing conversations with the courts, I believe they are concluding their re-validation effort. I expect that once GSA and the courts understand their housing needs, we will be contacting you, the Mayor and City Council members for a candid discussion of next steps. Sincerely, Je As t '4 - ral Ad'min-- rator cc: Honorable Barbara Boxer, United States Senator Honorable Mayor and City Council Members Donna Kunz, Economic Development Director Edwin Wilson, Attorney at Law Philip Ganong, Attorney at Law Steve Biagiotti, President SDA James Roberts, Counsel for SDA Barry Segal, Counsel for GSA Marilyn Paik, Counsel for GSA STREETS DIVISION —WORK SCHEDULE WEEK OF JUNE 5 —JUNE 9, 2006 Resurfacing streets in the following areas North of University Avenue, west of West Panorama Drive South of University Avenue east of Maywood Drive Sealing streets (oiling) in the area south of District Boulevard, east of Gosford Road. Installing curb and gutters in the area east of Oak Street, south of California Avenue. Repairing Masterson Street and also Paladino Drive, north of 178 Highway AREA SWEEPING SCHEDULE Monday, June 5, 2006 Area between Brooks Street & Watts Drive from Madison Avenue to Hale Street Tuesday, June 6, 2006 Area between Oak Street & "F" Street from 24th Street to 16th Street Wednesday, June 7 2006 Area between Akers Road & Wible Road from Planz Road to White Lane Thursday, June 8 and Friday, June 9, 2006, Sweeper Operators are on their regular sweeping routes. C:\DOCUME-1\alawrenc\LOCALS-1\Temp\Work Schedule-Week of June 5 2006.doc • F A K E R S F I E L D OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER MEMORANDUM TO: Alan Tandy, City Manager May 26, 2006 FROM: Alan Christensen, Assistant City Manage rlk / SUBJECT: Seizure of Drug/Gang Houses — Referral #`0001464 Councilmember Carson requested the committee review the feasibility of establishing an ordinance to authorize the seizure of drug/gang houses and requested the City Attorney provide a copy of the law which enables this action to the committee for discussion. City Attorney, Ginny Gennaro, provided a report to the Safe Neighborhoods and Community Relations Committee on March 23, 2006. Included in her presentation was an overview of SB 155 (Feinstein) that provides for seizure of drug and gang houses. The memo she provided to the Committee is attached. BAKE U � MEMORANDUM a�IFO CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE January 23, 2006 TO: AD HOC COMMITTEE — CRIME, WEAPONS, GANG VIOLENCE AND COMMUNITY RELATIONS FROM: VIRGINIA GENNARO, CITY ATTORNEY 1\� SUBJECT: OVERVIEW OF SENATE BILL 155 (FEINSTEIN) Along with four other senators, Sen. Dianne Feinstein is proposing Senate Bill 155. The title of the bill is: Gang Prevention and Effective Deterrence Act of 2005. The bill is 38 pages in length and broken into three segments: 1) Criminal Street Gang Abatement Act; 2) Violent Crime Reforms Needed to Deter and Prevent Illegal Gang Crimes; and 3) Juvenile Crime Reform for Violent Offenders. The following is an over view of some of the relevant provisions within SB 155: The first segment of the legislation proposes a new definition of "criminal street gang". This new definition sets forth conditions which must be met before a group of individuals can be labeled a "criminal street gang." Such conditions include having committed at least 2 "predicate" crimes (which are enumerated) within 10 years. The new definition is important because other new laws are proposed which make it illegal to recruit persons to be in "criminal street gangs" or to "commit certain violent crimes in furtherance of or to aid or to gain admittance to criminal street gangs." Each of those new crimes carries very stiff prison sentences. For example, the proposed punishment for recruiting a person to be in a criminal street gang is up to 5 years in prison and if the person recruits a minor (under 18 years of age), the punishment is 10 years in prison. The legislation also seeks to amend the current racketeering laws to increase sentences and to prohibit using interstate commerce with the intent to kill, assault, etc. in order to delay, influence or prevent a witness from testifying in a state criminal case. One of the unique aspects of the proposed legislation is contained in Sections 110 through 114. These provisions authorize the Attorney General to designate areas as "high intensity interstate gang activity areas." In determining whether an area qualifies as a "high intensity interstate gang activity area", the Attorney General must meet with local elected officials and take the following into consideration: a) the current and predicted levels of gang crime activity in the area; b) the extent to which violent crime is related to criminal street gangs; C) the extent to which state and local law enforcement have committee resources to respond to gang crime problems; d) the extent to which a significant increase in allocation of federal resources would enhance local response to gang crime. S AC0UNCIL\MEM0S\Carson\sb155.doc If an area is designated, the Attorney General will: a) establish criminal street gang enforcement teams made up of federal, state and local law enforcement agency members; b) direct reassignment or detailing from any federal department or agency to each team. The financial aspects of this legislation are tremendous. The appropriation for the above mentioned Program alone is $100 million per fiscal year 2005-2009. Fifty percent of the funds must be spent on enforcement teams and the other fifty percent is available for grants for community-based programs to provide crime prevention, research and intervention programs. Another$5 million per fiscal year is allocated to be spent by the FBI to support gang enforcement teams in the designated areas and $7.5 million is appropriated each fiscal year(2005-2009)for the hiring of assistant U.S. attorneys, coordinators and paralegals. In addition, $20 million per fiscal year is proposed for grants to: a) hire more prosecutors; b) fund technology, equipment and training for prosecutors and law enforcement in order to increase accurate identification of gang members and violent offenders, and to maintain databases with such information to facilitate coordination among law enforcement and prosecutors; and, to c) create and expand witness and victim protection programs (60% of all funding must be for this purpose). Finally, SB 155 resurrects the Gang Resistance Education and Training Projects Program. The previous funding expired in 2000. This legislation authorizes $20 million per year for fiscal years 2005-2009. Other aspects of the legislation propose enhancing sentencing guidelines for certain violent and gang and drug-related crimes, as well as extending the statute of limitations to prosecute the crimes. It also expands the instances wherein juveniles can be charged as adults and expands the Project Safe Neighborhoods Program. Under this Program, the Attorney General is authorized to require the U.S. Attorneys to: a) identify and prosecute significant criminal street gangs; b) coordinate the identification, investigation and prosecution of criminal street gangs among federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. Status of Bill and Related Legislation The bill was referred to the Senate Judiciary committee on January 25, 2005. A related House of Representatives bill with essentially the same language (H.R. 970) was referred to the House subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security on April 4, 2005. The City Attorney's office will continue to monitor both pieces of legislation. SACOUNCI L\MEMOS\Carson\sb 155.doc B A K E R s F I E L D MAY 3 Q 2005 CITY OF BAKERSFIELD PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT MEMORANDUM TO: Alan Tandy, City Manager FROM: Raul Rojas, Public Works Director DATE: May 15, 2006 SUBJECT: GRAFFITI - STOCKDALE HWY BRIDGE Referral No. 1495 CCILMEMBER COUCH REQUESTED STAFF ABATE GRAFFITI ON THE STOCKDALE BRID GE WESTBOUND ON THE BIKEPATH. The graffiti was removed by General Services crews. GAGROUPDAT\Referrals\2006\05-10\Ref#1495 Graffiti.doc MAY 3 120136 B A K E R S F I E L D I CITY OF BAKERSFIELD CITY I\4ANA , R'S OFFICE PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT MEMORANDUM TO: Alan Tandy, City Manager FROM: Raul Rojas, Public Works Director DATE: May 25, 2006 SUBJECT: 7TH STANDARD RD. DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS Referral No. 1504 [DEVELOPMENT OUNCILMEMBER COUCH REQUESTED STAFF PURSUE THE ESTABLISHMENT OF STANDARDS FOR 7TH STANDARD RD. WITH THE CITY OF SHAFTER. HEY SHOULD BE CONSISTENT WITH THOSE SET FOR MR. ETCHUCHURRY'S ROJECT, AND REPORT BACK TO COUNCIL WITH AN UPDATE. Public Works is setting up a meeting with Mr. Couch. G:\GROUPDAT\Referrals\2006\05-24\Ref#1504 7th Std Rd.doc BAltCn BAKERSFIELD POLICE c MEMORANDUM A 1 1M17 RY 11. F 0R``�� TO: ALAN TANDY, CITY MANAGER FROM: W. R. RECTOR, CHIEF OF POLICE ��'� MAY 31 ?006 P DATE: May 30, 2006 " "` CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE SUBJECT: Crowd Gathering at Copelands on Ming Avenue Council Referral No. 1508 (Ward 6) Council Member Sullivan requested staff contact the owners of Copelands and suggest they post"No Trespassing" signs in order to discourage loitering in their parking lots. Staff confirmed the "No Trespassing" signs that were erected approximately 18 months ago are still present; one of the signs is posted at the Ming Avenue entrance next to Taco Bell. Staff has enforced the trespassing laws in the area since that time. Officers will continue to focus concentrated efforts at Copelands during the weekends as calls for service permit. W R R/vrf RECE ED B A K E R s F I E D MAY 3 12006 CITY OF BAKERSFIELD PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE MEMORANDUM TO: Alan Tandy, City Manager FROM: Raul Rojas, Public Works Director DATE: May 25, 2006 SUBJECT: SIDEWALK AT MING AND STINE Referral No. 1509 COUNCILMEMBER SULLIVAN REQUESTED THE SIDEWALK AT THE NORTHWEST CORNER OF MING AND STINE BE REPAIRED/REPLACED. This work was being done by PG&E as part of the relocation of one of their vaults. After working with PG&E and the property owner for several weeks, it appears that the repair work on this corner should be completed no later than Friday June 9, 2006. Staff will continue to monitor this situation to insure completion. C:\DOCUME--1\Iskinner\LOCALS-1\Temp\Ref#1509 Ming-Stine(Rick M).doc [.4�: 4 MAY 3 12006 11 CITY MANAGER OFFICE B A K E R S F I E L D Department of Recreation and Parks Date: May 31, 2006 To: Alan Tandy, City Manager From: Dianne Hoover,Vire c t foro Recreation & Parks Subject: Missing Trees on "F" Street Referral #001510—Ward 2 Councilmember Sullivan requested staff check for missing trees in the sidewalk cutouts on "F" Street and facilitate the planting of new trees. Tree Supervisor Patrick Denney checked the tree situation on "F" Street. Some of the trees have been removed due to storm damage; others due to the property owners having them removed, a few areas do not have irrigation to the tree wells. Staff is working with the businesses on "F" Street to restore the trees where irrigation exists. A MEMORANDUM TO: ALAN TANDY, CITY MANAGER FROM: NELSON SMITH,FINANCE DIRECTOR Qy DATE: JUNE 2,2006 SUBJECT: COUNCIL REFERRAL#001511 This is in response to Council referral#001511,FIREWORKS FAQ, from Councilmember Scrivner requesting that staff put together a question and answer sheet to address arising questions from the fireworks ordinance changes adopted this for 2006. Staff from the Manager's office,Attorney's office,Fire Department,and Finance met to discuss and write the attached question and answer sheet. Copies of the Q&A sheet will be distributed to the 2006 fireworks organizations and the two fireworks vendors. This sheet will also be posted on the City's web site. The following information is designed to address questions that Fireworks Booth Operators may have regarding recent changes to the City of Bakersfield's Fireworks Ordinance relating to fees, fines and enforcement. This information is in addition to documents already provided to Booth Operators by the Fire Department and Finance Department. Booth Operators are encouraged to read the Bakersfield Municipal Code and state law to become familiar with all aspects of operating a Fireworks Booth. QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS Q1. What is the fireworks booth application fee used for? Al. The application fee is used to defray the administrative cost of processing the application, reviewing the drawings, locations, etc. of each application, providing public education regarding the legal use of fireworks and enforcing the fireworks laws. This fee is only requested on booths which will be located in the City of Bakersfield. Pursuant to the California Constitution and other state laws and cases, cities can recover the reasonable and necessary costs of providing services to the public and enforcing the laws. Reasonable and necessary costs include salaries, overhead, depreciation of assets, etc. Q2. How is the application fee calculated? A2. The processing portion of the fee is based upon past history of the cost to review and process the application. That portion of the fee is unchanged. The additional cost for enforcement and education is based upon a projected cost. This projected cost was calculated based upon the amount of time the City anticipates having police officers and fire personnel on patrol to enforce the fireworks laws. There are specific hours the extra enforcement will take place and the salaries, overhead, depreciation, etc. have been calculated based upon those extra hours. Other overhead and salaries are factored in to cover the estimated costs of processing and collecting fines (administrative and criminal). Additionally, public service announcements will be provided and those costs have been factored in. Q3. What happens if the application fee exceeds the reasonable cost of providing the service? A3. As described above, the application fee is calculated based on anticipated costs to provide the service as closely as possible. Annually, the City reviews all fees on the fee schedule and adjusts them accordingly. When this 3. On July 3 between the hours of nine a.m. and 12:01 a.m. of the next day. 4. On July 4 between the hours of nine a.m. and twelve-thirty a.m. of the next day. 5. On December 31 between the hours of twelve noon and twelve-thirty a.m. of the next day. Q8. When will the fireworks booths be inspected? A8. Electrical Inspections will be on Thursday June 29, 2006. Re-inspections for Electrical Inspections that did not pass will be on Friday June 30, 2006. Note: After re-inspection fee has been paid. Fire Department Inspections will be on Friday June 30, 2006. Note: Electrical inspection card must be signed by the building department and posted in the stand. Also, the product for sale must be in the stand and the stand must be closed but attended. 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