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1993/06/08 City Council Minutes (3)Rohnert Park City Council Minutes June 8, 1993 The Council of the City of Rohnert Park met this date in regular session commencing at 6:00 P.M. in the City Offices, 6750 Commerce Boulevard, Rohnert Park, with Mayor Hollingsworth presiding. CALL TO ORDER -Mayor Hollingsworth called the regular session to order at approximately 6:43 p.m. and led the pledge of allegiance. Mayor Hollingsworth advised that a closed session commenced this evening at 6:00 p.m. to discuss litigation matters and personnel matters. He said no action was taken and there was nothing to report at this time, though a report on certain items discussed may be given sometime during tonight's Council meeting. ROLL CALL Present: (5) Councilmembers Eck, Gallagher, Reilly, Spiro and Mayor Hollingsworth Absent: (0) None Staff present for all or part of the meeting: City Manager Netter, City Attorney Flitner, Assistant to the City Manager Leivo, and Director of Public Works /City Engineer Brust. Approval Upon motion by Councilmember Reilly, seconded by Councilmember of Gallagher, with Councilmembers Eck and Spiro abstaining due to absence Minutes from the meeting, the minutes of May 25, 1993 were otherwise unanimously approved as submitted. Approval Councilwoman Gallagher said she objected to check #54734 to Sonoma of County Wineries Association in the amount of $10,000. Ms. Gallagher Bills said, for the record, in the future, whenever bills for approval list a payment to the Wineries Association, she would like her continued objection to be so signified because of her disapproval of the development of the Wine Center for reasons previously expressed during Council meetings (i.e., located on open space and because she feels there has been a misuse of public funds for private industry excessive to opportunities not equally provided to other businesses). Upon motion by Councilmember Eck, seconded by Councilmember Reilly, and unanimously approved with the exception of Councilwoman Gallagher's above- reviewed disapproval of Check No. 54734 to Sonoma County Wineries Association, the bills presented per the attached list in the amount of $1,122,347.80 were approved. CDA bills presented per the attached list in the amount of $117,756.01 were approved. Non - agendaed Mayor Hollingsworth queried if any Councilmember had any non - matters agendaed items to add to the agenda. Councilwoman Spiro said she had two miscellaneous items to add. Rohnert Park City Council Minutes (2) June 8, 1993 Unscheduled Mayor Hollingsworth stated that in compliance with State Law (The Public Brown Act), anyone in the audience who wished to make a comment may do Appearances so at this time. In most cases under legislation of the new Brown Act, the Council cannot handle an item without agendizing. To ensure accurate recording, "Speaker Cards" are provided at the entrance of the Chamber and unscheduled public appearances are requested to fill out the cards and present to recording clerk after speaking. Geneva Trent, 147 Walnut Circle, referenced a local newspaper article printed this morning, June 8, 1992, and reviewed mobile home park residential concerns regarding rent increases granted to landlords and continued frustrations related to the "Greenbook" and Ordinance No. 494. She said they are now in the process of amending Ordinance No. 494 with intentions toward a ballot measure. Ms. Trent said the information regarding the proposed ordinance amendments would be made available to Council and City Attorney for review in the near future. C O N S E N T C A L E N D A R Mayor Hollingsworth queried if anyone had any questions regarding the matters on the Consent Calendar which were explained in the City Manager's Council Meeting Memo. Acknowledging the City Manager /Clerk's report on the posting of the agenda. Resolutions: No.93 -50 CONNENDING WALTER L. TADDEUCCI ON THE OCCASION OF HIS RETIREMENT No.93 -51 ACCEPTING A GRANT DEED FROM HONE DEPT U.S.A., INC. (For a well site at southwest corner of their property) No.93 -52 AUTHORIZING SUBMITTAL OF A COMPETITIVE NATCHING GRANT APPLICATION Upon motion by Councilmrrber Reilly, seconded by Councilmember Eck, the Consent Calendar as outlined on the meeting's agenda was unanimously approved. ' iCiC7k *J� *ICJ *):i::C7k * *7k *�C *7k J�Ck *�(�Ck * *kJr YC:CYC * *Jr/C * *7k *7kiC)i��C �C 7k��7r JM 11']M 7k��'JI'%,4 ,Y �Y y.,. .b. n n n n n Acceptance of Gregory Conklin resignation from the Bicycle Advisory Committee (term expires 12/31/96 - Councilwoman Gallagher nominee) - City Manager said copies were provided to Council of the referenced resignation letter dated May 25, 1993 as reviewed in the Council Meeting Memo. Upon motion by Councilmember Gallagher, seconded by Councilmember Eck, acceptance of Gregory Conklin's resignation from the Bicycle Advisory Committee was unanimously approved. Council comments recalled that all the previous applications to this Committee ended up being appointed, but if additional applications had been received at the City offices following formation of the Bicycle Advisory Committee, the list would be made available to Councilwoman Gallagher for consideration of a new nomination at the next Council meting. Otherwise, the opening may need to be advertised. Rohnert Park City Council Minutes (3) June 8, 1993 Rohnert Park Sister Cities Committee request for Council support to create a serene Japanese garden in atrium of Community Center - Japanese Garden Chairman Mike Grubler shared contents of copies provided to Council of letter dated May 26, 1993 from Sister Cities Committee regarding the referenced request. He responded to various Council questions regarding same confirming that the intent is to raise funds from outside sources for the creation of the Japanese garden but would like to work in conjunction with City staff for maintenance possibilities. A motion was made by Councilmember Eck, seconded by Councilmember Spiro, and unanimously approved, authorizing the Sister Cities Committee to proceed with formation of financial and design plans for the Japanese garden for further Council review and consideration. Environmental Resource Council (ERC) regarding (1) appointment of Director of Public Works /City Engineer to represent Rohnert Park and (2) consideration of approval of membership dues - City Manager Netter referenced copies provided to Council of March 9, 1993 Council meeting minutes regarding this matter and shared comments as reviewed in the Council NLaeting Memo. Director of Public Works /City Engineer Brust shared contents of copies provided to Council of his memo dated June 3, 1993 pertaining to additional information regarding same. City Manager and City Engineer responded to various Council questions confirming that support of the Environmental Resource Council is important to achieve a change in unfair State law and Water Quality Control regulations as reviewed. City Manager Netter also confirmed that consideration of a particular loan to provide funding for this item, as referenced at the previous Council meeting, was no longer necessary since arrangements have been made by others to take care of the matter. Following discussion, a motion was made by Councilmember Reilly, seconded by Councilmember Spiro, unanimously approving Environmental Resource Council membership dues, at least for this year and then see what can be done regarding these concerns for next year, and unanimously approving appointment of Director of Public Works /City Engineer Brust to represent the City of Rohnert Park on the Environ- mental Resource Council. Sonoma County Vernal Pools Task Force - City Manager Netter referenced copies provided to Council of Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) draft revision as of April 23, 1993, as reviewed in Council Meeting Memo, regarding initiation of a program by and between United States Fish and Wildlife Service, United States Army Corps of Engineers, United States Environmental Protection Agency, California Department of Fish and Game, City of Santa Rosa, and County of Sonoma for the conservation of vernal pools and associated ecosystem within the Santa Rosa Plain (which includes Rohnert Park), including the Windsor area and the Laguna de Santa Rosa of Sonoma County. City Manager Netter introduced Charles Carson, Executive Director /Local Governmental Affairs of Building Industry Association/Northern California, who gave a presentation regarding the purpose of this M U and program. W. Carson shared contents of the referenced MDU and responded to various Council questions regarding same. Rohnert Park City Council Minutes (4) June 8, 1993 John Hudson, 399 Bonnie Avenue, said the previous speaker was from BIA and pointed out that BIA stands for Building Industry Association. Mr. Hudson expressed various concerns pertaining to his feelings about members of such organizations like the BIA and the development of lands without regard to protection of the environment or open space. Mayor Hollingsworth requested the desire of the Council at this time. Following comments, a motion was made by Councilmember Eck, seconded by Councilmember Reilly, and unanimously approved, to schedule the Vernal Pools Task Force /M U item for more detailed scrutiny on the next Council agenda. Library issues: 1) Introduction of new Director - City Manager Netter introduced the new Director of Sonoma County Library, David M. Price. Mr. Price reviewed background qualifications leading up to this current position, including previous experience as a City Manager. He shared comments pertaining to being immediately affronted with Library budget reductions when he arrived for the position last October. He said he was pleased to report that they have worked through that budget process with good results toward innovative management issues and the Library would be going into next year without any further reductions, as well as possibilities of adding a half time position to staff. Mr. Price expressed appreciation for the opportunity to meet with City Manager Netter and Councilman Reilly regarding new ideas and future possibilities for the Rohnert Park Library. 2) Report from Councilmember Reilly on meeting with Director and staff - Councilman Reilly reviewed options discussed during the referenced meeting pertaining to proposals for the Library as briefly outlined in the Council Meeting Memo. Considerations included expansion of the existing library, building a new library in conjunction with either the School District offices and /or City Hall on the City Hall site, or relocation of the library. Library Director Price responded to various Council questions including explanation of reasons for necessity to discard outdated books and confirmation of notice received just today pertaining to a grant that will enable this local library to be the first library in California to make an inter - library computerized system available to the public in about two months. Library Director Price confirmed the existing Library facility will not meet the needs of the comnmity and it will be necessary to go back to the drawing board and look closely at those needs, especially related to student services. City Manager Netter indicated this topic would be appropriate to discuss at the upcoming meeting with the School District on June 14th and would have it added to the agenda. Proposed 1993 -94 City Budget - City Manager Netter distributed to Council the proposed 1993 -94 City Budget reflecting Council comments and citizen input from the public hearing of the previous Council meeting and other budget work sessions. He pointed out that there is a disclaimer in the budget and, therefore, until negotiations are finalized, it is still subject to change. Mr. Netter reviewed recent support of the Governor regarding the possibility of extending the 1/2 cent sales tax for six months. Discussion followed during which City Manager Netter Rohnert Park City Council Minutes (5) June 8, 1993 responded to various Council questions and requested Council to set times and dates for further budget work sessions. Council agreed there should be an initial budget work session on Monday, June 14, 1993 at 8:00 a.m. specifically for the Council to familiarize itself with full details of the budget and, though the public is welcome to attend, public comment will not be invited at this initial budget work session. Time will be scheduled at a later date for additional citizen input regarding the proposed budget. 1993 -94 Tax & Revenue Anticipation Notes (TRANS)- Authorization of Issuance of Bonds - City Manager Netter said copies were provided to Council of staff report and two resolutions for consideration regarding the referenced item. He shared contents therein as reviewed in the Council Meeting Memo and responded to various Council questions regarding same. Resolutions: esolut53 AUTHORIZING THE BORROWING OF FUNDS FOR FISCAL YEAR 1993 -1994 AND THE ISSUANCE AND SALE OF A 1993 -1994 TAX AND REVENUE ANTICIPA- TION NOTE THEREFOR AND PARTICIPATION IN THE CALIFORNIA CASH FLOW FINANCING PROGRAM No.93 -54 AUTHORIZING AND APPROVING AMENDED AND RESTATED JOINT EXERCISE OF POWERS AGREEMENT RELATING TO THE CALIFORNIA STATEWIDE CON"ITIES DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY Upon motion by Councilmember Reilly, seconded by Councilmember Spiro, and unanimously approved, reading of Resolution Nos. 93 -53 and 93 -54 was waived and said resolutions were consecutively adopted. Mobile Home Parks Purchase /Financing Program - City Manager Netter acknowledged that this item was continued from the previous Council meeting of May 25th. He referenced copies provided to Council of Outline of Proposed Rohnert Park Tax - Exempt Mobile Home Park Financing from Sutro & Co. Copies were also provided to Council of staff report dated May 17, 1993 pertaining to timing of contacting mobile home park residents about this purchase program. Council Committee Member Eck acknowledged his attendance at previous meeting with representatives of Sutro & Co. He explained contents of above- referenced outline from Sutro & Co., including comments reviewed in tonight's Council Meeting Memo, and responded to various Council questions regarding same. Discussion ensued concluding in Council direction by concurrence to proceed with presentation of this proposal to Mobile Home Owners Association meetings by Council Committee Members Eck and Reilly. Garbage matters: 1) Waste Management /San Diego County (Gallagher) - cont'd from May 25th Mayor Hollingsworth said he would like to make a statement prior to Council review of this item. He said any discussion by any individual Councilperson regarding the referenced San Diego District Attorney Report on Waste Management, Inc. would be the individual's own opinion so that the Council or City does not find itself in a position of lia- bility or involved in the complexities of a lawsuit. Secondly, based Rohnert Park City Council Minutes (6) June 8, 1993 on the recent article that appeared in the Press Democrat criticizing the City Manager for an appearance of conflict of interest on a personal decision that was made far before he was the City Manager; and based on the fact that Councilmembers should abstain from participation on items for Council review if there are appearances of conflict of interest, Mayor Hollingsworth said he would like to make a suggestion to Council%unan. Gallagher. He said, based on the fact that Eric Anderson (representing M & M Feed) was Ms. Gallagher's representative on her campaign as well as her campaign support from Curtis Michelini (representing Industrial Carting) that might give the appearance of a conflict of interest, it is therefore his suggestion that Ms. Gallagher might want to follow her own advice, for her own interest, and abstain from further participation in these garbage matters. Councilwoman Gallagher responded that there was a huge difference between a $250 campaign donation and criticism expressed about the City Manager. She said everyone running for Council was asked to submit economic interest statements and her campaign details were not even close in comparison. Ms. Gallagher responded to further Council inquiry that a volunteer, Andrea Keller, was her campaign manager and that Eric Anderson was her paid consultant for only an initial brief period of time. She said Council has copies of her report regarding this information and her statement of economic interest is complete. Councilwoman Spiro said she would like to comment on concerns expressed earlier this year that it is hard to think that people's lives are impaired based on the perception of one person like Councilwoman Gallagher when she is doing the same thing. Ms. Spiro said she would like, at some point, to clear up allegations. Councilwoman Gallagher responded she could not cormient further because of investigations in process. Councilwoman Spiro said she did not know that any investigation was actually going on but, regarding Planning Commissioner Mike Mullens, she did know he was very badly treated by Ms. Gallagher which smacks of MacCarthyism and was something Ms. Spiro was hoping she would never have to say, but thought it was wrong that Ms. Gallagher would ever take money, then lobby and vote, and then say she did not even know. Councilwoman Gallagher responded that Eric Anderson was lobbying for M & M Feed and she never once lobbied for M & M Feed. Councilwoman Gallagher said she only felt badly that free enterprise was interjected into this process and that is who she is lobbying for. Ms. Gallagher said her description can be read in her statement. Councilman Eck said he had planned to bring this up later during the Garbage Committee report, but discussions like the preceding ones are some of the very reasons he feels the Garbage Committee has become disfunctional and, therefore, he was going to suggest other Council Members be appointed to the Garbage Committee. He said, for example, it has been pointed out that he has been around too long. Councilman Eck pointed out that the City is in some serious negotiations on A8939 and requirements mist be met two or three years down the road. He said his only interest has been to have a level playing field, that Empire Waste Management has delivered the lowest rates inside the county and, therefore, he is certainly not willing to throw them out. This is the reason the existing Garbage Committee is having problems Rohnert Park City Council Minutes (7) June 8, 1993 and is completely logger headed. Councilman Eck said he is not certain of the motivations, but all he knows is that the Garbage Committee is not getting anywhere toward moving ahead. He thought there has been too mach time spent on trying to get at Empire Waste Management whereas, if such a company cannot deliver a good product, the City ought to obtain another. He said, however, it seemed to him that the Garbage Committee was receiving every angle of information favoring Industrial Carting compared to the destructive efforts toward Empire Waste Management and made the comparison that the situation is kind of like the Hewlett - Packard spills of Silicone Valley applied to this local area. Therefore, Councilman Eck said he really thought a new Council Committee should start fresh and let every potential bidder have the same opportunity. He said he certainly did not have any campaign contributions involved but was more than willing to step down from his appointment to this Garbage Committee in order for a new committee to proceed effectively. Councilmember Gallagher said with regard to the formation of a new Garbage Committee, she would still like to be on that committee and said all that she has aver done is request a fair meeting process with regard to purchasing procedures in this town. She said that is what her campaign efforts signified. Mayor Hollingsworth said he had no problem with appointing Council- members Reilly and Spiro to the Garbage Committee and agreed there should be a level playing field for all bids. Councilwoman. Gallagher said she would like it on record that this is another example of how things have been run in this town. When a person stands up for the public's good, this is the kind of petty attempt made by those who have done things a permanent way. She said the City of Rohnert Park does not produce that much yard waste and it is a very simple task now. She said there is plenty of time to prepare later for the goals of the year 2000. In response to inquiry by Mayor Hollingsworth, Councilmembers Reilly and Spiro accepted appointments to the Garbage Committee. Councilman Reilly said, for the record, that he has never been offered anything by Empire Waste Management or Industrial Carting. Councilwoman Spiro said, for the record, that neither company had offered her anything either but she thought it was unfortunate that a Councilperson like Councilman Eck, who has such extensive knowledge regarding this matter, should step down from this appointment. She said she understands, if he feels the need to do so, but would have no objection to his continuing on the Garbage Committee. Councilman Eck responded that he was more than happy to step off this committee as he thought a fresh view from fresh Councilmembers would be healthy and, in jest, maybe clean up the garbage mess. With confirmation by both Councilmen Eck and Reilly that Councilman Reilly had satisfactorily completed the referenced environmental studies class of Councilman Eck at SSU, Councilwoman Spiro said her concerns were met regarding the need to have technical information on the Garbage Committee and, therefore, agreed to the new committee appointments of herself and Councilman Reilly. She said this would make it possible for everyone to start at a level playing field and no one would feel they have been left out of necessary considerations. Rohnert Park City Council Minutes (8) June 8, 1993 2) City Attorney's report on franchise agreement with respect to bidding curbside yard waste pick up program - City Attorney Flitner referenced copies provided to Council of his memorandum dated June 3, 1993 regarding this item, as previously requested by Council, and shared contents therein. Mr. Flitner responded to various Council questions regarding same confirming that he did not believe the City of Rohnert Park can allow another third party contractor to enter the City to bid and/or haul curbside waste while it has a contract with Empire Waste Management, Inc., formerly known as Redwood Empire Disposal Company, which contract expires on June 30, 1995. In response to request by Councilwoman Gallagher for the City Attorney to provide the state definition of the state law pertaining to AB939 for the benefit of the public as she thought it would override municipal codes, City Attorney Flitner said he did not know that the city is required to follow the state description word for word since the city does have some rights in municipal affairs, but said he had no problem with providing the information as requested. Mayor Hollingsworth confirmed that this issue would be reviewed thoroughly by the Garbage Committee. 3) Empire Waste Management response - City Manager Netter advised that representatives of Empire Waste Management were present at tonight's Council meeting to respond to comments regarding the San Diego District Attorney's report. Maureen Middlebrook, Division Manager /Comrunity Affairs of Empire Waste Management, reviewed reasons for recently choosing to go to work with Empire Waste Management. She said she is very proud to be an employee of Empire Waste Management. She said her decision included an extensive review of a mountain of material written about the company, provided to her by General Manager Kevin Walbridge, of which the full picture would present quite a bit more balanced picture of the situation than has been presented. Ms. Middlebrook said the same material was also made available to Councilwoman Gallagher and the representatives of Empire Waste were sorry Ms. Gallagher did not choose to share the full content with the Council or the public. Ms. Middlebrook said representatives of Empire Waste were naturally angry because, as a company, you get tired of people abusing your name. She said Empire Waste agreed to cooperate in providing information when the referenced San Diego District Attorney report was being prepared and, when asked to pay for it, even agreed to that; hv'wcN72r, when asked t0 waive rights to defamation, Empire Waste had to refuse. When the final report was done, Empire Waste responded and hired a law firm to do a critical analysis of the report. Ms. Middlebrook read several comments from the executive summary of the legal analysis including such statements as "the San Diego District Attorney report is seriously flawed and one - sided; it relies on secondary sources; and charges made against the company are loaded with unquestioned material that facts will not support ". She said such findings signified, frankly, that the San Diego District Attorney Report was wrong. Ms. Middlebrook shared numerous positive reports from other organizations, firms, cities, counties, etc. that had the same above - referenced material to review including City of San Diego with decision to look into the company and also hired an outside company resulting in the same supportive conclusions; Hill Care Services of Alameda County functioned as a partner of Waste Management following Rohnert Park City Council Minutes (9) June 8, 1993 review of the material which proved to be in compliance; California Land Fills, an agency that is very demanding on regulatory requirements, commented that others could take a lesson from Waste Management, Inc., and almost always has given Waste Management a higher grade of compliance than other companies. Ms. Middlebrook concluded her comments with the statement that she did not want to give the impression that the company has not made mistakes as there have been employees that have done wrong things, however, they feel they are extremely respons -ible in responding to those procedures necessary to make corrections. In closing, Ms. Middlebrook said she would like to specifically respond to one of the things mentioned by Councilwoman Gallagher who said she wanted everyone to know who they were dealing with when contracting with Empire Waste Management. Ms. Middlebrook said for many years Empire Waste Management was simply a local company serving the comtunity and continues to do so. Bob Matteri, Assistant General Manager of Empire Waste Management, said he would like to give a brief history of Empire Waste Management. He said he was born and raised in this area and that a form of this company has been serving Rohnert Park ever since it was incorporated. In 1986, Empire Waste Management was bought out by Waste Management, Inc. Mr. Matteri said he feels it has been an honor to be associated with a company that has kept its standards high. He said Division President Kevin Walbridge was unable to be here tonight because he was one of four Waste Management employees throughout the country selected to attend a particular yard waste seminar currently in process. W. Matteri said he felt very fortunate that Empire Waste Management has such a bright, young leader as Kevin Walbridge for General Manager. He said there were also several employees from Empire Waste Management present at this Council meeting who were as proud as he is of Mr. Walbridge and to be representatives of Empire Waste Management. Councilmember Reilly and Spiro shared further comments, as the newly appointed Garbage Council Committee, regarding their interest and commitment to a fair playing field in the review of garbage matters. W. Reilly said he was not going to_deal with the San Diego County report until, and only if he could be shown a link that might reflect on the local company . He said even though someone may not like the contract, it is binding, and he would not listen very well to complaints just because it is a large organization. In 1995, when the term of this contract expires, consideration may be given to a new contract but, until then, just because a company is big does not mean it is bad. Therefore, unless he can be shown where the contract has been flawed, he would not give any further consideration to the matter. Councilwoman Spiro confirmed agreement with Councilman Reilly's comments. She said she would also like to commend Empire Waste Management on its hiring the homeless program. She said she noticed the information on an item that came across her desk and commented that Empire Waste Management has not blown its own horn regarding this worthwhile program. She said it is com eandable and not every company takes the time to do that. Rohnert Park City Council Minutes (10) June 8, 1993 Councilwoman Gallagher said she would like to make further comments for the benefit of the public regarding this matter and said she knows the public will understand that it takes a pretty big person to stand against a large operation that is known by what its management does and comes into an area creating a monopoly. She said there is a difference between the current contract for yard waste and wood waste or underground refuse. She said the public process has been abused regarding this issue by the organization of the Joint Powers Agreement and that the contract is the most expensive. It is the tax dollars of the people that is being spent and the JPA does not even know how much this is going to cost the people and they do not care. Ms. Gallagher said she is trying to stop this before the people get the bill because, when the bill comes, it will be too late to do anything about it. She expressed concerns that the increased money given to the larger company will only pay for that company to expand and asked if the people wouldn't like tax money to help their businesses grow. She said also that free enterprise is what broke up Communism. As for the comments that all those allegations are not true, Waste Management has said it paid penalties and settlements in the 80's for admitted violations in dump sites. Once it has control, that can happen here. Bob Matteri, Assistant General Manager of Empire Waste Management, responded to Councilwoman Gallagher's comments that all the bills she referenced were sent to the County and approved accordingly. Councilwoman Gallagher commented further that they still do not have any idea how mach it is going to cost. In response to Mayor's consent to commnt, Councilman Eck said he did not even know where to begin and this type of discussion is why a new Garbage Committee is needed. Mayor Hollingsworth said public comments could be heard at this time regarding these garbage matters. Andrea Keller, 3 Meridian Circle, said she was interested in speaking to the issue of the bidding process as opposed to the proposal by Empire Waste Management. She said she was wondering about this process. Councilman Eck said the proposal for the yard waste has not been received. Mayor Hollingsworth explained that Council had been very definite about the existing agreement with Empire Waste Management in establishing that it was not a bid, but a proposal. Councilman Reilly said the City has not received anything at all to date pertaining to woodwaste, but the referenced informational comments were shared from the JPA County meeting that was held here. Curtis Michelini, Sr., 3911 Santa Rosa Avenue, Santa Rosa, said he has been doing business in Sonoma County for many years and is here tonight as a member of the Rohnert Park Chamber of Commerce and as a private businessman. He referenced comments reviewed here tonight and said he was not asking for any favoritism but was asking for a chance to bid in a bidding process. He said the Council, as a governing body, owes this to the citizens. He asked Council to review the historical Empire Waste Management contract and said no one company should have a monopoly. W. Michelini reviewed related examples and said the city has not gone out to public bid regarding this matter since 1975. He Rohnert Park City Council Minutes (11) June 8, 1993 said these are hard economic times and asked what makes garbage so exceptional that it should not have a bidding process. Mr. Michelini asked Council to take a hard look at the issue because we are looking at a recession and suggested looking at other companies when proposals are studied for economic reasons. He said there are other companies out there that can do the job and you owe it to the people. Jim Clark, 80 Walnut Circle, said he read the allegations and went through them three different times. He said he was concerned about the rebuttal and asked if the City had received the rebuttal in response to the San Diego County Report on Waste Management, Inc. City Manager Netter indicated he would obtain a copy of the response from Empire Waste Management. Mobile Home Park Purchase Program - Additional cormnents: Mayor Hollingsworth consented to the following public comments related to the Mobile Home Park Purchase Program which was the agenda item reviewed immediately preceding this item pertaining to garbage matters. He expressed apologies for overlooking these requests to speak during discussion of the referenced agenda item. John p. Phalen, 314 Corte Rayado, resident of Rancho Verde Mobile Home Park said he would like to know why his rent has increased from $220 per month in December 1990 to currently $422 per month for his small, single -wide mobile home. He said he thought there was a need for a Grand Jury investigation on rent control. He said this city had approximately 300 people at the initial mobile home rent control meetings but about 93% of that number has left and no longer attends the meetings for reasons of being scared or whatever. He said this does not look good and there needs to be some kind of an appeal or referendum for the benefit of people like himself, who is over 70 years old and does not have a great deal of money to deal with such matters. Councilman Eck explained that there was no other mechanism to use at this point without going through the Mobile Home Rent Appeals Board; there has been talk about numerous potential modifications to the ordinance, but he did not think the initiative addresses the problem reviewed by Mr. Phalen. Councilman Eck said he thought the owner of Ranch Verde would like to get out from under it, so whenever that magic number of people is obtained, that would have to be addressed. Mr. Phalen responded that people like himself cannot sell their mobile homes and they are between a rock and a hard place. He said they know the facts and figures that have been thrown at them are way out of line but the park owners only have to show where they are losing to proceed with such increases. Mayor Hollingsworth said he would like to offer a suggestion regarding an initiative. When the mobile home park residents are ready to put their material together, they should have the City Attorney review it and make his comments. The hands of City Council are tied, even if it might agree with the residents that their rent is exorbitant, because of the necessity of operating under Ordinance 494. Mr. Hollingsworth said he would like to suggest that Council will give mobile home park residents all the help it can and believed that Council has had their interest at heart at all times. Mr. Phalen said he did not think so. Rohnert Park City Council Minutes (12) June 8, 1993 Roswell L. Pinckard, 193 Verde Circle, said he was also a resident of Rancho Verde Mobile Home Park and he did not think any of the Councilmembers were trying to help the mobile home owners. He said the Rent Control Board was put in by the City Council and the last approval for increases says that the City Council and the Rent Appeals Board have sold the home owners down the drain. He said none of the board members said a word for the mobile home owners and thought Council could do something like replacing Rent Control board members. Mr. Pinckard expressed further concerns about the high and frequent increases in rents and said efforts needed to be made to reduce the rents by at least $100 for the benefit of all mobile home park residents. RECESS Mayor Hollingsworth declared a recess at approximately 8:47 p.m. RECONVENE Mayor Hollingsworth reconvened the council meeting at approximately 9:04 p.m. with all Councilmembers present. Ordinance AMENDING CHAPTER 9.66 (BINGO GAMES) OF THE ROHNERT PARK MJNICIPAL CODE No. 575 TO REPEAL SUBSECTION M OF SECTION 9.66.050 AND ESTABLISHING A POLICY FOR THE CONDUCT OF BINGO AUDITS AND CITY MJNITORING OF COMPLIANCE TO ROHNERT PARK MJNICIPAL CODE CHAPTER 9.66 City Manager Netter explained the ordinance for adoption as reviewed in the Council Meeting Memo. He and City Attorney Flitner responded to Council questions regarding same. Mayor Hollingsworth consented to public comments at this time. Jack Fox, 5540 Daniel Drive, representing the Lions, said both Rohnert Park Host Lions and Rohnert Park El Rancho Lions Clubs support adoption of this bingo ordinance, referred to as the "alternate" ordinance at the previous Council meeting. He reviewed contents of letter from the Lions Club submitted to Council at the previous Council meeting confirming support of this particular bingo ordinance and explaining reasons which were for the benefit of the smaller non- profit bingo operations, as well as listing numerous efforts of the El Rancho Lions Club that are beneficial to the co_ ity. Upon motion by Councilmember Gallagher, seconded by Councilmember Reilly, reading of Ordinance No. 575 was waived and said ordinance was adopted by the following vote: AYES: (4) Councilmembers Eck, Gallagher, Reilly and Mayor Hollingsworth NOES: (1) Councilmember Spiro ABSENT: (0) None For the record, Councilwoman Spiro said she wanted to make her reasons for voting against the ordinance very clear. It was not because she did not approve of the intent, but due to inconsistencies of Council actions and state law pertaining to the definition of gross receipts. Rohnert Park City Council Minutes (13) June 8, 1993 Volunteer Center update: City Manager Netter said two proposals regarding options for a Volunteer Center in Rohnert Park, as reviewed in the Council Meeting Memo, would be presented for Council consideration when ready. Councilwoman Gallagher said she attended the recent meeting regarding these options and wanted to make sure it was clarified that for Rohnert Park to do its own volunteer center would be one of the most expensive routes. Ms. Gallagher said, however, it should be pointed out that the Volunteer Center of Sonoma County, which has satellites in Santa Rosa and Petaluma, cannot come under the authority of any other Board of Directors, therefore, this would be the governing board for any options via the Volunteer Center of Sonoma County. General Plan Update Committee: 1) Staff report on final meeting of General Plan Committee and presen- tation of recommendations - Assistant to the City Manager Leivo reported on the referenced meeting, including comments reviewed in the Council Meeting Memo. He said about two hours into the meeting the General Plan Committee lost its quorum for various reasons including one member leaving because of the way the meeting was being conducted and, therefore, could not take the final action anticipated to accept the draft General Plan update recommendations. Mr. Leivo said City staff is proceeding to make the changes in the draft General Plan Update which were established by the Committee, as well as making the standard typographical and grammatical changes. He said the document will be ready for review in a couple of weeks, afterwhich, staff will need direction from Council regarding where to go from here. Discussion followed during which various Council comments were made related to whether or not this document could be called a thorough General Plan Update. Council agreed it would want to review the document before giving further direction. Mayor Hollingsworth consented to receive public comments at this time. Van Norden Logan, President of Quaker Hill Development Corporation, referenced copies provided to Council of letter dated May 25, 1993 (copy attached to original set of these minutes). He shared contents therein urging Council to continue with the General Plan update in its present form and to proceed with the Planning Commission and City Council hearings regarding the Sphere of Influence and the Specific Plan area. Dave Nbchel, 4405 Hollingsworth Circle, Member of Citizens General Plan Update Committee, said he agreed with the recommendation of the previous speaker to continue with the General Plan update process in order to have the new draft General Plan ready by 1995. He said the current draft was largely due to staff input because the Committee was hamstrung from the beginning and very divisive over the 80 acre annexation issue. He explained that any time the subject came up, the discussions degenerated and he thought the issue was not appropriate to bring up in the context of the long range General Plan. However, in doing so, the General Plan Committee neglected doing as thorough a job as it would have liked to have done. Some of the members considered putting their own input in writing. Mr. Nbchel said, in the end, none of that was reviewed formally by the Committee but he thought the draft was a good start and requested Council to Rohnert Park City Council Minutes (14) June 8, 1993 reconstitute the General Plan Committee in order to enable extensive input for the draft General Plan by 1995. He said the current document should be used as a starting point but urged Council against calling it an update at this point since the Committee never had the opportunity to give their final input to the draft, therefore, it would be premature to refer to document as the update. Barbara Mackenzie, Chairperson /General Plan Advisory Committee, 1536 Gladstone Way, referenced copies provided to Council of her report dated May 19, 1993 regarding final comments on Draft General Plan (copy attached to original set of these minutes). She said she had to make the hard decision to go to Hawaii so missed the fireworks of the final General Plan Committee meeting. She said the whole thing was pretty much of a fiasco and did not have the time to go over all the details at tonight's Council meeting but said most of the Committee felt a thorough review of all the General Plan elements had been accomplished. Ms. Mackenzie said she looked forward, hopefully, to Council reconstituting a General Plan Committee in order that the effort might proceed effectively. She said her heart is toward a green belt around the City and she can see little bits and pieces of that being accomplished. Even though a solid long -term plan is not yet established, Ms. Mackenzie said everyone could still work together to figure out a long term plan for the City. Councilwoman Spiro pointed out that she would like it noted that there was reference made in the above report to a thorough review of all the elements of the General Plan even though it was not as thorough as the General Plan Committee would have liked. She said the previous opinions expressed here tonight pertaining to not calling this a thorough document represents only the minority opinion. Ms. Mackenzie responded that the unfinished portion was strictly referring to the 80 acre annexation issue and the reason she referred to the review of the General Plan as thorough was the Committee looked at all of the elements of the whole plan and, therefore, she considered it an overall review of the whole document. Mayor Hollingsworth, expressed appreciation to General Plan Committee Members for all the time and energy involved for reviewing the General Plan and said he did not think that most people realize the effort that goes into something like this. Councilwoman. Gallagher said she would like to ask, for the benefit of the public, if more copies of the draft General Plan document could be made available to the public. Assistant to the City Manager Leivo responded that copies were made available to the public and will continue to be made available. Interest on Rental Unit Security Deposits City Manager Netter shared comments pertaining to this item which was also continued from the May 25th Council meeting, as reviewed in the Council Meeting Memo. He confirmed citizen input during the public hearing at the previous meeting and said the City is in receipt of additional letters expressing opposition to the proposed ordinance requiring interest on tenant security deposits, specifically from 1. Russ Hoiem, Real Estate Broker, Real Estate Data Services (R.E.D.S.) 2. Sandra Geary, Broker, Hills & Homes Property Management 3. Rodney Busk /Castro Valley, property owner of local rental units Rohnert Park City Council Minutes (15) June 8, 1993 Mayor Hollingsworth asked if there were additional public comments to be made at this time. Solomon S. Condiotti, Vice President of Danco Management, Inc., referenced contents of his letter submitted to Council at the previous meeting expressing opposition to the proposed ordinance and said he wanted to go on record again tonight with comments expressed on the Council speaker card, i.e. that the proposed ordinance will only increase rents. Councilman Eck leaves Councilman Eck left the Chamber at approximately 9:34 p.m. Mayor Hollingsworth reviewed comments he made at the previous Council meeting regarding this matter in that the proposed ordinance to provide for the payment of interest on security deposits would simply be passed on to the tenants, therefore, there could be no advantage to such an ordinance. Councilman Eck returns Councilman Eck returned to the Chamber at approximately 9:37 p.m. City Manager Netter said copies were provided to Council of memorandum from City Attorney dated April 21, 1993 addressing the question raised by W. Ben Friedman regarding the payment of interest on security deposits. City Attorney Flitner reviewed contents of his referenced memorandum and responded to Council questions regarding same concluding that since the matter is not one of direct municipal concern to the city and the enforcement of such a provision should be handled privately and not through city forces. He said the courts do not advise on hypothetical situation but explained that, even if the City did choose to go this route with enforcement, the courts are so overloaded with other cases and too busy taking care of other more important matters, that he did not think such a case would get too much time and consideration in the courts. He said the courts may take it into civil court but it would not be a matter of state law. City Attorney Flitner said in most ordinances, basically, the City tries to lay its responsibility on the line through citation issues and, therefore, softening the language to encourage landlords to pay interest on security deposits would not be a consistent procedure for the City. Discussion followed during which Council expressed differing opinions regarding the various complexities of this matter including costs to landlords for administration, the use of passbook accounts, and other concerns regarding certain wording in the proposed ordinance. Discussion concluded in Mayor's appointment of Councilmembers Eck and Spiro to a Council Committee to review this item with Beth Robertson, Director of Sonoma County Board of Realtors and maybe two more members of same regarding wording possibilities for a compatible ordinance that could provide for the payment of interest on security deposits. Rohnert Park City Council Minutes (16) June 8, 1993 Beth Robertson, 4301 Hatteras Court, Director of Sonoma County Board of Realtors, said she thought there is a little confusion regarding this matter in who can pay what, where, when and how. She said the Department of Real Estate prescribes that we cannot have interest bearing accounts with funds of others. Ms. Robertson responded to Council questions and explained further that maybe an individual landlord who has one property could easily place a security deposit in a passbook account but there would simply be too many accounts to keep track of in the case of most property managements, so the proposed ordinance would only create a cost for necessary bookkeeping and accounting procedures that would be given back to the tenants. Solomon Condiotti, Vice President of Danco Management, Inc., further reviewed the accounting complexities and management requirements for separate trust fund accounts. He signified that the bookkeeping efforts would be too excessive to even consider. Mr. Condiotti responded to Council inquiry that landlords /property managements cannot place any money that does not belong to them into interest bearing accounts under the penalty of a revocable license. He said the proposed ordinance would create a bookkeeping nightmare regardless of what is said by any Councilmembers. Further Council comments concluded in agreement of the need for above appointed Council Committee Members Eck and Spiro to meet with representatives of Sonoma County Board of Realtors, including Director Beth Robertson, for further review of this matter as previously directed by the Mayor. EXTEND COLNCIL MEETING - Council agreed to extend the Council meeting a few minutes in order to complete necessary items and /or defer remaining items listed on tonight's agenda. City Manager Netter responded to Council inquiry that some of the remainder of items listed on tonight's agenda were basically informational of which copies of pertinent materials wxere previously provided to Council. Due to the lateness of the hour, discussion of these items would not be necessary except as signified in these minutes by review or deferral to the next regular City Coiinci 1 memeting on June 22nd, 1993. Purchasing Policy ( cont'd from May 25th meeting) - Possible introduction of an ordinance amending Section 3.04.090 of the Rohnert Park Municipal Code (re. purchasing) - City Manager Netter confirmed to Council inquiry that this item could be deferred to the next regular City Council meeting of June 22nd, 1993. Cable Television (CATV) matters regarding (1) Staff report on Rate Regulation and Consumer Protection Standards with resolution for consideration authorizing submittal of a Local Franchising Authority Certification to the Federal Comtunications Corrmission; and (2) Live broadcasting of City Council meetings (cont'd from May 25 meeting) - City Manager Netter confirmed to Council inquiry that this item could be deferred to the next regular City Council meeting of June 22nd, 1993. Rohnert Park City Council Minutes (17) June 8, 1993 Transportation matters regarding items from Sonoma County Transportation Authority (SCTA) meeting of June 7, 1993 - Copies were provided to Council of the referenced meeting agenda with relative attachments for informa- tional purposes. The SCTA meeting was attended by Councilmember Dave Eck and Director of Public Works /City Engineer Ron Brust. Copies were distributed tonight to Council of said SCTA agenda with signified actions taken at yesterday's meeting for Council's information. ComYunications - ConTnunications per the attached outline were brought to the attention of the City Council. No action was taken unless specifically noted in these minutes. Council Committee reports regarding (1) Channel 22 land sale (Eck /Hollingsworth) and (2) Performing Arts Center (Eck /Spiro) - City Manager Netter confirmed to Council inquiry that these reports could be deferred to the next regular City Council meeting of June 22nd, 1993. City Manager's report: 1) Update on State budget - City Manager Netter signified copies were provided to Council, for informational purposes, of urgent memorandum dated June 4, 1993 from City of Simi Valley regarding State Budget Actions - Sacramento - Support for Governor's Local Government Package. 2) Shopping carts pick up program - City Manager Netter signified copies provided to Council for informational purposes of shopping carts picked up by the Department of Public Works from February 16, 1993 through April 7, 1993. This item would be discussed further at the next Council meeting of June 22, 1993. 3) City employee health benefits -open enrollment period /budget - City Manager Netter reviewed copies provided to Council of staff report dated June 2, 1993 regarding medical health plan insurance open enrollment period. He said staff recommends continuance of the program for fiscal year 1993 -94 of paying the premiums for the REMIF Plan and for the other plans, i.e. Kaiser and Health Plan of the Redwoods (HPR), paying the REMIF premium amount plus 50% of the difference between the REMIF premium and HPR or Kaiser. This has been the program in the past. Upon motion by Councilmember Spiro, seconded by Councilmember Reilly, continuance of the City's medical health plan insurance program was unanimously approved as recommended by staff. City Attorney's report: 1) Executive session /goals & policies ( cont'd from May 25th meeting) - City Attorney Flitner signified this item could be deferred to the next regular Council meeting on June 22, 1993. 2) Greenwood Addition Homeowners Association (cont'd from May 25th mtg.) City Attorney Flitner referenced copies provided to Council of State of California Court of Appeals certified publication regarding this and reviewed contents therein explaining that the case involved an annexation application. He said even though it appears options were worked out in the scenario and he did not think the case was on appeal but, if it is on appeal, Council may want to consider joining an amicus because of the annexation issue. Rohnert Park City Council Minutes (18) June 8, 1993 Matters from/for Council: 1) Cities /School District Communications Committee to meet at 7:00 p.m. on Monday, June 14th - location to be determined (Gallagher /Spiro) - City Manager Netter confirmed the scheduling of this meeting. 2) Mayors & Councilmembers Executive Meeting on Thursday, June 10th including appointments of two representatives to the County Agricultural and Open Space District, and appointment of a representative and an alternate to ABAG's Executive Board for cities in Sonoma County - City Manager Netter confirmed scheduling of this meeting. Councilmember Eck acknowledged that he was up for reappointment and requested a letter of recommendation over the Mayor's signature. Mayor agreed. Councilmember Gallagher pointed out that Jim Pedgrift had already been asked to fill one of the appointments. 3) League of California Cities "Mayors & Councilmenlers Executive Forum" July 21 - 23, 1993, Monterey (Team Building Workshop) - City Manager Netter confirmed scheduling of this workshop. Mayor Hollingsworth said, in light of budget constraints, he would not be attending this workshop. Councilwoman Spiro said she would not be attending either. The Mayor said Councilmembers should advise City Manager accordingly of any interest to attend this workshop. Uischeduled Public Mayor Hollingsworth asked if anyone in the audience wished to make an Appearances appearance at this time. No one responded. Adjournment Mayor Hollingsworth adjourned the meeting at approximately 10:12 p.m. to 8:00 a.m. on Monday, June 14th, 1993, for a 1993 -94 City Budget work session. e AY De � Ci t 1 ef'k r r i jh 4 Mayor - -- Joseph Netter�('l May 19, 1993 Y q-- 6 - a TO MEMSSRS OF THE CITY COUNCIL, PLANNING COMMISSION AND GENERAL PLAN ADVISORY COMMITTEE FROM: BARBARA MACKENZIE, CHAIR, GENERAL PLAN ADVISORY COMMITTES Rat FSNAL COMMENTS ON DRAFT GENERAL PLAN I am sorry to have to miss the final, and undoubtedly spirited, meeting of the General Plan Advisory COMMittee. After speaking with Carl LOLVO, I am putting fly final thoughts on paper for your consideration. yirot of all, I think this entire General Plan update has been an exercise in poor planning. Although we, as a committee, were instructed to do a "thorough" ueneral Plan update as required by the 1990 General Plan prior to any annexation, the obvious reason for existence of our committee was just to most this requirement and allow the annexation to proceed. There can be no serious consideration of a city's entire General Plain, with a view to truly longterm planning, in the few months we had to work with. I think the primary goal of a long -tern plan should be PERMANENT URBAN BOUNDARIES, which should be carefully considered after input from all residents, and clearly established in a twenty year plan for the city's growth. We would all then know where we are going, and these kinds of reactionary planning episodes will never again be nooded. we need consensus in our community, not further divisiveness, and a long tern plan with URBAN GROWTH BOUNDARIES can do much to further this goal. With respect to our current draft General Flan, I would like to make the following comments: 1) Any and all references to specific plan areas outside our current City limits SHOULD BB DZLBTED. This includes maps and language. In 1990, we pulled in our sphere of influence to match (with two exceptions) our city limits. No planning references should be made to ANY areas outside our city limits until the above - referenced LONG TERM PLAN is completed. 2) Page 123, Open Space, goal #2, should ;ead: "Discourage conversion of open space and agricultural lands to urban uses and actively plan for a permanent greenbelt around the city." 3) Page 150, Conservation, add a goals "Zapand and, enhance the bike /pedestrian route system to encourage alternate modes of transportation." 4) Housing Element, add language re: Vacant commercial land near the civic center could be resoned and used for higher density housing, since it is near transportation and shopping. Several editing /grammatical problems too numerous and minor to mention are still our draft. It anyone wants my input on these general clean -up issues, please let me know. I appreciate the opportunity to have served on this ccmmtitt ®e, oral look forward to the reconstitution of a General Plan Commmittoo in the future which will truly be able to do the job as it should be done. QUAKER HILL DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION POST OFFICE BOX 2240 • HEALDSBURG, CALIFORNIA Mr. Joseph Netter, City Manager City of Rohnert Park 6750 Commerce Blvd. Rohnert Park, CA 94928 Re: Correspondence to the City Council Dear Joe, CRY 2 � 199 CITY OF ROHN�RT 3 _ PgRK 95448 `` - I 6 - .2-43�A May 25, 1993 About two months ago, we wrote a letter to the City Council regarding the General Plan update. We requested that you hold the letter until the meeting at which the City Council will consider the Citizen's Committee Draft of the General Plan. It appears that this consideration will be at the meeting of June 8. Since it has been some time since the letter was written, I have revised it so that it is more current. I would appreciate your substituting the enclosed revised letter for the one I originally sent to the Council. Thanks very much. VNL /pj enclosure g:AvopAjnetter.lt2 Very `truly yours, C /G--- Van Norden Logan TELEPHONE: (707) 431 -1780 FACSIMILE: (707) 431-9577 OFFICES LOCATED AT 349 HEALDSBURG AVENUE, HEALDSBURG, CALIFORNIA 95448 QUAKER HILL DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION LOST OFFICE BOX 2240 City Council City of Rohnert Park 6750 Commerce Blvd. Rohnert Park, CA 94928 HEALDSBURG, CALIFORNIA 95448 May 25, 1993 Over the past year Rohnert Park has been going through the procedure of updating its General Plan. This process was initially focused on the Rogers - Condiotti proposal, however, the charge by the City Council to the Citizens Committee went far beyond that. The Committee did indeed study the Rogers- Condiotti proposal but also it studied the future size of the City, its Sphere of Influence, and the rate at which the City might grow. We believe it would be a terrible waste of money and the time of all of the citizens of Rohnert Park who spent many long hours deliberating these issues if the City Council decided only to "clean up" the housing element and the other issues within its current City Limits. If the process were to be started again even within two months, the public input meetings, citizens committees and hours of staff time would all be duplicated. We urge the City Council to continue with the General Plan update in its present form and to proceed with the Planning Commission and City Council hearings regarding the Sphere of Influence and the Specific Plan areas. On a separate issue, we have been following the progress of Santa Rosa's wastewater disposal proposals and believe that Rohnert Park has an opportunity to benefit from them. All of the proposed solutions include the irrigation of Rohnert Park's schools and parks and the irrigation of Sonoma State University's playfields with an urban reuse water line. In addition, all of the solutions have included what Santa Rosa calls the VOP reservoir. That reservoir is located on the portion of our Vast Oak Property land which is east of Petaluma Hill Road. The urban irrigation project is moving ahead and the reuse line is expected to be built in 1994. The reservoir site will require a more thorough environmental study and will be included in the Environmental Impact Report for which "Request for Proposals" have been sent out by Santa Rosa. This EIR will be written during 1993 and 1994. Certification is expected in early 1995 and along with that will be a selection of the ultimate regional wastewater project to be built. Unless some environmental constraint shows up, the VOP reservoir will be a part of that project. TELEPHONE: (707) 431 -1780 FACSIMILE: (707) 431 -9577 OFFICES LOCATED AT 149 HEALDSBURG AVENUE, HEALDSBURG, CALIFORNIA 95448 The 126 acres of VOP land on the east side of Petaluma Hill Road includes the reservoir site, a proposed pedestrian and bicycle connection from Petaluma Hill Road to Crane Creek Regional Park and in addition is a potential agricultural irrigation area. One landowner on the east side of Petaluma Hill Road has already signed a letter of intent with the City of Santa Rosa to accept wastewater on at least 120 acres of his land for a minimum period of 20 years. We have indications that several hundred more adjacent acres will soon be similarly committed. In order to irrigate this land, a reservoir must be built. A reservoir would also make the Rohnert Park wastewater project much more efficient. If this project were to become a reality, a genuine urban separator on the east side of Petaluma Hill Road would be created. We understand that the City has a commitment in its General Plan not to annex any more land for development until 1995 and also not until there is adequate sewer capacity for additional development. This 1995 date coincides with Santa Rosa's date for a decision on the ultimate disposal plan and for the initial operation of the wastewater irrigation of parks and schools in Rohnert Park and on the Sonoma State University campus. The conventional governmental procedure which must precede the annexation of land is at least a two year process. If land were to be available for annexation in 1995, Rohnert Park must expand its Sphere of Influence, establish Specific Plan areas, prepare and approve Specific Plans and certify Environmental Impact Reports for those plans. Only then may any annexation take place. Rohnert Park is in a unique position to take charge of its future now and to pursue an opportunity created by Santa Rosa's wastewater disposal dilemma. We do recognize that if the City continues the General and Specific Plan process, there is no guarantee that the VOP land west of Petaluma Hill Road will be designated for development. However, if the City delays the General Plan process now, it may be much more costly to update and the City may not be in a position to take advantage of opportunities which could benefit the community and the citizens of Rohnert Park in the future. VNL /pJ 9: \v0p\rpsrwast.1t2 Very truly yours, a- Van Norden Logan President 2 QUAKER HILL DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION