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2004 04 12 CCeoio 4 441ha City Council Agendas are Available on the City's Web Page @ www.la-quinta.org CITY COUNCIL AGENDA CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS 78-495 Calle Tampico La Quinta, California 92253 ADJOURNED MEETING Monday, April 12, 2004 - 6:00 P.M. Beginning Resolution No. 2004-49 Ordinance No. 406 CALL TO ORDER Roll Call: Council Members: Henderson, Osborne, Perkins, Sniff, and Mayor Adolph CLOSED SESSION - NONE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE PUBLIC COMMENT At this time members of the public may address the City Council on items that are not listed on the agenda. Please complete a "request to speak" form and limit your comments to three minutes. City Council Agenda 1 April 12, 2004 When you are called to speak, please come forward and state your name for the record. Please watch the timing device on the podium. For all matters on the agenda, a completed "request to speak" form should be filed with the City Clerk prior to the City Council beginning consideration of that item. CONFIRMATION OF AGENDA PRESENTATIONS - NONE WRITTEN CORRESPONDENCE - NONE APPROVAL OF MINUTES - NONE CONSENT CALENDAR - NONE NOTE: Consent Calendar items are considered to be routine in nature and will be approved by one motion. BUSINESS SESSION 1. CONSIDERATION OF A LETTER TO ASSEMBLYMAN JOHN J. BENOIT SUPPORTING AB-2782. THE PROPOSED BILL AUTHORIZES A MEMBER OF A PUBLIC AGENCY WHO IS THE APPOINTEE OF THAT AGENCY TO A JOINT POWERS AGENCY TO DISCLOSE INFORMATION OBTAINED IN A CLOSED SESSION OF THE JOINT POWERS AGENCY, TO OTHER MEMBERS OF THE LEGISLATIVE BODY OF THE LOCAL AGENCY IN A CLOSED SESSION OF THAT BODY. STUDY SESSION 1. DISCUSSION REGARDING DRAFT FISCAL YEAR 2004-2005 CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM. 2. DISCUSSION REGARDING DRAFT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PLAN. City Council Agenda 2 April 12, 2004 MAYOR'S AND COUNCIL MEMBERS' ITEMS - NONE ADJOURNMENT Adjourn to a regularly scheduled meeting of the City Council to be held on April 20, 2004 commencing with closed session at 2:00 p.m. and open session at 3:00 p.m. in the City Council Chambers, 78-495 Calle Tampico, La Quinta, CA 92253. DECLARATION OF POSTING I, June S. Greek, City Clerk of the City of La Quinta, do hereby declare that the foregoing agenda for the La Quinta City Council meeting of Monday, April 12, 2004, was posted on the outside entry to the Council Chamber, 78-495 Calle Tampico and on the bulletin board at the La Quinta Chamber of Commerce and at Stater Bros. 78-630 Highway 111, on Thursday, April 8, 2004. DATED: April 8, 2004 JUNE S. GREEK, CIVIC, City Clerk City of La Quinta, California Public Notices The La Quinta City Council Chamber is handicapped accessible. If special equipment is needed for the hearing impaired, please call the City Clerk's Office at 777- 7025, twenty-four (24) hours in advance of the meeting and accommodations will be made. If special electronic equipment is needed to make presentations to the City Council, arrangement should be made in advance by contacting the City Clerk's Office at 777- 7025. A one (1) week notice is required. If background material is to be presented to the City Council during a City Council meeting, please be advised that eight (8) copies of all documents, exhibits, etc., must be supplied to the City Clerk for distribution. It is requested that this take place prior to the beginning of the 6:00 meeting. City Council Agenda 3 April 12, 2004 COUNCIL/RDA MEETING DATE: April 12, 2004 ITEM TITLE: Consideration of Letter Supporting Assembly Bill 2782 RECOMMENDATION: AGENDA CATEGORY: BUSINESS SESSION: CONSENT CALENDAR: STUDY SESSION: PUBLIC HEARING: Authorize the Mayor to execute letter on behalf of the City of La Quinta in support of Assembly Bill 2782 ("AB 2782"). FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: None. CHARTER CITY IMPLICATIONS: None. BACKGROUND AND OVERVIEW: The City of Indian Wells has requested that the City of La Quinta declare its support for AB 2782. AB 2782 was introduced on February 20, 2004, by Assembly Member Benoit. A copy of AB 2782 as introduced is provided as Attachment 1. The bill has been proposed as a legislative response to a recent Opinion issued by the Office of the California Attorney General. The City Attorney prepared a memorandum for the City Council to report on the Attorney General Opinion which concluded that a member of a city council or county board of supervisors appointed to sit as that body's representative on a board of a joint powers agency ("JPA"), such as the Coachella Valley Association of Governments, could not disclose to his or her appointing authority or its attorney any information received during a closed session of the board. A copy of the City Attorney memorandum is provided as Attachment 2. The Attorney General noted that under both the Bagley -Keene Open Meeting Act and the Ralph M. Brown Act, closed sessions may only be attended by those persons that play an official or essential role in the proceedings. The Attorney General found that the person appointed by a legislative body of a local entity to the JPA, as apposed to the appointing authority itself or its attorney, is the member of the JPA board and is therefore the party that plays the official role in the proceedings. The Attorney General then opined that the appointing authority or its attorney is not entitled to receive information disclosed during closed sessions of the JPA. AB 2782 provides that a JPA can modify its joint powers agreement to prescribe that a member of the legislative body of a JPA, or the member's designee, may disclose information received during the JPA's closed session to the other members of the legislative body of the local agency during a closed session of that local agency. The City of Indian Wells is requesting that the City of La Quinta support this legislation. The letter received from Indian Wells is Attachment 3. Staff recommendation is that the City Council authorize the Mayor to execute the letter on behalf of the City of La Quinta declaring the City's support of AB 2782. FINDINGS AND ALTERNATIVES: The alternatives available to the City Council include: 1. Authorize the Mayor to execute a letter on behalf of the City of La Quinta in support of AB 2782; or 2. Do not authorize the Mayor to execute a letter on behalf of the City of La Quinta in support of AB 2782; or 3. Provide staff with alternative direction. Respectfully submitted, M. Katherine Jenson74 City Attorney 2 Y Approved for submission by: Thomas P. Genovese, City Manager Attachments: 1. Copy of AB 2782 as introduced on February 20, 2004 2. Copy of City Attorney's Memorandum on California Attorney General Opinion 3. Letter from Indian Wells KI A I- AB 2782 Assembly Bill - INTRODUCED ATUCHMM i BILL NUMBER: AB 2782 INTRODUCED BILL TEXT INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Benoit FEBRUARY 20, 2004 An act to add Section 54957.11 to the Government Code, relating to public agencies. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 2782, as introduced,'Benoit. Public agencies: joint powers agencies: meetings. Existing law authorizes two or more public agencies, if authorized by their legislative bodies, to enter an agreement to jointly exercise any power common to the two.agencies. The Ralph M. Brown Act requires that meetings of the legislative body of a local agency be open and public, with specified exceptions authorizing closed sessions for specified purposes. This bill would provide that, notwithstanding any other provision of law, a joint powers agency may include -in its joint powers agreement provisions that authorize (1) any member of the legislative body of the joint powers agency who is also a member of the legislative body of one of the local agencies comprising the joint powers agency to disclose information obtained in a'closed session of the joint powers agency to -other members of -the legislative body of. the local agency in a closed session of that body, or (2) any designated alternate member of the joint powers agency to attend closed sessions of the agency. Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State -mandated local program: no. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 54957.11 is added to the Government Code, to read: 54957.11. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a joint powers agency may include in its joint powers agreement provisions that authorize either or both of the following: (a) Any member of the legislative body.of the joint powers agency who is also a member of the legislative body of one of the local agencies comprising the joint powers agency to disclose information obtained in a closed session of the joint powers agency to other members of the legislative body of the local agency in a closed session of that body. (b) Any designated alternate member of the joint powers agency to attend closed sessions of the joint powers agency. hq://info.sen.ca.gov/pub/bill/asm/ab-2751-2800/ab-2782- bill 20040220 introduced.html 3/22/2004 ATTACffiKEN'T Q MEMORANDUM TO: The Honorable Mayor and Members of the La Quinta City Council FROM: M. Katherine Jenson, City Attorney DATE: January 13, 2004 RE. Office of Attorney General Opinion Concerning the Coachella Valley Mountains • Conservancy 1. INTRODUCTION 11110II) On December 29, 2003, the Office of the Attorney General issued pan opinion (" Op The Conservanc o 03 604 ) involving the Coachella Valley Mountains Conservancy ( , • • Y )• (N • 03- 0 natural Conservancy is a state commission responsible for land acquisition and protection «Board" is resources in and around the Coachella Valley. The Conservancy's governing i Coachella made u of 21 members. The 21 members include appointees from each of seven Valle p ties (including the City of La Quinta) in addition to, among others, heads of spec ified y state departments. The Conservancy Board meetings are subject to the provisions of the Bagley -Keene Open Act. Similar to the Brown Act, the Bagley -Keene Open Meeting Act requires that all Meeting s be o n to the public except under limited circumstances (e.g., discussion of pending meeting pe litigation) when closed sessions are allowed. II,OUESTIONS PRESENTED BY OP ---ON 1. Y Ma a member of a city council or county board of supervisors appointed to sit as that body's representative on the Board disclose to his or her appointing authority or its attorney information received in a closed session of the Board? Y 2. May a director of a state department who has designated an executive staff member to sit as a member of the Board in his or her place disclose to other department employees or the department attorney information received in the closed session. (W 975ro15610-MIS 465946.02 01/13/04 The Honorable Mayor and Members of the La Quinta City Council January 13, 2004 Page 2 in. ANALYSIS A. City Council Appointee The Attorney General began the Opinion by noting that the city council and county board of supervisors are not themselves participating members of the Board. Rather, the person appointed by the city council or county board is the Board member who has the right to vote independently ed from his or her appointing authority (e.g., city council). Under the law, clos sessions can only be attended by those with an official or essential role to play inthe i proceedings. Thus, the Attorney General opined that because the appointing authority s not a "member" of the Conservancy Board, it has no standing to attend, participate in, or otherwise be involved in the Board's closed sessions. Moreover, the Attorney General noted that neither the Ralph M. Brown Act nor the Public Resources Code provide that the appointing authority has any role in the Boards closed sessions or that information received during the Board's closed sessions are appropriate for discussion during the appointing authority's own closed session meetings. Applying this same reasoning, the Attorney General similarly opined that the appointed representative has no authority to discuss information received during a Board's closed session with the city or county attorneys for his or her appointing authority. In short, the Attorney General opined that an appointed member of a city council or county board of supervisors may not disclose information learned during a Boards ,closed session with either his or her appointing authority or the attorney for the appointing authority. B. State Department Designee Based on the same analysis as for city and county appointees, the Attorney General also. found that a designee of a state department is also proscribed under the law from disclosing information received during closed session to other state department employees and department attorneys. Importantly, however, the Attorney General noted that a designee may share the information with his or her principal. Thus, for example, where the Director of Fish and Gam designates a member of his or her executive staff to attend Board meetings on his or her behalf, as is allowed by Public Resources Code section 33503(b), the designee may share the information received during the closed session with the Director. Under Public Resources Code section 33503(c), this same rule applies to an alternate member designated by an appointed member of a city council to attend a Board meeting. 'r) 6 975rois610-MI5 $ 2 465946.02 A01/13/04 The Honorable Mayor and Members of the La Quinta City Council January 13, 2004 Page 3 C. Application of opinion to Joint Powers Authorities While the Opinion does not specifically address whether these same rules with respect to (such disclosure of information received during closed session apply to joint powers authorities in most cases the as the Coachella Valley Association of Governments) ("JPA"), it appears thatappointed member to would govern. In an earlier opinion, the Attorney General opined that an the governing board of a JPA may cast a vote on a matter before the JPA that is inconsistent with the position taken by the appointing authority. (83 Ops.Cal.Atty.Gen. 267 (2000).) In that opinion, the Attorney General also recognized that JPAs,.like the Conservancy, constitute separate legal entities. (Gov. Code §§ 6503.5, 6507.) Thus, it appears that if a JPA is set up so that each of its members appoints one person to serve on the JPA's governing board, the appointing authority would not itself be considered a "member" of the JPA Board and the appointed person would not therefore be authorized to discuss information received during n closed session of the JPA with his or her appointing authority. That being said, the Attorney General -has also suggested that a JPA agreement may be written to require approval from each appointing authority, rather than just the appointee from the authority, prior to making any (or only selective) decisions of the JPA official. (83 OP s.Cal.Atty.Gen. 268 (2000).) If the JPA agreement is so drafted, because the appointed authority's approval would be required, it appears as if the appointee would be authorized to discuss information received during closed sessions with the appointing authority because the appointing authority would in that case be considered an essential party to the matters discussed during the JPA's closed sessions. Should you have any questions regarding this memorandum, please feel free to contact me at (714) 641-3413. �gf 975/015610-0015 3 46"46.02 aOl/13/04 INDIAN t WELLS C A L I F 0 R N I A March 22, 2004 Mayor Don Adolph City. of La Quinta 78-495 Calle Tampico La Quinta, CA 92253 Dear Mayor Adolph: Last year a mutual concern that we all shared was the inability to obtain sufficient information to understand the issues facing SunUne Our representatives were prohibited by law from sharing confidential closed session IPA information to their fellow council members. Indian Wells has been working with Assemblyman John Benoit on this problem. He has introduced AB 2782 which will resolve the problems we have in providing good governance of the JPAs that we created to solve- mutual problems. We encourage your city to send a letter of support to John J. Benoit at the State Assembly, State Capitol, Capitol Office, Room 4144, Sacramento, CA 94249-0064, (916) 319-2064 and facsimile (916) 319-2164. For your convenience we have drafted a support letter that you may use. We have also enclosed a copy of the bill. Please call me if you have any questions. Sincerely, Mary T. Roche Mayor 44-950 Eldorado Drive • Indian Wells - California 92210-7497 - V (760) 346-2489 • F (760) 346-0407 - www.IndianWells=City.org f The Honorable John J. Benoit The State Assembly, State Capitol Capitol Office, Room 4144 Sacramento, CA 94249-0064 RE: AB 2782 Dear Mr. Benoit: Mine Coachella Valley cities and the County of Riverside formed the Sunune Transit joint powers agency ("JPA") to provide public transportation services to over 255,000 citizens. Later a related joint powers agency was created to provide taxicab regulation, PM10 dust mitigation and street sweeping: Although each city and the county appoints a representative to Sunune governing board, last year we discovered a serious problem in our ability to receive and discuss the important public issues involving this JPA. Last year a series of newspaper reports revealed problems that called into question whether these two JPAs would be able to continue providing the important public services they were formed to deliver.. The reported Sunune troubles included submitting false documents to receive State and Federal grants, financial shortfalls .covered. by illegal transfers, conflict of interest allegations involving the Sunune general manager, threats of lawsuits from taxi cab owners, contract violations and audit. irregularities. The two top Sunune officials, the general manager and the chief financial officer, were placed on administrative leave pending investigation. Transit funding was frozen pending a separate independent audit by the Riverside Transportation Commission. - The problem we faced was that the only information available to public officials was news reports. The JPA board members were advised disclosure of information to any other public official was a violation of the law. We have been frustrated and impeded in our obligation to adequately supervise and direct the joint powers agencies we have created. AB 2782 is needed to correct an improper restriction on the information elected officials require to provide good governance. Sincerely, COUNCIL/RDA MEETING DATE: April 12, 2 D04 ITEM TITLE. Discussion of Draft Fiscal YI'ear 2004/2005 Capital Improvement Program RECOMMENDATION: As deemed appropriate by the City Council. FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: None. CHARTER CITY IMPLICATIONS: None. BACKGROUND AND OVERVIEW: AGENDA CATEGORY: BUSINESS SESSION: CONSENT CALENDAR: STUDY SESSION: PUBLIC HEARING: The City Council continued Study Sessions one (1) and two (2) from the meeting of April 6, 2004. Staff report for discussion of the draft 2004/2005 Capital Improvement Plan was transmitted with the City Council agenda packet for that date. Respectfully submitted, Ju6�S. dreek,- Approved for submission by: Thomas P. Genovese, City Manager 2 4 � 5 OF T�9� COUNCIL/RDA MEETING DATE: April 12, 2004 ITEM TITLE: Discussion regarding Draft Economic Development Program. RECOMMENDATION: As deemed appropriate by the City Council. FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: None. CHARTER CITY IMPLICATIONS: None. BACKGROUND AND OVERVIEW: AGENDA CATEGORY: BUSINESS SESSION: CONSENT CALENDAR: STUDY SESSION: j9r.4 PUBLIC HEARING: The City Council continued Study Sessions one (1) and two (2) from the meeting of April 6, 2004. Staff report for discussion of the draft Economic Development Plan was transmitted with the City Council agenda packet for that date. Respectfully submitted, Ju Greek, City Clerk Approved for submission by: Thomas P. Genovese, City Manager 2 INCOOORATEDOn �'� OF f1�ti� NOTICE OF ADJOURNMENT Notice is hereby given that the City of La Quinta City Council at the meeting of April 6, 2004, adjourned said meeting to be held on Monday, April 12, 2004 at the hour of 6:00 PM to be held in the City Council Chambers located at the La Quinta Civic Center, 78-495 Calle Tampico, La Quinta, California 92253. Said continuance was passed by the following vote: AYES: Henderson, Osborne, Perkins, Sniff and Mayor Adolph NOES: None ABSTAIN: None Date DUNE S. GREEK, ity dlerk