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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04/24/2001 - Study SessionA CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH City Council Minutes Study Session April 24, 2001- 4:05 p.m. ROLL CALL Present: Heffernan, O'Neil, Ridgeway, Glover, Bromberg, Proctor, Mayor Adams Absent: None CURRENT BUSINESS 1. CLARIFICATION OF ITEMS ON THE CONSENT CALENDAR. Regarding Item 5 (Animal Shelter Contract Renewal), City Manager Bludau explained for Mayor Adams that the City will submit a claim to the State for the cost of any mandates that are placed on the City's animal control due to State legislature. Captain Henisey stated that the claim could be a significant amount, but is dependent on the State and how much they recognize as being part of their mandated legislature. He added that a substantial portion is for spay /neuter costs which are included in Senate Bill 1785 and could exceed $10,000 a year. In response to Council Member Proctor's questions, Captain Henisey reported that the shelter exceeded State minimum operating hours even before the passage of SB 1785. However, due to the passage of SB 1785, it was necessary to identify what times the animal shelter would be open since Dr. Bauersfeld of Dover Shores Pet Care Center has the veterinary facility open longer than the shelter. He indicated that the City wants to ensure that the shelter hours coincide with Dr. Bauersfeld's hours and that there would be staffing available to respond to public questions. He reported that the primary cost increases are due to the shelter providing a Shelter Coordinator that is specifically designated for the City and to spay /neuter all animals that are adopted from the shelter. In response to Council questions regarding Item 14 (Cooperative Agreement with Hoag Hospital), Public Works Director Webb stated that the cost estimate for the improvements was initially about $175,000. He clarified that the City will not be providing any out -of- pocket money since $200,000 will be coming from the bond deal and the balance will be coming out of the hospital's Fair Share Fees. He reported that there are a series of projects that could be done with the $200,000; however, the proposed improvement will provide additional capacity at the intersection to accommodate the increase in traffic at the hospital area. He indicated that, to the best of his knowledge, no one has come forward with other projects that would provide the same benefit to the area. He confirmed that the previous Council confirmed the $200,000 bond deal. City Manager Bludau added that Council, as the City's financing agency, can sell bonds in a non - profit status. He reported that the hospital requested that Council sell the bonds for them Volume 54 - Page 208 INDEX City of Newport Beach Study Session Minutes April 24, 2001 and that the City's fee to do this was $200,000. He indicated that the fee has historically been used to purchase safety equipment for the Fire Department and that the proposed improvement has been on the City's plan for a number of years since the right -hand turn lane was needed. Council Member Glover asked if there was a way to enter into an agreement which gives the City's citizens priority for emergency room services since the City assisted the hospital with its bonds. She expressed the opinion that this should be a future agenda item, especially because of the impact the hospital will have on Newport Heights and Cliff Haven. In response to Mayor Adams' questions regarding Item 15 (Lower Newport Bay Eelgrass Restoration Project), Harbor Resources Division Manager Melum reported that the Project Cooperation Agreement is in its final form and the Safe Harbor Agreement is out to the Department of Fish and Game, National Marine Fisheries, and State Fish and Wildlife who currently agree to it in principal. Mr. Melum stated that, even though there is a time concern with regard to getting the Federal government started on the project, the final Safe Harbor Agreement could still be brought back to Council for review. Mayor Adams requested that this language be added to the recommendation without pulling the item tonight. Council Member Proctor announced that he will be requesting that Item 17 (EQAC Appointments) be continued to the next meeting; Council Member Bromberg announced that he will be pulling Item 3 (EDC Accomplishments); and Mr. Bludau announced that staff will be requesting that Items 3 and 10 (Balboa Village Project Update and Contract Amendment) be continued. 2. HOAG HOSPITAL PRESENTATION. City Manager Bludau stated that this item is before Council today because there was discussion at the last Council meeting about this by a member of the public. He stated that he requested that Hoag Hospital provide Council with a presentation about their long -range expansion plans and what it would do to accommodate a larger segment of the region. Peter Foulke, Hoag Hospital Executive Vice President, utilized a PowerPoint presentation to outline the current projects. He indicated that, following the 1994 Northridge earthquake, new seismic standards were established and reported that Senate Bill 1953 requires all California hospitals to bring their buildings up to code by 2008 and meet a higher standard by 2030. He reported that seismic rules encourage that buildings be box - shaped; however, they did take the local elements, such as views and buffer zones, into consideration. He added that all columns will be built on base - isolators so that they slide and absorb the shock and ground movement that would otherwise go through the building. He indicated that, in 1993, the 25 -year development agreement with the City was approved which allows the hospital a certain number of square feet, and establishes height limitations, floor area ratios, and setbacks. Mr. Foulke reviewed the current construction plans which include the cafe building and the women's pavilion which will house a lab, women's out- Volume 54 - Page 209 INDEX No report. City of Newport Beach Study Session Minutes April 24, 2001 INDEX patient services, ambulatory procedure center, nursing and short -stay unit, labor delivery, neonatal and postpartum unit, postpartum and nursery unit, and a mechanical floor. He stated that patient care is their first priority and that the proposed design involved a lot of input from various sources. He indicated that the City did not review this plan since the State reviews all patient -care projects. He stated that, although the new building is eight - stories tall it is close in height to the existing 10 -story building because of the floor -to- ceiling ratio. He confirmed that the net patient bed count will be increased by 80 beds and emphasized that, although the building encompasses a lot of square feet, it is absorbing other hospital services through expansion or building replacements. Mr. Foulke stated that current plans do not expand the emergency room since it was doubled a few years ago and confirmed that they sometimes do not have a place to put patients once they arrive at the emergency room because all the beds full. He indicated that the extra 80 beds will help with this problem. He also reported that they are considering constructing a generation plant to create enough electricity to support the hospital during the energy crisis and confirmed that the hospital is exempt from rolling blackouts but may lose its current interruptible source rating. Mr. Foulke confirmed for Council Member Proctor that the construction equipment at the corner of Coast Highway and Superior does not belong to Hoag Hospital. Public Works Director Webb added that this storage yard is leased by CalTrans to Arizona Pipeline who is the contractor for the undergrounding on Little Balboa Island. Mr. Foulke emphasized that the hospital cannot legally give emergency service priority to anyone since they are a community service. He explained that closing the emergency room actually means that paramedic runs are diverted to another hospital and noted that ambulance deliveries are only a small percentage of how people get to the emergency room. He indicated that diversion helps balance resources and critical care beds in the area. Dolores Otting, Newport Beach resident, asked where the ambulances go when Hoag is closed. She stated that, when people are diverted to other hospitals, their doctors do not follow them and emphasized that people want to go where their doctor knows their history. Regarding Item 14 (Hoag Hospital Cooperative Agreement), she asked about the City's level of indebtedness and if other cities are giving bonds to Hoag Hospital. Fire Chief Riley stated that emergency room diversion is not unique to Hoag Hospital or the City, and is a national problem. He reported that he and Emergency Services Manager Cleary met today with the President of Hoag, the Head of Nursing, and the Medical Director to express how this impacts the City's Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and its ability to provide a level of care. He added that they also discussed looking at opportunities to aggressively treat and release in the field, or refer patients to alternate locations. He emphasized that, when they have to travel away from the City, they are out of service for a longer period of time which limits their availability for other calls. He emphasized that the City does have a quality EMS program that is allowed to stabilize patients in the field and take people to other hospitals when Hoag is closed due to diversion. He pointed Volume 54 - Page 210 City of Newport Beach Study Session Minutes April 24, 2001 out that people are only diverted if they are well enough to go to another hospital, otherwise they will go to the closest hospital regardless of their diversion status. He stated that the Orange County Emergency Medical Services Agency is collecting data about the times that diversions occur, which hospitals are being diverted, and what the potential impacts will be to the area. He indicated that, once research is completed, they will be coming back to Council with a report. He clarified that, once someone walks across the threshold of an emergency room door, they cannot be turned away. He emphasized that diversion is strictly for ambulance- transported patients and stated that the policy for diversion is that the ambulance will go to the closest receiving center that is capable of handling the patient and is open for business. Mr. Foulke added that a receiving hospital would most likely say that Hoag is "dumping" a patient if the emergency room provided a patient who just did not want to wait in the emergency room any longer with information on which alternate location was open. He indicated that State anti - dumping legislation imposes severe penalties and that the law was designed to protect receiving hospitals from getting a patient who cannot pay its bill. 3. PROPOSED NATIONAL FIRE PROTECTION ASSOCIATION (NFPA) STANDARD 1710 - STANDARD ON ORGANIZATION AND DEPLOYMENT FOR CAREER FIRE DEPARTMENTS. Fire Chief Riley reported that the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) was founded to propagate safe fire practices based on scientific research and establishes training and education programs based on the research. Further, they have produced over 300 codes and standards that are accepted Statewide. He pointed out that NFPA 1720 deals with volunteer fire departments versus NFPA 1710 which deals with career fire departments. He questioned why there would be different standards regardless if it was a volunteer fire department. He reviewed the process that the standards have undergone and reported that members of the NFPA will be voting on the draft at its May 16 annual meeting. He stated that the vote is an advisory vote and that the Standards Council, who is appointed by the NFPA Board of Directors, will make a final determination on whether the standards should be adopted, rejected, or amended. Chief Riley reported that NFPA 1710 suggests that fire engines and fire trucks have a minimum staffing of no less than four people per engine but can go as high as five or six based on the types of hazards in the community. He indicated that the City currently has a minimum staffing of three people per fire engine and four per fire truck. He added that they also utilize the fourth person from each of the fire trucks to create a third transport unit. Regarding the requirement that a minimum of two Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT) be on a basic life support unit, he reported that all of the City's fire engines and trucks are considered basic life support units and all personnel on the units are EMT trained. He stated that the City already meets the third NFPA 1710 standard which requires two paramedics on each advanced life support unit. Further, the requirement to have a rapid intervention team which supports and rescues individuals who interiorly attack afire at all incidents is currently the City's practice. He reported that NFPA 1710 requires a travel response time of four minutes for the first Volume 54 - Page 211 INDEX NFPA Standard 1710 (41) i City of Newport Beach Study Session Minutes April 24, 2001 INDEX arriving fire unit or EMT, and eight minutes for the arrival of all necessary personnel to contain a fire. He indicated that they do not currently have statistics that show that the City has this type of response time, but the City does have a goal to meet the four minute travel time for basic emergency medical service. Chief Riley noted that one of the principal items on the next budget is to upgrade the data system which tracks response times. Regarding the requirement that the City have the capability to establish instant command, water supply, attack lines, back -up lines, search and rescue teams, ventilation teams, and rapid intervention teams at all structure fires, Chief Riley stated that the current policy is designed to assess this and determine if there is appropriate staff responding to incidents. He indicated that they do not have the statistics to show if the City is meeting that requirement. He added that they most likely meet the minimum requirements relative to health, safety, incident management, training, communications, and pre- incident planning. He stated that there is also a requirement that the fire department annually report its response capabilities and the consequences of not meeting the specified deployment criteria. Chief Riley stated that proponents of NFPA 1710 believe that minimum staffing response times are necessary to ensure that the public is being protected safely and that this needs to be established on a national level. Additionally, they suggest that there has to be a minimum level of staffing to ensure firefighter safety and that the standard is necessary to provide citizens with a recognized national benchmark so they can determine whether they are getting the level of service they desire in their communities. However, the National League of Cities, the California League of Cities, and the U.S. Mayor Congress feel that level of service should be a local control issue and not be dictated by a single national standard. He reported that opponents of the standard also believe that a standard model of deployment ignores the use of objective criteria -based local assessment. He indicated that they are doing a study established by the Commission on Fire Accreditation International which looks at risks, history, and standards, and identifies whether the appropriate level of protection is being provided. Chief Riley stated that the labor groups are supportive of NFPA 1710 because it provides a standard for firefighter safety. He added that some fire chiefs also feel this is a great idea because it is about time that their profession set a minimum standard that can be utilized during fire protection discussions with councils or commissions. However, there are fire chiefs and organizations that feel they should be allowed to evaluate risks, present that information, and let the councils or commissions make determinations. He stated that some of the issues of firefighter safety that NFPA 1710 is designed to resolve are already resolved through other requirements. He added that, if NFPA 1710 was implemented, there would be about an 11% increase to the cost of career fire departments across the nation. Chief Riley stated that he is a member of NFPA and will be attending the May 16 meeting to vote against NFPA 1710 because he feels it is inappropriate for a national organization to dictate local service levels. He added that NFPA 1710 would only become a recommended standard if Volume 54 - Page 212 City of Newport Beach Study Session Minutes April 24, 2001 INDEX adopted and not a Federal or State mandate. In response to Mayor Pro Tom Ridgeway's question, Chief Riley clarified that, prior to NFPA 1710, the only recognized means of determining appropriate staffing levels was through the accreditation system which is what the City uses and that the system will probably not be compromised if a national standard is adopted. He believed that some people will use NFPA 1710, while others will use the accreditation system as a professionally developed scientific method for determining levels of service. He added that there may be a third option, reporting that some California fire service organizations are suggesting that a California standard be developed which mimics the accreditation system. Chief Riley stated that the risk assessment is almost complete and added that they still need to do the station location module which looks at how the City is covering its risks with the existing stations and also looks at potential alternatives. Mayor Adams stated that he is supportive of Chief Riley's position and is pleased to see that the City already follows most of the NFPA 1710 guidelines. Mayor Pro Tern Ridgeway emphasized that local control is important and indicated that he is not sure how a national standard could assess any unique conditions that exist in the City. He noted that there is not overwhelming support for this, pointing out that the Board of Directors of the Association of Fire Chiefs voted 5 to 4 to support NFPA 1710. He also expressed the opinion that NFPA 1710 is irresponsible especially since it could add an 11% increase in costs to all career fire departments in the nation. City Manager Bludau pointed out that the City's Fire Association may go public and state that the City is not meeting the national standards if NFPA 1710 passes. Rich Thomas, representing the Newport Beach Firefighters Association, complimented Chief Riley on being objective in the staff report and reported that he will also be attending the NFPA meeting but will be voting for the passage of NFPA 1710. He stated that they believe that the standard will not subject the City to liability because it is a standard and not a law. He explained that NFPA 1710 sets an industry standard that never existed before and believed that the staffing levels are based on scientific data. He confirmed that the engines are staffed with three people; however, they end up with all but one of the recommended positions at the scene of a basic structure fire. He believed that the City does not meet the fourth person standard on the fire trucks since the paramedics are not with the truck at all times. He added that, when the trucks are called out of the City, the paramedic units do not follow them to the location. He stated that there is consequently three people on the fire trucks and that the Association feels this is unsafe. He indicated that the Association is happy that this standard addresses paid professional firefighters and gives them a tool to educate the public on what they do and what is needed. Noting that building materials have been upgraded to be more fireproof, Council Member Glover asked how this fits into the model of needing more or less firefighters. Mr. Thomas believed that the fire protection systems Volume 54 - Page 213 City of Newport Beach Study Session Minutes April 24, 2001 have been upgraded, not necessarily the building materials, and that the City has high life hazard areas/buildings that are not well protected with a good fire protection system. Mayor Pro Tem Ridgeway asked if Mr. Thomas is part of the self- assessment system. Chief Riley stated that the City has never undergone a self - assessment until now. He reported that they are in the process of collecting data and that internal reviews will take place after that. Mayor Pro Tern Ridgeway expressed concern that Mr. Thomas' vote will cancel out the Chiefs vote and believed that, if the self- assessment was already complete, the results may prove to the Association that the City has adequate standards and they may not need to counter the Chiefs vote. Mayor Adams emphasized that the issue today is the potential for a national standard and not the City's level of staffing. Mr. Thomas assured everyone that the Fire Department does an excellent job and apologized if his statements sounded contrary to this. 4. NEWPORT BAY AND WATER QUALITY PRESENTATION Assistant City Manager Kiff stated that the goals for Newport Bay are to clean the water, manage the sediment, protect the habitat, and protect a diversity of uses. He explained that State law says that water is clean when weekly bacterial tests are below State standards for indicator bacteria (enterococcus, fecal coliform, and total coliform). He added that indicator bacteria makes humans sick and that the weekly tests do not look for viruses or other toxic materials. He stated that the Arches/Marina area, 33rd Street, 43rd Street, and the eastern side of Newport Dunes are chronic posting areas for high bacteria levels. Mr. Kiff reported that, of the nine Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) in California, the City has four of them in Newport Bay (nutrients, sediment, fecal coliform, and toxics). He reviewed the attainment dates for the TMDLs, but noted that the City is nowhere near meeting the fecal coliform date of 2014. He added that Assembly Bill 411 requires that the County test for fecal coliform and sets a standard for posting beaches as being unsafe for swimming. He noted that there may someday be 800 TMDLs in the State for over 1,400 impairments. Mr. Mff stated that the City's water education programs include the Muth Center in Upper Newport Bay; the Marine Study Center (MSC) at Shellmaker Island; and the City- sponsored Partnership for Clean Water Program. He reported that the studies that have taken place or will be underway include finding the source of the bacteria in West Newport; a Health Risk Assessment which will determine how long a virus lives as it goes from the San Diego Creek to the Bay; an Enteric Virus Study to look for viruses; a Swimmer Contribution Study which determines what extent swimmers contribute to the fecal coliform problem; a Vessel Waste Study to determine if vessels are contributing to the fecal coliform problem by violating the no- discharge requirement; a Bioassay Test to free up the City's general dredging permit; and a Toxics TMDL Compliance test. He stated that the capital improvement projects in the Bay include the diversion of storm water runoff and dry weather runoff from the Dunes and the placement of catch basin filters around 3211d and 33rd Streets to catch trash and other debris before it gets into the Bay. Mr. Kiff reported that habitat Volume 54 - Page 214 INDEX Bay and Water Quality (51) City of Newport Beach Study Session Minutes April 24, 2001 INDEX protection efforts include the dredging project; an integrated restoration project in the Bay; a watershed study to keep sediment out of the Bay; the CoastKeeper Kelp Project and Caulerpa (killer algae) Mapping; the Buck Gully Project to clean the water and repair the habitat; Eelgrass Banking; and the Irvine Ranch Water District's (IRWD) Water Quality Wetlands Project. He added that the Harbor Element is underway, the pump -out stations are being upgraded with grant money, and the City undergoes sand replenishment annually. Mr. Kiff further explained that the Capacity, Management, Operations, and Maintenance (CMOM) regulation sets a goal of no sewage spills; the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) is how the City governs its municipal operations in terms of controlling runoff from developments, educating people about keeping trash out of the Bay, and stenciling storm drains; and the Grease Interceptor Program (GRIP) helps restaurants help the City to comply with CMOM. Regarding the funding for the large dredging project, Mr. Kiff reported that half of the State's share was approved in the Governor's budget last year and the other half is in the budget this year. He indicated that he is confident that Congressmen Cox and Rohrabacher are aware of this issue and will help keep the money in the budget. Regarding the Marine Studies Center, Mr. Kiff stated that the facility will house the County's new water quality testing lab which will enable the County to do more testing in the City, the tidepool exhibits and classrooms, the Department of Fish and Game, and the UCI Crew Base. He added that the County has asked that they be permitted to bring their lab over earlier. Mr. Kiff referenced the Water Quality Study Inventory included in the staff report and reported that the City received notice that it will be receiving $400,000 to complete the swimmer contribution study and the bacteria counts in West Newport. Mr. Kiff stated that the major challenges include getting the large dredging job done and securing the money for the project; reducing or eliminating urban runoff; educating residents, businesses, and upstream cities about water quality; improving the NPDES activities; stopping long -term postings, especially in West Newport; protecting the mix of uses in the Harbor; and ending sewage spills. In response to Mayor Adams' questions, Mr. Kiff stated that the Regional Board, in association with the United Stated Environmental Protection Agency, has said that nutrients and sediment should be cut in half. However, the challenge for the City lies with the fecal coliform TMDL since the City has about 2,200 catch basins and more than 600 storm drain pipes that drain into the Bay. He indicated that the Regional Board staff has been good about helping the City get the money to test for problems and to address any problems. Additionally, they indicated that they will consider modifying the TMDL if science and technology improves. Mr. Kiff reported that the TMDL baselines have been established for sediment and nutrients. Council Member Glover noted that this has always been in the Clean Water Act and that TMDLs came about because of a lawsuit from Defend the Bay. Volume 54 - Page 215 City of Newport Beach Study Session Minutes t April 24, 2001 INDEX In response to Council Member Heffernan's questions, Mr. Kiff stated that Dana Point had a presentation last week on how they retrofitted all of their catch basins with filters. He indicated that the filters work for trash; however, they do not work as well for oil and do not work at all for bacteria. He indicated that the City is using the filters at a couple of locations. City Manager Bludau indicated that the City has a Master Sewer Plan, checks the sewer lines every two years, and has an ongoing replacement program. He added that the City is in good shape compared to other cities. Council Member Bromberg asked if the City has looked into pinpointing violators of urban runoff. Mr. Mff stated that the regulatory environment has been generally focusing on any entity that violates its permit to discharge waste. He noted that identifying urban runoff and specific sources of bacteria are difficult to pinpoint; however, some of the studies that will take place this summer will help them get closer. He reported that cities will soon be under a new five-year permit that requires more education and enforcement, but will involve a significant amount of time to pursue. He emphasized that this permit will put more onus on the inland cities to do more. Mayor Pro Tem Ridgeway believed that the watershed cities in Los Angeles County are further along in the education process because of the contamination and pollution they have experienced. He added that the newspapers have not reported Huntington Beach's contamination issues correctly, reporting that it is suspected that the Sanitation District's outfall is ending up at the beaches in Huntington Beach. He stated that this will be studied extensively this summer and that Mr. Kiff will be coming back with a report on this issue. In response to Council Member Proctor's questions regarding the bacteria count in West Newport, Mr. Kiff reported that they do not believe the source of the problem comes from humans since they did not find any viruses, but they will be tying into Huntington Beach's study to test the samples around West Newport. PUBLIC COMMENTS -None. CLOSED SESSION ANNOUNCEMENT - City Attorney Burnham announced that, after the Closed Session agenda was posted, the City received notice of an opportunity to join as a plaintiff in a lawsuit that the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) has filed against Housing and Community Development. He reported that the lawsuit challenges the most recently approved Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) which adds about 66,000 dwelling units to the region. He pointed out that some of those units may be required to be built in the City. He indicated that Council can add this to the Closed Session agenda by a 2/3 vote of Council. Motion by Mayor Pro Tern Ridgeway to add the item to the Closed Session agenda. The motion carried by the following roll call vote: Ayes: Ridgeway, Proctor, Glover, Bromberg, O'Neil, Heffernan, Mayor Adams Volume 54 - Page 216 City of Newport Beach Study Session Minutes April 24, 2001 Noes: None Abstain: None Absent: None ADJOURNMENT - 5:55 p.m. INDEX The agenda for the Study Session was posted on April 18, 2001, at 2:45 p.m. on the City Hall Bulletin Board located outside of the City of Newport Beach Administration Building. Recording Secretary s.W `WL Mayor I wd City Clerk • 60—.J. Volume 54 - Page 217