HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda Report - June 7, 2017 Council CommentCity Manager Schwabauer stated the primary conversation is to allow vendors to operate at
tasting rooms and special event locations by changing the ordinance to allow a set number of
special event licenses each year. He stated he does not believe the request is for a wholesale
change; it is for a new category to allow food trucks at locations for a special event.
E. Comments by the City Council Members on Non -Agenda items
Council Member Mounce reported on the League of California Cities meeting she attended in
Ceres to discuss Central Valley issues and stated the League has suspended division dues for
the time being because it has ample funds. She announced the League's Central Valley golf
tournament will be on October 12, 2017, and invited her fellow Council Members to participate
and support the event. Further, Council Member Mounce encouraged businesses interested in
sponsoring a tee or participating with the League to contact her. Council Member Mounce
displayed photographs (filed) that she came across on a Facebook post from Bradley Christy
regarding the homeless situation near Highway 99 and north of Turner Road in which he states
the homeless have been stealing items and are contaminating the river. Mr. Christy commented
on his post that Council Member Mounce should tell Council it is time to address this situation;
that the City should file a lawsuit against Caltrans; and that Lodians should not drink the water
until the situation is rectified. Council Member Mounce stated Mr. Christy's post was shared over
500 times with 800 people commenting on it and she was displeased that he singled her out
among all of the Council Members. She stated the property in question is not located in Lodi; she
has no control over what other Council Members do; and Mr. Christy cannot expect the Council to
solve a social problem that is occurring as a result of California legislative actions with the State
releasing convicts from prison. Since Mr. Christy's post, Council Member Mounce stated she has
been insulted, threatened, and harassed and has tried responding to questions and comments
with information and facts regarding the growing homeless problem. She stated she believes it is
time for tough love in Lodi and that homeless individuals who are addicted to drugs or alcohol that
do not want to be in a program should leave this community because Lodi is trying to become a
tourist destination. She stated the City is doing all it can; however, there is a lot that is beyond the
City's control. She asked the City Manager to respond to the following questions: 1) who owns the
property and has jurisdiction of Highway 99 near the river; 2) who is responsible for maintaining
the area and preventing people from trespassing; 3) how often is the area under the freeway and
surrounding the river cleaned; 4) what is the State rule for removing homeless camps; 5) what is
State law on bussing people to Lodi from other communities; 6) is Lodi planning to reunite
homeless people with their families; 7) what is the City Manager's opinion on a tough -love
approach; 8) how are the mentally ill managed; and 9) what will the responsibilities be of new
Homeless Liaison Officer Ryan Holz.
City Manager Schwabauer responded that a major factor driving the increase in the homeless
population is the State policy from Governor Brown and legislation relating to realignment and
decriminalization of drug addiction that removes drug addicts from prisons. The theory is that, if
removed from prison and treated, those addicted to drugs will have better success in eliminating
their criminal behavior versus putting them in prison to learn bad habits. In addition to
realignment, there is no housing or residential rehabilitation facilities for the homeless; therefore,
they return to the streets when previously they were in prison. In response to Council Member
Mounce's questions, Mr. Schwabauer responded as follows: 1) The jurisdiction over the bridge at
Highway 99 north of Turner Road is not the City of Lodi; it falls under the San Joaquin County
and is owned by Caltrans. 2) Caltrans has the responsibility for maintaining the property, but it
needs support from the California High Patrol (CHP) or County Sheriff. 3) Over the last two years,
the City worked on a joint program with Caltrans, Lodi Police Department, County Sheriff, and
CHP to keep the highway underpasses clear. In addition, Caltrans installed concrete abutments
under all of the overpasses and has been very responsive by joining the joint approaches
to sweeping the area. The effort is typically done four to six times a year, it takes roughly five
officers, and there is a significant expense to accomplish the task. Short of posting security
guards around the clock, he stated it is a remarkable challenge to keep the area pristine. In
referencing the photographs of the homeless camps, Mr. Schwabauer estimated the amount of
garbage was likely two weeks worth of generation. 4) With regard to homeless camps, State law
prohibits taking private property without due process of law, which requires a 72 -hour notice,
posting of the property, and storage of removed property in order to give individuals an
opportunity to claim it, even when they are trespassing, which makes the effort more difficult and
time consuming. He added there are advocacy groups that make a point of protecting the civil
rights of homeless. 5) There is no State law that states whether a community can or cannot bus
individuals in or out of a community; however, he believes it is a bad practice and would not
recommend any community doing so. He stated that some communities who tried bussing people
out only found that the individuals would return for additional vouchers that were then converted
to cash. In response to Council Member Mounce, Mr. Schwabauer stated he is not opposed
to the reunification program that returns homeless individuals to their families; in fact, it is
recommended that the new Homeless Liaison Officer become familiar with the homeless and
their problems in order to refer them to the appropriate resource (i.e. housing, mental health,
willing family member, etc.). He stated that, since closing the hospital, County Mental Health does
not keep patients for longer than 72 hours unless they have severe issues. 7) With regard to the
tough -love approach, he stated that many in the community express their concern for the
homeless in ways that are counterproductive, such as giving food and money to the homeless,
but the Homeless Committee is reigning in that behavior by promoting a hand -up, not a hand-out,
approach by referring homeless individuals to appropriate resources and programs instead.
8) With regard to the mentally ill, he reiterated that County Mental Health does not keep patients
long and homeless individuals are typically back on the streets in a relatively short timeframe. 9)
The new Homeless Liaison Officer is modeled after Manteca's program, in which the officer is
assigned to patrolling for crimes committed by the homeless. He stated the problem is that the
individual perpetrating the crime must be caught in the act because criminal activity must be
proven beyond a reasonable doubt. This new officer will be focused on patrolling for criminal
activity by the homeless and enforcing those laws, since the mere act of being homeless cannot
be criminalized, as well as finding supportive services for the homeless.
Council Member Mounce asked Mr. Schwabauer to respond to Mr. Christy's claim that Lodi's
drinking water is contaminated by the homeless and that Lodi does not treat water for human
waste. Mr. Schwabauer stated that he has been assured by the Public Works Director that the
Water Treatment Plant is designed to remove human -borne pathogens.
Police Chief Tod Patterson stressed the importance of the community understanding the severity
of the homeless problem, which is why he recommended removing an officer from the auto theft
task force to focus on the homeless situation. Chief Patterson stated CHP visited the area in
question near the river and issued trespassing citations and he spoke to Mr. Christy about his
concerns. The area will be posted again for cleanup; however, he pointed out that most of the
homeless will remove the items they wish to keep and leave the rest to be cleaned up by
enforcement agencies, only to return with their belongings. Chief Patterson stated he will
introduce Officer Holz at a future Council meeting and reported that Officer Holz will be in
Manteca tomorrow to shadow the Homeless Liaison Officer to fully understand the program. His
goal is for Officer Holz to get to know the homeless, establish a relationship with them, and have
the proper contacts to help them. Chief Patterson added that transient -related calls to the Police
Department have increased 34 percent over last year, while the number of officers has not.
Mayor Kuehne stated he was tagged by someone in the Facebook post referenced by Council
Member Mounce and his response was to challenge the individual to become involved in one of
the Homeless Committees.
Council Member Chandler echoed his support for the programs described by the City Manager
and thanked the Police Chief for establishing the Homeless Liaison Officer. He further reported
there is a meeting at the Grape Festival grounds in Jackson Hall on June 8, 2017, hosted by
Grape Festival Director Mark Armstrong. The meeting will include self introductions, a statement
from the Lodi Police Department, and a discussion about the homeless problem and ways to
address it.
Mayor Pro Tempore Nakanishi stated he believes the City is doing its best to resolve the
homeless problem, but in most cases the City does not have the jurisdiction, power, or money to
address it. He suggested the public contact their representatives to fix the laws in California that
are contributing to the problem. He stated the City is working with the County and he will continue
to do his best on addressing the issue with Council.
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Mr. Schwabauer reported the County is exploring turning the now -closed Honor Farm into a
homeless rehabilitation residential facility. It would likely start small with 100 to 150 participants,
but it would accept people from all around the area, including Lodi. The County is looking to be a
major player in addressing the homelessness situation.
Mayor Kuehne agreed, stating the County has been actively partnering with cities, police
departments, mayors, and city managers to discuss the problem.
Council Member Johnson stated he was pleased to see the County coming to the table in this
regard because he felt for the longest time that it avoided responsibility on the issue and left it for
communities to handle. With regard to the homelessness meeting at the Grape Festival, Council
Member Johnson questioned whether it was counterproductive to have another group form on
this issue because there is already a Homeless Committee actively working to address the
problems and is making significant headway. He stated he believes there needs to be a cohesive
effort.
Council Member Chandler stated he was quoting from the meeting agenda, but stated he
believes the group prefers to be attached to an existing effort.
Council Member Mounce stated she appreciates the recognition for the County's efforts, adding
that Supervisor Cathy Miller takes the matter very seriously. She stated the League of California
Cities has fought hard and worked with Senator de Leon to pass the "No Place Like Home" bill to
pay for the mentally in. The ballot initiative passed years ago and a significant amount of money
was collected; however, there was no method in place to distribute the money. She stated there
is over $10 billion in Sacramento earmarked for mental health issues, and the League has
worked tirelessly to release $2 billion a year to counties for housing and helping the mentally ill,
which is why the County is actively preparing to address the situation.
F. Comments by the City Manager on Non -Agenda Items
None.
G. Public Hearings
G-1
Continued Public Hearing to Receive Written or Oral Protests to the City's Intention to Sell
City -Owned Real Property Located at 705 East Lodi Avenue (Former Fire Station 2; APN
043-230-06), and Adopt Resolution Authorizing City Manager to Proceed with the Sale of
the Property (CM)
Notice thereof having been published according to law, an affidavit of which publication is on file
in the office of the City Clerk, Mayor Kuehne called for the continued public hearing to receive
written or oral protests to the City's intention to sell City -owned real property located at 705 East
Lodi Avenue (former Fire Station No. 2; APN 043-230-06), and adopt resolution authorizing the
City Manager to proceed with the sale of the property.
Business Development Manager Adam Brucker provided a presentation regarding the sale of
City -owned real property at 705 East Lodi Avenue. Specific topics of discussion included previous
action to adopt Resolution of Intention to sell the property; public hearing to receive and consider
protests; ability of Council to overrule any written or oral protests by a 4/5 vote; ability of Council
to authorize staff to proceed with the sale; noticing and processing of sale; and ability of Council
to reject all bids or accept a bid.
City Attorney Magdich pointed out that it also takes a 4/5 vote of Council to authorize the
City Manager to proceed with the sale. In response to Ms. Magdich, City Clerk Ferraiolo reported
that no written protests were received prior to the public hearing.
Mayor Kuehne opened the public hearing for public comment.
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