Council to Consider Resolution That Could Allow City Manager to Hire CalPERS Retiree as Interim Police Chief

As part of Monday’s consent calendar, the City Council on Monday will consider a resolution allowing Interim City Manager Cynthia Kurtz to appoint a CalPERS retiree interim police chief.

The resolution would also allow CalPERS retirees to be appointed to several other positions, including the interim general manager of the Water and Power Department and interim human resources director.

The Council agenda lists a CalPERS retiree as a “possible source” for the position and gives Interim City Manager Cynthia Kurtz more latitude in hiring for those positions.

“The City is facing a series of vacancies in key positions during the coming weeks that will need to be filled promptly to ensure the continued smooth operation of city business,” according to a staff report in Monday’s agenda.

Both Police Chief John Perez and Human Resources Director Curtis have set the last day in their respective positions as January 7.

PWP General Manager Bawa is expected to leave city employment earlier, on December 30.

The city charter bars the City Council from interfering with the administrative service under the City Manager, including not attempting to direct or influence subordinates, which means that the council cannot direct the City Manager in the hiring process of those positions.

However, a CalPERS retiree must be approved by the City Council.

If the interim City Manager does not fill the position with a CalPERS retiree, the resolution is void. If the City Manager fills the position with a CalPERS retiree, a further condition of this solution will be ratification of the interim City Manager’s selection at a subsequent meeting of the City Council.

“It is imperative for the city to have continuous leadership in the Chief of Police, PWP General Manager, and Human Resources Director positions in order to ensure proper management and operation of their respective City departments to address the challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic,” according to a city staff report. “As such, all hours worked by any CalPERS retiree appointed to these positions are subject to the waiver of the 960 hour limit and will not count toward the 960-hour per fiscal year limit so long as the COVID-19 state of emergency remains in effect.”

Here are the other items on Monday’s consent calendar which can be approved by a sweep motion:

• A $616,286 contract with High Volt Electric for providing labor and materials for installation of generator tap boxes. Pasadena Water and Power purchased three trailer-mounted portable generators to supply emergency power to PWP operated water system booster stations in the event of a power failure due to catastrophic events or planned outages. Each generator can provide approximately 24 hours of uninterrupted power on a single tank of fuel and will be utilized on a short-term basis until normal electrical supply resumes. In order to connect the portable generator to a booster station, the booster station must be equipped with a generator tap box that safely disengages the service from the fixed power supply and allows for the portable generator to provide power seamlessly to the facility. This project will include labor and materials for the installation of generator tap boxes and modifications to the existing electrical system.

• Reject all bids received on September 21 in response to the notice inviting bids to furnish and deliver 12.5% sodium hypochlorite for water treatment purposes. The sodium hypochlorite was to be used at the City’s Sunset Reservoir Disinfection facility. Since the initiation of the formal bidding process in early September. PWP staff have implemented a series of operational changes at the disinfection facility that have resulted in PWP no longer needing the treatment compound at this time.

• A contract with Calgon Carbon Corporation to furnish and deliver the Wadsworth Granular Activated Carbon Groundwater Treatment System for the Water and Power Department in an amount not to exceed $2,147,945. PWP is planning for the construction and operation of a groundwater treatment plant to remove 1,2,3-trichloropropane (‘TCP”) from the groundwater source. TCP, a volatile organic compound, is a man-made chemical that has a range of industrial uses including use as a binder in rocket fuel. The California State Water Resources Control Board Division of Drinking Water set the maximum contaminant level for TCP at 5 parts per trillion (0.000005 milligrams per liter) in 2017. In 2019, two east side groundwater wells, the Wadsworth Well and the Woodbury Well, had detected TCP levels that exceeded the maximum contaminant level established by the DOW. These wells operated only when water delivered has non-detected TCP levels. The Wadsworth Groundwater Treatment Plant will be constructed on PWP property adjacent to the existing Wadsworth Well located at 115 North Vinedo Ave/.

• Amend the Housing Department’s FY 2022 Operating Budget by appropriating an additional $200,000 from the Inclusionary Housing Trust Fund’s unappropriated fund balance for the Program to cover increases in Program loan amounts up to the revised loan caps. In 2020 the Housing Department launched the Second Unit Accessory Dwelling Unit Loan Pilot Program (the “Program”), funded with a budget totaling $674,500 ($600,000 for loans, $74,500 for third-party project management). Through this affordable housing initiative homeowners are incentivized to create an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) to be operated as an affordable rental unit on their property. This program provides homeowners with comprehensive advisory assistance for financing and project management assistance for the construction of a new ADU or rehabilitation of an existing one. Specifically, the program offers two options: 1) financial assistance to build an ADU through new construction or garage conversion; and 2) assistance to rehabilitate and bring up to code an existing unpermitted ADU.

• Amend the Department of Housing’s Fiscal Year FY 2022 Operating Budget by recognizing revenue and appropriations of $150,000 in HOME Investment Partnership Act Funds from the American Rescue Plan Act to implement the Tenant Based Rental Assistance Eviction Prevention Program. As part of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 passed by Congress, the City of Pasadena will receive $3,042,435 in one-time HOME Investment Partnership (HOMEARP) funds. The programming of the HOME-ARP funds is the subject of a separate item for Council consideration on its meeting agenda of December 13, 2021. Of the total $3,042,435 in funding, a budget amendment for FY 2022 in the amount of $150,000 is being recommend under the subject agenda item, and the balance of the HOME-ARP funds will be budgeted in future fiscal years. These funds are restricted for activities that provide housing, services, and shelter to individuals experiencing homelessness and other vulnerable populations. These funds must be spent by the end of FY 2030. In anticipation that the City’s COVID-19 emergency eviction moratorium may be lifted at some point, the City will utilize the HOME ARP funds to launch a new tenant-based rental assistance (TBRA) program aimed at assisting Pasadena renters who face eviction. These funds will support the hiring of additional staff, which will be necessary to administer the TBRA program.

• Amend the Department of Housing’s FY 2022 Operating Budget by adding a 1.0 Full-Time Equivalent (FTE), limited-term, grant-funded City Service Worker position in order to provide housing search assistance and stability services to EHV program participants; and approve the Temporary Policy Supplement (TPS) to the Administrative Plan for the EHV program. In June, 2021, the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) notified the city of Pasadena that it had been awarded $1,914,048 in Emergency Housing. Voucher (EHV) funds, including $173,328 in administrative fees, $1,315,620 in housing assistance payment funding, $43,600 in preliminary fees, and $381,500 in services funding. This funding will support 109 EHVs to provide tenant-based rental assistance for individuals and families who are experiencing or are at extreme risk of homelessness. All EHVs must be leased up by September 2023. Of the total $1.9M funding award, a budget amendment for FY 2022 in the amount of $957,024 is being recommended. The balance of the EHV funding will be budgeted in FY 2023.

• Approve the scheduled rate increases effective February 1, 2022 for the grandstand permit application, the Rose Bowl Admission Tax, and for the New Year’s Day related business grandstand seat surcharge as set forth in the body of this report. According to the Pasadena Municipal Code the Rose Bowl Admission Tax, the Grandstand Seat Surcharge, and the Grandstand Permit Application Fee are to be presented to City Council no later than December 15th and adjusted on February 1st of each year. PMC also states that these taxes and fees are adjusted by an amount equal to the change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim metropolitan area for the preceding 12-month period ending October 1st. The change in CPI for all urban consumers in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim metropolitan area increased by nearly 4.6 percent.

• Amendments to the FY 2022 General Fee Schedule. The State of California notified the City after the agenda for the December 13, 2021 City Council Meeting was posted that the fees for Birth and Death Certificates will be increased by $4.00 and $3.00 respectively. A revised staff report has been amended and re-posted as the original staff report stated that both fees would increase by $2.00.