Meeting Minutes
March16, 1999

Kimball Elementary School
1310 August Way

Mayor Rocha called the meeting to order at 7:08 P.M. with all members present.

Present: Council Members Freitas, Davis, Soliz, Sudario, and Mayor Rocha

1. A.  ORDINANCE APPROVING DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT WITH MCBAIL COMPANY (Introduced 3/9/99)

City Attorney Galstan gave the staff report. He noted this is the second reading for the two ordinances before the Council. At the last meeting an additional change to the agreement was requested, one sentence was deleted, therefore at that meeting the development ordinance was introduced. Following the established procedure this would be the evening for consideration of adoption of the two ordinances.

Mayor Rocha opened the meeting to the public.

Cary Dyer, Antioch Chamber of Commerce, expressed his disappointment in Council and his concerns regarding local businesses. By removing the local exemption many of the contractors he spoke with could not meet the apprenticeship requirement. If it is difficult to find union workers now and the agreement is passed with this language, how much harder will it be? The agreement needs to provide local jobs and that is now gone.

Arne Simonsen, local businessman, stated he did not believe Council Member Davis received any union contributions during his campaign. He then stated this development agreement should be pro business and pro Antioch. As less than 20% of Antioch's contractors are union, it is unfair to require union apprentices. Bids from all Antioch contractors should be accepted.

Dan Garcia, owner of Antioch-based RCI Electric, stated he was in favor of training. He felt there was a need to get younger people involved, and hoped the Council would review the language for a five-year local hire. He stated his desire to keep a high standard in the industry.

Patrick Dennis stated he was not convinced Antioch needed more development. He felt the reason there were not enough qualified people available was because there were not enough training programs. He explained when the lowest bid gets the contract, workers are forced to go where the wages and standards are high enough to support a family. He stated the workers need disposable income.

Steve Umbenhower stated some apprentice programs have not graduated a person for many years, and are, therefore, useless. On the other hand the union schools graduate 25-50 people a year, providing union workers with the skills they need to get a job. He urged Council to approve the language as presented.

Daniel Lee, Republican Business Association, stated Council does not allow local workers to work in local jobs, and questioned Council's support of local jobs. He further questioned whether or not they support local or out of town businesses.

Larry Howard stated this would be a bad agreement even without the associated controversy, as this agreement does not define the type of jobs that would be created. He questioned whether the jobs would allow a person to provide for their family, and suggested they would be minimum wage jobs. He urged Council to deny approval of any more houses until quality of life and traffic concerns were resolved.

John Robinson, Executive Director of Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc. (ABC), stated ABC trains men and women through its State approved program each year, and asked approval of the agreement be denied. He stated they support apprenticeships but do not believe the City should be regulating an apprenticeship program, questioning whether or not it was even legal for the City to do so.

Anne Quick, ABC, stated she was raised in England where children are encouraged to enter into apprenticeships as a matter of practice, and felt American children are missing a great opportunity. Two Antioch businesses have ABC apprentices and they would not be eligible to work if the agreement is approved as presented.

Dennis Christenson stated McBail wanted his tax dollars, but not his apprentices.

Dennis Nead reminded Council they represent all the citizens of Antioch. He questioned whether there were enough apprentice positions for young people to enter the program and asked Council to remain neutral. He felt if the work was not good, whether it was union or non-union would be of little consequence. He felt the business area of this project was very important to Antioch and questioned whether or not the apprenticeship program was necessary. If it was determined to be necessary, Mr. Nead asked to delay it for three years to allow everyone the opportunity to get in.

Bruce Word, Sheet Metal Workers #104, noted there are sheet metal shops scattered throughout Antioch and East County. He stated Mr. Simonsen had been a union member for years, and could not understand why Mr. Simonsen would not want others to prosper as he had. He stated sheet metal workers want to be a part of the community.

Norma Hernandez felt the City Council members were at a disadvantage, because she felt they were not receiving all the information. She stated this developer agreement did not include the health and safety clauses contained in all other such agreements. She stated our schools were overcrowded, operating on a ?year-round? schedule which she compared as being the equivalent of double sessions. She quoted the Specific Plan as stating McBail would not be issued any permits until they provide proof of Federal approval to build on the flood plain. She further stated this agreement was not in compliance with the General Plan.

Fran Vaughan stated no one had suggested doing away with the apprenticeships, therefore the only people left out were outside businesses who did not subscribe to an apprenticeship program. He felt the original agreement was the only logical choice.

Nick Kaiser, Dave McKenzie, Dennis L. Peterson, Rico Hayes, H. Thomas Jones, J. Overmyer, Mark Brady, Don W. Wilkes, Johnny Culpepper, Ken Faria, Fred Gudiw, Jack Savage, and Ron Lee were in support of the exemption and apprenticeship language as represented in the proposed agreement on the current agenda.

Peter Nussbaum, Contra Costa Building Trades, stated a lot of misinformation has been given. The issue is whether there are non-union programs that qualify.  He stated the union he represents dispatches to non-union contractors. Mr. Simonsen has never requested a contractor. He stated the non-union contractors want the language included so they can successfully sue the City.

Dale Petersen stated the issue is training men and women for life long careers. The apprenticeship programs train our union people so they can support their families in the future. Union workers want more for this community.

Mark Stevens, Dave Berger, Mike Makinano, Brian S. Burroes, Tom Baca, and Bob Dillashaw, union members, went on record showing their support of the apprenticeship exemption language as presented on the agenda for approval and their support of the California State Apprentice proposal.

Mary Zbacnik felt this item was a quality of life question. She felt it would be in the best interest of the City to not follow through with this agreement.

Steve Weisinger, stated 70% of the homes in East County were non-union, and felt the apprenticeship language was crucial.

Evelyn Centeno stated she was a member of East County Employment Board and was concerned about equal opportunity for all. She felt part of the agreement did not provide equality for all, and to move forward with this language would be cutting off small businesses.

Greg Feere, Contra Costa Building Trades Council, challenged ABC training records, stating they do not practice equal opportunity. He felt ABC programs were not viable.

Sue Fendley was in favor of the apprenticeship program, and stated her husband had attended one.

Kelly Anschutz stated he was in favor of the local employer exclusion but felt the language contained several illegal loopholes. He stated his concern was how working men and women would be treated on the job. He sited the practice of bringing in out-of-state labor strictly to save money. He stated he was here to protect local apprenticeship language for local training.

Reggie Moore, AFSCME Local 444, stated he was in favor of the language as it is presented on the agenda.

William LeRoy felt growth had not brought jobs to Antioch, but was, instead, shutting off our life line on Highway 4.

Ray Trujillo, State Building Trades staff member from Sacramento, stated he supports the exemption language as presented based on his knowledge of the two apprenticeship programs.

Jock Proia stated Antioch was in need of more businesses and less houses.

Allen Payton stated the main issue was Antioch, and this was the most efficient housing project ever approved. He felt the language adopted last week excluded most Antioch contractors and stressed the need for local people for local jobs. He felt this was the most responsible growth for Antioch.

Mayor Rocha closed the public comment portion of this item and declared a ten minute break at 8:30 P.M.

Mayor Rocha called the meeting back to order at 8:47 P.M. with all members present.

Responding to Member Sudario's question, City Attorney Galstan explained there was a provision in the development agreement stating the developer would pay Municipal Service Fees. It is also stated there would be no building permits issued until the validity of the agreement was confirmed by the court.

Community Development Deputy Director Carniglia, answering questions from Council Member Sudario, stated the EIR and Specific Plan include language to address the flood plain issues, and stated the developer would be paying drainage fees to address the problem.

In response to Council Member Sudario regarding the school issue, Community Development Deputy Director Carniglia stated the property is in Brentwood School District and agreements have already been signed. He further noted there is a school site in FUA #2 that is located in the Antioch School District, and it has been fully mitigated.

Regarding questions concerning collection of flood zone fees, flood control clearance, and compliance with the Specific Plan, Community Development Deputy Director Carniglia stated there were several documents relevant to this agreement. He stated the tentative map lists all the relevant conditions to be met prior to issuance of any building permits.

Ayes: Freitas, Rocha
NOES: Soliz, Davis, Sudario

A motion by Council Member Sudario to deny approval of the agreement with McBail died without a second.

A motion by Council Member Soliz, seconded by Council Member Davis to approve the item with the sentence in paragraph 5A of the Development Agreement being restored as presented on the last Council agenda failed as follows:

AYES: Soliz, Davis
NOES: Freitas, Sudario, Rocha

Following two failed motions Mayor Rocha declared a break at 9:45 P.M. The Council reconvened with all members present at 10:08 P.M.

AYES: Soliz, Davis
NOES: Freitas, Rocha, Sudario

AYES: Freitas, Soliz, Rocha
NOES: Davis, Sudario

PUBLIC COMMENTS

Jim Conley speaking on behalf of ARC, Association of Responsible Citizens, urged the Council to adopt a resolution authorizing the Mayor to sign a letter in support of Assemblyman Tom Torlakson's freeway improvement proposal he has presented to the State Assembly.

Larry Howard, encouraged Antioch citizens to write their legislatures about the meetings regarding the control of growth in Antioch.

Respectfully Submitted:

L. JOLENE MARTIN, City Clerk