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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020-02-20 City Schools Liaison Committee Agenda PacketAMERICANS WITH DISABILITY ACT (ADA) Persons with disabilities who require auxiliary aids or services in using City facilities, services or programs or who would like information on the City’s compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, may contact (650) 329-2550 (Voice) 24 hours in advance. BIG CREEK ELEMENTARY Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD) City of Palo Alto Todd Collins, Vice President Lydia Kou, Council Member Jennifer DiBrienza, President Greg Tanaka, Council Member Staff Don Austin, PAUSD, Superintendent Chantal Cotton Gaines, Assistant to the City Manager, Staff Liaison 1. Oral Communications 2. Approval of the December 19, 2019 Meeting Minutes 3. Selection of Committee Chair 4. Superintendent’s Comments and City Manager’s Comments 5. Review of Recent City Council and PAUSD Board Meetings a. CITY: Recent Council Agendas Recap b. PAUSD: Recent Board Agendas Recap 6. NVCAP Update 7. Updates on Ongoing Matters a. Cubberley Update b. Grade Separation (Rail Crossings) Update 8. Future Meetings and Agendas 9. Adjournment Thursday, February 20, 2020 8:30 AM to 10:00 AM Palo Alto City Hall Community Meeting Room 250 Hamilton Avenue, Ground Floor City/School Liaison Committee Special Meeting Agenda Page 1 of 9 Special Meeting December 19, 2019 Chairperson Kou called the meeting to order at 8:30 A.M. in the Community Meeting Room, 250 Hamilton Avenue, Palo Alto, California. Present: City of Palo Alto Representatives Alison Cormack, Council Member Lydia Kou, Council Member (Chair) Chantal Gaines, Assistant to the City Manager, Staff Liaison Palo Alto Unified School District Representatives Jennifer DiBrienza, Board President arrived at 9:02 A.M. Todd Collins, Board Vice President Don Austin, Superintendent, Palo Alto Unified School District 1. Oral Communications. None. 2. Superintendent’s Comments and City Manager’s Comments. Don Austin, Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD) Superintendent continued to meet with the City Manager and Staff monthly. Topics discussed included Cubberley Community Center, rail crossings and school safety. He expressed interest in learning about the City's efforts to promote the 2020 Census. Monique LeConge Ziesenhenne, Assistant City Manager advised that a subcommittee was working on the Census and offered to share information with the appropriate PAUSD Staff. City Hall was going to be closed from December 24, 2019 through January 1, 2020. Some City Staff were going to be present, but daily operations were going to cease over the holidays. Chair Kou noted a link to a Santa Clara County (County) survey about housing was available on the City website, and City Staff may wish to share information with PAUSD Staff. Ms. Ziesenhenne indicated members of the public could suggest 2020 Priorities for the Council and take the County survey regarding housing and City/School Liaison Committee Special Meeting Final Minutes FINAL MINUTES Page 2 of 9 Sp. City School Liaison Committee Meeting Final Minutes: 12/19/2019 transportation through the City website. In addition, new blogs and newsletters were available for review. 3. Review of Recent City Council and PAUSD Board Meetings a. CITY: Recent Council Agendas Recap b. PAUSD: Recent Board Agendas Recap Council Member Cormack reported the Mayor had appointed Council Member DuBois and her to an Ad Hoc Committee to review City Boards and Commissions. The Council amended its Wireless Communications Facilities (WCF) Ordinance to require a 20 foot setback from residences. Board Member Collins recalled that the Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD) Board of Education's (Board) Resolution had requested the City provide notice of new WCF to the Superintendent and school principals. He asked if the Council directed City Staff to provide that notice. Council Member Cormack replied yes. Chair Kou added that City Staff indicated there would be direct communication with PAUSD Staff. Board Member Collins understood the shot clock for WCF applications was brief. PAUSD's ability to respond timely was going to be affected if it did not receive a notice. He requested City Staff communicate directly and timely with the Superintendent. At its most recent meeting, the Board had approved a Resolution regarding vaping. The Board anticipated the City would lead efforts to ban the sale of vape products and coordinate community resources. Unfortunately, he was not adequately able to describe to the Board the City event planned for January, 2020. The Board continued the Agenda Item for the City/School Liaison Committee's Purpose Statement to its first meeting in January, 2020. Council Member Cormack related that the Council had approved the Purpose Statement. Board Member Collins advised that the Board would appoint committee members in January, 2020. The proposal was to reappoint Board Members to the same committees. He was not aware of any plans regarding the Cubberley Ad Hoc Committee. Also, he was elected President of the Board, and Shounak Dharap was elected Vice President. Chair Kou indicated the Council would reorganize during its January 6, 2020 meeting. FINAL MINUTES Page 3 of 9 Sp. City School Liaison Committee Meeting Final Minutes: 12/19/2019 Board Member Collins planned to request the next Mayor to appoint members to the City/School Liaison Committee (Committee) quickly so that the Committee could hold a meeting in January, 2020. Chair Kou inquired regarding the reason for the Board forming a Cubberley Ad Hoc Committee. Council Member Cormack indicated formation of the Committee was required under the proposed lease extension. Board Member Collins clarified that the Ad Hoc Committee was formed to work out the lease extension. 4. Discuss Recent City Council Anti-Vaping Actions. Council Member Cormack reported Vice Mayor Fine, Council Member Tanaka and she had coauthored a Colleagues' Memo regarding vaping. The City Ordinance mirrored the Santa Clara County (County) Vaping Ordinance with minimal exemptions. The Council directed Staff to work with the State on possible changes to delivery laws and requested regular updates regarding enforcement of the Ordinance. Following the January, 2020 vaping workshop, Staff was going to present the Council with recommendations as to an appropriate organization to receive City funding for a vaping program and the source of the funding. The Council had also directed Staff to explore implementing fines for possession of vaping products. Chair Kou added that the item would return to the Council in early 2020. The Parent Teach Association (PTA) and Parent Teach Association Council (PTAC) were involved in garnering support for and crafting the language of the proposed Ordinance. She suggested the Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD) Board of Education (Board) work with the City to ensure schools were monitored for the use of vaping products. Board Member Collins advised that vaping in the schools had been a big issue for at least three years. Some school bathrooms were locked during the school day so that the remaining bathrooms could be monitored closely for vaping. Chair Kou related that the Council could ban vaping, but PAUSD had to enforce the ban on its sites. Vape devices contained hazardous materials, and vape liquids contained harmful chemicals. She inquired about disposal facilities for these materials on school sites. Don Austin, PAUSD Superintendent had no information about the proper disposal of vaping products. FINAL MINUTES Page 4 of 9 Sp. City School Liaison Committee Meeting Final Minutes: 12/19/2019 Council Member Cormack felt vaping products should be considered a medical device for adults who used the products to achieve harm reduction. A public health program and student-based education were needed. Board Member Collins requested details of the January, 2020 workshop. Kristen O’Kane, Community Services Director indicated the workshop would be a breakfast held on January 23, 2020 at the Palo Alto Medical Foundation (PAMF). Attendance was limited to those invited to the breakfast. The Healthy City Healthy Community Working Group was preparing a list of individuals and organizations to invite. City Staff promised to provide a report of the breakfast. 5. PAUSD School Safety Presentation. Don Austin, Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD) Superintendent introduced Mike Jacobs, whose responsibilities included emergency preparation and general safety. Mike Jacobs, PAUSD Safety Manager reported The Promise outlined critical priority areas in PAUSD. Physical safety and emergency preparation were two of the priorities. PAUSD had taken an “all hazards” approach to planning and training for emergencies. Identifying and evaluating known or potential threats to a school site was a preliminary component of school safety. PAUSD had hired third-party consulting firms to conduct security assessments and they were considering the consultants' recommendations. PAUSD had purchased sufficient basic emergency preparedness resources to sustain themselves for three days. PAUSD utilized Blackboard software as its main method of emergency communications. Goals for 2019-2020 included developing and conducting training for PAUSD and school staff, updating the Emergency Operations Plan, standardizing a visitor management system for schools and reviewing environmental designs to increase safety. Council Member Cormack noted PAUSD's updated logo. She asked if PAUSD conducted an annual emergency test for parents. Mr. Austin advised that the week prior to the scheduled test an emergency event occurred. Council Member Cormack related that tests reassured parents and reminded them to provide updated contact information. She requested clarification of environmental designs for surveillance and access control. FINAL MINUTES Page 5 of 9 Sp. City School Liaison Committee Meeting Final Minutes: 12/19/2019 Mr. Jacobs shared examples of natural surveillance and territory reinforcements. Mr. Austin added that territory reinforcements guided visitors to school entryways. Council Member Cormack asked if visitors had to sign in and provide photo identification to access school campuses. Mr. Austin replied yes, at all schools and the PAUSD Office. Council Member Cormack remarked that PAUSD Staff had to balance welcoming visitors with controlling access to schools. She inquired whether emergency notifications were sent to students as well as parents and teachers. Mr. Austin answered no, but PAUSD Staff was exploring methods to notify students. Council Member Cormack inquired whether Mr. Jacobs worked closely with Mr. Ken Dueker, Director of the Palo Alto Office of Emergency Services. Mr. Jacobs advised that PAUSD's plans for safety and emergency preparedness had been discussed with Mr. Dueker. He discussed the addition of video cameras at schools with Police personnel. Council Member Cormack suggested schools would be natural recovery sites for natural disasters. Board Member Collins explained that the Field Act required school structures to be hardened facilities. Schools were designed as community refuges in the event of a natural disaster. For many years, PAUSD had not implemented safety measures but was now implementing safety measures that would respond to a variety of hazards. Board Member DiBrienza reported PAUSD's Twitter feed was not a reliable source of information because PAUSD did not post regularly on Twitter. Having one platform that provided the community with information was useful. Council Member Cormack suggested PAUSD Staff consult with the Police Department regarding best practices for the use of social media platforms. Chair Kou asked if stop-the-bleed training pertained to first aid. Mr. Jacobs replied yes. FINAL MINUTES Page 6 of 9 Sp. City School Liaison Committee Meeting Final Minutes: 12/19/2019 Chair Kou noted the American Red Cross provided Wilderness First Aid Training. Accurate information was crucial to emergency notifications. She asked how PAUSD Staff had communicated during the recent robbery situation. Mr. Austin related that PAUSD did not have a dedicated communications officer, which made communications challenging. Internal communications occurred via cell phones or in person during the recent event. Chair Kou asked if updates were shared with multiple people. Mr. Austin advised that the people involved in communications depended on the situation. Chair Kou asked if PAUSD had considered some type of outdoor warning system. Mr. Austin answered no. Board Member DiBrienza reported alarms could be heard throughout the two high school campuses. Mr. Jacobs added that the on-call system could be utilized for school-wide announcements, and speakers were located inside and outside classrooms. Radios were available and utilized at schools, and they were being reprogrammed to send emergency alerts. Board Member Collins requested comments regarding the after-action evaluation of responses to the robbery incident. Mr. Austin reported the after-action evaluation was invaluable in that the City was able to accurately trace actions through time-stamped communications. PAUSD Staff received notification of the event soon after the event began. Responses to the situation were overwhelmingly good. Board Member Collins appreciated PAUSD staff and City Staff for reviewing the situation and determining what went well and what needed to be changed within a day of the incident. 6. Updates on Ongoing Matters a. Cubberley Update b. Grade Separation Update Kristen O’Kane, Community Services Director reported communications regarding the Cubberley Concept Plan were increasing. The Chief Communications Officer was creating a blog for the Concept Plan. The FINAL MINUTES Page 7 of 9 Sp. City School Liaison Committee Meeting Final Minutes: 12/19/2019 California Environmental Quality Act review was underway, and City Staff anticipated receiving an internal draft in January, 2020. City Staff had drafted a lease extension for the Cubberley site and sent it to Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD) staff for review. The existing lease was continuing on a month-by-month basis until the extension was finalized and executed. Board Member DiBrienza requested a potential timeframe for executing the lease extension. Don Austin, PAUSD Superintendent advised that PAUSD staff was reviewing the lease extension. It was possible for it to be presented to the PAUSD Board of Education (Board) at their first January, 2020 meeting. Ms. O’Kane indicated she would send Cubberley tenants a letter stating their leases were to continue on a month-by-month basis. Ken Horowitz was dismayed by the lack of progress in the last five years. He had recommended the Council not pursue the lease extension because the facilities needed extensive improvements soon and because the lease extension delayed actions for another three to four years. He suggested PAUSD and the City walk away from the lease extension. Board Member Collins requested information regarding the Cubberley Ad Hoc Committee. Mr. Austin explained that the Ad Hoc Committee was formed to work out details between the City and PAUSD. Board Member Collins was anxious to make progress. Council Member Cormack said she would be tremendously disappointed if the Board and the City were not able to work together to develop the Cubberley site because a great deal of time and money had been spent on the Concept Plan and the community had chosen the concept. Chantal Cotton Gaines, Assistant to the City Manager advised that the Rail Expanded Community Advisory Panel (XCAP) updated the Council on December 9, 2019 and formed working groups to evaluate different aspects of their questions. The XCAP solicited additional alternatives from the community and received six alternatives. The prior day, the XCAP approved a recommendation for the Council to consider studying three of the community's alternatives. The recommendation was going to be presented to the Council in January, 2020. The City's traffic consultant released a Traffic Study related to the Churchill crossing. Questions about the Traffic FINAL MINUTES Page 8 of 9 Sp. City School Liaison Committee Meeting Final Minutes: 12/19/2019 Study needed to be submitted to her on or before the following Monday, and the consultant planned on addressing the questions at an XCAP meeting in January, 2020. Council Member Cormack added that the City's Chief Information Officer had established a robust Community Engagement Plan. Ms. Gaines requested PAUSD's assistance in distributing information. Board Member Collins inquired regarding the April 30, 2020 deadline. Ms. Gaines explained that the Council had directed the XCAP to provide it with recommendations for the Churchill, Meadow and Charleston crossings by the end of April, 2020. Board Member Collins asked if the Council was contemplating a bond measure in 2019 or 2020 to finance grade crossings. Council Member Cormack reported the Council was not contemplating a bond measure. The Finance Committee considered a Business License Tax and preferred a tax based on head count. The amount of the tax and the potential revenues were not determined. Board Member Collins asked if the Finance Committee was considering borrowing funds and using the Business License Tax to service the debt. Council Member Cormack indicated the Finance Committee had not reached that level of detail. Measure B funding was still under discussion. Chair Kou inquired about polling around a tax measure. Council Member Cormack related that the City was conducting community polling, and results of the poll could be ready during the third week of January, 2020. 7. Future Meetings and Agendas Chantal Cotton Gaines, Assistant to the City Manager reported the next meeting would be held in either January or February, 2020. Board Member Collins requested a tentative meeting be scheduled for January, 2020. Kimberly Lunt, Office of the City Clerk suggested a meeting could be scheduled for the third or fourth Thursday of January, 2020, depending on FINAL MINUTES Page 9 of 9 Sp. City School Liaison Committee Meeting Final Minutes: 12/19/2019 the Mayor's appointing Council Members to the City/School Liaison Committee (Committee). Council Member Cormack suggested the Committee not meet on the same day as the breakfast pertaining to vaping. Ms. Gaines indicated the breakfast was scheduled for the fourth Thursday. Board Member DiBrienza announced she would not be available on January 16, 2020. Ms. Gaines noted a meeting could be scheduled for the fifth Thursday in January, 2020. Council Member Cormack concurred with scheduling a tentative meeting for January 30, 2020. Board Member Collins agreed. Chair Kou also agreed. Ms. Lunt advised that she would need to confirm Staff's availability on January 30, 2020. Board Member Collins requested the City continue to host the Committee meetings in 2020. Board Member DiBrienza reported Police Officers were issuing citations to high school students when the students were biking to final exams. She had contacted the City Safe Routes to School team and requested the Police Department not stop students during exam week. Chair Kou requested input for future Agenda Items. ADJOURNMENT: The meeting was adjourned at 9:51 A.M.