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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2016-04-26 City Schools Liaison Committee Summary MinutesPage | 1 April 26, 2016 City School Liaison Minutes BIG CREEK ELEMENTARY Special Meeting April 26, 2016 The City School Liaison Committee met in the Community Meeting Room at this date at 8:05 A.M, 250 Hamilton Avenue, Palo Alto, California. Present: City of Palo Alto Tom DuBois, Council Member, Committee (Chair) Cory Wolbach, Council Member Khashayar “Cash” Alaee, City Manager’s Office Palo Alto Unified School District Terry Godfrey, Vice President Melissa Baten Caswell, Board Member Cathy Mak, District Chief Business Officer Absent: Oral Communications None. Chair DuBois explained the City/School Liaison Committee was less formal and requested Staff and attendees introduce themselves. Jim Keene, City Manager. Christine Shambora, Southgate Neighborhood. Tom Vlasic, Southgate Neighborhood. Claudia Keith, City of Palo Alto, Chief Communications Officer. Gil Friend, City of Palo Alto, Chief Sustainability Officer. Jim McFall, Southgate Neighborhood. Keith Ferrell, Southgate Neighborhood. City/School Liaison Committee Minutes Page | 2 April 26, 2016 City School Liaison Minutes Khashayar Alaee, City Manager’s Office. Cathy Mak, PAUSD District Chief Business Officer. Terry Godfrey, Palo Alto Unified School District Board Vice President. Irma Mora, City Clerk’s Department. Tabatha Boatwright, City Clerk’s Department. Melissa Baten Caswell, Palo Alto Unified School District Board. 1. Approval of Minutes- March 17, 2016. Terry Godfrey, Palo Alto Unified School District Board Vice President, noted a few changes to the March 17th minutes: a. On the top of Page 13, the email address e-news; remove the hyphen from the address. b. On Page 15, third paragraph refers to the Bryant Street Garage; add the word “Fund.” c. In the minutes approval change the vote to 3-0, Baten Caswell absent; Camille Townsend did not vote since she was not at the meeting. Chair DuBois stated there was a Motion to approve the minutes with the noted changes. Melissa Baten Caswell, Palo Alto Unified School District Board Member, asked to wait until Council Member Wolbach arrived. Ms. Godfrey agreed to wait. 2. Review of Recent City Council/PAUSD Board Meetings. Terry Godfrey, Palo Alto Unified School District Board Vice President, stated recent discussions of interest to the City include the renaming of the schools committee functions and the math text book adoption committee was currently accepting applications. Melissa Baten Caswell, Palo Alto Unified School District Board Member, remarked there had been peopled named to sit on the math text book committee. Page | 3 April 26, 2016 City School Liaison Minutes Ms. Godfrey said the next committee coming up was SEL or Social/Emotional Learning Curriculum Committee. The committee was currently accepting applications for members through May 13th. The Board authorized the sale of bonds at their last meeting. In 2008 the sale was for $378 million while the 2016 sale was for $45 million. Ms. Baten Caswell noted the Palo Alto High School (PALY) performing arts building will be opening soon and the choir was scheduled to perform in two weeks. Although the next topic was not broached in a Board meeting she wanted to mention it. Bicycle thefts at PALY have been increasing and, this school year, there have been 30+ bikes stolen. She said the Parent Teacher Association (PTA) and the Palo Alto Police Department are aware of the situation. The parents and students have been unaware of whom to report the theft to so there have been more bikes stolen than the Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD) knows about. James Keene, City Manager, asked if the bikes stolen were locked up. Ms. Baten Caswell stated some yes, she cannot vouch for each theft. One incident the thief was seen and chased; he was wearing a Palo Alto High t- shirt. It looks like the thefts are planned. Chair DuBois asked if it was multiple schools. Ms. Baten Caswell believed so. She noted because PALY was an open campus the bikes were not in cages. At the middle school level the bikes were placed in cages and locked. Chair DuBois stated Council had recently discussed the sustainability plan, which is an 80 percent reduction in greenhouse gases by the year 2030. They also discussed the bike share program and next week there will be discussions on parking permits; there were four neighborhoods who have applied permit programs. There were poll results received regarding the business tax coming in the fall. Ms. Baten Caswell asked if the business license tax information would be circulated to the PAUSD. Chair DuBois agreed to have Staff send the report to the PAUSD once it was available. Mr. Keene stated the initial information would be a test poll and feasibility study. Page | 4 April 26, 2016 City School Liaison Minutes Khashayar Alaee, Senior Management Analyst, mentioned the City was working on a grant from Georgetown University on energy. Staff had been working with PAUSD who would receive $1 million if Palo Alto was awarded. Mr. Keene noted the City had been working on the grant for a year; it was a competition at Georgetown University to incentivize creative thinking around greenhouse gas reduction and energy issues. Palo Alto was currently one of 30 semi-finalists. Ms. Baten Caswell stated both PALY and Gunn had AP Environmental Science programs. There was down time after the AP testing, there were students that were enthusiastic about the topic. She suggested getting the word out to the AP classes to get the students engaged. NO ACTION TAKEN 3. Discussion Regarding City and PAUSD Transportation Demand Management Strategies . Khashayar Alaee, Senior Management Analyst, stated the topic was a follow- up on the previous discussion of the Residential Parking Program (RPP) in the Downtown area and Addison school. He wanted the opportunity to discuss the Transportation Demand Management (TDM) program with the Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD) Board Members regarding the activities occurring throughout the City. James Keene, City Manager, apologized for not being able to schedule Josh Mello, the Chief Transportation Official, for the discussion. Traffic and parking was foremost on the Council’s agenda. Council approved wayfinding and parking guidance systems. The RPP program was entering the second phase to redirect parking in such a way there was maximizing use at the Webster Garage. There were approximately 20 different Transportation Demand Management (TMA) programs initiated at the present time. There were Transportation Management Agencies (TMA); there was one initiated in the Downtown area and Stanford Research Park had its own TMA. The City provided $100,000 for seed money to pilot different TMA programs. The thought was to see if the program could eventually be extended to the California Avenue area. Staff was looking into shuttle service as an option as well as a mobile application called Scoop which was a carpooling program for $1 each way and a guaranteed ride home. Page | 5 April 26, 2016 City School Liaison Minutes Melissa Baten Caswell, Palo Alto Unified School District Board Member, clarified it was similar to the carpooling lots except in a virtual realm. Mr. Keene stated yes, it was virtual. Ms. Baten Caswell said one did not need to know the carpooling person. Mr. Keene agreed, he explained it was similar to the attempt the PAUSD and the City did with SAP. Unfortunately that joint effort was not successful. Ms. Baten Caswell believed the SAP situation needed a long-term agreement. Mr. Keene said yes although; the Scoop program was more like Uber. Chair DuBois noted the driver was reimbursed. Mr. Keene stated yes, the driver was reimbursed $5 for driving. The City had Staff members who were currently drivers and riders. Ms. Baten Caswell asked if there were minors involved in the program and if Scoop was participating with schools. Gil Friend, Chief Sustainability Officer, stated he was uncertain if there was school involvement. He was aware of some of the ride service companies who were specifically designed for students. With those services there was a more rigorous driver vetting. Mr. Keene stated the City was working on commuter wallet, which was combining a number of single applications in one location. Mr. Friend noted there were a number of rider option service applications and the commuter wallet allowed for an all-in-one application to create higher ridership. The goal was to plan, book, and pay for multiple rise services in one application. Mr. Keene looked at a partnership with Lyft who could provide first or last mile transportation to mass transit. Mr. Friend mentioned Lyft has shown interest in creating flexible service to fill the first and last mile gap. Page | 6 April 26, 2016 City School Liaison Minutes Mr. Keene stated the key problem is the City is creating the traffic issue. These are simply ways to reduce the single occupancy trips. There needs to be behavioral shifts and to develop as many channels as possible for people to use. Chair DuBois asked the public to speak. Jim McFall from Southgate Neighborhood, noted the neighborhood had narrow streets and a bike boulevard on Castilleja Avenue. There has been a significant increase in parking in the neighborhoods from students. Southgate has applied for the RPP. Keith Ferrell, Southgate Neighborhood, stated the perception was the issue was caused by the construction of PALY but that was a fallacy. By the year 2020 the anticipated student count was 2,400 which was a gain of 600 students with a loss of 84 parking spaces without counting new staff members. Ms. Baten Caswell asked if there was a specific person Mr. Ferrell had been communicating with. Mr. Ferrell stated the past two Principals and the current one, explained they cannot tell students where to park on city streets. In 2007 there were 1,700 students and 400 parking spots. In 2020 there will be 1 parking spot for every 9 students. There was a permit program at PALY although those who do not wish to pay for a permit those students park in the neighborhoods. Ms. Baten Caswell asked who the contact person was in the Southgate Neighborhood. Christine Shambora stated there was a student committee made up of herself, Mr. Ferrell, Mr. Vlasic and Mr. McFall. Ms. Baten Caswell said if the same process continued the same result would be achieved. It appeared to her there needed to be a joint meeting on a regular basis to counteract the issues. Mr. Ferrell clarified the City had no right to tell anyone where they can park or not unless there is a parking permit program. Ms. Baten Caswell asked if he felt the parking permit program would resolve the issue of students parking in the Southgate Neighborhood. Page | 7 April 26, 2016 City School Liaison Minutes Mr. Ferrell stated yes. Mr. McFall agreed the permit program would alleviate the issues; although, he felt with so many applications in for participation in the parking permit program they may not be accepted. Terry Godfrey, Palo Alto Unified School District Board Vice President, said if an issue of parking permits from the schools was a random draw it is possible to change the rules that may partially solve the neighborhood issue. Mr. Ferrell stated Gunn High School gave parking permits priority to carpooling, those who resided the furthest distance from the school and then seniors then juniors. Chair DuBois noted with surprise there was suggestions in the newspapers to park in Southgate. Ms. Baten Caswell asked if the article was in the school paper. Mr. Ferrell stated yes, when the Residential Parking Permit (RPP) Program it was suggested to park in the residential areas. Ms. Baten Caswell recalled when the Palo Alto Medical Foundation was being constructed there was a working group created to discuss and assist with parking matters. Her concern was once the parking permit program was approved, there wouldn’t be continued issues. Ms. Shambora believed the beauty of the RPP is allowing the stakeholders the opportunity to sit down and delve into the issues and come up with multiple solutions. She said the cost to park on campus was $150 annually but parking in the neighbors was free. Gunn has created a no parking area around the campus from 8:00 am to 2:00 pm. This assisted with the student parking but unless the residents had a permit they could not park in front of their own home. Mr. Ferrell noted Castilleja was a bike boulevard and during the school entering and exiting times there were a myriad of cars lining the streets and bicycles attempting to get through so they need to ride through the traffic and in the street. Tom Vlasic stated it has gotten to the point that you cannot have a normal residential use of the Southgate Neighborhood. There is no room for delivery trucks to get through, some of the students park right at the edge of a Page | 8 April 26, 2016 City School Liaison Minutes driveway and the resident cannot exit the driveway without damaging their vehicle or the students. Chair DuBois said the purpose for today’s discussion was to be certain both City and the PAUSD were aware of what was happening. When the RPP was started in the Downtown area the Addison Neighborhood was surprised. The Southgate Neighborhood was already in the process so there should not be any surprises when permits begin to show up. He did not believe there should be an impact on teacher parking; he did not believe teachers were parking in the neighborhoods. Ms. Baten Caswell stated no, teachers had permits to park on campus. Chair DuBois stated his son went to Gunn where it was a biking culture. He asked if there is a difference in the culture at PALY. Ms. Baten Caswell said there were hundreds of bicycles at PALY; it was a high bike culture but there were those who like to drive. She wanted to talk beyond the RPP and have a group that regularly meets to discuss all matters involving continued issues. Chair DuBois believed once a permit program was in place in Southgate the issue may simply shift to Evergreen Park or Old Palo Alto. Ms. Godfrey felt there was an opportunity to improve the school permit program. Ms. Baten Caswell brought back the stolen bike situation where she felt the PAUSD needed to work closer with the police to assist the prevention of bikes on campus. Chair DuBois believed at Gunn it is an open campus but there were bike cages. He asked if there was a similar situation at PALY. Ms. Baten Caswell stated yes, there was one cage and possible two but there were issues with an open campus school where one needed to open and close the cage each time. There needed to be discussions on all of the issues if there was a desire for multiple modes of transportation maximized. There were a lot of students riding their bikes, walking and taking the shuttles. Mr. Ferrell said that was the point he was trying to make. At last count there were 830 students riding bikes and the shuttles on Embarcadero were Page | 9 April 26, 2016 City School Liaison Minutes packed. The issue was not so much the transportation as the number of students for the available transportation methods. The school was built to house 1,600 kids with a current attendance of 2,350. The parking has decreased 35 percent while the enrollment has increased 30 percent. Ms. Baten Caswell acknowledged the difference but noted if you were to watch the drop-off ratio there are close to no carpooling efforts. Council Member Wolbach agreed there a number of angles to work on; the RPP was one, the school permits distribution policy, and improvement of the security and safety of the bikes are others. He has heard concerns of how parking was occurring such as too far from the curbs or in front of hydrants there was an opportunity for enforcement. Mr. Vlasic understood the vast needs of the situations and agreed fixing one area will only drive the problem to another area but the major concern in the Southgate Neighborhood was how narrow the streets were. The width of the streets was a larger issue in safety because of the situation. Council Member Wolbach mentioned in the Council direction to Staff in the Comprehensive Plan, under land use and housing, one of the matters being explored was whether new residential developments near transit should have less access to street or permit parking. Chair DuBois believed the current Transportation Management Agency (TMA) boundaries did not include schools. At present there was a Downtown Agency and a Stanford Research Park Agency. He was interested in discussing the possibility of expanding the boundaries of the agencies. He felt the VA Hospital and Gunn could be included in the Stanford TMA. Ms. Baten Caswell asked why those areas had not been included before. Chair DuBois clarified he was not certain they were not included. He believed they were only focused on the large commercial campuses. He felt teachers may be of the greatest benefit. The Downtown TMA boundary was smaller than the RPP boundary, but the Downtown TMA could include Addison. Ms. Baten Caswell agreed there were issues that needed to be discussed and understood with this type of program. Elementary teachers usually carry a lot of their supplies back and forth but higher levels did not have that need. Page | 10 April 26, 2016 City School Liaison Minutes Chair DuBois mentioned Scoop, which was a part of the Downtown TMA. Scoop provided a ride for $1 and a guaranteed ride home. But he did not believe it was currently available to teachers because of the boundaries. Mr. Keene did not believe the boundaries were typical. The TMA programs were voluntary so there was an opportunity to be opportunistic with the boundary changes or possible leap frog to a location. The critical matter is the stakeholder themselves need to get actively involved. Ms. Baten Caswell felt it was very important to have teachers as part of this type of conversation. Chair DuBois stated step one would be to look at membership of the TMA and have a discussion at the PAUSD level to discuss parking as part of the benefits package. Mr. Keene stated there has to be willingness to participate and he presumed students did not have the ability to move their vehicles during class time. Ms. Baten Caswell stated generally they would not although it was an open campus so it was possible if their schedule allowed. DUE TO TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES THE REMAINDER OF THE MEETING WAS NOT CAPTURED ON THE AUDIO RECORDER NO ACTION TAKEN 4. Review Upcoming Calendar and Agendas. The next scheduled meeting was Thursday, May 19th at 8:00 AM. Terry Godfrey, Palo Alto Unified School District Board Vice President moved approval of the minutes. Council Member Wolbach seconded. MOTION: Board Member Godfrey moved, seconded by Council Member Wolbach that the City School Liaison Committee approve the minutes from March 17 2016 with the below changes: a. Add the word Fund to the Bryant Street Garage. b. Change the vote to 3-0 Melissa Baten Caswell absent MOTION PASSED: 4-0 Adjournment: This meeting was adjourned at 9:39 A.M.