HomeMy WebLinkAbout2022-02-03 Stormwater Management Oversight Committee Summary MinutesStormwater Management
Oversight Committee
Minutes
Thursday, February 3, 2022
1 pm to 3 pm
Special Meeting
****BY IN PERSON and VIRTUAL TELECONFERENCE ***
https://zoom.us/join Meeting ID: 990 9847 5635 Phone: 1(669)9006833
Pursuant to the provisions of California Governor’s Executive Order N-29-20,
issued on March 17, 2020, to prevent the spread of Covid-19, this meeting
will be held by virtual teleconference only, with no physical location.
Agenda posted in accordance Government Code Section 54954.2(a) or
54956.
Committee Members Present: Hal Mickelson, Dena Mossar, Catherine Perman,
Merilyn Keller, Bob Wenzlau, Ron Owes
Committee Members Absent: David Bower
Staff Present: Jamie Perez, Pam Boyle Rodriguez, Michel Jeremias, Brad Hunt,
Julie Weiss
Other Presenters: Jerry Bradshaw (SCI Consulting Group)
PUBLIC COMMENT
Members of the public who wish to participate by computer or phone can find
the instructions at the end of this agenda. To ensure participation in a
particular item, we suggest calling in or connecting online 15 minutes before
the item you wish to speak on.
Call to Order (5 min)
• Mickelson: Call to order at 1:01 PM
Oral Communications (5 min)
Members of the public may speak to any item NOT on the agenda. A
reasonable time restriction may be imposed at the discretion of the
Committee Chair.
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• No Public Comment
Old Business (5 min)
1. Approval of Minutes from the December 2, 2021 Stormwater Management
Oversight Committee Meeting (5 min)
A. Owes: Motion to approve.
i. Mickelson seconds.
ii. No objections. Approved at 1:04 PM.
New Business (90 min)
2. Adoption of a Resolution Authorizing Use of Teleconferencing for
Stormwater Management Oversight Committee Meetings During Covid-19
State of Emergency (5 min)
A. Wenzlau: Motions to approve.
i. Perman seconds.
ii. No objections. Approved at 1:06 PM.
3. Staff Presentation of FY 2021 Actuals for Committee Approval and FY 2023
Budget Process Update (15 min)
A. Boyle Rodriguez: Introduction of new staff member, Brad Hunt.
B. Hunt: Introduction of background/experience and new role with City
of Palo Alto as an Associate Engineer.
C. Perez: Presentation of FY 2021 Actuals.
D. Wenzlau: Referencing the Matadero Creek spill, asks how we
anticipate revenue for spills in creeks or other similar issues. Was
additional budget expended to cover those costs?
i. Boyle Rodriguez: If staff cleans up the spill and/or spends a
considerable time bringing an issue to compliance, then costs
are recovered. In addition, citations are $1,000 and go up if
needed according to the Muni Code. Those revenues go back
to Storm Fund as well. Our positions are covered by the SWM
Fee, in that way, staff time is covered for those issues as well.
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ii. Wenzlau: Suggests speaking with the City Manager and City
Attorney’s Office to discuss how expenses for coverage of those
issues are managed and funded.
iii. Owes: Discussion of issues with lack of enforcement of
stormwater issues seen in the community.
iv. Boyle Rodriguez: Asks Committee members to follow up with
her about specific issues. Currently working on cross-training
staff on enforcement and inspections.
v. Perman: Can we publicize the method for submitting
complaints more?
vi. Boyle Rodriguez: Inserts detailing method have been included
in billing in the past and we can discuss doing more outreach
on that.
E. Wenzlau: Circle back to funding for coverage of spills like the
Matadero Creek spill.
i. Boyle Rodriguez: We can discuss with staff further and get back
to the Committee with more information.
ii. Mickelson: Yes, that would be an effective way to handle the
question and come back to the Committee.
F. Perez: FY21 Actuals Memo Review
i. Mickelson: Proposes edit to remove second to last sentence of
second paragraph.
ii. Keller: Are we consistently going to be behind in budget? Are
we consistently not spending the full budget?
1. Perez: Lower expenses are often related to delays in
projects, Citywide vacancies/lower staff capacity, longer
procurement processes to establish contracts, contract
expenses that span multiple fiscal years. Unspent
encumbered funding is carried forward to subsequent
fiscal years so planned expenses may be spread across
multiple fiscal years, especially for large contracts or
projects.
iii. Perman: Motions to approve
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a. Owes seconds.
2. Memo approved with edits by all Committee members at
1:42 PM.
G. Perez: FY23 Budget Process Update
i. Owes: Can we discuss enforcement issues further? Should we
be raising other types of fees to cover the expenses for
enforcement of storm drain violations and issues?
1. Perez: Staff can discuss further and come back for
discussion at the next meeting in April.
2. Mickelson: Suggests Owes reaches out to City Manager
for a one-on-one conversation.
3. Mossar: Suggests Owes has that conversation as a
community member and not as a representative of the
Committee.
4. Staff Update Stormwater Management Fund Capital Program (5 min)
A. Jeremias: Update on current progress of SWM Capital Improvement
Program projects and proposed project for the FY23-F27 CIP Budget
(SD-27000).
5. Staff Update and Discussion Stormwater Management Funding Analysis
(60 min)
A. Boyle Rodriguez: Introduction of presentation and consultant, Jerry
Bradshaw.
B. Bradshaw: Presentation of Funding Options for Green Stormwater
Infrastructure.
i. Owes: Suggest looking at starting a contract with other cities
to be mutually beneficial in partnership with other economies
of scale.
ii. Bradshaw: There has been a regional effort and Palo Alto has
plugged in with other organizations in the region, which is
good.
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C. Boyle Rodriguez: Asks for feedback from Committee on whether
they would like staff to go to Council for future action or
recommendations in reference to the presentation.
i. Perman: Emphasizes importance of funding for future
operations and maintenance.
ii. Mossar: Suggests adding operations and maintenance funding
to a future meeting agenda for further discussion.
iii. Bradshaw: Agrees and will add feedback into the final report.
D. Keller: Suggests considering cost benefits and protection of existing
trees in relation to GSI and development.
i. Bradshaw: Agrees, came across this in research and is
looking into this as part of fee structure research.
E. Perman: The current operations and maintenance budget does not
cover GSI operations and maintenance?
i. Bradshaw: There is operations and maintenance budget for
current infrastructure but there would not be enough as is to
spread around to cover future GSI projects O&M.
ii. Perez: For CIP projects in general, we consider and note
estimated future ongoing operations and maintenance costs
as well as the overall design and construction costs of the
project in the development of the project through the Capital
Budget. We address those operations and maintenance costs
in the Operating Budget through proposed budget
adjustments as needed once a project is completed.
F. Keller: If trees are considered part of the GSI infrastructure can we
consider it part of our responsibility to have operations and
maintenance for trees?
i. Jeremias: We did include trees on the Matadero Creek Pump
Station. Those trees that were planted as part of a CIP project
are part of our Urban Forestry requirement to maintain them.
Eventually as the trees grow, need to be trimmed, or pick up
leaf debris we will maintain them.
ii. Keller: That’s great. Can that be considered for other trees
that have not been planted as part of CIP projects? Can they
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be considered as part of the City’s infrastructure, whose
purview would that fall under?
iii. Jeremias: That is covered by Urban Forestry and maybe we
can bring someone from that team to another meeting in the
future.
6. Introduction to Boards, Commissions, and Committee (BCC) Workplan
Update in Preparation for Next Meeting (5 min)
A. Perez: Reminder that the workplan will need to be updated and
brought to Council for FY23.
Committee Member Comments and Announcements (10 min)
Tentative Agenda Items for Future Meetings and Review Action Items (5 min)
• Mickelson: Confirmation of next meeting date
o Perez: 4/7/22
• Mickelson: Any agenda items for next meeting?
o Mossar: Budgeting for future operations and maintenance.
Adjournment
• Mickelson: Motion to adjourn
o Owes: Motions
o Seconded by Mickelson.
o No objections. Meeting adjourned at 3:06 PM.
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