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Home My WebLink About2006-02-06 City Council Summary Minutes Special Meeting February 6, 2006 1. CONFERENCE WITH LABOR NEGOTIATOR ..........................................108 ADJOURNMENT: The meeting adjourned at 7:00 p.m. .................................108 ORAL COMMUNICATIONS ........................................................................109 APPROVAL OF MINUTES ..........................................................................109 1. Resolution 8589 entitled “Resolution of the Council of the City of Palo Alto Authorizing the Filing of an Application for Federal Surface Transportation Program Funding for Street Rehabilitation Projects on Newell Road and California Avenue and Committing the Necessary Non-Federal Match for the Projects and Stating the Assurance of the City of Palo Alto to Complete the Project” ..........................................110 2. Resolution 8590 entitled “Resolution of the Council of the City of Palo Alto Endorsing the Safe Routes to School National Partnership Consensus Statement” ....................................................................110 3. Resolution 8591 entitled “Resolution of the Council of the City of Palo Alto Approving the Revised Energy Risk Management Policy and Delegating to the City Manager the Authority to Establish and Implement Rules and Regulations that Execute the Energy Risk Management Policy” .......................................................................110 4. Approval of Participation in a Wireless-Based Automatic Vehicle Location Trial in the California Avenue Corridor ..................................110 5. Approval of a Contract with Asplundh Tree Expert Company in an Amount Not to Exceed $325,000 for the 2005-2006 Tree Maintenance Project ..........................................................................................110 6. Auditor’s Report on the City of Palo Alto Service Efforts and Accomplishments Report FY 2004-05 ................................................110 02/06/06 100-106 7. Authorize the City Manager to Appoint a Committee of Stakeholders to Explore Opportunities to Enhance Palo Alto’s Economy by Improving Visitor Outreach and Benefit from Local Tourism, Including Developing Recommendations and a Prioritized Action Plan ..................................112 FINAL ADJOURNMENT: The meeting adjourned at 8:30 p.m. .......................8 02/06/2006 100-107 The City Council of the City of Palo Alto met on this date in the Council Chambers at 5:30 p.m. PRESENT: Barton, Beecham, Cordell, Drekmeier, Kishimoto, Klein, Kleinberg, Morton (arrived at 5:40 p.m.), Mossar ORAL COMMUNICATIONS CLOSED SESSION 1. CONFERENCE WITH LABOR NEGOTIATOR City Manager and his designees pursuant to Merit Rules and Regulations (Frank Benest, Emily Harrison, Russ Carlsen, Carl Yeats, Keith Fleming) Employee Organization: Local 715, Service Employees International Union (SEIU) - Classified Unit Authority: Government Code Section 54957.6(a) Mayor Kleinberg announced there was no reportable action taken. ADJOURNMENT: The meeting adjourned at 7:00 p.m. 02/06/2006 100-108 Regular Meeting February 6, 2006 The City Council of the City of Palo Alto met on this date in the Council Chambers at 7:08 p.m. PRESENT: Barton, Beecham, Cordell, Drekmeier, Kishimoto, Klein, Kleinberg, Morton, Mossar ORAL COMMUNICATIONS Jinny Henke, 774 Wildwood Lane, spoke regarding the Edgewood Plaza. John K. Abraham, 736 Ellsworth Place, spoke regarding CMR:133:06. Allan Berkowitz, 3921 E. Bayshore Road, spoke regarding Lucie Stern Maritime Center. Sally Tomlinson, 936 Addison Avenue, spoke regarding environmental volunteers and the renovation of Lucie Stern Maritime Center. Jan Fenwick, 28011 Elena Road, Los Altos Hills, spoke regarding the Lucie Stern Maritime Center. Clark Akatiff, 106 Rinconada, spoke regarding the Juana Briones House. Lynn Chiapella, 631 Colorado Avenue, spoke regarding street trees. APPROVAL OF MINUTES MOTION: Council Member Morton moved, seconded by Kishimoto, to adopt the minutes of December 19, 2005, and January 9, 2006, as submitted. MOTION PASSED 9-0. CONSENT CALENDAR MOTION: Council Member Mossar moved, seconded by Morton, to approve agenda Items Nos. 1-5. 1. Resolution 8589 entitled “Resolution of the Council of the City of Palo Alto Authorizing the Filing of an Application for Federal Surface Transportation Program Funding for Street Rehabilitation Projects on Newell Road and California Avenue and Committing the Necessary 02/06/2006 100-109 Non-Federal Match for the Projects and Stating the Assurance of the City of Palo Alto to Complete the Project” 2. Resolution 8590 entitled “Resolution of the Council of the City of Palo Alto Endorsing the Safe Routes to School National Partnership Consensus Statement” 3. Resolution 8591 entitled “Resolution of the Council of the City of Palo Alto Approving the Revised Energy Risk Management Policy and Delegating to the City Manager the Authority to Establish and Implement Rules and Regulations that Execute the Energy Risk Management Policy” 4. Approval of Participation in a Wireless-Based Automatic Vehicle Location Trial in the California Avenue Corridor 5. Approval of a Contract with Asplundh Tree Expert Company in an Amount Not to Exceed $325,000 for the 2005-2006 Tree Maintenance Project MOTION PASSED 9-0. REPORTS OF OFFICIALS 6. Auditor’s Report on the City of Palo Alto Service Efforts and Accomplishments Report FY 2004-05 City Auditor Sharon Erickson gave an overview of the Service Efforts and Accomplishments (SEA) Report. She said it was the fourth annual report on the City’s government performance prepared by the City Auditor’s Office that summarized spending, staffing, workload, results for each City department, five-year historical trends, comparisons to other cities and a residents’ survey. The National Citizens Survey was used to conduct the third annual survey. In September 2005, the survey was mailed to 1,200 randomly selected Palo Alto street addresses requesting input on quality and satisfaction of city services. The response rate was 43 percent down from 51 percent response in 2003-04. Detailed results were outlined in Auditor’s Report on the City of Palo Alto Service Efforts and Accomplishments Report FY 2004-05, dated February 6, 2006. Norman Carroll, 425 High St. #120, said most of the seniors and people with low incomes were not aware of the various City services. Council Member Klein asked how many Enterprise Fund employees were 02/06/2006 100-110 formerly General Fund employees. Ms. Erickson said she did not have the figures on hand and would need to get back with the information. Council Member Klein asked what the percentage ranking was on satisfaction of land use decisions in the Planning Department. Ms. Erickson said consultants did not always provide percentile rankings because they did not have data to compare or the City was the only jurisdiction asking for the information. Council Member Klein said land use was controversial and asked how the City compared with other jurisdictions. Ms. Erickson said it depended on how many other jurisdictions asked the same questions. The City was in the 65 percentile in the land use planning and code enforcement area. Council Member Klein asked how did the sworn-officer vacancies in the Police Department compare to other years. Ms. Erickson said she would need to get back with that information. Council Member Klein asked whether there were cities that ranked higher than Palo Alto. Ms. Erickson said consultants did not release names of cities that were rated. Mayor Kleinberg asked whether consultants had control of cities that were questioned and rated. Ms. Erickson said they did not but it was any jurisdiction that asked the same questions. A fee was required for requesting control on the jurisdictions rated against the City. MOTION: Vice Mayor Kishimoto moved, seconded by Morton, to receive and file the Auditor’s Report on the City of Palo Alto Service Efforts and Accomplishments Report FY 2004-05. Vice Mayor Kishimoto said the SEA Report was informative and kept the City accountable. She asked the City Auditor’s interpretation of the 54 percent rating given on Council’s direction. 02/06/2006 100-111 Ms. Erickson said the questionnaire was distributed during the Fall of an election year at a time the City had received a large amount of negative press. All services were affected if people were feeling poorly over one service. Vice Mayor Kishimoto said the Capital Improvement Project (CIP) was a large part of the City’s budget and asked why the SEA Report contained only one page of information. She asked if there was a way to measure level of satisfaction on the investments in infrastructure. Ms. Erickson agreed the CIP was an area that could be expanded. She said the quality of the facilities gained a high rating. The City Auditor’s office was looking into an Infrastructure Report Card to provide the City Manager with the ability to take a more in depth look of the infrastructure. Vice Mayor Kishimoto said improvements could also be made in the areas of street repairs and traffic control. Council Member Morton said it was interesting to see City services with scores in the 80 percentile and a decline in the Council’s direction. Mayor Kleinberg said the City had received an increase from Homeland Security Grants and asked whether the increase in expenditures for Police and Fire were attributed to the increase in grants. Ms. Erickson said she did not think they were. The expenditures were not capital expenditures but General Fund expenditures and were not a substantial amount. Mayor Kleinberg said downtown businesses had raised concerns regarding recycling of organic waste, particularly the florist shops. She said it was not part of the report but an opportunity for involvement in sustainable principles. MOTION PASSED 9-0. 7. Authorize the City Manager to Appoint a Committee of Stakeholders to Explore Opportunities to Enhance Palo Alto’s Economy by Improving Visitor Outreach and Benefit from Local Tourism, Including Developing Recommendations and a Prioritized Action Plan MOTION: Council Member Morton moved, seconded by Mossar, to approve staff recommendations that the City Manager appoint a committee of stakeholders to explore opportunities to benefit from location tourism. The 02/06/2006 100-112 committee will develop recommendations and an action plan for future Palo Alto tourism efforts and present these to the City Manager. The City Manager will review the recommendations and action plan and present outcomes to the City Council. Council Member Morton said the Palo Alto area and Baylands had more birds than any other part of the country and suggested having a birdwatcher on the committee to promote bird watching as a tourist attraction. John King, 724 Barron Avenue, said the Palo Alto Chamber of Commerce was interested in being a stakeholder and in getting information out to the public. Sandra Lonnquist, 122 Hamilton Avenue, asked for input regarding the type of partnership the City would like to have with the Chamber of Commerce. MOTION PASSED 9-0. FINAL ADJOURNMENT: The meeting adjourned at 8:30 p.m. ATTEST: APPROVED: City Clerk Mayor NOTE: Sense minutes (synopsis) are prepared in accordance with Palo Alto Municipal Code Sections 2.04.180(a) and (b). The City Council and Standing Committee meeting tapes are made solely for the purpose of facilitating the preparation of the minutes of the meetings. City Council and Standing Committee meeting tapes are recycled 90 days from the date of the meeting. The tapes are available for members of the public to listen to during regular office hours. 02/06/2006 100-113