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Home My WebLink About2007-01-29 City Council Summary Minutes 07/01/29 1 Special Meeting January 29, 2007 1. Ratification of Mayor’s Appointment of Council Subcommittee to Review Responses to Broadband Request for Proposal (RFP)...............2 2. Service Efforts and Accomplishments (SEA) Report, Long Range Financial Forecast, “Next Generation” Challenge, Council Workload for 2007, Green Ribbon Task Force Report ............................................3 ORAL COMMUNICATIONS.......................................................................4 COUNCIL COMMENTS, ANNOUNCEMENTS, AND REPORTS FROM CONFERENCES .............................................................................4 FINAL ADJOURNMENT: The meeting adjourned at 8:45 p.m........................5 07/01/29 2 The City Council of the City of Palo Alto met on this date in the Council Council Chambers at 6:05 p.m. Present: Barton, Beecham, Cordell, Drekmeier, Kishimoto, Klein, Kleinberg, Morton Absent: Mossar Mayor Kishimoto requested clarification of the follow-up information regarding the hazardous materials leak at CPI. Emily Harrison reported staff has met with CPI to try to have them reduce the materials currently on site. Fire Chief Nick Marinaro noted the Fire Marshal has been in touch with CPI and, although there is no timeline, staff is working aggressively to take care of several issues. Ms. Harrison noted many issues have been identified, such as meeting with the Barron Park Neighborhood Group, having the community understand how staff responds to hazardous materials incidents and how staff is trained, and how as a community member they would prepare and respond to different levels of an event, and the notification issue (100 foot entitlement for storage). CONSENT CALENDAR 1. Ratification of Mayor’s Appointment of Council Subcommittee to Review Responses to Broadband Request for Proposal (RFP) Council Member Kleinberg announced she would not participate in this item due to a conflict of interest since her employer, Joint Venture Silicon Valley Network, is involved in this project. MOTION: Council Member Barton moved, seconded by Morton, to approve Mayor Kishimoto’s request that Vice Mayor Larry Klein and Council Member Bern Beecham be appointed as an Impartial Council Review Team for the Ultra High-Speed Broadband Request for Proposal (RFP). MOTION PASSED: 7-0 Kleinberg not participating, Mossar absent. Jeff Hoel, 731 Colorado Avenue, requested this item be pulled from the agenda to allow the public a longer period to review the Proposals for Ultra High-Speed Broadband and/or to discuss this request during Council Comments. 07/01/29 3 City Attorney Gary Baum advised the Council would need to vote to reconsider if the item was to be pulled from the Consent Calendar. There was no motion made to pull the item from the Consent Calendar. STUDY SESSION Mayor Kishimoto noted the purpose of the following Study Session is to prepare the Council for the Retreat on Saturday, February 3 at 8:00 a.m. at the Baylands Interpretive Center. She also mentioned a Brown Bag lunch meeting will be held Wednesday, January 31 at IDEO, entitled Building a Culture of Innovation. 2. Service Efforts and Accomplishments (SEA) Report, Long Range Financial Forecast, “Next Generation” Challenge, Council Workload for 2007, Green Ribbon Task Force Report City Auditor Sharon Erickson presented the “Fifth Annual Report on City Government Performance” stating that Palo Alto ranks in the 94th percentile of national responses on overall quality of City services. She reviewed all elements in the report including overall spending and staffing, the net General Fund cost per resident, total authorized staffing, as well as service efforts and accomplishments by department for Fiscal Year 2005-06. The report is available on the website or in the City Auditor’s Office. Director of Administrative Services Carl Yeats presented a brief summary of the “Long Range Financial Forecast 2007-2017,” which highlighted key decisions that would need to be made in the future. He reviewed the assumptions and drivers, significant financial challenges, such as retiree medical liability and the $3 million infrastructure challenge, and the upside potential of certain efforts as well as the downside risks. He noted the forecast predicts a balanced budget for the next five years and incorporates the significant changes and challenges. Deficits are shown in Fiscal Year 2010-11 due to a proposed recession and the decline in Refuse Fund Rent. City Manager Frank Benest presented “The Next Generation Challenge” indicating a small sampling of recent or upcoming retirees, the demographic crisis, anticipated retirements in the Management and Professional group, and how Palo Alto is responding. He noted continuing challenges including how to remain competitive in recruiting and attracting new talent from other organizations, how to carve out time to coach, mentor and develop talent, how to capture and preserve institutional knowledge and the necessity to allow for mistakes as we engage emerging leaders in key issues. 07/01/29 4 Assistant City Manager Emily Harrison reviewed the list of projects requiring significant City Staff and Council time commitment for 2007 and those projects that would require City Staff time above the normal workload. Walt Hays, 355 Parkside Drive, spoke regarding the Green Ribbon Task Force Report, and questioned how the recommendations would be implemented with all the financial constraints on the City. Betsy Allyn, 4186 Willmar Drive, spoke regarding protection of the neighborhood libraries and parkland dedication. She requested the School District be requested to retrieve the Garland School site and noted the three-lane striping on the Charleston/Arastradero Corridor from Alma to Sabean is working very well. Ronna Devincenzo, 2600 El Camino, #100, President, California Avenue Area Development Association, thanked the Council for the recent attention given to the California Avenue Area and requested it continue. Robert Moss, 4010 Orme Street, spoke regarding the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) increased housing element proposed for Palo Alto. He noted he is also concerned that the San Francisquito Creek Joint Powers Authority is not moving fast enough. No action required. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS Mark Petersen-Perez spoke regarding the Taser International financial statements and the 50 pending lawsuits against the company. COUNCIL COMMENTS, ANNOUNCEMENTS, AND REPORTS FROM CONFERENCES Council Member Beecham reported last week he attended the annual planning meeting for the Northern California Power Association (NCPA) and heard speakers regarding CO2 global warming issues and how California is responding. He noted that Palo Alto has already signed up for the Rocky Mountain Institute Services on how we track carbon emissions. Council Member Kleinberg announced that heart attacks and strokes are the major causes for death of women, as well as men. Friday, February 2 is “Go Red for Women” and everyone is encouraged to wear red to send the message that women should have healthy lifestyles in order to avoid heart disease and strokes. Mayor Kishimoto reported last week she attended the U.S. Conference of Mayors and the New Cities Conference, and brought back some excellent information. She noted in response to Mr. Hoel’s request regarding review 07/01/29 5 of the Proposals for Ultra High-Speed Broadband, Vice Mayor Klein and Council Member Beecham will recommend the next steps in the process. FINAL ADJOURNMENT: The meeting adjourned at 8:45 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.