HomeMy WebLinkAbout2004-10-25 City Council Summary Minutes
Special Meeting
October 25, 2004
1. Proclamation in Honor of the Tenth Sister City Anniversary of Palo
Alto and Albi, France .................................................................... 267
ORAL COMMUNICATIONS .............................................................. 267
APPROVAL OF MINUTES ................................................................ 267
2. Ordinance 4849 entitled “Ordinance of the Council of the City of
Palo Alto Amending Section 18.08.040 of the Palo Alto Municipal
Code (the Zoning Map) to Change the Classification of Certain
Properties on Allen Court, a Portion of that Property Known as Tract
1137 From R-1 To R-1(S)” (1st Reading 10/12/04, Passed 5-4,
Beecham, Cordell, Kishimoto, Kleinberg “no”) .................................. 268
3. Resolution 8464 entitled “Resolution of the Council of the City of
Palo Alto Authorizing Approval of an Amended Joint Powers
Agreement for Bay Area Employee Relations Services” ..................... 268
6. Resolution 8465 entitled “Resolution of the Council of the City of
Palo Alto Approving the Filing of a Grant Application by the City of
Palo Alto with the Youth Soccer and Recreation Development
Program Under the California Clean Water, Clean Air, Safe Neighborhood Parks, and Coastal Protection Act of 2002 for the
Development of an Artificial Turf Field at the Cubberley Community
Center Athletic Fields” .................................................................. 268
7. Resolution 8466 entitled “Resolution of the Council of the City of
Palo Alto Declaring its Intention to Amend Section 12.16.020 of
Chapter 12.16 of Title 12 of the Palo Alto Municipal Code by
Establishing Underground Utility District Number 44” ........................ 268
8. Resolution 8467 entitled “Resolution of the Council of the City of
Palo Alto Approving the Transmission Agency of Northern California
(TANC) Project Agreement No. 5 for the Participation in an Open
Access Same Time Information System” ......................................... 268
11. Contract Between the City of Palo Alto and Value Engineering, Inc.
in the Amount of $370,570 for Landfill Gas and Leachate System
10/25/04 98-265
Modifications - Capital Improvement Program Projects RF-04011
and RF-04012 .............................................................................. 269
12. The Finance Committee recommends to the City Council to Adopt
the Transportation Strategic Plan, Including System Performance
Indicators, Project Prioritization, and Cost Funding Report (Item
continued from 10/04/04) ............................................................. 269
12A. (Old Item No. 5) Ordinance 1st Reading entitled “Ordinance of the
Council of the City of Palo Alto to Modify Section 2.08.210 of
Chapter 2.08 of Title 2 of the Palo Alto Municipal Code Pertaining to
Restructuring of the Community Services Department” ..................... 270
12B. (Old Item No. 9) Recommendation from Human Relations
Commission to Refer to Policy and Services Committee (P&S) a
Recommendation to the City Council to Adopt a Resolution
Opposing the Federal Marriage Amendment .................................... 273
12C. (Old Item No. 4 ) Ordinance of the Council of the City of Palo Alto
Amending the Budget for the Fiscal Year 2004-05 to Provide an
Additional Appropriation of $141,931 in the City Attorney
Department and Amend the Table of Organization ........................... 275
12D. (Old Item No. 10) Amendment No. One to the Agreement Between
the City Of Palo Alto, the Palo Alto Library Foundation, and the
Friends of the Palo Alto Library and Approval of Contract
Amendment No. One to Contract No. C05108354 with Architectural
Resources Group in the Amount of $44,275 for Additional Design
Services for a 610 Square Foot South Addition to the Children’s
Library ........................................................................................ 275
13. Conference with City Attorney -- Potential/Anticipated Litigation ........ 275
14. Conference with City Attorney -- Existing Litigation .......................... 275
ADJOURNMENT: The meeting adjourned at 8:20 p.m. in the City Hall
Plaza. Mayor Beecham announced that any items remaining on the
agenda would be continued to a future City Council meeting. ..................... 275
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The City Council of the City of Palo Alto met on this date in the Council
Chambers at 6:45 p.m.
PRESENT: Beecham, Burch, Cordell, Freeman, Kishimoto, Morton, Mossar,
Ojakian
ABSENT: Kleinberg
SPECIAL ORDERS OF THE DAY
1. Proclamation in Honor of the Tenth Sister City Anniversary of Palo
Alto and Albi, France
No action required.
ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
Toni Stein, 800 Magnolia Street, Menlo Park, spoke regarding a
procedural matter and public records.
Norman Carroll, Emerson and University, spoke regarding Council
performance.
Mark Weiss, 421 Pepper Avenue, spoke regarding arts in Palo Alto and a proclamation for Jerry Garcia.
Joy Ogawa spoke regarding inadequate public noticing of the October 21,
2004, Architectural Review Board (ARB) agenda.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
MOTION: Council Member Morton moved, seconded by Mossar, to
approve the minutes of September 20, 2004, as corrected.
MOTION PASSED 8-0, Kleinberg absent.
CONSENT CALENDAR
Council Member Kishimoto moved, seconded by Freeman, to remove Item
Nos. 5 and 10 from the Consent Calendar.
Mayor Beecham moved, seconded by Burch, to remove Item No. 9.
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Council Member Freeman moved, seconded by Kishimoto, to remove Item
No. 4.
MOTION: Council Member Morton moved, seconded by Kishimoto, to
approve Consent Calendar Item Nos. 2, 3, 6-8, and 11.
Council Member Kishimoto registered a no vote on Item No. 2.
LEGISLATIVE
2. Ordinance 4849 entitled “Ordinance of the Council of the City of
Palo Alto Amending Section 18.08.040 of the Palo Alto Municipal
Code (the Zoning Map) to Change the Classification of Certain
Properties on Allen Court, a Portion of that Property Known as Tract
1137 From R-1 To R-1(S)” (1st Reading 10/12/04, Passed 5-4,
Beecham, Cordell, Kishimoto, Kleinberg “no”)
3. Resolution 8464 entitled “Resolution of the Council of the City of
Palo Alto Authorizing Approval of an Amended Joint Powers
Agreement for Bay Area Employee Relations Services”
6. Resolution 8465 entitled “Resolution of the Council of the City of
Palo Alto Approving the Filing of a Grant Application by the City of
Palo Alto with the Youth Soccer and Recreation Development
Program Under the California Clean Water, Clean Air, Safe Neighborhood Parks, and Coastal Protection Act of 2002 for the
Development of an Artificial Turf Field at the Cubberley Community
Center Athletic Fields”
7. Resolution 8466 entitled “Resolution of the Council of the City of
Palo Alto Declaring its Intention to Amend Section 12.16.020 of
Chapter 12.16 of Title 12 of the Palo Alto Municipal Code by
Establishing Underground Utility District Number 44”
8. Resolution 8467 entitled “Resolution of the Council of the City of
Palo Alto Approving the Transmission Agency of Northern California
(TANC) Project Agreement No. 5 for the Participation in an Open
Access Same Time Information System”
10/25/04 98-268
ADMINISTRATIVE
11. Contract Between the City of Palo Alto and Value Engineering, Inc.
in the Amount of $370,570 for Landfill Gas and Leachate System
Modifications - Capital Improvement Program Projects RF-04011
and RF-04012
MOTION PASSED 8-0 for Item Nos. 3, 6-8 and 11, Kleinberg absent.
MOTION PASSED 7-1 for Item No. 2, Kishimoto no, Kleinberg absent.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
12. The Finance Committee recommends to the City Council to Adopt
the Transportation Strategic Plan, Including System Performance
Indicators, Project Prioritization, and Cost Funding Report (Item
continued from 10/04/04)
Mayor Beecham said no dollar cost would be assigned to the
implementation of the Strategic Plan and all Council Members could
participate since there were no conflicts of interest.
MOTION: Council Member Mossar moved, seconded by Morton, to
approve the Finance Committee recommendation to adopt the proposed
Transportation Strategic Plan, including Transportation System Performance Indicators, as noted in Attachment A, and Project
Prioritization, Attachment B, and Cost Funding Report.
Council Member Mossar said the Plan would enable the City to
competitively apply for grants. It was not an action plan or approval to
implement projects.
Council Member Morton said the Plan provided performance indicators
that allowed the City to apply for grants.
Council Member Freeman asked whether the Homer/Channing Avenues
two-way project was always a low priority in the Project Priority List.
Chief Transportation Officer Joseph Kott said it was always a low priority.
Council Member Freeman asked why it remained as a low priority in light
of the Homer Tunnel project.
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Mr. Kott said the fallback position for bike access was a contra-flow lane
on Homer Avenue rather than making Homer/Channing Avenues two-
way.
Council Member Freeman asked if it was a decision made by Council.
Mr. Kott said it was a decision made by staff. It was an efficient and
timely solution rather than having a one-way street converted to a two-
way street. A conversion required lengthy public processing and extra
evaluation.
AMENDMENT: Council Member Freeman moved that the project to make
Homer/Channing Avenues two-way streets be raised from low priority to
medium priority in the Project Prioritization List.
Council Member Mossar did not accept the amendment. She felt the
purpose of the document was not to prioritize the projects.
AMENDMENT FAILED FOR LACK OF A SECOND
Mayor Beecham said the Intermodal Transit System was a $200-$249
million program and too expensive for the City.
Council Member Mossar advised the Mayor that discussion of the project
would place some Council Members in conflict of interest.
Mayor Beecham said he was speaking of project prioritization since it
concerned strategic planning. He clarified the project could move in a
direction that would require working with Stanford. He would not make a
motion to oppose it, but wanted to note the expense of the project and
felt it would not bring benefits to the community in proportion to the cost.
MOTION PASSED 8-0, Kleinberg absent.
12A. (Old Item No. 5) Ordinance 1st Reading entitled “Ordinance of the
Council of the City of Palo Alto to Modify Section 2.08.210 of
Chapter 2.08 of Title 2 of the Palo Alto Municipal Code Pertaining to
Restructuring of the Community Services Department”
Ordinance 4850 entitled “Ordinance of the Council of the City Of
Palo Alto Amending the Budget for the Fiscal Year 2004-05 to
Implement the Organizational Restructuring of the Community
Services Department”
10/25/04 98-270
Resolution 8468 entitled “Resolution of the Council of the City of
Palo Alto Amending the Compensation Plan for Management and
Professional Personnel and Council Appointees Adopted by
Resolution No. 8455, to Amend Seven Classifications”
Resolution 8469 entitled “Resolution of the Council of the City of
Palo Alto Amending the Compensation Plan for Classified Personnel
(SEIU) Adopted by Resolution No. 8452, to Amend Two
Classifications”
Council Member Kishimoto said her reason for removing Item No. 5 was
because it needed to be discussed further with Council. She viewed it as
an interim step in the restructuring process, but needed staff’s
clarification that it was one step towards a more complete restructuring.
Director of Community Services Richard James clarified the second step
would come with the completed Strategic Plan in Spring 2005.
Council Member Kishimoto asked if a full organizational chart and
changes would be provided at that time.
Mr. James said structuring would be ongoing based on future
opportunities. The staff report (CMR:427:04) covered the opportunities
that had arisen, and the Community Services Department (CSD) tried to
make the best of the opportunities to maintain the services and to save City monies.
Council Member Kishimoto asked whether the Management Span of
Control would be discussed at that point.
Mr. James said it would probably be examined at the Citywide level.
Council Member Kishimoto said the implementation to look at the
Management Span of Control took place at each department’s
reorganization.
Mr. James said it did. Three of the divisions lost one level of management
in the reorganization.
Council Member Kishimoto accepted the staff’s recommendations and
looked forward to seeing a completed picture in the spring.
MOTION: Council Member Kishimoto moved, seconded by Morton, to
accept staff recommendation as follows:
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1. Adopt the Budget Amendment Ordinance amending the budget,
including the Table of Organization for fiscal year 2004-05 to
implement the organizational restructuring of the Community
Services Department (CSD) (Attachment A, Exhibit 1 of
CMR:427:04);
2. Introduce an ordinance amending Palo Alto Municipal Code
section 2.09.210 to create three new divisions within Community
Services (Attachment B)
a. On October 1, 2004
i. Cubberley Center and Human Services Division
b. On January 1, 2005
i. Recreation and Youth Sciences Division
ii. Open Space Division;
3. Approve a resolution amending the Compensation Plan for
Management and Professional Employees (Attachment C);
4. Approve a resolution amending the Compensation Plan for
Classified Employees Attachment (D).
Council Member Mossar supported the motion. She said she also had
questions about the item. She would have felt more comfortable if Mr.
James had told the Council the item was a first pass and there was more
to come because she knew there was a strategic plan being prepared in his area. She saw the staff report (CMR:427:04) first with no mention of
a strategic plan, and she felt as though it was the result of that planning
process. Her second comment was concerning page 5 of 6 under
Resource Impact. It seemed to her that all the savings mentioned in the
staff report had already been captured in the budget decisions at the end
of June and there was about a $100,000 difference and half the FTE
difference. Therefore, she had no reassurance the item was not the
result of the strategic planning process. It seemed small compared to her
hopes.
Council Member Freeman said when salaries were reviewed, both benefits
and salaries need to be looked at for the total compensation package.
Mr. James said all of the numbers reflected both salary and benefits.
Council Member Freeman asked staff to define combinations of
responsibilities as functions rather than location or individuals.
Mr. James said it was taken into consideration, but Government was
always changing and felt opportunities should be handled more like
10/25/04 98-272
private businesses both in efficiency and saving money. Given the time
and place he felt the recommendations made sense.
Council Member Freeman supported the motion.
Council Member Cordell felt restructuring matters initially should be
agendized for staff presentation and clarification. She supported the
motion.
Mayor Beecham said the item was placed on the Consent Calendar
because it was not restructuring nor the Span of Control. There were job
vacancies and a joint effort was made at the Cubberley Center to
reorganize.
MOTION PASSED 8-0, Kleinberg absent.
12B. (Old Item No. 9) Recommendation from Human Relations
Commission to Refer to Policy and Services Committee (P&S) a
Recommendation to the City Council to Adopt a Resolution
Opposing the Federal Marriage Amendment
Mayor Beecham asked for the item to be removed. This issue was not
under the City’s control and did not affect the operation of the City. It
might affect the well being of Palo Alto citizens but not the operation of
the City. His opinion was the Council had enough on its plate and was elected based on local issues.
MOTION: Mayor Beecham moved, seconded by Mossar, to not accept the
Human Relations Commission (HRC) recommendation.
Council Member Mossar agreed with the Mayor and, as an elected
representative of the City, had not had conversations with the public
regarding the issue or discussed it at an open public form. She did not
feel Council was in a position to adopt the resolution.
Council Member Morton said although the item had National importance,
he felt it also had a place in local politics. The Country is a representative
democracy and Council did represent the community to National and
State Legislators. It was an issue Californians had wrestled with and was
in favor of reviewing traditional relationships and allowing a sub-
population to have the same rights as the general population.
SUBSTITUTE MOTION: Council Member Morton moved, seconded by
Cordell, to accept the HRC recommendation to refer the item to the Policy
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and Services (P&S) Committee for a recommendation to the City Council
to adopt a Resolution opposing the Federal Marriage Amendment.
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.
Council Member Cordell supported the substitute motion. She said
whatever actions were taken by the Federal Government impacted
everyone. She disagreed with the notion of putting forward matters that
only affected the operation of the City. City operations involved activities
that impacted Palo Alto citizens’ quality of life and felt the amendment
was a civil rights issue.
Vice Mayor Burch supported the original motion and not the substitute
motion. He believed same-sex relationships should be codified in a way to
not result in or that enabled discrimination in any way from that available
to a man and women marriage. He said he was in favor of having the P&S
Committee frame a Resolution to support non-discrimination of any kind
rather than a Resolution to oppose a proposed amendment.
Council Member Ojakian supported the substitute motion. If passed, he
asked the P&S Committee to review and provide an explanation to the
following: 1) to clarify the difference between a civil union and a marriage
and obtain the Attorney’s advice on where it stood legally; 2) to review
State law, that took effect on January 2005, regarding civil union and its
requirements how the City was in compliance; and 3) how the law related
to Palo Alto’s Anti-discrimination Ordinance. He felt Council should not be
involved in certain National issues but had other ways to address them.
Palo Alto was a diversified community and Council had an obligation to its
diversity. There were ways of looking at the issue that did not involve
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looking at what was happening at the National level. It was Council’s
discretion to inform the State or National officials on how the City felt
regarding the issue.
RECESS: 7:55 p.m. to 8:20 p.m. due to an emergency fire alarm in the
building.
12C. (Old Item No. 4 ) Ordinance of the Council of the City of Palo Alto
Amending the Budget for the Fiscal Year 2004-05 to Provide an
Additional Appropriation of $141,931 in the City Attorney
Department and Amend the Table of Organization
Resolution of the Council of the City of Palo Alto Amending the
Compensation Plan for Management and Professional Personnel and
Council Appointees Adopted by Resolution No. 8353 to Add Two
New Classifications”
12D. (Old Item No. 10) Amendment No. One to the Agreement Between
the City Of Palo Alto, the Palo Alto Library Foundation, and the
Friends of the Palo Alto Library and Approval of Contract
Amendment No. One to Contract No. C05108354 with Architectural
Resources Group in the Amount of $44,275 for Additional Design
Services for a 610 Square Foot South Addition to the Children’s
Library
CLOSED SESSION
13. Conference with City Attorney -- Potential/Anticipated Litigation
Subject: Significant Exposure to Litigation on One Matter (Claim of
Jameel Douglas)
Authority: Government Code Section 54956.9 (b)(1) & (b)(3)(C)
14. Conference with City Attorney -- Existing Litigation
Subject: Diane L. Buzzell v. City of Palo Alto; SCC #1-04-CV-
012909
Authority: Government Code section 54956.9(a)
ADJOURNMENT: The meeting adjourned at 8:20 p.m. in the City Hall
Plaza. Mayor Beecham announced that any items remaining on the
agenda would be continued to a future City Council meeting.
10/25/04 98-275
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.
10/25/04 98-276