HomeMy WebLinkAbout2001-01-08 City Council Summary Minutes
Regular Meeting January 8, 2001
1. Election of Mayor and Vice Mayor............................273
2. Reconfirmation of Appointment Process for Vacancy of Council Member......................................................274
3. Resolution Commending the Outstanding Public Service of Liz Kniss as Mayor and Council Member...........................275
4. Ordinance 4673 – Ordinance entitled “Ordinance of the Council of the City of Palo Alto Approving and Adopting a Plan for Improvements to Mitchell Park”.....................276
5. Resolution 8027 entitled “Resolution of the Council of the City of Palo Alto Amending the Compensation Plan for Management and Confidential Personnel and Council Appointed Officers Adopted by Resolution No. 8000 to Amend the Salaries of Council Appointed Officers”.....................276
6. Acceptance of the Annual Report on Developers’ Fees.........276
7. Approval of Amendment No. 1 to the Agreement for Design Consultant Services with Royston Hanamoto Alley & Abey, Extending the Term of the Agreement and Increasing the Total Compensation From $120,000 to $140,000......................276
Adjournment: The meeting adjourned at 8:25 p.m. to a reception..276
ORAL COMMUNICATIONS..............................................276
FINAL ADJOURNMENT: The meeting adjourned at 9:27 p.m.............277
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The City Council of the City of Palo Alto met on this date in the Council Chambers at 7:10 p.m. PRESENT: Beecham, Burch, Eakins, Fazzino, Kleinberg, Kniss, Lytle, Mossar, Ojakian A presentation, including a special video, was provided by the Children’s Theatre. SPECIAL ORDERS OF THE DAY 1. Election of Mayor and Vice Mayor Mayor Kniss said the Council would elect a Mayor who would lead the City and the Council. That person would be responsive to the community. The community was interesting, bright, articulate, involved, and demanding. Mayor Kniss, along with Council Member Mossar, nominated Vice Mayor Eakins as Mayor for 2001. Mayor Kniss stated that: Vice Mayor Eakins had served on the Public Art Commission, was a collector of art, and was known for the type and quality of art she collected. Vice Mayor Eakins had chaired the Comprehensive Plan Advisory Committee (CPAC), been appointed to the Planning Commission, and then appointed to sit on the City Council when Council Member Simitian left the Council to become Supervisor of Santa Clara County. Vice Mayor Eakins played a leading role in a variety of areas on the Council, including Affordable Housing and the Human Relations Commission. Vice Mayor Eakins acted as Mayor many times during the prior year and had the ability to run meetings well, stay calm in the midst of chaos, and see problems that brewing in the community and address them. City Clerk Donna Rogers announced that Vice Mayor Sandy Eakins received nine votes and was elected Mayor on the first ballot. Council Member Fazzino, along with Council Member Burch, nominated Council Member Ojakian for Vice Mayor. He said that Council Member Ojakian would ably assist the new Mayor, was conscientious, capable, fair, and took his public service obligations seriously. Council Member Ojakian focused on issues such as finance, fiscal policy, infrastructure, recreation and youth programs, and the families of Palo Alto. City Clerk Donna Rogers announced that Council Member Victor Ojakian received nine votes and was elected Vice Mayor on the first ballot.
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Mayor Eakins thanked the Council for their support and introduced her family members who were present. She said it was a privilege to serve the community and hoped to live up to the high expectations and standards that prior Mayors had set. The community was blessed by a vigorous press which kept information, ideas, and opinions flowing fast and furiously. The community had solid values such as openness, accessibility, complete process, fairness, and caring for those who were not able to care for themselves. The values were stressed by rapid change during recent years. The Council set priorities including concentrating on infrastructure, the long-range financial plan, transportation and traffic concerns, affordable housing, and relations with the Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD). With respect to City finances, she looked forward to the community dialogues that the City Manager and his staff set in place. Outcomes from the dialogues would influence how the community and the Council would look at where to put emphasis and how quickly to move. Her public participation in Palo Alto began when she had requested stop signs on Louis Road. Pedestrian safety and keeping neighborhoods comfortable by controlling the intrusion and unpleasant quality of high speed traffic were important. Serving on the Public Art Commission had been an exciting experience. Recent concentrations were on regional issues such as transportation. She represented Palo Alto on the Valley Transportation Authority Board and the Capital Corridor and Altamont Commuter Express Boards. The Council had many carryover issues from previous years such as the middle school issue, working with the San Francisquito Creek, and other flood issues. An important issue to complete was the Youth Master Plan. Vice Mayor Ojakian thanked his colleagues for showing faith in him to serve as Vice Mayor. He and the Mayor were available to do the best job they could for the City and provide the citizens with what they needed. He introduced his family members and acknowledged members of his campaign committee who were present. Council Member Kniss announced that due to her recent election as Santa Clara County Supervisor, she would officially step down from the Palo Alto City Council effective at the time of the election of the new Mayor and Vice Mayor. 2. Reconfirmation of Appointment Process for Vacancy of Council Member MOTION: Council Member Mossar moved, seconded by Lytle, to reconfirm approval of the Application Process for Appointment to Fill a Vacancy on the Palo Alto City Council to allow persons interested in the vacancy to file their applications on Tuesday through Friday, January 9-12, 2001, Tuesday through Thursday, January 16-18, 2001, Monday through Friday, January 22-26, 2001, and Monday through Wednesday, January 29-31, 2001, during regular
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business hours in the City Clerk’s office and requested a memo from the City Attorney regarding Council term limits. MOTION PASSED 8-0. 3. Resolution Commending the Outstanding Public Service of Liz Kniss as Mayor and Council Member MOTION: Council Member Ojakian moved, seconded by Eakins, to adopt the resolution. Resolution 8026 entitled “Resolution of the Council of the City of Palo Alto Commending the Outstanding Public Service of Liz Kniss as Mayor and Council Member” MOTION PASSED 8-0. Mayor Eakins read the Resolution and presented it to former Mayor Kniss. Council Member Fazzino said he sat next to former Mayor Kniss at Council Meetings for 10 out of the 11 years and would miss her. She was capable of doing anything, shifting direction quickly, and was particularly committed to the need for everyone to be involved in a particular issue. Former Mayor Kniss was one of the leaders behind the effort to establish a Utilities Advisory Commission, co-authored a proposal for a management audit, and a proposal to preserve the 77-acre open space Arastra property, and continued the effort to meet with Mayors and Vice Mayors of Menlo Park and East Palo Alto to address the crime situation in East Palo Alto. Former Mayor Kniss was always responsive to the community, first to recognize the accomplishments of others, and good at making sure everyone was involved in the process. She was committed to regional cooperation and early in her tenure had been involved in transportation issues. Council Member Kleinberg said former Mayor Kniss was a special leader, was wise, a collaborator, an initiator, a team player, gracious, composed and thoughtful, modest, tenacious, and generous. Liz Kniss gave up much of her personal and family time which was a generous donation. The City was fortunate to have had former Mayor Liz Kniss on the Council for 11 years and would share her with the County of Santa Clara in her new position as Supervisor. Former Mayor Kniss said serving the City of Palo Alto was an honor and a privilege. She introduced her family members who were present. Council Members were stopped in stores by residents who shared what they wanted to see for their community. Residents of Palo Alto were more than willing to let the Council know what
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they would like to see happen. She thanked her colleagues on the Council. Mayor Eakins acknowledged dignitaries who were present. Mayor Eakins announced that Oral Communications would be moved to the end of the agenda. CONSENT CALENDAR Council Member Mossar moved, seconded by Ojakian, to approve Consent Calendar Item Nos. 4 – 7. 4. Ordinance 4673 – Ordinance entitled “Ordinance of the Council of the City of Palo Alto Approving and Adopting a Plan for Improvements to Mitchell Park” (PASSED 12/11/00, 9-0) 5. Resolution 8027 entitled “Resolution of the Council of the City of Palo Alto Amending the Compensation Plan for Management and Confidential Personnel and Council Appointed Officers Adopted by Resolution No. 8000 to Amend the Salaries of Council Appointed Officers” 6. Acceptance of the Annual Report on Developers’ Fees 7. Approval of Amendment No. 1 to the Agreement for Design Consultant Services with Royston Hanamoto Alley & Abey, Extending the Term of the Agreement and Increasing the Total Compensation From $120,000 to $140,000 MOTION PASSED 8-0. Mayor Eakins announced that former Mayor Kniss would be sworn in as County Supervisor for the 5th District following the evening’s meeting by Judge Joseph Huber, former Mayor of Palo Alto.
Adjournment: The meeting adjourned at 8:25 p.m. to a reception. Mayor Eakins reconvened the meeting at 9:05 p.m. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS Kirsten Luehrs, 2150 Birch Street, spoke regarding resident opposition to leaf blower restrictions on Sundays. Abdul Hakim, 769 Seminole Way, spoke regarding PAMCC (new community center).
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George L. Vizvary, 753 Alma Street, #225, spoke regarding support for manic depressant individuals in Santa Clara County. Jim Dinkey, 3380 Cork Oak Way, spoke regarding AT&T outages. Bob Moss, 4010 Orme Street, spoke regarding the service of the Council Members. Marie-Louise Starling-Bell, 329 Middlefield Road, spoke regarding the Roxy Rapp project and affordable housing for teachers. Council Member Mossar stated that Mr. Rapp had not brought forth the project to the Council for approval, nor had the Council voted on the project. Council Member Beecham stated that the Council had not voted on the matter. Roxy Rapp brought a different application to the Council approximately three years prior. He was surprised to read in the Daily News that people knew what they wanted to do with the project when it had not been discussed by the Council. Council Member Fazzino said he wanted to consider the merits of the proposal and requested that the City Manager contact the Daily News about the incorrect report. City Manager Frank Benest stated that a factual letter would be sent to the Editor of the Daily News on the issue. FINAL ADJOURNMENT: The meeting adjourned at 9:27 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.
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