HomeMy WebLinkAbout2002-07-08 City Council Summary Minutes
Special Meeting July 8, 2002
1. Study Session re Community Facilities Bond and Library Cost Advisory Committee Report...................................282
ADJOURNMENT: The meeting adjourned at 7:02 p.m...................282
ORAL COMMUNICATIONS..............................................283
1. Selection of Candidates to the Planning and Transportation Commission..................................................283
2. CityWorks Presentation: Reopening of Robles, Bol, and Werry
Park Projects and Hoover Park Restrooms.....................284
APPROVAL OF MINUTES..............................................284
5. Agreement Between the City of Palo Alto on behalf of the Joint Powers and Midpeninsula Community Media Center (MCMC), Inc. and Agreement Between the City of Palo Alto and Midpeninsula Community Media Center (MCMC), Inc. in the Amount of $160,000..........................................285
6. Contract Between the City of Palo Alto and J.J.R. Construction, Inc. in the Amount of $895,000 for Fiscal
Year 2002-03 Phase I Sidewalk Replacement Project...........285
7. Amendment No. 2 to Contract No. C2138656 Between the City of Palo Alto and Flynn And Associates to Increase the
Contract Amount for Electric Regulatory and Technical Assistance by $75,000 for Fiscal Year 2002-03...............285
3. PUBLIC HEARING: The City of Palo Alto, representing Palo Alto, Menlo Park, East Palo Alto, Atherton, and portions of Santa Clara County and San Mateo County, is charged with
reviewing the performance of AT&T Broadband in meeting customer services standards set forth in the City of Palo
Alto Municipal Code.........................................285
4. PUBLIC HEARING: The City of Palo Alto, representing Palo Alto, Menlo Park, East Palo Alto, Atherton, and portions of
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Santa Clara County and San Mateo County, is charged with approving or denying requests to transfer the cable
television franchise from one company to another. Palo Alto has received a request to transfer the cable television franchise from AT&T Broadband L.L.C. to AT&T Comcast Corporation.................................................286
COUNCIL COMMENTS, QUESTIONS, AND ANNOUNCEMENTS...................291
8. Conference with City Attorney -- Existing Litigation........291
ADJOURNMENT: The meeting adjourned at 9:07 p.m. in the memory of Tony Razzano, a resident of Palo Alto since 1978 and chief
scout for the 49ers for many years..........................292
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The City Council of the City of Palo Alto met on this date in the Council Conference Room at 6:08 p.m.
PRESENT: Beecham, Burch, Freeman, Kishimoto, Kleinberg, Lytle, Morton, Mossar, Ojakian SPECIAL MEETING
1. Study Session re Community Facilities Bond and Library Cost Advisory Committee Report
The Council held a study session to discuss the dollar amount
for the November 2002 bond measure that would provide funding of the capital costs for the Children’s Library expansion and the Mitchell Park Library/Community Center projects. Additionally, Council received the Palo Alto Community Facilities Cost Advisory Committee’s report. The Cost Advisory Committee was
comprised of seven local building professionals (architects, contractors, project managers, and construction managers). The
Committee reviewed the City’s cost estimates for each of the projects and made recommendations on how the City could improve those estimates as well as how the City could improve the cost
effectiveness and efficiency of the projects. Members of the Committee were present at the Council meeting, presented their
findings, and answered Council’s questions. In summary, Council felt satisfied that the dollar amount ($49.1 million) being considered for the bond measure was accurate and appropriate.
Council directed staff to pursue some of the recommendations made by the Cost Advisory Committee, such as, research and
consider alternate project delivery methods and cost reduction measures. The specifics of those recommendations were contained in the Committee’s report, which was attached to the City
Manager’s Report to Council. No action required.
ADJOURNMENT: The meeting adjourned at 7:02 p.m.
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Regular Meeting
July 8, 2002 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, Freeman, Kishimoto, Kleinberg, Lytle, Morton, Mossar, Ojakian
ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
Stephanie Munoz, 101 Alma Street, spoke regarding help for non-profits. Mark Cairns, 718 San Carlos Court, spoke regarding a road rage incident.
Jean Wilcox, 4005 Sutherland Drive, spoke regarding Mitchell Park. Sophia Dhrymes, 483 Hawthorne Avenue, spoke regarding corporate
connections in City Council.
Chun Lee, 2375 Fallingtree Drive, spoke regarding Falun Gong. Enid Pearson, spoke regarding the Mitchell Park Library site.
Charles Munger, 1423 Hamilton Avenue, spoke regarding community
facilities Cost Advisory Committee with regard to the Children’s Library.
Mrs. Harry Wording, 3548 S. Court, spoke regarding libraries.
Herb Borock, P.O. Box 632, spoke regarding the Libraries Bond Measure. Glenn Affleck, 3830 May Court, spoke regarding Mitchell Park tennis courts.
Tina Kass, Chair of the Library Advisory Commission, 1730 Cowper Street, spoke regarding the Library Art Report.
SPECIAL ORDERS OF THE DAY
1. Selection of Candidates to the Planning and Transportation Commission MOTION: Vice Mayor Mossar moved, seconded by Kleinberg, to
interview all the applicants.
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MOTION PASSED 9-0.
2. CityWorks Presentation: Reopening of Robles, Bol, and Werry Park Projects and Hoover Park Restrooms Deputy Director of Community Services Richard James said his department had been working very hard in the community to
implement the first year of the CityWorks Programs. The goal of the parks’ project was to replace the existing infrastructure systems.
Mayor Ojakian stated that one of the Council’s priorities was
infrastructure and money was dedicated to repairing City parks. He expressed appreciation to staff for their work in renovating the parks. Council Member Kishimoto also expressed appreciation to staff
for their work and commented on the expeditious manner in which the bathrooms were replaced at Hoover Park. Council Member Morton also expressed appreciation to staff. He stated that some public–private partnerships received more
visibility than others. He thanked Mr. John Arrillaga for his concern for the community and his willingness to finance
restoration of the Hoover Park restrooms. Council Member Lytle added that the restrooms were a gift from
Mr. Arrillaga and Mr. Dick Peery. No action required. Mayor Ojakian noted that the closed session would not be heard
that evening. MOTION: Council Member Morton moved, seconded by Vice Mayor Mossar, to move the Approval of Minutes and the Consent Calendar forward ahead of Item Nos. 4 and 5. MOTION PASSED 9-0.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES MOTION: Vice Mayor Mossar moved, seconded by Burch, to approve
the minutes of June 3, 2002, as submitted.
MOTION PASSED 9-0.
CONSENT CALENDAR
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Council Member Burch noted that he would abstain from Item No. 5.
Bob Smith, 2291 Greer Road, spoke regarding Item No. 5. MOTION: Council Member Morton moved, seconded by Beecham, to
approve Item Nos. 5 - 7 on the Consent Calendar.
ADMINISTRATIVE
5. Agreement Between the City of Palo Alto on behalf of the Joint Powers and Midpeninsula Community Media Center
(MCMC), Inc. and Agreement Between the City of Palo Alto and Midpeninsula Community Media Center (MCMC), Inc. in the Amount of $160,000 6. Contract Between the City of Palo Alto and J.J.R.
Construction, Inc. in the Amount of $895,000 for Fiscal Year 2002-03 Phase I Sidewalk Replacement Project
7. Amendment No. 2 to Contract No. C2138656 Between the City of Palo Alto and Flynn And Associates to Increase the
Contract Amount for Electric Regulatory and Technical Assistance by $75,000 for Fiscal Year 2002-03
Agreement Between the City of Palo Alto and the City of Alameda Doing Business as Power and Telecom for
Reimbursement of Costs in Fiscal Year 2001-02 and Fiscal Year 2002-03
MOTION PASSED 8-0-1 for Item No. 5, Burch “abstaining.”
MOTION PASSED 9-0 for Item Nos. 6 and 7.
PUBLIC HEARING Mayor Ojakian announced that Item Nos. 3 and 4 were related items and would be heard together.
3. PUBLIC HEARING: The City of Palo Alto, representing Palo Alto, Menlo Park, East Palo Alto, Atherton, and portions of Santa Clara County and San Mateo County, is charged with
reviewing the performance of AT&T Broadband in meeting customer services standards set forth in the City of Palo
Alto Municipal Code. 4. PUBLIC HEARING: The City of Palo Alto, representing Palo Alto, Menlo Park, East Palo Alto, Atherton, and portions of Santa Clara County and San Mateo County, is charged with
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approving or denying requests to transfer the cable television franchise from one company to another. Palo Alto
has received a request to transfer the cable television franchise from AT&T Broadband L.L.C. to AT&T Comcast Corporation. Council Member Kishimoto would not participate in Item Nos. 3
and 4 due to a conflict of interest because of investment interest in AT&T.
Vice Mayor Mossar would not participate in Item Nos. 3 and 4 due to a conflict of interest because of family investment interest
in AT&T. Council Member Morton would not participate in Item Nos. 3 and 4 due to a conflict of interest because of investment interest in AT&T.
Mayor Ojakian noted that Senior Assistant City Attorney Grant Kolling would be the legal counsel. David Ramberg, Information Technology Manager for External
Services, gave a review of the transfer process. On March 11, 2002, the City received a request to transfer the cable
franchise agreement from AT&T to a new entity, AT&T Comcast, which began a 120-day review that ended on July 9, 2002. A review of the transfer process was presented to Council on March
29, 2002, and at that time, Council directed staff to either pursue a denial of the transfer or to pursue approval of the
transfer with conditions. On June 24, 2002, Council held a study session and details of the transfer process were presented along with some of the potential conditions associated with the
approval. Those conditions would focus on customer service and on the areas of upgrading the cable system. At that time,
Council had additional questions for AT&T Comcast. The recommendation from staff was to approve transfer of control from AT&T to AT&T Comcast with conditions outlined in the attachments of CMR:326:02.
Mayor Ojakian requested all speaker cards be presented by 8:20 p.m.
Mayor Ojakian declared the Public Hearing open at 8:05 p.m.
Bob Smith, 2291 Greer Road, said he agreed with some of the information in the staff report but was not optimistic about the customer support from AT&T Comcast. He recommended that staff prepare for future problems with AT&T Comcast and another franchise transfer in a few years. He had doubts about the
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financial viability and the ongoing performance of the new entity.
Ed Glazier, 255 Everett Avenue, said he was an AT&T subscriber and was not satisfied with the customer service he had received. He was concerned there were not enough cable service options available in the area and held little hope that AT&T Comcast
customer service would be any better. Louie Rocha, 3099 Yancy Drive, President of the Communications
Workers of America, Local 9423, representing communication workers who live and work in the Palo Alto area. He spoke in
support of the resolution of the proposed transfer of the cable television franchise from AT&T Broadband to AT&T Comcast. He said the City should make sure that AT&T Comcast, or any cable franchise, invest in the local workforce, support workers rights to organize and bargain collectively, and contribute to the
established lifestyle of the City. Bob Moss, 4010 Orme Street, suggested the fault condition of the transfer letter be a rejection, not an acceptance with conditions, unless all conditions were met. He requested an
answer from staff or AT&T regarding whether the required AT&T quarterly reports had been submitted. He expressed
dissatisfaction with the customer service provided by AT&T Broadband.
Tony Roder, 3875 Magnolia Drive, stated the transfer process was unnecessary because nothing would change and there were no
viable alternatives. Herb Borock, P.O. Box 632, said his concern was that staff was
about to bring a recommendation to Council about the Fiber To The Home (FTTH) proposal. If the proposal was accepted, all
residential addresses would have the capability to be an information highway that alternative television providers could use. He wanted to know whether AT&T Comcast would qualify to use FTTH if it fell behind in any obligations.
Michael Eager, 1960 Park Boulevard, expressed dissatisfaction with AT&T customer service and rate increases to the public for government and public education channels, which AT&T had
promised to pay for. He stated that Comcast would not meet the needs of the community and encouraged Council to consider future
cable options. Mayor Ojakian declared the Public Hearing closed at 8:25 p.m.
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Mayor Ojakian asked whether passage of the resolution required an absolute number of five Council Members or a majority of
Council Members who could participate. Senior Assistant City Attorney Grant Kolling replied that five votes were required.
Mayor Ojakian asked Mr. Kolling to respond to the comments made by Mr. Moss.
Mr. Kolling confirmed the franchise agreement required quarterly reports. AT&T responded that construction had not yet started,
so the requirement to provide reports had not materialized. With respect to imposing penalties, he reminded Council that the penalties were set forth in the agreement and mutually agreed to by both parties as to what those penalties would be. If the City would double the penalties over a period of time, AT&T
would have to concur with the proposed changes. MOTION: Council Member Burch moved, seconded by Beecham, to approve the staff recommendation to adopt a resolution approving the transfer of control of the existing cable franchise and
system held by TCI, doing business as AT&T Broadband, resulting from the merger of AT&T Corporation and Comcast Corporation.
Resolution 8196 entitled “Resolution of the Council of the City of Palo Alto Consenting, Subject to Certain
Conditions, to the Transfer of Control of the Cable Franchise and System Held by TCI Cablevision of California,
Inc., LKA AT&T Broadband, From AT&T Corp. To AT&T Comcast Corporation”
Council Member Burch stated that Council was clear on what they could or could not request. He expressed concern about customer
service and the build out and upgrade of the Information Technology (IT) network. Rick Witherington, Vice-President for Government Affairs of Northern California for AT&T Broadband, said one of the comments
he heard several times was that cable was no longer local. He expressed remorse about how AT&T had managed the cable transfer and believed that AT&T was on the road to making amends by
increasing staff. AT&T had been meeting customer service standards over the previous several months and assured Council
that Comcast had a stellar record for providing customer service with a local focus. Walter Hansell, Attorney for AT&T Comcast, stated that Comcast was looking forward to providing service to the Palo Alto
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community and was aware of the concerns of the community in regards to customer service and the need for improved cable
capabilities. In the proposed transfer resolution, customer service reporting would be on a more frequent basis. Council Member Beecham said during the study session earlier that evening, residents criticized AT&T cable because of
widespread dissatisfaction with customer service. When AT&T took over the system, it resulted in a rate increase for residents. Residents believed there had been an agreement
between AT&T and Cable Coop on how finances would be handled. There was dismay when it was discovered how AT&T handled certain
funds, which was in contrast to previous discussions between Council and AT&T. He said residents wanted to see an upgrade in the service, and he was hopeful that Comcast would meet the July 2003 upgrade date. Comcast would have a year to show the community that they would be more service oriented. In terms of
the franchise transfer, it would not be based solely on customer service but on financial conditions and expectations. Council Member Freeman asked whether AT&T neglected to comply with any conditions that would legally allow denial of the
transfer.
Mr. Kolling answered no. AT&T had a right under the agreement to correct any default. If they could not do so in a certain period, they would initiate the process for correcting any
defaults and work towards an agreeable solution.
Council Member Freeman asked whether the City had legal reason to deny the cable franchise transfer if AT&T was in compliance or would be up to compliance if the conditions were met.
Mr. Kolling answered that there were no facts to support denial
of the franchise transfer. Council Member Freeman said she wanted the public to understand what was involved in approving or denying the transfer request. She differed with Mr. Witherington’s statement that the
franchise transfer was a local operation. It was clear that AT&T had responded to the legal requirements of the transfer. She supported staff’s continued evaluation of FTTH and other
options, which were more community responsive since AT&T Comcast did not have an exclusive contract in the area. She supported
staff in holding AT&T Comcast responsible for all or any other conditions that had not been mentioned that were in the transfer. In addition, she supported renegotiating the penalties to make them more meaningful to a company of that size.
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Council Member Lytle supported the motion based on the staff report and the expertise of her colleagues who had studied the
issue. She asked Mr. Kolling whether the confidential information would be released to the public if the motion passed. Mr. Kolling answered no, which was based on legal reasons. City
Attorney staff would carefully monitor each phase of the transfer agreement and bring concerns to Council when necessary.
Council Member Lytle asked that question because confidential information had been released in prior years.
Council Member Kleinberg asked for clarification about the renegotiations of the penalties. She believed the City could not do that legally.
Mr. Kolling said both parties mutually agreed to the liquidated damages penalties in 2000 and the agreement was very favorable for the City. It would be a challenge if the City asked AT&T to raise the penalties, but the request could be made. He felt it should not be made as a precondition to approving the
conditional transfer.
Council Member Kleinberg said that was why she asked. She raised the question because the liquidated damages for a large corporation would not be that much of a loss. She supported the
motion with a few reservations. She emphasized that her colleagues had been very thorough and thoughtful on this matter.
She told the AT&T Comcast representatives that Palo Alto appeared to be a small municipality, with a small community of subscribers, but the City was adamant about what it wanted in
terms of cable. She admonished them to pay attention to subscriber complaints and fulfill the terms of the agreement.
Council Member Burch said he was concerned about the drop off in subscribers because that was critical to the City’s ability to use the Public Education and Government (PEG) channels. The City could lose the ability to use its PEG channels if subscribers
continued to drop off and people shifted to direct broadcast. That was the primary reason the City was pursuing FTTH as a way of being able to communicate with residents. It was important
for the Council, as elected officials, to be able to communicate with residents. It would be a goodwill gesture if AT&T restored
the Turner Classic Movies channel and FM music to the Palo Alto area. The community felt a sense of betrayal regarding the $17 million charitable contribution made at the time of the sale of Cable Coop. Residents thought it was a gift to the City and
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were surprised when AT&T did not treat it that way and considered it part of the sale.
Mayor Ojakian said he wanted to add Comcast data performance sheets to the public record, which he had received from Comcast. The data performance sheets were from various cities throughout the United States. Comcast indicated they were updating and
improving their call center to respond quickly to customer complaints. He supported the comments made by Council and the public regarding customer service. The City needed some
assurance that customer service would improve. Other options would be explored if AT&T Comcast did not work out. One other
item of deep interest to him was the Institutional Network (INET), which could connect public facilities to FTTH. That had been part of the expectation when Council approved the transfer from Cable Coop to AT&T, and he hoped that expectation would be met.
MOTION PASSED 6-0, Kishimoto, Morton, Mossar “not
participating.” COUNCIL COMMENTS, QUESTIONS, AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
Council Member Freeman congratulated the staff for a great Chili
Cook-off event on July 4, 2002. Council Member Lytle expressed hope that Palo Alto would soon
have streaming video.
Council Member Burch spoke about a letter regarding Trinity River.
Council Member Kleinberg requested that the meeting be adjourned in memory of Tony Razzano who was the chief scout for the 49ers
for many years. Mayor Ojakian spoke to his memories of Tony Razzano, who died at the age of 77 and he had sent his regrets to his wife, Carolyn, and their six children.
CLOSED SESSION
Mayor Ojakian noted that the Closed Session would not be heard that evening.
8. Conference with City Attorney -- Existing Litigation Subject: Kathleen Ann Steinle v. City of Palo Alto, Santa Clara County Superior Court #CV807603 Authority: Government Code section 54956.9(a)
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ADJOURNMENT: The meeting adjourned at 9:07 p.m. in the memory of Tony Razzano, a resident of Palo Alto since 1978 and chief scout
for the 49ers for many years.
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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