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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012-12-17 City Council Summary MinutesCITY OF PALO ALTO CITY COUNCIL MINUTES Page 1 of 19 Regular Meeting December 17, 2012 The City Council of the City of Palo Alto met on this date in the Council Chambers at 7:05 P.M. Present: Burt, Espinosa, Holman, Klein, Scharff, Schmid, Shepherd, Yeh Absent: Price Mayor Yeh held a moment of silence in remembrance of the tragedy that occurred in Newtown, Connecticut. CITY MANAGER COMMENTS James Keene, City Manager announced the Utilities Advance Meter and Time of Use Pilot Program was taking registration requests and the Great Fun for Seniors event was happening on December 31st from 11:00 A.M. to 2:00 P.M. MINUTES APPROVAL MOTION: Council Member Espinosa moved, seconded by Council Member Klein to approve the minutes of November 19, 2012. MOTION PASSED: 8-0 Price absent ORAL COMMUNICATIONS Winter Dellenbach spoke about the potential displacement of residents living at Buena Vista Mobile Home Park and said the issue reverberated throughout the community. MINUTES Page 2 of 19 City Council Meeting Minutes: 12/17/12 Tom Wasow emphasized that the residents of the Buena Vista Mobile Home Park were part of the community and asked that when discussion of the park came before the City Council that they take this into consideration. Cory Walbach introduced himself as Senator Jerry Hill’s new Palo Alto liaison and invited the public and city officials to contact him should they desire any communications with the Senator. Don Barr spoke on behalf of the Board of Director’s Community Working Group, a group formed to serve the needs of homeless individuals. He suggested a negotiation between the residents of the Buena Vista Mobile Home Park and the economic developers. He urged Council to help both parties find compromise. Aracely Herrera-Bustilla echoed the comments given by others regarding the Buena Vista Mobile Home Park. Mario Escalante spoke regarding the Buena Vista Mobile Home Park and said living in the park offered affordable housing. He asked that consideration be given to the situation of the people that lived in the park because moving prevented them from benefitting from opportunities in Palo Alto. Melodie Cheney said the people wanted to stay in the Buena Vista Mobile Park because they were able to afford living there. Rosemary Rocha remembered old businesses that came and went, and as a result, people lost jobs when businesses left, she likened that to the loss of the Buena Vista Mobile Home Park. Jasmine Ibarra said she was eight years old. She asked for her home at the Buena Vista Mobile Park to be saved. Jennifer Lopez spoke regarding the Buena Vista Mobile Park and said she benefited from the good schools in Palo Alto. She thought her school encouraged her more than any other school she had attended. Metzli Flores said she was eight years old. She said she did not wish to move from the Buena Vista Mobile Home Park and that she wanted to live in a great home that fit her. Wynn Grcich said mammograms were breast cancer causing and were used before any health and safety measures were made. MINUTES Page 3 of 19 City Council Meeting Minutes: 12/17/12 Robert Moss discussed how the Library Advisory Commission provided a great service to the community; it provided an interchange between Staff, Council, and the community. Herb Borock said developers received the benefit of double bonuses so they did not have to come before Council and get transfer of developer rights. The trailer park was in a certain zone, which determined the worth of the property. The proper response to someone wanting to up-zone was for them to get a referendum. Blanca Fonseca asked Council to help save her home at the Buena Vista Mobile Home Park. CONSENT CALENDAR Herb Borock said he opposed the development in Cogswell Plaza, Agenda Item 4, because the property provided a respite. He suggested Council carefully consider how much they wanted to develop this plaza and said the proposal should have been brought before the Parks and Recreation Commission. Mayor Yeh noted that Staff requested Agenda Item Number 14 be continued to January 14, 2013 Council Meeting. Council Member Holman wanted to follow up with Mr. Borock’s comments, along with Staff’s discussion’s on the need for Cogswell Plaza to go before the Parks and Recreation Commission. Gregory Betts, Director of Community Services said the concept of using crowd sourcing for the parks was vetted. There was not a vote with the Parks and Recreation Commission but it was discussed with them, as well as with the Friends of the Parks program and the Downtown Business Association. MOTION: Council Member Klein moved, seconded by Council Member Shepherd to continue Agenda Item Number 14, Authorization for the City Manager to Enter Into a One-Year Contract with Professional Evaluation Group/The Ochoa & Moore Law Firm, P.C. (PEG/OM) in a Total Amount Not to Exceed $125,000 for Rail Legislative Advocacy Services to January 14, 2013. MOTION PASSED: 8-0 Price absent MINUTES Page 4 of 19 City Council Meeting Minutes: 12/17/12 MOTION: Vice Mayor Scharff moved, seconded by Council Member Shepherd to approve Agenda Item Nos. 1-13, 15. 1. Finance Committee Recommendation that Council Adopt a Resolution 9308 entitled “Resolution of the Council of the City of Palo Alto Approving the Continuation of the Palo Alto Clean Local Energy Accessible Now (CLEAN) Program”. 2. Finance Committee Recommendation that Council Approve Updated Ten-Year Electric and Gas Energy Efficiency Goals for 2014 to 2023. 3. Approval of a Contract with Rosas Brothers Construction in the Amount of $1,022,066 for the 2013 Sidewalk, Curb, and Gutter Repairs Project. 4. Acceptance of a Contribution of $9,291 from TopCorner, Incorporated, for the Enhancement of Cogswell Plaza; Adoption of a Budget Amendment Ordinance 5176 to Allocate the Contribution to Project Cost Centers. 5. Approval of Amendment No. One to Contract With the Downtown Streets, Inc. To Consolidate Various Contracts Under One Umbrella Contract in the Amount of $156,868 for the Second Year of a Three- Year Contract for Trash and Litter Clean up in Areas of the Downtown Corridor, Various City Parks and Facilities, and Outreach to Homeless Individuals in the Downtown Area. 6. Approval of Amendment One to Contract with Riezebos Holzbaur Group to Add $37, 212 for Design Work for the Library and Administrative Services Departments for a Total Not to Exceed Amount of $121,212. 7. Approval to the Division Of Arts & Science, Community Services Department to Submit a Grant Application to the National Endowment for the arts for an Our Town Grant. 8. Approval of Amendment No. 1 to Contract With Geodesy in the Amount of $135,000 for Development and Maintenance Support Services for the City's Geographic Information System Software. 9. Resolution 9309 entitled “Resolution of the Council of the City of Palo Alto to Apply for Grant Funds for the Environment Enhancement and Mitigation Program for Tree Plantings to Mitigate Impacts of the Highway 101 Auxiliary Lane Construction”. MINUTES Page 5 of 19 City Council Meeting Minutes: 12/17/12 10. Resolution 9310 entitled “Resolution of the Council of the City of Palo Alto Declaring Results of the Consolidated General and Special Municipal Elections Held on November 6, 2012”. 11. Update on Planning for Potential Infrastructure Finance Measure for 2014 Ballot. 12. Ordinance entitled “Budget Amendment Ordinance 5177 and Approval of a Contract with Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin, Metz and Associates in a Total Amount Not to Exceed $90,000 for Public Opinion Research Services Related to a Potential 2014 Infrastructure Finance Measure.” 13. Approval of Contract with SAP Inc. For Software Maintenance Support Services to the City of Palo Alto. 14. Authorization for the City Manager to Enter Into a One-Year Contract with Professional Evaluation Group/The Ochoa & Moore Law Firm, P.C. (PEG/OM) in a Total Amount Not to Exceed $125,000 for Rail Legislative Advocacy Services. 15. Policy and Services Committee Recommendation to Adopt Process for Establishing 2013 Council Priorities. MOTION PASSED for Agenda Item Nos. 1-13, 15: 8-0 Price absent AGENDA CHANGES, ADDITIONS AND DELETIONS MOTION: Council Member Shepherd moved, seconded by Council Member Schmid to change the agenda order to Agenda Item Number 17, 19, 18, and 20. MOTION PASSED: 8-0 Price absent ACTION ITEMS MOTION: Council Member Klein moved, seconded by Council Member Shepherd to continue Agenda Item Number 16, Approval of Pilot Residential Compostables Collection Program and Adjustment to Refuse Collection Frequency to January 2013. MOTION PASSED: 8-0 Price absent 17. Public Hearing: Approval of a Record of Land Use Action for a Conditional Use Permit Amendment Allowing the Operation of a New Pre-Kindergarten Program Within an Expanded Building and an After- MINUTES Page 6 of 19 City Council Meeting Minutes: 12/17/12 School Day Care Program Associated with an Existing Private School (K-8 Program) at 1095 Channing Avenue. Amy French, Chief Planning Official said Staff anticipated that the applicant and their closest neighbor would make brief statements regarding the recent request for approval of the Conditional Use Permit, along with the Recommended Approval Conditions. There were difficulties with the property line survey, with respect to the fence; the Approval Condition discussed the perimeter fencing, landscaping, and pruning of ivy. She said the fact that the church wanted to place the fence at the property line or to build the fence at the same location, closer to the driveway showed the churches flexibility. Staff supported the latest efforts of the applicant and the neighbor. Public hearing opened at 7:40 P.M. John Miller, Architect for the Project read a letter on behalf of Evelyn Rosa, the principal of the school. She said since the June meeting she considered her neighbor’s concerns and has acted on them. She created a traffic plan and absorbed the cost of the new fence, but the project was significantly off schedule. Any delay to secure a building permit caused an incomplete project before the next school year. She requested the approval of the Conditional Use Permit. Rita Vrhil said the plans for the project began in 2008 and neighbors were not notified until November 2011. The notification was done by a posting of a Proposed Application on the school property. She said the application was set for November 3, 2012 and would have been approved, except for last minute changes of the fence. The neighbor’s did not appreciate taking their time to come to City Council Meetings. She lives on the adjacent property and said she will bear the brunt of the altered traffic pattern. She encouraged the approval of the application and said her concerns were resolved. Lee Caswell represented the neighbors and recommended that Council go ahead with the approval process. There were different issues, for example one with the fence and some with trees but was glad there was a resolution. Public hearing closed at 7:49 P.M. MOTION: Council Member Holman moved, seconded by Vice Mayor Scharff to approve the Record of Land Use Action (Attachment A) approving a Conditional Use Permit (CUP), modifying the existing CUP for the St. Elizabeth Seton School to allow the establishment of a pre-school program in an existing K-8 private school, to be located within a previously approved MINUTES Page 7 of 19 City Council Meeting Minutes: 12/17/12 building designed to house Kindergarten and Pre-K classroom and after school day-care program activities. MOTION PASSED: 8-0 Price absent 19. Presentation and Update on Council and Staff Visit to Yangpu District, China and Request for Direction on Next Steps of Partnership Between the City of Palo Alto and the Yangpu District of China. James Keene, City Manager said Mayor Yeh, Council Member Shepherd, Council Member Elect Berman, and Staff went to Yangpu, China. He said Palo Alto entered into a three year agreement with the Yangpu District. Yangpu had a relationship with the Bay Area Council and Palo Alto City Council wanted to discover the potential for a partnership. The visit to Yangpu included visits to technological parks, official meetings, and dinners. He commented on how the Bay Area Council partnership helped to leverage the value of the relationship. Establishing relationships helped to set a foundation that benefited Palo Alto. Thomas Fehrenbach, Economic Development Manager said there were several steps Staff sought Council direction on. Council sought to gauge the interest of Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD) in a foreign internship/exchange program and wanted to determine Palo Alto’s involvement with the conference of Smart Cities in China, possibly including Stanford University. Additionally, Council wanted to explore partnership and collaborative opportunities. Mayor Yeh said the goal was to come back to Council with a clear follow up on the three year timeframe of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that was signed with Yangpu District in China and the City of Palo Alto. Del Christensen, Bay Area Council member and Department Chief of Global Business Development thought the relationship was a very collaborative one and said working together was positive. The Yangpu district wanted to have some kind of a presence in the Silicon Valley; there were education programs he thought could be beneficial. China invited Palo Alto to the second annual Smart Cities Symposium in September and wanted to continue the conversation of building Smart Cities at that time. The Yangpu District was emerging from an industrial to an innovational zone and there were a lot of similarities between Yangpu and Palo Alto. He remarked that Stanford Research Park collaborated with similar projects that were emerging in China. Mayor Yeh said PAUSD needed to take the lead in instituting the foreign exchange program, imitating the model of the Japanese Sister City Program. MINUTES Page 8 of 19 City Council Meeting Minutes: 12/17/12 He said one difference between the Japanese Sister City Program and the Yangpu District Program was that Yangpu focused on internship opportunities. Part of the effort was to connect with several of the companies that existed in the Stanford Research Park District and for Yangpu to pursue opportunities with Palo Alto students, in tandem with PAUSD. In discussions with PAUSD with regard to Yangpu China, he asked school board members why students were learning Mandarin Chinese. Many said they learned the language to prepare for future career opportunities. This relationship aligned with the Youth Forum and PAUSD. He said having different complexity levels within the Student Exchange Program, the Smart Cities Program, and the Research Parks Program made the converge exciting. Council Member Shepherd mentioned Hillary Clinton, Secretary of State’s program called 100,000 Strong, a program dedicated to bringing 100,000 youth to China. Council reached out to the Super Intendant of PAUSD in order to connect with the Instructional Supervisors of the high schools and with parents of the students studying Mandarin Chinese. Dana Tom, PAUSD Board Member spoke from the perspective of a School Board Member and a parent. He referenced the Spanish internship/partnerships and said there was not a lot of effort that was needed to arrange the exchange. He thought it was good to speak to parents about their level of interest in the program and the volunteer participation options available. Council Member Holman asked what the financial arrangement was for the Smart Cities Conference. Mr. Keene said they did not have that information at this time and said the Smart Cities Program was part of combining a lot of different components of cities in many ways, and how it was timely to be thinking of the 2014 Symposium in Palo Alto. Council Member Holman confirmed that there was no notion of what the cost was. Mr. Keene said he would be coming back to Council at a later date with the cost. Council Member Espinosa mentioned the Neighbor’s Abroad Program and the Sister Cities Program relationship and wanted better understanding on where the Yangpu China relationship was headed. He talked about how the cities connected with Palo Alto wanted an economic partnership with Palo Alto and how that meant having nonprofit organizations run these programs. MINUTES Page 9 of 19 City Council Meeting Minutes: 12/17/12 He wondered if more cities were getting involved, where this left the Sister Cities Program and what the difference was in the present educational programs and Yangpu China. Mr. Fehrenbach commented that Neighbor’s Abroad meant mainly building cultural relationships and was a way to engage citizens in Palo Alto. He said Neighbor’s Abroad expressed interest in being involved in Yangpu China. Mr. Keene said a lot of the visitors from other countries helped show what opportunities there were. These relationships made clear the criteria for participation, allowing people to see new potential in economic, intellectual, and innovative ways. Palo Alto did not have infrastructure requirements outlined, but the Bay Area Council partnership helped to build requirements. There was a potential for the Sister Cities relationships to evolve and said the criteria that should be discussed was why, who, and how was Palo Alto going to support and sustain these relationships. Council Member Espinosa thought it was good to understand what the relationship looked like before engaging in a partnership, but more importantly, deciding where in the world Palo Alto should build partnerships, rather than being reactive about decisions. Mayor Yeh said there was some discussion on different ways for community members to be engaged with the Sister Cities Programs and what it meant to have an inactive status. There was an acknowledgement from Neighbor’s Abroad that some programs might need to be reinvigorated. The Student Internship Program was not intended to touch City Staff, the responsibility was on parents. One reason for choosing China was Palo Alto had a 15 percent Asian population, and in high schools the ratio was higher. He said this was an opportunity for people who were not civically engaged to be involved. He pointed out that Staff was not using time to arrange the 2013 Symposium in China, but was going to use time for the 2014 Conference held in Palo Alto. He said Stanford Research Park received a lot of interest to host and set up meetings. Mr. Keene said this was fair criticism and said they safeguarded themselves a little by creating a three year pilot program with Yangpu. He thought Staff learned a lot on how to build and sustain these types of relationships. Who Palo Alto wanted to be partnered with was a conversation that needed to happen in the future. In the case of Heidelberg and the dialogue had there, he asked if there were practices, leadership lessons, or healthy competition that could be used in the realm of municipal urban sustainability improvements that a city was able to make. With regard to the Sister Cities relationship, there was proactivity on their part and said there was MINUTES Page 10 of 19 City Council Meeting Minutes: 12/17/12 something to learn from places in Europe as well, adapting or deepening the relationships they already had. With any new relationship, he suggested a pilot program before engaging in something long term. Council Member Espinosa said the questions were Staff should create a pilot program before engaging in any new relationship, not why China, why Heidelberg. He wanted to know how they came to choose this particular relationship. Council Member Burt said in terms of collaboration with other community groups, the City had entities where people congregate, for example, with international schools and faith groups. Those organizations were yearning for relationships. He encouraged PAUSD to look at the relationship differently and said this could be done with facilitators. He said this meant working with parents within the community. He did not think this relationship was a reactive one, it was responsive. This relationship was not only grounded at a center of technology, but it involved the demographics of our community. The Mayor wanted to engage civic activity in Palo Alto, the Bay Area Council helped elevate that. He said the question was what commonalities were there between Palo Alto and Yangpu. Yangpu had innovation centers, did it have a strong commitment to urban sustainability, and was it university orientated. He thought this was a good avenue for collaboration and said Palo Alto needed to look outside the boundaries for participation; there was no reason to limit the relationship. Council Member Klein thought they should ask what they really wanted out of these relationships and was Palo Alto looking to make money for the community. He asked if the relationship increased sales by so many millions, was that the model, or was it about exchanging ideas about environment, or culture. He said Yangpu was very different than the Neighbor’s Abroad Program because the Yangpu China relationship was a business relationship. He was hopeful that Council and Staff would find the time to figure out what Palo Alto wanted. He thought it was good to ask how many of these relationships Palo Alto was going to be able to handle and what the goal was. He suggested looking at this relationship the opposite way. For example, he asked if there was a possibility of being a donor, or big brother and did Palo Alto want to be a peer only. MOTION: Council Member Shepherd moved, seconded by Mayor Yeh to accept the report of activities of the recent Bay Area Council delegation to China and direct staff to continue pursuing a formal “Smart Cities” partnership with the Yangpu District of Shanghai (Yangpu) by 1) Exploring the Palo Alto Unified School District’s interest in creating a student exchange program, 2) Engaging with Bay Area Council and Yangpu Officials to explore MINUTES Page 11 of 19 City Council Meeting Minutes: 12/17/12 City participation in a “Smart Cities” Conference in Summer 2013, and 3) Engaging the Stanford Research Park management and employers to identify areas of mutual interest and potential collaboration with the Bay Area- Yangpu Digitization Park management and employers. Council Member Shepherd said most of these questions were discussed on the trip. For example, they asked how Palo Alto was going to develop the next steps and why Palo Alto was entering in this relationship. Many people had relationships with China. She said there was a lot of connectivity that Council did not look at. This brought better thinking, not just with the community, but on a corporate level. Mayor Yeh was excited to deepen the relationship with the Bay Area City Council. The Motion encouraged community engagement and brought in new ideas about being civically engaged. He was very supportive of Council Member Klein’s comments. INCORPORATED INTO MOTION WITH THE CONSENT OF THE MAKER AND SECONDER to direct Staff to prepare a study session in the first half of 2013 to discuss metrics for determining whether a relationship with a foreign city is successful and criteria for future relationships. MOTION PASSED: 8-0 Price absent 18. 2012 Year in Review. James Keene, City Manager said it was good to look back on the year to reflect on accomplishments and to consider what needed to be done. The National Citizen Survey for 2012 showed data on improvements in the quality of life, the quality of Palo Alto’s services, Palo Alto’s neighborhoods, Palo Alto as a place to use, and recommending Palo Alto as a place. The survey enabled Palo Alto to benchmark their numbers and performance against other jurisdictions in the United States. Service ratings for Economic Development, Emergency Preparedness, and Recreation Centers increased and showed excellent or good; many of Palo Alto’s characteristics were above the national benchmark. When compared with County, State, and Federal government, Palo Alto scored significantly higher. He said the Council Priorities were City Finances, Land Use and Transportation, Emergency Preparedness, Environmental Sustainability, and Community Collaboration for Youth Well Being. The City Finances balanced and closed with a $5.8 million gap and $2.4 million in Ongoing Structural Changes. Since 2009 in the General Fund, there was a surplus of $9 million in Ongoing Structural Changes. Palo Alto was at the forefront in Structural Compensation Benefits with five new labor agreements adopted; Palo Alto kept its AAA Utility Bond Rating. $7.5 million was saved by refinancing the MINUTES Page 12 of 19 City Council Meeting Minutes: 12/17/12 Parking District Department, average Residential Gas Rates were lowered 25-32 percent, and Fire Services changes saved $1.2 million. During the first five months of the fiscal year (FY), there was a 50 percent savings in Fire Department overtime, Emergency Management Services Revenue increased by 21 percent, and there were reductions due to the Station Seven closure. Regarding Infrastructure, the Fire Rating was two; this resulted in lower Fire Insurance rates paid by businesses and residential customers. Mayor Yeh declared that 2012 was the year for Infrastructure Renewal and Investment. In September the Mayor adopted an Infrastructure Plan and Strategy over the next two years, addressing the feasibility of placing a 2014 November ballot to address Infrastructure Needs. This year there were two questions added to the National Citizen Survey. The preliminary responses to those questions showed that for the Infrastructure Bond Measures, 67 percent of people supported an increase in Hotel Occupancy Tax. This data showed the level of tax people might pay, and 74 percent of people showed they supported street replacement and repair. The sidewalk repair support was 72 percent, and 61 percent of people showed they supported a new Police Public Safety building. Regarding Local Revenue Trends, the Transient Occupancy Taxes was $9.7 million in 2012, compared with $6.9 million in 2010. The occupancy was rising, so there were new hotels built. There was a change in sales tax in 2010, causing the City to be down to $18 million. In 2012 the amount was up to $22 million; there was a projected $23 million in FY 2013. The Documentary Transfer Tax dropped to a low of $3.1 million in FY 2010, but was up to $5.2 million in FY 2012 Vacancy Rates were down to 2.9 percent in FY 2012. In the Survey, the City’s ratings in Economic Development increased to 18 percent over two years. There were many project expansions and improvements, like with Edgewood and the Stanford Shopping Center. In the global front, Palo Alto had the Sister Cities monument displayed and Palo Alto hosted international business visits. In the realm of Infrastructure, there were renovations in the Arts Center, and the Mitchell Park Library and Community Center was on track to achieve the highest rating for being an environmentally friendly building with regard to water consumption. There were also improvements with the Cubberley Project. In discussing Land Use and Transportation, the Development Center received a steady volume of permit applications to process, and issuing them was steady. There was an increase in total evaluation, and the average days to respond to a first plan check and issue a building permit was about 38 days, a five year low. The cost for inspection decreased 62 percent since 2007. The average number of days for Plan Checks had a 37 percent improvement this past year. The City hired Development Center Director and Project Coordinators this past year; they made a one stop location for development projects, making the process smoother and quicker. Development Services, Utilities Staff, Public Works Engineering Staff, Planning, Fire, and Urban Forestry were all now at the Development MINUTES Page 13 of 19 City Council Meeting Minutes: 12/17/12 Center. The Hoover Pavilion project opened and the City received $32.5 million in Public Benefit Funds to date. The Council approved the Lytton Gateway Project, and the 27 University Avenue was underway. The City Council helped to adopt a Bicycle and Pedestrian plan, of which $86 million was spent, $5.5 million of that was spent over past three years. The California Avenue Streetscape had approved designs that were going to be seen this next year, along with the High Speed Rail, and the Arastradero Traffic Calming plan; there was much discussion on Residential Parking projects as well. The Palo Alto Stanford Trail program was very successful, receiving many funds for different trails in Palo Alto. Regarding the Rinconada Park Long Range plan, it involved over 400 participants and established methods to forecast the Long-range Recreational and Cultural Conservation needs of the park, in particular with regard to the Main Library. There were improvements and enhancements on phase three of the Bixby Park Hills, where 10 acres were open to the public and the trail system expanded to over 1/3 of a mile. In July, the Environmental Volunteers re- opened the Sea Scouts Eco Center and the City planned on a Golf Course reconfiguration. The Golf Course plan included 10 acres of Sports Fields near the Baylands Athletic Center. In the priority of Environmental Sustainability, there was a Renewed Sustainability Initiative, which included a Sustainability Officer and Sustainability Board. There was a long-range plan in place for the Regional Quality Treatment Plant. Staff helped to finalize the road maps for the upgrades, and they worked with five partner agencies to consider utilizing wastewater, while controlling costs at the Regional Facility. The City installed five Electric Vehicle Chargers in City parking garages. The Palo Alto Clean Local Accessible Energy Now CLEAN program was implemented, which had an initial design adjustment recently made for Solar Development. The Council adopted a definition of Carbon Neutrality for the Electricity Portfolio and there was consideration of implementation of the plan in 2013. The Emersion Technologies program launched the Utilities Innovation and Emergency Technology Demonstration program, promoting the testing, evaluation, and deployment of technologies. In the area of Energy and Water, they received seven proposals, with a review in process. The Energy Compost Facility issued proposals prepared to protect private sectors, which allowed the City to build the Energy Compost Facility. The City entered into a potential collaborative, joining California Green Cities to help decrease Greenhouse Gases. The Bay Area Biosolids Collaborative was created to research the potential Extract Resource Value from Biosolids. There was also the Cool Cities Challenge, where the City submitted a letter of intent to consider participation. The Environmental Impact Report was completed to consider the Plastic Bags Ordinance Expansion to expand restrictions on large grocery stores that were previously approved for all retail, and was going to go into effect for all foods service facilities December 1, 2013. The City was in the process of MINUTES Page 14 of 19 City Council Meeting Minutes: 12/17/12 implementing a pilot program for Zero Waste. Approximately 85 projects required Green Building Inspections, using Build it Green, Cal Green, and Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED). There were a total of 16 projects that used LEED Certification, including 46 projects registered for LEED Certification. As of 2012, the City had over 950 Photovoltaic Systems installed on a variety of building types, with an additional 76 serving Stanford University. Infrastructure Replacement was a big component of Emergency Preparedness. In this past year, Utility Facilities replaced over seven miles of gas main pipe and 36 miles of electric cable. To date, the City replaced or repaired 43 miles of electric cable out of a total of 100, 103 gas mains out of a total of 207, approximately 50 water mains out of a total of 219, and 59 wastewater mains out of a total of 202. As part of Pacific Gas and Electric’s (PG&E) state-wide mandate, their natural gas transmission lines replaced two major segments of their lines running through Palo Alto. The El Camino Reservoir Pump Station and Well was 55 percent complete. The rebuilding of the Mayfield Pump Station was 95 percent complete. Rehabilitation of the five existing wells was 99 percent complete. There was a complete remodel of the Emergency Operation Center. Staff hosted or supported over 60 trainings, exercises, and special events in Emergency Preparedness. The North County Public Safety Resource Sharing Consortium of Los Altos, Mountain View, Palo Alto, and Sunnyvale were making progress to share certain public safety resources beyond existing mutual aid in the realm of realization. Under Community Collaboration and Youth Well Being, Staff hired a permanent Project Coordinator for Project Safety Net. The City implemented a Gatekeeper Program to expand public awareness on the effects of teenage stress. The City added a Neighborhood Grant Program where Council approved $25,000. The Mayor established the Youth Video Corp to leverage youth energy and creativity and to provide learning opportunities for the youth; they completed two videos. The City continued the work on Safe Routes to School, holding many bike safety events at approximately 11 schools. The key positions of City Auditor, Fire Chief, Chief People Officer, Assistant Director of Community Services, Assistant Director of Planning, and Development Services Manager were filled this past year. There was an initiation of a new two-day Employee Orientation Emersion program for all new employees. The Arts Center was under construction, causing 72,000 people to serve on the On the Road activity. As a result there was a growth of 1,900 people volunteering as a Service Group for the Arts Center, and three temporary On the Road art installations. Library Services began a Liquid Space project that involved booking meeting rooms at the Downtown Library. It allowed potential users to see photos of the rooms and to reserve the rooms for up to two hours. There were increased on-line activities added to the Library, like Discover and Go, Access 360, and Freegal, a program allowing people access to the Library catalog. As a result, in FY MINUTES Page 15 of 19 City Council Meeting Minutes: 12/17/12 2012 there were 850,000 on-line visits to the library; there were about 30 community events that took place or were supported by the City. The City developed a three year overall City Information Technology (IT) Strategy, which included a new Governing Strategy, an Information Security Strategy, and a Data Center Storage Strategy. The City updated Windows Platform and Microsoft Office software, bringing the City up to current versions of these programs. Almost 10 percent of the City converted to laptops, which caused a jump in 20 percent productivity and reduced computer power consumption by up to 90 percent. The City implemented a new telephone system which was connected to a high-speed network that was more reliable and has more capabilities for usage. Staff completed a new Citizens Committee Work project on the website, which has over 4,000 visitors a day on the new website. The City website implemented the following community facing applications to its website: Pinterest, Google+, Opower, Storify, Foursquare, and piloted rBlock. The Police Department officially launched its Social Media Account on Facebook, Twitter, Nixle, and rBlock. The City has 1,700 followers on Twitter, over 300 people signed up for alerts on Nixle for the Police Department and the Mayor and the City Manager held five live Twitter Question and Answer sessions. The City developed the Street Viewer Application, holding the first ever Super Happy Block Party Hackathon, which was the largest Hackathon to occur in the world that the City knew of to date. The City launched an Open Data website allowing people to easily access any City data. The Open Data program was integrated and added to cities.data.gov, a Federal repository for City data. There were less than 10 cities integrated, Palo Alto was one of the first. Later on in the year the City opened a second platform called Open Budget, which was developed with the second local start-up, which had no out-of-pocket cost for the City. This project made financial data available for all to see and was managed by the Chief Financial Officer and vendor. He said it made five years of financial data available in a visual format. Palo Alto was looking forward to the opening of the Mitchell Park Library and Community Center in 2013 and looked forward to completing the Downtown Parking Studies and the Downtown Coordinated Area Plan (CAP). There was implementation to the Bike/Pedestrian Plan, with an aggressive plan to implement bike boulevards, creek side paths, and facilities. The City was closing the gap on the Adobe Creek Highway 101 Bridge project. The California Avenue Streetscape project finalized its design and began construction on the roadway, sidewalk, and streetscape improvements. There was much of work done on the 2014 Infrastructure Finance Measure, including community outreach and engagement, and work done on the Cubberley Facility. There was approval of the plan on the Carbon Neutral Facility Portfolio, to be done by 2015 in an effort to make Palo Alto 100 percent Carbon Neutral. There was a completion of the entire Comprehensive Plan for consideration by the Council, including work to begin on the Environmental Impact Report; he MINUTES Page 16 of 19 City Council Meeting Minutes: 12/17/12 said Council will adopt the Housing Element, as Council has approved the draft. Palo Alto continued to work with the community and land owners with the Potential Land Use and Transit plans for the Arts and Innovation District at 27 University Avenue. The Byxbee Park Expansion and Energy Compost Facilities considerations were made, causing sub-stations of the City to be closed. There were 126 acres of landfill that was capped in preparation for further expansion and improvements to Byxbee Park, while 10 acres of the old landfill was considered as an Energy Compost Facility. The Newell Road Bridge replacement was going to bring about considerable discussion. The Main Library Renovation and Expansion was scheduled for construction to begin the summer of 2013, which was the last of the three Libraries to undergo construction. Staff proposed that the City work on a City-wide Park Master Plan to determine how parks and recreational facilities were to be enhanced, expanded, or replaced over the next 10-30 year periods. There was a lot of work on Sustainably Planning and the City was revisiting where the City was on the Climate Action Plan and potential consideration by the Council for Enhanced Requirements. In the Urban Forest Master Plan, the City hired an Urban Forester in 2012. Staff anticipated the Urban Forest Master Plan to be completed by June of 2013. Staff was proposing to study the City’s wireless needs and to consider potential construction of a wireless tower system, while reducing wireless antenna’s in the neighborhoods. He said Staff was developing a Smart Phone Application for reporting infrastructure related issues and Council doubled the budget for Street Resurfacing from $1.8 million to almost $4 million. This past year, Council added another $2.2 million for the Infrastructure Blue Ribbon Committee (IBRC) recommendation. In the three years since the budget increase, Staff was able to obtain $2.6 million in grants, in addition to those in the Base Annual Budget. The street condition was rated using a Pavement Condition Index (PCI), these scores ranged from a poor condition of less than 50 to very good, which was greater than 80. Along with the increase in street funding, the City set a goal, in 2010 to have the average PCI of 73 increased to an average PCI of 85 in 10 years, with no streets having a PCI score below 60. In FY 2012, 22 lane mile roads were resurfaced, with 473 lane miles City wide, which improved the average CPI to an expected score of 77. Additional resurfacing work was to continue in 2013. Council Member Schmid thought this overview was a good way to end the year. Council Member Burt asked how Palo Alto compared with other cities on the quality of life. Mr. Keene said he did not highlight all of the benchmark data, but said the details would be complete sometime in February. MINUTES Page 17 of 19 City Council Meeting Minutes: 12/17/12 Council Member Burt asked how Staff was going to inform the public of all of this information. Mr. Keene said Staff was going to post all of this information on the City website and asked if there were any particular story lines that Council wanted Staff to develop. Council Member Burt recommended breaking the information up into departments. He thought it was good to see how the City was moving forward, what the highest score was in the County, and for people to know where the City was headed, in comparison with where other cities were headed. He also remarked that the Nielsen Ratings were not presented, an audience measurement system designed to determine audience size and composition for television programing. He asked about the 4,000 website visits and if there were new visits in comparison with the old site. Vice Mayor Scharff thought there were many items that impacted Palo Alto, like the California Avenue Streetscape Program. He mentioned the Golf Course Reconfiguration and said there were no barriers for that project; it was a win-win situation for the community. The Palo Alto Stanford Trails and the Matadero Trail was excellent, along with the Bike Bridge Project, which was an excellent project. He mentioned the $9 million in structural savings for the City of Palo Alto, and that it was done without degrading structural services. He said there was a $1 million savings in Fire savings and restructuring and there were better services for less money. Council Member Holman mentioned the adoption of the Bike and Pedestrian Plan and said the outcome was exciting. She said the City Auditors Office was producing great reports, along with the good work done in the City Attorney’s Office, the City Manager’s Office, and the City Clerk’s Office. Council Member Shepherd said she noticed an incremental change in the budget and mentioned a discussion on the Magical Bridge. She liked the way the pensions were documented to understand the body of the finances. Council Member Klein asked what Mr. Keene’s report would have looked like over four years. He mentioned the recession and said it was hard to see how things were in 2008 because of that. A lot of the improvements looked far more dramatic when compared with 2008 data. Council Member Espinosa looked at a long term view and said the presentation reflected five years of work and partnership and commented on how there was dysfunction in other cities. He thought the plans came together well and said Staff worked diligently on tough projects. MINUTES Page 18 of 19 City Council Meeting Minutes: 12/17/12 Mayor Yeh wanted to congratulate all of the Council Appointed Officer’s (CAO) and said the combination of leadership was great. He said this group of people contributed to the quality of life in Palo Alto. He had witnessed employees work through difficult issues with a tough budget. Each of the employees was willing to take reduced compensation. He mentioned the Councils commitment to infrastructure and how it became an increased priority. He also mentioned the high level of intellect in the infrastructure. There was coordination and immense strength in Palo Alto. Mr. Keene said government works in Palo Alto; Staff hired a lot of qualified people, there were great CAO’s, along with people that moved up in opportunity and expectation. He said this was a team and group effort. 20. Colleagues Memo from Mayor Yeh and Council Members Price and Shepherd Regarding Youth Council Liaison. Council Member Shepherd said Council adjusted their request to have a Youth Liaison. The Youth Liaison helped prospect the Youth Council, getting the group to give good input on Council agenda’s and to keep Council informed on what was going on with youth in the community. Mayor Yeh thought it was good to meet with the Youth Council and to hear their input. He said the details of how the Liaison was going to come to life were going to be informative. Council asked that, in creating the Youth Liaison role, that steps be taken to expand the Youth Policy and Services (P&S) Liaison to include the Youth Council as a Liaison as well. Vice Mayor Scharff said more interaction with the Youth Council was good. MOTION: Vice Mayor Scharff moved, seconded by Council Member Shepherd to rename the Council Project Safety Net Liaison to Youth Liaison and expand the their duties to serve as the liaison to the City’s Youth Council. Council Member Burt said the concept was good. He wanted to encourage the Policy and Services Committee to look at the best way to draw various youth groups in the community together. He said they had a meeting every year with the Youth Council but there were a lot of other youth groups; he wanted to see the various groups become a Youth Council of some sort. AMENDMENT: Council Member Burt moved, seconded by Council Member XXX to direct Policy and Services Committee review in 2013 what would be the best youth Council organization structure to communicate with youth in the community. MINUTES Page 19 of 19 City Council Meeting Minutes: 12/17/12 Vise Mayor Scharff said amending the motion needed to be given more thought. He thought it might be a good subject for Policy and Services but thought there were other items that were more important, and said it might not be a number one priority. Council Member Burt asked how Staff made that determination. Mayor Yeh said the maker did not accept the amendment. Council Member Shepherd thought this was a good project for the Youth Council. Council Member Burt thought this topic needed to be explored more and was not sure that the Youth Council was equipped for that. AMENDMENT WITHDRAWN BY THE MAKER MOTION PASSED: 8-0 Price absent COUNCIL MEMBER QUESTIONS, COMMENTS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS Council Member Shepherd reported she went to the Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) Policy Advisory Committee meeting and said the prior grants that they were applying for with Federal dollars required that half of the transit lanes be a dedicated lane; that was no longer the case. VTA decided to pursue their preferred route, which did not have dedicated lanes. This expanded and modernized the route of the 522 bus, which was already a rapid bus. She was looking forward to more of these meetings in 2013. Mayor Yeh said the Mayor of Wisconsin reached out about the upcoming Rose Bowl and suggested in a letter that the losing Mayor had to wear a cap displaying the winning city’s emblem for an entire council meeting, the losing city had to raise the flag of the winning city for an entire day, and the losing team must plant a tree in honor of the winning team. The other item he wanted to report on was that the tax exempt status for municipal bonds was under consideration for part of the solution to remove the ability for high income people who invest in tax exempt bonds to claim on their tax returns. This was going to have the effect of undermining tax exempt status for municipal bonds. ADJOURNMENT: The meeting was adjourned in honor of Mayor Yeh and Council Member Espinosa at 10:47 P.M.