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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020-01-06 City Council Summary MinutesCITY OF PALO ALTO CITY COUNCIL FINAL MINUTES Page 1 of 5 Regular Meeting January 6, 2020 The City Council of the City of Palo Alto met on this date in the Council Chambers at 6:10 P.M. Present: Cormack, DuBois, Filseth, Fine, Kniss, Kou, Tanaka Absent: Special Orders of the Day 1. Election of the 2020 Mayor. Mayor Filseth recognized dignitaries present in the audience and explained the procedure for election of Mayor and Vice Mayor. NOMINATION: Council Member Tanaka nominated Vice Mayor Fine for Mayor for 2020. Council Member Tanaka advised that he had observed Vice Mayor Fine's leadership skills and ability to facilitate meetings when they served on the Planning and Transportation Commission (PTC) and the Rail Committee. Vice Mayor Fine offered a unique perspective in that he rented his home and was a Palo Alto native. In addition, Vice Mayor Fine had a good grasp of technology. Vice Mayor Fine accepted the nomination and thanked Council Member Tanaka for his kind words. Council Member Kou felt each Council Member should have the opportunity to serve as Vice Mayor and Mayor. While she supported Vice Mayor Fine in his service as Mayor, she expressed concern about some of the issues he had supported, Senate Bill (SB) 50 in particular. Council Member Kniss remarked that Vice Mayor Fine had been kind, polite, and thoughtful during his campaign for Council. He was especially known for his critical thinking skills. Council Member Cormack indicated Vice Mayor Fine spoke his mind when warranted. He was adept at incorporating the thoughts of others and ceding graciously. FINAL MINUTES Page 2 of 5 City Council Meeting Final Minutes: 1/6/2020 NOMINATION PASSED: 6-0-1 Kou abstain Mayor Fine thanked his Colleagues, his family, and the community for their support. He promised to do his best on behalf of the City, the community, and the Council. He appreciated Council Member Filseth's ability to knit the Council and the community together on difficult issues. Housing, transportation and economic vitality was his focus areas in 2020. Identifying a vision for the future of Palo Alto was going to be a challenge. He was committed to finding a solution to grade separations in 2020 and encouraged everyone to engage with Connecting Palo Alto. The community needed to make more of an effort to treat Stanford University and businesses as a part of the community. He applauded the service of City employees. 2. Election of the 2020 Vice Mayor. NOMINATION: Council Member Kniss nominated Council Member Alison Cormack for Vice Mayor for 2020. NOMINATION: Council Member Filseth nominated Council Member Tom DuBois for Vice Mayor for 2020. Council Member Kniss noted Council Member Cormack had received the most votes in the 2018 Council election, which indicated her value. Council Member Cormack was good with numbers, observed details, and held regular office hours. Council Member Filseth related that Council Member DuBois was consistently thoughtful, a voice for reason and data, and known for looking at all sides of issues. His experience serving on all Council Committees and chairing four of the Committees served him well as Vice Mayor. Council Member DuBois was a mature and knowledgeable individual. As Vice Mayor, he and Mayor Fine reflected the alignments and differences found in the Palo Alto community. Council Member Cormack hoped her Colleagues had observed her positive and professional approach to decisions. Council Member DuBois thanked Council Member Filseth for his kind words. He had learned a great deal in serving six years on the Council and promised to work with all Council Members. Leadership that reflected the diversity of the community worked particularly well. Becky Sanders supported Council Member DuBois because of his Council experience and because he had shown tact, wisdom, and leadership. Council Member DuBois was effective, understood the residential point of view, and FINAL MINUTES Page 3 of 5 City Council Meeting Final Minutes: 1/6/2020 balanced neighborhood concerns with other considerations. He thought Council Member Cormack would be an amazing Vice Mayor in the near future. Elaine Meyer felt Council Member DuBois would serve the City and the Council well as Vice Mayor. Council Member DuBois was civil, intelligent and experienced. Terry Holzemer remarked that Council Member Cormack and Council Member DuBois had served the City well; however, Council Member DuBois deserved the position of Vice Mayor. Council Member DuBois had worked hard to find common ground and solutions when faced with challenging issues. Joe Hirsch believed Council Member DuBois would be a fine Vice Mayor. The combination of Mayor Fine and Council Member DuBois as Vice Mayor reflected the entire community. Council Member Cormack was going to make a fine Vice Mayor and Mayor in time. Suzanne Keehn indicated former Mayor Filseth and Vice Mayor Fine worked well together and represented Palo Alto residents well. She hoped that would continue with Mayor Fine and Council Member DuBois. Council Member Kou commented that Council Member DuBois had represented the City fairly, considerately, and mindfully for six years. With his experience on Council, Council Member DuBois deserved to be Vice Mayor. NOMINATION FOR COUNCIL MEMBER CORMACK FAILED: 3-3-1 DuBois, Filseth, Kou no, Tanaka abstain NOMINATION FOR COUNCIL MEMBER DUBOIS PASSED: 4-2-1 Fine, Kniss no, Tanaka abstain Vice Mayor DuBois advised that he would do his best to represent the City and work with his Colleagues. 3. Resolution 9874 Entitled, “Resolution of the Council of the City of Palo Alto of the Council of the City of Palo Alto Expressing Appreciation for Outstanding Public Service to Eric Filseth as 2019 Mayor.” Mayor Fine read the Resolution into the record. Lisa Chung, Senator Hill's Office thanked Council Member Filseth for his service as Mayor and wished him a restful 2020. Bob Moss remarked that Council Member Filseth had politely and effectively kept the Council on track. FINAL MINUTES Page 4 of 5 City Council Meeting Final Minutes: 1/6/2020 Winter Dellenbach expressed appreciation for Council Member Filseth raising awareness of businesses and taxes and fair share. Terry Holzemer thanked Council Member Filseth for his work and dedication in 2019. Council Member Filseth's State of the City address was excellent and a tribute to his appreciation and knowledge of all communities in the West Bay. Karen Holman thanked Council Member Filseth for his service. There was never any doubt that Council Member Filseth had prepared for each Council meeting. The nominations of Vice Mayor DuBois and Council Member Cormack spoke well of their characters. She thought Mayor Fine would conduct meetings graciously and with an even hand. Council Member Kou appreciated Council Member Filseth allowing the public to speak for not less than two minutes. She also appreciated his patience, thoughtfulness and ability to conclude meetings before 11:00 P.M. MOTION: Vice Mayor DuBois moved, seconded by Mayor Fine to adopt a Resolution expressing appreciation for outstanding public service to Eric Filseth as 2019 Mayor. Vice Mayor DuBois believed Council Member Filseth should be proud of his year as Mayor and hoped to hear his opinion more often in meetings. Mayor Fine commented that Council Member Filseth had handled meetings and the transition to seven Council Members graciously and fairly. Council Member Filseth's sense of humor had enlivened meetings. Council Member Tanaka thanked Council Member Filseth for his service and good work as Mayor. MOTION PASSED: 7-0 Council Member Filseth thanked everyone for their kind words and for the honor of serving as Mayor. It had been a rare privilege. He highlighted Council actions of which he was proud. Oral Communications Mark Shull hoped the City had objected to the Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) for San Jose's Airport Project. More flights from San Jose's airport increased airplane noise in Palo Alto. FINAL MINUTES Page 5 of 5 City Council Meeting Final Minutes: 1/6/2020 David Coale thanked the Council for supporting environmental and sustainability issues in 2019, especially the decision not to build the Downtown parking garage. Rebecca Ward shared portions of a letter from members of Congress to the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and requested the Council release the vote that determined the Council would not pursue litigation against the FAA. Suzanne Keehn referred to a newspaper article that indicated Representative Speier would propose legislation about airplane noise. Something had to be done about airplane noise. Joe Hirsch hoped all citizens' opinions and viewpoints would be voiced and debated in Council meetings through the collaboration of the Mayor and Vice Mayor. He requested the Council conclude its negotiations with Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD) regarding Cubberley Community Center. Mayor Fine and Vice Mayor DuBois needed to allow 3 minutes for public comment when speakers numbered ten or less. Mayor Fine invited the public to the reception. Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 7:19 P.M.