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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018-10-21 City Council Summary Minutes CITY OF PALO ALTO CITY COUNCIL FINAL MINUTES Page 1 of 13 Special Meeting October 22, 2018 The City Council of the City of Palo Alto met on this date in the Council Chambers at 5:12 P.M. Present: DuBois, Filseth, Fine, Holman, Kniss, Kou, Scharff, Tanaka, Wolbach Absent: Oral Communications Bryce Drew-Zinn remarked that Saudi Arabia used weapons made by Lockheed Martin, whose advanced technology center was located in Palo Alto, to kill thousands and thousands of innocent people. The City of Palo Alto was benefiting economically from Lockheed Martin's presence in Palo Alto. Perhaps the City could make a symbolic gesture by adopting a resolution or declaration that Lockheed Martin was not welcome in Palo Alto as long as it sold weapons to Saudi Arabia. Terri Baxter Smith advised that the Rinconada Masters swim team was shocked by Team Sheeper Inc.'s announcement that it would not renew the Rinconada Masters contract for 2019. Rinconada Masters wanted to remedy the reasons Mr. Sheeper gave for not renewing the contract; however, Mr. Sheeper was not interested in resolving any issues. She referred to statements made in the May 2017 Parks and Recreation Commission meeting regarding the importance of Rinconada Masters and Palo Alto Swim Association (PASA) continuing their programs at Rinconada pool. Carol MacPherson enumerated the services offered by the Rinconada Masters swim team. Not renewing the Rinconada Masters contract was difficult for the Rinconada Masters team. She asked the Council to support Rinconada Masters' efforts to renew the contract. Edie Gelles shared the history of the Rinconada Masters swim team. Not renewing the contract with the Rinconada Masters team would annihilate a valued resource that had contributed to the quality of life in the City for decades. She asked the Council to save the existing Rinconada Masters program within the changes that would occur in the overall governance of Rinconada pool. FINAL MINUTES Page 2 of 13 City Council Meeting Final Minutes: 10/22/18 Shannon McEntee suggested the City contact Safeway about removing the green produce bags from use because the bags were not compostable. SamTrans' new bus service, which connects the Caltrain station to San Francisco International Airport (SFO), needed to be publicized. Mayor Kniss asked Ms. McEntee to leave the SamTrans schedule with the City Clerk. Tim Groves indicated Mr. Sheeper chose not to renew the contract with the Rinconada Masters swim team due to a lack of certified lifeguards and individuals certified in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). The Rinconada Masters had three lifeguards with valid and current Red Cross certification and 14 swimmers with valid and current CPR certifications. The Rinconada Masters met its contractual obligation to have qualified supervision present and on duty during all designated hours. The Rinconada Masters requested the Parks and Recreation Commission increase its oversight of Team Sheeper and renew the contract between Team Sheeper and Rinconada Masters with appropriate modifications for allocation of swim lanes effective January 1, 2019. Council Member Holman requested Staff respond to Rinconada Masters' comments. Ed Shikada, Assistant City Manager, agreed to provide information to the Council and stakeholders. Study Session 1. Study Session on Traffic in Palo Alto. Mayor Kniss requested the public highlight trouble areas and suggest possible solutions. Ed Shikada, Assistant City Manager, reported the discussion could frame some of the duties and priorities for the Chief Transportation Official and the Office of Transportation. Rob de Geus, Deputy City Manager, advised that the Office of Transportation had 10.5 full-time equivalent Staff and three vacant positions including the Chief Transportation Official. The Office of Transportation was responsible for bicycling and walking programs, the Safe Routes to School program, parking, the Palo Alto Shuttle, traffic operations and safety, and transportation projects. The Office of Transportation was responsible for managing many projects and programs, but resources were quite limited. The Council had approved a contract with Municipal Resources Group (MRG) to review and make recommendations regarding the organizational structure and staffing of FINAL MINUTES Page 3 of 13 City Council Meeting Final Minutes: 10/22/18 the Office of Transportation, to review and help develop process improvements for transportation project implementation, and to assist staff as needed with major programs. Wayne Tanda, Municipal Resources Group, shared the types of traffic issues experienced by the community, including congestion and delay, cut-through traffic, excessive speed and unsafe behavior, parking, and sharing the road. The Comprehensive Plan listed eight transportation goals to create a sustainable transportation system; to decrease delay, congestion, and vehicle miles traveled (VMT); to maintain an efficient roadway network; to protect neighborhoods; to provide and manage parking for motorists and bicyclists; to provide a safe environment for all roadway users; to provide mobility options for transit-dependent individuals; and to influence regional policies. In 1967, approximately 208,000 vehicles traveled east-west daily in Palo Alto and approximately 225,000 vehicles traveled north-south. In 2016, approximately 222,000 vehicles traveled east-west daily and approximately 358,000 vehicles traveled north-south. From 2012 to 2017, the number of jobs in Palo Alto increased by about 5,000. During the same period, the aggregate number of jobs in Mountain View, Sunnyvale, Santa Clara, and San Jose increased by 100,000. Regardless of actions taken by the City of Palo Alto, there would be more travel in a north-south direction. From 2006 to 2016, there had been an increase in travel time, which correlated with daily experiences. Seventeen of approximately 100 signalized intersections in Palo Alto were considered the most congested. Regional transportation improvements included express lanes for U.S. 101, Caltrain electrification and service enhancement, High Speed Rail, bus enhancements for the Dumbarton Corridor, and Measure B projects. Staff was proposing actions to reduce bottlenecks through grade separations, reduce single-occupant vehicle (SOV) trips, and enhance street operation and safety. The Middlefield North project was developed in response to community concerns and would be presented to the Council for approval at a later time. The improvements were installed for a pilot period of one year, after which Staff evaluated the impact of improvements and received public comment. The community seemed to reach consensus regarding support for the project. Holly Boyd, Senior Engineer, related the history of the Charleston-Arastradero project. Eight neighborhoods and 11 schools were adjacent to the 2.3-mile project. In July, temporary mock-ups were installed for side streets. Signage was placed at each corner to explain the mock-ups. During the five-week pilot period, Staff received approximately three dozen public comments. The public felt the bulb-outs at Donald Drive, Pomona Avenue, Coulombe Drive, and Carlson Circle were too large. In response, Staff reduced the size of bulb-outs and smoothed the corners. Staff is reducing the size of bulb-outs and smoothing corners at other locations along the corridor. FINAL MINUTES Page 4 of 13 City Council Meeting Final Minutes: 10/22/18 Mr. Shikada noted the new model of increased flexibility and public interaction demonstrated by the Charleston-Arastradero project. John Guislin, speaking for Norm Beamer, Mila Zelkha, Tim Lindholm, Beth Guislin, and Liz Eden, expected the City to participate in regional issues but focus on local issues. Citizens were collecting census data and Department of Motor Vehicle (DMV) data to provide a detailed picture of traffic growth in Palo Alto. Perhaps metrics for SOV traffic should be refined. One hundred eight- nine Crescent Park residents responded to a survey. Eighty-eight percent of respondents said traffic was a serious problem. Traffic was worst during the weekday evening commute followed by the noon commute and lastly the morning commute. The top concerns were the length of time to reach a freeway, the length of time to complete a short-distance trip, not feeling safe as a bicyclist, and impeded access for emergency vehicles. Ninety-four percent of respondents did not feel the City was doing enough to alleviate traffic congestion. The number one suggestion for City action was to freeze development, followed by enforce existing traffic laws, more police presence and ticketing, use of traffic cameras, and additional public transit and shuttles. According to a 2016 news article, the jobs to housing ratio for Palo Alto was four times the average for Santa Clara County. Freezing or pausing development was one of the only viable actions that could improve the existing traffic situation. The Middlefield North project was a success because the number of accidents and traffic speeds had decreased while driver and pedestrian safety and residents' quality of life had increased. The down side to the project was the five years required to design and implement the project. A consultant report documenting the results of the project was released to Staff in July, but the report had yet to be presented to the Council. He recommended the Council freeze commercial development, make safety the top priority, cease granting zoning exceptions, improve data collection, and engage residents. Allen Aiken shared information from a traffic survey taken from his home at the intersection of Lincoln and Waverley. Traffic at the intersection was on track to reach 6,000 vehicles per day in 2019. On good days, the air quality index was unhealthy for sensitive groups. During commute hours, the average noise level was 80 decibels (dB) or about the same as a garbage disposal. Traffic was present during all hours of the day and night. Between 2013 and 2018, traffic had substantially worsened during all hours except 1:00 A.M. The number of vehicle accidents was increasing because residential streets were overloaded with commute and cut-through traffic. Over the prior five years, traffic on Lincoln Avenue had increased 85 percent. The Council should measure neighborhood traffic impacts regularly, tie development to measurable goals, add zoning rules to set maximum traffic levels for FINAL MINUTES Page 5 of 13 City Council Meeting Final Minutes: 10/22/18 designated intersections, and eliminate the privatization of benefits while socializing the costs. Yoriko Kishimoto felt traffic could be reduced by capping development or reducing its impacts. The City should reduce east-west traffic and understand the origin and destination and reasons for trips. The priority should always be safety, especially pedestrian safety. Peter Taskovich believed commercial office development should cease, and developers should be encouraged to propose residential and retail developments. The main cause of traffic was commuters. Possible solutions were an expansion of light rail and bus service and a High Speed Rail station in Palo Alto. Mark Nadim stated the City needed bus or shuttle service to reduce the number of SOV trips to Stanford Research Park. Children were not safe biking to school via Arastradero. Peter Knopf found it almost impossible to enter Arastradero Road during commute hours. Traffic-calming measures should be balanced with efficient traffic flow. Greg Welch remarked that the real problem was Palo Alto becoming a corporate office park. Between 2011 and 2017, the population of Palo Alto had increased only 4 percent, but the number of people working in Palo Alto increased by more than 25 percent. This was a direct result of development policy in Palo Alto. Increasing housing supply would probably make the traffic problem worse. The City needed a moratorium on office space expansion. Pat Boone believed that more meetings regarding transportation should be held, that businesses and municipalities should be involved in discussions, that commercial development should cease, and that solutions should be developed quickly and should attain the desired results. Joe Hirsch supported the Council holding more meetings with residents by neighborhood. It appeared that the City was creating bottlenecks. He and others had provided comments about the bulb-outs on Georgia; yet, Georgia was not included in the list compiled by Staff. Eva Gal advised that bottlenecks had not been reduced, Safe Routes to School were not safe, crosswalk improvements had not enhanced crosswalks, and capital improvements only slowed traffic in her neighborhood. The bulb-out on Pomona was dangerous. She urged the Council to halt the construction of bulb-outs until Staff met with residents. Improvements to Arastradero had only increased traffic congestion. FINAL MINUTES Page 6 of 13 City Council Meeting Final Minutes: 10/22/18 Justine Burt related that 12 alternative modes of transportation were available at the Downtown transit center. People appreciated the free transit passes provided by the Transportation Management Association (TMA). The passes were fiscally responsible and dramatically less expensive than a $30 million parking garage. People needed to be made aware of transit options and helped with barriers to alternative transportation. Protected bike lanes were needed. Caltrans should be encouraged to improve the condition of the access road on the east side of the Dumbarton Bridge. Carol Scott concurred with making safety the top priority. Park Boulevard from Page Mill Road to Oregon Expressway was both congested and dangerous for motorists and bicyclists. The City appeared to evaluate projects on their own rather than in conjunction with other projects. She hoped the incoming City Manager would coordinate decision-making and encouraged the Council to support Staff with funding and resources. Tahira Piracha preferred to drive on Everett and Waverley rather than Bryant because of the four-way stop signs on Everett and Waverley. She recommended the installation of four-way stops on all Downtown streets to increase safety. Neilson Buchanan suggested the Council give Staff six months to reorganize, to digest public comments, and to prioritize projects. Hopefully, the new Council and the new senior City Staff would review all possible traffic solutions for viability, funding, and feasibility. On April 1, 2019, the Council should hold another transportation Study Session with Staff disclosing possible projects and funding for the next three years. Nadia Naik questioned whether one traffic assessment could be conducted for the Rail Committee, the TMA, and the Residential Preferential Parking Permit (RPP) program; whether existing partners such as the TMA could be potential resources; and whether the City could hire a temporary traffic engineer to assist Staff. She supported paid parking. The Council should revive its focus on High Speed Rail. Michael Feuer commented that traffic congestion and noise on University Avenue were quality of life issues. Ann Lewnes related that Center Drive suffered from cut-through traffic. It was a one-way street that became a parking lot during the weekday evening commute. Many evenings she could not park on Center Drive to reach her home. Crescent Park residents submitted a proposal for improvements to City Staff on May 29 but had not received any communication regarding the proposal. FINAL MINUTES Page 7 of 13 City Council Meeting Final Minutes: 10/22/18 Arthur Keller shared data from the U.S. Census Bureau's five-year American Community Survey. The City needed to publish and enforce existing Transportation Demand Management (TDM) programs. Signal coordination on San Antonio Road increased the wait time to cross Charleston. Reducing parking would not eliminate traffic. The increasing ratio of employees per square foot of office space resulted in more traffic. Staff should review the concept of a solid yellow light for left-turning vehicles to increase traffic flow. Jeff Greenfield supported the City's plans for bike infrastructure and traffic calming. The key to resolving traffic congestion was alternative modes of transportation. The Council should recognize the difference between poor implementation and a bad idea. Becky Sanders remarked that the concept of millennials not driving was not based in reality. Approving development projects with inadequate parking was based on wishful thinking. She suggested the Council focus on commuter buses as a solution to traffic problems. Alison Marsden supported the Council funding the maintenance and expansion of the Safe Routes to School program as it reduced carbon emissions, fostered independence, and promoted exercise. Liz Gardner expressed support for the implementation of Complete Streets projects. Elizabeth Greenfield suggested traffic congestion be addressed through making driving more difficult and more expensive and making other modes easy, cheap, and safe. Carrots and sticks were essential to getting people out of cars and to making other modes safe and comfortable. The main determinants of mode choice were time, cost, and safety. Dynamic pricing for parking, more mixed-use housing near transit, and less office space were important strategies to reduce traffic and commute time. Megan Kahne believed Palo Alto had done a wonderful job with bike boulevards, but bike infrastructure in the Downtown area could be improved. Staff could improve outreach regarding pipeline projects that were not being acted on. David Coale recommended the Council follow the Comprehensive Plan and the Sustainability Implementation Plan (SIP), be fiscally responsible, fund the TMA, proceed with the bikeshare program, and house City workers, teachers, and service workers in the existing rental units within Palo Alto. Harlan Pinto endorsed the optimal functioning of residential arterial streets while protecting the residential quality of streets. A truck limit of three tons FINAL MINUTES Page 8 of 13 City Council Meeting Final Minutes: 10/22/18 should be imposed on residential arterials. The Council should reconfigure bus stops at University and Woodland, synchronize traffic signals through the University Circle area and across U.S. 101, and reconsider the Newell Bridge replacement project Environmental Impact Report (EIR) to include a pedestrian and bicycle bridge only. Phil Burton disagreed with the Rail Committee's vote to eliminate the viaduct option for grade separation. A vocal minority of residents should not drive City policy. Kelsey Banes concurred with comments regarding improving bike safety, construction of protected bike lanes, dynamic pricing for parking, and employers offering programs that reduce vehicle trips. The Council had taken some actions that would increase traffic. Penny Ellson recounted lessons learned from the Safe Routes to School program that could be applied to encouraging adults to choose alternative modes of transportation. Enforcement of traffic laws and data collection were important issues. Bob Moss commented that the narrowing of Arastradero caused traffic on Maybell to increase. The increasing density of office workers also contributed to traffic congestion. Neva Yarkin remarked that office development, expansion at Stanford University and Castilleja School, and train construction would be detrimental to traffic flow. Council Member Wolbach clarified that the Rail Committee did not vote to eliminate any options. The Rail Committee voted to agendize a discussion of potential changes to the options being explored. The only issue of greater concern than traffic to residents was the cost of housing. Mr. Buchanan's suggestion for Staff to reorganize and return to the Council with a list of needs would be helpful. Moving the Office of Transportation to the City Manager's Office was a positive move. Reinstituting the traffic team and motorcycle officers was important for enforcement and safety. He inquired about the status of updating the City Shuttle. Mr. de Geus reported the constraints on Staff resources had delayed work on the Shuttle program, but a discussion could be held in 2019. Council Member Wolbach encouraged Staff to think expansively about improved Shuttle service. The TMA could play a larger role in operating the Shuttle program in the future. Staff should explore a transportation program for the San Antonio Corridor in conjunction with surrounding cities. A FINAL MINUTES Page 9 of 13 City Council Meeting Final Minutes: 10/22/18 subregional TMA could develop economies of scale and resources that would benefit all the TMAs. Mayor Kniss concurred with exploring a subregional TMA. Council Member Holman felt goals should be established for safety, noise, quality of life, and the local economy. Steps should be taken to stop the degradation of traffic. Traffic analyses were based on an antiquated assumption of four employees per 1,000 square feet of space. The City needed to enforce the enforceable TDM programs, impose enforceable and practically productive TDM programs, amend Level of Service (LOS) standards to reflect rationally predictive impacts and delays, reduce impacts rather than institute mitigations, impose penalties for failure to comply with TDM programs and conditions of approval, and impose enforceable conditions of approval on construction projects. The City could no longer afford not to comment on EIRs in other communities. She inquired about the traffic report mentioned by Mr. Guislin. She asked Staff to analyze the cost effectiveness of placing an employee head count tax on the 2019 ballot versus the 2020 ballot. Staff should develop a systems approach for funding the TMA. Mayor Kniss suggested Staff share or document data. Mr. Shikada noted data was loaded to the Open Data platform. He questioned the type of data that the public was interested in seeing so that it could be loaded to Open Data. Mayor Kniss remarked that not everyone would agree with data provided by the City. Staff was exploring the idea of a temporary traffic engineer. Paid parking was always a controversial issue. She inquired about the accuracy of comments that crossing San Antonio was difficult because of the traffic signals. Mr. de Geus would investigate the issue with Traffic Staff. Mayor Kniss believed the Shuttle program and schedule were not well publicized. More information and outreach were needed regarding bulb-outs. Vice Mayor Filseth noted the discussion ranged from traffic to implementation of traffic projects to transportation generally. There were clear differences between commuter traffic and local traffic. The worst pain point for residents was commuter traffic. Perhaps some of the Council's actions over the past few years had begun to attenuate job growth in Palo Alto. If traffic demand could be controlled, then TMAs and TDM programs could make an impact. The price of parking permits in Downtown could be increased to fund other transportation mechanisms. The City probably had the largest influence over FINAL MINUTES Page 10 of 13 City Council Meeting Final Minutes: 10/22/18 some of the north-south arterial streets. Rush-hour turn restrictions on Middlefield and Alma had made a difference in the amount of cut-through traffic. He inquired about mechanisms to control cut-through traffic and the spectrum of enforcement options. Council Member Scharff agreed that commute traffic was the main issue. The issues were efficiently moving commute traffic from the City and reducing commute traffic where possible. A subregional TMA could provide some relief. The City's focus had not been eliminating traffic congestion. The issues should be broken down so that different mechanisms could be implemented to reduce commute traffic. Data was clearly available, but accessing it and finding the correct data were problems. Perhaps the City should partner with East Palo Alto to work on traffic queuing along University Avenue. Commute traffic could be fixed through the TMA and better traffic flow. Increasing the cost of Downtown parking permits served to decrease parking demand while generating revenue for the TMA. Vice Mayor Filseth noted a correlation between the increased cost of Downtown parking permits and the increased number of carpools in the Downtown area. Council Member Scharff commented that at times competing values worsened traffic congestion. Major traffic improvements, especially those that impede traffic, should be carefully considered. Bike infrastructure was beneficial, but it would not solve the traffic problem. Building housing and eliminating the jobs/housing imbalance would not help traffic congestion. Traffic issues were different for each neighborhood. Mayor Kniss stated the City was apparently searching for anonymized data. She would pursue the concept of a subregional TMA. Council Member DuBois concurred with many of Council Member Scharff's comments. Traffic had been a Council Priority for at least six years, but the Council needed to act on it. Perhaps the Council could dedicate one meeting each quarter to traffic and parking issues. The Office of Transportation probably needed more Staff. New sources of data were available, and the City should obtain and utilize them. LOS thresholds needed refining to capture the actual impacts. Leadership within the Office of Transportation was critical, and a professional traffic engineer should be hired to lead the Office of Transportation. The City should focus on traffic congestion. More fact-based and before-and-after data would be useful. Council Member Kou supported the idea of quarterly traffic discussions. Staff should have utilized a second trial phase of mock-ups so that residents could use the revised improvements. Cars were driving into the green box on FINAL MINUTES Page 11 of 13 City Council Meeting Final Minutes: 10/22/18 Donald, and students were bumping into each other while in the green box. She did not understand why all bike lanes could not be protected bike lanes. She inquired about the plan for the Ross Road improvements. Mr. de Geus reported Staff continued to evaluate the new and future improvements on Ross Road. Staff had committed to return to the Council in the spring with recommendations for next steps. Council Member Kou recommended reducing the size of bulb-outs so that bicyclists could feel safe traveling on Ross Road. Staff should explore regulations for carshare services such as Uber and Lyft. Mr. de Geus indicated Staff could increase enforcement for illegal traffic behaviors. Council Member Kou wanted to see something on TDM programs. TDM programs were either mediocre or did not materialize once the project was approved. She requested an update regarding the synchronization of traffic signals along University Avenue. Mr. de Geus advised that Staff was in regular communication with Crescent Park residents. With little progress in implementing pilot projects in the Crescent Park area, Staff had no information to communicate. Synchronizing the traffic signals along University Avenue was complicated by the involvement of multiple agencies. The City had been awarded a grant for the project. Mr. Shikada added that progress was unlikely until some of the key Staff positions were filled. Council Member Kou suggested Staff communicate that information to residents. The pace of building could not continue without the City addressing traffic issues. Mr. Shikada explained that significant engagement was needed for each project because of the domino effect of each project. Council Member Kou inquired whether public comment was taken during Council Study Sessions with higher elected officials. Mr. Shikada indicated the Study Sessions with State Legislators would include opportunities for public comment. Staff did not mean to imply that regional issues were beyond the control of the City. In order to effectively address regional issues, Staff would need to focus its energy. FINAL MINUTES Page 12 of 13 City Council Meeting Final Minutes: 10/22/18 Council Member Kou asked if the City could install counters to monitor traffic over time. Mr. Shikada stated a method for regularly collecting traffic data could be beneficial. Council Member Fine felt it was important to think about traffic and mobility. The Comprehensive Plan contained goals that mobility planning should support as much as possible. As stated in the Sustainability and Climate Action Plan (S/CAP), transportation affects the environment. He requested the process by which Staff integrated public input and communicated with the public. Mr. Shikada advised that Staff would need to search for the best approach for communications. Staff should have an opportunity to review and consider the feedback provided during the meeting. Council Member Fine encouraged Staff to develop a plan for communications. It was important to identify a table of data that would be measured regularly within the City and that would be a reference for the Council and community. Obtaining data through a means other than physical infrastructure was probably preferable. Occasionally, the community and Council implemented solutions that were counter to mobility goals, such as constructing a parking garage, constructing offices further from transit, free parking, and opposition to Bus Rapid Transit on El Camino. If inbound commuters were a large part of the traffic problem, then the Council needed to reach out to business groups, involve them in the TMA, and request data from them. He wanted to see information about limits on truck tonnage. He preferred protected bike lanes to shared-use lanes. The City should stay the course on some of the programmatic and physical changes underway while being flexible and agile for new opportunities. Perhaps Staff could explore shared drop-off points and pink curbs for carshare services. If the Council decided to proceed with a quarterly traffic or mobility meetings, it should agree on the data points and metrics needed for the discussions. Council Member Tanaka concurred with the concept of a subregional TMA as long as the City maintained some local control. The City should share its data with the community and leverage community experts to analyze data. Staff could explore the possibility of the City funding carshare trips into Downtown rather than funding a new parking garage. Much like Shenzhen, China, if the City invested in the right programs and projects, it could reduce traffic congestion. He inquired about the status of the bikeshare program. Mr. de Geus reported Staff had received two applications for bikeshare programs. One application was incomplete, and the other needed work FINAL MINUTES Page 13 of 13 City Council Meeting Final Minutes: 10/22/18 regarding public outreach. Hopefully, bikeshare programs could be implemented in the next few months. Staff wanted to ensure bikeshare programs would not disrupt the community. Council Member Tanaka stated bikeshare programs were a part of the solution for traffic congestion. He inquired about the policy for placing garbage bins and other objects in the bike lane. Mr. de Geus advised that Staff was aware of the need for a coordinated effort to prevent items from being placed in the bike lane. Council Member Questions, Comments and Announcements None. Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 9:10 P.M.