HomeMy WebLinkAbout1994-06-20 City Council Summary Minutes
Regular Meeting June 20, 1994 1. Resolution Expressing Appreciation to George Zimmerman Upon His Retirement ................................... 73-110 ORAL COMMUNICATIONS ....................................... 73-111 AGENDA CHANGES, ADDITIONS, AND DELETIONS ................... 73-112 2. PUBLIC HEARING: Adoption of the Proposed Budget for 1994-95 and the Municipal Fee Schedule for 1994-95 .... 73-112 2A. (Old Item No. 18) Request for Change Order Authority for Landscape West-North, Inc. for Cubberley Landscaping and Maintenance Services .................. 73-130 3. Amendment No. 2 to Consultant Agreement C3038164 between the City of Palo Alto and Westinghouse Landmark Geographic Information Systems Incorporated for Geographic Information System Hardware and Software Maintenance ........................................... 73-136 4. Amendment No. 2 to Contract No. S3036240 between the City of Palo Alto and Geodesy for the Performance of Geographic Information System Application Software Development Services .................................. 73-137 5. Agreement between the City of Palo Alto and Sure Flow, Inc. dba Roto-Rooter for the Performance of Sewer Lateral Maintenance Services to Palo Alto Residents ... 73-137 6. Agreement between the City of Palo Alto and Graphic Data Systems Corporation for the Performance of Hardware and Software Maintenance Services to the Geographical Information System/Computer Aided Design System ................................................ 73-137 7. Contract between the City of Palo Alto and J. P. Services for the Performance of Software Maintenance Services to the Electric Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) System ............................ 73-137 8. Agreement between the City of Palo Alto and Resource Management International, Inc. for Consulting Services Related to Gas Utility Matters before the California
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Public Utilities Commission ........................... 73-137 9. Agreement between the City of Palo Alto and Resource Management International, Inc. for Consulting Services Related to Electric Utility Matters before the Western Area Power Administration and the California Public Utilities Commission .................................. 73-137 10. Contract between the City of Palo Alto and West Coast Building Services for Recycling Collection Services at City Hall ............................................. 73-137 12. Agreement between City of Palo Alto and Dr. Ellen Kirschman to Provide Services as Health Resources Coordinator - Fiscal Year 1994-95 ..................... 73-137 13. Resolution Authorizing the Mayor to Execute the Sixth Amendment to Agreement to Provide Local Law Enforcement Access to the California Identification System ........ 73-137 14. Agreement between the City of Palo Alto and the City of Mountain View for Renewal of Emergency Animal Control and Care Services ..................................... 73-137 15. Agreement between the City of Palo Alto and Mid-Peninsula Access Corporation for Cablecasting Services 73-138 16. Agreement between the City of Palo Alto and the Palo Alto Housing Corporation for Housing Services - Fiscal Year 1994-95 .......................................... 73-138 17. Agreement between the City of Palo Alto and the Palo Alto Community Child Care, Inc. for Child Care Subsidy Program ............................................... 73-138 19. Agreements for Recreation Programs and the Use of Palo Alto Unified School District Facilities ............... 73-138 20. Council Comments, Questions, and Announcements ........ 73-139 ADJOURNMENT: The meeting adjourned at 11:10 p.m. ........... 73-139
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The City Council of the City of Palo Alto met on this date in the Council Chambers at 7:00 p.m. PRESENT: Andersen, Fazzino (arrived at 7:29 p.m.), Huber, Kniss (arrived at 7:25 p.m.), McCown, Rosenbaum, Schneider, Simitian (arrived at 8:35 p.m.), Wheel-er City Clerk Gloria Young called the meeting to order. City Attorney Ariel Calonne explained that the Mayor and Vice Mayor were absent and there was no temporary presiding officer. The Council Members present needed to appoint a temporary presid-ing officer until the arrival of the Mayor or Vice Mayor. MOTION: Council Member Andersen moved, seconded by Wheeler, to nominate Council Member Rosenbaum to preside over the City Council Meeting as Mayor Pro Tem until such time as the Mayor or Vice Mayor appeared at the meeting. MOTION PASSED 6-0, Fazzino, Kniss, Simitian "absent." SPECIAL ORDERS OF THE DAY 1. Resolution Expressing Appreciation to George Zimmerman Upon His Retirement MOTION: Mayor Pro Tem Rosenbaum moved, seconded by Wheeler, to adopt the Resolution. Resolution 7325 entitled "Resolution of the Council of the City of Palo Alto Expressing Appreciation to George Zimmerman Upon His Retirement" MOTION PASSED 6-0, Fazzino, Kniss, Simitian "absent." Council Member Wheeler had known George for most of his career, and their careers in Palo Alto had tracked each other. She had relied on George as being the planning historian. His colleagues in the Planning Department would feel the loss of his day-to-day presence. She shared his looking forward to the future. Council Member McCown said her participation in the City tracked George's quite closely. She met George when her law firm wanted to be grandfathered in as an office in a house. He offered her courteous, helpful, neutral, and friendly advice. He set the tone, and anyone in the community that had the occasion of getting help from George had the same experience. He had been an extraor-dinary servant to the community and the citizens of Palo Alto. Council Member Andersen had found George to be fair, informative, and helpful. He appreciated his support, encouragement, and information. Council Member Huber had first met George when he was a Planning Commissioner. He enjoyed the time he spent with George when he
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served on the Urban Design Committee. Council Member Schneider met George when she first opened her business. He walked her through the maze of City Hall after she was appointed chairperson of the Downtown Marketing Committee. Her connection with George would be long remembered. Council Member Rosenbaum said George was one of the few people whose tenure with the City went back further than his. He had valued his advice and counsel over the years and wished him the best of luck in retirement. Assistant Planning Official George Zimmerman accepted the Resolution. He spoke of three areas of interest to him: 1) Preservation: the joy and enrichment experiencing the sight of preserved architectural treasures or buildings of rich historic significance enhanced the quality of life within a community for future generations of an expanding legacy as Palo Alto matured over time; 2) The challenge of providing excellent services to the community as resources diminished. The Council had a City Manager and staff who vigorously responded to those challenges. He hoped the Council would support her and her staff as they pursued creative solutions that assured continuation of the City's outstanding facilities and services; and 3) The Comprehensive Plan: he was confident the Council's action on the Comprehensive Plan would keep Palo Alto in appropriate areas on the threshold of innovation while recognizing Palo Alto's responsibility to its neighbors and to the region. The present Council and previous Councils had truly been outstanding in the quality of their decisions and actions. Examples of such actions included, but were not limited to, preservation of the City's baylands and foothills as well as the ownership and operation of the City's utilities. He had been privileged to have served the present Council and previous Councils for the better part of three decades. He extended his deepest appreciation. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS Alison Lee, 1241 Harker Avenue, spoke regarding her concern that the Recreation Division was running the operations of the Arts and Culture Division. Tony Rossmann, 850 Chimalus Drive, along with Theo Cosby-Leikam, Gabriel Fossati, and Marco Fossati, presented a letter from the Chairman of World Cup 1994. Vince Larkin, 1431 Topar Avenue, Los Altos, made Council Member Fazzino an honorary Hibernian. James Lewis, Abate Shoreline Amphitheater Noise (ASAN) Coalition, spoke regarding the Shoreline Amphitheatre sound impact issues (letter on file in the City Clerk's Office). Claudio Martinez, P. O. Box 273, Palo Alto, spoke regarding his musical involvement and the towing of his car.
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Jancy Limpert, 4000 Middlefield Road, President of Citizens Association of Performing Arts (CAPA) and Dance Vision, spoke regarding her concern with respect to the arts in Palo Alto and concurred with Ms. Lee. AGENDA CHANGES, ADDITIONS, AND DELETIONS City Manager June Fleming announced that Item No. 11, Amendment No. 7 to Contract No. 4688 between the City of Palo Alto and Palo Alto Sanitation Company for Collection and Transportation of Refuse Produced and Accumulated in the City - Fiscal Year 1994-1995, had been removed by staff and would return on the agenda for the Monday, June 27, 1994, City Council meeting. PUBLIC HEARINGS 2. PUBLIC HEARING: Adoption of the Proposed Budget for 1994-95 and the Municipal Fee Schedule for 1994-95 Council Member Wheeler said the entire City Council began the budget hearings by holding two meetings in early May 1994 to discuss the policy issues in the General Fund and the Enterprise Funds. The discussions gave Council an unprecedented opportunity to address the major budget issues and allowed staff additional time to research and report back on questions raised by Council Members. The early Council sessions also set the tone for the Finance Committee discussions which largely focused on broad policy issues rather than on line items. The budget itself contained some good news as well as some bad news for Palo Alto citizens and staff. Revenues in general exceeded expectations; and Palo Alto's economy, while not as robust as in the 1970s and 1980s, continued to look healthier than the statewide average and most neighboring communities. On the expenditure side, staff had continued to look for ways to effect permanent but prudent cost savings for the current year, e.g., by proposing significant changes to vehicle replacement schedules. Yet, the Finance Committee found itself at a time in the City's history when it had become a constant struggle to retain the current service levels, to allocate the funds necessary to operate and maintain the numerous capital assets that had either been constructed or acquired over the years, and to continue to offer the employees fair living wages while also acting as responsible stewards of the taxpayers' money. Some years ago, the City Manager and the Council discussed the structural deficit in the operating budget. The current members of the Finance Committee wished to voice their deep concerns about the City's ability to adequately fund its infrastructure maintenance and improvement without a major commitment to increase the funding of its Capital Improvement Program. She also noted the potential that the local communities would feel some impact of the state budgetary issues. With regard to the areas of the budget which the Council had previously discussed, she highlighted four topics of either major financial or policy impact: 1) Storm Drain Improvements: based on Council's review of the Storm Drain Master Plan and staff's proposed program in March 1994 and subsequent discussion by the Finance Committee on May 10, 1994, the Committee recommended proceeding with a 3-
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year program (approximately $9.1 million) to address the highest priority projects, along with funding in the amount of $50,000 during the next fiscal year to assess the community's interest and support of expanding the program originally presented by staff. The first year projects with respect to the storm drain were before the City Council that evening. The Committee's recommenda-tion also included a somewhat different funding mechanism for the improvements by utilizing a combination of bond issuance and pay-as-you-go financing through rate adjustments; 2) Comprehensive Plan Additional Funding: the Finance Committee recommended on a 3-1 vote that the elements of the Planning Department's budget, which represented funding for Comprehensive Plan preparation beyond that which had already been authorized by Council, be removed from the budget document and discussed as a separate item. The total of new funding requested was $105,000 to be used for preparation of the Housing Element and editing and publication of the final document. Staff had scheduled the item to return to Council in early July 1994. A delay of a short duration would not have a negative impact on the ability to proceed with current efforts but would allow for more thoughtful Council consideration of the item; 3) Water Rate Decrease: the Finance Committee recommended the level of decrease as discussed by Council on May 10, 1994. The rates to be charged by the San Francisco Water Department were in line with early staff estimates, and water utility reserves were now high enough to absorb any impacts from the increased commodity costs. The proposed rates represented a more normalized structure while continuing to preserve elements of a conservative inducement. Given the winter's rainfall totals, the reminder to conserve seemed to be appropriate; 4) Refuse Rate Increase: the Finance Committee endorsed the rate increase proposed by staff but adopted a somewhat modified rate schedule from that shown to the full Council on May 10, 1994. The recom-mended schedule retained the philosophy of a progressive rate structure, simplified the amounts charged per can, and in staff's estimation, had no impact on revenues different from the proposal reviewed by the full Council. There were several items the full Council did not discuss that she wanted to bring to the Council's attention: 1) Changes to the Investment Policy: staff had requested a redefining of the duties and increased authorization for the Financial Analyst and the Treasury Manager in regard to purchases of securities, higher dollar limitations on daily transactions, and the addition of a new type of investment to the portfolio. None of the changes would adversely impact the current safeguards which protected the City against inappropriate investments or investment practices; 2) Two Items were restored to the budget: a) $9,750 for the Humane Society to continue educational programs to local schools. The program had been in place for several years. The Finance Committee recommended continuation of City funding for one year to allow the Humane Society sufficient time to pursue other funding alternatives; b) $4,500 to restore funding to the Cultural Center budget to maintain the number of art exhibits at the current level; 3) Addition of Children's Library hours on Sunday afternoons at a projected cost of $22,000: The recommendation recognized the realities of today's families in which the parents' time to spend with their children during the library's normal weekday business
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hours had been substantially diminished; 4) Deletion of the $1 per child scheduling fee for youth sports groups from the Community Services Budget with an impact of $5,000: the proposed fee, while not a major revenue raiser, was a departure from past practice. The recommended removal at that time was to allow Community Services staff time to forewarn all youth sports organizations in a manner which allowed them sufficient time to adjust their player fee schedules to accommodate such a charge. Each Committee member at some time during the hearings took the opportunity to kick around the current budget format. Staff admirably attempted to involve the Council early in the process, to provide the Council with background information on significant policy issues, and to devise tools such as the strategic planning model, which the Finance Committee used at the beginning of its hearings and again at the wrap-up, were still thwarted by the basic flaws in the document itself. Budgeting at the City level was a zero sum game; the City Council was obligated to adopt a balanced budget. If the Finance Committee wished to add programs, the only options up to now had been to dip into reserves, increase revenues, or make indiscriminate across-the-board reductions. It was with great anticipation and enthusiasm that the Finance Committee who had attempted to examine the budget in detail awaited the Mission Driven Budget format. With its arrival, the Council should have at its disposal a full array of strategies to enable it to prioritize its spending and to shift resources if and as appropriate. Finally, she expressed her sincerest thanks to the City staff for providing full and prompt responses to questions, for enduring sometimes tough questioning from Committee members and responding with grace and knowledge, for staying with the Committee for long sessions and for investing additional time in research. Director of Finance Emily Harrison and her staff for the time spent with departments and with the Committee, for changes in the information presentation which responded to earlier Council requests for closer correlation between department objectives and performance measures, for preparation of the budget in a format which clearly indicated its draft nature, and for continuing efforts to provide Council with additional tools such as the strategic planning model by which Council could examine the consequences of decisions. She thanked City Manager June Fleming for preparing a budget which, as reflected by the few changes pro-posed, clearly addressed the needs and reflected the priorities of the Council and the citizens it represented. Finally, she thanked her Finance Committee colleagues who approached the task with diligence and thoroughness and at times with a bit of good humor. She was pleased and proud to forward the Committee's recommen-dations for the 1994-95 Budget to the Council and the community. MOTION: Council Member Wheeler for the Finance Committee moved to adopt the Proposed Budget for 1994-95, which included the "City Manager's Proposed 1994-95 Budget" and the "Proposed 1994-99 Capital Improvement Program," both known as "Exhibit A." Also included as part of the budget adoption were: amendments to the Proposed Budget and Capital Improvement Program (known as "Exhibit B") and changes to the Municipal Fee Schedule for 1994-95 (known as "Exhibit C"). The items were incorporated in CMR:332:94, hereby known as the "Proposed 1994-95 Budget."
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Resolution 7326 entitled "Resolution of the Council of the City of Palo Alto Amending Utility Rate Schedules W-1 and W-4 of the City of Palo Alto Utilities Rates and Charges Pertaining to General Water Service" Resolution 7327 entitled "Resolution of the Council of the City of Palo Alto Amending Utility Rate Schedules R-1, R-1-FA, R-2, R-3 and R-4 of the City of Palo Alto Utilities Rates and Charges Pertaining to Refuse Collection" Resolution 7328 entitled "Resolution of the Council of the City of Palo Alto Repealing Utility Rate Schedule G-50 and Adopting New Utility Rate Schedule G-3 of the City of Palo Alto Utilities Rates and Charges Pertaining to Natural Gas Transportation-Only Service" Approval of the City of Palo Alto Statement of Investment Policy and Approval of Proposed Changes to the Policy Ordinance 4227 entitled "Ordinance of the Council of the City of Palo Alto Adopting the Budget for Fiscal Year 1994-95" Resolution 7329 entitled "Resolution of the Council of the City of Palo Alto Amending Utility Rate Schedule G-1 and Adopting New Utility Rate Schedule G-2 of the City of Palo Alto Utilities Rates and Charges Pertaining to General Natural Gas Service" Resolution 7330 entitled "Resolution of the Council of the City of Palo Alto Amending Utility Rate Schedules W-5, G-5, S-5, C-1 and E-5 of the City of Palo Alto Utilities Rates and Charges Pertaining to Water, Gas, Wastewater and Electric Connection Fees" Resolution 7331 entitled "Resolution of the Council of the City of Palo Alto Amending Utility Rate Schedule E-6 of the City of Palo Alto Utilities Rates and Charges Pertaining to Unmetered Electric Service" Resolution 7332 entitled "Resolution of the Council of the City of Palo Alto Amending Utility Rate Schedule D-1 of the City of Palo Alto Utilities Rates and Charges Pertaining to Storm and Surface Water Drainage Service" Resolution 7333 entitled "Resolution of the Council of the City of Palo Alto Amending the Compensation Plan for Classi-fied Personnel (SEIU) Adopted by Resolution No. 6986 and Amended by Resolution No. 7178 and Resolution No. 7222" Resolution 7334 entitled "Resolution of the Council of the City of Palo Alto Amending the Compensation Plan for Manage-ment and Confidential Personnel and Council Appointed Offi-cers Adopted by Resolution No. 7234, and Amended by Resolu-tion No. 7240 and Resolution No. 7290, to Amend the Salary and Benefits for Certain Utilities Department Positions"
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City Manager June Fleming said the budget proposal before the Council that evening did not include any impact that the City might feel from the state's budget. She cautioned that the City did not know what that impact could be. Experience from the past told her that when the state could not balance its budget, it turned to the counties and cities for the funds. The City had experienced that both directly and indirectly. A list had been compiled in Sacramento, California, which had a number of propos-als on it as to how to balance the state's budget. Staff would stay in touch with the League of California Cities and with Sacramento. If any of the proposals became a reality, staff would return to the Council after the budget was adopted. She was confident that the budget before the Council could be adopted with confidence knowing that the staff would develop a strategy to deal with any impacts that the City might receive from the state. She said the City had received some recent headlines which read: "No budget crisis." It was true there was no actual crisis, but there were cautions about the budget. Council Member Wheeler identified the cautions for the Council. The budget did not provide for inflation, did not adequately take care of the infrastructure issues which were before the City, and did not address some of the nice things that the City wanted to do. It was a well balanced, carefully orchestrated budget that allowed the City to keep its services in place. She recalled that in the budget message and the issue session held with the Council, she recommended that there were at least three areas where resources were recommended to be spent that were not regularly reoccurring areas. The three areas were: World Cup Soccer, assistance to East Palo Alto from the Police Department, and the additional cost for the Comprehensive Plan. The City was required to adopt a balanced budget, but the budget was balanced by taking funds from the Reserves for those three areas. The areas would not be included in the budget each year. Approximately $0.7 million was taken from the Reserves. There was always an up and a down to being the fortunate provider of utility services. The City did not receive the same amount of transfers from Utilities to the General Fund and was short approximately $1 million which staff had to deal with. Several things happened, but the most notable was for the first time in the history of the City, the entire City staff was asked to look at the issue of how to keep the services important to the City. It was a long and complicated process. The City staff went through a prioritization process in which it looked at itself internally and looked at the way things were done before it came up with a long list of areas where changes and improvements could be made so that programs would not have to be cut. The Finance Committee reviewed the list that contributed largely to the $million that the City found it had to replace. Creativity and a zero-base approach was used for items that were sensitive to the public, i.e., travel and meetings. For the first time, travel and meetings were zero-based for City staff in every department. She echoed the comments of Council Member Wheeler regarding the budget issue session held with the Council. Staff greatly benefited from the interaction received from the Council and the Committee during that session. The Council would not find in the budget any response to the Hughes, Heiss & Associates
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organizational review. There were anticipations that there would be dollar savings as a result of the final decision that would be made around reorganization, but the budget did not indicate that impact. The budget was always difficult, but it had been made much easier for her because she had had the full cooperation of the entire staff. The Finance Department staff had been exceptional in responding to issues and ideas that she presented. She thanked the Finance Committee for dealing with the policy issues and not managing the budget. She recommended and supported with confidence the Proposed 1994-95 Budget with the amendments and changes proposed from the Finance Committee. Council Member Fazzino applauded and agreed with the meaning behind the City Manager's comments, and he said it was important to emphasize that the City might have to take action as a result of the Legislature's getting approval of the budget by July 1, 1994; but it was also quite likely that the Legislature would punt on the $5 to $7 billion deficit and not grapple with the issues until well after everyone was safely reelected in November 1994. There were very few options available to the state given the current political environment. The City might be back with the budget exercise six to nine months from now as a result of the structural budget deficit situation that had to be addressed. Ms. Fleming said staff would respond once it knew what the dollar impact was. Council Member Rosenbaum thanked Council Member Wheeler for her outstanding work as chairperson of the Finance Committee. He recalled that the Finance Committee approved a 3-year $9.1 million Storm Drain Program, but it was his understanding that the Committee asked staff to prioritize the storm drain activities: 1) to fix broken pipes; and 2) to add drainage to areas that had none, i.e., Barron Park, which required staff to return to the Council with a new program for the three years. Some of things included in the $9.1 million program perhaps did not fit into the priorities. Council Member Wheeler said Council Member Rosenbaum's recollec-tion was correct. She believed staff would return to the Council and part of the $50,000 appropriation was to test community input. Director of Public Works Glenn Roberts said staff would make certain that items fit within the criteria established by the Committee for repair rather than expansion. Staff had reviewed, in particular, the one-year 1994-1995 Capital Improvement Project (CIP) and found that all the projects before the Council that evening met the criteria. There would be an ongoing further review of the items, particularly in the third year of the three-year program, to make the items meet that test as well. There were one or two items for initial design which might need to be reprioritized. The item(s) could be done in the review which would return to the Council in subsequent years, but that would not affect the Council's decision that evening. Council Member Rosenbaum clarified the City was not moving forward
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with the three-year program that was designed before the Finance Committee adjusted the criteria. Staff would return to the Council with the individual elements of the three-year plan. Mr. Roberts said that was correct. Council Member Rosenbaum clarified it might not cost $9.1 million in the first three years. Mr. Roberts was not prepared to comment on the cost on the second and third years that evening, but he assured the Council that the review would be conducted and staff would return with a report that compared the projects to the criteria established. The first year's projects before the Council that evening absolutely met the criteria. Council Member McCown referred to the City Attorney's memorandum regarding the budget authorization for the continuation of the Police Department's participation in East Palo Alto and a recommendation that it be a contingent approval due to the fact that a written agreement had not been signed, and she asked for an update on the status of that issue. City Attorney Ariel Calonne said he had conferred with the City Manager and had advised her on his concerns. He did not believe Council action was required at the present time; however, the Council should be aware of the issue. The City Manager would take into account the concerns he expressed about an agreement before authorizing further any police assistance in East Palo Alto. Ms. Fleming said if the budget were approved that evening, she would carry forward the intent that she understood from the Council previously that the Council wanted an agreement in place for the expenditure of funds designated for police assistance in East Palo Alto. Staff made every effort to resolve the issue during the current year but ran into an unmovable object. The proposal before the Council was between Palo Alto and East Palo Alto, and, if approved, she would work with the City Attorney and with East Palo Alto to bring back an agreement to the Council before the funds were expended. Council Member McCown clarified the City of Menlo Park would not be required to be a party to the agreement, and the agreement would be between Palo Alto and East Palo Alto. Ms. Fleming said that was correct. Council Member McCown was unclear what additional discussion and/or information would be available at a subsequent meeting of the Council that was not before the Council that evening regarding the moneys in the Planning Department's budget for editing the Comprehensive Plan over for a subsequent discussion. It was unusual not to deal with the issue as a part of the budget since it was a part of the Planning Department's proposed budget. Council Member Wheeler said the Finance Committee believed staff
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would bring back a report that would give the Council some background information on what money had been spent, committed to, and budgeted for to date. There had been some questions raised about the initial adoption process for the Comprehensive Plan. Perhaps the Council did not realize at that time that it did not budget sufficient funds for some of the items. Council Member Huber asked whether the Council was approving in concept the entire original Storm Drain Plan, whether the money would be allocated piecemeal, or whether the money would be limited to the three-year program. Council Member Wheeler said the Finance Committee was not propos-ing approval of the $55 million plan. The larger plan was still retained in the Finance Committee. There were many concerns expressed by the entire Council when the study session was held about the size, scope, and necessity of the plan, which was one of the reasons for the Committee's budget recommendation to the Council to include the $50,000 item during the first year to hire a consultant to gather input from the community regarding either the necessity or desirability of the expanded $55 million plan. All of the items contained in the budget document could be identified as high priority, need to be fixed, and need to be done items. Council Member Huber asked what the City would get for $50,000 and whether the survey would include questions about whether that amount of money should be spent to fix the storm drain system and the alternatives to financing. Mr. Roberts said staff would return to the Council in the fall when it went out with the bond issue. At that point, staff would have to clearly identify the projects that made up the first three-year program. Staff would also return to the Council simultaneously with a recommendation for consultant services. It had also been identified in the list for further review by the Committee should the Council desire to look at it in the Committee when the consultant was selected. There would be at least two and possibly three iterations of additional review on what the scope of the services would be and how the money would be spent. The $50,000 was a preliminary estimate, and staff would refine that further. Council Member Andersen understood there was an increase of 18 percent of the total cost that people would pay for refuse on their utility bill, and he asked whether 34 percent was the actual cost of the disposal of the solid waste. Mr. Roberts said the proportion of the funds of the total refuse bill that went to Palo Alto Sanitation Company (PASCO) for refuse collection services was 34 percent. It had decreased slightly for the current year from the 34.5 percent the previous year. Council Member Andersen did not note any extensive discussion about whether the Council needed to reconsider the amount of services the City carried beyond the refuse area.
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Council Member Wheeler said there was some discussion of the issue regarding why the City's rates differed from neighboring communi-ties. There was nothing more to discuss after staff provided an explanation and a chart that compared the services provided by the City to its customers versus the services provided by neighboring communities. Council Member Andersen asked the amount for a two-can pickup. Mr. Roberts said $34. Council Member Andersen clarified if the amount were approved, it would go into effect July 1, 1994. Mr. Roberts said that was correct. The advertisements would run in the Palo Alto Weekly later in the week if approved by the Council. Council Member Andersen referred to the Community Services Department's Recreation, Open Space and Sciences Division budget of $712,000 in the staff report (CMR:332:94), and he asked what portion of that amount covered the cost of operating Foothills Park. Director of Community Services Paul Thiltgen said Foothills Park was approximately 70 percent of the budget or $250,000. Council Member Andersen asked how many people attended Foothills Park during the past year. Mr. Thiltgen said 61,000 people attended Foothills Park. Council Member Andersen clarified that 78,000 people attended the Park four years before. Mr. Thiltgen said that was correct. Council Member Andersen said five rangers worked for the City, and he asked how many rangers were involved with Foothills Park. Mr. Thiltgen said two rangers were stationed at the Baylands, three rangers were at Foothills Park, and the balance were temporary rangers who were split between the Baylands and Foothills Park. Council Member Andersen asked whether there was flexibility for a ranger to work elsewhere in the Park other than just the gate booth. Mr. Thiltgen said the City had the flexibility to provide staff anywhere in the site that it wanted. The temporary staff was generally used at the gate during the high-peak seasons, and the full-time staff was used to monitor the Park. The gate was maintained full time because of the resident-only requirement. In the past, the gate had not been maintained during the weekdays.
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Council Member Andersen clarified the gate booth was maintained daily. Mr. Thiltgen said that was correct. Council Member Schneider referred to the 18 percent increase in refuse collection, and she asked whether there was discussion regarding not putting the 18 percent increase for the people with mini-cans. She asked how many people in the City used one mini-can. Mr. Roberts said a discussion regarding the mini-can was not held. Staff's original proposal looked at an 18 percent across-the-board rate increase. The concept was modified in committee to include a slightly lower rate of increase for the single-can users. Deputy Director of Public Works Operations Mike Miller referred to staff report (CMR:258:94) which summarized on page 2 the levels of service in the R-1 category. There were approximately 15,800 customers, and about 1,235 customers used the mini-can. Mayor Kniss declared the Public Hearing open. Jill Addison, 25 Churchill Avenue, thanked the City for the funding which helped stabilize the funding source for the program between Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD) and Ravenswood City School District. Peter Pande, 1285 Forest Avenue, said there had always been a liaison person between the City and the Community Garden. The people paid for their garden and took in approximately $7,000, but the loss was about $6,000 for the current year. If the City gave the people some time, they might be able to get the community gardeners to pay the extra amount of money. The gardeners paid 10 cents per square foot, but if the rate were raised to 20 cents per square foot, there might be a profit. Linda Kirsch, 725 Ashby Drive, represented the Palo Alto Unified School District, the Gunn Community Site, and Grace MacAllister who was not present that evening. The two of them were funded in a joint venture between PAUSD and the City and had just completed the EF-3 as the community counselors on the school site. She thanked the Council for its continued support. Bob Moss, 4010 Orme Street, supported the proposal for the storm drain funding and also supported the concept of a combination of pay-as-you-go with bonds. He said the Terman Community Center was not funded again for the current year, and he urged the Council not to continue to postpone the funding. It was important that the Terman Specific Plan (Plan) be adhered to. The Plan had two major elements: 1) the physical aspect, which had been complied with many years ago, and 2) the temporal aspect. The Plan was not a plan if it never occurred. The City had spent over $1 million supporting East Palo Alto. It was appropriate to spend some level
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of funding for East Palo Alto, but the City could not continue funding external organizations and governmental agencies. The City had to be prudent. Claudio Martinez, P. O. Box 273, Palo Alto, spoke about the storm drainage proposal and no-income housing for the homeless. George Brainerd, Executive Director of the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) at Page Mill Road and the East Palo Alto YMCA, 190 Park Avenue, representing Barry Taylor, President and Chief Executive Officer of the YMCA Mid-Peninsula, spoke on behalf of the proposal for $30,000 for "Just Say Yes" for kids in East Palo Alto which did not make the budget. He provided a summary sheet of the programs. He explained that the East Palo Alto YMCA was an extension of the Page Mill Road YMCA. The East Palo Alto YMCA used existing facilities, and the programs were designed to meet the needs of children kindergarten through eighth grade. He emphasized that the YMCA was the only organization that operated a swimming pool in East Palo Alto. The YMCA hired staff from the community, and a special effort was made to hire people who were bilingual. He said with the help of over 3,000 YMCA members, the YMCA had been able to deliver on the mission statement and had raised about $90,000 each year for the past four years through a grass-roots fund-raising effort. It was the major outreach program by the Page Mill Road YMCA for the East Palo Alto YMCA. He applauded the City's support for police efforts to reduce crime in East Palo Alto which had benefited Palo Alto as well as East Palo Alto. The City's support of the YMCA's efforts would reap enormous benefits for the future of the children in both communities. The City's financial support would allow the YMCA to double the in-school fitness program and push forward the teen mentor program. He asked for a one-time gift of $30,000. Council Member Fazzino considered the work of the YMCA outstand-ing, and he knew Mr. Brainerd had taken a leadership role in building a permanent YMCA program in East Palo Alto. Palo Alto shared that objective. He said Mr. Brainerd had been encouraged by the YMCA to appear before the Council and make the presenta-tion. He was troubled that there had been no support from Barry Taylor, President and Chief Executive Officer of the YMCA Mid-Peninsula, or from members of the YMCA Board. If the funding were of significant interest and concern to the YMCA Mid-Peninsula, there would have been a stronger representation of support by the YMCA organization. He was troubled as to how the program would fit into the City's objectives with respect to providing those kinds of programs in East Palo Alto. He believed the proposal should not have been presented in that manner to the Council. Mr. Brainerd said he was encouraged by the City and received a letter from the Administrator of Human Services David Martin that stated that the decision by the Human Relations Commission (HRC) had not included the program in the budget. He understood the Council had established a 1.9 percent increase which did not allow for new items in the budget. The proposal was voted on by the Board of the YMCA Mid-Peninsula, and Mr. Taylor was present. He thought the approval was based of the facts provided in the
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proposals and the professionalism of the staff that would imple-ment the proposal. He thought the Council would talk to him rather than to Mr. Taylor. Administrator of Human Services David Martin said the proposal fit the parameters of the Human Services Resource Allocation Process (HSRAP). There had been two new proposals for East Palo Alto, but the City was not able to fund Family Services, Mid-Peninsula, and the YMCA's aquatics and summer camp program. Money had been raised for the City of East Palo Alto's programs over the last two years, but it had not been as easy to raise summer funding for the nonprofits. The City was able to get $1,000 from a foundation for Mr. Brainerd's program in East Palo Alto. Staff would continue to strive to bring in more money. The City had raised $177,000 for the upcoming summer programs, and last year the City raised $205,000. Most of the money went to fund summer camp experiences for the City of East Palo Alto sponsored programs, not the nonprofits. Council Member Andersen asked whether the programs were interre-lated and whether the entire funding of $30,000 was required. He asked the importance of the adult volunteer community leadership development portion of the program. Mr. Brainerd said the money would be divided among the programs. All of the programs could be funded at zero or at larger numbers up to $30,000. The $30,000 for the current year would not be achieved from the other funding. Council Member Andersen clarified the summer day camp, summer aquatics, in-school fitness, and the youth basketball was $26,300. Mr. Brainerd said that was correct. If the Council wanted to fund a smaller amount, it would be helpful for the money to be directed toward the summer program; then the City's funding could be leveraged against other possible donors. The program needed $133,000, and the YMCA had raised $80,000 but did not believe the $30,000 could be raised from potential donors. Ms. Fleming said the staff had worked closely with East Palo Alto to determine what it wanted for its summer programs. The City had provided various kinds of assistance. Mr. Martin had been relieved by the Council for half-time assistance, and his position had been backfilled so that the City could work closely with East Palo Alto and coordinate the kind of recreation program it wanted. Staff had been very successful in fund-raising for the programs East Palo Alto had identified, and the City had provided staffing assistance in that endeavor. A number of agencies wanted to provide different things in East Palo Alto, and staff tried to assist them in fund-raising. The staff's commitment was to work with the City of East Palo Alto, identify its needs, try to find funding, put the programs in place, assist in the continuation of the programs, and help other agencies through the grant writing process. Council Member Fazzino said the YMCA's proposals were very good,
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but he believed it could have been presented to the Council more effectively. He encouraged Mr. Brainerd to work closely with the City Manager and Mr. Martin to identify ongoing support for that program and other youth recreation programs in East Palo Alto. He encouraged Mr. Brainerd to return to the Board and Mr. Taylor and encourage them to get directly involved in the effort if it were important enough. Roscoe Jennings, 1215 Madera Avenue, Menlo Park, appreciated the City's budget problems, but he felt something should be done for children. He appreciated the recreational programs put in by East Palo Alto and for YMCA's managing the programs. The money could be used to keep the swimming pool open. Mayor Kniss asked which swimming pool might be closed. Mr. Jennings replied the pool at Ravenswood High School. Mayor Kniss said approximately three years ago a considerable amount of money was raised from the community for the pool. She asked whether the swimming pool was currently functioning. Mr. Jennings said yes. Council Member McCown understood from the last meeting of Palo Alto, East Palo Alto, and Menlo Park that East Palo Alto planned to keep the swimming pool open through the current summer. Any action regarding demolition of the property would be postponed for the summer, but East Palo Alto had to decide what would happen during the summers in the future. Mr. Jennings said the citizens needed to learn how to become involved in the community. He hoped the Council would consider some funding for the programs. Caroline Wyatt, 1067 Dodge Drive, Redwood City, Program Director for the East Palo Alto YMCA, said the programs and the swimming pool were very important to the children. The day camp provided an all-day service for parents who could not afford to send their children to child care. The programs could not continue without the City's support. She was concerned about what would be done with the Ravenswood site and what the children would have in the future. She asked the Council to reconsider the proposal. Council Member Fazzino thanked Chairperson Wheeler, the Finance Committee, and the staff for an outstanding job. During the budget process, he was frustrated by the Council's inability to get a handle on program priorities, allocation of resources, and similar kinds of issues that he believed would help the Council make informed decisions regarding the use of City funds. He was encouraged by the development of Mission Driven Budget, and he hoped it would provide the Council with the information it needed to make informed decisions. He applauded the staff on the 1994-95 Departmental Budget Overviews, and he hoped it could be incorporated into the City's annual report. He also hoped that on the basis of what the Finance Committee did and what the Council
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was likely to do with respect to the budget that evening, changes would be made in the narratives to reflect Finance Committee discussions; e.g., there was significant discussion regarding affirmative action with the Fire Department and about Community Services, specifically the library area. Chairperson Wheeler men-tioned that the Children's Library might be opened on Sundays. He hoped there would be a comment regarding the evaluation of library facilities and hours during the following year. He hoped Mr. Thiltgen's promise that the Council would see a report regarding performance arts facility needs during the following year would be reflected. The fiber optics issue was addressed in the City Manager's narrative, but it also needed to be mentioned in the Information Resources area as well. He hoped that, based upon Police Chief Durkin's willingness to make traffic enforcement a major objective again for 1995, it would also be incorporated into the narrative and made a part of the annual report or in another communication to the public with regard to City service priorities during the following year. MOTION: Council Member Andersen moved that $25,000 be appropri-ated to the YMCA for the summer programs in East Palo Alto. MOTION FAILED FOR LACK OF A SECOND Council Member McCown was sympathetic with the issue. During the budget wrap-up meeting of the Finance Committee, Council Member Fazzino described his empathy and support for the programs being described, and he suggested the opportunity for the program should be brought into the ongoing meetings with the three cities. Mr. Martin's comments about the City's assistance in fund-raising for the summer programs were accurate. The City helped raise over $200,000 last year and $170,000 the current year. Because of the participation of the three cities, there was a collective consensus that the dollars would go directly into programs that the City of East Palo Alto was running. The alternative of the YMCA program might be something that the group should shift its attention to, particularly after the Ravenswood pool was closed. She strongly encouraged the YMCA representatives to participate in that process that was ongoing and determine whether there was a way for some attention to be focused on the programs. She had enormous sympathy for the staff, the HRC, and the Finance Committee when a new worthy organization came forward that wanted $30,000, but it was out of the realm of possibility. She could not support the motion but did not believe the issue should be dropped. Council Member Andersen wanted to point out to the community that the major share of the City's support and assistance in East Palo Alto, with the exception of the tremendous grant efforts by Mr. Martin, had been the cost of providing the City's police officers which the community had benefited from as well. The difference was that the proposal would directly benefit the children of East Palo Alto. Ms. Fleming said the larger percentage of dollars went to police assistance. Last year, the Council took an unprecedented step and
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funded a program outside of the City. Staff indicated to the Council at that time that it had done the best it could to get funding for the programs in East Palo Alto. Staff did not believe the summer program for the children would succeed and asked the Council to fund the program, which Council approved. The City also provided other types of assistance that did not get noted, e.g, the Recreation Division staff had provided an unlimited amount of hours assisting with the programs and training the staff. It was not just the dollars alone but also the in-kind services and assistance that the staff gave to East Palo Alto on a daily basis. The City was not ignoring the children in East Palo Alto. Staff had focused on the grant funding with East Palo Alto so that the programs could be confirmed. Council Member McCown recalled the discussion the Council had last fall regarding the expenses and the budget for the Comprehensive Plan and believed the items that were in the City Manager's budget originally should be added back into the budget. AMENDMENT: Council Member McCown moved, seconded by Schneider, to reappropriate $80,000 for the Comprehensive Plan advertising, editing, and publishing expenses, and $25,000 from Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) to fund the Housing Element. Mayor Kniss clarified the amount that was allocated for the Comprehensive Plan budget would be reinstated into the budget. Council Member McCown said the minutes of the Finance Committee meeting broke out the issue more specifically, i.e., $70,000 for editing and $10,000 for supplies and materials for packet prepara-tion expenses for the ongoing work of the Comprehensive Plan Advisory Committee (CPAC). There was $25,000 in CDBG money that could be used to accomplish the work for the Housing Element. It was a realistic cost. She recalled that Vice Mayor Simitian expressed some skepticism when the Council originally approved the budget for the Comprehensive Plan about whether the Council was being too unrealistic because of the its desire to keep the costs down. Mayor Kniss understood the issue was to be taken up after there was more opportunity to look at the issue and examine exactly how much more money would need to be allocated. She was troubled with the allocation of funding in small amounts. Ms. Fleming said staff explained to the Finance Committee how the funds would be used. She believed the funding was necessary, and staff had set up a cost accounting process for the use of the funds. Director of Planning and Community Environment Ken Schreiber said when the Council approved the budget for the Comprehensive Plan, many, if not most, of the line items in the budget were estimated at the low end of the range of expected costs identified and developed in the work program for the Plan. The CPAC ended up being 37 people plus alternates instead of the original 20 people. There were several thousand people on the mailing list that
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received notices of meetings. There were six areas that were raised to the Council attention, and staff had tried to realisti-cally assess what expenses were likely to occur until the end of the project. The numbers were realistic estimates. If the proposed funding were approved, he hoped additional funding would not be necessary; but he could not predict what would happen in the fall when the Council reviewed Draft II Programs and Plans. The supplies and materials and advertising areas were almost out of money. Advertising related to items like the community forum series which were not imagined at the beginning of the process but were identified by the CPAC as something that should be done. Advertising costs ended up being higher because of the closure of the Peninsula Times Tribune. The Comprehensive Plan printing item was underestimated initially. The initial budget was based on one printing, but there were going to be enough differences between the draft and final that a second printing would be necessary. Editing was dropped from the original budget, but staff did not want to see a final document without professional editing. The printing for the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) had to be added to the budget. Consultant who bid on the job stated they could not absorb the $15,000 for printing costs. The CDBG funds had been previously appropriated in 1991-92 from an account used by staff for project and program development work over the last several years. Staff intended to use $25,000 from that fund to assist in the preparation of the Housing Element to meet the State of California requirements. It would be $80,000 of new funding--$20,000 under the current funding formula would be paid out by City's Utilities; $60,000 would come from the General Fund; and the CDBG funds were already appropriated. Council Member Rosenbaum agreed with Council Member McCown that there was a high probability that the Council would spend the money at the end of the project so it should be in the budget. The money could be put in the budget and then the Council could have the discussion in July 1994. The Council could always decide not to spend the money. MAKER AND SECONDER AGREED TO INCORPORATE INTO THE AMENDMENT that the issue be discussed at a City Council Meeting in July 1994. Director of Finance Emily Harrison clarified there would be a change to the General Fund because it would be a reimbursement to the General Fund. There would be a financial impact of $105,000 if it were to be replaced into the budget at the present time. Mr. Schreiber said with the CDBG funds, it was $105,000. Ms. Fleming said the issue was scheduled to be heard at the Monday, July 11, 1994, City Council Meeting. Council Member Wheeler clarified the issue was scheduled to return to the Council on July 11, 1994, and the motion assured that that would happen. She asked that the information provided to the Mayor be distributed to the full Council prior to the meeting. One of the catalysts for proposing that the Council take another look at that budget specifically was the presentation made by one
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of the Planning Commissioners on the evening that the Council discussed the Planning and Community Environment budget. The presentation indicated that there might be additional significant requests for funding beyond the funding proposed by staff as part of the current budget. All of the potentials should be on the table as information when the Council discussed the issue. Mr. Schreiber clarified staff had not proposed any funding beyond $105,000. A Planning Commissioner made a comment regarding potential additional expenditures. Staff would identify potential areas for additional expense. AMENDMENT PASSED 6-1-2, Huber "no," Fazzino, Kniss "abstaining." RECESS: 9:40 P.M. - 9:55 P.M. Vice Mayor Simitian said he found serving on the Finance Committee a time consuming but valuable experience. He appreciated staff's assistance in terms of allowing him to pursue specific interests he had regarding several particular issues, e.g., opening the Children's Library on Sunday. Staff indicated the library had never been open on Sunday but it could be to see if it would work. He appreciated staff's willingness to incorporate formally the issue of greater gender equity in the Fire Department hiring so that the discussion started at the Finance Committee became a formal objective for the Fire Department in the coming year. The City Manager provided support to the follow-up work that was already in progress in the Fire Department and with the managers. There was a slight measure of progressivity being recommended in the Refuse Rates, which responded to the City's environmental responsibility to try and discourage rather than encourage greater use of the solid waste facility. He was impressed that a Council Member could actually make the process work in three different places in the organization. There was tremendous value in the two full Council discussions about the budget issues, and he hoped the process would continue. He shared the same concern expressed by Council Member Fazzino in terms of the current document's rather marginal utility as a policy choice document. He was concerned that the City was funding the current programs at the expense of its future infrastructure. He hoped that over the longer term, the Council would consider both of the issues. The Council was waiting for the Mission Driven Budget (MDB) and the organizational review. He referred to Item No. 18, Request for Change Order Authority for Landscape West-North, Inc. for Cubberley Landscaping and Maintenance Services, and asked whether the information available was only the change order authorization. He said para-graph 16 of the contract provided that the contract was subject to the fiscal provisions of Article 3, Section 12, of the Charter of the City of Palo Alto, and indicated that the contract would terminate without penalty at the end of any fiscal year in the event that funds were not appropriated for the following fiscal year. Ms. Fleming said the service had to be provided unless the Council decided to decrease the level of service. She asked the Council to consider approval of the budget with that dollar amount
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retained in the budget, and then it would become a specific item as to whom the contract would granted to. Vice Mayor Simitian clarified the contract had already been reauthorized for the following year. If the contract had not already been authorized for the following year, the only way to get control over the contract was by holding off on the authori-zation of the funds. Ms. Fleming said that was correct. Vice Mayor Simitian said the discussion on Item No. 18 would not do any good if the money had already been approved for the contract in Item No. 2. Mr. Calonne believed the authorization portion of the budget was severable. He suggested the Council sever that portion of the budget, discuss Item No. 18, and consider the full budget with that severed portion. It would avoid the need to adopt the budget, consider the item, and amend the budget that evening. AMENDMENT: Vice Mayor Simitian moved, seconded by Fazzino, to withhold any authorization of expenditure of funds for landscape and maintenance services until discussion of Item No. 18. AMENDMENT PASSED 5-4, Andersen, Rosenbaum, McCown, Wheeler "no." Council Member Schneider commended Chairperson Wheeler for the excellent job of putting the budget into perspective that evening, and she commended the Finance Committee for the tremendous amount of work. She said only 1,235 people in the City used the mini-cans or $1,470 per year, and she did not want the rates increased 18 percent for the mini-can users. She would rather show an incentive for the reduction in usage and not have a punishment to users for outstanding environmental action. AMENDMENT: Council Member Schneider moved, seconded by Simitian, that with respect to the refuse rate increase, there be no cost increase in the charge for mini-can users. Mayor Kniss said the question was how much money was involved. Mr. Miller said the City had 1,234 mini-can customers. The current rate was $11 per month, and the proposed rate was $13 per month which would be a revenue loss of $29,640 on a projected customer sales base of approximately $18 million. The loss would not be significant. Vice Mayor Simitian asked whether a problem would arise if the increase were $1 instead of $2. Mr. Roberts said any flat rate would not create a problem. It created a problem when the formula or percentages were modified. Vice Mayor Simitian said last year the mini-can rate was still appreciably lower and a separate item as opposed to the one-, two-
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, four-can item. He took the approach to start with the two-can users and restructure the one-can, two-can relationship so that the two-can user still paid the same amount of money but that it was $1 less for the first can than it was for the second can so there was some incentive to avoid the second can. He was concerned that if there were not some modest increase in the mini-can rate, the wrong message would be sent about the fact that there were increased costs. The staff had tried to communicate that the solid waste management issues were increasingly expensive. The City would be faced with the problem in future years of why it raised the rates so much. MAKER AND SECONDER AGREED TO INCORPORATE INTO THE AMENDMENT that the charge per can be increased by $1 instead of $2. Mayor Kniss clarified the per can rate would increase $1 and the loss would be approximately $14,500. Council Member Rosenbaum opposed the amendment. The cost of service of the mini-can was higher than what was charged. The Council was in the same trouble with water when it decided to keep the first few cubic feet at an unduly low rate. Council Member Andersen supported the amendment. There were many costs associated with the fees that were not related to the can pickup. The rate did not reflect some of the other costs, and he suspected $11 would cover the cost of can pickup. The City needed to consider whether it would continue to reflect in the refuse rates and the Enterprise Funds the other costs over and above the actual cost of the can pickup. Mayor Kniss was sympathetic with the amendment but associated with the comments of Council Member Rosenbaum. AMENDMENT FAILED 4-5, Andersen, Fazzino, Schneider, Simitian "yes." Mayor Kniss said the Finance Committee was ably chaired by Council Member Wheeler. She commended her for the thousands of hours she spent on the budget. MOTION DIVIDED FOR THE PURPOSES OF VOTING that the portion of the budget relative to withholding any authorization of expenditure of funds for landscape and maintenance services be voted on separate-ly from the other budget items. FIRST PART OF THE MOTION AS AMENDED PASSED 9-0 for the Proposed Budget for 1994-95, except any authorization of expenditure of funds for landscape and maintenance services. MOTION: Vice Mayor Simitian moved, seconded by Kniss, to bring forward Item No. 18. MOTION PASSED 9-0. 2A. (Old Item No. 18) Request for Change Order Authority for
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Landscape West-North, Inc. for Cubberley Landscaping and Maintenance Services Vice Mayor Simitian referred to the contract document and the staff report (CMR:382:92) and asked when the contract started and originally ended. He and other Council Members had received telephone calls that raised questions about whether or not the contractor was providing services lawfully in terms of some of the labor relations issues. He did not believe the Council should be in the position of refereeing the labor management disputes of contractors, but the Council had an obligation to ensure that the City's contractors performed the work lawfully. In fact, the contract required that the contractors perform the work lawfully. He wanted to continue the issue for two weeks and have the staff return to the Council with a report on the issues of lawful provision of the contract services. Director of Community Services Paul Thiltgen said it was a 22-month contract that started in September 1992 and ended June 30, 1994. Vice Mayor Simitian asked what the change order covered. Mr. Thiltgen said the change order authorized the City to pay some additional money because of a change of scope. There were some changes in the fields at Cubberley which meant that the maintenance would have to be different from what was originally contracted for. Vice Mayor Simitian asked whether the change order was for work that had already been contracted for 1993-94 or for 1994-95. Mr. Thiltgen said it was for 1994-95. Vice Mayor Simitian asked how much longer the contract would go on. Mr. Thiltgen said 12 months. Vice Mayor Simitian clarified it was not just a change order but an authorization for an additional year in addition to a change order. Mr. Thiltgen said the authorization was based on the approval of the budgeted dollars as indicated in the staff report. Each year when the budget was approved, the contract was automatically authorized. The approval was for the additional dollars necessary to perform the change in scope of work. Vice Mayor Simitian clarified the Council was being asked to authorize a one-year extension of the contract and a change order for amounts over the previous budgeted amount. Mr. Thiltgen said that was correct. Vice Mayor Simitian asked whether the item could be continued for two weeks until comment could be received from the staff.
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City Attorney Ariel Calonne said the Council would need to take action on the divided question, and the staff would return with a budget amendment when, and if, the Council chose to move forward with the work. He asked the Council not to take action on the budget request that was divided out so the budget would be complete. Vice Mayor Simitian clarified the Council would not approve the budgeted amount or the contract. City Manager June Fleming said the operational piece was that if the funds were not approved, the City would stop work on the areas contracted with the company until the funds were made available. Vice Mayor Simitian clarified work would stop after June 30, 1994. Ms. Fleming said that was correct. Staff would not be able to return to the Council until after June 30, 1994. Jennie Roitman, Campaign for Justice, said the Campaign for Justice had found deplorable conditions throughout the landscape industry. They found numerous indications of legal violations with Landscape West-North, and the gardeners had to file charges with numerous agencies to get their concerns dealt with. A class action lawsuit was filed in Superior Court dealing with violations of the state labor code, e.g., not paying overtime, minimum wage, falsification of records, failure to pay for uniforms and tools, etc. Charges had been filed with the State Labor Commission for failure to pay for the hours people had worked. The company had responded with threats, intimation, harassment, and the firing of workers. There were charges pending in the National Labor Relations Board regarding the violations of workers' rights to organize. The gardeners had reported working under unsafe conditions, e.g., brakes not working. Landscape West-North had refused to meet with them, had continued to refuse to meet with them, and had responded to the workers' requests to deal with the problems with more threats and intimations. She asked the Council not to award the contract to the company. City money should not go to a company that operated in that manner. She read a statement from a letter from Reverend Lindi Ramsden to Landscape West-North (letter on file in the City Clerk's Office). Mario Vera, employee, Landscape West-North, said he earned $5.75 per hour and did not have health insurance. The workers began to organize because the work conditions were very bad. They did not have good safety equipment and the wages were low. The workers had the right to make a union. The company said it had a lot of contracts and was doing well, but his salary had remained the same since he started. He had to pay for the cleaning of his uniform and gloves for work. He was supposed to get a raise; but after the workers agreed to have a union, he asked about his raise. The manager said everything was frozen, and he would have to wait one more year to get a raise. Council Member Huber asked whether Ms. Roitman was suggesting the
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Council should not approve the contract irrespective of what effect that might have on the jobs that currently existed. Ms. Roitman said yes. The City should not contract with a company that violated the people's right to organize. There might be a different opinion if the company agreed to deal with some of the problems. The City had a contractor, Shooter Landscaping, that had shown that it could deal more effectively with the workers' concerns. Council Member Fazzino clarified that Ms. Roitman had the same concerns about Landscape West-North that the Council had with Shooter Landscaping. She wanted the Council to delay approval of the contract until the City staff had had an opportunity to review the issues with Landscape West-North as the staff did with Shooter Landscaping several months before to determine whether there was some willingness on the part of Landscape West-North to address the issues prior to approval by the Council. Ms. Roitman said that was correct. Ricky Sosa, employee, Landscape West-North, was employed April 7, 1994, at Landscape West-North and said he was never given the pay wage he was originally offered. He was not comfortable with the wage, but the company promised a wage increase. The employees had already organized at that time, and he joined his coworkers. He felt added pressure at his job after he asked his supervisor questions. After the delegation and after he spoke up about his wages and his coworkers' wages, he was demoted. He worked 10 hours and asked for overtime but was fired two days later. He thought he was fired because of his organizing efforts and his request for overtime pay. He was never given safety equipment to do the job and he had to pay $5 for the cleaning of his uniform. The trucks' brakes were not kept in working condition. Council Member McCown said if the City had documentation that a contractor with the City had violated state requirements of overtime, it would be grounds for terminating the contract. Mr. Calonne said yes. Council Member McCown asked whether the City had any documentation other than what was heard that evening from employees of the company of the incidents that they reported and whether staff had been contacted about the issue before it became a part of the budget hearing that evening. Ms. Fleming said no. Vice Mayor Simitian said he had had previous discussions with the staff following up on the conversations he had with the members. Assistant City Manager Bernard M. Strojny said staff checked with the State Contractors Licensing Board and found no outstanding complaints with that agency. Staff was not aware of the issues brought up that evening.
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Mr. Calonne said the City did not take any kind of mediation role with Shooter Landscaping. Staff checked to determine whether there were violations under the Contractors License Law. He recommended the same procedure for Landscape West-North. Vice Mayor Simitian referred to paragraph 9 of the contract and the phrase "The contractor shall comply with all laws now enforced or which may hereafter be enforced pertaining to the project and work and this contract." The phrase "all laws..." was broader than the violations that might be limited to the State Contractors Licensing Board. Mr. Calonne said that was correct. MOTION TO CONTINUE: Vice Mayor Simitian moved, seconded by Fazzino, to continue the item for two weeks or as soon as possible thereafter and direct staff to respond to the potential violation of paragraph 9 or other sections of the proposed contract with Landscape West-North, Inc. Vice Mayor Simitian said the Council should not be in a position where it was the referee in a labor/management dispute. He believed the Council had an obligation to pursue the issue modestly if people stepped forward and made allegations of law violations. A two-week delay for a cursory examination would not be that detrimental. There were suggestions that wage and hour laws, safety laws, and right to organize laws had been violated. The City should at least take a cursory examination both with respect to that particular contractor and because it would send a message to other contractors that the City was serious about compliance with law language when it was put in the contract. Ms. Fleming said there was a section in that particular contract that referred to audits. Staff needed to look internally to determine whether it was an audit function of the contract or whether it was an administrative function out of her office. She assured the Council that in the future staff would not bring a recommendation to the Council without a statement as to whether or not an investigation had been done. Mr. Calonne said it was not reasonable to expect that by July 5, 1994, the staff would be able to produce any evidence to support a contention that there had been some violation of the law. He suggested that if there were a determination that there had been a violation, staff would recommend action to terminate the contract. In order to reach that conclusion consistent with the contract, the Council would have to conduct a hearing so the contractor would have to have an opportunity to give his/her side of the story. It would lead the Council down the path of a Council-mediated confirmation on the issue. Vice Mayor Simitian clarified the motion would continue the issue for two weeks or as soon thereafter as possible. He acknowledged the fact that the City Manager had indicated she might be able to return to the Council that quickly. He wanted the staff to give a
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cursory look at the item because he did not want to come before the Council. The City could not ignore the issue, absent some judicial determination, if there were clear and compelling evidence that suggested there was a problem. People had made some claims, and he wanted to see whether there was evidence to support the claims. Council Member Rosenbaum said when the complaints about Shooter Landscaping were brought to the Council, the contract had not ended and a renewal was not proposed. Staff produced some satisfaction on the part of the complainants with that contract, and he asked whether the same procedure could be followed with Landscape West-North. Mr. Thiltgen said John J. Shooter met with the union, broke down the conflict, and came to some conclusions with the employees. Staff did not participate. Council Member Huber said the Campaign for Justice did good work, but he was frustrated because the Council heard about the issues at the last minute. The conditions or problems with the company had been known since April 27, 1994, and the City Manager would have reported to the Council if she had known about it rather than asking the Council to deal with the issue that evening. In an orderly practice, the Council would have known what the City Manager had found out and could have voted on the item. The Council should not be in a position of judging but should encourage the contractors to follow the law. He would support the motion but wanted staff to return with a preliminary report as soon as possible so the Council could move forward with its action. Mr. Calonne suggested the Council direct staff to request a response to the comments from the contractor. Council Member McCown was frustrated with the process. She accepted that the comments made by the employees were made in good faith, but she did not know whether the comments were right or wrong. She was frustrated that the good work of the Campaign for Justice had not included bringing the information in a concrete way to the staff before the item was before the Council. Staff would have had an opportunity to inquire whether the contractor had responded to the allegations made. It was an unfair process to bring the allegations to the Council without the opportunity for the contractor to respond. An annual process could be instituted that required contractors to verify, under penalty of perjury, that there was no outstanding labor code violations. She had a problem with the Council's acting on the basis of the information provided. The Council needed to make it clear that if the City were involved in making sure the contracts were being awarded to the right people, the information needed to be provided sooner. Council Member Wheeler associated with the comments of Council Members Huber and McCown. She said the Campaign for Justice mentioned there was another City contractor who had the same or
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similar potential problems. The City needed to know about it sooner. It was unfair to have an issue come to the Council and not have the contractor be able to present another point of view. She was concerned that if the Council passed the motion as proposed, there would be a facility that would be ill-cared. The Finance Committee had a lengthy discussion about the status of that facility. There was a delicate balance at the facility until the City could take significant corrective action. The facility did not need a period of time when there would be no attention and maintenance. She could not support the motion unless she had assurance from staff that there was a way to shift resources and make sure the facility would receive care during the period of time it took to complete the investigation and return to the Council. She could not support the motion without those assurances or without a substitute motion that would allow the contractor to proceed on an interim basis while the investigation took place. Council Member Andersen concurred with the comments of Council Members McCown and Wheeler. The City needed to make it clear to all bidders that that kind of situation would not be tolerated and that the bids would be made based on full compliance of the law. The motion would not accomplish the end that the Council wanted. Council Member Fazzino supported the efforts of the Campaign for Justice. It was obscene that people were barely making minimum wage in a wealthy county such as Santa Clara. He had no problem holding off on the approval of the contract for several weeks until it was determined whether or not the charges raised that evening were legitimate. There was good evidence that a current City contractor might be violating the state and federal labor laws. He shared Council Member Wheeler's desire to move as quickly as possible on Cubberley, but he did not believe two or three weeks was a significant problem. The Council could use the threat of termination of a contract to convince the contractor to change his/her ways. The City did not negotiate changes with Shooter Landscaping, but he believed the Council's effort to seek answers to the questions raised by individuals caused the contractor to change some of his/her ways and be in compliance with state labor law and respond to the concerns of the Council. The Council had the opportunity to force Landscape West-North to comply with state labor law and the City contract. Council Member Schneider was concerned about Cubberley and about employees being out of work because the contract might not be continued. She supported the motion and wanted the issue to return as quickly as possible. Mayor Kniss supported the motion but would not support a similar situation in the future. MOTION TO CONTINUE PASSED 5-4, Andersen, Rosenbaum, McCown, Wheeler "no." Mr. Calonne said the Council needed to adopt the budget without the moneys allocated for Landscape West-North, Inc.
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MOTION: Vice Mayor Simitian moved, seconded by Fazzino, to reaffirm the motion to approve the Proposed Budget for 1994-95, eliminating funds for landscape and maintenance services specifi-cally allocated for Landscape West-North, Inc. MOTION PASSED 9-0. REPORTS OF OFFICIALS MOTION: Council Member Fazzino moved, seconded by Huber, to approve Item Nos. 3-10, 12-17, and 19. 3. Amendment No. 2 to Consultant Agreement C3038164 between the City of Palo Alto and Westinghouse Landmark Geographic Information Systems Incorporated for Geographic Information System Hardware and Software Maintenance; amendments not to exceed $30,000. 4. Amendment No. 2 to Contract No. S3036240 between the City of Palo Alto and Geodesy for the Performance of Geographic Information System Application Software Development Services 5. Agreement between the City of Palo Alto and Sure Flow, Inc. dba Roto-Rooter for the Performance of Sewer Lateral Mainte-nance Services to Palo Alto Residents 6. Agreement between the City of Palo Alto and Graphic Data Systems Corporation for the Performance of Hardware and Software Maintenance Services to the Geographical Information System/Computer Aided Design System 7. Contract between the City of Palo Alto and J. P. Services for the Performance of Software Maintenance Services to the Electric Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) System 8. Agreement between the City of Palo Alto and Resource Manage-ment International, Inc. for Consulting Services Related to Gas Utility Matters before the California Public Utilities Commission; amendments not to exceed $20,000 9. Agreement between the City of Palo Alto and Resource Manage-ment International, Inc. for Consulting Services Related to Electric Utility Matters before the Western Area Power Administration and the California Public Utilities Commis-sion; amendments not to exceed $10,000 10. Contract between the City of Palo Alto and West Coast Build-ing Services for Recycling Collection Services at City Hall; change orders not to exceed $1,258 12. Agreement between City of Palo Alto and Dr. Ellen Kirschman to Provide Services as Health Resources Coordinator - Fiscal Year 1994-95
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13. Resolution 7335 entitled "Resolution of the Council of the City of Palo Alto Authorizing the Mayor to Execute the Sixth Amendment to Agreement to Provide Local Law Enforcement Access to the California Identification System" Amendment No. 6 to Contract No. C0014413 with the County of Santa Clara for California Identification System 14. Agreement between the City of Palo Alto and the City of Mountain View for Renewal of Emergency Animal Control and Care Services Agreement between the City of Palo Alto and City of Los Altos for Renewal of Emergency Animal Control and Care Services Agreement between the City of Palo Alto and Town of Los Altos Hills for Renewal of Emergency Animal Control and Care Services 15. Agreement between the City of Palo Alto and Mid-Peninsula Access Corporation for Cablecasting Services 16. Agreement between the City of Palo Alto and the Palo Alto Housing Corporation for Housing Services - Fiscal Year 1994-95 Agreement between the City of Palo Alto and the Palo Alto Housing Corporation for Grant of Certain Pre-Acquisition Expenses Related to the Acquisition and Rehabilitation of the Arastradero Park Apartments Agreement between the City of Palo Alto and the Urban Minis-try of Palo Alto for Services for the Homeless - Fiscal Year 1994-95 17. Agreement between the City of Palo Alto and the Palo Alto Community Child Care, Inc. for Child Care Subsidy Program Amendment No. 5 to Contract No. C0006277 between City of Palo Alto and the Peninsula Area Information and Referral Servic-es, Inc. for Information and Referral Services Amendment No. 6 to Contract No. C0001714 between the City of Palo Alto and the Senior Coordinating Council of the Palo Alto Area, Inc. for Senior Citizens Services Amendment No. 5 to Contract No. C0006279 between the City of Palo Alto and Adolescent Counseling Services for Counseling Services for Adolescents Agreement between the City of Palo Alto and Community Asso-ciation for the Retarded, Inc., for Services to the Develop-mentally Disabled Agreement between City of Palo Alto and Palo Alto Unified School District for Community Counseling Services in the High
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Schools 19. Agreements for Recreation Programs and the Use of Palo Alto Unified School District Facilities Agreement between the City of Palo Alto and Peninsula Sports Officials Association Inc. c/o Art David for Scheduling of Umpires and Officials for Softball and Basketball Leagues Agreement between the City of Palo Alto and John Whitlinger for Youth and Adult Tennis Classes Agreement between the City of Palo Alto and Gymnastics West, Neil Berquist, for Gymnastics Ball Sports and Catching-On Classes Agreement between the City of Palo Alto and Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD) for Use of Facilities Claudio Martinez, P. O. Box 273, Palo Alto, spoke about the Urban Ministry. MOTION PASSED 9-0 for Item Nos. 3-10, 12-16, and 19. MOTION PASSED 8-0 for Item No. 17, Wheeler "not participating." COUNCIL MATTERS 20. Council Comments, Questions, and Announcements Mayor Kniss announced the Special City Council Meeting scheduled for Tuesday, June 21, 1994, at 7:00 p.m. ADJOURNMENT: The meeting adjourned at 11:10 p.m. ATTEST: APPROVED: City Clerk Mayor NOTE: Sense minutes (synopsis) are prepared in accordance with Palo Alto Municipal Code Sections 2.04.200 (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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