HomeMy WebLinkAbout1995-12-11 City Council Summary Minutes Regular Meeting December 11, 1995 1. Resolution Expressing Appreciation to Thomas Lee Osborne Upon His Retirement........................................77-414 2. Recognition of Palo Alto High School's Football Team..77-415 ORAL COMMUNICATIONS........................................77-416 3. The Finance Committee recommends to the City Council Approval of the 1994-95 Year-End Financial Summary/Capital Improvement Program (CIP) Financial Status Report and Budget Closing Budget Amendment Ordinance............................77-417 5. Application for Approval of a Final Map to Merge Six Existing Parcels into One 1.18-Acre Parcel and Resubdivide the Property into 36 Airspace Condominium Units at 651 Hamilton Avenue, 536-576 Middlefield Road, and 523-575 Byron Street (Tract No. 8733).................................................77-417 6. Ordinance 4314 entitled "Ordinance Amending Section 18.94.070 (Nonconforming Use - Required Termination) to Change the Required Termination Date for the Use at 3200 Park Boule-vard/340 Portage/Olive Avenue.........................77-417 AGENDA CHANGES, ADDITIONS, AND DELETIONS...................77-417 6A. (Old Item No. 4) The Finance Committee re Council Approval of the Budget Amendment Ordinance and Capital Improvement Project for the Police Department Security Remodel............77-417 7. City Auditor's Status Report .........................77-419 8. Ordinance Amending the Budget for the Fiscal Year 1995-96 to Reappropriate Fiscal Year 1994-95 Funds for Equipment Replace-ment Purchases........................................77-420 9. Audit of Retirees' Health Benefits....................77-421
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10. Mayor Simitian, Vice Mayor Wheeler, and Council Members Huber and Schneider re Domestic Partners Registry...........77-424 ADJOURNMENT: The meeting adjourned at 8:30 p.m............77-426
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City Clerk Gloria Young announced that the Closed Session, Conference with Labor Negotiator, to be held at 6:00 p.m. on this date had been canceled. The City Council of the City of Palo Alto met on this date in the Council Chambers at 7:07 p.m. PRESENT: Andersen, Huber, McCown, Rosenbaum, Schneider, Simitian, Wheeler ABSENT: Fazzino, Kniss SPECIAL ORDERS OF THE DAY 1. Resolution Expressing Appreciation to Thomas Lee Osborne Upon His Retirement Director of Community Services Paul Thiltgen said Tom Osborne had worked for the City of Palo Alto for over 38 years and would leave behind many smiling people and happy families. Tom was in charge of sports and aquatics for 30 of his 38 years and probably touched most of the families in Palo Alto. He created the first wheelchair games which had become an international sport and part of the Olympic Games. In addition, he had worked for seven years for the physically handicapped triathalon. Tom served in the National Ski Patrol for 30 years working in the Sierras and far west. He taught swimming at the Palo Alto Adult School for 22 years and did Cardia-Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and first aid training for the Red Cross which he would continue to do after his retirement. A recurring theme when anyone spoke about Tom was that Tom always found a way to get things done. In the best sense, Tom was one of
the best Αyes men≅ the community had ever seen and everyone wished him well in his retirement. Bowen Smith, 103 Emerson, said he spoke for the thousands of runners in Palo Alto in 24 different age groups who expressed appreciation to the City, the Parks and Recreation Division, and Tom Osborne for the tremendous job he had done in the Grand Prix Race series. He believed there was not another city in the country that had a community running program such as the one Tom had organized. MOTION: Council Member Rosenbaum moved, seconded by Wheeler, to adopt the Resolution. Resolution 7559 entitled "Resolution of the Council of the City of Palo Alto Expressing Appreciation to Thomas Lee Osborne Upon His Retirement"
Council Member Rosenbaum said Tom Osborne had been ΑMr. Recreation≅ in the City for many years. He wished Tom a successful retirement
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and viewed him as the epitome of what one looked for in a public servant. The City expected a great deal of its employees, and he believed Tom had been an exemplar of that sort of employee. Council Member McCown said Tom Osborne was well known for his organization of running events. He also needed to be acknowledged
for the ΑDog=s Best Friend≅ run which was a very special event. She hoped the tradition that Tom helped to establish would continue in the community. Council Member Andersen said in addition to being a great servant to the community, Tom Osborne was a wonderful neighbor. He expressed his appreciation for all Tom had done. Mayor Simitian said he was not among the generations of Palo Altans Tom Osborne had taught to swim; however, he had been among the
generations of Palo Altans Tom had told to Αslow down≅ as they walked by the pool. Tom Osborne said he had worked 38 years and 214 days for the City. He appreciated what the City had done for him and had been lucky to have had some very good programs, great co-workers, and great part-time workers. He thanked everyone for the pleasure. MOTION PASSED 7-0, Fazzino, Kniss absent. 2. Recognition of Palo Alto High School's Football Team Mayor Simitian read a proclamation that recognized the achievements of the Palo Alto High School's Football Team. Council Member Rosenbaum said the proclamation was not the first that Coach Hansen had received from the City. There had been one in 1979 for an undefeated Frosh/Soph team for which his son had played. He said he knew how difficult it was to achieve what the team and coach had achieved. To have a season in which the hard work and talent came together to produce such an event was remarkable. Council Member Andersen said he had one of the team members in his economics class and had mentioned that the City Council was going
to recognize the team=s success which had caused a bit of a controversy. There had been some other Central Coast Section (CCS) champions from the high school, namely the Girls Swimming and Diving Team, who were also anxious for recognition. He said it had been a remarkable year for the football team and the school was proud of them. Vice Mayor Wheeler said as the mother of three Gunn High School graduates, she added her congratulations. She mentioned that Earl Hansen had taught her kids how to swim, was a good neighbor, and hoped that he would remain with the community and high school of
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his choice for many years to come and to bring other championships to Palo Alto. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS Ben Bailey, 343 Byron Street, spoke regarding a Christmas eviction and the big half-pint of wine caper. Edmund Power, 2254 Dartmouth Street, spoke regarding political manipulation (letter on file in the City Clerk's Office). Tony Ciampi, Palo Alto Avenue, spoke regarding rights (letter on file in the City Clerk's Office). Jim Dinkey, 3380 Cork Oak Way, spoke regarding an exhibition by Caltrans. Charisse Domingo, P. O. Box 6126, Stanford, spoke regarding creek clean-up. Jim Pavelich, 329 Alma Street, introduced the owners of the new Palo Alto daily newspaper. Stanley Nissen, 899 Los Robles, spoke regarding rent control/pursuit of happiness. CONSENT CALENDAR MOTION: Council Member Schneider moved, seconded by Wheeler, to approve Consent Calendar Item Nos. 3, 5, and 6. 3. The Finance Committee recommends to the City Council Approval of the 1994-95 Year-End Financial Summary/Capital Improvement Program (CIP) Financial Status Report and Budget Closing Budget Amendment Ordinance Ordinance 4313 entitled "Ordinance of the Council of the City of Palo Alto Authorizing Closing of the Budget for Fiscal Year 1994-95" 5. Application for Approval of a Final Map to Merge Six Existing Parcels into One 1.18-Acre Parcel and Resubdivide the Property into 36 Airspace Condominium Units at 651 Hamilton Avenue, 536-576 Middlefield Road, and 523-575 Byron Street (Tract No. 8733) 6. Ordinance 4314 entitled "Ordinance of the Council of the City of Palo Alto Amending Section 18.94.070 (Nonconforming Use - Required Termination) to Change the Required Termination Date for the Use at 3200 Park Boulevard/340 Portage/Olive Avenue" (1st Reading 11/13/95, PASSED: 8-1, Simitian "no")
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Ordinance 4315 entitled "Ordinance of the Council of the City of Palo Alto Amending Section 18.08.040 of the Palo Alto Municipal Code (The Zoning Map) to Change the Zone Classifica-tion of Property Located at 3200 Park Boulevard/340 Portage Avenue/Olive Avenue from R-1 and GM-B to RM-30" (1st Reading 11/13/95, PASSED: 8-1, Simitian "no") Ordinance 4316 entitled "Ordinance of the Council of the City of Palo Alto Amending Sections 18.24.040 and 18.26.040 of the Palo Alto Municipal Code (RM-30 and RM-40 District Regula-tions), Relating to Conditional Use Permits for Parking Facilities on Abandoned Railroad Rights-of-Way" (1st Reading 11/13/95, PASSED: 8-1, Simitian "no") MOTION PASSED 7-0 for Items No. 3 and 5, Fazzino, Kniss absent. MOTION PASSED 6-1 for Item No. 6, Simitian "no," Fazzino, Kniss absent. AGENDA CHANGES, ADDITIONS, AND DELETIONS City Manager June Fleming announced that Item No. 4 would become Item No. 6A. 6A. (Old Item No. 4) The Finance Committee recommends to the City Council Approval of the Budget Amendment Ordinance and Capital Improvement Project for the Police Department Security Remodel Council Member McCown said in the additional memo Council had received that evening, City employees had raised a concern about the effect that the proposed security improvements would have on access to the shower room, locker room, and weight room. She asked whether the concern could be accommodated in some way. City Manager June Fleming said she had spoken with the author of the memo and had been contacted by one of the persons on the list of employees attached to the memo who had not given permission for his/her name to be used. In addition, two of the employees listed no longer worked for the City, so the signatures did not directly relate to the item as the memo indicated. The issue discussed in the memo had absolutely no bearing on and was not connected with Item No. 6A (old Item No. 4) before the Council that evening. Staff had been informed that very serious security problems existed in the Police Department. A card access system had been devised for the present time and would allow distribution of access cards to non-police personnel. The solution in place which the item before Council addressed that evening would not prevent any authorized non-police personnel from having access to the facili-ties. Council Member McCown clarified that the Budget Improvement Ordinance (BAO) and improvements involved with respect to the
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Police Department would not affect the way other employees currently accessed the shower, locker, and weight rooms. Ms. Fleming said it would impact how authorized users would access those areas but would not prevent access. She did not want to mislead the Council. A serious problem existed with access of the particular shower facilities which the item before Council did not address. The item was purely to provide a monitoring device for who was using the facilities. Council Member McCown clarified that an alternative method would be implemented to allow employees of the City of Palo Alto who were not members of the Police Department to continue access although albeit different from what had been done in the past. Ms. Fleming said that was correct. MOTION: Council Member McCown moved, seconded by Wheeler, to adopt the Budget Amendment Ordinance in the amount of $95,000 from the Budget Stabilization Reserve for design and construction to secure open spaces at the police records section's public counter and to install a security card access system to all Police Department perimeter doors and interior doors, leading to the investigative and administrative areas, and the A level entrance to the Police Department. Ordinance 4317 entitled "Ordinance of the Council of the City of Palo Alto Amending the Budget for the Fiscal Year 1995-96 to Create and Fund Capital Improvement Project 19622, `Police Department Security Improvements'" MOTION PASSED 7-0, Fazzino, Kniss absent. UNFINISHED BUSINESS 7. City Auditor's Status Report (continued from 12/4/95) City Auditor Bill Vinson said the status report reflected activi-
ties in the City Auditor=s Office for the first six months of the fiscal year and indicated audits issued as well as projects currently in progress. During the period, three audits had been issued and completed and significant progress had been made toward completing four other audits which included both field work on or audits of heavy vehicles and the Transient Occupancy Tax. Report drafts were being prepared for the two audits. Assistance had been
provided to the external auditors in completion of the City=s annual financial audit which was included in the packet. Any audits which were shown in progress could be agendized at the
Council=s request. Mayor Simitian understood that while Mr. Vinson was in the process of completing the audit of Code Enforcement and Building Inspection 12/11/95 77-419 77-419
practices, two other activities were taking place in the City, development review and permit streamlining; one was under the City
Manager=s purview, and the other was in the overlapping area of the
City Attorney=s and the City Manager=s areas. During the past six months, he had received increasing comment from members of the public regarding their concern with respect to making their way
through the City=s building and planning process on relatively routine planning and building matters. He wanted to initiate Council consideration and discussion on the range of issues which partly fell within the area of the audit, the area being reviewed in permit streamlining, and the area of development review. He asked Mr. Vinson, the City Manager, and the City Attorney to comment on how discussion at the Council level could take place on the broader areas which had been broken down and analyzed by different members of the staff. Mr. Vinson said when his office had initially begun looking at permit processing, discussions with staff indicated a streamlining project was already in progress. As a result, he scaled down the work his office would look at to the Building Inspection practices only. He did not want to become involved with the permit stream-lining effort since staff was already working with various members of the community to enhance that process. City Manager June Fleming said staff was currently working on a process which involved the larger community in an effort to streamline the permitting process. A number of steps had been taken which included flowcharting what the City was doing, comparing it with other cities, and reviewing the process with both the residential developers and businesses. Staff was looking for
ways to both improve the City=s process to make it consistent with other communities and to generally streamline it to provide better customer service. Economic Resources Planning Manager Carol Jansen and City Attorney Ariel Calonne were working on another piece which was related in terms of development review. She suggested tieing those pieces together for an open and focused discussion about permitting which would include what was being done, what could be done better, and any recommendations for change when staff brought back a report to Council on permit streamlining. Mayor Simitian believed it was important to have some public discussion about the area because while the City viewed some of the areas as discrete functions that were handled by separate parts of the organization, community members entered the process through a series of events which they viewed as being one of a long set of transactions to get them from point A to point B. A means to integrate that conversation and discussion and what remedies, if any, were appropriate would be helpful. Council Member Andersen endorsed what was being suggested and believed it was an opportunity to not only see the pieces come
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together, but also was a way to educate the community as to what improvements had been made as a result of the work done by staff and the members of the community. No action required. ORDINANCES 8. Ordinance Amending the Budget for the Fiscal Year 1995-96 to Reappropriate Fiscal Year 1994-95 Funds for Equipment Replace-ment Purchases MOTION: Vice Mayor Wheeler moved, seconded by Schneider, to adopt the Ordinance. Ordinance 4318 entitled "Ordinance of the Council of the City of Palo Alto Amending the Budget for the Fiscal Year 1995-96 to Reappropriate Fiscal Year 1994-95 Funds for Equipment Replacement Purchases" Mayor Simitian clarified that the approximate $2 million had been appropriated last year, had not been spent, and staff was request-ing authority to approve it for the current year. City Manager June Fleming said that was correct. MOTION PASSED 7-0, Fazzino, Kniss absent. REPORTS OF OFFICIALS 9. Audit of Retirees' Health Benefits City Auditor Bill Vinson said he was presenting the results of the
Retirees= Health Benefits audit which was the first installment of the examination of health benefits administration in the City. The scope of the audit was limited to retirees and their dependents and included determination of eligibility of currently enrolled retirees and their dependents, verification of the accuracy of premium amounts paid by the City, and assurance that the benefits were properly coordinated with Medicare. Based on the results of the audit, he concluded that internal controls and procedures
surrounding the management and oversight of retirees= health benefits were inadequate. The conclusion was based on the following: amounts shown on the Public Employees Retirement System (PERS) billing statement were not compared with the premium rate schedule to ensure the accuracy of premiums charged; PERS billings were not reviewed to ensure that only eligible City retirees and surviving spouses were reflected on the billing statement; and eligibility for supplemental coverage which reduced premiums paid by the City was not monitored. In one instance, the lack of timely enrollment in supplemental coverage cost the City over $1,800. Eligibility of health insurance for retiree spouses was not verified. Finally, the review of payments for a sample of retirees
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selected from the May 1995 billing revealed that the City poten-tially overpaid $5746 in insurance premiums. The City paid approximately $768,000 in health insurance premiums for its retirees and their dependents each year. Proper review of insurance billings would help to ensure that premium charges were accurate and only paid for eligible retirees. Proper monitoring of enrollment in supplemental coverage would help to ensure that
Medicare was sharing in the retirees= health care costs which served to reduce premiums paid by the City. The audit provided recommendations to the City Manager and staff to improve the
management and oversight of the City=s retirees= health benefit program. He believed the City Manager was taking action to address and correct the deficiencies presented in the audit. City Manager June Fleming said she believed the report before Council spoke for itself and staff had no additional comment that evening. Council Member Huber asked how many retirees were currently in the plan. Mr. Vinson said as of the May 1995 billing, there were 374 retirees and 133 dependents in the plan. Council Member Huber said the staff response was appropriate in that an annual check would be necessary. He asked whether all the eligible spouses and dependents could be check every year to see if they were covered rather than doing a random sample. Director of Human Resources Jay Rounds said the covered persons were annuitants. In some cases, they were people who retired and had been employees. In other cases, as time went by, the benefits passed to dependents, spouses, and others. PERS monitored the people, and the records were not available to the City. It was
staff=s intention to annually monitor through an audit process that staff devised to ensure that PERS justified the annuitants derived from Palo Alto retirees. Council Member Huber understood there would be an annual check on everything except Item No. 3 which was to check a sampling of the spouses and dependents. He questioned since the numbers were low, whether everyone could be checked every year. Mr. Rounds said staff was working with PERS on establishing procedures, and it might be possible to check spouses and depend-ents as well. Council Member Rosenbaum said he had found the audit helpful and somewhat comforting. He was curious about Medicare eligibility and had not realized there was a state code requirement that retirees who were eligible must sign up for Medicare. PERS was responsible for the requirement but had no economic incentive to enforce it.
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The retiree might have an economic incentive not to apply for Medicare, whereas the City had the economic incentive to make sure eligible people did apply for Medicare. He asked how the City would act on its economic incentive to act. Mr. Rounds said staff had informed PERS that it had a legal requirement to ensure eligible retirees signed up for Medicare.
The subject had been before the PERS= Board of Directors and before a committee of the Board of Directors looking into the matter. In some cases where PERS had not checked on eligibility, penalties had been incurred by the retirees who signed up late. PERS was obliged to set up procedures to ensure that the annuitants were properly signed up when they were eligible for Medicare. Council Member Rosenbaum noted every city must have the identical interest as the City of Palo Alto and asked whether PERS was responsive on the issue. Mr. Rounds said PERS had been fairly responsive and was concerned about the impact of the late fees that would be paid by the annuitants who had not signed up at the proper time. Council Member Rosenbaum asked if the issue should be brought to the attention of the League of California Cities (LCC). Mr. Rounds said he believed it was already a sufficient issue. The City was a member of PERS Pack which was an amalgamation of cities
which were contracting agencies. Through the City=s membership, the City had the ability to bring other pressures to bear upon PERS if it did not carry out its responsibility with respect to the issue. The City could bring pressure to bear through the LCC if needed. Mayor Simitian asked whether the City would be better off not encouraging a lot of other cities to ask PERS to perform the same function so as not to add too much of a burden on PERS. Mr. Rounds said PERS had been working cooperatively with the City on the issue and was concerned about performing the function for all contracting agencies including the State of California. The state had a vested interest because its retirees were in the same pool and it was a budgetary issue. No action required. COUNCIL MATTERS 10. Mayor Simitian, Vice Mayor Wheeler, and Council Members Huber and Schneider re Domestic Partners Registry
Mayor Simitian said the issue came to Council=s attention in August 1995 requesting Council to consider the possibility of creating a
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Domestic Partners Registry. He had met with the two members of the community who had made the request and thought the proposal was a reasonable one. The City Clerk, the City Attorney, and the City Manager had reviewed the proposal for any potential problems. The proposal was modest in that it was fully funded by fees, involved no legal status, involved no special privileges or benefits, and was entirely a service provided to those who chose to use it. The
City Clerk=s staff contacted other communities in California that provided a similar service and found it worked fairly easily on a full cost-recovery basis. Council Member Schneider noted the second paragraph of the memo
stated, ΑWe support the creation of such a Registry as a service to
local residents...≅ and questioned whether the intent was to make the Registry just for local residents or whether anyone could come to the City of Palo Alto City Hall to register. Mayor Simitian said the proposal as it stood did not limit the use of the service to local residents or local employees. One of the
issues he had discussed with staff was staff=s desire to keep it simple. Preventing staff from being put in a situation where it had to check or evaluate criteria was preferable. His understand-ing was other jurisdictions had handled it in the same manner. City Clerk Gloria Young said that was correct. Council Member Rosenbaum recalled in the letter requesting Council consideration of a Registry that it would be in the interest of same-sex couples and asked what virtue, if any, the proposed action would have for opposite-sex couples. Mayor Simitian did not recall if the letter had been specific in that reference. His view to keep it simpler and easier with no criteria or question as to gender or orientation was better. He believed an area of controversy regarding special privileges or special benefits for a particular class of people in the community could be avoided by simply saying without regard to gender or orientation. If there were couples of the opposite sex who would like to use the service, he did not have a problem with it on a policy basis. Council Member Schneider believed there was discrimination against opposite-sex couples who were not married as well as against same-sex couples. She concurred with Mayor Simitian to keep it simple and nondiscriminatory. Mayor Simitian said the three reasons which were raised to bring the matter to Council were: 1) the possibility that some benefits might accrue to folks who registered as domestic partners whether those were frequent flyer miles or reduced health club benefits, etc., 2) emergency notification in times of crisis for nonmarried
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couples who were domestic partners, and 3) the symbolic importance and value to domestic partners to formally acknowledge the nature of a long-term, committed relationship. MOTION: Mayor Simitian moved, seconded by Wheeler, to: 1) direct the City Clerk to establish the administrative procedures necessary to create and maintain a Domestic Partners Registry (with provi-sions for the establishment, dissolution, and documentation of domestic partnerships); 2) direct the City Clerk to return to the City Council with a Budget Amendment Ordinance establishing fees for service on a full cost recovery basis; and 3) direct the Mayor to write to the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors on behalf of the Council urging that such a service be provided at the County level. Council Member Rosenbaum said when the proposal was first brought to his attention, he had assumed it would refer to same-sex couples for obvious reasons. There was a movement to give same-sex couples the same public affirmations of the importance of their relation-ship that existed for opposite-sex couples who had the advantage of marriage. There was an organized effort which he supported since it was difficult to effect change at the state level to go to a number of cities that had liberal reputations and seek to set up what was being proposed that night. He believed the memo spoke to spreading it over a wider area by having Santa Clara County (the County) provide the service. The reality was that the best and most meaningful place would be to have state action. Marriage was available to opposite-sex couples, and people were free to engage in whatever relations they chose. If they wanted to establish mutual rights and responsibilities which the proposal did not do, they would be well advised to seek a lawyer. He believed the proposal was superfluous with respect to opposite-sex couples and possibly misleading. If a government agency, the City, charged a fee and gave you a certificate, that suggested you had something of value; whereas the proposal provided nothing for opposite-sex couples. He did not believe any requests had been received from opposite-sex couples, and did not believe it was imperative for the City to take action in the area. AMENDMENT: Council Member Rosenbaum moved, seconded by Andersen, to limit the Domestic Partners Registry to same-sex couples. AMENDMENT FAILED: 2-5, Andersen and Rosenbaum Αyes,≅ Fazzino, Kniss absent. Council Member McCown said on a global scale, she would not put the issue high on the list of activities she believed important for the City of Palo Alto to be involved in. On the other hand, the manner in which the proposal had been crafted was essentially the creation of an enabling service to be offered as a self-funding mechanism for people who found it useful. She supported the proposal. The essence to keep it simple was the key.
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Council Member Schneider was honored to be part of bringing the service to the community. The Registry would be an opportunity for the City to take another step toward ending discrimination against unmarried couples, be they gay or straight. It also led the City in the direction of ensuring all the rights and privileges that had been reserved for traditional couples and traditional families. While the Registry was really symbolic, tangible benefits would result. The registration would recognize committed relationships of mutually caring individuals. She was proud the City had taken the step and was hopeful the County would follow. Mayor Simitian said the City Clerk would return to Council with a Budget Amendment Ordinance (BAO) at a later date establishing fees for services on a full cost recovery basis. MOTION PASSED 6-1, Rosenbaum "no," Fazzino, Kniss absent. ADJOURNMENT: The meeting adjourned at 8:30 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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