HomeMy WebLinkAbout1995-12-18 City Council Summary Minutes Regular Meeting December 18, 1995 1. Conference with Labor Negotiator......................77-430 1. Resolution Expressing Appreciation to Lawrence Peterson Upon His Retirement...................................77-431 2. Fire Safety Poster Award Winners......................77-431 3. Agreement between the City of Palo Alto and Mr. and Mrs. Fred Eyerly for Acceptance of a Gift to the City......77-432 ORAL COMMUNICATIONS........................................77-433 APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF NOVEMBER 6, 1995....................77-433 4. Contract between the City of Palo Alto and Tree to Green Landscape Company for Installation of Water Backflow Devices at City Facilities, CIP 19407.................77-434 5. Agreement between the City of Palo Alto and Milton F. Johnson, Architect, for Consultant Design and Construc-tion Administration/Management Services to Construct the Rinconada Pool Improvements...........................77-434 6. Payment of City of Palo Alto's Share of San Francisco Bay Regional Monitoring Program...........................77-434 7. Approval of Resolutions Related to Banking Services Agreement with Bank of America........................77-434 8. Resolution 7563 entitled "Resolution of the Council of the City of Palo Alto Adopting a Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) Program for Federally Funded City Transportation Projects"..............................77-434 9. Receipt of Grant Funds from Packard Foundation for Volunteers for Cities Project.........................77-434 10. The Policy and Services Committee recommends to the City Council to authorize staff to reduce the rental rates for
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three nonprofit long-term tenants leasing space at the Cubberley Community Center............................77-434 11. Ordinance 4320 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 19623, `Lytton Neighborhood Traffic Management Plan...77-435 12. Ordinance 4321 entitled "Ordinance of the Council of the City of Palo Alto Approving and Adopting a Plan for Improvements to El Palo Alto Park.....................77-435 13. Policy and Services Committee, Finance Committee, and Utilities Advisory Commission re Tree Task Force Recom-mendations............................................77-435 14. Amendment No. 1 to Agreement with Mid-Peninsula Housing Coalition for Predevelopment Costs Associated with Housing for Persons with Developmental Disabilities (Page Mill Road and Ash Street).............................77-447 15. Mayor Simitian re Cancellation of Regular City Council Meetings of December 26, 1995, and January 2, 1996....77-448 ADJOURNMENT: The meeting adjourned at 9:20 p.m............77-448
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The City Council of the City of Palo Alto met on this date in the Human Resources/Council Conference Room at 6:15 p.m. PRESENT: Andersen (arrived at 6:20 p.m.), Fazzino, Huber, Kniss (arrived at 6:20 p.m.), McCown, Rosenbaum, Simitian, Wheeler ABSENT: Schneider ORAL COMMUNICATIONS None. CLOSED SESSIONS 1. Conference with Labor Negotiator Agency Negotiator: City Council Ad Hoc Personnel Committee (Chairperson Joe Huber, Dick Rosenbaum, and Lanie Wheeler) Unrepresented Employees: City Attorney Ariel Calonne, City Auditor Bill Vinson, City Clerk Gloria Young, and City Manager June Fleming
Authority: Government Code ∋54957.6 The City Council met in Closed Session to discuss matters involving labor negotiations as described in Agenda Item No. 1. Mayor Simitian announced that no action was taken on Agenda Item No. 1 ADJOURNMENT: The meeting adjourned at 7:00 p.m.
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The City Council of the City of Palo Alto met on this date in the Council Chambers at 7:04 p.m. PRESENT: Andersen, Fazzino, Huber, Kniss, McCown, Rosenbaum, Simitian, Wheeler ABSENT: Schneider SPECIAL ORDERS OF THE DAY 1. Resolution Expressing Appreciation to Lawrence Peterson Upon His Retirement Police Chief Chris Durkin said the residents of Palo Alto had been fortunate the last 32 years as a result of Lieutenant Lawrence Peterson's appointment to the Palo Alto Police Department. Mr. Peterson's personnel file was full of letters of thanks and praise from the public and other law enforcement agencies for his outstanding work. He thanked the Council for recognizing Mr. Peterson that evening. MOTION: Council Member Fazzino moved, seconded by Huber, to adopt the Resolution. Resolution 7560 entitled "Resolution of the Council of the City of Palo Alto Expressing Appreciation to Lawrence Peterson Upon His Retirement" MOTION PASSED 8-0, Schneider absent. Lawrence Peterson introduced his wife, Linda, and thanked the City Council for its support of the Police Department. He said it was his pleasure and privilege to serve the citizens of Palo Alto. 2. Fire Safety Poster Award Winners Fire Marshal Phil Constantino said the 1995 Fire Safety Poster Contest theme was "Watch What You Heat." Kindergarten through 6th grade students participated from 11 of the 16 Palo Alto schools. There were 22 winners selected from over 400 posters. The posters were judged by firefighters on artwork, originality, and creativity in depicting the National Fire Protection Association's theme. The parents, children, principals, and teachers were present. Mayor Simitian presented the awards to the winners of the Fire Safety Poster Contest. Mr. Constantino reminded parents and Council Members that the posters were on display in the lobby of City Hall. Every year it became more difficult to judge the posters because the children did an outstanding job. He also recognized the people in the Fire Department who put in a tremendous amount of after hours work
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judging the posters, going to the schools, and discussing fire safety with the children. Mayor Simitian thanked and congratulated the winners and their parents. No action required. 3. Agreement between the City of Palo Alto and Mr. and Mrs. Fred Eyerly for Acceptance of a Gift to the City City Manager June Fleming said several months previously, former Mayor and Council Member Fred Eyerly and his wife, Moya, had ap-proached her with an idea as to how they wanted to make a gift to the City. She wanted to take the opportunity to thank them for the assistance given to the staff. The Eyerlys' attorney had worked side by side with staff, and with efforts and cooperation from Senior Assistant City Attorney Susan Case and Deputy City Manag-er/Administrative Services Emily Harrison, the agreement was completed. She asked Council to approve the staff's recommenda-tion. Fred Eyerly, 101 Alma Street, said financial planning was long range for him and his wife. They started five or six years prior with some insurance programs with the idea of a gift in their latter years. The insurance programs would replace the value of any asset put into the fund currently and later to their heir. They had been active in charitable organizations, and they knew that operating budgets were not easy to come by. The sum that had to be raised every year often went up and down depending on the drive and diligence of the members of the board of that particular year. Endowments or money that could go to help operating budgets was much more beneficial to an organization than to fund for capital improvements. The two charitable organizations named as beneficiaries in the agreement were the Elizabeth F. Gamble Garden Center and the Senior Coordinating Council. The staff of the Palo Alto Utilities Department was also named, as they had fond feelings of what the staff accomplished and wanted to set up something that might be beneficial to special performances of the staff. The City of Palo Alto was a conservative investor. The principal was always safe, and that was the primary reason for selecting the City. One other reason was that to start the fund by the gift of their residence was not possible through a trust in giving it to a community foundation. It was possible through a contract with contingencies attached to it for them to live in the residence and start the fund. It was an income tax savings. The properties of the Senior Coordinating Council and the Gamble Garden Center were City owned, and that was another reason they thought a fund under the supervision of the City would be beneficial. They did expect to add more assets to the fund if approved by Council as time passed.
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MOTION: Council Member Fazzino moved, seconded by Kniss, to accept the gift and authorize the Mayor to approve the agreement between Mr. and Mrs. Fred Eyerly and the City. Council Member Fazzino said Mr. and Mrs. Eyerly had dedicated much of their lives to the community over the past 40 plus years. The staff report (CMR:527:95) did not mention that Mr. Eyerly served very capably as the City's Mayor in 1982 and on the City Council from 1975 to 1983. He was delighted that the Eyerlys were willing to provide the gift to the City. The programs the Eyerlys were recommending for receipt of the income from the fund were programs that they felt very strongly about. Mr. Eyerly was too young to have been involved with the formation of the Palo Alto Utilities Department, which was accomplished by Charles Marx. However, the Eyerlys were instrumental in the 1970s in getting the Senior Coordinating Council started to become the major representative of seniors in the community. The Eyerlys were active in making the Gamble Garden Center a success and a reality. He thanked Mr. and Mrs. Eyerly for their selfless public service as manifested in the gift to the City. Council Member Huber said he had known Mr. and Mrs. Eyerly for many years, and when he saw their proposal, he was reminded that they had given so much to the City over many years. It was simply a gift that would keep on giving for excellent organizations in the City. He thanked Mr. and Mrs. Eyerly. Council Member Kniss said Mrs. Eyerly had been among the most supportive of spouses and had contributed so much to the City. Mrs. Eyerly was behind a great deal of what happened in the City and was very active with the Senior Coordinating Council. She thanked Mr. and Mrs. Eyerly. Mayor Simitian said on behalf of the Council and the entire City, he thanked Mr. and Mrs. Eyerly. It was an act not only of exceptional generosity but also of great foresight. It was an extraordinary and very special gift. MOTION PASSED 8-0, Schneider absent. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS Ben Bailey, 343 Byron Street, spoke regarding the big half-pint of wine caper; Scott Richardson, in the rain. Tony Ciampi, 870 Palo Alto Avenue, spoke regarding personal business. Edmund Power, 2254 Dartmouth Street, spoke regarding dishonesty in government (letter on file in the City Clerk's Office).
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Benjamin Huang, 114 Lowell Avenue, spoke regarding his driveway being blocked by a car and the lack of response by the Police Department. Margaret Ash, 965 Webster Street, spoke regarding homelessness. Cary Andrew Crittenden, spoke regarding a meeting of the Urban Ministry with the City scheduled for Tuesday, December 19, 1995. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF NOVEMBER 6, 1995 MOTION: Council Member Huber moved, seconded by Rosenbaum, to approve the Minutes of November 6, 1995, as corrected. MOTION PASSED 8-0, Schneider absent. CONSENT CALENDAR MOTION: Vice Mayor Wheeler moved, seconded by Kniss, to approve Consent Calendar Item Nos. 4 - 10. 4. Contract between the City of Palo Alto and Tree to Green Landscape Company for Installation of Water Backflow Devices at City Facilities, CIP 19407; change orders not to exceed $5,190 5. Agreement between the City of Palo Alto and Milton F. Johnson, Architect, for Consultant Design and Construction Administra-tion/Management Services to Construct the Rinconada Pool Improvements; change orders not to exceed $9,700 6. Payment of City of Palo Alto's Share of San Francisco Bay Regional Monitoring Program 7. Approval of Resolutions Related to Banking Services Agreement with Bank of America Resolution 7561 entitled "Resolution of the Council of the City of Palo Alto Authorizing the Deputy City Manager, Administrative Services, to Sign Documents Relating to the Bank Accounts of the City of Palo Alto; and Rescinding Resolution No. 6694" Resolution 7562 entitled "Resolution of the Council of the City of Palo Alto Regarding the Bankamericard Purchasing Accounts" 8. Resolution 7563 entitled "Resolution of the Council of the City of Palo Alto Adopting a Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) Program for Federally Funded City Transportation Projects"
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9. Receipt of Grant Funds from Packard Foundation for Volunteers for Cities Project Ordinance 4319 entitled "Ordinance of the Council of the City of Palo Alto Amending the Budget for the Fiscal Year 1995-96 to Accept a Grant Award to Fund a Volunteer Coordinator in the Office of the City Manager" 10. The Policy and Services Committee recommends to the City Council to authorize staff to reduce the rental rates for three nonprofit long-term tenants leasing space at the Cubberley Community Center in order to eliminate inconsisten-cies in their rental rates, and the Children's Preschool Center would pay the market rate minus the payment for janitorial services. Further, that staff return with the 1996-98 budget with a recommendation for a long-term financial plan for the Cubberley Community Center 11. Ordinance 4320 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 19623, `Lytton Neighborhood Traffic Management Plan'" 12. Ordinance 4321 entitled "Ordinance of the Council of the City of Palo Alto Approving and Adopting a Plan for Improvements to El Palo Alto Park" (1st Reading 12/4/95, PASSED 8-0, Huber absent) MOTION PASSED 8-0 for Item Nos. 4 - 10 and 12, Schneider absent. MOTION PASSED 7-1 for Item No. 11, Andersen "no," Schneider absent. REPORTS OF COMMITTEES AND COMMISSIONS 13. Policy and Services Committee, Finance Committee, and Utili-ties Advisory Commission re Tree Task Force Recommendations: a. The Policy and Services Committee conceptually approves: 1) Adoption of a five-year average cycle for tree trimming and related funding and staff requirements; 2) Implementation of the Hughes-Heiss & Associates recommen-dation to plant a total of 1,200 trees annually, which includes adoption of the industry tree replacement standard of 2 percent annually (800 trees), plus an additional 400 trees per year for 10 years to address existing vacant sites. Adoption of this standard will require additional funding and staffing to accomplish the reforestation of the urban forest; 3) Creation of a non-profit tree group to implement increased levels of tree planting and new tree services (pruning, watering, etc.); 4) Development of a proposed Tree Protection Ordinance including administrative and enforcement mechanisms and related funding and staffing requirements; 5) Withdrawal
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of the request to create a tree advisory commission; 6) Continuation of the Tree Task Force for the next year (or until January 1, 1997) to implement the recommended policies and programs; 7) Fund from the Electric Utility a proportionate share of the proposed budget for the nonprofit tree group. b. The Finance Committee recommends that the issue of long-term funding for an augmented tree program, along with
issues related to parks= maintenance and deferred infrastructure costs, be held in Committee pending a comprehensive analysis of needs and alternative funding sources, and that the City Manager be asked to include in the 1996-97 Budget such additional funding for the tree program as could be accommodated given current revenue sources. c. The Utilities Advisory Commission recommends funding a proportionate share of the proposed budget for the nonprofit tree group from the Electric Utility pending Council approval. Marge Abel, Tree Task Force Chair, 1601 Castilleja Avenue, asked Council to focus on two particular areas that involved money. The first area was to reinstate both the positions in the tree section at the beginning of the next budget cycle. The positions were staffed before and were lost. Even if the Contract Coordinator and the Office Specialist were added, there was still a net loss of 40 percent because 40 percent of the Contract Coordinator's job currently would be defined to take care of the park median strips, which was a responsibility transferred over from the Parks Division. The Office Specialist was critical to support the job of the Contract Coordinator. Currently, the inventory and the records were not kept up to date, and the information was needed to manage the contracts effectively. The second area was to start up the Nonprofit Tree Group (NTG). Assuming it would take three months to find and hire the Executive Director to start things up, the budget would be approximately $52,000 within the current fiscal budget cycle. Time was needed to do all the operations planned. The additional staff in the tree section was not needed to actually start the process. Council Member McCown understood, as stated in the staff report (CMR:516:95), the recommendations would be approved conceptually with the goal of phased implementation over a two- to five-year period subject to the further development of revenue sources. There were also the top four Tree Task Force (TTF) proposals ranked in priority, and she asked if those four were the items that would then be pursued at least on a partial funding basis in the next two-year budget cycle.
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Director of Public Works Glenn Roberts said that was essentially correct. Staff had provided those priorities for Council's consideration consistent with the action that the Finance Committee took to request the administration to pursue interim actions subject to available resources in the upcoming budget cycle. Staff reviewed the work program and recommended those four priorities for consideration during the upcoming budget cycles subject to available resources and other priorities. Council Member McCown referred to the four proposals which were 1) addition of a Contract Coordinator position, 2) addition of an Office Specialist position, 3) a series of moving funds around for new positions, planting, etc. and 4) one-time startup costs for the NTG. She asked whether there was any way to indicate that evening how much would be funded or proposed to be funded in the next budget cycle. Ms. Fleming said those proposals would receive high priority when she reviewed the budget and submitted it to the Council. Council Member McCown asked whether the goal was to figure out how the proposals could be funded in the next budget cycle and whether it was different from the longer term revenue development evalua-tion. Ms. Fleming said that was the goal. Council Member Andersen said in the original proposal, the Council was asked to come up with 91 percent of the funding for the NTG for the first year, 58.4 percent for the second year, and 25.3 percent for the third year. After the third year, the expectation was that the NTG would be self-funding. He asked whether there was any assurance on the part of those who were organizing the NTG that they would not be back for funds after the third year. Ms. Fleming said staff felt the people who proposed the NTG had high intentions. However, it was difficult to give absolute assurance that they would not be back, even if the Council were to adopt a motion that said Council would not give more funding. Council Member Andersen asked, with regard to the seeking of contributions to the NTG, if there were funds already set aside or commitments made from various nonprofits or philanthropists. Ms. Abel said the group had not solicited funds, so there was none at the present time. She did have a list of potential sources from the consultant. She also had information from the consultant about how to approach a variety of sources to get funds. She believed that if the community was not willing to support trees with the NTG, it was not the responsibility of the Council to keep funding something that the people did not support.
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Council Member Fazzino acknowledged the fact that if Council were to increase the level of City service in several areas, there might be a need for a new source of funds to provide support for those programs. What troubled him was that Council was looking at the concept of a new source of funds solely to provide support for the tree program. He understood that the City was simply restoring service levels which were in place 15 or 20 years prior. He appreciated any thoughts from either the City Manager or Council Member Rosenbaum, who was Chairperson of the Finance Committee, as to why it was felt that the City needed to identify a new source of funds specifically for the tree program. Council Member Rosenbaum was not unsympathetic to Council Member Fazzino's comments, but the cost of the program plus the additional cost of taking over the maintenance of the Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD) fields over and above what was put in the budget for the current year was on the order of over one half million dollars per year. Staff did not believe it was prudent to take on additional obligations irrespective of whether or not the City had those obligations in the past without identifying a revenue source. The Finance Committee discussed that, and that was when the idea of phasing it in, on the grounds that perhaps over a couple of years and with a $70 million budget an increment of a half million dollars for that purpose was possible. Ms. Fleming said if the Council directed staff to include funding for the program alone and staff had flexibility to make adjustments to accommodate that, staff would make an effort to do so. However, the reality was that over the past few years since the program had been reduced, there had been new and increasing citywide demands for funding items such as what Council Member Rosenbaum mentioned. Therefore, when looking at the entire City and the need to fund tree and other programs, it was not just one program that the City needed to find funding for. If the Council looked at the program in isolation, Council's comments were understandable; but if Council looked at the bigger picture and the complexity and number of issues that needed to be absorbed while adding dollars to address those concerns, then a maximum was reached in terms of what could be projected with financial resources available. Council Member Fazzino was concerned that in the reports Council had seen, staff continued to refer to the need for a new source of funding. It appeared that the new source of funding was specifi-cally to fund an increased level of service. He did not have a problem with what the City Manager just said, that there was a need for additional funds which was based upon the fact that the City was increasing levels of service in several areas, including trees and urban forests. He wanted to clarify that staff's argument was the latter rather than the former point. Ms. Fleming said it was.
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Council Member Fazzino asked if the Contract Coordinator and the Office Specialist would be reporting to City Arborist David Sandage. Mr. Roberts said yes. Those positions would be located in the Operations Division of the Public Works Department in the tree section reporting to Mr. Sandage and ultimately to Deputy Director of Public Works Operations Mike Miller. Council Member Fazzino asked how the responsibilities would be delineated between the two positions. Deputy Director of Public Works Operations Mike Miller said the Contract Coordinator would be primarily responsible for preparing the contracts in draft form and doing the field work for the quantities. The Office Specialist would do the final typing, take reports from citizens, and generate lists that would be included in those contracts. Essentially, the Office Specialist would operate as the first point of contact for the public and would gather information. The information would be forwarded to the Contract Coordinator to be put into the contracts for either trimming, pruning, removal, etc. Ms. Fleming said the City needed to have procedures in place so that the City had a person responsible for administering contracts. Ms. Abel spoke of the backlog, and that was why the Office Specialist would assume that responsibility. It was an entry level clerical position. Council Member Fazzino clarified staff was making the recommenda-tion that the funding for those positions be in place prior to the creation of the NTG. He wanted staff to explain why it believed that was essential. Mr. Roberts said staff believed it was necessary to deal with the staffing issue before the NTG moved into full-scale activities with major planting taking place, which would require significant staff coordination with the NTG. However, the positions did not have to be in place before the initial creation of the NTG. There was a number of startup activities for the NTG that could be started a few months before staff was necessary. Vice Mayor Wheeler asked if that meant staff would have some flexibility in terms of when that initial startup would happen before the first tree would go in the ground. Ms. Fleming said after discussing further the issue of the NTG and its initiation with Mr. Roberts, she believed that staff did have some flexibility in that regard because there were some beginnings that the NTG would have to undertake. If there were a delay for the next budget year, she would delay the hiring of staff until the NTG had time to get itself off the ground.
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Vice Mayor Wheeler said it had been suggested in the memo presented that evening by the TTF that the NTG would need $52,000 to start up. She asked if that was an appropriate figure. In terms of trying to convince Council to approve the staff recommendation, the Council should ask what the budgetary implications would be for the current year. Ms. Fleming said it was not in the current budget; therefore, it would have to be funded out of Reserves. It would become part of those items that the City Manager reviewed when the budget was brought to Council in the spring. Mr. Roberts understood the request before Council for the $52,000 represented a pro rata share of the first year's cost over a four-month period plus some initial one-time moneys. On that basis, he believed it was a reasonable way to propose to start the activi-ties. Vice Mayor Wheeler said except in terms of the Heritage Tree Ordinance, discussions at the Policy and Services (P&S) Committee meetings did not include any potential impacts on the City Attorney's Office, in particular, the startup of the NTG and whether there was involvement or would be any involvement of the legal staff. Senior Assistant City Attorney Susan Case said the City Attorney's Office had very little involvement with respect to anything other than the framework of an ordinance. The City Attorney's Office requested that if there were a motion to help the NTG start up, the motion would include a direction to the City Attorney's Office to assess the legal ramifications and legal involvement. Council Member Kniss clarified that it was being looked at as a public/private partnership. Mr. Roberts said that was the goal. Council Member Kniss said it would be the direction the City had headed in recent years. She asked whether trees were primarily planted in the fall. Ms. Abel said in Palo Alto with the Mediterranean climate and mild winters, the best time was to plant trees during the fall. The roots could take advantage of the winter rains and the relatively warm temperature of the soil to establish a good root base. The tree would have a wonderful foundation on which to grow and survive when spring came. Council Member Kniss said if the City waited for another cycle on the budget, the planting could not happen in the fall. She presumed that most of the other groups, whether they were local or
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volunteer groups or whether they were in San Jose or Los Angeles, attempted to go on that particular kind of fall planting. Ms. Abel said the goal was to do as much in the fall as possible. Certainly, trees could be planted any time of the year, but during the summer the tree had to have good care. Council Member Kniss understood that to get a tree going was a far more arduous task than what she initially thought. She clarified the NTG would spread the word so that it covered far larger circles than what City staff had been able to do. Ms. Abel said yes. The National Arbor Day Foundation cited that a well planted versus a poorly planted tree would typically grow twice as fast and live twice as long. By involving the citizens in the planting of trees, how to do it correctly, and what a tree needed, there would be many eyes and ears throughout the community taking care of trees that no city government could possibly match. Mr. Miller said the young tree program that staff recommended when doing a new tree planting included watering twice a week with 20 to 40 gallons of water. Then after the first five years, some significant hand pruning and shaping of the tree were required. About 10 or 15 percent of the City's trees probably died in front of residents' homes for lack of water. City Arborist David Sandage said planting included preparing the site for the roots to grow into, planning the site wide enough, cultivating, mulching, and creating the environment for the young tree so that it would grow well and quickly in its early years and get established well. Education was important. Council Member Rosenbaum wanted to follow up on Council Member McCown's question at the start of the discussion. On page 1 of the staff report (CMR:516:95), he referred to staff's Recommendation No. 1 to "Adopt a goal of phased implementation of the following TTF proposals over a two to five-year period, subject to develop-ment and approval of a new revenue sources during that timeframe..." and on page 2, 1a, 1b, and 1c were the substantive activities to be undertaken. On the same page, he referred to Recommendation No. 2 that "Staff recommends the following priority ranking of the top four TTF proposals..." He asked whether those four proposals, which were stated more in terms of implementation, encompassed the three major ideas of the TTF as 1a, 1b, 1c or whether there was something more. Mr. Roberts said the intent was to have those items under Recommen-dation No. 1 address the long-term perspective on what the City was doing with all the TTF recommendations and to have those items under Recommendation No. 2 address short-term priorities. Staff recognized that the issue of funding was subject to a great deal of future discussion. Therefore, staff wanted to give Council some
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policy choices in the short term of how to proceed while continuing to work on the long-term picture. It was not intended that Recommendation No. 2 encompass everything in Recommendation No. 1. Staff believed that it could not encompass everything in Recommen-dation No. 1 until the total funding question was dealt with. Council Member Rosenbaum asked in terms of Recommendation No. 1, if staff could tell what the shortfall would be if the City did Recommendation No. 2 with respect to the goals that were outlined in Recommendation No. 1. Mr. Roberts said the staff had not quantified it. For example, in item 2c, the Council had already taken action in the current Fiscal Year 1995-96 to provide an additional $100,000 for contract trimming and pruning and an additional $15,000 for tree planting. The pieces of it could come incrementally. Staff had not attempted to stipulate how much should be done in the short term in any specific dollar amounts. Council Member Rosenbaum clarified staff believed there was something more beyond what was listed in Recommendation No. 2 and it probably did relate to item 2c in which the number of trees that the City would take care of each year could be quantified. Mr. Roberts said that was correct. Council Member Rosenbaum said staff listed a priority ranking the four items under Recommendation No. 2. He referred to page 3, item 2d, "One-time startup costs for the NTG." Ms. Abel was making a proposal to move that item to a number one priority item. He asked if staff was comfortable in making that priority number one or having a budget amendment to advance funds for the NTG and essentially making it priority number one. Ms. Fleming said it was purely a policy decision that the Council could make and staff would make the necessary adjustments. When staff put the report (CMR:516:95) together and recommended the priority ranking, staff's was following instructions not to bring back new programs mid-year if there were another way to pursue it. Staff saw another way to pursue the establishment of the NTG, which was to fold all of that into the budget and bring it back to Council. The NTG was a last priority because the City was already doing some of the other items and Council had already made some decisions about them. In fact, staff was not aware that there was a desire to start the NTG earlier. Council Member Rosenbaum asked, if it were not obvious that the City would be able to do everything under Recommendation No. 2 in the coming budget year, whether it was under the phased plan. Mr. Roberts said that was correct. The significance was that 1) the City could accommodate some startup activities for the NTG
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earlier than July 1, 1996, as long as the staff questions continued to be pursued subsequently and 2) that the items in 2c may not be viable due to resource levels until subsequent years. Council Member Rosenbaum asked if staff had a time line worked out in which it would make sense to do 2a, 2b, and part of 2c and not go to 2d until two years from the present as opposed to what the TTF chair was recommending. Mr. Roberts said staff was able to see a logical sequence of events that would be consistent with the TTF chair proposal and could continue to be pursued incrementally over subsequent years. Council Member Huber said it seemed to him that staff wanted to do a few things before the NTG was created. If the NTG were created and then the City could not come through with funding for the other items in Recommendation No. 2, he asked if the City would have had created a group and then nothing essentially to do with them. Mr. Roberts said staff was adding a distinction between the creation of the NTG and the full operation of that group after a startup period of time. Staff needed additional staff resources to be able to cope with the full operational activities of the NTG after startup. However, the initial creation could take place sooner because NTG had certain necessities for startup which were independent of staff support, but it did presuppose that staff would deal with that linkage in the next budget cycle. Ms. Fleming said the worst case scenario would be that Council would start the NTG. Then for some unknown reason the City would not able to put a funding package together that Council would approve, or some other competing priority came forward. She believed that was the kind of concern that Council Member Rosenbaum had in mind because as the Finance Committee discussed the other funding source, it expressed concerns about: 1) the need to educate the public before such a stint was taken, and 2) the bigger picture of what all the needs were because the Finance Committee had much discussion about infrastructure. MOTION: Council Member Kniss moved, seconded by Wheeler, to move the following recommendations "in concept only," subject to development and approval of a new revenue source; and interim actions on partial funding for some components of the recommenda-tions during the FY 1996-97 and subsequent budget processes prior to implementation of any new revenue source: 1. Adopt a goal of phased implementation of the following TTF proposals over a two- to five-year period, subject to development and approval of new revenue sources during that timeframe: a. Adoption of the five-year average cycle for tree trimming and related funding and staffing requirements.
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b. Implementation of the Hughes-Heiss (HH) recommendation to plant a total of 1,200 trees annually, which includes adoption of the industry tree replacement standard of 2 percent annually (800 trees), plus an additional 400 trees per year for ten years to address existing vacant sites. Adoption of this standard will require additional funding and staffing to accomplish the reforestation of the urban forest. c. Creation of a nonprofit tree group to implement increased levels of tree planting and new tree services (pruning, watering, etc.) including funding and staffing. d. Development of a proposed Tree Protection Ordinance including administrative and enforcement mechanisms and related funding and staffing requirements. It should be noted that this document does not contain specifics on either the Ordinance or its related staffing and costs. The City Attorney's Office is concurrently agendizing a proposed framework for the ordinance under separate cover. Once the Council has reviewed the framework of the proposed Ordinance, staff will evaluate the staffing and budgetary issues associated with its administration and enforcement and will prepare a sup-plemental report on those needs prior to Council consid-eration of an ordinance. e. Withdrawal of request to create a tree advisory commis-sion. f. Continuation of the Tree Task Force through the end of 1996 to implement the recommended policies and programs. g. Fund from the Electric Utility a proportionate share of the proposed budget for the nonprofit tree group. 2. Staff recommends the following priority ranking of the top four TTF proposals: a. Addition of a Contract Coordinator position to accomplish the increased contract trimming, planting median and right-of-way maintenance currently budgeted. b. Addition of an Office Specialist to enter the backlogged and ongoing tree inventory data and provide phone coverage and assistance with public information. c. Additional funds and/or redistribution of existing funds for:
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1. Additional new positions 2. Removals 3. Planting 4. Trimming/pruning d. One-time startup costs for the NTG. 3. Direct staff to consider TTF proposals, based on priority ranking, with the FY 1996-97 and FY 1997-98 budgets submittals. AMENDMENT: Council Member Kniss moved, seconded by Wheeler, to amend the motion to direct the staff to return to the City Council with a Budget Amendment Ordinance for the approval of $52,000; and to request the City Attorney's Office to assess the legal ramifica-tions to the City. Council Member Kniss said as a P&S Committee member, she felt there were some compelling reasons to start the NTG. She believed the City wanted to support public/private partnerships while looking at resources declining on a regular basis, and the City needed to look outside for that kind of support and encouragement. She was also concerned that the City had lost the impetus and enthusiasm that was there with the TTF. She hoped her colleagues would support the NTG that evening. It would give an opportunity for the fall planting. Vice Mayor Wheeler wanted to convince her colleagues that the present time was appropriate to start up the NTG. She spent many years with nonprofit volunteer groups and had great appreciation for the amount of time, effort, and energy it took to get a new venture off the ground. She believed the City had a group of people who had presented some excellent work. The TTF's energy, commitment, and enthusiasm were there; if Council let that wane, she believed the Council would be making a mistake. It would be difficult to recapture not only those people but also the energy and effort it took to put the item back onto the table after letting it lapse for a number of months. She also believed part of the original motion was that the TTF would get replenished and would remain in place for the year 1996. If the City waited until well after mid-1996 to get them going on what would have been their major emphasis during 1996, the City would have lost a precious opportunity to utilize the group's expertise and resources. It seemed to her that the NTG was something the City would want to have operational even without additional staff. If the City did not get the additional staff, it would want private citizens to absorb much of the burden of renewing the urban forest. If the City could not do it with its resources, she believed the City would want to do everything it could to encourage private resources to be involved in the work. If the Council did not wish to either impose or suggest to the voters that the Council develop a new long-term revenue source or if the voters did not wish to have a
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new revenue source, she believed the City still and more impor-tantly would want to have a nonprofit, privately funded citizens organization out there planting as many trees as could be afforded. They might not want to do that in the long run with public moneys. They might want to do that with private moneys, and the way that would be accomplished was through the NTG. There were many reasons for having that group irrespective of what the City did with the staffing question and the long-term funding question. She hoped to get that effort started sooner rather than later. Council Member McCown said her reaction to the amendment was that it felt as if Council were micromanaging down to a level that was not going to produce a different result from where staff was headed anyway. On the other hand the amount of money discussed was not significant in moving it up by six months. She did not believe the staff was aiming for a place different from what was in Mr. Roberts' comments of the kinds of things the NTG could be doing even before the next budget cycle. She was not sympathetic to doing it as a Budget Amendment Ordinance (BAO) in the middle of the year and did not see the high justification for it. On the other hand it did not seem like a big deal either. The main motion was right on the money, and the enormous amount of work by the TTF had identified an important set of directions for Council to head to. She hoped that the amount of time Council Members and staff had spent on it was perceived by the community as a real commitment and interest on those issues. She found herself wavering on the BAO issue. Council Member Huber agreed with Vice Mayor Wheeler's comments with the exception of the timing. The Finance Committee dealt with it. The City was about three or four months away from budget hearings and was six months away from the next budget. He believed that the City could accomplish the creation of the NTG in time to do fall activities in the normal budget cycle, and the City would be in a better position to make sure that what he thought was an important funding and staffing aspect should be in place before the NTG was created. He would not support the amendment. Council Member Andersen said one of the things that was brought up in the Finance Committee was that the NTG was not anxious to be fully operational right away. The NTG would be phasing in as well. He agreed with Council Member Huber that the fall planting could occur and the phased approach would coincide with the original comments made at the Finance Committee level. He would support the main motion but oppose the amendment. Council Member Fazzino thanked the TTF and believed Council would not be there that evening on the verge of approving a long-range plan for tree planting and maintenance without the leadership of the TTF. He recognized that staff had taken Council's interest in the issue to heart and that staff was committed to the plan that Council would approve that evening. He also believed that staff
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had been encouraged along the way by the TTF and the Council's support, and that was probably a major reason why he would support the BAO. He had been constantly surprised and pleased by the ability of the TTF to act quickly in moving the process and recommendations along. He was convinced the NTG could be put together quickly, and everyone would benefit if a NTG were in place as soon as possible and could do what was necessary for the fall planting to occur on schedule. If Council could allow for the possibility of NTG to be in place during the current budget year, he wanted to do so. The money might not have to be spent, but the Council should allow for the possibility of the NTG. He was satisfied that he and the City Manager did not disagree about the issue of funding. When it first came up, he was concerned the City was looking at the possibility of identifying a single source of funds for a single City program. That would trouble him because he believed the program to be as essential as many other City programs that were provided. If the Council needed to go to the voters at some point in the future to provide additional revenue, he wanted to do so with a number of essential City service proposals rather than just the question of rebuilding the urban forest. He was happy to support the recommendations and the BAO. He believed the standards the Council was approving that evening would help the City rebuild the urban forests. Ms. Fleming asked, if the motion passed to begin the creation of the NTG sooner, whether the intent was that the longevity of the NTG remain the same. Mayor Simitian said the question was asked earlier in the context of the funding as well as the timing. The question to the maker and the seconder of the $52,000 was whether it was additional money, whether it was sooner rather than later money, and if the life of the NTG was the same length but would start sooner rather than later. Council Member Kniss believed a "loan" would make a difference to the TTF that had been working so hard on it for so long. It really was a jumpstart and did not alter the outcome. Mayor Simitian agreed with Council Member McCown's assessment that it was a tossup on the sooner rather than later approach to funding. He would support the amendment. One of the things he talked about in his State of the City Address was the importance of investing in the future of the City. So much of what was done was day-to-day or month-to-month, and not of much of what was done was really a long-term investment. It was one of those things when one looked out the window, saw the canopy of green, and knew it was there not because of something done last week or the week before or during Council's tenure but because somebody had the foresight to "do it" early, stay on course, and do it long term. He could understand that would put different people in different places that evening about how and when to get that started; but on a tossup
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question, if the Council could move a little sooner and a little more clearly toward longer term investment in what in his view was an infrastructure investment worth doing for the City, then he would earnestly entreat his colleagues and persuasively plea to them to join in that motion. He believed the City Manager's question was about the same lifespan for the NTG and the same budget for the NTG; it was just a question of whether Council should get on it or not. One could not get on with long-term investment too soon. Council Member Andersen said there was an issue that was not resolved, which was to what extent the time would be used or whether it could be used even without a BAO to start soliciting funds. He would want to see some front money. Council had heard that when the front money was committed, the soliciting would start. He wanted to see some of that time used, even without the BAO, to go ahead and start doing some solicitations, some commit-ments. Then that would really show there was some long-term commitment involved. He would oppose the amendment. AMENDMENT FAILED 4-4, Fazzino, Kniss, Simitian, Wheeler "yes," Schneider absent. MOTION PASSED 8-0, Schneider absent. Ms. Case said the City Attorney's Office assumed that Council would want the City Attorney's Office to review the legal aspects of the issue in any event and the City Attorney's Office would do so. ORDINANCES 14. Amendment No. 1 to Agreement with Mid-Peninsula Housing Coalition for Predevelopment Costs Associated with Housing for Persons with Developmental Disabilities (Page Mill Road and Ash Street) Council Member McCown understood the purpose of the amendment. The Mid-Peninsula Housing Coalition (MPHC) had already paid the option deposit, and it was a reimbursement to the MPHC. Therefore, she asked if there was a reason to do it at the current time as opposed to incorporating it into some budget approval next year. Assistant Planning Official James Gilliland said there probably was not any significant reason. However, there were two issues. First, it was a Housing Reserve Fund as opposed to City Reserve Fund and was a fund that the City used regularly during the year as projects came up. Second, the MPHC had put the money up front, and it would help MPHC significantly in its budget and budget planning if those funds could be replaced. MOTION: Council Member McCown moved, seconded by Huber, to: 1) approve Amendment No. 1 to Agreement between the City of Palo Alto and Mid-Peninsula Housing Coalition extending the term of the
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agreement to December 31, 1996, and providing funds for the option deposit costs; 2) authorize the Mayor to execute the agreement in substantially similar form and direct the City Manager to adminis-ter the provisions of the agreement; and 3) adopt the Budget Amendment Ordinance to appropriate $25,000 in Commercial Housing In-Lieu Funds to be used for option deposit costs under the provisions of the amended agreement. Ordinance 4322 entitled "Ordinance of the Council of the City of Palo Alto Amending the Budget for the Fiscal Year 1995-96 to Provide Funding for a Reimbursement by the Department of Planning and Community Environment to the Mid-Peninsula Housing Coalition" Amendment No. 1 to Agreement between the City of Palo Alto and Mid-Peninsula Housing Coalition for Predevelopment Costs Associated with Housing for Persons with Developmental Disabilities (Page Mill Road and Ash Street) MOTION PASSED 8-0, Schneider absent. COUNCIL MATTERS 15. Mayor Simitian re Cancellation of Regular City Council Meetings of December 26, 1995, and January 2, 1996 MOTION: Council Member Fazzino moved, seconded by Wheeler, to cancel the Regular City Council Meetings of December 26, 1995, and January 2, 1996. MOTION PASSED 8-0, Schneider absent. ADJOURNMENT: The meeting adjourned at 9:20 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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