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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1987-07-27 City Council Summary Minutes11 CITY COUNCIL MINUTES PALOAI.TOCITYCOUNCILMEET! NGSARE BROADCAST LIVE VIA KZStJ- FAEOIJENCY9OI ON FM DIAL ITEM Oral Communice 1. Resol utio' for James 2. Resoiu of t: M inutg Regular Meeting July 27, 1987 Expressing Appreciation _:her Upon his Retirement Recognizing the Presence `sg to the City Representa- , Oaxaca, Mexico 22, 1987 3. App;_- :fitment of Planning Commission Member to Fill and;Unexpired Term Ending July 31, 1988 4. Appointment of Planning Commission Member to Fill a Four -Year Term Ending July 31, 1991 Consent Calendar 5. Amendment No. 7 to Contract No. 2861 with Book Publishing for Codification of the Municipal Code for FY 1987-88 6. Renewal of Agreements for Gas Rate Hearings with Recon Research Corporation and Patrick J. Power PAGE 58-89 58-89 58-91 58-92 58-92 58-94 58-95 53-95 58-95 7. Contract with Source Finance for Temporary 58-95 Accounting Employees 58-87 7/27/87 ITEM PAGE 8. Proposal for Downtown Child Care Center 58-95 Recess 58-113 9. Compostable Debris Collection Pilot Pro- 58-113 gram 10. Council Members Bechtel and Klein re 58-116 Downtown Litter and Sidewalk Cleanliness 11. Cancellation of August 3, 1987, City 58-117 Council Meeting Adjournment to Closed Session at 10:15 p.m. 58-118 Final Adjournment at 11:00 pm. 58-118 Regular Meeting Monday, July 27, 1987 The City Council of the City of Palo Alto met on this date in the Council Chambers, 250 Hamilton Avenue, at 7:40 p.m. PRESENT: Bechtel, Cobb, Fletcher, Klein, Levy, Patitucci, Renzel, Sutorius, Woolley Mayor Woolley announced that a Closed Session re Council Appointed Officer Evaluations was held at 5:15 p.m. in the Council Conference Room and would be continued after the meeting. Also, at some point during or after the meeting there would be a Closed Session re Employer./Employee: Relations. The Closed Session to discuss initiation of litigation pursuant to Government Code Section 54956.9(c) had been canceled. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS Richard Rundell, 2450 W. Bayshore Road, #5, spoke as founder of the World Peace through Religious Freedoms Organization,._an organization which had been in exist- ence and was interested in issues that would bring about world peace:, He asked five questions: 1) Were reli- gious sacraments part of religion under constitutional law; 2) What exactly were religious sacraments; 3) If religious sacraments were part of religion, did they have the right to chose what kind of substances they wanted to use for spiritual enhancement; 4) During Prohibition alcohol was illegal, but not to the churches. Was that a way of saying religious sacrament* legal or illegal were guaranteed under constitutional law already; and 5) Shc,uld people using different world sacraments in the United States be exempt from all forms of persecution for personal use or for distribution throughout their own religious congregation. 1. RESOLUTION 6630 EXPRESSING APPRECIATION TO JAMES C. ZURCHER UPON HIS RETIREMENT (701-14) MOTION: Council Member Cobb moved, seconded by Klein approval of the resolution. RESOLUTION 6630 entitled "RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL O" THE CITY OF PALO ALTO EXPRESSING APPRECIATION TO JAMES C. ZURCHER UPON HIS RETIREMENT. 58-89 7/27/87 MOTION PASSED unanimously. Mayor Woolley said that in 1958 James C. Zurcher began his law enforcement career in Southern California serving the citizens of Colton, Santa Monica, and Imperial Beach. He served the City of Sierra Madre with distinction as Police Chief from 1967 to 1971, and had served the City of Palo Alto for the past 16 years as Police Chief. Jim had given unselfishly of his time and talents to provide .progressive leadership on behalf of the total community and had pursued his duties with dignity, enthusiasm, thoroughness, common sense, fairness, and courtesy. Through his efforts and con- tributions, the Palo Alto Police Department occupied a position of eminence in the law enforcement community and the -City desired to recognize his meritorious service. The Council of the City of Palo Alto commended the outstanding public service of James C. Zurcher and recorded its appre- ciation as well as the appreciation of the citizens of the community for the service and contribution rendered during his tenure as Police Chief. Mayor Woolley. presented Chief Zurcher with a framed copy of the resolution. Chief Zurcher was pleased to see the Council in such a unanimous mood and introduced his wife Sally. - He appre- ciated working with the Council and all the Council Members during his tenure, and he said it was very different that evening receiving some applause -as opposed to when he first came in the early 1970s, Council Member Levy said the extended applause Jim received was an indication of how they all felt about him. He com- mented that the resolution described Jim as pursuing his duties with dignity, enthusiasm, thoroughness, common sense, fairness, and courtesy. That was true, and he had trans- mitted those attributes as the Chief throughout his force, which was true; leadership. Another reflection .of his. leadership were the numerous graduates of the Palo Alto force who had been. chosen as Chiefs of other police depart - vents, and included among that group of top-flight police officers was his successor Chris Durkin. Palo Alto had been fortunate and honored to have Chief Zurcher's . services the past 16 years, and he added his personal thanks very deeply for Chief Zurcher's contributions to Palo Alto, and wished him the'`►ery best in all his new ventures. 58-90 7/27/87 2. RESOLUTION 6631 RECOGNIZING THE PRESENCE OF AND WELCOMING TO THE CITY OF PALO ALTO REPRESENTATIVES OF OAXACA, OAXACAr MEXICO ((701-14) MOTION: Council Member, Klein moved, seconded by Cobb, approval of the Resolution. RESOLUTION 6631 entitled "RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PALO ALTO RECOGNIZING THE PRESENCE OF AND WELCOMING TO THE CITY OF PALO ALTO REPRESENTATIVES OF OAXACA, OAXACA, MEXICO" MOTION PASSED unanimously. Mayor Woolley said cultural exchange resulting from people -- to -people communication was the foundation of the Sister City Program, which attempted to further international ':.understanding. `'ie City of Oaxaca was Palo Alto's Sister City in Mexico and had honored Palo Alto by sending its rep- resentatives to visit, and Palo Alto wished to welcome Silvia Gutierrez Candiani, Arturo Suarez Perez, Ana Laura Guzman Vargas, Rebeca Arnaud Perez, Mauricio.Vargas Fabila, Homero Pablo Perez Soso, Cesar David Lopez Palacios, Gabriela Jarquin Fernandez, and Matilde Vargas Hernandez. Participation in the cultural exchange exemplified the mutual objectives of the two cities, namely, to promote, encourage, and cultivate understanding between the }people of Oaxaca and Palo Alto, and the opportunity to welcome the Oaxaca visitors to Palo Alto had proved to be mutually bene- ficial. The Council of the City of Palo Alto resolved that the Council recognize the presence of the students and, on behalf of the people of Palo. Alto, expressed its heartfelt appreciation to the City of Oaxaca and its representatives for their significant contribution to the Sister City Program. Mayor Woolley presented each student with a copy of the resolution and introduced Dr. Raul Arnaud and his wife, Senora Rebeca Perez de Arnaud, the chaperones. from Oaxaca. Dr. Raul Arnaud said communication and reciprocal knowledge among people would be the main resource for cordial and lasting understanding in seeking peace. That was the pur- pose of General Eisenhower after World War I1 as he devoted serious effort to establishing exchanges among the youth of :the peoples of the world. The exchange started 23 years ago between the cities of Palo Alto and Oaxaca-, Mexico, and con- cerned boys and girls aged between 14 and 17. It was an age that was in touch with life, getting to know the external and internal war, an age`. of resolutions and affections, an age 'when everything was new.to intelligence. Youth was the 58-91 7/27/87 discovery of a large horizon that was life. It was the time when plans and projects were made, and a time to choose the way that should be followed during the whole of life. Although any undertaking had its difficulties, the exchanges had not been interrupted because problems could be overcome through work, honest and long. That was precisely what should be known about the experience of the exchanges. Small difficulties should be overcome through the wish to live together, the wish to serve, and the wish to help, which justified. the existence of life. He said students from Palo Alto received friendly greetings from the youth of the City of Oaxaca. The people of Oaxaca had looked after Palo `.A1 to's brothers who had received in their homes the kindnesses of their families, and now those families entrusted their children to Palo Alto homes and thanked them for all the kindnesses they would show. He hoped the youth would bring about desired peace. APPROVAL OP MINUTES OF JUNE 22, 1987 Council Member Renzel had the. following correction: Page 57-412, fourth paragraph, fourth line should read, r...Council might be -exposing someone to tremendous personal loss which was not compensated with a money settlement." MOTION: Council Member Bechtel moved, seconded by Sutorius, approval of the Minutes of June 22r 1987, as corrected. 3. APPOINTMENT OF PLANNING COMMISSION MEMBER TO FILL AN UNEXPIRED TERM ENDING JULY 31, 1988 (702-03) Council Member Cobb said the vote was the most difficult he had to cast since he had the privilege ot sitting on the Council. They had a large number of very good candidates, and two men on the list were so incredibly outstanding that he truly did not know how to pick between them. They were Joe Huber and Jon Schink,s and both were people he had urged to apply for the position, both people he urged to consider running for City Council, and bath very fine people he knew personally. He added there were other excellent people on the list and mentioned Mr. McMichael as one who also had superb qualifications for the job. It was extremely diffi- cult to chose between two people of whom he thought so highly. They both brought qualities ---albeit it different ones --to the Planning Commission from which the Planning Commission would benefit. Because he was so personally torn, he would vote for Mr.. Schink on the first ballot' and Mr. Huber on the second ballot, and keep alternatin-g--until four other Council Members iinedrup behind one of them. 58-92 7/27/87 Council Memnber- Patitucci agreed with Council Member Cobb that they had an embarrassment of riches, as in many past appointments, which made it extremely,\difficul-t to make a choice among highly -qualified people. However,- to be con- sistent with his position the last time Council had an opportunity to make an appointment to the Planning Commission, he recommended the members of the Council con- sider what the_Planning Commission really needed at the time and the fact the unexpired slot offered an opportunity to try some qualifications that had been lacking for quite a .while, i.e., somebody with some hands-on, realistic, dirt and building, hammer and nail type experience of a devel- oper. They wanted as much variety of position as possible on the Planning -Commission so that once an issue went to the City Council, it had been thoroughly thrashed out from a variety of viewpoints. He had not seen that and believed they were heavily weighted with members of the community whose primary experience had been from the community impact side of issues, and they were often unrealistic as to the real impact of zoning and other decisions recommended to the Council from the Planning Commission. Although developers were aggressive at ootting other cities to bend to their desires for development, he found them protective of the areas in which they lived; therefore, he would vote for Rick McMichael who had lived in the community for many years. He believed they would be extremely benefited by Mr. McMichael's being on the Planning Commission. Vice Mayor Sutorius shared the dilemma described by,.Council Member Cobb and associated with the particular comments made about encouraging several of the candidates. He had done that directly with Messrs. Schink, Huber, and McMichael. Also, he -understood and was supportive of rationale and position outlined by Council Member Patitucci who gave very telling reasons beyond what he had described, although certainly --gas was representative of both Mr. Huber and Mr. Schink--there was a lot of citizen involvement and community participation that Rick had offered to the community as seen recently in the Futurecast 2001 process, and many of them had been aware of his involvement particularly in the YMCA and Winter Lodge activities. There was no doubt Rick was very qualified. He could echo any laudatory comments as far as Mr. Huber, Mr. Schink arid, , if_ he were chosing Council Member Cobb's approach, rather than alternate he would probably split his vote in thirds. He would make a forced choice initially -and vote en the first ballot for Jon Schink because he certainly had all the hands-on experience identi- fied .by Council Member Patitucci and his service on the Architectural Review Board (ARB) had given :him a very in-depth perspective and association in the design field. 58-93 7/27/87 Also, he came from the building environment and had experi- ence in the development arena. It had been interesting to observe Mr. Schink's participation in the ARB where often- times he was counseling his colleagues toward changes in the designs brought before the ARB or in considerations that the Planning Commission and the ARB jointly share to actually do some downscaling. Mr. Schink had a good knowledge of the entire community both in a residential and commercial sense and was deserving of his vote on the first ballot. He would be interested in`his colleagues' comments and would be happy to vote for either Mr. Huber, Mr, Schink, or Mr. McMichael. Mayor Woolley said it could be seen that the vote was diffi- cult and had taken quite a bit of the Council's attention. However, the upside of their difficulty was that no matter what the outcome of the balloting, the Planning Commission and the`\City would be well served. At least three of the candidates would be excellent members of the Planning Commission. She would join Vice Mayor Sutorius in sup- porting Jon Schink on the first ballot for the reasons stated. The ARB would certainly experience a loss without Jon, but that kind of expertise was very much needed on the Planning Commission. She, too, would see how the ballots progressed rand wield be happy to see any of those three can- didates as she new Planning Commissioner. RESULTS OF THE FIRST ROUND OF VOTING City Clerk Gloria Young announced the results of the first ballot: VOTING FOR HUBER: Fletcher, Klein, Bechtel, Levy, Renzel VOTING FOR McMICHAEL: Patitucci. VOTING FOR SCHINK: Cobb, Woolley, Sutorius Ms. Young said Mr. Huber received five votes and was appointed. Mayor Woolley congratulated Mr. Huber on his appointment. 4. APPOINTMENT OF PLANNING COMMISSION MEMBER TO FILL A FOUR-YEAR TERM ENDINGJULY31, 1991 (702-03) Ms. Young announced the results of the first ballot: 58-94 7/27/87 RESULTS OF THE FIRST ROUND OF VOTING VOTING FOR HIRSCH: Patitucci, Renzel, Levy, Bechtel, Sutorius, Woolley, Klein, Cobb, Fletcher Ms. Young said Mr. Hirsch received a unanimous vote and was appointed. Mayor Woolley congratulated Mr. Hirsch on his appointment. CONSENT CALENDAR MOTION: Vice Mayor Sutorius moved, seconded by Bechtel, approval of the Consent -calendar. 5. AMENDMENT NO. 7 TO CONTRACT NO. 2861 WITH BOOK PUBLISHING FOR CODIFICATION OF THE MUNICIPAL CODE FOR FISCAL YEAR 1987-88 (701-01) 6. ,RENEWAL OF AGREEMENTS FOR GAS RATE HEARINGS WITH RECON RESEARCH CORPORATION AND PATRICK J. POWER (C['iR; 3 1 : e ) (1111) 7. CONTRACT WITH SOURCE FINANCE FOR TEMPORARY ACCOUNTING EMPLOYEES (CMR:384:7) (502) MOTION PASSED unanimously. 8. PROPOSAL FOR DOWNTOWN CHILD CARE CENTER (CMR:383:7) (1035-300) Council Member Cobb said the staff report (CMR:383:7) was very comprehensive and gave a great deal of information about need, alternatives, etc. He asked if the City Manager had any other alternatives as to now Council might deal with financing all or part of the contributions suggested other: than reversing the Finance and Public Works (F&PW) Committee's decision to move forward the Greer Park activity- -which was made prior to the Council's knowledge of the subject proposal--or=digging into reserves. He also wanted to address the subject of whether financing really had to be at the level suggested. City Manager Bill Zaner said Council Member Cobb identified the two easily -identifiable sources: to take money from an existing project thereby setting a project back, or to take funds out of reserves. A third possibility would be to debt -finance the proposition, i.e., to borrow the money in some form, either through certificates or. some other method. Staff had not explored the possibility but his guess was it it could be done. It would be unusual to debt -finance a project of that small size. Debt-financing,,was usually in the millions. Council Member Cobb asked if there had been any discussions with Mr. Keenan regarding an approach that would involve a smaller investment on the part of the City during the pres- ent budget cycle. Mr. Zaner said no, not to his knowledge. Mayor Woolley said page 13 of CMR:383:7 provided the fee comparisons of various child care centers, and she asked the difference between the proposed downtown center and the existing Palo Alto Community Child Care (PACCC) Centers. She understood the PACCC fees for 1986-87 and the proposed center fees were for a year from now and asked if they could be made more comparable. Human Services Administrator Margo Dutton believed the $3.60 per hour tor infant/toddler were comparable to next year's fees for the PACCC Center. Council Member Patitucci asked what legal form staff saw the City's contribution taking under the proposal or any of the immediate variations, such as a joint venture partner, a debtor, a limited partner, or an owner. If the City's con- tribution was only partial, he asked what relationship in legal form that would have to others who made a significant investment. Mr. Zaner said Council Membet Patitucci had asked a good series of questions; ones staff had been asking themselves Out had not done the research on. When the proposal ini- tially came forward,. the ,contribution requested of the Council was for the City to make a cash contribution, and there would be a trust, a nonprofit corporation, or some kind of third party responsible for the financing and con- struction of the facility. That might have changed, but staff was not sure. There were a variety of ways in which the City could participate, either as a sole owner/operator with others contributing to them, or as a partner in a non- profit corporation the Council could set up. council Member Levy said several comments in the report pointed towards the Jordan -School site as an excellent:. alternative. The Jordan site was within two miles.of the downtown area and had already -served as a school. He asked the ,practical potential. of Jordan as an alternative, in the event of the Utility Users Tax passing or not passings 58-96 7/27/87 Mr. Zaner said staff had not done a detailed study to see how Jordan might be used, but he could give preliminary information. First, it was a permitted use at Jordan so there would not be a zoning problem. Second, the cost for remodeling or refurbishing Jordan to make it appropriate for the use was estimated to be somewhere in the $200,000- $250,000 range, which would give about 6,100 square feet. Finally, as indicated, the Jordan site was some distance from the downtown. Some data in the report led one to believe that, if child-care was provided at a reasonable cost, the site was not required to be immediately adjacent to the workplace. People seemed to be willing to place their children in a child care facility some distance from their workplace as long as it was not necessary to doubly back on the trip. Council Member Levy asked approximately how many children could be served with the 6,100 square feet. Ms. Dutton replied the 6,100 square feet was comparable in size to the area of the proposed downtown center. They were trying to compare apples and apples in that instance. Council Member Renzel said the proposal came to Council in a rather unusual format where a private party had taken an option and brought a proposal on the property. If for the moment Council took as a given that the City would allocate $250,000 up to maybe $400,000 for a child care center, she asked what the normal process would be that the City might follow. Mr. Zaner said the nodal process would depend on the answer to Council Member Patitucci's question as to the way the City would structure the arrangement. If it were to be simply the City Council's "contribution" to a project, they would probably ask the attorney to draft an agreement which, in exchange for a payment of X number of dollars, would pro- vide the City; through the City Council, with the following services, and the services would then be listed just as was done with other civic groups. If, on the other hand, the City became the senior partner of a partnership, the.agree- ment the attorney would draft might look differently. If the City was to receive the,monies from other parties and was responsible for the administration of those funds, con- struction of a facility, and its subsequent operation, there --would be a different arrangement. Pam Marsh, 327 Waverley Street, said over the weekend she delivered to each Council Member a letter (on file in the City Clerk's office) responding to some of the concerns noted in the staff report (C;IR:383:7). She asked .members of 58-97 7/27/87. the public who were present in support of the proposal to' stand up. She noted what she believed to be three over, riding issues for the Council's consideration: First, there was a need for child care. The most dominant piece of news in the staff report by far was the report of significant need expressed by City staff. One hundred and forty-eight City employees expected to have a need for child care for a child under the age of six within the next five years. Eight -four of those were City Hall employees; almost a guar- ter.of City Hall staff. The numbers were particularly sig- nificant because :child care was a growing need. It was incumbent upon the City Council to commit to a specific plan of action that would address that need. Significant need today would only become overwhelming need tomorrow. The second issue of particular importance was the proposal in front of the Council was a viable response to the need. The proposal would create 60-65 new child care slots in the downtown. The center envisioned was a made' plan incorpo- rating infant, preschool, toddler care, and adding a ,sick care component and a program for disabled children. It was clear the proposal was not a panacea; it would not take care of all the parents in town who needed child care nor speak to all the people currently on a waiting list. There was also no doubt the proposal would be fully subscribed and that, over the life of the facility, hundreds of families would be assisted by the child care they could provide. The staff report expressed a real concern over the tuition charges that parents might have to pay in the center. Chop Keenan and she in putting the proposal forward were also concerned about that because they wanted the center to be fully available to as many City employees as possible. They were very amenable to staff's suggestion that the management of the child care facility be submitted to a request for proposal (RFP) process. Their overriding goal was to create a facility to create new slots. They would be delighted if the Council would be interested in becoming more actively involved in the actual management of the center. The third issue of particular importance was that the Council had been presented with a very unusual opportunity. It was very likely the last chance they would have to create any signi- ficant amount of child care in the downtown area. With an employee base of 10,000 people each day, it was not an opportunity they should treat lightly. Chop and she had begun the process of creating a consortium, of downtown employees, and the City staff had furthered that in its co m- municati.ons with City employers as a result of the staff report. It was an opportunity to take a tangible step to create a permanent facility, to create a permanent public asset in- the downtown. The Council had before i t an expressed need, an opportunity'to'respond to that need, and. 58-98. 7/27/87 a very unusual situation that had presented itself. She looked forward to working with the Council as they addressed the child care needs ofthe community. She had also given the potential of tree Jordan site some thought. Council Member Klein asked Ms. Marsh to comment on staff's suggestion that Jordan might be a better site. Ms. Marsh believed the ideal situation was to do both centers. They had to create a network of child care responses throughout the City, and the downtown center"would be a nugget but would not solve the problem. Her vision was to see the development of a child care center at the Jordan site that would serve Industrial Park employees in particu- lar.because of easy access to Page Mill Road, and she hoped that would be seriously considered when the Jordan site became available. The downtown center clearly had some advantages in proximity and in permanance, but she also realized all the projects posed significant financial ques- tions to the Council. If, ,after Council's deliberations, they were quite clear that they must consider Jordan not as an addition but in lieu of the downtown center, there were some issues they would have to evaluate carefully before making that choice. First, they should look at the desira- bility of the Jordan site for other downtown employers. In particular, she understood the Palo Alto Medical Clinic felt a downtown location- was extremely important for its employees. Second, they should look at the likelihood of the Utility Users Tax passing. While it was true the Council had assembled an unusually talented group of people to run the campaign, the outcome was clearly in question, and to pass up the opportunity on assumption that the second site would become available and then not to have a second site available would be a very sad situation. Third, they: should look at what the outcome of the Utility Users Tax proposal might be anyway. They could pass the Utility Users Tax, but she asked how likely it was that they would actually have the Jordan facility for a long period of time. There were already pressures on the Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD) to reopen a third secondary site, and she believed Jordan was a. likely candidate. If that site went back into the hands of the PAUSD, she had no confidence they would ever be able to do child care there. The Council also had to consider the_renovation costs of the site. A lot of the same kinds of renovation would be necessary in the school site in terms of plumbing, etc., and staff had given that some consideration. Finally, the Council should con- sider whether they would be willing to give a center at Jordan a rent subsidy. They were trying to pay the capital costs of a site so basically the overhead would be quite minimal, about 90 percent of most PACCC fees went towards the salaries of employees. If the Council were to take over a.6,000 square -foot space on Jordan, in order to provide the same advantages as a fully -paid -for downtown .site, they should be prepared to write off 6,000 square feet worth of rental fees over a 15-20 year period of time, which could be substantial. Chop Keenan, 400 Hamilton Avenue, acknowledged staff's quick work on their request, which was not an easy job. The most significant thing to come out of -the-report was that the City demonstrated there was a need for the City employees exactly in proportion to the request made for City partici- pation in the. proposed costs. Recognizing the demand, at least with that employer, the next issues were whether they `had the appropriate location, were their costs properly quantified, and finally how to pay for it. In regard to costs, they had a lot of confidence that the costs shown were high. Staff took issue with the fact they would be over --budget, and he knew they could turnkey those improve- ments tor the costs shown in the proposal. As to the appropriateness of the location, it was a downtown location and they had a minor variance request as to as many as. three parking spaces, but they were fortunate in that the old building on the site sat on the location in an ideal way so that they had the appropriate outdoor spaces adjacent to the appropriate age:groups and had the State -mandated require- ments tor interior space. It ..was a made• -to -order location. He had looked at many sites in the downtown, and they Could not get a better one. The issue of how to pay tor it. was probably the number one issue after establishing need, and he recognized they had a tou6h budget that eyear and in coring years in terms of discretionary income. In regard to Council Member Patitucci's inquiry as to alternate means of funding the center, one proposal to City staff was instead of a $370,000 contribution that year, making four $100,000 contributions over the next tour years in the way of a firm pledge --an easy payment plan. It was achievable -from a financing point of view with the seller of the property and, with a firm pledge, they could do, some bridge financing which would make the proposal a reality long before the $400,000 pledge was made. That was an outstanding alterna- tive to a lump -sum payment that -year when they were facing budgetary constraints and was not in the form of debt - financing but rather in the form of a pledge of future capi- tal improvement dollars. Finally, when he grew up 90 percent of the families in America were in the "Ozzie and Harriet" category where mom stayed home and dad went to work. T{Sday, those statistics had exactly reversed them- selves to where 90 percent of the women raising children were also working. It was a recognition of a new time, and 58-100 �] !/27/87 he could not fault the City in any respect as to their leadership on the issue. They had been a generous contribu- tor to PACCC Centers over the past several years. Additional funds were needed in the instant case. For a lot of employers_ it was a new vision, and the form of a $100,000 pledge for four years would be a great solution to that. Council Member Cobb was glad Mr. Keenan was closer,. to under- standing the financial situation presented to the Council, since. the proposal came after their budget cycle was com- pleted. He believed they were all in -agreement on the need. He referenced the "easy. payment plan," and asked Mr. Keenan to convert that to an effective interest rate the City would pay on that kind of spread -out payment situation. Mr. Keenan believed they could probably borrow money at something like one over prime. Council Member Cobb said if the Council wanted to proceed with something on a stretched out payment, which obviously made a lot more sense in terms of a budget already iri place, it should be done in some manner consistent with the real cost of money. He would like Mr. Keenan°s reaction to that kind of response, not in round numbers per year but some- thing that reflected the real cost of money relative to the original contribution requested. Mr. Keenan replied the real cost of money would dictate a slightly larger easy -payment plan. If the Council put $100,000 down in the first year, they would have a $300,000 future payment which at 10 percent, for example, would be $30,000. On a present value basis, it would be less than the $370,000 they were looking for. Mr. Zaner responded to the question raised about the real cost of money and a $100,000 payment and said that was the alternate plan he referred to a moment ago. He was not aware of any staff member working on the project who had a discussion with Mr. Keenan about borrowing the money. There eras nothing wrong with the plan, but if they were going to borrow the money and someone was going to carry the note, he would rather the City borrow the money at their rates than have Mr. Keenan and his associates arrange for the loan. He believed they could do better as a government agency. Council Member Cobb said that was the direction he was going. Mr. Keenan said Mr. Zaner led into an area that was not fully resolved. They were looking for two things that evening: 1) the leadership issue; and 2) the check. He was 58-101 7/27/87 sorry to tell them that was only the first step in the pro- cess. The second critical step was, given the City's indication to take a leadership position, whether the Palo Alto Medical Foundation would also follow through. Without those two lead contributors, they felt the project in its current proposition would not go forward. In any event, the pledge would really be conditional on seeing the matching funds from the Medical Foundation. For that reason, in regard to the ownership and how that was facilitated, he was not sure whether a multiple ownership that did not include just the City would still allow the City to use their credit rating for those finances. He did not want to be presumptu- ous in that regard. Council Member Cobb asked Mr. Keenan if he could restate where they currently stood, based on his current knowledge, with regard to the time lines he gave the last time he appeared before the Council in terms of his options, how long it was available, etc. Mr. Keenan recollected the option expired on September 30, 1987, and that was still valid. Council Member Klein asked what contact Mr. Keenan had with other downtown employers, and how much money was in the bank from them on the proposal. Mr. Keenan said they had preliminary discussions with sev- eral downtown employers and there was lots of interest but no firm pledges to date. He did not believe that was indicative of what the ultimate pledges would be, but also was an indication they were looking for leadership. Who would -go first on the issue seemed to be the "game." Council. Member Klein asked how many employers were con-- - -tacted. Mr. Keenan said seven or eight; the largest ones. Council Member Klein continued to be troubled by the formula of why they were asking the Council for $370,000. From data prepared by staff, they knew that on a total basis the City's employees constituted 5 percent of the total work force downtown, and 19 percent of the ten largest employers downtown, and yet they were being asked put up $370,000 which would be about 25 percent of the total of $1.3. mil - or something considerably in excess of -,the City's pro- portiouate share. He was troubled by what the justification was. --If the. City was just being asked -as an employer to contribute, he asked why they should contribute more ithan other employers. 58-102 7/27/87_ Mr. Keenan said the easy answer was the City's own report indicated they needed 15 slots, which represented around 25 percent. He did `not understand why the City should get 25 percent of the slots and 5 percent of the contribution. Secondly, in the nature of the employers, they were finding eachone was different. For instance, the Palo Alto Weekly editor said none of his employees would avail themselves of the. proposal. The survey would start to indicate which employers/employees would use the center, but some indicated the/ only hired childless writers. He_ believed the Palo Alto Medical Foundation would use a comparable number of slots to the City, maybe slightly higher. Council Member Klein said the figures were only projections, and they could not be certain until people actually signed up. He was still troubled by wily the City was being asked to shoulder more of the burden than, for example, the Palo: Alto Medical Foundation. Vice Mayor Sutorius said Mr. Keenan indicated with respect to the construction, renovation and outfitting costs that he felt very confident he could turnkey the .project at those numbers. Mr. Keenan said yes. Vice Mayor Sutorius asked under what kind of a work or con- trac tural arrangement, or ownership situation Mr. Keenan would turnkey the project at those numbers if they were able to find it was a "go" situation. Mr. Keenan was sure that, prior to a firm pledge, they could have Citi Construction who did the estimates, enter into a firm contract with the City. Staff's interpretation was 45 percent light, which he believed was off base by 45 perc- ent. Vice Mayor Sutorius was interested in the concept of a turn- key, A turnkey was a very protective kind of thing, saying that was what the project would be delivered at. Mr. Keenan said if they could get over the hurdle of a check, he would be delighted to work out with staff the issues of how the ownership was structured and the turnkey aspects. Vice Mayor Sutorius said that conceptually lent itself to the situation Mr. Zaner referred to whereby the City, in effect, was wing to purchase certain kinds of services, and an agreement was worked :out where' the City purchased those services for a certain amount of money. In that event, 58-103 7/27/87 there needed to be a structure, and potentially that organi- zation could enter into a turnkey project with Citi, or explore getting the project done for even less. Mr. Keenan said whatever vehicle was finally resolved in terms of the actual ownership, that entity could enter into an ,agreement with Citi or other general- contractors. He believed the figures could be a little less, and they might want to explore a competitive -bid basis. Council Member Levy asked about the ongoing maintenance of the physical plant. Mr. Keenan replied he could give costs in a commercial building but could not properly address issues such as jani- torial and what kind of capital improvement program would be needed for reserves. The matter could easily be addressed. Martha Chan, 4044 Park Boulevard, epoke as a long-time PACCC parent. She had five years of experience seeking day care for her two children while she worked and had mostly used PACCC administered or affiliated programs She also had'.two and one --half years experience working as the coordinator of the Birth Place Resource Center in Menlo Park which actually served a large proportion of Palo Alto residents. She was very grateful to both current and past City Councils for their support of PACCC. In regard to the need for child care, when she worked at the Birth Place Resource Center couples would come in the first trimester of pregnancy looking for child care advice and information. Even though there was a great variety in the Palo Alto area, child care continued to be needed and the need continued to expand. She referenced the cost of PACCC centers relative to similar centers in the Community and said she found the infant/ toddler center provided snacks, meals, disposable diapers, and flexible scheduling which ;she appreciated when working part time. They also were affiliated with an R&R program, in that when a child way recuperating from illness, one was able to return to work. She had been very willing to pay what might be slightly higher costs. For the most part, she found PACCC-administered programs also had a very low turn- over of staff relative to other child care centers at which she interviewed, and she attributed that to the fact the staff were paid reasonably --above minimum wage--ard received good support and supervision. They had, particularly. in preschools, a much better. staff to child ratio than many of the other centers in the -.area, and encouraged their _staff across tne board to receive higher training and promotion within the organization. 58-104 7/27/87 Leonard Levy,.. 2412 South Court, spoke as the President of the Board of PACCC and asked the Board members to stand. He said the strong turnout of Board members reflected their strong commitment. to thepro jes t. They worked for years to try to increase the availability of quality child care in the downtown area. Unfortunately, to (late they had been unsuccessful. That year, Chop Keenan nd Pam Marsh had presented them with a wonderful opportunity. PACCC hoped. they could all work together successfully to capitalize on the creative solution to meet the needs of their downtown community. Bruce Fukuji, 160 Forest Avenue, from Carrasco & Associates, the architects for the proposed child care center, said they paid very careful attention to try to design the center as economically as possible. There were realty two buildings and one carport on the site, and they were enclosing the carport and upgrading the building to meet different seismic and other health and safety Code requirements, doing some appropriate demolition to improve the appearance of the building, painting it, and then adding an awning around the perimeter to help promote the adjacency requirement for interior care rooms and exterior play areas necessary in providing some kind of covered outdoor space. They felt it was a very appropriate design and image for a child care center and promoted a transition in usesr scale, and visual character between the commercial downtown area and the resi- dential neighborhood, which was largely the intent of the zoning ordinances. Vice Mayor Sufiorius asked about the two additional on -site parking spaces. Mr. Fukuji said space was ay. i 1 ah1 e at the northern end of the site where two more compact parking spaces could be placed. The total parking provided was ten spaces. Michael Sullivan-, 3990 Ventura Court, referred to Table VIII in staff report (CMR:383:7) , and said the Proposed Downtown Center figures of $683 for infants/toddlers and $512 for preschoolers were the best estimates for the center if it .operated after July, 1988. The figures of $650 --for infants/toddlers and $450 for preschoolers were PACCC's existing costs. Mayor Woolley queried whether the higher figure allowed for inflation or whether the downtown center would be more expensive. 58-105 7/27/87 Mr. Sullivan said there was nothing more expensive to the downtown center. The figures represented projected esti- mated salary increases and 5 percent. Regarding ongoing maintenance, the personnel expenses included a one-half time custodian. Contract services included an item to deal with some maintenance needs which might occur in the first year but beyond that, nothing was projected. It was a brand new center and they did not expect any serious maintenance items. The projected salaries and benefits were modest. The office specialist currently made more money than the teachers, and the senior librarian referred to was paid mare than the person who would be the director of the center. He pointed out that 90 percent of their modest fees dealt with salaries and benefits. The child care workers basically subsidized the program and they were looking for ways to have a more stable type of professional staff. Progress was made and he urged that Council not force them to step back- wards. Council Member Levy referred to the criteria for subsidizing children at PACCC and asked whether that criteria included where parents lived and worked. Mr. Sullivan said people eligible for subsidy; were required to be Palo Alto residents: People who worked in Palo Alto were not presently eligible for subsidies with the exception of City employees. Council Member Levy asked whether preference was given to City employees. Mr. Sullivan said no. The issue was where the vacancy was, who needed the -vacancy, and where the person was on the waiting list. Council Member Levy clarified there was no way Council could demand a subsidy for City employees from PACCC. Mr. Sullivan said that was correct under the present agree- ment. Council Member Bechtel referred to the fee schedule on page 13 of the staff, report (CMR:383:7) and said she was struck by the relatively low fee of Peninsula Day Care Center. She asked about the service offered compared to PACCC. Mr. Sullivan knew of the center but did not know the details. 58-106 7/27/87 Council Member Fletcher asked whether the fees were uniform for all the PACCC centers. Mr. Sullivan said generally the fees in the various PACCC centers were uniform. There was a small difference i'n the preschool programs basically because some had hot meals and some children brought their own lunches. Regardless of where a new center was operated, the plan was to have the fees be very close or comparable. Council Member Fletcher asked about other programs which might account for differences in. fees. She believed the Stanford Center was a co-op where the parents participated. Mr. Sullivan said the Stanford program had a co-op concept where parents put a certain amount of "staff";. time in the center. At that point in the PACCC program because of the single parent or two working parents in the family, they were unable to have that option. Uri Anhalt, 241 Churchill Avenue, was struck by the number of businesses devoted to the care and service of automo- biles compared to child care services. She believed there was a great opportunity to show the concern for children by increasing quality child care in Palo Alto by converting a auto repair shop into a child care center. Mayor Woc-lley said, it was clear that a child care location downtown was sensible and that the idea of a downtown con- sortium ringed on a downtown center. If therecould also be one at Jordan, it would be great. -In terms of the City's fair share, she agreed with Council Member Mein that the original request, in light of the total number of employees at the City in proportion to the total -number of employees downtown was somewhat high. She believed the City should make a substantial contribution but believed staff's pro- posed Option 8 in the amount of $245,000 was easier to support. It was important for soreo.ne to take the first step. MOTION: Mayor Woolley moved, seconded by Bechtel, that the City Council go on record as supporting the proposal for the Downtown Palo Alto Child Care Center and pledge $245,100 in Capital Funds for the center, subject to conditions to be determined by staff no later than the City Council eeeting of August 24, 1987. 58-107- 7/27/87 Mayor Woolley suggested staff return with the conditions because she believed many questions were raised that Council could not put in a motion. Some things she wanted con- sidered were .the financing mechanism and whether it should be a lump sum, and some type of guaranteed slots for the contributors to the center. She also wanted it to be clear that the City ,would not be involved with operating expenses and would not be asked to subsidize the operating budget in five years. Council Member Bechtel commended the staff work on the report. She realized the downtown site was expensive, but it was necessary and the support of the other employers downtown would be far greater at that location as opposed to the Jordan location. Council pretty much knew what it was. getting downtown, but Jordan would be dependent on whether a ballot item passed and whether the school site would remain available and for how long. There was no question in terms of need. She supported the motion and urged her colleagues to do the same. Council Member Cobb was convinced of the need but was con- cerned about the proper level of financing and budget impacts. - Mr. saner deferred response pending a well thought out financial package. Council Member Levy asked whether the City's participation was dependent upon the participation of others. Mayor Woolley assumed if $245,000 was all that was raised, - the center could not go forward. Council Member Levy agreed with the need but was troubled that fpr five times less than the amount required for_the downtown center, the whole of a comparable center at Jordan could be prepared. He believed the Jordan site or some other satisfactorily located school site would be available regardless of whether the Utility Users Tax passed. There was a timing problem of a couple of months and if Council waited until November, it would have the opportunity to use a site well within the two mile radius of downtown, closer to the clinic, with plenty of parking, a. permitted use, and with plenty of ;pace. The money would be more effi iently used at the Jordan site. Although he was reassured that the City could have a turnkey operation,- there were many ques- tion marks about the cost, and the ongoing annual budget contained. virtually no money for associated capital .main- tenance and depreciation items. Council Member Patitucci said it was a tough issue and based on current information, he could not support the motion. He had trouble separating the Council's role as an employer. from its role as a public policy body which supported child care in the past and intended to do so in the future. As an employer; the City negotiated very hard for every nickel and dime of its relationship with the employees. 'The - Cityvs participation in reserving some slots created some fairly awkward problems in the negotiation process. He queried whether child care had been; a negotiated item in the union contracts and where the issue stood. Mr. Zaner said the issue was raised from time to time by employee unions .and organizations, but Council had not acceded to those requests in previous negotiations. Council Member Patitucci calculated the subsidy or, an annualized basis to be somewhere around $2,500 per slot. It there were 15 slots and 30 union members who wanted them, 15 others would have to find slots elsewhere. The City was asked to participate in the process as an employer but not for public policy purposes, and unless the City negotiated with the unions as to how the benefit would be compensated by something else, he could not support it as an employer. Labor negotiations were a complex, tedious, and contentious process that should be considered. From a public policy standpoint, he did,• not want to think the Council followed such a process in making major capital improvements and public service investment decisions. The proposal went through the back door after Council went through a rigorous budget process of making many decisions and telling many people no because the City did not have enough money to fund them. Now all of a sudden $250,000 was available to do something because there was a September 10 deadline. Palo Alto had a public process which allowed a lot of input in making major financial decisions. He did not see the pro- posal matched up against other priorities though in his view it might well come out on top. He saw the proposal as a public policy issue and would like it to be pursued as a public investment in the regular budget process. He could not support the motion at that time. Vice Meyor Sutorius said Council Members Levy and Patitucci raised some :important questions. As Mr. Keenan and Ms. Marsh pointed out, timing was a problem. One answer might be to find a way in which the option could bti kept alive for a longer period of time. He would support the motion if among th.e conditions and understandings was also a direction to staff td work with Mr. Keenan to determine through. what devices the option could be extended. .If the report 58-109 7/27/87 returned to Council and\they were riot much further along in understanding structure, process, ownership versus nonowner- ship, and if the labor relations aspects were not worked out internally and philosophically, it would be hard t� support. He wanted to be positive about the final outcome but believed the motion needed expansion. Mayor Woolley believed Council was informally listing what it wanted staff to report back on, and she understood staff would note them and include them in the report: Mr. Zaner said he was keeping careful track of the concerns raised by Council Members. Vice Mayor Sutorius said if the motion passed as stated without any mention of the concerns, nothing would have been communicated to the many strong supporters, and it could have come as a surprise or an iiposition if Council arrived in }ate August and found that the option aspect was.not covered, and that Council had not proceeded enough to make a positive -decision. Council Member Fletcher believed it was a one time oppor- tunity to get employer participation in the downtown area. As'pointed out by Ms. Marsh, if the City wanted participa- tion from employers, the site needed to be downtown in order to sell the notion. If the option was. approved, many forces would work to contact the employers downtown and get them to participate and take some responsibility for one of the needs of employees. The Jordan site was not an assured site, and even i f both ballot measures passed, in order for the City to lease the site, the agreement was that the PAUSD could always take over the site before the expiration of the lease if it was to be used again for a school site. If the downtown location was the site for the child care center, once it was purchased, it was there. She was confident there would be an oversupply of children and did not believe_ the City would be left with.a "white elephant.." She preier- red to have a more deliberate decision -making process with an evaluation in relation to all the other City needs, but that option was not available. Council should jump at the opportunity. Council. Member Klein said an overwhelming need in soclety was child care and everyone needed to respond --not east --local government. The overwhelming need in the community lead him to .support- the motion.. - He was concerned about the points _. raised by Council Members -and agreed ,the process was 4WkWard.e The City had .a normal budget cycle for good reasons and required capital projects to compete against 58-110 7/27/87 other capital projects. There_ were many questions which needed intuitive leaps including whether it was the best use of the City's money for child care. The City only had limited resources to play with, the questions were not fully answered, and Council had to nidke a leap. There -.were few locations downtown, and it was an area where there should be a significant day care facility. For that reason and because of the possibility of being able to leverage the City's resources to get the business community involved in the project, he was willing to .go around the normal processes. It was crucial to get other parts- of society involved in child care and the business community was one. It seemed to him that the location with the inspired leader- ship from the private sector provided a chance of having it work. He would not be able to support the_project if the City was being asked to provide the whole $1r300,000 but, given the location and the private leadership, it made sense for the city to take a leadership position in being one of hopefully many downtown employers who would participate in raising the full $1,300,000. The City was putting in about four times as'much money as it should on a proportionate basis; that, is, the City had roughly 5 percent of the down- town empioyrent and the money mentioned in the proposal was close to 20 percent of the total. It should `speak clearly to the business community that the City was willing to take a leadership position but not carry the whole burden. The issue raised by Council Member Patitucci as to whether the City acted as an employer or a public policy maker was sig- nificant and needed to be answered. He believed the City was .both. He fully recognized the awkwardness in terms of being an employer but believed overriding was the fact that the City, was participating for the extra $150,000 to $200,000 as the maker of public poli_cy,: and the City was trying to send a strong signal to the business community. He was unclear in terms of the option referred to by Vice Mayor Sutorius. If an amendment would ultimately be that the City's support was conditioned on the option being extended, he respectfully disagreed. It was not in Mr. Keenan's control as to whether the option could be extended --there was a seller to deal with. If an extension could be achieved, it would be -in in everyone's interest. The time to see the money raised was shorteethere was only 60 days to rare over $1 million. Council should support the motion. Child care was desperately needed and overrode some of the_ legitimate concerns raised. He hoped Council .could pull off what seemed to him to be a creative idea. Council Member Renzel commended Pam Marsh and Chop Keenan for bringing the proposal forward. She shared some of the concerns expressed by Council Members with regard to process and about being presented with a single option for spending the money without the opportunity to explore other possible uses for a similar amount of money. She agreed the site was excellent both in terms of being near an employment center and being on the edge of a residential area for children and relied on the judgment of the PACCC group, who had a lot of experience in operating child care centers, that it was a good site. Council recently had the Child Care Task Force report before it, studied it at._length and discussed the participation of the City as government in child care. One of the Council's long term and long held emphases was to encourage private support of child care and to try to wean PACCC from dependency on government support. Child Care was a legitimate use of government funds to address a societal need in the community, but it was the emphasis of government to try to get private employers to contribute. The City was also a major employer and the request for the contribution addressed the City as an employer. Oftentimes, Council held itself to a different standard than it did private employers, and in the subject instance it was legitimate to look at the City as an employer and say what part of the demanded need it created with its employment. In that respect it was legitimate for the City to make a substantial contributions She regarded the motion as a somewhat condi- tional approval of the funds and, when the appropriate conditions for granting the funds were received back, she would be looking for some assurance that the City •would get appropi.'iate value tor its contribution. As Council Member Klein pointed out, there were only about eight weeks for the other contributions to be solicited and pledged. She believed. an extension of the option would be required and would lead almost to the time when Council would know the outcome of the election with respect to Jordan which opened the question as to whether the resources might be better used there. She believed Council needed to find that it ended up with allocation, spaces, or some other quid pro quo for the City's early commitment of funds on the proposal. She supported the motion but reserved :the right to change her vote if..she was not satisfied with the conditions on which the City could -make the commitment. Council Member Levy asked how ongoing City subsidies would be involved and whether City employees were expected to be subsidized from PACCC funds or whetherthey would be sub- sidized directly from the City. If City employees were sub-- sidized from PACCC funds, would_. the City have a right to demand they take priority over other City employees. In terms of ongoing maintenance expenses at the facility, he was always concerned when the City went into major capital expenditures that the total expense was always greater than the estimate. In the subject instance he was concerned about what happened if certain expectations were not met, who would meet the costs. It assumed it would be .to one degree or another the City. He wanted to .know what obliga- tions the City was undertaking. Vice Mayor Sutorius did not advance the option as a condi- tion but rather the kind of thing he thought should be researched and analyzed. He would be surprised if some kind of an understanding in that regard was not achieved. The questions raised were reasonable and understandable. He had the highest regard for the competency, quality of care, and responsiveness of PACCC and its board; however, the poten- tial for a competitive bid situation was acknowledged and to him was still an open possibility with .respect to however the scenario played itself out. While Council might receive good answers with respect to the particular questions raised, the ultimate contract and arrangement might have variations to it that would cause the nature of the rela- tionship to be different. NOTION PASSED by a vote of 7-2, Levy, Patitucci voting °noon COO CIL RECESSED FROM 9:45 p.m. TO 10:00 y.m. AGENDA CHANGES, ADDITIONS AND DELETIONS Mayor Woolley added Item 11, re Cancellation of August 3, 1987 City Council meeting. 9. COMPOSTABLE DEBRIS COLLECTION PILOT PROGRAM (CMR:378:7) 1072-01} Council Member Fletcher asked what happened to the compost material after it was picked up. Superintendent of Field Operations Mike Miller said it was currently picked up with garbage and other rubbish and was land filled. Council Member Fletcher clarified the new program would sep- arate compost from landfill materials and it would be used for compost only. She was concerned about having debris five feet out from the curb because of bicycle safety, particularly in the dark. Mr. Miller said debris should be six to twelve inches out from the gutter line andno wider than five feet which would keep it within a car width. Other than the streets where there were bicycle lanes, it was not seen as being a prob- lem. MOTION: Council Member Fletcher moved, seconded by Bechtel, to authorize staff to implement a pilot compost plan debris collection program and inform Council whether Phase 2 Fill be implemented. If Phase 2 is conducted, a report evaluating the pilot will be submitted to Council recommending whether a Citywide program . sheyLad_, be imple- mented. Council Member Renzel referred to the City's previous com- post program and the difficulties with the variability of material. She supported the idea but asked how the earlier problem of irregularity would be controlled. Mr. Miller said in the 1982 program, staff used a smaller tub grinder that did not have the capacity nor the power of the current grinder. The percentage of bags was small aid in most cases people tried to use paper bags or cardboard boxo.,s which were compost material. Council. Member Patitucci said if' everything could now be picked up why would one pay for it. Assistant City Manager June Fleming said staff was trying to find out whether it was worth it to a resident to extend the life of the lendf ill a.nd perhaps forestall any additional charges because other alternatives would be necessary for garbage placement. Council Member Patitucci. queried why one individual would pay an extra $10 per month and separate their stuff so the City could reduce the amount in the landfill. He could not understand why the customer would pay for the extra ser- vice. Mayor Woolley clarified either the entire City would pay the extra sum or no one would pay it. It would be added to the refuse bill. Council Member Patitucci said all of the materials were now beat a picked up and there was no additional fee. He queried why find out it cost the City more for the residentsto go through more trouble. Council Member Bechtel believed the program might be less trouble because currently one had a choice of either putting compost material in a plastic bag or tieing branches. .One of the options included neither tieing nor putting in a plastic bag --it could just be put out on the curb. When one had to stuff pyracantha bushes into a plastic bag, it was tough. If they could just be put out on the curb, it would be much easier. Council Member Patitucci made a good point, and staff needed to carefully consider the benefit and whether it would be sufficient that the citizenry would be willing to pay more for it. John Mock, 736 Barron Avenue, was concerned that nothing in the staff report touched on the issue of dump capacity. He urged Council to take some action to encourage composting and it seemed ironic to ask people to pay to help the City with its landfill. problems. As a bicyclist, he was con- cerned not only about cleanliness when it went to uncontain- erized and unbundled compost material, but also about flat tires from left over pyracantha bushes. Thorns were one of the. most frequent causes of flat tires. He suggested an additional option for people to mark compost material appro- priately and for the City to collect black plastic bags or bundles from the current setup without introducing special equipment. Council Member Renzel said Council Member Bechtel provided some •enlightenment with respect to Council Member Fatitucci's question, but she also pointed out when the City started the curbside pickup of clippings, etc., it was expected the City would charge for that service at some point. To her knowledge, they had not put in a charge. She recollected they were going to eventually develop a charge but were going to see what kind of use was made of the ser- vice as an experimental basis. In fact, if a rate had been put on the service, thenthe composting would be a similar option cost -wise, and certainly people were allowed to put out much more than their two garbage cans full. Mayor Woolley believed a rate of 544 was put on the ser- vice. Council Member Renzel clarified the rate was- with an un- limited number ofbags, and she believed Council was looking at possibly later doing it on some other basis,: but she was not certain. Vice Mayor Sutorius observed that another of the identified findings was Finding No. 3, whether residents were receptive to dropping the currently -offered rubbish service or wished to -have both services continued. Certainly, if that 58-115 7/27/87 potential existed, it would then introduce the potential of some different charging considerations.;. Another observation was that it seemed appropriate when the`Council received the study result, and to the degree that any charging aspects or changes in rates were introduced, that Council took', into account one other factor, i.e., at least initially and probably for some very many years, the compost collected would be utilized for City purposes in regard to Byxbee Park, and that was a significant savings to the City to have an assured supply of materials close at hand. He believed the Council would walk rather carefully when they took into account costs, etc. Lastly, he hoped he was right in being confident in the analysis method where the Council was looking at which method was best for the public, etc., that they would account for the noise factor associated with using a rack -type vehicle scooping up, which was quite a bit different from picking up containered materials. Council Member Fletcher felt the setting of the pick-up fees was a policy matter for the City Council because they saw the public benefit if the participation rate was high enough to extend the landfill, whereas the individual might not quite see that overall relationship or have that much interest in the preservation of the landfill, feeling the government would find ad -alternative when it ran out and why bother putting out the material. If the program was accept- able to the public, the Council should be the decision - making power on whether to raise the fees rather than asking the residents. The fees might also be unpopular if they coincided with the commencement of the Utility Users Tax. MOTION PASSED unanimously. 10. COUNCIL MEMBERS BECHTEL AND KLEIN RE DOWNTOWN LITTER AND SIDEWALK CLEANLINESS (1010-1011) MOTION: Council Member Bechtel moved, seconded by Klein, to direct staff to report back to the Council on: 1. The existing situation 2. Who is responsible for keeping clean trash cans, plant areas, street gutters, and sidewalks; and 3. What can be done to improve the situation. John Mock, 736 Barron Avenue, also had been concerned about the aesthetic considerations in the downtown area. As a frequent customer .of two well -established restaurants. in the vicinity of Lytton Plaza, he noticed a distinct deterioration in that area. It. was only a matter of weeks after the fast-food .franchise opened that grease-- stains began appearing in the area. In the absence of effective cleaning, the stains had become worse and were probably host for some of the ground dirt mentioned .in the memorandum (on file in the City Clerk's office). It was not to say that fast food was the only problem. Certainly the ice-cream stores and a number of other take-out establishments contri- buted to the litter problem. Another problem not noted might.be surfacing, and it was hard to judge immediately whether it was serious or not because it tended to be immediately painted over, but he observed that graffiti seemed to have increased lately. He was particularly con- -cerned about some fortunately minor defacing of the wonderful great egret mural across from the Good Earth, which .the City kindly had redone recently. Timing was cer- tainly an interesting point in the matter, although certainly not definitive, but to his view the congregation of large numbers of young people might well be related to both the opening of the fast-food franchise and also the closing of the New Varsity. He was not critizing as he remembered hearing a number of evening rock concerts' from the plaza .nearly 20 years ago, but he suggested that pro- viding some place or situation where the young people could congregate --particularly a place which they could call their own --might well be in the best interests of the community. MOTION PASSED unanimously, Patitucci absent. 11. CANCELLATION OF AUGUST 3 1387 CITY COUNCIL MEETING Mr. Zaner said after the agenda was posted, staff learned there were no pressing items for business at the next Council meeting. Consequently, staff recommended the Council authorize staff to cancel the meeting. MOTION: Mayor Woolley moved, seconded by Levy, cancella- tion of August 3, 1987, City Counc{1 Meeting, Council Member Klein asked whether the date might not be an appropriate time for the Council to finish its action with regard to the Council Appointed Officers in a Closed Session. Mayor Woolley believed that subject could be taken up after the meeting when Council resumed the Closed Session on Employer/Employee Relations. 53-117 7/27/87 MOTION PASSED unanimously, Patitucci absent. ADJOURNMENT Council adjourned to Closed Session at 10:15 FINAL ADJOURNMENT Final adjournemrxt at 11:00 p.m. ATTEST: APPROVED: p.m. %11L...&Ja \d=sumILiasgel__ Mayor