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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1982-05-10 City Council Summary Minutes1 1 CITY COUNCIL MIMUT€S CITY OF PALO ALTO Regular Meeting Monday, May 10, 1982 ITEM P AG E Oral Communications 2 0 3 3 Proclamation re Youth Arts Month 2 0 _3 4 CATV Work Session 2. 0 3 4 Counci lmember Ellen Fletcher 2 0 3. 4 Minutes of March 18, 1982 2 0 3 4 Resolution of Appreciation to Kathleen Cohen 2 0 3 4 Consent Calendar 2 0 3 4 Referral 2 0 3 4 1982-87 Capital Improvement Program - Referral to 2 0 3 4 Finance and Public Works Committee Action 2 0 3 5 Resol ution re Operational Date for Residential 2 0 3 5 Conservation Services Audit American Association of Museums Notification of Intent 2 0 3 5 to Award Museum Accreditation Agenda .Changes, Additions and Deletions Resolution re Santa Clara Valley Water District Finance and Public Works Committee Recommendation re Cogeneration Project 2 0 3 5 2 0 3 5 2 0 3.6 Finance and Public Works Committee Recommendation re 2 0 3 6. Financing of Swimming Pool and Rental Units Solar Applications Finance and Public Works Committee. Recommendation re 2 0 3 9 Arthur Andersen & Company "Management Letter" Finance- and Public Works Committee Recommendation re 2 0 4 1 Lytton Gardens III Financing Report re 450th Anniversary of Oaxaca, Mexico Request of Mayor Eyerly re Palo Alto Harbor.. Dredging Request of. Mayor Fyerly re Licenses to Vendors for Street and Sidewalk Sales Finance and nbl i c Works Committee Recommendation re Cogeneratiop Project Adjournment 2 0 4 1 2 0 4 3 2 0 4 3 2 0 4 4 0:..4.4 2 0 3 2 5/10/82 1 Regular Meeting Monday, May, 10, 1982 The City Council of the City of Palo Alto met on this date Council Chambers at City Hall, 250 Hamilton Avenue, at 7:30 PRESENT: Bechtel (arrived at 7:35 p.m.), Cobb, Eyerly, Fazzino, Levy, Renzel ABSENT: Fletcher, Klein, Witherspoon ORAL COMMUNICATIONS in the p.m. 1. John Walker, 19375 Greenwood Circle, Cupertino, re Palo Alto Yacht Harbor, said he had met with the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development (BCDC) people. BCDC asked the Yacht Club to finish up some work on the launch ramp. He said they had removed somewhere between 12,000 and 15,000 cubic yards of mud and placed it in its designated hole. Of the 12,000 to 15,000 yards of mud, about 30 percent was dry enough to harvest. He met again with representatives of the BCDC this morning, who reviewed the dredging of the launch ramp and were pleased with what had been done. He said that although BCDC would like to have more dredging done in the same loca- tion, they agreed that they would be receptive to permitting an additional two weeks of dredging so that the length cf the harbor could be dredged. He said it was interesting to look at the drastic change in the water flow that came from the upper end of the harbor as a result of the .dredged channel. He said it was beginning to flow much better; a considerable amount of water ran through the two conduits and was trapped upstearn in front of the environmental center, and drained back in slowly compared to the tidal outflow. When the flow was improved, the way the water moved was also improved. 2. Melanie V'i l l afana, 425 High Street, was concerned that people who managed Palo Alto hotels hired employees without Green Cards. She said that since she started asking for Green Cards, people seemed to disappear. She was concerned that she had a lock put on her door which cost her $50 and for which she received two keys, but she had three keys and the hotel had one. She was especially concerned because she was a woman living alone, and there were a lot of senior citizens that lived in Palo Alto hotels. 3. Dr. Harvey K. Roth, 3422 Kenneth Drive, said three public schools were now empty due to a reduction in the school popu- lation. He said that a need existed for senior housing in Palo Alto, and that the empty school facilities could be converted to studios or one -bedroom apartments very easily. He said a need also existed for Palo .Alto to have its own community hoa.pital and medical center, along with a health - related facility. He thought that two of the empty school. sites could be used in such a manner. He asked if the prop- erty adjacent to Stanford's specialized hospital and medical center could be deeded to Palo Alto to built its facility and that way parts could be shared by' both entities. He thought that such an arrangement could be more economical in the long run; and, if that aproach were_: taken, all , three vacant school sites could be used to supply lacking housi-ng. 2 0 3-3 S110/82 1 YOUTH ARTS MONTH Mayor Eyerly presented a proclamation to Nancy Sharp that May, 1982 would be "Youth Arts Month" in Palo Alto. Nancy Sharp accepted the pr•oci awat`I on on behalf of the parents, children and people of Palo Alto, and thanked the City Council for their support. She said the City of Palo Alto had a lonn tradi- tion of support for visual and performing arts for child gin, and said she had taken part in them when she was a child. - 1 1 CATV WORK SESSION Mayor Eyerly announced that the City Council would have a work session on May 12, regarding Cable TV. COUNCILMEMBER ELLEN FLETCHER Mayor Eyerly also announced that Councilmember Ellen Fletcher was returned to the hospital today because of a blood clot in her leg. MINIITES OF M CH 18, 1982 tee. AR MOTION: Councilmember Fazzino moved, seconded by Cobb, approval of the minutes of March 18, 1982 as submitted. MOTION PASSED unanimously, Fletcher, Klein, Witherspoon absent. ITEM #1 RE.)GLUTTON OF APPRECIATION'TO KATHLEEN COHEN MOTION: Councilmember Cobb moved, seconded by Fazzino, approval of the Resolution of Appreciation. RESOLUTION 6027 entitled 'RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF +PALO ALTO EXPRESSING APPRECIATION TO KATHLEEN COHEN FOR OUTSTANDING PUBLIC SERVICE AS A MEMBER OF THE VISUAL ARTS JURY' MOTION PASSED unani moody, Fletcher, Klein, Witherspoon absent. Councilmember Cobb presented the framed resolution of appreciation to Orlando Malone, Chairman of the Visual Arts Jury, on behalf of Kathleen Cohen. Mr. $ai.one accepted the resolution on behalf -of Kathleen Cohen and said. that Ms.. Cohn was the first Chairperson of the Vi sual Arts Jury, and gave unselfishly of her time and energy. Mayor Eyerly said he had a lot of respect for Kathleen Cohen. Her service since becoming . one of the charter members of the Visual Arts Jury made the resolution of appreciation especially meaning- ful to him, in view of the fact that the Visual Arts Jury had done so much for the City with so little funding. He said those efforts were appreciated. CONSENT CALENDAR NOTION Vice Mayor Bechtel moved/, seconded by Levy: approval of the Consent . Calendar. . Referral ITEl4 #2 1982-87 CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM - REFER TO FINANCE AMU s'utiL1i WUKIC CUMMITILL : L ) Action ITEM #3 RESOLUTION RE OPERATIONAL DATE FOR RESIDENTIAL CONSERVA- Staff recommends that the Council approve the resolution con tai .ing a finding that by May 1, 1982, RCS audits should be avail- able to utilities customers in accordance with the time frame for the RCS plan, and certifying May 1, 1982, as an operational date for Palo Alto's RCS program. RESOLUTION 6028 entitled "RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL OF 7111-1217-0T-15710 ALTO CERTIFYING THE OPERATIONAL DATE OF THE RESIDENTIAL CONSERVATION SERVICE PLAN" AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF MUSEUMS NOTIFICATION OF INTENT TO AWARD Staff recommends that Council authorize the Mayor to execute the notification of intent to award museum accreditation. MOTION PASSED unanimously, Fletcher, Klein , Witherspoon absent. AGENDA CHANGES, ADDITIONS AND.DELETION$ Mayor Eyerly added Item #11, Yacht Harbor Dredging, to the Agenda under New Business, Mayor Eyerly added Item #12, Street and Sidewalk Vending, to the Agenda under New Business. Counci lmember Renzel asked for clarification about what type of action the Council could take on items that were not formally published on the agenda. City Attorney Diane Lee read the applicable Palo Alto Municipal Code. section, "that no matters other than those on the agenda shall be finally acted upon by the Council , provided however, that matters deemed to be emergencies or of-, an urgent nature by any Councilnembers, the City Manager or the City Attorney with an explanation of the emergency or urgency stated in open Council meeting, may, with the consent of the majority of the Council , be considered and acted upon." ITEM #S RESOLUTION_ RE SANTA CLARA VALLEY WATER DISTRICT on nue Counci l member Renzel said the Advisory Committees did recommend a sunset provision and percentage {imitation on the increases of funding each year. She said she felt that in a special district, such as the Santa Clara Valley Water District, where the funding mechanisms --more than the Board elections --were the controlling factor the public had over the district, that it would be better for the public to tell the District how they felt about taxing themselves for the District, rather than the District telling the public. NOTION: C*enti lmember ., :Fazzl no moved, seconded by. Eyerly„; approval .of'the Resolution. RESOLUTION entitled "RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY .;OF PALO ALTO SUPPORTING THE - BALLOT MEASURE OF THE SANTA CLARA VALLEY WATER DISTRICT* Vice Mayor Bechtel "said she Preferred not to take a position on the matter. She felt that the . voters should vote on it,: and did not want the City Counci 1 'to formally endorse the ballot measure. Ms. Lee reminded the Council that a Resolution majority vote of . the full Council —or five votes. -- requi red the MOTION FAILED by a vote of 2-4, Fazzi no and Eyerly voting "aye," Fletcher, Klein, Witherspoon absent. MOTION: Councalmeober Renzel moved, seconded by Bechtel, that Council take no position on item #5, Resolution re Santa Clara Valley Water District, and let voters determine if they want to tax themselves. MOTION PASSED by a vote of 5-1, Fazzi no voting "no," Fletcher, Klein, Witherspoon absent. �I.JTEMI� L6 TF gI �NArN7O7CE ANDS PUBLIC WORKS (F&PWI OMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION 1� t c u Ij L t R A i T o FS V E t _ o_ irac��u►�ni i ms�� Councilmember Levy announced that because of his employment, he would not participate 'on the item. MOTION: Counci l member Fazzi no for the Finance and Public Works (F&PW) Committee, moved that the Mayor be authorized to execute a legal agreement with Jones, Hall, Hill A White, and a financial agreement with E. F. Hutton regarding services associated with revenue bond financing for the cogeneration project. . Further, that Council appropriate $90,000 from the Electric Fund System Improvement Reserve to finance the associated costs which will be reimbursed upon sale of the bonds. MUNICIPAL FINANCING CONSULTANT AGREEMENT E. F. Hutton SPECIAL LEGAL SERVICES COGENERATION FINANCING PROCEEDINGS Jones, Hall, Hill and White ORDINANCE entitled 'ORDINANCE OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PALO ALTO AMENDING THE BUDGET FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 1981-82 TO PROVIDE AN APPROPRIATION FOR FINANCIAL AND LEGAL CONSULTING SERVICES FOR THE COGENERATION PROJECT* City Manager Bill Zaner said that the ordinance was a budget amendment wht ch required six votes, and since Council member Levy was not going to participate, only five members of the Council were left. He requested that the item be continued. MOTION TO CONTINUE: Councilmember Cobb moved, seconded by Eyerly, to continue the item until later in the meeting. MOTION TO CONTINUE PASSED unanimously, Fletcher,, Klein, Witherspoon absent, Levy 'not participating.* ITEM f7 FINANCE AND PUBLIC WORKS F&PW COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION MOTION: Counci lmember Fazzl no, for the Finance and Public. Works (WW) Committee, moved that the Council authorize the expansion of the Conservation Loan Account by allocating an . additional $200,000 from the Electric Utility System leprovem ►nt Reserve with pri•oritl es for multiple family applications and that ..no more than 40% of the total be allocated to winning pools, and that swimming pool applications would be evaluated primarily on the basis of> need for therapeutic reasons. ORDINANCE 3353 entl.tled ,"ORDINANCE OF THE- COUNCIL OF THE • CITY F PAL o ALTO AMENDING THE BUDGET =. FOR ' FISCAL- YEA1► 1881-82, TO-, . PROVIDE .. AN ADDITIONAL : APPROPRIATION` FOR' THE SOLAR LOAN PROGRAM Counci 1member Fazzi no said that a lot of time was spent discussing the issue, and that there was agreement on the part of committee members that the program needed to be in place pri marl l y for the purpose of multi -family buildings to control the use of gas.. He said there was concern about the need to include pool s in the program, however, staff stated that it was intended to include existing swimming pool s --not to enhance the building of new swimming pools. The Committee members felt that the funds should be primarily used for multi -family homes with a percentage of the funds for swimming pools. He said the Committee arrived at :,a 40% figure, and asked staff to realize a process wherein those funds woul d be al 1 ocated pri marl ly on the basi s of pool s use for therapeutic purposes. Director of Ut1 l iti es Edward Aghjayan commented that while staff asked for the $200,000 to be switched from the reserve fund, they anticipated that funds would flow from existing City loans being repaid going into the same account. He said the $200,000 repre- sented the amount . needed for .cash flow, but that- the total cash flow would be in excess of that --maybe $400,000 to $600,000,; dependent upon how the loans were repaid. He_ clarified that the 40 percent limitation would apply to the total amount of money lent out, and not just the $200,000 from the reserve fund. He said that regarding a pool being used for therapeutic purposes, staff would look at the applications for pools, and give priority processing and consideration to those for therapeutic reasons, but that the others would also be processed. Mayor Eyerly said he noted that the $200,000 would be loans from the electric utility, - but that i t would be a gas saving not an el ectri cal saving. Mr. Aghjayan said that the saving would ultimately be i n gas energy , but that it was consi stent with the Council's deci si on several years ago to set up a reserve for solar and conservation programs. He said it was important to remember that someof the City's po ograms mandated under NECPA were obligations of the electric utility, even though they ended up saving gas energy. Mayor Eyerly said that gas was always avail abl e because the City purchased it from PG&E. He said he was concerned with the concept of using money from the electric utility to save gas energy .when no gas shortage existed. He thought it boiled down to the eco- nomics of the pool owner as to when it would become feasible for that pool owner to .change .to solar energy. If the City subsidized that pool owner, the change to solar energy would be done more rapidly, but .he thought the moral issue of whether the. City should subsidize people who actually did not _ need to be subsidized should be considered.. Further, he thought the City should consider what resources it had available and how they could be used more pru- dently. tie said that he lived in ` a highri se building with a large pool . and t.peopl a would be amazed at how many people said they needed a pool for therapeutic reasons, and that it most be heated. He felt - that those people could always utilize . communi ty,: swimming pools if they needed therapy. He said he would vote against the. motion. Counci 'member Renzel commented ..that the City. Council had _,a= .Long. standing commitment to ,solar energy and had set some objectives regarding the solar installations in Palo Alto. ' She said that while she, understood, Mayor . Eyerl y' s concerns about subsidizing swimming pools, it happened that pools were, a major energy user and were the use most likely to use solar if owners could , be encouraged to do so. She said the 40 : percent limitation. was dis cussed_ ;at- ;=some length and -_:set . at the Finance,. and : Public Works (F&Pia) Coinsittee because the Committeewanted to encourage other uses. Shethought that by getting people --even .,rich people with swimming :pool s --to convert to solar. and .di mi ni sh their energy use would- help with the energy son f- suffi cl enc y the City hoped to achieve. She : felt swimming pools should also be supported in terms of the City's overall' solar objectives and because of the nationwide desire to achi eve energy self-sufficiency. Mr. Aghjayan said there were over 1 ,400 pools in Palo Alto, and when the energy crisis hit, most people had al ready made. their decision to put in a pool . He said staff was not talking about outfitting new pools, new heaters and solar systems, but rather those people who had al ready made their investment and had existing investments in pool heating systems. He said, staff wanted to get those people off of gas and on to solar because the average pool heater used three times as much energy as it took to heat an entire home for one year.: Further, he said that the declining rate block structure in the gas utility had completely turned around to where there was a devastating inverted rate structure on gas usage, so that people who had pool heaters and wished to use them were paying extraordinary amounts for natural gas. He felt that staff had an obligation to offer those utility customers and . residents an alternative to higher rate structures and leaving their investment idle, which was why pools and pool heaters were included in the recommendation. He said that with regard to the interest rates., the interest rate of ten percent (10%) was .set for the solar financing program as a whole.. It took into consideration the fact that the City borrowed money through a line of credit at a rate of approximately ten percent so that there was no subsidy for those borrowed funds. He said that the line of credit could not be offered to commercial anti ' pool heaters which was why staff suggested using reserve funds for that He said those ,•reserve funds would be repaid, and it was true that for a structured period of time that the reserve funds were being utilized, the rate that could have been earned on those funds would have been in excess of ten percent and there was a slight subsidy although staff did not feel it was significant. Vice Mayor Bechtel suggested looking at the issue in the broader sense. She said it was true that Palo. Alto was able to purchase. gas at this point from PG&E and was not limited to a finite amount, unlike the electric utility which had a ceiling. She thought that the Council must realize that it had made the commit- ment to reduce gas usage, and that was what all the insulation, caulking around windows, and hot water heater conversions were about. She asked staff if continuing the item would pose any difficulty. Mr. Aghjayan responded that staff could wait, but since the issue of multi -family housing loans was not debated,_ he asked if the motion be split and approval obtained for that. Mayor Eyerly asked how the motion could be split. Mr. Aghjayan responded that 60 percent of the $200,000, and 60 percent of existing loans that were repaid would be :.eligible as loans for multi -family housing. He said, that there were some multi -family units waiting for the Council's action, and if staff obtained that approval, they - could proceed with them right away, and hold : off on swimming pools. SUBSTITUTE MOTION Vice Mayor Bechtel moved seconded 44 Eyerly, to continue the portion of the, pro co rendati on for swimming pools to June 7, and moved approval of the Budget Ordinance with amendment to the third Whereas to delete "or swimming pooh* ORDINANCE 3353 entitled "*ORDINANCE OF THE COUNCIL OF WE CITY pr -HALO ALTO AMEWDIH6 TNT BUDDET FOR THE FISCAL TEAR 1981-82 TO PROVIDE A? ADDITIONAL APPROPRIA- TIOIi: FOR -;THE SOLAR LOAN PROGRAN�" - �'_ SUBSTITUTE .NOTION PASSED o a ia.00sly,, Fletcher, Klein, Witherspoon` ab$ent i 1 ITEM #8 FINANCE AND PUBLIC WORKS F&PW COMMITTEE RE SUBJECTS VW=AnuART i vilmomirs, Councitmember Fazzi no advi sed that a budget amendment proposal would be coming before the Council which had to do with the "Management. Letter" submitted by Arthur Andersen & Company, He said the bi ggest concern had to do with the Deferre,d Compensation P1 an. The budget amendment would request approval of 55,718 to pay for the one time special evaluation services of Benson, Benson & Company. He deferred to Mr. Mitchell for comment about the need for the part:`cu1 ar budget amendment. Mayor Eyerly said that at the pre -Council meeting, Mr. Zaner suggested that there be a recommendation back to the members of the .Deferred Compensation Program, that they vote on the issue that the employees set up administrative and audit expenses from their own funds to provide for the examinations on a .yearly basis for the protection of the fund. City Manager Bi 1 l Zaner said he thought it was safe to say that he, Mr. Mitchell, and Ms. Lee all supported the budget amendment. He sal d they recogni zed that it . was necessary --the audit had been done, the services had been performed, • and the bill needed to be paid. He said no funds were presently budgeted for administration of the Deferred Compensation Program. He had met with the Advisory Committee, which administered the program, and it was agreed that staff would work with the Committee between now and December 31, 1982, to assist in identifying. costs. At that time, the Committee would be asked to consider arranging funds in such a way that the program had administrative funds with which it could either hire an admini strator or arrange for better admi ni strati on of the Deferred Compensation Program. He said that would not. occur unti ! December 31, it could be done internally, and in his opinion would not require going back to the Council. Ms. Lee said she thought it was appropriate both from a legal standpoint and a policy standpoint that,. the participants in that program bear their responsi bf 1 i ty both financially and legal iy for the way the system was ad.mini stered. MOTION: Counci Imember Fazzi no moved, seconded by Renzel , approval of the budget amendment re deferred compensation audit. ORDINANCE 3354 entitled *ORDINANCE OF. THE COUNCIL OF 1'Hr CITY OF PALO ALTO AMENDING THE BUDGET FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 1981-82 TO PROVIDE AN APPROPRIATION FOR CPA REVIEW OF DEFERRED . COMPENSATION PLAN BALANCES" Counci lrnember Levy sai d he was dismayed over the language in Arthur. 'Andersen's letter, which indicated that the assets trans- ferred between the administrators had not been and could not be reconciled. He asked where the City stood on the reconciliation of the assets. City Controller Al fret J. Mitchell said he thought Arthur Andersen & Company referred to the amount of money the employee contributed to the plan, 'that was put in various investment media, and which in itself continued to 'earn ;l nterest The City was able to reconcl �1`e the deduct i ohs fromthe parti.ci pants which were turned over to the investment media, butthe value of the investment media changed on. a daily -basis. For example,' sore participants. - had , invested ` in second mortgages And it was hard for; the Controller s Office to determine the day tO `day Value of those second mortgages. Counci lmember Levy_ asked - if someone within the City was respon- _si bl e for Supervising the record :keeping;, 1 Mr. Zaner said that up until about a month ago, no one in the City admi ni strati on had the responsi bi 1 sty for the supervision Counci 'member Levy spoke about. He said that Mr. Mitchell had the responsi bi 1 i ty with regard to payrol 1 deductions because City money was being moved. He said that when the plan first started, it was a simple operation --there were 20 employees and very little money was involved. Today, they were talking about well over 200 participants, and more than $2 million. The program had grown substantially, which was why the City =administration had moved in to work with the Committee. He said they were tracking the costs with the Committee so that by December 31, they could identify what was happens ng, and a good admi ni strati ve process cool d be set up to ensure the City's employees of the integrity of the system. Counci1member Levy asked who should supervise the Hartford —Al Mitchell, the City Manager, or the Committee as a separate entity, Mr. Mitchell responded that he believed that all three had a role in the , program. He sai d hi s role was that of proper accounti ng for the fund and audit through the use of outside auditors. He thought that the policies of the program and the way it was governed and admi ni stered fell with Mr. Zaner. Mr. Zaner said that after December 31, 1982, it' was envisioned that the. Advisory Committee would be the policymaking board. It was an employee operated program, but lacked a day-to-day administrator to be the link between them as a policy board, and the Hartford. He said that the City's administration would pick up that rol e in the Personnel Department in the i nteri m. After December 31, he would suggest that the. Committee arrange a mechanism to have some funds in order to have the Administrator run their program for them. He said the al ternati ve was for the City to pick up the administration. MOTION PASSED unanimously, Fletcher, Klein, Witherspoon absent. Counci lmember Levy said that in the "Management Letter" from the auditor, mention was made of the fact that the City did not have any inventory or records detailing the real property. He said it was indicated that that was being done, and he inquired as to the status of that inventory. Mr. Zaner responded that a real estate .recordi ng system had been estabi i shed, but had not been compl eted. He, sai d the system still needed a closer determination as to precisely what information ought to be kept in the inventory, and the format also needed to be determined. Councilmember Levy asked if the Controller audited those records. Mr. Mitchell said that whentherecords were established,. the City Controller' s office would audit them. He said that for the' financial information, there .was, much 1 nformati o3' about property other than its value, and in order :to administer and properly manage :.real property, zoning information and many other matters were. needed. Counci lmember Levy said the auditor also:, mentioned the Housing Rehabilitation Program. He said that :apparently there was concern about the quality of service the City' had received :.from:; the bank in : servicing the funding, etc., in co,rinecti on with that' program. He said , that:: the City of Palo Al ti - Was a- large customer,_ and should not have trouble getting proper service. He asked what the Citywas doing tb make sure that- ft obtained proper service 'from the banks and the insurance companies. 2 0 4 0 5/10/82 Mr. Mitchell reported that .since the time the auditors made those comments, the City had transferred the loan accounting and banking to another bank. He said they had not transferred from or to Crocker Bank because Crocker did not have the computer type ser- vices required to track the principal and interest balances and do proper accounting back to the ,City. He said the City was able to work out an arrangement with a smaller bank who just happened to have the program to do it, and it was working out quite well. Councilmember Levy asked who in the City worked with the Bank and was responsible for following up with them. Mr. Mitchell responded that it was no one's task, but rather a joint operation between the City Treasurer and the City Controller.- He said that in this case, the department who admin- istered the HUD program for rehabilitation was also involved. Counci lmenber Levy noted that that rel ated to the deficiencies which were discovered in payroll timecards and in purchase orders -16 .percent of the timecards were not properly signed, and of 10 purchase orders, three of them were not properly signed. He asked for reassurance that those two areas were being tightened. Mr. Mitchell said that in many cases, policemen were off duty when the timecards were due, and it was not possible for them to come in and sign. In that event, the signature of the supervisor was accepted. He said that when the employee cashed the payroll war- rant, it was taken as certification that the employee was entitled to that pay. He said that the signing of the timecards was great when it could be achieved, but in some case, it was not practical to hold , up the employee's pay waiting for the signature on a time- card. He said that in this particular case, where feasible, the signature of the employee was obtained, but the supervisor's sig- nature would be accepted as a requisite for pay. Regarding the purchase orders, he said he had had a long discussion with the Director of Purchasing who assured him that everything was now in order. ITEM #9 FINANCE AND PUBLIC WORKS F&PW COMMITTEE RE LYTTON MOTION: Counci lmember Fazzi no for the Finance and Public Works (FiPW) Committee moved that Council direct the Mayor to send a letter to Community Housing, Inc. indicating that the City's offer of the $300,000 guarantee wouldhave to be withdrawn or renegotia- ted after May 30, 1982. Councilmenber Faazino deferred to City Manager Bill Zaner for any current information. Mr. Zaner said that City Controller Al Mitchell had set up a sum of money in response to the request that was made to Council. He said that if the City Council wished to extend the option . for the loan, it was -a policy decision they would have to make, otherwise, Mr. Mitchell would remove it from the books. Mayor Eyerly added that he thought that i f the City Council entered into loan guarantees that were not used by the end of the. fiscal year, they should be reanalyzed. MOTION PASSED unanimously, Fletcher, Klein, Witherspoon absent. ITEM 110', REPORT OF - VICE MAYOR BECHTEL Mayor Eyerly commented that he, Vice Mayor Bechtel and Council member Renzel attended ..the 450th anniversary of Oaxaca, Mexico, and were met at - the airport by the Oaxaca City Codhici l quite_ a few < staff members, - and a band. He sal d they had a large 1 1 i governmental dinner, a Ballet Fol kl orico show, and seven repre- sentative sections of the State of Oaxaca with tribal costumes and dances performed some early heritage. He said that the next day they had a formal Municipal City Council meeting. He said he spoke through an interpreter, but was able to have Counci lmembers Renee] and. Bechtel makesome presentations to the City of Oaxaca, Mexico in Spanish. The sculpture, which was arranged as a gift to Oaxaca by Neighbors Abroad, was presented and was on display at the Council meeting. He said that Mr. and Mrs. Crist resented a painting of the Santa Clara_ Valley to the City of Oaxaca, which was well received. He said that they had a reception with the axaca State Governor in his offices, and many of the people from alo Alto attended. 0 P Mayor Eyerly said that an Anniversary program, which was attended by the PreOdent of Mexico, was held in an enclosed theater with control for entry. He said a number of speeches were made ~ by governmental officials and it was obvious that the speeches were well prepared and presented. He also attended a President's lunch, and the Mayor of Oaxaca related that the President of Mexico w.as impressed by the comemorati ve plaques which Neighbors Abroad gave to each one of the Oaxaca Councilmembers. He said there was an evening cultural program which was interesting, and was highlighted by a symphony orchestra. Mayor Eye meeting w arose rega Council. because he represented within the g doctors with "that women cr were at the :ti. was decided tha good counci lrnernb in the relations Oaxaca were very City of Palo Alto. Vice Mayor Bechtel cerning Councilwomen women on about a 15 - not had a chance to members of the Neighbo Ralph White, the Chair the plaques, and they d She said that in additi sculpture that was pre Mandel, Judy Daniels, and because their Spanish was thought there were a num learning of other cultures. rl'y commented that during hi.s stay in Oaxaca, and the ith governmental officials, the question consi stentiy ding now he got along with four women on a nine member He said those kinds of questions "turned him off," realized that in Mrxico women were not very well in government or in capacities that were demanding vernmert:. He said that in talking with one of the hom he ate dinner, he was told that the problem was i ed. " He said that when the Council and the Mayor rport to see of the Palo Alto representatives, it t Palo Alto's representatives did not cry . and were ers. He commented that he thought the real plus hip was the good neighbor policy. The people of friendly and eager to have contacts weith the thanked Mayor Eyerly for his comments con - in Palo Altos and added that there were two member Oaxaca City Council, but that she had speak with either woman. She said that the rs Abroad Committee did a fantastic job, and of that group, worked very hard to prepare id not cost. the City of Palo Alto anything. on,, Mr. White worked personally to get the sented to the .City of Oaxaca. Marion others did an outstanding job in helping better than anyone's that attended._ She ber of things that Palo Alto gained _by Counci lmember Re.nzel commented that. she paid her own way to: Oax c a, but enjoyed the status of an official representative. She s ai d'1hey were royally entertained by the Oaxaca government as well as the Sister City' Committee. She' said that' the City :ef Oaxaca was a beautiful city. _ She; commented that Mayor Eyerly did 4; fine ,job of representing .Pale Alto, and .that Marlon Mandel °- di d ,a fabulous job transl eti ng.',. Nancy Roan, "Miss Palo _Alto, was very poised :and impressive, spoke Spanish -nicely, and represented Palo Alto beautifully at all the functions _she attended. The Pale Al to High School Jazz Bank was a sensation.. They :.performed in front of. the major _cathedral =i`n `Oax-a�ca before: an estimated crowd of 4,000 people. She_ ; said that at one point i n . the concert, the drummer got .carried away_ and; .could not be stopped.. -She said it: was ajoy to see the . people in the crowd respond to the incident. She thought a :lot- of credit should be given to Doug Hornback, the director of the band. ITEM #11, REQUEST OF MAYOR EYERLY RE PALO ALTO HARBOR DREDGING Mayor Eyerly said that as he understood it, the permit by San Francisco ,Bay Conservation and Development (BCDC) was expired and it would take a two-week extension to complete the dredging of the main channel. He was unaware whether any .urgency existed in asking for the extra two weeks, and was not sure whether BCDC would extend the extra permit. City Manager Bill Zaner said that since the item was raised, it would be appropriate for staff to contact the County who had the responsibility for the dredging. Mayor Eyerly said he would agenda ze the matter next week, and requested that Mr. Zaner get the necessary information for the Council in the interim. ITEM #12, REQUEST OF -MAYOR EYERLY RE LICENSES TO VENDORS FOR Mayor Eyerly said he thought staff should be'directed to prepare a staff report to advise the Council regarding licenses to vendors for street and sidewalk.- sales in order for the Council to deter- mine what types of permits might be necessary. He asked staff for confirmation that licenses to vendors for street and sidewalk sales had been requested. City Manager Bill Zaner said he understood that three requests had been made. He said the permits were not prohibited by the Palo Alto Municipal Code, and he anticipated that if the appl i v nts met all the other requirements in the Code, the permits w ld be issued. He said the permits were for a quarterly period, and if Council wished to review the policy question of whether something should be in the Code with regard to those kinds of permits, that information could be brought back to the Council and they could make a decision. City Attorney Diane Lee said she thought that Chapter 4.10 of the Palo Al to Municipal Code, which rel ated to applications for solicitors or peddlers, specifically authorized the type of activity being discussed. She said that Section 4.10.050(b) read, "no peddler or solicitor ,shall have any exclusive rights to any location in the public streets, nor shall he be permitted a stationary location, nor shall he be permitted to operate in any congested area where operations might impede "or inconvenience the public." She thought that kind of language indicated that 'ped- dling on the streets from person to person was contemplated. Mayor Eyerly asked if there was a requirement for a permit peddle. Ms. Lee responded that there was a requirement for an application to the Chief of Police i n Section 4.10.010. She clarified that the section referred to someone who peddled their wares on the street --not from a vehicle. Vice :_:Mayor Bechtel inquired as to the types of permit requests. Assistant City Manager June Fleming said one request was received for an ice cream vendor, and two for hot dog vendors. Vice: Mayor Bechtel asked if it was the first ;time: that requests of this nature had been received or were they discouraged from applying. Mr. Zaner said that occasionally, requests were received from flower vendors,'' but other than that no one had come forward and made a request. - Counci lmember Cobb said that if the applications were approved and an ice cream vendor parked his cart in front of an ice: cream store, how the problem of a public nuisance would be handled. Ms. Lee said she was not aware that other cities had prohibited street vendors on the basis of impeding competition with other existing businesses. She said that in regulating those types of businesses, Palo Alto would look at whether they interferred with the proper use of the streets for pedestrian movement, rather than protecting existing businesses. Counci lmember Levy said he hoped that staff would not assume that any kind of policy was implied by the Council 4e hoped that if the matter was discussed further, it would be discussed further and open, and whatever policies staff was following should be con- tinued. ITEM #6 FINANCE AND PUBLIC WORKS F&PW COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION �:. on 1 nue' rom ear ler n, ,..e mee ng Counci lmember Cobb said he was intrigued to read in the November 5, 1981 staff report that the entire bond market and particularly, municipal market had deteriorated dramatically. He asked if the City still had a problem peddling its bonds. City Treasurer Mark Harris said that the reference to deteriora- tion had to do with 'hat the bond market looked like a year or two ago versus what it looked like now. For example, he said that the first revenue bonds sold to purchase Barron Park gas and electric facilities at 5.6%, and for the same type of issue now, the inter- est rate wculd be at least twice as much. He said that where interest rates would be when a project was financed was unknown, but they would be a lot higher than anything the City had financed in the past. MOTION: Councilmember Fazzino moved, seconded by Cobb, to continue the matter. MOTION PASSED unanimously, Levy not participating,' Fletcher, Klein, Witherspoon absent. ADJOURNMENT Council adjourned at 9:10 p.m. ATTEST: APPROVED: 2 0 4.4 5/10/82