HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff Report 238-09TO:
City of Palo Alto
City Manager's Report
HONORABLE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: CITY MANAGER DEPARTMENT: PLANNING
AND COMMUNITY ENVIRONMENT
DATE: MAY 11,2009 CMR: 238:09
REPORT TYPE: REPORT OF COMMITTEES AND COMMISSIONS
SUBJECT: Policy and Services Committee Recommendation to Approve Proposed
Procedure for Appointment of Santa Clara Valley Transportation
Authority (VTA) Board Members from the Six North County Cities
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The VTA Board of Directors is composed of 12 members from five city groupings. Group 2,
including six north county cities (Palo Alto Mountain View, Sunnyvale, Santa Clara, Los Altos
and Los Altos Hills), has 3 seats on the VTA Board. For the past ten years, the North County
Group Board appointments have been rotated among the six cities. The VT A Board has directed
that each grouping may reevaluate how the groups select appointees to the Board.
The North County Cities representatives (all VTA Policy Advisory Committee members and
elected Council Members from their respective cities), have proposed procedures for the North
County cities to nominate and elect qualified nominees to two year terms using rank-choice
voting, with a weighting formula based on the population of the voting member's city. The
Policy and Services Committee reviewed the policy, made modifications, and recommends
Council approval of the policy as modified.
Sunnyvale, Los Altos, and Mountain View have endorsed the proposal. Los Altos Hills
endorsed the selection process, but did not endorse a weighted balloting, preferring a "one city,
one vote" protocoL The City of Santa Clara has not yet taken action on the matter.
RECOMMENDATION
The Policy and Services Committee· recommends that the City Council approve the proposed
procedures for appointment of Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority Board Members
from the Six North County cities as outlined in Attachment A with the following additional four
points:
1. Clarification that the representative bring forward to the full Board all of the concerns
from the entire North County.
2. The North County grouping must meet a minimum of four times per year.
3. The elected representative shall make diligent efforts to attend the North County
grouping meetings.
4. The policy regarding procedures for appointment of Board Members should be
reviewed every two years.
CMR:238:09 Page 1 of3
10
COMMITTEE REVIEW AND RECOMMENDATIONS
On March 16, 2009, the Policy and Services Committee considered the proposal put forward by
the current VTA Policy Advisory Committee members from the North County cities group
(Mountain View, Palo Alto, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Sunnyvale, and Santa Clara) for the
selection procedure to appoint VTA Board members from the North County group. The current
procedure of appointing board members from the North County on a rotational basis will end this
year. The new procedure, based on the VT A Governance Committee proposal, calls for the
North County cities to elect three qualified nominees and one alternate to two year terms using
rank-choice voting, with a weighting formula based on the population of the voting member's
city.
The Committee discussed the deficiencies in the existing appointment procedures for Board
members, the role of the Policy Advisory Committee and benefits of the new voting procedures
for North County cities. The Committee also discussed the need for a periodic re-evaluation of
the new appointment procedures to ensure that the city would get fair representation on the
Board. Council Member Kishimoto proposed four amendments to the policy: (1) to clarify that
the role of the North County representative is to bring all of the concerns of the North County to
the VTA Board, (2) the North County group must meet a minimum of four times per year, (3) the
North County representatives should attend the North County group meetings, and (4) the
proposed policy should be reviewed every two years.
The Committee voted (3 to 1, Barton voting no) to recommend the procedure recommended by
the North County cities group representatives as amended as described in Attachment A of the
staff report with Committee modifications as stated above. .
RESOURCE IMPACT
There are no resource impacts associated with this matter.
POLICY IMPLICATIONS
The City's role and interest in VTA Board structure and governance issues is consistent with
Comprehensive Plan Policy T-49: "Lead and participate in initiatives to manage regional traffic."
ENVIRONMENT AD REVIEW
This is not a project under the California Environmental Quality Act.
PREPARED BY:
DEPARTMENT HEAD:
CMR:238:09
G~KE~~-------
Transportation Manager
CURTIS WILLIAMS
Interim Director of Planning and Community
Environment
Page 2 of3
CITY MANAGER APPROVAL:
ATTACHMENTS
JAMES KEENE
City Manager
A. Proposed Procedure for Appointment ofVTA Board Members from the Six North County
Cities
B. Staff report CMR 177:09
C. Minutes for March 16, 2009 Policy and Services Committee
CMR:238:09 Page 3 of3
\
ATTACHMENT A
Proposed Procedure for Appointment ofVTA Board Members from the Six
"North County" Cities (City Group 2)
Election Time Frame: In December of every odd year, the Policy Advisory Committee (PAC)
members who represent the cities of Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Mountain View, Palo Alto,
Santa Clara, and SUllllyvale shall convene to hold an election to appoint three members and one
alternate to the VTA Board, who will start serving a two-year term starting January 1 st of the
following year. Should the PAC position for any of these cities be vacant at the time of the
election, that city council may appoint a councilmember to participate in the election. Should the
PAC member for any city be unavailable at the time of the election, but the PAC Alternate be
available, the Alternate may vote on behalf of his or her city.
Nomination Process: The six city representatives shall choose a presiding officer for the
election at least a month in advance. The presiding officer will prepare ballots for the election,
and either supervise the vote count or conduct it personally. Each city whose council includes at
least one qualified nominee may nominate one of its qualified council members for the VTA
Board. Such a city has the option of declining to nominate any of its councilmembers. A city
with no qualified councilmembers may not make a nomination.
Qualification of Nominees: The nominee from each city must be an incumbent city
councilmember whose term limit, if any, extends at least to the end of the two~year VT A Board
term under consideration.
In order to satisfy the enabling legislation's requirement that tithe appointing powers shall appoint
individuals who have expertise, experience, or knowledge relative to transportation issues,tl each
nominee must meet at least one of the following criteria:
• At least one year's service on the Transit District Board (the VTA Board or the County
Board of Supervisors prior to 1994).
• At least one year's service on a policy advisory committee that reports directly to the
Transit District Board (the Policy Advisory Committee, the Citizens' Advisory
Committee, or the former County Transportation Commission).
• Any other transportation policy credential that has been approved in advance by the
majority of the other Group 2 cities as meeting the intent of the experience requirement.
A maximum of one nominee per city shall be allowed. Only one councilmember from any given
city may serve on the VTA Board at any time. A VTA Board member may not serve
simultaneously on the PAC in any capacity, but an Alternate member may simultaneously serve
on the PAC.
Quorum: Representatives from at least four of the North County cities must be present in order
for the election to proceed.
Presentations: All nominees will be given equal opportunities to present arguments for their
election during the meeting,and before the election is held. The length of tinle per candidate
shall be at the discretion of the presiding officer, with a minimum of two minutes.
1
Election Process: Election to the Board shall be accomplished by ranked-choice voting, using
written ballots that display all nominee names, the city represented by the voting member, and
that member's selections in order of preference.
Each voter present shall vote by ranking his or her top three choices in order. A voting member
must fill out all three choices in ord~r for the ballot to be counted. A ballot that does not include
three choices ranked in order will be returned to the member for an opportunity to be filled out
correctly.
Tabulating Ballots: The ballots will be counted using the following rank/weighting formula:
. Each first-choice candidate will be awarded three points multiplied by the population of the
voting member's city in thousands (rounded to the nearest thousand). Each second-choice
candidate will be awarded two points multiplied by population, and each third-choice candidate
will be awarded a number of points equal to the city population in thousands. .
The three candidates with the largest number of points shall be appointed to the Director
positions, and the fourth-place candidate shall be appointed as the Alternate.
Vacancies: Should one of the three Directors resign from the Board or cease to be a city
councilmember, that seat shall be declared vacant. The vacancy will be filled immediately and
automatically by the Alternate. The newly-open Alternate position shall be filled by a vote of
the PAC members from the six cities using the ranked-choice voting procedure described above.
Nominees for that position must meet the qualifications described above and may not come from
the same city as any incumbent Director.
Amendments: This document may be amended by a resolution approved by all six cities in the
Group. A meeting of the North County Board and PAC members shall be convened after this
procedure has been in place for ten years in order to evaluate the fairness of the selection process
and the quality of the Board members chosen.
2
ATTACHMENT B
City of Palo Alto
City Manager's Report
TO: HONORABLE CITY COUNCIL
ATTN: POLICY AND SERVICES COMMITTEE
FROM: CITY MANAGER
DATE: MARCH 16,2009
DEPARTMENT: PLANNING
AND COMMUNITY ENVIRONMENT
ClVIR: 177: 09
SUBJECT: Recommendation on Proposed Procedure for Appointment of Santa Clara
Valley Transportation Authority Board Members from the Six "North County
Cities
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the Policy and Services Committee review the attached proposal and
forward a recommendation or modification to the City Council regarding the proposed selection
procedure for North County Cities Board Members on the Santa Clara Valley Transportation
Authority (VTA) Board of Directors.
BACKGROUND
In 2007, the VT A contracted with the Hay Group to conduct a financial and organizational
assessment ofVTA operations to strengthen the Board's effectiveness, governance, and financial
management. The Hay Group report identified Board turnover and the length of Board Member
tenns in office as a critical challenge to effective governance. " In particular, the report identified
high Board turnover among the small city groups.
Last summer, the VTA Board discussed a proposal from the Governance Committee for
changing the structure and representation for the small city groupings. The proposed changes in
governance included: expanding the small city groupings from 3 to 4 groups, based on
geographic proximity and popUlation; dropping the practice of rotating seats within each
grouping; encouraging the reappointment of Board members to a term totaling 4 years instead of
2 years; and developing a process of selecting VT A Directors with the required experience and
qualifications. "
The change in the number and geographical composition of the cities groups was not approved
by the Board of Directors last summer, so the small city groupings remain unchanged. However,
the VTA Board, as well as the Board's Policy Advisory Committee, concluded that the current
system of rotating Board seats among the cities in each grouping is not effective. Each city
grouping is required to select a new structure for selecting Board Members from the city
grouping for the 2010 Board of Directors that will be seated in January 2010.
CMR:177:09 Page 10f3
DISCUSSION
The North County Cities group is comprised of the six cities of Palo Alto, Mountain View, Los
Altos, Los Altos Hills, Santa Clara, and Sunnyvale. The group has 3 seats on the VTA Board of
Directors, which are rotated using population as a factor for the frequency each city holds a seat.
Currently, Council Member Kishimoto holds a seat on the Board for Palo Alto.
The North County Cities Group discussed the proposed selection process (Attachment A) for
North County Cities Board members at the January 29th monthly meeting. The members present
from Mountain View; Palo Alto, Sunnyvale, Los Altos and Santa Clara voted unanimously to
endorse the proposed selection procedures and to refer this matter to their respective City
Councils for review and approval. If all of the North County cities adopt this new procedure, it
would be im:elemented for the VTA Board membership for 2010. .-
In brief, the proposal calls for the Policy Advisory Committee members from the six cities to
elect three qualified nominees and one alternate to serve on the VTA Board from among
qualified nominees from the North County cities. The City Councils from each city would
nominate a Councilmember who has expertise, experience or knowledge related to transportation
issues. This experience could be as a VTA Board or VTA advisory committee member or other
pertinent transportation policy background. The Policy Advisory Committee vote will use a rank
and weighting methodology tied to the population of voting members cities. The elected Board
members would serve two-year terms.
RESOURCE IMPACT
There are no resource impacts associated with this matter.
POLICY IMPLICATIONS
The City's role and interest in VTA Board structure and governance issues is consistent with
Comprehensive Plan Policy T -49: "Lead and participate in initiatives to manage regional traffic."
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
This is not a project under the California Environmental Quality Act.
ATTACHMENTS
A. Proposed Procedure for Appointment ofVTA Board Members from the Six North
County Cities
B. Transmittal Email from Christopher Moylan
.pREP ARED BY:
Transportation Manager
CMR:177:09 Page 2 of3
DEPARTMENT HEAD: ___ ~~Mi"'-'J.dk\~---,\1J--""~,---=-,,,' -==-.:.....c~, ___ _
CURTIS WILLIAMS
Interim Director of Planning and
Community Environment
CITY MANAGER APPROV AL:_-1:~::::::'-'::::=-=====::::::=--~ _____ _
CMR:177:09
KELLY MORARIU
Deputy City Manager
..
Page 3 of3
ATTACHMENT A
Proposed Procedure for Appointment of VTA Board lYlembers from the Six
"North County" Cities (City Group 2)
Election Time Frame: In December of every odd year, the Policy Advisory Committee (PAC)
members who represent the 'cities of Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Mountain View, Palo Alto,
Santa Clara, and Sunnyvale shan convene to hold an election to appoint three members and one
alternate to the VTA Board, who will start serving a two-year tenn starting January 1 st of the
following year. Should the PAC position for any of these cities be vacarit at the time of the
election, that city council may appoint a councilmember to participate in the election. Should the
PAC member for any city be unavailable at the time of the election, but the PAC Alternate be
available, the Alternate may vote on behalf of his city.
Nomination Process: The six city representatives shall choose a presiding 'officer for the
eledion at least a month in advance. The presiding officer will prepare ballots for the election,
and either supervise the vote count or conduct it personally. Each city whose council includes at
least one qualified nominee may nominate one of its qualified councilmembers for the VTA
Board. Such a city has the option of declining to nominate any of its councilmembers. A city.
with no qualified councilmembers may not make a nomination.
Qualification of Nominees: The nominee from each city must be an incumbent city
councilmember whose term limit, if any, extends at least to the end of the. two-year VTA Board term under consideration.
In order to satisfy the enabling legislation's requirement that "the appointing powers shall appoint
individuals who have expertise, experience, or knowledge relative to transportation issues," each
nominee must meet at least one of the following criteria:
• At least one year's service on the Transit District Board (the VTA Board or the County
Board of Supervisors prior to 1994).
• At least one year's service on a policy advisory committee that reports directly to the
Transit District Board (the Policy Advisory Committee, the Citizens' Advisory
Committee, or the former County Transportation Commission).
• Any other transportation policy credential that has been approved in advance by the
maj ority of the other G.roup 2 cities as meeting the intent of the experience requirement.
A maximum of one nominee per city shall be allowed. Only one councilmember from any given
city may serve on the VTA Board at any time. A VTA Board member may not serve
simultaneously on theP AC in any capacity, but an Alternate member may simultaneously serve
on the PAC. .
Quorum: Representatives from at least four of the North County cities must be present in order
for the election to proceed.
1
Presentations: All nominees will be given equal opportunities to present arguments for their
election during the meeting, and before the election is held. The length of time per candidate
shall be at the discretion of the presiding officer, with a minimum of two minutes.
Elec1ion Process: Election to the Board shall be accomplished by ranked-choice voting, using
written ballots that display all nominee naInes, the city represented by the voting member, and
that member's selections in order of preference.
Each voter present shall vote by ranking his or her top three choices in order. A voting member
must fill out all three choices in order for the ballot to be counted. A ballot that does not include
three choices ranked in order will be returned to the member for an opportunity to be filled out
correctly.
Tabulating Ballots: The ballots will be counted using the following rank/weighting fonnula:
Each first-choice candidate will be awarded three points multiplied by the population of the
voting member'S city in in thousands (rounded to the nearest thousand). Each second-choice
candidate will be awarded two points mUltiplied by population, and each third-choice candidate
will be awarded a number of points equal to the city population in thousands.
The three candidates with the largest number of points shall be appointed to the Director
positions, and the fourth-place candidate shall be appointed as the Alternate.
Vacancies: Should one of the three Directors resign from the Board or cease to be a city
councilrnember, that seat shall be declared vacant. The vacancy will be filled immediately and
automatically by the Alternate. The neWly-open Alternate position shall be filled by a vote of
the PAC members from the six cities using the ranked-choice voting procedure described above.
Nominees for that position must meet the qualifications described above and may not come from
the same city as any incumbent Director.
Amendments: This document may be amended by a resolution approved by all six cities in the
Group .. A meeting of the North County Board and PAC members shall be convened after this
procedure has been in place for ten years in order to evaluate the fairness of the selection process
and the quality of the Board members chosen.
2
ATTACHMENT B
Likens, Gayle
From:
Sent:
To:
Subject:
Emslie, Steve
Friday, March 06, 2009 10:49 AM
Likens, Gayle
FW: Choosing our next VTA Board members
Attachments: Draft North Cities Selection Process,doc; ATT1347404,htm
Gayle,
Page 1
Here is the draft VTA governance structure changes. We will need a very brief cover CMR for the packet next
week as this is going to Policy and Services 3/16.
Steve
From: Yoriko Kishfmoto [mailto:ykishimoto@earthlink.netJ
Sent: Friday, March 06, 2009 10:43 AM
To: Emslie, Steve
Subject: Fwd: Choosing our next VfA Board members
Steve --here it is.
Begin forwarded message:
From: "Christopher R. Moylan" <cimoylan@comcast.net>
Date: February 1, 2009 11 :56:04 PM PST
------------
To: <david,casas@alumni.pepperdine.edu>, <megan.satterlee@ci.los-altos,ca.us>, <becker lou@yahoo,com>.
<jeanmordo@yahoo.com>, <breeoe@bkp.com>, <margaret.abekoga@mouotaioview gov>, <Ia,macias@mountainview gov>,
<pdrekmeier@earthlink.net>, <yoriko. kishimoto@cityofpaloalto.org>, <Patrick. Burt@cityofpaloalto.org>.
< Sid, Espinosa@cilyofpaloallo.org>. <IllilYoraodcouncil@ci.santa-clara.ca.us>. "Mayor Spitaleri"
<counciltonyspitaleri@yahoo,com>, "'David Whittum'" <Yillittum@ieee.org>
Subject: Choosing our next Vf'A Board members
Dear colleagues,
As you know, our six cities have been grouped together as a region for the purpose of representation on the
Valley Transportation Authority Board of Directors. For the first ten years of the VT A's existence, the three
Directors and one Alternate from our city grouping were determined by a rotation system that ends this year. It
has been concluded by both the Policy Advisory Committee (PAC) and the VTA Board that the rotation system
should not be reinitiated. Accordingly, our cities must choose their representatives by another method,
A Governance Committee consisting of two Board members and four advisory committee members worked for
several months in 2008 to come up with improved ,representation that might alleviate some of the governance
problems identified by the 2004 county Grand Jury, the Hay Group consultants, and last year's state audit. The
PAC agreed with the Grand Jury that the best solution would be a directly-elected Board, analogous to the Water
District Board or the County Board of Supervisors, which would require changes to the enabling state legislation.
The VT A Board has taken no position on the issue, and no stakeholder group has yet formed to work with our
delegation in Sacramento to carry out that legislation change.
The Governance Committee developed another alternative that would apply only to the five Directors appointed
by the 14 cities other than San Jose, and this proposal was endorsed by the PAC as well. The Board has taken
no position on this one either. This proposal would require approval by the majority of the cities in the county.
representing a majority of the population (i.e. San Jose would have to vote for it).
Page 2 of2
On Friday, January 29, the North County Cities present at our monthly meeting decided unanimously to follow
the Governance Committee's recommended process within our own city grouping (i.e. for our three seats alone).
Having served on the Governance Committee, I was asked to adapt the Committee's recommendation to the
needs of our city grouping, and to send a draft document to interested councilmembers in all six cities. That
document is attached. It is our hope that each city will endorse this plan so that we can carry it out by the end of
the year, when we must choose our next set of Directors to represent us.
Please discuss this plan with your council, if you have not already done so, and send me a letter from your mayor
agreeing to the process on behalf of your city. If yourcity would like to request changes to the document, please
let me know (any changes would have to go back to the other cities for approval). I shaH be happy to provide
background or clarification on any portion of the draft If you would like me to send you a copy of the Governance
Committee report, which goes into the background of the issue, "II be happy to do so on request. Please
respond to me at my city email address below. .
Sincerely,
Chris
Christopher R. Moylan
Vice Mayor, City of Sunnyvale
456 West Olive Avenue
Sunnyvale, CA 94088-3707
cmoylan@ci.sunnyvale.ca.us
« »
ATTACHMENT C
POLICY AND SERVICES COlVIlVIITTEE
Special Meeting
Monday, March 16, 2009
The Policy & Services Committee of the City of Palo Alto met on this
date in the Council Conference Room at 6:01 p.m.
Present: Barton, Espinosa, Kishimoto, Schmid
Absent:
1. Oral Communications
Sanford Forte spoke regarding Council's enforcement for rules of
decorum; City employees should not be attacked during public
meetings, he urged the Committee to enforce the policy.
Ronna DeVinchenzi, 2600 EI Camino Real #100, spoke regarding
the rules of decorum.
2. Recommendation on Proposed Procedure for Appointment of
Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority Board Members from
the Six North County Cities.
Transportation Manager, Gayle Likens stated the Santa Clara Valley
Transportation Authority (VTA) had been revisiting the structure of
the Board of Directors in an effort to enhance membership. She
noted the VTA had given Cities the ability to choose how they
elected their Board Members.
Council Member Kishimoto stated she had been involved with the
VTA for eight years and was grateful to have a city with a full time
transportation representative. She noted a disadvantage to the
Board of Directors was the two-year term limit for each Board
Member, remarking the expertise was at a constant shift. She
stated the North County representation was made up of six cities,
each year a delegate and an alternate from the grouping was
selected to represent the entire North County for two years. She
POLICY AND SERVICES COlVIMITTEE
suggested entering new language into the procedures; clarifying the
representative bring forward to the full Board of Directors the
concerns for the entire Northern County grouping, the North County
grouping meet a minimum of four times per year, the elected
representative shall make diligent efforts to attend the North
County grouping meetings, and the procedures be reviewed
biannually.
Council Member Barton stated the matter appeared to need
simplifying. He stated there were six Cities in the North County
grouping; the Group needed to selectively elect their
representatives. He asked why a City without qualifications to be on
the Board could not elect a member from another City to represent
them as part of the North County group.
Council Member Kishimoto stated each year a Policy Advisory
Commissioner (PAC) was elected from each City to represent their
City in the North County meeting.
Chair Espinosa clarified there were two entities in play which
created a more complex situation. The VTA had the Policy Advisory
Committee which served as a training ground to serve as Board
Members. He stated the Cities were grouped into regions due to
specific issues or concerns for those areas. He noted the groupings
needed' to meet regularly regarding their specific concerns then
bring those concerns to the PAC for further discussion and
clarification prior to Board involvement .
. Council Member Schmid stated his concern was for Palo Alto not
being properly recognized on the Board. He stated if the voting was
weighted by population with Palo Alto being one of the smaller
Cities, their ability to take a Board seat was less frequent.
Council Member Espinosa stated that concern had been shared
th'roughout other groupings and had been acknowledged by the
Board which was why the current policy was being reviewed.
Council Member Kishimoto provided clarification for her suggestion
of implementing the review process every two to four years to
verify each City was being treated fairly.
POLICY AND SERVICES COy!lYlITTEE
Council Member Schmid stated since the Board rotation was every
two years that would be too short of a term for a review period. He
suggested four years.
Council Member Kishimoto altered her language to read "review the
policy every two years for the first six years then extend the review
process to every four years."
Council Member Barton asked whether Los Altos Hills had VTA
service outside of Arastradero and Foothill Expressway.
Council Member Kishimoto stated the VTA serviced more than buses
and trains, the services of VTA covered roads and bike lanes.
Chair Espinosa stated there was a desire from the North County to
have major governance structural changes that would benefit
everyone involved with VTA.
Council Member Kishimoto stated Measure B in 1993 created the
Advisory Board made up of sixteen advisory members with five
directly elected members with City and County representation.
Council Member Barton stated he believed the five County
Supervisors were directly elected to serve on the Board of Directors
until 1997.
Council Member Kishimoto stated she did not believe they were
elected to serve on the VTA Board of Directors.
Chair Espinosa stated the current role of Supervisor was under
discussion within the policy.
Council Member Barton asked why each City did not receive a vote.
Council Member Kishimoto stated that had been suggested. She
noted that each City served a seat on the PAC which gave them a
voice. She stated each City's vote was proportionate to their
population.
POLICY AND SERVICES COlVIlVIITTEE
Council Member Schmid asked whether the PAC's role was to give
advice to the North County Board representative regarding the
vote.
Chair Espinosa stated the PAC consisted of representatives from
each City that recommended policy changes to the full VTA Board.
Council Member Schmid asked whether the PAC mandated the way
the Board voted or just made recommendations to them.
Council Member Kishimoto stated the PAC recommended but did
not mandate the vote.
MOTION: Council Member Kishimoto moved, seconded by Chair
Espinosa to approve Staff recommendation to forward a
recommendation to the City Council on the proposed selection
procedure for North County Cities Board Members on the Santa
Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) Board of Directors, and
to add the following four points:
1) Clarify the representative bring forward to the full Board
all of the concerns from the entire North County
2) The North County grouping must meet a minimum of
four times per year
3) The elected representative shall make diligent efforts to
attend the North County grouping meetings
4) The policy should be reviewed every two years.
Council Member Kishimoto stated her goal was to have all Cities
and representatives involved work together for a common goal.
Chair Espinosa stated at present there was not a strong enoug h
support for anyone change proposed for Board adoption.
Council Member Barton asked how the approach Palo Alto was
currently taking compared to the possible approach being taken by
other entities.
Chair Espinosa stated there was a great fluctuation with the County
groups. Some areas meet more frequently where others meet
POLICY AND SERVICES COMlVIITTEE
rarely, he stated it was dependent on the needs of that particular
group.
Council Member Kishimoto asked whether language could be
entered into the policy determining after a predetermined amount
of time, if Palo Alto was not getting proper representation on the
Board, the policy would revert back to its original state.
City Attorney Gary Baum stated the agreement which was being
discussed was between six cities, once the agreement had been
solidified it would need to be approved by the remaining five cities.
Council Member Kishimoto stated she would alter her Motion to
read after four years there would be a review of the policy, after
. eight years the Council must take affirmative action on the
approach or the policy reverted back to its original status.
Chair Espinosa clarified Item No. 4 of the Motion was being set-up
as a trial and would revert back to the original status of Board
Member selection unless Council adopted the process. He asked
what the timeframe was for Council to adopt the trial.
Council Member Kishimoto stated the trial period would last eight
years with a check-in at four years.
Chair Espinosa stated eight years seemed a long time for a trial
basiS.
Council Member Barton asked whether the intent was for any City
Council to amend the policy either at the check-in or after the eight
years. He stated it read as though if any city felt they were not
being fairly represented by the group they could review after four
years and again if not satisfied by the representation could revert
back to the original status.
Council Member Kishimoto stated it was not obvious what the
voting rules were which was her intent for the policy change.
Chair Espinosa stated as seconder, he did not support the language
change. He suggested it go as a separate vote.
POLICY AND SERVICES COMMITTEE
AMENDMENT: Council Member Kishimoto moved, seconded by
XXX that item 4 of the Motion read after four years there would be
a review of the policy, after eight years the Council must take
affirmative action on the approach or the policy reverted back to its
original status on selection of Board Members.
AMENDMENT FAILED DUE TO LACK OF SECOND.
MOTION PASSED: 3-1, Barton no