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HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff Report 344-09TO: HONORABLE CITY COUNCIL FROM: CITY MANAGER DEPARTMENT: CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE DATE: AUGUST 3, 2009 CMR: 344:09 REPORT TYPE: CONSENT CALENDAR SUBJECT: Approval of transfer of $70,000 from Council Contingency to fund High Speed Rail Informational Symposium, Design Workshop, and Technical Consulting Services related to City review of the San Francisco to San Jose High Speed Train (RST) Project EIR. RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends that the City Council approve a transfer from Council Contingency in the amount of $70,000 to fund activities related to the staff and Council High Speed Rail Ad Hoc Committee review of the San Francisco to San Jose High Speed Train Project EIR, including the following: 1. A budget of $20,000 for the City's share of two important out reach events Palo Alto is taking the lead on in coordination with the Peninsula Cities Consortium: a) the High Speed Rail Informational Symposium (or "Teach In") on September 12th, a one-day session intended to bring High Speed Rail experts to a series of panel discussions followed by facilitated community discussions. Estimated Cost: $5,000; and b) The Design Workshop, a two-day event on October 3rd and 4th bringing urban design professionals to develop design plans for best integrating high speed rail into the Palo Alto community. Estimated Costs: $15,000. 2. A budget of $50,000 to fund the retention of outside expertise to provide peer review and analysis of technical documents including the project alternatives analysis as they are released by HSR staff. BACKGROUND On May 18th the Council adopted Guiding Principles to provide direction to the High Sped Rail Ad Hoc Committee. Mayor Drekmeier appointed Council members Kishimoto, Barton, Burt, and Klein to this committee. The Ad Hoc Committee has been working closely with the Peninsula Cities Consortium (PCC) to develop public outreach and education efforts and to explore urban design solutions that consider community values for the high speed train project. CMR:344:09 Page 1 of3 DISCUSSION In order to proceed with the next steps in the PCC process and Ad Hoc Committee and Council review of the San Francisco to San Jose High Speed Train Project EIR, staff has identified the need for funding of approximately $70,000 for the following three activities: 1. High Speed Rail Informational Symposium As a member of the PCC and working in cooperation with its partner agencies, Palo Alto will sponsor an all-day "teach-in" on September 12, 2009 in the Palo Alto City Council Chambers as a prelude to the October workshop. The purpose of the "teach-in" is to provide the public with training in urban design and planning concepts and to bring all attending up to the same baseline level of knowledge in preparation for the urban design workshop. Caltrain experts will make a presentation on the basics of best practices of railroad planning and design. The expert presentation will be followed by series of panel discussions followed by facilitated community discussions and answer any technical questions from the public. The total cost of this project is $5,000. Caltrain, acting in its capacity as the project manager of the HSR project, has offered to participate to offset the event costs. 2. Urban Design and Planning Workshop A more complete two-day design workshop is scheduled for October 3rd and 4th. The workshop will focus on the Palo Alto segment of the HST/Caltrain corridor including segments north and south of the city limits in adjacent cities. The workshop will be open to the public and staffed with design professionals and organizers from the broader design community who have agreed to volunteer their time to participate in this event in order to minimize costs. This two-day event will be similar to a design charrette. On the first day of the workshop, there will be a briefing by design professionals, brainstorming and interviewing sessions for all participants and an opportunity to form teams to work on design concepts. On the second day, a team of national experts will present conceptual urban design plans. The workshop is largely organized by volunteers supported by Palo Alto staff. The workshop participants will also be volunteers. Input and consultation has all been accomplished through volunteers and community leaders. The total cost of the event is estimated to be $15,000 which will be funded by the City, but staff will be contacting Caltrain regarding co-sponsorship of this event. The Council requested that the HSR subcommittee (Kishimoto, Barton, Burt, and Klein) return with a budget prior to expending $15,000. Incidental expenses involve room rentals, document preparation, base maps, printing and video documentation. 3. Technical Expertise Consultant As reported in the last HSR staff report on July 20th, the California High Speed Rail Authority (HSRA) team released the draft scoping report for the San Francisco to San Jose High Speed Train project in June. The next steps for the HSRA team include initiation of the alternatives analysis, technical evaluations, and preparation of the draft Project EIRiEIS, scheduled for release in the first quarter of 20 11. CMR:344:09 Page 2 of3 Staff has recognized the need for the City to retain outside expertise as technical documents are released by HSRA staff. This fall, HSR staff anticipates releasing drafts of the alternatives analysis. Staff anticipates that the Ad Hoc Committee and Council will need independent peer review of technical conclusions such as tunneling feasibility and other below grade options, costs, and railroad operations. Staff is requesting $50,000 to retain expert engineering consulting servIces. POLICY IMPLICATIONS This action is consistent with existing Council policy direction. RESOURCE INIP ACT Funding for the HSR Ad Hoc committee was not included in the City's FY 2010 Adopted Budget. Staff is requesting that the City Council's Contingency Account provide the funding in the amount of $70,000 for the activities described above. The City Council's annual appropriation for the contingency account is $250,000. This transaction will reduce the City Council's contingency account from $250,000 to $180,000. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW This request for funding is not considered a project under the California Environmental Quality Act. PREPARED BY: /'" 7 STEVE EMSLIE CITY MANAGER APPROVAL: ---- CMR:344:09 Deputy City Manager JAMES KEENE City Manager Page 3 of3