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Home My WebLink AboutStaff Report 3370 City of Palo Alto (ID # 3370) Policy and Services Committee Staff Report Report Type: Meeting Date: 12/11/2012 City of Palo Alto Page 1 Summary Title: 2013 Council Priority Setting Process Title: Recommendations for 2013 Council Priority Setting Process From: City Manager Lead Department: City Manager Recommendation Staff recommends that the Policy and Services Committee discuss and consider making recommendations to the City Council on the process to be used at the Annual Retreat to identify the 2013 Council Priorities. Background On October 1, 2012, the City Council approved the Council Priority Setting Guidelines included as Attachment A. The guidelines define a Council priority and lay out the purpose, process and general parameters for annual priority setting. Consistent with these guidelines, the Council established December 1 as the deadline for Council submitting 2013 priorities to staff. In addition, the City Clerk’s Office requested input from the public on Council priorities under this same timeline. As the Council directed, after the submittal period closes, staff is to collect and organize the Council recommended priorities into a list and provide to the Council no later than two weeks in advance of the 2013 Retreat. Each year the Policy and Services Committee, at its December meeting, is to review the priorities suggested and consider making recommendations to the City Council about the process that will be used to identify priorities at the Annual Retreat. The recommended process is to be forwarded to the Council for adoption. City of Palo Alto Page 2 Discussion This staff report provides the input received from the Council and the public on the priorities to be reviewed and considered for 2013. In addition, staff has provided some information on past practices for reviewing and identifying the 2013 priorities. Input from City Council and Community Staff received input on recommended priorities from Council members and community members. Attachment B provides a summary of the Council recommended priorities and the detailed recommendations that each Council member submitted. Attachment C provides a summary of the input received from the community and the correspondence from each of the community members. Past Practices and Procedural Options The City’s past practices for establishing the Council’s annual priorities has ranged from formal processes of Council submitting priorities and scoring/voting on proposals to more informal reviews and discussions at Council Retreats. In the past few years, the Mayor has worked with the City Manager to develop the agenda for the Annual Retreat and the process for facilitating the Council’s discussion on priorities. The objectives and specific projects that reflect the work necessary to fulfill the priorities have also been reviewed and established by the City Council either at their Annual Retreat, by recommendation of the Policy and Services Committee, or proposed by staff for Council consideration. Timeline Staff will provide a list of the input received and the Policy and Services Committee’s process recommendations no later than two weeks in advance of the retreat. At this time, the Council’s 2013 Annaul Retreat has not been scheduled, however it is typically held each year in January. Attachments:  Attachment A. Priority Setting Guidelines (PDF)  Attachment B. City Council Recommended 2013 Priorities (PDF)  Attachment C. Community Recommended 2013 Council Priorities (PDF) City of Palo Alto City Council Priority Setting Guidelines Approved by City Council: October 1, 2012 Last revised: October 1, 2012 Background The City Council adopted its first Council priorities in 1986. Each year the City Council reviews it’s priorities at its Annual Council Retreat. On October 1, 2012 the City Council formally adopted the definition of a council priority, and the Council’s process and guidelines for selection of priorities. Definition A Council priority is defined as a topic that will receive particular, unusual and significant attention during the year. Purpose The establishment of Council priorities will assist the Council and staff to better allot and utilize time for discussion and decision making. Process 1. Three months in advance of the annual Council Retreat, staff will solicit input from the City Council on the priorities to be reviewed and considered for the following year. a. Council members may submit up to three priorities. b. Priorities should be submitted no later than December 1. c. As applicable, the City Manager will contact newly elected officials for their input by December 1. d. The City Clerk will provide timely notice to the public to submit proposed priorities by December 1. The Policy and Services Committee shall recommend to the Council which suggestions if any shall be considered at the City Council retreat. 2. Staff will collect and organize the recommended priorities into a list for Council consideration, and provide to Council no less than two weeks in advance of the retreat. 3. The Policy and Services Committee, each year at its December meeting, shall make recommendations about the process that will be used at the Annual Retreat paying particular attention to the number of priorities suggested by Council members. The recommended process is to be forwarded to Council for adoption in advance of the Council retreat. Guidelines for Selection of Priorities 1. There is a goal of no more than three priorities per year. 2. Priorities generally have a three year time limit. Attachment A City of Palo Alto City Council Priority Setting Schedule Last Updated: 8/17/2012 Attachment A Nov Staff Solicits Input from Council P&S Committee Meeting to Discuss Recommended Process Council Deadline to Submit Priorities Dec. 1 Council Meeting to Consider Recommended Process Council Holds Annual Council Retreat + +--+ • Dec Jan Feb Attachment B. Summary of City Council Recommended 2013 Council Priorities and Detailed Correspondence Date Name Priority Area Councilmember Price 1. Funding and Planning for Infrastructure Improvements (including new facilities) 2. Environmental Sustainability 3. Community Collaboration for Youth Well Being Councilmember Holman 1. Healthy City/Healthy Community 2. Walkable Streets, Livable Neighborhoods 3. Downtown/Commercial Development Cap Councilmember Klein 1. Infrastructure 2. Technology 3. Downtown Councilmember Scharff 1. Build a Parking Garage 2. Infrastructure 3. Increase Resident and Visitor Enjoyment of our Commercial Areas 4. Technology Councilmember Schmid 1. Investigate the Impacts of Rapid Commercial Growth 2. Assure that the Cities Commercial Sites are Vibrant and Attractive 3. Grow HSRAP Funding by 10‐20% Councilmember Shepherd 1. Connecting in Multiple Ways: Transit, Shuttle, Internet, Fiber to the Premises (FTTP) etc. 2. Public‐private Partnerships 3. Infrastructure Strategy and Funding (revenue measure) Councilmember Elect Berman 1. Infrastructure Improvements 2. Land Use and Transportation, with an Emphasis on Parking 3. City Finances Councilmember Elect Kniss 1. Misuse of the PC 2. Traffic and Downtown Parking Issues 3. Quality of Life City Council Recommended Priorities *Additional detail on proposed priorities attached. Page 1 of 1 December 6, 2012 Councilmember Price 1. Funding and Planning for Infrastructure Improvements (including new facilities). With the results of the Infrastructure Blue Ribbon Commission and several presentations to City Council, this focus area would continue work that has begun. A critical timetable has also already been established in preparation for a potential bond measure, including examining of various potential revenue sources and public private partnerships. The problem statement and needs have been clearly identified. This broader effort will require concerted effort and work by many departments, the Council, and the community. 2. Environmental Sustainability. While this concept should be integrated into all that we do, the monitoring of our progress across departments is still needed. We need to be more explicit about our progress while identifying areas of further work and promise. Many of the items within this current focus area have been completed but additional work needs to be identified. The work on additional collaborations with business, technology, and academic institution still needs refinement, for example. 3. Community Collaboration for Youth Well Being. With the recent hire of a Project Safety Net manager, PSN work continues to be more collaborative and focused. While significant progress has been made there is much that needs to be expanded and coordinated to ensure stronger work in education about mental health, suicide prevention, and youth well‐ being. Many milestones have been achieved: establishment of MOUs with provider organizations, educational and community‐based groups, the PSN structure, the PSN Report identifying initiatives and actions that need to be accomplished and strategic planning work. The retention of this focus area is important because it notes the significance, concern, and value of this work in the community. This focus area also supports additional partnerships and collaborations and options for funding to further the work. It sends a clear message and call to action about the mental health and well‐being of our youth. Councilmember Holman 1. Healthy City/Healthy Community http://www.enotes.com/healthy‐communities‐reference/healthy‐communities Examples of actions Council might pursue: a. Adopt a Healthy City/Healthy Community policy b. Identify and pursue opportunities to expand HSRAP funding c. Incorporate Compassionate Communities programs 2. Walkable Streets, Livable Neighborhoods Examples of actions could include: a. Increase sidewalk widths to meet El Camino Real Design Guidelines and Grand Boulevard Initiative & Principals b. Strengthen development standards to deliver buildings that better relate to the street through frequent building entrances, windows, etc. as described in LEED‐ND and the Grand Boulevard Initiative c. Evaluate incorporation of such project components as increased public spaces, canopy, community gardens, and art 3. Downtown/Commercial Development Cap Examples of what is known or assumed to be included: a. Complete the Development Cap Study b. Incorporate study of Ground Floor Retail protections c. Incorporate update of parking standards and requirements Councilmember Klein 1. Infrastructure. By this I mean acting on the IBRC report, readying ourselves for a possible 2014 revenue measure for infrastructure and the various items we refer to as Cubberley. 2. Technology. We talk a lot about using technology to enhance the City’s job performance and its ability to interact with our citizens but we have yet to develop an overarching technology plan. Items we could engage under this rubric: Should we have a 311 plan or its equivalent? Is it time for us to go a Smart Grid System? Should we have an official Innovation Program in the City Manager’s Office? 3. Downtown. We are going to be studying the parking problem downtown and the square footage cap and we’re going to consider what’s appropriate at 27 University. This priority would include those issues but also ask and try to answer broader questions such as: What do we see as Downtown’s future? What do we want Downtown to look like from a strictly architectural standpoint? Could we—or should we‐‐ underground the railroad tracks and thus expand Downtown? Councilmember Scharff 1. Build a Parking Garage. Address the downtown parking issues by committing to build a parking garage where it will do the most good. a. We have an additional 7.6 million going to the infrastructure Reserve Fund. This combined with the money in the parking fund allows us to build a parking garage if we so choose. b. This garage would not have to be encumbered by Parking Assessment rules and the City could choose to permit it to draw the maximum number of cars out of the neighborhoods. The City would have a free hand to determine how best to do this. This would open up a lot of possibilities on how to address the parking issues. 2. Infrastructure. This has been a defacto priority and should be a formal priority until we accomplish the goals that we started with the Blue Ribbon Task Force. 3. Increase Resident and Visitor Enjoyment of our Commercial areas. Possible thoughts as to how to accomplish this: a. Phase out non‐conforming non‐retail uses b. Protect existing retail uses c. Expand Ground Floor retail uses in mixed use areas d. Build retail linkages and corridors to the SOFA area e. Extend a Percent for Art Policy to non‐municipal projects f. Look at sidewalk widths and uses g. Look at making King Plaza a vibrant area with Food Trucks or outside cafe with tables and chairs like a European plaza h. Look at sidewalk widths and uses i. Encourage public spaces and the use of public spaces, e.g. free wifi hot spots with tables 4. Technology. Identify areas of the City that technology could be used to: a. Increase productivity b. Save money or resources (sustainability) c. Increase transparency d. Increase residence convenience or quality of life e. More efficiently use existing resources (i.e. parking) Councilmember Schmid 1. Investigate the impacts of rapid commercial growth Potential Actions: Complete the update of the Development Cap, including the areas directly abutting the Downtown; take a comprehensive look at the parking issue and the current parking gap; establish better criteria for measure traffic (e.g. time per segment); understand the link between Economic Development and City Finances‐‐answer the question of how the city benefits from expansion of office space and retail. 2. Assure that the cities commercial sites are vibrant and attractive Potential Actions: Look at the sidewalk widths and uses; expand ground floor retail in mixed use areas; encourage public spaces, art and canopy; foster relationship to neighboring buildings through LEED‐ND. 3. Grow HSRAP funding by 10‐20% Potential Actions: Look at the range of city activities that can be helped with a modest expansion of HSRAP funding: seniors, Downtown Streets Team; counseling at the Opportunity Center; Vehicular Dwelling program; etc. Councilmember Shepherd 1. Making the connection in multiple ways: transit, shuttle, Internet, FTTP, etc. Focus on getting Palo Alto to move smart, and connect. 2. Public‐private Partnerships. Help focus our community on how to build capacity for all the services and opportunities we offer. I hope to see a full time staff member assigned to supporting the activities. I have already reached out to community members for their thinking and efforts. 3. Infrastructure Strategy and Funding (revenue measure) Councilmember Elect Berman 1. Infrastructure Improvements 2. Land Use and Transportation, with an emphasis on parking 3. City Finances Councilmember Elect Kniss 1. Misuse of the PC. Stated in many ways, but clearly the public feels the developers have more influence than appropriate. 2. Traffic and downtown parking issues. Traffic in particular, and its increase, along with bikes, walkers, etc. 3. Quality of life. Sense of being “taken over” by wealthy (and therefore privileged) new homeowners. Losing the “community” feel of Palo Alto. Overcrowding in the schools, as well. Attachment C. Summary of Community Recommended 2013 Council Priorities and Detailed Correspondence Date Name Priority Area 1 11.28.12 Liz Browne Stagnant water in street gutters ‐ mosquito breeding/exposure to West Nile virus 2 11.28.12 Ken Dinwiddie Stagnant water in street gutters 3 11.18.12 Pat Marriott 1. Recommends distinguishing between mandatory priorities vs. discretionary priorities; focus on discretionary priorities 2. Infrastructure 4 11.14.12 Sharleen Fiddaman 1. Financial (balanced budget) 2. Traffic 3. Street parking 4. Insufficient parking 5. Drop ABAG 5 11.08.12 Larry and Zongqi Alton 1. Downtown area parking relief 2. Reducing City salaries/benefits in line with industry 3. How to keep zoning regulations from being waived for developers 4. Improve streets, sidewalks, landscaping, buildings in downtown Palo Alto 5. Restrooms in Johnson Park and others 6. Increase support for our senior center 7. Bicycle paths and crossing over 101 on University Ave. 6 11.17.12 Jeff Hoel Fiber to the Premises (FTTP) *Demonstrates how FTTP aligns with current Council Priorities/email provides links to resources to provide a broader context for FTTP 7 11.23.12 Andy Poggio Fiber to the Premises Community Recommended Priorities Page 1 of 2 December 6, 2012 Attachment C. Summary of Community Recommended 2013 Council Priorities and Detailed Correspondence Date Name Priority Area Community Recommended Priorities 8 11.21.12 Christina Llerena (on behalf of Project Safety Net Steering Committee) Community Collaboration for Youth Bell Being ‐ Project Safety Net 9 11.26.12 Bill Terry Fire safety in Foothills 10 11.28.12 Jo Guttadauro Affordable Housing 11 11.28.12 Robert and Mary Carlstead 1. Honest and "transparency" 2. Reduce ALL unnecessary spending and have strict audits 3. Reduce the size of number of personnel 4. Repair the infrastructure 5. Stop the incessant utility 'green' harping and deluge of "don't" reminders 6. Rein in the Utility Department and cut back on the amount our utilities pad the General Fund 7. Concentrate on the wellbeing of those who live here,not focus on those who want to and for whom we have no more room *Additional detail on proposed priorities attached. Page 2 of 2 December 6, 2012 From: <lizbrowne@sbcglobal.net> Date: November 28, 2012,1:41:56 PM PST To: <donna.grider@cityofpaloalto.org> Subject: City Council request for suggestions for 2013 Priorities Reply. To: <lizbrowne@sbcglobal.net> Responding to the article "Around Town" for residents suggestions of what to focus on in 2013: I have had a problem with water collecting in the gutter in front of my home since 2004. I reported it to the city because there was much publicity regarding stagnant water and the problem with West Nile Virus. Santa Clara County Vector Control verified that the mosquitoes were breeding there and took a sample for testing. Now, eight years later, I still have the problem. I would very much like to have this resolved as the West Nile problem is still with us. Elizabeth Browne 549 Jackson Drive 1 ,. , From: Ken Dinwiddie <kend@daise.com> Date: November 28,2012, 1:16:47 PM PST To: <donna.grider@cityofpaloalto.org> Subject: Focus 2013 Priorities Donna, For many years, the gutter in front of our home at 543 Jackson Drive has accumulated water from rain or irrigation runoff. The problem is even more serious further toward Edgewood Drive, with a sizable pond following each rain. Noting that a segment of sidewalk/gutter was recently replaced on Hamilton Avenue at the intersection with Jackson Drive, we are hoping that similar action may transpire soon on Jackson Drive. Ken Dinwiddie 543 Jackson Drive Palo Alto, CA 94303-2832 kend@daise.com 1 From: Pat Marriott [mailto:patmarriott@sbcglobal.net] Sent: Sunday, November 18, 2012 5:17 PM To: Council, City; Liz@knissforcouncil.com; marc@voteberman.com Cc: Grider, Donna Subject: Priorities Council Members, Each year there is considered and considerable debate about the Top 5 Council Priorities. And each year there is debate over the meaning of a priority. The November 13, 2012 document calling for public input for 2013 priorities says, "A Council Priority is defined as a topic that will receive particular, unusual and significant attention during the year./I I'm pleased to see that the city is attempting to define "priority./I However, I think part of the confusion comes from the distinction between what I will call mandatory priorities and discretionary priorities. Mandatory Priorities Discretionary Priorities Legal imperatives Not required by law Drive the budget in funding and staffing Funded if there is money available after the mandatory priorities have been funded Must be city priorities, not just council priorities, Do not necessarily require participation of all i.e., Council, Commissions and Staff must all march branches of the city government to these priorities Cannot change from year-to-year Can change year-to-year if they can be achieved in a year Examples: Finances and core services, e.g., public Examples: Youth well-being safety, roads, infrastructure See Cities must define core services at http://sfgate.com/cgi- bin[article.cgi7f=[c[a[2010[03[08[EDL21CBFUP.DTL In the past, annual discussions and retreats have mixed the two. For example, the 2012 priorities are 1. City Finances (obviously essential for both mandatory and discretionary priorities) 2. Land Use & Transportation Planning (awfully broad and subject to interpretation) 3. Emergency Preparedness (mandatory) 4. Environmental Sustainability (also subject to interpretation) 5. Community Collaboration for Youth Well Being (discretionary and very vague) 1 In looking at these priorities, one can't help wondering what happened to Infrastructure, which seems to have been top of mind for the last two years -and since Mayor Yiaway Yeh dubbed 2012 the "year of infrastructure renewal and investment." That certainly sounds like a priority! I respectfully suggest that in the annual priority discussions, the city take the mandatory priorities off the table. They are set in stone. After determining how much is available in discretionary funds, discretionary priorities can be determined. This would alter the definition: "A Discretionary Priority is defined as a topic that will receive particular, unusual and significant attention during the year." And it would require assigning the related action items to the relevant council members, commissioners and/or staff. I would appreciate your feedback on these ideas. Thank you for considering them. Best, Pat Marriott 2 From: Sharleen Fiddaman [mailto:sf@sharleenfiddaman.coml Sent: Wednesday, November 14,20125:57 PM To: Boatwright, Tabatha Subject: RE: Call for Public Input on the 2013 Council Priorities I suggest: Financial-balanced budget; no more expensive consultants Traffic -why does North PA have the only accesses to 101 and 180 ... Embarcadero and Oregon are becoming jammed! Embarcadero has nice homes, major park and ali center, an elementary and high school and major shopping at Town&Country. Consider Charleston/Arastrado connection: it is a wide street with little traffic now! Street Parking -when I came to P A you needed a permit to park on the street ... too many huge new homes have only a one-car garage! Require more! Insufficient Parking -require more garages: I suggest an underground garage below Heritage Park -see the fabulous one on Stanford campus! Drop ABAG -the forced housing is destroying Palo Alto -it used to be a charming town! Sharleen Fiddaman -48 year homeowner 1 From: Larry and Zongqi Alton [mailto:lalton@pacbell.net] Sent: Thursday, November 08,20129:56 PM To: Grider, Donna Subject: council priorities for 2013 Hi Donna, I suggest the following priorities: Downtown area parking relief How to reduce city salaries and benefits to be inline with industry How to keep zoning regulations from being waived for developers and builders Improve streets, sidewalks, landscaping, buildings in downtown palo alto for a better image Toilet in Johnson park, and other parks Increase support for our senior center Bicycle paths and a bike crossing over 101 on University avenue Thanks for your interest, Larry Alton 1 From: Jeff Hoel [mailto:jefChoel@yahoo.com] Sent: Saturday, November 17, 2012 4:53 PM To: Clerk, City Subject: Council's 2013 priorities --choose citywide municipal FTTP City Clerk Grider, I recommend that one of Council's priorities for 2013 should be to adopt a plan in 2013 for implementing citywide municipal fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) by 2016. The priorities for 2012 are 1. City Finances 2. Land Use & Transportation Planning 3. Emergency Preparedness 4. Environmental Sustainability 5. Community Collaboration for Youth Well Being In a way, it would be hard to argue that any of them don't deserve to be priorities. But in another way, they don't help the public --or staff, or commissioners, or Council,--to understand what should actually be done because they are priorities. Here's how I think citywide municipal FTTP is in alignment with the 2012 priorities: 1. CITY FINANCES The City always has a list of things it might choose to invest in because they'd be nice to have, even though they'll never provide a financial return. Citywide municipal FTTP is an example of something that would not only be nice to have, but would also be a utility that pays for itself. A citywide municipal FTTP network can contribute to economic growth, by enabling existing businessesto offer new services, as well as enabling new businesses to be created. http://www.muninetworks.org/content/community-broadband-and-economic-development-fact-sheet 11-07-12: "Community Broadband and Economic Development Fact Sheet" Christopher Mitchell. http://m uninetworks.org/sites/www.mu ninetworks.org/files/fact -sheet -econ-dev. pdf A citywide municipal FTIP network can increase property values. 2. LAND USE & TRANSPORTATION PLANNING Citywide municipal FTIP makes possible more telecommuting, as well as shifting commutes to off-peak hours. By the way, here's one land use problem Palo Alto doesn't have: in Kansas City, where Google is offering 1-Gbps internet to residences but not y~t businesses, startups want to convert residences into offices. 1 http://gigao m. com/2012/ 11/09/ gotta-get-a-gig-kc-sta rtu ps-a re-b uyi ng-hom es-to-get-google-fi be r / 3. EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS. Part of emergency preparedness is having a telecommunications network that is ultra-reliable and has enough capacity. FTIP meets these requirements. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/susan-crawford/hurrican-sandy-infrastructure-recovery_b_2079116.htm I 11-06-12: "The Two Key Investments To Build Back Better Post-Sandy" Susan Crawford. (Fiber is one.) http://isen.com/blog/2012/11/storm-recovery-chattanooga-style-versus-sandy-and-athena/ 11-09-12: "Storm Recovery --Chattanooga Style versus Sandy and Athena" David Isenberg. 4. ENVIRONMENTALSUSTAINABILITY A citywide municipal FTIP network can be used to implement smart grid. Smart grid can schedule the recharging of electric cars so that the electrical grid doesn't have to be beefed up. 5. COMMUNITY COLLABORATION FOR YOUTH WELL BEING A citywide municipal FTIP network can contribute to the well being of the community generally, including our youth. Thanks. Jeff Jeff Hoel 731 Colorado Avenue Palo Alto, CA 94303 PS: Perhaps Council members should take a moment to reflect on the merits of using retreats to pick priorities. As far as I know, the very first Council retreat at which priorities were identified formally occurred on May 15, 2000, at the Foothills Interpretive Center. http://www.cityofpaloalto.org/cityagenda/publish/citycouncil-archive/2000/000515.htm I Frank Benest (in his 36th day as Palo Alto's City Manager) invited Council to playa parlor game: fill flip charts with ideas for priorities, and then vote for them using an allocated number of colored stick-on dots. Council Member Mossar objected in principle, saying that colleagues might propose and vote for their own parochial pet projects, knowing full well that the City would have to do all the really important things anyway, whether or not this parlor game identified them as priorities. "Humor me," said Frank. In 2009, during Jim Keene's first year as City Manager, the process evolved into picking a hierarchy of 3 priorities, 16 strategies for accomplishing the priorities, and 75 actions for accomplishing the strategies. As I remember it, Council picked the priorities during the retreat, and then staff made up the strategies and actions later, more or less based on Council's discussion during the retreat. http://www.cityofpaloalto.org/civicax/filebank/documents/15359 The City invested in some gee-whiz animated "See-It" software for displaying priorities, strategies, and actions on computer screens --including displaying an assessment of how well actions had been accomplished. 2 http://visiblestrategies.com/paloalto/video/ As far as I know, the City has abandoned using this software, and unfortunately much of the data it once displayed has been lost. In hindsight, maybe the data should have been saved in a more survivable format. In 2010, there were 5 priorities, 28 strategies, and 135 actions. http://www .cityofpa loa Ito.org/ civicax/fi leba nk/ documents/25023 Under the "City Finances" priority was the "Economic Development" strategy, and under it was the action "Business Needs --Broadband Needs / Google Fiber RFI." The "deliverable" of this action was "Await response from Google to City's proposal and develop. next steps as appropriate." Unfortunately, after Google failed to give Palo Alto a FTTP network, this "action" item failed to provide any real guidance abour what next steps were appropriate. In 1995, Council voted to implement the City's dark fiber network. That was a visionary first step toward cityide municipal FTTP. They didn't do it because it was a formal, retreat-chosen "priority." They did it because it was a really important thing to do anyway. In 1896, the City created a municipal water utility. In 1898, it created a municipal wastewater utility. In 1900, it created a municipal electric utility. In 1917, it created a municipal gas utility. All long before the era of retreat-chosen priorities. http://www.cityofpaloalto.org/gov/depts/utl/about/history.asp If the City had not created these utilities, it would now be a lot more limited regarding what it could do to promote environmental sustainability; I think the same kind of opportunity exists for FTTP. So, at your next retreat, choose "priorities" if you must, 'but don't let it get in the way of doing what's really important. 3 Attachments: 2013 Palo Alto City Council Priority.pdf; 2013ChattanogaFiber.pdf -----Original Message----- From: Andy Poggio [mailto:apoggio@pacbell,net] Sent: Friday, November 23, 2012 9:37 AM To: Grider, Donna Subject: Re: 2013 City Council Priorities Hi Donna, I may not have been clear about my submission --I'd like my writeup, and the accompanying article, to be part of the input to the new council's 2013 city priorities offsite meeting. It can go into a packet for the 2013 council also, but I especially want it to be input for the offsite. Please include both of the attached pdfs. Thanks. 2013 Palo Alto City Council Priority: Fiber to the Premises Andy Poggio (apoggio@pacbell.net) Technical Advisor to the Mayor 2708 Gaspar ct. Palo Alto The city council seeks community input for its 2013 priorities. I would like to recommend that a priority be building out Fiber To The Premises (FTTP). This infrastructure can be financed from the current fiber funds and revenue as well as possibly other means. WhyFTTP? Satisfy community demand: both the Utility survey and the city's enthusiastic response to Google's gigabit fiber project indicate community demand for FTTP. Promote startups, and attract and retain other businesses: Palo Alto is 19sing ground to San Francisco as a startup incubator, largely due to young entrepreneurs preferring the amenities oflatter. FTTP will be a valuable attraction for startups, as it will offer both affordable, high bandwidth network structure as well as a means to scale their operations as they grow. FTTP will also attract and retain other businesses [1]. Raise property values: FTTP will add value to properties that offer it [2]. Increase environmental sustainability: FTTP will allow more people to telecommute and to do so more often. Future-proof communications infrastructure: Optical fiber's enormous bandwidth compared to copper or wireless media makes it relatively future-proof infrastructure. Upcoming technologies needing FTTP bandwidth are Ultra High Definition (4K) television (available for preorder now) and 3D printing (printers available now). Aging in place: As our population ages, there is increasing value in enabling our citizens to remain in their homes and age in place. FTTP offers improved . capabilities, for example high quality video monitoring, to allow aging in place. Backbone for wireless infrastructure: Many have noted the value of a citywide wireless infrastructure. FTTP would provide the backbone for such an infrastructure, making a wireless overlay a smaller, incremental investment. I i Emergency preparedness: While Palo Alto is unlikely to experience a hurricane such as Sandy, we will experience a major earthquake in the future. Smart electrical grids connected by fiber have demonstrated superior resilience in emergencies [3]. Keep Palo Alto great: Palo Alto has many unique, desirable characteristics, but few oriented toward the future. High speed Internet over FTTP is the future. As Wayne Gretzky says, "A good hockey player plays where the puck is. A great hockey player plays where the puck is going to be." We want keep Palo Alto great. In summary, FTTP needs to be a Palo Alto priority. I am certain that you believe, as I do, that our library system is valuable to the community and that we have been wise to invest in it even though it will never show a profit. N ow compare how often you use the library system in a month to how often you use the Internet in a month. It is clear that FTTP is worthy of the same investment that we have lavished on our libraries and that it represents the future. References: 1. http://stopthecap.com/2012/1 O/09/kansas-city, .. tech-businesses-relocating to-first-google-fiberhoods-it -makes-life-easier I 2. http://www.dslreports.com/shownews I Google-Fiber-Raising" Property Values-121817 3. http://isen.com/blogI2012/11/storm''recovery-chattanooga-style~versus sandy-and .. athenal J HOME ~~_ITODAY'S PAPERl VIDEO IMOS': POPULAR I U,S, Edition a!l,~ ~~\u ~ofk il!i\ll~" The Opinion Pages Subscribe: Digital I Home Delivery Log In Register Now Help Search Opinion I I ---'----------!.G.~.IING .. 'D1RECT WORLD U.S. N.Y., REGION BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY SCIENCE HEAJ:m SPORTS OPINION ARTS STYLE TRAVEL JOBS REAL ESTATE AUTOS OP-ED COLUMNIST Obama's Moment By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN Published: November 20,2012 290 Commenls Chattanooga, Tenn. Josh Haner/The New York Times Thomas L Friedman Go to Columnist Page» Connect With Us on Twitter For Op-Ed, follow @nytopinion and to hcm' fl'omthe editol'ial page editor, Andl'ew Rosenthal, follow @undyI'NYf. Readers' Comments Rendcrs shm'ed theil' thoughts on this Ul'liclc. Read All Comments (290) » from something big, I was in Chattanooga, Tenn" last week, and people were still buzzing about an unusual duet heard on Oct. 13, using superlow-Iatency videoconference technology and the city's new gigabit-per-second fiber optic network. T-Bone Burnett, a Grammy Award winner, performed "The Wild Side of Life" with Chuck Mead, a founder ofthe band BRs49, for an audience of 4,000, But Burnett played his part on a screen from a Los Angeles studio and Mead on a stage in FACEBOOK TWITTER GOOGLE+ SAVE SHARE PRINT REPRINTS Chattanooga, The transcontinental duet was possible, reported Chattanoogan,com, because the latency of Chattanooga's new fiber network was 67 milliseconds, meaning the audio and video traveled 2,100 miles from Chattanooga to Los Angeles in one-fourth the blink of an eye, Aud that brings me to the news, It's good to see the budget talks between President Obama and the Republicans getting off to a solid start, but we know there will be plenty of partisan fireworks before any deal is cut. With that in mind, I hope the president will reframe and elevate the debate. It is vital that he not frame this as a discussion of just new taxes and spending cuts. His guiding principle should be "growth," Right now, the whole budget discussion reeks too much of castor oil -and which side will have to swallow the Log In to see what your friends are sharing on nytimes.com. prtvacy Polley I What's This? l.on III With r-a.Ct~bool( What's Popular Now I) ~. Dead Gl'and Old Planet •. On Being Not MOST E·MAILED RECOMMENDED FOR YOU • I 1. Demand for Electricians Soars Mel' ~"'I. .. ;: Hurricane 2, Solar Companies Seek Ways to Build an Oasis of Electricity 3. DOT EARTH Mapping Gas Leaks from Aging Urban Pipes CRITIC'S NOTEBOOK Vetoing Business as Usual Mel' the Storm 5. FIVETHIRTYEIGHT Where Obama and Romney Beat Their Polls biggest spoonful. I get why the president needs to stress that the wealthy will have to pay higher taxes before he can go to his base for spending cuts to restore long-term fiscal balance. But here's what I hope we'll see more from the president: a sense of excitement, a sense that if we can just get this grand bargain done, we can really unlock growth again, we can really, as Mohamed El-Erian, the C.E.O. ofthe bond giant Pimco, puts it, "restore economic dynamism, ensure financial soundness, and overcome political dysfunction," which collectively would have a huge stimulative effect. If everyone has to take their castor oil -the rich more, the middle class some -make them feel that it will enable us all to get stronger. Make them feel that we're embarking on a new journey -not to punish but to solve, not to sock it to the successful but to create more abundance for all. Because the right mix of tax increases, spending cuts and investment incentives will spur more start-ups, lead to more risk taking, inspire more entrepreneurship and create more jobs. Elections are win-lose, but successful negotiations are always to some degree win-win. And that brings me back to Chattanooga, where, Mayor Ron Littlefield says, city elders looked themselves in the eyes 15 years ago and realized that "we were a dilapidated city going the way of the Rust Belt." But, by coming together to make the city an attractive place to live and getting both parties to agree to invest in a fiber-to-every-home-and business network in a 600-square-mile area, Chattanooga replaced its belching smokestacks with an Amazon.com fulfillment center, major health care and insurance I companies and a beehive of tech start-ups that all thrive on big data and super-high-speed Internet. "We've gone from being a slowly declining and deflating urban balloon, to one of the fastest-growing cities in Tennessee," said Littlefield. The fiber network now attracts companies that "like to see more and more of their employees able to work some of the time at home, which saves on office space and parking," the mayor said. How fast is that Chattanooga choo-choo? The majority of Chattanooga homes and businesses get 50 megabits per second, some 100 megabits, a few 250 and those with big needs opt for a full gigabit per second, explained Harold DePriest, the chief executive of EPB, the city's electric power and telecom provider, which built and operates the network. "The average around the country is 4.5 megabits per second." So average Internet speed in .Chattanooga is 10 times the national average. That doesn't just mean faster downloads. The fiber grid ~eans 150,000 Chattanooga homes now have smalt electric meters to track their energy consumption in real time. More important, said DePriest, on July 5, Chattanooga got hit with an unusual storm that knocked out power to 80,000 homes. Thanks to intelligent power switching on the fiber network, he said, "42,000 homes had their electricity restored in ... 2 seconds." Old days: 17 hours. That network was fully completed thanks to $111 million in stimulus money. Imagine that we get a grand bargain in Washington that also includes a stimulus of just $20 billion to bring the 200 biggest urban areas in America up to Chattanooga's standard. You'd see a "melt-up" in the U.S. economy. We are so close to doing something big and smart. Somebody needs to tell the Congress. A version of Ihis op·ed appeared in prinl on November 21.2012. on page A27 of Ihe New York edition wilh Ihe headline: Obama's Moment. SAVE E·MAIL SHARE 290 Comments Rcndcl's shal'ed thcil' thoughts all this al'ticlc. ALL READER PICKS NYT PICKS Comments Closed Andrew Woods, MD Charlottesville, VA I think the speed issue and the internet is not quite like the concrete highway. The household does not need to incur additional expense as new and faster Football and Politics • ' . . 6. 2 Bruising Sports Tantalize Jets' Owner: I)": 7· DAVID BROOKS The Conservative Future •... , 8. GAILCOLLI~S The Turkey Chronicles 9. Retailers Add Politics and Nature to Their Holiday Worry List 10. THE CAUCUS Assessing How Pivotal the Hispanic Vote Was to Obama's Victory PRESENTED BY Log In to discover mora articles based on what you've read. AstateFarm" 8 I Roglster No'll 11Ii!!tiii Who!'. This? Illi!IilllJl.m:l Watch: Protecting tunnels against disaster ALSO IN TECH )) Watch: The value of cable sports networks HeWlett's loss: A folly unfolds, by Ihe numbers nytlmos.c:om ADVERTISEMENTS ElI·/I'''''U·rfc~, SAVE 500/0 "'26 WEEKS TECH 50% Off. Times Subscription for 26 Weeks. Ends 11/26. Act Now. . ~AVE 50% ~ 26 WEEKS O!I"lY<IotJo'k ..... 1 ON A TIMES SUBSCRIPTION i\ds IlY GOOllic" The Death of Wal-Mart New Motley Fool Report. Companies Poised to Profit from this Change. www.Fool.com capacity comes online. It really is a business issue, and medicine is a prime example, as the computerized medical record and needing to send massive files over the internet (think MRl images) consumes major bandwidth. Moving "stuff' through faster frees up more bandwidth. At a gigabit per second, the top speed is over 200 times faster than the country average of 4.5. If we could move traffic that usually goes 50 mph at a speed 200 times greater, i.e., 10,000 mph, we would not need more concrete for a long, long time. I think a greater concern is that we are making an enormous capital (both human and structural) investment in information technology. It will be greatly useful in our educational system, maybe even game changing over time. But, to what extent is there value added as we move information around? With building automobiles and airplanes, one can project a 20-year business model with some reasonable confidence. I do not think we can assume there will be a continuing increase in the need for more and 1110re information technology infrastructure in 20 years. And, I believe building more roads is a losing proposition. In reply to Diana Moses Nov. 21,2012 at 6:00 a.m. RECOMMENDED 46 READ MORE COMMENTS Commenls are no longer being accepted. Please submit a letter to the editor for prinl consideration. Get Free E-mail Alerts on These Topics Chattanooga (Tenn) United States Economy ,\ds by (,Dogln Top Ranked MBA From UNC UNC's MBA Online Program For Working Executives. Learn Morel www.OnlineMBA.unc.edu Computers and the Internet United States Politics and Government VVl1at's this? ------~-----------------------------------------------~ INSIDE NYTIMES.COM OPINION» TECHNOLOGY» Townies: My Celebrity Love The Shrewd Shopper Triangle Carries a Smartphone ARTS» Holiday Gift Guide 2012 WORLD" Berlin Tour Raises Awareness on Lobbying OPINION» ANew' Direction for China? Experts in Room foJ' Debate discuss the core issues confronting Xi Jinping and what we can expect to see under his leadership. U.S.» A Kansas Town Promotes Role in Lincoln's Rise © 2012 The New York Times Company Site Map Privacy Your Ad Choices Advertise Terms of Sale Terms of Service Work With Us RSS Help Conlacl Us Sile Feedback Attachments: CityCouncilPriorities2013letter (l).docx From: LLerena, Christina Sent: Wednesday, November 21, 2012 7:21 PM To: Grider, Donna Subject: 2013 City Council Priorities Hi Donna, I am sending this letter to the Mayor Yeh and the Honorable City Council on behalf of the Project Safety Net Steering Committee. Many thanks, Christina Llerena 1 November 22,2012 Mayor Yeh and Honorable City Council Members: On behalf of the Project Safety Net Steering Committee, we would like to encourage you to continue "Community Collaboration for Youth Well-being" as one of your City Council Priorities for 2013. As you know, Palo Alto is still in the midst of recovering from a cluster of youth suicides from 2009-2011 and still in a period of suicide contagion. Through your support, Project Safety Net, a community coalition of City of Palo Alto, Palo Alto Unified School District, Adolescent Counseling Services, KARA, the Palo Alto Council of PTA's, Lucille Packard Children's Hospital, Palo Alto Medical Foundation and several other community partner organizations continue to prevent suicide and promote youth well-being through its various collaborative efforts including Gatekeeper Trainings which many of you have attended. Project Safety Net's promotion of Developmental Assets and work with agencies who provide direct services to youth throughout the community bring about best practices on how to support youth at the ground level-in school, at home and in the community. It is essential that we keep the conversation and action going on how to best promote the social and emotional health for young people. The Palo Alto Unified School District, one of Project Safety Net's primary partners;-has emphasis on social emotional-physical health and expanded use of Developmental Assets among its 2012-2013 Focused Goals. In light of the recent death this month on the tracks and the memory of those we have lost, we recommend that you continue to keep community collaboration for youth well-being at the forefront of your work as a priority this coming year. We are a community still in the midst of suicide contagion and it is imperative that we continue to address mental health awareness and education for our community. Your ongoing attention to youth well-being and the work of our partners demonstrate our community commitment that Palo Alto youth will be secure, safe and emotionally healthy now and in the coming years. Respectfully, The Project Safety Net Steering Committee Ray Bacchetti, Human Relations Commission Becky Beacom, Palo Alto Medical Foundation Brenda Carillo, MSW, Palo Alto Unified School District Rob de Geus, City of Palo Alto Recreation Michael Donahue, KARA Leif Erikson, Youth Community Services Roni Gilenson, LMFT, Adolescent Counseling Services. Terry Godfrey, Parent and Partners in Education Shashank Joshi, MD, Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Linda Lenoir, Palo Alto Unified School District Jessica Lewis, City of Palo Alto, Teen Services Christina Llerena, MSW, Project Safety Net Director Pat Markevitch, Parks and Recreation Commissioner Sigrid Pinsky, Council of PTA's Minka van der Zwaag, City of Palo Alto Human Services ----Original Message----- From: Bill Terry [mailto:billterry@sbcglobal.netj Sent: Monday, November 26, 2012 9:24 AM To: Grider, Donna Subject: 2013 Priorites Several years ago the city hired a consultant to study ways of improving fire safety in the cities foothills. The report was accepted and I believe endorsed by the council. However nothing has been done. Ken Drucker has said some funds are available l;Iut not enough staff? The city should begin to adopt these recommendations in a phased way beginning in 2013. Bill Terry 925 Laurel Glen Drive Palo Alto 1 From: Lunt, Kimberly Sent: Thursday, November 29,20122:17 PM To: Grider, Donna; Gonsalves, Ronna; Tucker, Sheila; Minor, Beth Cc: Lunt, Kimberly Subject: Public Priority Request Jo Guttadaur called 11/28/2012 at 10:39 AM to submit a public priority request forthe January Council meeting, as she does not have e-mail access and is unable to leave her house. Her main concern was with the City of Palo Alto not following laws with regard to affordable housing. She said she is bound to a wheel chair and as a resUlt, has to pay a lot of her income toward a caregiver and is having difficulty supporting herself. That's mainly what she wanted to convey. 1 From: robert/marycarlstead [mailto:rhmlcar7@att.net] Sent: Friday, November 30, 2012 11:16 PM To: Grider, Donna Cc: robert/marycarlstead Subject: Council priorities Sent of November 30th STICK TO THE BASICS. NO PIE-IN-THE SKY ISSUES. 1. Honest and "transparency" !!Restore resident confidence in city management which has been shattered. by the 27 Arrillaga project. 2. Reduce ALL unnecessary spending and have strict audits 3. Reduce the size of number of personnel. 4. Repair the infrastructure - starting with streets in north Palo Alto. 5. Stop the incessant utility 'green' harping and deluge of "don't' reminders. 6. Rein in the Utility Department and cut back on the amount our utilities pad the General Fund. 7.Concentrate on the wellbeing of those who live here,not focus on those who want to and for whom we have no more room. Mary Carlstead 147 Walter Hays Drive Palo Alto,CA 94303