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City Council Regular Meeting Minutes
April 18, 2019
Town of Los Altos Hills
City Council Regular Meeting Minutes
Thursday, April 18, 2019
Council Chambers, 26379 Fremont Road, Los Altos Hills, California
CALL TO ORDER (6:00 P.M.)
Mayor Spreen called the meeting to order at 6:01 p.m.
A. Roll Call
Present: Mayor Spreen, Vice Mayor Wu, Councilmember Corrigan,
Councilmember Tankha, Councilmember Tyson
Absent: None
Staff: City Manager Carl Cahill, City Attorney Steve Mattas, Interim
Planning Director Steve Padovan, City Engineer/Public Works Director
Nichol Bowersox, Administrative Services Director Dave Sherwood,
City Clerk Deborah Padovan
B. Pledge of Allegiance
1. AGENDA REVIEW
There were no changes to the agenda.
2. PRESENTATIONS AND APPOINTMENTS
A. Reappointment to the Los Altos Hills Parks and Recreation Committee
City Clerk Deborah Padovan presented the reappointment application from Liza
Reichert.
MOTION MADE AND SECONDED: Councilmember Corrigan moved to
reappoint Liza Reichert to the Los Altos Hills Parks and Recreation Committee for
a second, four-year term. The motion was seconded by Councilmember Tankha.
Motion Carried 5 to 0:
AYES: Mayor Spreen, Vice Mayor Wu, Councilmember Corrigan,
Councilmember Tankha, Councilmember Tyson
NOES: None
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April 18, 2019
ABSENT: None
ABSTAIN: None
B. Reappointment to the Los Altos Hills Community Relations Committee
City Clerk Padovan presented the reappointment application for Lew Jamison.
MOTION MADE AND SECONDED: Councilmember Corrigan moved to
reappoint Lew Jamison to the Community Relations Committee for a second, four-
year term. The motion was seconded by Councilmember Tankha.
Motion Carried 5 to 0:
AYES: Mayor Spreen, Vice Mayor Wu, Councilmember Corrigan,
Councilmember Tankha, Councilmember Tyson
NOES: None
ABSENT: None
ABSTAIN: None
C. Appointment to the Los Altos Library Commission to Fill a Vacancy
City Clerk Padovan presented the application of Ying Liu to complete a term on
the Los Altos Library Commission.
Ying Liu, Los Altos Hills, expressed her interest in serving on the Los Altos
Library Commission.
MOTION MADE AND SECONDED: Councilmember Corrigan moved to
appoint Ying Liu to the Los Altos Library Commission to complete a term ending
in August 2020. The motion was seconded by Mayor Spreen.
Motion Carried 5 to 0:
AYES: Mayor Spreen, Vice Mayor Wu, Councilmember Corrigan,
Councilmember Tankha, Councilmember Tyson
NOES: None
ABSENT: None
ABSTAIN: None
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D. Presentation and Request for Council Approval to use Town Hall for a Los Altos
Hills Vines and Wine Event on October 27, 2019
Duffy Price, Los Altos Hills, presented the request from Hills 2000 to use the
Town Hall facilities on October 27, 2019 for the Vines and Wines event.
Council discussion ensued.
MOTION MADE AND SECONDED: Vice Mayor Wu moved to approve use of
Town Hall for the Vines and Wines event on October 27, 2019. The motion was
seconded by Councilmember Tyson.
Motion Carried 5 to 0:
AYES: Mayor Spreen, Vice Mayor Wu, Councilmember Corrigan,
Councilmember Tankha, Councilmember Tyson
NOES: None
ABSENT: None
ABSTAIN: None
E. Santa Clara Valley Water District (SCVWD) Informational Update on
Groundwater Benefit Zones Study by SCVWD Director Gary Kremen
Santa Clara Valley Water District Director Gary Kremen requested that the
item be considered later in the meeting.
3. PRESENTATIONS FROM THE FLOOR Persons wishing to address the Council
on any subject not on the agenda may do so now. Please complete a Speaker Card
located on the back table of the Council Chambers and submit it to the City Clerk.
Comments are limited to two (2) minutes per speaker. California law prohibits the
Council from acting on items that do not appear on the agenda. Under a Resolution
previously adopted by the Council, such items can be referred to staff for
appropriate action, which may include placement on the next available agenda.
Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office Captain Rich Urena provided a current update on
residential burglaries.
The Council asked questions of Captain Urena and received his responses. No action
was taken.
Ying Liu, Chair of the Los Altos Hills Education Committee, provided an update on
their latest meeting.
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4. CONSENT CALENDAR
MOTION MADE AND SECONDED: Councilmember Tankha moved to approve
the CONSENT CALENDAR as stated. The motion was seconded by Councilmember
Tyson.
Motion Carried 5 to 0:
AYES: Mayor Spreen, Vice Mayor Wu, Councilmember Corrigan, Councilmember
Tankha, Councilmember Tyson
NOES: None
ABSENT: None
ABSTAIN: None
A. Approval of City Council Regular Meeting Minutes: March 21, 2019
B. Review of Disbursements: March 1-31, 2019 $930,614.21
C. Resolution 09-19 Accepting Dedication of Right-of-Way Easement; Lands of
Chang; 26464 Taaffe Road (Staff: N. Bowersox)
D. Resolution 10-19 Accepting Dedication of Pathway Easement; Lands of 24925
Oneonta Drive, LLC; 24925 Oneonta Drive (Staff: N. Bowersox)
E. Resolution 11-19 Accepting the Grant of an Open Space Easement on the Lands
of Nagaraj; 25769 Elena Road (Staff: S. Padovan)
F. Resolution 12-19 Accepting the Grant of an Open Space Easement on the Lands
of Brilliant Adnenture Living Trust; 10850 West Loyola Drive (Staff: S. Padovan)
G. Resolution 13-19 Accepting the Grant of an Open Space Easement on the Lands
of Rajagopalan and Itty; 10511 Magdalena Road (Staff: S. Padovan)
H. Approval of Change in Regular Meeting Time for the Community Relations
Committee (Staff: D. Padovan)
I. Waive Reading and Adopt Ordinance 582 Amending Los Altos Hills Municipal
Code Title 2 Administration, Chapter 3 Officers and Employees, Article 2 City
Manager, Section 2-3.209 Attendance at Commission, Board and Committee
Meetings (Staff: C. Cahill) (Motion to Waive Reading and Adopt the Ordinance)
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5. NEW BUSINESS
A. Resolution Authorizing the City Manager to Negotiate a Draft Franchise
Agreement with Greenwaste Recovery Inc. for Recyclables, Mixed Compostables,
and Yard Trimmings Collection Services (Staff: N. Bowersox)
Public Works Director Nichol Bowersox presented the staff report.
Emily Finn, Greenwaste Recovery, provided a presentation on the services
Greenwaste has provided to the Town since 2008.
Council asked questions of staff and Ms. Finn and received responses.
Council discussion ensued.
Cheryl Evans, Los Altos Hills, asked what is considered a private road and for
clarification on what is proposed.
Carol Meyer, Los Altos Hills, asked the Council to consider a long-term contract.
Kjell Karlsson, Los Altos Hills, asked what happens come July if the Town
doesn't have an agreement. Staff replied that a short-term extension would be
negotiated.
Jay Shideler, Los Altos Hills, spoke about the history of the garbage contract with
Greenwaste.
Birgitta Indaco, Los Altos Hills, spoke about surplus yard waste.
Hajime Murakami, Los Altos Hills, asked about revenues now and assuming they
remain constant, what does it look like in year one and then year three. He would
like a baseline on what to expect.
Councilmember Corrigan said the burden is on Greenwaste to manage the
relationship with the customers in the Hills. There will be sticker shock as it will be
a significant change. She conceptually likes the à la carte concept as it is "pay as
you throw." She directed staff to continue to negotiate for the franchise fee as it is
important to offset damage to Town roads. The length of agreement is important
and encouraged a long-term relationship to maximize cost savings. She suggested
completing a significant road analysis to make sure that no one is going to
experience any major surprises. Ultimately yard waste needs to be explored and
might be part of a conversation on smoothing. How can residents wean ourselves
off of the yard waste and perhaps look at ways to smooth out the abrupt end of
services we have come to expect.
Councilmember Tankha said she would like to see Greenwaste work with the
Town to make this great shift of behavior. She hoped Greenwaste would work with
Town residents to smooth out pricing and behavior to reduce our footprint. She
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asked to see numbers on what percentage of the Town is using on the extra services
and the impact. She would like to see the street cleaning extended to other streets in
Town. Finally, she asked to see what other cities pay for franchise fees and how the
Town compares with others.
Vice Mayor Wu said she liked the idea to get the lowest possible base
rate. However, she said the additional services will go up really high and asked if a
second yard trimming bin can be included in base rate. She directed staff to be
careful with the detailed negotiations.
Councilmember Tyson said that he sees the benefit of a long-term contract. He
liked the à la carte approach as one pays for what they need. There will be sticker
shock and a fair amount of outreach is necessary; low base rate is heading in the
right direction, but he expressed concern about the amount brush in our Town and
the fuel load. Anything we do that reduces our brush load to encourage the right
behavior would be beneficial. He requested a map that tells him what roads are
private roads for the purpose of this contract.
Mayor Spreen said he was convinced that this is a fair set of terms, subject to some
modifications. These rates are reasonable given the rural, non-commercial nature of
this Town and no one is going to come in here and give us a better deal. The
burden will also be on the Council for an educational experience as we must
communicate correctly with residents to change recycling behavior.
Councilmember Corrigan said she is not opposed to further negotiating either a
modest raise of the base rate to help offset some the à la carte costs. Or conversely,
a reduction in the franchise fee for those first three to five years to subsidize the
cost.
MOTION MADE AND SECONDED: Councilmember Tankha moved to
authorize the City Manager to negotiate a draft Franchise Agreement with
GreenWaste Recycling, Inc. for recyclables, mixed compostables, and yard
trimmings collection services with additional direction from the City Council. The
motion was seconded by Vice Mayor Wu.
Motion Carried 5 to 0:
AYES: Mayor Spreen, Vice Mayor Wu, Councilmember Corrigan,
Councilmember Tankha, Councilmember Tyson
NOES: None
ABSENT: None
ABSTAIN: None
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The Council now considered Agenda Item 2.E.
E. Santa Clara Valley Water District (SCVWD) Informational Update on
Groundwater Benefit Zones Study by SCVWD Director Gary Kremen
Santa Clara Valley Water District Director Gary Kremen presented the
Groundwater Benefit Zone Study for the Town of Los Altos Hills.
Council asked questions of Director Kremen and received his responses.
Vanessa De La Piedra, P.E., Santa Clara Valley Water District Groundwater
Management Unit, spoke to a question from Councilmember Tankha regarding
groundwater as it relates to Lehigh Quarry.
Dorinda Shipmon, professional hydrogeologist, provided an opinion on the study
and said the study does not demonstrate that the Los Altos Hills well owners are
receiving the benefits in the study.
Cheryl Evans, Los Altos Hills, asked questions about putting in a well versus city
water.
Roy Woolsey, Los Altos Hills, asked if the groundwater recharge by the Santa
Clara Valley Water District benefits Los Altos Hills
The Council thanked Director Kremen for his presentation. No action was taken.
The meeting went into recess at 8:45 p.m.
The Council reconvened to open session at 8:53 p.m.
B. Review and Consider Updating the City Council Summer Meeting Schedule to
Potentially Recess or cancel a Meeting and/or Schedule a Special Meeting (Staff:
D. Padovan)
City Clerk Padovan presented the staff report.
Council discussion ensued.
MOTION MADE AND SECONDED: Councilmember Corrigan moved to
cancel the regular City Council meeting scheduled for July 18, 2019. The motion
was seconded by Councilmember Tankha.
Motion Carried 5 to 0:
AYES: Mayor Spreen, Vice Mayor Wu, Councilmember Corrigan,
Councilmember Tankha, Councilmember Tyson
NOES: None
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ABSENT: None
ABSTAIN: None
6. REPORTS FROM COMMITTEES, SUB-COMMITTEES,
AND COUNCILMEMBERS ON OUTSIDE AGENCIES
A. Report by Councilmember Corrigan Recognizing Silicon Valley Clean Energy's
Two-Year Anniversary
Councilmember Corrigan shared the two-year anniversary video for SVCE.
7. STAFF REPORTS
A. City Manager - No report.
B. City Attorney - No report.
C. City Clerk
City Clerk Padovan reported that the volunteer dinner was scheduled for Friday,
September 20, 2019 and details would be provided soon.
D. Planning Director
Interim Planning Director Steve Padovan presented the draft master path map
update areas and the tentative upcoming hearing schedule.
E. Administrative Services Director
No report. Director Sherwood expressed his appreciation for the gracious
welcome he has received.
F. Public Works Director - No report.
8.
COUNCIL INITIATED ITEMS – there were no council initiated items.
9. ADJOURN
The meeting adjourned at 9:10 p.m.
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Respectfully submitted,
Deborah Padovan
Deborah Padovan
City Clerk
The minutes of the April 18, 2019 regular City Council meeting were approved as presented at
the May 16, 2019 regular City Council meeting.