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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01/23/2024Town of Los Altos Hills City Council Special Meeting Minutes Tuesday January 23, 2024 Council Chambers, 26379 Fremont Road, Los Altos Hills, California Present: Mayor Stanley Mok, Vice Mayor Lisa Schmidt, Councilmember Linda Swan, Councilmember Kavita Tankha, and Councilmember George Tyson Staff. City Manager Peter Pimejad, Planning Director Sofia Mangalam, Public Works Director WooJae Kim, Maintenance Superintendent Michael Schloetter, Assistant to the City Manager Cody Einfalt, City Clerk Arika Birdsong -Miller CALL TO ORDER (10:00 A.M.) A. Roll Call- All City Council Member were present. B. Pledge of Allegiance Mayor Mok called the meeting to order at 10:00 a.m. 1. STUDY SESSION ON COUNCIL PRIORITY SETTING AND 2024-2025 WORK PLAN A. Introductory Remarks City Manager Peter Pirnejad provided introductory remarks. Facilitator Dan Rich, Renne Public Management Group, San Francisco, introduced the agenda and ground rules for the day, as well as the foundational principles for goal setting. City Manager Pirnejad explained the following: In order to accomplish the priorities of the Council in an orderly and effective manner the Town goes through a comprehensive goal -setting process followed by a budgeting exercise every year. As has been the case over the past two years the Council has undertaken a goal -setting process in January with feedback coming from the Council, Committees, and staff. This has been a comprehensive and collaborative process that involved multiple stakeholders and ultimately the formation of a draft work -plan that reflects the priorities of the Council for the coming year. This year we went through a similar process with some learnings over the past year. City Council Special Meeting Minutes January 23, 2024 The process of preparing a set of priorities begins with a review of the adopted workplan from the prior year. In January of 2023, staff presented a proposed set of priorities for the year that reflected the goals of the Planning Commission and the 12 other standing committees, the City Council, and staff. The entire Workplan and attachments were presented to the Council on January 25, 2023, followed by the adopted Workplan presented to Council on February 16, 2023. The goals were reviewed by staff and prioritized prior to presenting them to the entire Council in a public meeting. By the end of the session the Council had received public input and eventually adopted a Workplan with modifications that represented the shared Council vision of what the staff should focus on throughout the year. Over the course of the year the committees, Council, and staff were faced with new challenges and priorities that were accommodated through the year. In the end, the Council adopted 47 projects as part of the 2023 Workplan as well as several additional projects that were added to the Workplan during the year. A lesson learned over the course of that effort was that although the staff, Council, planning commission and standing committees appreciated the structure, we collectively need additional flexibility built into the next Workplan to accommodate new priorities as they come up over the year. Another lesson was that the projects themselves took longer than anticipated due to disruptions such as staff turnover, competing priorities, new priorities, state mandates, natural disasters, and unforeseen events. A mid -year progress report of the Workplan was presented to the Council on August 17, 2023. In 2023 the one-year Workplan adopted by the Council included a total of 47 key projects made up of 92 individual milestones. They included things such as adopting the housing element, adopting reach codes, conducting an emergency drill, preparing a broadband feasibility study, and more. The status of those Workplan items was reviewed by the Council in August 2023. Back in August we completed approximately 41 of the 92 milestones and 33 were in progress. By the end of 2023 we had completed 60 milestones and 12 are in progress. In addition to the adopted Workplan the Council and staff added 15 additional projects. They included things such as filling key vacancies, a pathway nexus study, and more. Since August when staff reported to the Council, we have completed 2 more of the additional projects. Therefore, of the 15 additional projects 8 have carried over to the following year. Most of the projects (both original and added) that were not completed in 2023 have been carried over to the proposed new two-year Workplan (2024- 25). Assembling the 2024-25 workplan is a process of constant improvement, and this year Town staff took a different approach in assembling the Town's goals. Staff observed in several prior Workplans that many projects that get identified every year take more than a single year to complete. This has led to multiple carryover items from one Workplan to the next. Furthermore, the formation of the Workplan is a major endeavor and moving to a two-year plan also saves staff time. Therefore, staff assembled a two-year Workplan as opposed to setting the priorities for a single year. Staff's hope is that this shift in the Town's goal setting process will reduce City Council Special Meeting Minutes January 23, 2024 planning work for staff and better align with the Town's goals that are set at the beginning of 2024. Although it will be a two-year cycle, there will still be mid -year updates and an opportunity, a year from now, to adjust the Workplan given any changed circumstances. To kick off the 2024-25 Workplan, staff started the process by re-engaging with Frank Benest, ICMA Executive Leader, to build a process with staff to collect and consider all the priorities from the various stakeholders into a draft Workplan that we can present to the Council. In addition, we engaged Dan Rich from RPMG, an established and experienced public sector leader with deep experience dealing with Council and communities, to develop a fair and collaborative process to walk the Council, community, commission, and committees through a process of adopting our 2024-25 proposed Workplan. The ultimate goal was to create a Workplan that is manageable by staff and considers the needs of the Council, committees, and commission. Once adopted, the staff will build a draft budget based on the goals. The effort started in September when City Manager Peter Pirnejad and staff met with the Planning Commission and every standing committee to walk them through the goal setting process thereby asking them to review their accomplishments from 2023 as well as set their goals for 2024-2025. Dan Rich followed up with one-on-one interviews in September with each of the Council members to discuss their specific goals for the upcoming two years. While the committees started meeting over the next several months to discuss and vote on their shared goals, the staff went through an organized process to collect and prioritize projects for a 2 -year Workplan. This involved two separate half-day retreats on September 27th and November 81h to collect and discuss the priorities for the next two years. By the end of the year the staff had assembled a proposed Workplan that considered mandates, carryover items from 2023, staff -identified priorities as well as current goals assembled from the Council, planning commission, and standing committees. Also considered was the reality of staff and resource constraints. To help the Council, staff also took an additional step to add budget approximations next to the items to help the prioritization process. On January 11th a special meeting of the City Council was held to provide an opportunity for the planning commission and standing committees to share their 2023 accomplishments and their 2024-2025 goals. The goals were collected by staff prior to the January 11th meeting and considered in the development of the proposed 2024-2025 Council Workplan. The purpose of that Council meeting was to give the commission and committees an opportunity to present their goals and for the Council and for the community to ask any questions. The main body of the proposed Workplan is comprised of items identified that carried over from the previous year and new items. The matrix includes a range of data that will be reviewed in the staff presentation. It has enough perspective for the Council to discuss strategic direction and detail for staff to prioritize work and build a budget that anticipates the Council's top priorities. The proposed 2 -year Workplan itself is made up of 63 key projects which include 138 milestones. The Workplan also has a list of eight (8) items in the "Parking Lot" that were identified by the Council that the staff felt needed more 3 City Council Special Meeting Minutes January 23, 2024 discussion to determine if they were high enough priorities to be in the Workplan (likely at the expense of currently recommended items). The reason this Workplan is so much larger than the previous one is first, because it is a two-year plan and second, the staff included everything that it could think of, that takes months or quarters to complete. Although many day-to-day operations such as issuing permits or processing entitlements were not included, large operational efforts such as the budget, audit, and sizable CIPs were included because of the allocation of staff and budget resources necessary. Given the number of priorities, this year's Workplan is very comprehensive and reflects the staff's full capacity. The staff made every effort to reduce the Workplan but in the end the proposed Workplan was considered the highest priority and reflects the collective vision of what needs to be done. Any significant changes or additions to the Workplan will need to include reprioritization and potentially the addition of staffing and budget resources. It should also be noted that the proposed Workplan will also need to be budgeted and during that time if the Council or staff feels we need to reduce the Workplan due to budget constraints that may come to light later in the year. In late 2023 the committees all provided their goals for the next two years and those lengthy conversations by and with the committee resulted in a list of projects that every committee wanted to accomplish over the next two years. In reviewing the list of projects, staff attempted to accommodate as many of the projects as we could with respect to staff constraints and capacity. The comprehensive list of committee projects includes all projects adopted by the 12 committees and commission, assembled, and presented to the Council at the January 11 meeting. Over the course of several months staff met with every committee chair and Council liaison to review their specific goals and how they fit into the entire Workplan. The entire list of committee goals has been color coded to include projects incorporated into the proposed Workplan, projects that the committees have been asked to take the lead on, as well as what projects were not on the Workplan this cycle. The committees have all had a chance to voice their perspective and have come to some level of consensus with the staff and the Council liaison. In some cases, the committee has or may ask the Council for more resources. In those cases, the Workplan will need to be reprioritized and additional staff and funding may be required. At this point the entire Council, commissions, and committees have seen and added feedback on the Workplan. The staff is prepared to present the Workplan to the Council at the January 23rd meeting and make any changes or reprioritize as identified by the Council prior to proposed adoption in February. In light of the need for flexibility and for the committees to be heard, a new process is being recommended for bringing items forward outside of this formal goal setting process. If a committee (or a Council member) wants to add a new work item, they can have it added to a Council agenda; Council will first decide if it is worthy of consideration and if a majority agrees, then staff would return at a future meeting with a follow up report outlining the implications of adding the new item (deleted or deferring an existing one, additional resources, etc.). 4 City Council Special Meeting Minutes January 23, 2024 Understandably many things are outside of our control like staff turnover, economic downturn, new Council priorities, a spike in residential burglaries, and unforeseen challenges like the wave of atmospheric rivers that pummeled the entire state. The staff and Council will work together to adjust and pivot in light of new developments with the goal of keeping the community informed as we work through the calendar year. The important takeaways are to understand that the Workplan is a living document that can change, extend, or adjust depending on the Council's direction. However, to ensure that we can properly allocate staff and budget resources to the identified Council priorities on the adopted Workplan, it is important that the Council take very seriously the addition of new goals. As noted above, we ask that the Council take a two-step process to change the Workplan. DISCUSSION: Following the Council's receipt of this packet the City Manager will have met individually with each Council member to answer questions and walk through the entire process. The staff encourages written comments or questions from the public which we will attempt to answer prior or at the public meeting and include as part of the public record. The guiding principles are proposed to be similar to those at the 2023 Priority Setting Session. They are as follows: • Day-to-day operations take up 85-95% of our organizational capacity. • If everything is a priority, nothing is a priority; only extraordinary or critical items should be added to the list mid-cycle. If new items are added, changes to the adopted plan are likely to be necessary. • Upcoming budget allocations need to be aligned with the Council's Priority Policies and the related key projects. • The City Council's role is to provide strategic direction and policy guidance, approving budget and staffing resources. • Management's role is to implement the Council's adopted Workplan while, recommending resources needed, identifying reasonable timelines, achieving key milestones, noting constraints, and recommending adjustments along the way. Going forward, the staff will bring back the final Workplan at the February 15th City Council meeting for final proposed approval. The Workplan considers items that will have budget implications and will be used to construct the proposed two-year FY 24- 26 Budget that will come to the Council in May 2024 for approval. Over the course of the year, like 2023, the staff will provide the Council a progress report in the summer/fall followed by a review and possible adjustments in January 2025. Staff will accommodate minor additions to the Workplan that do not take significant staff and budget resources. As noted previously in the "two-step process," staff recommends that, going forward, the Council be asked to weigh the importance of new priorities while considering the adopted Workplan and make trade-offs prior to adding new goals. 2. Public Comment (Public Comment is Limited to Items which are the Subject of the Special Meeting) 5 City Council Special Meeting Minutes January 23, 2024 Allan Epstein, Los Altos Hills, said was unclear on the status Finance Investment Committee and the 5 -year plan and asked for direction from City Council. Mr. Epstein would like to establish a good working relationship with LAH County Fire District for emergency communication. Also, he wanted to see sewer system plans on the plan, he suggests an update on sewer plans at least once a year. Carol Gottlieb, Los Altos Hills, would like water conservation because the current allotment is high. Ms. Gottlieb stated that the History Committee would like to see historic designation at the Heritage House and the water tower. She would like to see the green sheet codified to allow animals in Los Altos Hills. Kjell Karlsson, Los Altos Hills, wants to make sure that the committees have access to City Council and not be forced to go through a liaison. Mr. Karlsson would like to see collaboration with other cities. Rajiv Bhateja, Los Altos Hills, thanked Council for allowing Committees to bring proposals to Council in corporation with the liaison. Mr. Bhateja stated that at the request of Council Member Swan he sent out a letter to residence of the Town to gain support for an ordinance to preserve the character by addressing three points: pathways, allow large animals, and to prevent retail/commercial business and received 135 signatures in support of this in 48 hours. Duffy Price, Los Altos Hills, stated that she involved with the 2002 initiative that was signed by a number of residents and Council approved it. Supports what Council Member Linda Swan is trying to do. John Swan, Los Altos Hills, doesn't want a new Council to change the character of the Town and wants to take the action that was taken in 2002 to happen again. Further Council discussion ensued on potential additions to the proposed work plan. The City Council elected to add two items to the Work Plan: 1. Review appropriate design and alignment for Pathway on Page MillNia Feliz with the Pathways Committee as well as Old Page Mill to Christopher Lane once an easement is obtained. 2. Engage with a consultant to prepare an Emergency Communication Notification Study in consultation with EPRC and the Council To accommodate these projects in 2024-25, Council agreed to remove and/or modify the following items from the Work Plan: 1. Water Conservation (Removed) 2. Expand FireWise Program (Removed and Ask Fire District to take the lead) 3. Fremont/Redwood Grove Path (Report back after attorney discussions to determine next steps with respect to the established 2 -step process) 6 City Council Special Meeting Minutes January 23, 2024 4. Lobbying efforts that were being pursued in 2023 will conclude in light of new council priorities. In addition, the following items will be deferred or rephrased: 1. Tabletop emergency preparedness drill (Deferred to a date to be determined) 2. Miscellaneous Pathways (Rephrased so that staff will work with the Pathways Committee to reprioritize the order of pathways to be worked on throughout the year) At the study session, the Council supported a clear methodology for taking on additional projects during the year that are not part of the Work Plan. The new 2 -step process was created to allow Committees, after a majority vote, to bring items directly to the Council for consideration. In collaboration with their Liaison, an initial report by the Committee will be agendized to ask the Council if a majority supports considering adding the item to the Work Plan; if so, staff will return with a report that outlines the implications (hours and/or dollars required, implications for existing projects — dropped, deferred, etc.). Approximately six months from adoption, staff will present a mid -year progress report to Council going into detail on the current status of the projects in the attached Work Plan; Next January, Council will have an opportunity to review and fine tune the plan for calendar year 2025. Mayor Mok made a motion to accept the draft work plan with modifications and bring it back to the February Regular Council Meeting on the Consent Calendar. Council Member Swan seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED 5-0: AYES: Mok, Schmidt, Swan, Tankha, Tyson NOES: None ABSTAIN: None RECUSE: None ABSENT: None No further action was taken. City Manager Pimejad stated that the 2024-2025 Work Plan would be on the February 15, 2023, City Council agenda for approval. 2. ADJOURN The meeting adjourned at 2:44 pm Respectfully submitted, � 4V\ QQ Arika Birdsong -Miller, City Clerk City Council Special Meeting Minutes January 23, 2024