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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01/25/20221 City Council Special Meeting Minutes January 25, 2022 Via teleconference according to Assembly Bill 361, Mayor Tyson called the City Council Special Meeting to order at 9:02 a.m. Present: Mayor Tyson, Vice Mayor Swan, Councilmember Mok, Councilmember Schmidt, Councilmember Tankha Absent: None Staff: City Manager Peter Pirnejad, Public Works Director Oscar Antillon, Administrative Services Director Sarina Revillar, Planning/Building Director Sofia Mangalam, Community Services Supervisor Sarah Robustelli, Management Analyst II Cody Einfalt, Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Captain Rich Urena, City Clerk Deborah Padovan, Facilitator Robert Bell CALL TO ORDER (9:00 A.M.) A. Roll Call B. Pledge of Allegiance 1. STUDY SESSION A. Introductory Remarks/Los Altos Hills Historian Jitze Couperus, Member of the Los Altos Hills History Committee, set the tone for the meeting as one of honoring the Town’s history, establishing trust and collaboration, and emphasized that we must all work together to continue the rich history and traditions that make Los Altos Hills a special community with an exceptional quality- of-life for residents. B. Council Priority Setting Facilitator Robert Bell set the ground rules, foundational principles, and context for the meeting. He explained that he had one-on-one interviews with the City Council members as it related to the design of the Priority Setting Session. In those discussions, the Council had reconfirmed their aspirational categories that serve as the framework for Council and Town priorities. Those four categories, or framework pillars, are: o Quality of Life and Community Character o Public Safety o Effective Service Delivery & Governance o Infrastructure Town of Los Altos Hills City Council Special Meeting Minutes Tuesday, January 25, 2022 Council Chambers, 26379 Fremont Road, Los Altos Hills, California 2 City Council Special Meeting Minutes January 25, 2022 City Manager Peter Pirnejad presented the review of the 2021 work plan and an update for the key 2021 Projects that fit within the framework. A total of 13 projects, which are outside of the day-to-day operations of the Town, were reviewed with the Council and members of the public. Council discussion ensued. Councilmember Tankha proposed a motion as follows: MOTION MADE AND SECONDED: Councilmember Tankha moved to establish a Town Hall committee that will evaluate the needs of the community, work with staff to understand the needs of staff in terms of office space presently and 10 years out. This Committee would look at options for a town hall addition, remodel, or expansion. Secondly, conduct a town-wide survey to understand the priorities of town residents in terms of their needs and what they would like the town’s budget to be in addressing those needs. The motion was seconded by Vice Mayor Swan. Council discussion ensued. The motion was tabled until the end of the meeting. Public Comment Rajiv Bhateja, Los Altos Hills, complimented the City Council on having this meeting as it is valuable for staff and helpful for residents. He said that we do not have a committee to cover public safety concerns. He thought it would be great if the Town would consider creating a public safety committee to look at safety in all dimensions. Allan Epstein, Los Altos Hills, complimented the Council on having this session. He commented on Councilmember Tankha's motion and talked about community space. He said that the Town should focus on multi-year projects and that milestones need to be reported. Vice Mayor Swan responded that the Council just created a law enforcement ad hoc committee, and she envisions that public safety would be discussed there but said that a committee might be more appropriate. The meeting went into recess at 10:22 a.m. The meeting Reconvened to open session at 10:35 a.m. C. Public Comment (Public Comment is Limited to Items which are the Subject of the Special Meeting) D. Recommendation to Approve a 2022 Work Plan 3 City Council Special Meeting Minutes January 25, 2022 City Manager Pirnejad then presented the 2022 Recommended Work Plan. The plan consisted of 21 priority projects, aligned with, and categorized under, the four framework pillars. He said that 17 of the 21 projects were already being worked on by staff and 3 of those 17 are required to comply with state mandates. Mayor Tyson suggested the City Council provide feedback to staff. Facilitator Bell said that while the Council has deliberation, he will be tracking the comments and then at the end of the meeting we intend to have a motion that includes everything for the workplan. The Council provided feedback. Public Comment Jitze Couperus, Los Altos Hills, commented on document storage and the technology committee. He is worried that the Town’s IT service in Redwood City is leaving. All committees have a need to work on the web, but we need some mechanism where committee members are able to create content for the website. The other item, Foothill College is a wonderful idea, but if doesn't give us RHNA credit, it doesn't really help us. Allan Epstein, Los Altos Hills, said that he wants to be sure that a facility plan gets completed during the year that incorporates Town Hall and other buildings and properties that the Town owns. He suggested the Council take action on the sewer fund. John Swan, Los Altos Hills, thanked Jitze Couperus for his presentation at the beginning of the meeting. He appreciated the meeting content. He suggested a second category which is a goal that is important to the Town, but will require little to no staff time. He thinks the Parks and Recreation Committee can work on the legacy giving program on their own. Carol Gottlieb, Los Altos Hills, said that Environmental Design and Protection Committee and Environmental Initiatives Committee are both working on water conservation as it relates to landscaping. Jim Waschura, Los Altos Hills, he agreed that a long term goal for the Town with legacy giving was a good one. Rajiv Bhateja, Los Altos Hills, said the City Manager's presentation was very distinct and helpful. He thanked the Council for the respect they have for each other and the public. 4 City Council Special Meeting Minutes January 25, 2022 After public comment and a review of the projects, discussion by the Council, and input from the public, two projects were removed from the list and seven projects were added. Those amendments to the proposed work plan were as follows: Items Removed: o Postpone Legislative Advocacy item to a future year. o Remove Citizens Academy. Items Added: o Consolidate committees on public safety o Formalize Pathway 10 segments, hire contractor to help o Relocate non-digital records for safety/security o Add discussion with Foothill College to the current plan on RHNA o Establish Council Ad Hoc to explore legacy giving program o Establish a Town Hall Committee to evaluate 10-year plan on facility needs, staffing and Parks and Recreation programs and space o Obtain a legal opinion on ballot initiative and green sheets Further Council discussion ensued. The meeting went into Recess at 1:04 p.m. The meeting Reconvened to open session at 1:25 p.m. MOTION MADE AND SECONDED: Councilmember Schmidt moved to adopt the work plan, postponing legislative advocacy and removing the Citizen’s Academy; and including consolidating committees on public safety; formalize 10 pathway segments per year, including hiring a contractor to assist; relocate non-digitized records for safety; add a discussion with Foothill College to the current plan on RHNA numbers; establish a Council ad hoc committee to explore legacy giving programs; establish a town hall committee to evaluate a 10 year plan on facility needs, staffing and parks & recreation programs and space; obtain a legal opinion on a ballot initiative as it relates to the green sheets. The motion was seconded by Vice Mayor Swan. MOTION PASSED 5-0: AYES: Tyson, Swan, Mok, Schmidt, Tankha NOES: None ABSTAIN: None RECUSE: None ABSENT: None Public Comment Allan Epstein, Los Altos Hills, commended the Council on the process. He said the pathways discussion involves substantial expenditures and should go through the budget process. He would also like to see the sewer plan discussed. 5 City Council Special Meeting Minutes January 25, 2022 Mayor Tyson then reminded the Council that there was a motion on the floor. Councilmember Tankha then withdrew her earlier motion. 2. ADJOURN The meeting adjourned at 1:39 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Deborah L. Padovan Deborah Padovan City Clerk The minutes of the January 25, 2022 special City Council meeting were approved as presented at the February 17, 2022, regular City Council meeting.