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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07/24/2008 (2) Town of Los Altos Hills City Council Regular Meeting Minutes Thursday, July 24, 2008 Council Chambers 26379 Fremont Road CALL TO ORDER, ROLL CALL, AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Mayor Mordo called the City Council Regular Meeting to order at 6:35 p.m. in the Council Chambers at Town Hall. Present: Mayor Jean Mordo, Mayor Pro Tem Dean Warshawsky(joined meeting at 7:00 p.m.-did not participate in Closed Session), Councilmember Craig A. T. Jones, Councilmember Breene Kerr and Councilmember Mike O'Malley Absent: None Staff: City Manager Carl Cahill, City Engineer/Public Works Director Richard Chiu, Finance Director Nick Pegueros, Planning Director Debbie Pedro, Parks and Recreation Supervisor Eric Christensen, City Attorney Steve Mattas, City Clerk Karen Jost Council adjourned to Closed Session at 6:36 p.m. CLOSED SESSION CLOSED SESSION: CONFERENCE WITH REAL PROPERTY NEGOTIATORS (pursuant to Government Code Section 54956.8) Property: APN#182-21-003 Agency Negotiator: Carl Cahill and Steve Mattas Negotiating Parties: Town of Los Altos Hills and Jurvetson Under Negotiation: Disposition and payment of terms PUBLIC SESSION Council adjourned to Special Meeting at 6:55 p.m. Council reconvened to Regular Meeting Open Session at 7:00 p.m. • City Attorney Steve Mattas reported out of Closed Session: Council provided direction to staff; there was no reportable action. 1 City Council Regular Meeting Minutes July 24,2008 MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved b Jones, seconded b O'Malley and Y Y Y passed unanimously to limit comments from the floor to two minutes. APPOINTMENTS AND PRESENTATIONS Mayor Mordo introduced guest Fire Chief Ken Waldvogel, Santa Clara County Fire Department. Chief Waldovgel outlined the special relationship of the department and the Town, noting that the provider of fire services for the community was the Los Altos Hills County Fire Protection District. The District contracts with County Fire Department for fire protection services for the Town and the surrounding unincorporated area. Chief Waldvogel noted that SCC Fire Department currently contracts with eight other west valley cities for fire protection services covering approximately 110 square miles. The department was established in 1948 and in recognition of their 60th year of service, the department had complied a "year book" or historical snapshot of their agency. The Chief presented each Councilmember with'a copy of the book. Council thanked Chief Waldvogel and the members of the Department in attendance for their excellent fire protection service to the Los Altos Hills community. 1. Consideration of Grant Funding Requests from Community Service Agencies Mayor Mordo noted that the Council had before them a complete packet of applications from the community service agencies that were requesting grant monies to support programs that benefit the residents of the Town. The agencies (in alphabetical order) included: American Red Cross, Avenidas, Community Health Awareness Council (CHAC), Community Hope & Sober Events (CHASE), Community School of Music and Arts, Community Service Agency (CSA), Joint Venture Silicon Valley, Los Altos Chamber of Commerce, Los Altos Mediation Program, Los Altos Senior Center, Morgan Center, Next Door Solutions, Second Harvest Food Bank, Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition, Support Network for Battered Women and Children, Town Crier Holiday Fund, United Way of Silicon Valley, and Wildlife Rescue. Mayor Mordo invited representatives of the support agencies in attendance to address Council. Council briefly discussed the process for awarding the grant monies. Council consensus was to allocate the previously approved amount of$61,000. which had been included in the fiscal year 2009 budget. Council had before them a ballot for distribution of the funds that included the list of agencies and the grants awarded in 2004-2008. Mayor Mordo recused himself from consideration of funding to the American Red Cross. Similarly, Councilmember Kerr recused himself from consideration of the grant funding for CHASE. Both Councilmembers serve on the Board of the respective agencies. In tabulating the final 18 funding amount for those identified agencies,the allocations recommended by the council would be divided by four. 2 City Council Regular Meeting Minutes July 24,2008 Mayor Mordo thanked the agency representatives for attending and for the services they provide to Los Altos Hills residents. • The item was scheduled to return to the City Council at their August 28fl' meeting for final award of grant funds. CONSENT CALENDAR Items Removed: Agenda Item#3 (Councilmember O'Malley) MOTIONED SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Warshawsky, seconded by O'Malley and passed unanimously to approve the remainder of the consent calendar; specifically: 2. Approval of Meeting Minutes: City Council Meeting—July 10, 2008 4. Approval of Renewal of Agreement with the Los Altos/Los Altos Hills Little League (Staff: E. Christensen) Resolution No. 49-08 Resident Duncan MacMillan suggested that it would be appropriate for the Little League to provide measures (statistical percentages) of the participants by school districts (PAUSD and LASD). He offered that it was important to encourage inclusion in the program for all of our residents. This would provide a better sense of community for Los Altos Hills. • 5. Award of Contract, Fremont Road Rehabilitation Project: Resolution No.50-08 (Staff. R. Chiu) 6. Approval of Renewal Agreements for Service Contracts: Resolution No. 5.1-08 (Staff: N. Pegueros) Items Removed: 3. Acceptance of Grant of Pathway Easement; Lands of Heit, 27752 Sherlock Road (Staff. R. Chiu) Resolution No. 52-08 Councilmember O'Malley requested clarification on why such a small section of the pathway had been requested. Pathways Committee Chair Ginger Summit explained that the portion that was requested was all that was needed to complete the connection. MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Kerr, seconded by O'Malley and passed unanimously to accept the Grant of Pathway Easement, Lands of Heit. PRESENTATIONS FROM THE FLOOR No comments from the floor. • 3 City Council Regular Meeting Minutes July 24,2008 UNFINISHED BUSINESS • 7. Review of Town Goals Council had before them a draft of Town Goals prepared by Mayor Mordo. Following a brief discussion, council consensus was that the draft was an excellent set of objectives for the upcoming year. Council proffered several minor edits to the supporting descriptions of the goals. Mayor Mordo offered to incorporate the suggestions and finalize the list for next meeting. Resident Duncan MacMillan suggested that it would be appropriate to include "education" as a town goal given its inclusion in the General Plan. MacMillan commented that he would like the Council to revisit the charter of the Education Committee and suggested that Council consider as an option, a volunteer education advocate in Los Altos Hills that would take a more active role in education issues. MacMillan believed it was important for the Town to be vigilante with regards to education and the districts. 8. Consideration of New Schedule for Appointment to the Positions of Mayor and Vice Mayor and Consideration of Modification to the Term Length for the Positions until the New Schedule Takes Effect Council discussed the proposed schedule for mayoral rotation and term lengths that would accommodate a new schedule. If approved, the new rotation would take effect in • December in 2010 with the amended nine month terms for Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem starting in 2009. Councilmember O'Malley noted that he did not support the revisions and did not believe they were necessary. His preference was to leave the option of the Mayor's term and appointment date to future councils. Councilmember Kerr offered that the Council was not proposing to impose who would be chosen as the future mayors for the shortened terms; but was going on record to realign the Mayoral term to follow the election calendar. The Mayors would be chosen in December rather than the current June/July appointment. Council determined it was not necessary to adopt the Resolution to establish the new schedule and the intent of the Council could be clarified by a motion. MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Mordo, seconded by Kerr and passed by a 4-1 voice vote (O'Malley-No) that it was the intent of the City Council to align the mayoral term with the election calendar beginning in December 2010. To facilitate the new appointment date, the two immediate following Mayoral terms beginning in July 2009 will be nine (9) months each. • 4 City Council Regular Meeting Minutes July 24,2008 9. Award of Contract, Purissima Little League Fields Project(Staff: R. Chiu) • City Engineer/Public Works Director Richard Chiu introduced the item to Council. The Town had received nine (9) bids for the Little League Fields Project ranging from $910,500.00 to $1,138,800.00. The low bid was submitted by Robert Bothman, Inc. The contract had been prepared with a base bid and six (6) additive alternates. Staff was recommending that three (3) of the alternates be added to the project. They included Alternate #3 Pre-Engineered building (restrooms), Alternate #4 Furniture and Shrub Planting, and Alternate #5 Chain Link Fence Awning at.Infield Areas. The restroom would satisfy the ADA requirements and the timing of the undergrounding of utilities supported moving forward with the restroom during the initial project. Chiu noted that the additional additives (Alternate #1-Overflow Parking at the Corporation Yard, Alternate #2 Improvements to Town Property at Purissima and Elena, and Alternate #6 Improvements to the Town Riding Ring) could be addressed at a later date as separate projects. Chiu reviewed a chart of identified project costs with Council. Staff was recommending that the 2002 Per Capita Park Bond Funds of $220,000 be used towards the proposed restroom. Councilmember Jones noted that the items before Council were part of the original scope of the project and are key elements (features) in the creation of a "park-like" setting. Jones offered that two considerations for Council were how much to spend on the bathroom and the issue of overflow parking. • Councilmember Kerr suggested that overflow parking which would necessitate moving the corporation yard, be addressed in subsequent yearsand possibly with a different approach. He did not believe it was critical to address the issue during the initial project. Kerr suggested that any improvements to the Town Riding Ring could probably be accomplished for less money outside the scope of the project contract. Kerr queried if it would be beneficial to increase the size of the pre-engineered building to accommodate other activities. OPENED PUBLIC COMMENT Ginger Summit, resident, voiced her concern that the proposed pathway could potentially dead end without the new parking alignment. City Engineer Chiu explained that the project designer believed the pathway could be accommodated. Resident, Rhus Ridge Road, questioned if the proposed fence between the pedestrian pathway and the back of the fields would be sufficient protection against errant balls. City Engineer Chiu offered that the Little League and designers believed that the fence would of sufficient height to provide a safe solution. Paul Kelleher, Little League Board member. Kelleher noted that he was responsible for field acquisition and maintenance for the League. He spoke to the League's position that the proposed fence heights were appropriate for the age groups using the fields. The League had recommended different heights in different areas with the highest fences 5 City Council Regular Meeting Minutes July 24,2008 being located in key areas where people might not be monitoring field activity. He believed that the proposed fences provided a better line of sight and were more consistent with a park like setting. Kelleher did not believe that there was a fence height that could • « prevent balls being hit into the area by older kids that were interested in challenging the fence. Kelleher expressed his and the League's appreciation for the City Council's commitment to parks and recreation as a priority this past year. In response to a query from Councilmember Kerr, he advised that a new snack shack or restrooms was not a priority for the League but the need for the new restrooms building was driven by ADA requirements for the bathrooms. Bob Sandor, Resident, Little League Board member addressed Council. He thanked them for their continued support of the field improvement project. He advised Council that approximately 30%-35% of the 580 children in the program are Los Altos Hills residents. Children in the Palo Alto Unified School District are encouraged to participate in the program. Jolon Wagner, resident, Los Altos Hills Horseman's Association member, thanked the City Council for moving forward with the proposed improvements at the fields. She asked if it was possible to include tie rails and a drinking fountain for the Town's Riding Ring in the project. She suggested that the rails would be used to separate horses from other horses and users. The estimated cost of the rails was, approximately $12,000. She thanked town staff member Parks and Recreation Supervisor Eric Christensen for his assistance in addressing issues at the Town Riding Ring. • Nick Dunckel, resident, commented that he was concerned that the increasing budget of the Little League project could-potentially impact the other parks and recreation projects including Westwind Barn and pathways. He suggested that the Parks & Recreation Committee investigate other means of funding the additional improvements at the Little League fields. Councilmember Kerr requested an update-on the Parks and Recreation Committee's position on increasing the size of the pre-engineered building to accommodate other uses. He noted that this was the most cost effective time to address a need if there was one. Valerie Metcalfe, resident, Co-Chair Standing Parks and Recreation Committee addressed Council. She reported that the Committee had reviewed the option at their last meeting. The Committee's primary concern was to ensure that an increase in the budget did not impact any of the other approved recreation projects (Westwind Community Barn and pathways). If additional money could be found they supported the additional expense. CLOSED PUBLIC COMMENT . Council discussion: Councilmember Jones reaffirmed his support for the original plan and the proposed iupdated restrooms. With the addition of park like features at the fields, the restrooms will City Council Regular Meeting Minutes July 24,2008 be used by more residents and will be ADA compliant. He believed this was the appropriate time to make the additional improvements. Jones added that as a separate consideration outside the scope of the Fields project contract, he could support giving direction to the City Manager that within his budgetary approval authority, the requested improvements be made to the Town Riding Ring. Councilmember O'Malley commented that he was in consensus with Councilmember Jones' position and comfortable with the increased budget to make the fields a first class facility for the residents, families and visitors. He also supported the improvements at the Town Ring for$12,000. Councilmember Kerr concurred. He noted that he could support enlarging the proposed building but if there wasn't a need for additional meeting space, he would support the proposal as recommended by staff. Kerr added that the project had already been reduced to keep the budget inline. Mayor Pro Tem Warshawsky voiced his support for the staff recommendation and cautioned that the project should be kept inline with the approved budget. He encouraged staff to continue to investigate cost-saving options. Warshawsky suggested that the improvements to the Town Riding Ring be delayed. MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Kerr, seconded by O'Malley and passed unanimously to approve the staff's recommendation to proceed with the base project plus Alternatives #3, #4, #5 as identified in the staff report with a budget of • $1,364,000. *The approved budget included $12,000 for improvements to the Town Ring that were to be made outside the scope of the awarded project contract. MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Jones, seconded by Kerr and passed unanimously to approve Resolution No. 53-08 "Awarding a Contract for the Construction of Purissima Little League Fields Improvement Project" to Robert A. Bothman for the base project and authorizing the City Manager to enter into the contract with Alternatives #3,#4, #5 at an amount not to exceed the bid. COUNCIL RECESSED: 8:55 P.M. COUNCIL RECONVENED TO OPEN SESSION: 9:00 P.M. NEW BUSINESS Mayor Pro Tem Warshawsky recused himself from discussion of Agenda Items#10, #11, #12 and stepped down from the dais. Councilmember Kerr recused himself from discussion of Agenda Items #10, #11 and stepped down from the dais. 10. Report from the Westwind Barn Transition Management Ad Hoc Committee Councilmember O'Malley introduced the item to Council. He provided an overview of the formation of the Ad Hoc Committee and its charter. The Committee was created by 7 City Council Regular Meeting Minutes July 24,2008 Council to gather information on the various management alternatives for Westwind Committee Barn. Members included residents Rebecca Hickman, Brian Hollins, Susan Lam, Val Metcalfe, Councilmember O'Malley and Amy Weissman. Meetings had also been attended by Nancy Couperus and Shari Emling. During their review, the Committee had met with equestrian management experts Richard Sereni of Fremont Hills and Alejandra Abella, Equine Management, LLC (EQM). The Committee identified four methodologies for management of the Westwind Facility. They included a contract with a Concessionaire; Town management; contract with Equine , Management LLC (EQM), and, contract with a Non-Profit Group. O'Malley proceeded with a PowerPoint presentation. Committee members Susan Lam and Rebecca Hickman assisted with the presentation of key elements of the different management models. It was noted that their presentation was not an indication of their preference or disapproval of an option. O'Malley noted that he was not aware of any other municipal owned local stables that could be used as a model. In conclusion, O'Malley offered several observations. First, there was a concurrence among the experts the committee had interviewed that the boarding of horses was most often a money losing proposition with escalating costs. Profits were generated through lessons and training services with group lessons being the most profitable. Second, it would be beneficial for the Town to meet with the neighbors of Westwind annually on a pro-active basis to review the schedule of events at the Barn, and, answer any questions • or concerns they might have on the management of the facility. Third, it was preferable to have someone on-site 24 hours. This was accomplished by having adequate on-site housing. O'Malley commented that each of the models had attributes. The most costly was a contract with a professional management firm. Stables generally provided onsite housing for a concessionaire and or stable hands and at this time, this is not an option with the Barn. O'Malley noted that he would prefer to abstain from voting on the management type for Westwind to avoid any appearance that the review had been weighted in any way and not been neutral. He would however vote if there was a deadlock of the two remaining Councilmembers considering the options. Mayor Mordo questioned if the expectation was for the Council to make a decision at this time on a long term management program or focus on the options for short term. O'Malley responded that the purpose of the presentation had been to disseminate information on management options and to gather public input on the subject. Given that the professionals and concessionaires wanted long term contracts with a minimum of 3-5 years and required on-site housing, making a long term decision supporting those options was not viable at this time. An additional issue was the major renovation scheduled for the facility in the next year. Mayor Mordo concurred that he would rather focus on short term options given the refurbishment of the facility in the near future and the Town's recent acquisition of the management role of Westwind. 8 City Council Regular Meeting Minutes July 24,2008 City Manager Carl Cahill commented that staff was recommending the continuation of • Town management of the facility. Given the major renovations scheduled for the next 1- 2 years, this option seemed the most appropriate short term. Additionally, by managing the Barn during this phase, it enabled staff to build an institutional memory of the needs and requirements to successfully manage an equestrian facility. OPENED PUBLIC COMMENT Jitze Couperus, resident, suggested that the Council accept the City Manager's offer to manage during this transition period. Rebecca Hickman, resident, voiced her opinion that it was imperative for the Town to manage and have control of the operations of the Barn given the planned remodeling and renovations at the facility. She added that the Barn has been cleaner and more efficiently managed under direction of the Town. Nancy Couperus, resident, commented on the improved appearance of the facility and congratulated staff on their effective hands-on management of the Barn. CLOSED PUBLIC COMMENT Councilmember Jones thanked the Ad Hoc Committee for performing the due diligence on management options for the Town's facility. He offered that the information they had • provided would be very useful when the Council revisited the issue for a more permanent solution. Jones believed it would most likely be difficult to find an analogy to the Town's situation within other communities. The Barn is a unique asset and has a traditional role with the Town both historically and recreationally. As a municipally owned stable, the Town is faced with a unique situation and may have to forge a very specific solution. He supported the current management of the facility by the Town during the transition and suggested that there might not be a need to change the model unless the Town was faced with losing a substantial amount of money on operations or it began to interfere with staff s other duties. Council consensus was to continue with the Town's operation of the facility. 11. Consideration of Westwind Barn Operations Budget and Job Description for the Barn Manager (Staff. N. Pegueros) Finance Director Nick Pegueros introduced the item to Council. Council had before them a resolution that would approve the schedule of boarding fees and fees for services rendered at Westwind Barn; approve the job description for the position of Barn Manager which was contingent on the Town continuing operation of the facility; and, approve and amend the Town's Operating and Capital Improvement Program Budget for the fiscal year 2009 consistent with changes to the revenues, appropriations and employee salary schedule. i 9 City Council Regular Meeting Minutes July 24,2008 Pegueros reported that Town management had assumed operations of Westwind Barn beginning July 1, 2008. The resolution would address "housekeeping" matters necessary to continue operations at the Barn. The recommended budget built on information provided by the Friends of Westwind was for a six month period beginning July 1, 2008 and ending December 31, 2008 and required a transfer from the Town's general fund of $11,000 to close the operating deficit for the six months ending December 31St. Currently, there are three vacant stalls at the Barn. Pegueros' expectation was that the Town would have a better understanding of the costs after the initial six months of operation. In December, staff would return to the City Council with a modified budget and revisit the fee schedule. Mayor Mordo commented that he was bothered by the deficit and suggested several options to eliminate the deficit including a small increase in rental fees or a smaller increase in fees supported by a fundraiser. His preference was to see the operations break even. Mordo recommended that Council approve the proposal before them and direct staff to return in August with a one year budget that eliminated the deficit. Councilmember O'Malley suggested that if the rental fees were increased, it would most likely increase vacancies. He could potentially support the increase of the rates for stalls if they were filled. City Manager Cahill requested a six-month period to review value added services and methods for off-setting costs. Mordo commented that he did not oppose the timeframe but would like to set an objective of eliminating or reducing the deficit. Councilmember O'Malley commented that he did not object to the deficit and supported the City Manager's "request to run the facility for six months to have a better understanding of the issues at the facility. O'Malley noted the many operation challenges that can arise at the Barn. He did not want to set constraints on the staff and wanted the facility to be able to continue to offer the current programs at Westwind. Councilmember Jones agreed that the goal should be to break even but supported the budget request and option of giving staff time (six months) to assess the management issues. MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Jones, seconded by O'Malley and passed unanimously to approve Resolution No. 54-08 `Adopting a Budget Changes for Fiscal Year 2009". (Kerr, Warshawsky recused themselves from consideration of this item and had stepped down from the dais) 12. Request from Supporters for a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) (Staff. C. Cahill) City Manager Carl Cahill introduced the item. He provided an overview of the Council's challenge to the Supporters of Westwind to match the Town's appropriation of$880,000 • for the 'retrofit and restoration of Westwind Community Barn. To assist them in their 10 City Council Regular Meeting Minutes July 24,2008 fundraising efforts, the Supporters had hired a consultant who had recommended that it would be helpful to the success of their fundraising efforts to have a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) agreement with the.Town that affirmed to prospective donors a binding commitment of matching financial support from the Town for this project. The City Attorney had determined that the MOU was a legal option for the Council. OPENED PUBLIC COMMENT Jeanne Seeley, President Supporters of Westwind Community Barn, explained that the group was seeking a MOU with the Town. She believed it was necessary to assuage the concerns of potential donors that the Town might not honor their commitment of matching funds to renovate the facility. The Supporters did not want to reach the conclusion of a successful campaign with the realized goal of raising $880,000 from private donors and have the Town go back on their promise. CLOSED PUBLIC COMMENT Councilmember O'Malley requested clarification. He noted that there was the potential for three new members on the City Council that might have a different vision for the renovation of the Barn than the current Council. O'Malley reiterated his support for the project. City Attorney Mattas explained that the Council had the option of entering into a binding contract or a Memorandum of Understanding for a commitment of funds for up to one • year. Councilmember Jones noted that he had voted against the approval of the $880,000 but could support the MOU. He suggested that it was important to assist the Supporters with their fundraising efforts. Jones offered that the MOU would memorialize the partnership between the Town and the Supporters of Westwind. City Attorney Mattas advised Council that a MOU could be written as a binding contract/obligation. He questioned if the Council wanted a commitment if the Supporters performed their obligation to compel the Town to match the funds or wished to simply have the MOU represent an expression of the Town's budgetary commitment. Mayor Mordo stated that he was uncomfortable with binding a future Council to the obligation or being held to the obligation if there was an emergency. Councilmember Kerr supported the MOU. Councilmember O'Malley supported the MOU with the addition of a time frame (one year) and a clause that would exempt the Town from the commitment in the case of a major disaster/emergency or major changes to the Town's financial situation. Council discussed setting a minimum threshold for the commitment. There was a concurrence to set$500,000 as the minimum threshold for the matching funds. • 11 City Council Regular Meeting Minutes July 24,2008 MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Kerr, seconded by O'Malley and passed unanimously to direct staff to design a binding Memorandum of Understanding between the Supporters of Westwind and the Town that sets the minimum ($500,000.00) and maximum ($880,000.00) as parameters of the obligation for matching funds to be used consistent with the previously approved direction of the Council with the allocation of funds to be used for the retrofit and refurbishment of the Barn. Language was to be included in the MOU releasing the Town of the obligation in event of an emergency or significant change in the financial condition of the Town. The Memorandum of Understanding would be valid for as long as permissible up to one year. (Mayor Pro Tem Warshawsky recused himself from consideration of this item and had stepped down from the dais.) 13. Formation of Ad Hoc Internal Controls Committee (Staff: N. Pegueros) Before Council was consideration of formation of an Ad Hoc Committee charged with assessing the strength of the internal controls currently in place to protect the Town's assets from fraudulent activity. Finance Director Nick Pegueros offered that the recommendation from management to form the committee followed a request from the Town's independent auditor to meet with a representative of the City Council to discuss the governing board's understanding and familiarity with the Town's internal controls. The expectation was for the Ad Hoc committee to serve through the end of October at which time one or more of the members would meet with the auditors. The recommendation to create the Ad Hoc Committee was not intended to replace the Town's standard practice of having the Finance and Investment Committee review the audit financial statements. Pegueros reviewed the proposed scope of work for the Committee with Council. Depending on the work program identified by the Ad Hoc Committee, there could potentially be a need for additional contract staffing. Council briefly discussed the request and concurred with the recommendations of staff. Mayor Mordo volunteered to serve as the Council representative to the Ad Hoc Committee. OPENED PUBLIC COMMENT Roddy Sloss, Chair, Finance and Investment Committee addressed Council. He believed it would be appropriate for the project to be assigned to the Committee. CLOSED PUBLIC COMMENT Mayor Mordo suggested that Council approve the staff's recommendation and allow the Committee to review the options for how best to use the Finance and Investment Committee towards the effort. MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Mordo, seconded by O'Malley and passed unanimously to create an Ad Hoc Committee as recommended by staff. 12 City Council Regular Meeting Minutes July 24,2008 PLANNING COMMISSION REPORT Planning Director Debbie Pedro reported that at their July 21St meeting, the Planning Commission had reviewed two applications for new residences. Both projects included requests for grading exceptions. The Commission had unanimously approved the project on Old Ranch Road which included a nine foot cut for a day-lighted basement garage. The second project on Eshner Court had included a twenty-four and a half foot retaining wall. The project had been continued with direction from the Planning Commission to redesign the project to bring it more in conformance with the Town's grading policy Pedro shared a new brochure developed by members of the Environmental Design and Protection Committee, Environmental Initiatives Committee and Open Space Committee titled "Guide to Sudden Oak Death in Los Altos Hills" that would be made available to the public at the lobby counter. REPORTS FROM COMMITTEES, SUB-COMMITTEES, AND COUNCILMEMBERS ON OUTSIDE AGENCIES No reports. STAFF REPORTS City Manager—No report. City Attorney—No report. City Clerk—No report. ADJOURNMENT The July 24, 2008 Regular City Council meeting was adjourned by consensus of the City Council at 10:15 p.m. Respe tfully sub fitted, aren Jo City Cle The minutes of the July 24, 2008 Regular City Council Meeting were approved as presented at the August 28, 2008 Regular City Council Meeting. 13 City Council Regular Meeting Minutes July 24,2008