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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09/21/2000 Minutes of a Regular Meeting September 21, 2000 Town of Los Altos Hills City Council Regular Meeting Thursday, September 21, 2000, 6:00 P.M. Council Chambers, 26379 Fremont Road 1. CALL TO ORDER, ROLL CALL AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Mayor Finn called the Regular Meeting of the City Council to order at 6:05 p.m. in the Council Chambers at Town Hall. Present: Mayor Finn and Councilmembers Casey, Cheng, Dauber and Johnson Absent: None Staff: Acting City Manager Bob Quinlan, City Attorney Sandy Sloan, Planning Director Carl Cahill, Public Works Manager Jim Rasp, Finance Director Carol Ferrell and City Clerk Pat Dowd Press: Shobha Rao, Los Altos Town Crier; Mark Shahinian,Palo Alto Daily 2. APPOINTMENTS AND PRESENTATION 2.1 Appointments to Community Relations Committee, Environmental Design and Protection Committee and the Los Altos Senior Center Board of Directors Roy and Patty Woolsey, Roger Burnell, Dorothy Price and Linda Seidel asked to be reappointed to the Community Relations Committee. An application was also received from Bill Kerns. Roy and Patty Woolsey, Dorothy Price and Linda Seidel each addressed Council and expressed their interest in continuing to serve on the Community Relations Committee. Mr. Woolsey commented that their committee focused on bringing the community together and worked on such projects as the newsletter and Town picnic. He believed the Town should encourage volunteerism and associate members could be added to committees. He also asked Council for any suggestions for the upcoming 2001 annual Town event. Linda Seidel noted that she enjoyed working on the committee but if anyone new volunteered she was willing to change her position on the committee to an associate member. September 21, 2000 Regular City Council Meeting 1 i MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Dauber, seconded by Johnson and passed unanimously to appoint Bill Kerns to the Community Relations Committee for a four year term and to reappoint Roy and Patty Woolsey, Roger Burnell and Dorothy Price each for four year terms. Council also noted that Linda Seidel had agreed to continue on the committee as an associate member. Sharyn Brown and Robin Robison asked to be reappointed to the Environmental Design and Protection Committee. No other applications were received. MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Casey, seconded by Johnson and passed unanimously to reappoint Sharyn Brown and Robin Robison to the Environmental Design and Protection Committee each for four year terms. Council had received two applications for appointment to the Los Altos Senior Center Board of Directors from Martha Hunton and Win Murray. A letter had also been received from Ruth Koehler, Chair of the Senior Center Board of Directors, stating that if the Council could appoint a representative and an alternate to the Board it would be even better representation for the Town. Martha Hunton, 25600 Fernhill, and Win Murray, 12355 Stonebrook Drive, each addressed the Council and expressed their interest and involvement in the Senior Center. They commented on the activities offered by the Senior Center and the • important role the Senior Center played for the seniors in the community. They each said that they would enjoy working together and either would be willing to serve as the representative or the alternate if Council wished. MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Casey, seconded by Dauber and passed unanimously to appoint Martha Hunton as the Town's representative to the Los Altos Senior Center Board of Directors and Win Murray as the alternate. 2.2 Presentation by Bill Jones, General Manager of Los Altos Garbage Company, on Internet Billing Bill Jones, General Manager of Los Altos Garbage Company, stated that they were the first company in the industry to offer internet billing to their customers. They were in partnership with Wells Fargo Bank but he noted that a customer did not have to bank with Wells Fargo to participate. Mr. Jones commented that with this service there would be no paper and accounts could be accessed anytime from anyplace. George McGrath, Chief Information Officer for Norcal Wastesystems in San Francisco (Los Altos Garbage Company's parent company) explained the process to Council of this internet billing. He noted that one would need their account number and telephone number to access their account. He also noted that bills could be paid immediately or in the future. September 21, 2000 Regular City Council Meeting 2 Bill Jones noted that as more details on this program were available and improvements were made he would advise Council. In response to an inquiry from Dauber on the recycle bin lid offering he stated that the initial response was not particularly positive but as time has gone on they are getting eight to ten calls a day. 3. PLANNING COMMISSION REPORT The Planning Director reported that the 9/13/00 Planning Commission Meeting had been cancelled. Two fast track applications had been approved on 9/12/00: Lands of Cole, 25567 Willow Pond Lane — approved request for a new two-story accessory building and minor addition; and Lands of Wang, 28100 Laura Court — approved request for a new residence. Council congratulated Carl Cahill on his appointment as the Town's new Planning Director. 4. CONSENT CALENDAR Items Removed: 4.1 — Minutes of Regular City Council Meeting (Dauber), 4.3 (Dauber) and 4.7 (Dauber) MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED:.Moved by Casey, seconded by Johnson and passed by the following roll call vote to approve the balance of the Consent Calendar, specifically: AYES: Mayor Finn and Councilmembers Casey, Cheng and Dauber NOES: None ABSTAIN: Councilmember Johnson (not present at 9/7/00 special meeting) — abstained on Item 4.1 4.1 Approved Minutes: September 7, 2000 (Special City Council Meeting) 4.2 Approved Warrants: $459,148.61 (8/11/00—9/13/00) 4.3 Approved and authorized execution of amendment number two to the agreement for legal services between the Town of Los Altos Hills and Jorgenson, Siegel, McClure and Flegel —Reso #67-00 4.5 Issued Proclamation: Teen Read Week—October 15-21 2000 4.6 Issued Proclamation: Double Tenth National Day—October 10, 2000 4.8 Accepted Investment Report for the Quarter Ended 6/30/00 September 21, 2000 Regular City Council Meeting 3 i i4.9 Approved agreement with Du-All Safety for Town Safety Program—Reso #68-00 4.10 Accepted Status Report on Town Hall Sewer Failure and Repairs 4.11 Issued Certificates of Appreciation: Diane Barrager, Pathways Les Earnest, Pathways Committee and Valley Transportation Authority Bicycle Advisory Committee Sylvia Jensen, Pathways Committee Ralph Cheek, Environmenal Design and Protection Committee Items Removed: 4.1 Approval of Minutes: September 7, 2000 (Regular City Council Meeting) MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Dauber, seconded by Cheng and passed by the following roll call vote to approve the minutes of the September 7, 2000 Regular City Council Meeting with the following corrections: Page 5, Item 5.3, add the following phrase to the last sentence of the second paragraph: "so there should never be a situation where an applicant expected a decision and there wasn't • one"; Page 7, Item 6.3, first paragraph, change the word `Council' to `Casey and Finn', last paragraph change "Halls" to "Hulls", and change the second sentence of the last paragraph to read: "Dauber also reminded Mr. Solomon that there was bond money designated for the Adobe Creek Project to improve the culvert on that street available from the Santa Clara Valley Water District and he should look into this." AYES: Mayor Finn and Councilmembers Casey, Cheng and Dauber NOES: None ABSTAIN: Councilmember Johnson(not present at 9/7/00 meeting) 4.3 Approval and authorization of execution of amendment number one to the agreement for Interim City Manager between the Town of Los Altos Hills and Robert Quinlan —Reso# Dauber raised a question about the services to be performed in the amendment but was advised by the City Attorney that that language was repeated from the original agreement and had in fact already been done. This amendment amended hours and fees only. MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Dauber, seconded by Casey and passed unanimously to adopt Resolution #69-00 approving and authorizing execution of an amendment number one to the agreement for Interim City Manager between the • Town of Los Altos Hills and Robert Quinlan. September 21, 2000 Regular City Council Meeting 4 a 4.7 Approved 2000 Conflict of Interest Code Biennial Notice Dauber questioned whether or not the Town's consultants should be included in the conflict of interest report. She was advised that certain of the consultants were included and it was up to the City Manager to decide if a consultant should be listed. Dauber suggested that those consultants who do plan check be included in future conflict of interest reporting. MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Dauber, seconded by Casey and passed unanimously to approve the 2000 Conflict of Interest Code Biennial Notice. 5. UNFINISHED BUSINESS 6. NEW BUSINESS 7. REPORTS FROM COMMITTEES, SUB-COMMITTEES, AND COUNCILMEMBERS ON OUTSIDE AGENCIES 7.1 Northwest Flood Control Advisory Committee Dauber reported that Reach 1 — 4 projects were designed up to Foothill Expressway. • Plans were also being discussed to include mitigating landscaping for Edith Park as it related to these projects. Reach 5 included the Rogez property and redesign work was planned as none of the parties involved were pleased with the current design. 7.2 Community Relations Committee Cheng reminded the Chairman of the Community Relations Committee that she was the liaison to the committee and asked to be included on email notifications of their meetings. 7.3 Safety Committee Johnson commented on an email sent by Casey to staff concerning the meeting time of the Safety Committee. In the email it was noted that the 3:00 p.m. meeting time of the committee was not convenient for newly appointed member Art Bernstein and on his behalf Casey was asking the committee to change the time. Johnson stated his opinion that such correspondence should have been copied to all Councilmembers. Casey stated that it was her understanding that committees did not meet during business hours and she asked that this issue be agendized for the next Council Meeting. • September 21, 2000 Regular City Council Meeting 5 8. STAFF REPORTS 8.1 City Manager 8.1.1 Status Report on Televising Council Meetings The Acting City Manager recommended that the question of televising meetings be asked in the Town Survey to ascertain the level of interest in the community for such a service. Presently there was little interest in obtaining copies of the audio tapes of Council and Planning Commission Meetings. He also noted that the capital expense of such a program was significant not only for the equipment but also because Council Chambers may have to be rewired to handle the new equipment. While waiting for the survey to be finalized, the Acting City Manager noted that staff could meet with the Utility and Information Systems Committee to determine in more detail potential costs and impacts of this project. Casey concurred with the Acting City Manager's recommendation. She noted that this was a large expenditure of money and she would be interested in knowing the level of interest in the community. Dauber suggested getting started on this project by putting the meetings on the webpage. This would be an interim measure and would be of lesser quality but would get the project going and the major expenditures could be made when a new Town Hall was in place. • PASSED BY CONSENSUS: Council agreed that the Acting City Manager would report back to Council on this issue at the first meeting in November. 8.2 City Attorney 8.3 City Clerk 8.3.1 Report on Council Correspondence Dauber referred to the letter received from the Department of Water Resources concerning compliance with regulations required by the National Flood Insurance Program and asked for a status report on this from the City Manager. The City Manager stated that he would review the issue and report to Council. 9. COUNCIL-INITIATED ITEMS 9.1 Appropriate Use of Town Logo by Councilmembers (Councilmember Dauber) Dauber referred to a recent mailing sent out by the Mayor which endorsed three candidates for City Council. She noted that this mailing had been sent out on • September 21, 2000 Regular City Council Meeting 6 istationary which included the Town Logo and which said it was from the Office of the Mayor. It gave the perception of being an official Town document and since the Town was prohibited from sending mass mailings endorsing candidates it appeared the Town was doing something illegal. The City Attorney referred to her report on this issue. She noted that the Mayor had stated on the letter that it was `paid for by Steve Finn'; therefore, nothing illegal had been done. She noted however that a `service mark' was held by the Town which enabled the Town to prevent unauthorized use of the logo by any person or entity other than the Town. The policy question at this time for Council to decide was `who was the Town' and `who at the Town may use the logo'. The City Attorney noted that if the Mayor or a Councilmember wrote a letter as a Town official but on their own stationary, the Council should decide whether it wished to allow this official to use the Town logo. Johnson referred to a memo on this subject which outlined his use of the Town logo. He noted that as Mayor and a member of the Council he had used Town letterhead in connection with letters he had been directed to write and in some cases to send correspondence without prior Council approval but he always copied Council on all letters sent. He also used letterhead with the Town logo from him as a Councilmember with his home address, phone, etc. Johnson stated he had used this stationary to respond to residents who had contacted him directly on an issue but he • had always written the response as an individual and not as expressing the views of the Council. He never used the Town logo for political purposes and no one had complained in the last twelve years about this practice. Casey stated that she had been on the Council for several years and it was common practice for a councilmember to use Town stationary and logo when communicating with residents. She also stated that this was often done when a councilmember was expressing individual views. Casey also referred to elected positions at all levels who sent out letters with their titles and positions in response to issues before the public. Casey further referred to the picture of Johnson in the most recent Town newsletter and asked if this was a violation of the Fair Political Practices Commission's regulations on mass mailings. This picture was taken at a recent Council Meeting at which Johnson received a presentation from the Santa Clara County Cities Association for his years of service. Casey asked the City Attorney to get an opinion from the FPPC on the legality of this newsletter picture. Dauber suggested that any mailings using the Town logo should be first approved by the City Manager. The Acting City Manager responded that he did not think this was an appropriate decision for the City Manager to make. It was a Council decision if they wished to establish such a policy. • September 21 2000 Regular City Council Meeting 7 • Finn defended sending out such a letter stating that it clearly showed that it was paid for by him. However, he agreed that in any future mailings he would make it clearer that they were from him and not the Town. 10. PRESENTATIONS FROM THE FLOOR Gary Cleary, 26410 Silent Hills Lane, commented that the LeFevre Subdivision Improvements had been accepted at the 3/16/00 Council Meeting even though all problems related to utilities had not be resolved at that time. He was asking Council at this time to have the developer (LeFevre) fix the water runoff which was affecting the PG&E and Pacific Bell utility boxes and also to reimburse them (Clearys) for the false alarm charges which they have incurred due to the faulty PG&E box. It was noted that the Associate City Engineer had a meeting scheduled for the 22nd with the LeFevres and a report would be made at the next Council Meeting. Les Earnest, 12769 Dianne Drive, asked for a status report on when the public path between Voorhees Drive and Miraloma Way would be open for public use. It was agreed a report would be given at the next Council Meeting. William Downey, 14330 DeBell Drive, referred to the letter sent out by the Mayor and stated his opinion that it was inappropriate in that it was a campaign endorsement of three candidates and a support letter for the Civic Association urging everyone to • join and it appeared to be sent by the Town. Betsy Bertram, 11854 Page Mill Road, asked how many meetings of outside agencies had been attended by Casey, Cheng and Finn and also stated that she had called Sacramento regarding the letter mailed by the Mayor. She was informed that while it was not illegal it did appear to be in poor taste. In response to her inquiry, Cheng stated that she attend Valley Transportation Authority Meetings and Casey attended Santa Clara County Cities Association Meetings. 11. PUBLIC HEARINGS 11.1 Adoption of a Capital Improvement Budget for Fiscal Year 2000-01 — Reso# The Finance Director presented an overview of the proposed capital improvement budget for Fiscal Year 2000-01. This budget request of$3.8 million included current Council goals and objectives as well as an accelerated approach to deferred maintainence and infrastruture needs. She noted that the Town would be moving to a five-year capital program starting July 1, 2001 and this budget before them was for a nine month period. September 21, 2000 Regular City Council Meeting 8 • Dave Struthers, Chairman of the Finance Committee, stated that their committee had discussed the proposed capital improvement budget and had concerns about the recommended $3.8 million budget especially as it affected the Town's reserves. He noted that the Town's reserve policy included: $1,250,000 for emergencies, $350,000 for contingencies and $750,000 for Town Hall Replacement. The Finance Committee did not believe that the expenditure of the capital improvement budget and the reserve policy left enough in the Town's reserves. Dauber stated that she did not think $750,000 was enough money for Town Hall repairs or remodel and recommended decreasing the capital improvement budget and moving an additional $1million to this Town Hall project. Jim Steiner, member of the Finance Committee, concurred with Dave Struthers' comments. He also noted that this costly budget was only for a nine month period. Furthermore, he questioned the pavement management program which in the past had been about $600,000 a year. This had been the recommendation of the professional experts in the past but now the professional experts seemed to be recommending a much larger amount for this program. The Public Works Manager noted that in the past interns had worked on the pavement management program and provided the reports on recommended work to be done on certain streets. Due to Measure B funds the Town was able to hire a consultant who • was a Caltrans certified assessor to work on the pavement management program. This professional was able to make a much more experienced recommendation on work to be done in the Town for pavement management. The Public Works Manager also commented in response to inquiries from Council that although the capital improvement budget was quite extensive and only for a nine month period he was confident that staff would be able to handle the projects involved. He noted that there were new methods of managing such projects in place and he also stated that it was in the Town's best interest to move forward on many of these needed maintenance projects as they would only be more expensive to complete in future years and as the deferred maintenance was put off more repairs would be needed to correct the problems. MOTION SECONDED, CARRIED AND WITHDRAWN: Moved by Casey, seconded by Finn and withdrawn to adopt the Capital Improvement Budget for Fiscal Year 2000-01 as recommended by staff. MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Dauber, seconded by Johnson and passed unanimously to delete the Miranda and Page Mill Road Pathway Projects from this year's capital improvement budget and include them in next year's budget thereby reducing this budget by$705,000. • September 21, 2000 Regular City Council Meeting 9 Bob Stutz, member of the Pathways Committee, commented that it seemed that in the past funds recommended for path projects were often used for other endeavors. MOTION SECONDED AND FAILED: Moved by Dauber, seconded by Johnson and failed by the following roll call vote to reduce the proposed capital improvement budget to $1.2 million and do half the projects this year and half the next since there was not enough staff to manage all these projects. AYES: Councilmembers Dauber and Johnson NOES: Mayor Finn and Councilmembers Casey and Cheng MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Casey, seconded by Johnson and passed by the following roll call vote to adopt Resolution #70-00 adopting a Capital Improvement Budget for Fiscal Year 2000-01 as amended by Council. AYES: Mayor Finn and Councilmembers Casey, Cheng and Johnson NOES: Councilmember Dauber Dauber stated that she did not support the proposed Capital Improvement Budget because she felt it was an expenditure of too much money. 12. CLOSED SESSION: PERSONNEL: PURSUANT TO GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 54957: CITY MANAGER RECRUITMENT This closed session was held during an earlier Special Meeting of the Council. 13. ADJOURNMENT There being no further new or old business to discuss, the City Council Meeting was adjourned at 8:20 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Patricia Dowd City Clerk The minutes of the September 21, 2000 Regular City Council Meeting were approved at the October 5, 2000 Regular City Council Meeting. • September 21, 2000 Regular City Council Meeting 10