HomeMy WebLinkAbout10/16/1990 Minutes of an Adjourned Regular Meeting
October 16, 1990
Town of Los Altos Hills
City Council Meeting
Tuesday,October 16, 1990,5:30 P.M.
Council Chambers, 26379 Fremont Road
Mayor Siegel called the Adjourned Regular Meeting of the City Council to order at 5:30
p.m. in the Council Chambers at Town Hall.
1. ROLL CALL
Present: Mayor Siegel and Councilmembers Casey, Hubbard, Johnson and
Tryon
Absent: None
Staff: City Manager Thomas Frutchey, Director of Public Works Bill
Ekern, Engineering Consultants Jeff Peterson and Ron Calhoun
(Wilsey and Ham) and City Clerk Pat Dowd
2. DISCUSSION OF CONTRACT WITH WILSEY AND HAM FOR ENGINEERING
SERVICES
The Director of Public Works referred to his staff report dated 10/16/90 on the subject
of engineering costs. He explained that most of the charges were billable and he
further commented on the budget process. The Town basically acted as a 'clearing
house' for these charges and the charges were quite high in total because of the high
costs involved for the Quarry Project and the Lands of McCulloch.
Mr. Ron Calhoun, Wilsey & Ham, presented background information on the
` company, noting that they had been in the Bay Area for about fifty years. They had a
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`, full range of professionals. He explained the review process and the costs involved
and stated that certain requirements had to be met before any plans could be signed off
by the company.
Tryon suggested a budget amendment to address the rising engineering costs. Casey
noted that she had been advised that one of the problems with getting a project
completed were the layers of bureaucracy at Wilsey and Ham. She thought in-house
engineering should be looked into as she was quite concerned about the expenses
involved.
Jeff Peterson, Wilsey & Ham, explained that there really were not layers of bureaucracy
as 90-95% of the plans were checked by one person. Mr. Peterson also expressed his
support of the second recommended solution which stated: 'After the initial review
and comments, if all issues raised have not been addressed in the resubmittal, no
further review will occur without a meeting between the applicant, both sets of
engineers, and the Public Works Director, or City Manager. A budget and a timeline
will be agreed upon prior to continuing any review. ' He noted that oftentimes
comments on plans were made during the course of review and they were either
ignored or overlooked. He supported a policy whereby if the comments were ignored,
46/ no further work would be done on the project. This would save everyone involved
time and money.
PASSED BY CONSENSUS: To direct Wilsey and Ham to not proceed on a project if
their initial comments have not been addressed by the applicant.
Another suggested solution called for more specific conditions and more handouts on
ordinances, policies, etc. By making the process as clear as possible in the beginning,
there should be fewer time-delaying questions at a later date. In response to a concern
raised by the Mayor concerning such conditions as those imposed by the Fish and
Game Department and the Santa Clara Valley Water District, the City Manager noted
that progress meetings with all involved worked well.
It was noted that a meeting was scheduled for Friday,October 19th to discuss with
developers and anyone else who was interested the planning and building procedures
in Town, concerns, suggestions, complaints, etc. A written report would be prepared
and distributed on the notes of that meeting.
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3. CLOSED SESSION: PERSONNEL: PURSUANT TO GOVERNMENT CODE
SECTION 54957
The City Council adjourned to a Closed Session for purposes of personnel at 6:40 p.m.
and reconvened at 7:10 p.m.
4. PRESENTATIONS FROM THE FLOOR
5. ADJOURNMENT
There being no further new or old business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at
7:15 p.m.
Respectfully submitted
`r Patricia Dowd,City Clerk
The minutes of the October 16, 1990 City Council Meeting were approved at the
December 5, 1990 Council Meeting.
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