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HomeMy WebLinkAbout12/22/1976l t CITY COUNCIL 4I TOWN OF LOS ALTOS HILLS 26379 Fremont Road Los Altos Hills, California MINUTES OF AN ADJOURNED MEETING Wednesday, December 22, 1976 cc: Reel 97, Side 1, Tr. 2 - 001-246 Mayor Robert Cheney called the Adjourned Meeting of the City Council to order at 4:30 P.M. in the Council Chambers of Town Halt: A. ROLL CALL: Present: Council Members Brown, Hillestad, Proft, Mayor Cheney Staff: City Manager Robert Crowe, City Clerk Norma Hislop Press: Palo Alto Times; San Jose Mercury -News; Los Altos Town Crier B. CURRENT BUSINESS: 1. Consideration of manner by which Council seat shall be filled: At the request of Mayor Cheney, City Clerk Norma Hislop informed Council of the options available under California State Law should the decision be made this evening to call for a Special Election to fill the Council seat vacated on December 15th, 1976 by Mayor Pro Tem Grabowski. She stated that the Election Code, Section 2504, specified that a Special Election could only be held three times a year, the dates during 1977 being specifically March 8, May 31, and November 8. Should Council wish to call a Special Election, the Registrar would accept the appropriate Resolution by the next day at the latest, or December 23rd. However, Ms. Hislop noted that, because the deadline for filing nomination papers was December 29th, Council might consider this time period very short for those seeking to run for office. Should Council wish to consider the May 31st deadline, a Resolution of Intention could be adopted at the Council meeting of January 19th, and the filing deadline for candidates in this case would be March 25th. Councilwoman Hillestad stated that she had given much thought to this matter and had talked with many constituents, as well as people in other Town's who had been faced with the same problem. She felt that the vacancy should be filled as soon as possible, and that it should be done by appointment for the reasons that there would be no cost to the taxpayer, and the authority for making such an appointment had been delegated to the Council under the laws of the State. Councilwoman Hillestad said she did not feel a four person Council was workable because of the possibility of tie votes occurring on important matters which should be resolved. She also cited the fact that CITY COUNCIL MINUTES - December 22, 1976 4 CONSIDERATION OF MANNER BY WHICH COUNCIL VACANCY SHOULD BE FILLED: (Cont'd a new budget would be coming before Council and the sooner the vacancy was filled, the sooner the individual would become familiar with the fiscal responsibilities of the Town. She recalled the precedent set by the appointment of former Council Member Corbett to replace Councilman Aiken several years previously, and also reminded Council that the appointment or Election would be to fill the unexpired term of former Councilman Grabowski to March, 1978 only. Councilman Brown agreed with the points raised by Councilwoman Hillestad, feeling that a Special Election would be a considerable expense, and the March 8th election deadline dates unfair to possible candidates. He also agreed that Council should fill the vacancy by appointment. Speaking from the Floor: Mr. George Seidman, Diane Dr: :Agreed that Council should fill vacancy by appointment. Mr. J. Couperous, Page Mill Road: In favor of calling Special Election. Mr. L. Giller, Vinedo Lane: In favor of calling Special Election Mr. Oscar Sobel, Christopher's Ln.: In favor of appointment by Council. Mrs. Alma Wood, Stonebrook Dr.: Requested information on procedure if Council chose to fill the vacancy by appointment. I. Goldsmith, Elena Road: In favor of appointment by Council. Mayor Cheney noted that, if a Special Election were called, the May 31st date seemed the closest election date which could be chosen to give any candidates the time necessary for filing purposes, and thus, it would be June before the new Council Member were seated. He recalled that he had been elected to fill an unexpired term and had to refile and campaign again the year following, and sympathized with anyone who would have to go through the same procedure. He stated that he had talked with many residents, and the feeling had been that they trusted Council to fill the vacancy by appointment, and stating that, if they were unhappy with the selection, they would have the opportunity in 1978 of not re-electing that person. Councilman Proft said that he had thought it might be possible to call for the Special Election in March; however, on further reflection, he, too, felt that this was a very short period of time for candidates, and would not be fair. Because of this, he supported Council's feeling that the vacancy be filled by appointment. Councilwoman Hillestad moved, seconded by Councilman Brown, to fill the vacancy on the City Council created by the resignation of Stanley W. Grabowski by appointment. Motion carried unanimously by roll call vote. In response to Council, City Manager Robert Crowe noted that Council had until January 13th to appoint a candidate to the Council, that being the thirty -day limit allowed by law for filling the vacancy in this manner. 441- After After discussion regarding this time frame, Councilman Brown moved, seconded by Councilwoman Hillestad, and unanimously carried, to make the Council appointment at the Regular Council Meeting of January 5, 1977. -2- 4 w+w CITY COUNCIL MEETING - December 22, 1976 CONSIDERATION OF MANNER BY WHICH COUNCIL VACANCY SHOULD BE FILLED: (Cont'd) Council discussion continued regarding how applications should be accepted and the deadlines for such applications so that Council would have sufficient time to review these prior to the Council meeting of January 5th. It was the concensus of Council that applications should be accepted no later than January 4th at 5:00 P.M., the close of the business day. Staff would then duplicate applications received and forward them directly to each Council member for their review immediately. Council also directed Staff to prepare an application form similar to the one used for filling Planning Commission vacancies and have them available for possible candidates as soon as possible the day following this meeting. The Press was requested to note the filing dates so that interested residents might be informed, and Council encouraged interested persons to get this information to Council as soon as possible for consideration. Discussion then continued between Staff and Council regarding procedures Council would utilize in voting for the candidates. The concensus was that each candidate should be given some time to address Council concerning his qualifications, and that Council could ask questions of the candidates. It was also agreed that no comments should be accepted by members of the public. Because of recent amendments to the Brown Act, Mr. Crowe noted that all voting by Council must be done in public; however, this could be done by ballot and handed to the City Clerk, so long as the Council Member voting would sign his name and the vote recorded publicly. Speaking from the Floor: Mr. Matt Altenhofen, Magdalena Ave.: Requested clarification of Council's decision to vote simultaneously. Mr. Crowe clarified that, while Council might vote simultaneously, the ballot would be signed by the individual Council members, and their vote publicly announced by the City Clerk. This procedure would continue until a majority vote was reached for the successful candidate. Mrs. Alma Wood, Stonebrook Dr: Interested in seeing that all candidates receive a copy of the "green sheet" of the reasons why the Town incorporated in 1957. C. ADJOURNMENT: Council adjourned at 5:20 P.M. to a Joint Meeting between the Planning Commission and City Council on Tuesday, January 4, 1976 at 4:30 P.M. in the Council Chambers. -3- Respectfully submitted, Norma J. Hislop City Clerk