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HomeMy WebLinkAbout3/26/1956MINUTES OF THE COUNCIL MEETING OF LOS ALTOS HILLS, CALIFORNIA MARCH 26, 1956 An adjourned meeting of the city council was called into session at 6 ofclock P. M., at Purissima School, March 26, 1956. The following councilmen were present upon roll call: Leighton M. Bledsoe, T. A. Dungan, J. M. Fowle, C. Easton Roth- well; absent, Mayor Treat. City Clerk Paulman publicly thanked the following women for their time spent in stuffing sample ballots and cards into envelopes: Mrs. Lockwood Mrs. Beltramo Mrs. Damrosh Mrs. Dungan Mrs. McCluney Mrs. P aulman Road Commissioner Macabee gave a report on the status of the road committee and stated that a formal or written report will not be presented at this time. The committee has various ideas and would make certain recommendations to the council. Mr. Macabee gave his report more or less on a question and answer basis. Mr. Macabee reported that when the Town must take over the maintenance of roads, the committee would probably continue with the present plan under contract of the county. The county will continue maintenance of roads until the end of the fiscal year, June 30, 1956. Their major work will be to repair W. Fremont, about 300 ft. from Arastradero Road and E1 Monte Avenue from the city limits of Los Altos 'tPl.s to Purissima Avenue. The county advised that they will leave the roads in good shape to the best of their ability before turning them over to the TownIs care. The road committee will recommend to the council that they make representation to the Board of Supervisors of Santa Clara County as per plan before the first of July. Vice Mayor Dungan directed Road Commissioner Macabee to draft a letter to be sent to Mr. Bushnell for presentation to the Board of Supervisors of Santa Clara County. Upon drafting the letter, Mr. Macabee recommended writing a letter confirming the verbal request which calls for the County of Santa Clara to complete their improvement project of E1 Monte Avenue from the city limits of Los Altos Hills to Purissima Avenue as per budget ending the fiscal year, June 30, 1956. A motion was made by Mr. Fowle, seconded by Mr. Bled- soe, aaxg_;„e�,Qt that the mayor send a letter ftsmkd to the Board of Supervisors of Santa Clara County for completilag D their obligation. TJ)s.on. rQ-11 eal-1, motion was carried unanimously. After considerable discussion, Vice Mayor Dungan, upon approval of the council, authorized and directed Mr. Macabee - 2 - 3-26-.56 to write Mr. Bushnell thanking him for what was done in the past and to continue his work on the roads in the same manner. Under law, the county is required to continue maintenance of roads until the end of the fiscal year, June 30, 1956. Vice --Mayor Dungan asked Mr. Macabee to clarify the matter of gas tax andy�lieu tax. Mr. Macabee reported that under the county's program, the county has taken about one fifth of their budget for improvements and about four fifths for maintenance. The road committee will try to keep the road budget around $23,000, the amount they are expecting from the state. Taking the above arbitrary figure, about $9,000 will be the Town's share of the gas tax money and $14,000 in lieu of property tax on automobiles. City Engineer McCandless explained that the payment is made on the basis of registered voters rather than on number of automobiles registered to the people of the Town. Vice May( -Dungan directed Mr. Macabee to obtain a map for presentation to the council at the next meeting designating 6&AjeR streets and major feeders. In answer to Mr. Rothwell's inquiry, Mr. Macabee stated that the money, from the state should not be tied up for main- tenance of just certain roads. Mr. Macabee outlined three alternative methods of how roads might be maintained after July lst along with estimated figures presented by Mr. Gardner and Mr. Hibner: - 3 - 3-26-56 n 1. Contracting with the county to maintain roads as they have done in the past within the funds available to us. They have included some major improvements such as E1 Monte carrying traffic as a whole instead of just the local area. This was done for the benefit of businesses which are paying considerable county taxes. 2. Contracting with a local or private contractor for individual maintenance job or taking the entire main- tenance job for a period of time. All improvements would be done'by written approval. Overhead would probably amount to 25 per cent of the total expenditure which does not include labor. Labor and material cost would be about equal. The only problem is the question of labor which includes supervision and direction. Actual maintenance is a minor item of the total expendi- ture. An alternative would be to have the contractor furnish his own trucks and manpower and maintain the roads under our supervision and jurisdiction. 3. Establishing a department of our own for road work where- by the Town would either lease or buy equipment and doing its own work with a one-man road crew using a multipurpose truck. Rough estimates were made on cost of labor, ma- terial and equipment to be used by the committee. There is also a possibility that the latter two methods can be combined. Mr. Rothwell asked if there were any check figures available on what the county spent and breakdown of the budget on maintenance of the roads. Mr. Macabee, Mr. Gardner and Mr. Hibner presented various county cost estimates to determine our own maintenance and improvement cost. The county is not required to break down their maintenance and construction costs. In summary of how the 29.6 miles of streets and roads in Los Altos Hills might be maintained, Vice Mayor Dungan extended his thanks in behalf of the council for the background work of the road committee. - 4 - 3-26-56 Vice Mayor Dungan brought up the subject of whether the Lakewood Plan has been given any consideration. No action was taken on this matter. There were various questions from the floor. In answer to Mrs. Wood, on Stonebrook and Prospect, citizens may voice their complaints in regard to maintenance of roads on boundary lines or the city clerk may direct the problem to the county. In answer to Mr. Gutt's question, spending $25,000 for maintaining roads is out of the que s tion even for new construction. In answer to Mr. Cathcart's question, nice Mayor Dungan replied that he will not direct Mr. Macabee to restate the average widths of roads in Los Altos Hills. Various types of road surfaces and wearing qualities were explained by City Engineer McCandless and that resurfacing jobs can be done as per budget. Mr. Barr commented that figures supplied by Mr. Taafe, a building contractor and a resident of Los Altos Hills, on maintaining roads were quite accurate. Vice Mayor Dungan directed Mr. Macabee to contact the county in regard to maintenance under contract and to re- port back at the next meeting. Mr. Richard Bullis suggested ruling out any thoughts of having work done by a private contractor as it would take some time to build up our own force to rent or lease trucks, - 5 - 3-26-56 but that we should see what kind contract can be drawn up with the county. No conclusions will be made until the next meeting. There was a general discussion in reference to supply- ing agendas of coming meetings as a matter of public relations and having press conferences. Mr. Richard Bullis suggested having agendas made available for each member of the council and also for the press. Mr. Macabee requested authorization to proceed with work on road ordinances. There being no further business, a motion was made by Mr. Fowle that the meeting be adjourned, seconded by Mr. Bledsoe and carried unanimously. City Clerk c May r CERUIED rue � City oerk -tel — 6 —