HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Minutes 04/29/2002April 29, 2002
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City Council Meeting
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Vol, 37, Page 365
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City Council Meeting Minutes
Monday, April 29, 2002 - 6:00 p.m.
Regular Meeting
PRESENT: O'Brien, Torliatt, Cader-Thompson, Maguire, Moynihan,
Vice Mayor Healy
ABSENT: Mayor Thompson
Pledge of Allegiance led by Fire Chief Chris Albertson.
PUBLIC COMMENT
Luis Hernandez, spoke regarding a march that was held Sunday in protest of the
laws against illegal immigrants receiving driver's licenses. He would like Council to
write a letter of support to Governor Davis allowing the Latino's to apply for a
driver's license to enable them to get to their jobs.
COUNCIL COMMENT
Councilmember Maguire:
• Supports effort to legalize drivers license's for Latino's despite their immigration
status.
Councilmember O'Brien:
• Thanked Linda Buffo and Samantha Freitas for their work on the Butter and
Eggs Day parade.
• Met with consultant for fairgrounds regarding the relocation of the little league
fields.
Coucilmember Cader-Thompson:
• Agrees to sending a letter of support to Governor Davis.
• Working to relocate the hispanic workers who wait to be picked up on Howard
Street.
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Vol. 37, Page 366
April 29, 2002
• Thanked those from PCA who helped make the video of the Butter and Eggs Day
Parade.
• She would like help from staff in moving traffic through from east to west at the
Washington/McDowell Intersection during certain times of the day.
Councilmember Torliatt:
• Thanked all those who participated in the Butter and Eggs Day parade.
• The traffic light at Bantam Way and Bodega Avenue needs to be adjusted when
entering or exiting town via Bodega. The light turns green when there's no traffic
coming down Bantam.
• Agrees with Cader-Thompson on the E. Washington/McDowell Blvd intersection,
there needs to be someone directing traffic during certain times.
Councilmember Moynihan:
• Thanked the City Manager's staff for assisting in the Hate Free Community
workshop held on April 18th. It was well attended by approximately sixty people.
• He would like the city to take this opportunity to lease the whole train depot site
and not just the smaller buildings.
• Attended the fairgrounds master planning meeting. The fair board and city
should work together in relocating Carter Field where little league games are
held.
Vice Mayor Healy:
• Agrees with sending a letter to the Governor with respect to driver's licenses for
folks who don't have proper papers.
• He also congratulated Mayor Thompson for upholding the dignity of his office in
winning the Cow Chip throwing contest.
CITY CLERK RECRUITMENT
Heather Renschler of Ralph Anderson & Associates presented the Council with a
draft brochure and job description for the recruitment of a new City Clerk. She has
chosen a closing date for receiving resumes approximately forty-five days from now,
with a final selection in July and a new person on board in August.
The announcement will be advertised in the Western City Magazine,. June issue.
She suggested a change in wording on page 9 last sentence under Education and
Experience change possess a philosophy that promotes open access to embrace
a philosophy that promotes open access.
Public Comment:
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April 29, 2002
Vol. 37, Page 367
E.L. Roberson read a letter to the Council regarding the preparation of the Council
agendas. She would like it stated as does the Council Rules, Policies and
Procedures that the "Clerk shall prepare agendas for each regular or special
meeting describing each item of business to be considered, and will furnish a copy
of the agenda to the Mayor, Councilmembers, City Manager, City Attorney and
Department Directors prior to the meeting. The City Clerk shall post the agenda in a
public area seventy-two (72) hours prior to each regular and adjourned meeting.
Agendas for special meetings shall be posted twenty-four (24) .hours prior to the
meeting".
Councilmember O'Brien supports Ms. Renschler's recommendations..
Councilmember Torliatt:
• Forty-five days is acceptable.
• Change organizational chart to read Council reports to the Community. City
Manager, City Clerk and City Attorney report to the .City Council etc.
• Include the word impartial within the City Clerk's job qualifications.
• Supports Ms. Roberson's wording in the job description.
• Open to certification vs. four years of college or BA. The certification is
something she would be looking for as a City Clerk to prepare someone for this
position.
Councilmember Cader-Thompson:
• Would like to see a committee of peers, members of the public and city
employees, but also allowing for the Council to participate in those meetings if
they so choose, or that the Council appoint members who are interested in doing
that.
• Work with Dennis Morris, Human Resource Director.
• Move forward quickly because it's an election year.
• Incorporate E.L. Roberson's letter into the job description.
• Change Organizational Chart.
Vice Mayor Healy:
• Incorporate in the wording that Petaluma has a lean staffing environment.
• Salary -currently $84,450. Council will revisit at a later date.
• Delete Sister City Liaison.
• Would like to hire an individual who has been an actual City Clerk in another
city.
• Concurs with last point of hiring an actual City Clerk.
• Organizational Chart is satisfactory.
Councilmember Maguire:
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Vol. 37, Page 368
April 29, 2002
• Agrees with adding the word impartial and embrace.
• Under Council Support add the City Clerk in concert with the City IVlanager's
office will prepare the agendas and distribute. (Does not recommend
adopting the proposed language by Ms. Roberson.)
• Incorporate in the wording more `realistic understanding of the housing options
and staffing'.
Councilmember Moynihan:
• Acknowledged previous comments by Councilmembers.
• If possible, expedite process.
Vice Mayor Healy suggests that Ms. Renschler stick to the forty-five days. Get
process in place to move forward once the forty-five day window closes and have
panels ready to go.
It was the consensus of the Council to have a professional panel, department head
panel, community panel and if necessary a city employee panel and then to the
Council for interviews and final selection.
Ms. Renschler asked for clarification on the agenda preparation as stated by E.L.
Roberson.
Vice Mayor Healy clarified that the concept should be in the job description using
abbreviated language.
Ms. Renschler -the professional panel should be first in evaluating the technical
aspects of the City Clerk. The list could be trimmed according to their evaluation
and the top candidates could then go before a community or department head
panel.
By the next meeting she will have a specific timeline prepared along with steps and
options in terms of what will be beneficial to help the Council make their selection.
She will bring information back on filling the interim position.
CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM
Paul Lanspery, Senior Director with RW Beck spoke before Council. He asked
Council what their 10 top priorities were; what they're linked to; how were these
projects established relative to value between each one;. how much work was
executed in previous years; is this achieveable and what is the project delivery
system to execute these?
If Council identifies 15 or 20 key projects they would like to see accomplished over
the next year it would tell staff how best to organize to execute that work.
April 29, 2002
Vol. 37, Page 369
1 When the CIP comes back an implementation plan will also be brought forward.
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3 Mr. Lanspery stated there is money to currently fund the twenty-two projects listed
4 and that there are project management costs that can be borne by those specific
5 projects.
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7 Vice Mayor Healy read the project groups:
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9 Group One Projects
10 Projects currently under construction
11 / E. Washington/McDowell Intersection
12 / Animal Shelter Expansion
13 / Bodega Avenue Widening
14 / Highway 116 Widening Closeout
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16 Projects Pending Construction
17 / Lindberg Lane Sewer Main
18 / Keller Street Garage
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20 Legacy Protects
21 / Water Recycling Facility
22 / Payran Reach Flood Control
23 / Oxidation Pond Flow Diversion
24 / Mary Isaak Center
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26 Councilmember Moynihan:
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28 An Assistant City Manager in charge of CIPs would be beneficial .
29 • There is a need for more project managers that can be paid for through the
30 Capital Improvement budget.
31 • He would like a comprehensive list of all the projects and would like a summary
32 similar to the former CIP format that includes a priority of the projects within
33 those subcategories.
34 • Street reconstruction needs to be the number one priority. Hire a manager on an
35 as needed basis outlined by the data available as to what the most critical areas
36 are.
37 Seek funding from both federal and state in addition to the potential bond
38 measures and other funding sources such as Redevelopment Agency funds and
39 gas tax.
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41 Vice Mayor Healy would like clarification from staff, if funding was not a constraint
42 how many linear feet per year could be reasonably reconstructed?
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44 Councilmember Torliatt's priorities (Group 3):
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46 09) Water Conservation
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Vol. 37, Page 370
April 29, 2002
• 10) Paula Lane Reservoir #2
• 14) 2"d Street Sewer Replacement
• 15) Water Conservation (9931)
• 17) Recycled Water Pipeline Phase 2
• 30) Ely Blvd. h/Caulfield Roundabout?
• 31) D Street/Pet. Blvd. Roundabout (CPSP)?
• 40) Parking Garage Capital Improvements
• 41) CPSP Related Improvements?
• 55) Lakeville Street (D to Caulfield)?
• 66) Gatti Park Design and Construction
• 70) McNear Peninsula
• 86) Lafferty Park
• 87) Petaluma Senior Center Renovation
Councilmember Torliatt would like to see a timeline and plan for the twenty-two
projects listed in Group 2.
Councilmember Maguire's priorities: (Group 2)
• 07) Recycled Water Pipeline Phase 1
• 08) River Access Improvements
• 13) Library Meeting Room Expansion & Replace HVAC
• 17) Petaluma Transit
• 20) Petaluma. Depot Rehabilitation
• 21) River Enhancement Plan
• 22) Downtown Central Business Redevelopment Phase 1
Councilmember Cader-Thompson's priorities (Group 2)
• 07) Recycled Water Pipeline Phase 1
• 08) River Access Improvements
• 13) Library Meeting Room Expansion & Replace HVAC
• 17) Petaluma Transit
® 18) Sidewalk/Curb/Gutter Replacement
• 19) Stony Point Road Reconstruction
• 20) Petaluma Depot Rehabilitation
® 22) Downtown Central Business Redevelopment Phase 1
Councilmember Moynihan -Rainier Cross Town Connector and Interchange needs
to be on the list. Streets should be given top priority, the projects broken down by
linear foot of arterials, collectors, and local streets. The dollar amount we're
estimating for cost should be clear. A time line and an action plan should be
created. PCDC is a funding source not a separate project. We need to have one list
that we can prioritize with 1's, 2's, and 3's. Weigh the different transportation
April 29, 2002
Vol, 37, Page 371
1 projects against each other, the water utilities projects against each other and the
2 like.
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4 Mr. Landof -Would like staff to go to Sacramento, and secure money that is owed
5 the City for the street projects and infrastructure of the road system.
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7 Mr. Stouder -Working towards securing all federal and state sources on the street
8 issue.
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10 Councilmember Cader-Thompson - Is going to Sacramento in May with other
11 members of councils from four other counties. Important that all counties and
12 Councilmembers band together to let the state and the governor know that we want
13 to keep our dollars in our cities.
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15 Street Reinvestment Options: Sales Tax, General Obligation Bond, Special
16 Purpose, or Parcel Tax
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18 Mr. Stouder - It is not feasible to put a sales tax measure on the November 2002
19 ballot. It would be more appropriate to have a parcel tax or general obligation bond.
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21 $25 million of street improvements can be done with $25 million of cash flow - or
22 have a bond issue of $50 million, half of which is debt service. A smaller tax
23 measure provides cash flow to do those projects outlined -and wouldn't necessarily
24 require a bond issue.
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26 Vice Mayor Healy - A 1/a cent sales tax in 2004 would raise enough money over its
27 life to fund $25 million in improvements. This addresses $25 out of a $140 million
28 problem. What remaining improvements can be addressed this year with a parcel
29 tax or bond measure?
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31 Council to direct staff on the miles they would like to improve each year and then
32 staff can fashion the sales tax/property tax amounts around them.
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34 Councilmember Cader-Thompson: Wanted clarification on the difference in cost
35 between a general obligation bond for a special purpose compared to a parcel tax.
36 How much would a general obligation cost, and is the County widening Highway
37 101 with Garvey Bonds?
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39 Mr. Stouder -The issue is financing streets with 15 and 20-year lives over 30 years.
40 These are 20-year life bond issue. These are based on cash flow, and if these were
41 providing debt service, we'd need twice the cash flow to do the same amount of
42 streets.
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44 Councilmember Maguire -With Garvey Bonds you're borrowing against future gas-tax
45 funds that you're going to receive.
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Vol, 37, Page 372
April 29, 2002
1 Mr. Stouder -We're getting voter approval for an additional annual tax, parcel or
2 sales tax. but on apay-as-you-go. This precludes a bond issue.
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4 Vice Mayor Healy -Would like to look at the options on the public opinion survey to
5 see which of these, other than the sales tax this year, we could conceivably get
6 support for.
Mr. Thomas - 1) One option is to pay-as-you-go - collect a $40 parcel tax times the
number of parcels -you .generate X amount of dollars a year to upgrade the
roadways. 2) '/a cent sales tax -could raise $2.5 million ayear -this not a stable
source of income. That's pay-as-you-go as well. Over ten years, you might get $25
million to do the work. Now you can take both of those sources, and you can bond
them out. You can go in year one, and have a parcel tax that might be on the rolls
for twenty years -and you could take that money and use that as debt service and
borrow money up front -you will have bond borrowing costs - 5-10%. That way,
you us all the money up front, fix everything, and then paying it off over twenty
years as a parcel tax comes in. With a parcel tax you can generally borrow dollar-
for-dollar because that's guaranteed. Sales tax -because of the non-stability -
you're not going to bond out $25 million of debt service payments over ten years
because you may not have it. The assessed value is another way to tax and raise
funds, which is based on the assessed value of a property.
Mr. Stouder -The total project costs include all design, engineering, scoping,
potential EIR's, construction management. and project management.
Councilmember Torliatt -Council should give direction to have the City Manager
begin drafting the enabling legislation for a sales tax measure in 2003 or 2004.
Provide draft to Council and get some feedback from Joe Nation's office.
Vice Mayor Healy -Understanding that Joe Nation's office has a legislative drafting
office that will draft the legislation. He would prefer that the experts draft the
language.
Councilmember Torliatt -Spoke to Joe Nation's office to get clarification regarding
legislation. She understands that the City of Petaluma is to draft the legislation, then
send it to the assembly member's office. The assembly member's office gives it to
the legislative person, they review it and then it goes to their attorneys who put it in
bill form. The time frame is September or October when they start putting the list
together for legislation to move forward.
She would like to see what the numbers are within the Redevelopment Agency
areas, and what the costs are for reconstruction of these major arterials listed in the
staff report. She clarified for the community that west of the freeway is the
Redevelopment Agency area, and east of the freeway is outside of the area. If we
can see that entire number, it may give us something we can deliver to the
community that we may not use redevelopment dollars for at this. We can use
redevelopment dollars outside the area if we see the need or the benefit.
April 29, 2002
Vol. 37, Page 373
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2 She would like to get clarification on the money that was applied for through the
3 SCTA for resurfacing the Washington Street project of which $150,000 was
4 received. Where does this fit into the equation of the Washington/East Washington
5 Street improvements?
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7 Councilmember Moynihan -The list is incomplete. Should be looking at the
8 Redevelopment area as well as outside the area. Grassroots effort should run the
9 campaign. People need tangible evidence that streets will get fixed. Put. out a list
10 that can be achieved within the time frames. Give direction to staff to go forward
11 with this, cooperating with the grassroots efforts, providing them with the information
12 necessary for them to appropriately choose what combination of streets or
13 improvements would be marketable and passable for a dollar amount.
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15 Vice Mayor Healy - Be explicit about what the city is promising the people.
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17 Councilmember Maguire -Draft. the enabling legislation, see if we can run it through
18 Joe Nation's office to polish it up. Redevelopment money is an important source of
19 funding for a lot of other critical projects on an equal par with potholes. Agrees that
20 Petaluma Boulevard needs reconstruction and also East Washington through. the
21 Redevelopment District. Prefers to look at the worst streets and rank them for level
22 of need and traffic demand and make our priorities then apply the various sources
23 of funding as best we can; go foria parcel and sales tax.
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25 Councilmember Cader-Thompson - Doesn't want to wait until 2004 to get
26 something on the ballot. Possibly do a special tax in 2003. She is opposed to a
27 parcel tax and would rather go with a'/a cent sales tax.
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29 Councilmember Torliatt is concerned with not having a campaign in place and
30 actual streets identified, therefore having a parcel tax fail on this years ballot.
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32 Mr. Stouder stated that he would bring back something for $15, $25, $30 million
33 worth of improvements done by a parcel tax and a sales tax of both a'/a cent and'h
34 cent.
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36 A street maintenance program is necessary when street reconstruction is started. In
37 2007 and 2008 the city will have'/2 million dollars from proposition 42.
38 We are recommending a garbage can tax of $1.00 be included in the budget. This
39 would be applied toward residential street maintenance.
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41 Vice Mayor Healy -Let the voters know that we're giving them the opportunity to do
42 a parcel tax in November that would address certain issues and a follow up sales
43 tax in a year and half that would address certain issues. I don't want people to think
44 if they pass a $40 or $50 parcel tax the problem will go away.
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Vol. 37, Page 374
April 29, 2002
Councilmember Moynihan - If you identify the projects your trying to address with a
parcel tax come November your doing the education necessary. To suggest there is
going to be another tax or bond coming down the road I think will diminish your
opportunity to pass anything come November. He would like to see staff working
with the grassroots effort to come forward with a proposal as to how to run the
campaign. If we want to show a commitment to fix the streets lets do it with the
existing funds we have.
Public Comment:
Joe Horak, Cisco Systems, there have been certain elements in the community that
have offered their help to work with the Council and staff to assist in moving a
solution along.
Councilmember Maguire understood this was to be a cooperative effort. We need
community support to run the campaign. It is our legal and ethical pervue to figure
out with input from the community what the priorities on roads to be addressed are.
The meeting adjourned at 9:20 p.m. in memory of Francisco Estrella and Javier Del
Rio who lost their lives in an industrial accident on Thursday, April 25tH
E. C ark hompson, Mayor
ATTEST:
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Paulette Lyon, Interim City Clerk