HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council/Petaluma Area Chamber of Commerce Minutes 07/10/20001
2
3
4
5
6
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
July t0, 2000
City of Petaluma, California,
Minutes of a~'Special Meeting '
.Petaluma City Council and -
Petaluma Area Chamber of Commerce
Transportation.Workshop ,
K
Vol. 35, Page 83.
Monday, July 1.0', 2000
Petaluma Area, Chamber of Commerce
320 Nortfi McDowell Boulevard
Petaluma, CA 94954
The Petaluma City Council, met with members of the Petaluma Area Charnbe.r of
Commerce on this day at 7:05 P.M. -at the Petaluma Community Center, 320 North
McDowell Boulevard. ~ -
ROLL CALL
PRESENT: Caller-Thompson., Hamilton, Healy, Keller, Maguire, Thompson, Torliatt
ABSENT: None
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
MOMENT OF SILENCE
PUBLIC COMMENT
Beth Meredith, 104 5th Street, invited the community to attend a Transportation Forum
to be held Saturday, September 15, 2000 at the Community Center.
Vince Landof, 12 Cordelia Drive, asked for an update.on the acquisition of funds for the
Payran Flood Control Project.
Robin Pentmen, a tenant at Foundry Wharf; spoke regarding. skyrocketing resits 'mpacf
on small business owners in Petaluma.
Diane Reilly-Torres, 1657 Rainier Avenue; spoke regarding the discovery of water on
Mars, her concern about the Sonoma-Mann pipeline.
Geoff Cartwright, 56 Rocca Drive, spoke. regarding. political conventions. He noted that
Libertarian party representatives were opposed to any development in the floodplain.
.~:.
Vol. 35, Page 84 July 10, 2000
l
2
3
5
6
7
8
9
10
1 1
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
3'8
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
4.6
COUNCIL COMMENT
Mayor Thompson had a °re.quest ;that a member of .Council, serve as: a Board Member for
the. Petaluma Trolley California Public ,Benefit' Corporation. Vice Mayor Torliatt
expressed interest in serving: on the Board: T .
AGENDA CHANGES. AD:DITIOIVS AND DELETIONS
None
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
1. Joint Workshop Regarding Transportation Issues
Petaluma Area Chamber of C_ ommerce President J:T. V1/,ick prodded information
on local transportation issues and the-purpose of the meeting.
The following items were discussed: .
Local Transportation Issues
Local Vehicular Issues:
• Improve and maintain.. local streets and roads for safety, congestion and flow;
with particular focus on'Highway 11.6.
• Improvements of existing impacted intersections.
® Location and design. for. across-town connector and highway `interchange, and
identify funds to construct it.
m Emphasize alternatives to single-occupancy .in vehicles, such as ridesharing,
vanpools, bicycles, paratranst, and pedestrian walkways.
Director of Public. Facilities and Services Rick Skladzien, provided a progress .report: on
major issues as follows:
• The Preliminary Plan for the McDowell/1Nashington ';Bike "Path was eornpleted.
® The Lakeville ~S'treet V1/idening Project~was completed.
• The ,Bodega Avenue Widening Project would :go out to bid.
• Thee Lynch Creek Cross-Town Bike Connector was started:
Linda Buffo asked about. the timeline for fhe Traffic Plan portion of the General Plan.
Director of General Plan Administration Pamela Tuft explained that the project would.
begin. in September with traffic' counts. and. visioning„ and would, be complete in one
year. - _.
Ms. Buffo asked if previous studies would ,b'e included, specifically, the Rainier Cross-
town Connector. _
July 10, 2000 Vol. 35, Page 85
1 Ms. Tuft replied. that previous studies, including Rainier, would be used as historical:
2 data.
3
4 Vice Mayor Torliatt added that current accounting information would be included and
5 that thought the City and Chamber projects should be prioritized.
6
7 All concurred.
8
9 Council Member Keller suggested shuttles for lunch and: peak hours. He thought
10 developers should work with the City to develop this concept.
11
12 Mr. Wick thought housing developments should be encouraged near businesses.
13 '
14 Vice Mayor .wanted to see a bike plan developed that would link housing developments
15 with businesses.
16'
- 17 Council. Member Caller-Thompson reiterated Novafo's Special Assessment Districts: as
18 a potential funding mechanism.
19
20 River Related Issues
21
22 ® Petaluma River -support, encourage and promote the River for commercial and
23 .recreational uses including permanent funding for continued dredging of the
24 River.
-25
26 Mayor Thompson stated that the City was .exploring uses of tonnage to defray the- cost
27 of dredging.
,28
29 CouneiLaMernber Keller noted that industrial tonnage was disappearing and it should be
30 encouraged as it would attract not displace funding for dredging the River.
31
32 Mr. V1/ick mentioned that a 1904 rail bridge was being replaced -The Coast Guard
33 :could get larger barges in and ,bid on these projects: He wanted to lobby the Coast
34 Guard as long as there was viable rail service.
35
36 Council Member Maguire offered that Sonoma Marin Area Regional Transportation
37 could provide information on the findings for the Coast Guard.
38
39 Council Member C.ader-Thompson, stated that $25;000 was allocated to look at all
40 parks, including the River., She thought creativity was necessary for the development. of
41 alternatives to fund improvements and maintenance of the transportation. ystem: °She.
42 added that transportation priorities should be on the same track as the General, Plan.
43 Update, and should reflect the underlying theme of the General Plan, which was a.
44 needs assessment and sustanability.
45
Vol. 35, Page 86 July 1 Q; ;2000
1 Rail and Bus Transit Issues
2 • Study and encourage transit usage,: including intra-city options to, accommodate
3 businesses..
4 • .Development around rail .station and how it is tied to; transportation.
5 • .Petaluma Trolley.
6
7 Public /Private Relations
8 • Develop t"rateges ;for attracting developersLbankers who. understand and want to
9 build high-.density! transit-,oriented development.
10 • Mechanism to encourage .and recognize businesses and. deueloprnent 'that
11 address and support key issues.
12 .
13 Additional discussion. ensued regarding;
14 The requirement that banks contribute a certain amount 'of money to the
15 community,,. and how this might be a source of funds. ~ - ,
16 • :Promote: businesses that foster a livable, self=sustaining community.
17 • Develop .liaisons with developers and :bankers.
18 • E_mployme;nt opportunities, ~~ ~--
19 • The Central''Petaluma Specific Plan. ~.
20
21 Regional Transportation Issues
22
23 Vehicular ~~
24 • Implementation of a ..long-:range transportation plan. for the County. Cogrdination "
25 of overall.. transportation. ystems throughout Sonoma, Marn an:d' Solan,o
_ ,
26 Counties, including .impacts on rural communities. . ,
27 • Seek funding sources to implement a County plan, including po"s_sibility of
28 countywide sales tax.
29 • Continued attention, given to incentives for reducing single-occupahcy vehicle
30 use at peak traffic times., including e~acpooli'ng, implementation of County's TSM '~
31 programs, telecomrnuting, and staggered work hours.
32 Expand Highway 1 q1 to six lanes'from Windsor to Novato/Highway 3Z; Widening . ` `.
33 of the Petaluma River Bridge.
34 • Sfrategze to preserve new capacity on .Highway 1:01 as long as possible.
35 • Re=deploy transit (e.g., bus) to accommodate shifting' commute patterns.
36
37 Railroad
38 • Encourage continued use.of Northwestern .Pacific :Railroad for commercial f"refight
39 and excursion use; preserve opportunity for commuter and passenger use.
40
41 Impacts of Growth Patterns
42 • Project likely .future commute patterns; given regional jobs%housing growth
43 patterns 'and housing prices.
44 • Consider data,sources (ABAG surveys of large employer, etc)
45
July 10, 2000'
Vol. 35, Page,87'
1 Additional discussion covered the following:.
2 The need to bring Solano County ,(Mare island%Higliway 80 improvements). into
3 ~ transportation discussions because of ~ 'the increasing .number of people
4 commuting from Solano County to Sonoma County:
5 • The negative reaction of agricultural landowners. to increased density and
6 employment opportunities.
7 The Petaluma Airport as .a significant ;segment in the General. Plan arid which
8 may need to be. protected through purchase of development rights, with
9 ,County Open Space funds.
10- The Countywide SCTA document, to which Council Member Keller referred.
~~
12 Funding Opportunities
13
14 Federal gas tax; Schuster:effort to expand.
15 Local sales/gas faxes 'in light of most recent failure of SCA3..(other revenue :raising
16 alternatives, e.g.; Novato parcel tax)...
17
18 Also discussed was a suggestion to lobby legislators: with correspondence.
19
20 Council Member Maguire noted .that he had heard discussion about a possible
21 comprehensive transportation measure. for the Novemb,er2000 ballot.
22
23 Director of the Petaluma Area Chamber of Commerce Onita Pellegrini voiced support
24 for such a measure, if it, was similar to measures B and C,; which appeared on the
25 November 1998 ballot. ~ .
, ~~
26
27 Council Member Hamilton thought. a Presidential election would, attract more voters and
28 that it would be a good time to ;have such. a measure on the ballot.
.; ~ ..
29 ~ ~ . .
30 Council Member Cader-Thompson was in;favor of'consderation of the tax measure..
31 ~ ,
32 Mr. Wick wanted to see more information regarding the possible tax measure.
33
• ... ~ ..
34 Council Member Keller reported that $10 million of Stafe funds had been allocated :for
3S the 1Nilford Avenue: exchange :in Santa Rosa, $6 million fo be released i'n October 2000,
36 with $4 million kept in reserve. The "Novato. Narrows" portion~of 101. would not be
37 completed at this time. $30 million was expected to come in for that project::
38 . , .
39 Mr. Wick noted that: voters in Marin County were. polled regarding the' ~t~ransportation
40 measure. He wondered if a similar poll had been taken ,in Sonoma County: -
41 ,. ~.
42 Council Member Keller replied that there had not been::- a poll in Sonoma County.
43 •-
44 Council Member Maguire thought it would be difficult for a transportation measure on
45 November's ballot to succeed unless public awareness of the issues was greatly
46 increased.
Vol. 35, Page 88 July 10, 2000
1
2 Council. Member Healy :asked ;whaf amount- of money a ~/a ce.nt tax measure would
3 gene,rate., He agreed #hat such _a measure would be a. longshot for success on the
4 November ballot; but he would like to see it happen:
5
6 Vice Mayor Torliaft stated that the Project Study Report for- Hwy.-101/V\/ashing'ton was.
7 overlooked because the study was not- completed in time., She added': thaf if it= was -
8 widened., and the "N,ovato Narrows" was not; Novato's congestion might surface: on the
9 streets of Petaluma -
10
11 Council Member Hamilton thought such. a tax measure was needed to get transit going.
12 -
13 Ms. Buffo wanted to see a cohesive plan for transit _impro~ements in the next election.
14
15 Transit Program Coordinator James Ryan spoke regarding the 't"ransit "Catch 22"':
..
1.6 ridership could. be increased if the: City. were able to buy additional bu_ ses; however; ,m
17 order to purchase snore buses, the City would need the fares from the increased
18 ridership. He noted that when he began coordinating. the transit program, in 1989, there
19 were about 117,000 riders. per year in Petaluma. In 1999, that #gure=was up to 200,000`:.
20 In 'the: past year,. Sonoma County Transit had seen a 5% increase in riders;: Golden
21 Gate Transit reported. an ~ 11'% increase, Mr. Ryan added that.'a proposed. fare 'increase
22 will be brought before Council m October 2000. A new bilingual :bus schedule will' be
23 completed soon after that.
24 ~ _,
. _ . ;,fi 1
25 Council Member Cade'r=Thompson stated she would support moving forward' with a tax
26 measure if the'/a cent'figure was enough to qualify. Petaluma as a-self-help City;.
2T ~ ~.
~~
"28 Council Member.Hamilton added that since 'it would not be ,a signfiicant Supervisorial
29election, a;transportation; rrieasure -would not be used as a weapon.
30 - ~~ -
31 Mayor Thompson. suggested that fie would contact the Sonoma County Board of
32 Supervisors~on this issue: -
33 ~-,
34 PUBLIC C_OMMEIVT .
35 -.. - .. ,., -
.- -
36 Bilf I<ortum, 180'Ely Boulevard, s'po,ke 'in opposition. to_Santa Rosa monopolizing the.
37 traffic solutions. He thought that, self=help was.-more important than a ~/a cent tax.
38 - `
39 Beth Meredith, 1'04 5th'Street, spoke in opposition. to the'/a cer7t sales. tax.
40 .
41 Vince Landof, 12 Co,rdeiia D,nve;;thought the City should push for State reimbursement
42 of monies he felt theyowed:Sonoma County.
43 - -
44 Geoff Cartwright;.. 56 Rocca D-rive, -was in favor of a '/a cent tax for multi'-modal
45 transportation solutions: "-
46 -
July 10, 2000 vol. 35, Page 89
1 ADJOURN' TO CLOSED SESSION
2
3 City Manager Fred Stouder announced that Council would adjourn to Closed Session to
4 discuss the following items:
5
6 CONFERENCE WITH LABOR. NEGOTIATOR Pursuant to Government Code Section
7 54957.6, Unit 6, Police. Agency Negotiator: Stouder
8
9 CONFERENCE WITH LABOR NEGOTIATOR Pursuant to Government Code Section
10 54957.6, Unit 7, Fire.. ,Agency Negotiator: Acorne
. =11
12 CONFERENCE WITH LABOR NEGOTIATOR Pursuant to Government Code Section
13 54957.6, Unit 8, D.epartrnenf Directors. Agency Negotiator: Acorne
14
15 CONFERENCE WITH LABOR NEGOTIATOR Pursuant to Government Code Section
16 54957.6, Unit 10, Public Safety Mid-Management. Agency Negotiator: Stouder
17
18 CONFERENCE WITH. LABOR NEGOTIATOR, Pursuant to Government Code Section
19 54957.6. Agency Negotiator: City Negotiator. Unrepresented Employee: City Manager
20
21 CERTAIN PERSONNEL MATTERS Pursuant to Government Code Section 54597 (1
22 matter)
23
24 ADJOURN
25
26 The meeting adjourned at 11:00 p.m.
27
28
29 E. Clark Thompson, Mayor
30
31 ATTEST:
32
33
34 Beverly J. Kline, City Clerk
35
36 '
37 ******
38