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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 03/03/1997March 3, 1997 Vo130, Page 237 . ~~ ~ ~ ~ 1VIY~TiTTES `_ ~ 2 OY+' A ~iEG~JLAit 1VIEETING ~ ~ PE'TALiJ1V~ CI~ COiJl~TCII. ~ a 1!'~ONI)AY, NNIAARC~ 3, 1997 s OLL ~CAL~. 3:00 ~.m. 6 Present: Read, Keller, Stompe, Torliatt, Maguire, Vice Mayor Hamilton, Mayor Hilligoss 7 Absent: None s City Attorney Rudnansky was present. 9 PiJ~I.IC COIVIIVIENT io Susie Ernst - representing the Great Petaluma Quilt Show, she is bringing this to the attention ii of the Council because they need TOT dollars. Last year they operated under a loan from the iz City, which was administered by the Downtown Association. They have paid back their is portion of that. Last year they brought 15,000 people to town and these people spend lots of ia money. We hope that you will keep us in mind when you allocate the TOT money. is COiTNCII. COlVIlVIENTS i6 Mary Stompe - letter from Margaret Goulan who would like to make a presentation at the i~ March 18 (sic) Council meeting regarding Teen Suicide Awareness Week. "Welcome to is Your City Council Meeting" brochure, this should be very helpful to the public. The CAD i9 system project update sets an 18 month time line. She would like a monthly status report on ao the CAD system. zi Nancy Read - the City Council meeting brochure should be helpful to the public. It is hoped 22 the Planrung Comrrvssion can do something similar to it. 23 Jane Hamilton - who will meet with Ms. Ernst about the Quilt Show? (Response - David za Spilman, F'inance Director) zs Matt Maguire - the review of the permit for Peter Pfendler's fence is on March 20, and he 26 wants to make sure there is a staff member there. ~'he only letter back from Fish and Game a~ we were told that Allan Buckman would be working on that and there was a letter to the za Lafferty Committee from Brian Hunter but it didn't directly it was a general purpose letter ~v and it wasn't so specific. Was there going to be another letter from Allan Buckman? 30 (Response - as far as is known, that is the only correspondence we will get. It made 3i reference to the fence but it also referenced a lot of other things.) Warren would you make sz ~ sure you get in touch with Mr. Buckman before you go up to talk about the impact on 33 wildlife. There may be a substantial discrepancy between what's in that letter and what Mr. s4 Buckman rrught recommend. Page 238, Vol. 30 March 3, 1997 i MINUTES z The minutes of the February 18 meeting were approved as amended: s Page 218, Line 34 - the second "FPPC" should read "Secretary of State" 4 Page 219, Line 27 both years should read 1997 not 1977.Page 226, Line 1- should be s "Councilmember Keller cont'd." 6 Page 233, Rene Cardineaux - there was a section in which he offered specifically that with ~ capital investment on the City's part he would cut the cost in half or even down to zero. I s thought it was in his first commentary but it may have been one of the subsequent ones 9 during which he specifically said he would be on his own land take it down to zero if the City ~o did certain capital investments and certainly reduce by half on other lands. ii Page 235, Line 25 and thereafter, put in rationale for the No vote which was that I wanted iz cost numbers for the third option and was concerned about the third option impinging on the i3 river zone. ia Page 235, Line 28 - what the Councilman had asked staff to bring back was a little more is elaboration was the impact on the level of service when the improvements already directed by i6 City Council have been made when coupled with a northbound on-ramp, what are the i~ results. is CONSENT CAY.ENDAR i9 The following items which are noncontroversial and which have been reviewed by the City zo Council and staff were enacted by one motion which was introduced by Nancy Read and 2~ seconded by Mary Stompe. 22 Ayes: Read, Keller, Stompe, Torliatt, Maguire, Vice Mayor Hamilton, Mayor Hilligoss zs Noes: None 2a Absent: None 2s RESO. 97-49 PTCS 26 CLAi1VIS ANI) ~ILLS 2~ Resolution 97-49 NCS approving Claims and Bills #62244 to #62592. 2a ~SO. 97-50 NCS 29 I)EFERRED COlVIP~NSATIAON 3o Resolution 97-50 NCS amending the Deferred Compensation Plan to conform with changes 3i in Federal Law required by the Small Business Protection Act of 1996. This change in 3z Federal Law is the result of the Orange County bankruptcy. Technically, deferred 33 compensation plan assets have been considered the property of the sponsoring agency. In 3a Orange County, the creditors tried to attach employee contributions. Federal law has 3s changed this ownership of assets by having them placed in a trust for the benefit of the 36 contributing employees. This amendment brings the City's plan into conformance with s? Federal Law and places all deferred compensation assets into a trust. „-..~~:7 "'t`l:t`~.:~:,s'~~-~~~;=::`- March 3, 1997 Vo1.30, Page 239 ~ ~SO. 97-Sfl NCS z C~II~T & r~SSOC. - S~OI2T ItANG~ 'T1tAIVSY'~ PLAN 3 Resolution 97-51 NCS authorizing execution of a contract with Crain & Associates, Inc., for a preparation of the City of Petaluma Transit Division Short Range Transit Plan at a cost not to s exceed $32,44~. The funding sources are Federal Transit Authority Section 8 grant of 80% s or $25,958.40 and a Transportation Development Act grant of 20% or $6,489.60. Tlvs ~ update to the Petaluma Short Range Transit Plan, or Five Year Plan, should occur at least s every other year. The most recent update was for 1994/95. The final draft is scheduled fo~- 9 delivery on June 30, 1997. go ItESO. 97-52 NCS ii FINAI, I~P GRA~'STONE PI,ACE iz Resolution 97-52 NCS approving the final map for Graystone Place subdivision, located at i3 Sandstone Drive and Riesling Road. ia l~SO. 97-53 NCS is NAIVYE FACILI~'X A~'TEIt COUNCII.IVIAN CAVEINAG~ i6 Resolution 97-53 NCS naming the former west side Boys and Girls Facility after former i~ Councilman Jack W. Cavanagh, Jr. is -------EndofConsentCalendar------- ~9 TEAlVI ~UILDIl~TG - PEGG~' 5E~E~ ao Tlus item was tabled. The resolution was for approval of a pro bono professional service zi agreement for Council T'eam ~uilding workshop with Peggy Sebera of Itenaissance ~z Consulting Group. 'There is a sum not to exceed $350 (some Councilmembers felt that the zs figure was to be $300 and wondered if the airfare from Portland may have caused that Za change) for the assistance of a gentleman from Portland. ~'he date is yet to be established, zs but the team building will be completed not later than 1VIay 1, 1997. The Council asked to ~6 change the May 1 date to July 1 because of the time commitments for everyone. It was z~ agreed to table the matter until Ms. Sebera can be reached for comment.) as ~SO. 97-54 NCS zs AC~'II~TG CI~ NIAl~TAGER - GENE ~EA'I'~ 3o Resolution 97-54 NCS appointing Gene Beatty as Acting City Manager effective March 3, 3i 1997, at an additional salary of $567.00 per month. Tlus was removed from the agenda so 32 the Council could thank Gene for his assistance before they made the appointment. ss Introduced by David Keller, seconded by Matt Maguire. 34 Ayes: Read, Keller, Stompe, Torliatt, Maguire, Vice Mayor Hamilton, Mayor Hilligoss 35 Noes: 1~1one 36 Absent: None 37 ~IS~.~SS~~N ~~ 6N~~~a~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~is' 3s Councilmember Stompe had requested that tlus be on the agenda. The following were 39 individual Councilmember comments. There was no formal action taken. ao - T'his is an opportunity for the residents to bring their thoughts to the Council. ai - Do this on an "of~' Monday. az - Have the meetings every other month. Page 240, Vol. 30 Marct- 3, 1997 ~ - Every other month is too often, do it quarterly. 2 - Divide the town into quadrants. 3 - Start with the first meeting in the Corona-Ely area. a - The meetings should be localized. s - Maybe they could be held at the various schools, churches, temples for an informal 6 gathering ~ - Other staff should attend this so questions can be answered. s - We need to discuss matters with the neighbors. 9 - There should be time for comments and questions. io - Begin the series of ineetings in late summer. i i - We need to figure out to respond to the citizens. iz - Police officers assigned through COPPS attend this meeting. i3 ~SO. 97-55 NCS ia INV~STMENT POI.ICY 1997 is Resolution 97-55 NCS approving the Investment Policy for 1997. Finance Director Spilman i6 reviewed the resolution and the exhibit which outlined the policy in detail. The primary ~~ objectives for selecting the City's investments are (1) Safety, (2) Liquidity, and (3) Yield. ia The City's average investment return is 5.75%. All the invested funds are designated to i9 specific uses. Introduced by David Keller, seconded by Mary Stompe. 2o Ayes: Read, Keller, Stompe, Torliatt, Maguire, Vice Mayor Hamilton, Mayor Hilligoss 2i Noes: None 22 Absent: None 2s RESO. 97-56 NCS za TRANSIEN~' OCC~JPELNC~' TAX 2s Resolution 97-56 NCS setting preliminary allocation of Transient Occupancy T~ funds to z6 Petaluma Visitors' Bureau for 1997-98. Petaluma Visitors Program has requested $194;000. z~ There was some discussion about funding of HCz. '~he Council learned that $5,000 of the 2s $10,000 allocation for this year has been spent. It was the feeling that if they wish to seek 29 more funding, they should come back with a new request along with the other Transient 3o Occupancy Tax users. As with the Council reaction a year ago, there was great concern s i expressed by the Council that this year the Petaluma Visitors' Bureau's request for funding s2 comes separately from the presentation of the rest of the City budget. The Council asked 33 that this be resolved for the 1998 budget cqnsideration. Jessica Van Gardner, Petaluma 34 Visitors' Bureau, responded to the Council's inquiries. She said they would be pleased to 3s accept their baseline request of $194,000, up $6,900 or 3.7% from the previous year. The s6 Council agreed to approve that allocation, and the remainder of the Transient Occupancy Tax 3~ allocations will be considered at the time the entire budget is before the Council. The TOT ss subcommittee (Mayor Hilligoss, Vice Mayor Hamilton, and Councilwoman Read) will 39 consider the requests from other non-profit orgaruzations prior to the budget hearings. 1 3,~,~7.fr~~'~}7,~"~ ':"`'lM1.%~r. r~ ~ Ivlarch 3, 1997 Vo1.30, Page 241 i TOT continued 2 Specific groups, which bring people to town, (like the Quilt Show) should be invited to s request this funding. At this time it is anticipated that $56,700 will be available for 4 distribution this year. There was discussion about the shuttle that had been planned to be s used between the Factory Outlets and downtown. 'I'his transportation was functioning for a 6 short time and has not been reinstated. The Council asked for information on that issue. If ~ there are any amplified services that the Petaluma Visitors' Bureau can give to other non- s profits, there should be some kind of coordination. 9 Introduced by Vice Mayor Hamiltoq seconded by Mary Stompe. to Ayes: Read, Keller, Stompe, Torliatt, Maguire, Vice lvlayor I3amilton, Mayor Hilligoss i r Noes: None i2 Absent: None 13 CI.OSEID SESSI~N ia At 5:00 p.m. the Council went into Closed Session for the following subjects: Conference is with L,egal Counsel on e~sting litigation pursuant to Government Code Section 549569(a) i6 Pamela Berland vs. City of Petaluma et al (iJnited States District Court in and for Northern i~ District of California - Case #96-1974 (CW)) and Public Employment pursuant to is Government Code Section 54957 - City Manager 19 ADJOiJI2N zo The Council adjourned to a delivered pizza dinner at City Hall. zi RECOlvVENE 7:00 A.m. aa Present: Read, Keller, Stompe, Torliatt, Maguire, Vice Mayor Hamilton, Mayor Hilligoss 23 Noes: None 2a Absent: None 2s City Attorney Rudnansky was present 26 PI,EIDGE OF AI,I.EGIANCE 2~ Police Chief Dennis DeWitt led the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag. z~ 29 1VIOliqEN~' OF SII,ENCE PiT~LYC COlVIlVIENT 3o Linda Buffo, Downtowra Association - On January 21 she spoke to the Council about the si problems in downtown Petaluma. There was some unfortunate press resulting from that s2 presentation. The procedure that is being taken is meant to be a positive one. The minutes 33 of the January 21 meeting include a term that she would like to clear up. She was being 34 given the credit of saying there are social deviates in Putnam Plaza. If fact she doesn't ss believe she said that. 'The minutes describe ttus as, "T'his is a complex problem. The issues 36 that the Police Department can deal with are now being worked on. The Parks and s~ Recreation Comrrussion has also been helpful in helping to make the Plaza a better place. 3a There is a social deviance issue that has not been addressed yet." With that issue at rest, she 39 shared some positive thoughts with the Council. Wayne 1Vliller and Steve Arago have been ao working on prelinunary drawings to bring to the Parks and Recreation Commission regarding ai the design amendments for Putnam Plaza. The area of the park redesign is the southwestern a~ corner of the park where they are trying to open up space to make it more usable and to 43 create more v~sibility to the stores Yocated there. Page 242, Vol. 30 March 3, 1997 ~ Students from the Architectural Drawing classes from Petaluma High School have been 2 involved in these park plans. Anyone wishing to see the design suggestions are welcome to 3 come to the office. They will be returned to the Parks and Recreation Commission for a further action. They are working with the Police Department and Tom Joynt from the s Petaluma School District on the subject. A group of downtown merchants, Phoenix Theatre 6 and park users, will meet to discuss the problems and solutions. We want this to be a nice ~ place to be for all users. We appreciate your help and support. g Barbara Swalf - on March 25 there will be a VVelfare Reform meeting at the Petaluma 9 Library. They have a number of speakers among whom are someone from Welfare Planrung io of Human Services and a representative from Congresswoman Woolsey's office. You are -~ invited to attend, this is for us as day care providers and anyone else who is interested in ia welfare reform. This is the way to participate in helping them make the new laws. i3 Lynn Smith - NYiscellaneous She has friends who call her from other towns and say your i4 Council is in the newspaper again, they got busted for the Brown Act. I forgot last time there is is a little TV cameras and I thought they were security cameras in case we lost our temper. ~6 Some of us are conscious of that tonight. The only chance I have these days to read the i~ paper is when someone calls me and tells me Y am in it or a letter to the editor got in it. Thank ia you for approving the headwaters. As far as the problem with TV, I'm not going to say ~9 anymore about where I live, because I said I live on the only good skateboard hill in town, Zo and all of a sudden the cops know where I live and the skate boarders got chased away. If z~ there is going to be a Citizens Police Academy that we learn to speak each other's language za and to listen to each other. If I can't live a graceful life I want to go gracefully. xou may 23 have me back in your face when I enroll in that class. Hopefully I'll get better. za COUNC~ CO1VIlVIENT zs Nancy Read - Dis~lav windows en emutv store front - I had spoken to Linda Buffo earlier 26 regarding the situation downtown similar to the empty 1V1acy's building in San lZafael. Nlaybe z~ the owner of the closed Marin Surplus store could offer to a school or orgaruzation to 2a decorate the windows. Maybe we could ask Linda to ask the owner. Welcome to C~ z9 Council Brochure - Also we made it official this afternoon that for those of you who went 3o to the back of the room to get an agenda, there is a guide there now Welcome to City 3i Council meetings. If you are coming to our meeting for the ~irst time you can pick one of 3z these up, it talks about the agenda, when it is to speak and which cards to fill out, sort of a 33 "how to guide" and I thank the City Clerk for doing that for us. 34 Jane Harrulton -~rochure and Meetin~ ~'ane Storage about the Citizens Guide to the City 3s Council meetings, I wondered who wrote it. T'hank you for ~ust doing it. It said our City 36 Council meetings are taped and our tapes are kept for a short period of' time and then 3~ recycled, She would like those tapes be kept for at least a year. Sometimes we have issues 3s that cover a couple of years. The next time the brochure is printed, add the phrase that the 39 tapes can be borrowed or purchased. 'The Suggestion Sheet is also new and is placed in the ao back of the Council Chambers. I want to thank Gene (Beatty) for that. These are the kinds ai of things I want us to offer citizens so they can find their way around our process. az Downtown Parking Garage - We said we would askfor agenda items at Council Comments 43 and so I am asking that the Downtown Parking Garage be put on an agenda and that we aa discuss problem solving with the vandalism that is going on there and the possibility of having as 24-hour security or surveillance, a 24-hour preserice there. e x~ t."!,'!~•f r~.Pr~~1Z~'S ~~t~i4i~. ~tr~~':, March 3, 1997 Vo1.30, Page 243 i Putnam Pfaza I want to thank Linda Buffo for coming and keeping in touch with the z Council. You are completely on the right track the way you are working with the community 3 and I hope you continue to come with the updates. You are doing this for the community a and there is a larger community who watch Council meetings and this is more helpful than s anytlung. Thanlc you. 6 Matt Maguire - Counci9lVleeting tapes - I second Jane's suggestion that we keep the tapes, ~ in fact if we keep them for two years. If we have a meetin~ the first and third Mondays that s would be a hundred tapes. I.afle - On the Y,afferty issues, we need a report back from 9 staff on the eminent domain process, condemnation process, vis-a-vis the entrance of io Lafferty. I had lunch with (Supervisor) Jim Harberson and he said you guys do it all the time. ii I would like to be inforrned and get the details on that. Itesources Consee~vateon ancl iz Grazin Have we heard back from the Resources Conservation Agency on the grazing, is Warren? (Response - must be cYairvoyant, the report will be delivered tomorrow morning.) I ia was wondering when the grazing lease was coming back, so that would come at our next is meeting. I.affe Survev - Vis-a-vis the comment that Doug Dailey made at the last a6 meeting, I think it would be appropriate to discuss putting a survey of the Lafferty boundaries i~ on the agenda. (Response - that is on the ne~ct agenda.) I,iafson Ite~norts - I'd like to get ia fuller reports from our 'Transportation Commission member and Airport Commission i9 member. (Response - Airport Commission has not met for 2 months.) Gene~-al Plan mid- Zo term review -~'he Planning Commission would like to rerrund the City Council that we have zi a mid-term General Plan review this year. If you have any preference on approach method, za we would be happy to hear that otherwise we will probably put together a couple of different 23 approaches and present it to the Council for its discussion and advice. za Pamela Torliatt - Joint meetin with committees and commissions - Now that we have an zs interim City Manager, maybe we can set up a meeting with our committees and commissions 26 and get a date set up. So I would like to see that come before us with a list of dates. a~ I~avid Keller - Gene ~eat - I want to thank CJene for his service and tus now new position zs as Acting City Manager. We appreciate it Gene. I am very appreciative of the memos that 29 you have sent so far keeping us up to date as things go along. I really like having that 3o coming regularly. Dowa~tow~a Association - Also, thanks to Linda Buffo for the work that ~i was done with the Downtown Association. That work is very important. Dowaetown ~a VVindows Following up for Councilman Itead about the use of windows, the City of San 33 Rafael Redevelopment Agericy has a program where all vacant windows downtown are filled 34 and they have a series of organizations, arts, cultural, that have exhibits that are ready to go ss into available window space. I would be happy to get some more information on that. 36 Forrner C~ 1Vganagee° - Corrung ne~cY to something that is rather difficult for me. I'm very 3~ appreciative to John Scharer for all the work that he has done over the years that he has been ss here and certainly wish lum the best as he moves on. On the other hand, the article that 39 appeared in the Press I~emocrat says that John will be baclc at City I3a11 in the near future on ao the opposite side of the dais. Mr. Scharer takes with him a tremendous amount of inside ai information. Ivlatt Hudson certainly has been an attorney for Mr. Pfendler. .Tohn is now az going to work with l~r. Hudson and we have certainly seen the kind of challenges that Mr. 43 Pfendler has put to this city and is going to cost us a lot of money in the future to meet them. 4a I find it unethical. I would ask Mr. Rudnansky to request 1V1r. Scharer provide the Council as copies of his appointment book for the past 3 years, his expense accounting for the past 3 ~6 years, any records of what closed sessions and under what matters he has attending during a~ the past 3 years. I'm very disappointed this is what he has decided to do and would ask that ~g staff be directed that NL-. Scharer be given no favors and no special access other than a9 anybody eYse from the public. Page 244, Vol. 30 March 3, 1997 ~ Wastewater ~~ & Citv NYanager - We have in our RFP for the wastewater treatment 2 plant an item addressing ~e~el~a~ie~-revolving door employment, Section 12.16 of the s proposal, unfortunately it has riot been included in the current RFP. Mr. Salmons told me it a will be corrected and that employment prohibition states the company shall not employ any s former City Councilmembers, Citizen Wastewater Advisory Committee members, Petaluma 6 Public Utility Commission members or senior City staff personnel for a period of five years ~ after employment or affiliation with the City is terminate. I believe that kind of policy should ~ serve for Mr. Scharer as well. 9 Mary Stompe - Closed Sessiore Information Sharen~ - I'd like to make my comments from ~o the podium because they are directed primarily to the Council. I have repeatedly requested ~ ~ that Councilmembers not report out of Closed Session in honor of the closed session process. ~z Those requests have failed. A prime example of the damage that leaking information from is City Council Closed Sessions can do to tlus city, not only did we lose a highly qualified ia candidate for City Manager, but this cost the taxpayers their hard earned money..I would like is to make two proposals to this Council: (1) If we cannot find a way to stop these illegaLleaks i6 to the press, then we severely limit our closed sessions. (2) I would like this Council to take i~ action and pass a resolution asking the League of California Cities to hetp us carry legislation is to amend the Brown Act to include penalties for reporting out of elosed session. I'd like us to r9 adopt strict consequences £or reparting out. I'd like to see this item on the ne~ct agenda for ao action. zi Jane Hamilton - Aerqort Manager I would like a report on the Airport Manager posifion. 22 ~ill Graham is leaving. What our options are and all that. Councilmembe~ Stomne zs comments - If this group has to work hard to make our agreements clear and to make our 2a process work, then I would respect you a lot more if you would put your energy into that. zs You obviously put a lot of energy into preparing your perfectly detailed condemnation of z6 what you think happened. And that is a public display and a posturing and it's not problem z~ solving. zs David Keller - Councelmember Stompe comments - I regret that Councilwoman Stompe z9 has chosen this forum and this manner in which to raise these issues. There are tlungs that 3o have been said in closed session that would clarify what actually happened, but will not be 3~ repeated in public because that was privileged information for us, and to use this forum to 3a condemn me or any other member of this Council is disingenuous and is a slight upon the 33 character of this Council that is undeserved. 34 30 XEAR PIN PRESENTA~'ION 3s 'The Mayor and Acting City Manager presented a 30 Years of Service pin to Police Chief 36 DeWitt. Acting City Manager Beatty said that Dennis DeWitt has announced lus retirement 3~ for later this year, and we will really rruss him when he leaves. The commuruty will really 3s miss him. He is one of the City's most dedicated employees. The Chief said it has been a 39 pleasure working for the City. He deals with everybody the same way, treats them with ao respect. VVe try to pass that on in the department. But he won't be writing letters to the 4i Editor and won't be coming back to the podiurn after he retires, unless you do too much a~ about the sewer rates, because I still have to pay those. ~ ~~~ ~f ~ k.9~*~H:~~^-'~'~~`Y•fij.,~L,. ~'{: in~h+~~^C4.` March 3, 1997 Vo1.30, Page 245 i CI,OSEID S~SSIOliTS, DISCLOS~TItE, ~'RIV~EGED COlVIlVI~JNICA~'IONS z Richard Rudnansky made the following remarks: Last Council meeting some of the Council s anembers requested that there be some discussion about what can be reported out of closed a sessions, what the duties and responsibilities are with respect to individual Councilmembers s reporting out of closed session and what some of the possible sanctions and remedies rrught 6 be m that regard. ~Ie reviewed provisions of the Act the minimum requirements for reporting ~ out of closed session by the body as a whole. a The Brown Act is legislation that governs the meeting of local legislative bodies. Although ~ there is a presumption in the Brown Act in favor of public access, the Legislature specifically io gndicates and provides for exceptions for open meeting requirements where government has ii demonstrated a need for confidentiality. LTsing the Brown Act as a guide for information iz release is the safest and most prudent action. i3 5ituateons allowin~ the Council to have a closed session ~ ~a ~ l~pplications for specific types of licenses by people with criminal records. is - Real property negotiations including advising their negotiator with respect to the terms, ~6 price, payment, that type of thing with respect to purchase, sale, exchange or lease of real ~~ property. ~a ~ Pending litigation wluch is not just Court proceedings, but also other types of is adrrunistrative proceedings, arbitrations and that type of tlung including a significant 2o exposure to litigation. 2~ ~ Decisions as to whether or not it should go into closed session under the substantial risk zz of litigation matte~ or provision. 23 ~ There is also a definition of what e~cisting facts and circumstances are that would allow za the Council to go into closed session under the significant exposure exception. zs - When facts and circumstances rivght result in litigation against the local agency, when a z6 claim is presented under the Tort Claims Act. threat of litigation.. z~ - gf there is a threat made to an official or an employee that is not in a public meeting, the zs Council is allowed to go into Closed Session as long as that official and employee makes 2s a contemporaneous note of that threat, and that contemporaneous note is available upon 3o request, and when the Council wants to initiate litigation or whether it wants to deternune 3i vvhether it should initiate litigation. 3z ~~. matter that poses a threat to public facilities or a threat to the public's right to access 33 those facilities. sa ~ Discussion of the appointment, employment, evaluation of performance, discipline or ss disrrussal of a public employee, and also to allow the Council to discuss charges or 36 ~omplaints levied against a particular public emp~oyee. 3~ - Labor negotiations. 3s - Multi~le jurisdiction drug law enforcement agencies can meet in closed sessions. 39 Those are the only provisions in the Brown Act which allow a Council can go into closed ao session. If it's not within one of those provisions, the Council is not allowed to go into ai closed session. Page 246, Vol. 30 ~ March 3, 1997 i Allowin~ certain information to be reuorted out. z There is a specific provision that requires reporting out by the Council, as a body, when 3 certain actions are taken. Not every action taken in closed session is a reportable action. a- Approval of an agreement. s- Approval given to the legislative body's legal counsel to defend, seek or refrain from 6 seeking appellate review relief. ~- Approval given to the legal counsel for settlement of pending litigation, if the action taken a is final. If the final approval rests with some other party, and some type of action needs to 9 be taken by that third person to make the settlement final, there is no requirement to io report out until the settlement becomes final, then you report out:. ii - Disposition of a claim that has been presented to the Council under the Tort Claims Act. ~z - Any action taken to appoint, employ, dismiss, accept the resignation of or otherwise i3 affect employment status of a public employee. i4 - Approval of a labor agreement. ~s Now these reports may be oral or in writing, but under the Brown Act, those are the required i6 reporting out provisions and those. are to be reported by the Council as a body in open i~ session. ~s Who Reports Out of Closed Session, ltisks - ~9 As a bodv - Typically the Mayor reports out. You would all reconvene in open session and 2o the Mayor would report that there is no reportable action, or if there is reportable action, 2i disclose it at that time. The Council does have the authority to report out more than the 2z minimum requirements; however, there are some possible ramifications which should be kept z3 in mind. Every situation is different and every decision would turn on the facts of the 2a particular situation. There could lie potential liability exposua~e to the City as a result of 2s disclosing more than is mirvmally required under the Brown ~ct. The difficulty is not really 26 being able to forecast what impact that additional information disclosure would have. 2~ In a Personnel exception, for example, if rnore information is reported out than is required an Za employee may have some type of cause of action regarding privacy issues. It's not only 29 considering what adverse affect may be to the public generally, but it also talces into account so third parties and their privacy expectations. 3~ lteal estate exceptions - certainly if certain information is repo~ted out in that type of closed 32 session it could undercut the negotiation powers of the city. 33 Individual Councilmembers reqorting out more than is required, in reviewing this it is my 34 opinion that this isn't appropriate. The confidence is that of the Council's, it's not of that of ss the individual Councilmembers, and there could be potential consequences to the individual 36 Councilmembers. I have researched this issue and there is very little on it. Some 3~ commentators feel that in very e~reme situations there might even be a possible criminal 3s violation. .. ~~' ~! 1 .~.... h r~~'fy~4~)( ~'~j ~-.T~^a~k : f.e::~ ti - March 3, 1997 Vo1.30, Page 247 ~ Also commentators feel that there is the potential of obtaining injunctive relief against 2 individual Councilmembers who repeatedly report out of closed sessions confidential 3 information, and at least one person that I talked to felt that there is even the possibility a , that there could be a civil monetary claim against the Councilmember if the information s reported by that Councilmember out of closed session results in some kind of adverse s flnonetar~ affect to the City. 7 Attornev client privilege _ Council as a bodv -The City Council's Attorney /client privilege s really isn't any different. Tl~e confidentiality has been expressed by the Legislature and 9 it's public policy that the Attorney/client privilege is there to allow for free exchange io between the client and the attorney. It is the client's privilege, in tlus situation it would ir be the Council, as a body, that has the privilege. i2 Attornev client a~rivilege - individuals -I don't think that individual Councilmember has the is right to waive the attorney/client privilege. ia uesteons _ VVho, What, giow - What gets reported out? What can we report out? Who is reports it? How is this handled? How can we prevent information from being used in a i6 manipulative of the process within the Council itself, or manipulative of the process for i~ the public, or manipulative to any of the individuals who might be involved in the subject is matter of the closed session? (Response - If, as a body, you decide that you want to ~9 disclose more than the minimum requirements of the Brown Act you have the authority zo to do so. What's difficult is when there is some type of decision being made as to what zi can be disclosed, when you may not have all the facts; you may not know what can az happen in the future, and from a legal point of view, I may not be able, even if I am z3 there, to say well I think this~is perfectly okay.) aa uestions e discussion with family pncenbers or others - Can anything that happens in zs closed session is discussed with family, with spouse, if anything is discussed with close 26 fi-iends, if anything is discussed with other professionals? That leads me to the question z~ of second opinions. ~s uestioe-s _ second opinions - What is the process by which any member of this body can 29 seek a second opinion on any item that has come before us in closed session? And how so is that process done? (Response - If the council wishes to seek a second opiruon, 3i certainly it can do so. But with an individual Councilmember, I haven't really been faced 3~ with that issue. A lot of these issues I've never come across before, and in tallcing with s3 other City Attorneys, it's very rare that they've ever come across them. If an individual 34 Councilmember wants to get a second opinion on an issue certainly they can do so, but I 3s don't kriow whether or not it would be compensated by the ~ouncil, if the Council 36 hadn't agreed as a body. So we are kind of going on new ground here. I haven't found 3~ a lot of law on some of these issues. The disclosure of information that may be ~~ attorney/client information to a third party that is not a part of the litigation team which 39 includes the attorney for the council could create problems with respect to the ao confidentiality.) ai lteal estate negotiations - If your approval renders the agreement final, the body should az report that approval and the substance of the agreement in open session. Your would 43 report out that there has been an agreement, here's the substance of it. 44 Labor negotiations - if there's a final agreement, the Brown Act says exactly what as needs to be reported out. Now what you decide to say is determined by the facts and a6 situations as they e~st. But it pretty much lays out what the minimum requirements are a~ and what you have to say or what you need to say. Page 248, Vol. 30 March 3, 1997 ~ The City Attorney noted that if you want him at every closed session, he'll be at every closed a session. But he can't guarantee that I'm going to have every answer. 3 Council comment a We need to discuss the process as a body. s The process and discussions that have happened with the board of education regarding the 6 parallel hiring of a new superintendent is a very different approach than was used here. It ~ seems much more open with the public about what's been going on even involved the public s advisory body. 9 Most ofthe stuffwe talked about 95% is no big deal. I would like to see the Council agree to io at the end of our closed sessions have a discussion of what we can or will report out of the ~i closed session and if we all agree or a majority agrees that we're not going to report iz anything, that's fine. ~s Aurora, Colorado, the other city that the City Manager candidate was applying to actually ia discloses the names of their finalists. Do you know anything about that process? Can you ~s discuss that? (Response -Different states have different types of open meeting laws.) i6 We have our closed sessions around five o'clock, if it's not going to be something that's ~~ obviously quick maybe we need to have closed sessions scheduled differently at the afternoon is meetings so that there is enough time. This group is diverse and really sees things differently i9 as and I believe we are representing a commuruty that has diverse values and it's going to 2o take a little bit Yonger for us to Yearn to commurucate together probably for six to eight zi months. zz ~rown Act Seminar Date - The Council agreed to have the Brown Act session on April 23 28th from 7 to 10 p.m. za CEI.I,ULAR ON PAT~20L and EVEItI' 151VI1NUTES zs Police Chief DeWitt addressed these issues together. He expressed his concern about z6 additional items going on in the community that require the time and money of the Police z~ I~epartment. We are close to the budget process now and based on the following three items, 2s it appears to us that they are some major items that face Petaluma and tlus county. The three z9 items are 1- Domestic violence, 2- Gangs, and 3- Traffic. Most of the incoming calls at the 3o Police Department are on traffic and drugs. Regarding the Cellular on Patrol we think we s ~ might be able to work with the cellular phone companies to w~rk together with the City on 3z this. He asked that he be allowed to work with Mary Tupa to explore this possibility. On the 33 Every 15 Minutes, which is a project to reduce the number of drunk drivers, the Council said 34 to put that idea on the back burner and refer to it in the future when there is more time and 35 money available. 36 On the Citizens Police Academy, a majority of the Council asked that it come back. on the 3~ agenda. 3s Lynn Smith - the master tape of the last meeting was altered, she said. Fifteen women were 39 killed in Berkeley. ..;2.,~~~,^'i~:5~.i~f'$~~i..s^_~.~ :.{ - March 3, 1997 Vo130, Page 249 i ~~JI~NE SOCIE~' z Dan Knapp of the Sonoma County Humane Society urged the Council not to place animal s cage contamers for night drops of animals at the police department for the followmg reasons: a 1- experience with that placement of such animal containers in other locations resulted in s people bringing in sick and/or injured animals that weren't attended to until the Animal 6 Control made their morrung rounds, 2- inappropriate pYacement of animals together (i.e., ~ cats with dogs), 3- animals that come from unincorporated areas ~(word travels rapidly), 4- s cages served as free, uncontrolled adoption shops, and 5- place to find animals for sale to 9 experimental and testing labs. io The Council agreed that the night cages at the Police Department is not the best manner to ii resolve the issue of "found pets at night." Mr. Knapp suggested a larger staff and provide iz service for a longer day. There cunently is 24-hour animal service for injured, vicious o~ i3 arumals in distress. Itegarding any placement of arumals, other than the Police Canines, at the ~a Police station would most likely cause a great deal of barking which would then cause a lot of is stress on the neighboring Petaluma residents. i6 Chief DeWitt reassured the Council that they work with the Humane Society on the injured ~~ animals that they become aware of. The Police Department will work something out with ia Animal Control to take care of the found animals. It was noted that the Animal Shelter has i9 Saturday day hours. Mr. Knapp said these problems stem from irresponsible pet ownership. zo Councilmember Stompe left the meeting at 9:30 p.m. 2i ItESO. 97-57 NCS 22 THOItA ESTA~'ES NEG~iTIVE DEC. Zs Resolution 97-57 NCS adopting a negative declaration of environmental impact on the 5 lot 2a Thora Estates subdivision which is located on Cherry Street near Petaluma Blvd. North. Zs After staff presentation, there was no public discussion. Introduced by Vice Mayor 26 Hamilton, seconded by Pamela Torliatt. z~ Ayes: Read, Keller, Torliatt, Maguire, Vice Mayar Hamilton, Mayor Hilligoss 2a Noes: None 29 Absent: Stompe so ~SO. 97-5~ NC3 si '~iHOR.~ ESTA'~ES ~'EN'Y'A'I'flVE MAP sz Resolution 97-58 NCS approving a tentative map for T'hora Estates 5 lot subdivision located 33 on lower Cherry Street near Petaluma Blvd. North. Introduced by Vice Mayor Hamilton, 34 seconded by Pamela Torliatt. 3s Ayes: Read, Keller, Torliatt, Maguire, Vice Mayor Hamilton, Mayor Hilligoss 36 NOes: None s~ Absent: Stompe 3s ItESO. 97-60 NC3 39 ~AIi~IPAGNO ACCESSOR~' DW~I,I,ING ao Resolution 97-60 NCS upholding the appeal of Linda Kade on behalf of Steven Compagno's ai request for a conditional use permit seeking to approve an illegal accessory dwelling at 511 G az Street, which was denied by the Planning Commission. 'This property presently contains 3 a3 dwelling uruts: (1) the e~cisting single-family home on the G Street frontage, (2) illegal aa accessory dwelling which is the subject of the Council agenda item, and (3) a detached as dwelling unit to the rear of the property. A neighborhood complaint was the manner in which 46 it came to the attention of the City. The public hearing was opened. Page 250, Vol. 30 March 3, 1997 ~ Martha Joyce, 515'h G Street, said she is not opposed to the project, but we had agreed z about removal of a deck which is less than 18 inshes above the ground. She said that the 3 deck negates her privacy, both inside and outside of their home. a Matt Maguire, Planrung Commission liaison, said the Commission denied the application s because they felt the lot was too small, although Commissioners Maguire and Bennett 6 disagreed. Jim McCann, Principal Planner, noted that neighbor objections were based on ~ privacy issues. The staff recommendation is to approve the use permit, require an 8 foot a fence (6 foot solid fence topped with 2 feet of lattice). Additional trees are to be planted to 9 replace the tree that is removed. Additionally, landscape screerung is to be added to the ~o fence. i i The property owner noted that he has an agreement with the front (street side) neighbor to i2 build the 8 foot fence described above and constructed half way towards the rear of the ~3 property. The proper~y owner told the Council he is willing to finish the fence towards the ~a rear of the property. Mrs. Joyce said an 8 foot fence would make her yard feel too closed in is because of its narrow configuration. The hearing was closed. i6 It was moved by Nancy Read and seconded by Matt Maguire to uphold the appeal, overturn i~ the Planning Commission action, and direct staff have the applicant (property owner) ~s continue the fence from the half-way point to the rear of the property at a height of 6 feet ~9 plus 1 foot lattice. The first half of the fence shall be a 6 foot fence with 2 feet of lattice. 2o Two trees are to replace the one tree which will be removed. 2 i Ayes: Read, Keller, ~ Maguire, Vice Mayor Hamilton, Mayor Hilligoss 22 Noes: ~Torliatt 23 Absent: Stompe Za FPPC 2s In response to the Council's direction to staff that the Police Department respond to us vis-a- z6 vis the FPPC investigation, Chief DeWitt reported that he had obtained a copy of the laws on 2~ the subject, and contacted District Attorney (DA) Mullins, who adyised him that the DA has 2s had recent conversations with the State investigators and they are very close to completing 29 the investigation of the voter fraud that occurred around June of 1996. Chief DeWitt doesn't 3o know what information has developed and what has been given to the DA. When the Chief si talked to the DA, it was requested of the Chief not to jeopardize the investigation. That 32 includes not investigating any alleged FPPC transgressions. The Chief was assured that the ss State would refer such information to the Eair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) when 34 the investigation was complete. Subsequent to the contact with the Sonoma District 3s Attorney, Chief DeWitt contacted the State. '~he Chief Counsel to the Secretary of State on s6 Election Fraud asked that the Police Department not start an investigation. The Chief noted s~ that the State reacts to political pressure and suggested that what the Council can do is to ss write to the local Legislators urging, the investigation receive top priority. Chief DeWitt s9 reiterated that the DA feels the State is being as diligent as possible. The State will contact ao the District Attorney when they com~lete their investigation; the DA, in turn, will contact the ai Police Chief. a2 Hank Zucker - he talked about a letter and said the larger issue is the State doesn't have the 43 manpower to do all of this work. He agreed that political pressure is important. That State aa Department needs more funding. The Secretary of State is not doing its job. as It was moved by Nancy Read and seconded by Jane Hamilton, to arrange a meeting with our 46 State Legislators (Mazzoru and Burton) and to write letters to fhem requesting their -r ~'y;1t:~,7~P~~~s~27?3~i^,.r„J':q~~:~•+~rr,;a ~- , March 3, 1997 Vo1.30, Page 251 ~ assistance in urging the State to place this investigation at their top priority and help the State a with funding if that is what it will take. 3 Ayes: Read, Keller, Torliatt, Maguire, Vice Mayor Hamilton, Mayor Hilligoss a Noes: None s Absent: Stompe 6 Councilmember Keller asked if former City Manager Schaxer has any private information ' about the State's investigation. Chief DeWitt said he has not given Mr. Scharer any more s information on the issue than the Chief has given to the Council. 9 CIT~' NYANAGEgt ~CRUI~'1VIEN~' zo Some of the Council expressed their dissatisfaction with Rich Perry, the consultant who was ii ~ontracted to help find candidates for a new city manager. It was said he made very i2 unprofessional statements, misleading and inaccurate statements about members of this City i3 Council to the press, and he contributed to this morass. ia - We should stick with Gene (Beatty) as the interim City Manager for a period of time. ~s - When we feel it is appropriate to go out and do a candidate search again that we hire a i6 new consultant. i~ - We should look at Mr. Perry's contract to see how much money we should pay him ia because he may not have upheld the contract. ~9 - It is important to start fresh. Zo - Give ourselves room to pause. zi - To make it clear for ourselves what our process is going to be during the hiring zz procedure in consultation with a new consultant who can approach this in a much more z3 professional manner than we were given. 2a - Would like to ternunate ~ Mr. Perry's contract. Have Mr. Rudnansky take a look zs specifically at the sequence of tasks that were not accomplished; i.e. (Step 12 was to 26 facilitate City Council - candidate interviews, arrange and coordinate logistics of 2~ interviews, provide a list of suggested questions for the Council, and if desired rating 2s forms, serve as a facilitator for interview panel including post interview discussion and 29 candidate ranking. Step 13 conduct a thorough reference check of the top candidates 3o including credit checks and work with the Police Chief to complete a Police investigation. si Neither of those were done. Involve Councilmembers if the desire to participate in 3z tallting with key people from the candidate's commuruty such as Councilmembers, staff, 33 rnerchants and neighborhood representatives. We were never provided a list of 3a references, even though requested to do so earlier in the process. Step 14 negotiate 3s compensation. Step 15 notify all candidates. The last 3 items were not done, they were 36 not done in sequence, doesn't feel they were done professionally and left the city in 3~ jeopardy, left the council in jeopardy of not having a baclc up candidate and not having a sa process that was going to come to fruition. s9 - Would like to have the Council talk about goals of a new city manager and we expect to ao see. ai - We did not have a contract with our old city manager and these days you have contracts. az After Councilmember Keller asking repeatedly to have sample contracts from other cities, a3 we have only gotten 3 sample contracts to get ideas from. Would like to see a couple aa more especially from Sonoma and Marin Counties. ' as -'There are six city manager contracts that have been distributed to the entire Council. a6 - Before we begin the City Manager recruitment process again, we should #1 - have the a~ ~rown Act session, #2 - everybody agree on the rules we run under, #3 - after we have as the ~rown Act session we figure out what can be said out of closed session regarding a9 personnel matters. Not willing to go into the recruitment process until those issues are so agreed upon. si -~he Brown Act workshop is a presentation is on the entire Brown Act. The type of sz agreement address above will happen when the new recruiter and the Council meet. We ? ,.,~,~, . . , . ~ . . •. -.r ~:~~ ... . Page 252, Vol. 30 March 3, 1997 ~ can ask the City Attorney to be present and we write out what type of process we want z to use. Maybe we could request information on publishing other cities hopefully we 3 would have the information on other cities publish names of their candidates and how that a works and if that has ever worked in California. s - It's that we all commit to sit through that three hour Brown Act session and then we go 6 on. ~ - Don't want us to rush right out. Want us to ternunate the relationship with the s consultant. I'd like to start it right now just looking for a recruiter. People are often 9 more willing to more and change jobs in the summer than they are in the fall and coming ~o into the holiday season. I don't want that situation again. ii Tod Manning - I have been following this whole City Manager recruitment strictly through ~z the paper as has most of the public and the thing that has really hit me as an attorney is the i3 whole issue of privacy. I don't know what promises were made by this City Council as far as ia confidentiality of people who applied for this position, but I do know if any promises were is made and then they were not kept, it is a yery poor image for this council to portray. So I i6 don't know what happened there, I am just sitting on the outside looking in. But I do know i~ also that what is occurring here right now tonight and discussions about Mr. Leubbers from ~a Redlands is not going to ~help you get a good candidate in the future. It does not benefit you iv to speak ill of someone that three weeks earlier you were saying this is the best guy for the 2o job. You're not going to attract more people by speaking ill of them when they then back zi out. Shake their hand, say, sorry it didn't work out, then you move on. I'm in agreement zz with what Nancy Read said about this council should know, discuss, and define exactly which 23 discussion will be private and which will be disclosed to the public, and when those za discussions will be disclosed to the public. In addition, who will be checking on the person's zs background, when will they be doing those checks. All of that should be done in a very 26 definite manner and a definite time frame. In looking at it from my viewpoint, and from many z~ friends' viewpoints, I know that when we are out looking for jobs, we don't want our current zs employer to know we are looking for a job until we have been offered one. At that time, we 29 want to discuss it with our current employer that we are leaving, we want to tell them in a 3o manner that we feel comfortable with. I sure hate to leave, or ha ha see you later, but that s~ should be up to that candidate. 'I'hank you. s2 Points that we will need to clarify with the next consulting team - how they do their work, s3 when they do reference checks. 34 Reference checks in the school district are being done before job offers are being made for an 35 executive position. There are perhaps legitimate ways to do it either way, but the consultant 36 must be clear with us and with the public for the rationale for either and the candidates need 3~ to understand what either was as they come into the process. 3a Is there consensus that we agree to terminate Mr. Perry at this point. 39 Rich Rudnansky would like to take a look at the contract with Mr. Perry, take a look at the ao process, to discuss what he did and what he didn't do and bring it back to the Council. ~.,; ~° _~ ,-. ~~, March 3, 1997 Vo130, Page 253 i I.AFFER'I'X CONSUL'I'AI1TT z The I,afferty Access Committee has completed a draft framework for the Lafferty Ranch 3 Access and Management Plan. Along with the plan, they have developed a request for a Statements of Qualification to solicit potential EIR consultants. Staff was asked why we are s not doing several analyses instead of an EIR consultant selection process. The response is , 6 that is all a part of the steps in development of an EIR. ~ Speakers were Bruce I~agen who said we need to meet with the ranchers, not let selfish s interest prevail, condemn the property that is between the roadway and the property. Kim 9 Nadeau who said every expert we have talked to has come back with the same answer. d~o io an EIR. VVe are talking about parallel planrung. i i It was moved by Vice 1Vlayor ~Iamilton, seconded by David Keller, to autliorize distribution i2 of the request for statements of qualification to consulting firms for the EIR for Lafferty i3 Ranch. ia Ayes: Read, Keller, Torliatt, Maguire, Vice Mayor Hamilton, Mayor Hilligoss is Noes: None i6 Absent: Stompe i~ COU1oTC'~ t~1~1D STAF'F ia Want the Goal Setting to include the Council, not staff and Planning. Have the joint meeting i9 with the committees and then have the Council Goal setting meeting with Gene Beatty. Zo Acting City I~Ianager Beatty would like to have the rrunutes discussed on the ne~ agenda. z i AI)~OiTlulT zz At 11:30 p.m. the meeting was adjourned 23 24 25 26 '-~ V~ ' / ~G(~i(~ z7 M. Patricia Hilligoss, zs ATTEST: 29 30 31 / G~t~/ /Gf~i .~ 3z Patricia E. Bernard, City Clerk