HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 02/18/1997February 18, 1997
Vo1.30, Page 215
i MYN~TTES \~~ ~
z OF A 1~G~JI,A.It 1!'gEE~'i1vG ~~ G
3 PETAI,gJIVIA CI~ CO~JNCII, ~jL (~
a TYJESIDA~', ~'E~~2~Tt~R~' 18, 1997 ~ ~
s ROY,Y. CAI,~, 3:00 ~.m.
6 Present: Read, Keller, Stompe, Torliatt, Maguire, Vice Mayor Hamilton, Mayor Hilligoss
~ Absent: None
~ ~'EAIVI BiTII„yDING
9~'he Council heard Peggy Sebera, Renaissance Consulting Group, 1065 McNear Avenue,
io Petaluma, present a proposal to assist the Council members the planning of a team building
ii session. This would be done by her on a pro bono basis. She alluded to a number of team
~z building tracks that could be incorporated into the City Council team building session. Her
i3 recommendation is to take an opportunity to talk to each Councilmember separately, develop
ia choices for the team building process, then come together with the Council about the process
is and the date for the session. It was Council consensus that the attendees of the first session
i6 would be Councilmembers only. Any staff participation in a team building session could take
i~ place at a subsequent session. Ms. Sebera would like to include a gentleman with her in the
is Council team building session. He would be coming from Portland and she asked if the City
i9 would pay his expenses which she estimated to be $300. There was a nodding `yes' af
zo Councilmember heads to support that expense. A resolution relating to the team building and
2i the cost of her assistant will be brought back on the next agenda. Her City contact will be
2z Assistant City Manager Gene Beatty.
z3 COU1vCII. COMIVIENTS
Za Mary Stompe - Bus to 1500 Petaluma Blvd. South - she has asked staff to revise the bus
as service to serve the COTS Center at 1500 Petaluma Blvd. South. Because of the danger for
z6 buses to turn-around at that point, the service has not been extended that far. She asked staff
z~ to continue to look at the situation to see what can be done to extend public transportation to
2s the COTS Center.
z9 Closed session - Some closed session information has been given to the press. There
3o have been questions about the individual Councilmember's rules of conduct in reporting what
3i happened in closed session. She would like a report on those rules on the ne~ct agenda.
32 Nancy IZead - Printed Information about the Citv Commissions - she brought to the City a
33 printed "hand out" information about the Planning Commission of a neighboring City and
34 suggested the City look into preparing such information for its public. This would help
ss people who rnay be here for the first time. Maybe we could do one for the Planning
36 Commission and one for the City Council. Please put this on the agenda so we could have
s~ some action on it.
sa Matt Maguire - Luke & Perrv letter - once again Les Perry has written a letter, delivered it by
39 FAX this afternoon in anticipation of today's meeting. Could we direct staff to write Mr.
ao Perry and say if he wishes to have the Council honestly consider his input, he needs to time
ai his missives in a little more far seeing manner. T'here is nothing in this letter that I see would
a~ preclude us from acting on our Consent Calendar today. The Council had no problem with
43 this request and Mr. Salmons was directed to make that communication.
Page 216, Vol. 30 February 18, 1997
i Pamela Torliatt - Re~ortin~ out of Closed Session - to ~piggy back on Mary's comments
2 regarding closed session, I would also like to talk about what we can disclose from.the closed
3 session. It is appropriate in all instances to give as much information to the public as possible
a without putting us in a situation where there would be a legal problem. Havmg one
s spokesperson, such as the Mayor, to come out and give as much information as possible is
6 really helpful m having an open type of government, though the closed sessions don't seem
~ like they are such secret meetmgs. She would like to discuss that as well as Councilmember
s Stompe's request.
9 David Keller - Closed Session - It would be very useful for us to have the discussion with Mr.
~o Rudnansky and somebody who is, as well, extremely familiar with Brown Act requirements
i~ on what exactly is our restriction, what are our prerogatives, and have this as an open
i2 discussion with the public so that they can understand, as well, what can and what cannot go
is on in the Brown Act session and closed session, what can be reported, what cannot be
~a reported, and what our range is what we can legally and safely z-eveal and what we legally and
is safely not reveal, so we have a full understanding of what the breadth of that is. The public
~6 has a chance to ask questions of some expertise on that as well so we can have a cleanng of
~~ any questions about what is appropriate for secrecy and what is appropriate not to be secret.
ia He would like to see that agendized as a discussion item for the Council, the public invited to
i9 participate in the Q& A. He would like to see Mr. Rudnansky bring with him somebody
2o who is very skilled in that area. There have been some questions that the Councilman has
ai which haven't been answered yet. If Rich can answer them good, if not he would like to see
zz some additional input on that.
z3 Mayor Hilligoss - Committee Vacancies - there are two vacancies on the committees,
2a SPARC and Board of Building Review. Appointments will be made at the March 17 meeting
zs and applications will be received on March 6. Gene Beatty was asked to advertise that on
z6 cable television.
z~ M~TU'I'ES
z~ The minutes of February 3 were approved as amended:
29 Page 199, Line 19, should read before ABAG `An ABAG grant is on revenue sharing, bike
3o path, and housing'.
3i Line 21, should read, "ne~ meeting is February 27 in Santa. Rosa hosted by Rohnert Park.
99
32 ...
33 Page 202, Ord. 2044 NCS, add Torliatt comments about lease agreement. Her comments
sa follow: "Have you finished negotiation on the lease? (Response - they have not been begun.
ss As soon as Council approves placement of this antenna, the negotiations of lease details will
36 commence. Ttus will be done prior to the concluding the conditional use pernut.) After the
s~ year is up is this going to go to a month-to-month lease afterward, the facility will be
3g completely removed? (Response - the facility will be completely removed, that will be part of
39 the conditional use pernut granted to the site.) My other comment in regards to these types of
ao facilities in the future if we are doing longer term leases with telecommunications, I'd like to
a~ malce sure that we include in the contracts that we can ~have multiple use or multiple
az companies using one location and you normally have to put that in the contract as you go
43 along and make sure that those companies don't mterfere with each other's radio waves: I'd
44 also like to see this facility separately metered. In the future I think that we definitely need to
4s make sure that we're putting them all in one facility..
k i:~s7i~f~
~ +ii-'I~~vr,'U,r'~., :§`~r~.~ q~ .; - ..:x
Febr~ary 18, 1997 Vo1.30, Page 217
i I know that in other types of facilities like this they've used smaller antennas, they've used
2 antennas that can be almost like screens and you don't know they are antennas. I'd like to
s make sure that staff is looking at the aesthetics in that way because I know PacBell and other
a types GT'E can do those types of ttungs. I would like to definitely see the rent be a lot higher
s than this because I think we can achieve that and I'm glad we are loolcing into that. Because
6 we also want to maxirruze the revenues that we can get for our departments."
~ Page 204 Line 34, Meeting with other commissions, Councilwoman Torliatt would like to
x meet with other commissions and committees before the Council goes into goal setting
9 session, we should set a date after we have chosen the City NTanager. What she said was she
io would like to set up a meeting with the committees and commission as soon as possible and if
i i the council would like to have their goals setting session with the City Manager we could set
~2 a date after we get a new city manager. She just wants to get the new Council familiar with
~s all the members of the committees and commissions and have some sort of interaction with
ia that.
is Page 208, regarding appeal to Mr. Pfendler's fence, Line 20 Council comment,
i6 Councilwoman Torliatt had talked about which was quoted in the paper being a bad
i~ precedent that there were environmental concerns regarding the height of the fence, and she
is had a list of things she went through. The following is that list. "I think that we should file an
i9 appeal, I think we should file an appeal for $175, fill out the form, base the appeal on the fact
zo that it restricts the wildlife flow in that area, that the aesthetics are a problem because it is not
2~ consistent with the adjacent properties. We have talked about this as a wildlife preserve in
zz one serise by adjacent property owners have said that that is something they like to see oua-
z3 property anyway and I am not quite sure how you can have a wildlife preserve unless you
aa fence it all, I mean if you fence all in with fences like that you're not going to have a great
Zs preserve unless it's all in the rruddle of it. It just, it's just a bad precedent. So I would spend
26 the $175 to do that. I would also include the letter from State Fish and Game with that
z~ appeal and hopefully we can get that letter prior to the time that we go up there. I think that
zs the person that goes up to hand in the application and stands before the five member board
z9 on behalf of the City makes a real case fo~- the fact that it is restricting the wildlife flow and
3o we'd like to see it at lease six feet at a maximum and I'll move it if and I'll make that a
3i motion."
32 Page 210, regarding the sewer fee increase, during Council discussion Line 30 there was a
33 discussion regarding what the breakdown was of the $235,000, the viewfoil went up and
34 there were some comments by staff. She also knows that Councilmember Read was
ss discussing where Petaluma falls into the rates with other cities and she believes she had some
36 comments after that also. She is missing a lot of discussion there. She wants that looked at.
s~ Her comments follow: "David, I want to thank you for your letter to the woman that had the
sa question about her high utility bill. Because, I think that that was key to a lot of high utility
39 bills in the City and I aust wanted to say thank you because it's really important to respond to
ao the public in that fasluon. lZegarding this report, I wanted to make sure that it says the
ai increase will generate an estimated $235,000 annually which will be used to main the e~sting
a2 treatment plant and include and continue the improvements to the collection system. Do you
43 have a breakdown of what the $250 is as far as improvements to the collection system and
aa what's going into the treatment plant to bandage? And my other comment regarding your
as report is in addition or instead of comparing it to other cities' rates, I'd like to see copies of
46 where it's rolling into the overall budget with the report so I can track it that way and I had
a~ called you earlier today and brought that up since you proposed it in 1993 or increased the
as sewer rates then and we had some things scheduled or budgeted for a five year period I'd to
a9 include more of that background information because ~t proves very helpful instead of havin~
so to go look it up. (Response to breakdown - an excerpt of the 1996-97 budget, don't have a
si copy of the entire 5-year CIP to project out over the next 5 years.
- C
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Page 2189 Vol. 30 February 18,1997
i This indicates some of the projects that we are doing in this fiscal year's budget which total
z about $2.9 Million, approximately $1.5 Million of that total is funded from user fees, that's
3 what these rates will generate. They're refened to as user fees. There are several projects
a that deal with not only continuing projects for the new wastewater treatment plant but also
s maintenance projects for the o~dation pond, dike repairs, the sewer main repairs, where is
6 the existing plant on there, that would be, right that's funded, we projected that being funded
~ out of connection fees for this fiscal year and essentially a number of those projects about a
s million dollars is going this fiscal year under the user fees f~r the collection system, that
9 brings all the sewage to the plant. The recommendation for increasing 5% is very small
io amount. That's mainly because we have been incurring over the last several years more and
ii more repairs to the collection system and the treatment plant and the irrigation systems in
i2 order to keep to try to maintain the capacity that we are generating right now. ) So this is to
is kind of balance or offset what? (Yes, the words specific projects that said gee I need
ia $235,000 for that particular project) This information would have been helpful in the staff
is report. That would be helpful to understand where and where it's going and why it's going
~6 there." ..."I guess I'm just missing it, but, and please explain it to me, I look at our project as
i~ being a certatn expense, and then I look at what we charge for our sewer rates and what,we
is charge is what is supposed to cover the expense of what we are going to build or what it
~9 costs to maintain that facility and give our customers the services that they need. Whether
2o we are the highest in the County or in the middle or the lowest is kind of on the side to me
2~ because we're dealing with what our situation is. And it is nice to compare ourselves in the
22 big picture, I want to concentrate on what our problem is not v~~hether or not we are going to
z3 be $5 higher than Santa Rosa, or $2.00 lower than Rohnert Park. And that's what I want to
za get out of these reports."
zs Page 205, Line 2, Mary Stompe would like the City to consider offering a copy of the budget
z6 on diskette, Line 4 she asked for staff to update the boy who wrote the letter on the status of
z~ the stop light.
2e Page 208, Line 24, Mary Stompe's comments - Revise to say "Currently it is legal to put
z9 anything on the property to six feet high and if ~ve want to challenge the established policy,
so we should work with the Sonoma County Permit and Resource Management Department and
~~ not file an appeal on an e~sting policy.''
32 Page 206, Last line - it says Rich Rudnansky rerrunded the Council that if we were going to
33 start our own investigation the State would reclassify theirs. Councilman Maguire pointed
34 out that he was specifically referring to the FPPC investigation, not the FPPC, and that this
3s specifically we were referring about the FPPC and therefore Rich's recommendation is not
36 was not to advise that the Police not get involved at this time. ~Ie recognized that we were
3~ talking about FPPC that should not have any affect on the State's investigation, so I.ine 45
3s and 46 need to amended to show the true state.
39 Page 210, Sewer Fee increase Councilman Keller had indicated the discussions here were
4o important as items that should be in front of the PPUC and requested once again that staff
ai bring us forward a proposal for PPUC with the utmost urgency.
az The minutes of February 9 were approved as submitted.
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February 18, 1997 Vo1.30, Page 219
1 CONSENT CAI.ENDAit
a The following items which are noncontroversial and which have been reviewed by the City
s Council and staff were enacted by one motion which was introduced by Matt Maguire and
a seconded by David Keller.
5 Ayes: Read, Keller, Stompe, Torliatt, Maguire, Vice Mayor Hamilton, Mayor Hilligoss
6 Noes: None
~ Absent: None
~SO. 97-39 NCS
g CI.AIlVIS AND B~II„g,5
9
io Resolution 97-39 NCS approving Claims and Bills #61903 to #62243.
I~SO. 97=40 NCS
ii
12 1~SIGNATION -~OLTON - SPAItC
i3 Resolution 97-40 NCS accepting the resignation of Kate Bolton from SPARC effective
ia Friday, February 14.
~' ItESO. 97-41 NCS
is
16 R~SIGNATION - NIA~ONEY -~D. OF APPEAI.S
i~ Resolution 97-41 NCS accepting the resignation of Colleen Mahoney from the Board of
is Building Review and Appeals .
O~. 2044 NCS
19
20 ADOPT I.EASE PACIFIC ~ELL 1VIO~ILE
zi Adopt Ordinance 2044 NCS authorizing lease of a portion of Shollenberger Park for the
zz temporary site of a Pacific Bell Mobile cellular telephone location. Introduced and seconded
Zs by Matt 1Vlaguire and David Keller on February 3.
RESO. 97-42 NCS
24
25 ~~~E1~ N~~IC~ ~~ ~~~.S~i ~~.
26 Resolution 97-42 NCS authorizing the e~ension of the notice to ternunate refuse contract
z~ from March 1, 1977, to tlurty days prior to July 1, 1977. Both Empire Waste and the City of
Zs Petaluma wish to consider issues of the Refuse Collection Contract. Both parties agree to
a9 e~end the time to send a notice Empire Waste of the five year contract ternunation by ~three
so months. At this time it is the intent to alter the provision of a five-year ternunation notice, to
si charge a higher amount for a second refuse can to encourage more use of recycling, plus
32 other changes to the contract.
33 * * * * * End of Consent Calendar * * * * *
34 ~SO. 97-43 NCS
35 1VIcNEAit LANIDING - G~tAI)ING
36 Resolution 97-43 NCS approving grading prior to final map for McNear Landing Unit 1. A
3~ question was raised about the e~ent of grading that was bemg approved here and the tree
3a removal planned. Response - The exhibit represents what they are proposing to do as far as
39 grading. Unit 1 of the subdivision is the lot surrounding McNear Circle and also up on top of
ao the hill. That is the limit of grading.
Page 220, Vol. 30
February 18, 1997
~ They propose three stockpiles to keep material for future use. This proposal includes
2 removal of any trees which are designated to be removed, basically the eucalyptus trees along
3 Petaluma Blvd. South. Trees that are on top of the hill will stay.
a I2~S0. 97-44 NCS
s 1VIUNICIPAL SWIM POOI. RENOVATION
6 Resolution 97-44 NCS approving the.plans and specifications and awarding the contract for
~ Alternates 2 and 3 at the Murucipal Swim Center to C. G. Builders, Santa Rosa for $236,877.
s The contract includes the base bid (includes all minimal work to renovate the bath house)
9 plus Alternates Two (involves replacement of an e~sting 4 inch sanitation line with a 6 inch
~o line) and Three (a deduction, which called for substitution of steel doors and frames instead
i i of the aluminurn doors and frames). Alternate One included rumung additional hot water
i2 lines to the pump rooms. A question was raised about the bid numbers. The funding is
~s reallocation from Wiseman Park.
ia RESO. 97-45 NCS
~s CONSTRUCT SICATEBOARI) ~ARK
u
i6 Resolution 97-45 NCS awarding contract for construction of the Skateboard Park to Sandy's
r~ Construction Company of Windsor in the amount of $94,595. A concern because there was
is such a great discrepancy between the low bid and the others. Staff was asked if they feel
i9 confident with the bidder. Response - yes, references were sought, the contractor has
2o worked with the City of Santa Rosa for a number of projects. He came in low up there also.
2i He did perform the work appropriately. He was also involved with the Davis and
22 Sacramento Skateboard Parks. The architect's estimate was $110,000. Regarding ehange
2s orders, there is a contingency to allow 10% for change orders and the Recreation Director is
za very resistant to allowing any change orders. If the contractor would go above the bid, there
2s is a bond that would cover that e~ra amount.
26 Resolutions 97-43 NCS, 97-44 NCS, and 97-45 NCS were introduced by Matt Maguire and
a~ seconded by David Keller,
zs Ayes: Read, Keller, Stompe, Torliatt, Maguire, Vice Mayor Hamilton, Mayor Hilligoss
29 Noes: None
3o Absent: None
si ~tESO. 97-46 NCS
3z I.,AFFER'~' ~iNCFI 1VIOD~'ICA'I'IONS
33 Resolution 97-46 NCS directing staff to make modifications at Lafferty Ranch property
3a relating to removal of the water line which has been piped from the Lafferty Ranch stock tank
3s to a neighbor's stock tank and to place posts or bollards at each of the gates to prevent
36 vehicular access from the neighboring property onto Lafferty Ranch property.
3~ Council discussion: The Council discussed whether or not this ~ction would be the straw that
3a breaks the camel's back. It was noted by a Councilmember that the PVC pipe that is going
39 from one tank to the other from our property wasn't even connected anyway. The water
ao actually comes right out of the hill, so if they want to use the water that goes on their side of
a~ the fence, then they should use it from their side of the fence. 'There appears to be no
az problem with disconnecting the pipe because it goes over ther~ anyway by natural flow and
a3 gravity. Regarding posts or bollards in front of the gates, perhaps they are not necessary.
February 18, 1997 Vo1.30, Page 221
i
i Put a lock on the gate with a chain and have city staff have a key. If there is an emergency
z there could be someone with bolt cutters, and cut the lock off. If there's a real major
s emergency, otherwise it needs to be coordinated with the property owners on who has access
a to whose property when.
s A letter came in today from I.uke & Perry. I~as the city attorney looked at this letter. Staff
6 responded to the negative. Originally staff was directed to put locks on the gates. If that
~ doesn't work, then posts and bollards should be installed. There are legal issues about the
s City putting its own locks on another's gates. The aim here is to prevent access, so posts and
9 bollards seem fine.. Council requested that staffbring the PVC pipe down to the corporation
~o yard and take a photo of it, since tlvs is a pipe that has been there for a long time, you'll find
ii that PVC pipe is normally dated at the time of manufacture. It will reveal the earliest time at
i2 which said pipe could have been there. Introduced by Matt Maguire, seconded by David
i3 Keller.
ia Ayes: Keller, Stompe, Torliatt, Maguire, Vice NYayor Hamilton
is Noes: Read,lViayor Hilligoss
is Absent: None
1~ Kate Bolton and Colleen Mahonev - The Council asked if letters could be sent to Kate
is ~olton and Colleen Mahoney to thank them for the services they have given to the City and
i9 welcome them back in the future if they would like to continue,
zo ItE50. 97-47 NCS
2i ABAlvI901V P~J~I,IC ~J~'IY.~'~' EASEMEIV~' - ADOBE C~EK
z2 Resolution 97-47 NCS authorizing the City Manager to abandon a portion of an e~sting
z3 public utility easement in Adobe Creek Unit 2 Phase 2 though a summary vacation procedure.
Za This public utility easement exists along the frontage of I,ots 141 and 329 of that subdivision.
zs Staff has tried to place the narrowest possible house in these two locations, and the utility
~6 easements still need to be shrunk to approximately 6 feet. It is changes to the PUD that have
z~ resulted in this situation. The utility company is in favor of the action. There was a question
zs about whether or not some compensation would be avail~ble for tlus action. Since this is for
z9 the benefit of the utility comparues, any compensation would go to them. Introduced by
3o Nancy Read and seconded by Pamela Torliatt.
3 i Ayes: Read, Keller, Stompe, Torliatt, Maguire, Vice Mayor Hamilton, Mayor Hilligoss
32 Noes: None
3s Absent: None
34
I,~ISON ~PO~tTS
35 1VIary Stompe - Interim City li~anager - vvould like to have agendized, the arrangement we
36 have with our current City Manager is to have tum stay on for two months. Those two
3~ months are quickly coming to an end. We need to agendize appointing an interim City
3s 1Vlanager until a permanent replacement is found.
39 Pamela Torliatt - Bicvcle Committee - she has been going to the Bike Committee meeting
ao and they actually have been out in the field. On Sunday they went for a ride around the
ai northeast quadrant. 'They plan to bring the Bike Plan back to the Council by the end of the
aa calendar year.
43 Matt Maguire - Lafferty Committee - Mary Stompe is taking a six month leave of absence
44 from the Lafferty Committee. The committee has taken to heart the Council's direction to
as move forward as quickly as possible. At their ne~ meeting they will be looking at a draft
46 request for qualifications for request for proposal to come back to the Council, so they are
a~ getting close to the point they will be asking the Council to approve a budget to hire EII~
as consultants.
Page 222, Vol. 30 February 18,1997
i Mayor Hilligoss - Sonoma Count,y Trans~ortation Authority - attended the SCTA for Mary
2 Stompe the other day. They have a study being done by Marin County and Sonoma County
3 together on transportation, and there is a speaker they are going to have ne~rt month to
a amplify on that study..
s CI~~SED SESSIOI~T ~
6 The Council went into closed session for Public Employment appointment - City Manager,
~ Government Code 54957.
a ADJOURN
9 At 5:00 p.m., the Council adjourned to dinner at The Hatchery..
io RECONV~NE 7;00 n.m.
i i Present: Read, Keller, Stompe*, Torliatt, Maguire, Mayor Hilligoss
i2 Absent: Vice Mayor Hamilton
is '~ arrived at 8:30 p.m.
ia PI.~DGE OF AI.LEGIANC~
is Wayne Vieler led the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag.
~6 MOMENT OF SILENCE
i? PTTBLIC COIVIME1vT
is Vince Landof, 12 Cordelia Drive -(1) Richard Rudnansky is supposed to be looking out for
~9 the best interest of City government and the peoples' welfare and also recalling that Police
~o Chief DeWitt once stated that he would not stand still for vigilante justice, he is appalled at
ai the recent revelation that the non-Christian miscreant Sonoma Mountain property owners
~~ . that opposed Lafferty access made a veiled threat that any luckless Petaluma citizen found
23 wandering on Lafferty public property may be shot by a Sonoma Mountain resident deer
za hunter, later to claim it was an accident, which can only be construed as akin to outright
2s planned murder. And all this passed right over the local authorities' heads without proper
26 crirrunal intent conduct follow up procedures being implemented against those people that
z~ you would do in any other case of similarity. He wonders aloud if there is power and money
2a mfluence you folks to look the other way. (2) He is also advocating a respectfully request
z9 that Mrs. Cheda and Mr. Seamann should be removed from the Lafferty advisory access
3o committee, as it is obvious that they never did intend to work towards public access, but
3i rather planned all along to torpedo the commission and thwart access to the public and
32 therefore were not honest with anyone much less themselves originally fulfilled the duties
33 they deceitfully agreed to perform when they applied for and were appointed to that
3a commission. These Sonoma Mountain dissenters are really mean spirited selfish creatures.
3s (3) Let's straighten out the facts regarding the construction of the new Payran Street Bridge.
36 For a long fifteen years the Linda del Mar subdivision residents as well as other affected
3~ property owners fought for a flood control project often being stonewalled by past as well as
3s some of the present old guard City Council members and City management staff with the
39 exception of City Engineer Tom Hargis and the newly elected Council members. Since 1986
ao we Payran Reach residents and most of the good citizens of this town have paid into a Zone
ai 2A flood benefit assessment district fund that paid for that bridge in spite of you.
: ~~ ~.i,V;,. .:~,. ~;~~:.,~v~t;~~~::,f_'f':4`:~'s
February 18, 1997 Vo1.30, Page 223
~ Any resident myself included take exception to that engraved memorial name plaque that you
2 had installed permanently on the bridge taking the bows and credit for its construction. I
3 notice Patty your name's right at the top. That's an affi-ont and insult to all of us who fought
a and paid for it. It should rather read, this bridge was inspired and paid by the citizens of
s Petaluma via a self-imposed t~ fund under the auspices of Sonoma county Zone 2A water
6 agency. Stop being publicity seeking hypocrites and give credit to the tax paying citizens
~ who unselfishly contributed to its needy construction for. flood control. He intends to
a circulate a petition to gather signatures fcom the taxpayer residents to remove that plaque and
9 replace it with one more truthful and I can only say that you above all Patty you ought to be
io ashamed of yourself because so many people fought. ~Iince didn't know about that plaque
i i until two days ago. The people that fought for it and paid for it should be recogruzed as the
i2 citizens' effort and the t~payers footed the bill. And the credit shouldn't be going to a select
i3 few people.
ia Douglas I~ailey, 320 Pleasant Street - in reading through the appraisal for the Lafferty Ranch
is and he is interested in a survey of the L,afferty property and he was specifically looking for
i6 any reference to a survey in that report. He found a statement that said a survey was not
i~ provided however according to research conducted by the client the property would appear
~a to have legal access from Sonoma Mountain Road. He thinks the client was City of
i9 Petaluma, John Scharer. This implies that the whole appraisal is worthless. ~Ie has
zo commurucated with a surveyor who would be willing to consider doing the survey of
Zi I,afferty Ranch. IVIr. Dailey subrrutted the information he had received from Cinquini &
2z Passarino regarding the proposed work which Mr. Dailey feels needs to be accomplished.
23 Wayne Vieler, 286L Douglas Street -(1) He said at the Iast meeting, Council members asked
za about the funds available in the various redevelopment districts. The answers given were
zs vague. i~Vithout that information, how can the City Council be expected to do your job? (2)
Zs In a I.eadership Petaluma meeting five weeks ago, he understood some top management to
a~ say that the City has no budget plan, does not have a clue how implementation of Proposition
za 218 is going to affect it. If that is the case, the business community calls this `flying by the
29 seat of your pants.' When he asked why the City doesn't have such information, he said the
~o response was a sYirug. "When he asked what the City was going to do about raising money
3i for various projects under the constraints of Proposition 218, answer the answer Mr. Vieler
32 received was, ..` I'm pretty crafty at finding money when I need it.' "~Ie called on the
33 Finance Manager, the Assistant City Manager (in charge of redevelopment), and the Planning
34 Director to immediately provide the City Council with the specific information regarding the
ss funds available in the redevelopment districts, the current projects that those monies are being
36 allocated to, and a five-year projection of projects currently on the books that are expected
37 to be funded by these monies. I3e also requested that a city-wide business plan be developed
3s that clearly shows all expenses and income, projected five years, and that this information be
s9 supplied to the City Council. (3) He is concerned with the lack of verifiable information as it
ao affects the buiiding of a new parking garage in the CH zone of Petaluma Blvd. North. Two
ai years ago he received assurances that the parking lot was in the works and could be a reality
az in two years. When he asked the Assistant City Manager (in charge of redevelopment) 5
43 weeks ago what the status is, Mr. Vieler learned there has been no progress to date, and Mr.
44 Vieler was also told that we would be lucky to build one new parking garage. ~'he City
as needs to properly budget its finances and follow through on its agreements, to honor its
a6 commitments to businesses such as lus.
a~ Vasco Brazil, 4551 Lakeville Highway - read his letter of response to the letters he has
ag received from Mr. ~-Iargis and from Mr.~ McAuliffe. He disputes the response statement to
49 him that the lack of communication with Mr. Brazil when there was wastewater irrigation
so overflow onto his proper~y at Wheat Creek last year.
Page 224, Vol. 30 February 18, 1997
~ Additionally, there was overspray of that water onto lus property over the last two years
a which Mr. Brazil had to monitor, then inform Mr. McAuliffe of EOS. Mr. Brazil still feels
3 that the people who were responsible for the overflow onto the Brazil property should admit
4 to their responsibility.
s COUNCIL COlYI1VIEN'T
s Matt Maguire - PCDC & Parking; Assessment Downtown -Wayne is right in that the '
~ Councilman did ask Planning to start dealing with the parking and parking assessment
a issue, but it was more a general direction, maybe at some point in the near future we could
9 get an update from Pamela as to just where that is. He would also like to ask David
io Spilman for a simple report on the status of our redevelopment agency. That would be
i ~ welcome to keep us in touch.
iz FPPC Investi atg ion - At the last meeting I asked for the Police Department to respond to
is us at this meeting vis a vis the FPPC investigation. There is nottung on our agenda here
~a regarding that. So he'd like to know from staff why that is, what the status of that is and
~s why it's not been brought back or why been no communication. Any response from staff
~6 at this point? (Gene Beatty - talked to the City 1Vlanager and the City Attorney both; it
~~ was the understanding that you had made a comment eat-lier regarding the Attorney's
~s response that we should stay out of this. And you'd indicated that you thought that he
~9 was referring to the Secretary of State investigation and no~ the FPPC. I will give him a
zo call in the morning.) Please do, because it was abundantly clear at that time that I was
zi referring to the FPPC, and the stated record and our knowledge is that should not
z2 interfere with the State's investigation and so staff we need to get the response back
a3 without having to nag.
Za L,etter to CountX re: South Coun~ Regional Park -~Iere's another tlung on this sort of
Zs thing, he got a letter from the Citizens for Lafferty Ranch and Regional Park dated the
26 18th, Dear Councilmember Maguire, at the September 3, 1996, Council meeting a
z~ unanimous agreement was forged among the Councilmembers that a letter would be
Za written asking the county to work to acquire a south county regional park, either at Moon
29 Ranch or another appropriate site. It is my understanding from the City Clerk's office that
3o that letter was never written. Citizens for Lafferty Ranch and a Regional_ Park ask you to
si bring this matter before the Council so the Council can reaffirm its desire to obtain a
3z regional park for this area and take the necessary action to get the county moving in this
s3 direction. ~hank you for your time and attention to this concern. Sincerely, Bruce
34 Hagen. So his question for staff is, is it true that this letter has never been written? (Gene
35 Beatty, I don't know whether it was not, I will have to check with the Manager
s6 tomorrow.) Okay, when you do, please let the Council know that. I for one am pr..etty
3~ tired of having to chase staff around to do things that this Council has directed them to do;
ss and I know we are about to have an administration shift at City Hall, maybe this has
39 slipped through the cracks because of that, but this kind of thing is basically needs to get
ao done without a lot of us, whose time is at a premium, having to waste more time to get
a~ things done.
~z Pamela Torliatt - Kate Bolton - I want to say I am very sorry to hear that Kate ~olton is
43 resigrung from the SPARC committee. She has done a fabulous job and I just wanted to
44 publicly state my appreciation and I am sure the Council's appreciation for her time
as serving on that committee.
~~Y;-n:B~y ';['¢-,~, a,LG''E+s'°3.`'Y3f~{~':.
~ ~~~.~i 3'f4 -
February 18, 1997 Vo1.30, Page 225
i Councilmember Torliatt cont'd.
2 Dates to Meet with Commissions and Committees - I also wanted to ask which I
' 3 mentioned also at the 3:00 o'clock meeting about setting up a date with the other
a committees and commissions. This is the second time I've brought it up and I'd like to
s get a list of dates that we could talk to the other committees and commissions about in
6 order to meet with them and just talk generally also with the public.
~ Rainier Project - I'd also like to see the status of the financing for the Rainier project. I'd
s like to see a staff report back to us regarding that.
9 Redevelopment Funds - I'd also like to see actually it has to do with somewhat with Mr.
io Vieler's letter on the reports regarding redevelopment funds for the City of Petaluma. At
ii the last meeting we discussed the redevelopment agency and there was a proposal that
iz was given to the City Council presented to the City Council regarding a parking structure
~3 in the downtown area. I really believe that the City should have something that is not just
ia a simple report that we can update on but I want a detailed report regarding our
is redevelopment funds, how much we have, what our income stream flow is, what our
~6 expenses are out of those account, what are we anticipating, what are our goals for t}us
i~ money, and she would like to see that as soon as possible. Her understanding is we are
~s supposed to see it at the ne~ct meeting. She would like to see a draft of that report prior to
i9 our meeting so we can make some comments so at the next meeting we can have a real
zo discussion about it.
z~ After Hours Animal Shelter - She received a memo from staff regarding the animal shelter
zz at the Police station that was brought up at our last meeting regarding the animal shelter
z3 stating that the service provider for the arumal shelter saying that they don't think it is a
Za real good idea to have a shelter at the police station and there was a comment from staflf
2s saying that the service provider for the animal shelter would be happy to come to Council
26 and let us know why they don't recommend having something at the Police station for
a~ after hours. She'd like to agendize that and have that come back to the Council.
2s ICenilworth Teens - Also she was happy to see that there were longer hours requested by
zs the teens regarding the teen center at Kenilworth. And she is sure that Jim Carr is
so working with them to e~end those hours actually at Kenilworth Junior High so the teens
si have a place to go.
3z Survey for ~,affertv - She'd also like to see what we can do about getting some bids for a
33 survey for I.afferty.
3a I~avid Keller - Kate ~olton - he would also like to thank in addition to thanking Kate
ss Bolton for the work she has done also to Colleen Mahoney for the work that she has
s6 done.
3~ F'PPC Investi at~; ion -~Ie would like to second Councilman 1Vlaguire's request staff
s~ regarding the Police Department report on what we can do with the FPPC that was in fact
39 his understanding as well and he thought indeed we were going to have that this everung.
ao ~Ie is disappointed that it is not here.
ai PCDC Data - Also throwing his hat on getting the redevelopment information to the
aa Council, strategies, financing, futures, budget, priorities. The Commission can't be asked
as to make the spare of the moment decisions on spending redevelopment money without
44 having a clue as to what we have available and how that's going to affect overall
as strategies.
"'.~ - . ;', .. . . . . 3;r: .. .
Page 226, Vol. 30 ~ February 18,1997
i Councilmember Torliatt cont'd.
~ Wastewater Bids - He would also like to, he is sorry that 1VIr. Rudnansky is not present,
3 he had asked at the last meeting that he figure out Councilmembeis were going to have
a access to the proprietary information in the wastewater treatment plant bids. His response
s was essentially give it to the Citizens Advisory Committee to request the vendors to
6 release what they wish or tell us what they are' willing to release. That is not satisfactory.
~ He would like Mr. Rudnansky to tell the Councilmembers as the elected legislators and
s people responsible for this project for voting on it, for evaluating it and for passing on the
9 charges to the public, what is it going to take for Councilmembers to have access to what
io is being declared proprietary information by the vendors in their bids?
ii If it takes us having to. sign some kind of confidentiality agreement, and other people
i2 whom we wish to have consulting to sign such an agreement, let's take a look at that, but
~s to leave us out of the loop is inexcusable and unacceptable to me and I will repeat that
ia over and over again until I have access to the information.
is Public Utilit,y Commission - And once again I must stress that until we have a functioning
~6 public utility commission in hand all of this is somewhat an exercise in futility because the
i~ public utilities commission is going to have responsibility into the future for regulating
~a what is going on and essentially right now the residents, the rate payers of Petaluma and
~9 Penngrove are being left out of the controlling seat which is where they should be.
2o Survev of Laffert~ He wanted to thank Doug Dailey for bringing up the question of the
~~ appraisal. It is the Councilman's understanding that there will be some kind of report
zz from the Lafferty Committee or some kind of request for assistance to the Council
23 sometime shortly at which point the survey for this Councilmember would fall within that
za series of actions, is that correct? There are overlapping issues. At this point the survey
zs falls in the conte~ct of a series of actions that I want to take very quickly on consulting,
z6 legal, property description and a whole range of things that he assumes will be coming to
2~ the Council very shortly. We should agendize that so we can have for consideration by
za the Council what we are going to do with the current quagmire that the Lafferty
29 Committee ~is in. ~
3o Vasco Brazil Issue - Also he would like to see staf~s response to Mr. Brazil's response to
3i his inquiry about spillage on his property. That sounds like once again this wheel is
32 turning without ends meeting without making this corne to some kind of resolution: He'd
3~ like to see some responsibility taken, some clarity made on this so in fact in the future if
sa there are events they can be taken care of without having to go through this circuitous
ss route.
s6 Nancy Read - Lafferty Survey - Madam 1Vlayor I reported out at 3:00 but I'd also ask that we
s~ have the survey for Lafferty put on an agenda so we could talk about it.
ss Mayor Hilligoss - Payran Brid~e - Vince you implied that some of us held up the flood fix. We
39 have worked very hard on rt. I have been to Waslungton and talked to people there and tYus
ao last time Col. Walsh promised me that we would sign the papers to make sure that it
a~ worked, and we did before he left. So we have been working very hard on it. Some of the
a2 Corps that has been here have been ready to retire and they didn't do much at all, even
as though we were after them all the time. That's the Number One thing that we have been
aa trying to do, and it looks like we are finally getting there.
.-i ;,s,ti ~ i~ ~..>i~r y a~ k3s ~. _:+' i
. . : {',,~::"-:E:~.'>S,' '
F'ebruary 18, 1997 Vo1.30, Page 227
1 PItOCI.t~I~'~ATION
z Mayor Hilligoss proclaimed the week of February 16 - 27 Engineer Week in California and
s presented the proclamation to engineer Arthur Graf.
a VVISTEI~IA SgT~~II~SI~l~T t~Wt~Iti2
s Housing Coordinator Bonne Gaebler reviewed the Home ownership Award presented to the
6 City Council from the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. This
~ subdivision of modular houses was originated by Councilman I~avis a number of years ago.
s Last year, 28 farrulies moved into these homes.
9 ~'ROP~' CASE IN LOBBX
io The Council suggested that a trophy case be installed in the City's lobby area.
ii VVAS'I'EVVAT'EYt ~RIGATIOIV CO1V'~I~C'I' DISCgTSSION
iz ~----GENERA-~----
i3 Staff speakers were Wanen Salmons, Tom Hargis and Michael Ban. The City is precluded
ia from disposing of the wastewater into the river during certain months. Besides the ranching
~s users, the water is piped to the golf course, to a tree project, and on 12 acres that are in City
i6 ownership. The water receives "secondary" treatment. When the City builds the new
i~ wastewater plant, it is planned that water will receive "tertiary" treatment which is more
is costly, yet the product is much cleaner. It is staf~s understanding that tertiary treatment will
i9 not remove all the salt from the water. It is staff s hope the new plant will be on line in 3 or 4
zo years. If the City does a reclamation project, then the Regional Water Quality Board a,llows
zi the City to discharge into the river during certain months. The reason that is limited is
zz because discharged wastewater that contains nutrient loading (i.e. organic materials) causes
23 algae blooms (i.e., growth) in warmer, less active water and the algae uses up the oxygen.
za That is why river discharge is prohibited in the summer months. VVe do need to reduce the
Zs cost of this program. The improvement to the irrigation system that have occurred are
z6 mostly the replacement of sprinklers so they emit smaller droplets of water to prevent
z~ erosiorr.
z~ -----iJSEIaS-----
29 Staff reported to the Council regarding some of the proposed specif cs of the wastewater
so irrigation contract renewals. Staff has met with the seven users. Five have officially declared
3i their interest in the agricultural irrigation program, and two users verbaily declared their
3z interest, but have not of~icially declared their interest. Earlier it appeared that there was some
s3 interest on the par[ of ranchers to utilize their own labor for this reclaimed water irrigation.
34 It is the feeling of the users that someone who is experienced in agricultural irrigation
ss practices and familiar with the unique features of the users' lands should be the irrigation
36 contractor. Staff will be recommending the purchase of additional above-ground irrigation
3~ equipment. It is the recommendation that these contracts be for a short term; so that when
38 the new wastewater plant is functioning and the amount of available treated water is known,
39 the user contracts can reflect that information. The users need to know what the water
ao quality will be, and what the cost will be.
ai Payment at the rate of $15 per irrigated acre has been the established price. That price will
a2 be indexed after the first year to the percentage change in the Consumer Price Index. '~he
a3 contract term vvill be three years with the option of two one-year e~ensions. This will
aa provide a possible user phasing into the new Wastewater PIan2.
Page 228, Vol. 30 February fl8,1997
i WAST~WATEit IRRIGATION cont'd.
2 Staff noted that the handling of this secondary treatment wastewater is strietly regulated by
3 the Regional Water Quality Control Board, which office is in Oaklarid. The City is unable to
a provide a system of `on-demand' water.
s Councilmember Stompe arrived at 8:30 p.m.
6 -----~~-----
~ The project was put out to bid 10 years ago. There has been no rebidding. Regarding the
a operation of the irrigation program, Redwood Agricultural Ivlanagement has been responsible
9 for this part of the program. ~ They have developed an irrigation system that balances the
io unique irrigation requirements, agricultural management practices, soil and topographical
~ ~ conditions of each of the seven ranches with the capability of receiving and distributing the
iz treated wastewater. This contract will expire March 31, 1997. The payment terms equal
i3 $295 per acre foot of reclaimed water applied for the ~first 2,000 acre feet of reclaimed water.
ia Then the payment changes to $275 per acre foot of reclaimed water applied in excess of that
is 2,000 acre feet. This will also be indexed in accordance with the Consumer Price Index after
i6 the first year. Also the City will limit the application of the treated water to a ma~mum of
i~ 2:5 acre feet per acre.
ia ~----CO~JNCII. CO1VIIi~IE1vTS----~:
i9 - Have we looked at any other alternatives to disseminating r~claimed water?
Zo - Have you received other bids from ranchers receiving water? (Response, yes.) Why
zi wasn't that included in our staffreport?
2z - Would there ever be a time when we would not to this irrigation? (Response, the City
z3 may be able to dump cleaner water into the river; the City may be able to use a marsh
za ~ area; there is another golf course going in; and urban irrigation may be looked at.)
as - We need to see the e~ibits referred to by the contract that was in the Council packet.
26 - What was last year's bill for pumping? (Response -$200,000 or $240,000 for
2~ electricity.)
2a - Is there additional stafftime? (Response - EOS does the monitoring.)
29 - What is the annual fee to EOS for monitoring? (Response -$100,000 to 120,000 for
3o monitoring and pump upkeep. EOS is responsible for all bu~ied pipe.)
3i - Please estimate what is involved in staffing, equipment, and maintenance for the system
32 upkeep.
3s - How much is an acre foot of water? (Response - 325,800 gallons)
3a - Staff was asked to include such conversions in staff reports hereafter.
3s - Who has been lead negotiator in the RAM and agricultural users group? (Response Tom
36 Hargis)
,~. f r:M~t~'a`;'~qycv;~yj~?~,35 ~?~.,~i,',
February 18, 1997 Vo1.30, Page 229
~ ~VAS~'E~VATEIt I1tRIGA~ION cont'd.
2- Why are capital investments hard to do now? (Response - there is a significant cost in
s moving pipes and it is hard to commit to capital investments on users' property for a
~ short term contract.)
s- What are your thoughts about cost savings? (Response - Electric pump installations
6 could save having to move the gasoline pumps from place to place. It may take 5 to 10
~ years to pay back the cost. Such figures would be brought to the Council.)
a- Why did staff set their reclaimed water use per ranch figure at 2.4 acre feet? (Response -
9 2.5 acre feet of water would maintain ihe pasture crops in the best kind of yield.)
~o - It looks like we are going to be forced to expand acreage. (Response - it is difficult to
ii calculate what the water needs will be. The weather has a large bearing on the needs of
iz the land. Also the staffis looking at storage ofreclaimed water.)
i3 - What are the labor costs of the irrigation? (Response - don't know the breakdown of the
ia RANI costs.)
is - Staff was asked, in the ne~ct budget to point out what portion of the costs relate to
i6 irrigation system costs.
i7 - How often are there power surges? (Response - once or twice a year)
is -~Iow rnuch pipe is involved in this? (Response - 4- 5 miles of pipe underground and 5
i9 miles of moveable pipe.)
~o - VVhat is the capital cost, to date? (Response -$4.5 to $5 1Vlillion and $1 Million in
z~ capital. The original installation was paid for by a~rant.)
zz - What is the inventory and capital item listing? (Response - that comes from the annual
as report from RAM.)
2a - Why hasn't this gone to bid? And how can we do that?
as - Where in the RAM contract, or the provider contract, does it provide for incentive
26 reducing the cost of electricity.
2~ - Would like to see an inventory of all the equipment we have.
2s - Marsh enhancement - where does it fall into the picture?
z9 - In 1996, we were told that the use at one site was over 3 acre feet per acre, or 3.31 acre
3o feet per acre.
si - Data collected from several wetland sites the evapotransporation rates within the marsh
3z system vary from 3 to 6 acre feet per acre per year. If we use marsh enhancement as our
s3 wastewater disposaY alternative for a means of diversifying our wastewater disposal
34 process, g want to do it because I believe the O&N1 cost of the wastewater disposal will
3s radically be reduced, the pumping cost will be radically reduced. If we are able to secure
36 property adjacent to the sewage pond, capital equipment costs will be reduced
~7 dramatically and if we start planning long term, the marsh enhancement property will pay
3s for itself and eventually save the rate payers money. That's why we're here. VVe're here
39 to save the rate payers money, we're here to provide a good service at the least possible
40 COSt.
ai - Asked for exhibits for the RAM contract.
az - Councilmember Keller asked about the electrical costs. Would like to know if the pump
43 stations are separately metered, or if there is just one main metea-. If we can get some sort
44 of history or records on that.
Page 230, Vol. 30
s§~~~~.~ ~~~~i~.!~ ~=j. . . "~ .-t ~~~ ~~, ! z ~~~;,~, s~ &.
~,v l~,;~+ I , .
~
February 18,1997
i WAST~WATEIt IR1tIGATION cont'd.
z - Would like to get a history of the capital improvements for the imgation program.
s - Would like to see projections of the capital improvement required for the irrigation
a system for appro~mately five years, since that is the time frame we are looking at if we
s are looked at a three year contract with two one year options.
6 - Has the City of Petaluma paid for expenditures for the irrigation programs that are
~ already provided by other vendors such as EOS?
s - Another question is, if can we produce tertiary treated water and secondary treated water
9 with the new sewer treatment facility?
~o - If so, can we save money by providing the land owners with secondary treated water and
~ ~ save on the sewer treatment cost?
i2 - Would like to see if we can make available for public review the rotation logs of the
i3 equipment and the schedules when each property has been irrigated.
~a - Want to reiterate that agriculture is definitely #1 here. Want to keep the ranchers on as
~s long as we can. Our job here is to make sure we are getting a fair deal for the rate payers
i6 and that's what I think is really important here is fairness. And so that's what I'd like to
~~ see come out of this contract for the landowners, for RAM or whoever the vendor is, if
is and when we bid this out.
i9 - Another item is I have been told RAM has done a good job and that the property owners
zo are pretty satisfied with the job that they have done. Want to commend them for that.
Zi The issue we are really looking at here is cost and so ~opefully we will be able to
2z negotiate together on that and maybe look at alternative ways of dealing with our
zs irrigation program, but I did want to reiterate thank you very much for providing that
2a service.
2s - Another thing I don't know if I made myself clear so I want to clarify it I want to know
26 what the total cost of the irrigation project is including a really concise breakdown of
2~ electrical costs, capital costs, just the whole budget at least for the last year or the last
Zs two years so we can really pick it apart.
29 - What happens if one or two irrigators invoke "hardship;" do we have a contingency plan
3o to handle that water?
s~ - Would also like to see in these negotiations to set up schedules with all the land owners
3a and RAM as to when their water can be turned on and turned off. The land owner should
33 have some control over when they should expect imgation to occur.
34 - We really need more information. The agricultural use is an excellent application for this.
3s The marsh is a component in our existing sewer treatment plant project.
'~~ '~ ;.:":`~:er_'q•,•yd)dr~~K+;'~,.`~:•'n'T.1
February 18, 1997
Vo1.30, Page 231
i WASTEWATER IRRiGATION cont'd.
2- Would like us to continue using this agricultural application. Since we are going into a
s new plant design it is impossible for the City to make a long term commitment as to
a putting it down in a contract that would go 10 or 15 years in terms of capital
s expenditures, contractual payment, and so on. The City has a long term commitment for
6 agricultural use.
~- RAM gave us a contract that has worked over the past 10 years. Would have to see a
~ new RFP or some very in depth justification of the cost to renew that contract even for a
9 short period. The investments on both sides would have to be factored in and considered.
io - What are the real costs? What can we really get for the water today?
ii - Where are we at regarding finding other users?
i2 - Like the approach that Rene Cardineaux is suggesting. If the ranchers want to work with
is us and plow the money back into the capital investments to reduce labor costs. That is
ia good and staff should follow up on that vigorously to see what the options are.
is - Would like to see a well detailed staff report when this comes back to us. Without that
i6 kind of information which has been requested by the Council,. there is no way we can
i~ " make a rational decision on this.
~a - What we are loolcing at is the tail end of a process and a project that has not been
i9 managed very well by the city. What we have is what appears to be a project where we
zo are spending over a million dollars of rate payer money to dispose of water during the
zi non-discharge periods. We have had no bids on this. We have a contract that a number
Zz of holes in it as far as information, as a rate payer that isn'Y satisfactory. Supporting
zs agriculture in Petaluma is paramount, but it is extremely important if you are going to ask
za the rate payers to foot the bill, they need to know what the trade-offs are. If we as a
zs community wish to spen~ "x" more dollars because we want to continue a program that
z6 has very clear and justifiable benefits, the rate payers then would know what the trade off
z~ xs in dollars. Sorry tlus information didn't come about last summer or last fall, or two
zs years ago. We are under the gun to get something going and this feels very
z9 uncomfortable to be in the position on February 1~ saying we have a contract that has to
3o get signed in a month and a half so we can get going for the irrigation season, because we
3i have to irrigate. I~on't like being in this position. It makes for bad negotiations, bad
3z contracts, and bad deals for rate payers. Don't want to see thaY.
s3 - What does `hardship' mean, as far as cancellability of a contract? (Response - Rene
3a Cardineaux had asked for that specifically in the event that somebody was incapacitated
3s or died simply because the market value of a ranch irrigated with wastewater is not very
36 good. You would tlunk irrigation improved the value, but it doesn't unless it was clean
s~ water. VVe have been told by realtors that we would be better off to not have that
ss contract renewed ifwe wanted to sell the property.) Staffwas asked to see that the term
39 `hardship' was defined more closely for contract purposes.
ao - Using the CPI is a problem. How does the CPI relate anything having to do with our
ai pumping costs? It doesn't. It has not}ung to do with the cost to the city. It's not an
az appropriate index. We've used it for the treatment plant; we're trying to use it again
~3 here. We need to get off of this. CPI is a Consumer Price Index. The Federal
aa government is trying to dump it at tlus moment, why are we latclung on to it?
Jp 3- efi~. r' ' ', ~.. . ~1~~ xy ~~~
Page 232, Vol. 30 February 18, 1997
i WASTEWATE12IR12IGATION cont'd.
2 - We are asking for a commitment to agriculture in context with cosbs to rate payers. This
3 is not an independent system; this is within a system of wastewater treatment and it's a
a system that is paid for by the si~cteen some odd thousand meter holders. We need to look
s at what the competition is between the cost of irrigation, the cost of marsh, the cost of
6 urban reuse or anything else as we go into design of this new plant and a new discharge
~ system. We need to be able to look at this concretely, be able to put out various
a proposals for bid, be able to compare them for the benefit to the rate payers and to the
9 community at large. If the rate payers support that, suppoxt a commitment to green belt
~o let's make that a policy statement so the future decision makers will understand why
ii that's been done.
i2 - We have no cost substantiation to identify the cost increase for distribution of this treated
i3 ef~luent.
ia - When Tom Hargis was talking about the history on this, he indicated that the City had
~s made a decision not to condemn any land for irrigation purposes. Yet, we stand right
i6 now in the position of supporting irrigation programs though likely condemnation of
i~ other ranches to support a reservoir to support irrigation. That is incompatible. Don't
~a like condemning land for the service of some other uses, especially ranch land in the
i9 serving of other ranch land. We need to unravel that conundrum.
zo - Would like to see us using more flat land. We need to tal{e a look for future irrigation
z~ where we can do that for less purnping costs.
22 - Could we also get the answer whether the Santa Rosa Regional Wastewater Treatment
z3 Program still includes the South County option. If it does, then maybe the ranchers could
2a be serviced by a different entity.
2s - What are we going to do with this water? We need to address this, answer the guestions
z6 that have been asked.
2~ - There are a couple of comments this evening about a fear of us phasing out the
zs agricultural uses of our treated wastewater; from this Councilmember that's absolutely
~9 not where I see the direction of this going. I'm one hundred percent in favor of
so preserving our agriculture and I think there have been lots of questions raised, but we can
3 i get something worked out and keep the rate payers interests in mind as well as preserving
sa our agriculture and servicing the agriculture with the treated wastewater. We have to be
33 very cautious again as another Councilmember said we are on a time line here and we
34 have a Regional Water Quality Control Board that we need to answer to. We have to
3s stay on a fast track with this within the next couple of months.
36 - Perhaps we should have this agendized at each Council meeting at least with a progress
3~ report. Here we are, it's going out to bid or whatever and then constant flow of
3s information to the Council because I think it is a really important issue. There have been
39 some good points raised this evening, but we certainly need to get this resolved before
ao the next season.
, tanga ~• k~-. z ~rY~s~~.
r'f R
February 18, 1997 Vo1.30, Page 233
1 VVE4STEWATE~t IRRIGA~'IOlv cont'd.
a -----SPEA~RS-----
3 Rene Cardineau~c, 4233 Browns Lane - wastewater users - RAM has done a wonderful job.
a We want to continue the program. They hope that RAM continues to do this. We have
s changed agricultural practices to make good use of this water. They are sad to hear there is a
6 possibility that the use of reclaimed water may be discontinued. We have talked about ways
~ the cost could be reduced. The documentation presented to the Council on this date by
s Messrs. Cardineaux, Idlendoza, Matteri, Pinheiro, and. 1VIrs. Tunzi indicated they have a
9 suggested plan to expand the land available ~vitlun existing ranches and/or reduce the
io application cost for the reclaimed water. It is their thought to utilize the money paid by the
i i City to them for using this water as the basis for capital improvements to the irrigation
i~ systems. He envisions as system where the pipes are installed on site, and to get the water,
i3 one would turn on valves. The manner in which the system is working now requires pipes
ia and pumps to be moved all the time. Float valves could be installed to keep water from
is going to neighboring ranches. The ranchers would have these things done by using the
i6 money paid to them by the city.
i~ Ralph Bettinelli, 4695 Adobe Road (a partner in RAIVn - it has been a good project and he
is urged the city to continue on with it.
is Dan Silacci (a partner in RAM) - this irrigation system works 24 hours a day from May 1 to
Zo October 20. RAM has to balance the water needs with the requests of the land owners.
~i They have to plan 5 days ahead of time to know where the cows are gong to be. There are
Zz fields that don't require the application of the other fields. VVe have high risk fields that have
zs to be watched constantly. There are 17 pumps that may have broken pressure reducing
2a valves. The sprinklers throw the water 3 5 feet. On windy days the water goes only on one
zs side of the pipe. He said it is possible to make water available to more than one ranch at one
z6 time if there is sufficient water available. The labor costs, including management, overhead,
2~ insurance and office expenses, are 60% to 70% of the total cost. He would look forward to
Zs saving time with the capital expenditures that were referred to earlier. If he knew what the
29 capital expenditure items would be, he could give the Council a good idea what the labor
3o savings would be. It saddens him to hear the end of the wastewater irrigation may be near,
3~ because it has been a benefit to the City as well as to the ranchers.
32 Nlrs. Susan Tunzi, 4497 Adobe Road - she is shocked and dismayed to hear this may cease.
33 Please keep us on line with tlus water. We really appreciate it.
34 Vasco Brazil, 4551 Lakeville Highway - contrary to a comment he had heard earlier in the
3s meeting, he said tertiary treatment "doesn't come without salt." If you can reduce the cost of
36 the water distribution, you can use that savings in capital outlay. I~e hears the City needs a
s~ water master to program this all out. You can irrigate only 15% of the land in one day. If
ss you go to tertiary quality treatment, you have to think of what amount of water, above what
s9 is available at present, that would be available. Novato purchased some flat land which they
ao irrigate with treated wastewater. They rent the land out for cattle raising.
ai In Petaluma, you irrigate hills. There should be a more accurate measure of the water usage.
a2 Now there is no actual measurement of how much land is imgated. There have been
as between 85 and 185 violations. The plans are not discussed adequately among staff, ranchers
44 and the public.
as Jim Mendoza, 601 Stage Gulch Road - he was born and raised in Pt. Reyes and moved here
46 to take advantage of this water. We will be disappointed if we will not be able to use the
a~ water for irrigation in the future. The water saves him feed costs. He would like to see this
as worked out.
fs"~i',~'X~~ ~ i~.`;,~ :.~•. •~.r-~eev~e~ , r ;l ~4~ i Ey~~t'~'' ~ . .
+ f,>;.
Page 234, Vol. 30 February 18, 1997
~ Victor Chechanover, 2301 Marylyn Circle - speaking for the rate payers - we should be
z responsible for our own property. The original contract was for 10 years. The increase of
3 47'/2% over the ten years is more than the rate of inflation. Now we are starting a new
a contract to start at $15/acre and the magic annual CPI price increase. He is in favor of
s continuing irrigation of agricultural land. But, don't irrigate with tertiary treatment ata
6 $15/acre. It is important to do this, but they should be doing some of the work themselves.
~ The plan for individual ranchers to provide labor is good. It is more difficult to apply water
s to sloping land than to flat land. Maybe some consideration should be given on the basis of
v difficulty. Is RAM the only group that knows how to put the water on the land? The Budget
~o Committee recommended the contract for disposal of wastewater should go out to bid. Why
ii wasn't it put out to bid? No where does it~say that the rate we are paying will go down. We
~2 ought to have something in the contract that says the rate is going to go down. What happens
is if one or two imgators invoke "hardship;" do we have a contingency plan to handle that
~a water?
is CONCL~JSIOI~
i6 We probably have with what's been raised here and by staff that is probably two or three
i~ months of work to do to iron out some of the answers to questions. We don't have that time
~a luxury. Take some of these points raised about the costs, about some changes in this current
~9 proposal, have staff clean some of that up in response to some of the comments that were
zo heard this evening, and put this out for bid. We should hear form Mr. Rudnansky an opinion
2i in writing about the necessity for going out to bid or not and be able to turn this around as
zz quickly as possible. Given the questions about this program, given the need to mesh this with
zs future proposals for the treatment plant and for treatment option for disposal options, would
Za like to see a shorter term for this contract so we have a chance during this year, and not next
zs February or Mareh, but July or August to revisit this for a longer term perspective on what
26 we want to do for a contract and have a chance to go through it and come~back with a longer
a~ term contract that could fold into new discharges from the treatment plant. If this is going to
2a bid, we need a full bid process and it can't be done in a few months. We can because the
~9 original contract was bid we could certainly e~ctend it for a month or six months. Would like
so to see staff get to work on the issues we have raised, with all due speed. If it gets too close
si to the time when we start needing to irrigate, we look at a 3 month extension under the
3z e~sting terms. It will be just as easy for RAIVI and ourselves to go for a short period if
33 necessary under the existing terms or the terms proposed here in the staff report, $295 an
3a acre, until we can get a fully crafted RFP oa~ get the answers back from staff and the
3s information we need back RANI as to the justification for costs, and make the decision with a
36 full body of information. Have staff give response to the input that we have given so that this
s~ can come back as soon as possible for us to decide whether or not we want to extend RAM's
3a contract with modifications, or put this out to a bid. ~ If this goes out to a bid, develop the bid
39 process. In the interim, while we are waiting for this process to occur, we just continue on
ao on a temporary basis for `x' number of months.
ai Rene Cardineaux suggested this be done by season. Stai~ is to come back in a month's time
az with information with a much tighter body of information worlcing with RAM to get costs
a3 and so on, capitalization, looking at that whole ratio, talk with the water users to see if that's
aa a viable option and decide it when it comes back in a month's time.
as Matt Maguire - Move we continue it to a month's time hence (second meeting in March).
a6 T'here was a`nodding yes' of Councilmember heads.
. «;r ..:~',
February 18, 1997
i
Vo1.30, Page 235
1t~S0. 97-48 NCS
2 RAINIER CItOSS-T'OWN CONNECTOR & ~riiB'EItCHANG~
s The Council was asked to confirm that three particular interchange configurations, which
a were described at final EIR project layout (E~chibit A), final EIR project layout with a
s diagonal northbound on-ramp (Exhibit B), and a mirror image (reverse) of the final EIR
s project layout (E~ibit C). Development on the properties should be included in any
~ discussion of Level of Service. Next time such a map comes to the Council, please show
a more of the area so the end points of the on and off ramps are visible. There was concern on
v the part of one Councilmember that there would be impacts on the river and on any wetlands
io nearby. This needs to be clarified. The Council asked for a preliminary assessment of the
ii wetlands. They asked where is the assessment district. Council representative to the
iz Sonorna County Transportation Authority noted there may be some grant money available
i3 for the overpass project. Engineer Michael Evert described the various interchange
ia configurations which have been eliminated as being inappropriate. Council asked what is the
is cost of developing the next phase of engineering for the three configurations. For technical
i6 studies, and the preliminary design report, the costs will be $274 and $120 respectively. To
~~ date $180,000 has been spent. There was an unanswered question of the Council, how may
is designs need to be submitted to CALTRANS for approval?
i9 Matt Connolly, 220 Petaluma Blvd. North (Chelsea GCA Realty - Petaluma Factory Outlets)
Zo - spoke in support of the project and asked the Council to accept staf~'s recommendation.
2i Bob Greene, 311 Olympic Court - asked how we will pay for the project
zz Linda Scott, 42 Arlington Drive - expressed her concern for any additional noise that could
23 be generated by the various interchange configurations (Response - no added noise, and a
2a sound wall will be constructed.)
2s There was a brief discussion of improvements to the northbound off ramp from East
26 Washington Street and the level of service at that intersection. Staff noted that the
2~ mitigations in the Rainier EIR did not recommend the more direct northbound ramp to the
zs freeway at East Washington. Staff was asked to bring back information on improvmg that
29 intersection.
3o After some more discussion it was moved by Pamela Torliatt and seconded by Nancy Read to
s~ approve the resolution that was before the Council.
32 Ayes: Read, Stompe, Torliatt, Vice Mayor Hamilton, Mayor Hilligoss
33 Noes: Keller, Maguire
3a Absent: None
35 ~~~~s~BO~~~o~ ~~~~'~~s.S
36 The Council continued the discussion of Neighborhood Meetings until a subsequent Council
s~ meeting.
ss ~ A~DJOgT12N
39 At 11:15 p.m. the meeting was adjourned ,
t
40 _/ ~ ' i
1
41 r ' G / ~ ~~~ / V '
a2 N1. Patncia Hilligoss, Mayor /
43 ATTEST:
44 .
45
a6 Patricia E. Bernard, City Clerlc