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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSPJT Minutes 2008-06-04(Spec.) SPJTCC/RA MINUTES 06/04/08 Page 1 IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBER OF THE CITY OF SAN RAFAEL, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 4, 2008 AT 6:00 PM Special Joint Meeting Present: Albert J. Boro, Mayor/Chairman San Rafael City Council / Redevelopment Agency Cyr N. Miller, Vice-Mayor/Vice-Chair Greg Brockbank, Councilmember/Member Damon Connolly, Councilmember/Member Barbara Heller, Councilmember/Member Absent: None Also Present: Ken Nordhoff, City Manager/Executive Director Robert Epstein, City Attorney/Agency Attorney Esther Beirne, City Clerk/Agency Secretary REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY / CITY COUNCIL JOINT MEETING 6:13 PM FILE (SRCC) 8-5 x (SRRA) R-103 ITEM RECOMMENDED ACTION Mayor Boro thanked City Manager Ken Nordhoff and Finance Director Cindy Mosser, together with all the department directors and staff for working very diligently these past several months on budgets. He also acknowledged and thanked everyone for the amazing and great work put into their goals and accomplishments. Mr. Nordhoff reviewed the agenda for this evening: ❑ Review of the Redevelopment Agency budget; ❑ Report on the City's financial condition for both the current and following year; ❑ Department Directors' summaries of major accomplishments and plans for next year; ❑ Joint presentation on Capital Improvement Plan and Public Works Department's goals; ❑ Direction from Council on information presented and next steps. 1) Budget a) Redevelopment Aqencv Budqet: Ms. Mosser reported that a two-year budget was adopted for the Redevelopment Agency for 2007-2008 and 2008-2009; however, at the meeting to be held on June 16, 2008, an additional $50,000 would be included in the Redevelopment Agency budget for facility maintenance for the RDA (Blue) House, using existing funds. For 2008- 2009, the expenditure budget would be $5.6 million. Revenues would remain the same at $4.7 million, with no changes for 2007-2008. b) Status of Fiscal Year 2007-2008 Citv Budqet: Mr. Nordhoff explained that for a long time there had been discussion about the dysfunctionality between the state and local level, how the state collects and distributes money and how money was returned back to cities, counties, special districts or schools. He indicated that the League provides support, i.e., working through issues such as Proposition 1A and last evening, around Proposition 99. Referring Council to the second to last handout in the packet, Mr. Nordhoff explained that the slide illustrated what had happened over the last 35 years in terms of financial structure at the state level. There were a number of mandates, tax shiftings and actions at the legislative or initiative levels that supported the maze of difficulty in public financing today. Recalling what had happened over the last 15 years, Mr. Nordhoff explained that in looking at the State General Fund and comparing how local government, counties, cities, special districts and the schools were funded, in the early 90's, Educational Revenue Augmentation Funds (ERAF) came from local government and went to schools, and the funds that were being received from the schools went back to the state. Subsequent to that there were subventions such as Proposition 172, which came back to local government, together with a vehicle license fee (Spec.) SPJTCC/RA MINUTES 06/04/08 Page 1 (Spec.) SPJTCC/RA MINUTES 06/04/08 Page 2 reduction a few years ago which took $5.1 billion from local government With regard to other constraints limiting what could be done in General Plan 2020, Mr. Nordhoff noted: • City was mostly built out • Little vacant land • Very limited commercial development opportunities • Items that pay the greatest return of revenue were sales tax based • Certain development types such as housing, that did not pay for the full cost of services. Referring to a chart entitled Non-residential Development, Mr. Nordhoff stated this looked at commercial, industrial and office development through the life of the General Plan. He noted quite a bit in the early 90's, downtown activity, etc., and currently, the completion of the Corporate Center, etc. Looking at the final ten years on the slide he noted there would not be a lot of new development that would produce a lot of new base taxes for the City. In the order of magnitude, San Rafael was not alone in these challenges: • San Francisco was facing a huge problem • Tracy had a $10 million deficit • San Jose had a structural deficit of $137 million • City of Sacramento a $58 million deficit • Bankruptcy in Vallejo. In terms of what could and could not be controlled and how it affected finances, Mr. Nordhoff reported that the City still held, to a large extent, Land Use Authority. The City Council had full discretion about service levels and staffing based on resources and priorities in place, and costs were being recovered, where possible, for things not tax -related - taxes take a vote, whereas everything else could be recovered through user fees. The City controls labor agreements, defining wage and benefit levels, and working conditions. The City does not set tax rates, the distribution of which belongs at the state level. The City does not, to a large extent control economic cycles, and some big lawsuits being worked on for several years take time and resources. Aside from Proposition 1A, the City has not had a lot of success at the local level. Things that happen personally also affect city business, such as fuel and electricity. Worker's Compensation, retirement, and healthcare are much larger industries that dictate or control what actually happens in terms of costs. Regarding what was happening at the state level, Mr. Nordhoff explained that approximately $100,000 a year was being received from COPS (Citizens' Option for Public Safety) funding — staff was unsure whether this would continue this fiscal year. Booking fees were up for consideration and elimination. Regarding subventions, Proposition 172 was voted in by taxpayers after the ERAF shifts and there was consideration currently to put it back up at the state level to help fund jail and other county services. The remainder of vehicle license fees was also up for grabs. Regarding the Redevelopment Agency - always a subject in Sacramento - it appeared as though there was a way of wanting to shift money around. With regard to the likelihood of borrowing from Proposition 1A - highway user taxes, and Proposition 42 moneys — which had been done in the past, the Governor at this point had not suggested that Proposition 1A be triggered. Mayor Boro invited Mr. Nordhoff to explain the issue with Proposition 1A should that happen. Mr. Nordhoff explained that 1A was structured where the state could borrow money if certain findings were made and certain financial conditions were declared at the state level. Money could be borrowed twice in a ten-year period, to be repaid each time it was borrowed over a three-year period subsequently with interest. It was estimated that if this was done at the city level and took advantage of the full borrowing, it would be worth approximately $800,000 of property tax. Regarding local impacts of state level numbers, Mr. Nordhoff explained that the budget figures before Council this evening would not show any losses at the state because it was anticipated that those deliberations would be going on through August/September; therefore, should something occur staff might need to return to the City Council subsequent to budget adoption. (Spec.) SPJTCC/RA MINUTES 06/04/08 Page 2 (Spec.) SPJTCC/RA MINUTES 06/04/08 Page 3 With regard to potential losses, Mr. Nordhoff noted: • COPS Grant Funding - $111.6K — police overtime; • Booking fees - $95.6K — Police Department budget; • Proposition 172 - $365.2K - goes into the General Fund and directed towards public safety services; and • VLF - $254,000 - the balance of Vehicle License Fees. Aggregated — a little more than $800,000. Mr. Nordhoff explained that the proposed budget (2008-2009) maintains essential services, honors existing agreements and contracts - whether Joint Powers Authorities (JPAs), labor unions, or Department of Justice (DOJ) settlements on Americans with Disabilities (ADA). The budget was balanced in all funds with the exception of the General Fund. He indicated staff wished to ensure the adequacy of several sinking funds on insurance, equipment and vehicle replacement, etc. Outlining what the budget does not do, Mr. Nordhoff explained that there would not be adequate funding on a number of items, ranging from facility improvements to implementation items around design guidelines and neighborhood plans, etc., noting some programs in General Plan 2020 had not been implemented due to lack of funds. Mr. Nordhoff indicated there were limited funds for vegetation management efforts and he noted there were a number of needs around infrastructure. Regarding retiree health and the ARC (Annual Required Contribution), Mr. Nordhoff reported this to be approximately $4 million; however, he, Jim Schutz, Assistant City Manager and Leslie Loomis, Human Resources Director were working on strategies to address this issue. With regard to challenges to be faced, Mr. Nordhoff noted that looking back three or four years, the City had a $6.8 million deficit and of the many actions taken, most had not been put back into place, particularly positions, and the inability to rebuild reserves to a 10% level. An Employee Budget Work Group worked on a number of ideas that were implemented. Mr. Nordhoff stated that this all lead to Measure 'S' which was approved and resulted in a balanced budget. Aside from Measure `S' maintaining basic services, people wondered what else in City finances affected the General Fund. The City spent over a million dollars on storm damage that occurred at the end of 2005, some of which was recovered. Several years' worth of court fines had to be repaid because of incorrect calculations by the court system. The County tripled the cost of tax administration; however, believing this to be inappropriate, staff was working to see if it could be rolled back. Mr. Nordhoff indicated that The County Retirement System made an investment rate assumption last year reducing the investment return from 8.25% to 8%; however, investment earnings in a defined benefits system inherently were the major source of revenue, so to the extent the bar had been lowered, the costs came back on the City; therefore, the City had taken on another $750,000.00 obligation in perpetuity that was not anticipated in contemplating Measure `S'. He noted that items added back with Measure `S' funds included positions, materials in the library budget and the creation of an Emergency Services position. Ms. Mosser explained some of the revenues and expenditure trends going forward: Revenue trends — FY 2007-08 Revised budget of $88.8 million; FY 2008-09 Proposed budget of $82.6 million FY 2008-2009 proposed budget - $82.6 million: Taxes 61 % for the entire City o Sales Tax 36% o Property Tax 26% o Measure 'S' (Transactions and Use Tax) 14% General Fund Revenues - FY 2007-2008 (without transfers) $59.2 million. Expected growth would be $2.47 million for 2008-2009 if rising with the Customer Price Index (CPI) - declining 579,000 - $2.95 million swing. 81 % of 2008-2009 revenues derived from taxes. (Spec.) SPJTCC/RA MINUTES 06/04/08 Page 3 (Spec.) SPJTCC/RA MINUTES 06/04/08 Page 4 Total General Fund Revenues — FY 2008-09 - $60.4 million, including transfers -in from other funds, e.g., administrative fees • Sales Tax 30% ■ Property Tax 22% ■ Measure 'S' 12%. General Fund Taxes — FY 2008-09 - $47.3 million — declining. Maior Tax Trends ■ FY 2007-08 — Total Sales Tax $19.0 million (Sales Tax and Backfill) ■ FY 2008-09 - Total Sales Tax $18.6 million (Sales Tax and Backfill) ■ Projected 2.2% decline in Sales Tax for FY 2008-09 o Declining auto sales o Declining construction industry ■ Additional decrease for Mall renovations ■ Projecting a 4% increase in Triple Flip Backfill Explaining Triple Flip, Mr. Nordhoff stated this was the precursor to Proposition 1A where several years ago the tax shift involved two parts. The State was broke so it borrowed $15 billion and the only way it could procure a pledge to pay for its borrowings was to take one-quarter of the 1 % cities receive in sales tax. For instance, in San Rafael the sales tax is 8.25% - 1 % is directed to the local level, a quarter percent of which was borrowed by the state. The triple flip was part of repaying that and it was done on a property tax basis. As referred to by Ms. Mosser the backfill was growing because property taxes were steady even though gross sales related to the economy were declining. The other part of the triple flip was reducing the vehicle license fees and similarly, backfilling that with a separate property tax allocation. This was temporary until such time as the bonds were paid off at the state level. Councilmember Brockbank recalled a couple of months ago there being a discussion in Sacramento on the topic of triple flip and backfills; Mr. Nordhoff clarified that this discussion related to extending it. Maior Tax Trends — Property Tax Ms. Mosser reported that excess ERAF was considered for how property tax revenues were reported. For 2007-2008, the expected figure was $13.83 million with an adjustment of approximately $200,000 due to property tax increases. For 2008-2009 the estimate was a $13.54 million. Councilmember Heller noted Sacramento passed legislation this past year with regard to excess ERAF. Mr. Nordhoff explained this was SB418, which was legislation specific to Marin and San Mateo counties. Several years of unpaid money was accumulated which showed up this year, which would taper off, but should continue in perpetuity. He noted a sharing of that money between the County, cities and the state. Ms. Mosser reported that the State gave the City $933,000, part of which was interest, from 2001 and going forward. She noted the property tax graph also included a supplemental and unitary tax but not property transfer tax. Maior Tax Trends — Transactions and Use Tax Indicating that Transactions and Use Tax does not flow the same as Sales Tax, Ms. Mosser explained part of this was because of leakage in general consumer goods, noting that residents making purchases outside of San Rafael would still generate tax for the City. A modest growth of 2.5% for 2008-09 was projected. Defining Transactions and Use Tax, Ms. Mosser stated this was for items consumed and used in San Rafael by residents. (Spec.) SPJTCC/RA MINUTES 06/04/08 Page 4 (Spec.) SPJTCC/RA MINUTES 06/04/08 Page 5 Mr. Nordhoff explained that Sales Tax is a point-of-sale revenue that has no bearing on one's residence. It is a statewide tax imposed on a uniform set of commodities, whereas Transactions and Use Tax is based on consumption and transactions, noting a half cent Transactions and Use tax compared to a 1 % Sales Tax was not a 2:1 ratio. It was noted that one of the City's major retailers with $140,000 of sales in 2007 meant Sales Tax to the City, not Transactions and Use Taxes, because some of the sales were to people living outside the City. Large ticket items, such as a car, appliances, etc., are considered to be consumed where delivered; therefore, delivery of a purchase made in San Rafael to a residence in Novato would not engender San Rafael's Transactions and Use Tax, just Sales Tax. Maior Tax Trends — Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) or Hotel Tax ■ FY 2007-2008 — Revised Budget of $1.76 million ■ FY 2008-2009 — Projected Budget of $1.81 million Expected growth of 1-3%. 2.5% increase for next year, benefiting from the new extended stay hotel and active marketing from the Visitor's Bureau. Maior Tax Trends — Property Transfer Tax • Declining; depends on economic downturn in regard to property sales • Estimated decrease from last six months receipts; bad for at least another year - year and a half Appropriations ❑ 2007-2008 - Revised budget of $91.3 million ❑ 2008-2009 - Proposed budget of $83.4 million ❑ 2007-2008 — Changes include purchase of ambulance and fire engine, previously approved by the City Council Reduction of projects funded by Gas Tax - funds less than projected ❑ 2008-2009 - Appropriations of $83.4 million Assumptions used - personnel costs adjusted by bargaining groups' MOUs Expected new lower pension rates, saving $300,000 Staffing levels the same as 2007-2008 Budget Balancers — ■ Non -personnel costs (supplies/services) remain at FY2007-2008 level for all departments. Specific Agreements or contract costs were included as required: ■ Animal Control Costs ■ CSA #. 19 lease agreement ■ County administrative fees ■ Internal services, and sinking fund Allocations of staff time budgeted in programs based on involvement Fiscal Year 2008-2009 - Appropriations by Category — All Funds $83,444,762 ■ Salaries — 48% overall ■ Benefits — 25% ■ Supplies and Services — 23% ■ Capital Projects — 3% Fiscal Year 2008-2009 — Appropriations by Function — All Funds $83,444,762 (Spec.) SPJTCC/RA MINUTES 06/04/08 Page 5 (Spec.) SPJTCC/RA MINUTES 06/04/08 Page 6 ■ Police Department — 23% ■ Fire Department — 22% ■ Public Works — 17% Ms. Mosser reported that all other funds were balanced ■ Paramedic Tax rates would require separate Council action o Built in tax rate of $77 per unit for residential and $0.096 per square -foot for non-residential ■ Created a sinking fund for the mail and print shop to help analyze costs ■ No new General Fund support to other funds ■ Insurance reserves tied to 3`d party estimates General Fund Hiphliphts - Fiscal Year 2008-2009 $50,000 for polling costs - bi-annual citizen satisfaction and critical facilities No election costs assumed No additional vegetation management funds General Fund Appropriation by Function — Fiscal Year 2008-2009 - $61.6 million (including transfers out) ■ Public safety 62.6% ■ By category - Salaries 47%; Fringe Benefits 28% Mayor Boro requested clarification with regard to "no new money for vegetation management." Mr. Nordhoff reported that the half million dollars the Council allocated last year to split between facilities, reserves, and vegetation management was not available this year. Beyond the base of $50,000 there were no funds for vegetation management. Staff would investigate ways to do this more creatively, i.e., evaluating whether outside funds were available; however, it could take the three-year cycle a little longer to get through in terms of accomplishments. In looking ahead to the end of the next fiscal year - June 30, 2009, Mr. Nordhoff indicated a deficit was being projected, largely tied into a swing in revenues, which should have risen by approximately $2.5 million; however, were reducing by approximately $500,000. Mr. Nordhoff stated that over the last few months, staff had been creative and resourceful working through the difficult exercise of reviewing 5% budget options. Staff had provided a series of items, e.g., freezing some supplies and services, and he had built in some other recommendations to the numbers discussed by Ms. Mosser. The last attachment in this evening's packet had more specific details concerning these items: ■ Freeze six currently vacant positions ■ Reduce Police Department overtime by restructuring training ■ Library has some outside moneys from transaction based reimbursements, i.e., state moneys that had accumulated over a period of time, which were used to pay for materials etc. — David Dodd recommended using some of these funds ■ Minor reduction in contracted legal services in the City Attorney's office. Aggregated - $920,000 — reducing the deficit to $1.2 million at this time Stressing the need for a balanced budget, Mr. Nordhoff stated the choices were getting much more difficult: • Staff was working on ways where it could be possible to reduce personnel or staffing costs, largely because this was the biggest driver in the budget • Other means of raising non -tax revenue • Review of fleet to ascertain whether there were opportunities for deferral, etc. • Use of Reserves - currently $3.2 million, and with a goal of 10%, this was in the 5% — 5.5% target, which had not changed much in a couple of years. He noted 5% was pretty low, particularly should something substantial happen. • Seek ideas from staff, community, City Council, etc. (Spec.) SPJTCC/RA MINUTES 06/04/08 Page 6 (Spec.) SPJTCC/RA MINUTES 06/04/08 Page 7 Next Steps — Mr. Nordhoff discussed: • He and Cindy Mosser would make a presentation of this information to employees, providing them with a clear sense of the situation • City Council meeting - June 16th, 2008 — As mentioned by Ms. Mosser, staff had been working on some longer term financial modeling. Decisions needed to be considered to balance the budget while understanding the associated ramifications • Recommend adoption of budget on July 7, 2008 • Update "Budget in Brief" and publish in July Mr. Nordhoff stated that staff would be pleased to know whether what was proposed so far was satisfactory to the City Council, including the recommendation not to fill positions. In discussing goals later this evening, should there be items not answered or requiring further information, staff would be pleased to respond. Should Council feel the necessity, an additional meeting could be scheduled to discuss the City's finances. Mayor Boro clarified that staff was looking to see whether there was consensus on the $920,000 in cuts. Responding affirmatively, Mr. Nordhoff commented that by not filling positions work did not get done and some things would slow down. Information Technology and Public Works had some sense of what that meant and although core and essential services had not been impacted, staff was stretched pretty thinly in certain areas. Councilmember Brockbank inquired whether it was to be assumed that freezing of positions was considered temporary. Mr. Nordhoff stated he anticipated freezing them for the year, reevaluating the situation towards the middle of next year. Assuming Department Directors had been consulted in these cases, Councilmember Brockbank believed the result would be that although not much overtime was anticipated to compensate for these frozen positions, everyone else would temporarily be working a little harder. Concurring, Mr. Nordhoff stated it was an accumulation of having already done some of these things. Public Works, over a series of a couple of years when the City went through some budget reductions, lost eight positions, three in parks and three in streets. Measure `S' added one position back for each of those two areas; however, they were now being taken back. People were already stretched thinly; therefore, he did not believe there was a lot of capacity. He was not suggesting people did not work hard, rather he believed staff tried to provide the community with as much service as possible; however, there was a limit to what the City was capable of doing. Mayor Boro stated that some thought should be given to providing ideas on the $1.2 million deficit and perhaps choices on adding items back in, i.e., vegetation management, and he would like Council to give consideration to these going forward.. Mr. Nordhoff stated this would be discussed under item #3 on this evening's agenda. He indicated that hearing departmental reports might help clarify and Council could ask questions around specific services, functions, programs, etc. 2) Mid -Period Report on 2007-2009 Two -Year Goals and Obiectives: Mr. Nordhoff stated that a copy of the `Five-year Areas of Emphasis' adopted in April 2007 was included in Council packets this evening should Council wish to revisit that as part of this process, or in the future. He explained that as each department director provided more specific detail about their goals, staff would point out where those pages were in the packet. Community Services — Carlene McCart, Community Services Director, reported that Community Services looks at the provision of recreation (Spec.) SPJTCC/RA MINUTES 06/04/08 Page 7 (Spec.) SPJTCC/RA MINUTES 06/04/08 Page 8 programs, enrichment classes, senior services, child care, and cultural arts programs, and keeping the community centers and pool open. These activities keep the community cohesive and healthy; however, staff was aware that Community Services came last in budgetary considerations. Since Proposition 13 the department had been very conscious about minimizing the impact on the General Fund. This year the budget was $6.4 million to support the Community Services Department, $1.4 million of which was taken from the General Fund, with the balance coming from fees and charges. Because Community Services charges for services and products, they needed to offer what people wanted; therefore, they were in constant competition with fitness clubs, YMCAs, Steve and Kate's Camp, and all the other choices people had to spend their leisure dollar. Despite that fact, Community Services was successful because the management team hustles every day to market services rather than being a sole provider for citizens. Ms. McCart recognized her staff's efforts in this year's success and responded to the goals set by the City Council • Staff had participated as a management team with other efforts that had been instigated through Community Development and Public Works - janitorial supply inventory, pest management programs, and integrated pest management practices. • Stepped up recycling program, especially in child care centers, were not only helping operationally but it was being taught to the children. It was part of the curriculum that this was good citizenship and was what it took for a community to sustain itself. ■ Ms. McCart believed that those tightening up of efforts in small ways were contributing to the sustainable environmental practices. ■ Community Services was also supporting Public Works in the formation of the Tree Advisory Committee and its administration going forward. ■ School partnerships with 9 child care centers, seven of which were on school district campuses. Five campuses were participating in onsite enrichment programs. Through those efforts staff was dealing with the school population and administrators, and doing so very successfully. ■ Staff was also sitting at the table for the first time with business managers and those doing facility coordination for community use, which had been very helpful. ■ Culture Strategies had been challenging but some progress was made. ■ The Strategic Plan was being broken down into small segments because no funds were available for this initiative this year. Staff was trying to reorganize how to attack this so that a lot of work could be done in- house and they were seeking help through the volunteer center to obtain assistance with consultants that could help guide the process without incurring large costs. ■ Involvement with the Strategic Plan had to engage the community - the end user and customer base; therefore, the expense was in conducting the community portion of the strategic plan outreach. ■ The Culture Arts Vision was poised and ready to go. Programs were expanding at Davidson Middle School at the request of the school district and a three-year grant had just been received from the Commission on Aging to support senior programs. ■ Picking up master plans in the park system, which was a goal lifted from the General Plan, starting with Victor Jones Park in Glenwood, where the homeowners association was very enthusiastic about participating in the process and partnering in starting some of the improvements to the park. ■ Completion of Pickleweed Park, Community Center and Library enterprise and working on the next steps. ■ Seeking funding for facility needs through a sinking fund. ■ Enhanced theater and enlarged athletic offerings. (Spec.) SPJTCC/RA MINUTES 06/04/08 Page 8 (Spec.) SPJTCC/RA MINUTES 06/04/08 Page 9 ■ Enhanced and refreshed all marketing materials. ■ Provided successful partnerships for cultural artists performances at Falkirk. • Signed an agreement with the Master Gardeners to manage greenhouse operations, as well as do planting installations. ■ Attracted more visitors to Falkirk with some signature events, i.e., Glass Pumpkin and Wine Tasting. ■ Expanded after-school enrichment classes. ■ Promoting childcare so that the value and benefit of childcare is evident to the wider community. Councilmember Miller invited Ms. McCart to expand on ways of paying for the different centers. He noted the fee based services and partnerships were very successful at Pickleweed. Concurring, Ms. McCart commented that by Council action, fees charged for use and rental of the Pickleweed Community Center were half of those charged at the Terra Linda Recreation Center and San Rafael Community Center, with the idea that attracting more volume use would make up the balance lost through the direct cost, and it had worked. Through Council direction, a policy had been adopted that allowed the City to offer free space for community serving programs. When the center was opened, the Pickleweed Advisory Board adjusted how those programs would be accepted and scheduled. Someone wishing to hold such a program at Pickleweed completed an application and spoke with Board. The applicant committed to giving an end -of -year evaluation so that staff could understand how well it was attended and received. She indicated that currently 23 partnerships had been approved and were being monitored. Ms. McCart indicated that this brings successful programs into the community to people at low cost, with no cost to the City other than providing the space. Councilmember Brockbank noted that the Community Services' budget was $6.4 million, of which $1.4 million came from the General Fund, the remainder raised from fees. He imagined staff was constantly considering ideas to raise as much money as possible, keeping the General Fund use to a minimum, and inquired: ■ Whether there was a trend line of using a lower or higher percentage of the General Fund; ■ Whether staff met with other people in comparable positions around Marin or the State to figure out what they were doing; and ■ Whether they roughly had a 75:25 ratio of fees charged versus General Funds used. Ms. McCart stated that what the various communities expected of their recreation and cultural services was all over the board. - some expected a 60% return, and others higher, i.e., Mill Valley expects a higher return from the fees charged for their community center. If broken down, programs such as child care covered its cost; the cost of opening the buildings day after day accounted for the $1.4 million, and it was not possible to recoup that money and remain marketable. Councilmember Heller stated that when the San Pablo property becomes available, the City would receive $100,000 in fees for parks, and she inquired whether this money was earmarked or whether it could be put towards finishing off the upper playground at Freitas Park. Indicating that it was not currently earmarked, Ms. McCart stated that it would go into a reserve account to serve that general area. In the summer there will be a report asking Council's permission to begin a process to determine public priority for use of those moneys accumulated through those development funds. Several years ago, the funds went to almost zero on completion of the pool and other large projects; however, some State Park Bond Act money remained. Although the priority list had not been refreshed for a number of years, it would include some deferred maintenance items as well as some unfinished projects like Freitas Park, and perhaps new ideas. Mayor Boro thanked Ms. McCart for all the work that she and her staff do. Although he could not speak specifically to each program in her department, he acknowledged that there were many and that they were great. He wanted to inform the Council that he and Mr. Nordhoff had informal discussions with the Community Foundation and were working on finalizing a plan to receive some money to bring someone to assist in working on the enterprise plan at Pickleweed to raise more money for that Center. Having been around Parks and Recreation at the County and San Rafael for many years - the Library fell into the same category - Mayor Boro noted Ms. McCart indicated these were (Spec.) SPJTCC/RA MINUTES 06/04/08 Page 9 (Spec.) SPJTCC/RA MINUTES 06/04/08 Page 10 not the highest priority; however, one of the few things people received from government was going to a library, park or community center. Commenting that people pay their taxes and expect their streets to be paved, together with good police and fire services, he noted however, that the work done by Community Services was very special in the community and could not be forgotten. Library - David Dodd, Library Director, stated he would address the library's role in quality of life, what was being done currently and what staff intended to do in the immediate future. Mr. Dodd stated that to him qualify of life was all those things that made life worth living, quoting: "Wear the old coat, but buy the new book." He indicated that the library provides a critical City service and had been very cost effective in doing so. Libraries were the original recyclers and model of sustainability. Staff calculated that the return on investment to the community was about 4:1 - for every dollar spent, $4 was returned in value - based on materials, staff wages to circulate the materials, and cost to buy those materials at a book, record or video store. The library was an arts and educational institution which filled a critical role in early childhood learning, especially through the summer reading program which keeps reading levels high. The library provided for leisure and a nice spot for reflection on natural beauty. Looking at the past, present and future, Mr. Dodd stated this was a good spot to honor the past, as the building would soon be 100 years old. In January 1909, Carnegie Library was opened to the pubic. Staff would be collaborating with community partners to celebrate this event, e.g., Marin History Museum, Northgate Mall, and Marin Independent Journal to produce an event and book to celebrate 100 years of the library. Mr. Dodd noted that this was a good way to build community strength while at the same time honoring the past vision. Another part of honoring the past was the collection of about 120,000 volumes - the wisdom of the ages - maintaining access to the past. Although currently faced with space constraints, the library had been much improved and beautified thanks to the City's commitment of resources, such as library and specific endowment funds, and the General Fund. Meantime, there was inadequate space to expand the collection, as each time a book is added, one must be taken out, which was contrary to the idea of a library. Mr. Dodd noted however, that the library was growing in other ways that did not require space, such as adding new resources through electronic means. These methods include the offering of downloadable videos and audio books, beefing up database offerings, subscribeable electronic newsletters, and working with MARINet and other area, regional and statewide partners to leverage those resources. For the future, Mr. Dodd stated staff was looking to the celebration of the centennial as a way to pivot towards the future, and to that end it was hoped to build a strong library foundation group. This group was looking for professional help to chart their course, and alongside this, staff was working closely with the Critical Facilities Committee, an amazingly wonderful group of people. At the same time attention was being paid to what was happening statewide because there was a move in the State of California currently towards providing additional funds for library construction. Regarding the proposed commemorative book, Councilmember Brockbank inquired as to how many would be printed and to whom they would be distributed, etc. Mr. Dodd explained that the book was a partnership with Northgate Mall, the Marin Independent Journal (IJ) and Marin History Museum. Northgate Mall and the IJ were sponsoring it monetarily — printing and distributing it as part of the regular IJ delivery the week before the centennial celebration — with stacks being made available to schools. Written by a professional writer, Mr. Dodd reported that it is a wonderful story that could be used in the classroom, to teach local history. Cooperation had been forthcoming from the schools and from local third grade history teachers. With a lot of wonderful opportunities, Mr. Dodd indicated it was intended to leverage some sponsorship through the event. Councilmember Miller stated that one of the most important functions of the library was the delivery of basic and family literacy, which was the biggest building block to offer to new immigrants. With a reduction of 10% or $100,000, he inquired how that program was developing and what was being done, especially in terms of the Spanish-speaking. Mr. Dodd explained that the literacy program receives funds from the state library to provide basic literacy skills and one-on-one tutoring to those who were at least proficient in English but lacked reading and writing skills. Generally, when faced with people who have English -as -a -second -language needs, they were referred out. If people had attained a degree of comfort in English they were taken on, and in fact, the majority of learners were second language speakers. Another huge element of the learning population was the jail and prison population, and Mr. Dodd reported (Spec.) SPJTCC/RA MINUTES 06/04/08 Page 10 (Spec.) SPJTCC/RA MINUTES 06/04/08 Page 11 that the library was host to San Quentin prison and the literacy program also provides services to inmates at the County jail. An important part of that was the family literacy aspect, which encouraged mostly fathers who were incarcerated, to learn to read, so they could send home tapes of them reading to their children, and begin rebuilding a relationship with their children, many of whom were estranged. Commenting on how amazing it was to see the results of that work, Mr. Dodd indicated that although it was not the library's responsibility to deal with San Quentin, someone had to do it, noting that the state reimburses for tutoring at San Quentin. Mayor Boro expressed thanks to David Dodd, noting he was on the Board of the California Library Association. Economic Development/ Redevelopment - With regard to Parking, Nancy Mackle, Economic Development Director, reported that the holiday parking program was in place, year-round parking validation programs to help businesses help their customers, and the popular discount frequent parking card. She noted that major facility structural assessments were underway to improve some of the parking structures. On the issues of sustaining the economy, Ms. Mackle stated that as previously mentioned there was little room for development and that 30% of revenues came from sales tax; therefore, with the little land remaining, efforts were continuing to maximize the use of that land - especially freeway oriented items — to add more room and improved sales for sales tax producers, together with improving commercial centers, in particular the mall and downtown. Ms. Mackle provided the following updates: • VW and Audi buildings approved - building permit applications to be submitted this summer; • SMART Car approved - rethinking how and where to build, and fine-tuning agreements with Mercedes; • Final approval for Infiniti to move into the John Irish space, which would improve sales; • Chrysler Jeep Dodge approved; building permit applications to be submitted soon and relocate to the old • Marin Dodge site; • Nissan to relocate to current VW and Audi site; dealership to be remodeled • Target underway with an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) — hearings to be conducted by year end or • early next year; • Northgate Mall remodeling and ground breaking on June 24, 2008; • Corporate Center under construction — when completed and filled 2,000 new employees to shop and support • downtown businesses; • New tenant to replace Comp USA. Looking to the future, Ms. Mackle reported that Marin Square was purchased by Sutter and with regard to the former PG&E site at 999 Third Street, PG&E is conducting soil studies and has committed to work with the City to redevelop the site. As mentioned by Mr. Nordhoff, staff planned to schedule a study session on the future of the Redevelopment Agency and the ability to potentially issue bonds. Staff was also working with the Business Improvement District (BID) to discuss how they might improve their own revenues. Mr. Preston would discuss capital projects; however, as part of economic vitality the Redevelopment Agency would be part of those projects. Councilmember Brockbank confirmed the car dealership locations with Ms. Mackle and noted that new car dealerships would be tracked as carefully as possible to project how much new sales tax would be generated. Noting Marin Square was purchased by Sutter and understanding that leases were being allowed to run out, Councilmember Brockbank inquired whether it could be at least a year or two before an application was submitted. Indicating she was unaware of leases being allowed to run out, Ms. Mackle stated the application process would be lengthy. Mr. Brown clarified for Councilmember Brockbank that some type of rezoning would be necessary for the different use. Councilmember Connolly stated he was interested in ways to attract more business to San Rafael, beyond autos or (Spec.) SPJTCC/RA MINUTES 06/04/08 Page 11 (Spec.) SPJTCC/RA MINUTES 06/04/08 Page 12 big retail, and he inquired whether any funds were allocated to such a program. Confirming there was an informal program, Ms. Mackle explained that staff works very closely with the San Rafael Chamber of Commerce, BID and Real Estate community in this connection. When the site specific stage is reached, staff puts together a City team, depending on the nature of the project, to streamline the project — examples included Best Buy and Kimballs. Additionally, she and the Chamber President conduct business retention interviews and this year in conjunction with the San Rafael Chamber of Commerce and BID, a Welcome Committee has been initiated. Mayor Boro noted that Nancy Mackle had done a great job in the past and would continue to do so working with Mr. Brown and Mr. Preston on some major projects conducting outreach, and he agreed it was important to create a welcoming atmosphere for small businesses. Mayor Boro reported that within the last month Katie Korzun, Linda Jackson and he met with two Councilmembers and the City Manager from Mill Valley to discuss the City's vision process and share some ideas. He expressed pleasure at the goal for new twinkle lights before the fall and he thanked Nancy Mackle and the Redevelopment Agency staff. Community Development — Bob Brown, Community Development Director, commented that San Rafael appears to be better at approving new projects than the developers had been at actually building them, given the state of the economy. Over the last two years approximately 250 units had been approved, 43 of which would be affordable if constructed. • Indicating the biggest effort was Loch Lomond, Mr. Brown stated staff was monitoring the sale of the property and had offered to have monthly meetings with the interested homeowners groups to quell rumors and see what could be done to address their concerns in the interim period, and then as construction commences, meet more frequently. • Lincoln/Mission property in foreclosure. • Mission property at Irwin would not move forward for the interim; therefore, it appears as though those duplexes would be re -rented. • 820 D Street — site of the former Lafayette Bakery — property has been sold and is slowly moving through the building permit process. New Projects: • Application expected for development behind the Elks Club • Salute site at Third and Tamalpais — a mixed use proposal. The developer is taking his time to think this through very carefully as such projects are expensive and fairly marginal in current economic conditions. Housing: • Participated in the countywide preparation of the ten-year homeless plan and very integral in the first Homeless Connect last December. This was a huge success with 27 organizations in attendance, over 200 patrons, estimated at 18% of the homeless population in the County. For a first effort this was exemplary. • Staff would be conducting an update of the Housing Element and a five-year General Plan update would commence in the fall. Staff would like to share the work program with the City Council at a study session shortly. • The Redevelopment Agency team continues their work to provide grants and technical assistance to non- profits in securing housing bonds to maintain and create affordable units. Projects worked on in the past year included Martinelli House, Homeward Bound and the Buckelew Foundation. Mr. Brown reported that a Green Building Ordinance was adopted, together with new Building Codes. Patterned on the International Building Code this includes very significant changes and necessitates a lot of relearning by staff and applicants. (Spec.) SPJTCC/RA MINUTES 06/04/08 Page 12 (Spec.) SPJTCC/RA MINUTES 06/04/08 Page 13 Reporting that the Planning Academy was a big success with great public relations, Mr. Brown stated that staff looked forward to its continuance. With regard to General Plan implementation, Mr. Brown stated that a big effort just started would be the Canalfront design plan, which fortunately would be funded with grants. Less fortunate was dealing with some of the other General Plan implementation and staff would discuss these priorities with the City Council when presenting the five-year update. Regarding the Quality of Life aspect, Mr. Brown reported that the Greenhouse Gas Inventory was almost completed and the Climate Change Action Plan process had been initiated. He noted that the community visioning event would take place on Saturday, July 26, 2008. Noting the Greenhouse Gas Inventory was included in the Quality of Life aspect, Councilmember Brockbank suggested that perhaps this should be more of a Foundation if sustainability was a core principle. With regard to specific Neighborhood Plans, understanding two or three had been done with dozens more to do, albeit expensive and time-consuming, Councilmember Brockbank stated it appeared that a lot of the battles endured would be made a lot easier if those plans were available. He inquired whether they could be done faster, cheaper and easier, or whether there was a way to fund them other than the General Fund. Reporting that there were twelve Neighborhood Plans since the 1980s, all of which were rolled into the General Plan, Mr. Brown stated staff tried to deal with some of the specific neighborhood characteristics in the neighborhoods element. He indicated it was easier to go to one document than multiple; nonetheless, it did not speak to the fact that neighborhoods still wanted to expand upon their unique characteristics, etc. Montecito being the most recent, Mr. Brown stated it involved a lot of public process; therefore, a lot depended on what other implementation priorities the City Council had for long-range planning — San Rafael has one person. Therefore, to the extent there was nothing else the City Council wanted done, that resource could be devoted to a Neighborhood Plan. In terms of looking for other sources of funding, he believed the neighborhoods would volunteer to write the plan. Mr. Brown noted that the types of grant funds available were not for doing this type of neighborhood planning, rather bicycle and pedestrian planning, etc. He indicated that on receipt of the five-year General Plan update Council could re -prioritize these items. Mr. Nordhoff stated that he and Mr. Brown had discussed some General Plan surcharge fees to help pay for the Housing Element and as the Fee Schedule is updated this year, staff would look at other ideas and perhaps expand or consider other fees that could help create additional funds. Mayor Boro believed it would be important before discussing the Housing Element itself to refresh the memories of long-term Councilmembers and inform the two new Councilmembers about the Housing Element, the relationship it had between the City and state, why it was important and why the City needed to work towards those goals. He reiterated it would be important to set the stage before getting into the mechanics as there was a huge issue involved. Indicating that he had given a book to Ms. Mackle last week which discussed Affordable Housing in Marin, Mayor Boro recalled that 76% of the affordable units in Marin were in San Rafael, Novato and the County, and of the total in the County, 47% were in San Rafael. Mayor Boro offered congratulations to Mr. Brown on the Planning Academy, noting that not only was good press received, but every time members of the public attend such a venture, a supporter for the City is added. Noting the Climate Change Action Plan was just commencing, which would be a huge effort, Mayor Boro thanked Mr. Brown and his staff for everything they do. Mayor Boro paused the City Council meeting at 7:50 p.m., resuming at 8:00 p.m. Police Department - Chief of Police Matt Odetto stated that the Police Department continues to be very proactive in community policing. The Department had been very busy over the last six months, dealing with some significant cases, including a homicide and other crimes. (Spec.) SPJTCC/RA MINUTES 06/04/08 Page 13 (Spec.) SPJTCC/RA MINUTES 06/04/08 Page 14 Chief Odetto reported on activity in the community: Communitv Policing Unit - • Staff attendance at over 60 neighborhood and special event meetings; • Staff provided a lot of crime prevention materials and information to the public. Active in identifving crime trends - • Directed Patrol Unit (DPU) had been very successful in dealing with narcotics, prostitution and property crimes; • Property crime clearance rate increased by 6% this year - large number when considering making arrests and recovering stolen property; • Partnerships and regionalization - keys to success. Municipalities in Marin were not big and did not have available resources; however, combined, they did. Example - Gang Task Force for Marin County, comprised of officers from several jurisdictions, with San Rafael taking the lead and training other officers to be more effective in their work. Public Outreach — new this year- • Camp Chance, commenced on June 23 d at Walker Creek Ranch, which would serve 50-70 under -served children, teaching some lessons along with their other curriculum; • The Police Department would continue outreach to businesses, homeowners associations, community groups, such as Canal Alliance, Concilio, Youth Leadership Institute, and new partner, Conservation Corps. Police Chief Odetto stated that the Directed Patrol Unit had worked hard to address issues throughout the City. The unit was lent out to other cities to help with prostitution, and gang awareness, especially in identifying gang members. The DPU had taken the lead with Marin County agencies and could be seen dealing with the County Fair and its associated issues. With regard to the COPS unit, Chief Odetto reported that several units were involved, i.e., Traffic Enforcement, Foot Beats, Directed Patrol Unit, Probation Enforcement Team assigned to the task force for probation enforcement, Mental Health Unit, which saves a lot of time and gets people the help they need, and Patrol Boat, and although the School Resource Officers are not included in that, Chief Odetto indicated that they do a great job. With regard to traffic issues in San Rafael, Chief Odetto stated that one of the main complaints recently was the freeway construction and associated congestion in the downtown. He reported that the entire staff had been committed to dealing with this, both in education and enforcement. For example, in the last six months 6,291 citations had been issued compared to 2,294 in 2007, which equated to a 174% increase. Reporting great success with grants this year, Chief Odetto stated that in the last week two grants had been awarded —$95,000 Traffic Grant and $577,000 for DUI Enforcement multi-year grant, and news of whether or not San Rafael would receive an Alcohol Beverage and Control grant for $88,000 would be made known soon. Chief Odetto stated he was proud to report that the San Rafael Police Department participated in the Law Enforcement Challenge this year. He explained that police agencies submit innovative ways on how they police their city through traffic enforcement. Programs include Click it or Ticket, Special Traffic Enforcement Program (STEP), consisting of red light enforcement and speed enforcement, special traffic enforcement at high collision rate intersections. He indicated that San Rafael came out third overall in the state for cities of similar size. He noted two $25,000 grants had been received for equipment for the boat, which would augment some of the radar equipment, and staff was working closely with the Fire Department on the Incident Command Center. Councilmember Brockbank inquired as to the threefold increase in traffic violation citations. Chief Odetto explained this was partly due to addressing some of the areas not addressed previously, i.e., staffing issues and getting the motorcycles up to speed and the buy -in from the other officers within the department. He indicated that this had truly been a team effort with regard to this public safety issue, together with people using surface streets because of freeway congestion, etc. Recalling a customer satisfaction survey carried out some years ago, Mayor Boro stated that safety on streets was a (Spec.) SPJTCC/RA MINUTES 06/04/08 Page 14 (Spec.) SPJTCC/RA MINUTES 06/04/08 Page 15 big issue and this had resulted in 8 motorcycle officers on the streets. Mayor Boro inquired whether staff had investigated the placement of portable devices on poles, rather than using vehicle trailers, to determine vehicle speed, and requested further clarification at a future date. Mayor Boro thanked Chief of Police Odetto for the very effective work he does in the community, noting that the Marin County Civil Grand Jury Report pointed out that the City of Novato was very thankful to San Rafael for all the help provided in getting them up to speed on gang related issues. He commented that Officer Joel Fay, Ph.D continues to receive great recognition and he thanked Chief Odetto for the work done by the Police Department, which was a great advertisement for the City. Fire Department — Fire Chief Christopher Gray stated that he and the Chief of Police were supportive of all services and tried to work their best to ensure everything was provided, noting also that sacrifices were necessary. Indicating that a unique part of the Fire Department was making house calls, without delay or exception, which helped those in need and took on a variety of different circumstances. He noted the changing population and aging infrastructure resulted in more fires and medical calls, a trend which would continue. Reporting that the City has two ambulances and six fire engines, which did not go very far on even a moderate sized emergency, Chief Gray stated that help had been received by the recruitment of Steven Hancock, Emergency Services Manager, and integrating operations very closely. DART had been re -titled CERT (Community Emergency Response Teams) and together with GET READY, hundreds of San Rafael residents were being trained. Maintaining this sustainable effort would require funds; however, staff was committed to this effort and would do their best to ensure it happened. Steps had also been taken to provide more training with City employees, including a major drill later in the year, noting this needed constant updating. • Fire Chief Gray stated he and Chief of Police Odetto would develop an even better partnership in the coming years. Noting the Marinwood contract would expire in 2009, Chief Gray stated that discussions had commenced and he was looking forward to an opportunity to improve this. • Chief Gray stated he could not be more pleased with the Vegetation Management efforts, noting the community and City were doing an outstanding job, and he urged the City Council to try to maintain some level of effort with this program. He hoped to leverage some of the work with the benefit of prison system crews and reintroduction of goats would be evaluated, together with grant and private funds opportunities. • Staff would continue to solve the Dispatch dilemma and were hopeful the County would continue with efforts to build a new Emergency Services building. • Fire Stations continued to be in a state of disrepair with limited ability for maintenance; staff was working closely with the Critical Facilities Committee and were optimistic regarding good outcomes in the future. • Fire Department had also been working on internal and external communications and relationships through newsletters, etc. • Staff would work on enhancing paramedic services — Chief Gray noted the existence of a tax supporting the majority of this service, indicating that only 60% of the overall budget was supported by the General Fund. Staff would be evaluating alternatives for efficiency, such as introducing solar auxiliary power for engines. Councilmember Heller inquired whether a countywide Dispatch system would be feasible. Chief Gray reported that with the exception of the County and San Rafael Fire Departments, all other fire departments were being dispatched by the County Communications Center, under the Sheriff. Options for San Rafael included: 1) Moving into the Center with the other fire departments with the hope that upon completion of the new facility, the County Fire Department would also join; 2) Expand existing operation and ascertain whether there was interest from the other fire departments to join San Rafael by moving out of the County; 3) Indicating that a further option was to work with the Police Department, Chief Gray stated he hoped progress would soon be made, noting this issue was at the top of his list. Noting the City had spent $200,000, Councilmember Miller invited Chief Gray to provide an estimate of what homeowners were paying for their part in Vegetation Management. (Spec.) SPJTCC/RA MINUTES 06/04/08 Page 15 (Spec.) SPJTCC/RA MINUTES 06/04/08 Page 16 Chief Gray stated that without hesitation citizens had probably spent that amount in the Dominican neighborhood alone and this was occurring citywide. Even with a three-year phased inspection program, staff had been educating the entire community; therefore, work was continuing in all neighborhoods, many of which had not even been inspected. He noted that just a dent had been made in the overall threat and believed that continuing on this track was prudent and a wise investment, and he urged the City Council to try to continue to fund this program. Noting the City's costs were mainly for personnel, chippers, debris boxes, open space, etc., Councilmember Brockbank guessed that the homeowners' cost consisted mainly of tree removal, debris boxes, etc., and he inquired as to what would happen when a homeowner would like to participate; however, could not afford to. Chief Gray stated the City had been assisting homeowners in those situations. Councilmember Connolly indicated that people in similar situations had approached him Chief Gray noted that while some could have the capacity to pay, they did not agree with the ordinance; however, for the most part people were willing to participate. Councilmember Heller inquired whether other Marin communities were looking at fire safe. Mayor Boro reported that he and Chief Gray met with Mayors from other cities recently who expressed surprise on learning of the cost of this program. He was unaware of how much was being done, noting that the County was not doing nearly as much as San Rafael, even though they had lots of open space. Again, he noted that the Marin County Civil Grand Jury report was very complimentary to the City and the work done by the Fire Department, noting Brad Mark receives a lot of accolades for his work. Mayor Boro thanked Chief Gray and all those working in the Fire Department for the great job they do. Management Services — HR/ IT/Parking Finance, City Manager,/ City Attorney,/ City Clerk — Jim Schutz, Assistant City Manager stated he would represent Human Resources, Information Technology, City Manager's Office, City Attorney's and City Clerk's offices. Explaining the Foundation of the House, he stated it was the base or supporting structure of the house, comprised of those departments that provide services to the community; however, a big part of the Foundation's work was providing services to other City departments Citv Manager's Office routinely coordinates and oversees the work of all City departments, but with a particular focus on key initiatives: ❑ Community Choice Aggregation - setting up the process to inform and educate the Council and the community with a decision to be made in the fall regarding whether to join the JPA with Marin Clean Energy. ❑ Critical Facilities — committee finishing its work on a communication/education plan followed by implementation. ❑ Increase in outreach and interaction with the community through such programs as: ■ SnapShot, a weekly e -newsletter covering topics such as lane changes, explaining property taxes, construction at Corporate Center, etc. ■ San Rafael Connects, where City employees volunteer to join teams and go into the neighborhoods. Community feedback was extremely positive. People were pleased to see on a regular basis someone offering solutions, understanding the issues, or introducing additional resources. ■ San Rafael Clean, Community Preparedness Programs, Chamber Showcase, and Budget in Brief, which would be updated for the next budget year. Management Services - Human Resources completed an ambitious five-year plan containing a number of strategies to be implemented, noting that he and Leslie Loomis, Human Resources Director, presented the plan at a statewide conference. This year, HR made good progress in determining retiree health liability, and for the next phase, would work with employees to strategize on cost controls for both retiree health and pensions. (Spec.) SPJTCC/RA MINUTES 06/04/08 Page 16 (Spec.) SPJTCC/RA MINUTES 06/04/08 Page 17 Information Technologv - Connecting primary City facilities with fiber through the OptiMan Project. In addition, a new network -based telephone system had been implemented, printing press replaced with a high-volume copier, and staff was working on ways to reduce printing costs through reduction of multi -part forms and moving information to the Intranet. Finance — Finance staff monitoring and reporting on finances and finding ways to increase revenues: • Updating the master fee schedule; • Working with IT to upgrade the fee collection process; • Verifying tax collection information; and • Locating and following up on unlicensed businesses Finance also provides daily support to the other City departments to process payroll changes, set up new procedures and produce reports, etc. Citv Attornev's Office - handles the City's day-to-day legal issues, together with working on longer-term projects, such as the Encroachment Permit Ordinance, Social Host Ordinance, and Green Building Ordinance. The office also supervises the legal defense for Workers' Compensation, tort and liability litigated cases, and coordinates the prosecution of Code Enforcement actions through the administrative hearing process. Citv Clerk's Office - publishes minutes of the Council and Agency meetings on the website along with staff reports, resolutions and ordinances. A number of technology-based efficiencies had been implemented, and as funds allow, further improvements such as web streaming of the Council meetings and records imaging would be implemented. Councilmember Connolly inquired whether funds were available to make basic upgrades to the website. Mr. Schutz stated that IT works with a website team, comprised of representatives from every department, to determine the look, feel, content, etc. of the website. Terri Hardesty, Public Information Officer, was currently focusing on the front page, including the addition of Councilmembers' pictures and telephone numbers. Email addresses could be added if the Council was interested. He did not believe funds were set aside for this purpose; however, there was a group who was passionate about that medium. Mr. Nordhoff stated that he would check on adding email addresses, as it required follow-up with the City Attorney's Office since emails could be public record. He explained that there needed to be an understanding of the consequences when people communicated by this means. Councilmember Heller suggested that a note be put on the website to send all emails to the City Manager's Office for forwarding, otherwise they would have to be saved because they could be a public record at some point. Councilmember Brockbank stated that although he does not receive hundreds of emails for the City, he did not want to encourage getting hundreds of emails nor have them sent to the City Manager's Office. He suggested posting a paragraph on protocol, i.e., how and who to contact regarding issues. Mayor Boro suggested using the telephone. He indicated he was very cautious about using email because of where it could lead. One had to be sensitive to that as once something was out there, it was there forever. Mayor Boro thanked Rob. Epstein, Cindy Mosser, Gus Bush, Jim Schutz, Ken. Nordhoff, Leslie Loomis, Esther Beirne and the ladies in the City Manager's office for their work. 4) Capital Improvement Plan / Public Works Department - Andy Preston, Public Works Director, stated that "The Future is Now" was this year's theme of the American Public Works Association, which he believed to be so apt as it applied so well to San Rafael. Mr. Preston reported that the first Public Works Department objective was to reduce the carbon footprint of public works in the City. Staff looked at putting solar panels on six buildings; however, having been advised by a financial consultant it was discovered that the cash flow benefits were negative, and in fact the City would not break even on the initial investment until 26 years into the program. (Spec.) SPJTCC/RA MINUTES 06/04/08 Page 17 (Spec.) SPJTCC/RA MINUTES 06/04/08 Page 18 On the positive side, Mr. Preston reported that Public Works was using more hybrid vehicles — 9 currently in the fleet — and vehicles were being replaced with smaller ones. He reported an increase from 10% bio -diesel to 20%, the maximum allowed for City vehicles. Mr. Preston discussed the following: • West End Village - Mr. Preston acknowledged and thanked Stephanie Lovette and the Redevelopment Agency for their help on this project, without whom public outreach could not have been done. • Partnering agreement with Ghilotti Construction, which was working fabulously. Monthly partnering meetings were taking place to assess quality of performance on the project. Mr. Preston referred to a photograph showing the first section — Miracle Mile — H Street — which was scheduled for completion by the end of the week. The overall project remained on schedule for completion at Thanksgiving. • Medway Canal — well underway — Undergrounding of the overhead utility lines — Public Works portion completed and AT&T would complete their work as soon as Ghilotti was finished. • Non -motorized program - San Rafael was the most successful city in this program, receiving more money and more projects than any other city - $2.1 million: o Puerto Suello Transit Connector o Mahon Path Transit Connector o Terra Linda -North San Rafael Bikeway Improvements o Las Gallinas Bikeway Gap Closure o Francisco Blvd. East Multi -Use Path • Street Rehabilitation — Mr. Preston reported that when he took over as Public Works Director five years ago, the street pavement conditioning index was 67, and although $1 million was spent yearly on paving and street overlays, the index went down from 67 to 65 to 63. Strategies had changed to provide more proactive maintenance work, increasing the index from 63 to 73. • Freewav projects - Mr. Preston indicated that he spends an inordinate amount of time working with Caltrans and TAM on freeway projects. Referring to a slide of Segment 3 — Central San Rafael — he stated that Public Works was immensely involved with the undergrounding of utilities lines on Francisco Boulevard West and the widening of Francisco Boulevard West. Mr. Preston noted that Caltrans would close the freeway to do some lane switching from 11:00 p.m. Friday - 5:00 a.m. Saturday in the southbound direction and move traffic through San Rafael via Anderson Drive to Bellam to Sir Francis Drake Boulevard. Friday evening/Saturday morning, southbound traffic would move into the new southbound lanes, extending the merge lane from Heatherton onto the freeway. On Saturday from 11:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. Sunday, the northbound traffic would switch onto the existing southbound lanes. A four -foot asphalt ramp would be built to connect Interstate 580 from Bellam, and Highway 101 northbound onto southbound lanes. A meeting took place today with Caltrans, City Traffic Engineer Nader Mansourian and the Police Department, together with the CHP, TAM and Caltrans. Mr. Mansourian was very pragmatic about having contingency plans and contingency plans for a late finish, cars breaking down, accidents, etc. Seqment 4- Puerto Suello Hill including 1.2 miles of multiuse path from Lincoln Avenue to Mission Avenue, which would be part of the north -south greenway or bikeway. Mr. Preston explained that because the area sits low, during the winter months it fills with water, resulting in a loss of time on the project. They also had some problems with the design of the foundations which had compounded the delay. The expected project completion date was December'08; however, Mr. Preston believed this would now be later in the spring, noting the project was over budget on this section. He indicated that fortunately, Segment 3 was under budget; therefore moneys from Segment 3 could be used for Segment 4. • Traffic Capacity - Mr. Preston expressed gratitude for all of the great work done by Nader Mansourian, including all of the traffic calculations for the different projects and maintaining street lights. • Integrated Pest Manaqement policv — Phase I complete: (Spec.) SPJTCC/RA MINUTES 06/04/08 Page 18 (Spec.) SPJTCC/RA MINUTES 06/04/08 Page 19 o Parks and Streets pesticide programs consolidated. o Category II pesticides eliminated. o Noticing of spraying. Phase II: Multi Departmental this year. • Deferred Maintenance Proiects — Mr. Preston reported that last year Council directed funding of an additional $250,000 in addition to the existing $100,000 for ongoing deferred maintenance. Money was spent on new roofs on Fire Station #1, Terra Linda Recreation Center, San Rafael Community Center, and the Blue House. Two AC units were replaced at Terra Linda Recreation Center, together with a number of other miscellaneous projects. Mr. Preston stated that of the sixteen buildings in the City, all needed maintenance of some type, i.e., roof repairs, exterior painting, noting Falkirk was in dire need of painting. • Drainage — Clean Storm Water Program — All 12 pump stations need maintenance. The total budget needed for these projects was $450,000, leaving a shortfall of $125,000. • Capital Proiect Funding. - $7,999,655 — graph provided. • Streets Proiects - $2,550,000 — graph provided. • Grant -Funded Multi -Modal Proiects - $4,530,000 — graph provided. • Capital Proiects — All Categories — Mr. Preston referred to a slide of active projects. • Current Proiects — Fiscal Year 2007-2008 — Mr. Preston reported that he had provided a written update of all of these projects and would provide this information on a quarterly basis going forward. • Operations and Maintenance — Mr. Preston stated that four Divisions carry out all of the maintenance throughout the City: o Streets Division o Parks Division o Facilities o Vehicle Maintenance With regard to greening the fleet, Councilmember Brockbank inquired as to the last time a non -hybrid was purchased, how many hybrids were purchased, how long they lasted, etc. Mr. Preston replied that the City started buying hybrids three years ago and would continue to purchase them as they became available. Most of the maintenance vehicles used in the Corporation Yard were trucks and not available as hybrids. However, when serving a specific job, the smallest maintenance trucks with the most efficient engines were selected. With regard to general transportation vehicles, Councilmember Brockbank noted 20-30 White SUVs parked in the City Hall parking lot, all of which could be hybrids. Mr. Preston stated that for general transportation these vehicles would be phased out over the next 10 years. Noting bio -fuels going from 10% - 20%, Councilmember Brockbank inquired whether this was 10% - 20% of the vehicles using bio fuels. Mr. Preston stated this was the mixture of the bio part into the diesel fuel itself and he confirmed 20% was the maximum to allow the engine to still run. Councilmember Brockbank inquired whether there was a Street Condition Index in existence. (Spec.) SPJTCC/RA MINUTES 06/04/08 Page 19 (Spec.) SPJTCC/RA MINUTES 06/04/08 Page 20 Mr. Preston explained that a Street Condition Index also was a Pavement Condition Index which could provide the pavement condition index of any street within the City and when it was last paved, etc. Councilmember Brockbank stated he realized it was far more frequent that things went over budget rather than under budget; however, once in a while things went under budget, such as the West End project being $2 million under budget, and he inquired as to what happened to the $2 million. Mr. Preston explained that the money remained in the project fund and whatever was left over from the project funds - most of which were measure A moneys — had to be used on similar Measure A type projects. Councilmember Connolly stated that it sounded as though Mr. Preston investigated the use of solar panels on buildings with disconcerting results. Mr. Preston replied that he loves the photovoltaic technology, and indicated that there were banks of these PV cells available which rotate with the sun, etc., and he had not given up on the technology. Mr. Nordhoff explained that the Clean Renewable Energy Bonds (CREBs) program looked at these six facilities; therefore, outside of just the actual rate of return, the City would have to issue bonds by the end of calendar year 2008, and make a debt service payment in 2008. In the first year of doing this - on a cash flow basis - if all six buildings were done, the City would have to come up with a $250,000 of debt to support the financing of six facilities. Indicating that staff had all the analysis, Mr. Nordhoff stated it could be summarized to provide a sense of the cash flow and some of the assumptions, noting a formal decision would be necessary soon because of the debt issue. The Marin Energy Management Team was working with all agencies involved in an attempt to obtain decisions in the next couple of months. Additionally, construction needed to begin soon and facilities such as the Public Works building were owned by somebody else, so permission needed to be obtained to put something on the roof. Mayor Boro reported that the canal needed to be dredged every three years and was last dredged in 2003. Staff had been working with a lobbyist in Washington and in fact, he and Richard Landis, Public Works Administration Manager, would go to San Francisco with some residents to meet with the Colonel from the Corps. There was an appropriation of $1.2 million in last year's budget - currently $5 million short. He noted that Representative Woolsey, Senators Boxer and Feinstein, and House Energy and Water Development Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Peter Visclosky were supporters. The City could not raise $5 million to dredge the canal; therefore, efforts would continue. Acknowledging Andy Preston, Mayor Boro noted grants of approximately $10 million had been received, a lot of which comes from the Transportation Authority of Marin (TAM). He explained that TAM has a Technical Advisory Committee, consisting of Public Works Directors and a few members of the public, all of whom had to agree where priorities were set. Mr. Preston had been in the fortunate position of having the projects ready to go and had great rapport. He thanked Mr. Preston for all the work he and his staff does. Noting Andy is the staff member for the San Rafael Sanitation District, Mayor Boro stated the District was making its payments to CMSA on bonds and had a funded plan in place to replace pipes. Mayor Boro noted that the District had raised its rates, with another anticipated this year. 3) Discussion of Budgetary Priorities - Noting that at least a million dollars needed to be identified Mayor Boro believed Mr. Nordhoff would work with departments, especially those funded through fees, etc., to ascertain whether efficiencies could be made to generate more funds. With regard to freezing positions as employees leave, with the exception of the public safety arena, and paying attention to the City's commitment to voters on Measure `S', he suggested staff evaluate the best and worse case scenarios, i.e., how many people might leave, what departments would be affected, the impact of cuts, and how much money would be raised, etc. Mr. Nordhoff stated that approximately 30 positions were routinely filled on an annual basis, some of which would not apply since they were either public safety or funded by another source, such as childcare. He indicated that staff could look backwards to gain a sense of what it might look like going forward. (Spec.) SPJTCC/RA MINUTES 06/04/08 Page 20 (Spec.) SPJTCC/RA MINUTES 06/04/08 Page 21 Councilmember Heller inquired as to what might be on the chopping block in Sacramento Mr. Nordhoff stated that the biggest unknown would be Proposition 1A triggers. The $800,000 of items around COPS funding, VLF, etc., if added to the list could conceivably result in $1.5 million if all these were taken away With regard to gas tax funding Mr. Nordhoff stated that he had not heard anything about suspending the funding of Proposition 42 or such things for the coming year, as had been done in the past. He was convinced that everything was at play, noting Sacramento would be pretty volatile for the next couple of months. Guessing that it could be a bad year, Councilmember Brockbank stated however, that he had heard a few projections of a quicker budget decision; however, he believed it wise to be cautious and conservative and assume not knowing until August or September. He confirmed that the City's budget needed to be in place by July 1, and adjustments would be made when the state budget was in place. Mr. Nordhoff stated that historically it had been done both ways. He explained that sometimes the state was pretty good and quite close to the City's dates; however, there were occasions when it was known they would be really late and when they acted, staff would return to the City Council to deal with the consequences. Councilmember Brockbank noted there was consensus on the $920,000 — a million dollars in cuts would need to be made - and he confirmed that should the state budget make more cuts, such as COPS, Booking Fees, etc., the City could be looking for another $800,000. Mr. Nordhoff stated that one of the benefits of waiting until September, if it were a benefit, was that most of the books would be closed from the current year giving a sense of what the end of the year would look like. Staff tried to be conservative both in expenditure assumptions as well as revenue estimates; therefore, he was hopeful of a favorable result beyond what was forecast for this year. Rather than Councilmembers, especially those who were new, going through a voluminous document of budget items, Councilmember Brockbank assumed staff would suggest possibilities to be prioritized by the City Council. Mr. Nordhoff indicated that he would provide a menu of things and it would be helpful to staff if the City Council prioritized which of these, if any, they would choose to balance the budget, noting alternatives such as auditing hotels to generate revenue. He believed Vegetation Management was important, together with the Granicus product, etc., and the City Council would have to help decide whether these were more important than other options. Mayor Boro suggested Mr. Nordhoff provide two or three top priorities on the plus side, what the costs would be and what further cuts would be needed so the Council could make those decisions. Mr. Nordhoff confirmed these priorities to include Vegetation Management and Granicus/technology upgrade, noting that with regard to the technology upgrade, partnership financing could be available. Before or since Measure `S', Councilmember Brockbank inquired whether the City had expressed any commitments, however informally, to anyone in the public that left them feeling disappointed that the City was not fulfilling these. With regard to neighborhood plans, he inquired whether one could be done in the next year, even at a cost of $100,000. Mr. Nordhoff stated that requests had been made in the past to implement programs in the neighborhood. Some years ago Bob Brown and Linda Jackson met with many of those who developed the General Plan and inquired that should there be money to implement projects what they would be, and they had established a priority list of what these were. Mr. Nordhoff stated that he had a top drawer list of worthy but unfunded projects relating to the General Plan, Public Works infrastructure needs, etc., and if there were specific items the City Council was interested in he could consider presenting those items rather than the entire list. Councilmember Brockbank stated that it would be an invaluable half hour or hour to spend, once or twice a year, to discuss the items on the list. Mr. Nordhoff stated that he would be more than happy to bring the full list to the City Council and spend whatever time necessary to go through it, and it would be helpful to staff to hear about what was important to the City Council if (Spec.) SPJTCC/RA MINUTES 06/04/08 Page 21 (Spec.) SPJTCC/RA MINUTES 06/04/08 Page 22 money was available Noting the need to be realistic, Mayor Boro stated he would not favor evaluating perhaps 29 items, rather confine prioritizing to the top three or four. Mr. Nordhoff stated he could group items together and couple them with the few items specifically listed. Mayor Boro stated that there were all kinds of building issues to deal with, such as the painting of Falkirk, and in his mind that was a high priority and an asset that needed to be protected. With regard to the five-year update of the General Plan, Mr. Nordhoff confirmed that the Housing Element would be a key part. Earlier, Mr. Brown suggested a separate session to provide background of what the Housing Element is, why it was important, what condition it was in, and what needed to be done in terms of updating it. A separate fee is imposed on development that sinks money into the General Plan or some of these periodic updates, and in that case very limited funding is available. Depending on what Council chose to do would add both time and dollars to the scope of the work in terms of an update. Referring to Ted Gabler, author of "Reinventing Government' and former San Rafael City Manager, Mayor Boro reported that years ago on the evening that former City Manager Rod Gould introduced Departmental Goals and Objectives, Mr. Gabler stated: "Many cities initiate them but very few review them." Mayor Boro thanked the department directors for all of their hard work in making these meaningful. Upon reviewing all of the work that went into the reports, Mayor Boro indicated he suggested to Mr. Nordhoff that perhaps over the next year, perhaps every six to eight weeks, in turn one or two department directors could update the City Council about their particular department. On behalf of the City Council Mayor Boro thanked everyone for their hard work. Mr. Nordhoff stated he would be glad to figure out a schedule that would work for the Council, noting that perhaps Mr. Schutz could cover the entire City. Mr. Nordhoff stated he felt very blessed and it was a great pleasure to work with the quality of people sitting behind him. They were very talented, dedicated, committed and great leaders, and it was a pleasure to work with them on a daily basis. He also thanked the City Council for their direction. There being no further business, Mayor/Chairman Boro adjourned the meeting at 9:30 p.m ESTHER C. BEIRNE, City Clerk APPROVED THIS DAY OF , 2008 MAYOR OF THE CITY OF SAN RAFAEL / CHAIRMAN, REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY (Spec.) SPJTCC/RA MINUTES 06/04/08 Page 22