HomeMy WebLinkAboutSPJT Minutes 2006-06-05(Spec.) SPJTCCRA 06/05/06 Page 1
IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBER OF THE CITY OF SAN RAFAEL, MONDAY, JUNE 5, 2006 AT 6:00 PM
Special Meeting Present: Albert J. Boro, Mayor/Chairman
San Rafael City Council / Redevelopment Agency Gary O. Phillips, Vice-Mayor/Vice-Chair
Paul M. Cohen, Councilmember/Member
Barbara Heller, Councilmember/Member
Cyr N. Miller, Councilmember/Member
Absent: None
Also Present: Ken Nordhoff, Interim City Manager/Interim Executive Director
Gary T. Ragghianti, City Attorney/Agency Attorney
Jeanne M. Leoncini City Clerk/ Agency Secretary
6:12 PM
Mayor Boro announced that this was a continuation of the Special Joint Meeting of May 15, 2006 regarding the
budget for Fiscal Year 2006-2007.
BUDGET HEARING: - FILE 8-5 x R-103 x 9-2-58
1. REPORT FROM MEASURE `S' COMMITTEE:
Paula Kamena, Chair, Measure `S' Citizens Oversight Committee, stated the Committee had worked
very hard for the City in terms of trying to make policy decisions on how to proceed to determine that
Measure `S' funds were spent appropriately or not. They had met five times and developed a policy,
contained in the report to the San Rafael Mayor, City Council and Community, and were pleased to
report they had evaluated the proposed budget and it would appear that if the money was spent as
proposed, it would be in accordance with Measure `S'.
Larry Luckham, Vice -Chair, Measure `S' Citizens Oversight Committee, thanked the City Council and
staff for the committee they appointed. Commenting that no wallflowers were appointed, he stated it
was a very active committee with a depth of experience and opinions. It had been a very productive
experience and he believed it would serve the City well.
Thanking the committee for the report, Councilmember Phillips stated he had the nagging issue of
measuring support for programs by expenditures. He indicated his concern was that should the City be
able to reduce expenditures and maintain the program through efficiencies, he hoped in their definition,
that would be in compliance with the intent of Measure `S' that talked about sustaining services.
Ms. Kamena stated they had many conversations concerning how to determine what maintaining
services would be. They discussed, amongst a variety of issues, workload output, and this appeared to
be the most practical, as well as combining it with staff measures. She believed the committee would be
very open to hearing anything the City Council would like them to consider.
Indicating they discussed different ways of trying to measure the response to what Measure `S' required,
Mr. Luckham explained it was, after all, a tax measure and "follow the money" was a pretty obvious one.
He stated they discussed other issues, including measuring service levels in terms of response times for
emergency service calls, etc. He noted it was extremely difficult to generate a matrix for each and every
application of budgetary expenditures that might be covered by Measure `S' because of Public Works
types of things (parks and sidewalks), emergency services in different categories, etc., and the
committee felt that "follow the money" was reasonable.
Mr. Luckham stated they also looked at staffing levels as being indicative of service delivered. He
indicated that in some cases it could be argued that through the application of technology or more
modern equipment, which might be a completely justified expense, staffing levels could be reduced to
save money. Mr. Luckham stated the committee would certainly be paying attention to this going
forward; however, they needed a starting point and believed this to be a reasonable one.
Ms. Kamena stated that with Police and Fire, a certain number of bodies were still needed to respond to
emergencies and the committee did not necessarily see that as ever getting less expensive.
Mr. Nordhoff stated he believed the committee did an exemplary job in a very short period of time
considering they had only been officially appointed for approximately two and a half months. He
indicated staff would like to bring back their report as part of the Budget Adoption on June 19, 2006 for
formal action.
On behalf of the City Council and the community, Mayor Boro expressed thanks to the Measure `S'
Citizens Oversight Committee for their hard work and to Mr. Nordhoff and his staff. He indicated
everyone was very pleased to have such a strong committee and believed it very important to "keep our
word" to the people who supported this Measure, which was over 70% of the City.
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Ms. Kamena expressed thanks to Interim City Manager Ken Nordhoff and his staff for making the
Committee's job so easy. She noted the Committee was very impressed that even though their official
job was to review the budget after the monies were spent, they were very pleased to have been asked
for their opinion on the proposed budget, which she believed was admirable.
Thanking Ms. Kamena and Mr. Luckham, Mayor Boro requested that they in turn thank the members of
the committee.
2. FISCAL YEAR 2006-2007 BUDGET PRIORITIES:
• RECAP OF MAY 15, 2006 MEETING
• COMMUNITY REQUESTS
• STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS
Interim City Manager Ken Nordhoff stated staff did not intend to retrace the financial information
provided on May 15; however, as a reminder, the proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2006-2007 was
approximately $73 million, 52.6% of which related to the General Fund. He indicated that Finance
Manager, Cindy Mosser, quite elaborately went through some of the changes in tax projections, fees
and costs, and at this point in time prior to any decision making it was very much a steady state budget.
He noted the passage of Measure `S' really did shore up essential services and he would discuss some
limited discretionary money Council might provide direction on; however, for the first time in
approximately four years finances had stabilized, which was really great. Mr. Nordhoff commented all
were aware that had that not happened, very different budget meetings would have been held this time
of year.
Indicating that Council had been provided with a three-page handout summarizing some of what was
discussed at the previous meeting and some recommendations from staff, Mr. Nordhoff stated he did
not intend to go through all the line items; however, he would be glad to answer questions.
Referring to Page 1 — SERVICE OPTIONS FOR CONSIDERATION — COMMUNITY REQUESTS — Mr.
Nordhoff explained this was put together based on comments from the last meeting. He noted there
were suggestions around the issues of increased traffic enforcement, traffic calming techniques, specific
infrastructure improvements, particularly as they related to sidewalks in some areas in the west end of
town, guidelines being developed as part of the General Plan (one of the programs that had come up in
the past and again, was on the radar), questions concerning open space lands and management and
both the Fire Chief and Emergency Services Coordinator were working together to try to address what
those dollars might look like. He noted Council was aware of the trestle issue as it related to Gerstle
Park and Andy Preston, Public Works Director, had been working with SMART (Sonoma/Marin Area
Rail Transit) to ascertain whether there was any opportunity to do those improvements sooner rather
than later. Although unsuccessful at this point in time, he stated staff intended to keep asking.
With regard to the letter received from Lilian Hanes (SMART), Mayor Boro inquired whether this had
been shared with the City Council.
Mr. Nordhoff stated he believed the letter had been forwarded to all Councilmembers; however, should
this not be the case he would ensure it was done. Indicating he would ensure it was in Council packets
this week, Mr. Nordhoff explained that essentially it indicated that SMART had taken a look at the City's
request concerning taking out the trestle across Mahon Creek early, and for funding and federal
regulation reasons, they were unable to do that as they needed to have tracks remain in one contiguous
segment to avoid being deemed abandoned. He noted it would entail a laborious and lengthy process
to put them back into place; therefore, while they were willing to continue to discuss this, they were not
ready at this time, and certainly not prior to formalizing what they would do in terms of an election.
Mayor Boro stated it was important the City Council see the letter, and being aware Andy Preston had
been working very well with the neighbors, he suggested it could be worthwhile sharing the letter with
the community, and perhaps at the next meeting have someone from SMART in attendance - either the
Rail Manager or Lilian Hanes. Mayor Boro stated it was not that SMART did not wish to do this, rather it
was a matter of a) funding and b) they just could not abandon that right-of-way by allowing the City to
tear it up. The City did not have the money to tear it up and SMART would not have the funds to tear it
up until passage of the ballot measure.
Concerning the $1.5 million, Councilmember Cohen inquired whether this was to just remove the
existing trestle or whether it contemplated replacing it also.
Mr. Preston confirmed it was more than just taking the trestle out.
Mayor Boro noted that as mentioned by Mr. Preston in the past, which he believed the letter alluded to,
as other improvements had been carried out in this area, water had been caused to flow more
efficiently, lessening the problem; however, he believed things could be done upstream to maintain
these channels before they got there, and this could be done on an interim basis.
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Although a fair summary, Mr. Preston stated there really was not much benefit to improving the
upstream culverts until the obstruction on the downstream was removed.
Referring to Page 2 — SERVICE OPTIONS FOR CONSIDERATION — STAFF REQUESTS — Mr.
Nordhoff stated staff went through an exercise where there were a number of ideas concerning Service
Restoration, keeping in mind the very limited funds, and the $925,000 discretionary money in the
General Fund looking ahead to next year was discussed. He indicated staff went through a process of
taking a number of ideas and attempting to cluster them down to approximately $500,000.
Regarding the first grouping, Mr. Nordhoff stated Council saw some of these three weeks ago:
• A couple of activities in the Building Division needed to memorialized:
✓ Appropriate staffing to handle the flow of work being received over the counter;
✓ Putting into place outside plan checking fees. He commented that attempts to hire an in-
house plan checker had been unsuccessful to date; therefore, the City was paying for
outside services; however, this was being done at the cost of not filling a Building
Inspector position.
Staff would like to put both of these items back into place and they were self-funded through
fees.
• In going through the process of putting in the MERA (Marin Emergency Radio Authority) tower
on Dollar Hill, there were a number of other antenna sites and various things agreed to be co -
located, and the time limit to get these done was approaching; therefore, staff was requesting
$60,000 to complete the process and carry out the necessary studies. Mr. Nordhoff did not
believe this could be avoided, whether or nor the discussion was about discretionary money.
Staff talked in Public Works about the additional need for traffic engineering services, particularly
as it related to Transportation. Staff was spending a lot more time responding to transportation
issues from the Marin County Transportation District, together with a number of other things
related to development that needed to be done. Again, Mr. Nordhoff stated a good chunk of
these costs could be recovered through fees through various development applications, etc., and
staff recommended this.
Mr. Nordhoff stated that the idea of Reorganizing the Fire Department and putting in the
appropriate personnel infrastructure to provide some continuity of administrative services over
the five-day work week had been discussed. He noted this would afford an opportunity to further
enhance DART (Disaster Area Recovery Team) programs, Vegetation Management (support
staff); therefore, once many of the policies and programs were put into place, resources would
be available to ensure those things happened.
Mr. Nordhoff stated the net total was $131,000 should all these items be considered as part of the
budget, which would also add 3.25 positions to the budget.
With regard to Restoring Services, Mr. Nordhoff stated that staff looked at a number of items that had
been paired down over the last several years as the budget was running into deficits and the need to
keep expenses in line with available resources. Restoring both a Parks and a Streets position was
discussed, having cut three of each over the course of a couple of years, and while running much
smaller operations in Parks and Streets, in neither case, had the workload diminished. Park inventory
had been added and there were a number of things to do in terms of street repair and right-of-way
maintenance. He indicated the proposal to help pay for those was to eliminate an Administrative
Assistant position; therefore the $30,000 figure in the Revenue column was Public Works suggesting
they not fill a clerical function and help offset the cost of these.
Regarding the Library. Mr. Nordhoff stated there had been a very limited materials budget and the City
was about to embark on opening up the Pickleweed branch; therefore, staff recommended money be
set aside to partially restore the materials budget, and Library Director David Dodd would have the
discretion to figure out how that was split up between the materials and services at the main branch and
Pickleweed.
Mr. Nordhoff stated a further item had been added (list attached) at the City Attorney's request. He
explained that a lot of issues required legal attention and there had been a number of issues the City
Attorney's Office had been unable to attend to due to paring down some staffing in Human Resources
and Risk Management and other factors over the past couple of years; therefore, it was recommended
that the City Council consider allocating $75,000 for contract legal work to accomplish a number of
these tasks. Noting this list could change slightly over the next year, Mr. Nordhoff stated this was the
essence of what staff hoped to achieve. Staff would then evaluate the situation and determine whether
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the backlog had been dealt with or whether there was need to continue these services
With regard to Restoring Police Positions, Mr. Nordhoff reported that six Police Officer positions had
been cut over the course of the last three years; therefore, this would be the first of a series of requests
to rebuild those services. In order to see any measurable impact, sufficient people had to be built back
to not only do the basic police work but continue to have personnel in place for specialty assignments,
such as DPU (Directed Patrol Unit), Traffic Enforcement, etc.
Under General Fund Net Cost — Option #1, Mr. Nordhoff explained that the annual cost (lightly shaded
column) indicated that if all the items listed were considered and Council directed they be built into the
budget, the net cost to the budget would be $660,100.
Under General Fund Net Cost — Option #2, (darker shaded column), Mr. Nordhoff noted some concern
about the uncertainty of what Measure `S' would actually generate. Staff estimated this to be $4.2
million, none of which would be received until September, 2006. The proposal, therefore, was to
restore the three positions under Restoration (Police Officer and two Public Works positions) mid year
which would reduce the cost to approximately $483,100 for all the items listed.
Mr. Nordhoff stated that with $925,000 of discretionary money, approximately $450,000 would be
returned to reserves, adding back approximately 1 % of the 5% drawn down over the last couple of
years, thus making progress in the financial management policy.
Mr. Nordhoff stated staff sought Council direction about which items to build back into the budget and
these would be presented to Council on June 19, 2006.
3. PROGRESS REPORT ON 2005-2007 TWO-YEAR GOALS AND OBJECTIVES:
Citv Attorne
City Attorney Gary Ragghianti reported that several months ago he and Mr. Nordhoff began to discuss
the possibility of doing something to try to address the discreet items the City Attorney's Office never
seemed to get to that were substantive and important. In the materials submitted to Council this
evening he indicated there was a list of ten items, beginning with the Sidewalk Maintenance Ordinance
and ending with one currently under discussion with the Department of Public Works and the
Community Development Department - the Encroachment Permit Ordinance. Mr. Ragghianti stated this
was a one-time request, although he hastened to add that given the level of legal services being
requested and occurrences in the City over the past two years, it might not end up being a one-time
request.
Indicating that the City Attorney's Office manages its money very well, Mr. Ragghianti stated their
budget to date was 72% through instead of 83%, with 86% of the Contractual Services budget
remaining. However, there were items the City Attorney could not get to because over the past two or
three years an enormous amount of his time had been taken up with General Plan 2020, the
"commotion" with HCD and consequent lawsuit by St. Vincent's, MHC litigation and other issues he tries
to attend to in connection with the Land Use projects that appeared to be winding their way towards the
Council, i.e., Loch Lomond, 1203-1211 Lincoln Avenue, San Rafael Ranch Airport, Hines Development,
LAFCO on St. Vincent's Sphere of Influence (on which he had spent 90 minutes today reading the
extensive report prepared for Thursday's meeting in connection with the request that St. Vincent's be
removed from the City's Sphere of Influence), etc.
While not in the habit of requesting additional funds, Mr. Ragghianti stated the City Attorney's Office
needed help to get this done and respectfully requested Council's consideration.
Mayor Boro stated he was pleased that Mr. Ragghianti and Mr. Nordhoff had generated this list. He
recalled having had discussions concerning these issues and was pleased to see a plan to have them
addressed and moved forward. There were no objections from Council to this request.
Community Development —
Community Development Director Bob Brown stated it had been another busy and productive year in
Community Development. Acknowledging his truly exceptional management team of Lynda LeVeque,
Code Enforcement Manager, and Bill Meeker, Current Planning, who were present, and Linda Jackson,
Principal Planner (Future Planning) and Thomas Ahrens, Chief Building Official, who were unable to be
present, Mr. Brown stated these were the people who truly made the objectives happen.
Summarizing the divisions Mr. Brown stated that:
Code Enforcement had done their usual excellent job this past year and at this point was just about to
complete the first round of inspections of all apartment units and all hotel/motel units in the City. This
had taken just short of five years, as originally projected, and staff believed that in each subsequent
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round of re -inspections, this would be reduced to probably three years as going forward, it would be
easier having dealt with the tough issues.
Planning — As suggested by the City Attorney, Mr. Brown stated Planning was in a period of seemingly
increasing controversy over development proposals, both large and small, which meant more public
involvement, more CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act) and more staff time. He reported that
unfortunately, Planning was down two of its six Planning positions, with the possibility of losing a third;
therefore, in the next six months, there would be more reliance on contract help and a slowing of the
pace of some development approvals would also be evident as a result.
In terms of Long Range Planning (Linda Jackson) and implementing the new General Plan, Mr. Brown
stated this had been somewhat slowed due to budget constraints. The Canal Transportation Plan,
funded by a grant from MTC (Metropolitan Transportation Commission) would shortly be completed, and
Ms. Jackson was actively pursuing grant funds to do a Canal Waterfront Plan.
Mr. Brown reported that probably the largest change and accomplishment in the Community
Development Department this year was the transformation of the Building Division, which had been very
dramatic. The new over the counter plan check and permit issuance and scheduling of both a.m. or
p.m. inspections had been extremely popular with the public. Mr. Brown stated that Thomas Ahrens had
improved most procedures, had greatly increased staff training, use of technology and even data
retention was very different from a year ago. He noted that all of these improved services required
some additional staff resources which was the reason for the proposal before the City Council that
would allow one of the vacant Building Inspector positions to be refilled.
Mr. Brown noted that both Building and Code Enforcement were very supportive of Fire Chief
Montenero's proposed reorganization, which they believed would greatly strengthen permit and
enforcement services.
Noting an additional departmental objective relating to green building regulations, Mr. Brown stated he
hoped to have a study session with the City Council in July, 2006 to discuss some of the options and
with Council direction, staff could have some ordinances or regulations ready to present to the City
Council by the end of the year.
Regarding the Canal Waterfront program and its priority status, Councilmember Miller requested
clarification that it was the waterfront on the west side.
Mr. Brown stated it was both sides, but essentially in the commercial segment of the Canal.
Councilmember Miller confirmed the City would attempt to have private developers help to do this
Mr. Brown stated the idea would be to find ways to put in a public walkway along the Canal on both
sides of the waterfront and also to have some building guidelines to ensure people could see through to
the water, together with ways to incorporate housing along that commercial frontage, i.e., behind the car
dealerships and some of the marine uses on the other side of the Canal.
Regarding the priority status, Councilmember Miller stated he saw this as not being perhaps as
important a priority issue facing the City at this time.
Mr. Brown stated that last year staff surveyed the Planning Commission, General Plan Steering
Committee and residents involved to obtain their prioritization and the Canal Waterfront Plan did rank
very high. Another item, mentioned by the Mills family at the last meeting, concerned looking at the
residential zoning regulations and design criteria for additions, which would probably be another very
high priority if funds were available.
Regarding Begin Implementation of General Plan 2020, Councilmember Phillips quoted the comments
"Limited General Plan implementation due to staff cutbacks...." and inquired as to what implementation
had not progressed.
Mr. Brown stated there were approximately 157 short term programs in the new General Plan, 15% of
which he believed had been tackled; however, a substantial number of significant programs remained,
including residential zoning, design guidelines and neighborhood plan updates.
Regarding outside plan check, Mayor Boro inquired whether with 3 plan checkers, outside plan check
would be eliminated.
Mr. Brown clarified that the two vacant positions were in Planning (two Planners). In Building, a vacant
Building Inspector position was not filled two years ago, and these funds were being used for outside
plan check. It was found, however, that four Building Inspectors were necessary; therefore, the funds
that would go to plan check would permit recruitment and hiring of that position.
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Mayor Boro stated he did not feel good about going outside for plan check and would far prefer it be
done internally. He inquired as to what it would take to bring plan checking back into the department
and have it done as efficiently, if not more, than going outside.
Indicating that staff would like to try again for recruitment, Mr. Brown explained that with this budget line
item it would be possible to recruit a position for this amount, or to continue with outside plan check.
Aware that Mr. Ahrens would like to try to recruit again, Mr. Brown explained it was so specialized it was
almost necessary to go out and identify individuals to be targeted for recruitment.
Regarding the Green Building issue, Mayor Boro believed that at some point it would be worthwhile if as
a City, things being done internally were evaluated to save some dollars. He was aware that at one
point, there was discussion concerning seeking a grant to change traffic signals to LED, which would
save a substantial amount of money each year, and with regard to some of the work being done on City
Hall, he did not know how much green was in the solution or whether there was a possibility of putting
some green solutions into it. Also, going forward Mayor Boro suggested that the purchase of hybrid
vehicles be considered, to be seen not only to walk the walk, but save money as well.
Mr. Nordhoff stated that the Fleet Advisory Board evaluates ways of buying alternative vehicles to save
fuel, and the Public Works building had been put in with several other buildings throughout the County
for some federal grant funding that could allow some retroactive solar installation. Since this is a new
building it is one of the models in line for some grant funding through the General Services Agency. He
noted the City would continue to add to the list of these types of things.
Mayor Boro noted that some jurisdictions, the County in particular, had also used a bond funding to
recoup the money over time and basically after a certain number of years it would pay for itself.
Mr. Nordhoff stated programs had been offered through PG&E and other providers over time that had
allowed retrofitting of lighting and doing other things in the public buildings; however, the numbers would
have to be run to see how it was working.
Mayor Boro suggested bringing this back later in the year.
Mayor Boro thanked Mr. Brown and his staff for their great efforts, noting he was very proud of this
excellent staff which really shone throughout Marin County.
Community Services -
Community Services Director Carlene McCart reported that the twelve-month review of Community
Services' Goals and Objectives would show they were on a pace to accomplish all by this time next
year. Of the 104 Objectives, Goals and Major Accomplishments listed, 63 were complete, 36 were
underway, with only 5 dropping off the list because of changing circumstances.
Ms. McCart reported that in this year alone, Youth Services had been expanded to every viable
elementary school campus in the Dixie and San Rafael School Districts and between the divisions this
summer, they would have over 200 offerings of activities and programs for youth in the community. She
indicated that very good progress had been made on teen programming; they were on the Davidson
campus, were surveying the Miller Creek campus for program desires and programming had also been
initiated at San Rafael High School.
Ms. McCart stated that the Childcare Division was stable both financially and organizationally at this
time, and extensive efforts had been made at Falkirk Cultural Center to attract grant dollars to solve
some infrastructure problems. Although not yet successful, there would be a third round of the
California Cultural Heritage Endowment Fund to apply for and concerted efforts would be made to take
down some of those dollars because there was an approximate $1.5 million list of improvements that
needed to be taken care of sooner rather than later at Falkirk, including roof, plumbing, electrical and
foundation work.
To stabilize Falkirk, Ms. McCart stated staff had been successful at attracting more rentals this year than
any other. Programming had been instituted that would allow a regular revenue stream, approaches to
the Gallery shows and events had been adjusted to allow some of these activities to continue without
any department support, the education program was expanding and several restoration projects had
been accomplished to help maintain the historical integrity of the mansion as well as the grounds, all
privately funded.
Ms. McCart stated there was a group of interested individuals who had committed themselves to
formulating a non-profit foundation for the benefit of Falkirk and its programming, and hopefully, that
would come to fruition next year also.
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Terra Linda Community Center— Ms. McCart reported programs had been expanded both at the pool
and community center and, in fact, the pool was reaching its maximum capacity for programming. She
indicated they had reached the projected point this year since opening the pool four years ago where
they had a balance of programs attracting a much broader range of people, with continued success.
She noted that the pool operation and management was well known throughout the County and
considered one of the best. They were sought after for training and it was a staging area for staffing
programs, of which they were very proud. Ms. McCart reported that small but important upgrades had
been made to the community center, i.e., paint inside and out (she thanked Rotary for their assistance
inside), carpeting had been replaced, front door ADA access improvements and she noted Public Works
had helped immensely with all of these projects, including the outdoor patio area, solving for the
moment trip and fall situations.
Indicating this was a 50 -year old building, Ms. McCart stated that these small but significant
improvements helped it to remain contemporary and attract the audience needed to generate the
revenue to keep the facility open.
San Rafael Community Center — the workhorse — Ms. McCart stated it was amazing to her and most of
those working there, how often it transformed itself in a day. She reported having had a year of hot
political rallies, opera performances and classes of every type. There had been private rentals as well
as multiple public school events and the facility was used as the summer base for camps and a home
base for senior programs, which continued to thrive. Ms. McCart stated they had approximately 1,800
seniors who had registered and participated almost weekly in one activity or another, with approximately
thirty new registrants per month.
Ms. McCart reported that every division continued to serve, adjust and produce needed revenue despite
the overall department focus this year which had been the completion and opening of the Pickleweed
Park Community Center and Library, which had been a Community Services goal and objective for the
last seven years. She noted that next year there would be an F — Finished — title opposite the building
construction itself, which was a source of great satisfaction and pride.
Noting hundreds of people assisted in this effort, Ms. McCart stated the project had been embraced by
the City team way beyond those members of the Community Services Department. She indicated it was
a collegial effort that brought the best thinking and practices to the project and expanded the opportunity
for success way beyond whatever Community Services could have managed alone. From the
community organizing to the fund raising Mayor Boro and Councilmember Miller had achieved to the
most detailed plan inspection, Ms. McCart stated it had been a one hundred percent effort by one
hundred percent of the team.
Noting the City was getting good at this, Ms. McCart stated that with a parking garage, Corporation Yard
headquarters, Childcare Center, newly rebuilt pool, playing fields and now a community center, they
would like to build something again should the opportunity arise, which they hoped would be in the near
future.
Going forward, Ms. McCart stated their overarching goals would be focused on a dialing in programming
into the new center. Although this would be slow and methodical this summer, it would be up and
running at full tilt in September, and by June, 2007, after nine months of operation, there would be a
better idea of where resources were needed and how the community center had been received by the
community.
Ms. McCart reported that staff would have a complete proposal that would ready them to initiate a
Cultural Arts Vision for San Rafael, and that Vision would ultimately lead to a Cultural Arts Plan which
would help San Rafael interpret who and what it was through artistic expression.
Ms. McCart stated staff would continue to market the Community Services Department's services very
aggressively, both through the Internet and print, and with vigor, respond to the trends that determine
how customers are attracted and maintained.
Ms. McCart stated that the Community Services Department's experienced and talented staff required
and deserved ongoing professional development. She noted this had not happened in the last several
years because of shrinking resources; however, this would be reinstated to ensure staff remained
current and on the cutting edge.
Indicating that staff would explore every opportunity to partner with the School Districts to create
community projects that added to the inventory of athletic and recreation facilities, Ms. McCart noted this
inventory was shrinking and it was critical to find ways to work together to stop that shrinking and serve
the community better.
Ms. McCart stated the Community Services Department would dedicate itself to a long list of
infrastructure repairs at the facilities to keep them open, serving and continuing to serve.
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Lastly, Ms. McCart stated staff would try to respond to neighborhood requests for park improvements at
Victor Jones and Freitas and for the Montecito neighborhood. She commented that unfortunately, the
2006 State Park Bond Act was not on the June ballot and there was no indication it would be soon;
therefore, they would have to be a lot more alert to other types of funding mechanisms to try to serve
these needs, which would not go away.
Ms. McCart thanked the City Council for their support.
On behalf of all, Mayor Boro thanked Carlene McCart and her entire staff for the great job they had done
this past year and continued to do. While Pickleweed was a great achievement, he was aware of the
many other achievements made in the City through the Community Services Department.
Fire Department —
Fire Chief John Montenero stated that the Fire Department continues to respond to emergencies and in
this Fiscal Year will have responded to more than 6,200 emergencies, with little or no complaining about
that service. They also worked on a lot of fire prevention related material, whether plan checking,
building inspections or pre -construction meetings.
Fire Chief Montenero reported that through a process, staff had worked a lot this year on reorganization
which was really important to the department because of the need to build a better administrative ability
to take the resources available to make the Fire Department more productive and more team oriented.
Reporting that staff had been working on exams for Fire Engineer, Fire Captain and Battalion Chief, Fire
Chief Montenero stated it was planned to hold these in June, July and September. Also, staff had been
working a lot on Standards of Cover and found it was necessary to obtain a different type of software for
this purpose. As staff had been working on the various contracts for CSA 19 and Marinwood, he noted
the ability to project response times in a very visible and readable manner were limited; therefore, they
were looking towards finding software that would do that in-house as opposed to contracting out.
Fire Chief Montenero reported that staff had been working on a workforce performance builder program
which focused in on communications. Training on this program was completed, it was not being tested
and staff had just completed a policy on its implementation where each quarter all personnel would go
through a process of communication with their personnel on each individual's concerns on any issue,
including the performance of the person asking the question. Fire Chief Montenero believed this would
make a huge difference in team development of the Fire Department in the future.
Noting the contracts for Marinwood and CSA 19 had been very time consuming, Fire Chief Montenero
stated staff was continuing to work on that with hopeful closure in the near future.
Regarding the Fire Prevention offices, which were damaged during the winter floods, Fire Chief
Montenero stated they had a technical o.k. to move back into them; therefore, the issue would be who
funds the repairs — the building owner or the City.
Goals -
Engine Company Paramedic Services — Fire Chief Montenero reported that the Fire Department was
working on a new planning process pulling in all Fire Captains. There were eighteen decentralized units
in the Fire Department; therefore, all Fire Captains were being involved in the decision-making process.
One of these issues was the Engine Company Paramedic Service; however, as they were unsure as to
where this would go, they did not have an answer to that goal. Fire Chief Montenero reported that new
literature being published indicated there was a disadvantage to having too many paramedics because
of the training level versus the experience of applying that training; therefore, this needed to be
evaluated.
Indicating the Fire Department had several grants this year, Fire Chief Montenero explained that one
was for exhaust extractors. The grant was received, equipment was purchased and it would be installed
with the help of Public Works in the next month. A grant was also received from Kaiser Hospital and
with this, the Fire Department had purchased 12 -lead Heart Monitors and hoped to have them up and
running by July 1, 2006. He explained these were important because one of the problems faced during
paramedic calls was heart attacks. Very often a heart attack reminded people of open heart surgery
and with these new devices, paramedics could read the electric waves of the heart and as a result,
direct someone into emergency angioplasty, which was simply an insert into the vein which opens up
the blockage, as opposed to open heart surgery.
Fire Chief Montenero reported that the other grant they were participating in - "Mobile Data Terminal" -
was done as a countywide Fire Chiefs Association grant. It had been approved and the Fire
Department would be receiving Mobile Data Terminals for each of the fire stations and one command
unit. Therefore, when able to interface with the County Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) System, the
Fire Department would be able to receive real time communications on dispatch information and GIS
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information. He indicated that currently in the Dispatch system, the San Rafael Fire Department was the
only department in a separate CAD system and they were meeting to re-evaluate whether San Rafael
should go it alone on dispatching. He noted the cost to join San Rafael's CAD with MERA would be
more than $100,000, which appeared intolerable.
Mayor Boro invited Chief Montenero to elaborate further on this.
Elaborating, Fire Chief Montenero explained that the MERA system was designed whereby a signal
could be sent out to alert fire stations to respond. Every Fire Department in Marin County was on a
CAD system that interfaced with MERA, except for San Rafael. Noting it was called a "Port", he stated
that to take San Rafael's CAD and port it into the County communications system to have MERA
dispatch for the City would be very expensive.
Mayor Boro inquired whether this meant that ultimately, San Rafael would eliminate dispatching. Fire
Chief Montenero stated this was possible.
Mayor Boro confirmed that it was more than just the cost of an activity, but also long term savings.
Fire Chief Montenero added that almost all County Fire Departments were dispatched by the County of
Marin, except for the County Fire Department; therefore, San Rafael was looking at all those options
and staff hoped to be in a position to return to Council with something that made more sense financially
and operationally.
Disaster Preparedness — Fire Chief Montenero reported that the City had hired an Emergency Services
Coordinator and Fire Department staff would work with this coordinator and the City Manager, hoping to
improve the DART (Disaster Area Response Team) performance. He explained it was hoped to
develop the Disaster Area Response Teams that had been trained into neighborhood groups that could
act and coordinate with the Fire Department during a large emergency or disaster. Fire Chief
Montenero stated this would be an important part of the work and leadership of the Emergency Services
Coordinator. Emergency Drills being another important function, he stated it was necessary to carry out
tests much more frequently. He noted staff had been working on re -writing the plan and evaluating what
the EOC (Emergency Operations Center) should look like and where it should be.
Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) — Fire Chief Montenero stated that San Rafael had USAR
responsibilities and staff was also evaluating how the City could join the countywide group.
Hazardous Materials — Fire Chief Montenero reported that staff had been working on the Toxic Away
Day in Nicasio. This year would be the last as they had proven to be too expensive and staff would be
looking at alternatives. Expansion of the hazardous waste collection facility at Marin Sanitary Service
was also being evaluated and staff was aware it needed to expand; therefore, the JPA was looking at
how to fund it, together with the potential for obtaining a grant.
Fire Chief Montenero reported completion of a Sharps Needle Disposal Program, which was considered
an extremely important disease control method. The Bird Flu issue was also being evaluated and more
serious consideration needed to be given to that given the recent news that it could be transmitted, and
it would not go away.
Vegetation Management — Fire Chief Montenero stated that vegetation fires presented a serious threat
to the City and staff was now evaluating preparation of a program to present to the City Council for
study. This would be a complete program for the entire City in which wildland urban interface areas
would be created which would be required to have a 100 -foot defensible space. Staff would identify this
100 -foot defensible space and the time frame in which the first round would be made to create them and
then go into a maintenance mode.
Mayor Boro thanked Fire Chief Montenero for agreeing to stay with the City for the next two years and
for all the great work he and the members of the Fire Department do.
Library —
Library Director David Dodd reported that everyone in the library was working very hard. Library
services were really intensifying and rather than expanding, they were becoming more intense in the
available hours. He noted that with fewer staff overall and fewer hours, circulation was the same as
when the library was open for 59 hours per week.
Indicating that this year had seen a big jump in circulation, Mr. Dodd believed a lot of this was due to the
fact that the City Council authorized staff to begin circulating music CDs and VHS tapes free of charge,
resulting in an approximate 300% increase in the circulation of those types of materials which has given
an approximate 15% increase overall in circulation year to date.
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Concerning fundraising, Mr. Dodd thanked the Friends of the Library and the Book Fund Committee
because they kept the materials budget solvent during the past two years when there were such big
cutbacks in the materials budget. He noted they had raised over $70,000 towards supporting the
budget and the Friends of the Library had contributed a further $40,000 over the two years. Without
them, Mr. Dodd stated there would have been a lot less to offer to the public.
With regard to R & R Adult Services, Mr. Dodd was pleased to report that finally they had been able to
offer Wireless Internet Access throughout the library, which had become a very popular feature. Staff
had done extensive work on the children's collection and had replaced all the outdated and worn
materials in the past year, thanks to the Friends of the Library.
Regarding Pickleweed, Mr. Dodd reported that Picklewood would be opening some time over the next
few weeks. Staff was ready to go with new materials and the new Librarian, Linda Kenton, was already
on staff.
Noting a big stride in the Literacy Program this year, Mr. Dodd reported having hired the first ever
regular City employee, Susan Charlton, to direct this program. This would provide for good continuity
over the coming years, pursuant to the retirement of Barbara Barwood this month (June, 2006).
Anticipating obtaining new windows, Mr. Dodd stated this would hopefully prevent some of the leaks
which threatened the collection and safety of people and materials. Commencing in August and going
through October, he noted this would be a huge project and it was hoped the library would not to have
to close to the public for more than three or four weeks; however, it would have an impact. Noting this
was an approximate $815,000 project, Mr. Dodd stated they appreciated the support, in particular, of
Public Works and the City Manager in finding the money needed to be able to do this.
Indicating there had been a lot of improvement in the appearance of the library indoors, despite the lack
of money to do anything, Mr. Dodd stated that by moving furniture, using a little paint and lighting, the
library looked incredibly better than a year ago, and a lot of this was thanks to Kay Noguchi,
Administrative Supervising Librarian.
Going forward, Mr. Dodd stated the library was participating in a statewide effort, led by State Librarian
Susan Hildreth, to make libraries more visible to the world in this Internet era. He noted people had
become very comfortable searching for information using search engines and library materials were
largely invisible in the results of those searches. Ms. Hildreth had found a way to take library catalogues
which were rich with materials and bring them out onto the open web, and along with most of the
libraries in California, San Rafael was participating in that project. Being technical services, Mr. Dodd
stated it was hard to find something in technical services that appealed to people's imagination.
Looking to the future, Mr. Dodd stated they were excited about getting the Pickleweed Library up and
running. Also, with the improvements to the San Rafael Public Library facility itself, he stated they would
like to carry out other improvements, such as traffic flow in the lobby and outside the building so that the
turnaround, street and parking lot all worked better and to the safety of patrons.
Lastly, Mr. Dodd stated they hoped to secure $10,000 for the library through the excellent
ambassadorship to the Great Race Finish in July. He stated there were a lot of cookie bakers who
would present drivers with home made baked goods, which he believed would probably seal the deal.
Thanking David Dodd and his staff for all their great work, Mayor Boro stated Mr. Dodd was a great
addition to the City.
In terms of services currently being provided, regarding Wireless Internet, Councilmember Cohen
inquired whether log -ins were tracked to determine usage.
Not having discussed this with Mark Rinkel, Information Technology Manager, Mr. Dodd believed there
was a way to ascertain what kind of band width was being used at least, and if not, how many log -ins.
Regarding attributing increased circulation to new materials, Councilmember Cohen inquired as to what
percentage of the increase was related to books on tape and VHS.
Indicating the increase was 15% overall, Mr. Dodd stated that the increases in those two materials areas
were approximately 300% each, which pretty much was a direct correlation.
With respect to the request for the materials budget, Councilmember Cohen noted the City Manager
referred to materials and services and he requested clarification on what was intended for the proposed
$100,000.
Mr. Dodd believed approximately $30,000 would be needed for Pickleweed operations as no money
was built into the budget to actually run the library when built and opened. He hoped $50,000 could be
put straight back into the Materials Budget, as this was the amount the Friends of the Library had been
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fundraising for the past two years, and would use the remaining $20,000 to backfill some of the hours in
Circulation that he would be unable to fill with permanent people.
Mayor Boro thanked Library Director David Dodd.
Police Department —
Interim Chief of Police Tom Simms reported that staff had submitted a fairly detailed report to the City
Council . He stated staff had heard loud and clear from members of the public and the City Council that
the priorities for the Police Department had to include Pickleweed as a new facility, maintenance of the
Canal area and the downtown and the traffic problems faced daily. He noted that the programs
designed to address these issues were pretty well at full staff and people were working really hard. This
included the Directed Patrol Unit with a sergeant and two officers dedicated full time to that program,
two officers working full time on the downtown foot beat, two officers full time in the mental health unit,
primarily assisting the downtown and Canal areas, and the traffic unit was put back into place, having
been eliminated for a period of time last year, and staffed with a sergeant and four officers. Chief Simms
noted that at full staffing, there probably would be an additional two officers working in the traffic unit.
Chief Simms stated staff would evaluate how COPS (Community Oriented Policing Services) works in
the community and how the Police Department needed to be structured in order to meet those needs
and objectives. While still early in the process of evaluating and determining how this would be
addressed in the long term, he stated there were things in the budget to address it in the short term.
Indicating his immediate concern for the Police Department was staffing, Chief Simms stated staff was
trying to find that fine balance between providing some dedicated services and how to respond to
emergency calls for service, ensuring sufficient police resources were available 24 hours a day, 365
days a year. He reported that the hiring process was being evaluated to ensure the very best qualified
candidates were hired to become Police Officers for the City of San Rafael, and more importantly,
beyond just hiring an employee, what was needed to retain those qualified people.
Regarding the allocation of resources, Police Chief Simms stated that with the defined amount of people
to work with, it was necessary to ensure they were assigned in the very best and most effective ways.
Indicating this could include some civilian ization, he noted areas of where civilian employees could be
used needed to be looked at, not to replace Police Officers, rather to supplement them in a more cost
effective manner. Examples included, taking minor traffic accident reports and handling theft reports
from the public where the use of a sworn Police Officer might not be essential and as good or better job
could be done with a civilian employee who had been trained.
Chief Simms stated that a lot of money was being spent on overtime to staff the positions within the
Police Department. He noted having mentioned in his memo that a couple of people had been
reassigned, the County auto theft task force position would not be filled — that officer was due to rotate -
and at least for the foreseeable future, that person would not be replaced. A second Police Officer was
working in the schools; however, funding had ended and that position would be eliminated from the
budget with the officer rotating back to patrol, which would provide some assistance. Chief Simms
stated a couple of officers would be graduating from the Police Academy and would be brought up to
speed as soon as possible (probably a six-month process).
Believing staff was on top of the issues, Interim Police Chief Simms stated they were being evaluated
daily, and those in the Police Department were aware of and understood the priorities.
Regarding Community Policing, Mayor Boro noted that while it was not planned to add someone back at
this point in time, he recalled having discussed this with Captain Franzini who had some idea about how
someone in the organization could be that face on Community Policing.
Chief Simms explained this would be a civilian position at this point, which he believed was already built
into the budget. Staff was in the process of recruiting and hiring that person; however, while an
immediate fix, they wanted to see how it would fit into an overall strategy of Community Policing using
existing resources. Personally, he did not see Community Policing as a one-person effort, rather the
entire Police Department and other resources within the City needed to be brought to bear to address
these problems.
Concurring, Mayor Boro stated the City was fortunate a while back to have had a Lieutenant and
Sergeant the faces of Community Policing, and while he believed it had to be the philosophy of the
entire department, someone needed to be individually responsible.
Regarding the school situation, Mayor Boro stated that at the recent dinner/meeting with the two school
boards, a video was shown by a Police Officer working with youth in Novato, along with Corporal Harry
Barbier, regarding myspace.com and other issues taking place in schools currently and he believed
children needed to be educated about the Internet and potentially, how vulnerable they could be. With
regard to the grant money that had been helping fund the second position, Mayor Boro inquired whether
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the schools were interested in helping fund this position.
Mr. Nordhoff stated he had not talked to anyone at the District specifically; however, this issue was on
the agenda of a meeting scheduled with both Districts on Tuesday morning next. Should they
participate, he wanted to explore ways to potentially hold on to that position. He commented that
$100,000 annually in grant funding would be lost in this second school resource officer position.
Chief Simms reported having met with the School District to discuss the position so they were well
aware of the situation.
Given the staff issue, should the request in the budget to restore a position be approved commencing at
the beginning of the fiscal year, Councilmember Cohen inquired as to when the position would actually
be filled.
Chief Simms stated that as of today, there were nine vacant positions in the Police Department;
therefore, filling ten positions and actually have those people working, assuming qualified people could
be found, would probably take nine to ten months minimum, and this could be optimistic.
Thanking Chief Simms for his work, Mayor Boro requested that he thank everyone in the Police
Department.
Public Works —
Public Works Director Andy Preston stated that "Public Works gets stuff done." He indicated that
tonight's packet identified eleven programs and had 23 pages for Council consideration. Rather than
going through all of the line items, Mr. Preston stated he would concentrate on the department
summary, which summarized the highlights of the different programs.
Acknowledging all the Public Works employees, especially his strong management team, Mr. Preston
stated all the divisions, crew members, maintenance workers, etc., were above all else in the County
which was evident by the dedication in their turning out for the major storms at the beginning of the year.
He noted many cancelled holidays, events, etc. to be present and show their dedication and support for
the City Council and the City of San Rafael. Mr. Preston stated he was extremely proud to be the
director of this very fine department.
Regarding the Pickleweed project, Mr. Preston stated he was very proud to have been involved in this
wonderful project. Of the 25 years he had spent with the City, this had been the most challenging and
rewarding of all the projects he had been involved in. He noted it was designed in twelve months and
subsequently constructed in fifteen months, which in itself was a testament to those involved. Mr.
Preston added that it was wonderful working with Carlene McCart, Community Services Director, and
her staff in the development and construction of the project.
Indicating he had hoped to be before Council today to state he had signed the Substantial Completion
Certificate and the City had ownership of the building, Mr. Preston reported this did not happen today.
Staff was presently working on it and hopefully, this week with approval from the building inspector, the
Certificate of Completion could be signed and occupancy of the building received. Noting the first event
was scheduled for June 8, 2006, Mr. Preston stated he intended to have the Completion signed and
accepted by that date.
With regard to the Francisco Boulevard West Underground project, Mr. Preston stated he was pleased
to state this had come along extremely well. Ghilotti Bros. started work on the project one month late
and were working on it from both ends, much to the dismay and chagrin of Caltrans who was trying to
do their project oversight. Noting many items had been omitted from the plans, mainly due to very little
coordination between the different departments in Caltrans, Mr. Preston stated staff was working
through them on this continually and he saw completion still on schedule for Thanksgiving.
Collaboration on the Highway 101 HOV Project — Mr. Preston stated this was the same project but
basically brought in the whole of the widening of the project and the 580 connection. He indicated that
all he could say to this was "Caltrans moves in mysterious ways their wonders to perform", which he
believed summed up the City's association with them. Mr. Preston stated the City was partnering with
Caltrans and TAM on this project, noting Karen Chew, Engineer and Katie Korzun, Economic
Development Coordinator, had spent a lot of time working with them in an attempt to work out these
issues.
Monitor and Calculate Remaining Traffic Capacity — Mr. Preston stated he was pleased to report that
City Traffic Engineer, Nader Mansourian, had completed the analysis of the traffic impact of the thirteen
scenarios for the Project Selection Process (PSP). Mr. Mansourian was now awaiting the public
hearings set for July and August to continue with that process.
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Mr. Preston stated staff informed the City Council they would seek grants for Capital projects as part of
the 5 -year goals and he was pleased to report they had been extremely aggressive and successful in
the grant applications on the Fourth Street Rehabilitation project. $700,000 was received from the STP
(Surface Transportation Program) federal funds, an application would be submitted for $2.2 million from
Measure A funds to complete the remainder and staff would also be applying for $500,000 from TFCA
(Transportation Fund for Clean Air) funds, which could be used for beautification elements in the project.
Mr. Preston reported that the San Rafael Sanitation District would be putting in approximately $1.5
million for that project also.
Mr. Preston reported that $900,000 had been secured for the Medway/Canal Enhancement project in
TLC (Transportation for Livable Communities) funds and $400,000 in TDA (Transportation Development
Act) funds, and the Redevelopment Agency added a further $250,000. $108,000 was received from the
ABAG (Association of Bay Area Governments) funds for the Bray Trail/South Pond Area and $132,000
from the Recreational Trails program. He noted that for the first time, Bicycle and Pedestrian
Masterplan funds were received from the TFCA (Transportation Fund for Clean Air) in the amount of
$150,000, and hopefully with that, most of the Class 2 and Class 3 bike routes in San Rafael could be
completed.
Regarding ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act), Mr. Preston stated staff had not only been assuring
compliance with the Department of Justice Settlement Agreement, but going outside of that and
complying with all ADA compliance necessities. He reported that truncated domes to the curb cuts had
been retrofitted, etc. and language had been added to ensure the contractor allowed ADA access to the
construction zone also.
Mr. Preston stated Public Works would be going out to bid in two weeks with the first of many curb ramp
projects. This one was 80 ramps, with approximately 700 — 800 to be done in the next ten years. This
current project would be in the region of $200,000. Staff was also working with Community Services in
designing Sun Valley Park bathrooms and access ramps.
With regard to Storm Drains, Mr. Preston reported that the field review and inventory of all storm drains
in the City system had been completed, which amounted to approximately 150 miles. A database of all
drainage easements had been started; staff found this necessary for ongoing winter maintenance as
this information was lacking with the storms of last winter.
Mr. Preston reported that he was collaborating with SMART (Sonoma/Marin Area Rail Transit), TAM
(Transportation Authority of Marin) and Caltrans on the HOV/Puerto Suello multi -use path. For the
record Mr. Preston stated the multi -use path was presently 95% designed and the 100% final package
being designed by TAM, would be going to Caltrans by the end of June. Regarding the timeline, he
indicated Caltrans would have to make it ready to list for bidding by August, it would go to the CTC
(California Transportation Commission) vote in September to get the required funding for this segment,
and assuming this funding was received, it would be advertised in October, awarded in December and
that section should commence in January, 2007. Mr. Preston commented that he spends an inordinate
amount of time coordinating that project.
Other Accomplishments — Mr. Preston stated Public Works had now assumed responsibility for the Land
Development Division from Community Development, and Civil Engineer Cheng Yeo was the engineer
heading that new division in Public Works.
Indicating he was very fortunate to have hired Art Gibney as the new Operations and Maintenance
Manager, Mr. Preston stated Mr. Gibney had been the Public Works Superintendent from Belvedere and
was a superb addition to the Public Works team.
With regard to the FEMA/OES 12/31/05 Storm Damage Assessment, Mr. Preston stated there were 91
incidents and locations citywide. All of the applications had been completed and forwarded to FEMA for
approval. He indicated that the field crews had reviewed all and approved them at the field level. He
believed the estimated $884,557 would go way over a million dollars by completion of the project.
Interjecting, Mayor Boro stated he had heard that the President had declared California a disaster area
and the money would flow to the City.
Mr. Preston stated several landslides were already documented and the paperwork was being done to
be forwarded to FEMA also.
Mayor Boro stated that Mr. Preston's list of accomplishments were tremendous. His crews and staff
were excellent and during the storms this year the City was very fortunate, due to the work Mr. Preston
and his predecessor had done, to have avoided a lot of problems; however, where there were problems,
Public Works staff really responded very well.
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Economic Development/Redevelooment —
Economic Development Director Nancy Mackle stated the focus in downtown continued to be the San
Rafael Corporate Center and the former site of the PG&E office, as staff believed these to be key pieces
of land that would assist in completing the revitalization of the downtown. Staff was also working closely
with Public Works for the West End Streetscape and Sidewalk Rehabilitation for which it was hoped to
obtain funds soon.
Regarding West Francisco, she noted Mr. Preston's comments about the intense time Public Works and
Economic Development staff were putting in with Caltrans. She indicated that once some of the street
work construction was complete, Katie Korzun, Economic Development Coordinator, would be working
with the property owners to plan on some new car dealerships to come into place along that part of
town.
Ms. Mackle stated she was happy to report that Extended Stay America and Best Buy were under
construction and would bring some tax revenue to the City fairly soon.
With regard to Pickleweed, Ms. Mackle stated this was one of the most wonderful projects everyone
worked on. Noting many departments were involved, she stated teamwork was one of the beauties of
working for the City of San Rafael. Speaking for Stephanie Lovette and Katie Korzun, she stated they
were proud to have been a part of the planning and funding of Pickleweed.
Affordable Housing — Ms. Mackle stated staff continued to work to support and promote affordable
housing in San Rafael.
Community Events — Ms. Mackle stated staff also was working on community events to promote the
downtown, most importantly the Great Race on July 8, 2006.
Management Services —
Ms. Mackle reported that Management Services was a mish mash of divisions working for both the
Interim City Manager, and herself. Interim Assistant City Manager.
In Finance, Ms. Mackle stated that Cindy Mosser and her capable staff were working on all of the
budget information, as well as implementing anything pertaining to Measure `S' funds.
Ms. Mackle reported that labor negotiations were in progress and it was hoped to bring many of the
bargaining units to closure soon.
With regard to Information Technology, Ms. Mackle reported that Information Technology Manager Mark
Rinkel and his staff completely overhauled the City's website and their next venture would be the City's
Telephone System, for which a separate study session would be scheduled.
Ms. Mackle reported that Parking Services had a new manager, Mark Miller, who was bringing in lots of
ideas to improve services in Parking and who would be involved with the ADA parking lot improvements
with Public Works.
In Human Resources, Ms. Mackle reported that Interim Human Resources Manager, Jane Fleenor, was
bringing an incredible amount of ideas and thoughts to the City, including new polices that would help
administer personnel management in a much better way.
Emergency Services Planning — Ms. Mackle noted Fire Chief Montenero had addressed this. She noted
that Steven Rathbone, Emergency Services Coordinator, was present and amongst other departments,
he would be working very closely with the Fire Department on vegetation management, training, DART,
etc.
Ms. Mackle reported that Matt Mornick, Emergency Services Intern, would be leaving soon. Noting Mr.
Mornick had put a lot of work and effort into his work for the City, she wished to ensure he was thanked
for his work on the Emergency Plan.
Mayor Boro stated that the group she inherited in just a short time did tremendous work for the City and
her Economic Development group always had done excellent work. Thanking Ms. Mackle for the work
she had done personally, he requested that she thank all the members of the two groups for their efforts
to date.
Mayor Boro wished Matt Mornick good luck and much success and thanked him for all his work. He
commented that he hoped to see Matt at City Hall some day challenging someone for a City Manager's
job.
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City Cie rk —
Unless the City Council had questions on her list, Ms. Leoncini stated she had one very exciting thing to
report. She stated that when she noted in her list that the Deputy City Clerk, Esther Beirne, was
participating in the Technical Track for Clerks to become a Certified Municipal Clerk, she indicated it
would happen by the end of June, 2006; however, the notice was received today, and she was now a
Certified Municipal Clerk. Indicating that this took only one year, Ms. Leoncini stated this was thanks to
the City Manager's office support in permitting the Deputy City Clerk to attend the necessary classes.
Ms. Leoncini noted that Deputy City Clerk Esther Beirne worked on uploading ordinances and
resolutions to the website, which went very smoothly.
Mayor Boro thanked Ms. Leoncini and her staff for their work.
City Manager—
Lydia Romero, Assistant to the City Manager, noted the transition from City Manager Rod Gould to Ken
Nordhoff, Interim City Manager, and expressed the hope that there would be no further transition. She
stated that Mr. Nordhoff had done a fabulous job moving the City Council's goals forward and helped
craft the next five-year goals that he hopefully, would oversee to fruition also.
Ms. Romero reported that the ADA committee continued to remain active. Public Works Administrative
Supervisor Richard Landis had assumed the responsibilities of the committee and they would be
submitting their second status report in August.
Ms. Romero reported that subsequent to this evening's special study session, staff would continue
moving forward with the Paramedic Special Tax and create an education program for the November
election.
Indicating that staff would continue to advocate in the inter -government relations portions of the budget,
Ms. Romero stated this would include advocating state budget funds and ensuring local governments
stayed whole, together with legislative measures that continued to permit local government.
Regarding the Volunteer program, Ms. Romero reported that Volunteer Coordinator Cory Bytof had
done a tremendous job expanding this program. He had worked with youth, service organizations and
had solicited individuals to do solo work, and crafting with the City Attorney's office, he had created a
risk assessment/liability form so people could go out and keep open space and parks clean by
themselves without any supervision.
Ms. Romero stated that "San Rafael Clean" had a soft start and now in its second year hopefully would
have a bigger bang this year. She noted their continued presence at the Farmers' Market; however,
they also attended the Marin County Farmers' Market on Sundays to help keep San Rafael litter free
and clean.
Mayor Boro thanked Ms. Romero for her great effort this year.
Mayor Boro invited anyone from the audience who wished to address the City Council to do so.
Dil Kazzaz stated he was present for the last session when the City Manager suggested that City
infrastructure needed a lot of attention and a big budget was required to address that deterioration. He
suggested the City Council look at Merrydale where the developer had not been required to upgrade the
sidewalk.
Mayor Boro suggested Council give staff direction on the second page and then fold the City Council Goals
into the end of the meeting.
Councilmember Miller agreed with going forward with both pieces.
Concurring, Councilmember Phillips stated he was comfortable with the total amount and the detail was well
supported based on this evening's report and the competence of the people in each department.
Councilmember Cohen stated he might be inclined to support Option 2 with regard to increasing staff, in order
to evaluate implementing this half way through the fiscal year to give a chance for the revenue to actually begin
to flow. He believed the City should proceed slowly with regard to adding back staff until there was some
assurance with regard to the Measure `S' funds.
Mayor Boro suggested that the Baseline Organizational Request be proceeded with as he believed most of it
was recoverable costs. With regard to Service Restoration, he suggested going forward with the materials
budget for the library and the legal services, while holding off on the Police Officers, based on the lack of
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(Spec.) SPJTCCRA 06/05/06 Page 16
success with filling those positions currently. He suggested also holding off on the parks and street
maintenance positions, until the mid -year numbers were evaluated.
Mr. Nordhoff stated staff's intention under Option 2 with the three positions mentioned was to start the
appropriations on January 1, 2007; therefore, no action would be taken, nor the positions filled, ahead of the
middle of the fiscal year.
Mayor Boro noted the balance of the money would go into Reserves.
Mr. Nordhoff stated staff would present these recommendations in two weeks for formal action as part of
adoption the budget.
Mayor Boro thanked all the Department Managers for their presentations
There being no further business, the Special Meeting of the San Rafael City Council and Redevelopment
Agency was adjourned at 7:50 p.m.
JEANNE M. LEONCINI, CITY CLERK / AGENCY SECRETARY
APPROVED THIS DAY OF 12006
MAYOR OF THE CITY OF SAN RAFAEL / CHAIRMAN, REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY
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