HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Minutes 2007-04-02SRCC Minutes (Regular) 04/02/2007 Page 1
IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBER OF THE CITY OF SAN RAFAEL. MONDAY, APRIL 2, 2007 AT 8:00 P.M.
Regular Meeting:
San Rafael City Council
Also Present: Ken Nordhoff, City Manager
Gary T. Ragghianti, City Attorney
Jeanne M. Leoncini, City Clerk
OPEN SESSION — COUNCIL CHAMBER — 7:00 PM
Mayor Boro announced Closed Session items.
Present: Albert J. Boro, Mayor
Paul M. Cohen, Vice -Mayor
Barbara Heller, Councilmember
Cyr N. Miller, Councilmember
Gary O. Phillips, Councilmember
Absent: None
CLOSED SESSION — CONFERENCE ROOM 201 - 7:00 PM — File 1-4-1a
1. a) Conference with Legal Counsel - Existing Litigation
Government Code Section 54956.9(a)
Case Name: MHC Financinq, et al. v. Citv of San Rafael, et al.
U.S. District Court, Northern Dist. of CA, Case # C003785
b) Conference with Legal Counsel - Existing Litigation
Government Code Section 54956.9(a)
Case Name: MHC Financinq, et al. v. Citv of San Rafael, et al. (MHC II)
U.S. District Court, Northern Dist. of CA, Case # C043325
c) Public Employment — Government Code Section 54957(b)(1)
Title: Assistant to the City Manager
City Attorney Gary Ragghianti announced that no reportable action was taken on 1.a) or 1.1b).
Mayor Boro announced at 10:30 p.m. that no reportable action was taken on 1.c).
ORAL COMMUNICATIONS OF AN URGENCY NATURE:
a) State Assemblv Leqislation: - File 9-1
Assemblyman Mark Leno reported on legislation he is authoring this year in the State Assembly. He
indicated he would be pleased and honored should the City Council decide to support any of these bills
with a resolution.
Noting Global Warming was not only a threat to communities but to the entire planet, Assemblyman
Leno stated that 40% of greenhouse gas emissions comes from automobile use; therefore, it was
necessary to provide alternatives to cars. He indicated that AB 1358 would require cities and counties
when amending their General Plan's Transportation Element, to accommodate all users of the
roadway, including automobiles, bicycles, pedestrians, seniors, children and the disabled. By making
streets more accessible, people would be encouraged to use alternative forms of transportation that
could reduce carbon emissions.
Assemblyman Leno stated that In conjunction with Assemblyman Jared Huffman, he is authoring
AB 1056 — The California Ocean Protection Council Act. This bill authorizes and expands research on
oceans and removes bureaucratic hurdles to funding vital ocean protection projects.
Indicating that keeping children healthy and safe was one of his top priorities, Assemblyman Leno
stated that two bills reflected this: AB 706 would ban chlorinated and brominated fire retardants which
were banned nationally from use in children's sleepwear thirty years ago and which currently, were
being used as fire retardants in furniture and even bedding, specifically pillows. AB 1551 would
decrease teenage pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases.
Assemblyman Leno stated he was also co-authoring a bill with Assemblyman Chuck DeVore from
Orange County, which would allow California farmers to grow industrial hemp. Currently, thousands of
products are produced legally from industrial hemp: food, clothing, shelter, paper and fuel, which were
all biodegradable products. He indicated that the plant grows without herbicides, pesticides, fungicides
and with less water, which was the reason he was certain it would have as brilliant a future in California
as it did up until the mid -twentieth century. He stated that currently, manufacturers are required to send
their dollars abroad, exacerbating the trade imbalance, to import an entire plant which is only illegal in
this country when growing in the ground.
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For those interested, Assemblyman Leno indicated that more information on this legislation was
available at www.assemblv.ca.gov
Mayor Boro stated that Lydia Romero, Assistant to the City Manager, would pursue these and present
a recommendation to the City Council. He thanked Assemblyman Leno for his attendance this evening.
b) ADA Access — 330 G Street: - File 13-1-1
Huqo Landecker submitted a series of three photographs relating to accessibility at 330 G Street, one of
which identified the front of 330 G Street that formerly had a sidewalk. He indicated that the owner
chose to remove the sidewalk, install a retaining wall, backfill the retaining wall and erect an iron fence.
Mr. Landecker stated it was unfortunate that this property and adjacent parcel had their front property
lines almost at the curb. When the situation was brought to the attention of Code Enforcement,
Planning and Public Works, he noted staff indicated it was acceptable.
Referring to photograph 3 of the series, Mr. Landecker noted that a visually impaired person walking
north along G Street encountering this 5 -foot high fence could not turn right because of private property,
could not turn left because of a legally parked vehicle in the street (photograph) and a street tree in the
way, making it a dead end for a person with that problem. As this was unacceptable, Mr. Landecker
requested that the situation be investigated by the City.
Mayor Boro invited City Attorney Gary Ragghianti, Community Development Director Bob Brown and
the Department of Public Works to investigate and report back to the City Council.
c) War in Iraq: - File 9-1
Mary Morrision read from a suggested petition relating to undeclared wars in Iraq.
John Jenkel requested Council support in ending undeclared wars.
CONSENT CALENDAR:
Councilmember Miller moved and Councilmember Phillips seconded, to approve the Consent Calendar, as
follows:
ITEM
2. Approval of Minutes of Special City Council Meeting
of Monday, March 19, 2007 (CC)
3. Summary of Legislation Affecting San Rafael
(CM) — File 116 x 9-1
4. Report on Bid Opening and Resolution Awarding
Contract for Bicycle Master Plan Implementation -
Short -Term Routes, (Funded by Bay Area Air
Quality Management District Transportation Funds
for Clean Air Grant) Project No. 11092, to Chrisp
Company for the Base Bid Plus Alternate Bid in
the Amount of $63,329.40 (PW) —
File 4-1-593 x 261 x 9-3-40
5. Resolution Accepting Grant Deed for DuBois
Street at Irwin Street (Best Buy) (RA) —
File 2-1-84 x 4-10-349
RECOMMENDED ACTION
Minutes approved as submitted.
Approved staff recommendation:
SB 286 — Transportation Bonds.
Implementation. Senator Dutton.
SUPPORT
AB 1256 — Density Bonus:
Exemption: Local Inclusionary
Ordinance.
Assembly Member Caballero.
SUPPORT
RESOLUTION NO. 12224 —
RESOLUTION AWARDING
CONTRACT FOR BICYCLE MASTER
PLAN IMPLEMENTATION — SHORT
TERM ROUTES (FUNDED BY BAY
AREA AIR QUALITY MANAGEMENT
DISTRICT TRANSPORTATION
FUNDS FOR CLEAN AIR GRANT)
PROJECT NO. 11092, TO CHRISP
COMPANY, FOR THE BASE BID
PLUS ALTERNATE BID IN THE
AMOUNT OF $63,329.40 (lowest
responsible bidder)
RESOLUTION NO. 12225 —
RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING
ACCEPTING GRANT DEED FOR
PARCEL LOCATED AT DUBOIS
STREET AT IRWIN STREET (BEST
BUY)
SRCC Minutes (Regular) 04/02/2007 Page 2
6. Resolution Authorizing Execution of License
Agreement with Artworks Downtown for
Temporary Art Installations (RA) —
File 4-10-346 x 260 x 9-3-61 x (SRRA) R-423
7. Resolution Setting a Public Hearing on the
Reissuance by the San Rafael Redevelopment
Agency of a Multi -Family Housing Revenue Note
in an Approximate Principal Amount of not to
Exceed $5 Million Dollars ($5,000,000) Relating to
Lone Palm Court Apartments (840 C Street) (RA)
— File (SRRA) R-372 x (SRCC) 13-16 x 229
SRCC Minutes (Regular) 04/02/2007 Page 3
RESOLUTION NO. 12226—
RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING
EXECUTION OF A LICENSE
AGREEMENT WITH ART WORKS
DOWNTOWN FOR TEMPORARY ART
INSTALLATIONS
(May 1, 2007 through April 30, 2008)
RESOLUTION NO. 12227 —
RESOLUTION SETTING A PUBLIC
HEARING FOR MAY 7, 2007 ON THE
REISSUANCE BY THE SAN RAFAEL
REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY OF A
MULTI -FAMILY HOUSING REVENUE
NOTE IN AN APPROXIMATE
PRINCIPAL AMOUNT OF NOT TO
EXCEED $5 MILLION DOLLARS
($5,000,000) RELATING TO LONE
PALM COURT APARTMENTS
(840 C STREET)
AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS: Cohen, Heller, Miller, Phillips and Mayor Boro
NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS: None
ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: None
ABSTAINING: COUNCILMEMBERS: Cohen and Heller (from minutes of Sp. Meeting of
3/19/07, due to absence from meeting)
COUNCIL CONSIDERATION:
OLD BUSINESS:
8. CONSIDERATION OF RESOLUTION ESTABLISHING INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT
POLICY (PW) — FILE 13-10 x 9-1-2 x 9-3-40
Introducing this item, Art Gibney, Public Works Operations and Maintenance Manager,
recognized San Rafael residents, Debbie Rafael, Pam Reaves and Kramer Winslow, together
with other supporters in the community, for their hard work over four years in attempting to bring
the issue of integrated pest management to public discussion in San Rafael. He stated that in
that time they had shown a great amount of perseverance, tenacity and patience, culminating in
the policy before the City Council this evening.
Noting this policy was not an end, comprehensive or entirely internally consistent policy, Mr.
Gibney stated it was, however, a large and very significant first step for San Rafael, and an
important tool in operations. He expressed the hope that with Council guidance and approval,
this policy would be expanded to include all departments within the City, together with all
facilities/buildings and all products used within those facilities.
Mr. Gibney stated that this policy would be working in conjunction with the recently adopted fleet
policy and an anticipated janitorial contract that would consolidate many City contracts,
regulating the types of cleaning products used in public buildings that could affect workers and
visitors. He indicated that this policy and all the other proposed efforts working together would
hopefully lighten the footprint of operations upon the environment.
Reiterating that it was a first step, Mr. Gibney recommended adoption of the resolution and
policy.
Mayor Boro noted a study session took place approximately four weeks ago on this topic;
therefore, the City Council was familiar with the policy.
Pam Reaves, Safe and Healthy San Rafael, stated she hoped the City Council would adopt the
policy this evening and expressed gratitude for the team that was built. Having attended the
Environmental Forum, receiving training and meeting wonderful people, she stated she also had
the good fortune of starting conversations with Tom Rothenberger, former Parks Superintendent,
receiving encouragement and time from Councilmembers Cohen, Heller and Miller, and having
discussions with City Manager Ken Nordhoff, Public Works Director Andy Preston and Parks
Superintendent John Tune. She noted the City's incredible vision in hiring Art Gibney,
Debbie Rafael, voicing her support for the policy, stated she hoped it would be adopted.
Ms. Rafael stated the policy embodied what they considered three key principles of
precautionary thinking:
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• Obligation to minimize harm — using chemicals as a last resort and when used, being
confident they were the least toxic available;
• Right to know — the Citizens of San Rafael had the right to know what was being used on
public land and signs would be posted indicating what was being used, thereby affording
citizens choices to walk their dogs or have their children play; and
• Shared responsibility —protecting the environment and preserving public health was not
only the responsibility of public officials and Councilmembers, rather it was also the
responsibility of the community and private sector. She believed the power of this policy
was that it called on all to work together to find better products and minimize harm.
Noting Art Gibney had indicated this was just the beginning, Ms. Rafael concurred. She stated
the three speakers present this evening were committed to working with the City Council and City
staff to ensure the successful implementation of this policy. She hoped to see the reach of these
principles go beyond where they were today and impact all chemicals used on public property in
the City, and they were committed to ensuring this happened in the best way. She expressed
thanks for bringing this issue to the forefront and for the time and patience expended on studying
it with them, and indicated she was very proud to be a citizen of San Rafael.
Kramer Winslow, Safe and Healthy San Rafael, encouraged the City Council to vote for passage
of the Integrated Pest Management policy (IPM), which would be doing the citizens of San
Rafael, as well as the pets and the countless creatures without a voice, a great favor.
Reflecting on working with the City for the past four years, Ms. Winslow stated she would briefly
like to address some areas which demonstrated to them the City Council's service to San
Rafael's constituents, which was the key for this to happen.
Ms. Winslow stated she had been deeply touched by the accessibility of the City Council,
together with the quality of listening. While it may have taken a while to schedule certain
meetings, she noted the door was never closed. Ms. Winslow stated it could be difficult to
consider initiating change when budgets were tight and staff already stressed to the maximum;
however, they always believed there was an openness to listen.
Ms. Winslow noted changes big and small were being initiated in local communities across the
country — certainly in Marin County, the plastic bags initiative in San Francisco, the whole notion
of green buildings, more sustainable transportation, etc., in San Rafael — all of which had nothing
to do with the federal government, rather it had to do with the grassroots initiatives of
communities like San Rafael. She hoped San Rafael would join this movement this evening to
help make everyone safer and more healthy.
Ms. Winslow stated that adoption of this policy meant the San Rafael community was open to
change. In an IPM approach, there was no place for "stuck" thinking or action, rather ongoing
learning to be safer and more effective was essential. She commented that this could expand to
other arenas in terms of other ecologically sustainable ways.
Ms. Winslow reported that physicist, Dr. David Baume, who was not only interested in physics
but also in what made thought healthy and avoided unintended results once stated: "healthy
thought is open to seeing something new and something different." She commented that what
was known and seen today in light of new evidence next week, next month, next year, five years
from now, would no doubt change. In that same way, Integrated Pest Management was about
being open to something new and different. Thanking everyone for being open to something
new and different by considering this new policy, Ms. Winslow urged the City Council to approve
the policy to ensure a safe and healthy environment for all of San Rafael's 57,146 citizens.
Roqer Roberts, Marin Conservation League, stated that back in 2003 they shared with the City
Council a Community Marin statement — 49 pages of policies of the environmental community —
for a whole range of environmental issues in Marin County. He reminded the City Council that
this was not just a Marin Conservation League effort, rather it involved the Environmental Forum,
Sierra Club and the Audubon Society and all of the Boards signed off on every word of the
document.
Referring to an entry in the document Mr. Roberts quoted: "We want to encourage Integrated
Pest Management by all the cities and jurisdictions in the County" and he was pleased this
evening to indicate that he did not have to encourage the San Rafael City Council to adopt the
policy, rather he could urge them to do so, and report that he personally, the environmental
community and Marin Conservation League endorsed the policy wholeheartedly and hoped the
resolution would be adopted.
Councilmember Cohen thanked Art Gibney for his work on this issue. He also thanked the
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members of Safe and Healthy San Rafael for encouraging him in ongoing learning, for their
patience and persistence in focusing the City's attention on this issue, and for working with the
City to figure out a way to get it done, even in a time of constraints. He believed San Rafael
would be a better place when the resolution was passed and the policy adopted this evening,
and he thanked Safe and Healthy San Rafael members for all their hard work.
Councilmember Miller stated he found this to be a model of basic community based governance.
He thanked the three members of Safe and Healthy San Rafael for having had the opportunity to
interact with them on this issue.
Councilmember Heller stated Art Gibney had done a masterful job on the issue and noted Public
Works Director Andy Preston never gave up on it. She indicated she enjoyed meeting the three
members of Safe and Healthy San Rafael and believed Pam Reaves pulled the correct choke
chain on her when she spoke of dogs walking across areas that had been sprayed. She
believed the meetings with former City Manager Rod Gould and City Manager Ken Nordhoff had
produced good results.
Noting change was difficult, Councilmember Phillips stated that with the amount of support this
particular issue had, it was understandable, and it was a compliment to the community as a
whole. He commented it was great to receive compliments such as those made this evening and
he, in turn, paid tribute to staff.
Mayor Boro commented that the City Council's job was to listen and hopefully act at the
appropriate time and the door should never be closed on anyone. Glad to be passed the budget
restraints, he indicated that life was all about change, and this was a positive change. He
thanked the members of Safe and Healthy San Rafael for leading the City Council to this point
this evening.
Councilmember Cohen moved and Councilmember Miller seconded, to adopt the Resolution.
RESOLUTION NO. 12228 — RESOLUTION ADOPTING AN INTEGRATED PEST
MANAGEMENT POLICY
AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS: Cohen, Heller, Miller, Phillips and Mayor Boro
NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS: None
ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: None
NEW BUSINESS:
9. CONSIDERATION OF SAN RAFAEL EMERGENCY OPERATIONS PLAN: (MS) —
FILE 13-11 x 9-3-31 x 9-1 x 9-1-2
a) RESOLUTION APPROVING THE 2007 CITY OF SAN RAFAEL EMERGENCY
OPERATIONS PLAN;
b) RESOLUTION ESTABLISHING THE LINES OF SUCCESSION FOR THE CITY
MANAGER. DEPARTMENT HEADS AND OTHER KEY CITY OFFICIALS IN THE EVENT
OF THEIR UNAVAILABILITY DURING AN EMERGENCY
City Manager Ken Nordhoff reported that this item had been a work in progress for over a year
and a half. While the very comprehensive document before the City Council this evening could
appear somewhat unwieldy, a lot of it was intended to be directed to staff and Mike Angeli,
Interim Emergency Services Coordinator, would address the real policy implications to be faced
in considering the plan's adoption. Mr. Nordhoff noted the efforts of staff, including Jim Schutz,
Assistant City Manager, who put a lot of time and participation into making it happen.
Mike Angeli reported that the City of San Rafael Emergency Operations Plan was a National
Incident Management System (NIMS) compliant and state Standard Emergency Management
System (SEMS) compliant all-risks plan. He explained that the plan reorganizes the City
Emergency Response and the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) and provides an
organizational plan that utilizes the Incident Command System to integrate City resources,
community resources, CERT or DART team members to address the emergency event.
Mr. Angeli stated the plan was broken down into five parts:
1. Basic plan
2. Facilities Activation Plan
3. Check lists for the EOC participants and members
4. Section on threats
5. Section on Annexes
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Additionally, a separate handbook for the EOC addresses and provides quick implementation
ideas and plans for the EOC section in the event of a rapid implementation.
Mr. Angeli stated that this plan gives the EOC Director the ability to react to any type of
emergency and he indicated that a short summary of Councilmember roles in the event of a
disaster emergency was provided with this evening's material. Briefly, he explained
Councilmember responsibilities included:
• Contact the Director of Emergency Services at the EOC to receive a briefing on the
emergency situation;
• Serve as liaison with the City, County, State or Federal government representatives;
• Review and approve the Proclamations of a Local Emergency;
• Receive information and assistance from the Director of Emergency Services to assist
with public information outreach;
• Visit impacted area shelters and other temporary facilities to spot problems and special
issues;
• Conduct special public meetings to determine public needs and identify current or future
City actions;
• Review requirements for special legislation and development of policy;
• Consider both short-term and long-term recovery strategies;
• Serve as liaison with public or community organizations; and
• Survey problem sites in the City and assist residents in finding solutions to problems
resulting from the disaster.
Mr. Angeli indicated that the City Council would be integrated and active participants in the City's
Emergency Response.
Additionally, Mr. Angeli indicated that the plan provides an overview and organization structure to
be reactive and able to deal with any emergency arising, utilizing staff or outside resources. He
stated it had a special emphasis on attempting to integrate the community back into the plan. He
hoped to receive a grant for amateur radio communications to try to facilitate this and the plan
also envisioned using fire stations as a point of contact for the community. In an overview, he
stated it provides a much better way to do things for the future and a much safer San Rafael.
Mayor Boro inquired as to the nature of the document entitled "San Rafael City Council Role
During a Disaster Emergency", distributed this evening.
Mr. Angeli stated this explained the City Council's role during a disaster emergency. Basically,
he indicated it identified that the plan was compliant, the City was organized for the emergency,
and it discussed the organization and the City Council's roles and responsibilities. He noted a
subsequent document identified City Department Heads and staff on the succession plan.
Mayor Boro noted the City Manager had requested that the Mayor and each Councilmember
identify two potential individuals as their successors should they be unavailable in an emergency,
and inquired whether a separate ordinance needed to be adopted naming these individuals.
Responding, Mr. Nordhoff stated there was a need to have this information adopted in a
resolution. He indicated that Mr. Angeli had drafted a report, noting names had been submitted
by some Councilmembers. First and second choice alternatives needed to be identified and he
would provide a short list of the roles and responsibilities of these alternates, i.e., functioning as
the Mayor or Councilmembers. He noted that most likely in the event of a disaster the alternates
would be making those types of decisions; however, should public meetings need to be held or
policy decisions made, the alternates would be serving in Council's absence and making those
decisions on behalf of the community.
Mayor Boro believed that when these individuals were designated it would be important to
schedule a workshop with these ten individuals, and the City Council to discuss the issue and
have an understanding of what the expectations might be.
Mr. Nordhoff stated that Mike Angeli had been doing an outstanding job with training staff, both
on an organizational level and within various disciplines, and he believed this group of fifteen
could be part of a training program to give some overview of the bigger disaster recovery
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perspective and also the actual implementation elements in the plan.
Mr. Nordhoff confirmed for Councilmember Heller that just two names were required.
Mr. Angeli stated the worse case scenario would be the City Council being unable to reconstitute
itself; therefore, naming successors afforded the ability to keep continuity of government going
forward at the elected level.
Councilmember Heller inquired whether the powers and responsibilities of the standby officers
would be integrated into the Emergency Operations Plan.
Mr. Angeli stated that upon identification of these individuals and adoption of a resolution, a
separate section on roles and responsibilities would be included in the plan.
Mr. Nordhoff stated there was also a separate check list for Councilmembers, regardless of who
they might be, in the plan documents, which clearly articulates a Councilmember's roles and
responsibilities in respect to responding to a disaster.
Councilmember Phillips concurred with Mayor Boro regarding scheduling a workshop for the City
Council and alternates.
On the question of stand-ins for the Mayor, Councilmember Phillips suggested these be
Councilmembers prioritized by seniority, perhaps starting with the Vice -Mayor. He indicated he
would be somewhat reluctant to abrogate some duties or responsibilities of an elected person to
someone who was not elected and this should be considered.
Mr. Nordhoff stated that should this be Council's direction, staff would be glad to consider it. He
noted Mike Angeli alluded to the fact that staff wanted to ensure there were sufficient resources
available to have a continuity of government; therefore, Council's satisfaction with the package
staff presented would meet the need.
Councilmember Miller concurred with Councilmember Phillips on the issue of stand-ins for the
Mayor.
Mr. Nordhoff confirmed he would provide materials regarding recruitment and duties of the
alternates to Councilmember Miller this evening.
Mr. Nordhoff explained that in studying where to actually activate the Emergency Operations
Center, traditionally the Council Chambers was used. Experience through various trainings
revealed the Council Chambers had its plusses and minuses and probably needed some
attention; therefore, alternatives were needed. He indicated staff was considering the Public
Works facility as an equal alternative, depending upon the event, and other locations would be
considered in the future.
Councilmember Cohen stated that recruitment would be easier if he could be more specific about
what was expected and he requested that the documentation be sent electronically to him. He
noted page number errors in the Tables of Contents.
Referring to the document entitled "San Rafael City Council Role During a Disaster Emergency",
Mayor Boro quoted: "Each City and the County has a designated Director of Emergency
Services in its EOP" and he inquired as to who the Director of Emergency Services for Marin
County was.
Mr. Nordhoff stated he believed this was Chris Godley.
Mayor Boro inquired as to the role of the Marin County Supervisor overseeing emergency
services.
Mr. Nordhoff explained there was a Disaster Council. There also was a local Disaster Council,
meetings of which Mayor Boro had attended, and they were bringing together the various
constituencies and stakeholders that were part of disaster planning.
Mr. Angeli believed Mr. Godley was the EOC Coordinator and one of the Board of Supervisors
was the EOC Director.
Councilmember Heller believed Supervisor Adams was currently the EOC Director and
Councilmember Susan Brandborg, Fairfax, was the cities' representative.
Mayor Boro stated that as an elected person, in reading the City Council Role document he felt a
little left out of the loop. While the document inferred Council's role was critical, it appeared they
did not have any direct responsibility. He would feel a lot more comfortable with a better
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understanding as to what Council's expectation should be because the community's expectation
could be different. Mayor Boro expressed concern about how it would all play out in the event of
a disaster and why the City Manager rather than the Mayor declared an emergency.
Mayor Boro suggested that perhaps there should be two workshops to discuss this issue: one
with Mr. Nordhoff and Mr. Angeli giving the City Council an understanding of how the plan would
work, and once agreed to by the City Council, meeting with the alternates.
Indicating staff would be happy to organize a two-step approach, Mr. Nordhoff explained the
structure of the documents was such that a Director of Emergency Services be provided,
typically the City Manager, with of course, some redundancy. Not to exclude the City Council
from important policy making issues, Mr. Nordhoff stated Council had given staff permission to
run and manage the disaster and lead the response, and once a disaster was declared, whether
by the City Manager or the City Council, staff was capable of responding to whatever it might be.
Mr. Nordhoff stated that should Council be willing to adopt the policy, staff would be glad to go
through it in whatever level of detail deemed necessary.
Believing a disaster would put a lot of pressure on everyone, Mayor Boro stated he did not quite
understand the term "no `command and control'." While he could understand the "command", he
believed at least the plan should acknowledge Council would have the ability to discuss the
situation with the City Manager.
From the City Council Role draft document, Councilmember Heller quoted: "Specific areas of
authority and responsibility for emergency management are clearly outlined in state law and local
ordinances" and she requested this language be included for current and future purposes.
Indicating that more time needed to be spent on this issue, Councilmember Cohen stated he did
not share quite as much concern as his colleagues, particularly relating to the terms "command
and control." He commented that should he happen upon a fire in San Rafael he would stop and
observe, assuming he was not distracting, and should the Incident Commander be in a position
to spare the time to fill him in on the event, he would appreciate that. Councilmember Cohen
stated he would expect later to have an opportunity to review the event and ensure the
requirements of protecting public safety in San Rafael were being met. He indicated he did not
expect to give any orders during the fighting of the fire in any way that was normally understood
as "command and control." This was a separate role and the City Council was a policy-making
body.
Regarding disasters and officials talking to the media, Councilmember Cohen stated his
perception was that some of these people were posturing, rather than contributing in any
significant way to the disaster.
Regarding a line of authority, Councilmember Cohen stated his assumption would be that in such
an event, as in everything else, the City Manager works for the City Council and should the point
be reached where the Council was dissatisfied and thought that the actions of the City Manager
were presenting a threat to public safety, Council would have the authority to take action. While
this would be an appropriate line of command and control, he believed it would not be
appropriate for any Councilmember to step in and begin issuing orders in an emergency.
Commenting that the document was very clear on that point, Mayor Boro noted it also stated the
City Council would: "Serve as the liaison with City, County, State and/or Federal government
representatives" and to be apprised of what was happening Council should: "Contact the Director
of Emergency Services at the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) to receive a briefing on the
emergency situation", and this did not appear to flow well. He inquired whether the Charter
spoke to the issue of who did what in an emergency.
Mr. Angeli explained that previously, the City Council declared the local emergency; however, as
there was a little ambiguity concerning whether or not the Emergency Operations Director could
carry out this function, a resolution was passed giving him the authority to so do should Council
not be available to expedite the emergency processes.
Mayor Boro stated he was in favor of the Emergency Operations Director declaring an
emergency in the absence of the City Council for whatever reason.
Mr. Angeli confirmed that should the Emergency Operations Director declare a local emergency,
the City Council had the responsibility to confirm that they concur with that action within five
days. He stated the overriding issue was to try to keep the emergency management personnel
focused on the emergency while getting some input and having the opportunity to obtain input
from the Council.
Mayor Boro stated that should the Council be approached by the press, contacted by telephone,
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etc., they needed to be as knowledgeable concerning events as the Emergency Operations
Director. The draft document indicated that the City Council should make contact with the
Emergency Operations Director; however, Mayor Boro believed the Emergency Operations
Director should contact the City Council. He indicated he did not feel comfortable with the tone.
Mr. Nordhoff stated he did not believe his roles and responsibilities to the City Council as the
governing body of the City of San Rafael changed whether in times of emergency or not. It was
his job to manage resources in a state of emergency. He had the responsibility to feed the City
Council as much information as they desired and they had every right to ensure he (Mr.
Nordhoff) and the team working around him were accessible. He noted public information was a
key component to the Command Staff Section of the plan as it was recognized these people
would be feeding information to the City Council and vice versa. It was not intended to isolate
the City Council.
Referring to the draft document on the role of the City Council, Mayor Boro quoted: "Specific
responsibilities of the City Council include: Contact the Director of Emergency Services at the
EOC to receive a briefing..." and he questioned why it did not state it was the role of the
Emergency Operations Director to contact the City Council. He suggested evaluating how a
balance could be struck between the two roles.
Assistant City Manager Jim Schutz stated part of the problem was that all cities were required to
do these plans, resulting in a lot of boilerplate language. A lot of it was to be federally compliant
with a lot of fire command language that did not necessarily translate to how one would normally
speak. He indicated that the draft two-page summary compiled by Mike Angeli was not in the
plan; his aim was to show the role of the Council. Mr. Schutz suggested that more time be spent
on this document to make it clearer. He noted that some of the information in the plan was
probably not as important as how functionally it would be used. A lot of cities got bogged down
in the plan itself; however, he believed what was done with it and how it was put into action was
more important.
Noting the EOC Director section contained the language "conduct regular briefings for the City
Council" - Mr. Schutz stated this could be more strongly stated and perhaps the "San Rafael City
Council Role during a Disaster Emergency" was the good place to do it.
Mayor Boro stated he would like to know the role of the elected Supervisor at the County as it
was his understanding that that individual was a Director of the EOC.
Referring to City of San Rafael Emergency Plan Part 4 (Threats) — Pages 12 and 13, with regard
to wildland fires, Councilmember Heller noted that while some neighborhoods were mentioned,
she did not believe all those that should be mentioned as fire problems were included. She
indicated there were other problem areas in San Rafael and Terra Linda and she questioned why
these areas were not listed.
Mr. Angeli stated this was the last official area evaluation. He indicated that the Fire Department
in its Vegetation Management program was re -looking at all of this; however, it was not currently
available. He commented that this was a living document and had a tendency to change in given
circumstances and it would continue to be that type of document.
Mayor Boro thanked Mike Angeli for his hard work, noting it was something everyone thought
about; however, did not wish to give a lot of time to. He indicated he spoke at the State of the
City Dinner about having a disaster drill in November, 2006, which would be repeated. He
recommended that the plan be adopted this evening with the understanding that there be a two -
phased workshop, and going forward, generate language to be incorporated into the plan or
made an addendum to the plan to clarify the roles of the City Council.
Councilmember Cohen moved and Councilmember Phillips seconded, to adopt the Resolution
with this understanding.
a) RESOLUTION NO. 12229 — RESOLUTION APPROVING THE 2007 CITY OF SAN
RAFAEL EMERGENCY OPERATIONS PLAN
AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS: Cohen, Heller, Miller, Phillips and Mayor Boro
NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS: None
ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: None
Councilmember Cohen moved and Councilmember Miller seconded, to adopt the Resolution.
b) RESOLUTION NO. 12230 — RESOLUTION ESTABLISHING THE LINES OF
SUCCESSION FOR THE CITY MANAGER, DEPARTMENT
HEADS AND OTHER KEY CITY OFFICIALS IN THE EVENT
OF THEIR UNAVAILABILITY DURING AN EMERGENCY
SRCC Minutes (Regular) 04/02/2007 Page 9
AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS:
NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS:
ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS:
COUNCILMEMBER REPORTS:
SRCC Minutes (Regular) 04/02/2007 Page 10
Cohen, Heller, Miller, Phillips and Mayor Boro
None
None
10. Marin Transit - Marinwood Shuttle: - File 9-1 x 143 Nerball
Councilmember Heller announced that she and Assistant City Manager Jim Schutz attended a
public outreach meeting on the Marinwood Shuttle to receive public input regarding a potential
change to the route to improve ridership. A further meeting was scheduled.
There being no further business, Mayor Boro adjourned the City Council meeting at 9:35 p.m.
JEANNE M. LEONCINI, City Clerk
APPROVED THIS DAY OF 2007
MAYOR OF THE CITY OF SAN RAFAEL
SRCC Minutes (Regular) 04/02/2007 Page 10