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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Minutes 2009-06-15SRCC Minutes (Regular) 06/15/2009 Page 1 IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBER OF THE CITY OF SAN RAFAEL, MONDAY, JUNE 15, 2009 AT 8:00 P.M. Regular Meeting: Present: Barbara Heller, Vice -Mayor San Rafael City Council Greg Brockbank, Councilmember Damon Connolly, Councilmember Cyr N. Miller, Councilmember Absent: Albert J. Boro, Mayor Also Present: Ken Nordhoff, City Manager Robert F. Epstein, City Attorney Esther C. Beirne, City Clerk OPEN SESSION — COUNCIL CHAMBER — 6:30 PM Vice -Mayor Heller announced Closed Session item: CLOSED SESSION — THIRD FLOOR CONFERENCE ROOM — 6:30 PM 1. b) Conference with Labor Negotiators— Government Code Section 54957.6(a) Negotiators: Jim Schutz, Leslie Loomis, Cindy Mosser, Rob Epstein, Ken Nordhoff, Employee Organization(s): San Rafael Fire Chief Officers' Assn. San Rafael Firefighters' Assn. San Rafael Police Mid -Management Assn. San Rafael Police Association Western Council of Engineers Assn. of Confidential Employees (Local 1) SEIU Miscellaneous & Supervisory SEIU Child Care Unit Unrepresented Management Unrepresented Mid -Management Elected City Clerk and Elected Part -Time City Attorney City Attorney Robert Epstein announced that no reportable action was taken. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS OF AN URGENCY NATURE: 8:03 PM Transition Home. Knocknaboul Way. Terra Linda: - File 9-1 Regarding a Transition Home in her neighborhood, Knocknaboul Way, Terra Linda, Mattea Ezqar stated that, as a resident, she should not be forced to feel victimized on a weekly basis because of poor management of the residence, and she requested assistance in dealing with this problem. She indicated she had a record of dates and times of noise regulations being broken. Vice -Mayor Heller stated that City Manager Ken Nordhoff would investigate and follow up with Ms. Ezgar. Traffic: - File 9-1 x 9-3-40 Barry Taranto, Terra Linda, suggested renaming "Oral Communications of an Urgency Nature" "Public Comment." Mr. Taranto believed it important to promote more pedestrian priority in the Terra Linda area as 80 seconds was far too long for pedestrians to stand at a traffic signal. He suggested that the Traffic Engineer provide the traffic timings of all pedestrian crosswalks in Terra Linda. He believed that when Northgate Mall reopens traffic would be even greater; therefore, the City needed to be sensitive to pedestrian concerns. With regard to two-hour parking time limits on the north side of the roadway adjacent to Wells Fargo and Tamalpais Banks, he questioned why time limits were imposed when no cars parked there. Mr. Taranto stated that the San Rafael Public Library was great. He congratulated and thanked Councilmember Miller for his great work as a Councilmember, and Councilmember Brockbank, one of his heroes, whom he anticipated would be a legislator in Sacramento one day. SRCC Minutes (Regular) 06/15/2009 Page 1 SRCC Minutes (Regular) 06/15/2009 Page 2 Urqencv Item: - File 116 x 9-1 City Manager Ken Nordhoff noted that the budget situation in Sacramento was significant in that the legislature was considering ways to come up with $25 billion of budget balancing solutions. He explained that one of the items that surfaced late last week was consideration of taking local gas taxes or Highway User Tax Accounts (HUTA) funds. A committee proposal to do that would take roughly $2 billion from local agencies. The League of California Cities had been working with legal expertise and suggested that cities oppose this by adopting Resolutions. In this case an urgency action would need to be taken to do so and a draft of the proposed resolution was before the City Council. This resolution from the City Council of the City of San Rafael would authorize the City Attorney to cooperate with the League of California Cities, other cities and counties in litigation challenging the constitutionality of any seizure by state government of the City's Street Maintenance Funds — HUTA funds. Mr. Nordhoff stated this was not a borrowing rather a taking of local moneys used to pave streets and maintain roads. Mr. Nordhoff stated he was requesting under an Urgency Item that firstly the City Council consider putting this item on the agenda as an urgency item, which would require an unanimous vote given only four Councilmembers were in attendance, and secondly, to act accordingly on the Resolution. Robert Epstein, City Attorney, stated that to ensure the City Council was aware of the findings that needed to be made in support of a motion to add this item to the agenda, because it did not appear on the posted agenda, they would need to find both, that there was a need to take the action immediately and that the need for action came to the attention of the City after the agenda was posted. He indicated that these requirements were set forth in Government Code §54954.2(b)(2). Should the City Council chose to add this item to the agenda this evening, his suggestion was to follow the usual format, asking any questions of staff, receiving any public comment and subsequently returning it to the City Council for deliberation and consideration of a motion. Councilmember Connolly moved and Councilmember Brockbank seconded to add this item to the agenda as an Urgency Item. AYES COUNCILMEMBERS: Brockbank, Connolly, Miller & Vice -Mayor Heller NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS: None ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: Mayor Boro Mr. Nordhoff stated that the actual loss of revenues in San Rafael would be approximately $1 million in the coming fiscal year as well as fiscal year 2010-2011. He stated that the need for adoption of this resolution was imminent because in order to agendize this for a formal meeting action it would be necessary to return at the July 6, 2009 City Council meeting. Given the urgency of the state's fiscal crisis and the fact that the state controller anticipated the state would be running out of cash by the end of July, Mr. Nordhoff anticipated the state would act on a budget within the next couple of weeks and before the next City Council meeting. This spoke to the urgency issue. Mr. Nordhoff reported that staff found out about this late last week when the League of California Cities and Charles Dalldorf, representing the North Bay Area, sent out a couple of urgency emails requesting action, requesting that cities telephone Senators' offices, etc., and where possible, that this resolution be put on City Council agendas even as an urgency item. Al Veteri, stated it sounded as though General Fund items were being reallocated from the cities to the state for the fiscal crisis. He inquired whether the process of recovering $1 million would wind up costing more then a $1 million. Councilmember Connolly moved and Councilmember Brockbank seconded, to adopt the Resolution. Councilmember Brockbank stated that he had been following this very carefully and the City Manager had been keeping Councilmembers apprised of the fact that it was not just the property taxes that the state might steal. This one only surfaced late last week. Having spoken with Assemblymember Jared Huffman on Saturday, Mr. Huffman believed there would be a budget in approximately three weeks. He agreed it was urgent and too late for the next City Council meeting. It was worthwhile to weigh in as soon as possible and while he did not envy their choices, this was a bad one. SRCC Minutes (Regular) 06/15/2009 Page 2 SRCC Minutes (Regular) 06/15/2009 Page 3 RESOLUTION NO. 12755 - RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN RAFAEL AUTHORIZING THE CITY ATTORNEY TO COOPERATE WITH THE LEAGUE OF CALIFORNIA CITIES, OTHER CITIES AND COUNTIES IN LITIGATION CHALLENGING THE CONSTITUTIONALITY OF ANY SEIZURE BY STATE GOVERNMENT OF THE CITY'S STREET MAINTENANCE FUNDS AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS: Brockbank, Connolly, Miller & Vice -Mayor Heller NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS: None BSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: Mayor Boro CONSENT CALENDAR: Councilmember Miller moved and Councilmember Connolly seconded, to approve the Consent Calendar as follows. 4 ITEM Approval of Minutes of Regular City Council Meeting of May 18 and Special City Council Meeting of June 1, 2009 (CC) Resolution Authorizing Execution of Revised Form of Agreement with Sidewalk Strategies (Tramutola LLC) for Strategic Planning and Public Information Services (CA) — File 4-3-434 a) Resolution of the City Council: (CC) — File 9-4 1) Proposing a General Municipal Election, Including the San Rafael Elementary School District and the San Rafael High School District General Election, to be held on Tuesday, November 3, 2009; 2) Requesting the Board of Supervisors to Consolidate with any other Election Conducted on the same Date; and 3) Requesting Election Services by the County Clerk b) Resolution Reaffirming Policy Regarding Number of Words in Candidate's Statement of Qualifications, and Providing that the Cost of Printing and Handling of Candidate's Statement of Qualifications Shall be Borne by the Candidate and Paid for at the time Nomination Papers are Filed; c) Resolution Requesting the Board of Supervisors of the County of Marin to Permit the County Clerk to Consolidate Precincts and Polling Places Relating to the San Rafael General Municipal Election RECOMMENDED ACTION Minutes approved as submitted. RESOLUTION NO. 12756 RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING EXECUTION OF REVISED FORM OF AGREEMENT WITH SIDEWALK STRATEGIES (TRAMUTOLA LLC) FOR STRATEGIC PLANNING AND PUBLIC INFORMATION SERVICES RESOLUTION NO. 12757 1) RESOLUTION: a) PROPOSING A GENERAL MUNICIPAL ELECTION, INCLUDING THE SAN RAFAEL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL DISTRICT AND THE SAN RAFAEL HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT GENERAL ELECTION TO BE HELD ON TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2009; b) REQUESTING THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS TO CONSOLIDATE WITH ANY OTHER ELECTION CONDUCTED ON THE SAME DATE; c) REQUESTING ELECTION SERVICES BY THE COUNTY CLERK 2) RESOLUTION NO. 12758 RESOLUTION REAFFIRMING POLICY REGARDING NUMBER OF WORDS IN CANDIDATE'S STATEMENT OF QUALIFICATIONS, AND PROVIDING THAT THE COST OF PRINTING AND HANDLING OF CANDIDATE'S STATEMENT OF QUALIFICATIONS SHALL BE BORNE BY THE CANDIDATE AND PAID FOR AT THE TIME NOMINATION PAPERS ARE FILED; 3) RESOLUTION NO. 12759 SRCC Minutes (Regular) 06/15/2009 Page 3 Resolution Authorizing the Submittal of an Application to Designate the Civic Center/North San Rafael Town Center as a Priority Development Area as part of the Association of Bay Area Governments FOCUS program (P09-004) (CD) — File 111 x 9-3-85 Resolution Approving the Application for Grant Funds for the Per Capita Grant Program Under the California Clean Water, Clean Air, Safe Neighborhood Parks, and Coastal Protection Act of 2002 for Falkirk Cultural Center Historical Paint Project (CS) — File 9-3-84 Monthly Investment Report for month Ending May, 2009 (Fin) — File 8-18 x 8-9 Resolution to Update the City's Investment Policy (Fin) — File 8-18 x 8-9 Resolution Approving and Supporting Camp Chance 2009 (PD) — File 9-3-30 10. Resolution Authorizing the City Manager to Execute an Agreement with the Marin Municipal Water District (MMWD) in an Amount not to exceed $50,000 for the Relocation of Three Fire Hydrants Associated with the Third Street and Union Street Improvement Project (PW) — File 4-15-7 x 4-1-608 11. Accept Completion of the Fourth Street West Rehabilitation / West End Village Project — Rebid (Project # 11056) and Authorize the City Clerk to File the Notice of Completion (PW) — File 4-1-600 SRCC Minutes (Regular) 06/15/2009 Page 4 RESOLUTION REQUESTING THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF THE COUNTY OF MARIN TO PERMIT THE COUNTY CLERK TO CONSOLIDATE PRECINCTS AND POLLING PLACES RELATING TO THE SAN RAFAEL GENERAL MUNICIPAL ELECTION RESOLUTION NO. 12760 RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE SUBMITTAL OF AN APPLICATION TO DESIGNATE CIVIC CENTER/NORTH SAN RAFAEL TOWN CENTER AS A PRIORITY DEVELOPMENT AREA AS PART OF THE ASSOCIATION OF BAY AREA GOVERNMENTS FOCUS PROGRAM RESOLUTION NO. 12761 RESOLUTION APPROVING THE APPLICATION FOR GRANT FUNDS FOR THE PER CAPITA GRANT PROGRAM UNDER THE CALIFORNIA CLEAN WATER, CLEAN AIR, SAFE NEIGHBORHOOD PARKS AND COASTAL PROTECTION ACT OF 2002 FOR FALKIRK CULTURAL CENTER HISTORICAL PAINT PROJECT Accepted Monthly Investment Report for month ending May, 2009. RESOLUTION NO. 12762 RESOLUTION TO UPDATE THE CITY OF SAN RAFAEL INVESTMENT POLICY RESOLUTION NO. 12763 RESOLUTION APPROVING AND SUPPORTING CAMP CHANCE 2009 RESOLUTION NO. 12764 RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE AN AGREEMENT WITH THE MARIN MUNICIPAL WATER DISTRICT (MMWD) IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $50,000 FOR THE RELOCATION OF THREE FIRE HYDRANTS ASSOCIATED WITH THE THIRD STREET AND UNION STREET IMPROVEMENT PROJECT Accepted completion and authorized City Clerk to file Notice of Completion. SRCC Minutes (Regular) 06/15/2009 Page 4 SRCC Minutes (Regular) 06/15/2009 Page 5 12. Resolution Authorizing the City Manager to Sign a Below RESOLUTION NO. 12765 Market Rate Rental Housing Agreement Between Robert RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE CITY N. Foehr and Alfreida G. Foehr, Trustees of the Foehr MANAGER TO SIGN A BELOW MARKET Family Trust and the City of San Rafael Re: 75 Plum Tree RATE RENTAL HOUSING AGREEMENT Lane (RA) — File 229 #6 BETWEEN ROBERT N. FOEHR AND ALFREIDA G. FOEHR, TRUSTEES OF THE FOEHR FAMILY TRUST, AND THE CITY OF SAN RAFAEL RE: 75 PLUM TREE LANE 13. Resolution Authorizing Redevelopment Agency Funding of RESOLUTION NO. 12766 up to $25,000 to Reduce the Resale Price of an Affordable RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING Housing Unit in the Capri Development (APN 155-376-25) REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY FUNDING OF and Making Findings and Approvals Pursuant to the UP TO $25,000 TO REDUCE THE RESALE California Redevelopment Law in Connection with the PRICE OF AN AFFORDABLE HOUSING Utilization of Agency Low and Moderate Income Housing UNIT IN THE CAPRI DEVELOPMENT (APN Funds Outside the Central San Rafael Redevelopment 155-376-25) AND MAKING FINDINGS AND Project Area (RA) - File 229 x (SRRA) R-173 x R-103 APPROVALS PURSUANT TO THE CALIFORNIA REDEVELOPMENT LAW IN CONNECTION WITH THE UTILIZATION OF AGENCY LOW AND MODERATE INCOME HOUSING FUNDS OUTSIDE THE CENTRAL SAN RAFAEL REDEVELOPMENT PROJECT AREA 14. Resolution Authorizing Economic Development Director to RESOLUTION NO. 12767 Amend the Existing Professional Services Agreement with RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE Joanne Webster, San Rafael Business Improvement ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR Director, through June 30, 2010 (RA) — File 224 TO AMEND THE EXISTING PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENT WITH JOANNE WEBSTER FOR SAN RAFAEL BID DIRECTOR, THROUGH JUNE 30, 2010 15. Resolution Appointing a Business Improvement District RESOLUTION N0. 12768 (BID) Board of Directors through June 30, 2011 (RA) — RESOLUTION APPOINTING A BUSINESS File 224 IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT (BID) BOARD OF DIRECTORS AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS: Brockbank, Connolly, Miller & Vice -Mayor Heller NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS: None ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: Mayor Boro PUBLIC HEARINGS: 16. CONSIDERATION OF AMENDMENT TO CHAPTER 8.19 OF THE SAN RAFAEL MUNICIPAL CODE ENTITLED SOCIAL HOST ORDINANCE (PD)— FILE 13-1 x 9-3-30 Captain David Starnes stated that Police Department staff recommended that the City Council amend Chapter 8.19 of the San Rafael Municipal Code — Social Host Ordinance — to clarify certain provisions related to the assessment of response costs when the Police Department responds to juvenile parties. Providing background, Captain Starnes reported that in October 2007, the City Council adopted Ordinance No. 1861, adding Chapter 8.19 (Social Host Ordinance) to the San Rafael Municipal Code. The ordinance was added to assist decrease the incidents of drinking by underage persons and the consequent threats to the public health, safety and welfare caused by underage drinking of juveniles at private gatherings within the City. The ordinance imposed liability on property owners and other persons responsible for such gatherings for the cost of response by public safety personnel. The recommended amendments would clarify some of the procedures related to the collection of the response costs and would help facilitate enforcement of the Social Host Ordinance. Captain Starnes reported that the Police Department had been working closely with the City Attorney's Office to SRCC Minutes (Regular) 06/15/2009 Page 5 SRCC Minutes (Regular) 06/15/2009 Page 6 clarify certain procedures and provisions in the Social Host Ordinance to facilitate its enforcement. No significant changes to the meaning or effect of the ordinance were made. Explaining the four changes, Captain Starnes stated: 1) To clarify how liability for penalties and response costs were assessed when a juvenile was the host of a party and no other responsible person was present. The current ordinance states that the parent or guardian would be held jointly liable with the juvenile at such parties and the proposed amendment would clarify that the parent or guardian of the juvenile who was emancipated under state law would not be held liable. 2) To clarify that a responsible person need not be given a copy of the citation at the scene of the party. The current ordinance states that the officers had to issue the citation when responding to the scene of the party. This would be changed to clarify that this could be done by an investigating officer later. 3) Change the time to appeal a Notice of Assessment from ten to thirty days. 4) Add a provision to clarify how notices would be given under the new ordinance, which basically was that they would be mailed in a sealed envelope. Councilmember Brockbank stated he was curious as to whether there was communication between Marin County agencies as to what worked best. Captain Starnes stated that the San Rafael School Resource Officer had been communicating with other cities. The main change was as a result of incidents that occurred in San Rafael where the officers did not issue a citation at the scene of the party. Having investigated, the School Resource Officer realized that the citation should have been issued. City Attorney Robert Epstein clarified the issue was that the responsible party was not present; therefore, the officer had no person to whom the citation could be issued at the time. The way the ordinance was interpreted was that that then foreclosed a citation to be issued subsequent to the investigation by the School Resource Officer. Staff wanted to change that anomaly in the ordinance and provide an opportunity to conduct an investigation following the party. Should that disclose a responsible person who was not in attendance at the party, that person would be available under the provisions of the code. Vice -Mayor Heller declared the public hearing opened. Ivaldo Lenci requested that illegal drugs also be included in the ordinance. There being no further comment from the audience, Vice -Mayor Heller closed the public hearing. The title of the ordinance was read: "AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF SAN RAFAEL AMENDING CHAPTER 8.19 OF THE SAN RAFAEL MUNICIPAL CODE CHAPTER ENTITLED "SOCIAL HOST ORDINANCE" CONCERNING COLLECTION OF RESPONSE COSTS" Councilmember Miller moved and Councilmember Connolly seconded, to dispense with the reading of the ordinance in its entirety and refer to it by title only, and pass Charter Ordinance No. 1874 to print by the following vote, to wit: With regard to Mr. Lenci's comment City Attorney Robert Epstein explained that in Section 8.19.060 of the San Rafael Municipal Code unruly gathering is referred to without limitation. He noted that should there be narcotics present the police would be dealing with that at the scene. Mr. Epstein confirmed that the Social Host Ordinance makes specific reference to serving alcoholic beverages; however, his interpretation was that should there be a response and the minors present were using illegal drugs, the provisions of the ordinance would allow for this response to be recovered under the unruly gathering definition. SRCC Minutes (Regular) 06/15/2009 Page 6 SRCC Minutes (Regular) 06/15/2009 Page 7 AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS: Brockbank, Connolly, Miller & Vice -Mayor Heller NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS: None ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: Mayor Boro 17. CONSIDERATION OF RESOLUTION LEVYING ANNUAL ASSESSMENT FOR DOWNTOWN PARKING AND BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2009-10 (RA) — FILE 224 x 183 Economic Development Coordinator Katie Korzun explained that each year the City Council passes a resolution to levy an assessment for the Business Improvement District. The first step in this process was taken at the last meeting where this evening was set as the public hearing date and the Business Improvement District's Annual Report was adopted, which included their budget for the upcoming year. Ms. Korzun further explained that at this evening's public hearing, the City Council was required to hear any protests by business owners who pay the assessment. Should there be a protest from 50% or more of those paying the fee the resolution would have to be held over. She indicated the Council did have the right to change the assessment or change the BID budget. The proposed assessment was one-half of the Business License Fee and, as could be seen from the BID's Annual Report, this was not their only source of income, rather it was one of their smaller sources to augment fees from a parking lot, sponsorships and from a contribution from the Redevelopment Agency. This amounted to a total budget of $71, 000. Councilmember Brockbank stated he had been under the impression that the BID had or could have as one of their sources of income events they work on, and he inquired whether they made any money from such events. Ms. Korzun confirmed they did make income from events. The City makes a contribution which they include in their budget. She indicated staff was actively working with the BID to ascertain whether the basic format could be changed to set it up on a little more sustaining basis since the amount of money received from dues was only $15,000. Ms. Korzun confirmed for Councilmember Brockbank that the Director's salary was not a City cost. Vice -Mayor Heller declared the public hearing opened and there being no comment from the audience, closed the public hearing. Councilmember Miller moved and Councilmember Brockbank seconded, to adopt the Resolution. RESOLUTION NO. 12769 — RESOLUTION LEVYING AN ANNUAL ASSESSMENT FOR THE DOWNTOWN PARKING AND BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2009-10 AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS: Brockbank, Connolly, Miller & Vice -Mayor Heller NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS: None ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: Mayor Boro 18. CONSIDERATION OF RESOLUTION APPROVING AND AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO EXECUTE THE CITY OF SAN RAFAEL RESPONSE TO THE GRAND JURY REPORT ENTITLED "MARIN'S HOMELESS: THE `INVISIBLE' PROBLEM THAT WON'T DISAPPEAR" (CA) — FILE 269 City Attorney Robert Epstein reported that this year's Grand Jury had issued a report entitled "Marin's Homeless: The `Invisible' Problem that won't Disappear" subsequent to research and interviews with a number of different officials, agencies, law enforcement, etc., including individuals experiencing homelessness. He indicated that the Grand Jury's report described varying estimates of the number of homeless persons in the community, some of the difficulties those individuals face in living in permanent homes, the publicly and privately provided services available in the County to respond to the problem and where in the Grand Jury's judgment governmental response had fallen short. Mr. Epstein stated that the Grand Jury had made numerous findings and recommendations on this subject and the additional steps it believed should be taken and had submitted a report to the County and to each of Marin's eleven cities and towns for a formal response. He indicated that the Grand Jury's findings and recommendations were set out at pages 17 and 18 of the report, a copy of which was attached to the staff SRCC Minutes (Regular) 06/15/2009 Page 7 SRCC Minutes (Regular) 06/15/2009 Page 8 report Mr. Epstein reported that the Grand Jury's recommendations were primarily directed towards the County Board of Supervisors which the Grand Jury urged to establish a fulltime homelessness coordinator and office to oversee the various programs available for the homeless; to make homelessness one of the Board's top five priorities and to establish a facility for a permanent homeless shelter at least for winter months. Mr. Epstein explained that the cities had been requested to respond to only certain findings: Finding F5 - regarding what the Grand Jury deemed to be the need of hundreds for emergency shelter; F6 - the lack of widespread awareness of the homeless problem in Marin; and F7 - highest concentrations of homeless in Sausalito, San Rafael and Novato. He indicated that in addition San Rafael had been requested to respond to Recommendation R4 — that the County and cities should work together to launch a "comprehensive campaign to heighten public awareness of the County's homelessness problem." In consultation with the Planning Staff, Mr. Epstein reported that Linda Jackson, Principal Planner, Stephanie Lovette, Economic Development Coordinator and Officer Joel Fay, the City Attorney's Office prepared the draft response attached to the report for consideration and approval. Mr. Epstein stated that staff's response indicated general agreement with the Grand Jury's findings; however, they reiterated that homelessness was a countywide problem and in addition to addressing the need for emergency shelter, efforts must also be made to provide the homeless population with permanent, affordable housing. Mr. Epstein noted the recommended response to R4 was that additional analysis was needed with regard to the suggestion for a comprehensive public awareness program and that consideration be given to whether it would be more efficient to work on a directed campaign, designed to promote specific actions the County could productively take in cooperation with local jurisdictions, to address homelessness. Mr. Epstein stated staff sought a resolution that would approve Mayor Boro's signing of the response for its return to the Grand Jury. Councilmember Brockbank noted that this Grand Jury Report was issued three months ago and inquired whether ordinarily the City Council would be apprised of a Grand Jury Report having been received by the City. Mr. Nordhoff stated that if this did not happen he would ensure it did happen in the future. He noted receipt recently of a Grand Jury Report on the Major Crimes Task Force and indicated they tended to be directed to the Mayor of each City and Chair of the Board of Supervisors. They were subsequently forwarded to the City Manager's office and appropriate department for a response. Mr. Epstein reported that he received the report and would ensure that in the future those referred to his office would be circulated. Councilmember Brockbank believed this to be a very important and potentially controversial topic. The recommendations the City was being requested to respond to were not terribly controversial in this case and he was glad the City Council agreed with them all; however, he suggested that in the future the City Council should receive a copy of such a report within two months of issuance. From reading the report, Councilmember Brockbank indicated he was glad to see that San Rafael got credit where it was due and he inquired whether this could be quantified. He inquired whether there had been any attempt on the part of the City to quantify, not only the current investment, but what future investment might save money in the long term. Mr. Epstein commented that, should the City Council subsequent to hearing public comment on this item, wish to have further deliberations and further reporting from staff, this could be done. It did not have to be acted upon this evening should the City Council be more comfortable deferring it. With regard to quantifying the City's efforts concerning assisting with the provision of housing for the homeless, the creation of affordable housing for those who might previously have been homeless or for other SRCC Minutes (Regular) 06/15/2009 Page 8 SRCC Minutes (Regular) 06/15/2009 Page 9 services provided in the community by non-profit agencies and otherwise, Mr. Epstein did not believe such a calculation had been attempted. Also, he was not clear on exactly what type of econo matrix might be used to arrive at a number that was anything more than a guess. Mr. Nordhoff added that it was easy to quantify some of the direct contributions made to places such as the Ritter Center and dollars put into affordable housing projects. The Redevelopment Agency had to adopt an annual report regarding the Agency's activities, which included housing, etc. He stated it could be quantified to the extent that staff time was being contributed, be it the Police Department or other areas directed towards mental health services, etc. He indicated it was a little more difficult to benchmark it to neighbors and compare contributions. His experience working with his manager colleagues was that many communities approach their contributions to this situation in different ways. Some were giving to non -profits or other agencies, some were building housing, Novato had discounted the rent for a particular facility; therefore, it happened in a variety of different ways. Mr. Nordhoff noted that Marin County runs a Health and Human Services Department, and puts a fair amount of its resources into homeless needs. There had been collaborative work in the County on events in terms of sharing and providing services, etc. He believed there was a good body of evidence that a fair amount of work was being done, particularly in San Rafael; however, he was unsure whether the actual scientific methodologies could be generated to compare one with the other. Councilmember Connolly concurred with the recommendation of focusing on promoting directed campaigns designed to promote specific actions. San Rafael's mental health officer program was cutting-edge and it was very distressing that it was being cut in the budget, given the current times, as he believed it to be a gateway to services for homeless people. He indicated he was concerned that ground level directed programs were being cut. San Rafael had a lot of cutting-edge programs that could stand as models and he favored recommendation R4. Ivaldo Lenci stated that the only solution he saw was to build a facility for the homeless. He stated that three buildings could be constructed close to the Public Works facility for the elderly, mentally ill and homeless. The first floor of the building could contain a hospital emergency room to attend to people with mental problems detained by the Police Department. Having done an investigation on mental illness he concluded that psychiatrists were giving patients medication that made their condition worse. He believed social security benefits could pay for these buildings, supervision and education. Al Veteri stated he did not agree with making this one of the City's top five priorities. Given the issues San Rafael had to deal with he was unsure whether the City could do anything. There was no budget for it, it was a problem that had existed in San Rafael for some time and no one had come up with an answer to it. Reiterating that it should not be a top five priority he believed the City should continue to support the existing programs. Vice -Mayor Heller clarified the recommendation was that the Board of Supervisors should make this one of their top five priorities. Mr. Epstein confirmed that the City was not taking a position on this. Mr. Nordhoff confirmed that the City was only responding to the items where a response was requested. Bart Taranto stated he was not exactly sure it should be called an `invisible' problem. Coming from San Francisco he stated it was a pleasure not to have to deal with panhandlers; however, the homeless was noticeable around St. Vincent's Dining Hall. Councilmember Miller moved and Councilmember Connolly seconded, to adopt the Resolution. RESOLUTION NO. 12770 — RESOLUTION APPROVING AND AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO EXECUTE THE CITY OF SAN RAFAEL RESPONSE TO THE 2008-2009 MARIN COUNTY GRAND JURY REPORT ENTITLED "MARIN'S HOMELESS: THE `INVISIBLE' PROBLEM THAT WON'T DISAPPEAR" SRCC Minutes (Regular) 06/15/2009 Page 9 SRCC Minutes (Regular) 06/15/2009 Page 10 AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS: Brockbank, Connolly, Miller & Vice -Mayor Heller NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS: None ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: Mayor Boro 19. REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION REGARDING 2009 LOCAL BYRNE JAG GRANT (PD) — FILE 9-3-30 Lieutenant Glenn McElderry stated this was a local JAG grant opportunity for the Police Department. It was not part of the relief act, was non-competitive and was a set amount of $26,565. He explained this was a semi-annual grant typically put towards equipment and was intended to be used for a larger SWAT trailer for the Swat Team to house equipment currently dispersed around the Police Department. Lieutenant McElderry reported that part of the grant application process was the provision for comment by the City Council and members of the public. Vice -Mayor Heller invited comment from the public; however, there was no response from the audience. Councilmember Brockbank moved and Councilmember Miller seconded, to accept the report. AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS: Brockbank, Connolly, Miller & Vice -Mayor Heller NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS: None ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: Mayor Boro CITY MANAGER'S REPORT: 20. Critical Facilities Education Phase II: - File 9-1 x 9-2-57 Mr. Nordhoff reported that Saturday, June 20, 2009 would be the final walking day with respect to educating the community about the critical facility needs. Polling would be undertaken in the second part of this week and first part of next week, the results of which were expected in early July. The Critical Facilities had completed a draft report and awaited poll results to fill in some blanks and provide a final report to the City Council in July. He recommended scheduling a couple of Special Study Sessions in July on this subject: July 6 to go through the questions and get the City Council up to date on the work done by the Critical Facilities Committee as well as the phase II education effort and on July 20, the initial poll results would be available. Vice -Mayor Heller reported that she received a recorded phone message from Fire Chief Gray today at her home. Mr. Nordhoff confirmed that phone messaging was being carried out, together with walking door-to-door. A direct mailing piece had also been distributed on Saturday to a large segment of the community. Vice -Mayor Heller confirmed it had not arrived at her address as of to -day. Mr. Nordhoff stated his experience with the postal service in San Rafael was that mailings such as this arrived at varying times; however, he would investigate. COUNCILMEMBER REPORTS: (Including AB 1234 Reports on Meetings and Conferences Attended at City Expense) 21. CERT Trainina: - File 13-1 x 9-1 Councilmember Brockbank reported having graduated from the CERT class and encouraged everyone to take this valuable class. Marin Green BERST — Buildina. Enerav Retrofit and Solar Transformation: - File 9-1 x 9-3-85 Councilmember Brockbank reported that 30 very impressive people and a very impressive technical advisory committee attended the first BERST meeting held on Thursday last. He complimented Bob Brown, Community Development Director, for his vision and work in putting this effort together. The idea was to develop and make green ordinances and remodeling ordinances consistent and investigate in conjunction with the Marin Energy Authority an AB 811 public financing mechanism to do green building energy retrofits and solar type things. Critical Facilities: - File 9-1 x 9-2-57 Councilmember Brockbank encouraged those in attendance to participate in the Saturday morning walk on June 201" with regard to voter education on critical facilities. SRCC Minutes (Regular) 06/15/2009 Page 10 SRCC Minutes (Regular) 06/15/2009 Page 11 Marin Telecommunications Aaencv: - File 4-13-101 x 9-1 Vice -Mayor Heller reported that MTA's Franchise Fee Revenues were higher than budgeted for, which would mean lower expenses for San Rafael in 2010. With regard to a low-income discount for Comcast subscribers, Vice -Mayor Heller reported that Larry Bragman (Fairfax) had been working to develop such a program and had provided the Board with a memo describing a discount program as well as a proposal for a simplified method of processing applications and providing payments to those qualifying. Marin Center for Independent Living and the Marin Housing Authority indicated they would be willing to help administer such a program. She noted that the cost annually to administer the program could be $12,000. San Rafael had 150 low-income subscribers registered with Comcast in 2006 with a 20% discount of $3.53 per month. Vice -Mayor Heller reported that the total number of subscribers to Comcast in San Rafael was 52,915 —29.8% -- from a total of 181,962. Vice -Mayor Heller requested consideration be given to agendizing this item for the next City Council meeting for discussion. Councilmember Miller reported that when he was a representative the issue was discussed many times and each time the recommendation was not to follow through. He noted Larry Bragman was persistent and had a great passion for the poor. Some of the difficulties surrounded Spanish-speaking languages, together with cities not wishing to add another service to the General Fund. Councilmember Brockbank supported agendizing this item for the next City Council meeting. It appeared to be an interesting and important policy issue even though not a lot of City money was at stake. Should this issue be before the regular MTA meeting on July 8, 2009, he inquired whether there would be facts and statistics available to the City Council at the July 6 meeting to facilitate an informed discussion. Vice -Mayor Heller confirmed this was a discussion item; however, she would provide whatever information that was available to her. Mr. Nordhoff confirmed that he would follow up with Executive Director, Barbara Thornton, to ascertain whether additional information would be available to include as part of the staff report for consideration. There being no further business, Vice -Mayor Heller adjourned the City Council meeting at 9:07 PM ESTHER C. BEIRNE, City Clerk APPROVED THIS DAY OF 12009 MAYOR OF THE CITY OF SAN RAFAEL SRCC Minutes (Regular) 06/15/2009 Page 11