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CC Minutes 2009-08-17
SRCC Minutes (Regular) 08/17/2009 Page 1 IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBER OF THE CITY OF SAN RAFAEL, MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2009 AT 8:00 P.M. Regular Meeting: San Rafael City Council Also Present: Ken Nordhoff, City Manager Robert F. Epstein, City Attorney Esther C. Beirne, City Clerk OPEN SESSION - COUNCIL CHAMBERS - 7:00 PM Mayor Boro announced Closed Session items. CLOSED SESSION — CONFERENCE ROOM 201 — 7:00 PM Present: Albert J. Boro, Mayor Barbara Heller, Vice -Mayor Greg Brockbank, Councilmember Damon Connolly, Councilmember Cyr N. Miller, Councilmember Absent: None (a) 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 Police Mid -Management Assn. San Rafael Police Association SEW Child Care Unit (b) Public Employee Performance Evaluation (Government Code Section 54957) Title: City Manager (c) Conference with Legal Counsel—Existing Litigation Government Code Section 54956.9(a) Case Name: MHC Financinz LP, et al. v. Citv of San Rafael, et al. U.S. Court of Appeals for Ninth Circuit, Case # 09-16447, 09-16451, 09-16612, 09-16613 City Attorney Robert Epstein announced that no reportable action was taken. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS OF AN URGENCY NATURE: 8:04 PM Massaqe Parlors: - File 9-1 Brad Sears reported having conducted a survey of massage parlor clients who inquired why San Rafael was so attractive to massage parlors. From the perspective of those surveyed, he noted there was indentured servitude that the San Rafael Police Department helped by not enforcing the law, which could explain why the City had gained so many new massage parlors within the last couple of years. Mr. Sears stated that according to the Planning Department it was the responsibility of the Police Department as changing zoning was inappropriate, too costly and too complicated for the Planning Department. He believed the Police Department had the standard tools; however, lacked the support of the Council and the District Attorney. Mr. Sears stated the reason for the boom in business was that it was viable and adaptable. Library Cutbacks: - File 9-1 x 9-3-61 Ursula Davidson stated she had been involved with the San Rafael Public Library for many years and currently volunteered with three boards associated with the library. She urged the City Council to help implement some of the positions that had been cut and stressed the importance of the Library's services in economic times such as these. SRCC Minutes (Regular) 08/17/2009 SRCC Minutes (Regular) 08/17/2009 Page 2 Medical Mariivana Dispensarv: - File 9-1 Elizabeth Harris, on behalf of the Apela Collective in Novato, urged the City to allow them to relocate to San Rafael. Stating that the Collective had nearly 1,100 members, mostly from Novato and San Rafael, she felt it necessary that patients had safe access to medicinal marijuana in their area. She submitted documents that included the Marin County law that embraced the use of medical marijuana, which the majority of Marin residents voted legal in 1996. Rov Benson, resident of San Rafael, felt that medical marijuana was a necessity for patients who should not have to leave their community to obtain needed medicine or services. He urged the Council to reconsider their position on medical marijuana. First Amendment: - File 9-1 Steven Schoonover, resident of San Rafael, referred to the City Council meeting of August 3, 2009 and the exchange between Mayor Boro and Jonathan Frieman. After listening to the digital recording of the meeting several times, he indicated he could not find any remarks by Mr. Frieman that in his understanding crossed the line or could be prohibited. Referring to the White v. Citv of Norwalk case, he quoted, "Citizens have an enormous first amendment interest in directing speech about public issues to those who govern their city. It is undoubtedly partly for this reason that such meetings once opened have been regarded as public forums, albeit limited ones." Mr. Schoonover stated no one doubted that the city official in charge of City meetings had some discretion in limiting the nature and scope of public comments during the meetings; however, that discretion was not unlimited. He suggested that on each City agenda, the following guidelines be printed: "Public comments should not be repetitious, disruptive or defamatory and may be limited in duration. Public comments should not be irrelevant, that is, it should address matters within the subject matter jurisdiction of the body being addressed." Falkirk Cultural Center and Free Speech: - File 9-1 David Maver requested clarification regarding the time allocated for Oral Communications of an Urgency Nature., noting a discrepancy between the agenda and sign-up card language. Mayor Boro stated he would investigate the issue with the City Clerk. Having attended the Falkirk Art & Wine Festival on August 15th, 2009, Mr. Mayer noted a discrepancy in admission price between the postcards distributed and the event's actual price -- $15 and $25. He expressed concern about holding public events at Falkirk with private enterprise and misadvertising to the public. He also noted a lack of public or private security officers and commented that, if alcohol was being served, security should be on site. On the topic of free speech, Mr. Mayer stated that he attended the City Council meeting on August 3`d, 2009 and believed Mr. Frieman should have been allowed to speak as free speech was important to democracy. He added that if Mr. Frieman's comments were hearsay, slanderous or libelous, the party being libeled or slandered had the right to seek legal recourse. Brown Act: - File 9-1 Jonathan Frieman indicated the Brown Act states that a speaker during open time need not reveal their name or the subject as long as it did not speak to something appearing on the agenda later, which meant that a speaker's subject could differ from that written on the sign-up notice. The Brown Act also stated that a speaker could criticize anyone, including the body being spoken to and individual members of the body, as long as it was not abusive. Mr. Frieman stated that two weeks ago when he attempted to present background as to why this governing body was considering requiring more disclosure of contributors his efforts were frustrated. While he was not prohibited from stating what he wished, he believed Mayor Boro frustrated his rights under the Brown Act and the First Amendment. Moreover, to use as a reason that someone could not say anything about anyone not present was specious and incorrect, especially when those facts were already a matter of public record in other governmental bodies. San Rafael Public Librarv: - File 9-1 x 9-3-61 Patricia Zentner, member of the Board of Library Trustees, stated that the Library's circulation had increased 14% in 2009 with a circulation increase of 16% in the children's library, despite the loss of 2.1 full-time positions. While she acknowledged that the Library was not the only department suffering from budget cuts, she believed that the Library was the only department in the City that had such an enormous increase in duties. Ms. Zentner guessed that some departments had contingency and overtime funding in their budgets; however, the Library did not have either. She stated that, due to the economy, many residents depended on their libraries and she urged the SRCC Minutes (Regular) 08/17/2009 SRCC Minutes (Regular) 08/17/2009 Page 3 Council to restore two part-time positions to the Library, even if it meant going into reserves to find the money to do so. CONSENT CALENDAR: Councilmember Heller moved and Councilmember Brockbank seconded, to approve the Consent Calendar as follows. ITEM Impartial Analysis of the San Rafael Public Safety Facilities Bond Measure (CA) — File 9-4 x 9-3-16 4. Resolution Authorizing the City Manager to Enter Into an Agreement with HF & H Consultants, LLC to Perform a Review of Marin Sanitary Service's 2010 Rate Application (CM) File 4-3-306 x 4-3-32 5. Resolution Authorizing the City Manager to Execute the San Rafael City Elementary School District Facility Use Agreement, Sun Valley Elementary School (CS) — File 4-7-12 x 9-3-65 6. Monthly Investment Report for Month Ending July, 2009 (Fin) — File 8-18 x 8-9 7. Resolution of Appreciation for William Calhoun, Teen/Electronic Librarian, Employee of the Quarter Ending June 2009 (Lib) — File 102 x 9-3-61 8. Resolution Recognizing Oak Dowling, Dominican Area Resident, for his Outstanding Efforts and Leadership in Organizing a Local Community Emergency Response Team for his Neighborhood (MS) — File 102 x 13-11 9. Resolution Adopting the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) Pertaining to Compensation and Working Conditions for San Rafael Police -Mid -Management Association (July 1, 2009 through June 30, 2010) (MS) — File 7-8-5 RECOMMENDED ACTION Accepted report. RESOLUTION NO. 12816 RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO ENTER INTO AN AGREEMENT WITH HF & H CONSULTANTS, LLC TO PERFORM A REVIEW OF MARIN SANITARY SERVICE'S 2010 RATE APPLICATION RESOLUTION NO. 12817 RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE THE SAN RAFAEL CITY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL DISTRICT FACILITY USE AGREEMENT, SUN VALLEY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL Accepted Monthly Investment Report for month ending July, 2009. RESOLUTION NO. 12818 RESOLUTION OF APPRECIATION TO WILLIAM CALHOUN, EMPLOYEE OF THE SECOND QUARTER OF 2009 RESOLUTION NO. 12819 RESOLUTION OF APPRECIATION TO OAK DOWLING RESOLUTION NO. 12820 MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING (MOU) PERTAINING TO COMPENSATION AND WORKING CONDITIONS FOR SAN RAFAEL POLICE MID MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION (JULY 1, 2009 THROUGH JUNE 30, 2010) SRCC Minutes (Regular) 08/17/2009 10. Resolution Authorizing the City Manager to Execute Amendment No. 1 to the Agreement Between the City of San Rafael and Regional Government Services Authority for Management and Administrative Services (MS) — File 4-3-473 x 9-3-86 11. Resolution Proclaiming September 2009 as National Preparedness Month in the City of San Rafael (MS) — File 102 x 13-11 12. Resolution Authorizing the City Manager to Execute a Lease with the Property Owner of 1099 D St, LLC, Located at 1099 D Street, San Rafael for a Five (5) Year Lease Beginning January 31, 2010 for $10,000.00 per Month With a 3% Increase in Rent Each Year Thereafter (PD) — File 2-9-30 x 9-3-30 14. Resolution Authorizing Temporary Closure of Ritter Street from Lincoln Avenue to Third Street, September 12, 2009 from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. to Support Goodwill — Ritter Center Partnership Donation Drive / SOS Marin (RA) — File 11-19 15. Resolution Authorizing Temporary Closure of A Street from Fourth Street to Fifth Avenue for the Christopher B. Smith Rafael Film Center Ten -Year Anniversary Celebration & Dine Around Free Movie Event from 6:00 p.m. — 12:00 a.m. on Wednesday, September 23, 2009 (RA) — File 11-19 SRCC Minutes (Regular) 08/17/2009 Page 4 RESOLUTION NO. 12821 RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE AMENDMENT NO. 1 TO THE AGREEMENT WITH REGIONAL GOVERNMENT SERVICES AUTHORITY FOR MANAGEMENT AND ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES IN THE HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT RESOLUTION NO. 12822 RESOLUTION OF APPRECIATION TO NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS MONTH — PROCLAIMING NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS MONTH SEPTEMBER 2009 RESOLUTION NO. 12823 RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE A LEASE WITH THE PROPERTY OWNER OF 1099 D ST., LLC, LOCATED AT 1099 D STREET, SAN RAFAEL FOR A FIVE (5) YEAR LEASE BEGINNING FEBRUARY 1, 2010 FOR $10,000 PER MONTH WITH A 3% INCREASE IN RENT EACH YEAR AFTER RESOLUTION NO. 12824 RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING TEMPORARY CLOSURE OF RITTER STREET FROM LINCOLN AVENUE TO THIRD STREET SEPTEMBER 12T", 2009 FROM 9 AM TO 5 PM TO SUPPORT GOODWILL-RITTER CENTER PARTNERSHIP DONATION DRIVE/SOS MARIN RESOLUTION NO. 12825 RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING TEMPORARY CLOSURE OF A STREET FROM FOURTH STREET TO FIFTH AVENUE FOR THE CHRISTOPHER B. SMITH RAFAEL FILM CENTER TEN YEAR ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION AND DINE AROUND FREE MOVIE EVENT FROM 6:00 PM TO 12:00 AM ON WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2009 SRCC Minutes (Regular) 08/17/2009 SRCC Minutes (Regular) 08/17/2009 Page 5 AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS: Brockbank, Connolly, Heller, Miller & Mayor Boro NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS: None ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: None 2. The following item was removed from the Consent Calendar for discussion at the request of Gary Ford: APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF AUGUST 3. 2009 (CC) Gary Ford, resident of San Rafael, requested that the minutes from the City Council meeting of August 3, 2009 be revised He clarified that he meant to say July 24th instead of January 24th, as stated on page six, second paragraph and then again on page six, paragraph 3. Councilmember Heller moved and Councilmember Miller seconded to approve the minutes with Mr. Ford's revisions. AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS: Brockbank, Connolly, Heller, Miller & Mayor Boro NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS: None ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: None 13. The following item was removed from the Consent Calendar for discussion at the request of Tom Barr, Ghilotti Bros, Inc.: REPORT ON BID OPENING AND RESOLUTION REJECTING ALL BIDS FOR THE STREET RESURFACING, AMERICAN RECOVERY AND REINVESTMENT ACT (ARRA) 2009, CITY PROJECT NO. 11108, FEDERAL AID PROJECT NO. ESPL 5043 (030) AND AUTHORIZING STAFF TO REBID THE PROJECT (PW) — File 4-1-610 Parviz Mokhtari, Director of Public Works, stated that the project was funded by a federal grant and had to comply with both state and federal regulations. Because staff noticed some irregularities in the bid after it had been opened, they and the City Attorney recommended, in fairness to all contractors, that the City Council reject all bids and authorize staff to rebid the project. Robert Epstein, City Attorney, pointed out that the authority for the action appears in the Municipal Code Section 11.50.100 and quoted: "After the bids are received on a particular Public Works contract, the awarding authority may, in its sole discretion, reject any and all bids presented and may either re -advertise bids or may have the work done by the awarding authority." Having received correspondence from two different bidders, Mr. Epstein stated there was concern from staff's perspective regarding the perception of fairness in the process, which they deemed to be the most important part of the public bidding process. Mike Ghilotti, president of Ghilotti Bros., Inc., spoke to why the Council should award the project to the low bidder, Ghilotti Bros., Inc. He stated that the Ghilotti Bros., Inc. bid came in $652,000 below the engineer's estimate — a 42% savings. Although there was a conflict in the bid specifications, he stated that it was not a material defect and would not affect the contractual obligation, the bid numbers or have a material effect on the bid; it was strictly a reporting function required by the federal government that could be submitted at a later date. Referring to the letter from Ghilotti Bros., Inc. to the City Council, Mr. Ghilotti stated this addressed the irregularities and also pointed out that the Council had legal authority in their discretion to overlook minor irregularities. He added that the D -U -N -S (Data Universal Numbering System) number was neither considered, nor required, by any other agencies that Mr. Ghilotti had bid experience with. There also was discussion concerning a Disadvantaged Business Form, which all agencies allowed four days to return subsequent to the bid — part of the federal document requirements; therefore, Ghilotti Bros. did not consider this material in any way. To rebid the job, Mr. Ghilotti noted a time element could possibly jeopardize the AARA funds. With two to three weeks remaining, should there be a problem the funds could be jeopardized as well as the ability to rebid the project in time to receive those funds. Stating that the bid was the valid low bid, Mr. Ghilotti stated they stood behind their number and whether the DUNS number was included or not was not material to the project or the City Council's decision. He urged the City Council to uphold the numbers as they were originally submitted and to award the project to Ghilotti Bros., Inc. Mr. Ghilotti stated that Ghilotti Bros., Inc. would be glad to defend the City in the event of any legal SRCC Minutes (Regular) 08/17/2009 SRCC Minutes (Regular) 08/17/2009 Page 6 consequences. This was a minor irregularity and they would appreciate the City Council's upholding the good faith of the bidders and the City in awarding the project to Ghilotti Bros, the low bidder. Glenn Ghilotti, president of Team Ghilotti, agreed that the prices on the bid results were $0.60 on the dollar. He believed that Team Ghilotti was the only bidder who followed the bidding guidelines and included all the required documents. He expressed shock at staff's decision to penalize those who did it correctly and give benefit to those who did not; therefore, he disagreed with the decision. Having been born and raised in San Rafael and worked hard for the City, he stated that Team Ghilotti was the only correct bidder and it was the City Council's responsibility to award the contract to them. David Maver, resident of San Rafael, expressed concern about re -bidding the project because Mr. Glenn Ghilotti indicated he did everything correctly and should not be penalized. He also had a concern that this was the stimulus money pushed through by the Democrats which American taxpayers would pay for. While he did not disagree with the stimulus funds, he believed that any further delay would prevent hard-working Americans from getting back to work. Because Mr. Mayer works for the State at the Economic Development Department, he noted that he had witnessed firsthand the number of trade and construction workers currently unemployed. He believed the bid should be awarded to the #2 bidder or in the event the project was rebid, it should be broken up so both companies could keep their workers employed. This should be done as soon as possible. Tom Barr, Ghilotti Bros., Inc. Chief Estimator, clarified that Team Ghilotti was the only bidder to call the City and stated that oral communications in the bidding process were irrelevant. He added that Team Ghilotti was the only bidder to have put the D -U -N -S number on their bid, based on their conversation with the City. There was no form in the bid package that allowed Ghilotti Bros., Inc. to write the number down; therefore, writing the D -U -N -S number on the bid and calling that the only responsive bidder did not make sense in the bidding process. Councilmember Connolly inquired as to the timeline of the re -bid process. Mr. Mokhtari responded that with the City Council's approval, the next bid opening would be September 15, and the City Council would award the contract on September 21. The City had until September 30, 2009 to award the contracts under the stimulus package regulations. Councilmember Heller inquired why this issue rose to the level of having to re -bid the project and whether it was normal to have items omitted from bid documents. Mr. Epstein, City Attorney, responded that this should not have happened and staff took responsibility for making a mistake. He reiterated that under such circumstances, staff was responsible for ensuring the process was fair when a public bid was being awarded. Noting two documents were in question, Councilmember Heller requested clarification on the comment that there was a four-day period to submit one of these. Mr. Epstein stated his understanding regarding this bid was that there were requirements that were received rather late in the process from the federal government, which created less time than would typically be available to the City in the preparation of the bid documents. Mr. Mokhtari agreed that there were instances where contractors could submit some documents later; however, in this case it was very clear that the documents needed to be submitted by the bid date. Councilmember Miller moved and Councilmember Brockbank seconded to adopt the Resolution. RESOLUTION NO. 12826 — REPORT ON BID OPENING FOR THE STREET RESURFACING AMERICAN RECOVERY AND REINVESTMENT ACT 2009, CITY PROJECT NO. 11108, FEDERAL AID PROJECT NO. ESPL 5043 (030), AND RESOLUTION REJECTING ALL BIDS AND AUTHORIZING STAFF TO REBID PROJECT AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS: Brockbank, Connolly, Heller, Miller & Mayor Boro NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS: None ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: None SRCC Minutes (Regular) 08/17/2009 SRCC Minutes (Regular) 08/17/2009 Page 7 SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS: 16. PRESENTATION OF RESOLUTION OF APPRECIATION TO WILLIAM CALHOUN, TEEN/ELECTRONIC LIBRARIAN, EMPLOYEE OF THE QUARTER ENDING JUNE, 2009 (LIB) — FILE 102 x 9-3-61 Mayor Boro stated that each quarter, employees of the City select an Employee of the Quarter, who receives an award of $100 and a gold star. At the end of the year, one of the four Employees of the Quarter would be selected Employee of the Year, and would receive a $500 award. Mayor Boro noted the resolution addressed Mr. Calhoun's skill set, personality and his trust and admiration from the community. He quoted: "William Calhoun is a proud member of the San Rafael Public Library staff; William works as our librarian in charge of both teen services and electronic services; William provides a fresh perspective, seasoned with years of experience in the field of librarianship and William's co-workers in the library appreciate his wit, his courtesy and his easy way with patrons, who often take allegiance to him and ask for him by name; William works diligently, given scare resources and even scarcer space, to find ways to improve the Teen Zone within the downtown library, enlisting the volunteer assistance of teens from the community as decorators, designers, selectors, and even as cleaners and web page designers; William has extended his Teen program's outreach into the wider community, building alliances with groups such as the Marin Youth Center; William is widely characterized by fellow library staff members as their "a go -to" guy when it comes to technology issues; William has served as one of the library's SEIU Shop Stewards during a period of recent negotiations, faithfully representing the interests of staff while keeping the best interests of the City of San Rafael in mind." On behalf of the City Council and the citizens of San Rafael, Mayor Boro congratulated Mr. Calhoun on his achievement. Commenting that he was grateful for the award, Mr. Calhoun expressed thanks to the Director of the Library, David Dodd. RESOLUTION PROCLAIMING SEPTEMBER 2009 AS NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS MONTH IN THE CITY OF SAN RAFAEL (MS) — FILE 102 x 13-11 Mayor Boro invited Steven Hancock and Angela Del Ponte to come forward as he read the Resolution of Appreciation, proclaiming September as National Preparedness Month. He spoke on the importance of being prepared, the great work done by both Mr. Hancock and Ms. Del Ponte and congratulating them, he commented that the safety of the community was extremely important. 17. PRESENTATION OF RESOLUTION OF APPRECIATION TO OAK DOWLING FOR ORGANIZING A COMMUNITY EMERGENCY RESPONSE TEAM IN HIS NEIGHBORHOOD (MS) — FILE 102 x 13-11 Stating that Mr. Dowling was his neighbor whom he had known him for several years, Mayor Boro reported that Mr. Dowling completed the CERT (Community Emergency Response Team program) training. With September being recognized as National Preparedness Month, Mr. Hancock commented that staff was taking the opportunity to recognize efforts being done and the commitment to prepare the community and increase the City's capability to respond to a disaster. Having limited resources, he emphasized the importance of training and educating the community to be prepared and resilient in a disaster. Indicating that once in a while a "shining star" emerges, Mr. Hancock reported that Oak Dowling had taken the SRCC Minutes (Regular) 08/17/2009 SRCC Minutes (Regular) 08/17/2009 Page 8 CERT training and rallied his neighbors to increase the neighborhood's resiliency. He believed it important to recognize Mr. Dowling's efforts as a leader, not just within the Dominican/Black Canyon neighborhood, but within the City of San Rafael, taking disaster and emergency preparedness to the next level. Quoting from the Resolution of Appreciation, Mayor Boro stated: "Oak Dowling is a graduate of the City of San Rafael's Community Emergency Response Team program; and Oak has been instrumental and steadfast working with his neighborhood in developing a safer, more disaster - resilient San Rafael; and Oak is self -motivating, proactive, and is using the Community Emergency Preparedness Plan to establish a CERT team in the Dominican area neighborhood; and Oak demonstrates community leadership by recruiting neighbors to be part of the Dominican area CERT team, (Mayor Boro noted he was one of his followers, although his wife had been representing him due to conflicts; however, he would be in attendance this Thursday evening) educating team members about their roles and responsibilities on the CERT team; and Oak has worked together with his CERT team, stockpiled disaster response supplies and resources, identified and enhanced neighborhood skills; and Oak is extremely engaging and passionate about disaster preparedness and a great community leader that has led the development of a neighborhood that is less susceptible to the effects of a disaster." On behalf of the City Council and the citizens of the City of San Rafael, Mayor Boro congratulated and thanked Mr. Dowling. Mr. Dowling thanked the Council, Mayor Boro, Steve Hancock and Angela Del Ponte. He stated that he felt privileged to be a student under Mr. Hancock and Ms. Del Ponte in CERT training. They were providing a great service to the City and he was just fulfilling what they taught him. OTHER AGENDA ITEMS: 18. CONSIDERATION OF A RESOLUTION APPROVING AND AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO EXECUTE THE CITY OF SAN RAFAEL'S RESPONSE TO THE MARIN COUNTY GRAND JURY REPORT ENTITLED "SAVING MARIN'S MAJOR CRIMES TASK FORCE" (CA/PD) — FILE 269 x 9-3- 30 Matthew Odetto, Chief of Police, stated that before the City Council this evening for consideration was the City Council's response to the Grand Jury Report, entitled "Saving Marin's Major Crimes Task Force." He explained that until 2003, the City had been a member of the Major Crimes Task Force JPA (Joint Powers Authority) and had contributed to the Task Force by funding a department investigator as a full- time position with their staff. Due to severe budget constraints, the City withdrew from the JPA in 2003; nevertheless, the Police Department continued to contribute to the Task Force by assigning a detective to the County Probation Enforcement Team (COPE). Chief Odetto stated that on June 3, 2009, the Marin County Grand Jury issued its report, "Saving Marin's Major Crimes Task Force" and recommended that the City rejoin the Task Force JPA. The Grand Jury interviewed law enforcement personnel from Marin County, Mayors and members of the JPA Oversight Committee. They researched Task Force operations and considered statistics for the purpose of exploring the Task Force with regard to its need and activity within the City. Chief Odetto stated that the Grand Jury more specifically concluded that the City benefits from the Task Force's Drug Enforcement efforts and, therefore, should rejoin the JPA and contribute funds and personnel to the Task Force. Chief Odetto reported that the City had been requested to respond to the Grand Jury's findings and recommendations, as set out on pages 7 and 8 of the Grand Jury Report, attached to the staff report. The proposed response noted the substantial drug enforcement activity that several police departments provide to the City, its residents and visitors, and points out the lack of statistical meaningful data attributed to the City. Chief Odetto noted it was evident that some Councilmembers questioned rejoining the JPA. Action required this evening included responding to the findings and recommendations of the Grand Jury Report within 90 days of the issuance of the report. Penal Code Section 933 advises compliance with the statute. The City's response must be approved by resolution of the City Council and submitted to the Presiding Judge of Marin County Superior Court and the Foreperson of the Grand Jury, before September 1, 2009. SRCC Minutes (Regular) 08/17/2009 SRCC Minutes (Regular) 08/17/2009 Page 9 City Attorney Robert Epstein stated the City Council would recall that prior to the last regular meeting an extensive study session was held on this matter. Careful attention was paid to the discussion among the City Council and staff worked hard to capture the Council's perspective while remaining consistent with what they understood to be the City's position with regard to the last budget process, the reasons behind the original decision to leave the Task Force and why that situation continued. Mr. Epstein noted this topic had been debated and clearly, there was a debate about it at the County level and among the Grand Jury because a report was issued requesting the City to do something different from what was currently being done. He stated it could well be that, despite staff's best efforts, the City Council could believe staff had not captured what they wanted the report to reflect on their behalf as City leaders. While staff could answer questions concerning the details, Mr. Epstein suggested that the City Council receive public comment, subsequent to which the matter could be deliberated on. Should there be changes this was the time to discuss these. David Maver stated he did not believe anyone would disagree that there was a drug problem in Marin County; however, he did not believe that San Rafael and Novato should bear the cost of the Major Crimes Task Force. San Rafael and Novato bearing the cost would mean that Sausalito, Ross, Kentfield, San Anselmo and other Marin communities would get a free ride; however, not all of the users of these drugs lived in San Rafael and Novato. He therefore, concluded that the Grand Jury was completely wrong on this issue and funding should be the responsibility of the County, Federal Government or State of California. Mr. Mayer suggested that, should San Rafael be required to rejoin the Task Force, the fine for possession should be increased in such a way that the City collected the fine and raised it sufficiently high to prohibit people from purchasing drugs in San Rafael. Gary Ford, San Rafael resident, stated that he had read the report and understood the position of the City that it did not have the financial resources. However, he encouraged that in the response the City make a promise to rejoin predicated on certain financial benchmarks, e.g., increased revenue or an increase specifically in drug crime statistically to a level that triggered making a contribution, whether financial or by adding a police officer. Drug traffic increasing dramatically in San Rafael would trigger rejoining and he believed the City Council should not get behind on this matter. Councilmember Connolly stated he had some ongoing concerns regarding some of the wording. Referring to attachment "B" under recommendations — second paragraph — he quoted: "However, the inclusion of additional San Rafael employees on the staff of the Task Force at this time was simply not feasible." He questioned whether "advisable" should be substituted for "feasible" in terms of what a majority had found based on budget realities. He believed it was feasible should the City Council decide as a majority that certain resources should be devoted to this issue as opposed to something else. Chief of Police Odetto concurred. Recognizing that this was not a policy debate this evening, Councilmember Connolly cautioned the City Council not (not added) to just focus on whether there literally was a bust within City limits. The premise of the Major Crimes Task Force was that it was multi -jurisdictional in the sense that taking down a Methamphetamine laboratory in West Marin or Novato would have large implications for the residents of San Rafael also. While he agreed with the request for more data on how it related to the City of San Rafael, Councilmember Connolly cautioned that the City should not (not added) be fixated on literally what was happening within San Rafael's borders as opposed to looking at the overall data, and evaluating as the largest City in the County, and the City with likely the most potential crime, whether there would be a benefit to San Rafael. He indicated he did not see any other glaring issues in terms of the wording; however, for the record, Councilmember Connolly believed there was some value to joining. Councilmember Miller stated he was pleased with the wording as well as the content of the report. Councilmember Heller recalled that four police chiefs ago the reason for pulling out of the contract was that the City was not receiving the information requested and with a severe budget problem, remaining a member was questioned. Since then she had heard three other police chiefs question the value, never whether it was a good or bad task force or whether it was doing its job, rather simply whether the City could afford it. She believed Chief Odetto had laid out exactly what San Rafael was doing with its own patrol. The City does participate with the task force and she awaited hearing the reason why the Twin Cities Police Department had decided they might withdraw. SRCC Minutes (Regular) 08/17/2009 SRCC Minutes (Regular) 08/17/2009 Page 10 Mr. Nordhoff stated he talked with the Larkspur City Manager and believed it was a budgetary decision, not too dissimilar to what San Rafael or others had faced along the way. Under the current agreement they were required to give a year's notice, which they did on June 30, 2009; however, they still had options to evaluate what action to take going forward. Councilmember Heller stated she could see no way for San Rafael to rejoin. She hoped that perhaps in a year or so if funding became available, the issue could be revisited. Councilmember Brockbank expressed thanks to staff who participated in writing the response. He appreciated the City Attorney's calling him over the weekend to inquire whether he had questions. Similar to Councilmember Connolly, he too had some concerns regarding some wording, minor changes to which would make him more comfortable. He too, would favor substituting "advisable" for "feasible." While it might not be advisable to rejoin the Major Crimes Task Force because it was a policy decision made by the City as expressed by the City Council, he did not believe "feasible" was the correct word as it appeared to indicate it was impossible rather than a policy decision. Referring to Exhibit "A" - Findings - page 2 — second to last line — appreciating there were differences of opinion on this issue within the City Council, Councilmember Brockbank suggested using the language "a majority of the City Council again decided against rejoining the Task Force JPA.... He indicated that with these two minor changes he was comfortable that this well-written document expressed the position of the City's policy as expressed by the City Council at the last study session on the issue. Mayor Boro concurred with the use of the word "advisable." Noting San Rafael had a sergeant and several officers working full-time on drug enforcement, Mayor Boro stated the City was being more than responsive to the problem in the community. He recalled that, when the issue was discussed on the previous occasion, it was noted that when the Task Force first started the City requested definitive responses as to what happened with those arrested; however, of the 38 arrested, information on how many were tried, convicted and the nature of what happened was not forthcoming. Referring to the response on page 1 — Attachment "B" — Mayor Boro quoted: "...the Council will continue to revisit the issue, especially in view of the changes recently proposed to the governing JPA." However, he commented that any decision to rejoin the Task Force would need to be evaluated on a cost -benefit basis to ascertain whether there was direct benefit to San Rafael. With respect to Councilmember Brockbank's suggestion to add the words "a majority" of the City Council, Mayor Boro stated that the budget was evaluated by the City Council with a fine toothcomb. Scoring on the score sheet resulted in 3:2 against; however, no discussion was held during the budget sessions concerning whether this should be changed or whether the City should rejoin. While technically Councilmember Brockbank was correct, Mayor Boro clarified that no one spoke during the budget sessions in favor of doing anything other than what was in place. He noted that in fairness and in fact, this issue was not discussed during the budget session and although a majority of the City Council did vote in favor in the rankings of not rejoining, the entire City Council did vote for the budget. Councilmember Heller confirmed that this issue needed to be clarified this evening because the response was due to the Grand Jury by September 1, 2009. Mr. Epstein clarified that, should the motion include the suggested changes and that was the decision of the City Council, the changes would be made and the final document provided to the Grand Jury would reflect these changes. He clarified the changes as follows: Attachment "A" — page 2 — final paragraph — "Accordingly, revisiting this issue in connection with the adoption of the City's 2009-2010 fiscal year budget in July, a majority of the Council again decided against rejoining the Task Force JPA." Indicating he had a problem with the wording because it was untrue, Mayor Boro clarified that the entire Council voted for the budget. No discussion took place in the budget concerning this item. The majority of the City Council did not rank this issue important enough, which was a fair statement. He reiterated that the entire Council voted for the budget, which prohibited rejoining. SRCC Minutes (Regular) 08/17/2009 SRCC Minutes (Regular) 08/17/2009 Page 11 Councilmember Connolly clarified that the decision was not to hold up the entire City budget over this issue. Nevertheless, he believed the 3:2 split was expressed; therefore, a way was being sought to express that difference of opinion. He commented that one way to do this would be to vote against adopting this report or it could be done through the proposed word change, which he believed to be accurate. Summarizing, Mr. Nordhoff stated that in the budget process, staff provided a Service Prioritization List to the City Council and this particular item was adding back rather than eliminating a service. The determination of the City Council at that time, as stated, was not to rejoin; therefore, as staff identified this and brought back that prioritization list a number of other alternatives were evaluated. Although it was probably correct that there were no extensive deliberations on this issue, Councilmembers were aware of where each stood and that they stood as a body; therefore, in moving forward with a balanced budget they were aware this item would not be part of the action. Mr. Nordhoff believed the proposed wording was sufficient. The entire City Council ratified the budget, noting there could be other items ratified beyond this particular issue where there could have been individual disagreement on a particular item. At the end of the day, the City Council evaluated a number of alternatives as a group, decided on the best decisions and acted accordingly. Mr. Nordhoff believed the change read by City Attorney Epstein, as proposed by Councilmember Brockbank, reflected both events — what was decided in the prioritization process and what was acted on as a body. Clarifying for Councilmember Heller, Mr. Epstein stated he echoed the City Manager in concluding that the suggested addition of the words "a majority" of the Council in that sentence was an accurate representation of what occurred during the budget process. He indicated that one could even read from that that either a 3:2 majority made the decision or alternatively, a 5:0 majority adopted the budget. He believed either way was correct and the discussion was being hung up on a couple of words, which was not unique to this document. Mr. Epstein also clarified for Councilmember Heller that there was no statement of discussion in the report, rather the word "decided" was used. Councilmember Brockbank concurred that there was no discussion. Addressing Mayor Boro's point, he stated that, had the report indicated that a majority of the City Council voted against rejoining the Major Crimes Task Force, Mayor Boro would be correct that the statement was accurate. However, the word "decided" was used, not "voted" and he believed it was fair to say that a majority "decided" by virtue of the rankings. He also concurred with Councilmember Connolly's point that just because it was not discussed or objected to and the City Council went along with the entire budget merely meant they did not wish to vote against or amend the budget, rather individual feelings were made clear in the rankings. Mayor Boro noted that although feelings may have been made clear in the rankings, these feelings were never expressed in the budget discussions. Although he would support the amendments, he believed there was an attempt to rewrite what occurred and reiterated that there was no discussion other than the difference in rankings. Mr. Epstein clarified the second change: Attachment "B" — page 1 — second paragraph under Response to R1, R2 and R3 — "As noted in the City's responses to the Grand Jury's findings, the City is managing to meet the significant challenge of providing basic police services, including drug enforcement, to its residents, businesses and visitors with a reduced staff; however, the inclusion of additional San Rafael employees on the staff of the Task Force at this time is simply not advisable." Councilmember Brockbank moved and Councilmember Connolly seconded, to adopt the Resolution. RESOLUTION NO. 12827 - RESOLUTION APPROVING AND AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO EXECUTE THE CITY OF SAN RAFAEL'S RESPONSE TO THE MARIN COUNTY GRAND JURY REPORT ENTITLED "SAVING MARIN'S MAJOR CRIMES TASK FORCE." SRCC Minutes (Regular) 08/17/2009 SRCC Minutes (Regular) 08/17/2009 Page 12 AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS: Brockbank, Connolly, Heller, Miller & Mayor Boro NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS: None ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: None 19. RESOLUTION ADOPTING GOALS AND OBJECTIVES FOR 2009-2011(CM) — FILE 8-5 Mr. Nordhoff reported that staff spent several months generating a balanced budget largely due to some fairly significant economic challenges borne out of the state, local and national recession, formal action on which was taken on July 6, 2009. He indicated that in May, staff tried to outline a list of goals and objectives for the next two years and this evening, staff would present what they hoped to accomplish, even with a reduced workforce, over the next two years. Mr. Nordhoff stated he also wanted to ensure the City Council had an opportunity to hear not just the higher level items documented, rather there were a number of changes to the way business would be done because of a reduced workforce. Noting the City provides a variety of important services that are significant and meaningful to residents and businesses, Mr. Nordhoff stated staff wished to ensure the City Council understood some of the consequences, particularly in areas where there was discretion. Mr. Nordhoff stated staff would make a brief presentation, followed by comment and subsequently adoption of a resolution. A Budget in Brief document would be published within the next couple of weeks. Public Safety — With regard to accomplishments of the Police Department, Chief of Police Matt Odetto reported: • Community outreach and development had been expanded with the publication of a quarterly newsletter. A neighborhood phone tree had been included, together with an email tree. In addition, the Police Department joined Twitter, which had been very successful in reaching those in the community not normally reachable. • Several public safety grants had been obtained in the Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) and staff had been proactively addressing crime trends within the City. He noted a reduction of 14.2% in crimes such as homicide, robbery, rapes and burglaries for 2007-2008. • In addition to the OTS grants, a grant was obtained which will enable the return of the Citizens Police Academy through 2013. • An increase in the number of special enforcement operations, with 18 scheduled for next year. This would include some crosswalk enforcement, together with the Red Light Safety program. With regard to the Red Light Enforcement Program, Chief Odetto reported that construction was scheduled to begin at Third and Irwin Streets, westbound and northbound, noting there would be a 30 - day grace period. Chief Odetto reported that the Police Department was working very successfully with the Fire Department and Office of Emergency Services on mutual programs. With regard to the issue of graffiti, Mayor Boro noted the City Manager had indicated to him that there would be a program coordinated by different departments. He indicated he found one line in the Public Works section regarding abatement of graffiti effectively and efficiently on City and private properties; however, there was nothing in the Police Department's report. Mayor Boro believed there was a growing graffiti problem in San Rafael and he inquired as to how it would be managed. Mr. Nordhoff clarified that this issue would be addressed in the Public Works presentation this evening. Mayor Boro commented that if the issue concerned another department he would expect that department to include a reference in their objectives. SRCC Minutes (Regular) 08/17/2009 SRCC Minutes (Regular) 08/17/2009 Page 13 Mr. Nordhoff stated staff would make the appropriate amendments related to private property Fire Chief Chris Grav stated the City Council was aware of some of the initiatives undertaken by the Fire Department in the past couple of years. Budget implications had had a severe effect on the entire City workforce; however, proceeding with some of the strategies undertaken the Fire Department had concentrated efforts on maintaining an operational response capability in staffing in fire stations. He commented that he was doing everything possible to fulfill the promise to the community to keep fire stations open and response -ready. Noting this was not without cost, Chief Gray explained that through efforts of contracting out services and making some San Rafael services and marketing available to other agencies, seven positions had been eliminated. The Fire Department would undergo some reorganization in the next couple of months, which certainly would have an impact on some of the goals set forth earlier. Essentially, there would be no delays in emergency services; however, there could be delays in non -emergency services. Chief Gray reported efforts to enhance recruitment and utilizing the Fire Department community to better reflect the face of the department. There would be delays in proceeding with some of the cadet programs. More work would be done in the location of stations and response capability, ensuring the best possible was being done for the community. Staff was aware of the Public Safety Bond Measure and critical facilities and the long-time delays in dealing with facility needs at the fire stations, including emergency generators. Chief Gray reported delays also in working on a complementary ambulance service involving basic life support, which would also serve as a recruitment tool, and implementing a fire core program, which was part of a nationwide effort to complement the CERT program. Chief Gray reported that other areas of difficulty in meeting objectives included Vegetation Management. A year had been added to the initial three-year time period and unfortunately, some expectations relative to the overall enforcement and compliance efforts would have to be lowered. Staff continued to experience excellent response from the community in terms of voluntary compliance and Chief Gray noted that it would be necessary to curtail some of the efforts on clearing vegetation on public space. With regard to assisting private property owners, Chief Gray reported having recently helped the Fairhills neighborhood with $2,000 and cost-sharing with some chipper days for the neighborhood; however, there would be a limit to the Fire Department's capability in this regard. Finally, Chief Gray reported delays in enhancing some Household Hazardous Waste efforts undertaken with Marin Sanitary Service and on a Countywide basis with the JPA. While these things were nice to have, he believed that in looking at the foundation of providing public safety services, efforts would be concentrated on keeping fire stations open and available for response to the community. With regard to the Vegetation Management Program, Councilmember Heller inquired whether funding had been explored with the Federal Government. Responding affirmatively, Chief Gray reported that staff was in the process of applying for several grants. Staff would continue to work on this high priority; however, some of the objectives would need to be modified; however he wanted to ensure better defensible space in the long term. Steven Hancock, Emergencv Services Manager, reported that fortunately staff anticipated what organizational changes would affect the Office of Emergency Services (OES). They entered into an agreement with the City of Larkspur to provide emergency management, together with other support; therefore, the goals, objectives and benchmarks provided previously remained current. Mr. Hancock stated that changes had mostly been aligned to the close proximity and function with the Fire Department by being able to assume some of their administrative efforts. He believed a great example of the synergy between the Fire Department and the Office of Emergency Services was the Vegetation Management Program. While the physical impact on that program had taken effect, the OES had worked with the Fire Department to create a wildfire preparedness checklist. While staff could not manage the vegetation directly, they could continue to educate the community on the threat of wild fire, their responsibilities on being prepared and the actions they could take. Between Chief Gray and members of the Fire Department and the Police Department, the OES staff continued to look for opportunities to combine efforts. SRCC Minutes (Regular) 08/17/2009 SRCC Minutes (Regular) 08/17/2009 Page 14 Mayor Boro thanked Chief of Police Odetto, Fire Chief Gray and Steven Hancock for the very apparent spirit of cooperation. He thanked the Fire Department and the OES for the extra effort in reaching out to Larkspur and he hoped this was the beginning of a long relationship. Quality of Life — David Dodd, Library Director, stated that, similar to Mr. Hancock, library staff anticipated many budget - related issues; therefore, the goals put forward in June pretty much remained the same. Staff was aware there would be a reduction in the ability to purchase materials and planned for this back in the spring. There had been a concomitant reduction in force through an early retirement and some vacant positions remained unfilled; therefore, staff levels were down 2.11 positions, which did have an impact on workload. Mr. Dodd reported that the workload had been spread through new cross -training across library departments. The technical services department had assumed some of the circulation desk responsibilities, together with responsibilities resulting from the early retirement. Mr. Dodd indicated there had been a certain amount of negotiation through the union as to the impact of the budget reductions and for now, cooperation was good in terms of trying out the cross -training; however the situation would be evaluated periodically. The first benchmark would be August 31, again at the end of September 2009 and then in six months. Mr. Dodd acknowledged the Friends of the Library who again pledged up to $25,000 in support of the book budget — they had been doing this for five years and it was much appreciated. Regional efforts included MarinNet and this would continue to be leveraged with some initiatives in the coming year. A new layer on the front end of the public catalog would afford patrons more ease in finding what they wanted. It was hoped to bring the Dominican University library into MarinNet, which would be a huge advantage, and with all Northern California libraries the possibility of implementing open source software was being explored, which could save 50% potentially on library automation annually. Being part of a larger climate in Marin County that sees many school libraries closing, Mr. Dodd stated this was having a big impact on the usage of libraries by children. As noted earlier, the children's department of the San Rafael library had seen a huge increase in business, which he anticipated would continue to accelerate. With regard to Dominican University, Councilmember Heller inquired whether they would join San Rafael in checking books out for customers and vice versa. Mr. Dodd explained that just as one could use their library card in any Marin County public library, Dominican University would be similar, should it go through. Noting Dominican had really good open hours, he indicated he would check the days and hours of operation. Regarding the history of library hours in San Rafael, Mr. Dodd reported that prior to 1978, the library was open 72 hours per week; however, through the course of the next several years this was pared down to 59 hours and as of 2004, the library was open 48 hours. Mayor Boro noted that reference questions increased almost 80% year over year. Mr. Dodd explained this was partly due to increased business; however, he believed it was also due to a better tracking method instituted this year. Speaking on behalf of Carlene McCart. Communitv Services Director, Mr. Nordhoff noted staffing had been pared down at Falkirk Cultural Center, due to an early retirement. Cary Bytof, Volunteer Coordinator, was working at Falkirk ten hours weekly and Curator Beth Goldberg would continue to be there for the balance of this fiscal year on a 25 -hour per week basis. He noted Falkirk was open afternoons Tuesday through Friday and on Saturday; however, there would be limited opportunities for art galleries, etc. Mr. Nordhoff reported that the Pickleweed Advancement Team, a collaboration of the City Manager's Office and Community Services, was meeting and building, through the Development Director, Russ Hamel, a fundraising model about how to raise money, specifically for programmatic, facility and capital SRCC Minutes (Regular) 08/17/2009 SRCC Minutes (Regular) 08/17/2009 Page 15 needs at the Pickleweed Community Center and Library. The model being built had broader applicability and he believed Falkirk could be the next candidate when systems were in place. A process was underway to build donor bases and ensure a good repository of grant writing locations and capabilities. As mentioned at the last meeting, Mr. Nordhoff noted in the state budget a loss of Latchkey Grant funding that sunsets immediately, resulting in the unfortunate loss of 28 families served by the grant for many years. With regard to the Tree Advisory Committee, Mr. Nordhoff reported they were half -way through their work and would be rolling out some opportunities to further enhance how the City plants and maintains City trees. Mr. Nordhoff reported that Ms. McCart and her staff generated a number of statistics and goals beginning on page 22 of the Goals and Objectives. With regard to the Objective — Achieve fundraising goals for Pickleweed Community Center through Development Director efforts and strategies established by volunteer leadership team — Councilmember Miller noted this was passed to the City Manager's Department. This was very important because when developed properly and finally moved to the 501 c -- Friends of San Rafael -- it would take on significance for all departments. This was a new revenue source for the City and belonged in the City Manager's Department. Mr. Nordhoff stated he would be glad to ensure this was noted in the City Manager's Goals. Indicating he would like another goal substituted, Councilmember Miller noted the City Council adopted an Enterprise Plan for Pickleweed and he would like to see that document used as was mentioned in the City Council's acceptance of the Pickleweed Plan. He noted the uses of the Enterprise Plan as follows: • To memorialize, communicate and share the picture of Pickleweed • To manage the Pickleweed Park Community Center - every year evaluating each section. He noted that three or four years ago $250,000 was received; therefore, the financial section should indicate what was being done. Councilmember Miller stated that the Enterprise Plan contained the goals of Pickleweed, together with its value statement, and its management should go according to the plan. He was aware that it added a further burden to the Supervisor at Pickleweed; however, Mr. Mason did not have to deal with the fundraising element. For the benefit of those in the audience and to refresh the City Council's memory, Mayor Boro believed one of the reasons Councilmember Miller was so committed to the plan was that three full-time people worked at Pickleweed serving 200,000 people annually and the only reason this could be done was through the Enterprise Plan that brought in other entities to put on programs, paid for being there and made the programs available. He believed it very important that the Enterprise Plan was followed. Public Assets — Interim Public Works Director, Parviz Mokhtari, reported that the layoffs and retirements had some impact on the day-to-day operations of the parks maintenance and street maintenance divisions. Staff prepared a PowerPoint presentation to be presented by Nader Mansourian, Assistant Public Works Director, subsequent to which he, Mr. Mokhtari, would present the City's process for graffiti abatement. Street Division - Mr. Mansourian reported the elimination of four positions and two vacant positions in the Street Division would result in some service reductions. He indicated that there would be no service reduction for the safety and mandatory tasks. Staff would continue to respond to landslides and the pump stations would continue to be maintained. Preparation for storm operations would remain the same; all structures would be inspected and flooding responded to. With regard to Major storm operations, Mr. Mansourian explained that 24-hour shifts require 18-22 streets and parks personnel to respond to flooding; however, going forward 14 staff members would SRCC Minutes (Regular) 08/17/2009 SRCC Minutes (Regular) 08/17/2009 Page 16 respond, and in order to deal with the deficiencies contractors would need to be hired. With regard to Street Sweeping, Mr. Mansourian reported that the 12 -miles per day sweeping would remain the same. Service Reductions — • Sidewalks - No permanent repair — Inspection and temporary repair to remain the same; • Paving - Emergency pothole repair only; • Paint and Signs — Same level of work for safety; however, response to other requests delayed; • Trash Pick Up — Reduced from daily to once weekly basis unless hazardous or an emergency; Mr. Mansourian noted that today on Harbor Street, four maintenance workers spent two hours removing two tons of debris from one side of the street (900 feet). Parks Division — • Two positions eliminated and two vacancies; • No service reduction for safety and mandatory tasks — reductions in other services. Tree Maintenance — • No change in response to emergencies. Park Maintenance — • Continued support to Community Services to ensure fields, playgrounds and equipment are safe; • Debris and unwanted materials to be removed; • Testing of backflows carried out as required. Pool Service — Daily task — no service reduction Turf Maintenance — No reduction in service Service Reductions — • Median pruning reduced to once per year instead of several times; • Weed Abatement — herbicides used to maintain areas with fewer personnel; • Alternative methods used to eliminate public exposure to herbicides — torching near picnic areas; • Consolidate abatement responsibilities with Streets Division to increase efficiency; • Spraying to continue where possible, together with other methods; • Response to complaints will increase from 2 days to 4-5 days; • Daily cleaning of plazas, walkways, landscaped areas; Primarily responsible for set-up/break- down for events to continue; however, event support may have to be reduced; • Plant Health Care — limited ability to monitor plant health which could be further restricted; • All parks pruned twice per year — frequency and severity of cut will be modified to meet staff availability; • Tree Planting — 40-60 trees planted last year, with watering for a three-year period; Fewer tree plantings anticipated; • Parks Improvements — Identify site deficiencies and improve as necessary; Prioritization of site improvements with staffing restrictions; Use of Volunteers — • Necessary programs involving volunteers for minor maintenance work; • City equipment to be used; • City crew to lead the work. Graffiti Abatement — Mr. Mokhtari reported that one employee in the Parks Division was responsible for graffiti abatement. To solve this issue, the graffiti abatement was now the entire Public Works Department's responsibility; SRCC Minutes (Regular) 08/17/2009 SRCC Minutes (Regular) 08/17/2009 Page 17 therefore, depending on the location of the graffiti, John Tune, Parks Superintendent, would assign the abatement to the crew working in that area. The service was not being reduced but would be more efficient; however, in the past City staff had gone on private property to abate graffiti and staff recommended this be discontinued. Mr. Mokhtari reported that Public Works staff had a meeting with Community Development Director, Bob Brown, Chief of Police Odetto and staff from the City Attorney's Office and generated the following process: All graffiti on public facilities and public right-of-ways would be abated by the Department of Public Works, Parks Division, as soon as possible, within no more than two days, and all graffiti on utility companies' boxes or poles would be abated by the Department of Public Works; however, these companies would be invoiced for this work. With regard to graffiti on the Caltrans side of the highway, Public Works staff would contact Caltrans at the highest level, if necessary, to abate the graffiti. With regard to private property, Mr. Mokhtari stated that as soon as the City was notified, the Chief of Police had agreed to notify the property owner that the graffiti needed to be abated within ten days. Should the property owner not abate the graffiti, the City Attorney would notify the owner that if they failed to abate the graffiti, the City would hire a contractor and bill the property owner for the cost. With regard to the Linden Lane issue raised by Mayor Boro, Mr. Mokhtari stated that there had been discussion between the Transportation Authority of Marin (TAM), Caltrans and the City of San Rafael concerning who was responsible. He reported that TAM had initially accepted they would maintain the area; however, staff believed TAM should pay the City in connection with abating graffiti. The cost was still under discussion and he hoped the issue would be resolved within the next two months, with the revenue coming from TAM. Again, a contractor would be used to abate the graffiti and the cost billed to TAM. Councilmember Connolly concurred with Mayor Boro that the issue had become heightened in San Rafael. He reported having been approached by several members of the public with the idea that they would be willing to volunteer as a public/private partnership to help deal with the problem and he strongly urged harnessing that volunteer energy, while being mindful of the safety and supervisory issues. Concurring, Mr. Mokhtari stated that some volunteers indicated they would volunteer to identify the locations of graffiti; however, there was no offer of doing the work. In the event a property owner was absent or refused to pay to have the graffiti removed, Mayor Boro inquired whether a lien would be placed on the property. Mr. Epstein stated that staff needed to evaluate the process further. He had concerns about entering private property to abate in the absence of an inspection and abatement warrant, which would need to be obtained from a judge. Costs were associated with that and under the nuisance statute, it should be possible to recover the costs. In discussions with the Chief of Police, Mr. Epstein believed the initial effort through the Police Department would be to consult with the property owner in an informal fashion in an attempt to obtain compliance the easier and less forceful way than notices and orders, etc. He anticipated property owners, who were not putting the graffiti on their own properties and would be as unhappy as the City to find it on their property, would also be unhappy when demands were made that they quickly spend money to abate something they did not create. Mr. Epstein stated staff would approach those issues carefully while recognizing the authority to take action, should the property owner be unwilling to. Mayor Boro inquired as to what had been done to date on private property. Mr. Nordhoff reported that staff had made some requests and had encroached into the private space to take care of the issue -- not necessarily the correct way. A service had probably been provided where the processes were not quite in order. Mr. Epstein added his understanding was that the effort would be to do so with the consent of the property owner with the resources the City had available to it in the past, and through the kind offices of the Public Works Department, the offer was made to the private property owners to perform this service for them. With the reduction in force and the new approach, a new method was being adopted. SRCC Minutes (Regular) 08/17/2009 SRCC Minutes (Regular) 08/17/2009 Page 18 Mr. Nordhoff stated that working through this private property issue, the entire intention was to try to eradicate the situation as quickly as possible. In the case of Public Works' assistance on private properties, staff would ensure they used known and proven contractors who could be referrals so that things could happen fairly expeditiously, even with the due process referred to by the City Attorney. Believing the City needed to stay on top of this issue, Mayor Boro stated history had shown that by eradicating quickly, people got discouraged. He noted the situation on the brand new wall in Linden Lane was growing and being completely destroyed with graffiti. Aware of the jurisdictional issue with Caltrans and TAM, in the meantime, he believed some might consider it a City street, which it was not. Mr. Nordhoff stated he would be glad to work with Public Works and ascertain whether through TAM and Caltrans something could be done to eradicate that graffiti fairly quickly. He noted there would be locations in the community that would be constant sources of attention for a number of parties. Noting the new walls served the purpose of reducing noise, Mayor Boro believed they also were a huge target. The majority of these would be the responsibility of Caltrans; however, San Rafael's reputation was being damaged; therefore, somehow something should be started on this issue. Mr. Nordhoff reported that the Police and Public Works staff had walked the site recently. A meeting was scheduled with TAM next Monday to try to advance getting the maintenance agreement completed. He added that staff was trying to add some value to graffiti eradication, not so much inside the freeway corridor, rather on the bike path sides, to see where landscaping, etc. could be done to mitigate graffiti opportunities. Councilmember Connolly indicated his understanding was that Caltrans was paying the contractor on the freeway to eradicate or stay on top of this issue, and they should be enforcing it. Councilmember Heller requested a copy of the graffiti ordinance. Noting a slide in Mr. Mansourian's PowerPoint presentation demonstrating weeds being eradicated by torching rather than pesticides, Councilmember Brockbank inquired whether there was a change under the reduced budget and staff, i.e., what percentage of weeds were eradicated by pesticides versus torching, and whether an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) ordinance was in place. John Tune, Parks Superintendent, stated that an IPM ordinance was in place. He explained that torching takes place in areas where staff did not wish to use herbicides, i.e., playgrounds, picnic areas, high use public areas, etc. While limited, it was another option because it was more effective and used much less manpower than trying to mechanically dig the weeds out. He commented that pesticide use was relatively constant. Michael Birkhead, San Rafael Community Task Force, stated they had established a non-profit 50©(3) company to work on the issue of graffiti. They had coordinated with Caltrans and TAM and had discussions with the City Manager, Police Department and Department of Public Works and understood the situation and granularity as much as possible. They understood the jurisdictional issues and were in a position where they could work with their trained volunteers to accept donations from sponsors such as Ghilotti and Home Depot, to help offset the cost. Stating graffiti could not just be addressed from abatement, Mr. Birkhead explained that San Rafael had been abating it for years. $800,000 had probably been spent in ten years; however, the graffiti had tripled in that time. Noting abatement was one of the keys in a four -pronged approach, he stated education and eradication were big parts, together with prevention. The Police Department had limited resources and he reiterated that trained volunteers could be the eyes and ears of the neighborhood and could notify the police of an act in progress. Mr. Birkhead reported that the National Association of Realtors stated that between 15% and 25% of home values was lost in areas with graffiti. In terms of education, it was also found that nothing was being done to educate the community -- going into schools and businesses -- and ensuring the community was aware of the legal implications and parental responsibility for issues around a curfew and possession of painting materials. SRCC Minutes (Regular) 08/17/2009 SRCC Minutes (Regular) 08/17/2009 Page 19 Mr. Birkhead reported having spoken with hundreds of people in the last month all of whom offered support. They believed a volunteer program would help mitigate or alleviate the cost of graffiti abatement, together with the expertise required. He explained that time was of the essence with regard to recidivism and noted that the Linden Lane wall was over 1000% of recidivism, not to mention the profanity on the wall, causing a legal public nuisance and liability. The volunteer effort was working with a lot of expertise and stellar organizations who were examples of how to successfully control graffiti — Santa Rosa Police Department, San Jose Police Department and abatement crew and the Pittsburg, Pennsylvania Police Department. Noting abatement was only one-quarter of a comprehensive plan, Mr. Birkhead stated he had studied this both on the Public Works side, as well as the process, and the proposed plan was not one that would meet the minimum requirements of the community — eradication quickly and hopefully, a downward trend in reducing graffiti. Mr. Birkhead stated he was driven by his children and the families he had spoken with who had a strong interest in this issue, and he offered his support to the Police and Public Works Departments to find a solution. Mr. Nordhoff stated he had received a packet of information from Mr. Birkhead and staff was in the process of evaluating this. David Maver stated he had a problem with charging the property owner as it was unfair to have to repeatedly pay for recurring abatement of graffiti in certain locations. He believed something needed to be done about gangs, etc., perhaps increasing fines so that parents were held accountable, as he considered senior citizens not responsible. The extreme, which he would be against, would be to log in who was purchasing spray paint, as some communities had done. The Police Department could check the logs and ascertain the reason for excessive purchases. Referring to page 38 — San Rafael Sanitation District, Councilmember Miller stated that Department Goal should read District Goal. Peclgv Todd — applauded Michael Birkhead and encouraged the City Council to support him in his efforts, as she would. Neighborhood and Economic Vitality - Bob Brown, Community Development Director, commented on the robust list of objectives his department had set and noted that the Planning Division had 13 objectives over the next two years, which he thought might be a record. He added that the budget reductions had taken a toll via service cuts, including the loss of an Assistant Planner and 2 half-time interns, about 25% of the current planning staff. Despite the economy, the application load remained high, corresponding with the staff decrease. Multi -family applications were moving slower; however, an application was anticipated for the former Salute site in the next week or two, and staff had been processing two EIRs (Environmental Impact Reports). To allow planners the time to process applications and to meet deadlines, Mr. Brown stated that the Planning Counter would be closed on Tuesday and Friday afternoons. After six months, the department would re -assess this decision. Staff also intended to go to the Planning Commission and City Council by the end of the year with some ordinance changes. They would like to either eliminate or push down a level of decision-making on some planning applications in order to streamline the process. Mr. Brown indicated he regretted to mention that the very popular Planning Academy would not be held this coming year. Code Enforcement Mr. Brown noted significant staffing reductions with the loss of more than half of the positions. One of the vacant positions would be filled in the apartment inspection area and staff would be working with the City Manager on how to reconstitute the division, due to the vacant Code Enforcement Manager position. He noted it was unfortunate that the complaint load had risen significantly with the state of the economy, i.e., debris accumulation and dumping, people cutting garbage services and burning trash in fireplaces, illegal businesses, units and signs, etc. To balance the workload with the reduced staff, the department would have to prioritize and he distributed a list of the revised Code Enforcement Priorities. SRCC Minutes (Regular) 08/17/2009 SRCC Minutes (Regular) 08/17/2009 Page 20 Mr. Brown explained that staff would only be opening new Code Enforcement cases and investigating issues that involved health and safety impacts. Issues more aesthetic in nature or minor nuisances would not be investigated, e.g., no sign enforcement, illegal fences, home occupations, etc. He noted that prior to staffing reductions, the Code Enforcement Division had been exemplary. Mr. Brown reported that the Apartment Inspection Program would be slowed, due to reducing officers from 3 to 2 — a new employee would be undergoing training. Fortunately, however, staff would be finishing up the first round of inspections of all the apartments in San Rafael, approximately 5,000, at which time a second round would commence, which was expected to go much faster, as many of the significant issues encountered in the first round would have been abated. Mr. Brown noted that staff would have much less ability to assist other departments in their enforcement issues, such as encroachments in open space, encroachment permits, etc. Buildina and Fire Prevention — With regard to Building and Fire Prevention, Mr. Brown reported that the inspection load remained high. A lot of inspections had taken place with the work being done with Highlands of Marin, the renovations at the Northgate Mall and the San Rafael Corporate Center. Because of the City -mandated furloughs, Mr. Brown noted that the Community Development Department had been impacted at the height of the construction season. 1.5 Fire Inspectors had been lost which stopped the newly initiated Commercial Inspection Program. Working with Chief Gray and the Fire Department, Mr. Brown added that they would find a solution to restructure the program and get it back on line. Mayor Boro inquired whether there was a fee for the Commercial Inspection Program. Mr. Brown responded that it was included in the business license fee; therefore, the Inspection Program would need to be reconstituted or the fee eliminated. Mr. Nordhoff noted that as renewals go out on a calendar year basis, there were three-four months to figure out a solution. Acknowledging that the Community Development Department had been hit particularly hard economically, Councilmember Brockbank commented that he appreciated the prioritization code enforcement list, but hoped that residents would not take advantage of this. He inquired whether it could be called "reduced enforcement" rather than no enforcement, as he was concerned about the message it sent. Mr. Brown stated he could call it "reduced enforcement." He reiterated that, together with the City Manager, they would come up with a solution in terms of restructuring of Code Enforcement and should be in a position to share this in the next couple of weeks. He hoped to shift some resources into the field so that there would be less management and more field work. With regard to the Climate Change Action Plan, Councilmember Connolly stated he was glad to see that an objective was to begin implementing the short-term programs; however, he suggested that planning should commence for the longer-term objectives. Mr. Brown explained that about half of the programs in the plan were short-term and with regard to the longer-term objectives he confirmed his interest was in getting these done. Parkinq Services — Vince Guarino, Director of Parking Services, noted no changes in the goals for Parking Services. The meter collection program would continue with the City of San Anselmo and staff was evaluating how services could be provided to other cities in Marin. Staff was also evaluating contracts with some service providers in an effort to reduce costs; part of this would be replacing the hand-held devices used for issuing citations. Mr. Guarino reported that he had been working with Joanne Webster and the Business Improvement District on the Parking Tips Program. Flyers had been distributed and staff was almost ready to implement the program of placing stickers on the City's parking meters. SRCC Minutes (Regular) 08/17/2009 SRCC Minutes (Regular) 08/17/2009 Page 21 With regard to the parking issue, David Maver commented on the limited availability of parking in the Gerstle Park neighborhood. Due to an abundance of occupants sharing a residence, he was concerned that there were more vehicles than parking spaces in the neighborhood. Regarding junk vehicles, he stated that when a complaint was called in, the recording stated to allow three-four days; however by then the car had already been moved. There were too many vehicles in his neighborhood with expired registrations taking up parking spaces. Having spoken with Parking Officers the response was that they could not do anything — as soon as a vehicle was ticketed, it was moved around. Mr. Mayer noted that in one case, a vehicle in front of his house had two different license plate numbers; however, having done some research he ascertained that neither license plate belonged to the vehicle. Mr. Mayer stated that he would like to see better enforcement of junk vehicles in a shorter time period. Mr. Mayer inquired as to why there was no dedicated motorcycle parking in San Rafael parking garages Mr. Nordhoff stated that the towing of junk vehicles was regulated by state law and required 72 hour noticing. He also noted that the City could not and did not control the number of people who live in a home, apartment or condominium. Economic Development — Nancv Mackle, Deputy City Manager, noted that in Economic Development there would be no changes in the department's goals and objectives. Economic Development was not funded by General Fund moneys; however, staff was very conscious of funds because Redevelopment dollars were very limited. They were participating in the furlough program and looking at future funding opportunities and in the next budget cycle they hoped to report some additional event sponsorships. Ms. Mackle stated that staff was working with the B.I.D. to evaluate additional funds that downtown merchants or property owners could raise; the big dollar value was in a further round of redevelopment bonds. Mr. Mackle reported that in terms of economic development out in the community, staff recently discussed new ideas with the City Council , which would be incorporated into the Economic Vitality Plan. She reported that traditionally Economic Development had worked extensively with the downtown, with new development, business assistance and small business, and this would continue to be their focus and consume the bulk of their time. However, in the current economy focus needed to be on some of the big tax generators, i.e., car dealers, Northgate Mall, and refilling some vacant spaces. While vacancies were currently high, Ms. Mackle stated that there was investment and interest in the business community. The largest constructions currently were the Northgate Mall and the San Rafael Corporate Center and staff would work hard to get those properties tenanted. She noted high interest in the former Yardbirds site and the Chevrolet and Chrysler sites, and while not done deals there was a lot of interest. Staff was working with Community Development to proactively clarify what could be located at those sites and what some of the issues could be. She noted Mr. Brown mentioned an EIR at Shoreline Center, the goal of which was to be ready when the economy turned around and the Circuit City site would potentially be filled with Mi Pueblo with the possibility of jobs in the community. Ms. Mackle added that the Marin History Museum indicated they would make an announcement this week regarding a downtown location and the newest downtown tenant was Arizmendi Bakery in the Rafael Town Center. Ms. Mackle stated that San Rafael was still a wonderful community supporting its businesses and would make it through this difficult time. The Foundation — Administration - Jim Schutz, Assistant City Manager, reported that much of the work in this section was behind the scenes. He noted a couple of position eliminations; however, the group was largely unchanged. He reported that a substantial amount of time was spent on the Recession Action Plan, Economic Vitality Plan, Climate Change Action Plan and the Fundraising Goals at Pickleweed in the last few months. Staffing was unchanged with no service reductions. SRCC Minutes (Regular) 08/17/2009 SRCC Minutes (Regular) 08/17/2009 Page 22 Citv Attornev's Office Focus on legal training for City Council and Board Members, together with educating City staff. Staff would be working on a number of issues, including new City ordinances, as directed by the City Council He noted reorganization in the City Attorney's Office with the departure of Gus Guinan; however, no service reductions were foreseen. Citv Clerk's Office — Mr. Schutz noted that the key objective in the City Clerk's Office would be the implementation of audio/video streaming for the Council Chambers, which would be overseen by Gus Bush, Information Technology Manager, and Esther Beirne, City Clerk. Providing background, he reported that the City Council had approved the issuance of an RFP (Request for Proposal) for audio/video in the Council Cambers, which was set to launch next week. Staff had been working with the City Attorney's Office, Marin Telecommunications Agency and the Community Media Center in Marin to ensure the correct hardware, etc. was sought. With regard to funding, staff had hoped that the City would be able to receive some federal stimulus funds for the project; however, it appeared that this was being directed towards other areas in technology, such as broadband. Staff also hoped Emergency Services funds would be available through the role of the Council Chambers as the OES (Office of Emergency Services) or secondary OES. Staff was also looking to some of the other agencies who use the Council Chambers and some existing City departments had been trying to set aside small amounts of money towards this project. Mr. Schutz stated the point of the RFP was to understand from a much more specific standpoint the cost and options of the project, phasing, etc. Reporting that the Administrative Assistant to the City Clerk position had been eliminated, Mr. Schutz noted the idea was not to have service reductions, rather to move to more automation using the website, and utilizing technology more efficiently to maintain current services. Finance Department — Mr. Shutz reported that the objectives for the Finance Department would be to capture more revenue and do things more efficiently, such as bringing unlicensed businesses into compliance, providing a billing process to ensure all costs were captured and updating the purchasing ordinance. He noted that there had not been any staff or service reductions in the Finance Department. Human Resources Mr. Schutz stated the City Council was aware of many of the items listed, including progress by the Human Resources Department on the OPEB (Other Post Employment Benefits) liabilities by putting together the Cafeteria Plan. The current negotiating cycle was almost complete, to be resumed in spring for most contracts, and staff had been working on training programs, etc. The reorganization of the Human Resources Department was implemented in 2007 - no service reductions due to staffing reductions. Information Technoloav — Mr. Schutz reported on the implementation of the IT Strategy Plan put into place by Gus Bush, Information Technology Manager. Staff would be working on the City's website to provide even more services than were currently available. The IT Department lost one position which was felt more internally than externally and a recent reorganization of the department had reduced the number of staffing in the Print Shop in favor of the network support/analyst side of things. Regarding the City Attorney's Office, Councilmember Miller quoted from the 209-11 Objectives: "To update existing City ordinances as appropriate, and to draft.... Ordinances being reviewed for revision include the Massage Ordinance and Purchasing Ordinance." He indicated that so many times a lot of good ideas were received by the City that required ordinances; however, because of staff reductions, etc., every good idea could not be acted upon. He wished to ensure that any ordinance that came about that was easily enforced was adopted. SRCC Minutes (Regular) 08/17/2009 SRCC Minutes (Regular) 08/17/2009 Page 23 Appreciating this Mr. Epstein stated that when staff proposed new legislation at the City Council's direction they always tried to think through the ramifications on enforcement requirements. With regard to the Massage Ordinance, Mr. Epstein stated he was currently having discussions with the City Manager with regard to bringing the issue back to the City Council for further discussion early next month. In the meantime, the state legislature enacted new law preempting much of what the City had already done in this area and rendering much of the current massage ordinance and the licensing provisions in it ineffective as of September 1, 2009. He reported that Lisa Goldfien, Deputy City Attorney II, had been participating in several conferences with colleagues statewide to try to analyze the impact for cities in enforcement efforts with regard to massage practitioners; therefore, staff was evaluating this in connection with any proposed changes to the ordinance. Mr. Epstein did not anticipate that at a local level, through new legislation, the type of change sought by Mr. Sears would be achieved; however, he was mindful of Mr. Sears' concerns and those of others in the community. His concern in that area was that to the extent massage practitioners chose to be governed by the new legislation, complaints about individuals' failure to comply with that new legislative scheme would be directed to the state for its administrative enforcement. Therefore, it remained to be seen how effective the state would be in enforcing this new legislation. With regard to Administration Councilmember Heller stated she would like to see the staffing levels broken out a little more as 16 people appeared to be a lot in Administration. Mr. Nordhoff noted the 16 positions included the 5 seated City Councilmembers. Mr. Epstein clarified that Marilyn Pecunia served as a Legal Assistant and was far more than a Legal Secretary. The City Attorney's Office benefits from her twenty years of experience, and he noted that she handles a lot of work for the department. Summarizing, Mr. Nordhoff stated the City Council had heard a lot of information this evening. It was indicative that the City was in a different season with things changing; however, much was planned to be accomplished with the available resources over the next two years. He believed one of the greatest struggles would continue to be finances and balancing the budget, noting the state remained a threat. He and Finance Director Cindy Mosser intended to have further information available on the California Communities Program at the City Council meeting of September 21, 2009, at which time there should be a pretty good sense of how the City ended up the most recent fiscal year and where it would be necessary to make budget adjustments. Mr. Nordhoff reported that he and his manager colleagues had commenced work on evaluating pensions on a regional basis. With regard to volunteering, Mr. Nordhoff stated that volunteering needed to happen across the entire organization; therefore, in terms of committee and volunteerism, staff would ensure this flourished over the next couple of years. Expressing appreciation for the 60+ page document, Councilmember Brockbank clarified that the Five Year (2006-2011) Areas of Priority and Emphasis was not revised on a rolling basis, rather every five years. Mr. Nordhoff stated that the City Council would receive six-month updates on the progress of the two- year goals and in the eighteen -month period, informal discussions would take place with regard to what the Areas of Emphasis should look like in the ensuing five years. Mayor Boro expressed thanks to Mr. Nordhoff and the Department Directors for their work. On behalf of the City Council he thanked all the departments for their financial contributions to make the City a viable operation in the coming year. He noted many sacrifices were made and believed the City would be in a different environment than previously. Goals and Objectives were reviewed periodically, which had been pretty much in-house; however, there would be concerns, which would need to be monitored, and as issues became large a way would have to be found to deal with them with available resources, perhaps reprioritizing. SRCC Minutes (Regular) 08/17/2009 SRCC Minutes (Regular) 08/17/2009 Page 24 Councilmember Miller moved and Councilmember Brockbank seconded, to adopt the Resolution. RESOLUTION NO. 12828 - RESOLUTION ADOPTING GOALS AND OBJECTIVES FOR 2009-2011 AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS: Brockbank, Connolly, Heller, Miller & Mayor Boro NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS: None ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: None CITY MANAGER'S REPORT: 20. None. COUNCILMMBER REPORTS: (including AB 1234 Reports on Meetings and Conferences Attended at City Expense) 21. Agenda Items #9 and #10: - File 9-1 Referring to agenda items #9 and #10 on the Consent Calendar, Councilmember Heller thanked staff for their outstanding work on the recent Memoranda of Understanding (MOU's). Because of the approval of the San Rafael Police Mid -Management MOU, a 3% savings was passed on to San Rafael citizens. She noted also that an agreement was approved to renew the contract for Human Resources Director, Leslie Loomis, who voluntarily agreed to participate in the City's furlough program. Marin Healthcare District: - File 9-1 Councilmember Connolly reported having met with Lee Domanico, CEO of the Marin Healthcare District, and stated that an issue had been raised by Assembly Member Jared Huffman regarding Marin General Hospital (Sutter) transferring approximately $90 million in cash from the hospital to Sutter. He stated that Assembly Member Huffman had requested that the hospital board provide the public with information on the nature of the transfers, how they came about and what the impact would be to the hospital. Aware that the County of Marin was entertaining the idea of adopting a resolution in support of Assembly Member Huffman's efforts to provide the information from the hospital board to the public in terms of the transfer of funds, Councilmember Connolly suggested that the San Rafael City Council consider adopting a similar resolution. Given the importance of the hospital to the members of the community, he felt that the City Council and public had a right to this information. Councilmember Brockbank stated that he would like to see the issue on the agenda. Mayor Boro stated that, while he was not opposed to what Assembly Member Huffman was attempting to achieve, he felt it was an area that did not fall under the Council's direct responsibility. He personally would prefer sending a letter of support, encouraging him to pursue the issue, rather than adopting a resolution, based on past practices with regard to items outside the City Council's boundaries. While he was not suggesting the hospital was not something the City Council was interested in, he believed other issues could arise that the City Council was not directly affected by or could affect. He invited City Manager Nordhoff to investigate the issue. Councilmember Connolly added that perhaps the Council could at least consider the possibility of a resolution. Mayor Boro stated that letters of support are sent by the City to Assembly Member Huffman on issues he is pursuing in the legislature; therefore, it appeared natural to write a letter supporting him and urging him to pursue his issue, rather than a resolution, which was a different point of reference. Mayor Boro stated he was not opposed to doing this; rather it was a question of how it was done. Ken Nordhoff, City Manager, stated that he would contact Assembly Member Huffman's office to see what exactly he was pursuing. He added that if the Council was interested in hearing from Mr. Domanico, a meeting could be scheduled. Councilmember Connolly stated that Mr. Domanico had offered to meet with the Council and should the item be agendized a decision could be made on what action to take. Mr. Nordhoff responded that he would speak with Assembly Member Huffman's office to ascertain the best way of supporting his efforts and he would agendize the item for a future meeting. Medical Mariivana: - File 9-1 Councilmember Brockbank noted that under Open Time this evening a speaker requested consideration of a medical marijuana dispensary. He reported that Ms. Harris mentioned to him in a telephone conversation that SRCC Minutes (Regular) 08/17/2009 SRCC Minutes (Regular) 08/17/2009 Page 25 they were evaluating the Northgate Industrial Park as a possible site. He indicated that in conversation with Ms. Harris, she raised some points that led him to believe that this was perhaps something that should be considered; however, she also mentioned that the City had a particular policy against it, which was news to him Robert Epstein, City Attorney, stated that medical marijuana was not a permitted use in San Rafael, pursuant to the City's zoning ordinance. As pointed out by the speaker this evening, this had been the law in San Rafael for more than ten years and had not been revisited by the City Council. Councilmember Brockbank questioned whether it was legal for the City to make it illegal despite California State Law. Mr. Epstein stated that in staff's judgment, the ordinance remained lawful and he would provide a copy of the current ordinance, together with a further report to the City Council. There being no further business, Mayor Boro adjourned the City Council meeting at 10:56 PM. ESTHER C. BEIRNE, City Clerk APPROVED THIS DAY OF 12009 MAYOR OF THE CITY OF SAN RAFAEL SRCC Minutes (Regular) 08/17/2009