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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Minutes 2000-08-21SRCC Minutes (Regular) 8/21/2000 Page 1 IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBER OF THE CITY OF SAN RAFAEL, MONDAY, AUGUST 21, 2000 AT 8:00 P.M. Regular Meeting: San Rafael City Council Also Present: Rod Gould, City Manager Gus Guinan, Assistant City Attorney Jeanne M. Leoncini, City Clerk ORAL COMMUNICATIONS OF AN URGENCY NATURE: None CONSENT CALENDAR: Present: Albert J. Boro, Mayor Barbara Heller, Vice -Mayor Cyr N. Miller, Councilmember Gary O. Phillips, Councilmember Absent: Paul M. Cohen, Councilmember Mayor Boro noted the Council has received a correction to the August 7, 2000 Minutes via written submission. Councilmember Phillips moved and Councilmember Miller seconded, to approve the Consent Calendar with the correction as noted. ITEM 1. Approval of Minutes of Special Joint Public Hearing and Regular Meeting of Monday, August 7, 2000 (CC) 2. Call for Applications for Appointment to Fill One Unexpired Term on the Board of Library Trustees Due to Resignation of Member Sheree White, with Term to Expire End of 4/2003 (CC) — File 9-2-3 3. Call for Applications for Appointment to Fill One Unexpired Term on the Design Review Board (Licensed Landscape Architect), Due to Resignation of Member Peder Pedersen, Landscape Architect, with Term to Expire End of 6/2001 (CC) — File 9-2-39 4. Summary of Legislation Affecting San Rafael (CM) -- File 116 x 9-1 RECOMMENDED ACTION Minutes approved as submitted. Approved staff recommendations: a) Called for applications for appointment to fill one unexpired term on the Board of Library Trustees to the end of April, 2003; b) Set deadline for receipt of applications for Tuesday, September 12, 2000 at 12 Noon in the City Clerk's Office, Room 209; and c) Set date for interviews of applicants at a Special City Council meeting to be held on Monday, September 18, 2000, commencing at 6 p.m. Approved staff recommendations: a) Called for applications for appointment to fill one unexpired term on the Design Review Board (Licensed Landscape Architect); b) Set deadline for receipt of applications for Tuesday, September 12, 2000 at 12 Noon in the City Clerk's Office, Room 209; and c) Set date for interviews of applicants at a Special City Council meeting to be held on Monday, September 18, 2000, commencing at 6:30 p.m. Accepted report and approved staff recommendations: SB 128 Prisons. San Quentin, Senator Richard Polanco — OPPOSE SB 2001 Local Planning. Public Notice. Senator Charles Poochigian — OPPOSE SB 1545 Housing. Employee Housing. Senator Jim Costa — OPPOSE SB 1621 Planning and Zoning. Housing. Senator Richard Alarcon — OPPOSE SRCC Minutes (Regular) 8/21/2000 Page 1 5. Resolution of Appreciation to Dorothy Lobedan, Retiring Secretary to City Manager (CM) — File 102 x 9-3-11 6. SECOND READING AND FINAL ADOPTION OF ORDINANCE NO. 1754 — "AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE ZONING MAP OF THE CITY OF SAN RAFAEL, CALIFORNIA, ADOPTED BY REFERENCE, BY SECTION 14.01.020 OF THE MUNICIPAL CODE OF SAN RAFAEL, CALIFORNIA, SO AS TO RECLASSIFY CERTAIN REAL PROPERTY FROM PD (PLANNED DEVELOPMENT ORDINANCE 1721) DISTRICT TO PD (PLANNED DEVELOPMENT ORDINANCE 1754) DISTRICT FOR THE SAN RAFAEL CORPORATE CENTER MATER PLAN (FORMERLY FAIR, ISAAC OFFICE PARK MASTER PLAN) (RE: ZC-97-213, SECOND STREET, LINDARO STREET, AND LINCOLN AVENUE; AP NOS. 13-012-28 [PTN.], 13-021-19 AND 13-021-42)" (CD) — File 10-3 x 10-5 x 10-7 x (SRRA) R-405 x R-368 7. SECOND READING AND FINAL ADOPTION OF ORDINANCE NO. 1755 — "AN ORDINANCE APPROVING AN AMENDMENT TO THE DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT (ORDINANCE 1722) FOR THE SAN RAFAEL CORPORATE CENTER (FORMERLY FAIR, ISAAC OFFICE PARK) AT SECOND STREET, LINDARO STREET AND LINCOLN AVENUE (AP NOS. 13-012-28 [PTN.], 13-021-19, AND 13- 021-42) AND AUTHORIZING THE EXECUTION OF THE AMENDMENT TO THE DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT" (CD) — File 10-3 x 10-5 x 10-7 x (SRRA) R-405 x R-368 8. Report on Bid Opening and Resolution Awarding Contract for Street Resurfacing 1999/2000 (PW) — File 4-1-522 x 11-15 9. Resolution Accepting Proposal from Kimley-Horn and Associates for Professional Engineering Services for the North San Pedro Road and Civic Center Drive Improvements in an Amount not to Exceed $82,455.00 and Authorizing the Mayor to Execute the Agreement (PW) — File 4-10-316 x 9-3-40 x 11-1 x 11-15 AYES: NOES: ABSENT Ing"m:1111I.1AM SRCC Minutes (Regular) 8/21/2000 Page 2 RESOLUTION NO. 10694 - RESOLUTION OF APPRECIATION TO DOROTHY LOBEDAN, RETIRING SECRETARY TO CITY MANAGER (with over 21 years of service) Approved final adoption of Ordinance No. 1754. Approved final adoption of Ordinance No. 1755. RESOLUTION NO. 10695 - RESOLUTION OF AWARD OF CONTRACT FOR STREET RESURFACING 1999/2000 TO GHILOTTI BROTHERS, INC. IN THE AMOUNT OF $1,047,776.65 (Lowest responsible bidder.) RESOLUTION NO. 10696 - RESOLUTION ACCEPTING A PROPOSAL FROM KIMLEY-HORN AND ASSOCIATES, INC. TO PROVIDE PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERING SERVICES FOR THE "NORTH SAN PEDRO ROAD/CIVIC CENTER DRIVE IMPROVEMENT PROJECT", IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $82,455.00, AND AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO EXECUTE THE AGREEMENT COUNCILMEMBERS: Heller, Miller, Phillips & Mayor Boro COUNCILMEMBERS: None COUNCILMEMBERS: Cohen 10. DISCUSSION OF NEW POSITION OF TRANSPORTATION PLANNER (PW) — File 7-4 x 9-3-40 x 11-1 Public Works Director Dave Bernardi reported that before the Council this evening is a recommendation and request for the consideration of the creation of a new senior transportation planner position, and in addition, a request to authorize Staff to begin the recruitment and selection process. SRCC Minutes (Regular) 8/21/2000 Page 2 SRCC Minutes (Regular) 8/21/2000 Page 3 Staff has examined their workload in the upcoming few years and has listed in the Staff report a number of projects that are on the horizon. Among those work tasks are; 1) Implementation of a shuttle service; 2) Provision of Staff support for the Congestion Management Agency and related issues such as transit futures, rail issues, and highway issues; 3) A General Plan update, which will require an extensive amount of work by City Staff regarding traffic mitigation alternatives analysis and participation in transportation element discussions; 4) Development of a pedestrian/ bicycle Master Plan for the City of San Rafael. In reviewing these work tasks, Staff has also analyzed the work schedules and assignments given to current City Staff. Traffic Engineer Nader Mansourian is assigned several tasks, including current planning, traffic mitigation analysis, transportation planning, operational oversight of existing traffic management systems, maintenance of those same traffic systems, capital project development, community outreach, traffic calming and analysis of traffic reports. Mr. Bernardi stated the above tasks clearly exceed the City's current Staff capacity to handle them. Staff is requesting the Council consider the creation of a transportation planner position in order to take up these projects, represent the City with regard to transportation issues, and compete for funding. Mr. Bernardi noted the County of Marin is currently recruiting for similar positions. County Staff has indicated that currently, there are very few candidates available for the position, as nearly all qualified candidates are already working in the field. If a suitable candidate cannot be found, Staff is requesting the Council grant authorization to engage the services of a consultant to meet Staff's needs in the short-term until an acceptable candidate can be found. The funding for the position will be presented to the Council as part of the budget adjustment scheduled for the first meeting in October. Staff anticipates that the cost for the new position will come from the General Fund and will require approximately $100,000, including salary and benefits. The salary itself is estimated to be $75,000 to $76,000. Mr. Bernardi explained the Council's options are to fund the position and authorize Staff to proceed, to direct Staff to study the matter further, or to elect not to fund the position. Councilmember Phillips inquired as to whether the new transportation planner's responsibilities would include oversight of the City's parking issues. City Manager Gould noted that the Council will be receiving a copy of the CUB Management Study on Parking at their scheduled study session of September 26t". Prior to that time, Councilmember Phillips and Mayor Boro, both members of a subcommittee on City parking issues, will be advising Staff as to recommendations being made by the consultant. Specifically, the consultant is advising that because the City has developed considerably, administration and management of parking services should be restructured from four departments to one, centralized department for maximum efficiency. Staff discussed the idea today and unanimously concurred with the recommendation of the consultant. Mr. Gould noted that if the Council approves creation of the position, the appointee would be the central person in the City to handle large-scale parking issues. Mr. Gould remarked that these issues are extremely pressing, requiring different expertise. Further, they are issues that will be with the City in the foreseeable future. As such, he preferred keeping the issues separate. Councilmember Phillips stated he would defer to Mr. Gould's expertise on that point. He then inquired as to whether the position is full-time, and if so, if it could be shared with the County. Mr. Gould responded that the County is looking for two full-time positions. One opening is for a senior transportation planner, the other for a transportation planner. Both positions are full-time and have been open for six months. Staff is not certain they will have any better luck than the County has had in recruiting a person of sufficient background and expertise. Nevertheless, they are eager to get started with the option, at the Council's direction, to hire a consultant's services while they continue their search. Councilmember Phillips inquired as to how long the search might take, to which Mr. Gould responded the normal recruitment process generally takes 90 days to evaluate the applications. An SRCC Minutes (Regular) 8/21/2000 Page 3 SRCC Minutes (Regular) 8/21/2000 Page 4 expedited process could perhaps be completed in two months; however, the job flyer brochure needs to be developed and Staff needs to determine where, in fact, transportation planners and engineers can be found. Accordingly, the 90 -day timeline would be a more realistic estimate. Councilmember Phillips asked whether other communities such as Novato employ a full-time transportation planner. Mr. Gould stated Novato does not have a full-time transportation planner; however, the cities of Walnut Creek, Concord, Mountain View, Cupertino and Sunnyvale have transportation planners. Currently, cities of Fremont and Concord are also searching for a transportation planner. Councilmember Heller asked if her understanding was correct that the position would be based in the Public Works Department. Mr. Bernardi explained that the position, as Staff envisions it, would be a coordinating position in that it will work with Redevelopment Agency staff and Community Development staff as necessary to meet Staff's goals. Councilmember Heller then asked if the position is considered mid -management. Mr. Gould clarified that the position is a professional classification. If the Council approves the new position, that person would report directly to the traffic engineer, which is a mid -management position. Councilmember Heller stated her preference would be to find an in-house consultant rather than taking the piecemeal approach of hiring an as -needed consultant. Mr. Bernardi agreed. Councilmember Heller asked if the transportation planner position has suddenly become "hot" because of the pressing transportation problems virtually all communities are now facing. Mr. Gould stated that was correct, adding that the position is one of the most difficult to recruit in local government. He suggested the Council consider the possibility of accepting a candidate that could rapidly develop into a qualified transportation planner, an individual who had some background but needed the tutoring of Mr. Mansourian for further development of those skills. In the meantime, Staff could augment their services with the assistance of a consultant. Mayor Boro urged the Council to support the recommendation and move forward swiftly. He stated that at some point, another ballot measure regarding transportation would come forward. In order to get that measure passed, each City would have to clearly spell out how the measure could meet their needs. Mayor Boro also noted that similar to other communities in Marin, San Rafael has formed a bicycle committee to identify the problems and develop solutions. The issues involve intensive staff work and a certain level of knowledge, some of which could be provided by the new transportation planner. Mayor Boro invited public comment on the item and there was none. Councilmember Phillips moved and Councilmember Miller seconded, that the City Council accept the report and authorized the creation of a new senior transportation planner position and authorized Staff to begin recruitment and the selection process. AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS: NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS: ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: Heller, Miller, Phillips & Mayor Boro None Cohen Before proceeding with the next item, Councilmember Heller requested Staff to report back to the Council regarding their progress. Mr. Gould affirmed. CITY MANAGER'S REPORT: 11. CITY MANAGER'S REPORT — File 9-3-11 Mr. Gould reported that thanks to the good work of City Attorney Gary Ragghianti, Public Works Director David Bernardi and Deputy Public Works Director Andy Preston, the City will be closing escrow on the Menzies parcel, a sale to the Marin Community Foundation, on Wednesday, August 9t". The sale will result in net revenue to the City of $1,100,000, which represents a downpayment on that project. Mr. Gould next reported on Senator Burton's bill, SB -1637, which is currently before the Assembly Appropriations Committee. If passed, the bill would cap the amount of property tax funds being shifted away from local government each year, cap the growth on the amount of what we call the ERAF shift, which would mean that hundreds of millions of dollars a year would come back to SRCC Minutes (Regular) 8/21/2000 Page 4 SRCC Minutes (Regular) 8/21/2000 Page 5 San Rafael and the other cities, towns and counties in California. The bill has a good chance of passage in the Assembly but will face tough going in the Governor's office. Mr. Gould requested the Council's permission to send renewed letters to the Governor, asking for his signage of SB -1637, because it would be the first step toward real fiscal relief since 1992, when the shift began. The Council unanimously agreed. COUNCILMEMBER REPORTS: 12. None. There being no further business, the City Council meeting was adjourned at 8:17 PM. JEANNE M. LEONCINI, City Clerk APPROVED THIS DAY OF , 2000 MAYOR OF THE CITY OF SAN RAFAEL SRCC Minutes (Regular) 8/21/2000 Page 5