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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Minutes 1993-02-16SRCC MINUTES (Regular) 2/16/93 Page 1 IN CONFERENCE ROOM 201 OF THE CITY OF SAN RAFAEL, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 1993, AT 7:00 PM CLOSED SESSION 1. DISCUSSION OF LITIGATION AND LABOR NEGOTIATIONS - File 1.4.1.a Closed Session was not held. IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS OF THE CITY OF SAN RAFAEL, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 1993, AT 8:00 PM Regular Meeting: Present: Albert J. Boro, Mayor San Rafael City Council Dorothy L. Breiner, Councilmember Michael A. Shippey, Councilmember Joan Thayer, Councilmember Absent: Paul M. Cohen, Councilmember Others Present: Pamela J. Nicolai, City Manager Gary T. Ragghianti, City Attorney Jeanne M. Leoncini, City Clerk ORAL COMMUNICATIONS OF AN URGENCY NATURE None CONSENT CALENDAR Councilmember Breiner moved and Councilmember Shippey seconded, to approve the recommended action on the following Consent Calendar items: ITEM 2. Approval of Minutes of Special Meeting of December 7, 1993 (CC) 4. SECOND READING AND FINAL ADOPTION OF ORDINANCE NO. 1643 - AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN RAFAEL RESCINDING ORDINANCE NO. 1612 WHICH AMENDED THE ZONING MAP OF THE CITY OF SAN RAFAEL, AND RECLASSIFIED CERTAIN REAL PROPERTY IN THE TERRA LINDA AREA FROM R-1 (SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL) TO PD (PLANNED DEVELOPMENT), 1 TRINITY WAY; AP #175-181-26 (St. Isabella's) (Pl) - File 10-3 x 10-5 x 10-7 6. SECOND READING AND FINAL ADOPTION OF ORDINANCE NO. 1644 - AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF SAN RAFAEL AMENDING ORDINANCE NO. 1584 ENTITLED "MOBILEHOME RENT STABILIZATION ORDINANCE" TO ADD NOTICE REQUIREMENTS, REVISE §20.04.040 TO INCLUDE VACANCY CONTROL AND FREEZE PROVISIONS, ADD BUYERS' RIGHTS AND PROHIBIT PASS-THROUGH CHARGES (CA) - File 13-7-1 x 9-3-32 x 9-3-16 7. Resolution Approving Agreement With Orca Swim Club for 1993 Season (Rec) - File 4-10-172 x 9-3-65 8. Resolution Authorizing Five Year Extension of State of California Allocation Board Lease Agreements for Relocatable (Portable) Child Care Buildings at Glenwood Elementary School and Pickleweed Park (Rec) - File 4-7-24 x 9-3-65 Page 1 RECOMMENDED ACTION Approved as submitted. Approved final adoption of Ordinance No. 1643. Approved final adoption of Ordinance No. 1644. ADOPTED RESOLUTION NO. 8818 - AUTHORIZING THE SIGNING OF AN AGREEMENT WITH ORCA SWIM CLUB FOR 1993 SWIM SEASON ADOPTED RESOLUTION NO. 8819 - AUTHORIZING THE SIGNING OF AN AGREEMENT WITH THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA ALLOCATIONS BOARD FOR RENEWAL OF LEASE AGREE- MENT FOR RELOCATABLE PORTABLE CHILD CARE BUILDINGS AT GLENWOOD ELEMENTARY AND PICKLEWEED PARK (from 9/1/92 thru 8/30/97) SRCC MINUTES (Regular) 2/16/93 Page 2 9. Approval of Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) With Miscellaneous Employees: (Pers) a. Resolution Between City and Marin Association of Public Employees (MAPE), S.E.I.U. - Local 949, Supervisory Unit - File 7-8-1 x 7-4 SRCC MINUTES (Regular) 2/16/93 ADOPTED RESOLUTION NO. 8820 - AMENDING RESOLUTION NO. 8695 PERTAINING TO THE COMPENSATION AND WORKING CONDITIONS FOR SUPERVISORY PERSONNEL (from 7/1/93 thru 6/30/94) b. Resolution Between City and Marin Association ADOPTED RESOLUTION NO. 8821 - of Public Employees (MAPE), S.E.I.U. - Local AMENDING RESOLUTION NO. 8696 949, Miscellaneous Employees - File 7-8-1 x 7-4 PERTAINING TO THE COMPENSA- TION AND WORKING CONDITIONS FOR MISCELLANEOUS EMPLOYEES (from 7/1/93 thru 6/30/94) 10. Adoption of Resolutions: (Pers) a. Amending Resolution No. 8727 Pertaining to ADOPTED RESOLUTION NO. 8822 - Compensation and Working Conditions for AMENDING RESOLUTION NO. 8727 Management and Mid -Management Employees PERTAINING TO THE COMPENSA- (excluding Police Mid -Management TION AND WORKING CONDITIONS classifications) - File 7-4 FOR MANAGEMENT AND MID - MANAGEMENT EMPLOYEES (EXCLUDING POLICE MID - MANAGEMENT CLASSIFICATIONS) (from 7/1/93 thru 6/30/94) b. Amending Resolution No. 8728 Pertaining to ADOPTED RESOLUTION NO. 8823 - the Salary of the City Manager - File 9-3-11 AMENDING RESOLUTION NO. 8728 x 7-4 PERTAINING TO THE SALARY OF THE CITY MANAGER (from 7/1/93 thru 6/30/94) C. Amending Resolution No. 8779 Pertaining to ADOPTED RESOLUTION NO. 8824 - Compensation and Working Conditions for AMENDING RESOLUTION NO. 8779 Police Mid -Management Association - PERTAINING TO THE COMPENSA- File 7-8-3 x 7-4 TION AND WORKING CONDITIONS FOR THE SAN RAFAEL POLICE MID - MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION (from 7/1/93 thru 6/30/94) 11. Resolution of Appreciation to Rick Brown, General ADOPTED RESOLUTION NO. 8825 - Services Aide II, Employee of the Quarter RESOLUTION OF APPRECIATION (Quarter ending December 31, 1992) (CM) - TO RICHARD (RICK) L. BROWN, File 102 x 9-3-12 GENERAL SERVICES AIDE II, AS EMPLOYEE OF THE QUARTER (Quarter ending December 31, 1992) 12. Resolution Authorizing One Year Extension of ADOPTED RESOLUTION NO. 8826 - Agreement for Legal Services With Liebert, AUTHORIZING THE SIGNING OF AN Cassidy and Frierson (CM) - File 4-3-214 AGREEMENT FOR LEGAL SERVICES BETWEEN THE CITY OF SAN RAFAEL AND THE LAW FIRM OF LIEBERT, CASSIDY AND FRIERSON (from 3/1/93 thru 2/28/94) AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS: Breiner, Shippey, Thayer & Mayor Boro NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS: None ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: Cohen The following items were removed from the Consent Calendar for discussion: 3.REPORT ON BID OPENING AND AWARD OF CONTRACT - SEISMIC REHABILITATION SAN RAFAEL PUBLIC LIBRARY (PW) - File 4-1-457 x 9-3-61 x 9-3-40 SRCC MINUTES (Regular) 2/16/93 Page 2 SRCC MINUTES (Regular) 2/16/93 Page 3 City Manager Nicolai suggested the Council award the contract for the seismic rehabilitation work on the San Rafael Public Library, but noted the breakout of the funding for this project was not available tonight. She stated the three sources of funding were the Capital Fund, which is a combination of the "Blue House" Fund and the $720,000 the City received from the County, Redevelopment funds and the Davidson Bequest. She stated staff would bring this information back to the next Council meeting, March 1, 1993. Councilmember Thayer moved and Councilmember Breiner seconded, to adopt the Resolution awarding the contract for the seismic rehabilitation work to be done to the San Rafael Public Library. RESOLUTION NO. 8827 - RESOLUTION OF AWARD OF CONTRACT FOR SEISMIC REHABILITATION OF THE SAN RAFAEL PUBLIC LIBRARY TO WEST BAY BUILDERS (lowest responsible bidder, in the amount of $521,000) Project #001- 21501718000 AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS: Breiner, Shippey, Thayer & Mayor Boro NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS: None ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: Cohen S.RESOLUTION ACCEPTING $36,900 MARIN COMMUNITY FOUNDATION GRANT FOR ST. VINCENT'S /SILVEIRA LAND USE COMPETITION (Pl) - File 9-2-45 x 10-2 Councilmember Thayer asked who would be included on the jury for this competition? Planning Director Pendoley responded he did not have the list of jury members with him at that time; however, the Advisory Committee asked the Competition Advisor to come back with a list of prospective jurors in each category. He stated there was a sub -committee set up just for this purpose and there will be nine people serving on this jury. He noted most of these jurors are Bay Area residents, active in architectural planning and environmental issues. Mayor Boro asked Mr. Pendoley to clarify that they were all professionals. Mr. Pendoley responded affirmatively. Councilmember Thayer moved and Councilmember Shippey seconded, to adopt the Resolution accepting the Marin Community Foundation Grant, with the stipulation that Planning Director Pendoley provide a list of the names of the nine jurors partici-pating in this competition to the City Council. RESOLUTION NO. 8828 - RESOLUTION OF THE SAN RAFAEL CITY COUNCIL AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO SIGN A GRANT AGREEMENT FOR PARTIAL FUNDING OF THE ST. VINCENT'S/SILVEIRA PROPERTY LAND USE COMPETITION (in the amount of $36,900) AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS: Breiner, Shippey, Thayer & Mayor Boro NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS: None ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: Cohen 13.RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING ACCEPTANCE OF THE LONG RANGE PLAN FOR FALKIRK CULTURAL CENTER AND BOYD GATE HOUSE (Cult.Affs.) - File 9-3-84 x 13-14-2 x 226 Library Director Stratford introduced Virginia Pabst, Chair of the Cultural Affairs Commission, who addressed the Council with regard to the Long Range Plan for Falkirk Cultural Center and Boyd Gate House. Ms. Pabst explained that the document presented to the Council as the Long Range Plan for the City of San Rafael's cultural centers was the result of many hours of work by the Commission members and staff at Falkirk. She stated this was produced as a guide for making this plan work and noted the Commission felt that Falkirk and the Boyd Gate House are resources too valuable to be neglected or underused or misused. She stated that the effort put into the Plan caused them to really focus on the needs of this diverse community with regard to cultural programming and on the opportunities and challenges presented by these wonderful, historical buildings. She stated many of the strategies and objectives have already been accomplished, or at least started. There was an increase in diversity now in the staffing of Falkirk because of the intern program and there is a diversity in the applicant pool for future commission seats, a widening of the volunteer pool associated with Falkirk and a real effort to reach a wider community. She stated there was now a governance document for the Cultural Affairs Commission and there also has been established a steering committee for the first capital campaign to raise project funds for the restoration and preservation of Falkirk and Boyd Gate House. She noted that Fireman's Fund Insurance SRCC MINUTES (Regular) 2/16/93 Page 3 SRCC MINUTES (Regular) 2/16/93 Page 4 Company has made the first major gift to this campaign of $10,000 to be used for restoration purposes, specifically dry rot. She commended Carol Adney, Administrator at Falkirk, for raising this donation. Ms. Pabst stated besides the guidance the Plan gives the Commission regarding the facilities, the existence of a plan on paper is concrete proof to potential funders that there is a seriousness about this and City Council supports the Commission's efforts to have a vital cultural center for this City. Mr. Lionel Ashcroft, member of the Marin County Historical Society (as well as Member of the Cultural Affairs Commission), stated that the Marin County Historical Society will be operating the Boyd Gate House as a museum and the intention of the Historical Society was to work in partnership with the City so that together they could create a museum which will be a focal point of historic interest in the community so that it would reflect on the diversity and historical traditions of San Rafael to the enrichment of everyone, including the City. He noted they wanted the museum to be an attractive asset, a tourist attraction and a place that people can go to find out what is the heritage of the community. He noted they were very encouraged by the recent meetings with the City on the development of this Long Range Plan and also development of the lease agreement between the City and the Historical Society. Councilmember Breiner, who was involved in the sub -committee, stated she was very satisfied with the final product and noted it reflected much thought and work. Mayor Boro stated he also was involved with Councilmember Breiner in this sub -committee and was pleased with the results of this work and achieving the goal of making both buildings (Falkirk and Boyd Gate House) as one entity, even though they are separate and have separate goals. He commended all those involved in this planning process, noting he believed there would be a successful restoration process through these efforts. Councilmember Breiner moved and Councilmember Thayer seconded, to adopt the Resolution accepting the Long Range Plan for San Rafael's cultural centers. RESOLUTION NO. 8829 - RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF SAN RAFAEL AUTHORIZING ACCEPTANCE OF THE LONG RANGE PLANS FOR THE CITY OF SAN RAFAEL'S CULTURAL CENTERS 1992-1995 AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS: Breiner, Shippey, Thayer & Mayor Boro NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS: None ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: Cohen 14.REPORT FROM THE SAN RAFAEL PARK AND RECREATION COMMISSION ON PRIORITY PARK MAINTENANCE (Rec) - File 9-3-66 x 12-5 x 9-2-4 Recreation Director McNamee stated the priority park maintenance reduction list had been reorganized in that instead of going from top to bottom, it now goes from bottom to top in priority. She stated this list now reflects how the Commission wanted them listed. She then explained the Park and Recreation Commission and the City Council met in November, 1992, and Council asked the Commission to provide this list to have a document and some public input as to how they might impact the parks, if they have to, with further budget cuts. Ms. McNamee then showed the Council an overlay map, prepared by the Public Works Department, to show the areas that have already been reduced this year in the budget process and what is being proposed on this list for the next year's budget preparation. She stated the Park and Recreation Commission did hold some meetings in January - one on this issue and another regular meeting, noting there were many concerns from various parts of the community which were discussed at these meetings and the list was reorganized several different times. She stated this was a very difficult process, given the amount of maintenance the City will be able to do in the future. She noted this was the first of the two steps the Commission was doing in looking at how to work with the parks and the community. The next issue was the preparation of a draft of an adopt -a -park program which will be brought back to the Council approximately in April, 1993, which will state how this might counter some of the concerns here and ways of getting the community or businesses involved in a program for the City which they can then implement. Councilmember Thayer asked if all the neighborhood groups were contacted regarding this project? Ms. McNamee responded affirmatively. SRCC MINUTES (Regular) 2/16/93 Page 4 SRCC MINUTES (Regular) 2/16/93 Page 5 Councilmember Breiner asked if the new list still ranked these areas from the highest to the lowest priority. Ms. Nicolai responded the Park and Recreation Commission did the project on the highest priority for reduction, and stated that if they did have to do a reduction, they would start with the least important and move up; therefore, #15 would be the least important. Mrs. Breiner stated for the record, that a revised priority sheet should be attached to the staff report. Mayor Boro agreed with this. Mayor Boro stated that the public was welcome to comment on this issue. He stated he has received some questions on this effort by the Commission and the intent of this report was to show the public how cuts would be accomplished, if needed. Councilmember Breiner pointed out one typographical error on the new priority list which was Item #12 listed as "Dominican area islands" and should be "Dominican area island". Albert Barr, President of the Loch Lomond Homeowners' Association, noted he attended the forum mentioned above with the Park and Recreation Commission and stated the invitation sent to him did not indicate the precise exercise the Commission was to go through and the urgency that was associated with that. He stated that might explain the lack of turnout of homeowners' groups at that meeting. He noted he wrote the Council a letter in which he made certain suggestions. He stated his interest in this started in the Spring of 1992 when Mayor Boro suggested that the homeowner associations should play a more active role in assuming responsibility for the maintenance of some of the medians and islands, which he thought was a good idea. He stated that to date very little had been done. He noted this did not reflect the urgency the City faces on this matter. He noted that, for example, the medians and islands on San Pedro Road have already suffered from the lack of maintenance from the Public Works Department. He stated he understood the difficulties the Public Works Department faced in not being able to do this work due to lack of manpower, funding, etc. He stated there were things that should be done immediately, instead of waiting for an adopt -a -median program. He stated he thought the Park and Recreation Commission should take a more proactive position of contacting neighborhoods and suggesting to them that they consider the adopt -a -median program due to the probability of the City not having the funds to do this in the next fiscal year. He stated that by using the adopt -a -median program, more funding might become available for the maintenance of parks and medians that are more of a municipal nature. Mayor Boro asked Public Works Director Bernardi to comment on the State issue and, secondly, the progress of the other issue of the water truck. Mr. Bernardi responded with regard to the water truck by stating his staff has been doing some research and they would probably be purchasing a water truck on a lease/purchase basis within the next month or two, which will be in time for the watering season this summer, but one of the main issues was the availability of a driver for that truck, which the City may not be able to afford at that time. Mr. Bernardi stated the second water truck driver had always been an extra hire temporary person and last year the Department could not afford to hire someone to drive this truck and he did not know for sure what would happen this summer. Mr. Bernardi responded to the second issue, the adopt -a -median program, by stating he received some information on the program from CalTrans which he sent to the Council. He stated some of the concerns they had discussed dealt with the liability of having someone out on the median islands without any safety devices. He stated the City's personnel would have to put out safety cones to make sure the volunteers were working in a safe environment. He noted that the exact way in which the State runs their program might not be entirely appropriate for San Rafael at this point, and one of the issues the Commission was looking at was how to best accomplish the weeding of the islands. He noted they had not fully developed how to deal with this yet. Ms. McNamee stated the Commission is working on an adopt -a -park program and one of the Commissioners drafted a proposal starting an outline of what those pieces would be and what types of things can be adopted - are islands safe - can they do weeding - can they do mowing, trash pick up, bathroom clean up - going through the list of all the things it takes to maintain a park. She stated the Commission was going to be visiting The Friends of San Francisco Park to see how that non-profit organization assists with the San Francisco needs and also several other programs within the Bay Area to get some feedback along with what we have learned from CalTrans. She stated the Commission expects the first year of a program such as this to be well accepted, but how does the City keep this program going? She stated they needed a program that is solid and has a good support base and has a good feeling that it will work. Ms. Nicolai emphasized that they asked the Commission to go through this exercise which, to her, was to primarily list the priorities. She noted that until they have looked SRCC MINUTES (Regular) 2/16/93 Page 5 SRCC MINUTES (Regular) 2/16/93 Page 6 through all the things to be accomplished within the Budget, they do not know for sure what amount of maintenance will be done. She stated this was strictly to have a plan in case they needed it after the budget is decided. She agreed with Mr. Barr that even if the proposed ballot measure were to pass, they could not undo some of the reductions the City has incurred, but she thought the combination of having an adopt -a -park program and bringing in community and volunteer involvement is an important direction in which to go in either case. She commended the Park and Recreation Commission for the work they have done to date and the other component will be something staff will be working on in the next few months. Mayor Boro also commended the Commission for their work on this issue and suggested the Commission have a meeting with the homeowner groups to review the results of their work and see how they might go forward. Harry Winters, President of the West End Homeowners' Association, suggested the notification the Mayor was talking about might go directly to the individual homeowners' groups, because some do not belong to the Federation or the Coalition. Mayor Boro responded he was suggesting the Commission communicate with the original 70 they invited to the last meeting, then hold a meeting including all geographic areas. Virginia Pabst, Cultural Affairs Commission Chair, stated that if the City were to withdraw maintenance and upkeep at Falkirk and Boyd Gate House this would undermine the Commission's ability to raise money for any repair work on these centers. She urged they reconsider the placement of Falkirk and Boyd Park on the priority list. Mayor Boro responded that they were not going to vote on the list at this meeting. Councilmember Breiner stated that Falkirk would be one of the very last to be affected by this reduction listing. Councilmember Breiner moved and Councilmember Thayer seconded, to accept the report and thanked the Park and Recreation Commission for their work and encouraged them to continue. AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS: Breiner, Shippey, Thayer & Mayor Boro NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS: None ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: Cohen 15.PROPOSED BALLOT WORDING FOR MUNICIPAL SERVICES TAX MEASURE FOR THE JUNE 8, 1993 SPECIAL ELECTION (Fin) - File 9-4 x 9-12 x 9-2-42 x 9-3-20 City Manager Nicolai explained that staff had been going through a multi-year process in attempting to deal with issues such as infrastructure and Capital Improvements, maintaining the public facilities, streets, storm drains and having enough resources to address these issues. She noted they were also dealing with the impacts from the State going through a "budget balancing" exercise, as well as the overall recession and economy as it affects San Rafael. Ms. Nicolai stated the Council had reinstituted a Revenue Options Committee early in December, 1992, with representatives from neighborhood associations and the Chamber of Commerce, along with some previous members of the prior Revenue Options Committee. This Committee, she noted, has held several lengthy meetings in discussing the need for a new revenue source, as well as what type of things might be funded. She stated at the last Council meeting the City Council accepted the recommendation of this Committee to put a Municipal Services Tax on the June ballot which would basically charge every residential unit $70 per year per living unit and also charge commercial occupants 8C per square foot, with a cap of $4,000. Ms. Nicolai stated that tonight before the Council was the actual ballot wording and the Ordinance that would accompany that ballot measure. She noted it has been reviewed by the Revenue Options Committee, as well as the City Attorney's Office. She stated this was modeled from the Paramedic Tax and is intended to be used for a combination of funds to maintain the public safety levels of service, somewhat restore some of the reductions the City has incurred over the last several years in the Parks, as well as definitely fund a better level of street and storm drain repairs, sidewalk repairs and also to be able to implement some of the new programs that are not extremely costly, as far as a percentage of this amount of money for disaster preparedness training in the neighborhoods, as well as the implementation of the Fire Threat Analysis Program, which is directed toward weed abatement on private property, as well as fuel based management on publicly owned open space adjacent to developed parcels. She noted these were the general guidelines which were recommended by the Revenue Options Committee and before the Council tonight was the decision whether to actually place this on the ballot and approve the ballot wording and the Ordinance, SRCC MINUTES (Regular) 2/16/93 Page 6 SRCC MINUTES (Regular) 2/16/93 Page 7 as proposed tonight. With regard to some of the wording on the ballot measure, Mayor Boro asked whether this measure will expire at the end of four years. He stated this wording was not explicit to state that this issue will go away in four years unless it is brought back, and he felt it should be put into the ballot wording. City Attorney Ragghianti stated there were several ways in which to respond to Mayor Boro's concern. He noted that once this tax is enacted, it will be enacted forever. He stated the problem was that the Constitution requires that every four years, in order to spend the proceeds from it, you must vote to increase the appropriations limit. He stated if they wanted to make it clear this tax expires in four years, it could be done through the City Attorney's impartial analysis and the ballot arguments, and if the Council wanted to place it in the actual ballot language, his staff could modify the language to do so. Mayor Boro stated there were two separate issues involved. There was a fact that under the State Constitution the City has to go to the voters every four years as a requirement when they approve the overrides, but explicitly this Committee has asked that this additional levy, of $70 & 8C, expire at the end of four years and then go back to the voters. He noted it was unanimous to do this by the Committee, and it gives the public the information that the City has specific needs and will be accountable; however, if the City is not accountable, the voters will have the opportunity to vote for or against it in four years. City Attorney Ragghianti asked if this language was within the body of the Ordinance? Finance Director Coleman stated there was language in Section 3.35.120 on Page 9 of the Ordinance, which is the sunset clause, which states the four year limit language. Mayor Boro stated his request was to reflect this language in the ballot measure itself. City Attorney Ragghianti agreed. Councilmember Thayer stated she thought many voters will confuse this with a Property Tax. She stated a municipal services tax is not a property tax, where the City can actually place a lien on real property, even though it is predicated upon a dwelling. She asked City Attorney Ragghianti if this was true? City Attorney Ragghianti responded affirmatively and stated this Ordinance had a specific provision that does not permit them to impose a lien on real property for a very good reason - not to make it a Property Tax. Jack Undershime, owner of a business in the Terra Linda area and a resident of Corte Madera, stated he sympathized with the City's plight with the upcoming budget problems; however, he stated he was in favor of a two-thirds vote instead of a majority vote, because of an experience he had in the City of Corte Madera, where this caused something to pass with 20 voters against it and 21 voters for the measure. He stated he thought this was an example of bad government in not listening to the voters. He suggested they change the wording to include a two-thirds vote on this issue. Mr. Undershime suggested they take out of the measure the wording, "but not limited to" and make it more specific about where the money would be going. Mr. Undershime then addressed the sunset clause suggestions made by Mayor Boro. He suggested they think about adding the idea that if the State comes out of this economical crisis before four years and reinstates the money it has taken away from the cities, that it should be stated within the Ordinance that this tax will go away. Harry Winters, member of the Revenue Options Committee, stated that under today's economic situation, the City would be very lucky to get any of this money back from the State, should their economic picture turn around. He noted they attempted to word this measure so that the majority of the voters would have a say in this issue, not a two- thirds vote. He stated the State would probably not be real specific in what money they would be giving back to the cities, if this did occur, and urged the Council to keep the wording as it was. Mary Ellen Irwin, speaking for Tom Obletz, Chairman of the Federation of San Rafael Neighborhoods, stated she was a member of the Committee and did not agree with this concept at first. She stated she was in support of this Ordinance, with some provisos. She stated the Federation, while it did not vote, did take a consensus of its large steering committee who felt they should support this; however, their group felt that there is more work that needs to be done, other than what was done with the Hughes, Heiss study and noted their group would be watching closely to see that this happens. In addition, she stated it will get harder before it gets better in terms of the economy. SRCC MINUTES (Regular) 2/16/93 Page 7 SRCC MINUTES (Regular) 2/16/93 Page 8 Ms. Irwin thanked the Council for their hard work and noted that only 150 of the current Property Tax actually comes back to the City as revenue. She stated the group felt this tax was very necessary. Councilmember Breiner stated there were some good points made from the audience. She stated it was tempting to state in the Ordinance that if the State were to restore some funds, that the City would have the option of decreasing the levy, but the unfunded Capital Improvements would be the best place to spend this money, if it ever became available. She noted that this would be very attractive in terms of being able to market this ballot measure by building in the flexibility in the event the State gives back any funds. Ms. Nicolai reminded the Council that the original Revenue Options Committee was recommending the exact same amount only for capital, so the intent of the revenue has not been to make up what the State has taken away. She stated the only thing they wanted to use this for was to protect some of the priority services. She noted they were not protecting themselves from some hit by the State, because a refund from the State will not happen. She stated this funding was basically for unfunded capital items that have been underfunded for 10 to 12 years and are becoming a serious problem. She stated if there should be a dramatic turnaround in the economy where the City's Sales Tax turned around, the things they might reduce in this proposed use of these funds are any operating costs and increase to where they should be the levels staff had in here for the Capital Improvements; such as $500,000 a year for storm drain replacements, which should be over $1 million a year for these repairs and this is where the latitude needs to come in. Ms. Nicolai then referred to the wording, ". . including but not limited to. . ." are things like the Disaster Preparedness Program and the Fire Storm Program which came from the Oakland fire. She noted there are issues that come up that initially are not important to residents of the City, and then become of critical importance. She stated they would like to meet the expectation of the public to have these programs available to them, and noted they have not had that flexibility for a long time and would like to be able to deal with these problems as they come up. Mayor Boro clarified, with regard to the Capital Improvements program, that up until recently the Council had felt that a Revenue Option would be primarily funded toward Capital Improvements, but now the Council was being told daily that the State is looking at an additional "take" of $1.1 to $1.2 million from San Rafael besides the $1.7 million they have already taken. In order to do the Capital Improvements, as well as sustaining the existing levels of service, there needs to be a new revenue source or they will see a further deterioration in the existing level of service. Mayor Boro stated he felt this situation would probably not get any better and probably will get worse. He stated they have an obligation to the people they represent to make sure they understand what the options are so they can make a choice on this. He stated he felt that if they get a vote of 500 +1, this is more than adequate to get a sign from the public that they are satisfied with this. Councilmember Thayer thanked Mary Ellen Irwin for emphasizing the fact that only from 130 to 150 of the Property Taxes go to the City which means the public is paying less for City services than they are paying for VIACOM Cable TV. She stated that she personally believed that public safety is above all else and if they go out for a vote, a two-thirds vote would be good for public safety; however, the committee looked at this very closely and they thought that the City might not even get this amount. She stated the City's public safety departments are now operating at the "bare bones" minimum. She noted she would like it emphasized in any ballot argument that this is not a property tax, which she believed was important to the public because they are being hit on their Property Tax Bill with other things to be done. Councilmember Shippey stated he would be interested in seeing a graph with computer lines of the Capital needs and the Capital use to address this over a period of time, such as 10 years, where you would see these lines diverging and the differences are not small, but very large measured in millions of dollars. Mayor Boro stated some of this can be brought out verbally in the ballot argument and a committee should be formed to head this up and hopefully this Council will be volunteer members of that committee so they can give their input for this problem. Councilmember Breiner asked Mayor Boro if, before any action is taken, on the second page of the staff report, the proposed ballot measure language will have some re -wording in connection with a period of four years. Mayor Boro responded affirmatively and stated his thinking was it is certainly limited to the discretion of the City Attorney that the item on Page 9, "Term of Tax Imposition", be brought into the SRCC MINUTES (Regular) 2/16/93 Page 8 SRCC MINUTES (Regular) 2/16/93 Page 9 ballot measure itself, so the public will understand explicitly that this item will expire at the end of four years. City Attorney Ragghianti stated he understood what the direction of Mayor Boro was and would work with the City Manager and Finance Director to arrive at wording that was acceptable. Councilmember Shippey asked City Attorney Ragghianti with regard to the appropriation limits, if there was a reason to have this on the ballot measure specifically; does it say it will be increased appropriately, or something like that? City Attorney Ragghianti responded the Appropriations Limit needs to be increased in order for us to spend these tax proceeds, if this ballot measure passes, and for that reason it is necessary that the ballot measure not only pass the question of a tax levy, but ask the permission of the voters of the City to spend the tax proceeds to be enacted. He stated in addition to these tax proceeds, the City also needs the permission of the voters to continue to spend the proceeds from all the other taxes that are imposed upon them and that is the reason the ballot measure wording was constructed this way. Ms. Nicolai stated she was discussing the cost of the election with City Clerk Leoncini today and the information obtained from the County indicated an estimate of $6.00 fee per registered voter for a special election. She stated that if there was another election going on in the County the estimated fee would drop to a $3.00 fee per voter. She stated it was likely that there will be another ballot measure in June, and if Mill Valley goes on this ballot, it will cost the City $80,000 for one item. She stated if Mill Valley decided not to go, then that figure doubles for this election for the City of San Rafael; however, it looks likely that Mill Valley will be in this election, so the $80,000 figure should hold and not go higher. She stated the only other opportunity where it would be less costly for the City might be either November, which she thought would not be wise, and/or next June, as it is a State- wide election and San Rafael would not be the only city going by themselves. She indicated there was only one more opportunity to change their minds which was at the Council meeting of March 1, 1993 at which time staff will know for sure if San Rafael will be the only city involved in this special election because all the ballot measures and wording need to be at the County by February 26, 1993. She noted that at the March 1, 1993 meeting the Council would then have the information to make a decision as to whether or not to withdraw from the June Special Election. Mayor Boro asked for clarification that Tiburon was looking at an Open Space measure at this special election date. Ms. Nicolai responded affirmatively, but she did not know how large a district it would cover. City Clerk Leoncini stated it did make a difference with a larger district. Councilmember Shippey asked if Council would know for sure what the charges would be from the County by March 1st. Mrs. Leoncini responded Council should have an estimate of whether it will be $6.00 or $3.00 per voter by March 1st. City Attorney Ragghianti stated the deadline that the Elections Department set did not really mean a great deal because of past history with the County in the election process. City Clerk Leoncini agreed with this. Mayor Boro stated that with this new information about the possible cost of the election, if other cities do not participate, they might want to reconsider doing this if we find we are in the election all alone. He noted that Council could probably go with the cost of $80,000 and if it changes, it will be brought back to the Council. Councilmember Thayer moved and Councilmember Breiner seconded, to approve the ballot measure and Charter Ordinance for the Municipal Services Tax, to be amended by the City Attorney, City Manager and Finance Director, with regard to the four year time frame issue. AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS: Breiner, Shippey, Thayer & Mayor Boro NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS: None ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: Cohen 16.PROPOSED BALLOT WORDING FOR CHARTER AMENDMENTS FOR JUNE 8, 1993 SPECIAL ELECTION (Fin) - File 9-4 x 1-1 x 9-3-12 x 9-3-20 x 9-3-40 City Manager Nicolai stated that since the City is considering a special election in June to approve a Municipal Services Tax, staff would like the Council to consider adding two Charter amendments. She noted the incremental cost to add these additional items to this election would be no different than in any election and it might be wise to SRCC MINUTES (Regular) 2/16/93 Page 9 SRCC MINUTES (Regular) 2/16/93 Page 10 do them simultaneously because of the fact they are cost-saving measures for the City. She explained the two items as: 1) To change the City's Charter with regard to the requirement of the publication in full of lengthy ordinances. She explained the City Attorney would be given the authority to summarize the lengthy ordinances to save a significant amount of money in publication costs. She stated since it was in the City's Charter, it could be amended without causing any detriment to the public. 2) To change the City's Charter relating to the bid requirements. She stated this City, because it is a Charter City, is the only city in Marin County that has a bid amount in the Charter that has not been amended since 1979. She stated due to the cost of an election, this was a very inefficient way of setting bid limits, and noted what they would like to do was to adopt something similar to what General Law cities are using as their guidelines and have that set by ordinance by the Council. She stated that the bid limit in the City's Charter was so low now that even if you applied the cost of living to what was the $5,000 bid limit from 1979 and today's dollar value, it would be a lot higher than that. She noted it would not eliminate the bidding process, as far as getting three quotes and doing a responsible job of purchasing, but the formalized bid process is a much more expensive process in some cases, particularly for such minor amounts of acquisitions. Councilmember Shippey noted that nowhere in the ballot language does it point out to the voter that these would be cost-saving measures. Ms. Nicolai responded the ballot language is really formally what the Charter would be amended to state. She noted arguments in favor of doing that would make that clear. Mr. Shippey noted it might be important to highlight this as part of the action being taken. Councilmember Breiner stated she supported the need for these changes; however, her concern was that of having them on at the same time as the revenue issue could lead to some confusion which could be fatal to both items. She stated she would like to see them on a ballot in the future, but not on this one. Councilmember Shippey stated his reaction was the opposite of Councilmember Breiner's. He stated he felt these items would show the voters that the City is working on both the cost-saving issues, as well as attempting to increase more revenues. He maintained that if some of the language on the ballot measure was revised to indicate the cost- saving measure of these items, then it might be a positive move. Councilmember Thayer stated she agreed with Councilmember Breiner in that what was being put on the ballot was so important to the continued level of service and to the operation of the City, that she would not like to see any confusion these issues might cause by adding them to the ballot. Councilmember Breiner pointed out that many people do not read the ballot arguments, but will simply read the initial wording and especially since the ballot argument for the revenue issue will be so extensive, she would feel more comfortable having the one issue only at this point. Mayor Boro stated he had discussed this with City Manager Nicolai with regard to his concern that, with the committee to be put together to support the revenue measure putting all their efforts towards that measure, these additional ones might not get the support they need to pass. He stated there was confusion on the ballot language with regard to the purchasing issue in that it is not explicit enough for the voters to understand. He noted these probably could be put on the November ballot more successfully. He did commend staff for bringing these items forward to the Council which indicated they were doing their job efficiently, but the issue would be just a matter of when to do this. Ms. Nicolai responded that staff were presenting these as a possibility for this ballot, but they could be put on at a later date. Mayor Boro stated these items would be continued to a later meeting for the November ballot, possibly, after the June Special Election. 17.REQUEST FOR STANDARDS FOR LIMITED USE OF BALLOON ADVERTISING (CM) - File 125 City Manager Nicolai stated staff has recently been fairly diligently enforcing the City's Sign Ordinance which does not allow higher balloons and other types of advertising signs. She stated the question was brought to the staff from Elissa Giambastiani, Executive Director of the San Rafael Chamber of Commerce because she was receiving calls from some of the local business people in an attempt to find a compromise to what some of these businesses consider an important part of attracting business to the City of San Rafael. She stated the proposal dealt with having a six-month trial period for a type of change which would allow for a very limited period of time, SRCC MINUTES (Regular) 2/16/93 Page 10 SRCC MINUTES (Regular) 2/16/93 Page 11 primarily a few key holiday weekends, hot air balloon signs which should be used on a permit basis, which means that business would pay a fee to the City and be issued a permit to use a hot air balloon for that particular holiday. She stated the Planning Department advised her there were such jurisdictions that have such exceptions, or allowances for this, which tend to be restricted to certain geographic areas within that jurisdiction that have very specific standards. Ms. Nicolai stated it was important to develop some standards and some sense of the geographic area in which we might or might not allow this. Then prior to using a lot of staff hours in researching this and developing the guidelines, she stated she wanted to discuss this with the Council to get their opinion on whether or not this was worth considering. She noted that there were businesses who felt this was a critical component of their being able to attract customers. Elissa Giambastiani, Executive Director of the San Rafael Chamber of Commerce, stated Ms. Nicolai had very accurately related the conversations the Chamber had with a few members of the Chamber who have stated that using balloon signs really does increase dramatically the amount of money they make on a particular sale. She stated they also noted the signs are expensive and they would not use them if they were not effective. She noted that because of the very diverse business community within San Rafael, the request that the businesses are making is for a very limited time -frame - weekends, holidays, etc. - and she asked Council to accept the report and/or ordinance. Jergin Falst, representing various merchants, stated they have been using the balloons on special occasions and holidays for the last six years and now, suddenly, the City Ordinance was being enforced prohibiting their use. He stated they had attempted to apply for a permit, which he felt needs to be discussed further. He stated that after applying to the Planning Commission, he was told that this creates a negative image for the City of San Rafael. He noted that in these tough business times, they were trying to limit the use of these balloons to certain holidays and he did not feel this was creating a negative image for the City. He noted the negative image was the Canal area, particularly prostitution and pimping, which reduces business in general; however, this is improving. He stated after 5:00 PM there were fewer people shopping in that area, so he felt this was important to try for the suggested six months. He noted he did not mind paying more taxes because of the City's excellent Police and Fire Department service, but he felt the Council should give this a chance. Councilmember Breiner stated staff was very explicit that it was not a simple task just to try, on a six month basis, something like this and Council has been very resistant to any amendments of the Sign Ordinance on a piecemeal basis. She noted they have very limited staff time to address this and it would be necessary to research many areas of this issue. She stated she has had calls from people who complain about what image the balloons create along the roadway. She stated she felt they should not be asking staff, at this time, to spend time on this issue; however, it could be brought back at a later time when there would be more staff time to address this. Councilmember Shippey stated that because we are under such difficult economical times with the recession still going on, it was appealing to him to have a six month period to try this out to see if they could come to some sort of limitation of the use of these balloon signs. He noted he felt it would not be too difficult to find areas in which to do this on a very limited basis that is being requested of the Council. He stated he felt Council should look into this if they could do so in a very economical way. Mayor Boro stated he was sympathetic to the merchants and appreciated what they do for the City and felt the Council was supportive of them; however, there was the issue of image for the City and one of choice. He stated he had a list of petitions from the Montecito neighborhood asking the Council to do a neighborhood plan for them which would take resources. He stated that the best way for this to come to the Council was through some instrument from the Planning Director at budget time as to what it would take to do this and then Council would make a choice, based on what other projects were before them. He noted that they have had the request for the neighborhood plan for the Montecito area for the last two budget years and if the staff time was small enough for this issue to allow this neighborhood plan to be done, then it would be alright. He suggested the Planning Director put together a report to be presented to Council at budget time with the short term and long term costs, because they would have to amend the Sign Ordinance. He noted a choice could be made at that time, with all the information in to the Council. Councilmember Shippey stated he agreed with this basically, but still did not understand why this should be a very expensive item now. Mayor Boro asked Planning Director SRCC MINUTES (Regular) 2/16/93 Page 11 SRCC MINUTES (Regular) 2/16/93 Page 12 Pendoley to respond to this. Mr. Pendoley responded by explaining the alternatives as to what the Council might want to do with this. He stated staff could research the geography issue, which he felt was probably on the freeway frontage because this was the area that uses these balloon signs more frequently. He then stated they could look into the holiday factor and staff could develop some standards as to what will be allowed to be displayed, what kinds of balloons defined. He suggested they would probably want to do a survey of other cities to learn what their alternative approaches were. He noted they could then give Council a final work program. He stated that because he has not looked into this yet, he could not give them an estimate at this time. Mr. Pendoley did suggest that if the Council did want to make this a short and simple experiment, that this be part of the work program, without other issues, because it would be very easy with an advisory committee to do this in a faster manner. Councilmember Thayer stated her concern regarding staff time, although she wanted to help some retailers out with their economical problems. She stated she felt a couple days a year would be fairly harmless. She stated she agreed with Mayor Boro to wait until budget time to make sure this would not take up a disproportionate amount of staff time, which was her major concern. Ms. Nicolai stated there were approximately two businesses that had a type of hot air balloon signs up every weekend in the past. She stated she felt it did not necessarily need to be a lengthy assignment, although if a permit process is to be done, there needs to be some guidelines done by staff. She agreed that if an area was picked to try this in it would be the freeway frontage road. She stated that even if it was a minor amount of work, if Council does not even want this work done because they do not like the idea of a balloon sign being used even on a holiday, then why pursue this issue tonight? She stated it does not have to be a large workload just to come up with some guidelines; however, she was basically looking for guidance from the Council on how to proceed. Councilmember Breiner stated she was still opposed to the idea of these balloon signs. She stated she believed the original Sign Committee talked about them at great length and ultimately felt they were not what they wanted for the community. Mayor Boro stated he was not convinced they should have these balloon signs either. He stated that in discussions with Mrs. Giambastiani he noted there were no other cities along Highway 101 in Marin County that has this type of signs, and there was a lot of criticism about the appearance to the City. He did state that before they pursued this, he wanted to know exactly what it would take to do this type of research. He stated that budget time was the time to discuss this; however, it should not be a very high priority at that time, but with more information, Council could make a decision at that time. Councilmember Breiner stated that many years ago when she was first on the City Council, one of the requirements for undergrounding the wires along East Francisco Boulevard was strictly bringing the signs along that road into compliance with the Sign Ordinance. She stated the City Council and Redevelopment Agency made a major "quid pro quo" that a lot of money was being spent to improve the looks of that entry to the City and a promise was made that things would look better in terms of signs and signage, and the poles came down at that time. She felt they needed to keep in mind the pledge made at that time. Mayor Boro stated the positive thing to do was to have the Planning Director bring to Council an estimate on this project at budget time along with his project list for the year, then Council can make a choice on this at that time, along with the other projects. 18.CITY COUNCIL REPORTS: a. JPA ON RECYCLING SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT - AB939 - File 13-2 x 115 (VERBAL) Councilmember Thayer stated she was disturbed that no one knew about this being included on the County's agenda, although the preceding Thursday she had attended a meeting of the Waste Management Advisory Board, also known as the AB939 Task Force. She stated they were not advised that the County was going to pass on its participation in the JPA (Joint Powers Agreement). She stated she attended the meeting of the County to advise them once again of San Rafael's concerns, along with some of hers as a private ratepayer in the City of San Rafael. She noted, for example, that while we will probably "foot" almost 400 of the cost of the JPA because of the way things are generated in our district, we will only have 1/23rd SRCC MINUTES (Regular) 2/16/93 Page 12 Page 13 SRCC MINUTES (Regular) 2/16/93 of the vote, which she protested at the meeting. She stated she felt they had made some progress in allowing our City a place on the Executive Committee and she also had some concerns over the non -representative character of this particular committee, in that it is removed from the public process. Mrs. Thayer then stated that also while she was there, several other people made some comments asking the Board to delay their vote on the JPA until some more information was forthcoming. She stated the League of Women Voters was upset that the JPA would also operate as the Lead Enforcement Agency and County Counsel Maloney agreed with this, so the County will be deleting all reference to the JPA acting as the Lead Enforcement Agency. Mayor Boro clarified that at this point, Mrs. Thayer did accurately represent some of the issues that they had talked about, and they had not decided finally. He asked when this would come to the Council and City Attorney Ragghianti responded March 15, 1993. Mayor Boro stated they could discuss this issue again at that time. He stated Ms. Nicolai and he have met with some of the managers, talking about some of the pros and cons of going into this on a trial basis, with the idea that we can pull out in a year if the Council is not satisfied, but he felt they needed to make sure that the questions they have raised are answered when this comes back to them about what is the City getting for this? What is the value added to the City of San Rafael and its ratepayers and the vote issue, as well, and what Ms. Nicolai's feeling is regarding this vote issue and the feeling of Council on this Executive Committee, as far as what protection the City will have. Mrs. Thayer added that the Board of Supervisors could not take a final vote on this because of the opposition which was presented. She stated they expressed some intent to approve it at that point and suggested that if we have any concerns through our legal department or otherwise, they should be sent to the Board of Supervisors immediately and she emphasized that these comments that go to the new Board members who are not as well apprised of what has been going on with the JPA, brings out the fact that people have not been paying attention to it. She stated she would also like to hear from the Fire Department on this. Elissa Giambastiani stated she was also at the County meeting speaking in opposition to the JPA and felt there were actually two issues involved. One was the formation of the JPA, which she stated she did not think people were as upset about as they are about what is happening in the Office of Waste Management and she stated it was incredible at what that department has become and the duplication of services that they are attempting to perform. She suggested this be brought to the Council meeting of 3/15/93. Mayor Boro asked what is the City getting that they would not get if they did this? Mrs. Giambastiani stated the business community is now being taxed twice; they are taxed because they pay through the tipping fee, then they pay through the garbage bill and if they want to dispose of anything on the Toxic Waste Management JPA, they have to pay again. Councilmember Breiner moved and Councilmember Shippey seconded, to place the following Add Item on the Agenda as an urgency item for discussion, which came up after the Agenda was posted. AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS: Breiner, Shippey, Thayer & Mayor Boro NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS: None ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: Cohen ADD ITEM: I.RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE PURCHASE OF HEPATITIS B VACCINE USING THE FEDERAL CONSOLIDATED CONTRACT (CM) - File 9-6-1(a) x 9-3-11 x 7-4 Assistant City Manager Suzanne Golt explained the need to adopt this Resolution for the medical protection for City employees who have a high potential rate of coming into contact with AIDS and Hepatitis B to obtain this vaccine at half the cost at this time. Councilmember Shippey moved and Councilmember Breiner seconded, to adopt the Resolution authorizing the purchase of the Hepatitis B Vaccine. RESOLUTION NO. 8830 - AUTHORIZING THE PURCHASE OF HEPATITIS B VACCINE USING THE FEDERAL CONSOLIDATED CONTRACT SRCC MINUTES (Regular) 2/16/93 Page 13 SRCC MINUTES (Regular) 2/16/93 Page 14 AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS: Breiner, Shippey, Thayer & Mayor Boro NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS: None ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: Cohen There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 9:45 PM. JEANNE M. LEONCINI, City Clerk APPROVED THIS DAY OF MAYOR OF THE CITY OF SAN RAFAEL 1993 SRCC MINUTES (Regular) 2/16/93 Page 14