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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-11-1995 City Council Minutes MINUTE8 SARATOGA CITY COUNCIL TIME: Tuesday, April 1!, 1995 - 6:00 p.m. PLACE= City Hall Administration Meeting Room, 13777 Fruitvale Ave. TYPE: Adjourned Regular Meeting/Joint Meeting with Hakone Foundation Board 1. Roll Call The meeting was called to order at 6:03 p.m. Councilmembers Jacobs, Tucker, Wolfe, and Mayor Burger were present; Councilmember Moran was absent. Staff Present: City Manager Peacock 2..Report of the City Clerk on Posting of Agenda The City Clerk reported that the agenda for this meeting had been posted on April 7, 1995, and that the notice of adjournment from the April 5, 1995, meeting had been posted on April 6, 1995. 3. Quarterly program and Project Review Session. A. Specific Plans. 1} Mountain Winery Community Development Director Curtis indicated that he plans to hold a work session with the Planning Commission and the Council before September. Staff is meeting with prospective owners on April 14th. The joint work session will probably be set for some time in June or July. 2) North saratoga Avenue Mr. Curtis indicated this is a Priority Two project at present. The staff will be using a "White Paper" approach with extensive public involvement. He expects the work will take nine to twelve months to complete. 3) Saratoga Gateway (Saratoga/Sunnyvale Road North of the Railroad crossing) Mr. Curtis reported that a planning Charette is the first step in preparing a plan for this area. He is receiving information from Los Gatos on their similar recent effort. He expects to start the work program in the June to July time frame and that the overall process will take twelve to eighteen months. B. Community Development Department work Program. Mr. CUrtis indicated that the Tree Preservation study is winding up. A community workshop is set for April 29th. The Citywide Parking Study is near completion from a staff work standpoint and he is planning to take the recommendations to public hearing in August. The Sign. Ordinance study is also nearing completion. Things staff is looking at include window signs, neon, and temporary banners. Hearings on the recommended revisions are expected to start in May. The Land Use Element Review is currently a Priority Two Project. Start of the review process is about a year away unless priorities change. C. Development Standards/Design Review Process Review. Mr. Curtis indicated that the selection of the committee is almost complete. The tentative first meeting date is April 28th at 8:30AM. D. Political Campaign Signs. In discussing this item the City Council indicated that it wished to keep this topic separate from the rest of the sign ordinance review because the Council was split on this issue and not on the idea of general sign ordinance revision. The Community Development Director was so instructed. City Council Minutes 2 April 11, 1995 ' E. Celebration and Recognition Events. Public Safety Commissioner Johnson expressed the desire of the Commission to have the City Council fully fund the Public Safety Service Recognition Picnic rather than asking the various agencies to share the cost with the City. The City Council indicated that it was willing to spend up to $500, but that donations of food, beverages, etc. should be sought from local markets. Assistant to the City Manager Carolyn King indicated that the Volunteer Coordinator has reported to her that she can do the Volunteer Recognition Lunch for $2,700 instead of the $4,000 previously spent but she can not recommend going any lower and still be able to put on a good event to recognize the volunteers for all the wor~ they put in throughout the year. Ms. King reported that the Commission Recognition Dinner can be held for a cost of about $3,000. The City Council discussed these matters and concluded that an appropriate alternative would be to have a recognition picnic for both the volunteers and the commissioners at the same time. Staff was instructed to proceed with such an ~ent. Ms. King next discussed the Employee Recognition Luncheon which had been combined with quarterly training and now cost about $150 to put on. She suggests that the training budget be boosted by about $500 to provide an extra nice lunch once a year for the recognition event. Council agreed. The final item introduced by Ms. King was support for the Saratoga Parade. $3,000 is being sought. Council instructs staff to include this number in the proposed budget and it will see if it can do it. 4. Joint Meeting With Hakone Foundation Board. A. Presentation of Business Planwhich Incorporates a Three Year Budget. Paul Bowlin presented the plan for the Foundation. Question was asked about charging admission instead of for parking. Mr. Bowlin indicated that the Foundation is looking at such an option but there are numerous problems. which must first be addressed and overcome. The City Manager pointed out the Public Works Director had indicated the City would be reimbursing the Foundation for $1,900 worth of maintenance work rather than the $2,900 indicated in the budget. A question was asked about the availability of dates and times for rentals; was the Garden at capacity? The response was the facilities are about 60% booked with an expected revenue of $58,000 for 1994-95. Hakone asked if the City would please include information on Garden rentals in the quarterly recreation offerings booklet as other parks and facilities are now listed? Council agreed to have this done in the future and staff was so instructed. B. Task Force Study on Security. The Foundation presented a report on how security should be improved at the Gardens. 'The first priority is to provide a control pad type gate instead of a locked gate as is now the case. There is no money budgeted to do this except for a $200 donation to be used toward the design of the gate system. It was die~cussed that the City staff shoul~ include such a gate in its project de~;ign for the reconstruction of the entry road into the Gardens. The Foundation indicated it would fo~ard a copy of the report to the Public .Works Director. Council directed that this type of gate be included in the design plans for this project. C. Signage for Hakone Gardens.. Mr. Bruce Parkinson reported on efforts to replace the current entry sign with one which is more substantial. He also indicated that there is a need for signs to be installed on major roadways into the City directing people to the Gardens. Councilmember Wolfe indicated that City Council Minutes 3 April ll, 1995 the Saratoga Business Development Council was beginning work on such an effort for major points of interest in the City and for the major shopping areas and the Hakone Gardens were to be included in any new sign program created. Mr. Parkinson indicated that the Foundation did not have the money to build the new sign but it had most of the materials., Mr. Peacock indicated that perhaps the Rotary Clubwould be willing to take this project on as a community service project as it had erected the major entrance monument signs in the City. He indicated he would follow up on this possibility with Mr. Parkinson. D. Orientation for New Board Members. Mayor Burger indicated how important such a process is and asked if the Board is performing such a task now and if so, how' it is done? President Gladys Armstrong reviewed the extensive orientation which is given to potential Board nominees before they are recommended to the City Council for appointment. Ms. Armstrong also indicated the Board would welcome nominee suggestions from members of the City Council. A question was asked about the basic qualifications. The response was that the Board was looking for members with the expertise and the willingness to raise money to support the work of the Foundation. One new member of the Board indicated that a tour of the Gardens by nominees should be a must before they are considered for recommendation to the City Council. A question was also raised about the need for the new members of the Board to be formally sworn as is done with commissioners. The staff was asked to secure an answer to this question. E. Board Turnover. The Mayor expressed concern over the m~mher of recent resignations to the Board. Ms. Armstrong replied that with the establishment of terms for members, some members have decided not to serve for a second term. Other members personal situations have changed after ten years on the Board and they have decided to step down. Finally the direction chosen last year for the future of the organization was not acceptableto some members. The Mayor asked if there was anything the City Council could do to help? A general discussion ensued regarding the size of the Board, the structure of the Board committees and the work of the Board. F. Philosophy, Goals and Accomplishments of the Organisation: Are the Objectives Being Met? If so, Mow are They Being Accomplished? Mr. Bowlin indicated that in his mind the first priority is to pay the City back. Ms. Armstrong indicated that the goals included cultural programs with the cooperation of other groups. Councilmember Wolfe suggested that a prime goal is to provide a unique cultural venue for the region and that is being done very well by the Foundation. 5. Quarterly Progress Reports (continued). F. Parks and Recreation Needs Survey. Recreation Director Joan Pisani recounted for the City Council the. existing agreements and use of facilities with several of the school districts in the City. She indicated that over the past three years the City has already given the Saratoga Union district $36,000 to help resurface the gym and rebuild the upper playing field at Redwood School, $16,000 to resurface the tennis courts at West Valley College, and $8,000 to resurface the tennis courts at Saratoga High School. We are running out of time for use of facilities at the College and need to come up with another project to extend our use agreement. Also, the City makes heavy use of the Saratoga High School gyms during the winter for basketball and the High School is looking for funds to help it construct an all weather track to replace the current dirt one. While the City has received several letters from the Saratoga Union district asking for funds to replace playground equipment, in staff's view this is not the proper priority for use of funds, especially in the absence of a proposal for further facility use in exchange. She continued that staff is looking for direction on how to proceed with future park development regarding Azule and Kevin Moran. Council City Council Minutes ~ April 11, 1995 discussed the possibility, previously mentioned by staff of seeking to acquire the Spaich property adjacent to Foothill Park as an alternative to development at Kevin Moran and to acquire either through sale or trade. City Council concluded ~his would be the preferred alternative as the property represented a superior site for the community as a whole. The staff was instructed to also work at the same time with the Cupertino School District on the joint development of the Blue Hills School playground with Azule Park into a seamless. facility. If it appears that the Spaich alternative is not possible then the City's fallback position would be to study the possibility of development at Kevin Moran Park. e. Capital Improvements Plan Public Works Director Perlin reviewed the status of current projects with the City Council. He indicated that the median project on Saratoga/Sunnyvale Road north of the Village will be under construction immediately. In response to inquiries about the landscaping for the medians, Mr. Perlin indicated that this was not part of' the project. Plans still need to be completed and funding identified. The City Council instructed Mr. Perlin to place a landscaping project in the next budget cycle as Phase II of this project. Mr. Perlin indicated the Pierce Road bridge replacement will be under construction in the July to September 1995 time frame. The City Council inquired about placing const]mction signs up on these projects with the names of the councilmembers on them. Mr. Peacock indicated he would check with the City Attorney but he believes that' Fair Political Practice Commission regulations do not allow the names of the people who voted for the project to be placed on the project construction signs. Mr. Perlin indicated that the Wildwood Park project bid will be awarded by the City Council on April 19th. He indicated the Quarry Creek restoration project, including the wetlands project on the West Valley College campus will be undertaken in the summer and fall of 1995. He indicated that the Quito/Cox signal project is on hold pending determination as to need as voiced by the Sunland Park neighborhood. He indicated that the second phase of the Quito Road Bridge replacement project will start next year with design work to be done in FY 95-96 and construction in FY 96-97 with a Federal Highway Administration Grant. This is the same type of grant used for the Phase I project and the Pierce Road project with the FHWA giving the City an 80% grant. Mr. Perlin indicated that for the small project on Cox Avenue at the Railroad Crossing he hopes to get the cooperation of the Railroad to do the project next year. The community wall landscaping project in association with the Route 85 Freeway project is underway on Cox Avenue. The continuation of the sidewalk improvements along Saratoga Avenue are due to start next summer and go from Fruitvale to Herriman. The play equipment for Kevin Moran Park is due to be installed this Spring. The Quito/Westmont signal is under construction. Mr. Pe~lin was directed to coordinate a ribbon cutting for this signal with the City of San Jose and the Traffic Authority. H. Landscape an~ Lighting District Status Report. Mr. Perlin indicated he has commenced the annexations and detachments directed by the City Council and the initial battery of resolutions for reauthorization, etc. will come to the City Council on April 19th. Mr. Perlin discussed in some detail the planned project for the Sunland Park area (zone 17) on the east side of Quito Road which will cost about $80,000 and will be paid for by the Sunland Park neighborhood. Cit~ Council Xinutes 5 ~p:il 11, 1995 The neighbors are seeking two assurances from the City Council. The first is that this improvement will serve to remove the deferred improvement agreements on all the parcels in Sunland Park which were placed as a conditionto annexation to Saratoga. The second is to assess for the capital cost of the project over two years so the assessment for that time would be $200 per parcel for two years, plus interest, rather than a $400 assessment in one year. The City Council indicated that it would agree to granting these assurances. I. Route 85 Traffic Mitigation. Mr. Perlin summarized the changes in local street traffic patterns as a result of the opening of the freeway. Traffic on SaratOga Avenue has increased significantly because of the presence of the interchange. The changes to ramp metering were started the week of April 3rd and will be reviewed and adjusted as necessary next week. Devon/McFarland is a problem area with cut through traffic. Proposals to deal with this, including the closure of the link between Devon and McFarland will be delivered to the Public Safety Commission and the neighborhood in May. Exiting from Scotland and Via Monte onto Saratoga Avenue is also a problem. At this point the staff is still seeking a solution which appears workable. A grant proposal to have a study of the traffic problems from Herriman to Cox has been approved and the work should start in June. Hopefully some solid engineering solutions will result from the study. Finally, Mr. Perlin indicated the Fruitvale signal work will be completed during the current week. Councilmember Tucker asked the City Council to approve sending a letter to CalTrans requesting an estimate of cost to place a thin overlay of asphalt on Route 85 as was done on Interstate 880 north of Montague Expressway. The freeway committee is exploring funding possibilities to have this done to reduce freeway noise. The City Council authorized the Mayor to send such a letter as drafted by Councilmember Tucker. J. Financial Status. City Manager Peacock indicated that the budget process was on schedule and that projections of revenue through the end of the year and the format for the budget would be presented to the Finance Advisory Committee on April 17th. Currently the budget status for this fiscal year is satisfactory with an increase in fund balance probable. K. Development and Cultivation of Relationship with Schools. Mr. Peacock indicated that some of the relationship issues had already been discussed under the Parks and Recreation Needs Survey but that he and the Mayor had worked up a proposed meeting schedule which the City Council would review on April 19th and that he had met with some of the board members and the president of the College earlier in the day and they expressed a desire to have more frequent contact with the City between the Board and the Council and between staffs to improve communications. He will continue to develop lines-of communication. L. Promote and cultivate an Ongoing Relationship with the Business Community. Mr. Peacock and Councilmember Wolfe reported on the work of both the Saratoga Business Development Council and the Economic Development Plan Steering Committee. Vice Mayor Jacobs indicated his desire tO have the city hire an economic development director as the only means to give this area of service the attention it needs and deserves. He expressed the belief that such a person would pay their own way in terms of increased revenue to the City from the business sector. The City Manager agreed that such a person would be needed to implement any Economic Development Plan undertaken by the City but that right now the focus was on taking all the ideas and issues and developing them into a cohesive plan of action with a strategy, goals, objectives, and measurable means of success. Otherwise there would be no direction for anyone to work towards. He expects the Steering Committee and Mr. Curtis to begin the process of selecting an outside expert to develop such a plan for Saratoga in the next few months. M. Building the Collaborative Community. City Council Minutes 6 April 11, 1995 Mr. Peacock indicated that the Vision Statement and the Problem Identification Model had been reproduced and was hanging on walls around City Hall. The next event is to have the semi-annual teamwork session with staff on the afternoon of May 12th, perhaps from about 2 PM to 6 PM. He suggests that this be tried without the use of the outside facilitator to see how the group has progressed. He believes that the next training session for staff, commissioners, and community leaders should be scheduled for mid-June. Council approved this schedule. N. Computer System and Computer Network Upgrade. Mr. Peacock indicated to the City Council that the staff is researching vendors for the financial system upgrade to get an idaa of what is available, the price and the feature;m offered and has had one meeting with a systems consulting group to go over the tentative future networking needs. He expects to be getting a proposal from them in the next few weeks. O. Privatization. Mr. Peacock indicated the Finance A~isory Committee will review the staff report prepared on this topic and presented to the City Council in March at its April 17th meeting. P. Surcharge or Tax on Admission to Theater and Concert Events. · The city council reviewed the memorandum prepared on this subject by the City Attorney. Council agreed to continue with plans to place the surcharge on the Community Theater rental and asked the City Attorney to continue to research the legal issues relating to the City levying an admissions tax on such places as Villa Montalvo and the Mountain Winery. Q. Youth Services Plan. Councilmember Tucker indicated that she is preparing for the October Town Hall Meeting to cover this subject. Councilmember Tucker indicated that Joint Venture Silicon Valley would be looking for continued support from the City for the next year. The question was asked how much the City contributed in the current fiscal year? Mr. Peacock indicated the amount was for $2,000 and he believes the same amount is being requested. The City Council expressed concern about the direct benefits of JVSV to Saratoga. Mr. Peacock indicated that it would be helpful to the City if one of the process improvement teams working with public agencies could assist Saratoga in its efforts to streamline the development and design review processes. The City Manager was instructed to write to J~TSV and ask for such a team to be assigned as a condition of the continuing support of JVSV by Saratoga. 6. eraffiti Removal Policy. Mr. Peacock briefed the City Council on the nature of the problem and the limitations of the existing nuisance abatement ordinance regarding graffiti. He indicated that the involved staff and City Attorney had. met to discuss a better way to handle graffiti and also to improve the overall nuisance abatement process so dealing with problems would not take so long or be so administratively cumbersome. He reported that the recommendation of the staff would be that graffiti Be included as a nuisance under the current ordinance and that graffiti and other nuisances be handled using an administrative hearing process much like that used for dangerous buildings. As far as graffiti is concerned it would be handled similar to a person not having an alarm permit. If graffiti is located on their property the City will notify them and give them ten days to sign a release which would allow the City to enter the property and remove the graffiti. If permission is granted the graffiti would be removed at no charge. If permission is not granted then the City would.proceed with the nuisance abatement process and if it then had to remove the graffiti the property owner would be liable for the cost to abate as is the current practice with other public nuisances. The City Council approved of this approach and directed that an ordinance making these changes be prepared by the City Attorney for formal action by the City Council. Cit~ Council Minutes 7 April ll, 1995 '7.Self-Evaluation of the April 5, X995 Meeting. The City Council inquired if separate votes were necessary on Consent A items since there was to be no discussion. Mr. Peacock indicated that a separate vote was needed on each as most of these items were resolutions or ordinances which need specific votes on each. S. Followup and Self-Evaluation of the April I Town Hall Meeting. The City Council agreed to continue consideration of a diversity statement and a privacy statement in the Vision Statement until a future adjourned regular meeting, perhaps April 25 if time permits. The matter of assisting schools with playground equipment'was discussed earlier in the evening. Council reminded the City Manager it would like to have the members name signs brought along to be set up at future Town Hal~ meetings. 9. Contract and Billing Issues Regarding Negotiating Consultant, Mary Egan. The City Council asked to have this matter continued to the next adjourned meeting and that copies of Ms. Egan's billings be included for review. The Mayor indicated that with the impasse in negotiations Ms. Egan had indicated to her the City Council should deal with the management compensation issue rather than continuing to wait. The City Council agreed to take this matter up at 6 PM on April 25th and asked that sandwiches be provided for the City Council. The City Council also agreed to fund $400 out of its conference and meeting appropriation to partially offset the attendance of all five members at the upcoming executive conference at the end of the month. Mayor Burger has prepaid for all five members and the reimbursement is to go to her. 10.Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 11:15 PM. Respectfully submitted, Harry R. Pjaco~ City Manager