HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-25-1995 City Council Minutes MINUTES
Sied~TO~A CITY COUNCIL
TIME: Tuesday, July 25, 1995 - 7:00 p.m.
PLACES City Mall Administration Meeting Room, 13777 Fruitvale
Ave.
TYPES Adjourned Regular Meeting/Joint Meeting with Public
Safety Commission
1. Roll Call
The meeting was called to order at 7:05 p.m.
Councilmembers Tucker, Wolfe, Jacobs, and Mayor Burger were
present; Councilmember Moran was absent.
Staff Present: City Manager Peacock, Public Works Director Perlin,
Finance Director Fi!, Associate Planner White
2. Report of city clerk on Posting of Agenda
The City Clerk reported that pursuant to Government Code 54954.2,
the agenda for this meeting was properly posted on July 21. The
notice of adjournment from the July 19 council meeting was
properly posted on July 20.
3. Joint Meeting with Public safety commission
Commissioners Present: O'Rorke, Biester, Fredrick, Gaskell,
Hexamer, Kolstad
·
A. Update on Issues Before the commission
1. McFarland cut through traffic the Commission is
experimenting with solutions including a temporary traffic-diverter
scheduled to be put in place on July 27th. This will be tested for
reaction from the local neighborhood and a permanent solution will
be recommended to the City Council following the test.
2. Scotland Avenue egress onto Saratoga Avenue - no
solution has been determined at present.
3. Traffic Study Grant - City has secured one to review
traffic problems on Saratoga Avenue caused bythe freeway including
the Scotland problem.
4. Traffic Counts - the Commission is working on
locations and scheduling with the actual counts probably taking
place in October after school opens.
5. Paseo Presada parking near E1 Quito Park - the
Commission is looking at restricting parking on the street across
from the Park.
6. Parking on 4th Street - the Commission is considering
the need to limit parking to provide adequate access for emergency
vehicles.
7. Speeding on Chester and on Miller - the Commission is
reviewing recent complaints in those areas.
8. Radar Trailer - the Commission has determined that one
important use would be during the morning and evening commute
hours. The problem is that this would require overtime if staff is
assigned to this task as this would be outside normal working
hours. The Commission is looking for volunteers to help out to do
this.
B. Emergency Preparedness Commission, County Startup
The City Council received a listing of names of Saratoga residents
C~ty Council Hinutes 2 ~uly 25, 1995
who have volunteered to serve on a subcommittee to plan a county-
wide themed emergency preparedneeds event for 1996, prepared by
Councilmember Moran. The volunteers are Jo Brabant, Commissioner
Kolstad, Harry Wenberg, and Mark )3iondich, who will serve as the
alternate.
c. Accomplishments for 1994
The Commission has submitted a summary of its work in various areas
during 1994 to the City Council. In response to questions /
concerning Neighborhood Watch the Commission indicated it is
shifting to a community outreach approach because it seems that
there is a different need and focus for most Saratogans which this
approach will better serve.
D. Traffic
The Commission and Public Works Director have established a written
standard operating procedure for dealing with different types of
traffic problems reported to the City. Various staff members who
intake calls on problems will need to be trained in the new
procedures by the Public Works Director, and the procedures will
need to be publicized to the Community through mailing to community
group mailing list, articles in the local newspaper and an article
in the next issue of the City newsletter.
The Council asked the Commission to reexamine the need for the NO
RIGHT TURN ON RED traffic control signs at Saratoga Avenue at
Highway 9. The Commission responded that they are aware of this
item and will restudy its need and bring a recommendation to the
Council.
E. Community Outreach
The Commission reported that it iS concentrating on disaster
preparation, response and neighborhood level assistance. It is
implementing a PEP (Personal Emergency Preparedness) Program and
launching it in September at the Senior Center soup and salad
lunches. The program covers three areas which will be presented
separately over a three month period. The areas are disaster
preparedness, fire prevention, and home safety. The Council
suggested that another good area for presenting the program would
be at the City's schools to teach ~:ids what to do if they are home
alone.
In the area of school activities ti~e Commission has been involved
in implementing the bicycle helmet education program, establishing
safe routes to school at all the schools, firming up the location
of crossing guards for the next school year (in this respect the
guards will initially be placed in the same locations as they were
for the 1994-95 school year until the FrUitvale/Saratoga
intersection improvements are completed).
Various school traffic concerns have also been'reviewed. These
include the McAuliffe desire to have a crossing guard on Prospect,
Blue Hills desire to have a crossing guard on Saratoga/Sunnyvale
Road at Seagull (both were not deemed to be safe places to cross
and use guards because of the lack of a signal and the high volume
and speed of commute hour traffic), a request by Redwood to have
the' number two lane on Allendale eastbound east of Fruitvale
remarked for through and left turn instead of through only, and
concerns expressed by Sacred Heart over speed on Saratoga Avenue,
and the condition of the bike lane and walking path from the School
to the library.
F. City Council Priorities fo= the Commission
1. Help with the Youth Plan kickoff at the Town Hall
meeting in October.
City Council ainutas 3 July 25, 1995
2. Bicycle Network Proposal - will be reviewed by the
PUblic Safety, the Planning and the 'Parks and Recreation
Commissions before being presented to the Council for final review
and adoption. Saratoga Avenue will be handled by narrowing the
travel lanes for vehicles to allow adequate bike lane space and
parking; this will also act to slow traffic on Saratoga Avenue
north of the Fruitvale intersection.
3. Public Safety Appreciation Picnic - the Commission
needs to acknowledge the contributions made by the Rotary Club,
Saratoga National Bank, and Mr. and Mrs. Boyce for underwriting the
cost of the picnic and to Safeway Stores for donation of soft
drinks and ice for the event which will be held on August 26th.
The Commissioners expressed their thanks and asked the Council to
recognize the members of the City staff who have provided
outstanding support to the Commission over the past year, Paula
Reeve, Larry Perlin, Captain Wilson and Chief Kraule and Chief
Sporleder.
4. Animal control Program Field Services Contract Paula Reeve,
Public Services Assistant reviewed the contract situation with the
City Council and the staff recommendation to restore full field
services. This can be done without an increase in the budget
because the contract for Household Hazardous Waste approvedbythe
Council on July 19th is some $17,000 under budget and the $14,334
increase in service costs to provide services for the pickup and
disposal of dead animals and the collection and handling of
confined stay animals, both wild and domestic, can be funded from
the Environmental Services fund without an additional appropriation
because of reduced contract costs in other areas of the program.
It was moved by Tucker, seconded by Wolfe, and passed 4-0 to
approve the program increase and have the new contract with the
Humane Society reflect full field services including the-handling
of stray and dead animals, these added services to be funded from
the Environmental Services Fund in the amount of $14,334.
The Council thanked Ms. Reeve for the excellent job she has done on
this contract and the quality of the staff report.
5. Quarterly Program and Project Review Reports
Citv Attorney
A. Surcharge or Tax on Admission to Theater and Concert Events
The Council reviewed the memorandum from the City Attorney on this
item and the National Association of Theater Owners and concluded
that this was an item which should be discontinued for
consideration.
Community Development Director
A. Specific Plans
1. Mountain Winery Development Guidelines - will be taken
up at the next joint session of the Council and the Planning
Commission on September 12th.
2. Saratoga Avenue Plan - assigned as a priority two
project to be taken up after the next priority one project is
complete.
3. Saratoga/Sunnyvale Road North Planning Charette -
expect to start this process in September.
B. Work Program
1. Housing Element - ready to send back to the State for
review. Campbell bill may not help us much since our main issue is
City Courtoil Minutes 4- July 25, 1995
the "fair share" requirement which Saratoga can not meet.
2. Circulation Element it is now complete except for
the post freeway traffic counts which should be done in October.
These results will be compared with the plan to see if any further
changes are warranted and then go to the Commission for hearing.
3. Tree Ordinance Revisions - the proposed handbook will
be coming back to the Council for :review on August 22nd.
4. Parking Ordinance - scheduled to be heard by the
Commission on July 26th.
5. Sphere of Influence Study - part of the area hillside
planning project being proposed byiaultiple jurisdictions which the
Council will consider on August 16th.
6. Sign Ordinance Studies
a. Temporary Signs - Commission review complete,
scheduled to be heard by Council on August 16th.
b. Signs in the Public Right of Way - Commission
review complete, scheduled to be heard by Council on August 16th.
C. Development Standards and Design Review Process
Working group has been meeting for several months and expect to
have a report completed by the end of the summer.
D. Political Campaign Signs
Covered under Signs in the Public Right of Way.
CounCilmember Tucker
A. Youth Services Plan
Kickoff event scheduled for the October 7th Town Hall Meeting,
intend to invite churches, medical community, etc. as well a groups
previously identified.
City Manager
A. Proposed Budget Developmen~ Calendar for 1996
Schedule status reports on interim closing revenue .and expense
figures to the FAC at their meetings in August and September, plan
to convert to a two year rolling budget for 1996-97 and have a four
year forecast budget as well. Rest of schedule to remain as is.
B. Promote and Cultivate On-going Business Relationship
Between city and the Business Community (joint report with
Councilmember Wolfe)
SBDC is working well and things are happening. Farmers Market is
a great success and is creating parking problems which are being
addressed. Need to rethink the role of the Chamber of Commerce vis
a vis the City; meeting with leadership to discuss. Need to
consider retaining professional assistance to coordinate all the
activity and volunteer effort and to concentrate on the marketing
strategy which has emerged from the work of the group.
Serious discussion as to the need and how to finance should take
place over the next couple of months. Also recognize the need to
keep businesses from other conunercial areas of the City involved
since most of those on the SBDC are from the Village.
C. Building the Collaborative Community
Continue with training sessions, include other key staff who will
Cit~ Council Minutes 5 July 25# 1995
need the skills to deal with upcoming planning efforts in
particular. CounciI requests list of names from various sources in
the community to invite to future training sessions.
D. Privatization
Area for competitive study selected is janitorial, custodial and
building maintenance. Expect to have an initial progress report to
the Council on October 24th. Seeking experience from other cities,
over the next two months will perform a work study on how the
current employees spend their time as a prelude to preparing a bid
proposal for services.
Finance Director
A. Computer System and Computer Network Upgrade
Current system and problems reviewed. Need to develop a master
plan through an RFP process to determine the correct combination of
hardware, software and networking systems to meet current and
future City needs. After much discussion of options and concerns
about cost and how to approach the problem the Director was
instructed to return to the Council with an RFP for development of
a master plan.
Public Works Director
A. Route 85 Traffic Mitigation
Covered under the reports of the Public Safety Commission.
Clarified that the mitigation being discussed is mitigation on
local streets from problems which have arisen with the opening of
the Route 85 Freeway.
B. Capital Improvements Plan
1. Saratoga/Sunnyvale Rd. Medians - construction will be
completed in about two weeks.
2. Pierce Road Bridge Replacement - the project will go
'out to bid in August.
3. Wildwood Park Improvements construction is due to
start next week.
4. Quarry Creek Restoration - a field review meeting is
set for next week. Director has made a video of the problem and
would like to show it to the Council at a future adjourned session.
5. Quito Road Bridges - a field review meeting was held
today. Director is awaiting permission from the FHWA to begin
design.
6. Cox/Cumberland Improvements - work on this project is
expected to begin in the winter or spring of next year.
7. Warher Hutton House - final construction work, to
install exterior lighting, is in progress.
8. Americans With Disabilities Facilities Upgrades -
maternity leave of program coordinator means this project will not
start up again until October.
9. Arterial Sidewalk Improvements - work on this project
is expected to start next spring.
10. Saratoga/Fruitvale Intersection Improvements - work
on this project will be completed next spring since it can not be
completed prior to the reopening of the schools at the end of
August.
City Council Minutes 6 ~ul~ 25, 1995.
11. Saratoga Avenue Median Landscaping from Cox South to
the Vineyards Signal - design to begin next spring.
12. Saratoga/Sunnyvale Median Landscaping from the
Villageto Verde Vista - design ~ork will not start until next
spring because of the number of other projects which are currently
underway.
C. Resolution of E1 Quite Pari~ complaint Problem
The Director reports that the staff inquiry into the reported
problems on Mondays has failed to 'verify the complaints presented
to the Council. The Director was instructed to continue to monitor
the situation for any change.
D. Audio-visual Capability
Studying this item can not proceed until the current theater
production is finished. Staff will be doing some upgrade work in
the theater later in August and this item will be studied at that
time.
General
A. New Topics for Future Quarterly Reports
1. Park System Development - Mayor reported on her
initial efforts to secure assistance in developing focus groups.
Council needs to consider the charter and parameters of work for
the groups before the process goes; much further. (Set for August
22nd?)
Staff to provide background material on parks, usage, needs, from
prior surveys.
2. Moving to True Zero Base 'Budgeting - integrate with
budget calendar and quarterly reports.
3. Status of Items in Litigation - city Attorney to
include a summary report of legal costs for active cases each
quarter which can be made available to the public. Quarterly
reports to be modeled after reports prepared by the firm when
dealing with ABAG PLAN cases.
4. Sheriff West Valley station - discuss on October 24th.
5. West Valley College/Neighbor Relations - City Manager
reviewed the staff work done on this with the neighbors and the
District since April and the true issues involved from his
· perspective. He is currently expecting a draft agreement from the
District legal counsel .this week for city and neighbor review
concerning conduct of certain events on campus and having said
events conditioned by the city staff. Schedule for discussion on
August 16th in closed session with the City Attorney and with
college board on September 12th, if that can be arranged.
6. Other - None.
6. Self-Evaluation of Previous Meeting
Discussed the Abdullah appeal and asked that this be a topic of
conversation with the Commission at the next joint session as to
why the difference in view between a majority of the commission and
all of the council members;
Discussed ordinances which come from the Planning Commission for
Council hearing with no opportunity for the Council to review
content prior to the hearing and to return it to the Commission' for
further consideration if the Council feels that is appropriate
before it agrees to schedule the matter for public hearing.
City Counoil Minutes 7 July 25, 1995
It was agreed to start with the sign ordinances which would
normally be set for hearing on August 16th, that this practice be
put into effect and that the ordinances be reviewed bythe Council
at the adjourned session of August 22nd and then set for hearing at
some subsequent date.
A. Agency Assignment Reports
Tucker reported on ABAG; Burger reported on the Library JPA.
7. Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 10:55 PM to August 8, 1995, at 7 PM,
the regular meeting of August 2nd having been cancelled.
Respectfully submitted,
Harry R. ac
City Manager