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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09-10-1996 City Council Minutes MINUTES SARATOGA CITY COUNCIL TIME: Tuesday, September 10, 1996 - 6:30 p.m. PLACE: City Hall Administration Meeting Room, 13777 Fruitvale Ave. TYPE: Adjourned Regular Meeting Vice Mayor Moran called the meeting to order at 6:34 PM. 1. Roll Call Council Present: Vice Mayor Moran, Councilmembers Burger, Tucker (arrives at 6:43 PM), and Wolfe. 2. Report of City Clerk on Posting of Agenda The City Manager reports that pursuant to Government Code 54954.2, the agenda for this meeting was properly posted on September 6. The notice of adjournment from the September 4 Council meeting was properly posted on September 5, 1996. 3. Interviews with Parks and Recreation Commission Applicants The City Council interviews the following persons for the position of Parks and Recreation Commissioner: Elaine Clabeaux, Kay Whitney, Mary Ann Swan, Rick Blomquist, and Julie Galvin. ,City Council recesses from 7:18 PM to 7:32 PM. 4. Discussion of Law Enforcement concerning Use of Alcohollc Beverages at Parks (Capt. Wilson representing Sheriff's Department) City Council discusses reports of excessive drinking, litter, and public disturbances caused by a large group of people on Mondays at E1 Quito Park. Capt. Wilson reports in the last three years there have been 624 contact reports regarding the park, 600 of which were self initiated patrol checks by deputies and the other 24 from calls for service. Over this period of time 4 arrests have been made. Vandalism of the community garden plots has been reported recently. Mr. Preston Burlingham tells the Council that he has counted 11 acts of vandalism on the community garden plots in the last three years and all have occurred on Monday nights. Council notes that the Parks and Recreation Commission recommendation is that the City prohibit the use of alcoholic beverages in this park at all times. Ms. Cathy McGoldrick indicates that the reason there have not been many calls to the sheriff is that she, for one, gets tired of making calls every Monday and then having nothing done about the problem. She feels the sheer size of the group of people in the park is intimidating, and this happens every Monday from about noon until the park closes at night. Mr. Burlingham indicates he has a plot in the community garden at the park and that this group trashes the garden plots, climbs the fences and picks the fruit and vegetables or just destroys them. He believes the City should not only outlaw drinking but also remove the volleyball court from the park. He tells the Council that Saratoga is the only surrounding city which allows unregulated drinking in its parks. He says he is getting tired of getting the run around from everyone. Mr. Dhiren Unadhat tells the Council that this one group abuses the park, that there is no need to have alcohol in the park, that the barbecue and picnic area is too close to the play area and as a result there are always glass bottles in the sand pit and neighbors can't take their children to play on the equipment without being disrupted and intimidated by the large group nearby. Ms. Linda Stanley tells the Council the nature of the group has changed City Council Minutes 2 September 10, 1996 since it begin using the park several years ago. As it grows, there is more alcohol, more gambling and their use of the park is no longer confined to Mondays. She is intimidated by the group, its behavior and its gratuitous, rude comments to the point that she will not run in the park any longer when the group is there. Ms. Laurie Doss reports to the Council that she is ready to move the situation has gotten so bad. She believes if the Council bans alcohol the group will be gone in six months. She reports that there is open gambling, babies drinking beer, and men peeing in front of you. What happened to the group which had reserved the park on the 4th of July and were unable to use it because of the behavior of the other group was the last straw. The group is now there sometimes on Sundays and also on Wednesdays, and it's always the same group. Mr. Stan Stanley reports the following concerns about the group at E1 Quito Park. The intimidation of local residents is real, harassment goes on in a non-verbal manner. Be cautious in over reliance on statistics, the fact that the observers are uniformed officers affects the outcomes of the observations. Alcohol does not necessarily equal abuse, abuse can go on regardless of alcohol being present. Council discussion of the problems presented ensues. Councilmember Burger suggests that the City ban the use of alcohol in all City parks. Vice Mayor Moran indicates that whileshe favors a ban in E1 Quito Park she is not agreeable to a ban in all City parks. Councilmember Tucker also favors only a selected ban and indicates that she expects the Sheriff to do a better job of controlling the situation. She also suggests that non-resident groups who reserve the parks should pay a much larger fee differential to use Saratoga parks rather than their own local parks and would like to see the fees adjusted accordingly since the fee differentialis now only 10%. Councilmember Wolfe feels that a total ban should be considered but that a permit system should also be considered rather than a total outright ban. Vice Mayor Moran indicates that since this problem does not exist city-wide, it would be appropriate to stay focused on E1 Quito Park rather than continue discussions concerning a total ban in all parks. CoUncil reaches a consensus that the City should ban the use of alcoholic beverages in E1 Quito Park at all times except when a special permit has been issued by the Recreation Director. Council agrees that there should be a two tier permit system with non-resident groups paying at least twice the fee as resident groups. The City Manager is directed to have an ordinance prepared for consideration at the meeting of September 18th which makes these changes. 5. Discussion of Date Change for Town Hall Meeting concerning Public Safety After discussion concerning the availability of staff and Council members to attend the meeting scheduled for October 5th it is determined to keep the meeting scheduled for that date rather than move it to the following Saturday. It is understood that the City Manager and Assistant to the City Manager will not be in the city to attend the meeting on that date. Discussion of Ordinance prohibiting Parking of Vehicles on Public streets for sale The City Manager reviews with the Council the memorandum from the City Attorney on the recent changes to the vehicle code which would once again allow the City to control the presence of cars parked primarily for the purpose of being advertised for sale on City streets. Council agrees that the primar~ problem involves the various arterial and collector streets in the City and not all public streets. In order to also control parking at side streets at the intersection with major streets the Council, on advice of Captain Wilson agrees'that the' control should extend to those areas as well. To do this the parking ban will extend to that portion of all public streets within 300 feet of the center line of the major streets. The City Manager is instructed to have the City Attorney prepare an ordinance amending the Municipal Code to prohibit such parking as described above, within the parameters set forth in the Vehicle Code, for all major streets in the City. City Council Minutes 3 september 10t 1996 7. Resolutions concerning Salaries and Benefits resulting from Negotiations with Saratoga Employees Association and Saratoga Management Association The City Manager reviews with the Council the resolutions which have been prepared which would ratify and implement the signed Letter of Understanding with the Saratoga Management Organization and the signed Memorandum of Understanding with the Saratoga Employees Association. He notes there is no recommendation on the agenda for action at this meeting as it is Council policy to have all personnel matters discussed at adjourned sessions first, before formal action is taken at a regular meeting. Me notes that the LOU has not changed from the signed copy discussed in closed session by the Council on September 4. He also indicates that since the draft MOU with SEA was sent to the Council on September 6 that there was a meeting between the City's chief negotiator and the City negotiating team with the representatives of the SEA, held on September 9 where a number of changes to the draft MOU were made and the MOU was then signed by the City's negotiating team and the representative of the SEA and the members of its negotiating team accepting the MOU on behalf of both sides of the negotiations. He proceeds to review the eight changes which were discussed and made. After asking a number of questions about the changes with replies from the City Manager the Council agrees to have the resolutions placed on the September 18th agenda for formal ratification. 8. Self-Evaluation of Previous Meeting In reference to the discussion at the last meeting as to what will happen to the old surplus computers, Council requests the Finance Director to provide a list of the computers which will be surplused to other agencies and to which agencies. Council confirms its understanding from the previous meeting that the public schools will be given the first opportunity to acquire the surplus computers. 9. Agency Assignment Reports Vice Mayor Moran and Councilmember Burger report on-attendance at their respective League of California Cities policy committees. They indicate there are major concerns about the passage of Proposition 218. Councilmember Tucker reports on the California Civil Rights Initiative and efforts to have the Cities Association and ABAG adopt positions in opposition. She explains that she is the Association representative to the ABAG Executive Committee and that if the Association adopts a position she will be taking that position to ABAG in that capacity. She requests guidance for the Council as to the Council's position for voting purposes at the Cities Association meeting. It is the consensus of the Council that this is the type of issue which the City should not take a position on as a City Council, and that message should be presented to the Cities Association. It is also suggested that it is more appropriate for the ABAG General Assembly to be taking positions on ballot measures, as a sense of all the cities in the Bay Area, rather than having only the ABAG Executive Committee making such decisions. 10. Appointment of Parks and Recreation Commissioners. Council discusses the fact that one of the openings is to finish the term of a commissioner who resigned, and that the appointment would be for only a little over one year. Discussion then ensues regarding which of the five candidates to appoint or whether to appoint all five candidates as there are now five openings with the resignation. It is moved by Vice Mayor Moran, seconded by Councilmember Wolfe to appoint Clabeaux, Whitney, Swan and Blomquist to full terms on the Parks and Recreation Commission. Motion approved 4-0. It was determined by the Council to only appoint four members at this time and to re-advertise seeking applicants for the short term. City council Minutes 4 september 10, 1996 10. Adjournment There being no further business the meeting was adjourned at 10 PM. Respectfully submitted, Harry R. co City Manager