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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-25-1997 City Council Minutes MINUTES SARATOGA CITY COUNCIL TIKE: Tuesday, February 25, 1997 - 7:00 p.m. PLACE: Senior Day Care Center, 19655 Allendale Avenue TYPE: Adjourned Regular Meeting/Joint Meeting with Parks and Recreation Commission Mayor Moran calls the meeting to order at 7:00 PM. 1. Roll Call Councilmembers Present: Mayor Moran, Vice Mayor Wolfe, Councilmembers Bogosian, Jacobs, and Shaw Staff Present: City Manager 'Peacock, Public Works Director Perlin, Recreation Director Pisani, Community Development Director Curtis, Finance Director Fil, Parks and Buildings Superintendent Rizzo. 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 February 21. The notice of adjournment from the February 19 Council meeting was properly posted on February 20, 1997. 3. Oral Communications from the Public on Non-Agendized Items - None. 4. Joint Meeting with Parks and Recreation Commission commissioners Present: Commission Chair Weiner, Commissioners Blomquist, Clabeaux, Crotty, Olsen, Swan, and Whitney. A. Any proposed changes to the budget due to the repeal of the Utillty Users Tax which will affect Recreation and Parks Director Pisani indicates that her conclusion from the February 20th City Council meeting is that the Council wants to get out of the recreation business. Mayor Moran indicates that is not the case but there is a need to reduce the subsidy recreation receives from the general fund and to find other ways to provide services except directly through the City. A member of the public asks whether the goal is to stop the increase in the subsidy or to stop the subsidy altogether. Mayor Moran responds that the intent is to stop the increase in the subsidy. Director Pisani indicates that she feels the issue is the cost of overhead, but most of that will not go away if the department is disbanded. She reports the Finance Director has estimated that only $30,000 in overhead will be saved if the department is disbanded, all other overhead costs would not be affected. A member of the public suggests that an audit be prepared which differentiates fixed from variable overhead; then the City would know what the actual impact will be. councilmember Shaw indicates that last week what he suggested is that recreation try to recover all direct costs and reduce the overhead subsidy by 20% in the next fiscal period. :=- CommissionerWhitney asks whether it would be acceptable for recreation to raise revenue to meet the target versus just reducing costs. Mayor Moran indicates that at this point she is not looking at raising revenues to address this problem. Councilmember Shaw indicates he would like to see a proposal on revenue enhancement. A member of the public suggests that makes no sense to reduce personnel if in doing so revenue is also reduced. Councilmember Jacobs indicates the City is faced with the prospect of having to cut its budget by about $1.5 million because of the loss in tax revenue. Things will just not be the same in the future. Recreation can not be exempt from this future. Essential services have to come first and many Saratogans feel that recreation services are not City Council Minutes 2 Februa1725, 1997 in that category. A member of the public suggests that recreation, by itself, comes close to raising 100% of the money it spends. People who take classes will pay more, they are willing to do so. She suggests that plans to charge memberships, such as a yearly fee,~ with members getting first crack at program offerings, or charging different fees for non-members should explored. Councilmember Wolfe indicates that he does support the continuation of the department, that he likes the ideas presented so far and would like to see them worked on. Commission Chair Weiner states that the Commission is seeking clear direction from the Council. Theh the Commission and staff can find solutions, they do not want the decisions made for them by the Council. A member of the public indicates !that her family uses the recreation programs heavily, it would be a big burden to have to go to other cities to participate in recreation opportunities. A member of the public asks what !other areas of the budget are being cut. Mayor Moran indicates that'just about everything is being cut except for law enforcement, but that even in this area some cuts may have to be made and are being considered. Councilmember Jacobs indicates that the City really must determine the basic question of what is it which only government can provide and concentrate resources to those areas of service. A member of the public states that so far he has not heard the Council give the Commission clear direction. A member of the public states that she would prefer government management of recreation but agrees with others that it should be essentially self-supporting. She gave the demise of Breakfast with Santa as an example. She feels this event could have been saved if the fee had been $12 instead of $8.! She feels people in Saratoga are willing to pay the increased cost because what goes on in recreation is a big part of what makes Saratog~ such a desirable place to live and why property values are so high. A member of the public states that because fixed costs don't change, increasing the level of recreatidn programs rather than reducing the programs would reduce the reliance on the general fund to cover overhead costs. What message will'be sent out to people in Saratoga if programs are cut regardless of whether they take care of themselves financially? Let's think positively, bring in more money, don't just cut programs. A discussion ensues over why law enforcement is not being cut because of the revenue crisis. Suggestions are made that the productivity of the sheriff needs to be compared t'o other cities locally. Is the cost the City is paying really necessar~to protect Saratoga and Saratogans? Councilmember Bogosian indicates' he is supportive of Councilmember Shaw's approach, but he still wants to look at staff restructuring within the context of keeping the]department. Councilmember S'haw indicates t~at he, too, wishes to keep the department. Councilmember Jacobs indicates that recreation must convince the broader community that it is paying for itself; otherwise many people will not support keeping the department. Councilmember Wolfe indicates he would love to have a recreation surprise which shows how what goes on in recreation will help to solve the overall problem and hopes ~hat the Commission will work on presenting such a surprise. City Manager Peacock indicates tha~ the current recreation staff costs are not part of the overhead cost calculation; they are part of the direct costs. Reducing overhead means reducing costs in other areas of City Council Minutes 3 February2S, 1997 the budget where that cost is not affected by the change in recreation service levels. Public Works Director Perlin refers to the study done last year on privatization and notes that in the model developed by the staff that the key element in cost calculations is what are known as "net avoidable costs", i.e. what variable overhead costs would go away if recreation were to be privatized. In his view it should be the goal of recreation in its March budget presentation to discuss how it would try to recover as many of its "net avoidable costs" as possible. B. Status and Future Scheduling of Use of the Park and Recreation Development Fund Kevln Skelly, Principal of Saratoga High School, presents a proposal which requests $700,000 from the City's Park Development Fund to jointly develop a new swimming pool to be located on the high school campus~ He would propose that the high school then pay the City $20,000 a year for use of the pool plus take care of all maintenance costs. This new revenue would help to support the City's recreation programs and the new pool would increase City program opportunities by providing a new facility for increased recreation programming. Commission Chair Weiner discusses the current policy on use of the money, noting the process which the community went through to arrive at recommendations on priority use of the funds. She notes that there were thirteen priority suggestions for park and recreation facilities and that finally the top five were chosen for either full or partial funding. Councilmember Jacobs notes that it would be impossible for the Council and the Commission to totally revisit the priority list at this meeting. The key consideration now is that, with limited or reduced funding for maintenance, the' entire strategy of facility priority may have to change. For example, it might be better now to try to fund only projects which do not increase maintenance or somehow actually reduce maintenance costs. He suggests that the Commission take on this task, with the schools, to develop a reordering of priorities and to bring recommendations back to the Council as soon as the work has been accomplished. The Council agrees with the approach suggested by Councilmember Jacobs. 5. Discussion of Possible Call-up of Followlng Item from Planning Commission= Design review approval to redevelop and expand the Argonaut Shopping Center by renovating the existing commercial structures and constructing two new free-standing buildings. Use Permit approval is necessaryto allow the existing 30,070 sq. ft. Safeway Supermarket to be expanded by 10,720 sq. ft. The property is located at Saratoga-Sunnyvale Rd. at Blauer Dr. in a Commercial-Neighborhood zoning district (DR96-056 and UP96-016 - Argonaut Associates) councilmember Bogosian advises the other members of the Council and the public that the issue before the Council at this point is not related to the merits of the project, nor should there be a discussion on the proposed project, but rather discussion needs to be limited to whether Council wishes to call this application up for hearing. Councilmember Jacobs indicates that he feels it is important for the Council to review this project. It will be highly visible to the community, it is used by virtually everyone in the City, and the Council will be held accountable by the community in terms of how it turns out so Council should review the project before it is approved. Councilmember Bogosian agrees with the points made by Councilmember Jacobs and adds there are considerations about parking and traffic flow which also need to be reviewed. Ed Storm, the applicant for the project, states that he has gone City Council Minutes February25, 1997 through an open and strenuous project review by the Planning Commission. The project is not a ~ig expansion of the existing center, but only an addition of 3,000 square feet to the main building and the development of two pads on the corner of Saratoga/Sunnyvale Road and Blauer. He feels parking has bean satisfactorily addressed, that he has accepted the $300,000 cost to!underground utilities, so this feels somewhat like double jeopardy 5o him. There were no issues or disapprovals raised by the surr6unding neighbors. The project is mainly an architectural upgrade of a neighborhood shopping center. Mayor Moran indicates that she knows Mr. Stozln has expressed some concern about some of the conditions imposed by the Planning Commission. Councilmember Wolfe states that h~ is among the curious as to what the project will look like but notes he can review the plans but is under no obligation to do so through the hearing process. It is moved by. Jacobs, seconded by Bogosian to call up both the application for the Conditional .Use Permit and the application for Design Review. It is understood that the hearing will be held on March 19, 1997. It is noted that this'motion does not need a vote as the Municipal Code requires only the request of two members of the Council to call a matter up and the mover!and the second have done so. 6. Appointment of Interim Planning Director It is moved by Councilmember Jacobs, seconded by Councilmember Wolfe to confirm the City Manager's appointment of James Walgren as the City's Interim Planning Director. The motion carries 5-0. It is moved by Councilmember Jacobs, seconded by Councilmember Shaw to set the compensation for the Interim Planning Director as set forth in the memo from the City Manager. The motion carries 5-0. 7. Award of Contract for computer Hardware and Software to HTE-SMI, Inc. (continued from 2/5) Finance Director Fil updates the staff report on this item. Councilmember Shaw indicates that he has had a group of citizens review the proposal from the Finance Director and the conclusion reached is that the City should proceed with the proposal from HTE. He indicates the Master Plan cost has been reduced to $644,000 from the original $975,000 since the Plan was originally approved by the Council. He supports the use of Pentiumcomputers with the Windows Operating System and the reasons why such a system can not be used exclusively. He indicates that there is agreement! with Mr. Fil that the unique needs which exist require the City to use an HTE type system. He notes that the cost of software and supportSservices over five years will cost some $400 000. ; The remainder of the cost will be for new hardware. Finance Director Fil notes that pa~t of the change which has driven the cost down is that no annual set a~ide will be made for replacement of hardware. Instead the City will u.se a pay-as-you-go approach which it has used in the past. This do~s reduce the overall cost by some $130,000 over five years. Mayor Moran asks where the various members of the Council are in terms of going forward with the project~ Councilmember Bogosian indicates he will support the project, wishing it was for less money and more off-the-shelf software, but will support the project reluctantly. Councilmember Shaw indicates that as time goes on and system requirements change, he would Suggest having a technical versed advisory group work with staff to.review future needs. Council agrees to approve the proaect as presented and directs that a revised contract be placed underi Old Business next week for formal approval. City council Minutes 5 Februaz7 25, 1997 s. Approval of Letter to Public service Skills re: Interim City Manager The Council approves the letter to Public Service Skills as presented. 9. Self-Evaluation of Previous Meeting Council discusses the CDBG approval process from the meeting of February 19th. It is agreed that staff should try to come up with ways to cut down on the paper work and to streamline the process for next year. In reference to the February 20th meeting, Vice Mayor Wolfe indicates a need for all of the members of the Council, himself included, to stick to the business at hand and not get sidetracked with other issues. 10. Agency Assignment Reports Councilmember Bogosian reports he attended the Flood Control meeting and that the Saratoga Flood Zone Maps are being updated. Mayor Moran reports she attended the Cities Association meeting where a proposal from the County Arts Commission was presented. She asks that Vice Mayor Wolfe contact Bruce Davis to have the Commission present its work program to the Saratoga Business Development Council. Councilmember Shaw reports he artended the KSAR Board meeting and that KSAR is adding new equipment to its studio. He also reports his attendance at the SASCC meeting and that the Council will be hearing from SASCC about its willingness to give up City funding from the general fund, but only for fiscal 1997-98. Vice Mayor Wolfe reports on his attendance at the SBDC meeting. He indicates that the Farmers Market may be a question mark for 1997. He also reports that the Phase II signs directing people to various shopping areas in the City are due to go up this week. He reports on his attendance at the Transit Authority meeting and that he has been appointed to the Vasona Light Rail Corridor Advisory Board. Mayor Moran indicates she has been elected as the Chair of the County Emergency Planning Council and that an exercise has been scheduled for April 16th in which Saratoga will participate. _ 11. Other It is noted that the latest experiment with valet parking in the Village is ending. Public Works Director Perlin discusses having this experiment evaluated; to what extent should it be continued or expand- ed. Councilmember Jacobs notes that parking is taking place on Oak Street and there is negative feedback from the neighbors about this. Councilmember Bogosian asks to verify that Dr. Rosenbloom is scheduled to speak to the Council on March 19th. He notes that Dr. Rosenbloom is requesting about 45 minutes of time. Is there a need for Dr. Rosenbloom to prepare and present a written report as to the Content of his presentation before the meeting? The consensus is that this would be expected of Dr. Rosenbloom. As to final scheduling, the Council generally agrees to leave that decision up to Mayor Moran as it will depend on the schedule of other major agenda items at future meetings. Mayor Moran indicates that she attended the Baylot Avenue traffic calming study kick-off last Saturday and compliments Mr. Perlin on the job he is doing in this area. Mayor Moran also reports that she attended the 4th of July planning meeting last Friday, that the Committee is getting organized and that this effort will be done without City involvement but that the City has agreed to sponsor the event. Letters to community groups and potential sponsors and participants from the Committee Chair MarilynWhite will be cleared first with the Mayor so that no commitment on the part of the City will be made without her approval. City Council Minutes 6 February25, 1997 Mayor Moran also notes that she d~d attend the Great Race last weekend but as an observer, not a participant. It is noted that the next budget session will be set for March 25th. 12. Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 10:45 PM. Respectfully submitted,