Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout05-04-2005 City Council minutes MINUTES SARATOGA CITY COUNCIL MAY 4,2005 The City Council met in Closed Session in the Administrative Conference Room, 13777 Fruitvale Avenue, at 5:30 p.m. ANNOUNCEMENT OF CLOSED SESSION ITEMS Conference with Labor Negotiators—(Government Code Section 54957.6) Agency designated representatives: Lorie Tinfow, Assistant City Manager Employee organization: Millman& Industrial Carpenters Local 262 Conference with Legal Counsel—Existing Litigation(Government Code Section 54956.9(a)) Hinz v. City of Saratoga(Santa Clara County Superior Court Case No. 105CV034746) Conference with Legal Counsel—Existing Litigation(Government Code Section 54956.9(c)) Thompson Pacific Construction v. City of Saratoga(Santa Clara County Superior Court Action No. 104 C V 02163 9) MAYOR'S REPORT ON CLOSED SESSION Mayor King stated there was no reportable information from the Closed Session held prior to the Regular Council Meeting. Mayor King called the Regular City Council meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. and introduced Boy Scout Zachary Angel. Mayor King requested that Zachary lead the Pledge of Allegiance. ROLL CALL PRESENT: Councilmembers Aileen Kao,Nick Streit, Ann Waltonsmith, Vice Mayor Norman Kline, Mayor Kathleen King ABSENT: None ALSO Dave Anderson, City Manager PRESENT: Lorie Tinfow, Assistant City Manager Richard Taylor, City Attorney Cathleen Boyer, City Clerk Ann Sullivan, Deputy City Clerk Michele Braucht, Administrative Services Director John Livingstone, Community Development Director John Cherbone, Public Works Director Joan Pisani, Recreation Director REPORT OF CITY CLERK ON POSTING OF AGENDA FOR MAY 4, 2005 Cathleen Boyer, City Clerk, reported that pursuant to Government Code Section 54954.2, the agenda for the meeting of May 4, 2005, was properly posted on April 28, 2005. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS ON NON-AGENDIZED ITEMS The following people requested to speak at tonight's meeting: Paul Miller addressed the Council regarding the noise pollution, unsafe traffic conditions, and speeding on Cox Avenue. Joanne Peth noted that she was speaking as a representative of the Citizens on Highway 9 Safety Committee. She thanked the Council and supportive citizens for their support of the Committee. She noted the Metropolitan Transportation Commission(MTC)just approved funding for the Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Improvement Project on Highway 9 between Saratoga and Los Gatos. Ms. Peth added that the MTC ranked the project number 3 out of 40 projects and that the MTC was amazed at the cooperative efforts of the citizens of Los Gatos, Monte Sereno, and Saratoga. Citizen Ray addressed the Council regarding unsafe road conditions on Shannon Road in the Town of Los Gatos. DIRECTION TO STAFF Councilmember Waltonsmith requested that the Saratoga Traffic Commission look into the traffic and road conditions on Cox Avenue. Assistant City Manager Tinfow noted that the Traffic Commission meets again on June 9th and they would add this item to the agenda. Mayor King requested the Public Works Department place the speed trailer on Cox Avenue as well. Public Works Director Cherbone noted that he would direct his staff to place the speed trailer on Cox Avenue. COMMUNICATIONS FROM BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS None ANNOUNCEMENTS Vice Mayor Kline announced that the Library Measure A passed with overwhelming support to continue the 10 year parcel tax, which will allow the library to continue with its existing hours of service. He added Measure B failed by a very narrow margin. He thanked the Friends of the Library and the volunteers for their campaign efforts regarding Measure A and B. 2 CEREMONIAL ITEMS 1. COMMENDATION—CELEBRATING THE GRAND OPENING OF THE SARATOGA RETIREMENT COMMUNITY STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Present commendation. Mayor King read the commendation and presented it to Susan Peterson, a representative from the Saratoga Retirement Community. SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS 2. SUZANNE WOLF - SILICON VALLEY WORKFORCE INVESTMENT NETWORK STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Hear presentation and authorize the City Manager to execute the Memorandum of Understanding with the Silicon Valley Workforce Investment Network for employee support services. Suzanne Wolf provided a brief presentation regarding the mission statement of the Silicon Valley Workforce Investment Network. She concluded her presentation by asking the City Council to sign the memorandum of understanding for employee support services. WALTONSMITH/KLINE MOVED TO AUTHORIZE THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE THE MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING WITH THE SILICON VALLEY WORKFORCE INVESTMENT NETWORK FOR EMPLOYEE SUPPORT SERVICES. MOTION PASSED 5-0-0. CONSENT CALENDAR 3A. APPROVAL OF CITY COUNCIL MINUTES—APRIL 20, 2005 STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Approve minutes. Councilmember Waltonsmith removed this item for a correction. Referring to page 9, 5th paragraph, Councilmember Waltonsmith requested that the consensus of the City Council be amended to state: "Consensus of the City Council that they would not take any action in respect to Cal Trans property in regards to volunteers in the Village as long as they do not start projects that would ultimately cost the City additional money in building or maintaining or liability". WALTONSMITH/STREIT MOVED TO APPROVE MINUTES OF APRIL 20, 2005 AS AMENDED. MOTION PASSED 5-0-0. 3 3B. REVIEW OF CHECK REGISTER STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Approve check register. STREIT/KLINE MOVED TO APPROVE CHECK REGISTER. MOTION PASSED 5-0-0. 3C. EXECUTION OF SECOND AMENDMENT TO THE AGENCY AGREEMENT FOR COUNTYWIDE HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE COLLECTION PROGRAM FOR FISCAL YEAR 2005/2006 STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Approve contract and authorize the City Manager to execute the same. Councilmember Waltonsmith removed this item for discussion and clarification. Councilmember Waltonsmith expressed her concern that this item was being discussed and acted on by the Council prior to the presentation of the annual budget, which is the next scheduled item on this agenda. She noted that she prefers to discuss this item after the presentation of the annual budget. In addition, she wanted clarification regarding the cost of this service. She noted residents pay for individual basic services and the City pays for extra services such as the disposal of hazardous household waste in the community. She inquired if the residents could be charged for the disposal of hazardous household waste if the City doesn't fund this service. Councilmember Streit noted that he is not willing to make a decision on this item until after the budget presentation. Mayor King noted that a representative from the County was present this evening to provide answers to questions regarding the Hazardous Waste Collection Program. City Manager Dave Anderson noted the Council could proceed with the discussion of this item and not make any funding decisions until after the budget presentation. He suggested they continue this item until after the proposed budget public hearing. Council concurred that they would continue with the discussion of this item; however, they would not make any funding decision until after the budget presentation. John Cherbone, Public Works Director, presented staff report. Director Cherbone stated that each year the City augments the annual hazardous household waste budget. Three percent of the amount of the households should be served by the 3 percent of the tipping fees that are generated by the tonnage that comes from Saratoga's waste stream. Historically, that percent hasn't been enough to take care of the high participation that the City of Saratoga, as a city, uses compared to other cities in the County. He added Saratoga is up to 7 or 8 4 percent in terms of hazardous household waste disposal. He stated that the City has to augment their tipping fees, which actually don't generate the 3 percent that are supposed to be generated by the tipping fees, and are usually about $4,000 short. The amount that usually has to be augmented to that program is between $30,000 and $40,000 per year. He noted that they are proposing not to augment the Hazardous Household Waste Program due to the fact that the Environmental Fund is not whole at this point. In terms of their operating budget they are projecting a$12,000 deficit next year. The County Board of Supervisors approved a Countywide Hazardous Household Waste Fee to be collected at $1.84 on each ton of waste disposed at landfills located within the County or taken to non-disposal facilities located within the County and subsequently transported for disposal to landfills located outside of Santa Clara County. Every year the City has agreed to augment the program for the purpose of increased resident participation above the 3% base level of service. In FY 2003-2004 the augmentation was $50,000, FY 2004-2005 the augmentation was reduced by $10,000. Due to citywide budget constraints, staff is not recommending any additional funding to this program. Director Cherbone noted Rob D'Arcy, Hazardous Material Program Manager for Santa Clara County, was present to provide additional information regarding this item. Mr. D'Arcy explained that the Household Hazardous Waste Program (HHW) serves as a countywide program to about 24,000 households throughout the county and that they serve between 800-900 Saratoga households. Mr. D'Arcy stated recent regulations will begin to increase the demand for this type of service. There is a category of hazardous waste called Universal Waste, which is generated by everyone. Examples of universal waste include fluorescent lamps, batteries, and other products containing mercury. These items are deemed hazardous waste in the state of California. Recent regulations will make it illegal for residents to dispose these items in the trash and unfortunately, it will create additional pressures to manage that waste stream properly. This means providing the opportunity for residents to properly manage this waste. The regulations become effective February 9, 2006. Mr. D'Arcy stated that they anticipate increased participation and are attempting to develop alternative means of recycling opportunities for these waste streams. Responding to Councilmember Waltonsmith's question in regards to charging residents individually to participate in this service, Mr. D'Arcy stated that this would not be feasible because of the inventory process related to this service and it would be cost prohibitive to provide this service on a fee basis. Mr. D'Arcy asked the Council to consider some type of budget augmentation to satisfy the demand for Saratoga residents to properly dispose of their hazardous household waste. City Manager Anderson asked Mr. D'Arcy if he would be recommending an increase in tipping fees to the County Board of Supervisors. 5 Mr. D'Arcy responded yes, and added that it is his intention to bring this issue before the County Board of Supervisors before the end of the year. STREIT/WALTONSMITH MOVED TO CONTINUE THIS ITEM AFTER THE BUDGET PUBLIC HEARING—ITEM 4. MOTION PASSED 5-0-0. Council returned to this item after they concluded with Item 4—Proposed Operating Budget for Fiscal Year 2005-2006. Mayor King invited public comment. No one requested to speak on this item. Mayor King closed the public comment. COUNCILMEMBER STREIT/WALTONSMITH MOVED TO APPROVE CONTRACT AND AUTHORIZE THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE THE SECOND AMENDMENT TO THE AGENCY AGREEMENT FOR COUNTYWIDE HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE COLLECTION PROGRAM FOR FISCAL YEAR 2005/2006. MOTION PASSED 5-0-0. 3D. RESOLUTION DECLARING BRUSH GROWING ON CERTAIN PROPERTY TO BE A PUBLIC NUISANCE AND SETTING A PUBLIC HEARING STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Adopt resolution. RESOLUTION: 05-028 STREIT/KLINE MOVED TO ADOPT RESOLUTION DECLARING BRUSH GROWING ON CERTAIN PROPERTY TO BE A PUBLIC NUISANCE AND SETTING A PUBLIC HEARING FOR JUNE 1, 2005. MOTION PASSED 5-0-0. 3E. AWARD OF CONTRACT TO WARREN B. HEID,ARCHITECT STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Approve contract; Authorize City Manage to execute contract; Adopt budget resolution. Councilmember Waltonsmith removed this item for discussion. Councilmember Waltonsmith requested clarification regarding the letter Mr. Hyde sent to staff that included proposed changes to the contract. She asked if the City could accommodate Mr. Heid's proposed changes. Community Development Director John Livingstone explained that the City could accommodate the proposed changes that Mr. Hyde made to the contract. Next Councilmember Waltonsmith referred to the shed that was attached to the 6 McWilliams House and noted that due to termite damage it was torn down. She stated that the shed was used to store city artifacts and since the shed was torn down the Museum now stores these artifacts at the North Campus. She noted the Museum needs another place to store the city's artifacts and would like the construction of a new storage facility be added to Mr. Heid's contract. RESOLUTION: 05-027 WALTONSMITH/KLINE MOVED TO APPROVE CONTRACT AS AMENDED AND ADOPT BUDGET RESOLUTION. MOTION PASSED 5- 0-0. 3F. FINAL MAP APPROVAL FOR TWO LOTS LOCATED AT SARATOGA CREEK DRIVE. OWNER: WARREN A. STURLA STAFF RECOMMENDATION: 1. Move to adopt Resolution granting final map approval of vesting tentative map application No. SD-99-006 for two lots located at Saratoga Creek Drive. 2. Move to authorize the City Manager to execute the Subdivision Improvement Agreement. Councilmember Waltonsmith removed this item for clarification. RESOLUTION: 05-029 WALTONSMITH/STREIT MOVED TO ADOPT RESOLUTION GRANTING FINAL MAP APPROVAL OF VESTING TENTATIVE MAP APPLICATION NO. SD-99-006 FOR TWO LOTS LOCATED AT SARATOGA CREEK DRIVE AND AUTHORIZE THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE THE SUBDIVISION IMPROVEMENT AGREEMENT. MOTION PASSED 5-0-0. PUBLIC HEARINGS 4. PROPOSED OPERATING BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2005-2006 STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Conduct public hearing; direct staff accordingly. Michele Braucht, Administrative Services Director,presented the staff report. Director Braucht explained that the City Council conducted two public study sessions in March with a goal of identifying priorities and meeting a net reduction target of$1,200,000. At those study sessions the Council divided the budget priorities into three groups: the CORE priorities or must provide; Should Provide; and Class C, what you would like to provide if funding was available. The Council made specific budget reductions totaling approximately $1,400,000. Director Braucht stated that the Council also defined the "New Normal" and the direction Council envisioned for the City as well as how to address the Council priorities. As a result of that discussion, the Council added approximately 7 $500,000 in expenditures for items Council felt were important such as: $100,000 for the Neighborhood Resource Officer; $150,000 towards employee retention; $125,000 to start the implementation of Internal Service Funds; $25,000 reserve for insurance claims; $50,000 for a fee study to work on the current Master Fee Schedule validation of those fees and update to the Cost Allocation Plan. Director Braucht noted this is the first budget reflecting $60,100 as the interest earnings on the Designated Operating Fund that shows that increase in funding. Director Braucht went on to explain the General Fund Revenue Summary and General Fund—Expenditure Summary. There was Council discussion regarding the proposed budget with questions presented on various budget line items. Director Braucht provided clarity regarding the questions presented by Council. Mayor King opened the public hearing for comment. The following people requested to speak on this item: Sheila Arthur, Interim Executive Director for the Saratoga Chamber of Commerce, requested that the City continue to provide funding for Celebrate Saratoga. Nomita Shahani, President of the Saratoga Chamber of Commerce, introduced the new executive director—Kathy Phelan. Ms. Shahani also requested that the Council continue to support Celebrate Saratoga. Beverly Tucker, representative of the Saratoga Employee Association (SEA), read a letter stating that for the past two years, SEA has made an effort to work in partnership with the City Council and management staff by agreeing to merit freezes, two-year contracts, and supporting Council decisions. SEA embraces the suggestion that things will eventually get better and this hope was greatly renewed when the "New Normal" framework was introduced. Ms. Tucker acknowledged that staff will continue to be asked to do considerably more with fewer and fewer resources. Staffing levels will be at a 5-year low and noted high staff turnover impacts efficiency and productivity. She concluded by stating compensation continues to be funded below levels provided by other cities. Trudi Burney requested the City Council continue funding the Wildlife Center. No one else requested to speak on this item. Mayor King closed the public hearing for comment. Referring to the budget workshops held earlier in the year, Vice Mayor Kline stated that it would be a mistake to undo the decisions Council made in those workshops. Vice Mayor Kline stated that the City cannot continue to fund outside agencies due to the economic environment and that they need to be self-sufficient; he does not support the augmentation of$35,000 for the HHW Program; and feels it is necessary to create a Village Association. He stated he is very supportive of the employees. 8 Vice Mayor Kline stated that he supports using the current year's Council Contingency Fund to fund the following: Village Shuttle—$8,000 Celebrate Saratoga—$9,000 Wildlife Center- $4,000 HHW—No funding Councilmember Kao stated that she supports funding for the following: Village Shuttle —$5,000 Celebrate Saratoga—$13,000 Councilmember Waltonsmith questioned the justification of funding Celebrate Saratoga in a bad economy when we are cutting funds for other organizations. Councilmember Waltonsmith indicated she supports: Underfunding the Chamber's request of$13,000 for Celebrate Saratoga to $9,000; the Chamber should look for barricade funding from a donor; the Chamber should then contract with the City to provide in-kind barricade service. She recommended taking the $4,000 savings from the barricade rental for Celebrate Saratoga and applying some of it to the Wildlife Center and some towards the augmentation of the HHW program in order to prevent illegal dumping of hazardous household waste. She supported $5,000 for the Village Shuttle Program. Councilmember Streit stated that he feels we do not have a normalized budget. He noted the City is not budgeting adequately for city streets, city buildings and infrastructure; and is reducing funding to the Sheriff's budget by $333,000. Instead, the City is funding special interest groups or outside agencies such as SASCC,KSAR, Chamber of Commerce, and the Wildlife Center. He agreed with Vice Mayor Kline that these agencies should be providing their own funding and should not be asking the City to provide funds annually. He noted the outside agencies should consider any funds granted this year to be a transitional funding to no more funding as of July 1, 2006. He also agreed with Vice Mayor Kline that it would be a mistake to undo the decisions Council made in the budget workshops held earlier in the year. Councilmember Streit thanked Ms. Tucker for her comments and stated that he feels that the Council should consider staff concerns and city services. Councilmember Streit said he supports funding for the following: Village Shuttle - $5,000 Celebrate Saratoga—$9,000 and in kind service for the street barricades Wildlife Center- $4,000 HHW—No funding Vice Mayor Kline noted at this point that he agrees with Councilmember Streit regarding no more funding allocations for outside agencies starting in June 2006. He said he also feels that an allocation of$5,000 for the Shuttle program isn't sufficient and would be supportive of allocating $7,000 for this item. Mayor King stated that she supports funding for the following: Village Shuttle Program—$8,000 9 Chamber of Commerce— $13,000 Wildlife Center—$5,000 HHW—No funding Councilmember Streit stated that he supports Vice Mayor Kline's recommendation to allocate $7,000 for the Village Shuttle item. Councilmembers Kao and Waltonsmith also concurred to the new proposed allocations. Vice Mayor Kline summarized the discussion of the funding allocations to outside agencies: Village Shuttle - $7,000 Celebrate Saratoga- $9,000 (Barricade service provided by the City by using the $4,000 savings from the initial request of$13,000) Wildlife Center- $4,000 HHW—No funding DIRECTION TO STAFF: Council directed staff to allocate $20,000 from this year's Council Contingency Fund for the above noted agencies and to include this budget adjustment in the final 2006 budget proposal to be voted on at an upcoming Council meeting. Councilmember Waltonsmith stated that she does not agree with Councilmember Streit's comment earlier stating that outside agencies should not receive council funding after this year. She noted that topic should be agendized for additional discussion at a later date. Vice Mayor Kline stated that the City has to communicate concerns regarding un- funded mandates to the County. Mayor King referred to speaker Beverly Tucker and her earlier comments regarding customer service and noted that it is her feeling that resident expectations of customer service satisfaction are too high for what the employees can adequately provide at this time. She added that the City may have to acquiesce and let the residents know that the level of service they are accustomed to may decline, due to the reduced number of city employees. At this point Council returned to CONSENT CALENDAR Item 3C—Execution of Second Amendment to the Agency Agreement for Countywide Household Hazardous Waste Collection Program for Fiscal Year 2005/2006. [This item was continued until after the BUDGET PUBLIC HEARING—Item 4] OLD BUSINESS 5. REQUEST FOR FUNDING FOR THE VILLAGE SHUTTLE PROGRAM STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Accept report and direct staff accordingly. Council noted that even though the Council has already voiced their recommendation regarding funding for this item, staff should present the staff 10 report. Assistant City Manager Lori Tinfow explained that the City originally funded the $10,000 shuttle costs and coordinated all aspects of the program. She noted bus service from West Valley College was provided to people going to Villa Montalvo concerts or to the Village for dining before attending concerts. With the departure of key staff and Council's decision to discontinue the Economic Development program, resources to continue the shuttle program for 2006 were not readily available. Ms. Tinfow stated City staff worked with Village businesses and Villa Montalvo last summer to launch a new shuttle program with the goal of increasing the number of visitors to the Saratoga Village. In February of 2005, Village businesses and Villa Montalvo contacted the City regarding plans to offer the shuttle program. She noted that the Village Ad Hoc Committee and staff members were asked to attend several meetings to determine whether the Village business community and Villa Montalvo could pool enough resources to offer the shuttle service without the City's help. To date they have collected a total of$8,700 from the following sources: • Villa Montalvo—$5,000 • Village Businesses—$2,700 • Chamber of Commerce— $1,000 Assistant City Manager Tinfow stated that a total of$21,000 is required for the concert season starting June 1, 2005. The Village businesses need an additional $12,300 to fund the entire concert season and are requesting a contribution from the City. Mayor King invited public comment. The following people requested to speak on this item: Karen Garellis, owner of Viaggio's Restaurant on Big Basin Way, spoke in support of the Village Shuttle program. She noted that Village merchants have created the Village Association to meet the challenges of funding the $21,000 cost to run the Village Shuttle for the next concert season. She added the Association has signed up 35 merchants and business owners to contribute to the cause. Each will pay a flat fee and will be charge incrementally for each rider—with an estimate of a$4,800 contribution through this program. She added Villa Montalvo has agreed to donate $5,000 to this program; the Saratoga Chamber of Commerce has agreed to donate $1,000; and the Saratoga Rotary Club has agreed to review the Association's application for a grant and will be voted on at the end of this month. She concluded by asking the City Council to fund $8,000 for the continuation of the Village Shuttle. Bill Cooper, owner of Bella Saratoga on Big Basin Way, spoke in support of the Village Shuttle program. 11 Greg Pasch, owner of the Plumed Horse restaurant on Big Basin Way, spoke in support of the Village Shuttle program. KLINE/WALTONSMITH MOVED TO DIRECT STAFF TO ALLOCATE $7,000 FROM THE 2004/2005 COUNCIL CONTINGENCY FUND TO BE USED FOR THE 2005/2006 VILLAGE SHUTTLE PROGRAM. MOTION PASSED 5-0-0. Mayor King declared a five minute break at 9:30 p.m. Mayor King reconvened the Regular meeting at 9:35 p.m. At this time Councilmember Kao had to leave the Dais and was not present to participate in the discussion of the following items: 6. REQUEST FOR FURTHER DIRECTION RELATED TO COMMISSION RESTRUCTURING STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Accept report and direct staff accordingly. Lade Tinfow, Assistant City Manager,presented the staff report. Assistant City Manager Tinfow noted that in March of 2005, the Council directed staff to implement the restructuring of the City's Commissions. At that time, Council recommended the suspension of the Arts Commission and the Parks and Recreation Commission for one year and after one year Council would re-evaluate budget resources during the next budget cycle. Additionally, Council recommended the Finance Commission be converted to a Finance Adhoc and to focus only on policy issues. The Public Safety Commission was converted to Traffic Safety Commission and would meet quarterly. Their focus would only be on traffic-related policy issues or other Council assignments. The Library Commission would only meet quarterly with a focus on policy. The Planning Commission, Heritage Preservation Commission, and Youth Commission would remain status quo. Ms. Tinfow noted Council also implemented changes regarding the disbursement of agenda packets. In order to be cost efficient, staff was directed to send the agenda packets via email to those individuals requesting this material. Assistant City Manager Tinfow noted that these changes would not be in effect until June 30, 2006. Resource allocation would be reviewed as part of the budget development process cycle for 2006-2007 and at that time Council would revisit staff resources and determine whether or not additional staff could be hired to restore support to commission activities at the previous level. Ms. Tinfow stated that there are two remaining issues that need to be resolved. One is the art wall and the displaying of art exhibits at the Saratoga Library, noting this service was previously provided by members of the Arts Commission. Ms. Tinfow stated the Arts Commission had already identified artists for the library art 12 wall display starting in February 2005 through February 2006. Ms. Tinfow provided Council with two options for the continuance of the art display: o City staff or Saratoga Library staff along with volunteers could handle the art exhibit process. There would be no process for generating new exhibits. o Dolly Barnes offer to coordinate a group of volunteers to continue with the same process utilized by the Arts Commission for identifying artists and displaying art on the art wall. The second unresolved issue pertains to the Trails Subcommittee. This group started out as part of the Parks and Recreation Commission. They met on their own without staff involvement and didn't comply with the Brown Act requirements. With the Parks and Recreation Commission on hold, they no longer have a connection to the City. She noted Council had expressed an interest in keeping this group involved in City projects and had directed staff to provide them with options for their continued involvement. The proposed options include: o Designate the group as City volunteers and they would be required to convey status reports to Director Cherbone. o The group becomes a subcommittee to the Traffic Safety Commission and is subject to the Brown Act. o Designate this group as a separate stand-alone subcommittee that reports to Director Cherbone and is subject to the Brown Act. o Suspend the group. In addition, Ms. Tinfow noted that she has been asked by many commissioners the definition of suspension and whether or not the suspended commissioners need to continue to comply with the Brown Act and the FPPC requirements—such as filing annual Form 700's, etc. Council discussed the various options presented. Referring to the library art wall, Vice Mayor Kline stated that the library staff and volunteers could handle the art wall. Councilmember Streit stated he concurred with Vice Mayor Kline. Councilmember Waltonsmith stated using the library staff and volunteers is a good compromise. Regarding the Trails Subcommittee, Waltonsmith stated she prefers that the trails group be attached to some group but not necessarily to the Traffic Safety Commission and that they be subject to the Brown Act. Councilmember Streit voiced his concerns about creating a Trails stand alone committee because it would create more work for Public Works staff. Director Cherbone noted he prefers the group to be designated as a subcommittee, which would allow staff to have more control over the activities performed by the group. He added this group has been very self-sufficient and performs a great service to the City. Vice Mayor Kline and Councilmember Streit concurred with Director Cherbone. 13 Mayor King expressed a concern that the Arts Commission members may feel that they could also become a subcommittee overseeing the art wall. Vice Mayor Kline noted that the Trails Subcommittee has always been a subcommittee and was never a commission. The Trails Subcommittee could continue to exist and report to Director Cherbone instead of the Parks and Recreation Commission. City Attorney Taylor noted the big difference between these two entities is that the art wall is in the library and even though the building is owned by the City, the structure has been leased to the library. The trails are in the city,therefore the trails are city property and it is appropriate for the City to have a trails committee. Director Cherbone noted the Trails Subcommittee currently has five members; three Parks and Recreation commissioners and two members that were appointed by the Council. City Attorney Taylor stated Council should provide staff with direction as to how they would like this committee to be established. Council could appoint the members or they could delegate selection of committee members to Director Cherbone. City Attorney Taylor stated that the suspended commissioners are still appointed officials and are obligated to file the annual FPPC Form 700. In addition, he noted that he would be working with Assistant City Manager Tinfow regarding a resolution for Council adoption implementing all the changes to the commissions. The resolution will also reflect a new term expiration date that includes an additional year added to the term for those commissioners that are affected by the suspended commissions. COUNCIL DIRECTION: Council directed staff to: o Accept Dolly Barnes' offer to coordinate a group of volunteers to continue with the same process that the Arts Commission had done for identifying artists and displaying art on the art wall at the library. o Designate the Trails Subcommittee group as a separate stand-alone subcommittee that reports to Director Cherbone and is subject to the Brown Act. Members of the subcommittee will be appointed by Director Cherbone. o Inform the suspended commissioners that they are still appointed officials and are required to file the annual FPPC Form 700. o Provide the commissioners with a copy of the new resolution reflecting the changes in the various commissions and the new term expiration dates after it has been adopted by the Council. 14 NEW BUSINESS 7. TAX EQUITY ALLOCATION (TEA) RECOVERY STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Accept report and authorize contact with three other affected cities to determine if it is practical to pursue full recovery of TEA recovery. City Manager Dave Anderson presented the staff report. He explained that the City of Saratoga's low property tax rate was locked in by the legislation implementing Proposition 13. The Tax Equity Allocation(TEA) legislation was enacted in the 1980's to bring no/low tax cities up to 7% of the property tax rate. This legislation was tied to the State funding of County trial courts. The counties had the option of accepting or rejecting this proposal from the State. If they accepted the trial court funding they had to pass along the TEA funds to no/low tax cities in their jurisdictions. In Santa Clara County, no/low tax cities are: Saratoga, Cupertino, Los Altos Hills and Monte Sereno. At the time, Santa Clara County stated that the reimbursement from the State for trial court funding was less than the required TEA payments to the cities. They told the cities the only way they would support the legislation was if the cities would forfeit 45% of the TEA allocation to the County as an offset. Each of the cities in turn endorsed the concept under the theory that something is better than nothing. Since that time, the trial court funding to the counties has increased many times offsetting any losses for the TEA payments. Additionally, trial court funding is no longer tied to the TEA pass- through requirement. Because of the financial stress cities are experiencing, it would be a good time to rectify this inequity and allow the no/low tax cities in Santa Clara County to participate in the TEA to the same extent as other qualified cities in the State. The impact for Saratoga is approximately 1.2 million dollars per year. This is a substantial amount of money that the County takes from Saratoga annually under this legislation. City Manager Anderson stated that staff's recommendation is to contact the other three Cities to gauge their interest in restoring the TEA formula to 100%. If the other Cities support the concept,they should organize a multi jurisdictional committee to explore steps that could be taken to work with the County and State Legislators to modify the current Revenue and Taxation Code. Vice Mayor Kline noted that without the ERAF shift, the dollar amount may be closer to 2 million. He also feels that this inequity needs to be rectified and would like to see a resolution drawn up that is acceptable to the other three cities and the four cities meet together with the County in order to be more effective. The resolution should state that these are the only four cities in the State of California that are in this situation. He added that all four cities currently participate with the County on various boards that the County supports, therefore, this effort needs to be conducted as a group, not just one or two of the cities as the driving force. Councilmember Waltonsmith voiced her support; however, she felt the bigger cities should be the driving force rather than the City of Saratoga. She noted she 15 would like this item to come back with data regarding how much this will cost the City to pursue. She also feels the elected officials should meet with the County and that if a decision is made to rectify this inequity that the wording be very clear so that new members on the County Board of Supervisors cannot undo the decision. Mayor King stated that the other three cities have expressed an interest in seeing Saratoga's resolution so they can adopt the same resolution in their cities. In addition, she feels the resolution should reflect how the loss of this income affects city budgets and specifically note the impact in dollars and percentage of budget for each city for the next fiscal year. COUNCIL DIRECTION: Direct staff to contact the affected town/cities—Cupertino, Los Altos Hills and Monte Sereno, to gauge their interest and participation in restoring the TEA formula to 100% and to bring back to Council a resolution codifying the requests expressed by Council Members this evening. Additionally, the resolution should be worded so that it is acceptable to the other three cities. ADHOC & AGENCY ASSIGNMENT REPORTS Mayor Kathleen King—reported: Association of Bay Area Government—City Attorney Taylor attended this meeting on her behalf. They introduced their new Executive Director—Henry Gardner. The budget was discussed and they decided not to increase membership dues this year. Hakone Foundation—Will be receiving a commendation from the Consulate General next Wednesday evening. The annual Hakone celebration will be held next weekend. Santa Clara County Cities Association—will meet next week. Santa Clara County Emergency Preparedness Council—Vice Mayor Kline attended the last meeting. He noted that the discussion revolved around emergency preparedness in the field of education and commented on the fact that the County Board of Education was not represented at the meeting. A motion was approved to invite the County Board of Education to be represented on the Emergency Preparedness Council. West Valley Mayors and Managers Association—There was a lot of discussion at the last meeting regarding the TEA issue and the four cities affected by this inequity expressed a great interest in rectifying this issue. Vice Mayor Norman Kline—reported: Library Joint Powers Association—Measure A passed with an overwhelming support to continue the 10 year parcel tax, which will allow the library to continue with its existing hours of service to the community. Valley Transportation Authority PAC—Discussions continue on expanding BART service to downtown San Jose. 16 Councilmember Nick Streit—reported: Recycling& Waste Water Reduction Commission of SCC—attended the meeting last week and the main issue was the fee increase, which will be effective by June 30, 2005. West Valley Solid Waste Joint Powers Association—they are actively working on the disposal contract and will bring the draft to the subcommittee in the a couple weeks. West Valley Sanitation District—discussion continues on how much the District is willing to pay Los Gatos to take over their sanitation trunk lines. City/School Adhoc—has not met since they met with the Saratoga Union School District. They will be resuming meetings shortly. Councilmember Aileen Kao—was absent at this point of the meeting. Councilmember Aim Waltonsmith—reported: KSAR Community Access TV Board—they are in the process of rewriting their by-laws and drafting a contract for the executive director. Saratoga Historic Foundation—has scheduled fundraising events on the following dates: o May 7—Tasteful Afternoon o May 16—Potluck and a presentation by Bob Engels, retired executive director of the San Jose Mercury News o May 19—Presentation on The Hidden History of Hakone Gardens o June 18, 19—Garden tours Sister City Liaison—Pot luck dinner on May 20, 2005 and a professional Japanese banjo player will be performing at Hakone Gardens. CITY COUNCIL ITEMS Councilmember Waltonsmith: Noted the Saratoga Foothill Club was recently added to the National Register of Historic Places. She requested that the Foothill Club be presented with a commendation celebrating their historic designation status. The Saratoga Retirement Community Center invited the Council to join them for lunch and a tour of their facilities. She requested a status report on the landslide issue on Highway 9. City Manager Anderson stated that an update would be in the next Council newsletter. She asked to bring back for Council discussion the $23,000 CDBG money. She also expressed her concern about the non-funding of the hazardous household waste and asked for a status report in a couple months by the Council liaison to the Recycling & Waste Reduction Commission of SCC. Councilmember Streit expressed his concern regarding a recent Planning Commission decision to approve a Conditional Use Permit Application submitted by Metro PCS to place a cell site in the Heritage Orchard at the Saratoga Library. He would like the Council to look at this due to the safety and esthetic issues. Mayor King supported this request. 17 Mayor King requested a weekly update on the Signal Light Project on Seagull Avenue. City Manager Anderson stated that an update would be in the next Council newsletter. OTHER None CITY MANAGER'S REPORT None ADJOURNMENT There being no further business Mayor King asked for a motion to adjourn the meeting. STREIT/KLINE MOVED TO ADOURN THE REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING at 10:45PM. MOTION PASSED 4-0-1 WITH COUNCILMEMBER KAO ABSENT. Respectfully submitted,VOrrnA) City eierk 18