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City Council Minutes May 11, 1998 |
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City Council Minutes May 11, 1998 |
REDWOOD CITY CITY COUNCIL
MAYOR DIANE HOWARD
VICE MAYOR IRA RUSKIN
CITY COUNCIL
COUNCILMEMBER RICHARD S. CLAIRE
COUNCILMEMBER JIM HARTNETT
COUNCILMEMBER JEFF IRA
COUNCILMEMBER MATT LEIPZIG
COUNCILMEMBER IAN BAIN
M I N U T E S
CITY COUNCIL
1017 MIDDLEFIELD RD.
REDWOOD CITY, CA
CITY COUNCIL CHAMBER
REGULAR MEETING
MAY 11, 1998
CALL TO ORDER - 7:30 p.m., Mayor Howard presiding
ROLL CALL
Council Members present: Bain, Claire, Ira, Leipzig, Ruskin and Mayor Howard
Council Members absent: Hartnett
Staff present: City Manager Everett, City Attorney Schricker, City Clerk Jorgenson and Council Volunteer Art Balsamo
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE - Vice Mayor Ruskin
INVOCATION: Envoy Ron McKinney
Salvation Army
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1. SPECIAL ORDERS OF THE DAY
A. Presentation of City Plaque to Lorianna Kastrop; (209)
Mayor Howard presented a City Plaque to Lorianna Kastrop for her outstanding service on the Council-appointed Housing and Human Concerns Committee. Mayor Howard explained that Mrs. Kastrop had recently been elected to the Board of the Redwood City Elementary School District, and thanked her for her dedicated service, true commitment and significant contributions to the HHCC.
Mrs. Kastrop thanked the Council for "this honor and for your support of the HHCC." She said she was sorry to leave such an important committee. Mrs. Kastrop said she "really became close to the community, to the residents and the people who serve the residents" through her work on the HHCC, and it was a truly fulfilling experience. She thanked her colleagues on the HHCC for their integrity, diligence and their caring. She also thanked her family, "without whose cooperation and support I wouldn’t be able to do as much community service as I do."
MEMO 5/12/98
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B. Preservation Week, May 10 through 16, 1998; (207)
Mayor Howard proclaimed May 10 through 16, 1998 Preservation Week, and presented the Proclamation to Cliff Keith, member of the Historic Resources Advisory Committee. Mayor Howard described the work done by the Eagle Scouts and other volunteers to preserve the historical Union Cemetery and thanked them for their efforts.
Mr. Keith thanked the Council for its support of preservation in Redwood City, and said the theme this year was "Preservation Begins at Home." Mr. Keith invited everyone to attend this year’s events on May 16: historical tour of downtown Redwood City, beginning at Lathrop House at 10 a.m., led by the HRAC Chairman Rolandelli; and a guided tour of Union Cemetery beginning at 2 p.m. led by Jean Cloud.
MEMO 5/12/98
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2. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS (203)
A. Clem Molony, 525 Seaport, Pressure Vessel Service, reported on the May 6, 1998 community forum presented by Joint Venture Silicon Valley at the Redwood City Main Library which focused on "gaining participation of local communities throughout Silicon Valley" stretching from San Mateo south around the Bay and up to Hayward. He said the Redwood City region focused on "What is the most important goal that Silicon Valley should set for the year 2010." Mr. Molony said themes discussed included: a quality and diverse economy; an efficient environment with housing and transportation choices; an inclusive society of families and neighborhoods; and stewardship, matching resources with responsibilities. Mr. Molony encouraged "the City Council to participate in this process at it moves forward in the future." He said he knew the Council was extremely busy, but "this particular regional planning process that Joint Venture Silicon Valley has started will be worth it, long term, and best for Redwood City’s future." Mr. Molony said that JVSV’s President, Becky Morgan, said that Redwood City had not made a formal commitment to participate, and reminded everyone that "along with the benefits of Silicon Valley, there are numerous responsibilities."
B. Colleen Jordan, 84 Eddystone Court, Redwood City, also urged the Council to participate in the Joint Venture Silicon Valley Network. She said she had also attended the community forum and provided a brief history of the organization. Ms. Jordan said JVSV was formed to "get local and regional governments, businesses, the community and the educational institutions together to address issues affecting our economy and our quality of life." Mrs. Jordan described the "lofty goals" the organization had set and the successes it had achieved, including the Silicon Valley Uniform Building Code for 27 jurisdictions that reduced the codes from 400 to 11, savings in Workers Compensation costs in San Jose, a smart permitting process, 300 schools wired to the Internet, and a Web Site that provides access to all government entities. Mrs. Jordan said Redwood City was the only City except Atherton, Portola Valley and Saratoga that had not joined. She said Redwood City’s participation would be very helpful in addressing regional problems where cooperation from surrounding communities was essential, such as flooding. Ms. Jordan said joining "this group would make you look like a team player… and would help you get support when you needed it." She said the City "would benefit from a lot of the time and money saving processes that are being brought to other City governments."
Mayor Howard said, "I have attended a lot of the Joint Venture meetings. I am very proud of the fact that the permit streamlining and code streamlining was spearheaded by one of our own, John LaTorra in Redwood City. He was a part of that process, working very closely with this group, and contributed quite a bit to that process. We already do have permit streamlining working. It’s alive and well in Redwood City. We do work in many ways with Joint Venture." She said the Council would look at the study very carefully, "to see if we want to become even more involved."
Council Member Claire said that a number of years ago he had recommended that the City join Joint Venture Silicon Valley. He said the organization did not have too many interests north of Palo Alto at that time and the Council decided to wait until San Mateo County was more involved. Council Member Claire suggested that the Council instruct staff to explore the possibility of Redwood City becoming formally involved with JVSV.
City Manager Everett said staff would report back to Council on this matter.
MEMO 5/12/98
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3. CONSENT CALENDAR
M/S: RUSKIN/BAIN WAIVE READING OF THE CONSENT CALENDAR EXCEPT THE ORDINANCES, ADOPT THE RESOLUTIONS AND THE ORDINANCES, AND APPROVE OTHER ITEMS:
ADOPTED BY UNANIMOUS ROLL CALL VOTE WITH COUNCIL MEMBERS BAIN AND CLAIRE ABSTAINING FROM THE VOTE ON ITEM 3.A. DUE TO THEIR ABSENCES FROM THE MAY 4, 1998 MEETING.
A. Approved the Minutes of the May 4, 1998 Council Closed Session, Regular Council Meeting and Study Session, as submitted;
MINUTE ORDER NO. 98-114
B. RESOLUTION NO. 13335 APPROVING AND AUTHORIZING EXECUTION OF AMENDMENT TO AGREEMENT FOR INFORMATION AND REFERRAL PROGRAM (FAIR OAKS COMMUNITY CENTER); (304)
C. Position of School Library Media Project Director
1) RESOLUTION NO. 13336 APPROVING JOB SPECIFICATIONS FOR THE POSITION OF SCHOOL LIBRARY MEDIA PROJECT DIRECTOR; (903)
2) RESOLUTION NO. 13337 AMENDING EXHIBIT A OF RESOLUTION NO. 11669 ESTABLISHING SALARY SCHEDULE FOR CERTAIN DESIGNATED SEASONAL, PART-TIME, TEMPORARY, CASUAL, FUNDED, TRAINEE AND CONTRACTUAL POSITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT WITH THE CITY OF REDWOOD TO AMEND THE COMPENSATION SCHEDULE TO INCLUDE THE POSITION OF SCHOOL LIBRARY MEDIA PROJECT DIRECTOR; (905)
3) MOTION: APPROVED THE APPOINTMENT OF SCHOOL LIBRARY MEDIA PROJECT DIRECTOR ABOVE THE BOTTOM OF THE RANGE; (901)
MINUTE ORDER NO. 98-115
D. RESOLUTION NO. 13338 APPROVING AND AUTHORIZING EXECUTION OF AGREEMENT FOR PREPARATION OF A NEGATIVE DECLARATION/INITIAL STUDY AND RELATED SERVICES FOR PROPOSED FRANKLIN STREET AREA PROJECT (EDAW, INC.) (304)
E. RESOLUTION NO. 13339 AMENDING EXHIBIT A OF RESOLUTION NO. 12622 RELATING TO THE SALARY AND WAGE PLAN FOR EMPLOYEE CLASSIFICATIONS REPRESENTED BY THE REDWOOD CITY MANAGEMENT EMPLOYEES ASSOCIATION, BY REVISING THE SALARY FOR THE POSITION OF PUBLIC WORKS SUPERVISOR; (905)
F. ADOPTION OF ORDINANCES - SEXUALLY ORIENTED BUSINESSES (Affidavits of publication on file in the City Clerk Department)
1) ORDINANCE NO. 2141 ADDING CHAPTER 18B TO THE CODE OF THE CITY OF REDWOOD CITY RELATING TO SEXUALLY ORIENTED BUSINESSES; (First reading, April 27, 1998); (205)
2) ORDINANCE NO. 1130.298 ADDING ARTICLE 27 TO ORDINANCE NO. 1130, THE REDWOOD CITY ZONING ORDINANCE, RELATING TO SEXUALLY ORIENTED BUSINESSES; (First reading, April 27, 1998) (205)
G. INTRODUCTION OF ORDINANCE:
ORDINANCE APPROVING AND AUTHORIZING EXECUTION OF THIRD AMENDMENT TO FRANCHISE AGREEMENT WITH BROWNING-FERRIS INDUSTRIES OF CALIFORNIA, INC., FOR SOLID WASTE COLLECTION SERVICES; (801)
MINUTE ORDER NO. 98-116
H. Approve warrants dated through May 18, 1998; APPROVED
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4. WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS
None
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5. BOARDS, COMMISSION AND COMMITTEE REPORTS
A. Report from the Council Legislative Committee, Chairman Matt Leipzig, on SB 1853. Airports: Noise Standards; and 2) AB 2081. Newspaper Sales Tax. (201)
Council Member Leipzig advised that the Legislative Committee (Council Members Ira and Leipzig) had met and considered the League of California Cities recommendations to support SB 1853 and oppose AB 2081.
Council Member Leipzig, the Council’s representative on the Airport Roundtable, said that the Roundtable also supported SB 1853 which was introduced by State Senator Kopp. He said many local cities had already expressed their support for this legislation. Council Member Leipzig said that SB 1853 allowed for public hearings to be requested by a city or a county if there are airport noise violations. He said the bill "is one more piece of ammunition that the Roundtable and the cities in San Mateo County can use to try to control the San Francisco Airport. We are not talking about the San Carlos or Half Moon Bay Airports."
Council Member Leipzig said that AB 2081 "is a special interest piece of legislation being introduced by an Assembly Member in Southern California that would exempt large newspapers from sales tax." He said that if this bill passed, newspapers would not have to give the sales tax collected (which is included in the price of the newspaper) to the State; and, if they didn’t change their rates to reflect this cost saving, they would receive a windfall.
Carol Ford, 360 Bowsprit, Redwood City, advised that this bill was not out of committee yet and was still subject to amendment. She asked the Council to wait until it had been reported out before the Council Members took a stand on it. She added that there were federal noise standards in place and the subject bill might not be as effective as first thought, since federal standards supersede local laws.
Council Member Claire said the League of California Cities would monitor the progress of this bill and report back to the City and the City’s Legislative Committee with appropriate recommendations.
M/S: CLAIRE/IRA TO SUPPORT SB 1853 AND OPPOSE AB 2081 AND INSTRUCT THE MAYOR TO WRITE TO THE CITY’S STATE LEGISLATORS TO THAT EFFECT
CARRIED BY UNANIMOUS VOICE VOTE OF MEMBERS PRESENT.
MINUTE ORDER NO. 98-117
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6. PUBLIC HEARINGS
None
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7. MATTERS OF COUNCIL INTEREST
This item limited to fifteen minutes.
A. Presentation by SAMCEDA - Permit Streamlining; (604)
Dennis Pantano, Pantano Properties, representing SAMCAR, provided background on the permit streamlining initiative. He said that in 1995 five members of the community came together to develop a better permit system for all parties concerned - the government, citizens, building officials, planners and others. Mr. Pantano said there are now sixteen cities actively participating in the permit streamlining process as well as County officials and private building organizations. He said the project was led by Redwood City Building and Inspections Manager John LaTorra who had worked tirelessly with this group in changing how things are done on the Peninsula. Mr. Pantano said the committee was concerned with efficiency and was trying to "get everyone on the same page," literally. He described how the committee worked with Warren Slocum, County Assessor, in opening up the County’s permit files to get all the permit history necessary for efficient processing. He said this had helped realtors, prevented law suits, made happier customers, everyone was now more informed and more professional, and the City can give more accurate information and better customer service.
Tom Thompson, W.L. Butler Construction Company, representing SAMCEDA, provided an example of how difficult it was to do construction projects when jurisdictions had different building and construction codes. He said people who want to do small construction jobs can get lost in the system. Mr. Thompson said, "I hate to say this because I am on the Board of Building and Permit Appeals for the County… but that is the reason people don’t go get building permits in the first place." He said the process needed to be uniform and standardized, and everyone truly needed to be on the same page. Mr. Thompson said an efficient system would result in less hassle and fewer costs to the City, people will get more permits with more revenue coming into the City, and better enforceability. Mr. Thompson praised the City’s Building Department and John LaTorra who had worked very hard on this project. He closed by saying Redwood City was on the cutting edge of permit efficiencies through its leadership and commitment to state of the art technology, through its design of the new City Hall and its one-stop-permit counter, and its great customer service. He said SAMCEDA was planning to study the other cities in San Mateo County and said Redwood City had already earned an A+.
Mayor Howard thanked Messrs. Pantano and Thompson, SAMCEDA and John LaTorra for their successes on this project.
MEMO 5/12/98
Mayor Howard thanked Mr. Pantano and Pantano Realty for the recent "sizable contribution donated to Habitat for Humanity so they could continue building affordable housing in the community."
MEMO 5/12/98
B. Council Member Leipzig thanked the Salvation Army for responding to his concerns regarding the neglected landscaping on its property off Jefferson. He thanked the local nursery that donated its time and materials to that clean up effort. Council Member Leipzig asked if the Salvation Army could clean up the area between the curb and the sidewalk in front of that Jefferson property as well. He reminded everyone that it is the property owner’s responsibility to take care of that small strip of land in front of their properties. Salvation Army Envoy McKinney, Executive Director for San Mateo County, described the Salvation Army’s plan to take care of that one last problem area.
C. Vice Mayor Ruskin reported on the grand opening of the new Fire Station in the Redwood Shores Neighborhood on Saturday, May 9, 1998. He said it was very well attended by members of the community, the Redwood Shores Home Owners Association, many staff members, Redwood City fire and police personnel, visiting Chiefs and lots of families. Vice Mayor Ruskin said the Redwood City Fire Department honored Public Works Services Director Ingram for his leadership as Fire Station Project Manager, and gave him the symbol of firefighters everywhere, a beautiful axe. He said that Director Ingram was "the first person ever who was not a firefighter in this Local to be given a symbolic axe… a great tribute to his efforts." Vice Mayor Ruskin said many other people were also honored including Pete and Ginny Hughes, who were in the audience.
MEMO 5/12/98
D. Mayor Howard reported on the ground breaking celebration on McEvoy Street where Habitat for Humanity will build a home for a family in Redwood City with the assistance of the Redwood City Rotary Club and the City. She said that part of the agreement with Habitat for Humanity involves the selected family performing "sweat equity" which involves the family actually doing some of the construction of the home. Mayor Howard said she was looking forward to the barn raising efforts for this project, and she was pleased that so many people in the neighborhood came out and showed an interest in this project.
MEMO 5/12/98
E. Mayor Howard congratulated Council Member Ian Bain who "was now celebrating the one week, two day anniversary" of his wedding last Saturday in Carmel.
MEMO 5/12/98
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8. STAFF REPORTS
A. PUBLIC HEARING: Fourth Annual Action Plan - Community Development Block Grant and Home Investment Partnership Funding recommendations; (404)
Affidavit of Notice of Public Hearing on file in the Housing Department.
Council Member Claire, a Canada College professor, asked that the item concerning Canada College be removed from discussion at this time, to be considered by the rest of the Council after conclusion of Council action on the remaining items. Mayor Howard directed that item to be removed from discussion and action.
MINUTE ORDER NO. 98-118
REPORT: Housing Coordinator Debbi Jones-Thomas, May 11, 1998
Sue Keely, Member of the Housing and Human Concerns Committee presented the staff report, described CDBG funding , and reported on the Committee’s efforts in response to the requests for funding from service agencies in the community. Mrs. Keely thanked staff for helping them streamline the process thereby receiving better information. She said, "We have a shrinking pot of funds to do an increasing amount of work." Mrs. Keely said that everyone who applied for funding was deserving, but excruciating decisions had to be made with limited resources, and the Committee didn’t have a fraction of the money needed to meet the basic needs extant in the community. She said the Committee’s recommendations represented all the diverse requests and interests of the community and the Committee, and although they would disappoint some people, they were as fair as they could possibly be consistent with their goal to provide needed services in the community.
Mrs. Keely said the Committee’s recommendation for a $350,000 Housing Fund allocation was aimed at helping people in the median income range, such as teachers, fire fighters, police officers, and mid-level professionals in the private sector.
Mrs. Keely introduced fellow members of the HHCC, Fred Tavernier, Lorianna Kastrop, Hilary Paulson, John Dempsey, Housing Coordinator Jones-Thomas and Fair Oaks Community Center Coordinator Gonzalez. She also thanked Mayor Howard and Council Member Bain for their work on the HHCC and as former members who continue to attend and participate.
In response to Council Member Claire’s questions, Housing Coordinator Jones-Thomas said the additional $100,000 recommended for the Landbanking for Permanent Housing program represented the amount remaining after the Committee allocated funds to requesting agencies. She said the Committee decided "to make a contribution to affordable housing because that was one of the issues that all of the non-profits who came before them said was the Number One barrier they had to overcome in terms of helping people…. Part of the reason that amount was left over was because there was an overabundance of requests for public service projects, and that amount is limited, but there were not enough requests for capital projects." She said the same situation existed with the funding for Shelter Network, Family House Transitional Housing on Locust.
In response to Vice Mayor Ruskin’s questions, Housing Coordinator Jones-Thomas said accessibility improvements of course stay with the house when a tenant vacates, but the owner is encouraged to make that unit available to another disabled person. Vice Mayor Ruskin discussed how the Council could provide more money for the Assistance to Seniors at Risk of Being Homeless program which had been allotted $18,250 in the Committee’s recommendations without overriding those recommendations. Housing Coordinator Jones-Thomas said that the Committee and staff had put together an RFP asking local non-profits what was the best way to use the $18,250 in serving the targeted population, and what specific services the non-profit could provide for all or part of that $18,250. She said none of the money would be spent on consultant services. She said the only response so far was from La Raza Centro Legal.
In response to Council Member Ira’s questions regarding the left over funds that went into the Landbanking Fund, Housing Coordinator Jones-Thomas said that when "the Council approves the plan, the City is obligated to tell the Federal Government how you will use those funds, based on the priorities that are set. There is no leeway for contingency funds or unallocated funds at the time you submit a plan. The committee decided that the Landbanking activity is where the funds should go in order to support housing." In response to questions regarding Priority No. 4, Housing Coordinator Jones-Thomas said there had been discussions over the years about designing a new First Time Homebuyer Program trying to help people become residents of Redwood City. She said that Home Funds is an entitlement the City receives only when the Congressional appropriation is more than $4 Billion, which doesn’t happen every year. She said that this year they did receive Home Funds and the Committee took the opportunity to set aside these funds as seed money to develop a larger program.
In response to Council Member Leipzig’s questions regarding general administration costs, Housing Coordinator Jones-Thomas said $37,100 would support the administration of the Home Program, and the $150,000 listed represents on-going costs, and is a lower figure than requested last year. She said the statutory requirements state that the City can spend no more than 20% of its entitlements for administrative purposes. She said $150,800 represents 16% of that 20% that will be used to pay staff and overhead for administration of all of the Federal programs. She said the remaining 4%, $37,000 will go towards the Fair Housing Programs.
Council Member Bain thanked the HHCC for their hard work, and said how pleased he was to see funding for a First Time Homebuyer Program. He said he hoped it would benefit Redwood City residents who are in the median income range.
In response to Council Member Leipzig’s questions regarding the operation of the First Time Homebuyer Program, Housing Coordinator Jones-Thomas said it would involve funds for down payments, second mortgages and writing down the cost of the first mortgage to make it affordable. She said the HHCC had established a subcommittee to work out specific design guidelines and they would be brought back to the Council for review. Answering Council Member Ira’s questions on the same subject, Housing Coordinator Jones-Thomas said "the intent of matching the Home Funds with Redevelopment Agency Housing Funds is to take the income limit up to 120% of median, or an income of about $90,000" for a family of four. She said the range would be between $50,000 and $90,000 annual income. Council Member Ira said it would be difficult "to get our firefighters, our police officers into the First Time Program… I believe we will have a very limited population that actually will be Redwood City employees…. I would definitely like to see that made available without those income limits if we are going to try to address needs of our employees." Housing Coordinator Jones-Thomas said, "the Home Funds restrict income to 80% below median. The Redevelopment funds limit the top at 120% of median." She said the Committee was aware of those restrictions and had discussed going to "the community to raise additional private funds so that a wider range of residents or employees could participate in the program."
Mayor Howard reported that some local corporations had come to HHCC meetings and offered to participate in such a program, "because many of their employees commute from great distances and if they could participate in a pot of money that would enable some of their employees to qualify for this program they would do that. There may be an opportunity here to leverage quite a bit of money for this First Time Homebuyer Program. We are all pretty excited about it, but it needs a lot more work and study."
Mayor Howard opened the Public Hearing at 8:38 p.m.
Paul Cohen, La Raza Centro Legal, thanked the Committee for doing what La Raza does on a weekly basis, helping low income tenants of Redwood City. He described La Raza’s expanded services to Redwood City and the help provided during the recent flooding. Mr. Cohen said La Raza serves San Mateo County from border to border and looked forward to even more services to Redwood City with the requested CDBG grant funds. In response to Council Member Leipzig’s question, Mr. Cohen said the definition or translation of La Raza, as he understood it, was "a community law center for the people in San Mateo County. That includes all people." He said "La Raza" had many meanings including a group of people, running a race, and "to me, it is the community."
Envoy Ron McKinney, Director of Salvation Army Programs in San Mateo and Northern Santa Clara Counties, thanked the HHCC "for the tough job they do." He said the Clara-Mateo Alliance Shelter, the only year round shelter in San Mateo County, had not received a recommendation for funding as requested. He said the Salvation Army took over this operation last July, and previous concerns with this Shelter had been addressed by the Salvation Army since then. Envoy McKinney thanked Housing Coordinator Jones-Thomas for working with his representative in a truly collaborative effort, to address needs crossing geographic boundaries and involving 19 agencies. He provided statistics showing the success of their efforts in transitioning people from homelessness to permanent housing, and how they had contracted to assist 17 Redwood City people and in fact assisted 53 in various ways. Envoy McKinney said the Salvation Army had also housed 204 Redwood City residents during the recent floods with no cost to the City. He said funding for the Shelter belonged in CDBG funding programs, but said he was appreciative of any help the Council could give.
Cheryl Zando, new Executive Director at Youth and Family Assistance, thanked the HHCC and staff for their excellent efforts. She described the unique services provided by Youth and Family Assistance to residents of Redwood City including Daybreak Shelter for homeless youth, Your House South for runaways and at risk youth, and a Crisis Intervention and education program. Ms. Zando said Youth and Family Assistance had been providing assistance to Redwood City youth for over 20 years and appreciated the support they received from Redwood City.
Cassandra Benjamin, Executive Director of Shelter Network and operator of Redwood Family House on Locust, thanked the HHCC for their hard work and the recommendation of $31,800. Ms. Benjamin said, "We serve more people from Redwood City, more homeless families and individuals, than from any other city in San Mateo County. Last year we served 135 homeless… providing them with transitional housing services to help them break the cycle of homelessness." She said they have a 75% success rate and last year 100% of the families in the homeless program did not become homeless again. Ms. Benjamin said in 1990 when the City asked Shelter Network to operate the homeless program in Redwood City, "there was a collaborative agreement signed to discuss future funding. I appreciate the recommendations here tonight, but I hope that … we could come back to that agreement and look at our funding relationship."
Vice Mayor Ruskin said he agreed with Ms. Benjamin that "based on that initial agreement with the City several years ago and the discussions we have had at Council relating to that agreement, I feel strongly that Council needs to meet and to decide formally on how we will look at that agreement this year and in coming years. I for one feel that we have a binding agreement… to support Shelter Network." Vice Mayor Ruskin said the Council had discussed forming a subcommittee to work this issue through, and he asked that this subject come back to Council for resolution.
MEMO 5/12/98
Council Member Claire said he agreed 100% with Vice Mayor Ruskin and he would make recommendations later during discussion of the HSFA program. He said CDBG funds were limited and restricted and the HHCC did what it could given the limitations under the law and the limited funds available.
Barbara Kalt, Peninsula Volunteers and Rosener House, thanked the HHCC and Council for their support and hard work. Ms. Kalt said Rosener House, an adult day support center, located in Menlo Park, had been serving residents of Redwood City for twenty years. She said about one third of their clients are from Redwood City. Ms. Kalt said Rosener House provides comprehensive health and support services to elders with disabilities, as well as providing respite for their families and caregivers which prevents or delays moving elders into nursing homes.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------M/S: CLAIRE/RUSKIN TO CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING.
CARRIED BY UNANIMOUS VOICE VOTE OF MEMBERS PRESENT AND HEARING CLOSED AT 8:57 P.M.
MINUTE ORDER NO. 98-119
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M/S: CLAIRE/BAIN TO ADOPT THE RESOLUTION WITH THE EXCEPTION OF PRIORITY NO. 5, FUNDING TO CANADA COLLEGE
Council Member Leipzig said, "We have nearly a million dollars that we are dealing with here tonight. 99% of these organizations, in my mind, I have no problem with, they do great work. I have a philosophical problem with a couple of them and my votes will reflect that. I have a problem with a couple of the new programs particularly with the First Time Homebuyer Program and the Landbanking, because they are not clearly defined as of yet. They may be something I could support in the future, but as of now just putting aside money without having an idea of how it is going to be implemented, I can’t support. On the million dollars. We as tax payers here in Redwood City send this money to Washington D.C. We actually send probably closer to $1.5 million in taxes. As it comes back across the country, we lose a half million dollars, and we end up with $1 million to allocate here to worthy causes. And that’s good, and that’s right. But I think we have to start focusing in on that $1.5 million that we send back, and get back $1 million. The Block Grant Program is better than some programs have been in the past years. But it is not perfect yet. We are playing shell games with money here, allocating them out. Making people go through a song and dance, an application process that would drive you nuts in the private sector. If we just keep the money here in the first place, we will have more money to spend on good and worthy causes. I believe in the people of Redwood City and San Mateo County and they are generous people, and they will donate that money. When we send it back to Washington so they can spend a half a million somewhere across the country doing something, we are missing out."
Council Member Ira thanked the HHCC for their efforts and said, "I just want to repeat how appreciative I am for all the (Committee’s) hard work. This is an enormous project…
and there were a lot of difficult votes." He said he really appreciated the work done by the Housing and Human Concerns Committee, the time they put in, and the long deliberations it took to reach the many decisions made by the Committee.
Vice Mayor Ruskin also thanked the HHCC and said, "Having served on that Committee for awhile in addition to just looking over this material, it is quite obvious how hard the Committee works. And my policy, having served on that Committee, is to respect their deliberative process and unless something really stands out as a grave error, my policy is to vote in support of the Committee’s recommendations."
ITERATION OF THE MOTION:
M/S: CLAIRE/BAIN TO ADOPT THE RESOLUTION WITH THE EXCEPTION OF PRIORITY NO. 5, FUNDING TO CANADA COLLEGE
TITLE READ.
RESOLUTION NO. 13340 APPROVING ONE YEAR ACTION PLAN FOR THE CONSOLIDATED COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT PLAN OF THE CITY OF REDWOOD CITY (APPLICATION FOR FEDERAL ASSISTANCE - COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANTS AND HOME INVESTMENT PARTNERSHIP GRANTS); CERTIFYING THAT THE CITY HAS FOLLOWED ITS ADOPTED CITIZEN PARTICIPATION PLAN; AND AUTHORIZING EXECUTION AND FILING OF ALL DOCUMENTS PERTAINING THERETO (FISCAL YEAR 1998-99);
ADOPTED BY THE FOLLOWING VOICE VOTE OF MEMBERS PRESENT:
AYES: COUNCIL MEMBERS BAIN, CLAIRE, IRA*, LEIPZIG*, RUSKIN AND MAYOR HOWARD
*COUNCIL MEMBER IRA* VOTED ‘NO’ ON THE LANDBANKING PROGRAM AND FIRST TIME HOMEBUYER PROGRAM, AND COUNCIL MEMBER LIEPZIG VOTED ‘NO’ ON THE LANDBANKING PROGRAM, THE FIRST TIME HOMEBUYER PROGRAM AND LA RAZA CENTRO LEGAL HOMELESS PREVENTION AND EVICTION DEFENSE.
MINUTE ORDER NO. 98-120
Council Member Claire left the dais at this time.
M/S: BAIN/RUSKIN TO APPROVE THE HHCC RECOMMENDATION FOR FUNDING FOR CANADA COLLEGE REDWOOD CITY CENTER IN THE AMOUNT OF $135,807.00.
ADOPTED BY THE FOLLOWING VOICE VOTE OF MEMBERS PRESENT:
AYES: COUNCIL MEMBERS BAIN, IRA, RUSKIN AND MAYOR HOWARD
NOES: COUNCIL MEMBER LEIPZIG
MINUTE ORDER NO. 98-121
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B. Housing and Human Concerns Committee 1998-99 Funding recommendations for the Human Services Financial Assistance (HSFA) Program; (404,304)
REPORT: Parks, Recreation and Community Services Manager Gonzalez, May 11, 1998
Mayor Howard said that there were very few cities in the Bay Area that provided funds for worthy service organizations in their communities, and the people of Redwood City should be commended for their caring and generosity.
Sue Keely, member of the Housing and Human Concerns Committee, said that the HSFA recommendation process was not as excruciating as the CDBG decisions, "because there was more money available according to the number of projects we were asked to fund." She said the Committee was ready to respond to the Council or the community’s questions regarding specific decisions. She applauded and commended the people who work in these organizations that serve the community so well and acknowledged the difficult application process.
Dr. Roger Willey, member of the TEWCI Board, said that two years ago TEWCI had received $30,000 from HSFA funds, and last year $25,000 was recommended but the Council added $5,000 to bring the grant to the $30,000 requested. Dr. Willey said that this year only $15,000 was being recommended. He said that his past year, TEWCI had given up one service, operating a triplex for low cost housing, to use the proceeds of the sale for operating costs. He said those funds would help for awhile but would not sustain its operation over the long run. Dr. Willey said TEWCI was dependent upon HSFA funding. He said TEWCI had tried to raise additional funds, operated a shop which raised a little money, and was in the process of hiring an outreach worker to go into the community to find people who could use the services at its Senior Center. Dr. Willey said that TEWCI also operated a children’s playground. He said that the loss of $15,000 to TEWCI’s operating budget would have a devastating effect on its ability to serve the community. He added that there was a mistaken assumption that TEWCI had $30,000 in reserves and that was not correct.
In response to Mayor Howard’s questions regarding the difficult decisions the Committee made about funding for TEWCI, Sue Keely said, "Over the last several years we have been considering applications from TEWCI. What has become apparent to us in reading their applications and listening to their presentations is that the population they have been working with has been diminishing fairly dramatically on a yearly basis. Until this particular application process there had never seemed to be any real interest in recruiting and or fund raising which we felt would make it a healthier organization. We had given many suggestions over the years and there seemed to be a real resistance on the part of the people who spoke on behalf of TEWCI to taking any of our recommendations to heart in terms of fund raising. When we are looking at organizations one of the things we have been told to look at is their viability as an organization. If you are at a point in your organization where you are selling your real property in order to keep your organization going, and you are losing your membership in terms of the people you are serving, and you feel that, as they say in a letter I read from the Board, that they feel that people are not coming to them in their community for a wide variety of reasons…. because of race barriers, language barriers, a lot of things that I think should have been in the forefront of what they were addressing as a community organization - It seemed to us that their viability as an organization has diminished to the point where you could be in a position of saying you are putting good money after bad." Mrs. Keely said that the HHCC felt that the population of Fair Oaks Neighborhood deserved a community center that works for all of them. She said, "In no way are we trying to say that the people involved in this one don’t care or are not trying. We believe that they are. It seems to us that what they are accomplishing isn’t doing the job for the people they are supposed to be serving. We would like to see something that would work in its place. We aren’t comfortable putting this money to keep bolstering something that doesn’t appear to be working." Mrs. Keely said the HHCC members also had had the impression, from TEWCI’s budget figures, that they did have $30,000 in reserves.
Lorianna Kastrop, member of the HHCC, said she had kept a keen financial eye on the submitted budgets, and she had often questioned the requesting agencies on their budget figures. Mrs. Kastrop said she had asked TEWCI specifically how they were financially viable, and TEWCI had been unable to answer. She added that the HHCC didn’t believe that any agency had an entitlement based on previous HSFA grants. Mrs. Kastrop said the HHCC "evaluated each application, each year in light of the goals of the City for the current population and what is going on in the community. And we try not to consider each agency as having an entitlement from the previous year. We don’t consider ourselves ‘to cut’ funding to an agency if the following year there are perhaps more applications or as in CDBG the funding falls." Mrs. Kastrop said the grants "are not necessarily a reflection on an agency if the funding goes up or down. It is not an entitlement process."
In response to Vice Mayor Ruskin’s questions regarding how fewer funds for this service would enable a transition to a better method of service, Mrs. Kastrop said, "That was discussed at length during funding deliberations which TEWCI did not choose to attend even though it was held at the Fair Oaks Community Center. We spent…. a great deal of time addressing this particular agency, and we did deliberate rather extensively. Part of our conversation was, what we could envision for the Fair Oaks Community Center and the future of TEWCI and one idea brought up but not heard by them, was that a collaboration with another social service agency which might come forward given that TEWCI is having difficulties, and perhaps bring fresh ideas to the Center."
In response to Council Member Ira’s questions regarding ownership, Parks, Recreation and Community Services Superintendent Centeno, former Fair Oaks Community Center Coordinator, said, "In terms of ownership of the building, specifically the contract we had with the TEWCI organization, turns the title of the Senior Center over to the City of Redwood City, and then it accommodates TEWCI as an organization that is able to use the space…. I was first approached by Sally Salinas, Director of Target at that time. They had $190,000 in Senior Center Bond Act Funds from the State and about $40,500 from the County of San Mateo and CDBG funds that they were going to use to improve their existing facility at 2555 Middlefield Road… they approached the City and said we don’t feel it would be a good expenditure of funds to use those funds there. Would you consider creating an addition to the Fair Oaks Community Center. We then applied for those funds…. The idea was that TEWCI would sell their building. Once the construction of the Senior Center was completed, and those proceeds of up to $640,000 would be given to the City, actually they were returned to the County, it would go to pay for the addition to the Fair Oaks Community Center."
Council Member Bain said he agreed with former member Kastrop, that agencies were not entitled to money and that was how he approached it when he was on the HHCC. He said specific grants were not reductions, and a better way of looking at it was, "The Committee chose to fund TEWCI at $15,000." In response to Council Member Bain’s questions as to why HHCC chose to fund TEWCI, Mrs. Keely said, "The person who brought up funding at the $15,000 level was Charles Greer, and his feeling was…. to just cut them off completely was kind of cruel… in the sense that if they really wanted to work for this, possibly they could work harder and pull something together." She said the vote reflected the long discussion, and many of the HHCC members believed there should be no funding at all. Mrs. Keely said it ended up as a compromise vote. She answered further that, "It isn’t so much a matter of weaning (TEWCI from HSFA funding), as it is a matter of feeling that the community they should be serving isn’t being served appropriately." She said the HHCC wanted to find an agency that could help TEWCI be viable again.
In response to Council Member Bain’s questions regarding funding of the Youth Employment Program for the first time, Manager Gonzalez said that that vote was also a compromise, but the agency had accomplished what the HHCC had asked them to do last year, which involved tracking the people they served.
In response to Council Member Claire’s questions regarding current clients of TEWCI, Mrs. Keely said there were very few people being served by TEWCI at the present time, and "it was our hope there would be a collaborative process that would bring another organization in very rapidly." She said they had looked at other senior organizations in Redwood City that were doing very positive things with less money, and HHCC hoped one of them would come forward, such as Casa de Redwood, to form a new Board perhaps, and meet the needs of the people. Mrs. Keely said that the evening HHCC discussed these hopes, no one from TEWCI was present.
Mayor Howard said that over the past three years, these same suggestions had been made to TEWCI at each application and recommendation meeting.
In response to Council Member Claire’s questions regarding responses from the TEWCI Board to these concerns of staff, Manager Gonzalez said the HHCC was totally responsible for the recommendations. City Manager Everett said staff processes the data and the HHCC members wrestle through the decisions. Mayor Howard said many members of the HHCC visited the agencies to see the work in progress, which helped them in making their decisions.
Council Member Claire said he understood that HSFA grant money was limited, but the Council "had been on record since Day One that (Shelter Network) would be funded, and I would like to know… how much was the funding last year and why we are not doing the same this year."
City Manager Everett said, "The Council made a priority at the January workshop… to basically fund the program at $80,000 which is what they requested last year and the year before that. What we didn’t do is take them out of the competitive process because we wanted to see what they would get through that competitive process. What we’ve done is taken the difference between what they’ve been given in the HSFA and the CDBG and we’ve put the remaining amount in the General Fund. So actually it’s done, and will come before you during your normal budget hearings in July."
M/S: CLAIRE/RUSKIN APPROVE THE HHCC RECOMMENDATIONS FOR HSFA ALLOCATIONS WITH THE ADDITION OF $10,000 TO TEWCI WITH THE DIRECT STIPULATION THAT THE HHCC AND TARGET BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEET VERY QUICKLY TO DISCUSS THE PROBLEMS IN DEPTH THAT THE HHCC HAS WITH THE PROGRAM, AND IF THEY CANNOT RECONCILE THOSE PROBLEMS THAT THEY BE PUT ON NOTICE THAT NEXT YEAR THE FUNDING WILL BE CUT
Vice Mayor Ruskin said he recognized the Committee’s concerns regarding TEWCI’s viability, however, he said he was very concerned about cutting a program that deals directly with seniors who are most in need. He also said the HHCC worked so hard and so earnestly that he didn’t want to override them. Vice Mayor Ruskin said he could support the motion because it accepted HHCC’s recommendations and added funds, but agreed that this might be the last time this could be done if something wasn’t done about the situation.
Council Member Claire said he had not heard as much detail about TEWCI’s operations as he had at this meeting. He said he wanted to give TEWCI one more opportunity and felt compelled not to cut off funding to an organization that had served the City so well. Council Member Claire said he would like to see HHCC and TEWCI work together towards making TEWCI viable again, and if that isn’t possible, "we need to know that and we need to see the records of all these meetings that took place so we can understand what was recommended and what was not followed up."
MEMO 5/12/98
Mayor Howard said that the Council had this same conversation last year. She said she had been a member of the HHCC for about fourteen years and had great admiration for the work TEWCI had done in the past. Mayor Howard said she respected the work done by the HHCC, their research and their recommendations, and therefore she could not support the motion.
Council Member Bain said he would support the motion. He said this matter had come before the Council before and had gone through much of the same discussion, but he believed that the HHCC should resolve the issue one way or the other. Council Member Bain said the motion addressed that issue. He said that the funding should be at a level that would make a difference or there should be no funding at all. He added that since the HHCC funded it at $15,000 the members obviously felt there was some merit for TEWCI to continue, and he would therefore support the motion.
ITERATION OF THE MOTION:
M/S: CLAIRE/RUSKIN APPROVE THE HHCC RECOMMENDATIONS FOR HSFA ALLOCATIONS WITH THE ADDITION OF $10,000 TO TEWCI WITH THE DIRECT STIPULATION THAT THE HHCC AND TARGET BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEET VERY QUICKLY TO DISCUSS THE PROBLEMS IN DEPTH THAT THE HHCC HAS WITH THE PROGRAM, AND IF THEY CANNOT RECONCILE THOSE PROBLEMS THAT THEY BE PUT ON NOTICE THAT NEXT YEAR THE FUNDING WILL BE CUT
MOTION FAILED BY THE FOLLOWING VOICE VOTE OF MEMBERS PRESENT
AYES: COUNCIL MEMBERS BAIN, CLAIRE AND RUSKIN
NOES: COUNCIL MEMBERS IRA, LEIPZIG AND MAYOR HOWARD
MINUTE ORDER NO. 98-122
M/S: LEIPZIG/RUSKIN TO APPROVE THE HHCC RECOMMENDATIONS FOR HSFA ALLOCATIONS AS SUBMITTED
MOTION PASSED BY THE FOLLOWING VOICE VOTE OF MEMBERS PRESENT WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE ALLOCATION FOR THE TEEN PREGNANCY COALITION OF SAN MATEO COUNTY
AYES: COUNCIL MEMBERS BAIN, IRA*, LEIPZIG*, RUSKIN AND MAYOR HOWARD
NOES: COUNCIL MEMBERS CLAIRE,
*Council Members Ira and Leipzig voted ‘No’ on the Teen Pregnancy Coalition of San Mateo County and Council Member Claire voted ‘No’ on the entire motion which resulted in a 3-3 vote on this one item. Mayor Howard announced that this matter would be brought back for another vote at the May 18, 1998 Council Meeting.
MINUTE ORDER NO. 98-123
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Mayor Howard declared a recess at 9:42 p.m.
Meeting reconvened at 9:52 p.m.
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C. The 1998/99 and 1999/2000 Capital Improvement Program (CIP) Priorities, CIP Budget update, Council discussion and direction; (501)
REPORT: Community Development Director Nelson, May 11, 1998
Mayor Howard described the Capital Improvement Program and its budget, and explained that staff was asking Council for direction on Council priorities.
Mayor Howard invited Kerry Memole and her young son Ross to address the Council before Council heard the staff report as it was way past Ross’ bedtime and he needed to get home and go to bed.
Kerry Memole, 2004 Hopkins, woke her son, and addressed the Council. Mrs. Memole said she and her family had lived in Redwood City for fifteen years and her restored historic home overlooked Stafford Park. Mrs. Memole said parks are critical to a city, they are highly visible and cities are judged by their parks. She said she had been involved in the plans for Stafford since last fall and commended City staff for the spirit of cooperation and openness with which the community meetings were facilitated. She said the consultants were excellent and did a great job listening to what the neighbors wanted in Stafford. Mrs. Memole described fund raising activities she and her neighbors had planned. She said she had spoken to neighbors in a four block area and only one of them was not in favor of the proposed plans. She said she was personally offended by the recent campaign launched against the plans "using a local real estate company’s stationery and envelopes making it look like it had the air of legitimacy." Mrs. Memole said the campaign piece did not accurately represent the actual proposed design. She strongly urged Council’s full support and funding for the project and said she was convinced from newspaper reports that the City could afford this project. Mrs. Memole asked Ross if he wished to speak, but he was too sleepy, so she paraphrased what he had told her at dinner: He really enjoyed the park, and he thought it was important that the children had a fun place to play in water, and still have a clean water fountain to drink from.
Community Development Director Nelson presented the staff report and said staff was looking for direction from Council on additional funding "we were able to put together through a process since your March 23 study session. We have completed drafts of the operating budgets. We’ve reevaluated projects currently in the CIP. We’ve looked at revenue projections and we are happy to report that were able to fund many of the programs that we talked about on March 23…. We were able to put some money to regional transportation, long range planning for storm drainage, the sidewalk replacement program nearly at the funding level we have in the past. In terms of parks, Herkner Swim Center renovations can proceed, Hoover is already in the works, Stulsaft Park can be fully funded with the exception of, as currently planned that does not include funding for the restroom near Farm Hill Boulevard. Stafford Park can be fully funded, Maddox Park renovations can be moved up a year, and can be done in the second year of the CIP. We’re able to repair the damage to creek walls from the February storms. The Farm Hill striping and signals is a signal modification, not a new signal. I know there are some evaluations the Council would like us to do regarding putting in any new signals. And we are also able to do the street pavement management program at a funding level that can keep our streets in the manner in which we’d like to keep them so that we don’t have to do major street reconstruction. We also can meet our deadlines for Fire Station 11, do the Veterans Memorial air conditioning and start putting money for a restroom replacement program."
Director Nelson said, "We are also in addition to all of that we are also able to offer tonight, $2 million dollars which can address the specific priorities that you talked about at your January goal setting session." She said she hoped the Council would give staff its recommendations for that $2 million. Director Nelson said, "assuming free land to us, new fields are in the neighborhood of $750,000 to create them. Field renovations of existing field in the neighborhood of $400,000. Minor field repairs are in the neighborhood of $43,000." Director Nelson said there wasn’t enough funding to do even one of the major road projects the City needed. She said the Roosevelt Avenue reconstruction cost $2.5 million. Director Nelson said money could be put aside for a connector road around Blomquist and an extension to Woodside Road, "we do have funding from Bay Road to El Camino but we would need additional money to do the improvements from El Camino west." Director Nelson the third issue the Council expressed an interest in funding was around medians and entryways. She said there was currently $136,000 in the existing CIP specifically designated to El Camino Real. Director Nelson explained the alternatives offered by staff. She said if a field location was found, there is a funding source available for staff to go forward.
In response to Vice Mayor Ruskin’s questions regarding funding for medians and entryways, Director Nelson said, "There is money for El Camino beautification that was put in the 1997/98 CIP, there is $50,000 of CDBG funding in that same year, and we are proposing a program for median renovations beginning in this new CIP of $30,000 per year. That is plant replacement. We could wrap it into a larger project, but that is specifically intended for plant replacement." Director Nelson said that her statement referring to the fully funded Stafford Park was based on the scaled back design already approved in concept by the Council with a budget of $525,000.
In answer to Council Member Leipzig’s questions regarding new and renovated field proposals with the school district, City Manager Everett said, "There have been two meetings with the County, City with the School District and the City Attorney and the conclusion we came to dealt primarily with gymnasiums, with the understanding that there is yet to be a solution found for fields. There has been some discussion about looking at the possible renovation of Taft School. We don’t know if we want to do it or not, but we will take a look at that particular field. There was no decision made about field renovation or new fields." City Manager Everett said the priority voiced by Council was for new fields.
Vice Mayor Ruskin said the Council School Liaison Committee (Council Members Hartnett and Ruskin) had been involved in these meetings designed to create ways to share costs regarding expanded gymnasiums and coordinating activities. He said that report would be presented at the next Council meeting. Vice Mayor Ruskin said that staff provided County with the costs for new fields, and staff was now looking into what it would cost to renovate one existing field "in such a way to improve it so much that it would amount to, in effect, a new field."
Mayor Howard called upon those people in the audience who wished to speak to the CIP budget items.
Pamela Gearhart, 51 Lowell Street, said she has lived right next door to Stafford Park for 24 years. She said the park was beautiful but could use some renovation. Mrs. Gearhart said the proposed plans were beautiful, but would over develop the park. She said she was concerned about all the new play equipment right behind her house, the water play area right where the park lost an oak tree, a permanent bandstand for six concerts a year when that area could be used to a better advantage, and the drainage. Mrs. Gearhart said she hoped that the park would be kept aesthetically pleasing and that the play equipment blend in with the natural colors of the park. She said it was very important that the restrooms be redone.
Bill O’Callahan, 170 Lowell Street, said his three children play in the park on a daily basis. He said he loved Stafford for its simplicity and the new design challenged that simplicity and the value of the park. Mr. O’Callahan said the plans needed to be simplified in many ways, the water play structure was out of character for the area, and the new plans decreased the number of swings. He said he concurred with Mrs. Gearhart, that the current design needed to be revisited and simplified to blend in with the character of the neighborhood.
Al Diaz, 50 King Street, said he had supported Stafford park renovation plans at the last Council meeting discussion, but now believed it would be better to slow down the process and review the designs. He asked the Council not to confuse support for renovation with support for a specific design. Mr. Diaz said the Council had received over 70 letters asking it to simplify the plans. He said he had visited the park in Campbell designed by the City’s consultants, and the water play area there was a "muddy, dirty, sandy hole" that parents were keeping their children out of. Mr. Diaz said it didn’t keep the sand out of the drinking fountain, in fact sand was everywhere. He said that $525,000 was a lot of money, and he described simpler renovations that could be done for a lot less money with better results. Mr. Diaz said deferring the cost of the restrooms to a later date was not really staying within budget. He said the park need picnic tables and benches and better drainage and those needs weren’t even addressed in the current budget. He said, "You could probably take $100,000 off this budget, and still do an adequate job of providing new bathrooms, new playground equipment, picnic areas, and have a park everyone will continue to love."
Peter Locatelli, 40 King Street, said he agreed with Mr. Diaz and acknowledged that the City had to abide by ADA regulations in any construction. He said the only things needed at Stafford were better restrooms, drainage, and heat resistant material on playground equipment. He said the park didn’t need "gingerbread stuff." Mr. Locatelli said, "Keep it simple."
Enid Brock, 1837 Brewster Avenue, said she had been involved with renovating Stafford Park for almost two years. She said she had attended every City Council meeting, every Park and Recreation Commission meeting, every Park Department meeting which has addressed the renovation plans for both parks, as well as the Council’s meetings on the CIP. Mrs. Brock said she was a founding member of the Park Department Renovation Committee, and participated in all the meetings for architectural services, document reviews, design team selection "as well as spearheading with Susie Peyton the fund raising strategies." Mrs. Brock described her work in the neighborhoods and neighborhood meetings. She said she had listened carefully to the neighbors and described the standing room only crowd at the Council meeting where overwhelming support was given to the proposed plans for Stulsaft and Stafford Parks. Mrs. Brock said the Council approved the budget for both Parks and decided "to put over the decision whether to allocate additional funding." She described the newly formed group that "is trying to tell this Council that (the neighborhood) does not want to see these Parks fully funded, and wants them downgraded. That is incorrect." Mrs. Brock said, "I am here tonight to reiterate the community’s strong and continuing support for the full funding of these projects as they were designed…. Please do not allow one voice to drown out the voices of many."
Chet Lane, 85 Hillview, said he had lived near Stafford Park for twelve years and was very proud of the Park. He said he was unaware of the previous meetings concerning this issue, but had recently seen the plans for the Park and described them as "a little bit overblown." Mr. Lane said, in light of the needs of the community expressed in the CDBG discussion, he was embarrassed that the City wanted to spend "this much money on local parks when there are so many other needy agencies which truly need the money." Mr. Lane expressed concern that the new landscaping design could present safety issues, keeping parents from being able to keep track of their children, and line of sight at night. Mr. Lane said he worked in the area and described the grass roots campaign that wants to keep the Park "simple, and a neighborhood park." In response to Council Member Claire’s questions, Mr. Lane said he was in real estate.
Susie Peyton, 3691 Brandy Rock Way, said she the new dissension surrounding Stafford Park renovation "has taken the focus off the community joint project…. Stulsaft and Stafford Parks were put together as a joint project about twenty months ago after I had complained about Stulsaft Park and some other people had complained about Stafford Park. I felt it was a really exciting thing that these neighborhoods were getting together and sharing ideas and sharing commonalties and (expending) a lot of effort to fix their parks which they were doing. It was great. Now with this recent dissension about how to fix the parks, it is taking away from that idea that we had a joint project." Mrs. Peyton said the new group doesn’t realize the budget is for two parks, not just Stafford. She said it was unfair to take the focus off the joint community project to fix two parks in two neighborhoods. Mrs. Peyton said the original neighborhood group used a grass roots effort to gain supporters, going door to door, and didn’t rely on Coldwell Banker’s data base to send out flyers with inaccurate information as the new group has done. She said the two renovated parks will compliment each other and enhance the whole City. Mrs. Peyton described an alternative to the proposed $100,000 bathrooms and described a $25,000 single stall, unisex bathroom. She asked the Council when it would consider additions to the budget.
In response to Mayor Howard’s question about the Council schedule, City Manager Everett said this item would be discussed at Council meetings, July 6 or July 9, 1998. He said that staff "had a process we are trying to use to get people together. We are always optimistic that people will get together and resolve their own disagreements…. I’m hoping that by July 6 or July 9 that will happen." Mayor Howard asked everyone to check with the City Clerk Department the Thursday before the scheduled Council Meeting to see when items are scheduled for Council discussion, 780-7220. She said the agendas were also posted at all the Libraries and on the City’s Web Page.
MEMO 5/12/98
In answer to Council Member Claire’s questions regarding the impact of delaying decisions on renovations, Parks, Recreation and Community Services Director Griffiths said, "We are currently negotiating a landscape architectural agreement with MIG… who made the presentation several weeks ago. We hope to have that report to you at the next Council meeting on the landscape architectural agreement. Once that starts we will initiate the design development work with them. The process will come back in a public forum both in the Park and Recreation Commission and the neighborhood… for refinement. Then there will be final plans and specifications drawn up for the project." Director Griffiths said that staff was currently negotiating for services approved by Council with a maximum of $25,000. He said, "In order to change that we have asked MIG for a proposal to do the restroom, but we have not asked them to take anything out of the project as it stands right now. " He said during the bidding process there would be an opportunity to include bid alternatives.
MEMO 5/12/98
Hilary Paulson, 3733 Country Club, said Stulsaft was her neighborhood park and her two-year old goes to pre-school at Stafford. She said she had also attended every meeting and was involved with the proposed renovations from the onset. Mrs. Paulson said many of the issues addressed this evening have already been answered including safety issues and aesthetics. She said those concerns were addressed by the architects and incorporated into the designs. Mrs. Paulson said, "I don’t want to see an adequate park… I want to see an exciting new park. I want to see a park that is as nice as City Hall, that’s as nice as the Library. I want to see a park that is fully funded." Mrs. Paulson said her classes in pre-school education included how important water play is to toddlers and older kids. She asked the Council to read the in-depth letter she had sent them. Mrs. Paulson said if the Council could not find the money to provide new restrooms at Stulsaft, then the road leading down to the restrooms needed to be paved. She said she would like to see new parks in Redwood City to go with the new civic buildings, the new families and new businesses moving into the City. She urged the Council to listen to the experts.
Keri Linane, 511 Lakeview Way, and Michele Goldschmidt, 3884 Harvest Drive, members of the Redwood City Youth Advisory Board, addressed the Council on the need for a Skate Park. Ms. Linane said one of the unanimous goals of the YAB was to build a Skate Park in Redwood City for skate boarders and roller bladers. She asked the Council to include funds in the CIP for a new Skate Park. Ms. Linane said the Board surveyed Woodside High School and acquired 200 signatures from students who supported the idea. She said, "Having a Skate Park in Redwood City would create a safe, fun and controlled place for kids to skate. The Youth Advisory Board plans to work with Parks and Recreation to gain information, find a suitable location, get input from skaters and the community and get the community involved."
Vice Mayor Ruskin said he was glad to see members of the Youth Advisory Board active in the community and willing to come to the Council with their concerns. He asked them to come to the Council often to share their ideas and keep the Council informed. Vice Mayor Ruskin said he supported a Skate Park in Redwood City, and said, "I have a feeling that one will be built over the next couple of years." Mayor Howard said the Council was anxious to hear the Board’s ideas and "how we can work with you to see if that could happen."
Ann Palu, 1710 Whipple, said she also brought her son, Jake, to the meeting and asked Council to set funds aside for a Skate Park in Redwood City. Mrs. Palu said the skaters in the community need a legal and safe place to engage in their recreational sport. She said the sport is growing and it was also "a mode of transportation and positive socialization activity among teens to fill their spare time." Mrs. Palu described the current trespassing and property damage issues that would be resolved with a Skate Park. She said all sports have the potential for injury, but bicyclists are cited by the police to discourage the sport. She said, "Cities that work in partnership with skate boarders in developing sites, rules and regulations, have dealt most effectively with the youth of their community. The skaters enforce the rules and apply peer pressure to make sure the rules are adopted. The time spent chasing individuals away from public structures is now minimized and can better be used on other problems in the community." She said a Skate Park needed to be close to public transportation, on street parking, have no negative impacts on residential neighborhoods, and is visible for security and safety and in close proximity to food and beverage stores. Mrs. Palu said Skate Parks are the most utilized, per square foot, facility that cities operate, less than 20,000 square feet. She said the one in Santa Rosa is 15,000 square feet and cost $140,000 with years of no maintenance. Mrs. Palu said the cost is the same as a tennis court, used year round, requires little or no maintenance, and the liability for children over 14 years of age, "has been addressed by recent legislation.: She said that skate boarders are good kids, some of whom have outgrown AYSO. Little League and Pop Warner Football forced into the streets. Mrs. Palu offered to help with this project.
Colleen Jordan, 84 Eddystone Court, spoke in support of her Redwood City neighbors in the Friendly Acres and Centennial Neighbors, "who have tolerated flooding in their streets and their homes for years." Ms. Jordan said she joined Jan LaMantia from Centennial in praising Public Works Services Director Peter Ingram and his staff "for their diligent efforts and finally putting a firm foot forward to solve the flooding problems." Ms. Jordan said flooding should be one of the top priorities of the Council.
Jan LaMantia, 167 F Street, Chair of the Centennial Neighborhood Association, said she agreed with Ms. Jordan, "We have waited a long time, and I do appreciate all that you are doing now, and just hope we keep going forward."
Jason Cross, 344 Chesham Avenue, San Carlos, spoke "in support of all the people in Redwood City that are trying to put together a Skate Board Park." He said he has been heading up the effort in San Mateo for the past three years, and the Council had just approved an interim park on a publicly owned lot. Mr. Cross said he knew there was a large demand in Redwood City for a skate park, and suggested an interim park would be a great way to determine if the Council should set aside the $150,000 a permanent park would cost. He said Half Moon Bay is now completing its skate park which is located behind the police station. Mr. Cross said skate parks bring out of town revenue to cities. He thanked the Youth Advisory Board and all the other people who have worked and supported skate parks.
Mayor Howard saluted all those people who are willing to roll up their sleeves and do the work and create solutions. She said it made the Council’s job easier when people want to be part of the solution.
David Stuart, 927 Blandford Blvd., said he had been active in coaching soccer for twenty-two years at the CYSA and AYSO levels, is on the Board of AYSO and a member of Redwood City 2000. Mr. Stuart said he was involved in gathering support from those groups and the community to form a collaborative to address the needs of recreational activities in the community. He described a February meeting that brought together 65 people representing field suppliers including Canada Community College, Sequoia High School District, Redwood City Elementary School District, City staff, County staff, as well as field users from Pop Warner football, baseball, softball, seniors, coed, horseshoes, soccer, and Latino Leagues. He said those groups represented 5,000 individuals involved in sports in the community and 1,000 volunteers, such as referees, umpires, coaches, Board members and fund raisers. He said that didn’t include organizations such as PAL that haven’t organized sports groups because they know there are no fields. Mr. Stuart said the predominant theme of the group’s discussion was, "How do we make the pie bigger." He said no one wanted to impinge on another groups use of fields. Mr. Stuart thanked Council for setting new fields and field renovation as one of its top priorities. He described the agreement reached with the County, School District and the City to improve two gyms in the area, and the possibility of losing more fields to classrooms with Bond funds from Measure A. Mr. Stuart urged the Council to keep this issue a top priority and to support renovating three fields at Taft, Garfield and Fair Oaks, two of which are in the County. He said his group was hopeful "that we might be able to do three sand based fields for a cost of $400,000." He said this issue crosses socio-economic lines and geographic lines, and everyone supports more fields.
Council Member Claire discussed utilizing a micro-level scheduling plan. Mr. Stuart said that was a top priority and Sequoia High School had been very supportive. He described fund raising efforts and said that would be an important component. He thanked the Council for staff’s efforts.
Vice Mayor Ruskin said that he and Council Member Hartnett, two of the Council School Liaison Committee’s members, had met with the County and the Schools and put forward a proposal to share costs with the County to take advantage of what they are planning to do. Vice Mayor Ruskin said that the Report would come back to the full Council for review on next week’s agenda.
MEMO 5/12/98
Sue Keely, 766 Canyon Road, said operated two day care centers in Redwood City, and was a tenant at Roy Cloud and Clifford elementary schools. She said she agreed with Mr. Stuart that new fields and renovated fields were a top priority. She described the fund raising at Roy Cloud school for its facilities. Mrs. Keely said that she takes her day care children to both Stafford and Stulsaft Parks and spoke in favor of water facilities for young children. She said they are both community parks and are a visible way of saying that Redwood City invests in its children and in its neighborhoods. Mrs. Keely said she often has to take her children to parks across the Bay because they have a better quality of children’s parks. She urged Council to approve funding for state-of-the-art parks, to listen to the experts who understand the creative and safety needs of children. Mrs. Keely said all children’s parks desperately need bathrooms, and it should be a high priority.
Vice Mayor Ruskin said that due to the lateness of the hour he wanted to offer a motion regarding the additional $2 million in the CIP budget at this meeting, because Council would consider the parks issue during the budget sessions.
At 10:58 p.m. M/S: RUSKIN/CLAIRE TO EXTEND THE MEETING TO 11:15 P.M.
CARRIED BY UNANIMOUS VOICE VOTE.
MINUTE ORDER NO. 98-124
Vice Mayor Ruskin said the Council’s top priorities were new fields and field renovation, taking a regional leadership role in traffic, and beautifying the commercial thoroughfares with medians, entryways and landscaping.
M/S: RUSKIN/IRA TO APPORTION THE $2 MILLION AS FOLLOWS: $1 MILLION TOWARDS NEW FIELDS AND FIELD RENOVATIONS, $250,000 TO MEDIANS, ENTRYWAYS AND COMMERCIAL THOROUGHFARES BEAUTIFICATION (IN ADDITION TO THE $166,000 ALREADY BUDGETED), AND THE REMAINING $750,000 FOR MAJOR TRAFFIC PROJECTS
In response to Council Member Claire’s questions regarding the timeline for Stafford and Stulsaft Parks renovations, Director Griffiths advised that changes made tonight would involve "modifying the existing proposal that we have from the landscape architects to encompass anything new or less than what has been proposed with them." Director Griffiths described the deletions to the original plans submitted by MIG and approved by Council, including removing the bathrooms in Stafford (placed in separate restroom renovation program) downscaling the arbor structure to a shade structure or park pavilion, and reducing the water facility by about 50%. City Manager Everett said the new figure in the budget, $825,000, was based on those changes.
Council Member Claire said budgets are not written in concrete. He advised that the first estimate for the two park project was a guess based on the best information available at that time. Council Member Claire said, "We need those parks to be what they were designed to be, and I know we have the money. We have $8.5 million in the bank collecting interest." Council Member Claire said an earlier Council established a policy that the City must have at least $4.9 million on reserve at all time. He said he would prefer to see part of the $2 million additional funds go towards full funding for the parks as originally designed. Council Member Claire also agreed that new and renovated fields were a priority, but he said field needs have been decreasing over the years. He suggested scheduling coordination between the leagues would help this situation. Council Member Claire said his grandchildren play in a park in the City of Dublin which had done a great job with children’s parks. He said he also wanted to allocate a portion of the $2 million for a temporary skate board park. He said for those reasons he could not support the motion.
Vice Mayor Ruskin said he was dubious about eliminating restrooms in the parks, and although they get vandalized and hard to maintain, he said it was impractical not to have them. Vice Mayor Ruskin said when the final design and final budget figures were in, "we could take a final look at what the parks needed, consider it here at Council, and then my hope was to (include) restrooms in the parks."
In answer to Council Member Claire’s regarding park renovation costs, City Manager Everett and Director Griffiths advised that the current budget was $825,000 based on deletions approved by Council. They said the original design was $1,025,000 which included soft costs for architectural services, contingencies, inspection and testing. Council Member Claire said that the difference between a great park and an adequate park was only $200,000. He said the City had spent a lot of money on parks in other neighborhoods and he wanted to see a list of those expenditures. Council Member Claire said he still supported allocating the additional money to the two park project.
Vice Mayor Ruskin said Council Member Hartnett was ill tonight, but had told him that he was in support of allocating the $2 million in the manner proposed in the motion.
Council Member Ira said he supported the motion, but he was strongly in support of finding funds for a skate board park. He expressed support for the current proposal for the two park project, and said that although budgets are moving targets that can be adapted when needed, budgets are designed to allocate resources. Council Member Ira said it was unusual for community members to ask Council to reduce a budget, it’s usually "more, more, more." He said the consultants knew what the budget was, but designed a plan that exceeded the budget. He said it was important for the Council not to continually go over budget based on designs that exceed what was anticipated. He said staff was working on a process to bring people together to resolve the issues for Stafford Park and reach a consensus, and it was important to let that process continue before Council made a final decision.
At 11:14 p.m. M/S: RUSKIN/CLAIRE TO EXTEND THE MEETING TO 11:20 P.M.
CARRIED BY UNANIMOUS VOICE VOTE.
MINUTE ORDER NO. 98-125
Council Member Leipzig said, "I think we are discussing the wrong things at the wrong hour tonight. The $2 million we are talking about designating, we are not putting this in concrete…. Those wouldn’t be the numbers I’d pick, but I’m not going to disagree with them because we are not approving anything. It is just in concept. We should be spending time… on the parks that are in front of us right now. This is something before us. The community is here talking to us about it. $1 million for roads, we don’t even know which direction we are headed in in that area. We have these plans right here, and architect ready to start proceeding. We need to decide what we are doing. I disagree. I hope the community can come together and come up here at the next meeting and say ‘we agree on this.’ I don’t think that is going to happen, and I’m not sure that’s the process. We are elected officials to make decisions. We can hear input from both sides and we make the decisions. I would recommend that we postpone any further discussion or vote. Bring back the parks discussion for the next meeting and make a decision and get going one way or the other."
Mayor Howard said that she would like to stay within budget because "we have many, many needs in the community." She said the flooding problem was a real and serious issue that needed to be addressed as well as the need for recreational fields. Mayor Howard said traffic is another serious issue in the City and the region. She said not to budget wisely is not being fiscally responsible. Mayor Howard said the current budget for Stafford Park $525,000 would provide a magnificent park, and said she wanted the two groups to work with staff to come up with a workable solution, "because isn’t that a better way of doing things than us being the iron hammer and saying this is what we decided…. I would much rather see the community come to a resolution if that is possible…. To not give them the opportunity to do that when they have offered to sit down and work with staff would be missing the boat." Mayor Howard said the final decision would be made during the budget sessions in July.
ITERATION OF THE MOTION:
M/S: RUSKIN/IRA TO APPORTION THE $2 MILLION AS FOLLOWS: $1 MILLION TOWARDS NEW FIELDS AND FIELD RENOVATIONS, $250,000 TO MEDIANS, ENTRYWAYS AND COMMERCIAL THOROUGHFARES BEAUTIFICATION (IN ADDITION TO THE $166,000 ALREADY BUDGETED), AND THE REMAINING $750,000 FOR MAJOR TRAFFIC PROJECTS
ADOPTED BY THE FOLLOWING ROLL CALL VOTE:
AYES: COUNCIL MEMBERS BAIN, IRA, RUSKIN AND MAYOR HOWARD
NOES: COUNCIL MEMBERS CLAIRE AND LEIPZIG
MINUTE ORDER NO. 98-126
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9. CLOSED SESSION
None
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10. ADJOURNMENT
M/S: RUSKIN/IRA TO ADJOURN THE MEETING
MEETING ADJOURNED AT 11:20 P.M.
Arlyn C. Jorgenson
City Clerk
City of Redwood City
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