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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 2013-03-20MINUTES �. y SPECIAL MEETING J O c'�lIFU CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO P.O. Box 711 (City Hall, 400 Grand Avenue) South San Francisco, California 94083 None. MUNICIPAL SERVICES BUILDING COUNCIL CHAMBERS 33 ARROYO DRIVE WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 2013 7:00 P.M. 1. Call to Order. TIME: 7:01 p.m. 2. Roll Call. PRESENT: Councilmembers Addiego, Garbarino, Gupta, Mayor Pro Tem Matsumoto and Mayor Gonzalez. ABSENT: None. 3. Public Comments — comments are limited to items on the Special Meeting Agenda. 4. Agenda Review. 5. Interview: Shirley James applicant for the Parking Place Commission. Council interviewed Ms. Shirley James based upon her application for the Parking Place Commission. 6. Discussion and motion to appoint applicant to the Parking Place Commission. Motion— Councilman Garbarino /Second- Councilman Addiego: to appoint Ms. James to the Parking Place Commission for a term to expire December 31, 2015. Unanimously approved by voice vote. 7. Discussion related to the vacancy (term ending 12/31/2014) on the Parks and Recreation Commission created by appointment of Aleksandr ( "Alex ") Khalfin to the Planning Commission; direction to staff regarding process for filling the vacancy and /or finding an emergency such that appointment of an acting Commissioner is required. City Clerk Martinelli provided the staff report advising that at a Special Meeting on March 6, 2013, Council interviewed applicants for appointment to several of the City's Boards and Commissions, including the Planning and Parks and Recreation Commissions. At that meeting, Council appointed Alex Khalfin, who was then serving on the Parks and Recreation Commission to the Planning Commission, thereby creating a Parks and Recreation Commission vacancy. The City Clerk advised that under the California Government Code, the earliest Council may appoint someone to the seat is April 1, 2013. She further advised that since applications filed for appointment to the City's Boards and Commissions are valid for one year, any of the applicants who interviewed for and were not appointed to the Parks and Recreation Commission on March 6th, along with applicants filing since that date, could be considered for appointment as of April 1, 2013. Alternatively, Council could choose to direct the Clerk to conduct a formal recruitment and/or set interviews on or after that date. Finally, Council could direct the City Clerk to include the Parks and Recreation Commission vacancy in the Summer Board and Commission Recruitment Cycle, which includes recruitments for the Design Review Board, Housing Authority, Library Board and San Mateo County Flood Control District Board. She concluded that with any of these options, Council may either leave the seat vacant until an appointment is made, or determine that an emergency exists pursuant to Government Code Section 54974, which would necessitate the interim appointment of an individual. After considering the various options, Council decided to revisit the issue at its April 10, 2013 Regular Meeting, after the expiration of the April 1, 2013 statutory period. 8. Downtown Homeless Task Force Update. Sustainability Manager McCue and Redevelopment Manager Fragoso presented the staff report summarizing efforts of the Downtown Homeless Task Force and seeking Council's input and direction regarding next steps. Manager McCue advised that with Council's direction, the City formed an eleven- member Task Force to address the impact of homeless /transient issues on downtown merchants, residents and visitors. Under the leadership of then Vice -Mayor Gonzalez, the Task Force members met bi- weekly from late August through mid - December. Staff emphasized the wonderful collaboration the Task Force experienced with Downtown Bike Patrol Officer Reynosa, who offered helpful perspective. The Task Force's accomplishments included: creating a detailed profile of the Downtown population including one -on -one comprehensive interviews with a cross - section of the Downtown population; developing a shared understanding of the impacts of homeless /transient issues on Downtown merchants, residents and visitors; mapping the current social service delivery system and identifying gaps in services; discussing options for on -going management of the shelter waiting list; looking at specific actions to reduce negative impacts on the Downtown while meeting the needs of homeless /transient clients for shelter and social services; and looking at using a field crisis team to intensively focus law enforcement and social service resources on a core group of repeat Downtown offenders. SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING MARCH 20, 2013 MINUTES PAGE 2 Manager Fragoso advised that as part of this review process, a disconnect with respect to administration of the Safe Harbor Shelter waiting list through Saint Vincent DePaul's Downtown site was discovered. It was discovered that anyone seeking shelter at Safe Harbor is required to go through Saint Vincent DePaul on Grand Avenue to be advised of wait list status. The result is a daily influx of persons seeking shelter status into the Downtown District. The County has come forward and agreed to work with the shelter to place the wait list elsewhere. Similar gaps were discovered with respect to other Downtown concerns. For example, the County was placing many of its mental health clients at the Industrial Hotel with little or failing case management. Manager McCue reported that five focus groups were created to develop specific road maps for curing Downtown deficits. The groups include: The Portal/Waiting List; Field Crisis Team; Day Programs & Food Service at Safe Harbor; Expansion of Safe Harbor facilities; and Data Base for San Mateo County. The Portal/Waiting List Group and the Field Crisis Team Group have been working on specific strategies for management of the shelter waiting list. The remaining groups will develop strategies for food and day programs, and expansion of Safe Harbor's facilities, as well as look at improving data collection and information sharing among the shelters, social service providers, the City's Police Department and other non - profits. The Task Force agreed to reconvene again once the Focus Groups complete their work and present detailed strategies for moving forward. The Task Force will then approve a comprehensive set of recommendations to present to the City Council. Staff expected to bring the Task Force report to Council later this spring or early summer. Councilman Garbarino noted that Chief of Police Massoni's report indentified numerous repeat offender violators in the Downtown area. Mayor Pro Tem Matsumoto expressed disappointment that the Task Force's efforts weren't further along. She had hoped that solutions would be presented this evening as opposed to suggestions for further focus group study. Assistant City Manager Van Duyn responded that as part of its review, the Task Force identified issues requiring serious departures from the status quo. The parties involved could not easily agree on the appropriate fix. Accordingly, additional focus group work was required of the stakeholders. Councilman Addiego noted that the County would be experiencing a funding windfall as a result of the dissolution of Redevelopment. Accordingly, he believed it would have the funds to address many of the problems plaguing its health programs in the Downtown District. Mayor Pro Tem Matsumoto queried whether CDBG funding could be utilized to fund a Resource Position at the Safe Harbor Shelter. Manager Fragoso responded that staff would review this option. Mayor Gonzalez expressed his belief that the County should be held accountable to its programs in the City. SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING MARCH 20, 2013 MINUTES PAGE 3 Councilman Addiego observed that the more services the City provides in the District, the more likely it may be that the County continues to locate its clients there. Mayor Pro Tem Matsumoto expressed frustration with the County's service provider, Telecare for not meeting the needs of the County's clients. Assistant City Manager Van Duyn advised staff that the Task Force was working with the County on these issues and would continue to do so. 9. Adjournment. Being no further business, Mayor Gonzalez adjourned the meeting at 8:25 pm. gqbi ted: Approved: Krist �erk, Joy Maftin li Pedro Gonzalez City City of Sout i San Francisco Mayor, City of South San Francisco SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING MARCH 20, 2013 MINUTES PAGE 4