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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 1988-04-20Mayor Jack Drago COunci 1: Mark N. Addiego Ri chard A. Halley Gus Nicolopulos Roberta Cerri Teglia MINUTES City Council ~ City Council Conference Room City Hall April 20, 1988 NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, pursuant to Section 54956 of the Government Code of the State of California, that the City Council of the City of South San Francisco will hold a Special Meeting on Wednesday, the 20th day of April, 1988 at 7:00 p.m., in the City Council Conference Room, City Hall, 400 Grand Avenue, South San Francisco, California. Purpose of the meeting: 1. Interviews for the Personnel Board. 2. Discussion and direction to Staff on the Grand Jury Report on the Westborough Water District. 3. Closed Session for the purpose of the discussion of personnel matters, labor relations, property negotiations and litigation. Barbara A. Battaya~ City of South San Francisco ~Dated: April 18, 1988 AGENDA CALL TO ORDER: (Cassette No. 1) ROLL CALL: 1. Interviews for the Personnel Board. ~.0O0 ACTION TAKEN 7:02 p.m. Mayor Drago presiding. Council present: Council absent: Addiego, Nicolopulos, Teglia and Drago. Halley. Mayor Drago stated that this evening's applicants would be interviewed for the two expired terms on the Personnel Board. He stated that the two Board- members had asked to be reappointed to a second term, and one had opted to be interviewed this evening - Mr. Galeno. Councilman Addiego stated that there was some controversy over having this par- ticular interviewing session, however, in December the Council would have to replace Mr. Park because he would be completing his second term. He stated that there would also be two potential openings on the Board with Ms. Humbert and Mr. Strazzarino, so this meeting was 4/20/88 Page I AGENDA ACTION TAKEN Personnel Board Interviews - Continued. Councilman Haffey Arrived: (Cassette No. 2) Discussion and direction to staff on the Grand Jury Report on the Westborough Water District. ~o~q not just an exercise, for the Council would have to make some decisions. He stated that Mr. Galeno had chosen to be interviewed, and he assumed that the other incumbent had had the same oppor- tunity and chose not to be interviewed. Vice Mayor Teglia stated that the indivi- dual had been told that it was neither requested or expected by Council, yet the option was there if they chose. Council interviewed Gloria Taormino. Councilman Haffey arrived at 7:37 p.m. Council interviewed: Mario Raffaelli; William Tidd, and Oscar Galeno. Mayor Drago stated that another indivi- dual had yet to be interviewed, and a decision would not be made tonight. He stated that the incumbents for the two seats had requested reappointment, however, there would be other openings for appointments at the end of the year, wherein the members had completed two terms and were not eligible for reap- pointment. He stated that Council would be making selections within the next couple of meetings. City Manager Lewis stated that the 1987 Grand Jury had recommended that the City take over the operation of the Westborough Water District, and the City had a responsibility to provide a response to that query. He stated that he had requested an extension for the response until May 15th. He stated that last year LAFCO had made a similar recommendation, and the Council had taken the position that the recommen- dation was maybe appropriate for the long term, but really it could not be actually implemented unless either the District Board or the Westborough voters were con- vinced that it would make economic and political sense. He stated that after the City's response LAFCO had made the 4/20/88 Page 2 AGENDA ACTION TAKEN Grand Jury Report - Continued. decision to leave the District in status quo at that time. Mayor Drago questioned how the Grand Jury how become involved in this process. City Manager Lewis stated that part of their goal was to look at all special districts which included the Bayshore District and Westborough. Discussion followed: why there was not a recommendation from staff on this item; City Manager - that it fell into the sphere of being a political issue; Councilman Haffey - that it was an admin- istrative standpoint rather than a poli- tical, and it should be policy rather than political; that it would be very difficult to implement the recommen- dation; that the City would have to be approached by the District or the Westborough voters to implement the recommendation, etc. Mr. Mahar, President Westborough Water Direct Board of Directors, stated that it had requested an extension to answer the recommendation because it had been involved in a recruitment process for a new General Manager. He stated that he felt his Board was doing a good job, and had the lowest water rates in the area. Councilman Nicolopulos questioned what type of input had influenced the Grand Jury recommendation. Mr. Wright, General Manager, stated that the Grand Jury report had erroneous data, and did not take into consideration the institutional constraints or the fact that the Agency itself had long term planning. He stated that the Agency had requested an extension to the 30th to respond to the Grand Jury report. 4/20/88 Page 3 AGENDA ACTION TAKEN O! Grand Jury Report - Continued. He stated that in the report Westborough appears twice, however, the first Westborough was really Hillsborough. Councilman Nicolopulos requested a recom- mendation from the City Attorney. City Attorney Armento stated that recent changes in the law had a tendency to push for consolidation of all small districts into the larger governmental units, which could have been the driving force behind the Grand Jury recommendation. She stated that the City had received the report for a response, and it had to give a response. Mayor Drago questioned if the response to LAFCO would suffice for the same response to the Grand Jury. City Attorney Armento thought it would suffice, but didn't think the response to the Grand Jury had to be as long or as detailed as the response to LAFCO. Discussion followed: that the City did not have its own water system, and if the City could assume administration of the Westborough Water District - it could take over California Water as well; that Councilman Haffey felt it was logical that this District be absorbed by the City, however, the relevant costs had to be analyzed, as well as capital improve- ments that needed to be made to the District; that Mr. Waters had expressed a great desire to Councilman Haffey for the City to absorb the system. Mr. A1 Waters, 2266 Shannon Dr., stated that the question had been posed to him as an applicant to the Planning Commission by a Councilmember, and he had replied that he had always been for one system. He stated that as a Boardmember he felt that at this time it was a little late to be saying that we are going to get into a private system. 4/20/88 Page 4 AGENDA ACTION TAKEN r 2. Grand Jury Report - Continued. He stated that he had come to the Council representing the Westborough Concerned Citizens and requested consideration of district elections. He stated that there had never been a response from the City on the question, and still there was not representation of the Westborough com- munity in the City. Discussion followed: that the Westborough Special District was resolved by the legislature, and was a duly elected body; that the City was only trying to respond to the Grand Jury, and not trying to absorb anything; that Councilman Addiego was against the idea of district elections; that the Chairman of the Planning Commission was a resident of Westborough; that the consensus of Council was to respond to the Grand Jury recommendation as conservatively as possible, etc. M/S Haffey/Teglia - That the City has no objection to the Grand Jury's recommen- dation, however, we are not necessarily going to take any action to facilitate it at this time. Mr. Caesar Churchwell questioned if the Council would do a feasibility study. Mayor Drago stated that tonight's meeting only involved a response to the Grand Jury in that the City had requested a thirty day extension for that response. He stated that the Council was not trying to take over anything either way, and was trying to keep an open mind on the issue. Mr. Churchwell stated that he would like to see Council take charge of the Board. Vice Mayor Teglia stated that she felt that the response should indicate to the Grand Jury that the District was in fact a legally constituted District, and the City would have to be approached by that Body to effect a change. She stated that a great number of financial studies would have to be conducted to determine if it would be beneficial to either Body. 4/20/88 Page 5 AGENDA ACTION TAKEN Grand Jury Report - Continued. Mr. Churchwell questioned if the sewage plant was big enough to absorb the Westborough Water District into the City. Deputy City Manager/City Engineer Yee stated that the sewage treatment plant did have the capacity. Discussion followed: whether the City wanted to dedicate the 15% sewage capac- ity to Westborough, when it had to buy into their capital improvements; that there was a division amongst the Westborough community about coming into the City's water system; that a poll should be made of the community on the subject; that the Board should turn back to its constituency and ask for direction from the people they serve on the sub- ject, with consideration of feasibility studies being made; that the Board or the Westborough community would have to make their voice heard if they wanted to come into the City system; etc. Mr. Jackson stated that he had par- ticipated in the Grand Jury recommen- dation, and felt that the Board would not do a study in that they could not afford it. He stated that he did not feel that the Board would expend the money to elim- inate itself. He stated that the Grand Jury had been aware that this was a duly elected body, and felt it would be more advantageous for the District to come into the City. Discussion followed: that this issue revolved around an issue outside of the City's realm; that the Board could util- ize its fees to have a study performed; that the Westborough community had volun- teers perform a community needs study that addressed water, transportation, etc. Carried by a unanimous roll call vote. Mayor Drago stated that as quickly as possible a letter would be put together in response to the Grand Jury and mailed. 4/2O/88 Page 6 AGENDA ACTION TAKEN --CLOSED SESSION Closed Session for the purpose of the discussion of personnel mat- ters, labor relations, property negotiations and litigation. RECALL TO ORDER: ADJOURNMENT: CLOSED SESSION Council adjourned to a Closed Session at 9:30 p.m., to discuss the items noticed. Mayor Dra§o recalled the meeting to order at 10:24 p.m., all Council present, no action taken. M/S Teglia/Haffey - To adjourn the meeting. Carried by unanimous voice vote. Time of Adjournment was 10:24 p.m. RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED , Barbara A. Battaya, City of South San Francisco APPROVED. f~:yk Drago, Mayo~r! of South Sah~Francisco The entries of this Council meeting show the action taken by the City Council to dispose of an item. Oral communications, arguments, and comments are recorded on tape. The tape and documents related to the items are on file in the Office of the City Clerk and are available for inspection, review and copying. 4/20/88 Page 7