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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 2009-01-28 (2)4~~~~H SA,y ~~ O q` n U O ~gttFOR~~~' CALL TO ORDER: ROLL CALL MINUTES CITY COUNCIL CITY OF SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO REGULAR MEETING MUNICIPAL SERVICES BUILDING COMMUNITY ROOM 33 ARROYO DRIVE WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 28, 2009 PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE PRESENTATIONS 7:10 P.M. Present: Councilmen Garbarino, Gonzalez and Mullin, Vice Mayor Addiego, and Mayor Matsumoto. Absent: None. Led by Mayor Matsumoto • Recognition of outgoing Board and Commission Members. Council recognized the following outgoing Board and Commission members for their service to the City: Planning Commissioners Eugene Sim and Marc Teglia; Parks and Recreation Commissioners Judy Bush, Janine Greenwald and Gary Levene; Cultural Arts Commissioner Al Dimminger and Library Boardmembers Eleanor Breite and William Boldenweck. Mr. Teglia thanked Council for the opportunity to serve the City. He stated it was a pleasure to assist with the City's growth. He noted the outgoing commissioners would continue to serve the community in other capacities. • Maintenance Superintendent Association (MSA) Superintendent of the Year Award presented to Frank McAuley. Director of Public Works White, a 23 year member of the MSA, introduced Steve Tyler, President of the Bay Area Chapter of the MSA and Superintendant of the Town of Atherton. Mr. Tyler explained the Bay Area Chapter of the MSA was comprised of eight (8) Bay area counties and noted that several members of the organization were present in the audience. The Superintendant of the Year Award is presented annually to a member of the organization that exemplifies a commitment to efficient and economical maintenance of public works facilities and services and fosters an understanding between public employees. Mr. Tyler then presented the award to this year's recipient, Public Works Supervisor, Frank McAuley. Supervisor McAuley had been an employee of the City for 32 years and a member of the Bay Area MSA Chapter since 1995. He had served the Chapter in various capacities including as its president. Supervisor McAuley thanked the Council for allowing the presentation to go forward at the meeting and stated he was honored to receive the award from the MSA. • Wind & Solar Study results for the Water Quality Control Plant ("WQCP"). City Engineer Razavi introduced PSOMAS to present the results of the Solar and Wind Turbine Energy Feasibility Study. Vice President and Officer of PSOMAS Steve McClennan thanked Council for the opportunity to do the analysis on alternative energy opportunities at the WQCP. He introduced Project Manager Yuri Boiarsky and Maureen McDonald, who would present the methodology, results and conclusions of the study. He thanked City Engineer Razavi and his staff for providing access to the plant and helping to facilitate the study. Mr. Boiarsky explained the following factors were considered in the evaluation: Solar insolation levels at the site, wind conditions, system attachment surface dimensions, construction and condition, relative cost, operational issues, and existing electrical system material availability. Maureen McDonald presented the project understanding which included the following: The City had a stated goal of reducing its carbon footprint; the WQCP was a major consumer of electricity and was interested in reducing energy costs through use of renewable energy; initial interest was focused on wind and solar power; WQCP had a number of different types of potential sites for renewable energy generation and the WQCP already had a cogeneration facility. Ms. McDonald further advised that PSOMAS' approach included looking at utility bills and wind and solar data, some of which was readily available due to the plant's proximity to the airport. The firm also researched several innovative wind and solar energy generation appliances for application at the facility, recommended layouts for renewable energy systems and identified potential financial incentives. Based on the study PSOMAS drew the following conclusions: (1) It was technically and economically feasible for the WQCP to use renewable energy to reduce its dependence on PG&E and thereby reduce its carbon footprint; (2) Concentrated solar technology would provide the lowest cost per kWh solution; (3) the dollar per kWh rate with concentrated solar was less than the current PG&E rate; (4) fixed solar technology would provide a rate that would be initially higher than PG&E, but was likely to be in-line with utility rates within a few years; (5) big wind technology was neither technically nor economically feasible at the WQCP; (6) small wind technology was technically feasible at the site; (7) a limited number of small, architectural wind turbines could be quickly installed on the roof of the Administrative Building with a small budget thereby visibly and aesthetically demonstrating the site's commitment to renewable energy; and (8) additional investment REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING JANUARY 28, 2009 MINUTES PAGE 2 into the infrastructure of concentrated solar technology with a thermal component would reduce the cost per kWh of the renewable energy system. Councilman Mullin questioned whether the cost savings estimate was conservative given the push towards green tech. Mr. Boiarsky responded it was a conservative estimate. Councilman Garbarino commented the study would help to move the City in the right direction and noted municipalities' responsibility to move towards green technology and energy alternatives. He expressed concern over the time it would take the City to recoup its investment. Mr. Boiarsky advised returns were broken down by renewable energy components. Investments in wind energy take longer to recoup because the associated rebates are much lower. However, looking over the lifetime of the system investments should be recouped beginning in twelve years. Mayor Matsumoto questioned whether the City would qualify for rebates if it pursued an outright purchase strategy. City Engineer Razavi advised the incentive from the federal government was through a tax credit, which was obviously of no benefit to the City. Councilman Mullin questioned the cost of outright purchase. City Engineer Razavi advised the City would need close to $4 Million to start the project because rebates would come back over several years. He noted however, that these funds could be raised through a proportionate increase in rates. Councilman Addiego requested confirmation that savings would amount to 13-14% plus rebates every year for the next three (3) years. Staff so confirmed. City Manager Nagel suggested staff would include the cost as part of the proposed changes to rate structure, which it would bring back to Council. Councilman Garbarino commented the program had great potential and opined it might even qualify for federal stimulus package funding if it was "shovel ready." Councilman Mullin thanked staff for taking seriously his request to look at the possibility of alternative energy sources at the WQCP. He emphasized the importance of looking at the numbers over the long term and not making policy based simply upon the length of Councilmembers' terms. He looked forward to considering a mixture of solar and wind power and seeing a larger package of improvements within the context of a real financing approach. REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING JANUARY 28, 2009 MINUTES PAGE 3 AGENDA REVIEW None. PUBLIC COMMENTS Daryl Fazekas, an Architect from Los Gatos, addressed Council on the subject of wind power. He commended the City for undertaking the study of wind power at the Water Quality Control Plant. He stated the City could take advantage of wind power at other locations and should look into options such as vertical access windmills that had recently become more financially feasible. Mayor Matsumoto directed Mr. Fazekas to speak with Director of Public Works Terry White regarding wind power options. Lorena Jimenez and Jorge Menjivar addressed Council regarding Ms. Jimenez's request to install a parking space on her front lawn area. Mr. Menjivar presented staff with pictures of the property at issue. Mayor Matsumoto directed Ms. Jimenez to Planning Department staff for follow-up. ITEMS FROM COUNCIL • Announcements. • Committee Reports. Councilmembers reported on attendance at community meetings and events, including the League of California Cities Policy Committee Meetings, a HEART meeting and Councilman Mullin's attendance at the Inauguration of President Barack Obama. Code Enforcement staff was recognized for prompt attention to certain complaints. Council also thanked the IT Department for working with Comcast to remedy an issue with Pen TV service and the Police Department for its attention to loiterers in Third Lane. Specific items for further action and/or consideration were set forth as follows: Councilman Garbarino advised the public that Day in Park would take place this year and for years to come. Vice Mayor Addiego stated he had received some negative feedback from residents regarding the traffic related changes in the Southwood Area. He stated he understood the changes would undergo a 90 day trial period at which point a community group would be reconvened to discuss the changes. • Council of Cities Nominations. Mayor Matsumoto advised she would be voting to select a representative to the San Mateo County Transit District Board of Directors, to fill a vacancy created by the resignation of former San Mateo City Councilwoman Carole Groom. Councilmembers Linda Knelling of Foster City and Jerry Deal of Burlingame were seeking appointment. Councilmen Garbarino and Mullin were inclined to support Jerry Deal. Mayor Matsumoto stated that while she could ~o either way she was inclined to support Ms. Koellin~. Vice REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING JANUARY 28, 2009 MINUTES PAGE 4 Mayor Addiego was inclined to support Ms. Knelling and Councilman Gonzalez was fine with either choice. Council decided to have Mayor Matsumoto listen to the presentations by both parties and make a determination based on their comments. With respect to the HEART appointment, Council decided to support a representative from North County if any such cities presented a representative for appointment. • Resolution No. 7-2009 allocating surplus Centennial Funds and amending the 2008/2009 budget. President of the Historical Society of South San Francisco, Raymond Yoschak, appeared to request part of the allocation of remaining Centennial Funds to produce an 8-10 minute film/DVD covering highlights of the Centennial Year. Mr. Yoschak opined the video would present an alternative to cataloging and filing the photos and would provide an exciting and informative look at the Centennial. Cultural Arts Commissioner Ron Burgess appeared to request that the funds be allocated to commission a sculpture to be placed along Centennial Way. The proposed artwork would honor South San Francisco and its 100th Birthday. Councilman Mullin removed himself from the Dais anal the Council Chambers for the discussion and determination related to allocating funds to the Historical Society. City Attorney Mattas advised Council could bifurcate the discussion and determination related to the historical society's request and then Councilman Mullin could join the remaining discussion and determination. Mayor Matsumoto stated over $20,000 in funds remained in the Centennial Fund. The Centennial Committee's recommendations for use of the surplus funds included establishment of a Centennial Way Improvement Fund, a donation to the Historical Society, a community pic nic/concert in the park or commemorative sculpture or artwork along Centennial Way. Council was at liberty to add suggestions for use of the funds. Councilman Garbarino spoke in favor of allocating $10,000 to the Historical Society for the purpose of creating a DVD. He also supported allocating the remaining $10,000 to the Cultural Arts commission to be used as start-up funds to commission a sculpture for placement along Centennial Way. Councilman Gonzalez supported using the money to host a July Fourth Pic Nic Event. Vice Mayor Addiego spoke in favor of allocating the entire $20,000 to the Cultural Arts Commission to commission a sculpture for placement along Centennial Away or possibly in the Downtown area. He believed $10,000 would not be enough. Mayor Matsumoto was also inclined to allocate the entire amount to the Commission. City Attorney Mattas advised that if Council had ceased discussion of making an allocation to the Historical Society, Councilman Mullin could rejoin the discussion. Councilman Mullin took his place on the Dais. REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING JANUARY 28, 2009 MINUTES PAGE 5 Mayor Matsumoto advised Councilman Mullin that the discussion was focused on whether Council would: 1) allocate all of the funds to the Cultural Arts Commission for a sculpture along Centennial Way, 2) allocate all of the funds towards a community Fourth of July Celebration or 3) split the funds between the two (2). Councilman Gonzalez stated that participants in the Centennial Fourth of July Event had a wonderful time and requested that it be held again. Vice Mayor Addiego stated a sculpture along Centennial Way would be a lasting and meaningful reminder of the Centennial. Councilman Mullin opined that the sculpture's tie-in to an appreciation of history reflected a full expression of the donor dollar with respect to the Centennial Fund. Councilman Garbarino agreed. Motion- Councilman Addiego/Second- Councilman Mullin: to adopt Resolution No. 7- 2009 allocating $20,000 to the Cultural Arts Commission for the specific commission of an artist to create artwork commemorating the City's 100th Anniversary and allocating surplus Centennial Funds and amending the 2008/2009 budget. Unanimously approved by voice vote. Recess: 9:15 p.m. Meeting resumed: 9:20 p.m. CONSENT CALENDAR 1. Motion to approve the minutes of November 19, 2008, December 2, 2008, December 15, 2008, December 22, 2008 and January 14, 2009. 2. Motion to confirm expense claims of January 28, 2009. 3. Motion to waive reading and adopt an ordinance amending Chapter 15.56 of the South San Francisco Municipal Code to adopt the Model California Floodplain Management Ordinance. 4. Resolution No. 8-2009 authorizing the acceptance of $74,500 in grant funding from the Association of Bay Area Governments to support risk management activities and amending the Public Works and Police Department budgets for 2008-2009. 5. Resolution No. 9-2009 awarding a Consultant Services Agreement to Mark Thomas & Company, Inc. for East of 101 Traffic Signal and Intersection Improvements in an amount not to exceed $105,100. 6. Resolution No. 10-2009 consenting to the withdrawal of a mistaken bid by Interstate Grading & Paving, Inc., and rejecting all base and alternate bids for the Hillside REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING JANUARY 28, 2009 MINUTES PAGE 6 Boulevard and Forbes Boulevard Dig-outs Project. 7. Resolution No. 11-2009 approving Amendment No. 4 to the Employment Agreement between the City of South San Francisco and Barry M. Nagel for service as City Manager and Executive Director of the Redevelopment Agency. Motion- Councilman Mullin/Second- Councilman Addiego: to approve the Consent Calendar. Unanimously approved by voice vote. LEGISLATIVE BUSINESS 8. Motion to waive reading and introduce an ordinance amending Chapter 6.60 of the South San Francisco Municipal Code to assist in reducing the number of excessive false alarms the Police Department responds to annually; and Resolution No. 12-2009 amending the Master Fee Schedule and establishing a permit and fine structure for excessive false alarms. Chief of Police Raffaelli presented the staff report and advised that 98% of the alarms the Department currently responds to are false alarms, which result from error, negligence or malfunction. Time spent dealing with false alarms leads to delays in responding to other calls, which affects not only the Police Officers, but the Communications Center. Business alarms were the subject of the ordinance, not residential alarms. The proposed Ordinance would mandate that each alarmed business obtain an alarm permit from the Finance Department. The alarm permit would cost $25/annually and would be issued upon proof of alarm by way of contract or installation certificate. The Ordinance also provided that the City Council would establish fines for excessive false alarms by amending the Master Fee Schedule. The proposed Resolution set forth fines to be imposed upon the alarm user after two (2) false alarms within a calendar year period. The fines would gradually increase as false alarms continued. The SSFPD was one of the few San Mateo County police agencies that did not charge for false alarms. Other City's Police Departments had been successful at reducing the number of false alarms through such fines. In response to a question from Mayor Matsumoto, City Attorney Mattas responded that a letter from resident Jesse King would become a part of the record and did not need to be read out loud during the course of the meeting. Mayor Matsumoto observed that Mr. King's letter raised concerns over fees imposed on residents for false alarms. Since the ordinance would only apply to businesses, Mr. King's concerns were addressed. She requested that the Police Department contact Mr. King and explain the ordinance's scope. Chief Raffaelli advised Sergeant Kallas would contact Mr. King. President of the Golden Gate Alarm Association Rudy Alva stated the Association did not maintain a list of all businesses within South San Francisco that had alarm systems, as was reflected in the staff report. He commented that the proposed fee structure was reasonable and would likely curtail the number of false alarms. He advised the Association would be happy to assist in whatever way possible. REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING JANUARY 28, 2009 MINUTES PAGE 7 Councilman Gonzalez questioned whether the fines were cumulative. Chief Raffaelli advised the third false alarm would cost $50.00. Councilman Mullin questioned how repeat offenders would be tracked from a practical standpoint. He further questioned how fining would take place. Chief Raffaelli advised a staff person would track repeat offenders and fines would be issued on an occurrence basis. A Sergeant or Lieutenant would be in charge of the appeals process. Mayor Matsumoto questioned how a $50 fine was a deterrent. Chief of Police Raffaelli advised staff was seeking to be reasonable about the fines with respect to the impact on the business community. He noted that some agencies start-off with a $100 fine. However, staff decided to start out at the $50 level and monitor the impact on violations. City Manager Nagel advised staff could provide Council with a six (6) month review to determine whether the program was making a difference. The fine could be adjusted based on the results. In order to make sure the ordinance correctly addressed the scope the Chief intended it to, City Attorney Mattas read the following changes into the record: The term "Alarm User" in the definitions would be modified to read "any business entity which has contracted for monitoring, repair, installation or maintenance service" and then the rest of the sentence would remain as written. The definition of "Person" would be modified slightly to reference "Business Entity." The term "Business Entity" would be defined to mean "an individual operating as a sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, association organization or similar entity." The reference to the word "premises" in Section 66.60.030 at the beginning of the second line would have the word "business" inserted before it. With those changes, the ordinance was ready for a motion for introduction. Councilman Mullin sought to ensure the language in Section 6.60.090 synced up with the Chief's intentions regarding rolling enforcement. City Attorney Mattas advised the section would be clarified to reference a 12 month period in a calendar year and further that the language permitted issuance of fines on an occurrence basis. Motion- Councilman Garbarino/Second- Councilman Gonzalez: to waive reading and introduce an ordinance amending Chapter 6.60 of the South San Francisco Municipal Code to assist in reducing the number of excessive false alarms the Police Department responds to annually; and approve Resolution No. 12-2009. Unanimously approved by voice vote. CLOSED SESSION Closed Session opened: 9:51 p.m. REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING JANUARY 28, 2009 MINUTES PAGE 8 Open Session resumed: 10:53 p.m. 9. CONFERENCE WITH LABOR NEGOTIATORS (Pursuant to Government Code Section 54957.6) Agency designated representatives: Kathy Mount Employee organizations: AFSCME, Local 1569, AFL-CIO Confidential Unit, Teamsters Local 856 International Association of Firefighters, Local 1507 Mid-management Unit International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 39 South San Francisco Police Association Public Safety Managers Executive Management Unit. Direction given. 10. CONFERENCE WITH LEGAL COUNSEL--ANTICIPATED LITIGATION (Pursuant to Government Code Section 54956.9(c)) Initiation of litigation: One Case. Report out of Closed Session: by 5-0 vote council authorized the City to sign a tolling agreement with San Mateo County regarding the City's claims related to the tax administration fee payable by the City. COMMUNITY FORUM None. ADJOURNMENT Being no further business, Mayor Matsumoto adjourned the meeting at 10:53 p.m. Submitted by: Krista City o ~~ :/lli arson, City Cle/r//ki„" Sa Francisco Approved: f ~ I Karyl Matsumoto, Mayor City of South San Francisco REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING JANUARY 28, 2009 MINUTES PAGE 9