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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 2009-02-11~o~~H' SAN F~ ti ~ U O -- ~gLIFOR~~P MINUTES CITY COUNCIL CITY OF SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO REGULAR MEETING MUNICIPAL SERVICES BUILDING COMMUNITY ROOM 33 ARROYO DRIVE WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2009 CALL TO ORDER: 7:15 P.M. ROLL CALL: Present: Councilmen Garbarino, Gonzalez and Mullin, Vice Mayor Addiego, and Mayor Matsumoto. Absent: None. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Led by Mayor Matsumoto. PRESENTATIONS • Proclamation presented to Matt Martell of the American. Red Cross in Honor of American Red Cross Month. Mayor Matsumoto presented the Proclamation establishing March 2009 as American Red Cross Month in the City of South San Francisco. Matt Martell, an American Red Cross Volunteer, accepted the Proclamation on the Organization's behalf and thanked Council for the recognition. He discussed the Red Cross' important work within our community and noted that 98% of Red Cross workers are volunteers. • Automated External Defibrillator (AED) Presentation by BLS Supervisor Ken Anderson. BLS Supervisor Ken Anderson provided a demonstration of how to operate the AED in the event of an emergency. He noted that the units, which had been installed in City buildings, provided instructions on use once activated. Use of the AED within three (3) minutes of cardiac arrest would increase an affected person's chances of survival. AGENDA REVIEW No changes. PUBLIC COMMENTS Mr. Ricardo Gaudino a Golden State Historian appeared to present the City with the Culture Capital of America Award. Mayor Matsumoto and Councilman Gonzalez accepted a flag commemorating the occasion. ITEMS FROM COUNCIL • Announcements. • Committee Reports. Councilmembers reported on attendance at community meetings and events, including a forum hosted by Congresswoman Speier regarding the federal Stimulus Package, the Chamber of Commerce Installation Dinner and participation in the Conference Center Authority's meeting at which a decision was made to name the rear entrance to the Conference Center after former Councilmember Joe Fernekes. Council advised residents of upcoming events including budget forums that would be hosted by the South San Francisco Unified School District School Board. Councilmembers also reported on their participation in a special meeting that included a tour of the Centennial Tower Building. Council recognized staff for its participation in an event at the Magnolia Senior Center on Valentine's Day. Specific items for further action and/or consideration were set forth as follows: Councilmen Garbarino and Gonzalez warned residents of a tax reassessment scan that was circulating. They advised residents that reassessments could be pursued at no cost through the County Assessor's Office. Mayor Matsumoto advised there were five (5) openings for residents on the SamTrans Citizens' Advisory Committee. She further reported that at the Council of Cities Meeting, there had been no decision with respect to the San Mateo County Transit District Board of Directors vacancy due to a tie between the candidates. There would be a new vote at the upcoming meeting. CONSENT CALENDAR 1. Motion to approve the minutes of the meetings of January 22, 2009 and January 27, 2009 and the meetings of January 28, 2009. 2. Motion to confirm the expense claims of February 11, 2009. 3. Motion to waive reading and adopt Ordinance No. 1406-2009 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. 4. Resolution 13-2009 accepting $101,895 from the State of California under the Office of Traffic Safety -DUI Enforcement and Awareness Program and Amending the Police Department's 2008/2009 Operating Budget. REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING FEBERUARY 11, 2009 MINUTES PAGE 2 5. Resolution 14-2009 approving the execution of a Subordination Agreement with Willow Gardens Housing Associates (an affiliate of Mid-Peninsula Housing Coalition) and Union Bank for the Willow Gardens Revitalization Project. 6. Resolution 15-2009 adopting the San Mateo County Energy Strategy. Motion- Councilman Garbarino/Second- Councilman Gonzalez: to approve the Consent Calendar. Unanimously approved by voice vote. ADMINISTRATIVE BUSINESS 7. Resolution authorizing a $6.00 increase in the penalty for parking violations within the City of South San Francisco. Chief of Police Raffaelli presented the staff report recommending approval of a Resolution authorizing a $6.00 increase in the penalty for parking violations within the City. A portion of the proposed increase was aimed at curbing the impact of SB 1407, which authorized the state to remove an additional $3.00 from each parking violation to assist with court construction within the state. The impact to South San Francisco would be a yearly $75,000.00 revenue loss. The remaining portions of the proposed increase represented $2.00 to keep current with other cities in the region and $1.00 to be placed into a special account which would be utilized to fund Liability Reduction Plans for the Police Department. The fund would roll over each year and would be utilized only to purchase or upgrade equipment, technology or training that would assist the Police Department in reducing liability to the City. Councilman Addiego opined an increase to parking fines might discourage dining in the Downtown District. He opined it might be more equitable to raise fines in red zones. Chief Raffaelli advised all California Cities would be pursuing the $3.00 increase based on SB 1407. He further noted the majority of Chiefs on the Peninsula would be proposing a $3.00- $5.00 increase in regular parking fines. He advised the City could be more aggressive on red zones if it wished. Mayor Matsumoto suggested rounding the proposed fees for violations. For example, she suggested increasing the red zone fee to $35.00, a meter violation to $30.00 and overtime parking to $25. Councilmembers concurred. Councilman Mullin wanted to ensure the proposed revision would not affect finances given that there were likely more meter violations than red zone violations. Chief Raffaelli responded the main emphasis would be to recoup the additional $3.00 with respect to each fine and then add $2.00 with the exception of the red zone fine, which would be increased more. He opined that in the long run this would balance out against the financing in the proposal. REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING FEBERUARY 11, 2009 MINUTES PAGE 3 Councilman Addiego questioned which fine generated the most revenue. Chief Raffaelli stated he would have to confirm this, but believed meter violations generated the most revenue. Mayor Matsumoto suggested increasing the red zone fine by $10.00, the meter violation by $5.00 and the overtime parking by $5.00 on a trial basis to see if the funds generated met the requirements of the initial proposal. Councilman Addiego questioned whether the proposal had passed by the Parking Place Commission. Chief Raffaelli advised that had not bee done in the past. Council requested that the item be brought back incorporating the newly proposed fines and estimating their financial impact. The Chief agreed to bring the revised item back at a future meeting. 8. Resolution 16-2009 authorizing various Budget Reductions for the 2008-09 Fiscal Year, and amending the 2008-09 Operating Budget. City Manager Nagel advised the City would be looking at a 1.5 million dollar budget shortfall in the current fiscal year if a series of cost cutting measures that required amendments were not implemented. The City Manager and Finance Director had worked with staff and the Finance Subcommittee to develop a phased approach to reducing the shortfall in the current fiscal year. The proposed reductions would not result in any lay offs of permanent staff. City Manager Nagel further explained some of the proposed reductions, including modifications to public safety budgets that were not expected to have an affect on response times. Additionally, community related programs in the Police Department would be cut so Officers could be diverted to street patrols, which would permit the Department to continue at its current staffing levels. In the Recreation Department, the proposal included shaving hours of operation at the Magnolia Senior Center by one (1) hour in the mornings and (1) hour in the afternoons and the outdoor pool at South San Francisco High School would not be operated for public use in Summer 2009. The Summer Pool Program at the High School cost $20,000.00 to run and only raised $1000.00 in revenue. Administrative costs were being reduced by shifting certain staff in the Clerk's Office, Finance Department and Information Technology Department to RDA to more accurately reflect the true function of the positions. A variety of other materials and services would be trimmed from various Departments and a few positions would be held vacant. City Manager Nagel advised the Human Resources Department was working on a variety of other cost cutting measures, including voluntary programs to reduce employee related expense. Councilman Gonzales thanked staff for its efforts to curb the budget while maintaining services. REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING FEBERUARY 11, 2009 MINUTES PAGE 4 Mayor Matsumoto requested confirmation that even if Council agreed to the proposed cuts for 2008/2009, it would still be looking to cut the 2009/2010 budget by an additional 3.5 million dollars if the economy did not improve. She further thanked staff and the Finance Subcommittee for its efforts to come up with a balanced and well reasoned approach to addressing the budget shortfall. City Manager Nagel confirmed an additiona13.5 million in cuts would likely be required for the 2009/2010 fiscal year and advised the more difficult task of coming up with bigger cuts was still ahead of the City. Councilman Garbarino observed the Nation's economic picture was getting worse every day and reasoned the proposal was a prudent approach to taking proactive steps to protect the City's finances. He thanked staff for being fiscally responsible. Councilman Mullin thanked staff and the Finance Subcommittee for its hard work to come up with a balanced approach. He expressed concern over the proposed elimination of the Citizen's Academy. City Manager Nagel responded the general Citizen's Academy that was run through the City Manager's Office would not be cut. However the English and Spanish Academies run through the Police Department were being temporarily eliminated. Chief Raffaelli advised the Police Department's Citizen's Academy had been running for 15 years and a Spanish program was added eight (8) years ago. Classes usually included 20-28 residents/year. Councilman Mullin stated he understood why the program needed to be cut, but hoped it could be restored when the situation turned around. Councilman Addiego stated it was not pleasant to consider suspending certain programs but noted the importance of cuts being distributed throughout the organization. He thanked staff for its thoughtfulness in crafting the proposal. Motion- Councilman Garbarino/ Second- Councilman Addiego: to approve Resolution No. 16-2009. Unanimously approved by voice vote. COMMUNITY FORUM None. ADJOURNMENT Being no further business, Mayor Matsumoto adjourned the meeting at 8:44 p.m. Sub fitted y: /~. ,-_ Krista arti lli-Larson, City Clerk City of Sou an Francisco Approve c ' ' ~ ,s i Kary atsumoto, Mayor City of South San Francisco REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MF,ETING MINUTES FEBERUARY 11, 2009 PAGE 5