HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 2009-07-22 (2)MINUTES
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CITY COUNCIL
OF THE
CITY OF SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO
P.O. Box 711 (City hall, ~Tl.;O Grand Avenue)
South San Francisco, California 94083
Meeting to beheld at:
MTJNICIPAL SERVICES BUILDING
COMMUivITY P.GOM
33 ARROYO DRIVE
SOUTH SAN rP.ANCISCO, CA
WEDN-ESDAY, 3ULY 22, 2009
7:00 P.M.
Call to Crder
Roll Ca11.
Tu,~E: 7:02 P.M.
Present: Councilmen Garbarino, Gonzalez
Mullin, Vice Mayor Addiego and
Mayor Matsumoto
Absent: ltione.
Pledge of Allegiance
PRESENTATIONS
GIS Applications for Design of CII' Projects -Ray Razavi and Doug Hollis
Director of information Technology (IT), Doug Hollis gave a Power Point presentation on Geographical
Ir_formation Systems (GIS) to show Council how a collaborative effort was being made between IT,
Public Works, Parks and Recreations, Engineering and Economic and Community Development. City
Engineer Ray Razavi was present to explain for Council how GIS would save the City money and solve
many of the problems encountered by the various City departments during the planning stages.
City Engineer, Ray Razavi noted the Capitol Improvement Project (CIl') would be approximately $46
million. This range had been the same for several years and covered up to a dozen or more projects each
year. Designing these projects involved creating a base plan/map, a very involved and expensive process
costing approximately $30-50,000 to create the information, taking approximately two (2) to three (3)
months of contractor work and relying on information from utilities which can sometimes prove to be
unreliable. Using Power Point, Engineer Razavi demonstrated for Council how GIS was used to gather
and input detailed information to be used for base plans/maps. Reduction in costs could be expected as a
result of addressing the aforementioned issues of timing and reliability. He noted eventually, Staff would
like to extend the GIS to cover the entire city, everything west of 101.
Director Hollis pointed out another added benefit, laptop accessibility of mapping for Public Works
employees in the field. This accessibility allowed employees to access information on projects
immediately as they are standing at the project site. He also noted, with an additional piece of software, 3-
Dmodeling could be done. This software would prove to be very useful with planning.
Vice Mayor Addiego questioned if the 3-D imaging would eliminate the need for a physical model.
Director Hollis stated he was correct, a physical model would not be necessary unless one was requested.
Mayor Matsumoto asked Engineer Razavi to explain what GIS stood for the viewing audience. She
questioned how the software was obtained.
Director Hollis stated the City purchase the industry standard software called Ezria.
Councilman Gonzalez noted the focus was on east of 101 and questioned if it would work throughout the
City and in residential neighborhoods.
Engineer Razavi stated the focus was on east of 101 because there was already a lot of information
gathered for that particular area but the system would work in other areas as well.
Councilman Gonzalez questioned if residents and contractors would still have to check with PG& E and
other utilities before beginning work.
Engineer Razavi stated notifying PG & E was still required. The plan was to have the City's system be a
check point for U.S. Markings, and catching anything that may have been missed.
Councilman Mullin asked if the system would be helpful with the Caltrain station location effort as he
understood there had been an issue with the underground utilities and toxic remediation.
Engineer Razavi responded yes and noted once the utility information was inputted into the system, there
would be no more guess work.
AGENDA REVIEW
No changes.
Mayor Matsumoto stated before going into Items from Council, she would like to note Council would be
adjourning in memory of Jeanne Noftsger.
PUBLIC COMMENTS
None.
ITEMS FROM COUNCIL
• Announcements.
• Committee Reports:
Councilman Garbarino noted his attendance of the Domestic Violence Council Meeting and related a
story given by a young woman in attendance. His heart went out to her and he wanted to bring attention to
her plight. He also attended the Sustainable San Mateo County study session on land use where one of the
topics discussed was the use of Highway 101 as a bus transit system. He felt it that it could easily be
made into a natural transit corridor. Lastly, the Councilman wanted to comment of the Christmas in July
event he attended at the Burango Company for the purpose of collecting items for the Echo Company care
packages. He urged residents to visit Burango if ever given the chance.
REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING JULY 22, 2009
MINUTES PAGE 2
Councilman Gonzalez attended the monthly H.E.A.R.T. meeting where the prospect of getting into the
business of buying foreclosed homes was discussed, though nothing was decided. He also attended the
South San Francisco Sister Cities Committee meeting and reported on a letter received from Lucca, Italy
Delegation. Their delegation would be visiting the City in October for the Columbus Holiday. A dinner
was scheduled for October 8 at the Conference Center with anticipated 200-300 guests. The Councilman
reported that South San Francisco had planned to participate and possibly contribute something for the
dinner. The Committee also requested the delegate receive an official tour of the City. He reported on his
and Councilman Mullin's attendance of a conference sponsored by the League of California Cities entitled
Rebuilding California: A Summit on the State Global and Fiscal Reform. Lastly, Councilman Gonzalez
reported on his and Councilman Garbarino's attendance of a meeting for Growth Options for the 21st
Century (Go21) where it was requested they write letters to our Washington representative in regards to
using the rail system as a means of transporting goods and a way to eliminate big trucks from the roads.
As an addendum, Councilman Garbarino noted the letter from the Lucca Delegation stated they wished to
include local citizens who hale from the Lucca region of Italy.
Councilman Mullin, as the local representative for the Workforce Investment Board (WIB), reported the
County's unemployment rate at 8.6 % and 10.3% for the City of South San Francisco. The meeting's
discussion was also on how Federal Stimulus money was being spent. The Councilman wanted to make
special note of the County's Green Jobs Corps Program as well as mention the City's involvement in the
Green Home Enhancement and Retrofit Program as a direct result of the federal monies received from
WIB. Through this program, local youths would be trained on how to conduct energy efficiency audits
and install green products in approximately 20 homes city-wide. He thanked Mike Lappen, Norma
Fragoso, Joy Adams and Carmen Molina for their hard work on the project. The Councilman met with
the Housing Subcommittee to discuss potential concepts for the El Camino/Chestnut plan. A joint study
session with the Planning Commission and the Consultants was in the works to discuss various options.
However, nothing had been decried on as it is still in early phases. Along with Councilman Gonzalez, he
attended the Cities, Counties, and Schools Fiscal Summit, a convening of over 500 participants between
State and Local governments to discuss State Fiscal reform. He reported the State budget revisions would
likely hit local government hard to the tune of $4 billion in addition to the borrowing of $1.8 billion. The
top priorities which emerged from the summit were to 1) protect local revenue sources, 2) develop the
political strength to stop future State raids, 3) reform term limits to control legislative power, and 4) allow
local special taxes with less than 2/3 vote, allowing cities to have greater control and determination of
their fiscal futures. Councilman Mullin gave the website www.ccspartnership.org as a source of further
information for those interested. On a final note, Councilman Mullin spoke on Code Enforcement efforts
and noted a 282% increase in the number of code enforcement cases from last June to June of this year.
On a positive note, he stated there had been a closure of 70 cases in June 2009 as compared to 46 in June
2008. He questioned if the reason for the spike may have had something to do with the number of
foreclosures in the area.
Fire Marshall, Luis Da Silva stated the Councilman was correct when correlating the number of
foreclosure registrations with the spike and noted if foreclosures were taken out the equation, there would
be approximately 192 less cases.
Mayor Matsumoto had a follow up question for the Councilman regarding the unemployment rate in
South San Francisco as reported by the WIB. Had a reason been given as to why the City's rate was
higher than the County?
REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING JULY 22, 2009
MINUTES PAGE 3
Councilman Mullin stated he couldn't say exactly why but noted it was higher than the County median but
comparable to Daly City. He also noted it was not necessarily an indication of the local job market and
that employment statistics tended to be tracked by residence. He noted he would seek more detailed
information from the source of the data, the Employment Development Department (EDD).
Vice Mayor Addiego reported on his and Council's attendance of the Badge Ceremonies honoring the
promotions of Corporals McPhillips and Rudis to the rank of Sergeant, Officers Kallas and Wall to the
rank of Lieutenant and Officer Azzopardi to the rank of Captain. He noted his appreciation of being able
to attend the ceremony and offered his congratulations. The Vice Mayor spoke on his opportunity to
attend the Bay Conservation Development Commission meeting in Oakland, as a voting member.
Information was shared on the climate change and the projection of future water levels. Though the
projections were for approximately 100 years out, he expressed his desire to consider this data when
planning for future development for areas of the City. Vice Mayor Addiego thanked City Manager Nagel
for removing the benches on Grand Avenue that were causing issues for the community. The Vice Mayor
mentioned other cities enacting a Sit and Lie Ordinance and questioned if this was something City
Staff could follow up on. The Vice Mayor stated that while the current funds being taken by the State was
something the City was not happy about, he wanted to assure residents that the City's reserve funds were
approximately six times the amount being taken from the State. He felt so long as the money was paid
back, it was a good use of tax dollars. Lastly, Vice Mayor Addiego noted a Calligraphy and Bonsai
Tree event that had taken place at the Municipal Services Building, sponsored by the Cultural Arts
Commission. In an effort to increase attendance and promote such events, he wanted Staff to look into
finding a new location for such events.
Mayor Matsumoto began her report by thanking Councilman Garbarino for his tireless efforts in
fundraising for the Day in the Park event. Unfortunately, despite these efforts, the current state of the
economy had caused a shake up of sponsorship. As a result, several minor cuts had been made including
the elimination of the pancake breakfast. Mayor Matsumoto gave special thanks to the volunteers who
had helped in this last care packaging event including; City Librarian, Ann Mahon and her husband,
Elaine Garbarino, City Attorney Steve Mattas and three additional Meyers Nave staff members, who
stayed from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. This time around, volunteers had made and packaged 229 neck coolers for
the City's adopted Echo Company. The Mayor reported on an occurrence that disturbed her at a
recent senior brown bag lunch where a City employee had been punched in the stomach. In light of this
and other reported occurrences, the Mayor wanted to remind citizens that those working with the various
senior programs were doing the best they could and deserved to be treated respectfully. She then briefly
noted the many events and trips the senior program offers, specifying that you did not have to be a senior
to participate. The Mayor commented on her recent work with the Design Review Board and stated how
impressed she had been by the way they worked together, utilizing their knowledge and expertise in
dealing with planning issues. On Tuesday, August 4 from S p.m. to 7:30 p.m., Project Read would be
holding a Financial Well Being workshop at the Main Library Auditorium. This seminar would allow
those in attendance to speak with financial experts at no cost. Lastly, Mayor Matsumoto wanted to call
attention to the Improving Public Places program and thank Gary Thayer for maintaining succulent garden
located at the West Orange Library.
CONSENT CALENDAR
1. Motion to approve the minutes of June 10, 2009.
2. Motion to confirm the expense claims of July 22, 2009 in the amount of $11,028,760.34.
REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING JULY 22, 2009
MINUTES PAGE 4
3. Resolution awarding the construction contract to Gallagher & Burk, Inc. for the East Grand Avenue
Resurfacing Project in an amount not to exceed $680,410.
4. Resolution appropriating an additional $83,931 from Redevelopment Agency funds and amending
the 2009-2010 Capital Improvement Program budget for the Emergency Operations Center/Training
Classroom Project.
Motion -Vice Mayor Addiego/Second -Councilman Garbarino: to approve Consent Calendar Item Nos.
1, 2 and 4. Unanimously approved by voice vote.
Item No. 3 -Councilman Garbarino questioned why patchwork was done at the East Grand location if it
was just going to be resurfaced.
Public Works Director, Terry White explained that work had been in progress for quite some time
involving companies such as PG & E and Genentech. What had been seen there was part of the design
and had always intended to be paved over as part of the process.
Councilman Garbarino stated he was glad to see something happening, as the location was in dire need of
repair.
Mayor Matsumoto, directed at the City Attorney, questioned if there was any way Council could build
something into the bidding criteria that would allow preference for local business contracts.
City Attorney, Steve Mattas explained that could be done for certain types of contracts. However, Public
Works contracts were bound by State requirements that limited awarding contracts to the lowest
responsible bidder. Staff was currently working on providing the Council information on what could be
done in regards to non-Public Works contracts.
Motion -Councilman Garbarino/Second -Councilman Gonzalez: to approve Resolution No. 71-2009.
Unanimously approved by voice vote.
ADMINISTRATIVE BUSINESS
5. Resolution Adopting Revisions to the Master Fee Schedule for 2009-2010.
Budget and Financial Manager, Colleen Tribby presented the Staff Report and noted the document
recommended for adoption this evening included the suggested changes stemming from the July 7 study
session. She further noted page 29 of the Master Fee Schedule had not previously been seen by Council
and regarded Water Quality Pretreatment fees that had not been changed for over twelve years.
Councilman Garbarino, in reference to page 29, questioned why some fees were nearly doubled
while others only went up by a small nominal fee.
Director White stated some of the tasks took more work/effort than others and fees vary. Some fees had
not been changed since 1990. Improvement of technology has caused prices to go up and then come
back down, so it is a positive that they have not gone up more drastically.
REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING JULY 22, 2009
MINUTES PAGE 5
Mayor Matsumoto noted direction given by Council from the earlier Special City Council was the
childcare subsidy for City employees would remain at 50%.
Attorney Mattas noted the reference from pages 35 and 361owering the subsidy to 25% would be deleted
from the final draft.
Mayor Matsumoto noted there was a speaker card regarding item no five.
Marcus Nava spoke on behalf of the South San Francisco Aquatics Club in regards to the
proposed fee increase that would charge the team $5000 per year for rental of the City Pool. Mr. Nava
asked the Council to take into account the swim team's efforts to put money back into the community
through sponsorship of various programs for underprivileged children, as well as putting money back into
the pool by making a $100 donation for flowers and a $1000 donation towards the purchase of new pool
pump. The club had also planned to help with cost of overhead lights in the future. He wanted to let
Council know that members of the swim team do pay some fees, explaining that high school swimmers
who use the pool for practice in the morning pay regular fees and they also pay weekend and pool party
rental fees minus the cost of staff. Lastly, he noted the swim team helped out with staffing and that 25 of
the 80 staff members were either current or former swim team members. In closing, he cited the
City's Aquatic team as the only team in the area that was a co-sponsored group and all others were fully
sponsored. Whatever decision Council made this evening, Mr. Nava expressed his and the swim team's
appreciation of their time and consideration.
Mayor Matsumoto requested clarification as to the item Mr. Nava was referring to being item number one
(1) on page 3 8.
City Manager Nagel stated the Mayor was correct.
Vice Mayor Addiego questioned Mr. Nava on the number of people served by their extra
curricular activities?
Mr. Nava responded the Aquatics Club sponsored recreational swim on Monday, Wednesday and Friday
of spring break at the cost of $150. They also sponsor one (1) month of Fridays out of the summer for the
cost of $150. In all, Mr. Nava estimated the Aquatics Club spent an additional $1500 per year on
sponsored events.
Councilman Mullin thanked the club for the $1000 donation for fixing the pump and questioned if they
may have had something to do with it needing to be replaced. He appreciated the donation but thought it
could be applied as a two (2) month credit.
Mr. Nava responded they had not; the replacement was needed as part of routine maintenance.
Councilman Gonzalez questioned how many children were enrolled with the team and what amount
would be reasonable or acceptable for the group.
Mr. Nava stated there were currently 120 participants who pay monthly dues. He had hoped fees could be
on a gradual scale. He expressed concern over an increase that would not just effect this year, but
continue to rise throughout the years.
REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING JULY 22, 2009
MINUTES PAGE 6
Councilman Garbarino questioned what programs would have to be dropped if the increase were to be
passed.
Mr. Nava stated the club would no longer be able to sponsor recreational swim as at previously mentioned
times. Recreational swim serves any person who wishes to swim, usually the pool maximum of 130
people.
Mayor Matsumoto, to address Mr. Nava's concerns about yearly increases, questioned Staff on how long
the fee would stay at the proposed level. She further noted if they examined the proposed schedule,
citizens could see that fees were typically not raised on a yearly basis, some went back as far as 2003.
City Manager Nagel stated there had never been a monthly rental fee, only the annual renewal fee. He
believed this fee had not been raised for at least a couple of years, maybe more.
Vice Mayor Addiego stated Council needed to understand what the cost was to operate the pool in order
to determine if fee was fair.
Manager Nagel stated while the exact number was not available at the moment, the increase had been
based on the amount of hours and the overhead costs of operation.
Mayor Matsumoto noted fee increases were being requested for all cosponsored groups.
Manager Nagel confirmed the Mayor's statement.
Resident Maria Refuerzo spoke from a parent's perspective as she had two children on the team. She
explained the various fees paid by families which included dues and equipment costs. She further noted
the swim team was an excellent way to keep children involved and out of trouble.
Mayor Matsumoto questioned where the dues went?
Mrs. Refuerzo stated the dues mostly went to pay the salaries for coaching staff.
Vice Mayor Addiego stated even though it was a co-sponsored group, it sounded very much like a private
swim club. He sought clarification on whether or not coaches were City employees.
Manager Nagel stated currently, the coaches were not City employees although they had been sometime
ago.
Mayor Matsumoto questioned the percentage of residents versus non-residents among the club
participants.
Parks and Recreation Manager, Sue Perotti stated the mix was 52% residents, 48%non-residents.
Councilman Garbarino concurred with the Vice Mayor's request of learning more about what overhead
costs are for running the pool. He suggested the item be pulled from the schedule until further
information was gathered and studied.
Councilman Gonzalez agreed.
REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING JULY 22, 2009
MINUTES PAGE 7
Mayor Matsumoto asked if the item could be revisited at a later date.
Manager Nagel stated the item could be brought back before Council on the August 26 regular City
Council meeting.
Councilman Mullin requested specifics on the membership of residents versus non-residents and a
discussion on how to factor in when a group makes contributions towards maintenance issues.
Motion -Councilman Garbarino/Second -Councilman Mullin: to approve Resolution No. 73-2009 minus
the Employee Childcare Subsidy revision on page 35 and the Annual Co-sponsorship renewal fee on page
38. Unanimously approved by voice vote.
6. Resolution placing a measure on the November 3, 2009 Ballot seeking voter approval to increase the
Transient Occupancy Tax Rate and amend other provisions of the Municipal Code related to the Tax
and amending the General Fund Budget for Election Costs.
City Attorney, Steve Mattas presented Staff Report which included the proposed documents necessary to
place a ballot measure on the November 3, 2009 election which would increase the Transient Occupancy
Tax (TOT) by 1 %. The form of the increase would be a general tax, meaning the revenue would be
placed into the City's general fund and spent at the direction of Council. If placed on the ballot, the
measure would need a simple majority (50% + 1 vote) for approval.
Attorney Mattas explained two (2) additional changes being recommended to Council: 1) an allowance in
the Ordinance to base the TOT tax on the amount the room occupant pays when purchased through sites
such as Travelocity.com and Expedia.com, and 2) When a separate fee for parking is charged, the TOT
would be payable on the full amount paid by the occupant including parking amount. Text had been
added to the Ordinance clarifying these issues.
If adopted as proposed, the resolution would be transmitted to the County for placement on the ballot.
Blanks in the resolution have been left for the designation of signatory members. Council may want to
elect two signatory members in favor of the measure, as this will give it the highest level of priority.
Vice Mayor Addiego suggested the signatories be Councilmen Mullin and Garbarino.
Councilman Mullin questioned the language of the resolution on page three (3). He requested it be
clarified to state the increase was from 9% to 10%, a 1 % increase.
In regards to designating signatories, Mayor Matsumoto questioned what had been done in the past.
Attorney Mattas stated in previous instances, Council had selected two (2) Council members as lead
signatories who in turn went out to find other signatories. Addressing Councilman Mullin's editing
suggestion, he stated the maximum number of words allowed on the ballot were 75, with proposed
changes it was 76.
Councilman Mullin stated he was fine with "increased by 1% of the room rate" for clarification.
Mayor Matsumoto questioned the use of the word "modernized."
REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING NLY 22, 2009
MINUTES PAGE 8
Attorney Mattas stated the word had been selected very deliberately based on experience with similar
ballot measures.
Motion -Vice Mayor Addiego/Second -Councilman Gonzalez: to select Councilmen Mullin and
Garbarino to prepare the ballot measure, be lead signatories on said ballot and be authorized to
select other signors. Unanimously approved by voice vote.
Mayor Matsumoto requested the word "hotel" be added in front of guests to clarify who would be paying
the tax.
Councilman Gonzalez questioned whether or not the use of the potential revenue was to be determined
this evening.
Attorney Mattas stated if it were a special tax, it would be determined this evening. However since the
revenues would be going into the general fund, use of revenues would be at the discretion of Council to be
determined at a later date.
Motion: Councilman Gonzalez/Second Councilman Mullin: to approve Resolution No. 74-2009 with the
changes as directed by City Council. Unanimously approved by voice vote.
COMMUNITY FORUM
Councilman Gonzalez wanted to announce July 28 at 6:30, he would be having neighborhood meeting
with a group called "Back to Basics," about the topics of negative activity prevention in early school years
and domestic violence. Representatives from the Police Department and School District would be in
attendance. The Councilman also noted the public has started noticing the cuts in services and relayed to
him the occurrence of unacceptable events behavior at Linden and Grand Ave, specifically members of
the public relieving themselves in front of the white building (former bank). He requested staff look into
this and to do what was needed keep the area sanitary.
ADJOURNMENT
Being of no further business, Mayor Matsumoto adjourned the meeting at 8:46 p.m. in memory of Jeanne
K. Noftsger.
Submitted by:
Anna M. Brown, Deputy City Clerk
City of South San Francisco
Approved:
Karyl atsumoto, Mayor
City of South San Francisco
REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING
MINUTES
NLY 22, 2009
PAGE 9