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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 2013-03-27WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27, 2013 7:00 P.M. CALL TO ORDER TIME: 7:00 pm ROLL CALL PRESENT: Councilmembers Addiego, Garbarino, Gupta, Mayor Pro Tern Matsumoto and Mayor Gonzalez. ABSENT: None. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Lead by Mayor Gonzalez. AGENDA REVIEW Council decided to move Item 9 up in order on the Agenda for immediate consideration. LEGISLATIVE BUSINESS 9. An Ordinance adding Chapter 10.58 to the South San Francisco Municipal Code relating to the regulation of firearm ammunition. City Attorney Mattas presented the staff report advising that the proposed draft ordinance would regulate two aspects of ammunition, one being sales and the other being a report on amounts sold. He stated considerable legal issues associated with the proposed legislation and noted actions pending in San Francisco, which had introduced a similar ordinance. He further referenced extensive correspondence including legal challenge received by the City opposing the proposal. Due to the uncertainty of legal issues proposed in opposition, staff recommended that Council continue this item off calendar and not take any action at this time. The item could be reconsidered at a time when the legal issues are resolved based on actions taken in other cities. Mayor Pro Tern Matsumoto stated her preference that the item be taken off calendar permanently. MINUTES So��x seN�, CITY COUNCIL FA o CITY OF SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO c91IFO REGULAR MEETING MUNICIPAL SERVICES BUILDING COUNCIL CHAMBERS 33 ARROYO DRIVE SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, CA WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27, 2013 7:00 P.M. CALL TO ORDER TIME: 7:00 pm ROLL CALL PRESENT: Councilmembers Addiego, Garbarino, Gupta, Mayor Pro Tern Matsumoto and Mayor Gonzalez. ABSENT: None. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Lead by Mayor Gonzalez. AGENDA REVIEW Council decided to move Item 9 up in order on the Agenda for immediate consideration. LEGISLATIVE BUSINESS 9. An Ordinance adding Chapter 10.58 to the South San Francisco Municipal Code relating to the regulation of firearm ammunition. City Attorney Mattas presented the staff report advising that the proposed draft ordinance would regulate two aspects of ammunition, one being sales and the other being a report on amounts sold. He stated considerable legal issues associated with the proposed legislation and noted actions pending in San Francisco, which had introduced a similar ordinance. He further referenced extensive correspondence including legal challenge received by the City opposing the proposal. Due to the uncertainty of legal issues proposed in opposition, staff recommended that Council continue this item off calendar and not take any action at this time. The item could be reconsidered at a time when the legal issues are resolved based on actions taken in other cities. Mayor Pro Tern Matsumoto stated her preference that the item be taken off calendar permanently. City Attorney Mattas stated that litigation on this issue could take several years, making it unlikely that Council would reconsider this item in the very near future. Councilman Addiego stated he initially believed the proposal was worthy of Council review due to the distressing level and degree of violence seen in America, and specifically in response to recent events in Colorado and Connecticut. Lack of response to these events was disempowering. Accordingly, when Mayor Gonzalez brought to Council's attention the letter from San Francisco Mayor Lee proposing local reforms, he believed it was something that should be explored in South San Francisco. Since this item was agendized, he had read the responsive e -mails and had conversations with members of the public opposed to the proposal. He referenced a conversation with Chief of Police Massoni which helped him to understand that this particular attempt at legislation might have been more window dressing than a real effort to combat violence. He noted that the referenced ammunition, when discharged, does not pierce victims or buildings. He believed the actual ability to adequately keep track of who was buying ammunition, how much was being purchased and from which source, as proposed in the ordinance, might be circumspect. Accordingly, the Councilman stated he would be permanently moving away from the idea being explored by the City and County of San Francisco due to its lack of substance. However, he has been sickened by the recent violence that has taken place in America and would continue to look at proposals by other communities. Mayor Gonzalez concurred with Councilman Addiego's comments. Mayor Pro Tem Matsumoto stated abhorrence for the violence, but was opposed to knee-jerk legislation. If Council wanted to pursue such legislation, she believed it was necessary to engage in public dialogue prior to initiation. Councilman Garbarino added that while reading the proposed ordinance he found not only disturbing aspects, but also missing pieces that would have made it more viable. He agreed with previous comments that the proposal included a lot of fluff and window dressing. Thus, he did not believe it to be a solution. He concluded by welcoming better efforts at the state level to combat gun violence. Councilman Gupta advised he had reviewed the proposed ordinance as well as the many e -mails directed at Council on the subject. He stated his own view was that parts of the proposed ordinance would not be enforceable in South San Francisco. He agreed with other Councilmembers that consideration of such an ordinance should be postponed until the legal issues had cleared and /or a revised approach was proposed. With the consent of Council, Mayor Gonzalez requested that the item be taken off calendar. Resident Mark Teglia applauded Council for tabling what he believed to be ill conceived legislation. He believed that prior to consideration of such legislation in the future, Council should first pursue the issue in study session and under a broadened notification system. He added that Council may find the City does not necessarily need legislation of the type proposed since there are 20,000 firearms laws on the books that are not properly enforced and applied. He opined the City's greatest resources on the issue of gun control are the South San Francisco Police Department and the leadership of Chief Massoni. He stated that these City employees are the local experts on the issue. He thus opined that provision of needed resources to the Police Department for enforcement is probably the most certain course for increasing public safety in the City. REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING MARCH 27, 2013 MINUTES PAGE 2 PUBLIC COMMENTS None. ITEMS FROM COUNCIL • Announcements. • Committee Reports. Councilmembers reported on attendance at community meetings and events, including the Ballot Measure Subcommittee meeting, the Senior Health Fair, the Youth Baseball Opening Day Parade, the Finance Subcommittee meeting, a LAFFCO meeting, a Congestion Management and Environmental Quality meeting, the Sustainable San Mateo County Awards and Green Building Awards, the Peninsula Council of Lions Clubs Public Safety Awards Banquet, the School District Liaison Committee Meeting, the first class of the Citizen's Academy Program, a HEART meeting, the Baseball Without Borders dinner, an ABAG meeting and a meeting with the Youth Leadership Institute. Director of Parks and Recreation Ranals and Recreation and Community Services Supervisor Porter were congratulated for their work on the successful Youth Government Day Program. Specific items for further action and/or consideration were set forth as follows: Councilman Gupta shared an idea in line with his long term vision, to create a hands -on Science Exploratorium which would emphasize Biotechnology. Mayor Pro Tem Matsumoto announced that thanks to staff's recommendation and public input, SamTrans would maintain service on Bus Route 292. While some South San Francisco routes were saved from discontinuation, cutbacks would still be experienced. The Mayor Pro Tem also advised that the City's old Espresso Cart that she had suggested be refurbished for use at the City's Farmer's Market and other City events had turned out to be more complicated than she thought with a potential cost of roughly $3,500. City Manager Nagel clarified that the $3,500 estimate was based on refurbishing the old cart. However, as it turned out, the old cart was not capable of being refurbished. Accordingly, the purchase of a new cart would cost roughly $5,000. At Council's encouragement, he agreed staff would look into these costs further. He advised the real issue with respect to the coffee cart would be staffing. Mayor Pro Tem Matsumoto next raised an issue related to the North County Gun Buyback that Chief Massoni had advised Council the Department would be assisting with at the request of Congresswoman Speier. The Mayor Pro Tem stated she was not comfortable with the fact that individuals would be anonymously turning in guns for money. She opined potential criminals might then have the resources to purchase new weapons. Councilman Garbarino stated that while he believed the program to be a good one conceptually, he had similar concerns as the Mayor Pro Tem. Councilman Addiego stated he believed the program was successful in the past, however given the number of guns added in society on a daily basis, he didn't see a major accomplishment in the program. REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING MARCH 27, 2013 MINUTES PAGE 3 Chief Massoni clarified that the weapons are evaluated to determine the buyback value. For example while $100 and $200 were the respective maximums based on gun type, only $10 -$20 would be given for nonworking weapons. While the turn -in was anonymous, weapons were checked to determine whether they had been stolen. Several stolen weapons were discovered through this process during the last buyback event. Mayor Gonzalez concurred with the Mayor Pro Tem's point, but in consideration of the information provided by the Chief, believed the money the department would receive from melting down the weapons was worthwhile. Chief Massoni stressed that this was a way of doing something that needed to be done. This program would remove weapons from homes where the risk could include a teen getting hold of the weapon. Councilman Addiego noted he could see the value in potentially removing the weapons from a home where they might get into the hands of a would -be perpetrator. CONSENT CALENDAR 1. Motion to approve the Minutes of Meetings of February 20, 2013, March 6, 2013 and March 13, 2013. 2. Motion confirming payment registers for March 27, 2013. 3. Cancellation of the April 24, 2013 Regular City Council Meeting. 4. Resolution No. 21 -2013 approving International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) Memorandum of Understanding. 5. Waive reading and adopt Ordinance 1470 -2013 adding Chapter 10.70 of the South San Francisco Municipal Code regulating hotel guest registers. 6. Resolution No. 22 -2013 authorizing the filing of an application for funding assigned to the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) and committing any necessary matching funds and stating the assurance to complete the South San Francisco Sidewalk Gap Closure Project. 7. Resolution No. 23 -2013 accepting a grant in the amount of $25,000 from the Department of Homeland Security through the Port Security Grant Program to purchase Navigational Equipment (Automatic Information System) for Rescue Boat Operations; and amending the Fire Department 2012/2013 Budget. 8. Resolution No. 24 -2013 approving loan agreement in the amount of $5,445.87 with the Successor Agency to the Redevelopment Agency of the City of South San Francisco to allow the Successor Agency to make a Non - housing Recognized Obligation Payment for expenses shown on ROPS IV but incurred during ROPS III. REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING MARCH 27, 2013 MINUTES PAGE 4 Motion— Councilman Garbarino/ Second— Councilmember Gupta: to approve the Consent Calendar. Unanimously approved by voice vote. ADMINISTRATIVE BUSINESS 10. Transmittal of Mid -year 2012 -13 Financial Report and Resolution No. 25 -2013 amending the 2012 -13 Budget. Finance Director Steele provided the staff report. He presented a PowerPoint relative to updates on the local economy, the general fund and other funds. Director Steele reported that the local economy has continued to pick up from the recession. Passenger traffic at SFO increased 8.5% over the prior year. Assessed property values were poised to rise 7.3% over the prior year. In South San Francisco, sales tax receipts were 6% higher. The General Fund benefitted from the economic bounce back and from one -time redevelopment dissolution related revenues as well. The net operating impact on the General Fund over adopted budget minus any additional expenditure was up $4.7 million. Revenues were up $3 million due primarily to higher property taxes, TOT growth, building and fire permit activity and additional fine collections. Expenditures were up by $90,000 for grants. The largest changes from the adopted budget were in property taxes and hotel taxes. The increase. in property taxes was due to RDA dissolution funding so it would not be an ongoing increase. In addition, there was a large payment of a Genentech property tax settlement refund. Hotel taxes were 17% higher than last year. Both occupancy and room rates were up. In line with staff's conservative approach, the Finance Department consciously projected an 8% increase for the remainder of the year. In terms of the General Fund Reserves, the undesignated reserves would amount to $14.8 million and the total discretionary reserves would amount to $25.4 million. Additional changes in the budget amendment were: the self insurance fund at $65,000, the equipment replacement fund at $140,100 and the CDBG Fund at $22,082. In conclusion, Council had before it a budget amendment resolution accepting $90,000 in grant funding and an amendment to the Operating Budget to adjust revenues and expenses consistent with the summary of all the changes. In response to Mayor Pro Tem Matsumoto's query as to whether the upward trend would plane out at some point, Finance Director Steele responded that at some point, the increase in TOT would level off. She then inquired as to attachment I detailing the $66,000 sales tax deficit. Finance Director Steele clarified that $66,000 over the total was not a significant number but about level with what had been budgeted. Councilman Gupta noted he was pleased with these trends. He queried whether Council would have the opportunity to consider reallocation of funds. Finance Director Steele advised that the City Manager, the Finance Department and the Budget Subcommittee have had discussions pertinent to reallocation. One recommendation is to put additional dollars back into recreational and other buildings that have been neglected as of late. Councilman Gupta added that he agreed with staff's conservative approach, but at the same time, did not want to be so conservative as to miss opportunities. Pleased with the conservative direction that Finance Director Steele and his staff had taken, Councilman Addiego noted that unexpected events could impact revenues. REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING MARCH 27, 2013 MINUTES PAGE 5 Resident Mike Harris asked queried the County Pool's $40 million loss due to the Lehman Brothers collapse. He requested identification of the City's portion of this loss and whether it would be recouped. Finance Director Steele responded that the City's total loss due to the Lehman collapse was around $400,000 in total. Since that time, the City has pulled its investments out of the County Pool. City Attorney Mattas noted that in current litigation, the City's interest was being represented by San Mateo County. The County has indicated it believes the recovery will be about .17 to .20 cents on the dollar. The final numbers are not yet in, but are getting closer to being realized. The County is actively involved in pursuing the remaining funds. The City will receive most of its funds as a result of actions by the County. Motion— Councilman Garbarino /Second— Councilman Gupta: to approve Resolution No. 25- 2013. Unanimously approved by voice vote. 11. Resolution No. 26 -2013 awarding a contract for Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Transition Plan to MIG, and amending the 2012 -13 Budget. Finance Director Steele provided the staff report. He noted that the ADA was enacted in July 1990 and came into effect in July 1992 and has recently been amended. Among other provisions, the Act requires government agencies to complete self evaluation of facilities, programs and services to identify deficiencies that would prevent disabled citizens from participating in government programs or services. The City must pursue a transition plan to fund and prioritize needed improvements over time. The City Manager, Human Resources, Finance and Parks and Recreations Directors reviewed the proposal from four firms which responded to the city's request for proposals to assist with this process. The selected firm would assist with surveying City programs, facilities and public rights of way and help staff arrive at a cost estimate to be folded into the capital budget. Staff unanimously agreed that MIG had the strongest proposal, for an amount of $130,000 including contingencies. Staff was also impressed with the firm's work on historical buildings and their prior experience working with other cities. The whole process, including two public hearings, would take about a year to complete. Mayor Pro Tem Matsumoto noted that the magnitude of this program would be great. Assistant Public Works Director /City Engineer McMinn responded that the cost of improvements was expected to be in the millions of dollars. City Attorney Mattas pointed out that the purpose of an ADA transition plan is to indentify improvements that need to be made and prioritize them accordingly. The ADA does not require immediate compliance with every aspect. Motion— Councilman Addiego/ Second— Councilman Gupta: to approve Resolution No. 26- 2013. Unanimously approved by voice vote. 12. Resolution No. 27 -2013 authorizing the City Manager to execute contracts with the Lew Edwards Group for Community Outreach Services, in an amount not to exceed $32,000, and with Community Survey Firm for Community Survey Services, in an amount not to REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING MARCH 27, 2013 MINUTES PAGE 6 exceed $19,000, and amending the 2012 -13 Operating Budget to add $51,000 to the City Manager's department budget. Principal Planner Beaudin stated it was staff s recommendation that Council adopt the resolution attached to the staff report which would authorize the City Manager to execute consulting services contracts related to outreach for a potential ballot measure. Motion— Councilman Gupta/Second— Councilman Garbarino: to approve Resolution No. 27- 2013. Unanimously approved by voice vote. COMMUNITY FORUM Mayor Gonzalez requested that the meeting be adjourned in honor of former South San Francisco resident and Councilmember and Mayor of the City of San Carlos, Hon. Randy Royce. Mike Harris, a member of the public requested and was permitted by Mayor Gonzalez to be heard about a legal matter he is involved in relating to an incident during which he was assaulted on BART property. He further shared information regarding structural complications with his residence. Mayor Gonzalez expressed concern about the number of signs on City streets pertaining to a certain lost dogs. He encouraged City staff to remove the signs promptly. Chief Massoni assured Council that Public Safety Officers were removing the signs on sight. ADJOURNMENT Being no further business, Mayor Gonzalez adjourned the meeting at 8:36 pm in honor of Hon. Randy Royce. Submitted: Approved: sta Joy M new Pedro Gonzalez C y Clerk, City of So th San Francisco Mayor, City of South San Francisco REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING MARCH 27, 2013 MINUTES PAGE 7