HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 1996-01-17 Mayor Jack Drago
Council:
Joseph A. Fernekes
Eugene R. Mullin
--lohn R. Penna
Robert Y~
AGENDA
ADJOURNED REGULAR MEETING
CALL TO ORDER: (Cassette No. 1)
ROLL CALL:
1. CIP Budget Workshop.
1/17/96
Page 1
MINUT_E$
City Council
Municipal Services Building
Community Room
January 17, 1996
66
ACIIQN TAKEN
ADJOURNED REGULAR MEETING
7:10 p.m. Mayor Drago presiding.
Council Present:
Council Absent:
Fernekes, Mullin, Yee and
Drago.
Penna.
City Manager Wilson stated the City Engineer will
give the rational of the document, the Finance Di-
rector will give an overview of the revenues and
then there will be the document itself and details of
the programs, if acceptable.
City Engineer Wong gave an overview of the docu-
ment: a summary of the project areas of the streets
and railroad crossings; a map showing the current
proposal projects and a summary of how the tables
fit together as explained; projects completed and
projects staff is asking Council to look at; East of
101 is included in the projects; major projects have
to be looked at differently because they are expen-
sive; etc.
Councilman Mullin stated he has questions, because
it is easier to deal with the dollars and give away $2
million, but there are things he does not understand
and questioned the flip side of page 2, design work,
done at 30% - does that mean one third of the pro-
ject is finished.
City Engineer Wong stated 30% does not produce a
document.
Councilman Mullin questioned the same page, Item
5, which he read two or three times on the Mazzanti
property for a 250' water line which is currently
provided and is being turned over to the City - this
he did not understand. Is that going to be torn out
and put in a new sewer and water line. If that is the
A~DA
1. CIP Budget Workshop.
1/17/96
Page 2
ACTION TAKEN
67
case it has to be sold to the City.
City Engineer Wong stated the Mazzanti property
will be a private property while the sewer lines
owned by the City are owned by the City.
Mayor Drago explained that is for the Mazzanti
house that will remain on the property, so
it is talking about the water service to the property
for they are going to live there.
Discussion followed: Councilman Yee noted
$20,000 is earmarked for the sewer line, but the
City is not going to develop the Park right away, so
shouldn't it be part of the park expansion rather than
be done now; staff is looking for priorities and if
Orange Park is going to be set back 2 or 3 years so
Councilman Yee's point is well taken; Councilman
Mullin noted there is not a map for the street im-
provements which he wants to see where each of the
improvements is going to be placed rather than flip
back to an earlier map; Hickey Boulevard;
DPS developer fees are incorrect on page 2; Coun-
cilman Mullin needs a copy of the East of 101
Study; etc.
Director of Finance Brooks presented funding pro-
jections and explained the numbers: funding sources
used in the CIP funding; the Price Club $220,000;
the General Fund transfer; Overpass funds; funds
for the construction of Junipero slide area, the
FEMA funds and property owners; the RDA down-
town from the Redevelopment; the Airport and
Armor storm drain improvements; funding for ADA
improvements; $80,000 for the classrooms; revenue
from Measure A and Gas Tax; Parking District
Authority funds and the Sewer Fund; etc.
Discussion followed: the Council is looking at a
little less than $3 million in CIP improvements; no
projects have been eliminated and funds switched to
something else, so it is $1.5 million; last year
$500,000 was allowed in capital improvements and
that was reduced to $300,00; Mayor Drago suggest-
ed showing Councilman Mullin the agreement with
the Price Club and accompanying documents for it is
very complicated; the agreement will continue to
the year 2006 when the debt will be forgiven;
$250,000 in street resurfacing projects, but funds
have been removed from that fund; the practice of
moving Gas Tax funds around; seismic retrofit of
AGENDA _ACIIQN TAKEN
1. CIP Budget Workshop.
Councilman Penna Arrived at the Meeting:
1/17/96
Page 3
City Hall and the Library is approximately $3 mil-
lion and Redevelopment money is set aside for the
Library portion of the work; the work should be
separated into two projects and if money is left over
it should go to the Corporation Yard Project; what
does the Council want to accomplish in an eighteen
month plan; the second project is the relocation of
the Corporation Yard out of Orange Park and the
price has risen to $5 million due to square footage
and $2 million has been allocated; there was con-
troversy over Mr. Avanessian's plan; concrete build-
ing or tilt-up or a fabricated steel building;
staff was asked a year ago what the City could get
out of Mr. Avanessian's plan with limited money,
but they never came back with an answer; Council-
man Yee is afraid staff is going to spend the money
on more consultant designs when we have already
spent hundreds of thousands on designs and no dirt
has been touched even though we have the
Avanessian plan done 8 or 9 years ago and have not
gone out to bid; didn't Council vote last year to
have Mr. Avanessian come back and make modifica-
tions to down cost it and yet we still have the $5
million cost and the number keeps going up; say
to Mr. Avanessian, where is a good project that we
can operate in and build that into the project rather
than the $5 million; Mayor Drago also felt there was
no excuse for the Library not being done, because
Council voted the funds and it should have happened
and we are still looking and saying should we do it
when the money is there; he still has a problem with
the Orange Park improvements when we are still
with the $5-$9 million figure - when do we get
realistic numbers; staff is looking for direction and
priorities and then they will come back with specific
numbers; staff feels Council can approve the seismic
work and the Corporation Yard which will take two
years for design and construction and it
will come out of the unallocated resources; there is
$5.6 million in unallocated resources; etc.
Councilman Penna arrived at the meeting at 7:50
p.m.
Discussion followed: there is $2.4 million in the
Orange Park reserve which will sit in the
unallocated reserve until allocated; that would leave
a standard 7%-10% that was set up for emergency
reserve in the General Fund; there is almost $11
million in reserves; a break down of the reserves
was given by the Finance Director; Councilman
AGENDA ACTION TAKEN
1. CIP Budget Workshop.
1/17/96
Page 4
Mullin reiterated his taking his fiduciary
responsibility seriously; was City Hall being done to
save lives or to keep the building up; there is
no difference; there is risk management involved in
the project; there is an adopted earthquake stand-
ard and the seismic improvements are to meet those
standards even though they change after every earth-
quake; Councilman Yee wants a monthly or quarter-
ly report from staff so we don't come back in six
months and nothing is done; there can also be anoth-
er study session with more detail; staff can do that
in 30 days and the City Manager will bring in eon-
sultants and Mr. Avanessian; so this is the first time
staff has had the authorization to do it; staff is to
have a progress report every 30 days under items
from Council; etc.
Discussion followed: Hickey Blvd. Project has been
on the books for several years and will be reallo
cated for future years; $1 million dollars was allo-
cated from Gas Tax funds for Hickey Blvd. between
El Camino and Mission Road, so how can we assure
that BART is going to do it; it is in BART's EIR to
be constructed at the site; the real question is wheth-
er BART is going to do it; there is no assurance that
the County is going from Mission Road to Hillside
Blvd.; assessment district bond monies were re-
turned for Gellert Blvd.; Gas Tax monies will have
to be spent on South Spruce; approximately half of
Junipero slope is where the Daly City line and the
work is reimbursable to this City from FEMA be-
cause it happened during the storm and money from
the property owners, so the City could be covered
almost 100% for the Project but there are still a
couple of punch list items Caltrans has to accept;
undergrounding utilities; the trees are taking over
the roadway between Junipero Serra and Arroyo, so
why not use Gas Tax funds and fix it up; there will
be additional root growth so do we accept that or
start a planting program for we can't do the full
strip; maybe use a different kind of tree; remove
every third tree and start a replanting program;
Councilman Yee's idea is to remove trees close to
the curbs, leave the ones in the middle for foliage
and maybe have a replanting program away from the
curbs; Gull Drive; East of 101 calls for a series of
public improvements - roads, signalization, pathways
and trees; Gateway Boulevard left or right turn; the
the total project cost is several million and Gas Tax
funds can not be used; maybe use developers fees
for funding, but if you start taking money out of the
AGENDA ACTION TAKEN
70
1. CIP Budget Workshop.
1/17/96
Page 5
fund there will not be anything for the rest of the
City; the Airport will be bustling in a matter of time
and it could be done then through developers fees,
as well as improving the sewer plant; Maple and
Callan should be done; Ice Tea funds are Federal
funds and the money is directed through the County
and the County will pay for bus routes; North Canal
will cover the frontage of the Corporation site for it
was not included for the Corporation Yard to 0r-
ange Park that fronts the Kaiser site; the question
came up some time ago of whether the City wanted
to relocate a fire station, then this could be an op-
portune time to approach Kaiser for the site may be
on the market; we should look at what additional
site is need for the fire station and maybe sell it to
us and we can integrate it into the Corporation Yard
site; the central fire station site is a valuable
site now and may not be in the future; Mayor Drago
stated the City is trying to spur Kaiser along to
develop or sell for the site is becoming a hardship;
Mayor Drago directed staff to contact Kaiser on
their plans for the land on West Orange, look into
selling Central Station and relocating it where Kaiser
is if they are going to sell; etc.
Discussion followed: improving railroad crossings
for safety; the railroad crossing on Linden and
Railroad that goes to the lumber yard is dangerous;
they still use it to bring in lumber; last month some-
one was killed on a railroad crossing; storm drains;
Councilman Mullin asked if staff was going to put in
an Alida culvert because someone wants it; a consul-
tant looked at the hydraulics above the line and after
investigation said the bypass looked suspicious;
Council had made the tour because of a breakdown
on El Camino and the State came in and we repaired
that and said it had nothing to do with the line
above; Councilman Yee was not satisfied with the
study because a lot of people are concerned with the
project for it is nice to save $40,000 but it is not
justice to the people; Mayor Drago agreed; Circle
Court; storm drains; Councilman Yee suggesting
using the $100,000 in Measure A and redevelopment
funds for Airport and Armor for there is a storm
drain explosed by the PG&E that the City wants to
underground; sewer capacity problems at Airport
Blvd. between Armor and Chapman; Water Quality
Control Plant; improvements to easements on Del
Monte and April that are behind properties and
difficult to get to in backyards and between the
buildings; WQCP analysis and Phases 1 and 2 of the
A~ENDA
1. CIP Budget Workshop.
1/17/96
Page 6
ACTI_ON TAKEN
work; how do you do a two story addition for the
Fire Dept. at the MSB; project over the payment
area, so you will be at the same elevation; has staff
corrected the leakage and is it wise to put in more
building; the leakage is along the sides of the build-
ing; there is room in the training room; the Fire
Chief wants to retain the training room for he feels
it gets a lot of use; by moving the living quarters the
Fire Dept. can expand the training downstairs; there
is leakage through the walls and slab floors; improv-
ing the facilities when there are no female fire-
fighters now; if there are more than 5 employees
there must be separate facilities and they have six;
does it open up the ADA at every fire station; not
necessarily; Councilman Mullin felt the safety issue
of repairing the grid surface in the MSB garage
floor should be top priority; etc.
Consensus of Council - Move up repair of the grid
surface in the MSB garage floor to top priority.
Discussion followed: Councilman Fernekes felt that
the back room of the fire station is hardly used at
station 3 and there are a lot of boxes around and
could not see putting money into something that was
rarely used; Fire Chief Stark felt there is a lot of
water leakage and the carpets should be rolled back;
correct the problem by creating a blockage and there
are problems in making modifications in the bath-
rooms because it was an auto, lube and tire space;
an adequate foundation was not put in under the
windows and there is leakage and exhaust coming in
from the garage where people are complaining of
constant sore throats; OSHA was called in; outside
they are working on the brick planters and the water
comes in from Arroyo; Mayor Drago wanted to see
the Fire Dept. work on the leakage and take the
$60,000 and fix the floor; Mr. Bordi stated that
in 1984 the Council had talked about putting in
another floor because of the water coming in from
Arroyo into the firemen's living quarters where they
have to roll up the carpets and there is the mildew
smell all winter and half of the summer; we did
have OSHA come in and they were going to cite us,
but we changed the filters every month they would
not, however, there is still a problem; the Police
Evidence Room has everything on pallets, but the
leakage comes under the door; even though they
fixed the planters and the water from Arroyo perco-
lates from underneath; the ears coming down
Camaritas and the exhaust is drawn into the living
A~ENDA
1. CIP Budget Workshop.
2. Sidewalk Repair Program. (Cassette No. 3) .~o cd O
ACI!QN TAKEN
quarters and it is not an ideal place; so, buy the
Atkinson site and build a new station; take a portion
of the garage and build living space and convert the
living space to parking and see if it is feasible;
physical location for a fire station in contingent on
response time; the MSB men's bathroom is starting
to look bad from age and nothing being done; Alta
Loma should be a joint master plan with the School
District; look into the rights-of-way owned by SP
being used as light rail; in the JPA the rights-of-way
go back to the property owners; get the light rail
plan and then notify SP and tell them the City has a
potential interest; SP owns a whole list of spurs
and that easement runs to the BART station to
Tanforan and a light rail could run because it con-
nects that; Councilman Mullin wants documentation
with all dealings with the Price Club; etc.
Director of Parks, Recreation & Community Ser-
vices Nagel related: cost sharing; the property
owner would pay for the repair in certain situations;
that was discussed in the past and the City has con-
tinued to fund basically under any circumstances; a
street tree is owned by the City, the property owner
will pay 50% because they have property values and
the City maintains the tree; if it is a private tree they
pay the entire cost for the repair if they fail to par-
ticipate we put a lien and obtain payment; we can
give the property owner a list of contractors and we
will pay 50% if it is a City tree, but if it is their tree
they pay the entire cost; tree roots are the biggest
problem, the second is the storm or sewer line and
the City pays the full cost; the third is deterioration
where they modified or damaged the sidewalk then
they pay a 100% of the cost; property owners are
reluctant to pay any cost and that is why it is impor-
tant to have a program in place; there is a list of 188
locations, but without a policy change that eom-
pounds every year by more calls; etc.
Discussion followed: roots pushing up and cracking
the sidewalk; Councilman Penna suggested using a
material, other than concrete, that would do the job,
is flexible, durable and would not be a trip hazard;
if asphalt is used, it will kill the tree, you will have
the roller coaster effect and people will still trip;
tartan track is used for running surfaces, but you
still have to place concrete and rectify the root
problems; staff will look into; sewer laterals are the
responsibility of the homeowners, yet the City takes
the responsibility if the sidewalk is damaged from a
1/17/96
Page 7
A~ENDA
2. Sidewalk Repair Program
1/17/96
Page 8
lateral then the City picks up the cost, but not with a
tree root; the lateral is the clean-out from the
outside; the backlog exists because people registered
complaints under another policy which staff wants to
resolve; is the policy a reason to get the City off the
hook; there is a resolution on the books that shifts
the whole cost to the property owners which was
never implemented and the staff has been doing it at
the City's cost yet, those that are suing the City are
not on the list; Mayor Drago does not agree with
charging because it is not the homeowners fault;
Councilman Mullin stated some of these cases were
identified by the City, not by the property owner,
and staff wants the property owner to pay; the City
will be expending the funds as it has for the last
twenty years and so, Council has the legal authority
to change direction and it is a political issue;
if the City is going to remove a tree, it should re-
place it with a tree; the staff gets complaints from
people that do not want a tree back and if planted
anyway they are broken in half; trees beautify a
City; the City historically has maintained from the
clean-out to the main line; it is important to have a
program if the City is brought into Court; some
other cities have been proactive and hired one per-
son responsible for the sidewalk program and charge
the property owner for half; Councilman Yee feels
this City needs a policy so the Attorney can repre-
sent us in Court and say we do have a program and
will have a greater chance in winning the lawsuit; in
the old days the Street & Highways Code require the
adjacent property owners to maintain the sidewalk;
that is the policy the Council adopted in 1978 and is
the official legal position, but the difficulty is a ten
or fifteen year practice of not doing that so the
Council needs to come to a consistent position on a
policy; usually the sidewalk is on public property
not private property; what are the true savings; it is
not money driven, but to get a program in place;
Mayor Drago does not think money should be a
criteria; Councilman Penna does not believe the
streets of Railroad, Commercial, Grand, Miller and
Linden belong to the property owners - they belong
to the City; Mayor Drago asked do we have a prob-
lem if the streets are ours; he asked staff to research
the material Councilman Penna mentioned; City
Attorney Mattas stated if the Council wants to keep
from risk shifting it may want to keep the ordinance
in place; Councilman Mullin was not comfortable
with the City Attorney's further suggestion - the
street trees that are at the edge of the sidewalk by
ACTION TAKEN
2. Sidewalk Repair Program
ADJOURNMENT:
the curb and gutter, they are in the public right-of-
way; the property lines do not go there, that is the
property owners - he knows because he paid for it;
he has a problem with the way it is structured right
now; to say we have a policy, but we are going to
do a hundred or more a year; he knew this was
going to be a problem for no one knows what to do
with the sidewalk; the City built the sidewalk and
planted the flees and you are saying the property
owner gets to pay for it - he disagrees; the City has
a list and yearly makes a conscious decision to fix
some of the damaged trees, because there are proba-
bly 800 trips and falls out there so in essence we can
have so much money to address this problem regard-
less; City Attorney asked for clarification - does the
Council want to completely exclude private partici-
pation or does it want to see what is done in other
communities or come back with something that does
not require any private contribution; Councilman
Mullin will be more comfortable with b), he wants
to see a policy clear cut and he wants to see what
the neighboring cities are doing for it doesn't make
sense.
M/S Penna/Fernekes - To adjourn the meeting.
Carried by unanimous voice vote.
Time of adjournment was 10:20 p.m.
RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED,
Barbara A. Battaya, City
City of South San Francisco
APPROVED.
ity of South San Francisco
The entries of this Council meeting show the action taken by the City Council to dispose of an item. Oral communica-
tions, 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.
1/17/96
Page 9
Mayor Jack Drago
Council:
Joseph A. Fernekes
Eugene R. Mullin
---lohn R. Penna
Robert Yee
~I_~IES
City Council
Municipal Services Building'
Community Room
75
January 17, 1996
~PE~!_AL M E__E II_~ G
CITY COUNCIL
OF THE
CITY OF SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO
JANUARY 17, 1996
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 17th day of January,
1996, at 8:00 p.m. in the City Council Conference Room, City Hall, 400 Grand Avenue, South San Francisco,
California.
Purpose of the meeting:
Closed Session pursuant to Government Code Section 54956.8: Conference with real property negotiator
regarding price and terms of payment related to 159 Oyster Point Boulevard (City-owned property). Negotiating
parties Redevelopment Agency and Bay West Group.
Dated:
January 15, 1996
City Clerk
City of South San Francisco
AGENDA
CALL TO ORDER: (Cassette No. 1)
ROLL CALL:
Closed Session pursuant to Government Code Section
54956.8: Conference with real property negotiator re-
garding price and terms of payment related to 159 Oyster
Point Boulevard (City-owned property). Negotiating
----.rties Redevelopment Agency and Bay West Group.
ECALL TO ORDER:
ACII_QN TAKEN
10:22 p.m. Mayor Drago presiding.
Council Present:
Council Absent:
Fernekes, Mullin, Penna, Yee and
Drago.
None.
Council adjourned to a Closed Session at 10:23 p.m,
with the exception of Councilman Penna who has a
conflict of interest relating to Shearwater, to discuss
the item noticed.
Mayor Drago recalled the meeting to order at 10:45
p.m., no action was taken and direction was given.
1/17/96
Page 1
AGENDA A~TION TAKEN
ADJOURNMENT:
M/S Yee/Fernekes - To adjourn the meeting.
Carried by unanimous voice vote.'
Time of adjournment was 10:46 p.m.
76
RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED, APPROVED.
· , City //'a~!r Drago, Mayor ~/
The entries of this Council meeting show the action taken b item. Oral communica-
tions, 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.
1/17/96
Page 2