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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02.08.2025 Special CC- Council RetreatMINUTES _ SPECIAL MEETING U C CITY COUNCIL RETREAT �gcrFORaA CITY OF SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 08, 2025 8:30 a.m. In -person Library Parks and Recreation Building Social Hall 901 Civic Campus Way, South San Francisco, CA CALL TO ORDER Mayor Flores called the meeting to order at 9:04 a.m. ROLL CALL PRESENT: Councilmember Coleman Councilmember Nagales Councilmember Nicolas Vice Mayor Addiego Mayor Flores City Manager Sharon Ranals Assistant City Manager Rich Lee Deputy City Manager Christina Fernandez Communications Manager Angenette Lau Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer Devin Stenhouse City Attorney Sky Woodruff Fire Chief Matt Samson Economic & Community Development Director Nell Selander Police Chief Scott Campbell Director of Parks and Recreation Greg Mediati Deputy Director of Parks and Recreation Angela Duldulao Information Technology Director Tony Barrera Human Resources Director Leah Lockhart Library Director Valerie Sommers Finance Director Karen Chang City Treasurer Frank Risso Deputy Finance Director Jason Wong Public Works Director/City Engineer Eugene Kim Principal Engineer Matt Ruble ABSENT: None AGENDA REVIEW No changes. _PUBLIC COMMENTS — Limited to items on the Special Meeting agenda The following individuals addressed the City Council: • Mike Swire • Fionnola Villamejor The following individuals submitted Public Comments via the eComment portal: • Jennifer Garstang • Dolores Piper CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP RETREAT DISCUSSION 1. Conduct a facilitated City Council retreat setting the City Council 2025 Priorities. (Eddie Flores, Mayor; Nancy Hetrick, Facilitator; Raftelis) Mayor Flores thanked the community and staff for joining the retreat and introduced Nancy Hetrick, the Facilitator from Raftelis. Nancy led an ice -breaker event that set a positive tone for the Council and staff interactions. Breakout sessions began at 9: 45 a.m. The Council participated in breakout sessions with department heads who shared goals and objectives for their respective departments. Breakout sessions concluded at 10: 30 a.m. Meeting Break at 10: 35 a.m. The meeting Resumed at 10: 51 a.m. Facilitator Hetrick engaged in discussions with the Council about their goals and accomplishments, reiterating their commitment to the city's progress. Meal break at 12: 07 p.m. The meeting resumed at 12: 34 p.m. Facilitator Nancy Hetrick engaged in discussions with the Council on priority -setting and council feedback on the 2025 events calendar. ADJOURNMENT Being no further business, Mayor Flores adjourned the City Council meeting at 1:19 p.m. Su fitted by: 00 L osa Govea Acosta City Clerk Mayor Attachment: City Council Retreat Report by Raftelis SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING FEBRUARY 08, 2025 MINUTES PAGE 2 Approved by the City Council: A3 /%Z / 1025- NOTE: The Meeting Minutes represent actions taken during the meeting of the City Council. These action minutes are the City's record of actions that took place at the meeting. Complete Council member's discussions of meeting items can be viewed in archived video/audio recordings on the City's website at hVs://www.ssfnet/Government/Video-Streaming-City-and-Council- MeetinQs/City-Council Pursuant to Government Code section 54957.5 all written public comments submitted to the City Council become public record and will be made available to the public. Public comments submitted via the eComment portal can be viewed in the City Clerk's repository at https://ci-ssf- ca.granicusideas com/meetings?scope past SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING FEBRUARY 08, 2025 MINUTES PAGE 3 City of South San Francisco, CA City Council Retreat Held February 8, 2025 �q RAFTELIS City of South San Francisco / City Council Retreat Repor; 2 The City of South San Francisco, CA, held a City Council Retreat on February 8, 2025. The retreat was planned and facilitated by Raftelis. Opening and Welcome After the City Clerk administered the public comment period, Mayor Eddie Flores opened the retreat by thanking the Council and staff for their time and dedication (a complete list of City attendees is included in Appendix A). He encouraged the group to lead with boldness and intentionality, to pursue a vision that transcends what the City has done before, and to embrace the work ahead with joy, leaving a lasting legacy of a vibrant South San Francisco. Council members were asked to share their expectations and hopes for the workshop and some responses, summarized at right, echoed the Mayor's welcome. Council's Legacy Come away with a roadmap of priorities Collaborate Look to the future Focus on the needs of the City Celebrate and build on accomplishments Productive, rich conversations Appreciation of lasting impact after each Councilmember's term Council members were asked to think about what they hoped would be said about them after their term(s) on the City Council has concluded. In response, a strong theme emerged that Council members wanted to consider legacy in the collective, regarding what all of Council and staff can achieve together for the City and emphasizing a philosophy of "We, not I." Additional responses are captured below: Doing the right thing Compassionate, informed decisions Making our City the best for everyone Being a welcoming, inclusive City Setting a strong foundation to build on Working collectively for the City Functional Council and effective governance Diverse City, Council, and elected representatives Updates and Sharing with Department Heads To help set the context for identifying priorities, Council members rotated through table discussions with department heads on topics of interest, including current challenges, opportunities, and key initiatives. Departments were grouped together in five tables, including: Internal Services: Finance, Human Resources, Information Technology Public Safety: Fire, Police Community Programs: Economic and Community Development, Library Public Infrastructure: Parks and Recreation, Public Works City Leadership: City Manager, City Attorney, City Clerk City of South San Francisco / City Council Retreat Rer)ort 3 When asked about takeaways from the discussions, Council members highlighted the importance of using staff knowledge and expertise to inform their decisions. Council members also referred several times to balance: in budget development, between taking actions and understanding the community impacts, and for staff workloads. The complete responses are below: �. • Time management Ensuring requests made to staff are strategic Making decisions that are informed by City resource levels Wondering what the ideal budget would be to take care of all City needs Using information and tools to inform decisions A budget aligned with priorities and informed by updated Master Plans Balance of moving policy forward and making a present impact on the growing community Valuing of work -life balance for employees Gratitude for and pride in City staff and services Recognized the alignment of values between Council and staff Interview Themes: Accomplishments Building on the discussions with department heads, the facilitator provided additional context by reviewing accomplishments that Council members had highlighted during interviews prior to the retreat. When asked for any additions to the accomplishments listed below, the Council highlighted that the City was recognized for completing its state Housing Element not only successfully but also on time. Effective City Operations - Passed Measure W - Revamped website, went live ® - South City Shuttle upgrades Kicking off the Property Business Improvement District process Expanding Community Spaces - New Parks/Recreation/Library Facility - Centennial Way Park South opened - Oyster Point Park opened - Linden Park community engagement started Inclusive Community Expanded Pride Celebration Completed Racial and Social v Equity Plan goals Established Age -Friendly Task Force Essential Resources - Established Anti -Displacement Advisory Committee Passed Wage Theft Ordinance - Safeway site construction underway City of South San Francisco / City Council Retreat Repor, True Today, True in 10 Years To begin the discussion about vision and future focus, the City Council was asked to respond to two questions: What is true about South San Francisco today that you hope will still be true 10 years from now? What do you hope WILL be true 10 years from now that is not currently true? Council members could provide up to three responses to each question, which are listed in the table below. Continue to celebrate our diverse communities Housing will be affordable Inclusive, diverse, believing in the greater good of the community Diverse, inclusive, and equitable community South City continues to be a tight knit community The need for housing Fiscally responsible • A functional city government, not dysfunctional • A city that is envied by other communities in the Bay Area A safe city Emergency prepared • Building affordable childcare space • A successful and vibrant business community Continue to lead in economic development and innovation Need for public transportation The following themes emerged from the activity: True Today — what to sustain - Focus on quality services - An inclusive community - Organizational effectiveness - A safe City - Vibrant economic development Not Yet True — what to make true Best quality of life for everyone A city where we continue to have all materials in variouslanguages That we increase population of Black community living in SSF Having the best schools/best place to raise a family in the county Robust public/active transit infrastructure so people don't need a car to get around Updated infrastructure to support growing population Traffic/congestion reduction The city will be made whole regarding its elected representatives, legislators, and supervisor The city's financial condition will be truly enhanced by its business community Income > expenses, bigger reserve That the economic separation of the haves and have nots is dissolved - High quality of life for all - Infrastructure supports transportation needs - Strengthened relationship with regional elected representatives - Enhanced fiscal stability - Economic development benefits all City of South San Francisco City Council 'retreat Report Council members were asked to share their reactions to seeing each other's responses and the themes that emerged. Councilmember Buenaflor Nicolas noted the alignment of many responses, and Councilmember James Coleman also shared that he didn't see much disagreement between the responses. Similarly, Mayor Flores mentioned that inclusivity was commonly valued or noted but that there was also diverse thinking from each Council member. Councilmember Mark Nagales highlighted the points of fiscal responsibility and continue to deliver quality services. Mayor Flores had also shared that the fiscal aspect resonated with him, and Councilmember Mark Addiego noted that there was a lot of hope reflected among all the responses. Council Goals and Priorities The group began the goal and priority -setting portion of the day with an added public comment period. The facilitator provided additional context by reviewing the "Big Rocks" approach from the 7Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey, including the key points to 1) Put the big rocks in first, 2) Don't fill up the jar with so many small rocks that there isn't room for the big ones, and 3) Then keep space for the unplanned, emergencies, or new requirements. The facilitator led the group in a review of topics raised by Council members during interviews prior to the retreat. In reaction to the topics, which are listed in full below, the Mayor highlighted the importance of childcare. • Westborough Center Expansion • Housing (affordable; "missing middle") • Priority -based budgeting • Senior and women's services • Downtown business improvement district • Traffic flow • Equity plan • Park development (Linden) • Community events • Local hiring preference • Maximizing City resources • Vacant properties (i.e., MSB) • Removing barriers for reach codes (e.g., EV charging stations) The group next viewed a list of ongoing initiatives and prior Council priorities, which came from the prior year's 2024 City Council Priorities as presented in a City Council meeting on January 22, 2025. In preparation for the retreat, the facilitator collated these ongoing initiatives with the topics raised in Council interviews and drafted a preliminary framework with proposed groupings of the Council -identified priorities. The draft preliminary framework was provided as a handout (with the below flow of categories) to allow for the Council's review, discussion, and changes. Many of the items identified by Council were specific Activities and Initiatives, which compose the most detailed level of the framework. These details were grouped by proposed Major Focus Areas that reflected the common themes, and Key Strategies were suggested to summarize potential policy direction by the Council that would tie to their identified Activities and Initiatives. Eorocus Areas Key Strategies =ctivities Initiatives City of South San Francisco City Council Retreat Report The facilitator shared the proposed Focus Areas for the group's discussion and asked the Council to voice their reactions and any changes they would make. The Mayor said he thought the buckets were a great framing of the City's "why." Council members identified childcare, resilient infrastructure, and space/capacity for unplanned emergencies as additional areas they would like to see incorporated. The group then reviewed the proposed Strategies, and the Council discussed each focus area. The Council's discussions to revise the Strategies are captured in Table 1 below, and the updated Strategies are reflected in Table 2 in the subsequent section. fable 1: Council Discussion of Initial Focus Areas and Strategies Housing and • Add creative financing to the Housing area Supportive Some actions have more detail to them or might even reflect non -City actions Services o Foxridge Parcels refers to workforce housing, which would involve partnering with Advance the community affordable housing Desire to attract development and generate revenue development Want to encourage a balanced housing supply, including renters and owners, and the Encourage workforce housing for the The City should be a conduit for information, tools, and resources Missing Middle Right to Legal Counsel (activity) is broader than Housing alone Implement Anti- A strategy or activity should be "Partnership with providers to support people who are Displacement unhoused" Policies o Partnerships with regional bodies, community organizations Quality of Life Hesitance to limit focus to downtown or any one area within the City, especially when Catalyze a thriving there are other struggling retail areas downtown o Should the strategy refer to downtown, retail generally, maybe small businesses? Support local o Want to allocate resources equally, but also like the efficiency of testing a pilot workers and program, then applying learnings elsewhere business owners o Downtown has many business owners, while other areas (i.e., Brentwood, Deliver services Sunshine) might have a single property owner who is a landlord to multiple and amenities that businesses address o Group decided to leave the strategy for downtown but add a strategy for a community needs "thriving retail environment" Promote Cleanliness in the City is a factor both for businesses and Quality of Life broadly community safety Many resident communications to Council about people who are unhoused, which ties and preparedness to Housing Cold weather can add to calls for service to fires at encampments Ensure Quality of Life includes mental health and explore making the integrated Mental Health Clinician a permanent employee Resident complaints to the Council about RVs o Support residents who live in RVs o Address community concerns about long-term RV parking/presence Modem and Focus on creating revenue, realize opportunities, and be innovative and creative Sustainable Look at initiatives Council had been hesitant about before Organization Potentially check appetite for a ballot measure for new revenue, but some concern Ensure financial against regressive measures sustainability Revise "Maximize City resources" to "Optimize City resources" Conduct long - City of South San Francisco / City Council Retreat Report range planning • Maximize City resources Communicate effectively with residents Welcoming and Good example of a positive event was the Lunar New Year Night Market held by the Connected City the evening before the retreat, which was a great opportunity to highlight small Community businesses Increase access to City's calendar of events reflects its diverse community childcare Additional events reflect the changing community and community requests Foster an Age- Missing aspect of City events is community partner(s) to help organize and hold the Friendly events Community Peer cities sometimes have commissions that plan events, though serving on a Enact policies that commission is a volunteer service itself support public Hope to establish Senior's Commission to uplift and hear more from that community health Want others inspired by South San Francisco to say, "we should do that for our city" Empower Some community initiatives were raised by Communications staff during department underserved sharing communities Infrastructure and Attention needed for'invisible infrastructure' the Environment Add a priority for the aging infrastructure underground Champion Regional utilities impact this topic but also impact Housing and Quality of Life environmental A peer jurisdiction found a way around limits to support sustainability by regulating protection building efficiency for electrification Make sustainable options easier Improve traffic flow Priority -Setting The discussion of Major Focus Areas and Key Strategies informed a revised framework for the Council to vote on. Each Council member received six star stickers with different colors from each other, and they could assign one per Strategy, identifying their top priorities for the next year. The voting activity is shown at right. Council members and the facilitator all emphasized that strategies not receiving stickers remain important for the City. City of South San Francisco / City Council Retreat Report Table 2: Council Votes on the Revised Strategies .. Advance affordable housing development Gold Addiego, Pursue creative financing strategies Green Coleman, 4 Silver Nagales, Housing and Orange Nicolas Supportive Services Encourage balanced housing supply Gold Addiego, (including rent & own, workforce) Green Coleman, 3 Blue Flores Be a conduit for public information and access to tools Implement Anti -Displacement policies Green Coleman 1 Catalyze a thriving downtown Blue Flores 1 Gold Addiego, Support a sustainable retail environment Green Nagales, 3 Silver Coleman Quality of Life Deliver services and amenities that address community needs Promote community safety and Silver Nagales, preparedness Orange Nicolas 2 Implement a cohesive strategy for a clean Blue Flores 1 South San Francisco Gold Addiego, Ensure financial sustainability (including Green Coleman, revenue generation) Blue Flores, 4 Modern and Silver Nagales Sustainable Organization Conduct long-range planning Optimize City resources Gold Addiego, 2 Orange Nicolas Communicate effectively with residents Orange Nicolas 1 Increase access to childcare Silver Nagales 1 Foster an Age -Friendly Community Blue Flores 1 Enact policies that support public health Welcoming and Connected Empower underserved communities Community Gold Green Addiego, Engage community volunteers (events, Blue Coleman, 4 Commissions, partners) Orange Flores, Nicolas Infrastructure and the Champion environmental protections Environment Make sustainable options easier City of South San Francisco City Council Retreat Report Improve traffic flow Silver Nagales Plan for aging infrastructure (underground) Orange Nicolas Invest in Resilient and Sustainable solutions Strategies across all five Focus Areas received votes from Council members. Five strategies received a majority of Council votes, meaning three or more votes, including: Pursue creative financing strategies for housing (4) Encourage balanced housing supply, including rent & own, workforce (3) Support a sustainable retail environment (3) • Ensure financial sustainability, pursue creative revenue generation (4) Engage community volunteers for events through commissions and partners (4) Council Input on the Events Calendar During retreat preparations, the City identified a few additional items for discussion outside the priority - setting workshop program. One item, the Events Calendar, was discussed during a working lunch. The following summarizes the discussion: The City Manager, Sharon Ranals, discussed the practice of organizing one signature event per year of the mayor's choosing. One signature event was budgeted/planned for, but the City Manager had heard energy around more events and/or continuing past signature events. The Council discussed a desire to continue events like the Women's Conference, though perhaps bi- annually, and to continue the expanded Pride Event, but they acknowledged limits to staff bandwidth and budget. It was suggested that a follow-up action might be identifying ways to partner for or hand off events. Some of the Council and/or staff noted that they could also highlight events outside of South San Francisco, from the County or other neighboring Cities. Staying on Track with Priorities Achieving desired results on the council's top priorities requires focus and discipline. The facilitator shared best practices for maintaining priorities and criteria for when Council might consider adding additional priorities during the year. The first steps are for staff to incorporate the identified priorities into the budget and department work plans and then to provide regular progress reports. The Council can support successful implementation by minimizing new requests that would take staff away from the identified priorities or by determining what priorities might drop off or be delayed if something new is added. City of South San Francisco / City Council Retreat Report 14 If the Council encounters new projects during the year, the best practice criteria for evaluating them include: Emergency (natural disaster, pandemic, civil unrest) New outside funding opportunity that is time -sensitive New multi -agency opportunity that cannot be delayed Community safety issue that must be addressed in the near term Changes in laws or mandates Excitement for the Year Ahead Reflecting on the priority discussion, Council members shared what excites them most about the upcoming year. Their thoughts included: Strategic budget development - Enhance financial sustainability - Support economic development Creative financing and revenue generation Having a clear roadmap • Implementing the mooring ordinance • Optimistic about the opportunities ahead Working Together Council members and staff were asked to think about what they need from each other over the next year to support the pursuit of the identified priorities. Responses included: What does staff need from the Council? - Conscious of a balance of priorities falling on Economic and Community Development or other departments - Confidence/trust in the staff -Council partnership - Conscious of staff roles and Council roles - Mutual respect - Strategic priorities and direction What do Council members need from each other? - Clear communication - Clear direction in meetings - Incorporating shared norms, like those used for the retreat Closing The facilitator reviewed the next steps, including the preparation of this report, and noted that the Council priorities will inform areas of emphasis for the FY2025-26 budget and that major work plan elements will be developed by staff to track progress on the priorities. The City Manager thanked the Council for their direction coming from the priorities and informed them that the staff would be developing the work plans as discussed. The City Manager and Mayor both thanked the group for their attendance and participation, and the Mayor closed the retreat. APPENDIX A: City Staff Attendees City of South San Francisco / City Council Retreat ReDort 12 Name Role Department Eddie Flores Mayor, District 5 Council Mark Addiego Vice -Mayor, District 1 Council Buenaflor (Flor) Nicolas Councilmember, District 3 Council James Coleman Councilmember, District 2 Council Mark Nagales Councilmember, District 4 Council Sharon Ranals City Manager City Manager's Office Rich Lee Assistant City Manager City Manager's Office Christina Fernandez Deputy City Manager/Chief Sustainability Officer City Manager's Office Angenette Lau Communications Manager City Manager's Office Devin Stenhouse Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer City Manager's Office Marie Patea Executive Assistant to the City Manager City Manager's Office Sky Woodruff City Attorney City Attorney Nell Selarider Director of Economic and Community Development Economic and Community Development Karen Chang Director of Finance Finance Jason Wong Deputy Finance Director Finance Matt Samson Fire Chief Fire Leah Lockhart Human Resources Director Human Resources Tony Barrera Information Technology Director Information Technology Valerie Sommer Library Director Library Rosa Govea Acosta City Clerk Office of the City Clerk Angela Duldulao Deputy Director of Parks and Recreation Parks and Recreation Greg Mediati Director of Parks and Recreation Parks and Recreation Scott Campbell Chief of Police Police Eunejune Kim Director of Public Works/City Engineer Public Works Matt Ruble Principal Engineer Public Works Frank Risso City Treasurer Treasury