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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 2008-10-15S ~p~~x~~'~`o o ~ - ~ MI TE S NU ~. SPECIAL MEETING c'~LIFOR~~~ CITY COUNCIL CITY OF SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO CITY HALL LARGE CONFERENCE ROOM 400 GRAND AVENUE WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2008 CALLED TO ORDER: 6:30 p.m. 2. ROLL CALL: Present: Councilmen Addiego, Garbarino and Mullin, Mayor Pro Tem Matsumoto and Mayor Gonzalez. Absent: None. 3. PUBLIC COMMENTS. None. 4. UPDATE ON THE NEW SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO CALTRAIN PROJECT. Director of Public Works White introduced the update on the project stating that plans were moving forward and ideas were being narrowed into workable solutions. City Engineer Razavi advised a working model of the station design had been created and noted staff's comfort in terms of design elements. Dave Clarke, Director of Professional Services, HNTB, advised HNTB was the General Engineering Consultant for *_he Joint Powers Board ("JPB") and was serving as the Principal Designer/Engineer for the South San Francisco Caltrain project. One hundred percent of the engineering documents for the base project had been completed and submitted to the JPB. Construction and maintenance agreements were being finalized by stakeholders, including the City of South San Francisco, JPB, Caltrans, utility companies and Union Pacific Railroad. Mr. Clarke then showed a visual. orientation of the Caltrain project context, including existing conditions, the completed base project and the Downtown Streetscape. Rick Phillips, Architect, HNTB, described the basic urban design strategy for the project which included a plan to link the Downtown across the major visual and functional area of the 101 overpass through Grand Avenue to the East. A plaza would be installed at the intersection of Executive Drive and East Grand Avenue. Mr. Phillips further described a series of improvements to the base package that enhanced the design, many of which centered on a very strong gateway experience into the plaza. Decorative paving, lights, the City's name at the portal and other improvements that would emphasize urban design and pull the viewer across Airport Boulevard and into the station were among the elements discussed. Treatment and decoration on the walls of the underpass tunnel were also proposed. Views of other Caltrain stations with similar tunnels and treatments were displayed. Mayor Pro Tem Matsumoto questioned the dimensions of the tunnel. Mr. Phillips replied the tunnel was planned to be about 18 feet wide and 130 feet long. Councilman Addiego observed the tunnel was designed so police motorcycles could move through it. He questioned the number of motorcycles on duty on a given day. Sergeant Kallas advised three (3) motorcycles were on duty during the day shift and one was on duty during the 4:00 p.m. through 9:00 p.m. shift. Mayor Pro Tem Matsumoto questioned whether the tunnel would be shut down after the train service stopped in the evening. Assistant City Manager Van Duyn advised staff had advocated for the option to shut the tunnel down in the evening. Chief Planner Kalkin stated there would likely be a window between midnight and 4:00 a.m. during which the train would not operate. Mayor Pro Tem Matsumoto questioned how the tunnel would be maintained. Mr. Phillips advised the under bed of the tunnel would be plumbed with hose beds. He noted the proposed concrete stain stands up very well to washing. Director of Public Works White stated the Mad Vac could be used and/or the Department could learn the pressure washing technique which could be applied on a monthly basis. He further added experience with the structure would likely dictate the best means of cleaning. Mayor Gonzalez questioned whether the paint and material planned for use in the project would facilitate removal of graffiti. Director of Public Works White advised an anti-graffiti coating would be used. Mr. Phillips continued with an explanation of the design moving through the underpass to Executive Drive. Some landscaping in this area was included in the base package. Mayor Pro Tem Matsumoto questioned who would be responsible for maintaining landscaping. SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING OCTOBER 15, 2008 MINUTES PAGE 2 Director of Public Works White responded the City would maintain the landscaping pursuant to the basic agreement currently being negotiated with the JPB. Mayor Pro Tem Matsumoto questioned the shuttle buses planned to service the station. Chief Planner Kalkin responded shuttle buses would serve the station, including at least two routes. Chief Engineer Razavi advised circulation plans included taking buses from Corporate Drive and bringing them across to Executive Drive. He further advised that while Corporate Drive was in good condition, it was not paved to sustain shuttle weights. Executive Drive was capable of handling shuttle weights, but would eventually have to be maintained with overlays. Councilman Addiego questioned whether the shelters planned for the portion of the design East of 101 would have seating. Mr. Phillips stated no seating was presently included, but advised space was available to include it. Planting along the sidewalk was also planned for this area and along the walls behind the shelter. Mayor Gonzalez questioned whether it was expected bikers would carry their bikes through the tunnel. Mr. Phillips explained that although biking through the tunnel was possible, the ramp was fairly narrow. He described a feature at some Caltrain Stations permitting bikes to be carried alongside bikers in a trough. Mayor Pro Tem Matsumoto suggested consulting the Genentech Bicycle Club since it had been somewhat problematic for bike riders to get from east to west. If bikers planned to use the tunnel as a route, accommodations could be built into the design. Chief Engineer Razavi stated the issue could be brought up at the next BPAC meeting. Mr. Phillips continued his presentation with a discussion of steps moving forward. The schedule for the JPB base project was presented. Agreements and funding were projected to be finalized in October/November 2008. HNTB would prepare the bidding documents for the base project between November 2008 and February 2009. The JPB Construction Contract Procurement Process would run from February through August 2009. Utility Work was estimated from April through August 2009. Construction of the Base Project was projected to begin in October 2009 and run through October 2011. An additional schedule was presented for the South San Francisco upgrades, beginning with approval of concepts scheduled for October 2008. HNTB would then prepare an Addendum to the Construction Drawings in the November/December 2008 time frame. South San Francisco review and approval would take place in January 2009. HNTB would add upgrades to the JPB procurement documents in January/February 2009. This represented the basic schedule moving forward. SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING OCTOBER 15, 2008 MINUTES PAGE 3 Mayor Pro Tem Matsumoto questioned whether anticipated electrification was considered in the design. She further stated she liked the design and questioned whether fences and railings were planned. Mr. Phillips responded these features were all a part of the base project and further that all the latest Caltrain features would be included in the station. Mayor Gonzalez commented on the graffiti on Caltrans structures at the 101 exit to East Grand Avenue. He also commented on the Union Pacific rail. cars that also contained graffiti sitting near the exit. Chief Engineer Razavi added it was difficult to get Union Pacific to move on cleaning up the parked rail cars. Councilman Mullin observed that when northbound traffic exited at Grand and continued on Executive Drive there would be no designated passenger drop-off area. He questioned whether illegal drop-offs were anticipated. Chief Engineer Razavi responded landscaping in the area was designed to discourage illegal drop-offs and jay walking. He added there was a possibility of including a curbside to facilitate drop-offs in the northern area. Assistant City Manager Van Duyn explained that over the long term it was hoped some properties adjacent to the new station on Airport Boulevard could be acquired and developed into potential retail uses and/or a drop-off or pick-up point adjacent to the plaza. Timing would depend on when and whether the City could acquire and assemble such properties. He further described an additional future vision to ease the flow of traffic in the area that would involve requiring trucks to exit from 101 south bound. Mayor Pro tem Matsumoto commented on funding concerns and questioned whether expected funding was still realistic. Director of Public Works White responded the entire project was expected to cost $51 million. The CTC approved $19 million of the budget last year, which is what the project had been progressing on. Due to the state budget crisis, the funds had been pulled back and temporarily suspended. Based on the current project schedule, construction would not begin until well into the next fiscal year. It was hoped that the state's cash flow would improve by that time. Accordingly, staff intended to move forward with the property purchase agreements so that the project would be on schedule when funding became available. Mayor Pro Tem Matsumoto questioned the expected breakdown of funding. Director of Public Works White advised $19 million was expected to come from the state and $32 million from Measure A funds. The City's estimated financial commitment was in the neighborhood of $3 to $4 million depending on whether additional features were desired. Mayor Pro Tem Matsumoto questioned whether these funds were budgeted. SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING OCTOBER 15, 2008 MINUTES PAGE 4 Assistant City Manager Van Duyn addressed Council and stated assuming there was currently no funding for the station, the City would continue to stay on course with related property acquisitions, because the properties were desirable irrespective of the station. In addition, the City should continue its efforts to secure air rights under the 101 overpass, because eventually, the project would go. The City's best interest required maintaining an attitude as if the project was funded and continuing to move ahead. The closer the project was to being ready to go, the better position it would be in with respect to funding. He acknowledged the project funding was currently stalled and expressed disappoint, but stressed the importance of continuing to stay on course. Councilman Addiego acknowledged that if the City hung back, it could be passed over for funding when available. Councilman Garbarino stated the City's position would be strengthened by having the project in order and proceeding on as if everything were in place. He stated the importance of having projects in order when competing for funding. Mayor Gonzalez expressed support for continuing with the project so that it would be in line for funding in the future. Councilman Mullin expressed agreement with the comments made by Assistant City Manager Van Duyn. He stated a preference for moving on with the project which he characterized as inevitable and the lynchpin for the Downtown Revitalization Plan. He opined that if the City did everything it could on a local level to be prepared, the project would eventually come to fruition. Chief Engineer Razavi then brought Council up to date with respect to progress on the related. property acquisitions. An offer had been made in the ongoing negotiations with Comfort Suites. Boston Property was interested in swapping a grant deed for a portion of Executive Drive that would involve no exchange of money but would require the City to maintain the roadway and streetlight located on the property. Negotiations with Caltrans were also progressing over property and air space rights. Councilman Addiego questioned whether it was wise to enter a lease for the air space given expected project delays. Chief Engineer Razavi responded a 99 year lease was anticipated. Director of Public Works White opined that to some extent the air rights represented a control issue. He stated there was a danger truck companies could obtain such leases and further acquiring the leases made sense as part of assembling properties in the area irrespective of the station. Assistant City Manager Van Duyn reminded Council the agreements would be brought to it before execution. Council would thus have the opportunity to see the numbers prior to making a decision to move forward. SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING OCTOBER 15, 2008 MINUTES PAGE 5 Director of Public Works White advised updates on hazardous materials and demolition of a building on the Caltrans properties was available. Chief Engineer Razavi provided an update with respect to the two Caltrans properties. He advised one of the properties formerly was a gas station. A consultant did extensive borings on the property in association with the County Health Department and found petroleum and metals in excess of safe amounts. Fortunately, the contamination had not migrated and it would be possible to remove to County Health Department standards. The clean-up costs were presently estimated at $500,000.00 and staff was investigating the accuracy of this number. Clean-up costs had the potential to reach $1.2 million if certain utilities located on the property were left in place. Staff was also looking at demolition of a building existing on one of the properties. The Contractor's proposal for the demolition was estimated at $100,000.00. The cost would be split by the JPB and the City. Chief Engineer Razavi noted Council would need to determine whether it wanted to consider improvements to the north parking lot now or in the future. He further stated demolition of the building existing on one of the Caltrans properties would be brought before Council in the future. Mayor Pro Tem Matsumoto stated she was fine with the design but believed the City would need to consider improvements to the north parking lot in the future. 5 . Adjournment. Being no further business, Mayor Gonzalez adjourned the meeting at 8:07 p.m. Krista NPe~i-~ City of South San ...,... ~vt- Approved: --'` ~. Pedro Gonzalez, or City of South San Francisco SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING OCTOBER I5, 2008 MINUTES PAGE 6 Submitted by: