A regular meeting of the City Council of the City of San Ramon was called to order on June 13, 2000 at 7:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 2222 Camino Ramon, Mayor Kinney presiding.
PRESENT: Councilmembers Hudson, Raab, Tatarka, Wilson and Mayor Kinney
ABSENT: None
STAFF PRESENT: City Manager Herb Moniz, City Attorney Bob Saxe, Police Chief Obie Anderson, Parks and Community Services Director Jeff Eorio, Planning Director Phil Wong, City Engineer Joye Fukuda, Public Services Director Jim Estep, Building and Safety Services Director Don Rhoades and City Clerk Judy Macfarlane

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After calling the meeting to order Mayor Kinney announced the Council had met in closed session for the purpose of discussing the possible acquisition of real property located 2300 Camino Ramon, San Ramon, APN: 213-131-008 and giving instructions to the City Negotiator

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Mayor Kinney led Council, staff and those present in the audience in a pledge of allegiance to the flag.

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Mayor Kinney said the following California High School teams had championship seasons this year; Boys Track – EBAL Champions, Boys Swimming – EBAL Dual Meet Champions and North Coast Section Champions, Girls Swimming – EBAL Dual Meet Champions and Boys Diving – North Coast Section Champions. He announced the names of the members and coaches of the championship teams and presented certificates to those that were present.

The Parks and Community Services Director introduced Ellen Robertson the new Office Technician in the Parks and Community Services Department.

The Building and Safety Services Director introduced Amy Agharokh, the new Permit Specialist in the Building Department.

Mayor Kinney welcomed the new employees and gave them City pins.

Mayor Kinney introduced Sally Scholl and gave her a proclamation thanking her for the many years of service to the City of San Ramon and to the students in the San Ramon Valley Unified School District. He also gave her a gold City pin and wished her well in her future endeavors and retirement.

Cm. Wilson told of Ms. Scholl’s many contributions and gave her a bouquet of flowers.

Mayor Kinney introduced Cliff Hayden and gave him a proclamation thanking him for being instrumental in saving the life of a San Ramon resident. The Council, staff and audience gave Mr. Hayden a standing ovation.

Mayor Kinney introduced the 2000 City of San Ramon/San Ramon Chamber of Commerce Community Award recipients: Ed Duarte – Citizen of the Year, Officer Kalani Schreiner – Educator of the Year and Hassan Sharifi – Business Person of the Year and gave them proclamations acknowledging their contributions. He said Jim Burt had been selected Employee of the Year but was unable to attend the Council meeting.

Mayor Kinney introduced Sarah Wood and thanked her for serving as the 1999-2000 student member on the Parks and Community Services Commission.

The Parks and Community Services Director told of Ms. Wood’s accomplishments and gave her a City plaque.

After Cm. Wilson congratulated Ms. Wood for being an outstanding student member on the Commission this past year he gave her a bouquet of flowers.

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The City Clerk said the Building Inspection Board of Appeals was formed by Ordinance in 1992 and was composed of five members. She said recently there had been only three members on the Board and all of their terms expire June 2000. She said two applications had been received during the application process from Jim Gibbon and Glenn Miller. It was staff’s recommendation that the City Council review the applications, consider appointing Mr. Gibbon and Mr. Miller to the Building Board of Appeals for four-year terms and direct the City Clerk to readvertise for the three remaining vacancies.

Cm. Raab’s motion to appoint Jim Gibbon and Glenn Miller to the Board of Appeals was seconded by Cm. Tatarka and passed 5-0.

The City Clerk said the resignation of Joy Parsons created a vacancy on the Environmental Affairs Advisory Committee. She said one application from Cliff Garratt had been received during recruitment. It was staff’s recommendation that Council review the application and consider appointing Mr. Garratt for a term to run through February 2001.

Cm. Hudson’s motion to appoint Mr. Garratt to the Environmental Affairs Advisory Committee was seconded by Cm. Tatarka and passed 5-0.

The City Clerk said the Forest Home Farms Advisory Committee had two vacancies. She said during recruitment five applications had been received. She continued to say after interviewing the five applicants on May 31, the Parks and Community Services Commission recommended the appointment of Regina Penna and Ron Morris.

Cm. Raab’s motion to appoint Ms. Penna and Mr. Morris to the Forest Home Farms Advisory Committee was seconded by Cm. Wilson and passed 5-0.

The City Clerk said there was one opening on the Library Advisory Committee for a term to run through February 2001. She said the Parks and Community Services Commission interviewed two applicants on May 31 and recommended the appointment of Sherri Hedman.

Cm. Wilson’s motion to appoint Ms. Hedman to the Library Advisory Committee was seconded by Cm. Tatarka and passed 5-0.

The City Clerk said the terms of Planning Commissioners Richard Fahey, Donna Kerger and Rolf Sabye expire June 2000. She said applications had been received from Rob Cone, Richard Fahey, Robert Ingalls, Donna Kerger, Paul Minney, Bob Patrino, Bill Roberts, Phil Serna, Richard Sonsteng and Terry Stelter. She continued to say all applicants but Rob Cone had been interviewed by the City Council on either Tuesday, May 30 or Wednesday, May 31. It was staff’s recommendation that Council review the applications, consider the interviews and appoint three members to the Planning Commission for terms to run through June 2004.

Mayor Kinney announced on the first Council ballot Donna Kerger and Bob Patrino had been selected to serve on the Planning Commission.

After two more ballots Phil Serna was selected to fill the third vacancy.

Cm. Hudson’s motion to appoint Ms. Kerger, Mr. Patrino and Mr. Serna to the Planning Commission for terms to run through June 2004 was seconded by Cm. Wilson and passed 3-2 (Cms. Raab and Tatarka dissenting).

The City Clerk said the terms of Parks and Community Services Commissioners JoLynn Mull, Pauline Nolte and Bob Patrino expire June 2000. She said a fourth vacancy was created when Abram Wilson was elected to the City Council in November 1999. She said applications had been received from Thomas Duffy, David Ernest, Richard Eric Gould, Robert Ingalls, Gayle Israel, Carol Lopez, Robin Weiss Ludlow, Bill Meine, Elizabeth Mutlu, Pauline Nolte and Bob Patrino. All applicants but Bill Meine were interviewed on May 30 or May 31. It was staff’s recommendation that Council review the applications, consider the interviews and appoint four members to the Parks and Community Services Commission for terms to run through June 2004.

Mayor Kinney announced on the first ballot Richard Gould, Carol Lopez and Bill Meine had been selected to serve on the Parks Commission.

On the second ballot Thomas Duffy was selected.

Cm. Hudson’s motion to appoint Mr. Duffy, Mr. Gould, Ms. Lopez and Mr. Meine to the Parks and Community Services Commission for terms to run through June 2004 was seconded by Cm. Wilson and passed 5-0.

Cm. Hudson said the appointment of Mr. Serna to the Planning Commission created a vacancy on the Architectural Review Board and suggested Ken Hansen, the landscape architect who had applied but had not been appointed last time, be appointed. He said this would be the third time there was a recruitment for a landscape architect.

It was the consensus of Council to direct staff to advertise for a landscape architect to fill the position on the Architectural Review Board.

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Robin Ludlow, gave a report on the third annual bean poll sponsored by Family San Ramon at this year’s Art and Wind Festival. She said the questions on this year’s poll were focused on teen center issues. She summarized the answers given by the 755 respondents. She concluded by saying a detailed discussion of the poll could be seen on Family San Ramon’s web site.

Donna Kerger, said she was a member of the Students Against Violence Advisory Board and asked the Council and audience if they knew of any empty warehouse, office or garage space that the students could use to set up shop and run their organization.

Paul Morsen, Central Contra Costa Sanitary District, said on June 14 the District Counsel was going to file a writ of mandate in the Contra Costa County Superior Court asking the court to compel San Ramon to provide an encroachment permit to the District for the Estero/Mangos alignment for the Dougherty sewer project. He explained why the District felt this course of action was necessary and said the District was in a position where it legally had to provide sewer service for the Dougherty Valley. He said the District believes they have a right to go through public rights of way streets and they felt it would be a terrible precedent to give up that right. He said rather than a contentious courtroom setting the District would be more than willing to discuss the issues in a private judicial setting. He said letters had been sent to residents along the Mangos/ Estero alignment telling them of the court filing.

Mayor Kinney said the City was currently in mediation with the developers of the Dougherty Valley discussing all of the sewer options.

Cm. Hudson asked that the Central San letter also be sent to the residents on Ensenada Drive.

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Cm. Hudson’s motion to approve the minutes of the May 23, 2000 meeting was seconded by Cm. Wilson and passed 5-0.

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Cm. Hudson asked that 8.2, resolution approving FY 2000-01, and 8.6, resolution regarding California PUC proceedings, be pulled for comment. He said on 8.2 he would like to point out to the Council, particularly under the Windemere section, that in the entire Windemere area there were no lots larger than 6,000 square feet. He also said in that report there was no mention of daycare. He said he would like to receive a memorandum on these issues to establish some kind of follow-up. He said in regard to item 8.6 he would suggest all of the Council stay very closely posted in regard to the PUC meetings in particular the undergrounding of the portion of the new section in Pleasanton. He said there would be a lot of additional dollars spent on this undergrounding and he would like to know if that line increases and if there is any talk of diverting power from the existing lines causing brown outs to be experienced in San Ramon.

Cm. Hudson’s motion to approve the following consent calendar was seconded by Cm. Wilson and passed 5-0.

FINANCE Register of Demands dated May and June in the amount of $1,187,620.74

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APPROVING FISCAL YEAR 2000-01 ANNUAL BUDGET AND FISCAL YEAR 2000-01 THROUGH FISCAL YEAR 2004-05 FIVE YEAR BUDGET FOR DOUGHERTY VALLEY COUNTY SERVICE AREA M-29 

RESOLUTION NO. 2000-92

SETTI NG A 12% DISADVANTAGED BUSINESS ENTERPRISE (DBE) GOAL FOR THE CITY OF SAN RAMON FOR FEDERALLY FUNDED PROJECTS ADMINISTERED BY THE CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION DURING FISCAL YEAR 1999/2000 DISADVANTAGED BUSINESS ENTERPRISE REPORT

CROW CANYON GARDENS STAIRWAY

Acceptance of work by Golden Pacific Construction Company for Crow Canyon Gardens Stairway Project (CIP 8417) as complete and authorize the City Clerk to file a Notice of Completion with the County Recorder’s Office

CROW CANYON ROAD WIDENING

Acceptance of work by MCK Services for 1998/1999  Pavement Management Project (CIP 8147), Crow Canyon Road Widening – Dougherty Road to City Limit (CIP 7105), and Ascot Drive Raised Crosswalk (CIP 8651), as complete and authorize the City Clerk to file a Notice of Completion with the County Recorder’s Office

AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER OR HIS DESIGNEE TO REPRESENT THE CITY OF SAN RAMON IN PROCEEDINGS CONDUCTED BY THE CALIFORNIA PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION

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FEE RESOLUTION 

The City Clerk introduced a public hearing for the update of the City’s Fee Resolution. She said staff had completed the yearly review and the Finance Committee, at its April 18 and May 2, 2000 meetings, had reviewed and approved the changes and amendments. She said prior to levying a new fee or service charge or approving an increase in an existing fee or service charge a local agency must hold at least one public hearing. It was staff’s recommendation that the City Council hold the public hearing and adopt the new Fee Resolution.

No one spoke during the public hearing.

Cm. Raab’s motion to adopt the new fee resolution was seconded by Cm. Tatarka and passed 5-0.

ESTABLISHING FEES AND CHARGES FOR VARIOUS MUNICIPAL SERVICES AND REPEALING RESOLUTION NO. 99-40

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PRELIMINARY PROGRAM OF SERVICES 

The Administrative Services Director said after the Council  reviewed the Preliminary FY 2000-01 Annual Program of Services on May 23 it was referred back to the Finance Committee for consideration of some amendments. He said the amendments included an increase in the funding for the library, a reduction in the police services budget due to the reduction in the cost for animal control services and two capital improvement projects. He said the Finance Committee recommended that the Golden View drainage project be included in the CIP for the coming year, indicating the City’s funding share of that project and contingent on the School District approving its funding share for that project. He said they also approved a similar funding arrangement for the Cal High all weather track. He said the Committee considered two items for which no recommendation was made, the funding for the Tri-Valley Convention and Visitors Bureau which is included in the preliminary budget and the requested funding for the Tri-Valley Business Council which is not included in the preliminary budget. He said it was staff’s recommendation that Council act on the amendments, approve the amended budget and adopt the resolution approving the budget and noted the resolution also included the approval of the amended Statement of Investment Policy.

Mayor Kinney said he would like to know how much the School District was going to fund of the Golden View drainage project and the all weather track at Cal High.

The Administrative Services Director said it was indicated the City funding was to be a 50% share. He said in regard to the track at Cal High and the anonymous 50% donation, when the shares between the donor, the School District and the City have been apportioned then an exact amount will be determined.

Hermann Welm, congratulated the City on an excellent budget and said he was particularly impressed with the expenditure side of the budget. He said the City has had a conservative fiscal policy since its inception and it has been the goal since 1984 to have one year’s operating expenses in reserve. He said that goal was achieved last year and as a result of achieving that goal the Council recognized that milestone for the community by removing $57 of citywide lighting and landscaping fees from the property tax bill. He said even with the $1.3 million reduction in taxes, the City’s total tax collection still exceeded expenditures by $5 million. He said the City’s reserves were equivalent to $700 per person for every man, woman and child living in the City. He said he did not feel, with any kind of justification, the City could continue to build this type of reserves. He asked the City Council to reconsider the issue of the citywide lighting and landscaping of $59 per household and in addition another category of tax reduction would be to eliminate from the property tax bill the NPDES charges, amounting to an additional $700,000. He concluded by saying this would basically give the citizens of San Ramon a $2 million tax relief package which amounts to about $90 per household.

Paul Mitchell, listed some items in the budget that he felt were not needed. He encouraged fiscal restraint even when times are flush as they are now and recommended that staff be sure that everything listed in the budget adds to the value of the City. He questioned the need for a global positioning device for the street sweepers as listed in the Public Services Department budget.

Linda Robles, Courtyard by Marriott, asked for support of the Tri-Valley Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) on behalf of the Marriott hotels and said membership in the CVB had really helped increase their business. She said it not only helps the hotels but also the independent businesses.

Linda Brewer, Executive Director of the San Ramon Chamber of Commerce, spoke in support of the CVB, stating the Bureau complemented the Chamber of Commerce and was not in competition with the Chamber in any way.

Otis Nostrand, The Hop Yard Alehouse and Grill, said the CVB was an organization that was worthy of the Council’s support and it was an organization that looks at the future of San Ramon as well as the region.

Cm. Raab asked what percentage Mr. Nostrand felt his business had increased because of membership in the CVB.

Mr. Nostrand said it was difficult to measure the increase in business due to CVB membership.

John Ebert, Mudd’s Restaurant owner, said he would regard the Tri-Valley as not being a high profile destination location for travel and tourism. He said given the significance of travel and tourism on our economy and given the choices that exist in California, the logical conclusion is to remain persistent in our dissemination of information to the public so that all businesses in the Valley might reap the rewards. He said he could not think of a better way to enhance our message than through the efforts of the Tri- Valley CVB.

Dave Johanson, Director of Marketing for the San Ramon Marriott, read a letter from Janis Milham, Marriott Area General Manager, asking the Council for continued support of the Tri-Valley CVB. The letter said being part of the CVB had been a big win for the Marriott and they felt for the entire San Ramon community. He encouraged the Council to fully evaluate the success of the CVB only after it had been given sufficient time to work for the businesses.

Cm. Raab asked what percentage of increase in their business had the Marriott seen in the past year.

Mr. Johanson said the Marriott had about $2 million worth of business on the books for the future and occupancy has increased on the weekend where the focus has been.

At the request of Mayor Kinney the Public Services Director addressed Mr. Mitchell’s concerns regarding the global positioning device for the street sweepers. He said they were researching the cost and he did not feel it would approach anywhere near the $30,000 listed in the budget. He said the purpose of the device was to track everywhere the sweeper is or has been. He said there had been a number of instances where the sweeper had to be pulled from its regular route to clean up an emergency or accident. He said they want the ability to track the closest sweeper available and also to track where the sweeper has been and where it had missed.

Mayor Kinney said the City had recently purchased "The Woodlot" for $1.8 million and was going to have to spend money on the 16 acre Forest Home Farms property. He said the Crow Canyon Gardens property was placed on the back burner a couple of years ago because the Council wanted the Gardens to remain quaint. He said he would like to wait until next year and asked about the renewal date of the contract with the people that run the Gardens.

The Parks and Community Services Director said the City had just entered into the fifth year of a five-year contract with the Crow Canyon Gardens Institute (CCI) and at the end of that time the City would have to either renew or explore other options.

Mayor Kinney asked when it was anticipated the building for Crow Canyon Gardens would be begin.

The Parks and Community Services Director said it was the Parks Commission recommendation to move the project to the FY 2002-03 budget.

Cm. Wilson said there were other basic things with CCI as far as the sewer hook up and asked if that project were in this year’s budget also.

The Parks and Community Services Director said a sewer connection was not in this year’s budget.

Cm. Wilson said he felt it was mandatory that the sewer connection go in this year’s budget.

When asked how that would be handled, Cm. Raab responded it would come back to the Finance Committee as an added item.

The City Manager said what was being discussed was basically a restroom facility. He said it could come back to the Finance Committee with the cost of the sewer connection and some options on a facility and location and it could be adopted as an addition to the budget or an amendment. He said he was concerned about any permanent or semi permanent restroom facility and how it would work with the future location of any improvements.

Cm. Raab said he was recommending this project be moved up because the Crow Canyon Gardens has become a leading facility. He said kids classes at the Gardens are filled before the first day of registration is over and the adult programs are always full. He said when this facility is compared to the City’s other facilities it has almost become an eyesore and it should be at the same level as the other City facilities.

Cm. Tatarka said Crow Canyon Gardens has brought recognition to the City and it needs to be treated with the same respect as the rest of the City parks. She said the project has been unprogrammed for several years and it should be moved up. She referred to a memo from the Crow Canyon Gardens Institute regarding the preferred Master Plan elements and asked if these concerns were reflected in the budget.

The Parks and Community Services Director said implementation of the Master Plan was listed in the budget for FY 2002-03. He continued to say when that point is reached staff would review the Master Plan to make sure it was updated correctly and was current and included community input and public hearings and then they would move forward with the planning process. He said input from the Institute, from the community gardeners and the users at the site would be taken into account.

It was confirmed this issue would come back to Council within 30 days.

After Cm. Raab said he felt separate votes should be taken on some of the budget items, one of them being the Tri-Valley Convention and Visitors Bureau, he made a motion to deny funding of the Tri-Valley Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Cm. Tatarka seconded the motion.

Cm. Raab said the reason why he was against this funding was at the current level of funding the City was paying $81,000 and the businesses were funding around $7,000. He said there had been talk about how the businesses’ profits had been raised but their fees had not been raised. He also expressed disappointment that there were only 22 business memberships in the CVB in San Ramon. He said he would like to see the $81,000 put in a San Ramon specific brochure put out by the Chamber of Commerce. He said he would also like the Council to consider raising San Ramon’s transient occupancy tax (TOT). He said the City has already been helping the hotel industry in San Ramon with the lowest TOT in the Tri-Valley. He said this is not partnership, it is subsidy.

Cm. Hudson said he did not feel the money spent on the CVB was a subsidy, it was a return to source tax dollars. He said he would support the request for $81,000 this year and felt the eight months the City had been a member of the CVB was not long enough to find out how effective it really was.

Cm. Tatarka asked what were the parameters that determined the amount a business pays to join the CVB and why were not all businesses related to the tourism industry included as members. She also asked what Livermore, Dublin and Pleasanton contribute and what was the criteria used to measure the success of the program. She said she felt the $81,000 was a subsidy for a select industry in the City and to some degree corporate welfare. She asked why can’t this be funded with matching funds. She said she agreed the Chamber of Commerce should be involved in the program and it should be strictly for the City of San Ramon.

Lisa Dial, Tri-Valley CVB Executive Director, said the funding was apportioned by the number of hotel rooms in each city, with Livermore paying $102,000, Dublin $54,000 and Pleasanton $190,000. She said hotels receive the primary direct benefits and therefore their fees are based on the number of rooms and other businesses fees are based on a membership category.

Cm. Tatarka asked why there were only 22 members in San Ramon.

Ms. Dial said San Ramon had only been participating for eight months and CVB was not exclusive. She said they anticipated membership would grow with San Ramon’s inclusion in the Visitors’ Guide.

Cm. Raab asked how many businesses in other Tri-Valley cities were members.

Ms. Dial said Dublin had fewer than 20 members with Livermore and Pleasanton having the majority. She commented on how well the CVB worked with the San Ramon Chamber of Commerce, noting it was not at all a competitive relationship.

Cm. Wilson said membership in the CVB supports not only the large businesses but the small ones as well. He said right now this is the best avenue to help all of the businesses in the City.

Cm. Raab said it was the City’s facilities that bring major events to the City such as the upcoming soccer tournament.

Cm. Tatarka asked why there weren’t matching funds to make this a true partnership.

Cm. Wilson said businesses pay taxes to help support the City’s excellent facilities.

Cm. Raab restated his motion to say "deny funding of the Tri-Valley Convention and Visitors’ Bureau".

Cm. Tatarka restated her second to the motion.

The motion did not pass on a 2-3 vote (Cms. Hudson, Wilson and Mayor Kinney dissenting).

Cm. Raab made a motion to raise the City’s transient occupancy tax to the same level as every other city in the Tri-Valley and go from 7.25% up to 8%. He said that way we would not be giving a double gift to a lot of the businesses.

Mayor Kinney said the businesses pay enough tax as it is and if the City can get along without an additional tax and entice people to come here, that is what we should do.

Cm. Tatarka seconded the motion.

Cm. Raab said with that type of philosophy the Council should expect every type of industry or business to come and ask for a large decrease.

Cm. Tatarka asked why San Ramon should not have the same TOT as other cities.

Cm. Wilson also asked why San Ramon should not have the same TOT as other cities.

Cm. Raab said San Ramon’s hotels are doing extremely well, they are extremely competitive and he felt San Ramon should be at the same taxing level as the other cities and increase revenue.

The motion passed 3-2 (Cm. Hudson and Mayor Kinney dissenting).

The City Attorney said the item was not on this agenda and asked that he be allowed the opportunity to come back at the next meeting with an analysis of the process of raising the taxes.

Cm. Raab’s motion that the City of San Ramon fund the Tri-Valley Business Council Vision 2010 Program was seconded by Cm. Tatarka.

Cm. Hudson said he was very opposed to this program. He said he believed this was a vision and the City should be implementing action plans. He said he had no desire to hand anything over to anymore regional programs and he did not want to put one more thing in another layer of bureaucracy’s hands.

Cm. Tatarka said she felt the Council needed to think regionally on all issues regarding traffic, growth, schools and economic vitality.

Cm. Wilson said he agreed that City staff was capable of determining where San Ramon goes but he also believed that this was a project worth supporting.

Cm. Hudson said the project supporters were talking about putting this "vision" as a regional element within the City’s General Plan and he had no desire to go down that path.

Tom O’Malley, Director of the Tri-Valley Vision Program, said one of the basic premises in the development of the "vision" was that they worked within each of the city's’ approved general plans. He said they were not a board, they were a group of businesses, governmental representatives and residents within the community. He said what was coming out of the vision represents an effort to work and focus on regional collaboration.

Cm. Hudson said the Tri-Valley Business Council had the opportunity to come before San Ramon’s Planning Commission on any item or any development plan that would come to the City. He said that would change if we put the regional element in the City’s general plan. He said he felt the "vision plan" document was advocating higher densities. He also said the City should not implement this vision but should implement the City’s policies using this vision.

Mayor Kinney confirmed that this was a request from the Tri-Valley Business Council to continue what they were studying and they were not a special board, council or committee and they had no voting power, no right to pass any laws or to change any zoning.

Mr. O’Malley said any recommendations would be brought to the governing bodies.

Cm. Hudson said there was a comment in the document that talks about trails in the open space and that we should all be looking for more and more trails. He asked Mr. O’Malley if he was aware that we had a great trail system designed for Dougherty Valley that is gone because of outside influences that the City does not get to vote on. He said he would like to know how anyone in the Tri-Valley Business Council was going to get the trails back.

Mr. O’Malley said two weeks ago the Council had formed a subcommittee involving the East Bay Parks and Recreation District and all of the city oriented parks and trails groups to look at that issue and to begin to resolve it.

Cm. Hudson said if the subcommittee did not include the EPA, the Corps of Engineers, the Water Quality Board, the Department of Fish and Game or U.S. Wildlife they were wasting their time.

Cm. Raab said this group was very cross representational and recommended Cm. Hudson consider attending some of their meetings.

The motion to approve funding for the Tri-Valley Business Council was passed 4-1 (Cm. Hudson dissenting).

Mayor Kinney said Mr. Welm had recommended in his comments regarding the budget that the Council not approve the citywide lighting and landscape fee of $59 per residence and the NPDES fee. He made a motion that the Council consider not approving these fees.

The motion died for lack of a second.

Cm. Raab said with the installation of the all weather track and the fencing around it, would that exclude the many residents that use the track or would it be a facility that could still be utilized.

The Parks and Community Services Director said a pass system from the pool would be established thereby allowing the public to use the track.

In response to Cm. Tatarka’s question regarding the maintenance of the track, the Parks and Community Services Director said there would be a written agreement with the School District to do the maintenance and to establish a fund for resurfacing of the track every five to ten years.

Cm. Raab’s motion to adopt the resolution amending the preliminary FY 2000-01 Program of Services was seconded by Cm. Tatarka.

The Administrative Services Director said with the amendment adding the Tri-Valley Business Council the number in section one of the resolution would need to be increased to $70,276,912.

The vote on the motion was 5-0.

AMENDING AND APPROVING THE PRELIMINARY FY 2000-01ANNUAL PROGRAM OF SERVICES, APPROVING REVENUE ESTIMATES, AUTHORIZING EXPENDITURES, APPROPRIATING FUND BALANCES AND ESTABLISHING APPROPRIATIONS LIMIT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2000-01 AND APPROVING THE AMENDED "STATEMENT OF INVESTMENT POLICY"

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Mayor Kinney declared a five-minute break.

All Councilmembers were present when the meeting reconvened.

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SKATE PARK RULES AND REGULATIONS

The Parks and Community Services Director introduced a  report from the Parks and Community Services Commission regarding recommendations regarding the enforcement of the rules and regulations for the new skate park. He said the recommendations included the overall policy for enforcement, current proposed staffing levels by the Parks and Community Services Department recreation staff and there ability to enforce those rules and regulations and the feasibility of full time staffing by Parks and Community Services Department staff during all open hours. The recommendations also included reviewing the current ordinance and the possibility of adding a section that would allow for the confiscation of skateboards and bicycles by violators of the ordinance, the potential use of Skate Park Task Force members as volunteers for enforcing rules, review of recommendations for the use of security cameras at the skate park and review of the potential for the use of additional cameras at Athan Downs, Central Park and the Olympic Pool. He said the report provided some background information about the skate park and what some other agencies were doing in the Bay Area in terms of their strategy and philosophy on operations of a skate park. He said the Commission was recommending several things, 1) increase the $10,000 budgeted for supervision in the Teen Program budget for park supervision to $20,000 for supervision of the skate park and increasing the hours of supervision, 2) the temporary assignment of a police technician full time for the next several months, providing extra security with the enforcement they would provide that staff can not in terms of citations, 3) that the police take a no warning position and start citing people for violations of the ordinance, 4) the ordinance as written be maintained, 5) that the confiscation of boards would be a police matter and the police department was the only authorized personnel that can issue these citations and the confiscation would be a matter of interpretation at the time of the infraction, 6) maintain the hours currently offered and not turn off the lights penalizing the skaters that are abiding by the rules due to the actions of a minority of the park users, 7) the commission did not support the use of Skate Park Task Force members policing the skate park and the responsibility lies with staff and the police department but that they should be role models when they are out there, 8) they supported the Council’s decision not to install video cameras at the skate park at this time as they felt it wasn’t warranted. The commission did not recommend the expansion of cameras or the video surveillance program into other areas of the park system at this time including the Olympic Pool.

In response to Mayor Kinney’s question regarding staffing at the park, the Parks and Community Services Director said currently during school hours the park was staffed from four to eight hours daily. He continued to say if the new budget request is approved they would plan on covering seven to eight hours daily, focusing on the after school hours and the early to later evenings.

Cm. Tatarka asked if there were still video cameras in other parts of the parks and what was the City’s policy regarding video cameras in parks.

The Parks and Community Services Director said there were video cameras in two parks, Central Park and Athan Downs, and two locations within those parks. He said they were continuing the program with those cameras and the tapes from those cameras were reviewed as required.

Bob Patrino, Chair of the Parks Commission, said the cameras in Athan Downs and Central Park were a response specifically to incidents of continued vandalism at the tennis courts and the play structure area. He said the intent of the Commission was not to put cameras everywhere but to do it as a response to specific incidents of either vandalism or other activities that we don’t want to see in the parks.

Cm. Wilson said he was on the Parks Commission at the time and the cameras in
Athan Downs and Central Park were a response to certain incidents hoping to catch vandals. He said we are hopefully trying to find another alternative with the skate park.

Cm. Tatarka asked what incidents have occurred in Athan Downs and Central Park since the initial vandalism that warrant the continuing use of the cameras there.

Mr. Patrino said he did not know of any on-going incidents that were occurring now and in that case he would call the camera surveillance successful as a deterrent to the on- going problems in those locations.

Cm. Tatarka said she would like to see a more uniform policy.

Cm. Raab said the reason why he had initially brought up the issue of cameras at the aquatic center was because a staff member had come to him telling of incidents of vandalism that had occurred there. He asked if the Commission was aware of these incidents.

Mr. Patrino said he did not feel the Commission wanted to get in the habit of installing surveillance cameras at every park.

The Parks and Community Services Director said both at the Policy Committee and the Commission meetings on May 31 they had discussed the fact of incidents at the pool and the Council request to specifically discuss the Olympic Pool.

Cm. Wilson asked if the staffing hours would be increased during the summer because the skaters would be out of school. He also asked if the hours of operation at the skate park would be extended during the summer.

The Parks and Community Services Director said they were gearing up to staff eight hours during the summer time and they were also scheduling skateboarding lessons, noting the person teaching those lessons would be monitoring the skate park as well. He said the Commission recommended the current hours of dawn to midnight be maintained.

Cm. Wilson said he would recommend the report be accepted. He said the recommendations of the Commission should be given a chance to see if they work.

Cm. Tatarka suggested monitoring the program to see how it was working with a report to Council after a period of time.

The Parks and Community Services Director said staff had been asked to give a quarterly report to the Commission and he would be providing that report to the Council as well.

Cm. Wilson said he would like a report to be given to the Internal Operations Committee on a monthly basis as to how things were going at the skate park.

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ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW BOARD COMPOSITION

The City Clerk said at the May 9 meeting Cm. Hudson discussed  the composition of the Architectural Review Board and the  potential problem if there were just one landscape architect on the Board and he or she was also the landscape architect for the project being considered by the ARB. She said staff had been asked to come up with a recommendation as to how this problem could be eliminated. She said the Planning Services Department had recently experienced on several occasions a lack of appropriate professional representation in the area of landscape architecture on the ARB, due to abstentions or conflict of interest reasons. She listed the two following alternatives; 1) amend the ARB Ordinance to include a minimum of two alternate members. One of the alternates must be a professional licensed architect and one must be a professional licensed landscape architect, to ensure appropriate representation of those fields or, 2) enter into contract services with one or more professional architectural and/or landscape architectural firms to allow staff to contract out for architectural and landscape architectural peer review services, when conflicts and/or lack of appropriate representation of these fields are provided on the ARB. She said staff was recommending the City Council review the report, consider the alternatives and give direction to staff.

Cm. Hudson said he could see where either of the alternatives could work but he was looking for something more. He said the ARB was virtually an extension of staff and he would like to continue the link of ARB through the Planning Director and staff, up through the Planning Commission to Council. He said what he was looking for was something similar to the process of the Library Advisory Committee applicants being interviewed by the Parks Commission, who in term makes a recommendation for appointment to the Council. He suggested having staff look at the credentials of the applicants for the ARB to make sure they were qualified for the various categories spelled out by the ordinance. He suggested the review board consist of the Planning Director, a staff member and the current ARB chair or something along those lines and then they could use one or both of the alternatives.

It was the consensus of Council to eliminate alternate two, entering into contract services.

Mayor Kinney said he felt what was needed were two landscape architects, two architects and the fifth person could be an engineer or a person possessed with competent knowledge and ability. He said the appointment of Phil Serna to the Planning Commission created a vacancy on the ARB and he would recommend directing staff to advertise for a landscape architect for this position.

Cm. Hudson said Mayor Kinney’s recommendation would satisfy half of his concerns and the other half was when the applications of the professionals come before the City because it is not always clear if the applicant is an architect or a landscape person. He asked that somebody look at the applications ahead of time and make a recommendation as to who should be appointed.

Staff was directed to follow Council directions when recruiting and reviewing applications for the ARB.

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MAYORS’ CONFERENCE 

Mayor Kinney said at the June 1 Mayors’ Conference an appointment had been made to the Airport Commission of a person who lives in the community next to the airport.

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There being no further business to come before the City, at 10:50 p.m. the Council meeting adjourned.

Curt Kinney, Mayor
Judy Macfarlane, City Clerk

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