A regular meeting of the City Council of the City of San Ramon was called to order on September 26, 2000 at 7:30 p.m. in the Council Chamber 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 Brian Lindblom, Parks and Community Services Director Jeff Eorio, Planning Director Phil Wong, City Engineer Joye Fukuda, Transportation Director John Dillon, Administrative Analyst Kevin Carunchio and City Clerk Judy Macfarlane

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After calling the meeting to order Mayor Kinney said the Council had met in closed session pursuant to Section 54956.9(c) of the Government Code regarding litigation and had given the City Attorney direction. He said by a vote of 4-1 (Cm. Hudson dissenting) the Council stated its intent to file an appeal regarding the Central San lawsuit and the proposed sewer line down Estero Drive.

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

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The City Manager called to the attention of the audience the City Council Workshop scheduled for September 28 at 7:00 p.m. at the Community Center. He said at that meeting the Council and audience would hear presentations by the consultants on the feasibility of the City Center Vision complex.

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The Administrative Services Director introduced Eric Zeng and said he was the City’s new Computer Technician.

Mayor Kinney welcomed Mr. Zeng and gave him a City pin.

Mayor Kinney read a proclamation recognizing the Economic Development Alliance for Business on its 10^th anniversary and presented it to the Alliance’s executive director, Bruce Kern.

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Donna Dickey, thanked the Council for their decision to appeal Central San’s proposal to put a sewer line down Estero Drive. She said now is the time to protect the community from being steamrolled by the developers and Central San. She asked the City Attorney when the City appeals are we restricted to the issues already discussed or would the appeal broaden the scope of discussion.

The City Attorney said the appeal was restricted to the issue that was before the trial court and the Court of Appeals could only look at the transcripts of the proceedings before the trial judge and the documents and papers that were considered by the court below. In response to questions the City Attorney said if the Council wants to bring this discussion back at a future meeting they can but he did not see why they would need to.

Ms. Dickey asked how the concerned residents could get all of their issues addressed.

The City Attorney said this was a very narrow issue and the City did not file the lawsuit it had come from Central San. He said the appeal was limited to whether or not the City Council had the ability under a particular section in the Health and Safety Code to withhold consent to the use of Estero Drive. He said the trial judge cannot expand the issue that is brought to him and other issues have to find their way into other forums. He said some of the residents’ issues may not necessarily be judicial issues and maybe the residents should be taking them up with the Central San Board or the DSRSD Board. He said this case would not provide the answer one way or the other to all of the other issues.

Ms. Dickey asked about a counter suit by the City.

The City Attorney said it would seem to him that there was not anything the City has at stake to file a counter suit about.

Ms. Dickey said there has to be a forum where all of the residents could express their concerns besides those of Central San.

Cm. Raab suggested with the consent of Council that the City Attorney be directed to look into other potential avenues that may be taken so additional issues may be discussed.

Garry Chaban, said he had grave concerns about his area of the neighborhood and what was going to happen with the sewer project. He asked the Council to continue to try to resolve this issue in a way that it would not affect his neighborhood.

Cm. Wilson said the City would be working with Central San and the residents up to the last moment to try to solve the problem.

Cm. Tatarka said she was proud to see the sense of community exhibited by the residents and she knew it would continue.

Cm. Raab confirmed the City Attorney would explore all other avenues and they would get in touch with the residents.

Ms. Dickey said the residents would like to discuss this issue further on the next Council agenda.

Sandy Barclay, said something had to be done about this issue.

Mayor Kinney said the Council was doing everything it could do and that they would have a public meeting in two weeks and the residents could say anything they wanted to at that time.

Bill McCauley, 8786 August Court, Dublin, talked about the proposed Back 40 Texas Barbecue Restaurant in the Gateway Shopping Center and expressed concern that the residents in that area would be inundated with odor and smoke from the restaurant. He said the restaurant would be smoking meat 14-hours a day 7 days a week and there would be no relief. He said the restaurant was a threat to clean air and it would affect the value of the homes in the area.

Mayor Kinney said Mr. McCauley’s concerns would be referred to staff for review.

Cheryl Bigman, said she and her husband Sandy sponsor a community wide charity event every year and this year would be the sixth annual talent show benefit for the Contra Costa Food Bank. She said the event was on October 13 at the Community Center and admission was free with the donation of at least one non perishable food item.

Rosalind Rogoff, spoke about the jazz programs at the library and encouraged everyone to attend.

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Cm. Wilson asked that minutes of the September 12, 2000 meeting regarding the EBMUD pipeline be amended to include verbiage that states the placement of the pipeline on Deerwood Road would not save the ratepayers money.

Cm. Raab’s motion to approve the minutes of the September 12 meeting as amended was seconded by Cm. Tatarka and passed 5-0.

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Cm. Raab asked that item 8.5, agreement for consultant to review the City’s solid waste contract and service, be removed for discussion. He asked if this agreement would allow the City to potentially open the contract for renegotiation.

The Administrative Analyst said depending on the results of the study if there were issues that the Council would like explored he was sure they could be looked into.

Cm. Hudson said he would like to pull item 8.3, agreement with Pizazz Printing for the City Newsletter, and stated that his preference in the choice for the newsletter paper was option 1. He also pulled item 8.4, introduction of ordinance amending the City’s business license to exclude single dwelling rental units, to waive the reading.

Cm. Hudson’s motion to approve the following Consent Calendar was seconded by Cm. Raab and passed 5-0.

FINANCE     Register of Demands dated September 15 and 22, 2000 in the amount of $1,307,759.79

AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO EXECUTE AN AGREEMENT WITH RILEY’S STRIPING FOR STREET STRIPING AND STENCILING SERVICES IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $180,000

ORDINANCE RENTAL UNITS

 Introduction of Ordinance – Excluding single dwelling rental  units from requirement to obtain business license, set public hearing for October 10, 2000 and waive the reading.

APPROPRIATING $54,000 FOR SOLID WASTE CONSULTING SERVICES AND AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO EXECUTE AN AGREEMENT WITH BROWN, VENCE & ASSOCIATES, INC. FOR THE PROVISION OF AN INDEPENDENT PERFORMANCE REVIEW OF VALLEY WASTE MANAGEMENT

Cm. Hudson’s motion to approve the agreement with Pizazz Printing and option number one paper for the newsletter was seconded by Cm. Raab and passed 5-0.

AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO EXECUTE AN AGREEMENT WITH PIZAZZ PRINTING FOR PRINTING SERVICES FOR THE ACTIVITIES GUIDE, CITY NEWSLETTER AND 2001 CITY CALENDAR IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $56,501 AND AUTHORIZING A BUDGET INCREASE OF $5,500

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ATHAN DOWNS PARKING MITIGATION TASK FORCE

The City Clerk introduced a resolution adopting recommendations of the Athan Downs Parking Mitigation Task Force. She said a nine member Athan Downs Parking Task Force was appointed  in September 1999. On July 25, 2000 the Task Force presented a report to Council which included a majority and minority opinion. After discussion the City Council approved recommendations from both the majority and minority report and directed staff to return with a resolution listing those recommendations. At the September 12 meeting the resolution was presented and after discussion and audience input further amendments were made to the resolution. Staff recommended the City Council consider the amended resolution and adopt it.

Paula Pigozzi, asked Council to approve additional permit parking to run along side the 10019 Toby Road residence.

Mayor Kinney said permit parking was being considered for just those residences that had signed the petition and the residents at 10019 Toby Road had not signed the petition.

Ms. Pigozzi asked that the statement that read "the written consent of the Parks and Community Services Commission and/or the City Council." be changed to read "Parks and Community Services Commission and the City Council."

The Transportation Director said at the September 12 meeting it was his understanding that the direction to staff was to reduce the no parking zone adjacent to the crosswalk to 10 feet on each side of the crosswalk. He recommended that amendment be made to the resolution under consideration.

Tad Duffy, said it was his understanding that after the last meeting staff was going to contact each resident to see whether or not they wanted permit parking.

Mayor Kinney said the Council had made the decision that the permit parking zone would only include those that had signed the petition.

The Transportation Director said it was his understanding that the permit parking would be restricted to those that had actually signed the petition. He also said one person that had signed the petition did not want to be included and one person who had been opposed to the entire concept but did not want to be the last person on the block who didn’t have permit parking requested to be added.

Mr. Duffy asked if the resident at Ascot Drive agreed to permit parking.

The Transportation Director said he had spoken to Mrs. Provost at Ascot Drive and although she felt in general that more parking restrictions were not necessary she did not want to be the only house on the street that did not have some kind of parking restriction.

Mr. Duffy said one requirement in the proposed resolution states "Future Sunday scheduling of Field #4 will be prohibited" but then it goes on to say "but will allow some play". He said he thought prohibited and allowing some play were contradictive. He said if that verbiage is used it should say restricted and that the use of Field #4 should not be approved by the City Council. He said this was an issue that the Parks Commission could handle and it should be at the consent of the Parks and Community Services and not the City Council. He said just last Sunday approximately 500 children played in a tournament at Athan Downs and he felt to restrict the ability to use Field #4 was wrong.

Cm. Wilson said as a former Parks and Community Services Commissioner and currently on the Council he felt the suggested wording to eliminate "or" was correct, stating both bodies work together and he did not see that as a conflict.

Cm. Raab made a motion to approve the resolution with the amendments as stated changing 50 feet to 10 feet in #5 and #8 and eliminating "or" in #9. He said the resolution would not limit tournaments.

Cm. Wilson seconded the motion and it passed 4-1 (Cm. Hudson dissenting).

ADOPTING RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE ATHAN DOWNS PARKING MITIGATION TASK FORCE

Cm. Tatarka said as the permit parking on Ascot Drive is implemented she would like all of the residents in the City to think when they are attending an organized sporting event about where they are parking and how it will affect the residents in the area. She encouraged education regarding parking in the lot on Montevideo to continue for all sports groups.

Cm. Wilson said he hoped all San Ramon residents would teach their children respect on and off the field and to use the parking lot.

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PERMIT PARKING AREA "H"

The Transportation Director introduced a resolution that would  implement permit parking on a portion of Ascot Drive and Burns Circle. He said all of the residents in the homes shown in the permit parking zone had either signed the petition or called to say they would like to be included. He said the no parking, no stopping, no standing zone had been reduced to 10 feet on all four sides of the crosswalk per Council direction.

Cm. Raab’s motion to adopt the resolution was seconded by Cm. Wilson and passed 4-1 (Cm. Hudson dissenting).

DESIGNATING A PORTION OF ASCOT DRIVE AND BURNS CIRCLE AS PERMIT PARKING AREA "H" AND RESTRICTING PARKING THEREON

Mayor Kinney said staff might want to consider having the police department issue a different color permit for each permit parking area.

The Transportation Director said permits from one area would not be valid in other permit parking areas and the differentiation would be made either by letter or some other designation.

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Mayor Kinney said he would like to send his congratulations to Lieutenant Obie Anderson who would be promoted to the rank of Captain in the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Department effective September 27, 2000.

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SAN RAMON DOUGHERTY VALLEY LIBRARY 

The Parks and Community Services Director said the Dougherty Valley Library was a joint project with the City of San Ramon, the Contra Costa County Library and the Contra Costa Community College District. He said the entities had worked collaboratively together to provide leadership and direction in a planning process that resulted in an operational, organizational, conceptual feasibility study for a joint use community college in the Dougherty Valley. He said the presentation that would be given to the Dougherty Valley Oversight Committee would depend on direction given by the Council to the Dougherty Valley Oversight Committee representatives. It was staff’s recommendation that the Council receive the consultant’s report, consider the concepts, accept the recommendations as outlined and provide input and direction to the core team members.

Sam McBane, Project Manager, Anderson-Brule Architects, highlighted the vision, goals and key recommendations of the core team’s report. She said the process had been inclusive and collaborative representing all three of the partners. She said the process allowed the consultant to create forms to explore the concept from all perspectives and to ensure that there was not a single focus but that all three of the stake holders and their parties were included. She said the recommended next step in the process would be a memorandum of understanding formalizing the partnership. She said once the programming design and construction of the actual facility is begun a development agreement would frame the roles and responsibilities of the partners. She also said prior to becoming fully operational an organizational structure should be designed and put in place that met the very unique needs of this facility. She said the operation of a joint use facility by different partners was very different from a normal library in its design and construction.

The Parks and Community Services Director said after similar presentations had been made to the Contra Costa County Community College District Board and the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors, both boards had endorsed the concept.

Cm. Wilson said the report states that the primary objective was to surface any real or perceived obstacles and with the three entities he would have thought there would have to be some conflict and he was surprised the report stated there weren’t any. He asked how there could not be conflicts with the three entities being so different.

Ms. McBane said in the forums issues were talked about openly and once the discussions were held individuals realized that what they could achieve was essentially so much more than on their own or what they had now that they were committed to working through the issues.

Cm. Wilson said parking and public transportation issues would have to be addressed.

Ms. McBane said the scope of the first report or study was about feasibility and whether or not the concept would work with these partners. She said getting beyond the question of whether or not to move forward would allow the investment of resources to look at a more detailed level of planning to ensure that all of the issues are addressed.

Cm. Wilson said while budget and funding issues were a little vague in the study, throughout the report he consistently saw a 40% - 60% relationship with the City on the 60% side.

Ms. McBane said that section of the study was a representation of other operational models that exist elsewhere in the United States and those models were locked into that concept and San Ramon was not. She said San Ramon had every opportunity to create and design an operational and organizational structure within the partnership and it did not have anything to do with the way anyone else had done it in the past.

Cm. Raab said the City of San Jose and San Jose State were looking into a joint library and asked if Ms. McBane could talk about the status of that effort and how it might be relevant to our project.

Ms. McBane said her firm had been involved in the planning process of a 475,000 square foot facility which would house the San Jose State University’s library collection and growth for 20 years as well as the San Jose Public Library Main Library. She said they had gone through an operational planning process that began much the same way as San Ramon’s. She said they were currently in the construction phase of the project.

Mayor Kinney asked if San Jose was a county or city library system.

Ms. McBane said San Jose was a municipal library system with a main public library and 17 branches and that number was expected to expand to 22.

Cm. Wilson said there were major differences between a college library and a city library and he questioned whether or not they could work out those differences. He said this was a wonderful concept but he was concerned whether it would work.

Cm. Tatarka confirmed this was a concept of joint use and asked how it fit in with San Ramon’s library master plan.

Ms. McBane said it was projected in 2020 that San Ramon’s library service population would be approximately 99,000 people and they would be served by the new library as well as the existing San Ramon library.

Cm. Tatarka asked what portion of the Dougherty Valley library would be San Ramon’s library.

Ms. McBane said the concept allows the City to have access to the entire library. She said the agreements signed by all three parties were critical in ensuring that if issues arise they would be addressed.

Cm. Raab said this was a concept only and he would like to see it go forward and the details would be worked out in the next phase.

Cm. Tatarka said she embraced the concept and would like to see the project go forward to the next step to determine the issues and have them addressed. She asked that the Needs Assessment Operational Planning document be made available to the public at the library.

Cm. Hudson said he was very interested to see how actual physical ownership would be determined and stated he was ready for the concept.

The Parks and Community Services Director said staff would bring progress updates on the planning process back to Council on a regular basis.

It was the consensus of Council to approve the concept.

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Joyce Gunn, San Ramon Librarian, said the Smithsonian exhibit currently at the library was open during all regular library hours and was free to the public. She described the series of programs scheduled for the next six weeks that included lectures and films.

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Cm. Tatarka asked for clarification on what information regarding the joint use library the Council representative was going to take to the Dougherty Valley Oversight Committee meeting scheduled for September 27.

Mayor Kinney said the direction to DVOC representatives was to say that the Council had reached consensus on the concept.

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CONTRA COSTA LIBRARY COMMISSION 

The City Clerk said the Contra Costa Library Commission was seeking a San Ramon representative to serve for a term to run through June 2001. 

Staff was directed to recruit for the position.

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PERSONNEL CLASSIFICATION STRUCTURE CITY CLERK

Mayor Kinney said the personnel classification structure of the City Clerk was being considered by the Internal Operations Committee.

Cm. Wilson said the Internal Operations Committee had met with the City Clerk and they had also met with the Committee involved in the upcoming Classification Study of all City staff. He said the Internal Operations Committee felt since the City Clerk’s position would be evaluated in the classification study they would recommend waiting for the conclusion of the study before taking any action.

In response to Mayor Kinney’s questions, the Administrative Services Director said the contract for the study would be on the Council agenda at the next meeting and the timeframe for the study would be approximately four and a half months. 

Mayor Kinney said the Council needed to decide at some point in time whether or not the City Clerk was going to be a contract employee similar to what exists with the City Manager and City Attorney or she was going to be an employee and have all of the benefits and wages as given a City employee.

Cm. Wilson said the Internal Operations Committee was trying to resolve the issue without having it come back to Council with a lot of unanswered questions. He said it was the City Clerk position that was being evaluated.

Mayor Kinney said now, as he understood it, the City Clerk position was in a separate category and it was not in with the City employees.

The Administrative Services Director said the City Clerk position was in the Program Manager classification and was evaluated by the City Council. He confirmed the classification study would include an evaluation of the tier system and said it would not impact the current year’s budget. He said when the recommendations from the classification study were presented to the Council, the Council would make the decision whether or not to approve those recommendations and any recommendations that are approved by the City Council were anticipated to be effective with the new FY 2001-2002 budget.

Mayor Kinney said it was the Internal Operations Committee recommendation that a decision on the City Clerk position be postponed until the completion of the classification study.

Cm. Hudson confirmed they would make a decision on the classification structure for all employees including the City Clerk when the study was complete.

Mayor Kinney confirmed the Council may or may not be reviewing the City Clerk next year depending on recommendations made after review of the classification study.

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There being no further business to come before the City, at 9:30 p.m. Mayor Kinney adjourned the meeting.

Curt Kinney, Mayor
Judy Macfarlane, City Clerk

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