A regular meeting of the City Council of the City of San Ramon was held on September 14, 2004 at 7:00 p.m. in the City Council Chamber at City Hall, 2222 Camino Ramon, Mayor Wilson presiding.

PRESENT: Councilmembers Hudson, Livingstone, Rowley and Mayor Wilson

ABSENT: Councilmember Perkins

STAFF PRESENT: City Manager Herb Moniz, City Attorney Byron Athan, Public Works Director Joye Fukuda, Police Chief Kathy Samuels, Planning Director Phil Wong, Transportation Manager Lisa Bobadilla and City Clerk Judy Macfarlane

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Mayor Wilson announced the Council had met in closed session pursuant to Government Code §54957.5 to confer with Labor Negotiator, Cheryl Mitchell Wade, regarding SEIU Local – 790 – no action taken.

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The City Manager led the Council, staff, and those in the audience in the pledge of allegiance.

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The Public Works Director introduced Robin Bartlett, the new Assistant Engineer in the Public Works Department.

Mayor Wilson welcomed Mr. Bartlett and gave him a City pin.

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Cm. Hudson’s motion to appoint Michael Farrar to the Economic Development Committee for a term to run through January 2006 was seconded by Cm. Rowley and passed 4-0.

Cm. Hudson’s motion to appoint Michael Gwynn, Sharyn Rossi and Dana Tsubota to the Housing Advisory Committee for terms to run through July 2006 was seconded by Cm. Rowley and passed 4-0.

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Toby Brink, Chamber of Commerce President, said the first edition of the "B2B", the Chamber newsletter, had gone out. He asked for comments from the residents and Chamber members.

Ellen Pyle thanked the City for its efforts and follow-up with the Royal Vista Golf Course in having them close their gates in the evening. She said it was much quieter in the evenings since this had occurred.

Jay Bhalla spoke about the Dublin San Ramon Services District (DSRSD) Board of Directors election to be held on November 2, 2004. He said of the 11,000 households served by the District approximately 4,000 to 5,000 were San Ramon households. He said there is currently no one on the Board from San Ramon and he felt it was critical for San Ramon to have representation on the Board. He encouraged everyone to vote for Roz Rogoff, the only San Ramon candidate on the ballot.

Bill Tharp said a resolution regarding the Patriot Act was adopted by the Council on October 13, 2003. He added the three Councilmembers who voted in favor of the resolution have since left the Council and asked the Council to reconsider the issue.

Roz Rogoff said she appreciated the support of the Council for her candidacy on the DSRSD Board and if elected she would be working to try to improve the water quality for the people who live in Dougherty Valley and Dublin.

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Cm. Livingstone’s motion to approve the minutes of the August 24, 2004 meeting was seconded by Cm. Hudson and passed 4-0.

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Cm. Livingstone’s motion to approve the following consent calendar was seconded by Cm. Hudson and passed 4-0.

Register of Demands – August 2004.

Dougherty Road/Red Willow Road Traffic Signal Installation – Acceptance of work by Charles Kopp, Inc. d.b.a. Continental Electric for Traffic Signal project as complete and authorize the City Clerk to file a Notice of Completion.

Resolution No. 2004 – 112 – Accepting Certain Roadway and Drainage Improvements of Henry Ranch (Subdivision 8188) as complete and for public maintenance, accepting certain public service and trail easements; and authorizing the reduction of project survey (Lyon Homes-Henry Ranch LLC/Henry Ranch).

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The Transportation Manager said the item was a staff recommendation to install three speed humps as traffic calming features on Canyon Creek Drive. In August 2002 the City received a petition from the residents on Canyon Creek Drive requesting speed humps be installed to decrease the vehicle speed on their street. She detailed the process used to determine that speed humps were warranted and the noticing process to let the residents know of the City’s plans.

Cm. Rowley confirmed the Fire Department had also approved the installation of the speed humps.

Donna Kerger said Canyon Creek Drive was a neighborhood of families and the speed humps were a matter of health and safety. She said another aspect was that Canyon Creek Drive was an arterial to Twin Creeks School.

Bill Tharp said he was in favor of slowing down the people in the community because there is too much speeding. He said there has to be a huge difference between the cost of some of the options that staff looked at and the speed humps. He also said it took approximately two years to get the job done and asked if that was a reasonable amount of time.

The Transportation Manager said that was correct, the cost to install the speed humps was approximately $10,500. In response to the question regarding the time it took to complete the job, she said the notification process takes anywhere from 12 to 18 months and the installation time is between three to six months.

Mr. Tharp asked what were the comments from the Fire Department regarding response time and speed bumps.

The Transportation Manager said in this instance the Fire Department was approximately 1.5 miles away from Canyon Creek Drive and the response time would be between four and five minutes and that falls within the City’s General Plan requirements.

Cm. Livingstone said stop signs on that particular street don’t make any sense.

Boyd Clegg, San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District, said the response times in that area would be within the City’s requirements.

Steve Simmons said he started the petition because it was very difficult for residents to pull out of the driveway on Canyon Creek Drive. He said the problem is worse when the kids were in school and they ride their bikes on the street. He also said they were not trying to detour the traffic but to slow it down.

Cm. Hudson said he felt the buy-in by the people on Canyon Creek Drive was the compelling statement.

Cm. Rowley thanked the residents and staff for working so well together.

Cm. Livingstone said the speed bumps should make a difference and he was in favor of them.

Mayor Wilson said safety was a high priority of the Council and everything would be done to achieve that goal.

Cm. Hudson’s motion to approve the three speed humps along Canyon Creek Drive and the supplemental warning signs and pavement markings to be installed at each location was seconded by Cm. Rowley and passed 4-0.

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The City Attorney said he had reviewed the City’s Municipal Code regarding the duties of the City Council and Mayor and had incorporated them in the proposed ordinance. He said the ordinance was introduced and a public hearing held on August 10, 2004 and was before the Council for adoption.

Cm. Hudson’s motion to adopt the ordinance amending the Municipal Code pertaining to the Legislative Body and waive the reading was seconded by Cm. Livingstone and passed 4-0.

The City Manager said he and the City Engineer had met with the District 4 Director of Caltrans to discuss the condition of the landscaping and the on-going maintenance problem at Bollinger Canyon and at Crow Canyon in relation to the fact that a lot of money had been spent on Crow Canyon and he believed it was going off the maintenance period this year. He said the issue and how the City could help was discussed and Caltrans budget was discussed. Caltrans said they would check the irrigation system and clean up the Bollinger and Crow Canyon areas.

Cm. Livingstone said he would like to commend the City staff and Public Works Department on a wonderful memorial on September 11 at Memorial Park and the Mayor for doing a wonderful job of arranging it and guiding the audience through it.

Cm. Hudson commended staff on the successful Art and Wind Festival held in Dougherty Valley. He also said he would like to see a follow up to the request regarding the Patriot Act.

Cm. Rowley thanked the staff and volunteers for the successful soccer opening day, the Art Walk at Windemere, the memorial at Memorial Park and the Victorian Tea.

Mayor Wilson said the common thread is the City’s staff and all of the events could not have been possible without their dedication.

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There being no further business to come before the Council, at 7:54 p.m. the meeting was adjourned.

Signed:
H. Abram Wilson, Mayor
Judy Macfarlane, City Clerk

Approved: September 28, 2004