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CC 01-19-10 Mary Ave SS (now Don Burnett Bicycle-Pedestrian Bridge)CUPERTINO APPROVED :YIINUTES CUPERTINO CITY COUNCIL Regular Adjourned Meeting Tuesday, Janu~~ry 19, 2010 ROLL CALL At 3:00 p.m. Mayor Kris Wang called the regular adjourned meeting to order in the Council Chamber, 10350 Torre Avenue, Cupertino, California. Present: Mayor Kris Wang, Vice-Mayor Gilbert Wong, and Council members Barry Chang, Orrin Mahoney, and Mark Santoro. Absent: none. 1. Conduct a study session to review a potern~ial project from the Cupertino Rotary Housing Corporation (CRHC) to construct approxirnately 18 to 20 affordable senior housing units within a portion of the public right-of--way on the west side of Mary Avenue. This area is currently being used as diagonal parking and an undeveloped strip of land behind the existing curb. Charlie Niemeyer, Director of the Live ~Jak Adult Day Center, stated that affordable senior housing was very important to the community. It gave an opportunity to seniors to stay in the community instead of being forced to relocate out of town for financial reasons. Richard Lowenthal explained that the Cupertino Housing Corporation (CRHC) was an independent 501 C-3 non-profit corporatio~i that only did affordable housing. He gave a slide show presentation showing other F:otary Club models of affordable housing in Sausalito and Novato. The proposal before City Council was for 18-20 small cottages about 800-900 square feet each, in close proximity to the Senior Center, Memorial Park, and the Flint Center for the Performing Arts. The CRHC's primary function would be to raise the funds and to manage the project over the long term. The total cost was expected to be about $5 million, with no cost to the City's General Fund. The project would have sidewalks and on-street parking, and would create a very pedestrian-oriented feel. He listed additional benefits of this site, including: (1) It would avoid school impacts; (2) It would restripe Mary Avenue so it would be a slower and safer two-lane neighborhood street; (3) It would have parallel parking a~ld bike lanes on each side of the street; and (4) There would be additional trees and landscaping. Mr. Lowenthal said the proposal was for tree City to provide the land as a long-term lease, or to deed it to the CRHC. In turn, the c~~rporation would raise the money, manage the January 19, 2010 Cupertino Cih~ Council Page 2 construction, maintain it, and provide services to seniors. He said that they hoped the city would provide some of the money already set aside strictly for affordable housing, but they were not asking for General Fund money. Some of it would be in the form of loans, to be paid back with rents that were roughly half of market rate. Only current Cupertino residents would be eligible for this housing;. He said that some of the community concerns that have been raised included parking, traffic, air quality, property values, quality of maintenance, and senior housing needs. Lowenthal said that they did not have specific answers today, because of the cost of the studies, but could begin to work on those once the application had been filed. Mr. Lowenthal also read the following statement regarding this project:"In particular we will commit in writing: 1) That the City will not use any General Fund money in the construction of this project; 2) That any ~;xcess revenue we get in the operation of this project will be committed to charitable us~~ in Cupertino. We are willing to attach this to our deed as a covenant; 3) That we will Endeavor to find Cupertino residents to be our tenants. We are willing to attach this to o~.~r deed as a covenant; 4) That we will not use this property for any purpose other than rental senior housing. We are willing to attach this to our deed as a covenant and 5) That we will follow all regulations regarding air quality and other environmental issues which will be confirmed in our application." Mr. Lowenthal said that there is a history in Cupertino of support for organizations like West Valley Community Services to ena~~le these organizations to help members of our community. He noted that this project wa:~ being treated differently, because at Council's request they were required to pay for the notice for today's meeting, and he did so with his personal funds. Mr. Lowenthal said that the formal applic,~tion would address all the customary issues in a project including environmental issuers, infrastructure issues, street improvements, design criteria, etc. He asked for the Cir,~ Council to indicate support of this project by committing to it this under-used piece oi' land and by committing money that was set aside specifically for housing. Council raised questions about the projf;ct included the following: confirmation was needed that the city owned the property; ~,vhat would be the total costs to the city; what would be the criteria for residents, air quality, parking and relinquishing the road. Vice Mayor Wong also asked the City Attorney verify that, even though four of the five Council Members were Rotarians, as were many members of the staff, there was no conflict of interest. City Attorney Carol R:orade concurred with that statement, and said that such a situation had been clearly established as permissible by the Fair Political Practices Commission. She explained that participation in voluntary organizations was permitted and Council members did not have to refrain from participating in any project involving a charitable organization of which one was a member. January 19, 2010 Cupertino Cit•~ Council Page 3 James Reyff, representing acoustical and air quality consulting firm Illingworth & Rodkin, explained that there were State guidelines regarding air pollution and freeways and the Bay Area Air Quality Management group was also studying these impacts. Such studies included traffic patterns and meteorological data. Mitigation of these impacts included site design, air filtration and land:;caping. The following speakers spoke in favor of the proposed senior housing project. They discussed the importance of affordable se~iior housing, the aesthetic improvement of the area under discussion, that there would be no impact on the schools, and that the project would be of benefit to the entire commuliity. Other comments included the removal of parking spaces was not an issue as this area was used primarily by illegal overnight parking by trucks and by college students looking for free city parking instead of paying for parking on campus. • Steve Andrews • Dorothy Stow • Shiloh Ballard, Silicon Valley Leaders}iip Group • Roberta Hollimon, speaking on behalf of the League of Women Voters of Cupertino/Sunnyvale • Jim Jackson, former Cupertino Mayor • Don Burnett, former Cupertino Mayor • Ted Hattan, owner of Avery Constr~~ction (owns property across the street from proposed project) • Barbara Rogers, former Cupertino Mayor • Liz Gallegos read written comments from Elaine Glissmeyer, Executive Director of the Northwest YMCA • Chris Kennedy Pierce, former Senior Commissioner and Executive Director of the nonprofit The Leading Age Institute. She said there was also going to be a Silicon Valley Positive Aging Forum, and ofi ered her support as an urban planner and age development expert to this project. • Michael Gottwald • Kathy Nellis, former Cupertino Mayor, and member of the Cupertino Rotary Housing Corporation Board • Don Staub, Board of Directors of West Valley Community Services • Jim Walker • Patrick Kwok, former Cupertino Mayor • Scott Stauffer, Board Member of Cupertino Rotary Housing Corporation • Kathy Robinson • Naomi Nakano-Matsumoto, Executive Director of West Valley Community Services January 19, 2010 Cupertino Clt`~ Council Page 4 • Don Allen • Jennifer Griffin • Liz Gallegos, President of Cupertino Rotary • Morris Hosoda The following speakers were either opposed to or neutral about the project • Cathy Helgerson felt that the pollution in this location was very serious and there were better locations for senior housing, such as next to the library. She felt that Mr. Lowenthal was using his influence as a former City Council person to make this project happen. • Robert McKibbin said he was not for or against the project, but there were currently too many questions that needed answf;rs such as the question of title to the property and what were the costs to the city. • Tom Hugunin asked to see the Memor~indum of Understanding. • Darrel Lum referred to his handout which included in part the recommendations that financial analyses be done by a consultant selected by the city, with the fee to be paid by the applicant, and the property should be sold/leased at fair market value. • Keith Murphy asked about city's fiduciary responsibility and also raised the issue of conflict of interest. While there may ~~e no financial conflict he believed there was a judgmental conflict. Council members asked to have the question ~ibout the title issue resolved before the next meeting; have staff prepare a cost analysis to show how the project would impact the city; have staff provide a list of customary waivers for nonprofit groups Council further asked Mr. Lowenthal to provide a financial analysis, confirmation of title and a timeline including options and schedules for the next meeting. Council took no action but agreed that this issue would be discussed again at the February 2, 2010 Council Meeting. CLOSED SESSION -None RECESS -Council was in recess from 6:05 p.m. until 6:50 p.m. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE At 6:50 p.m. Mayor Kris Wang called the regular meeting to order in the Council Chamber, 10350 Torre Avenue, Cupertino, California, and l~;d the Pledge of Allegiance. ROLL CALL Present: Mayor Kris Wang, Vice-Mayor Gilbert Wong, and Council members Barry Chang, Orrin Mahoney, and Mark Santoro. Absent: none. January 19, 2010 Cupertino Cite Council Page 5 CEREMONIAL MATTERS -PRESENTATIONS 2. Presentation from Steve Tate of the Leaguf; of California Cities' Executive Committee. Mr. Steve Tate explained that the League ,~f California Cities and the Peninsula Division of the League worked with cities to build coalitions, to organize media events, to provide educational opportunities, and to analy2;e proposed State legislation and coordinate lobbying efforts. The League's top priority at this time was to protect local revenues, and they were working toward putting a proposition on the November ballot that would achieve this goal. At this time they were risking for cooperation in getting signatures for the ballot and for assistance in educating the public. Mr. Tate explained that no public resources could be used for these activities. 3. Proclamation to the American Red Cress for National Blood Donor Month. (No documentation in packet). Mayor Wang presented the proclamation to Mona Helmhold, Account Manager for the American Red Cross in Santa Clara Count:. Ms. Helmhold mentioned that the recent earthquake in Haiti had triggered many more blood donors, which was always appreciated, but blood was needed all year round, and some components only had a shelf life of five days. Therefore, it was important to have donors spread out over time, particularly over the next couple of weeks or months. 4. Video presentation on the Mary Avenue Footbridge from NBC news on 12/31/09. (No documentation in packet). The Council members watched a video v~~hich addressed the importance of bridges and how they transformed the American land:~cape. Several examples of their functional yet elegant components were shown and the Mary Avenue Footbridge was featured. POSTPONEMENTS -None WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS The City Clerk distributed written communications from the following individuals: Item No. 1, Senior Housing .proposal: • Email from Colleen Hudgen in support of the Cupertino Rotary Club housing proposal #1 • Email from Ray Lancon in support • Email from Barbara Nunes in support Email Beverly Lenihan Email from Nadeane Diede objecting to th.e level of public notice, asking where there is a perceived conflict of interest, concerns about the need to maintain parking along Mary January 19, 2010 Cupertino Cit;~ Council Page 6 Avenue and about the proposal to narrow lvlary Avenue, and belief that this is not the best location for senior housing • Email with general comments and questior-s from Donna Jones-Dulin Item No. 21, CaliforniaFirst Program • Additional appendices to staff report Item No. 22, Green Building Ordinance • Email from Myron Crawford opposing the mandatory green building standards ORAL COMMUNICATIONS Edward Hirshfield addressed the Council regarding the lighting at the Cupertino Tennis Center courts. He noted that in June, 2009 he had asked that lighting be provided for the five courts. At that time Council asked that he contact the residc;nts of the Commons for their comments. This was done and the immediate neighbors to the courts were concerned about a possible negative impact on their property values. Therefore, he was asking Council to consider lighting the two courts not adjacent to the Commons and the court: that may be built in the location of the current swimming pool when considering next year's budget. Phil and Cindy Carey introduced their line of cleaning products called WOW Green that used enzymes and no toxic chemicals. They noted that these products worked naturally and effectively and had no impact on the environment. CONSENT CALENDAR Wong/Mahoney moved and seconded to approve the items on the Consent Calendar as recommended, with the exception of Item Nos. 1 l , 16, and 17, which were pulled for discussion. Ayes: Chang, Mahoney, Santoro, Wang, and Wong. Noes: None. Abstain: None. 5. Approve the minutes from the December 15 City Council meeting. 6. Adopt resolutions accepting Accounts Pa~~able for December 11, 18, and 23, Resolution Nos. 10-001 to 10-003. 7. Adopt resolutions accepting Payroll for December 11, 23, and January 8, Resolution Nos. 10-004 to 10-006. 8. Accept the Treasurer's Investment Report for November 2009. 9. Accept an application for an Alcoholic; Beverage License from Wal rg eens, 20011 Bollinger Road, Off Sale Beer & Wine (2C~). 10. Accept an application for an Alcoholic Beverage License from Sabatini Oak Event Center, 21275 Stevens Creek Blvd., Suite 510, On Sale Beer & Wine -Eating Place (41). January 19, 2010 Cupertino City Council Page 7 12. Adopt a resolution authorizing the adoption of a policy statement on local government retirement benefits, Resolution No. 10-008. 13. Adopt a resolution authorizing the Mayor to execute an amendment to the Joint Powers Agreement for the administration of the Santa Clara County Congestion Mana eg_ment Program, and request that the City Clerk forward the executed amendment to the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VT'A), Resolution No. 10-009. 14. Adopt resolutions establishing a separate City Attorney bar ag ining_group. A. Adopt a resolution amending Resolution No. 07-069 (Unrepresented Employees Compensation Program), repealing Resolution No. 09-194, and establishing the City Attorney's bargaining group, Resolution No. 10-010 B. Adopt a Ca1PERS resolution implementing the new bargaining group, Resolution No. 10-0 l 1 15. Approve Phase III of Cupertino's Employee Wellness Program. 18. Adopt a resolution accepting a Quitclaim Deed and Authorization for Underground Water Rights, Alex Simonovich and Wendy R.E. Simonovich, 10185 Amelia Court, APN(s) 326-17-020, Resolution No. 10-012. The property owners of this residential de~~elopment agree to grant to the City the right to extract water from the basin under the overlying property. 19. Adopt a resolution accepting a uitclaim Deed and Authorization for Underground Water Rights, Monique E Caruth and Cedric D Caruth, 916 Candlewood Drive, APN 369-19- 022, Resolution No. 10-013. The property owners of this residential de~~elopment agree to grant to the City the right to extract water from the basin under the overlying property. ITEMS REMOVED FROM THE CONSENT (~ALENDAR (above) 1 1. Adopt a resolution approving the destruction of records from the City Clerk's office and the Quinlan Communit~Center, Resolution No. 10-007. Councilmember Santoro asked the City Clerk for clarification of the retention policy. City Clerk Kimberly Smith stated that according to the approved records retention schedule, certain records needed to be kE;pt for two years while others were kept for a longer period of time. The City Clerk's o~_fice regularly reviews the records to determine which ones have reached the end of their retention period and are to be destroyed. The appropriate department heads are provide~J the list so they can pull any records that may still be needed, and the final destruction list is reviewed and approved by the City January 19, 2010 Cupertino Cit•~ Council Page 8 Attorney. The City Clerk further noted that permanent documents, such as resolutions, ordinances and minutes, are kept both digitally and on microfilm. Although it is not required by State Law, the City Council packets are also treated as permanent documents. Santoro moved and Wong seconded to adc-pt Resolution No. 10-007. The motion carried unanimously. 16. Award a construction contract to Robert ~,. Bothman, Inc., for the Quinlan Center Plaza Renovation, Project No. 2009-9237, in the amount of $214,439.00, and accept the Add Alternate for new benches in the amount: of $9,085.00, for a total contract amount of $223,524.00, and approve a construction contingency of $36,476.00 to cover any unforeseen work required to complete the ~~roject, for a total of $260,000.00. Councilmember Mahoney removed this item from the Consent Calendar for a brief review of the project. City Architect Terry Greene explained that several years ago Council directed that the fountain be turned off because of drought conditions. Deterioration of the adhesive materials caused leakage and created a liability issue, so in 2007 Council approved $280,000 in the 2007-08 capital improvernent budget for the demolition of the fountain and design of a new plaza feature. In August, 2008 Council approved the trellis concept and in December, 2008 bids were opened. Mr. Greene noted that the trellis concept before Council was slightly different than that agreed upon in 2008. The current design calls for a steel trellis structure located on the site of the existing fountain. He explained that the cost of new benches was very close to the cost of refurbishing the old ones, so staff was recommending new benches. Mr. Greene noted that the cost of replacing the fountain would be approximately $750,000 to $1 million. Mr. Greene also commented that this project was time sensitive so it could be in time for the July 4 city celebrations. Mahoney moved and Wong seconded to c~~ntinue this item to after discussion of the mid- year budget discussion. The motion carrie~~ unanimously. The following is the motion taken on the subject at the end of the meeting. Mahoney moved and Wang seconded to award a construction contract to Robert A. Bothman, Inc., for the Quinlan Center Pl~~za Renovation, Project No. 2009-9237, in the amount of $214,439.00, and accept the A~Jd Alternate for new benches in the amount of $9,085.00, for a total contract amount of $223,524.00, and approve a construction contingency of $36,476.00 to cover any unforeseen work required to complete the project for a total of $260,000.00. The motion can•ied 4:1 with Chang voting no. 17. Authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute a design services agreement with SSA Landscape Architects Inc. for Stevens Creek Corridor Phase 2, for a fee not to exceed $120,000. January 19, 2010 Cupertino Cit•~ Council Page 9 City Manager Dave Knapp reported that the first phase of the Stevens Creek Corridor project was completed and opened to the public in July 2009. Phase II was approved as part of the 2009-10 capital program. Funding for the design services was available from the approved project budget. The project balance of $1.1 million was expected to be provided from park dedication fees and be authorized as part of the 2020-11 Capital Improvement Budget. Councilmember Chang expressed concerns about the location of the trail, the cost of the project and the safety of the parking lot off Stevens Creek. Mayor Wong and Council Members Mahoney and Santoro noted that this project had been ongoing for some time and had been thoroughly discussed at prior meetings, and funds had been budgeted for its completion. Councilmember Santoro notF:d that even if the trail was put in, the creek could be restored at a later date. He al;~o raised the issue of the parking not being specifically approved by Council nor hear~J by the public. He requested that in the future staff should provide as much information as possible on this project, and said projects such as this one with monetary implications should not be included on the Consent Calendar. Anne Ng, Board Member of the Friends of Stevens Creek Trail, encouraged Council to maintain the momentum of completing tlie~ whole Stevens Creek Corridor and to approve funding for this plan. She expressed regret that the grant had not been approved for creek restoration but urged Council to save a~~proximately that amount of land so it could conceivably be done in the future. She would not want to see the trail up against the creek with the golf course against it on the other side. City Architect Terry Greene reported on tree reconfiguration of the parking lot at the Blue Pheasant to accommodate buses dropping off children. There was a pull out for buses on McClellan but no buses would go into Blackberry when the trail was done. He also noted that the design would include parking in the scope of work but they could ask the design group to come up with a plan without parking. However, they would have to look carefully at the settlement agreement. Director of Parks and Recreation Mark Linder noted that this project could be deferred to a later date. Design options could be brought back to Council before a final decision was made. Mahoney moved and Wong seconded to authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute a design services agreement for P-.tease II not to exceed $120,000 and that as part of that design services agreement all the discussion points heard here tonight would be incorporated. Mayor Wang questioned whether the architect could be asked to prepare a preliminary design. January 19, 2010 Cupertino Cit•~ Council Page 10 City Architect Terry Greene responded th~~t for 15% - 20% of the $120,000 a conceptual design could be done. The design process included a schematic design, design development, construction documents and several conceptual designs could be included. Mayor Wang offered a friendly amendment to the motion to ask for a conceptual design. This friendly amendment was not accepted. Mahoney moved and Wong seconded to authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute the design services agreement with SSA Landscape Architects Inc., and asked staff to bring back conceptual designs sho~Ning alternative parking lots, and one option of no parking lot at all. The motion carried 4:1 with Chang voting No. RECESS -Council was in recess from 8:35 p.m. to 8:42 p.m. Mayor Wang re-ordered the agenda to hear item No. 24 next. 24. Adopt a resolution ordering the abatemF-nt of a public nuisance (weeds) pursuant to provisions of Ordinance No. 724 and Resolution No. 09-204, Resolution No. 10-016. Milton Kumre, Weed Abatement Coordin~itor, explained that the list of properties before Council were found to be noncompliant a~: least once in the last 3 years and were at risk for fire. Presently the deadline was April 15, and if a property was was not in compliance at that time, the owner would receive a 15 day notice requesting them to abate the nuisance. If that was not done the county would do the abatement and the charge would be placed on the owner's tax bill. If an owner complied there was no charge, and no charge was incurred while the notification process was underway. Identification of such properties was made by the county and city code enforcement. If identified by code enforcement, a list was provided to the county staff which then confirmed the problem. Thomas Hutton stated he owned approximately 2.8 acres three sides of which were bordered by woodlands. He has his propE;rty cleared each May but found it difficult to comply by the April 15t" deadline because of winter conditions. He requested a later deadline. Mr. Kumre stated that owners with specific concerns could contact his office and he would work with them on an individual b~~sis. These owners would not incur a fee unless they did not comply with the newly agreed-upon deadline. Mahoney moved and Wong seconded to adopt Resolution No. 10-016, amended to add the words "as listed in attachment B" to paragraph No. 2 on page 24-2. The motion carried 4-1, with Chang voting no. PUBLIC HEARINGS 20. Consider approving bingo permit renewals for the Senior Center Coordinating Council and St. Joseph's Church. January 19, 2010 Cupertino Cit`~ Council Page 11 Wong moved and Mahoney seconded to a~~prove the bingo permit renewals as presented. The motion carried unanimously. 21. CaliforniaFIRST Program, a financing me~~hanism for renewable ener~y (continued from Dec. 15): A. Adopt a resolution authorizing the City of Cupertino to join the CaliforniaFIRST Program, Resolution No. 10-014 B. Authorize the California Statewide Communities Development Authority to accept applications from property owners, conduct contractual assessment proceedings, levy contractual assessments within the territory of the City, and authorize related actions C. Adopt a resolution authorizing the County of Sacramento to apply for and accept State Energy Program (SEP) funds on behalf of the City of Cupertino, Resolution No. 10-015 Public and Environmental Affairs Director Rick Kitson stated that when the Environmental Affairs Coordinator positi~~n was established a year ago the goal was to protect resources and to provide opportunities to residents to install energy and resource saving technologies and this was one of se~reral proposals. Jo Boone, Climate Change and Sustainabi iffy Manager for the County, explained that the CaliforniaFirst Program was a pilot progr;~m developed to provide financing to property owners for renewable energy, energy efficiency and water efficiency projects. This program was optional and the property owners could choose to pay off the assessments at any time subject to applicable prepaymer.:t penalties. The loan was also attached to the home, not the owner's personal credit. This PACE (property assessed clean energy) program included no costs to the city, provided a turnkey service to handle the entire process from homeowner application to finding, provided expertise in areas that the city was not familiar with and provided a meaTis for the city to achieve climate/environmental goals. Chang moved and Wong seconded to adopt Resolution Nos. 10-014 and 10-015 authorizing the city to join the CalifolniaFirst program, authorizing the California Statewide Communities Development authority to accept applications from property owners and authorizing the County of Sacramento as the lead collaborative entity to apply for State energy program funds on behalf' of the City of Cupertino. The motion carried unanimously. UNFINISHED BUSINESS -None January 19, 2010 Cupertino Cite Council Page 12 NEW BUSINESS 22. Review and adopt the Green Building Ordinance process framework and budget. Senior Planner Aki Honda reported that in June 2009 the Santa Clara County Cities Association's Board of Directors adopted Phase II policy recommendations prepared by the Green Building Collaborative. These recommendations were formed to encourage each city to adopt policy recommendation: to aid in meeting the region's climate change goals. The Planning Commission recommended that the Council adopt the Green Building Ordinance process framework as discussed at their November 24, 2009 meeting. Staff estimated that the cost of preparing; a Green Building Ordinance based on these recommendations would be $55,000 - $65.,000. This included consultant costs at $45,000 and the cost of mailings, outreach and workshop materials at $15,000 - $20,000. Staff recommended using the remaining monies in the Green Building Certification Fund ($46,000) and $19,000 as proposed in the mid-year budget review. Staff also proposed a less expensive alternative. At a cost of $x:5,000 the Phase II recommendations could be reviewed as a basis for the ordinance and outreach meetings would be limited. Staff also recommended establishing two focus groups (one residential, one commercial) as opposed to creating a task force. Council discussed the costs involved in this program, especially the consultant's costs. They asked for clarification of the Green Building Certification Fund and noted that of the $50,000, in this fund only $4,000 had been distributed to two applicants since its implementation. Director of Community Development Aa.rti Shrivastava noted that this project was in their approved work plan but could be rr~odified at Council's direction. She noted that most of the other cities were customizing their ordinance and the Planning Commission recommended this course so that all issues raised by residents would be addressed. Councilmember Chang moved that staff be directed to look at Green Building guidelines from other sources and report to Council. Council could then decide on direction. There was no second to this motion. Mahoney moved and Wong seconded to direct staff to proceed with the alternative process not to exceed $25,000 (reallocated from the unused portion of the Green Building Certification Fund). The motion carried with Wang voting no. She explained that she did not want that much money spent on the project. RECESS -Council recessed from 10:25 p.m. to 10:32 p.m. January 19, 2010 Cupertino Cit•~ Council Page 13 NEW BUSINESS (continued) 23. Review and approve the 2009/10 mid-~ bud e~ iustment. Director of Finance David Woo introduced the midyear budget adjustment by stating that on a review of revenues to date, there ~Nas an additional reduction over the original budget estimate of $1.35 million. This was primarily due to the recession and was concentrated in the categories of sales t~~x, transit occupancy tax, permits, senior trip revenues and interest income. Staff had l~~oked at areas for possible cuts in expenditures and presented to Council a list of item: that reduced the budget but did not affect customer programs and service levels. Carol Atwood stated that the General Funci reserve policy levels were still intact and that the city had not used the Economic Uncert;~inty reserve to balance the budget at this time. Council discussion followed on the possible removal of $19,000 for the green building study and $10,000 for the electric car charging station. These funds would be transferred into a designated account for future de~:,isions on the Scenic Circle Bridge, Lehigh Cement study or the electric car charging station only. Jennifer Griffin noted that last year the issue of library funding was also discussed and at that time the suggestion was made to eliminate maintenance of city sidewalks as a revenue source. She was strongly against this and urged the Council not to discuss this possibility again. In addition Ms. Griffin commented on the Lawrence Mitty Park and hoped that Council would continue efforts to acquire this park. Anne Ng thanked the Council for seriously considering direct access to Blackberry Farm for bicycles and pedestrians and for provi~~ing the funding for this to happen. She hoped that the future path would be built as envir~~nmentally friendly as possible Carol Stanek stated her support for funcls in the midyear budget for Americans with Disabilities (ADA) access from Scenic avenue to Blackberry Farm. She thanked the Council and staff for all of their work on triese important projects to the city. Mahoney moved and Wong seconded to approve the adjustments shown in the staff report except for the Electric Vehicle Criarging Station Installation ($10,000), and the Green Building Ordinance Development ($19,000). Those funds would be held in an opportunity fund for the next six months and could be used for activities related to the Lehigh Cement Plan if needed, an electric charging station if a proposal came forth, or an addition to the Blackberry Farm Bridge. The motion carried unanimously. January 19, 2010 Cupertino City Council Page 14 CONTINUED 16. Award a construction contract to Robert ~~. Bothman, Inc., for the Quinlan Center Plaza Renovation, Project No. 2009-9237, in the amount of $214,439.00, and accept the Add Alternate for new benches in the amount of $9,085.00, for a total contract amount of $223,524.00, and approve a construction contingency of $36,476.00 to cover any unforeseen work required to complete the project, for a total of $260,000.00. This item was originally discussed under "Consent Calendar." The conversation continued at 11:35 p.m. City Manager Dave Knapp commented that the city did have some liability at this time with an unused fountain in place. Additionally, by creating more usable, recreational space there was the opportunity for more uses and more revenue to the city. Councilmember Mahoney stated that Council had not confirmed that funds were available, so he was in favor of the project. Vice Mayor Wong expressed strong concerns about this project and suggested that th~~ matter be continued for a full staff report. Councilmember Chang stated that he did not want to spend the money on this project. Mahoney moved and Wang seconded to award a construction contract to Robert A. Bothman, Inc., for the Quinlan Center Pl<<za Renovation, Project No. 2009-9237, in the amount of $214,439.00, and accept the Arid Alternate for new benches in the amount of $9,085.00, for a total contract amount of $223,524.00, and approve a construction contingency of $36,476.00 to cover any unforeseen work required to complete the project, for a total of $260,000.00. The motion carried 4:1 with Chang voting no. ORDINANCES -None STAFF REPORTS -None COUNCIL REPORTS Council members highlighted the activities of their committees and various community events. Council also directed staff to change the commission interview dates from Tuesday and Wednesday next week to Monday and Wednesd<y. Interviews will begin on Monday, January 25, at 7:00 p.m. January 19, 2010 Cupertino Cit,~ Council Page 15 ADJOURNMENT At 12:05 a.m. the meeting was adjourned to 7:001>.m. Monday, January 25, 2010 for commission interviews in Conference Room A of City Hall. ~~~ Kimberly Smith i Clerk Staff reports, backup materials, and items distributed at the City Council meeting are available for review at the City Clerk's Office, 777-3223, <~nd also on the Internet at www.cupertino.or~. Click on Agendas & Minutes, then click on the appropriate Packet. Most Council meetings are shown live on Comca.st Channel 26 and AT&T U-verse Channel 99 and are available at your convenience at www.cut~ertino.or~. Click on Agendas & Minutes, then click Archived Webcast. Videotapes are availablE; at the Cupertino Library, or may be purchased from the Cupertino City Channel, 777-2364.