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CC 01-20-04CuPertino APPROVED MINUTES Regular Meeting Tuesday, January 20, 2004 ROLL CALL City Council members present: Mayor Sandra James, Vice-Mayor Patrick Kwok, and Council members Richard Lowenthal, Dolly Sandoval, and Kris Wang. Council members absent: none. Staff present: City Manager David Knapp, Administrative Services Director Carol Atwood, City Attorney Charles Kilian, Public Works Director Ralph Qualls, Community Development Director Steve Piasecki, Parks and Recreation Director Therese Smith, Public Information Officer Rick Kitson, and City Clerk Kimberly Smith. At 5:00 p.m., Mayor James called the meeting to order in Conference Room C. STUDY SESSION Discuss the options for the purchase of the FF&E (Furniture, Fixtures, and Equipment) for the new library as well as funding for the purchase and installation of shelving. Public Works Director Ralph Quails gave a PowerPoint presentation. His comments included: The entire library project is on schedule and it should open October 2004 · The library shelving package has gone out to bid, and the bids will be opened January 22 and brought to Council sometime in February · The engineer's estimate is $550,000 for the shelving and the total FF&E is $1.3 million · No City money has been budgeted for the shelving project. Options without fimding would be to downsize the offices or have used fumiture · He mentioned Council-approved upgrades that are underway such as the signage and the community hall garden rooms (patios). Remaining upgrades include the kitchen, conference room, and stone paving for a total of $350,000.00 for all the add-backs · $475,000.00 of uncommitted funds would be leftover from the project budget as project contingency, but is not expected to be needed to finish any of the buildings or the plaza · Options to fund the shelving project include: advancing monies from other City funds such as the $475,000 from the uncommitted contingency, the solid waste fund (would have to pay back with interest), or the general fund reserve; eliminate funding of extra January 20, 2004 Cupertino City Council Page 2 library hours; and have the library department generate some revenue by charging for services such as book holds, with permission of the Library JPA Administrative Services Director Carol Atwood summarized the 2003/04-budget revenue and said that the City is projecting a $3 million loss. She said staffwould be bringing to Council budget cuts in the amount of $1.7 million and asking Council to take $1.5 million from the Economic Uncertainty reserve. She recommended not funding extra library hours instead of using more Economic Uncertainty fimds, and investigate the feasibility of charging for holds. She said that currently the City has $60 million in debt, and she anticipates that it will be necessary to us~ the economic reserves in fiscal year 2004/05 as well. Lowenthal, who is also a member of the Library JPA board, suggested that the City discontinue the library hours subsidy and let the JPA internally decide to charge for holds to fund the extra hours. Nicol Lea, Library Foundation member, said that the fundraising campaign is doing well. She said she felt confident that the money could be raised using a unified approach. She recommended caution regarding the message the City sends to the community regarding reducing library hours to fund the campaign, because that would be another hurdle that the campaign would have to overcome to raise funds. Melinda Cervantes, County Librarian, said that the JPA board meets next on January 29 and it will be discussing a potential fee for holds and other fees. She said that the software would need to be upgraded first. She said that the monies collected for hold fees and other fees would go into the revenue stream and would then be allocated to each city. She said she could not guarantee that the fees from every hold placed at the Cupertino library would go back to Cupertino. She said that Cupertino wasn't alone in considering extra library hours on Sunday since only two other libraries were able to fund the extra hours. She said the county library is projected to lose a substantial portion of its operating budget and even with the passage of Measure B, it may lose some of the current hours it operates. Pat Rogers, President of the Library Foundation, said that the Foundation has been thinking about making a donation to the fundraising campaign but that much of the money is tied up in endowments. He said that this would be discussed at the meeting of January 28. He said they had planned to make the contribution in April, but he would ask the board if it could happen sooner. Kathy Stakey, member of the Friends of the Library, said that the Cupertino Library averages 160,000 items checked out each month, 650 items per hour, and about 26,000 visits each month. She said that Cupertino has one of the highest usages in the entire system. January 20, 2004 Cupertino City Council Page 3 Mary-Ann Wallace, Cupertino Librarian, said that Sunday is the busiest day of the week. Eno Schmidt, Chair of the Library Commission and Treasurer of the Library Foundation, commended staff for having brought the project in under budget and for having saved a money that could be re-directed to the upgrades. He said that some of that savings has not been re-directed into the FF&E campaign, and he suggested that be considered. Lowenthal said that due to the dire budget situation, money from the uncommitted fund should go back into the General Reserve. He suggested a deadline of February 15 to raise the $550,000.00 for the shelving, or funding would have to be cut for extra library hours so the shelving could be purchased.. He said the next deadline would be April 15, when an additional $550,000.00 was needed for the library furnishings. He said the last $200,000.00 for staff furnishings could be obtained later when the money has been raised. Nicol Lea suggested having June 15 as a deadline for the final $200,000.00. Quails said that staffcould defer bringing to Council the bid award until February 17. Sandoval said that it was bad fiscal management to take one-time-cost monies from the reserves to fund on-going operational costs. She said she really didn't want to take any money from the reserves to fund the project, and the first goal should be to get it fi'om the campaign. The second option would be to debt financing for the one-time monies. She said that the community should know that the City might still have to still be limiting library hours next year, in order to pay for the library. Kwok, Wang and James were opposed to using the reserves. James said she would be interested in debt financing. 2. Discuss the Fourth of July budget. Parks and Recreation Director Therese Smith gave a PowerPoint presentation on the Fourth of July fireworks. She highlighted the recommended detonation site of Cupertino High School, visibility, and budget. She said that $6,000.00 is currently available and the City needs an additional $60,000.00. She said that in order to provide entertainment at three venues (Sedgwick, Hyde, and Creekside), an additional $13,000.00 would be needed. RECESS Council recessed from 6:40 p.m. to 6:45 p.m. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE January 20, 2004 Cupertino City Council Page 4 At 6:45 p.m., Council reconvened in the Council Chambers, and Mayor James led the Pledge of Allegiance. ROLL CALL City Council members present: Mayor Sandra James, Vice-Mayor Patrick Kwok, and Council members Richard Lowenthal, Dolly Sandoval, and Kris Wang. Council members absent: none. Staff present: City Manager David Knapp, Administrative Services Director Carol Atwood, City Attorney Charles Kilian, Public Works Director Ralph Quails, Community Development Director Steve Piasecki, Parks and Recreation Director Therese Smith, Public Information Officer Rick Kitson, and City Clerk Kimberly Smith. Mayor James reordered the agenda to take up item number 22 first. CLOSED SESSION 22. Labor negotiations - Government Code Section 54957.6. The purpose of the closed session is to consult with City management representatives David Knapp, Carol Atwood, Ralph Quails, and Sandy Abe conceming labor negotiations with Operating Engineer's Local No. 3. City Attorney Charles Kilian stated that the City Council met in closed session regarding negotiations with the OE3 labor union. He said the discussion was an update on status and Council took no action. CEREMONIAL MATTERS - PRESENTATIONS Wave Award presented to the Cupertino Senior Television Productions for their program "The Better Part," a public access program created by seniors for seniors. An excerpt was shown of an ABC news story regarding the 20-year anniversary of this group. Mayor James presented a proclamation to Diane Benedetti on behalf of Cupertino Senior Television Programs. Ms. Benedetti said the group has agreed to film a "living history" program, as suggested by Mayor James, in which seniors would relate stories from their own personal histories. POSTPONEMENTS - None WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS - None ORAL COMMUNICATIONS - None CONSENT CALENDAR January 20, 2004 ~upertlno Qity Qouncll Page Lowenthal/Kwok moved and seconded to approve the items on the Consent Calendar as recommended, with the exception of items 8 and 10, which were pulled for discussion. Vote: Ayes: James, Kwok, Lowenthal, Sandoval, and Wang. Noes: None. Absent: None. Approve the minutes from the December 15, 18, January 5, 9, 12 (amended), and 13 City Council meetings. Adopt resolutions accepting Accounts Payable for December 19, 26, and January 9, Resolution Nos. 04-243 through 04-245. 6. Adopt a resolution accepting Payroll for January 2, Resolution No. 04-246. Adopt a resolution approving the destruction of records from the City Clerk, Code Enforcement, and City Manager offices, Resolution No. 04-247. Adopt a resolution authorizing the City Manager to negotiate and execute an agreement with Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. for design services for the Safe Routes to School Cycle 3 Project in an amount not to exceed $90,000.00 and further authorizing the amount of $15,000.00 for additional services that may be required upon approval of the Director of Public Works, for a total allocation amount of $105,000.00, Resolution No. 04-249. 11. Approve the Planning Commission nomination of Taghi Saadati for Environmental Review Committee alternate. ITEMS REMOVED FROM THE CONSENT CALENDAR (above) Adopt a resolution supporting Measure B to continue support for Santa Clara County libraries, Resolution No. 04-248. Sandoval said this measure, to be placed on the March 2 ballot, would help to fired the library functions by extending the parcel tax assessment for seven years. Lowenthal said it would slightly raise the tax, for a total of $33.67 per year, which is about 20% of the overall library budget. He said if it failed, there would be a large impact on the materials funding and the library may have to close for one day a week. He said that a kickoff event would be held at the Senior Center on February 11 at 5:30 p.m., and anyone wishing to participate or contribute could contact him or Councilwoman Sandoval. Sandoval/Lowenthal moved and seconded to adopt Resolution No. 04-248. Vote: Ayes: James, Kwok, Lowenthal, Sandoval, and Wang. Noes: None. Absent: None. 10. Authorize the City Manager to sign a lease agreement for the rental of the Simms house. January 20, 2004 Cupertino City Council Page 6 Sandoval gave some background on the Sirmms house, which was acquired some years ago when the area was at some risk of development. She said it served as affordable housing for single parent families, but they have moved out and the building is badly in need of repair. She said a master plan is being developed for the area, but that will take some time to implement, so this two-year lease will bring in rent in the meantime. Robert Levy, Wilkinson, said he understood that the Council was postponing activity on the creek trail over a lack of funds, and he did not wish this property to be sold or given a permanent leasehold. Lowenthal/Kwok moved and seconded to authorize the City Manager to sign a lease agreement. Vote: Ayes: James, Kwok, Lowenthal, Sandoval, and Wang. Noes: None. Absent: None. PUBLIC HEARINGS 12. Consider renewing bingo permits for St. Joseph of Cupertino Church and Cupertino Coordinating Council. At 7:42 p.m. Mayor James opened the public heating. There were no speakers, and the hearing was closed. Lowenthal/Sandoval moved and seconded to renew the bingo permits. Vote: Ayes: James, Kwok, Lowenthal, Sandoval, and Wang. Noes: None. Absent: None. PLANNING APPLICATIONS - None UNFINISHED BUSINESS - None NEW BUSINESS 13. Order the abatement of public nuisance (weeds) pursuant to provisions of Ordinance No. 724 and Resolution No. 03-225, Resolution No. 04-250. Kwok/Lowenthal moved and seconded to adopt Resolution No. 04-250. Vote: Ayes: James, Kwok, Lowenthal, Sandoval, and Wang. Noes: None. Absent: None. 14. Consider the Schedule and Options for the purchase of Furniture, Fixtures, and Equipment (FF&E) for the new Cupertino Public Library. Public Works Director Ralph Quails said a study session on this topic had been held earlier, and suggested that Council discuss the item at this time but defer action on this item until February 17 when he will be presenting the results of a bid opening. Nicol Lea, representing the Cupertino Library Campaign, invited the community to contribute towards the purchase of furniture, shelving, and other elements in the new January 20, 2004 Cupertino City Council Page 7 15. library. She said a new category for donations had been created, and there was a need for 150 shelves available for sponsorship at $1,000 each. She thanked those who had already made donations, and said that said a meeting would he held at Cupertino National Bank on Friday, January 30, for anyone who was interested. Lowenthal/Kwok moved and seconded to defer action until February 17 on both the FF&E as well as the decision about adding back portions of the project. Vote: Ayes: James, Kwok, Lowenthal, Sandoval, and Wang. Noes: None. Absent: None. Adopt a resolution authorizing removal of the traffic barrier from Pacifica Drive and denying the petition to permanently close Silverado Avenue, Resolution No. 04-251. Public Works Director Ralph Quails reviewed the staff report and the traffic study. The following individuals were in favor of removing the gate: · Leonard Ezerski, Farallone Dr. · Jim Rodriquez, Somerset Ct. · Jody Hansen, Silverado Ave., Chief Executive Officer of the Cupertino Chamber of Commerce · Earl Schmieding, Farallone Dr. · Sally Larson, Rodrigues Ave. Their comments included: 1) Emergency vehicles, need to get through quickly; 2) It's a hindrance to parents dropping off children at school; 3) The gate is illegal; 4) Since the construction of Highway 85, traffic has been reduced in that area; 5) It is easier and safer to reach De Anza Blvd. from Silverado; 6) Cupertino isn't a gated community; 7) Have as many streets possible provide access to the new library. Steven Scharf, Somerset Dr., said he was opposed to removing the traffic barrier without further information. He asked that any action on the gate wait until a proper traffic study on the gate could be done, and after the new library and Cupertino Town Center were built and fully occupied. He said that the CalTrans Office of Traffic Control Devices indicates that traffic control devices were not included in the state definitions since 1984, and the City Council minutes of October 1, 1984 state that the City Council acknowledged the change in the Califomia law and the City Attorney acknowledged that the device was legal. Lowenthal/Sandoval moved and seconded to adopt Resolution No. 04-251. Vote: Ayes: James, Kwok, Lowenthal, Sandoval, and Wang. Noes: None. Absent: None. January 20, 2004 Cupertino City Councll Page 8 16. Review and approve mid-year budget adjustments for fiscal year 2003/04: (a) Authorize transferring $60.000.00 to provide additional funding for Phase II of the Yellow and Pedestrian Head LED Traffic Signal Upgrade project from the Minor Signal Upgrades Account (b) Authorize transferring $131,000.00 to the City Center Park project from the Traffic Operations Account ($91,000.00), Memorial Park Ball Field CIP (($25,000.00) and Portal/Wilson Park Renovation CIP ($15,000.00) (c) Authorize appropriating $66,000.00 from the General Fund Economic Uncertainty Reserve to fired the 2004/05 fireworks (d) Authorize reductions from various accounts in the mount of $1.7 million, and the use of the Economic Uncertainty Reserve in the amount of $1.5 million to fund the projected revenue shortfall for the fiscal year 2004/04 Administrative Services Director Carol Atwood reviewed the staff report. Council members discussed the Economic Uncertainty Reserve and considered whether to keep funding the City's out-of-pocket costs for festivals such as the Cherry Blossom Festival, Unity Parade, and the Art and Wine Festival. Sandoval said she would like to go on record as giving notice to those non-profit organizations that the City will charge them out-of-pocket costs beginning July 1, 2004, and will continue that practice into the future as long as necessary. She suggested that the city continue to pay those costs out of Economic Uncertainty Reserve this year, since the community events have already been advertised. Council concurred to direct staff to come back with other recommendations for funding the cultural and community events instead of charging out-of-pocket costs, and to give notice to event planners regarding next year's festivals. Kwok/Sandoval moved and seconded to approve (a) and (b). Vote: Ayes: James, Kwok, Lowenthal, Sandoval, and Wang. Noes: None. Absent: None. Lowenthal/Sandoval moved and seconded to approve (d), except for the $24,000 for festival support to be discussed at a later date. Vote: Ayes: James, Kwok, Lowenthal, Sandoval, and Wang. Noes: None. Absent: None. Mayor James reordered the agenda to take up item number 17 next and to come back to number 16 (c), community fireworks. January 20, 2004 (~upertlno (~ity (~ouncll Page 9 17. Consider terminating the Red Light Running Program. Public Works Director Ralph Qualls reviewed the staff report. Captain John Hirokawa of the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office said that there had been a decrease in the number of vehicles nmn'lng red lights, but it's not clear whether it was due to the cameras or increased education regarding the hazard. He said that approximately 100 citations per month were written based on the camera system, but there was limited compliance and only about 35% of those fines were collected. He talked about other traffic enforcement options available. Kwok/Lowenthal moved and seconded to terminate the program. Vote: Ayes: James, Kwok, Lowenthal, Sandoval, and Wang. Noes: None. Absent: None. Mayor James reordered the agenda to discuss Item number 16 (c) next. 16. Review and approve mid-year budget adjustments for fiscal year 2003/04: (c) Authorize appropriating $66,000.00 from the General Fund Economic Uncertainty Reserve to fund the 2004/05 fireworks Parks and Recreation Director Therese Smith repeated the slide presentation on the Fourth of July fireworks, which had b~en given at the earlier study session. She highlighted the recommended detonation site of Cupertino High School, range of visibility, and budget impacts. Robert Levy said that the City should be concerned about spending money on other issues such as filling potholes, rather than a 20-minute firework show. There was a clarification that the amount to be appropriated is $60,000. Kwok/Lowenthal moved and seconded to authorize the appropriation of funds in the amount of $60,000. Vote: Ayes: James, Kwok, Lowenthal, Sandoval, and Wang. Noes: None. Absent: None. 18. Adopt the updated Emergency Operations Plan. Emergency Services Coordinator Marsha Hovey reviewed the staff report. She described a new program for which the City is recruiting called the Medical Reserve Corps. She said that the Office of Emergency Services received a $50,000 grant for the next three from the Surgeon General's Office to improve the disaster medical response capability of the City, since it doesn't have a full-service hospital. She explained that the City is looking for community members with medical backgrounds who would not have to respond to a local hospital in the event of a disaster, and so could help out the Community January 20, 2004 Cupertino City Council Page 10 Emergency Response Training (CERT) teams in first aid. She said that the City would pay for all of their training. Sandoval/Lowenthal moved and seconded to adopt the updated Emergency Operations Plan. Vote: Ayes: James, Kwok, Lowenthal, Sandoval, and Wang. Noes: None. Absent: None. 19. Set a date or dates to consider recommendations from the General Plan Task Force. Council selected March 1 at 5:00 p.m. and March 2 from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. for a joint study session with the Planning Commission, assuming there will be a quorum. 20. Conduct the first reading of Ordinance No. 1934: "An Ordinance of the City Council of the City of Cupertino Amending Section 2.80.010 of the City's Ordinance Code Modifying the Composition of the Fine Arts Commission." The City Clerk read the title of the ordinance. Kwok/Lowenthal moved and seconded to read the ordinance by title only, and that the City Clerk's reading would constitute the first reading thereof. Vote: Ayes: James, Kwok, Lowenthal, Sandoval, Wang. Noes: None. Absent: None. ORDINANCES 21. Conduct the second reading of Ordinance No. 1933: "An Ordinance of the City Council of the City of Cupertino Rezoning Approximately 4.3 Acres of Property from ML(Light Industrial) to P(Res) for Imperial Avenue." Kwok/Lowenthal moved and seconded to read the ordinance by title only and that the City Clerk's reading would constitute the second reading thereof. Ayes: James, Kwok, Lowenthal, Sandoval, and Wang. Noes: None. Absent: None. Rhoda Fry, San Femando Avenue, said that she is against rezoning. She said that having light industrial on Imperial provides a habitat for businesses that serve the community by providing a variety of jobs and broadening the diversity of the tax revenue base. She asked the Council to preserve hght industrial on Imperial. Community Services Director Steve Piasecki said that this rezoning only involves the Astoria development that already has residential on it and does not encroach further into Imperial Avenue. He said this item is to correct an oversight when the project first went ahead. Kwok/Sandoval moved and seconded to enact Ordinance No. 1933. Ayes: James, Kwok, Lowenthal, Sandoval, and Wang. Noes: None. Absent: None. January 20, 2004 Cupertino City Council Page 11 STAFF REPORTS City Clerk Kimberly Smith said that the City Clerk's Office would re-advertise vacancies for the Housing Commission, the Bicycle Pedestrian Commission and the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Committee, and would hold interviews on March 15 at 5:00 p.m. COUNCIL REPORTS Council members highlighted the activities of their committees and various community events, which included: The Santa Clara County Cities Association will form an ad-hoc group with the Silicon Valley Manufacturing Group, Joint Venture of Silicon Valley, and with the Silicon Valley/San Jose Chamber of Commerce to discuss ways to improve the business climate in Silicon Valley; The Library JPA has a February 11 kick-off at the Cupertino Senior Center for the Measure B campaign; The Lunar New Year Unity Parade will be awarded the Bridge Award by the Cupertino Chamber of Commerce on February 3; On March 5 at 3:00 p.m. at the HP property on Pruneridge, Beez Jones, a community volunteer and one of the City's founders, will be honored and a plaque will be put up on the old barn at that site; The City Council goal-setting session went well; Council took a hike to inspect the Stevens Creek Trail Alignment; The new Cupertino Sports Center and Teen Center would open on January 10; There will be two evenings of commission interviews; A new CERT training class will begin; and Bhai World Religion Day was held at Quinlan Community Center. ADJOURNMENT At 9:50 p.m., the meeting was adjourned. ity Clerk For more information: Staff reports, backup materials, and items distributed at the meeting are available for review at the City Clerk's Office, 777-3223, and also on the Internet at www.cupertino.org. Click on Agendas & Minutes/City Council/Packets. Most Council meetings are shown live on Cable Channel 26, and are available at your convenience from our web site. Visit www.cupertino.org and click on Watch Meetings. Videotapes are available at the Cupertino Library, or may be purchased from the Cupertino City Channel, 777-2364.