CC 3-19-19 Item #12 & #14 Order of Business and Report on Committees Written CommunicationsCc 3/t1fr1
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March 19, 2019
Cupertino City Council
Council Contacts : Member Paul
Dear Mayor Scharf and other esteemed Council colleagues,
Due to constraints on my schedule , I need to leave tonight's meeting at midnight. Here are my
Council contacts and reports for these past two weeks :
• March 14 : VTA Political Action Committee (advisory to the VTA Board): I voted against re-
allocation of funding from excess funds from the completed 280/880 interstate project to ex press lanes.
After the vote, I was questioned by a couple of the PAC members as to why I voted against advising for
this re-allocation. I stated that this was to keep consistent with our representation on the Technical
Advisory Committee, where Roger Lee had represented us the day prior, and also because I believe that
this vote is consistent with where we as a Council in Cupertino would fall on this issue.
I have no further contacts to report out on . However, I would like to propose that in the future
we consider having a hard stop at midnight for Council meetings . To the extent that agendized business
needs to be held over until our ne xt meeting, it can be . To the extent that our comments tend to
prolong our meetings, I would suggest that our members make use of the written medium and prepare
comments and summaries in writing for the record in case it gets late. If we take that lead , then
hopefully members of the public see our good-faith efforts in that regard and follow suit with respect to
making our public interactions more efficient. I have some thoughts on that if we care to discuss in the
future. In addition to the time-saving element of such a practice, this I would think would also have the
beneficial tendencies of putting forth, well and efficiently, points committed to writing, which could also
be more easily referenced as such.
In case midnight tonight passes prior to Item 12 being considered , my input is to suggest having
Council and staff contacts earlier than they are positioned now at the end of our agenda, but after,
rather than prior to, Oral Communications . As a general matter, these contacts should be brief and
informational rathe r than substantive and discussion-o r iented, and they are certainly useful in that
regard with respect to updating our colleagues and the public on our representational activities, as well
as setting forth in a transparent manner matters for potential consideration at a later noticed date .
Additionally, placing the item immediately after Oral Communications would afford us the opportunity
to ask staff, in a procedural manner not crossing into the substance of the matter, to follow-up on
concerns from members of the public immediately after such concerns are articulated .
c: City Clerk (to dist r ibute to Council at the beginning of
Item 12 , or during Council contacts)
Your Sincerely,
Darcy Paul
Council member
City of Cupertino