CC 11-15-2022 Oral Communications (LF)CC 11-15-2022
Written Communications
Oral
Communications
From:Liang Chao
To:City Clerk
Subject:Written Comm. for 11/15 council meeting: Cities Association JPA
Date:Friday, November 11, 2022 4:02:13 PM
Please put this as the public comment for the 11/15 council meeting for non-agenda item.
Thanks.
Find the draft Joint Power Authority (JPA) document at page 26 of the 45-page agenda packet
of the October 13, 2022 Cities Association Board of Director meeting:
(https://citiesassociation.org/meetings/board-of-directors-october-13-2022/)
Liang Chao
Vice Mayor
City Council
LiangChao@cupertino.org
408-777-3192
From: Tom
Sent: Wednesday, October 26, 2022 11:44 AM
To: Liang Chao
Subject: Re: Questions and Comments brought up at Cities Association meeting tonight
THis is great. Another big issue is that as written the exec committee will be able to make
decisions - have way too much power. Cities not on the exec board may be subject to
decisions they don't agree with and won't have input
On Tue, Oct 25, 2022 at 11:20 PM Liang Chao <LiangChao@cupertino.org> wrote:
Here is my notes to Darcy after I attended the Cities Association meeting as an alternate last
time.
Liang Chao
Vice Mayor
City Council
LiangChao@cupertino.org
408-777-3192
From: Liang Chao <LiangChao@cupertino.org>
Sent: Thursday, October 13, 2022 9:11 PM
To: Darcy Paul
Subject: Questions and Comments brought up at Cities Association meeting tonight
The City Manager committee sent in a list of 17 questions. The Cities Assocation staff will
be addressed and then a summary will be sent out to all BOD members.
Here are the questions I brought up and I was told that the staff is noting them down and
will answer them next time.
Cupertino residents are generally concerned about JPA and the lack of transparency of
JPA. Thus, when the JPA agreement is put on the Council agenda, we need a staff report
with sufficient information to explain why the formation of JPA is necessary.
Q1: Please provide a comparison table between 501c3, 501c4, JPA.
And please provide a comparison with other counties, such as San Mateo, Alameda and
Santa Cruz Counties. What organizations do they have?
Q2: What will the JPA do? What powers will be given to JPA? It should be well-defined
on what powers each member city authorizes the JPA to do.
Q3: JPA takes positions on bills and maybe ballot measures with a majority vote and it
bears the name, which is considered to represent all cities in the entire County. If JPA
advocates, will it advocate for a position with the support of barely a majority of member
cities? In that case, would the member cities who oppose the barely-majority position and
their residents feel the Cities Association is abusing their membership dues? The JPA
might wish to define how it takes positions and decides what to advocate on beyond a
simple majority vote.
Q4: Transparency issue - Cupertino has been improving our meetings to provide more
transparency, such as posting all written communications and all staff presentations on
the website. But the Cities Association’s presentations are not posted. Are all
communications to all board members posted?
Often, the representative may not get the Council consensus before voting on an item.
Such as the formation of JPA. It has not been put on our Council agenda at all even as
an information so far. As a result Cupertino residents will not see the JPA document and
will not be able to provide input until it is finalized for approval.
Q5: It was mentioned that the Cities Association does a lot of advocacy. What issues has
the Cities Association advocated on? What activities were done in the past 4 years that
fall under advocacy, except taking positions on bills?
Note that I did not have time to bring up in the meeting since the comment that the
majority of Cities Association does is advocacy was made after my comment. I would
appreciate some information on those. But I do wish it is answered, since "what we do is
mostly advocacy" was given as the main reason that 501c3 would not work.
Thanks.
Liang Chao
Vice Mayor
City Council
LiangChao@cupertino.org
408-777-3192
Board of Directors Meeting Agenda
October 13, 2022 7:00 PM
Hybrid Meeting via Zoom and at the Los Altos Community Center
97 Hillview Ave, Los Altos, CA 94022
Register for Zoom webinar [HERE] | Meeting also livestreamed on YouTube [LINK]
More info on public comment and accessibility given at the end of the agenda
Board Members
President & Chair: Hon. Chappie Jones, San José
Campbell Hon. Anne Bybee / Alternate: Hon. Susan Landry
Cupertino Hon. Darcy Paul / Alternate: Hon. Liang Chao
Gilroy Hon. Peter Leroe-Muñoz / Alternate: Hon. Marie Blankley
Los Altos Hon. Neysa Fligor / Alternate: Hon. Anita Enander
Los Altos Hills Hon. Stanley Mok / Alternate: Hon. Lisa Schmidt
Los Gatos Hon. Rob Rennie / Alternate: Hon. Marico Sayoc
Milpitas Hon. Carmen Montaño / Alternate: Hon. Evelyn Chua
Monte Sereno Hon. Javed Ellahie / Alternate: Hon. Bryan Mekechuk
Morgan Hill Hon. Rich Constantine / Alternate: Hon. Gino Borgioli
Mountain View Hon. Margaret Abe-Koga / Alternate: Hon. Ellen Kamei
Palo Alto Hon. Pat Burt / Alternate: Hon. Lydia Kou
San Jose Hon. Chappie Jones / Alternate: Hon. Matt Mahan
Santa Clara Hon. Kathy Watanabe / Alternate: Hon. Anthony Becker
Saratoga Hon. Tina Walia / Alternate: Hon. Kookie Fitzsimmons
Sunnyvale Hon. Larry Klein / Alternate: Hon. Omar Din
Ex-Officio SCCCMA Representative – Zane Barnes, San José
Ex-Officio Acting Executive Director – Shali Sirkay
Cities Association of Santa Clara County Page 2 of 3
Board of Directors Meeting Agenda
October 13, 2022
Discussion & action may be taken on any of the items below. Times are approximate.
WELCOME AND ROLL CALL (Jones)
1. Consent Agenda
1a. Approval of August Board of Directors Meeting Minutes
1b. Receive financial management report for the period ending August 31, 2022
1c. Adoption of resolution to permit meetings of the Board of Directors and subsidiary
bodies to meet over Zoom for an additional period of 30 days
1d. Appointment of Mayor Stanley Mok, Los Altos Hills; Mayor Darcy Paul, Cupertino;
and Mayor Rich Constantine, Morgan Hill (Chair) to the Nominating Committee for
2023 Officers
1e. Ratification of Appointment of Vaishali (“Shali”) Sirkay as Interim Executive
Director
2. MTC Update (Abe-Koga)
3. Review and Comment upon the Joint Powers Agreement (JPA) Draft for CASCC
(Baum)
Discussion only – no formal action will be taken
4. Legislative Action Committee Update (Fligor)
5. Santa Clara County City Managers Association Update (Barnes)
6. Executive Director Update (Sirkay)
7. Joys and Challenges (Board Members)
PUBLIC COMMENT
ADJOURNMENT
Cities Association of Santa Clara County Page 3 of 3
Board of Directors Meeting Agenda
October 13, 2022
PUBLIC COMMENT
Members of the public wishing to comment on an item on the agenda may do so in the
following ways:
1. Email comments to audin@citiesassociation.org
▪ Emails will be forwarded to the Board of Directors
▪ IMPORTANT: identify the Agenda Item number in the subject line of your email. All
emails received will be entered into the record for the meeting.
2. Provide oral public comments during the meeting:
• When the Chair announces the item on which you wish to speak, click the “raise
hand” feature in Zoom. Speakers will be notified shortly before they are called to
speak.
• When called to speak, please limit your comments to the time allotted (up to 3
minutes, at the discretion of the Chair).
• Phone participants:
*6 - Toggle mute/unmute
*9 - Raise hand
ACCESSIBILITY
We strive for our meetings and materials to be accessible to all members of the public.
Closed captioning will be enabled for this meeting. For instructions on how to view the closed
captioning, please refer to this Zoom help page.
Additional accommodations are available upon request. Please contact our Board Clerk,
Audin Leung, at audin@citiesassociation.org at least three business days prior to the meeting to
submit a request for accommodations.
From:Rose Grymes
To:City Council; City Clerk; Cupertino City Manager"s Office
Subject:Oral Communications, November 15, City Council
Date:Tuesday, November 15, 2022 4:24:00 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless
you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
Dear Mayor, City Council Members, and City Staff,
I write to reiterate my strong support for the plan you are considering which returns the Blackberry Farm Golf
Course to a more natural, sustainable, affordable, and responsible wildlife and native plant habitat. I am a Cupertino
resident, and currently use this area weekly, and sometimes daily.
Cupertino is extraordinarily fortunate to be custodian for this wonderful resource, as the residents recognize by
enjoying the areas surrounding the golf course even now. After thoughtful and expansive outreach, the survey
conducted by City Staff demonstrated the clear will of Cupertino residents on this matter. A 57% majority voted in
favor of the natural habitat solution to the question of Blackberry Farm’s future. That sentiment prevails. Vocal,
organized minorities in favor of alternate solutions cannot change that fact.
Maintaining and expanding this precious corridor of wildlife and native plants benefits our immediate local
environment. It can provide suitable set-aside areas for walks, nature studies, and restful tranquility. It can enhance
the broader community beyond Blackberry Farm very directly by increasing pollinators, including bird populations.
It can provide watershed opportunities rather than the expensive imposition of golf landscapes with associated high
water demand. The ‘natural habitat’ solution is both financially and environmentally the most responsible and, once
again, the clear choice of the majority of residents.
Rose Grymes
Sent from my iPad