HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-10-1987ADJOURNED REGULAR MEETING - February 10, 1987
An adjourned regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Dublin was
held on Tuesday, February 10, 1987 in the west room of the Shannon Community
Center. The meeting was called to order at 7:18 p.m. by Mayor Linda Jeffery.
ROLL CALL
PRESENT:
Jeffery.
Councilmembers Hegarty, Moffatt, Snyder, Vonheeder and Mayor
CONTRACT SERVICES EVALUATION
City Manager Ambrose advised the Council that the review of paratransit
services would be delayed pending receipt of information from LAVTA and the
Police Services review delayed due to illness of the Police Chief. Limited
Staff time necessitated a delay of the Engineering Services review. The
Police Services and Engineering Services will be dealt with in a future
meeting.
The Council established the date of Monday, March 2, 1987 at 7:30 p.m., as
the date for an adjourned regular meeting to review these contracts. Mayor
Jeffery requested that the meeting be held in the Conference Room at City
Hall.
City Manager Ambrose also announced that due to an oversite by Staff of the
new requirements of the Brown Act, a full description of .each item was not
included on the agenda. Staff used the format of last years review when
preparing this agenda in order to consolidate the preparation and mailing of
3 meeting agendas, and unfortunately when the oversite was noted, the
mandatory 72 hours for posting was not there. Therefore, Mr. Ambrose advised
the Council that this meeting will be a study session only and the contracts
will be placed on a future Council agenda for action by the Council.
ANIMAL CONTROL SERVICES
Staff advised that no agreement was presented due to some outstanding issues.
This contract provides 2 key services to the City. Staff presented schedules
which indicated that the workload is fairly constant° The increase in the
number of complaints and citations is due largely to the fact that there is a
larger number of people plus people are more aware of the service. The
highest number of licenses was sold in a year when a door-to-door canvas was
conducted. Field Service costs have remained fairly constant. Shelter
service is currently located at Santa Rita with a new facility to be
constructed. Meetings regarding a new facility have been held for
approximately 2 years. Alameda County now has an initial cost estimate and
will be making proposals regarding funding of the new shelter. These costs
are spread among participating agencies who utilize the shelter.
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Adjourned Regular Meeting February 10, 1987
Staff advised that the current method of contracting appears to be the most
appropriate. With regard to the part-time position, we will be looking at
alternatives.
Cm. Moffatt questioned when the Santa Rita shelter is proposed for closure.
Chief Tom Shores advised that it will be closed right after the new jail
facility is opened, which will probably be in 2-3 years. Alameda County has
obligations for the property.
Staff advised that the proposed location is adjacent to the new Pleasanton
Corporation Yard off Stanley Boulevard.
Mayor Jeffery questioned if additional cities utilize the shelter, will they
need more labor. Chief Shores indicated that it takes about the same number
of persons to operate a shelter, regardless of the number of animals.
Mayor Jeffery questioned labor costs of the person who does the canvassing.
Cm. Moffatt questioned if the canvass person would work on the weekends.
Staff responded that they would.
VECTOR CONTROL SERVICES
In late 1983, the Alameda County Health Care Services Agency made a
presentation to the City Council regarding Vector Control Services. The
County proposed to develop a Countywide Service Area and Benefit Assessment
for Vector Control Services.
At the regular City Council meeting on January 9, 1984, the Council voted to
not have the City of Dublin included in the assessment district. LAFCO was
required to take action on the formation of the "District" and the City of
Dublin was included in the sphere of influence of the Vector Control
District. The areas which are a part of the District voted on June 5, 1984
by more than two-thirds to approve the benefit assessment. The issue was
not presented to the Dublin voters since the City Council did not adopt a
resolution requesting to become a part of the District.
In October 1984, the City Council approved an agreement with Alameda County
Health Care Services Agency to provide Vector Control Services on a
complaint basis. The services are being provided by a registered sanitarian
at a current rate of $53.00 per hour.
Staff advised that this is a difficult service to deal with as it requires
some expertise. There has been some difficulty in providing the level of
service desired to Dublin residents. The service is not limited to rats but
they handle problems with flys, animal wastes, rodents, etc. The City could
request to become a part of the District and it would then require approval
by LAFCO and approval by the voters.
Dublin has a definite rat problem which was not evident 2 years ago and our
current level of service is unsatisfac-tory under the existing contract.
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Adjourned Regular Meeting February 10, 1987
Mayor Jeffery questioned if Zone 7 belongs to the District.
Cm. Moffatt questioned the possibility of looking at some kind of a pest
control company. City Manager Ambrose responded that on an individual
problem area, this might be possible, but on an ongoing basis it would be
doubtful.
Cm. Snyder questioned what the City had spent on vector control services in
1985-86. Staff advised that it spent approximately $2,900.
Discussion was held regarding the County's obligations to provide certain
regional services. State Law was checked a few years ago, and it appears
that there is no provision that the County must provide the services.
Cm. Snyder indicated that the current contract indicates that they must
respond to basic complaints and they have done this.
Cm. Hegarty felt that as the City grows, it is likely that we will be getting
more complaints and he felt the County has some responsibility for taking
care of some of this. If we want a higher level of service we should just
pay for it. He did not feel the County has faced up to their responsibility.
Cm. Snyder indicated he is in favor of increasing the level of service and
having it pUt to the voters by a ballot measure as soon as possible.
Cm. Hegarty felt Staff should question other cities that are in the District
with regard to their service level.
Mayor Jeffery felt that Staff should look into the possibility of bringing
someone out to take care of the problem areas immediately.
BUILDING LAW ENFORCEMENT SERVICES
Staff presented a lengthy evaluation report on those services provided by
Taugher & Associates and highlighted the areas of: Contract Compliance,
Availability, Responsiveness, Interdepartmental Coordination, Public
Relations and Cost Effectiveness.
The issue of contract vs. City Building & Safety Services was also evaluated
and based upon the overall quality and level of professionalism which has
been provided by the Contractor, as well as the modest rate increase proposed
for Fiscal Year 1987-88, Staff recommended that the Council review the
performance and approve an amendment to the Contractor's existing agreement
for Fiscal Year 1987-88.
Staff advised that the overall quality of this contract is at a high level.
Looking at the long range picture, providing the services through contract
appears to be the most cost effective. The services are.evaluated on an
annual basis.
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Adjourned Regular Meeting February 10, 1987
Problem areas were discussed. Initially, it was thought that the sign
ordinance implementation and modification process would take less time than
it has.
Mr. Taugher will be asking for somewhat less than a 3% increase, but the
insurance situation is still to be determined.
Cm. Hegarty questioned the timing of the sign ordinance process. He felt
that whatever number of hours it takes to get this done, we should consider
putting on 2 people to get the job done.
Mr. Taugher indicated he will be adding another part-time building inspector
and if the Council desired, he could look for another part-time person to
help Juanita with the sign ordinance implementation process.
Cm. Snyder questioned how the insurance surcharge is applied. CitY Manager
Ambrose indicated that it is added on a per hour basis as we are.billed.
PUBLIC WORKS MAINTENANCE SERVICES
Staff advised that the City has contracted with MCE Corporation for almost 3
years. Their performance has improved as they have been able to stabilize
the maintenance superintendent's position. The City receives a lot of~
positive comments regarding the appearance of the City. MCE has inventoried
every single tree and sign in town.
Coordination between engineering and maintenance, however, leaves a lot to be
desired. This will be discussed in more depth at the time of the Engineering
Services Contract review.
Maynard Crowther, President of MCE Corporation introduced Stan Smalley, Vice
President of Contract Management. Steve Loweree, Maintenance Superintendent
was also present at the meeting.
Mr. Crowther advised the Council that it has been a real pleasure working
with the Council and Staff. They were~excited about the use of the "Service
Request Form" as this has proven to be a valuable management tool.
The Council complimented MCE Corporation'for the favorable comments which
they have received regarding the improved appearance of the City.
Discussion was held relative to utilizing Sheriff's Department work crews for
maintenance within the City. Maynard Crowther indicated that his firm is
utilizing this type of program very successfully in the City of Orinda, and
they will be looking at implementing it in Dublin.
Cm. Hegarty indicated he has received a lot of questions with regard to the
City's tree trimming policy.
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Adjourned Regular Meeting February 10, 1987
CROSSING GUARD SERVICES
Since incorporation, the City has contraCted with Alameda County for the·
provision of Crossing Guard Services in the City. The City presently has a
two year agreement with the County for Crossing Guard Services which will
end on June 30, 1987. Under this agreement, the County provides crossing
guard supervision as well as crossing guards to those locations at which the
City has requested Crossing Guard Services.
Cost effectiveness and reliability issues were discussed.
Staff advised that it will request Alameda County to develop a new contract
for Fiscal Year 1987-88 which will be brought back for formal approval of
the Council.
TRAFFIC SIGNAL MAINTENANCE SERVICES
The City of Dublin presently has Traffic Signal Maintenance Services
provided to the City under contract with Alameda County, Contra Costa County
and CalTranS.
Staff advised that we will be pursuing modification of the contract with
CalTrans in order to give us control because of our signal interconect
project.
City Manager Ambrose advised that the issue this year is cost. Can we find
someone else that can provide an equal level of service?
Cm. Snyder questioned why MCE CorpOration didn't go into. signal maintenance.
Mr. Crowther indicated that the liability associated with signal maintenance
is very great and he felt that SMI is really the only company that provides
this type of service.
Staff advised that it will pursue development of Street Maintenance Agreement
with Alameda County and will pursue modification of Signal Maintenance
Agreement with CalTrans.
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business to come before the Council, the meeting was
adjourned at 9:20 p.m.
Ci%~ ~rk '
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Adjourned Regular Meeting February 10, 1987