HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-18-1999 g&o 1 Adopted MinutesADJOURNED REGULAR MEETING – March 18, 1999
An adjourned regular meeting of the Dublin City Council was held on Thursday,
March 18, 1999, in the Council Chambers of the Dublin Civic Center. The meeting
was called to order at 6:03 p.m., by Mayor Houston.
ROLL CALL
PRESENT: Councilmembers Howard, Lockhart, McCormick, Zika and Mayor
Houston.
ABSENT: None.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
Mayor Houston led the Council, Staff and those present in the pledge of allegiance to
the flag.
As Mayor Houston started to address the audience, he had trouble with his
microphone & stated one of the goals would be to get a better sound system.
Mr. Ambrose suggested that when the Council and Staff were not speaking to keep
their microphones off.
Mayor Houston indicated a manual button on top of the table may be needed in the
future.
Mayor Houston requested anyone present to address specific items related to the
Goals & Objectives meeting would be allowed to address them at this time.
Lee Carpenter, 8151 Village Parkway, Dublin, spoke on behalf of the Dublin High
School Band. He felt the Irish Guard was an unofficial musical ambassador. He
indicated that the Band Boosters were struggling to meet costs for the Band. It would
cost $45,000 for new Band Uniforms. The Band is scheduled to appear in Dublin,
Ireland in March 2000. The students will have to pay their own way. Any assistance
the City could provide through grants, loans, or donations would be greatly
appreciated.
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Dennis King, 6988 Allegheny Drive, Dublin, indicated he has lived in Dublin and
attended school from First Grade through High School. He felt technology was a fact
of life. He wanted to see one computer for every three students. He felt we needed to
give the students the tools to survive. He is the President of the Frederiksen School
PFC. They had raised $11,000 for the computer lab through a spell-a-thon. The 4 &
th
5 graders really needed the computers as an informational tool. He encouraged the
th
City to provide matching funds.
STATUS REPORT ON 1998 GOALS & OBJECTIVES
AND DEVELOPMENT OF 1999 GOALS & OBJECTIVES
6:05 p.m.8.1(100-80)
1998 Goals & Objectives
The adopted Goals & Objectives Program for 1998 included a total of 105 objectives.
Of those objectives, 76 objectives were assigned a high priority, 22 objectives were
assigned a medium priority, and 7 objectives were assigned a low priority. Since the
Council’s adoption of the Goals & Objectives Plan, a total of 30 additional major
assignments were undertaken by Staff.
TABLE I
SUMMARY OF 1998 OBJECTIVES
LEVEL OF ACCOMPLISHMENT
PRIORITYTOTALCOMPLETENEARLYUNDERWAYPENDINGNONOT
COMPLETEPROGRESSFUNDED
#%#%#%#%#%#%#%#%
High72.3761003140.856.63242.111.367.911.3
Med21.022100627.329.0627.300.0418.2418.2
Low6.77100114.200.000.000.0342.9342.9
Subtotal100.01051003836.276.73836.211.01312.387.6
Added+28.6301001550.0413.3723.400.0413.300
Total1351005339.3118.24533.310.71712.685.9
The City’s level of accomplishment declined in 1998 as compared to 1997. In 1998, 64
(50.4%) of the 127 objectives (assigned and funded) were completed or nearly
completed compared to 88 (64.7%) in 1997.
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Of the 76 High Priority objectives, 36 (47.4%) were completed or nearly completed in
1998, compared to 66 (75.8%) in 1997.
There was a total of 6 High Priority objectives for which there was no progress made
during 1998. They were (1) evaluate adequacy of phone system and voice mail for all
City Facilities; (2) update Employee Performance Evaluation; (3) perform Contract
Evaluation on Animal Shelter Services; (4) establish a Liaison Committee to work with
DHPA regarding DHPA parcel; (5) develop & implement a Community to Cop
Connection Program; and (6) report to Council on Downtown Traffic Impact Fee.
Fewer High Priority objectives were completed in 1998 than in 1997 due to the positive
economic cycle which fueled increased development. During Calendar Year 1998, a
total of $199.1 million in building valuation was approved compared to $90.3 million
in Calendar Year 1997 (an increase of 120%). The City also experienced the loss of a
number of key personnel who were assigned to various High Priority objectives. Staff
was also assigned an additional 30 major assignments during the year which in some
cases required Staff to defer other Council High Priorities.
Capital Projects
The City Council approved a total of 39 Capital Projects to be undertaken during 1998-
99. Since the adoption of the Budget, the Council added 5 more projects. Of the 39
projects initially included in the Budget, 30 will be completed to the extent anticipated
in the Budget. Of the nine projects behind schedule, the delays are due to Staff
turnover, delay in completing the agreement with Alameda County and the City of San
Leandro, and competitive bids were not received so the Heritage Center Improvements
had to be re-bid.
1999 Goals & Objectives
The City Manager in conjunction with the City’s Operating Departments prepared a
preliminary list of Goals & Objectives for 1999. A total of 117 objectives have been
identified for the upcoming year. Of this total, 79 objectives are identified as High
Priority, 27 objectives as Medium Priority, 6 objectives as Low Priority and 5 objectives
have been recommended for deletion. Individual Councilmembers identified a total of
13 additional goals for consideration by the entire Council.
Mayor Houston indicated the Council would address those items on the Preliminary
Goals & Objectives where the Council Priority and Staff Priority differed, as well as the
items that had been added by different Councilmembers.
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Mr. Ambrose explained that each Councilmember was requested to rank each item as
High (3), Medium (2), Low (1) or Delete (0). Mr. Ambrose totaled the five
Councilmembers rankings and divided the total by 5 for a numerical average. The
Council Priority was determined by the number of High, Medium, Low, or Delete
rankings that were received. If three Councilmembers ranked the objective as “High”,
the priority would be “High” despite what the numerical average was. The final Goals
& Objectives would be placed in order by High Priority & then by the numerical
average.
ADMINISTRATIVE OBJECTIVE # 16: “ investigate feasibility of expanding Sister City
Program to include other cities.”
Cm. McCormick felt this item should have been placed under Economic Development
because it would be beneficial to look at other cities. Have them export our goods and
we would receive their products.
Mayor Houston changed his ranking from a “1” to a “2” to get the objective to a
medium. He felt #16 and #17 should go together.
Cm. Zika felt if it was an economical thing, it is not non-profit.
Mayor Houston indicated he has talked to other Mayors and the Sister City Program
provided both a cultural exchange, as well as economic development. More
information was needed, but tonight was not to talk about dollar amounts but to set
rankings.
Cm. Howard, Cm. Zika, and Mayor Houston changed to a Medium ranking and Cm.
McCormick changed to a High ranking
This changed the collective City Council ranking to a MEDIUM.
ADMINSTRATIVE ADDITIONAL OBJECTIVE # 17: Cm. McCormick requested “fund Sister
City Event and membership in International Organization.”
The Council decided to separate “fund the Sister City Event” and “membership in
International Organization”.
Vice Mayor Lockhart and Mayor Houston gave a High ranking while Cm. Howard and
Cm. Zika gave a Medium ranking for membership in International Organization.
The collective City Council ranking was HIGH.
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ADMINISTRATIVE ADDITIONAL OBJECTIVE # 18: “fund Sister City Event Reception.”
Mayor Houston, Vice Mayor Lockhart, Cm. McCormick, and Cm. Zika gave a High ranking
while Cm. Howard gave a Medium ranking.
The collective City Council ranking was HIGH.
FINANCE OBJECTIVE #5: “develop Financial Plan which assures that Equipment Fire
Apparatus and major Building Components will be replaced in a timely manner.”
Council had ranked this objective as High while Staff had ranked it Medium.
Assistant City Manager Rankin explained that Staff had ranked it medium trying to
balance the objectives. Everything can’t be High.
Mayor Houston asked if there was a need?
Mr. Rankin indicated that Staff has already started on this objective and have some
baseline data, but progress is not where they want it to be.
Mr. Ambrose stated the whole purpose of the Goals & Objectives process is to find out
what objectives the Council felt were High priorities. The City can’t accomplish all the
objectives as High with the existing Staff.
Mayor Houston wanted to develop a plan. The street lights are 20 to 25 years old.
Cm. Zika felt a list of the life cycle is needed so the City can build a reserve and not get
hit unexpectedly.
Mr. Ambrose stated the City had the data on the fire apparatus.
Mayor Houston asked if we would face replacement this year.
Mr. Ambrose said we hope not.
The Council ranking remained HIGH.
FINANCE OBJECTIVE #7: “Update the Purchasing Ordinance (incorporates policy
related to the purchase of recycled products).
The Council gave it a Medium ranking while Staff gave it a Low ranking.
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The Council choose to keep their ranking of MEDIUM.
FINANCE OBJECTIVE #8: “Report to Council on local preference purchasing practices.”
The Council gave it a Medium ranking while Staff gave it a Low ranking.
Cm. Zika stated by 4/5 vote, the City Council has the ability to bypass the bid
process.
Mr. Ambrose indicated the City Attorney has prepared a memorandum, but the City
has not met with the Chamber. The City wanted to sit down with the Chamber and go
over this.
Mayor Houston stated there was only so much Staff and so much money.
Vice Mayor Lockhart indicated the initial complaint was received by her from a local
business. She felt he deserves an answer and Staff should put it on a future agenda.
The Council choose to keep their ranking of MEDIUM.
FINANCE ADDITIONAL OBJECTIVE # 9: Cm. McCormick requested “revise/amend Public
Art Policy to require development to pay a 1% impact fee for Public Art.”
Cm. McCormick felt the City looked beautiful with Public Art so she would like to
guarantee Public Art continues and requiring development to pay a percent of impact
fee for Public Art would end the struggle. Other cities have this as a standard policy.
Mayor Houston indicated he was not in favor of this impact fee. If the City wants to
have Public Art, the Council should use General Fund moneys and not put another fee
on development. By requiring this fee would enable that public art would go in east
Dublin but it would not go in west Dublin. He is not in favor of additional fees.
Cm. McCormick felt the schools already have a tax base and get a lot of money. She
does not see Historic Dublin being left out of this, we will receive donations of Historic
Dublin, but this fee would guarantee art in east Dublin which is lacking at this point.
Vice Mayor Lockhart gave it a Medium ranking while Mayor Houston, Cm. Howard, and
Cm. Zika gave it a Low ranking.
The collective City Council ranking was LOW.
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INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS ADDITIONAL OBJECTIVE # 3: Mayor Houston
requested “study Joint Use Agreement with School District for Joint Technology
Project.”
Mayor Houston stated he wanted the agreement with the School District to be
reviewed to see if it needed to be updated. The agreement covers joint use of gyms and
school fields but it needs to be adjusted to incorporate technology programs.
Cm. Lockhart asked if the community would be able to use the computers in off school
hours?
Mayor Houston felt the joint use has been athletic oriented and needs to be opened
up.
Cm. Howard suggested using Wells School after school for daycare with emphasis on
educational rather than athletics or crafts.
Cm. Lockhart stated Homework Club was at the Wells School.
Cm. Zika suggested this be brought up at the Educational Summit and ask the School
District what it needs. Also, he wanted to know if there was anything legally we can’t
do.
“Afterschool Daycare” was added to this objective.
Cm. Howard and Cm. Zika gave a High ranking, Vice Mayor Lockhart gave a Medium
ranking, and Cm. McCormick gave a Low ranking.
The collective City Council ranking was HIGH.
PUBLIC RELATIONS OBJECTIVE #2: “publish a City Newsletter.”
The Council gave this a Medium ranking while Staff gave a High ranking.
Mr. Ambrose stated the City Newsletter reaches every single homeowner and business
once a year. It is put in one of the Quarterly Recreation Guide as an educational tool
about the City.
The Council choose to keep their ranking of MEDIUM.
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PUBLIC RELATIONS OBJECTIVE # 4: “upgrade Council meeting presentations.”
Mr. Ambrose indicated that the equipment was already here. There just needs to be
training of how to use the equipment.
Mayor Houston and Cm. Zika changed their ranking to High.
This changed the collective City Council ranking to HIGH.
PUBLIC RELATIONS ADDITIONAL OBJECTIVE # 6: Vice Mayor Lockhart requested
“support sponsorship of Teacher Participation in League of California Cities -
participating in Local Government Program.”
Vice Mayor Lockhart indicated this was a neat program where the City could send a
teacher to Sacramento for 5 days between August 2 and 6 where they would learn a
ndth
lot. She felt it would be beneficial to the community.
Mayor Houston and Cm. McCormick gave a High ranking while Cm. Howard and Cm.
Zika gave a Medium ranking.
The collective City Council ranking was HIGH.
PLANNING ADDITIONAL OBJECTIVE #17: Cm. McCormick requested “establish or study
establishment of a Design Review Committee.”
Cm. McCormick indicated she wanted to involve citizens in the redevelopment by
examining the look and theme for a historic Dublin.
Mayor Houston asked if this would be task force oriented.
Cm. McCormick felt it should be longer. She was mainly concerned about the
redevelopment areas.
Mayor Houston felt ideas from professional people should be at the beginning of the
process rather than at the end.
Vice Mayor Lockhart asked that this was not about east Dublin?
Cm. Zika suggested changing the objective to “study establishment of a Design Review
Committee” so the Council can see what the options are out there and make choices.
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Mayor Houston felt the Business Task Force has started the process and he would like
to keep the task force going. He was interested in this for the Downtown where a lot
will be happening. But he was not in favor of having the Committee study items like
which shade of beige would be on the houses in east Dublin.
Cm. McCormick did not recommend the use of the Downtown Task Force for this job
because many of them are opposed to redevelopment.
Cm. Zika wanted to assure that architects and artists were part of this group.
Mr. Ambrose explained that the redevelopment process has citizen advisory
committees formed at the beginning. Citizen input is part of the redevelopment
process up-front.
Cm. Lockhart asked if Cm. McCormick was looking for an on-going group that would
have terms?
Cm. McCormick felt we will always have the need . Once we get through historic
Dublin, we may have to go to east Dublin to fix.
Mayor Houston, Vice Mayor Lockhart, Cm. Howard, and Cm. Zika gave a High ranking.
The collective City Council ranking was HIGH.
PLANNING ADDITIONAL OBJECTIVE #18: Cm. McCormick requested “request land from
Camp Parks for a Cemetery for Dublin.”
Cm. McCormick stated the Dublin Cemetery is full. She suggested the City approach
Camp Parks for land for another cemetery.
Mayor Houston asked if she was envisioning the City having the ownership?
Cm. McCormick suggested it would be a combination of Veterans and Dubliners.
Mayor Houston asked when Camp Park will get their Master Plan done?
Mr. Ambrose responded there was a draft of the Master Plan now.
Mr. Peabody indicated he has seen the draft.
Cm. Lockhart requested the City send them a letter.
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Mayor Houston, Vice Mayor Lockhart, Cm. Howard, and Cm. Zika gave a High ranking.
The collective City Council ranking was HIGH.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ADDITIONAL OBJECTIVE # 13: Mayor Houston requested
“support/subsidize “One Stop” Career Center Program.”
Mayor Houston indicated PIC was struggling. They have “One-Stop” Career Centers all
over but they are each different. Getting the word out is difficult. It is a “Welfare to
Work” Program.
Vice Mayor Lockhart requested more information like the numbers of who they serve.
Cm. Zika wanted to know what they were doing, what plans and goals they had and
how successfully had they been in meeting their goals.
Vice Mayor Lockhart, Cm. Howard, Cm. McCormick, and Cm. Zika gave a Medium
ranking.
The collective City Council ranking was MEDIUM.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ADDITIONAL OBJECTIVE #14: Cm. McCormick requested
“increase mailings from 200 to 300 to attract business to Dublin.”
Cm. McCormick indicated since the City was growing, she would like to increase the
mailings from 200 to 300.
Mr. Ambrose stated the mailings were targeting businesses outside the community.
We need to get the buildings such as Opus Emerald Pointe built before we increase the
mailings.
Mayor Houston, Vice Mayor Lockhart, Cm. Howard, and Cm. Zika gave a Medium
ranking. Cm. McCormick changed her ranking to a Medium.
The collective City Council ranking was MEDIUM.
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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ADDITIONAL OBJECTIVE #15: Cm. McCormick requested
“create video to distribute to businesses/realtors to attract home buyers & businesses to
Dublin.”
Cm. McCormick indicated she was aware of other cities like San Leandro who have
videos professionally created to help attract home buyers and businesses to their
community.
Mayor Houston asked how much emphasis was on the schools? DPIE had a video that
was four years old. It would be great to have the City and School District share the
cost.
Cm. Zika suggested the Chamber might be interested, too.
Mr. Rankin indicated the cost was $1,000 per minute of finished video.
Cm. McCormick felt it would be a major investment in the future of Dublin.
Vice Mayor Lockhart stated it was a great idea, but she did not want to do it today.
She wanted to get some things done to brag about. She did not feel it should be high
on this Fiscal Year.
Mayor Houston disagree about the timing. This Budget covers July 1999 through
June 2000. If it gets a high priority, it could be started the first of 2000.
Cm. McCormick wanted to look at the costs.
Vice Mayor Lockhart asked who the City could partner with?
Mayor Houston would like to see the product by the end of the next Fiscal Year. Staff
should get estimates of costs and see other videos. Staff also should get an action
plan.
Cm. Howard stated San Jose had a good video which she had seen at Long Beach.
Georgean Vonheeder-Leopold indicated that Livermore had one.
Mayor Houston, Vice Mayor Lockhart, Cm. Howard and Cm. Zika gave a High ranking.
The collective City Council ranking was HIGH.
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PARKS & COMMUNITY SERVICES OBJECTIVE # 15: “update the agreement between
City and Dublin Unified School District regarding use of school facilities.
Council had ranked this objective High while Staff ranked it Medium.
Mayor Houston indicated the Parks & Community Services Commission wanted this
objective to be HIGH.
The Council ranking remained HIGH.
PARKS & COMMUNITY SERVICES OBJECTIVE #16: “evaluate what hours the Heritage
Center should be open to maximize public visits and increase open hours.
Vice Mayor Lockhart indicated the City had a wonderful museum if and when the
public can get into it. She wanted to consider a different level of staffing to keep the
doors open and not have to have Bonnie Leonard babysit the Heritage Center.
Cm. Zika stated the City had a part-time staffer already.
Mr. Ambrose responded that the Museum needed to turn the exhibits over but there is
a need for a good storage unit.
Vice Mayor Lockhart stated the community can’t be there from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on
Thursdays. The Museum should be open on weekends when families could go through
the Heritage Center.
PARKS & COMMUNITY SERVICES ADDITIONAL OBJECTIVE #24: Vice Mayor Lockhart
requested “work with County & EBRPD to evaluate possibility of purchasing parklands
or landswap for land outside Urban Limit Line in Western Dublin.”
Vice Mayor Lockhart indicated the Subcommittee that worked on the Urban Limit Line
discussed the land just outside Dublin. If EBRPD could purchase some of the land,
we could save our land at the western boundary. The County has recently
participated in some landswaps.
Mayor Houston, Cm. Howard, and Cm. McCormick gave a High ranking while Cm. Zika
gave a Medium ranking.
The collective City Council ranking was HIGH.
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PARKS & COMMUNITY SERVICES ADDITIONAL OBJECTIVE #25: Mayor Houston
requested “conduct Feasibility Study analyzing costs associated with increased Library
hours.
Cm. Zika wanted to know what the cost for the new Library service would be? He
wanted to look at the numbers for the Library now and for the new Library.
Mr. Ambrose indicated the new Library would not be available before 2003. Would the
analysis be for 34,000 sq. ft. Library?
Cm. Zika wanted to start with evaluating hours for a 20,000 sq. ft. Library and then
build on later.
Mr. Ambrose cautioned about expanding the Library hours now and then having to
reduce the hours when the City moved into the new Library.
Cm. Zika wanted evening Library hours since in many families both parents worked.
He wanted to see the Library open from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. or 9 p.m. weekdays and open
from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
Vice Mayor Lockhart asked if the Library had done any surveys to see what hours the
patrons would the Library open?
Vice Mayor Lockhart, Cm. Howard, Cm. McCormick, and Cm. Zika gave a High ranking.
The collective City Council ranking was HIGH.
PARKS & COMMUNITY SERVICES ADDITIONAL OBJECTIVE #26: Cm. Zika requested
“open Library 7 days a week 8 hours/day.”
The Council felt #25 & #26 were the same thing so by consensus of the Council,
Objective #26 was deleted from the list.
PARKS & COMMUNITY SERVICES ADDITIONAL OBJECTIVE # 27: Cm. McCormick
requested “establish Heritage & Cultural Arts Commission (Combine Dublin Fine Arts &
Heritage Committee).”
Cm. McCormick indicated the Parks & Community Services Commission has been
researching this idea for awhile and are working on a model to have Dublin Fine Arts
combine with the Heritage Committee making it one commission to enhance arts and
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heritage in the community. The combination would complement the City. Art exhibits
would be put at the Heritage Center and alternate with historical exhibits.
Vice Mayor Lockhart asked if this would allow the opportunity to have a heritage
exhibit at city hall and also at local businesses like a bank?
Cm. McCormick agreed that this would allow the combining of more ideas and more
energy and more dollars.
Mayor Houston felt it was a good idea.
Cm. McCormick indicated the appointments to the Committee would be made by the
Mayor and Dublin Fines Arts as a Foundation would become a Corporate Board to
become the fund raising arm.
Mayor Houston asked from a structural standpoint, how could it be done legally? Was
DFA o.k. with this idea? He didn’t want to step on anyone’s toes, but he felt it was a
good idea to encourage.
Georgean Vonheeder Leopold indicated DFA has been interested in this idea for ten
years. Both Boards have reviewed this idea and would like to combine the groups.
Both organizations have worked for years with volunteers and they are getting tired.
She felt the City should be ready to embrace this idea and give it civic clout. She
herself is not into art but into car racing, but even she recognizes the need for art to
enhance the quality of life. Something is absolutely needed.
Mayor Houston asked if she felt it would be a good “marriage.”
Ms. Leopold realized there would be a hurdle when a governmental agency takes over
an agency run by volunteers because the City must abide by rules that the volunteers
don’t want. But she thought the time was right.
Mayor Houston stated he would give it a “3” and requested Staff to research how
others have done it.
Cm. McCormick felt it would be similar to DPIE.
Mr. Ambrose indicated he was not clear, would this be totally outside the City?
Cm. McCormick responded there would be a City commission and DFA would
continue to exist but their focus would change to fundraising and acting in an
advisory capacity.
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Ms. Leopold indicated DFA and DHPA would exist as non-profit organizations. The
City Commission would be similar to the Parks & Community Services Commission,
but it would just deal with arts and heritage. The Commission would have the City
clout, structure, and funding to do some of the things that need to be done.
Mr. Ambrose indicated this actually was a goal from last year’s Goals & Objectives (#7
on page 11). Council was to have upgraded the Heritage Committee to a Commission.
Vice Mayor Lockhart agreed that Objective #7 should be eliminated from the list.
PARKS & COMMUNITY SERVICES OBJECTIVE # 7: “establish Arts Commission to work
with Parks & Community Services, handle funding & work with Dublin Fine Arts
Foundation
.” was deleted from the Goals & Objectives List.
Mayor Houston, Vice Mayor Lockhart, Cm. Howard, and Cm. Zika gave a High ranking to
Parks & Community Services Additional Objective # 27.
The collective City Council ranking was HIGH.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OBJECTIVE #11: “coordinate major Downtown festival in
September.”
Mr. Ambrose wanted the Council to be aware that any Medium Objectives would not
be considered for funding in the Budget Preparation. Objective #11 was given a
Medium ranking by both Council and Staff and as such would not be considered for
funding.
Mr. Ambrose indicated that Good Time Promotions has submitted a proposal to the
City which is different from last year’s proposal. Last year, Good Time Promotions
agreed to produce the Festival at no cost to the City. It took hundreds of Staff hours
to put on and that was using an outside promoter.
This year the Festival would become the City’s Festival much like the St. Patrick’s Day
Festival and Good Times Promotions wants the City to hire them to run it.
Ms. Lowart indicated the proposal Good Times Promotion has submitted to the City
this would become the City’s Festival much like the St. Patrick’s Day Festival and
Good Times Promotions wants the City to hire them to run it. Good Times Promotion
would do a portion of the work and the City would do a portion. There is currently no
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money in the Budget for such a proposal. Even if the Council changed their ranking
to a High priority, this item would need to come back to the Council before July.
Mayor Houston agreed that Objective #11 should be deleted from the Goals &
Objectives List for 1999 and asked Staff to bring this item back to the Council in 45
days to evaluate.
POLICE OBJECTIVE #4: “develop and implement a taxi-cab safety inspection program in
conjunction with the Dublin Police Services Traffic Unit.”
Vice Mayor Lockhart asked about taxicab safety inspections. She didn’t know much
about them.
Police Chief Thuman explained that now Police Services issued permits but they were
not required to check the condition or reliability of vehicles. There has been an
increase in taxicab permits due to BART. Passenger safety is the target for this
objective.
Mr. Ambrose indicated the City of Dublin’s fee was very low.
Chief Thuman stated Pleasanton charged between $400 to $500 while Dublin charged
between $50 to $60.
Mr. Ambrose indicated there has been an increase in independent one car businesses.
Cm. Zika asked if other cities have inspection programs? What do they do for the
$400 to $500?
Mr. Rankin responded they do a background check into the driver.
Vice Mayor Lockhart stated as the City grows, taxicabs will become prevalent.
Mayor Houston indicated he would keep his ranking a Medium.
Vice Mayor Lockhart changed her ranking to High.
The collective City Council ranking remained MEDIUM.
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TRANSPORTATION OBJECTIVE #7: “report to City Council on Downtown Traffic Impact
Fee.”
Council had given the objective a High ranking while Staff gave it a Medium ranking.
Mr. Ambrose indicated we don’t have the time or Staff to get this report done. We have
been down two engineers this last year. The report is part-way done, but Staff did not
feel it was a high priority.
Cm. Zika changed his ranking to a Medium.
This changed the collective City Council ranking to MEDIUM.
FIVE YEAR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM
Vice Mayor Lockhart requested the addition of #1) “Council Chamber Sound System &
Fixed Camera Broadcasting.
Vice Mayor Lockhart indicated she has received complaints about the transmission of
the Council meetings. There has been feedback from the sound system. There has
been flicking of lights from dark to light. Camera operators are in some of the shots.
Televising Council meetings is going to be with us so we need to get better at it.
Perhaps the School Board could also use our facility to have their meetings taped for
the community. People like to watch Channel 30 and see what is going on in the
community. People with small children and older residents aren’t able to come to the
meetings.
Mr. Ambrose requested that the two items be separated. The Community needs to
understand we are not NBC. The Council Chambers was not designed as a
professional studio. Staff will look at other ways to improve the lighting.
Mayor Houston indicated that in regard to lighting, the Council gets hot by the end of
the program when they are at the Channel 30 recording studio. But he felt there is a
need to be heard so gooseneck microphones may be needed.
Cm. Zika stated using a fixed camera would be more expensive and we would be stuck
with it. He did not see the advantage of using them.
Mayor Houston asked why the meetings couldn’t be live. What was the cost?
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Mr. Rankin responded that in 1996 TCI had not started the upgrade program for
Dublin.
Mr. Ambrose indicated Pleasanton had another room for their equipment.
Mayor Houston asked what the cost would be to go live?
Mayor Houston, Cm. Howard, Cm. McCormick, and Cm. Zika gave a High ranking for
Council Chamber Sound System.
The collective City Council ranking was HIGH.
Mayor Houston, Cm. Howard, Cm. McCormick and Cm. Zika gave a High ranking for
Fixed Camera Broadcasting .
The collective City Council ranking was HIGH.
Mayor Houston requested the addition of #2) “matching funds for Dublin UnifiedSchool
District Technology Project.”
Mayor Houston wanted to hear from the people at the Educational Summit.
Cm. Zika was not sure what help we could give the School District or where to put the
money to do the most good.
Mayor Houston explained the Superintendent was putting the information together.
Cm. Zika thought the object was to help the schools raise their test scores. He was
not sure how playing with a mouse would help the students read better. If the money
was to just go for computers, he would give it a “1”.
Vice Mayor Lockhart explained the City would supply computers the schools can’t buy.
Cm. Zika asked if the City got them computers, would they have the personnel to run
them?
Mayor Houston explained this was not committing money now. We did not have all
the details. The City would need to see the School District’s Implementation Plan.
Cm. McCormick stated her background was not in computers but she guessed it was a
good idea.
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Mayor Houston admitted it will take a lot of information on both sides. The
Superintendent is supposed to have the information in two weeks.
Cm. Howard asked where the money would be coming from? We may need to take
away from something that has already been committed to.
Cm. McCormick felt Council was voting to put this on the list to get more information.
Cm Zika changed his ranking to a “2.”
Vice Mayor Lockhart and Cm. Howard gave a High ranking while Cm. McCormick & Cm.
Zika gave a Medium ranking.
The collective City Council ranking was HIGH.
Councilmember Zika requested the addition of #3) “construction of Senior Center.”
Cm. Zika was interested in acquiring the old Library for the Senior Center when the
new Library was built and developing some design plans for a new Senior Center since
we are talking about a Five Year CIP.
Mayor Houston, Vice Mayor Lockhart, Cm. Howard, and Cm. McCormick gave a High
ranking.
The collective City Council ranking was HIGH.
Councilmember Zika requested the addition of #4) “Community Center in east Dublin
Park.”
Cm. Zika wanted to see a Community Center in Phase II of Emerald Glen Park. The
City has only one community center at Shannon and he felt it was inadequate so he
wanted to start considering this as part of the Emerald Glen Park.
Mayor Houston asked if the Community Center was part of Phase II?
Mr. Ambrose stated the Council has not approved the balance of the phases for
Emerald Glen Park yet. The Library would take $9 million of the public facilities fee.
The City needs to look at the cash flow. There was enough money to do Phase I of
Emerald Glen Park, the Library, and possibly begin designing the Senior Center.
There isn’t enough money in the Five Year CIP for another $7-8 million building. Also,
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it can’t be built with General Fund moneys. The General Plan states that the existing
community will not support new development and this would benefit east Dublin
residents. There is a need for Council to spend time looking at service needs and look
at the capacity of existing facilities and what the next needs are. If the Council adopts
a fee increase, there could be more money.
Mr. Ambrose explained that all public facilities will be put in the CIP, but some will be
unfunded.
Mayor Houston, Vice Mayor Lockhart, Cm. Howard, and Cm. McCormick gave a Medium
ranking.
The collective City Council ranking was MEDIUM.
Cm. McCormick requested the addition of #5) “information/convenience kiosks at
intervals on Iron Horse Trail.”
Cm. McCormick felt the Iron Horse Trail would be a real enhancement to the City. She
would like to have places where people could sit down, rest, and read about the area.
Possibly also disposable pooper scoopers and water.
Cm. Howard explained that Cm. McCormick and she checked out the creek for the
clean-up and had discussed the possibilities. There are a few places that would be
perfect.
Mayor Houston asked if the City had control over our portion of the trail?
Mr. Ambrose responded that the upper portion by Amador Valley Boulevard, the City
has control. There is a contractual arrangement that EBRPD operate and maintain
the trail. They have the experience in what works, what would be vandal resistant.
Mayor Houston, Vice Mayor Lockhart, Cm. Howard, and Cm. Zika gave a High ranking.
The collective City Council ranking was HIGH.
Mayor Houston requested the addition of #6) “I-580/San Ramon Road Interchange
Improvement.”
Mayor Houston explained that he had met with the Pleasanton Liaison Committee and
this item was on the agenda. San Ramon Road/Foothill Road is a dangerous situation
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that needs improvement. The total cost would be $1.6 million. This is an identified
project at Tri-Valley Transportation so we already have 20% set aside moneys. Dublin
has identified this project and the West Dublin BART Station. We are already
collecting funds with Tri-Valley Transportation but he also wants it to be a Capital
Project for Dublin. We can front the money and get the money back so Dublin can get
something done sooner. Under the Tri-Valley Transportation timeline, this project
would not be built for another ten years. The City of Pleasanton has elected to not
identify this project
Vice Mayor Lockhart asked if the engineering could be done for both sides at the same
time?
Lee Thompson, Public Works Director, indicated Dublin could go it alone and put in
our signal which would take a year to do.
Mr. Ambrose stated there would need to be a PSR which would take a year and cost
$350,000.
Vice Mayor Lockhart would love to get the whole project done. It was scary coming
over the hill to merge.
Cm. Zika asked if Dublin could go ahead and do our side?
Mr. Ambrose indicated our side is in Pleasanton so we would need their support.
When Hacienda Business Park signals were being built, Pleasanton had to get our
authorization. He felt Pleasanton would work with us even if they did not put up any
money.
Vice Mayor Lockhart, Cm. Howard, Cm. McCormick, and Cm. Zika gave a High ranking.
The collective City Council ranking was HIGH.
Vice Mayor Lockhart requested the addition of #7 “Computer System for City Council
Offices.”
Vice Mayor Lockhart felt the need to store more information at her Council Office. It
was not computerized in the Council Offices. She felt the use of a computer would be
beneficial to store, retrieve, and look for information. It would reduce paper pushing.
Mayor Houston indicated every Councilmember was different. He doesn’t need
another computer.
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Cm. Howard asked if the Councilmembers could share a computer?
Cm. McCormick suggested computers be installed upon request.
Mr. Ambrose responded that all the Council Offices would need to be wired. It was
also more cost effective to buy new computers. There would be the e-mail issue.
Mayor Houston indicated there was a budget for office items for the Council. He felt e-
mail would be critical to be effective.
Vice Mayor Lockhart felt Internet gives a lot of information. It would be beneficial to
the Council and the community.
Mr. Ambrose agreed if a Councilmember did not use a computer, then a computer
would not be bought for them.
Mayor Houston felt first things first would be to get the offices wired.
Mr. Rankin explained that the City was using a third party server and only had 20 e-
mail accounts at key points throughout the City Departments.
Mayor Houston, Cm. Howard, Cm. McCormick, and Cm. Zika gave a High ranking.
The collective City Council ranking was HIGH.
Cm. McCormick asked if this would be the place to put Senior Housing.
Mr. Ambrose indicated that Senior Housing could be addressed on page 6, #5.
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT OBJECTIVE #5: “implementation program for Inclusionary
Housing Ordinance.”
Mayor Houston asked how much money was in the Inclusionary Program?
Mr. Rankin responded roughly over $1 ½ million.
“include review of Senior Housing” was added to Objective #5.
Cm. McCormick asked about #13 on page 7.
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PLANNING OBJECTIVE #13: “report to Council on Heritage Tree Ordinance.”
Mayor Houston changed his ranking to a High which changed the Council priority to
HIGH.
Mayor Houston asked about the Y2K issue.
Mr. Ambrose indicated Staff was undertaking an analysis of potential problems. Our
computers are Y2K compliant. There are some concerns about “911” and dispatch.
Vice Mayor Lockhart asked about any studies around the community?
Mr. Ambrose responded the City has been focusing on all safety issues. Public Works
is checking with vendors to see if they are Y2K compliant.
Mr. Ambrose stated the City encourages all residents to be prepared for at least 72
hours to be able to support themselves with food and supplies. Government can’t
solve all their problems in an emergency, but must focus on safety issues. People will
have to be responsible for themselves.
Vice Mayor Lockhart asked if a liaison has been established with the Chamber to
relate to businesses in town.
Mr. Ambrose responded that Staff was having a tough time taking care of our own
situation right now.
Mayor Houston requested Staff to provide Council with a periodic update.
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