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Home My WebLink AboutTC Min 2001-01-31 ^ TOWN COUNCIUrOWN STAFF RETREAT MINUTES CALL TO ORDER Mayor Thompson called the special meeting of the Tiburon Town Council & Town Staff to order at 4:20 p,m, on Wednesday, January 31, 2001, at Servino's Ristorante, 9 Main Street, Tiburon, California, ROLL CALL PRESENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: Bach, Gram, Matthews, Slavitz, Mayor Thompson PRESENT: EX OFFICIO: Town Manager McIntyre, Town Attorney Danforth, Planning Director Anderson, Senior Planner Watrous, Finance Director Stranzl, Finance & Administration Assistant McVeigh, Town Engineer Schwartz, Building Official Bloomquist, Superintendent of Public Works Iacopi, Chief of Police Odetto, Lt. Aiello, Town Clerk Crane Iacopi ,.....'. WELCOME & OVERVIEW Mayor Thompson welcomed everyone and gave an overview of the evening, He said that the purpose of the workshop was to look at short-term and long-term goals for the Town and since there were no major crises or major public works projects underway, he said it was important to look at how we could be more proactive and forward-thinking, Thompson said that people would thank the Council and Staff for "thinking ahead." He gave an example of how this kind of thinking might have averted the current energy crisis, Thompson also said one of his goals, which also appeared in the Town Newsletter, was how to better deliver services to the public, Mayor Thompson said he was excited about the year ahead and that one of his goals was to do more "fun, social things" with Council and Staff, He gave examples of past events such as the Staff picnic and baseball game in 1995, Mayor Thompson turned the meeting over to Town Manager McIntyre, Mr, McIntyre said the purpose of the retreat, as he saw it, was to set a tone, theme or mission for 2001, and the clearly delineate measurable goals. He said he would like the Town to have a mission statement, Councilmember Gram asked for examples from other cities, Town Manager McIntyre said the biggest items or issues facing the Town were in the area ofland use and planning, and that the two largest departments were Public Works and Police, DISCUSSION Town Manager McIntyre kicked off the discussion by asking for a review oflast year's retreat ~, goals, one by one, Town Council Minutes #03-2001 January 31,2001 Page 1 --_..__.~------ ~ ~ Main Street Reconstruction Project, Item complete, No new problems, but double-parking still persists, Councilmember Bach said he had heard from most people that the new design and parking was an improvement. ~ Bicycle Master Plan (and BicyclelPedestrian Advisory Committee), Councilmember Gram asked if the Town's plan had been submitted to the County, Planning Director Anderson said Senior Planner Watrous was working on it, He also said the committee needed some new members because some had dropped off, Anderson said that in addition to the Countywide plan, the Town should adopt its own version of the plan in order to secure grant funding for improvements, for instance, to the Multi-Use Path, Adoption of the plan was deemed a priority goal for 2001. ~ Paths, Mayor Thompson (who serves on the Town "Lanes & Paths" subcommittee, said he needed help in connecting a path between Acacia and Seafirth, which the residents wanted, - ~ Carpools, Mayor Thompson gave a status report on school carpooling efforts, which was a means to reduce traffic on Tiburon Boulevard (deemed by many to be the number one issue in Town), He said St, Hilary's School had undertaken efforts to demonstrate their seriousness and had created a subcommittee to address neighborhood traffic concerns, Thompson also said the Reed School District had formed a committee that would focus on carpools, bussing, and walking to school. He said they hoped to implement a plan by the end of the school year which they would refine over the summer, Counci\member Slavitz commented on something he had learned about in the Congestion Management Agency ("CMA"), i,e, a program in Mill Valley called "Safe Routes to School" in which volunteers were trained to be crossing guards. Slavitz said he would give a copy of the plan to the Town Manager, Mayor Thompson commented that many ofthe crossing guards in Tiburon were old and had retired and a new labor force was needed, A goal for 2001 (not completed in 2000) was to institnte the quarterly meetings with the Belvedere!riburon Mayors & Vice Mayors and Reed Union School District Officials. Town Manager to set them up. ~ Stewart Drive Intersection, I"" Town Engineer Schwartz said the traffic consultant's report was due in two weeks, and that a Town Council Minutes #03-2001 January 31,2001 Page 2 --_.~.- --_.__._---~--~-------~-------'---------------~-~_.__..- .-- -- $15,000 grant through MTC had just been obtained which would be used to study the whole length of the Boulevard from Stewart Drive to Reed Ranch Road, Mayor Thompson thought that CALlTRANS would approve a solution if the Town presented one, Planning Director Anderson said that CALlTRANS already had copies of previous studies and proposals from the Town, He said the Town had CALlTRANS to look at installing a merge/acceleration lane at Cecilia, Reed Ranch and [the already approved one at] Ned's Way, Anderson said he hoped the Ned's Way lane was completed soon so it could be studied as a model. )> DEL MAR PATHWAY (Access to McKegney Green) This was a 2000 goal in process but still not complete. Town Attorney Danforth said that more study of ADA issues was needed before the path could be designed, She also noted that some of the homeowners wanted to preserve a large eucalyptus tree on the proposed path location, ,-. Mayor Thompson asked why the Town needed to hire a consultant to determine whether something was ADA compliant or not, Town Attorney Danforth said it was a complex issue, and although the Building Official was familiar with State requirements, she thought it was economical for the Town to use Richard Skaff, an ADA compliance officer in the SF Building Department who was well-respected in the community, Town Engineer Schwartz said Mr, Skaff had been very helpful on the Main Street Reconstruction Project and had not charged the Town for his time, Councilmembers Bach and Gram concurred that the Town needed to use Mr, Skaff. )> ZELINSKY PARK Another 2000 goal in process. Town Manager McIntyre said there was a kick-off meeting set for the following day with the Landscape Architect to finalize the contract, 2000 ACTION ITEMS )> Downtown Plaza Fountain, ~ Town Council Minutes #03-2001 January 31,2001 Page 3 . , , . - -------'- --~ ~-~-----'-------._---'.:._-----~--~ _.~~------------'--~- r- A goal for 2001 was to turn the project over the Heritage & Arts Commission to come up with a process for selection of design and artists for Council consideration and approval. Vice Mayor Matthews volunteered to act as a liaison to the Commission. A discussion ensued about the difficulties of selecting public art and gaining consensus, It was pointed out that the Chamber of Commerce, as wen as the Zandvakilis, whose property the fountain abutted, should be involved in the process, ~ Neighborhood Characteristics. Mayor Thompson said this was a "hot issue" in neighborhoods like Bel Aire where families were remodeling or tearing down older homes, He suggested the Town take a proactive role in working with the neighborhoods in envisioning how to best institute these changes, For instance, in Bel Aire, whether to build two-story homes and keep the large front yard set- backs, or to build large one-story homes with maximum FAR's, Mayor Thompson said the three neighborhoods most likely to be concerned with this issue were Hawthorne Terrace, Bel Aire and Belveron, - A goal for 2001 was to hold homeowner's workshops, as well as a joint Planning CommissionlDRB workshop, to discuss these issues. TOWN COUNCIL GOALS FOR 2001 Town Manager McIntyre asked for Council input, noting that Staff was pretty much "tapped out" so if additional projects were required, additional resources would have to be looked at in order to accomplish them, ~ Matthews - finish the Downtown Plaza, ~ Thompson - 2-3 Homeowner's Summits before year-end; more fun social things with Staff; Downtown Design Guidelines; Zelinksy Park; Bike Path repairs (and possible striping etc,) and traffic issues, ~ Gram - Finish Downtown project (now Ferry Area Improvements); complete Downtown Design Guidelines and review Zoning Issues and look at possible changes (e,g, FAR issues, parking, equipment screening, etc,) r' ~ Bach - Downtown issues; look at use and redesign of old gas station property at Beach Road and Tiburon Boulevard; also look at "other end" of Town and improve hardscape median strip on Tiburon Boulevard (planning Director Anderson said this was CAL/TRANS' property, but that someone could approach Supervisor Rose if they were interested). Town Council Minutes #03-2001 January 31,2001 Page 4 I"" }i> Slavitz - Review the Variance issue ( perception is that everything requires a variance so why have variances; or look at enforcing or changing the requirements); increase interaction between DRB and Planning Commission; have cards made up for Staff and Commissioners when they have to "trespass" on private property to look at applications; provide more training and historical background of commission goals and ideas to new commissioners when appointed in order to preserve continuity on commissions; get more Staff reports on-line; Bicycle Master Plan - focus on improved safety on Trestle Glen Boulevard; Blackie's Bash - an annual event?; .parking enforcement at Town Hall [Chief Odetto said it was impossible to distinguish between Staff cars and the public's; Mayor Thompson said negotiations were in process with Ed Zelinksy regarding Staff parking] STAFF GOALS (Short-term and Long-term) - }i> Scott - Ned's Way merge lane completion; Bike Plan adopted; Ferry Area Improvements; Downtown Design Guidelines; Housing Element adopted by year-end }i> Dan - Implement GIS interface with County }i> Richard - update Finance policies; create Staff information and guidelines for assisting residents in creating Undergrounding of Utilities Districts }i> Matt - be progressive in identifYing future needs of the Police Department; find ways to offset costs to General Fund (through grants, etc,); commented that communication in Town was good and welcome to him; agreed to provide reports of monthly police statistics to Council (Town Manager to put in "Digest") }i> Tony - decrease cost to Town of equipment maintenance through hiring a Maintenance Mechanic at Public Works; address manpower issues of aging Public Works workforce; build "second line of defense" for back up in emergencies; address perceived inequity of Belvedere Public Works personnel receiving 15% pay increases compared to Tiburon pay scale and raises }i> Diane - More energy efficient Town Hall facility through repair/upgrades ofHV AC system; better sound system for Town Council Chambers; support for new programs of cross-training and update of Personnel policies and procedures; support for employee housing assistance program; get more Staff reports on-line in future; need help with archiving Town records }i> Heidi - Develop recommendations and guidelines for Employee Housing Assistance Program }i> Irv - Discourage proliferation of overhead lines and its impact as more carriers come into Town; Town should become leader in undergrounding of utilities programs; enhance relationship with CALrrRANS }i> Tom Aiello- Complete Tiburon Police facility - (it was agreed to ask Councilmember Bach or Gram to be involved in negotiations with Staffand Contractor); importance of Disaster Preparedness and need for Town and public agencies to take it seriously }i> Alex - Update Town Policies & Procedures (or get in writing for the first time); review the Finance and Budget policy (i,e, Town reserves); Town Compensation policy; create vision/mission statement for Town; Staff Team Building (he sees three distinct employee groups); address manpower issues through Cross-Training; develop and integrate new ~ Town Council Minutes #03-2001 January 31,2001 Page 5 r' (more "uniform") Public Works Department; enter into negotiations with Police Assoc. as Town's negotiator COUNCIL LONG-TERM GOALS & COMMENTS - >> Thompson - address manpower issues by tapping into community resources, Le, volunteers; It, Recreation getting input from community for more facilities for kids; transportation and traffic issues - put effort into and try to change behavior, >> Slavitz - Address Zoning Ordinance issues, downtown guidelines, remodels, FAR's and variances >> Gram - concur with Slavitz; bring DRB and Planning Commission together to discuss issues; Town's biggest responsibility is to have enough resources (Le, Staft) to manage and maintain the infrastructure; what to do if area increases, (i.e, possible future annexations on Paradise Drive); continue to nurture relationship with Belvedere and neighboring areas, such as Strawberry >> Bach - Importance of continued viability ofTiburon downtown; comments re resurgence of second shopping area (Cove); increase ferry traffic - perhaps Town should consider subsidies or other actions in future >> Matthews - Late Night Ferry Committee still active; will start Friday night service in summer >> Thompson - experience on Marin Economic Commission showed success of "small village" viability with home office businesses where residents work, eat and meet in Town; currently no office space vacancies in Town although demand exists; comments re it being a non-tourist-based model; Bach concurred >> Gram - role of Town Councilmember not to be involved with day-to-day management of Staff; expressed frustration on lack of feedback from Staff on certain ideas and requests presented by Council Town Manager McIntyre commented that the overall goal is public service and asked the Town Councilmembers about their vision of this goal and Staff's overall performance, Councilmember Bach said he had heard and had experienced that the public was treated nicer in Tiburon than anywhere else, Mayor Thompson said his vision was that people would walk out of Town Hall happy and impressed by the service they had received. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business before the Town Council of the Town ofTiburon, Mayor Thompson adjourned the formal part of the meeting at 6:45 p,m, to dinner downstairs, and to the - Town Council Minutes #03-2001 January 31,2001 Page 6 r next regular meeting of the Town Council on February 7,2001. @& Ar=~ ~ DIANE CRANE IACOP~ ~ ,-.. I"" Town Council Minutes #03-2001 January 31. 2001 Page 7