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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTC Minutes 2011-05-18TOWN COUNCIL MINUTES CALL TO ORDER Mayor Slavitz called the regular meeting of the Tiburon Town Council to order at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 18, 2011, in Town Council Chambers, 1505 Tiburon Boulevard, Tiburon, California. ROLL CALL PRESENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: Collins, Fraser, O'Donnell, Slavitz Fredericks PRESENT: EX OFFICIO: Town Manager Curran, Town Attorney Danforth, Director of Administrative Services Bigall, Director of Community Development Anderson, Director of Public Works/Town Engineer Nguyen, Police Chief Cronin, Town Clerk Crane Iacopi Prior to the start of the regular meeting, the Council met in closed session and conducted interviews for Town Boards, Commissions and Committees. CLOSED SESSION.- (6:45 p.m.) CONFERENCE WITH LABOR NEGOTIATOR (Government Code Section 54957.6) Bargaining Units: Tiburon Police Association; SEIU Negotiators: Town Manager and Director of Administrative Services INTERVIEWS - -'-'ending vacancies on Planning Commission (1 seat), Library Board (I se and Marin Commission on Aging (I seat) • Camille Bosworth - 7:00 p.m. (Planning Commission Vacancy) • Fredric Postle - 7:15 p.m. (Library Board vacancy) ANNOUNCEMENT OF ACTION TAKEN IN CLOSED SESSION, IF ANY Mayor Slavitz said there was no action to report from the closed session. Town Council Minutes #11 -2011 May 18, 2011 Page 1 ORAL COMMUNICATIONS Eric Artman, 16-year resident, commented on the Downtown Vibrancy report. He said that the report was part of the problem, not the solution. He said that no more money should be spent on the study and more thought should go into how to support the downtown businesses. He said by way of illustration that he had to read about the item in a Novato-based business, rather than the local newspaper [the reporter from the Ark commented at the end of the meeting that the paper had received notice of the hearing and item but had chosen not to write about it in its current issue]. Artman said that he could not stay for the presentation and discussion later on the agenda. PRESENTATIONS • Update on Belvedere-Tiburon Landmarks Society Programs and Activities (Alan Brune, Executive Director) Alan Brune, co-Executive Director of Landmarks, along with Leslie Doyle, talked about the mission of the Landmarks Society to create a sense of home and community over time and across generations. Brune said that the group had just completed another successful "Walk Your History" event in Belvedere and Tiburon. He said that they wanted to be considered "part of the economic picture" of the Town in that landmarks such as the Railroad Museum drew over 5,000 tourists per year, and the other sites maintained by the group drew over 7,000 per year. He said that he hoped to discuss potential support of the Landmarks Society and its programs with the Town in future. • Update on Belvedere-Tiburon Jt. Disaster Advisory Council emergency preparedness activities (Laurie Gordon, Disaster Preparedness Coordinator) In her update, Ms. Gordon listed the activities of the Disaster Council and its programs. She talked about the recent opening ceremony for the First Aid station at Del Mar School. She also talked about the importance of communication in a disaster and the different ways to reach residents, including the MEANS system which can send out alerts to people on their cell phones, as well as the TENS system which can be used to reach residents on their land lines in targeted geographic areas. She said that the emerg v siren system at Station 11 had recently been tested, and she noted that there is an emergency _U;io station on the peninsula, BEARS (840 AM). Ms. Gordon said that the Disaster Council met every other month and that that public was welcome to attend the meetings. Mayor Slavitz asked about the success of the siren test, he commented that it could not be heard in the Reedlands. Ms. Gordon said that it was an important test to determine the siren's capability and how to improve it. Vice Mayor Fraser complimented Ms. Gordon on her work, describing her as "the heartbeat" of the Disaster Council and driving all things concerning disaster preparedness in our community. Town Council Minutes #I1 -2011 May 18, 2011 Page 2 CONSENT CALENDAR 1. Town Council Minutes - Adopt Minutes of April 20, 2011 regular meeting (Town Clerk Crane Iacopi) 2. Town Council Minutes -Adopt Minutes of May 4, 2011 regular meeting (Town Clerk Crane Iacopi) Councilmember O'Donnell added a phrase to the end of a sentence in paragraph one on page 8 of the April 20 minutes, "...at the time of construction along Paradise Drive." MOTION: To approve Consent Calendar items, as amended. Moved: Collins, seconded Fraser Vote: AYES: Unanimous ABSENT: Fredericks ACTION ITEMS 1. Del Mar Undergrounding Project - Receive status report and provide authorization to bid (Director of Public Works/Town Engineer Nguyen) Director of Public Work/Town Engineer Nguyen gave a brief report, stating that the project had been delayed about seven weeks from its initial schedule in order for PG&E to re-work its plans. He presented an updated timeline and said that complete specifications were expected by mid- June, with bids expected by late June. Nguyen said that the project had been funded by bond proceeds. He said that the Council was asked to give its approval to move forward with the project and authorize solicitation of bids. Councilmember Collins asked what changes to the existing plans were being requested by PG&E. Nguyen said that the Town's consultant had commented that PG&E was taking the opportunity at this juncture to refine its own plans. He said that the joint trench [Town portion of the work] had not changed, but some of the vault locations had changed by the utility. Councilmember Collins expressed concern about potential costs ated to the delay. Councilmember O'Donnell said that anything that could be done to compress the timeline would be much appreciated by the neighbors; he said that the condition of the roads continued to be an issue in that neighborhood. Director Nguyen said that the Town's part of the project would take only six or seven months. Town Manager Curran added that the as soon as the joint trench was complete, the Town would move ahead with the road repaving project, without delay. Town Council Minutes #11 -2011 May 18, 2011 Page 3 MOTION: To find the project exempt from CEQA and move to authorize the solicitation of bids pending final completion of the plans and specifications. Moved: O'Donnell, seconded Fraser Vote: AYES: Unanimous ABSENT: Fredericks 2. Downtown Committee Report - Receive and review the Downtown Committee's draft "Downtown Vibrancy Project Report of Findings and Proposed Plan" (Town Manager Curran/Director of Community Development Anderson) Town Manager Curran commented on the mission, process, and general findings of the report and its recommendations before turning it over to Vice Mayor Fraser and Councilmember Collins, who comprise the downtown committee, for a more detailed discussion. Vice Mayor Fraser first thanked Town staff, the Council and community for their hard work and participation in the process. He said that the committee and its consultant had interviewed 22 people and held two community meetings. Fraser said that the people who were interviewed were those who had a stake in and were concerned about the community. He said that they had shared their thoughts, aspirations and vision from where were are today to tomorrow. In answer to the question, "why", the Vice Mayor said that there had been demographic changes in the community over time, and that the perception was that the Town could use some improvements and upgrades to keep it current. He said that the report was really a work in progress and was not meant to be adopted tonight. Councilmember Collins echoed these remarks and said that there were short-term objectives for consideration, such as a parking and circulation study. Collins said that parking was one of three major issues listed in the report, with the first (No. l) being the number of vacancies downtown. He said there was a lot to learn about how traffic might be improved to that area, such as bringing people in by water taxi, and other innovative ideas. He said that he concurred with the Vibrancy Report's recommendation to undertake a parking study to look at long-term improvements. Vice Mayor F-,_.e- talked about the importance of "branding" the community to let peopLs N_ ►.ow what's going c.. in our community. He said that throughout the process he had heard that e need to market our community" and capture tourists who come across the Golden Gate Bridge but do not make it to Tiburon. He said that the report recommended the creation of a marketing "task force" comprised of 10-12 people and the current committee members. Councilmember Collins noted that the entire Council would have to approve this concept and appropriation. Town Manager Curran expanded on the recommendation for a parking study. She said that one idea that had arisen was that of a resident parking program or preferential parking in order to draw residents to the downtown area, and because of the perception that there was inadequate parking. She said that the parking study, the marketing task force, and "way finding" signage downtown were all identified as short-term goals in the Vibrancy Report and would require Town Council Minutes #11 -2011 May 18, 2011 Page 4 support and funding from the Council in order to proceed. She said that other issues, such as additional restrooms, and a "beautification" plan, would come later. Curran said that the idea of closing Main Street had arisen during the study and seemed to have support; she said that it would be interesting to see what the circulation study said about this concept. Other, "medium-term"' goals, according to the Town manager, were extending the multi- use path in some locations, and adding pedestrian connections to Ark Row. She said the report identified "redevelopment opportunities" at the New Morning Cafe and Rooney's sites, and the potential for mixed use housing/office/retail downtown in the future at sites such as Shark's Deli. Town Manager Curran said that long-term goals were also identified in the report, such as closing the gap to Ark Row from Main Street, frontage improvements, additional hotels, and reconfiguration of Tiburon Boulevard to include a roundabout at Beach Road, all of which would create a better "gateway' to downtown. Curran estimated a cost of $78,000 to fund the parking study, marketing task force, restrooms (on a cost-sharing basis), and beautification plan. She said that future costs were unknown at this time from other ideas and projects that might flow out of this process. She estimated that the way-finding improvements would cost between $40,000-$50,000 peninsula-wide, and that the new restrooms, based on the cost of the most recent restroom installation at Blackie's Pasture, would run $200,000. Mayor Slavitz opened the public hearing. Mike Gornet, fonner Chamber of Commerce president, said it was an excellent report. He said that the participation of the downtown property owners was a critical piece of solving the puzzle, and he noted that none of the property owners were present at the Council meeting. Gornet said that there was ample parking downtown but that it would be useful to be able to use Juanita Lane for access and exit (to/from) parking and would help get people downtown faster. Gomet said that he had lived on Main Street for two years and was familiar with the traffic patterns; he said that deliveries were critical to Main Street businesses so he recommended not closing it to traffic. Gomet also said th, .;arking was needed for workers and staff of local businesses, and that the parking lot ow,_:;rs should accommodate and provide for this parking. Mr. Gomet said that the Chamber used to be part of the San Francisco and Marin Business Improvement Districts and needed to participate more in these efforts. Also, he said that the Chamber's website needed improvement and wondered_ whether a joint venture with the Town or City of Belvedere was worthwhile. Don Botkin, Peninsula Road, resident since 1998, presented his comments orally and in a written report submitted to the Council. He said he had enjoyed the Vibrancy Report and said his point of view was one of a relative "newcomer". He said that three things stood out and should be considered: traffic patterns, demographics and geographics, and what comprised the customer Town Council Minutes #I1 -2011 May 18, 2011 Page 5 base downtown. He said that congestion on Tiburon Boulevard at certain hours was a disincentive to going downtown. He wondered whether that was a problem that could be overcome. He also recommended that the report look beyond the next five years to a longer, 25- year vision. Mayor Slavitz closed the public hearing. Councilmember O'Donnell commended his colleagues on their excellent work and report. He said he supported moving ahead with the recommended parking and circulation study. He said he agreed with the need for signage and a marketing plan, noting that these ideas would dovetail nicely with planning for the America's Cup which would be a boon to downtown. O'Donnell suggested that the Town needed a commitment from the property owners to beautify and upgrade the buildings downtown. He said the owners should be required to make aesthetic, as well as code-driven, improvements when businesses or tenants changed. He commented that if some of the buildings downtown were made more "architecturally stimulating", the businesses would benefit. O'Donnell said that in order to attract quality businesses, the property owners needed to fix up dilapidated properties and make improvements to the parking lots. Vice Mayor Fraser agreed with Councilmember O'Donnell that participation by property owners downtown was crucial and said that in his conversations over the duration of the study, people were generally moving in the right direction. Mayor Slavitz agreed that it was an excellent report and noted that the "hard part" was putting the recommendations into action. He cautioned that there might be too many goals listed in the report, even in the short term, and he said it might be better to work off a shorter and more achievable list. Slavitz said that it was important to "walk a fine line" with signage and strike a balance between encouraging tourism and not "over commercializing" the Town. Overall, Slavitz said the report was "ground-breaking" and he applauded it. Councilmember Collins said that the report had been a truly collaborative effort between all the interested parties. Town Manager Curran thanked the Council and public for their comments and said that staff would return at budget time with more information. She noted that the most daunting aspect of the report was how little of downtown is actually controlled by the Town, however she said that the Committee had enlisted the support of the stakeholders and had "come a long way". She said that tenacity was the key to moving forward. TOWN COUNCIL REPORTS None. Town Council Minutes #I1 -2011 May 18, 2011 Page 6 TOWN MANAGER'S REPORT Town Manager Curran recommended changing the June 1 meeting date to a special meeting on June 7 in order to have a full complement of the Council for the public hearing items. WEEKLY DIGESTS • Town Council Weekly Digest- May 6, 2011 • Town Council Weekly Digest - May 13, 2011 ADJOURNMENT There being no further business before the Town Council of the Town of Tiburon, Mayor Slavitz adjourned the meeting at 8:55 p.m. i ATTEST:') DIANE CRANE IACOPI, TO CLERK JEILAV MAYOR Town Council Minutes #11 -2011 May 18, 2011 Page 7