MINUTES

SUNNYVALE CITY COUNCIL 
February 3, 2004

The City Council of the City of Sunnyvale met in regular session in the City Council Chambers, 456 West Olive Avenue, Sunnyvale, CA at 7:30 p.m. with Mayor Howe presiding.

Mayor Howe led the salute to the flag.

ROLL CALL

Anne Pattee, of the Santa Clara Registrar of Voters, asked for Sunnyvale residents assistance for inspectors and clerks to assist in the March 2 election.  She stated they need three English-speaking inspectors, one bi-lingual Spanish-speaking inspector, twenty bi-lingual Spanish speaking clerks, and forty-five English-speaking clerks. There will be a training class on February 18 and 24 at St. Mark’s Lutheran Chuck on East Arques Avenue.  To volunteer, call 408-282-3075.

Vice Mayor Chu announced that the Council met in a Closed Session on January 28, 2004, regarding Town Center Negotiations.  Direction was given but no action was taken.

Vice Mayor Chu announced that the Council met in a Closed Session on January 28 2004, regarding the Office of the City Manager, and direction was given.

CONSENT CALENDAR

Councilmember Swegles requested Item 1.C. be pulled and considered separately.  Councilmember Hamilton requested item 1.G. be pulled and considered separately.  Mayor Howe requested item 1.A. be pulled and considered separately.  Vice Mayor Chu moved and Councilmember Swegles seconded approval of the Consent Calendar with the exception of 1.A., 1.C., and 1.G. The motion carried unanimously.

Mayor Howe moved, and Vice Mayor Chu seconded, approval of the Draft Minutes as amended.  The motion carried unanimously.

Fiscal Items

Mary Bradley, Director of Finance, availed herself for questions.

Councilmember Swegles requested details regarding the miscellaneous reimbursement payment for $142,000 to Santa Clara County.  Director Bradley responded she would provide information to the Council regarding the charge.

Councilmember Swegles posed questions regarding payments to Specialty Solid Waste.  Tim Kirby, Revenue Systems Supervisor, responded the charges are payment for their monthly services that includes franchise fees, damages that the City assessed, and remittance of fees for the debris boxes.

Councilmember Miller requested details on the payment to Jennifer N M Coile.  Director Bradley responded the charge was for the Housing and BMR Program for Community Development.  Director Paternoster clarified that since the BMR program went through an audit that found irregularities, the City has had to hire investigators and legal consultants.

Councilmember Miller requested details of the $27,336.24 charge from the California Space Authority. Mike Curran, Director of Employee Development, responded the California Space Authority  is a grant that was given to the City by the State of California to work with the Authority to explore new types of job opportunities.

Councilmember Miller requested that staff provide information for the Council regarding a list of expenditures for Timothy L. Dunkin for fiscal year 2002-2003, and July to the current period, or when the $100,000 contract was approved by the Council.

City Attorney Armento clarified that the documentation provided to the Council on the Berghausen Consulting charges did not include the names of the employees due to confidentiality and that information is only given to the director of the department.

Councilmember Miller requested staff provide information regarding details on a second contract with Berghausen Consulting that includes who approved it, when it was approved, and for what amount.

Mayor Howe opened the Public Hearing at 7:50 p.m. and, there being no public comments, closed the Public Hearing.

Councilmember Fowler moved, and Mayor Howe seconded, to accept and approve the report.  The motion carried unanimously.

Contracts

Robert Paternoster, Director of Community Development, presented the staff report.

Councilmember Hamilton inquired if the contract had been signed by all the signatories.  City Attorney Armento responded that the contract had been signed by everyone except the City.

Councilmember Miller requested that a signature block be added to the agreement for the City Attorney and the Director of Community Development.

Mayor Howe opened the Public Hearing at 8:05 p.m.

Kurstin Powell, attorney for Lehman, stated there is a hearing tomorrow at the Bankruptcy Court to approve the agreement regarding Sunnyvale LLC and they hope to close escrow by February 11.

Mayor Howe closed the Public Hearing at 8:10 p.m.

Councilmember Miller moved to approve execution of the Standstill Agreement and the Mutual Release Agreement with addition of City Attorney’s signature block for ownership of the City’s responsibility.  The motion died for a lack of a second.

Councilmember Fowler moved, and Councilmember Miller seconded, to approve execution of the Standstill Agreement and the Mutual Release Agreement.

Councilmember Miller offered a friendly amendment to add a signatory block for the City Attorney to approve the form of the contract.  The amendment was accepted.

The motion carried unanimously.

CITIZENS TO BE HEARD

Ken Jorgensen, a member of the public, expressed dismay and questioned the process related to placing City Manager LaSala on administrative leave. He stated he was sending a letter to the Santa Clara County District Attorney along with tapes of December 16, 2003 and February 3, 2004 Council meetings requesting an investigation.  Mr. Jorgensen distributed a letter to the Council.

PUBLIC HEARINGS/GENERAL BUSINESS

Chuck Schwabe, Deputy City Manager, presented the staff report.  He stated Council indicated a preference to use a different approach for reviewing, providing policy direction and approving the annual budget and long term financial plan.  He briefly outlined the proposed budget process and the key results.  He noted a correction to Attachment A stating the top range should be $3 million, not $200 million. 

Mayor Howe opened the Public Hearing at 8:15 p.m. and, there being no public comments, closed the Public Hearing.

Councilmember Fowler moved, and Councilmember Miller seconded to authorize City staff to take the following actions:

a. Develop and present a Service Review Worksheet for all existing service delivery plans contained in the current approved annual budget. The City Council will use these worksheets to review and prioritize existing City services at two full day workshops;

b. Develop and present a preliminary budget at a workshop or special meeting. The preliminary budget may be unbalanced and require Council to provide preliminary policy direction that City staff will examine and potentially use in preparing the recommended FY 2004/2005 and FY 2005/2006 annual budget and long-term financial plan; 

c. Add the following meeting dates to the Budget Process

Master Calendar:

March 13, 2004	First Service Review
March 20, 2004	Second Service Review
April 10, 2004	Preliminary Budget, Service Ranking and Priority Setting, and Council Policy Direction
April 17, 2004	Preliminary Budget, Service Ranking and Priority Setting, and Council Policy Direction

d. Provide public hearings at the meetings added to the Budget Process Master Calendar so that the public can have earlier involvement and more participation as the recommended annual budget and long-term financial plan is being prepared;

e. Postpone a comprehensive review of the outcome management budget system       to address issues raised by Council to FY 2004/2005 at the earliest.

The motion carried unanimously.

NON-AGENDA ITEMS & COMMENTS

COUNCIL

Councilmember Miller noted the Department of Public Safety is providing gun locks and if any member of the public would like one, to contact the Department of Public Safety or the City Manager’s office.

Mayor Howe requested staff agendize an item for the February 10 Council meeting regarding the formation of an ad hoc subcommittee for auto dealers.

STAFF

There were no comments.

ADJOURNMENT

At  8:20 p.m., on a motion by Mayor Howe, the meeting was adjourned in memory of Ruth Vreeland, who served on the Council for the City of Monterey.

After adjourning the meeting of the Redevelopment Agency, Mayor Howe declared the regular meeting of the City Council adjourned at 8:27 p.m. and convened to a Special Meeting regarding New Councilmember Orientation.  Mayor Howe declared the Special Meeting adjourned at 11:00 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Susan Ramos, City Clerk