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HomeMy Public PortalAbout2000-06-28 Town of Truckee TOWN COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES June 28, 2000, 12:00 Noon Truckee Donner Public Utility District Front Conference Room 11570 Donner Pass Road. Truckee. CA CALL TO ORDER - Mayor Schneider called the special Council meeting to order at 12:00 noon. ROLL CALL PRESENT: Councilmembers: Drake, Florian, McCormack, Susman, and Mayor Schneider ALSO PRESENT: Stephen L. Wright, Town Manager and J. Dennis Crabb, Town Attorney CLOSED SESSION to discuss labor negotiations between the Labor Negotiator (Town Manager) and the Town of Truckee Employees Association pursuant to Government Code Section 54957.6 and performance evaluation of Town Manager pursuant to Government Code Section 54957.6. No reportable actions were taken in Closed Session. The Council recessed at 1:28 p.m. and reconvened at 2:00 p.m. PRESENT: Councilmembers: Drake, Florian, McCormack, Susman, and Mayor Schneider ALSO PRESENT: Stephen L. Wright, Town Manager and Vicki C. Soderquist, Town Clerk PUBLIC COMMENT - None COUNCIL IMMEDIATE PRIORITIES 5.1 2000/2001 Fiscal Year Budget Workshop Mr. Wright reviewed the Budget Comparison Summary and noted that there was a $1.3 million excess of revenues over expenditures. That amount included carry forward funds, as well as advances to reserves. The Building & Safety Reserve was spending more than it was taking in and the gas taxes reflected the omission of the 3Xs Voter Rule. Expenditures included reserve requirements. TSSA - Mr. Wright stated that the TSSA assessment credit included an assumption which changed the 20% to 40% for road maintenance. The Council would not be reducing fees but putting other TSSAs on par with Tahoe Donner. Tahoe Donner and Glenshire had substantial amounts of money but others did not generate enough money to pay for snow removal and had to pay back the General Fund for their subsidy. The shift may only be an interim step and the Council may have to revisit the issue in future years. It was the consensus of the Council to utilize 40% of the TSSA fees for enhanced road maintenance. Reserve Funds - Mr. Wright stated that overall the General Fund Expenditure budget was up significantly with $200,000 added to the General Fund Contingency to maintain the Council's reserve policy. An arbitrary amount was also set aside to bring the total of the Town Hall Reserve to $1 million. Mr. Wright stated that the Council could look at funding some of the other unfunded reserves from the $1.35 million or revisit the Equipment Replacement Reserve to make sure that they were on track with funding the plan. Reserves - CIP Project - Mr. Wright stated that the fund had been created several years ago with no particular project in mind and could be rolled into any of the other reserve funds or left for a future project. It was the consensus of the Council to leave the funding in the CIP Project Reserve. Reserves - Snow Removal Contingency Fund - Mr. Wright noted that the fund had never been used and questioned if that was still appropriate. Councilmember McCormack recommended moving $100,000 and putting in the Equipment Replacement Reserve. It was the consensus of the Council to move $100,000 to the Equipment Replacement Reserve and establish the reserve policy amount in the Snow Removal Contingency Fund at $300,000. Reserves - Kennel Reserve - Councilmember McCormack noted that there was no funding amount for 2000/01. Mr. Lashbrook replied that the kennel was tied into to the corporation yard and staff was not recommending any change in the reserve. Mr. Wright stated that if additional revenues were put into reserves it would take down the amount of reserves for start up if the Council approved a Police Department. He recommended the Council leave the reserves and revisit the issue after their decision was made on a Police Department. Councilmember Susman recommended that a reserve policy amount be added but not fund at the present time. Mr. Wright stated that he would have Dan Olsen develop the number for the reserve policy amount. Mayor Schneider stated she would like to see targets included for all projects. Revenues - Mr. Wright stated that the reserves were up primarily due to taxes. Measure A sales tax revenues clearly surpassed all expectations. The maintenance of Hwy 267 when turned over to the Town was not included in the Measure A roads and would be a major cost road. Mr. Wilkins stated the Town could spend more of the Measure A funds and accelerate the pavement management program as the recommendations in the pavement management plan were based on $750,000 in Measure A revenues. Staff would be recommend'rog that the face of Northwoods be added to the program in the 2000/01 budget and he would retum with an estimate. Staff also recommended rebuilding the sidewalk in front of the school but was not sure it qualified for Measure A funds. Mr. Wright stated that staff would have to research what was eligible under Measure A funding and would include the sidewalk if possible. Mr. Wilkins noted that the Downtown drainage had been budgeted from General Fund monies and that could be amended to move to Measure A funds which would make General Fund monies available for other projects in Downtown. Councilmember McCormack and Mayor Schneider felt that drainage was a stretch for utilization of Measure A funds and expressed concern that the Council could be creating precedent. They wanted to see the text for Measure A to be comfortable. Mr. Wright stated that staff would budget for it based on the Council's and Attorney's comfort level. Mr. Wilkins recommended that the funds remain in the drainage C1P to pay for work done, and also leave in the General Fund money to deal with freeway drains and to continue the Downtown drainage project up the hill. Mayor Schneider requested that staff bring back a recommendation. Town of Truckee June 28, 2000 Special Page 2 Town Council - Professional Services - Mr. Wright stated the $11,900 was a real proposal number for the LAFCo analysis of public service areas in Truckee and noted that last year's funding was not spent. He added that the only way the study would be done was if the Town funded it. Mayor Schneider supported the Town funding the initial analysis but wanted to defer any decisions on what to do with it to a future date. Councilmember McCormack recommended that the Council not authorize the money if they were not willing to spend the next larger amount. Mayor Schneider stated that philosophically it was not something they had to commit to at the present time. Councilmember Drake stated he supported the expenditure. It was the consensus of the Council to support the expenditure of $11,900 on the LAFCo analysis of public service areas in Truckee. Town Manager - Councilmember McCormack questioned where the Community Assessment Project was funded. $2,000 had been allocated in the present budget and he recommended another $2,000. It was the consensus of the Council to add $2,000 for the Community Assessment Project to 6360 in the Town Council budget with an indicator that it be brought back to Council for final approval. Town Attorney - Mayor Schneider expressed her concern that the funding amount was too low. Mr. Wright recommended that funds be put into an Undesignated Legal Contingency in the Reserve funds rather than a line item in the Attorney's budget. It was the consensus of the Council to add $50,000 for a Legal Contingency Reserve Fund. Town Clerk - Ms. Soderquist stated that at the Council priority setting, the Council indicated their desire to have the Town newsletter printed in Spanish for the Hispanic community. Those costs were not reflected in the proposed budget. It was the consensus of the Council to add $2,500 for the translation and printing of the Town newsletter in Spanish. Administrative Services - Ms. Olsen stated that the need for the proposed staffposition had existed for the last 2-3 years and she would be bringing forward the job classification for Council adoption. Councilmember McCormack stated he did not feel that he understood the justification for the new position. Mayor Schneider recommended the usage of a justification form similar to the form used for equipment purchases for any new position requested. Councilmember McCormack stated that he had been trying to get some understanding of the Town's safety program for two years and was tired of waiting. He recommended that funding be included for a consultant to determine what kind of job the Town was doing. Ms. Olsen stated that was on her list of things that she could accomplish if additional personnel was hired. General Government - Mr. Wright stated that the insurance figure was up due to PARSAC's decision to pool a larger reserve which resulted in an increased premium. Funds would go into individual accounts and the Town could get money back with interest. Also included was a generic furniture/equipment fund for the new Town Hall. Town of Truckee June 28, 2000 Special Page 3 Visitor Center Promotions - Mr. Wright stated that maintenance expenses had been pulled out of the Visitor Center budget and put into the new Facilities Maintenance budget. Staff would follow-up with information on the Chamber's request for excess TOT money. As previously stated, any excess had been turned back into the building. Councilmember Florian questioned if there was a cap on how much TOT went to the Chamber. Ms. Olsen stated that there was no cap. Mr. Wright stated that a cap had been talked about at the Council team building and it was an action item to be brought back to Council. Engineering - Mr. Wilkins stated that the proposed intern or temporary employee was to assist with summer construction levels and would also give him the ability to designate staff to special projects. The proposed administrative secretary would be shared with public works and funded for six months as it was anticipated that the position would not be hired during the present calendar year. The position would deal with grant management, interface with utilities and Caltrans, and be the single point of contact with Public Works and Finance. Mr. Wright noted that the administrative secretary was a current classification and questioned if the Council wanted additional information on the temporary positions. Mayor Schneider replied that the Council wanted justification sheets on all new positions. Public Works - Mr. Wright stated that in addition to the shared administrative secretary, the Department was also requesting one summer and one winter temporary position. Mr. Covey stated that the temporary summer position was needed due to accrued compensatory time in the winter which resulted in the department always short a person. The winter temporary position would allow for an additional sand truck driver to eliminate overtime. Public Works Capital Outlay - Councilmember McCormack noted that the budget review would be the only time Council reviewed the justification sheets. Snow Removal - Mr. Covey stated that he had reorganized the Department and eliminated one of the street supervisors. He then reviewed the proposed organizational structure utilizing two leadmen. He had received a request to include Hirschdale in the snow removal contracts and those expenditures would be offset by the revenues. Facilities - Mr. Wright stated that the entire Facilities budget was new, and brought in the maintenance of all Town facilities (including the Depot). Facilities - Capital Outlay Section - Mr. Wright informed the Council that the bond payments for the new Town Hall were reflected in the Facilities budget. The budget also included a number of Depot related projects which would have to compete with items suggested by the Chamber. Councilmember Susman stated that he would like to see the landscaping for Town Hall expanded to include a grassy area, etc. Mr. Wright suggested that the Town occupy the facility for a year and set aside money for any other improvements. Councilmember McCormack stated that the Council could look at the Chamber recommendations and add projects and increase amounts. Mr. Wright replied that it all came out of the General Fund, as the TOT as already upside down from prior years' improvements. Mr. Covey stated that he had been told that the Chamber was going to create a committee for the mural. Mayor Schneider stated that specific leasehold improvements were one thing but there were many things that had to be done and the Town of Truckee June 28, 2000 Special Page 4 Chamber should not be "dinged" for those improvements. Mr. Wright agreed but noted they were upside down, and wanted more money than that. Councilmember McCormack referred to the 8010 account and did not see anything that he did not want to do. Councilmember Florian noted that the majority of the projects were exterior and the Chamber's recommendations were primarily interior. Ms. Olsen noted that a lot of the past work had been interior. Councilmember McCormack suggested that if natural gas was not put in that staffbring the Council recommendations on the Chamber's suggestions and they could fund accordingly. Mayor Schneider stated she supported the event banner, alarm, and merchandise case. Mr. Wright stated that staff would bring back recommendations for Council review. The Council adjourned the meeting to Thursday, June 29, 2000 at 4:00 p.m. to review the remainder of the FY 2000/2001 budget. Mayor Pro Tempore McCormack reconvened the meeting at 4:00 p.m. on June 29, 2000. PRESENT: ABSENT: Councilmembers: Drake, Florian, Susman, and Mayor Pro Tempore McCormack Mayor Schneider (excused) ALSO PRESENT: Stephen L. Wright, Town Manager and Vicki C. Soderquist, Town Clerk General Government - Councilmember Drake questioned whether an intern or part-time person should be budgeted for network administration services. Mr. Wright replied that the present service was on an hourly basis but recommended that an additional $10,000 be budgeted in Network sermces. Planning - Mr. Lashbrook stated that there were two proposed staffing changes. One position was the associate planner discussed at the priority session workshop which would be hired shortly and the other position was a planning technician (counter position) which was important due to the new office configuration. That position would be a 50/50 split with the Building Enterprise Fund. Many of the priorities set during the team building included professional services and those were reflected in the budget. There was nothing in the priorities for housing but due to the grants received, it was becoming a significant element of time (grant administration). Councilmember Susman questioned where the funding for the historic inventory was included. Mr. Lashbrook replied that it was a CIP. Building & Safety - Mr. Lashbrook stated that the Town had recruited and hired a plan checker and recruited for building inspector, as per mid-year Council direction. The Department was currently utilizing a consultant for inspections because they had been unable to fill the position. The designation of an assistant or deputy building official would be done within the department. An office assistant was proposed to answer the phone for the Community Development Department and was new Town Hall dependent. The Building & Safety budget was in the red and the Council would need to update the development review fees due to the change in the overall cost of office space and CPI adjustments since 1998 (10%). Mr. Wright recommended that the Council do a cost of living adjustment for a few years and re-look at the system in 5-7 years. Councilmember McCormack questioned if the Council was approving replacement of a vehicle. Mr. Wright stated that they would not buy a vehicle if they did not need it. Councilmember McCormack Town of Truckee June 28, 2000 Special Page 5 stated that in the Public Works budget they only brought forth those things needed. Mr. Wright asked the Council for management discretion on the purchase. Police - Mr. Wright stated that the single biggest piece of the budget was the contract with Nevada County which was up substantially due to salary increases. Capt~n Jacobson stated that there were no capital improvement projects or major purchases proposed in the budget. Animal Control - Councilmember Susman questioned the increase in Professional Services. Mr. Olsen stated that it was the charge for maintenance and upgrades of the new computer system purchased last year. Donations were received through the Humane Society last budget year but mn out in March and there was no anticipation of donations starting back up, therefore, there was an increase in the Kennel budget. The increase in staffing was for the kennel attendant (to 4 hours/day - 7/days a week) which would free up the officers for patrol. Councilmember McCormack questioned if they needed to put more officers on the street to off-set the lost time of Mr. Olsen doing facilities supervision. Mr. Olsen stated he was still doing patrol work, just not as much. Councilmember McCormack felt there should be a reassessment of the level of service after several months. Mr. Lashbrook stated that the officers were experienced and capable of working without a lot of direct oversight. If that changed then there could be a problem. Mr. Wright stated that after staff had moved into the building they would be better able to see the demand, he recommend review after at least six months. Councilmember McCormack noted that there was no good objective measure of satisfaction of service. Transit - Councilmember McCormack stated that for the first time there was a charge to the General Fund for transit. Mr. Covey stated that the administrative secretary shared with Engineering/Public Works/Transit would be utilized for grant administration, etc. He then reviewed proposed changes in the system and routes which came out of the unmet needs hearings, as well as parmerships for the ski shuttles. He noted that funds had been budgeted for transportation for the handicapped tennis tournament. Councilmember Drake felt that was a policy decision to be made by the Council. Mr. Covey stated that ATM was under different management and preferred not to do it. Councilmember Susman preferred to call it special events funding rather than identifying funds for any one specific event in an effort to avoid creating precedent. Mr. Wright recommended that it be put into marketing so it would not show as a special event. Mr. Covey stated that a grant for a trolley had been applied for and the Town's share had been budgeted. If the Town did not receive the grant the money would not be spent. Councilmember McCormack questioned where the expenditure from the General Fund was reflected. Ms. Olsen replied that it was in the Budget Comparison Summary, Transit Revenue, Transit Expense. The difference was the General Fund portion. Councilmember McCormack stated he was uncomfortable spending General Fund revenue on transit and wanted assurance it was a one-time expense for capital and would not happen again. Mr. Wright agreed that the Town had to be careful. Councilmember Susman felt the more the Town could offer regarding transit the more people would use the service. RDA - Mr. Wright stated that the cost of litigation could be higher than budgeted, but felt the budget included a reasonable estimate. CIP ~Glenshire Bridge Project - Mr. Wilkins stated that the Town had received a $1 million claim of which $800,000 was claimed by the contractor because they felt they were forced to accelerate the project. Mr. Wilkins noted that the contractor also exceeded the maximum number of working days. He felt that maybe $20,000-$30,000 could have some justification. He recommended that the Town Town of Truckee June 28, 2000 Special Page 6 seek a review of the claim by a construction claims attomey as he felt it would end up in arbitration. Mr. Wright agreed that there was value in an outside legal counsel. Actual construction costs were slightly below estimated costs. Third Tahoe Donner Connector - Councilmember Susman stated that funding had been set aside for alignment and purchasing property but it was vague regarding construction timelines. Mr. Wilkins stated that they were in the RFP process for engineering and environmental work in order to obtain firm cost estimates. Councilmember Susman stated that from the CIP it appeared that there would be asphalt in 2002/2003 and he wanted a comfort level with the timeline. Mr. Wilkins stated that ultimately the timeline would be a Council decision. Staff way trying to show the total project as they understood it at the present time. It could be pushed out of the 5-year period. The result of their current efforts would be a more detailed study and tree costs, identifying potential environmental impacts, as well as identifying mitigations. Staff would present their analysis at a spring workshop which would require a decision by Council as to whether or not move forward. Mr. Wright recommended that an asterisk be placed on years 2002/2003 and 2003/2004 to indicate that the amounts were for informational purposes only and that the timeline for construction was to be determined by Council at a later date. Mr. Lashbrook stated that staff was looking at maintaining and/or creating right-of-way utilizing current information. Councilmember Susman expressed his concern that the perception to the public was that the project was in the design phase. Snow Pad - Mr. Covey stated that they were looking at Glenshire Drive east of the Hwy 267 intersection and were currently negotiating with the Forest Service. Councilmember Susman left the meeting at 5:30 p.m. Downtown Drainage - Mr. Wilkins stated that he had reviewed the Measure A language, and as an engineer, it was his opinion that they could not maintain roads without building drainage. He recommended the Council add $250,000 of Measure A funds to the Downtown Drainage CIP and to remove $173,159 of General Funds from that CIP. The area in which the drainage work was completed was all Measure A roads. If the Town did not establish a Police Department and utilize the General Fund revenues, he recommended that the funding be left in the CIP to continue other drainage work. SR267/Glenshire - Mr. Wilkins stated that he would not recommend upgrade to the intersection until the Town owned SR267, but was uncertain that he would recommend a signal after the road realignment due to the grade. Councilmember McCormack recommended that staff change the text regarding signalization. Grade Crossing at SR267FUPRR - Mr. Wilkins informed the Council that the crossing would be closed the last two weeks of September for construction. SR267 Ramp Project - Mr. Wilkins updated the Council on the project. The project was estimated at $2 million which included the $176,000 of Town funding. NCTC had allocated $600,000 and there was a potential of receiving another $300,000- $400,000 from NCTC. The Town's total contribution would be at the $600,000 level with potential funding from Placer County ($450,000) still unknown. Annual Overlay - Mr. Wilkins stated that the CIP reflected the 5-Year Overlay Program. He would be advancing some work from next year, as they were currently under budget in the program (they were on-line with Measure A and Tahoe Donner but approximately $400,000 less than anticipated Town of Truckee June 28, 2000 Special Page 7 from the General Fund because of high cost estimates). Councilmember McCormack recommended that the Council revisit the 5-Year Program next year. Measure A - Mr. Wilkins recommended moving forward with the rebuilding of the base of Northwoods and add $250,000 of Measure A funds to 2000/01. Trout Creek - Mr. Wilkins stated that he had hoped to do more work on the project but due to a lack of staffing had hired a consultant to augment staff time. SR89 Corridor Study - Mr. Wilkins stated that he had received a draft of the study and would be scheduling public workshops. He hoped to have it to Council in August/September. Downtown District Right-of-Way Survey - Mr. Wilkins stated he was recommending additional funds to cover potential property owner resolution and disputes. The Town was not being aggressive, but would try to resolve problems as development projects came though. PBID - Mr. Wright stated that construction was pushed out to next year dependent on a 2/3rds vote by the property owners. Design work was being completed and would be presented during the summer to the Downtown property owners. The work would stop them unless there was a 2/3rds vote. Cost estimates were also being fine-tuned. The Downtown property owners were waiting for the Town to produce the information. Some of the property owners were requesting Town assistance in rebuilding sidewalks and staff felt there were opportunities for partnerships. ADJOURNMENT. Mayor Pro Tempore McCormack adjourned the meeting at 5:55 p.m. on June 29, 2000. Respectfully submitted, by: Vicki C. Soderquist, CMC/AAE, Town Clerk Town of Truckee June 28, 2000 Special Page 8