2009

Godbe Research reported that a $25 million bond for police, fire and the library began at about 66%, fell to 53% when voters heard the tax rate, and drew 62% in its final test, below the two-thirds required, while a half-cent general sales tax drew 66%, above a simple majority, with fire, emergency services and parks leading the services voters valued. Staff sought no direction and planned to return in February with the midyear budget. Councilmembers asked about pushing the rate over 10%, the emergency findings a June election would need (“There is no case law on this matter”), and a quarter cent, which drew 71%.

The Council adopted the integrated waste management fee and East Bay Sanitary collection rates, including compacted garbage rates not adjusted since 1997. After Chief Scott Kirkland gave notice of retirement, it approved an interim agreement keeping Kirkland as police chief through 30 June 2010 during a national search. It introduced a Financial Advisory Board ordinance and moved January's board and commission interviews to the 11th.

Mayor Abelson announced three Planning Commission appointees, Public Works Director Jerry Bradshaw presented an award of merit for City Hall, and Al Miller thanked the Council for hosting the school board the week before.

Opened by Mayor Janet Abelson, the session heard district staff describe the Hayward fault hazards near El Cerrito schools and an October 2009 Thornton Tomasetti study finding high collapse potential in Portola's main building “whether or not there's a landslide there”, with a permanent school at Castro delayed by a neighbors' lawsuit. Assistant City Manager Karen Pinkos said the city took no position on leaving the building but backed the district staff's recommendation of portables on Portola's lower playfield behind a 50-foot setback. School resource officers described the risks of placing middle schoolers beside El Cerrito High, one saying the district needs to “finish what it started”, and Police Chief Scott Kirkland said “I am opposed to the move”.

Seventeen public speakers followed, many urging the board to finish the high school and decide quickly; one parent said “my daughter is actually afraid to go to school right now”, and Robert Brower argued the high school could legally take 400 more students. In a facilitated discussion board member Tony Thurman asked about slide risk at the lower pad, and the district's Bill Savage said “I don't think any engineer is going to tell you that there's no risk”; Councilmember Potter, a certified engineering geologist, addressed the setback. Board member Ramsey disputed staff's cost figures, which put the two sites at 4.3 to $4.7 million.

Members raised Adams, K-8 combinations and moving sixth graders. Ramsey, who favored staying until a new school was built, said the high school option “is off the table for me”; Thurman was not ready to remove it, and Potter said “any more delays are not acceptable.”

Outgoing Mayor Sandy Potter reviews the year department by department, from a balanced budget with no staff layoffs to about $7 million of street paving under Measure A, and Abelson, presenting a plaque, calls it "a terrible year to be mayor". Abelson is selected mayor and Chang mayor pro tem, and Abelson describes the coming year as one focused on sustainability, saying "only 2% of our footprint is caused by city government". Potter becomes Redevelopment Agency chair and Greg Lyman vice chair.

In public comment Al Miller urges the joint meeting with the school board, and Alan Stenk (as captioned), Philip Zimmerman and Loren Bethards object to a 77 ft T-Mobile tower proposed at Camp Herms, asking that it be moved into the quarry or denied. Environmental Quality Committee chair Ron Egerman (as captioned) and Supervisor John Gioia congratulate the Council, and the meeting adjourns in memory of George B. Potter, the outgoing mayor's father.

Engineering manager Yvetteh Ortiz said Rockway, a one-block street of 32 homes, carried about 2,000 vehicles a weekday against 300 to 400 for a typical local street, about 80 percent of it through traffic, and that its 1999 speed bump kept speeds down but not volumes. Staff proposed barring entry from Ashbury, expecting most of the 1,000 diverted vehicles on Fairmont, with one to two minutes of added delay. Six Rockway residents and a Seaview neighbor backed the trial, one calling the traffic “a recipe for disaster” and another saying “please don't wait for something terrible to happen before you act”; the Seaview speaker asked that the Colusa curve be studied.

Councilmember Jones said “there's too many vehicles in town”, that Rockway is “a connector”, and that Jones could not accept the projected rise on Fairmont, asking that nearby streets be examined and that the Council “have the guts to either say yes or no” after six months. Councilmember Chang proposed bicycle signal loops and tighter corners on Fairmont, which became direction to staff. With Councilmember Lyman absent, the trial passed unanimously with a CEQA exemption.

The mayor thanked the police for their conduct during a murder trial and for finding a missing child, the consent calendar was adopted, and the meeting adjourned in memory of Nina Oshinsky.

Sitting as the agency board, members resumed a study session on the former Tradeway furniture store at 10860 San Pablo Avenue, bought with low and moderate income housing funds, so that its development must include affordable housing or the fund be repaid. Housing project manager Hildy presented feasibility gaps for four prototypes, from about 47 senior units with retail to 52 units with a 15,000 square foot senior center, along with the city's housing needs and demolition costs. Tom Panis, for the Historical Society, called the florist site's historic report “both misguided and incomplete”, and Al Miller asked that affordable housing be explained with salary ranges.

Lyman said “I'm not too wild about selling the property at this point”; the mayor wondered “if this really is the right time to take on another major project”; and Chair Jones said that, bought with housing money, “we're pretty well locked into housing” and proposed a request for qualifications, with one large criterion “how deep are your pockets”. City Manager Scott Hanin summarized the consensus: a request for qualifications for affordable housing with a senior focus and a flexible ground floor, to “go now rather than wait”.

With Councilmember Chang absent, the Council voted 4-0 to sell the state's Proposition 1A receivable of about $668,000 through the California Communities bond program, and 4-0, by the required four-fifths vote, to waive bidding for up to $200,000 of emergency work on a collapsed box culvert running under a building on the St. John's Church property. Liaison reports included a request for a status report on the Human Relations Commission, which had struggled to keep a quorum.

Staff recalled the Loma Prieta earthquake and the Hayward fault's risk in presenting a mandatory program for 17 unreinforced masonry buildings. At the hearing a US Geological Survey geologist, ABAG's earthquake consultant and building officials urged action, and former councilmember Laticia Moore said “when the times were good this work wasn't done the times are bad it's another excuse”. Owner Tony Wise said “the state has no money the city has no money what makes you think we have no money”, and others asked for postponement or financing. Jones said “I do not under any circumstances feel that we should not do this” but noted business loans were nearly impossible; Abelson called a fee waiver “a no-brainer”; the mayor said “we have not effectively mitigated these serious hazards in our community”. The Council unanimously introduced the ordinance, moving every deadline six months later, adding a case-by-case hardship extension and a permit fee waiver to come through the master fee schedule.

As the Redevelopment Agency, the board approved a three-party agreement under which it gave up its option to repurchase the closed Target store, ended its loan obligation to Target and received nearly 38,000 square feet on Hill Street for a future mixed-use project, while Safeway reused the building and paid for Ohlone Greenway improvements. Speakers from the Sierra Club and the California Healthy Communities Network said it fell short of transit-oriented plans; agency chair Jones said “we did the best we could”.

The Council also extended the Kensington fire services agreement to 2020 and continued the tradeway study session to 19 October.

Public Works Director Jerry Bradshaw warned of “The Invasion that's about to happen”: a chip seal and slurry seal program on streets that alone are almost 40 percent of the city's, starting the next Monday, with 40 calls in one day. The Council adopted an August 2009 Americans with Disabilities Act transition plan, which legal counsel said stands on its own apart from a court settlement heard the next day, and confirmed a $963 fire hazard abatement on an apparently abandoned lot on Contra Costa Drive, with direction to capture full staff time in future.

As the Redevelopment Agency, the board voted unanimously to seek to serve as a plaintiff in the California Redevelopment Association's suit over the ERAF shift, under which staff said El Cerrito stands to lose more than $2 million over two years; Councilmember Bill Jones added a clause to notify state and federal representatives. The meeting closed with a special agency session on the former Target site, where a decision was described as quite possibly coming in October.

City Manager Scott Hanin reported that the state would borrow a little over $667,000 of city revenue under Proposition 1A, which could come from reserves or be sold to a JPA, and take almost $1.8 million from the Redevelopment Agency, about 50% of a year's unencumbered money, leaving it $1.3 million short; the agency had rescinded its offer for the school district's senior center property. Hanin said the take put “all of the Redevelopment agencies in Jeopardy of survival”, warned of a possible gas tax takeaway, and showed 18 vacancies projected by October, “pushing 10% of the workforce”.

Looking to November 2010, Hanin said any further erosion of revenues would require new revenues or, “for the first time certainly in my tenure”, program cuts. Godbe Research reviewed how revenue measures had fared since the downturn and proposed a split sample on an interim general fund measure and on a public safety building and library. Councilmember Jones asked why voters would approve a tax after the May state measures failed, and said of the library “we don't necessarily need one right a new one right now”. The Council unanimously approved the $28,155 survey from the general fund balance.

The Council unanimously extended the firefighters' memorandum of understanding to 30 June 2016 and approved a finance software upgrade not to exceed $200,000. It heard Sergeant Robert Dela Campa explain police training, Tom Panis present the Blue Star memorial marker and ask about historic standards for the Elm Street house, a paving bid under the engineer's estimate, and, in reports, the Environmental Quality Committee's work on backyard chickens.

Rockway Avenue residents said their 720-foot street of 31 homes carried 2012 cars on weekdays where the city engineer's measure would expect 300, traced petitions back to 2003, and said “we're still waiting for the city to address our problems”. Engineering manager Yvetteh Ortiz and consultant TJKM presented a citywide program for residential streets, saying the speed hump was “the city's only standard tool and it is not satisfying concerns on many streets”. Members asked for thresholds below the typical 32 mph and 1,000 vehicles a day, pedestrian counts, attention to streets around schools and meetings across town. On Rockway, Councilmember Jones said “personally I think we should wait”, while Councilmember Chang said its residents had “kind of grandfathered their request in” and the mayor said “it seems a little bit punitive to set them back”, asking staff to bring its solution and alternatives back with a public meeting.

As the Redevelopment Agency, the board unanimously approved a broker agreement to find developers for the Target site, amended so that “the Brokers shall bring forward qualified development Partnerships not specific project proposals prior to a public hearing” and welcoming retailers as part of a mixed-use transit-oriented development. A smart growth coalition asked that big box retailers be ruled out, and a neighbor asked that Walmart not be invited to negotiate.

The Council adopted its consent calendar, delegating one bid award because of Caltrans delays, which Jones asked be a one-time step, and heard the economic development work plan, Garden Club awards and a National Night Out proclamation.

Redevelopment Manager Lori Trevino recommended Rialto Cinemas, doing business as Pleasant Town Motion Picture Company, from three proposals received after the former operators ceased operations on May 18th: first run movies complemented by independent films and community programming, a streamlined menu, a wine bar and a screening room. The lease ran five years from July 1st with three five-year options, at $4,000 a month plus 5% of gross sales over $80,000 a month, with 12 community events a year. Proprietor Kai Boyd said Rialto would admit minors under a new ABC license, saw “movies are perishable products”, and aimed to open in mid-July. Cinema West presented an amended bid submitted that day; a member said it came after the meeting's required 72-hour notice.

Friends of the Cerrito Theater asked that work follow historic standards and keep the casual seating and donor plaques, and Janet Abelson asked for integrated wheelchair seating, saying an empty row “is like having us on display”. Both bodies approved the lease, with Mayor Potter backing the full $150,000 of initial tenant improvements, line items to be approved by the city manager. Agency chair Jones proposed an equipment replacement fund through a “25 cents uh per ticket” surcharge; staff said that would be “a discriminatory tax”, and Jones agreed to take up a set-aside separately.

Out of closed session, Jones reported that the former operators, Downey Street Productions, had threatened an injunction and claimed damages “in the neighborhood of $4 million”, and that counsel was authorized to defend and countersue for unpaid rent, loans and taxes.

Meeting with the Redevelopment Agency, Public Financing Authority and Pension Trust Board, the Council adopted the 2009-10 budget unanimously, with the recreation budget passing 4-0 as Councilmember Bill Jones stepped out over “an appearance of a conflict of interest”. Jones pointed to charges from other agencies rising “nearly 50% from a little over 400,000 to a little over $800,000 while the CPI has only gone up 12%”, and said “I just think we need a 2009 way of looking at a reserve fund”; Mayor Potter backed a budget “with reserves that exceed the goals that we've set for ourselves”. Staff and the Financial Advisory Board were directed to report on the reserve level by year's end. A speaker argued the PERS criterion of impending layoffs had not been shown, and Jones answered that the service credit was “not a golden parachute”; it passed unanimously.

Speakers urged a walkable Del Norte over Safeway's plan for the former Target site, asked to see all three Cerrito Theater proposals before staff recommended Rialto Cinemas on 29 June, and described a court injunction over Cooper's hawks at the Castro school site. The Council adopted the Ohlone Greenway master plan, with a wider consolidated path, after Melanie Mintz's presentation and Steve Price's caution about losing greenery.

The Council ordered weed abatement after neighbors of one overgrown parcel objected to blanket citations, bought up to 240 LED street lights for San Pablo Avenue, introduced updated FEMA flood maps and, 4-1, left National Night Out in the crime prevention committee's charter.

City Manager Scott Hanin called it “clearly been our most challenging budget in the time I've been with the city”, with the goals that everyone with a job keeps it and service levels stay the same: “while the budget is balanced barely”. It eliminated the CIP manager position, held others vacant, required four unpaid days for non-sworn employees, offered a two-year PERS service credit buyout expected to save roughly $150,000 next year, reorganized the police command and relied more on special funds, projecting a reserve of roughly 13.5 percent. Hanin warned that PERS rates would rise and that public safety personnel left “no more there there” before cutting bodies; staff said a state loan from cities would take just over $700,000 from reserves.

Councilmember Bill Jones said “I'm not comfortable with with 3.2 million” in reserves and would propose raising the 10 percent minimum, toward 18 to 20 percent over years, and a policy on refilling vacant positions. Councilmember Greg Lyman relayed the Financial Advisory Board's alternatives to the buyout, and Councilmember Janet Abelson asked that the reserve policy be a separate item so the budget could pass on time; a study session was set for 15 June.

Four speakers pressed for news and action on the closed Cerrito Theater, one calling the silence “embarrassing”; the mayor said staff were preparing it to reopen under new operation. The Council adopted the landscape and lighting assessment at $72 per residential parcel and the storm drain fee at $58 per single-family unit, both unanimously.

Redevelopment Manager Lori Trevino explained the agency's option, running from 1 May through 31 October, to repurchase the Target site, which Target had closed last July. Target offered to forgive a loan of a little over $600,000 and pay $1.8 million, with Safeway adding half a million, if the option became a right of first refusal; Safeway's Todd Paradise called it “a $3 million offer” and said a fuel center was “still on the table for discussion”. Walmart offered $20 million if the agency bought and resold the site. The consultant's analysis valued the Safeway offer at 3.08 million and the Walmart offer at 4.97 million through 2021. Members asked about mixed use, storm water and truck routes; staff said the intersections were already at level of service F and leaned toward an environmental impact report. Speakers disagreed about housing on the site and asked what local stores would lose. Chair Jones said “we won't be making decisions”.

The Council unanimously revised the master fee schedule, with most fees up 3 percent and a new $354 red zone appeal fee that a member questioned. It awarded construction management and construction contracts for the San Pablo Avenue streetscape after the low bid, approximately $2.5 million from Golden Bay Construction, came in more than a million dollars below the engineer's estimate.

Earlier, the officers stationed at El Cerrito High described their work and asked for a school resource officer at the middle school, and the Council set its summer meetings. It approved a greenway safety contract with ADT up to $415,000 and the Ohlone Gardens loan terms.

Redevelopment Manager Lori Trevino reported that Downey Street Productions, operating the theater since November 2006 at $10,000 a month plus revenue sharing, had paid rent late and inconsistently, could not pay the retention owed to BBI Construction, which then sued Downey Street and the agency, and emailed after the 6 April closed session that it would close the theater. The review found it “had become generally profitable as an operation but had significant debt”. Friends of the Cerrito Theater chair Dave orstein (as captioned) asked to keep it going “either with Speak Easy or with somebody else”; Peter Lobel asked about the city's exposure to Downey Street's debts. Lyman counted four speakers asking to keep Downey Street, the rest backing the theater itself.

The agency voted 5-0 to buy the equipment and fixtures for up to $100,000, “so that we have a turnkey operation”, then authorized a transition to a new operator. Lyman listed the operator's record, including “haven't paid us rent for 18 months”. Motions to delay two weeks and to bring in a mediator died for lack of a second, and a 10-day attempt to meet the Fishers was withdrawn; counsel said termination “is not a particularly Speedy process”, starting with 30 days to cure. The agency then authorized, 4-1, steps to terminate the lease “with an effort toward to cure”, alongside finding a new operator.

Operations Chief Michael Pagoni described the fire department's three stations, 2,881 calls last year and a median response time of just over four minutes. The Council denied, 3-2, an appeal for a 5-foot deer fence at 1460 navier Street (as captioned), upholding the Planning Commission's 3-foot front limit, and Lyman reported on proposed HOT lanes on I-80.

Staff proposed amending the agency's $3.5 million loan so that the Hatland Center's part in the Ohlone Gardens housing project, developed with Resources for Community Development, became optional if the center could not raise $2.8 million. RCD's Dan Sleck said “the city's 3.5 million will leverage over $20 million of outside investment”; center director Patricia Williams reported $175,000 in pledges within two weeks; and property owner Robert Brower offered a $1.4 million guarantee: “that's how confident I am that they can do it”. Chair Jones said “we are risking $3.5 million on this”, second in line for repayment, and staff said owning the land “probably guarantees you'll get something back”. Mayor Potter's motion to deny the amendment carried, and staff were asked to work out terms that keep the center in, including buying the property outright.

Finance Director Mary Dodge presented comprehensive financial policies, the first review of the main policies since 1994. Members changed a grant rule from “have been” to “will be” and debated what the reserve is for, Abelson saying “the intent of the reserves needs to be for a purpose” and that downturns usually last longer than a year; the item was continued 3 to 1 so the percentage could be discussed with Councilmember Chang present. Speakers questioned the agency's payment of Cerrito Theater property taxes, and Chair Jones reported that its operator had given notice of intent to close and that staff would seek a new operator.

The Council heard the Environmental Quality Committee's priorities, received a green business certificate for City Hall, heard from Kids for the Bay, introduced zoning ordinance clarifications and adjourned in King's memory.

With Councilmember Chang absent, four speakers asked the Council to help the Cerrito Theater continue, one calling it “a highly appropriate use of Redevelopment money”. Another speaker asked for the figures behind its cost, and one more urged the Council to “stop cooking this thing in the back room” and hold an open session. The Council sent $363,500 in agency funds to the state and asked staff to return on 20 April with a two-year PERS service credit offer, whose cost staff estimated at “probably between 80,000 and 520,000”.

Public Works Director Jerry Bradshaw reported the street program on pace to cover about 87% of the city's road miles. The Council unanimously approved the program manager's contract amendment, a rubberized cape seal and storm drain contract and a rubberized asphalt overlay contract, adding at Councilmember Jones's request that single change orders over $75,000 be reported to it. It introduced the swim center parcel tax at the same rate and adjourned in honor of four Oakland police officers.

Building Official Brian Fenty presented the seismic hazard program: 24 unreinforced masonry buildings and 25 with other deficiencies, nearly all in the Redevelopment area, with one year for higher-risk owners to submit retrofit plans or demolition permits and another to finish, three years in all for lower-risk buildings, and the city paying evaluations and possibly permit fees. Fenty called retrofit “the most economical choice” and said “we're trying to move forward and mitigate the problem before it becomes a disaster”. Members favored requiring mitigation, by retrofit or demolition, but doubted owners could borrow; they floated a hardship extension, a trigger tied to loan availability and outreach through the Planning Commission and Economic Development Board before a draft ordinance near June. Staff previewed a second ordinance on soft-story buildings.

At the hearing on 782 Pomona, where the Planning Commission had denied a 986-square-foot second unit, neighbors described past multifamily use; staff found no code enforcement record. Trustee James Wong said the appeal was “simply about a handicapped senior citizen who would like to modify her bathroom and bedroom to be ADA Compliant”. Members debated 750 square feet, two kitchens and a sale condition the city attorney called an open legal question; Janet Abelson cited “a extremely severe lack” of accessible housing. The appeal was granted 4 to 1.

Bill McCammon updated the Council on the East Bay regional radio system: about $33 million in grants against a project of about $68 million, with the West County cell to come up first. The Council introduced state fire hazard severity zone maps by reference, with about 150 parcels leaving the zone, approved a $1.5 million general fund loan to the housing fund at 4% over 10 years, and adjourned in memory of David L Garrett.

City Manager Scott Hanin presented midyear budget revisions of about $932,000, mostly salary savings from unfilled positions and one-time transfers, with reserves around 15 percent and no layoffs anticipated, saying “nothing in what we're recommending will impact our current level of service.” Councilmember Greg Lyman warned of “a slippery slope” in using the vehicle replacement fund, Peter Lobel said “now is the time to consider even more drastic cuts,” and the Council unanimously adopted the revisions with direction to follow the staff report's cost saving strategies, including that “the city has to live within its means.”

On Measure WW, which gave the city a little over $1 million for parks, 203 of 392 survey respondents ranked land acquisition first, and speakers urged buying open space, Harvey Wittenberg saying “they don't make it anymore,” while a skateboarder backed a skate spot. On a 3-2 vote the Council approved a $175,000 application for the Cerrito Vista playground and the Gilman fields, with study of other projects. Sitting as the agency, members unanimously approved borrowing up to $1.5 million and a $3.5 million loan for 57 affordable units at the Hatland Center project, ahead of a 1 April state funding deadline.

Monica Courts was named woman of the year, the crime prevention committee received a fifth National Night Out award, the police described their bicycle patrol, the new gray recycling carts were reported in use citywide, and a resident asked about herbicide on Moeser Lane hillsides.

West Contra Costa Unified's engineering officer, Bill Savage, presented the district's consolidation plan, frozen state bond money and the move of Portala Middle School (as captioned) to the Castro site, with “no construction on the park,” and a temporary move either to Portala's lower pad or to El Cerrito High's temporary campus. PTSA president Joanna Pace said “many many parents” were concerned about seismic safety and about Ashbury Avenue traffic, and Mayor Sandy Potter summed up the Council's agreement that it prefers not to have the Portala portables at the high school and wants a traffic analysis above the high school's 1600 student capacity.

Finance Director Mary Dodge reported that East Bay MUD has not collected the utility users tax on water since the early 1990s; the Council voted 3-2 for six-month billing starting with July to December 2008, the mayor saying the mayor “would not support anything less than at least collecting the 2008 amount,” while Councilmember Bill Jones said “I don't think it's right for us to go back 2 years and collect taxes.” Sitting as the Redevelopment Agency, members approved 4-1 the purchase of the Mayfair block parcel at 11600 San Pablo Avenue, the last parcel the agency did not own on the block, with one member saying “I think we're paying way too much for this piece of property.”

Police staff reported on compliance with the video surveillance ordinance, from banks to carry-out food businesses, Melanie Mintz announced 64-gallon gray recycling carts, and speakers asked about public records and the city's spending.

Housing Project Manager Hildy Mile (as captioned) described a funding gap, interim borrowing and a possible plan B, and expected to bring the loan request back in January; the project would potentially meet over 100 percent of the redevelopment area's remaining affordable housing need. Chair Bill Jones asked where the agency would stand in line, saying “this is our one chance to make sure during these uncertain times that all the bases are covered before we commit $3.5 million to a project,” and staff agreed that treating the loan as a grant is “probably a good way to conceptualize it.” Executive director Patty Williams said the center needs “a world headquarters that we can be proud of,” and Robert Brower, trustee of one of the two parcels, urged the agency to make sure they are acquired. No action was taken.

The Council announced commission and school closure committee appointments on the day the new El Cerrito High School campus opened, heard Al Miller's thanks to firefighters, e-waste staff and the school resource officers, and adopted the consent calendar with four ayes and Councilmember Ann Chang absent.