Contents
11 sections- 01Holiday thoughts, and two reappointments
- 02A holiday display, veterans' care, and solar bonds
- 03Four historic sites, and Council communications
- 04Consent calendar, including a new meeting scheduleSX
- 052012 integrated waste management fees
- 06Who pays more, the forklift job, and recycling markets
- 07Fees adopted; optional commercial green waste serviceX
- 08Rolling out green waste pickup, and the voteX
- 09Opting in to keep redevelopment aliveX
- 10Reluctant approval of the opt-in paymentX
- 11Liaison assignments, reports, and a memorial treeX
01 Holiday thoughts, and two reappointments captions 1–10
0:00:01foreign thank you for your patience here tonight I'd like to call the meeting of December 19 2011.
0:00:13to order and I'd like to ask council member Chang to lead us in our pledge please like I said we appreciate everybody being here tonight and I'd like to on behalf of the city council to wish everybody a happy holiday and Christmas season and on that note if I could take a few
0:00:49seconds here uh this past week I was viewed a program on the White House and how they celebrate the holiday season and decorate and and probably uh they're more celebrated rooms the blue room they had set up a tree and decorations in honor of the service our first service Personnel
0:01:12especially those that have passed on in service to the country and I think it was a good uh reminder that if we had a few minutes and um think about this Christmas and holiday season in particular where we have people coming back from Iraq and they don't have to
0:01:33return that they're back and and safe uh we also I think should remember that those who paid the ultimate price and their families the tremendous sacrifice they've had that it's well appreciated and just remember that we do have people still in the war zones and
0:01:55conflict areas around the United States and I just hope that somehow the holidays season and spirit gets to them if if for just a day or two to comfort them as they serve the country so thank you very much and I'd like the record to reflect that all members of the city council are here and prepared
0:02:16to do the city business and would like to let me see here we'll have staff and Council communication staff Council I'll start it off we had a special meeting before to interview for a commission and committee and board member vacancies and the council in that meeting would like
0:02:43to reappoint Tim Pine to the Planning Commission and Christoph Laverne to the design review we also are interviewing more candidates for the Planning Commission we have another vacancy and possibly two coming up and we have held off on any further appointments until we interview more
0:03:07candidates after the first of the year so we we haven't eliminated anybody on that but we're holding off to make sure that we interview the rest of the candidates before making a final decision or two on the Planning Commission so I'd like the city clerk to announce
0:03:27the next agenda item please the agenda item is or is all Communications speakers have three minutes there's a speaker light up at the top when it turns green you begin and when the light turns yellow you'll have one minute to wrap up and when it turns red your time will be concluded
Mayor Bill Jones called the meeting of 19 December 2011 to order and asked Councilmember Ann Chang to lead the pledge. Wishing everyone a happy holiday season, Jones described a television program on the White House's holiday decorations, in which a tree in the Blue Room honored service personnel, especially those who had died in service, and asked people to remember those coming back from Iraq, the families of “those who paid the ultimate price,” and those still in war zones. All members of the Council were present.
Opening staff and Council communications, Jones reported that the Council had met earlier in a special meeting to interview applicants for board, commission and committee vacancies, and would reappoint Tim Pine (as captioned) to the Planning Commission and Christoph Laverne (as captioned) to the Design Review Board. With another Planning Commission vacancy, and possibly two, coming up, the Council was holding off on further appointments until it had interviewed more candidates after the first of the year; no one had been eliminated. The city clerk then explained the three-minute speaker lights for oral communications.
02 A holiday display, veterans' care, and solar bonds captions 11–26
0:03:49and our first speaker is Al Miller good evening mayor Jones and council members uh I wanted to give a brief report although the group of citizens of El Cerrito and Friends of El Cerrito that assemble on Mosher Hill at Seaview each year to assemble the shoddy holiday
0:04:13display are kind of like an occupied movement I don't know that there's really any top-down authority over that group but I just wanted to say that the group assembled as councilman mayor Jones and council member Lyman know they were there helping us I was very happy because there were more
0:04:33people out there working to assemble it this year than I've seen in years we had firemen from Kensington we had a police officer from Kensington and we had a fire group of firefighters from El Cerrito there also I saw children and grandchildren of the usual subjects that
0:04:56appear out there to help set it up there actually it was very encouraging uh so remind everybody that that Treasure of El Cerrito display will be on display from 5 PM till 10 p.m daily through December 26th and December 27th is when we Face the sad job of putting it away
0:05:21for another year quickly following on mayor Jones comments about remembering our military personnel and their families and the holidays as a 26-year veteran of the U.S Navy I am personally saddened by our country's history as we welcome our service men and women home from the wars
0:05:46too many of us can remember the term sort of the time after the Vietnam War when our Fighters came back and were spit upon in airports the biggest concern that I have is that collectively the American people will behave the way we behave after all of our Wars going back to once my father
0:06:08fought in the first World War these people that we enlist or draft into our military to whom we make promises about health care taking care of them and their families when they come home and they need us most we seem to think ah the war is over we don't have to worry anymore
0:06:28well especially in the Iraq war with the traumatic brain injury being the most prevalent wound that these people are coming back with and the severe amputations that so many of them that would have died in previous Wars thanks to the miracle medicine that our military can provide so quickly are now
0:06:50surviving they're going to need care and treatment and their families going to need support for the rest of their lives and it's not the time for us now to back away from this responsibility but no matter what political party we belong to we're all Americans and these people
0:07:07gave and sacrificed so much for all of us that we need to stand by and ensure our government takes care of them that we live up to that commitment that's the least we can do it and a holiday is a good time to get started but it's got to go on every day for every year for the
0:07:24rest of our lives and the rest of our lives thank you thank you David gessinger good evening uh I'd like to uh introduce myself to the city council along with the idea of City solar bonds um essentially the way it would work is this the city would send out a letter to
0:07:52every owner of a building in the city and we would be willing to put a solar panel on that space the roof space the city would collect the funds from the electricity it generates for the five or seven years until it pays itself off and then the meters come off and the panels revert to
0:08:14the owners of the building in less than 10 years we could have the entire city equipped with solar panels at no cost to the residents or the city it's a very feasible project right now PG e by law is required to pay retail rates for electricity generated from solar panels the solar panels that
0:08:35are available and the rebates that are available make them fairly cost effective there's plenty of people without work that we know of that are willing to install them and I think it would be a very a good example of how we as a community can start to take charge of the problems the
0:08:59the larger issues that we're facing that are that are federal and government state government is unable to tackle at the moment uh and I'd like to leave my contact information with the clerk and if you could enter that into the notes uh you guys and anybody else who may be hearing
0:09:18or seeing this uh meeting who's interested in contacting me and pursuing this further um can get a hold of me great yes if you could leave your information with the city clerk that'd be great thank you very much Tom panis good evening mayor Jones members of the
Al Miller reported on the volunteers who each year assemble the holiday display on the hill at Seaview (captioned "Mosher Hill"), a group Miller likened to an occupy movement without top-down authority. More people helped this year than Miller had seen in years, among them firefighters and a police officer from Kensington, El Cerrito firefighters, and the children and grandchildren of the regulars; Miller noted that Mayor Jones and Councilmember Lyman (captioned "council member Lyman") had been there helping. The display is lit from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. daily through 26 December, and comes down on 27 December.
Following Jones's remarks about the military, Miller, a 26-year Navy veteran, recalled how returning Vietnam veterans were treated and worried that Americans would again assume “the war is over we don't have to worry anymore.” With traumatic brain injury the most prevalent wound from Iraq, and severe amputees now surviving thanks to military medicine, veterans and their families would need care and support for the rest of their lives; “no matter what political party we belong to we're all Americans,” Miller said, and the commitment has to go on every day.
David Gessinger (as captioned) introduced the idea of city solar bonds: the city would write to every building owner offering to put solar panels on the roof, collect the electricity revenue for the five or seven years until the panels paid for themselves, then remove the meters and hand the panels to the owners. “In less than 10 years we could have the entire city equipped with solar panels at no cost to the residents or the city,” Gessinger said, noting that PG&E must by law pay retail rates for solar power, that rebates make panels fairly cost effective, and that plenty of people without work could install them. Jones asked Gessinger to leave contact information with the city clerk.
03 Four historic sites, and Council communications captions 27–39
0:09:51council and City staff my name is Tom panis and I live at [address removed] in El Cerrito to the best of my knowledge we have no sites in El Cerrito they're officially listed on either the national register of historic places or the California register of historical
0:10:04resources Historical Society records show that we do have four sites in El Cerrito that have been reviewed and appear to be eligible for listening on the California register these four sites are 1800 Elm Windrush School 1715 Elm the former rodini property and 21 Naval Air the former Portola
0:10:24Middle School site and 1080 San Pablo Avenue the former Contra Costa florist site people frequently ask how protections differ between one a site that appears eligible for listing on the California register and to a site that's actually listed on the California register
0:10:41there's no difference between these two classes how these two classes sites must be treated but there's persistent confusion nervousness and uncertainty surrounding this question to address this I plan to formally nominate all four of these sites for official listing
0:10:56listing on the national register make certain tax benefits available to the owner of a list of site and if the listing on the national register is accepted the sites automatically placed on a California register as well listing on the California register confers certain development related
0:11:13benefits to the on the owner of site including the state historic building code may be used during Rehabilitation and restoration of a site this tool is very important to help maintain the Integrity of the property in addition to making these benefits available officially listing these
0:11:30resources will eliminate the uncertainty that sometimes surfaces regarding the proper treatment of these sites given that some of these sites May well be eligible for listening on the national register such listings would be a feather in our City's cap as well as
0:11:43being an official recognition of el Cerrito's Rich cultural and Architectural history and diversity if any members of the staff or the public or the council have any questions about this I would as you'd probably guess welcome the opportunity to discuss it with them thanks very much for your
0:11:59time this evening thanks Tom appreciate it no other speakers another speakers well appreciate it I'm going to go back uh it it took only two items of my first meeting on the agenda to stumble so we will go back to uh to item two which is Council communication and I'll start with
0:12:20council member benazine no Communications tonight I'll just put a plug in for the crime prevention committee we are looking for members so we are going to be doing interviews in January uh I don't know if our night is already filled with interviews but uh if there's anybody out
0:12:41there that is interested in becoming a member of the crime prevention committee please get your application in thank you great thanks I'd just like to one just thank the uh our cable television person uh people personnel they put on and transmit our meetings each and every meeting
0:13:05throughout the year since they have taken over uh I think there's been the quality has been very professional and it has helped us as we stream and do other things with that communication so I'd like to thank thank them they're in the they're in the room where we can't
0:13:24see them but I I hope they can hear us thank you okay we just want to remind people here that City Hall will have will be closed from December 23rd through January 2nd and uh so if you need to do business do it before the 23rd or wait till after uh January 2nd so thank you on that
Tom Panis of Fairmount said that, to Panis's knowledge, no El Cerrito site is officially listed on the national or California registers, but Historical Society records show four that have been reviewed and appear eligible for the California register: 1800 Elm (Windrush School), 1715 Elm (the former rodini property, as captioned), 21 Naval Air (as captioned; the former Portola Middle School site) and 1080 San Pablo Avenue (as captioned), the former Contra Costa florist site. The two classes must be treated the same, but to end “persistent confusion nervousness and uncertainty” Panis planned to formally nominate all four for the national register, which brings certain tax benefits and automatic California listing; California listing lets owners use the state historic building code in rehabilitation. Listings would be “a feather in our City's cap,” Panis said, and offered to discuss the nominations with anyone.
With no other speakers, Jones went back to Council communications, saying “it took only two items of my first meeting on the agenda to stumble.” Called on first, Councilmember Rebecca Benassini (captioned "benazine") had no communications; a plug followed for the crime prevention committee, which was looking for members and would interview in January. A member thanked the city's cable television staff for professional broadcasts of every meeting, and Council was reminded that City Hall would be closed from 23 December through 2 January.
04 Consent calendar, including a new meeting schedule captions 40–45
0:13:58all right next to agenda item please next agenda item is the consent calendar and on the consent calendar the accounts will be considering items 5A through 5e 5A is minutes for approval December 5.
0:14:14um item number B is changing the meeting date and time of city council meeting the council will be considering introducing by title waving any further reading and approving an ordinance amending sections 2.04.010 meetings regular and 2.04.030 meetings place of the El
0:14:32Cerrito municipal code to change and fix the day time and place of City Council meetings item C various traffic and parking revisions item D agreement with Enterprise Fleet Management for vehicle lease and E support the Community Access preservation act H.R 1746 I move I move
0:14:53consent calendar items 5A through 5e second it's been moved and seconded on the consent calendar all those in favor aye aye aye opposed motion carries thank you next item please item number six public hearings okay the uh we this evening we've have two separate
0:15:19public hearings the first public hearing involves proposed Integrated Waste Management fees the second public hearing is for the East Bay sanitary collection and processing rates the city council will provide an opportunity to hear testimony from the public regarding each issue if you wish
0:15:37to speak and have not submitted a speaker slip to the city clerk please do so now just as a reminder the remarks are limited to three minutes per person after everyone is having an opportunity to speak at each public hearing I will seek a motion to close the public
The consent calendar held items 5A to 5E: the 5 December minutes; an ordinance, introduced by title, amending municipal code sections 2.04.010 and 2.04.030 to change and fix the day, time and place of City Council meetings; various traffic and parking revisions; an agreement with Enterprise Fleet Management for vehicle leases; and support for the Community Access Preservation Act, H.R. 1746. It was moved, seconded and carried with no opposition heard.
Jones then opened the first of two public hearings, on proposed integrated waste management fees; the second would cover East Bay Sanitary collection and processing rates. Speakers who had not filled out a slip were asked to do so, with three minutes each.
Outcome CarriedConsent calendar items 5A-5E approved.
05 2012 integrated waste management fees captions 46–62
0:15:55hearing so the first public hearing will be on Integrated Waste Management fees we'll begin with a presentation by staff thank you mayor Jones and council members as you may know I'm Garth Schultz your environmental analyst in the Environmental Services Division and
0:16:15among other responsibilities one of my primary areas of work is Recycling and solid waste for the city of El Cerrito and if you forgive me I am going to actually do a little bit of reading off a script been sick for a few days and I think my public speaking skills took the
0:16:31biggest hit from here tonight to request the council conduct a public hearing and upon conclusion adopt a resolution fixing and setting rates for the Integrated Waste Management or iwm fee effective January 1st 2012. as you may recall the iwm fee is one of three components that make up
0:16:48the total rate that El Cerrito residents and businesses pay on their bill for Solid Waste Services that's the garbage bill that gets sent out by East Bay sanitary the iwm feed portion covers recycling collection and processing as well as the operations of the city of El Cerrito
0:17:04recycling center it also includes east-based sanitaries garbage and Greenways collection rates and finally the integrated resource recovery facility rate or also known as Earth rate which covers disposal of garbage composting of green waste processing of household hazardous waste
0:17:22in the Richmond facility and other Regional waste education and administrative activities this year's staff is proposing there we go 20 2012 iwm fees that achieve a five percent increase in iwm fee Revenue consistent with the Integrated Waste Management 10-year
0:17:43financial plan was adopted with the city operational budget for this fiscal year 1112.
0:17:49due to an increasing focus on Commercial recycling as a result of State legislation AB 341 staff is proposing a proportionally larger increase in commercial Integrated Waste Management fees as compared to residential Integrated Waste Management fees the proposed fees for 2012 are 8.54 cents
0:18:10for a 20 gallon garbage container rather that's a fee assessed on that size garbage container eight dollars and 64 cents on a 35 gallon garbage container 17.29 on a 64 gallon garbage container and a 12.97 per weekly pickup per yard for bulk refuse should be noted that as a result of
0:18:35these proposed increases to the Integrated Waste Management fee which range for residents on the order of 17 cents to 55 cents a month and for commercial a dollar and 28 cents per cubic yard per pickup there's been a corresponding set of decreases in most cases to the Earth rate and currently no
0:18:54change to the East Bay sanitary rates being proposed for this year so that when the bills go out in 2012 residential rate payers won't see any change to their total monthly rates and Commercial customers will see a slight increase in their garbage bills one item that we've included in
0:19:11conjunction with the proposed 2012 rates is anticipation of reopening our new Recycling and environmental Resource Center next year we're proposing or requesting authorization to reinstate a forklift operator position to help increase our customer service functions
0:19:28when we get into the new recycling center and also increase the quality of the material that we're collecting through the facility whether corresponding decrease in some of the the less valuable or potentially illegally dumped material this request is one component of a
0:19:43broader change that we've been making to our staffing model for recycling services it's meant to pretty significantly increase the level of customer service we're able to provide on site without negatively impacting our budget this year or any of our projections in the 10-year plan
0:20:01finally is that cancel is aware we're currently in a process conducting a review of rates and operations for our franchise garbage and green waste hauler East Bay sanitary company as a result of current negotiations arising out of this review process we're not proposing changes to east-based
0:20:17sanitary's regular garbage and Greenways collection of rates for the coming year the review is still underway and we'll schedule a presentation for the council once the review has been completed we have results it's anticipated that if any increase is necessary for East Bay sanitary it'll be
0:20:35on the order of about a one percent increase just on their component of the rate not in the overall rate that is the summary of my presentation for the iwm fee for 2012. thank you for the time and if you have any questions please let me know and we'll start over here Rebecca you
Environmental analyst Garth Schultz, reading from a script after a few days' illness, asked the Council to set integrated waste management (IWM) fees effective 1 January 2012. The IWM fee is one of three parts of the garbage bill sent by East Bay Sanitary: it covers recycling collection and processing and the city's recycling center; the others are East Bay Sanitary's garbage and green waste collection rates and the integrated resource recovery facility ("Earth", as captioned) rate for disposal, composting and household hazardous waste at the Richmond facility and regional programs. Staff proposed fees bringing a 5 percent increase in IWM revenue, consistent with the 10-year financial plan adopted with the 2011-12 budget, with a proportionally larger increase for commercial customers because of the state's commercial recycling law, AB 341.
The proposed 2012 fees were 8.54 cents (as captioned) for a 20-gallon garbage container, eight dollars and 64 cents for a 35-gallon container, 17.29 (as captioned) for a 64-gallon container and 12.97 per weekly pickup per yard of bulk refuse. Increases of 17 to 55 cents a month for residents, and a dollar and 28 cents per cubic yard per pickup for commercial customers, were matched in most cases by decreases in the Earth rate, so that residential customers would see no change in their total bills and commercial customers a slight increase.
Ahead of reopening the new Recycling and Environmental Resource Center next year, staff asked to reinstate a forklift operator position to improve customer service and material quality, part of a broader staffing change that Schultz said would not hurt this year's budget or the 10-year plan. Because a review of East Bay Sanitary's rates and operations was still under way, no change was proposed to its garbage and green waste collection rates; if one proved necessary, Schultz anticipated it would be about 1 percent on that component only.
06 Who pays more, the forklift job, and recycling markets captions 63–101
0:20:52have any questions okay um thank you so much Garth I'm sorry you're ill tonight I will try to be gentle to you I'm better now okay so the first question just for clarity's sake you were mentioned the rate for residential um for residential household units not going up and the commercial rate is
0:21:11really the one we're kind of talking about altering at this point but just to be clear by commercial we mean all commercial as well as multi-family four units or more in terms of the buildings is that correct that is correct when you're speaking about the total garbage
0:21:25rate which incorporates all three great components the action I'm asking actually is an increase to all the rates the cumulative impact results in no net increase for residential and a slight increase for commercial okay so when you say commercial you truly do mean
0:21:40commercial I do mean what you you did clarify correctly it is commercial and multi-family over four units there they fall within the commercial rate class for solid waste fee purposes okay so that makes sense so just to be clear anybody who's listening who is who
0:21:58lives in one of those residences they may expect to see a change depending on how management you know distributes those sorts of fees is that right correct okay just want to be sure when everybody's listening they understand thank you so much thank you I just want to get one clarification of
0:22:17the the staff reports very clear on this but I just want to make sure I read it correctly the addition of a full-time staff position uh at the recycling center will not uh has no net budget impact and I was just hoping that you could maybe give us a sentence or two uh
0:22:35clarifying that absolutely so the the reinstatement of that position would eliminate some current costs that we are carrying in our budget one of those is a temporary labor contract for labor Services helper position that helps out on one of our routes and that's a
0:22:54contract of about thirty thousand dollars a year it would also eliminate the need for some of our part-time weekend Staffing we will still be Staffing on weekends but we will be Staffing it with regular full-time employees which will help increase the level of customer service on the weekend
0:23:09because currently though they're great people they do great work they're not quite as connected to the rest of the work that's been been going on throughout the facility and so there'll be more coordination and connection between those folks and their supervisors and overall management of
0:23:22the programs those are two of the primary primary cost Savings in terms of part-time work I'm also projecting some savings to overtime as a result of partially having an extra body to be able to cover mischiefs but also from some of the other Staffing changes we've
0:23:40made one of which being we switched the the number of days per week that our operators work from four days on 10 hour shifts to five days on eight hour shifts which should result in some savings to OT and material quality should go up we'll have more hands more eyes more
0:23:56folks working to actually add value to the material we're collecting and that helps offset some of those additional costs to the new position right and the other one that I'd like you to confirm just so that we can get it clearly on the record is that the for single-family
0:24:13homes their collection rate it's won't change for for 2012 as currently proposed single-family homes will not have any rates change that could change if we do need to come back for any space sanitary rate adjustment later in the year again if we do that that would
0:24:29probably be on the order of about one percent total on their portion on their portion of it correct correct thank you very much hey Garth it just had a couple questions here um I think it should be pointed out that you're you're proposing a full-time um forklift operator but it's being
0:24:51offset by a a lead worker position which is currently vacant we won't be hiring for that and you're consolidating uh part-time and contracted work correct correct thank you and I did forget to mention that we've currently have a lead worker position on the books that is unfilled
0:25:12we want to fill that vacancy we do need the body but we would be filling at a lower a lower overall cost it would be an entry-level worker and so we would also achieve some savings through that end one of the results of our operational Staffing changes we've been
0:25:26making actually makes it easier to manage which is great which means we don't need that lead worker position filled any longer okay good the other thing is you're projecting additional Revenue through better material quality in the budget in the 10-year budget we
0:25:46have uh anticipated an increase in Revenue off of material is this in addition to the 10-year plan and if so where are you getting you know why do you feel comfortable in uh stating that yeah great it would be in addition to what's being held now as a placeholder for additional Revenue in
0:26:05the 10-year plan what's in the 10-year plan now is showing an anticipated increase in Revenue due to Bringing new materials on site concurrent with the reopening of the new facility we're anticipating be able to provide a wider range of services some of those Services
0:26:20may come from partners and so we maybe have a revenue share with them other Commodities that we may start to collect just as a part of reopening a new facility will also bring us potential new revenue and that's what that item is is ballparking for us and I do feel very
0:26:35confident both that that's a good kind of lowball conservative value that we'll be able to hit and that that will be probably growing over time with respect to what you're mentioning this additional amount of Revenue primarily is coming from the fact that instead of
0:26:49where at least for my last five years here in El Cerrito you have we had one one person Staffing an operational yard both handling Materials Handling and customer service the way we're Staffing our new facility would include a person working with a customer base helping
0:27:05them to find where stuff goes putting stuff in the appropriate container and a person doing operational work on the back of the house and that's where we're getting some additional materials Revenue that's a couple more Bales a week of cardboard a couple more bales of
0:27:18newspaper to easily achieve the well I think I might just know there we go to easily achieve that additional Revenue amount and it wasn't planned for in the current 10-year operational 10-year financial plan okay good about 18 months ago we were actually getting almost
0:27:35nothing for recycled material could you just briefly brief the council on how that's turned around yeah um thank you for allowing me to do so um it's been quite a year uh in the last few months things have dipped a little bit but we were at an all-time high for
0:27:52single stream material at least again since my time here in the city of about 75 80 85 a ton for most of our streams a couple of months ago projections production slowed overseas recently and so there's been a bit of a dip we're around the 50 range which was where we had kind of planned for long
0:28:13ago when we made this transition to single stream so our Revenue projections for the year vis-a-vis what we've budgeted for vis-a-vis what's in the 10-year plan we're going to blow them out of the water unless things really take um so it's really enabling us to have a
0:28:30pretty positive budget outlook for the current year so we're doing quite well on Revenue good and then lastly just want to clarify that the rate increase for commercial which is slight but still increase is due to new regulation by the state correct certainly we're going to be
0:28:49needing to spend a bit more time focusing directly on the commercial entities I was just reviewing some of the kind of stipulations in the the regulations today as to what our responsibilities are as an entity and we've got to focus on Direct education with the commercial businesses with
0:29:05monitoring and following up with them and really making sure that they are utilizing their their services now it's their responsibility to subscribe and actually recyclable we do have some responsibilities as an agency and an entity to make sure that they can do it
0:29:19great could I ask one follow-up on that I think that's a that's an interesting topic um so our responsibilities are primarily around what we control education and Outreach but the outcomes are not in the regulations is that right or what sorts of outcomes is the are this is the state
0:29:37looking for it's a very good question it's they want commercial businesses any any commercial entity which includes Schools public agencies anybody that generates over a certain level of garbage which is a pretty low threshold it's four cubic yards a week which is what city hall
0:29:55does for example um they need to to subscribe to recycling service that is consistent with what's provided locally so it's going to mean different things in different places and there's no prescribed level as to what they need to recycle um and that's why there's not really a
0:30:14responsibility for the local agency to to meet a certain threshold um so in the rule making specific details is yet to actually come out it's just kind of based upon what the legislation already says and Cal recycle will be releasing those early in the new year so
0:30:29I'll have a little bit more a little more depth in it then and we can probably respond a little bit more detail when we come back with the rate and operations review but for us it's again it's education it's um actually making sure that we provide the service to all the commercial entities and then
0:30:45following up with all of them to make sure that they are aware of it and can do it and I think we're you know we're in a good position because we've already got a lot of these programs in place but I think that for El Cerrito we can set it relatively High bar great thank you
0:30:59how's your voice can you handle one more yeah I'm doing all right okay in the staff report you indicated that East Bay sanitary um is proposing some new uh collection of uh for all businesses or the potential if the business wants it could you just briefly give us a preview of
0:31:17that yeah and that's that's part of the next public hearing items I've got a whole set of talking points on it we'll wait till then yeah thank you great okay anything thank you okay I'd like the emotion on closing the public hearing please let's see if there's any
0:31:32uh speakers for this no speakers I'll move to close the public here second it's been moved and seconded to close the public hearing all those in favor aye aye opposed motion carries okay it's back to council how we'd like to do this here any any further discussion on with
Benassini, invited by Jones ("Rebecca you have any questions"), confirmed that "commercial" includes multifamily buildings of more than four units, whose residents may see a change depending on how management passes on fees; Schultz explained that the action raises all the fee components, with no net increase for residential and a slight one for commercial. Another councilmember asked Schultz to confirm on the record that the full-time position has no net budget impact: it would replace a temporary labor contract of about thirty thousand dollars a year and part-time weekend staffing with regular employees, and Schultz projected overtime savings, helped by moving operators from four 10-hour shifts to five 8-hour shifts. Single-family homes would see no rate change in 2012 unless an East Bay Sanitary adjustment of about 1 percent on its portion came later.
A councilmember noted that the forklift position is offset by a vacant lead worker position that will not be filled; Schultz agreed, saying the staffing changes made the operation easier to manage, and that extra material revenue, beyond a placeholder in the 10-year plan, would come from having one person help customers and another work in the back of the yard: “a couple more Bales a week of cardboard” and of newspaper. Asked how recycling prices had recovered from almost nothing 18 months earlier, Schultz said single-stream material had reached about 75 to 85 a ton (as captioned) before dipping to around 50, the level planned long ago, so “we're going to blow them out of the water” on revenue projections.
The commercial increase, Schultz said, reflects new state duties: any business, school or public agency producing over four cubic yards of garbage a week, as City Hall does, must subscribe to recycling consistent with local service, with no prescribed recycling level; the city's role is education, outreach and follow-up, and Cal recycle (as captioned) would release rules early in the new year. Schultz thought El Cerrito could set a “relatively High bar”. Mayor Jones's question about East Bay Sanitary's proposed new commercial collection was held for the next hearing. With no speakers, the public hearing was closed.
07 Fees adopted; optional commercial green waste service captions 102–123
0:31:54Council I can move a resolution of the city council of the city of El Cerrito fixing and setting rates for the Integrated Waste Management fee effective January 1st 2012.
0:32:06a second been moved and seconded on the motion further discussion all those in favor aye opposed motion carries okay um we'll go to the second hearing here let me get my script out so we don't okay well uh now begin the public hearing for the space sanitary commercial and extra residential green
0:32:36waste collection and processing rates uh again we'll start with a staff presentation thank you again Mary Jones council members listeners at home and present um Garth soltz environmental analyst so this gets uh mayor Jones to what you were just asking about um which is an an request from of staff
0:33:02from staff to Eastbay sanitary requesting commercial green waste collection services so I'm here tonight to request that you conduct a public hearing and upon conclusion adopt a resolution setting maximum allowable green waste commercial green waste and extra residential green
0:33:20waste collection and Disposal have put processing in parentheses because it is actually just composting which is a process rates effective January 1 2012.
0:33:31um so as reported in the last item we're not recommending we're not proposing any changes to East Bay sanitary company's regular garbage and green waste collection rates what's coming before you tonight isn't is a voluntary optional service for commercial entities
0:33:47including those multi-family complexes over four units um currently multiple weekly pickups of green waste are not available to commercial subscribers and there is no set rate for any commercial Greenway Service I looked into my records and you know the Greenways collection in El Cerrito was
0:34:07established in 1996 and it stipulated at the time it was just a at that time a bi-weekly GreenWise collection for residential only so that wasn't the consideration at that point that there may be interest in commercial green waste and that largely does include things like food scraps and compostable
0:34:24paper products and napkins and the like and we have had some interest from the the business Community a number of private schools have been interested in ramping up their participation in a program like this and so this is we've requested this at the company in order
0:34:38to to help establish that service for them so that the rates that are being proposed would cover a collection of green waste from those entities and also include the processing so unlike the the regular rate component which again you have the Integrated Waste Management the East Bay sanitary
0:34:56collection and the irf processing rates we're just kind of lumping them all into one for this so that it stands alone it's a complete service package um the proposed rate is less costly than the than collection and disposal of a garbage container of the same size would
0:35:15be so for example if you were a business and you had a 64 gallon garbage container picked up once weekly on a monthly basis that would cost you seventy four dollars and change whereas a once weekly pickup of the same size green waste container would only be 48.80 and so you'd be saving on
0:35:33primarily the disposal component because it is cheaper to process and compost that green waste than it is to process all of that stuff into a landfill so the proposed monthly rates for this new service would be kind of two service options one would be a 35 gallon
0:35:50container which would probably be for your you know businesses that are really just dealing in food waste because that stuff gets really heavy and you put you fill a 35 gallon container well full of that you'll be lucky we can roll it out the front door as well as a 64 gallon
0:36:02container which is going to be for a more loose less dense material so for 20 35 gallon container would be 25 and 22 cents per pickup and that could be up to five pickups per week Monday through Friday likewise for the 64 gallon container would be 48.80 per pickup
0:36:21um per day which could be up to five days per week and those are monthly monthly rates um I'm pretty excited about this because it's taken a while for me to get here and make this a priority but it'll be a valuable service specifically to those you know businesses
0:36:41um and the number of the private schools again who requested it I don't expect that there'll be a flood initially it is a voluntary program and it requires some Management on the part of the the business to make sure that they are either learning how to do it appropriately not contaminating it and
0:36:56it's an additional cost initially but like possibly it could possibly be offset if they reduce their garbage container collection frequency or size accordingly but uh it'll definitely be very valuable and help to divert additional tonnage of green waste from the landfill this year
0:37:12and it'll probably be an ongoing concern and just grow in popularity over time and and one thing I didn't include in the staff report but I do anticipate getting a postcard out to the commercial businesses about this the availability of this service sometime in the new year
0:37:25and probably detailing some of the other recycling Statewide recycling legislation regulations that have coming down the pipeline so they know what's available and what some of the expectations are going to be um one item before I conclude it should be noted that Weekly collection of one
0:37:4364 gallon green waste container is already included in the residential rates so you know single family residents and multi-family four units and Below already get one green waste container 64 gallon picked up once weekly all inclusive and what they've already paid if they want an additional
0:38:01container these same rates would apply on a once weekly basis so it's a it's codifying getting that extra an additional service for those those entities believe that's all I have to report on again thank you for the time and if you have any questions I'm happy to take
A resolution fixing the integrated waste management fee effective 1 January 2012 was moved, seconded and carried with no opposition heard.
Opening the second hearing, Schultz, addressing Mayor Jones's question, presented maximum rates for a new, voluntary commercial green waste service and for extra residential green waste, effective 1 January 2012. Commercial customers, including multifamily complexes over four units, could not get multiple weekly green waste pickups and had no set rate; green waste collection, established in 1996, was then a biweekly residential service. Interest had come from businesses and a number of private schools. The single rate covers collection and composting together, and is cheaper than garbage: a weekly 64-gallon garbage container costs seventy four dollars and change a month, against 48.80 for the same size green waste container.
Two options were proposed: a 35-gallon container, suited to heavy food waste, at 25 and 22 cents (as captioned) per pickup, and a 64-gallon container for looser material at 48.80 per pickup, each with up to five pickups a week, Monday through Friday, as monthly rates. Schultz did not expect a flood at first, since the program takes management and initial cost, possibly offset by smaller or less frequent garbage service, but expected it to divert tonnage and grow; a postcard to businesses would follow in the new year. Residents already get one weekly 64-gallon green waste pickup in their rates; extra containers would use these rates.
Outcome CarriedIntegrated waste management fee resolution adopted.
08 Rolling out green waste pickup, and the vote captions 124–156
0:38:17them questions I'm happy to go first um this is so exciting Mr Schultz as somebody who lives in an apartment I've just been waiting for this to come along um so I'm very interested in and I'll be watching and I I'll be interested in getting updates from you on how the
0:38:32process is going and sort of what your plan of attack is is the idea that initially you'll just sort of get the word out through the garbage bills that this will become available and then people can sign up as they like or is there sort of a more structured process
0:38:46that you envision going through to maybe focus on some of our larger commercial areas first or so talk me through how you think this is going to roll out it depends I mean ultimately for the success of a program like this and also to assess I mean it's something East Bay
0:38:59sanitary hasn't done before I have some experience doing it in another city um it can be a challenge and I think the the best approach initially is to get those low-hanging fruit the businesses and complexes are really ready to go and want to do it and really have a
0:39:13motivation to do it because they're going to be the easiest we're going to get the best data from them about how it's working what's acceptable what some of the Falls are and that you know for the first six months I'll probably do us pretty well just to get some of those on
0:39:25board additionally East Bay sanitaries running some new trucks into operation in the new year and it's going to take us a little while to really assess what capacity they have to take more of this additional material the plan right now is just to incorporate it into an
0:39:38existing capacity existing routes and there should be plenty right now but to get more of an assessment of how many more commercial customers can come on board at what tonnages at what loads it'll take us a little bit of analysis so I think for the first six months it'll be
0:39:53kind of the low hanging fruit certainly want to get the word out there and again I do anticipate some sort of direct Outreach to them via printed media either our newsletter or in a separate postcard to commercial entities then I would expect probably when we get into
0:40:06the next fiscal year we'll have a more developed plan to do to do more with those customers okay so the you you already know at this point sort of those users that have an interest and are kind of ready to go and you feel like perhaps for the first six months those you've
0:40:24already identified are going to be sort of the pilot users I expect some others are going to come out of the woodwork um the ones I haven't heard from before I know which ones I've had per from and I'll I'm going to let them know it's it's ready there'll be some others that
0:40:35are going to be coming and there will certainly be accommodated and then others who see it in printed Media or elsewhere throughout the city and call up and want to get it we'll get the service okay and just out of curiosity you mentioned um the Greenways can be picked up to up
0:40:49to five days a week is that consistent or or is that suitable for restaurant users is that something that other cities have available who have a full full-fledged green waste program that restaurants will use five days a week and that's okay for their purposes um in my experience I ran it in the city
0:41:07of Fremont for a year with a pilot program down there and it was only provided three days a week and it was suitable for most restaurants five days a week is great and it's it's great to be able to have that ability for these for for our businesses and it's nice
0:41:21that we have a city size and geography that we do and it's pretty easy to be able to accommodate that so it's I think this is a very good level of service to be able to provide okay great thank you yeah this is yes I have a question first of all I want to say that I'm also very excited
0:41:38about this program and I want to see why I'm excited about this program because I think that it will help us in our climate action plan at least that's my hope and I was running if you had been able yet and I know we don't even have the plan completed the climate action
0:41:54plan uh have you been able to quantify the impact that it might have on that program in um Maria Sanders the other environmental analyst in our division is the primary staff person working on that so she's got all the calculations and I'm glad that she gets to to run those
0:42:12um but things like this have most absolutely been Quantified I don't think we've Quantified the specific net impacts of this specific program but overall getting food waste and other compostables out of the landfill is a major component that is I believe in there already in terms of the draft and
0:42:30it is a major way from a solid waste perspective to reduce greenhouse gas emissions so that is absolutely right and that that's very good news thank you thank you great yeah I've got uh some knowledge that the Integrated Waste Management the regional area is looking at doing a
0:42:49similar Outreach and education program are you going to be working with recycle more on this Outreach because they're also considering introducing a similar service in within our overall service area absolutely we always want to work with recycle more or any other local
0:43:05agencies that are doing similar things I think where things get a little bit different is in terms of the execution of the program and just how it's pitched they have not yet approached me specifically about their Outreach campaign but we will definitely chat and
0:43:19see what we can do together and then I know um council member benicini was focused on the multi-family uh but I am curious how you would be what type of containers uh would be expected in some of these storefronts to in order to promote recycling I you know think of some of
0:43:40our local coffee shops that might be able to recycle or compost rather the you know their caught the paper side of them but not the plastic lid side so just curious what um what are how far is the is the educational services going to go and what are some of the
0:43:59um policies or guidance that we're going to give various businesses about having these in-store collection points well first um thank you that's a great question and I think uh the first point is we are always available in myself specifically I'm always available to go
0:44:19and work directly with commercial entities and even single family home employers for that matter to figure out ways to be able to work on reducing their solid waste and Advising them on the types of containers the types of things that work the things they ought
0:44:31to consider um and primarily that really is on them because they have individual needs and only know they know what's going to fit their needs best I've worked in some programs where you just have a bunch of containers that you make available to them but more often than not those don't
0:44:44really work for them and you kind of have to buy a once a size fits-all approach that a number of which go unused because not everybody is a one size fits-all type person um on the commercial businesses and restaurants in particular so much of what they're going to be doing on a food
0:45:00waste standpoint is going to be back of the house in the kitchens and that's where most of this stuff takes place in terms of you know pre-food prep cook prep actual cooking and then getting stuff off the plates when they come back in so that I think coffee shops is a really
0:45:14good example they'd be putting a bin aside and probably trying to label it collect it separately working with whoever's collecting it and making sure they're getting it to the right bin but overall their system may not change that much great thank you thank you
0:45:29any other questions here thank you appreciate it uh since there's no further questions from the council we'd like to open the public hearing and hear comments from the public I have no speaker slips okay with that uh I'd like to call for an ending of the public hearing I moved
0:45:48to close the public hearing second we'll move a second to close the hearing all those in favor aye opposed motion carries public hearing is closed any additional comments by Council I am excited about this us opera offering this opportunity to the public and I'm
0:46:06really looking forward to visiting some of our businesses and seeing compost bins you know out in the work out in the service areas that it reminds people that El Cerrito is providing this service and we are a community that is committed to being sustainable excited because
0:46:29Binger away we are collecting our compostables and bringing them up so I'm excited to to share that with the rest of our businesses and multi-family homes so I would move that we adopt a resolution of the city council to establish a maximum to establish establishing maximum allowable
0:46:50commercial green waste and extra residential green waste collection and Disposal rates effective January 1st 2012. second it's been moved and seconded on the motion all those in favor aye aye opposed motion carries thank you next agenda item please policy matters
Benassini said “as somebody who lives in an apartment I've just been waiting for this to come along,” and asked how it would roll out. Schultz, who had run a pilot in Fremont for a year, said the best start is the “low-hanging fruit”, businesses and complexes ready and motivated, for about the first six months, while East Bay Sanitary assesses new trucks and route capacity, with a more developed plan in the next fiscal year; five pickups a week exceeds the three days Fremont offered and suits restaurants.
A councilmember, hoping the program would help the climate action plan, asked whether its impact had been quantified; Schultz said environmental analyst Maria Sanders was doing those calculations and that the specific program had not been quantified, but getting food waste and compostables out of the landfill is, Schultz believed, already a major component of the draft. Another councilmember asked whether staff would work with Recycle More, which was considering a similar regional service, and what containers storefronts such as coffee shops would use; Schultz said staff would coordinate, and is available to advise businesses, since needs vary and most restaurant food waste is collected back of house.
With no speaker slips, the hearing was closed. A councilmember, looking forward to seeing compost bins at local businesses as a reminder that “we are a community that is committed to being sustainable,” moved the resolution setting maximum commercial green waste and extra residential green waste rates; it was seconded and carried with no opposition heard.
Outcome CarriedCommercial and extra residential green waste rates adopted.
09 Opting in to keep redevelopment alive captions 157–170
0:47:097A confirming the intent to make the opt-in payment for the voluntary alternative Redevelopment program presentation thank you good evening mayor Jones and council members I'm Lori Trevino the Redevelopment manager we're here this evening to confirm the council's intent to opt in to the
0:47:28voluntary alternative Redevelopment program by making the necessary payment on January 15th we're anticipating a decision from the Supreme Court on the constitutionality of the state takeaway in the next month or so as discussed in the staff report should that program be
0:47:45found constitutional opting in will enable the city to preserve projects and programs however scaled back they may be allowing the agency to be dissolved or should that be done by the court it would have a devastating impact on the city going well beyond just Redevelopment projects and programs if
0:48:04you have any questions regarding the analysis that's in the staff report I'm happy to answer any questions that you have as is Hildy mile the housing manager who's here this evening as well okay any questions you're leaving this up to me okay I I do have a few I'm sorry
0:48:23uh in in the report and in your pass-through carry pass through projections for them um does that take in the 35 percent that we're supposed to pay in addition to everything to the school districts that the state law is requiring it doesn't because the projections that you have in front of
0:48:48you are assuming just a baseline um of activity which is what the minimal activity would be if we were going to be doing anything in addition to this um based on uh greater tax increment growth yes if there was any sort of new obligation we'd have to take into account the 35 percent
0:49:08off the top to the schools yeah last time you presented there there still was some has that been clarified or is everything kind of stopping until the courts everything is just quiet right now yeah yeah because there was it was a little for instance we don't know if the
0:49:2335 percent goes to projects we already have right under contract or not when the legislation was a little bit cryptic in that regard and so there there really hasn't been any clarification of that language okay thank you yeah um okay that's all I have I do have a quick
0:49:45question um on page five of your report um you were talking about you know the activities that can continue if we make the payments and then um and one of them would would have been developing an inclusionary housing ordinance but then in the following section there's also
0:50:03um the same item comes up as something that you can't do so I'm just confused about or if you could confirm is is that something we would do or not and what what list is it under I think that the difference is an ordinance versus a program but I'm going to let Hill
0:50:17depress that that's helpful thanks Hildy mile housing project manager um your question is um uh well put the essentially the first item that we can continue um is Staff work towards an inclusionary housing program the item that would need additional budget to fund would be
0:50:38pursuing a Nexus study typically inclusionary housing ordinances are supported by a study of what the inclusionary um uh I'll call it a need would be what's supportable a 10 requirement a 15 requirement what's the income level that you're reaching towards um and there's also been
0:51:01um two recent cases in law that have slightly changed town collision a programs are pursued and some cities in response to that are actually doing studies that are similar similar to a Nexus Nexus study that you would do for an impact fee so those would require additional budget to
0:51:18pursue so the difference is sort of what staff can pursue towards an inclusionary program versus what would require budget to to implement does that clarify your question yeah thank you okay is there any other questions for staff very nice report okay bring it back for uh do we have a
Redevelopment manager Lori Trevino asked the Council to confirm its intent to opt in to the voluntary alternative redevelopment program by making the required payment on 15 January, with a state Supreme Court decision on the constitutionality of the state takeaway expected in the next month or so. If the program is upheld, opting in would let the city keep projects and programs, however scaled back; letting the agency be dissolved, or having the court do so, “would have a devastating impact on the city” well beyond redevelopment.
A councilmember asked whether the pass-through projections included the 35 percent the state law requires paying to school districts; Trevino said the projections assume only baseline activity, and any new obligation would have to take the 35 percent off the top. Everything was “just quiet right now” pending the courts, with no clarification of whether the 35 percent applies to projects already under contract. Another councilmember asked why an inclusionary housing ordinance appeared both as work that could continue and as work that could not; housing manager Hildy Mile (as captioned) explained that staff can keep working toward an inclusionary housing program, while a nexus study of what requirement (10 or 15 percent, as captioned) and income levels are supportable would need additional budget, all the more since two recent court cases had changed how such programs are pursued.
10 Reluctant approval of the opt-in payment captions 171–180
0:51:40motion I have a motion um yeah I would like to provide a comment to staff I appreciate the staff report tremendously and I really appreciate how clear clear you've been on this topic for the last six months despite how um cloudy the cop the topic is so I do want
0:52:02to express my thanks um and you know my reluctance with uh with the whole process is is not aimed at staff or how well our Redevelopment agency is is working it's much more about my um unhappiness about how the state has gone about this and and their actions so I
0:52:25don't I want to make sure that you know all of my reluctance and on this topic is is not has nothing to do with staff and or the Redevelopment agency that's been going on so thank you okay is there a motion I'll make a motion okay I move adoption of a resolution
0:52:41confirming the city council's intent to make the opt-in payment for the voluntary alternative Redevelopment program our varp I guess it's called and it's uh and uh authorized staff to make the payment on January 15 2012.
0:52:59contingent on the state Supreme Court ruling that the states abolition of Redevelopment agencies and its establishment of the varp are both constitutional is there a second well second the motion been moved and seconded on the motion any further discussion on this or comments
0:53:19I would just like to say I I'm not gonna let me let me put it this way uh I won't belabor the point other than to say my my feelings haven't changed on this subject and uh uh the here's the thing and I and and I think uh uh council member Lyman had put it this is not
0:53:43um a comment about staff as much as the the the subject itself we're assuming some unknowns here um and it's real hard to to go forward I mean everything has come to a standstill and yet we're we're being asked and the reason why we're being asked this is we have to make a
0:54:03deadline of January 15th courts have said that they they recognize that deadline and they'll try to give us a decision by then it hasn't come so here we are trying to make a final decision so the city knows how to plan in the next month and there are some unknowns uh I'm in favor of this
0:54:21because I think we have to protect our our projects that we have in the hopper at the same time I hope this the assumptions are clarified at some point in the future and so that we can plan more than just a month ahead of time so at any rate uh you know if there
0:54:39isn't any uh more discussion on that uh like to vote on on the motion all those in favor aye opposed motion carries thank you next agenda item please 7B annual city council liaison reorganization and appointments great I guess that's the mayor's that you hear um
Councilmember Greg Lyman thanked staff for being so clear for six months on a cloudy topic and said Lyman's reluctance was “much more about my unhappiness about how the state has gone about this” and had nothing to do with staff or the redevelopment agency. A councilmember moved to confirm the Council's intent to make the opt-in payment for the voluntary alternative redevelopment program ("varp") and authorize staff to pay on 15 January 2012, contingent on the state Supreme Court ruling that both the abolition of redevelopment agencies and the program are constitutional; the motion was seconded.
Jones said Jones's feelings on the subject had not changed and, as Lyman had put it, the concern was the subject, not staff: “we're assuming some unknowns here,” everything had come to a standstill, and the court, though it recognized the 15 January deadline, had not ruled. Jones supported the motion to protect projects “we have in the hopper” and hoped the assumptions would be clarified so the city could plan more than a month ahead. The motion carried with no opposition heard.
Outcome CarriedIntent to make the opt-in payment confirmed, contingent on the Supreme Court ruling.
11 Liaison assignments, reports, and a memorial tree captions 181–189
0:55:04the appointments are as published here in the in the agenda packet and it's just outlining for those of you that may not have it it's outlining the appointments that the council members have have various assignments throughout the year and it's outlining who's responsible for that
0:55:24um for I'll just go over the one which is the commission boards and committee arts and culture commission is council member benazini crime prevention is uh mayor Jones committee on Aging is council member Abelson design review board is Jones Economic Development board Lyman council
0:55:50member Lyman Pro tem alignment Environmental Quality committee uh Abelson Finance Advisory Board council member Chang human relations commission council member Chang Park and Recreation Commission benazini and Planning Commission Lyman all right okay so let's go to the last agenda item
0:56:21please Council assignments and liaison reports all right any comments reports in I do I just wanted to announce at the last WIC tech meeting I was elected chair for the upcoming year so congratulations and um at the Environmental Quality committee a um they had the election for
0:56:48chair and vice chair and the and the prior chair Ron Engelman our original chair actually um did not decline to run again he thought it was um it was time and so we elected or I didn't they did a new chair uh Emily uh Corvin Corvin and the new Vice chair is Mark minor and so it
0:57:14should be a really nice year good looking forward to working with the group thank you okay before we adjourn I just want to make sure that uh people unders I know that we'll have a special council meeting scheduled for January 3rd seven o'clock to be conducted uh at the hillside
0:57:34conference room and the purpose of this is for board and commission interviews and we'll be spending a good two and a half to three hours on that also before we adjourn I do want to um point out that one of our wall of fame members it will have a memorial tree planting tomorrow this is for Don West
0:57:57the memorial tree planting is one o'clock tomorrow Tuesday December 20th at the Memorial Grove on Schmidt Lane so hopefully those that are watching at home who remember Don can come out and pay your respects thank you and if if that's all we will adjourn this meeting till January 3rd
0:58:242012. happy uh holiday and New Year
Under the annual liaison reorganization, Jones read the assignments as published in the packet: Arts and Culture Commission, Benassini; crime prevention, Mayor Jones; Committee on Aging, Abelson; Design Review Board, Jones; Economic Development board, Lyman (the reading continues "council member Lyman Pro tem"); Environmental Quality Committee, Abelson; Financial Advisory Board and Human Relations Commission, Chang; Park and Recreation Commission, Benassini; Planning Commission, Lyman.
In liaison reports, a councilmember had been elected chair of the WIC tech (as captioned) group for the coming year, and reported that the Environmental Quality Committee's original chair, Ron Engelman (as captioned), had decided not to run again; the committee elected Emily Corvin (as captioned) chair and Mark Minor (as captioned) vice chair. Jones announced a special Council meeting on 3 January at 7 p.m. in the Hillside conference room for two and a half to three hours of board and commission interviews, and a memorial tree planting for Wall of Fame member Don West at 1 p.m. on Tuesday 20 December at the Memorial Grove on Schmidt Lane. The meeting adjourned to 3 January 2012.