HomeMy WebLinkAbout09-16-2014 clr ashbaughKremke, Kate
From: Mejia, Anthony
Sent: Tuesday, September 09, 2014 2:58 PM
To: Kremke, Kate
Subject: FW: League of Cities Conference in LA
Agenda Correspondence for 09/16/14 Council Liaison Reports — Ashbaugh.
Anthony J. Mejia, MMC I City Clerk
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From: Ashbaugh, John
Sent: Monday, September 08, 2014 9:59 PM
To: Lichtig, Katie
Cc: Dietrick, Christine; Codron, Michael; Mejia, Anthony; Johnson, Derek; Grigsby, Daryl
Subject: League of Cities Conference in LA
As you know, I was privileged to attend the League of California Cities Conference in LA this past week. I've
attended four of these LCC Conferences since being elected in 2008, and they've all been worthwhile. This
one was especially enjoyable because I had the company of Daryl Grigsby for the ride there and back — as well
as the chance to interact with the Mayor, Councilmember Christianson, and the staff who attended with us. I
would encourage all Council members and Department heads to attend League events whenever possible.
Here's a brief report on the conference "highlights" for me. Please feel free to disseminate it to the Department
heads and /or to my colleagues on the Council as you see fit. Additionally, Anthony should probably distribute
this as Agenda Correspondence for the September 16 meeting.
Environmental Qualitv Committee — Resolution to Request Statewide Summit on Ille -gal Marijuana
Cultivation: On Wednesday morning, Daryl and I arrived in time to attend the Environmental Quality
Policy Committee, and contribute to the discussion and near - unanimous vote to recommend a
resolution requesting that the Governor call a statewide summit to address the issues associated with
illegal cultivation of marijuana. This resolution was passed by the entire League Board on Friday. Much
of the motivation for this resolution is based on a tragic murder in August, 2011 of a City Council
member from Fort Bragg who was investigating an illegal marijuana "grow" in public land in Mendocino
County. Both the Public Safety and EQ Committees reviewed and acted upon this resolution. I expect
the Governor to act quickly to respond to it, with a multi- agency approach to prepare for this summit. I
only hope that his Cabinet and staff will prepare adequately for this summit. We ourselves have had the
unfortunate experience last May of being caught flat- footed by the visceral antagonism that is often
associated with this issue. I believe that the Mayor of Arcata, Mark Wheatley, will be a key "point
person" for the League in preparing for this summit. He was also on the Conference Planning
Committee.
Additional note: The EQ Committee, and the full board, also voted to endorse the Governor's $7.5
billion Water Bond on the November ballot (Proposition 1).
2. Keynote speaker Benjamin Barber: "If Mayors Ruled the World" made the basic point that the nation -
state is, well, over -rated in comparison to the action and the opportunities that are available to those
who control the vast economic and political resources that comprise our cities and metro areas. Only
about 7% of the American people trust the US Congress, and a paltry 37% express support for this
President - but fully 85% indicate that they trust their Mayors and Council members!
3. Union Pacific RR Company: I spent a few minutes chatting with Lisa Lawson Stark of UPRR, who
happened to be staffing the exhibit for UP on Wednesday afternoon. I've since corresponded with her
to follow through, offering to assist UP on securing their right -of -way as we also progress on the
possible use of the original route for our Railroad Safety Bicycle Trail. (This is the type of serendipitous
conversation that is always possible at a convention like this — hopefully it will add some momentum to
the efforts by all city representatives on that important project.
4. Seminar on "Keeping Focus and Passion ": Council members and staff from Santa Monica, Redwood
City, and Beverly Hills gave some great insights about how to forge a "cooperatively functioning group"
on a Council, even when the idea of a "team" is not possible (sound familiar ?) Governing is, however, a
"team sport" and one needs to "lean in" and engage, even when conditions are challenging. Keep
asking "what's happening now" and seek good counsel. Much of this is standard "gospel" for managers
in both the public and private sector, but it bears repetition. I used some time in the Q &A to bring up the
SLO Goal- Setting process as an example of how a city can "self- renew" following an election; several
people contacted me afterward and asked me to send them the copy of our resolution that we passed
just last Tuesday on the next round of goal- setting.
5. Keynote Speaker Michael Pritchard: This affable and effective motivational speaker gave line after
quotable line, from Cesar Chavez to Shakespeare to the Psalms while openly acknowledging how hard
he was working before a crowd of several thousand municipal leaders. ( "I'm sweating like Paris Hilton
on Jeopardy. ") One Oscar Wilde quote made it all worthwhile: "Be YOURSELF — everyone else is
already taken." I also liked his advice, "Don't play angry tag."
6. "The Elephant Not in the Room — Documenting the Silent Majority ": In this seminar on Public
Engagement, consultants and reps from Loma Linda, Chico, and Fremont talked about a conceptual
framework from the International Association of Public Participation, the "Spectrum of Public
Participation" (IAP2 as it is known). Very useful in any city, especially where there are difficulties in
getting reluctant citizens to speak out —a challenge for many cities, though not so much in SLO,
thankfully. There was discussion about several online strategies for public engagement, and of course
we're already using "MindMixer" for the LU /CE Update. We might want to employ this or some similar
variation in our Council Goal Setting this fall. Then again, there are other platforms that could be
superior for this purpose.
In addition to these highlights, I attended sessions on the "Realignment" taking place in the State's criminal
justice system (AB 109); sustainability and energy conservation; infrastructure financing districts; legislative
updates; and the League's flagship municipal recognition program, the Beacon Awards. It's my strong hope
that we can assemble a team to nominate one of our city's programs for the Beacon Award next year.
Final note - I attended a session on financing for energy conservation programs with John March and the
Mayor of Livermore. That city has a special "claim to fame" in one of their fire stations: The longest- burning
light bulb in history! This 60 -watt light bulb was manufactured by the Shelby Electric Company in 1901 and is
still burning, and has been almost continuously for 113 years. Last year it was certified by the Guinness Book
of World Records. There's a web site for it, of course, complete with a live web -cam at
http: / /www.centennialbulb.org .
John Ashbaugh
Council Member
CITY OF
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990 Palm Street, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401 -3249
E jashbaugh @slocity.org
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