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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09/21/1981M I U T E S ADJOURNED MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL CITY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 1981 - 12:10 P.M. COUNCIL HEARING ROOM, CITY HALL, 990 PALM STREET SAN LUIS OBISPO, CALIFORNIA STUDY SESSION ROLL CALL Councilmembers Present: GlennaDeane Dovey, Ron Dunin, Robert Griffin, Allen Settle and Mayor Melanie C. Billig Absent: None City Staff Present: Bill Hanley, Interim Administrative Officer; Pam Voges, City Clerk; Henry Engen, Community Development Director; Wayne Peterson, City Engineer; Geoff Grote, Legal Assistant; Dave Romero, Public Services Director, and Dave Elliot, Public Services Assistant 1. SURPLUS CITY PROPERTY BID - PALM AND OSOS Council considered a proposal from Mosaic Architecture in the amount of $506,500 (minimum bid $450,000) for city property declared surplus located on the southwest corner of Palm and Osos Streets (22,016 sq. ft.); bids.:opended.9 /1/81. Mayor Billig stated that the purpose of this meeting was to hear the presentation by the Architectural Firm, take public testimony, and then set for a public hearing date. Henry Engen, Community Development Director, briefly explained that on April 21, 1981, the Council had declared this property surplus. It had been advertised for bid, one bid was received by Mosaic Architecture in the amount of $506,500. He briefly went over the general specifications. Ashok M. Khosla, Principal of Mosaic Architecture, presented the plans and explained how this would allow for mixed uses of development. He stated, in his opinion, it allowed for the highest and best use for the land by.-.locating businesses on the first floor, offices on the second floor, and condominums on the third floor. Also, it allowed for 24 -hour security because people worked and lived in the same place which would make it more secure. Nick . stated that it will encourage pedestrians to walk through the _mall, which was similar to several European styles, and it will also be doubling the street frontage. ' Mr. Khosla stated that there are four issues involved here: 1) spatial, 2) adequate protection from the wind, 3) security, and 4) shade and sun. He felt the building represented a prestigious building and would enhance the community. Upon question by Councilman Settle, he stated that this plan allowed for 53 parking spaces, which he felt would be adequate as he saw less automobile traffic in the future, not more. City Council Minutes September 21, 1981 - 12:10 p.m. Page 2 Henry Engen stated that at this time that area required approximately 90 parking spaces but with the mixed use would probably allow a reduc- tion of about 20 percent depending on those uses. He felt he could work with the applicant on getting the required number of parking spaces. Councilman Dunin stated he could felt the project was a good one, parking structure, and that he c Councilman Settle stated that he was complimentary to the parking and he could support the design. out also. support the mixed use approach. He related well with the projected Duld support it. , felt it was an exceptional project, it structure, he liked the arcade walkway, He felt the parking could be worked Councilwoman Dovey stated that she liked the architectural design and was very supportive of the project. Councilman Griffin also supported the mixed use concept and was support- ive of the project in general. Mayor Billig stated she felt this project would really enhance the downtown. Councilman Dunin suggested that representatives of Mosaic Architecture appear before the B.I.A. and also give them a presentation prior to coming back to the City Council. After brief discussion it was moved by Councilman Settle, seconded by Councilman Dunin, to give conceptual approval and acceptance of bid for the design and project to Mosaic Architecture in the amount of $506,500. Motion carried on the following roll call vote: AYES: Councilmembers Settle, Dunin, Dovey, Griffin and Mayor Billig NOES: None ABSENT: None 2. A. MUNICIPAL TRANSIT CAPITAL PROGRAM 1. Council considered broad bid specifications for purchase of new transit buses. Dave Romero, Public Services Director, presented the general specifica- tions for purchase of three, 30ft. 31- passenger buses and urged Council's approval. After brief discussion it was moved by Councilman Dunin, seconded by Councilman Settle, to approve general bid specifications for the pur- chase of three, 30ft. 31- passenger buses as recommended by staff to include exhaust system on top two vents, noise criteria, handicap lifts, and no air conditioning. 2. Council considered alternative plans for financing a bus maintenance yard. Dave Romero stated that the Council did not need to take any action on this item but presented Scenarios 1, 2, and 3 for the proposed bus maintenance yard. After brief discussion and upon general consensus, the financing of the bus maintenance yard was received and filed. City Council Minutes September 21, 1981 - 12:10 p.m. Page 3 3. Council considered the resolution to approve the.1981/82 Transportation Development Act (SB 325) claim. Dave Romero stated that the Mass Transportation Committee recommended that the City Council appropriate the entire $100,000 additional funds for a transit capital reserve. He stated that the City would need around $40,000 to cover increased costs beyond those approved by the grants for the purchase of these three new transit vehicles. He felt it would be prudent to set those funds aside. The remainder of the $100,000 ($60,000) he believed could be better spent on a street pro- gram. In recent years the city expended more and more of the funds on transit operations, removal of handicapped barriers, drainage, street tree landscaping, and sidewalk repairs and this was leaving less and less for routine street maintenance. He stated that they were now at the point . where they were spending very minimal amounts and would .be making almost no progress this year on the Street Deficiency Prior- ity List approved by the City Council on May 19. He stated that the list included 39 maintenance projects totaling.over 1 million dollars, in addition to seal costs totaling over $200,000 and improvement•pro- jects totaling over 5 million dollars. He was simply unable to main- tain the streets in their current condition unless additional funds were made available. For this reason, he would urge Council to appro- priate only $50,000 in the Transit Capital Reserve. Councilman Dunin stated he would support staff's recommendation to include $50,000 in the Transit Capital Reserve. Councilman Griffin stated he would like to see the vast majorities of funds go to the transit system as recommended by the Mass Trans- portation Committee. After brief discussion it was moved by Councilman Dunin, seconded by Councilman Settle, the following resolution was introduced: Resolution No. 4620 (1981 Series), a resolution of the Council of the City of San Luis Obispo approving the 1981 /82 Annual Transportation Claim as amended appropriating 60 percent of the additional TDA monies for the Transit Capital Reserve and 40 percent for street deficiencies. Passed and adopted on the following roll call vote: AYES: Councilmembers Dunin, Settle, Dovey, Griffin and Mayor Billig NOES: None ABSENT: None B. MUNICIPAL TRANSIT PROMOTION PROGRAM 1. Council considered a report on progress, costs, and benefits of the Transit Promotion Program and a resolution appropriating $8,100 in the Municipal Transit Fund for transit promotion. Henry Engen, Community Development Director, stated that part of the recommendation was the expenditure of $4,500 for an in -house survey. He was concerned that this would require utilizing some of his staff members, which at this time, he did not feel that he could readily afford and was not budgeted for. Vic Kamhi, representing SLO COG, stated that COG had recently received a limited amount of money for similar such surveys and that possibly COG and the City could work together on this. Bill Hanley, Interim Administrative marketing and promotion will do no good access and needed destination a good survey, not just a broadcast sampling of the community's needs. Officer, stated that 1) all the good if the route did not provide points, and 2) he felt you needed survey. It has to be a scientific City Council Minutes September 21, 1981 - .12:10.p.m. Page 4 Councilwoman Dovey stated she would be willing to go ahead with the recommended short -term promotion program and, providing that a good response is received, she recommended that the City hold off on the survey until a later date. Councilman Dunin stated that he felt the survey would be a waste of money. He felt we already had a good idea as to who was presently riding the buses. Councilman Griffin stated he could not support the survey until all avenues had been explored. Helen Karlevich stated that the public wants more buses running more frequently and more bus service on Sunday. She would rather see these monies put to improve this service, not waste it on a survey. She suggested one form of advertisment that would not cost the City any additional monies would be to advertise on any type of notices that came from the City to the public, such as Park & Recreation notices. She would also like to see more advertisment at Cal Poly maybe in the form of posters around the school. She added that Cal Poly does not have any pick -ups on its route to Avila Beach and she felt that it should make stops. She would also like to see reinstated the 50 cent/ 75 cent zone areas. Rose Barger, member of the Mass Transportation Committee, stated she was also opposed to the expenditure for the $4,500 survey. Vic Kamhi, COG, stated that he was supportive of the survey because he felt that we needed to know what the people "don't know." He stated that. without the survey, you do not know if needs such as additional Sunday service were necessary or would it be better to have extra runs on Thursday nights for your Thursday night shoppers or special runs to Madonna Plaza, etc. Upon question, Pat Linningtou, San Luis Transportation, stated if the choice was his, he would use the survey. He felt that it was an important survey, especially for information about the north - coastal route. He would suggest that a ridership- feedback card be put on all buses and get at least that sort of information from the riders. He felt a better sampling would be received if the City waited until January to do the survey. Councilman Settle stated that he would support putting the survey off until January or until the City got bigger buses and had explored other possibilities. He agreed with using a ridership- feedback card. After brief discussion and upon general consensus, the Transit Pro- motion Program Report was received and filed. On motion of Councilman Griffin, seconded by Councilwoman Dovey, the following resolution was introduced: Resolution No. 4621 (1981 Series), a resolution of the Council of the City of San Luis Obispo.appropriating $3,600 for short -term bus promotion program. Survey deferred until at least January, 1982. Passed and adopted on the following roll call vote: AYES: Councilmembers Dovey, Dunin, Griffin, Settle and Mayor Billig NOES: None ABSENT: None Councilman Dunin and Mayor Billig stated that in addition to the feed- back cards, they would like to tap those people who do not ride the buses at all and encourage new ridership. City Council Minutes September 21, 1981 - 12:10 p.m. Page 5 .On motion of.Councilman Dunin, seconded by Councilman Settle, to direct the Public Services Department to advertise for a local agency for RFP's for promotional advertising program for SLO bus system. Motion carried, all ayes. Mayor Billig stated that she would like to see any City advertising, such as water bills, and ads that go out of the Park & Recreation Dep- artment, to reflect some sort of promotion for the bus system. C. REGIONAL TRANSIT BETWEEN ATASCADERO AND SAN LUIS OBISPO 1. Council considered alternate means to provide transit between Atascadero and San Luis Obispo. Dave Romero stated that at the un -met needs hearing of March 12, San Luis Obispo Council of Governments decided that there was probably an un -met need for transit service between San Luis Obispo and Atascadero, but there was not enough evidence to formally declare this an un -met need. Rather than solicit additional testimony or conduct a survey, COG authorized a pilot project to operate transit service between San Luis Obispo and Atascadero for one year to demonstrate the existence of such a need for transit existence. 'SLO COG also directed the Reg- ional Transit Manager (George Protopapas) to evaluate the cost for alternate means of conducting this pilot program. In the memorandum to COG dated April 1, Mr. Protopapas presented four alternatives and recommended that the JPA for handicapped transportation be reorganized as a Regional Transit Authority allowing the county engineer to operate the pilot program. COG rejected the reorganization but approved an amendment. to the JPA for handicapped transportation towards the same end. In a letter to Bill Hanley dated August 3, the Regional Transit Manager requested immediate City Council ratification of the proposed amendment. At its meeting of September 1, Council deferred ratification pending staff review of the amendment and its consequences. Mr. Proto- papas then reported that he felt there were two reasonable alternatives for operating the San Luis Obispo /Atascadero service. 1) Having the county engineer operate it through the JPA for handicapped transportation, or 2) having North - Coastal Transit Authority operate it through the North - Coastal Transit JPA. He felt that either system would cost approx- imately $41,000 to operate for one year. If the county engineer operated the service, it would be subject to price fluctuations, labor, fuel, and maintenance costs. If North - Coastal operates the service, all operation costs would be fixed by contract. He recommended that the North Coastal Transportation Board operate the system. Geoff Grote, Legal Assistant, recommended Council approve the North - Coastal Transit alternative. He stated that the City of Atascadero had not at first been favorable, but at this time seemed likely to join. George Protopapas, County Engineer, also supported City staff recom- mendations. He could not support starting up another entity to carry this out. After brief discussion it was moved by Councilman Griffin, seconded by Mayor Billig, to authorize staff to go before North - Coastal Trans- portation Board urging the Board to consider operating the San Luis Obispo /Atascadero Service Pilot Program. Motion carried, all ayes. Ratification of the Joint Powers Agreement Amendment for the handicapped transportation was denied. 3. RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CPAC AND B.I.A. Council considered the relationship between the Community Parking Advisory Committee (CPAC) and the Business Improvement Area (B.I.A.). City Council Minutes September 21, 1981 - 12:10 p.m. Page 6 Councilman Dunin made a brief report on the relationship between B.I.A. and CPAC. He stated that at their last meeting there was general con- sensus by both the chairman and members of the B.I.A. that they should be cognizant of and agreeable to proposals that are generated by CPAC before any major presentations are made to the City Council. It was suggested that the City Council direct Wayne Peterson, City Engineer, to make a presentation to the B.I.A. Board giving an overview from the City's point of view and CPAC representative to also make a presen- tation to B.I.A. Mr. Dunin stated that when the B.I.A. was originally being formed, one of the selling points was the strong participation of the B.I.A. in the parking program. However, at this time there have been no funds set aside for the B.I.A.'s financial participation. He felt this definitely needed to be addressed by the board. Marcel Cote, Chairman of the B.I.A., stated that he had discussed this on occasion..with the executive director of the B.I.A. to put aside funds for this purpose. However, Mr. Bob Corcoran, Executive Director, maintained that it was the City's responsibility to handle the parking, not the B.I.A.'s, and he did not wish to set aside funds for that pur- pose. He felt funds collected by the B.I.A. should go towards adver- tising, not a parking structure. Mayor Billig commented that she felt it was the B.I.A. Board who should direct policy, not the Executive Director. Councilman Dunin suggested that the B.I.A. look at this again in the near future and examine this very closely. He felt there was misunder- standing now existing as to where the money should go and that the B.I.A. should direct more money toward promotional advertising of the downtown, or maybe allocate some monies towards the parking structure. Councilman Griffin suggested that the B.I.A. Executive Board develop a parking reserve outlining the basis upon setting aside funds. It was general consensus by the Council that this be done. Councilman Dunin further suggested that a future study session be set between CPAC, B.I.A. and the City Council. Upon general consensus the Council agreed that the B.I.A. should hear the CPAC presentation prior to their going to the Council for action. Further, that the City Engineer be directed to attend the B.I.A. Board Meeting to give a presentation on the City's point of view-and CPAC representative also make a presentation to B.I.A. Additionally, the Council suggested the B.I.A. Executive Board develop a parking reserve policy outlining the basis upon setting aside funds. There being no further business to come before the meeting, Mayor Billig adjourned the meeting at 2:20 p.m. to Tuesday, September 22, at 7:00 p.m., for continued discussion of the Circulation Element. Pr ela Voges, Cie C rk L n APPROVED BY COUNCIL: 10/27/81 1