Council Special Meeting

MINUTES CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING CITY OF MONTEREY Wednesday, May 24, 2017 4:00 - 5:30 PM FEW MEMORIAL HALL OF RECORDS, 580 PACIFIC STREET MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA Councilmembers Present: Councilmembers Barrett, Haffa, Smith, Roberson, Albert Absent: None City Staff HPM Administrative Analyst, City Manager, City Attorney, Director of Present: Information Resources/City Clerk, Assistant City Manager, Community Services Director, Fire Chief, Police Chief, Library Director, Acting Community Development Director, Housing & Property Manager, Principal Planner, Parking Superintendent, City Engineer CALL TO ORDER Mayor Roberson called the meeting to order at 4:04 p.m. and led the Pledge of Allegiance. PUBLIC COMMENTS Mayor Roberson opened the floor for public comments on items not on the agenda. Esther Malkin said that neighbors on the Monterey-Seaside border are feeling the influx of homeless encampments and vagrancy in the area. Sebastian Crivello, Festa Italia President, asked that the City help the festival with funding. Bob Massaro said that many non-profit organizations are run by volunteers and noted that Festa Italia submitted their grant application to the City on time, but were not able to attend the meeting to give a presentation to the committee. He asked the Council to consider them during the Budget hearing. Rick Johnson, Executive Director for OMBA, spoke in support of grant funds for Festa Italia. Maggie Weaver, Monterey Bay Roundup Conference representative, said that their conference was bounced from the Conference Center this year due to construction and she requested expense reimbursement for their move to another location. Having no further requests to speak, Mayor Roberson closed public comments. STUDY SESSION 1. Present Proposed FY2017/19 Biennial Budget (Not a project under CEQA Article 20, Section 15378 and under General Rule Article 5, Section 15061) (Finance - 406-03) Action: Received report City Manager McCarthy introduced the item, and Finance Director Porter presented the staff report and answered Councilmembers' questions. Councilmember Haffa arrived at 4:28 p.m. Councilmember Barrett asked why the leisure travel increased while the Conference Center has been under construction. Ms. Bui-Burton explained that the hospitality community VCB and individual hotel properties have made a push to market to leisure travelers such as families and people with disposable income. She said that the strong economy contributed as well as the light Winter where there was less snow at the ski resorts. City Manager McCarthy said that conferences have continued, even during the closure.  City Council Minutes Wednesday, May 24, 2017 Councilmember Haffa recalled a potential plan to transfer ending balance to the capital reserve, and Ms. Porter said that is an option. Councilmember Smith, MCCVB representative, agreed that the CVB has been targeting specific leisure travelers, thus keeping TOT strong, and now are shifting their strategy to group travel. He said he is looking forward to placing the two Police Officers in next year's budget rather than waiting until FY18-19. He asked for information regarding where they would be placed. He advocated for emphasis on traffic. He noted that some revenue from Measure X will start coming in for roadway projects. Councilmember Albert noted that some police and community services officers are assigned to the Tidelands Funds. Ms. Porter clarified that it might not be one specific officer assigned to that location, rather having a team of officers available. Councilmember Barrett expressed his support for increasing the Reserve for Economic Uncertainty. Councilmember Albert noted the upcoming drop in the ending balance over the next few years. Mayor Roberson opened public comment on the item. Esther Malkin said that two additional police offers does not seem to be enough. She voiced concerns about the funding from Tidelands for that. Mike Brassfield said that it was a great presentation. He said the placement of the officers should be left up to the Police Chief. He noted that smaller hotels now provide approximately 25% of the City's TOT, so it is not just the big hotels. He voiced concerns regarding private security guards, and asked Council to consider putting private security under the control of the Police Department. Having no further requests to speak, Mayor Roberson closed public comments. Mayor Roberson noted the current reality of costs going up in general. He said that it will be important to come together and ask residents to consider expanding Measure P. He said there will be tough choices that have to be made by the community and Council in order to balance the budget. Mayor Roberson called a recess at 5:15 p.m., then reconvened the meeting at 5:25 p.m. 2. Presentation on Options for a Uniformed Presence and outreach in the Downtown, Waterfront and Cannery Row areas – Monterey Police Department Community Service Officers or Private Security (Not a project under CEQA Article 20, Section 15378 and under General Rule Article 5, Section 15061) (Police - 406-04) Action: Received report City Manager McCarthy introduced Police Chief Hober, who gave the staff report and answered Councilmembers' questions. On question, Chief Hober explained in more detail how a CSO program could work with using college students. Councilmember Barrett noted that the current Police Chief started as a CSO, which speaks well for the program. Mayor Roberson opened public comments. Rick Johnson, Executive Director of OMBA, said that his organization has been very happy with the current arrangement with Uretsky Security, but the goal was always to have more Police in the downtown, so he is excited about the prospect of a CSO program. He suggested that doing a little of each during the first year might be a good idea. Mike Brassfield said that the CSO program is exactly what he has been suggesting. He suggested giving the Chief authority for over-hiring one CSO along with this 2  City Council Minutes Wednesday, May 24, 2017 current authority to hire 2 Police Officers. Esther Malkin said that she has worked a lot with the PD over the past two years, and she has nothing but praise for them. She supported any program that would strengthen them. She asked why it has been such a longstanding issue of being able to hire enough Police Officers. She said that the entitlement of the business associations to obtain funds for private security is seen as ridiculous by the public, and two additional officers is not enough. Having no further requests to speak, Mayor Roberson closed public comments. Chief Hober said that hiring officers is a core problem across the country and there are many variables. He noted the great reputation that Monterey's Police force has. He said he is hopeful and confident that he will be able to fully staff the department. Mayor Roberson said that finding qualified individuals can be difficult. Councilmember Haffa supported the CSO proposal, and Councilmember Smith agreed and said that a hybrid approach would give staff time to ramp up and integrate the CSOs before phasing out private security. Councilmember Barrett said that he is a strong supporter of the CSO program and has been for many years. Mayor Roberson said that as a resident, he and his family are downtown and on the waterfront a lot, and therefore benefit from added security in those locations. He said that ultimately it is the Council's goal for residents to feel safe. PUBLIC APPEARANCE 3. Authorize the City Manager to Expend Funds for Relocation and Client Care Costs for Monterey Conference Center Groups Affected by the Renovation of the Monterey Conference Center between June and August 2017 (Not a project under CEQA Article 20, Section 15378 and under General Rule Article 5, Section 15061) (Community Services - 902-01) Action: Adopted Resolution No. 17-075 C.S. City Manager McCarthy gave a brief introduction. Mayor Roberson opened public comment on the item. Michele Pierce, Monterey Marriott said that she is charged with keeping the groups downtown and City staff have been doing a great job working with them. She said some clients are now experiencing a second impact, and the Kaiser organization has been impacted four times. She said that they have been extremely loyal and she supported keeping flexibility and showing loyalty to the clients. Rick Johnson, OMBA, supported having flexibility to keep the groups and noted the impact that has on the small businesses downtown. He said that it is important to do anything we can to keep the groups coming. Having no further requests to speak, Mayor Roberson closed public comment. On question, Mr. McCarthy said that this will be paid for from the Conference Center project. On a motion by Mayor Roberson, seconded by Councilmember Smith, and carried by the following vote, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 17-075 C. S. authorizing the City Manager to expend funds for relocation and client care costs for Monterey Conference Center groups affected by the renovation of the Monterey Conference Center between June and August 2017: 3 City Council Minutes Wednesday, May 24, 2017 AYES: 5 COUNCILMEMBERS: Barrett, Haffa, Smith, Roberson, Albert NOES: 0 COUNCILMEMBERS: None ABSENT: 0 COUNCILMEMBERS: None ABSTAIN: 0 COUNCILMEMBERS: None RECUSED: 0 COUNCILMEMBERS: None ADJOURNMENT Having no further business to come before the City Council, Mayor Roberson adjourned the meeting at 5:37 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, Approved, Bonnie Gawf Clyde Roberson Director of Information Resources/City Clerk Mayor 4