Council Study Session

MINUTES CITY COUNCIL STUDY SESSION CITY OF MONTEREY Wednesday, July 26, 2017 4:00 p.m. FEW MEMORIAL HALL OF RECORDS, 580 PACIFIC ST. MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA Councilmembers Present: Councilmembers Albert, Barrett, Haffa, Smith Absent: Mayor Roberson City Staff City Manager, City Attorney, Director of Information Resources/City Clerk, Present: Assistant City Manager, Principal Planner, Interim Public Works Director, Finance Director CALL TO ORDER Vice-Mayor Smith called the meeting to order at 4:04 p.m. City Manager McCarthy led the Pledge of Allegiance. PUBLIC COMMENTS Vice Mayor Smith opened the floor for public comments on items not on the agenda, had no requests to speak, and closed public comments. STUDY SESSION 1. Presentation on Local Purchasing Preferences (Not a Project under CEQA per Article 20, Section 15378 and Under General Rule Article 5, Section 15061) (Plans & Public Works - 203- 07) Action: Received report Finance Director Porter made the presentation. Councilmember Haffa arrived at 4:13 p.m. Councilmember Barrett introduced Salinas Valley Chamber of Commerce CEO Paul Farmer; City of Salinas Mayor Joe Gunter; and Monterey Peninsula Chamber of Commerce CEO Jody Hansen. Mr. Farmer gave a presentation regarding "Local First." Mayor Gunter described the City of Salinas' experience after passing their local preference ordinance, saying that while there have been issues it has benefited the City overall. Jody Hansen, Monterey Peninsula Chamber of Commerce, said that Monterey County's professional services local preference ordinance has had a positive impact for the area. Vice Mayor Smith opened public comments on the item. Ron Chesshire, Monterey Santa Cruz Building Construction Council, spoke in favor of the local preference concept, saying that adopting an ordinance for goods and services would be less complicated than for construction projects. He voiced concerns about the nature of the workers and supported increasing opportunities for young people in the construction trades. He offered to work with the City on this issue. Leslie Svetich, North Fremont Business District of Monterey, supported opening up the issue to the tri-county area. With no further requests to speak, Vice Mayor Smith closed public comments and returned the discussion to the dais. City Council Minutes Wednesday, July 26, 2017 Councilmember Haffa said that he believes in this concept, and the devil is in the details, particularly how to define "local." He said that it is important for him that the workers be local. Vice Mayor Smith said that he would be leery of restricting a company based on where the workers live. Councilmember Barrett said that this would not in any way limit the ability of a company to respond to an RFP. He said that we should be looking beyond the Peninsula. Councilmember Albert noted people already come from long distances to work here. Councilmember Haffa said that his preference would be to focus on professional services. Councilmember Albert cautioned that if there is a partnership with an out of area larger firm, most of the work is done out of the area. Mr. Albert said that most of the work should be done locally. Vice Mayor Smith agreed with Councilmember Albert. On question Assistant City Manager Uslar reviewed the RFP process that is followed for on-call professional services agreements. Staff explained sole source and "piggy-back” contract processes. Councilmember Barrett suggested that there would not be a significant impact on costs and the contracts would still be competitively bid. He referenced a 2002 study that shows an increase of 2-4 times for the local economy, as well as a California Local Economic Journal 2016 study that shows the benefits. He said that there is evidence to support that local entrepreneurship has a positive effect on economic growth and reduces poverty. Councilmember Haffa said that he is interested in researching the goods and services ordinance further. He asked for copies of the reports referenced by the Chamber. Vice Mayor Smith agreed that he would like to see the materials and studies. He said it is important to consider how it is working now and are we already getting the outcome we want. He noted that a lot of people in certain industries are back to work, and he wants to be sure there is a benefit. He said he would like to know more about the broader section of the industries, including whether we, as a region, are leveraging all opportunities for people who do not want to go to college and the trades would be their better choice. Councilmember Barrett thanked everyone for substantiating the need for a local preference ordinance. He said we need to increase the capacity, and he believes this is worth consideration. He said he would like to also look at capital projects. ADJOURNMENT Having no further business to come before the City Council, Vice Mayor Smith adjourned the meeting at 5:20 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, Approved, Bonnie L. Gawf Clyde Roberson Dir. of Information Resources/City Clerk Mayor 2