Mayor's Subcommittee Meeting

CITY OF MONTEREY Mayor and Commission Chairs Subcommittee Meeting April 9, 2012 Minutes Attendees: Mayor Della Sala, ARC Chair Dawson, CHMCAC Vice Chair John Castagna, HPC Chair Petty, LB Vice Chair Mary Castagna, NIP Spokesperson Heuer, PRC Chair Marotta, PC Chair Davis, City Manager, Assistant City Manager, Community Services and Recreation and Library Director, Principal Planners, Senior Associate Planner Mayor Della Sala called the meeting to order at 12:00 p.m. 1. Architectural Review Committee (ARC) ARC Chair Dawson provided attendees with a copy of the sign ordinance, noting the Committee worked on these for at least 5 meetings. Chair Dawson stated the new sign ordinance has provisions to limit the number of lumens on lighted signs and discussed the issue of political signs. 2. Colton Hall Museum & Cultural Arts Commission (CHMCAC) CHMCAC Chair Greenwald spoke about Historic Cell Phone Tours and Strategic Planning. He provided attendees with the brochure that has been created and information on the cell phone tour of key buildings in Monterey. He noted that was created with a Preserve America grant, noting the grant also funded a sign on historic resources on the Presidio.. 3. Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) HPC Chair Petty provided updates on both the New Monterey Historic Survey and the Downtown Historic Survey, stating there are 3 good reasons for a survey: to have a basis in determining if a resource is historic or not, as a guideline for these resources, and to help determine development potential for specific properties. Chair Petty noted that the City received a grant from the State Historic Preservation Office to fund surveys and that work should be completed by the end of the summer.. 4. Library Board (LB) LB Vice Chair Castagna spoke about the library’s Strategic Plan and gave an endowment update. He provided attendees with the Library’s method for collecting input from the community. She stated results indicate that the community looks to the library as a cultural center, an information center, and as a life-long learning center. Vice Chair Castagna indicated staff is looking at implementing things that support these in a 3-year plan. She provided attendees with current statistics on the Library’s fundraising efforts. Vice Chair Castagna spoke to the issue of reduced staffing, stating the board has approved continuing to share library director but is concerned about the level of staff in the library.. 5. Neighborhood Improvement Program (NIP) Committee NIP Spokesperson Heuer briefed the group on the status of the 2012 program as of April 9th. He noted they are in the middle of the project selection process and provided a list of future meeting dates. He described projects that are either too large or require other processes before they could be done. He noted one project that requires a road being installed before the work can be done in phase 1 and wished that the temporary road could be put in place and left until  CITY OF MONTEREY Mayor and Commission Chairs Subcommittee Meeting April 9, 2012 Minutes all phases have been completed, making the project cheaper. Spokesperson Heuer stated removal of the temporary road after each phase is how Plans and Public Works is quoting the project, which makes it cost prohibitive. 6. Parks and Recreation Commission (PRC) PRC Chair Marotta talked about the Summer/Fall Activity Guide, the 4th of July celebration, and updated the group on the Monterey Sports Center. He described the new activities guide, providing stats on the number of activities included therein. He stated the 4th of July lawn party will be held from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and provided information on the parade that is chaired by a local organization. Chair Marotta described some of the day camps held at the Sports Center and responded to Mayor and other attendee questions. 7. Planning Commission (PC) PC Chair Davis described major Planning efforts that are underway. He stated that the current planning work on specific plans is comparable to the redevelopment agency work done decades ago. He stated specific plans are a result of the most recent General Plan, stressing that these 3 specific plans require consultants to look at financing options for public improvements that are part of each plan. Chair Davis stressed that each plan is very different, so each plan has its own road to Council for approval and much of it will be seen by Council this summer. Chair Davis stated the Commission and staff have worked hard on each plan and held a lot of public input. Chair Davis stated that specific plans include all sorts of mitigations for developing mix used buildings, as an example, while still protecting the neighborhood interests as well. 8. Mayor Mayor Della Sala talked about the City Budget. He stated the City of Monterey is still financially sound despite the dissolution of the Redevelopment Agency, noting that the dissolution costs the City $2M in our budget and that around $200K in Housing funds. He noted that revenues and other indicators have been showing a slight improvement in the economy. He stated right now no funds are available for capital improvements or for the preferred alternative at the Conference Center. He stated Council awarded a contract to a financial consultant to make recommendations on how to finance the $31M improvement to the Conference Center, citing things like tax increases, ToT, and other assessments. Mayor Della Sala stated this will be the next big decision that the City Council will make. City Manager Meurer added that the City has still managed to see little service impacts even with current reductions in staff, but that long term recapitalization and investment in the infrastructure is desperately needed. Mr. Meurer provided an overview of how City employees pay for PERS unlike nearby Peninsula cities. Seeing no more business before the Subcommittee the Mayor adjourned the meeting at 1:21p.m. Respectfully Submitted, Senior Assistant City Clerk