Mayor's Subcommittee Meeting

CITY OF MONTEREY Mayor and Commission Chairs Subcommittee Meeting August 12, 2013 Minutes Attendees: Mayor Della Sala, Vice Mayor Selfridge, ARC Chair Sullivan, HPC Chair Palminteri, LB Chair Yamanishi, NIP Spokesperson Heuer, PRC Chair McCarthy, PC Chair Garden, City Manager, City Attorney, Assistant City Manager, Community Services/Library Director, Principal Planners, Senior Assistant City Clerk Mayor Della Sala called the meeting to order at 12:00 p.m. 1. Historic Preservation Commission (HPC), Architectural Review Committee (ARC), and Planning Commission (PC) HPC Palminteri started the discussion on the Downtown Specific Plan, noting that the HPC approved the recommendation because the plan preserves the City’s historic resources. She noted that circulation and street naming is not within the HPC’s purview, but that most of the comments the HPC heard were about circulation changes and renaming City’s streets. ARC Chair Sullivan stated that most of the comments the ARC heard were that businesses support freshening up the downtown, but felt closing streets, installing roundabouts and other circulation changes are unnecessary and confusing. Chair Sullivan noted the ARC will hear the Downtown Specific Plan in 2 weeks. NIP Spokesperson Heuer stated that he is against renaming streets and that the City does not realize the financial impact that changing street names will cost local business owners. He commented that he felt insufficient notice to business owners had been made about these changes. Chair Garden held up a copy of the draft plan stressing that comments from citizens lead to the document. He indicated that the City held many of the public meetings on the plan and emphasized an approved plan needs to be in the hands of the development community to help revitalize downtown. The Mayor spoke in support of the plan and thanked members for their contributions. The Mayor and NIP Spokesperson Heuer discussed the need to quantify how many businesses will be impacted by street name changes. PC Chair Garden clarified that the plan is a development document and that projects will still come through the normal channels for project approval, meaning that street naming, would be one of those and that it would be noticed to residents and business owners as part of the process. 2. Colton Hall Museum & Cultural Arts Commission (CHMCAC) Community Services/Library Director Kim Bui-Burton spoke about the work of the CHMCAC. She noted that the CHMCAC welcomed 3 new commissioners and, as is the norm, staff has spent a lot of time acquainting new members with the City’s historic, art, and cultural resources. She spoke about a donation of 2 mid 19th century anchors that were pulled from San Carlos Beach. She stated Council should hear in September a recommendation to accept these donations and proposed installation sites. Director Bui-Burton thanked the NIP for funding Colton Hall preservation work. She noted a few upcoming events, citing Art in the Adobes, History Fest, and Historic Monterey. Director Bui-Burton described a joint training venture with the State. Mayor Della Sala asked Assistant City Manager McCarthy to speak about the City’s Ambassador Program. Mr. McCarthy noted that in its first year 15 staff members were trained on Monterey’s historic past and present over the course of 4 months with the goal for ambassadors to be able to speak intelligently about the City to the public, visitors, etc. He stated he hopes that each year more staff members will be able to go through this program.  CITY OF MONTEREY Mayor and Commission Chairs Subcommittee Meeting August 12, 2013 Minutes 3. Library Board (LB) LB Chair Yamanishi stated the Library has been quite busy and attributes a lot of it to Sunday hours. She noted that they now have a quiet reading room and thanked NIP for funding that project. Chair Yamanishi provided statistics on the summer reading program and emphasized this program is essential to keep children excited by the learning process. She described the 21st Century Skills program the Library runs in conjunction with the High School. Chair Yamanishi stated the main focus for the LB is to continue Sunday hours, noting the current open hours are just for this year. She said that the open hours are thanks to Friends of the Library and due to donations. She stated the LB will have a retreat to focus in on ways to keep Sunday open hours. In response to questions, she explained that School Success is many things, mainly any library program or programs that keep students reading. 4. Neighborhood Improvement Program (NIP) Committee NIP Committee Spokesperson Heuer stated the NIP’s work is winding down. He expressed a concern that the NIP is being asked more and more to fund infrastructure replacement projects. He stated the City needs to find alternative ways of funding infrastructure. He provided a few suggestions, like a portion of Monterey Sports Center (MSC) fees being set aside to pay for maintenance of the MSC. City Manager Meurer noted it has been more and more difficult for the City to budget for infrastructure due to so many takeaways from the State. He stated it may be at the point where citizens may need to pay more taxes, etc. to fund infrastructure. Chair Garden suggested that at some point maybe the City needs to sell facilities that it can no longer maintain at a high standard, like the MSC and the Monterey Conference Center (MCC). City Manager Meurer responded stating there is nothing that says the City has to own the MCC, but noted that changing the ownership would have other, possibly negative, impacts to the City. The group had a discussion on how to survive on a limited income. Mayor Della Sala emphasized the Council with community input needs to revisit its priorities. Chair Garden stressed that the specific plan includes many strategies that could be helpful. NIP Spokesperson Heuer stated that NIP funds could be used for capital projects, a.k.a. purchasing the State Theater, but he doubted there would be enough support to buy the building totally with NIP funds. He also noted that MPC might have a need for the State Theater, for example to use in one of its performance programs. 5. Parks and Recreation Commission (PRC) PRC Chair McCarthy sent kudos to NIP for helping the MSC to keep going. Chair McCarthy spoke about the 4th of July celebration saying it was a great success, the parade, the lawn party, and the Monterey County Pops concert. He noted it is a good way to get the community together and not to over-extend itself. He detailed the types and numbers of summer programs at the MSC, stating they are healthy programs that keep kids active. He described the new marketing methods using social media to attract younger and more users of MSC programs. He spoke about the success of the camp programs, playground programs, after school programs, and many other programs. He provided an update on the Dennis the Menace fence.  CITY OF MONTEREY Mayor and Commission Chairs Subcommittee Meeting August 12, 2013 Minutes 8. Mayor Mayor Della Sala provided the Subcommittee with status of City Manager Recruitment. He noted the City was not successful in attracting a candidate in its first go round. He noted City Manager Meurer will be retiring from the City on January 1, 2014. He said at its August 20th meeting the Council will select a new recruitment firm. He stated Council will describe to the new recruiter what the Council is seeking. Also important, he noted, is the decision on compensation. He stated the Council may relook at this as it is worthy of discussion or the Council may not stipulate a range and simply say salary is subject to negotiation. Mayor Della Sala stated Council wants someone who has broad based skills, can handle a multitude of tasks, and is an outstanding leader. He stressed Monterey is not a bedroom community and has to do a heck of a lot. Mayor Della Sala asked members to come forward at the next Council meeting to provide feedback. Vice Mayor Selfridge thanked all the members of the boards, committees, and commissions for all that they do. PC Chair Garden asked the Mayor how often the Mayor wants to see Chairs in meetings like today’s meeting. Mayor said it could be changed to make meetings happen more often. Chair Garden lobbied for quarterly meetings. LB Chair Yamanishi supported coming more frequently. Mayor Della Sala stated he could support quarterly meetings and in 2014 there will be one per quarter with the Joint Meeting with all BCC members to be held in December. Having no more business before the Subcommittee the Mayor adjourned the meeting at 1:17 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, Senior Assistant City Clerk