Mayor's Subcommittee Meeting

MINUTES MAYORS SUBCOMMITTEE MEETING WITH BOARD & COMMISSION CHAIRPERSONS CITY OF MONTEREY Monday, March 10, 2014 12:00 - 1:30 p.m. COUNCIL CHAMBER, FEW MEMORIAL HALL OF RECORDS MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA Members Present: Mayor Della Sala, Councilmember Sollecito, Chair Latasa, Chair Ruhnke, Vice Chair Barlow, Chair Yamanishi, NIP Spokesperson Heuer, Chair Perske, Chair McCrone, City Staff Interim City Manager McCarthy, City Attorney Davi, Deputy City Manager, Present: Plans & Public Works Uslar, Community Services Director Bui-Burton, Chief of Planning, Engineering, and Environmental Compliance Rerig, Principal Planner Caraker, NIP Staff Coordinator Reeves, Principal Planner Cole, Senior Assistant City Clerk Raynor CALL TO ORDER Mayor Della Sala called the meeting to order at 12:00 p.m. PUBLIC COMMENTS Mayor Della Sala opened public comments on items not on the agenda and seeing no requests to speak closed public comments. ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW COMMITTEE (ARC) REPORTS 1. Upcoming Big Projects Chair Latasa described for the group the status of several projects on Alvarado Street and Lighthouse Avenue. He applauded the Santa Catalina School project, stating it will be a certified LEED building. He stated the ARC hopes to see a Council approved view sharing policy in the near future, noting this would be an update of the current PC adopted guidelines. Planning Commission Chair McCrone noted that the City of Monterey is unique in that it has view sharing guidelines. He noted that nearby Pacific Grove has no guideline or policy on view sharing. Chair Latasa sent kudos out to Planners Taven Kinison Brown and Christine Hopper, stating the Planning office produces quality work that assists the ARC. 2. Diversity and Talent of Present Committee Members and the Empty Seat ARC Chair Latasa provided the group with an update on committee membership and the loss of long-standing ARC Member Jacoubowsky. He stated that it has been some time since there has been more women on the Committee and the group discussed how members of many boards, committees, and commissions have changed over the last few decades. COLTON HALL MUSEUM & CULTURAL ARTS COMMISSION (CHMCAC) REPORTS 3. Museum Interpretive Plan and Events Update  City Council Minutes Monday, March 10, 2014 CHMCAC Chair Ruhnke provided the group with a general update on the activities of the Commission. She described the recently approved Colton Hall Museum Interpretive Plan. She noted that it stressed the need for more outreach, including educational programs, use of media, collection management, enhanced exhibits, use of social media, like Facebook and Twittter, all geared at reaching a larger audience. Chair Ruhnke spoke of challenges currently facing the Commission, citing budget and accessibility. She said the Commission hopes to speak to Council about these things at a study session later this spring. In regards to accessibility, she stated the Commission takes those issues seriously and has recently relocated events to locations where ADA accessibility is available. She stated that Director Bui-Burton plans to include a capital improvement budget item to fund a study and make recommendations on how to provide ADA access at Colton Hall. She thanked the Museum of Monterey at the Stanton Center for hosting Colton Hall Museum events and the City for authorizing parking for events. Chair Ruhnke encouraged the group to view the art exhibit in the Alvarado Gallery and noted that a large group of historians will be in Monterey this month with our local history showcased. Mayor Della Sala asked if there are grants that could help with accessibility. Director Bui-Burton noted that there are grants out there, but that they are just in the initial stage. She stated the Commission will be applying for grants and working with the City's Grants Coordinator, stating there may even be interest from private foundations to help support improving accessibility. HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION (HPC) REPORTS 4. Downtown Historic District Design Guidelines and Lighting Guidelines HPC Vice Chair Barlow stated the Commission is a well balanced commission with impressive backgrounds in historic preservation. He applauded the word done by planners Christine Hopper and Elizabeth Caraker, stating their work helps the HPC make informed decisions. Vice Chair Barlow spoke about the historic district design and lighting guidelines. He stated the lighting used near Troia's is one prototype that most have seen. He described how lighting can be used as a bridge between more historic and less historic areas. He stressed that lighting's goal is to reinforce the identity of this special town and spoke of lighting challenges. The group discussed challenges like mandatory security lights at ATM machines, how to highlight significant historic buildings, lighting necessary for path of travel, egress requirements, and other technical lighting requirements, including light color and temperature. 5. The Regency Theater Redevelopment Project Vice Chair Barlow stated the Regency Theater has had a long history and that he was happy to report that the end is in sight. He described the project as one with 4 very large rental units on the upper floor with a brewery on the lower floor. He stated the Commission is pleased with how it is turning out and that the project gives a good nod to the history of the building. He stated that it will be highlighted as a great example of adaptive reuse at the California Preservation Conference at the end of April at Asilomar. The group discussed the back side of the project, noting that it will not be built out to the sidewalk on Calle Principal, but that the back lot has been cleaned up, squared up, and updated. 2  City Council Minutes Monday, March 10, 2014 LIBRARY BOARD (LB) OF TRUSTEES REPORTS 6. Fundraising, Recruitments and Summer Reading LB Chair Yamanishi stated the endowment fund is growing in money and members. She described 3 recent grants and the hiring of a new librarian for teen programs. She described the hiring process for the new library director and thanked Human Resources staff for all their help. She described for the group an email letter the Library sends to over 500 supporters, highlighting all the things going on at the Library. For example, she described how the Library is nationally recognized for its adult story time, that April 13th the Library will host a luncheon called Books in Bloom, and that the Library has passes for patrons to museums and cultural institutions throughout the state. She closed indicating that in Kim's corner of the newsletter Director Bui-Burton stated she would soon be working full time as the Community Services Director. The group discussed the library director interview process and how and why passes are no longer available for the Monterey Bay Aquarium. NEIGHBORHOOD IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM (NIP) COMMITTEE REPORTS 7. NIP Project Backlog and Cost Overruns NIP Committee Spokesperson Heuer stated the Committee is in the middle of its funding cycle. He stressed that there is a backlog of NIP projects going as far back as 8 years. He noted these have been funded and sadly estimates are from when they were initially funded. He cited many processes for backlogged projects that have been done repeatedly and charged to the project without the project being completed. He asked the City to consider hiring a full time NIP engineer or project manager to help get projects completed. He stressed the NIP funds this work. He stated the current structure means that there are 3 competing project sources, CIP, DLI, and NIP, and that he feels NIP always comes last. Mr. Heuer stated the Committee recommends hiring a dedicated person to only work on NIP projects and be the advocate for NIP projects. The group, including NIP Coordinator Reeves, discussed this recommendation and why use of outside consultants in the past has not reduced the NIP project backlog. 8. NIP Driveway Projects for Individual Property Owners Spokesperson Heuer stated that in the past the NIP Committee was able to fund driveway projects, but that more recently the City Attorney has opined that this cannot be done with NIP funds, which are public funds. He stated that in many instances that many existing driveway problems were created by work done by the City to streets. He stressed that since home owners can no longer get driveway projects corrected by the NIP Committee, that homeowners may start coming directly to Council for resolution. PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION (PRC) REPORTS 9. Recreation Programs and Parks Update PRC Chair Perske stated the Commission recently lost two valuable members, but happily said hello to 2 new well-qualified commissioners. He thanked staff for all their hard work and noted the City is fortunate to have such a hard working, loyal, and professional staff. Chair Perske described hundreds of programs provided by Recreation and the Monterey Sports Center. He 3  City Council Minutes Monday, March 10, 2014 stated that the 4th of July lawn party and parade will happen again in 2014. Chair Perske noted that the Parks Master Plan is over 30 years old and that the current budget will only fund a portion of the plan update, stating the Commission will be requesting additional funding to complete the plan. He noted that soon the Skate Park expansion will be a reality. He thanked the NIP and Regional Park District for their help with the soccer program at Laguna Grande Park. He noted that the Commission is still looking for a qualified consultant to do an access and safety study of the train at Dennis the Menace Park. Chair Perske closed by providing a run-down on Cutting Day to be held March 15th, noting that in addition to free plants that there will be all sorts of displays and local groups present. PLANNING COMMISSION (PC) REPORTS 10. Progress Report - Downtown Development PC Chair McCrone stated the General Plan, adopted in 2005, is the guiding force behind the specific plans that are coming to Council. He stressed that the General Plan is the blue print used to transform 3 areas in town to mixed use neighborhoods: Downtown, Lighthouse and North Fremont. He provided a brief history on specific plans and noted that recent projects like Caffee Trieste, Turn 12, the Regency Theater, the project above Cibos, and the project approved for the burn site on Alvarado are perfect examples of how the specific plan is transforming the City. He noted that approval of each specific plan makes project review and approval a much easier and less time consuming process. He cited in example that a negative declaration for the project on Alvarado that will be built on the burned site is necessary as that was all taken care of in the specific plan. He described how outside seating projects where alcohol are served will require seating to be next to the building, not closer to the street. He stated the North Fremont Specific Plan will soon come to Council followed by the Lighthouse Specific Plan and then the Waterfront Master Plan. Chair McCrone recommended that the City send board, committee, and commission members to League of Cities conferences as it is there that they will learn more about current city planning and development trends. Mayor Della Sala said it was exciting to hear that business owners are investing in the City and that the recently approved specific plan creates a greater degree of expectation of what the developer must do. He said this creates a stable climate, where owners are more likely to come forward to reinvest. He said it makes the process much more predictable. Vice Mayor Sollecito concurred that it is a good idea to send advisory body members to League of Cities meetings because it can plug us into trends and ways to make our City sustainable. MAYOR REPORTS 11. Update on the City Manager Recruitment Mayor Della Sala described the process used for hiring a new city manager. He stated on a 3-2 vote Council voted to select Mr. Pick, but that it takes 4 votes to set salary and Council will discuss this again at the next Council meeting. 4  City Council Minutes Monday, March 10, 2014 12. Update on the Monterey Conference Center Facilities District No. 2013-1 Election Mayor Della noted that more than 90% of hoteliers voted to tax themselves to fund the $32 million plus improvement to the Conference Center. He noted that the revenue stream will fund the monthly debt service. He stressed that had this not passed the City would have had to spend millions just to maintain the Conference Center and that would have had to come from the general fund. Mayor Della Sala explained that the tax will start to be assessed in July of this year, 18 months later the work will begin, and then in another 18 years the work will be done. He noted that some portion of the Conference Center will be closed for the renovation and that it is expected that the transient occupancy tax will dip during that period. He closed saying that this vote was a landmark for the City and that the renovation of the Conference Center is a cornerstone to the revitalization of Downtown. NEXT MEETING 13. The next meeting is Monday, June 9, 2014 at noon in the Council Chamber. ADJOURNMENT Mayor Della Sala adjourned the meeting at 1:20 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, Approved, Catherine Raynor Chuck Della Sala Senior Assistant City Clerk Mayor 5