Neighborhood and Community Improvement Program Committee Meeting

MINUTES NEIGHBORHOOD IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM COMMITTEE Thursday, January 26, 2017 7:00 PM FEW MEMORIAL HALL OF RECORDS, 580 PACIFIC STREET MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA NIP Aguajito Oaks Olivia Morgan, Rep. Representatives & Casanova-Oak Knolls Richard Ruccello, Rep., Mike Brassfield, Alt. Alternates Present: Deer Flats Dave Overton, Rep. Del Monte Grove-Laguna Grande Merrily Alley, Rep., Kathleen Baker, Alt. Fisherman Flats Tom Rowley, Rep. Glenwood Lee Whitney, Rep. Monterey Vista Pat Venza, Rep., Hans Jannasch, Alt., Jean Rasch, Alt. New Monterey Sharon Dwight, Rep., Joanne Garden, Alt. Oak Grove Luz Adam, Alt. Old Town April Harrison, Rep., Sue Ricketson, Alt. Skyline Forest Dennis Duke, Rep. Villa Del Monte Harry Mucha, Rep., Monica Hoffman, Alt., Duane Peterson, Alt. Staff Members Present: Jeff Krebs, Sara Myers CALL TO ORDER NIP Staff Coordinator Jeff Krebs called the meeting to order 7:01 p.m. ROLL CALL Twelve neighborhoods were represented with Alta Mesa and Del Monte Beach unrepresented. 1. Installation of 2017 Neighborhood Improvement Program Committee Sara Myers performed the swearing in of the twenty-one (21) Neighborhood Improvement Program Committee representatives and alternates who were present. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 2. October 27, 2016 Sharon Dwight made a motion to approve the minutes as amended. Merrily Alley seconded the motion. The motion was approved by the twelve neighborhoods represented present. 3. November 16, 2016 Sharon Dwight made a motion to approve the minutes as submitted. Merrily Alley seconded the motion. The motion was approved by the twelve neighborhoods represented present. PUBLIC COMMENTS Mr. Krebs opened public comments for items not on the agenda.  Neighborhood Improvement Program Committee Minutes Thursday, January 26, 2017 Joanne Garden explained that she and Jeff have been discussing the 600 block of Taylor and advised that the project may be coming back for additional NIP funds or proposed as a new project. Mike Brassfield advised that the Measure P Oversight meeting took place this week and informed the committee that they are preparing an annual report for City Council. Seeing no further comments, Mr. Krebs closed public comments. INFORMATIONAL REPORTS & STAFF COMMENTS 4. Welcome New NIP Committee Members Fisherman Flats Alternate Sam Brand, Fisherman Flats Alternate John O’Neil, Glenwood Representative Lee Whitney, Villa Del Monte Alternate Duane Peterson, and Villa Del Monte Alternate Monica Hofmann. Richard Ruccello asked if Downtown and Skyline Ridge had representatives. Mr. Krebs stated that it will be advertised like the other commissions and boards. Sharon stated that this is contrary to everything the committee has ever done. 5. Orientation of Neighborhood Improvement Program a Parking Permits Mr. Krebs advised to contact Ms. Myers to request a parking permit. Committee members voiced their requests. b Policies and Procedures Manual Update Mr. Krebs advised that he would like to meet with the subcommittee next week to review the changes from what was uploaded into SIRE. Sharon stated that the subcommittee has not seen the changes from staff. If there are substantial changes, it will need to come back to the whole committee. c NIP Project Submittal Deadline February 17, 2017 Mr. Krebs stated that he’s received about 37 project nominations so far. He emphasized the importance of submitting projects before the 17th of February. d Neighborhood Area Plans Mr. Krebs advised that there are neighborhood area plans and traffic calming plans on Monterey.org. If we get requests from these neighborhoods, staff will check for conformity with these plans. 6. Conflict of Interest Rules Mr. Krebs explained that the 500 foot rule will be assessed once we get into projects. If there’s a question, it will go to the City Attorney. NIP INFORMATIONAL REPORTS 7. NIP Spokesperson Reports Neighborhood Improvement Program Committee Meeting Minutes Thursday, January 26, 2017 2  Neighborhood Improvement Program Committee Minutes Thursday, January 26, 2017 Sharon advised that PRC selected projects they are supporting including the three projects the City Engineer provided to Council. The commission very strongly favored two of those projects and Ms. Dwight will discuss their priorities as we get into project screening. The commission is far more in tune to the process this year and there should be greater participation from PRC. Mr. Ruccello stated he watched the Council meeting and asked Mr. Krebs to explain what happened with the caboose project. Mr. Krebs advised that this project was rescoped and went back through PRC. Mr. Krebs emphasized that he stated the project does not have to be started now, it can be held until the master plan is done. Council did not approve the project. Funds remain in Ending Balance. Mr. Krebs advised that the City Council determined that the Custom House Plaza should be a CIP project, but the others could be NIP projects. Ms. Dwight stated that PRC favored funding the rest of the money for the restrooms at Monterey Bay Park. Mr. Ruccello stated that they were not clear about what type of restroom they wanted. Ms. Dwight stated that PRC was told by their staff that the City Council strongly supported the three projects that Mr. Wittry submitted and advised that it was on consent and never discussed by Council. Mr. Krebs corrected that it was actually pulled from consent and discussed. PUBLIC APPEARANCE 8. Discussion of Neighborhood Improvement Program a Approve NIP Deadlines and Meeting Schedule Mr. Krebs presented the draft schedule. He noted that the Council guidance report already went to Council in December. He reminded the committee that voting night went through1:00 a.m. and asked if it should be moved to a Saturday at noon. Ms. Morgan asked why members of the public can speak on their projects 3 or 4 times. Mr. Krebs stated that unless something changes, it should be spoken about once. Mr. Ruccello disagreed and stated that people get distracted. If the person wants to get up and focus you, that’s what makes NIP work. Communication from the public is helpful. Ms. Venza stated that there is lots of public comment at the review meetings. Ms. Dwight stated that we have two meetings set aside just for public comment. There is plenty of opportunity to speak. Mr. Ruccello stated we need tighter control during the meeting. Ms. Whitney suggested picking one person from a delegation to speak for a project. Mr. Krebs stated that we can ask, but we cannot require it. Mr. Krebs suggested he start voting night off with these comments to set the tone. Ms. Garden and Ms. Hofmann suggested the meeting start earlier in the day. Mr. Ruccello stated that the committee members should be kept to 3 minute comments as well as the public. Sharon Dwight made a motion to approve the schedule as amended. Olivia Morgan seconded the motion. The motion was approved by the twelve Neighborhood Improvement Program Committee Meeting Minutes Thursday, January 26, 2017 3  Neighborhood Improvement Program Committee Minutes Thursday, January 26, 2017 representatives present. b Review of NIP Process Mr. Krebs provided a brief description of the NIP process and described the involvement of City departments and other commissions to provide guidance and input for the projects. Mr. Ruccello asked Mr. Krebs to discuss the importance of consensus/support from the directly affected neighbors. Mr. Krebs explained that it is critical for a traffic calming project because it requires 100% support. Ms. Dwight added that traffic related projects require an adopted traffic plan for the neighborhood. Mr. Ruccello asked about joint jurisdiction. Ms. Dwight confirmed that the school district, state parks, or regional park district will need to approve and be asked if they will share in the cost of the project. c Projects Submitted for FY 2017-18 Program and Status of Project Nominations Mr. Krebs advised that we have received 38 projects varying from one or two sentences to very elaborate projects. He stated he will provide copies at the preliminary screening. 9. Elect NIP Spokesperson and Alternate for 2017 Mr. Krebs advised that last year’s spokesman was Mr. Heuer and the alternates were Ms. Dwight, Mr. Ruccello, and Ms. Venza. Mr. Ruccello stated that it worked well last year. Tom Rowley made a motion to nominate and approve Rick Heuer as Spokesperson to City Council, with Richard Ruccello, Sharon Dwight, and Patricia Venza as Alternate Spokespersons. Dennis Duke seconded the motion. The motion was approved by the twelve representatives present. 10. Appoint NIP Policies and Procedures Manual Subcommittee for 2017 Mr. Krebs advised that last year’s subcommittee was Ms. Dwight, Ms. Harrison, and Ms. Alley and that they have been working on these revisions since 2012. Dennis Duke made a motion to appoint Sharon Dwight, Merrily Alley, and April Harrison as the NIP Policies and Procedures Manual Subcommittee. Tom Rowley seconded the motion. The motion was approved by the twelve representatives present. 11. NIP Ending Balance and Contingencies Report Mr. Krebs presented the ending balance and contingency accounts as of January 20th. He stated that he will have some additional funding requests at the next meeting. 12. Recommend City Council Deappropriate NIP Projects - None Mr. Mucha asked if the speed sign between VDM and DMG needs to be deappropriated at this time. Mr. Krebs responded that he will need to discuss the options with both Neighborhood Improvement Program Committee Meeting Minutes Thursday, January 26, 2017 4  Neighborhood Improvement Program Committee Minutes Thursday, January 26, 2017 neighborhoods. 13. Program Status Update Mr. Krebs presented the project updates and stated he will be preparing this spreadsheet every 2 months. Mr. Ruccello asked how many backlogged projects remain. Mr. Krebs confirmed there are about 20 projects. Ms. Dwight asked if the outfield lights were changed at Jacks’ Ballfield. Mr. Krebs confirmed it was done and the project was closed. Mr. Krebs advised that the owner of the Oak Grove lot said no and therefore the money will be held for an opportunity purchase. Mr. Rowley stated that there was a special City Council meeting discussing solar power and asked if there is a need for an NIP project. Mr. Krebs stated he will ask Andreas Baer. Mr. Krebs advised that he has some projects to get out to bid next week and then he can schedule meetings with NIP representatives to discuss their projects further in the following week. 14. Recommend City Council to Continue the Use of Principal Engineer Position to Lead NIP Program Mr. Krebs explained that his position as principal engineer solely dedicated to NIP was created as a three year, temporary position and those three years will be over this summer. Richard Ruccello made a motion to recommend to the City Council that it continue to fund the position of Principal Engineer to serve the role of NIP Staff Coordinator. Mr. Duke seconded the motion. The motion was approved by the twelve representatives present. COMMITTEE MEMBER COMMENTS Dave Overton asked about the project to move the statue downtown and didn’t see it on the active project list. Mr. Krebs confirmed it is in Downtown, not Citywide. April Harrison said thank you. Olivia Morgan advised that AO had their annual meeting on Saturday with the Mayor and it was lovely to see the interest in NIP. Sharon Dwight advised that people in NM are very happy to see projects moving forward. She also stated that she does not see future NIP meetings on the Council schedule, but she’s assuming that that is because the NIP schedule was approved this evening. Dennis Duke thanked staff and stated he was disappointed that the caboose project was turned down by Council. He stated he will be submitting an over-the-top project for tree maintenance in his neighborhood in light of the death last week. The forest needs to be tended to. Harry Mucha thanked Mr. Krebs for his work at Montecito Park. Mr. Krebs added that the Neighborhood Improvement Program Committee Meeting Minutes Thursday, January 26, 2017 5  Neighborhood Improvement Program Committee Minutes Thursday, January 26, 2017 Montecito Park project is moving forward with CDBG and CIP funding. Richard Ruccello thanked Mr. Krebs for working through all of the obstacles at the basketball court. He informed the committee that the Friends of the Monterey Library are having their Chocolate and Wine event. Pat Venza advised that her neighborhood is using Next Door to ask for project submittals. Lee Whitney stated that she has submitted her project and is looking forward to working with everyone. Tom Rowley asked if anyone had any updates on Carol Leiberman from Skyline Ridge and Mr. Ruccello responded that he will let him know. Merrily Alley stated that she is seeing more public interest in NIP. Luz Adam advised that there is a small drop of hope for another property in Oak Grove. Mike Brassfield asked if the water credits from North Fremont can be set aside for the proposed restroom. Ms. Dwight asked if this could be agendized so that NIP can take formal action to request Council set these credits aside. Duane Peterson and Monica Hofmann advised that they have submitted their proposals. Jean Rasch asked to confirm that the Oak Grove tot lot project is over. Mr. Krebs responded that it is, but he needs confirmation in writing. Kathleen Baker stated she is looking forward to a good year. Hans Jannasch, Sue Ricketson, and Joanne Garden had no comment. NEXT MEETING 15. February 23, 2017 - City Council Chambers - 7:00 p.m. ADJOURNMENT Mr. Krebs adjourned the meeting at 9:01 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, Approved, Sara Myers Jeff Krebs, P.E. Recording Secretary NIP Staff Coordinator Neighborhood Improvement Program Committee Meeting Minutes Thursday, January 26, 2017 6