Neighborhood and Community Improvement Program Committee Meeting

MINUTES NEIGHBORHOOD IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM COMMITTEE Special Meeting Thursday, November 30, 2017 7:00 PM FEW MEMORIAL HALL OF RECORDS, 580 PACIFIC STREET MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA NIP Representatives & Alta Mesa Rick Heuer, Rep. Alternates Present: Casanova-Oak Knolls Richard Ruccello, Rep. Michael Brassfield, Alt. Deer Flats Dave Overton, Rep. Del Monte Beach Jayme Fields, Rep. Fisherman Flats Richard Pagnillo, Alt. Glenwood Circle Lee Whitney, Rep. Monterey Vista Pat Venza, Alt. Hans Jannasch, Alt. New Monterey Sharon Dwight, Rep. Oak Grove Harlan Jencks, Rep. Luz Adams, Alt. Old Town April Harrison, Rep. Skyline Forest Dennis Duke, Rep. Villa Del Monte Harry Mucha, Rep. Duane Peterson, Alt. Staff Members Present: Jeff Krebs, Jaci Abadilla CALL TO ORDER NIP Staff Coordinator Jeff Krebs called the meeting to order at 7:02 pm. ROLL CALL Twelve neighborhoods were represented with Aguajito Oaks and Del Monte Grove-Laguna Grande unrepresented. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1. March 30, 2017 Sharon Dwight announced that she had emailed suggested edits to the NIP minutes to staff earlier and only had a few minor corrections to discuss. Sharon asked to add the word ‘Engineering’ to MV-3 and to clarify Dennis Duke’s comment. Rick Heuer made a motion to approve the March 30, 2017 minutes as revised. Dennis Duke seconded the motion. The motion was approved by the twelve representatives present with Deer Flats, Fisherman Flats and Oak Grove abstaining due to not being present at that meeting. 2. April 6, 2017 The two corrections were to change the word ‘control’ to ‘calming’ in VDM-1 and to clarify Harry Mucha’s comment.  Neighborhood Improvement Program Committee Minutes Thursday, November 30, 2017 Sharon Dwight made a motion to approve the April 6, 2017 minutes as edited. Lee Whitney seconded the motion. The motion was approved by the twelve representatives present with Deer Flats, Fisherman Flats and Oak Grove abstaining due to not being present at that meeting. 3. April 13, 2017 Sharon Dwight asked to change the titles for MV-13 and MV-17 to reflect the correct project descriptions. Rick Heuer made a motion to approve the April 13, 2017 minutes as modified. Dennis Duke seconded the motion. The motion was approved by the twelve representatives present with Deer Flats, Fisherman Flats and Oak Grove abstaining due to not being present at that meeting. 4. April 19, 2017 Sharon Dwight asked that the date of the meeting be added, to eliminate ‘Wave/David’ in NM-15, change ‘Traffic Calming’ to ‘Curb Extension’ in the title for VDM-1, eliminate ‘Permeable’ in CW-3, and to replace the word ‘secure’ with ‘strong’ in CW-8. Richard Ruccello made a motion to approve the April 19, 2017 minutes as revised. Dennis Duke seconded the motion. The motion was approved by the twelve representatives present with Deer Flats, Fisherman Flats and Oak Grove abstaining due to not being present at that meeting. 5. April 27, 2017 Sharon Dwight asked to add the names of the representatives that were present at the meeting to page one, to include the project names and change the adjournment time to ‘a.m.’. Richard Ruccello made a motion to approve the April 27, 2017 minutes as edited. Sharon Dwight seconded the motion. The motion was approved by the twelve representatives present with Fisherman Flats abstaining due to not being present at that meeting. 6. June 13, 2017 Sharon Dwight stated that the three corrections were to add the word ‘with’ to page 2, and add the word ‘on’ and a hyphen to page 3. Sharon Dwight made a motion to approve the June 13, 2017 minutes as revised. Richard Ruccello seconded the motion. The motion was approved by the twelve representatives present with Del Monte Beach, Fisherman Flats and Glenwood Circle abstaining due to not being present at that meeting. PUBLIC COMMENTS Mr. Krebs opened public comments for items not on the agenda. Neighborhood Improvement Program Committee Meeting Minutes Thursday, November 30, 2017 2  Neighborhood Improvement Program Committee Minutes Thursday, November 30, 2017 Nina Beety spoke with regards to the Wireless Ordinance and the thirteen cell tower proposals that will be heard before the Planning Commission on January 23, 2018. She handed out a photo with all the cell towers and antennas shown on it. Ms. Beety went on to say that cell towers increase graffiti, noise and emit a high level of mico-radiation. She mentioned that sellers who wish to sell their properties complete a seller/property questionnaire to disclose nuisances such as cell towers. She asked the Committee to look into the request since there is a proposal to place one tower in Old Town on Van Buren, two towers in Oak Grove on Sloat and one tower on Munras near Soledad. Mike Brassfield, Alternate for Casanova-Oak Knolls, spoke with regards to the minutes being submitted in a timely manner. He stated that he wished to have them brought to the Committee quicker and to not fall that far behind. Hans Jannasch spoke with regards to the cell tower proposal. He stated that the proposal had been heard before the Zoning Administrator where it was standing room only and the last Planning Commission meeting turned into informational only meeting. With those two meetings, there are 300-400 people against the cell towers and only about 3-4 in support. He added that Verizon isn’t the only company that wishes to install the towers; there are two to three other companies that want these installed. He asked that the Committee speak with their neighborhood presidents and write a letter to the Planning Commission for their meeting on January 23rd or to the City Council to voice your concerns. Seeing no further comments, Mr. Krebs closed public comments. INFORMATIONAL REPORTS & STAFF COMMENTS Mr. Krebs stated that he has a couple of projects out to bid at the moment, the Colton Hall lift and the 200 and 300 block of English, both which are estimated at over a million dollars. He added that the Franklin intersections are ready to start construction and Granite Construction is finishing up the Lower Presidio project. He finished by stating that he will be putting a schedule together to show the timeline for completion with regards to the other projects that he hasn’t been working on. NIP INFORMATIONAL REPORTS 7. NIP Spokesperson Reports Rick Heurer reported that he gave a presentation about NIP to the Parks and Recreation Commission. His main comment to the Commission was that they don’t let the NIP know the priority order when a project is submitted by the public. His second comment to the Commission was with regards to the policy aspect of a project, saying it would be helpful to have the Commission’s review of the policy before it reaches the NIP Committee. Sharon Dwight reported that the Lighthouse, Del Monte Avenue and North Fremont traffic project was merged into one item and went to the City Council on November 7th. She added that the dollar amount did not change but now the City can apply for an air quality grant to complete the project. Richard Ruccello reported that the Park and Recreation office conducted an online survey that received over 1,000 responses and added that 70% of Monterey residents want a new dog park. Neighborhood Improvement Program Committee Meeting Minutes Thursday, November 30, 2017 3  Neighborhood Improvement Program Committee Minutes Thursday, November 30, 2017 PUBLIC APPEARANCE 8. Recommend City Council Approve Appropriation and Transfer of Supplemental Funds for the Cert Containers-Solar Radio System Project (Not a project under CEQA Article 19, Section 15301, Class 1) Mr. Krebs presented the staff report. Mr. Krebs opened public comments. Seeing none, he closed public comments. Sharon Dwight made a comment that she would not be voting against the appropriation but wished to not see other projects coming back to the NIP for more money as the project is being closed out. Richard Ruccello made a motion to recommend City Council approve appropriation and transfer of supplemental funds for the Cert Containers-Solar Radio System Project. Rick Heuer seconded the motion. The motion was approved by the twelve representatives present. 9. Recommend Additional Funding for Awarding the Base Bid or Additive Alternatives, that City Council Approve Appropriation and Transfer of Supplemental Funds for the Montecito Park Entry and Seating Installation and Phase 2 Site Improvements Project (Exempt from CEQA Article 19, Section 15303, Class 3 and Exempt from NEPA Section 58.34(a)(12)) Mr. Krebs presented the staff report. Rick Heurer asked why the City didn’t go with the low bidder because the cost is $20,000 more with no additive alternatives. He added that the park needs the improvements but it is a lot of money and asked what was in the description that the NIP voted on. Sharon Dwight stated that the volleyball court and the pavers were part of the funded scope and they were voted for with the original proposal. She added that they will have to ask for more money and that alternative #1 will go away, #2 and #3 was in the scope. She went on to state that the contractor should do both #2 and #3 along with the project since that was what was approved and funded and added that the City shouldn’t always add the 10% contingency. She ended by adding that the park has been neglected and the NIP should come up with the money. Richard Ruccello asked about the synthetic volleyball court and stated that Montecito Park has been ignored for decades and that the amendments are needed. Harry Mucha stated that #2 and #3 should be added to the scope but the volleyball court should be eliminated. Jayme Fields stated that the proposal is a much fancier project and asked if it reflected Phase II. She ended by stating that the City would get a bigger return on the money if it were to receive matching funds. Mr. Krebs opened public comments. Neighborhood Improvement Program Committee Meeting Minutes Thursday, November 30, 2017 4  Neighborhood Improvement Program Committee Minutes Thursday, November 30, 2017 Mike Brassfield, Alternate for Casanova-Oak Knolls, stated that it was the contractor that was tearing up the park and adding up the costs. He asked what is the contractor responsible for and what is the City being billed for. Seeing no further comments, Mr. Krebs closed public comments. Mr. Krebs stated that the contractor broke the irrigation but fixed it. He added that the CDBG funding will be returned if he has to re-bid the project since it is over the estimate. Pat Venza stated that kids want to play on equipment and not a wall. She recommended that the wall shouldn’t be so fancy and to possibly plant one size smaller plants to stay within the budget. Harry Mucha asked why contractors don’t want to bid on projects. Sharon Dwight stated that the City should contract with Chapin. Dennis Duke stated asked why the aggregate bid is higher than the additive alternative, why the NIP has to pick up the difference when there was suppose to be CDBG funding and asked what project scope was approved. Richard Pagnillo stated that the NIP already paid for something and asked why does the NIP have to pay more for the project. Jayme Fields stated that with Alternative 2, the irrigation is needed for landscaping. Sharon Dwight asked about the CDBG funds. Mr. Krebs stated that the funds would be lost if the project is not be funded by April. Rick Heuer made a motion to recommend additional funding for awarding the base bid of $55,000 for the wall and improvements contingent on CDBG funds for the Montecito Park Entry and seating installation and Phase 2 Site Improvements Project. Richard Ruccello seconded the motion. The motion was approved by the eleven representatives present. Sharon Dwight voted no. 10. Recommend City Council Deappropriate the Fire Station 3 Oxygen Generation System Project (Not a project under CEQA Article 20, Section 15378 and under General Rule Article 5, Section 15061) Mr. Krebs presented the staff report. Mr. Krebs opened public comments. Seeing none, he closed public comments. Rick Heuer stated that the project isn’t going forward because the Fire Department didn’t know from the beginning that they needed certification for the system. Jeff Krebs stated that the vendor couldn’t come through on his proposal, so the funds should be deappropriated. Sharon Dwight asked if there was a similar system that the NIP funded for Fire Station 1. Jeff Krebs replied that the project at Fire Station 1 was an exhaust extractor and that the project has been completed. Neighborhood Improvement Program Committee Meeting Minutes Thursday, November 30, 2017 5  Neighborhood Improvement Program Committee Minutes Thursday, November 30, 2017 Richard Ruccello made a motion to recommend City Council deappropriate the Fire Station 3 Oxygen Generation System Project. Harlan Jencks seconded the motion. The motion was approved by the twelve representatives present. 11. Review End of Year Close Out List of Completed Projects (Not a project under CEQA Article 20, Section 15378 and under General Rule Article 5, Section 15061) Mr. Krebs presented the staff report. Pat Venza asked about the total cost of the Logan one way study since it was not completed and the radar signs on Martin Avenue and Mar Vista. Mr. Krebs stated that it was staff time that was charged to the project trying to come up with different scenarios. With regards to the radar signs on Martin, he stated that those are not included since he has not closed out that project. He added that there were studies conducted with regards to the radar signs on Mar Vista which is why costs are being charged to the project. Sharon Dwight asked that the list be sorted by neighborhood so it would be easier to review. Mr. Krebs opened public comments. Seeing none, he closed public comments. Pat Venza asked about the radar signs at Monterey Vista and the cost not returning to the NIP. Mr. Krebs stated that the Monterey Vista radar sign project went before City Council and was deappropriated but will double check to confirm. Harlan Jencks asked about the charges for the intersection at Camino Aguajito and Third. Mr. Krebs stated that it was for an appraisal for the property. Rick Heuer made a motion to approve the close out list of completed projects with the elimination of the radar sign at Monterey Vista. Richard Ruccello seconded the motion. The motion was approved by the twelve representatives present. 12. Recommend City Council Approve Funding for FY2017/18 Cut Off Projects (Not a project under CEQA Article 20, Section 15378 and under General Rule Article 5, Section 15061) Mr. Krebs presented the staff report. Richard Ruccello stated that the NIP voted on those projects and that they have the money to finish them. He added that the TOT went up 4% last year and will be up 8% this year and it is the job of the NIP to approve projects. Dennis Duke asked how secure staff was with the bids that were received and the contingency fund. Mr. Krebs answered that the contingency fund would be down to $417,000 with the list of cut off projects. Mr. Krebs opened public comments. Seeing none, he closed public comments. Richard Ruccello made a motion to recommend City Council approve funding for FY2017/18 Cut Off Projects. Sharon Dwight seconded the motion. The motion was approved by the twelve representatives present. Neighborhood Improvement Program Committee Meeting Minutes Thursday, November 30, 2017 6  Neighborhood Improvement Program Committee Minutes Thursday, November 30, 2017 13. Update on Status of Policy Manual Sharon Dwight reported that the Policy Manual was submitted to the City Council for review but the document was a clean copy and did not include any of the changes that the NIP has asked for. She stated that the Mayor had asked for a summary and she had spent 13 hours putting together 14 pages showing the proposed changes. She added that there is an impass with the City Attorney’s office at the moment since the issues can’t be resolved and ended by stating that the effort was made on behalf of the NIP with regards to the manual. She mentioned that the subcommittee is willing to look at what is required as far as the calendar and what is tentative. She ended by stating that every time changes are submitted the whole document gets changed. Jayme Fields asked if the NIP should write a letter to the City Attorney’s office stating the desires of the NIP or write a procedure that addresses concerns or lack of clarity and move forward. Rick Heurer stated that the NIP should write a letter to the City Council and not the City Attorney. He added that the NIP should pull all the proposed changes and continue with the current manual since no other Board has a policy manual. After a brief discussion regarding unrepresented neighborhoods on the NIP Committee and not being able to move the document forward to the City Council, Mr. Krebs opened public comments. Mike Brassfield, Alternate for Casanova-Oak Knolls, stated that he liked the suggestion made by Rick Heurer and to pull the proposed changes. He also suggested that a mediator be brought in to listen hear both sides and report back to the City Council. He ended by stating that there is a third level; Policy, Procedures and Practices and Practices aren’t written and the NIP deals with that all the time. Seeing no further comments, Mr. Krebs closed public comments. Jeff Krebs clarified the process and review of a City Council agenda report. COMMITTEE MEMBER COMMENTS Harry Mucha stated that he is looking forward to next year with the NIP and voting money for Villa Del Monte. He added that while traveling the back roads to Monterey, he noticed that more than one cell structure on a pole is not a pretty sight. April Harrison announced that she had worked hard with the Committee with regards to the NIP Policy Manual. Sharon Dwight announced that there was a cell tower located next to the Clement Hotel parking garage on Wave Street and the visual aspect is not much of an intrusion. She added that an Administrative Assistant needs to be hired for the NIP Committee to help with next year’s projects and ended by announcing that Kim Bui-Burton is retiring at the end of December. Dennis Duke asked everyone to please review the cell tower proposal and that he is working with the City Attorney’s office on CERT. Neighborhood Improvement Program Committee Meeting Minutes Thursday, November 30, 2017 7 Neighborhood Improvement Program Committee Minutes Thursday, November 30, 2017 Pat Venza stated that she hopes that all the representatives will attend the January 23rd Planning Commission meeting to discuss the cell tower applications since it is a Citywide issue. Richard Ruccello stated that money is being spent to undergrounding utilities and what poles will be used for cell towers in the future. He added that the Fire Department hosted a movie in the park where 800 people showed up, 550 hot dogs and 22 gallon of lemonade were sold and ended by saying that it was nice to see people using what was built. Rick Heuer asked if the City had contracted with a company that was not the low bidder on a project before and if so, to look at changing the policy. He asked who owns the poles for the proposed cell towers and that the companies should pay rent to the City. He ended by saying that the City should look into noise control and the sound system for special events being held. Lee Whitney stated that she is looking forward to the 2017 approved project starting in her neighborhood and partnering with Alta Mesa on a joint project for 2018. She wished everyone happy holidays. Richard Pagnillo had no comment. Jayme Fields stated that the Finance Committee and the NIP Subcommittee need to get together to look at City allocations and the concept of contingency complexity. She asked for a date to be put on the calendar for that meeting. She also stated that her neighborhood asked to bring the possibly of amending the NIP ordinance so money could be spent on items that are not capital; such as security guards. Dave Overton announced that Discover NPS would be taking place the next day and invited everyone to attend. Harlan Jencks thanked Jeff Krebs and Engineering staff for the resurfacing of City streets. NEXT MEETING The next meeting will be scheduled as needed. ADJOURNMENT Mr. Krebs adjourned the meeting at 8:46 pm. Respectfully Submitted, Approved, Jaci Abadilla Jeff Krebs Recording Secretary NIP Staff Coordinator Neighborhood Improvement Program Committee Meeting Minutes Thursday, November 30, 2017 8