Neighborhood and Community Improvement Program Committee Meeting

MINUTES NEIGHBORHOOD IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM COMMITTEE Thursday, January 24, 2019 7:00 PM COUNCIL CHAMBER, FEW MEMORIAL HALL OF RECORDS 580 PACIFIC STREET MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA NIP Representatives & Alta Mesa Rick Heuer Alternates Present: Casanova-Oak Knoll Richard Ruccello, Rep., Michael Brassfield, Alt. Deer Flats Dave Overton, Rep. Del Monte Beach Jayme Fields, Rep. Del Monte Grove-Laguna Grande Merrily Alley, Rep., Kathleen Baker, Alt. Downtown William C. Tipton, Rep. Fisherman Flats Tom Rowley, Rep. Glenwood Lee Whitney, Rep. Monterey Vista Jean Rasch, Rep. New Monterey Sharon Dwight, Rep., Jonathan Hill, Alt. Oak Grove Luz Adam, Alt. Old Town April Harrison, Rep., Sue Ricketson, Alt. Skyline Forest Dennis Duke, Rep. Villa Del Monte Duane Peterson, Alt. Staff Members Present: Jeff Krebs, NIP Staff Coordinator Alyssa Huerta, Administrative Assistant II CALL TO ORDER NIP Staff Coordinator, Jeff Krebs, called the meeting to order at 7:03 p.m. ROLL CALL Fourteen (14) neighborhoods were represented with Aguajito Oaks absent. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1. November 19, 2018 (Not a project under CEQA Article 20, Section 15378 and under General Rule Article 5, Section 15061) Ms. Dwight requested a revision on page 2, item 1, “NIP Informational Reports,” and asked that the final sentences be changed to say “Ms. Dwight said she questions the change. She noted once the existing wall comes down there will be a test conducted for sound to see how much the fence is making a difference.” Ms. Dwight requested a revision on page 3, item 4, first paragraph, third sentence, and asked that “Manual Subcommittee” be changed and instead say “NIP.” Mr. Rowley discussed page 4, item 4, fourth paragraph, and said he did not understand what Ms. Dwight was trying to say in the paragraph. Ms. Dwight stated that she was simply saying there is a new City Manager and there are moving parts. She said the NIP Policies and Procedures Manual Subcommittee was saying that at this juncture it was not worth taking on a new battle, and that the Policies and Procedures Manual will be revisited at a future time. Mr. Rowley asked why Ms. Dwight did not just say there is a new City Manager, and that he did not understand the discussion on the change of Neighborhood Improvement Program Committee Thursday, January 24, 2019 Minutes culture. Ms. Dwight said there are things that could change and all the Manual Subcommittee knows is at that juncture they were not prepared to propose a total rewrite of the manual. Mr. Rowley said he understood and thanked Ms. Dwight for the explanation. Mr. Duke said the last sentence of the paragraph is the conclusion they got to. Mr. Krebs opened public comments on this item. Seeing none, Mr. Krebs closed public comments. Sharon Dwight motioned to approve the minutes as amended. Dennis Duke seconded the motion. The motion was approved by thirteen (13) Representatives present, with Tom Rowley of Fisherman Flats abstaining due to not being present at the November 19, 2018 meeting. PUBLIC COMMENTS Kala Fossum, President of the Villa Del Monte Neighborhood Association said she attended the meeting to propose what may be a radical idea. She said she honors and respects the many decades of combined experience on the NIP Committee. She said she is fairly new to the process and has only been exposed to it for approximately five years and that she is also not intimately aware or educated on City budget concerns, but from what she has seen she proposes that the NIP, if they have the authority, hire an assistant for Mr. Krebs from the NIP budget. She said it seems to her that it is a waste of time to review all the new proposals every year and vote on them, fund them, and then have them sit for years. She said she thinks Mr. Krebs is spread very thin and an assistant would be a good idea. Ms. Fossum said her personal project was approved two years ago, and she thanked the Committee for approving the project, and said they approved the Casa Verde Highway One Underpass project. She said Mr. Krebs got right on it and got outside engineers to design the project and got the info to CalTrans. Ms. Fossum explained that she could be incorrect on the details, but it is her understanding CalTrans came back and the project sat with the City for a year. She reiterated that her understanding is that it was not CalTrans, but it was the City. She said since the City offered a “golden handshake,” because of the CalPERS retirement system, which she said is a burden on so many municipalities in the state, it is her understanding that the City lost over 30 employees at the end of 2017. She said the employees that were lost included Engineers, so her project did not have an Engineer assigned to it until recently. She explained that the ball has been in the City’s court for a year now on her project. She said if the NIP Committee has any clout to propose an assistant, even part time, from the NIP budget for Jeff, she believes it would be money well spent. Mayor Clyde Roberson spoke and thanked the Committee for their dedication and service. He discussed the origin of the program, the charter amendment that started it all, and how the program is grass-roots. He said the success rate of NIP over the years has been well over 95%. He continued to discuss his happiness with NIP. Ms. Dwight asked Mr. Krebs to inform the audience why it is the Committee does not respond when the public has commented to the Committee. Mr. Krebs explained that under public comment, something not on the agenda is not allowed to be debated or discussed by the Committee. He explained that the Committee receives the information Neighborhood Improvement Program Committee Meeting Minutes Thursday, January 24, 2019 2  Neighborhood Improvement Program Committee Thursday, January 24, 2019 Minutes from public comment and a Committee member can ask to have the information agendized for a future meeting. Seeing no more comments, Mr. Krebs closed public comments. INFORMATIONAL REPORTS & STAFF COMMENTS 2. Orientation of Neighborhood Improvement Program (Not a project under CEQA Article 20, Section 15378 and under General Rule Article 5, Section 15061) a Parking Permits Mr. Krebs informed the Committee that parking permit applications are available at the front table, with the sign-in sheet, for all who need a permit. b Policies and Procedures Manual Update Mr. Krebs said that the Policies and Procedures Manual has not been updated since 2012 and has not been in front of Council since December 2015. He said there have been multiple discussions in regards to the NIP Policies and Procedures Manual during the NIP meetings since 2013. c NIP Project Submittal Deadline February 8, 2019 Mr. Krebs said over 30 project nomination forms have been received so far. d Neighborhood Area Plans Mr. Krebs said all projects must be checked in accordance with the Neighborhood Area Plans. He said the Neighborhood Area Plans on record are Casanova Oak Knoll from 1985, Del Monte Grove (year unknown), New Monterey from 1991, Oak Grove from 1990, Old Town (year unknown), and Villa Del Monte from 2016. He said those are the Neighborhood Area Plans that all projects are checked in accordance with and that it helps him acquire his California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) approval. He said he must check approved projects against the General Plan, Circulation Plans and Neighborhood Plans to acquire CEQA. Mr. Krebs opened public comments for item 2. Seeing none, Mr. Krebs closed public comments. 3. Conflict of Interest Rules (Not a project under CEQA Article 20, Section 15378 and under General Rule Article 5, Section 15061) Mr. Krebs said that once the project nominations are received, Engineering identifies where the projects are located, where each of the Representatives and Alternates live, and draw a circle within 500 feet of the projects. He explained that if any of the Representatives or Alternates live within 500 feet of the project then the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) rules are followed. He said it is then defined whether the Representative may champion or discuss a project or whether their Alternate must do so. Ms. Dwight said the City Council directed the City Attorney to go back to the FPPC and Neighborhood Improvement Program Committee Meeting Minutes Thursday, January 24, 2019 3  Neighborhood Improvement Program Committee Thursday, January 24, 2019 Minutes ask if it was possible to reinstate the exemption for the NIP Committee. She asked if Mr. Krebs knew the result of that effort. Mr. Krebs said he did not know the result, but he would find out for the Committee. Ms. Dwight explained that last year 10 of the 16 Representatives were unable to speak on one or more projects, and for one neighborhood they were unable to speak about their only project. She said it is difficult to be an advocate or explain a project when they are told they cannot speak. Mr. Tipton requested confirmation from Mr. Krebs, asking if last year not only had the 500 foot rule, but also a population rule. Mr. Krebs said the 500 foot rule is somewhat generic and he discussed the parcel rule. He said a count of parcels is conducted and if you are over 10%, then you can vote on the project, but there are a few that drop below it. He explained that he will later go over the math for the parcel rule and will review everything on the map for conflicts. Mr. Krebs opened public comments on this item. Seeing none, Mr. Krebs closed public comments. NIP INFORMATIONAL REPORTS 4. NIP Spokesperson Reports Mr. Heuer said he had nothing to report. Mr. Ruccello said 2018 was the first year he was able to attend all of the City commission meetings. He expressed to the Committee that he received more criticism about NIP than he did the 30 years prior, combined. He explained there have been some changes in the NIP process that have not gone down well with the community and commissions. He said he had comments from Council and that one Council member was concerned the NIP did not address the new dog park. Mr. Ruccello said he tried to address what the NIP all said but he is not sure how it was received. He said most of the comments he received were over the Del Monte Beach Restroom project, and while the Committee believed there was consensus on the project, some of the neighbors were not happy and contacted Council members prior to Council voting on the project, which is a Brown Act violation. Mr. Ruccello said there was a lot more criticism from people who came after 8 pm on voting night and did not have the opportunity to speak and felt cheated by the process. He recommended it be placed on a future agenda that after 8 pm, if everyone is concerned with the time, public commenters are provided one minute to speak about a project to summarize. He said he received enough comments in regards to public comments that he believes it is a problem. He explained that NIP was created for the people and represents the people of Monterey and recommends items to the Council. Mr. Ruccello said he received many comments last year regarding the misconception of what NIP is and so he would like Mr. Krebs to read the Charter Amendment during orientation. He said some members refuse to understand that it is not just neighborhood projects, but also city-wide projects of community benefit, and are telling this to the public and turning them off to the NIP. He said anybody, whether they are a Monterey resident or not, may submit a project nomination form. Mr. Ruccello said that as a body the NIP needs to sit down and correct the misconceptions of the NIP. Ms. Dwight said whatever unhappiness there is from people about coming late to a meeting and not being able to testify or speak when the NIP has given two full meetings Neighborhood Improvement Program Committee Meeting Minutes Thursday, January 24, 2019 4  Neighborhood Improvement Program Committee Thursday, January 24, 2019 Minutes at two or three hours long that precede the final night, she does not see any other commission in the City that puts aside two full meetings for nothing but public input. She continued to say that while there may be some people disgruntled, she asks that they take a good look at what the NIP actually does. She reiterated that she cannot think of any commission or the Council, which puts aside hours of full meetings for public comment. Ms. Dwight discussed the Parks and Recreation Commission (PRC) meetings she attended and said the PRC will be doing some things differently this year. She said she believes the PRC truly understands how the NIP works and what it is they are trying to do and the importance of speaking to the Committee. She said she is pleased to see how the PRC is going forward. Ms. Fields said if there are concerns about the process, they will be discussed in item 5b. Mr. Rowley discussed the new faces on the PRC over the past few years and said there is not a lot of continuity. Ms. Dwight said since they had a joint meeting the PRC has really made an effort. Mr. Krebs opened public comments on this item. Mike Brassfield, Alternate for Casanova Oak Knoll, stated the number of projects coming to the PRC and the NIP are apples and oranges because the PRC sees maybe a dozen projects and the NIP receives over 100 project nominations, and so it cannot be completed in one night. He said last year when public comment was over, people were upset because they came late and were told they could not speak. He discussed the public perception. Seeing no more comments, Mr. Krebs closed public comments for the item. PUBLIC APPEARANCE 5. Discussion of Neighborhood Improvement Program (Not a project under CEQA Article 20, Section 15378 and under General Rule Article 5, Section 15061) a Approve NIP Deadline and Meeting Schedule Mr. Krebs discussed the two proposed schedules: the “standard” schedule and newly proposed “compressed” schedule. He said they were first brought to and reviewed by the Committee during the November 19 meeting. He said the first schedule is the same as used in years’ past. He explained that both proposed schedules have the same schedule up to the first two meetings. He said the first schedule has the back-to-back Thursday meetings in April and the second schedule has two weeks between each meeting in April, moving voting night into May. Mr. Heuer said he could not support the change because the April and May meetings proposed in the second schedule are an issue for him. Mr. Rowley said Mr. Krebs needs assistance and that the perception from others is that he does as well. He discussed the number of staff working on NIP items in Neighborhood Improvement Program Committee Meeting Minutes Thursday, January 24, 2019 5 Neighborhood Improvement Program Committee Thursday, January 24, 2019 Minutes years past and that it is becoming more apparent that as the projects become more complicated, Mr. Krebs needs help. Mr. Rowley said he is not sure if it is a budget issue and is not sure that they should take NIP funds to pay for it, but Mr. Krebs needs help. Ms. Alley said her understanding is the reason the schedule is longer is to give staff adequate time to do what they need to do between the last few meetings and get the work done for the final meetings. She said the Committee needs to give the staff enough time to do the work. Mr. Ruccello said for the past 34 years the Committee had a schedule the community expects. He said the worst the Committee can do is defend themselves when they are criticized. He said he thinks the newly proposed schedule is a mistake and that people are used to the schedule that was in place for 34 years. He said people know what to expect and he wants to keep it the same. Mr. Duke said that when Mr. Krebs started he had backlog and has worked his way through it. He asked Mr. Krebs how he feels; if he feels good with where he is or not. Krebs said he felt he did well the first two years, and in the last year we lost a lot of staff and he has to use a lot of consultants. Mr. Heuer said five meetings with various committees and Council have gone away in the newly proposed “compressed” schedule and asked why it cannot be done on the “standard” schedule. Mr. Krebs said it can. Mr. Heuer said it will free up a lot of staff time having to be done to prepare for those meetings. He said keeping the standard schedule and removing those meetings does not directly impact the public, frees up staff time to dedicate to projects, and it is a schedule that has been in place for a long time. Mr. Heuer said he did not like changing the schedule this late in the game, right before the program starts, and that it should be voted on much prior. Ms. Fields said the Committee reviewed both schedules during the November meeting and the group agreed on it. Ms. Fields said she does not believe people in her neighborhood have memorized the schedule by heart, and asked why the Committee would not take Staff’s recommendation if it is made in good faith from their own experience to help them as a Committee. Mr. Krebs clarified that when it was reviewed during the November 19, 2018 NIP meeting, the request was if he must always go to Council three times, PRC twice, and Planning, etc. He said as long as he does not get anything strange or unless one of the commissions asks him to meet, then he does not need to put it on the NIP regular meeting schedule like has previously been included in the schedule. Mr. Krebs said if he has nothing strange and the CEQA can be straight-forward, then he does not have to go to the PRC and can keep those meetings off the schedule, but if he is requested then he does not mind showing up for clarification. Ms. Dwight said by changing the schedule to increase the time between meetings, there will be more time to work on items and it takes the stress off staff. She mentioned that Ms. Huerta has to quickly turnaround in order to get the next week’s agenda submitted by noon on Friday. Ms. Dwight said they were not saying that Mr. Krebs will not talk with the other commissions or that they will not provide Neighborhood Improvement Program Committee Meeting Minutes Thursday, January 24, 2019 6 Neighborhood Improvement Program Committee Thursday, January 24, 2019 Minutes feedback, but are looking at what it is that is only the NIPs responsibility to get done. She said the Committee talked about and reviewed both schedules in November. She pointed out that Ms. Fields was correct in saying people wait to be told what the schedule is. She said the Committee did discuss it and felt the changes could really be in the benefit of the operations of NIP for the Committee, Staff and Public. Mr. Heuer asked what percentage of the NIP was present at the November meeting. Mr. Krebs said twelve neighborhoods were present at the November 2018 meeting. Mr. Heuer said he is not against the concept, but is against the change taking effect this year. He said his proposed Alternate agreed to be an alternate based on the standard schedule. Mr. Heuer discussed his travel schedule and vacation and said he based everything on the standard schedule. Mr. Rowley said Richard Pagnillo stepped down from the NIP Committee and asked if the NIP sends out a thank you letter or anything to thank members for their work when they step down. He said Mr. Pagnillo served for over 10 years. Mr. Rowley said the schedules were reviewed during a special meeting in November and while it was not necessarily that short of a notice, he said if he received an email he would have read and commented and sent it back to Mr. Krebs. Mr. Rowley said the meeting was a special meeting and was not primarily to discuss rearranging the whole schedule. He said the Mayor asked the schedule to be compressed but he does not believe it is what the Mayor had in mind when he suggested the compressed schedule. Mr. Krebs said that is why the meeting occurred in November, because the NIP received direction from Council in October to look at the schedule. Mr. Krebs opened public comments for this item. Seeing none, Mr. Krebs closed public comments. Sharon Dwight motioned to adopt the “Compressed” NIP Deadline and Meeting Schedule and proposed to name it the “Revised Schedule” as opposed to “Compressed.” Merrily Alley seconded the motion. The motion was approved by eight (8) Representatives present (Jayme Fields, Merrily Alley, Curt Tipton, Jean Rasch, Sharon Dwight, Luz Adam, April Harrison, Dennis Duke), and six (6) Representatives opposed (Rick Heuer, Richard Ruccello, Dave Overton, Lee Whitney, Tom Rowley, Duane Peterson). b Review of NIP Process Ms. Dwight said there are new persons up for appointment to the NIP Committee. She asked if any were present in the audience and Mr. Krebs said that some were in attendance. Mr. Krebs said they have not been appointed and that the item for NIP appointments is currently on the February 5 Council meeting. Ms. Dwight said if not all of the new people are in attendance, then she is unsure how much time needs to be spent on the review of the NIP process. Mr. Krebs said he will need to do the full review at the start of the February 20 project screening meeting, if the Neighborhood Improvement Program Committee Meeting Minutes Thursday, January 24, 2019 7 Neighborhood Improvement Program Committee Thursday, January 24, 2019 Minutes item stays on the February 5 City Council meeting. Mr. Krebs briefly went over the NIP process. He said project nomination forms are due February 8, and he will send them out to Traffic and other pertinent departments in the City. Mr. Krebs discussed the February 20 project screening meeting and said the meeting is held to state whether a nomination is considered a project or not a project, and the Committee does not debate what a project is, but whether a nomination is eligible as an NIP project. He then discussed the items on the NIP meeting and deadline schedule. Mr. Krebs said the NIP program will then go to Council on June 18, based on the NIP Committee recommendation for Council to adopt the projects into the budget. He said Council is scheduled for the first meeting in June to adopt the two year budget, and normally the NIP/CIP gets done around that time or in July. Mr. Krebs said Mr. Brassfield was on the CDBG committee that is reviewing project requests and Mr. Krebs submitted projects that are eligible and it has the same process and gets approved in May. He referenced CDBG funds used for Montecito Park. He said they have a committee and he will go through the process the next couple of months with the committee to see if they can get CDBG funding. Ms. Fields said she wanted the Committee to discuss the public comment concept. She said they tried something new with the elimination of some speaking and they can look back at the time the meeting ended, see if it made a material difference to the total operations of the Committee and then ask if the gain was worth the pain and reconsider it. Mr. Krebs said on voting night public comment was eliminated only before the rounds of voting started and unless a project changed in scope or cost was it allowed to be discussed between the multiple rounds. Mr. Krebs said voting night ended around 11:00 pm last year, and around 1:30 a.m. when everybody was allowed to talk between rounds in the past. Mr. Krebs noted that the NIP agenda says public comments are a maximum of 1 to 3 minutes and he needs to announce that, so if he looks out in the audience and sees 50 people who want to speak, then he has the ability to say that instead of 3 minutes, everybody gets 1 minute to speak or everybody has two minutes to speak. He explained that he must state that information before public comment begins, and he has the leeway based on how many people he sees that would like to come up and speak. Mr. Krebs said once he does set that time, then we set the clock. Mr. Krebs said if the Committee would like public comment between rounds, then he can limit the time for each person to one minute. He stated that the night the Committee went to 1:30 am, public commenters were allowed a full three minutes between rounds. Ms. Dwight said it is important for NIP Representatives to let the people in their neighborhoods understand that if they come to the public comment nights, which are the two preceding the voting night, they are not held to a time limit. Mr. Krebs said there was a time limit of three minutes and said if he saw 20 people waiting to speak then he would limit each public comment to two minutes. Ms. Dwight said the Committee has historically allowed the public to tell them why they think the project is important and the Committee does not have the light go on to distract them or force them to stop talking, and historically when they come to those public meetings the Committee listens and hears them out. Ms. Dwight said if the Neighborhood Improvement Program Committee Meeting Minutes Thursday, January 24, 2019 8 Neighborhood Improvement Program Committee Thursday, January 24, 2019 Minutes Committee can tell the people in their neighborhoods to come to that night and really talk to the Committee then they have the opportunity to explain why their project is a good use of public funds. Ms. Dwight said when it comes to voting night, where there may be as many as four rounds of voting, it drags on and the committee is not at their best at the time they start the fourth round. She explained that if the public wants a really good hearing of what their opinion is, the Committee can tell them to come to those earlier meetings. She said if New Monterey is on a particular night and public commenters are unable to attend New Monterey night, then they can attend A-M neighborhoods night and speak at public comment, because they are not on the agenda and thereby have an opportunity to say what they want to say. Ms. Dwight said her point is that there is a lot of latitude. Mr. Ruccello said he would like to change public comment. He said there are people from other communities who come to testify. He said the timer should be used and set at three minutes for public comment, but limited to one minute between rounds. He said at least then the public would have a chance to express themselves and the opportunity to change a vote. He said he timed the amount of time the Committee takes to get up and vote, and the Committee wastes time between the voting rounds wandering. Mr. Ruccello suggested setting a time of 10 minutes. Mr. Rucccello said it is not the public taking the Committee’s time on voting night and he wants to hear what the public has to say. He said he is for changing the process and wants it to be an official policy of NIP. Ms. Fields said she liked Ms. Dwight’s point of telling people to come to the other meetings and speak, which gives them the chance to have full consideration. She said it is beneficial to have the chance to engage. She said she liked the emphasis of managing people toward the earlier meetings, but since they do not always respond, she likes having it open so they can speak according to when they feel they need to speak. Ms. Fields suggested starting the voting night meeting earlier. She reiterated the points made about shortening public comment, starting the meeting earlier, and controlling the Committee’s voting time. She said she would like to see the Committee managing time before she sees people cut out of the process. Mr. Heuer said he thinks he was one of the people who asked why the Committee needs to have public comments between each round. He said after experimenting with it, he believes public comment is needed between each round, because people think of different arguments and they are making their case. He said the Committee can try and steer the public to the earlier meetings, which is smart for them to attend, but said it is also smart of them to attend voting night because it is fresh on the minds of everyone. He said he believes there needs to be a time limit set for the Committee between the voting rounds. He also said he thinks providing three minutes for public comment at the beginning of the evening and then one minute between rounds so they may reiterate their points is a good idea. He said he is in favor of starting the voting night meeting earlier. He said the process needs to be formalized and that a lot of time is wasted. He explained that the Committee spends a lot of time speaking between rounds, which he said he is guilty of as well, but there are ways voting night can be shortened. He said we need to ensure the public has time to speak and everyone has the right to say Neighborhood Improvement Program Committee Meeting Minutes Thursday, January 24, 2019 9 Neighborhood Improvement Program Committee Thursday, January 24, 2019 Minutes something. Mr. Duke said if his memory was correct, that the skate park was a project the Committee was going to vote against until public commenters spoke about it, which was toward the last rounds of voting, and it changed the Committee’s mind on the project. He said their mind was changed based on public testimony during voting night. He explained that the same occurred when deciding to fund astroturf for a baseball field. He said he is in favor of having discussion with some time limits. Mr. Overton said if the committee is arbitrary with the time then it will be perceived as arbitrary. He said if somebody has something that is more involved, then they can bring something written to provide to the Committee. He said public comment is important but time limits are important as well. Mr. Duke asked how administratively burdensome it would be if there was not only a time limit per speaker, but a time limit per agenda item or project. He asked if the Committee was allowed to say there are 15 minutes allowed for this item, and for them to pick their best speaker. Mr. Krebs said as he recalled that when he spoke to City Attorney, at the start of the meeting, prior to public comment, he needs to set the time limit per public comment, whether it was one, two or three minutes, and that it would then be set at that limit for the rest of the night and he cannot change it between rounds. He said if the public was informed at the beginning of the meeting that each person has three minutes to speak during the first round, and one minute for the rounds in between, that it can be done as long as he states the rules prior to public comment. Mr. Krebs opened public comments for this item. Bruce Zanetta said one of the most efficient meetings he saw was when it was told there must be no repetition. He said if commenters want to get up and repeat a point, then they can say ‘ditto’ to what somebody said or to an item, and it can be kept to a minute or less. Mr. Krebs said in the past it has been asked who supported a person that was speaking, and the audience raised their hands to show their support. Mike Brassfield said of all the committees and groups in the City, NIP is the most community-oriented, because of the fact that all of the projects come from the Committee. He agreed to cutting public comment time down to one minute. He said the NIP began as doing something for the community and if it begins becoming bureaucratic and telling people what they cannot do, then there is a problem. He stated his support for a ten minute timer for the Committee to vote during each round. Jon Hill, NIP Alternate for New Monterey, said he is on the school board and they come across the same public comment problem from time-to-time. He said the school board prints the time limits on their agenda so attendees know the time limits. He said if there is a long line of people waiting to speak, the school board sets 20 minutes per agenda item. Mr. Hill said as VP will inform the president when they are going over time on an item and the board then votes to extend the item time, which they generally approve in 20 minute blocks. He reiterated that the Neighborhood Improvement Program Committee Meeting Minutes Thursday, January 24, 2019 10 Neighborhood Improvement Program Committee Thursday, January 24, 2019 Minutes rules are stated in the agenda. He said it created a sense of momentum for the audience and finds that the suggestions may be helpful. Seeing no more comments, Mr. Krebs closed public comment for this item. Mr. Ruccello made motion that public comment be on the agenda at three minutes per person and between rounds at one minute. Mr. Rick Heuer seconded the motion. Mr. Ruccello said the Committee should urge the public not to repeat what has been said already. He stated that other commissions request that the public do not repeat what has already been said, and that the Committee may request it and that it is not mandatory but politely requested. He said he believes the process will be a lot more open and there will be less criticism. He agreed with Mr. Duke’s point about projects passing in the last round because of public comment. Ms. Rasch asked if the voting time limit for the Committee may be added to Mr. Ruccello’s motion. Mr. Ruccello said he was torn over what the limit should be, but as an observer he sees that ten minutes should be sufficient. Mr. Overton expressed his support for Mr. Hill’s suggestions. He recommended agendizing the time limits and setting them per item and making the recommendation to extend time as needed. He said he believes it can help keep momentum. Mr. Tipton said he agrees with Mr. Overton and would like to agendize on the voting night agenda the time limits for Committee voting and public comment time limit of three minutes at the start and one minute between rounds. Ms. Alley said she is not comfortable with the time limit proposed to place on the Committee for voting. She said voting night decisions take time and she does not want to be constrained by a time limit. Mr. Heuer said he has a concern with setting a total time limit on the amount of public comment and is not sure it is legal to enforce. He said before going that route, he would like to first go to City Attorney on the ability of a Commission to set a time limit for an item. Mr. Duke said he was not in support of setting time limits for each project, and said if 50 projects had to be reviewed at 10 minutes each, then it would be eight and one third hours. He said the way it has been done for the last thirty years probably works. Ms. Rasch suggested starting voting night at 4 pm. Ms. Fields said the start time should be a separate motion and she supports Mr. Ruccello’s motion as it stands. She said the clarification she has on voting time is to suggest that a 10 minute timer begin at the start of each voting round. She said it can be a guide to the Committee and can be flexible. Ms. Dwight said she believed part of Mr. Ruccello’s motion was a request that Neighborhood Improvement Program Committee Meeting Minutes Thursday, January 24, 2019 11 Neighborhood Improvement Program Committee Thursday, January 24, 2019 Minutes commenters do not repeat. Mr. Ruccello said he suggested that the Representatives merely suggest it, but it is not mandatory. He clarified that his motion was one minute and three minutes. He said the portion on repeating was not part of his motion. Ms. Dwight said she does not believe 10 minutes is sufficient time for the Committee to vote. She said setting a time is undercutting what the process is, because voting takes time. Ms. Adam said the reason for meetings is to listen to the whole City on a project, not just their neighborhoods. She said there are two meetings prior to voting night and by the time voting night comes around, they have an idea of what they want and sometimes people speaking during public comment can make them change their mind, but most of the time the Committee is set on their decision. She said one comment from the public could change somebody’s mind, but for her it is the previous knowledge that helps her. Richard Ruccello made motion that public comment be on the agenda at three minutes per person and between rounds at one minute. Rick Heuer seconded the motion. The motion was approved by thirteen (13) representatives present, with Merrily Alley of Del Monte Grove-Laguna Grande abstaining. Ms. Dwight requested that the Committee not get criticism from the City staff on this item. She said she has been confronted and stopped in her tracks, told the Committee has to make their meetings shorter. Ms. Rasch made a motion to start voting night at 4 pm. There was no seconding of her motion. Rick Heuer made motion to start voting night at 6 pm. Tom Rowley seconded the motion. Ms. Dwight said 6 pm is too early to begin voting night. Mr. Rowley said 6 pm is reasonable and he has other meetings at 6 pm that work okay. Mr. Overton said if they are changing the start time this late in the game and people are expecting the usual start time, then the Committee may receive that complaint again. He said people may not realize the change in time and will miss their opportunity to speak on voting night. Mr. Duke said there are preliminary items, such as funds set aside for contingency, which can be handled in the beginning of the meeting on voting night. Ms. Dwight said contingency is discussed after the first round so the Committee may get a sense of where they are going and how much money will likely need to have set aside. She said there is voting prior to hearing about contingency. Mr. Duke said his memory is that there is a meeting with Mr. Krebs to find out what projects he will be doing and what he thinks he may need for contingencies for that year and it is voted on prior to project voting. Neighborhood Improvement Program Committee Meeting Minutes Thursday, January 24, 2019 12 Neighborhood Improvement Program Committee Thursday, January 24, 2019 Minutes Ms. Fields said due to the new meeting schedule, the review and vote on contingency can be done at a meeting prior to voting night. She said it was done on voting night because it was the first time the information was available. Mr. Heuer said that while the meeting begins at six, it does not mean public comment begins right at six. Ms. Dwight said the Committee was forgetting that public comment has been as long as one and a half hours before the Committee gets down to business. Mr. Krebs opened public comment for the item. Kathleen Baker asked in the spirit of transparency, if the project nominators are ever told about any of this and if there is any direct communication with them. She said sending out an email with a brief notice on when their chance is to speak during meetings and voting night and what the rules are, would help notify everybody of changes and when they may participate. Seeing no more comments, Mr. Krebs closed public comments for the item. Rick Heuer made motion to start voting night at 6 pm. Tom Rowley seconded the motion. The motion was approved by twelve (12) Representatives present and opposed by Sharon Dwight of New Monterey and April Harrison of Old Town. c Projects Submitted for FY 2019-20 Program and Status of Project Nominations Mr. Krebs said so far there have been over 30 projects received. He said the project submissions book will be completed and provided to the Committee so they may see all of the projects submitted for screening night. Mr. Krebs said the Committee will also reach out to some nominators about the phrasing in their nomination forms. Ms. Dwight asked if the Committee will receive the original project submissions. Mr. Krebs said yes, that the Committee will receive the original projects submitted to staff. Ms. Fields asked if the Committee may discuss the earlier comments made about public speaking during item B, “Review of NIP Process.” Mr. Krebs said okay. (Please see item ‘b’ discussion). Neighborhood Improvement Program Committee Meeting Minutes Thursday, January 24, 2019 13  Neighborhood Improvement Program Committee Thursday, January 24, 2019 Minutes 6. Elect NIP Spokesperson and Alternate for 2019 (Not a project under CEQA Article 20, Section 15378 and under General Rule Article 5, Section 15061) Mr. Krebs said the current NIP Spokesperson is Rick Heuer and the Alternates are Richard Ruccello and Sharon Dwight. Mr. Krebs opened the item for public comment. Seeing none, Mr. Krebs closed public comment for the item. Merrily Alley made a motion to keep the NIP Spokesperson and Alternates as is. Lee Whitney seconded the motion. The motion was approved by thirteen (13) Representatives present and Rick Heuer of Alta Mesa abstained. 7. Elect NIP Policies and Procedures Manual Subcommittee for 2019 (Not a project under CEQA Article 20, Section 15378 and under General Rule Article 5, Section 15061) Ms. Dwight said she is willing to be on the Policies and Procedures Manual Subcommittee again. Mr. Krebs said the Policies and Procedures Manual Subcommittee last consisted of Ms. Dwight, Ms. Alley and Ms. Harrison. Jean Rasch made a motion to continue with Ms. Dwight, Ms. Alley and Ms. Harrison as the NIP Policies and Procedures Manual Subcommittee for 2019. Dennis Duke seconded the motion. Mr. Krebs opened public comments for this item. Mike Brassfield said there have been no changes to the Policies and Procedures Manual for five years. He said the Committee cannot continue to operate this way. He said if there is an operational procedure that is not being abided by, then the organization is not doing its job. He said if the Committee cannot get a consensus on a solution, then the problem must be examined. He said five years in unacceptable. He explained that there have been verbal changes, but the Committee does not want to codify them. He said he does not care what the issue is, and suggested asking the Council to have a subcommittee look at it to resolve some of the issues. He reiterated that something needs to be done. Mr. Ruccello said he cannot vote to keep the Policies and Procedures Manual Subcommittee if he does not see a way to solve the problem. He said there must be a compromise, direction, and for the NIP Policies and Procedures Manual to be adopted. He said he will not vote for the NIP Policies and Procedures Manual Subcommittee unless they come up with a solution in the next six months. He said if they cannot, then somebody else has to be on the Policies and Procedures Manual Subcommittee. Ms. Dwight suggested that the NIP Spokesperson and Alternates sit down with the City Council liaison and discuss how this may move forward. She said the Policies and Procedures Manual Subcommittee has done its job, and has met as directed, come up with language and brought it back to the full NIP committee. She said the impasse is Neighborhood Improvement Program Committee Meeting Minutes Thursday, January 24, 2019 14 Neighborhood Improvement Program Committee Thursday, January 24, 2019 Minutes between the NIP and City Council on the fact they we are unable to take small changes to Council. She suggests that they bifurcate. She said it is after the NIP votes and it leaves the Committee that there is a problem. Mr. Heuer said he agrees that the Policies and Procedures Manual Subcommittee has done its job and that the impasse is between NIP and the City Attorney, and between the Council who continually insists on changing other things that have not gone before the NIP before it goes to Council. He said Council is looking at a document that is partially what NIP is asking for and partially what they have not asked for. He said it continues to be an issue and until it is resolved Policies and Procedures Manual Subcommittee is stuck. Ms. Alley said the way documents are managed in the City is by having all the departments look at them. She said unfortunately the NIP Policies and Procedures Manual is somewhat different and it has its own paradigm. She said there is no way to get that paradigm changed that she can see. She said she has looked at it a number of ways but does not know what to do about it. She said other people unaware of the difficulties coming in and changing the manual has no point to it because they cannot use it. She said she understands why people feel that it has not gone anywhere and it is because it has not gone anywhere. Mr. Ruccello said he believes there is a misunderstanding and that it is a legal definition. He said the NIP looks at the Policies and Procedures Manual like their bible, but it is not, and that their bible is the City Charter. He said if you read the City charter, the NIP has no rights to demand anything. He said the charter does not mention neighborhood associations, but it mentions that NIP positions are appointed by Council. He said he sees where the impasse is with NIP is demanding the manual be their way when they are not the authorities in that position. He said that impasse has been going on for seven years, not five. He said he sees it continuing because nobody seems to understand their position is appointed by the City Council, and they need to reread the charter which they are abiding by. He said he wants the situation resolved and a resolution may be a compromise, and that is the NIP’s position because Council is the authority. Mr. Duke asked if it should be recommended that the Policies and Procedures Manual Subcommittee meet with the City Manager and discuss the problem to see if there is a way to get it moved along. Ms. Dwight said if there is going to be a meeting, it is usually the spokespeople together with Mayor Clyde, who is the NIP Subcommittee member from Council, that would sit down with Mr. Krebs and the City Manager and City Attorney or whoever is appropriate to have at the table. She said it is not the first time it has been done and she is willing to participate in that meeting, but she does not see that it has anything to do with the NIP Policies and Procedures Manual Subcommittee. She said the fact is that the NIP Committee has voted and made recommendations for changes and it is those communications which seem to have been misunderstood and run off the rails. She said it is the voice of this Committee that has not managed to get to City Council. Mr. Duke asked if the Committee could propose to delay the vote on the NIP Policies and Procedures Manual Subcommittee until such meeting and such resolution occurs. Ms. Dwight said if there is not a Policies and Procedures Manual Subcommittee and there is a direction that comes from that gathering to make changes, it is the Policies and Neighborhood Improvement Program Committee Meeting Minutes Thursday, January 24, 2019 15  Neighborhood Improvement Program Committee Thursday, January 24, 2019 Minutes Procedures Manual Subcommittee that puts words to paper and comes back to the NIP Committee. She said to have no Policies and Procedures Manual Subcommittee means that you have no one to write the words down that come out of that meeting. Mr. Heuer said the NIP Committee needs to appoint their Policies and Procedures Manual Subcommittee because they are also looking at other things they may want to change in the future. He said there needs to be a meeting with new City Manager with Council representation and try to work through it. He said one of the major things that derailed everything is that what ultimately went to Council is not what the NIP voted on and approved. He said there were changes to the Policies and Procedures Manual that were not brought back to the Committee, which began the impasse originally. Mr. Krebs said he had a correction to Mr. Heuer’s statement. He said what went to Council was two versions of Policies and Procedures Manual changes: the version from NIP and the version that was altered, and it got tabled from there. Mr. Heuer said the version that was altered was never brought back to NIP for their input before it went to the Council. He said something that had not been seen by the NIP was before Council for approval and that is the source of a lot of the issues. He said it is time to have a meeting with Policies and Procedures Manual Subcommittee and Council members and the new City Manager in order to get past it. Ms. Fields said the Policies and Procedures Manual Subcommittee does not operate in a vacuum and they are in attendance at every meeting. She said she believes they have heard their comments tonight and she recommended calling it to a vote because there are other items to discuss on the agenda. Sharon Dwight asked for the restatement of the motion made. Jean Rasch motioned to continue with the current Policies and Procedures Manual Subcommittee for 2019. Dennis Duke seconded the motion. The motion was approved unanimously by the fourteen (14) Representatives present. Seeing no more comments, Mr. Krebs closed public comment for this item. Ms. Dwight asked if there must be a second motion to request a meeting of NIP spokespeople with Council and the City Manager and others. Mr. Krebs said unless she wants to make a recommendation, then he can schedule it. Ms. Dwight said if no motion needs to be made, then it is fine for Mr. Krebs to schedule. Mr. Krebs stated that all future Policies and Procedures Manual Subcommittee meetings will be following the Brown Act and will be publicly noticed and have minutes taken as happens during regular NIP meetings. Ms. Dwight said for most Policies and Procedures Manual Subcommittee meetings there have been staff there, it just was not posted 72 hours in advance. Mr. Krebs said the meetings will be posted now. He said they will be posted on the board outside of City Clerk’s office and online at isearch. He said it will be like a regular posted meeting. 8. NIP Ending Balance and Contingencies Report (Not a project under CEQA Article 20, Section 15378 and under General Rule Article 5, Section 15061) Mr. Krebs stated the NIP Ending Balance is $85,922.00 and the NIP Contingency Neighborhood Improvement Program Committee Meeting Minutes Thursday, January 24, 2019 16  Neighborhood Improvement Program Committee Thursday, January 24, 2019 Minutes balance is $625,856.85. He said he has not heard how much will be available yet, but he will be getting the information in the next couple of weeks. Mr. Ruccello asked what the cut-off project amount was for the Ending Balance. Mr. Krebs said $265,000 was the first one. Mr. Krebs opened public comments. Seeing none, Mr. Krebs closed public comments for this item. 9. Recommend City Council Rescope the Veterans Park Repairs Project and Allocate $54,000.00 from the Neighborhood Improvement Program Contingency Account to the Project (Exempt from CEQA per Article 19, Sections 15301, 15306, 15325 and 15331) Mr. Krebs said a pine tree that restricted the existing size of the court to a half-court had required removal. The project was in the process of being closed out, but there is now the opportunity to enlarge the basketball court since there is space available and no tree restriction. He said it is currently 24x26 feet and he can get it out to a minimum 42x42 feet, which can provide a three-point line and still utilize the ADA access from the parking area and egress. John Wilkes, Park Attendant at Veterans Park, thanked the Committee for the money they provided for the bocce ball and basketball courts that are well used. He said there are over 50,000 people that use the park every year, which includes day use, group areas and campers. He estimates the basketball court is used 300 times a year, and he guesses about 200 of that is people from the neighborhood and community using the court. He discussed the various community groups, such as Boy Scouts, that use the areas as well. He said if a three-point line is added, then the high school kids will begin to use the court. He said he believes it will be a worth-while investment for the City and he appreciates the Committee’s consideration. Dave Overton discussed the project he submitted last year to repair the parking lot near the flagpole at Vets Park. He asked if it is a priority issue for Mr. Wilkes. Mr. Wilkes said when he heard about it, he thought it was an excellent idea, because the area is in poor condition and parking is an issue there, so he hopes it gets serious consideration. Mr. Heuer asked Mr. Krebs about the original project scope. Mr. Krebs explained the original project was to resurface the existing basketball court, complete ADA access to the court, and repair the wood bollards. Mr. Heuer asked what the original price was and Mr. Krebs said the original project cost was $25,000. Mr. Krebs said Hans Jannasch came to him and said since the trees are down in the area now, they have the opportunity to increase the size of the court. Ms. Rasch said she and her Alternates are in support of the proposed extension of the project. Ms. Dwight discussed the portions of the project that are already completed and since Mr. Krebs said he was ready to close project, that the project they funded is complete. She said this should be considered a new project and will have to compete with other submitted projects. Mr. Rowley said basketball courts are popular and this is an opportunity for the Committee to take now so they will not regret it later. Neighborhood Improvement Program Committee Meeting Minutes Thursday, January 24, 2019 17  Neighborhood Improvement Program Committee Thursday, January 24, 2019 Minutes Mr. Ruccello expressed his support of the rescope. He said the three-point line is important and that it is what people want. He said the Committee has a chance to make a difference and if they could have foreseen the tree falling down to make the available space, then it would have been viewed differently. He said he believes this is an opportunity. Ms. Harrison said she is not against the project, but that it should be considered a new project. She said part of her objection is that basketball courts are funded quickly, but the Old Town park is still not done. She explained that other items have been sitting on the books for years and the Committee needs to complete other items that have been proposed first. She said she will not vote in favor of the rescope. Mr. Heuer said he supports the idea of basketball court there, but has a major problem with taking a project that was $25,000 and is now proposed at $79,000, thereby tripling the cost. He said the other work is finished and this item can become a new project. He said it is not a rescope, it is a completely new project and a tripling of cost. He said it sets a bad precedent. He said he is happy to support it as a new project. Mr. Duke said, since there is no hardware on the ground and the contractor is no longer set up at the project site, then if there is nothing to be gained by doing it this second, then it can be submitted as a new project. Mr. Krebs opened the item for public comment. Bruce Zanetta asked for clarification of the original scope and it was explained to him. Seeing no more comments, Mr. Krebs closed public comment. Tom Rowley motioned to Recommend City Council Rescope the Veterans Park Repairs Project and Allocate $54,000.00 from the Neighborhood Improvement Program Contingency Account to the Project. Richard Ruccello seconded the motion. The motion was not approved, with only three (3) Representatives in favor (Tom Rowley, of Fisherman Flats, Richard Ruccello of Casanova Oak Knoll and Jean Rasch of Monterey Vista), ten (10) Representatives against the motion, and Dennis Duke of Skyline Forest abstaining. 10. Recommend the Parks and Recreation Commission Rename Montecito Park to Harry Mucha Park (Not a project under CEQA Article 20, Section 15378 and under General Rule Article 5, Section 15061) Mr. Krebs discussed the Parks and Recreation Commission’s criteria for naming parks. Mr. Krebs said from his own experience working with Mr. Mucha, he believes Mr. Mucha had more input in the barbecue area at Ferrante Park than he did at Montecito Park. He said he had a lot of neighborhood support for the work in both parks. He pointed out that the Parks and Recreation Commission and Council has named portions of parks for people, such as play equipment, barbecue areas, or ballparks, and not the entire park. Ms. Dwight said she firmly believes that there would not be the money invested in Montecito Park unless it were for Mr. Mucha. She said it was something that needed to Neighborhood Improvement Program Committee Meeting Minutes Thursday, January 24, 2019 18 Neighborhood Improvement Program Committee Thursday, January 24, 2019 Minutes be done and he stayed with it and she truly believes the improvements would not have been done without his persistence. Ms. Dwight said she would be okay with the park being named the “Harry Mucha Montecito Park,” if it needed to still include the Montecito Park piece in the name. She said the requirements are for the person to be deceased for a year, but the way government moves she said if the recommendation was made now to the PRC for the name change, it probably will not be agendized until after a year has passed. She said several months have passed already and she would like to make the recommendation to the PRC now to consider the item and have them decide upon the naming. She said she is comfortable having Montecito in the park name if the Committee feels it will be a selling point for the renaming. She said it is a good idea to have Mr. Mucha’s name attached to Montecito Park. Mr. Heuer referenced Ferrante Park and said it is not on Ferrante street, so if it had to keep the street name in the park title, then it could be Harry Mucha Park on Montecito. He said Villa Del Monte Park already has a park named after somebody and he would not propose changing that, but Montecito Park is named after a street and it is a neighborhood park, not a destination park and Mr. Mucha spent a lot of time and effort on getting the improvements through to make it a much nicer park. Mr. Ruccello said he has been friends with Mr. Mucha since 1971 and that he knows he was very concerned about his neighborhood, and that the project he was proudest of was the intersection improvements near the Bay View Academy. Mr. Ruccello said he was too close to Mr. Mucha to give the Committee an opinion on the item and said he will step back and allow it to go through the process. He said he knows Mr. Mucha’s wife is proud that the Committee will do something in his memory, whether it is a piece of the park or the whole park, because it is important we remember Mr. Mucha. Mr. Peterson said he is in support of continuing the effort to rename the park in Mr. Mucha’s honor. Mr. Krebs opened public comment for the item. Kala Fossum, President of the Villa Del Monte Neighborhood Association, said she is in full support of renaming Montecito Park for Harry Mucha. She said she is involved with VDMNA and is president because of Mr. Mucha and his passion. She discussed Mr. Mucha championing the cause and getting Montecito Park improved. She said the renaming would honor his memory and service to the neighborhood. Mike Brassfield said he has known Mr. Mucha since 1973 when he owned his gas station and would lower his prices as a service to the community. He said Harry Mucha was not one to accept certificates or awards. Mr. Brassfield said when he and Mr. Ruccello discussed the topic, they discussed a bench or area of the park. He explained that he did not believe Mr. Mucha would want to replace a park name with his name. Ms. Fields said it is important for the Committee to put forward this idea. She said anything they can do, whether it be naming a barbecue area Mr. Mucha liked or a thank you plaque that explains him and his role and why his role and the role in community participation is important. She said she believes the Committee would appreciate anything that can be done going forward. Ms. Dwight motioned to recommend the Parks and Recreation Commission Neighborhood Improvement Program Committee Meeting Minutes Thursday, January 24, 2019 19 Neighborhood Improvement Program Committee Thursday, January 24, 2019 Minutes rename Montecito Park to Harry Mucha Park and for the recommendation to go forward now, recognizing the City has a one year waiting period, so it could be near the time of Mr. Mucha’s death. Duane Peterson seconded the motion. The motion was approved unanimously by the fourteen (14) Representatives present. Neighborhood Improvement Program Committee Meeting Minutes Thursday, January 24, 2019 20  Neighborhood Improvement Program Committee Thursday, January 24, 2019 Minutes 11. Program Status Update (Not a project under CEQA Article 20, Section 15378 and under General Rule Article 5, Section 15061) Mr. Krebs provided an update of project statuses and broke it down by neighborhood. Ms. Fields said, in regards to the Beach Boardwalk Extension (DMB-7) project, that the neighborhood was concerned it is not going as far as hoped, and because there is a mobility issue they are trying to address, as far as it can go is good. She said if you put the extension in and know every five years the high tide is going to take it, for four and a half years people are able to get to the beach. Ms. Dwight said she is concerned about how much money is being spent on the redesign of the Beach Way Toilets project, because the estimate was enough to build the project. She said the fact that there is still neighborhood input going on when the Committee said where it will be, how many toilets and what will be done, she is concerned that additional money is being used for additional discussion when the Committee established a scope. She said she does not want it to end up at a point where they cannot build what they said was going to be built because it was talked to death. Mr. Krebs said, like all NIP projects, once it gets underway it will be surveyed and public outreach meetings will be held and public input will be received. Ms. Fields said it was found out water was cheaper and easier if the toilets were located differently, so they could end up with a cheaper project by having the discussions and having it built in a slightly different way. Ms. Alley said the Virgin and Grant Memorial Sign (DMG-2) project has been funded for five years and it is a small sign. Mr. Krebs said he will have to provide her a date for work to begin. Mr. Krebs said, in regards to the FF Inaccessible Greenbelt Fuel Reduction project, that he was unable to get under contract in time to work with the goat company while they were doing the Deer Flats fuel reduction. Mr. Krebs said the opportunity was missed to have them work on the Fisherman Flats land this year, so he will try for next year. Mr. Overton said Stephen Morton, the City Forester, was concerned if fire fuel reduction is conducted every year in Fisherman Flats, that it could be detrimental to the forest, so they opted for every other year, so the goats can come in year after next. Mr. Rowley said, in regards to the Via Casoli Sewer Odor (FF-1) project, that the neighbors said they were unable to get a response from the school district for what was done and not done. Mr. Rowley said he informed them that it would need to come from the City to verify that they are done. Mr. Rowley discussed the Fisherman Flats Traffic Calming Plan project and said there were three dates set up, starting with the kick off date in early April and dates in May and June. He said he is consistently asked about the Via Isola radar speed signs project. He said he will be submitting a project to confront speeding on Josselyn Canyon. Mr. Rowley said the Via Isola Entry Walls Rehab project seems like an easier and cheaper project to get completed, and hundreds of cars drive that corner every day at Josselyn Canyon and Via Isola. Neighborhood Improvement Program Committee Meeting Minutes Thursday, January 24, 2019 21 Neighborhood Improvement Program Committee Thursday, January 24, 2019 Minutes Ms. Whitney asked Mr. Krebs about the radar speed signs project for Glenwood, because it was not on his slide presentation. Mr. Krebs said he is going through the archeological report and so it will roll to May. Ms. Dwight said, in regards the both Glenwood projects estimated to begin construction in March, she wonders if setting construction for March is going to cause some of the bids to be higher because it may still be viewed as rainy season. She said if the bids run extremely high, Mr. Krebs can ask some of the same contractors again if it would make any difference if it was May. She said once the rain comes and the crew cannot work and they only have so many days, then they will bid it larger for next year if it is during the rainy season. She told Mr. Krebs if bid prices are high then he may ask the bidders. Mr. Krebs said the Belden Drake Open Space (NM-7) project has a cloud on its title. He said we cannot move forward unless they take it off their title, and while we have gone through the appraisal and made an offer, we cannot continue. Mr. Dwight said she wanted the Committee to know the cloud was tied to a loan that has been paid off and it is not anything that needs to be there. She said it is just a matter of the process of getting the bank to realize there is nobody indebted. Mr. Harrison said she would greatly appreciate Mr. Krebs expediting the Old Town Accessible Park project. Mr. Duke asked, since there are so many projects showing as closing out, what it means for the ending balance. Mr. Krebs said he may have some cost-savings on some, but others are tight and he is hoping to get back a few hundred thousand, but it will be seen how it closes out. He said he is a little worried because they were a little low on the bus stop behind Monterey Peninsula College, and once the estimate was completed it looks like it may be tight. He said for the last few projects bid the last eight months, traffic control has been double of what was estimated. Mr. Krebs discussed the need to keep traffic flowing through project sites because busy areas cannot have the block shut down, which increases construction time and cost. Ms. Dwight asked about the Sister City project and said she did not see the project on the list. She said the project was still waiting on the globe piece. Mr. Krebs said he will check on the item. Ms. Dwight asked, in regards to the emergency warming shelter project, if non-city owned sites will be looked at because the sites that the City has are small. Mr. Krebs said the search has been going on for approximately a year and that available commercial properties were looked at during that snapshot in time and he did not redo the work and kept it in the study. Ms. Dwight said the Committee was hoping to not limit itself to what the City already owns, but perhaps look into a partnership with other publicly owned agencies. She said the need would be great enough that they should be looking at something with 30 beds or more, and she recalled that City owned sites would accommodate a smaller number of people. Neighborhood Improvement Program Committee Meeting Minutes Thursday, January 24, 2019 22 Neighborhood Improvement Program Committee Thursday, January 24, 2019 Minutes COMMITTEE MEMBER COMMENTS Duane Peterson said Happy New Year. April Harrison asked, regarding the measure passed in November, if it ensures all streets will be completed. Mr. Krebs said yes. She said residents at Madison Canyon were thinking of resubmitting a project for road improvements there and she told them she would check because she believed it would be covered. Ms. Harrison clarified that the neighbors did not need to worry about resubmitting anything. Sharon Dwight said there were several comments tonight about Mr. Krebs needing an assistant. She said Mr. Krebs said Javier is only in the office from 8:00 am to 3:00 pm. Mr. Krebs clarified that he is there prior to 8:00 am, and works his eight hours, and is currently doing so because he will soon be taking the state test. Mr. Krebs said in the past he had a full engineer and half time from another engineer, and until the four or five vacancies in Engineering are filled, he is giving more work to the consultants now. He said hopefully the Public Works reorganization goes to Council in the first meeting of February and will allow them to start filling the vacancies. He said he is currently divvying up work to the consultants. Ms. Dwight said the Committee needs to know that Javier is a positive and is definitely helping Mr. Krebs. Mr. Krebs said yes, Javier has been great. Dennis Duke said Happy New Year. Dave Overton said Mr. Krebs has the Deer Flats Mule Deer Way project as resurfacing, but phase one was more the drainage issue. Mr. Krebs said yes, and he received authorization, because it is a Measure S resurfacing street, to do the whole block and not just the corner end. He said he was able to combine it and the whole street is able to be completed, but one of the issues is that the full reconstruction triggered storm water requirements, so it is more expensive than just an overlay. Mr. Overton said the last time Mr. Krebs came out to the intersection for bulb-out work, there was the proposal to cut part of the hill and move the utility boxes. Mr. Krebs said he is still working with the utility company to see if he may get smaller boxes to increase sight distance. He said he brought it up at utility meetings and has not had great success, but since Public Works now reviews all the City street encroachment permits he now has someone to talk to in regards to the item. Mr. Overton said Mr. Krebs previously mentioned that if the City payed then it would happen more expeditiously. Mr. Krebs said yes. Mr. Overton said the two projects that were going to be recommended this year were Phase II for Mule Deer, which is no longer needed because of the measure passing. Mr. Krebs said yes. Mr. Overton said he will put in a nomination to pay for the utility box project if it is beyond the scope. Mr. Krebs said it would be a good project to submit because he is trying to work with the utility companies to get a level of cost for the utility boxes. Jean Rasch said she would appreciate the fiber optic study starting. She said her board asked her to reiterate that. Jayme Fields said she neglected to say thank you. The City staff designed and built the Del Monte Beach neighborhood entry sign in-house and she has received more positive Neighborhood Improvement Program Committee Meeting Minutes Thursday, January 24, 2019 23 Neighborhood Improvement Program Committee Thursday, January 24, 2019 Minutes feedback on that little project in her neighborhood than anything else she can remember. She said do not neglect the little things when your neighborhood is looking to do them and do not neglect to vote on them because they can make a big impact on the quality of life. Mr. Overton said he forgot to mention that somebody in the Parks Department came in to the park in Deer Flats and dug up all the old growth and replanted it. He asked Mr. Krebs to let them know that people noticed and they liked what was done. Mr. Krebs said that would have been done by Louie Marcuzzo, Park Operations Manager. Richard Ruccello said he hopes we do not have residents that want to jump in line, since Measure S will cover every street in the City. He said he read an article saying the City will need to hire more engineers because the Measure S streets that are left are not the easy resurface streets and so the City is facing a staffing shortfall, but they have the funding and it is just a matter of hiring. He said he does hope nobody jumps the line this year, because he does not know what the line is but he is sure it is going to be fair. Mr. Ruccello said he had neighbors talk to him regarding the tree that fell in his neighborhood, which was the fourth landmark tree that fell within thirty days. He said it was the tree in the street at Ramona and Lerwick, and came down on an SUV and just missed somebody walking their dog. He said it is so startling seeing the loss that he got a 1946 aerial picture, before the houses were built, and a satellite view from two years ago. He said it is stark and like a pandemic. He said he will be submitting a project to see if we can figure out what the disease is, because nobody has figured it out yet, but there has to be a scientist that can figure it out. He said it is not little but is sudden death and when people see the pictures they will be shocked. Rick Heuer thanked Mr. Krebs for getting the median on El Dorado done, because it may have been one of the oldest projects around. He said that he did not see the Via Mirada traffic project on the list, which has been on hold for a long time, and wanted to make sure it is still on there because the applicant has never withdrawn it. He said it has not gone forward yet but the applicant is thinking of submitting the project again. He said it was the project where mediation was going on and it was lively. Lee Whitney said she is looking forward to getting her two projects started and completed. She said she is not submitting a project this year, but since the Committee has supported her neighborhood financially the last couple of years that she is going to pay it back and support the Committee with her base allocation. Curt Tipton said he looks forward to making all of the meetings this year, instead of starting in the middle. Merrily Alley had no comment. Tom Rowley said he thought he had an old project from 2013, but some other neighborhoods have him beat. He said Mr. Pagnillo served on the Committee as either a Representative or Alternate for at least ten years he believes, he asked Mr. Krebs if there is some way to get some sort of appreciation signed by the Mayor for some of the long- serving folks before they leave. Mr. Rowley said he told Mr. Ruccello that he will sign on as a supporter for his tree audit study. He said it is happening in his neighborhood too and something scientific is needed because the City Forester is stumped. Mr. Rowley discussed the van tour and said it is critical to go out on the tour because it is where you Neighborhood Improvement Program Committee Meeting Minutes Thursday, January 24, 2019 24  Neighborhood Improvement Program Committee Thursday, January 24, 2019 Minutes really see it close up and can make a better decision. He said it is really well worth it and has been very successful and asked the Committee to add it to their calendars. Luz Adam thanked Mr. Krebs and said she was impressed with his status report. NEXT MEETING 12. February 20, 2019 ADJOURNMENT Mr. Krebs adjourned the meeting at 10:25 pm. Respectfully Submitted, Approved, NIP Staff Coordinator Neighborhood Improvement Program Committee Meeting Minutes Thursday, January 24, 2019 25