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Agenda Item No. 5(A)(5) EL CERRITO CITY COUNCIL MINUTES SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING Saturday, January 26, 2013 – 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. City Council Chambers Meeting Location El Cerrito City Hall 10890 San Pablo Avenue, El Cerrito Greg Lyman – Mayor Mayor Pro Tem Janet Abelson Councilmember Jan Bridges Councilmember Rebecca Benassini Councilmember Mark Friedman 9:00 a.m. ROLL CALL Councilmembers Abelson, Benassini, Bridges, Friedman and Mayor Lyman all present. Staff present: Scott Hanin, City Manager; Karen Pinkos, Assistant City Manager; Sky Woodruff, City Attorney, Michael Bond, Fire Battalion Chief; Stephen Bonini, Police Lieutenant; Jerry Bradshaw, Public Works Director; Dwayne Dalman, Senior Economic Development Project Manager; Robert De La Campa, Police Lieutenant; Suzanne Iarla, Community Outreach Specialist; Noel Ibalio, Senior Planner; Chris Jones, Recreation Director; Paul Keith, Police Lieutenant; Lance Maples, Fire Chief; Melanie Mintz, Environmental Services Division Manager; Sylvia Moir, Police Chief; Cheryl Morse, City Clerk; Sean Moss, Senior Planner; Hilde Myall, Senior Housing Project Manager; Brenda Navellier, Fire Department Administrator; Yvetteh Ortiz, Engineering Manager; Michael Pigoni, Fire Battalion Chief; Michael Regan, Police Captain; Maria Sanders, Environmental Analyst, Garth Schultz, Environmental Analyst, Geoffrey Thomas, Accounting Supervisor and Lori Treviño, Economic Development Manager. Facilitator: Nancy Hetrick, Management Partners. Graphic Recorder: Leslie Salmon-Zhu, GraphicRecorders.com CONVENE SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING Mayor Lyman convened the Special City Council meeting at 9:07 a.m. Meeting Purpose: City Council to provide direction on vision, values, goals and strategies for the City of El Cerrito. 1. Welcome and Introductions Purpose: Overview of how the day will proceed. 2. Public Comment Nine speakers. Purpose: Receive public comment a vision for the future and goals and strategies to get ---PAGE BREAK--- Page 2 of 4 Version: 1/31/2013 there. Public comments will only be received during this agenda item. The balance of the meeting will focus on City Council deliberation. Peter Larsen, El Cerrito, suggested the following community improvements: 1) Fundraising efforts to renovate the El Cerrito public library; 2) Charge businesses a collection fee for every shopping cart found in the surrounding neighborhoods; 3) Explore a neighborhood beautification partnership between BART, El Cerrito Plaza, the City and other groups; 4) Unlock and expand athletic facilities at El Cerrito High School; and 5) Conduct an independent residential survey of neighborhoods immediately surrounding El Cerrito Plaza. Tom Panas, El Cerrito, elaborated on the need for the new Strategic Plan to address building a new library and historical resources, including implementing best practices such as adopting an historic resources ordinance and performing a survey of historic resources. Al Miller, spoke in support of the comments made by Mr. Panas regarding the library and historical resources. Mr. Miller also emphasized the importance of reaching out and communicating with the community. Helen Dickey, El Cerrito, spoke in support of comments made by Messrs. Panas and Miller. Molly Ong, El Cerrito, spoke in support of the need for safety on the Ohlone Greenway. Steven Resnik. El Cerrito, stated that there needs to be ways of measuring performance in order to evaluate progress on implementation of Strategic Plan objectives and goals. Tess Taylor, El Cerrito, stated that there are too many parking lots and said in order to thrive El Cerrito needs to be a cooler place to live. Ms. Taylor expressed support for the arts and services for elderly. The Strategic Plan needs to build on what is positive in El Cerrito and on the discussions that have already taken place. Pansy Kwong, El Cerrito, Chair of the El Cerrito Committee on Aging, spoke about the history of the Senior Center and encouraged renovation of this facility. Amalia Cunningham, El Cerrito, spoke in support of building a new library and stated that the library should be a priority capital project. 3. Review Strategic Planning Work Completed to Date Purpose: Review background information followed by City Council discussion of Strategic Planning process and progress. Nancy Hetrick, Management Partners, summarized the strategic planning work that has been completed to date. 4. Review Environmental Scan and S.L.O.T. Analysis Purpose: Review current and future factors affecting El Cerrito. Presentation and review of (“SLOT”) analysis followed by City Council discussion of conclusions and analysis. Presenter: Karen Pinkos, Assistant City Manager. ---PAGE BREAK--- Page 3 of 4 Version: 1/31/2013 Action: Presentation heard and Discussion held. The City Manager and Department Directors responded to the City Council’s questions regarding various comments that have been documented in the Specific Plan Process as well as issues related to the City’s aging facilities. 5. Review Draft Vision and Values Purpose: City Council to provide input on El Cerrito’s vision (what the City should become in the future) and values (what the City stands for in fulfilling its purpose and achieving its mission). Presenter: Nancy Hetrick, Management Partners Ms. Hetrick restated the draft vision statement for the City of El Cerrito: El Cerrito is a beautiful, connected, and environmentally focused Bay Area destination with vibrant neighborhoods, businesses, and public places and cultural, educational, and recreational opportunities for people of all ages. Action: Discussion held. Mayor Lyman noted that there are two new councilmembers on the City Council since the vision statement was drafted back in September 2012. Councilmember Bridges stated that she was present at the September meeting in which the vision statement was crafted and is pleased with the statement as drafted. Mayor Pro Tem Abelson suggested that the word “beautiful” could be replaced with the word “safe.” Councilmember Friedman commented that the world “beautiful” could be changed to natural beauty and that the vision statement should reflect the diversity that exists within the city. Councilmember Benassini, expressed her support for substituting the word “beautiful” with “safe.” The City Council also provided comments on the draft organizational values. 6. Review Draft Goals and Strategies Purpose: City Council to provide input on proposed goals and strategies. Presenter: Nancy Hetrick, Management Partners. While discussing proposed goals, the draft vision statement was modified to state, “El Cerrito residents enjoy an optimal quality of life in a safe, connected, and environmentally-focused Bay Area destination with vibrant neighborhoods, businesses, and public places and diverse cultural, educational, and recreational opportunities for people of all ages.” Ms. Hetrick listed proposed goals as follows: ---PAGE BREAK--- Page 4 of 4 Version: 1/31/2013 A. Deliver exemplary government services B. Plan for and ensure long-term financial sustainability C. Create a sense of place and community D. Ensure the public’s safety; and E. Foster sustainability citywide. Action: Comments received and discussion held. The City Council offered suggestions for modifying language associated with goals and what is missing, such as including building and/or renovating public facilities as a way of providing residents with exemplary service and promoting public health along with ensuring public safety. The City Council also provided comments and suggestions regarding strategies used to implement goals, as listed on Attachment 5 and also noted the need to measure and demonstrate results. 7. Summary and Next Steps Purpose: Facilitator will summarize the meeting and identify next steps. Presenter: Nancy Hetrick, Management Partners. Ms. Hetrick explained that the next step in the Strategic Plan Process will be development of a draft Strategic Plan for council consideration and development of an implementation plan which will align services and resources with priorities and goals. SUPPLEMENTAL REPORTS AND COMMUNICATIONS 1. Powerpoint presentation – Submitted by Karen Pinkos, Assistant City Manager. 2. Some Ideas for Improving El Cerrito – Submitted by Peter Larsen, El Cerrito. 3. Comments on the Strategic Plan – Submitted by Tom Panas, El Cerrito. 8. ADJOURNED SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING at 12:53 p.m. PACKET MATERIAL: Attachment 1. Background Materials (Agenda Item Attachment 2. Environmental Scan Document (Agenda Item Attachment 3. S.L.O.T. Analysis (Agenda Item Attachment 4. Notes from 9/22/12 Council Workshop (Agenda Item Attachment 5. Draft Goals (Agenda Item