Title
Facilities and Transportation Committee Meeting Highlights of April 7, 2015
Body
CITY OF SAN LEANDRO
CITY COUNCIL FACILITIES AND TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE
April 7, 2015
4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
San Leandro City Hall
835 East 14th Street
San Leandro, California
Sister Cities Gallery
HIGHLIGHTS
1. CALL TO ORDER
The meeting was called to order by Mayor Cutter at 4:00 p.m.
1.A. Attendance
Committee Members: Mayor Pauline Cutter, Councilmember Corina Lopez, Councilmember Ursula Reed
City Staff Present: Reh-Lin Chen, Keith Cooke, Kirsten Foley, Debbie Pollart, Austine Osakwe, Nick Thom, Chris Zapata
Outside Presenters: None
Public Present: James Aguilar, Jim Prola
1.B. Announcements
None.
2. DISCUSSION ITEMS
2.A. Discussion Regarding the Drought
Debbie Pollart reported no new data from the April 6th EBMUD's Board meeting, which talked about the Governor's Executive plea for a state wide water usage reduction of 25%. EBMUD will change from voluntary to mandatory guidelines (which includes no watering of turf street medians) and give guidance to the City. D. Pollart will look into shutting off the water to those areas, as well as City Hall and Main Library landscapes. Councilmembers requested exploring whether City fountains can be shut off with signs posted regarding water conservation. Governor freed up additional funding by expanding reclaimed water structure, allowing residents to convert turf to non-turf lawns. D. Pollart to follow up on Councilmembers' requests, and check with EBMUD regarding available signage and also look into obtaining some of those funds.
Mayor Cutter recommended staff contact school district regarding their water usage and landscape maintenance. D. Pollart to contact the school district.
Mayor Cutter asked if possible to "beige out" instead of "brown out" if there's a change in water usage guidelines. D. Pollart is in the process of assessing requirements of keeping the City's medians green. The possible options are: aeration; location by location (in the example of Heron Bay where it was not irrigated for 9 months); re-sod versus non-sod; and raising height of the mowed lawns.
Mayor Cutter wants clarification on hydrants and rates charged even though rarely used. D. Pollart to ask EBMUD to clarify.
Councilmembers had concerns about water usage at City pools, the Senior Center, the golf courses, as well as percentage of parks using re-claimed water. D. Pollart indicated that she will continue to minimize water use at City pools. The Senior Center is LEED certified and therefore uses minimal amount of water. The golf courses use reclaimed water.
D. Pollart to report back to Committee regarding the finding on regulations and guidance received from EBMUD and what further water management options the City can explore.
2.B. Discussion Regarding the CIP Program
K. Cooke presented handouts and answered questions regarding the status of CIP projects.
Councilmember Reed requested a list of worst roads; K. Cooke to provide to the Committee.
Mayor Cutter suggested having a ribbon cutting ceremony at the beginning of street repair construction that will impact residents. Mayor Cutter asked if there was a website that will allow users to print out district streets and a list of streets that are scheduled for repair. K. Cooke indicated staff would update the website with current data.
K. Cooke stated at the May 5th meeting will further detail and explain the street sealing, reconstruction and overlay projects. Door hanger notifications will be used to notify residents of roadway construction. Twitter or similar social media will be used to disperse updates on the projects.
Although not on the list of CIP projects, Councilmember Lopez asked about the Boys & Girls Club lease and brought up the safety issue in the women's locker room. K. Cooke to research what the issue is and report back on status of facility. C. Zapata added that the lease was just renewed by the Council and requested that staff monitor what and how the Club plans for renovations.
K. Cooke to provide list of roads by pavement condition; to research status of women's locker room at San Leandro Boys & Girls Club as well as renovation plans.
2.C. Project Updates / Discussion
K. Cooke recapped discussion from March 23, 2015 Council meeting on the availability of funding and prioritizing projects. K. Cooke briefly reviewed the projects that are currently underway and also provided a comprehensive review on the West Juana and Siempre Verde Park projects.
K. Cooke gave a presentation on the CIP 15-16 and 2016-17 Budget Development and how funds from Measure BB will support an increase to the CIP budget of $3M.
The 2015-16 and 2016-17 project list and its funding sources were discussed. K. Cooke highlighted a few of those on the list with specific updates/comments.
· Annual Overlay/Rehabilitation 16-17: review of street list as soon as budget is wrapped up
· Marina Community Center Audio/Video: looking into cost reductions for this project
· Police Building: design phase will start in 15-16. Accumulate funds next fiscal year to start construction. Put into future facilities meetings - dispatch area and some public areas that move into South Office
· ADA Transition Plan Construction 15 - 16: will use CDBG funds - limited liabilities
· Storm Water Trash Capture Phase 1: Currently at 70% and eventually soon will be at 100%
· Main Library - Recarpeting: carpet will be replaced after 15 years of heavy foot traffic Councilmember Lopez requested that she would prefer a dark color that would wear better after years of service, unlike a light color as with the Manor Library. Staff to research inclusion of carpet in project budget.
· Casa Peralta: Varied maintenance and repair work
· Sanitary Sewer Replacement: annual repair and maintenance funded by WPCP C. Zapata inquired how staff works with local utilities to have pavement projects coordinated. K. Cooke explained that once streets are identified and maintenance work is done, utilities that have equipment in the ROW are immediately identified and notified. The utilities then complete their improvements and the City restores the street.
· East 14th Street Underground Utility Phase 2.1: Staff will ask other cities about unused Rule 20 Funds
Councilmember Reed asked if staff was looking into undergrounding Fairmont instead of 150th. K. Cooke replied that the Committee can review the 5-Year priority list, as well as the various roadways on the list and consider changing the list. The new list can be brought to City Council in review format to address the undergrounding priorities. C. Zapata added that E. 14th and Marina should be on the list and asked about the timeframe relates to the effect is has on the public. K. Cooke said the project is done in two main parts: 1) Conduits - 1 to 1 ½ years, then construction - 1 ½ to 2 years and 2) Transferring utilities from above to below ground - 1 year.
· Adaptive Traffic Control Signal System Upgrade: The bid opening is scheduled for Tuesday, May 12, 2015 at 2:00.
· West Juana Pedestrian Improvement: pedestrian improvements and addition of bulb outs.
· Siempre Verde Park Improvements: increase amount of parkscape and reduce lawn area to make park drought friendly with plans to install wells. There will be a pedestrian walkway, new restrooms, gardens, game tables, security cameras and ping pong tables. Councilmembers wants staff to consider:
- configuring the pedestrian walkway with distance markers
- honoring the diversity of the city with flags from sister cities
- adding delineating lines to the basketball courts that will allow for senior or junior size court games, make the courts rentable or by reservation through the Rec Department.
Mayor Cutter suggested staff talk to SLUSD about recouping funds from practices to repair/maintain courts. K. Cooke will look at those improvements and possibly add refinements to the project before the project goes out to bid. The Committee raised issues regarding installation and warranties of playground equipment. K. Cooke reassured the Committee that equipment is purchased with warranties and that installation will be managed and inspected closely. The City has highly qualified, experienced inspectors on staff to ensure proper and quality installation.
Staff to research inclusion of carpet in project budget for Main Library.
Staff also to research for Siempre Verde Park project:
- configuring the pedestrian walkway with distance markers
- honoring the diversity of the city with flags from sister cities
- adding delineating lines to basketball courts for senior or junior size court games
3. PUBLIC COMMENTS
None.
4. COMMITTEE MEMBER COMMENTS
Councilmember Reed discussed the undergrounding of 150th versus Fairmont. She expressed the need to poll the public on which corridor (150th or Fairmont) is mostly commonly used. This may determine which corridor is best suited to repair. Councilmember Lopez asked about the undergrounding mitigation process for doing the work and how it will disrupt or impact businesses and if sidewalks would be included in the work. K. Cooke replied by saying the work is done on both roadways and sidewalks. The project is bid in two ways: open trench and directional drilling. During all undergrounding projects, access to businesses from the street is maintained.
Mayor Cutter raised issues regarding the Marina area: 1. Streetscape - Is fiber loop installed, 2. The marina - the need for a comprehensive look at the development and public outreach and community awareness, and 3. Traffic planning. K. Cooke said the project is underway, with a grant from the government. Fiber conduit is already installed on Marina Boulevard. D. Pollart talked about the traffic and said there are physical constraints with adding lanes.
Councilmember Reed asked for signs that will identify projects funded by Measure HH so that the community can see how and where voter-approved funding is spent.
Councilmember Reed expressed that monthly meetings are not necessary. Mayor Cutter added the meetings should be kept to a minimum of 1 ½ hours. Councilmember Lopez reminded Committee and staff that the next meeting coincides with Cinco de Mayo events and requested compact agenda.
Councilmember Lopez requested for a street map of the Fiber Loop project, which K. Cooke will provide at a later date.
5. ADJOURN
The meeting adjourned.