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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMin - CC - 1995.01.21268 CITY OF BURLINGAME CITY COUNCIL STUDY MEETING Saturday, January 21, 1995 City Hall Conference Room A Mayor Marti Ifuight convened the annual work program and goals session of the Burlingame City Council and department heads on the above date in Conference Room A at 9:00 a.m. CouNcn PRrsrx-r: HARRISoN, KMcHT, O'Megorw, PAGLIARo, Srnrettl Srerr PRBsBrqr: ARcynEs, BEcrnR, CoLrulN, EscorrIgt, KTRKUP, MoNnoE, PALMER, Queoru, TowNs, Wrueus Onmns:BuRr-rNceur CHarasrR or CoprunRcs PRSSIDENT Jpnnv WnIcBs Fonunn Mevon IRv ArrrsrRup PrexurNc CorrnralsstoxrR KnnrN KBv 1. REVIEW 1994. FORECAST 1995 City manager briefly reviewed 1994 and presented a forecast for 1995. The city ended the year in good shape financially, in spite of concern about the state budget. Although fund balances in the general fund increased by approximately $2 million, we had the lowest capital improvement expenditures in the past eleven years. The major surprise of the year was the March proposal for a Millbrae Avenue BART station with tail track in Burlingame. For 1995, the city manager sees three main topics: BART extension to San Francisco Airport, the library renovation, and the dump closure. 2. CURRENT AND UPCOMING PROBLEMS/ISSUES/PROJECTS The first item on the 1995 work program list is the BART EIR. We have just received a letter from the home owners association requesting a council hearing for local residents and wanting the city to hire a consultant to review the EIR. Staff is currently reviewing the EIR and will have its preliminary findings on the February 6 council agenda. This will be before the C/CAG review on February 9. Council needs to discuss how it wants to handle its public testimony at the SamTrans/BART February 15 public hearing. The city's written comments need to be completed by March 13. Council needed to discuss its strategy about whether it wishes to support one of the alternatives or just indicate the deficiencies in the EIR and the adverse financial impacts on SamTrans. Mayor Knight said she had talked with the consultant doing the C/CAG review and noted that in that analysis they would be focusing on a county-wide perspective. She indicated that we may need to look at a more "Burlingame" perspective, and the consultant had indicated a ballpark figure of $7,000 to $13,000 without seeing a specific work program. Councilman Pagliaro noted that he had also received a call and that he would support selecting a consulting firm which would not have to start from scratch. He felt we had to be careful to avoid a conflict with the consultant which Millbrae is using. Councilman Harrison agreed that we would not want to use the same consultant as Millbrae; but at this time, he did not see the need for a consultant until we saw what the C/CAG 269 consultant is presenting on February 9. The city manager noted that one of the major issues was the financial affect on SamTrans, and this was an item that C/CAG was reviewing. Councilman Spinelli indicated that we need a proposal from a consultant to look at, and we may want to look at the staff review on February 6 to see on which items a consultant could be of assistance. Councilman Pagliaro said that we needed to keep our strategy on the project somewhat close to the vest, and the real deadline was the March 13 end-of-comment period. The next item discussed was the library renovation project. The manager noted that we had received bids on the temporary facilities. We are also working with the architect concerning the total project budget and construction schedule. The budget is in the $13-to-$14 million range for the whole project. The library project is approximately $2 million higher than originally anticipated. We have received a soils report for the library addressing the water table. The report recommends that construction not occur during the winter season. Our current construction schedule calls for the library to move this summer and construction to begin in October. Another alternative would be to delay the project five months to avoid the winter construction period. We have met with the architect and construction manager concerning possible changes. They have indicated that it is possible to manage the current schedule, but we have a risk of rain delay and the possible cost implications of this in bidding. On the other hand, with a delayed alternative, we have issues of possible cost escalation. It is staff s intent to place the two alternatives on the February 6 agenda for a council decision. From a final occupancy standpoint, the two alternatives are very similar. The architect has completed the design development phase of the library. The move to the temporary facility this summer is desirable from the library standpoint because of their workload schedule. In order to finance the library project, it will be necessary to issue at least $9 million in bonds for the $14 million project. This will result in about $8 million for the project fund and a debt service of approximately l% of our hotel tax for the next twenty years. The current 2% hotel tax reserve is our current budget cushion, and we need to be prudent in committing those funds. The increased cost of the library may delay the funding of the dump project and cause it to take longer. We are currently out to bid on the initial phase of the dump estimated to be $5- 6 million. Bids are due February 2. Councilman Pagliaro asked if staff has requested the architect to speed up the working drawings phase for possible July bid. The manager stated we had discussions with the architect on this, but the time delay for the temporary facilities seem to negate the ability to have an earlier bidding make a difference. There is also the possibility that the library could move earlier, but we had wanted to avoid the public being inconvenienced in the temporary facilities while work was not in progress on the permanent improvements. In addition, we have other schedule unknowns such as asbestos removal which may result in the need for extra time. Councilman Spinelli noted that we need to be sure we do the project right. He was not concerned about a couple of months difference on the end product. Mayor Knight said it was important that we understand the public perception and make sure they feel something is being accomplished if they are being asked to be inconvenienced by the temporary facilities. 270 The next item discussed was the dump closure project. The public works department is currently out to bid on this project; bids will be received February 2. The public works director hopes that the bids will be within the budget amount and construction can begin in spring of this year. July 15 is the deadline from the Air Board to have a methane recovery system in place. If we are successful with the first phase now out to bid, the next phase-which is final closure-will depend on financing. The library budget being approximately $2 million higher than anticipated may delay second phase implementation. The second phase is also dependent upon the availability of clay. The final development phase, including installing the driving range, should make the project a revenue generator and help pay for ongoing maintenance. The next item discussed was the Broadway/Burlingame Avenue streetscape proposal. This is currently scheduled for review at our February 21 meeting. The Broadway BID also needs renewal which would begin in March. We will be receiving a booklet from Broadway BID concerning the charette. The Beautification Commission and park department are having difficultly with Burlingame Avenue concerning replacement of the trees that were frost damaged as a result of the frenze four years ago. In reviewing the need to renew our cable television franchise in June 1996, the manager noted that given the rapid changes occurring in the cable industry, we will need a consultant to help with the review. Councilman Spinelli felt that there has been a recent decline in CATV signal quality. Mayor Knight wanted to see improved government access services. In reviewing the current financial outlook, the manager noted that he anticipates revenue growth in the two to three percent range for 1994-95. Both sales and hotel tax are doing well, but property tax is down because of commercial reassessments. Actual expenditures are anticipated to increase three to four percent. The overall general fund balance is anticipated to decrease $3.5 million because of the library and dump projects; although it is possible that it may be more in the $2-to-3 million range. The governor's proposed budget for 1995-96 seems to leave the cities alone at this point; but we need to wait until the May revision of revenues to get a clearer picture. The proposed 1995-96 budget guidelines for the department heads would be in the approximate 3% range. Capital improvements-other than the dump and the library-would be limited to $1 million or less, $400,000 of which will go to sidewalk repair. Councilman Pagliaro indicated that one alternative to allow funds for more capital projects would be to issue bonds for a larger portion of debt for the library project. The manager indicated this is correct although the debt service and repayment is committing the city to a larger amount for a 20-year period. The formal decision as to how much debt to incur for the library would occur in June or July if we proceed with the current schedule. We will have a financial advisor to help us structure the debt service. Concerning the need to renew our 5-year Waste Water Discharge Permit, the manager indicated that since we have completed the major work at the treatment plant, the Water Quality Control Board may focus on needed improvements to the collection system. The Tri-City water project is not proceeding at this time because of weak interest from Millbrae and a new manager in Hillsborough. The shuttle bus grant program will need to be reviewed since the grant will expire this June. We also need to evaluate the ridership on the new trial program which is set to begin. The manager announced that the personnel assistant would be retiring in June/July 1995, and he is reviewing options for revising the job duties of the 271 position. The city attorney's secretary will also leave this month, and it is not anticipated that we will fill the position. The last item noted on the work program is the council election in November. Councilman Pagliaro and Mayor Knight are up for election. COUNCIL COMMENTS Concerning other council issues, Councilman Spinelli said he had heard that there was a floor debate in the House of Representatives concerning BART, and it had been referred to as a "pork barrel" project. Council discussed the recent commissioner attendance report and asked that the Mayor write a letter to the commissioners who are below our attendance standard. Councilman Harrison noted he appreciated the new format for the department goals which included a review of what had been accomplished. Councilwoman O'Mahony commented about department goals; she appreciated the changes in the format and the accountability factor that had been built into the goals for next year. ADJOURNMENT Mayor Knight adjoumed the study meeting at 10:24 a.m. Judith A. Malfatti City Clerk FROM THE FLOOR There being no further council comments, the Mayor asked for public comments. There were no public comments.