CITY OF PACIFICA
CITY COUNCIL MINUTES
Council Chambers
2212 Beach Blvd
Pacifica, CA 94044
Mayor Sue Vaterlaus
Mayor pro Tem Sue Beckmeyer
Councilmember Mary Bier
Councilmember Tygarjas Bigstyck
Councilmember Christine Boles
City Council Regular Meeting 1 April 08, 2024
SPECIAL AND REGULAR MEETING
April 08, 2024 (MONDAY)
www.cityofpacifica.org
Mayor Sue Vaterlaus called the meeting to order on April 8, 2024 at 6:30 PM 6:30 PM - CLOSED SESSION
00a. CONFERENCE WITH LEGAL COUNSEL—EXISTING LITIGATION. Pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (d) of Section 54956.9: Buendia v. City of Pacifica, San Mateo County Superior Court, Case No. 22-CIV-03097.
7:00 PM OPEN SESSION
Call to Order
Mayor Vaterlaus reconvened the regular meeting at 7:04 p.m.
Attendee Name Title Status Arrived
Sue Vaterlaus Mayor Present
Sue Beckmeyer Mayor pro Tem Remote
Mary Bier Councilmember Present
Tygarjas Bigstyck Councilmember Present
Christine Boles Councilmember Present
Deputy City Clerk La took a verbal roll call. They then explained that Mayor pro Tem Beckmeyer was participating remotely and explained the conditions per the Brown Act. Deputy City Clerk La confirmed that, while Mayor pro Tem Beckmeyer is in a separate room, she was open to anyone from the public coming to that room to interact with her but no one was present at this time.
Staff Present: Kevin Woodhouse, City Manager; Michelle Kenyon, City Attorney; Lisa Petersen, PW Director; Yulia Carter, Asst. City Manager; Christian Murdock, Planning Director; Maria Sarasua, Police Chief; Scott Leslie, Acting PB&R Director; Daniel Rowe, IT Analyst; Elizabeth Brooks, Management Analyst; Emily La, Deputy City Clerk.
City Council Regular Meeting 2 April 08, 2024
Reading of Land Acknowledgment
Mayor Vaterlaus read the Land Acknowledgement
Salute to the Flag led by Mayor Vaterlaus
Closed Session Report
City Attorney Kenyon stated there was no reportable action.
SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS
A. Special Presentation by Peninsula Clean Energy
Peninsula Clean Energy’s Chief Executive Officer Shawn Marshall introduced some of her staff and acknowledged the leadership participation of Councilmember Bigstyck with their board as well as Councilmember Boles, the alternate liaison. She presented on the PCE update on rates, accomplishments, programs, and partnerships. She was now open to questions.
Councilmember Bier appreciated her and her staff, and then asked if she was correct that $475,000 is available to Pacifica.
Chief Executive Officer Marshall responded affirmatively.
Councilmember Bier asked what their next step would be to get that.
Chief Executive Officer Marshall stated that whomever it will be assigned to, City Manager or PW Director, can go to their website and the money was allocated based on load size and customer count, whichever was greater, and they will see a range depending on how large the city is. They need to download the application and do a quick project plan. They will give them 50% of the money upfront and when the project is complete the remaining 50% will come.
Councilmember Bier appreciated that. She then asked if she partners with the city’s core service agencies to get people connected to their programs.
Chief Executive Officer Marshall stated that they did. She stated that they have many non-profit partners who can reach out to different cultural communities and neighborhoods.
Councilmember Boles thanked her for the presentation and all they do to help our community provide cleaner power in their homes and helping climate change as well. She was amazed at how far they have come since 2016. She heard Chief Executive Officer Marshall say 39 more EV chargers are coming, and she asked for more information on that.
Chief Executive Officer Marshall stated that is correct. She stated that there are 30 more that have been reserved, not through the city but likely through different affordable housing or multifamily housing or in some cases public EV charging. She stated that they can follow up with Councilmember Bigstyck to share that information.
Councilmember Boles thought it would be helpful to know location and timeline.
City Council Regular Meeting 3 April 08, 2024
Chief Executive Officer Marshall stated that she knows 39 have been reserved for Pacifica but not when.
Councilmember Boles was curious about her thoughts for individual solar installations on houses with the CPUCs changing their payback methods.
Chief Executive Officer Marshall stated that they like to use the term sizing. She stated that the NEM 1.0 and NEM 2.0 programs, which were the original solar incentive programs in the state that PCE has participated in, were designed to incentivize and accelerate solar adoption on homeowner and commercial rooftops. She stated that has been going on for 10-15 years and what has happened now is that they are built out and there is plenty of solar on the grid. She stated that the shortfall now is battery storage. Whether they agree with the terms of what they are calling the net billing tariff or NEM 3.0, the terms are definitely not as advantageous for homeowners. It has a stifling effect because it is not as beneficial economically. She stated that the idea is, rather than oversize your solar and sell the excess power off, you would right size it and not be out any money doing that. She stated that it has not been implemented as yet but they are following the PG&E structure for now, try it out for a year, and then revisit it and see if they want to do something different next year.
Councilmember Boles thought that was where the batteries are key because she has solar that offsets all her electrical use, but she sells it and then she needs it at night, and even if you are right-sizing, you are still having time of day on shifts.
Chief Executive Officer Marshall agreed, adding that batteries are sort of the next frontier.
Mayor pro Tem Beckmeyer stated that we experience significant power outages on the coast and, recently, there was a big opportunity providing battery packs through our public library and she wondered about the possibility of creating an ongoing program for that in Pacifica and in other coastal areas where we experience multi-day outages; we do our best with the community center and libraries being comfort stations where people can come and charge their devices to work, go to school, etc. She wondered about building resiliency in our coastal areas and if there are any programs like that or any support that PCE can provide.
Chief Executive Officer Marshall does not know if the ones she is referencing came from PCE.
She asked if she was able to keep them or were they loaners.
Mayor pro Tem Beckmeyer stated that she does not know. She thought they were able to keep them and they were gone pretty quickly from the shelves.
Chief Executive Officer Marshall stated that they did have a program for their medically vulnerable customers during COVID-19 and during the public safety power shutoff (PSPS) event, and they flew off the shelves. She stated that the present status is that their programs team is doing some analysis on which coastside neighborhoods are most effected by power outages, for how long, how many customers live there, so they can get granular on figuring out a program just like that. She stated that they have not designed the whole thing, and she stated her vote was that it would not be a loaner program as that is a lot to administer and you need them. She does not know what the status is on that, and she will ask tomorrow when she sees their Director of Programs, but she stated it is coming back.
Councilmember Bigstyck stated that, while they were having those budget surplus committee meetings, he did bring it up for discussion and he has been in discussion with County City Council Regular Meeting 4 April 08, 2024
Supervisor Mueller about various approaches the city could be taking, especially with working with our partners in PCE. He has been learning more and more about this technical industry.
He stated that he was charmed by our turnkey program which will be coming out shortly. He has been working with Rafael Reyes to have an understanding of exactly what somebody who is not a homeowner needs to go through if they are coordinating with a landlord in terms of electrification. He asked if she could tell Council a little bit about 24/7 energy.
Chief Executive Officer Marshall stated that their big goal is to be 100% renewable on a 99% time coincident basis, meaning 99% of the time out of a 24/7 day, PCE’s customers will be served by 100% renewable energy. She stated that, the way they achieve that is signing longterm power purchase agreements that typically range from 15- 25 years. When you sign those contracts with a wind contractor solar or battery storage, the developer can take that contract to the bank to get the financing to effectuate new power being put into the ground in order to power our needs on a 24/7 basis. She stated that the trick is that you have to balance the type of power and it is a very technical approach. She stated it is not ready yet in terms of the way the California grid or even the western grid accounts for clean energy. The idea is that, if you look at a slice of our day, 24/7, anytime of the year, it will be entirely green and will not have any red spikes for when we have to use natural gas which is a baseload power source. She stated that, originally, the board in the 2018 timeframe had set a goal of wanting to be 24/7 hourly by 2025. Even when she came on last year, it was clear that it was not going to happen, not just for price, but because there was not enough diversity and available power in the marketplace to get into those long-term contracts. They moved the goal to 2027 and that is also looking tough.
She stated that the board will be taking up this matter at its April board meeting and figure it out.
They will not lose the goal but it is a function of what is practical and the quickest they can get there without jeopardizing affordability and agency economic health.
Councilmember Bigstyck is learning so much about procuring power and what it takes to get new projects off the ground that then contribute to the city’s portfolio that will someday make this dream a reality. He thanked PCE members for being here.
Mayor Vaterlaus thanked her for her presentation. She agreed with Mayor pro Tem Beckmeyer and emphasized the need PG&E to get their grids together so we can have power all the time.
Chief Executive Officer Marshall appreciated that feedback. She thanked the Council for having her.
Mayor Vaterlaus opened public comments and, seeing none, closed public comments.
CONSENT CALENDAR
Mayor Vaterlaus asked if Deputy City Clerk La wanted to read them a statement before going to the consent calendar.
Deputy City Clerk La stated that for Consent Calendar Item #13, Mid-Block Crosswalk Safety Improvement Project, staff was recommending an amendment to the content of the attached Resolution to remove the 2nd “Now Therefore Be It Resolved” paragraph, which stated, “Now therefore be it resolved that the Governing Board of the City of Pacifica authorizes entering into the construction contract and agreement for the Mid-Block Crosswalk Safety Improvement Project and that the person/s who are listed below are authorized to sign the project documents for the Governing Board,” as this clause was included in error and did not substantively affect the action or resolution. Staff would also correct a typographical error in the title of the attached City Council Regular Meeting 5 April 08, 2024
Agreement.
Mayor Vaterlaus asked if any councilmembers wish to pull any items from consent.
Councilmember Bier stated that she would like to pull Item #10.
Mayor Vaterlaus opened public comment other than Item #10, and seeing no one, brought it back to Council. She then asked for a motion.
Councilmember Bigstyck wanted to ask a question and then will be happy to make a motion.
He referred to Item #6 regarding Taxpayer Protection and Government Accountability Act, and asked what it is and why are they sending the letter. He is asking it of staff because he thought it was important to understand why they are transmitting this letter.
City Manager Woodhouse stated that he can provide a high-level summary of what the Taxpayer Protection and Government Accountability Act is. He stated that the League of California Cities, which acts as a lobbying organization for cities and tracks legislation, is encouraging all cities to look at this and consider an opposition position on this because, if it were to pass, it will dramatically change the face of the way that the state and local governments are able to justify fees and are able to put taxes and revenue measures on the ballot, making it much more difficult, i.e., akin to a new version of Proposition 13 in a way in making local government funding very difficult and taking control out of local cities to determine what is best for them through many different means and significantly impacting local revenues.
He stated that, in addition, across the state, hundreds of tax measures that were passed in November 2022 would be at risk of being repealed unless they meet the requirements of this, which would be a dramatic impact for many cities across the state. He stated that is a high-level summary of the significance of this and one of the benefits of Council considering taking a position on this measure is that the city’s official position will be stated and can be communicated to the electorate.
Councilmember Bigstyck asked what kinds of things do these fees and taxes pay for that might be made more difficult to come by if our ability at the city level is taken away or eroded by this.
City Manager Woodhouse stated it was a very broad swath of items that could be affected, such as many different types of fees in our fee structure. He stated that it would not necessarily nullify fees but open up potential legal challenges to those fees.
Councilmember Bigstyck asked if an example was like sewer.
City Manager Woodhouse agreed, adding any kind of fees. He stated that any kind of tax measure, whether special tax or general tax, will have a much higher bar to pass.
Mayor pro Tem Beckmeyer stated she had a question on Item #13, and she was trying to find the scope of work of where those locations are.
PW Director Petersen stated that all of these are within the schools around the areas. She stated that the ones they have near that area are related to Ortega School at Alicante and Terra Nova, Banyan Crosswalk, Aspen and Terra Nova, and a small section in front of the school.
Mayor pro Tem Beckmeyer concluded it is school-based at this juncture.
City Council Regular Meeting 6 April 08, 2024
PW Director Petersen responded affirmatively.
Mayor pro Tem Beckmeyer referred to Item #12 and reminded everyone, thanking Council for voting to allocate Measure Y funds to address some of these roads that are so bad they could not be addressed in our regular road maintenance five-year plans. We will have roads in Pedro Point, Rockaway and Vallemar that are going to be addressed, specifically some of the worst roads. She felt that was huge for the city as they have been near the bottom of paving condition index, largely because of these extremely bad roads in town. She thought making some progress in that direction was positive, and with our lack of funding, this is a huge step forward for the city.
Councilmember Boles stated she had a couple of corrections to the minutes. On packet page 46, she referred to Planning Director Murdock stating “They are trying to put in place an interim effective period along the lines of a 2-year horizon to give them time to prepare the plan” but that is to give “us” time to prepare the plan regarding the LCLUP.
City Attorney Kenyon asked if she can give all her comments now and, if Council is amenable, they would need a vote of Council to approve the minutes as amended when they approve the consent calendar.
Councilmember Boles then referred to packet page 47, second to the last paragraph, and she said “the Coastal Commission is doing their CAP” but that is CDP not CAP. In addition, she stated that she knows the goal setting minutes are not full minutes but she had a comment on packet page 70. The affected portion reads “Greg Larson continued the presentation, noting that under the Goal 2B ‘Advance Beach Boulevard Resiliency and Esplanade Protection Projects,’” it ends and then starts “a Councilmember suggested additional items.” She stated that it did not finish that sentence, and she added “there was strong support from Council for finding funds for the pier repair.” She thought the second part should be a different sentence.
Acting City Clerk La asked her to restate that correction.
City Attorney Kenyon stated that this is more complicated than a typo and she asked Councilmember Boles if she was talking about a concept that was not conveyed in the minutes.
Councilmember Boles stated that the sentence isn’t complete and then it jumps into a different topic. She read it again: “Greg Larson continued the presentation, noting that under the Goal 2B ‘Advance Beach Boulevard Resiliency and Esplanade Protection Projects’” and then something should be added, “there was strong support from Council in wanting to find funds for repairing the pier.” Then, “A Councilmember suggested ...” is a different sentence.
City Attorney Kenyon stated that a majority of the Council needs to agree that was the representation that was made at the goal setting, to include that into the minutes, but if Council cannot remember or recall, they can request not to approve these at this meeting and review whatever minutes, or if they recall that discussion and do not recall that being made, then they may not want to amend the minutes. If they do, they can vote to approve the minutes as amended by Councilmember Boles.
Councilmember Bigstyck asked how she said the sentence ends.
Councilmember Boles stated that “with strong support from Council and a request to find grants for the pier repairs”.
City Council Regular Meeting 7 April 08, 2024
Councilmember Bigstyck understood.
Councilmember Boles stated that they can leave out the pier part but finishing the sentence “with strong support from Council”. Then the next sentence talks about Manor which is a different subject.
Mayor Vaterlaus imagined that they said that.
Mayor pro Tem Beckmeyer agreed with the mayor. She recalled the strong support for Beach Boulevard Resiliency Project and Esplanade project and it is the case that they are seeking funds for pier repair and she thought it was okay to include that amendment.
Councilmember Bigstyck moved approving consent agenda, excluding Item #10, with amendments for Item #2 as stated by Councilmember Boles and with amendments for Item #13 as stated by staff; seconded by Councilmember Bier.
Acting City Clerk La took a vote by verbal roll call.
CONSENT CALENDAR (EXCLUDING ITEM #10) WITH ITEM #2 AND ITEM #13 AS
AMENDED
RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Tygarjas Bigstyck, Councilmember
SECONDER: Mary Bier, Councilmember
AYES: Vaterlaus, Beckmeyer, Bier, Bigstyck, Boles
1. Approval of Disbursements for 03/01/24 through 03/31/24.
PROPOSED ACTION: Receive and file the Monthly Check Register Report for the month of March 2024.
2. Approval of Minutes
PROPOSED ACTION: Move to approve the minutes for the March 2, 2024 City Council Special Meeting; March 9, 2024 City Council Special Meeting; and March 28, 2024 City Council Special Meeting.
3. Continuation of Proclamation of Local Emergency of the Pacifica Coastline from Westline Drive to the End of Beach Boulevard.
PROPOSED ACTION: Accept report and make a determination that conditions of local emergency continue to exist within the Pacifica Coastline from Westline Drive to the end of Beach Boulevard.
4. Continuation of Proclamation of Local Emergency at the Anza Pump Station.
PROPOSED ACTION: Accept Report and Make a Determination that Conditions of Local Emergency Continue to Exist at the Anza Pump Station at the Pacifica State Beach.
5. Continuation of Proclamation of Local Emergency related to December 28, 2023, High Tide/Large Wave Events
PROPOSED ACTION: Accept Report and Make a Determination that Conditions of City Council Regular Meeting 8 April 08, 2024
Local Emergency Continue to Exist related to the December 2023 High Tide/Large Wave Events
6. Resolution Opposing The Taxpayer Protection and Government Accountability Act, Initiative No. 21-0042A1
PROPOSED ACTION: Adopt a Resolution opposing Initiative No. 21-0042A1, the Taxpayer Protection and Government Accountability Act.
7. Resolution Designating the City Manager and the Director of Public Works, by title, as Applicant's Agent for Non-State Agencies for the California Office of Emergency Services (CalOES) Public Assistance Programs
PROPOSED ACTION: Adopt the Resolution of the City Council of the City of Pacifica Designating the City Manager and the Director of Public Works as Applicant's Agent for Non-State Agencies for the California Office of Emergency Services (CalOES).
8. Sixth Amendment to Consultant Services Agreement for On-Call Planning Services Between the City of Pacifica and Consulting Firm Good City Company PROPOSED ACTION: Move to adopt the attached resolution to approve the Sixth Amendment to the Agreement for Consultant Services between the City of Pacifica and Good City Company, by increasing the contract amount by $30,000 with a total not to exceed amount of $640,000 and, to authorize the City Manager to execute the amendment.
9. Resolution to Approve a Sole Source Purchase Agreement for the Civic Center Campus with CORT for office furniture
PROPOSED ACTION: Adopt a Resolution to Approve a Sole Source Purchase Agreement with CORT for purchase of Civic Center Campus office furniture, in the amount of $115,185.57 with a $4,500 (~4%) contingency for a Total Budget Authority of $119,685.57.
10. Amendment No. 1 to Agreement between the City of Pacifica and Armour Fence for the Fairway Park Backstops Replacement Project
PROPOSED ACTION: Adopt a Resolution approving Amendment No. 1 to the Agreement between the City of Pacifica and Armour Fence to increase the Fairway Park Backstops Replacement Project by $168,669.62, and amend the FY 2023-24 budget to appropriate this same amount from the Roy Davies Fund 27, subject to a required approval by a 4/5 vote of the City Council.
Agenda Item #10 Discussion
Councilmember Bier stated that the item is about the backstops at Fairway Park. She stated she heard from constituents about the delay in the baseball season and she did not think she understood clearly when the work was going to start and why the city staff chose to start it in February when baseball season starts in February.
City Manager Woodhouse stated he would begin with background to the project. He stated that it began its process for bids last year and the city staff knew it would be a fast timeline to fast City Council Regular Meeting 9 April 08, 2024
track it before the baseball season. Staff contracted it out, got favorable bid responses, and began that work during the winter, but city staff discovered some different site conditions that required a significant change order, which is what the subject of this item is, with deeper and larger foundations to support the larger poles for the backstops. He stated that the work needed be done and the contractor was already mobilized, has done that work, is working as Council speaks, but Council needs to approve this change order. It is a fast track project that has impacted the season and it has been a wet winter. City staff will be opening one field at a time to try to get them in play as quickly as possible. He stated that the benefit is new backstops for this significant investment into this asset city staff is putting into the project.
Councilmember Bier wanted any and all details so she can point community members to them.
Acting PB&R Director Leslie stated that City Manager Woodhouse hit most of the main points.
He stated that the seed of the project was that a little over a year ago, during the storms of 2023, there was significant damage to some of the backstops that needed to be replaced, including failing chain link fences and rotting wood in the back of it. There is a threshold for which, at some point, you have to stop using it because there is a safety issue and they were getting very close to that threshold. He stated, instead of letting that happen and closing the field and do it in an emergency situation, the idea was to get it done as soon as possible. He stated that there were funds that were returned to the city after the completion of the playground project at the Community Center and the funds were used to fund this project. He stated that, ultimately, where the problems came in was when, during the demolition, after everything they approved and they were moving forward with the contractor, it became evident that, while part of the original plan was to use the specific footings of the existing structure, it was never going to happen, as there were issues with the soil conditions that made it impossible so then it required digging down deeper and every aspect they add to it added more time. He stated that there are some supply chain issues, as well as the weather which has delayed it multiple days.
He stated it was ambitious to try to get it done by the season, which would have been delayed by one week, but it has unfortunately extended that time. He stated that it looks beautiful, but the timing was very unfortunate.
Councilmember Bier appreciates the explanation and the work they are doing on the field.
Mayor Vaterlaus opened public comment and, seeing no one, closed public comment.
Mayor pro Tem Beckmeyer thanked Councilmember Bier for bringing it forward. She thinks that, when they first approved this on consent, it was impacting a lot of people and deferred maintenance is what they are dealing with because of funding. She stated that being creative in finding the fundings to get this project done is going to provide long-term benefits to the community but is unfortunate that it was at the expense of part of the season. She is grateful that they are doing the work and making these improvements for the youth and for a long run of baseball in Pacifica.
Councilmember Boles asked for an approximate timeline for when the project might be finished.
Acting PB&R Director Leslie stated that they are working with the contractor to not open all three fields at the same time but open one as soon as possible and go to the next one, etc. He did not give specific dates for the construction project, but the goal is to get things done very soon, and preferably sometime next week is the goal for the first one.
Councilmember Bier thanked city staff for the work, adding that there is a lot of work going on City Council Regular Meeting 10 April 08, 2024
the field at Ortega so the lack of fields is apparent. She will direct residents to this recording.
Councilmember Bier made a motion to adopt a Resolution approving Amendment No. 1 to the Agreement between the City of Pacifica and Armour Fence to increase the Fairway Park Backstops Replacement Project by $168,669.62, and amend the FY 2023-24 budget to appropriate this same amount from the Roy Davies Fund 27, subject to a required approval by a 4/5 vote of the City Council; seconded by Councilmember Bigstyck.
Deputy City Clerk La took a vote by verbal roll call.
AGENDA ITEM #10
RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Mary Bier, Councilmember
SECONDER: Tygarjas Bigstyck, Councilmember
AYES: Vaterlaus, Beckmeyer, Bier, Bigstyck, Boles
11. FY 2024-25 Sidewalk, Curbs, and ADA Ramps Improvement Project PROPOSED ACTION: Adopt the Resolution entitled "A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Pacifica Approving the Construction Contract between the City of Pacifica and RK Engineering Inc. for the FY 2024-25 Sidewalk, Curbs, and ADA Ramps Improvement Project in an amount not to exceed $157,939.00; Authorize a budget authority in the amount of $205,320.70, which includes contingencies in an amount not to exceed thirty percent (30%) of the Construction Contract amounts; Authorize staff to Execute Future Change Orders and Task Orders not to exceed the contingency amount; and Authorize the City Manager to sign Contract Documents related to the Project.”
12. FY 2024-25 Pavement Resurfacing Project
PROPOSED ACTION: Adopt a Resolution entitled "A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Pacifica Approving the Construction Contract between the City of Pacifica and VSS International, Inc. for the FY 2024-25 Pavement Resurfacing Project in an amount not to exceed $2,444,325.00; Authorize a budget authority in the amount of $2,688,757.50 which includes contingencies in an amount not to exceed ten percent (10%) of the Construction Contract amounts; Authorize staff to Execute Future Change Orders and Task Orders not to exceed the contingency amount; and Authorize the City Manager to Sign Contract Documents to the Project.”
13. Mid-Block Crosswalk Safety Improvement Project
PROPOSED ACTION: Adopt a Resolution entitled "A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Pacifica Approving the Construction Contract with Zara Construction in an amount not to exceed $307,013.00; Authorize a budget authority in the amount of $337,714.00, which includes contingencies in an amount not to exceed ten percent (10%) of the Construction Contract amounts; Authorize staff to Execute Future Change Orders and Task Orders not to exceed the contingency amount; and Authorize the City Manager to sign Contract Documents related and authorize a budget adjustment in the amount of $77,714 into the project from Measure A Fund for the Mid-Block Crosswalk Safety Improvement.”
City Council Regular Meeting 11 April 08, 2024
PUBLIC COMMENTS ON ITEMS NOT ON THE POSTED AGENDA
Shreya, Pacifica, stated she is an intern at PCT, and they would like to invite Councilmembers and staff, as well as the public to visit PCT’s spring open house on April 21. She stated that it will be a great event happening at their studio on 580 Crespi Drive. She shared all the experiences the community will have to learn about their programs.
Greg Wright, Pacifica, thanked Council, and shared his positive thoughts on the job and difficult decisions they must make, as well as city staff.
Clif Lawrence, Pacifica, echoed Mr. Wright’s comments, and referred to an earlier comment on funding, and shared his thoughts on the city’s budget and funding.
John Nibbelin, Pacifica, stated he would join the prior speakers in thanking Council for all the work they do, and he shared his thoughts on the election process in Pacifica and other cities and requested agendizing an item to consider the issue of City Council term limits.
Lynn Adams, Pacifica, stated she was inviting everyone to the Whale Fest and encouraged them to bring their children and this is an opportunity for us as a community to come together.
Paul Totah, Pacifica, requested Council adding to a future agenda consideration of rescinding term limits for Council. He also requested the Council consider passing a resolution in favor of a ceasefire in Palestine and Israel.
Samantha Hauser, Pacifica, stated she was speaking as an individual and shared her thoughts on the positive side of extending term limits on Council.
Leanna Wynn, Pacifica, stated she was also attending to mention extending term limits, and she supported putting it on the agenda in favor of having longer term limits.
Robine Runneals, Pacifica, stated she was happy to join the discussion about term limits, and shared her thoughts on the positive for asking Council to consider this issue. She thanked them for keeping the community involved in their decisions.
Summer Lee, Pacifica, shared her thoughts opposing consideration of repealing term limits mentioning that it would require a vote of the people, and added her thoughts on the need for more diverse representation to empower the underserved.
Delia McGrath, Pacifica, stated she was speaking on behalf of people in Gaza, requesting a resolution for a ceasefire, and shared her thoughts on this serious issue.
Peter Loeb, Pacifica, stated that the two-term limit was adopted by a vote of the people and to change that would require a ballot measure, and was concerned about the cost of putting any measure on the ballot, and he shared his concerns on this issue. He stated that he is opposed to this idea.
Marsha Murphy, Pacifica, stated she supported Council passing a resolution for a ceasefire in Gaza.
City Council Regular Meeting 12 April 08, 2024
COUNCIL COMMUNICATIONS
Councilmember Bigstyck stated, regarding the five people asking for term limits, he did request for them to do so. He stated that Council discussed it at goal setting and it was recommended for him to find five diverse community members to make comment about it because he thinks it bears discussion. He agreed it would have to go to a vote of the people; a part of the discussion is finding out how much it would cost to put it on the ballot during an election year when the city is already putting things on the ballot as it is his understanding that it is less expensive than other times of the year. He stated that the reason why he thinks it should be discussed is because the difference between now and when term limits were put on the ballot last time is the city has districts. He described the history of candidate campaigns in 2016 in Pacifica as well as across San Mateo County. He thought it was the right time to have the discussion to see whether there is any will to put it on the ballot. He asked for it to be agendized by the City Manager to have that discussion. He went to the County Supervisors meeting on March 26, and they sent a letter regarding AT&T possibly taking away landlines from people and a discussion around the Cypress Point affordable housing development in Moss Beach. He attended a meeting of the Department of National Sub-Diplomacy regarding plastics and the way that cities and jurisdictions are coming together to create a national policy around plastics. He talked to Walnut Creek Councilmember Kevin Wilk trying to put together a session for CalCities in October, alongside the City Manager from Ventura. He attended Legislative Action Committee meetings with Peninsula Division of CalCities for the forthcoming City Leader Summit in which Santa Clara County and San Mateo County elected officials will be heading to Sacramento to talk to various state representatives. He attended a seminar entitled “Changing Perspectives” which is understanding inclusion, ableism, and neuro-diversity which was put on by Parent Venture. He attended the special Council meeting on March 28 and shared some details about the last PCE meeting, wherein Burlingame Mayor Donna Colson has been promoted to the Chair of Peninsula Clean Energy and Marty Medina of San Bruno as Vice Chair. He met with a Santa Clara Councilmember for lunch, watched the Planning Commission meeting on April 1, and attended a Legislative Action Committee meeting with CalCities Peninsula Division this morning.
Councilmember Bier wanted to take responsibility from their last Council meeting when she did not request conversation when they were appointing their Planning Commissioners. She stated that it would have been fair for her to do that and she wanted to apologize for all those who applied and to please reapply when seats open up. She attended the Bike and Pedestrian Advisory Committee for CCAG, and they went over the Local Roadway Safety Plan, which has a public comment period. She stated the HEART meeting was canceled this month. She attended the Coast Pride board meeting, where they have been doing some deep anti-racist work. She thanked Lauren Smith who is the co-chair for Pacifica Pride. She stated that there will be a fundraiser on April 21 at Table Wine. She stated that she attended the Age Friendly Coalition because they were planning for Pacifica’s inaugural Age Friendly Community Town Hall meeting at the Pacifica Community Center. She requested that the Age Friendly Coalition have a special presentation of their action plan at some point soon to update Council on what the action plan is and what it is going to look like. She stated May is Mental Health Month and, over the years of the Mental Health initiative, we were able to collaborate with San Mateo County on many different activities and we have an opportunity to participate this year at San Mateo County Against Loneliness, Healing Through Connection.
Councilmember Boles agreed with Councilmember Bier and apologized for the Planning Commission vote which happened so quickly, with the motions and vote called, and she will be paying more attention to that in the future. She asked City Attorney about a procedural question City Council Regular Meeting 13 April 08, 2024
about responding from the dais after public comments and asked for clarification the procedures for Council as well as the public to understand.
City Attorney Kenyon stated that, if it is a comment to staff about providing more information to the Council, those comments are fine, but because it is not on the agenda, Council cannot deliberate on it. She can direct comments to the city manager but not direct comments to Councilmembers to invoke deliberation. She stated that it depends on what she would like to say and she will tell her that it is eliciting deliberation or providing direction to staff or asking questions of staff. She added that she would say, if the councilmember is talking to or asking questions of City Manager, that is probably fine, but if the councilmember starts directing comments to colleagues, that is probably where she will jump in.
Councilmember Boles stated she has had a lot of meetings with constituents about the quarry, Local Coastal Plan, and paving and trees, and she appreciated Public Works joining her for a meeting with some constituents today. She stated that the Pacifica Climate Committee met, and they would be hosting an electrification event called “Healthy Air, Healthy Homes” at the Sharp Park Library on May 18. She thanked Planning Director Murdock as they both met with Solutions for Supportive Homes, a group interested in building affordable housing in Pacifica for adults with disabilities. She received invitation from a group called Partnership for the Bay’s Future, and they are based in San Francisco and have funding from the Chan Zuckerberg Foundation; the event they held was called “Building Sustainable Communities, A Councilmember’s Guide to Affordable Housing.” Mayor Vaterlaus and she attended the Building Trade Unions event at Skyline. She had an Airport Roundtable meeting this week. She stated that several councilmembers met Aaron Peskin, President of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, who invited councilmembers from all over the state to his office to let them know about some upcoming legislation being considered at the state level. She highlighted a couple concerns, i.e., AB 2560 which the Coastal Commission opposes intends to override the Coastal Act and city’s LCP policies for density bonus projects. She then mentioned SB 951 and SB 1077. She thinks the state housing laws that are pushing a lot on Pacifica that had to do with Housing Element are now also pushing the Coastal Commission and trying to take away some of their review control for these projects. She stated that what was particularly troubling is not specifically affordable housing but any kind of housing and the affordability is actually being weakened in some of the laws. She stated it was important to pay attention and advocate before the laws come into effect.
Mayor pro Tem Beckmeyer stated she attended some of the meetings that councilmembers are mentioning and she thanked them for bringing up “Our Neighborhood Voices,” a coalition of various electeds who met from across the state last week. As mentioned by Councilmember Boles, she thought the main concern, as she can discern, is where housing law and specifically with regard to density is going to be overriding Coastal Commission authority in the coastal zone or appears that it will do that. She asked staff to make note that from the Beautification Advisory Committee meeting last week apparently the Priority Parks Report is being finalized by PB&R staff and probably will go before PB&R Commission but the Beautification Advisory Committee was also asking for information and she suggested staff make a note to Director Petersen. She is on vacation this week and will not be attending both of her liaison meetings and asked if Councilmember Boles would available for the Library Advisory Committee meeting on Wednesday to be alternate liaison.
Mayor Vaterlaus stated she attended a couple of Fog Fest board meetings about sponsorships.
She met with Congressman Kevin Mullin about funding, and he will help us with certain funding that the city needs. She also met with Assemblymember Diane Papan. She attended the City Council Regular Meeting 14 April 08, 2024
Building Trades meeting. She attended the elected officials’ meeting with President Aaron Peskin. She received a complaint from a member of the public about parties living in a motorhome near them in an allowed space. She described the horrendous actions taking place against the parties living in motorhomes and asked people to show compassion.
STAFF COMMUNICATIONS
City Manager Woodhouse stated he had one communication to provide mainly for members of the public viewing audience which is a reminder that next Monday evening is the Council’s special meeting in the Council Chambers to continue work on the Local Coastal Land Use Plan update.
Mayor Vaterlaus called a break and then reconvened the meeting.
PUBLIC HEARINGS - NONE.
CONSIDERATION
14. Fiscal Year 2024-25 Budget Planning Process, Timeline and Preliminary Budget Strategies
PROPOSED ACTION: Accept the report and provide additional policy direction for the preparation of the FY2024-25 Budget.
Asst. City Manager Carter presented the staff report.
Councilmember Bier asked about the last time we performed the development impact fee cost allocation and master fee study.
Asst. City Manager Carter stated, regarding the development impact fee, she thought roughly a decade. For the master fee schedule, she thought the last study was done in 2011 or 2012.
Councilmember Boles asked if Council was looking at additional strategies to bring in other potential revenue sources, would that be in item 5 or where does it fit into the schedule.
City Manager Woodhouse stated that Council’s consideration of potential revenue measures for the November ballot would not be something built into the budget because the decision for Council to place any measure on the ballot is in August. It is not part of the budgeting process but is part of Council’s strategic plan and a major priority to be doing that research and building up the information for Council to make a decision about that.
Mayor pro Tem Beckmeyer referred to Councilmember Bier’s question and asked how long it takes to do a proper development impact fee, cost allocation, and master fee study.
Asst. City Manager Carter stated it probably will take longer than if they did it every five years.
She stated that the process will typically start with the comprehensive RFP and selecting the consultant, so that process usually takes at least three months; then for the development impact fee and nexus study, that process depends on staff input and capacity, possibly up to six months. For the cost allocation plan, it is usually tied to the budget and they want it to be tied to the latest budget city staff has because every time staff makes changes, we change the cost of their services. When staff looks at the master fee schedule which is the last step in the process, City Council Regular Meeting 15 April 08, 2024
staff wants the cost allocation plan to be up to date. For cost allocation plan, if city staff did it every five years, she would say staff could probably do them in three months. In staff’s case, she would say 3-6 months and the master fee schedule another four months to finish that process because that will require input from each department.
Mayor pro Tem Beckmeyer stated those sound like consecutive, not concurrent, processes.
Asst. City Manager Carter stated that the development impact fee would be a standalone project and that is why she recommends going first with that. She stated it is correct for the other two; we cannot start a master fee schedule until we finish the cost allocation plan.
Mayor pro Tem Beckmeyer stated that it sounds like altogether, considering the stand-alone development impact fee and the subsequent allocation master fee studies, we would probably be looking at being ready to have that information in for the 2025-26 budget cycle.
Asst. City Manager Carter agreed.
Mayor pro Tem Beckmeyer asked if 2027 was correct.
Asst. City Manager Carter stated that, for the development impact fee, we want to have the information available for the following year’s budget; as far as building revenue base, we will be able to build it into the following budget. She stated that the cost allocation fee may or may not be ready until the following year after that.
Mayor pro Tem Beckmeyer stated regarding the General Fund transfer into the Capital Improvement Program, which is not generally recommended as they have more capital needs than they have General Fund, she wanted to double check that city staff did allocate funds in that way for our Civic Center project but city staff are not anticipating doing that at this point in time in the budget cycle for the coming year.
Asst. City Manager Carter stated the Civic Center would be done before the next fiscal year.
Mayor pro Tem Beckmeyer agreed.
Asst. City Manager Carter stated, as far as the General Fund contribution towards the CIP, that information will be coming to Council at the May meeting; city staff does not know yet what that coming CIP and priority projects will look like and how to balance it. We will definitely try to use other revenue sources first, but if any priority emergency projects need to be funded, the General Fund will be the last resort.
Mayor pro Tem Beckmeyer stated she is interested in having deliberation on Strategy No. 3.
Mayor Vaterlaus stated, regarding Strategy No. 3 and additional non-profits that could benefit from some funds, how would Council go about including additional non-profits.
City Manager Woodhouse stated that one of the points in having this be a strategy is that he listened to what Council directed regarding their discussion about non-profit funding and bringing back the recommendation to follow the input Council had made and remaining status quo. He stated that city staff does not have a process for additional non-profits. In any given budget, Council can discuss, deliberate, and decide whether there are additional grants the city wants to give to other non-profits. He stated that is the point of this discussion which is to tee City Council Regular Meeting 16 April 08, 2024
that up to verify that Council is good with this or ideally Council wants to consider others. When city staff gets into the details and the budget and balancing of the priorities, that is a conversation that comes back to Council.
Mayor Vaterlaus asked if they bring it up now.
City Manager Woodhouse stated that, if Council is thinking about funding additional non-profits, his preference is initial discussion about that at this meeting and then staff needs to take it back and when staff comes back with the base budget and are analyzing all the potential revenue and priorities and where it is going to be used.
Mayor Vaterlaus stated that it would be deliberation.
City Manager Woodhouse responded affirmatively.
Councilmember Boles asked about the amount given to HEART ($12,249).
City Manager Woodhouse stated there is a formula that drives it.
Councilmember Bier stated she can get the formula for Councilmember Boles.
Councilmember Boles stated last year they raised the amount for the Pacifica Resource Center an extra $20,000 and asked when they last raised the amount for the Pacific Beach Coalition.
City Manager Woodhouse stated that it predates him and he is not sure about the history of the Beach Coalition funding.
Councilmember Boles was pleased to hear about the positive experience with the CivicSpark fellow. She said staff talked about potentially hiring for another year the person we have now, and she asked if we can consider looking at other fellows. She was looking at CivicSpark website and one of their other main focuses was on affordable housing and if it was possible that the city could get another qualified fellow.
Asst. City Manager Carter stated that is Council’s policy decision.
Councilmember Boles stated that Council would appreciate hearing from staff on how that relationship has gone.
Asst. City Manager Carter stated that the CivicSpark partnership was successful, and that is why staff developed this strategy to continue with an individual who is already trained and deep in the project. She stated staff can also consider an additional partnership.
City Manager Woodhouse thought, regarding CivicSpark, there was a learning curve going through their process with them. CivicSpark hired the intern for our city to use but we would like to be the one selecting the intern so there is a complicated relationship. He does not know about the affordable housing focused one, but that is certainly one resource. Planning may be aware of many other resources that exist along that same topic for interns or professional assistants. He emphasized that these are preliminary strategies at a pretty high level and staff does not have the detailed budget numbers analyzed yet to be able to say what city staff can afford or not. He stated that looking at fellowship programs like CivicSpark for other topic areas or other resources that exist that staff can locate and identify in particular departments to help is City Council Regular Meeting 17 April 08, 2024
what staff really wants to be focused on. He added that, when city staff comes back with budget recommendations, if staff does have bandwidth ideally to add new permanent staff, that is always the best for recruitment purposes, but there is an ongoing financial obligation to that so staff has to consider that very closely.
Councilmember Boles asked for more details about the budgeting for salary savings.
Asst. City Manager Carter stated that currently, when staff budget salaries and benefits for the city, staff build some assumptions. When the city has vacant positions, staff typically budget them for full staff. She stated that, regarding budgeting salary savings, given that the city has a very high turnover every year, what staff is proposing is considered in labor strategies is risky but acceptable strategy going forth, especially when staff has budget challenges. Staff knows we will have some salary savings and the budgeting for them in sustainable ways, not more than 5%, will provide additional resource that they desperately need. She stated that is not an ideal way for budgeting but it is one of staff’s strategies that they can consider.
Councilmember Boles stated that the city has open positions that staff is not able to hire for immediately and the city is borrowing money that they would have been paying those positions to fund other positions and programs in the meantime.
Asst. City Attorney Carter stated that the way it will work is staff will budget all positions and all current employees and budget all step increases for all employees that will be eligible to receive one. When city staff figures out what this number is, staff will build in reasonable salary savings to achieve those goals throughout the year, which is why staff review it every year at mid-year to see if they are on target or not.
Councilmember Bier stated that, in an ideal situation, that money is not available.
City Manager Woodhouse stated that, in another way, the risk factor is that, if suddenly in one year the city is completely staffed and no one is leaving, then that is when city staff is confronted with having to make that adjustment in mid-year that year. He stated that there is prudent amount the city can achieve.
Councilmember Bigstyck stated he was delighted that they are finding ways of utilizing interns and fellows that make sense in terms of helping city staff manage their workload. He has a question regarding Strategy No. 2, the Vehicle License In-Lieu Fee (VLF). He understood that the conversation now is whether or not the city will receive the backfill owed. He feels like some of the conversation is a further question mark about whether or not the state will be fulfilling their obligation to Pacifica in payment of that in-lieu fee going forward and he wants clarity on how extensive that conversation is and if there is any sense yet where that conversation with the state is going as the city would otherwise budget for money that the city is owed.
City Manager Woodhouse does not have specific updates about how it is looking for next year as that work is underway. He stated that last week city staff did send a comment letter signed by the mayor about the impacts to Pacifica and the importance of that funding and it was sent to all the appropriate legislative committees. He thought part of what is behind this strategy is that because that is still evolving, city staff does not want to cut themselves short and say the city needs to make do without that money that the state owes the city; in one sense, that hurts the city’s negotiating position and, in another sense, city staff has reserves that in the future, if it is confirmed that the state is not going to meet their obligation, then the city staff makes those decisions at that time. To come forward and recommend service cuts or position cuts in this City Council Regular Meeting 18 April 08, 2024
budget when the city does not know yet whether that backfill is not going to happen does not seem like the right way to approach the city’s budget for the next year.
Mayor Vaterlaus opened public comments.
Lynn Adams, Pacifica, stated that she thanked Council for the $5,000 sponsorship they have had which shows a commitment on Council’s part to what they are doing which is for Pacifica, environment, and climate change. She shared details of their impact on Pacifica as well as other areas, and shared her thoughts on their present status and need for the city’s support.
Mayor Vaterlaus closed public comments.
City Manager Woodhouse stated that, while it is the mayor’s prerogative, he suggested that, to help the process, they could take each strategy in order; if there were any questions related to timeline or methodology, staff would want to hear that but mainly want input on the strategies.
Councilmember Bigstyck thought, for as long as he has been attending Council meetings, the contribution from the city to Pacific Beach Coalition has been $5,000 and he thinks that adding an extra $5,000 onto that is a relatively modest increase. He mentioned these funds have been used for various events and was a focal point for the community to get together to do the right thing for the earth and an opportunity for education.
Councilmember Bier agreed. She stated their annual youth summit cost $13,800, so she suggested they take that into consideration when talking about Beach Coalition.
Councilmember Boles also agreed. She had asked if the money for the Beach Coalition and the Resource Center was all part of the ERAF funds, extra educational funds they get from the state that varies year to year. She stated that the estimate for this year is $3.4 to $3.7 million so most of that money goes into the Disaster Accounting and Affordable Housing funds which she also supports fully.
Mayor Vaterlaus stated that, regarding No. 3, she agrees that $10,000 for the Beach Coalition is warranted, but she also supported Fog Fest, which brings massive numbers of people into our town. She would like to ask for $10,000 to be put into the budget for Fog Fest as it is an important event for our community.
Councilmember Bier agreed about Fog Fest.
Councilmember Boles stated that they did give Fog Fest last year roughly $30,000.
Mayor Vaterlaus added from 2022.
City Manager Woodhouse stated they were correct regarding the public safety dollars from 2022; their discussion since that budget year had closed and there were some confusion in the communication process. He stated that, in essence, they forgave that.
Asst. City Manager Carter stated that it was close to $40,000.
Mayor Vaterlaus thought $35,000.
City Manager Woodhouse agreed it was something in that range.
City Council Regular Meeting 19 April 08, 2024
Mayor pro Tem Beckmeyer supported the idea of supporting Fog Fest and she had a higher figure than $10,000. She believed the Fog Fest board is undergoing a restructuring and trying to figure out how to grapple with rising costs. She stated it seems like since we do not have a process and, per City Manager’s comment, it sounds like we need to think about making a grant to these organizations, whatever that mechanism might be, for the city to make these allocations to non-profits. The figure she had in mind for Fog Fest was $25,000 and she would propose looking at timing and thresholds of how they are doing on their own, as Councilmember Boles mentioned that they did get some funds in the past and those books are closed. She stated that was an unusual situation, owed to the fact that the city had some billing issues with Fog Fest. She thought Council should discuss it as a group, but she wanted to put it out there.
She would support increasing the funds to the Beach Coalition. She looked up PBC’s publicly available 990 form and they are in the black over the last two years. She proposed that they not plan to make that an annual increase at this time. She believes it is overdue for the Beach Coalition but they are also doing pretty well in their fundraising.
Councilmember Bigstyck has some trepidation about adding non-profits onto the list in perpetuity. He stated, regarding ERAF, one-time funding, and is important to our community, he has no problem with either figure that has been brought up for this year and would recommend that future Councils have that discussion for at least for the foreseeable future to determine what consistency will look like going forward past this year.
Councilmember Bier stated her trepidation was about having any kind of grant program, and she thought the one-time gifts are appropriate this year.
Councilmember Boles also has trepidation about adding something long-term and was not opposed to giving the Fog Fest but more inclined to the $10,000. She disagreed with Mayor pro Tem Beckmeyer and thought that the Beach Coalition funds should be raised in perpetuity to $10,000 as they have with PRC in the past. She stated that PBC’s financial records for this year are very different. She felt that money is needed and appreciated, adding that it is also a statement for the city’s support for the organization. She is not opposed to either Fog Fest or Coast Pride. She stated the important thing is the statement that the city is making that we support this organization and these are important things that we value in our town.
Councilmember Bigstyck agreed that $10,000 to Pacific Beach Coalition in perpetuity makes sense from his angle. He thinks he is comfortable with a one-time contribution of $25,000 to Fog Fest because of how many organizations they help. He thought that is why Council needs to make sure that, through this transition period, Fog Fest is stable and why he is expressing concern to a long-term plan of keeping that amount of money in the budget, but he thinks, to get them over a hump, it makes sense in terms of how many different organizations they support.
Mayor Vaterlaus stated one of the issues with Fog Fest is the budget for Pacifica Police Department went from about $22,000 to $35,000 to $45,000 or possibly more. It was necessary because of what happened in Gilroy. She thought the $25,000 would be great as it would help them a lot and they are trying to do additional fundraising and they are the wrong 501(c) and they are working on that too.
Mayor pro Tem Beckmeyer wanted to clarify a couple of terminologies. She stated she agreed with perpetuity for PBC but did not want to imply increasing it year over year. She thinks we are overdue for increasing funds for the Beach Coalition but we also see that their fundraising is improving and, as a 501(c)(3), they are receiving corporate donations. She thought their City Council Regular Meeting 20 April 08, 2024
structure is different from the Fog Fest, and she wanted to endorse and agree with the rise in cost of proposed safety on Fog Fest and Public Works as well. She stated the reality is it is an expensive event to put on but they have heard impassioned comments from the community over time, thus why she proposed $25,000. Regarding the issue of grants, she is not suggesting that she wants to do a grant program in the way in which it was proposed. She thinks they need to have a clear understanding of how taxpayer funded organizations create a situation where it makes gifts to non-profits. She stated her understanding is that grants are things the city can do.
Councilmember Bier suggested $5,000 for Coast Pride.
City Manager Woodhouse referred to timing, as Mayor pro Tem Beckmeyer raised the question of how is fundraising going. He reminded them that Council is not making this decision and approving this budget until the end of June and he is hearing interest in at least one-time funding for Fog Fest. Council does not have to settle on the amount at this meeting as city staff has to go through and work all the detailed numbers and, as he mentioned, the question is if they are in a structural deficit situation or not, what can they afford or not, and that is part of the future budget deliberations and the specific amount can be decided in the future but at least city staff knows in their head the interest of a $25,000 figure for Fog Fest. He also wanted to remind Council about Fog Fest that they still owe the city half the amount of the public safety bill from this last year. The city had deferred that payment with them and they still owe the city that money.
Councilmember Boles asked if they offered a payment plan.
City Manager Woodhouse stated that is the payment plan, they paid the city half.
Asst. City Manager Carter stated that city staff offered them a payment plan and the second half is about $20,781.
Councilmember Boles asked when that was due.
Asst. City Manager Carter stated it is due by November 30, 2025.
Councilmember Boles concluded that it will be after this current Fog Fest when there will be more expenses due.
Mayor Vaterlaus noted that they will owe more by that time. She proceeded to Strategy No. 1.
Councilmember Boles agreed with funding interns and fellows and additional contract planning services. She referred to work reimbursable by private applicants as well as Planning work on the Local Coastal Plan and the Housing Element that may not be reimbursable.
Asst. City Manager Carter stated that it depends on the specific project.
Councilmember Boles stated staff is only asking for reimbursement for contract planners.
Asst. City Manager Carter explained last year staff funded additional consulting hours and most of those hours would be presumably reimbursable by private development.
Councilmember Boles noted that Planning staff will be coming to Council at a later meeting and City Council Regular Meeting 21 April 08, 2024
telling Council the staffing levels they need to meet the goals Council have put in front of them.
Asst. City Manager Carter stated that the City Manager stated that this was just preliminary strategies and it is not the full list of recommendations for the coming budget. Staff will be developing more recommendations.
Councilmember Boles trusted her on the salary savings as well.
Mayor Vaterlaus and Councilmembers Bier and Bigstyck stated they agreed on Strategy No. 1.
Mayor pro Tem Beckmeyer wondered if there are other organizations besides CivicSpark regarding affordable housing. She supported the idea of having more fellows to augment staff.
She also supported the salary savings strategy and she knows that everyone on staff will be keeping a close eye on those budgets and information Council if it looks like the risk brought forward is emerging.
Councilmember Boles stated, following up on CivicSpark, when she was first learning about the program last year, there were some cities that have up to six fellows, so the program does allow it. She noted she is reaching out to Partnerships For the Future as there may be other sources of funding for affordable housing.
Mayor Vaterlaus proceeded to Strategy No. 2.
Mayor pro Tem Beckmeyer referred to Strategy No. 4. She stated she looked forward to the eventual increase in our budget from the Development Impact fees. She was looking at our ERAF funds, the amount we were talking about the non-profits, dividing the difference into our Disaster Accounting fund and Affordable Housing fund, and she expressed concern that our staffing is so thin. She stated that Council brought this forward as a No. 1 goal and she does not want to burn out staff or lose them, and she thought the city will be able to do more if they have more staff.
Councilmember Bigstyck asked if she was suggesting a temporary or full-time position.
Mayor pro Tem Beckmeyer described some previous criticism about temporary positions and pointed out that the reality is that the city needs the ongoing staff. She thought a way to think about it is temporary initially and then as the city is investing the dollars into our process for Development Impact Fee study, Cost Allocation, and Master Fee study, then revenues do start happening in such a way that it could be made permanent. She thinks they ultimately need the help on an ongoing basis but maybe we get there with a two-year position.
Councilmember Bigstyck recalled previous comments and his prior response that, if they are well-disciplined in the practice, then it should not be a problem. When he made those comments at that time, he was thinking that they have full staff and, on top of our full staff, we would add this temporary position for one or two years. His experience since sitting on Council is that they have not had full staff and therefore not had the problem about where to allocate money. He stated he would love to see the result of Mayor pro Tem Beckmeyer’s idea.
Councilmember Boles felt like they need staff in so many departments and she does not have a sense of how much money this is going to bring in but it will take some study to know that. She stated that they have updated some of the city’s fees recently, and she thinks this is important, especially as they are on the brink of big housing projects and making sure they are paying for City Council Regular Meeting 22 April 08, 2024
the actual infrastructure we need. She agreed that is a priority and referred to staff to decide whether funding a permanent application process or having a consultant would be the best way forward.
Councilmember Bier appreciated Mayor pro Tem Beckmeyer’s innovative thinking. She would love to see what that could look like. She is fine with Strategy No. 2 and Strategy No. 4.
Councilmember Boles asked if they agreed on the Vehicle License Fee for Strategy No. 2.
Mayor Vaterlaus stated we hope the city will receive the money.
Councilmember Bigstyck stated he would ask about VLF with state representatives next week.
Mayor Vaterlaus added that Mayor pro Tem Beckmeyer’s comments were good strategy thinking, and she liked it. She proceeded to Strategy No. 5.
Councilmember Boles referred to ERAF funding for affordable housing, disaster relief, and nonprofits.
Mayor Vaterlaus asked if that was part of what Mayor pro Tem Beckmeyer said, that the 50% balance towards the housing in-lieu fee could possibly go to hiring another person to look into the other fee schedules staff could use to make that money later.
Mayor pro Tem Beckmeyer stated either that or adding it as a bullet and then doing their traditional dividing as the remainder between each funds.
Councilmember Bigstyck asked the Asst. City Manager if, at the last meeting, they allocated a portion of the Disaster Accounting Fund out to reinforce our mid-year budget and are we expecting that from ERAF we will be able to make that whole again (out of the 50% currently).
Asst. City Manager Carter agreed, stating that was staff’s recommendation in front of Council.
Councilmember Bigstyck wanted to be sure that does make it whole. He liked Mayor pro Tem Beckmeyer’s idea of putting an additional bullet and then seeing the numbers thereafter.
City Manager Woodhouse reiterated that Council was talking about a potential new limited term position, suggesting that it could be funded out of ERAF money that the city gets, but he was not clear if there was a desired focus for that limited term position.
Mayor pro Tem Beckmeyer stated her opinion was in favor of Planning in light of RHNA, General Plan, LCLUP, Housing Element, zoning, and then implementation plan. She would also be in favor of Public Works in terms of our road repair and tree services. She would let City staff decide where it would best be implemented.
City Manager Woodhouse stated that helps. He stated that the city has staffing needs in every department, but just the concept related to No. 5 of carving out funding for a two-year limited term position helps as they look at their staffing needs and priorities. Staff will bring back information to Council for the next budget discussion. He stated that where the priority positions are that they will allocate money towards is part of the future budget discussion.
Councilmember Boles agreed with the allocation study and the needs all over city staffing.
City Council Regular Meeting 23 April 08, 2024
When Mayor pro Tem Beckmeyer first brought it up, she thought it was in terms of working on the fee schedule which would then bring more money to the town, so that is another place in finance and that might be able to help.
Mayor pro Tem Beckmeyer stated that, when she made her statement, she was thinking it would tide them over while the process of doing the Master Fee study, Cost Allocation study, etc. rolls forward. Her impression from what Asst. City Manager was saying is that this is one of those things that involves regular staff, as well as the consultant. She is not sure how practical that is as a solution but she expects that doing it is going to result in more funds coming to the city in the long run.
Councilmember Boles thought that makes sense. She explained her concern regarding what is the good amount for the Disaster Accounting Fund. She stated that eventually we will have another big disaster and she saw that the city uses the Disaster Fund during the year for tree removal, etc. and she is worried that when we have a big disaster the city has what it needs when that happens. She wanted them to be mindful to keep enough money aside for emergencies when we need that money immediately. She stated that the Housing In-Lieu Fund is something new they added last year as part of our prioritizing building affordable housing, but they also need to remember that this is part of what the city has promised to HCD and, if the city is not meeting housing goals, they are going to be coming down on the city with enforcement. She stated that it takes a long time for those projects to get going and she thinks the city needs to be careful about starting to spend that money.
Mayor pro Tem Beckmeyer asked Asst. City Manager and City Manager in general, in the event of a significant major disaster, what is the city’s ability. She stated that, at the last Council meeting, they talked if that money there should be used immediately alongside funding through FEMA or CalOES or some other similar organization, and she asked, in a worst case scenario and they need funds now, if there is a way that we borrow, do we leverage, or what do we do.
City Manager Woodhouse stated that it is a hard question to answer because it depends on what the disaster is. He stated that, in any kind of major regional disaster, there will be state and federal funding. He stated that the city has various reserves, i.e., the Disaster Accounting Fund, that is available for an immediate repair or immediate organizational continuity if funding was disrupted and we still need to pay employees who are doing the work. He stated that it is a hard question to blanketly answer as it depends on what the disaster is. He stated that the Fund 38, Disaster Accounting fund, has a $7-8 million balance in it and that is fairly healthy for some kind immediate capital repair.
Asst. City Manager Carter stated that it depends what kind of emergency and disaster they are talking about. She stated that the audited fund balance in Disaster Accounting Fund is $7.5 million, and the additional allocation of 50% of ERAF they are looking at will increase this balance. It is sufficient balance for normal course of disasters we have been dealing with in the last few years, and per Mayor pro Tem Beckmeyer’s statement, we will get reimbursement from state and federal agencies. She also pointed out that many cities cannot afford stand-alone Disaster Accounting Funds. She stated that it works both ways and some agencies just allocate a portion of the General Fund balance for this purpose and that is the prudent decision that Pacifica Council and City Manager made to build these reserves and continue these processes.
Councilmember Boles asked how long it takes to get reimbursed from FEMA after a disaster.
City Manager Woodhouse stated that it could be a couple of years. He thought PW Director City Council Regular Meeting 24 April 08, 2024
Petersen could probably speak to the timeline but agencies are still waiting for FEMA funding from the storm impacts from the previous winter’s storm.
Councilmember Bigstyck and Mayor Vaterlaus asked if they gave all the direction staff needs.
City Manager Woodhouse answered affirmatively.
RESULT: NO VOTE REQUIRED
ADJOURN
Mayor Vaterlaus adjourned the meeting at 10:47 p.m.
Transcribed by Barbara Medina, Public Meeting Stenographer.
Respectfully Submitted,
Sarah Coffey, City Clerk
APPROVED: 5 - 0; 5/13/2024
__________________________
Sue Vaterlaus, Mayor