Monday, April 20th, City Council Agenda Review

Greetings!

Anne Seeley, from Concerned Citizens, and I have collaborated on this week's agenda review:

Friends:

There's a 3PM Study Session: 3.1 Review of Local Purchase Preference.  The Council will receive information on the legalities and practical considerations of perhaps increasing the preference for local businesses to provide goods and services of many types to the City.

In many contracts the Council considers, there's a service provider from Denver or San Diego or some other area outside Sonoma County, when local providers are available.  When the contractors are local, the funding they receive stays local in the form of wages paid, local goods bought and local people employed.  There's a "multiplier effect" in which the money recirculates many times locally and benefits the community.

The Council will receive the information, likely ask questions and consider any changes at a later date.

4:00PM Meeting

There are the usual Mayor's and Council members' reports, and a few Consent items.  One of interest is: 

11.3 Resolution - Community Engagement Director Classification. SRT Steering Committee members have been working with City staff to develop the job description for this proposed position, and will be there to thank the City for its followthrough on this recommendation of the Open Government Task Force. 

and then:

Reports

13.1  2015-2017 Council Goals Work Plan - This agenda item summarizes the City's Planning Workshop held in February.  Open Government is included with a timeline as is Annexation.   SRT's Open Govt. and Annexation subcommittees will review, and report on the work Plan at our next Steering Committee (4/30)

https://santa-rosa.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&ID=3702261&GUID=31D7D78F-0921-4F7B-913D-E8B14C7CC0D3

13.2 Proposition 84 Grant Funding - Agreement with the State Water Resources Control board (SWRCB) for grant funding of infrastructure to connect 4 properties with contaminated water supplies to the Santa Rosa Water system.  It's for 3 Mobile Home Parks and one apartment complex. The Board of Public Utilities recommends approval.

At the end of the Agenda is the List of the topics for future meeting agendas:
UPCOMING MEETINGS (Note: This schedule is tentative and subject to change pending final publication and posting of the City Council Meeting Agenda)
April 28 No Meeting
May 5 No Meeting
May 12 Study Session - Review of 2015/16 Department Budget Requests, Capital Improvement Program Funding Requests and Community Promotions Funding Requests

      Staff Briefing – City Hall Demonstration Garden Project Update 

      Public Hearing – Russell Avenue Street Vacation – 655 Russell Avenue 

      Public Hearing – Authorizing Submission of the 2015/2016 Action Plan to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development 

      Public Hearing – Amendment of Stage 1 – Mandatory of the City’s Urban Water Shortage Contingency Plan 

May 19
      Study Session – Continued Review of 2015/16 Department Budget Requests, Capital Improvement Program Funding Requests and Community Promotions Funding Requests
      Study Session – Review of Homeless Services and Responses
      Report – CalPERS Contract Amendment for Cost Sharing
May 26 No Meeting
June 2
      Study Session – Actuarial Review of City Pension Plans
      Public Hearing – Smoking Regulations Update
June 9
      Study Session – Homeless Services and Responses
      Report – 12th Amendment to Fir Ridge Development Holding Agreement
      Report – Santa Rosa Tourism Business Improvement Area Annual Report
      Report – Memorandum of Understanding Between the California Department of Transportation and The Southeast Greenway Community Partnership
June 16-18 Budget Hearings and Adoption
June 23 No Meeting
June 30 Pending: Report - Consideration of CaliforniaFIRST, CaliforniaHERO and FigTree Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) Financing

If you want a fuller look, see the City's website at srcity.org, click on the header bar that says 'Government' and in the column of listings on the right, you'll see 'Council Agendas and Videos' highlighted.  When you click there, you'll see the list of agendas.

Take this opportunity to check out all that's available on the website.  There's a lot!

See you there!   Anne & Gregory

Roseland Annexation Islands & Neighborhood Center Uses

Greetings!

A day which saw Sonoma County and the City of Santa Rosa moving toward agreement on the costs and revenue of Roseland Annexation, also revealed two other important news items.

In the Joint County/City meeting early in the day, several speakers from the small islands raised their objections to being annexed.  Citing the rural nature of their properties and lifestyles, Rena Raditch said she wanted her West Hearn community to remain rural.  She feared the zoning changes annexation would impose.   Rena Raditch summed it up with a question.  "Is there any way that we can bridge the reality of how we want to keep our living, and keep you guys happy with incorporating us?"    Chuck Regalia, Santa Rosa's Community Development Director, indicated that this effort was being undertaken with every intent to try to create zoning designations which support continuation of their lifestyles.  Backing up that assertion, Mayor Sawyer indicated that such creativity would not be limited to the islands.  "Much of what occurs in the heart of Roseland has such deep value to the community, we have to pay attention to that".

Later that day, at the County's Roseland Village Neighborhood Center meeting at the County Community Development Commission office, its Advisory Committee heard that the present shopping center site was open to use by nonprofit organizations upon request.  Indicating the variety of informal uses currently, staff encouraged applications from community groups who partner with such nonprofits and contact them.

Thursday, April 9th, Joint County/City Roseland Annexation Committee Meeting

Greetings!

In his packed conference room on Thursday, Mayor Sawyer and Councilmember Combs, with Supervisors Zane and Carrillo attending, the long-awaited meeting of the minds seemed to occur.   Moving through an agenda of reports from staff, the moment came when Chuck Regalia suggested to Veronica Ferguson that a response from the County on the City’s cost analysis would be helpful in the next two months.  Prompted by a tribute to the City’s hard work by Supervisor Carrillo, the County Administrator identified a few issues which she said needed some collaborative meetings between key city and county staff.  Agreeing on how welcome the news from the City was, she then suggested that it might be time for the County to just accept the report, and move on to the discussion of how we move forward to close the deficit.  Councilmember Combs looked across the table and told her "You can't understand how happy hearing those words makes me".  I’ve seldom seen so much joy in a meeting as a result.  Mayor Sawyer commented, “After years of discussing this, we know what not to do.”  Responding to Supervisor Zane's insistence that they not delay, plans were then made to task their staff with clearing up the remaining questions so the Committee could meet again before summer recesses.

Steering Committee, Roseland Area Projects, April 7th City Council Meeting.

Greetings!

The Roseland Area Projects Steering Committee has been identified in the staff report accompanying Item 14.1 on the April 7th Santa Rosa City Council Meeting.  It can be found at the following link:

Membership Roster, Santa Rosa Roseland Area Projects Steering Committee

Of the fifty-four proposed members, twenty-eight are area residents.  Sixteen are business or landowners, and nine work in the area.  Thirty-seven either live, work, or own or operate a business in the area.  The seventeen additional members represent a large number of community groups actively working in support of the area's interests.

At the meeting on April 7th, Council members will be asked to "waive Council Policy 000-06 regarding appointments to Boards / Commissions / Committees and confirm the initial Steering Committee member list for the Roseland Area/Sebastopol Road Specific Plan and Roseland Area Annexation projects, allowing for the addition of new members as needed throughout the process."

 

Steering Committee for Roseland Area Projects, April 7th City Council Meeting

The City Council will receive the names of those who are recommended to serve on the Steering Committee for the Roseland Annexation/Sebastopol Road Specific Area Plan at their regular Council meeting on Tuesday, April 7th.  Item 14A on the Council's agenda requests the waiver of a Council appointment policy to allow for the enrollment of Steering Committee members on a rolling basis, and to confirm the initial member list.  Link to the Agenda is here.

Joint City/County Roseland Annexation Committee Meeting, April 9th at 1:30pm, Mayor's Conference Room (10)

Greetings!

The next meeting of the newly-appointed representatives of Santa Rosa and the County of Sonoma to the Joint City/County Roseland Annexation Committee will be held on Thursday, April 9th, at 1:30pm, in the Mayor's Conference Room (Room 10) at City Hall (100 Santa Rosa Ave).  Here is the agenda.

Public Hearing on Housing, Study Session, March 31, 2015 at 5pm

Greetings!

JOINT STUDY SESSION - ANNUAL REVIEW OF THE GENERAL PLAN AND GROWTH MANAGEMENT AND HOUSING ALLOCATION PLAN ORDINANCES
Each year, the Planning Commission and City Council review the General Plan, consistent with state planning and zoning law. The study session will allow time to cover General Plan actions in 2014, housing needs information, as well as to review the operation of the Growth Management program and the Housing Allocation Plan over the last year.  Click for Agenda.