CITY OF COTATI

October 26, 2005

Minutes of the Regular City Council Meeting/Joint Meeting of the City Council

And Cotati Redevelopment Agency Board of Directors

201 W. Sierra Avenue, Cotati, CA 94931-4217

CALL TO ORDER OF CITY COUNCIL MEETING

Mayor Moore called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.

ROLL CALL

Councilmembers present: Moore, Orchard, Fox

Councilmembers Gilardi and Minnis were excused from the meeting.

Staff present: Stubbings, Bell, Nebb, Hayes, Stewart

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE AND MOMENT OF SILENCE

APPROVAL OF MINUTES AND NOTICE OF WAIVING READING

1 Regular meeting of October 12, 2005

-- Notice of waiving the reading of all ordinances introduced and/or adopted under this agenda

It was moved by Orchard, seconded by Fox, to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of October 12, 2005, and waive the reading of all ordinances introduced and/or adopted under this agenda.

Yes: 3 No: 0

ORAL AND WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS

Police Chief Stewart introduced new Cotati Police Officer Chris Kaupe. Officer Kaupe thanked Council for the opportunity to work in Cotati and spoke enthusiastically about the K-9 program. Officer Kaupe provided background information on his job history and stated his commitment to the K-9 program.

Announcements

-- Halloween in Cotati is Saturday, October 29 in the Cotati Room Community Center at 7 p.m. For more information, call the Recreation Department at 792-4600 x640.

-- Dress in your finest work clothes and join the Cotati Creek Critters for their next workday on Saturday, November 12 from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. For more information, call 765-3939 or log on to: www.cotaticreekcritters.info

Mayor Moore called attention to these announcements.

2. Sonoma State University representative James J. Reilly, III, reported on a two week awareness campaign by JUMP (Join Us Making Progress) students with regard to the crisis in Darfur, Sudan. Mr. Reilly provided information on the upcoming faculty/administration program review, and stated students were interested in the process in order to understand financial responsibility of the programs. Mr. Reilly relayed construction on the Green Music Center had begun.

3. Honorary Mayor

Kelsey Kawahara of Mountain Shadows Middle School was chosen as Cotati’s Honorary Mayor for the month of October. Ms. Kawahara reported she and a friend had campaigned and won the student presidency at MSMS, and they get to lead all student council meetings. Honorary Mayor Kawahara said volleyball try outs were coming up and she was going to try out for the team. Ms. Kawahara said she asked friends what would make a better Cotati, and they responded they would like a Teen Center along with more activity for teens in the community. Honorary Mayor Kawahara said she agreed with a Teen Center and also would like to see pool tables and food at the Center, and added she would like a Juice Shack in Cotati. Mayor Moore told the Honorary Mayor a new Teen Center was being created in the remodeled Civic Center. Mayor Moore suggested the Honorary Mayor contact Recreation Coordinator Terry Dutra if she and her friends wanted to get more involved. Mayor Moore then presented Ms. Kawahara with an Honorary Mayor Certificate.

4. Presentation - Laura Moss, American Cancer Society, Colon Cancer Awareness

Laura Moss and Sheryl Khoo presented information on colon cancer awareness.

5. Proclamation: Mayor Moore asked Councilmember Fox to read the proclamation and then presented the proclamation to Ms. Moss and Ms. Khoo.

CITIZEN BUSINESS

Katherine Bramkamp, Cotati, thanked Council for their support of the Sonoma State University Open House, and provided T-Shirts to Council in appreciation.

George Barich, Cotati, said he wanted to speak on emergency “unpreparedness,” and had questions on the logistics of the City’s emergency response program. Mr. Barich stated he had concerns about myriad emergency situations that could arise and gave examples of types of actions he said needed to take place in the City. Mr. Barich commented on the Downtown Specific Plan and said its contents were both inclusionary and exclusionary, and he read notes from the Specific Plan to support his statements.

Ken Coleman, Loretto Ave., asked some questions about the City’s sidewalk ordinance. Mr. Coleman said there were speeding and stop sign violations at Lincoln and Lorretto Avenues and since there were a lot of children in the vicinity, he would rather act than react to the situation. He asked the Cotati police stop the violations before they got any worse.

Eric Kirchmann, Cotati, thanked Mayor Moore for presenting $16,000, raised at the Accordion Festival, to several local youth groups. Mr. Kirchmann thanked Vice Mayor Orchard and Councilmember Minnis for their help and thanked Council for their overall support of the Accordion festival. Mr. Kirchmann thanked Councilmember Gilardi for her help and he stated Councilmember Gilardi “walked her talk” by working as the volunteer coordinator and as a board member, with generous support from her sponsors.

Mayor Moore closed Citizen Business.

Mayor Moore asked Assistant City Attorney Nebb to provide information on the City’s sidewalk ordinance. Assistant City Attorney Nebb explained the ordinance was pursuant to state law in that the owner is responsible for repair and upkeep of the sidewalk abutting their property, with potential liability if repairs were not done in a timely manner. Assistant City Attorney Nebb said the city of Cotati had undertaken a program to identify damaged sidewalks to encourage owners to repair because it was in the best interest of the City and the property owner to repair damaged sidewalks. Assistant City Attorney Nebb concluded by stating an owner cannot close off a sidewalk because it is subject to a public easement or right of way, and the owner cannot keep people from accessing the sidewalk.

CITY MANAGER REPORT

City Manager Stubbings continued the sidewalk topic by stating it was staff intent to start with the ten or fifteen worst sidewalks in the City, with notification for repair to begin in the New Year. City Manager Stubbings said city staff were participating in emergency preparedness training on an ongoing basis. She added there would be an EOC (Emergency Operations Center) training with the city of Rohnert Park in mid November. As for training in Cotati, the week of November 15^th would potentially work for a planned emergency preparedness workshop, and staff would ask the Red Cross to be involved, if possible. City Manager Stubbings said staff had hoped to have a draft of the Downtown Specific Plan ready in November but in order to do a thorough job, a special meeting date the week of January 15^th was being planned, with a release of the draft on December 15 to give people plenty of time for review before the January meeting.

COUNCILMEMBER DIRECTION ON FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS

There were no items at this time.

CONSENT CALENDAR

6. City Council Approval of the Veranda Subdivision – 910 East Cotati Avenue

The applicant asked for this item to be continued to the November 9^th meeting.

It was moved by Orchard, seconded by Fox, to continue Item #6.

Yes: 3 No: 0

REGULAR AGENDA

7. Discussion Regarding the Possible Implementation of an Affordable Housing Linkage Fee for Nonresidential Development in the City of Cotati

This item was continued to the November 9, 2005 City Council Meeting.

8. Decide Whether to Support, Oppose or Take a Neutral Position on Proposition 76 and Adopt Resolution No. 05-76 Accordingly

Mayor Moore provided background information on Proposition 76.

Mayor Moore opened public comment.

George Barich, Cotati, said the City’s plate was full and he did not appreciate using Council as a bully pulpit for this issue. Mr. Barich said Council involvement in election issues puts undue pressure on the public, though he said he did not mean to imply any negativity towards Council.

Ken Coleman, Cotati, said the City should not go through this and said he did not understand why the Council should be involved in this matter. Mr. Coleman suggested taking a position could potentially hurt the City Council in the long run. Mr. Coleman asked Council to pull this item from the agenda because it was not City business.

Mayor Moore closed public comment.

Mayor Moore said Proposition 76 was on the agenda because of issues raised at the League of California Cities (LOCC). Mayor Moore stated it was possible for Council to vote neutrally and said she wished Councilmember Gilardi was in attendance because Councilmember Gilardi had a great deal of acuity regarding the Proposition. Councilmember Fox said a neutral position was acceptable to him. Vice Mayor Orchard stated if LOCC took a position, it would not be unreasonable for the city of Cotati to do so. Vice Mayor Orchard said she would not endorse Proposition 76 but said she would support neutrality or opposition to the measure.

Council agreed to take a neutral position on Proposition 76.

9. Authorize Mayor to sign Resolution No. 05-73, Endorsing and Supporting the Principles and Approach to the Conservation and Protection of the California Tiger Salamander and Listed Plant Species Set Forth in the Draft Santa Rosa Plain Conservation Strategy; Incorporating Certain Interim Mitigation Guidelines Currently Used by USFWS and CDFG; Approving and Authorizing the Mayor to Execute the Planning Agreement Regarding the Santa Rosa Plain Conservation Strategy; and Authorizing the Planning Director to File a Notice of Exemption

Assistant City Attorney Nebb gave the staff report for this item.

Mayor Moore opened and closed public comment.

Mayor Moore said she has been working on CTS (California Tiger Salamander) since February of this year and stated the City is committed to do the best they can for the citizens and for the tiger salamander. Vice Mayor Orchard said she agreed with Mayor Moore’s comments and added the issues surrounding the California Tiger Salamander were intense in progression and process. Councilmember Fox asked staff about the next steps in the process. Assistant City Attorney Nebb answered there were several components of CTS that would be ongoing. Assistant City Attorney Nebb described the Federal track which had declared the salamander species endangered on Santa Rosa Plain. Assistant City Attorney Nebb noted the economic analysis extended the public comment period of critical habitat on the Santa Rosa Plain until November 14, 2005. At present, $400 million is the cost estimated in the economic analysis but if more rural areas were chosen, the dollar amount would likely drop. Assistant City Attorney Nebb estimated the final ruling was expected between December 1 and December 20, 2005. Assistant City Attorney Nebb added that under the endangered species act, impacts could be mitigated in a patchwork matter and the primary goal was to concentrate mitigation areas together, with a case by case review in certain situations. Mayor Moore reported on the timeline of when the other cities and the County were voting on this item, and she added they were trying to get everybody on board to meet deadline of December 1. Councilmember Fox asked if there had been any conversation on cost sharing between the County and cities. Assistant City Attorney Nebb said there had been discussion of this topic by other cities and the County but costs would most likely be lessened by working with the Federal government. Assistant City Attorney Nebb said it was difficult to ascertain at this point where funding would come from because the fixed costs were not yet known. Assistant City Attorney Nebb reported on various potential avenues of monies for the cities. Mayor Moore stated Cotati, Santa Rosa and the County had attorneys working on the implementation team. City Manager Stubbings stated the Exhibit A map had just been received earlier that day and public copies were available on the back table.

It was moved by Orchard, seconded by Fox, to approve Item # 9.

Yes: 3 No: 0

JOINT MEETING OF CITY COUNCIL AND REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Call to Order

Mayor/Agency Chair Moore called the meeting to order at 8:29 p.m.

Roll Call

Council/Agency Members present: Moore, Orchard, Fox

Staff present: Stubbings, Bell, Hayes, Nebb

Consent Calendar

10. Approval of Warrants and Audited Claims for October 6, 2005 – October 19, 2005

11. Quarterly Investment Summary (Receive and File)

Councilmember Fox asked to pull Item #10.

It was moved by Orchard, seconded by Fox, to approve Item #11.

Yes: 3 No: 0

Councilmember Fox asked about a check for Police pencils and erasers, which turned out to be for promotional materials.

Mayor Moore opened and closed public comment.

It was moved by Fox, seconded by Orchard, to approve Item #11.

Yes: 3 No: 0

Adjournment of joint meeting; reconvening of regular meeting of City Council

The joint meeting was adjourned, and the regular City Council meeting reconvened at 8:31 p.m.

CITY COUNCIL REPORTS AND COMMENTS

Councilmembers reported briefly on meetings they have attended recently and commented on other topics of interest.

ADJOURNMENT

The meeting was adjourned at 8:36 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

/s/ Paulette Bell

Deputy City Clerk