My family enjoyed a beautiful bike ride through Menlo Park this weekend. Wishing you and yours happy and healthy times.
Sincerely,
City Council Meeting Tuesday, April 13th at 5pm
*Note: The City Council meeting on Tuesday, April 13th, will begin with a closed session at 5pm. The closed session is not open to the public - though public comment can be received on the items (labor negotiations and anticipated litigation) per the agenda's instructions. The regular open session portion of the meeting will start once closed session ends. The timing of that depends on how long closed session lasts, which is unknown.
The full City Council agenda is here. Like all City Council meeting agendas, it includes links to staff reports for each item, login/call-in information and ways to weigh in on the issues being discussed.
Below are a few of the items to be discussed:
G1. Direction on the draft 2021 urban water management plan and draft water shortage contingency plan. Menlo Park Municipal Water (MPMW), which covers about half of the city, gets almost all of its water from the Hetch Hetchy Watershed. In 2018, the State approved an updated Bay-Delta Plan that changed the flow of water to help increase the salmon population in the Tuolumne, Merced and Stanislaus rivers, thus decreasing the amount of water available for our area. Needless to say, this was a very controversial decision, and there have been many lawsuits and negotiations taking place to balance various interests. The staff report outlines different scenarios (if the Bay-Delta Plan goes into effect in 2023 as-is, or if a voluntary agreement can be reached) related to our water supply during various stages of drought. The Bay Area Water Supply and Conservation Agency (BAWSCA), of which the City of Menlo Park is part of, will be on hand Tuesday night to further explain the situation.
K1 Authorize the city manager to address immediate and critical staffing needs for child care program supervision. Staff is seeking Council's approval to add three positions for the child care program, which is currently understaffed and at risk of falling out of compliance with state and county regulations. Given the need for parents to work, and the economic uncertainties facing families during COVID, last year, the City Council prioritized keeping the city's child care facilities affordable and in operation. This item seeks further guidance on the operations of the city's child care centers.
Attachment B, K2 Summary of anticipated FTE requests for inclusion in the City Manager’s proposed fiscal year 2021-22 budget (page K-2.4). While Agenda Item K2 (Adopt Resolution No. 6620 to approve amendments to the salary schedule as of April 13, 2021) enables the creation of the 3 new child care positions noted above in Agenda Item K1, Attachment B in this staff report offers a preview of additional positions that staff may recommend to add back during upcoming budget conversations. Positions being considered by staff include finance and budget positions, neighborhood services coordinator positions to offer support for district-related requests, positions to reactivate the libraries and recreation programs, additional police for traffic enforcement, and more staffing in public works. A full list of positions, and estimated costs, are in Attachment B. Note that this list is still under review and per the staff report, is anticipated to come before Council as part of the proposed budget on June 8th.
K3 (CONTINUED FROM 3/9, 3/23 AND 4/6). Direction on cost recovery policy (City Council Procedure #CC-10-001), library overdue fines and recreation user fees. The City of Menlo Park offers many services to residents, ranging from library story times, senior programs, gymnastics classes and more. To foster a healthy and engaged community, the City subsidizes many of these to encourage participation. Which programs are subsidized, and to what extent, is a matter found in the City's cost recovery policy. This item will provide direction to staff on criteria and principles that will guide what fees are charged for what services.
K4 (CONTINUED AND UPDATED FROM 3/23 AND 4/6). Approve framework for use of American Rescue Plan Act funds. On March 11th, President Biden signed into law the American Rescue Plan of 2021 that includes $1.9 trillion in stimulus measures. Included is funding for local municipalities. Menlo Park is expected to receive approximately $6.53 million in aid, which may be spent over the course of several years. This one-time money represents about 10% of our city's fiscal year 2020-21 amended General Fund budget. Staff is seeking feedback on whether the money should be used for ongoing, operational/structural needs, or one time purposes, and when the money should be used.
L4 Housing element advisory committee formation update. The Housing Element is a plan developed every 8 years that covers how a city will address its housing needs, including the type of housing, affordability level, and where it can be built. As part of Menlo Park's Housing Element process, the city is creating a Housing Element Community Engagement and Outreach Committee made up of residents from diverse backgrounds who live throughout the city. To learn more about this committee, please read the staff report here. If interested in serving, applications are expected to be available on the City Clerk's commission/committee webpage by April 16th. I will share more information about the application deadline and appointment process as it becomes available. Note that whether or not you serve on this committee, there will be many opportunities to get involved in the process and to share your thoughts.
UPDATE from Recent City Council Meeting
Below are a few updates from the April 6th City Council Meeting:
REVIEWED AND FEEDBACK GIVEN TO STAFF: H1. Review 2030 climate action plan progress for goals No. 1 through No. 6 and provide direction to staff for 2021 implementation. In July 2020, the City Council adopted a bold Climate Action Plan (CAP) with the goal to reach carbon neutrality (zero emissions) by 2030. The CAP outlines 6 actions ranging from the conversion of all existing buildings (including single family homes) to all-electric to expanding electric vehicle charging for multifamily properties to developing an adaptation plan to protect the community from sea level rise and flooding. This item outlines progress made towards these goals and seeks Council direction on further action. If you haven't already, I highly recommend that you read our city's Climate Action Plan - it does an excellent job outlining the problem and the benefits of taking bold action. You can read The Almanac's coverage of this agenda item here.
APPROVED: H4. Approve additional $40,000 appropriations for the temporary outdoor dining grant program. Last year the City Council appropriated a total of $110,000, which funded twenty, one-time $5,000 grants for Menlo Park businesses to support temporary outdoor dining facilities and a $10,000 administration fee. Due to overwhelming needs in the restaurant industry, more applicants sought funding than there were grant funds available. This item is to increase the funding by $40,000 to allow each of the 28 qualified applicants to receive a grant.
Other Items of Interest
Below are a handful of additional items that may be of interest.
Menlo Park Community Campus (MPCC) Town Hall Meeting (Thursday, April 15th from 6:00-7:00pm). The MPCC will be a new multi-generational facility to incorporate the current Onetta Harris Community Center, Menlo Park Senior Center, Belle Haven Youth Center (child care), Belle Haven Pool and branch library. On Thursday, April 15th the city will be holding a Town Hall Meeting that will include a virtual tour of the proposed facility, an update on upcoming construction activities and schedule, and information about interim services – what will be offered where. Information about how to attend this event can be found at https://www.menlopark.org/bellehaven.
Hit the Road in Green Mode (Thursday, April 15th at 5:30pm). Sustainable San Mateo County holds a monthly happy hour where they invite a guest speaker (or, in some cases, like this month, a panel of experts) to provide insights on a specific sustainability topic. This month, speakers from Peninsula Clean Energy, commute.org and the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition will lead a discussion around sustainable transportation. These events are fun, interactive and engaging - trivia questions included! Come ready to learn, contribute and network. Register here.
San Mateo County Hazard Mitigation Plan Survey (Deadline April 30th). The San Mateo County Office of Emergency Services has initiated an update to its 2016 Multijurisdictional Local Hazard Mitigation Plan, which is a large regional and cross-jurisdictional effort to plan for the reduction of risk from natural and man-made disasters. An update to the plan is required every 5 years in order for the County to qualify for FEMA funding to prepare for and respond to disasters. Part of the plan preparation includes a resident survey. Please take a few minutes to assist in this effort - the survey, and more information about the plan, can be found here.
CIVICS 101
In CIVICS 101, I provide information I wish I had known when I started to get involved in local government.
Notify Me!
The City of Menlo Park has a plethora of newsletters, notifications and alerts that it prepares and sends out to interested residents and stakeholders. Do you want to know the status of all construction projects or see a police log of daily activity or get an email when a new Parks and Recreation Commission agenda is released? While reading The Almanac, InMenlo and getting the D3 Download are great ways to stay informed, if you want information as soon as the city makes it publicly available, consider visiting "Notify Me!" and selecting topics of interest to you.
"Notify Me!" is located on the city's website, www.menlopark.org, on the left side of each webpage (see screenshot below). Once you click on it, you will be directed to a page that requires an email address which is needed to be able to send the alerts and other information requested. Once you "sign in" with your email, you will be able to check which topics you would like to receive information about. The screenshots below show some of the many areas that are covered. At any time you can return to the "Notify Me!" webpage to subscribe to more topics, unsubscribe or manage subscriptions. If you end up using it, let me know what you think!
