January 10, 2008

City Council: Round two for art at new police substation

By Carol Rosen
Editor

It was round two for art at the new police substation when the item was pulled off the City Council’s consent calendar to be voted on separately.

Items on the consent calendar are usually voted on as a group, but eight public speakers allowed the council to pull the second reading for adjusting the public art allocation for the South Side Police Substation off the consent calendar and into a lengthy discussion.

It was during that discussion that Councilmember Forrest Williams complained that the mayor didn’t appear to want to discuss the matter. “You know, I sense some irritation in the mayor that we’re taking too much time on this matter. Because he’s referenced it several times, that we’ve taken an hour, two hours before and now we’re taking an hour…But I feel it’s important, it’s not a trivial thing.”

“Everything we do up here is important. We should do it once and then move on,” Mayor Chuck Reed responded.

Eight public speakers challenged the ordinance that allows the council to pull the allocation for public art from the substation project in order to refund the furniture, fixtures and equipment budget. The speakers suggested that this would set a precedent for public art and asked for more time to allow the city’s staff to find enough money to provide for the artwork and furniture, fixtures and equipment.

“This is not an either/or situation. We want the substation, but if the city isn’t on record to commit to art, it becomes a significant issue and may be perceived as a lack of commitment that may set a precedent [toward public art],” according to one speaker.

Another complained that the council’s time period from Dec. 18 to Feb. 8 “is not enough time for creative thinking.”

After the speakers, Williams moved to extend the time period for the staff to find the money. That motion was defeated by a vote three to eight with Williams and Council members Nora Campos and Kansen Chu for it.

After the vote, Williams asked, “what do people remember about a culture? It remembers the art. In the future, when they’re discussing San Jose, will they be mute because there is no art?”

A second motion to adopt the ordinance on its second reading was then passed with eight council members in favor and Williams, Campos and Chu against. The third reading is scheduled to take place on Feb. 8.

Retiree health care
In an expected move, the city council unanimously voted to delay implementation of medical insurance requiring co-pays for retirees for a year.

Early in the discussion City Manager Debra Figone explained that “retirees were caught off guard because the introduction of a co-pays for the [new, lower cost] Kaiser product was new to them…So by setting aside this issue for one year, it’s our belief that we can focus on the more difficult conversation of how we…can address this issue.”

Even though the set-aside doesn’t help the city’s financial situation, there will be a one-year expense of an additional $1.2 million, it does provide some breathing space, she said.

Several council members, including Vice Mayor Dave Cortese and Sam Liccardo, commended Figone and City Attorney Rick Doyle for coming up with the plan and “taking the high road knowing that obviously there are tough negotiations ahead.”

Councilmember Pierluigi Oliverio asked if the city could look into reimbursing retirees for co-payments. He suggested that with a savings of $1.2 million the co-pays would be significantly less than the city’s savings. Figone said she would take the idea under advisement and she expects there’s “other great ideas to pursue.”

After some discussion, the council agreed with Doyle and an ordinance, which already was being drafted, will be presented to the council next Tuesday.

Parking charges
After a short discussion of the pilot program charging fees on weekends for parking in city lots, the council agreed to a new plan allowing the $5 rate to lapse and continuing with the $2 rate, which will increase to $3 on Jan. 1, 2009.

In a presentation, the assistant director of the Department of Transportation, Jim Ortbal, noted that the pilot program was successful. The program goals, to ensure clean and safe parking facilities were achieved and paid for by the parking fees. Customer feedback was positive and the police presence eliminated late night problems, he said. He added that the plan of charging $2 after 6 p.m. was approved by the San Jose Downtown Association.

The council unanimously approved the motion, with a caveat to include a report on the situation in the August/September time frame.