Video
Transcript
Segment 1
[00:00:00] Mayor Kamei: Good evening. I would like to call to order the Mountain View City Council meeting for Tuesday, April 23rd. City Clerk, please call the roll.
[00:00:15] City Clerk: Councilmember Abe-Koga? Here. Councilmember Hicks? Present. Councilmember Ramirez? Here. Councilmember Showalter? Present. Vice Mayor Matichak? Here. Mayor Kamei? Here. All members are present.
[00:00:38] Mayor Kamei: Thank you. Please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance.
[00:01:05] Mayor Kamei: Thank you very much. We will move on to the Consent Calendar. Does any Councilmember or member of the public wish to pull an item from the Consent Calendar?
[00:01:18] Councilmember Hicks: Madam Mayor, I would like to pull Item 4.1 regarding the transportation grant funding for discussion.
[00:01:28] Mayor Kamei: Okay, we will pull Item 4.1. Are there any others? Seeing none, I will look for a motion to approve the remainder of the Consent Calendar.
[00:01:42] Vice Mayor Matichak: So moved.
[00:01:45] Councilmember Ramirez: Second.
[00:01:48] Mayor Kamei: We have a motion by Vice Mayor Matichak and a second by Councilmember Ramirez. Please vote electronically.
[00:02:05] City Clerk: That motion passes unanimously, 7-0.
[00:02:15] Mayor Kamei: Great. Now moving to Oral Communications. This is the time for members of the public to speak on items not on the agenda. We have a timer set for three minutes per speaker. City Clerk, do we have any speakers?
[00:02:35] City Clerk: Yes, Mayor. Our first speaker is Sarah Jenkins.
[00:02:45] Sarah Jenkins: Good evening, Mayor and Council. I'm here tonight to talk about the traffic situation on El Camino Real during the construction hours. It has become incredibly dangerous for pedestrians trying to cross near the library.
[00:03:02] Sarah Jenkins: Yesterday, I witnessed a near-miss involving a student. The signage is unclear, and the temporary crosswalks are not well-lit. I am asking the Council to direct staff to review the safety protocols immediately before an accident happens.
[00:03:25] Mayor Kamei: Thank you for your comments, Ms. Jenkins. City Manager, could you please have staff look into that specific intersection?
[00:03:35] City Manager: Yes, Mayor. I will have the Public Works Director follow up on that tomorrow morning.
[00:03:42] Mayor Kamei: Thank you. Next speaker, please.
Segment 2
[00:45:00] Mayor Kamei: Thank you for that detailed presentation, Ms. Jenkins. I think that gives us a much clearer picture of the proposed timeline. At this point, I would like to open it up to my colleagues on the City Council for any questions or comments you might have regarding this item.
[00:45:15] Councilmember Hicks: Thank you, Mayor. And thank you, Sarah, for the presentation. I do have a question regarding the construction phase mentioned in slide four. You indicated a start date in late spring, but given the current weather patterns we've been seeing, are we confident that the drainage improvements will be completed before the next rainy season?
[00:45:42] Sarah Jenkins: That is an excellent question, Councilmember Hicks. The schedule currently includes a buffer of roughly three weeks to account for potential weather delays. Our primary goal is to have the main drainage infrastructure installed and operational by October 15th, which is typically before the heavy rains begin. If we encounter significant delays, we have a contingency plan to secure the site and resume the final paving in the spring.
[00:46:25] Councilmember Hicks: I appreciate that. It's just a concern for the residents in that specific neighborhood who have dealt with flooding in the past. My second question is about the budget adjustment. Is the requested 5% contingency standard for a project of this scale, or is there a specific risk factor driving that number?
[00:46:50] City Manager: If I may interject, Councilmember. The 5% contingency is actually on the lower end for capital improvement projects involving underground utilities. We felt comfortable with this amount because the geotechnical surveys came back very clean, so we don't anticipate significant unknown conditions. However, standard practice would usually suggest 10%, so we are trying to be lean here.
[00:47:25] Councilmember Hicks: Okay, understood. Thank you for that clarification. That's all I have for now, Mayor.
[00:47:35] Mayor Kamei: Thank you, Councilmember Hicks. Councilmember Ramirez, I see your light is on.
[00:47:42] Councilmember Ramirez: Yes, thank you, Mayor. I wanted to touch on the community outreach aspect. I noticed in the staff report that only two community meetings were held. Given the density of the area, do we feel that was sufficient engagement? I've received a few emails from residents saying they weren't aware this was coming back to Council tonight.
[00:48:10] Sarah Jenkins: We did hold two in-person town halls, Councilmember, but we also supplemented that with direct mailers to all residents within a 500-foot radius of the project site. Additionally, we've maintained a project website that has been updated monthly. We can certainly look into doing another targeted mailer before construction begins to ensure everyone is aware of the traffic impacts.
[00:48:40] Councilmember Ramirez: I think that would be wise. I want to make sure we aren't surprising anyone when the heavy equipment shows up. Just one more question regarding the trees. The report says three trees need to be removed. Are we replacing those at a one-to-one ratio, or is there a different mitigation plan?
[00:49:05] Sarah Jenkins: Per the city's tree ordinance, we will be replacing them at a two-to-one ratio. We have identified locations for six new 24-inch box trees to be planted along the parkway once the sidewalk work is completed.
[00:49:20] Councilmember Ramirez: Great, glad to hear that. Thank you.
[00:49:28] Mayor Kamei: Vice Mayor Matichak?
[00:49:32] Vice Mayor Matichak: Thank you, Mayor. I'll keep it brief. I just want to echo the comments about the outreach. I think the project itself is solid and necessary, but communication is key. On the traffic control plan, will there be full road closures, or will you maintain one lane of traffic during the work hours?
[00:50:00] Sarah Jenkins: We will maintain one lane of alternating traffic with flaggers during working hours, which are 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM. The road will be fully open in both directions in the evenings and on weekends.
[00:50:20] Vice Mayor Matichak: Okay, that's reassuring. And emergency vehicle access will be maintained at all times?
[00:50:28] Sarah Jenkins: Yes, absolutely. That is a requirement in our contract specifications.
[00:50:35] Vice Mayor Matichak: Thank you. No further questions.
[00:50:45] Mayor Kamei: Alright. I don't see any other requests to speak from Council. Is there anyone from the public who wishes to address this item? I am looking at the City Clerk.
[00:51:00] City Clerk: Mayor, we have no speaker cards for this item, and no hands are raised on Zoom.
[00:51:10] Mayor Kamei: Very well. In that case, I will bring it back to the Council for a motion.
[00:51:20] Councilmember Ramirez: I'll move the staff recommendation to approve the contract award and the associated budget amendment.
[00:51:30] Councilmember Hicks: I will second that.
[00:51:35] Mayor Kamei: We have a motion by Councilmember Ramirez and a second by Councilmember Hicks. Please vote.
[00:51:50] City Clerk: The motion passes unanimously with all members present voting aye.
[00:52:00] Mayor Kamei: Thank you. That concludes this item. We will now move on to the next item on the agenda.