Minutes 2005 0919 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

MINUTES Page 7 City of San Leandro City Council and San Leandro Redevelopment Agency Joint Meeting-September 19, 2005 Mr. Jermanis clarified that the City Council's action tonight is to determine whether or not to continue the BID, and the assessment to be levied would be determined at a future date. The program budget, including overhead and operating costs of the program, will also be reviewed by the Council at a future date. Mr. Jermanis noted the difficulty of collecting farebox from riders. Mayor Young asked how many of the protests were submitted by Mr. Jacobowitz. Mr. Jermanis commented that, before today, the City had received protests totaling less than 20%. Mr. Sims reported that 136 new protests were submitted today by Mr. Jacobowitz. Of these, 30 were duplicates and 15 were not eligible to vote. Councilmernber Santos requested clarification regarding who has the authority to sign the protest ballot on behalf of the business, and how the Council can ascertain the legitimacy of the votes submitted. City Attorney Jayne Williams indicated that the California Streets and Highways Code requires the protest to be filed either by the owner of the business, as reflected in the official City records, or with written evidence that the signer is authorized to act on behalf of the business. The Code also allows the Council to waive minor irregularities in the process. Ms. Williams noted that, irrespective of any irregularities, the 50% threshold has not been met, so the Council can decide whether or not to adopt the ordinance. Councilmember Starosciak asked how much revenue was generated from the 2004-05 BID, the total revenue for LINKS for 2004-05, and the budget for 2005-06. Mr. Sims replied that the 2004-05 revenue from the BID was approximately $138,000. He indicated that he did not have the total revenue figure from all sources for 2004-05, but recalled it was approximately $300,000. Councilmember Starosciak asked if new revenue sources were identified, as was requested by the Council last year. Mr. Sims noted that the MTC LIFT grant was a new revenue source identified in this fiscal year. Councilmember Starosciak expressed concern at the level and quality of the Shuttle service. She commented that she rode the Shuttle, and the driver bypassed Teagarden Street and the Davis Street Family Resource Center. She stated that she received calls from business owners who expressed concern that the service is funded by them but may not be serving their employees. Councilmember Starosciak commented that, after riding the Shuttle, she fully supports the Shuttle concept and feels that it is a really good idea. She stated that she would like to see the Shuttle continue, but she expressed concerns with the way the Shuttle is funded and would like to see a focus on creating a value for the business community in West San Leandro. Councilmember Starosciak noted that the LINKS Shuttle is becoming a useful community service rather than a business service, and this is a concern for her when she is asked to impose a fee on businesses to support the service. She stated that she would like to see information on the number of businesses whose employees use the Shuttle, a greater use of the Shuttle by West San Leandro businesses and greater outreach to those businesses. Mayor Young noted that the BID assessment amounts to about 35% of the total program funding. She commented that it would be good to determine whether the businesses in