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CC 10-27-69 CITY OF CUPERTINO, State of California 10300 Torre Avenue, Cupertino, California 95014 Telephone: 252-4505 CC-25 MINUTES OF THE ADJOURNED REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL HELD OCTOBER 27, 1969, IN THE LIBRARY CITY HALL, CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA Mayor Dempster called the meeting to order at 8:05 P.M. and advised those present that the meeting would be conducted on an informal basis. Councilmen present: Beaven, Fitzgerald, Noel, Stokes, Dempster. Parks and Recreation Commissioners present: Beard, Gabriel, Moore, Seiverson, Vincent. Also present: City Manager Storm, City Clerk-Finance Director Ryder, Parks and Recreation Director Parham, Chief Building Inspector Benevich. The members of the Parks and Recreation Commission had been asked to attend this joint study session to help seek an answer to the question of what course the City should take in relation to a community center building in the Memorial Park area or in the acquisition of additional park sites. Upon inquiry City Manager Storm said that the costs of restoration for the buildings on the Damico property would not be available until the next Coun- cil meeting. Councilman Stokes said that his proposal for an all-inclusive bond issue was predicated on the need for park sites in the future, meaning 25 years from now, and the lack of the availability of such open spaces at that time. He questioned whether or not the City was being short-sighted in its goals, and suggested that the thinking be re-evaluated on how much in the way of capital improvements we should provide at this time. He commented that Palo Alto was developing land now which had been purchased years ago, and suggested the possibility of Cupertino following this example of planning. He said he was very much in favor of trying to pass the bond issue in April, even though the sale of bonds might not be possible immediately. He thought the success or failure of the bond issue would be the best indicator of the thinking of the citizenry. Mayor Dempster voiced his preference for a utilization study of the existing developed parks before committing the City to an irrevocable course of action. He said that the County parks were available to all of the people, which in- cluded Cupertino citizens, that we now had the Hillside Park, and also that the Horse Ranch - Damico property was much too close to the Hillside Park for another "neighborhood park". He indicated Cupertino should limit its parks system to serve only those people in the immediate neighborhoods. Mayor Dempster also voiced his concern over the rising costs of vandalism and the expenses which are and will be incurred in the operation and maintenance of parks. He felt the City needed considerably more detailed information on City-wide requirements before specific amounts were committed to parks. He cited the proposed police facilities as being very expensive and expressed concern about revenue forecasts being too optimistic. Councilman Noel agreed with the basic economic philosophy of the Mayor. He indicated he would prefer a "pay as you go" program at this time instead of relying on the borrowing against future possibilities. He admitted this was a pessimistic outlook but referred to the uncertain financial situation of the country at this time. page 2 Minutes of the City Council October 27, 1969 CC-25 Councilman Fitzgerald expressed his view that a community center was needed immediately and this was the reason for the proposed land swap. He said he always had felt the Memorial Park location was misplaced; he doubted the City's ability to pass a bond issue at this time and felt the acquisition of'the Horse Ranch and Damico properties would be advantageous, particularly in the continuation of the old Stevens Creek Park Chain idea. He further said that he was very much in favor of a community center building, regardless of its location. He expressed doubt that the existing buildings on the Damico property were in such poor shape as previously had been reported. Councilman Beaven said this entire discussion was a matter of priori- ties, the· proposed bond issue included parks as only one of many items. He thought the need for police facilities was becoming more important all the time. He said the City's liinited'¡íoéketbook required choices to be made on how the fúnds were to be spent. He brought up the example of the children of today who are outgrowing the need ~or certain types of park facilities and suggested that the City .wou1dbe wise in developing existing lands now and allowing the future generation to share in the costs also. He indicated he had hoped the Damico'property would be sn answer but now felt that more study and planning were needed. City Manager Storm reviewed thestatutòry limitations for bond issues. He said the present limit for an interest rate was 6% but that there was no time limit when the sale must be made. Once the bond issue was passed in an election the authorization could be reversed only by a similar election process. He thought that the present time was a good one for such an e1~tion. He said the projections for sales tax revenues were not over- optimistic because they were realistic' for debt service requirements. He stated that the City in the past had gone on a "pay aa you go" program, but there was a limit on what could be accomplished in this manner and that limit now haa been reached. Parks and Recreation Director John Parham reviewed the planning activities of his Department, as well as those of the Parks and Recreation Commission. He said the operating costs for the parks are at a very. low figure, with the two existing parks being greatly over-used. Councilman Stokes voiced his opinion that the City had an obligation to provide certain services to its citizens; that had the "pay as you iO" program been followed exclusively, the City would not ,now have a City Hall, two developed parks, and other park sites in reserve;' if we do not provide now for future facilities, they will never come into being, and he was not opposed to leaving something he had paid for. City Manager Storm remarked that to his knowledge no bond issue had been defeated when it had been presented on a no-tax increase basis and, in the recent past, there had been at least 50 such issues. Councilman Stokes offered the point that the am9unt of vandalism was re- lated directly to the degree of development. He thought that the more facilities put into parks, the more there was to destroy and that what we had was too much and far too expensive. He disagreed with park developers and felt that leaving nothing to a child's imagination was not a good approach, by over-providing various facilities the challenge for inventiveness was missing. Minutes of the City Council October 27, 1969 CC-25 Commissioner Moore commended the Council on its thinking regarding the preser- vation of open spaces and said that such conservation was a matter of human survival. She realized the need of people for space and this was a matter of good mental health. She offered the thought that there was a need for "people" planning as well as for public works planning and was in favor of the lesser development of park sites. She also thought that a person's feelings on taxes cannot be accurately detefmined. It was her feeling the community center must be in a readily acceptable area and that McClellan Road could not provide facilities for good transportation. Con~issioner Gabriel said there was no alternative except to develop a work- able plan for the future and then to pursue it. He asked the City Council to provide the wherewithal to develop park sites; if a bond issue was needed -- try it, and if that failed then look elsewhere. He felt that the initial plan of five years ago was exploited to its fullest and that it was essential for the City to reserve potential park sites for the future. Councilman Noel reviewed his projected pessimism of his earlier remarks and related'pers~naì, e~periênces relative to the nation's economy which prompted ._!,im tot'ake such'a position. . , . Mayor Dempster reièerated his previous reauest for a use study on the existing parks -- what he wanted was hard statistics and not merely ideas, platitudes, or what is thought or what is intended. Again he said that the City is not alone in providing recreàtional facilities, and gave as-examples the trend in apartment complexes for recreational areas, the County facilities, and other programs. The Mayor requested each Councilman to voice his opinion on the direction the City should take. Councilman Stokes was in favor of the building of the com- munity center as now there were no facilities for teenagers. Councilman Fitz- gerald agreed that this had top priority. Councilman Beaven preferred to wait for the report to be made and wanted to see if the repairs on the Damico property were really needed as had been reported. Councilman Noel had no ob- jection to the construction of the community center. After further discussion on the merits of placing the community center building in the F.emorial Park area, the Horse Ranch, or the Damico property, it was moved by Councilman Stokes, seconded by Councilman Noel, and passed unanimously that the staff begin the necessary procedures preparatory to the selection of an architect for the community center. City Manager Storm distributed a cost breakdown by items on what was needed for completion of the Hillside Park and said that with this the park would be 99% complete. Mayor Dempster expressed his favor for proceeding, as the first developments of the neighborhood parks were very formal while this park was informal. The Mayor further felt that the completion of this would give the Council an opportunity to compare the methods of development, relative costs and degree of sophistication which would be advantageous in the decisions on developments of future parks. It was moved by Councilman Noel, seconded by Councilman Beaven and passed unanimously on a roll call vote that $50,000 be appropriated for completion of the Phase I development of the Hillside Park. Page 4 Minutes of the City Council October 27, 1969 CC-25 It was moved by Councilman Stokes, seconded by Councilman Fitzgerald, that the staff be instructed to prepare an in-depth detailed report on the proposed bond issue, and to submit said report to the City Council for discussion at its first regular meeting in January 1970; also that Mr. Earl Lewis of De Anza College Police School be requested to attend a 7:30 P.M. meeting in the Library of the City Hall on November 3, 1969, at which time the Council could inquire of him about cost estimates involved in the development of a new Police Department. The motion passed unanimously. It was moved by Councilman Noel, seconded by Councilman Stokes, that the meeting be adjourned to November 3, 1969, at 7:30 P.M. in the Library of the City Hall. The motion passed unanimously. The Mayor declared the meeting adjourned at 9:40 P.M. APPROVED: ATTEST: