Send this story Print this story

Adjust text size

City View
A round-up of Palo Alto government action this week

Public Art Commission (April 15)

Bill Bliss Memorial: The commission voted to approve $120 for artist James Moore to create materials needed for the planned Bill Bliss Memorial sculpture's Architectural Review Board process. Yes: Acebo-Davis, DeMarzo, Coleman, Richter, Usich, Smit Absent: Huo

Other business: The commission also heard a presentation from Jim Burch on artwork for the city's shuttle and heard a discussion of the city's budget situation by Greg Betts. Action: None

City Council (April 19)

Emissions: The council voted to adopt a goal of reducing emissions from city operations by 20 percent between 2005 and 2020. Yes: Unanimous

Water conservation: The council voted to adopt a goal of reducing the city's potable-water use by 20 percent by 2020. Council members also voted 5-4, with Klein, Yeh, Price and Burt dissenting, to reject setting the goal at 30 percent. Yes: Unanimous

Firefighters petition: The council voted to support a colleagues' memo from Holman, Klein and Scharff urging citizens not to sign a petition circulated by the firefighters union that would require the city to hold elections before staffing levels at the Fire Department can be changed. Yes: Holman, Klein, Scharff, Burt, Schmid, Espinosa, Yeh No: Price, Shepherd

City Council Finance Committee (April 20)

Fire Department study: The committee heard a preliminary report on the "scope of services" study for the Fire Department. Committee members said they were concerned about the city's consultant on the project and scheduled another discussion about the study for next month. Action: None

Fleet audit: The committee discussed an audit from the City Auditor's Office about the city's fleet management. The audit found that more than 33 percent of the vehicles in the city's fleet is underutilized and recommended creating a citywide pool of shared vehicles. The commission accepted the audit and asked staff to submit a report in January evaluating the city's progress in improving vehicle utilization. Yes: Unanimous

Historic Resources Board (April 21)

535 Ramona St.: The board approved a request by Cody Anderson Wasney Architects to renovate a historic building at 535 Ramona St. The project includes window replacement, a rebuilt handicap ramp and a new courtyard fountain. Yes: Bower, Bernstein, Bunnenberg, Di Cicco, Makinen Absent: Kohler Recused: Loukianoff

Policy and Services Committee (April 22)

Packet release: The committee discussed a proposal to ban last-minute document submissions by project applicants and institute an earlier release data for city documents. Action: None