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Home My WebLink About2011/09/13 Item 15CITY COU NCI L AGENDA STATEMENT ~~~ CITY OF CHUTA VISTA SEPTEMBER 13, 2011, Item~S ITEM TITLE: SUBMITTED BY: REVIEWED BY: RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CHULA VISTA TRANSFERRING $1,500 FROM THE CITY CLERK'S ELECTION FUND TO THE CHARTER REVIEW COMMISSION TO FUND THE DESIGN, IMPLEMENTATION, AND MAINTENANCE OF A WEBSITE THAT PROVIDES INFORMATION AND RECEIVES PUBLIC INPUT REGARDING CITY COUNCIL ELECTION ALTERNATIVES DEPUTY CITY ATTORNEY, DAVID ON BEHALF OF THE CHARTER RED GLEN GOOGINS, CITY ATTORNE' 4/STHS VOTE: YES ~ NO SUMMARY On May 10, 2011, the City Council approved a referral to the Charter Review Commission to evaluate the establishment of City Council seat district elections, including the option of "hybrid" election alternatives. The Commission has since met multiple times on this subject. This item requests funding of $1,500 for a website to help the Commission share information and receive public input. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW Pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines sea 15378(a) this activity is not a Project as defined by CEQA and no environmental review is necessary. RECOMMENDATION The Charter Review Commission requests that the City Council approve the requested funding. 15-1 SEPTEMBER 13, 2011, Item IJ~ Page 2 of 3 DISCUSSION On May 10, 2011, the City Council approved a referral to the Charter Review Commission to evaluate the establishment of City Council seat district elections, including the option of "hybrid" election alternative. On June 21, 2011, the City Council approved the Charter Review Commission's recommendation that it include a public outreach component as part of its evaluation process. Council further directed the Commission to prepare a formal report on district election alternatives for Council consideration by February 2012. Since this direction, the Commission has had 6 public meetings. A focus at these meetings has been on the best methods to engage the public, provide the public with useful information, and solicit public input. Ultimately, the commission discussed and agreed on a variety of measures. One such measure was to establish a Commission website. The website would be set up and maintained at the direction of the Commission, and be linked to the City's main website. Commissioner Oostburg would donate a portion of the work be necessary. The remaining work would be performed by third-party consultants at an estimated cost not to exceed $1,500. City purchasing procedures would be followed for this work. A summary of the work provided by Mr. Oostburg is attached as Exhibit A. As the Commission's budget for FY 2011-2012 is only $280, an additional appropriation is necessary to fund the proposed website project. Although only $1,500 is requested at this time, the Commission may need additional funds going forward. One possible significant expense would involve outside consultant support to assist with the preparation of the final report. One informal estimate obtained from the group that prepared a similar report for the City of Elk Grove back in 2007 was for $25,000 - $30,000. The Commission and the City Attorney's office intend to work together to further analyze what resources will be needed to prepare the report, and a future request for funding in this regard may be forthcoming. For informational purposes, a summary of the dates of public meetings of the Charter Review Commission and a brief description of the subjects discussed follows: June 27, 2011 • Discussions related to public outreach. • Request that staff return with a presentation related to the different methods of community outreach, estimates of the associated costs, a summary of the election methods used by other cities throughout the state. July 18, 2011 • Presentation to the Commission related to the public outreach process. • Establishment of Ad Hoc Committees to evaluate the suggestions and recommendations in the presentation re: public outreach and another committee to study contents and costs of the "website report." • Request that Ad Hoc Committee report back to the Commission with a plan for public outreach. 15-2 SEPTEMBER 13, 2011, Item~~j Page 3 of 3 August 1, 2011 • Ad Hoc Committee presented its report regarding public outreach. o Suggestions included open houses, presentation to community groups, utilization of internet & social media. • Confirmation that educating the public and receiving public input was an appropriate role for the Commission and necessary. August 15, 2011 • Draft version of a public comment card presented for discussion. • Commissioners agreed to collate a list of community groups, which list would be used for contacting the community groups and arranging meetings to obtain input. Commissioner's agreed to establish a schedule of outreach meetings, including the identification of which Commissioner would attend each meeting. August 29, 2011 • Unanimous vote to request from City Council an appropriation of up to $1,500 to be used for website design and maintenance through February of 2012. August 30, 2011 • Joint meeting with the Southwest Civic Association at the South Chula Vista Library to present the Commissions program and receive public input. All but the most recent audio transcripts of these meetings are available on the City's webpage. DECISION MAKER CONFLICT Staff has review this action and has determined that it is not site specific and no conflicts of interest have been identified. CURRENT YEAR FISCAL IMPACT The short-term fiscal input would be the use of $1,500 transferred from the City Clerk's Election Fund. Long-term costs for maintenance of the site would be nominal. Any future requests for additional funding for other outreach expenses, preparation of the report, and placing measures on a ballot will be addressed if and when they are requested. Attachments: Summary of Website work. 15-3 EXHIBIT A SCOPE OF WORK Built on the WordPress platform. • 5 main page tabs for website navigation. • Unlimited sub-navigation under main website navigation page tabs. • Blogging capability that showcases newest blog post on home page • Server space for image and media: SOOMB. • Web hosting for 6 months (including WordPress updates and maintenance) • Website set up including WordPress installation and mobile optimized for use with mobile phones • Load provided content as part of initial set up 15-4 RESOLUTION NO. RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CHULA VISTA TRANSFERRING $1,500 FROM THE CITY CLERK'S ELECTION FUND TO THE CHARTER REVIEW COMMISSION TO FUND THE DESIGN, IMPLEMENTATION, AND MAINTENANCE OF A WEBSITE THAT PROVIDES INFORMATION AND RECEIVES PUBLIC INPUT REGARDING CITY COUNCIL ELECTION ALTERNATIVES WHEREAS, on May 10, 2011, the City Council approved a referral to the Charter Review Commission to evaluate the establishment of City Council seat district elections, including the option of "hybrid" election alternative; and WHEREAS, on June 21, 2011, the City Council approved the Charter Review Commission's recommendation that it include a public outreach component as part of its evaluation process; and WHEREAS, Council further directed the Commission to prepaze a formal report for Council consideration by February 2012; and WHEREAS, ultimately, the Commission discussed and agreed on a vaziety of measures; and WHEREAS, one such measure was to establish a Commission website; and WHEREAS, the website would be setup and maintained at the direction of the Commission and linked to the City's main website; and WHEREAS, Commissioner Oostburg would donate a portion of the work necessary; and WHEREAS, the remaining work would be performed by third-party consultants at an estimated cost not to exceed $1,500; and WHEREAS, City purchasing procedures would be followed for this work; and WHEREAS, as the Commission's budget for FY 2011-2012 is only $280, additional monies are therefore necessary to fund the proposed website project; and WHEREAS, at this time, the Commission is requesting that the City Council transfer $1,500 from the City Clerk's Election Fund for the website design, implementation, and maintenance. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City Council of the City of Chula Vista does hereby transfer $1,500 from the City Clerk's Election Fund to the Charter Review Commission (Professional Services) to fund the design, implementation, and maintenance of a website that provides information and receives public input regarding City Council election alternatives. 15-5 Resolution No. Page 2 Presented by David Miller, Deputy City Attorney On behalf of Charter Review Commission 15-6