The City Manager has asked me to forward
these responses to Councilmember Klein’s and Councilmember Kishimoto’s
agenda questions.
Joe Saccio
CM Klein on Item 7:
Item 7: Cubberley
Community Center Wing
“I” Elevator Upgrade
Question:
What was the engineer's estimate for this project?
Staff
Response: The Engineer's
Estimate for the project, which was prepared in August 2008, was $365,984 based
upon then prevailing market conditions. As with most projects which have been
bid recently this low bid of $244,977 is significantly below the original
estimate, which was prepared prior to the recent onset of competitiveness among
contractors due to current economic conditions.
CM Kishimoto on Items 5
and 13
Item 5: street rehab
Question:
Is California
Avenue repaving fully funded?
Staff
Response:
The Resolution Authorizing the Filing of
an Application for ARRA funds applies to San Antonio Avenue and Lytton Avenue only. The resurfacing
project expected to begin this summer will include these streets in addition to
resurfacing California Avenue
as part of the same contract.
Item 13: update on environmental initiatives
a. p. 6: Baylands conservation plan. Can we make first
chapter available on-line or to interested public since it will be a little
while until plan is completed?
Staff
Response:
Yes, this information can and will be
posted on the Baylands web page. Thank you for the suggestion.
b. p. 7: cool commute: what is the breakdown in
commute mode for city employees?
Staff
Response:
Our 2009 employee
survey just concluded last Friday. We should have the report from 511.org
by the third week of May, which will include an update on employee commute
modes. The 2007 employee commute survey provided a breakdown as follows: a)
drive alone: 67%; b) transit: 6%; c) vanpool: 1%; d) bicycling: 6%; e) carpooling:
14%; and f) walking: 1%. Another 6% of employees reported using a
compressed work week day off or telecommuting. However, the 318 respondents
(out of more than a thousand) were not a random sample of more than 1000
benefits-eligible employees, so the breakdown for the respondents almost
certainly underestimated the overall drive alone rate as well as the percentage
using vanpools, and the percentage bicycling was definitely an
overestimate.
c. How much do we offer in monthly commute incentive
(tax credit etc) vs. what is allowable now? When are we going to update
this?
Staff
Response:
The City’s
employee alternative commute program is available to all benefits-eligible
employees who choose an alternative to driving solo to and from work 60% or
more of their workdays in a given month. The following outlines the
existing commute incentives for each mode:
Transit:
2008 average participants = 32
City’s current monthly commute
incentive is $35 - $40 as a tax free Commuter Check.
Federal tax –free maximum was
just increased from $130 to $230 (can be combination of monthly incentive from
employer and a pre-tax salary reduction by employee).
Vanpool:
2008 average participants = 25
City’s current monthly commute
incentive is $60 per participant as a tax free Commuter Check for those using a
registered vanpool to get to and from work 60% or more of their workdays.
Federal tax-free maximum was
just increased from $130 to $230 (can be combination of monthly incentive from
employer and a pre-tax salary reduction by employee).
Bicycling: 2008 average
participants = 11
City’s current monthly commute
incentive is $20 per month as a taxable addition to salary for qualifying
months.
The IRS has just issued guidelines
for the new Qualified Bicycle Commuting Reimbursement under section 132(f),
which will allow a tax-free reimbursement of $20 per month under specified
conditions. We are in discussions with the commute benefit providers and
hope to become one of the first Bay Area employers to offer the new benefit as
tax-free vouchers to qualifying employees.
Carpool: 2008 average
participants = 56
City’s current monthly commute
incentive is $30 per month as a taxable addition to salary for qualifying
months. There is no tax-free program for this commute option.
Walking: 2008 average
participants = 1
City’s current monthly commute
incentive is $20 per month as a taxable addition to salary for qualifying
months. There is no tax-free program for this commute option.
When are we going to
update this?
Staff
Response: At the direction of the City Manager, staff is
developing recommendations for changes to the incentives currently offered.
Staff expects to present updated recommendations by the fall of 2009.
d. p. 9: LED lighting. What happened to the
streetscape and lighting project for California
Ave -- can I get a quick update?
Staff
Response:
Staff has been working with CAADA on the
streetscape design and will meet again on May 13 to present the final design
package, which includes over 40 new trees, tree grates, replacing existing bike
racks with new “U” racks, adding up to an additional 20 new bike
racks, replacing existing benches and adding new trashcans that contain a space
for recycling. Staff did extensive research on LED lighting and found
limited applications that would work for Cal Avenue, given that the exiting poles
spacing is for higher freeway-style lights and few acorn-style LEDs could
provide the required illumination at that spacing. Installing new
foundations with closer light spacing was not feasible given that the existing
conduit is too old and fragile to be relocated. Ultimately, the cost for
new lights (LED or conventional) was such that the CIP budget could not cover
both lights and trees and the CAADA board preferred new trees over new
lights. LED technology and aesthetics/selection will improve greatly in
the new few years and a new CIP for LED lights (possibly combined with
replacing the existing conduit) could be brought forward in the future.