Ok, the snow report is done, now, what are they really serious about? Will they spend millions to get more employees for the City Streets department? And we’re on full Thuy alert today, she’s here for this meeting as well. I’m attempting to live blog this one, because I won’t have time to do more later this evening. This is the CCOC (Common Council Organizational Committee). Members include Mark Clear, Lauren Cnare, Tim Bruer (alternate, only votes if someone is missing), Shiva Bidar Sielaff, Marsha Rummel, Chris Schmidt, Michael Schumacher and Bryon Eagon.
Approved the minutes from the last meeting.
Bruer moves to accept report, Shiva Bidar-Sielaff seconds.
Clear asks Bruer to kick them off and say something, and he declines.
Clear asks if Schmidt would like to say something as the primary author. He doesn’t decline. Says committee was formed due to one storm but the committee settled down to looking at snow and staffing in the Streets department. Recommendations passed by consensus. Rankings they have are from some on the committee about what they thought were important.
Clear says that not everyone ranked them, and can still do so, it would add value to the report. He says that they will discuss this more at budget time.
Bruer now speaks, thanks staff and thanks the committee members. Says mayor’s report provided a foundation and this body spent long overdue time working on it (said much more colorfully). He says that many of the items are pricey, but they are basic services our constituents. Remember that in your priorities at budget time. Thanks Schmidt and Cnare’s work on the report.
Clear thanks them too.
Eagon thanks Bruer for bringing the group together. Thanks Cnare and Schmidt. Glad looked at it when less emotion involved. Says good policy process, analyzing from a menu what we can do. When first asked to be part of it thought it was a mistake, few in his district own cars. Learned a lot being on the committee.
Bidar-Sielaff thanks everyone too. Process good, asks about discussing this during budget and certainly some need to be discussed in budget timeframe, but some are staff time and not huge costs, how will they proceed and not just accept it. Like e-communications, are these things that they can start working on. Can they get some things in place by this winter it would be good.
Clear says its a good point, what do we do with this, what do we do with the priority rankings, do we want to triage some of these things and tell them to put things in their budget request, or examine more or nice ideas but off the table.
Rummel, says second snow committee, didn’t want to be on it, some of issues we didn’t get to are still here. She also asks what next, one of most important thing has the biggest cost. Will other alders rank them too. Some things are being tested, are there things we can do now and get a report from staff to attach as it goes forward.
Schmidt says that most of the communications things they can do without a budget amendment, except the text crawl. He says that the report should be accepted as is and items that staff should pursue or items we want in a budget make a resolution.
Clear asks to clarify.
Schmidt says create list of things they want worked on for this winter season and then a list of things that should be pursued in the budget for 2011. He says we can do some of the sifting and winnowing and they can do the ones that are relatively quickly and not get bogged down.
Clear asks if they need more rankings first, or just go ahead.
Schmidt says that could go either way.
Clear says that unless budget amendments, don’t need to be in a resolution. He says the report can inform them on what they want to get started on right away.
Bidar-Sielaff says she wants a motion to have staff work on e-communication and other items without budget amendments, then they are on record asking staff to do those things.
Clear says technically, they are amending the report.
Eagon says they should just amend the motion.
Rummel says some of the things they are already doing. She asks if they are going to say we need more staff. She votes for that at every budget, should we instruct the mayor.
Clear says the large ticket items are the elephants in the room. Based on preliminary feedback they won’t make it into his budget no matter what we say, if we want to make them happen we need to do it from the council.
Al Schmacher, Streets Superintendent says on the public communications items, Sarah Edgerton and George Dreckman will be improving the website, there will be more interactive information with layers of maps, they are looking at that. Also a winter weather preparedness packet. IT is working to get more information to the students, not just University but Edgewood and MATC. The only thing that will cost money is if we want text crawl. We have done a lot of things already including pre-wetting agents, just purchased 4 spray tanks and will be anti-icing more than before, already purchased with vehicle replacement program. If want to go into beet juice and geomelt, will need tanks for those, will need direction from council on that. Those make salt work at a lower temperature. They are going to double the use of salt brine this year. With the pavement temperature issues, the air temperature and temperature of the pavement can vary by 10 – 20 degrees. Warmer if sunny, colder if cloudy. Putting in 2 pavement thermometers at University and Park (shady) University and Midvale (sunny). They have bids from 4 weather services that include pavement forecasting in their proposals. 2 from Madison, one from Chicago and one from Minneapolis. Always looking at plow blade improvements. Problems with traffic engineering and scraping the paint off. Going out for contractors now, including some of the criteria that the council members asked about, they will have minimum equipment requirements. Says the big cost items are what is left, they need a budget that has 6% cuts, there will need to be amendments.
Clear says the three things not doing is increase salt routes, increase staff and text crawl. He’s leaving out 2 vs 3 inch plowings, which he says ranks low. Are those the three items.
Schumacher says yes, staff and equipment are needed for increasing salt routes. Increase 20 staff over 3 years is a high budget amendment. And $8,000 for the text crawl.
Clear says taking the 2 vs 3 inches of snow plowing. Schumacher says that would include more contracted plowing.
Rummel and others put the 2 vs 3 inches of snow plowing back on the table, don’t take it off.
Clear says there are 4 items.
Bidar-Sielaff says helpful to hear the descriptions and maybe we need more info at the time the decisions were made so know in the report and they are doing it. So we can say that changes were made, we’re not always aware of all that we are doing. When people says doing the same thing as 30 years, we can say no, there are new blades.
Clear says that yes, we should be able to tell people we aren’t doing things the same, there are new things we are trying.
Schmidt says not clear if changing the report or making a motion. The three big items overlap substantially, don’t add the three together for the number, its not $2.6M in changes. We should make the motion that says continue with e-communications items for this year and next budget and technology enhancements. For the other three big items, the debate is weather encouraging them to create supplemental request for the other items. Yes, that was a motion.
Veldran (council staff) asks if amending report or recommendations.
Schmidt clarifies that recommend to council that they accept the report with the recommendations above.
Rummel says that alders should read the report and still try to get the rankings.
Clear says if they do that before the council they will be included. He asks Lisa to ask the rest of the alders.
Veldran asks if they want to report back for August 3rd.
Cnare asks about text crawl, Schmidt says that he intended that to be included.
Cnare says not spend money on it until they know what the viewership is, she says they should do a survey. She offers amendment to remove mass media text crawl for Madison City Channel.
Schmidt argues against it, did receive compelling argument that it had other uses, notifications of cancelled meetings, city channel had a list of other items the equipment would be used for. Schmidt says will be a supplemental request and we can shoot it down then.
Cnare says that she stands by her remark, that is not best place to get information out to people.
Clear asks for a vote. Cnare and Eagon and Shumacher vote to remmove it, its a tie, Clear votes no, motion fails.
Clear says he understands the motion to include everything except the three big items. Motion passes unanimously.
