EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
This report is intended to give a brief background on the creation of Council’s list of strategic priority projects as of January, 2023, and provide a snapshot update for each project on the list.
There are thirty (30) total strategic priority projects on a list that was created by Council in October, 2021, which included sixteen (16) that were designated as “top priorities”. Of the original thirty (30) projects, six (6) have been completed, leaving twenty four (24) projects in various stages of progress, thirteen (13) of which are “top priority” projects.
The attachments to this report are:
- The complete tracking list of twenty-four (24) strategic projects that are still in progress (Attachment 1);
- A sub-list of the sixteen (16) “top priorities” showing their percentage of completion (Attachment 2); and
- A list of the six (6) strategic projects that have been completed to date (Attachment 3).
Note: Due to the size and amount of information in some attachments, the font may appear small and difficult to read. Larger format copies can be requested for pickup from the Community Planning and Building Department.
BACKGROUND / SUMMARY:
- October 12th, 2021 - City Council held a public workshop at Sunset Center to discuss roughly sixty (60) different projects associated with the Council’s adopted Strategic Initiatives. Recognizing that staffing resources are finite, the purpose of this meeting was to provide direction for prioritizing efforts to complete these projects. Following a hearty and productive discussion, the Council reduced the list of priority projects to a total of thirty (30). This was done in part by removing fifteen (15) Capital Improvement Program (CIP) items, and a handful of other projects from the list that Council felt were “day-to-day tasks” like contracts and RFPs.
- January 4th, 2022 – Council received a presentation from staff on the list of thirty (30) priority projects related to the Council’s Strategic Initiatives, evolved from the October 12th, 2021 workshop. To aid in managing the Council’s priority projects, staff created a worksheet called the “Council Priorities Tracker”, which includes information about project completeness and month-by-month updates/forecasting. This worksheet is a tool for department heads to plan and manage priority projects, and for the City Administrator to inform Councilmembers during weekly updates. It has also been presented on a periodic basis to the full City Council.
- March 10th, 2022 - Council held another public workshop. Department heads presented and discussed each item on the full priority list of thirty (30) projects. Following these detailed discussions, and in consideration of available staff resources, Council opted to elevate sixteen (16) projects as the highest priority, and directed staff to focus their efforts on these projects before working on any of the remaining projects on the larger list of thirty (30). The concept behind this top priorities list, was that as projects were completed, and resources became available, another project from the larger list of thirty (30) could move up to become a top priority at the direction of the full Council.
- September 13th, 2022 – Council received a brief update on each project contained in the tracking list of thirty (30) strategic priority projects, including the percentage complete and the items that have been completed, which were moved off the tracking sheet to a separate “Completed Projects” worksheet. Council gave direction to staff to give an update to Council after the election when the new Councilmember is seated.
Next Steps
Upon direction from Council regarding the priority of each item on the list, Staff will begin to focus efforts on the highest priority projects. The Council may also opt to add new projects to the overall list and provide direction on how those items should be prioritized among the others based on available staff resources.
CURRENT PROJECT STATUS
Items in BOLD are those which were placed on the list of 16 “top priority” projects created by Council in March, 2022. The numbers on this list correlate to the items in tracking list included as Attachment 1:
1. Explore Parking and Traffic Management program (35% Complete)
- December – Conduct review of SOQ’s for consulting firms for “next steps” of the parking and traffic management program exploration.
- January 2023 – Review of SOQ’s completed with consulting firm MRG, LLC selected. Draft agreement with MRG, LLC for next steps in parking and traffic management program exploration: development of a public engagement plan and initiation of engagement efforts with the public.
- February/March – Agreement with MRG, LLC will be executed and multi-phase public engagement plan of the parking and traffic management program exploration will begin.
2. Update purchasing ordinance (10% Complete)
- Currently working to fill two (2) vacant finance team positions
- October – will begin purchasing limit comparison of other local agencies
- January 2023 – due to staffing, project temporarily on hold
3. Plan for natural areas, reduce fire risk (55% Complete)
- September– On-Call Landscape agreement executed, task orders issued
- Wildfire Risk Assessment underway, City survey launched
- January 2023 – atmospheric river storms result in downed trees and debris piles, on-call tree services bid delayed.
- February – bid opening for on-call tree services contractors, storm debris cleanup continues.
- Award contracts for tree care services in March to minimize dead growth and fire fuel
4. Review opportunities for enhanced fire/ambulance service (50% Complete)
- September/Oct – Reviewed salary analysis
- Nov/Dec 2022 – Continue drafting agreement document for ambulance consolidation (staff and legal).
- January 2023 – Contract put on hold as the City of Monterey chose to conduct a financial audit of all its contracted services, and will move forward with a bid for services when audit is complete.
5. Develop forest management plan and update tree ordinance (35% Complete)
- Fall 2022 – First phase of planting 108 new tress as part of Cal Fire Grant begins, agreement with Davey executed.
- Davey working with Forester on tree inventory, GIS mapping to meet Cal Fire requirements. Forest and Beach Commission agrees to serve as a steering committee.
- December/Jan 2023 – F&B Commission approves Charter for the Steering Committee and approach to recruit members, kickoff meeting held with the Davey team. Emphasized customizing the FMP to be specific to Carmel.
- Feb/March – Davey continues with technical studies and tree inventory.
6. Update zoning code & design guidelines (65% Complete)
- Three (3) Community Workshops held to date for public input
- Strategy paper presented to Council and approved
- Outline completed for Residential and Commercial Guidelines
- First draft of Residential and Commercial Guidelines target release week of Feb. 1st
- Community Workshop target end of February
7. ADU ordinance (65% Complete)
- November – Draft ordinance completed by City Attorney
- December/January – Staff reviewed/edited City Attorney draft; Worked with City Attorney on revisions; Outreach to HCD for questions
- March – Planning Commission Workshop on ADU Ordinance
8. Wireless ordinance (75% Complete)
- September – First draft ordinance released, Planning Commission workshop continued due to volume and scope of comments received
- October to December – Worked with City Wireless Attorney on redraft/restructure of ordinance; Met with various stakeholder groups and 3rd party Counsel
- January – Target release of revised draft ordinance package
- February – Special Planning Commission workshop on Wireless Ordinance
9. Filling vacancies (90% Complete)
- 31.0 positions filled to date
- Recruitments and interviews are ongoing
10. Pandemic recovery (90% Complete)
- Hybrid City Council meetings that include in-person Council conducted
- In-person attendance protocols continue to be based on Federal, State and County guidelines
11. Stormwater ordinance update (85% Complete)
- September - Final draft ordinance submitted to Regional Water Quality Control Board and Coastal Commission for review
- Nov/Dec – Water Board issued minor comments, still waiting for Coastal Commission to provide comments
- Feb/March – Receive and incorporate any comments from the Coastal Commission. Prepare report for Planning Commission meeting in March
12. Volunteer group oversight (70% Complete)
- September - Continued development of a new volunteer packet and tracking spreadsheet.
- December 2022 – Developed a webpage listing of all local volunteer orgs and support groups, gathers contact information.
- January/Feb 2023 – Outline priority projects for 2023 with Carmel Cares, begin to expand volunteer group oversight to coordinate efforts and track with other primary support groups, i.e. Friends of Carmel Forest, Friends of mission Trail Nature Preserve.
13. Review/reformulate approach to reserves/update financial policies (15% Complete)
- Currently working to fill two (2) vacant finance team positions
- October 2022 – will finalize project objectives after results from annual audit
- Due to staffing, project is temporarily on hold
14. Explore outdoor dining program (25% Complete)
- Information from Ad-hoc committee and community survey compiled in Community Planning and Building
- Project on hold until other priority projects are complete and staff resources are freed up
15. Increase beautification efforts (35% Complete)
- 2021-2022 ongoing - With Public Works oversight, Carmel Cares continues with beautification efforts along the Scenic Pathway, Devendorf and Vista Lobos Parks, grounds around Children's Library and Sunset Center, and in numerous median islands across the Village
- Landscape maintenance services contract awarded, contractor begins ongoing maintenance in parks and open space areas.
- November– Plans begin for design of landscaping median islands along Ocean Ave, between Junipero and Lincoln Streets.
- December/January – Storm recovery focus
- March – Present new landscaping design palate for Ocean Ave medians to F&B Commission, and commence improvements.
16. Review barriers to affordable housing (45% Complete)
- September – Rough draft feasibility study received from contractor
- October – Housing Ad Hoc Committee established and begins meeting regularly; Edits sent to contractor from staff and ad hoc committee on feasibility study
- November/December – Community meeting with ad hoc committee; Finalize feasibility study
- January – RFP released for consultant support on General Plan update, conducted interviews with respondents, prepare contract for Council approval
- February – Award contract to General Plan consultant; Feasibility study released for public review; Community meeting with ad hoc committee on February 28th
17. Explore street addresses (30% Complete)
- White paper on street addresses and next step options presented to Council. Council provided direction for City staff’s research.
- December 2022 - Mayor Potter, Council Member Richards, and City Staff met with Postmaster Jorge Gonzalez. Discussed next steps for post office maintenance, extended lobby area hours, and ADA accessibility.
- March 2023 – Work with Postmaster to schedule meeting to address City Council; Staff will provide update on next step options and ask for Council’s direction.
18. Develop a facilities master plan (45% Complete)
- Professional Services Agreement awarded to 4 Leaf.
- Focus on Police Building repairs, Ad Hoc Committee formed to work with project team.
- February – Award PSA with 10 Over Studio for design of 6+ facility renovation CIP projects. Council anticipated to authorize an RFP to hire an architect to evaluate building.
- March– Receive and evaluate RFP’s for architects for the Police Building Project.
19. Underground utilities rule 20A (10% Complete)
- January/Feb 2023 - Begin the Rule 20A underground utility district evaluation and mapping project and update the white paper accordingly.
- Review SOQ’s and select consultant to develop underground district documents.
20. Explore reinstatement of design review board (65% Complete)
- Based on feedback from Design Tradition 1.5 (DT1.5) Community Workshop, the structure and involvement of a Design Review Board in the design review process is now being considered as part of overall DT1.5 project. This will follow the same timeline as the DT1.5 Project
- RECOMMENDATION: Combine this item with #6 (Update zoning code & design guidelines) since they are now on same track.
21. Explore redevelopment of sunset center north lot (0% Complete)
- Not started yet. On hold until other higher priority projects are completed and staff resources are freed up
22. Opportunities for Flanders mansion (0% Complete)
- Not started yet. On hold until other higher priority projects are completed and staff resources are freed up
23. Opportunities for Scout House (35% Complete)
- September/Nov 2022 – Drafting RFP
- December 2022 – Draft Operations and Maintenance (O&M) Agreement issued by City Attorney’s office.
- February 2023 – Release RFP and conduct mandatory pre-proposal meeting and site tour with potential contractors.
24. Develop and implement social media plan (10% Complete)
- September 2022 – Researched social media policies adopted by neighboring Cities. Example policies obtained.
- January 2023 – Receive feedback from Council during retreat on the scope of the Social media plan, and move forward based on direction and priority from Council.
- Feb/March - City’s website update begins.
Completed Projects
1. Develop a multi-pronged financial strategy to address pension liability
2. Restructure peninsula messenger service for at-home letter delivery
3. Develop organics/recycling ordinance
4. Prepare climate action/climate adaptation plan
5. Forest theater facilities manager
6. Review and update sign ordinance