Council Meeting Recap
By Robert Haugh

After a relatively brief meeting compared to recent early morning sessions, the City Council/Stadium Authority made some major decisions at their special April 11 meeting.

49ers Don’t Get Their Way With Stadium Security

A  5-year (with 2 one-year options) Landmark Security contract for stadium security staffing was debated. This was continued from last week’s marathon meeting with the council split on the issue of “labor peace.” Local labor unions want Landmark Security to agree to allow workers to organize.

A handful of labor representatives spoke compellingly about the the difficult circumstances for their workers. Landmark representatives made the case that they treat their workers well, and they were supported by representatives of minority/women owned businesses. But the 49ers, who negotiated the Landmark contract and operate the stadium as “ManCo,” did not show up this week. That seemed odd and they didn’t help themselves.

The council was split. Mayor Lisa Gillmor, Councilwomen Debi Davis and Kathy Watanabe sided with the labor unions who suggested a one-year contract and then a process to establish “labor peace” agreements for future contracts.

Councilwoman Patty Mahan pushed for a 5-year contract, with no options, and was supported by councilwoman Teresa O’Neill. Councilman Pat Kolstad was absent.

That left Vice Mayor Dominic Caserta as the key vote as we suggested on Monday.

Caserta threw out the idea of a two-year or three-year contract that would be better for Landmark and the 49ers/ManCo, but no one else on the council supported him.

Finally, the council approved a one-year-only contract. If 49ers/ManCo don’t like the shorter term, they can come back to council next week. If Kolstad is back, it could be a 4-3 split with Caserta again being the swing vote. Of note, Landmark apparently stated in a letter that if their contract wasn’t approved at the meeting last night, their offer was off the table.

The council also plans to establish new criteria for stadium contracts that include living wage and employee protections in the future.

Charter Review Committee Gets Appointed

The Commission was set to be nine members as we reported Monday.

But the council was so impressed with all six candidates who interviewed, they appointed them all. The Council unanimously approved:  Saskia Feain, Hosam Haggag, Mary Elizabeth Hanna-Weir, Rex McIntosh, Jodi Muirhead and Teresa Sulcer.

The other committee members were previously appointed by the council:

• Mayor Lisa Gillmor – Parks & Rec Commissioner Tino Silva;
• Vice Mayor Caserta – Santa Clara Chamber CEO Chris Horton;
• Council member Debi Davis – Beverly Silva;
• Council member Pat Kolstad – retired Santa Clara Police Chief Steve Lodge;
• Council member Patty Mahan – Markus Bracamonte;
• Council member Teresa O’Neill – former Planning Commissioner Keith Stattenfield;
• Council member Kathy Watanabe – Hazel Alabado.

The first priority of the committee is reviewing city election methods, including possible district elections, with a goal to report back and recommend options in time for the June 2018 election. Other potential charter changes could be ready for the November 2018 elections.

Stadium Audit Funded for Another Year

The council approved up to $80,000 for KPMG to conduct an annual audit of Stadium Authority finances which they’ve done for the last four years. This is different than the Harvey Rose audit that is focused on compliance with Measure J, the law that prohibits general fund money from being used for stadium construction or operations. This may be the last audit that KPMG does since there will be an RFP for a new firm next year.

Councilwoman Mahan’s Comments

We’re not sure what to make of this.  But during the debate about stadium security, Mahan said that she’s often the “outlier” and that there are councilmembers who don’t even talk to her and she’s not sure why.