City Council Preview – Jam-Packed Meeting Agenda
By Robert Haugh
The July 11 City Council meeting is packed. We don’t expect anything too controversial, however. But it’ll likely be another marathon meeting with so many items crammed onto the agenda.
A 5 p.m. study session will discuss the state of Silicon Valley Power. We wonder if they’ll address the increasing number of extended and widespread power outages that have occurred in recent months, some in the same neighborhoods. Among the topics will be: rate increase strategies, current events, and long-term planning toward renewable and clean energy. We are sure they will reiterate that SVP is significant less-costly than nearby cities and has a track record of reliability.
Mayor Lisa Gillmor is asking to move one item to next week – a report on recent community outreach regarding minimum wage. This item is likely to be a battle between local labor and business. The proposal in the staff report is increasing minimum wage to $13 on January 1, 2018, then increasing to $15 on January 1, 2019; as well as adding “economic triggers that would provide an option to delay implementation of the minimum wage increases if a severe recession occurs during the ramp-up period,” and changing the CPI index to the regional CMSA CPI-W, with maximum annual increase of five percent. This should be very interesting next week.
Santa Clara Pony Baseball is requesting $10,000 in funding to host the 2017 Palomino World Series on August 3 through 6. Play Ball! Santa Clara Pony has a storied history with many world championships and has had many alumni advance to play Major League Baseball.
An RFP to initiate City-led Patrick Henry Drive Specific Plan Process will be reviewed. This is the area near California’s Great America and the Yahoo!/Le’co site, bordered by Mission College.
Stadium Matters
There will be a proposal to amend the legal agreement with Hanson Bridgett LLP, increasing the amount by up to $750,000 for continued representation in litigation matters with the 49ers.
“Jam packed” is hardly a good description for this agenda. The move to push off the minimum wage is very suspicious and seems more like a ploy to appease or agitate someone than to actually get to work. Providing strong wages for Santa Clarans should be the top priority to be addressed, not sidelined again.
there is an awful lot packed onto this agenda. It’s being suggested to move the Discusion only one week – maybe on an agenda that isn’t as full? I don’t have any knowledge of the July 18 meeting, though I would presume it won’t be as full as the July 11 meeting. We will find out soon.
I hope we win the 49er lawsuit and get our money back from them when we do.