Woodside Notes: Barkley Field project still under scrutiny Woodside Notes: Barkley Field project still under scrutiny (January 21, 2004)

By Andrea Gemmet

Almanac Staff Writer

Environmental studies for a plan to build an athletic field and park on donated land across from Canada College are taking longer than expected, said Woodside Town Manager Susan George. The reports were expected to be completed in time for Planning Commission review of the project this month.

Because the Barkley Fields and Park project faces opposition from nearby residents of the Woodhill Estates neighborhood, Ms. George said, town staff is taking a careful and conservative approach to the completion of the draft environmental reports, called a negative declaration and initial study checklist. Potential lawsuits are likely to focus on the environmental work, she said.

The reports are being revised, following a peer review by an environmental attorney and a planning consultant, and will not be ready for public review until early February. Planning Commission review may not take place until March, or later, she said.

The peer-review comments were extremely helpful, "worth every dime we spent on it," Ms. George said.

The council approved budgeting an additional $20,000 for review of the reports at the January 13 meeting. The money will be reimbursed through grants from the state Department of Parks and Recreation, she said.
Town revenues doing better than expected

Woodside's financial position remains healthy, according to the mid-year budget review presented at the January 13 Town Council meeting.

Several key revenue sources are doing better than anticipated, including property taxes, property transfer taxes and development fees, said Town Manager Susan George. Revenues from development fees and permits issued by the town's planning department are 22 percent higher than they were at the same time last year, approaching the record heights of fiscal year 2000-01, she said.

Sales tax revenues are a notable exception -- after a nearly 14 percent decline in the 2002-03 fiscal year, sales taxes were projected to stabilize in the current fiscal year. Instead, the downward trend has continued through mid-November, she said.

Nevertheless, with a hefty $1.5 million in general fund reserves and a $185,000 operating surplus in the $5.3 million budget, council members felt confident enough about the town's finances to approve an additional $75,000 in mid-year expenditures. Those include: an additional $10,000 for consultants to help the town implement its fire management plan; $20,000 for environmental work on the Barkley Fields and Park project; and $45,000 for the preparation of a historic preservation element.

The much-delayed historic element, which, if adopted, would become part of the town's general plan, is intended to clarify and simplify the town's current process for dealing with the alteration and development of potentially historic properties, said Ms. George. The element's preparation includes extensive public outreach and education, and a series of public forums, she said.
Town may change how it picks mayor

The Woodside Town Council is set to consider changes to the way it chooses the mayor and mayor pro tempore. The positions rotate among council members annually, with the mayor's gavel typically going to the mayor pro tem.

Mayor Paul Goeld proposed a departure from the traditional Roberts Rules of Order method in which a yes-or-no vote is conducted for nominees, in the order in which they were nominated. Besides putting council members in the distasteful position of having to vote against a candidate if they think another one is more qualified, "being the first nominee puts that person in a prime position and it's unfair to the second," Mr. Goeld said.

Instead, he proposed running it more like a presidential primary, in which there is one vote taken and council members simply name the nominee they favor.

Council members were amenable to the suggestion, and directed staff to come back with a resolution not only changing mayoral selections, but extending the process to the chairs of the town's advisory committees, Architectural and Site Review Board, and Planning Commission. In the case of multiple nominees to seats on the ASRB and Planning Commission, the new process would also be used.

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