Agenda Highlights

Highlights

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This is the Mid-Year Status Update to the Town's Workplan.

The City Manager has stated that the staff is heavily loaded and that they need to prioritize. Council will be asked to make decisions about priority (or at least hear which items will be pushed out to later).

   [ Items of special note are highlighted in red ]

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ITEM 2A. Mid-Year WorkPlan Update Memo

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The memo lists 61 current open projects (49 in progress, 3 scheduled and 9 not started).

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Staff should be complimented for completing 23 projects. Between July 2024 and July 2025, a total of 145 projects were included in the Workplan. Of these, 23 projects were added following the January 2025 mid-cycle review. Staff intends to continue making significant progress across key initiatives, including a Housing
Element Amendment, wildfire mitigation programs, revised user and impact fees, and infrastructure improvements.

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Back in 2024, the Town embarked on a 2-year workplan. At that time, Council was asked to make several decisions about workload and priorities, considerably curtailing projects and scope.​ Since then, some items on the workplan have slipped considerably, in some cases by 1-2 years, mostly in the infrastructure area. Some of this is due to major additions, particularly the Housing Element. In 2024, the town managed to get an approved Housing Element (no small feat) with only two builder's remedy projects. However, correcting oversights in the original plan has taken far more resources than anticipated, taking significant staff time and impacting other priorities.

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Separately, there is still significant work needed to clean up the permitting system. Currently, time limits are not enforced, proper fees have not been charged in many cases, projects are not finaled and construction is allowed to continue after permits expire. Also, deposits are not always returned when they should be. Staff has been working to address these issues, so hopefully the backlog will be addressed soon.

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Under these conditions, staff tends (with some justification) to oppose any additions to the workplan, highlighting the shortage of resources (human and capital). Still, certain items are able to be resourced if supported by the town executive. One example is the town's alternate fire hazard map, on which staff spent hundreds of hours in development (and advocacy). Another is using KMVT 15 Community Media for video services. No one asked for it, it had no discernible benefit and would increase costs -- but it got done.

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So overall, staff has been productive (albeit not always on the "right" priorities). 

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A snapshot of current projects can be found this in this Excel spreadsheet .​ The Town has also implemented an online Project Tracker which can be found here .

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Council should carefully consider the requests by staff. Projects that are important should get done -- with outside help if necessary. Council should also view staff initiated projects more skeptically and ask the hard questions on schedule slips. Some major projects (like the Town Hall expansion) were deprioritized resulting in additional available resource cycles.

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The staff report references a Work Plan Schedule and provides detailed information on the status of each project. Top line statuses are shown below.

Promote Public Safety

Wildfire Hazard Mitigation including HIZ (Home Ignition Zone) (Completed and In Progress)
Public Safety (In Progress)
Emergency Preparedness (In Progress)

Quality of Life and Community Character

Water Conservation (WELO) (In Progress)
Housing Element Amendment (In Progress)
Housing Element Programs (In Progress)
Community Building through Town-wide Events and Activities (In Progress)
Promote Public Safety Wildfire Hazard Mitigation including HIZ (Home Ignition Zone) (Completed and In Progress)
Public Safety (In Progress)

Emergency Preparedness (In Progress)

Increase Effective Service Delivery and Governance

TRAKiT & eTRAKiT Upgrades (In Progress)
Code Enforcement Program Evaluation (Completed)
GIS Updates (In Progress)
Heat Pump Rebates (Ongoing)
Electrification Assessments (Ongoing)
IT Managed Services RFP (Completed)
Land Use Element Updates (In Progress)
Historic Preservation Process Update (In Progress)

Protect and Maintain Infrastructure

Annual Storm Drain Improvements Program (Ongoing)
Civic Center Improvements (In Progress)
Palo Alto and Los Altos Sewer Processing & Conveyance Charges Negotiations (Not Started)
Sewer Rehabilitation and Repair (In Progress)
Heritage House Remodel (In Progress)
Magdalena Avenue Pathway Project (In Progress)
Pathway Fee Nexus Study (In Progress)
Undergrounding Utilities - El Monte Rule 20A (In Progress)
Town Hall Facility Security Camera Upgrade (In Progress)
Westwind Community Barn Improvements (In Progress)

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Below are additional projects that were taken on by staff. Bandwidth for these projects became available from reprioritizing or a change in the rate of progress on other priorities on the workplan.

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Establish Housing Element Ad Hoc Committee (Complete)
Land Use Element Updates (In Progress)
Los Altos Hills Community Fiber Installation (In Progress)
Speed Feedback Sign Implementation (Complete)
Historic Landmark Application for the Fremont Hills Country Club Water Tower (Complete)
Establish Ad Hoc Committee for the Expiring Law Enforcement Agreement with SCC Sheriff’s Office (In Progress)
Three Year Information Technology Strategic Plan (In-Progress)
Housing Element Capital Improvement Project.

Bike Advisory Signage for Pathways (in Progress)
Planning Department Organizational Assessment (Not Started)
Revisit Alternative Site Inventory for additional sites suitable to Zone for Multi Family (Not Started)
Fire Safety Mitigation: Study Session

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Many of the projects were multi-year endeavors.  By July, there are twice as many projects in progress as they are completed. Council direction and state law have dictated realigning priorities, and staff has had to redistribute limited assets over to other projects. Despite the growing number of projects, staff continues to work toward their completion. Given the resources and staffing constraints many of these projects will extend into the next calendar year.

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