01/28/1974 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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CC.MetricSys.tem -'- CounciIman McI50nald suggested appOintment of a committee to give 'consideration to use of the metric system, since it appears inevitable that change to use of the metric system will occur. Staff will stay abreast of ;changes as information is received from the national level. Comm 1/23/74 File DD~Identification of Professional People, Public Hearings - Councilman Murray raised the subject of professional people presenting themselves in public hear- 'ings as expert witnesses on an issue but who fail to identify any private vested. interest they might have. He wondered whether the Council could require such . identification. Manager knew of no requirement of that nature but said informa- . , tion could be gatbered for Council consideration. City Attorney added that . information of that type was usually gained through cross-examination. He said that under the Fasano procedures either Council members or the Mayor could put questions to witnesses to.bring out the desired information. -. Councilman williams wondered whether cross-examination would be more appropriate; : than statutory requirement that an individual disclose any interest in an issue under discussion at the beginning of his testimony. Attorney explained that drafting legislation requiring disclosure of interests in advance of testimony might be difficult. However, questioning one who has chosen to testify would be' a legitimate function of cross-examination. Councilwoman Campbell referred to hearings conducted on the South Hills study which she chaired. She said there was no way to teli in those hearings whether . a person testifying was working with a firm directly interested in a specific . project that would be affected by the study. She added that although people ; conducting the hearings might be aware of interests of witnesses, the general - '; public often was not. Councilman Ke,ller said he felt the importance of having : public input outweighed that of identification of interests; the individual's . thinking on the proposal appeared more important than whether he owned prop- . erty in the. study area. Councilman Murray said he was not referring to full " disclosure of the type required of political candidates, but that persons giv- ; ing testimony should feel obligated to identify empl,oyers. He felt questioning! as in cross-examination would appear to be heavy handed. He cited an instance I ,in public hearing on the South Hills study of direct questioning in order to . ~bring out the direct interest of one person testifying; that information was 'not volunteered, he said, although the individual did volunteer information . about his professional background to qualify him as an expert witness. . '.Councilman williams felt it was the individual's right to testify to the ex- " tent one desired with no more being required than name and address. He thought questioning by Council members to bring out additional information was . V. appropriate. : "" Councilwoman Campbell suggested that the Council meet with the Planning Commis- !" Comm : sion for a study session prior to public hearings on the South Hills report. 'j 1/23e4 ; Planning Director referred to Planning Commission meeting scheduled. for Jan- I Fl1e : uary 29 at which discussion was planned on the study. It was to be an open : meeting with only one other item on the agenda. It was understood"Council ~embers could join the Commission at that time. . --...-----~.--'.- -.... . -. +. EE.~ Enforced Use of Bicycle Lanes - In response to Council request for staff. rev:few-' -; of requiring bicyclists to use bike paths, Ci ty Attorney had indicated it could \. ,be done by ordinance if the ~ike paths were clearly identified. However, the \ iBicycle Committee suggested delay because it was felt bicycle facilities now are too limited for such a program. The police department and manager would 'Object to giving such a program priority which would take officers from other i activi ties which were believed more essential. An aggressive enforcemen"t program was estimated at about $50,000 annually. It was suggested that if the Council wished to pursue the matter, discussions could be carried on during budget delib- ; erations. An educational campaign in the schools and by the media might be . tried in the meantime. : Councilman Keller favored the educational program if explaining the safety problem I to young people was part of the proposal. Councilman Wood questioned whether the !educational approach would be effective. He felt young people were not so much ;in violation as adult bicyclists. He recognized financial and administrative iconcerns but thought some regulation should be pursued. Councilman Williams' iagreed and wondered whether assignment of enforcement duties to the traffic . engineering division would necessitate a special enforcement division. Manager i answered that the amount of time available for patrol was the main problem. He !said the_present amount was inadequate for the kind of preventative patrol which :should be done in the community. Adding patrol of bicycle paths would further :reduce that patrol time, taking away from other things felt more important be- 'cause of volume and hazards. I '- '33 1/28/74 - 20