County of Santa Clara
Report from the County Executive on adherence to Project Labor Agreement requirements for Job Order Contracts
Since 2001, the County has used Project Labor Agreements (PLAs) for construction projects that exceed a certain project spending threshold. The most recent amendment to this requirement, approved by the Board on April 26, 2016, set the project spending threshold at $2 million. A Project Labor Agreement (PLA) is a pre-hire collective bargaining agreement typically negotiated between a project owner, construction manager, or general contractor and one or more labor organizations. A PLA establishes the terms and conditions of employment, and is designed to eliminate potential delays resulting from labor strife, ensure a steady supply of skilled labor on the project, and provide a contractually binding means of resolving worker grievances. A PLA may include provisions to prevent strikes, lockouts, or other work stoppages for the length of the project, and typically require that employees hired for the project are referred through union halls, that nonunion workers pay union dues for the length of the project, and that the contractor follow union rules on pensions, benefits, work conditions, and dispute resolution.
At the December 4, 2018 (Item No. 31) meeting, the Board requested the Administration to report back with steps necessary to “close any loopholes that allow Job Order Contracts to circumvent the County’s Project Labor Agreement thresholds.” This report provides background information on job order contracting and project labor agreements, as well as the County’s use of both.
The Office of the County Executive examined the County’s use of Job Order Contracting (JOC) to determine whether it was being used to circumvent the County’s PLA requirements. JOC is a project delivery method used by agencies to complete numerous, commonly encountered construction projects or emergency repair projects quickly and easily through multi-year contracts for a variety of renovation, repair, and remodeling projects. The examination revealed that adequate safeguards and oversight were in place to prevent departments from circumventing the County’s PLA requirement.
Only one JOC order exceeded the $2 million threshold. The single job order (Alum Rock Falls Road Slide Repairs) that exceeded $2 million was an extraordinary circumstance where Roads and Airports was required to consolidate contracts in order to receive reimbursement from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. This circumstance is exceptional and not representative of the normal course of business with respect to JOCs. At no other time has a JOC issued by the Roads and Airports Department reached the $2 million threshold.
Please refer to the agenda item for full details.
Where: Santa Clara County Finance and Government Operations Committee
When: March 14, 2019, 2:00PM
Link to item: http://sccgov.iqm2.com/Citizens/Detail_LegiFile.aspx?Frame=SplitView&MeetingID=11075&MediaPosition=&ID=95488&CssClass=
Link to agenda: http://sccgov.iqm2.com/Citizens/Detail_Meeting.aspx?ID=11075
Updates on integration of St. Louise and O’Connor hospitals into County Health and Hospital system
The Health and Hospital Committee (HHC) has requested a report providing updates on efforts to integrate the newly purchased O’Connor and St. Louise hospitals, as well as the De Paul Health Center. This informational report will provide transition planning updates.
Where: Santa Clara County Health and Hospital Committee
When: March 13, 2019, 2:00PM
Link to item: http://sccgov.iqm2.com/Citizens/Detail_LegiFile.aspx?Frame=SplitView&MeetingID=11410&MediaPosition=&ID=95623&CssClass=
Link to agenda: http://sccgov.iqm2.com/Citizens/Detail_Meeting.aspx?ID=11410
At the meeting of February 12, 2019, Item No. 14, the Board of Supervisors (Board) directed Administration to report to the Board in 30 days with recommendations to provide permanent supportive housing on the San Jose Civic Center Campus. The request asked for: (1) concurrent recommendations to provide temporary supportive housing on an expedited timeframe for homeless families on the Civic Center Campus, without a predetermined location; (2) to consider interim and permanent recommendations for the Reentry Center within the Civic Center Campus plan; and (3) to provide outreach to surrounding areas as soon as possible.
This item provides a status report on the process of facilitating permanent supportive housing and a potential temporary housing structure to provide temporary housing for individuals and families on the Civic Center Campus.
Where: Santa Clara County Finance and Government Operations Committee
When: March 14, 2019, 2:00PM
Link to item: http://sccgov.iqm2.com/Citizens/Detail_LegiFile.aspx?Frame=SplitView&MeetingID=11075&MediaPosition=&ID=95428&CssClass=
Link to agenda: http://sccgov.iqm2.com/Citizens/Detail_Meeting.aspx?ID=11075
In 2016, the California Legislature passed Senate Bill 450, also called the Voters Choice Act (VCA), which authorized counties to adopt a new model for elections in which polling places are replaced with vote centers that open as early as the tenth day prior to an election. This item provides an overview of the anticipated impact, benefits, and costs associated with transition to VCA for elections beginning with the March 3, 2020 presidential primary election. Features of the new VCA model include:
Benefits of Implementing VCA: According to the Registrar of Voters (ROV), implementing VCA would expand early voting hours and locations with 20-25 sites open ten days before the election and all vote centers open three days before the election will mean a more inclusive and accessible voting experience. Mailing VBM ballot automatically to all voters is also more convenient, as voters would not need to request a ballot or maintain permanent VBM status. VCA would also enable ROV to offer CVR at all voting locations, including on Election Day. This is expected to bolster participation among segments of the population who face difficulties in navigating the voter registration process and providing a safety net that ensures such voters can register and vote in the same day throughout the county, even on Election Day. VCA will further reduce provisional voting because voters who lose or spoil their VBM ballot can get a replacement at any vote center.
VCA also offers the flexibility for ROV to expand its support for language assistance and bilingual official ballots. Because of the reduced number of locations, ROV will target all vote centers for language assistance in the county’s federally-mandated languages of Chinese, Spanish, Tagalog, and Vietnamese instead of only offering support at select polling places. Language assistance will also be expanded for Hindi, Japanese, Khmer, and Korean, meaning that it will be easier for voters who speak these languages to find assistance at a vote center. Finally, all vote centers will be able to print official ballots on demand in all nine supported languages: English, Chinese, Spanish, Tagalog, Vietnamese, Hindi, Japanese, Khmer, and Korean. Voters will be
able to request their VBM ballot in any of those languages.
Finally, even though there will be fewer overall voting locations, with 100 – 125 vote centers compared to 800 – 900 polling places, the VCA model allows for ROV to be more selective in choosing voting locations. This means locations will mostly be larger, have more parking, be closer to transit routes, fully meet accessibility standards, and be centrally located and easy to find.
Costs: It is estimated that implementing VCA will have a large impact on the General Fund beginning in fiscal year 19-20. This impact will severely minimize the County’s ability to fund other programming and it would likely further prolong active capital projects. Estimated costs are listed below:
| Frequency | Amount | Description |
| One-Time | $2 million | Voter education and outreach |
| Ongoing | $6 million | Labor costs for poll workers per election |
| Ongoing | $2 million | Voting center rental fees per election |
| Ongoing | $2.4 million | Postage and printing per election |
Where: Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors
When: March 12, 2019, 9:30AM
Link to item: http://sccgov.iqm2.com/Citizens/Detail_LegiFile.aspx?Frame=SplitView&MeetingID=11017&MediaPosition=&ID=95454&CssClass=
Link to agenda: http://sccgov.iqm2.com/Citizens/Detail_Meeting.aspx?ID=11017
At the December 18, 2018 BOS meeting a referral was made to report back with options for consideration relative to programmatic and resource needs relating to the County of Santa Clara providing Child Care Resource and Referral Services to CalWORKs clients, including options for the county to create its own R&R database. At the January 29, 2019 BOS meeting a referral was made to include with this report an analysis of the Emergency Child Care Bridge Program. This item provides the requested information.
CalWORKs Resource and Referral (R&R) Service Model: The County’s CalWORKs R&R service model will require a work unit of four full-time equivalent (FTE) staff positions consisting of a Senior Management Analyst, Management Analyst, and two R&R Specialists. The program also requires procurement of database software that supports the operation of a R&R program, and the development and distribution of program marketing and outreach materials. Because there are no existing job codes for the R&R Specialist positions, completion of the County’s job classification process by the Employee Services Agency (ESA) to finalize the job specifications and compensation range will be required. In regard to employing the existing full-time child care specialists who are working for the current contractor providing R&R services, they could be provisionally appointed to County positions if they meet the employment standards of the job classification. In addition, prior to the conclusion of their provisional employment, they would be required to compete for these positions in accordance with ESA policies and practices.
Timely access to comprehensive child care provider information is critical to the operation of a R&R service. The database must be capable of recording characteristics of child care providers that are of concern to families seeking child care and of providing reports based on multiple search criteria. Essential provider characteristics include, but are not limited to: licensing status; facility location; days and hours of operation; age groups served; language/cultural capabilities; ability to serve children with special needs; availability of child care openings; etc. Research of available database software designed specifically for use by R&R service providers revealed a number of options. A procurement will be required in order to acquire software/hardware that best meets the needs and requirements of the county’s CalWORKs R&R program.
Total CalWORKs funding available for CalWORKs R&R services for Fiscal Year (FY) 2019-2020 is: $200,000. Based on the above estimates, unfunded program expenses are estimated at $579,261 annually if the County is running the program.
Emergency Child Care Bridge Program Service Model: On June 14, 2018, the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) released the All County Letter (ACL) No 18-73, for counties to participate in Bridge for FY2018-19. Bridge is an optional, capped program funded by CDSS. The program is designed to eliminate the barrier that child care poses to the placement of a foster child. Bridge facilitates emergency child care for foster children for six months, or until another source of funding is available. Bridge will pay for a maximum of 12 months of emergency child care for an individual foster child.
The goals of Bridge are to increase the number of foster children successfully placed in home-based family care settings, increase placement stability, increase the capacity of child care programs to meet the needs of foster children, and maximize funding to support children care needs of eligible families. Bridge consists of three components: Emergency Child Care Vouchers/Payments, Child Care Navigator, and Trauma Informed Training and Coaching.
Santa Clara County’s total Bridge allocation for FY2018-19 is $970,781, of which $754,665 is reserved child care payments assistance and $216,116 for child care navigation and trauma-informed care training. The DFCS has implemented emergency child care assistance payments through extra-help staff as Bridge does not provide funding to counties for this activity. There were 138 child care payments supported with Bridge funds in the first six months of FY2018-19, with approximately $141,000 in expenses. Program utilization is steadily increasing as more staff and caregivers learn about the program. The net County cost associated with a County operated Bridge program is estimated to be $1,233,377. CDSS Bridge funds would be relinquished should the County decide to provide these services in place of the local CDE designated R&R based on the statutory requirements associated with the program funds.
Where: Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors
When: March 12, 2019, 9:30AM
Link to item: http://sccgov.iqm2.com/Citizens/Detail_LegiFile.aspx?Frame=SplitView&MeetingID=11017&MediaPosition=&ID=95012&CssClass=
Link to agenda: http://sccgov.iqm2.com/Citizens/Detail_Meeting.aspx?ID=11017
City of San Jose
Direction on increasing allowable heights for Downtown development; staff recommend Scenario 4, using FAA guidelines on a case-by-case basis for Downtown building heights
3/8 NEW LETTER FROM PUBLIC – Airport Commissioner Ken Pyle from D1 expresses his disappointment in the OEI process, claiming that Airport staff are not adequately responding to the critiques of the public and Airport Commissioners. He is concerned that the financial impacts of Scenario 4 are being grossly overlooked and could render SJC a regional airport. He describes his impression that Google has been treated preferentially in the process. He presents much more detailed critique in his letter.
3/1/19 NEW LETTERS FROM PUBLIC –
- Concerned residents from Cupertino and Sunnyvale object to the additional noise caused by increased south flow air traffic and recommend a supplemental study.
- The SVLG supports the adoption of Scenario 4 as well as the creation of a Community Air Service Support Fund.
- The Santa Clara County Association of Realtors expresses its support for an ordinance based on Scenario 10B (Building Heights 115’ – 224’ Above Ground Level which eliminates the need for a Community Air Service Fund)
- Hawaiian Airlines expresses its strong disapproval of the Council’s likely course of action.
4 NEW MEMOS on 2/22/19 – Four memos from aviation consultants Landrum & Brown provide the work products on their study on airspace and development capacity. These memo provide extensive detailed background information. For example, the “Case Studies” memo gives examples of other U.S. cities like Miami that have address airspace and development capacity challenges; the “Existing Conditions” provides a summary of airport runway configurations, historical weather trends and airline operations/fleet mix at San José International Airport (SJC) as well as assessing its competitiveness compared to regional airports.
Original item: Staff will present a completed Downtown Airspace and Development Capacity Study. Staff recommends that the Council select Scenario 4, which means the City would use the Federal Aviation Administration’s obstruction evaluations to determine building height limits in Downtown Core and Diridon Station Area on a project-by-project basis. To facilitate this new process, they recommend modifying elements of the development review process, e.g. having a civil engineer prepare technical data on the FAA submittal forms identifying the location and elevation of the highest points of the building. They recommend additional planning-related items, such as developing a construction crane policy for the Downtown and Diridon Station areas as well as amending the General Plan to accommodate these changes.
Finally, staff recommends the City explore establishing a “Community Air Service Support Fund” to mitigate the financial impacts to airlines of these new changes.
The Airport Director has also issued a supplemental memo responding to the Airport Commission’s criticism of the proposed height increases.
Where: San Jose City Council
When: March 12, 2019, 1:30pm
Link to item: https://sanjose.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=3872301&GUID=DBFA85DA-637C-43A4-9DD6-924926FB06C9
Link to agenda: https://sanjose.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=661116&GUID=3620A15A-87DA-4B72-A1E5-B1C7FDCB6570&Options=info&Search=
NEW 3/8/19 PERALEZ, JIMENEZ, CARRASCO MEMO – These CMs recommend that the City include the following additions to the Commercial Linkage Fee nexus and feasibility study:
1. Having high tech office as its own commercial building type.
2. Including analysis on the impact of future upzoning and potential shifts in development costs and income on the feasibility of fees for different types of non-residential development.
3. Analysis on a broad range of variables that impact the cost of development in San Jose, such as financing mechanisms and fluctuating real estate markets.
4. Ensuring that the City’s outreach plan includes developers and employers.
5. Bringing back the final design to Council no later than Fall 2019 for consideration.
A 2/18/19 memo from City Staff (Housing Department, City Manager’s Office and OED) recommends that the City hire a consultant for $150,000 to conduct a nexus study (examines the impact of commercial development on the need for affordable housing and provides evidence of a reasonable relationship between the need for affordable housing and the type of development) and a feasibility study (assesses the effect of a fee on the feasibility of commercial development) for a Commercial Linkage Fee and return to the City Council to present the results of those studies and provide a recommendation to the Council on the establishment of a Commercial Linkage Fee.
The Commercial Linkage Fee is a potential source of funding as San Jose seeks
to meet its goal of constructing 10,000 affordable units by 2022.
The proposed timeline for the studies estimates June 2020 as the date that consultants would report back to Council with a recommendation.
Where: San Jose City Council
When: March 12, 2019, 1:30pm
Link to item: https://sanjose.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=3871634&GUID=761DDC92-6A9B-4A7E-8E91-330D71F20153
Link to agenda: https://sanjose.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=661116&GUID=3620A15A-87DA-4B72-A1E5-B1C7FDCB6570&Options=info&Search=
Liccardo emphasizes saving, high pension costs, uncertain times ahead in March Budget Message
The City is projected to experience a $3.5M surplus in the coming year as well as a combined deficit of $16M in the next 5 years.
Liccardo puts strong emphasis on building “Budgetary Resilience” through savings – building reserves and paying down debt. His other toplines on the background for this year’s budget process are:
- Continuing to support core city services, like the library, fire fighting, homeless rehousing and combatting illegal dumping
- Restoring streets and infrastructure using funding from sources like Measure B, Measure T, and Beall’s SB1
- Liccardo expresses concern at length that pension costs will “undermine our collective efforts to serve our residents.”
For the year ahead, Liccardo identifies his budget priorities as: saving, public safety, confronting the high cost of housing and living, homelessness, combatting blight, and the environment (in that order).
Where: San Jose City Council
When: Mar 19, 2019, 1:30PM
Link to item: https://sanjose.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=3877369&GUID=7F7334CB-EB42-4C1F-B408-D48ABA52A71E
Link to agenda: https://sanjose.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=661123&GUID=2FE36454-090A-4686-BEEE-86AA1EE84180&Options=&Search=
City Council will consider how to move forward on selecting a bidder on proposals to provide the City’s banking services. JP Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo, the two highest bidders, were both found to be noncompliant with the City’s Wage Theft Prevention Policy, which requires all potential City contractors to disclose if they have been found to have violated wage and hour laws in the past five years. As a result, Council will decide whether to simply waive the policy (Chase and Wells Fargo claim to have reached satisfactory conclusions on all judgments) and choose one; continue with the current provider of services, Wells Fargo; or find an “alternative delivery model” for these services.
Where: San Jose City Council
When: Mar 19, 2019, 1:30PM
Link to item: https://sanjose.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=3877371&GUID=6A09AD2A-3CF6-4C89-AB22-05AD03EFA07E
Link to agenda: https://sanjose.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=661123&GUID=2FE36454-090A-4686-BEEE-86AA1EE84180&Options=&Search=
NEW MEMO + DEFERRED TO 3/26 – Update & next steps on Housing Crisis Workplan
PERALEZ MEMO 2/25/19 – CM Peralez urges staff to report back to Council by the end of the calendar year with updates on the Housing Dispersion Policy. He points out that affordable housing is concentrated in select districts including his own, and urges his Council colleagues to work towards a more equitable distribution of affordable housing development.
Original item: Update on staffs’ progress implementing the City Council approved Housing Crisis Workplan. Staff will provide details on policy actions underway and completed, an update on the Housing Catalyst team, and market-rate and affordable housing production.
Staff will refine and update the cost of development models created for the study session and will make them available to the Council and the community upon completion later this spring. In addition, staff has completed addition analysis on high-rise residential development in the Downtown to explore the impacts associated with the continuation of the Downtown Highrise Incentive. While extension of the Highrise Incentive has not been brought to Council (due to additional consideration related to Council direction on workforce standards for private projects receiving a public subsidy), staff has attached the additional analysis completed by Keyser Marston in September 2018 as a way of providing additional context on the current economic conditions for high-rise residential development.
Selected highlights of the workplan updates include:
• the deferral of fees to Certificate of Occupancy
• the appropriate level of fees and the use of incentives
• the impact of permit and entitlement timelines
• the predictability and transparency of City development and impact fees
Where: San Jose City Council
When: Mar 19, 2019, 1:30PM
Link to item: https://sanjose.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=3877372&GUID=ABD3434F-8339-46CC-BD66-A5BBA8F8A4C6
Link to agenda : https://sanjose.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=661123&GUID=2FE36454-090A-4686-BEEE-86AA1EE84180&Options=&Search=
SAAG to discuss role and expectations for 2019, plus second presentation on DISC
SAAG will resume meeting after a hiatus (the most recent meeting was in October 2018). At Monday’s meeting, SAAG will discuss feedback they received about the 2018 SAAG process and review role and expectations for 2019.
Staff will also provide a brief overview of the Diridon Integrated Station Concept Plan. California High-Speed Rail Authority, Caltrain, City of San José, and Santa Clara VTA are working together on a Concept Plan to expand and redesign Diridon Station. As part of the DISC’s Council-mandated public outreach, the DISC team presented to SAAG in October and will give a presentation again this time. Following the presentation, the SAAG will have opportunity to ask questions and provide feedback.
Where: Station Area Advisory Group
When: March 11, 2019, 6pm, Committee Rooms 118-20
Link to agenda: http://www.sanjoseca.gov/DocumentCenter/View/83053
Study session on proposed $423M CIP Budget, funding strategies & potential ballot measures
Council will conduct a study session to review the proposed FY 2019-2024 Capital Improvement Program (CIP) Document. Council will direct staff regarding bond financing options to fund a project replacing a fire station, as well as directing staff to bring funding strategies including potential ballot measures for unfunded CIP projects in 2019.
The CIP total budget for 2019-24 is $423M, with $74M for FY2019-20. Funding sources from existing fees, bonds and funds totals $255.8M. Unidentified funding is $168.9M.
- Community Improvement budget for 2019-2024 is $74M, with $9M for 2019-20
- Park Improvement budget for 2019-24 is $72M, with $12.6M for 2019-20
- Street Improvement budget for 2019-24 is $69.7M, with $12M for 2019-20
- Water Improvement is $110.3M, with $11.5M for 2019-20
- Sewer Improvement is $70.8M, with $22.8M for 2019-20
- Storm Drain Improvement is $26M, with $505K for 2019-20
For the Fire Station #2 new construction project, there is an estimated total cost of $21M with $13.2M of that cost as unidentified funding. According to the report, Milpitas’ heated construction market is presenting cost rise challenges. A construction management firm with fire station expertise is required during both design and construction phases to support staff for the project. This project is only partially funded, and staff is working on identifying funding sources for the completion of the project.
Where: Milpitas City Council
When: Tuesday, March 12, 6pm
to item: http://www.ci.milpitas.ca.gov/_pdfs/council/2019/031219/Package.pdf
Link to agenda: http://www.ci.milpitas.ca.gov/_pdfs/council/2019/031219/Agenda.pdf
Foothill- De Anza Community College District
Transition from At-Large to Trustee-Area Based Elections in 2022
On January 30, 2019, the district received a letter from Sebastian Aguilar, through his attorney, threatening the filing of a California Voting Rights Act (CVRA) lawsuit against the district unless the governing board declares its intent to change from at-large elections to trustee-area elections. Mr. Aguilar’s letter alleges that racially polarized voting has occurred both in District trustee elections and in non-trustee elections involving voters who reside in the District.
California school districts and other public agencies have seen an increasing number of CVRA demands and lawsuits. The district is not aware of any public agency that has successfully defended a CVRA challenge to date. If Mr. Aguilar were to file a CVRA lawsuit and prevail, the district would be liable for Mr. Aguilar’s costs and attorneys’ fees, which could exceed $1 million, in addition to its own attorneys’ fees.
Mr. Aguilar has offered a resolution of his claim, which would allow the district to defer creation of trustee areas until the data from the 2020 decennial federal census is available to use for that purpose and defer implementation of trustee area elections until the November 2022 general election, which would avoid duplicative expense to the district.
At the March 4, 2019, Board of Trustees meeting, trustees reviewed and made changes to a draft resolution declaring the intention to transition from at-large to trustee-area based elections in November 2022. The revised resolution is now presented for adoption. If a resolution of intent is adopted, the CVRA caps the district’s costs at $30,000.
Where: Foothill-De Anza Community College District
Link to item: http://www.boarddocs.com/ca/fhda/Board.nsf/goto?open&id=B9V4WS7BAA95
Link to agenda: https://www.boarddocs.com/ca/fhda/Board.nsf/Public
San Jose-Evergreen Community College District
Approve the U.S. Department of Labor Non-Joint Apprenticeship agreement to provide Industrial Manufacturing Tech apprenticeship at Evergreen Valley College
This agreement allows U.S. Department of Labor-Office of Apprenticeship to approve EVC as a college site to provide federally approved apprenticeship career pathways. There is no cost to the Evergreen Valley College.
EVC agrees to follow U.S. Department of Labor-Office of Apprenticeship’s Non-Joint Apprenticeship standards related to:
1. Training of various apprenticeable occupations skilled in all phases of the industry.
2. Establish, design, and implement well-developed on-the-job training that combines related instructions.
3. Maintain the standards for apprenticeship qualifications, training hours, and instructions aligned with industry partners.
Where: San Jose-Evergreen Community College District
Link to item: http://www.boarddocs.com/ca/sjeccd/Board.nsf/goto?open&id=B9X34R05164A
Link to agenda: https://www.boarddocs.com/ca/sjeccd/Board.nsf/Public
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