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the Hacienda Business Owner's Association had previously agreed to contribute roughly $57,000 to a contract with Jerry Iserson and also held a contract independently of the City with AECOM for roughly $50,000. The contracts associated with the item would now come under direction of the Council and the funds set aside for the previous contracts would be reimbursed to the city through a separate agreement. The remaining $8,000 would be funded out of an Alameda County Transportation Improvement Authority grant that was previously received for station planning in that area. She stated that the LucyCo contract is for $29,515 with some additional contingencies up to $32,515. The AECOM contract is for $60,000 and will be paid out as the company is directly authorized by the City to complete specific pre identified design service tasks. Councilmember Sullivan requested information on what have been identified as "team" and "facilitated" meetings. Ms. Stern said that team meetings are generally those between the facilitator and staff, consisting primarily of herself, Planning Director Dolan and Mr. Fialho. The intent of these meeting is to develop a planning process for the progression of the entire series of task force meetings. For each of the individual task force meetings, staff would confer with the facilitator to identify specific goals, ensure that the set agendas are reasonable and can be accomplished, and identify methods that can be used to accomplish those goals. Mr. Fialho said the scope of work can be divided into 3 categories: (1) planning meetings which prepare for facilitated meetings, (2) facilitated meetings which involve direct interaction with the community, and (3) the establishment and delivery of reports for sharing with the community as the process unfolds. He reminded the Council that the amounts identified for each contract is budgeted, not billed. Councilmember Sullivan asked what Mr. Iserson's role would be. Mr. Fialho said it would be limited, with a contract reduced to about $15,200 for 85 hours. He said Mr. Iserson would be available primarily for background information and perhaps some research which may be required as a result of the public process. Councilmember Sullivan confirmed that LucyCo is based in Sacramento and asked why a local facilitator, who may understand local issues better, was not selected. Ms. Stern said six firms were interviewed and LucyCo came across with considerable energy and skill. She said staff felt this firm had the flexibility and skills required to work with this group. Councilmember McGovern noted that the contract calls for 80 hours with the facilitator and asked if staff would also gather background information in that role or merely facilitate meetings. Mr. Fialho said staff had internal discussions regarding bringing LucyCo in to discuss the community values, objectives of the task force, and many of the things discussed tonight regarding a fair and open process. He said there is considerable preparation that goes into these types of discussions as well as understanding the needs, interests, and momentum associated with a particular task force. He also noted that staff could find that the group dynamics of the task force do not require staff to fully utilize these services. Councilmember McGovern noted that LucyCo's narrative outlines a monthly meeting lasting up to two hours, said that equals only 24 hours for the 12 -month period, and asked why 60 hours have been reserved for facilitated meetings. Ms. Stern clarified that 60 hours have been budgeted and will not necessarily expended. She explained that meetings do tend to exceed the scheduled time by some margin and that additional time has been allowed both before and after each meeting for questions, staff debriefing, and development of facilitation guides. City Council Minutes Page 10 of 12 January 19. 2010