Somehow, we've reached the fourth quarter of this insane year. Welcome to October, everyone. 

Today we have a preview of tomorrow's Council meeting, which won't be quite as busy as last week's. If you'd like more detail on anything summarized here, click the agenda, then click on the item. Over on the right side of the page, you'll see links to a staff report and other pieces of supporting material.

City Council -- Tuesday, Oct. 6

Tuesday's meeting officially starts at 9 a.m., when the Council will listen to public comment on any items on the closed-session agenda. Then they'll retreat to closed session and return to open session at 11 a.m. 

The agenda includes four consent items that are considered noncontroversial and won't be discussed unless a member of Council or a member of the public asks to have an item pulled out for conversation.

The discussion agenda includes these seven matters:

• Historical Designation of Property in the Gaslamp Quarter Historic District (Item 335): This past February, the City's Historical Resources Board voted to officially designate a building located at 340 Fifth Ave., Downtown, as a contributor to the Gaslamp Quarter Historic District. On Tuesday, the owner of property will appeal that decision to the City Council, based on a series factual errors and pieces of new information. The structure was built sometime before 1888 and reflected the Romanesque Revival architectural style. At some point, it was stripped of many of its original decorations during a renovation but then restored before 1991. The building itself wasn't designated as historically significant; it is merely considered to be a contributor to the historic Gaslamp Quarter.


• Bridge Shelter for Families, Single Women, and Transitional-Aged Youth (Item 334): The San Diego Housing Commission, which administers contracts between the City and service providers that operate the City's shelters for people experiencing homelessness, will ask the Council to approve funding necessary to add 280 beds to the shelter located in Golden Hall at the Civic Center. This shelter, operated by Father Joe's Villages, currently serves families, single women, and transitional-aged youth.

The new 280 beds would be for single adults, to create additional capacity as Operation Shelter to Home, the shelter program at the San Diego Convention Center, begins to wind down in 2021. These beds would be located on the first floor of Golden Hall while the existing beds for families, women, and youth would continue to be located in the second floor. The amount needed for the amended contract with Father Joe's plus start-up supply costs is nearly $3 million, plus another $448,855 if it turns out there's enough room for an additional 44 beds.

The Council will also consider this action on Tuesday while serving as the San Diego Housing Authority -- so, two votes on essentially the same thing.

• Ethics Commission Executive Director Appointment (Item 331): On Feb. 5, 2021, Stacey Fulhorst will retire from her position as executive director of the San Diego Ethics Commission, a job she's held since 2003. Roughly 500 people applied to replace her, and after a couple of rounds of interviews, the commission chose Sharon Spivak (pictured), who currently serves as a deputy city attorney for the City of San Diego. On Tuesday, the Council will be asked to confirm her appointment. If confirmed, Spivak will start on Nov. 2, giving her three months of overlap with Fulhorst.


• Six As-Needed Land Survey Agreements (Item S500): The City's Engineering and Capital Projects Department will ask the Council to OK an additional $1 million and one year to each of six different existing contract agreements with six different private engineering companies for as-needed land surveying, aerial surveying, photography, mapping and digitizing services. The conversation surrounding this item will likely center on the City's efforts to hire more land surveyors.


• Information Technology Consulting Services (Item 333): The City's Department of Information Technology would like the Council to approve contracts with 22 different vendors to provide a smorgasbord of services on an as-needed basis during the next five years. The total allocation would not top $21 million. Essentially, each time the IT Department needs a project done that requires specialized skills, it would put out a task order, and one or more of these companies would bid on it.


• Software Licensing, Maintenance, Support, and Technical Advisory Services (Item 330): Also from the IT Department comes a request to authorize City staff to amend an existing agreement with SAP Public Services for software licensing, maintenance, support and technical advisory services. The amendment would extend the contract for another five years for a max of nearly $30.5 million.


• Microsoft Software, Subscriptions, and Services (Item 332): The Council will see a lot of the IT Department on Tuesday. The IT folks will also request approval of a new agreement to provide licensed Microsoft software, subscriptions, and services to City employees. The current license agreement expires on Oct. 31. This proposal is for three years and roughly $14 million.

Members of the public can participate in the meeting and make comments by dialing 619-541-6310 and entering the access code 877861 followed by # when the item you're interested in comes up (full call-in instructions). Watch the meeting on cable TV channel 24 or AT&T channel 99, or stream it online.

Next up will be a post on the committee meetings scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 7 -- Public Safety and Livable Neighborhoods and Economic Development and Intergovernmental Relations -- followed by another one on a special Rules Committee meeting scheduled for this Friday.

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