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The agenda of this week’s City Council meeting will have an unusual item – the agenda itself, and whether meeting procedures can be improved. 

Members will also attempt to wrap up several unresolved issues Tuesday evening, including whether to designate the Swink House a “structure of merit.”  

Past meetings have run aground on scheduling problems, often caused by lack of information, which creates backlogs that could almost never be cleared. Politically motivated maneuverings contributed to the problem. 

To change all that, a new plan proposes more staff analysis of council items before a vote, tighter scheduling to ensure both more public participation and shorter meetings, and an annual limit on the number of items a council member could place on the agenda. The desired result is a more awake and “collegial” council. 

Part of the plan is to limit council members’ ability to delay voting on items by “pulling them from consent” numerous times, the proposal says. 

On other fronts, the council will decide whether to authorize a study to determine whether Berkeley police engage in racial profiling during traffic stops. While Berkeley police have taken such demographic data on a voluntary basis, the council will decide whether to approve $25,000 from the California Highway Patrol for personnel costs associated with the collection of traffic stop data. 

Other votes will decide whether all new roads must have bike and pedestrian access on both sides of the street beginning in 2003, and whether to spend $20,000 on a “Homelessness Prevention Program.” At issue there is whether to fund a database of available housing in Berkeley that would help low-income households find a roof. 

Also on the agenda is a scheduled hearing on housing safety referred by the ASUC Senate. Backed by Councilmember Kriss Worthington, the motion would refer the ASUC proposal to the Housing Advisory Committee and the city manager for further review. 

Mayor Dean will also propose that the city support an expanded definition of a prohibited machine gun to cover trigger mechanisms that can covert other weapons into machine guns. 

Also of note is a proposal that the city manager obtain a legal opinion on the university’s desire to exempt from an environmental impact assessment report its plans to add retractable lights to Memorial Stadium. 

Council Member Linda Maio is also requesting an emergency rent guarantee for the East Bay Depot of Creative Reuse, which since 197 has distributed recycled materials for at low cost to artists, teachers, and the public. The university has not renewed the Depot’s lease, which expires in February 2001, and a new landlord is requiring a rent guarantee. That could amount to $43,200, should the Depot default on its monthly rent. 

In other arenas, Stephen Barton, interim director of housing, is proposing an authorization of $59,550 for the Green Resource Center. Finally, the Berkeley Alliance – a consortium representing the city, the university, and public school – could also receive its first check for $95,701 to fund administrative support and project services dealing with issues such as the achievement gap at Berkeley High.