HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Meeting - Council - Minutes - 04/15/1963 Kent, Washington
April 15,1963
Regular meeting of the Kent City Council;present :Ma.yor Thornton,
City Attorney Bereiter,Councilwaman Bovell,Councilmen:Durand,
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Matthews,Mooney,Pozzi, Strain and woodworth.
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Minutes of the last meeting approved as printed.
Clerk's,Treasurer's and Budget reports submittdd,accepted and
placed on file.
WATER Clark Springs Mr. Ramsey of Hill & Ingman reported -his firm had
completed the plans on the intake facilities at Clark Springs.
Councilman Strain moved for April 19th. to be set as the date for
a call for bids for the expansion of the Clark Springs resources.
The date for the opening of the bids was set for May 2nd.
Motion duly seconded and passed.
Water District 5$ Councilman Strain reported he had talked with
representatives of Water District 5$,who were interested in
establishing a Southern Boundry so there would be no competition
for water users between the District and the City. Councilman
Strain advised them to submit their plan to the Council.
Fluoridation A letter from the East Hill Republican Club protest-
the addition of fluorides to the City water was read. Two
letters with petitions attached,containing the signatures of 20$
Kent water users were introduced. The signers opposed the Ordi-
nance providing for the fluoridation of the City's water. Mayor
Thornton stated that last year the Council tried to arouse public
interest in fluoridation,but received little response . Within
the past month,however,there have been some complaints ,he added,
and suggested to the Council that the issue could be placed on the
fall ballot. Councilman Durand moved for the correspondence to be
referred to the Water Committee could chdck on the signatures and
report to the Council. Councilman Strain was against this idea,
since the matter was originally in the hands of the Health and
Sanitation Committee,who had studied the issue carefully and found
that all the local doctors and dentists were in favor of it.
Councilman Moonev stated that there was no rush and the issue could
be tabled for two weeks to allow time for both sides to be heard.
The motion to refer the correspondence to the Water Committee was
defeated,with only Councilwoman Bovell and Councilman Durand voting
ave. Councilman Pozzi moved for the petitions to be placed on file,
which was seconded and passed,with Councilman Mooney voting nay.
Mr. Jack Hardy was present and asked if the Council would consider
a petition .with more names on it. Councilman Mooney replied that
the Council would always give its attention to petitions from the
people. Eugene Coble stated that Seattle residents voted against
fluoridation and Kent residents should have the same privilege.
Harold Schortsen claimed that the first information many people
had about the proposed fluoridation was when they read in the paper
that the Ordinance had been passed. He further stated that it takes
a long time for people to become familiar with such an issue. Pastor i
Hawkins of phe Bethel Baptist Church stated he thought that the
people assumed the issue would be decided by vote. Mr. Curran
announced he had attemded meetings in the City throughout the past
year at which responsible citizens backed fluoridation. Mr. Vic
Levesque stated he objected to the City taking it upon themselves
to fluorida£e the water and that he preferred to personally regulate
the fluoride consumption of his own family.
TRAFFIC James & Central City Engineer Sherw000d reported he had talked
CONTROL to Mr. McLeod of the State Highway Department regarding traffic
count as James & Central. Mr.McLeod advised that the traffic
warrants a traffic signal and the Highway Dept. will have on-
installed.
Trains Councilman Woodworth reported he had arranged a meeting
between a Railroad representative and the General Manager of North-
west Metals. Both parties cooperated fully and the switching of
the cars at Northwest Metals will be changed to about 7P.M.after
the peak traffic hours.
STREETS James St. Ordinance 11$4,providing for the condemnation of land necessary
for the extension of James Strdet was read and passed by motion.
PARKING Resolution 4$$,providing for the temporary transfer of $2000.00
METER from the Garbage Fund to the Parking Meter Fund was read and
FUND. passed by motion.
HEALTH & Councilwoman Bovell reported that the meeting of the Health &
SANITATION Sanitation Committee,the Financial Consultants and the Consulting
Engineers originally scheduled for last Wednesday would be held on
Wednesday,April 24th. at 10 A.M. Mrs. Bovell also reported her
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committee would have a report on' the progress of the Comprehensive
Plan,probably by the next Council I+Ieeting.
LIGHTS East Valle, Highway Councilman Durand recommended and moved for
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2 Mercury Vapor lights to be installed North of S. 258th.St. on the
East side of the East Valley Highway. Motion duly seconded and
passed.
State St. A letter was presented from Pairs. Joe Harwood calling
attention to the fact that 2 lights were missing in the area 912 S. State St. Mrs Harwood stated she had submitted a petition
requesting adequate lighting for the area. Councilman Durand I
reported that the lights in qudstion had been installed this week.
By motion,the letter was placed on file.
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ZONING Meyers An application for a rezone from MA to R-4 by Victor A.
Meyers was introduced. Both the Planning Commission and the City
Engineer recommended the area be rezoned R-3 instead of R-r,which
was agreeable to the applicant. By motion,a public hearing was
set for the May 6th. meeting.
Shell Station on West Hill City Attorney Bereiter reported that
to legally remove the restrictions on the Shell Station on the
West Hill the owner should follow the procedure set for a variance
application. `rhe Board of Adjustment shall be instructed to hear
the petition for relief and make its recommendation to the Council.
Councilman Woodworth moved for Mr. Payton df Shell Oil Co. to bd
notified of this action. Motion duly seconded and passed.
Meridian Investment Co. A public hearing was opened on the applica-
tion of the Meridian Investment Co. for a rezone from R-4 to C-3.
There were no objections and the hearing was declared closed. By
motion,the rezone was approved and the City Attorney was instructed
to draft the necessary Ordinance.
Roos Annexation A public hearing on the rezoning of the 2nd portion
of the Roos annexation was opened. The Planning Commission rec-
ommended this portion be rezoned R-3 . Apetition signed by adjecent f
land owners was read,objecting to the R-3 zoning. Mr. and Mrs.
Verdie Querin both spoke against it,stating that there was enough
R-3 in the area already and that more apartments would cause
traffic congestion. Mr. Christiansen stated that 100th. Ave. was
already in poor condidion,and Mrs. Querin agreed with him. City
Engineer Sherwood reported that 100th. Ave. was scheduled to be
repaired in the early summer. Mr. Snow,the owner of the property
stated he had no immediate plans for the area,but he thought since
the adjacent land was zoned R-3 ,that this would also be proper
zoning for his land. The public hearing was declared closed.
Councilman Matthews moved for the Council to support the Planning
Commission's recommendation and the afea be zoned R-3 . The motion
was duly seconded and passed.
Permit (Kent Valley Speedway) A letter was read from Attorney
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Curran,stating that under the Building Code, Mr. Bull is required
to obtain a building permit for the fence and the track. By motion,
this was referred to the City Attorney for further study.
Kent Valley Speedway A public hearing was continued on the r4cision
of a rezone from MA to M-1,granted to Bull & Venino by Ordinance
1155. A letter was read from the Planning Commission recommending
that the rezone stand,and not be recinded. The Planning Commission
felt that zoning this area M-1 is in keeping with the Comprehensive
Plan. Attorney Curran,representing residents of the O'Brien area
stated that controversies of this nature will appear frequently
because the Planning Commission .does not hold public hearings on
rezones. Mr. Curran requested that his former arguments on this
issue be made a part of this public hearing. His statements are
on file in the City Clerk's office and are a part of these minutes.
Mr. Curran claimed that Mr. Bull was quilty of misrepresentation i
when he stated he had no plans for the area,while actually he
was already considering leasing the land to the Kent Valley Speed-
way Inc. The residents of the area object to the Speedway and Mr.
Curran stated that consideration should be given to the many ob-
jectors and not to the land owner. Councilman Woodworth asked
Mr. Curran if by law the applicant was required to disclose the
plans for the area when he applied for a rezone. Mr. Curran
replied it was not the law,but he could not condone with-holding
the information when the applicant was asked directly if he had
plans. Councilman Matthews asked what harm had been done to the
residents of the area by the M-1 zoning. Mr. Curran replied that
a dairy farmer leasing land had already informed the owner he
would not renew his lease,that Mr. Anderson was unable to get
a fair price for his house and that the Brisco School officials
objected to the race track being built so close to their establish-
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ment. Councilman Pozzi asked if there was any movdment in the
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area to rezone more land M-1. Councilman Mooney said there was,
near the West Highway. Attorney Robert Anderson,representing
Mr. Venino,pointed out that his client was not involved in the
proposed race track at all, since the track is completely within
Mr. Bull 's property. Mr. Matthews asked just what good it would
do to rebind the rezone. It was opinion of Mr. Lewis,attorney
for the Raceways and City Attorney Bereiter,that the track is a
permitted use in either MA or M-1, so the rebision would not rule
out a track in the area. Mayor Thornton announced that he and
the Council had been misled,because they didn 't realize that a
racetrack was permissibld. In dither MA or M-1 zones. Attorney
Curran did not agree that a track would be permitted in an MA
zone. City Attorney Bereiter stated that the strong point of the I
argument hinged on misrepresentation on the application for the
rezone. Mr. Curran claimed there was misrepresentation, and Mr.
Lewis denied it. Mr. Bereiter suggested that the parties involved)
appear before a courtreporter,under oath,depositions be taken. Councilman Mooney moved for a ten minute recess. The motion
was seconded and passed with Councilman Strain and Matthews voting
nay. After the recess,the public hearing was continued,by motion. !
By motion, duly seconded and passed,the public hearing was closed. 11
City Attorney Bereiter announced that the Council had been forced
to become a fact finding body.Councilman Pozzi moved that the
Council found there was no misrepresentation on the rezone applica-
tion,and that the M-1 zoning would stand. The motion was seconded,
and passed,with Councilman Matthews abstaining. This was followed!,
with a motion for the action of the Planning Commission to be
sustained. The motion was seconded and passed,with Mr. Matthews
abstaining.
RACE TRACK Mayor Thornton referred Ordinance 11$0,providing for the licensing
ORDINANCE and regulation of race tracks in the City,to the City Attorney,
for further study.
FINANCE Councilman Mooney moved for the City to assume the cost of the
policies for false arrest coverage for the police officers. The
motion was seconded and passed.
A letter from City Attorney Bereiter was read regarding John B.
Forrester's claim against the City. According to the policy the
City has with General Insurance Company,there is a $50 deductible
on streets and sidewalks. Mr. Bereiter suggested the Council
approve the $50 payment in accordance with the policy. By motion 1
the payment was approved,with Councilman Mooney voting nay. On
Councilman Money's motion,the City Clerk was instructed to con-
tact General Insurancd Company and arrange a meeting for them with
the Finance Committee to discuss this change in the City's coverage.
COURT A letter was read -from City Attorney Bereiter explaining the terms
Of the lease he had drafted for the City of Kent Justice Court. Byl
motion the lease was accepted and the City Clerk and the Mayor
were authorized to sign it.
CONFERENCE City Engineer Sherwood reported that neither he nor Mr. Dent was
able to attend the meeting of the APWA in Yakima.
A letter from Barney Wilson was read requesting authorization to
attend a convention in Eugene Oregon from April 21st to 24th. By
motion,authorization was given.
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REGIONAL Mayor Thornton requested-.that the Council amend Section 111 of
PLANNING the Regional Planning Commission as set forth in Resolution 485,
COUNCIL to provide for 6 members from each city instead of only 2. By
motion, such an amendment was authorized.
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PLANNING Appointment Mayor Thornton recommended that Bowen .Scarff be appoint-
COMMISSION ed to 'the Planning Commission. The appointment was confirmed by
motion.
A public hearing was opened on the question as to whether the
Planning Commission should hold public hearings on rezones. City
Attorney Bereiter. stated that if the Commission held public hearings
on rezones,they would be required to send proper notices to those
involved, and to post and publish the notices within the required
length of time. Ed Sipe,chairman of the Planning Commission,
stated the the Commission did not want to hold the hearings on
rezones if the hearings would then have to be d4licated before the
Council as the law4 requires. Mrs. Andy Anderson reported that
the Auburn Planning Commission held such hearings and the propertyi
• owners involved were notified beforehand. Mr. Curran pointed out L
that other cities also followed this procedure. Councilwoman Bovel
moved for the hearing to be tabled for further study of the situation
and the City Clerk was instructed to check with the other cities to!
see how their rezones were handled. The motion was seconded and passed.
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A letter from the Planning Commission was read,which referred to
an attached report from Harold Heath recommending that the City
consider a program to accomplish the job of civic and urban renewal
and expansion. By motion,the matter was referred to the Council
as a whole and a special meeting of the Council,the Planning
Commission and the Board of Adjustments will be set to consider f
the recommendation.
BUILDING City Engineer reported that drawings had been made of the proposed
offices ovdr the fire station. Mayor Thornton asked Councilman
Matthews, chairman of the Building Committee to work with the
Engineering Department on this project. I
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CLAIMS PRESENTED AND ALLOWED AS FOLLOWS: +
Sewer $ 513 .71
Garbage 169.29
Library 137:94
Current Expense 8463 .34
Water 387.79
Streets 2148.24
Park 134.41
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MEETING ADJOURNED 11:15 P.M.
MAYOR ____---- —' ITY CLERK
Alex Thornton Chas. Bridges
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