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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Meeting - Council - Minutes - 12/21/1981 Kent, Washington December 21 , 1981 Regular meeting of the Kent City Council was called to order at 8: 00 o'clock p.m. by Mayor Hogan. Present: Mayor Hogan, Council- persons B. Johnson, J. Johnson, Kelleher, Masters, McCaughan and Mooney, City Administrator Cushing, City Attorney Mirk, Planning Director Harris, Public Works Director Wickstrom and Finance Director McCarthy. Councilperson Bailey was not in attendance. Also present: Former Councilperson Hamilton, Fire Chief Angelo, Personnel Director Webby, Councilpersons-elect Leahy and Biteman, and URS representative Abed. Approximately 40 people were in attendance at the meeting. PRESENTATIONS Resolution No. 943 was read expressing appreciation to former Councilperson Hamilton for his service to the City . Hamilton concluded his term of office on December 2 . B. JOHNSON MOVED to adopt Resolution No. 943 , Mooney seconded . Motion carried. Resolution No. 944 was read by the Mayor expressing the City' s appreciation to retiring Councilperson McCaughan for his years of service. His term of office concludes on December 31. B. JOHNSON MOVED to adopt Resolution No. 944, Masters seconded. Motion carried. Resolution No. 945 was read by the Mayor expressing appreciation to Councilperson Masters for her years of service to the City. Masters term concludes on December 31 . McCAUGHAN MOVED for the adoption of Resolution No. 945, J. Johnson seconded. Motion carried. Council President McCaughan presented a plaque to City Attorney Mirk who has resigned from his posi- tion with the City of Kent to accept a position as City Attorney with the City of Puyallup. Apprecia- tion was expressed to the City Attorney for his years of service to the community. CONSENT MOONEY MOVED to approve Consent Calendar Items A CALENDAR through H, with the exception of Item C which was removed at the request of City Attorney Mirk and Item G which was approved at the request of Mooney. B. Johnson seconded . Motion carried. MINUTES (CONSENT CALENDAR ITEM 5A) Approval of Minutes . APPROVAL of the minutes of the regular Council meeting of December 7, 1981 . - 1 - I December 21, 1981 HEALTH & Downtown Sanitary Sewer Rebuild Project 1 and Smith SANITATION Street Sanitary Sewer Rebuild . Both of these projects were anticipated in the June 1981 sewer rate adjust- ment. A memo explaining the scope of the project has been furnished to the Council and has been made a part of the record. It is recommended that $60 , 000 of the unencumbered fund balance of the sewer and garbage fund be allocated as follows: Downtown Project I - $50 , 048 . 00 Smith St . Rebuild - 9, 916 . 00 B. JOHNSON MOVED that project funds for the Downtown Sanitary Sewer Rebuild be established and that $60, 000 of the unencumbered fund balance of the Sewer and Garbage Operating Fund be transferred thereto as recommended. Mooney seconded. Motion carried. WATER (CONSENT CALENDAR ITEM 5H) 1981 Water Supply Well Drilling. ACCEPTANCE of the contract of Burt Well Drilling as complete for the 1981 Water Supply Well Drilling project which con- sisted of drilling four test wells, one at Cambridge, one at Linda Heights , one at Garrison Creek and one at Soos Creek Estates, and RELEASE of the retainage _.. after receipt of the necessary State releases . BIDS Garrison Creek Well Bids . Bids were opened on Decem- ber 14 , 1981 at which time three bids were received, two of which were below the Engineer' s estimate, as follows: Bidder Amount + Tax Richardson Well Drilling Co. $70, 518 . 50 Omega Contractors, Inc. 71, 975. 00 Teem Ventures , Inc. 92, 454 . 00 It is recommended that the award be made to the low bidder, Richardson Well Drilling, for the bid of $75, 031 . 60 , including tax, and that an additional $110, 000 of the unencumbered funds of the 1978 water revenue bond issue be allocated to this project. McCAUGHAN SO MOVED, Mooney seconded. Motion carried. 2 - December 21, 1981 WATER Interim Financina of Water Improvements . This matter was presented to the Council at the November 23, 1981 workshop. In order to proceed, the City ' s bonding attorney, George Mack, has determined that an ordinance is required. The ordinance authorizes proceeding with interim financing and readopts the Water Comprehensive Plan and any addenda thereto. The ordinance establishes a "Water Construction Fund, 1981" to receive proceeds from the anticipated bond sale and to receive other City monies from which the projects described are to be financed. It is recom- mended that the ordinance be adopted and that $276 , 000 of the unencumbered balance of the 1978 Water Revenue Bond Issue be the denoted construction fund. (NOTE: $110 , 000 of the $276 , 000 are the same funds specified in conjunction with the award on the Garrison Creek Well . ) MOONEY MOVED that Ord . 2329 and the summary thereof be adopted and that $276, 000 of the unencumbered funds of the 1978 Water Revenue be transferred to the "Water Construction Fund, 1981" so created. J. Johnson seconded. Motion carried. ?dater District #87 Water Service Contract. Water Dis- trict #87 water service contract has expired and a new contract has been prepared. The District Com- missioners have executed same and it is recommended that the City approve the new contract. McCAUGHAN MOVED that the Mayor be authorized to sign the Water Service Contract with Water District 87, Mooney seconded . In response to McCaughan ' s a_uestion, Wickstrom noted that parts were in the City of Auburn but that there was no sewer service in the area and that as soon as the company is dissolved, Kent will take care of the water service north of S . 277th. He also noted that any additional requests for water service would have to be approved by the Council. He pointed out that there were only about 100 customers and that this was an interim plan. In response to further questions , it was noted that while it was a ten year contract , there were provisions whereby it could be dissolved after one year and the maintenance section could be cancelled after a 90-day time period. Motion carried . 3 - I December 21, 1981 STORM 112th Avenue S.E. Storm Drainage Project. This pro- DRAINAGE ject would relieve an urgent localized drainage pro- blem on the East Hill in the vicinity of 112th Avenue S.E. and S .E. 235th Street. The total cost thereof is $43 , 300. Unencumbered funds are available as described in the memo furnished to the Council and made a part of the record. In accordance with the recommendation of the Public Works Director, B. JOHNSON MOVED that a project fund for the 112th Avenue Storm Sewer project be established and that funding thereof come from the available unencumbered funds of the street operating budget and the 42nd Avenue Street Improvement construction budget as described in the Public Works Director' s memo of December 17 , 1981. Mooney seconded. Motion carried. STORM This date has been set for a public hearing on adopt- DRAINAGE ing an ordinance to create a storm drainage utility. UTILITY Public Works Director Wickstrom recounted the history behind the proposed ordinance, noting that after the Valley Studies the Council authorized development of the concept of a drainage utility to better manage and resolve problems associated with storm water drainage. The contract with URS and Matrix Manage- ment Group was divided into three phases . Each phasa would require Council action before proceeding to the next phase of the project. Wickstrom pointed out that drainage problems were increasing and that the City had a legal responsibility to address this issue. He showed slides of various sections of the city in which drainage problems were evident. He noted that that matter had been discussed at two workshop sessions and at five informal public meetings at which time input from the public was received. He noted that probable cost would be $1 . 50 to $2 . 00 for a house on one lot and that the rate for industry would be more. Resolution 937, declaring the City ' s intent to create a storm drainage utility was passed on October 5, 1981. Wickstrom noted that the first phase of this project consisted of an analysis of input received from the public, and that passage of the ordinance creating the storm drainage utility would complete phase one. Phase two would consist of development of a compre- hensive plan for drainage, develop the EIS and develop the rate structure. Phase three would implement the drainage utility . 4 - December 21, 1981 STORM The public hearing was opened by Mayor Hogan. Harlan DRAINAGE Bull noted that the drainage problem involved the UTILITY entire area, not just the City of Kent. He stated that the question as to what was to be done with the water was most important and involved the Army Engi- neers . He further questioned how the tax structure of King County Drainage District #1 fit into this plan, pointing out that property owners had been paying for maintenance of the ditches all along. Bull commented on the "bedroom tax" stating that part of that money was supposed to be used for maintaining the ditches and it had not been so used. He also expressed concern over the possible cost of personnel to administer this utility district, and pointed out that residents of East Valley Highway were paying for an LID which included storm drainage. Wickstrom noted that some of Bull ' s questions could not be addressed until a Comprehensive Plan was formed. He pointed out that the LID payments covered the capital outlay for the project, but not the operation and maintenance. He noted that the proposed district would be administered by pre- sent city personnel . He pointed out that the Com- prehensive Plan, EIS and rate ordinance would pro- bably be scheduled for April 1982 and that public hearings would be held on these. The costs up to this point of $150-175, 000 would be covered by the general fund, on a loan from the sewer utility. He pointed out that after the drainage utility is established costs could be recovered if a rate structure ordinance is enacted. Upon Masters ' cuestion, Wickstrom determined that interlocal agreements with the county and other affected cities would be proposed, but that until the ordi- nance creating the utility district is passed, we are unable to resolve these questions . Berne Biteman noted that a total of only 30 people attended the five informal public meetings and sug- gested that more people would have attended if the notice had stated that the proposed project would involve charges to all citizens . Upon his question and one from Kelleher, Wickstrom noted that the meet- ings were noted in the newspaper , had been publicized by the Chamber of Commerce and that 500 randomly selected property owners had received letters of - 5 - December 21, 1981 STORM invitation. He was not sure as to whether the letters DRAINAGE mentioned probable costs to property owners . Biteman UTILITY suggested that future notices make this clear. Elaine Holst stated that she had attended a meeting and opined that property owners who had no drainage problems did not attend any of the meetings. She stated that this was a busy time of the year for a public hearing on a matter of such importance and asked if the ordinance was passed tonight, could the Council establish a rate structure without further public hearings . It was determined that further hear- ings would be held, and an effort would be made to notify Mrs . Holst. Mayor Hogan read a letter from James Leonard of 10626 S .E. 236th Place in favor of creating this utility. McCAUGHAN MOVED to accept the letter for the record. B. Johnson seconded. Motion carried. There were no further comments and B. JOHNSON MOVED to close the hearing. McCaughan seconded. Motion carried. McCaughan noted that action on the ordinance to create the utility district could be delayed for 30 days to allow time for more citizens to respond. Wickstrom noted that we could pass the ordinance and still have public meetings to discuss the rate structure. Upon Masters ' question, he explained that passage of the ordinance would authorize develop- ment of a comprehensive plan and the Council could stop the progress of the project at any time. He noted that the ordinance would give developers the chance to recover some costs through late comer charges . He pointed out that the funds were monitored through the accounting system. J. JOHNSON MOVED to adopt Ordinance 2325 to establish the storm drainage utility system and to approve the summary thereof for publication. McCaughan seconded. Motion carried. REZONE (CONSENT CALENDAR ITEM 5C) REMOVED AT THE REQUEST OF CITY ATTORNEY MIRK Urbana Equities Rezone Ordinance. City Attorney Mirk noted that the Urbana Equities Rezone Ordinance which was scheduled for passage at this meeting would be delayed due to the fact that two of the fourteen con- ditions recommended by the Hearing Examiner had not been met. 6 - December 21, 1981 POLICE (CONSENT CALENDAR ITEM 5G) REMOVED AT THE REQUEST OF COUNCILPERSON MOONEY Jail Facility Agreement with Architect. Authori- zation has been requested for the Mayor to sign an agreement with Ellerbe Associates and Engineers for the proposed jail facility. This matter was dis- cussed at the December 14 , 1981 workshop. Mooney noted that he had attempted to find out which news- papers had carried the bid call but had been unable to get the information. Cushing noted that while he was not sure of which newspapers were used, the advertisement had appeared in several. He stated that the information would be supplied. Masters suggested that the architect has had all the authority and none of the responsibility in the past and Cush- ing and Mirk noted that this has been handled by the new contract, drafted by the City Attorney. Cushing pointed out that the architect was specifically re- sponsible if something required by the Building Code was overlooked. Mirk also noted that it was the first contract that the City had had that made the architect liable for any defects which appeared within three years after completion. MOONEY MOVED to approve the agreement with the architect, B. Johnson seconded. Motion carried. FIRE Intercom and Alarm System - Fire Department. The DEPARTMENT Fire Department has requested an intercom paging system and an alarm system. B. JOHNSON MOVED to approve the request, McCaughan seconded. Motion carried. Heating and Air Conditioning System - Fire Station 1. B. Johnson reported that the Fire Department had requested a heat pump type heating and air condition- ing system for Station 1. B. JOHNSON MOVED to approve the request, Kelleher seconded. Motion carried. FINANCE (CONSENT CALENDAR ITEM 5B) Approval of Bills . APPROVAL of payment of the bills received through December 17 , 1981 after auditing by the Finance Committee at its meeting at 3: 00 o ' clock p.m. on December 31 , 1981. 7 - December 21, 1981 FINANCE (CONSENT CALENDAR ITEM 5D) LID 288 - Segregation Request (Boise Cascade Corp. ) ADOPTION of Resolution No. 946 approving the segreg- ation of Assessment #9 in LID 288 as recommended by the Property Management Department. (CONSENT CALENDAR ITEM 5E) LTD 293 - Segregation Request (Boise Cascade Corp. ) ADOPTION of Resolution No. 947 approving the segreg- ation of Assessment #14 in LID 293 as recommended by the Property Management Department. (CONSENT CALENDAR ITEM 5F) Investment of City Funds . ADOPTION of Ordinance No. 2326 and the summary thereof approving a policy covering investment of City funds, as discussed at the December 14, 1981 workshop. Telephone Company Utilities Tax. The City Attorney has prepared Ordinance 2327 amending Ordinance 1549 to extend the existing tax on utilities to intra- state toll calls . J. JOHNSON MOVED to adopt Ordi- nance No. 2327, Mooney seconded. Motion carried. RAILROAD S. 228th Street Proposed Rail Crossing . Uplands CROSSINGS industries has presented a proposal to extend rail south across S. 228th. The proposal has been con- sidered and discussed at the Council workshops of September 28 , October 12 and December 14 , 1981. The Planning Department ' s position, after reviewing the proposal, is that the introduction of rail service south of S. 228th Street will be detrimental to both the School District property in close proximity as well as the multi-family residential proposal known as the Lakes project. A packet of information has been distributed and has been made a part of the record. B . JOHNSON MOVED to not approve the rail crossing and to uphold the Planning Department re- commendation, J. Johnson seconded. Kelleher noted that he had taken a tour of the area with Ted Knapp of Uplands and that he was not convinced there was a major difference between the type of building that was rail served and those buildings which were truck served. He noted that he would not support the rail crossing since there would be a residential development in that area in the future. Masters - 8 - December 21, 1981 RAILROAD noted that she had not supported the rail crossing CROSSINGS of West Valley Highway in the past but since it is now in, she felt that the Council should approve this crossing; since there was in fact less noise from rail service than from truck service. McCaughan concurred, noting that less traffic would be generated by having rail service. He suggested that restrictions could be placed as to the time of day when crossings of S. 228th would be allowed and that this should eliminate any concerns in that area. Ted Knapp clarified that the rail already crossed the West Valley Highway and that the proposal was for only one track, that they were willing to work with the Public Works and Planning Departments for any reason- able protection devices at the crossing. The vote resulted in a tie, with B. Johnson, J. Johnson and Kelleher voting in favor, and Masters, McCaughan and Mooney opposing. Upon the Mayor 's affirmative vote, the motion to deny the crossing carried. 1982 Budget Ordinance. Public hearings on the 1982 City BUDGET budget and on the Federal Shared Revenue Funds were conducted on December 7 . The proposed ordinance includes changes made by the Council on December 9. A memo from the City Administrator has been furnished to the Council and made a part of the record. B. JOHNSON MOVED to adopt Ordinance No. 2328 adopting the City budget for 1982 . McCaughan seconded. Upon Masters ' question, Cushing stated that the Police Department had requested 23 additional personnel of which 8 were approved. He further noted that the Police Department had used National Standards to evaluate their manpower needs but that there had been an error in the figures . Cushing pointed out that calls to the Police Department were up about 8% and that the need for more productive manpower on the streets could be accomplished with the installa- tion of the computer system. He also noted that six sergeants could be placed back on the street by the addition of two new lieutenants . Mooney expressed his disappointment with the Police and Fire Depart- ment manpower allocations and hoped that this would be increased in 1983. Masters stated that although the budget document was clear and precise she felt that the priorities seemed out of order. - 9 - December 21, 1981 1982 Kelleher stated that he would like to amend the BUDGET motion to revise the budget document to include the levels of salary and benefit schedules for the two top management personnel in each department. Mooney seconded. Kelleher noted that the Chamber of Commerce had made this request and that the pub- lic should be made aware of these salaries , and that this should be part of the budget. Cushing con- curred with the request and noted that the complete list of positions and salary ranges would be made available after the first of the year, and that this could be done in future budgets also . Kelleher withdrew the motion, Mooney the second. McCaughan suggested that all of the questions and comments of the Chamber of Commerce regarding the budget should be answered. Ford Kiene of the Chamber noted that Cushing had responded to the Chamber ' s concerns , at least verbally, and also noted that many of the recommendations dealt with next year ' s budget. The motion to adopt the budget ordinance carried , with Masters voting against it. EAST HILL Ordinance No. 2276 became effective on March 10 , MORATORIUM 1981 prohibiting filing of applications for rezones , conditional use permits and annexations in that part of the City commonly known as the East Hill area. The ordinance set a time limit of ten months for said prohibition. The Council is requested to take action to extend the term of the prohibition beyond the ten month period. Harris noted that a memo from the Planning Department suggested that the moratorium be extended to June 1 , 1982 . J. JOHNSON SO MOVED and B. Johnson seconded. Motion carried. Upon questions from the audience from Richard Bradwell and Paul Morford, MOONEY MOVED for reconsideration of the matter. McCaughan seconded, motion carried. J. JOHNSON AGAIN MOVED to extend the moratorium to June 1 , 1982 , Mooney seconded. Mr. Bradwell objected to the extension, noting that the moratorium had cost him approximately $60, 000 . He stated that he had had a sale for his property and then had to file plans relating to his Conditional Use Permit a second time. Harris noted that Bradwell ' s situation was unique and that if his Conditional Use 10 - December 21, 1981 EAST HILL Permit had expired, that the Planning Department MORATORIUM could do something about it. Ford Kiene of the Chamber of Commerce noted that the item had been added to the last workshop agenda, so the Chamber had not been aware that the matter was to be dis- cussed at the workshop. Kelleher offered a SUBSTITUTE MOTION to table this matter to the January 4 Council meeting to allow time for input . McCaughan seconded. Motion carried. ( It was noted that Paul Morford left before the matter was reconsidered. ) VIP HEALTH On October 19, a public hearing was held on this SPA - REVOC- matter and was continued to this date so the matter ATION OF of the criminal violation filed against the VIP Health LICENSE Spa for operating without a massage permit could be decided. A memo from the City Attorney has been dis- tributed and filed for the record. The memo notes that the court case was scheduled for December 9 and that Mirk and Assistant City Attorney Heavey met with VIP ' s attorney with the understanding that there would be a "stipulation" to the charge which would allow the court to enter a finding of guilty while preserving VIP ' s rights of appeal. The stipulation was entered into, but the VIP attorney then asked for a continuance to give him an opportunity to pre- sent legal arguments aqainst the City 's position. Mirk noted that in his view this was contrary to the agreement made prior to the hearing, and that under these circumstances , the Council need not delay fur- ther on making a decision on the matter of the license revocation. McCAUGHAN MOVED to revoke the business license of the VIP Health Spa, B. Johnson seconded. Motion carried. Mirk suggested that the Council direct him to bring back findings and conclusions , to provide a record for the basis of the Council 's decision. B. JOHNSON SO MOVED, J. Johnson seconded, motion carried. Mr. Hohlbein, attorney for VIP, stated that he had not seen Mirk ' s memo and Mirk advised that it contained the material they had discussed. Hohlbein stated that his client was filing an application for a massage license, that could take 30 days to process and that he would like the Council to withhold action until some deter- mination was made on the license application. He noted further that action should be withheld until action was taken by the court . It was determined by Mirk that he would have the statement of findings and conclusions ready for the packet for the January 4 Council meetinq alonq with a review of the matter. - 11 - December 21, 1981 WATER LID 303 Final Assessment Roll (S. E. 270th Water Mains . ) This date has been set for the public hearing on the confirmation of the final assess- ment roll for LID 303 . The final assessment roll totals $75, 121 . 63. The public hearing was declared open by Mayor Hogan. A letter has been received from Gertrude Benedict, which has been distributed. B. JOHNSON MOVED to make the letter a part of the record, J. Johnson seconded. Motion carried. There were no further comments and MOONEY MOVED to close the hearing. B. Johnson seconded. Motion carried . B. JOHNSON MOVED that the City Attorney be directed to prepare the ordinance confirming the final assessment roll for LID 303 and that Assessment No. 8 be temporarily paid for by the Water Utility until said funds can be recouped from the property owner and that said funds shall be taken from the unencumbered funds of the water utility . Mooney seconded, moti.on carried. Following this action, Hans Freiwald of 11824 S .E. 270th raised an objection to the assess- ment against his property. MOONEY MOVED to recon- sider previous action and to reopen the hearing. McCaughan seconded . Motion carried. Freiwald stated that he had ample well water of good quality and that he had an agreement with the owner of the well . Wickstrom explained that the City had no jurisdiction over a private agreement. Mirk pointed out that the water main would benefit the property and therefore the assessment was valid. Freiwald complained that the contractor had not pro- perly restored the area. Wickstrom stated that his department would investigate this matter. There were no further comments, and McCAUGHAN MOVED to close the hearing. Mooney seconded. Motion carried. B. JOHNSON REPEATED HER MOTION TO APPROVE THE ROLL AS WRITTEN ABOVE and Mooney seconded. Motion carried. CLOSED At 9 : 40 p.m. , the Council adjourned to a closed SESSION session. 1982 WAGES The meeting .reconvened at 9 : 50 p.m. and J. JOHNSON MOVED that the salaries for those employees not covered by bargaining units be increased by 8%, effective January 1 , 1982 . B . Johnson seconded. Motion carried. ADJOURNMENT Meeting adjourned at 9 : 55 p.m. Marie Jensen, CMC 12 - City Clerk