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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Meeting - Council - Minutes - 01/17/1983 I I Kent, Washington January 17, 1983 Regular meeting of the Kent City Council was called to order at 7:00 o 'clock p.m. by Mayor Hogan. Present: Mayor Hogan, Council- persons Bailey, Biteman, B. Johnson, J. Johnson, Kelleher, Leahy and Woods, City Administrator Cushing, City Attorney DiJulio, Planning Director Harris, Public Works Director Wickstrom and Finance Director McCarthy. Also present: Administrative Assistant Webby, Fire Chief Angelo, Parks Director Wilson and Police Chief Skewes. Approximately 60 people were in attendance at the meeting. VISITORS Mayor Hogan welcomed Boy Scouts of Troop 480 and their Leader, Charles Peterson, to the meeting. She noted that the boys in attendance were working on final badges for Eagle Scout. CONSENT B. JOHNSON MOVED that the Consent Calendar Items CALENDAR A through E be approved, Woods seconded. Motion carried. MINUTES (CONSENT CALENDAR ITEM 5A) Approval of Minutes. APPROVAL of the minutes of the regular Council meeting of January 3, 1983. WATER Bids - Kent Springs Transmission Main Replacement, Phase I. Bid opening was held on Friday, January 14, 1983. A bid tabulation and recommendation has been prepared and submitted by the Public Works Director to the Council . B. JOHNSON MOVED that the Kent Springs Transmission Main Replacement, Phase I contract be awarded to Robison Construction for the bid amount of $863 , 759.48. Kelleher seconded. Motion carried. TRAFFIC (CONSENT CALENDAR ITEM 5D) CONTROL Traffic Code Ordinance. ADOPTION of Ordinance No. 2391 amending the Traffic Code to add sections relating to weight and equipment regulations. PARKS & (CONSENT CALENDAR ITEM 5E) RECREATION Value Checks Agreement. APPROVAL of the Parks Department entering into an agreement with Value Checks. The State Auditor has suggested that the Parks Depart- ment get official Council approval for this agreement. - 1 - January 17, 1983 STREET Cedar Street. An application for a vacation of a VACATIONS portion of Cedar Street has been filed by the First Church of the Nazarene. This date has been set for a public hearing and proper legal notices have been posted, mailed and published. The Planning Depart- ment has prepared a staff report and recommendation which have been furnished to the Council. Planning Director Harris pointed out the location of the pro- posed vacation on the map and noted that there were four options which the Council could take at this time, namely: 1) approve the application as applied for by the applicant; 2) approve with the staff modi- fications ; 3) continue the hearing or 4) deny the application. He noted that the staff, after review- ing the application, was recommending approval WITH CONDITIONS . Harris reviewed the conditions which are as follows : A. Restrict the vacation to exclude the westerly 105 feet of Cedar Street and require the deed- ing, to the City, of sufficient additional (Cedar property, from the adjacent property owners Street) in the vicinity of the westerly 105 feet, for a cul de sac turnaround. Said cul de sac turnaround shall have a radius of 55 feet with its center point located at the inter- section of the right-of-way centerline of Cedar Street and the northerly projection of the easterly lot line of Lot 6. B. Retain an easement for utility purposes and pedestrian right-of-way over that portion of Cedar �t.right-of-way approved for vacation and prohibit any fencing which would- interfere with City maintenance practices or operations . C. Prohibit vehicular access to Cedar Street from the church-owned, leased or operated properties. (The Traffic Engineer, Jim Poston, states : "If the vacation is approved, no access should be permitted from the church property to Cedar Street. Such access would increase nonresident traffic on Hazel Avenue and Cedar Street, both of which are designed for residential access only. In addition, the intersection of Hazel Avenue and James Street is not as safe as the existing church driveway onto James Street. - 2 - i January 17, 1983 STREET Preventing access to Cedar Street is a safer, VACATIONS less disruptive alternative. Although the majority of traffic occurs on Sunday, the increase in traffic throughout the week would be notice- able on Cedar Street and Hazel Avenue. ") D. In accordance with Ordinance 2333, Cedar Street is classified as a Class C street and as such, compensation may be required. It is. recommended that compensation at one-half the full appraised value be required. In response to questions from Kelleher as to the alternatives suggested by Harris and the possibility of referring the matter back to a committee, Harris noted that this would in effect be continuing the public hearing and that the Council might wish to do that. Harris pointed out to Mayor Hogan that street vacations are normally not considered by a (Cedar Council committee prior to the public hearing. Street) The public hearing was opened by Mayor Hogan. It was noted that no correspondence had been received. Doug Gessler, 410 N. Prospect, addressed the Council noting that his property was below that of the pro- posed street vacation. He referred to drainage prob- lems which have resulted from development on the hill and questioned whether the vacation should be considered at this time until it was determined if in fact the requirements of the drainage code could be met. Joe Just, 1019 E. Temperance, raised questions as to what the future plans of the Church were for the property involved and if in fact it would be used for a parking lot or for further expansion of the facilities . Ron Benson, 23310 - 15th S.E. , stated that he was in attendance on behalf of the Church of the Nazarene. He expressed concern with the conditions imposed on the street vacation, namely Items C and D. Specifically, with regard to the Traffic Engineer' s recommendation that if the street vacation is granted no access be permitted onto Cedar Street, Benson referred to the dangerous traffic situation which - 3 - January 17, 1983 STREET presently exists on James Street. He questioned VACATIONS the lack of a left-turn lane on James Street and noted that the James Street entrance would probably always be the main entrance to the Church. He concurred with the Traffic Engineer ' s statement about the Hazel and James Street intersection and pointed out that plans to increase the parking area and provide an entrance and exit on Cedar Street would alleviate some of the problem. Benson also referred to the intent of the Church, should the vacation be granted, and the parking lot in fact completed, to acquire property to the east in line with Cedar Street to provide another entrance and exit. Benson further stated that it was his understanding that if the street were not vacated, the Church would be required to improve the street to City standards and could then proceed (Cedar to use the street as an entrance and exit. He Street) questioned the financial burden which would be placed on the Church in such an event. Referring to Condition D requiring compensation for the property, Benson asked that the City give this item further consideration. He pointed out that at the time the Church was built and as a condition of the Conditional Use Permit which was granted, the Church had deeded their half of the property to the City free of charge. He noted that the Church was a non-profit organization and thus unable to pass these additional costs on. There were no further comments and BAILEY MOVED to close the public hearing, B. Johnson seconded. Motion carried. Bailey directed questions to Ron Benson regarding ': the possible impacts on individuals who reside in the areas abutting Cedar Street, Jason Avenue and Hazel Avenue which must be considered by the Council before granting such a request for the street vaca- tion. He noted that all members of the Council had been contacted by these residents and all had expressed concern about the long-range plans of the Church and what in fact the property would be used for. He pointed out that no mention was made in the applica- tion for the street vacation as to the intended use of the property. He asked if in fact the Church - 4 - i January 17, 1983 STREET was contemplating an expansion, such as a school. VACATIONS He further noted that if this were true, the resi- dents of the area would have an additional expense since the street would have to be improved to curbs and sidewalks to accommodate pedestrian traffic. Bailey concurred that the Church was growing rapidly and attracting many new people through its various programs . He stated that in order to be able to vote logically on the issue perhaps Mr. Kelleher ' s suggestion that it be referred back to the Public Works Committee would be appropriate. At Mayor Hogan ' s request, Benson responded by noting that the primary reason for acquiring the additional property was to increase the parking (Cedar area. He stated that the Church was looking at Street) plans to possibly increase the seating capacity in the sanctuary and the classrooms but to his knowledge there were no plans for increasing the size of the school. In response to a question from Mr. Just, Benson noted that the Church has earnest money paid on the purchase of eight lots from Laura Straub and that this property would also be used for additional parking. Kelleher noted that since this is not the typical o street vacation he would like to refer it back to the Public Works Committee for a review of the staff recommendations and a report back to the Council . He MOVED to continue the public hearing to February 22, with a review by the Public Works Committee at its meeting of February 8, 1983o B. Johnson seconded B. Johnson requested that the minutes of the Council meeting of May, 1979 be furnished to the Committee, noting that while this may have been regarding the request for a vacation of the West end of Cedar Street which the Council denied, she felt the information should be available. In response to Wickstrom' s question, Kelleher noted that the matter of who would do the traffic analysis should be considered promptly since this issue was germane to the motion. There was no further discussion and the MOTION CARRIED. (5. 202nd) S . 202nd Street Vacation. An application for the vacation of a portion of S . 202nd Street has been 5 - i January 17, 1983 STREET filed by Pembrook Management, Inc. This date has VACATIONS been set for a public hearing on the application. Proper legal notices have been posted, mailed and published. The Planning Department has prepared a report and recommends approval of the requested vacation with the following conditions : A . Access to Lots 15 and 16 of O 'Brien Station Garden Tracts No. 2 shall be limited to two driveways for each lot on to 72nd Avenue So. , with one additional shared driveway to be permitted where South 202nd Street would have intersected with 72nd Avenue South. B. Retain an easement for utility purposes over the entire right of way recommended for vaca- tion. C. Compensation for one-half the appraised value of the vacated street, to be paid to the City. (S . 202nd) (S . 202nd Street is classified as a Class C street under Ordinance 2333 which permits the City to collect one-half the appraised value of the vacated street. ) Planning Director Harris referred to the location of the street, noting that it was easterly of the Boeing Company and adjacent to the Puget Power right-of-way. He noted that the vacation request was for a large development presently underway and that the street was not needed by the City. The public hearing was opened by Mayor Hogan. It was noted that no correspondence had been received. Robin Wilhelm, 18200 Cascade Avenue South, Tukwila, WA 98188, representing Corporate Property Investors, and Dick Grieves, 1980 112th Avenue N.E. , Bellevue, WA, Engineer for Corporate Property Investors, were in attendance at the meeting. There were no other comments and BAILEY MOVED to close the public hearing, Biteman seconded. Motion carried. KELLEHER MOVED that the staff recommendation be adopted, including Conditions 4A through 4C, Biteman seconded. Motion carried. 6 - i January 17, 1983 STREET S.E. 260th Street. This hearing was scheduled for VACATIONS this meeting to take public testimony on the Council ' s recommendation of April 2, 1979, which set forth the conditions of approving the vacation of S.E. 260th Street lying east of 108th Avenue S .E. Mayor Hogan opened the public hearing. Bailey noted that a request had been received from the City Engi- neer to refer the matter back to the Public Works & Planning Committee. After discussion, and at the request of Councilperson Kelleher, BAILEY MOVED to continue the public hearing to March 7 with a review to be made by the Public Works Committee at its second scheduled meeting in February. B. Johnson seconded. Mrs. Vrooman, 25854 - 108th Avenue S.E. , (SE 260th) property owner in the vicinity of the proposed vaca- tion raised questions as to the procedure used in street vacations. She clarified for the Council that they were not in opposition to the vacation and had in fact agreed with it previously, but were merely questioning what was happening at this time. Wickstrom noted for Mrs. Vrooman that the vacation had been approved but no further action taken and at this time the Council was being asked to make some decision on finalizing the matter. Wickstrom stated that the compensation and easements required have now been received from Chet Williams, and that Pete Curran, attorney for an estate in the area, had questioned the status of the vacation at this time. Mrs. Vrooman was asked to contact the Public Works Department if she had any further questions with regard to street vacation procedures. There was no further discussion and the motion carried. GARBAGE Garbage Rate Structure. Leahy noted that the yearly garbage rate structure was discussed at the Finance & Personnel Committee meeting of January 14, 1983 . He stated that any increases in the garbage rates which the City is required to pay to the contractor are tied to increases in the Consumer Price Index, last year ' s amounting to 2.9%, or resulting rate increase to the City of approximately 2. 3%. It is the staff ' s position that the City can absorb the cost without passing on any increases to customers. POLICE Personnel Reclassification. Leahy reported on a DEPARTMENT reclassification request received from the Police - 7 - 'i January 17, 1983 POLICE Department, which was discussed at the last Finance DEPARTMENT Committee meeting. He noted that the reclassifica- tion was because of expanded duties on the part of the employee who formerly had been in the clerical department and now was being advanced into an admini- strative assistant type position. He clarified that the Finance Committee had approved the request and were now asking for Council approval. In response to Mayor Hogan' s question, Leahy determined that the matter had not been considered at budget time. Cushing further clarified that reclassifications are traditionally not part of the budget process but were handled independently throughout the year. He reviewed the procedure, noting that if a job is changed the Department submits a review of the job to the Personnel Director for his review, as well as possible review by the consultant who did the work on the City ' s job classification and pay plan. A recommendation is then developed and forwarded to the Council for their action. In addition, he noted for Mayor Hogan that this was an on-going year round process for anyone. Kelleher noted that he had heard the presentation and voted in favor of it, and would still vote in favor of the reclassification; however, he questioned whether the matter could be referred to the workshop so all Councilmembers could hear the presentation. Leahy disagreed, noting that it was a routine matter which should not require a workshop presentation. In response to Biteman' s questions, Leahy noted that the individual is presently at a Range 21 classification, with base pay of $1517 per month, and would be elevated to Range 30, with base pay of $1897 per month, ranging to a maximum of $2307 per month. Webby further clarified that because of the step system in each pay range, the actual increase would amount to about 9%, due to the individual going to a lower step at the new range. Webby further responded to Mayor Hogan' s questions by noting that the City Personnel Policy gives two criteria for administering a pay plan, one being if the position loses step with the job market, such as happened in the past with regard to engineering positions. He stated that the most common, however, as is true in the case at issue , is job expansion and change in responsibilities of an individual. B. JOHNSON MOVED to approve the requested" reclassifica- tion, Bailey seconded. Motion carried. 8 - January 17, 1983 DATA Personal Services Contract. Leahy reported that PROCESSING Bob Churchill, Data Processing Manager, has elected to take early retirement. Notification of this decision came after the budget was adopted. He stated that because of the activities going on in the Data Processing area, staff had asked the Finance Committee to authorize entering into a Personal Services Contract with Mr. Churchill until his replacement is chosen, no later than June. In response to B. Johnson ' s questions, Webby noted that when an employee leaves or retires, he would be hired on a personal services contract with no benefits and the City would no longer be con- tributing to any pension funds. Responding to Mayor Hogan ' s question, Cushing noted that the search for Mr. Churchill ' s replacement would be limited hopefully to the Puget Sound area and at least no farther than Washington State. LEAHY MOVED to authorize the City to enter into a Personal Services Contract with Bob Churchill, B. Johnson seconded. Motion carried. BOARD OF Reappointment. In accordance with Mayor Hogan' s ADJUSTMENT recommendation, B. JOHNSON MOVED to reappoint Phyllis Mauritsen to the Board of Adjustment for an addi- tional five year term. J. Johnson seconded. Motion carried. PLANNING Appointment/Reappointments. Mayor Hogan stated COMMISSION that she wished to recommend the reappointment of Planning Commission members Helen Brooks, Mike Powers and Doug Cullen, whose terms expired on December 31, 1982. She also requested that her recommendation of the appointment of Ford Kiene to replace Mr. Astle be approved. B. JOHNSON SO MOVED, Woods seconded. Motion carried. FINANCE (CONSENT CALENDAR ITEM 5C) Utility Tax Ordinance. ADOPTION of Ordinance No. 2390 providing for the reduction of Utility Tax from from 3 1/2 percent to 2 1/2 percent effective March 1, 1983 and providing also for deletion of the provision which excluded METRO from the tax. This ordinance repeals Ordinance 2380 passed on December 6, 1982 which contained a technical error. 9 - January 17, 1983 FINANCE (CONSENT CALENDAR ITEM 5B) Payment of Bills . APPROVAL of payment of the bills received through January 19, 1983 after auditing by the Finance Committee at its meeting at 4:00 p.m. on January 31, 1983 . COUNCIL Public Works. Kelleher reported that the Public COMMITTEES Works Committee would meet on January 18, 1983 at 4:00 p.m. in the Public Works Conference Room. Parks . Bailey noted that the Parks Committee would meet on January 21 at 3 :30 p.m. EXECUTIVE The meeting was adjourned to executive session at SESSION 7 :45 p.m. to discuss a legal matter. ADJOURNMENT The meeting reconvened and was adjourned at 8:00 o ' clock p.m. Betty Gray, CAS Deputy City Clerk t 10 -