HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Meeting - Council - Regular Minutes - 11/17/1987 i
Kent, Washington
November 17, 1987
Regular meeting of the Kent City Council was called to order at 7: 00
p.m. by Mayor Kelleher. Present: Councilmembers Bailey, Biteman,
Dowell, Houser, Johnson, White and Woods, City Administrator McFall,
City Attorney Driscoll, Planning Director Harris, Public Works Director
Wickstrom and Finance Director McCarthy. Also present: Fire Chief
Angelo and Personnel Director Webby. Approximately 80 people were at
the meeting.
PRESENTATION Wa
shington ton Association of School Administrators o s
Award. Mayor Kelleher announced that the Washington
Association of School Administrators Award has been
awarded to the Kent Drinking Driver Task Force in
recognition of outstanding leadership and contri-
butions to the improvement of public education in
the State of Washington. He introduced Kathleen
Groshong, Drinking Driver Task Force Coordinator,
Michael Buckingham, Task Force Chairman, Dr.
George Daniel, Superintendent of Kent Schools ,
and Captain Hal Rees. The Mayor also commended
all the volunteer Task Force members.
CONSENT CALENDAR WOODS MOVED to approve Consent Calendar Items A
through M, with the exception of Items E and J
which were removed by Councilmember White. Houser
seconded and the motion carried.
I
MINUTES (CONSENT CALENDAR ITEM 3A)
Approval of Minutes. APPROVAL of the minutes of
the regular Council meeting of November 3 , 1987 .
HEALTH & Formation of LID 332 - S. 240th Street Sanitary
SANITATION Sewer Improvements. This date has been set for
the public hearing on the formation of LID 332 for
sanitary sewer improvements on S. 240th Street from
112th Avenue S.E. to 116th Avenue S.E. The City
Clerk has given the proper legal notice. The
Director of Public Works noted that enough protests
j have been received to restrain the LID and the
proposed project will be dropped. All nine of the
property owners had filed objections.
(CONSENT CALENDAR ITEM 3K)
Barghausen Office Building. ACCEPTANCE of the
bill of sale and warranty agreement for continuous
operation and maintenance of approximately 204 feet
of water main extension, 530 feet of street improve-
ments and 113 feet of storm sewer improvements con-
structed in the vicinity of S. 182nd Street and
72nd Avenue South and release of cash bond after
expiration of the one year maintenance.
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November 17, 1987
STREET VACATIOi`1S (CONSENT CALENDAR ITEM 3C)
Street Vacation - Portion of S. 206th Street.
ADOPTION of Ordinance 2753 vacating a portion of
South206th Street. The public hearing on this vaca-
tion was held on November 3, 1987.
Street Vacation - Portion of S. 212th Street and
77th Avenue S. (STV-87-6) . This date has been set
by Resolution 1149 for a public hearing to consider
a request by James T. Cassan to vacate a portion
of S. 212th Street and 77th Avenue S. The staff
recommends denial. The Mayor declared the public
hearing open. There were no comments from the audi-
ence. BITEMAN MOVED that the public hearing be
closed. Houser seconded. Motion carried. WOODS
MOVED to deny Street Vacation (STV-87-6 ) - portion
of S. 212th Street and 77th Avenue S. White
seconded and the motion carried.
STREETS (CONSENT CALENDAR ITEM 3D)
LID 320 - James Street Improvement. ADOPTION of
Ordinance 2754 confirming the final assessment roll
for LID 320 for street and other improvements to
James Street between West Valley Highway to near
Russell Road. The public hearing on the roll was
held by the Council on November 3 , 1987 .
LID 320 - James Street Improvement. Bid opening
was held September 11 , 1987 with seven bids received.
Robison Construction submitted the low bid in the
amount of $784, 344. 92 . Bids were held until such
time as the final assessment roll for the LID could
be confirmed. The Public Works Director recommended
that the contract be awarded to Robison Construction.
JOHNSON MOVED that the bid submitted by Robison Con-
struction in the amount of $784 , 344 . 92 for LID 320
be accepted. Houser seconded. Motion carried.
LID 331 - S. 240th Street Improvements. This date
has been set for the public hearing on the forma-
tion of LID 331 for street improvements on S. 240th
Street from 108th Avenue S.E. to 116th Avenue S.E.
The City Clerk has given the proper legal notice.
The Director of Public Works described the project,
noting that current traffic volunes exceed the
capacity of the existing road, warranting the pro-
posed five-lane roadway. The County has scheduled
the improvements of S. 240th from 116th to 132nd
Avenue S.E. Urban Arterial Funds have been approved
for 62% of this LID and the remainder is to be
assessed to the property owners. The estimated
cost of the improvement is $1 , 440 , 900, of which
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November 17, 1987
STREETS $900, 000 is to be paid by the UAB grant, leaving
$540, 900 to be funded by assessments. Wickstrom
described the method of assessment and the 10-year
financing, and pointed out that if the project is
not approved, the UAB grant money will be forfeited.
(LID 331 ) The public hearing was opened by Mayor Kelleher.
Letters of protest were read from Charles D. Cowley,
Silvio Scarsella, Emil Scarsella, Lewis Haak,
J. A. Holck, the Lutheran Church of the Cross ,
Mildred Smyth and M. G. Welch. Letters have also
been received from Brian Matheny, Mrs. Spickler and
Roderick Smith. All of the letters have been filed
for the record. Wickstrom noted that 25 property
owners were involved and 11 protests have been
received. One of the eleven had already executed
a "no protest LID covenant" , so the protests total
35 . 63% of the project. He explained for the public
that protests totaling 60% of the assessments would
automatically restrain the formation of the LID.
He clarified that the Council could also drop the
proceedings. Upon White ' s question, he noted that
assessment amounts ranged from $5, 342 to $47 , 226,
depending upon the size of the parcel involved.
It was further explained that some of the property
owners on this assessment roll were also involved
in a sewer improvement LID, also scheduled for
public hearing at this meeting. Wickstrom confirmed
for Bailey that the LID participants had been
advised that if the City did not utilize the UAB
funds, such funds would be reallocated to another
Cityfor their use. He explained for Mr. Leonard
that this was the last of the UAB allocations, unless
a new UAB program is formed.
Anthony Dipangrazio, property owner in the project,
stated that the charges are unreasonably high and
that the property would not be benefitted enough
to warrant the amount of the assessment. James
Senger spoke on behalf of the Lutheran Church of
the Cross protesting the LID. Upon Art Kleppen' s
question, Wickstrom confirmed that those who had
signed "no protest" covenants were counted as
approving the LID, and that any who do not file a
protest are also counted as positive votes. Upon
Jim McGuinnes ' question, Wickstrom noted that 37%
could not protest because of the covenants. Charles
Spurgeon objected to the LID on behalf of the Haaks
and suggested that some of the owners of single
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November 17, 1987
STREETS family property might favor the proposal if the
zoning was changed.
After all who wished to speak had done so, the public
hearing was closed by motion.
JOHNSON MOVED that the memorandum from the Public
(LID 331 ) Works Director be made a part of the record and the
City Attorney be directed to prepare the ordinance
creating LID 331 . White seconded for the purpose
of allowing discussion. Johnson stated that the
City would lose the grant if the LID is abandoned.
He pointed out that the City ' s No. 1 priority was
to resolve the transportation problems. If the
City were to have to pay the LID costs , taxes would
have to be raised. Bailey concurred with Johnson
that, in view of the County' s plan for improving
240th to the east, that this portion should also
be improved. He stated that he sympathized with
the comments made tonight, but that there was no
alternative but to do the job while the grant money
was available. White concurred that the need for
the improvement was great and he asked for time to
consider whether the properties would be benefitted
in an amount equal to the assessments . Wickstrom
noted that time was important as UAB funds would
be allocated on a first come, first served basis.
It was determined that the Public Works Committee
could consider the problems and make a recommenda-
tion for the December 1 Council meeting. WHITE
SO MOVED and Houser seconded. Johnson spoke against
the motion to delay. Upon question, Kelleher noted
that the motion to refer to committee would super-
cede the former motion. Jim Leonard suggested
that this could be made into two projects, funding
the portion from 108th to 112th Avenue S.E. with
UAB funds and for the City to find some other way
to finance the portion from 112th to 116th Avenue S.E.
The motion carried with Johnson voting against it
and Bailey abstaining since he will not be present
for the Committee meeting. He noted that Dowell
would attend in his place.
ZONING OF EAST Areas A and B - Zoning. This is the first of two
HILL COMMUNITY hearings to consider the Hearing Examiner ' s recom-
WELL ANNEXATION mended zoning for the East Hill Community Well
AREA NO. 2 Annexation Area No. 2, Areas A and B. The second
hearing for Areas A and B is scheduled for January 5,
1988.
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November 17, 1987
ZONING OF EAST Kathy McClung of the Planning Department noted that
HILL COMMUNITY the Hearing Examiner ' s recommendation is as follows:
WELL ANNEXATION
AREA NO. 2
AREA A
1. West of 100th Avenue SE (extended): R1-9.6 (single family
residential with a minimum 9,600 square foot lot size).
2. East of 100th Avenue SE (extended) : R1-7.2 (single family
residential with a minimum 7,200 square foot lot size).
AREA B
1. O, Professional and office, for that portion lying south of
SE 244th Street.
2. CC, Community Commercial, for that portion north of SE 244th
Street.
McClung noted that the recommendations for zoning
were determined by the Comprehensive Plan. The
Mayor declared the public hearing open. Mel Kleweno,
representing Goodwin, Ruth & Guinn, who own property
on S.E. 244th, noted that the East Hill Plan desig-
nates this area as multiple zoning. He pointed
out that the properties were located at the rear
of the proposed new Fred Meyer store and would be
difficult to sell for single family residential
with a minimum of 7200 sq. ft. lots . He suggested
that this area should be zoned MRM in compliance
with the East Hill Plan and because it is consistent
with good planning practice to provide buffer areas.
There were no further comments and WOODS MOVED to
continue this matter to the January 5 public hearing
at which time additional input may be received.
White seconded. Motion carried.
Area C - Zoning. Woods noted that the zoning hear-
ings and the appeals of W. J. Carey and Michael
Bergstrom have been scheduled for December 15, 1987
and January 19 1988. She MOVED to change these
hearing dates to January 19 and March 1 , 1988.
Houser seconded and the motion carried.
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COMMUTER RAIL Mayor Kelleher noted that Metro has withdrawn its
proposal to the legislature for full immediate fund-
ing for the Commuter Rail project from Seattle to
Auburn. Metro is still asking for funding of the
Phase 3 portion of the study, which is the engi-
neering work to get the project ready, should the
project be implemented. On November 25 the Metro
proposal will be before the State Rail Commission.
Puget Sound Council of Governments has stated that
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November 17, 1987
COMMUTER RAIL it will support Metro' s proposal. Pierce County
Transit and Snohomish Transit will also present
their proposals to the Commission on the 25th.
Recent conversations with Rail Commissioners have
been encouraging and the Mayor suggested that the
Council might contact the Commission to support
the allocation of funds for the study. He pointed
out that former representative Marion Kyle Sherman
now served as a Commissioner.
(CONSENT CALENDAR ITEM 3L)
Commuter Rail Project Budget. AUTHORIZATION to
establish commuter rail project budget of $20 , 000
and to transfer $20, 000 of unexpended funds from
the Corridor Studies Project fund. The commuter
rail project budget will be used to pay for expenses
incurred in working with Metro, Puget Sound Council
of Governments and the State of Washington to develop
commuter rail service in the City of Kent. Funds
will be used primarily to pay for consultant and
staff expenses incurred in analyzing the feasibility
of this project.
LIBRARY SITE Condemnation Ordinance for Library Site. Ordinance
2755 initiating the process for condemnation of
the property to be used for the future Kent Lib-
rary has been distributed. WOODS MOVED that the
Council adopt Ordinance 2755. Biteman seconded and
motion carried.
LUDGET The City Clerk has given proper legal notice estab-
lishing this date to receive public comment on the
proposed 1988 Comprehensive Budget for the City of
Kent. The budget as proposed totals $58 , 840, 905 .
Following receipt of public input the Council will
finalize the proposed budget and consider adoption,
by ordinance at the December 1 , 1987 meeting.
City Administrator McFall noted that the Compre-
hensive Budget included both an operations budget
and capital improvements proposed to be funded both
through revenues and through the issuance of bonds
in 1988. He reviewed the summary of the revenue
sources used to finance the operation of the City,
as well as a summary of expenditures by programs.
The chart showed that 51 % was for Public Works and
30% for Public Safety and he noted that the Council ' s
transportation priority was contained within this
80% category. Expenditures by program were then
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November 17, 1987
BUDGET displayed showing Capital Outlay to be 37%,
Salaries & Wages 24% and Debt Service to be 13% .
It was noted that the budget has been submmitted in
two forms, one identified as a base budget with
recommended funding based on the revenue sources
available and the other is the option budget based
on securing increased funding. The options budget
is devoted primarily to personnel , community events,
beautification and street improvements, and this
page proposes that fundingfor major east/west cor-
ridors be through a proposed $11 million voted bond
issue. Excluding the proposed bond issue, the
options budget totals $825, 845.
Figures for other cities were shown to compare pro-
perty tax and utility tax rates and McFall noted
that cities fund programs in different ways and
tax rates alone do not present a full picture. The
operations portion of the options budget would be
funded through proposed utility tax increases to
3 . 5%, except garbage which will remain at 6 . 5%.
It was noted that the Council would continue to
work on the budget and that the City Attorney would
prepare an ordinance to adopt the budget for pre-
sentation at the December 1 Council meeting.
The public hearing was opened by Mayor Kelleher.
Marvin Eckfeldt, Chairman of the Human Services
Commission, expressed appreciation for the alloca-
tion of $109, 568 for Human Services for 1988. The
Commission has investigated the participating agen-
cies and have recommended approval of the funding
as shown in the report. Brief reports were given
by the following:
Community Service Center, Mary Lou Beckvar
Domestic Women's Abuse Network, Mary Violet Burns
Kent Community Clinic, Jim Bauman
Kent Valley Youth Services, Hans Rasmussen
Rape Relief, Cheryl Berch
Children's Therapy Center, Steve Anderson
Ron Ricketts, President of the Chamber of Commerce,
stated that the Chamber recommends that the City
reprioritize the expenditures to live within the
base budget without increasing taxes, including
the use of the option budget.
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November 17, 1987
BUDGET Joe Street concurred with Brent McFall in that it
is difficult to compare utility taxes without hav-
ing full information. He had found that although
Kent ' s tax rate is lower than Renton ' s, his total
tax on utilities would be almost the same. He
stated that utilities taxes are most burdensome
on low or medium income citizens, and concurred in
the Chamber ' s recommendation. He asked for the
City to verify whether the Council had adopted a
policy at the time of the planning of the Kent
Commons that the facility would be self supporting.
He noted that it was self supporting for about
five years, but that it was not now. He noted that
he had asked this question before but had not had
an answer. Street stated that a Parks Committee
in the past had directed the Parks Department to
increase fees both inside and outside so that
recreation programs would pay their own way. The
County no longer supports recreation programs in
this area. There were no objections and it was
agreed that City Administrator McFall would respond
to this matter and the matter of the Kent Commons,
within ten days. Bailey stated that he had
researched the Council records and had found that
a Councilman had stated that in his view, it would
be the intent of the Council to have the Commons
be self-sustaining, however that language does not
appearin the resolution providing for the bonds .
Street critizied what appeared to be some salary
increases in the budget document and urged that the
matter be studied before the budget is adopted.
He suggested that the City consider the fact that
the Renton Senior Center was similar in size to j
Kent ' s and that it operated on less money with fewer
paid staff, utilizing the services of volunteers.
He also questioned additional staff in utility
billing, pointing ou that customer ' s payments are
mailed directly to the bank and the City no longer
bills for garbage service.
Ted Knapp of Union Pacific Railway, noted that the
City' s top priority for this year is transportation,
yet there is only a limited amount of money earmarked
for new transportation improvements for regional
systems. The private sector is committing to
build some of these roads , through traffic miti-
9
ation agreements . He stated that the Council and
public ublic sector should make similar commitments
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November 17, 1987
BUDGET toward solving the transportation problems and noted
that the economic development of the valley depends
on the resolution of the traffic problems.
There were no further comments and the hearing was
closed by motion.
FINANCE (CONSENT CALENDAR ITEM 3B)
Approval of Bills. APPROVAL of payment of the bills
received through November 18, 1987, after auditing
by the Operations Committee at its meeting at 8 : 30
a.m. on November 30 , 1987 .
Approval of issuance of checks for vouchers as follows:
Date Check Numbers Amount
10/9-10/14 54393- 54397 $ 38,480.54
10/15 54805-55222 $614,173.47
10/15-10/26 54749-54788 $316,619.66
Total $969.273.67
Approval of issuance of checks for payroll as follows:
Date Check Numbers Amount
11/5/87 96640-97215 $556,853.52
FIRE DEPARTMENT (CONSENT CALENDAR ITEM 3M)
Open Burning. ADOPTION of Resolution 1154 allow-
ing land-clearing burning to accordance with State,
Puget Sound Air Pollution and local regulations.
POLICE DEPARTMENT (CONSENT CALENDAR ITEM 3F)
Drinking Driver Countermeasure Program Grant
Application. ACCEPTANCE of the Kent Drinking
Driver Countermeasure Program Grant of $51 , 015 cover-
ing November 1 , 1987 to October 31 , 1988.
(CONSENT CALENDAR ITEM 3G)
Corrections Facility/American Corrections Associ-
tion Accreditation. AUTHORIZATION for the Mayor
to sign American Accreditation contractual agree-
ment. The Kent Corrections Facility is competing
on a national basis to obtain a pilot project from
the American Corrections Association to test the
feasibility of the new small jail standards for
operations. This unique opportunity is timely due
to the fact that the Washington Corrections Stan-
dards will no longer be in effect after December.
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November 17, 1987
PARKS & (CONSENT CALENDAR ITEM 3I )
RECREATION Van Doren's Landing. ACCEPTANCE of the pre-
fabricated restroom building at Van Doren' s Landing
Park as complete and release of retainage to Entex
Corporation upon receipt of State releases.
Donation of Property by Puget Sound Power and Light
j Company. Puget Sound Power and Light Company has
approached the Parks Department regarding a dona-
tion of property prior to January 1 , 1988. The
subject propertyis a 160 foot strip of land running
east to west from West Valley Highway to Green
River (approximately 20 acres ) . The property
borders the City lagoon site on the south. WOODS
MOVED that the City accept the Puget Sound Power
j and Light Company ' s donation of property for muni-
cipal purposes after review and approval of the
Property Manager and City Attorney. White seconded
and the motion carried.
TRANSPORTATION (CONSENT CALENDAR ITEM 3J)
TASK FORCE REMOVED BY COUNCILMEMBER WHITE
Transportation Task Force Recommendation on Traffic
Congestion. A report from the Mayor ' s Task Force
on Transportation, including recommendations, was dis-
tributed on November 3 , 1987 and has been filed for
the record. It is not required that it be formally
accepted by the Council.
PERSONNEL (CONSENT CALENDAR ITEM 3H)
Drinking Driver Task Force/Crime Prevention Part-
Time Position Merge. AUTHORIZATION to combine two
part-time positions, one in the Drinking Driver
ask Force and one in the Crime Prevention Unit
into one full time position. The Police Department
has plans to combine the functional efforts of the
Drinking Driver Task Force and the Crime Prevention
Unit in the interest of organizational efficiency.
(CONSENT CALENDAR ITEM 3E)
REMOVED BY COUNCILMEMBER WHITE
City Wellness Program. Approval has been proposed
for authorization for the Mayor to sign a contract
with the Center for Health Promotion/Group Health
Cooperative. The agreement will provide a compre-
hensive wellness program for City staff. Funds for
the program will be provided from the City' s medical
trust.
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November 17, 1987
PERSONNEL Bailey noted that a Wellness Program for City
employees proposed by Mr. Capato of the Park Avenue
Fitness Center was referred to the Operations Com-
mittee in July. The program was analysed and it
was proposed that a program could be developed in-
house at a reduced price. Another program was
presented using the Group Health facilities, for
less money and it was proposed to use funds from
the City ' s medical trust funds. The staff was then
requested to pursue other programs , and the Group
Health program was still recommended. The Opera-
tions Committee has discussed the matter several
times, in the presence of Chamber of Commerce mem-
bers. The Committee has failed to reach an agree-
ment and it had been suggested that the matter be
(Wellness Program) resolved by the Council as a whole. McFall and
Webby have been asked to present the highlights of
the program. Biteman noted that all were in favor
of having a wellness program for the City employees
but had not agreed on the form. He stated that
more extensive analysis of the program should be
allowed. He noted that resource people should have
been consulted for input. It was felt that the
$15, 000 should be more than sufficient to cover
both the wellness and the fitness portions .
Upon a request for Council opinion, Woods stated
that she' was reluctant to act without the recom-
mendation of the Committee. BITEMAN MOVED to have
consideration of this item postponed. Houser
seconded. Johnson asked what would be accomplished.
It was noted that Mr. Pulisevich of the Peninsula
School District was in attendance to give a pre-
sentation. Bailey stated he had no objection to
this so long as staff could do the same. The motion
to defer failed, with Biteman, Houser and Woods
voting in favor. BAILEY MOVED to allow presenta-
tions from staff and from Mr. Pulisevich. Johnson
seconded and the motion carried.
McFall stated that since the Council wished, the
staff would give a brief presentation regarding
the recommendation and background of same. He
noted that he did not regard this as a competitive
situation and questioned whether the Council wanted
to become involved in vendor presentations . Webby
noted that plans for this program began a year ago
and were to be implemented in 1988. Kent ' s employee
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November 17, 1987
PERSONNEL benefits consultant reviewed the program design
and it was concluded that such a program would cost
$15 , 000 for implementation and would cover the
first year. A number of suggestions had been made
including investigating programs in Gig Harbor and
in Eugene, Oregon. Webby noted the steps included
in the program, which are contained in the report
supplied with the agenda. The report also notes
that the staff ' s recommendation to contract with
Group Health Cooperative follows a comprehensive
research and analysis phase which included a review
of many programs and facilities within the Puget
Sound region. Approximately fifteen different pro-
grams, facilities and/or companies were contacted
(Wellness Program) in this process .
Webby pointed out that some activities at Kent
Commons have been proposed as one alternative for
fitness programs, with the City sharing in the
cost of the programs.
Don Pulisevich, Health Promotion Director for Penin-
sula School District, was introduced. He noted
that a few months ago Biteman had expressed interest
in the Peninsula program which serves 600 school
employees plus about 100 from the power company.
He expressed willingness to assist Kent set up a
similar program. He described his program, stating
that local medical resources are used to supply
health profiles for each participant and to conduct
health seminars . He has information on the latest
exercise equipment and fitness programs are conducted
regularly for employees. Supplies and rental of
g Y
equipment for t he health profiles would cost about
$500 in addition to the $3000 consultant fee. It
was determined that some screenings require services
of a medical doctor and Pulisevich noted that doctors
were willing to volunteer their services. It was
clarified that the services provided would be to
conduct the profiles, set up the seminars and the on-
going programs and instruct the City s representa-
tive on how to promote and continue the programs.
Upon Bailey ' s question, it was determined that
Pulisevich s consulting services would be available
on his time off from his regular employment hours.
BITEMAN MOVED to refer the matter back to the Opera-
tions Committee. Houser seconded. Biteman pointed
out he had given information on the Peninsula School
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November 17, 1987
BUDGET District program to staff two weeks ago, but that
Pulisevich had not been contacted until yesterday.
He recommended more study of this complicated pro-
gram. Bailey favored the proposal presented by
staff, noting that Group Health was a local organi-
zation and had set up such programs for other
employers. It was determined that the committee
(Wellness Program) had discussed the wellness program two or three
times , and further that the committee members had
not been in agreement. Bailey noted that staff
had researched other programs and that he favored
the Group Health program and would not vote for
referring the matter back to the committee. White
noted that since staff would be expected to admini-
ster the program, agreement should be reached.
Biteman withdrew his motion in deference to White
and WHITE MOVED to delay Council action on this
matter until the second meeting in December, to
allow the committee time for additional research.
Biteman seconded and the motion carried with Bailey,
Dowell and Johnson opposing.
TRAFFIC MITIGATION This matter was referred to the Public Works Com-
mittee for their review and recommendation. The
Public Works Committee held a public meeting on
November 10, 1987 to discuss this matter and many
developers were in attendance. The committee
minutes have been distributed and have been made a
part of the record. HOUSER MOVED that the City
Council direct that the use of mitigation agree-
ments as a funding mechanism for capital improve-
ments cease and that the City release all property
owners who have been compelled to sign such agree-
ments . Biteman seconded. Bailey noted that the
City took testimony from developers and other inte-
rested parties. It was determined then that we ask
the Chamber of Commerce to form a task force con-
sisting of their members , VATA, the City Engineer
and others to see if they could suggest a proposal
to the City for mitigation of highway traffic pro-
blems. At that time the existing mitigation fees
were discussed and it was agreed to use the "favored
!I nation" clause. He recommended therefore that the
fees not be removed until this committee reports
back. City Attorney Driscoll noted tht there is
substantial legal doubt that the City has the
authority to release individuals from the mitigation
agreements . The agreements were developed pursuant
to SEPA requirements and the City does not have the
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November 17 1987
TRAFFIC MITIGATION legal authority to release these. She pointed out
that some of the agreements were for developments
which have since been completed. The City could
attempt to find alternatives to the existing environ-
mental mitigation agreements, but legally we could
not just release these. Even if the agreements
could be renegotiated, dealing with the traffic
impacts would still be required.
I
Houser changed the motion to delete the portion
about already existing agreements and Biteman con-
curred. Wickstrom explained that the mitigation
agreements were an alternative for the developers,
so that they would not have to wait for costly,
time-consuming traffic studies to be made of inter-
sections in the area of their particular projects.
He noted for Biteman that a mitigation agreement is
an LID covenant running with the property, which
could be ten or twenty years in the future.
White noted that Transportation and Traffic is the
1 priority, and al
though h he is not
City s No. p y, g
happy with mitigation fees, we should not take this
action until we have a recommendation from the Task
Force as suggested by the Public Works Committee.
j Houser ' s motion was defeated, with only she and
Biteman supporting it.
JOHNSON MOVED that 1 ) the Council recommends to the
Chamber of Commerce that a Task Force be formed con-
sisting of Chamber of Commerce members, VATA members
and City staff to review the City' s present traffic
mitigation agreements and associated factors ; 2 )
that no elected official of the City of Kent sit
on this task force; 3 ) the City staff be directed
to work with King County to develop an interlocal
agreement dealing with developments in the County
which impact the City ' s transportation system ser-
vice levels; and 4 ) the current Environmental Miti-
gation Agreements be continued until such time as
this Task Force has made their recommendation to
the City and City has adopted same; subject, however,
to incorporating into any new agreements the "favored
nation clause" . And further, that Jon Johnson' s
memo in the form of committee minutes , be made a
part of the record. Bailey seconded. Motion carried.
It was determined that the task force should make
a report in 90 days.
The following memorandum from the Chamber of Com-
merce has been filed for the record: The Kent
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i
November 17, 1987
TRAFFIC MITIGATION Chamber of Commerce recommends that the Kent City
Council form a public/private task force to review
and make recommendations to the City Council regard-
ing the transportation mitigation issues currently
facing the City of Kent. Recommendations from
that task force should be presented to the Chamber
and the City within ninety days.
APPLE LANE NO. 1 Appeal. On October 8, 1987 , the Short Subdivision
SHORT SUBDIVISION Committee approved Apple Lane No. 1 Short Subdivision
(SP-87-13 ) (SP-87-13 ) with six conditions, as outlined in the
staff report. The applicant, Paul Morford, appealed
Condition 125A requiring participation in the South
277th Street corridor project to mitigate traffic
impacts . The appeal was the subject of a public
hearing at the Council meeting of October 20 , at
which time action was tabled until a report was
received from the Public Works Committee meeting
of November 10. Morford noted that the SEPA ordi-
nance excludes developments with less than 12 units.
Wickstrom stated that the condition has been placed
on the short plat under the subdivision laws and
has nothing MOVED to rant
to do with SEPA. DOWELL
g
Morford ' s appeal . Biteman seconded. Dowell noted
that it seemed that four units on James Street
wouldn ' t require a mitigation agreement. It was noted
that the item had b.E�en tabled, and the paper work
had not been distributed for this meeting. Harris
noted that the reference to SEPA contained in the
Planning Staff Report was in error, that the require-
ment had always been a requirement of the subdivision
code. It was determined further that the reason
for tabling at the October 20th meeting was to wait
for the report from the Public Works committee meet-
ing of November 10 . Harris determined further that
the Council did not have the paper work available
tonight and suggested that the matter be tabled to
the next meeting. WOODS SO MOVED and Biteman
seconed. The motion carried.
COUNCIL COMMITTE,S President's Report. Council President White noted
that there will be be a workshop regarding the bud-
(Budget Workshop) get at 6 : 00 p.m. on November 24 . He also announced
that the Council retreat will be held the second
weekend in January. White noted
that the resolu-
tion providing for guidelines for payment of
expenses for Councilmembers would be discussed at
the December 1 Council meeting.
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November 17, 1987
ADJOURNMENT JOHNSON MOVED that the meeting be adjourned at
11 : 15 p.m. Houser seconded and the motion
carried.
Marie ensen, 7CMC
City G3erk
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