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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Meeting - Council - Minutes - 08/18/1992 Kent, Washington August 18, 1992 Regular meeting of the Kent City Council was called to order at 7 : 00 p.m. by Mayor Kelleher. Present: Councilmembers Bennett, Johnson, Mann, Orr, White and Woods, City Administrator Chow, City Attorney Lubovich, Planning Director Harris, Public Works Director Wickstrom, Information Services Director Spang, Finance Director McCarthy, Fire Chief Angelo, Police Chief Crawford, and Human Resources Director Olson. Councilmember Houser was excused from the meeting and Parks Director Wilson was on vacation. Approximately 100 people were at the meeting. PUBLIC Council Meeting Broadcast. Bill Doolittle pointed COMMUNICATION out that the Council meeting of August 4 , 1992 , had not been televised. The Mayor asked the young man who tapes the meetings to contact the cable company to make sure that this does not happen in the future, and to ask that the August 4th meeting be broadcast. Doolittle noted that he had received many calls the day after the video should have been shown from people wondering why it was not televised. He stated that he had been told by Administration that the tapes had been sent out, but that the person who coordinates this for the City of Seattle said he had not received them. He noted that the City of Seattle seems to feel that they are accommodating the City of Kent by broadcasting the meetings, and pointed out that Ordinance 2669 stipulates that TCI will provide access time for Kent City Council meetings. He said he feels that the meeting was not shown because of its length and the fact that no money is involved. He noted that there is one time slot set aside every two weeks and that if the tapes of the 4th surface, the only way to show them would be to not show tonight' s meeting. He said he feels an honest error has been made due to the length of the meeting, and asked that the Mayor and Administration make arrangements with TCI to gain an additional time slot, and publicize it so that people can see and hear what went on at the August 4th meeting. The Mayor stated that he feels the cable company would be willing to air an extra slot, and that they will be asked to do so. Police Auction. Bill Doolittle noted that at a recent committee meeting he requested the results of the police auction which was held on July 11, 1992 . He reiterated that he had not been pleased with the results of the auction held to dispose of 1 August 18 , 1992 PUBLIC furnishings from the library. He commended COMMUNICATION Charlie Lindsey for running the police auction for a total cost of just over $2100, $200 of which went to the auctioneer. He noted that the auc- tioneer for the library auction cost approximately $1500. He stated that a lesson has been learned about conducting city auctions and felt this should be a part of the record. There were no ob- jections and it was so ordered. Kent Old Timers Day. Mayor Kelleher read a proc- lamation declaring the 30th of August, 1992 , as Kent Old Timers Day in the City of Kent and inviting all Kent Old-Timers and other interested individuals to attend a reunion on August 30th and celebrate this occasion. The proclamation was presented to Dorice Wolfrom, who introduced the members of the Kent Old Timers committee, noting that together they represent over 1, 000 years of community service. Regional Justice Center. Kathleen Scott, Central Project Manager for the Regional Justice Center, explained that she will be managing the design and construction of this project for King County. She noted that there are currently three ordinances before the King County Council relating to the project, and that all three will be voted on on August 24th. She explained the ordinances as follows: 1. The first ordinance will provide for financing of the project, which will either be a levy or a bond which will go on the November ballot. 2 . The second ordinance is a facility pro- gram plan which defines the scope of the project, such as the number and size of the spaces inside the project, and also contains a schedule and a budget for the project. 3 . The third ordinance is an appropriations ordinance which funds the project from now until financing proceeds are available. 2 August 18 , 1992 PUBLIC Scott said she anticipates being able to start COMMUNICATION design by December, and that it will take 12-15 months. She noted that site work may be done in 1993 and building could occur during mid-1994 thru the end of 1995, if they stay on the current schedule. She noted that they have discussed Kent' s SEPA process and permitting process with Jim Harris, Roger Lubovich, Alana McIalwain and Raul Ramos to prepare for submittal of permits, which they anticipate will occur in October or later. She noted that the County has an open process relating to schematic design and that many review and comment sessions will be held through- out the County and in the City of Kent. She said they will be able to support Kent' s staff regarding workshops or presentations, but noted that it would be best to wait until after the vote on August 24th setting the direction and schedule for the project. White stated that there has been little or no com- munication with the City Council , and that they are asked questions on a daily basis about the impacts of this project. He said that there are serious concerns about traffic and that he would like to have some input into the process. Scott reiterated that they would not be starting the SEPA process or applying for permits until October at which point all questions will be closely looked at. White pointed out that the Councilmem- bers are not involved in the SEPA process and asked where elected officials fit in. Scott said they would be happy to conduct a workshop for staff regarding any information they have, and offered to come back to Council at least every other month to give an update on the project. The Mayor noted that the Council would like to have a workshop as soon after the 24th as possible and asked Scott to contact Council President Woods who will help schedule the workshop. CONSENT WOODS MOVED that Consent Calendar Items A through CALENDAR K, including corrections to 3A and 3C, be approved, with the exception of Item 3G which was removed by Councilmember White. Mann seconded and the motion carried. 3 August 18 , 1992 MINUTES (CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEM 3A) Approval of Minutes. Approval of the minutes of the August 4, 1992 , meeting with the following correction to page 8, line 16, regarding the 272nd/277th corridor project: "He noted that $250, 000 would be paid by City LID" SHOULD READ: "He noted that $5, 250, 000 would be paid by City LID" . SEWERS (BIDS - ITEM 5A) LID 338 - Westview Terrace/McCann's Westview Sanitary Sewer. Bid opening was July 31 with seven bids received. The low bid was submitted by Universal Land Construction in the amount of $306, 265. 54 and staff recommends the bid be accepted and the project awarded. WHITE SO MOVED. Woods seconded and the motion carried. (BIDS - ITEM 5B) Decant Stations. Bid opening was August 5 with five bids received. The low bid was submitted by R.W. Scott in the amount of $66, 401. 09. Staff recommends the bid be accepted and the project awarded. WHITE SO MOVED. Woods seconded and the motion carried. TRAFFIC (CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEM 3I) CONTROL Parking Penalties. ADOPTION of Ordinance No. 3062 relating to parking infraction penalties. Cur- rently we have parking citations that are $100 and $25 but get reduced to $25 and $10 respectively, if a mitigation hearing is not requested. This requires writing purchase orders to refund money when citizens overpay. When the additional cost of this is added to a system that already costs the City $16. 35 per citation to write and process, the City receives $10 in revenue. When they go to court, the cost is $23 . 00. The ordinance estab- lishes the $100-$25 fine to a flat $25 and the $25-$10 fine to a flat $20. 00 plus all other $10 fines are raised to $20. 4 August 18, 1992 ANNEXATION (OTHER BUSINESS - ITEM 4B) West Hill Island Annexation. The proposed ordinance would annex an area of unincorporated King County to the City of Kent, known as the West Hill Island Annexation. This ordinance replaces Ordinance 3049 which annexed the same area and was repealed by Ordinance 3060 due to non-compliance with SEPA. A public hearing was held on July 7, 1992 , on the West Hill Island Annexation. City Attorney Lubovich noted that shortly after the adoption of Ordinance 3049, it was determined that an environmental review had not been performed on the issue of the annexation, but that it has since been performed. He noted that the 45-day period for the referendum petition would begin after pas- sage of this ordinance. ORR MOVED to adopt Ordinance No. 3064 annexing the West Hill Island, subject to the City' s existing indebtedness and to the zoning requirements of the Kent City Code. White seconded and the motion carried. COUNTY-WIDE (CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEM 3C) POLICIES Ratification of County-Wide Policies. AUTHORIZA- TION to set September 1, 1992 , as the date for a public hearing on the ratification of county-wide policies. The Growth Management Plan and Council (GMPC) prepared draft policies for consideration by the King County Council and city councils. A memo of the county-wide planning policies and ordinance adopted by King County were sent to the councilmembers on August 11 for their preliminary review. BUDGET (CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEM 3F) 1993 Budget Workshop. AUTHORIZATION to set August 31 from 8 : 00 a.m. until Noon as the date and time for a workshop on the 1993 Budget, as requested by Council . The workshop will be held at the Senior Center. (OTHER BUSINESS - ITEM 4A) Deletion of Vacant Positions. As requested by the City Council at their meeting of July 21, 1992, three ordinances have been prepared for consider- ation. 5 August 18, 1992 BUDGET One ordinance would delete all 52 . 25 vacant citywide positions and associated salary credits that appear in the 1992 budget. These positions deleted would not include recent layoffs but in- clude 16. 0 1991 positions that were never filled plus 36.25 positions that were vacated in 1991 and 1992 by July 31, 1992 and not replaced. (Option A) An optional ordinance would delete ONLY the 36. 75 general fund, vacant through 7/31/92 , positions and would not include the recent layoffs. (Option B-1) Another ordinance would delete ONLY the 15. 5 non-general fund, vacant through 7/31/92 , positions and would not include the recent layoffs. (Option B-2) Finance Director McCarthy noted that deleting the vacant positions has no budgetary impact, assuming that those positions were kept frozen through 1993 . He added that deleting them cleans up the budget and allows for more realistic forecasting. He noted that deleting the vacant positions may result in the deletion of high priority positions, and that it may be inequitable since some depart- ments have had more vacancies than others. He noted that department reorganizations may be required. He distributed copies of comments writ- ten by the Police Chief, the Fire Chief and the Public Works Director proposing that certain posi- tions not be deleted. McCarthy explained for the Mayor that although the Executive Committee has discussed vacant positions, they have not reviewed those positions. McCarthy explained for White that the positions from Public Works just came to the Executive Committee last week, and that the Human Resource Department is analyzing them. Rose Nelson of the Human Resources Department noted that at least one field supervisor should be hired, that no determination has been made on the other two positions, and that a decision could be made by the next Council meeting. White asked about the Fire positions and McCarthy explained that the Executive Committee has determined that they would be frozen, since they were vacant and are not scheduled for any review by the Executive 6 August 18 , 1992 BUDGET Committee. He noted that departments have been asked to prepare a memo outlining why they would not want to delete certain positions. White pointed out that although this was requested a month ago, there is still not adequate information to take action. Woods noted that three of the four Fire positions are positions vacated in 1991 and that at the last meeting it was suggested that flexibility be available. Fire Chief Angelo said that the difficulty is that positions come open for random reasons and that certain positions have to be filled one way or another, which may mean eliminating a program. He added that in the future when positions can be filled, the vacant positions may not be the most critical positions. He said he would like to be able to reshuffle which positions to fill and which to leave vacant, adding that it may not be easy to pass another ordinance filling positions if they are all deleted. He suggested if it is not acceptable to leave the positions that were filled but vacated in 1992 , to at least leave the position titles in by ordinance and remove the funds. He added that there are also morale and labor impact issues that should be considered. Public Works Director Wickstrom noted that there are 14 . 5 Public Works positions affected, 7. 5 of which are in the general fund which he does not have a problem with deleting. He expressed con- cern about those in the enterprise funds, noting that they are self-supporting with no impact on the general fund. He noted that the City has a lot of infrastructure to be maintained and he does not have the manpower to do it. He said it is almost a crisis situation in the water utility, which is a health and safety issue. Woods stated that some of the issues raised by Angelo, Wickstrom and Crawford would better be left resolved by the Executive Committee and brought back to Council, and suggested considering the deletions tonight in an incremental fashion. SHE MOVED for a substitute ordinance to eliminate the positions that were created new for the 1991 budget but not filled, and to request that Admin- istration then bring forward at the next Council meeting a more deliberative explanation as to 7 August 18, 1992 BUDGET which positions should be retained and which should be eliminated, and that it be done in a manner which gives the department heads maximum flexibility. White seconded. Wickstrom noted that he has one position which would be in that category and it is one he would not want to give up. Orr offered a friendly amendment that the positions mentioned be only those budgeted for the general fund for 1991 and never filled. Woods agreed to the amendment and Wickstrom said that it would address his concerns. Mann asked what the advantage to deleting the positions is, since it does not affect the budget. The Mayor pointed out that if the Council deletes positions, it puts the decision for those deletions in their hands, but if more positions are created and authorized by the Council than the City can afford, then Admin- istration must decide which positions are reduced. White agreed that one way for the Council to con- trol the finances of the City is by deleting these positions and noted that they could be recreated in future budgets. Mann said it was his under- standing that it is the purpose of the Council to set policies, not to get involved in the adminis- tration. He spoke in favor of leaving the posi- tions as they are. White disagreed, noting that this is a budget item and it is their obligation to balance the budget. Bennett noted that budgets are based on the economy at the time, and that times have changed since the budget was created. He added that if more reductions are to be made, that those people should be made aware so that the other 500+ employees can get on with running the City. Doolittle noted that during the budget hearings the talk was of deleting 26 positions, and that the figure is now 56 . He said he hopes the memos mentioned tonight and any other presentations made would be made a part of the record. He said it is ironic that less than a month ago when the Human Resources Director was able to go City-wide, he pulled 13 people out of the air to be laid off, in some cases over the objection of the department managers, because he knew more about every person working for the City than the people who supervise them on a daily basis, but that there is no testi- mony tonight from him on any of these positions 8 August 18, 1992 BUDGET which won't be filled. He added that Mr. Chow and the Finance Director also have not spoken. Doolittle said he would like to know which of the 56 positions the Human Resources Director thinks are needed and which are not. The Mayor clarified for Doolittle that the process to deal with attrition is that when a position comes vacant it is automatically frozen unless the Executive Committee determines that it is an emergency-type position, and that if a department head thinks it is an emergency he takes it to the Executive Committee who hears the issue. He noted that the Human Resources Director is part of the Executive Committee. The Mayor added that if discrimination is involved, it is on the basis of which functions are urgent and which are not. He noted that although the Public Works Department request came in last week, Rose Nelson had stated that it can be determined soon whether those requests are legitimate. McCarthy clarified that the 10. 5 positions are new 1991 positions that were never filled, and that that is what the Council wishes to delete. He said that they would come back later with information on the other general fund positions. He also clarified that the positions were not left unfilled because they were not needed, but because the City did not have the money to pay for them. He pointed out that if these positions were filled, then other currently filled positions would have to be deleted, which would mean more layoffs. He explained for White that he submitted a budget which showed salary credits which assumed that the 26. 5 positions in the general fund would never be filled. He noted that some departments and Councilmembers wanted the positions on the books, therefore they needed an offsetting amount. He stated that the budget said there are more positions than the City can afford to pay. He added that the proposal to get them off the books would bring the City to a more realistic number of positions. 9 August 18, 1992 BUDGET Fire Chief Angelo said he has no arguments with the unfilled new positions. He said that he has been to the Executive Committee regarding two of the positions, which is why he listed the four he did, but that as far as he knows there is no additional review scheduled for them. He noted that with respect to cost, he has been paying out the same amount as he would have if he had promoted an individual. He said there are some factors which may be worth considering. Police Chief Crawford said that he agrees with what the Council originally suggested by deleting the positions so that there is no confusion, and that he is willing to return and debate why posi- tions should be added. He said his memo was in regard to the Criminal Justice fund which is outside the general fund, and he does not want to see deletion of the Criminal Justice positions. City Attorney Lubovich noted that Ordinance B-1 in the packet could be used, if modified as reflected in Exhibit A regarding the 10. 5 positions. Woods and White agreed. The motion then carried unani- mously on a roll call vote. The Mayor noted that Administration will bring back alternate proposals based upon the outcome of the Executive Committee and their findings regarding the other positions at the next meeting. HUMAN (CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEM 3D) RESOURCES Workers Compensation Claims Handling Contract. APPROVAL of renewal of the claims handling and payment contract, auditable annual deposit con- tract payable quarterly. Fees are per medical and per indemnity claim and per hour of engineering services for such items as air quality survey' s, sound abatement studies and the normal Labor & Industries certified instructor annual training requirements. The deposit last year was exceeded because of engineering hours, not claims, as the actual number of claims and fees were less than projected. 10 August 18, 1992 HUMAN (CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEM 3G) RESOURCES REMOVED BY COUNCILMEMBER WHITE WCIA Interlocal Agreement. ADOPTION of Resolution No. 1320 which amends the City' s existing inter- local agreement with the Washington Cities Insur- ance Authority. The amendment changes the agree- ment so that, in the future, a vote of 2/3 of the 70 member cities - rather than a unanimous vote - would be sufficient to amend the agreement. The amendment also includes numerous "housekeeping" corrections. White asked what condition the City is in regarding insurance and how Kent is rated with the Washington Cities Insurance Authority. Ken Chatwin of the Human Resources Department responded that the City is in good standing, but that there are concerns about some of the types of claims the City has had. He added that it is not something that has jeopardized the availability of coverage nor resulted in an unusual surcharge. He also explained for White that the City has the highest rate of any city in WCIA because it is the largest city in the program and the rates are based on worker hours. He added that the rate per hour is based on prior experience, and that the 1993 assessment year will be based on 1991 worker hours. He noted that the City paid a little over $800, 000 last year and anticipates that the premium for 1993 would be at least $900, 000. He noted that if the City went to a $250, 000 reten- tion plan the premium would be $316, 000 for 1993 . White asked Chatwin to make a report, and recommendations if changes are needed, at an Operations Committee meeting in the future. HE THEN MOVED for approval of this item. Woods seconded and the motion carried. (OTHER BUSINESS - ITEM 4C) ADDED BY COUNCILMEMBER JOHNSON Budget Ordinance. Councilmember Johnson distrib- uted copies of Ordinance No. 3065 amending the budget ordinance as it relates to the City Admin- istrator position, and MOVED for its adoption. White seconded. Johnson explained that this ordi- nance removes the funds for the City Administra- tor' s position from the budget, and that the 11 August 18 , 1992 HUMAN ordinance would be effective thirty days from RESOURCES passage. He stated that he offered the ordinance as the first step in trying to help establish better control over the budget situation facing the City and requested the Council 's support. Upon a roll call vote, the motion to adopt Ordinance No. 3065 carried 5-1, with only Mann opposed. (OTHER BUSINESS - ITEM 4D) ADDED BY COUNCILMEMBER JOHNSON Resolution Regarding Mayor. Johnson distributed copies of Resolution No. 1321 and MOVED for its adoption. White seconded. Johnson noted that the resolution declares the City Council ' s lack of confidence in the Mayor and his ability to effec- tively manage the administrative affairs required of his office and requests that he resign from his position as Mayor effective immediately. There was no discussion on the motion to adopt Resolu- tion No. 1321 and it passed 5-1 on a roll call vote, with only Mann opposed. (OTHER BUSINESS - ITEM 4E) ADDED BY COUNCILMEMBER WHITE Labor Negotiations. White voiced concern that Human Resources Director Olson has turned over negotiation of labor contracts to other individ- uals in the Department, and asked about the quali- fications and experience in negotiating contracts of Alana McIalwain and Rose Nelson. Olson explained that the Mayor had asked him if Ms. McIalwain could be involved in labor negotiations, since she has expressed an interest in this field. He noted that she has worked in the Personnel/ Human Resources field at a bank in the past, and that after speaking with her he agreed to assign her to be the chief negotiator for the Corrections contract. He added that Police Captain Chuck Miller is also involved, that he has 15 years of experience in labor negotiations and that he would be a valuable help to McIalwain. Olson stated that Rose Nelson has extensive experience in the labor relations field, having been Personnel Manager for a division of the Oregon Retirement System. He said that her credentials are impeccable and he has a great deal of confidence in her. He noted that he would be working with 12 August 18 , 1992 HUMAN and overseeing both individuals in the administra- RESOURCES tion of the contracts. white noted that Olson had stated earlier this year that he would be handling all six of the con- tracts, and said that a year where there is a budget crisis is not the time for on-the-job training in negotiations. He said he takes excep- tion to the way in which this is being handled. PARKS & (CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEM 3E) RECREATION First Avenue Mural by Roger Broer. APPROVAL of the selection of artist Roger Broer to complete an original painting for the City of Kent Art Collec- tion and mural of the same design to be placed at First Interstate Bank. Mr. Broer' s work was selected by the Project Jury. Mr. Broer is an accomplished Kent artist who has exhibited his work nation-wide and has worked in the collections of the Department of the Interior, Seafirst and Pierre Cardan. The completed mural will measure 613" x 719" . POLICE (CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEM 3H) Drug-Free Zones. ADOPTION of Ordinance No. 3061 establishing drug-free zones depicting the loca- tions and boundaries of the area of one thousand feet of Kent School District schools and/or school bus route stops and facilities for the purpose of enhanced penalties for crimes involving the manu- facture, sale or delivery of controlled sub- stances. COUNCIL (CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEM 3K) Council Absence. APPROVAL of a request from Councilmember Houser for an excused absence from the August 18 , 1992 City Council meeting since she will be out of town that day. FINANCE (CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEM 3B) Approval of Bills. Approval of payment of the bills received through August 14, 1992 after auditing by the Operations Committee at its meeting at 3 : 00 p.m. on August 18, 1992 . 13 August 18, 1992 FINANCE Approval of checks issued for vouchers: Date Check Numbers Amount 8/1-8/14/92 121256-121721 $2 , 794 , 515. 01 Approval of checks issued for payroll : Date Check Numbers Amount 8/20/92 01175821-01176299 $ 675, 689 . 97 (CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEM 3J) Parking Citation Collection Contract. AUTHORIZA- TION for the Mayor to sign a contract with Renton Collection Services to provide collection services on unpaid parking citations. Requests for propos- als were received from two collection agencies, Puget Sound Collections and Renton Collections. Both offered to provide services that would charge the individual who had received the parking cita- tion a fee. Puget Sound Collection offered a 35% fee and Renton Collection offered a 30% fee. Renton Collections is the recommended vendor and was selected because of their experience with other municipalities. They were highly recom- mended by the Cities of SeaTac, Renton and Black Diamond. This is a no cost item to the City. REPORTS Public Safety Committee. Mann announced that there will be one Public Safety Committee meeting in September, and that it will be held at 5: 30 p.m. on Monday, the 14th. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 8 : 30 p.m. Brenda Jacober CMC City Clerk 14