Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Meeting - Council - Minutes - 06/05/2001 Kent, Washington June 5, 2001 The regular meeting of the Kent City Council was called to order at 7 : 00 p.m. by Mayor White . Councilmembers present : Amodt, Brotherton, Clark, Epperly, Orr, Woods and Yingling. Others present : Interim Chief Administrative Officer Martin, City Attorney Lubovich, Police Chief Crawford, Fire Chief Angelo, Public Works Director Wickstrom, Planning Manager Satterstrom, and Parks, Recreation and Community Services Director Hodgson. Approximately 95 people were at the meeting. CHANGES TO THE AGENDA Councilmember Orr asked that the order of the agenda be changed to deal with the Consent Calendar prior Public Hearings . There was no objection and it was so ordered. The following items were added to Continued Communications at the request of audience members : 11A - Easement, 11B - Taxes and discrepancies, 11C - Business in residential zone, and 11D - Golf Course . PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS Employee of the Month. Mayor White introduced Helena Reynolds, Parks Program Coordinator for the Kent Senior Activity Center and announced that she has been chosen as Employee of the Month for June. He noted that Ms. Reynolds has built up the City' s volunteer programs into some of the best in King County, and that she supervises the largest Meals on Wheels program in the county. He noted that she provides programs that appeal to both the older seniors and the younger ones, and that because of her hard work and commitment, the City now has 49 professionally taught computer class sessions per quarter for seniors . He said Ms . Reynolds is truly an asset to the City of Kent . Lea Bishop, Kent Senior Activities Center Manager, commended Reynolds on the new programs she is working on and for her work with the Washington State Association of Senior Center and thanked her for her tireless efforts . Fire Department Citizen Award Presentation. Fire Lt . Pat Pawlak introduced Mr. Jesse Garcia and stated that on April 4 , 2001, at 6 : 30 a.m. Mr. Garcia noticed smoke in the apartment building where he lived, and that he immediately called 911 to report the fire and then went down the hallway knocking on doors alerting every- one to the fire . Lt . Pawlak paid tribute to Mr. Garcia 1 Kent City Council Minutes June 5, 2001 PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS for his lifesaving notification of neighbors by pre- senting him with the Fire Department Citizen Award Presentation and a plaque honoring him for his selfless act . Fire Chief Angelo said the Fire Department depends on citizens to be involved, and that what Mr. Garcia did goes above and beyond being brave . Washington Recreation and Park Association Staff Award. Cheryl Fraser, Resource Center Program and Facility Manager, introduced Dennis Higashiyama and noted that he recently received the Professional Citation of Merit Award. She explained that Mr. Higashiyama is a program specialist with the youth and teen services division, and has been involved with the Washington Recreation and Parks Association for many years . Higashiyama said he enjoys working for the City of Kent, which is a good reflection on the Mayor, Council and Parks Director. Washington Aggregate and Concrete Award. Curtis Nakamura of Gary Merlino Construction noted that the 2000 Sidewalk Replacement and Gateway Improvement Project was chosen as the winner of the Excellence in Concrete Construction Award by the Washington Aggregate and Concrete Association in the Public works category. He and Gary Merlino presented the plaque to the City of Kent . Hire-A-Veteran Month. Mayor White read a proclamation noting that there are more than 619, 000 veterans residing in Washington and that over 70, 000 veterans have sought employment and training services from the Employment Security Department during the last program year. He proclaimed June 2001 as Hire-A-Veteran Month in the City of Kent and urged all citizens to join him in this special observance . Don Sparks of the Washington State Employment Security Department office in Auburn accepted the proclamation and conveyed appreciation to the Mayor, Council and business com- munity for their support . He added that the Auburn office has achieved one of the highest veterans employment rates in the state . CONSENT CALENDAR ORR MOVED to approve Consent Calendar Items A through M. Woods seconded and the motion carried. 2 Kent City Council Minutes June 5, 2001 MINUTES (CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEM 6A) Approval of Minutes. APPROVAL of the minutes of the regular Council meeting of May 15, 2001 . WATER (CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEM 6C) Auburn-Kent Emergency Water Intertie Agreement. AUTHORIZATION for the Mayor to sign the Kent/Auburn Water System Intertie Agreement for the emergency supply facility located near South 277th Street upon concur- rence of the language therein by the City Attorney and the Public Works Director, as recommended by the Public Works Committee . (CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEM 6D) Soos Creek Water & Sewer District Emergency System Intertie Agreement. AUTHORIZATION for the Mayor to sign the Soos Creek Water & Sewer District Emergency Use Intertie Agreement upon concurrence of the language therein by the City Attorney and the Public Works Director, as recommended by the Public Works Committee . PUBLIC WORKS (CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEM 6E) Falkner Short Plat Latercomer Agreement. AUTHORIZATION for the Public Works Director to execute a Sanitary Sewer Latecomer Agreement for the Falkner Short Plat, as recommended by the Public Works Committee . (CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEM 6L) 2000 Asphalt Overlay. ACCEPT the 2000 Asphalt Overlay contract as complete and release retainage to Icon Materials, Inc . upon standard releases from the State and release of any liens . The original contract amount was $552 , 042 . 30 . The final construction cost was $444, 849 . 03 , as recommended by the Public Works Director. (CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEM 6M) 155th Avenue SE Street Vacation. ADOPTION of Ordinance No. 3559 relating to the vacation of a portion of 155thAvenue SE. A Street and/or Alley Vacation Application and Petition was filed by DFM, LLC, to vacate a portion of 155th Avenue SE. Planning Services 3 Kent City Council Minutes June 5, 2001 PUBLIC WORKS processed this petition and the Public Works Department approved the petition for vacation. A public hearing was held on January 16, 2001 . PUBLIC SAFETY (CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEM 6F) Unlawful Race Attendance and "Stay Out of Areas of Racing. " ADOPTION of Ordinance No. 3557 relating to unlawful race attendance and "Stay Out of Areas of Racing" orders . The City of Kent has an ongoing problem with illegal racing in numerous areas of the City. The illegal races occur weekly in times of good weather and regularly involve 500+ people and 200 cars . The illegal races occur on City streets and create a serious risk of death or bodily injury and property damage to the racers, spectators, police, and innocent persons coming into the areas . The ordinance will amend the Kent City Code to establish misdemeanor crimes that address issues of racing. (CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEM 6G) Washington State Traffic Safety Commission Grants. ACCEPT and budget for two Washington Traffic Safety Commission Mini-grants for the Drinking Driver Task Force : A. $500 mini-grant from WTSC received indirectly from Safety Restraint Coalition to provide shirts for the "Child Passenger Safety Team. " B. $400 mini-grant from WTSC to provide an overhead projector to be used for training and educational programs . (OTHER BUSINESS - ITEM 72) Emergency Medical Services. The City of Kent has a population of over 70, 000 people, and cities in King County of greater than 50, 000 in population must approve any EMS levy being placed on a county-wide ballot . The proposed resolution approves the levy renewal being placed on the November 2001 ballot with a levy rate of twenty-five cents per thousand dollars of assessed valuation. The resolution provides that such approval is given on the condition that the 2002 Strategic Plan 4 Kent City Council Minutes June 5, 2001 PUBLIC SAFETY Update of the 1998-2003 Strategic Plan will include a meaningful participation with the County in discussions regarding the feasibility of delivering paramedic Advanced Life Support services by means of a consortium of South King County Basic Life Support provider agencies . Fire Chief Angelo pointed out that this has been discussed at a Council workshop. EPPERLY MOVED to pass Resolution No. 1593 approving the EMS levy being placed on the November 2001 county-wide ballot . Amodt seconded. Epperly stated that the voters should make the decision. Amodt noted that this simply puts the EMS issue on the ballot . The motion then carried. PLANNING (HEARINGS - ITEM 5A) Multifamily Tax Exemption. Chapter 3 . 25 of the Kent City Code entitled "Multi-Family Dwelling Tax Exemption, " exempts from ad valorem taxes, for up to ten (10) years, approved multi-family housing in the target area to help create additional desirable, attractive, and livable residential housing. The ordinance also revises related provisions of Chapter 2 . 32 of the Kent City Code . The City Attorney noted that a substitute ordinance has been distributed which clarifies that the exemption applies to owner occupied condominiums-type housing. Eileen Harris of the Planning Department said this is designed to create a community with a visible residen- tial component which supports retail , commercial and government sectors . She displayed the target area and noted for Brotherton that the mixed use area near SR 167 and Washington Avenue was not included in order to be consistent with the Downtown Strategic Action Plan and in order to focus efforts on bringing housing into the downtown core . Mayor White opened the public hearing. There were no comments from the audience and EPPERLY MOVED to close 5 Kent City Council Minutes June 5, 2001 PLANNING the public hearing. Woods seconded and the motion carried. BROTHERTON MOVED to adopt Ordinance No. 3560 relating to the development of multifamily housing, exemption from certain ad valorem taxes and to related appeal provi- sions . Woods seconded. It was clarified that this is the substitute ordinance relating to the owner occupied condominium requirement . Clark pointed out that this is an opportunity to change the face of downtown and make Kent a more livable City. The motion then carried. (HEARINGS - ITEM 5C) Kent Commuter Rail Station Garage Conditional Use Permit Closed Record Appeal (CE-2000-9) . This is a closed record appeal hearing of the City' s Hearing Examiner' s revised decision approving a conditional use permit for the Kent Commuter Rail Station Garage. The Hearing Examiner' s Findings and Decision were first issued on January 24 , 2001 . Mr. Don Shaffer requested recon- sideration of that decision, and on March 15, 2001, the Hearing Examiner issued a revised final decision, which is the subject of this closed record appeal . This particular hearing is not a public hearing, but a closed record appeal hearing. A closed record appeal hearing is limited strictly to the record and to the parties directly involved in the appeal . The record is the same record used by the City' s Hearing Examiner to make his decision on this matter and includes both the documents submitted to the Hearing Examiner and transcripts of the oral testimony presented before the Hearing Examiner. Only three parties - or their designated representatives - will be allowed to address the Council on this appeal : Mr. Shaffer, who is the appellant; Sound Transit, who is the permit applicant; and a member of the City staff . City Attorney Lubovich explained the procedure and announced that he has a conflict and will turn the chair over to outside counsel, Mr. Phil Olbrechts of Ogden Murphy and Wallace. He added that a motion was filed by Sound Transit and City staff to limit evidence submitted in the appeal by Mr. Shaffer as outside the record. 6 Kent City Council Minutes June 5, 2001 PLANNING Mr. Olbrechts noted that this is a quasi-judicial meeting, so ex-parte contacts or personal benefits or detriments should be disclosed. He explained that it is a state requirement that no new evidence is to be heard. Mayor White declared the hearing open. Kim Pratt from the Legal Department reiterated that the City and Sound Transit made a motion not to add additional evidence to the record. She pointed out that the record is the first portion of the large notebook entitled "Kent Commuter Rail Station Garage Conditional Use Permit Appeal" and asked that the other documents not be included as part of the record from the Hearing Examiner. ORR MOVED that this hearing be based on the record of the Hearing Examiner and that none of the additional documents, according to State law, be allowed to be considered as part of the hearing. Woods seconded and the motion carried. Don Shaffer, President of Northwest Alliance, objected to the fact that he did not have an opportunity to object to the motion, but that he did submit a response to the motion. He said State law allows information which was not available at the time of the hearing to be submitted at a later time . He said some of the informa- tion he requested on January 11 was not received until May 4 , making it difficult to submit it on January 10 . He said he was not given notice of the public hearing. Shaffer noted that there are 415 pages of documents in the binder, 270 of which he submitted and that virtually none of it was available at the time of the hearing. Shaffer requested that twenty minutes of his time be reserved for rebuttal . He said his concern is primarily that his family has operated various businesses at this location since the late 1800 ' s . He said he feels that alone should provide an opportunity to participate in the public process for the design of the station and garage . He reiterated that he did not receive notice of the public hearing on January 10 even though he was a party of record, therefore he was not able to attend and contribute . He said he was not aware that the scope of 7 Kent City Council Minutes June 5, 2001 PLANNING the garage had expanded, and noted that he is the only business owner whose tenants are impacted by the construction and operation of the garage . Shaffer stated that City and RTA staff do not reply to letters and phone calls, and said it is difficult to participate in the process . He said the RTA budget for the train station was $6, 000, 000 and is now at an estimated completion cost of $32, 000, 000 , which is the essence of why they are trying to side step the normal requirements . Shaffer said his concerns are legitimate and that there is not a land use permit under the Conditional Use requirements, and yet construction at the garage site is progressing full speed. He said RTA had told him that there will no impacts to his tenants while construction is going on and when the garage goes into operation. He played a recording of the noise from the construction and said this is an impact . He asked that the normal environmental checklist be gone through and impacts mitigated. He noted that he has had a greater vacancy rate because of construction parking, and has found it difficult to find new tenants. He said he is one businessman against USDOT, FTA, RTA, King County, and the City trying to protect his business . Shaffer stated that no one looked at the issue of getting trucks in and out of his building, and that not only was that issue not considered, but the staff report did not even indicate that the building exists . He questioned how the Hearing Examiner could consider impacts to the building if it was not acknowledged that the building exists . He reiterated that his family has been at that location for over a century, and said he feels he deserved at last a phone call . Shaffer said he feels there are public process viola- tions, that the process was done in secret, and that decisions were concealed from the public . He said there are five doors on the east side of the building which he can no longer use, and that some of the new road will be under his roof . He said there are code violations as to the right-of-way, which leaves little room to get trucks in and out . 8 Kent City Council Minutes June 5, 2001 PLANNING Shaffer added that it is well known that there is hazardous material on the site. Kim Pratt of the Legal Department noted that the Hearing Examiner ruled that the seven criteria for a Conditional Use Permit were met, and said that was supported by sub- stantial evidence submitted at the hearing on January 10 and under reconsideration as well . She said that the code and statute require that those notices of the Conditional Use hearing go to the owners of property and to occupants within a certain radius, and that that was done in this case . She added that notice was also published and posted on the property. She pointed out that Northwest Alliance does not own the property which the 105 Building sits on, that it is owned by Burlington Northern, and that is why Northwest Alliance did not get notice, so there is no irregularity there. Pratt emphasized that consideration was given to Shaffer' s building and pointed out that all four of the issues which are discussed in the reconsideration done by the Hearing Examiner deal with only the 105 Building, including access to parking, access to existing loading docks and truck bays, right and left turns from the loading dock area, and access during construction. She pointed out that the Hearing Examiner proposed an additional criteria on reconsideration to deal with Mr. Shaffer ' s concerns about the construction, and that the other impacts had already been considered or mitigated. Perry Weinberg, Environmental Manager and Legal Counsel for Sound Transit, introduced Project Manager Jeff Wolfe and assured Council that the environmental processes for this project fully complied with the requirements of the law, that the public participated, and the analysis was rigorous and was reviewed by the public and many agencies . He added that Sound Transit is the lead agency and they have done the environmental work. In rebuttal, Shaffer stated that there is clear language within the City Code referring to notification to some- one who doesn' t live in the area who has corresponded with the City regarding the fact that he needs notifica- tion. He said that documents show that Northwest 9 Kent City Council Minutes June 5, 2001 PLANNING Alliance was not given notification even though he was told in writing that he would receive notice. Shaffer said it is true that the Hearing Examiner asked that the City and the contractor make available the names of contacts in case he had complaints, but that he has not received that information. He added that he has compliant letters from all of his tenants . Shaffer stated that the Hearing Examiner said he did not include the information Shaffer submitted because it was not provided to the other parties, but that there was no request that Shaffer do so. He said that traffic issues and circulation issues and turning motions were not considered, and that signalization should have been considered. Shaffer noted that he has requested a wetlands expert to review whether there is a wetlands at the northwest corner of the garage site . He said his information is factual, and that no one has said otherwise . He noted that the Washington State Code is clear that if toxic material is found on your site, you must take certain steps . He said the environmental review occurred in the fall of 1998 and the toxic studies were done in 1999, and questioned how all the hazardous material analysis was adequate when it was not even available when the documents were done. He also questioned why twelve toxic studies were done unless some of them generated information which was questionable. He said there are a number of issues indicating a wetland problem, and that the City Code says if a wetland is indicated, a wetland report must be done, but that no report was done . He said that the 1998 Federal Transit Administration Environmental Assessment mentions a 3-story garage with 500 stalls and that it is now a 5-story facility with almost 900 stalls . He said the City Code says anything over 40 stalls requires an environmental review, but that the City doesn' t have to do so . Shaffer asked that the Council remand the Conditional Use Permit CE-2000-9 back to the Hearing Examiner in order to obtain additional evidence, facts and informa- tion for reconsideration, including a yet to be done 10 Kent City Council Minutes June 5, 2001 PLANNING comprehensive review of all the issues included in the City' s environmental checklist, with particular emphasis on adverse environmental impacts due to the construction and subsequent operation of the proposed RTA garage dealing with the topics of traffic congestion, traffic circulation, noise, vibration, visual quality, loss of solar exposure, building security, pedestrian safety, historical resources, exhaust pollution, dust, removal of hazardous materials, and damage to wetlands . Shaffer said the public should have an opportunity to participate in the environmental review process as required by law; that a public notice should be prepared by the Planning Department which clearly describes the significant expansion in the scope and scale of the proposed Kent-Metro-RTA garage project including infor- mation that the construction plans provide for as many as seven total stories of structure; since the RTA, the City of Kent and King County Metro all plan to invest significant tax funds into the garage project, all three should be included in application documents as co- applicants . Since his rebuttal time was up, he then provided a copy of the memo he was reading from. ORR MOVED to sustain the Findings and Conclusions of the Hearing Examiner. Woods seconded. Upon the recommenda- tion of Mr. Olbrechts, Orr modified the motion to include directing Olbrechts or the City Attorney to write Findings and Conclusions which clearly specify what the decision was based on. Woods agreed. Epperly said the City should have ensured that Shaffer was notified, and said she thinks some procedures have been skipped or missed and that she would like the additional material to be looked at . Amodt expressed concern about issues including a land use permit, noise levels, right-of-way, and suggested that the code and statute be changed regarding notice requirements . She added that the City should go beyond notice requirements . Orr emphasized that this is an unusual situation, and that the City is not building the garage and did not do the environmental checklist because they are done by another entity. She said there is no indication that 11 Kent City Council Minutes June 5, 2001 PLANNING the appropriate processes were not done . She said the garage footprint remains the same even though more floors were added, and that she does not see anything allowing the opportunity to grant Shaffer ' s appeal . Brotherton said that he did not hear evidence that enough of an error was made that Council should reverse the decision. Yingling voiced confusion regarding the evidence, and about notification of the public hearing dates . He said he feels that a long time business should have received notice of the first hearing, and that if he did not receive notice of later hearings, it was a procedural irregularity. He said that when the scope of the project was changed, construction impacts might have been substantial and that businesses in the area would want to know about that . He said that he would like Council to speak to issues such as notice in the Findings . Orr pointed out that Mr. Shaffer received the Findings and Recommendations and was able to get information to the Hearing Examiner and ask for reconsideration, and that his Request for Reconsideration is part of the record. Yingling said there is a difference between being at a hearing and making your objections known, and learning of the hearing afterwards and trying to appeal what happened at the hearing. He said Shaffer had stated that he would not have access to his truck site because of design changes in the road structure and he has seen no comments on that from the City or Sound Transit, and that he would like the Council to address that in their findings . Epperly stated that adding an additional floor to the garage does not change the footprint or impervious surface, but does result in an impact to traffic which should have been looked at . Olbrechts explained that the evidence in the record is basically the exhibits to the Hearing Examiner' s deci- sion (Exhibits 2 and 3) and the testimony. He said that if Council feels the notice did not comply with the 12 Kent City Council Minutes June 5, 2001 PLANNING code, that ' s a reason to send the matter back to the Hearing Examiner. Upon a roll call vote, Orr' s motion to sustain the Findings and Conclusions of the Hearing Examiner and to direct Mr. Olbrechts or the City Attorney to write Findings and Conclusions which clearly specify what the decision was based on carried with Brotherton, Clark, Orr and Woods in favor and Amodt, Epperly and Yingling opposed. (CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEM 6J) Kentview Pod H Comprehensive Plan Amendment. Adoption of Ordinance No. 3558 approving amendments relating to Kentview Pod H. On May 15, 2001, the City Council approved the recommendation of the comprehensive plan amendment CPA-2000-2 (A) to amend the comprehensive plan designation of the parcel of property located at 21800 Frager Road and 22002 Riverview Boulevard from Agricultural (A) and Single Family Residential, 3 units per acre (SF-3) to Single Family Residential, 3 units per acre (SF-3) ; and approved the recommendation of the zoning map amendments for the parcel of property located at 21800 Frager Road and 22002 Riverview Boulevard from Agricultural, one unit per acre (A-1) and Single Family residential, 3 . 63 units per acre (SR-3) to Single Family Residential, 3 . 63 units per acre (SR-3) . (CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEM 6K) 228th Corridor Final EIS. SET June 19th as the Public Hearing date for the Council to consider adopting the Final Environmental Impact Statement for the S . 228th Street Extension project as complete, along with selecting the preferred alternative and its associated mitigation for the project; directing staff to pursue additional noise mitigation along the Lakes Developments and return to Council with a recommendation; and direct- ing staff to proceed with the design and implementation of the project, as recommended by Council at their May 15th workshop. (OTHER BUSINESS - ITEM 7A) Street Standards, Residential Connectivity - Subdivision Code Amendment. At its March 26, 2001, meeting, the Land Use and Planning Board recommended approval of 13 Kent City Council Minutes June 5, 2001 PLANNING amendments to Kent City Code Chapter 12 . 04 entitled "Subdivisions" to facilitate better connectivity within and between neighborhoods . The proposed ordinance would allow for such amendments . Bill Osborne of the Planning Department outlined the nine recommended revisions which increase the consis- tency between the Comprehensive Plan and the City Code . Upon Amodt ' s question, it was noted that 5 ' sidewalks allow for two people to walk side by side, and that bicycles, pedestrians, scooters and, with restrictions, skateboards would be allowed on public sidewalks . BROTHERTON MOVED to adopt Ordinance No. 3561 approving amendments to Kent City Code Chapter 12 . 04 entitled "Subdivisions" to facilitate better connectivity within and between neighborhoods . Woods seconded. Amodt spoke in opposition to the motion, noting that it adds too many restrictions and increases costs to homeowners . Clark stated that the inefficiency of current circum- stances created the need for this ordinance, and that it provides safety. Steve Mitchell, 24514 100th Avenue S .E. , asked how existing neighborhoods adjacent to new neighborhoods would be affected. Wickstrom stated that each situation would be looked at individually and made to fit . The motion to adopt Ordinance No. 3561 then carried with Amodt opposed. (OTHER BUSINESS - ITEM 7C) Land Use Fee Schedule for Notice Boards and Multifamily Exemptions. The proposed resolution enacts revisions to the fee schedule for public notice boards and further establishes revised fees consistent with the Multifamily Dwelling Tax Exemptions, as enacted this date by separate ordinance. The City Attorney pointed out that staff has recommended combining the fee schedule for notice boards and the Multifamily exemptions in one resolution. Kim Marousek of the Planning Department noted for Amodt that those are the only revisions . 14 Kent City Council Minutes June 5, 2001 PLANNING BROTHERTON MOVED to pass Resolution 1594 approving revisions to the fee schedule for public notice boards and Multifamily Dwelling tax exemptions . Clark seconded and the motion carried with Amodt opposed. Amodt opined that since the citizens and business owners have to cut back, the City should do so as well . ANNEXATION (CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEM 6H) DeMarco Annexation. SET June 19, 2001, as the date for a public hearing on the DeMarco Annexation. The King County Auditor has verified the sufficiency of the "60%" petition, and the King County Boundary Review Board is expected to approve this annexation on June 7, 2001 . (CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEM 6I) DeMarco Annexation Zoning (AZ-2001-1) . SET July 17, 2001 and August 21, 2001, as the public hearing dates to establish the initial zoning for the DeMarco Annexation area. Amendments to the comprehensive plan land use map shall also be considered. The Land Use and Planning Board made a recommendation for initial zoning and corresponding comprehensive plan and land use map amendments at their May 21st meeting. PARKS, RECREATION AND COMMUNITY SERVICES (HEARINGS - ITEM 5B) Surnlus House on 248th. The City of Kent purchased real property located at 12525 SE 248th Street as part of the East Hill Public Works Maintenance Complex. The Parks Department requests that the City Council authorize sale of a house located on the property, as it is no longer needed for City purposes . The proposed resolution would allow for such a sale . Mayor White opened the public hearing. There were no comments from the audience . ORR MOVED to close the public hearing. Woods seconded and the motion carried. WOODS MOVED to pass Resolution No. 1592 to surplus the house located at 12525 SE 248th. Epperly seconded and the motion carried. 15 Kent City Council Minutes June 5, 2001 FINANCE (CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEM 6B) Approval of Bills . APPROVAL of payment of the bills received through May 15 and paid on May 15 after auditing by the Operations Committee on May 15, 2001 . Approval of checks issued for vouchers : Date Check Numbers Amount 5/15/01 512716-513034 $1, 855, 530 . 30 5/15/01 513035-513469 1, 291 , 049 . 08 $3 , 146, 579 . 38 Approval of checks issued for payroll for April 16 through April 30 and paid on May 4, 2001 : Date Check Numbers Amount 5/4/01 Checks 251570-251949 $ 274 , 020 . 50 5/4/01 Advices 110876-111590 988 , 721 . 32 $1, 262 , 741 . 82 ADDED ITEMS (CONTINUED COMMUNICATIONS - ITEM 11A) Easement. Gail Shewev, 11217 SE 274, provided a copy of a letter dated August 18, 1999 from Michael Charneski stipulating that the City would move his private water line and provide him with an easement, and asked that the matter be looked into. WOODS MOVED to make Mr. Shewey' s letter a part of the public record. Orr seconded and the motion carried. (CONTINUED COMMUNICATIONS - ITEM 11B) Taxes and Discrepancies. Ted Kogita, 25227 Reith Road, said taxes for Kent went up, and that the City put out conflicting information about the golf course . He said that when the newspaper reported the conflicting information for the year 2000, the Mayor stated that the golf course information was a preliminary report . He asked whether the City is going to look into the matter of misrepresenting the number of rounds played. (CONTINUED COMMUNICATIONS - ITEM 11C) Business in Residential Area. Calvin Ost, 27448 141st Avenue SE, Kent stated that his neighbor has an automo- tive business and expressed concern about safety and noise . Mayor White agreed to look into the matter. 16 Kent City Council Minutes June 5, 2001 ADDED ITEMS (CONTINUED COMMUNICATIONS - ITEM 11D) Golf Course. Joe Rubio, 3831 S . 248th, said he has been told the golf course is making money but has not seen numbers showing that . He asked the Council to launch an investigation and provide a statement of all expenses . He said he 'd like to see the documents the City pre- sented to the Parks Committee on the health of the golf course, and a report of all expenses and revenues . Woods stated that the South County Journal completely misrepresented the golf course in their story and that it was one of the cheapest shots ever rendered by a publication in this community. She said that the only thing they were interested in was the Par 3 and did not want to consider that the 18-hole course, the restaurant and all other services are doing far, far better than the golf course has ever done in the past . She added that the City is currently paying hundreds of thousands of dollars a year on the debt, and when it is paid off, the City will have that revenue. She suggested that Mr. Rubio meet with Mr. Hodgson or Mr. Martin, who would be happy to show him what is on the public record from the Parks Committee, and emphasized that the golf course is doing very well . Martin stated that he has met with Hodgson about this issue and said he is extraordinarily pleased with the decisions made in the recent past in terms of the way the golf course is run and with the revenue that is generated. He said the newspaper article in question had to do with the averaging of rounds at the Par 3 as opposed to actual rounds . He said this is an insigni- ficant issue compared to the enormous success of the golf course . Hodgson noted that the State audit is almost final and that he would be happy to meet with Rubio. He added that expenses are dramatically down from the previous year. REPORTS Council President. Orr reminded Councilmembers to make reservations for the Suburban Cities dinner, and thanked the Fire Chief for the Citizen Award presentation. 17 Kent City Council Minutes June 5, 2001 REPORTS Public Works Committee. Clark noted that the next meeting will be June 18 at 5 : 00 p.m. Parks Committee. Woods noted that the next meeting will be on June 18 on 4 : 00 p.m. , and reminded citizens of the special park dedication on June 16 in the Chestnut Ridge neighborhood at 1 : 00 p.m. ADJOURNMENT ORR MOVED to adjourn at 9 : 27 p.m. Woods seconded and the motion carried. Brenda Jaco )r C� City Clerk 18