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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Meeting - Council - Minutes - 08/15/2000 Kent, Washington August 15, 2000 The regular meeting of the Kent City Council was called to order at 7 : 00 p.m. by Mayor White. Present : Councilmembers Amodt, Brotherton, Clark, Epperly, Orr, Woods and Yingling, Chief Administrative Officer McFall , Deputy City Attorney Brubaker, Police Chief Crawford, Fire Chief Angelo, Public Works Director Wickstrom, Parks Director Hodgson, Information Technology Director Mulholland, Finance Director Miller and Employee Services Director Viseth. Approximately 70 people were at the meeting. CHANGES TO THE AGENDA Negotiations on labor issues and pending litigation were added to the executive session at the request of McFall . Continued Communications Item 11A regarding city property, the 272nd corridor and the gate at S. 256th was added at the request of Martin Plys . PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS Kherson Sister City Committee. JoAnn Schaut of the Kent Sister City Association explained that members have recently traveled at their own expense to Kherson to visit and initiate a work plan for actions over the next year. The Mayor was then presented with a scepter from the Mayor of Kherson. Castlereagh Sister City Committee. JoAnn Schaut noted that a delegation from Kent has just arrived back from Castlereagh, Northern Ireland. A silver tray and a signed print of a stained glass window from the Le Mon Hotel in memory of twelve victims of a bombing at the hotel were presented to the Mayor, Council and com- munity. Mayor White expressed appreciation for the gifts and requested that the print be made a part of the City' s official art collection. He also suggested doing an exchange of artists . Students from Yangzhou, China. Finance Director Miller introduced Li Pingting and Fu Fei, who have been visit- ing Kent for the past two weeks as exchange students . Li Pingting outlined some of the places they have visited, expressed thanks for the hospitality she has received, and said she is fortunate to have this opportunity to learn independence and show others Chinese traditions . Fu Fei said the sister city 1 Kent City Council Minutes August 15, 2000 PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS program is very successful, and that he finds Kent beautiful and Americans kind, hardworking and well- mannered. He told of his experiences here and invited everyone to visit Yangzhou. Mayor White told the students he is honored to have them here and thanked the Sister City program for making it possible . CONSENT CALENDAR ORR MOVED to approve Consent Calendar Items A though L, with the exception of Item H which was removed. Woods seconded and the motion carried. MINUTES (CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEM 6A) Approval of Minutes. APPROVAL of the minutes of the regular Council meeting of August 1, 2000 . WATER (CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEM 6K) S. 218th/Garrison Creek Watermain Relocation. AUTHORIZATION for the Mayor to award the contract for the S . 218th St . /Garrison Creek Water Main Relocation project to the lowest responsive bidder, as recommended by the Public Works Committee . SEWER (CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEM 6I) Soos Creek Easement. AUTHORIZATION for the Mayor to sign the Soos Creek Water & Sewer Easement agreement for the purpose of a sanitary sewer installation for the Tahoma School District, as recommended by the Public Works Committee . TRANSPORTATION (PUBLIC HEARINGS - ITEM 5A) Six Year Transportation Improvement Plan. This date has been set for the public hearing on the Six Year Transportation Improvement Plan. Public Works Director Wickstrom explained the following projects which have been added, deleted and modified, and noted that grants may be available for these projects : Added • S . 277th Street Corridor Project, Phase II 2 Kent City Council Minutes August 15, 2000 TRANSPORTATION • S . 272nd Street Widening, Phase I, Military Rd to 26th Ave S • S . 272nd Street Widening, Phase II, 26th Ave to Pacific Highway South • 80th Ave S Widening Project, S 196th St to S 188th St • 132nd Ave SE @ Kent Kangley (SR 516) Intersection improvement Deleted • Reith Road/West Meeker at Kent-Des Moines Road • West Meeker Widening, Phase II • Sound Transit Rail Station/Transit Center • Miscellaneous Traffic Signal System Installations • SE 256th St Soos Creek Bridge Replacement Project • 132nd Ave SE Street Widening Project Phase I • 132nd Ave SE Street Widening Project Phase II Modified • James Street at Central Ave Intersection improvements • BNSF and UP Rail Road Grade Separation Project Wickstrom displayed the projects on the screen and noted that the total amount is $257, 000, 000 and that the city can fund $170, 000, 000 through grants and other sources . Wickstrom then noted for Yingling that it is not possi- ble to get grant funding to replace the Meeker Street Bridge or to build a parallel bridge . He added that the bridge is structurally sound, but that it moves approximately 28, 000 vehicles a day. Mayor White opened the public hearing. Upon a question from Martin Plvs regarding the S . 277th project, Wickstrom explained that parts of the project are in Auburn, King County, and Kent . Mayor White said the funding agencies recognize the expertise of the City of Kent, which is why Kent has been asked to take over the project, and that an agreement is being developed. Bob O' Brien, 1131 Seattle Street, asked what would happen in the event of a shortfall . Wickstrom explained that the projects are usually rolled over to the next year' s plan, which is very typical of most cities. 3 Kent City Council Minutes August 15, 2000 TRANSPORTATION McFall noted that the TIP is a list for seeking grant funding and that the Capital Improvement Program balances expenditures and revenues and is the guiding document for expenditure . Ted Kogita said that Meeker Street/Reith Road is a terrible problem, and that speeding is involved. There were no further comments from the audience and ORR MOVED to close the public hearing. Woods seconded and the motion carried. CLARK MOVED to pass Resolution No. 1575 adopting the Six Year Improvement Program. Woods seconded. Clark stated that the widening of 80th is good and that it will be heavily used. Brotherton said this is a good plan but expressed concern about the goals and about 228th, Phase III . Mayor White pointed out that S . 180th going east and west will be closed next year and that at the same time S . 277th will be closed between East and West Valley Highways . Clark' s motion then carried. The Mayor commended Wickstrom on this plan and noted that he is recognized as one of the finest strategists in the state regarding grants . (CONTINUED COMMUNICATIONS - ITEM 11A-2) S. 277th Street Corridor. Plys asked for an update on the sinking of the bridge . The Mayor said it has not yet been determined who will be responsible and that as soon as the decision is made, it will be stated publicly. TRAFFIC CONTROL (CONTINUED COMMUNICATIONS - ITEM 11A-3) Gate at S. 256th Street. Plys said it has been over six months since the gate was closed and that the citizens had been promised a report . Mayor White said there will be no comment on the gate until the Federal complaint has been addressed. Orr added that she made that 4 Kent City Council Minutes August 15, 2000 TRAFFIC CONTROL announcement at a Council meeting before the six months time period was up. Amodt noted that Mr. Hodgson' s response to one of Mr. Plys ' requests was very helpful . PUBLIC WORKS (BIDS - ITEM 8B) 2000 Asphalt Overlays. The bid opening for this project was held on August 8, 2000 . Public Works Director Wickstrom recommended award to Icon Materials, Inc . in the amount of $552 , 042 . 30 . CLARK MOVED that Schedules I, IIA, IIB, IIC, IID, IIE, IIIA, IIIB, IIIC, IIID, IIIE, IIIF, IVB, IVE, IVK, V, VII, VIII and IX of the 2000 Asphalt Overlay contract be awarded to Icon Materials, Inc . for the bid amount of $552 , 042 . 30 . Woods seconded and the motion carried. RECYCLING (CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEM 6J) Kinc County Waste Reduction and Recyclinc Grant. AUTHORIZATION for the Mayor to sign the King County Waste Reduction & Recycling Grant agreement, direct staff to accept the grant and establish a budget in the amount of $41, 733 . 00, as recommended by the Public Works Committee. This program provides funding to further the development and/or enhancement of local waste reduction and recycling projects . CITY PROPERTY (CONTINUED COMMUNICATIONS ITEM 11A-1) City Property. Plys requested information on how much property the city owns, where it is located, how much is currently being negotiated and where it is . He said this information would prevent future misunderstandings such as the one tonight . PLAT (CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEM 6L) Sylvia Final Plat. APPROVAL of the staff ' s recommenda- tion of approval with conditions of the Sylvia Final Subdivision #FSU-99-10 (Kiva #9903023) and authorization for the Mayor to sign the final plat mylar. This application was submitted by Hardeep Singh. The 5 Kent City Council Minutes August 15, 2000 PLAT Hearing Examiner issued the Findings with conditions on the preliminary plat on March 1, 2000 . ZONING CODE AMENDMENT (OTHER BUSINESS - ITEM 7A) Zoning Code Amendment, Minimum Lot Size in MRD Zone - ZCA-2000-5. On June 20, 2000, Mr. Bart Schram submitted a letter to the City requesting a review of the minimum lot size in the City' s MRD (Duplex) zone. This matter was subsequently discussed by the City Council Planning Committee and on July 3 , 2000 , the Committee referred the issue to the Land Use and Planning Board. The Board held a public hearing on July 24, 2000 and recommends that the zoning code be amended to allow duplex develop- ment on nonconforming lots in the MRD zoning district, subject to certain size limitations . BROTHERTON MOVED to approve the Land Use and Planning Board' s recommendation to amend the Kent Zoning Code to allow duplex development on certain nonconforming lots in the MRD zone. Epperly seconded and the motion carried. BROTHERTON MOVED to adopt Ordinance No. 3521 regarding minimum lot size in MRD zones . Orr seconded and the motion carried. Woods noted that she is in favor of this item. EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT (CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEM 6E) Local Domestic Preparedness Equipment Grant. ACCEPTANCE of the equipment received from King County Office of Emergency Management, as provided by the Local Domestic Preparedness Equipment Support Program Project, and authorization for the Mayor to sign both the Certification and Assurances Document and the Distribution Agreement . King County was awarded $300, 000 by the U. S . Department of Justice under the State and Local Domestic Preparedness Equipment Support Program Project . The purpose of the grant funding was to purchase and distribute a limited amount of personal protective, chemical, biological and radiological detection and decontamination equipment to some local response agencies . King County Office of Emergency Management 6 Kent City Council Minutes August 15, 2000 EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT has been designated Grant Manager for this project . The equipment that is provided to our agency is considered part of the mutual aid resources available under the mutual aid agreements already in place among fire, EMS, hazardous materials service providers and law enforcement . POLICE (CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEM 6C) Law Enforcement Education Program Grant. ACCEPTANCE of Law Enforcement Education Program grant funds and authorization to establish a budget . The Kent Drinking Driver Task Force has been notified of grant funding through the Washington Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development . The Law Enforcement Education Partnership (LEEP) grant is in the amount of $27, 063 effective July 1, 2000 through June 30, 2001 . Existing program funding will be used for the required match. Funding will be used to continue to support the "Game of Life" youth conference and follow-up projects sponsored on school campuses and neighborhoods throughout South King County. During 2000, 32 teams completed 41 projects impacting almost 19, 000 youth. (CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEM 6D) Valley Narcotics Enforcement Team Grant. ACCEPTANCE of the valley Narcotics Enforcement Team grant and establishment of the July 1, 2000 thru June 30, 2001 budget . The grant for the multi-jurisdictional narcotics task force (VNET) is administered by the Washington State Community Trade and Economic Development (CTED) , via a grant from the U. S . Department of Justice . The grant funding is in its 13th year, and is in the amount of $257, 840 . In addition, each City that participates in the task force contributes $54, 500 for the 2000/2001 budget year which begins July 1, 2000 and runs through June 30, 2001 . These funds assist with salaries, equipment, and office expenses . The total budget will be $565, 500, with $218, 000 coming from city matching 7 Kent City Council Minutes August 15, 2000 POLICE funds, and $89, 660 from the established seizure fund account . INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEM 6F) Finance_/HR/Payroll Software Purchase. AUTHORIZATION for the Mayor to sign contracts with J.D. Edwards, Vertex, Optio, and Oracle for the purchase of Finance/HR/Payroll and Project Management software suites, related software products and implementation services, subject to City Attorney approval of contract documents, as recommended by the Operations Committee. The need for a new Finance/HR/Payroll system was identified as key element of the Technology Plan. Current systems do not provide automated support for some key City functions . The City issued a comprehensive Request for Proposals in July 1999 . Four-day detailed software demonstrations took place beginning in October 1999 . J.D. Edwards was selected as the vendor of choice and contract negotia- tions began in March 2000 . Presentations regarding the selection process were made to Council in a March 2000 workshop. This item was presented to the Operations Committee August 1, 2000 . EMPLOYEE SERVICES (CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEM 6G) Finance/HR/Payroll Staffing Budget. APPROVAL of the addition of $875, 000 of Technology Plan bond interest income to the Technology Plan budget to fund 3 . 3 positions and to extend existing project salaries as presented in the July 22nd memorandum issued by the Information Technology Department Director, and as recommended by the Operations Committee. The need for a new Finance/HR/Payroll system was identified as key element of the Technology Plan. After a thorough selection process and an intense contract negotiation process, the City is ready to begin implementation of these key systems . J.D. Edwards is the primary vendor for software and implementation 8 Kent City Council Minutes August 15, 2000 EMPLOYEE SERVICES services. Payroll expenses for key City staff members working on the project have been charged to the Technology Plan. Because the City has not spent Technology funds as quickly as projected, approximately 1 million dollars has been earned in bond interest income . As part of the detailed project planning, timelines for implementing the systems above have extended into 2002 , which is beyond the original Technology Plan funding timeline. In this motion, we propose to use $875, 000 of the Technology Plan bond interest income to fund 3 .3 positions and extend existing staff project salaries through mid-2002 . PARKS (BIDS - ITEM 8A) Resource Center Parking Lot. The bid opening was held on August 9, 2000 . Parks Director Hodgson noted that five bids were received and the lowest bidder was from LW Sundstrom in the amount of $49, 609 . 00 plus Washington State sales tax. WOODS MOVED to award the Resource Center Parking Lot Project to LW Sundstrum, Inc . and contract for $49, 609 . 00 plus Washington State sales tax. Yingling seconded and the motion carried. FINANCE (CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEM 6B) Approval of Bills. APPROVAL of payment of the bills received through July 31 and paid on July 31 after auditing by the Operations Committee on August 1, 2000 . Approval of checks issued for vouchers : Date Check Numbers Amount 7/31/00 238224-238474 $2 , 501, 606 . 53 7/31/00 238475-238903 2 , 973 , 210 .28 $5, 474, 816 . 81 9 Kent City Council Minutes August 15, 2000 FINANCE Approval of checks issued for payroll for July 16 through July 31 and paid on August 4 , 2000 : Date Check Numbers Amount 8/4/00 Checks 245589-245963 $ 304, 744 . 39 8/4/00 Advices 98424-99097 930 , 515 . 37 $1, 235, 259 . 75 (CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEM 6H) (REMOVED BY YINGLING AT THE REQUEST OF TED KOGITA) 2000 LTGO Bond Issue. The Operations Committee has recommended that the city 1) proceed with the issuance of Councilmanic bonds of $11, 220, 000 plus bond issuance costs; 2) establish and/or amend the necessary budgets for the projects, debt issuance costs, and debt service; and 3) proceed with bond projects with intent to reimburse with bond proceeds . The proceeds are to fund projects falling into two main categories : Land and Buildings, Tenant/Space and Major Capital Improvements, and Fire Equipment . The debt service will not require any new taxes. The debt service payments are already budgeted using existing sales, hotel/motel, and excise taxes . The City' s high credit rating and, therefore, favorable interest rates, will allow the City to provide cost effective funding for several major projects, while keeping financing costs at a minimum. Ted Koaita voiced concern about the following excerpt from the July 26, 2000, memo from Finance Director Miller to Mayor White and Councilmembers : "The final two items are the issuance of bonds for the Performing Arts/Civic Center land as approved by Council on April 20, 1999 . This will provide the $2 , 215, 780 needed to repay the Water Fund for their short-term loan, which includes approximately $170, 000 interest due as well as provide funds to purchase the final piece of land. Lodging tax has and will be used to offset a portion of the Interest and Debt Service payments . " He suggests waiting to approve this until after the vote on the Performing Arts Center. McFall explained that the land acquisition for the Performing Arts Center has been previously approved by the City Council and was temporarily funded through an internal loan from the 10 Kent City Council Minutes August 15, 2000 FINANCE City' s water fund with the plan that when the City did a limited tax general obligation bond that the bonds would include enough bond proceeds to refund the loan from the water fund and this is simply the culmination of that plan. He said this is separate and distinct from the voter approved bond issue which is before the voters in September which would pay for a portion of the cost of the facility itself . Bob O'Brien said that it was previously stated that the funding for the purchase of the property would come from the lodging tax fund, but that doesn' t seem to be the case . Joe Rubio, 3831 S . 248th, suggested that the $1, 000, 000 be allocated to the Police Department for a station across the street from the Regional Justice Center. Ted Koaita said that the Mayor had previously directed that there would be no further discussion on the Performing Arts Center yet this is trying to pass it through on a bond. Martin Plys expressed confusion as to the lodging tax and asked whether action could be delayed until after the election. McFall clarified that this is the long-term financing of the property acquisi- tion, and that the lodging tax will be used to offset a portion of the principle and interest payments on the bond. He added that the balance of funds necessary will come from the City' s Capital Improvement Fund which is funded by sales tax and real estate excise tax. He noted that the lodging tax as established by the City Council and as recommended by the Lodging Tax Advisory Committee will contribute $85, 000 per year for the life of the bonds to go toward principle and interest payments on the bonds . YINGLING MOVED to proceed with the issuance of Councilmanic Bonds of $11, 220, 000, plus bond issuance costs; establish and/or amend the necessary budgets for the projects, debt issuance costs, and debt service as outlined; and give authorization to proceed with bond projects with intent to reimburse with bond proceeds . Woods seconded. Clark explained that the City will become the holder of a property upon which there will be a three-story garage and that the Performing Arts Center group may purchase 11 Kent City Council Minutes August 15, 2000 FINANCE it . He added that this is not related to the bond, and could be used for other alternatives . Brotherton con- curred. Yingling noted that this bond issue is for a collection of projects . He pointed out that the City is saving a great deal of money by not doing the projects separately. He added that the water fund is protected and that the hotel association approves this . The motion then carried. REPORTS Council President. Orr noted that the web page will soon have pictures and information on Councilmembers and thanked the Council and staff for their cooperation. Operations Committee. Yingling noted that the committee will meet at 4 : 00 p.m. on September 5th. Public Works Committee. Clark noted that because of the Labor Day holiday, the committee will meet only once in September, on the 18th. Plannincu Committee. Brotherton said the committee will meet on September 18th at 4 : 00 p.m. EXECUSTIVE SESSION At 8 :15 p.m. , the meeting recessed into Executive Session for approximately 30 minutes to discuss property acquisition, labor negotiations and pending litigation. The meeting reconvened at 9 : 05 p.m. Property Acquisition. WOODS MOVED to authorize the Mayor to enter into a Purchase and Sale Agreement for the Dona property for municipal purposes . Epperly seconded and the motion carried. ADJOURNMENT WOODS MOVED to adjourn at 9 : 05 p.m. Orr seconded and the motion carried. Brenda Jacobe CMC City Clerk 12