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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Meeting - Council - Minutes - 01/06/1998 Kent, Washington January 6, 1998 Regular meeting of the Kent City Council was called to order at 7: 00 p.m. by Mayor Pro Tem Woods. Present: Councilmembers Amodt, Brotherton, Clark, Epperly, Orr and Woods, Operations Director/Chief of Staff McFall, City Attorney Lubovich, Fire Chief Angelo, Police Chief Crawford, Public Works Director Wickstrom, Planning Director Harris, Parks Director Hodgson, and Finance Director Miller. Councilmember Bennett was excused from the meeting. Approximately 70 people were in attendance. PUBLIC Oath of Office. The Acting City Clerk adminis- COMMUNICATIONS tered the Oath of Office to Councilmembers Amodt, Brotherton and Clark. (Councilmembers Brotherton and Clark were officially sworn in on December 29, 1997, and Councilmember Amodt was officially sworn in on December 30, 1997) Mayor Pro Tem Woods commended the new Council- members for all their hard work and commitment to serve on the City Council. Employee of the Month. Mayor Pro Tem Woods announced that Wayne Yotsuuye, a fire mechanic with the Kent Fire Department, has been selected as January Employee of the Month. She noted that Wayne demonstrates a positive team spirit, a Can- do approach, and that he produces timely and quality results. She pointed out that Wayne was instrumental in enabling the Fire Department to perform acceptance tests on newly delivered fire apparatus while keeping the existing apparatus response ready. She also noted that during the absence of his supervisor, Wayne stepped up to the challenge to meet the unusual operational needs of the department. Woods noted that pro- fessional standards met and exceeded, pride in workmanship, and personal acceptance of responsi- bility are three reasons why Wayne Yotsuuye shines as an exemplary City employee and valuable team player in the Fire Department. She then presented him with a plaque. Chief Angelo noted that it is not uncommon for Wayne and his supervisor to climb under an apparatus while it is pumping at a fire to correct something that was going wrong. He noted that Wayne takes pride in the public' s investment and makes it possible for firefighters to know with confidence that those machines will perform extraordinarily simply because of the dependa- bility. He noted that both Wayne and his supervisor, Tom Arnson, do this with a great deal of pride and without much recognition. 1 Kent City Council Minutes January 6, 1998 PUBLIC Tntroduct;on of Ka 8 Amoointaes. Mayor Pro COMMUNICATIONS Tem Woods introduced Terry Zimmerman who is the Mayor' s appointee to the Land Use and Planning Board. Orr also introduced Dr. Woods who has been appointed to the Drinking Driver Task Force. CONSENT ORR MOVED that Consent Calendar Items A through CALENDAR L be approved. Clark seconded and the motion carried. MINUTES (CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEM 3A) AyRroval of Minutes. Approval of the minutes of the regular Council meeting of December 9, 1997 and of the Special Meeting minutes of December 23 , 1997 . HEALTH & (CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEM 3I) SANITATION count Estates Condominiums Phase II. AUTHORI- ZATION to accept the bill of sale for Country Estates Condominiums, Phase II submitted by Island Construction Company for continuous operation and maintenance of 395 feet of water- main and 372 feet of sanitary sewer and release of bonds after the expiration period, as recommended by the Public Works Director. The project is located at 124th Avenue S.E. and S.E. 272nd Street. (CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEM 3J) Country View Estates II. AUTHORIZATION to accept the bill of sale for Country View Estates II submitted by Shamrock Development for continuous operation and maintenance of 520 feet of water- main, 480 feet of sanitary sewer and 1, 074 feet of storm sewer improvements, and release of bonds after the expiration period, as recommended by the Public Works Director. The project is located at S.E. 226th Street & 100th Avenue S.E. SIDEWALKS (CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEM 3K) 1997 Sidewalk Rehab (Hest Gowe and North State Avenue) . ACCEPT as complete the 1997 Sidewalk Rehab (West Gowe and North State Avenue) project and release of retainage to Gary Merlino Construction upon standard releases from the State, and release of any liens, as recommended by the Public Works Director. The original contract amount was $376, 571. 25. The final project cost was $365,493 .47 . 2 Kent City Council Minutes January 6, 1998 LID 349 (PUBLIC HEARING - ITEM 2A) LID 349 S E 223rd Street Sanitary Sewers. This date has been set for the public hearing to establish the formation of LID 349, S.E. 223rd Street Sanitary Sewers. Public Works Director Wickstrom noted that this project is located near the northeasterly boundary lines of the City, outside of Kent, but within Kent's franchise sewer service area. He explained that the LID was petitioned by the property owners because of the problems asso- ciated with their septic system. He noted that the area is in an existing residential develop- ment primarily with small lots on the north side of 223rd and some larger lots which were not involved in the original plat. He noted that, because of the health issues associated with failed septic systems, the City is involved in providing some capital up front to pay for the properties that could subdivide. He explained that the City will assess those properties as single-family residences for now and charge in- lieu-of assessment, with an added fee for the additional lot, later. Wickstrom informed Council that the sewer line will service 22 lots with one connection per lot, and that the total cost for each lot would be $8,498.70 per connection. He noted that a public meeting was held with the property owners inform- ing them of the assessment costs, and that 54% of them still expressed support of it so the Public Works Committee proceeded with the formation of the LID. He noted that the total project cost is $246,463 .46 with $186, 972 . 28 from LID funds and $59,491. 18 from City funds. He explained that the City' s portion would be taken from the miscellaneous sewer funds. Wickstrom noted that a 60% protest would be needed to kill an LID once the process has been started, but that Council has the right to deter- mine if a situation is a real health issue and then proceed with the formation of an LID against all protests, if necessary. He noted that this project is in the City's future annexation area, not in the City limits, and that the property owners, upon connection, would be required to sign no-protest annexation covenants when obtain- ing a sewer permit. He explained that when one 3 Kent City Council Minutes January 6, 1998 LID 349 sewer is available official notification is sent to the other property owners stating that sewer connections are available and that they are obligated to connect. He noted that if property owners choose not to connect they still pay a penalty charge which is essentially the monthly sewer bill. Wickstrom explained that the Health Department has a right to order the connection if a problem exists with a current system. He noted that an LID establishes a payment mechanism for the property owners to pay off their assessments over a period of ten years, which is 1/10 of the principal amount over that ten year period plus interest on the unpaid balance. Upon Clark's question, Wickstrom explained that every LID has someone who doesn't respond but that the City essentially has to go with the information they have and proceed. Mayor Pro Tem Woods then declared the public hearing open. Beth Johnson, 22320 113th Place SE, Kent, noted that she is the one who petitioned the City, and that the original petition was for 113th Avenue SE and 113th Place SE which encompasses 223rd also. She explained that signatures were ob- tained from all but two properties on her street because both occupants of one home were in the hospital while the other property owner was out- of-town. She explained that they purchased their property a year ago from a Real Estate agent who had done extensive work on the septic system repairing three different lines in their field and also using a new technique which incurs a machine blowing air into the ground and then styrene balls to keep the ground separated for a better drainage system. She noted that during heavy rains their house still fills with septic fumes that produce the odor of an open drain and that a terrible drainage problem exists in their area. She noted that her house is located on the top of the hill and has a water level of 3 feet below surface but the homes on 113th Avenue SE which are hers have even worse problems. She noted that most of the people have been extremely supportive of the LID especially those on 113th Avenue. There were no other comments. ORR MOVED to close the public hearing. Clark seconded and the motion carried. 4 Kent City Council Minutes January 6, 1998 LID 349 CLARK MOVED to direct the City Attorney to prepare the necessary ordinance creating the formation of LID 349, S.E. 223rd Street Sanitary Sewers. Orr seconded and the motion carried. Upon Woods question, Wickstrom explained that once the ordinance is passed and the LID becomes official, it's up to the City to get the sewers constructed. He noted that top priority will be given to this project because of the health issue and because it' s a small enough project it could be done relatively early. He noted for the Council that the earliest time would be when the groundwater is low so the City can get the best contractor price for the project which would be sometime this summer. PLATS (CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEM 3F) Country Club North Division 2 FSU-97-6. SET January 20, 1998, as the date for a public meeting to consider a final plat application by Baima & Holmberg, Inc. The preliminary sub- division was approved by King County but with the Meridian Valley annexation the final plat came under Kent's jurisdiction. This plat is 2 . 92 acres in size, consists of it lots, and is located east of 140th Avenue S.E. at S.E. 263th Street. (OTHER BUSINESS - ITEM 4A) Cherrywood Lan• Final Plat FSU-95-9. This is an application for the Cherrywood Lane Final Plat. The subject project is 4 .73 acres in size and is located at 26235 114th Avenue S.E. The City Council approved the Cherrywood Lane preliminary plat on June 18, 1996. Satterstrom explained that the plat name had to be changed slightly because another development had been given the name of Cherrywood Plat; and that King County will not record it with the same name. Upon Orr' s question, Satterstrom clarified that the number of conditions should be the same as that listed in the Hearing Examiner's report. Orr noted that according to the Council minutes of 6/18/96, it says that there were 25 condi- tions. He stated that it would be the number that is in the decision of the Hearing Examiner. 5 Kent City Council Minutes January 6, 1998 PLATS ORR MOVED to approve the staff's recommendation for the Cherrywood Lane Final Plat FSU-95-9 as conditioned by the Hearing Examiner. Epperly seconded and the motion carried. (OTHER BUSINESS - ITEM 4B) Glenn Kara Final Plat/Re-Plat FSU-96-13. This is an application for the Glenn Kara Final Plat/Re- plat. The subject subdivision is nine (9) acres in size and is located at 9840 S. 222nd Street. The City Council approved the Glenn Kara re-plat preliminary plat on July 2 , 1996. ORR MOVED to approve the staff' s recommendation for the Glenn Kara Final Plat/Re-plat as con- ditioned by the Hearing Examiner. Epperly seconded and the motion carried. SHORELINE (CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEM 3E) MASTER D.O.Z. Grant for Kent Shoreline Master Program. PROGRAM AUTHORIZATION for the Mayor to sign the Department of Ecology (DOE) grant agreement, as recommended by the Planning Committee. TRANSPORTATION (OTHER BUSINESS - ITEM 4C) (ADDED ITEM) Sound Transit (RTA) site Location. Gary Stewart, 404 North Railroad, noted that he is a business owner and a resident of Kent. He expressed his concern for the location of the proposed rail station, and stated that the Council has the authority to inform the Regional Transit Authority (RTA) of where the citizens of Kent would like it placed. He explained that the RTA will make the final decision but that they prefer it be decided at the local level. Stewart urged the City Council to listen to the people and notify the RTA of their preferred site location. Stewart noted that the Council received a shortened version of the RTA' s reports but, after reviewing the full report, he found holes in it. He pointed out that the report shows only three businesses need to be relocated in the north site when there are really nine that he is aware of. He explained that the engineering group who did the count in the south site also counted the area on the west side of the Burlington track, which is a proposed future parking lot. He stated that the report numbers seem to be skewed, and he 6 Kent City Council Minutes January 6, 1998 TRANSPORTATION again urged the Council to notify the RTA about the south site preferred location. Woods noted that for the last year or two the Council has been told that they could put forth recommenda- tion(s) but, in the final analysis, the RTA would make the decision. She explained that she is in favor of putting forward the Council's very best recommendation if necessary but, if the Council is permitted to put forward the site most preferred and the RTA will buy into that site, then she wants to do it. Val Batey, Project Development Manager for the Community Rail Project, clarified for Woods that the RTA will make the final decision. She noted that the RTA is in the process of finishing the environmental review of the entire Seattle to Tacoma line for commuter rail which includes a station in downtown Kent. She explained that the RTA is looking at two alternative sites in Kent which are commonly known as the north and south sites. She noted that public and agency comments are being sought on a draft environmental assess- ment that has been circulated, and that there are volumes of technical reports which backup the environmental assessment. She explained that the comment period has been extended to January 30th because of printing problems. Batey explained that three informal public meetings have been scheduled and that public comment as well as written comments are welcome. She noted that one is scheduled in Kent on Tuesday, January 13th, in the Council Chambers from 4: 30 p.m. to 7: 00 p.m. Ms. Batey noted that Sound Transit is responsible for spending public money in an efficient, and effective manner, with the ability to determine where to purchase land and build facilities that best suit the operations of their system. She explained that Sound Transit, however, doesn't want to just plop down without consulting the community and the people who represent it so they have attempted to work through the community' s framework to find the site that is best for all of the parties involved. She noted that certain requirements have to be met which are absolute on how a commuter rail system is operated, and that each city has been slightly different. She noted that the final document will have a preferred station site indicated for both Kent and Tukwila, 7 Kent City Council Minutes January 6, 1998 TRANSPORTATION who still have alternate site locations avail- able. She explained that the document will be approved by the RTA Board prior to being sent to the Federal government with a request for funds which will start the design and build process. She noted that a letter was received by the Kent City Council requesting the RTA to consider the south site in addition to the north site which was then added to the scope of the work. Upon Woods question, Ms. Batey explained that the Sound Transit pursued the north site because of budget and time limitations until it became apparent that considerable interest was being shown for the south site. She noted that the scope of work was redone to give the south site the same consideration. Batey clarified for Woods that the date for final comment from the City of Kent would be January 30th, in order to present a document to the RTA Board at their February 19th meeting indicating the preferred site. Woods stressed that the meeting scheduled for January 13th remains very important, and she suggested that the next Council meeting could be an important avenue for the Council to make one final statement as to its feelings on this issue. Orr noted that some traffic studies have been done within the City which show traffic numbers and what the impacts might be. She noted that the Council needs more information of the costs to relocate businesses or buildings, and that the south site is the one most supported. Orr explained that when the Council found out the only site being considered was the north site, they decided to send the RTA a letter because there was considerable concern from the Planning Committee. She concurred with Woods that the Council needs to know if action would make an important difference in the decision. Ms. Batey noted that Council's preferred site location is an important consideration in the RTA's decision, even though the RTA will make its decision independently. She noted that communication to the RTA is very important especially in the time frame between now and January 30th. She noted that the RTA had originally been tracking the downtown planning process and had a sense that a preferred site would come out of that process. She noted that when it didn't happen, they continued on at a staff level reviewing the 8 Kent City Council Minutes January 6, 1998 TRANSPORTATION merits of the two sites and moving toward the north site until they were made aware of the concern through the Council' s letter. Orr expressed that it was important for the members of the public to understand that from the Land Use and Planning Board a recommendation came that both sites be looked at and that a preferred site recommendation was not given even though the vast majority of the testimony they received supported the south site. She explained that the Land Use and Planning Board chose not to make a recommendation and sent it to the Council to review both sites. She noted that the City has been working on the downtown plan for a con- siderable time but, the reason why it hasn't moved forward is because if the station is placed somewhere else, the City would have to go back and revise the downtown plan. Orr noted that they have been working with the idea that when the decision is made then the downtown plan could be finalized. She noted that it never occurred to the Council that if they went ahead and made some of those decisions perhaps it would have an impact on the RTA Board's decision. Batey noted for Clark that the RTA is working with King County Metro to relocate all of the bus routes from the existing park-n-ride lot to the commuter rail station so that there is a compre- hensive transit center for all of the transit services to meet in one place. She explained that Metro cannot do the final route planning until a rail site is chosen. She noted that a Regional Express Route will be provided by the RTA to serve the station site. She noted that it is not possible to pin down the Metro routes right now. Clark noted that the heavy impact of bus traffic on Central Avenue is one of his primary concerns. Batey noted that there are service planners with Metro who are responsible for Kent and should be able to give the Council a sense of what it would be. She noted that Metro will be working this Spring on the schedule. Upon Clark's question, Batey noted that Metro's projection would probably be ten years out but that, they have a plan that allows them to adjust it every six years to look at the next ten years. 9 Kent City Council Minutes January 6, 1998 TRANSPORTATION Epperly noted that this issue has been a long process and that Council has been involved in it since the beginning. she noted that citizen input is lost when the process is long, and that Council needs to speak for the citizens that have been involved, past and present, who have put so much into this effort. Brotherton noted that the majority of Council strongly support the south site and that those wishes should be sent to the RTA Council as soon as possible. Woods thanked Ms. Batey for dealing with the Council's frustrations this evening. She ex- plained that the Council is very process oriented and not adverse to making decisions when they know that it is the council's position to do that. She explained that the City Council would have proceeded sooner and indicated their strong preference if the process indicated that it was appropriate. She suggested that the Council consider this issue in the Planning Committee, schedule a meeting, bring it back to the next Council meeting, and be on the public record as strongly opposing one site or the other. Woods asked Council if the Planning Committee Meeting process is acceptable to them for this issue and there were no objections. Ms. Batey asked Council to contact her if there is other informa- tion she could provide. Ms. Batey noted that if each member of Council would like a copy of the full technical report she would provide it to them. Woods noted that the Council is going to esta- blish a process for the Planning Committee and for Council at the next meeting, but Council is not taking any action this evening. Don Shafer noted that he became involved in the Downtown Core Plan in February, 1997 and has attempted to attend all of the public meetings on the subject since then. He noted that the file is voluminous and that the information includes correspondence, regulations, comp plans, informa- tion from the State and information from the RTA including both the environmental assessment and the SEPA Checklist combination document together with the technical appendix. He noted that he has been through meetings, conversation and correspondence with staff at the RTA to learn 10 Kent City Council Minutes January 61 1998 TRANSPORTATION about their process for the south corridor portion of the commuter rail. He noted that the north portion from Seattle to Everett is also in the environmental process but that a full EIS will be done on that. Shafer noted that the City currently is talking about some grade separations for railroad crossings in their 6-year improve- ment plan and that the recent conclusion was that James Street would be the most logical spot. He noted that problems will develop from grade separations if the north site is chosen, and he pointed out that these separations are not discussed in the current environmental review. He stated that he supports the south site location. Jim Bitando, 106 E. Titus, noted that he recently obtained and reviewed a copy of the RTA report, and that the report doesn't indicate any out- standing flaws in either the north or south site. He noted, however, that he supports the south site even though his business will have to be moved. He explained that the south site pre- ference gives the City a chance to do some things with the downtown area that the north site does not allow. He indicated that all of the economic impact information is missing from the report, and that the City' s 1997 plan should have in- cluded more investigation into which site would be economically good for the City. He noted that a consultant could make a thumbnail sketch of what the cost would be to move the businesses and project a cost basis. He noted that a design criteria needs to be decided because without a design, it's hard to get behind something and make it work. Mr. Thuringer, 858 1st Avenue North, noted that he is thoroughly confused about this issue even though he doesn't really have a preference for the north or south site. He noted that the involvement dwindled and that there are many loose ends on this issue. He noted that a picture or drawing of this project is worth more than a stack of forms and reports. Woods noted that this item will be considered again on Tuesday, January 20th both in the Planning Committee and the Council meeting. 11 Kent City Council Minutes January 6, 1998 TRANSPORTATION Orr noted that the information received from a traffic count could be very important and helpful if it' s reviewed by Council before January 13th. Epperly noted that the rail station was one of the Council's 1997 Target Issues but that over the course of a year Council lost sight of what it had originally planned to do. Orr assured Mr. Stewart that this item will get to the Council on January 20th. ZONING CODE (CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEM 3C) AMENDMENTS Water Treatment Facility Zoning Code Amendment ZCA-97-8. ADOPTION of Ordinance No. 3386 modifying the definition of "hazardous substance land use facility" in Section 15. 02. 178 of the Kent City Code and modifying the types of uses identified as general conditional uses in Section 15. 08. 030 (B) (1) . The City Council approved this Zoning Code Amendment on December 9, 1997. (CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEM 3D) Churches in M-2 Zoning District Zoning Code Amendment ZCA-97-9. ADOPTION of Ordinance No. 3387 to allow churches in the M-2 zoning district, under Section 15. 04 . 180 (B) of the Kent City Code. The City Council approved this Zoning Code Amendment on December 9, 1997. COUNCIL (CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEM 3L) (ADDED BY COUNCILMEMBER ORR) Excused Absence. APPROVAL of an excused absence from tonight's meeting for Councilmember Bennett. APPOINTMENTS (CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEM 3G) Land Use and Planning Board. CONFIRMATION of the Mayor's appointment of Ms. Terry Zimmerman, a West Hill resident, to serve as a member of the Land Use and Planning Board. Ms. Zimmerman is employed as Children's Program Coordinator at Valley Medical Center and her background is in human services. However, she is interested in becoming more active and involved in the com- munity. She has served on the Board of Children's Home Society, Co-chaired the South King County Family Support Consortium, is currently President of the South King Council of Human Services as well as many others. She was also the recipient of the annual award for Outstanding Leadership from the South King Council of Human Services in June of this year. 12 Kent City Council Minutes January 6, 1998 APPOINTMENTS (CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEM 3H) Drinking Driver Task Form. CONFIRMATION of the Mayor's appointment of Councilmember Judy Woods to serve as a member of the Kent Drinking Driver Task Force. Dr. Woods has also been designated to serve as Chair of the Task Force. FINANCE (CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEM 3B) payment of the Approval of Bills. Approval of bills received through November 26 and paid on November 26, 1997, after auditing by the Operations Committee on December 21 1997. ARproval of checks issued for vouchers: Date Check Numbers Amount 11/16/97 192627-192818 $ 317,590.66 11/26/97 192819-193178 1,730, 047 .95 $2 , 047, 638. 61 Approval of checks issued for payroll for November 16 through November 30 and paid on December 51 1997 , with additional checks issued for December 1 through December 15 and paid on December 19, 1997 : Date Check Numbers Amount 12/5/97 Checks 224135-224464 $ 289, 035.43 12/5/97 Advices 52436-53046 $1, 109,719.58 12/19/97 Checks 224465-224732 $ 237, 168.35 12/19/97 Advices 53047-53560 $ 716,617 .52 95378587 REPORTS Council President. Woods announced that the Suburban Cities Association general membership meeting is January 14, 1998, at Mercer Island. She asked the Council to notify Ms. Banister immediately if they were interested in attending the meeting. Public Works Committee. Clark noted that the Public Works committee will hold a meeting in the Council Chambers on Wednesday, January 7th. Planning committee. Orr noted that there will be a meeting on Tuesday, January 20, at 4 : 00 p.m. 13 Kent City Council Minutes January 6, 1998 REPORTS Administrative Reports. Operations Director McFall noted that there will be an executive session of approximately 10 minutes to discuss two items of property acquisition. He also noted that action is anticipated on one of the items. EXECUTIVE The meeting recessed into Executive Session at SESSION 8: 20 p.m. The meeting reconvened at 8:36 p.m. (Property CLARK MOVED to authorize the purchase of Acquisition) residential property on the northwest corner of 108th & 274th from the 277th Corridor Project Funds pursuant to the terms of the agreement between the City and the property owner, and subject to the final approval of the terms by the City Attorney. Epperly seconded and the motion carried. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 8 : 38 p.m. Donna Swaw Acting City Clerk 14