HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Meeting - Council - Minutes - 03/19/2002 Kent, Washington
March 19, 2002
The regular meeting of the Kent City Council was called to order at
7 : 00 p.m. by Mayor White . Councilmembers present : Clark, Epperly,
Orr, Peterson, White, Woods, and Yingling Others present : Chief
Administrative Officer Martin, City Attorney Brubaker, Public Works
Director Wickstrom, Community Development Director Satterstrom,
Interim Fire Chief Hamilton, Finance Director Miller, Parks,
Recreation and Community Services Director Hodgson and Employees
Services Director Viseth. Approximately 16 people were at the
meeting. (CFN-198)
CHANGES TO THE AGENDA
Continued Communications Item 11A regarding Kent Public
Market was added at the request of Martin Plys . (CFN-198)
PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS
Arbor Day. Mayor White read a proclamation noting that
Kent established a tree ordinance and a tree maintenance
crew for the purpose of maintaining, protecting, and
regulating street trees . He declared the second
Wednesday of April each year as Arbor Day in the City
of Kent and encouraged all residents to consider planting
a tree on their property, to take a moment to enjoy the
trees in our local parks, and to appreciate the beautiful
green open spaces and forests in the Northwest
John Hodgson, Parks, Recreation and Community Services
Director, accepted the proclamation and invited the
community to Clark Lake on April 27, where 400 trees will
be planted (CFN-155)
Absolutely Incredible Kid Day. Mayor White read a
proclamation noting that Camp Fire USA is commemorating
its Sixth annual "Absolutely Incredible Kid Day. " He
proclaimed March 21, 2002 as "Absolutely Incredible Kid
Day" in the City of Kent, and encouraged all adults,
moms, dads, grandparents, aunts, uncles, teachers,
mentors and other adults to participate and make a dif-
ference in the life of a child by composing a letter and
mailing or delivering it to your absolutely incredible
kid or kids (CFN-155)
Highline Community College Strategic Plan. Elizabeth
Chen, Chair of the Board of Trustees of Highline
Community College, explained that Dr. Priscilla Bell
visited all cities within Highline ' s service area and
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Kent City Council Minutes March 19, 2002
PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS
actively sought comments , suggestions , input from Council
members, mayors, school superintendents and service clubs
regarding their Strategic Plan.
Steve Fenton, Director of the Federal Way Campus, dis-
tributed copies of the College strategic plan and noted
that Board of Trustees approved this plan on November 8 ,
2001 .
Mr. Fenton explained the four primary strategic initia-
tives : (1) to achieve excellence in education, teaching
and learning, (2) enhance the college climate to value
diversity and global perspectives, (3) strengthen and
expand the presence and role of the college within the
communities that it serves, and (4) continue to foster a
climate that nourishes the well being and productivity of
the college community
Upon Clark' s question, Ms . Chen explained that plans
for the Central Washington University building and the
computer science building are going well .
Mr. Fenton noted that anyone who is interested in the
strategic plan, can get a copy of it on Highline ' s web
site at wwww.highline ctc edu (CFN-198)
CONSENT CALENDAR
CLARK MOVED to approve Consent Calendar Items A through
J Woods seconded and the motion carried.
MINUTES
(CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEM 6A) (CFN-198)
Approval of Minutes. Approval of the minutes of the
regular Council meeting of March 5, 2002 .
BILL OF SALE
(CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEM 6G) (CFN-484)
McHugh Short Plat Bill of Sale. Accept the Bill of Sale
for McHugh Short Plat submitted by Michael L. Baerny &
Connie K. Baerny for continuous operation and maintenance
of 304 feet of waterline, 284 feet of storm sewers, 117
feet of sanitary sewers and 280 feet of street improve-
ments, as recommended by the Public Works Director.
Bonds are to be released after the maintenance period.
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Kent City Council Minutes March 19, 2002
BILL OF SALE
This project is located at 119th Place Southeast and
Southeast 256th Street .
STREET VACATION
(CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEM 6I) (CFN-102)
266th Street Vacation Petition. Authorization for the
Mayor to sign the 266th St . street vacation petition, as
recommended by the Parks Committee.
In July of 2001, Pacific Land Consulting, Inc . (PLC)
submitted a Tentative Subdivision Application for the
parcel directly south of the future 132nd Street
Neighborhood Park, and subsequently has submitted an
application for vacation of 266th Street right-of-way.
This motion only authorizes the mayor to sign the peti-
tion; it does not authorize the street vacation at this
time. If the street vacation is subsequently approved by
City Council after a public hearing on the proposed vaca-
tion, one-half (twenty feet) of the right-of-way will
return to the park. PLC has asked the city to consider
trading its twenty-foot vacated right-of-way for open
space property west of the regional retention pond, if
the Council ultimately grants the 266th St . vacation.
PUBLIC WORKS
(CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEM 6C) (CFN-1038)
Kent Corrosion Control Facility Project Funding.
Authorization to transfer $115, 000 from the East Hill
Reservoir Fund (W20059) to the Corrosion Control Fund
(#W20030) , as recommended by the Public Works Committee .
The City of Kent is mandated by Federal Law to limit the
copper and lead levels in our drinking water. The Kent
Corrosion Control Facility Project accomplishes this with
respect to the Clark Springs and East Hill sources .
Based on the bids recently received, the overall project
budget is short by an estimated $115, 000 .
(CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEM 6E) (CFN-171)
King County Signal Synchronization Grant Agreement, Kent
Kangley Road. Authorization for the Mayor to sign the
King County Signal Synchronization grant agreement,
direct staff to accept the grant and establish a budget
for the funds to be spent within said project, as recom-
mended by the Public Works Committee .
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Kent City Council Minutes March 19, 2002
PUBLIC WORKS
(CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEM 6F) (CFN-1038)
Purchase of Smith and Loveless Pump Stations, 3rd Avenue_
and Washington Street. Authorization to purchase the
Smith and Loveless Package Pump Stations for the 3rd Ave
& Washington Avenue Pump Stations for a total price of
$279, 737, as recommended by the Public Works Committee .
The pump station projects are scheduled for construction
in the Summer/Fall of 2002 .
(BIDS - ITEM 8A) (CFN-1038)
Kent Corrosion Control Facilities. The Bid opening for
this project was held on February 8th with 11 bids
received. The low bid was submitted by Nordic
Construction with a bid amount of $880 , 221 . 38 , include-
ing sales tax. The Engineer ' s estimate was $985, 184 . 00
including sales tax. The Public Works Director recom-
mends awarding this contract to Nordic Construction. ORR
MOVED to award the Kent Corrosion Control Facilities
contract to Nordic Construction in the amount of
$880, 221 . 38 . Epperly seconded and the motion carried.
TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT BOARD
(CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEM 6D) (CFN-335)
Transportation Improvement Board Grant, Central Avenue.
Authorization for the Mayor to sign the Transportation
Improvement Board (TIB) Grant Agreement #8-1-106 (028) -1,
direct staff to accept the grant and establish a budget
for the funds to be spent within said road improvement
project, as recommended by the Public Works Committee.
COMPREHENSIVE PLAN AND ZONING
(CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEM 6J) (CFN-1240&377)
DeMarco Annexation Comprehensive Plan and Zoning
(AZ-2001-2/CPA-2001-2) . Set April 2 , 2002 and May 7,
2002, 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 public hearings are required to
be held 30 days apart . On March 11 , 2002 , the Land Use
and Planning Board made a recommendation for initial
zoning and corresponding comprehensive plan and land use
map amendments .
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Kent City Council Minutes March 19 , 2002
PARKS, RECREATION AND COMMUNITY SERVICES
(CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEM 6H) (CFN-118)
King County Arts Commission Grant for King County
Performance Network. Accept the $4 , 500 . 00 allocation
from the King County Arts Commission' s "King County
Performance Network" program and amend the Kent Arts
Commission budget accordingly, as recommended by the
Parks Director. Funds will offset the artistic fees for
two King County Performance Network events as part of the
Kent Arts Commission' s Spotlight Series .
(OTHER BUSINESS - ITEM 7B) (CFN-118)
City of Auburn Home Repair Interlocal Agreement. The
Parks Director and Parks Committee recommends approval of
the interlocal agreement with the City of Auburn to con-
tinue to carry out Auburn' s home repair needs in 2002 .
The City of Auburn requested the City of Kent to continue
to provide home repair services to Auburn residents in
2002 . The City of Auburn would reimburse Kent for all
costs associated with the program, including an
administrative fee .
Katherin Johnson, Human Services Manager, explained that
the City of Auburn contracted with Kent last year to pro-
vide home repair services and were so pleased with the
services that they have asked us to continue the program
for a one-year period, January 1 through December 31,
2002 , for a total of $125, 000 ten percent of which is an
administrative fee paid to the City of Kent . She
explained the benefits and noted that the home repair
program in Kent increased 40% over the prior year. She
urged the Council to authorize Mayor white to execute
this interlocal agreement .
WOODS MOVED to authorize the Mayor to sign the interlocal
agreement with the City of Auburn to provide home repair
services in 2002 , subsequent to approval of final terms
and conditions by the City Attorney Clark seconded and
the motion carried.
EMPLOYEE SERVICES
(OTHER BUSINESS - ITEM 7A) (CFN-171)
F1exPass Program Agreement - Commute Trip Reduction. The
F1exPass Agreement, a King County/Sound Transit Program
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Kent City Council Minutes March 19, 2002
EMPLOYEE SERVICES
allows all eligible employees to choose from a variety of
non-single occupancy vehicle commute options provided by
King County and Sound Transit .
Karen Ford from Employee Services, asked the Council to
authorize the Mayor to sign a 15-month renewal of the
F1exPass agreement between the City of Kent, King County
and Sound Transit .
Upon Clark' s question, Sue Viseth, Employee Services
Director, explained that the program is tied to air
quality and environmental issues and that a mandate in
1991 to all employers with more than 100 employees
required that they meet these state commute trip
reduction mandates by the year 2005 or face fines and
penalties . She said the City has put in place the com-
mute trip reduction program with FlexPass being one of
the more successful programs in hopes of bringing our
single occupancy vehicle rates down to meet these
requirements that have been mandated by the State. She
added that the City has an obligation to help private
sector employers throughout the City who have 100
employees or more, to also meet that mandate.
Yingling clarified that when the last study was done in
May of 2001 , 68% of City employees were driving to work
in single occupancy vehicles, and that there will be
another reduction this year.
Viseth added that flexible work schedules also help the
City meet the mandate for bringing down that single
occupancy vehicle rate .
Yingling noted that the target is 56% by 2005 .
YINGLING MOVED to authorize the Mayor to sign a 15-month
agreement for the sale of the F1exPasses, a King
County/Sound Transit commute trip reduction program.
Woods seconded.
Martin Plys voiced concern about asking the tax payers of
Kent to give city employees a break on transportation to
and from work.
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Kent City Council Minutes March 19, 2002
EMPLOYEE SERVICES
White said the transit is already very highly subsidized
by the tax payers and this is costing over $38, 000 or
roughly a thousand dollars per person. He said it is
inappropriate for tax payers to provide free trans-
portation to and from work for city employees .
Clark responded that the Federal government is now
struggling with the fact that air pollution standards are
hitting critical points in virtually every metropolitan
area in the country, and that when you look at the
potential health costs that sort of situation aggravates,
you begin to realize that it ' s one of those things that
comes back to haunt you in many different forms if you
don' t address it . He said if the City doesn' t try to
improve the environment and conform to federal mandate
laws, we lose access to our own tax dollars .
Upon questions from Council members, it was explained
that prior to April 2002 there were 42 people in vanpools
or using Metro buses, and that there is a complicated
formula to determine rates
Viseth noted that the penalties wouldn' t be assessed
until 2005 and all of her estimates show that we should
be in compliance at that point .
Yingling emphasized that part of this is to give
incentive to employees to carpool or take public trans-
portation of some type, but that the bottom line is that
the City is trying to comply with Federal and State laws .
He added that this is the cost of complying with those
laws .
The motion then carried.
FINANCE
(CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEM GB) (CFN-104)
Approval of Bills Approval of payment of the bills
received through February 28 and paid on February 28
after auditing by the Operations Committee on March 5 ,
2002 .
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Kent City Council Minutes March 19, 2002
FINANCE
Approval of checks issued for vouchers :
Date Check Numbers Amount
2/28/02 Wire Transfers 1125-1132 $ 851 , 943 . 07
2/28/02 Prepays & 529974 2 , 341 , 710 . 00
2/28/02 Regular 530474 2 , 320, 512 . 14
$5 , 514 , 165 . 21
Approval of checks issued for payroll for February 15
through February 28 and paid on March 5, 2002 :
Date Check Numbers Amount
3/5/02 Checks 258614-258941 $ 253 , 290 . 89
3/5/02 Advices 125332-126061 1 , 062 , 370 . 63
$1, 315, 661 . 52
REPORTS
Council President. Clark noted that the Suburban Cities
Association has recently published bylaws and recommended
that Councilmembers review them.
Operations Committee. Yingling noted that the next
meeting will be at 5 : 00 p.m. on April 2nd
Public Works Committee. Orr noted that the next meeting
will be held at 4 : 00 p.m on April 1 and that the final
assessment roll for LID 350 will be heard.
Planning Committee. Orr noted that the next meeting will
be held at 3 00 p.m. on April 16 .
Administrative Reports. Martin noted that the second of
three community meetings on the Kent Station will be held
at Kent Commons on March 21st and invited all interested
persons to attend
KENT PUBLIC MARKET
(CONTINUED COMMUNICATIONS - ITEM 11A) (CFN-462)
Kent Public Market. Martin Plys, 3004 S . 256th, said he
thinks the Public Market building should be sold and the
market put back on the street where it was when it made
money. He voiced concern about the misuse and abuse of
tax payers dollars, and said he intends to come up with a
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Kent City Council Minutes March 19, 2002
KENT PUBLIC MARKET
plan whereby the City won' t be able to buy any property
or buildings without citizen ' s permission. He suggested
that the City lease its property to bring in tax revenue .
He said the Council needs to control spending, and
suggested telling the Federal government that the City is
not going to be forced to give away tax payer money.
After the Executive Session, Clark voiced opposition to
Plys ' comments regarding the Federal government and
acknowledged Mayor White ' s leadership in working with the
Federal delegation. He noted that the Mayor corralled
$900 , 000 for the Kent Station project which will expand
the City' s tax base .
EXECUTIVE SESSION
At 7 :45 p.m. , the meeting recessed to an Executive
Session of approximately 20 minutes . Martin noted that
action is not anticipated on either item.
The meeting reconvened at 8 : 09 p m. (CFN-198)
ADJOURNMENT
After his response to Item 11A, CLARK MOVED to adjourn at
8 : 10 p .m Woods seconded and the motion carried.
(CFN-198)
eAYYmmons
Acting Deputy City Clerk
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