Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Meeting - Council - Minutes - 03/21/2014 W., . . Kent City Council Retreat Minutes March 21-22, 2014 The first day of the annual retreat of the Kent City Council was called to order at 1:34 p.m. by Facilitator Andrew Ballard Council present: Mayor Cooke, Council President Ralph, Councilmember Higgins, Councilmember Berrios, Councilmember Boyce, Councilmember Fincher, Councilmember Ranniger, and Councilmember Thomas City Staff present: Interim Chief Administrative Officer Tom Brubaker, Economic and Community Development Director Ben Wolters, Public Works Director Tim LaPorte, Human Resource Director Lorraine Patterson, Information Technology Director Mike Carrington, Acting Finance Director Paula Barry, Acting City Attorney Pat Fitzpatrick, Court Administrator Margaret Yetter, Communication/Public Affairs Officer Michelle Wilmot, Planning Director Fred Satterstrom, Parks and Cultural Services Director Jeff Watling, Police Chief Ken Thomas, and City Clerk Ronald Moore Public in attendance: Richard Wilkinson and Jeff Wagner Preliminaries Council President Ralph introduced the topics for each day and thanked everyone for coming. Interim Chief Administrative Officer Tom Brubaker communicated the housekeeping items for the attendees. Facilitator Andrew Ballard from Marketing Solutions communicated his background, discussed the agenda, and everyone's roles and responsibilities. He conducted an opening "get to know you exercise." Berk Study Follow Up Economic and Community Development Director, Ben Wolters highlighted the Berk Study, He communicated what the results of the study were and what progress the City has made with potential efficiency measures that were in the report. He gave out a copy of the report and reviewed the strategic/policy initiatives, capital revenue enhancements, scope of services, level of service, and mode of delivery information which were generated from the retreat last year. Brubaker communicated on what he saw as being accomplished on the list. Wolters communicated that two key personnel, former Chief Administrator John Hodgson and former Finance Director Bob Nachlinger, had "to do" items on the list, but have since retired, and follow up has lessened since then, Parks and Cultural Services Director Jeff Watling discussed Parks related items. Kent City Council Annual Retreat March 21-22, 2014 Wolters stated that the Berk Study was valuable and validated that the City is operationally lean. Mayor Cooke and Watling communicated that the suggestions from the Berk Study were prioritized and felt the exercise was well worth it. Brubaker stated that the Berk firm was hired to find $2 million in savings and they assisted with targeting potential areas for efficiencies that could be addressed. Department Priorities Reports Department Directors discussed their department priorities, as noted below. Administration/City Clerk - Public Disclosure Requests Court - School Zone Cameras Law Department - Indigent Defense Standards Human Resources - Halogen Performance Evaluation System Information Technology - Imaging System Replacement Finance - Continue to look for ways to streamline the business license and B&O tax functions through use of the LEAN process. Economic and Community Development - City-wide new Economic Development Strategy and Comprehensive Plan Update Parks - Parks Infrastructure Public Works - Transportation System Sustainability Police Department - Technology Council Meeting Process Council President Ralph discussed the order of agenda items. Discussion occurred about public comment and the agenda. Fitzpatrick communicated that he would take everyone's suggestions and formulate a draft for everyone to give input on and approve. Council President Ralph discussed the possibility of having Council meetings in different locations throughout the City. All agreed that a town hall meeting format, instead of a council meeting "on the road" would be preferable. First Day Session ended at 5:38 p.m. Day Two The second day of the annual retreat of the Kent City Council was called to order at 8:34 a.m. by Facilitator Andrew Ballard Council present: Mayor Cooke, Council President Ralph, Councilmember Higgins, Councilmember Berrios, Councilmember Boyce, Councilmember Fincher, Councilmember Ranniger, and Councilmember Thomas 2 Kent City Council Annual Retreat March 21-22, 2014 City Staff present: Interim Chief Administrative Officer Tom Brubaker, Economic and Community Development Director Ben Wolters, Public Works Director Tim LaPorte, Human Resource Director Lorraine Patterson, Information Technology Director Mike Carrington, Acting Finance Director Paula Barry, Acting City Attorney Pat Fitzpatrick, Court Administrator Margaret Yetter, Communication/Public Affairs Officer Michelle Wilmot, Planning Director Fred Satterstrom, Parks and Cultural Services Director Jeff Watling, Police Chief Ken Thomas, and City Clerk Ronald Moore Public in attendance: Jeff Wagner and Tim Clark Facilitator Ballard discussed the initiatives for the day. Council President Ralph communicated her thoughts on what the day should look like. Economic Development/Comprehensive Strategies 1.1. City appearance presentation Brubaker introduced the City appearance topic. Wolters presented the Draft Economic Development Plan and stated the purpose of this item is to introduce it to everyone and it is in draft form. 1.2. City appearance priorities Brubaker highlighted several items that were discussed by Wolters. He specifically discussed gateways and possible amenities that could be placed in several locations in the City. He noted that if the City's appearance needs to be revised by 2025 the work has to begin now. Discussion ensued concerning such "appearance" topics as connectivity in downtown Kent, having covered walkways, having branded umbrellas at downtown businesses, and having more collaboration with residents to determine what they want downtown to look and feel like. The group also discussed the possibility of an adopt-a-gateway program. Council President Ralph discussed internships at the school district to possibly assist with challenges. Discussion continued with the types of businesses and that it is the responsibility of the property owners to ensure their businesses fit and that they take care of their storefront appearance. Mayor Cooke communicated that next year is the City's 125th Anniversary and it will present an opportunity to highlight the City's history Councilmember Ranniger highlighted the need to identify and enhance priority gateways. Councilmember Berrios communicated that there is a need to build community partnerships and added it to the list of possible priorities to improve City appearance. 3 Kent City Council Annual Retreat March 21-22, 2014 Council President Ralph stressed the importance of "Green/Gray" synergies between the Public Works and Parks Department. Councilmember Ranniger added that she is interested in seeing work done on the trees along 240th. She also discussed the hanging flowers in downtown. Wolters also discussed the banners in the downtown area. Councilmember Fincher added that there are trees on Reith Road that need to be replaced and highlighted sidewalk maintenance and replacement of roads. Brubaker discussed the aspect of moving towards having complete projects done instead of just doing maintenance only. 1.1. Maintenance presentation Brubaker introduced the maintenance portion of the conversation. He noted that presentations would be from Parks, Police, Public Works, and Information Technology. Watling discussed the Kent Park System. He reviewed the core themes to the Open Space Plan; Green Kent, Trail and Pathway Connectivity, and Preserving and Restoring our Parks Legacy. LaPorte discussed the potholes and sidewalk/tree issues in the City. Thomas discussed the Police Department and the current police department headquarters. He communicated the need for space and the current configuration for his department. Carrington reviewed the needs of his department and broke them down into the what, who, what, where, and why of the department. 1.2. Maintenance priorities Councilmember Higgins inquired about the ShoreTel telephone implementation and Carrington replied that Phase 1 has gone well. He confirmed that he has enough funds to finish the project, which is scheduled to be done by the first half of 2015. He added that the workload on the networking side has increased, but the workload on the telephony side of this project has decreased, thus it is considered a "wash" from an FTE prospective. Watling noted that there may be some closures in the future and closures of certain facilities within some parks due to a lack of funds to fix them and them being a liability. The group identified the following maintenance priorities: - A new police department building - Repair James Street (street, fiber optics, trees, and sidewalks) 4 Kent City Council Annual Retreat March 21-22, 2014 - Strategically target which parks and what roads need addressing - IT funding for lifecycle maintenance - Replace KIVA - Prioritize public works projects based on community impact - Add necessary staff to the IT department 1.1. Funding infrastructure presentation Brubaker introduced the item. Barry presented the 2013 General Fund recap. She discussed the structured internal debt and the unstructured internal debt. She reviewed the three capital funds; capital improvement fund (general capital and parks capital), street operating fund, and information technology fund. Brubaker summarized the presentation. 1.2. Funding infrastructure priorities There was discussion concerning future capital financing options for police and parks. The specific options that were discussed were a bond, levy, local improvement district (LID), and a franchise fee against the water and sewer utility. Short-Term Issues & Actions The facilitator led the groups through an exercise to consolidate similar priorities and remove those that weren't applicable. The group participated in the exercise. Discussion continued and the City staff was instructed to communicate to Brubaker on how they thought the retreat went. The Mayor and Councilmembers presented their feedback on how the retreat went. RETREAT POSITIVES: Councilmember Boyce communicated that the staff overview was very well done and said that Barry did a great job with explaining the financial part of the retreat. Councilmember Berrios appreciated that the retreat wasn't too formal. Councilmember Thomas said the facilitator kept the group moving in the right direction. Councilmember Fincher communicated that the process went well. Councilmember Ranniger communicated that she was pleased that the retreat went from the 30,000 foot level to actionable items. 5 Kent City Council Annual Retreat March 21-22, 2014 Councilmember Higgins thanked the group for their out of the box ideas. Council President Ralph stated that she was pleased that everyone stayed engaged in the process. RETREAT IMPROVEMENTS: Councilmember Thomas communicated that he wanted a deeper revenue discussion. The following items were "PARKING LOT ITEMS" for future Council discussion: B&O / IT Challenges Town Hall Meetings City 125th Anniversary and Branding City Facilities Maintenance Use socio-economic filter to make decisions Sell Par 3 (4/1 Council Workshop) Develop campaign strategy for police Consider assessment and LID options Explore impact fees The meeting adjourned at 4:16 p.m. Ronald F. core MMC City Cle 6