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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Committees - Operations - 02/19/1997 OPERATIONS COMMITTEE MINUTES FEBRUARY 19, 1997 COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT: Jon Johnson-Committee Chair, Leona Orr , Tim Clark for Jim Bennett STAFF PRESENT: Roger Lubovich, Brent McFall, May Miller, Kelli O'Donnell MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC: None The meeting was called to order at 4 34 p in by Chairperson Johnson gave introductions Approval of 2/13/97 and 2/14/97 Vouchers Committeemember Orr moved to approve payment of the 2/13/97 and the 2/14/97 vouchers Acting Committeemember Clark seconded the motion which passed with a vote of 3-0. Senior Center Roof Replacement Budget Finance Director May Miller explained that last summer a consultant had looked at the Kent Commons and felt that some repairs would extend the roof life for a few more years The Senior Center roof has failed and is leaking with dry rot, etc , Miller continued She stated that the consultant recommends that the old roof be totally removed for repairs and replacement May noted that the old roof is only ten years old and should have lasted longer but the contract had been awarded to the low bidder and as sometimes happens the best materials were not used She explained that the subcontractor who did the work is out of business so there is no way to go back to him The new roofing would be a better material with a ten year warranty and as part of the bid a contractor will inspect to make sure it is installed correctly with the materials ordered The cost to do this would be $150,000 total which would be funded from the $60,000 remaining from the Commons and $90,000 from unanticipated fund balances resulting from sales tax, May stated Miller introduced Facilities Manager Charlie Lindsey Lindsey distributed a picture of the roof and explained that the experimental material used previously was a built up roof with a laminate over it He noted that you can see that the laminate has peeled off in most areas Lindsey also stated that around the copula the siding is damaged and will need to be repaired also Orr asked if there is a possibility that more damage will be found when the old roof is removed Charlie agreed that there is a possibility and Miller added that there is a contingency budget of$16,621 set aside in case of further damage Orr noted that the Senior Center roof has been leaking for five years Comrmtteemember Orr moved to recommend authorization to proceed and establish a budget of$150,000 to be funded with a transfer of$60,000 from the unused Kent Commons roof project with the balance of $90,000 to come from the CIP fund balance Acting Committeemember Clark seconded the motion and the motion passed 3-0 Regional Governance fd Finance Proposal Director of Operations Brent McFall stated that this item was presented at a Council meeting a few weeks ago briefly and that a Council Workshop is scheduled for next week He noted the purpose of bringing it up in this meeting was to review the proposal in some detail so that the committee would be in the position to make some recommendations at the workshop He noted the importance of understanding what this document represents McFall explained that a staff group had worked on this issue under the auspices of Suburban Cities Association (SCA) to establish a policy position If adopted, this position would be the SCA negotiating position going into the Growth Management Planning Council (GMPC) meetings where the issue of what level of services of government would be paid for by whom and how will be decided upon Brent clanfied that this is an attempt to provide guidance to SCA representatives on the GMPC whom he thought would be Bob Edwards from the City of Renton and Rosemarie Ives from Redmond At the special meeting of SCA on February 26, it will be decided if this document or a modification of it will be the OPERATIONS COMMITTEE MINUTES, CONT. February 19, 1997 position of SCA going into GMPC McFall offered to review the document noting that he was on the committee that developed it He explained that not everyone on the committee agreed on everything that is in the document but overall the consensus is it is a good position Brent explained that the debate over what services the city government should offer versus the county government usually takes place because of a crises The crises in this situation is the King County budget which has come about because of incorporations and annexations of areas into existing cities therefor shrinking the direct service areas of the county Tax receipts also shrink from the county road tax and 85% of sales tax The committee identified, and King County concurred, that there currently exists an urban subsidy whereby taxes collected from cities pays for urban services in unincorporated areas McFall stated that depending on how it is calculated it is estimated that $10 to $31 million annually is shifted He noted that the cities feel this is unacceptable, service levels should be determined by revenues from the service area King County is not functional as an urban service provider and, he noted, that this is even contrary to King County policies stating that service levels should be determined by revenues from the service area Cities should be providers of urban services and King County should provide rural services to unincorporated areas and regional services, McFall summarized that the problem Ices in determinng what regional services are McFall stated that the proposed positron is for SCA to aggressively approach King County and get them to step out of providing urban services The proposal also calls for agreement with King County and all of the cities by 1998 establishing annexation areas King County has never agreed to the boundaries of the potential annexation areas (PAA) and some areas are left out of anyone's PAA McFall continued that one position that is under consideration is that cities would be responsible for planning, zoning, and permitting of their PAA's whether they are currently in the city or not The rational is those areas will eventually inherit whatever happens there During further explanation, McFall stated that the county would make the bold step of saying they would no longer provide urban services to PAA's and if residents want those services they can annex to the existing city or form their own He continued, that by stepping out of the urban business, money would be freed up for King County to provide regional services The debate will be determining what regional services are Cities will work with the county to negotiate packages such as human services, courts, police, parks, swimming pools, etc He noted the importance of recogruzing that every city in the county may have to take some of the things they don't like such as pools He also noted that every annexation will not make sense from a financial standpoint If the whole premise is accepted that the urban rural line is a distinct dividing line and that everything on the urban side of the line will be inside a city, then we as cities will need to step up and take on those responsibilities Each individual city will be responsible for determining what their own level of service will be One city may emphasize police or parks for example, cities will always be different but ultimately responsible for making those decisions McFall offered to answer any questions the Committee had noting that this could be a dramatic shift in the provision of government services He added that this issue has periodically been talked about for the past 20 or 30 years without the pressure of a crises Johnson noted that the same issue periodically pops up again and that he thought it was interesting that SCA has always though of pools as regional not suburban McFall noted that the rational was not in the broader context, King County has wanted to shift the cost of operating pools with no benefit to the cities He noted that a significant example would be the proposal for human services to become a regional function If that happens, the city no longer would be in that business McFall pointed out that this is a prime example of giving up a function that is dear to us and that we do Page 2 OPERATIONS COMMITTEE MINUTES, CONT. Eehrua nE 19, 1997 well Johnson questioned what would happen with the courts McFall responded that using the court as an example we have just went in the other direction, most King County cities use district court but for the past four years we have operated our own and been pleased He noted the key is to realize that everything is on the table for debate over what is regional and what is local During further discussion, Clark stated his concern regarding the agricultural development district and who would have authority to grant/remove rights, funding, and enforcement McFall stated that it had not specifically been discussed but it would be on the table Clark questioned whether the county is taking into consideration the impact of the Growth Management Act and related changes in densities and the demand upon services that it will drive This could impact junior taxing districts as well as public safety and public health Clark questioned how the city could contend with that or would it be a regional service McFall stated that public health would probably be funded and handled by the county After further discussion of potential impacts, Clark requested that McFall prepare a brief synopsis of services and the pros and cons of them being urban or rural for the Council workshop McFall noted that he could only do so by his own speculation as SCA is only developing their strategy as is King County and Seattle During further discussion, McFall noted that at the February 26th meeting of SCA, this proposal may be adopted or thrown out He noted that at the end of the Council's workshop a determination is needed of whether the City of Kent can or cannot support this proposal or what modifications they would like to be able to support it Clark asked if the outcome was to establish principles to apply McFall replied that it is a statement of principles that will be modified as we go through the GMPC Kind County Charter Review: McFall stated that at the last SCA meeting the King County Charter Review had been brought up and it is up to the Council if they want to offer any recommendations from the City of Kent Tim Clark noted that he would be attending the public meeting tonight Clark noted that there is an overlap with SCA and the Charter Review He stated that he doesn't feel represented on the King County Council since public hearings are not in the area affected and the people living there have to go to work He also noted his concern that as the regional provider of service this principle should be in their language for the charter Clark also raised the issue of density in urban boundaries regarding the provision of green space Orr noted that it doesn't seem as though urban separators of green space exist McFall agreed, stating that it is a guideline not a requirement and usually boundaries are streets After further discussion of regional versus local governance, Clark asked if the Committee wished to give any direction for the King County Charter Review hearing Johnson noted that his concerns have already been addressed One, reducing districts from 13 to 7 as areas shrink -- this would reduce costs for budgeting and staff, and two, non-partisan elected offices as these are regional issues not partisan He noted that during his ten years working at King County, he saw issues being bogged down by partisanship McFall suggested that the recommendations of the charter review committee should be placed on the ballot instead of the King County Council picking and choosing what is placed on the ballot Orr concurred Johnson noted that at Summit I and II the county was the only one who wanted to go from 9 districts to 13 McFall pointed out that King County has the Charter Review process but can also change codes at any time A discussion of the number of districts followed December Preliminary Financial Report: May Miller reviewed the financial report with the committee noting on Page 25 that at this point it appears Page 3 OPERATIONS COMMITTEE MINUTES, CONT. February 19, 1997 there will be $1 9 million more in the ending fund balance than budgeted without the police contract settlement She noted it is expected to be finalized at approximately $1 million which will be used to replace the $1 million that was expected to be needed from the CIP She added that the sales tax exemption impacts have still not been fully reported McFall added that a conservative approach is still being followed After May concluded her report, Chair Johnson adjourned the meeting at 6 07 p in as there was no further business to be brought forward Page 4