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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Committees - Operations - 04/14/1997 OPERATIONS COMMITTEE MINUTES April 14, 1997 COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT": Jon Johnson-Committee Chair, Leona Orr, Jim Bennett STAFF PRESENT: Norm Angelo, Ed Crawford, Jun Hams, Dave Heldt, John Hodgson, Dena Laurent, Charlie Lindsey, Roger Lubovich, Brent McFall, May Miller, Kelli O'Donnell, Sue Viseth, Don Wickstrom MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC: None The meeting was called to order at 4 07 p in by Chairperson Johnson Approval of 3/31/97 Vouchers Committeemember Orr moved to approve payment of the March 31 vouchers Bennett seconded the motion which passed 3-0 Vouchers in the amount of$2,761,645 95 were approved for payment CIP Budget Change: Parks and Recreation Director John Hodgson stated that he had two or three issues for the Committees consideration The first is the drainage at the Russell Road complex He explained that the drainage had deteriorated over the last two years resulting in the fields having been wet for the past year Consequently there was no fall softballl league because of the late start He proposed that in addition to the $200,000 budgeted for improvement, $72,000 be transferred into the project from the master plan budget which is now done in-house Hodgson stated that two fields would be done for this amount based on Fort Dent's recent project He added that design work will be done for the whole complex but the seed money will be for the first two fields The due to the failure of last fall's bond issue, two projects proposed for funding, Garrison Creek and Linda Heights Park, still needed funding John explained that when he came to the city, the parks system was aged and the department has rebuilt four parks and three playgrounds and planned to do three more playgrounds this summer He noted that the parks rebuilt and scheduled had been accomplished with a variety of funding He reviewed the funding proposal for Linda Heights Park with the committee including transfers from various projects and an allocation of$90,000 from unreserved funds For funding of the Garrison Creek project, Hodgson proposed that of the $965,000 in the unreserved fund balance, $446,000 be transferred to the Garrison Creek project and reviewed the master plan with the committee He concluded that these are the last two parks that truly need to be rebuilt adding that the Salt Air Hills Park is being applied for IAC funds with $100,000 grant matching If approved, funds would also be allocated to start planning for the BMX track Finance Director May Miller reviewed the capital fund page distributed with the agenda noting the unallocated reserve balance and $150,000 grant matching fund Committeemember Orr asked if the Russell Road ball fields would be shut down for part of the season Hodgson replied that when Fort Dent did their project, they did close down in July He added that a ten game season is being considered with the condition that if they want to come back next year to play on the new fields they need to play in the ten game season Orr asked if any other projects were being deferred Miller responded that this proposal would not affect any other parks projects Committeemember Bennett moved to recommend approval of a budget change reallocating $536,400 from the Capital Reserve Fund Balance and $100,000 from grant matching funds to CIP accounts as outlined Orr seconded the motion which passed with a vote of 3-0 Meridian Valley-Del Mar Annexation Plans/ Meridian Valley Budget Authorization Director of Operations Brent McFall reported that the Meridian Valley Annexation had submitted their 60% petition which had been verified and will be acted upon by the City Council tomorrow night. McFall reported that the Del Max Annexation is also well underway with petitioners reporting OPERATIONS COMMITTEE MINUTES, CONT. April 140 1997 over 40% signed to date with good response and hopes to turn in the 60% petition by mid-May. He noted that petitioners are hopeful that Del Mar will be annexed the first of July also. McFall stated that the budgets for both annexations are being presented but each may stand on its own from a revenue and expense standpoint. The differences between the two areas is reflected in the types of expenses for each, McFall noted. He concluded that the primary goal today is to look at the Meridian Valley Annexation and approve a budget change for Meridian Valley. In reviewing highlights, McFall noted that the two annexations result in the addition of 31 Net FTE positions with 24 of those in Public Safety and Maintenance. McFall reviewed the proposed positions with the Committee. He stated that hiring has been spaced out over time with the dates identified of anticipated hiring as a result of the phasing in of revenue as well as to manage the workload in Employee Services and Civil Service. McFall continued that the remaining expenses are a result of material and operating expenses after review of the Public Works and Parks needs of the area. May Miller reviewed the process of developing the budgets which utilized the computer models developed during the Meridian Annexation. After analyzing all the revenue anticipated, year three is budgeted first because it shows all expected revenue to balance against expenses. Department requests are received and balanced against the annexation revenue. Year one is budgeted as a six month budget in this case and a monthly flow of expenses and revenue are input. Miller noted that there are a number of one time expenses in the first year when revenue is low so a transfer from the CIP unallocated balance is proposed with revenue paying back the funds over year two and three. Miller reviewed the year three budget with the Committee and distributed a corrected sheet for page three showing a transfer out of$70,000 and a repayment of the CIP fund of$131,952. Miller explained that the drainage fund will have a shortage of$33,000 the first year because residents will have already paid King County. She added that a basin rate adjustment will probably be needed in the Meridian Valley Annexation. May reviewed the remaining budget pages with the Committee. Committeemember Bennett asked how the Police Department would interface with a gated community. McFall responded that they are currently private streets and the community can choose, if they wish, to keep it gated with private security but the Police Department will still have responsibility for police patrol and investigation of crimes committed inside of the gated community. During further discussion, Committeemember Orr stated that she recalled from a report on the Meridian Annexation that we were $600,000 in the red and expected to be $55,000 above expenses in the third year. She asked what the status is for the Meridian Annexation for this year. McFall responded that the second year is close to identical to the third year. Miller noted the diverted county road tax is the only difference. A discussion of revenue from Fire District 37 followed. McFall stated that he will report back the year end revenue/expenses for the Meridian Annexation. Committeemember Orr asked when the Del Mar Annexation would be effective if not July 1, 1997. McFall responded that it depends on when the petition is received and whether the Boundary Review Board takes jurisdiction. The 45 day period for the BRB to take jurisdiction has already begun. If the BRB takes jurisdiction, they have 180 days to hold public hearings which could push the date to January 1, 1998. After further discussion of time lines, Committeemember Bennett moved to recommend authorization to establish a budget for the Meridian Valley Annexation for 1997 as estimated per the attached exhibit. Orr seconded the motion which carried with a vote of 3-0. Page 2 OPERATIONS COMMITTEE MINUTES, CONT. April 14, 1997 Kent Reporter Contract Government Affairs Manager Dena Laurent reported that the Kent Reporter had recently approached the City regarding printing the City's newsletter, Kent Connections, in the newspaper She noted that this item was considered in response to the Council's Target Issue for increased outreach and communications Laurent noted that staff had contacted the City of Renton who had been producing their newsletter in conjunction with the Renton Reporter and were informed that Renton has had a very positive experience with this format She noted that costs would be covered with salary savings and the current opportunity is to consider signing a contract for a trial basis through the end of the year Laurent noted that there is a short time frame which would allow printing of the first City newsletter in the May 1 edition She concluded that the stones would be written by staff with in-house graphics utilized Committeemember Bennett stated that he had heard about the new newspaper but had not received one and requested that the item be brought back to another meeting Bennett stated that he had heard questions on the editorial balance of the stories in the newspaper Committeemember Orr asked if there was a savings in going to an outside newspaper Laurent responded that it was clearly more expensive but would give more immediate news to the citizens than is currently offered and is basically a different tool for communicating with the citizens After further discussion, Committee Chair suggested the item be deferred to the next Operations Committee Meeting The Committee concurred Centennial Center Update John Hodgson stated that this report was prepared to respond to the questions of the Council regarding occupancy of the Centennial Center and parking questions Hodgson reported that the Centennial Center is currently 95% occupied which is the minimum goal A new lease was signed last week which has not been rolled into the financial picture yet Hodgson stated that the parking garage currently has 71 stalls for public use on the first floor with appropriate signage In regards to employee parking, Hodgson stated that every stall has been assigned and it is assumed that if the monthly fee is payed they are utilizing their stall Hodgson concluded that he will be checking to see if any employees wish to give up their stall and will fax a report to the Committee with the results of the inquiry Banking RFP Update May Miller reported that the deadline for proposals was March 14 and two banks had responded, U.S. Bank and Key Bank. Miller stated that a committee is reviewing the proposals and will be assigning points in five areas to determine the best proposal. 1998 Budget & CIP Calendar Miller reported that the Capital Facilities Plan is now updated yearly due to the Growth Management requirements which also requires an inventory of facilities, parks, etc. She reviewed the proposed budget calendar with the Committee noting that the budget process will start on June 17. February Financial_Repor Miller reviewed the February Fmancial Report with the Committee noting on page 9 that the general fund revenue is$600,000 over budget for the first two months of the year. Miller noted the $939,000 received over budget in sales tax with April the deadline for exemptions. The new summary pages for utility tax was reviewed on page 14 as well as the new detail pages for gas, garbage, cable, telephone, and water utility taxes. The increasing fund balance to 9.1% was noted on page 33 which Miller stated Page 3 OPERATIONS COMMITTEE MINUTES, CONT. was expected to be at 10% by year end. Miller concluded by reviewing the increased fund balance of the Capital Improvement Funds with the one-time only added items. Added Item: Orr asked what the status of the RJC food service shuttle bus was, asking if there would be a ten minute turn around during the lunch hour. McFall replied that the transportation staff is pricing out and will have figures shortly on a downtown loop that would operate between 11:30 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. McFall noted that the quarterly Cable TV and Small Claims reports were included in the agenda packet. There being no further business, Committee Chair Johnson adjourned the meeting at 5:36 p.m. Page 4