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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Committees - Public Works/Planning - 11/20/1990 PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE NOVEMBER 20, 1990 RECEIVED DEC 14 NO CITY AOMIMISTRATION PRESENT: JIM WHITE TIM HEYDON LEONA ORR NELDON HEWITT STEVE DOWELL CHARLIE LINDSEY DON WICKSTROM BILL PRICE CAROL MORRIS ED OLSON TOM BRUBAKER COLLEEN WOODWORTH ED WHITE Judy Taylor Concern - 426 Prospect Ms. Taylor was not present so this matter was continued Request for Signs - Colleen Woodworth - 615 N. Jason Jim White indicated that Ms. Woodworth had presented him with a petition regarding James Street which will be discussed later. Regarding her request for a sign on Jason, Mrs. Woodworth stated that traffic has begun using Jason as a cross street between James and Smith. The volume of traffic has increased steadily over the last few years. The school children have to cross Jason to get to their bus stop. S e requested a "Pedestrian" or "Children Crossing" sign to mak� the drivers aware that it is a residential neighborhood. White asked what could be done. Wickstrom stated that a traffic circl had been placed on this street and later removed. White aske staff to review the problem and come back before the Committee at the December 18 meeting with some recommendations. Ms. Woodworth stated the residents thought the speed limit signs could not be seen due to their location right next to the corner. Ed White will be moving the signs to a better location. Ms. Woodworth submitt d a petition to Jim White with approximately 430 signatures of people concerned about the amount of traffic and danger to the children on the lower section of James Street. The petition asks for an overpass in this area. Orr stated this area is a major concern of hers as well. Woodworth added its was not only the children but others who cross to go the Senior Center, etc. She stated that many of those signing the petition had also indicated they had trouble getting onto James when driving. White suggested we look at all of James Street to see what can be done to solve the problems. Wickstrom stated that James Street is going to be affected by the growth in the Soos Creek plateau and can anticipate more congestion until other corridors are built to provide some relief. As traffic continues to increase they will seek other routes including the neighborhood streets. Long term Public Works Committee November 20, 1990 Page 2 plans have included Jason as a north-south extension to 228th and if carried out would include a signal at James and Jason. Because of staff constraints we would not be able to do a study of all of James in a short time frame. White asked if some alternatives could be developed - from simplest to most complex - with proposed costs in the next couple of weeks and bring it back to Committee. Utility Bill 415-421 Cloudy Street Wickstrom reminded the Committee that this item is in response to a property owner being upset over a high sewer bill for his duplex. The operating policy is that if a duplex is on one meter it is charged a commercial rate for sewer which is based on water consumption. A separate meter could be installed such that each unit would be charged a residential rate. The policy could also be updated such that anything up to a triplex be considered a single family residence which would be consistent with Kent City Code for business license requirements. Wickstrom stated he would have no problems with that. White asked if we had received other similar complaints. Lindsey said there had been a few. White suggested that a written policy be developed such that for purposes of utility billing units up to triplex be considered single family residences. It was determined the policy should be developed by the Finance Department. Carol Morris suggested amending our utility service ordinance to address this rather than just a policy. This will be brought back before the Committee for review. Recycling Emblem Karen Siegel submitted the winning design for a City recycling emblem to the Committee for their approval. The Committee concurred with the final design. Entry Way Signs Heydon and Olson presented a design for entry way signs to the Committee. The Committee concurred with the color choice of blue and green and the design. The Committee recommended approval to the full Council . Request for Vacation of Walkway - Parkside Division 2 Wickstrom proposed relocating the fences, regrade the walkway, remove the stumps, install a catch basin, develop a gravel walkway and install lights. The cost for these improvements would be approximately $5, 500 which could be paid for from existing operating budget. He will take this to IBC for their approval as Public Works Committee November 20, 1990 Page 3 well. Dowell asked about the probability of property owners not wanting to move their fences. Wickstrom explained that the fences are on public right of way, however, the City will pay for relocating the fences. The property owners will be responsible for moving any landscaping they have in the right of way. The Committee recommended denial of the request for vacation of the walkway in Parkside Division 2 and that the improvements as proposed by staff be implemented. Joint Reservoir Equity Purchase Wickstrom explained that this reservoir located in the vicinity of 124th Avenue S.E. and 286th was built as a joint use facility for Kent and Water District 111. Water District ill, who at the time depended upon Kent for their water, paid for approximately 43% of the project. In 1984 Water District 111 developed their own water supply system. They have not used the reservoir since that time but have continued to pay their share of the maintenance costs. Last year, however, they did require the reservoir storage to offset their peak demand. The water quality of Water District ill' s supply is less than that of Kent' s and it is not desired to mix their water with ours in the reservoir. It is proposed we purchase the District's equity of the reservoir which will enable them to construct their own storage reservoir. The cost to purchase the equity is estimated at $608,780 which would be paid for from water utility funds. The Committee unanimously recommended approval of the purchase. Request to Surplus Equipment Heydon stated the vehicles to be surplused have been replaced by newer vehicles. Some have been used on a temporary basis to meet the summer demand. The monies received from sale of the vehicles goes back into the Equipment Rental fund which helps offset the rental fees for City vehicles. Responding to Dowell 's question, it was clarified that the vehicles are sold at the GSA auction. The Committee unanimously recommended approval to surplus the equipment. Metro Sewer Rate Increase Wickstrom explained that Metro is increasing their sewer rate January 1 from $11. 60 to $13 . 20 and we are proposing to pass this along to our customers. This will result in a 9% increase in Kent' s sewer rate. White asked how often Metro increases their rates. Wickstrom responded that it is yearly. While they do not like it, the Committee recommended approval to pass along the Metro Public Works Committee November 20, 1990 Page 4 sewer rate increase. 272nd/277th Corridor King County Council staff has prepared a motion for County Council recommending withdrawal of Kent' s lead agency status on this project and further studies on the need for the corridor. If the County takes the lead on the project it could further delay it possibly to the year 2000. This has been referred to the County' s Transportation staff and is to be brought back before them on December 5. King County Public Works staff and our staff have prepared an alternative motion which proposes that Kent retain the lead agency status and complete the EIS while the County continues with its studies and citizen input. That would delay our EIS about 6-8 months. Orr asked if the County continues to delay this project, is there anyway we can halt some of the growth going on the County that impacts our roads. Wickstrom responded we have challenged the SEPA reviews of many projects but were denied through the County Council. The next step would be to challenge them in court. The Growth Management Act requires them to have their infrastructure in place before development can occur as well . Wickstrom stated that as an alternative the City can pursue annexation. It takes 60% of the assessed valuation of an area to annex. We have commitments of 59% of an annexation area we had previously reviewed. There are, however, additional properties who more recently executed annexation agreements; thus, then the project becomes a City project. While the annexation would take about a year, the design of the project can be continuing at the same time. Orr asked if there would be a difference in costs if we pursued annexation. Wickstrom stated the only questionable funds would be the TIA funding from the State. However, he did not think this was a major concern as the project would still be supported by Auburn, would still be a multi-jurisdictional project and would still be in our regional transportation plan. White asked if we had seriously looked at a tunnel. Wickstrom stated that such a proposal has to include consideration of operations costs and emergency access. Our cursory review shows costs to be quite different than the Robbins proposal. The Committee thought this proposal should be reviewed as an alternative. Dowell asked if the County has approved the Transportation Benefit District. Wickstrom replied that it will be coming before them in December. Wickstrom summarized that he felt the best solution to implement the project would be to continue to try to persuade King County to continue Kent' s lead agency status. At the same time we can look into annexation. The Committee unanimously concurred with this recommendation. Public Works Committee November 20, 1990 Page 5 Valley Transportation Benefit District Wickstrom reviewed the revised agreement for the Transportation Benefit District. This agreement deletes Auburn and adds the City of SeaTac as participating jurisdictions. Kent is the last City of those that are a party to the agreement to approve. The legal department is reviewing the revised agreement. The Committee unanimously recommended approval for the Mayor to sign the agreement. Frager Road Guardrail Bids received for this project exceeded the budgeted funds. In order to proceed it is proposed we transfer $35, 000 from the Asphalt Overlay project fund to this project. The Committee unanimously approved the request. Proposed Sanitary Sewer LID - Westview Terrace Area This proposed sanitary Sewer LID is located adjacent to the area where we constructed another sewer LID last year. We tried to incorporate this project at that time but was unable to put it all together. The properties in this LID boundary are experiencing similar difficulties with their septic systems as the other area. We currently have about 48% support for this project and are recommending proceeding due to the potential health problems that might exist. Orr asked what percentage of the septic systems were failing. Wickstrom stated it is not as bad as the previous area. The Committee unanimously recommended approval to proceed with the LID. Left Turn Lane Reith and SR 516 Orr asked about this item that was brought up at the Town Hall meeting. Wickstrom responded that the 1991 budget includes a right turn lane for the intersection but we do not plan on making any changes to the signal. Wickstrom will ask his staff to review if a left turn lane is warranted.