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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Committees - Operations - 11/01/2005 sst� KENO" WASH 1 N O T O N OPERATIONS COMMITTEE MINUTES NOVEMBER 1, 2005 Committee Members Present: Chair Tim Clark, Julie Peterson, and Bruce White The meeting was called to order by Tim Clark, Chair at 4:01 p.m. 1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES DATED OCTOBER 18, 2005 Bruce White moved to approve the minutes of the October 18, 2005, Operation Committee meeting. Julie Peterson seconded the motion, which passed 3-0. 2. APPROVAL OF VOUCHERS DATED OCTOBER 31, 2005 Finance Manager Bob Nachlinger presented the vouchers for October 31, 2005, for approval. Julie Peterson moved to approve the vouchers dated October 31, 2005. Bruce White seconded the motion, which passed 3-0. 3. TOURISM CONTRACT WITH KENT CHAMBER Communications and Marketing Manager Sylvia McDaniel presented the Tourism Contract with Kent Chamber. Ms. McDaniel advised that on October 20, 2005, the City's Lodging Tax Advisory Board (LTAB) unanimously recommended that the City of Kent enter into a one year (2006) $18,000 contract with the Kent Chamber of Commerce for tourism services. Under this contract, the Chamber would continue to serve as a resource to travelers. The Kent Chamber would maintain the www.kenthotel.s.org web site, mail marketing materials to interested parties, staff the 1-800 Kent Lodging phone number, develop a Kent cartoon tourist map for distribution at Kent hotels, work with the Kent Downtown Partnership on a downtown tourist kiosk, promote Kent hotels to Portland residents who could ride the special weekend Sounder trains from Kent Station to Mariners and Seahawks games, and cross promote Seattle Southside Visitor Services. Ms. McDaniel advised that no general fund dollars would be used for this contract. The City of Kent estimates that it will collect about $118,000 in lodging tax revenues in 2006. In addition, at the end of 2005 the City will have a fund balance and unallocated funds of approximately $86,535 in lodging tax revenues. Consequently, it is estimated that the City will have more than enough resources to fund this contract. Questions were raised by the Committee members and Robin Hasbrook of the Kent Chamber of Commerce responded to their questions and concerns. She also advised that the new website had not yet been launched, however, it was ahead of schedule. Operations Committee Minutes November 1, 2005 Page: 2 Julie Peterson requested that next year, as a point of process, that the Committee have a final report prior to the budget request. Bruce White concurred with that request. Julie Peterson moved to recommend an $18,000 one-year (2006) contract for tourism services with the Kent Chamber of Commerce using lodging tax dollars. Bruce White seconded the motion,which passed 3-0. 4. 2006 KENT REPORTER CONTRACT FOR KENT CONNECTIONS NEWSLETTER Multimedia Manager Dea Drake presented the 2006 Kent Reporter Contract for Kent Connections Newsletter. Ms. Drake advised the contract is included in the 2006 operating budget, not to exceed $61,000. Ms. Drake advised that the City of Kent began publishing the Kent Connections city newsletter in the Kent Reporter in 1998. The content and design are completed in-house and forwarded to the Kent Reporter for publication and distribution. The Kent Reporter is a twice monthly tabloid newspaper direct mailed to 28,000 households in the Kent area. The City pays for an increased circulation once a month to reach all residents within Kent City Limits. The Kent School District pays for an additional circulation from the Kent city limits to the school district boundaries. As a result, the Kent Connections in the Kent Reporter is distributed to approximately 68,000 Kent area businesses, homes and apartments. According to the 2005 Citywide External Survey, "A large percentage of Kent residents continue to read Kent Connections. Ms. Drake advised that the 2006 contract increases the Kent Reporter twice monthly base coverage in zip code 98042 by 4,000 homes, bringing total base circulation to 31,983 residents, at no additional charge to the City (the previous base was 28,000). In prior years, this area only received the Reporter when the City paid for the increased circulation once a month. The base full page ad price increases by $65 in 2006, making a base monthly rate of$1,450. The Kent Reporter and the City audited the carrier routes and the base coverage of the Kent Reporter resulting in an increased circulation overage of 2,000, or 14,784 households (up from the previous 12,468). The estimated additional circulation overage paid for by the City had not been audited since the original contract in 1998. The cost per thousand for the overages remains the same as 2005 @$240 per thousand. The contract allows an option for canceling the service with thirty days written notice. This allows flexibility for the new Marketing Director as she develops the City Communication Strategy. Bruce White moved to approve the 2006 Kent Reporter Contract for the purpose of publishing the City of Kent newsletter, subject to City Attorney approval of contract documents. Julie Peterson seconded the motion,which passed 3-0. 5. UTILITY BILLING SYSTEM REPLACEMENT Acting Information Technology Director Sue Lester introduced Senior Systems Analyst Mike Lane to present the Utility Billing System Replacement contract with Springbrook. Mr. Lane advised that 2 Operations Committee Minutes November 1, 2005 Page: 3 oOver the past eight years the City has been replacing critical business systems that run on the City's obsolete legacy hardware. The utility billing system is the final system to be replaced. This contract provides for the acquisition of software along with services to assist the City in the implementation of the software. The new software will provide the City with more flexibility in managing utility accounts and position the City to provide utility customers with the option to review and pay their utility bills on the web. The existing utility billing system was implemented in 1989. The system utilizes obsolete technologies that do not allow the City to offer expected services to its customers. The City released a request for proposals (RFP) in February 2005. Eight vendors responded. An evaluation team with representatives from Finance, Public Works Operations and Information Technology reviewed and scored the responses. The three top scoring vendors were invited to demonstrate their software to the evaluation team. After extensive evaluation, reference checks and site visits, Springbrook was selected as the apparent successful vendor to move forward to the contract negotiations phase of the proj ect. Julie Peterson moved to recommend that the Council approve the contract with Springbrook for a new utility billing system and associated implementation services plus other project not to exceed $506,646 subject to City Attorney approval of contract documents. Bruce White seconded the motion, which passed 3-0. 6. WRITE-OFFS FOR 2005 Finance Director Bob Nachlinger presented the Write-offs for 2005. Mr. Nachlinger advised that the Washington State Auditor's Office has recommended that the City write-off uncollectible accounts receivables that are over one year old. The write-off request is for $42,316.25 on uncollectible accounts from 2003 and 2004, consisting of: Accounts receivable $ 1,297.28 Engineering Fees $ 4,343.35 Utility Billing Bankruptcy $18,098.63 Permits $18,576.99 Mr. Nachlinger advised that there is no budget impact resulting from these write-offs as the amount has been fully reserved as a bad debt in previous years. Permit Center Manager Christine Nelson addressed the Committee concerning the permit write- offs. Julie Peterson recommend that the recommend that the Operations Committee authorize the write-offs of miscellaneous accounts receivable, utility billing and permit charges totaling $42,316.25 for accounts from 2003 and 2004. Bruce White seconded the motion, which passed 3-0. 3 Operations Committee Minutes November 1, 2005 Page: 4 Chair Tim Clark entertained a motion to direct Administration to put linkage between the billing between permits that have not been paid and future applications. Julie Peterson moved for the motion. Bruce White sought to modify that to inject something in that direction that would give some sort of dispute resolution language that would not prevent someone from applying for a new permit if there is some type of fee in dispute. Tim Clark stated that it was a friendly amendment and the motion passed 3-0. 7. 3RD QUARTER 2005 FINANCIAL REPORT Assistant Finance Director Cliff Craig presented the 3rd Quarter 2005 Financial Report for informational purposes only. 8. 2006 BUDGET REVIEW Finance Director Bob Nachlinger presented a brief overview of the 2006 Budget presentation and addressed a few changes in the budget. Tim Clark addressed the fact that the Mayor did not include the Suburban Cities' Association dues in this budget proposal. Mr. Nachlinger agreed. Mr. Clark alerted the Committee and advised that he would be seeking action at the next Operations Committee. Mr. Nachlinger and City Attorney Tom Brubaker addressed the Committee's questions concerning the Tacoma P5 debt that had not been incorporated into the budget. Mr. Nachlinger and Acting Chief Administration/Parks and Community Services Director John Hodgson addressed the Committee's questions regarding the Joint Use Agreement with the Kent School District for the Youth Teen Program The meeting was adjourned at 4:53 p.m. Renee Cameron Operations Committee Secretary 4