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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Committees - Operations - 08/31/1987 Aar OPERATIONS COMMITTEE MINUTES August 31, 1987 COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT: Tom Bailey Berne Biteman Christi Houser STAFF PRESENT: Brent McFall Tony McCarthy Mike Webby May Miller OTHERS PRESENT: Nick Capato, Park Avenue Fitness APPROVAL OF VOUCHERS ,. All claims for the period ending August 31 , 1987, in the amount of $1 ,535,345.01 were approved for payment. COMPREHENSIVE" HEALTH AND WELLNESS PROGRAM: Assistant i y Administrator MiRe Webby, -explained to the Committee that the concept of a Wellness Program has been under study by the City as directed by the Council . As background, he told the Committee that the City's Se1f-Insured Medical Plan had been funded since January 1986, and that Warren McVey & Co. had been contracted to evaluate the first year of that program and provide information on providing a City Wellness Program. Features of the program would be: • a health-risk appraisal questionnaire • on-sight health screening • an intervention program including nutrition, exercise and smoking ntcess 1 on,- • a reward system based upon points earned for exercising- points could be used to acquire T-shirts, and coupons for use at City exercise facilities (Kent Commons) • an evaluation of the program to determine its impact on sick leave usage and medical benefit costs. Mike told the Committee that Warren McVey & Co. had proposed a $14,000 program to encompass this and at the present time, $7,000 has been initially requested in the 1988 Budget. This amount could be increased to $14,000 41nd would be funded with the City's self-insured medical trust. In additioni,,, the trust would, as a part of the program, fund the employees assistance program that the City currently operates. Prior to introducing Nick Capato, City Administrator Brent McFall explained that the Park Avenue program could be a portion of the City's program, but the initial City plans were to move more slowly into the program at 'a more reasonable cost. Initial proposal from Mr. Capato talked about a $70,000 to 80,000 program for 300 City employees. Operations Committee Minutes August 3,1, 1987 Page 2 Councilmember Houser asked who would run the City program, and Mike Webby explained that the program would be monitored through the Personnel Department with assis- tance from professionals from local hospitals and other places. ,Councilmember Biteman was concerned about the individualization of the program through the Kent Commons facility, and whether information could be tracked by individual employee. Following some additional discussion, Nick Capato explained his program which would involve a 30 to 45 minute workout, 2 or 3 times a week, per employee based upon individual evaluation of that employee. Information would be maintained on com- puters for each session that the employee visited the facility and the employee and the City would get reports every nine weeks showing health progress. Mr. Capato felt that this feedback would eliminate discouragement of employees in that they would see immediate progress and continue the program. He did ndte in his presen- tation that his operation was connected with both the University, of Washington and the Virginia Mason Clinic and he had helped to open 24 clinics around the country in the last- number of years. To wrap up the presentation, Brent summarized the highlights. The Committee was interested in a wellness program; there were advantages to the City related to better use of sick leave and the City's medical program; there were advantages to the employee in better health and because of this interest, the staff would proceed and look at all of the alternatives -which would include, not' ortlyy, the City's existing facility and Mr. Capato, but other facilities includin4` relationships with local hospitals. Mr. Capato made an offer whereby he would waive the initiation fee and would provide six months of service for 200 employees at $29 per month, or approximately $35,000. This fee would include a $75 health evaluation. THE METRO B & 0 TAX REBATE/REFUND PROPOSAL: Finance Director McCarthy showed a tommittee an initial draft,4f the letter that would go out with the September 30, 1987 utility bills explai,nipg the Metro Tax Rebate to City customers and noting the City's absorption of an 'an`ticipated Metro increase, effective January 1, 1988. He also explained to the Committee the com- plexity in computing the residential equivalents for the nonresidential units. Through discussions with the Information Services Department, the August billing will be used to compute the residential equivalents. The Committee seemed happy with the presentation and draft letter, directing the staff to,,�rgceed with the rebates. ' DISCUSSION ON LEASING OFFICE SPACE: The City Administrator, Brent McFall, noted that property adjacent to City Hall , between Meeker and Gowe, had been purchased by a private developer who was planning to construct a three-story facility with office space on the top two floors and retail space on the ground floor. This private developer had approached the City about a long-term lease for the office space portion of the facility. The Administrator noted that this would meet the City's goals of combining the Planning, Building and Engineering Departments into a permit enter, and -2- Operations Committee Minutes August 31, 1987 P Page 3 recommended that the City look to provide a letter of intent to the developer on the proposed lease arrangements for the facility. The City Administrator explained that the options would be to lease-purchase the facility, eventually acquiring the first floor rental space as possible City Hall expansion space in the future. The benefits to the facility would be that it would provide for a combined City complex. As Councilmember Houser brought out, the City's telephone and computer lines could be connected to the facility, and it would also be a shot in the arm for downtown, being a private development which would add to the City's tax base. Also, retail facilities would be included on the first floor. The Administrator noted that other space options in the downtown area had been reviewed, but none provided the combined facility for City operations, and particularly the large function that the development center would provide. Councilmember Biteman pointed out that if the City decided to continue the pursuit of this effort, we should make sure that the lease rates being charged were competitive for the needs of the City because this would be points on which the City could be criticized. INTERIM FINANCING FOR THE GOLF COURSE: Tnance irec or McCarthy explained o the Committee an interim financing proposal for the City's new golf course. This proposal is based on the rj�commendations of Shearson Lehman Brothers, Inc. , that the City not obtain permanent revenue bond financing until the final bids are approved for the construction of the course. These bids are not expected to be let until December of this year, so some interim financing needs to be in place so that the property can be acquired and the initial land clearing phase can be completed. McCarthy explained to the Committee that the interim financing could be handled in the way of the City's Local Improvement Districts with a calculation of the 90-day Treasury Bill rate, or it could be handled through a negative investment with the State pool. The negative investment with the State pool would provide the same earnings to the City's general fund that it generally earns, in addition to charging a lower rate than external interim financing that Shearson Lehman Bros. could obtain. But, there is a possibility that other external interim financing may obtain a lower rate for the golf course project and the Finance Director told the Committee that the final proposal on this would be available at their September 15 meeting with the possible passage of an ordinance at that evening's meeting if an external offer needed to be accepted. The Committee appreciated the advance warning of this possible 'financing technique and told the Director to continue on with his evaluation of the;,various proposals. 66F-IF -3-