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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Committees - Public Safety (Committee) - 10/16/1989 VERBATIM MINUTES FROM PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEEk MEETING OCTOBER 16, 1989 PRESENT: Paul Mann Jim Miller Christi Houser Hal Rees Ed Chow Dennis Byerly Sandra Driscoll Kevin Kearns Alana Mclalwain Barney Wilson Norm Angelo ----------------------------------------------------------------- PM: Alright, we'll begin. Before we go into the agenda I think we need to deal with the minutes from the last meeting. I trust there is a question as to what actually was said here. There are some conflicting statements. I 'd like us to go into ,s executive session and look into this matter. So, those people that were here last, at the last meeting, I would ask to stay for an executive session and we'll call you back, those of you that are outside, we'll call you back in as soon as its over. SD: Just to keep this legit here, we have to state for the record the reason for the executive session. There are general, generally things, reasons to go in, matters relating to real estate, collective bargaining, complaints against individual employees. Normally, approval of minutes itself is not a matter by which we can go into executive session. PM: These matters have to do with personnel, personnel policies, personnel matters which may effect personnel, have repercussions. SD: Okay, if you state that for the record. Going in for matters related to again, a complaint against an employee and then we also have to state for the record, how long we're going into the executive session. PM: Ten minutes. ;A, SD: Okay. JM: And, for the record, Chief Frederiksen who was here last time is not able to be here, he's out of town, has asked me to be here for this portion. Is there a problem with me being in the executive session in his behalf. DB: Captain Miller is Acting Chief at this time in the absence of Chief Frederiksen. PM: Well, I would just ask that the people that were here last time. - • i MINUTES FROM PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE MEETING, Continued October 16, 1989 Page 2 of 8 Meeting adjourned to executive session. Meeting reconvened at approximately 2:25 p.m. CH: I move the minutes of the September 4th meeting, or 14th meeting, excuse me. PM: We first have to amend the minutes. CH: No, you, now we have to amend them, first we have to have the minutes, first we have to make a motion, then we have to amend them. PM: Okay. Second. CH: Okay. PM: All in favor. SD: Then you have a motion to amend. CH: Either one of us? SD: Right. CH: With two of us here, it's a little more difficult than usual. Okay, I move that we amend the minutes to reflect recollection of the Councilmembers that were at that meeting to change the statement that Captain Byerly indicated that Captain Rees had the information, not that he had given him the information. PM: Second. All in favor. CH: I. P11: I. CH: Opposed? PM: Alright, now the next item here is Standards for Public Defense Services by City Attorney. SD: As I said in the memo, that legislation that came out was passed by the 1989 Legislature requires every city council to adopt standards for public -defense services. What I have in front of you is a three-page, three pages of proposed standards. Each one of these headings that you see, all thirteen of them, are the specific topics that are required to be addressed by legislation. It's taken straight out of MINUTES FROM PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE MEETING, Continued October 16, 1989 Page 3 of 8 the legislation. What is here is really a compilation of reading the Washington State Bar Association guidelines for public defense standards. Some that are now being considered by several other cities in King County area, as well as some proposed standards by the Public Defense Association. Public Defense Association would like more specific, say under the heading of compensation of ,council. They'd like us to set a minimum dollar amount. They's like us to set specific case load limits, types of cases that each of the council can handle. I think from a City standpoint, we believe it's more appropriate that it's the Defense Council that make those determinations just on their own professional judgement as to what is appropriate. Therefore what I say is say pay is at rate commensurate with training and experience, case loads, that necessary for them to ensure effective representation and broader language like that. But we do need this in place before we go forward to seek Defense Council for the City and that contract expires December 31. That's why it's in front of you know. One thing, on page 2, number 8, when we talk about the last sentence in there where I say the City shall have available a contract with additional qualified attorneys if there's a conflict of interest. If with the Council's permission, I 'd like to change that proposed language to say the court shall appoint qualified attorneys. Reading it, it's not really appropriate for a defendant to come to the City, say, well my public defense died or lady had a. conflict and so you got to give me somebody else, because then we're getting a little to close. So we'd like to have the court appoint. The City, of course, still pays, but the court appoints and that's how it 'works now. CH: Okay. SD: So, we're just requesting that with your approval, we be able to go to the Council with this. $I PM: Do you want a motion? SD: Yes, please. CH: Okay. I move that we approve, we approve the ,Standards forR, Public Defense for the City with the change that Sandra made on number 9, 8. PM: Second. All in favor. PM: I. CH: I. MINUTES FOR PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE MEETING, Continued October 16, 1989 Page 4 of 8 PM: Opposed. PM: Okay, it's carried. License Agreement with King County Water District 75, Fire Department. NA: What I'd like to do is update you a little bit on the radio mobile date terminal project. In order for that project to function properly, we need to have two sites. A remote site to the east and north of us and another one to the west hill. Our preferred site was with Water District 75 and their tower in that it gave us better coverage. It was a site that already had some tower equipment on it and it was just very suitable to our overall needs. The idea was to get a long term lease with renewable five - ten year increments, to leave us in a somewhat stable position. After much discussion the Water District felt that the best they would do would go from a license and not a lease. We were looking for the long term lease. The license would only be good as long as they decide to issue it and on a given moments notice, they could tell us that okay, we want to cancel the license and then we'd have up to one year to remove the tower from the site, actually we'd have to set up another tower on the site and then take the other one down within one year. There were some stability questions. But the other alternative to us, however, was to go over behind the fire station on the Cambridge site, up by the water tower. For the most part, it would have been hidden. Very few, if any, trees would go out, but the difficulty is it would go about 40 feet above the tree line in order to be effective and reach the other tower site. There were basically then two alternatives. We came back with City Administration and the Mayor and laid out both alternatives and give them the overall quality that we can get from the Water District 75 site, given the fact that in the ,,. past history they have not had a history of kicking people off of their site, it was felt 'that it was a preferable alternative to do that versus going to the Cambridge site which tends to be more of a residential type neighborhood, and the fact that the coverage from the Water District 75 site was somewhat better. What it boils down to is that the Mayor and the City Administration felt it was appropriate to keep Council informed so that you could be aware that there is a risk there, but overall the risk is seen as moderate. So we want to answer any questions you might have with regards to that and there were two other items like this that are just informational items. PM: With the latest development in the Midway Landfill fiasco, i MINUTES FROM PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE MEETING, Continued October 16, 1989 Page 5 of 8 does that contamination affect Water District 75's well system. NA: No, it doesn't. The site that we're looking at is much further north than that. Water District 75 may have some more sites down there, but I 'm not aware of any that are impacted by that particular site in Midway. This is basically putting a tower on some of their property. PM: Any questions? What would you like us to do? NA: It was basically an information item. The other thing other thing related to hazardous materials, now that you've brought it up, is that we are not going to, remember in the Council Targets we were talking about doing some additional household toxic waste days. There are two things, one there is not enough budget to do it. Secondly, the County has started a program where twice a year, they're going to be coming around with a portable 'unit and be accepting household toxic wastes. The first one will happen between October 26th and November 4th and they'll locate their site down at the,park-n-ride at the foot of James Street. 'What we're going to do is require them to get a permit from us. They will not be paying a fee for that permit, but it will require them to be monitored by our people. If they start running a sloppy operation or where it is inappropriate to our citizens, then we'11 probably step in and come back to you with further information, with our recommendations. But if it works out, it will be the long term solution to household toxic wastes. So, we're going to hold right now on our plans for next year. We're not going to conduct additional site visits this year as we did earlier in April, but we will be monitoring these other folks. Second thing is that just to update you on your other target issue up there. We have entered into some training and introduction to the other Departments to begin their disaster planning and a. processes for their annexes. So that you can anticipate that taking a couple of years by the time it gets to the full plan and then even after that it takes a lot renewal and revising. But a major step and think there's something like 12 steps it takes to get one in place, we've gone through 6 of them and the 7th one now is taking it to the Departments and getting their annexes ready. So we are proceeding. PM: We're looking forward to the dedication. NA: I need to spend some time with you after this meeting for a couple moments and Captain Miller, Mr. Chow, just to make sure we have some time coordinated. We'll put you to work out there on Friday. MINUTES FROM PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE MEETING, Continued October 16, 1989 Page 6 of 8 PM: Is there anything else. I have an issue, I just wonder if I could get some response to and that is this recent death. This high school student that was killed crossing the street. EC: On Tuesday, wasn't it. PM: Yes. Is that the same area .that we had a presentation on, our Safety Committee by the school official. NA: I don't believe so, I believe it was up towar4p 208th. DB: It was on 208th. NA: It was in a County area. Our people were some of the first on the scene. CH: She was talking about Central. NA: You have some on Central and you have some on the Kangley. This was, there 'was no school bus near there and. BW: (Not understandable) DB: Right. ED: Panther Lake wasn't it. DB: Yes, at about 103rd or 4th and 208th. PM: Was anything done with regard to that concern. NA: There is some things being investigated with that. It may not have been totally accidental. There may have been some not paying attention, some desire, it's hard to say. They're just doing some research to find out exactly what the cause is. So we don't know. (not understandable) . .in the school �. district, so County Police is handling it. We didn't encounter anything peculiar that, like a school bus stop or something that would tend to linger up the street or things of that nature. JM: Was that actually on 208th? Just for your update, in the City of Kent, 104th is considered to be the Benson, but when you get up in that area, 104th is east of the Benson by roughly 4 blocks, or I'm sorry, west of the Benson by roughly 4 blocks. CH: Well, in regards to that matter, we have a letter here from a man that says that, that appearances indicate that the City of Kent is intent on impeding traffic by putting so many 3" MINUTES FROM PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE, Continued October 16, 1989 Page 7 of 8 lights up on Kent Kangley Highway, Benson Highway, S.E. 256th Street intersection. During rush hour, cars are backed up all over because there are four sets of lights through there and he thinks we should take out lights or some of ahem anyway so the traffic would flow through easier. NA: It would be a boom for business for Police and Fire. CH: If we took out the lights? NA: There'd be hell to pay up there. CH: I mean there's differing opinions on how to you know, how this should be done. NA: I think what that person is seeing is there aren't, which we all know, there aren't enough roads around. CH: Yes. NA: And because of that they're focussing into one, area, but to have a free for all at that intersection, and that's exactly what it would be up there. JM: The lights may tend to slow down his progress, but the lights in general, speed the process of all the commuters through that area. CH: Everybody getting through. JM: If you look at it one direction, yes, the lights do impede, but they actually speed up the entire process. BW: And, there's no pedestrian crossing all the way from Panther Lake to almost the Benson Shopping Center. Pedestrians can't of get across. That's why we *asked for that underpass at Garrison Creek. Traffic corridors are really blockers for the residential areas. PM: There's a real problem at the Nazarene Church entrance/exit there on James Street. I wonder if we could put'' on record here that concern had been raised regarding that issue. I know there's been quite a few accidents there. XX: Left turns coming down the hill. PM: If there's some way to alleviate that with a caution, blinking yellow light that would change upon being tripped coming from the Nazarene Church or whatever. I think we need to address MINUTES FROM PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE MEETING, Continued October 16, 1989 Page 8 of 8 that. JM: There are a number of external things that you could do, but just generally the topography and geography there is the hazard factor there as opposed to, people have a tendency to look at traffic ahead of them as opposed to caution lights and those types of things, so we're almost locked into what the geography does to us at that location and adding one more thing for a driver to look at may create more hazard than it eliminates. It would have to be fairly carefully studied before. DB: I think, Captain Miller, part of the problem that you're indicating is because the entrance is on James Street versus one of the other secondary roads. PM: Right. Would you look into that matter. JM: Yes. PM: I 'd appreciate it. Anything else. Okay, we're adjourned. Meeting adjourned at 2:40 p.m. a (TAPED TRANSCRIPT ON FILE)