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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Committees - Public Safety (Committee) - 06/21/1993 r = a PUBLIC SAFETY COABUTTEE MENUTES JUNE 219 1993 COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT: Paul Mann, Chair Leona Orr Jon Johnson STAFF PRESENT: Chief Crawford Dave Haenel Tom Brubaker Tony McCarthy Chief Angelo Ed White Ken Chatwin Diane Lewis Cheryl Fraser Mary Berg MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC: David Brain Brian Jewell Ken Jury The meeting was called to order at 5:30 p.m. by Chairman Mann. ACCESS TO CHURCH OF NAZARENE Ed White, Assistant Transportation Engineer, explained that the church, located on James Street between Hazel and Alvord, petitioned the City for a grade and fill permit to construct a drive- way which would allow access from their southeasterly portion of the ,parking lot onto East Alvord. He noted that since the church is on private property and all requirements were met, the permit couldn't be denied. White noted that the surrounding neighbors attended the Public Works Committee meeting on June 16th to express their concerns regarding potential safety pro- blems due to increased traffic on a residential street. He announced that the Transportation staff will be holding a public meeting on July 7th at 6:00 p.m. in Council Chambers West to discuss safety issues concerning James Street. Upon Johnson's question, Assistant City Attorney Brubaker clarified that when an easement is sold for ingress or egress purposes there is no inherent right to recall it back, and it becomes a permanent grant which stays with the land. David Brain, 1022 E. Temperance, expressed his concern as to how much the City can restrict access onto Alvord. White explained that the City and residents can do improvements to the roadway to mitigate traffic such as stop signs, widening the road, traffic signals, etc. He noted that the City can, however, condition the church to construct the driveway according to City standards since a grade and fill permit was issued. Brubaker noted that Mr. Novak, a neighbor, has retained an attorney and that a letter, which was carbon copied to the City Attorney's office, has been sent to the church requesting postponement of any construction activity until the legal issue regarding the easement between the two property owners has been addressed so there is a possibility that something can be worked out. RV REST STOP REQUEST - WIND BLOWER GOOD SAM CLUB Brian Jewell, Vice-President of the Wind Blower Good Sam Club, explained that a petition has been approved by the Kent Parks Department to adopt the area on both sides of 4th &Willis and SR 516, the Welcome to Kent site, for a 24-hour dry camp for RV's. Ken Jury, Assistant Director for the State of Washington Good Sam Club, noted that the organization has two publications in which to advertise this site, and that people all over the world could be attracted to Kent. Orr noted that this item has been to the Planning Commission and should go to the Public Works Committee also because permission would be needed for use of City right-of-way. She requested that the item be placed on tonight's agenda to address some safety concerns and to receive support from the Committee. Jewell noted for McCarthy that 15-20 vehicles could be parked on each side of the road and that each vehicle would have to be self-contained to use the facility. Ken Chatwin, City Risk Manager, requested notification of any discussions on this issue to oversee that ADA for park service conditions, security measures for overnight accom- modations, and safety issues are addressed. ORR MOVED for this item to be sent on to the Public Works Committee on July 7th for further discussion. Johnson seconded and the motion carried 3-0. PROTECT LIGHTHOUSE Diane Lewis, Part-time Director/Manager with the Drinking Driver Task Force, explained that the mission for Project Lighthouse is to develop a one-stop shopping center for Kent area teens. She noted that the project will consist of the following: an educational (a night high school), recreational, social services, music, cultural arts, computer labs, a full gambit of programs and services, to provide resources to help teens stay out of trouble, get an education, to grow culturally, and to be better members of the community. Lewis explained that the School District and Kent Youth Services have already committed something to the project, and that other agen- cies will be asked to support it either financially or volunteer their services. Cheryl Fraser, Special Populations Facility Manager, detailed the specifics of the project and requested approval of$44,000.00 from the City with a complete project total to be $75,000.00. McCarthy noted that the Mayor is willing to move forward with a buy in from the School District and Project Lighthouse so that the City is not supporting it alone. Upon Mann's question, McCarthy explained that this item should be discussed in the next Budget Committee meeting when the City Budget will be discussed also. ORR MOVED for this item to be sent to the Budget Committee on June 28th along with a recommendation of support for $44,000.00 from the Public Safety Committee, with an amendment that if it doesn't start until August 1 or August 15, the budget would be amended to reflect it. Johnson seconded and the motion carried 3-0. Dave Haenel, Asst. City Atty, requested that the officers roles be clearly defined so that the City knows what is being proposed and what they are dealing with. Upon McCarthy's question, Orr added to the motion that this item should go to the City Council on July 6th for approval of the program with a letter from the School Superintendent and Project Lighthouse supporting the pro- ject as well as the City, and if everything does not fall in place by that time that it will automatically go to the City Council on July 20th for approval. Johnson seconded the amend- ment and it carried 3-0. UPDATE ON WEST HILL FIRE STATION Chief Angelo noted that several years ago gas related to the Midway Landfill was trapped on West Hill and that several evacuation stacks were placed on the East and West sides of I-5 to relieve and get rid of the gas. He explained that an agreement was negotiated between the City 2 of Kent and City of Seattle to place a stack on the West Hill Fire Station property. Angelo noted that the area was turned into a tot lot after completion of the Capital Projects, but that neighbors were not in favor of a tot lot because of lack of use and would like to see it changed to residential. He noted that the City Attorney felt some type of modification could be made and agreed upon between the two cities, if that is the desire of Council. Upon Orr's question, Angelo explained that a survey could be done of the residents to get an absolute, definite feel for what the majority would like done with the area. It was the consensus of the Committee to proceed with the survey before changing what was promised to that area years ago. RECENT ARSON FIRES ADDED BY CHIEF ANGELO Chief Angelo updated the Committee on the recent arson fires in Kent and noted that they re- quire a great deal of investigation and sorting out to determine the cause. He explained that the Fire Department has tracked the fires for the last year noticing a tie between many of them but that nothing has been publicized until now. He stated that the fire which occurred Saturday was set during the day and had the potential to severely injure people. He noted that the trend has changed and there is a difference in elevation to where it should now be publicized to make the public more aware of what is happening so they can help catch the individual(s) responsible. Mary Berg, Assistant Chief, noted that since last June there have been 32 fires in three apart- ment complexes on East Hill and that the fires began with a couple of abandoned houses, dumpsters, auto fires, boats, laundry rooms, graduating to occupied buildings, and culminating with Saturday's fire. He noted that the Fire Department feels 29 out of 32 ofthe fires have been started by the same person and Fire Investigators working with the Police Department are con- vinced someone knows who it is so they've gone to the news media asking for help to catch the individual responsible. He noted three reasons for going to the public at this point; (1) to encourage people to contact the Fire & Police Departments with information; (2) to be more observant and aware so as to make it less easy; (3) to encourage people to use common sense for fire prevention steps in their own homes and apartments. He noted that the Fire Department will, through public education and the arson investigators, share what people can do to help themselves, and that a phone number will be provided to better assist them. Upon Orr's ques- tion, Angelo stated that something could be done as far as awards for those people who were instrumental in helping others get out of the fire. Upon Mann's question, Angelo noted that fire alarms are not being checked as often as they should be due to limited factors and staffing, but that they are trying to make people aware of how important it is to cheep.them at every oppor- tunity. Orr and Mann commended the Fire and Police Departments for the jobs they are doing. CENTENNIAL BUILDING — ADDED ITEM BY ORR Orr noted that she was in the Centennial Building this afternoon talking with an employee until after hours, and when it came time to leave the employee noted that you have to exit a different door because all the main doors are locked after hours. She noted that there are no signs directing an individual to the exits and that the employee stated that complaints have been made about the problem but nothing has been done. Orr noted to the employee that she will address this issue at the Public Safety meeting tonight. She stated that signs should be put up either by the owner or someone else for the exits. McCarthy noted that he will let Charlie Lindsey look into this issue. The meeting adjourned at 6:58 p.m. 3