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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Committees - Public Works/Planning - 11/01/1999 (5) v.: • PUBLIC WORKS/PLANNING COMMITTEE MINUTES November 1, 1999 COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT: Chair Tim Clark,Tom Brotherton, Rico Yingling STAFF PRESENT: Don Wickstrom, Tom Brubaker, Pam Mottram PUBLIC PRESENT: Hilary House The meeting was called to order by Chair Tim Clark at 4:00 PM. There were three added items: Public Works Standby Generator, 277`h Corridor LID, and Citizen Comments by Hillary House. Item 2, No Parking Zone—Ordinance, was moved to Item 5 position. ApRroval of Minutes of October 18, 1999 Committee Member Tom Brotherton moved to approve the minutes of October 18, 1999. The motion was seconded by Committee Member Rico Yingling and carried 3-0. Nelson Annexation—Set Hearing Date Public Works Director Don Wickstrom said a petition was received on the annexation of the Nelson Farm, which is 23 acres located in the south part of the City adjacent to 277`h The area abuts the City and the Union Pacific Railroad as a of finger of land at the southern edge of the City limits. Mr. Wickstrom said annexation petitions have to be • acted on in a meeting with the property owners or petitioners within 60 days after receiving the petition. Tom Brotherton moved to recommend to Council authorization to set a public meeting date of November 161h to accept the 10% petition of the proposed Nelson Annexation. The motion was seconded by Rico Yingling and carried 3-0. Interagency Agreement/Traffic Sianal Don Wickstrom said the Interagency Agreement allows for the traffic signal that the County put in at 120t"Avenue SE and SE 2401h to be tied into Kent's signal system. Kent already controls the signals on SE 240`h at 132❑d Ave. SE and 116`h Ave. SE. Tom Brotherton asked if the signal operation stipulations in the agreement were already compatible with City standards, and if in the future should the timing need to be adjusted to improve traffic flow, would the City have to meet with the County and get its approval. Mr. Wickstrom said that was correct. Rico Yingling moved to recommend to the Council authorization for the Mayor to sign the Interagency Agreement for the traffic signal at 120`h Avenue SE and SE 240`h Street upon concurrence of the language therein by the City Attorney. The motion was seconded by Tom Brotherton and carried 3-0. King County Agreement for Inflow/Infiltration Program Study • Don Wickstrom said that as part of the County's updating of its Water Quality Program and treatment facilities, they want to institute a program by 2005 making sure that inflow and infiltration into the system is controlled. If infiltration or ground water inflow can be kept out of the system, future capital needs costs can be cut or extended further into the Public Works/Planning Committee, 11/1/99 Page 2 future. This is a system wide study and charges will be assessed to the cities for the 37 agencies that contract with METRO for sewer treatment services. Those agencies will be required to remove the infiltration/inflow out of the sanitary sewer system that goes to the METRO treatment plant or be assessed a penalty. When additional capacity is added, it means the plant and the interceptor line have to be bigger, and that takes a lot of dollars. This program will reduce capacity by taking storm or ground water out of the sewer system so it doesn't have to be treated and will put it back into the creeks and streams where it belongs. Generally, deteriorated systems or flooding (where the water goes down the manhole) is what puts ground water into the sewer system. This agreement allows the County to look at Kent's system to pinpoint where any problems might be. Tom Brotherton moved that the Public Works/Planning Committee recommend to the Council authorization for the Mayor to sign the Utilities Cooperation Agreement with King County for the Inflow/Infiltration Program Study. Rico Yingling seconded the motion and it carried 3-0. No Parkine Zone- Ordinance Deputy City Attorney Tom Brubaker said that the No Parking Zone Ordinance clarifies • the existing ordinance which had some double entries, and also institutes changes on some limited street parking areas (shown in the ordinance as underlined language). The ordinance covers all the No Parking Zones in the City and there are about 15 items that have been added to the No Parking Zone areas. Tim Clark said he was concerned about the No Parking area on Gowe from Railroad to Central and expressed that the loss of any more parking in the downtown will be a major problem with the coming train station. Don Wickstrom responded that at#2 on East Gowe, the second or south side eastbound lane to go across Central Avenue already is used as a second through eastbound lane or right turn lane. If people park in it, it would eliminate its use as a through lane or right turn lane. Tom Brotherton identified other streets that he wasn't sure about, including items 926, #33, #38, and#40, and said he would like to know the reasons they were being classified as No Parking Zones. Mr. Brubaker suggested that staff could address those issues and the item be brought back to the next Public Works/Planning Committee meeting or be moved forward to the full Council and a memo prepared explaining the changes. Tim Clark recommended that in fairness to staff and to expedite the matter, that the item be sent to the full Council, and a map shown in the presentation with an explanation about those specific streets. Rico Yingling moved to recommend that the council repeal section 9.38.020 of the • Kent City Code and adopt a new section 9.38.020 entitled "No Parking Zones". Tom Brotherton seconded the motion and it carried 3-0. Public Works/Planning Committee, l l/l/99 Page 3 • Condemnation on 256`h Tom Brubaker said the condemnation ordinance was for the project involved with the proposed widening of SE 256`h Street. It is in a primarily residential area and affects a lot of smaller residential homes. Public Works Property Management has been negotiating with the property owners, trying to arrange a settlement or compensation for the impacts to their properties. Sometimes the impact is taking a sliver of land along the street frontage and sometimes it involves off site impacts like changes in slopes that affect 'driveways, etc. The City has settled with a number of the property owners but not all of them, and the action before Committee is to authorize moving forward with the condemnation lawsuit and eminent domain proceeding. The first step in the proceeding is the declaration by Council that it is in the public policy to move forward with the project and with the condemnation. It does not mean all the properties will be condemned. Negotiations are continuing with the property owners in an effort to broker out a settlement. Inevitably, some actions will probably have to be filed, but it's rare to go to trial as property owners typically will settle before going too far in the process. All the property owners have been contacted by the Property Management staff in the Public Works Department and all have been made offers. Don Wickstrom said that the widening of the road entails a three lane improvement with key intersections of an additional right turn lane and left turn pockets from 116`h to past • °d to about 135th 132 . Some of the intersections may be 5 lanes because of the turning movements necessary. The street widening fits in with the existing right of way. The vertical curve was changed to make it fit more and be less damaging and there will be bicycle lanes at the sidewalk curb and underground power and street lights. Tom Brotherton moved that the Public Works/Planning Committee recommend to the Council approval of an ordinance condemning necessary properties for the road construction project on 2561h Street. Rico Yingling seconded the motion and it carried 3-0. Transportation Improvement Board Grant Don Wickstrom said the City had received a grant from the TIB for the 256th Street Project. When the Meridian area was annexed, this project was taken over from King County and so the City received what was left over from their grant. The total amount was S2.5 million, but about a half a million was spent on redesign. The City is doing the building on the project. Tom Brotherton asked if additional City funds would be spent besides the grant. Mr. Wickstrom replied that the project had a $5 to 6 million dollar budget and the rest of the money would come from local City funds. Rico Yingling moved to recommend to the Council authorization for the Mayor to sign the TIB Grant Agreement and to authorize staff to accept the grant and • establish a budget for the funds to be spent within the said road improvement project. Tom Brotherton seconded the motion and it carried 3-0. Public Works/Planning Committee, 11/1/99 Page 4 Change in Control of Tri-Star Disposal Don Wickstrom said the City had received a formal request for official acknowledgement from Waste Management, the company that bought out Tri-Star Disposal. It was informally acknowledged in the bid but didn't get Council approval. Tom Brotherton moved that the Public Works/Planning Committee recommend to the Council adoption of the resolution ratifying approval of a change of control of Tri-Star Disposal upon concurrence of language therein by the City Attorney. Rico Yingling seconded the motion which carried 3-0. Alpine Vista Parking Survey Don Wickstrom said one more response had been received which changed the results somewhat on the memorandum from Merrill Vesper. On page 1, rather than 20 respondents for the "Restrict or control parking in some manner (various options)", the number changes to 21 which also changes the percentage from 77% to 81% on that same page. The total number of respondents changes to 27. The Alpine Vista Neighborhood Summary is shown on page 3. The number 1 option changes to 6 instead of 5, and the number 6 option to 1 instead of 2. The total of 26 remains the same. Another change is on the plat map. Lot number 5 that had a 3 right across the intersection of 2701h should be 1. The changes are representative of the options chosen by the additional response. • There is no clear direction from the property owners and no clear solution that would please everybody. 81% say they want some kind of restrictive control. The 43 option under Restrictive Control was "Use temporary signs only for special events" and 91 was "Keep signs and policy as they currently exist", which are the signs put up to restrict parking during the summer use. 13 respondents out of 26 chose those types of restrictions. Mr. Wickstrom suggested making a sign that had a flip over cover, then if Parks had a special event or it was going to be extremely hot weather, they could go out and flip the sign. Rico Yingling commented that there were four resident suggestions for permits which weren't on the summary list, and asked why issuing permits was talked about in the first part of the update but not included in the summary list. He asked if people were specifically asked to determine if they wanted any of the options presented, as permits seemed to be something a number of people from the neighborhood had wanted. Tim Clark pointed out that when that issue was brought up at the previously held community meeting, staff told the neighborhood it would be extremely difficult to go to residential parking permits and that it was not an option. Mr. Yingling said he did not remember that being said at the community meeting. Tim Clark commented that one of the concerns is about kids using the street as a play area and asked if it would be safer if there was no parking on just one side of the street. • Mr. Wickstrom replied that the street in question is a dead end street and high volume or high speed traffic is not anticipated. There shouldn't be a problem whether parking was on one side or two sides in terms of a safety issue. Mr. Clark clarified that fewer ' Public Works/Planning Committee, l l/l/99 Page 5 complaints had been received after the July 4`h celebration, and Mr. Wickstrom added that he thought the weather had something to do with that as there hadn't been a real good summer to test the situation. Mr. Clark said he wished to run the issue by the other Council Members and requested it be returned to the Public Works/Planning Committee at the December meeting. Rico Yingling said it didn't sound as if parking was a big problem now and was not something that needed to be decided right away, but it would be good to do it before next summer starts. Don Wickstrom said the signs are in place now but are covered. Tom Brotherton and Tim Clark said their inclinations would be to leave the signs as they are now. Public Works Standbv Generator Don Wickstrom said the Public Works Standby Generator was a Facilities/Maintenance item handled out of the Parks Department. Tom Brubaker added that Facilities is developing some projects to build standby generators. He said he had met with Facilities Superintendent Charlie Lindsey and they have developed a proposal to get standby generator backup for all the significant City buildings, starting with the outlying buildings that don't have generator backup now. This generator would back up both the Kent Commons and the Public Works shops. The project was put out to bid and only one bid was received for $114,415 from Sequoia Corporation, which includes installation • of the generator. Mr. Wickstrom said Facilities wants to get the generator built before December 31, 1999. Tim Clark asked if the item would require approval out of Committee. Mr. Brubaker said he didn't think it would because the bids would be addressed separately by Council. 2771h Corridor LID Tom Brubaker said that LID 351 is the proposed LID for the 277`h Street Corridor and has received considerable hue and cry over the past couple of years. There are a number of disgruntled residents in certain subdivision areas that feel bound by the no protest agreements and are frustrated by them. The construction of the 277th Street Corridor is a $30 million project. The estimated amount of$7 million (or a little less than 25% of the total cost) will flow from LID dollars. Since construction is nearly done, the project is at a point that it's time to form the LID. Staff has attempted to address all the neighborhood concerns that have been raised. Two informal information gathering public hearings have been held. One more will be held slated for November 18. After that it will be taken to the full Council to form the LID before the end of this year, partly because there are some concerns about Initiative 695 and the possibility it could have an impact on the City's ability to levy assessments under this LID. • Forming a LID cements the concept, it doesn't levy assessments which is a subsequent part of the process. The hearing on the formation must be restricted to whether or not the LID should be formed, not on whether someone is being charged appropriately. After the � 1 Public Works/Planning Committee, l l/1/99 Page 6 • LID is formed, preliminary assessments will be sent to all the affected property owners and they will all have an opportunity to protest their assessment even if they're bound by a no protest agreement. The no protest agreement is only a no protest to formation, not to the actual assessment amount, so all the property owners still have their protest time in front of the City Council or a Council Committee. If this motion and draft resolution is passed out of the Public Works/Planning Committee, the time for passage of the resolution forming the LID will be set for the Council meeting on December 14`h. However, as the December Council meeting tends to have a very action packed agenda as the last meeting of the year, staff is asking that the hearing on formation be held at the committee level. Even though this is strictly a formation hearing, it would potentially cut 1-1'/z hours out of the December 14th Council meeting time. The City Public Works Department and other staff will be holding an informal meeting with property owners November 18`h, and is asking that the Public Works/Planning Committee hold the hearing on the formation of the LID at a special meeting on Dec. 13`h Tim Clark asked approximately how many households would have to be notified of the hearing. Don Wickstrom said there would be about 600. Tom Brubaker said he was concerned that having the hearing as well as bringing the resolution on the same Council night might be too much for Council to deal with along with everything else and the item could get bumped forward to January after the effective date of Initiative 695. Mr. Wickstrom added that it was also a cash flow issue as interim financing had to be set up, and some of the money was borrowed from the 196th Street Corridor and the 266th Street project. The money is needed around March or April for those other projects. Before the money can be collected, the hearing has to be held on the final assessment rolls. Rico Yingling was concerned whether or not it would be appropriate to remove the issue from full Council review. He said he didn't have a problem with the Committee taking on the responsibility, but felt the president of the Council should be asked for an opinion on whether the issue should stay with Committee or go to the whole Council body. Tom Brubaker said that was a legitimate concern because it is a policymaking decision. Tim Clark commented that the practice in the past has been for the committee that is responsible to have its own public hearing. Tom Brubaker suggested the Council could address the issue on the Reports of Committees at the November 2"d meeting. It was decided to schedule the hearing for December 13, 1999 at 7:00 PM pursuant to agreement by the full Council that the issue should go at the committee level. Tom Brotherton moved to recommend to the full Council that the Council authorize the Public Works Committee to hold a public hearing on behalf of the full Council • on the creation of LID No. 351. The motion was seconded by Rico Yingling and passed 3 -0. Y y Public Works/Planning Committee, 11/1/99 Page 7 • Tom Brotherton moved to recommend to the full Council the passage of the resolution which calls for the creation of LID No. 351, 277th corridor improvements, and sets the public hearing date therefor. The motion was seconded by Rico Yingling and passed 3-0. Citizen Comments by Hillary House Hillary house, Director of the Federal Way Family Center, 25834 26th Place South, #G104, Kent, said that she was pleased with the work the City Engineering Department has done in regards to the street closure at 256`h at 29th Avenue. However, the Family Center and the residents of the apartment complexes on 27th Place at 256`h are concerned about some other issues. The study the City is doing is covering things like traffic flow and safety, but some of the residents are concerned about the image the gate presents and are very unhappy about what it says about their community. They would like a forum for addressing those issues and would like the Committee and the Council to consider that aspect of the street closure. Tom Brotherton commented that the closure is temporary while the study is being done. The intent is to look for optimum solutions, which may include taking the gate out, opening the street up again, and doing some other type of mitigation. He asked if the community was only concerned with the gate or if they would still want a forum if the gate were taken out and something else done. Ms. House said the issue right now is with the gate because the gate is up and the residents are concerned and have feelings about it. As far as what would happen if the gate came down and something else was done, she said she had not talked to the residents about that. Tom Brotherton asked if a community meeting could be set up that the Committee could attend. Hillary House said the residents would love to have the Committee come to a community meeting and she would be happy to schedule one. The residents would be more likely to attend that type of meeting than coming to one at Council Chambers. Daytime meetings are really difficult for the single parents and working families to attend. Rico Yingling said he would like for the single family homeowners in the area to be invited too. Ms. House said she would be happy to be the point person to make arrangements with the Committee. Mr. Brotherton.suggested she call the Council office during the day and talk to Council Secretary Jackie Bicknell to arrange a time for the community meeting. The meeting was adjourned at 4:55 PM. Jackie Bicknell City Council Secretary is