HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Committees - Operations - 08/21/2012
OPERATIONS COMMITTEE MINUTES
August 21, 2012
Committee Members Present: Les Thomas, Chair, Dennis Higgins and Jamie Perry
The meeting was called to order by L. Thomas at 4:01 p.m.
1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES DATED AUGUST 7, 2012
J. Perry moved to approve the Operations Committee minutes dated
August 7, 2012. D. Higgins seconded the motion, which passed 3-0.
2. APPROVAL OF CHECK SUMMARY REPORT DATED JULY 16 – JULY 31, 2012 AND
AUGUST 1, 2012 – AUGUST 15, 2012
D. Higgins moved to recommend the City Council approve the Check Summary Reports
dated July 16 through July 31, 2012 and August 1, 2012 through August 15, 2012. J.
Perry seconded the motion, which passed 3-0.
3. LODGING TAX BUDGET ADJUSTMENT (APPROVE)
Ben Wolters, Director of Economic and Community Development, presented on behalf of the
Lodging Tax Advisory Committee (LTAC) and their interest to support the Skate America event.
The $20k will be split in half to support the Kent Downtown Partnership (KDP) and Skate America’s
attached proposals. To accommodate the additional request of $10k, authorization to adjust the
$118k lodging tax budget is required.
Skate America is an international figure skating compl etion held in the United States each year. It
is an Olympic-style event featuring elite skaters for 3 days. This year the skaters will begin their
journey to the 2014 Sochi Olympics at the ShoWare Center, October 19 th -21st. Hoteliers on the
Committee are excited and ticket sales are strong and moving briskly.
L. Thomas questioned that the original amount agreed upon by the LTAC was $10k. J. Perry
clarified that original amount was to support Skate America’s proposal. The amended amount was
discussed at a supplemental meeting of the LTAC to define what Kent’s role in the event would be
and decided to support costs up to $10k. The KDP is leading the charge.
Due to the timeliness of the item, it will be on the Council Consent Calendar at tonight’s meeting.
Motion by D. Higgins, seconded by J. Perry, recommending that the Lodging Tax Budget
adjustment in the amount of $20,000 to use toward Skate America promotions be
approved. The Motion passed 3-0.
Operations Committee Minutes
August 21, 2012
Page: 2
4. BERK AND ASSOCIATES INC. CONSULTANT SERVICES AGREEMENT (AUTHORIZE)
The consultants are being considered to conduct environmental analysis of three (3) growth
alternative land uses for the Downtown Subarea Action Plan (DSAP) resulting in a Supplemental
Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) for the DSAP study area and write an associated Planned
Action Ordinance for a portion of the DSAP study area. This Plan is part of the City Council’s
Strategic Plan and included in the 2012 Budget.
G. Gould-Wesson explained that three consultant teams were interviewed, however BERK stood out
with their local experience and similar work they have done in the Puget Sound and Region. The
“Venture Downtown” branding is also part of the Plan.
The last study was in 1997and then updated in 2005. F. Satterstrom, Community Development,
went into more detail of the individual studies and to clarify the need for another update is because
of the increasing changes to the downtown area through the years.
Motion by J. Perry, seconded by D. Higgins, recommending the City Council authorize the
Mayor to sign the Consultant Services Agreement with BERK & Associates Incorporated
to produce for the City of Kent a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement and
Planned Action Ordinance for the Downtown Subarea Action Plan, not to exceed $90,000,
“subject to final terms and conditions acceptable to the City Attorney.”
5. 2013/2014 REVENUE FORECAST UPDATE (INFORMATION ONLY)
J. Hodgson, Chief Administrative Officer, explained that as part of the new Biennial Budget process,
updates regarding the 2013/2014 Revenue Forecast will be presented at the Operations Committee
Meeting leading up to the presentation to full council in October and approval of the final budget in
December. He distributed a copy of the updated projections (attached).
B. Lopez and B. Nachlinger of Finance explained the forecasting process for the updated
recommendations to the 2013-2014 budget forecast and answered questions and concerns from
the Committee. D. Higgins and J. Perry requested a packet of the research done by Finance and
Economic and Community Development that they used to base the forecast numbers on. An
interest for Kent specific numbers was requested by J. Perry, noting that other cities seem to be
recovering, making her question why Kent is different compared to other Puget Sound area cities.
The Committee requested a council-wide discussion of the forecast. It was agreed to include a brief
discussion at the evening’s workshop. It may become a monthly workshop item.
The meeting was adjourned at 4:43 p.m. by L. Thomas.
___________________
Pamela Clark
Operations Committee Secretary