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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Meeting - Council - Minutes - 11/04/2014 i KENT Kent City Council Meeting Minutes November 4, 2014 The regular meeting of the Kent City Council was called to order at 5:01 p.m. by Mayor Cooke. Councilmembers present: Ralph, Berrios, Boyce, Fincher, Higgins, Ranniger, and Thomas. I CHANGES TO THE AGENDA FROM COUNCIL, ADMINISTRATION, OR STAFF PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS A. Public Recognition - Mayor Cooke communicated that the 125th Anniversary for the State of Washington is on November 11. She noted that Washington State was admitted into the Union on November 11, 1889. Council President Ralph thanked the Police Department and highlighted that there was a police prostitution sting last weekend and because of the new legislation allowing jurisdictions to tally monetary penalties on johns, $46,500 was derived from the operation. She added that $23,250 of those funds will go back into the community for victim support. B. Community Events - Council President Ralph communicated that the first indoor soccer game of the Seattle Impact is Saturday, November 8 at the ShoWare Center. Mayor Cooke communicated that the Holiday Craft Market is Friday, November 7 and Saturday, November 8. C. Proclamation of National American Indian Heritage Month - Mayor Cooke presented the National American Indian Heritage Proclamation to Tracy Harrison. Harrison discussed the proclamation and thanked the Mayor and the Council for it. I D. Proclamation of Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month - Mayor Cooke presented the Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month Proclamation to Julie and Neal Pember who highlighted the illness and thanked the Mayor for the Proclamation. E. Reappointment of Randall Smith to the Public Facilities District Board - Mayor Cooke communicated the reappointment of Randall Smith to the Public Facilities District Board. She stated that he wants to continue serving on the board. F. Intergovernmental Reports - Council President Ralph stated that she will be attending the Transportation Policy Board meeting on November 13 and there will be discussions about the legislative priorities for the Puget Sound with regards to transportation and what message the group wants to send to the legislature. She added that the WRIA-9 meeting is that same day and they will be discussing the progress on the System-Wide Improvement Framework (SWIF) process and the Boeing Levee Ecosystem Restoration Project. PUBLIC HEARINGS i Kent City Council Meeting Minutes November 4, 2014 None. PUBLIC COMMENT 1. Dennis Byerly, Kent - Byerly expressed concerns about why the contract for the ShoWare hasn't gone out for bid, the appearance of the process, and inquired about an audit on the facility. Mayor Cooke suggested Byerly communicate with the Councilmembers via email about further concerns. Councilmember Berrios verified that Byerly was referring to the appearance of the process concerning the facility. Mayor Cooke also suggested him attending one of the Public Facility District board meetings. 2. Don Dinsmore, Kent - Dinsmore discussed his encounter at the King County Animal Control when he heard an employee shout "Someone needs to relieve me, I need to go back and kills some dogs." He discussed his experiences with the King County Animal Control. He discussed an incident with Animal Control and handed out a copy of his testimony to each Councilmember. Mayor Cooke communicated that the City of Kent contracts with King County Animal Control Services. CONSENT CALENDAR Council President Ralph moved to approve Consent Calendar Items A through K, seconded by Councilmember Thomas. Motion carried 7-0. A. Minutes of Previous Meetings and Workshop — Approve. The special meeting minutes of September 30 and workshop and regular Council meeting minutes of j October 7 were approved. B. 2014 Crack Sealing — Accept as Complete. The Mayor was authorized to accept the 2014 Crack Sealing Project as complete and release retainage to Evergreen Asphalt & Concrete, upon receipt of standard releases from the state and the release of any liens. The original contract amount was $231,297.50. The final contract amount was $233,069.90. C. Illicit Discharoe Ordinance- Authorize. The Council was authorized to adopt ordinance no. 4127 that amends Chapter 7.14 of the Kent City Code, entitled "Illicit Discharges" to establish penalty provisions that apply should an individual violate the illicit storm water discharge code provisions, to clarify existing code provisions, to make other changes consistent with federal law, and to ratify all acts consistent with the ordinance. 2 i Kent City Council Meeting Minutes November 4, 2014 D. Consultant Agreement with Geo Engineers for 240t" Street Repairs - Authorize. The Mayor was authorized to sign a Consultant Services Agreement with GeoEngineers in an amount not to exceed $34,000 for consultant services to complete slope stabilization and pavement restoration along SE 240th Street, subject to final terms and conditions acceptable to the City Attorney and Public Works Director. E. SR 516 Levee Franchise Agreement with Washington State department of Transportation - Authorize. The Mayor was authorized to execute an agreement with the Washington State Department of Transportation to construct a levee within State Right-of-Way for levee certification purposes, subject to final terms and conditions acceptable to the City Attorney and Public Works Director. j i F. Reimbursement Agreement with Union Pacific Railroad for Milwaukee II Levee & S. 259t" Street - Authorize. The Mayor was authorized to sign a Reimbursement Agreement with the Union Pacific Railroad for design review of the Milwaukee II Levee and South 259th Street Underpass in an amount not to exceed $25,000, subject to final terms and conditions acceptable to the City Attorney and Public Works Director. G. Lindental Pump Station Isolation Valve - Authorize. The Mayor was authorized to sign an agreement with Ferguson N.W. to purchase an isolation valve for the Lindental Pump Station in an amount not to exceed $23,169.04, subject to final terms and conditions acceptable to the City Attorney and Public Works Director. H. 2015 -2019 Consolidated Plan for Housing and Community Development - Approve. The Mayor was authorized to approve the Proposed 2015 - 2019 Community Development Block Grant Consolidated Plan for Housing and Community Development, authorize the Mayor to execute the appropriate certifications and agreements, and upon final federal appropriation, authorize the Mayor to finalize the Consolidated Plan, amend the budget, and authorize expenditures in accordance with the Consolidated Plan and its funding contingencies. I. Consultant Agreement for Park Plan Update - Authorize. The Mayor was authorized to sign the Consultant Agreement with the Berger Partnership P.S. for $119,810.00 to update the Park Plan, subject to final terms and conditions acceptable to the City Attorney and Parks Director. J. 2014 Third Quarter Fee-in-lieu Funds - Accept. The Mayor was authorized to accept $20,550,00 for Fee-in-lieu-of funds and amend the Park Lifecycle Program budget for future expenditures. K. Appointment of Randall Smith to the Public Facilities District Board - Approve. The Council was authorized to approve the Mayor's re-appointment of Randall Smith, to Position 3 of the Kent ShoWare Events Center Public Facilities District Board for a four year term, and ratify all acts consistent with this motion. OTHER BUSINESS 3 Kent City Council Meeting Minutes November 4, 2014 i A. Solid Waste Utility Tax Ordinance. Tim LaPorte, Public Works Director communicated that this item was brought before the Public Works Committee in October and will be presented by Kelly Peterson. Kelly Peterson, Public Works Manager stated that this is a motion to amend the City's solid waste utility tax to 18.4 percent. Peterson displayed photos of damage (alligatoring) on roads which need to be repaired throughout Kent, He noted that the yard and food waste participation in garbage collection services has grown from 35 percent to 96 percent which means there are more vehicles moving garbage and recycling on the roads in Kent. LaPorte referred to the handout and stated that there are 19 neighborhoods which have streets in the same condition as the one shown and others that are in worse condition than this one. Peterson displayed what this would cost the typical Kent customer and that even with this increase the City of Kent would possess the second lowest rate in all of the local jurisdictions. Mayor Cooke inquired what residents would do about having neighbors who don't have garbage service. Peterson responded that they should call Gina Hungerford in the Public Works Department. He discussed the educating of residents in Panther Lake when they were annexed and that they were pleased when they found out that the rate was significantly lower than if they were to take their garbage to the transfer station. Mayor Cooke thanked the citizen advisory committee and Republic Services for their work on the contract. She inquired if recycling has cut down on garbage rates and Peterson replied that if recycling is done there is less garbage produced and the garbage rate is based on the size of the garbage bin, so the rate would be less. Councilmember Boyce verified with Peterson that the current contract has been in place for seven years and that on April 1 the CPI rate adjustment gets passed on to the customer in their utility rates. Peterson also noted that there was a year that the rates went down based on gas prices and that may be the case in February 2015. Councilmember Berrios confirmed that the roads would normally last for 25 years with proper draining and that the City is looking at spending $35 million in 11 years to repair all of the roads. He suggested gradual increases to fix problems in the future. Councilmember Barrios also verified that Republic Services, through the contract, has used lighter aluminum-bodied trucks to collect garbage and minimize the damage to the roads. However, it wouldn't be cost effective if they used smaller trucks, stated LaPorte. LaPorte replied to Berrios and also noted that he hasn't heard anything negative about driver behavior. However, when a road thaws most of the damage occurs, it isn't based on driver behavior. Additionally, he noted that when the City assumed these streets from King County there wasn't any funding given for overlay. I i Peterson also communicated that Republic Services also finds and implements efficient routes when servicing residents. 4 Kent City Council Meeting Minutes November 4, 2014 Councilmember Fincher added that renters will also have to pay for the increase. Councilmember Higgins moved to adopt Ordinance No. 4128, amending Kent City Code 3.18.024(5) increasing the solid waste utility tax to 18.4 percent, and allocating the increase beyond the existing 7.8 percent tax rate to be applied for limited transportation purposes, seconded by Council President Ralph. Councilmember Higgins communicated that this is the culmination of several years of discussion which led to a committee being formed three years ago. The decision at the time was to move to have a levy put to the voters, which failed. He added that the B&O was implemented and many projects have been funded. He stated that this is a direct connection between the utility tax and repairing these streets and helps with property values for the homeowners, as a road with potholes and maintenance issues affects property values, He added that this is a valid issue and is pleased that homeowners can call Gina Hungerford when residents aren't paying for mandatory garbage service. He noted that the current rates are the lowest in King County currently and this will make them the second lowest. This is a valid way to take care of the problem and he supports it. Councilmember Ranniger stated that Councilmember Higgins makes some excellent points and said the Council is working on a variety of funding streams. Therefore, being hit from all sides is a worry for residents. She said this feels like this isn't the right time to pass this when there are decisions that still need to be made and will not support this. A vote was taken on the motion on the table. Motion passes 6-1. Councilmember Ranniger dissents. B. ShoWare Center Sales, Marketing, and Operational Management Services Agreement - Authorize. Ben Wolters, Economic and Community Development Director communicated this item being brought to the Council to extend the current management agreement the City has with SMG, the current operator of the ShoWare Center for as long as 10 years. He responded to the public comment given by Mr. Bverly earlier in the meeting and said there are three reasons why this hasn't gone to public bid, First, the City has developed a great market presence with the ShoWare General Manager and the SMG when it comes to the types of acts the Center attracts. He noted that it would affect the current advertisers and harm the work already done. Second, he noted that the SMG proposal is highly competitive and it adds revenue to the City and into the ShoWare. It also carries forth some other elements in our contract such as SMG reducing their management fee by 48 percent. Third, he noted that both of the other larger firms out there than manage these types of facilities are the biggest competitors to the ShoWare Center where there would be a direct conflict of interest. He noted that the contract consists of two (2) five-year segments and at the third year in each of those segments the City can back out of the contract. He j communicated that the base fee of the contract is $135,252 and would go up each year based on the CPI. He communicated that any new revenues derived from the facility over $2.5 million would allow SMG to earn 20 percent of those funds up to a 5 Kent City Council Meeting Minutes November 4, 2014 cap of $50,000 per year. He added that the next key component is that SMG will make a $500,000 investment in the facility that would be a no interest loan over 10 years, meaning the City would pay it back at $50,000 per year. Finally, he noted that the City j currently owes SMG $200,000 at the end of this year, which is derived from a $700,000 capital loan agreed to in 2009. He stated that SMG is willing to forgive that loan on the front end and as the years go by under the agreement that balance would be amortized. Therefore, if the City chose to terminate the agreement at any of the specific termination points the City would be required to pay back that remaining unamortized balance. However, that would be done on a straight-line basis. The City would then need to decide whether to pay it all back at once or stretch out the payments over the coming years. This, he stated, would also allow the City to stay in compliance with IRS rules that govern these types of agreements. Councilmember Thomas moved to authorize the Mayor to sign the ShoWare Center Sales, Marketing, and Operational Management Services Agreement subject to terms and conditions acceptable to the Economic & Community Development Director and the City Attorney, seconded by Councilmember Boyce. Councilmember Barrios verified that if this agreement was in place last year SMG would have received were 20 percent of $50,000. Council President Ralph stated that there is a lot of discussion in the community surrounding the ShoWare and one side says it is an asset and the other wants it gone. She said the Council has to have conversations about finances and that doesn't mean that she doesn't feel the ShoWare is an asset to the community. She stated that an article about Council not supporting the ShoWare is not true. She stated that she attends events there and personally thinks it is a great place, but her job is to determine what the best decision is for the community. The ShoWare is a tremendous asset for the community and stated she will be supporting the contract. She communicated that the SMG has done a great job and are taking a personal investment to ensure the ShoWare Center is a success. Councilmember Boyce stated that as the Chair of the Economic and Community Development Committee there has been a lot of discussion about the facility. He noted that when he first ran for the Council the ShoWare was a thorn in his side, but spending time with Tim and Ben has helped him realize that the ShoWare is an asset to the community. He noted that the financials are not where the City wants them to be, but strongly believes the finances will get there. He stated that he believes there should continue to be open dialogue and discussions about the facility. Councilmember Berrios stated that he has worked with General Manager Tim Higgins on the facility and the budget. He stated he was sold on SMG in his first conversation with Tim and said he has been very vocal about his concerns about the ShoWare Center. He said he has heard what people have told him what the Council should do about the facility and when the shortfalls are looked at it hurts. As a business owner, he said he isn't comfortable. However, he said the City and the community need to support the facility because whatever happens to it is on us. He encouraged the residents to come down and support it and if it is supported he felt things can be 6 i ! Kent City Council Meeting Minutes November 4, 2014 I turned around. He noted that maybe some marketing needs to be done and the effort from SMG is out there. He said he is supporting this item. Councilmember Fincher communicated that ShoWare has an impact on the community. However, not every event is going to be the largest show there. She noted that some of the events are community-based like You, Me, We and the International Festival. She urged more community support of the facility. Councilmember Higgins stated that there won't be another 6,500 arena built between here and Seattle and this is an asset. Yes, we have our challenges, but we have to make it work because there are a lot of positives already there. Councilmember Fincher also discussed the "ShoWalk" event. A vote was taken on the motion on the table. Motion carried 7-0. BIDS None. REPORTS FROM STANDING COMMITTEES, STAFF AND SPECIAL COMMITTEES A. Council President. Council President Ralph discussed the workshop and noted that there was a discussion concerning King County Animal Control and extending the King County Animal Control contract. She noted that this would be a letter of intent to determine what other King County cities would be doing. She noted that the 2015 - 2016 Biennial Budget discussions continued at the workshop and all the department presentations have been completed. She highlighted the next budget discussion will be in two weeks. B. Mayor. Mayor Cooke communicated that Tom Brubaker was chosen as the Employee of the Month for the month of November. C. Administration. Chief Administrative Officer Derek Matheson communicated that there is no executive session. D. Economic & Community Development Committee. Councilmember Boyce stated that the next meeting will be at Monday, November 10 at 4p.m. i E. Operations Committee. No report. F. Parks and Human Services Committee. Councilmember Ranniger verified that Mr. Dinsmore's comments concerning King County Animal Control were heard and she sent Parks and Community Services Director Jeff Watling an email concerning his issues. G. Public Safety Committee. No report. 7 Kent City Council Meeting Minutes November 4, 2014 i I H. Public Works Committee. In the minutes. I. Regional Fire Authority. Councilmember Thomas announced that there was a meeting on November 19 at 5:30 p.m. at Station #78. i EXECUTIVE SESSION i None. ACTION AFTER EXECUTIVE SESSION ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 6:18 p.m. Y y f }} Ronald F.'A' ore,,MMC City Clerk I i 8 IC N T W..,'n "" Kent City Council Special Meeting Minutes November 4, 2014 The special meeting meeting was called to order at 4:05 p.m. by Council President Ralph. I Councilmembers present: Ralph, Boyce, Fincher, Higgins, and Thomas. Councilmember Ranniger was excused and Councilmember Berrios arrived at 4:09 p.m. Council President Ralph introduced the topics of the meeting. Animal Control Services Update — Jeff Watling, Parks, Recreation and Community Services Director discussed the present contract with King County Animal Control. He noted that the City has been using them for the past five years and the current contract expires December 31, 2015. He communicated that King County is in favor of an extension through December 31, 2017 and the City has budgeted $250,000 - $300,000 per year for this. He noted that the City has shelter credits because the shelter is located here in Kent and this agreement would extend those credits for 2016 and 2017. He stated that there is a determination that needs to be made of whether or not the 26 or 27 cities that are a part of this contract want to continue. He communicated that the County is desirious of a letter of intent by mid-November. He added that the City of SeaTac is leading discussions on whether it is feasible to have an alternative, but it is highly unlikely because there needs to be a shelter. Councilmember Boyce pointed out that the cost of building an alternative shelter would be quite high, as confirmed by Watling. Councilmember Boyce confirmed that the extension letter to continue with King County would be a non-binding letter and King County subsidizes the animal services program by 50 percent. Councilmember Higgins confirmed that the animal licenses sold in Kent would be credits and they offset the cost of the program. Watling added that 18 -20 percent of all pets in King County are licensed. He added that each year of the contract the City of Kent has gotten a credit back because of the number of animals licensed and the subsidy provided by King County. Watling also added that there are discussions on how to get licensing animals incentivized. Councilmember Berrios confirmed that the City has encouraged responsible pet ownership by having your pet licensed. Councilmember Fincher highlighted that a way to market licensing your pet would be to have it printed on utility bills. 2015 - 2016 Biennial Budget Update - Derek Matheson, Chief Administrative Officer discussed the schedule for adopting the 2015-2016 biennial budget. Aaron BeMiller, Finance Director communicated the 2015-2016 Preliminary Budget Questions/Requests document. BeMiller communicated that question #2 would not be addressed until there is more direction from the Mayor concerning which proposed i Kent City Council Special Meeting Minutes November 4, 2014 revenue option would be chosen. Matheson added that whether or not the B&O and/or the banked property tax is proposed there won't be a way to determine how much it affects a property owner. BeMiller discussed question #14 and highlighted that the chart in the packet named "Additions to Baseline Budget General Fund" respond to the question which asks where the impact to each revenue increase is. Secondly, he responded to question #21 and stated that the $1.6 million of General Fund streets/transportation costs would go dirrectly to arterials and streets, thus freeing up the General Fund. Councilmember Thomas communicated that he would like to see the current $1.6 million and the revenues from the $20 car tabs, another $1.6 million, going into roads. Thus, there would be $3.2 million for roads. Councilmember Berrios added that having a $20 car tab fee go back into the General Fund doesn't seem right. He communicated that he struggles with taxing residents more to add more revenues into the General Fund. Councilmember Higgins said he is surprised that the Mayor's proposal is to have funds go back into the General Fund to cover expenditures on roads. BeMiller communicated that if the funds aren't realized from a $20 car tab fee, then there will be a $1.6 million gap in the General Fund. Councilmember Higgins stated that the County is thinking about having a transportation benefit district and if the City doesn't already have one in place the County could potentially use all of the dollars from a King County transportation benefit district for regional transportation projects. Council President Ralph stated that in a transportation forum meeting attended by both the Mayor and herself, it was discussed that cities looking for transportation funding need to utilize all current options available before going back and inquiring about alternates. The $20 car tab fee being one of those current options. Councilmember Fincher inquired if the County determined how much could be raised from a transportation benefit district and Councilmember Higgins stated that they hadn't. BeMiller referred back to the bronze spreadsheet and stated that the revision to the four employees on the tax division would be to have one of the four be an addition to IT. He further explained about the radio expenditures and the need to do a study. Councilmember Thomas confirmed that the lump sum allocation of $300,000 for the police has been deleted from 2015 and allocated in a different manner. He also confirmed that this information is what the Police Department communicated to Finance for the Council. BeMiller discussed question #22 which asked that modifications could be made in financial policies concerning reserve funds and he responded that the policies aren't in 2 i Kent City Council Special Meeting Minutes November 4, 2014 stone and are targets, not mandates. He continued and discussed question #24 to extend the utility repayment period to four years instead of three. He referred to the responses sheet and stated that the repayment amount would be lower and pointed out the amount on the document. Question #28 was discussed and noted that the cost to increase the parking enforcement position to full time is $13,532. BeMiller also discussed question #29 and stated that the net cost to create a benefitted .75 FTE police volunteer coordinator is $107,871. Council President Ralph communicated that question #29 is no longer an issue and said she spoke to the Police Chief about it. BeMiller discussed question #30 and noted that without the tax division positions the City will continue to fall behind in this responsibility. He added that these positions are funded through additonal B&O collections, not with General Fund revenues. BeMiller highlighted question #31 and responded that there are 18.28 vacant budgeted FT-Es in the City. He communicated that the City, based on the year to date numbers, is on track to save $1.1 million in salaries and benefits. Councilmember Boyce inquired if the positions that have been vacant for a number of years are still necessary. Watling communicated that the one that hasn't been filled since 2011 is workload related and hasn't been a necessity. Councilmember Berrios verified that it is costing the City money not to have these positions filled because of the amount of overtime that is occurring. Therefore, the savings of $1.1 million isn't a true number. He stated that the overtime needs to be added to this number. There was discussion concerning the filling of the police department vacant positions. BeMiller communicated that the net cost of the Senior Center for 2014 was $955,645. He communicated that the graph on the sheet that was handed out is from 2011 - 2016. Watling verified that the Senior Center was included in the GreenPlay study and it is experiencing a 37 - 40 percent cost recovery which is pretty good. Councilmember Thomas asked for a breakdown on expenses and revenues for the Senior Center from 2011 through 2013 from Watling. I Councilmember Berrios confirmed that the Senior Center is running a little under budget for expenses with Barbara Lopez. Lopez stated that $1.4 million is a tad under budget, and that revenues are very conservative as well. Watling confirmed that he would work with the Senior Center to dial down on a more defined budget. BeMiller verified that the $913,888 in the Administration budget doesn't only consist of membership and dues; $141,417 is for those civic affiliations. I BeMiller communicated that question #34 was about the increase in insurance funds in 2015 - 2016 and he stated that $481,020 was for estimated claims and administration fees. Basically, he stated that if there are less claims that number will go down. The final question on the list, BeMiller stated, was what the cost would be to change the 0.6 FTE non-benefited Administrative Secretary I position in Economic and 3 Kent City Council Special Meeting Minutes November 4, 2014 Community Development Department to a benefited 0.75 FTE and he noted it would be $32,500. Councilmember Boyce clarified discussed question #22 and verified with BeMiller that having a "rainy day" fund is important, but policies don't need to be revised for the Council have the authority to use one-time revenues to reduce fund balances. The meeting adjourned at 4:56 p.m. Ronald F. Mbore, I MC City Clerk 4 PUBLIC COMMENT 400 x f, �z�a ` T SIGN UP SHEET KEN For the Kent City Council Meeting of: �,Ve,0 'dam✓ NAME Street Address Email Address Topic Ex Jane Doe . t\ 1234 Main Street SE idoe@hotmail.com Comprehensive Kent, WA 98032 Plan 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Members of the public are invited to speak under "Public Comment', Agenda Item #6. Please sign above and when asked by the Mayor, come to the podium. Please limit your comments to three (3) minutes.