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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Meeting - Council Workshop - Minutes - 12/14/1999 i COUNCIL WORKSHOP December 14, 1999 COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT: President Leona Orr, Sandy Amodt, Tom Brotherton, Tim Clark, Connie Epperly, Judy Woods, Rico Yingling STAFF PRESENT: Dena Laurent, Norm Angelo, John Willits, Marty Mulholland, Steve Schopfer, Brent McFall, Jim Harris, Larry Rabel, Mayor White, Don Wickstrom, John Hodgson, Cliff Craig, Jackie Bicknell Y2K Update Fire Chief Norm Angelo said the ECC had a Y2K drill. We sat down with the department heads and went through some policy issues to deal with and they gave some direction. We then took those policy issues for overall department coordination and applied them with staff who partook in a daylong shifting of people back and forth from the center. It went well. We were very impressed with things. I think I can easily say to you that we're easily at about 30%preparation for this community and growing all the time. I believe that if anything happens concerning Y2K, it will most likely be a manmade event. People dialing 911 to see if it still works; seeing if their computers will still compute back to them; making runs on banks or taking too much propane•,perhaps because the power went out and it got snowy, trying to use propane heaters in their house and causing carbon monoxide poisoning. • We expect to be very, very busy, but it's not going to be very entertaining at the ECC because it will also be our Department Operation Center(DOC), and police and fire both anticipate being busy because people will be setting new records on the ability to drink on that night and there are those that will see how crazy they can drive and all the other events that enter that time because the millennium is special. Without exception though, we thought it was important to take the time to look at what might happen and what areas were vulnerable in the city to prepare the city and be able to bring the ECC up and because of that we're going to have several operational periods during which the departments will be reporting back in and we'll be in a position to escalate the disaster operations should we have, indeed, a true disaster. Our operation basically will be to create information and to even begin earlier in the week during the 27" 281h. We'll be reporting to the state. As we go forward I'll be reporting back to Mr. McFall and the Mayor. I assume they will be keeping all of you briefed and as it escalates we'll be giving you briefings. It is so very, very critical and important to get this community prepared for disasters. They will happen. I cannot tell you which will happen on which date,but I can tell you such things as hazardous materials, some of the things that you saw at WTO, have a probability of occurring. The fact is you can't predict a disaster. You just have to be prepared to respond the best you can. I will not mislead you,neither will the Mayor and tell you that we are 100%ready to attack any disaster that hits us. The fact of the matter is, we are in darn good shape, both technically and in our cooperation, and we see ourselves building on that later this year when we go to Alabama and take some people there for more training. We anticipate over the next couple of years that we will move decisively and meaningfully toward the level of preparation that you, the Mayor, and the community . expects. Last year you empowered the Mayor and ourselves to turn around and say this is the council's top priority. We will get ready for this. We will improve CERT and we will do those things. Council Workshop, 12/14/99 2 Lieutenant Larry Rabel, Fire Department Community Liaison, said that the preparation for Y2K goes back probably almost two years when things were first starting to be talked about and in February we got the signed approval of our planning process. It kind of provides the foundation for everything that we do in Emergency Management and coordinating things within the cit. This was distributed in April so all department heads would get an overview and so they would have an understanding of their basic responsibilities. The overview went out not only to department heads but also to the Emergency Management Planning Committee here within the City. As soon as that was out, we started planning for the next step—our Y2K contingency plans. This book encompasses what we've come up with in contingency plans. In April we looked around and said okay what are the things that can possibly go wrong, say if the power goes out, etc. So, this book is an accumulation of their ideas as a group coming together, department by department, from April to July. It contains four components: it has Y2K Contingency Plans, Incident Action Plans; a Communications Plan, and department operations. Other things done to prepare for Y2K: three CERT classes have been held this year and we've got almost 30 city employees trained for preparedness and incident command awareness. They've learned a lot from the June exercise and I think what we walked away from in December was that in the first training in June, everybody was confused. This time we're getting it as a team and the City's coming together. The wheel is turning in the right direction. Other things that we've done externally: utility mailers have gone out to everybody in March and September—an overview of what Y2K is, the effects, and how citizens can prepare for it. It's been a joint effort between Emergency Management and our Public Education Division for preparedness in general. Battalion Chief Webb and Emergency Management Specialist Hale put together a bit for the City Cable Channel that we've . run throughout the last several months. We have an LEPC, which is a local emergency planning committee that meets quarterly, and each of those meetings we focused on Y2K. We've also addressed our businesses here, too, with the uncertainties of what may happen. Information Services Director Marty Mulholland introduced Steve Schopfer of Coda Consulting who had been working with the City for 18 months on Y2K issues. We've been working on it for two years and primarily in terms of systems. We've replaced so many systems—all the desktops, the software. We've tested the financials, the corrections software, etc. We haven't replaced every single system that we thought we would on the same time line as we thought and so we've had to put in contingency plans for systems that aren't quite on schedule. What I thought I'd do tonight is just talk about a couple of things I didn't emphasize in the report and any late breaking issues that have taken place and also talk to you a little bit more about what we're electing to do over the millennium weekend. One thing that's happened is there is more concern about computer related viruses with a target date. There's one in particular that has a December 25`h target date and some others on the I". Viruses are generally transmitted via email attachments but also potentially through links in the Internet access, so we've kept our virus protection up to date. We rely on the employees to run the protective processes and we'll really put a big flash on the last one that goes out. Also because of the potential for viruses being transmitted via Internet links,we will be shutting down Internet access for just the weekend itself, and we'll also be eliminating attachments going outside from the email system and coming in as a protective measure. • In terms of our big picture on software—you never really know a system is compliant unless you test - it, and you can't test them all. And some of our software vendors have changed position over the year. Even when we had it in contract writing at the time we executed the contract, we've had them Council Workshop, 12/14/99 3 say, oops and oh well. The first half of those jobs is complete and that took 60 hours of processing time with one restart. The second half started this morning and we've already had to have one restart. In spite of the fact that we've inventoried all kinds of chips in a variety of methods, the HVAC controllers and a couple of our fire stations were identified not to be compliant and so they're replacing them and the wiring's been done. It'll be down to the wire but at this point it's scheduled to be completed by December 23`d. More mission critical to the folks in the fire station than to essential services. Our paper trail is extensive. We've got web site references and/or letters from just a huge number of agencies and suppliers. We have public safety contingency plans and I've been in touch with some of the folks in Public Works Operations and they have contingency plans, too. For example, with related to water services we have a big network essentially that goes out and checks 38 remote water sites to make sure to check out what's going on there so they can take action automatically and there are plans in place through the weekend to make sure that those systems are working properly. Each site has to be checked every three hours and verified to be working properly in order to effectively run the system, and so Public Works appears to be ready to go with that item. Steve's worked quite a bit with Facilities with the Fire Department and with Public Works and also with Facilities in terns of corrections to check on all those gizmo related issues that we weren't really thinking about. For the millennium weekend, we are not planning to be staffed here in terms of IS techies, but everybody is on call as are our outside vendors for phone and voice support. My theory is let's get a good night's sleep and come in on the I". Now before the I"we will have completed the January 5t' payroll and it will be in US Bank's hands. In terms of daily user reports or whatever, we have about 2,000 reports in one particular set of catalogues and you just have to do them one by one and check out to make sure they'll work. We also have another Y2K issue because we're taking over the Golf Course operation so we're looking at configuring that system a little bit differently in order to run it to improve some of the ways the system was set up. Steve Schopfer, Y2K Consultant, said that on the preventative side of things, staff had tested the generators. The recommendation was to do a full 24 hour test on all of our generators and when we did that on the water systems generators, about half of them failed before we reached the 24 hour period (that was back in October, and we have since repaired those). One broke a fan blade, one burnt out a bearing, and one just stopped. We've also done a four hour test on the City Hall generators, for Corrections and all the Fire Stations, and we have a 24 hour test scheduled for the remaining generators, as well. From a water standpoint, there are letters from our vendors who control all of the control units in the individual sites that feedback to the main control unit or sensors. There was a conflict between what the manufacturer said with what the vendor said on their compliance. So that kind of threw up a bunch of red flags and several of us went scrambling and we're tending to believe the manufacturer instead of the vendor in that instance. So, that one has been resolved. We are now looking into possibly buying the next part in case we have to put one in. But based upon what the vendor is telling and what the manufacturer is telling us, that part is compliant. And we basically have to make a judgement call based upon the combined knowledge of every one in the city that has knowledge of that situation. As far as traffic, it's also in the report that in the Northwest and especially here in the city we're running the latest and greatest software and embedded chip systems in our signals. So all . of our signals should stay up if the vendor' compliance letters are correct. That's the caveat on just about everything. We have to basically believe what the vendors and manufacturers are telling us. Council Workshop, 12/14/99 4 As far as railroads, we have compliance letters from both Burlington Northern and Union Pacific. If signals fail they fail in the arms down position, and it's my understanding that you're not supposed to cross when the arms are down. Water delivery is the thing of greatest consequence, but we're in awfully good shape. We have manual backups. If all the electronics fail, we can throw things manually. We have generators at our key sites. We have refueling schedules in place. There are 5-6 key sites, Clark Springs, Kent Springs, and several of the other key water supply systems that provide 80 to 90 percent of the water through the city. The rest of it's gravity. A letter came out two days ago from an independent study of the American Waterworks Association and two other independent watchdog agencies stating that 20 to 40 percent of the drinking water systems were not Y2K compliant in the United States in general. Our water system is in the 40 to 80 percent that is compliant. We're ready. Councilmember Tom Brotherton asked how successful Kent's immediate neighbors had been in compliancy. Chief Norm Angelo said one major issue likely to occur around midnight is jamming the phone situation which includes 9-1-1. That's one of the reasons that we're sending people out into the field. Police officers, fire personnel, and public works employees will be available to turn around and survey things. With respect to our neighbors, I think there has been a general awareness and I can't make a flat out statement but I would say that the State of Washington has paid attention. And early on, it was identified as one of the most prepared of all the states, but that's all relative in what you're saying. I think as far as I can tell you with respect to people around us, I think other city agencies, fire districts and communities have taken a very serious look in preparation and have done an eye level preparation. On the cooperative side of things, we have our HAZMAT team and other people have it around here. It relates back to the overall intensity level of anything that may occur. . If it isn't a true areawide impact with some significance, they will be available. What happens in that situation, if they're not available, is training. In that sense, I feel good about the critical areas. Steve Schopfer added that the one regional aspect of this was that Valley Corn provides 9-1-1 for all of us, and we have repeatedly gotten assurances from them that they're compliant. Norm Angelo said Valley Com had also tested their backup center which would be located in the East Hill Fire Station. Steve Schopfer said the recommendation during the rollover period is to actually shut computers off and that was for anyone—home machines or anything. Target Issues Update Director of Operations Brent McFall said that departments are working on the different target issues that had been put together. In terms of the downtown development and redevelopment, the downtown Market building has been completed and is open. The Commuter Rail Station's under contract and construction should commence here any day now in terms of demolition starting on the Commuter Rail Station site. Land has been acquired for the Civic and Performing Arts Center. Fundraising's under way. We are working with Borden and I think have now reached a point where we're working together on that project and I'll be able to give you more information on that at a future date. In terms of the Economic Development Target Issue, I think it's significant that Jacki Skaught's been hired and she's working on a number of things. One of the things that she's spent a great deal of time on is working with the new owners of what is now known as Centerpoint which is the old Space . Center East. That's 750,000 square feet of class "A"office space that's suddenly on the market in Kent and she's been working very closely with them in helping them market to potential new lessee's Council Workshop, 12/14/99 5 and coordinating their efforts internally in terms of any kinds of permits that they're needing. We meet with them on a regular basis and we view that as a real opportunity. Neighborhood Design and Strategy: We do have a staff task force that's working on neighborhood identification and our next step is to begin to develop some neighborhood service delivery strategies to bring to you in a conceptual basis to get your reaction and, in addition, staff is working on updates of policies with respect to design standards and so forth, and we've had one early presentation on that and they're taking that input and continuing to work and develop that. Comprehensive Housing Policy: We have adopted the Townhouse Zoning. We do have work in progress to revise the Comp Plan, including the plan's Housing Element,which I think will really be the core of the plan and policy decision making that Council will want to be involved in, and we are participating in the South County Home Ownership Roundtable, trying to encourage home ownership in Kent. Endangered Species Act: This is taking a lot of time and energy in terms of responding to the listing of Chinook Salmon, and now other species, on the Endangered Species list. There will be draft rules coming out at the National Marine Fisheries Service with respect to Chinook Salmon any day now. And then there will be a comment period and we expect those rules,probably in their final form,to go into affect in June of 2000. We'll be able to respond better as those rules get out now in draft form and are further developed. We are participating in adopting and implementing salmon conservation plans and looking at the Comp Plan again with respect to our development standards and requirements as it relates to fish and fish habitat and this will continue to be a major issue I think for us for a number of years. As you know we've never had a listing on the Endangered Species list • of a species where the habitat is a major urban area before anywhere in the history of the Act, and so we're the test for the rest of the country on this and it will be interesting to see how this all finally plays out. Some of the information that I've just heard primarily through the news media is that it looks like maybe the initial rules are going to focus primarily on local controls. Local zoning development standards and that sort of thing so we may have a very major role to play in this. Water Supply Issue: I think we have made significant progress on that. As you are very well aware, we've recently just adjusted utility rates with respect to our water system. The tiered system that council actually brought through your initiative to the point of a tiered system of water rates probably helps us in our conservation program in that it does reward people for conserving their water use— particularly the residential user, and so that will be a help to us. And we're also able now to participate in the Second Supply Pipeline for the Green River, which should be on line within the next five years. Don, I don't know if we've heard, did Seattle approve the agreements yesterday, do you know? Public Works Director Don Wickstrom said they anticipate signing their document in March. Brent McFall—So that's a major hurdle to get to the point of getting this pipeline underway but even if the other partners don't proceed, we do have the ability to sort of build it for ourselves in that first section so our water supply needs for the near term future have been addressed. Transportation Plan Update: We have hired a consultant to update the city's existing transportation computer model. We'll be folding the transportation update into the Environmental Impact Statement for the 22801i Street Corridor project. Its all interrelated anyway and I think there'll be a number of opportunities for council policy direction on that. • Improvements to Substandard Infrastructure: You've had a task force that made recommendations and report to you with respect to the whole issue of financing of transportation improvements and Council Workshop, 12/14/99 6 that's been referred back to the staff to come back to the Public Works Committee with a recommendation in January. So they'll have some recommendations on that and that deals primarily with both major corridors and the potential for LIDS for construction of localized improvements for development. I'm not sure that we've gone beyond that on this particular target issue at this point. Solid Waste and Recycling: This issue had primarily to do with the fact that our recycling contract has now for several years cost us more than we bring in through our Utility Tax on garbage services and so we've actually been using fund balances to finance that program for the last 4-5 years. We were rapidly approaching the point where we could no longer do that and, in fact, we have on your agenda tonight authorization to negotiate with the companies with which we have contracts for the possible termination of those contracts which would allow the WUTC underlying franchise areas to take over and we would, essentially, get out of the garbage business. Recycling costs would get built into the rate structure just as it is now in all of the annexation areas. We really are operating, right now, with an inequitable system in the city in that, the area that was part of the city prior to the East Hill Ramstead annexation(back in what was about 1992) is operating under the city's contract for garbage collection services, and all the annexation areas still have their underlying franchise hauler providing the service at different rates and different rate structures than we have in the contracts. So one of the things this will allow us to do is get equity throughout the city in that service as well. Civic and Performing Arts Center: As you know, the Performing Arts Center Board has hired an executive director. We are providing financial support for that for a period of three years. Fundraising is underway. A business plan has been completed and presented to you and I think the key issue, at this point, is the fundraising—whether or not the fundraising can be successful to the degree that council would then feel satisfied and authorize a ballot measure to be placed on the ballot to seek voter approval for a bond issue to come up with the other portion of the funding. So I think during the year 2000, that's going to be the key issue there, and eventually you have to look very carefully at the timing, assuming they're successful with their fundraising drive. Park Development was another of the target issues and one of the things that I think is significant is we do have the Real Estate Excise Tax funding in place dedicated to park development. There are some major policy issues that we're going to want to address at some point having to do with the cost of adjacent infrastructure. We do need to address that as a policy issue. We are seeking grant funding for Clark Lake acquisition and as we go through the Comprehensive Plan process for the Park plan,we'll want to be addressing levels of service again, acres per thousand or whatever different types of park facilities. Emergency Preparedness: We have been successful at being invited to participate in the Integrated Emergency Management Course that will take a significant number of staff and others to Fort McClellan, Alabama in June of 2000 for a week's Emergency Management Training Course. Financial Policies: At the staff level, we have drafted some policies that need some work before we're ready to present them to you, even in a draft form, and also in this process we will be developing financial forecasts. Financial forecasts are only as good as the assumptions you use. Tell me what result you want and I can give you the assumptions that will give you that result. So what we'll intend to do is try and give you some financial forecasts that have sort of an optimistic, an anticipated and a pessimistic scenario, and you kind of pick and choose among those. But 1 do think, • particularly with Initiative 695 and the fact that that has given us a kind of a cap on revenues, that we really need to pay attention to this in terms of looking at financial forecasts and give you an Council Workshop, 12/14/99 7 opportunity to make some policy decisions about where you want to go from here. So I think that's . one of the things in the first quarter of this next year that we'll be pretty active in. Legislative Agenda Government Affairs Manager Dena Laurent said that regarding the Regional Governance and Leadership issue, I have more work to do in this area. With regard to our contract with Doug Levy to help us with the state stuff—he's really put us out front on a number of issues. The 10-year property tax abatement bill for downtown/in-town kind of housing already has sponsors in both the Senate and in the House. It's already drafted. The sponsorship is bi-partisan. It's really exciting as well as a number of other issues that we reviewed on the legislative agenda when we were talking about that. We're also wrapping up all of our appointments with the legislators so we visited with nearly the entire delegation, plus some additional folks about some of the issues that you've identified that are important for Kent. So I'll be a frequent presenter over the next three months as the legislature convenes January 10`h for a 60 day session. Today we attended with the Mayor, a King County Suburban Cities and City of Seattle Forum on I- 695. Specifically, the Mayor spoke to the transportation impacts, to the economic engine of South King County—which is that we can economize and reduce levels of service in the city but if there aren't transportation dollars to keep things moving, we'll see a lot greater impact on our community than just a reduction in service. The Workforce Investment Board or Workforce Development Council that the Mayor sits on as representative of the Suburban Cities that plan development is now underway and the Suburban Cities specifically will be given some opportunities to give some input on the plan development. This is how federal workforce training dollars should be allocated in King County, and so we'll be kind of a voice for how to gather that input from all of our cities and make sure that the money comes out to where some of the people who need that training live and hopefully work. Sure welcome your input on how we can be more or in a different way effective either at the state or regional level with the kinds of information or the method of presentation of that information. Councilmember Sandy Amodt asked if the 10 Year Property Tax Program was some sort of incentive program. Dena Laurent said it was. It would allow all those folks who collect property taxes, and that includes the school district and the city and other folks, to abate or not collect property tax on new construction. And for this kind of construction,we're talking about downtown housing residential units for a 10 year period. Often that's a carrot to help a developer make a project pencil out and we're looking for those kinds of tools to make the things that you've outlined in the downtown plan happen. So that's a tool that's available to larger cities and we're just trying to make it available to cities under 100,000. Our city's population is now over 70,000. Mayor Jim White said the idea started out with an idea that Dena and Doug put together and we kicked it around and then started pitching it to our legislators as we met with them. Senator Patterson is very fond of this idea and Representative Fortunado. It runs the gamut, and now Doug and Dena are being asked to help draft that and this is happening in several different fields so by being out front and being proactive we get our oar in the water first and who knows what will come out at the end but you float an idea one year. You keep after it until it comes. Dena has done great work. We have felt like a legislative interviewer here for a while but we have talked to virtually every legislator that touches our city and some of those who do not touch our city. So she's done a great job and Doug is doing a great job. I just want to say thank you. The meeting was adjourned at 6:15 PM.