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Kent City Council Workshop Minutes
December 8, 2015
The workshop meeting was called to order at 5:06 p.m. by Council President Ralph.
Councilmembers present: Ralph, Berries, Boyce, Fincher, and Higgins
Kent Performance Project — Chief Administrative Officer Derek Matheson discussed
the Kent Performance Project. He highlighted the initiatives and efforts the City has
undertaken the past few years to enhance services to Kent residents. Matheson
highlighted the Lean events that have occurred in the City and the positive results that
have derived from them. He introduced Steven Thomson and noted that he is currently
a consultant with the City working on the code enforcement process and further
enhancing the public records request process. He communicated next steps and noted
that there needs to be a person, staff or consultant, identified to develop this program
as the City moves forward.
Councilmember Boyce communicated that these terms are very familiar to him and he
believes that it is key to have one person focusing on this. He stated that he is
impressed with this and stated that this is a good thing. He added that he was pleased
with the resident portion of this and is glad that obtaining information from the
residents is included.
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Councilmember Higgins wondered what the Council can do to assist with this effort. He
added that the Council will look at budget and inquired if a resolution would help move
this forward.
Matheson appreciated the strong support from Councilmember Higgins and noted that
a resolution would be great.
Council President Ralph thanked Matheson for this opportunity to have all the
departments work together to avoid silos. She noted that it is important to reach out
to the community and hear what they need.
Councilmember Berries thanked Matheson for the presentation. He said this signals
that the City is intent on moving in the right direction to be a unified team.
Councilmember Higgins noted that the dashboard should be on the City's website and
cross referenced. He noted that it needs to be a tool for the residents to use.
Riverbend Property Marketing — Jeff Watling, Parks, Recreation and Cultural
Services Director introduced the item and presented the background of the Riverbend
Golf Complex and the golf fund.
Seth Heikkila, Senior Vice President of Jones Lang LaSalle Capital Markets Group
presented a background of the company.
Kent City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes
Matt Kemper, Vice President of Jones Lang LaSalle Capital Markets Group discussed
successful projects that their company has handled over the years and noted that a
mixed use multifamily project would serve the property the best. He displayed pictures
of the Six Oaks Apartments in Bothell, WA, Tivalli Apartments in Lynnwood, WA, and
Spencer 68 Apartments in Kenmore, WA and noted that these are examples of what
should be built here in Kent.
Heikkila discussed amenities such as ground floor retail and other aspects that
residents are desirous of.
Council President Ralph discussed the integration of public space on the site and
inquired how it would be done with a development such as this. Heikkila replied that
the Six Oaks Apartment project featured a stream and a walking trail and this project
is going to take a special developer to ensure such amenities are included,
Kemper added that it is Jones Lang LaSalle's job to ensure the correct developer is
chosen and those that don't want to partner with the City are weeded out. He added
that a retail space with a tie with the sports community would also do well.
Heikkila communicated that the resident of today is the 20 and 30 year old
professional that wants social interaction, smaller footprints, and to be able to walk to
get groceries.
Councilmember Higgins communicated that it makes sense to him to model and
market this development to golf professionals.
Councilmember Fincher stated that this looks like a good opportunity for green
builders and questioned what the top amenities are in the marketplace. Kemper
replied that a rooftop deck, community rooms, bicycle storage, a bicycle recreation
room, a dog station, weight room, and a theater are the top amenities. He noted that
he wouldn't be surprised if the project didn't have some type of LEED qualifications.
Council President Ralph said this multifamily project needs to be viable 30 years from
now and Kemper replied this type of developer keeps reinvesting their funds in its
properties to keep them viable and up-to-date.
Heikkila communicated that investors who fund projects like this understand that the
price point is over $100 million and they are high quality developments.
Ben Wolters, Economic and Community Development Director highlighted the next
steps of this process which are to have the City enter the market in January and have
a completed deal in front of the Council by July. He highlighted the selection criteria
and who the members of the City's advisory group would be.
Emergency Manaaement Update — Dominic Marzano, Emergency Management
Director communicated that a supervisor and three planners have been chosen to work
directly with the oil train group and that the ECC has been activated to Level 3 due to
flooding in the City. He communicated that the Office of Emergency Management has
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Kent City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes
created an Executive Playbook for disasters and major event response and provided a
copy for the Councilmembers.
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Council President Ralph suggested the Council attend the next Emergency Coordination
Center activation event on December 16, 2015.
Meeting adjourned at 6:23 pm.
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Ronald F. M�re, MP41C
City Clerk's
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