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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1998-04-27 Committee of the Whole MinutesMinutes of 4/27/98 TUKWILA CITY COUNCIL April 27, 1998, 7:00 p.m. Tukwila City Hall Council Chambers COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING MINUTES Page 1 of 12 CALL TO ORDER: Council President Linder called the Committee of the Whole meeting to order and led the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance. COUNCILMEMBERS PRESENT: Council President Pamela Linder, Councilmembers Joe Duffie, Joan Hernandez, Steve Mullet, Dave Fenton, Pam Carter, and Jim Haggerton. OFFICIALS: John Rants, Mayor; John McFarland, City Administrator; Ross Earnst, Public Works Director; Don Williams, Parks and Recreation Director; Rhonda Berry, Assistant City Administrator; and Lucy Lauterbach, Legislative Coordinator. SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS: A Sound Environment for Education Highline School District: Ed Pina of 24219 7th Avenue South, Des Moines briefed the Council on activities of the Sound Environment for Education program. The program is currently in phase 1 of a 2 -phase process. Phase 1 involves announcing the program, conducting public hearings, and distributing citizen surveys. Results from phase 1 will identify what is needed and how much it will cost. Currently, the program is nearing completion of phase 1. Seventy five percent of the survey respondents indicate the Port of Seattle is responsible for the noise problem within the local schools. Only 31% percent believe the Port will actually compensate the schools for sound improvements. Two public meetings were held in March, which were attended by over 100 citizens. Mr. Pina said a Port official has stated the Port would be flexible in funding noise improvements. Mr. Pina shared the school district's plan to test the schools to determine what is needed to bring the schools to an acceptable sound level. He indicated that after the studies have been completed, the school district would be in a better position to negotiate with the Port for noise improvements for schools. Mr. Pina said the study to test schools for noise levels commenced during Spring break. Experts evaluated existing sound transmission characteristics of five of the 15 schools to be studied. During the noise measurement testing, Seattle TV stations covered the event. In addition to the testing conducted by consultants, Sound Net, a student based study effort is also being used to document noise impacts. Every time a plane passes overhead, a student records the disruption. In the middle school, they are using noise meters and are analyzing the data and developing hypotheses. Some of the results indicate that students who are consistently exposed to noise do not realize the noise impact and the disruption it creates to their classroom learning. The issue relates not only to noise, but to the quantity of school time students are losing when sound affects their concentration. Mr. Pina said as a result of the noise issue, three schools have been closed and $385 million has been spent on school renovations. Many of the existing schools have been remodeled to accommodate students from the closed schools. Mr. Pina explained the noise pattern of the airport and those schools to the north and south of the airport experience the greatest levels of noise. Minutes of 4/27/98 Page 2 of 12 Mr. Pina said the Port has recently made public statements regarding plans for reimbursing the schools. He indicated it is helpful that the statements have been documented. In the past, the Port has offered conflicting statements concerning mitigation measures for noise impacts. Now, with their stated willingness to participate in the measurement testing, the school district has recommended the Port and the school district enter into an interlocal agreement. The school district is waiting to hear back from the Port about the possibility of an interlocal agreement. Update on King County International Airport Master Plan Roundtable Discussion: Rosemary Unteseher, 4110 S 114 Street, Tukwila, said she has been representing Tukwila at the roundtable discussions. Five to six alternatives are being considered as part of the conceptual plan for the Master Plan for the airport. Primarily this involves looking at the land use. During the roundtable discussions last fall, new information became available concerning the safety zone of the runway. Any time a runway is repaved, new safety zone requirements kick in requiring the airport to establish safety zones at each end of the runway. The consultants have recommended the runway be extended 800 feet to the north to allow safety zones both in the south and north end. This change will affect Georgetown. Ms. Unteseher said she is one of many community representatives on the roundtable. The roundtable consists of representatives from business, community, and airport and airline industry representatives. Different community representatives bring different approaches to discussions. The focus of the roundtable is to determine alternatives that benefit the greatest number of people. Ms. Unteseher said she represents many neighbors who are employed in the airline industry. She tries to represent a balanced approach with respect to noise issues that affect residents and to those residents employed in the airline industry. Ms. Unteseher introduced Cynthia Stewart, King County Airport Manager of 7233 Perimeter Road South, Seattle. Ms. Stewart provided more details on the conceptual plan. Ms. Stewart said the roundtable is trying to arrive at a definition of a preferred alternative for implementing the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) of the Master Plan. The draft Master Plan could end up different from the preferred alternative. It will depend on both public comments and the findings of the EIS. Typically, an EIS has three alternatives. Due to nature of the issue, the plan is to develop one preferred alternative. The roundtable should be concluding their discussions within the week. The roundtable's recommendations will be included with the recommendations of the airport and forwarded to elected officials for review. Ms. Stewart referred to a handout and summarized some of the roundtable recommendations. They include the 800 additional feet of runway pavement to the north. This will result in a displaced threshold that will require planes to use the middle section of the runway for landings. For takeoffs, planes would use either end of the runway with the exception of the northern end where planes would take off from the area before the 800 -foot addition. Only a few planes would require the entire 10,000 feet of runway. The roundtable will also assist in the scoping process for the Part 150 Noise Study by developing a list of possible remedies to be examined in the study along with the conceptual development plan recommendations. This information will be forwarded to elected officials for review. Ms. Unteseher asked the Council for input on specific items. They include: Minutes of 4/27/98 Supporting the 10,000 foot runway Page 3 of 12 Ms. Unteseher supports the 10,000 foot runway, but with restrictions. They include limiting the full use of the runway to only those planes that require it. Constructing a hush house for engine run -ups and constructing a sound fence at the Georgetown end of the runway. Should the airport be open at night? Ms. Unteseher queried her neighbors regarding this option and they support a 24 -hour airport operation. Consolidating some land use for additional cargo. Rescinding a moratorium on leases. Councilmembers reviewed the items and supported the 10,000 -foot runway with the restrictions as noted above. Councilmembers discussed the 24 -hour operation of the airport. Ms. Unteseher said the only way to limit night accessibility would be through a Part 161 Study with the FAA. There has been no successful Part 161 Study implemented to date. There was some support from members of the roundtable to pursue a Part 161 Study, but Ms. Unteseher indicated it would be highly unlikely the study would result in reduced airport operations at night. Councilmembers agreed that it would probably not limit nighttime use of the airport, but the Part 161 Study would send a message to airport operations that the local community does not desire or support nighttime operations at the airport. Generally, Councilmembers supported a reduced use of the airport at night. Shay Schaul -Berke of 604 SW 206 Street, Normandy Park said she has slept better at night since Alaska Airline's cargo operations moved to the King County Airport. Since the cargo's return to Sea Tac, she does not sleep well. She said the Port of Seattle's own data indicates the airport will exceed its capacity in her lifetime. She cautioned the Council to seriously consider their approach in wanting reduced nighttime operations. Airport operations will only continue to grow and she said she would hate to see the same thing happen to the King County airport that has happened to Sea Tac. Ms. Stewart responded to Ms. Schaul Berke's concerns and said any changes to current operations at the King County Airport would be minimal. The recommendation for nighttime use is a status quo recommendation. The current level of airport operations would not reach the same level as Sea Tac as there are no plans to expand operations at the King County Airport. Some of the development that had been included in some of the earlier alternatives has been removed from consideration. Options, such as leasing capacity, could move ahead along with the final Master Plan since the Part 150 Study would address some of those issues. Mayor Rants shared concerns about noise levels for different types of airplanes. Ms. Stewart said noise data would most likely point to corporate aircraft as being beyond the threshold of acceptable noise standards. She said the study would look at noise levels and target them to specific sectors. Another problem with managing noise levels relates to military aircraft. Military aircraft are exempt from noise controls. Councilmembers concurred that the airport should attempt to reduce and minimize airport operations at night. Councilmember Haggerton noted that noise levels which travel in the vicinity of the north and south ends of Sea Tac runways doesn't correspond to the noise areas of King County Airport's runway. Ms. Stewart said King County's comparable traffic is only 15% of Sea Tac's traffic. Additionally, King County has smaller air traffic, Minutes of 4/27/98 Page 4 of 12 which fly more eastern and western routes. These flights added together with the other traffic comparable to Sea Tac contributes to the different noise levels and noise areas. There are many differences between the two airports in terms of airport traffic and routes that account for the differences in noise level patterns. Decibel levels are established by standard modeling techniques that measures time of day and type of fleet activity. The modeling establishes different noise contours based on time of day and traffic. As part of the Part 150 Study, the airport will increase the number of noise monitors and test the noise contours to document that the noise modeling is accurate. A range of mitigations will occur dependent on decibel readings. Decibels in the 65 range invoke federal funding assistance to mitigate noise issues. Different mitigation strategies would be developed for each community, as each is affected differently. Ms. Stewart said the airport currently dedicates 21 acres for cargo operations. One of the issues is that 10 of the acres are actually in prime leaseholds and the rest are subleases. The proposal adds six more acres. The proposed acreage may be transition acreage and used for cargo or corporate use, dependent on future needs. The acreage is located on the south /east side of the airport. The six acres represents approximately 1% percent of growth per year for the next 20 years. Ms. Unteseher said she supports the 27 -acre proposal. Ms. Stewart noted that the materials distributed during the February 18 public meeting contained some incorrect information concerning the level of cargo activity projected for the next 20 years. Essentially, the incorrect information noted that cargo activity would decrease, when in fact, cargo activity will increase somewhat within the next 20 years. She apologized for the error. Councilmember Haggerton said he would oppose any air cargo increase. Councilmember Hernandez said she would not support an increase in cargo activity. Discussion ensued on engine noise from cargo planes and possible restrictions for night traffic on airplanes that have not been outfitted to reduce noise levels. Nancy Lamb, 4251 South 139 Street said she represents the Foster Community Club on the Ad Hoc Noise Committee for Boeing Field. The committee receives updates on noise complaints and she referred to January and February noise complaints. Over 50% percent were related to cargo planes and 60% percent of the cargo noise complaints were for flights occurring at night. United Parcel Service (UPS) is the only fleet that has outfitted its planes for noise controls and there are no other sound improvement methods, UPS can undertake with its fleet. Councilmembers agreed that they could not support an increase in cargo activity relating to the proposed addition of six acres. Ms. Unteseher said there is a moratorium on leases until the Master Plan is approved. The proposal does not recommend any changes to rescind the moratorium. Minutes of 4/27/98 Page 5 of 12 Council President Linder asked if the moratorium applied to subleases. Ms. Stewart noted that subleases tend to be somewhat complex and that some of the subleases are controlled and some are not. It depends on how the original lease was set up. Newer leases provide for more airport control. Ms. Unteseher said she and the roundtable are recommending one noise mitigation that would involve integrating flight plans regionally. Currently, King County flights are required to maintain a certain altitude due to Sea Tac traffic. She said if the altitude limit is removed, take off noise from aircraft would be reduced. Councilmembers concurred with extending the moratorium on leases. SPECIAL ISSUES: Review of Local Strategies —1999 CDBG Pass Through Funds: Evelyn Boykan referred to the process where the City acknowledges its status as a pass- through city to accept a portion of the federal Community Development Block Grant funds based on the City's percentage of low to moderate income residents. A couple of items for the Council to address include whether to accept the current strategy that has been used previously to address uses in infrastructure, capital, public services, and planning and administration. The second decision concerns what areas to fund along with determining if the City should participate in the King County Housing Program (have participated in the past) and determining the funding level. Ms. Boykan indicated the Council can review specific projects in the summer and that these decisions provide guidance and direction and lets King County know the City wants to continue receiving funds. The packet includes designated amounts for funding in 1999. The figures do not include any unspent funds from 1998. There is also a chart that includes what funds have been spent and in what areas for 1995, 1996, and 1997 and what is projected for 1998. Councilmember Duffie said the CDBG request was reviewed and approved by the Parks and Community Committee. Ms. Boykan said the low /moderate income resident levels are calculated on a yearly basis. Ms. Boykan said she would research the year the figures are based on in response to a concern expressed by Councilmember Carter concerning the use of 1990 data. Councilmember Haggerton indicated he had asked the question on how the CDBG funds are distributed within the community and that the question would be researched. He is concerned that some areas are receiving more funding than necessary. He wants to insure that everyone in the City is offered the opportunity to apply for CDBG funds. Ms. Boykan said the information Councilmember Haggerton requested has been completed and would be forwarded to him. Councilmembers questioned what portion of the 1998 program funds of $176,609 was from unspent funds. Ms. Boykan said money is typically left over each year, mostly from the utility connections. Funds remaining from a program can be reallocated to another program through a public process and can only be reallocated in the capital classification only. This can also be accomplished in the year funding is received. Minutes of 4/27/98 Councilmembers concurred with the recommended name change. Page 6 of 12 Councilmembers referred to page 9 of the staff report and indicated it would be helpful to include a line item for unspent funds for each year, as the projected funding of $158,090 for 1999 represents a decrease from the $176,609 for 1998. Not knowing how much of the $176,609 are unspent funds gives an inaccurate impression that funding has been decreased for 1999. It was noted that the unspent funds in utility connections are related to two reasons. The project length extends longer than projected or the residents choose not to connect, as in the case of the Allentown sewers. Ms. Boykan asked Councilmembers to determine the funding allocation, if there are any changes in funding strategies, and what portion of the funding is for housing repair. The Community and Parks Committee have recommended allocating the same amount as last year. Councilmembers concurred with the recommendations by the Community and Parks Committee for the 1999 CDBG program. Old Tukwila Community Center Site New Park Name: Councilmember Duffie said the Community and Parks Committee has recommended renaming the old community center site as Riverton Park. Director Williams said the recommendation would be forwarded to the next regular Council meeting for adoption. A 120 -day waiting period is required under the normal process. Legislative Analyst Lauterbach said the required 120 -day waiting period applied to facilities. Councilmember Carter requested that the City Attorney clarify the language to determine if "facilities" also applied to parks. Councilmember Haggerton referred to Resolution No. 981 and suggested the resolution be forwarded to the Community and Park Committee for review. He noted that paragraph h. and i. should be reviewed for possible changes. Old Tukwila Community Center Potential Park Improvements: Councilmember Duffie said the item has been before the Community and Parks Committee. Based on input from the Committee and community members the Committee is recommending a picnic shelter and four tables, irrigation for the upper park, and an asphalt walking path for the upper park for a total of $50,000. Council President Linder said she was under the impression that funding would go first for the Cascade View Park. Council President Linder said she would prefer to spend the funds on the Cascade View Park. Director Williams said the six -year CIP contains an appropriation of $410,000 for the community center site for demolition and parks improvement. During the budget process, it was determined that only $150,000 was needed to demolish the building. The excess was transferred over to other budget line items. Of the original $410,000, another $30,000 was budgeted to complete the demolition and cleanup and $50,000 was earmarked for park improvements to be determined through a public process. Director Williams said he did not recall that a specific requirement to develop Cascade View Park first existed. Councilmembers discussed issues surrounding the $50,000 appropriation and where funding was allocated. Councilmember Mullet said Cascade View is not possible in the short term and suggested Cascade View be Minutes of 4/27/98 Page 7 of 12 considered separately and designated as a separate budget line item in the budget. He indicated the issue is to determine if the $50,000 should be spent to improve Riverton Park. Betty Gully, 13017 Macadam Road, Tukwila, said during the community meeting, community members were led to believe the funding was available and were asked how they wanted it applied to park improvements. The community recommended the above improvements. She said for the Council to now question if the money was correctly allocated leaves the community with a bad impression about how funding is managed by the City. She said the community has been active in providing opinions to the City regarding development of the site. Ms. Gully noted a discrepancy on the placement of the picnic shelter between what was recommended by the community versus what is recommended by Director Williams. In the memo to Mayor Rants dated April 14, 1998, Director Williams notes the picnic shelter would be situated in the upper park area near 131 Street. In the meeting minutes of April 6, the Tukwila Park Commission approved the covered picnic shelter located next to Macadam Road. She said it does make sense to locate the picnic shelter closer to public parking and City utilities versus near Macadam Road. Councilmember Fenton suggested Councilmembers move forward with the recommendation since the park has received so much community support. Director Williams recounted community participation during the public meetings and said it was a very good process. He displayed a site map of the area and outlined the blacktop area, the children's play area, the picnic shelter area, and the walking path. Director Williams and Councilmembers discussed a possible new location for the children's play area. Director Williams said he is looking for approval from the Council to move forward with improvements to the park. After the remaining demolition is removed and the site is cleaned up, one of the first things to be done is installing the underground irrigation, moving forward with grass and other ground improvements, and issuing bids for the picnic shelter. He anticipates the park will be ready by the end of summer. Council President Linder moved the recommendation to the next regular meeting of the Council. Discussion on Possible Agenda Topics for May 13 Joint Council/Tukwila School District Retreat: Council President Linder noted that there were conflicts with meeting on May 13. Councilmembers reviewed alternate dates to schedule the meeting. Councilmembers recommended meeting on May 28 and requested that the school district is notified to see if any conflict existed with their schedules. Councilmember Carter suggested adding RTA and Tukwila Days to the agenda as items for discussion. Councilmember Carter also requested that the meeting be more than just a report presentation by each organization but an active dialog between participants. Council President Linder suggesting sending a memo to the school district regarding agenda items and suggestions for the format to include an active discussion and not just a standard report presentation. REPORTS: MAYOR Minutes of 4/27/98 Page 8 of 12 Mayor Rants said quarterly reports have been distributed. Rants shared several pieces of correspondence with the Council. They include letters from the family of Jack Hagberg thanking the City for their recognition of Jack and the other is from Louise Strander thanking the City. Rants said TCI has served notice that it will be raising it rates effective June 1, 1998. Notices included in their billings will notify customers. Director Ross said the City uses a consultant to administer the franchise agreement between TCI and Tukwila. Currently, the City is negotiating an update to the franchise agreement. Rants said the Public Works Department has been compiling a list of funding projects for salmon habitat and restoration with the ESAB. The City has been seeking funding, has been working with the Green River Basin Forum on the issue, and has submitted some plans to AWC. He reviewed the following projects: Salmon stock restoration program planting salmon in two streams Riverton and South Gate. With current equipment, the City is capable of planting 250,000 salmon annually. Cost is $35,000 for seven years. Lower Riverton Creek Side Channel Project enhancing 3 /4 mile side channel for some habitat restoration and some spawning but more for Chinook salmon rearing in the saltwater transition zone. Cost is $1.3 million. The Gillian Creek Outfall Barrier Removal promotes stream productivity. South Gate Habitat Restoration Project $1.1 million. Gillian Creek Water Quality Management Plan $93,000 Catch Basin Materials Treatment Facility. Construction of facility for dewatering of materials extracted from storm system water catch basins. Water Quality Inspection Program Rants said the City is very proactive in its efforts to increase and protect habitat and if other jurisdictions follow Tukwila's lead, the possibility of federal intervention can be avoided. Director Ross said staff has been attending weekly meetings to assist RTA staff with the packet of recommendations to the RTA Board. By May 1, RTA will have the packets ready to go to the Board. The Board meets May 14 to decide on the alternatives to be included in the EIS. The Transit Advisory Commission will be preparing a letter to the Mayor and City Council regarding recommendations the City should forward to the RTA Board. The Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) will also be sending a recommendation to the Board and have requested to be included on the Board's meeting agenda to directly address their concerns to the Board. As of today, the RTA will study the Pacific Highway alignment at grade and elevated. Cost figures for at grade are $150 to $180 million. At the elevated grade, costs are estimated between $190 million to $220 million. The Interurban alignment will also be studied and estimated costs are between $240 to $330 million. The Martin Luther King Jr. Way will also be included and costs between $270 to $350 million. RTA has supplied these numbers. The City's consultant agrees with the projected costs. The RTA has $315 million in their budget to build from Boeing access road to 200` Street in Sea Tac. Minutes of 4/27/98 Page 9 of 12 The Transit Advisory Commission had a long discussion on Pacific Highway and staff is frustrated that they did not have all the information necessary to make a recommendation on the alignment Tukwila preferred. Director Ross said staff does not have current information regarding what will be included in the RTA Board's packet. In anticipation of what will be included in the board packets, staff is drafting a letter from the Mayor and Council to the RTA Board. Director Ross said staff would be seeking approval of the letter from City Council at its May 4 regular meeting. Director Ross said there are two public RTA meetings scheduled in May. The Transit Advisory Commission has included a two -page informational sheet outlining the alignments through Tukwila. The RTA will most likely take the comments and include more information. As soon as that document is completed, it will become an attachment to the letter from the Mayor. Councilmember Mullet asked if ridership figures had been completed. Director Ross said the information is still being compiled and has not been completed. He does not anticipate it will be completed before the RTA Board meeting. Rants shared some information from the EDC of Seattle /King County. Many of the EDC's board members have identified efforts to develop downtown cores in various finance, infrastructure, and land use arenas to attain the goal of Transit Oriented Development TOD. The RTA creates many opportunities to move ahead in this area based on the Oregon experience. There is an opportunity to leverage this investment through land use objectives by increasing density and promoting economic vitality in and around transit stations through TOD. Rants said all the information generated regarding transit stations points to the need to increase densities. Tukwila may suffer some consequences unless it addresses the issue of land use densities. He said development is limited with Tukwila's current zoning of 22 units per acre in the multi family use zone. Additionally, there is a 110 -foot height limitation. Rants indicated high density is not 22 units per acre but at least 60 units per acre. To become economically viable for a developer to build along the river, density levels have to be increased. Many people would be willing to pay a higher rent for quality apartments with amenities such as a transit system, trails, parks and local shopping. Rants said if this concept is the key to having a transit system, perhaps the City should begin considering higher density levels in the commercial business district. Rants said the Washington State High Capacity Transit Act of 1995 requires the linkage of land use planning with the development of high capacity transit systems. Transit authorities are required to enter into agreements with local jurisdictions to establish conditions to support the high capacity transit system through TOD. Rants said the issue that concerns him the most is the demand from the top down requiring high densities. He cautioned Councilmembers that if Tukwila does not want the high density, then a transit center at Southcenter would most likely not occur. Rants went on to say that transit oriented development is important to fast transit for four reasons. They include: Increased system ridership Generates revenues for the system Provides potential cost sharing opportunities Supports local and regional development plans. Minutes of 4/27/98 Page 10 of 12 Mayor Rants offered to share the document with Councilmembers and indicated there is some good information. However, the information is from an EDC perspective —how develop, maintain jobs, and keep the economic viability of King County. Councilmembers were briefed on the local fire that occurred during the Council meeting. The fire now under control consumed a building under construction at the Pyramid Pointe apartments. There were no injuries or deaths resulting from the fire. COUNCIL: Councilmember Duffie reported that he attended the Community and Parks Committee meeting and discussed the Human Services Plan. The Committee had the opportunity to meet two new individuals involved with the Human Services Plan. Councilmember Haggerton said he expressed some concerns to the new members concerning his perception that Tukwila was becoming a dumping ground for displaced immigrants coming into the United States and how this population was having an impact on local schools, local services, and housing. He said the information should be included in the study that is being developed. Councilmember Hernandez said the consultants expect to have a draft of the Human Service Plan in September and will be updating some of the demographics and existing information. She said the plan has not been updated since 1990 and would be available in time for the City's annual budget process. Duffie said the Tukwila Elementary School recently released 500 salmon at Riverton Creek. Duffie said the City was blamed for distributing some flyers regarding the Fun Center. Apparently, many people were led to believe the City is funding Fun Center and were angry that money wasn't available to fund baseball fields but was available to fund a fun center. Duffie explained that the Fun Center was a private company with no connection to the City. Councilmember Hernandez said she attended the Housing Conference at the Doubletree Hotel. The Pacific Northwest Regional Council of NAHRO (National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials) sponsored the conference. Mayor Rants gave the welcome address to conference attendees. Hernandez referred to a bus tour of the area she went on during the conference. She toured the new International District Square in the International District. Seventy -five new apartments are available for low income, frail, and the elderly with assisted living services. Several services are also offered within the housing complex. She also visited several other housing complexes in Seattle. Council President Linder referred to the chart that was developed for the Council's recent retreat. It is included in the quarterly report. She suggested Councilmembers review the chart and email her with updates on progress. Councilmember Mullet attended the Utilities Committee meeting. The committee reviewed and discussed the garbage proposal. The Committee will be presenting the proposal in the next month. Reclaimed water was also discussed. It may become an additional water source for irrigation and parks, but not for drinking. Another discussion focused on the Cascade Water Alliance. A lot of work has been completed on the City's behalf. Another discussion concerned the Butler undergrounding. It is the Committee's understanding that Mr. Butler would be undergrounding utilities. At some point in time, the issue needs to be reviewed to determine whether to continue to allow variances or determine what the best policy is. Minutes of 4/27/98 Page 11 of 12 Councilmember Carter attended the SCATBd meeting last week. She reported that metro service changes are being proposed and 4,000 hours are being added to routes outside of Tukwila. She said that like RTA, Tukwila pays for the commuter rail into Seattle at the King Street Station and for bus routes. Seattle is paying for the light rail it is tunneling in Seattle. Carter questioned why Tukwila pays for other jurisdiction's projects. Carter attended the Tukwila Community Cares Network meeting on April 22. The meeting consisted of sharing information, as the updated volunteer coordinator job description was not available for review. On April 23, Carter attended a volunteer recognition dinner for school volunteers and business partners. Several student dance groups provided the entertainment. Carter suggested the students would be a wonderful entertainment addition at the Tukwila Days Festival. AWC recently sent out information concerning the establishment of two Transportation Committees. Carter said she applied to both committees. Carter said she picked up her waste container during the City sponsored waste event and realized that the City does not have any local hazardous waste disposal sites. She said the waste recycling program would be more successful if more local sites were available to drop off their used motor oil and other hazardous waste products. Carter will be attending the Transportation Committee meeting on April 28. The agenda includes a report on the open house the City held on the Burlington Northern access request. Councilmember Haggerton attended the Economic Development Advisory Board meeting on April 23, 1998. The meeting included a presentation by Cushman and Wakefield on another free survey relating to the industrial market of the area. Previously, they completed a survey on the office market. They have agreed to present the results of the industrial market survey to City Council. The survey return was 36% percent. Haggerton said there is valuable information resulting from the survey. Haggerton said the Board talked to Cushman and Wakefield about conducting a survey of the retail market in the area and they have indicated they do not specialize in the retail field. He said the Board is considering other sources to conduct a retail survey. A survey on the retail segment would provide valuable data. Many positive comments regarding the City have been documented by the previous two surveys. Haggerton said he believes a retail survey may not be so positive to the City. Haggerton asked Councilmembers if they had followed up on a questionnaire Representative Adam Smith had sent out in March. Haggerton said Representative Smith followed up with all the citizens who returned the questionnaire. He sent thank you letters and provided a compilation of the questionnaire results. Questionnaire results included information on fiscal concerns, investing in our children's future, and entitlement reform (social security). Haggerton noted that he would provide a copy to Councilmembers and said the information is valuable. Councilmember Fenton attended the Foster Community Club meeting on April 23. Fenton also met with Karen Wright who has taken her multi -level program on the road. (Transcriptionist unable to hear remainder of Councilmember Fenton's report on tape.) Minutes of 4/27/98 Page 12 of 12 Councilmembers were provided another update on the status of the fire in Tukwila. Carter referred to a report Councilmembers received last week summarizing the comments at the RTA scoping meeting. She noted that on page 10 of the report, the report indicates that in Seattle, light rail will promote increased density and allow Seattle to meet its affordable housing goals. She said that is counterproductive to what Tukwila wants along Pacific Highway. Rants said he is unsure how cities will meet the requirements of the Growth Management Act concerning affordable housing. Seattle cannot meet the requirement, nor can most of the other cities in the area. Most jurisdictions are not willing to create the high density levels required by the Growth Management Act. He said there are some tough questions the Council will have to address regarding the density levels. MISCELLANEOUS: Duffie referred to a flyer distributed about Red Robin's treatment of minorities. He indicated that some of the citizens are blaming Tukwila for what is occurring at the Red Robin. He said he does not appreciate citizens blaming the City and City employees for alleged acts committed by the Red Robin. Carter referred to some recent positive press about the Police Department. ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 9:55 p.m. Council President Pamela Linder Valerie Gow, Recording Secretary