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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1998-06-22 Committee of the Whole MinutesMinutes of June 22, 1998 Page 1 of 9 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, Dave Fenton, Pam Carter, Steve Mullet, and Jim Haggerton. OFFICIALS: John Rants, Mayor; John McFarland, City Administrator; Bob Noe, City Attorney; Steve Lancaster, Director Community Development; Keith Haines, Police Chief; Ed Baskett, Master Police Officer I; Ross Earnst, Public Works Director; and Lucy Lauterbach, Council Analyst. SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS TUKWILA CITY COUNCIL June 22, 1998, 7:00 p.m. Tukwila City Hall Council Chambers COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING MINUTES Plaque of appreciation presented to Ed Baskett, Master Police Officer I, upon his retirement from the City after 30 -plus years of dedicated service: Chief Haines acknowledged the recent retirement of Master Police Officer I Ed Baskett after more than 30 years of police enforcement service to the City of Tukwila. Chief Haines thanked Officer Baskett and presented him with a 30 -year pin and his original police patrol badge #5. Mayor Rants congratulated and thanked Officer Baskett for his 30 plus years of service and presented him with a plaque. Officer Baskett recalled his early days as a police officer for Tukwila and shared how the City and department have since grown. He thanked everyone for the acknowledgement and said it was a privilege to serve Tukwila over the last 30 years. CITIZEN'S COMMENTS Dixie Archer, 13013 56 Ave. S., Tukwila, said she is representing herself and her neighborhood regarding the ongoing issues concerning increased traffic, speeding traffic, and crime occurring within her neighborhood. Recently, the neighborhood has implemented some steps in establishing a neighborhood watch program. She said the neighborhood is attempting to reduce the problems associated with heavy traffic, speeders, and increased crime before it escalates further. She asked for the City's help in solving some of the issues and shared some traffic concerns regarding speeding vehicles and vehicles ignoring traffic signs. She recommended the City consider barricading 130 by using cement barriers. The street could, after the planned bridge is built, be opened back up. She referred to increased crime and indicated from the time her home was built to approximately three weeks ago, she has been burglarized five times and has lost over $30,000 worth of personal property. She said preventing traffic from entering would reduce the crime rate associated with drugs. She referred to the upcoming Transportation Committee meeting and asked the City's assistance to help solve the problem. Minutes of June 22, 1998 Page 2 of 9 Council President Linder acknowledged the positive action by the neighborhood to establish a neighborhood block watch program and suggested the issue be addressed through different avenues to include the block watch program, the Transportation Committee, and perhaps using a radar gun to reduce speeding. Discussion followed on including the item on the Transportation Committee agenda for the June 24 meeting. Staff indicated the item could be included since the Transportation Committee's agenda only included two items. Councilmember Duffie said the radar gun would most likely be ineffective and said it is not the answer in solving this particular problem. Councilmember Haggerton recommended the item be referred to the Finance and Safety Committee and referred to a recent accident involving his son in the same area. He said he has the same concerns as Ms. Archer regarding the problems. Mayor Rants said there are some interim actions that can take place to reduce some of the issues related to traffic until the City and neighborhood can decide on some definitive actions. Closing the street would be a City Council policy decision. Joan McManus, 5610 S 133 Tukwila recently spoke with Mayor Rants concerning property right -of -way to install a traffic circle to curtail the speeding traffic on 56 Ms. McManus said a traffic circle is not the answer and she fears that if someone missed a turn in the circle, the vehicle would end up in her house. She said the only way to deal with the traffic issue would be to erect barricades at 56 and 57' and have the other road open only for rendering work. She believes there is no other way to control access to the neighborhood. She recounted an incident with a transient and said transients are increasingly entering the neighborhood. She cited several examples of traffic violations and said vandalism and burglary has increased substantially. Ms. McManus said the City needs to assist the Foster Point neighborhood with these issues and requested the City monitor the amount of traffic. SPECIAL ISSUES Transportation funding for Moving King County 2000: Councilmember Carter said as the result of the 1990 state legislature there are several options available for local transportation funding. King County is among several counties who opted to adopt and access the optional vehicle registration fee. The "local option gas tax" failed as a ballot issue in both Snohomish and Spokane counties. Snohomish is reissuing the ballot for the local option gas tax in the November 1998 election. A menu of options to fund local transportation fees is available to counties and includes: Optional vehicle registration fee Local option gas tax Employee head tax (would preempt City tax) Councilmember Carter referred to the upcoming meeting agenda for Moving King County 2000 and indicated the meeting will review existing sources of revenue and a discussion on the local option gas tax and whether it should be submitted for a ballot vote in November and how the potential revenue would be distributed. Councilmember Carter said the larger cities, such as Seattle and Bellevue receives the bulk of the tax and estimated Tukwila would only receive $166,000 revenue if the local option gas tax was adopted. The Minutes of June 22, 1998 Page 3 of 9 distribution formula requires that each resident residing in unincorporated areas is counted as 1.5 versus the cities counting residents as 1.0. Councilmember Carter said Suburban Cities has already submitted a letter supporting discussion of the local option gas tax. To put the local gas tax option on the November ballot, the public would need to be polled regarding their position and concerns and also major businesses would need to be polled to see how they are affected by traffic impacts in respect to delivery of goods and services. Transportation funding consists of a variety of revenue sources each interacting in different ways, which further confuses the funding issue. Referendum 49 (ballot issue in November) does not include a listing of funded projects. Referendum 49 would most likely only fund state transportation projects. State funding for transportation projects has increased, however, City funding has increased substantially, while federal funding has remained somewhat level and in some aspects has decreased. Councilmember Carter said if the local gas tax option is recommended for a ballot vote, the November election is too soon for it to be considered. She believes other jurisdictions will conclude that November is also too soon. Councilmember Carter discussed several options of how the funding would be distributed and shared other jurisdiction's recommendations on possible distribution formulas. She said the major points of discussion concerning the optional gas tax will be on pooling and bonding options between the jurisdictions. She reviewed different methods of pooling funds between jurisdictions. Councilmembers shared their preferences regarding the optional gas tax with the majority supporting an optional gas tax and agreeing that the November ballot would be too soon. Discussion continued on pros and cons associated with various forms of distribution formulas. Councilmembers agreed that all options for distributing the revenue should be studied including bonding options. Councilmember Haggerton suggested using assessed valuation versus population for calculating the distribution of funds. Director Earnst mentioned that when the ISTEA funds were distributed, the distribution formula was based on three equal elements (1) population, (2) daytime population (workers), and (3) number of arterial miles within the jurisdiction. He said the formula was very beneficial for Tukwila. Councilmember Hernandez shared information she picked up during the AWC Conference on Initiatives 698 and 691. She noted that Initiative 691 would reduce the motor vehicle license fee by half in January 1999 and eliminate it entirely by 2000. If the initiative passes, cities would lose the revenue and would need to consider other options to replace the revenue. Consultant agreement for light rail services: Director Lancaster distributed a copy and provided an update on the schedule for the Light Rail EIS process. Beginning in mid -June through early August, RTA staff will provide Tukwila staff with preliminary drafts of "existing conditions" sections for the DEIS. The drafts are internal preliminary drafts, which are not released to the public. Staff will work with City consultants to review the drafts and prepare written comments before the 21 -day comment period expires. Minutes of June 22, 1998 Page 4 of 9 During August through late September RTA will provide Tukwila staff with preliminary drafts of "impacts and mitigation" section for the DEIS. Staff will submit comments before the expiration of the 21 -day comment period and provide updates on a regular basis to the Transportation Advisory Commission. In mid October, the preliminary DEIS will be issued to Tukwila staff with a 21 -day comment period. In early December of 1998, the DEIS will be issued. Director Lancaster said during the Draft EIS comment period, staff will initiate a process similar to what was used with the TAC and City Council during the scoping period. Staff will prepare and draft, with the assistance of consultants, responses to the Draft EIS and review with TAC. All of the information will then be pulled together for review by City Council for the final formal response to the Draft EIS. The formal comment period expires in February. Councilmember Carter referred to RTA's one scheduled public hearing in January and suggested Tukwila schedule a public hearing before Tukwila's formal response to the Draft EIS. Director Lancaster said he would check with RTA staff on when RTA's public hearing would be scheduled and advise City Council so they can establish another public hearing in Tukwila, if so desired. The formal comments from Tukwila will be reviewed and commented on by RTA and will become part of the Final EIS. During the review to produce a Final EIS, RTA will also select the "Locally Preferred Alternative" and finalize the EIS based upon the selected alternative. Prior to the release of the Final EIS, Tukwila staff will have the opportunity to comment on it based on the similar process used for the Draft EIS. Once the Final EIS is issued, no formal comment period is included. However, during this time, if City Council believes the Final EIS is in error, legal action could be initiated at that point. The Final EIS is scheduled to be issued in mid August 1999. RTA has targeted December 1999 as the time to receive a "Record of Decision" from the Federal Transit Authority for receiving federal construction funds. Director Lancaster referred to the handout containing an excerpt from the Tukwila/RTA Memorandum of Agreement and reviewed the City deliverables and target dates the RTA is funding at $600,000. Director Lancaster referred to the consultant contract and said the contract is for consultant services to produce the following City deliverables of the agreement between RTA and Tukwila: 1. Review of alignment and station location options as to community and environmental impact, compatibility and integration with local and regional transportation systems, ongoing community plan development and other City planning efforts, and relationship to City planning goals during Draft SEIS preparation in 1998. 2. Phase One Market Assessment completed July 1, 1998 (draft) and July 15, 1998 (final). Phase Two Market Assessment completed 90 days after RTA adoption of preferred alignment and station locations. 3. Station -Area Planning completed within 270 days after RTA adoption of preferred alignment and station locations. 4. City Council Consideration and Action within 60 to 120 days after RTA completion of the Final EIS on the LRT project. Minutes of June 22, 1998 Page 5 of 9 The contract of $104,146.00 would cover the majority of the items noted above over the next year and a half. Director Lancaster said he anticipates the second contract to be approximately $110,000 to $120,000. Director Lancaster reviewed the process used to select the consultant and said RFQ's were sent out and a selection committee was established consisting of Director Lancaster, Engineer Shelton, DCD staff person Lynn Miranda, RTA representative Leonard McGee and Allan Ekberg, Chair of the Transportation Advisory Commission. Three members reviewed all 19 RFQ submittals and selected three candidates for review by the full selection committee. The three finalists were interviewed by the committee with Crandall Arambula of Portland selected. Director Lancaster reviewed Crandall Arambula's qualifications and those of the subcontractors. Director Lancaster said the second phase of the work under the RTA/Tukwila agreement does not require a rebid. He indicated staff wants to assess the quality of the Crandall Arambula's work and if acceptable, would most likely negotiate a contract for the second phase of work. Director Lancaster said he is seeking City Council approval of the consultant contract at the July 5 City Council meeting and mentioned that RTA has not yet approved the overall workplan. He anticipates approval with some minor detail adjustments, which might entail some minor changes to the scope of work. Any changes will be reviewed at the July 5 City Council meeting. City Council concurred to forward the request to the July 5 City Council meeting for action. Councilmember Carter mentioned that Tacoma is using some national experts to assist them in their RTA process and wondered if they were evaluating other areas other than Tacoma. Director Lancaster said he believed Tacoma hired the team to assist them with Tacoma's RTA's process. "Tukwila Days" Council booth: Council President Linder said the Council booth will be located at the front entrance instead of in the middle as in past years. She has also requested a map of all booths as a handout to attendees. She shared some handouts supplied by Councilmember Carter from the Equity and Diversity Commission. Councilmember Mullet noted that in the past, Parks and Recreation has distributed a puzzle cube game and he suggested they be included as a handout for future years. Council President Linder said a 3'x 3' sign would be developed by staff and reviewed what the sign should read. Councilmembers discussed possible handouts, what the sign should read, and booth schedules. Consensus was reached on the following: Booth Assignments: Councilmember Duffie 3:00 4:00 p.m. Councilmember Mullet 12:00 1:00 p.m. Councilmember Haggerton 1:00 2:00 p.m. Councilmember Hernandez 11:00 12:00 p.m. Councilmember Carter 12:00 1:00 p.m. Council President Linder 11:00 12:00 p.m. Councilmember Fenton 1:00 2:00 p.m. Minutes of June 22, 1998 Page 6 of 9 REPORTS The 3' x 3' sign will state: "What is the most important thing that you would like to see happen in the City of Tukwila Handouts will include: Color copies of the City's Internet Home Pages Copies of City Council photographs from the Internet Home Pages A list of City Committee and what they do Extra copies of the Hazelnut Newsletter Handouts from the Equity and Diversity Commission Parks and Recreation Facilities Guides (include trail restroom locations) Mayor Rants referred to the Endangered Species Act and said it will represent a major increase in workload at the City. Habitat Conservation will probably be the most comprehensive item that will require City effort. The Habitat Conservation Plan must be prepared, submitted, and approved by the Service for any issuance of an incidental tape permit. An incidental tape permit involves analyzing a project to ascertain any types of infringement the development may pose to the habitat. Rants referred to the brochure distributed earlier on the Sister City visit and reviewed the list of visitors and their positions. They include the following: 1 City Councilmember 1 School Board Superintendent 1 City Clerks 1 English Teacher 1 Science Teacher 1 Math Teacher 1 Chairman of Sister Cities Committee 16 girls age 9 to 14 9 boys age 9 to 14 3 16 -year female students 2 17 -year females Mayor Rants said homestays are needed and that staff has contacted schools and distributed the Sister City brochures to solicit homestay volunteers. He asked Councilmembers if they were interested in hosting a visitor. Councilmember Mullet indicated he had hosted a visitor last year but was out of town this year to host again. Mayor Rants said the homestay would involve four days with one day anticipated as a free day for hosts to show the visitors the area. Administrator McFarland said the Sister City Committee would meet on Wednesday, June 24 to finalize the visitor agenda. Rants said a tentative City Council meeting on Friday, July 31, 1998 has been scheduled to exchange city gifts and introduce everyone. No formal City business would be conducted. Councilmembers said they would discuss the homestay request with their respective spouses and notify staff if they intend to host a visitor. Minutes of June 22, 1998 Page 7 of 9 Rants referred to the swimming pool issue and indicated the nine jurisdictions met and developed seven recommendations. All agreed not to assume ownership of the pools at this point. Instead, the jurisdictions determined that a jointly funded study is required to determine the future aquatics needs of the region. The recommendations include: 1. Financed jointly by King County and all of the suburban cities. 2. The study would be focused toward the possibility of developing a system of new state -of- the -art subregional pools (perhaps four or five 3. It would include a transition plan for the existing pools. The transition plan would also need to examine the issue of bond covenants and indemnification for closure of the existing pools. 4. Capital financing alternatives would be examined including such options as a countywide bond or a new aquatics district. 5. Governance options would be reviewed including operation of the new system by King County, operation by primary cities with contracts with adjoining cities and King County for unincorporated service areas, and a new aquatics district, etc. 6. King County would continue to own and maintain the pools during the study and decision period. 7. A joint city- county steering committee would be established to guide and oversee the study. While it was not discussed at the meeting, it might be useful to include affected school districts in the steering committee as ex officio members.] Rants said the recommendations were agreed to by all affected jurisdictions and forwarded to the Suburban Cities Association. Rants said he met earlier with the Regional Governance Finance Subcommittee and some items were added for PAA's. On June 26, the Steering Committee will wrap up its work. From there, the plan will be pulled together and submitted to Suburban Cities for final comments. Rants said the plan is not an alternative plan but a revised plan based on the work done by the committees and from comments from the survey. Discussion continued between Councilmembers and staff regarding issues surrounding PAA's between the cities and the county. Rants said the EDC of King County is doing a better job than in the previous four to five years and referred to a marketing handout EDC developed that markets EDC and King County. Councilmember Duffle said the Community Affairs and Parks Committee met earlier and referred to Director Lancaster to provide an update. Director Lancaster said two items reviewed by the Committee included the consultant contract for light rail services (covered previously) and the manufacturing and industrial center planning effort. The Planning Commission has recommended adopting a subarea plan for the Duwamish industrial corridor (MIC Plan Manufacturing Industrial Center Plan). It is envisioned that from the subarea plan, an adoption of a planned action ordinance would occur that would alter the permitting and environmental review process for development occurring within the corridor. The plan is anticipated to be reviewed at the next COW meeting. Councilmember Hernandez said the highlight of the AWC Conference was the achievement award received by the Highway 99 Task Force. She indicated a number of people complimented the City on its efforts in Minutes of June 22, 1998 Page 8 of 9 improving Highway 99. She indicated she went on a number of tours in Tacoma that included sites for senior and low- income housing and commercial areas under renovation. Hernandez was impressed with the number of waterfalls and fountains located in Tacoma and suggested Tukwila consider them for design elements in future projects. Hernandez attended a DUI laws workshop, which summarized new DUI laws. She suggested the Finance and Safety Committee review the issue. Some of the new laws give local options to jurisdictions and some of the laws are mandated. Administrator McFarland indicated staff is completing analysis on the new DUI laws and would provide a briefing to the Finance and Safety Committee. Hernandez referred to a job description for a VISTA volunteer that REACH is publicizing and suggested that if anyone knows of someone who may be interested to contact REACH. Hernandez noted that a shuttle bus has been obtained for Tukwila Days and inquired about the possibility of the City preparing a banner /sign for the bus. Council President Linder suggested contacting Metro concerning proper signage and if there are any restrictions. Council President Linder indicated she only was able to attend a few meetings during the AWC Conference and has materials on Community Policing and Preparation for 2000 for those that are interested. Linder said she has also requested an update from staff on preparing for 2000. Administrator McFarland said staff has been attending seminars and workshops on preparing for 2000 and provided a brief review on the status of the City's preparedness for year 2000. Linder asked about the status of the volunteer coordinator for the City. Administrator McFarland said he would check on the status. Councilmember Carter referred to the MTP Plan and indicated she had a copy for review. Carter attended the AWC Conference and attended workshops on ISTEA legislation, using the Internet for City Services, Rights -of- Way Management Issues, Telecommunications, Community Access, and vendor exhibits. She learned that Tukwila might be eligible for grant money for projects such as the Tukwila and Thorndyke fields. Carter said she would like to receive an update on Census 2000. Administrator McFarland said the City is receiving some baseline information from the federal government and staff is preparing a response. Carter also picked up information on community -based policing and strategies for reconnecting citizens and government. Carter will be attending a King County 2000 meeting on Tuesday, June 23 and on Wednesday, June 24, Carter will attend the Transportation Committee meeting. Councilmember Haggerton attended the AWC Conference and attended an interesting seminar on contracting city services. He said there was a lot of discussion on various services that are contracted and noted that of all the services contracted by large and small cities, contracting city attorney services was perhaps the most beneficial. Minutes of June 22, 1998 Page 9 of 9 The 1999 AWC Conference is on June 23 -25 and will be held in Wenatchee. Haggerton recommended the Council coordinate soon on who will be attending and make hotel reservations early to insure availability. Haggerton noted that of all of the workshops, The Year 2000 workshop was the least attended. City representatives from Lynnwood and Shelton shared some of their preparation processes. The Lynnwood rep said preparing for year 2000 will affect their budget substantially and Haggerton said it is important that Tukwila include an allocation for 2000 related expenses in the 1999 budget. Councilmember Fenton said he suffered a loss of eight shrubs from his property along Highway 99 last night. STAFF Administrator McFarland said a legislative worksession on gambling policy is being held on Thursday, June 25 at 9:00 a.m. in Olympia. The purpose of the meeting is to study Washington's gaming history and develop a statement of problems by stakeholders. Public testimony will be taken at the session. Tukwila may be identified as a possible location for a mini casino as a "test" site. McFarland said he just learned of the meeting from AWC. McFarland said this is the state's effort to leap ahead of Indian casinos locating off Indian reservations. Council President Linder said she would assist in drafting a letter of response to the legislature. ADJOURNMENT Mullet moved, seconded by Councilmember Duffle, to adjourn the meeting at 9:39 p.m. All in favor. Motion carried. r Pamela Linder, Council President Viz, Cu�l�. rie Gow, Recording Secretary