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Home My WebLink About1999-03-08 Committee of the Whole MinutesTUKWILA CITY COUNCIL March 8, 1999 7:00 p.m. Council Chambers City Hall COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING MINUTES CALL TO ORDER/PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Acting Council President Steve Mullet called the Committee of the Whole meeting to order and led the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance. COUNCILMEMBERS PRESENT: Acting Council President Steve Mullet, Councilmembers Pam Carter, Joe Duffie, and Pamela Linder COUNCILMEMBERS ABSENT: Council President Dave Fenton, Councilmembers Joan Hernandez, and Jim Haggerton. (Clerk's Note: These Councilmembers were attending the NLC Conference in Washington, D.C.) OFFICIALS: John Rants, Mayor; John McFarland, City Administrator; Jack Pace, Senior Planner; Maggie Lubov, CTR Coordinator; and Lucy Lauterbach, Council Analyst. CITIZEN COMMENT: Sean Mears. 13537 35 Avenue S.. Tukwila, Foster Community Club President, reminded all Betty Gully is collecting recipes for the Community Club Cookbook and requested recipes from interested citizens, staff and Council. SPECIAL ISSUES: a. An Ordinance Revising the Commute Trip Reduction Ordinance and King County Metro CTR Implementation Agreement Approval. Maggie Lubov, Commute Trip Reduction Coordinator for Tukwila, reported employers with more than 100 employees are required to have the Commute Trip Reduction program in place. She works directly with employers to educate and encourage vanpools, carpools, and other transportation methods to reduce employee commute trips. Washington State has mandated some revisions to the law, which must be reflected in the City's ordinance, adopted in 1993. Revisions were adopted in 1997, which define some changes to the existing law. The program expires in 2005. Additionally, goals have been reduced for single occupancy vehicles and vehicle miles traveled. An additional definition related to "good faith effort" has also been included to recognize employers who make an effort to implement commute reduction programs within their businesses. Ms. Lubov requested the Council's consideration for approval of the ordinance to insure grant funding administered through the Department of Transportation is received. City of Tukwila City Council of Whole Committee Meeting Minutes Page 2 of 4 March 8, 1999 Ms. Lubov indicated the second component relates to approval of an agreement for services provided by King County Metro. King County assists in administering the program to the 24 affected employers in Tukwila. Coordinator Lubov answered questions from Councilmembers concerning the number of employers in Tukwila affected by the mandatory program and the date the program is scheduled to conclude. Councilmember Carter suggested including names of the 24 employers in the Council packet for the regular Council meeting. Councilmembers concurred to forward the request to the next regular Council meeting for action. b. Review of Contract with Southwest King County Chamber of Commerce Chamber of Commerce Manager Kirstie Weaver provided a review of Chamber activities occurring over the past year. After which she noted her impending departure from the Chamber and thanked the Council for their support and assistance. Finally, she introduced new General Manager, Nancy Damon. Councilmember Carter expressed concern with a King County Coalition that the Seattle Chamber has coordinated due to the lack of meeting notification. She said the issue involved transportation funding of county projects under Referendum 49. Additionally, Ms. Carter noted concern over the lack of communication between chambers and cities regarding this particular issue. Ms. Weaver said that if the group continues to meet she would ensure cities are notified. Mayor Rants presented a plaque to Ms. Weaver and expressed appreciation for her efforts in developing a working partnership between the City and the Chamber. Administrator McFarland also expressed his thanks and commended Ms. Weaver for her work and support for the City of Tukwila. REPORTS: a. Mayor: Mayor Rants reported he has a television interview on March 9 regarding Sound Transit issues. Administrator McFarland noted a public relations firm was hired by PBS to examine Sound Transit issues. b. City Council: Councilmember Carter attended a SCATBd TAC meeting on March 2. Another study is being conducted on 405 and the committee reviewed and discussed how involved the cities want to be. Councilmember Carter attended the Equity and Diversity Commission meeting on Thursday, March 4. The Commission continued its training session. City of Tukwila City Council of Whole Committee Meeting Minutes Page 3 of 4 March 8, 1999 Councilmember Linder reported the Union Gospel Mission Advisory Board conducted an emergency meeting based on information that the Gospel had deposited earnest money on the Virgil Apartments. The Advisory Council originally believed the money would be for a youth center, but later learned that men who have graduated from the program (drug and alcohol free and employed) would rent apartments. The Advisory Board is not happy and no one from the Union Gospel Mission was available to review the issue. On March 4, Councilmember Linder attended the Domestic Violence Task Force. The guest speaker was from the Refugee Women's Alliance, an organization that has been in existence for approximately four years. They provide interpretative services for Russian, Romania, Chinese, Laotian, Cambodia, and East African languages. People needing assistance typically rely on the service for several years due to the many issues they have. Councilmember Linder reported that as the contact person for the Highway 99 Action Committee, she was contacted and informed about a letter from the Committee concerning drug use on the Metro bus line. She was able to obtain a copy of the letter and contacted Metro Security regarding the issue. During her conversation with Metro, she discovered some outstanding issues that she had believed had been resolved in 1996. One pertains to the ability of Tukwila police officers to cite for criminal trespass at Metro bus stops. Metro provided that permission, however the City Attorney recommended against using the authority. Consequently, police officers have not been using the authority to enforce the criminal trespass at Metro bus stops. Councilmember Linder said she is scheduling a meeting between a representative from Metro Transportation Operations, Metro Security, Chief Haines, and a representative from the City to meet and discuss the issues. She wants three issues addressed: (1) Insure that police officers have the authority to enforce laws, (2) initiate coordination between the police and Metro regarding activities occurring on buses, and (3) cleanup the condition of bus shelters located within the City. Generally, most bus stops do not have waste receptacles, have been defaced by graffiti, and in many areas, there is broken glass. Mayor Rants suggested the issues be addressed by City administration. He referred to a letter from a citizen concerning bus shelters. Staff forwarded the letter to Metro officials and followed up with telephone calls. Metro responded and revealed the number of bus shelters and how difficult it is to clean the shelters at one time. Mayor Rants recommended that Administrator McFarland would follow up and address the concerns. Administrator McFarland said the trespass issue has been resolved and referred to a recent decision by the Washington State Supreme Court which clarified the issue. The City needs concurrence by Metro that the City can act as their agent. This can be accomplished with a letter. With respect to conditions of bus stops, staff needs to follow -up with Metro to insure bus stops are maintained. Administrator McFarland said there some operational and legal issues that need to be resolved and he anticipates those issue would be resolved within a few days. Instructions to police officers for citing individuals at bus stops for criminal trespass also need to occur. City of Tukwila City Council of Whole Committee Meeting Minutes Councilmember Linder requested the issue pertaining to the condition of bus stops be referred to the Committee with an invitation to Metro to discuss the City's concerns. Acting Council President Mullet concurred but cautioned that Metro has not been very cooperative in the past. He suggested that City Administration should continue handling the issue. Acting Council President Mullet requested staff follow -up with a report on the status of working the issues with Metro. MISCELLANEOUS: Acting Council President Mullet said he attended the Part 150 Study for SeaTac last week and will attend the Part 154 meeting. Councilmember Carter said noise monitors for Boeing Field have been installed at some of the local schools. ADJOURNMENT: Moved by Duffie, seconded by Mullet, to adjourn the meeting at 7:48 p.m. The motion carried (7 -0). L_ Dave Fenton, Council President Pthai Rt7LA Robert H. Baker, CMC, Deputy City Clerk for Valerie Gow, Recording Secretary Page 4 of 4 March 8, 1999