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Home My WebLink About1991-10-28 Committee of the Whole MinutesOctober 28, 1991 7:05 p.m. CALL TO ORDER COUNCILMEMBERS PRESENT OFFICIALS Amend Agenda SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS Special recognition to Brownie Troop 1475. CITIZEN'S COMMENTS SPECIAL ISSUES Rabanco draft mitigation document comments. TUKWILA CITY COUNCIL COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MINUTES Tukwila City Hall Council Chambers Council President Robertson called the Committee of Whole Meeting to order. DENNIS L. ROBERTSON, Council President; JOE DUFFIE, JOAN HERNANDEZ, CLARENCE MORIWAKI, ALLAN EKBERG, STEVE LAWRENCE, JOHN "Wally" RANTS. JOHN MCFARLAND, City Administrator; RHONDA BERRY, Assistant to the City Administrator; MICHAEL KENYON, City Attorney; LUCY LAUTERBACH, Council Analyst; ROSS EARNST/RON CAMERON/DOUG MICHEAU, Public Works Dept.; RICK BEELER/VERNON UMETSU, DCD; ALAN DOERSCHEL, Finance; RON WALDNER, Police Chief; DON WILLIAMS, Parks and Recreation. MOVED BY LAWRENCE, SECONDED BY RANTS, TO ADD "CITIZEN'S COMMENTS" TO THE AGENDA (INADVERTENTLY OMITTED) FOLLOWING "SPECIAL PRESENTATION." MOTION CARRIED. Special recognition to Brownie Troop 1475 and their helpers for participation in the October 19, 1991 Tree Day was scheduled; however, for some unexplained reason, no one was present. Mrs. Roberson, 14859 51st Avenue South, commented that after placing a 9 -1 -1 call recently, response time was delayed due to the confusion of her street address. Mrs. Roberson said the addresses on her street are out of sequence. She asked the City to look into this matter to prevent a similar situation from happening again. Phil Hemmingway, 4036 South 128th Street, has a piece of land that doesn't contribute at all to the surface water drainage. The lot is self contained. Mr. Hemmingway continued that he should be exempt from the Surface Water Management Tax; and the guidelines should be revised so the burden is not placed on those who don't contribute to the problem. Council President Robertson responded that this issue will be included on next year's Council Work Plan for discussion. John Harvey (Phone: 244 4452), 14839 Military Road South, Apt. #136, inquired as to how Tukwila will address the Washington State Supreme Court's ruling of restricting Deja Vu and other similar clubs to the 2:00 a.m. closing hour. Mr. Harvey indicated he would like to participate in future discussions related to this issue. City Attorney Mike Kenyon responded that in a Case that went before the Washington State Supreme Court in 1989, the 2:00 a.m. closing hour was upheld because a sufficient relationship between criminal and other undesirable acts occurring between the 2:00 -6:00 a.m. closure period was actuated. When asked what measures the City needs to take to invoke such a curfew, the City Attorney replied, the City can amend its licensing ordinance to impose a reasonable closing requirement but first, as with any First Amendment issue, the City will have to show those certain undesirable secondary effects; and, that the City has a substantial interest in curing whatever occurs during that period of time. Darlene Crostick, 14406 58th Avenue South, commented that she has seen campaign signs posted on lawns reflecting endorsement of Tukwila candidates by the Tukwila Police and Fire Departments, and she resents it. Prior to addressing the Rabanco issue, City Administrator McFarland clarified the comments made earlier regarding Tukwila departments endorsing candidates, stating that there have been no endorsements by the Police Department nor the Fire Department. The endorsements Committee of The Whole Meeting Minutes October 28, 1991 Page 2 Rabanco Won't) Continued discussion of 1992 Budget. South Central School District Request. Recess 9:00 9:10 p.m. Discussion of amendments to TMC pertaining to contracts. are by individual employee groups Police Union and Fire Union. McFarland continued that the endorsements are not connected to the City administration. The State Supreme Court has ruled that employee groups are free to express political opinions as long as they identify themselves as an "employee group" and not a representative of the municipality. Retorting to the original issue, McFarland explained what the City of Renton has done in terms of reacting to points that were raised in a letter Tukwila wrote to them on October 4th. One of the most significant points was the issue of zoning. Renton's Zoning Division declared that the Rabanco facility was a "product serving use" and not a recycling activity. The City of Tukwila requested Renton to take a second look at their conclusion, they did; however, the results were the same as their original decision made in March of 1990, which allows the project to go forward in an L-1 (Light Industrial) zone. The Council agreed that it is not in the best interest of the City to go forward with the Rabanco facility, and will pursue other means of appealing the original zoning interpretation made by Renton. Alan Doerschel explained that the basic changes recommended by the Council regarding the CIP Projects will be incorporated into the 1992 Budget. The 1992 Preliminary Budget will be available for Council review prior to November 1. It was the consensus of the Council to add Budget /CIP discussions to the November 4, Regular Council Agenda. Ron Lamb, Chairman, South Central School Board, expressed appreciation for the support the City has given to the Foster High School Project. Mr. Lamb also requested that the City assist the School district in completing the purchase of equipment for the Foster High School auditorium which is scheduled to be completed in February, 1992. The equipment consists of four areas: sound, stage lighting and rigging, and an orchestra shell (a Basic Theater Package). Mr. Lamb continued that a framework for a' joint -user agreement' has been discussed with the City Administrator; and it is the intention that this agreement would provide free -of- charge use of the auditorium for the City of Tukwila activities such as First Tuesday Concerts, Parks/Recreation Department dance recitals, Tukwila Days, etc. The estimated cost is $375,000 to $425,000. The request from the School District is for $400,000. Students and citizens spoke for and against the School District's request. It was the consensus of the Council to hold off making a decision on the South Central School District's request until the 1992 draft budget has been reviewed and discussed. Council President Robertson called the meeting back to order with councilmembers present as listed above. Council President Robertson stated that the special report from the Bender and Gould firm recommended that the City should take such steps as are necessary to avoid potential for conflict of interest and loyalties in the future and to tighten up on its procurement policies. Council President suggested the TMC be modified to include all contracts (including those for legal services) be implemented in writing, clarifying the City's policy as to who has authority to contract for legal services and how that authority is to be executed; and prohibiting City officers from having financial interests in firms the City contracts with. It was the consensus of the Council to forward this issue to the Finance and Safety Committee for discussion, then back to a Committee of The Whole meeting. Committee of The Whole Meeting Minutes October 28, 1991 Page 3 Citizen request for Bender and Gould report. REPORTS ADJOURNMENT 9:35 p.m. In response to Catherine Harris' request for a copy of the complete text of the report submitted by the independent attorneys, the Council agreed to have the City Attorney review state statute related to this matter and disclose his findings to the Council at the earliest possible date. City Administrator McFarland shared some of the following highlights of City accomplishments during the Third Quarter: Introduction of the Residential Recycling Program, Completed land -use inventories as part of the requirements of the Growth Management Act, initiated or continued construction of the City's CIP, continued an aggressive Code Enforcement program, and handled a 200% increase in Municipal Court activity over the preceding period in 1990. MOVED BY RANTS, SECONDED BY LAWRENCE, THAT THE COMMTrI EE OF THE WHOLE MEETING BE ADJOURNED. OTION CARRIED. 7° Dennis L. Robertson, Council President Celia Square; Duty City Clerk