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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1992-01-27 Committee of the Whole MinutesTUKWILA CITY COUNCIL January 27, 1992 Tukwila City Hall 7:00 p.m. Council Chambers COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE CALL TO ORDER MINUTES Council President Ekberg called the Committee of The Whole Meeting of the Tukwila City Council to order and led the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance. COUNCILMEMBERS ALLAN EKBERG, Council President; JOE DUFFIE, JOAN PRESENT HERNANDEZ, DENNIS ROBERTSON, STEVE LAWRENCE, STEVE MULLET. OFFICIALS It was the consensus of the Council to excuse Charlie Simpson due to a death in his family. JOHN MCFARLAND, City Administrator; MICHAEL KENYON, City Attorney; LUCY LAUTERBACH, Council Analyst; RON WALDNER, Police Chief; ALAN DOERSCHEL, Finance Director; RICK BEELER/MOIRA BRADSHAW, DCD; ROSS EARNST/RON CAMERON/DOUG MICHEAU, Public Works. CITIZEN'S COMMENTS Cathy Parker, Co- Chair, SeaTac Action Airport Coalition (SAAC), was present to solicit support from the City of Tukwila against the SeaTac Airport expansion. Ms. Parker stated that she was representing many of Tukwila's residents and was asking for leadership and action from the Council. Flight Plan will give its final recommendation to the Port of Seattle April 28, 1992 regarding airport expansion. Immediately after that the Port will take action. That decision will impact the viability and the livability for the next 30 to 50 years in the Tukwila area. The Key impacts are noise and air pollution. Jean Moler, an associate of Cathy Parker, informed the Council the formation of a new coalition has already begun in South King County to help communities draw together; namely, The Regional Committee on Air Port Action. It was started by the City of Des Moines when they appropriated $100,000. The City of Normandy Park appropriated $50,000. The City of Tukwila could do the following to help: pass a resolution to support the aims of the coalition; support the coalition if possible with money; send speakers to the February 13 Public Hearing to be held at the SeaTac Red Lion. 6:00 p.m.. Ms. Moler also distributed handouts which listed other areas Tukwila could help. Joe Egan, 14438 Military Road South, advised the Council to thoroughly look into the airport expansion matter prior to committing themselves to any involvement. He also distributed Port maps that show the buy out areas. Council President Ekberg announced that others will be speaking on this matter at the February 10 Committee of the Whole meeting. Paul Blake, 4021 South 154th Street, #C -28, explained why he submitted himself to the City's selection process to fill the recent Council vacancy. Mr. Blake stated he has resided in the City for three years and has become very fond of Tukwila and plans to live here for some time. When several residents and others encouraged him to apply for the vacant position on the Council, he was flattered and excited Committee of The Whole Meeting Minutes January 27, 1992 Page 2 Citizen's Comments Mr. Blake (Con't) about the possibility of serving the citizens of this City. He was told numerous times by citizens and others involved in city government that the Council was interested in having an injection of "new blood." Mr. Blake said he was disappointed when he learned he had not been selected. His disappointment heightened when he received a letter concerning the decision, a letter in which the name of the successful candidate was conspicuously absent. His disappointment turned to chagrin when he read the minutes and learned that Mr. Simpson had been selected, and when he read the explanation for that choice, his initial reaction bordered on contempt. The minutes stated the Council looked at the person they felt had the most experience, skill and knowledge in City issues and the workings of the Council, and could start working immediately. He continued that in his view, the public accounting of the selection process is insulting, for he had sincerely believed the process was an open one. In fairness for the record, Mr. Blake wanted it noted that Councilmember Duffle voted "no" on the appointment. Duffle's was the only vote officially noted in the minutes. Mr. Blake said in his view, the Council took advantage of an absent, and basically benevolent citizenry. Mr. Simpson served the City of Tukwila previously as a member of the Council. He resigned his seat to run for Mayor. By their vote the citizens of this City indicated they preferred his opponent. By appointing an individual to a seat on the Council who the citizens recently denied elective office, does not demonstrate the Council's stated, but apparent insincere interest in cultivating and nurturing new ideas and prospectives. Mr. Blake concluded that as a candidate, he believes the process was an affront to fairness; as a citizen, he's deeply disappointed. Joy Jennings from the Allentown area, commented that she attended a meeting last week regarding the gravity -fed sewer line proposed by Metro on 44th and 43rd Avenue South in the Allentown area. It's going to offer the opportunity to make some needed improvements in that area as it will allow the citizens along the route to directly hook into the line without running another line down the street. She encouraged the Council to look at the most cost effective, time saving methods to assess this situation and other improvements that are so badly needed in the Allentown area. Anna Bernhard, 1424 159th South, referring to Mr. Blake's comments, stated that she agrees with Mr. Blake in that she was hoping (as many of the citizens were) for some "new blood" to serve on the Council. As she recalls, others on the Council such as Mullet, Lawrence, and Ekberg did not have substantial experience initially. Moreover, there are some very competent, educated individuals who want to serve. She feels very strongly that it would be wonderful to have some fresh, "new blood" on the Council. Ms. Bernhard stated that Mr. Simpson had not attended a Council meeting in four years prior to this election year. She stated she was very disappointed that only one (1) person on the Council voted against Mr. Simpson's appointment. Councilmember Lawrence clarified Ms. Bernhard's remarks which implied he had not attended Council meetings prior to his appointment. He stated he had attended a council meeting every Monday night for approximately five months prior to being elected. January 27, 1992 Page 3 Citizen's Comments Councilmember Lawrence (Con'tl Library services, Annexation vote. Utility connection assistance program. Councilmember Lawrence also stated that Mr. Simpson's previous experience on the Council was not the overriding concern, even though experience helps. He said in his opinion, the overriding concern was to try and select the individual who had been involved in the community, because they will represent the community. He said he called Mr. Blake recently and left a message for him to return the call. He wanted to encourage Mr. Blake to consider serving on the Planning Commission but Mr. Blake did not return his call. The two clashed when Councilmember Lawrence used the term "sour grapes" to describe Mr. Blake's lack of interest in returning his call. Catherine Harris, 5610 South 141st Street, stated she was surprised that the Council chose to go into Executive Session to discuss the appointment to fill the vacant seat on the council. A number of candidates' campaign platform was to support a truly "open" form of government; but the very first important, official act of the new sitting Council was to go into Executive Session to discuss the confirmation and eligibility of individuals who had applied for the vacancy. Ms. Harris expressed dissatisfaction with the procedure used by the Council in the selection process and blamed the Council for not adhering to their campaign promise of "open" government. Council President Ekberg ask the City Attorney if an executive session were optional in a case such as this. City Attorney Kenyon responded "yes," the executive session was optional -it could have been done in open session or executive session, keeping in mind the executive session was only to discuss the qualifications of the candidates. A resolution Council President Ekberg read a resolution on supporting schools' behalf of the Mayor announcing the South Central levy. School Districts' 1993 -1994 School levy election and urging residents to vote on February 4, 1992. The school levy represents 20 percent of the District's operating budget each year. Alan Doerschel, City of Tukwila Finance Director, requested Council approval to consider the general tax reduction of $310,000 in 1993 if annexation to KCLS occurs. Councilmember Lawrence commented that the Finance and Safety Committee had discussed this issue and the consensus was that the proposed tax rate reduction will amount to a reduction of .14 cents per thousand which is an equitable amount. Councilmember Hernandez concurred that the amount is equitable at this time; however, she does not think the Council can obligate future councils to decisions made by the prevailing council. It was the consensus of the Council to forward to the Regular Council meeting of February 3, 1992 a formal motion to reduce the general property tax allocation in 1993, providing that the March 10, 1992 annexation to the King County Library District is successful. Doug Micheau, Tukwila's Public Works Coordinator, reviewed the issue of providing utility connection assistance to residents for hooking up to newly constructed utility systems. The Council Committee of The Whole Meeting Minutes January 27, 1992 Page 4 Report on airport expansion. REPORTS previously provided staff with some general direction regarding the make up of such a program. He incorporated those concepts into a draft policy resolution and requested it be presented to the Utilities Committee for review as soon as possible because residents have been charged for services since January 1, 1992. Discussion ensued regarding program funding and eligibility. It was the consensus of the Council to accept the proposed resolution with the following modifications: "Anv costs not covered through Block Grant allocations may be covered through supplemental appropriation from another revenue source upon approval of the City Council. under such conditions and terms as determined by the City at the time that such supplemental is granted." then forward to the February 3rd Regular Council meeting for discussion and /or approval. Moira Bradshaw presented an update on airport transportation, stating that air traffic is exceeding the existing facility capacity. Currently, the Puget Sound region has one runway, and 45% of the time it is useful because of the Northwest typical weather patterns. There are 16 2 million people utilizing SeaTac airport to date. The projected growth by 2020 is 45 million. It was the consensus of the Council to forward this issue to the Community Affairs and Parks Committee for discussion and to formulate a response to the Flight Plan Committee. The Council requested copies of Ms. Bradshaw's presentation and a copy of the Draft EIS for each councilmember's review. The deadline for response is February 21. Representatives from the City of Des Moines, as well as the Regional Planning Council will be present to provide the pros and cons on the entire airport expansion issue at the February 10 Committee of The Whole meeting. Councilmember Duffle reported that the Fire Department conducted a CPR Class at Tukwila Elementary School this past week. There were seventeen participants. Councilmember Hernandez reported she was asked to serve on the YWCA Advisory Committee for the Domestic Abuse Transitional Housing Program in Kent and attended her first meeting last week. The Committee is in the process of reviewing the site plans. Councilmember Robertson reported he had attended the Washington State Bar Association Seminar on the Growth Management Act and implementation issues this past Friday. He asked the Council Analyst to provide copies of the information he had obtained at the meeting to each councilmember and appropriate staff. Council President Ekberg reported on the past weekend Council Retreat. He informed the Council that the Mayor and City Administrator were in attendance on Saturday. A classical example of the Council trying to work in partnership with the administration, Ekberg added. Committee of The Whole Meeting Minutes January 27, 1992 Page 5 ADJOURNMENT 9:10 p.m. MOVED BY DUFFIE, SECONDED BY LAWRENCE, THAT THE COMMII"I E OF THE WHOLE MEETING BE ADJOURNED TO SPECIAL MEETING. MOTION CARRIED. 7 A�lan$k`C Council President (e/t/Etz-r.i 1/4 Celia Square, Deputy City Clerk