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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1993-01-04 Regular MinutesJanuary 4, 1993 7:00 p.m. CALL TO ORDER COUNCILMEMBERS OFFICIALS ELECTION OF 1993 COUNCIL PRESIDENT CITIZEN'S COMMENTS CONSENT AGENDA Removed Amend Agenda TUKWILA CITY COUNCIL REGULAR COUNCIL MINUTES Tukwila City Hall Council Chambers Mayor John W. Rants called the Regular Meeting of the Tukwila City Council to order and led the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance. ALLAN EKBERG, Council President; JOE DUFFIE, JOAN HERNANDEZ, DENNIS ROBERTSON, CHARLIE SIMPSON, STEVE LAWRENCE, STEVE MULLET. JOHN MCFARLAND, City Administrator; RON WALDNER, Police Chief; VERN UMETSU, DCD; LUCY LAUTERBACH, Council Analyst. MOVED BY HERNANDEZ, SECONDED BY DUFFIE, THAT COUNCILMEMBER STEVE LAWRENCE BE NOMINATED AS COUNCIL PRESIDENT. MOTION CARRIED. MOVED BY ROBERTSON, SECONDED BY DUFFIE THAT THE NOMINATIONS BE CLOSED. MOTION CARRIED. MOVED BY HERNANDEZ, SECONDED BY MULLET, THAT STEVE LAWRENCE BE UNANIMOUSLY ELECTED AS THE 1993 COUNCIL PRESIDENT. MOTION CARRIED. MOVED BY DUFFIE, SECONDED BY HERNANDEZ, THAT THE CONSENT AGENDA BE APPROVED AS SUBMITTED.* a. b. Approval of Minutes: 12/07/92 Approval of Vouchers: 12/21/92: 62039 through 62334 TOTALLING: $853,687.89 12/30/92: 62335 through 62547 TOTALLING: $583,499.79 Councilmember Robertson requested the Minutes of December 7, 1992 be withdrawn from the Consent Agenda, to be discussed under "OLD BUSINESS." *MOTION CARRIED AS AMENDED. t' 6, 7 Scott Nangle, 14140 56th Avenue South, reminded the Council that the City of Tukwila continues to battle with its own identity. He said even though he uses his Tukwila address, vendors seem to confuse Tukwila with Seattle. Nangle said this could cause the City money by way of sales tax. The Mayor responded that the City is aware of this problem and is working through the computerized business license process to assure the City is being credited appropriately with sales tax revenue. Shauna Mindt, Community Affairs Liaison, Southwest King County Chamber of Commerce, 225 Tukwila Parkway, extended an invitation to the Mayor and Council to attend the January 15 Installation Luncheon. Keynote speakers will be Mayor Wally Rants, City of Tukwila; Mayor Arun Jhaveri, City of Burien; and Mayor Frank Hansen, City of SeaTac. The luncheon will be at the Seattle Airport Hilton, 11:30 a.m. 1:30 p.m. Mindt also distributed the Chamber's 1993 Business Directory. Mayor Rants commented that he had received a copy of the directory earlier and has reviewed its contents. He paid compliments to the Chamber for a job "well done" on the directory. Warren Wing, 11850 42nd Avenue South, had high praise for the City's maintenance with regards to keeping the streets and other areas in the City clean of debris and graffiti. He also thanked the Council that the citizens don't have to pay for street lights anymore. Regular Meeting Minutes January 4, 1993 Page 2 PUBLIC HEARINGS Proposed funding for Public Safety Initiative. Public Hearing opened. Alan Doerschel, Finance Director, briefed the Council that it has been determined by Council and the Administration the importance of increasing the staffing levels of the Police and Fire Departments. Two phases were identified: Phase I calls for three police officers and three fire fighters; a potential Phase II calls for five police personnel and an additional three fire fighters. The total cost would be approximately $750,000 annually. Doerschel explained that an Admissions Tax and portions of the Criminal Justice Funds is proposed to support the Public Safety Initiative. Councilmember Robertson inquired as to how was the "not committed" amount of $564,000 in the Criminal Justice Funding accounted for in the Financial Planning Model. Doerschel responded that it was accounted for as an expenditure item, an equal amount of money for a 800 MHZ system Councilmember Duffie inquired if the Admission Tax could handle all six positions. Doerschel said the Admissions Tax alone will rot fund all six positions. It would only fund about three. Therefore, if the Criminal Justice funding is not continued (currently being considered by the State Legislature), some time in 1994 the City would have to decide on the funding for the other positions. Mayor Rants opened the public hearing at 7:20 p.m. Garrett Vanderben, Cineplex Odeon, 18421 Alderwood Mall Blvd., Lynnwood, Washington, stated that Cineplex Odeon is opposed to this tax because it taxes a narrow band of the people. They are forever losing patrons due to other competition such as videos, ball games, etc. They have continued to drop their prices for the past two years in order to entice movie- goers. Mr. Vanderben said if the City passes the Admissions Tax, they would have no alternative but to pass the tax on to the patrons. He said they simply cannot afford another 5% tax increase. Max Cook, representative of the Bowling Corporation of America Chain which leases the Lewis Clark facility, 3327 84th Street, #102, Kent, WA., referenced the letter he has sent to the City on December 22 with petitions from the bowlers attached. He said he and the petitioners feel that they are already heavily taxed. He said it appears only four of the properties will pick up about 80% of this tax load. His only appeal is to the City's sense of fairplay and equity among all the people who will benefit from what he agrees is needed; but wishes the City could find an alternative to the Admissions Tax. Al Pieper, 17083 53rd Avenue South, commented that he's opposed to a tax increase. He stated the officials are elected to manage the citizenry's money not levy new taxes on them. Joyce Craft, 14240 41st Avenue South, commented that when she first heard about the tax she was opposed. She felt the City already had too many police officers. However, after talking to the Police Chief, and taking his advice to ride along with a policeman, it changed her thinking. Now she's convinced that the citizens should do whatever possible to fulfill the needs of the Police Department without any one segment of the population bearing the bulk of the burden. She said she doesn't believe the citizens understand why a city the size of Tukwila needs additional policemen. She suggested more interaction between citizens and police by way of a Citizen's Board. Comment via Timothy G. Wood, Vice President, Act III Theatres correspondence. (via letter to the Mayor's office), stated in his Regular Council Minutes January 4, 1993 Page 3 PUBLIC HEARINGS Public Safety Initiative Con't letter that he believes the City Council should be particularly concerned by this tax, as it is likely that current patrons of Tukwila theatres would choose to attend less expensive theatres out of the community, or even find an alternative form of entertainment which would not benefit the City. Public Hearing Closed. Mayor Rants closed the public hearing at 7:30 p.m. Council President Lawrence commented it is not an easy job to increase taxes and no one enjoys it when it has to be done. However, the crime rate is up and other public safety issues must be addressed. He sees only two options to the solution: cutting services or raising taxes; and, no one wants to cut services. Therefore he suggests moving this issue forward to the next Regular Council in ordinance form. Councilmember Duffie stated he's not in favor of the Admissions Tax but would entertain ideas on another approach. He suggested the citizens participate in offering suggestions as to what programs and /or services the City can cut in order to provide the personnel the City's Police Department needs. Councilmember Hernandez commented that many people don't realize that Tukwila's daytime population soars above 50,000 and possibly up to 100,000 at times. Therefore, Tukwila would need more police protection than most comparable cities with populations of 15,000. She said the officers are putting in longer hours than they should. This could hinder peak performance and jeopardize their safety. However, they are doing a superb job considering the amount of staff they have to work with. She says it's a difficult dilemma and she's not particularly in favor of an Admissions Tax but knows of no other alternatives. She stated the Admissions Tax is only a temporary solution. If this issue is not adequately addressed right now, it will come up again for reconsideration. She encouraged suggestions for a solution from the citizenry. Councilmember Robertson commented that it takes more than just adding policemen to make the streets safe or to determine the success of a city. It's policemen /firemen in conjunction with other public safety measures such as human services concerns, parks and streets maintenance and programs geared toward the quality of life Robertson stated that he thinks an Admissions Tax makes sense because it brings in the majority of the participants from outside of the City. He reached his conclusion after reviewing the petition that was provided by Mr. Cook. He said more times than not the outsiders are the cause that more police services are needed. He said he doesn't like tax increases either. As for the other initiatives the Mayor has proposed, the City might need to look harder at other sources and at balancing priorities; but in this case, this initial phase, he strongly supports the Admissions Tax and thinks it's an appropriate one. Councilmember Simpson stated he opposes the tax increase. He feels the money is already in the budget, it just needs prioritizing. Councilmember Mullet stated that before imposing a tax he would rather use the Criminal Justice funds or have the money taken from the CIP fund. Councilmember Ekberg supports the Admissions Tax on an interim basis in order to fund six additional positions for public safety needs. He agrees that the Criminal Justice funds should be used over the next two years to help absorb the shortfall. MOVED BY ROBERTSON, SECONDED BY LAWRENCE, THAT STAFF BE DIRECTED TO DRAFT AN ORDINANCE INSTITUTING UP TO 5% ADMISSIONS TAX ON SELECTED ACTIVITIES THAT REQUIRE AN ADMISSION FEE, IN CONJUNCTION WITH A PORTION OF THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE FUNDING TO BE USED TO FUND PHASE ONE OF THE PUBLIC SAFETY INITIATIVE TO HIRE THREE POLICE OFFICERS AND THREE FIREFIGHTERS, THEN FORWARD TO THE NEXT REGULAR COUNCIL.* Councilmember Duffie stated that this issue should be reviewed much more carefully before a decision is made. He said it's not fair nor just to tax some business entities and not tax others such as the golf course. Councilmember Mullet said though he doesn't agree with posing an Admission Tax, Duffie has a valid point as to why the City is excluding the golf course from this tax. Councilmember Robertson explained that the golf course does not manifest an atmosphere that would warrant an unusual amount of police protection. Councilmember Hernandez stated that she was the one who originally made the motion to exempt the Golf Course. Her reason was that it is a City -owned facility and is patronized by a large number of Tukwila' senior citizens. She did not want them unduly penalized. She also stated that she had done research and found that Kent, Auburn, and Renton did not tax their golf courses. ROLL CALL VOTE: DUFFIE NO HERNANDEZ YES LAWRENCE YES ROBERTSON YES SIMPSON NO EKBERG YES MULLET NO *MOTION CARRIED 4 -3 Robertson asked what will happen to the three (3) firefighters positions. r6 76 Lawrence commented that he's willing to hear all of the arguments in two weeks whether it's from those in favor of the tax or against it. The Mayor said in order to have the police officers ready for enrollment to the Police Academy, action must be taken within the two to three weeks. McFarland requested, on behalf of the Mayor, Council approval to direct the Criminal Justice funds toward the hiring and initial funding of the three (3) police officers. The rest of the funding could be sorted out for the remainder of the year. He said all are in agreement that additional officers will be hired; it's just the remaining year's funding that is in question. Going this route would give the City the opportunity to take advantage of those positions that were reserved to attend the Academy. Mayor Rants reiterated the need for the Council to approve all five (5) positions- -two from the overtime pay which is already in the budget and three from the Criminal Justice Funding. Robertson asked why was the Criminal Justice Funding needed for the additional two positions. McFarland said there maybe some additional discussion and it may take a little longer to decide on what vehicle should be used to fund the entire package. It is hoped that the three additional hires, along with the two that could be converted with the overtime funds, could be approved immediately. Regular Council Minutes January 4, 1993 Page 5 Public Safety Initiative Admissions Tax (Con't) OLD BUSINESS Approval of Minutes NEW BUSINESS Doerschel responded there was no money for them right now. McFarland stated this doesn't mean that nothing will be done to hire the firefighters, this will come later. Right now, however, the City is trying to do all that is possible to keep from losing the three (3) positions slotted for the academy. The Mayor explained regardless of the tax that will be voted on, until it is implemented, the Criminal Justice Funds would have to be used, at least for the first 3 to 6 months. MOVED BY ROBERTSON, SECONDED BY LAWRENCE, TO AMEND THE BUDGET TO TRANSFER CRIMINAL JUSTICE FUNDING TO HIRE FIVE POLICE OFFICERS TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE ACADEMY ENROLT .MENT; AND, TO MAKE A BUDGET TRANSFER FROM ENDING FUND BALANCE TO HIRE THREE FIREFIGHTERS SO THAT THEY CAN GET INTO THEIR ACADEMY.* Doerschel stated that there isn't enough money in the ending fund balance to fund the three firefighters. However, +he Admissions Tax can be implemented quicker than the Utility Tax. Approximately 60 to 90 days before receiving funds. The Mayor emphasized that he is not trying to circumvent the hiring of the firefighters; he is trying to facilitate the hiring of police personnel. MOVED BY ROBERTSON, SECONDED BY LAWRENCE, TO APPROVE THE BUDGET TRANSFERS FOR HIRING FIVE POLICE OFFICERS AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. MOTION CARRIED.** *MOTION CARRIED AS AMENDED *ORIGINAL MOTION CARRIED AS AMENDED. Councilmember Robertson requested several changes be made to the minutes of the 12/7/92 meeting and then resubmitted for approval to the next Regular Council meeting. It was the consensus of the Council to have the City Clerk review the tape and make appropriate changes. Resolution #1238 MOVED BY HERNANDEZ, SECONDED BY LAWRENCE, Criminal Justice THAT THE PROPOSED RESOLUTION BE READ BY TITLE Funding. ONLY. MOTION CARRIED. Mayor Rants read a resolution of the City of Tukwila, Washington, regarding Criminal Justice Funding. MOVED BY LAWRENCE, SECONDED BY HERNANDEZ, TO ADOPT RESOLUTION #1238 AS READ.* Robertson requested clarification of the "BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED" section of the Resolution which states "the City of Tukwila requests that the legislature enact legislation that lives cities and towns additional local option funding sources for local criminal justice programs." Chief Waldner explained that originally there were only five counties that were authorized for Criminal Justice Funding and it was a local option funding program that the county residents had to Regular Council Minutes January 4, 1993 Page 6 NEW BUSINESS (Con't) Resolution #1238 Criminal Justice Funding (Con't) Ordinance 165 5 Multi- Family Design vote on to impose the one -tenth of one percent sales tax. The issue before the legislature is whether to extend the option to all thirty -nine counties in the state. *MOTION CARRIED. MOVED BY HERNANDEZ, SECONDED BY ROBERTSON, THAT THE PROPOSED ORDINANCE BE READ BY TITLE ONLY. MOTION CARRIED. Mayor Rants read an ordinance of the City of Tukwila, Washington, amending the Tukwila Zoning Code (Title 18) and City of Tukwila Comprehensive Land Use Policy Plan based on the Multi Family Design Standards Update. MOVED BY HERNANDEZ SECONDED BY LAWRENCE, TO ADOPT ORDINANCE 165 5 AS READ.* Discussion followed. After much discussion and careful consideration, the Council made changes they felt would enhance and /or clarify certain sections of the Design Standard document. MOVED BY ROBERTSON, SECONDED BY DUFFIE, TO AMEND THE 5TH "WHEREAS" CLAUSE TO ADD "AND REVISING" FOLLOWING THE WORD "REVIEWING." MOTION CARRIED. Councilmember Hernandez stated that she had discussed with Umetsu earlier whether 1 story would be equivalent to 1.5 feet; 2 stories to 25 feet; 3 stories to 35 feet and 4 stories to 45 feet 'ernandez wondered if this needed to be clarified by having the actual stories put in. She also discussed what would happen if there is a 20 ft. height that doesn't really fall in any category. Umetsu said in that case, the criteria would automatically move to the next level. MOVED BY HERNANDEZ, SECONDED BY ROBERTSON TO ADD THREE ADDITIONS OF STORIES, FOOTAGE AND HEIGHT FOR MAXIMUM BUILDING HEIGHTS FOR FRONT, REAR AND SIDE TO READ: "1 STORY AND 15 FT'; "2 STORIES AND 25 FT".; 3 STORIES AND 35 FT'; "4 STORIES AND 45 FT." MOTION CARRIED. Hernandez stated that after reviewing the Introduction to the Draft Design Standards, she realized that there was language in the introduction consistent with what the ordinance hopes to accomplish. She recommended incorporating some of the language into the ordinance as "whereas" clauses. MOVED BY HERNANDEZ, SECONDED BY ROBERTSON, TO ADD THREE ADDITIONAL "WHEREAS" CLAUSES FOLLOWING THE "5TH WHEREAS" AS FOLLOWS: "WHEREAS WELL DESIGNED PROJECTS PROVIDE VALUE TO THE OWNER AND THE COMMUNITY, AND WHEREAS WELL DESIGNED DEVELOPMENTS FOSTER A SENSE OF PRIDE AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY FROM ITS RESIDENTS, AND WHEREAS THESE DEVELOPMENTS STANDARDS ARE INTENDED TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF MULTI FAMILY DEVELOPMENT IN TUKWILA AND PROVIDE DEVELOPERS WITH A HIGH LEVEL PREDICTABILITY AND THE DESIGN QUALITY EXPECTED WHEN BUILDING IN TUKWILA." MOTION CARRIED. *MAIN MOTION CARRIED AS AMENDED. Councilmember Robertson requested that since several changes have been made, he would like a copy of the final draft sent to the Council Regular Council Minutes January 4, 1993 Page 7 Ordinance #1655 Multi- Family Design REPORTS Mayor Robertson Mayor/Lawrence Robertson Lawrence Mayor Robertson EXECUTIVE SESSION prior to it being published. Robertson commended the Administration, the DCD Staff, and Vernon Umetsu in particular, for the diligent and magnificent effort put forth on the Multi- Family Design Standards. The Mayor distributed an update on JoAnne McMannis' Request for Action on the abandoned house located at 13004 56th Avenue South. The Mayor distributed information on the Suburban Cities legislative program regarding their 1993 proposal. The Mayor reported that the joint meeting of the City Council/Planning Commission/Tukwila Tomorrow Committee which was scheduled for January 7, has now been rescheduled for February 4 subject to coordination with the Council and the Commission. Also, Tukwila Tomorrow Community image meeting, scheduled for December 10, has been rescheduled for January 14. The Mayor said the DCD Workplan will not be discussed on January 11 so as to allow participation in the discussion by the group meeting on February 4. Mayor reported that the field trip to Vancouver, B.C. to assess their urban centers and the public transit system is Saturday, January 16. The bus will leave City Hall at 7:30 a.m. and return at 10:30 p.m. Councilmember Robertson suggested the City should pick up the tab for the meals, since this is a trip intended for official business. Robertson inquired as to role the Council will play as Metro give presentation on the Rapid Transit Proposal (RTP) at next week's Council. Mayor responded that Metro will make the presentation on options as they see them and as they have been discussed with the Administration and other City groups. It is understood that the Council is the only body that makes the decision on matter such as these. Lawrence stated that the presentation is for information gathering, the discussion on policy will come later. Robertson requested the Administration obtain information from Metro with regards to their commitment to the RTP and include in next week's agenda packet. Lawrence reported that he had called a gentleman who had written a poem to the Council regarding a Southcenter Mall incident. The gentleman recalled he had been intimidated by gang members who were "hanging out" in the Food Court and making a drug deal right in front of him. The gentleman said he will not be visiting the mall anymore. The Mayor responded that the mall is patrolled quite adequately plus there is security for the protection of the patrons. However, he said other measures are being reviewed with the mall officials such as contractual police services. Robertson urged the Council of the need to begin discussions on the Tree Preservation Ordinance. Robertson requested the Administration obtain a draft copy of the proposed ordinance from the Planning Commission and forward it to the Community Affairs and Parks Committee for discussion. Additionally, a copy should be provided to each councilmember. MOVED BY DUFFIE, SECONDED BY ROBERTSON, THAT THE REGULAR MEETING ADJOURN TO EXECUTIVE SESSION TO DISCUSS LABOR MATTERS FOR THIRTY MINUTES FOLLOWING A FIVE MINUTES BREAK. MOTION CARRIED. Regular Council Minutes January 4, 1993 Page 8 ADJOURNMENT 10:10 P.M. MOVED BY DUFFIE, SECONDED BY LAWRENCE, TO ADJOURN THE MEETING. MOTION CARRIED. W. Rants, Mayor r. 1 Vim, I_ Celia Square, Dep ty City Clerk 07 /I