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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1991-03-11 Committee of the Whole MinutesMarch 11, 1991 7:00 p.m. CALL TO ORDER COUNCILMEMBERS OFFICIALS Amend Agenda CITIZEN'S COMMENTS SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS City Facility Study Report. TUKWILA CITY COUNCIL COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MINUTES Tukwila City Hall Council Chambers Council President Robertson called the Committee of The Whole Meeting of the Tukwila City Council to order. DENNIS ROBERTSON, Council President; CLARENCE MORIWAKI, ALLAN EKBERG, STEVE LAWRENCE, WALLY RANTS. LUCY LAUTERBACH, Council Analyst; RICK BEELER GARY SCHULZ, DCD; JOHN COLGROVE MIKE KENYON City Attorneys; DON WILLIAMS, Parks Recreation; NICK OLIVAS TOM KEEFE, Fire; RON CAMERON ROSS EARNST, Public Works; RON WALDNER, Police. MOVED BY RANTS, SECONDED BY LAWRENCE TO ADD TWO ADDITIONAL ITEMS TO THE AGENDA FOLLOWING CITIZEN'S COMMENTS AS FOLLOWS: "4a Special Report on Intergovernmental Affairs;" and "4b Discussion of Council Work Plan." MOTION CARRIED. Roger Baker, 11662 42nd Avenue South, offered THANKS to the Council for not only listening to the citizens' concerns but for also acting on so many of them. Bob Crane, 5105 South 163rd Place, requested the Council consider a proposal to increase the rate of pay (significantly) for the person holding the position of Mayor. Mr. Crane explained that increased compensation would enable the City to operate with a full time mayor, attracting the very best candidates available for Tukwila. With the growth of the City, population, budget and the physical territory, Mr. Crane said it's becoming more and more important that the Mayor is available full time to make the kinds of administrative decisions the City will be facing in the future. Mr. Crane concluded, stating that an elected official should be the one who has his hands on the day -to -day operation of the City, not a hired employee. Mr. Crane would like action on this before the upcoming elections take place. It was the consensus of the Council to forward this issue to the Community Affairs and Parks Committee. Mayor VanDusen commented that significant changes have occurred to the population and area in which the City provided services since the last time municipal facilities were master planned. Such changes will directly affect the number and type of municipal services in the near future. Consequently, the City commissioned this study for the purpose of developing a master plan to provide for all municipal faculty requirements to the year 2005. The Mayor explained that the Executive Summary presented tonight was just a prelude to the complete document forthcoming this week. Committee of The Whole March 11, 1991 Page 2 Intergovernmental Affairs. Discussion of Council Workplan. Recess: 8:40 -8:50 p.m. SPECIAL ISSUES A resolution providing for the exercise of the powers of initiative and referendum. Don Williams introduced Tom Beckwith, AICP, Project Director, of the Beckwith Consulting Group. Mr. Beckwith gave an overview of the Executive Summary that had been distributed to the Council and other interested persons. Council President Robertson inquired as to when the Council will be provided the second and third part of the study. Mr. Beckwith responded the next couple of days. Councilmember Moriwaki commented that he was lead to believe the study was going to give the Council a lot more guidance in decision making on what to do with the City's future properties. The Executive Summary does not address this. Councilmember Ekberg commented that the Executive Summary did not provide enough information to warrant Council subcommittee review and suggested waiting until the Council has had a chance to review the completed study. It was the consensus of the Council to postpone discussion of the Facilities Master Plan until they've received and reviewed a copy of the total package. Councilmember Rants stated that he needs some help from the Council in determining the position that the City is going to take on the Regional reorganization of the Puget Sound Council of Governments. PSCOGs are entities from King, Snohomish, Pierce, and Kitsap Counties. In the past they have worked with transportation issues. Suburban Cities has agreed to discontinue supporting PSCOG. Rants stated that PSCOG will sunset in July and talks have begun as to what form of government will take it's place. Rants shared a letter from Mayor Norm Rice's office (Seattle) announcing a regional organizing committee meeting on Wednesday, 3:30 p.m., Red Lion Hotel, Bellevue. A resolution adopting the committee's recommendations on the mission, policies, and standards for transportation and growth will be introduced. The new agency will be called Puget Sound Regional Council instead of PSCOG. After a lengthy discussion the Council agreed to have the Council Analyst respond in writing to Seattle's mayor expressing Tukwila City Council's reservations about the proposed new regional government. President Robertson reviewed the project schedule and requested an updated schedule be reviewed at each subsequent C.O.W meeting so that the progress being made on each item can be seen at a glance The Council Analyst will pursue this task with the help of the graphic artist. The Committee of The Whole meeting was called back to order with Councilmembers present as listed above. The Council discussed adopting a referendum and initiative process. The referendum refers a City ordinance to the electorate for a direct vote. An initiative is essentially a law written by citizens, and then voted on by the citizens. Either is triggered by a petition with the signatures of 15% of the persons registered to vote at the City's last Committee of The Whole Meeting March 11, 1991 Page 3 REPORTS ADJOURNMENT 10:45 p.m. general election. To hold a Special Election on a referendum would cost the City an estimated $7,100. State Law requires an election be held 30 60 days from the time the petition is filed, unless there's a general election in 90 days or less, in which case it can be held then. Concerns were expressed with regards to whether this Referendum and Initiative Process would be in the community's best interest (at times) especially when land use and zoning issues are addressed. While some Councilmembers had reservations with passing this resolution, they all agreed to support it. MOVED BY RANTS, SECONDED BY MORIWAKI, THAT THE RESOLUTION OF INTENTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL TO PROVIDE FOR THE EXERCISE OF THE POWERS OF INITIATIVE AND REFERENDUM BE FORWARDED TO THE NEXT REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING OF MARCH 18, 1991. MOTION CARRIED. Continued review of the The Council completed review of the draft Sensitive Areas Ordinance SAO. and established the following schedule: March 25 City -wide mailing updating citizens on status and availability of draft SAO. April 11 17 Workshops /citizens participation. April 22 Public Hearing. Council President Robertson distributed information for clarification (per the Mayor's direction) on the General Law Regarding Conflicts of Interest and "Appearance of Fairness Doctrine," to all councilmembers. Councilmember Ekberg commented he will be video taping the Council in Action on Monday, March 18, to take to Ikawa, Japan, our Sister City. Council President Robertson reported he had received (from the City Clerk's office) the latest, official head count for the City of Tukwila. The City's population is now at 14,631. MOVED BY RANTS, SECONDED BY LAWRENCE, THAT THE COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING BE ADJOURNED. MOION CARRIED. Dennis Robertson, Council President Zelia Square, Deput City Clerk