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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1987-06-01 Regular MinutesTUKWILA CITY COUNCIL June 1, 1987 Tukwila City Hall 7:00 P.M. Council Chambers Regular Meeting CALL TO ORDER and PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE ROLL CALL OFFICIALS SPECIAL PRESENTATION Cascade and Boeing Bicycle Clubs RECESS 7:40 7:45 p.m. M I N U T E S Mayor Van Dusen called the Regular Meeting of the Tukwila City Council to order and led the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance. MABEL J. HARRIS; JOE H. DUFFIE; WENDY A. MORGAN, Council President; EDGAR D. BAUCH; CHARLES E. SIMPSON; MARILYN G. STOKNES; JAMES J. MCKENNA. JAMES HANEY, City Attorney; MAXINE ANDERSON, City Clerk; RICK BEELER, Planning Director; ROSS EARNST, City Engineer; DON WILLIAMS, Parks and Recreation Director. Don Williams, Parks and Recreation Director, introduced mem- bers from the Boeing and Cascade Bicycle Clubs. He reviewed the existing recreation trails through the City and discussed the areas where trails are proposed making it possible to go from one end of the City to the other. David Mosier, representing the Government Affairs Committee of the Cascade Bicycle Club, said he supports the proposal to continue the trail north from Fort Dent. He complimented Tukwila on the work that has been done on multi -use trails. He read from the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials Guideline for Development of New Bike Facilities. Accidents are identified as an important criteria. Facilities should be selected to minimize the number of crossings. He supported the County's proposal as described by Don Williams, and encouraged Tukwila to support these priorities also. Larry Stogard, Boeing Employees Club, thanked the City of Tukwila for its foresight in developing a trail system and also for having contacted them and given them an opportunity to speak. Mr. Stogard, speaking for himself, said he would use the trail daily; he rides to work through the City. As a commuter, he asked if there would be an adequate shoulder along the road if the trail goes along the river. Don Williams explained that the area in front of Foster Golf Links has a 6 -foot sidewalk and a 10 -foot bicycle lane separ- ated from traffic. There has been some discussion about not funding the bicycle trail further north. He asked Council to consider the construction of shoulders adequate for bicycle traffic. Mr. Mosier told Council that Mr. Stogard, commuting to work, would be going 15 to 25 miles per hour. This speed does not work very well on sidewalks. He suggested that the center lanes be designed 11 feet wide and the outside lane be a 13 -foot lane. An 8 -foot car still allows room for the bicyclist. Dwayne Traynor, 14910 58th Avenue South, com- mented that the City of Eugene, Oregon has designed their streets to mix traffic use very well. Both sides of the road have lanes reserved for bicycles. Amend agenda to add Mayor Van Dusen asked Council to amend the agenda at this time and consider appointments to the Library Board. TUKWILA CITY COUNCIL, REGULAR MEETING June 1, 1987 Page 2 Appointments to the Mayor Van Dusen asked Council to concur with the following Library Board. appointments to the Library Advisory Board: CITIZENS' COMMENTS Community Center 25 -Year Employee CONSENT AGENDA Position #1 Position #2 Position #3 Position #4 Position #5 Berry Crosby Brian Ferguson Susan Thompson Robin Mitchell David Traynor 2 years 2 years 1 year 1 year 1 year (student) _6 MOVED BY MORGAN, SECONDED BY HARRIS, THAT COUNCIL CONCUR WITH THE MAYOR'S NOMINATIONS FOR MEMBERS TO THE LIBRARY ADVISORY BOARD. MOTION CARRIED. Mayor Van Dusen introduced David Traynor who was in the audience. Gene Elfstrom, Tukwila citizen, commented that it was stated that there didn't seem to be a lot of interest from the citizens because they didn't attend the Public Hearing on the Community Center. There have been times in the past when Council has asked for citizen participation on such items as the location of City Hall and the form of government we wanted to run the City. Both times the citizens expressed their feelings and Council took a different position than what the citizens wanted. People on the Council are elected by the citizens; it is up to them to carry out the wishes of the people. Mayor Van Dusen announced that on June 2 Gene Elfstrom will celebrate his 25th anniversary of employment with the City of Tukwila. He is the first employee to reach this goal. Council congratulated Mr. Elfstrom. a. Approval of Minutes: Valley View Hearing of April 15, 1987. b. Approval of Vouchers: Claims Fund Vouchers #30417 through #30553 Current Fund City Street Arterial Street Fire Equip. Cum. Reserve Land Acq., Bldg., Devel. Water Fund Sewer Fund Water /Sewer Construction Foster Golf Course Equipment Rental TOTAL 96,856.42 9,926.00 64,736.74 56.82 896.73 240.88 1,294.36 92,639.97 145,149.57 2,490.25 414,287.74 c. Approve the selection of CH2M Hill as the consultant for the Transportation Comprehensive Plan and authorize the Mayor to negotiate a consultant contract for the project. d. Authorize the Mayor to sign the Interlocal Cooperation Agreement for sharing Community Development Block Grant Funds for 1988 -1990. MOVED BY DUFFIE, SECONDED BY HARRIS, THAT THE CONSENT AGENDA BE APPROVED AS SUBMITTED. MOTION CARRIED. TUKWILA CITY COUNCIL, REGULAR MEETING June 1, 1987 Page 3 OLD BUSINESS Decision on Community Center _3`' 7 This item was placed on the agenda for Council to make a decision on whether or not to place it on the ballot to allow the citizens to express their opinions on whether the City should proceed with the plans to build a community center. Councilman Duffie extended an apology to Helen Walkup for including her property on the list of site options for location of a community center in the feasibility study. He had been told by the family that Miss Walkup had not been notified her property was under consideration prior to the Public Meeting. She is 95 years old and was extremely bothered by this. We do not want this to happen again. Mr. Duffie suggested that Council formally remove her property from the site option list. He stated that he is in favor of a community center but, after talking to citizens, he feels the project should be delayed for a year. This is an important item and needs thorough planning before we continue. No citizen's property should be considered for a community center unless the City has written approval from the owner. Councilmember Harris said she has also talked to the niece of Miss Walkup. She assured her that the Walkup property will not be on the list of possible sites. The citizens she has talked to agree that the City is moving too fast on trying to select a site and put forward a bond issue. This is too big a project to be gone into hastily. She also extended her apologies to Miss Walkup. Council President Morgan said that when Council holds a Public Hearing it is to receive the views of the public. It is not the purview of Council or Administration to give a viewpoint that people react to. When we give information we color the kinds of responses we get from people. We wanted to know if people want a new community center and, if they do, what dreams and visions they have for one. This Council has not agreed, as a group, upon their view of a community center. The meeting was called to get the views of the citizens so we could form the direction we want to take. She apologized on behalf of herself and the Council for any discomfort that was caused anyone by the Public Meeting. Councilman McKenna read from a letter dated May 29, 1987, that he had distributed to Council. He is concerned that the City was pushing this through too fast. There are a lot of questions to be answered. He is in favor of a community center, but feels we need to get all the facts and look at all of the options. As to the question on how we can get more people out to talk to them, he suggested that we get out to the people and go talk to the various clubs and organizations. We need to talk to the land owners and talk to the Chamber about meeting with the businesses. Councilmember Stoknes agreed that they need more information but asked if they couldn't get it in the amount of time there is. Mayor Van Dusen offered if Council wants it done, City staff can go forward and provide the information. Councilman McKenna said he doesn't like to push an issue as big as this; it is a $4 million plus project and we need to take a longer look at it than we have done. TUKWILA CITY COUNCIL, REGULAR MEETING June 1, 1987 Page 4 OLD BUSINESS (cont'd) 5� f7 Councilman Simpson believed all the answers are here. They contracted with Market Trends to do a survey that addressed the questions Council had. They have been answered to his satisfaction. The community is interested in a new community center. There is no harm in going forward with an election; if the community wants it, they will vote for it. As far as the location, Council hasn't discussed that yet. Mayor Van Dusen offered that there has been no appraisal of property done. Councilman Bauch commented that this issue has been around for about two years. Doris Phelps was the prime backer and she is no longer in the area. At her urging, Council funded the study to see if there was any interest. He agreed with Councilman McKenna on the interpretation of the results of the study saying there is a great interest among the citizens when it shows those in favor as 51%. When you get down to talking about funding, the people change their minds. He does not believe we are ready for it; the people aren't pushing for a new community center. Council President Morgan cautioned Council that this isn't the time to present a bond issue. We will see massive increases in Metro rates for sewer and solid waste. There have been two bond issues passed recently that have cost communities in our area dearly the Zoo Bonds and the E911 issues. We need to carefully look at this. If Council is truly committed after all the investigating and if the citizens are ready to pay for it, fine. If the citizens are not ready to fund it, she challenged Council to find within the current resources or within the capabilities of the Council to finance it in a different way. Councilmember Harris did not agree that if the people show they do not want it, the Council would use the taxpayers' money anyway. This is a huge investment and we want to be sure it meets our needs. We need to think slowly and carefully about this. We need to be more careful and more prudent on how we spend the taxpayers' money. Councilmember Stoknes said all we are doing by an election is asking the community if it is something they are interested in funding. Councilman Duffie explained that you can ask the citizens if they are in favor of a community center and if they say yes, then Council goes ahead and builds it but the citizens didn't tell us to build it, they only told us they want one. We don't know what it is going to cost or where it is going to be placed. Dwayne Traynor, 14910 58th Avenue South, said he agreed with Mr. Duffie. If you don't tell me how much a community center is going to cost, where it is going to be located, or how much it is going to cost me, I'm going to vote no. Mrs. Regel, citizen, said now is a very poor time to consider spending anything. I am for a community center but our costs keep going up. We have a lot of seniors in Tukwila living on limited incomes. From what we hear, the economy doesn't look too good and this is too much to pay right now. TUKWILA CITY COUNCIL, REGULAR MEETING June 1, 1987 Page 5 OLD BUSINESS (cont'd) Mission Statement Ordinance #1431 to provide medical, dental, vision care and life insurance benefits for Council members 72' Mrs. Pat Hopper, citizen, said she is not opposed to a community center. She asked if a bond issue is passed, do those living in Tukwila right now pay the bill for any future annexation area. Council President Morgan explained that the people in a proposed annexation area are required to vote on their willingness to accept the bonded indebtedness of the City. Mrs. Hopper said that if they vote not to assume the debt, then we are still going to have to pay for the bonds. There has be be a better way. She said she still did not understand why Miss Walkup's property was included in the study. Councilman Bauch explained that the sites were picked by a consultant, not by the City. Mrs. Hopper said this has had a detrimental affect on Miss Walkup. It was a very poor study the City had done. She asked why a Portland consultant was selected. This area must have some that are very qualified that wouldn't charge any more than $16,000. One thousand notices were mailed out and 26 people came to the meeting. MOVED BY MCKENNA, SECONDED BY MORGAN, THAT COUNCIL DOES NOT PLACE THE BOND ISSUE FOR A COMMUNITY CENTER ON THE BALLOT FOR ELECTION BY CITIZENS THIS FALL. MOTION CARRIED WITH SIMPSON VOTING NO. MOVED BY HARRIS, SECONDED BY DUFFIE, TO DELETE HELEN WALKUP'S PROPERTY FROM CONSIDERATION. MOTION CARRIED. Council President Morgan explained that the expenses this City will be asked to put into the current Community Center warrants looking into alternatives. We also need to look at alternatives because of the potential change in size and scope of the City if annexation does take place. This Council has an obligation to continue to pursue the community center concept, to put it into a work plan and come back periodically with a report. Council President Morgan, Councilmember Stoknes, and Councilman Duffie will serve on an ad hoc committee to continue discussion on the community center. Council President Morgan confirmed that she will send a letter of apology to Helen Walkup from the Council. Council reviewed the draft procedure and agreed with the format for a Mission Statement for the City. MOVED BY HARRIS, SECONDED BY DUFFIE, THAT THE PROPOSED ORDINANCE BE READ BY TITLE ONLY. MOTION CARRIED. Attorney Haney read an ordinance of the City of Tukwila, Washington, amending Section 2.04.230 of the Tukwila Municipal Code to provide medical, dental, vision care and life insurance benefits to City Council members whose term of office commences after the effective date of this ordinance. MOVED BY HARRIS, SECONDED BY MCKENNA, THAT ORDINANCE NO. 1431 BE ADOPTED AS READ.* Council President Morgan pointed out that this is limited to $100.00 per Council member per month. TUKWILA CITY COUNCIL, REGULAR MEETING June 1, 1987 Page 6 OLD BUSINESS (cont'd) NEW BUSINESS Ordinance #1432 amending the 1987 Budget to provide the close -out of the ETS Support Department Budget Amend Agenda EXECUTIVE SESSION 9:45 p.m. 10:30 p.m. ADJOURNMENT 10:30 p.m. 7? Attorney Haney said he consulted a tax attorney to discuss the possible consequences of this proposal. The reimburse- ment would not be considered taxable if it were limited to medical, dental and most vision care. There are some limits when it comes to life insurance. Councilman Bauch said this is raising the salary of the Council members by $100.00 per month; the present Council salary is adequate and he can't support this proposal. *MOTION CARRIED, WITH BAUCH VOTING NO. MOVED BY HARRIS, SECONDED BY SIMPSON, THAT THE PROPOSED ORDINANCE BE READ BY TITLE ONLY. MOTION CARRIED. Attorney Haney read an ordinance of the City of Tukwila, Washington, amending the 1987 Budget adopted by Ordinance No. 1414 of the City, passed by the City Council on December 15, 1986, and amended by Ordinance No. 1420 passed by the City Council on April 6, 1987; amended by Ordinance No. 1422 on April 22, 1987; and amended by Ordinance No. 1426, passed by the City Council on May 4, 1987, to reallocate expendi- tures and revenues between the Arterial Street, City Street, Foster Golf Course, and Current Funds; and to provide the close -out of the ETS Support Department Budget, revise the Public Works Engineering Budget to incorporate the former ETS support operations, and to add projects to the Arterial Street, City Street, and Foster Golf Courses funds and to establish an effective date. MOVED BY HARRIS, SECONDED BY SIMPSON, THAT ORDINANCE NO. 1432 BE ADOPTED AS READ. MOTION CARRIED. MOVED BY BAUCH, SECONDED BY MORGAN, THAT THE ORDINANCE SUMMARY BE ADOPTED. MOTION CARRIED. MOVED BY SIMPSON, SECONDED BY MORGAN, THAT COUNCIL AMEND THE AGENDA TO HOLD AN EXECUTIVE SESSION TO DISCUSS SEWER EXTEN- SIONS OUTSIDE THE CITY LIMITS AND POTENTIAL LITIGATION. MOTION CARRIED. MOVED BY MORGAN, SECONDED BY DUFFIE, THAT COUNCIL GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION. MOTION CARRIED. MOVED BY HARRIS, SECONDED BY DUFFIE, THAT COUNCIL GO OUT OF EXECUTIVE SESSION. MOTION CARRIED. MOVED BY MORGAN, SECONDED BY MCKENNA, THAT THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE TUKWILA CITY COUNCIL ADJOURN. MOTION CARRIED. Gary' Van Dusen, Mayor 7 t ('_6E ,C l•- "Maxine'Anderson, City Clerk