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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1979-11-26 Committee of the Whole MinutesNovember 26, 1979 7:55 P.M. CALL TO ORDER COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT AUDIENCE COMMENTS Sister City Program PUBLIC HEARING Second Hearing adoption of proposed zoning classifications for the Riverton area if it is annexed to the City TUKWILA CITY COUNCIL COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE M I N U T E S Council President Bohrer called the Tukwila City Council Committee of the Whole Meeting to order at 7:55 P.M. 02607 Tukwila City Hall Council Chambers LIONEL C. BOHRER, Council President, MABEL J. HARRIS, GEORGE D. HILL, J. REID JOHANSON, DANIEL J. SAUL, DWAYNE D. TRAYNOR, GARY L. VAN DUSEN. APPROVAL OF MINUTES MOVED BY HARRIS, SECONDED BY SAUL, THAT THE MINUTES OF THE TUKWILA CITY COUNCIL COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING OF NOVEMBER 13, 1979, BE APPROVED AS PUBLISHED. MOTION CARRIED. Councilman Saul said that it was a warm and wonderful experience his family had last weekend in participating in the Sister City Affiliation Program. He thanked all those that participated. This was a group of people that came to town and won the hearts of the community. He expressed hope that a group of Tukwila citizens can go to Japan for the same type of visit. Hopefully we can continue the Sister City Program for years to come. Council President Bohrer explained the public hearing procedure in addressing the Council. He asked that comments be brief and not repeat previous testimony. With this, Council President Bohrer declared the Public Hearing open. Kjell Stoknes, OCD Director, explained that on October 22 Council held the first Public Hearing on the proposed zoning classifications to become effective if the unincorporated area known as Riverton is annexed to the City of Tukwila. The philosophy used on the proposed zoning map was to keep the zoning as close as possible to the current King County zoning. If the present zoning was higher than that on the Tukwila Comprehensive Plan, the zoning was brought down to that on the plan. Council President Bohrer asked for audience comments. Mr. Stephen Crary, Attorney, representing Rainier Bank, expressed concern over both the proposed zoning and the Comprehensive Plan. Rainier Bank has their Operation Center in the Riverton area just east of Marginal Way. The property is about ten acres and the building covers 200,000 square feet. There are about 800 to 900 people employed at the Center. It has been apparent for sometime that the facility is overcrowded and there is a need for expansion. They have taken an option on some property immediately west across Marginal Way owned by Mr. Di Pietro. The affect of the proposed zoning and the Comprehensive Plan would be to down zone both properties. The new zoning would be much more restrictive and would also make the existing Operation Center non conforming. The primary concern is the need to expand. It would make it impossible to expand on the existing site and very difficult, if not impossible, to expand on the other site. The problems are: The proposed M -1 zoning on the Di Pietro property would impose a height limitation of 45 feet or four stories, would be more restrictive landscaping, buffering, and so on. The property is located between South 124th and South 125th, west of East Marginal Way and east of 35th. The bank is concerned -they feel this is a down zone. This concern was also expressed at the Planning Commission Meeting. They are particularly concerned about the height limitation. They would become an island in the center of a residential zone making it more difficult to have the two lots, which are part of the property rezoned. The bank has TUKWILA CITY COUNCIL, COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE November 26, 1979 Page 2 PUBLIC HEARING Second Hearing adoption of proposed zoning classifications for the Riverton area if it is annexed to the City DISCUSSIONS Residential Fire Siren 02 g o the need to expand and that is the obvious area in which to expand. They would be more than happy to have their facility in the City of Tukwila. They are extremely concerned about this need to expand and they like this area. Mr. Stoknes said that the proposed new zoning ordinance puts some stress on a lot of property owners. The Planning Commission has stopped their public hearings on it and are going into work sessions on it. He expects there will be substantial changes to the document. There has been a decision not to circulate a final environmental impact statement on the comments made. After the Planning Commission is finished with their work sessions, there will be a preliminary environmental impact statement circulated on, what should be, quite a different document. As far as the 45 foot height limitation, it is that way in the present M -1 zone and the same in the proposed document. There being no further comment from the audience, Council President Bohrer declared the Public Hearing closed. MOVED BY VAN DUSEN, SECONDED BY SAUL, THAT THIS ITEM BE PLACED ON THE AGENDA FOR THE DECEMBER 10 COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING. MOTION CARRIED. Councilman Van Dusen said they wanted more information from Administration as to why the siren was shut off. Then, with more discussion from the volunteers see if they could arrive at an understanding of what could be done. How was the siren shut off and do the people on the hill want it off. Do they want it on 24 hours or on a timer. The biggest complaint from the volunteers was when they were away from their plectrons, the siren was the only method to be called to a fire. Councilman Traynor said he felt Council agreed it should be turned back on. Is this possible? Hubert Crawley, Fire Chief, said the power is just off. It can be activated again. Councilman Harris said she felt the volunteers do a good job. She had investigated the surrounding cities and found that none of them call their volunteers with a siren. Since Tukwila has adopted a Noise Ordinance, do we really need the siren. Councilman Johanson said it had been discussed whether to allow it for emergencies only. It could be used for fire calls during the day when it won't bother people sleeping. He said he has received many complaints about the siren and responded by bringing it to the Council table. Councilman Traynor said the siren does alert the young people that are out in the street -this is an important factor. Our volunteer station is in the middle of a residential area unlike many of the surrounding cities. Chief Crawley said that sirens are impractical in surrounding cities because their volunteers live in a wide spread area. The siren issue has caused people to become interested in the volunteers. Councilman Van Dusen said he feels that as long as the City has volunteers, put the siren back in use. The question is, are we going to run it 24 hours or put a timer on it? Chief Crawley said it would be better for the City on a 24 hour basis. TUKWILA CITY COUNCIL, COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE November 26, 1979 Page 3 DISCUSSIONS Cont. Residential Fire Siren Discussion with representatives of three of the organized union groups Public Works Department MOVED BY VAN DUSEN, SECONDED BY SAUL, THAT THE FIRE SIREN BE TURNED BACK ON AND LEAVE IT ON 24 HOURS A DAY.* Mr. Larry Nielsen, 58th Avenue, said the City does not need all that noise. He suggested the volunteers have bellboys. Mr. Ed Robinson, South 153rd, said he is one of the people very much against the sirens. Have you ever seen a baby's face when it is terrorized by that noise. He has checked some of the calls and found they are due to water spills in the business area. These people can have the proper plectrons to carry with them. He said he is referring to the siren in the Tukwila Park. *ROLL CALL VOTE: 5 YES HARRIS, HILL, SAUL, TRAYNOR, VAN DUSEN 2 NO BOHRER, JOHANSON MOTION CARRIED. It was clarified that this motion pertains only to the siren at the old city hall site. Council President Bohrer said this topic arose from a piece of campaign literature stating that dangers exist in the City. People are alarmed by comments that were made. The purpose of this discussion is to determine facts namely, do dangers indeed exist. Every person at the Council table and in the administration is dedicated to the health, safety, and general welfare of the citizens and have done their best to provide a suitable environment for the people of Tukwila. He said he has invited the representatives of the Union groups to come and discuss it. He asked that they voice the union view and not a personal view. He invited the representative of Teamsters Local 763, Public Works, to address the Council. Councilman Van Dusen asked if the volunteers are called all the time by the siren and was told, yes. Mr. Gary Scholzen, volunteer, said the siren being deactivated has made several of them to miss several calls. The Department has become more dependent on the volunteers this past year because of the amount of calls. When the siren sounds, it alerts people that we are coming down the street. Councilman Bohrer said there are more modern devices that don't disturb other people and are more efficient to notify the volunteers they are on call. He said he is not in favor of turning the siren back on, but is in favor of buying individual devices to notify the volunteers. Councilman Van Dusen asked if the siren in the park is permanently turned off, and Chief Crawley said, yes. The one volunteer in that area was not responding. Mr. Don Richmond, 14800 Interurban Avenue, said when the time comes that Tukwila can support a full time Fire Department without the need for volunteers, it would be a luxury not to have the siren. He said he is not only a resident of the area, but also his business is here and he feels it a luxury to have his residence and business protected by volunteer firemen. Councilman Hill said he felt this is not the way to handle this. If there are existing emergencies, they should be discussed during the budget hearings. This has political overtones and it bothers him. TUKWILA CITY COUNCIL, COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE November 26, 1979 Page 4 DISCUSSIONS Cont. Public Works Council President Bohrer said the issue here is not the campaign Department but whether the safety of the citizens of Tukwila is in danger. (continued) This is a serious problem. Discussing it at budget sessions won't let the people know what the answer is. The people have a right to know if there are hazards in the City that Council is concerned about. Council President Bohrer introduced the Public Works Department representative. David Grage said he is the negotiator for the City Shop along with the Union Business Agent. THE FULL TEXT OF MR. GRAGE'S PRESENTATION IS ATTACHED AND MADE AN OFFICIAL PART OF THESE RECORDS. .14 i o Mr. Grage said there are dangers in Tukwila that affect the residents and visitors. Two items he will address are a low maintenance policy and high turnover in public works personnel. They have had an 85% turnover in the past five years. Five years ago there were 3 people in the Sewer Department. Today there are two. There is a pronounced increase in the work load in that time. It is impossible for two men to do all of it. If more manpower is not put into this department the result could be property damage due to lack of proper maintenance. The Street Department is responsible for signing, striping, sweeping, sanding, patching, mowing, street light replacement and repair, and all other jobs related to street maintenance and repair. There is no way four men can keep abreast of this work. In the past five years, the Water Department has also had a pronounced increase in work load. They are responsible for plan review, inspections of mains and fire hydrants, new installations, billing and purchasing, repair of leaks, and many other jobs. There have been times when a fire hydrant is inoperable and cannot be repaired immediately because of lack of manpower. Because of time, they have been unable to implement a cross connection control program to safeguard the water supply. These things can all cause a serious problem. How can three men keep up with the work load? The Park Department received one new person in the past five years. The work load of this department is increasing. The lack of maintenance on the trail system is a danger to all who use them. In the Tukwila Park there is only one of the six lights working. A dark park is a danger to the citizens of Tukwila. If the good workers quit the City because of pay, then raise the pay to a liveable level. Mr. Grage introduced the four Department Foremen. Council President Bohrer asked Mr. Grage to furnish a copy of his presentation to the Council and was assured he would. Gene Elfstrom, Park Department, said there is a hazard with the lights being out in the park. It is an underground wiring problem. Council President Bohrer asked if there was any more left in annual budget for this repair. Mr. Elfstrom said his superiors felt it should be a budgeted item. Council President Bohrer asked Mr. Elfstrom if his main complaint is that his Department is undermanned and underfunded. Mr. Elfstrom said he could use more man power; also, he would like to see action when he takes a problem to his superiors. Council President Bohrer asked Ray Dahl, Sewer Department, if his Department is undermanned and underfunded and was told, definitely. They are short two men and they can't keep up all the routine maintenance and repair. For the safety of the men, if we don't have the manpower, we don't do the job. Ralph Trepanier, Street Department, said he is definitely underpowered. There are, right now, 56 street lights out. In the last month, he has gotten two new men. There are only two experienced people in the Department. It is a full time job for a Foreman to keep his crew organized without having to run the backhoe because there is no one else qualified. This, in itself, PRESENTATION BY DAVE GRAGE I. Introduction A. My name is Dave Grage. B. Not Shop Steward, but I am negotiating a contract for our bargaining unit. II. In your letter, Mr. Bohrer, you ask me either to affirm or deny the issues in the brochure that was passed out. There is no doubt in my mind that dangers do indeed exist in Tukwila that affect the residents and visitors of this City. The brochure points out a low maintenance policy and a high turnover in the public works personnel. I will be addressing both of these problems. First of all, there is an alarmingly high turnover rate at the City Shops. Since 1975 there has been a 100% turnover rate in the union people at City Shops. There has been a 60% turnover rate in non union people at City Shops. If you combine these two groups together, there is an 89% turnover rate. (read list) When I started with the City almost 5 years aao, there were 3 men in the sewer department. Today, there are 2. There has been a pronounced increase in the work load in the sewer department during that time. One of the increases is that all new sanitary and storm sewers are carried out by the sewer department. Currently, Ray Doll, sewer department foreman, has about 35 inspections to do on the books. The sewer department is responsible for 7 pumping or lift stations and in the near future will be acquiring 2 more. There are approximately 30 miles of sanitary sewer lines in this city. Along with the sanitary sewers, there are unknown miles of storm sewers and many catch basins and manholes that they are responsible for. It is impossible for 2 men to do the required maintenance on the pumps in the lift stations, keep the sewer lines clear of obstructions, make reports, do purchasing, work on telemetering system, and do all inspections. With the increase in business and population in Tukwila comes more sewage. More sewage means more obstructions and pump time. If more manpower is not put into this department, the result will be possible property damage due to lack of proper maintenance on the sewer system. If one of the pumping stations should fail, there is only one person in this city who could repair it -Ray Doll. When Ray Clements quit the city this year, the city could not find qualified help to replace him. The reason is low pay. To be a leadman in the sewer department, the city requires 2 years experience in this field. You offer $6.91 per hour. If Ray was out of town and one of the lift Presentation by Dave Grage Page 2 stations failed, who would fix it? Last year, the council advocated eliminating one position in the sewer department. The 1979 budget reflects this feeling by stating "In the event there is a reduction of manpower in this department for any reason, that manpower will not be replaced without the consent of the City Council. There has been a need for the replacement of a worker for a number of months in this department and you are aware of it. The street department is responsible for some of the following work: Sign making, sign repair and installation, street painting and stripping, guard rail repair and installation, street sweeping, asphalt patching, street sanding when there is ice or snow, ditch cleaning, shoulder work, brush cutting, mowing right of ways, tarring cracks in streets and bridges, street light repair, and finally traffic light repair. There is no way 4 men can keep abreast of that work load. There are street lights out in this city. There are times that traffic lights fail and there is not adequate manpower to safely direct traffic. If a stop sign cannot be promptly repaired, it is a danger to all in that intersection. As with all departments, with increased population and business comes increased work loads. Without adequate manpower to keep the streets safe and in proper condition, the public suffers. During the last 5 years, the water department also has shown a pronounced increase in its work load. The water department is responsible for plan review and inspection of all new water mains and fire hydrants. There have been times when a fire hydrant is inoperable and could not be repaired immediately. The reason for this is lack of man power. You can have the finest Fire Department in the world but they won't be of much help if the firefighters cannot get water from a fire hydrant. Five years ago we used to test all hydrants and gate valves on a routine basis. We don't have the manpower or the time to do this anymore. This is a real danger. For years we have been trying to implement a cross connection program to help safeguard our water supply. This program would include the testing and maintenance of the devices that prevent sewage, industrial waste and bad water from entering the fresh water supply. A person must possess a state license to do cross connection work. We have the licenses but not the time. The state requires the water purveyor to have cross connection program, but the money hasn't been appropriated. Presentation by Dave Grage Page 3 Having a continuous supply of clean water is important to all of us. On the other hand, having our fresh water supply interrupted due to lack of routine maintenance because of lack of manpower poses the serious problem of lack of fire protection, inconvenience, and to some businesses loss of revenue. I ask you, how can 3 men keep up with routine maintenance, new installations, billing, purchasing of parts, cross connection, leaks of all types, hydrant repairs, customer complaints, plan review, and inspections of a water system that runs from the other side of Empire Way to the City of Kent? Finally, I want to talk about the park department. This is the only department that has had any increase in manpower in the last 5 years. Yet the work load has increased by more than one man. Soon the park department will be maintaining city hall grounds entirely. We have a trail system in the city. These trails are not being maintained and this lack of maintenance is a danger to all who use them. In the main city park on the asphalt trail leading to the back tennis court, there has only been one out of 6 lights working since last spring. You have been told these lights need repair and have failed to provide funds to fix them. A couple of months ago one of our crew members, Sally Harris, was sexually approached in the city park in broad daylight. A man kept trying to lure her back to the more remote areas of the park. What about the female tennis player using the court at night with only one light on the pathway. This spring the administration held a mini boat race in a drainage ditch near city shops. It cost the taxpayers $1,100. Couldn't this money he put to better use, such as repairing the lighting system in the park. A dark park is a danger to the citizens and visitors of Tukwila. I would like to say that I have very lightly touched on some of the problems and dangers facing the city of Tukwila as far as city shops is concerned. You, as elected city officials, must stop the high turnover rate and address yourselves to the problems and dangers as we see them. If time and time again good workers quit the city using the reason "I can't afford to work here because I can't pay my bills," then raise the pay to a liveable level. It costs the taxpayers of this city money, and lots of it, every time a new man has to be trained. I know, in the water department, it takes a good year before a person, with no experience, is fairly competent. A year is needed because of the many aspects of the job. The City of Presentation by Dave Grage Page 4 Tukwila is not a training school where we train people for a skilled job and one year down the line they use that skill to get a better job with liveable pay. The citizens of this city deserve a stable crew that has high morale. If at this time, you have any questions regarding this talk or any questions regarding our contract with the city or morale problems, I will be glad to answer. I ask that you direct specific questions regarding the four departments to the various foremen who are present. I would like at this time to introduce you to these foremen. TUKWILA CITY COUNCIL, COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE November 26, 1979 Page 5 DISCUSSIONS Cont. Public Works is a hazard. If we don't get our maintenance work done, Department safety is certainly involved. Mark Badten, Street Department, (continued) said he manages the Sign Department and does not have time to keep the City's street signs in good repair. We are training men to have them more on to other jobs. Ted Freemire, Water Department, said his department is undermanned so far that they have done no maintenance in three years. They have only had time for mandatory repairs and meter installations. They spent 3 months on 56th Avenue doing the work that should have been done by the contractor. We have not had time to start a cross connection program. This year he has asked for two more men. Police Department Mr. Trepanier said if the City is going to build trails, they need to also plan for their maintenance. Mrs. Nancy Moore commented that the trails have not been maintained since they were built. They are dangerous. Mr. Roppo asked if the City is so poor we can't afford to hire more people. I hear this is a wealthy community. Bob Seelye, President of the Police Officers Association, said he is expressing the opinion of the Police Officers. THE FULL TEXT OF MR. SEELYE'S PRESENTATION IS ATTACHED AND MADE AN OFFICIAL PART OF THESE RECORDS. Mr. Seelye said the dangers in the Police Department, as seen by the officers are: insufficient manpower on duty at given times to protect public safety. We are currently facing the busy season with one less officer on patrol. Since 1975 the number of businesses has increased, apartment units increased and traffic congestion has risen dramatically. With these increases comes an increased need for police services. Mr. Seelye cited the percentages that crimes have increased for the first ten months of 1979. There has been no increase in manpower and a reduction in paid overtime. He cited specific incidents where he felt there was danger to the public. Specific dangers to officers occur on a daily basis when they must answer calls alone. Officers are unable to handle speeding complaints in the residential area as there is no functioning radar unit. Due to increased patrol duties, the department has not had anyone assigned to traffic control since 1976. Due to an increased case load, the Detective Division is unable to perform its investigations properly. To alleviate these dangers will require additional manpower. Council President Bohrer asked if change in manpower was the only solution to the problem. Mr. Seelye said they are operating as efficiently as they can at this time. They do need some additional equipment. Council President Bohrer said they all agree that the union is as capable and well trained and dedicated as any in the valley. Councilman Harris said, as a Council person, she has received no information from the Police Department indicating the increase in the crime in the City. Mr. Seelye admitted that, as he looked into this, there has been a definite lack of communication. He found that information was not being passed on to the Council. Mr. Charles Wetzler, 56th Avenue, said that all these figures should be available for the Council for the Budget Review Meeting. Bob Abbott, Police Officer, pointed out that a meeting such as tonight's is highly unusual. A Police Department is a para- military type organization. They go on a very structured chain of command. Information can be passed along but if any link TUKWILA POLICE OFFICERS ASSOCIATION Ladies and Gentlemen of the Council: P.O. E3OX 88344 TUKWILA, VIASHINGI ON 98067 Nov. 26, 1979 I am hen tonight at the invitation of Council Pres. Rohrer to discuss dangers concerning public saftey. Pres. '?ohrer has prepared an outline of the agenda that is limited to three specific areas. I, as the representative of the Tukwila Police Officers Assoc. am prepared to 'Tactually address these three areas. It is the union's request that the council limit questions and discussion to the prepared agenda outlined. 1. The political brochure in question does, in fact, represent the o osition of the �.`ukwila Police officers Assoc. Although the 'P0A did not prepare the brochure, permission was given by the Assoc. to certain canidates to use our name on printed material. 2. Item #2 is a two part question and will be addressed as such. The dangers as seen by the Police Officers are: insufficent manpower on duty at given times to adequately protect public saftey in light of the dramatic increases in the number of jobs, businesses, apartment units, and traffic congestion. W'e are currently facing an extremely busy time of the year with one less person on uniformed patrol officer on duty than we had in early 1975. Since 1975, employment has increased 2501, the nz__di'cr of businesses has increased 100c the n' :tuber of apartment units has increased by over 100', and the amount of traffic congestion has risen dramaticly. The city of Tulenila's Transportation plan states: "Traffic volumes on several major roadway links already equal or exceed 1990 forecast volumes developed in the 1970 Southwest King County Transportation Study -'t. Attached in a supplement are quotes from the city's own quarterly newspaper refering to increased growth and related traffic problems. With these increases comes an increased need for police services. The following figures were taken from official police dept. records: For the first ten months of 1979, robberies are up 200% of those in 1977 and 20" above all of 1978. Assaults are up 66`' over all of 1977. Burglaries are up 10`' from all of 1978. Auto thefts are up 12' from all of 1977. There has been a 100' increase in sex offenses in the first 10 months of 1979 compared with the average of the past three years. trunk driving arrest are already up 18'. The number of accidents is 65" greater than it ?_28-3 was three years ago. "aticious mischief is up 0' from the average of the past three years. Liquior violations have increased 70% over the last three years. Total calls for the first 10 months of 1979 are up 275 from the same time last year. Traffic volumes can be as high as 24,000 vehicles per day on certain streets. The police dept. makes an average of 1,600 arrest per year. Certain felony arrests can take up to six hours for a patrol officer to perform his duties. With no increase in manpower and a reduction in paid overtime, there are dangers to the public and officers. A normal work schedule would have a minimum of three officers on at a time. However, due to vacations, illness, and training; there are often periods where only two officers are on. On occasion there has been only one officer assigned to a dayshift. A swing shift (3:00 p.m. to 11:30 p.m.) can have as many as 27 calls per shift. The city has a policy of not paying overtime to provide minimum manning. In addition, municipal court appearances are scheduled during the officers i working tine. Although this is done to avoid disrppting the Officers personal schedule, the public suffers when all officers on a shift are in court and none on patrol. Specific dangers to the public are: 1) At 4:30 on a Friday afternoon in August of 1977, a single officer had to handle a bank robbery alarm as he was the only officer in the city on patrol. 2) In July of 1979, a 20 -year old, unarmed, female store security officer had to keep a shoplift suspect in custody for an hour an half until an officer was free to he dispatched. The suspect was an escaped Felon wanted for armed robbery. 3) In ray of 1977, an injury accident happened on Southcenter Blvd. By the time one of the two officers working was free to respond, the injuried had been taken to the hospital and the vehicles towed away. 4) In Feb. of 1978, between 1 and 4 a.m., a single officer handled nine calls alone; two of the nine being "bar fights Specific dangers to Officers occur on a daily basis when they are called to search a 5 arce warehouse alone for a burglar, or arrest an armed suspect at Southcenter without any assist- ance. On numerous occassions, officers have been unable to handle speeding- complaints in the residential area as the Police Dept. did not have a functioning radar unit. Due to increased patrol duties, the dept. has not had anyone assigned to traffic control since 1976. Prior to that, two offices were assigned full tir.ie to the divison. We have also faced a x'eduction from two full -time officers assigned to Southcenter, to one part-time assignment. Due to an increased case load, the Detective divison is unable to perform its investigations properly. ''any minor cases are not follow up on as larger type cases take priority. B. To alleivate these dangers will recuire additional manpower. The Dept. is recuesting and urgently needs another detective ark.a second lieutenant. the single current lieutenant must oversee staff operations, patrol functions, buget preparation, policy planning, inter- agency communications, and payroll preparation. This is all done by one person at a salary far below that of lieutenants from comparable agencys in the area. Below is a list of these agencys and their number of administrative and supervisorory personnel'. Capt. Lt. Sgt. Corporal `ercer Island 0 2 7 0 Redmond 1 2 4 0 Yirkland 0 2 3 4 Lynnwood 0 2 5 0 Edmonds 1 1 5 0 Tukwila 0 1 5 0 In addition to the -above request bein made by the department, it is the union's position that at least three more officers are needed to perform our job in an adeeuate and proper manner. If this cannot be met in the upcoming budget, the union would strongly suggest more money be budgeted for overtime to allow additional manpower be ulitized during periods of shortages. 3. Warning given to city officials: I have been advised by Chief Sheets that a second lieutenant has been reouested in the budget for the past four years. In addition., three new officers were reouested one year and one additional new officer another year. The members of the dept. have asked the chief to request extra mannower on each of the past four years. In :lay of 1979, the ?"ayor spoke with us during an employees meeting. At that meeting the mayor was asked :thy the City would not purchase a radar unit and was advised of manning problems. The response was that a radar had never been requested and that the Police dept already got it's share of the budget. In July of 1979, Sit. Kelleher resigned from the Dept. The f olluwin-. week, I saw a memo from the ?;ayor to Chief Sheets that ordered the Chief not to fill the vacant position. 1 then spoke with chief Sheets voicing my concerns regarding the saftey of the officers working shorthanded. The chief advised me he couldnit keep Officers on overtime as the mayor would not allow it The chief further stated he had been instructed by the mayor not to speak with the council about the problem. The chief stated he had been to over 150 council meetings during his first four years here and had attended only five meetings during the last four. On July 30th, 1979, after consulting with the TPOA membership for direction, Off. 7: yklebust and myself ap': ;roached the Council in a meeting of the Whole and advised she council of the above listed dangers and problems. In closinS 1 invited the council to contact me at any time, either individully or as a group, to discuss the situation further. I was never recontacted by anyone. Prior to endorsing ca.nidates, the TPO1t extended an invi- tation to each to address the entire membership. On Aug. 30th, 1979, Nayor Bauch Spoke with the membership for an hour and forty-five minutes. Contained in a supplement is a statement presented to the mayor by Det. Kilbur g.. During the meeting, manpower was the main topic of disscussion. O n Sept. 1 1 1979, Council persons an risen and Traynor addressed the group. same concerns were voiced once again on that date. In early Lugus t of 1979, I had a meeting with the mayor concerning the problems outlined above. 1 reouested that a minimum of three officers be on at all time between the hours of 12.00 p.m. and A:00 a.m. I was told by the '"avor that the Police Dept. was currently getting its share of the budget and that he considered by reouest a minumum manning policy; and that he would never agree to such a policy. In summary, I admit that the Officers kept quiet about. the problem for some time; in a effort to maintain a Rood working relationship, actin g under the assumption the council was and aware of the situation. P'o ?;'ever, since ?:ay of this year, an active effort ;has been made to inform city officials. To date, there has been no improvement in the situation. I am encouraged that the council is :willing to listen to the problems in a public meeting. I ask that you give the matter serious thought. Respectfully, h S Robert Seelye, President Tukwila Police Officers Association PRESENTATION BY DAVID RAY, VICE PRESIDENT, TUKWILA FIREFIGHTERS LOCAL 2088. My name is David Ray and for a third of my life my address is 444 Andover Park East. I consider it a privilege to live in the City. President Bohrer, Ladies and Gentlemen on the Council: We have been asked to address this open meeting of the Council by letter and phone call from President of this Council. The purpose of this address, we have been given to believe, is to explain our concerns about fire protection in the City. The letter we received stated that the media was invited because of their involvement in the recent election. Further, the letter we received implied that the campaign literature distributed on behalf of ourselves and several public service unions representing the employees of the City was the first word the Council had of many of our concerns. So, these are the questions we have been asked to speak to; (1) Do the Tukwila Firefighters, per Local 2088, endorse the position of this literature? (2) What are these concerns, that is, what do we see as concerns for fire service in the City? (3) What other ways have we attempted to make our feelings known? Now, this first question: Here is the information which was handed out. You are all familiar with this. It carries our endorsement on the front. We have never recanted in this position. We have never asked for a retraction or disputed any of the information. The proof for the information in this is, by and large, public record and is of such a conservative nature as to be common knowledge. For those that are interested in getting the information first hand, most of it can be obtained, by close examination of, for example the City Budget, individual run reports of the station log. We apologize that these statistics are hard to come by or hard grasp as they are presented here but, as in many things in govern- ment, these things are not necessarily written for those outside of the actual business. This information has been available and is no surprise to any concerned City Official. These are all official records from which this information is derived. The fact that this information was carried door -to -door by union members should not be a surprise either. Labor organizations have always existed and fought to improve the professionalism of the trade. The International Association of Firefi hters has always taken every opportunity to promote and improve fire service. It comes as no surprise to me that late this summer our Local decided to attempt to improve public awareness of fire protection in Tukwila. This pamphlet is part of that effort. This pamphlet is the well- considered efforts of ourselves and concerned members of our community to show what is happening in Tukwila fire service today. This brings us to the second questions, which is: What are the fire safety needs that we see in this City? From phone conversations with President Bohrer, it was stated that certain voters had contacted him expressing their concerns for Presentation by David Ray, Vice President, Tukwila Firefighters Local 2088 Page 2 fire safety after reading our literature and talking to our members. Here, then, is our position. A labor union is a human advocating organization which exists so craftsmen may never become slave to statistical misinterpretation. By and large, this is done by relying upon principle that you can't fool all of the people all of the time. Thus, in union business it is importatn that the as much input as possible is gathered from the collective intelligence of our members. So what is the danger we see in the City of Tukwila? It is exactly what the people who talked to Bohrer and the other representatives have suggested. If we advocate that our own intelligence must be respected and the intelligence of others must also be respected. It is our stand that considered opinions of the citizens of the City is the best proof that a danger exists. To show that danger exists in the City of Tukwila, let us consider some of the obstacles to good fire service that we have seen in Tukwila. The most commonly known obstacles to good fire service are low morale and inadequate manning. These have been discussed quite extensively. Let us consider the low morale first because it is the most complex and least explained. How this came to be deserves airing. Most of the morale problems in the fire service may be related to the fact that we are currently in negotiations with the City for a new contract. Now this leaves some problems which we and the City have avoided making public because it is a past practice that contract items are not a public concern but are handled by the elected representatives. Some of these items, however, are related to an over -all view of what level of service, which has been achieved, becomes the standard by which we judge ourselves. In 1974 the City of Tukwila was half the size it is today. With a growing department we were able to achieve a high level of service to the citizens in this City. More time was spent preventing fires. An aggressive fire inspection program, with the support of the City adminis- trators, resulted in one of the lowest fire loss records in any city. The Southcenten- ter Fire Prevention Show brought fire prevention to the homes of the citizens and was a media event which promoted the City, attracted business and thereby increased the tax base of the City. The Fire Prevention Show, incidentally, was started, at first by the Firefighters Union and, while run by the Union, was probably the largest and slickest show on the West Coast. The Department, at that time, was a highly visible asset to the City. What happened in four years, the rapid loss of key personnel and the increased work load has made this kind of dynamic service impossible. As the Chief has quoted in the Record Chronicle recently, the Department is losing about thirty percent of its people every fire years. This year fifty percent of all of the new people we hired quit or failed to meet Department standards. Part of this has to do with the inability to attract skilled personnel and retain them with the City's contract offer. As mentioned before, we are limited Presentation by David Ray, Vice President, Tukwila Firefighters Local 2088 Page 3 by the fact that we are in negotiations and rates and contracts have taken a long time to settle so we expect no immediate improvement in this regard. Loss of professional standard: What are the results of this loss of professional standard? The questions it brings to us as professionals is this: Are the citizens of Tukwila now less worthy of protection than they were before: Are the loss of services due to lost key personnel real losses to the citizens and do the people of Tukwila have to take the loss because the City has grown? Does the loss of a visible fire department and does the loss of an aggressive fire prevention result in real losses? We offer as evidence the number of calls in general and especially loss per fire. Fire calls are increasing annually and the fire loss in general and the loss per fire is growing which what we, who stand against those fires, consider to be an alarming rate. This, we contend, is because of the lowering of professional standards and we can say, with some certaintly, that raising these standards will raise morale. This brings us to the manpower which is inadequate. Here loss of services seem to be results of their feeling that a public servant's work load only increases every ten years when the federal census is taken. We know that the citizens and the elected officials are not unaware of the rapid growth in the City of Tukwila. What we are trying to express in this pamphlet and in other public information campaigns is that what may seem statistically "no growth," to some, on the surface, is a very real work load and impact to those doing the work. What it means to the workers is more multiple calls where the forces are split and limited in their ability to act (this is similar to what the Police had presented earlier, okay More days where no prevention, education, or maintenance work can be done because of the number of calls and more and more evenings and nights when call after call eats away at the basic physical stamina of the members of the duty crew. It is true that most of the growth has been in the business community, it is also true that this growth has been an added burden to the firefighters. Truth hopefully to the contrary it is the firefighter who must stand up to that work load when the City seems to be hiding from its acquired responsibility. This growth is not unknown to the city officials, nor is the added risk of exotic and hazardous materials which pass through this crossroad of western Washington. But when growth was suggested, and it was, no growth occurred. When growth was indicated, instead we had a new city policy of no overtime which risked the citizens' lives against the statistical chance that a reduced crew would not be needed or would be sufficient. As the shifts got smaller and the work load got larger, it seemed to take longer and longer to require replacements. Even today one of the shifts in the Department is short a man from the level that was set by this City Council. The City of Tukwila pretends to respond; one Presentation by David Ray, Vice President, Tukwila Firefighters Local 2088 Page 4 ladder truck, two engines, and an aid car to every major fire. By any federal or state professional standards this is not possible with the number of people on shift. Simple observation confirms what the profession reports and standards indicate, though these reports have exact statistics. First of all, you are respond- ing an aid car with one person, not possible, even by State law because by State law you need two people on an aid car because the person attending the patient cannot drive and the driver cannot attend to a patient. The State WISHA Laws indicate that a person responding or detailed to a fire should have at least one person to back him up. This is obvious, if you fall down at a fire somebody has to drag you out. It is nice to have a fireman to drag you out, that is why we are here. And yet, people up at the station have been sent to fire calls, one to a truck. We have an interesting example of Brother Hoel, who is the Fire Marshal, who is not detailed by job description to be a firefighter, recently went to a fire by himself because all available firefighters in the City, and I believe this included volunteers, had been called to a rather large brush fire. This does happen. People responding to calls have been detailed to a second call that came in while they were responding, one to a vehicle. The risk to the citizens is this: What if you are the second call? You have a choice, you got one man, what is he going to do, is he going to run the pump or is he going to carry the hose? It takes two people to quickly handle a ladder, and more and more of our citizens need a ladder to escape. The rapid growth of a free burning fire makes the seconds that every extra man on an engine can save, result in a substantial savings in property, and more importantly an irreplaceable loss of life. Still the City has spread its men thinly through their apparatus on the statistical chance that enough of them will get there to do an efficient job. If a fireman is injured because of this spreading of a fire then that just simply means one less man to do the job that will take a long time to replace. So question three is how have we tried to communicate these concerns? Our first thought was to follow the methods indicated in our contract, for example, grievance proceedings.. So we took our concerns to the Chief. Now, he was aware of these same concerns because, for the most part, in fact entirely, we are both involved in the same profession of fire service, but he advised us, of course, that we should not consider many of these items as contract items or items to be grieved because, in fact, they are a public concern and not a contract item. He did, however, when given the opportunity, report these problems to the City Council. I believe, in his preliminary budget reports,he has always brought up the fact of rapid growth as opposed to lack of growth in the Department. Early this summer we went to the second step, in May, about the same time that the Police talked to the Mayor. The Mayor came to the Fire Station, after Presentation by David Ray, Vice President, Tukwila Firefighters Local 2088 Page 5 promosing through all four of his years, that he was going to spend a shift with the crew, to see what we actually did. At that time, he gave us about an hour of his valuable time and the bulk of the problems I've talked about here today, we talked about with him and we tape recorded this with his consent, of course, and what comes out of that is, to us, the impression that whatever our considered opinion is, it was the considered opinions of mere employees and that as Mayor they held no weight against how he ran the City. His position, quite similar to what the Police Department reported, was that in fact we had a fair share of the budget, whatever that was determined by him to be. The concern came back to us as professionals when in a particular instance one of our lieutenants had pointed to him that there would be no way to evacuate, say the third floor of an apartment (we have a number of three floor apartment buildings). He said, and this is a paraphrase, "So you couldn't fight an apartment fire, well, you've never had one." This is rather discouraging. We tend not to endorse legislation by disaster because, once again, you can't replace people. The next step then would be to contact City Council Members and we did this, myself and President Kohler, both at one time or another contacted President Bohrer asking for a chance to address our concerns about manning to the City Council either individually or as a group and what we received in reply to that was that we were too close to negotiations to talk about something that might become an item in the contract. It did not, in fact, become an item in the contract. Bohrer is aware of that and we have still not received any response. There has been a lot of press coverage and we have encouraged coverage on all items not covered in the contract. Items which we felt an informed voter would need to know in order to help shape policy through their elected officials. The unions have faith in the order of the systems and have taken what seemed to be the most appropriate and indicated action from one step to the next. We have avoided personal attacks, stayed with proven facts, and maintained that the voters are intelligent, able to form their own minds, and we will live by their decision. We recognize that in a world of growing bureaucracy that carrying facts to the voters in a form they can easily understand is a primary duty of a public servant. We have tried to be unfailing in this effort using all legal means in standing by what we have presented to the public, neither hiding from public scrutiny or changing what we have presented as facts to make some temporary gain. This is how we have stood with everyone we have talked to, from Department Head to City officials to every concerned citizen or group of citizens. NOTE: THIS TRANSCRIPT IS TAKEN FROM THE OFFICIAL CITY RECORDING OF THE MEETING AND EDITED BY DAVID RAY. TUKWILA CITY COUNCIL, COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE November 26, 1979 Page 6 DISCUSSIONS Cont. Police Department (continued) Fire Department fails, the end result is not as desired. Council President Bohrer said he understood and this is why he issued the invitation to tonight's meeting. He asked Mr. Seelye about manpower and was told they need another person on each shift and also need a person in the Traffic Division. The Detectives desperately need another person and need a second Lieutenant. Councilman Hill asked if they could get by with less people if they had a 5% overtime factor. Mr. Seelye said it would take way more than that. Councilman Hill asked if they could possibly get by with three people and the 5 Mr. Seelye said it would help but not be sufficient. Mrs. Dee Westergard, Tukwila citizen, said there is a lack of bodies in the Police Department. There are situations that occur that are extremely dangerous. Every man in the Department has, at one time, had his safety jeopardized. Mr. Larry Bale said that Council Members are elected by the people to serve the people and it is about time, for the next few years, that you started serving us. .76/. Mr. Don Richmond said Council should have this type of discussion every year. He and Officers Seelye and Myklebust addressed the Council before about the manpower situation. He said the same as the previous man, we are electing you people, get on the job and get the business done. Tukwila can't be that underfinanced. Council President Bohrer said, first of all, Council can provide the budget but does not hire and fire; and secondly, Tukwila has the highest per capita income in the state and also has the highest per capita expense in the state and the bulk of that goes for Police and Fire Protection. Mr. Steve Kohler, President of the Tukwila Firefighters Local 2088, introduced David Ray, Vice President of the Union. MR. RAY'S PRESENTATION IS ATTACHED AND MADE A PART OF THE OFFICIAL RECORD. Mr. Ray said that the Fire Department records speak for them- selves. They are available at the station for anyone seeking information. Commonly known obstacles to good fire service are low morale and inadequate manpower. The morale problems may be related to the fact that they are still involved in contract negotiations. In 1974 the City was half the size and the Department was able to achieve a high level of service. A fire inspection program was started. The Fire Prevention Show held in Southcenter Mall brought fire prevention into the homes of the citizens. Today the loss of key personnel and the increased work load has made high level service impossible. With the City's contract offer, the Department is unable to attract skilled personnel and retain them. Manning is becoming a problem. More multiple calls are being received leaving less time for prevention, maintenance or education. When new personnel was requested, none was granted. There was a new policy of no overtime, which risked the citizens lives. You need two people on an aid car. People at the stations have had to go to fire calls one to a truck. The citizen has risk if his emergency call happens to be the second one. We have tried to communicate our concerns by following the methods of our contract grievance procedures. We have taken these to the Chief. The Chief reported these problems to the City Council via budget requests. TUKWILA CITY COUNCIL, COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE November 26, 1979 Page 7 DISCUSSIONS Cont. Fire Department (continued) Council President Bohrer requested Mr. Ray to have copies of his presentation made available to the City Council. Council President Bohrer said it has been stated that the capabilities of the individuals in the Fire Department are equal or better than any other Department in the City. He was told that in many cases, their abilities exceed that of many professional firefighters and police officers. Council President Bohrer asked about the handling of hazardous materials. Richard Brewster said they are better than any city around. The Hazardous Material Team is called in on many incidents in the area. They have built a hazardous material trailer with the skills of the firefighters. He said they have the only team this side of the Mississippi able to respond to hazardous material calls. Mike Alderson, Fire Department, said the trailer and all the equipment is no good without the manpower. Councilman Bohrer asked how many men are normally on shift and was told they have two shifts with eight and one with seven. He asked if there were other solutions to the problems the City faces like new ordinances, changing procedures or new equipment. Mr. Kohler said primarily they are concerned with responding to emergency situations inadequately manned. The Chief's proposed budget asks for three people and those have been denied. Three are not enough but it will help. Mr. Ray said you need people to enforce ordinances or procedures. Councilman Harris asked if the Department has a reciprocal agreement with the surrounding Fire Departments and was told, yes. Frank Todd, Mayor elect, said he thought Council was to be complimented for raising the inquiry and there were valid questions asked. It has been great that the Council and the Council -elect have had an opportunity to hear these complaints first hand. They are valid. He wanted all to know that he will, on January lst, and at the final budget hearings try to assist Council in the funding of additional personnel. Council President Bohrer told Mr. Todd he was welcome to participate in the budget hearings. Bob Abbott, Police Department, asked if Council now recognizes the hazards. Council President Bohrer said they had fulfilled his request. Anyone that has attended budget hearings knows that there has been a continuing discussion on manning levels. Everyone at the table would like to fund a 50% increase in manning, but do the residents want to pay the taxes. The problem is going to be that there is no extra income next year to make a 25% or even 10% increase in personnel without some stringent cutbacks in other areas. Mark Badten asked if Council had considered retention of people, to prevent the great turnover in wage negotiations. Council President Bohrer said it is always under consideration. Richard Franklin, Fire Department, noted that the turn out of City Employees at this meeting shows how concerned they are about what is happening to the City. The cost of having to go to arbitration to settle contracts really upsets him. Give us at least a cost of living increase or bring us to a comparable wage with surrounding areas. TUKWILA CITY COUNCIL, COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE November 26, 1979 page 8 DISCUSSIONS Cont. Fire Department (Continued) ADJOURNMENT Councilman Traynor said that he proposed, during negotiations, just what Mr. Franklin has said and it was turned down by the Firefighter negotiators and not taken back to the employees for consideration. Council President Bohrer said Council is proud of every depart- ment in the City. This is not a simple business. We are charged with the responsibility of providing your paycheck and the best services we can. Gary Fox, Police Department asked that the past be put down and that these things be worked out to get them the manning staff they need. Councilman Van Dusen said that these problems cannot be solved tonight and there will be many more meetings. He congratulated everyone on their professional approach tonight. MOVED BY VAN DUSEN, SECONDED BY SAUL, THAT AGENDA ITEMS NUMBER 6 AND 7 BE FORWARDED TO THE NEXT REGULAR MEETING. MOTION CARRIED. Council President Bohrer announced a meeting to be held at Southgate Community Center on December 11, 1979, 7:00 P.M. with King County Fire District #1 commissioners to discuss fire protection to the Allentown area if it were annexed. 11:10 P.M. MOVED BY VAN DUSEN, SECONDED BY SAUL, THAT THE TUKWILA CITY COUNCIL COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE ADJOURN. MOTION CARRIED. Council President M. in Anderson