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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011-09-26 Committee of the Whole MinutesTukwila City Council Committee of the Whole Meeting City Hall Council Chambers September 26, 2011 7:00 P.M. MINUTES COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING CALL TO ORDER /PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Council President Ekberg called the Tukwila City Council meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. and led the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance. OFFICIALS Present were Allan Ekberg, Council President, Councilmembers Joe Duffie, Joan Hernandez, Dennis Robertson, Verna Seal, Kathy Hougardy, De'Sean Quinn. CITY OFFICIALS Jim Haggerton, Mayor; Shawn Hunstock, Interim City Administrator; Mike Villa, Police Chief; Peggy McCarthy, Acting Finance Director; Jennifer Ferrer, Senior Fiscal Coordinator; Frank Iriarte, Public Works Deputy Director; Katherine Kertzman, Tourism Manager; Jack Pace, Community Development Director; Mary Miotke, Information Technology Director; Kimberly Matej, Council Analyst; Melissa Hart, Deputy City Clerk. SPECIAL PRESENTATION a. Update on educational outreach for recycling activities. Frank Iriarte, Public Works Deputy Director, introduced Don Frey, Municipal Relations Manager with Allied Waste. He explained this evening's presentation is related to the City's current solid waste agreement. Mr. Frey utilized a Powerpoint presentation to provide an overview of the proposed enhanced outreach for additional recycling services provided by Allied Waste. Key highlights were: Beneficial Services Enhanced recycling collection and processing, including food waste protein collections and processing Enhanced yard waste and food waste year round collection New commercial organic carts Customer Outreach Upon City Staff approval, all Tukwila Residents will receive a postcard detailing the enhanced recycling services Customer Communication Recycling do's and don'ts Food waste organics fact sheet Web Access New recycling program link Single- family and multi family guidelines Commercial guidelines Multilingual connections; information translated in Spanish, Amharic, Russian, Somali and Vietnamese Communitv Partnerships Tukwila Days Event sponsor; Active Chamber Members; Star Recycler program; Educational Scholarships; Spring /Fall clean -up and the Tukwila Kids' Festival Tukwila City Council Committee of the Whole Minutes September 26, 2011 Page 2 of 5 Mr. Frey stated Allied Waste is ready to begin a new 6 -month pilot program for multi family sites within the City. Allied will provide coaching and training for enhanced recycling at the selected locations. Upon completion of the program, Allied Waste will implement the multi family enhanced recycling program throughout South King County. The Councilmembers thanked Mr. Frey for the presentation and program update. CITIZEN COMMENTS There were no citizen comments. SPECIAL ISSUES a. An agreement with Bonneville International for advertising for Seattle Southside. Councilmember Hougardy indicated this item was discussed at the Finance and Safety Committee meeting on September 20, 2011. The committee members were unanimous in recommending approval Katherine Kertzman, Tourism Manager, explained the Council is being asked to authorize the Mayor to sign a media advertising agreement with Bonneville International on behalf of Seattle Southside Visitor Services (SSVS). The media agreement is for radio and website advertising, and the funding for this agreement has been approved by the Lodging Tax Advisory Committee. The agreement duration is November 2011 through December 2012, and is jointly funded by the Lodging Tax collected from the cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, Kent and Des Moines. The media campaign agreement is not to exceed $84,000.00. COUNCIL CONSENSUS EXISTED TO FORWARD THIS ITEM TO THE NEXT REGULAR MEETING. b. An ordinance regarding livestock, small animals, and fowl. Councilmember Seal indicated this item was discussed at the Community Affairs and Parks Committee meeting on September 12, 2011. The committee members were unanimous in recommending approval. At the August 22, 2011 Council Meeting, a citizen commented that he would like the proposed minimum lot size of 6,500 square feet for keeping chickens to be removed. He expressed his support for the ban on roosters within the City, and he supported allowing chickens to be kept at p- patches. The attached ordinance has been amended to remove the minimum lot size for keeping chickens, instead of treating them as an accessory use. Chickens cannot be kept on an otherwise vacant parcel, but must be associated with another permitted use such as a residence or business. The limitation of one chicken per 1,000 square feet of parcel area remains, so the number of chickens will be proportional to the size of the parcel. COUNCIL CONSENSUS EXISTED TO FORWARD THIS ITEM TO THE NEXT REGULAR MEETING. c. An ordinance regarding chronic nuisance properties. Councilmember Hougardy indicated this item was discussed at the Finance and Safety Committee meeting on September 7, 2011. The committee members were unanimous in recommending approval. Mike Villa, Police Chief, explained the City desires a way to address issues with residential and commercial properties that present a consistent life safety concern for residents, businesses and the City in general. This item was discussed at the September 12, 2011 Committee of the Whole meeting, at which time the Council asked staff to add a reference to RCW 66.24.010, Liquor Licenses Conditions and Restrictions, to the draft ordinance. COUNCIL CONSENSUS EXISTED TO FORWARD THIS ITEM TO THE NEXT REGULAR MEETING. Tukwila City Council Committee of the Whole Minutes September 26, 2011 Page 3 of 5 d. Non profit fee analysis for Revenue Generating Regulatory License (RGRL). Councilmember Hougardy indicated this item was discussed at the Finance and Safety Committee meeting on September 20, 2011. The committee members forwarded this item to the Committee of the Whole for discussion. Jennifer Ferrer, Senior Fiscal Coordinator, explained the Finance and Safety Committee members requested additional information from staff regarding revenue impacts from the Revenue Generating Regulatory License (RGRL) if the City removed the exemption status for non profit agencies with certain employee count thresholds. The Councilmembers asked clarifying questions of staff and exchanged comments to include: retaining the non profit exemption for businesses with fewer than 100 employees; having staff provide the Council with data on real -time impacts to the City to include methods to mitigate those impacts; recognizing that non profit organizations should be accountable for their share of infrastructure mitigation; ensuring the legislation is approved by the City Attorney; acknowledging that all businesses should be addressed uniformly regarding the RGRL fee; and including the definition of a non profit organization in the ordinance. Council President Ekberg asked staff to provide information to the Council on tax contributions the City receives from the top 2 non profit businesses within the City. Mayor Haggerton asked the Council to thoroughly review this issue and allow staff enough time to properly notify the businesses of a possible change. COUNCIL CONSENSUS EXISTED TO HAVE STAFF RETURN TO A FUTURE FINANCE AND SAFETY COMMITTEE MEETING WITH A DRAFT ORDINANCE. e. An ordinance regarding refunding 2003 bonds. Councilmember Hougardy indicated this item was discussed at the Finance and Safety Committee meeting on September 20, 2011. The committee members were unanimous in recommending approval. Peggy McCarthy, Acting Finance Director, explained that in 2003, the City issued $12,050,000 of limited tax general obligation bonds to finance arterial street improvements and the construction of the golf course clubhouse. The proposed refunding would set aside sufficient funds from the refunding proceeds to pay off the bonds outstanding at December 1, 2013, the earliest call date. The City would realize a savings estimated at $354,651.95 or 4.878% of the refunded bonds with $281,442.17 realized from the arterial street fund portion of the bond issue and $136,209.78 realized from the golf course portion of the bond issue. The Councilmembers exchanged comments and asked clarifying questions of staff on the above topic. COUNCIL CONSENSUS EXISTED TO RETURN THIS ITEM TO A FUTURE COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING. f. Early redemption of 1995 revenue bonds. Councilmember Hougardy indicated this item was discussed at the Finance and Safety Committee meeting on September 20, 2011. The committee members were unanimous in recommending approval. Ms. McCarthy stated the City issued $4,500,000 of revenue bonds to finance Water Fund -401 capital improvements in 1995. The outstanding balance of these bonds is $1,370,000 (face value) with the next mandatory bond redemption occurring February 1, 2012 and the last mandatory bond redemption occurring February 1, 2015. The City has an option to redeem these bonds for a savings of over $150,000.00. The Water Fund has $4 million in cash and investments to support the early pay -off. COUNCIL CONSENSUS EXISTED TO FORWARD THIS ITEM TO THE NEXT REGULAR MEETING. Tukwila City Council Committee of the Whole Minutes September 26, 2011 Page 4 of 5 REPORTS a. Mayor Mayor Haggerton attended the ribbon cutting ceremony at iFly on September 23, 2011. He announced that Tukwila Police Commander Bruce Linton has been called to serve in Afghanistan, and he is scheduled to be deployed for 14 months. The Mayor thanked Shawn Hunstock, Interim City Administrator, for his service to the City and he wished him luck on his future endeavors. He also announced that Derek Speck will be the Interim City Administrator effective September 30, 2011. Mayor Haggerton asked Mr. Hunstock to update the Council on the recent email notification City staff received relating to the change effective October 1, 2011 in the ORCA (One Regional Card for All) Pass program. Shawn Hunstock, Interim City Administrator, explained the City was given a few weeks' notice to make potential changes to the City's participation in the ORCA Pass program. The ORCA Pass program requires the City to purchase a card for all benefited employees within the City, regardless of use of the program. In the past, the City was paying $108 per employee for the ORCA cards, and the proposal was to increase the fee to $163 within one year, and then a second increase to $260 per card, per employee. This represented a significant cost increase to the City. The current program is budgeted at $38,000, and the proposed increase would have doubled the budgeted amount for continued participation in the ORCA program. The decision was made to move forward with a subsidized program consisting of a $75.00 per month allotment for commuting per employee through December 2011. This will allow the Community Development and Finance Departments time to review other Commute Trip Reduction options. b. City Council Councilmember Duff ie attended the iFly Grand Opening celebration on September 23, 2011. Councilmember Hernandez attended the September 20, 2011 South County Area Transportation Board (SCATBd) meeting and the September 21, 2011 Suburban Cities Association networking dinner. On September 23, 2011, she attended the iFly ribbon cutting ceremony, and later that evening she attended an event at the Highline Community College Marine Science and Technology Center. Councilmember Hernandez gave the welcome remarks at the September 24, 2011 Duwamish Hill Preserve Workshop for teachers. Council President Ekberg attended the September 23, 2011 iFly ribbon cutting ceremony. Councilmember Seal and her Girl Scout Troop participated in the Cottage Creek Restoration project on September 24, 2011. Councilmember Hougardy attended the Suburban Cities Association networking dinner on September 21, 2011. On September 24, 2011 she attended the Touch -a -Truck Safety and Emergency Preparedness Fair. Ms. Hougardy felt the event was well advertised and attended by local residents and other area families. Councilmember Quinn attended the September 24, 2011 Touch -a -Truck Safety and Emergency Preparedness Fair. c. Staff Shawn Hunstock, Interim City Administrator, thanked the Mayor and City Council for the opportunity to serve the residents and City for the last three years. d. City Attorney The City Attorney's presence is not required at Committee of the Whole meetings. Tukwila City Council Committee of the Whole Minutes September 26, 2011 e. Intergovernmental Page 5 of 5 Kimberly Matej, Council Analyst, reminded the Council of the September 27, 2011 Budget Work Session, and announced that she will be on vacation October 3 through October 7, 2011. MISCELLANEOUS Councilmember Robertson stated he has compiled a citizen issue tracking spreadsheet that contains issues and concerns residents have spoken to him about, and he distributed a copy of the spreadsheet to the Council for review. He relayed the residents' concerns about the increased pan handling within the City, and explained a resident contacted him about the aggressive pan handling along Tukwila International Boulevard. He feels that type of activity creates a safety issue. He has been researching a possible ordinance for Council consideration, and asked if there was Council support for directing staff to draft an ordinance relating to pan handling for Council consideration. After Council discussion, there was Council consensus to forward the topic of a pan handling ordinance to the Finance and Safety Committee. Councilmember Robertson reviewed the citizen issue /complaint tracking form with the Council. He also commended Dennis Box, Editor of the Tukwila Reporter for his most recent article on "Civil civics debate." Council President Ekberg thanked the Tukwila Fire and Police Departments for their response to an early morning auto accident involving his wife on September 25, 2011. ADJOURNMENT 8:47 p.m. COUNCIL PRESIDENT EKBERG DECLARED THE COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING ADJOURNED. t� A Allan Ek C n esiderft� Melissa Hart, Deputy City Clerk APPROVED AND SIGNED BY THE COUNCIL PRESIDENT ON 10/10/2011 AVAILABLE ON THE CITY'S WEBSITE 10/11/2011